#i need to stop caring so much about people and become more heartless

[kimbap-r0ll]

Adult trio + feitsn with a reader that is a mortician 🥹💖 who is interested and who doesn't really care?? Love your stuff! Thank u sm!

Hi, thank you for the ask! I think what you mean for "interested and who doesn't really care" is for the reader not caring about the characters' backgrounds? If not, feel free to send me another ask. Hope you enjoy!

Adult trio + Feitan with a mortician!reader

Hisoka

He doesn't really mind it, it's just another occupation and if you're happy with what you're doing then go you

However, he might enjoy watching you do your job at all times, but he is curious about some aspects of your occupation. Things like applying special makeup on a deceased person is a bit intriguing to him

He might be tempted to distract you while you work if he happens to be in the same place. Or, if you don't want him to bother you, he might enjoy coming by and saying hello just to annoy you a bit haha

He'll be surprised however if you say you don't mind his hobbies. Sure, being a mortician already warranted you weird looks from people, but hearing that you didn't mind your boyfriend being a killer magician was another thing. Hisoka's happy of course, but pleasantly surprised

Illumi

He's probably never thought too much about dead bodies since he works with death so much as an assassin. When he finds out about your occupation he'll be like "cool"

Illumi might ask you some questions on your job. He asks if you have to stitch people up if they're skin is damaged, he might ask if you ever saw someone who was assassinated. He might want to watch you too, but you can always tell him the workplace isn't really meant for visitors

Similar to Hisoka, he'll be surprised if you say you had no problems with his job as an assassin. Sure, you two worked with death a lot, but killing someone is different from your work. He's a bit puzzled, but happy nonetheless

Overall he's also fine with your work. However if you two become more committed to your relationship, expect him to want you to become an assassin or at least join the Zoldyck household on Kukuro Mountain soon

Chrollo

Probably the most intrigued by your work out of the four characters. He's naturally curious, and because of this you will be bombarded with questions about everything mortician related

Chrollo will want to watch you do your work but due to the nature of your occupation you might not let him do that (who knows, the hxh world might be different). He does find the aspect of making someone who is deceased look more "alive" very interesting

He might also commend you for your work. Though he may seem heartless, he does admire your efforts in making saying final goodbyes a little warmer, something that Meteor City doesn't have all the time

He's also surprised when you say you don't mind his job as leader of the most notorious criminal group. He might be wary at first that you might be lying, but after a while he'll trust you. Who knows, he might invite you to Meteor City one day as well

Feitan

He tortures but doesn't care about dead bodies. Seeing you with a job that cares for the deceased is really intriguing to him.

He'll also ask a lot of questions, but they're a bit more morbid than Chrollo's. It's about how people died, what kinds of handwork you had to do to people, etc. He too wants to watch you but you might need to stop him (but the hxh world might have different mortician standards so who knows haha)

He doesn't trust you when you say you don't care too much about his occupation in the troupe. He asks why, and you might say that you warmed up to him and you trust him, which might've made him cry had he not done so well at hiding his emotions. He might not feel like he deserves love, but he's really happy nonetheless

Overall he's similar to Chrollo in being curious, but it's more of a morbid curiosity. He might introduce you to Phinks and Shalnark in the future, who will tease him for being lowkey shy around you haha

[honeycreammilkshake]

Reading your anons and your answers I think the problem with those fans is that they only accept a character if it's involved with satoru.

Like, apparently you are not allowed to like Sukuna anymore nor like both yuji and sukuna, but you were only allowed to like AND analyze Sukuna when he was fighting Satoru loool

I'm sorry but Sukuna is more than that, sukuna doesn't need THAT fight to be a character in his own, Sukuna also kept analyzing and having cool moments with other characters, just because your favorite character was dead doesn't mean other things stopped existing. This is one of those cases where fans keep thinking the manga is about some secondary character

hi, anon. thank you so much for this ask. i'm going to follow this up by making an unnecessarily long and ranty post nobody's going to bother to read, but i felt the overwhelming need to go in-depth for this anyways. apologies for the length of this.

to start off, i'm going to point out something that will probably get me a lot of hate or at least criticism from gojo fanatics, but i think it should be said for all those out there who keep twisting jkk to fit their own problematic concept of morals.

so we all know sukuna is the big bad of jjk. he's the main antagonist, the evil cannibal monster, a god of chaos and apathy and murder. i'm not here to argue against this, though. it's been clear from the beginning sukuna is a true villain in all of his actions and beliefs. however, we really need to look at the contexts behind how he became such a monster and consider if he's actually the most "evil" sorcerer/curse in the jujutsu world or not.

i'm going to address the underlying problem with the pro-gojo/anti-sukuna fans who twist the story to suit their own views first.

so gojo was born with a tremendous amount of power, so much that he's been branded the strongest jujutsu sorcerer of the modern age. he literally shifted the flow of cursed energy and from the start was set apart from others. it's truly terrifying how much power he has...

so it's a good thing he's a real sweet and caring guy, right?

if only.

gojo is irredeemably self-absorbed, unhealthily egotistical, obsessed with his own abilities, demeaning and insulting to others, brutal to his students and dismissive of their safety, and more than willing to commit mass murder.

when fighting with jogo, for example, he doesn't seem bothered at all by the massacre of innocent people during their battle, and is even willing to sacrifice bystanders all in the name of winning.

he's displayed this same kind of general apathy for the lives of others in his past as well.

in his past arc, it was geto who saved gojo from becoming an actual villain and instead managed to set gojo on the path of becoming the slightly less evil antihero he is today. however, after riko's death, the experience turned both of them on each other as they settled on opposite sides of "good vs evil."

without geto there to guide him, though, gojo would have easily lost his way and turned evil .... so where was a person like that for sukuna?

the jujutsu world is extremely heartless and obsessed with strength. the jujutsu higher-ups were willing to kill yuuji - an innocent teenager who just happened to become dangerously involved with the world of curses and the host of sukuna - as well as risk the health and safety of countless others, sorcerers and normal people alike. the whole jujutsu world is full of corruption and cold, cruel people.

but this is just in the modern world - during the golden age of jujutsu, in the heian era, conditions were even harsher and crueler than they are now. during this time, existence for regular people in japan was demanding, quality of life was very low, and so many died of sickness and starvation. the amount of curses that arose from all this suffering was immense and required the extreme powers of sorcerers to balance it out.

this is the context of sukuna's birth. he came into this world as a child of a starving mother and he himself would have starved if he didn't consume his twin in the womb.

during his conversation with kashimo, who asks if sukuna was born with that much power or if he gained it throughout his life, sukuna himself seems to not know. all he can say is... he was an unwanted wretch.

societal demands and religious fights back then would have led to an overwhelming stigma and dehumanization of anything that people feared or didn't understand... which probably means that sukuna, who was able to be born from the act of eating his own unborn twin, was seen as monstrous from the day of his birth on. and if he was indeed born with such strength and a body merged with that of his twin's, or at least the compacity to become that, he was also most likely villainized for his nature as well.

where gojo was more embraced and highly coveted by the jujutsu world, the world sukuna was born into most likely shunned him and led him to adapt the kind of mindset he has now.

sukuna sees strength as the only means of survival, rising above the cruelty shown to him to become the cruelest himself. this philosophy, which a lot of people at this time believed in - especially in the jujutsu world - shows us that sukuna probably saw his own really option to endure was to become a monster. those at the top are above all the weak feelings and suffering of the ones beneath, after all, or so he believes.

and it seems like so many of the strongest sorcerers still believe in that concept as well. both yorozu and gojo thought they could reach sukuna by challenging him, but in the end... only yuuji ever connected with the king of curses.

