#but I honestly do not think naomi died

[tachiguin]

Me eyezooming crumbs of Tanizaki content as if I could divine the secrets of his backstory from the limited pieces of information we have on him...

I've heard the theory that something happened to Naomi in school (popular theory being that she died), and that it's partially based in those two official drawings we have where Tanizaki is wearing a school uniform, and in both pictures Naomi is unconscious.

But I raise you another baseless speculation, that this could actually mean the opposite. Sleeping is associated with dreaming and fantasies, (which is also one of the themes Tanizaki-sensei is well known for), which would contribute to my tinfoil hat theory that Tanizaki's entire backstory is a fabrication, where he has fooled both his coworkers and himself into believing that he used to be a student, among other things that we really have no evidence for, except for Tanizaki's own unreliable narration.

A.K.A. the possibility that his past as a student is just a pleasant dream he fooled himself into believing.

[cinnamontoads]

snake eater is getting more fun and even tho it still hasn’t really drawn me in character wise i do appreciate the step back up in interesting important woman characters after the womanfailure that was sons of liberty

[mediumgayitalian]

“What are your parameters for loving me?”

Careful to keep her head locked forward, Naomi glances over at her son. Will’s picked-bloody fingernails scrabble at the worn bandage around his wrist, twisting until his knuckles turn white. The car shakes with his violently bouncing leg, out of time with the shuddering engine and rumbling dust roads under the wheels.

“There aren’t any.”

“There have to be — some.” The bandage is longer than she thought, unspooled in his lap. He winds it back up again quickly, hands blurring; darting around his wrist, tapping on his knees, flexing and locking, flexing and locking. “I mean, what if I became a misogynist?”

She snorts. “I think you’re good, honey.”

“No, Mom, what if? Think about it for real. You’d stop loving me, right?”

“I might knock you around a bit, but it’d pretty hard to stop loving you completely,” she teases. She pinches the stubbornly-clinging baby fat of his cheeks between her knuckles, ruffling his hair when he ducks away.

“Seriously, Mama.”

“I dunno, Will. I’d send you to work for your Auntie Di for a while, probably. Reckon she’d straighten you out good.”

“Okay.” He nods, twice to himself, chewing on his lip. The bandage is wrapped around his elbow, now, pulled tight enough that she can hear the groan of his joints. “Okay. What if I killed someone?”

“Be a pretty hefty secret for the two of us.”

“An innocent person. Cold blood, just because I wanted to.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“I could, Mom. People are — unpredictable.” He picks at a hole in his shorts until it’s wide enough to slide three fingers through, pulling the bandage in after them. It looks yellowed next to the green of the fabric, worn. “Sometimes you think you know someone but you don’t.”

“I know you.”

She pushes on her turn signal, slowing to a near stop. Will’s twitching fingers unconsciously synch up, cri-tap, cri-tap, cri-tap. The rusted rims groan as her tires amble around the bend, quieting as she lurches forward. They both duck as she hits a pothole, narrowly avoiding the warped ceiling.

“Cold blood, Mama.”

“I’d — it would scare me, I guess.” The next few potholes are smaller — she can avoid them with some manoeuvring. A mouse darts out onto the road, rushing out from the surrounding cornfields, and she slams on the break, thrusting her arm out to the passenger side. Will’s hands come to cup over her forearm as he slams into it, grunting softly. The mouse sprints across the rest of the road, tail swishing behind it, disappearing into the stalks. She settles back into her seat, brushing across Will’s seatbelt as she does, and presses the gas again. “More for you than of you. For what would happen if someone came knocking.”

“You wouldn’t report it?”

“No I wouldn’t report it, Will, Jesus.”

“But I — but I did something evil.”

“This is a hypothetical, baby.”

“And in the hypothetical. You’re —” He scrubs his hand down his face, eyes squeezing shut. “You’re a good person. You have — morals.”

“I’m a person, Will.” The GPS beeps at her — twenty-five miles to the Tennessee border. “And I’m a mother before that.”

“So if I — you would just — just like that? You’d — forgive me?”

“I’d love you,” she corrects.

“But you wouldn’t forgive me.”

She shrugs. “Honestly? I don’t know. I’ve never thought about it.”

“So how do you know you’d still love me?”

“Because there’s nothing you could do, baby. I mean it.”

“Nothing?”

“Nothing.”

“Not even if I was a bully? Or a landlord? Or if I — liked boys?”

He says it quickly, or tries to, but he stumbles over his words, tripping over the syllables. Naomi sucks her bottom lip into her mouth, biting it hard.

“You would still love me, if I — if I —”

Keeping her movements steady, she removes her boot from the gas. Will glances, fast, at her tightening knuckles on the steering wheel, looking quickly away. She guides the car to the shoulder of the road, pulling into park, and kills the engine, unclipping her seatbelt and turning ninety degrees to face her son. Will crowds into the corner of the seat, hunching in on himself, shoulders tense and curling, hair failing over her lowered head.

“Oh, Will.”

His body shakes as she pulls him into her, hands trembling so bad they spasm, twitching out of the fists he makes. She shifts until both of her arms wrap tightly around her torso, ignoring the burn of the trench, tucking his forehead into her collarbone, dropping her lips to press against his temples, his cheeks, the crown of his head.

“It’s okay, baby.”

“It’s — not. I’m still, I can still —”

“Sh.” His tears drip onto her shirt, her skin. He chokes back a sob and she tightens, reflexively, pulling his whole body even closer to her, somehow, making space for his too-long legs, knees hitting his chest, feet dangling off the seat, gearshift shoved into his thigh. His chest heaves with the effort of keeping his cries locked up in his throat, hidden behind clenched teeth, squeezed shut eyes. His fingers cling onto her shirt, twisting the fabric so hard it warps. Her own fingers clutch desperately at the ridges of his spine, the inside of his elbow; squeezing, holding, bruising. His voice is rough as raw grit and reedy as pond scum, barely above a whisper.

“I like boys, Mama.”

“I heard you.” She rests her forehead on his shoulder, her own breaths shuddering. “I heard you, sweetheart.”

“I like — a boy.”

“Okay.”

“For a long time.”

Her swallow constricts her throat, shoving the air back in her lungs. How long, she cannot bring herself to ask — when was it, exactly, that he decided he could not trust her with this? When did she lose that privilege? Was it when he started protecting her from the pain in his life, or before? When he lost everyone close to him at once, or when he broke down and told her about it? When was she no longer the person he ran to when he was scared, nervous, afraid?

He used to come to her for everything.

“I love you,” she whispers, voice wet as it slides against the lump in her throat. She squeezes him again, and this time, he squeezes back, pressing his face into her skin. “Will Solace, you are what keeps me going, do you understand that? Come up here, baby, look at me.”

His eyes aren’t hers. He takes after his father, really; after his older brother once upon a time. But he speaks like she does and smiles like she does and stands like she does, and when he cries he gets that same look, like the ocean has emptied itself inside of him. She cradles both palms to his wet cheeks, thumbs pressing under his eyes, kissing his forehead, his cheekbones, wiping the tears away.

