#and yes ''the world is ending anyway so all the characters should just chill and do nothing uwu'' is also resignation

[weepylucifer]

okay i've figured it out. i don't assume pjol is actually trying to encourage the reader to give in to resignation, and disco elysium certainly isn't. but it seems to be how wide swathes of fans have interpreted these texts, and that's what i'm mad at, not the texts themselves

[heartsoji]

falling in love with kozume kenma.

best friends → lovers

kenma x reader

word count: 1.7k

warnings: i only proofread half of it sorry, female reader

a/n: this is basically the same thing as my suga one so maybe i'll make a series of falling in love and then dating with different hq characters?? i dunno it could be cute but we'll see it

kenma was your best friend. always had been. well, him and tetsu anyways.

your family and the kuroo family were family friends, so tetsu was basically your older brother. he was the annoying, good-for-2 things-brother.

you met kenma in elementary school only because he became friends with tetsu, but you became friends quickly. you had a shyer personality around people that you didn't know, but were pretty bubbly around people you felt comfortable with. because whenever you hung out with kenma tetsu was there, you had no problem being yourself.

however, as you further got to know him and spent more time with him, he was just as much a friend to you as he was to tetsu. he changed from "tetsu-nii's (yes you used to call him tetsu-nii as an elementary school student bc of how much of a brother he was to u) friend to "my friend."

at first glance, kenma was quiet. he was shy. he didn't like people. but when you got to known him more, you learned that he had a kind heart and a sweet, chill, easily-flustered personality. you learned that he liked playing video games because they were an escape to the world around him. you weren't very good at them, but you liked watching him play them and would occasionally try when he offered. you learned that even if he covered it up with slightly sarcastic or grumpy remarks, he deeply cared for those he loved.

and you were one of those.

as a child, you were unable to differentiate platonic and romantic love. all you knew was that you loved kenma, and your 7-year old butt always made sure to let him know.

every time you saw him, your eyes lit up, you ran towards him, gave him a big hug, and told him you loved him with a smile on your face. his reaction was always a gentle hug, (you were literally the only person he touched as a kid) and a quiet "love you too," with red ears and rosy cheeks.

because of the love you felt for kenma, you assumed that it was romantic love, so you told kenma that the two of you should date. he agreed with his signature red ear and rosy cheek combo, and that was the start of your and kenma's relationship.

you held hands, gave him hugs, ran over to his house and to the park for little "dates," and told him that you loved him everyday. this was nothing particularly out of the ordinary, because you did that before your "relationship," but the one thing that changed was that you gave your first kiss to 7-year old kozume kenma. your parents thought that you two's "relationship" was absolutely adorable, and even tetsu thought that it was kinda cute.

as the two of you aged into high schoolers, you were uncertain of your relationship with kenma. technically, the two of you never really "broke up." your relationship had stayed the same throughout the years, and your "relationship" had never really been discussed.

the two of you still held hands, gave hugs, and said "i love you," because of the comfort both of you found in familiarity and routine. cuddling, crying and venting to each other, and building your minecraft world together was relaxing, and it felt like home. you truly cherished the time that you spent with him. yet somehow, even though you two did all this together, you couldn't really tell if kenma meant it platonically or romantically.

your friends always asked the two of you were dating, and you always brushed it off, because in truth, you didn't know. you didn't know if kenma considered the two of you a couple just because your elementary-school relationship technically never ended.

as high school went on, you were unsure of what your relationship with kenma was. neither one of you dated at all in high school, which added another layer of uncertainty to the whole situation. but one thing you were certain of was your feelings for him. you weren't sure when it started, but your platonic love for kenma had become romantic. you never dared to ask kenma about your relationship, though. you were too nervous.

at this point, all of your friends knew that your relationship with kenma was a bit complicated

soon enough, your senior year of high school had finished, so big boy tetsu took you, his basically-little-sister, kenma, his best friend, yamamoto-kun, his crazy junior, and fukunaga-kun, his oddly funny junior, out to eat.

you were friends with fukunaga-kun and yamamoto-kun, partially because they were tetsu and kenma's teammates, but also partially because they were your fellow third-years.

the five of you had a ton of fun, and it was just a really chill night.

you got pretty tired part way through, so you rested on kenma's shoulder and dozed off for a bit. it wasn't unusual for the two of you to cuddle, but kenma hated it whenever his teammates touched him. the most physical contact he was willing to do with them was a quick high-five after a good play, so it was a huge shock for yamamoto and fukunaga to see him not only be ok with it, but also enjoy it??

"woah!! kenma, getting a little.. lovey over there.. OOOOO" yamamoto teased, making annoying kissey faces in the air.

kenma shot you a glance to make sure you were asleep before mumbling a, "shut up, tora."

yamamoto paused for a moment. kenma hadn't denied anything.

"wait kenma.. are you two actually.. dating?!" yamamoto interrogated, somewhat in a state of shock at the mere thought of hermit-crab-doesnt-talk-to-anyone-kenma not only dating someone, but hermit-crab-doesnt-talk-to-anyone-kenma dating someone before him. "kuroo-san.. did you know about this?"

and that was when you woke up.

"it's.." kenma started. he sighed. "honestly, i don't know."

you kept your eyes shut. what was he talking about?

"tell us about it." fukuyama suggested. "maybe it'll help."

kenma let out a long exhale. "don't make fun of me, but when we were in elementary school, we had a little elementary school relationship, and we.. technically never broke up."

woah. you thought. he still remembers that?

"i know it's stupid because we were in elementary school, but i keep finding myself, like, overthinking 'nd stuff because maybe she like-likes me and she never broke it off for a reason but like maybe she just forgot, or like, I DONT KNOW!" exclaimed, exasperated and at this point grumpy.

tetsu let out a chuckle. "sounds like you're pretty far in love."

kenma blushed. "i guess."

you couldn't believe your ears.

that was when you fell asleep again, and missed out on the rest of the conversation.

you awoke to kenma setting you down gently on your bed.

"kenma..?" you asked sleepily. "what.. happened?"

he chuckled. cute. "you fell asleep and i carried you back."

you blushed. and that was when you remembered the conversation kenma had with his teammates and tetsu.

"kenma?"

"yeah?"

"im gonna tell you something right now, but you have to promise not to get mad."

"ok.. i promise."

"pinky promise?"

"pinky promise."

you took a deep breath. "part way through my nap i.. woke up and overheard a.. conversation."

you could see the panic and fear in his eyes.

"i.. overheard that you still think about how we never broke up our elementary school relationship."

kenma looked away, extremely nervous. "it's not really that big a deal.. i was being o-overdramatic." kenma was such a bad liar. always had been.

"you were?"

"y-yeah."

"oh.. well i still think about it."

kenma's head shot up. "you do?"

"yeah." you smiled. "and i like you, by the way. in a romantic way."

kenma's ears and cheeks weren't just red, his whole body shot up like 100 degrees.

"i.. do too." he mumbled with a blush and a slight smile.

he took a deep breath and the redness decreased. slightly. "uh.. i know that this might not be the most.. romantic.. moment, but will you be my girlfriend, l/n y/n? if you weren't already." redness +430.

you smiled and tucked his hair behind his ear. "yes." and pulled him into a kiss.

and it was perfect.

you weren't having an intense kiss on a grass field atop a hill in a cute dress with wind flowing through your hair and flowers he gave you in your left hand's clutch, but you were happier than you would've been if you were. it was sweet, romantic, take no. 2, chill yet passionate, relaxed, at home, a little messy and inexperienced, and perfectly imperfect. just like how you predicted your now-official-official relationship with the love of literally your life, kozume kenma.

and that was when tetsu and your mom walked in. your parents wanted to give you a glass of water because they figured kenma had already left, and tetsu wanted to wake you up to discuss what kenma had ranted about, knowing that you felt the same way.

they walked in, did a simultaneous gasp, and walked straight out, a smile on your mom's face and a smirk on tetsu's.

to both of your horrors, you heard tetsu's hyena laugh and the giggling of your mother, followed by an excited "be-ready-for-when-he-comes-home phone call to his as soon as the door shut.

it was extremely embarrassing, to say the least. but at the end of it, your whole relationship would probably be filled with this. and you would have to learn to ignore it. because, if you were going to date the man who stayed by your side your whole life, you were willing to go through anything.

BONUS BC I FELT LIKE IT

the next day, you received many "OMG OMG OMG" texts from your friends. why?

because kuroo tetsuro the dumbass™ chose to tell EVERYONE in his contacts that his basically-little-sister and his best friend got together FINALLY.

yeah, he teased you relentlessly that night. he didn't even wait a full night to make fun of the two of you for not discussing the exact same problem.

but even though he made fun of both of you, he honestly found this situation quite endearing, as you two were his lifelong ship.

𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒, 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃

[littlegaybean1]

Ok ok ok...

It's been almost 18 years since it aired, but who cares I'm talking about it anyway.