(yes i will fit sukuita in here... even if you don't ship them romantically, it's an undeniable fact that their relationship is much more complex than it seems and that yuuji does in fact care for the very monster he's supposed to destroy.)

when sukuna's dying in chapter 268, yuuji makes it clear that he's willing to serve the kind of caring, understanding role in sukuna's life that was most likely never given to him.

instead of dehumanizing sukuna, yuuji actually accepts that sukuna turned out to be the monster he is and says it was all a matter of chance how they became like this.

this a level of empathy, intimacy, and compassion that someone like gojo (and pretty much the vast majority of jjk characters) could never show. sukuna himself seems at a loss for words for this unbelievably caring treatment from yuuji - he's even surprised enough to use the brat's full name.

and i dislike that fans are starting to twist this interaction between them to make it fit their own views of sukuna and gojo.

look, i like gojo objectively. he's a fine enough character and serves an important role in jjk. i'm not against him or his fans, and i certainly don't want to hurt or make light of other people's feelings towards him. however, i do want to point something out that some fans should really know better. so many antis are against us sukuita shippers and/or sukuna fans and their main argument, over and over again, is how evil and monstrous sukuna is and that gojo is obviously better in every way. they claim that because gojo is on the side of good, it means sukuna is the worst in terms of morals (when villains like kenjaku are arguably just as terrible if not more so but dismissed so easily) we are delusional or wrong for sympathizing with sukuna.

so i would like to say to these people... please stop using these pallid, baseless arguments against us sukuna lovers because they're just so inaccurate and keep misunderstanding the whole story. it's more than okay to have your own headcanons and depictions of a fictional character, whether they're sukuna or gojo or any of the others - but do not force that depiction on others and do not force your interpretation of the source material on us just to appease your own opinions.

please be more respectful to others, please keep your own dislikes to yourself instead of lashing out at other fans you could instead just avoid, and please stop being so mean to gege. whether or not he makes gojo return should not be a reason to spread such hate about him. it's disrespectful towards both him and all writers who work so hard to make the content you treat so harshly.

thank you.

[rozeliyawashereyall]

Korey Adiel~

a rant about my gal for @aspenm00n to use as a ref ^_^

Korey 'Hathai' Adiel

Thai/Korean

19-20 years old

Height is 5'3

AFAB at birth but she's a Demigirl and Bisexual ^_^

She has Hypomania and Face blindness

Mbti is ENTP-A

chaos chaos chaos all throughout life

She was born to a pretty wealthy couple, problem was they were very, very neglective, forgetting about her existence even.

And from birth, girlie was already very energetic

She has 2 brothers, the older one is Esra at 24 y/o. and the younger is Noah at 14 y/o.

Now, Esra has already cut his parents off, and he absolutely refuses to see them again. He has a job, and a family now, and he's not about to let them ruin it.

Noah is kind of like a golden child, but he's actually aware of how his parents treated his older siblings. Planning to leave his home at his 15th birthday and go live with his brother.

Now with Korey is a little different. Her parents have only acknowledged her when they need to take her somewhere with them to keep up their reputation.

Desperate to make her parents notice her, she started putting herself in seriously dangerous situations at only 6 y/o, going as far as to try to gouge her eyes out with scissors to give them to her parents so they'd use them to look at her, she did that when she was 9.

Don't worry though, Esra found her before she actually gouged out her eyes.

The village people didn't really like Korey that much..

That didn't stop her from being even more reckless, however. From jumping off a cliff to almost drowning herself, safe to say she has a LOT of scars from her careless endeavors.

The only few scars she has that aren't from her purposefully putting herself in danger is one on her back, a huge claw like scar from when her and her friend Jay were attacked by a most likely drugged halfblood. Unfortunately, Jay didn't survive the attack, leaving Korey with scars and guilt.

While she did become a hunter out of rage to kill the halfblood.. As much as she wanted to deny it, it was also just for the thrill of it. Also because of a deal I talked about in part 2

I mean, comon! This is like the one job there is where they'll let you run around with weapons and put yourself in danger! Also, she knew that there's no point in harming the other halfbloods because they weren't the ones who killed Jay. Also, other than the thrill, this is like the perfect choice for her to prove that she isn't as apathetic, that she does care and is trying to make a "change" even if she thinks it's wrong

She's pretty indifferent with halfbloods at first, doesn't really mind their existence as long as they hurting anyone

Also, girlie is so fast to trust someone?? But it doesn't really show?? She was often criticized as being heartless by the village people, which ultimately became one of her reasons of becoming a hunter

When she goes manic, girlie is so SO much hyper then she already is, not being able to sleep for days from how energetic she is, ruining her mental health even more

Has a terrible habit of hurting herself when she's in a manic state, especially if she doesn't have her necklace on her

Also girlie is so shit cooking?? The amount of times she burnt water is concerning

And the number of times she'd got lost is worrying- please do not leave this girl by herself for more than 5 minutes or she will end up in another village, that's how bad her sense of direction is

And uh...i think that's it! I do have other posts explaining some things about Korey here, here two, here three, and here four <3

Sigh...adding this again, because tumblr deleted it-

Korey is friends with all of the bugs! But I decided to write a lil rant about what she thinks of some of em :3

Raine and Esther: they're the other founders!! Of course she likes them <3 they're both like sisters to her! Esther more mother figure then sisters, they would always go do errands together! (And because Korey is always getting lost) @willowve01 @asmrbrainrot

East, Lucy and LilyAnn: Korey's other parental figures :3, East more grandpa lol- she always goes to them for advice! Whether it be about Combat, relationships, or just to rant! Also loves to bother them with her energy (lovingly ofc) @itsargyle @castbracelet240 @tiefling-chaos

Her, Azren, and Ulysses are the no sleep trio lol, they'd stay up together to chat about whatever is on their mind, maybe even go on a little night outing while they're at it! @strayharmony943 @lunaritychuwolf

Loves Reya and Melody's energy! Always goes to dance practice with me when she's offered! @kaiamtt @iistxrmyskyii

Joan and Emerald are her clothing designers lol- they'd sometimes have a fashion runway for no reason but to try on new clothes and feel good about themselves <3 @rustycopper4use @aspenm00n

Amber and Victor! Loved to trade drawings with them! They all sometimes have little hangouts where they'd just draw whatever comes to their mind on eachothers notebook! @astralbulldragon13 @littlesiren79

And that's all! Tumblr istg if you delete this again I'll actually explode and itll be on your hands

[glimmerlofsea]

Billy Hargrove x Ghost!Reader

MASTERLIST

PHANTOM LOVE

Warning : Angst¿ Since you're a ghost :(

WC; 3,5k

#TALKISSA; After Billy almost died at the Starcourt mall, he experienced a weird things, or you could say he saw a spirit walking through other people. He thinks he's insane, since they don't talk and only go through people, but not after you ask him to get to know each other.

Through cruel events a year ago, wild events occurred in Billy's life. He almost lost his mind when he was possessed by a demon or whatever the name of that monster. Max was there, but she didn't have much influence, Billy became quieter and just stayed in his room playing his music. He thought that the craziest incident in his life was over, but not when he walked out of the house and saw lots of people walking past other people. By 'through' we mean those that easily penetrate into another person's body without hitting them.

He really lost his mind, but seeing them not talking at all made Billy think it was just his imagination and everything would pass, but not when he accidentally collided with you.

"Sorry." He said in a hurry.

You widened your eyes and looked at him, following him like a pet,

He looked at you in surprise, looking at you alternately with the road in front of him, "I said I'm sorry."

You nod enthusiastically, "Yeah, I know! That's insane! I barely can't talk to anyone in here, and then you saw me! We even touched!" You exclaimed then touched his shoulder tracing it with your hand, making him shiver and throw your hand away gently.

"Okay, just tell me, how did you die? Or are you alive?!" Your emotions become more passionate when things are related to 'alive'.

Billy frowned, then he realized that many people were looking at him in surprise as if he was the center of attention because of something weird. Then he realized... He should have realized when you asked how he died.

"Don't talk to me. Again." Press him then speed up his steps to leave you.

You didn't give up and continued to follow him, "That's just amazing! You see me, you talk to me! Imagine if we were friends!"