“Fifteen years long you’ve been the light of my life. I need you to understand that, Will. I have never loved anything like I love you and there will never be anyone who comes even close. There is no hypothetical, no situation, no anything that could change that. There are no parameters. None. You understand me?”

“Everything stops,” he croaks. “Everything has a limit.”

“Not me,” she says firmly. “You ain’t a baby no more, baby, but you’re gonna have to pretend for a moment that I know everything again. I am telling you that there is no boundary. And I am not giving you the option to disagree. You are my son and my sun and that’s final, Will. That’s final.”

His face crumples. She pulls him close again, sighing, letting him curl up in his lap like he’s ten years younger than he should be, instead of the ten years older he acts. She runs a hand through his knotted hair and another down his back and presses her lips to his temples, holding him every place she can reach, and rocks them, even though there’s no room to do it, humming slow and low under her breath.

“We’ll get there,” she promises, tapping a beat on his shoulders, pressing a kiss to his hair. “Okay?”

He nods into her neck. “Okay.” His voice is small but not cowering, thankfully; small like he’s hiding in her instead of from her. She fights the urge to sag into him, to burst into tears of her own.

“I love you, Will. No matter what and forever.”

“I love you too, Mama.”

[asolareclipses]

(Previous Part)

After passing through the miserable Manhattan traffic, the roads of rural New York began to calm as they began the long journey to Maine.

Beside Will, Jason was twisting a map around, the paper crinkling with each slight movement he made. “You’d think they would’ve made these easier to read.” He grumbled under his breath.

“Well they sort of did,” Will replied, “Google maps offers great convenience, unfortunately there’s no demigod Google or Apple…or any of the other companies.”

Jason blankly stared at Will for a moment, “I’m going to pretend I understood what any of that meant.”

Will held back a laugh, he had forgotten that Jason wasn’t exactly familiar with modern technology. He was like Nico in that way, maybe that’s one of the reasons they got along so well. “It’s phone stuff, i’m not really the expert on it because I was never allowed to have a phone. But my Mom had one, and the other campers keep me up to date with all that other stuff.”

Jason’s eyes widened for a split second, Will could tell it was because of the mention of his Mom. He was probably surprised because Will typically didn’t mention her. “So your Mom, she’s…” Jason’s voice died off.

“She’s alive, if that’s what you wanted to ask. Her name is Naomi Solace, though I doubt you’ve heard of her. She’s a pretty well known country singer, always busy with tours and concerts.” Will seemed to fall into the past as he spoke about his mother. “I used to go on tours with her, they were chaotic but honestly amazing. Staying up until the late hours eating fast food, traveling around the country. It was great.”

Jason seemed hesitant to speak, but he noticed Will’s smile fading. “Did something happen?”

“Well, turns out monsters aren’t great for tours.” Will sighed as he stared out across the endless roads. “As I got older, more and more attacks happened. Eventually my Mom had to send me to camp, she didn’t want to. I still think she regrets it, but there was nothing she could do. Guess that’s just how it is.”

“Do you still keep in contact?” Jason asked cautiously.

“Yeah,” Will nodded, “I send letters, and Iris messages. Sometimes I even visit, though she’s pretty busy so I never stay long. She would probably let me stay forever if she could, but I wouldn’t burden her like that.”

Jason opened his mouth to speak but he hesitated, unable to find the right thing to say. After a moment he finally spoke, “She sounds nice.”

Will smiled, “Oh yeah, she’s amazing.” He meant it completely, his Mom was truly one of the best people he’d ever known. “But enough about my Mom, what do you think this ‘dark presence’ or whatever it is we are facing?”

Jason frowned, his mind delving into thought, “I’m not sure. What dark creature or thing would be out to get Nico?”

Will paused, a revelation hitting him so hard he almost drove them off the road. “Oh my Gods…how did I not realize sooner?”

“What?” Jason said, his hand was now tightly latched onto the door from Wills lapse in good driving.

“It’s Nyx,” he said the name like it was poison in his mouth. “It has to be. She’s probably still pissed that he embarrassed her.”

“Nyx?” Jason asked, his voice almost incredulous.

“Yeah, we fought her back in tartarus. Guess she’s still holding a grudge.” Will shook his head with an unpleasant look displayed on his face.

“So Nico left to what? Go fight a goddess on his own?”

Will sighed in pure frustration, “Yep. It’s a classic Nico move, I mean he would’ve gone to tartarus alone, again, if I hadn’t forced him to take me.”

“I guess in that way he hasn’t changed, still trying to face things alone.” Jason frowned.

“Right.” Will’s face was now unreadable even to himself, “At least he’s not alone, he took your boyfriend with him remember?”

Jason almost choked, “Boyfriend?!”

Will failed to hold back his laughter, “I guess it’s not official yet?”

“We’re not-he’s not-“ Jason stumbled over his words before giving up at forming a coherent sentence.

“Okay, okay. I won’t push any further, just know, it’s pretty obvious.” Will smirked as Jason tried to regain his composure.

“I’m not sure what you’re talking about,” Jason finally spoke with a false look of confidence. “Me and Leo are just-“ He was cut off by a sudden thump against the roof of the car.

Will glanced up in shock, “What was that?”

“I don’t-“ Jason began, but before he could finish there was another thump and sharp claws pierced through the roof.

Will grit his teeth looking ahead, “Hold tight Jason, the rides about to get bumpy.”

—

Bumpy was an understatement. The second Will swerved off the main road, the normal car ride transformed into a death trip. Each turn was so sharp Jason had to cling to whatever he could just so he wouldn’t be thrown across the car. He was convinced that any second now they’d go barreling into a tree. Yet, Will somehow maintained control, his driving was insane but also impressive.

In a particularly harsh turn, whatever had latched onto the car had gone flying off and when Jason turned to see he got a clear view of their attacker—well attackers. Rapidly approaching behind them was a small group of harpies, hellbent on turning them into bird food.

“Uh Will? You might want to speed up,” Jason said as he gripped his sword. There wasn’t much use for it in the small space but it was a good plan b.

“On it.” Will said, as his knuckles latched around the wheel turned white, they began to pick up speed making any movement of the car even more jarring.

Jason kept his eyes on the harpies which were still hot on their trail, “How do we lose these guys?”

“No clue,” Will spoke through clenched teeth. “Maybe you could blow them away?”

Jason perked up, for a moment he’d forgotten about the whole wind powers thing. “Good idea.” He spoke quickly before focusing on the wind beneath the harpies wings. With a slight twist they spiraled away, losing control of the air around them.

Will seemed to relax for a moment, but that was cut short by the cars suddenly sputtering to a slow stop. The extra speed and turbulence appeared to be too much for the old camp be vehicle. “Aw hades!” The look on Will’s face was of pure and utter frustration.

As soon as the car wasn’t moving, Will slung open his door storming over to the hood of the car. With a frown he threw it open and was promptly engulfed in smoke. Jason hurriedly rushed over to him, urging the winds to dispel the clouds of smoke.

