#even if shadow was a bit of an odd choice for the game whos whole gimmick is classic and modern

[sonknuxadow]

they should do sonknux unleashed next i think that would be so awesome

[hollowtones]

what'd you think about jade shadows?

I put it under a read-more because I don't know how to talk about this without talking about spoiler stuff. The tl;dr is "I liked it but I wish there was a little bit more."

One of the things I didn't like isn't even really part of the quest itself, but I saw a mutual bring it up a few days ago & it's been on my mind since: it feels a little odd to have a content warning before your sidequest, and then not give you any way to skip the quest if it's content you don't think you'd be able to handle. Especially given there's a whole event & rewards that only unlock afterwards!!

OK on to the contents of the quest itself. There's a lot of themes of love and connection and empathy in the face of systemic cruelty or indifference, in this game in general, and a lot of how that manifests is stories about characters fighting for self-determination and agency (the Ostrons trying to stay free of the Grineer, the Solaris trying to destroy the systems that keep them in debt & deny them bodily autonomy, Umbra, the Tenno, the Lotus, etc etc).

I think it's interesting to try and explore a tragedy where we aren't able to help someone in time, where the powers that be have brutalized someone and we as individuals aren't able to get there in the nick of time & help them claw their agency back. I think it's an interesting thematic & emotional through-line (with very strong parallels to Ordis... very smart choice to make him the event vendor / narrator, I'm feasting good on all the new dialogue LOL), and I think there have been enough well-written woman characters in the game that don't get written out or killed for the sake of some man's tragedy or growth that I don't immediately roll my eyes about them trying a So Sad The Woman Dies story.

I do also think this would have hit harder if we got more information about Jade herself!! I realize "this woman broke a law and was completely dehumanized / made into a Thing by the empire, stripping her of herself to suit their ends" is Kind Of The Point, and they make enough of a fuss about "wow there's a lot that's redacted about her history, huh!" that I assume this is a plot thread they're leaving hanging for later. But I feel like the big moment would have resonated better if they gave us a little more info to establish this character, other than "she was heterosexual" and "the Orokin were fucked up, don't forget" haha.

(I do find it funny that the storyline about Ballas, who got Divorced So Badly that he Caused Nearly All Of Today's Problems, is all wrapped up, but the story keeps going "no no, don't worry, there's still plenty of opportunity to remind you how fucked the Orokin were." Here's these two people that broke some insipid law about conceiving a child & so their bosses and leaders broke their brains and turned them into bio-weapon lapdogs as punishment. Every time they go "BTW Something Was Deeply Wrong With The Orokin & We Still Feel The Aftershock Of That Today" I clap my hands like a seal.)

Warframe Babies Are Born!!!!! This little tyke is fuckin weird. What's their problem. I think it's weird and cool. I don't really feel much about "this character is a parent now!" type of storylines. (I did pop off when Stalker got to do his shithead honourable samurai defending a child with one arm thing. I'm a sucker for that & they made it coooooool. It feels like they're setting up some kind of "Lone Wolf and Cub" situation. The scythe being juiced up with BabysPower was also funny.) The baby thing is neat to me from the perspective of, like... This is something weird and new that's never happened before in this universe. That's exciting and kind of scary! I'm interested to see where they go with that. (Presumably in a year or two. Very funny to drop this on us when a completely different major story arc is right around the corner with 1999.)

Gianni's delivery was fuckin killer. I'm excited for whatever next arc they do with Stalker if it means they're gonna pay my boy to grunt and yell and scream more. It feels very strange to be acquainted with two people who've done voice acting in "Warframe" now. Me next? ^_^

I like our new Corpus weirdo. I hope she comes back. Fun to get more stuff with the Sisters of Parvos & with Mr. Granum himself. But I liked her a lot. It got a fuckin laugh out of me to have her through all the quest excited about her big promotion that she's going to get & resolving that with "Is that a fuckin baby??? Fuuuuuck! They don't pay me enough to shoot a baby with a gatling gun!" I wish her ending scene was a little more than just stoically standing aside but literally anything else I can think of feels way too cheesy or on-the-nose.

The facial animations on the Operator were really fuckin weird. I just remembered that. I thought that was just a thing on my end but I watched someone else play & the faces looked weird for them too.

Hunhow's a good inclusion. I like him seeing the Stalker stewing in his own misery because he hates the only people that could offer him help & going "aw man, c'mon buster, don't be like me now." I like his signature that he puts in his emails. I like that he's still an emotionally constipated weirdo that hates us but is still endeared to us in some way. (They make nods to The New Strange in his ending email, which makes sense given that this also feels like a quest setting up More Weird Shit In The Future, but I do get a laugh that it also reads as "JADE WAS PREGNANT? OKAY... WELL. DON'T FORGET THAT I HAVE A WOMB TOO, KID." Thanks Grandpa. Love you too Grandpa. Thanks for the sweeties Grandpa.)

The event quest feels like a nice bow on top. I like the parallels between Jade and Ordis. Wanting to afford her the dignity in death he could never be given. Acknowledgement of Ordan Karris is fun!!! (The line about him being conflicted with the thought of Granum un-cephalon'ing him has me rubbing my hands together.) I'm excited that we're getting so much of Parvos Granum lately. What a shit head. It's funny to see him so hyped up about Ordan. "Duuuude! Your history's famous killer!! That's awesome? Do you wanna work for me? C'monnnnn we both hate the legacy of the Orokin. Wouldn't it be awesome if MY rule was the one dehumanizing you and wielding you as a weapon instead?" This is something they've been establishing as early as "Parvos and Ballas in bed with one another doing shady back-room deals over a Warframe bodyguard and specter particle research" but it's fun whenever they sow the seeds of Parvos being so much like the Orokin he hated.

I wrote more than I thought I was going to!!! I like the thematic through-line idea of this quest but I wish they executed on it better. I like the stuff this is presumably establishing for the future. I really like the event quest as... not quite an epilogue, I guess, but as an addition. Other than that I thought it was okay! I wasn't expecting anywhere near the level of Whispers in the Walls, but that quest being such a high bar makes a "pretty okay" quest stick out to me a little, haha.

[mama-qwerty]

Okay. So.

The Sonic 3 trailer.

First of all, I watched this with my whole family, so didn't see it until about 2:30 this afternoon. My son is the one who got me into Sonic in the first place, so I thought it was only fair that I wait until he got home from school so we could watch it together.

We all absolutely loved it, and think it looks like a really fun ride.

I've rewatched it a few times, and a few things stood out to me.

The Race Scene

The little bit at the beginning when the three are having what looks like a race into the forest back home. Maybe they're actually racing or playing capture the flag or some other kind of game to give them some enrichment and exercise (so they don't cause shenanigans). Based on a few other quick shots, it looks like they're having fun.

Now, further into the trailer we see Knuckles kicking off Big Ben, and Sonic zipping up the side of a bridge, much like he did off the log back home during this game. I'm thinking we'll see a parallel of the game at some point, where they maybe need to work together, or just need that connection to home to really focus and get the job done. (I'm guessing they're going after whatever that ship is that's coming out of the water. Maybe. I dunno. The time of day looks right, though.)

Team Sonic Working With GUN

Walters isn't recruiting the boys out of just desperation. He wants to see them in action, wants to know what they're capable of. And he's only going to tell them what he wants them to know. They're not chomping at the bit to join the very organization that tried to capture them (Sonic and Tails) or likely hold them accountable for partnering with Robotnik the last time (Knuckles).

Sonic calls Shadow a "rogue alien", which would be odd if he knew Shadow's true origins. Walters likely told them Shadow appeared on earth 50 years ago and was subdued and put into status, but escaped and now is a danger to the planet. They likely don't even know he's a hedgehog. Which would explain Sonic's claim of not wanting to fight once they realize he's like them.

Which ends badly for all three.

My guess is that line about how "Shadow isn't too different from Sonic" is said later, once the family confronts Walters about who this other hedgehog really is. Walters has no choice but to fess up (to a point) and tell them what happened.

"What did you do?"

Sonic says this line with such a combination of anger and fear and pain that I can only guess that Shadow did something to Sonic's family. Likely Tom. This would cause Sonic to drop all pretense of jovial banter, and get really, really pissed.

I've seen theories that this maybe brings about Dark Sonic, which would be cool, but I have my doubts. But it will test Sonic's heart, calling back to the scene at the beginning that Tom said his heart never changed after everything. If Sonic thinks Shadow hurt (or killed) someone he loves, he would feel very conflicted in how he'd react to that.

Robotnik

Okay. So, he's back, no surprise there, and he's looking really unkempt. Depression does that to a person. I'm eager to see the back and forth that gets him to agree to work with the boys, and wouldn't put it past him to demand the Master Emerald as payment. To which Knuckles will of course refuse, which is why Sonic will give him one of his quills instead.

He likely has no idea about Shadow, as it seems as though Shadow escapes on his own. (Or does he? Could Robotnik have access to whatever containment system Shadow's been kept in, and releases him simply to cause mayhem?)

The group somehow end up at what used to be the ARK for some reason. I take it this is where Robotnik double crosses the boys (shocker!) and chains them up to let Shadow finish them off.

This is also where he meets his grandfather, Gerald. (He calls Gerald Pap Pap, which is a term some people use for their grandfathers, myself included.)

Now, here's where I have a few theories. It could really be Gerald, still alive and running on his anger after all these years. If he stayed at the ARK after the military overran it, that would be 50 some years of solitude, where he's dwelling on what happened, why it happened, and what could have been done to prevent it. He's become twisted and insane, seeing humanity as a plague and releasing Shadow to enact his revenge.

Or, based on how identical Ivo and Gerald look, it's possible 'Gerald' is actually Ivo himself. Maybe a subplot of this is the chaos emeralds, they need to find them so Sonic can be powerful enough to stop Shadow. But maybe they're like the Infinity Stones, and one has the power to manipulate time. Ivo gets hold of it, goes back in time, and proceeds to use the quill that Sonic gave him during their little agreement to work together to create Shadow.

Or the chaos emerald itself was used to create Shadow as well, and that's why he's got so much chaos energy in him that he can't control. He can't find that damn fourth chaos emerald, because he IS the fourth chaos emerald.

Or, Ivo is a clone that Gerald made of himself to continue his research. When the ARK was raided, all of Gerald's experiments were taken, including Gerald IV--that the government named Ivo before placing him into an orphanage.

I dunno. None of these are likely true. But they're fun to play with and think about.

Tails

Adorable as ever. I'm hoping we get some more engagement and action from him.

Knuckles

My boy. Needs an ice pack for that wrist. Just wanna scoop him up and care for him. I hope we see some good interactions between him and the rest of the family.