"That would never happen." He replied without even looking at you.

You relax your facial muscles and curl your lips, but it's okay, maybe he's just hard to reach, but you know for sure deep down he has a soft side, he just doesn't know how to express it.

"You're a little... Stiff, I got it. Don't worry, we're the same age! I'll try to make friends—"

"—The problem is that I don't need friends!" He shouted, Billy realized that people were already looking at him, but he took his steps towards you, he couldn't stand it, he had been through something hard and had to go through this nonsense? What's the term? Seeing a ghost? Well, fuck that shit.

"Why don't you just go and bother other people? Besides, you're dead, we don't know each other, so go away. Stop bothering me, my life is already troublesome."

For the record, ghosts can feel too. They still have feelings, you still have feelings, your eyes are sore, you already feel two tears about to come out, but instead of showing it to that rude guy you choose to disappear. Using 'abilities' that only ghosts can use.

When you used your vanishing move, Billy cursed himself, at that time he was in a bad mood, he had been rejected for a job application for the umpteenth time because he had lots of scars all over his body. Number one looks when it comes to work, and how much he hates that terms. He also hated himself, he used to be very proud to show off his body to girls when he was still a lifeguard, but now? Even wearing half-buttoned clothes, he didn't dare. Too many scars made him feel... Insecure.

And the words he said to you? He knew it was cruel, and would make him heartless. He didn't care what others thought about him talking to himself, he was already considered 'different' anyway.

Max knows about Billy's ability to see ghosts. She thinks it's cool and thinks Billy might be able to become a psychic for his job but that idea only makes Billy's mood worse.

Meanwhile...

"Besides, you're dead," You imitate the way he speaks to you, you whine, let out a cry, "I know! I know I'm dead, I didn't ask God to end my life, I'm not even ready and don't want to die. I still have dreams."

You are literally in a very quiet alley and definitely the perfect place to hide and mourn your own life.

You just want to have a friend. You used to be a Hawkins student, excelled and admired by many boys, and it all ended in death when you came to a party and accidentally fell into the swimming pool. You can't swim, the students think it's a 'joke' so they just laugh and you just die. Stupid. Sometimes you just laugh at the way you died, but on the other hand you are also curious why you don't move on to the next world, you have accepted your death, what is holding you here?

"Do you have any new friends to talk to?" someone asked.

You wiped your tears and looked the other way, seeing Mary—a powerful ghost in the Hawkins area who was respected by other ghosts.

You stood up and approached her, "Yeah, but he doesn't want to talk to me. Hell, he doesn't even want to be friends with me."

Mary is the mother of the ghosts here. She is the one who usually explains the circumstances when a new ghost lands in this mystical world. And she is a good advice giver!

Mary chuckled, "Young girl, not everyone here can see us, rarely even them, the guy was just shocked and had a hard time accepting the fact that he could see us. Trust the process."

You sighed, "Why don't other ghosts want to socialize?"

Mary dropped her smile, "Most of them... Have you ever heard of energy absorption?" You shook your head, "That's when ghosts who have just died have their energy absorbed because at that time in their lives there was too much pressure, which pushed them to keep quiet."

You're still confused, "Does that even make sense?"

Mary put her arm around your shoulder and took you for a walk on the quiet street that night, "Yes, honey. There are also lots of ghosts who talk a lot here, it's just that they haven't had the chance to meet you."

"Can't you just bring them to me?"

Mary chuckled, “That's not how it works, Y/N, you know that.”

"I feel lonely. Like... I'm the only one left here, and seeing that guy, I had a glimmer of hope of having a friend."

Mary gently stroked your shoulder, "Maybe you want to fix something with him? He's over there."

Mary's words made you furrow your forehead and turn your head towards where she was directing her gaze,

You see the guy you met a few moments ago. He is throwing away his trash and notices your presence.

You turned to look at Mary but she was gone, you wanted to use your ability to disappeared but—

"Wait!"

You heard him scream, making you stop and freeze looking at him.

"Can we talk?"

"You realize people will only see you talking to the wind, right?" You asked raising your eyebrows.

"Just... Come into my house."

You squinted your eyes to figure out his plan.

"I owe you something."

Owe. Surely he owes you an apology, you walk towards him, and he starts leading you towards his house, before he opens the door you have already penetrated through the wall. The sensation when doing that is always hilarious, you feel a touch of electricity all over your body, but still, it's a cool thing about being a ghost!

You explored the house, penetrating every wall there was, "You live here alone?" You asked curiously.

"No. With my sister."

You nod in understanding.

"Do you want some..." Hearing his conversation made you look at him, curious about his next words. He scratched the nape of his neck, "Some tea?"

You stifled your laugh, "I can't barely feel anything in my body. And tea?" You let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, my bad, sorry."

"But it's worth a try. May I have some tea?" You asked while spinning your body to enjoy every corner of his house. Makes the white dress you wear expand by itself when it spins.

You died at the prom, wearing a beautiful, sparkling knee-length white dress.

"Sure. Wait here."

You sat on his soft sofa, trying to reach his television remote but couldn't. Carrying other objects for ghosts is a difficult test, you have to use 100% of your energy.

Billy put the tea he made on the table. You took a breath to take the cup of tea, when you could actually reach it, you let out a small chuckle and then sipped the tea. You feel... Nothing. Mary said that whatever taste a human feels will not be the same as what a ghost feels, the ghost will only feel bland.

You sighed, "I don't know if it's good or bad, I can't feel it."

Billy smiled, "But at least you can touch the cup."

You looked at him and smiled, "What was your intention in inviting me here?"

Billy cleared his throat, "I want to apologize for what I said earlier. It was heartless. I didn't know ghosts had feelings—"

"We have." You reply cutting him off.

He nodded slowly then continued speaking, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that, I was just in a bad mood and let them get to me."

"Apology accepted. Now, will you be my friend? You're the only one who can see me."

"And you're the only one I can talk to. Let's be friends." He replied with a smile.

You exclaim happily, "HOORAY!"

You approached yourself with him and took his hand to shake it with you, "I'm Y/N Y/L/N, nice to meet you! What's your name?"

He looked confused by your enthusiasm, you were supposed to be older than him but your attitude was far from representative of your age.

"Billy Hargrove, call me Billy."

That's when the history of your friendship begins. You started to get to know him closely, and started to get to know Max, even though it was difficult to communicate, you always found a way to communicate with her. Like she is talking and you will write something on paper with the pencil provided by her. It was hard but you had fun getting to know her.

Billy's house is like home to you too, you sometimes sleep in Billy's bed if he comes home late, usually he will move you to Max's room, but not this time.

You see the sight of his good looks awakened by the sunlight shining through the window.

You correct your position and look at him while admiring him, he is a good friend, sometimes he will take you to the edge of the lake, even though it is bad for your memory because you died because of the water but he is the one who helps you get rid of that fear by always being there. Beside you. But you're not sure you'll always be there for him.

Mary said, what keeps us here is the trauma that caused our death. If the ghosts' trauma is gone then they will also disappear along with their trauma which has finally been successfully treated. Therefore, if Billy invites you to the lake, you will often refuse him. You didn't want to be separated from Max, especially not Billy, you weren't ready.

You tucked his curly hair behind his ear, he had a scar near his ear, or more precisely on his cheek. Often you find him staring longer at the scars left all over his body, you can feel it, he is tense and feels insecure about the scars he has.

You entered his room, found him not wearing any clothes, just showing his whole body freely, that's where you saw the big scars on his back and stomach. There were scratches on his neck and chest.

Billy, who saw you, immediately raised his voice, "What are you doing here?! Get out!"

You knew he didn't mean to yell at you, it was hard to read the emotions he was feeling.

At that moment you communicated with Max, taking the pencil she usually provides for you when you want to communicate,

"Why does Billy get angry easily when it comes about his scars?"