As the smoke dissipated it revealed Will who stood there coughing and muttering a range of curses—some Jason had never heard before but he was sure they weren’t positive. “Of course this happens!” Will threw his hands up in defeat.

Jason winced, not sure how to comfort him.

“The one time I go out on an important quest, everything goes wrong!” Will spoke, his anger seemed more directed at himself than the circumstances.

“Every quest has setbacks,” Jason tried his best to sound optimistic.

“Maybe, but we left camp hours ago and we’re already stranded on the side of the road. Who knows what Nico and Leo are doing, and if we’re too late.” Will rambled on as he began to pace alongside the car.

“Will, things happen, I don’t see how this could be your fault.” Jason continued with his reasoning, but it was as if Will had heard nothing.

“What a great idea to send a medic on some important quest, like I could actually be a hero.” Will spoke directly to himself almost unaware of Jason’s presence.

“Will stop.” Jason took cautious hold of Will’s shoulders, a firm look on his face.

Realization passed across Will’s expression as he now understood how he’d been acting. “Sorry..” His voice was almost too quiet to hear.

“This is only a temporary setback, we’ll find away to get to them in time.” Jason spoke with every ounce of reassurance he could gather.

Will looked away, now focused on the dirt beneath his shoes. “Right, you’re right.”

Jason watched as Will seemed to shrink in on himself, embarrassed for showing a slight piece of his troubles. He felt a sense of similarity between himself and Will, he knew all too well the pain of hiding your true feelings.

It was the first time he saw Will not as this bubbly guy who was happy to do whatever whenever, but as someone who faced the same harsh world that met every demigod. Will knew loss, he knew more than he’d ever tell. He would never show that side of himself willingly. Instead, he let himself be portrayed as a calm reliable person with no struggles despite his constant turmoil. It didn’t feel fair.

At that moment Jason knew Will was a true hero, whether he believed it or not. He just had no idea how to prove it to him. What he did know, was that they had to succeed. Not just for Leo and Nico, but for everyone else, including themselves.

Part Seven

[canonmisogynyvictimstournament]

Now that submissions are closed, we can talk stats. There were 881 valid, unique submissions for 474 characters! Woof, women have it rough out there!

The most submitted characters, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. Sakura Haruno (Naruto): 28 [where do i even fucking begin]

2. Cordelia Chase (Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel): 21 [OH SO MANY THINGS]

3. Misa Amane (Death Note): 20 [The author of Death Note invented new forms of misogyny just to apply them to Misa.]

4. Kaede Akamatsu (Danganronpa V3): 15 [Oh, you thought we would have a female main character in one of our mainline games? With a cool defining talent, no less? That's stupid of you]

5. TIE: Kairi (Kingdom Hearts): 14 [I'm so mad. I think she deserves a gun.]

5. TIE: Stephanie Brown (DC Comics): 14 [She does eventually get retconned as surviving the event and hiding out in Africa (don't ask, it does not make more sense in context)]

The canons with the most submissions, with a relevant propaganda snippet included, are:

1. DC Comics: 61 [DC has SO MUCH sexism it's laughable]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 35 [Fuck Joss Whedon, man.]

3. Naruto: 33 [because Kishimoto hates women]

4. Warrior Cats: 26 [Warriors is one of the most misogynistic children's series I've ever seen]

5. Danganronpa: 25 [I honestly had to think about it just to decide which woman is treated the worst because this series hates them so much]

The canons with the most characters submitted, with a relevant propaganda snippet for a specific character included, are:

1. DC Comics: 21 [Free her from the huge tits back breaking pose.]

2. Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Angel: 12 [Anyways she was so hot and for what. 10/10 my lesbian awakening.]

3. Supernatural: 11 [Yeah, she got randomly killed off-screen for shock value and manpain, but she sent an email right before she died so at least her death wasn't in vain, right?]

4. TIE: Star Trek: 9 [She literally gets teleported out of her clothes in one episode.]

4. TIE: Yu-Gi-Oh!: 9 [One loss is particularly brutal as she falls from a large height directly onto her head and goes into a coma (again. yes this was the second time).]

5. TIE: Warrior Cats: 8 [I'm sure she'll get submitted again just ask any reasonable fan they'll tell you about her and her sister]

5. TIE: Attack on Titan: 8 [As a child soldier, she does commit some war crimes]

And here are some charts to show how some of these entries fucked the scale on my charts:

Look at Sakura, fucking up my chart with her numbers.

On a similar note...

Good god, DC, I know what you did, but add fucking up my charts to your list of crimes.

And now, enjoy some rankings of my favorite things:

My favorite universal sentiment quotes from propaganda are:

She lived she served cunt and then she got killed off super early so that the male characters could experience man pain and also because I guess she would have been too powerful if left alive. [Wen Qing (Mo Dao Zu Shi)]

That design. Dear god. I don't want to live on this planet anymore. [Mitzi (The Queen's Corgi)]

In the end she may have girlbossed too close to the sun, but I support her anger. [Ling Wen (Heaven Official's Blessing)]

the victim of “writer doesn’t understand women and also hates them” disease. [Naomi Misora (Death Note)]

She could 100% kill somebody but nobody ever effing lets her. Rip queen. [Kairi (Kingdom Hearts)]

My favorite raging at a writer quotes from propaganda are:

1. You took every single protagonist to weird lion heaven, Clive, but suddenly Susan isn't good enough. [Susan Pevensie (The Chronicles of Narnia)]

2. Being a woman written by Joss Whedon should automatically entitle her to financial compensation tbh. [River Tam (Firefly)]

3. A lot can be summed up in a couple words, namely, "Furman, why?" [Arcee (Transformers)]

4. Can you tell respect women juice ran in Tolstoy's veins. [Lise Bolkonskaya (War and Peace)]

5. TIE: (specifically a guy called Dan Didio, who we all hate) [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

5. TIE: until Geoff motherfucking Johns comes into the picture [Pantha (DC Comics)]

My favorite quotes from propaganda that have nothing to do with misogyny, y'all are just funny:

I wish I could use bold here, because there's no such thing as uppercase numbers. [Arcee (Transformers)]

the most convoluted and lore dense piece of media this side of the afton criticality. [Jane Crocker (Homestuck)]

ended up starting a gang war by accident [Stephanie Brown (DC Comics)]

Ashfur, who later turns out to be a murderous incel [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

Hawkfrost is actively seeing Brambleclaw and his evil father in cat hell. [Squirrelflight (Warrior Cats)]

[ghoooooooooooooooost]

i only shared it w a friend before but can i tell you all my death mark 2 au/rewrite... here (spoilers obvi, also body horror + insects warning)

(edited so theres more details smile)

most things r the same except for the departed (and no naked girl cgs OFCOURSE)

making it so that the departed pretends to be daimon instead of the two high school girls

normal daimon is around but he’ll gradually get sick n every now n then something weeeeird happens (as in yashiki accidentally talks to fake daimon. also maybe you see the weird bug ghost that hovers above everyone near endgame with him first)

crowbar scene happens w fake daimon while real daimon is actually passed out somewhere. mashita comforts yashiki n then they both realize its a fake