Shadow

He looks good. Like, really good. I'm not 100% sold on the voice acting, but we've only heard 2 lines from him, so I'm reserving judgment on that. The fight scenes look great, and he's a very formidable adversary for the boys. Unlike anything any of them have seen or fought before. Running on pure grief and anger, he's thrown into a world he doesn't understand, and doesn't care to because it stole his sister from him.

~~~

I found the trailer very fun, and am excited for the movie. And I'm happy to see some excitement for the SCU out there again.

[thefandomenchantress]

Teruko’s Mystery Brother: Who I Think It Is

Warning: This is a bit self-indulgent; I think it’s interesting, though.

So, if you’re anything like me and haven’t rewatched Chapter 1 for a while, you might be wondering what the hell I’m talking about. Since when does Teruko have a brother?

Well, it was originally revealed in the laundry room scene in episode 4 of chapter 1:

And I have an idea of who this mystery brother could be…Though I’ll admit it’s definitely more of a crack theory than something that I actually think could be true.

Alright, if you’ve read basically any post of mine, you know who I’m gonna say, because I’m constantly biased towards him:

Ace.

HEAR ME OUT HEAR ME OUT. I PROMISE I HAVE SOME SORTA OKAY EVIDENCE.

Alright, first up for sorta-okay-evidence, we’ve got the most obvious similarity between these two.

They’ve both survived a serious attempt on their life.

If Teruko has a brother, it wouldn’t be surprising if they both shared the curse of having terrible luck, but the universe balances it out with them being unable to die.

But Teruko’s life, what with her constantly being on the run all alone because of her luck, is much different than Ace’s life, if his nine siblings are anything to go by. But Teruko hasn’t been forced to practice a talent she despises her whole life and gained an eating disorder because of it, so it…kinda evens out? What I’m trying to say is perhaps they could both have the ‘bad luck but you can’t die’ curse, it’s just that their bad luck is expressed in different ways. If Teruko’s bad luck and it’s consequences were obvious the the family who adopted her brother, it could explain why they chose him over her. He seemed like he’d cause less trouble.

But this is all speculative, of course. Teruko never states that her brother also had bad luck; she just says he was effected by hers. So me saying her and Ace’s luck is sort of similar doesn’t do all that much to prove my case, though I do think it’s an interesting comparison. So second piece of what I’m calling evidence time:

Ace is the only other character to be confirmed to have grey hair.

So, in case you haven’t read all the ask games hosted by the DRDTdev, here’s a tidbit about Ace you might not know:

His hair actually started turning grey from stress, making him the only character besides Teruko with gray hair. According to a quick google search, genetics is the number one factor in hair greying early. So them both of them having grey hair in their early life could be a sign they’re related…Or simply a coincidence. Teruko’s hair started greying at the tips, but we don’t know where Ace’s hair originally started to grey. Now, onto my third piece of evidence:

Teruko’s prosopagnosia, and a particular CG of Ace.

You may be wondering how in the world Teruko’s prosopagnosia relates to this. Well, you can thank @/weightedblankett for giving me the idea to draw a connection between the two (not going to tag them because this theory is pretty unrelated to the one they talked about).

So, the detail they noticed is a strange difference between these three CGs of people fighting in chapter 2.

Now, what difference am I talking about? Well, Ace and Nico’s CG is different because Ace’s and Nico’s faces are shadowed and partially hidden, which isn’t a artistic choice carried over into the other argument CGs.

Which could be related to Teruko’s face blindness. But how does this relate to my theory? Well, what I’m trying to say is that you’d think Teruko would recognize her brother if he were in the Killing Game, disproving it could be anyone in the cast, let alone Ace. Yet this CG may hint at her not really recognizing his face, which would avoid that issue entirely. It seems like an odd detail.

Of course, she also hasn’t seen her brother since she was 5 and he’s likely to look different now compared to when he was a kid, so recognizing him would most likely be pretty difficult anyway, if she were to meet him. Onto my next piece of evidence: People probably won’t ship them.

OKAY OKAY THIS MAY SEEM LIKE A WEIRD ONE. But if you made two characters secretly siblings, you’d probably want to ensure that people wouldn’t accidentally ship them, right? Because that’d be pretty awkward once it’s revealed.

But the DRDTdev has confirmed Ace is canonically gay, which means that it’s rather unlikely for anyone to ship him romantically with a female character, including Teruko (Though as far as I saw Teruko x Ace wasn’t all too popular even before we learned this).

And that’s it. That’s all my evidence.

Now, all this so-called ‘evidence’ is fine and dandy…But one thing I can’t really argue against is this: These two look nothing alike. Ace’s skin is far paler than Teruko’s, their eyes are different colors and so is their hair, (other than the grey thing). They both may share a sorta similar body type, Teruko’s weight is 120 and Ace’s 118, but I think we can mostly chalk up them being rather light to Ace’s secret and Teruko not having a reliable source of food while on the run. All and all, you’d think they’d look way more similar if they were siblings. Which is probably the main reason this theory doesn’t even convince me, and I’m the one writing it, haha.

Maybe I just like it when side characters who seem unimportant get important roles, but I just think it would be kinda funny if Ace was secretly her brother. I hope this was, if not convincing, at least an entertaining read.

[aspiring-writer-hidden-voice]

Virtual Embodiment

Your quirk allows you to enter the virtual world no matter what device (console, tablet, phone, computer).

The idle lunch chatter filled the air as you took a vacant seat, preparing to dig into a lunch you’d been looking forward to when several shadows fell across your own. Several classmates stood on the opposite end of the table, each with their gazes locked upon your own, as you nervously looked to each in turn; a fiery blonde, red head, one freckled, and beak for a mouth. “Is there something I can help you all with?”

Katsuki Bakugo was the first to answer, his open palm meeting the table’s surface with a loud impact that made the cafeteria fall silent. “How long did you think you could hide it, huh?!”

Your brows furrowed. “Sorry?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, stupid extra, I bet you secretly laughed at us the whole time!”

Now you were thoroughly confused. “Trust me, I’d never laugh at any of you no matter the reason.” You looked to Eijiro Kirishima for translation or explanation of the blonde’s meaning but only received a curious yet excited smile showcasing his sharp teeth. A glance to Izuku Midoriya revealed a similar expression, though his was a bit more eccentric as he was busy scribbling within the notebook he always kept handy, and then there was Fumikage Tokoyami who met your gaze calmest. It was rare to see this type of a group and even more so that they were talking to you of all people. You were in a different class, after all, so it was odd that they knew you existed in the first place since you didn’t deem yourself anything special. “I’m still kind of lost, senpais. Can someone please explain to me what’s going on?”

“Apologies, (L/n), but I believe my fellow classmate was referring to events that transpired last evening.” Tokoyami bowed his head. “Forgive his rudeness and blunt disregard that he has interrupted your lunch. This is not a matter of great importance so with your permission we could always return at a later time to properly discuss this topic.”

Silverware fell to lay flat on the table as you sighed. “Thanks for the offer, but my appetite has pretty much disappeared thanks to the raging Pomeranian there. Might as well get this conversation over now so that I can go about my day like a regular person should.” Taking a deep breath, you turned your full attention upon Kirishima who was in the process of attempting to calm down Bakugo who had not appreciated your comment. “I haven’t got all day now.”

“Right, sorry.” He sheepishly smiled while forcing the blonde into a chair with ease before taking the one directly across from you, “You see, in our free time we like to play video games from PC to console to VR. It’s not very often that we get on but there’s this player that seems to be on the servers quite a bit whenever we are. Midoriya here,” one of his hands gestured to the freckled teen who slowly sank to sit within another chair, “found the IP address and tracked it to find traces of a student who goes to UA.”

A lump in your throat rose but it was swallowed down. This wouldn’t be the first time people had tracked your online profile, certainly wouldn’t be the last despite your best efforts, but you didn’t recognize other players as classmates. There had been no hints dropped from you or opposite parties of what outside life was like. Crossing your arms, you fixed a bored expression upon the blonde. “So you decided to jump to conclusions all on your own just because a few things happened to line up?” With a sigh, you made to stand when Dark Shadow appeared from behind that prevented your chair from shifting backwards. Anger began to bubble within your veins. “Okay, what is this, some sort of interrogation? You can’t seriously think you can keep me here.”

“We don’t intend to, we just need to know if you’re who we think you are.” Tokoyami said slowly.

“Then hurry up and tell me!”

“(Insert Gamer Tag of Choice),” they all chorused, “and we know about your ‘Virtual Embodiment’ quirk that allows you to fully immerse yourself into the virtual world.”

All blood within your body grew cold.

Katsuki Bakugo

A sense of fulfillment came over him as you grew pale. So his hunch had been right on the money. You were always within the computer labs or being asked technical troubleshoot questions out of everyone in the school, even the class responsible for creating supportive accessories for the Hero’s Course had gone to you for advice on things! He’d seen you around a few times lingering around the school after hours when only the teachers were left and if that wasn’t suspicious he didn’t know what was. “I knew it,” he growled lowly while leaning into your personal space, “you’re the only one in the entire school who has a quirk that allows you to enter the virtual world without complicated equipment.”

Your gaze wanted to look anywhere else but they were ensnared by the blazing infernos that were his eyes which bore into yours. The lump returned, threatening to choke you, as words attempted to form. “L-look, if I bothered you in some way, I’m sorry—”

“I want to know how you did it!” His shout nearly rendered you deaf, several other students casting weary glances at the table; all knew of his temper and did not envy your current position. He must have felt their questioning looks and instantly took hold of your wrist. “Let’s take this outside.”

Powerless, you limply allowed him to lead you from the crowded space meant for people to eat within until coming to a stop just outside the set of doors that was towards the school’s east exit where he released you with a huff. Surprisingly his hold hadn’t been as tight as you’d imagined it to be, if anything he’d been oddly gentle, and his expression of anger was beginning to give way to one of hesitation. All you could do was blink up at him while waiting patiently for him to voice the reason to his actions.

“That sniper shot you took from the back of Breakneck Bay…how’d you pull a stunt like that off?”

And that was when you were hit with reality. So he had been one of the online teammates that you’d played with recently. “It all makes sense now.” The shadow of your hair fell to obscure your eyes. “You probably think I’m a cheater or hacker but I’m not. I just want to play the game my own way like everybody else.”

“I know your quirk let’s you full body dive into the virtual world, dumbass, so cut the crap. If it’s something that only you can do then fine, I’ll accept it, but I wanna know if I can do it next time I take on Shitty Hair or dumb Deku.” Pink tinged the tips of his ears when your widened gaze met his own in shock, earning a grunt. “Oi, what’s that look for?!”

A laugh slipped from between your lips before it could be stopped, earning a pout from the blonde, and you hurried to apologize for it by taking out your phone. “I don’t know if anyone can but I’m happy to try and show you how. What’s your number and maybe I’ll shoot you a call when I can get on next?”

To say he lit up was an understatement as his own phone instantly appeared inches from your face.

“Then again, maybe I should just message you online, ‘LordExplosionMurderer’.”

His face turned beet red at your remembering his gamer tag. “Got a problem with it?!”

You smiled. “Not at all. Actually I kinda like it and find it suiting since you use a lot of rocket launchers despite your close combat style. Makes it entertaining to watch the opposing teammates fly off into the distance.”

A smirk raised his lips. “Damn right it is.”

Eijiro Kirishima

He instantly picked up on your discomfort and offered you his hand. “Here, let’s go someplace a little more quieter.” Completely ignoring the rants of a certain blonde, he gathered your forgotten food to be consumed later and helped you escape the gazes of a full cafeteria. A sheepish smile raised his lips while coming to a stop near the fridges that students could use to keep leftovers cool. “Sorry about my friend back there…and all that. I realize that we must have come off pretty bad coming at you like we did. If you’d like, I can make up for it by asking you out.”

The initial shock suddenly gave way to embarrassment that manifested itself deep within your cheeks, making them bright red. “W-w-what?!”

It took a moment for his own words be comprehended by their speaker, judging from the sudden blush that spread across the bridge of his nose. “Oh, wow, that totally sounded like I just asked you out on a date, huh? Not that I would mind since you’re cute and really cool and seem to be a pretty good person—” His hand rose to scratch the back of his neck. “—I’m getting way off topic here so I’ll just cut to the chase. I know you play online RPGs like Summoners Art Online and wondered if you’d like to form a party! You made taking down that level eighty boss look like a cake walk and your armor is super cool looking too! I’ve honestly been stuck on this one dungeon, the one with King Lich of Rowanwood, and could use some help.” A bow of his head brought it smack against the open locker that a student had left open, making you flinch at the impact which left the door bent. “Please! I’ll give you whatever loot that drops! I’ve tried everything from special potions to expensive shop items and nothing has worked!”

Sympathy filled you at his words. “Yeah, that’s a tough one alright. What level are you?”

Instantly he was upright with eyes practically glowing with hope. “Twenty-seven.”

“Well, that’s your first problem,” you chuckled, “he’s a level ninety.”

His jaw dropped. “Seriously?! Why would they have it that high when it’s so close to one of the safety zones?!”

“Because it was part of an update recently to allow players to challenge themselves solo or with a party based upon their level.” Your brows furrowed. “I didn’t recognize your avatar, Kirishima-senpai, mind if I ask what to keep an eye out for?”

“No problem! I’m the big shark-humanoid walking around with Giant Forged Armor!”

Your brows rose. “That’s impressive since Giant Forged Armor was a special event SS drop item that had less than a six-percent drop rate.”

The grin raising his lips widened. “Trust me, it took way longer than a lot of those other pro gamers predicted.”