I've seen a lot of people hating on Cyberwoman. And yeah, I understand why. That costume choice was, er, quite something. But it's still my favourite episode and yk why? The build up. The plotline. And most of all the acting. Oh my god the acting. My favourite scene has got to be the tourist office, because oh my days have you seen the way Gareth David Lloyd plays Ianto? It gives me chills. After watching it, I rewatched Everything Changes and Ghost Machine because I never actually noticed Ianto in them, unless he's speaking. The only time you ever see him is when he intentionally draws attention to himself, which he rarely does. I watched them again, specifically focusing on Ianto. He's barely in them. He's one of the main 5 characters, but in the first three episodes he has one of the most minor roles. Like, you see him let Gwen into the Hub, delete the stuff she typed to make herself remember and see him introduced. That's it for episode one. And yes, everyone has a minor role in that, but you never actually see him as part of the team. He works alone, always.

Episode three really highlights that for me. He appears every so often with a funny comment. He has less screen time than Rhys. If it wasn't for the fact that I was actively thinking about him, I would have completely forgotten that he was there. One of his rare appearances really got to me - the ending. Jack gives him the ghost machine to put in the secure archives. That's normal, the archives are his area.

Except Jack doesn't even look at him. He just holds it out, like Ianto is a servant, not someone with years of experience dealing with aliens. Ianto worked at Torchwood One. He was the most qualified of anyone on that team when each of them joined. Owen was medically trained, but no experience with aliens. Tosh was a genius, but she had only experienced aliens through wrong blueprints of their technology, plus a charge of treason. Gwen had police training, nothing more. She got a job by being stubborn, and in the right place at the right time. Jack was reckless, dangerous, and did not want to join Torchwood. He only did it because he needed to do something in the 100+ years that he would be waiting for the Doctor.

Ianto had everything taken from him all at once, and nobody bothered to check on him. He looked fine, so they didn't give it any more thought. They of all people should know that that's not how it works. Ianto was repressing his grief, exhausting himself with the amount he worked both at his job and caring for Lisa. He never had any desire to cause anyone any harm. He was blinded by overwhelming grief. When humans experience loss, the automatic reaction is to cling to what you have. For most people, that means reaching out to friends and family, creating a support system. Ianto lost all his friends, all at once. We don't hear about his family until S3 (goddamn S3), but it's implied that they aren't close. I haven't listened to any of the audios, so if there's more to it than that then I don't know it.

Ianto had nothing, except an echo pretending to be Lisa. He did the most natural thing in the world, clung to what he had. Or at least, what he thought he had. Don't blame Ianto for the events of Cyberwoman. His actions correlate with normal reactions to grief. Yes, his actions were extreme. But so was his grief.

[fxckn-sxck-fr]

YEAH YANDERE XMEN LET'S GOOO

Anyways, I will look forward for any of your yan!x-men works. And I kinda hope for platonic mentor Scott Summers or Gambit(even if I don't see Gambit as a yandere it would be interesting to read about it)

𝐈 𝐃𝐈𝐃 𝐁𝐎𝐓𝐇 𝐀𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐀𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 𝐁𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐔𝐒𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐒…

!!! GN reader, dual-wielding yandere mentors, strict Scott, power abuse, manipulation, stalker Remy, no respect of privacy, the slightest bit of infantilism, I’m probably forgetting a lot cuz I’m really bad at warnings, pretty mild.

*Clutches my head like I’m taking psychic damage* AHHHHHHHH, THE VOICES!!! THE VOICES!!!! THEY’RE GIVING ME IDEAS!!!!

First off, you basically predicted one of my WIPs. Something about Scott’s base character just screams platonic yandere to me, and I probably couldn’t write a non-yandere fic about him if I tried. So!! Because I’ve already got a little something cooking with solo Scott, lemme give you the best of both worlds of your asks; yandere mentor Scott and Remy.

A dynamic like this would be completely uncoordinated. Their mentoring styles are polar opposites, and it doesn’t help that they can’t see eye to eye with each other on most things. So expect this to be a tug of war between what is essentially a strict dad and chill uncle. Scott will get done lecturing you about staying out late (he doesn’t want you dozing off and getting lazy during missions, that’s all!!), only for Remy to whisk you away on a late night patrol (with ice cream as a treat!!).

To fully understand what you’re dealing with here, let’s do a quick rundown on both of them on an individual level.

Scott: Overbearing as fuck. He might start off as harsh and borderline brutal, constantly singling you out and critiquing everything you do. Should anyone raise concerns over this, he’d be genuinely confused. He’s not treating you differently from the other X-Men!! You just need a little more tough love, that’s all!! He sees your potential and wants to bring it out of you so you’re ready for anything and everything!!

It would probably take a near-death experience on your end for him to finally soften up on you. He’s still strict as hell, don’t get me wrong, but at least he’s more encouraging than berating!! But now he keeps you glued to his side during missions. And doesn’t let you go on missions he’s not on. And only allows you to train with him. And starts getting more involved with your personal life. And basically keeps you on a tight leash with everything.

He definitely abuses his authority as field commander to get you to behave. Don’t wanna listen to him? Fine, you’re sitting out for the next couple of missions. What’s this? You think it’s unfair? If you won’t listen to him now, then what good are you in the field, huh? He’s only doing this to make you a better team player!! Now go to your room and think about what you’ve done.

Remy: Extremely hands off. The word “mentor” is used loosely when describing him, as he really doesn’t see himself as such. All he does is makes sure you don’t die on missions, gives you profound life lessons, then goes on to contradict that life lesson with some reckless move (text book example of a do as I say, not as I do kind of teacher). His laidback nature makes it easy to confide in him, and he’s always happy to lend an ear to his petit!

Meanwhile, his yandere side kind of runs counter to this. Yes, he’s extremely lax with you, but only because he knows where you are 24/7. There are trackers in all of your clothes so he can check in on you periodically. Not because he doesn’t trust you!! He really doesn’t give a shit what you’re up to as long as you’re not doing drugs or whatever. There’s just this nagging fear in the back of his mind that you could be in danger, and he wants to make sure he can save you in time. He also has a habit of snooping through your things; again, not because he doesn’t trust you, he’s just curious and has no sense of privacy when it comes to you (and also because he likes to leave behind little trinkets for you to find later).

While I don’t see very many situations where he resorts to this, it’s best to keep in mind that Remy’s a master manipulator. If you’re up to something he doesn’t particularly like — maybe you have a crush on someone he doesn’t deem worthy… which is just about everyone — he’ll easily talk you out of it, playing whatever card he feels necessary. There may be the slightest bit of infantilism (“you’re too young for mushy romance, petit!”), but nothing too heavy handed; he mostly does it to tease.

Okay, with that out of the way, let’s get back to their dynamic.

As said before, they don’t really work in tandem with each other. They just kinda coexist as your two mentors that constantly butt heads with each other. Scott sees Remy as a bad influence on you, and Remy basically does everything in his power to spite Scott. What’s this? Did mean ol’ Cyke lock you in your room? Good thing Gambit’s next lesson is to teach you how to pick locks (but that does not mean you can sneak out and do your own thing. Stay where Gambit can see you, damnit). It pisses Scott off to no end and Remy thinks it’s hilarious.

Now, there’s a very slim chance that they come to some sort of understanding. Sure, Scott has a stick up his ass and Remy is a bit reckless, but they at least share a common goal of keeping you safe. This is when they start (begrudgingly) working together, with Remy turning a blind eye whenever Scott oversteps his leadership role while Scott checks in with Remy for your current location. They’re absolutely not best buds with this setup, but they’ll at least tolerate each other for your own good.

They’re kinda like your divorced parents in this set up.

But, again, the chances of this happening are very slim. Scott will do everything in his power to keep you away from Remy’s influence, and Remy doesn’t trust Scott enough to agree to “sharing.” It would probably take a dire situation for them to work together. Just as a one time thing; it wouldn’t be permanent.

Overall, I love this dynamic. It helped me visualize a yandere Gambit better (despite him being my favorite, I wasn’t sure if I could hit him with my yanderefication beam), and of course I’m gonna write the X-Men’s resident yan-dad. I wanna write more so bad.

[fizzingwizard]

Five: the one you've been waiting for, about Moomintroll!!

It is so much fun to go on a rescue mission to find Moomintroll. The bittersweet beginning, with Moomintroll sad as Snufkin leaves for the winter, and Snufkin's dread when he returns in spring to havoc and no Moomintroll... mwah. Love it

Goodness Snufkin chill out would ya

Snufkin might love you, Moomin, but that doesn't mean pics of your body gone splat in the mud isn't absolutely getting posted on his Instagram

So in this game Moomintroll is pretty angelic. He doesn't have a bad word to say about anyone. It's nitpicking of me, but yeah, that take isn't for me. I like my hospitable, awkward, endlessly tolerant Moomins with a pinch of spice. Actually it's rather funny because so much of the game characterization seems to pick off the cartoon, but Snufkin and Moomintroll themselves are just so nicey-nice...? At least we spend enough time with Snufkin to hear him take a few digs at the other colorful characters lol.

