#bc why else same color scheme???

[basschan]

I got my hands on, and fixed, a Coronet super 12! And while it was sitting on my desk today I noticed something-

[liquidstar]

Between commissions I finally managed to finish this OC set of parent characters! If the looks aren't enough to show you who their kid is, the background colors match them ^_^ but of course more details below!

Name: Thuban

Name origin: The former pole star, before the north star (Polaris), it's name means "Large snake" and is referred to as the “Dragon's tail”

Pronouns: He/him

Age: N/A

Relation: Raised Polaris, though they're not related by blood and have a somewhat distant relationship, until he suddenly went MIA

Weapon: Spear (Same as Polaris's)

Ethos (Power): N/A

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Make no phallic jokes about the large snake thing and you'll be rewarded

Name: Ananke

Name origin: A moon of Jupiter, named for the mythological spirit of necessity, inevitably, and compulsion

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Bella's mother, she raised her to be a warrior

Weapon: Bardiche

Ethos (Power): Indomination (The ability to freeze the movement of objects and people, and lock them in place)

Flaw power is based on: Her strict enforcement of obedience through authoritarianism, and a lack of concern for the wishes of others

Notes: She believes in tough love. It's better in the long run to give your kid strength rather than affection.

Name: Rhea

Name origin: A moon of Saturn named after the Titan known as the mother of the gods

Pronouns: She/her

Age: 38

Relation: Saiph's mother, though she gave him up to the guild when he was very young

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Was unable to take care of a baby at the time, and gave Saiph to the guild. She wishes she'd visited beyond that but it's probably too late now...

Name: Arche

Name origin: One of Jupiter's moons, it's name comes from the muse of new beginnings and is associated with springtime

Pronouns: He/him

Age: 7

Relation: Saiph's half-brother. Neither currently knows the other exists

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: He's just a little guy. He likes flowers and playing with toys. He wants to be a cool hero like his dad

Name: Poerava

Name origin: A star in Tucana, the Maori word for a black pearl of mystical beauty and perfection

Pronouns: She/her

Age: -

Relation: Al's mom. She mostly raised him on her own while her husband was with the knights.

Weapon: None

Ethos (Power): None

Flaw power is based on: N/A

Notes: Probably the best parent of the bunch if we're being real.

[n0v4t33z]

The Piece of Eight - Assimilate and Assault

Pairings: Capt. Hongjoong X Female Reader , Crewmate San x Female Reader (Overall not chapter specific)

Genre: Pirate AU, Romance, historical-ish (not really), Action, Angst, Non-Idol AU

Word Count: 5.1k

Tags/Warnings: For Mature Audiences, Violence, Language, mentions of blood and gore, Highly Suggestive at times (This is a warning for the whole story overall)

Chapter specific: Some suggestive conversations?, straight up violence for some of it (HERE'S YOUR WARNING IF YOU DON'T LIKE GRAPHIC VIOLENCE), enemy says vulgar shit to y/n, lots of blood, y/n's PTSD makes a small appearence, Mingi being a little weird (let me know if there's anything else)

MINORS DO NOT INTERACT!!

Spotify Playlist ⚓ | Masterlist 🏴‍☠️

Author's Note 💌: Hi I finally had some time to edit and post this lol it's very short but it gives you a peek into MC's first day with the teezers. Also I had to change the color scheme bc Tumblr wanted to be mean and remove the yellow text option so I chose orange bc ateez. Tbh I've been so tired from work I've been procrastinating editing this and i've just been working on the most recent chapter of the story which is easy writing but I decided I need to at least post something so I hope you enjoy this chapter and please look forward to the next one! - N 🌙

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A few hours later I wake up and it’s dark. Eledonia was also now gone from the horizon and as I look around at the endless dark sea I realize a blanket is wrapped around me.

It was most likely Seonghwa since Hongjoong did say he’d be coming by later to show me to my room. I keep my gaze fixed in the direction of Eledonia and now is when it sinks in that I will not be seeing my family in awhile. I sit there welling up in my own thoughts until a gentle tap on my shoulder disturbs them, it was Seonghwa. 

He gives me a soft smile and says “Hey, you’re awake now. Let me show you to your room so you can sleep comfortably.”

 I get up and he helps me with my bag while I silently follow behind him with the blanket still wrapped around me since It was quite chilly. We walk down to the crew’s quarters which is located towards the front of the ship. I walk down and I notice nothing was separated, everyone was sleeping in the same room.

 I could see six figures fast asleep in their own beds then Seonghwa leans over and whispers “Go ahead and sleep on my bed, I’ll be keeping watch tonight up in the crow’s nest so I won’t be using my bed. Don’t mind everyone else, sleep well okay?” 

He sets down my things next to his bed and gives me a smile and a nod goodbye. After I’ve quietly settled down on Seonghwa’s bed I notice it’s quite comfortable, more than mine back at home. Which led to me falling asleep pretty quickly.

 In the morning I’m woken up with voices, all of them belonged to the six figures on the beds last night which obviously belong to my crew mates. Since I have a habit of sleeping with a blanket over my head I lay perfectly still and pretend to be asleep then I hear someone say “That’s not Seonghwa. Is that y/n? The Captain’s new protector?”

 For some reason I’m terrified now that I’ve made my existence known. Someone then answers “Nah I don’t think it’s her, why would she be sleeping in here? I’m sure that’s probably Seonghwa being lazy.” 

Suddenly, something presumably a pillow is thrown at me followed by “Get up Seonghwa or you’re not getting any breakfast!” Followed by someone pulling the blanket from over my head harshly then complete silence. 

I open my eyes and and realize 6 men standing around the bed I’m laying on with some of them with their mouths agape. Then someone says “What the fuck? She’s sleeping in Seonghwa’s bed?” 

Slightly irritated from how embarrassed I was I sit there in silence glaring at them. Followed by Mingi chuckling then reaching over to grab my arm  “Hey let’s g-” Before he’s even able to finish his sentence I grab his wrist and twist it “Don’t touch me.”

 Immediately he pulls his hand away and massages his wrist and says “She’s feisty.” The man with puppy like features looks over at the blue haired male “Mingi stop..” 

I throw the pillow at Mingi who gets bonked in the head then manages to catch it “Look, just- can you understand how I was woken up? Like that was such an aggressive and rude way to wake up it was so uncalled for so, can you blame me? Especially your so called superior, you’re really going to disrespect him like that?”

San looks over at Mingi says “I agree with her, that was rude. Especially towards someone who’s not used to the way we play around” 

Mingi playfully punches San in the arm “Loosen up San, it was a joke.” San turns and looks over at Mingi with a glare. 

Wooyoung raises his eyebrow “Wait, so are you really the Captain’s protector?” I bite the inside of my cheek “Yeah, otherwise what else would I be doing here.” Mingi responds “Our-” Yunho immediately covers his mouth “No, stop. Quiet, no”

 Everyone else erupts in laughter. I roll my eyes then I get up and grab my backpack “If you’ll excuse me I need to change.” Wooyoung smiles “Sure.” Someone in the distance then says “You pissed her off, she was so nice the last time we saw her..”

 I walk out of the crew quarters and It just so happened that Seonghwa was walking in that direction and I’m stopped in the middle of the hallway leading to the stairs to go back upstairs.

 “Hey, I was just about to go wake you and introduce you to your other crew members.” I stay silent for a few seconds then I respond in a low voice “No thanks.”

 Seonghwa grabs my arm “Wait, why not? What happened?” I shake my head and pull my arm away from his grasp “I’m going to change..”

 I walk upstairs towards the deck to look around and head towards the room the Captain walked into last night. Surely he must be in there right?

I knock on the door and carefully enter the candle lit room “Captain?” 

 He glances over at me and removes his glasses “y/n? Good morning, I didn’t think you’d come here so early. I heard you stayed up pretty late.”

 “I did, but I’m a light sleeper so I woke up pretty easily.” I sit on the leather chair in front of his desk softly squeaking from my weight.

“That reminds me, can I tell you something? I don’t want to be worrisome on my first day here but this just kind of bothers me.” Hongjoong nods giving me a concerned look “Did something happen?”

“Yeah kind of. Your crewmates are assholes, they threw a pillow at me thinking I was Seonghwa, is that really how they treat your first mate?”

 Hongjoong lets out a small laugh “Well, yes but the respect is there don’t worry that’s just how they get along. As for the way you were woken up..” he trails off and lets out a sigh “I’m sorry about that, if you want you have my permission to scold them if they get on your nerves as they tend to have their moments of not being the most pleasant to be around.” 

What? No way he’s letting me scold them?! Is that how much he trusts me? I mean it’s a given the man trusts me with his life, why wouldn’t he when it comes to just standing up for myself and straightening out a couple of grown brats…

”Oh, um. Thank you for that.” Hongjoong’s eyebrow slightly raises “Anything else?” I awkwardly stipple my fingers for a few moments “Um, do you have food? I’m kind of starving” 

Hongjoong smiles “Yeah, second floor below deck. Breakfast should be going on right now. I’ll walk you there.” I look over at his desk and notice he’s writing something immediately feeling guilty for making him stand “oh, uh. No captain, it’s okay. I should learn my way around the ship by myself.” 

Hongjoong hums and I continue “Besides, you’re busy doing Captain things..I really don’t want to bother you.” Hongjoong puts his black polished index finger on his lips and hushes me “I promise you’re not bothering me darling, I’m more than happy to show you around. I’ve got plenty of time.”

I stand up and smile “It’s okay Captain, I think it’s best for me to learn things on my own. You are the Captain after all, I’m sure you’re quite busy erm…Being a Captain.” 

Hongjoong smirks then looks at me fondly “Alright, but in case you need someone to guide you Seonghwa and I are here. Don’t forget that.” I quietly nod then he continues “Once you’re done with breakfast go ahead and head over to the crow’s nest and keep watch. I’ll put you in charge of that. If you spot anything let Seonghwa know immediately. ”

 Hongjoong reaches into the side drawer of his desk and hands me a golden spyglass “Thank you Captain, I will.”

  I glance down at it then back up at him where he then motions for me to leave “Alright, go. If you need anything Seonghwa will be there to assist.” 

I bow, slightly intimidated by him not because he's scary but more or so because of how well he carries himself. 

When I exit the captain’s quarters I carefully examine the spyglass. Must be brass or something judging from the nice weight to it. 

Regardless it was so beautiful It had an engraving on it, the same one as the one on Hongjoong’s arm band. I guess this means it’s his, that’s cool. He trusts me even with his personal items.

 While I walk across the deck my stomach growls then I sigh. If I remember correctly Hongjoong said the kitchen was on the second floor? 

I head downstairs and as soon as I enter the mess hall it becomes dead silent. I knew it, I knew it was going to be this awkward. At least Hongjoong isn’t here it would have been much more embarrassing. 

San pats the seat next to his and gives me dimpled smile “y/n, sit here. I saved this seat for you.” 

This man is making me want to smack him. Pretending to be nice. Why is he so flirty? I can only imagine how cringe he was with the girls back in Eledonia. They probably ate that shit up too. Ugh.

 I sit on the seat next to San on the other side to my right was Wooyoung who immediately stands up. To my recollection he's the cook, he was the one wearing an apron while cooking back in Eledonia and the one who gave me the delicious peach tart.

 Seonghwa then brings everyone’s attention over to me“Evreyone, you weren’t properly introduced but this is the Captain’s protector Her name is y/n.” 

The tall one with blue hair and glasses which was Mingi if I remember correctly says “Ah yes, the cute doll back in Eledonia.” Wow, he must have a thing with dolls but honestly I'm not mad at it. 

“You’re cute, I know why Hongjoong chose you now. I think Hongjoong likes cute girls. Cute..” Everyone silently stares at him then Yunho looks over at Mingi in disgust. “Maybe you should stay quiet you’ve used the word cute one too many times for my liking.”

 Yunho looks over at me and gives me a concerned look “He’s weird please don’t listen to him. Anyway, hello y/n It’s nice to see you've decided to join us.” I slightly raise my hand from the table to acknowledge his greeting and take a bite of a piece of bread from a basket. 

From the corner of my eye I notice the guy with Jongho back in Eledonia, Yeosang if i'm not wrong. Looking at him closer now I notice he's got very gorgeous features, one of them being a cool looking birth mark on his left eye (which I didn't notice) , his face being almost too perfect to be real with soft brown hair that compliments him very well giving him a very princely and delicate appearance. 