A sense of comradeship filled you with each second that passed in similar conversation. It wasn’t a popular game that many played by any means yet here was a classmate at your school who seemed to love playing it as much as you did. And he had more than proved how much of an avid gamer he was. Now that you thought about it, you’d seen a player lumbering about during raids that fit his description. The flesh of your bottom lip became caught in your teeth. “Who would’ve thought that Kirishima-senpai was ‘BigBadDaddyShark’.” Your tease earned a whole hearted laugh from the red head. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad forming a party with someone for a change. He blinked when you accepted the food then placed it upon a shelf to be gathered after class, earning a tilt of his head when you faced him fully. “You sure you’re okay with playing with someone like me? Lots of people call me a ‘cheater’ or ‘hacker’ because I can fully immerse myself into a game platform.”

His head shook vigorously. “I’m not like other players, honest, I think it’s super cool that your quirk lets you full dive without an Oculus or VR headset.”

Your lips lifted into a small smile as he commended the skill he’d seen during a dungeon boss battle. “If you’d like, I can take you to some of my favorite weapon shops that have great weekend deals. They might help you out with getting proper gear and stuff.” Both of your hands rose, heat tingling within your cheeks. “Not that what you have already is inadequate since I’m sure you worked hard for everything in your inventory—”

“I’d like that a lot, (L/n), thanks in advance!” He grinned as the bell signaling the end of the lunch hour sounded, turning to head back to class but stopping for a moment for his gaze to meet yours. “Seven o’clock work for you?” Another grin earned you a flash of his teeth as he began walking backwards. “Great! I can’t wait to learn from you, (L/n)-senpai!”

The students who had heard his call turned their curious and angered gazes upon you.

Fumikage Tokoyami

“I’m curious to know how your quirk works, (L/n), but I can be patient until you are more comfortable. Come. Let us converse in private.”

You swallowed thickly, glancing around at the suddenly quiet cafeteria who watched with interest as Dark Shadow quite literally picked you up from the chair. “I-I can walk on my own, thanks.”

“Don’t want you running away so soon!” The apparition crowed loudly while leading the way out the nearby exit with Tokoyami close behind.

Sure enough he carried you the entire way until coming to a stop just outside your classroom. Every person who had been passed wore cautious expressions intermixed with curiosity. For you to be seen with anyone was a rarity but Fumikage Tokoyami to be your companion was odd indeed. Your hands hurried to smooth the wrinkles within your uniform once allowed to stand alone, bristling slightly when Dark Shadow “helped” by removing some stray lint from your hair.

“I assume this is more to your liking.”

It wasn’t a question but you nodded to answer nonetheless, earning a smile from the apparition who looked ready to pop. “You can’t tell, but he’s super stoked to finally meet you in person! I told him that he should’ve approached you ages ago but noooo he didn’t want you to be put off by his knowing you hold the top ‘Paranormal Hunter’ on SageSmoke.com! You’ve held that spot for almost an entire year now!”

Heat flared within your cheeks at Dark Shadow’s words when Tokoyami pointedly glared at his shadow. “Uh, yeah, I guess it has been about that long, huh?” You jumped when the apparition suddenly appeared inches from your face asking about which type was your favorite. “I wouldn’t say I have one but the Oni’s have always intrigued me, I guess.”

It was hard to tell but there was a glint of excitement within his vermillion eyes at your words. “Those are the spirits who respond when a flame is extinguished, yes?”

“Close, but that’s an Onryo. Oni’s react most when people are nearby and love to scare their intended victims before attacking. Points for getting the first two letters right.” Embarrassment made to make you shy away from his gaze but there was no judgement to be found within, only fascination. “Sorry, it’s not something a lot of people seem knowledgable in so it’s hard to know who shares in that field of interest.”

His head shook. “Do not apologize, for I too have noticed such things as well. It’s rare to come across another who shares interests such as this, (L/n), so please feel free to tell me if you’d rather not discuss—”

“Please stay and talk with me for at least a little longer!”

The sudden outburst earned you nods from both Dark Shadow and Tokoyami. “We’d be happy to.”

This time shyness did make you avert your gaze to the floor but it rose again when his hand gently lifted your chin to find his gaze calm and full of understanding. “The Oni…can you tell me a bit more about them?”

Blinking, you slowly came out from the protective shell that you’d built to help contain your enthusiasm for horror and ghost encounter games, occasionally answering voiced questions from the pair who intently listened as you spoke. How long the three of you spoke was a mystery until a teacher happened to walk past with a curious yet stern expression as they reprimanded the missing of important class attendance. It was as they were about to turn away that your hand lightly brushed against his own, earning a blink. “Um, I’m sorry to ask, but I’m planning on logging in tonight after school in case you wanted to play a little bit.” You retracted the extended limb in favor of using it to toy with the cross choker you wore. “If you’re feeling dangerous there’s the abandoned monastery that I was going to go check out tonight. I’d read somewhere that several reports have said sightings were increasing lately because of the stars’ alignment shifting towards Mars.”

“Will there be sage?”

“Of course.”

“What about crucifix?”

A breath slipped from between your lips in a soft sigh. “I’m not an amateur, thank you very much, and I even have a rosary blessed by the Father of Saint Joseph’s Church and nearly a gallon of holy oil that I brought back with me from Israel.” You felt a sense of pride well up when their gazes became filled with admiration. “I’ve spent a lot of time on the Dark Web too. I know things that would make the saints themselves turn over in their graves.”

Dark Shadow laughed suddenly, nearly making you question his sanity. “You had him the moment ‘abandoned monastery’ left your mouth, (L/n)! Then you went on and on about the stars and the more you talked the more his heart started to race! I’ve never seen him this excited!”

You wouldn’t have believed the apparition’s words if not for the excitement glittering within those vermillion eyes that bore into your own. A smile lifted the corners of your mouth. “It’s not virtual reality so there’s no save points or respawning if something happens. Are you sure you’re up for it? Living on the line between life and the world beyond is not for everyone.”

“If I had a mouth, I would kiss you this moment.” Even Dark Shadow seemed impressed by Tokoyami’s words as the pro hero in training hurried to scribble his phone number upon a space piece of paper before handing it to you. The honestly within his gaze was shocking to say the least as the paper was neatly slipped into your hand. “Be sure to message me what time for our excursion. I anxiously await our next meeting.” And with the subtlest of taps of his beak against your cheek, he disappeared down the hallway past the teacher whose jaw was nearly hanging open.

A blush filled your cheeks while walking through the door to your classroom, paying no mind to the questions from classmates of why you’d been out there for so long talking to Tokoyami of all people, and fondly traced the glass bead within the cross’s center that supposedly held the feather of a fallen angel. It was when the teacher had turned to face the board that your phone appeared from its pocket for the tip of a finger to dart across its screen. Not two seconds later the sponge of a ghost emoji came.

Izuku Midoriya

His gaze rose from the notebook as silence hung in the air after they’d chorused your gamer tag. Understanding filled his emerald gaze when finding your expression one of uncertainty and took hold of your hand. Without a word to his classmates, he drew you to stand and made for the nearby exit, ignoring the calls of his classmates if it meant you were spared from the confrontation. The forest haired teen didn’t stop until the two of you had reached the courtyard between the main building entrance and grounds gate where he helped you to sit beneath one of the trees. “Sorry about that,” he bowed deeply with sincerity in his voice, “you were minding your own business when we all kinda ganged up on you like that. Please forgive us!”

Still winded from running, you could barely manage to ask him how he’d found out who you were and what your quirk was in the first place.

“Oh, um, well, I play this game called Saber Slice and was playing online the other night when I noticed someone in the lobby that made me think of you. I don’t know you very well but I’ve seen you around enough that it was easy to recognize certain motions that you do.” His freckled nearly disappeared in a blush when you gaped up at him. “Not that I’m watching you like a stalker or anything, it’s just that I’ve seen you in a few extracurricular courses coaching some on fluid movements such as dodging or helping with the drama department with choreography!”

Now you were blatantly embarrassed. How had you not noticed that Izuku Midoriya from class 1A was paying special attention to someone the likes of yourself?! “I guess I should feel flattered but honestly I’m not quite sure what to think right now.”

“I’m sure you’re overwhelmed right now but I promise none of it was in malicious intent, only fascination and admiration!” His eyes began to shine brighter than stars as he sat beside you, showcasing several notes and rough sketches of several familiar motions. “You move so gracefully that it’s like watching water dance, its so amazing to watch and I can understand why you have one of the highest scoring profiles in the world on the Oculus.” Both of his hands rose. “And I don’t think of you as a cheat because of your quirk or anything, I bet its more challenging because of all the distractions you can see that no one else can once you’re in game. That must also mean your reaction time has to be pretty on point, huh?”

Blinking, you could only meet his gaze with surprised silence until finding your voice once realizing he’d asked a question. “Y-yeah, it actually is. Things are much bigger for me than for others when I’m playing and its harder to aim since they get so close.”

Sympathy filled his gaze when you mentioned suffering from motion sickness once deactivating your quirk. “I bet it gets pretty bad when you really get on a role and quit for the night. Have you tried medication to help?”

“Sure, but why go out of my way to get expensive stuff like that when ginger ale has the same affect?”

“That’s genius! I never would’ve guessed that would have similar—” he sheepishly smiled, “sorry, I get excited really easily.”

Your lips lifted into a smile. “Don’t be. It means your honest about your feelings and expressing them should never be taken for granted.” A thought occurred to you, making both of your brows slowly rise. “Wait, are you ‘ClumsyGroot217’?”

That blush returned as he nervously picked at a blade of grass. “Yeah, that’s me alright.”

“I have to say, it’s not easy earning that ‘Longest Journey’ badge. You must’ve worked really hard to get to level…”

“Twelve.” From between his lips came a laugh that made the sunlight coming through the tree’s canopy seem dull when you bit back a chuckle. “It’s okay, you can laugh, everyone in my class says that I have two left feet so it’s a bit harder for me to do the lower combos.”

A part of you wondered if he was being serious, since you’d seen him do impressive footwork whenever the news covered the pro hero course events, but you believed him fully when seeing his hesitation when you mentioned playing again with him tonight. “If you’d like, I can help you. I’m sure you’re busy with school work and such so why don’t you message me when getting online and I can join you? It’ll be a bit strange on your end but you’ll get used to it quickly as if I’m not even there. You could think of me as your own personal AI giving you tips.”

He lit up brighter than a holiday tree during the winter. “Wow, really? You’d do that for me? Thanks so much!”

You accepted the pen that was passed and quickly jotted down your number within his notebook’s cover as the bell sounded. “Guess class is starting back up and we don’t want to get in trouble with our class presidents. We should get going.”

Emerald blinked as you offered him your hand once standing. He accepted it with a smile, grunting under his breath once straightening fully, giving your hand a brief squeeze before releasing it. “I look forward to your lessons, senpai!”

“Don’t call me that,” you deadpanned with a laugh before taking the lead back inside the school building, “anything would be better than that.”

“Then how about ‘Clippy’?”

This time a laugh did sound from your lips. “Oh, my gosh, I’d almost forgotten about that little paper clip guy!”

[spiritsong]

I love your BG3 OCs, especially your Tav Aune! Hits the religious trauma pieces in all the right places. Being a bard/cleric, has she written any hymns that she is proud of?

Thank you so much!!! Oof yes I can't get enough of that religious trauma; it's particularly interesting to explore in a character who is fighting between a desire to not be beholden to their religion vs. feeling as though they aren't themselves without it. plus a load of other conflicting thoughts that just complicate things even further 😬

Aune is a bit of an odd one in that despite being a cleric, the actual heart of her faith resides in the connection she has with Eilistraee. It's so deeply personal that it makes all other Eilistraeean-related activities ring hollow in comparison.

For example, Aune's main role within the Church was to serve as its face (or one of many). Her being a half-Drow made it easier for her to interface with non-Drow. Aune's tasks were usually split between helping to free subjugated peoples in the Underdark and elsewhere, and bring joy to the downtrodden by way of song and dance. Though Aune's elders might have preferred said song and dance to be Eilistraeean in nature, it didn't need to be, because the ultimate goal was simply to bring happiness to people. So, she typically stuck to fun, jaunty tunes that the common folk would be familiar with.

Now, to tie this back to your actual question (😂) — Aune didn't typically enjoy "spreading Eilistraee's teachings" (one of many ways she thought she failed in being a cleric), and Aune wasn't the sort of bard to take pride in their creations. Most of the things she wrote were simply meant to exist between her and Eilistraee only. The songs she did share publicly were flute pieces (her instrument of choice).

During the events of the game, Aune has a habit of stealing away into the forest each night. Once certain of her privacy, she would play a song for Eilistraee on her flute, and sometimes even sing one...

(more of a folk song than a hymn as it's overly personal, but):

lady silverhair, dancer in the trees voice like moonlight floating on the breeze daughter of the protector, enemy of the weaver you who descended into depths untold to stave off shadows for her people dance with me, sing with me but do not leave my side for the endless night threatens it encroaches, it cloaks it swallows me whole and I fear I won't survive without the love that you bestow dark maiden, hopes and dreams made manifest song soothing spirit, a promise kept sister to the shadow, mother to the forsaken you who deftly wields a keen silver blade to liberate us from this bondage fight with me, survive with me but do not leave my side for despair seeds in my heart it burrows, it will root it will bloom so lovely and I fear I can't endure without your sword to see me through dear eilistraee, hear this song I sing for you lover, guide, guardian goddess, watcher, friend I will be your wrath, your unbreakable weapon the instrument of your justice I will be your tender heart, your soft gentle hand the bringer of your compassion but please do not leave me on my own