(that's what these doodles were referencing)

my dearest friend chip suggested the departed could also be konoe so n that would make sense n make him more present in the plot so byeah

we both agreed that they didn't push the bug + mold horror theme far enough so i tried my hand at it. mold can be really gross irl ewwww

my design for departed daimon is actually toned down from the og tho, just bc i thought the weird spider face was more goofy than scary. personally bugs are scary to me when they're crawling on you n burrowing into your skin n making holes n laying eggs in there - like the bees in death mark 1. there was some real-stories tv show abt that specific thing happening that aired when i was a kid n it freaked me out a lot

why was hime's mold just ourple swirls boooriiiiiiiiiiiing

/

edit july 15th 2024 adding this into the main og post since wonderful chippard linked it (basically a neater rewrite of everything i just said + what i said in the reblog addition. i rewrote it for a solo zine hence the proper capitalization lol)

Instead of Himeko and Michiho being The Departed, it’s Daimon and Konoe. Normal Daimon is still there but every now and then he’ll start acting strange or feeling sick due to The Departed’s possession. The “love” aspect would be shown through Daimon specifically too so Doctor Duo ship is canon in this. Konoe basically uses Daimon to try to get to his Dear Husband. In place of going into a coma like in the original, his behavior intensifies and condition worsens until he suddenly runs to the bathroom. When he comes back… dun dun dun… that’s The Departed – Yashiki doesn’t know…! Crowbar scene ensues. But!? After Yashiki tells Mashita, they see Daimon perfectly alive in the infirmary. Yasuoka found him collapsed in the hallway at some point.

The plot would play out basically the same with some changes (no fanservice girl cgs; more Konoe screen-time; Michiho + Himeko act differently; Saki or Abe partner? more school-related ghosts...).

Maybe the game could be longer to give the new characters more time to shine while not removing the returning ones. Not sure how that would work exactly… One possible solution would be to have day segments where we get to play as Yashiki while he's actively teaching (which would also address the "why'd they even pick a school setting" problem bc damn they barely did any school specific plot shit outside of Hanako & Kashima). Would be awesome and in-line with how the first game brought up war if they kept addressing problems with the education system. Also I think I wouldn’t have any unavoidable human casualties after Hanako’s chapter? All the unavoidable deaths made my friends confused about if they were doing something wrong or not and it honestly felt off to me too. It would be compelling if after failing to protect the first student(s), Yashiki actually successfully protects the rest of them in the good route. Making him feel like he’s become more steadfast after the first game and staying true to his word. Especially if Naomi survives in my opinion - ‘she almost dies but is spared if you make the right choices’ or something like that. She could even be in the room when Yashiki sings the school song.

Not sure how I'd make The Departed feel even more connected to the school... Maybe there's a romantic superstition popular among the students that's based off their "wedding ceremony" -- but it's innocent enough to not give away how they died.

[starlightshadowsworld]

Bad except when Atsushi leaves the Agency and calls Higuichi, he does so to surrender himself to the Port Mafia.

He can't keep putting the Agency in danger like this. Junichiro and Naomi almost died because of him.

Atsushi didn't deserve their kindness, he would only bring misfortune onto them all like Akutugawa said.

The Headmaster was right about him. And maybe, just maybe Atsushi's tired of running.

Atsushi leaves the Agency, with nothing but the clothes on his back because that's all he has. He does feel bad he can't return the clothes they gave him.

Kunikida catches him leaving "and where do you think you're going" But Atsushi just smiles a little and says thanks for everything.

Before walking away.

Atsushi waits at the docks where the Black Lizards show up. He holds his hands out and let's them handcuff him.

He doesn't struggle nor does he fight. Even when they push him in a cell deep underground. Atsushi almost laughs when he's locked inside.

He really did escape one cage for another, such was his life he supposed. Apparently the Boss wanted to see him?

Atsushi didn't know.

He hadn't been paying attention. And frankly he didn't care what they wanted with him or why the Boss wanted to see him.

He knew Mori was the Boss just by the way man held himself. Atsushi looked down, not daring to meet his eyes.

The man before him was so different to the President... It was like being with the Headmaster again.

Mori chuckled, apparently amused. "So you're the famous weretiger that I've heard so much about."

Atsushi nods, it still felt werid to hear. "We were coming to collect you to recieve the bounty placed on you." Mori smiled, it was not kind on the slightest.

"But after hearing of you're fight between Akutugawa, I think your more use to us here." He hums, thoughtfully. "Sure it may be inviting war, but... You came of your on accord didn't you?"

"... I did."

"And do you want to go back to the Agency?"

Atsushi wants to say yes. There was an ease at the Agency he'd never felt before. But it was suffocating, he didn't know what it meant to experience ease or joy.

This cell, this man, were things Atsushi was a lot more used to. It was where he belonged, what he deserved.

"No."

Mori smirks as if reading his mind, honestly Atsushi wouldn't be suprised if he could. "Than that's that" he goes to unlock the cage but Atsushi shakes his head.

"No, don't!"

He notices the amusement in Mori's eyes, and wonders if this was a test.

The key goes back in his pocket and Atsushi breathes a sigh of relief. The Presidents ability would surely lose its hold on him, and there would go all the control Atsushi had.

Atsushi hated being contained but knew it was what he deserved. Mori turned to leave, Atsushi didn't care what they made him do. If he was tortured, even killed.

Atsushi had turned his back on the light forever, it had burned him and he'd retreated to the cold darkness that he was born into.

Whatever happened to him, was deserved.

He has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide but at least his friends were safe.

Mori chuckled, like he'd read his mind and left him alone.

"Welcome to the Port Mafia, Atsushi Nakajima."

[f4rfields]

it is SO silly to claim near and mello are "L clones" if you actually read the second half of the manga instead of stopping because blorbo died. like you are missing out on two very interesting characters who are dynamic, despite symbolically representing parts of L.

mello's arc begins with them wanting to solve the kira case to avenge L, but more importantly to prove themself, and ends with them is about accepting that they cannot do this alone and that actually solving it is more important than the validation. L is driven by ego and a desire to have an intellectual challenge. their anger towards nearly everyone (particularly near) is intense and they are often very demanding, but they are most certainly capable of understanding, patience, and care, as seen with matt - one of the few friends mello actually has (and the anime cuts out the short snippets that do show this dynamic more). while both L and mello are ruthless and pretty unethical, mello is more physically violent and impulsive. if L was playing 5D chess, mello is throwing the board off the table.

near is much more L-like, but is far more direct in his suspicions. while L was purposefully drawing out the mental dance that he and light were doing for their own amusement, near is turning the music off. he's driven by duty and a sense of justice, not ego - he's willing to openly acknowledge the contributions of others. although he seems nonchalant, he is more honestly expressive in his emotions and thoughts, and he actually really cares about the people in his team - and mello, despite mello hating him kind of. he doesn't see kira as someone whose intellect makes them dangerous, he sees the death note as what makes kira a global threat. he's willing to play dirty like light, but he's much more benevolent in it.

i cannot really think of what the story would actually be like if L did not die, and i doubt it would be particularly satisfying. L's ego and constant need to be entertained while people are dying is part of his own downfall. he flies too close to the sun. it only makes sense that he came crashing down. if you actually get invested in near and mello and approach them as their own characters, it just makes L's demise seem inevitable.

also i intentionally say "read the manga" because half of the story gets condensed into the last 3rd of the anime and removes much of the characterization of mello and near, and how they come to understand and solve the kira case. like i get why anime-only folks don't care for them much - they didn't even get a chance to get attached to them.

also death note still holds up aside from the abysmal writing of the female characters (which i am still mad about and still think that naomi should have gotten to survive into the actual investigation). it was actually much more interesting to read as an adult than it was as a teenager, so if you haven't read it since you were like 15 or something, i recommend giving it a shot again. thank u for reading my essay.