He stares at me without saying anything which is intimidating noting how gorgeous the man is. The stare wasn’t out of hate, it was more or so out of curiosity until he finally speaks “Who trained you?” 

Slightly taken aback I almost choke on my bread but manage to play it off. He speaks Eledonian, like Hongjoong only much more fluent. “My grandfather, an Eledonian veteran. Why?”

 He gives me a small smile and shakes his head “I was just asking, I’m Yeosang. My apologies for not introducing myself when we first met.” I shake my head “It’s okay, no worries. I appreciate you introducing yourself..” 

San furrows his eyebrows “Hey Yeo, you speak Eledonian? I didn’t know that.” Yeosang glances at San while resting both elbows on the table and his hands laced together “Who do you think taught Hongjoong?” 

Shortly after being gone Wooyoung comes back with a bowl and a cup of tea and gently sets it in front of me. “I hope you like it, it may be a little spicy depending on your spice tolerance but it should still be good.. ” 

I silently nod and take a sip of my tea then Seonghwa says “So y/n, how’d you sleep? You didn’t get seasick?” I pick up my eating utensil and mix my food.

“Well, besides being woken up in the rudest most uncalled for way ever. It was actually pretty comfortable, more than my old bed so I fell asleep almost instantly.” The whole table stays quiet with exception of a few of them clearing their throats and awkwardly adjusting themselves in their seats.

 Seonghwa looks over at the rest of the guys and forces a smile when he looks back at me “Well at least you slept well up until that point.” I shove a spoonful of food in my mouth and nod, San remorsefully speaks “So um, about this morning. Sorry we thought you were Seonghwa and we kind of ambushed you without your permisson.”

 I shrug taking another sip of my drink “What’s done is done, it’s fine.” Jongho, the very well built dark haired male with a very friendly face says in an apologetic tone “We should have honestly checked before we pulled something like that. I’m sure that’s the reason you’re being so cold towards all of us which we understand.” 

Woah this guy hit the nail on the head with that one. “You’re right, you guys were assholes but now with the Captain’s full permission if you ever cross the line with me again I have his personal blessing to kick your asses.”

Mingi says under his breath “Ah, that’s so hot..” San looks over at Mingi like he just insulted him and flatly says “No..” 

Seonghwa glares at both males, something told that pissing him off wasn’t a good idea. As it is he’s already intimidating. “How about you both calm down and behave. You both act like you didn’t just meet up with women back in Eledonia” 

Wooyoung giggles looking in San’s direction playfully nudging my arm so that I could watch the whole ordeal go on. “Seonghwa’s right, weren’t you two the ones who were flirting away and getting back rubs from Eledonian women later in the evening?”

 San crosses his arms in front of his chest “They were just back rubs!” Everyone looks in his direction then Wooyoung fires back “You and I both know you’re lying about that, that's not the only thing that was getting rubbed”

 I roll my eyes at how utterly embarrassing this whole conversation was getting and continue to eat my food completely tuning out the conversation happening. Everyone explodes in laughter while San sits there festering in annoyance and Mingi awkwardly laughs it off with the others.

 Once they settle down a bit Jongho says “That’s true one of them didn’t come back until midday the next day so that says alot about what actually happened.” I eat the last of my food and drink the remaining tea from my cup and I get up not caring we were all in mid conversation.

“I’m done eating. Wooyoung, the food was delicious.” I give Wooyoung a smile and in return he blinks “Oh, you ate fast.. Do you want seconds?” I shake my head and get up “No thank you, I’m full.” 

San turns to me and looks at me a bit sad “You’re leaving already?” I nod dusting my lap off from the leftover bread crumbs “Yep, see you around.” 

Before anyone has a chance of saying anything else I excuse myself from the clearly very private conversation going on in the background. I guess I'm going to have to get used to conversations like this, men are so… Weird.

After that chaotic breakfast I find my way back to the crow’s nest, it was a nice change of environment. I wonder if this is the only thing I’ll be doing while we’re at sea, then again there is no one I need to protect Hongjoong from anyway so I guess it makes sense I’m in charge of keeping an eye. 

After a few uneventful days of me keeping watch, which were either cargo ships or just other ships in general who weren’t of intrest. I basically lived up at the crow’s nest and only really came down to shower or use the bathroom since Wooyoung would usually bring up my food while on duty. 

Today was a different story, on the horizon I could make out a ship in the distance then I look into the spyglass and notice a ship with a peculiar flag. Unlike our flag, theirs was red with a skull on it except this skull had two spears crossing behind it then my stomach sinks. 

I quickly climb down then I run over to Seonghwa who was talking to Mingi and in between breaths I say “I don’t know who they are but we have company from the north east.”

Seonghwa quickly puts down the book in his hand and runs outside onto the deck then pulls out his spyglass, and stares at the ship for what felt like forever “The Scarlet Sailors… The Captain needs to see this.” He turns to me “Prepare for battle these pirates are quite tough, ring the bell.” 

It’s like a switch instantly lit up I run over to the bell and ring it as loud as I can while Seonghwa runs into the captain’s quarters to alert the Captain. My first looting with the crew and I’m not going to lie but I’m scared. What if I die not even three seconds after stepping foot on that boat.

 Meanwhile the whole ship goes hectic to prepare everything and a few minutes later Hongjoong steps out and looks through Seonghwa’s spyglass with a big smile on his features “Evreyone, looks like we hit the jackpot. We will strip them from everything.” 

He hands Seonghwa his spyglass back then looks over at me and gives me a bright smile “Use this time to practice, don’t worry if you kill them. The government doesn’t care, so neither should we. Also, unless I call for you do your thing I’m not useless.” I hum and touch the gun on my holster then I smile. Here’s my chance to show off.

 As the ship gets closer Jongho aims the canon at the ship and shoots directly hitting the ship in the front of the ship he then signals San and Yeosang to do the same permanently disabling the ship due to Jongho’s successfully being able to break the main mast of the ship. 

Right as Yunho and Mingi begin to set up the plank a few people of the enemy begins to shoot at us causing us to hide. 

Seonghwa gently squeezes my shoulder “Good luck, and please protect our Captain.” I turn and give him a smile for the first time in a while “No problem.” once the plank is clear I notice the captain of the ship immediately heads over towards Hongjoong.

 He’s not useless he can fight, I just need to clear these people out then I can help him. I shoot my gun at any of the crew mates running towards me until I have no ammo left after that I pick up a sword from one of the bodies on the ground then I climb up one of the shrouds of the ship. 

Before jumping I take a deep breath and jump down onto a crew mate who was about to shoot Yeosang in the back so I proceed to stab him in the back of the neck with the blade exiting through the other side of the man’s throat.

 When I pull it out of the man’s neck the sound alone of the man choking on his own blood causes Yeosang to turn and notices the man on the floor then he looks back at me and smirks.

I pick up the man’s gun and shoot the man behind Yeosang and I smile. I notice a scary looking man about to gang up on Wooyoung who was already busy with a sword fight so I give Yeosang a two finger salute and while running to Woooyung’s aid I shoot the man on the side of the head causing him to fall to the ground limply.

 While I look around to see if I could assist anyone I feel a hand pull me back by the hair and begins to crush my throat with the other then I put the barrel of the gun under the bearded man’s chin and I pull the trigger causing him to fall back. In the midst of me running away I see another huge scary bald man with a cigar in his mouth begin to walk towards me with evrey intention to kill.

 “You can’t go around killing people like this little lady, you’ve been a bad girl.” I smirk then I pull the trigger of the gun only for it to be empty then I let out a frustrated groan so I grab the sword again then he lets out a laugh. 

"You wanna fight with swords? Alright, I'll do you a favor before I kill you then although I can't guarantee I won't fuck you up pretty girl." He grabs a sword from the nearest body And does a few practice swings. 

I run towards the man and swing to aim at his midsection but he successfully blocks my sword and knocks it out of my hand. The man lets out a laugh and grabs me by the wrist and pulls me towards him then he rests his blade on my neck, pressing just enough for me to acknowledge the blade on my throat drawing some blood.

 The smoke from his cigar hitting me in the face while I lay completely still “What a shame I have to kill you I really wanted to fuck that pretty little face of yours-”

 Feeling complete disgust by the vulgarities this man was saying I pull out a dagger hiding under my belt and stab the man once in the midsection then another right in the eye causing him to drop his cigar to the floor and scream in agonizing pain.

 “You fucking bitch! I’ll kill you!” I pick up the sword I dropped and motion the angry man to attack "Come and get me you ugly troll.." 

The man leans in and swings his sword in my direction grazing my arm only managing to rip the fabric of my sleeve. I parry the angry man and unfortunately for the man his anger combined with only having one eye grants me an opening to lunge and slash followed by a stab right on his stomach causing him to fall on his knees and drop the sword on the ground.

 I pick up the cigar he dropped from the floor and push the end of the lit cigar into the wound in his eye.

The man screams in pain and clutches onto his face squirming on the floor until I pick up the shot gun off of a body and shoot the man dead. It's over, finally. 

I slowly close my eyes and let out a soft sigh, when I open my eyes I look at the state of the situation and see the captain of the Scarlet Sailors had been defeated or more so shot in the face. 

The rest of his crew only a handful were left alive and were are all tied up while San kept watch the rest of the guys were quickly hauling alot of supplies and money onto the ship.

 A few minutes go by of me being confused and not really knowing what to do si I decide to help San keep watch on the rival crew mates. From a distance I hear a whistling noise only to realize it was Hongjoong, who was looking in my direction and motions me back onto the ship.

 Both San and I walk back to the ship, leaving the rival crew on the boat. It still hadn’t dawned on me how brutal this whole situation is in reality. How my first encounter with true violence would be the one to light a fire in me that won’t be put out which will put a crack on my moral compass.

Once we get on the ship I begin walking towards the bathroom before Yeosang stops me “Hey, are you okay? That slice on your neck is bleeding.” I gingerly touch my neck then look down at my hand to see it coated with blood.

 Of course internally i’m panicking but I can’t let anyone know that the captain’s protector is a wimp, so I hum quietly while looking down at the blood. “The bleeding will stop, I’ll be fine.”

 Yeosang shakes his head “You have to go get that cleaned or else it’ll get infected.” I smile and wipe the blood with my finger on my inner wrist.“I’m going to shower so no worries the wound will get cleaned, thanks for your concern though.”

I give Yeosang a soft smile and before I even see his reactiom I walk over to the bathroom and close the door behind me and I begin to undress.

While I’m undressing I notice my hands are shaky, it must be the adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Growing slightly irritated because of how flimsily it made my hands feel I clench both my hands together and sigh. 

Slowly a small smile forces itself onto my features “I did a great job today, for my first day. I can’t be entirely disappointed.” I stand in the warm water staring at the ground with the slight sting on my neck from my wound. 

Suddenly I get flashes of all the people I’ve killed today and I will admit I do feel remorse for what i did as I’m only human but what Hongjoong told me keeps repeating itself in my head “The government doesn’t care, and neither should we.”

 Which means technically they aren’t the government since pirates are anti government but they did begin to head straight towards us and willing to attack us so we were in full right to attack them back.

This wasn’t wrong was it? Am I just overthinking everything right now because of the amount of people I just killed? I don’t know honestly, all I know is my body is reacting to it.

I start to feel slightly dizzy and a bit light headed so I sit under the water to rest a little bit. How can I be so weak I’m reacting like this, what happened to my grandfather’s training? No wait, his training didn’t include how to cope with killing people. 

After a long maybe 5 or 10 minutes of me feeling weird I eventually finish showering and tightly wrap the bathrobe around my figure and step back out onto the deck. It’s as if Yunho was waiting for me outside of the bathroom he hurriedly walks towards me “Yeosang told me about your wound.” 

I brush out my hair with my fingers “Oh, I’m fine.” He rolls his eyes and puts both his hands on my shoulders and turns me in the direction of the crew’s quarters “Yeah, I’m not taking any risks then you die on us and the Captain will get mad at me for not doing my job which is attend all the injuries our crew gets.” 

I sigh slightly rolling my eyes but not enough where Yunho notices “Yeah, okay then.” When we go down to the quarters he sits me down on the first bed entering the place.

 “Sit, I’ll be right back.” He walks over to a small cabinet in the room and pulls up a chair next to me. He gives me an awkward smile and points at my robe.