(I listened to Kalessin, the Eldest by Fogweaver while writing this, so if you want to set the vibes...)

Most of her words for Eilistraee had this undercurrent of desperation and longing, illustrating her strained connection to the goddess and her Church. The lyrics to this particular song do end up getting out eventually, making its way through Eilistraeean circles, but it lacked the final verse — Aune never wrote it down.

[antisolararc]

🍓🍾🍆 for Audrist ?

🍓 [STRAWBERRY] How do they feel about 'cute' things?

Odd hates the idea of coming off as cutesy himself, and he'd become irate if anyone suggested he was or that he should try to be. He thinks its charming when other people have a traditionally cute aesthetic, though. Not that he'd admit that.

Audrist's interpretation of cute might be a bit different than usual sometimes, though. He doesn't get the appeal of little fluffy animals (probably because he's be allergic to most of them) and sleeps with a plush alligator gar instead. He gets easily annoyed when people act babyish or sugary, but he can't help but find a bit of genuine awkwardness and absentmindedness endearing. Erm. Not naming names.

🍾 [POPPING CORK] How does your OC celebrate special occasions? With whom?

He doesn't, or at least he didn't for a long time. Company parties at Horizon felt nothing less than agonizing to him, so he'd avoid them as much as he could. The more cozy holidays with his parents are nothing but a distant memory now. His own birthday tends to pass without him even realizing.

With the guild, Audrist will let Zee drag him out to events, but he doesn't really get the point of it yet. Maybe he's starting to enjoy himself a little more, though. At least he doesn't feel so suffocated at these parties. He'll always stick to the people he already knows best, though, and he certainly won't be throwing himself into games or dances or anything like that.

🍆 [EGGPLANT] How are they used by others? How easily are they tricked into this?

Odd's been used his whole life, and he knows it. Usually by people who simply have more power in society than him, while he's stuck positioning himself as a pawn to survive. Sometimes he's been tricked, sometimes he's just had no choice, sometimes it's somewhere in-between the two. Audrist is smart as a researcher and inventor, but not socially or rhetorically. He's just as likely to accidentally talk himself into a trap as others are to successfully lead him into one. He hates it. It's embarrassing, it makes him feel stupid, and it's certainly contributed to the fact that he prefers to work in the shadows.

[shiny-jr]

Ooh, congratulations on 1,000 followers!! May I request a Gardenia for Jamil and Trey?

Warning: Yes, another yandere thing. You have been warned.

Characters: Jamil Viper, Trey Clover.

Note: Oh, boy, let’s gooooo. Jamil content! I was just remembering earlier how much I loved the moment where Jamil snapped in the game. I love when the calm ones just lose it for once. As much as I love Jamil, it’s always a pain to write for him because I always feel like I’m butchering his personality whenever I write for him. It’s a struggle. Also, I love how this prompt fits them so well? Especially Jamil. Good choice. Although I was getting sleepy around Trey's part so that's why its kinda meh.

Prompt: G - Gardenia (secret love): “It’s been so hard to love you from the shadows.”

Kalim was the heart of the Scarabia dorm, he was the one in charge. Everyone knew that. No one knew that better than Jamil. First Kalim took Jamil’s freedom as a child, then his freedom when he decided to transfer to Night Raven College, and then he even took away the player’s attention. It was only after his dorm’s story chapter did things become partly resolved, things were able to improve bit by bit, because of the actions of the player. Even though things were still improving for him, they didn’t seem to progress fast enough when it came to the player.

Only after the chaos of the “imposter” situation and they were all granted mercy, was he able to gaze upon the real player. Of course, Kalim had brazenly approached them with no reserve, and invited them to his dorm. Much to everyone’s surprise, it ended in acceptance, the player was happy to join. Possibly because Kalim was one of few who didn’t either torment or harm them when the player was mistaken for an imposter.

Jamil watched from the shadows of Scarabia, hurrying to serve the remainder of dishes and finish his duties so he could be in the player’s presence longer. Even if he was off to the side and out of sight, his observant eyes watching you carefully from afar, that would be alright… for now. He would figure out a way to steal Kalim’s spot beside you soon.

However, he wouldn’t have to. Jamil watched as (Y/n) wriggled their way out of the crowd of students dancing on the balcony in the moonlight. With the music and gathering people, it was easy to slip out of Kalim’s sight when he wasn’t looking. But it wasn’t as easy to escape Jamil’s sight. When the player looked up and noticed his gaze on them, they calmly approached as he blinked in surprise and he stiffened up slightly. When they stepped into the shadows beside him, they offered such a calming smile that made all his irritation and stress seem to melt away.

“Thank you for serving dinner earlier. It was all really good! They’re right about you, Jamil, you are an amazing cook.”

Praise. Compliments. Oh, he wanted more, just the sound of their voice spilling these words–– he would spend a whole day cooking and working in the kitchen if he could just hear more praise. Still, he managed to keep his cool as he gave a polite and grateful smile, “You’re welcome. If you want something else, let me know. I’ll go and cook it right now.”

“Actually, I wasn’t going to ask for food or anything.” They leaned against the wall beside him, like he did, and kept their attention on him as they proceeded, “You look like you have something on your mind. If you want, I can listen and try to help…? If you want, of course. I wouldn’t want to impose or anything.”

The power of their grace, their presence, was truly something. It made him want to spill his worries, just tell them everything, apologize for how he doubted their identity and even treated them so harshly, even beg for another proper chance if it meant he could be beside them more. It was odd, he preferred secrecy, but if he could he would spill every secret he knew to them. Stopping himself from doing anything rash, he sucked in a breath and admitted softly, “It’s been so hard to love you from the shadows…”

In preparation for the Unbirthday Party practically being held in the player's honor, much was still left to be done. Riddle was fretting over everything, wanting the party to go smoothly in order to impress the player. Of course, the others in his dorm felt the same way too. Ace and Deuce were on rose duty with Cater before they would have to help prepare the hedgehogs and flamingos. Meanwhile, Trey was on baking duty. As basically the top baker of the dorm, he was responsible for making the sweet treats that would be available later on.

What he didn’t expect was for the player to visit early. Out of sheer boredom, they claimed, and to escape the overbearing attention from the other dorms, they retreated to Heartslabyul and thought the kitchen might be the best place to hide for now. Only to find Trey, but they wouldn’t mind him. He was nowhere near as overbearing as some of the others.

To quell their boredom, they offered to assist, which Trey happily accepted but made sure to give them only the easiest tasks.

Individual time with the player was a rarity, and he would be sure to treasure it. Afterall, it likely wouldn’t last long. Being alone with the player was something rarely anyone experienced. They could've gone with the freshmen like Ace or Deuce, or Cater, or even Riddle, but they came to him. Such a thought brought him such joy and relief, which was only amplified by their presence. Maybe he wasn't as noticeable or beloved as they were, and he realized that. It was why he was glad to have the player here, they chose to spend time with him.

Offering them one of the finished products, a treat to taste test, he watched with fondness as they happily snacked on it after their moderately easy tasks.

(Y/n) glanced up at him after taking a bite, swallowing their food before asking, "You look like you want to say something."

Well, that wasn't it entirely. He was thinking a lot, but he didn’t have so much to say. It actually almost felt wrong to say it, but by their expectant gaze he couldn't just keep quiet. Chuckling, he responded, "It’s hard to love you from the background.”

[getosboobies]

reasons i think matchablossom is or has been canon!

once again, i have become overly obsessive and have throughly analysed each and every kaoru & kojiro scene that we currently have. i indulged and created my own list of “ are they besties or are they banging or both “ but i have decided to share it all with you :))

( keep in mind, i’m a reacher and these are just my interpretations. i will go to any extent to prove myself correct - no matter how unlikely )

so first of all, we have the fact cherry is the only one we have yet to see at joe’s restaurant after hours. this immediately shows that they are extremely comfortable with each other and spend a lot of time together even when they’re not skating. it also potentially suggests cherry is waiting for joe to go home, maybe a habit they’ve developed over time. before these scenes, the producers always show an image of the restaurants front door which states closed. by showing this frame, it obviously gives the impression it’s important for us to know that it is closed and therefore showings us that joe and cherry’s relationship is more than just some rivalry banta and that they have an established friendship built on trust and time. the creators could have just not shown that it was closed and had us assume that’s they were just good friends who spent time together but they went a whole step further and showed us these two men’s personal lives are somewhat intertwined with one another, showing us that they don’t have large boundaries for each other which would be considered strange in contrast to the “ arguing “ we had previously seen between them. if this isn’t enough for you, in these scenes we also see joes uniform unbuttoned so i take this as even more evidence of how comfortable they are around each other. also ! restaurants tend to close quite late ( avg. 8pm-12pm ) and on all the shots of the closed door, it has been dark outside. why wouldn’t cherry be home at this time settling down or something??? or maybe cherry has a lot of love for joe if he’s willing to wait that long for him to finish work... just sayin’. more on this, i analysed the restaurants design and noticed that the plug in the wall is really low down to the ground. maybe this is just one of joes odd design techniques or maybe it was specifically placed for cherry to charge carla, the concept of which, makes me very happy

keeping on the point of joe’s restaurant, whenever we have seen cherry inside he always sits right in front of the kitchen, this is pretty normal unless you think about 1) how much time he spends there 2) how busy restaurants get 3) he came there while he was with a colleague. we’ve already seen that cherry doesn’t mind coming after hours so why did he come during the day if he knew joe would be busy? this is similar to the fact he came in with his colleague in episode 2 - he obviously wasn’t expecting to be able to talk with joe while he was out for a work meal, so why on earth would he sit right in front of where joe would be, which is situated in a considerably inconvenient table for work meal? what i’ve interpreted from this is that cherry’s must enjoy being in joes presence. cherry canonically having anxiety would explain why he likes being close to someone who he knows well, and that cares for him. being able to see and hear joe so close is perhaps very relaxing for cherry.

now when i watched sk8 for the first time, i gather the impression that joe was a forgive and forget kinda guy when it came to someone who did him wrong. when we’re introduced to adam it’s evident there is some hostility within joe but this does not nearly compare to the anger cherry showed. when suggesting a beef their intentions seem to be completely different. cherry outrightly admitting to his grudge and anger for adam whereas joe seems to just want to prove a point to adam by winning against him ( i mean look at the image above, their facial expressions show it all ). but i noticed that as cherry would speak about adam, joe’s intentions slowly shifted and became far more serious and full of anger. “ there’s someone i’d like to punch “ is a sentence said by joe in episode 8. this is quite different to what we had seen in earlier episodes of him just wanting to make a point. i think this shift was predominantly when joe found cherry at the ocean view. joe knew how cherry was feeling towards adam BEFORE this scene because he knew where to find him, but the realisation that cherry was standing there, alone, and reliving some of his saddest memories probably hit joe that cherry couldn’t do this alone. therefore stepped up his game and met cherry’s loathing so they could do it together. as far as things go, this is one of the most important things they have done for each other because it shows clearly how devoted they are to each other.

this is one of the most confusing lines in this show thus far. i’m sure it’ll make sense in the oncoming episodes but i have come to two conclusions. so either adam has created this false reality of what happened and has told himself his evil ways stemmed from joe and cherry or, the more likely in my opinion, adam always felt like he was in need of a partner, a rival but also someone to love. this is displayed in the show in his predatory ways, aka, he wants his own ‘eve’. now there’s no ruling whatsoever that a skater needs any sort of dedicated rival, or skate partner, so i believe adam probably got this want from his peers, for example, joe and cherry. adam seems to believe you need to love your ‘eve’ and it gives me the idea that maybe he saw joe and cherry -in love- and decided that was what he wanted, but then as we know he went about it in an extremely toxic way. the “was it so“ was really hard to interpret, he’s clearly quite smug by the way he shrugs and smiles and shows that he’s very confident about what he’s saying but the question is short and leaves a lot unknown, which suggests why cherry and joe don’t respond. either they are as confused as i am, or they have a slight idea what adam could be suggesting and they feel guilty. we all know cherry and joe aren’t bad hearted people but as adam is insinuating ‘no, you guys parted ways from me first’ it could suggest that joe and cherry had perhaps become closer in high school and had developed a stronger bond than they had with adam and this left adam feeling lost and alone. this is more of a canon compliant headcanon that would make sense rather than a fact but it’s certainly something to think about.

one of the most obvious factors in their relationship is how they always know what the other is thinking or planning. we’ve seen in recent episodes that when cherry was racing, joe knew exactly what his motive was even without discussing it, thats enough information to show how well they truly know each other and how connected they really are. it’s also shown with cherry. when joe is racing, and is going extremely fast towards the corner, we see a frame of miya and shadow being worried for him, but then it shifts to cherry watching and there’s not a spec of worry on his face because he KNOWS what joe is planning and knows he will be fine. they know each other’s techniques better than anyone and it shows they don’t doubt each other’s choices one bit.

we learn right from the beginning that cherry and joe like to argue and fight, at first we think this is because they dislike each other but we learn that they are best friends. so when watching back you notice that none of the insults are ever actually insulting. let’s think about it, the most common insults they use are gorilla, dimwit and four-eyes. now to me, none of these actually seem insulting whatsoever and even if they do like to argue a lot it’s obvious they never ever mean any harm to one another.