I MISSED TAKING A CAP OF SNUFKIN FALLING ON HIS ASS that would have been perfect revenge too ugghh

BUT THE PIGGYBAAAACK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

[fizz.exe has stopped working]

Can't get over how cuuuute this is. If the whole game sucked, it would still have been worth it just for this ending haha. Btw I will definitely have a piggyback in a fic some day and this is the inspiration xP

I love how Snufkin's flower-covered hat blends right in with the flower bed when they're hiding teehee

So theme again. When Snufkin hurts his foot, he encourages Moomintroll to go on without him. But Moomintroll says no, we'll go together, hence piggyback. This is my favorite way the theme comes out, and not just because it's cute, but because it involves Moomintroll overtly offering to help and then really helping. Not needing to be coaxed and indulged or endured first. Yes, in the real world there are all types and we all need to get along. But Snufkin accepts nearly all help, talks to everyone kindly (much more kindly than they are to him!), and isn't even wrong when he tells Moomintroll to go on without him - neither does he make a fuss about going together anyway.

So what growth is he supposed to have here? He doesn't decide to not leave in winter anymore (and I certainly wouldn't want him to). The story is like "Snufkin learned something" and it's... that he should keep being friends with the people he's already friends with? Even though he never said he planned on doing otherwise...? Or are we just punishing him for daring to go on loner adventures period? Maybe a cut scene showing him running away from the Fillyjonk or avoiding parties or something would have helped frame things better, but as it is - I fully understand what the story wants to say, I just don't believe it actually says it.

Take this scene. In essence, I don't have a problem with it. But, since when does Snufkin kick people out of Moominvalley? More likely he's the one skedaddling... "But it's the Park Keeper!" So? In Moominsummer Madness he destroys the park but the Park Keeper still is the one with authority, so it's Snufkin who tries to leave. That's minor, though, what bugs me more is this "Moomins tolerate everyone!" bit. Of course it's not bad...! But Moomins definitely do not tolerate everyone and go to lengths to drive certain types away... Including potential romantic threats haha. This isn't a complaint, the game just goes in a different direction than what I prefer when it comes to Moomins. But Moomintroll is a little over the top, that's all I'm saying...

"He just dammed the river without asking and imprisoned all the animals and caused a forest fire... But I'm sure deep down he's a nice guy"

psst fizz it's a game for kids...!

yeah i know it's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to bitch if I want to bitch if I want to

I digress. The point is how cute these two obviously are. Gaaah. The piggyback 💕💕💕 Also Snufkin's little (>m<) face!

[how-do-i-delete-this-acc]

falling in love with kozume kenma.

best friends → lovers kenma x reader

word count: 1.7k

warnings: i only proofread half of it sorry, female reader

a/n: this is basically the same thing as my suga one so maybe i'll make a series of falling in love and then dating with different hq characters?? i dunno it could be cute but we'll see it

kenma was your best friend. always had been. well, him and tetsu anyways.

your family and the kuroo family were family friends, so tetsu was basically your older brother. he was the annoying, good-for-2 things-brother.

you met kenma in elementary school only because he became friends with tetsu, but you became friends quickly. you had a shyer personality around people that you didn't know, but were pretty bubbly around people you felt comfortable with. because whenever you hung out with kenma tetsu was there, you had no problem being yourself.

however, as you further got to know him and spent more time with him, he was just as much a friend to you as he was to tetsu. he changed from "tetsu-nii's (yes you used to call him tetsu-nii as an elementary school student bc of how much of a brother he was to u) friend to "my friend."

at first glance, kenma was quiet. he was shy. he didn't like people. but when you got to known him more, you learned that he had a kind heart and a sweet, chill, easily-flustered personality. you learned that he liked playing video games because they were an escape to the world around him. you weren't very good at them, but you liked watching him play them and would occasionally try when he offered. you learned that even if he covered it up with slightly sarcastic or grumpy remarks, he deeply cared for those he loved.

and you were one of those.

as a child, you were unable to differentiate platonic and romantic love. all you knew was that you loved kenma, and your 7-year old butt always made sure to let him know.

every time you saw him, your eyes lit up, you ran towards him, gave him a big hug, and told him you loved him with a smile on your face. his reaction was always a gentle hug, (you were literally the only person he touched as a kid) and a quiet "love you too," with red ears and rosy cheeks.

because of the love you felt for kenma, you assumed that it was romantic love, so you told kenma that the two of you should date. he agreed with his signature red ear and rosy cheek combo, and that was the start of your and kenma's relationship.

you held hands, gave him hugs, ran over to his house and to the park for little "dates," and told him that you loved him everyday. this was nothing particularly out of the ordinary, because you did that before your "relationship," but the one thing that changed was that you gave your first kiss to 7-year old kozume kenma. your parents thought that you two's "relationship" was absolutely adorable, and even tetsu thought that it was kinda cute.

as the two of you aged into high schoolers, you were uncertain of your relationship with kenma. technically, the two of you never really "broke up." your relationship had stayed the same throughout the years, and your "relationship" had never really been discussed.

the two of you still held hands, gave hugs, and said "i love you," because of the comfort both of you found in familiarity and routine. cuddling, crying and venting to each other, and building your minecraft world together was relaxing, and it felt like home. you truly cherished the time that you spent with him. yet somehow, even though you two did all this together, you couldn't really tell if kenma meant it platonically or romantically.

your friends always asked the two of you were dating, and you always brushed it off, because in truth, you didn't know. you didn't know if kenma considered the two of you a couple just because your elementary-school relationship technically never ended.

as high school went on, you were unsure of what your relationship with kenma was. neither one of you dated at all in high school, which added another layer of uncertainty to the whole situation. but one thing you were certain of was your feelings for him. you weren't sure when it started, but your platonic love for kenma had become romantic. you never dared to ask kenma about your relationship, though. you were too nervous.

at this point, all of your friends knew that your relationship with kenma was a bit complicated

soon enough, your senior year of high school had finished, so big boy tetsu took you, his basically-little-sister, kenma, his best friend, yamamoto-kun, his crazy junior, and fukunaga-kun, his oddly funny junior, out to eat.

you were friends with fukunaga-kun and yamamoto-kun, partially because they were tetsu and kenma's teammates, but also partially because they were your fellow third-years.

the five of you had a ton of fun, and it was just a really chill night.

you got pretty tired part way through, so you rested on kenma's shoulder and dozed off for a bit. it wasn't unusual for the two of you to cuddle, but kenma hated it whenever his teammates touched him. the most physical contact he was willing to do with them was a quick high-five after a good play, so it was a huge shock for yamamoto and fukunaga to see him not only be ok with it, but also enjoy it??

"woah!! kenma, getting a little.. lovey over there.. OOOOO" yamamoto teased, making annoying kissey faces in the air.

kenma shot you a glance to make sure you were asleep before mumbling a, "shut up, tora."

yamamoto paused for a moment. kenma hadn't denied anything.

"wait kenma.. are you two actually.. dating?!" yamamoto interrogated, somewhat in a state of shock at the mere thought of hermit-crab-doesnt-talk-to-anyone-kenma not only dating someone, but hermit-crab-doesnt-talk-to-anyone-kenma dating someone before him. "kuroo-san.. did you know about this?"

and that was when you woke up.

"it's.." kenma started. he sighed. "honestly, i don't know."

you kept your eyes shut. what was he talking about?

"tell us about it." fukuyama suggested. "maybe it'll help."

kenma let out a long exhale. "don't make fun of me, but when we were in elementary school, we had a little elementary school relationship, and we.. technically never broke up."

woah. you thought. he still remembers that?

"i know it's stupid because we were in elementary school, but i keep finding myself, like, overthinking 'nd stuff because maybe she like-likes me and she never broke it off for a reason but like maybe she just forgot, or like, I DONT KNOW!" exclaimed, exasperated and at this point grumpy.

tetsu let out a chuckle. "sounds like you're pretty far in love."

kenma blushed. "i guess."

you couldn't believe your ears.

that was when you fell asleep again, and missed out on the rest of the conversation.

you awoke to kenma setting you down gently on your bed.

"kenma..?" you asked sleepily. "what.. happened?"

he chuckled. cute. "you fell asleep and i carried you back."

you blushed. and that was when you remembered the conversation kenma had with his teammates and tetsu.

"kenma?"

"yeah?"

"im gonna tell you something right now, but you have to promise not to get mad."

"ok.. i promise."

"pinky promise?"

"pinky promise."

you took a deep breath. "part way through my nap i.. woke up and overheard a.. conversation."

you could see the panic and fear in his eyes.