"Can you um, pull it down a little bit?” I nod and grab the soft fabric of the bathrobe and gently pull it down exposing my neck but still covering my chest. 

He clears his throat and silently begins to clean my wound up until he probably get tired of how painfully awkward it was so he breaks the ice and says “So, I saw you fighting and you’re pretty good. I now understand why the Captain was so hellbent on you joining us.”

 I awkwardly smile at Yunho “Yeah.” He chuckles and awkwardly smiles back  “You looked like a cat on top of those shrouds, weren’t you scared?” 

Stiffly I nod trying not to disturb what Yunho was doing “A little but when you’re set to kill you just kind of forget evreything around you and you just focus on your task.” Yunho hums “I see, just remember to be careful. You’re meant to protect the Captain and if you get hurt you’re neglecting your purpose.” 

Well that’s a bit.. Outright. What a strange way to tell me to be careful. “Okay, i’ll be careful. I'll try my best not to worry the Captain.” 

After a few more minutes of awkward small talk and him cleaning my wound he finally finishes and dresses my wound then puts away his first aid kit. I pull my bathrobe back up and I head over towards the door.

 I really wanted to say thank you but for some reason I couldn’t bring myself to say anything until I finally manage to say in a very low almost indistinguishable mumble “Thank you.” Yunho turns back to me and says “Did you say something?”

 Great, he didn’t hear me. I look so dumb right now. Immediately I shake my head and walk out without another word. I stand by the railing looking out onto the sea, unfortunately It hasn’t even been a month yet and I’m already kind of sick of seeing nothing but water.

 I might as well learn to get along with everyone even if that means I have to fake my personality. They can all be afraid of me but if I keep this up and keep being so quiet and unaproachable I’ll not only get bored but I’ll be miserable. I also can’t latch onto Seonghwa and the Captain the whole time I’m here I need to make friends even if these guys are a bit…Weird.

 I hear steps approaching me from behind and a familiar voice emerges behind me “I’ve brought you some clean clothes. I don’t know if they’re your style but Hongjoong chose them. I’m sorry we didn’t give these to you earlier and you had to go into battle with your personal attire. I am sorry your old ones got ruined.” 

I turn and it was Seonghwa, skin with a slight sheen of sweat on his exposed skin which was just his neck and face with a small cut under his eye and a busted lip. “Ah, It’s fine. I’ll keep those clothes as a memento of my first battle with The Piece of Eight.” I shake my head and see his slightly worried expression shift to a small smile.

“Good job out there by the way. Yeosang told me you saved him twice and you helped out Wooyoung. I also heard you took out the juggernaut first mate of the Scarlet Sailors.” I nervously laugh “Thank you, I was only fulfilling my duty.” 

He hands me my clothes and smiles “This might have been your first battle but it certainly won’t be your last.” I look down at the clothes and I couldn’t tell first glance if I was going to like them. It wasn’t until I actually tried them on I saw and could definitely tell Hongjoong chose them. 

Very high fashion, it’s a very nice blend of their style just a bit more feminine. I like it. It was a black blazer with a beautiful pin on it the shape of an hourglass with silver detailing and a top that was a black fitted vest and some black pants , boots and.. A wide brim fedora. 

Kind of an odd choice, I thought pirates wore those weird looking hats? Not Hongjoong though, I can tell this man goes against what everyone expects of him. He forges his own path even with the smallest of things as simple as clothing. Something tells me I'm working for right man, the right cause.

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[tacagen]

did you know that negaduck from darkwing duck was based off reverse-flash? yeah, that doesnt even BEGIN to describe what's actually been going on between their character histories..

first, negaduck wasnt just inspired by or a reverse-flash parody. he's a literal copy-paste of silver age thawne with a very few changes of origin place from future to parallel universe and identity from some random future guy to main hero's evil twin, because originally eobard was fixated on being a Criminal and not particularly flash's nemesis. back in the day, thawne constantly mentions how much he loves his criminal life. half of his lines are negaduck-worthy purely because the rest is related to being a speedster scientist. my personal favorite as an example:

he passes the speed limit law in central city so that barry couldnt use superspeed without breaking it but thawne still could because he is 'a hardened criminal'. he invents rays that turn everything inflicted evil (something even negaduck has never done (ig solely because megavolt's already done it in the negaduck episode where he accidentally splits darkwing into good dw (posiduck) and bad dw(negaduck, with a black and gray color scheme), and while yellow negaduck is a different character this is basically how the idea of him was born and the writers just decided to keep him in a different form bc the gray one merged back into normal dw at the end which is super funny. imagine coming up with a duck villain and going 'oh this guy actually reminds me a lot of reverse-flash with all that opposite/negative thing. LET'S PAINT HIM IN THOSE COLORS AND GIVE HIM THE SAME PERSONALITY AND SIMILAR ORIGIN THIS TIME'), altho he DOES test the power gem on a cat in jail bird like thawne did with evil rays). he repeatedly tries to get poor former dr alchemy back to crime just because 'crime fun. why cant you see that. im doing it for your own good' and negaduck tried something like that with morgana in feb 14th episode my valentine ghoul (+that brief scene with gos from 2016 comics run where he believes she must be bad deep down inside out of comparsion to nega!gosalyn). negaduck also travels from a whole other world just to fuck around here for fun (there was this bronze age flash issue called flashback where thawne gets lost in the timestream because barry pushed the wrong buttons in his time capsule which is almost exact negaduck's fate in life, the negaverse and everything) and one of another few differences related is that negaduck is shown to be a dictator of his universe's St. Canard who is bored to live somewhere he already has all the power so he travels to another universe to cause problems on purpose.

second. dc's new52. eobard is rewritten again, now he and zoom are kind of one character. but guess what else is new in this version that never happend neither in zoom or professor zoom's lives? thawne is a fucking dictator in his own time. and people tried to fight his rule in flash's name just like friendly four needed darkwing as inspiration to finally fight back for their world.

he gets his own team, acolytes of zoom (i wish i could call them local fearsome 4 but there are 5 of them, making it more of a sinister 6 if you count thawne) which he trains for centuries to fight the flash and betrays later by trying to steal their powers just like negaduck stole f4's in jail bird to become mega-negaduck and if all that wasnt enough, without the mask he straight up looks like negaduck humanization. look at him. this mf is only missing a hat and a cape.

also these sudden black parts in his new speedster suit design? either it is some absolute fucking bonkers of a coincidence or someone on the flash writing team really went 'hey guys you know what would be real funny? lets base new thawne off negaduck. like he was originally based off thawne. i swear no one will notice' and everyone went with that. (i could also mention he has the same dumb motivation for being evil (having shitty childhood/being deep down sad about mistreatment and loneliness) as 2011 dwd comics run negaduck but imo that's too far of a stretch to actually be included)

third. yall know the deal of the first season of cw's the flash? yeah, what if i told you the whole thawne messes with the particle accelerator and causes barry to gain superspeed thing already fucking happend in darkwing duck, episode going nowhere fast?

(the way i lost my mind over this back in the day when i decided to watch dwd just because negaduck reminded me of thawne(i didnt even know he was a direct rip-off, i just went 'oh wait dt universe has this evil fuck that wears the same color scheme as reverse-flash? girl i AM checking the whole thing out just to see if he's anything like thawne'.) and first watched the episode... priceless, still haunts me to this very day. how the hell was that written in 1991. did cw writers just take the idea from dwd too. honestly i cant be sure about anything anymore).

and remember in the duck knight returns (2011 comics run arc) flashbacks there was a super funny thing with negaduck not knowing dw's secret identity and being so proud he cracked the case? remember cw!og!thawne looking for flash's time period and not knowing his identity in 2nd season cameo episode? what the hell was even up with that!!! like guys. guys one of you is the most devoted flash fan from the future and there is NO way none of that kind of information was left a CENTURY after (i mean come on dude couldntve you just asked gideon. she literally had that 2024 newspaper about vanishing and thats at the very least not mentioning she was created by barry) and another is straight up the same fucking person as the hero with the same fucking relatives and enemies. idk take a wild guess??? ((i really wonder if anybody on the wirting team of 2011 dwd run saw not just life, the negaverse and everything but any episode featuring negaduck at all. not only do they ignore the existence of nega!gos in the 'oh he mean bc alone :(' approach, they ignore the very definition of negaduck's character which is literally evil drake mallard. i mean sure hes dumb and may miss obvious clues because of being the same dw just evil but come on, such a comedic situation and never addressed by drake whos literally been in the negaverse and knows they are the same person or by anyone else he coluldve told that? oh well unless drake is also dumb af and thought there never was any drake mallard in the negaverse in the first place and that negaduck is some other guy. which is a real probability i suppose))

also. negaduck's death by being split on billions of evil particles in crisis on infinite darkwings and thawne, being 'exorcised' from nash's body in a form of a negative speed force stream with sparks in 6x15 of cw's the flash.

fourth! yall did watch ducktales 2017 reboot, right? specifically the duck knight returns episode? they introduce a whole new version of negaduck there! and guess what. jim starling, an old darkwing duck (in-universe 90s tv series) actor obsessed with his role, goes fucking nuts because there is a new darkwing duck actor in a new movie and he didnt even know. because he feels forgotten. because no one remembers neither him nor original series (objectievely not true bc obviously launchpad and drake but to jim they just dont count bc reasons. he seems to count only children but calls lp his fan when anthagonizes drake for taking even that from him in the end). because he was replaced and no one even bothered to tell him. he causes a fire on the set, almost kills drake but does have a change of heart at the end after launchpad's speech about what darkwing duck stands for and seemingly sacrifices himself to save drake and lp from the explosion. then they have the worst idea they could have in relation to jim's character ever: for drake to be a real life darkwing duck to honor jim's sacrifice. so naturally he hears that from the sewers or wherever he was hiding to see their reactions(look i am. 100% sure that this is what happened bc that makes so much more sense than jim getting brain damage or whatever from that explosion and waking up to choose violence again for no other reason). he gets hit with the being replacable and forgotten thing once again and renders back to negaduck tendencies, for all we know for good this time as his darkwing suit changes to the yellow-red one. yk who else went on a rampage because he felt forgotten and replaced? you guessed it! the return of barry allen, a 90s classic where thawne goes to 21st century for the first time, thinks he's barry (original-ish flash) because dissociation from trauma of seeing himself being killed by his hero and acts exactly like starling, having the same issues as motivation aka him/barry being forgotten and replaced by wally. he implies wally taking on the flash mantle is most disrespectful to barry. he rants about how he's the only flash and threatens to destroy not only the flash family but the whole central city for forgetting that. he and wally have a conflict of legacy similar to jim and drake's conflict in dt17. he is The starling blueprint only a lot more mentally ill. also we've heard something like the duck knight returns in running scared (this one is less reminiscent of jim but still features some things that werent in the return of barry allen). it's a rebirth arc that introduces another new origin of reverse-flash. now, he's been hyperfixated on barry allen his whole life (on a whole new level i mean) and there was the first meeting in 25th century where they Connected like thawne always believed they would. that day ended up in a fight and thawne's imprisonment because he set up casualties to get attention and praise for being the flash of 25th century but unlike all other versions this thawne has a change of heart after the fight, too. he promises to 'fix everything' including himself, he even goes to therapy afterwards. then he goes to the 21st century to tell barry how much he accomplished since they last met and then sees barry saying to wally one meaningful phrase he said to thawne that perfect day. like it wasnt something special only barry and eobard shared. like the day they met never happened. like he forgot thawne ever existed. like he was replaced as barry's speedster partner/friend/whatever he thought they were after that day by wally. and that shatters thawne so much he runs back to 25th and just decides to become the reverse-flash and make barry suffer until he gives him attention and recognition he deserved. frank angones, i am inside your walls. you CANT deny you based your versions of dw and nd off flash comics and thawne particularly. and more, you legit made reverse!eobarry au and put it in dt in duck forms. i have been losing my mind about it for 3 years now. i am exposing you and there is nothing you can do to escape that.

fifth(ish). yeah, and btw about friendly four from life, the negaverse and everything. did you think they actually escaped being mirrored in the flash? ha. i present to you reverse-rogues from the 25th century aka the renegades, carefully created by zoom and thawne himself, thinking it would somehow be funny.

cant believe hunter once saw it on tv put 2 and 2 together and went 'eobard my dude we need to go full negaverse with the 25th century. we need a friendly four to your negaduck. i swear it'll be Hilarious'. god the only thing they lack at this point is nega!gosalyn (i mean. hunter actually did try something like that with inertia, saving him from the museum and trying to teach him how to torture flashfam into improving them but thad was more of a nega!honker and reverted hunter to disabled powerless state just because. love that kid)

and that's all i have so far, if anyone here also into both yellow-red mfs with no life feel free to comment or even add more because there sure is or at least will be more and no one has the power to stop it.