from analysing the scenes one of the things i’ve noticed the most is how cherry and joe turn up and leave together. when the cops came during the langa x adam skate they both started to run off together leaving everyone else behind. as we know, they spend a lot of their personal lives together but leaving and turning up together every single time we’ve see them there seems like they’re a bit more attached than i originally thought. there’s a chance they meet before hand but why always that late at night? why aren’t they ever at home alone? unless...they live together. i mean it’s a perfectly valid suspicion right now as we’ve never seen either of their homes and we’ve never seen either of them turn up anywhere alone but either way it confirms they spend an awful lot of time together in general life. going back to my original point of them not only turning up and leaving together but they also never leave each other’s sides. there’s a heap of frames that you can see them standing together watching a beef or even just them talking. they’re literally attached at the hip and nothing makes me happier.

the creators of the show have made countless points to show that joe and cherry have a lot of history. from the school references to the fact they have TRAVELLED THE WORLD TOGETHER. they could have just shown one or two so we know that as a general fact they’ve known each other a long time but they bring it up an awful lot for it to be just a general fact. this being shown so much let’s us know that this is important information and that they’ve obviously wanting to lay down a foundation to bring something crucial up. so far they have mentioned their social studies trip, a school excursion, joes love for haunted houses, holiday to La and the Paris bar they went to. now you might be thinking, oh they were in the same school they probably just went on a trip together nothing confirms they were close, well i am here to prove that statement false. joe said he found cherry’s wallet, this not only shows that joe was close to cherry when he lost it but also that he knew where to find it, showing how well he knew cherry. another point is that legal age to drink in Paris is 18 so unless they had fake ID it’s safe to say this is a trip they’ve done since becoming adults and leaving school. it’s also canon that have gone together, so the fact they’ve been travelling as adults together is quite interesting. same with the restaurant in LA, sounds kinda like a date.

over the course of the episodes we’ve seen so far there has been a few comments they have made to each other that suggest a little bit of jealousy. for cherry, these comments are made in episode 6 in the hot spring. cherry brings up joes love for haunted houses and then joe agrees and says it’s because “chicks get scared and grab onto me” * with a smirk *. now what’s interesting about this is cherry’s response. “you really are a scumbag” this insult feels a lot more insulting than usual and the response itself surprised me. at this moment cherry looks away from joe which is an action people tend to do when they’re hurt or pissed off. either works in this scenario but neither make much sense as we know cherry’s already aware of joes status with girls. so why was he mad? well this was obviously a fond memory of cherry’s and joe replying with a statement about girls probably made him a bit angry because that was supposed to be their memory. but joes smirk with the comment makes me rethink, did he state that on purpose to make cherry jealous? obviously we can’t be sure but the entire encounter left me a bit confused. now onto joes jealousy, in episode 2 dub joe says “dude, you’re talking to a machine?” now in context this seems like joe is partially bewildered by the fact cherry is casually talking to his AI skateboard but he also seems slightly jealous that cherry is talking to carla instead of talking to him. this is one of the only scenes where joes facial expressions actually seem insulted rather than just having a bit of fun. he follows this up with “figured you’d give your board a girls name seeing as you can’t get a real one!” why can’t he get a real one? we hear tonnes of girls screaming compliments at cherry when he turns up so he definitely could get a girlfriend if he wanted, and joe no doubt knows this too, so why would he use it as an insult? i’m not sure what to make of this but it’s got to be a factor somewhere.

more on the haunted mansion chit chat, the line about chicks grabbing onto joe is quite funny when you look at the entire scene, because as soon as they get jumped they grabbed onto each other in fear. seems a little ironic if i do say so myself.

they both seem very secluded about their personal lives. cherry more specifically does not like the use of his skate name in his personal life or vice versa. joe is the only one we have seen to be aware or use cherry’s real name. the way joe slips up and calls cherry ‘kaoru’ at “S” shows how close they are and how much time they spend together to be able to accidentally mix up the two parts of their lives. this is just an extra point on how conjoined their lives must really be. in the photo above we see how cherry easily calms joe down when he starts to get annoyed. joe is the only one who knows fully about cherry’s life as emotions and cherry is the same for joe.

now one of the most heart wrenching matcha blossom scenes is when joe finds cherry at the ocean view. i have a lot to say about this so let’s start at the beginning. first of all, joe noticed cherry was missing. it’s not like cherry was there for a massive amount of time, so joe noticing that cherry was gone for even as much as an hour or two really says a lot about the placement they have in each other’s lives. there was really no reason for joe to worry about where cherry was considering they’re grown adults but he continued to go out and find him anyways. this is also set in the late afternoon judging by the sky, whereas the previous scene had been set at night at “s”, so this is suggesting the ocean view scene is on a completely different normal day for them (another factor showing how much time they spend together). next, the fact joe knew exactly where to find cherry. this truly shows how much they know and how connected they are to each other but also how well they understand the others coping mechanisms. cherry was dwelling on memories from 7 years ago and yet joe still knew exactly what he was doing and what he was thinking about. plus cherry didn’t even seem surprised when joe turns up. but one thing i noticed is that in this scene is the way they (in this case, didn’t) hold eye contact. while cherry is faced away, joe is staring at him but as soon as cherry meets joes eyes, joe turns away. either joe didn’t want to be caught staring or joe realised something crucial in that moment. i’ll let your mind decide what that is.

obviously, miyas comment about joe and cherry being his parents is a light hearted joke just to ruin joes chances of flirting with girls but it also implies that the group can tell that joe and cherry are respectively closer than anyone originally thought and they perhaps have caught on that the tension between them is a little bit too gay to be just a bit of banta. obviously in this scene we then see joe looking at cherry’s legs while a blush clearly intensifies on his face. yeah no, this is self explanatory.

one of the things i like about joe and cherry’s relationship is the fact that within that joe also has a somewhat dynamic with carla. although carla is non-living, there has been several interactions between them. for example the beginning of episode 6 on the boat joe recognises carlas voice immediately. i mean straight off i think it’s suspicious as hell that they all happened to be going there at the same time but the fact joe realised cherry must be there because of the sound of an AI skateboard? that’s impressive. also, at the beginning of the series carla is aware of who joe is when calling joe an imbecile, this shows that cherry has obviously had this modified to specifically refer to joe as joe rather than just refer to him as a general person.

there was a popular tiktok i saw the other day (if anyone has the username of the person please tell me so i can credit them!!) and it showed the two images above. in these photos it shows joes skateboard and his odd looking wheels. the creator of this video further analysed that these reflect the general outlook of a cherry blossom flower. though the actual wheels in real life don’t look as similar to a flower as they do in the show. but now if this is what they’re meant to look like, this is a really sentimental fact and shows how highly joe thinks of cherry in his skating career. but what about his personal life? well that’s where my analysing comes in. i noticed in the dessert joe makes in episode 5 he had a range of fruits displayed on the top as well as a single flower. this flower looks identical to a cherry blossom. once again the reflection of cherry within joes life makes an appearance. we’ve seen that flowers actually mean something in this show (toxic example but adam’s red roses for langa) so it would make sense for this to actually mean something about their relationship. i studied a range of Japanese desserts and, although every chef works differently, most of the dishes tend to only have a display of fruits and no flowers. so i have come to the conclusion that this dish certainly had some symbolism to cherry in joes life, some way or another.

so overall, their dynamic already shows that they have a very thin and mistakable line between very close best friends and potential lovers. although some of this was based off personal interpretation the majority is cinematic displays and general facts. so take this and use it however you like. let me know your opinions and other factors you have! for all i know i could be completely disproven with the next few episodes but surely if this many people see a bit more than just a friendship there’s got to be a reason for it.

if we can have one lgbt+ character... why not two more?

[girlfriendsofthegalaxy]

tuesday again 6/21/22

i never have to go back to the high school or possibly the town where i went to high school Ever Again bc my youngest sibling has graduated and im going to ride that high as long as possible

VERY long mobile game review, tried to be objective about quality of life stuff and how successful certain mechanics were but (spoiler) didn't like this one very much

listening i am being true to the original concept of this section, which was "what song have i had on loop this week bc it does something to my brain, even if it's kind of goofy or cheesy, instead of cherrypicking my shuffle for an indie song i think more people should listen to."

anyway this is lion by saint mesa, which was not originally written for a tv show as i first surmised but has been featured in several. if i can imagine some sort of long-anticipated trading caravan lumbering toward a watering hole somewhere in a blasted wasteland (even if it is extremely not the story the lyrics are telling me) i'm going to put that song on loop, perhaps for an entire hour of a six-hour drive.

-

reading fallow week

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watching i watched Legend (1985, dir. Scott) in two chunks, about half last week and then the rest when i got back from traveling this week. i find myself consistently intrigued but lightly disappointed by scott's films. however, his films' visuals are fun in a way i appreciate. more of this please. "oooh the noir enjoyer likes heavy use of light and shadow and literally this exact framing in anything" thank you i am already aware

tom cruise would have been better served as the puckish but amoral fairy prince The Gump, i feel. like sure. he's a prettyboy and also a feral wild boy, and he does do the early parts of the movie when he doesn't talk very much very well... that felt a bit mean. he does a very good person who lives just outside of civilization and regard it all with some bemusement and feels no particular need to follow it. the film quickly snaps him into the mold of a silver-tongued rogue who can charm or squirm out of anything, which feels off. bring back feral tom cruise. the princess also has an odd moment of wits, which is an odd contrast with a very clumsy lie in her earliest scene, where she steals cookies from her old nursemaid and then tells baby tom cruise oh no she absolutely made them herself :) there isn't much on-screen character development for her between these two scenes, just being dragged away and kidnapped.

i chilled the fuck out a lot after realizing this movie was far more interested in the costumes/sets/visuals than any theme more complex than light vs dark. most irritatingly, the ending does not seem like our loving pair learned a single goddamn thing from this whole escapade or that it changed them in any way, she's still a spoilt irresponsible princess, he's still head over heels for her. this movie is not interested in the corrupting force of monarchies vs the corrupting force of i think the literal devil??? simply not what i am looking for in a film, and i did not see this at a formative enough age for the campiness to really nest itself into my soul, although i do appreciate it.

love a good Waltz that Corrupts. the visual language of tim curry’s lair is quite striking- the use of light and shadow is doing a ton of work to suggest more detail than there actually is, and make sets look more complex and larger than they actually are. you simply do not get fantastic grandiose sets like eighties fantasy movie sets any more.

tim curry was terrific, the creature design was terrific, everyone is always slightly sweaty and covered in glitter, i liked guessing how the costumes were put together. there are worse films to spend two hours with.

how'd i come across this: watched it as an edgy teen

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playing it's time to dissect another mobile game that almost worked for me but didn't. i've tried to be objective and really get down into why the mechanics made choices i didn't like, even though i don't play a ton of this genre. the last big collectible trading card gacha-ish games i played on mobile were dragalia lost, something that was very similar to panzer waltz but i can no longer find the name of, world flipper, and sinoalice. not my very favorite genre of game, but i do dabble.

anyway i came across dislyte bc they got an investment recently and have an extremely aggressive and kind of shady marketing campaign.

here's the good: it's extremely fucking pretty. the character design and costuming/props are great, there are so many unique animations! the soundtrack and background music are fun, if in a slightly generic clubby top radio hit kind of way they're probably going for on purpose, and the little schtick of the menu music being announced by "dislyte excerpts radio" is funny to me. an interesting thing is "reviews" of characters that anyone can leave in their own separate little menu (which are all thirst comments basically, y'all down CATASTROPHIC for the jackal man), and the little "% of people chose this!" when you get points to assign to attributes. i think that specifically is a neat touch that will iron itself out eventually and be more representative of what people over time pick, but also: sometimes the favored build isn't very good for what you're trying to do with a character.

the bad: incredibly poor tutorials and menu design, it's a glorified autobattler.

tutorials, quality of life kvetches: i still do not understand very basic things such as "how to change who attacks first" and "what the fuck Does elemental strategy like Actually Do". weird fuckin things are overly complicated, like levelling up the little trinkets you can equip to a character that are a mechanic in every collectible gacha card game ever. there's a lot of different materials. there's a lot of different kinds of trinkets. there's some suggested trinket builds but heavy reliance on percentages AND percent of a change, which i fucking hate. tell me in simple words like "3x damage if this effect is active". i don't want to do mental math for your game and i do video game stats for a living.