"i.. overheard that you still think about how we never broke up our elementary school relationship."

kenma looked away, extremely nervous. "it's not really that big a deal.. i was being o-overdramatic." kenma was such a bad liar. always had been.

"you were?"

"y-yeah."

"oh.. well i still think about it."

kenma's head shot up. "you do?"

"yeah." you smiled. "and i like you, by the way. in a romantic way."

kenma's ears and cheeks weren't just red, his whole body shot up like 100 degrees.

"i.. do too." he mumbled with a blush and a slight smile.

he took a deep breath and the redness decreased. slightly. "uh.. i know that this might not be the most.. romantic.. moment, but will you be my girlfriend, l/n y/n? if you weren't already." redness +430.

you smiled and tucked his hair behind his ear. "yes." and pulled him into a kiss.

and it was perfect.

you weren't having an intense kiss on a grass field atop a hill in a cute dress with wind flowing through your hair and flowers he gave you in your left hand's clutch, but you were happier than you would've been if you were. it was sweet, romantic, take no. 2, chill yet passionate, relaxed, at home, a little messy and inexperienced, and perfectly imperfect. just like how you predicted your now-official-official relationship with the love of literally your life, kozume kenma.

and that was when tetsu and your mom walked in. your parents wanted to give you a glass of water because they figured kenma had already left, and tetsu wanted to wake you up to discuss what kenma had ranted about, knowing that you felt the same way.

they walked in, did a simultaneous gasp, and walked straight out, a smile on your mom's face and a smirk on tetsu's.

to both of your horrors, you heard tetsu's hyena laugh and the giggling of your mother, followed by an excited "be-ready-for-when-he-comes-home phone call to his as soon as the door shut.

it was extremely embarrassing, to say the least. but at the end of it, your whole relationship would probably be filled with this. and you would have to learn to ignore it. because, if you were going to date the man who stayed by your side your whole life, you were willing to go through anything.

BONUS BC I FELT LIKE IT

the next day, you received many "OMG OMG OMG" texts from your friends. why?

because kuroo tetsuro the dumbass™ chose to tell EVERYONE in his contacts that his basically-little-sister and his best friend got together FINALLY.

yeah, he teased you relentlessly that night. he didn't even wait a full night to make fun of the two of you for not discussing the exact same problem.

but even though he made fun of both of you, he honestly found this situation quite endearing, as you two were his lifelong ship.

𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐒, 𝐑𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐎𝐆𝐒, 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐌𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐒 𝐀𝐑𝐄 𝐆𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐑𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐃

[tathrin]

6. Favorite character in all of Tolkien's work?

Legolas. I realize this is probably the most transparent answer of all time and you probably wanted something more interesting, but I love his unflaggingly upbeat spirits in the midst of such a bleak quest, and his sassiness, and I love that he's at once one of the more chill elves we meet and yet also ready to throw hands at a moment's notice. He's just an utter DELIGHT...and then when you throw in the heartbreak of the Sea-Longing (which gets me in ways that I cannot even articulate and always has) and the fact that he stayed despite that until all his friends were gone except for Gimli, whom he took with him omfg—! Like, not to sound like Gimli on main, but how do you look at this utterly absurd elf and NOT love him?

HOW DO YOU NOT WEEP AND FALL IN LOVE AT THIS:

And now Legolas fell silent, while the others talked, and he looked out against the sun, and as he gazed he saw white sea-birds beating up the River. 'Look!' he cried. 'Gulls! They are flying far inland. A wonder they are to me and a trouble to my heart. Never in all my life had I met them, until we came to Pelargir, and there I heard them crying in the air as we rode to the battle of the ships. Then I stood still, forgetting war in Middle-earth; for their wailing voices spoke to me of the Sea. The Sea! Alas! I have not yet beheld it. But deep in the hearts of all my kindred lies the sea-longing, which it is perilous to stir. Alas! for the gulls. No peace shall I have again under beech or under elm.' 'Say not so!' said Gimli. 'There are countless things still to see in Middle-earth, and great works to do. But if all the fair folk take to the Havens, it will be a duller world for those who are doomed to stay.'

Add to that the fact that I've been obsessed with elves literally forever, I mean before I ever read LotR, and he was The Elf of the Fellowship...I mean, I would have fallen in love with him anyway on that basis alone, because he's The Elf we get to spend the most time with, but the fact that his introduction is just "a strange elf clad in green and brown"...that's it, Frodo? That's all you can say about him? He's "strange" and dressed like a tree? LMAO. Come on, he's ridiculous from the moment we meet him, of course I love him. And then "I go to find the sun"? MY GODS. THIS FUCKER. YES.

And then him and Gimli? Who absolutely should not be friends AT ALL, but end up being so fucking entwined that they sail to Valinor forever...!? Who go from zero-to-sixty in like two weeks, and are then so ride-or-die that they're even ride beyond death, fuck. "Yet you comfort me..." / "He stands not alone!" / "While Gimli lives, I shall not come to Fangorn alone..." / "Where you go, I will go..." / We have heard tell that Legolas took Gimli Glóin's son with him because of their great friendship, greater than any that has been between Elf and Dwarf. If this is true, then it is strange indeed: that a Dwarf should be willing to leave Middle-earth for any love, or that the Eldar should receive him, or that the Lords of the West should permit it...

HOW DO YOU NOT LOVE THIS MOTHERFUCKER.

(And that's not even adding-in my own personal interpretation of Mirkwood as a bunch of half-feral unhinged cryptids.)

[ramblings-of-a-mad-cat]

Idk what is it with legacy but everything seems to me like it was written on a napkin five minutes before the programming started. I'm crying about the ancient magic and the fact that nothing was done with it. The friends weren't involved with the plot enough, Fig was involved too much (were they trying to copy year 4 and 5 with Rakepick???), we CAN'T FUCKING ALLY WITH RANROK, Isodora and Bragbor successfully cooperated to create the repository but we can't have main character and ranrok paralleling that and working together.

You know, you're absolutely right.

This game was like...almost incredible. But in every area it could have been incredible, there's this pesky "almost" stuck as a prefix for this reason or that reason.

The companion mod is proof that not enough was done with the characters in this game (Amit doesn't even get a quest-line) but it's obvious that the characters are still compelling. Poppy and Natsai are three dimensional and lovable, and Sebastian's popularity speaks for itself. Even the ones who aren't meant to be in focus can be well crafted. (They rolled a real winner with Ominis, I said what I said.)

Fig was obviously meant to be a significant character (I am still not clear on what subject he teaches, does anyone know...?) and given his connection to the plot through Miriam, that's to be expected. He's a lovable guy and I don't mind him being so relevant, but it's obvious that (for better or for worse) the student characters are largely here by obligation and in the mind of the developers, they're more for side-quest content. That other characters like Fig and Lodgok are meant to be the important ones. Again, for better or for worse. I've heard it said that Sebastian's story should have just been the main storyline of the game and honestly...that's not entirely a bad idea.

Though frankly, I think a far better idea would have been just having Isidora as the villain instead of Ranrok.

Which is a good segue into talking about the other points you mentioned. I've talked about this before as well, but yes. Ranrok was beyond wasted as a character. What you describe would have been perfect, and yeah, it would have mirrored the backstory. It seems so obvious. Ranrok deserved more development and deserved to be portrayed as someone the MC might sympathize with. He deserved an ending of his own, where the player can side with him. Never mind the political, real-life reasons for why this was essential, it's just a no-brainer in an open world RPG that would have you believe it has multiple endings. (It really doesn't...)

Oh and that reminds me, this game pretends it has two endings when really, it only has one. Yes, you can choose to harness the Ancient Magic rather than becoming a Keeper, but it changes nothing about the game's ending. Half of the players were already going to head-canon their MCs as doing that anyway. The Ancient Magic is such an intriguing concept but apart from being a map marker for The Fifth Year to discover new plot threads, we don't learn much about it at all.

Honestly, the most fascinating the Ancient Magic ever gets is when we're learning about it through Isidora. The scene where she removed her father's pain was genuinely chilling, and in that I saw the glimmer of a terrifying villain wielding magic we had never seen before. Isidora would have been the best kind of villain because she would have believed she was doing the right thing and would have had understandable reason why she believed it. What she could do to those who oppose her...what she did to the people she loved, and all because she wanted to help them...the power of Ancient Magic is frightening, in no small part because we know so little about it, but we could definitely have stood to learn a little bit more, especially as it's unlikely to be featured again. (Unless they make a sequel.)

I think above all, what this story needed was more nuance. Everything is way too black and white. There are hints of something more, but they get dropped almost immediately as they get brought up. Maybe that's why Sebastian's storyline is a fan-favorite. His dynamic with Ominis and where his story ultimately goes, not to mention the sympathetic reasons why it ends up where it does...and the actual impact The Fifth Year's choices can have on this story...yeah, the rest of the game could take note. Isidora isn't developed enough, and neither is Ranrok, when they could both be exceptional characters.