[sittingbesideyoulikeasilhouette]

Desolate

There is no heterosexual explanation for the many stolen glances between Dean and Cas over the course of 11 seasons, so this piece is me dipping my toes into Destiel territory. This is a season 15 fix-it. This is angsty with mentions of death and mourning. I'm thinking of having this be the set-up for an actual story but I want to see if people are interested!

Pairing: Dean x Cas

TW: death, loss, violence (Dean punches Sammy), grief

If you would like me to continue this please let me know in the comments!!

It happened 7 days after they’d defeated Chuck and Jack was assimilating into his new role. God. Capital G-O-D. His surrogate son was God and even though Dean knew that Jack would make a better god than Chuck ever had, he’d miss him. It seemed like that’s all he was going to be doing for the rest of his life, missing Jack.

Missing Cas.

He fucking hates himself for not saying it back. It would have been so easy; it’s been weighing heavy on his heart for years. I love you too. But what he’d said instead was “Don’t do this, Cas” and he will never be able to forgive himself. The first time he’d almost told Cas he loved him had been years ago, at the crypt, when Naomi was controlling Cas and he’d nearly killed Dean. Beaten, bloodied and on his knees, he’d almost said it. I love you, Cas. But instead, he said “I need you, Cas.” Both were true but Cas didn’t truly understand just how much Dean needed him. He can’t blame anyone but himself, honestly, because how in the hell would Cas know he loved him? He buried his feeling under cheap booze and women, and he always made it clear that he wasn’t gay. Which, truly, Dean didn’t think of himself as gay; sure, he thought some men were attractive, but he’d never had the desire to be with a man the way he did with Cas, he didn’t gravitate around them and let himself be consumed by their orbit. Cas had been it; he was the one that made Dean feel like maybe love didn’t have a gender or an expiration date, but he was too fucking stubborn to let himself have it. He was too scared to love and to be loved. And now it’s too late. He’s alone. Cas is dead.

Sam knew but he didn’t, tried to help you he couldn’t. Sam saw the bags under his eyes and the number of empty, scattered bottles in Dean’s room was excessive, even for him. Sam knew Cas was his best friend and he knew he was mourning him in a way he never had when he died before. His death seemed so final this team that Dean didn’t dare hope that he might be able to come back. Sam tried cheering him up, he really did, hey you want to go for a drive? We can listen to Metallica’s entire discography or hey Meat Man, how about some burgers? had been the last two attempts made by Sammy, one this morning and the other at lunch. Sounds like fun, maybe some other time okay, Sammy? and I’m not hungry, maybe tomorrow? Had been his replies and Sam smiled, nodded, and let him be. So, there he was, wallowing in his bed, when Sam walked in a couple of hours later.

“Hey man, I’m heading out to get some groceries. We’re making burgers tonight.”

Dean was tired, so bone-achingly tired, so he didn’t argue.

“Sounds good, Sammy.”

As Sam was turning to leave Dean called out.

“Don’t forget the beer. Grab 2 packs.”

“No, I’m not grabbing any beer,” Sam said, turning back to look at him.

“Sam, stop, we always drink beer. This is no different.” Dean said sitting up in bed and looking his brother in the eyes.

“This is entirely different, Dean. This situation could not be further from anything we have ever experienced before. You are drinking yourself to death, man. You need to stop.”

“You don’t know what I need, Sam. Go and get the damn groceries and some fucking beer!” Dean yelled and Sam looked hurt, but he wouldn’t budge. Dean got up and walked slowly over to him until he was standing right in front of him.

“Do it or I’ll go myself, Sam.”

“Dean, stop,” Sam pleaded, looking down at him with tears in his eyes, “I know you miss him bu-“ the rest of Sam’s sentence went unfinished as Dean’s right fist connected with Sam’s jaw and he fell backwards out into the hallway.

Dean looks down at his brother and knows he should apologize. Help him get up and apologize, he told himself, but he couldn’t bring himself to do anything except tower over him. The rage felt warranted, and it made him feel alive for a second. Sam got to his feet and stared at his brother; there was no anger in his eyes and that made Dean want to punch him again.

“If punching me makes you feel better, then keep taking swings, Dean,” Sam’s voice didn’t waver, and it held no trace of resentment. Dean was sure Sam would let him beat him bloody if it meant he’d stop drinking and feel anything other than sadness over Cas. Dean considered it, he fucking considered continuing to beat the crap out his brother for no other reason other than he could, Sam told him he could, but there was a deafeningly loud boom and a subsequent clatter coming from the foyer than made them both immediately look down the hallway. Other than the noise, the red lights hadn’t come on and the alarm hadn’t gone off. What the hell was strong enough to break into the bunker without setting any of the warding off? Dean ran into his room, grabbed two guns and knives, and handed a pair to his brother. They walked side by side, eerily quiet, down to the foyer. Sam put a hand on Dean’s chest to stop him just before they turned the corner. Sam pointed to himself then signaled to the foyer in two quick motions. I’ll go first. Dean nodded and mouthed, I’ll cover you. As soon as Sam turned the corner, Dean saw a look of fear written all over his face, but he lowered his weapons anyway. What the hell was Sam looking at? Dean turned the corner behind Sam, gun pointed and knife ready, but the second he laid eyes on him, he felt like all the air had been punched out of his lungs.

“Cas?” Sam whispered and Dean dropped his weapons in a clatter at his feet.

There he was, just as Dean remembered him from a week ago. The only differences were that this Cas wasn’t scared, he wasn’t crying, or making deathbed love declarations. He was standing in front of him and Sam, wearing his trademark trench coat and a slight ever-confused look in his eyes. Dean knew that they should check, throw salt, holy water, silver, and a battery of other tests but what he did instead was shove Sam out of the way and head straight to Cas. Dean threw his arms around Cas’ neck and buried his hands in his hair. He felt Cas hug him back, almost instinctively, but instead of the usual arms around the torso, he placed his hands at Dean’s waist and pulled him closer. They stayed like that for what felt like hours, he could hear Sam sniffling from behind them and it suddenly made him realize he was crying.

“Shh I’m here, Dean, it’s okay. I’m here” he heard Cas whisper in his ear and felt his hands rubbing circles into the small of his back and he wanted nothing more than to stay like this forever.