on a related note, like many other collectible card games, this is "menus the game" but the "main" menu is laid out across four goddamn different screens.

on a related note to that related note, these menus are DEEP. you can get four or five menus deep on the character pages (i am not redownloading to double check). i should never be five menus deep into anything at any point. combine shit.

point three or whatever, everything is so fucking tiny. i have an iphone 12, which is a reasonably large modern smartphone. many many phones are smaller. i should not be holding my phone four inches in front of my face trying to make out which glyph is which because i can't zoom. (image)

actually point four bc this screenshot compilation reminded me: you have two different types of menus and ways to open them just on the individual card page: the bottom bar, and the tiny icons on the side. that's not even all the tiny icons, you have to hit the arrow to expand and see them all. that's simply too many options and it's confusing and hard to find things.

combat: again this feels like it started out life as an autobattler and then pivoted really late. fighting is simply tapping a button to activate an ability. there's no timing element, there's no real strategy behind saving up your abilities and gaming the cooldowns. you also start off with no cooldown on any abilities, which is very weird and makes it so you can just fucking mulch a level without being touched once if you're levelled up enough. if you're not levelled up enough, you die Extremely quickly. i truly don’t understand if i'm supposed to have a strategy? this video if i've timestamped it right should let you watch the first actual team battle. thrilling!

length of time for combat: everything in this game has a fancy little animation that is very pretty but takes forever. the game itself suggests enabling 2X battle speed. this is not a game you can bust out and play a level in line for groceries or something, and it's not really meant to be, but the length of time it takes to get through a level is on the upper limit of what i expected from a collectible card game and often strained my patience, especially in multi-stage battles. there doesn't seem to be a way to auto-run through the levels yet. i also don't find that kind of game intrinsically fun to play, so it's unlikely the inclusion would make me want to continue playing, but it's odd that there isn't that option when it's there in so many other games like this.

conclusion: i seem to have slammed into a hard pay to play cap at the end of chapter eight after three days/idk ten hours of on and off play. so this is where I leave it i think. for the next Big Update i would expect the menus to be radically overhauled and significant quality of life improvements to be made, especially with regards to inventory, but the art and music is not enough to make me keep playing until then. mostly because i didn't pull a hot butch-of-center lady i fell in love with, unlike genshin which almost immediately gave me beidou.

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making lemon garlic paprika chicken. slightly too heavy on the lemon. no pics all gone.

after some vigorous discussion with my sister about saturation and hue, swapped a bunch of shit in and out of frames and hung up some shit in my living room. they are on either side of the front windows, which makes this awkward bc my view is very doxxable.

anyway, because i think i'm funny and isn't that really the most important thing in life when you think about it, amusing yourself, red for port: an 8x10 photograph acquired at my favorite used bookstore/ephemera/florist in the world, a black canary poster acquired from a free comic book day Several years ago, a terminator: dark fate poster i grabbed on the way to go see the charlie's angels reboot but never actually got around to seeing terminator: dark fate until last year.

blue for starboard: flyer from a show i went to matted Much bigger than it actually is, signed poster from my favorite roommate's cousin's band, poster from a show i did Not go to bc i ended up having to work but i do think it's one of the better posters wmua ever did

[edenmemes]

uncharted sentence starters

❝ if you’re done lying to me, then you should stop lying to yourself. ❞ ❝ it’s not going to be easy, you know. ❞ ❝ well, it sounds like you’re working for a nutcase. ❞ ❝ make sure that you’re safe. ❞ ❝ look, i wanted to tell you! i wanted to! but how could i? ❞ ❝ see? i’m not just a pretty face. ❞ ❝ i’m sorry for what happened to you. ❞ ❝ i think i have a bit more experience with this thing than you do. ❞ ❝ wait, wait, wait. something about this feels kinda hinky. ❞ ❝ what a warm and homey place, huh? ❞ ❝ i’m willing to forgive and forget. for old time’s sake. ❞ ❝ looks like he was killed. ripped to shreds actually. ❞ ❝ these guys have been tailing me for weeks. thought i lost them. ❞ ❝ should i be flattered, or worried? ❞ ❝ so with our luck, what’s the odds this volcano is going to erupt on us? ❞ ❝ i hope i don’t go to hell for this. ❞ ❝ i can handle this. i’m tough. i grew up with nuns. ❞ ❝ fair warning, last person who betrayed me wound up dead. ❞ ❝ you told me you’d say out of trouble. ❞ ❝ how do i know you’re real? ❞ ❝ don’t ever point a gun at me again. ❞ ❝ make sure that you’re safe. ❞ ❝ i have made a lot of mistakes. a lot. i’m not a perfect man. ❞ ❝ i had a lousy father. lousy childhood. ❞ ❝ sounds terrible. check his wallet. ❞ ❝ let's not forget who walked out on whom. you don't get to be jealous.  ❞ ❝ progress demands sacrafice. ❞ ❝ shut up. i really thought you were gone this time. ❞ ❝ i can’t leave you alone for one minute, can i? ❞ ❝ on a scale of 1-10, how scared were you that i was gonna die? ❞ ❝ i can’t walk away. i’m tired of walking away. ❞ ❝ even an enemy must be fed and sheltered. are you my enemy? ❞ ❝ we can still stop him. i can help you. ❞ ❝ gotta say, you have a real knack for breaking things. ❞ ❝ do as i say not as i do. ❞ ❝ looks like hell spit you back out. ❞ ❝ what’s your story, anyway? ❞ ❝ i don’t take big risks without a good payday. ❞ ❝ i guess it runs in the family, huh? ❞ ❝ you can’t reform the villain and save the day. it’s just not done like that. ❞ ❝ sorry, i just need to get my head back in the game. ❞ ❝ this isn’t our fight. it’s my fight. ❞ ❝ i won’t let them hurt you. ❞ ❝ skip the mind games. you don’t know me. ❞ ❝ no offense, but your ancestor was a right asshole. ❞ ❝ you’re unusually quiet. what’s up your bum? ❞ ❝ that was my last cigarette. ❞ ❝ okay, well, why don’t you just walk away? ❞ ❝ why this obsession? i’m just worried. ❞ ❝ i can’t...i can’t breathe...i just...can’t breathe... ❞ ❝ don’t touch me. get away from me. ❞ ❝ if you let these bastards win - after this - i will never forgive you. ❞ ❝ you’ve got your pride all tangled up in this thing. it’s making you reckless. ❞ ❝ any trouble you shoot first and ask questions later. ❞ ❝ dangerous to be out so late.  ❞ ❝ easy now. look at me. ❞ ❝ my leg! don’t touch it! i know it’s broken! ❞ ❝ are you going to join me, darling? ❞ ❝ this is my gig. you want your share, you play by my rules. ❞ ❝ we don’t get to choose how we start in life. real greatness? it’s what you do with the hand you’re dealt. ❞ ❝ i always felt that we were destined for something great. ❞ ❝ you should relax. you’ll live longer. ❞ ❝ i taught you better than that. ❞ ❝ so that’s a no? felt like a no. ❞ ❝ quit acting like you’re gonna lie down and die, all right? ❞ ❝ i have a spare bed.  ❞ ❝ is there no bottom for your ignorance? ❞ ❝ even cornered dogs bite back.  ❞ ❝ that one is my favourite. it makes your eyes twinkle.  ❞ ❝ admit it. you’re gonna miss this ass.  ❞ ❝ you think i’m a monster, but you’re no different from me.  ❞ ❝ how many people have you killed? how many?  ❞ ❝ you will not stand in the way of destiny.  ❞ ❝ you stick with me, i’ll teach you a few things. ❞ ❝ well, if you’d like, i can tell you where to stick it. ❞ ❝ face it, genius, you’ve been played. ❞ ❝ yeah, keep smiling, asshole. ❞ ❝ i got nothing to prove. ❞ ❝ don’t hand it to me. i’ve had everything handed to me ❞ ❝ you don’t know when to give up, do you? ❞ ❝ you stick your neck out, you’re asking to lose your head. ❞ ❝ oh, and now you’re blushing. ❞ ❝ just so you know, it’s not my first lost city. ❞ ❝ are you always this clever? ❞ ❝ i was trying to rescue you, as a matter of fact. ❞ ❝ you know, at this point, i’ve run out of words. ❞ ❝ what do you say we really ruin this guy’s day? ❞ ❝ whether you die or not, i don’t really care. ❞ ❝ i thought you...i saw you get shot. ❞ ❝ it’s like a camera. you just...point and shoot, right? ❞ ❝ god, who’s being unprofessional now? ❞ ❝ i always knew you were gonna make something of yourself one day. ❞ ❝ let’s just pretend i skipped all of sunday school. ❞ ❝ oh no you didn’t do that. that’s not funny! ❞ ❝ save the world, triumph over evil. ❞ ❝ are you trying to kill me? ❞ ❝ know what i love about partying with a bunch of crooks? nobody cares that you smoke indoors. ❞ ❝ you gave me a goddamn heartattack. ❞ ❝ i’ll die a thousand deaths before i let you win.  ❞ ❝ i didn’t tell you because i was afraid...of losing you. ❞ ❝ what ever happened to just living a normal life? ❞ ❝ even if you think you’re protecting me, you don’t have a right to shut me out like that. ❞ ❝ i mean... thanks for saving me. ❞ ❝ en garde, dickhead. ❞ ❝ i love you. ❞ ❝ come on! we can get out of here together. ❞ ❝ everything i touch turns to shit. ❞ ❝ how did you find me anyway? ❞ ❝ i’ve got my eye on you. ❞ ❝ you were going to sell me out, weren’t you? ❞ ❝ love to know what you’re thinking. ❞ ❝ well, well, well. get it? ‘cause you know, it’s a well. ❞ ❝ it’s a shame we’re leaving empty handed though. ❞ ❝ okay...yeah...how do i look? ❞ ❝ thank me after we get out of this alive. ❞ ❝ you’re lucky that i found you when i did. ❞ ❝ they’re just saying that because it gets to you. ❞ ❝ look, if you’re into shady stuff it’s totally cool. ❞ ❝ ha. that’s my girl. ❞ ❝ i made a promise that i was done with this life. ❞ ❝ listen, sunshine, the world doesn’t care. ❞ ❝ well, that’s it. now you know everything. ❞ ❝ don’t even think about not coming back. ❞ ❝ you know, i shot the man who told me that. ❞ ❝ i thought that i’d be satisfied. instead, i’m left with this strange feeling of emptiness.  ❞  ❝ as thrilling as the next adventure may be, in the end, you’re always left with that same feeling. ❞ ❝ you know, i didn’t think i could trust you either. ❞ ❝ i almost lost you once before. i just can’t do that again. ❞ ❝ don’t even think about not coming back. ❞ ❝ that’s it! no compassion! no mercy! ❞ ❝ sentimentality in this line of work will get you killed. ❞ ❝ i need your help...and you need mine. ❞ ❝ i kept your tears in a jar. ❞ ❝ i expected you to have my back.  ❞ ❝ tell you what. when i get back, pizza’s on me. ❞ ❝ death. it smelled like death. ❞ ❝ so they have beaten you, eh? your quest’s over?  ❞ ❝ you listen to your mum, okay?  ❞ ❝ trust me - your ego will mend.  ❞ ❝ i hope i live to regret this.  ❞ ❝ these men were all shot.  ❞ ❝ be a lot easier just to let go.  ❞ ❝ what? no witty remark? nothing clever to say?  ❞ ❝ seems like i am always saving your ass. ❞ ❝ i never asked for any of your bloody heroics. ❞ ❝ the guys in prison used to say, ‘you can steal to eat or you can steal to get rich.’ i say, why not both?  ❞ ❝ you were never a chocolate and flower kinda girl.  ❞ ❝ i don’t have your luck. people like me know when to walk away from the table.  ❞ ❝ appreciate the update, captain obvious.  ❞ ❝ you made your choice.  ❞ ❝ don’t tell me you’re buying all into that supernatural nonsense.  ❞ ❝ i couldn’t sleep last time i saw that.  ❞ ❝ it’s actually nice working with a woman for a change. ❞ ❝ i’m lucky you’re on my side. ❞ ❝ do you really think all this really could be true?  ❞ ❝ you know, it’s kind of romantic down here.  ❞ ❝ just wish i’d brought something to read.  ❞ ❝ you can relax. we’re safe here. ❞ ❝ i am surrounded by traitors and fools.  ❞ ❝ just don’t get us killed. ❞ ❝ what are you shaking for? ❞ ❝ parents must be worried about you. ❞ ❝ i wonder what you’re really scared of...not bullets, or blood, or broken bones... ❞ ❝ i don’t need your bullet-ridden-corpse on my conscience. let’s go. ❞ ❝ yeah, i’m fine. oh, but - you’re bleeding. ❞ ❝ i do seem to attract the scum of the earth. ah - no offense. ❞ ❝ all this grandeur, hidden away from the world.  ❞ ❝ if we don’t make it out here, i just want you to know - i hate your guts. ❞ ❝ i’ve got a bad feeling about this place. ❞ ❝ that’s my blood. that’s my blood. that’s a lot of my blood. ❞ ❝ you should play the hero more often. it suits you. ❞ ❝ eyes ahead, don’t look down. ❞ ❝ here - grab my hand. ❞ ❝ no matter what it is, you’re supposed to come to me so we can work it out together… as a team.  ❞  ❝ you know nothing is ever truly destroyed. just purified and reborn.  ❞ ❝ you just - totally crushed that moment. you know that, right?  ❞ ❝ you’re a selfish dickhead.  ❞ ❝ i do speak a little bit of ____, you know. wait, what did you say? ❞ ❝ i know you. you’re no hero.  ❞ ❝ i wish you could’ve been there. ❞ ❝ hey, are you happy? ❞ ❝ you’re not gonna pass out on me or nothing, are you? ❞ ❝ look, i...um....i’m not good with the whole people thing.  ❞ ❝ i’ve had worse nights, believe me.  ❞ ❝ let’s find somewhere a little more private. ❞ ❝ hey, take it easy. you’ve been out for almost half an hour.  ❞ ❝ to rule people, you first must sow chaos.  ❞ ❝ it’s not stealing if it was mine to begin with. ❞ ❝ take me with you. ❞ ❝ i’m left with this strange feeling of emptiness.  ❞  ❝ anyone ever tell you, you have a funny idea of romantic?  ❞  ❝ it’s nothing that years of therapy won’t fix.  ❞ ❝ no. it’s my turn to walk away.  ❞  ❝ nothing about our lives have been fair, but we’ve made it work. ❞ ❝ your people will beg me to save them.  ❞ ❝ we’re not on a first-name basis.  ❞ ❝ you know nothing about me.  ❞ ❝ do tell. maybe over some drinks?  ❞ ❝ we must keep to the shadows.  ❞ ❝ hey, you cool? ‘cause i need you to be cool.  ❞ ❝ you must be tired of these lectures. i know i’m tired of giving them. ❞ ❝ here, take this. you’ll catch a cold. ❞ ❝ is that a sin? i think that’s a sin. ❞

[m-aster-of-spinjitzu]

golden power; never wielded

my first work for @ninjago-angst-week! prompt - abandoned (16/08) Lloyd's never known what it's like to share his heart with another, linking two lives together as if one had found the melody to their chorus, now a song in perfect harmony. If he’d always felt like he was invisible; wondered if there was something fundamentally wrong with his inability to touch others’ hearts, then, well, that was no one’s business but his own. Of course, that was before he quite literally fell for someone - the first person, actually - who seemed to care. Of course she was too good to be true. Or, the S8 angst I've been wanting to write about 'game of masks' and the aftermath. trigger warnings - suicidal thoughts, brief mention of implied self-harm, not really a warning but it talks a lot about loneliness. "How did you know?"

"It's an Oni Temple. It's safe to assume that only an Oni could take it."

"No. How could you know that I was part Oni?"

How could you know that I was part Oni?

The question repeated itself in his mind, echoing into the blizzard.

Sometimes, he wondered what would've gone down at the temple if he hadn't been so observant.

Well, he thought bitterly, probably not the temple itself.

The walls collapsing, he'd caught a glimpse of his terrified face as the room filled with swirling inky blackness, freezing him to the bone.

But the real pain came from her words.

Ah. Your emotions. You can't get rid of them, can you?

No, he'd wanted to yell, staring listlessly at the shaking grey semblance of sky.

He'd always felt like he wielded the element of light; invisible, trapped behind a barrier that no one cared enough to break. Isolated; locked away from the world. Longing for - yearning for - a single soul to want to know his heart. Pain that almost felt tangible, bleeding into every motion, every day.

Everyone else seemed to find it so easy - so effortless - simple as breathing, taken for granted like it was ingrained into their bones. Everyone else seemed to have given away a little piece of their heart - to their parents, friends, or lovers.

The fact that his was, and had always been, entirely whole?