You want to know my favorite scene of the game, bar none? The scene where Lodgok opens up about meeting Miriam and his grief at her death. That. That is the kind of nuance I'm talking about, and combined with the scene's atmosphere and raw emotion...I teared up. I mean it. That was so powerful. I wish more of the Ranrok storyline was like that more of the time. Any story in the Potterverse that centers around a Goblin Rebellion cannot afford to be this black and white, and we all know why. But in general, it's just better storytelling if there are more shades of gray.

[iamfuckingsorry]

Sorry guys, another DE rant incoming. This one's not even on any specific topic, just some feelings about the game that I need to get out.

So, the game absolutely fucking killed me. I intentionally didn't play the entire thing at once to give myself time to process and it still fucking killed me. And by killed I mean I had to take crying breaks at work hiding in the bathroom. Like literally unable to go through a day at work without coming this close to a breakdown. And there's other compounding factors for that, sure, but still.

And it's like... It's a chilling social commentary with too many layers for its own good. The main character is a walking bundle of current and past issues mixed with the consequences of extremely messed-up past actions. The main support character has the best of intentions but is heavily flawed himself. Everyone else in the story is fucked up, really every single fucking thing is fucked up, yet the game itself keeps giving you these little snippets of hope. All the side quests where you can make a difference to someone. Deep conversations. Kim smiling. Realizing the people you originally thought were massive assholes were just hurting. The goddamn stick insect.

You are a violent and irrepressible miracle.

Something beautiful is going to happen.

In the dark times, should the stars also go out?

Streets and sodium lights, the sky, the world. You're still alive.

You still have some years. You still have some hope.

The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting.

Kim being so hopelessly in love with Revachol even though he's been treated like shit by the city's inhabitants.

Harry being so hopelessly in love with Revachol, too, even though he can't even remember her.

The world is shit, but there's still all these little things that make it worth living.

And I'd... really love for that to be my take away. I would really, really fucking love that. But somehow, I can't.

Because no matter how much good you do preventing an absolute bloodbath in Martinaise, changes are coming, and they aren't good changes. The wheels are already in motion and they cannot be stopped, no matter how vigilant Harry is, no matter how much Revachol loves him.

22 years after Harry wakes up, Revachol's getting nuked to pieces.

Some 5 years after that, the entire world as we know it is getting swallowed by the pale.

Kim Kitsuragi will not live to see 70.

(Honestly, this is the line that kills me the most. He deserves to grow old, to look at his life and be happy with what he's done with it, at peace and fully accepted by everyone including himself for the first time in his life. And instead he's getting killed in a pointless conflict that will usher in the end of the world, or if he won't get killed then, he's getting nuked to death. Kim Kitsuragi will not live to see 70.)

Anyway. I know that that's part of the point. Horrible things are inevitable but that doesn't mean life isn't worth living and good things aren't worth fighting for. You can still fight the inevitable darkness while you're here, you should still fight the inevitable darkness while you're here, you need to fight the inevitable darkness while you're still here because if you don't, then what are you living for? And if not you, then who? If you lose your last sliver of hope, then you lose everything. Yes, life is terrible and terrifying, but life is also so, so, so beautiful.

And even when life is shit, it's all just part of a cycle. Sometimes bad things need to happen in order for the good ones to be able to come back again. One day I'll return to your side. After death, life again. After the pale, the world again. The good connected to the bad, intertwined so tightly they cannot be separated in any meaningful way.

And I think I'm starting to get there, I really do. After the pale, the world again. Even in the darkest of times there is always hope of a brighter future. After the pale, the world again. After death, life again. Un jour je serai de retour près de toi. The only way to load the dice is to keep on fighting. The stars will never go out, not even in the darkest of times.

But instead I just... I close my eyes and I think of Revachol herself begging Harry to save her, and I think of her burning, and I think of Kim not living to see 70.

And I want to cry.

[pastelsapphy]

Inferno

"I wanted to bring here everyone that should get on their knees for Saeran. Me, that woman, and V..." Saeyoung Choi is not a man of mercy. He is a hellbound force of retribution with nothing left to lose. Those who hurt his brother will pay for it in blood. What if Saeyoung had brought V to the cabin too? Warnings: Major character death, murder, suicide, arson, death by fire, unhinged Saeyoung. Read on AO3 A/N: "Hey Luc, didn't you post this already?" Yes. And then I edited the post fifty times and added an AO3 link, so I wanted to make a neater post. Anyway, I wrote this at midnight because the thought wouldn't leave me alone. I wonder what Saeyoung's plan was if he'd gotten all three of them to the cabin like he'd wanted in VAE. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be pretty. And I think seeing both of the people he blamed Saeran's death in front of him... the thought that Saeran wouldn't want revenge wouldn't stop him. Not this time. The world needs more unhinged Saeyoung. Let him be angry and terrifying. I'm normally not a fan of unhappy endings, so maybe a miracle happens. Maybe Saeyoung ends up with a cool scar to match his brother's. Maybe not. Who knows.

There is an old clock in the cabin. Saeyoung isn't sure how it still works--it's not like anyone who comes out here is about to change the batteries or anything. Yet it works, filling the tiny wooden building with a steady tick, tick, tick as the seconds go by.

It's fitting, really. It's as if the universe is counting down the minutes. How many more does he have? Maybe it's only a few. Perhaps as much as an hour. Certainly not much more than that.

Tick, tick, tick.

He had already sent Vanderwood outside. Well, forced them out might be more accurate--they could tell something was wrong with Saeyoung. Of course, they knew about his brother by this point; they knew he was going to grieve, and grieving people do weird shit to cope. And Saeyoung is a weird guy to begin with. But something was just... off. It was a feeling in their gut. Something snapped in that kid's brain and Vanderwood wasn't keen on leaving him to his own devices.

"I'm not leaving you by yourself so you can do something stupid," Vanderwood had said.

"I know exactly what I'm doing, Vanderwood." Saeyoung did not shift his gaze away from the cabin's other two occupants. "It's in everyone's best interest if you wait outside."

"I told you I'm--"

"Get the fuck out!" Saeyoung snapped, briefly looking away to shoot a glare at the other agent.

Vanderwood had been momentarily stunned into silence. They yelled at Saeyoung on a regular basis--the kid had caused them so many headaches over the years--but never had Saeyoung snapped back like that. He would make smartass remarks, god knows he was full of them, but he never yelled. If he had ever been truly angry with Vanderwood, he had never shown it.

There was a long silence, broken only by the ever-present tick, tick, tick of the old clock. Then, Vanderwood had sighed and stood from their chair. "Fine. But if I think you're about to do something that will endanger both our lives, I'm coming back."

"You don't have to worry about that. Just wait outside, Agent."

Something about the way he said that sent a chill down their spine. Maybe it was his tone, now constantly laced with barely-restrained rage. Maybe it was the fact that he called them Agent. Maybe it was instinct. But after another moment's pause, they stepped outside the cabin. They reached into their pocket for their cigarettes, only to find them gone, along with their lighter. Must have left them in the cabin. By the time they turned around to check, Saeyoung had already latched the door behind them.

So now it's just the three of them, three people tied together by one unbreakable thread. Three people who weren't human anymore. Three monsters. Three killers with blood on their hands. The worst kind of scum, all responsible for taking the life of an innocent--someone too kind and pure for this world.

Saeran may have been the one to detonate the bomb that destroyed Magenta, but the three who sit in the cabin--Saeyoung Choi, Jihyun Kim, Rika Kim--are the ones responsible. They all killed Saeran. Saeran's blood coats their hands and would never, could never, be washed away.

Tick, tick, tick.

V, ever the mediator, is the first to break the silence. "Luciel--"

"Why?" The word tears itself from Saeyoung's throat, finally pushing past the lump of rage and guilt that threatens to strangle him.

"I'm sorry, Saeyoung," Rika says. "I'm so sorry for everything that happened. If I could go back, if I could trade my life for his--"

"You have no right to say that." Saeyoung spits, standing abruptly. "You have no! Right!"

Rika falls silent, her hollow-eyed gaze dropping to the floor. Saeyoung hates it. Her demeanor only angers him further. How dare she play the victim? Maybe the 'it's all my fault, I'm the worst, I deserve retribution' thing would garner sympathy from other people, but not Saeyoung. He, in fact, wholeheartedly agrees. It is all her fault. She is the worst person in the world. She does deserve retribution. The same goes for V and himself.

"Luciel--" V tries again.

"And neither do you!" Saeyoung's venom now turns to him. "Don't you dare say anything about sacrifice. It means nothing. It won't bring him back. It won't change what you did to him."

Tick, tick, tick.

"I trusted you," Saeyoung says. "I. Trusted. You. You promised me--you swore to me that you would protect him! How could you--" his voice cracks. "How could you do that to him? Saeran was good. Saeran was innocent. Saeran was kind, and gentle, and he deserved to be loved. But you--you--"

He lets out a frustrated noise, unable to turn his thoughts into words. His mind is nothing but a loop of rage, rage, rage. Rage and vengeance and shame and guilt.