[merlions]

My godmother who I love and know via many stories but do not know personally very well (lives on the other side of the US from me) saw a photo my mom showed her of a blanket I made and loved it (aww) and requested I make her a blanket (badass) so she could pass it on to her kid etc (BADASS?????? YES) and gave my mom an object which was decorated with colors that she'd like the blanket made in (holy shit yes?????)

The guidelines for this that I have are based on what my mom thinks my godmother wants cause I guess she maybe said the blanket thing half as a joke thinking it'd be too much work to ask me to do? But like lol....what an honor to make an heirloom lmao ofc I'm doing that. So now it's a surprise ig? And my mom can't ask her questions? I'm a little confused on the details of that but she's gonna see if she can come up w an excuse soon to ask her as much as she can abt it without letting on or smth

Anyways the specs my mom said are that 1. it should look somewhat like the blanket I made (buncha granny squares in different patterns with a mandala in the center and Irish lace joining; granny squares should be one color each, central mandala should be all the other colors from the granny squares) and 2. Not super flower focused

So then she shows me the object which has all the colors and it's like this INTENSELY vibrant watercolor type thing that's just like a bunch of flowers, and there are like 25 colors???? Plus most are in like gradients bc watercolor???? I'm like???? My blanket had FOUR colors bc any more and it would have been just such a chaotic mess...I've showed my mom patterns and my own sketches of the only ways I can figure out how to do this and she keeps going "it's too busy" like.....yeah but idk how to get around that????? It either needs a repeating pattern (the same granny square design but diff colors) or a repeating color scheme or else WAY fewer colors idek how I would make a MANDALA w that many colors ?????

Idk why but I'm having like an existential crisis I keep trying to sleep and then rolling over and looking through ravelry or picking up my sketchbook but it's like....nothing is happening it's just the same cycling thru options that aren't gonna work lol

Anyways I also realized I don't even know what a heirloom-able blanket looks like. Like surely it shouldn't be too...crazy? Like "fashion is fleeting but style is forever" guidelines I'd think. Our only heirloom blanket style of thing is one of the first projects my aunt ever made and it's lovely but very clearly like. The very first blanket she ever made. So it's beloved partly for being quirky but I'm assuming that I shouldn't be aiming for that type of thing due to my circumstances of 20ish years doing fiber arts yknow?

WHATEVERRRRR

[darkpoisonouslove]

When we're talking about Griffins color change...

Can we please talk about the fact that Darcys color of her casual outfit is light purple too? A outfit she wears in the first season a lot comparing to the other seasons where she only wears the dark purple one (I know she starts to wear it ik seaosn 3 again but after that we never saw it again)? Just like Griffin, she changes from light colors to dark and like Griffin she also stopped wearing her cute glasses (WHY both of them looked so good with their glasses!). It's like both want to stop being associated with that previous version of themselves while they still hold on to that color scheme bc not everything was just bad about it.

Griffin hated what she did but that doesn't changed anything about the feelings she had/has for Valtor and the moments they shared with eachother just for them. And Darcy maybe hated Griffin and everything that had to do with her when she kicked her and sisters out but she cloud tower was for several years still something like a home and maybe one of the safest places she was during her teenager years. Despite the ending I think she has some really good times there. And both hold on to that memories through the colors. Griffin a bit diffrently but still in the same way.

I hear what you're saying and it makes a lot of sense but Darcy's different outfits coexist in the first season. And the lighter civilian outfit vs darker battle outfit is true for Icy too while Stormy's are pretty much the same color which I think is exactly the significance here? Because the Trix were supposed to appear as random if even excessively mean-spirited school bullies in the first season who are then revealed to actually be villainous enough to want to conquer the entire universe and almost succeed. So Darcy and Icy have a lighter color scheme in their civilian outfits because they're putting up a front while Stormy doesn't even bother to do that as she's always a chaotic baby.

Also, their battle outfits are just more practical for... battle in season 2 as that's all they do. They don't have any chill time and they're always on missions when they leave Shadowhaunt. Only time they wear something else is when they're trying to be undercover at Red Fountain in 2x08. Compare that to season 3 where Valtor doesn't always need them and they are more comfortable in their hideouts so they just hang out in their civilian outfits again. (Lmao, "Valtor is a better boss than Darkar" is not the take I expected to emerge from this 😂 (considering all his manipulation of them while Darkar wasn't even trying in that department.))

I'm just analyzing canon here. However, I do think that you're right about Darcy (and the rest of the Trix) holding on to the good times they had in CT and feeling slighted by Griffin expelling them. They are always looking to muscle back in on CT and take control of it away from Griffin. First in season 2 through their Gloomix power-up and then instantly looking to make use of Valtor's unchecked power by having him secure it for all of them. While a big part of this is definitely their egos being hurt by being kicked out by Griffin, I think there's also a part of them that really perceived CT as their safe haven, their fortress. We don't know anything concrete about the treatment witches receive in canon (besides the ton of unfortunate implications) or about the Trix' lives prior to s1 but I think that they truly felt that with all their power and their ancestry, CT should sort of be like their birth right, that they have a claim on it. Which adds very interesting nuances to them as they seem to have gotten attached to it as not just a comfortable and convenient base of operations but as a stable home, implying they've never had that before. There's certainly a lot going on here!

P.S. The glasses were cool and I wish we'd seen more of them by virtue of more flashbacks with Griffin/more downtime for Darcy as I can't see Griffin making them work in her show outfit (they'd have to be redesigned too) and I think they could be a bit of a safety hazard for Darcy in battle.

[captain-castaway]

for the oc ask game! 🎯 🍀 🎓 i don’t know any of your ocs specifically but I love hearing about people's characters, so chose whoever has been bouncing around your head most recently?

CONGRATS YOURE GOING INTO THE ECHO ZONE bc I need to shift into Echo Mode (it was originally gonna be Sage bc I love putting him in the spin cycle but someone else can ask about them)

Anyways Little Echo time (tag: Brain Goblin) [from the ask game!]

🎯 What do they do best? I actually had a hard time answering this one bc they do. A lot of things, they have very high survival skills and are insanely telepathic, but I think the real answer is Getting Into Places they Shouldn't. They weren't raised in civilized society (kind of a Tarzan/ San Princess Mononoke kinda situation but instead of gorillas it was a single insanely telepathic monster) so they are still learning things like "laws" and "trespassing" and "privacy", and they're also very very curious and desperately want to know things, and they're also a scrabbly little fucker. This all results in them exploring where they shouldn't and hopping into people's minds when they weren't invited. They're a menace I love them.

🍀what originally inspired the oc? Excellent question that I don't fully remember but I can point a few fingers and make a few educated guesses. I created them around the same time I got really into Psychonauts, so that's almost certainly why I went for all the telepathy mindscape stuff with them. I also had the phrase "you have your mother's eyes" rattling around in my head which turned into a literal method of the species they were adopted by passing on said insane telepathic powers: by passing on their eyes to their children. So. Echo. Literally has their mother's eyes (and insane psychic abilities) lol. This one also didn't come until later but I remembered that ages ago I used to play Dragonfable and my preferred class was the psychic rogue with the purple color scheme and. Well. It wasn't intentional but it was almost certainly an influence

🎓how long have you had the oc? Since 2021 or thereabouts according to the first post in their tag, which tracks I think.

Bonus goblin in question:

Thanks for the ask!

[jtl07]

something old, something blue

[on ao3 as well]

Just a thought I had while on the plane this morning - idk when or where this is, let's say Switzerland bc why not, but I was thinking:

Perhaps Beatrice is the type of person who holds back her reaction when she finds something she likes. Which, of course, Ava makes note of, makes it a point of learning to read Beatrice's silences and stillnesses, learning to notice (and that makes Beatrice want to hold back too, not wanting Ava to know what it means, and yet wanting all the same -). 

And it happens with something innocuous, something small, something that, in the grand scheme of things doesn't truly matter so she shrugs her shoulders casually when Ava asks, already stepping away down a different aisle, looking down at their grocery list. But the cart doesn't move when she goes to push it, and she finds Ava looking at her, eyes careful, hands reaching - but not for her, for the cereal she'd verbally dismissed. 

"It's just cereal, Bea," Ava says, quiet, encouraging. "One box isn't going to break the bank."

Beatrice knows Ava's trying to make light of the situation - it's what Ava always does, brings light to all of Beatrice's situations, to her everyday, to her life - but she's frozen in place. Fear, she recognizes in a distant way, as if her brain had become detached from her body, terror. 

But of what? It's just cereal, as Ava has said; just Ava, who's eaten much more questionable selections, whose opinion differs greatly in terms of nutrition and the optimal amount of cheese in an omelette (it's why they have not one but three different types of shredded cheese on their list). Ava who has never shown any disappointment or disapproval, who has done nothing to earn any fear or distrust. But still. 

Beatrice's hand tightens around the cart handle, doesn't look at the cereal on the shelf. No, it won't 'break the bank,' it'll hardly leave a dent in their budget, but she fears that something else will break if she gives in. Something old. 

Ava's hand changes course, lands on Beatrice's, wrapping around the white knuckles. There's a difference, Beatrice has started to realize, between safety and familiarity. She'd thought them one and the same until fairly recently. 

Until she'd learned how it felt to go to the gym and not have any expectations to live up to other than her own; until she'd learned how it felt to step into a clothing store with colors and cuts that had her lingering the racks; until she'd learned how it felt to laugh with Ava on the couch, eating cereal as a late-night snack - just because she could. 

None of these were things Beatrice had ever done before and yet - and yet they felt right. Simultaneously settling and expanding and joyful. And she'd realized, suddenly, just how many things in her life she'd merely tolerated, had chosen out of familiarity and routine. 

But this was something new. It was cereal and it was something she wanted and hadn't even been conscious there was another option, an option other than denial because disapproval was all she'd known - until now, until Ava had asked, until Ava had offered, until Ava. 

Safety was something new. Safety is what Ava was offering, has been offering always, is offering now, her thumb tracing slow patterns along her knuckles. 

"We don't have to get them now," Ava's saying, and Beatrice wants to wrap herself in the warmth of Ava's smile. 

"I - " Beatrice's throat closes up and she hates it, hates how hard it is, hates that she has to put so much effort to let herself give in - 'it's just cereal for goodness sake' - and she feels her whole body shift to accommodate, to adjust, to unlearn and learn anew. 

Ava's other hand reaches up, warms the small of her back. 'You're safe,' Beatrice reminds herself, taking in the tenderness in Ava's eyes, the solid security of her hands. 

"I want to buy it." It's more a mumble then actual words but Ava understands, widens her smile and her hand slides the length of Beatrice's back in pride and reassurance. 

"Then let's buy it," Ava says, nodding in affirmation. She tiptoes to press a kiss to Beatrice's cheek, reaches for a box and tucks it into the cart next to their fruits and vegetables. Her hand stays steady on Beatrice's back and Beatrice leans into the touch as they turn the corner to the next aisle. 

They get the rest of the items on their list without incident (Beatrice talks Ava out of five bags of cheese but only through conceding one extra pint of ice cream) and the cereal gets put away on the shelf with the rest of their breakfast items. It takes a week before Beatrice finally opens it and has a taste. 

They buy two more boxes the next time they get groceries.

[chickensoup-4-mysoul]

herculean (drrr x f!reader) - chapter 15

Chapter 15 - Heart to Heart

synopsis: you go to visit anri after the yellow scarves attack, determine to extend a lifeline to your suffering friend.

word count: 5,501

warnings: mild 'gore' bc shizuo got shot

"what i learned i rejected but i believe again i will suffer the consequences of this inquisition if i jump in this fountain, will i be forgiven?,, forgiven - alanis morisette

The Dollar’s forum was inaccessible. 

Last night’s storm had continued well into the morning. It had been so dark when you woke up that you had initially thought that it was still nighttime. However, you soon found out that you had slept well into the day.