He was either cursed, the venom from the Great Devourer passed down to him, or there was something fundamentally unlikable coursing through his veins.

By this point, he assumed it was the latter.

Maybe, if anyone had ever cared - wanted to know him - he'd never have felt like it was pressing down on his chest like a casket; a useless block of ice that no one wanted, not even the unfortunate owner it'd been given.

If no one would know his heart, he'd thought, grabbing a forgotten map, he'd strike fear into theirs - until they knew what it was like to sob into invisible barriers, to gaze upon the world with a weary eyes and a heart heavy with the knowledge that if they vanished, no one would even notice.

He'd realized far too late that he had unleashed an evil that couldn't be controlled - or one that could only be controlled by his- by someone else that had sunk beneath the darkness until no light remained-

He'd escaped from the crumbling casket, energy and eyes blazing - only to find that Har- she'd already escaped with the mask.

The Oni Mask of Hatred.

As they had steered the boat through the river, her sweet smile hiding lie upon lie, he'd thought it was somewhat ironic - two lovers, seeking a literal manifestation of hatred.

He'd laughed bitterly; no mirth in the sound.

After his first crush had - well, literally tried to crush him, he didn't think that this day could get much worse.

Until she dropped him into a contraption that was the stuff of nightmares - leaving the others with a seemingly impossible choice.

He'd wanted to yell, scream, that they should save his mother - he'd hurt enough people over the course of his short life, as evidenced by the grief-stricken orphan yelling a foreign language right in front of him.

I'm the expendable one! Maybe she was right - it was my fault the Serpentine were able to release the Great Devourer. And it took thousands of lives - but never the life of the one who was to blame.

He'd grabbed the vengestone bars, the faint sense of numbness they brought a welcoming relief from the storm of emotions that- he honestly had no clue what to do with.

i could drown, he had thought briefly, fleetingly. what if i drowned and i never hurt anyone again-

you have  a responsibility, even though you've pretty much failed to uphold it so far

"Clotho venge! Clotho decer! Clotho haeed!"

Shoving the thought to the back of his mind, he'd gripped the bars tighter, ignoring the sting of the metal against skin.

If anything, he'd welcomed the sting.

Any pain was better than the agonizing reminder that his heart was, and had always been, entirely whole.

He didn't even realize he was trembling until he heard his father's voice echoing from the vortex.

His father hadn't asked to be bitten by an evil snake, the venom coursing through his veins for years upon years. He hadn't asked to be dumped at a boarding school for bad kids, spending what he had left of his childhood hiding in empty classrooms or yelling empty threats as his classmates snickered.

Against all odds, they'd been reunited. Evil snakes, Fangblades, even Jade Blades - none of it had stood between them.

Just when he thought they might have a future - he might have a- a family - the Cursed Realm decided to curse them all.

His father with imprisonment, him with a life devoid of a father he'd loved, at the end.

Now H- she wanted to resurrect him?

His father had been so much more than the Oni blood in his veins. So was he.

But if he was completely Oni-

Lloyd didn't like their odds. He kind of hated them.

"Clotho venge! Clotho decer! Clotho haeed!"

---

A few chaotic hours later... they'd won? They'd won.

The Sons of Garmadon (he'd always thought the name was kind of ironic - he, the only son of Garmadon, wasn't in their crazy biker gang) had been imprisoned by courageous, if a bit overzealous, taser-wielding policeman.

Ninjago was celebrating - everyone was; he should be, too.

Should he really revel in their victory, though? It was his fault that she'd been able to snatch the last mask, all the safeguards the Oni had put in place practically worthless because of his stupid feelings-

H- Harumi had been thrown in one of the police vans.

"You're right - this isn't me," she'd started, her meekness almost convincing him that she really was the girl he'd fallen for - the girl who'd been forced into a mask she never wanted to wear, but someone who still cared about the world... and- and about him.

"Stop."

He'd cut her off, the venom in his tone surprising both of them.

"Save it for someone who cares," he'd forced out, the hurt welling up his chest almost as painful as their unceremonious descent into the jungle, (the descent she'd orchestrated, he'd thought fleetingly, squeezing his eyes together) unable to believe that this- this liar was the same sweet girl he'd fallen for.

With that, he slammed the door of the van, locking her in - wishing that locking his memories away could be easy.

She'd never cared about him; simply needing to use him as if he was nothing more than the power he wielded.

He watched one of the policemen drive her away, the tired-but-enthusiastic cheers of his teammates nothing more than background noise; static.

Vaguely, he realized that his heart wasn't quite whole - he'd given a piece of it to someone whom he had thought would link theirs together in harmony, the melody to his chorus; what he'd been searching for ever since he'd woken up screaming in a 'boarding school' that seemed more like a prison.

She'd taken more than what he'd given - draining the light from his entire being as if she was the Overlord, stealing his golden power without a shred of remorse.

That failure was practically painless, compared to her-

An almost unfamiliar emotion slowly stated to replace the ache in his chest that he'd grown used to for all those years; it'd become comforting, even. Watching the world go by with a heart that seemed more like a curse, he briefly, fleetingly, wondered if he'd be better off without one.

If there was ever a problem that presented itself to Nya while she worked on the Bounty, she used to joke that it'd be easier to just dump their entire hard dive into the sea.

Destruction seemed to be easier than fixing, he conceded - the van now just a glimmer of bright light; one of the many that made up their vibrant city.

"How did you know?" he heard, yet again wondering how he felt so disconnected from his own role in the memory.

How had she known? 

The whisper of a voice long gone bled into his consciousness, his hands shaking at his sides even as the city celebrated.

Why had he even asked that?

Plastering a smile on his face as he walked over to his teammates, the question repeating itself in his mind, echoing into the blizzard.

FSM - she didn't need to be leader of a biker gang to know that.

Who could ever give their heart - the epitome of human connection; golden power all on its own, albeit of a different kind - to an Oni?

Maybe he wasn't the one trapped behind an invisible wall, built on tears and loneliness and yearning and heartache and a lone question - why? Why could no one seem to look past the cage he felt himself trapped in, observing the world rather than playing a part in it.

He hadn't been a- abandoned by everyone, he realized, a weary sense of clarity and shadowed eyes not sure to accept it or push it into the back of his mind like the hours he'd spent there, as if he'd ever want to have hurt his teammates like he did, the twisted ghost-

He trailed behind his teammates as they sang - horribly off key, his mind pointed out, forcing a small smile onto his face - lost in the figurative blizzard, despite the fact that the sun's rays had only vanished a few hours ago.

If no one would know his heart?

FSM - could he really blame them?

(if you read this far, thank you so much, you’ve made my day:D)

[sundiscus]

wangxian dragon age au: ficlet

[part of a larger au i’ve mapped out + started drafting, but want to post as snippets for now! i’ve taken many liberties with the worldbuilding, and as such i think most can be inferred with context if you’re unfamiliar with dragon age.

part one now here

this snippet: the meet-ugly, ~1.7k]

✨✨✨

When Lan Wangji wakes up, he isn’t alone.

He doesn’t realize it right away. The first thing he notices is that, this time, there are no shackles. He shifts his hands the slightest bit, enough to confirm they are indeed free. The movement pulls at the little cuts on his fingers and forearms from where the shackles shattered apart, already scabbing over—so he has been unconscious long enough for the magebane to burn out of his system, which he confirms, finding his meridians free and clear. He’s lying on his back, something that feels slightly too soft to be a stone floor under him and something that feels slightly too rough to be a blanket draped over him. An odd green light pulses against his eyelids and the only sound is a muted, continuous hiss, like a distant waterfall. Wherever he is, it isn’t the cell from earlier.

It doesn’t matter. He won’t be here long.

He takes one more slow breath, listening closely. There. To his left, a few paces away, he hears a tiny, cut-off inhale. Now he knows where to aim. His eyes fly open as he launches himself upright, summoning his sword into his raised hand, and—

It’s like expecting the ocean and finding only a puddle. His sword flickers into existence for the barest moment, its glow illuminating a circle of stone walls, a pallet beneath him, and then Lan Wangji’s lungs stutter, pressure squeezing his temples, as if all air has been sucked out of the room. Bichen dissipates and Lan Wangji is left gasping, one hand still raised uselessly in the air.

From the shadows, someone says: “Ah, that’s not going to work.”

Lan Wangji is already looking to the side. He sees only a figure at first, because when his sword disappeared so had the strange, omnipresent green glow. The glow returns now, slowly illuminating a young man curled against the opposite wall, his hair a dark, tangled wave over his shoulders, wrists chained together with thick iron manacles. For a moment his eyes, staring right back at Lan Wangji, are the brightest thing in the room.

“What do you mean?” Lan Wangji demands, finding his voice. “Is there a suppression array?” It must be powerful to choke off his magic so finitely. If he can see it, though, he can figure out how to undo it.

The man wrinkles his nose. “Not exactly. But—ah, ah,” he says as Lan Wangji starts to stand, “don’t move too fast, the blowback from that is going to be pretty harsh.”

Lan Wangji understands almost instantly as a wave of vertigo hits him. His knees buckle before he’s halfway to his feet and he collapses back on the pallet, bracing his weight on his elbow to keep from falling entirely. When his ears stop ringing he can hear his own ragged breathing.

Enough, he thinks, and forces himself to even his breaths. To shift focus. Clearly whatever precautions Wen Chao and his soldiers have taken to secure this room go beyond magebane and a simple suppression array. He won’t be able to escape by sheer force like last time, but this will still be no more than a brief detour on his journey. He will make sure of it.

Yesterday—was it yesterday, now? The chamber has no windows, just the eerie green glow emanating from the walls—Lan Wangji had been traveling with a retinue of junior enchanters to retrieve research texts from the Circle in Hedong, where scholars claimed to have promising studies related to fade rifts. They were nearly there when a raven alighted on Lan Wangji’s shoulder, bearing the message: Siege on Gusu Circle. Reconvene to the north. He’d sent the junior enchanters ahead and turned back before the raven even took flight.

(The note had not mentioned his brother, so his brother must be alive. Rumors were already spreading outward from Gusu as he rode, saying Wen Xu had an archdemon, Wen Xu burned the Gusu library to the ground. They did not say Wen Xu killed Zewu-jun, Wen Xu killed a mage with a glowing hand. So his brother must have escaped. Knowing this did not stop Lan Wangji’s heart from racing as he spurred his horse faster, past refugee settlements and Templar camps, toward the distant gash in the sky.)

And then: a poisoned arrow biting into his arm, his horse crumpling on a hardpacked road outside Lingchuan. The Wen soldiers, ready for him. (Not ready enough, when at least six of their bodies fell before Lan Wangji did.) One day in the first cell, his failed escape attempt.

And now: magicless, trapped in a strange room with a strange, sharp-eyed prisoner watching him struggle to sit upright, the slow crawl of time a physical weight on Lan Wangji’s shoulders.

“Honestly, just ride it out,” the prisoner is saying. He has his chained hands up and open, like he’s trying to calm a spooked animal. “You’ll feel better in about an hour. Maybe less, if you’ve had a good meal recently.”

Lan Wangji’s head spins sickeningly. He ignores it, pushing himself up until he can prop himself against the wall, putting himself eye-level with the prisoner, at least.

“Or sit up anyway, I suppose,” the prisoner says. His voice has a ragged edge, as if it’s scraping its way out of his throat. “Sorry, I’d offer you some water, but I drank it all before I knew I’d have company. What are you doing here, anyway?”

If First Enchanter Lan wants his nephew back, he’ll have to lend us a few books, Wen Chao had mocked from outside the first cell. And if he wants you back with all your limbs attached, he’ll have to throw in trading deeds with the eastern lyrium mines for good measure. Do you think he can deliver that before you die here?

Wen Chao wanted demonic texts, Lan Wangji had guessed, the ones hidden deep within the library. No doubt for some dangerous, power-hungry scheme, and no doubt connected to the rifts. From there, it wasn’t hard to piece together that the attack on the Circle was meant to discover which texts were critical enough to be rescued and transported away, and likely steal them in transit. There are protocols for such events, Lan Wangji knows, and his presence here means the raid was unsuccessful, and he will be used as leverage for a second attempt.

If Wen Chao meant to scare Lan Wangji with his demands, he had only succeeded in doing the opposite. Because if all they want from Lan Wangji’s family are books and deeds, it means they don’t know about his brother yet.

Lan Wangji doesn’t share any of this. “Political prisoner,” is all he says.

“Ahh.” The man nods. “I figured, what with the…” He gestures at his own forehead, chains clinking as he does. “You’re obviously a Lan. Someone will pay well to have you back home.”

“They should not have to pay at all,” Lan Wangji bites out. Something about the prisoner’s casual attitude grates at him. The world outside is quite literally falling apart at the seams, and Lan Wangji doesn’t have time to be used as bait in Wen Chao’s small-minded games.

The prisoner shrugs. “Yeah, but there’s not much choice at the moment, is there? For now you’re stuck here with me. I’m—my name is Wei Ying, by the way. What should I call you, while we wait?”

“Do the Wen soldiers enter this cell often?” Lan Wangji says instead of answering. “Is there a chance of overpowering them?”

A grimace. “Often enough. And no, I’ve tried. They’re stupid, but they’re prepared.”

Lan Wangji casts another glance over the man—Wei Ying—and carefully keeps any skepticism out of his expression. Then he looks around properly for the first time. Wei Ying is right—there’s no visible array on the floor, no glyphs on the circular stone walls. The green glow fades as it climbs the wall, leaving the ceiling cloaked in shadow and dizzying to look at, like an endless tunnel. Disturbingly, there isn’t a visible door, either. There isn’t much of anything but the one straw pallet, a lidded pot against the wall, an empty bowl next to Wei Ying, bone-dry, and Wei Ying himself.

“A Lan,” Wei Ying says when Lan Wangji is silent for long enough, pitched low, almost like he’s talking to himself. “I’m surprised Wen Chao would be so bold. He has to know that won’t go over well in the long run, I wonder if his father has any idea? No, he would’ve sent Wen Xu. Maybe Wen Chao thinks that by the time someone comes for you, he’ll have—” Wei Ying cuts himself off. Blinks. “You are real, aren’t you?”