"You killed him," he finally growls. "Both of you killed him. And... so did I. Every one of us is responsible for what happened to him."

"Luciel," V tries again. "We--" he sighs. "Please, Luciel... if anything, do not blame yourself--"

"How?" He snaps. "How?! I trusted you both to look after him. To care for him. To treasure him. And instead, you manipulated and brainwashed him. You tortured him just like our mother did." He feels a twisted sense of satisfaction at the pained gasp Rika lets out, as if she's been stabbed through the heart.

Saeyoung decides to twist the knife further. "Actually, you were even worse than our mother. At least she never lied to us. We knew from the beginning that she only wanted us to get money from our father, that she never loved either of us. But you? You lied. You promised to protect us, to help us. But in the end you were just the same. You gave us hope only for your own selfish needs.

"Saeran spent every day of his life living in fear while you beat all the kindness and gentleness out of him.

"And you--" Now he speaks directly to V. "You did nothing to stop her. Fuck all your excuses. I don't care about your sacrifice. You were only ever concerned with her. You were only ever protecting her. If you had really wanted to protect Saeran then you would have saved him from her. You can martyr yourself all you want, it won't make you any better than her."

Tick, tick, tick.

The air in the room shifts abruptly. It's charged, thrumming like a livewire. The explosive anger evaporates in an instant; it's replaced by something far more terrifying.

"All of Saeran's killers must be held responsible for what happened," Saeyoung says. His anger is no longer a raging inferno. Now, his anger is like ice. It's calm, now. No less intense, but calm. As if he had long ago decided a course of action.

Tick, tick, tick.

Saeyoung crosses the room and reaches for something behind one of the chairs. He wonders, briefly, what his brother's last moments were like. How did the bomb detonate? Had Saeran simply pressed a button and ended it, or was he forced to sit there and listen as a timer counted down his last minutes on Earth?

Tick, tick, tick.

Rika does not react, but V's eyes widen when Saeyoung lifts a large, red plastic canister from behind the chair. "Luciel, what are you--"

Saeyoung unceremoniously upends the container in the middle of the cabin's main room. The liquid quickly soaks into the carpet and the wood flooring, and the heavy smell of gasoline fills the room.

Tick, tick, tick.

"Luciel! Wait, let's talk about this--" V has risen to his feet, but freezes when Saeyoung pulls a beat-up zippo from his pocket.

"Talk?" Saeyoung says, laughing. "Talk?! You had years to talk, V, but you stayed silent and let Saeran suffer. The time for talking has long since passed."

Tick, tick, tick.

He flicks the lighter open with a small metallic clink.

"Saeran wouldn't want this," V tries. His half-blind, once-honest eyes are wide and desperate.

"Don't you dare speak his name!" Saeyoung shouts. "You don't deserve to say his name."

"Please--"

"It doesn't matter anymore what he would have wanted."

It's then that V notices the tears running down Saeyoung's cheeks, the tremble in his voice. Had he ever seen Saeyoung cry before?

"He's gone. And he's never coming back. And those responsible need to pay for it.

"Heh... you know, this is the first time I wished I could get into Heaven," Saeyoung continues, voice breaking. "Just for a few minutes. Just long enough to apologize to Saeran. For everything. For not being able to protect him. For leaving him. For being a terrible brother. For betraying him. For failing him. Beg for his forgiveness. All of us should."

Tick, tick, tick.

Saeyoung lets out a low chuckle. "Knowing Saeran... he would probably forgive us. Not that any of us deserve it. So perhaps it's better this way."

Tick, tick, tick.

"Take your revenge, Saeyoung." Rika's voice is hardly above a whisper, yet it seems so loud in such a small space.

Tick, tick, tick.

Saeyoung lowers himself to the ground, thumb on the wheel of the zippo. The gasoline soaks into the legs of his jeans. His head feels light, and he's not sure if it's from the fumes or if it's a weight lifting off his shoulders.

Tick, tick, tick.

"You wanted us all to be a family, right?" He says.

Tick, tick, tick.

"Then let's go to Hell together."

Tick, tick,

Click

Tick--

BOOM.

[twilightknight17]

"Guys, holy fuck" - Part 2

Hit the image limit on the other post so I broke it up so I could scream more. XD

So where were we?

Right, right, Shadow Toshiro.

Once the shadow goes down the first time, he goes one-winged angel and turns into a god damn horror monster version of Eri that is GIANT. And that, my dudes, was a fight. That thing had so much health. It was great. :D

Now for some info:

Okay, that makes sense.

Yep, all that, we’ve seen and understood already. Still good.

But why, though? What makes her different? Why can she switch forms? Why is she still basically a separate entity from him? Did you just not want to lose your new character? I almost feel like I’d rather have had a P4 boss fight that ended with Toshiro getting his persona, and have Erina just be his cognitive Eri, based on his memories. Because this is… confusing. Nothing has worked like this in the past, unless I seriously overlooked something.

Yeah, I know, Aki and Mai and Ideal Maki were a thing, but Maki was a Wild Card and also had the DEVA system bolstering her cognition. No one else’s persona has been able to turn into a person and just chill with everyone after their awakening. Erina is basically her own fully-formed person. Like… I don’t know. It’s weird. I’m having trouble wrapping my head around it.

All right, yeah, let’s go with that for now.

There’s like, a slight implication here that Toshiro’s shadow wasn’t actually his shadow, but just something pretending to be his shadow? Especially since he never like, reconciled with it. After the giant Eri, it just disappeared. But I only pinged that after the fact, because while we’re just standing here trying to figure out what the hell is going on with Erina, god shows up to yell at us.

“Be not afraid” and all.

I kid you not, I was internally screaming, “YALDABAOTH? IS HE POSSESSED BY THE REMNANTS OF YALDABAOTH TRYING TO SEIZE POWER AGAIN?” But no, doesn't have Yald's stupid feet. This is:

Who the fuck is you, and why does it look like your head exploded off your neck? Are you sure you’re not Yald?

Anyway, this bitch keeps calling us “children” and “lambs” and “pathetic” while it explains who the fuck it is.

I don’t like it, and it doesn’t like our persona abilities. It calls them a “mask of madness, one which will assuredly drive man to ruin.” So it offers a deal: It can remove our powers, and along with them, our memories of this whole horrible adventure, and in exchange, it will put us safely back in the real world. It’s nice like that, even though we’re “infidels who had the audacity to defy a god.”

Hey. You. Got some bad news about all the other gods I’ve met. Wanna know what happened to them? :3

But we shouldn’t answer now! We’re high off a lucky win and our emotions are compromised. We should think it over and tell it our answer when we’re ready. And then Salmael fucks off into the sky. Are we sure that’s not a weird misspelling of Samael? Are you connected to Shido somehow?

Toshiro gets like a thousand points for being completely chill about a god falling out of the sky to tell us we suck. Zenkichi was a lot less calm about the whole thing. XDDD The Thieves, Toshiro, and Erina agree that they’re not giving up their powers, so we’re gonna have to kill god again. But how? How do we follow god into the sky? Whatever shall we do?

Oh, guys. Do you hear that noise?

CHOO CHOO, MOTHERFUCKERS.

Lavenza is here in the Velvet Room Train to pick us up and take us to the sky. No, she doesn’t know why it’s like that all of a sudden. We DO NOT CARE. THIS IS GREAT. Toshiro almost manages to offend her, but we’ve got things to do, so we just put another pin in that.

And that is where I had to stop. It asked me if I wanted to save and I was like “yes, I cannot handle any more Epic right now.” My GOD. I’m so excited Lavenza gets to be more involved, because that’s how I tend to characterize her. She wants to be more hands-on than her siblings or Igor. And she’s not afraid to snark at the others. It’s nice to have the whole team in the Velvet Room again. ^_^

Never change, Yusuke. :P

Actually, isn't this a good thing? If Akira's Velvet Room is now manifesting as a train, maybe that symbolizes him moving forward into the future? Scramble put him back in prison, but this game hasn't. Maybe this is the Velvet Room's final form for him?

Next time: Into the goddamn abyss to once again dethrone god, I guess????

Final note: I’m constantly amused by the one-off poses the sprites have. One single use of the sprite where Makoto’s hugging Morgana. One of Toshiro holding Erina/Yuki. And now apparently one of Makoto throttling Ryuji so he can’t interrupt Futaba and Toshiro. X’D Wow. Pls stop picking on Ryuji, Atlus.