You eagerly went to check the forum, wanting to recount the previous night's events with a clearer mind. However, when you opened the link, you were met with an error message. At first, you assumed it was a mistake, re-typing the link again. And again. And again. Unease began to overtake you as you texted Erika, asking if she was having the same problem.

ERIKA You missed it? The leader completely disbanded the Dollars. They shut down the website and everything!

For a moment, you could only stare at the text, finding the information to be so unbelievable that you assumed it to be a prank. You knew, however, that Erika wasn’t the type to pull a random joke like this. 

ME No way! Did they have anything to say as to why???

ERIKA Little to nothing. People were talking about the spike in Yellow Scarves attacks and then the website suddenly disappeared!

Right as people were starting to band together like they never had before...why now? Did the leader not want that? Was the Dollars created with malicious intentions, and disbanded because its members went against them? It wasn’t like the gang was your only way of life. You barely knew anyone else that was apart of it, and the ones you did know were found by happenstance. Heck, getting involved in such affairs had even jeopardized your life. If it was truly an evil force from the start, maybe it was for the best that it was gone for good. 

That’s not what it was about to become, though. No matter what the leader wanted—did it even matter? How many times had they even come forward. Had they ever even issued a command to be followed? All on its own, the gang was about to become such a positive force; one that even the Yellow Scarves couldn’t stifle. 

Hours later, as you walked through the city, you were still mourning the gang—possibly one of the most important parts of Ikebukuro, and you had been a part of it.

As you waded through deepening puddles, you found yourself bowing your head, tipping your umbrella to shadow your face. The streets were relatively clear, but that didn’t mean that certain gang members weren’t hiding in the shadows. You were ashamed of your own paranoid behavior. A different, prideful part of you wanted to walk around freely, unhidden and uncovered. It was that part of you that kept you from dressing more conservatively than you normally did. Now, though, the cautious part of you deeply regretted throwing on the funky button-up that adorned your frame. 

Among the dreary scheme of dull tones, the seemingly manageable colors of your shirt seemed so much brighter—and much less inconspicuous. You did your best to brush the anxiety aside, considering the taxing journey to be worth it if it meant being there for your friend.

CELTY I brought Anri to stay at my place for a bit, if you’d like to come visit. I feel like she could use you by her side right now.

The message radiated such a tenderness that warmed your heart. You told Celty that you would try and wait out the rain, then hurry over the first chance you got. You waited for quite some time, but even after a long while, the rain didn’t seem to be letting up. It seemed like you would have to face the showers if you were going to see your friend at a reasonable hour.

“Woah! You’re completely soaked!”

“Nice to see you too, Shinra.”

Said doctor moves to the side to allow you into the apartment. He offers you a towel, lamenting how cold you must be. “No, I’m fine. A towel would be nice though,” you smile at the doctor, who goes off to grab you one. Your eyes follow his form before you notice the people occupying the couch. A warmth washes over you, bringing a smile to your face. “Hey, ladies.”

Celty waves to you, gesturing for you to come over. As you approach, you laugh at the controllers in their hands and the video game console on the table in front of them. You don’t sit quite yet, wanting to avoid getting the seats wet. 

“Hey! I thought you were gonna wait until the rain stopped.” Shinra appears beside you and hands you a towel, which you gratefully accept. You finally sit on the couch perpendicular to theirs. Anri, who sits on the side closest to you, regards you with a friendly smile. You can’t help but note how it doesn’t meet her eyes. “I was, but it didn’t look like it was going to clear up anytime soon,” you pause to look out the window, where the rain was beating against the glass in earnest. “Figured that I should get over here before it got even darker than it already was. With everything going on, it doesn’t hurt to be safe.”

Anri’s entire body seems to tense up at your words and you immediately wish you had an undo button. She was probably still shaken up about the previous night. You put a hand over hers in an attempt to comfort her. “But I’m sure it’ll all be over soon.” It obviously doesn’t help. Her eyes are glued to her lap and she no longer even tries to smile. You and Mika were right. Something was bothering her—and it had only gotten worse. You look at Celty, eyes questioning, prying to see if she noticed the same things that you did.

However, Celty doesn’t gratify you with an answer. Instead, her shoulders drop as if she’s sighing, at a loss for words.To your confusion, she stands, making her way to the hallway and taking Shinra to leave with her.

“Please, talk to her.”

She shows you the message quickly, as if she was trying to avoid Anri’s gaze. Shinra doesn’t seem to take whatever hint Celty gives him, loudly asking why he has to leave with her and even insisting that he stay. A ribbon of black mist appears and wraps around Shinra’s head, covering his mouth. Celty practically drags him into the hall, most likely pulling him into a separate room. You can’t help but laugh at the departure.

“Y’know, for such an unlikely pair, they work pretty well together,” you jest, turning to Anri for some sort of response. She simply nods, eyes focused on the spot where Celty had just been. Tough crowd. You brush it off, gesturing to the paused screen on the TV. “You gonna continue?” 

Anri shakes her head. “It’s in multiplayer mode, so I can’t play by myself.”

You hum, before pulling yourself to your feet. You move to sit beside Anri, grabbing the controller that Celty had discarded. “I can help you out, then! I’m not much of a gamer, but you can just show me the ropes!”

Anri stares at the controller laying limply in her hands. “I don’t think that I can.” Your brows furrowed at her answer. God, what had Celty left you with? You wanted so badly to cheer her up, but you had no idea how if she was in this deep.

“Oh!” A lightbulb goes off in your head as you suddenly remember something. You reach into your bag that sat on the floor at your feet. “I almost forgot...I brought you a little something!”

“(Y/N), you didn’t have to…”

“Oh please, like it’s any trouble to get a gift for my friend. It’s long overdue, anyway.” You finally find what you’re looking for, gently encasing it in your fist and turning back to her. Your fingers open, presenting the small object resting in your palm. 

The earrings were a hoop shape, candy red and a little on the chunkier side. What was most notable about them, however, were the clasps attaching them to the base board. “They’re clip-ons!” you beam. Anri examines the jewelry with owlish eyes. At least she didn’t seem too uninterested. Taking her attention as a sign of interest, you unclasp one of the earrings, holding out towards her. “May I…?”

Her eyes switch between the earring and your face, full of both caution and curiosity. Finally, she nods. You’re relieved that she’s willing to give it a chance. Your fingers brush the side of her face as you clasp the earring to her earlobe. You make sure that she’s comfortable, asking if it was too tight or if anything was hurting her. After she confirms that everything felt fine, you help her put on the other one. You lean back to get a good look at her and grin at your handiwork. 

Reaching into your bag once more, you pull out a compact mirror and hand it to her. “Just as I suspected,” you say smugly, watching as she inspects her own reflection. “Super cute.”

Your heart rejoices at the sight of her smile, a genuine, thoughtless smile. “I really like them...thank you, (Y/N),” she says, handing the mirror back to you. You help her take them off, making sure to show her how to get them to clasp and unclasp, before you return them to the base board. In the few moments of silent movement, her smile fades again, returning to a thin line.

“I ran into a friend of yours, yesterday,” you fill the silence with mindless chatter. Her eyebrows raise at the statement. “Mika Harima. You’ve talked to me about her, right?” Anri doesn’t look too happy at the mention of the name, avoiding your gaze.

“Y-yes, we used to be friends, but we don’t hang around each other much, anymore,” she explains, toying with the clasp on one of the earrings. She could break them if she kept messing with them like that—but you could always just get her a new pair. It’s going to be hard to say what you want to say next—but you couldn’t hold back anymore. 

“Well, we stopped and talked for a while. She recognized me, probably saw me hanging around at the school at some point.” Anri nods so you assume that she’s still listening. “And...well—we actually talked a little bit about you, Anri.” She looks up at you again, visibly put off by the revelation. Still, she says nothing, imploring you to continue.

“I know you two don’t talk much anymore, but she’s been keeping an eye on you, Anri, and she’s worried about you. She probably didn’t want me to tell you exactly like this, but...but I’ve noticed the same things and we both have the same question, so…”

Your eyes bore into hers, taking in the different emotions swimming through them. Sadness, apprehension, fear…

“Anri, has something been bothering y—“

“No!” She stands so abruptly that you wonder if she’s dizzy afterwards. Her chest heaves from the sudden burst in energy, body overridden with anxiety. You’re surprisingly calm, never leaving your spot on the couch. Her defensiveness only confirmed your suspicions—and allowed other ones to grow.

“I don’t know if you think that I’d be angry with you, or that I would judge you, or maybe that I just might not be able to help.” Your voice is level and comforting, trying to coax her little by little. “Maybe that last part might even be true...but I would never judge you, Anri, and as long as it’s you...I could try and understand. Whatever you think might anger me, I promise you, I have too much faith in you to let one little thing turn me against you.”

Anri doesn’t respond. Her clench fists rest at her sides, quivering along with the rest of her body. You need to help her. It might require some prying, and you may have to be forceful, but she needs help.

“All of those Slashers, the ones that attacked me in my apartment, they were just previous victims who survived their attacks. Something was making them act against their own will, and they became Slashers themselves,” you start, taking in how she flinches at the mention of the Slasher. You smile at her, trying to convey that you harbored no ill feelings towards her. “After that night that they invaded my apartment, and you ended up in the hospital, all that seemed to come to a stop, didn’t it?” 

“I had the theory that, somehow, the Slasher brainwashed its victims by attacking them—by cutting them. Seemed like a pretty solid theory...but there were some holes in it.” You would think there was an earthquake, the way that Anri was shaking. She’s starting to pull away, backing up into the table. You finally stand, to her apparent horror. Her distress was most definitely your fault, and you felt terrible, but it was all going to settle out. “I only know two people that have gotten attacked by the Slasher, but showed no side effects afterwards—other than a couple of scars. One of them was Shizuo Heiwajima. To some extent, it’s understandable...the guy’s kind of a superhuman, afterall. The other one, though…”

Her arm flinches away from yours as you go to take her hand. You don’t relent, though, catching it and encasing her hand with two of your own. “Was my friend, Anri. At first, I had nothing to think of it. All of the slasher attacks had stopped. I went days without seeing any crazed men or women brandishing sharp weapons. It was the end of it all, that’s why nothing happened to you....But I noticed something strange, last night.”

“Do you really want to know the truth? About what I am?”

You had momentarily forgotten about it. How the Yellow Scarves had the two of you cornered...and how calm and collected Anri had been. It wasn’t until Horada had revealed that they had attacked a few of their own members that she looked truly helpless. “I’d know those red eyes anywhere...but whatever you could have done, it wouldn’t have helped, right? Those guys that you ‘turned against them’...they couldn’t have helped, huh?”

“Well, we did a little something special to those guys you turned against us. We beat the shit out of ‘em!”

Her eyes were overflowing now, a dam that collected rivers for years and has finally cracked open. You pull her into your arms, embracing her. Her shoulders don’t shake and she heaves no sobs, she just lets you hold her as the floodgates empty themselves.

Kanra : You know the Headless Rider? Kanra: Apparently, it teamed up with the Slasher--and together they attacked the Yellow Scarves at their secret hideout!

“They saw you and Celty at the Yellow Scarves hideout, and that’s why the Yellow Scarves were after you, and Masaomi…”

"What the hell are you doing?? Were you spying on us? Is that why you came there?? Tell me, Anri..."

“He thought you had betrayed him...but that wasn’t it, was it? The gang wars, the Yellow Scarves attacks...you think it’s your fault. You wanted to make things right, somehow.”

Kanra: Both the Yellow Scarves and the Dollars have people that got hit! Kanra: And each side is completely convinced that the other group is behind it all!

You finally release Anri, placing your hands on her shoulders and pulling back to look at her. Her eyes are lined with tears, but there’s no more tension. As much as she may have dreaded this moment, it was like a huge release to her. “That last part, I have no evidence or indication for it...but I trust you, Anri.”

It had all come together so slowly, the main retardant being your own denial. You had greatly underestimated Anri, labeling her as a timid, ordinary school girl in the middle of a chaotic city. It was foolish of you to assume that she herself wasn’t one of the things that made Ikebukuro so special. 