Max pondered, taking a deep breath, "It was a bad memory for him, for me, and for us. He almost died from that scars. I don't know but maybe he was sensitive because he felt embarrassed? He was scared, Y/N. Afraid of himself and maybe that has the effect that other people will be afraid of him too. Sometimes he's not the Billy I know but I'm grateful, he's more sincere and loves me, and I love him."

With that, you immediately approached the front of Billy's room, peeked through the door hole and saw him curled up on the side of the bed. You walked in and heard his sobs, you landed yourself next to him.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." You said.

Billy took a breath and looked at you with his puffy eyes,

You felt sorry for him and cupped his cheek with one hand to wipe his tears, "Why are you crying?"

"Every night, I see them, Y/N. Traces of that creature mumbling that it won't leave me for long and will return. It will come back to corrupt me and turn me into a monster again and hurt Maxine."

And... Billy wasn't wearing his clothes yet, allowing you to get a closer look at his scar.

"You're not a monster, you know that, Billy."

“Yeah, Y/N, I was scared it would happen again.”

You pulled him into your arms, trying to calm him down but apparently that would only make him cry, you didn't mind, after all your white dress was already dirty.

You gently stroked his back, tracing the scars and trying to comfort him, "It won't happen again, I'll make sure of that. It's okay, Billy. Everything will be fine. And I will stay by your side until everything is really okay."

A few moments later, when you felt Billy had calmed down a little, you sat on the edge of the bed. Just keep quiet,

"I hate crying in front of you, it makes me look like a coward."

You chuckled, "Why? Just because you're a guy?" Billy nods, you take his fingers and hold them, "If ghosts who aren't even alive are allowed to have feelings, why can't men? You're human, Billy, you have feelings. So, it's okay to cry. My shoulder is always willing to dry the air from your eyes."

Billy couldn't help but chuckle at your words, as did you, "How tacky."

You roll your eyes.

"Making you a friend is an opportunity I will never regret in my life, Y/N."

You smiled, "I'm happy to be your friend too."

"Can you stay by my side? Forever?"

You were a little hesitant, but didn't want to worry him, "To see you as just an old man?"

Billy chuckled, you let out a small laugh.

"But I was going to ask something." he said.

You cleared your throat, loosening your grip but he didn't want to let go.

"You're not afraid of me? Of this scars?"

You smiled sincerely and cupped his face with your other hand, "They're beautiful. I love them."

"Yeah?"

You nod, "A little cool too, I like them anyway."

Billy smiled slyly, "Do I need to always be shirtless so you always see them?"

You held back your laughter, "See if you can stand Max's screams."

He smiled one last time before asking the question you didn't see coming, "Can I kiss you?"

You dropped your smile, "What? You know I'm a ghost, right?"

"Ah-ha."

"Then you know we don't stand a chance, Billy."

"But if, if we had the chance would you do it with me?"

You held back your tears, "But I don't think we have a chance. I'm just a ghost, unable to do anything except penetrate, disappear, or—"

"But you have feelings, Y/N. Tell me how you feel about me."

You sighed, not wanting this to hurt, “Billy—”

"Please."

You looked into his eyes, "My heart does say I love you. More than a friend, always thought you wouldn't think the same of me because there are many other real human girls. Meanwhile me? For you maybe I can be felt and touched, but for them I'm just a passing wind that they don't even care about, Billy, they can't even look at it. We don't have a chance, don't make this hurt any more."

"Who cares what they say? Y/N, you're the safest place I have, the most comfortable place I have," He squeezed your fingers gently, "I love you too. God, I love you more than I thought."

"We can't."

"We can."

You sighed, and kissed Billy on the cheek, "Let's forget about this, okay? Get dressed, I'm going to get some fresh air." With that you disappeared somewhere, leaving Billy alone in his room. You assumed that your relationship wasn't working, but Billy still had hope.

"But... I don't want to forget about this."

Now you admire him in the light shining on his face, Billy opens his eyes, you smile and take your hand away from him, "Morning,"

He just cleared his throat.

"You didn't move me to Max's room, did you?"

"You look tired from whatever adventure you had yesterday."

You stifled a laugh, "Ghosts can't get tired."

"But they can snore? That's great."

You widened your eyes and got up from the bed, "I snore?!"

Billy woke up from the bed and sat up trying to collect himself, "Don't worry, I'm not bothered."

You covered your face with your hands, “Shit, I'm embarrassed.”

Billy chuckled as he pulled your hands covering your face, "Don't be, I'm really not bothered. Now accompany me in making breakfast, okay?"

You sighed but still kept your mouth in a curl, Billy ruffled your hair randomly before getting up from the bed. You were about to land yourself on the floor but suddenly something inside you made you hurt until you fell on the floor and you held your chest. Surprisingly, ghosts shouldn't be able to feel pain.

You groaned, making Billy lay in front of you and make sure you were okay, "What's wrong?!"

You took a breath, “I don't feel good.”

"Do you want me to call... Your friend, you know... What's her name? Fuck..."

"Mary."

"Yes, Mary! Wait here, I'll look for—"

You shook your head, you knew this day would come when you felt your body which was very tired from yesterday. Your trauma has disappeared, which means you will also disappear.

"There's something I want to tell you."

Billy cleared his throat, he pulled your body gently and laid you on the bed, while he knelt in front of you, "What's wrong, Princess? Please tell me."

"You know I died because of the water, right? That's stupid." Your words ended with a small laugh.

Billy nodded, still paying close attention to your words.

"And you're trying to fix what I'm afraid of. It's kind of bad, but I don't blame you, okay? Mark this words. I just remembered Mary said when the ghost's trauma goes away and so will they—"

"No." Billy chirped.

"No, Y/N. You can't just say that, it won't happen."

"Billy."

You see the twinkle that appears from your body, not to mention the sunlight shining on you makes it look clearer,

Billy grabbed your hand, “No, you're being mean, please, no, no. You promised me!”

You held back your tears and cupped his cheek, "It wasn't my will."

"You promised you wouldn't leave me."

“I know, I'm sorry. I am really, really sorry."

"And tell Max thank you for wanting to be my friend. And you Billy, you're the best gift I've ever got, the best ever, I will always love you. Don't think this is the end of everything, maybe you can still see them and can't see me again, but I'll still be by your side, whether in animal form, or whatever. I haunt you with love, Billy Hargrove."

You kissed him, giving him the chance he always longed for one last time. It goes beautifully but not when you actually turn into twinkle. Billy didn't feel anything anymore, he didn't feel your lips which were as soft as cotton candy anymore.

He cried uncontrollably, because he couldn't do anything about it, and he shouldn't do something he didn't know the consequences of. But at least you're in a better place, right?

He couldn't do anything, he could only cry.

A few weeks later he only felt lonely through silent ghosts, unlike you who really colored his days when everything became dark for him. In another life, he promised to really take care of you and not let anything happen to you. But the question is, can you even be together in another life?

You really haunt him with love as you promised, sometimes he walks on the street when you first meet and he sees a white butterfly stuck to the window of a clothes shop which shows a white dress too, just like your clothes, but the difference is that the dress has an inscription that says 'I love you from the other side.' Just looking at it made Billy cry, which was weird because he wasn't usually like this.

However, he will try to move on, even though he still hopes that the term 'reincarnation' or whatever it is really happens so that you can actually realize the real 'chance'.

Author Note : so..how was it?? I was just idly writing at 2 in the morning, and I can only revise it now, I hope you like it, if you think about it, this is the first time I've written a story that really angst because they can't be together... Do you want me to write more angst? ┬┬＿┬┬

[tallsc]

I was wondering if you could do an analysis on Dark. I've seen a lot of interpretations of him that paint him as a good person/jerk with a heart of gold/tragic figure/etc. despite the fact he seems to be just unsympathetic, pure evil to me. Is there something from canon that actually hints Dark isn't truly heartless?

So unfortunately, I think we don't really have enough on Dark to go on for a canon-based analysis like the ones I usually do. I excel in finding consistent little details across a wide spread of episodes and, unfortunately, there isn't all that much to go on with Dark, at least not enough that hasn't already been discussed that I can claim to be canon.