[firstjadeoflan]

ooc post

*flops* hello i'm just here to ramble a bit abt my silly guys don't mind me lmao MDZS SPOILERS!!

ok so. there is plenty of stuff about xichen after the temple Incident, and abt his relationship with the 3zun. but FOR SOME REASON. there's almost nothing about his childhood?? lan wangji gets the "oh he always has to be perfect and he never shows his emotions and he stuggles with the rules" and yes!! that is a problem for him! but i've seen almost nothing about the fact that lan xichen was raised exactly the same fucking way?? if not more strictly because he's sect heir.

if you can look me in the eyes and tell me honestly that: having an absent dad (i doubt lxc has seen his dad in person even once), a mom who you could only visit one a month before she dies when you're 8-9 and being raised in the lan sect as one of the twin jades of lan, who they flaunt like prizes will produce a guy with no problems then uh. i dunno i'll be very shocked because how the fuck??

anyways. people tend to focus on lwj because 1) main love interest, very important character, 2) he is well known for being all icy and distant

but like goddamnit you cannot convince me that lxc just smiling all the time is much better. no one is happy all the time. yes he genuinely is overall much happier than lwj i'd say, but. shakes him. this is not an okay guy!!

lots of people blame lxc for lwj's 33 whip strikes, saying that lxc should have stopped it from happening. yes, he should have tried. but i don't think he could ever have actually stopped it. he may have been sect leader in name at the time, but he wasn't actually doing much sect leading, and like. there are so many lan rules about respecting and obeying your elders. there's no way he could have stopped it. at best he lightens the punishment (which he should have tried to do!!), at worst he's also punished for disobeying

people also blame him for falling for jgy's lies but have you considered: jgy saved lxc's life, and was beaten and tortured for it. i feel like that explains a large amound of lxc's trust in him. combine it with lxc's tendency to see the best in everyone and jgy's acting? mmmmm yeah .-.

also, if anyone's curious as to why meng yao's being so chill, it's because imo, his main goal has always just been to survive. and it's so much easier in this world. ofc, he's still a scheming bastard. there's no stopping that, that's just who he is. he's just scheming for good/benign reasons now, and we can put (affectionate) at the end rather than (derogatory)

thanks for reading if you're here lmao i love these guys sm

[cookinguptales]

wwdits tarot: the empress

Okay, so I’ve already talked about The Empress and The Emperor, but I’ve never found a subject that I couldn’t manage to talk about more.

(I’m… so sorry. For who I am. lmao)

So yeah, okay, here’s III. The Empress.

I was a little unclear before which of the two I’d assign as The Empress and which was The Emperor, but I’ve made my decision. A typical differentiation between The Empress and Emperor is one of gender; The Empress is a mother figure and The Emperor a father one. But both The Sire and The Baron seem to identify as male while having no genitalia that lets them physically sire offspring (I……….. think) so that’s not really a good way to split them.

Instead, I’d like to focus more on other aspects of both cards. The Emperor also has a thread of the ruling class to it, while The Empress tends to emphasize more abundance. So… yes, I decided to make The Sire The Empress.

I’ll elaborate more on The Baron as ruler and leader later, but for now, I’ll focus on The Sire’s abundance.

Now, The Empress is a hugely maternal card. It symbolizes motherhood, nurturing, abundance, femininity, nature, etc. It’s not just literal motherhood but also the sense of something greater than all of us that birthed and sustains us all. Think… Mother Nature. That kind of situation.

The Sire, though presumably unable to sire physical children, actually has more descendants than anyone else — even probably Genghis Khan, Colin. Every vampire that has ever been and ever will be is descended from The Sire, and he is actually peculiarly… nonviolent, compared to other vampires of his stature.

He has seen all, it seems, and he has seen all fade away. He has spent eternity locked in a tiny, little box. And when he finally escapes, he doesn’t take revenge on anyone. He doesn’t attack anyone except for necessary sustenance and to escape from people he thinks are trying to kill him. And when he realizes that no one is trying to hurt him, he stops fighting back and instantly acquiesces to his new home with The Baron.

Let’s all be real with each other, would most vampires in his situation be so chill about all that? God. Just imagine if Nadja were locked in that room for five minutes. Nah. For a vampire, The Sire actually seems somewhat gentle, for all that he’s a terrifying, ageless little gremlin.

If you ask me, there’s a sweet sort of fondness between The Sire and The Baron, like The Baron has taken him by the hand and is finally introducing him to a modern world that he barely understands himself, and The Sire in turn never makes The Baron feel like he is any less than he should be. The two of them do seem like a partnership, and one that’s strongly associated with being the mom and dad (or I guess dad and dad, or sire and sire) of the main group. And if anything, it seems like being around The Sire has calmed The Baron quite a bit. He’s gone downright domestic by the time we see him in The Wedding.

THEY’RE IN LOVE

So… I think it’s fair to say that The Sire fulfills the sense of gentleness, fertility, and abundance that we need for The Empress — or at least as much as any character in this show might. He is far older than any other character, and has become staid, quiet, and almost affectionate now that he’s free of his cage. He does in some ways feel like the ageless, understanding mother of all vampires.

Even if he is more aware than anyone that all love turns to dust in the end. :’)

(Anyway, who ever said ya gotta be female to be a mother anyway? We do what we want here.)

Now, for the imagery…

As always, we start with the Rider-Smith-Waite tarot version of the card:

The original Empress sits on her throne surrounded by fields of grain to symbolize her dominion over abundance, life, and all growing things. The stars on her crown symbolize her dominion over the months of the year and time itself, and the pomegranates on her dress symbolize fertility.

Now… none of that quite suits The Sire’s brand of fertility and life.

I think, if you’ll allow me to be a romantic, I would make The Emperor and The Empress to be twinned cards. Both cards traditionally feature thrones, but I’m thinking about the way that The Sire and The Baron like to sit together in their living room with The Hellhound…

Instead of a field of grain with a river running through it, I would have The Sire seated in a field of desolation. Heaps of earth and rivulets of blood and cold, wizened trees. To the outside observer, this would be a scene of death, not life. But to The Sire, these are all features of the life he has given and the life he has created for himself. He has left heaps of ancestral soil all over the world, and his blood runs through the veins of every vampire. His new roommate just loves burning trees, and would be currently lighting one of them on fire.

No crown on his head, but above him, 12 stars shine in the night sky.

Rather than a traditional throne, I would have The Sire seated amongst all this in a comfortable chair, and rather than a scepter, he would be raising a chalice full of blood — his blood, in fact, which has been given to countless vampires to drink.

Like The Empress, he would be seated facing somewhat to the left — all the better to make a toast with The Emperor, The Baron, who in his card will be seated facing the right with his own chalice in his hand.

What can I say? I’m a sucker for love and violence. :’)

wwdits tarot masterpost

[guccigarantine]

Michael Woe.Begone is the most character of all time and I refuse to shut up about him so please enjoy 4 minutes of everyone’s favorite time traveling cowboy 

Transcript: 

Mike: Anne found some settings that suggested that “excess travelers” as we had been calling them could be “consolidated”. I was skeptical. I couldn’t imagine a scientific mechanism through which that was possible. Once it happened you defacto had two different people with two different minds. I knew first hand how different, how disagreeable and incoherent those minds could be. One of mine was a fucking cowboy.

[Honk from episode 73 begins playing] 

“Hey Mikey, nice to meet you. Name’s Michael, around here they call Mikael.”

“Well, Mikey boy good news is big dog Mike Walters here to bail you out.”

“I’m too damn old for people to call me Mikey. I’m leaning into this whole grizzled old man thing.”

“Well, I don’t wanna get blood on my clothes and, uh you’re the worst dressed here so I think it should be you.”

“Enunciate my boot up your ass how’s that for grizzled old man talk?”

“’Cuz I’m smooth as butter partner.”

“You see her face when I tipped my hat? She got a kick out of it.”

“Damn straight partner.”

“I’ll have you know I’m the fastest gunslinger in this whole car.”

“I understand Cthulhu he’s literally just a guy chilling.”

“I’m just a cowboy with a heart of gold.”

“Surprise buckaroo it was me all along.”

“Gimme my hat back you ungrateful, green horned, son of a—“ [STATIC]

“Ornery is what he is. Ornery, what a word. Ornery. Ornery.”

“We kill people all the time and normally it’s just ‘cause someone told us to and we don’t even get to eat those people.”

“It’s a dummy LinkedIn page. Did you think I had a real LinkedIn page? What would I put on it?”

“Those were tactical cheese burgers.”

“Yep, he’s touching my bumper!”

“Hey! Wake up fuckass!” [SMACK] 

“I’m a goddamn cowboy.”

“Get your finest hostage taking attire on pilgrim.”

“It’ll be fine… or we’ll die. I think it’s about fifty fifty.”

“Eyes on the prize Mikey-bear. 

“The end with the hole in it is the one you point at the other guy.”

“You know you’re a lot easier to stuff into a car dead.”

“Mike, I know you’re a scared little puppy-dog in an unforgiving world but just take his phone, okay? I need you to do this for me it’s not weird until you make it weird.”