“(Y/N).... I...I promise that all of those people—it wasn’t—“

“I’m sure there is some sort of long, convoluted explanation for all of it. We can get to that, later. For now...you don’t have to hide anything from me. I’m here for you, okay?” Anri raises her hand to her eyes, rubbing the tears away. You watch her patiently. As she meets your gaze again, there’s a newfound resolve in her expression. She nods, a small smile decorating her features. It wasn’t an answer to all of her problems...but it was reassurance. Masaomi lashed out on her and Mikado probably isn’t any the wiser. Everything Anri was going through, she’s been dealing with it all alone. 

But not anymore.

“Yesterday, when those guys were chasing me...so many people were helping me. Complete strangers were going to so much trouble because of me,” Anri recounts. The two of you had returned to your positions on the couch, and Anri took the opportunity to finally express some of the thoughts that were bothering her. You can’t hold back your chuckle, causing Anri to eye you with confusion.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to laugh, but…” Your grin widens, “Those strangers? Those were members of the Dollars.” The girl gapes, brows furrowing at the revelation. It’s an unbelievable idea, you know, but she knew you had no reason to lie.

“The Dollars?? But...why would they…” 

“Some sort of heroic streak, I guess. Someone saw you getting cornered, and then there were people looking out for you all over the city!”

“How do you know all of this…?” Your eyebrows raise at the question as you realize how much you’ve exposed yourself. It had come to you so freely that you hadn’t even thought to censor your own words. Drinking in Anri’s egging expression, you fall into a fit of laughter. “Because I’m a member of the Dollars, of course! You’re not the only one with skeletons in the closet, y’know?” You honestly didn’t know how you expected her to react. Even then, her small smile was a bit of a surprise to you. Perhaps it was comforting for her to know that everyone had things about themselves that they chose to hide.

It felt like a barrier had broken between you too. Sitting beside each other, failing miserably at the video game that Shinra and Celty had, you thought about the first time the two of you had hung out like this. When you and Anri sat in the dark, on an air mattress in Erika’s apartment. You both knew so little about each other, yet there was still an openness, one that had been disappearing over time. You hoped that, now that she’s shared this secret with you, that openness would start to return.

Shinra and Celty returned after a bit, joining you and Anri in front of the television. At the fault of Shinra, it became apparent to you that the two of them may have listened in on your conversation. They must have known about Anri before even you had. It made sense, since Celty was with Anri the night that she was spotted at the Yellow Scarves hideout. It was reassuring to you, knowing that someone else was there for her when you weren’t able to be.

With the consistency of a dreary sky, it’s difficult to tell how much time you’re spending in the apartment. You have no complaints, though. Celty and Shinra continue to be such a lively pair and it’s heartening to watch Anri get a giggle out of their antics. You also learn, with great pleasure, that Celty is not a very good sport when it comes to video games. With practice, you get pretty good at the game, yourself, finally being able to keep up with Celty and Shinra. Anri is content to hand over the controller and watch from the sidelines. Through the dark overcast, rays of sunset orange shine into the apartment, insistent on making themselves known.

The moisture clinging to your clothes is long-gone. Combined with the cup of tea you’re enjoying with Anri, you find yourself feeling especially content. The two of you sit beside a window that does very little to illuminate the room. Rain raps against the window, enacting an assault on the cool glass. It’s heavy and unrelenting. So much chaos swirling within those clouds, constantly overflowing and sending excess raining down at a mile per minute. Even so, you find a strange sense of serenity in the sound.  The peace is disturbed by a movement across from you. Anri stands, setting down her half empty cup of tea.

“I’m going to go talk to Celty,” she says. She trails off, fiddling with her own fingers. When she makes no effort to move, you start to get what she’s hinting at. “I’ll come with you.” Anri seems to relax at this, allowing you to follow her to Celty’s office. Her and Shinra are there, together, looking at something on the computer. As you enter, you swear you catch a glimpse of an error screen, before it quickly disappears. A notepad window appears in its place.

“What’s up, you two?”

“I was wondering if we could talk for a bit?”

When you said that you could get an explanation from Anri later, you were thinking a different day, or even week. Unbeknownst to you, it would only be a mere couple of hours later. You’re thankful that she’s just as comfortable telling you as she is with telling Celty. You don’t quite understand everything, but it comes to you the more she explains everything to both of you. The Slasher that was responsible for all of those attacks people saw on the news, was a different Slasher. In fact, it wasn’t correct to call Anri a 'Slasher' at all. Moreso, the word that both she and Celty kept using was “Saika”. At the sound of the name, your ears perked. Like the Saika from the chatroom?  

The most that Anri was doing with her ‘Saika’ was using it to get in contact with some Yellow Scarves, who had already been victims of the previous Slasher. Whatever power that the Slasher had on them before, was Anri’s now. She was getting them to stop the Yellow Scarves attacks from the inside. You could see how that only stoked more flames between the gangs, seeing as the Yellow Scarves went on to intensify their attacks against the Dollars. 

Anri describes what she saw when she snuck into the Yellow Scarves’ hideout. It was crowds of people, gathered around a sort of stage. He sat far in the back of the stage, almost unnoticeable, but he was there. Masaomi wasn’t just another member of the Yellow Scarves, but the leader. Your heart constricts in your chest. Was this really all his doing? Could your friend really be responsible for such violent acts? You had noticed his change in demeanor, ever since the night you had been with him and Mikado at Russia’s Sushi—but the whirlwind in behavior he had exhibited the night before was all it took to see that he could be spiraling out of control. He was bearing a great weight on his shoulders, that much was certain.

The three had become greatly estranged because of misunderstandings and miscommunication. Despite their admittedly extraordinary lives, these lives still intertwined and these kids became great friends. They deserved to keep that, no matter what their pasts were.

“First, we need to put an end to this gang war.”

Celty was right. Intentional or not, reciprocal or not, it was tearing these kids apart. Anri agrees, a sense of determination visibly overtaking her. Your chest swells with pride at her strength. “In order to do that, we have to talk to Mikado.” Your eyebrows shoot up at the words. What does Mikado have to do with this? Anri verbalizes your question, which Celty only returns with a vague response. She explains that him and Anri have something in common, and that he was was most likely keeping it from her because of her importance to him. You’re head began to swirl with all sorts of possible explanations, but nothing really stuck. Your mind was open to anything, but the idea of Mikado getting involved in a gang war was just a bit far-fetched to you.

Deciding that it wasn’t her explanation to give, Celty decides to go retrieve the boy herself. It’s such a quick decision that leaves you registering just how important it must have been. She types a message to Shinra. “I promise...you can trust me, I swear!” he says, smiling easily at her.

“Celty,” Anri says as the woman stands to leave. “I’m done. I don’t want to run anymore.” Celty stares at her for a moment, and in her own special, headless way, she nods. A short moment after she’s out the door, you hear that familiar horse’s whinny in the distance. She’s off. Shinra, noting the coolness of your tea cups, cheerily announces that he’ll make more. You and Anri sit together quietly as the doctor tinkers away in the kitchen.

“(Y/N).” Anri speaks up. You hum, imploring her to continue with whatever it is she wants to say. However, even after gaining your attention, she hesitates. That determination still lingers in her eyes, but she’s clearly holding back. “What’s up, Anri?” you press. 

“...Why did Masaomi say that...about you and Izaya Orihara?”

You almost choke on the lukewarm tea you’re nursing. Her voice is low, but you still peek at Shinra in fear that he had overheard. His back is to the two of you and he’s completely still, frozen in place. You dread that your suspicions are confirmed, until he continues moving, carrying on like nothing happened. Perhaps he hadn’t heard over the clinking of pots and pans. You focus back on Anri, who stares at you expectantly. Her eyebrows are knitted together in an expression that you can’t quite place. Was it concern? or fear? Of Izaya Orihara, or you?

“W-well….he wasn’t lying. I did go to visit him,” you murmur, taking extra care to keep your voice down. You can’t keep your eyes from flickering in Shinra’s direction. “He’s helping me with something.” She doesn’t seem at all satisfied with that answer, gaze flickering back to her lap. Her face is contemplative, as if she’s choosing her next words carefully. “That man...I’ve learned things about him. He’s not a good person. I-I know you probably have a good reason, but I don’t want him to hurt anyone else close to me.”

‘Anyone else’? Your heart drops at her words. It’s not like you were naive enough to think that Izaya had never gotten caught up in shady business, but to mess with the life of a teenage girl? Was he really sick enough to do something like that? Mixed emotions swirled in your chest. Anyone that does such horrible things is not alright with you. Despite that...you couldn’t tell her what she wanted to hear.

“Do you remember what I told you, about losing my memory?” you start. She nods earnestly. “I was a hypocrite, telling you not to worry about the past. The truth is...I worry about it all the time, Anri. My entire upbringing...it disappeared. I know little to nothing about myself —and I’ve tried everything I could to change that! But it’s so hard for some reason.” You realize that you’ve lost yourself in your own words, even forgetting to keep your voice down. Shinra doesn’t look any the wiser, and from what you learned earlier, you would know if he was eavesdropping. Despite this, you lower your voice again. “I’ll be careful, I promise—but I just need this one little thing . Then I’ll be done.”

Anri opens her mouth to respond, when two hands holding teacups appear in front of each of you. Shinra addresses you both with a smile, setting the cups down in front of you and taking your old ones. You thank him, immediately grabbing the new cup and taking a large sip. “Whew, I never get tired of a good cup of tea! I think I’ve become a bit of a chaiphile,” you jest, very obviously trying to change subjects. As you take another long drink, you notice Shinra’s eyes on you. His gaze is glued to you, and while the smile is still present on his face, something about it is off-putting to you.

The brief silence is interrupted by a doorbell. Shinra loudly answers, going to greet whoever it is. Was Celty back with Mikado already? Looks like she could move pretty fast. The silence that follows the door opening momentarily gratifies the impression. However, Shinra’s distressed exclamations immediately peaked your concern. “Goodness gracious! What happened to you??”

“Isn’t it obvious?” A masculine voice answers him. Is that….? “I was shot.” 

You’re on your feet before you can even register it, hurrying to the foyer with Anri in tow. The voices of Shinra and the other person are muffled less and less as you approach the door. To your horror, your suspicions are confirmed when you open it. Anri gasps behind you, just as shocked by the sight.

“Shizuo!” You gape at the man before you. Shizuo stood in all his glory, lax as ever—besides the fact that he was bleeding profusely from his leg and side. He continued to walk forward, only stopping when the sound of your voice alerted him of your presence. “Hey,” he greets you nonchalantly. You and Anri move aside as Shinra ushers Shizuo to the couch. He sits him down where you had left your damp towel a while ago. 

As Shinra leaves to go get his supplies, you go to sit back down. Anri, however, doesn’t move from her spot. She can barely look at Shizuo in his state, so she probably doesn’t feel comfortable sitting near him either. Still averting her gaze from the man, she whispers for you to go ahead. Shinra returns, setting down the tray of supplies and immediately getting to work. Sitting beside Shizuo, you have a front row seat to the gruesome spectacle. Shizuo gives a simple, detached explanation of how he had ended up like this. The way he described it, suddenly being on the ground and not even realizing right away that he was shot, this wasn’t all that traumatizing to him. As you wondered how he wasn’t feeling any pain, you didn’t comprehend that you had been staring directly at his wounds. Even as they were prodded open and bled by Shinra’s tools, you weren’t a bit more fazed than the doctor himself.

“What an idiot, right?” Shinra teases. Shizuo darkens at this, immediately threatening the poor man’s life. In a flash, Shinra is bundled up on the coffee table, apologizing vigorously. You huff humorously at the display. What an interesting relationship…

“Just hurry and fix me up already, so I can find those guys and kill ‘em!” He used the word ‘kill’ so liberally, yet he’d never killed anyone before--not even all of the Slashers that attacked him. “Both the ones who did it, and the asshole who ordered it--Masaomi Kida is a dead man!”

You could practically hear the scratch of a record. Anri immediately locks eyes with you, both of you feeling the same whirlwind of emotions. Suddenly, you don’t take Shizuo’s threats as frivolously as before. Masaomi...ordered someone to shoot Shizuo? Did you believe that he would do that? Sure, he had definitely changed recently, but to try and take someone out like that? There had to be something wrong.

“Shizuo--” You go to say something, anything that could sway the man’s anger, convince him that there was some sort of misunderstanding--because it had to be . However, you’re words are cut short as Anri bolts out of the room. “Anri!” you shout, running after her. Just as you reach the entrance to the foyer, her form disappears out the front door. You’re frozen for a moment, mind jumbled in a frenzy. 