That said, while there's nothing I can definitively say to be true, there are a few things that I use when trying to decide on my interpretation of the character. These actions haven't been repeated enough for me to say definitively that they mean something deeper, but there are little bits and pieces from canon that can imply that Dark's not 100% heartless if you want them to imply that.

First, I would just like to point out nobody thinks of Chosen as the bad guy, yet they were doing exactly what Dark was doing for some time before they decided to stop. In fact in AvA 3 Chosen was the one encouraging Dark to go destroy stuff. Dark just kept going for a little longer than Chosen did, so we tend to see Dark as the bad guy and Chosen as the good guy.

Second, the thing Dark got into a fight with Chosen about wasn't about "oh you need to stop fighting random sticks", we have no data on if Dark would have gotten into a physical fight with Chosen if that was the point of contention. The fight happened because Chosen was trying to stop Dark from hurting Alan, the guy who basically brainwashed Dark into fighting the person who would become their only friend and who had been holding said friend captive for years.

It's pretty clear Dark has a strong desire for revenge, which is, y'know, a villain trait to be fair, but it still can lead to a more three-dimensional character than just "oh Dark is 100% unredeemably evil". Dark wants revenge against Alan, so when Chosen tried to stop them from getting that revenge after so many years, that revenge turned on Chosen. And since Dark was never taught to care about other sticks' lives - they were born to kill, and their only friend was still teaching them to kill for quite a while - the Color Gang were just insignificant casualties to Dark.

So, at least how I tend to view it when I think of Dark, is that if Dark maybe learned some from that whole experience, if that was enough of a wake-up call, that they'd start to follow a similar path that Chosen did. I think they'd be able to. Chosen went from mindlessly hurting people to being a better kinder stick, why couldn't Dark? Dark has one role model and that's Chosen, and Chosen was not a good role model for long time so Dark wasn't a good person. If Dark survived this, Chosen's a much kinder person now and Dark just got the wake-up call of a lifetime telling them that they need to change something, and I think they have the ability to.

That said, my interpretation of Dark isn't a perfect kind person, my interpretation would be a Dark who still wants to hurt people who get in their way and take revenge on those who harm Dark or anyone Dark cares about, but also a Dark who's just now starting to recognize that those wants aren't something they should act on and is doing their best to figure out better ways to express that anger and desire for revenge.

But that's just my interpretation, I try to keep it close to what I think is canon but I don't really know what canon is or what it's gonna be as AvA 6 continues,

Although, before I end, I do just have to point out my strongest evidence.

They did a yay

They can't be truly evil if they do a yay ^-^

[hugsandchaos]

Guys I just realized something

Remember how Eclipse wanted to turn the world into a food source?

And you know how Sonic Boom Shadow clearly doesn’t like people?

I’m not saying we combine it, I’m saying we give Boom Eclipse’s view of the world basically Modern/Mainstream Shadow’s view!

And this Boom Shadow has a soft spot for him. At first, it was a sort of self-given obligation. Shadow felt absolutely terrible that Eclipse so strongly believed that Shadow was the only thing he could actually call family because they share the same blood thanks to their father, who was very disappointed when Eclipse rebelled and…

We’ll get into details much later.

Anyways, so Shadow knows he’s not the best person. He doesn’t even consider himself a good person anymore because of his grown dislike for people. So for Eclipse to have seen how he acts and still think that he’s a much better person to call family than those he grew up with was like a missile that destroyed the walls Shadow put up around his heart with enough force to still hurt it once it got through them all.

For a moment, Shadow remembered the better times. He waited a bit to be sure that Eclipse wasn’t lying about any of it, but once he was, he made an unspoken promise to Eclipse to be the best big brother he could be and made it a mission to ensure that Black Doom would never hurt him again. (Eclipse heard Shadow’s mind when he came to that decision, but Shadow didn’t know that they could communicate telepathically at the time.)

From that moment on, many of Shadow’s decisions were made with Eclipse in mind. One example is Shadow could go for pretty much his whole life without food and water, and given his situation, he pretty much abandoned getting it. However, Eclipse and the Dark Arms needed food and water daily, and meat was their best food source. Eclipse didn’t like the idea of hurting people, though, so Shadow often had to look for other methods to getting meat than hunting.

Either that or he’d get fake meat healthy enough to pass as real meat. Eventually, the obligated feeling melted away into something much more genuine. I mean, it was genuine before, but now that he knows his brother better, it’s even stronger than before. He’s a surprisingly great brother and friend to Eclipse. This Shadow isn’t completely heartless, but most of his love and care is reserved for his brother.

Actually, you know what would be super sad? After becoming friends with Team Sonic and joining them, Black Doom appears for Eclipse and Shadow back to use them both. Team Sonic has no idea what’s going on and Eggman’s actually horrified that Black Doom intends to use their planet as a food source. Eclipse remembers his treatment before and really doesn’t want to go back. Shadow’s ready to defend his brother, and now, their new friends.

After a fight against another wave of Black Arms sent to kidnap Eclipse and Shadow, then slaughter everyone else, many of the members are tired and injured. It’s one of those really dark hours and they genuinely think that this is truly the end. They don’t know what to do.

Shadow’s never been more sure of what to do until that moment.

He takes off one of his inhibitor rings and puts it next to Eclipse, who’s still unconscious, but healing very well. He turns to everyone and says “When he wakes up, tell him I’m sorry. Tell him “He’s our father, but you’re my brother” .” and then he disappears.

Hours later, after Eclipse is awake, he sees the ring and frantically asks where Shadow is. When they tell him what he said and that he vanished, Eclipse freaks out like never before and rushes outside, screaming Shadow’s name and “no” over and over. Team Sonic goes with him to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. They can’t stop him because he keeps trying to control their minds so they’d let him.

When they reach the beach in their search for Shadow, there’s a huge explosion in the night sky as if from space. Soon, a golden glow falls from the explosion and into the ocean. Eclipse knows what it is. Or rather, who it is. Devastated and heartbroken, he drops to his knees and screams his brother’s name as loud as both his verbal and mental voices will allow.

Shadow went to the Comet, directly into the heart of the beast, took the chaos emeralds held inside, and removed the rest of his inhibitor rings. This time, there was no miraculous recovery.

[heinzpilsner]

Okaaay, I'm still alive, and this is the almost-last part of my 'Overanalyzing beach Maiko' series. Hooray.

(Ugh, this "little psychological exercise" transformed into some kind of gigantic fire-breathing monster eventually. Good news is that soon I can move on to analyzing something much more pleasant. ... Probably.)

Anyway, let's finish this beast, shall we?

In the last part, great detective Azula found out that the culprit responsible for the imaginary flagrant oppression of Mai's self-expression was Mai's mother, and now it's time for Mai to react.

Mai: "You want me to express myself? Leave me alone!!"

Well, that was... a little bit too overdramatic.

I suspect the writer's implied message here was something like: "Look, if Mai reacted like this to Azula's words, it means that what Azula said is bound to be truth!"

But while possible thoughts in the writer's head are as good as all others, let me be a judge of what I see with my own eyes.

And apart from Mai's forced yelling (as if she expresses her real annoyance, but in an exaggerated way which doesn't come natural to her) and her desire to close the topic... I have no idea what it was about. The exact reasons behind her reaction could be numerous.

Maybe she just got fed up with all this "you can't express yourself" bullshit. I mean, when you express yourself all the time, but everyone around for some reason keeps saying you don't, it really can become pretty vexing, lol.

Zuko: "I like it when you express yourself."

Here we go again. I must to admit though, given Zuko's psychological cluelesness, in the light of the bullshit information he just received it was a nice gesture of support*.

But... Is it actually truth?

(*Quite an egocentrical one nonetheless. I wonder what in Mai's behavior made Zuko think she'll appreciate any of his opinions at this point. I guess he took Mai's story as a food for "she behaves like she doesn't care about me just because of her childhood trauma" rationalization, and this encouraged him.)