After a few seconds Dean pulled back slightly, finally looking into Cas’ blues and for a second he thought of all the things hidden in the color – sapphires, the ocean after tempest, the sky after a rainy day, Dean’s favorite toy car that his mom and dad had gifted him on his third birthday and that he still had hidden away in his nightstand – he kept his arms around Cas’ neck but asked the question he knew was also on Sam’s mind.

“How?” he breathed, and Cas smiled. He removed his left hand from Dean’s waist and plunged it into one of the many pockets of his trench coat. He pulled out a small, neatly folded piece of paper. Fighting against the part of his brain urging him to keep holding onto Cas because the universe was cruel and he might disappear if he let go, Dean dropped his arms from Cas’ neck, took the piece of paper, and walked back over to Sam who was looking at him expectantly. Once he was next to him, he held the note in front of them and opened it:

I’m hands off starting now.

- Love, Jack.

[wrongcaitlyn]

After Apollo’s book comes out (because this is the first thing I’d do lmao), do you think they’d create a biopic to go along with it? (And if it was well made) Would he and the group go and watch it?

ooh OMG this is such a good question. i had to consult @wronghuntress about this because part of me is like - as much as i portray apollo as a kindhearted and really loving father (which he is), he's still apollo. no matter how much pain and trauma the spotlight gives him, he can't stay away from it - he doesn't want to,

even when he runs away from hollywood and leaves all that behind, he still jumps at the first opportunity to make music again and encourages nico to release it. he eventually writes his memoir (that goes along with songs - i don't think that's really a spoiler seeing as the memoir files are accompanied by mp3 files and lyrics with two songs revealed already), which is just making his story even more known.

so he definitely doesn't stray away from the spotlight, but in the end, i don't think that he would support a biopic. technically, he is a public figure, and people could make a biopic even if he doesn't approve of it (i'm pretty sure, i just watched a yt video comparing the elvis and priscilla biopics despite watching neither for some reasonSDKF, but i dont actually have much knowledge on how these are made) - but i don't think he would ever support that for the sole reason of his kids.

the memoir centers largely around apollo's kids, even before they're born - on his relationship with naomi and latricia and darren as well - it's just as much of a focus of the memoir as his father's abuse and the corruption of the industry.

with that in mind, a biopic would include someone portraying naomi - which apollo, i don't think, would feel he has a right to just portray from his perspective, and which would also be very hard to get right for will, as well.

then there's obviously darren and latricia as well, and the fact that kids would have to play his own kids - which he'd probably feel a bit uncomfortable with, seeing as, especially just then, will kayla and austin would just be in their twenties

i think that the only option for a biopic would end up either being unapproved by apollo (which would likely end up with it being cancelled, seeing as apollo's father would hate that portrayal as well, so with their combined control over hollywood i do think they'd be able to prevent it from happening - i know, them working together on smth is a strange idea), or after apollo's death

and i do think that apollo lives a long, long, life. like, long enough for conspiracy theorists to question whether he may actually be a god in hiding. by that time, annabeth would be too old to play naomi - who would be about 21-28, and would probably have already retired anyway (assuming apollo dies at like 100 or smth so annabeth would be in her 80s)

if it was created without apollo's approval, annabeth would immediately turn down that role - out of respect for apollo, will, and naomi.

but i think it raises the interesting idea of what if apollo didn't have a biopic - what if naomi had a biopic made abt her?

now that'd be interesting and i like to imagine she had a huge impact on country music - plus, tragic ending, lots of drama, it's exactly what hollywood would want to make a biopic about. and honestly, i think it's a pretty plausible idea, so long as apollo and will both get to look over the script before hand! in that case, i think it would be very interesting for annabeth to play naomi, maybe even also co-produce the movie, and then work for hours on end with will trying to make sure that it'd be perfect. i absolutely love annabeth and will friendship, they're like siblings in my head honestly, and i think annabeth would do an incredible job at that <3

thank you for the ask!

[lorata]

Twenty Questions: Fic Author Edition

tagged by @bodyelectric77 :)

1-How many works do you have on ao3?

111, lol

2-What's your total AO3 word count?

1,389,833 on AO3 officially

3-What fandoms do you write for?

Hunger Games by a wide margin, and then if I get rid of the one-offs here are the fandoms I've written for at least twice:

Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins (75)

Temeraire - Naomi Novik (6)

Marvel Cinematic Universe (4)

Wynonna Earp (TV) (3)

Dragon Age (Video Games) (2)

King Lear - Shakespeare (2)

Wonder Woman (Movies - Jenkins) (2)

The Deed of Paksenarrion - Elizabeth Moon (2)

Star Wars Original Trilogy (2)

Stranger Things (TV 2016) (2)

4-What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Slow Work (Steve/Bucky)

you can take the boy out of the desert (Luke Skywalker post-ANH)

Patience, Friend (Temeraire, Volly's hatching)

Embrace the Fire: The Avenger Games

welcome to your gory bed (Hunger Games, victor backstories)

5-Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?

I really, really want to, because comments make me SO SO SO happy, and I occasionally have some wonderful people who go through and comment on every single thing I've written which is the DREAM -- but I don't always have the mental bandwidth to do it. So let me just say right now that if you've ever left a comment I have read it, and I loved it, and you made my day better.

6-What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Uhhhh .... there are a lot. People can cast their votes on this one, but I'd say maybe Ambrosia or Don't Flinch?

7-What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

I had to leave THG for this one, lol. But I think Impossible Magic, which is a fix-it for the Enchanted Forest Chronicles that solves something that bugged me about a series I otherwise adore.

8-Do you get hate on fics?

the real ones will remember, lol. I had one specific reader who would leave, like, novel-length comments on every single chapter of every single fic about everything he hated / disagreed with. My favourite was the list of my D2 victors in order of who he hoped would get killed off from most to least (Petra was at the top and Emory was at the bottom SORRY MAN). I honestly don't know why he was still reading if everything annoyed him so much, lmao.

If ever I get a mean anon I delete it though. You won't catch me responding to anon hate.

9-Do you write smut? If so what kind?

Not....... really. I write sex in very specific situations but it's usually to serve a purpose and I'm kind of ... vague about it, even when I think I'm being explicit (for me). I'm sure people could pick out sex written by me pretty easily. It's not exactly fade to black because that implies skipping to later, this is more like ... elisions, I guess.

10-Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written?

Very famously, yes. I'm not sure what I'd consider the weirdest one. Temeraire / THG victors as dragons? Watership Down / THG rabbits?

11-Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Fanfic, no, I don't think so, but I have had original stories stolen and put up on Amazon. It's the reason I took down my FictionPress account and have all my original things locked on LJ / DW.

12-Have you ever had a fic translated?

I have!

Я хочу увидеть тебя храброй | I wanna see you be brave

【授权翻译】Don't Flinch/无所畏惧 | Don't Flinch.

13-Have you ever cowritten a fic before?

Yes, several! My usual co-conspirators are azelmaroark, @kawuli, @penfoldx and @xanify

14-What's your all-time favorite ship?