“I’m going after her.” You say finally, grabbing the bag that you had left beside the couch. Shinra already has a phone in his hands, saying that he’ll call Celty. You nod hastily, practically flying towards the door. Subconsciously, you brush a hand over Shizuo’s shoulder. “Get well soon, Shizuo,” you murmur.

In such a short time, she couldn't have gotten far. As you reach the bottom of the apartment building stairs, your eyes frantically search for the girl--but no luck. Acting in a panic, you pick a random direction and start running. It was hard to calm the alarms going off in your head. There was no telling what she was about to do, but judging by what you two just heard, and what she had just talked to you about, it wasn’t anything safe. 

Anri, what on earth are you doing??

[minorfamilysupremacy]

literally have only gotten into these dramas within the last month i have been binge watching like crazy but i read your post on BOC and now i am scared ajdjfkfk (am currently on KinnPorsche bc I have been enjoying 4 minutes 😭😭😭) like i feel like i should be more informed but holy shit that reality show sounds fucking awful.

to be honest, anon, thai BL is littered with production companies that range from sus to outright predatory/abusive, so whether or not you value being informed more over all else is really going to influence your ability to enjoy the genre. (at no point am i saying you should/shouldn't be a more informed viewer -- in the grand scheme of things, i'm a fucking nobody and how you choose to live your life and what you choose to watch or not watch is none of my fucking business. not everyone can or is willing to do the deep dive to determine if every single one of their funny ha-ha gay shows is an ethical minefield, and quite frankly, living life watching over your shoulder to see if you've committed an act of internet wrongthink is fucking exhausting.)

personally, i never watched THC or DFF or 4m, and that's because i as an individual don't fuck with BOC any longer. that history is extensively documented on this blog, so i won't rehash it. however, i'm an oldhead and my perspective is going to be colored by a lived history that a new fan can't replicate. nobody who rolled in after all this shit went down is obligated to pick up the collective fandom trauma. how i feel about fellow oldheads continuing to support BOC is NOT the same as i feel about new fans supporting BOC. there are two entirely separate sets of standards that are applied, which is only fair.

ultimately, enjoying art often comes down to a reckoning that doing so has directly or indirectly hurt someone, and weighing the cost of that. that is true of art throughout history -- can't throw a stone in classical music without hitting an asshole; how many of the 'great' film directors were abusive monsters? some of my own faves are rancid pieces of shit whose tyrannical treatment of their costars made for some of the greatest art ever put on screen, but there are other notable names in film history whose similar treatment disgusts me. in the end, to some degree, we're all complicit with enabling monsters by enjoying art. that's the nature of the beast. we all just draw our individual lines in the sand and some of those lines are conflicting and nonsensical and hypocritical, because so are human beings as a whole.

if you enjoy 4m and end up enjoying KP, that's your business. nobody can tell you to enjoy it or not to enjoy it or how/where/when/why you do it. whether the things you learn about BOC put you off from it, or you just decide, hey, you know what, ignorance is bliss, i'm just gonna watch the show -- that's your business. a bunch of loudmouth assholes on a dying social media site (myself included) don't get to dictate anything about your media viewing habits.

[bunnyb34r]

So I finally went to the movies again and saw Blink Twice... and I have some Thoughts™️

I'll put spoilers under the cut but tw if you're at all interested in this movie, very very heavy graphic and sexual violence. They even do a TW for sexual assault at the very start of the film and a way for victims to get help. Which is good, but makes me wonder... would they give you a refund?? If you couldnt handle that subject and were like nope not for me! And leave? Bc no where in the trailers (that I've seen) is it indicated that the movie is about that... so...

That aside, I did enjoy pieces of the movie (but overall idk if I liked it. It left me with a sick feeling in my stomach (which is the point))

I liked the color scheme, the repetition of white and blue and the red both being there the whole time but also becoming more and more important as the plot progresses. I think that was cool.

The camerawork made me kinda ill im ngl... that might have been intentional idk.

It was a really interesting movie, one that you kinda gotta sit with after watching. It was a lot sadder than I expected. Funny in parts like the stupid fucking chair, but overall it left me sad. Idk I was expecting more... The Most Dangerous Game and not that™️

Oh and I think the acting and casting was really good too

Spoilers ⬇️

So the main twist honestly made my stomach sink. Idk what I was expecting but god it wasn't that even though I probably should have.

I honestly thought the perfume was made with blood and that thats why the snakes or that they were like draining the victims of blood and making perfume for the men that brought them there.

I really liked how literally everything tied back to some part of the movie, the opening shot making so much more sense, the scar, all of it. That was really clever. Heartbreaking, but clever. I wish they had subtitles or made the "red rabbit" part more clear bc I couldnt understand that until Frida repeated her. That part was so so heartbreaking and clever too. Like when it all makes sense it's like another punch to the gut.

"Theres a special place in hell for people who choose to do nothing" was a good line but also like rich coming from you Slater. Mr Morality over here!

At first I didnt get why she saved him, but nothing would have stopped anyone else who he had previously brought to the island if she killed him. Like they could just fly their themselves and do the same shit again. This way she stops it, but god I dont think I could sleep in the same bed as that man after all that. (And I'm sure that is also a message like trauma affects others differently, the best revenge is success/she's able to manipulate HIM now ect) but I cant help but wonder how the other girl felt (i cant remember her name) ab her MARRYING that man like... the whole girls helping girls speech ect

I do kinda think it's funny how Frida was telling him to "eat his steak" bc he said before he didnt eat red meat, so again she's able to manipulate him even in subtle ways now as revenge.

I think this movie is like either one you only see once or one you see at least twice to digest it all. Personally I could not watch it again knowing what I know now, but I could see someone wanting to see it multiple times to dissect it all.

Oh and I thought it was interesting how Stacy didnt WANT to remember and how "forgetting is a gift" and the reveal of what happened to Slater and his sister. That was sad but interesting, especially since victims of CSA tend to have complex relationships regarding their abusers and how some go on to do what was done to them bc of their trauma. That was sad but a very interesting plot point

I'll probably have more to tack on later but yeah that was... that was something.

[genericpuff]

To me the problem with lore olympus and rachel is that she keeps the fan feedback too close to her chest, yes it does "affect her because she's very sensitive" which is smth rachel has said before in interviews and stuff, but the problem is that if u let fan opinions get in the way of ur work maybe u should set boundaries with the way u interact with fan content OF UR OWN WORK.

Im not sure if im explaining myself correctly, but the way rachel somehow always tries to prove criticism wrong and has slowly started ignoring the foundations she previously set is making everything just so flat and boring. She doesnt work with what we've already read but trying to somehow "fix" things that are sometimes not clear on the get go.

For example, u (and a lot of people) complained about how demeter explicitly said she always put persephone in white (when persephone has willingly been wearing that color through the entire series). Meanwhile, i remember having read a post from loreolympians on instagram (iirc) analyzing perse's change of color scheme during s2.

The problem with these things is that rachel has most likely been engaging with these fans who take for granted that she plans everything out or that everything has a deep meaning (which to a sense you should do, because having faith in the author is usually how to go about analyzing storytelling), and somehow it's become a strange echochamber and it results in these weird, very blatantly written to be noticed, details or moments htat try to be smart but are just flat bc rachel doesnt give any effort to anything else aand prefers telling rather than showing so she can feel like a good author when fans obviously point these out

Jdhdjd these are just my two cents and sorry for the long rant but yeah basically rachel should separate herself from the fandom and try to write more objectively and focusing on the narrative instead of taking every little criticism of her comic so personally

Honestly, I can get being a little squeamish around criticism, shit I've had analysis stuff on my work that's consisted of praise and it's still sometimes a little overwhelming to read (I've got a big one in my asks right now that took me like 10 minutes to get thru because I had to keep taking breathers and I still need to actually share it LMAO it's not even criticism! it's just got so much in it, ahfdsaklg)

When it comes to criticism, I still get a little "aw man" sometimes. I recently got feedback from Pyrrhic & Victoria on my Reaper redraws and even though I'm pals with them and know they aren't gonna be harsh, it's still an incredibly vulnerable position to put oneself in. Especially when it's projects that you hold very close to your sense of self.

RS has definitely taken it a little too far in tying LO to herself as a person. Criticism of the comic = criticism of her , and her fanbase seems to view this the same way, that if someone doesn't like the comic, that has to automatically say something about them as consumers when... it really doesn't. If anything their reactions to criticism say way more about them as people than the criticism existing lmao

What's more upsetting and simultaneously eye-rolling is the fact that Rachel goes out of her way to look for things to be upset about. On multiple occasions now over the past 4-5 years, she's snuck into groups containing criticism, attempted to strongarm power away from moderators so she could have criticism removed, and basically just ruined her own day over other people's opinions whether or not they were meant to be read by her.

It's why I stand by the fact that people shouldn't be directly messaging RS with criticism or hate because that would just be unsolicited cruelty. While she should be more open to criticism, that doesn't mean she needs to open the floodgates on her DM's because there are plenty of places for criticism to exist outside of her peripheral. But she keeps turning her head to look at it. Like, she'll throw a hissy fit over criticism that wasn't even really directly aimed at her, just meant for the sake of discussion. And that's where I'd really honestly wish she could just get a grip.

Like, I'm sure there's criticism of Rekindled out there already. Shit, I've had other projects from yeeears ago that ended up being made fun of outside of where I posted it. It sucked, but going out and actively looking for it for the purpose of erasing it from existence wasn't going to make me a better creator nor was it going to benefit me as a person.

It's a shitty reality, but the bigger you grow as a creator, the more you will have to separate yourself from your audience. You don't have to stonewall them completely, many people follow these works for the creators themselves, but you're not entitled to everyone's friendship and praise, and if the criticism really bugs you that much, then fucking work on the thing they're criticizing, don't double down on it or try to control how your audience consumes your content.

It's why it drives me so nuts when RS does infiltrate these groups because it's an incredible invasion of privacy as well as the creator-reader relationship. Q&A's, panels, and personal socials are where you go to interact with the creator. A creator sneaking into a Discord group or subreddit or FB group with the intent of "listening in" would be equivalent to J.K. Rowling showing up in person to a book club meeting. It's just disrespectful to your audience and makes you look like a huge asshole. Have some grace and for once, I'll tell Rachel and her fanbase to take their own advice - if you don't like it, don't read it.

[two-baes]

I will be once again giving my opinion that nobody asked for on dolls (that I don't even collect)

Catty Noir:

i LOVE her!!! she's SO cute!!! idk if it's just my pink/black color combo biased but she's right up there w/ Draculaura(general) for me as a favorite. 10/10

I love the subtle pink pearlescent undertone(sheen?) that her doll has to its skin, it's SO pretty. :'o

I've seen a lot of people rag on her outfit but tbh I don't mind it??? aside from the shoulder thingy—that looks dumb af lmao. Also I think her sunglasses should've been like pink lenses w/ either silver or black frames, w/ the (what I assume are meant to be) rhinestones being either pink (if silver frames) or silver (if black), I think them being blue is weird and makes them not match!! Also I wish they'd painted the details of her belt and boots! The belts and chains get lost with everything being one solid pink color!

She'd have looked SO good if they'd put in that li'l bit of extra effort to make her accessories pop a bit better...

I've seen people say her nose should have been pink instead of black, and while I do think that would have been cute I don't mind the black nose (plus black cat's usually have black noses and she's a black cat werecat, so. [I'm aware G1 had a pink nose, but that is neither here nor there to me, personally]).

Also it's neat to see a new doll body type—I've seen some complaints about how her arms are 'too skinny' for a fat doll but that is such a weird complaint to me bc all bodies are different and there's definitely plus sized people w/ skinnier arms.

:') Anyways, I can't wait until she's more widely distributed in stores, so more doll collectors can get their hands on her and unbox her and talk abt her and do their restyles of her.

Monster Fest Cleo, Clawdeen, Lagoona, Frankie:

Honestly? I like them all.

Cleo's doll looks as great to me as every G3 Cleo doll so far (—I don't think I've thought Cleo has had a bad look yet). I love her color scheme, the blues, and teal-y greens, and the golds. It's very pretty. :'o

Clawdeen is... a doll I actually love in this line? She looks sO good here!! Usually I either hate her dolls' hair or her outfits, but I really don't mind either on this one! I really like her headpiece, and while I would have preferred her hair be brown, I don't hate the purple bc at least it's not that ugly shitty muted shade with purple streaks that they usually use for her lmao.