What exactly Zuko likes about Mai's "self-expression", anyway? Is forced out-of-character yelling his kink or something?

(... In russian dub they actually translated his line as "I like you like this much more!", lol. It made it so much worse.)

Either he's being very hopeful and patient in his "she can change" delusions, or his tastes turned out to be quite peculiar.

But okay, it's not my place to judge.

Mai: "Don't touch me! I'm still mad at you."

Okay, now her anger looks more natural. Congratulations, Zuko. Although you don't seem so happy about her self-expression this time.

Zuko: "My life hasn't been that easy either, Mai." Mai: "Whatever!"

Directed by Robert B. Weide

Mai: "That doesn't excuse the way you've been acting."

Weeell... technically, it's truth (depending on how you define "excuse" and which actions and life events we are talking about exactly), but...

Firstly - you don't need to excuse person's behavior to try and understand the reasons behind it. And secondly...

How would you know it, Mai?

Last time Zuko tried to talk with you about his life you just yawned at him and told him to stop worrying.

And just now, you denied him a chance to explain himself and shut him down again (right after he listened to your sob story and expressed readiness to support you about your imaginary childhood trauma, by the way).

Of course, Mai didn't ask for Zuko's support in the first place. And I'm not gonna say that his behavior in this scene was perfect, because it clearly wasn't.

Mai doesn't owe Zuko understanding, or anything, really. She isn't obligated to care about what happened to him or to be more considerate about his life tragedy. And yes, people say all sorts of stupid things when they are angry.

But... ugh. Do I really need to spell it out?

Good news is what while Mai is definitely an unlikable self-centred brat, she's still not a heartless monster.

Apparently, it just sincerely didn't occur to her without a direct reminder that when your father deliberately burns half of your face off and banishes you out of the country with an impossible mission, the state of your psyche may be a little bit imperfect after your return home.

Well, that's just one of those things what egocentrism does even to smart people, I guess.

Anyway, when Mai was finally forced to listen about what happened between Zuko and Ozai from his own mouth, she couldn't just close her eyes and dismiss it like she did previously.

(By the way, I wonder if Zuko would ever mention it if not for Ty Lee "skin" blunder. ... And now I wonder whether it really was a blunder or a deliberate manipulation. /paranoid noises/)

Congratulations, boy - your life story is so disturbing it managed to burst even angry Mai's egocentrical bubble. A truly remarkable accomplishment, if you ask me.

But I guess it's never too late to open your eyes and notice other people's pain. Even if for a little while. Even if it's just one specific person you're physically attracted to.

Mai: "Who are you angry at, Zuko?"

Yep, she finally got interested!

Something definitely shifted in her head.

(This whole scene is so overdramatic it makes me cringe though. I wonder if there is a ghost of an Ember Island's actor on the beach as well. They are friends with the ghost of the amateur psychoanalyst, actually. The actor pretends to be different people, and the psychoanalyst dissects all their imaginary childhood traumas, and they have a great fun together in their beach after-life. Aww.)

Zuko: "I'm angry at myself! Because I'm confused. Because I'm not sure I know the difference between right and wrong anymore." Mai: "I know one thing I care about. I care about you".

Well guys, remember: if your girlfriend just broke up with you because of your unexplainable anger problems, just yell at some fire, say "I'm angry at myself and I can't tell what is right and what is wrong", and it immediately brings her back to you!

(Okay, maybe you'll also have to remind her that you're a victim of child abuse for it to work)

Seriously though, I can't say now what Mai's change of attitude doesn't make any sense (like I did previously). In between "Mai acts like she doesn't care" and "Mai acts like she cares" situations there was a noticeable factor - Zuko talking about his scar and his relationship with Ozai. I guess all he said after this didn't really make much difference for Mai - her empathy already woke up from its coma and said to her what this boy needs some care.

So, Mai declares she still wants Zuko despite everything, and they are back to shoving tongues into each other's mouths. Hooray?..

The only problem is... All the other problems what are still here, goddamit!

Perhaps Zuko will try and stop to lash out at other people in the near future (especially physically), but his anger problems are not gonna cure themselves magically just because the source of his anger is more clear to him now.

(Also, the massive complex of problems connected to Zuko's jealousy behavior was simply forgotten as if it meant nothing.

The fact that his general personality settings - such as locus of control and feeling of personal boundaries, for starters, - really could use some improvement was totally ignored as well.)

He is still in the middle of the inner crisis, and he's not going to discuss it with this 'new caring version of Mai' in more details (until she suddenly finds herself alone with his "by the way, I betrayed my country" break-up letter).

What Zuko learned about Mai's "childhood trauma" can help him to become more tolerant to her natural temperament, but since he's delusional about the true situation (in my opinion) and tends to use it as food for rationalization, it can have some problematic consequences.

And while brief awakening of Mai's empathy towards Zuko was an important improvement, her general egocentrism and lack of interests in life are not gonna be cured just by the "power of love". There's clearly some serious personal growth for her to do, and this beach psychoanalysis session did nothing to give her a clue of how to approach it efficiently.

Well, this all doesn't matter, apparently, because now Mai cares about Zuko enough to try and save him from being boiled alive on her eyes in the later episodes.

(Still not enough to deny herself a pleasure of purposefully taking his break-up letter with her on their meeting in prison to throw it on his head)

And I guess this is the result of their beach interactions.

Yay, power of love!

Pheeeew.

I guess it's over. There are still a couple of things to add in the epilogue post though.

Honestly, by the end of this series I just feel exhausted. Maiko is a very problematic ship, especially for an endgame, but this was obvious without any dissection.

There were a couple of discoveries I find quite curious, but for such a big complex material it wasn't nearly enough. And I feel like my psychological competence clearly could use some improvement.

Anyway, thanks for your attention. I hope my messy analysis gave at least a little bit of food for your own toughts.

As usual, I ignore all my notifications.

P.S.: In the end, when I think about it... Perhaps I don't like Mai because I actually see in her an exaggerated reflection of my own problems. What a twist. Perhaps I should try and be less judgemental about her in the future?

... Naaah. Where is a fun in it?

R.I.P., all the victims of Crocus City Hall attack. It actually happened in my neighborhood. Feels weird.

[faebriel]

hgs brainrot has returned due to tbosas .. speaking of hgs here’s an ask abt the hgs au: if things were totally different, and Wilbur were to be a 12 victor, what do you think a possible mentor-tribute dynamic would look like between him & Niki? I feel like it would be similar to Snow & Lucy in the way that he’s just going out of his way to cheat n help her

anon u have in fact struck jackpot because this is a concept i was spinning some thoughts abt before bee mentioned avoxes and we went OOOOH at that!!! so yes i have considered rainduo as a mentor-tribute dynamic and would love to talk about that concept too :]

so for this concept i think wilbur and niki would be close friends throughout childhood from 12, and then in their teens wilbur is reaped and, well, no one has particularly high hopes (he's a writer and a musician at heart, not a fighter) but through sheer trickery and dumb luck, he makes it to the end of the games. wilbur pulled some pretty fucked up tricks to win - when you can't use brute force, you have to use your brain - and partly due to the trauma of the games, partly due to his shame and survivor's guilt, he sinks into the capitol and relishes a new life there as a socialite. to him, the old wilbur died in the games and the new one has taken his place - to niki, and to his other friends in 12, whatever the games did to him made him into every vapid heartless capitol victor there is.

or. niki has her doubts. they all saw how horrible the games were, but surely there is some part of him left, some part that's hurting, even if it's buried deep?

anyway.