Lan Wangji narrows his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“Oh, you’re not…” Wei Ying waves a hand at the room around them. “But, ah, why would I dream up a whole Knight-Enchanter? A Lan at that? You felt real enough, when I dragged you onto the pallet, but it’s still hard to tell.” Lan Wangji must have some reaction to that—to knowing this stranger’s hands have been on him, when he was unconscious—because Wei Ying adds, defensive: “What was I supposed to do? They left you on the floor.”

Lan Wangji doesn’t have an answer to that.

Wei Ying tips his head back against the wall. “Well. Your Circle, they have your phylactery, right? They’ll find you. Pay the ransom, or lay siege to Wen Chao’s little fortress here. That would be nice.” He casts his gaze over Lan Wangji again. “Looks like our captors were gentle enough in the meanwhile.”

There’s dried blood tugging at the hair of Lan Wangji’s temple, and he still has the nauseating sense that if he moves too fast he might collapse again. Gentle isn’t how Lan Wangji would describe his treatment so far. But it is also far below the threshold of what he can withstand, so it doesn’t seem like a point worth arguing. “And you?” he hears himself say.

“Uh.” Wei Ying shifts and holds up his shackled hands. “Less gentle, I suppose.”

“I meant—who will be paying your ransom.”

Wei Ying drops his hands into his lap. “Oh. No one.”

“Then,” Lan Wangji says, “why are you here?”

For the first time, Wei Ying flashes a smile. A hooked dagger in the dim light.

“I have something they want.”

[theshijlegacy]

Old vs. New UI

(forgive my wacky edited bits & boxes, had to cover up mails in the first shot and then make the second match)

This is my #1 complaint with 7.0 (so far).  The bright blue outline of every occupied toolbar space is incredibly distracting, making it very hard to focus on what I’m doing, especially in dimly lit areas.  And it makes the buttons look square - even though I don’t think they are - which looks odd in a way I can’t quite describe, but adds to the “off” feeling of the whole thing. 

I didn’t mind seeing different-colored outlines on the buttons containing items I dragged to the toolbars, since that differentiated them from actual abilities.   (Those outlines are also brighter, but only slightly.  Still not great but not as bad as the rest.)

The UI editor gave us the option to disable the backgrounds on all the toolbars so we could lose the dark blue background and have give all the buttons a sort of “floating” effect with the gray outlines - which I love the look of.  And now we have the stupid bright blue outlines either way.

Even the text on the clock, stronghold toolbar, and character/companion portraits looks too bright - the font and shadow/bloom area remained the same size, but changing the color of the text and shadow/bloom from pale blue on medium blue to white on black makes it stick out too much.  Same issue for the Edit Mode button, even though all that got was a shadow/bloom color change from medium green to black.  (The effect looks a lot like when I’ve tried to use an image editor to sharpen something but went a little too far.)  The shadow/bloom of the text for % Completion, health, and energy actually is lighter and makes their corresponding bars seem brighter as well. 

Multiply these complains x100 for the Inventory window.

I don’t want a “sleek, modern” interface.  It doesn’t fit this game.  I’m OK with having it as a choice for those who want/need a high contrast UI, but PLEASE BW give us an option resembling the old look!  The UI is there 90%+ of the time and should be something that fits in seamlessly with the gameplay, not something that distracts from it.

I’ve been subscribed continuously since launch (for the pedants, it’s actually been since day 1 of early access), and this is the first time I’ve been bummed at the idea of playing SWTOR.  Some past changes I’ve been less than excited about, or less than thrilled with, but I’ve never felt this sense of DREAD when I think about logging in. 

(Seems a bit ridiculous when I type it all out, but I’ve put a lot of time into this game and such visually unappealing changes are really ruining my experience.)

[sinbinfamiliar]

jesus why did they whitewash balan

I assume you don’t want a intellectual conversation out of me from this. But that’s what you’ll get. And so be it! Because to be frank, I think all of this hatred to balan’s hatless from is absolutely idiotic and makes me feel like I’m about to have a bloody aneurism.

FIRST AND FOREMOST. THIS CONTAINS TEXT SPOILERS FOR THE GAME AND NOVEL. READ WITH CAUTION!

Whitewash is used for characters that are EXPLICITLY of some sort of skin color that isn’t white.(i would be prone to say this should be used for Asian characters as well, since it’s removing their nationality if you make them American, but that’s a whole different can of worms.)

Balan, in no shape or form is anything other then a magical being. Specifically of a alternate dimension. He is not human. He is not anything of our existence. The same logic applies to NiGHTS and the character designs in that game series as well. They are not human.

You know what being non human means? You can’t whitewash it. It’s impossible. No if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. You cannot whitewash something that has no nationality and isn’t a human. Balan is 100% humanoid, but he is not human.

So when anyone wants to tell “gosh golly Balan was whitewashed into a pretty boy boo hoo” it’s just dumb. You can identify with the character all you want. I don’t care, nor do I mind. But you cannot claim he was in any way shape or form, black or dark skintoned. Because he can’t be.

“But he has black skin and dreads for hair!” I hear you cry out into the ever so distant void. Why yes he does have black skin. Actually that’s more racist if you wanna throw that out there so let’s just go with the ever loved trope of, that’s just a weird aesthetic choice of a shadow to hide his real face. Or better yet, he transformed. Not so shockingly he has been confirmed by his creators that he can hide in his hat completely, and we see him duplicate himself, and turn into a chair in the opening. So please, let’s make the skin tone a problem I guess.

As for the hair? It’s stylized. You can see it as dreads if you want. No harm there I don’t mind you do you. But last I knew dreads didn’t have a gummy like texture to them. But still you do you. Identify with his character all you want. But it’s a design choice. Lance doesn’t have dreads, that’s tentacles for hair. But if you rounded those tentacles out it would look the same as Balan just black. It’s a stylistic choice and mostly about their designs match.

And with the idea of their designs matching, that’s the reason Balan is paper white. Cause Lance is paper white. He is meant to 100% begin looking like lance. The novel confirms this. Balan was also MADE by lance. Whether that’s turning a inhabitant into a maestro or lance just poofed Balan into existence with a snap of his fingers, it is a valid reason for Balan to resemble lance. Even if Balan isn’t turning slowly into him, he would look like lance a fair bit no matter what. And that would be why he hides his face constantly. The only people he shows his face to is Leo and Emma, and Lance in the novel. People he trusts very deeply, and a person who created him.

So please come into my inbox and try, TRY to tell me Balan is whitewashed or racist or something along those lines. Because this is all you’ll get out of me. A intellectual conversation based on actually design and stylization ideas and actual lore reasons for what we have. You won’t just get a angry fan who doesn’t know what to say. And odds are you didn’t read this completely anyways. This is mostly in defense of a character I love with every fiber of my being, and perhaps for the fandom to read over as well.

Now my dear anonymous, if you wish to talk again, use your account it would be less ominous.

[a-libra-writes]

are you still doing that kiss prompt thingy?? if you are, how's about '50. In Secret kiss' with Micah Bell? ((if youre not then dont worry!)) pleases and thank yous :0)

hECK YEAH (sorry i took ten million years yall aggghhh). i went rlly fluffy with this bc my self indulgence is always at MAX

The shot brushed the bottom of the empty whiskey bottle. It shook from the force, but didn’t fall over or break. Micah had seen the mark it left on the glass, but he didn’t have time to look twice. Another shot rang out, and the glass shattered.

“Well, it looks like that peashooter can get the job done,” He said to Y/N. As he anticipated, she gave him that look, then gestured to the four hares she’d tied to her horse.

“I recall you used mine to get that doe.” Micah inclined his head to the doe strapped on top. He missed the shot on that one - a rarity in itself - and Y/N took his rifle, downing the animal before it could run away. By the way the corners of her lips were twitching, she was remembering that.

It was hard to care about his wounded pride when she almost-smiled, because he knew it was more than anyone got out of her in the two … no, was it three years she’d been with the gang? “That one’s Y/N, she doesn’t say much. Leave her be.” Dutch had said to Micah during his first week. There was an odd protectiveness in the man’s voice, one Micah hadn’t heard given to others, besides maybe Jack and Tilly.

‘Not saying much’ was a great understatement. Y/N never spoke. She didn’t laugh or smile, or furrow her brows or cry. The camp acted as though she wasn’t there, with some exceptions. Tilly would chatter beside her as they did chores, she and Mary-Beth traded books, little Jack would trail after her if Abigail was busy, Hosea would bring her along for this or that job. There seemed to be a divide between those who worked with her silence, and those who were unnerved by it.

Micah didn’t want to admit he was in the latter camp. The first time he finally said something to her, he was drunk, and it came out stupid. Completely stupid. He remembered waiting for the usual reaction: Disgust, maybe a slap, storming off angrily. Some women shrieked when a rat scurried across the floor, some reached for an iron skillet. Y/N only looked at him with those sharp eyes, the shadows of the campfire bouncing off her face. 

She walked away, and he breathed out, not realizing how nervous the whole interaction made him. Never in his life had a woman made him shiver like that.

It was sunny now, not a cloud in the sky, and it was hard to believe this sunshined-kissed face was the same one that unnerved him months ago. Y/N took aim, and the next shot sent a glass bottle flying off the rock. She lowered the gun and clapped happily.

Shit. It was so endearing. Micah stood up from where he was sitting - on a goddamned blanket she spread out, because after hunting all morning and afternoon they were both tired, and she wanted to sit with him and rest. Then he suggested the game, and she wanted to play. Who was he to refuse?

Y/N walked up to the bottles and picked up the skinniest one. She walked several feet away and placed it, then ran back. When she pointed at it, Micah squinted.

“What, you gonna shoot that?”

She shook her head and pointed to him.

Micah scoffed. He retrieved his revolver, the right one. “Darlin’, I can do a lot better than that.”

He lifted his gun, put the bottle in his sights, and almost squeezed the trigger. He stopped, although he could already hear the sounds of the glass breaking.

“You try it,” He said suddenly. “With a proper gun, not that old thing.”

Micah was too anxious to look at her, or wait for a refusal. He all but shoved the revolver in her hands. Y/N blinked at it, then held it properly. He watched her fingers curl around it, how easily they fit into place. The gun wasn’t made for her hands, but it looked right. A swell of excitement went up his spine when she touched the barrel and noticed the engraving.

He cleared his throat, coughed a bit and stood behind her. “You shot one of these before, right?”

Y/N turned back to face him, giving him an ‘obviously’ sort of glance. He placed his larger hands around her’s, trying to fight the urge to pull away immediately. It was like her skin was fire, and his chest was hurting. He moved her smaller fingers into a better grip, so the recoil wouldn’t be as hard, and let her lift it to her line of sight.

“It’ll kick,” Micah said. “Every revolver got a different kick.”

Y/N didn’t squirm out of his arms, or look uncomfortable, so he selfishly stayed put. She was concentrating on the shot.

And she took it. She had flinched, but the glass shattered.

He couldn’t hide his grin. His next words spilled out. “Next time there’s a job, I’ll get you a better gun, an’ take you with me.”

Y/N smiled, and he had a sudden sensation of being both punched in the gut and choked out. He stepped away and cleared his throat. Micah felt something tugging at his side, and realized she was putting the revolver back in its holster. He immediately thought of her hands being somewhere else.

To distract himself, he looked at the sky. He was surprised at the late hour, and pulled out his pocketwatch to confirm it. Had they really spent most of the day in this forest? The discomfort growing in his gut was getting worse, and in an attempt to control it, Micah almost offered that they ride Baylock together. To his disappointment, Y/N had already swung up on her horse. He comforted himself with the fact she probably wouldn’t have agreed, anyway. It was a sheer dumb miracle she’d gone along with the hunting and shooting, given how she normally was.

“You better not be bothering that girl, Mr. Bell,” He could hear Grimshaw’s voice echoing off in his head. It was the first or second week he arrived, and her voice was low and dangerous. He’d just been looking at Y/N, and the old bitch was on him at once. “She’s don’t need the likes of you distracting her.”

He had a few choice words for the woman now, but Y/N clicked her tongue to get his attention. She was waiting on him, probably wondering what he was spacing out for. On the ride back, he wondered what Grimshaw, or anyone, would say if they noticed them coming back together.

No one said anything. It was still early in the evening, and there wasn’t much of the gang around. Micah could’ve split off and left to town if he wanted; he almost never came back this early. To his dismay, Y/N returned to that passive face he’d seen so many times before. He felt like something had slipped out of his grasp.

He could at least help her dismount, even if she didn’t need it. It felt stupid to offer his hand, like he was some goddamned storybook prince, but she took it. He relished that brief contact as he helped her down, wondering when it’d come again… if it ever would. This day seemed like one of those that was too good to be true.

“You come get me if ya need help, with the uh, the huntin’,” Micah mumbled. The words sounded stupid again, but they were far better than the first ones he said to her. “Or shootin’. Ya got a good eye.”

Y/N didn’t let go. She looked at him with those big eyes, now not so passive, and the old gunman had to will himself not to look away. He couldn’t, feeling rooted to the ground with both her gaze and her touch.

Then she kissed him. It was on the cheek, but he froze. From how close she was, he could smell the forest, the dirt, the gunpowder.

“Sure.”

He could have missed it with how his heart was beating, how the horses around them nickered and the distant gramophone crooned. She squeezed his fingers and smiled. The sun had set now, but she was so, so bright. 

Y/N turned away and led her horse to Pearson’s wagon. That simple word ran across his mind at least a dozen times by the time she was too far away to call to without drawing attention, and then Mary-Beth ran up to her, and then Charles offered to help with the doe. She nodded and gestured and pointed, the language she used with everyone.

Micah wondered if they’d heard anything she said, if she ever shared that smile. Something told him - something hoped - that wasn’t the case. He watched her until that gut-punching and throat-squeezing became too much, and he swung up on Baylock to head to town. Maybe come morning, he’d find a gun, a smaller one with not much recoil. Maybe he’d hear more words after that.