96 out of my 111 fics on AO3 are gen, so that should give you my answer on that one, lol.

15-What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?

Never say never???? But sadly, probably the Portal/Emory's Games crossover if only because all the notes on the super complicated Arena were on a computer that died and I don't remember anything

16-What are your writing strengths?

Character and feelings, babeyyyyy. Also my hallmark is making people care (or at least think) about characters they absolutely despised before

17-What are your writing weaknesses?

Plot is hard. Every time I think I've done something complicated I'll read a book by someone with an actual intricate plot and need to lie down for 500 hours

18-Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?

Nah. Generally I use dialogue tags to tell the reader what language is being spoken

19-First fandom you wrote for?

Star Wars, when I was 12, though it was just me and my bff. Dragon Ball Z was the first time I actually realized fandom was a Thing

20-Favorite fic you've ever written?

I will always have a soft spot for Fixed to a Star, I think

tagging whoever wants to play -- I've been offline for a while so i don't know who's done it!

[lawlietscaramels]

L and Matsuda for 002?

-🎲

THANK YOU 🎲 ANON!!

How I feel about L: hhhhh sigh. hhh. sighhhshhshsiigggh. honestly? he's kind of like my favourite jumper. he's my number one comfort character ever and I came very close to crying in bed for days after he died. i am not 'typical about this man.

How I feel about Matsuda: he's such a cutie!! teehee!!! look at this silly fella who probably cuts his own hair!! giggling and kicking my feet cause he's funny and silly and would be a good friend doncha think?

All the people I ship romantically with L: Matsuda, Misa, Rie, other people's OCs (if they're shipped with him by their creator xD). Light deserves a mention because while I don't ship LawLight romantically I do think they're an iteration of the "red thread" trope because no matter what time, no matter what place, they'll write history together with a pen filled with their own blood in place of ink. that said I was genuinely surprised that so many people ship them just because I don't see it at all. I don't hate it, there's just nothing that clicks for me when looking at L and Light.

All the people I ship romantically with Matsuda: mostly just L, I've seen Matsu + Misa stuff but I think they'd be cuter friends.

My non-romantic OTP for L: Light 100%. You can't have one without the other. I can't explain all my thoughts about them without a whole post dedicated to it, but anyway, Light is my answer.

My non-romantic OTP for Matsuda: mentioned it above, Misa! They're two sillies and they're both :3 so they're besties and they've probably got matching friendship bracelets.

My unpopular opinion about L: he does eat normal food on a semi-regular basis. specifically, meat, usually I think steak. I hc him as anemic but also Watari wouldn't let L die or become malnourished and there's important things in food that you can't necessarily get in vitamins or tablets. and actually, as someone with anemia, I think L would actually have really strong cravings for rare or medium rare red meat when his iron is low and thus when he eats it he enjoys it.

My unpopular opinion about Matsuda: He's actually really smart, especially with humanities subjects. Just doesn't have great detective skills. A different career path may have been beneficial but he actually really believes in justice, probably more so than L and Light, and he actually QUESTIONS his own sense of justice which leads to more balance. he's such a great guy.

One thing I wish had happened with L in canon: he survived. and actually, I'd just really like to see him solve lots of cases. idk how many/if any he solved outside the anime but you know. a side series where he solves cases and explores the world and has tea parties with Watari would melt my heart.

One thing I wish had happened with Matsuda in canon: honestly I just wish we got to see more of him in general. I wish we got deeper into his character - into everyone's character, actually, they're all a little 2D and it's not just the animation - but yeah. more Matsu. how he works.

My L OTP: I'm not sure if I can pick one HAHAHHS I love all his relationships (well, my headcanons for them) from platonic to father and son to mentor and mentee to enemies together to lovers. yeah. I just like L LMAO but maybe Matsu. hm idk. I hear some people ship him with BB or Naomi and I wanna look into that.

My Matsuda OTP: lowkey L and Matsuda are one of my favourite ships. in Matsu's case I don't really ship him with anyone else so this is the only answer. some of you might have noticed that in my headcanons Matsuda plays Pokémon Go! and L is a Pokémon fan too... hmm... Also I like them cause they're both childish: like yeah L is always calling Matsuda stupid but does he call any other task force members stupid, even when they deserve it? no. arrogant child and silly child. even in non ship situations I think they're actually on similar wavelengths in a way.

My crossover ship for L: (platonic) Saiki K. you can't tell me they wouldn't be best friends come onnnn smnsndndm hehe

My crossover ship for Matsuda: I dunno actually...

A headcanon for L: if he has to wear shoes, he has to wear blue socks. not dark blue or navy, LIGHT, SATURATED BLUE. it's like neon ahhaha. there's little yellow flowers at the hem bits but his jeans cover them.

A headcanon for Matsuda: he doesn't like chips because they're too crunchy. he likes chips though. curly chips. YES I CALL BOTH TYPES CHIPS AND IT MAKES IT HARD TO DISCERN OVER TEXT SHSGYAYDH SORRY

[copiouscouples]

Random Thoughts on Why Women Kill Season 1

Warning: Show is rated MA and contains adult themes.

You can 100% tell that Marc Cherry’s thumbprints are on this series. He has a unique storytelling style.

Simone is Gabby Solis’s sister from another mister. The glow up from shallow to a woman of substance was an enjoyable (but heartbreaking) journey.

Tommy was some nice eye candy but I wish I hadn’t looked up the actors’ ages- a 30 year age difference made their love scenes a little uncomfortable to watch.

My love for Jack Davenport is still going strong. I haven’t seen him in anything that I haven’t loved him in. RIP Smash.

While I did binge this, in the middle I got antsy to know why and who the women killed. I feel like 8 episodes would’ve been better. There were some filler episodes.

I loved the thread of the same house through the decades.

Beth Anne was the craziest of all the wives, but having someone gaslight you into believing you’d played a hand in killing your own daughter will do that to you.

Didn’t really care for April. It’s hard to be sympathetic with someone who willingly and knowingly sleeps with a married man.

Taylor was annoying at first but by the end I really liked her. They made Eli more sympathetic at first but then flipped the script when we saw all that she’d been through because of his addiction. She became a lot more relatable after that.

Jade/Irene was honestly scary. I was so relieved when she died. Ding dong the witch is dead.

I cried no tears over Rob either. I felt for him when I thought he was cheating as a coping mechanism for losing his daughter but after we found out what he did - that guy can kick rocks.

I do not support Naomi’s rampage and nastiness against Karl, but not gonna lie if I found out my high school aged child was sleeping with someone 20 to 30 years older than them - I’d go nuclear too. We have a double standard. It’s cool and fun when an older woman sleeps with a younger man but icky and gross when an older man does it. No, it’s icky and gross no matter who it is. I can see why Naomi would have been angry/murderous towards Simone. I think sans the terrorizing a terminally ill man in his dying days - she had a perfectly normal reaction to finding out her child was sleeping with a woman decades older than him.