like og spin of the au, niki is reaped and this sucks - this time she does expect wilbur as her mentor on the train, and she expects some kind of warm welcome (maybe even an apology for leaving them so suddenly and silently? an explanation?) but she gets jack shit. wilbur is jaded and cruel and unrecognisable and niki entirely hates it. this is the part where i REALLY WISH we got some time of those two beefing with each other directly in canon (or at least interactions while niki was So Mad at him) but it's okay we fly blind. niki feels abandoned, lonely, thrown off of her kilter - she expected an ally in this place, but she doesn't recognise the person wilbur has become. she doesn't recognise his shallowness (...much), his ruthless advice for the arena, the way he doesn't seem to care for anything. she's scared and now she's lonely and it pisses her off - their mentorship is fraught. here are some thoughts from discord on that:

i tend to think of niki as a bit naïve before l'manberg or even doomsday - i think this is an au where this streak would come out real strong, and niki is stubborn that she can get through the games without losing herself. stubborn that she can stop things, that she can protect people. i don't think wilbur is cold enough (or, really, can bear to say aloud) to say that her odds in the arena are slim enough as it is, but he definitely tells her that she's making enemies and that her odds of survival dwindle with the more trouble she causes.

beyond that... hm. niki's trust in wilbur is almost unshakeable until nov 16, even when she outright says she doesn't recognise him anymore. i think she'd reluctantly listen re: don't burn down any buildings, but she would grow bolder each day she had to stay in the capitol. she gets more honest in front of the cameras. she makes more friends in training, and not the ones wilbur recommends. she throws barbs at him every time he makes one of those callous, cold-hearted comments about other tributes and rankings and odds. and besides, she's going in the arena this time, not him. she needs to practice her bravery.

it's like... she hasn't given up on him. she thinks the old wilbur is in there somewhere. (she is wrong. that is not how trauma works.) but she won't hold her tongue just because she

for extra angst points could definitely play up the whole 'feeling abandoned' angle between them as niki goes into the arena - probably due to how fraught their friendship gets leading up to the games. niki wants to focus on them and their friendship, wilbur has stringently cut off (almost) everything from 12 and refuses to let her in; he tells her to behave for the cameras, she tells him she never will. i think the last point in that screenshot would also make for a super tasty argument where niki feels wilbur has gone astray, that he's abandoned 12, and that he'll probably do nothing but sit on his ass and watch her die and he can't even bring himself to care about her anymore, can he? just more fodder for the arena. and honestly, i think wilbur would passively agree with most of that - he values niki's opinion, after all, even now, and if she says he's rapidly descending into a lost cause then she must be right. and it's niki, so she will be fine, and he goes to his bedroom that night and tries to pretend he is sleeping perfectly fine instead of feeling paralysed with fear.

okay now onto the games - YES HE SO WOULD. or at least i think he would go out of his way to help. as for cheating - he's a recent victor for 12 and i think he would value tommy (no doubt a link to him... i think they'd be in touch in this au also) too much to risk the punishment falling onto him as well. i get the vibes this is a games closer to 74th than 10th, so there are far fewer opportunities to cheat and the consequences of getting caught are higher. but schmoozing up sponsors? making stupid ass radio interviews or whatever to talk up niki's odds? sharing anecdotes from their childhood - some real, some entirely fabricated - across capitol airwaves to stoke their sympathy? 100%. with less to lose in this au, i think niki would be far less inclined to play nice for the cameras - i hope you starve, she spits at one of them, and wilbur appears on a talkshow two days later as she scrambles for survival in the arena to talk up how she always saved loaves from the bakery for the poorest mothers and children in 12. he borrows and begs and swindles to the point where it feels like cheating. but hey, this new wilbur is capitol-branded. he knows how to play the game.

if anything he probably sinks into the game a little too much. self-preservation is not his forte. probably wracks up a few heavy debts and favours to owe, but those are not priority until niki is out of the arena, alive. as long as she wins, and as long as the family he has isn't in danger, he will manage. wow it would suck if at some point those two goals became impossible to co-achieve. anyway

i kind of see niki's victory in the arena being similar to the one in the main au - if only because planning out an entire games is hard for meee >-< . she walks in bolder and braver for sure, and with a less strategic pick of allies, but they all get picked off and she spends a few weeks so terrified she can barely sleep and then she ruptures some fuel line and sets the arena alight with a fire that burns brighter and more ravenously than it should. but she wins, and she's airlifted out of a filthy, muddy creek she had resigned herself to die in, and wilbur barges his way through as many peacekeepers so that he can actually see her with her burnt skin and hair and unfocused eyes and trust that what was on the screens wasn't a fluke, and that they made it. and then it's just a matter of surviving the after.

i'm sure there are some other random quirks or tidbits i can think of re: this take on a c!rainduo hunger games au but these are my base thoughts!!

[rachaeljurassic]

So, season 1

I had a blast

😁

Still somewhat reeling from the last episode tbh

So, what have we learned (other than the obvious that I love all the characters, who I refuse to rank because 😍 to them all)?

Phryne is a goddess, obviously. I suppose what I admire is that she has taken life by the horns. She is a fighter who still cares SO DEEPLY. She does not want to commit to one man (allegedly lol). But also I have a much better idea WHY she loves being (is compelled to be?) a private investigator. She can save others from suffering the fate she and her sister endured, she can save lives, and perhaps she can attone for the guilt she feels about not being able to solve the ONE case that mattered to her more than the rest. And with that solved now (?) what next?

Jack, arghjhgfdsjyhhgdjfh. Seriously :((( So, we have learned less about Jack. He is, after all, not the main focus and is unlikely to let slip much information unless under duress. He is a man of honour (to the point where I want to drop kick him, but we all have our crosses to bear). He went away to war a bright young thing, I suspect, and did not return the same. And while I find his wife's choice to leave him 😡, I am not blinded to the fact that she may have been dealing with too much to cope with and might not just be a heartless monster :/ I have no idea which one of them started divorce proceedings, or even if they are at that point yet. How long does that last? How long do I have to watch Jack manfully resist the urge to ravish Phryne. Can he cope? Can I cope? Will it be three fecking seasons? Probably 😫 I also know he is an honest copper who has compassion for some of the people he brings in. But do not cross him and DO NOT THREATEN PHRYNE. He WILL run down corridors screaming her name and he WILL fuck you up if you hurt her or anybody she loves! (that seems to go both ways)

Phrack - 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍 Obviously the sexual tension is delicious. Watching the restraint makes me hold my breath. It is also very 🥵 And don't think I haven't noticed, Phryne, that you've been dating a LOT less men recently! Small things I loved: I loved that Phryne asked for Jack's help. That must have taken a lot, to let him see her scared. I loved that Jack tried to make her believe she wasn't to blame for Janey's disappearance but when she wouldn't budge he didn't push. He knew that it would only make it worse and then did his utmost till the end of the season to help her. I love the fact that they respect each other so very much. And while they clearly want to jump each other at any given moment, they do not. Obviously this is to torture us!

Dot and Hugh (Dugh? Hot? Hottie? Yeah, Hottie I bet that's it 😆). I am kinda dreading bumpy roads ahead. I mean, they have had such a sweet early relationship, something is bound to put a stick in the spokes of their bicycle. I hope not. I have enough to deal with watching Phrack I don't need Hottie angst! Anyway, Dot has become even braver, and even MORE loyal to Phryne. Hugh has become even softer on her, if possible. And while he still has a dangerously weak stomach, he is gaining confidence (and bullet wounds). They are still wholesome and sweet and a rare sighting of out-of-uniform Hugh was a treat at Phyrne's birthday party 🥰 (because let's face it, that helmet does the guy NO favours 😆). EVERYBODY needs to be more sympathetic when Hugh is shot next time or I will be having words!!!

Jane. Well, obviously people are going to have to stop kidnapping her or I may have a heart attack. She's really turned into a wonderfully intelligent, sweet, brave girl. She is VERY lucky to have found Phryne, and Phryne is very luck to have her 😊

Mr Butler continues to be amazing, particularly when he's out of his tree on hash fudge 😆 but I can't help feeling he's going to be having some trauma from him being incapacititated by fudge, and then milk, and totally missing Foyle when he was in the house. I do hope he doesn't beat himself up too much over that 😞I hope he finds a new lady friend to help him get over his wife's death.