Also if I owned dolls I would pose her and this line's Cleo together—not only as a Cleodeen shipper (sorry to Clankie)—but bc their blue/gold and purple/gold color combos would look sO good together!!!

Lagoona is... I like her doll in this line but I don't LOVE her the way I do Cleo and Clawdeen? I like her headpiece (probably bc it hides her forehead scales, which are usually my least favorite part of her design lmfao), and the pearl chains, but I think the socks w/ her shoes are. a Choice. maybe if they had been black fishnet socks I'd have liked them more? Idk the fact that her shoes are also the only bit of her outfit that are black is also a Choice. ig her bag has black details, but?? it doesn't feel enough to tie the shoes into the outfit really idk. maybe her bracelet being black would've also helped—why is it even purple??? there's no purple on her anywhere else either (at least not of that shade)...

Frankie looks v cute tho and I love them. I've really been loving Frankie's design more since their core refresh w/ the addition of pink to them! I feel like the pink just ties together their whole neon colors thing that they have going on. I don't think I have any complaints about Frankie, they look gr8.

I do wish, much like with Catty, that detail would have been paid to all four doll's belts, so that things would stand out, and not just be one solid blob of the same color. (esp wish the scarabs and gems on Cleo's had been painted!!)

Last, and unfortunately least (which makes me sO sad to say bc she is usually my favorite doll in every line)... Draculaura.

oh hONEY what did they DO to you.

I know. I kNOW that she's the playset doll, so a lot went into, yanno, her playset, but??? her outfit is SO sorely lacking in comparison to the rest of the Ghouls???

She doesn't get aNY painted detailing on her headpiece the way the other 4 do. Literally her headpiece is just a single solid blob of hot pink. Making the roses alternate in color from the hot pink to either a lighter shade of pink (to tie in her skirt color) or to a dark purple (to match her boots and lip-stick) would've made such a difference for the piece, also painting the chain!!

The same goes for her boots?? Which I actually think are otherwise cute...! Like if they had given SOME sort of attention to the details there and painted some of the detailing so the boots wouldn't be just a solid blob of purple!! Even if it would have just been idk painting the heel & underside of the boot a different color!! Or the rim! ANYTHING!!

Also she doesn't come with a belt??? Her doll is so plain when I feel like it could be so cute if accessorized correctly!! :(

I actually like her skirt design, the neon hearts w/ wings are imo actually v cute! I think it would have looked really good with a belt...

(I've actually seen at least one person use This One, from a Barbie fashion pack, on her for their restyle and imo it worked pretty good but she should have CAME with a belt like everyone else in the line!! Even Catty has one!!!)

I don't actually hate the little 'pasta ruffle' top she has—but I feel like it by itself is lacking. Could have used some sort of??? Fishnet undershirt maybe?

Also her arms in general are just so bare, I think she could have done with some bracelets.

also her necklace is so plain?? I don't mind the green of it bc it ties the green in her eye make-up into the rest of the look, but like it's got NOTHING going on?? It's just like... basically one of those cheap glowstick necklaces you can get??? Everyone else gets some more elaborate looking necklace, and she just gets THAT??

I feel like the glowstick necklace would've better served as (one of) the bracelets she should have, and she should've had a more detailed necklace design more in line w/ everyone elses'.

[flightofaqrow]

/// You know, I’ve been with-a-grain-of-salt enjoying @bestworstcase ‘s analysis from the sidelines, but the vol 9 commentary has been particularly enjoyable. I caught up on most of those posts, thought about some of the commentary leading up to the volume from the trailers, keeping me up until 4am. I promptly then woke up just shy of four hours later with my eyes popped right open, everything having percolated in my sleep, because I’m calling it right now:

1) Something something you can’t make something from nothing, not everything is as it seems, time is wonky.  The denizens of the Ever After are grimm. The characters do not die, but “ascend” by falling through a hole in the ground which a grimm in the real world then crawls out of.

2) Something something the god of darkness is actually more benevolent (doesn’t insta-kill his creations when they fail) and the god of light can’t do shit on his own (Ambrosius’s creations were pulled from the same pool?). we saw the color schemes of god of light and god of darkness shift. We are in a god of darkness realm now where everything is in reverse, (they went through the looking glass. A mirror world.)

less certain, but makes sense:

3) Something something this is Salem’s Lost Fable, not one of Oz’s stories. Salem is the girl who fell through the world (a grimm pool) and manipulated her way back out of the Ever After and can now influence grimm. Alyx is Salem. Alyx is the protagonist (hero? anti-hero?). Salem gets her hero arc, though not entirely honorable.

4) Something something grimm are believed to have no souls, that’s why. They don’t die, they get sent back to the Ever After. Unless they get eaten by the Jabberwalker. Unless they get hit with the god of light’s Silver Eyes. Summer Rose was used as a prototype hound, (dipped in a grimm pool?). Summer Rose is the Jabberwalker. Trying to “fix” her little god-of-light-now-dark corner. Trying to find something. Something something the heart never forgets, she’s going to find her emblem and remember her promise.

5) Something something the pressing question to every citizen is “What are you?” This is the land of choice. 

6) Something something Cat Most Curious helps them along their way, but I haven’t slotted that piece yet. Is he the spirit of choice? Showing them possibilities through questions? Soothing their hurts here where the crown in the real world caused anguish? I’m not sold, but there’s... something.

7) The tree is the Beacon vault? It comes to you when you’ve made your choice? Can they open the door to get back home? How without a maiden? (Or will they have one? Or bc time is wonky will someone else open it from the other side?)

[sasoxichomoshi]

there's something so charming about hunter, but in a soothing way

it doesnt mean she cant be silly ofc, but her eyes reflect so much of her moods and personality

when she's with the eagle she looks calm and gentle and much of the expressions she makes are towards the eagle; when nimue gets the bird, when the godslayer stuns the eagle and got one of the flaps and at the end of the game when he corrupts the eagle completely there were always a close at her face to show us how worried hunter was towards her friend

it's as if the eagle highlights hunter in some way, cause if you think about it hunter is not really an important person; she's an outsider and a stranger, and eagle mother is there not only to push her forwards, but she also works like this excuse to develop what lies inside hunter - her feelings

the more i think about, like no human(oid) character in the pathless have a mouth, which is an interesting decision - may it be because the animator said "nuh uh i aint doing this" or because they had other intentions - having no mouth makes it harder to humanize a character cause to do so you work around facial expression mostly

for characters like the diver or the little guy from journey it works cause humanizing them is not the focus - they are vessels for the player to experience the message of the game, much like a blank page, but hunter is a more defined type of character, she's not only for the player to control; there are instance where she speaks for herself (literally), she reacts towards her environment (like when she groans when she hits the ground), it's a bit of "i exist in relation to others" kind of thing i dont even know if this explanations make sense

the thing is, if you gonna hide the mouth (and it's funny cause they got rid of the mouths but not of the speech), to deliver something believable you have to put extra attention in other places, like eyes (which is probably the reason why they made her eyes big, for emphasis) and corporal expression (i love all of hunter animations like ALL of them, the idles are so cool and my favorite has to be the climbing one HAVE YOU SEEN THAT CREATURE)

another aspect that locks my eyes on hunter is her color palette; she feels a bit like 60% red and 40% black which an almost dangerous distribution cause it gets near the boring looking too evenly palette, but i feel like this problem is partially solved by the color choice cause black and red is very iconic (but i see that this can be subjective, so take it with a grain of salt)

to give some examples: im typing from an nitro acer (black red palette), you can see cars with that bright red (+black of the tires), and i can name a few characters with red+black combination, like matoi ryuko from kill la kill, kaguya, that masochist from that cassino games school (she's iconic i will recognize but i wont lose my time googling it i dont wanna know details about that anime)

(also if i had to point a match for hunter from another media....... kikyo my beloved i fucking love you my gay awakening i kept watching inuyasha cause i wanted to see you on my screen omg)

but at the same time her color scheme puzzles me: what does it mean? usually color is used for storytelling or readability purposes

hunter red black contrasts very well against the greens/whites/oranges of the landscape, mostly bc it's highly saturated; but then you get to the boss fight and......

i know that the boss fights dont take as many screen time as exploration but considering that they are the action moment hmm idk the math aint mathing here

well what's about storytelling? a bit of the same problem shown on the above image; hunter shares the color scheme with the corrupted tall ones and godslayer which makes things even more confusing

(seriously am i stupid and didnt see the obvious hint everyone else saw and im just here staring at the walls idk)

that said i have come up with my own worms to explain this and it comes down to: it's not from the land/natural

godslayer and the corrupted tall ones shouldnt exist, they are not natural to this world and actually an evil twist of the reality; hunter not necessarily is corrupted, but is also not natural (from the island), she's an outsider, it's about this feeling of not-belonging

however in the end of the day the color choice is also about readability and keeping things cohesive; stretching the color palette of the entire game just to give hunter a different look would do more damage than helping, imagine changing to something not that far like a pink or yellow, things still would change drastically

in the end i still love hunter very much ma babegurl <3 sillly stupid<333 my dear blorbo<333 hope she finds a lot of hobbies <33333

[lo-sulci]

just finished getting thru the gundam 0079 arc with all the amphibious mobile suits, so now i'm gonna comment on zeon mobile suit designs because why not im bored

zaku

the very first one! definitely has some cool elements- the torso design makes me think of, like, ancient roman battle armor, specifically the, like, armor skirts that i just now learned googling are called pteruges. anyways, it's neat, but also, it's hard to say that it's not overshadowed somewhat by some of the ones that follow it, which is okay!! it serves its function well

gouf

this is no zaku!! the blue is a fun color, and the electric whip is a pretty cool weapon. as much as it is no zaku, it does follow the same kind of design path as one, and really does just kinda end up being, like, "zaku but slightly more." name kicks ass tho, love da goof

dom

speaking of names lmao. i kinda really like the dom, tbh? admittedly, part of that is personal bias- purple is my favorite color, so a purple MS is cool to me. but also, i really love the camera set-up here! it almost looks like this single red eye in this dark cloak hood or smth, it brings to mind imagery of, like, fantasy assassins to me. how they move is also pretty neat, i like watching them glide around and stuff. dunno what the little badge thing is about, but i'll pretend it's a little award for having a cool design :)

gogg

our first amphibious MS!! like the zaku, it's the kind of basic one that subsequent ones iterate on. that said, look at those claws!! in general this is such a chunky MS, it's great. i also like the little thrusters/propellers it has on the bottom of its feet, those made me laugh the first time i saw them. does anyone else feel like it looks like its wearing, like, a wrestling championship belt or smth??

z'gok

HELL YEAH!!!! genuinely love the z'gok. first: phenomenal color scheme, imo. the periwinkle and dark teal works *so* well, i could not be happier with how that looks and fuck char for painting it all red. aside from that, there's something so pleasing to me about the general way it's shaped. the proportions work surprisingly well for smth that is really close to being a torso with no head. and, speaking of the head: I love the little torpedo launchers on top! idk, I can't tell you exactly why, I just think the z'gok kicks ass, and is one of my favorite MS designs so far

zock

THE MAN THE MYTH THE LEGEND!!!!!!!!!!! the zock looks so ridiculous in the best possible way, I'm utterly obsessed. almost looks like it was designed to be a mobile armor like the bigro or smth, but then was changed to be a MS instead at the last minute. i dont care at all tho, bc it is just. perfection. look at that camera set up!!!! why is it a star!!!! it's so impractical it kicks so much ass!!!! and my god, the SHAPE on this lad!! and those claws!!!! and just, everything!!!! perfection has a name and it is zock

acguy

acguy is. a lot. he head too big for he gotdamn body!! it's a bit disappointing to go back to a gogg-adjacent color scheme, i won't lie. also anything coming right after the zock was bound to be a bit disappointing because, like, what could compare? that said! the crab-like head is cool, and i like the range of motion the camera has. also, the retractable fingers are incredible, and seeing these things spider-maning around in a cave was hilarious. more than any other MS, the acguy is just, like, a sopping wet beast to me

bonus that i haven't seen in action but saw a picture of: juaggu

what the sneef? i'm snorfin here!!