The one loose end that I wish had been tied up was Sheila and Beth Anne becoming friends again. Sheila was a good friend - better than April had been.

Poor Teacup. I’m glad Taylor and Eli took him at the end.

[romani-ranch]

I’ve kept quiet on this for too long, I need to break my silence.

Untagged spoilers for all of death note ahead because I don’t want the death note fans to find me.

Death note is one of the worst fucking anime I’ve ever seen in my life and the fact that it has the following it does is insane to me. What am I missing? Light and L’s cat and mouse game and gotchas are only interaction like 50% of the time, and the other 50% of the quirky overanalysis just feels like Rick and Morty levels of the show pretending to be smart because it couldn’t think of anything actually intelligent to do. The Yotsuba arc fucking sucks. I genuinely lost so much interest in the show for the duration of that arc, and the big payoff at the end with light getting the death note back did 100% not feel worth the amount of time that was spent dicking around with rich assholes.

Light is insufferable as a character, which isn’t a problem, because he’s a villain, and an incredibly flawed one, which is completely fine. What I’m not fine with is that the show doesn’t seem to acknowledge many of his flaws as flaws. He treats every woman he interacts with like garbage. Either they’re just a pawn in a greater scheme, or someone who’s so pitifully stupid that they’re below him in every way, someone not even worth considering a threat, barely even a person. Which, again, is fine. I don’t think characters having flaws makes them unlikeable, especially villains. But, the show never ever ever acknowledges Light’s misogyny as a negative trait. He is never punished for underestimating or using women, no woman ever gets one over on him. In fact, I think the only person that hates women more than Light, is the author.

Please refer to every single female character in the show with speaking lines in more than one episode. Naomi, Light’s sister, Light’s mom, Misa, Kiyomi, Wedy, Rem. Every single woman in this show, by the end of this show, has met some godawful fate, and is either dead in a horrific way, or traumatized permanently. Conversely, while a lot of men die in this show, often in gruesome ways, there are plenty of male characters that get off Scott free. Near and the SPK, the entire Kira task force, with the obvious exception of the dead ones. I think there’s enough men in this show with okay endings that this criticism is earned.

In general, I found the final arc very unsatisfying as a whole. Mello and Near just showing the fuck up really was not cool. I didn’t care for either of them at all really. At least with L, he had an established dynamic with light built up over the entire series. Some new cunt showing up and trying to be him is just. Less cool? Misa bowing out of the story to go be Light’s tradwife while he cheats on her is an especially low point in this show as well.

Am I being mean and petty for the sake of being mean and petty? I mean, yeah for like, sure. I’m kind of being a dick but like. What is the appeal of this show? As a detective show, the mindgames and tricks and gotchas are very often, genuinely less interesting than your average Columbo episode, despite taking nearly twice as long to set up. As a drama, the show’s misogyny issues really hold it back, as do the more questionable and off the wall story beats. As a yaoi show, which I know it is to a large part of its audience, look, I like toxic romance. I actually enjoy incredibly unhealthy couples when written well, and I don’t mind reaching for my pairings. There’s nothing here. Like. Yeah, they have their moments, and I understand why people make L and Light fuck but like. Come the fuck on. This pairing is white bread with nothing on it they’re not even that cool. I don’t like men, so maybe I can’t talk here but like. They’re not even that hot??? The fuck are you people on about?

Every sensible person I know dropped the show after L died and honestly, I wish I had done the same. I just. I don’t get it. How the fuck does this show come so highly rated? How did you make a detective thriller unironically worse than Danganronpa? Answer quickly.

[mchib]

thinking about naomi and ray posed like michelangelo's pieta and how raye was depicted as jesus and naomi as mari. honestly id rather anyone else in rayes position because i hate him and to be frank i tried to think of every possible combination of characters to put in their position to replace him. i read on reddit that someone said takeshi obata probably drew them in this scenario because he thought it would look cool and that sounds pretty accurate but i do like to read into anything death note related .,, i really did think that if naomi hadn't died at the hands of kira that L replacing raye in her arms would be perfect because of their relationship in labb and i kind of headcanon that she would have a sort of maternal instinct for him. ive been sketching ideas since but i cant find my apple pen so i guess thats a sign that they were never meant to be and i should just drop it.. 🤕

[ecargmura]

Metallic Rouge Episode 10 Review - Family Bonding

I like how both sides of the groups have a different type of family dynamic. With Jean and the other members of the Immortal Nine, they act like family and technically are, but there’s a sense of distance between them. They talk about the past in a nostalgic way, but there’s clearly a rift in their dynamic. It’s also hard to see them as a family as they’ve been so keen on destroying each other and two members of the Immortal Nine were already killed off-screen before the story started. It feels like it’s just implemented for the sake of the group needing a dynamic. Though, there are some deeper details like Noir and Sylvia hinting being a thing. They also all like chocolate for some reason.

On Rouge’s side, there’s a rather sudden found family development. Cyan is implemented into the story with an 180 degree change in personality. She is very child-like and considers Rouge to be her older sister as she was created from her data. Naomi said that instead of sister, she’s more of an alter-ego or a clone. The rowdy dynamic between Rouge, Naomi and Cyan was hilarious to watch as Naomi and Cyan cannot stand each other while Rouge is in the middle. From the moment Cyan showed up in the box and revealed to have thrown away the antiphaser to her calling Naomi the mean old neighbor lady was honestly a nice change of pace from the constant action scenes.

Though, there is a part of me that can’t help but to worry about Cyan. It’s nice that she’s rather innocent in her actions and behavior, but I do wonder if it’s all a farce. Like, will Cyan turn her backs on the group when the Puppetmaster speaks to her again? Like, the sudden change in personality really does reek suspicious.

It’s also cute to see Ash being their dad friend of sorts as he baited Cyan to taking a bath by talking about ice cream. I do like the subtle change in Ash’s personality as he realized that Noid was indeed important to him and he regretted not getting to know him outside of work; he was a bit distant from him because he was worried that he might see Noid as a replacement of his son. It’s nice that he’s tagging along with the group for Noid’s sake too. Given that he’s the only human in the group of Neans, I’m sure his prejudice towards them already changed.

I do worry about Eden as his memories are slowly fading away the longer he is without his id. Will he die? Will he be repaired? The risk of leaving him like this is very worrisome. However, Eden does remember that he does have someone he considers important. There was a flashback with him and Sylvia earlier, but he also is seen with a picture of Jean and Eva Kristella. Is his precious person Eva? That would be a very interesting dynamic given that Eva and Roy were just colleagues and weren’t actually married.

Now, I have this weird theory about the Puppetmaster. What if he’s Roy or Eva? I had a theory he was Roy when he first showed up in Episode 5 but I think that he could also be Eva too. We haven’t seen their dead bodies, so we’re not even sure if they’re actually dead. Remember, if they haven’t died on-screen, they’re still alive—that’s the prime anime rule.

I apologize for getting this review out so late. Given that Metallic Rouge is a rather difficult show to watch, I have to watch an episode several times for me to grasp things. I also was focused on other things, so I had to delay watching and reviewing this show.