“Ahoy matey. If it isn’t the scurvy cur, Mike Walters.” 

“We are in the Gulf of Alaska. You’ll never guess what ocean that’s in.”

“It’s high noon, pilgrim.”

“Get in dipshit, we’re going for a ride!”

“And if I’m not back by then you can assume that I got enticed by a merman.”

“Look all the way out there and then out there too— every direction. See all the favor you did us.”

“Hang onto your hat partner!”

“I should join the rodeo.” 

“Shame I don’t got my hat. Hope he can still tell that I’m a cowboy.”

“Did I leave the oven on? Whatever.”

“Darn tootin.”

“Bruno! [Snaps] Сидеть! Хорош! Хорош, Bruno!”

“Turns out waking up to your upper half being separated from your lower half by some drywall ain’t pleasant.”

“Darn tootin.”

“I’d take you lot yelling over Mike’s baby voice he keeps doing for the dog.”

“Howdy, Mikey.”

“Hey, you little snitch.”

“Quit yelling over each other, you’re scaring Bruno. Sorry Bruno. Сидеть.”

“Shuffle the deck better next time dipshit.”

“Mike, I swear if you don’t throw that ball for him you and Bruno are going missing too.”

“Yes, sir Mr. Walters! I’ll be a good boy.”

“I bought him a whole chicken just for him.”

“Anyway, I love that movie, Grizzly Adams. It’s really gay.”

“Must of got you two mixed up then huh? Guess I’m lyin’ then.”

“I would be rubbin’ it in.”

“Shit! Shit! What time is it?”

“Was they close? Apologies Charlie, he don’t know everything I do.”

“I fucked up!”

“We killed him,” Michael said. “Mikey, we’re trying to recruit her we can’t pussyfoot around.”

“10-4 good buddy.”

“The Cowboy Iteration, if you will.”

“Get it together quick Mike I done fucked up.”

“Be seein’ y’all,” Michael tipped his hat. 

[Music fades out]

Michael: Do you think that he thought that was my actual voice?”

Mike: Maybe not at the very end, but for almost the whole time, yeah I think he did! 

[pitty-aegis-parlor]

Thoughts on:

Ethan

Kris

Lyra

Brendan

May

Lucas

Dawn

Hilbert

Hilda

Nate

Rosa

Callem

Serena

Elio

Selene

Victor

Gloria

Florian

Juliana

Ooc: these are all the player characters besides Red and Leaf

Uuuuhhh that’s a lot of people… dunno if I’ll be able to give my opinions on them all… let alone the others also joining in on their opinions.

I play Pokémon and watch the anime, should I give my opinions?

Oh, yes please Mythra!

‘Kay then, let’s begin the experiment subjective opinions.

Ethan: Uhh I guess cool?

Kris: Has badass drip. Damn shame she didn’t come back in the remakes.

Lyra: Pretty cool despite her replacing Kris. She looks similar to Mario in terms of clothing.

Brendan: Who?

May: Yooo it’s her, the absolute character ever! Loved her in the anime!

Lucas: Has the same name as the kid I really feel bad for. Read the manga so I know he’s very chill and as gluttonous as a Munchlax.

Dawn: Her sibling-like friendship dynamic with Ash is really cool, and I love that she has a subplot separate from him with multiple, distinct rivals of hers to challenge.

Hilbert: His name is just… I dunno why his name is really lame! His character design on the other hand looks really cool.

Hilda: The pink-haired, axe-wielding girl from Fodlan who just loaf’s around all day? Just kidding I’m talking about another Hilda. Don’t have much strong feelings on this one though, outside of the fact her jackets cool.

Nate: I read Big Nate. That’s all I have to say really.

Calem: Imagine existing in the same region as Serena and expecting to be even a quarter as popular as her?

Serena: Yooo it’s her, the extremely popular gal everyone loves! She’s pretty cool and nice, she reminds me heavily of my sis. And yes, I ship her with Ash!

Elio: Silly dude who just want’s to chill out in Alola. Can you blame him?

Selene: Taking away her glove world hat is one of the gravest among many sins committed by the USUM games! 🖕

Victor: Why do I have a felling that when I have a kid with Rex, our child will end up looking like him?

Gloria: Literally me, and I mean that in her canon and fanon depictions of her.

Florian and Juliana: I don’t play barely finished, glitchy messes of games. They are also completely dripless.

Ash: The most guy ever. Proud of him for finally becoming world champion!

Liko and Roy: Absolute goobers who don’t deserve even a quarter of the hate they get.

Anyway’s that my opinions on all the Mc’s of Pokemon, I hope you enjoyed that.

[rotisseries]

The end of the year is near! Give a shoutout to your favorite blogs and tag them to spread positivity before the year ends!

yay!!! right before the new year!! ok lemme put this under a readmore aldjdsslf here's all my favorite blogs (mutuals lmao) in no particular order

@bittersweet-taffy! jayme you are a ride or die mutual!! we were each other's top blogs for a REASON!! you are a delight on the dash, I love your fics, and I love that we can always dm each other posts we don't like and be haters together<333 that is maybe a weird thing to be loving about but I do not care my life would be SOO much worse if I made a tumblr post everytime something pissed me off I love bitching to you!!! and you are so nice and sweet to me the duality of man honestly!! and you made me a riotgrrl essentials playlist!!! one of the best new friends I've made this year I would lavender marry you honestly, hope you have a great new year!<333333

@milf-harrington hii theo!! you are so cool!! I love all your artwork!! and you are so chill which is great bc when we first became mutuals you were a little intimidating akdjfhdjs. you are the best mutual to talk about a steddie ghost au with and I love the writing snippets you've shown me! I also still love that my meme is on your wall akdjdjjssk! and I'm still not as familiar with the nobodies hero characters and lore as I am with tbos but I love them so much!!! they are great!!! you are also so funny and nice and I just love seeing you on the dash! I hope your 2023 is amazing<33333

@hella1975 HI HELLA. LOVE YOU AND YOUR MONSTER OF A FIC!! I ALSO LOVE [redacted bc I'm tagging the main and not the side blog but you know what characters and world I love so so so so so so much]!! your writing is so awesome but if we're being honest I did not follow you for that I actually followed you bc you are hilarious in your author's notes you are SO funny and you have such a vibrant personality you are so much fun to talk to which is great for the intimidation factor you initially had of "oh my god I'm talking to a cool fanfiction author" I'm still so amazed we are mutuals but it's proof that being annoying in the inbox will get you somewhere! also I love your taste in music admittedly I do not actually listen to the recommendations very often bc I take forever to listen to new music but when I do it rocks my world I will never be the same again after you introduced me to ethel cain! love you hope your 2023 is great!<33333333

@gloomybirdie GLOOMY. YOU ARE THE EPITOME OF "LETTING THE MUTUALS GET AWAY WITH THINGS YOU'D INSTA BLOCK ANYONE ELSE FOR". YES THIS IS ABOUT THE ICED MILK. BUT IGNORING THE ICED MILK I LOVE YOU AAND YOUR ART YOU'RE ALSO SO FUNNY I HAVE LOTS OF HILARIOUS MUTUALS AND YOUR ART IS SO NICE TO LOOK AT I AM STILL OBSESSED WITH THE GARFIELD PFPS YOU DREW BTW!! ALSO LOVE THAT I HAVE AT LEAST ONE MUTUAL WHO CARES ABOUT MY LOZ POSTING! I HOPE YOU HAVE A GOOD NEW YEAR<33333333

@andiwriteordie hi andi!!! you are my sweetest mutual, you said such nice things about me on your post!! everyone else on this list is a little bitch (affectionate) to me sometimes but you're always sincerely like "yeah rori is great" it's just lovely! anyway more importantly, I love your writing omg everything you write is so good and you write SO much it's SO impressive and you are another mutual who is DEFINITELY too cool for me but I am so glad the hadestown byler post led to mutualism akdjfjsjkf. also you have great taste obviously! love seeing you on the dash and I hope you have a good new year!<3333

@elmaxed hi lumi! we admittedly do not talk too much which is something i should fix but I love seeing your posts on the dash!! you are so nice and sweet and the willel ceo to me!! I also love your blog theme it always looks so pretty! hope your new year is great!!<333333

@lyoshaland hi lyosha one of my mutuals from BEFORE the st insanity hiii!! love you and love seeing on the dash even though I Do Not know what's going on with andor, but you don't know what's going on with st so it's great it's literally parallel play aldjdjsksks have a happy new year!<333

@lordrei hi rei I love your art!! and I love that you're a serial zukka commenter I love when I read a fic and see you in the comments like oh hi!! we don't interact too much on tumblr but I have NOT forgotten the debate on my marriage to yue in the taob discord aksjddhdjjsbdb love you hope your 2023 is awesome!!<33333333

and then anyone else I follow or who follows me that I didn't tag, I also love you all you're all great aksjfhsks have a happy new year<333333