Bert and Cec look smashing in their penguin suits no matter WHAT they might think. I do very much enjoy Bert's sneaky little 😏 expression. And the poor chap has lost all his friends except Cec recently so I hope Cec is looking after him!

Aunt Prudence continues to be a force of nature. How rich IS she? That house and the grounds was HUGE!!!! It was very entertaining and touching meeting the extended family 🥰 and that episode was proper freaky. I am NOT one for costume balls, they are inherently freaksome 😕 I love Phyrne's relationship with both her cousins. And I hope we see them all again.

This is obviously not everything but this is already quite long. So, see you all in season 2

🥳

[words--like--violence]

I was walking along the riverwalk at late at night and saw the cutest little hippie girl. She was so cute I has to smile to celebrate her existence. I couldn't stop looking at her as I walked by and she slightly cocked her head and then smiled back like…

"[What is THIS?]" :-)

She liked me. For a moment. A beautiful moment. I was happy. I kept on walking. I'm antisocial. I don't like people. I kept walking. So cute. Like a kitten I wanted to cradle in my arms and cuddle forever.

...

A minute later I realized it's 1 AM, downtown. This is not exactly the place where cute little hippie girls usually sit alone on public benches in fetal positions. She can't be cold, it's like 85 degrees, I'm sweating from walking. (Fuck you, Florida.) Then I wondered if she was homeless. I once knew a homeless hippie guy who dressed like that. My heart sank. World, you are too cruel. Fuck you, World.

I turned around and walked back to ask her, but then it looked like a guy was with her. Boyfriend? Stranger? Satan incarnate? Probably, but I don't talk to women who are with other guys, I have no interest in talking to guys, or interrupting conversations. I don't need any conflicts. I don't need Satan incarnate. That's her problem. My life is hard enough. Oh well. Guess I'm too late. Chance blown. Window closed. Asshole universe tugged on my heartstrings only to taunt me. Typical. Fuck you, Universe. I walk away. Story of my life, it's what I do, it's who I am, I walk away.

10 minutes later I'm lying in bed. …agonizing. 10 minutes of suffering. Dude was probably a passerby, he showed up too soon, and I generally hate random people, especially downtown at 1 AM. I know the kinds of people who walk around at 1 AM, I'm one of them. We're mostly aimless good for nothings, some worth less than nothing. But what if he was harassing her...? ...and I walked away. Damn it. I've become a cold heartless monster. But I don't need these complications. My life is simple, being alone keeps life simple. After all I've been through, I need peace and tranquility like I need air, I need peace and quiet like I need… to know she's okay.

Damn it.

I hop out of bed, grab my clothes, and as a second thought grab a quick handful of quarters on my way out. I don't have much to offer anyone, but I could at least get her a coffee with a half pound of sugar, or bus fare, whatever. My heart on a platter, whatever. She's a total stranger and I haven't cared this much for anyone in years. I've hardly talked to anyone in years. I have to ask if she's homeless. I have to know. I will suffer until I know.

The guy isn't there. Good. … Was I being jealous? Probably. She was so cute. Unbelievablely cute. Too cute. Maybe too young? Pedobait? Jailbait? Working with undercovers? I don't care. Doesn't matter. I'm just asking if she's homeless, right? And maybe giving her some pocket change and maybe a place to stay the night and maybe ruining my life. Fuck. What the fuck am I doing going to meet a teenager at 1:30 in the morning. I'm antisocial. I don't want to do this. I have to do this. My heart is breaking for her.

"Please tell me you're not homeless."

[Sly smile] "No."

So cute. Too cute. And now I have no good excuse to talk to her anymore. I'm antisocial. I don't like people. I'm walking away. [Sigh] "Good."

Did I sigh with relief or disappointment? I can't tell. I think it's both. Just keep walking. Damn it. I'm walking the wrong direction. I don't live in this direction. Keep walking. I don't care. Keep walking. Keep saying I don't care.

Wait... I said "Please don't tell me" and she said "No.", was she refusing to tell me? ...because I asked her not to? My heart hurts. I can't take this any more. I can't go back. Thinking about her is unbearable. Just keep walking, she was smiling, a beautiful smile, everything's okay. Everything will be okay. It will be okay. I'm okay.

I'll probably never see her again.

[lucifersresources]

you me at six // truth decay rp meme.

edit/alter/change pronouns etc as you see fit!  

deep cuts.

i don't know how it feels.

it's a heartache in the making.

for your eyes only.

you're all grown up.

death by a thousand cuts, a lover's touch hurts twice as much.

a flesh wound got you all torn up.

i don't want you to live like this forever.

i don't want you thinking you can't do better.

you would be better off alone.

the man's an extremist.

i know you've got deep cuts.

people tell you to move on.

still holding on to what you know is gone.

no more time for sad songs.

jealously is a fatal dose.

mixed emotions (i didn't know how to tell you what i was going through)

i was more forgiving in the beginning.

you never let the good ones go.

the good ones never get old.

when did you stop making sense?

you're slurring your words again.

i can't handle this.

i've got mixed emotions.

gotta get your head straight.

it all makes sense in the here and now.

we were just boys back then, hanging on by a thread.

didn't know how to tell you what it was i had been going through.

it's better left unsaid.

it's been weighing me down since then.

it's history repeating.

you are codependent.

life without you isn't sweet.

god bless the 90's kids.

i'm not your enemy.

i'm not your friend.

i'm not your day one.

i'm not your ex.

i wanna fill that space between your bones.

god bless the 90s kids, 21st century misfits.

they never know when to quit.

they write their own scripts.

i'm less than zero, but i'm your hero.

i'm your hero.

smile at your rivals, call them your idols.

not sure what's worse when i think about it, living or dying first.

it is all just a blur.

don't drown me out when you know i can't swim.

after love in the after hours.

it might look good on paper, but it's not there in the flesh.

put your happy ending on hold.

before i ever met you, i used to be happy.

i used to be happy.

i buried what i thought about you.

baby's got a gun to my head now.

i don't wanna be here.

you used to love to fuck me up.

why don't you crack me open?

i let your have your moment coz it's all you care about.

need to break this cycle.

you acted so entitled.

you made me want to die.

fill my heart with lies, got away with it a thousand times.

i know i wasn't perfect.

i didn't deserve it.

no future? yeah right.

you're not really who you say you are.

hardly recognise what you've become.

i almost feel bad for you.

you made that call.

you made that call, always wanting someone else to blame.

this was all your fault.

you wanna destroy me.

i'll never surrender my hope.

don't try to control me.

my future isn't yours to own.

we don't know how to communicate anymore.

you're just picking fights.

won the battle, but lost the war.

why do you do this to yourself? it's bad for your health.

coming after me, i promise, it will not end well.

i'm someone that you should fear.

you thought you could get what you wanted.

i won't go down without a fight.

gonna make you wish you treated me right.

heartLESS.

i can't believe this is really happening.

you can't wait to up and leave.

you and i got matching scars.

i never wanna be apart.

don't point your love at me like that.

you tell me i'm not the one.

i'm not the one.

i know you're not heartless, your heart was just a mess.

i found it hard at first.

i found it hard at first, that someone thought i had some worth.

thought i was better on my own.

who needs revenge when i've got ellen rae.

you're my heaven.

you're my cure.

who needs revenge when you're my girl?

she's the broken one, but says that i need fixing.

i need fixing.

without me, you're doing fine.

you couldn't hurt my feelings if you tried.

breakdown.

i'm about to have a fucking breakdown.

my comeback looks like a piece of art.

sky's not the limit, it's a view.

life is short.

my heart and my mind can't synchronise.

don't wanna throw my life away.

i've become yesterday's news.

i could never theow this all away.

traumatic icon.

it's been tough.

it's been tough, taking shortcuts.

i care too much.

i never wanted to feel like we were on different sides.

i guess this makes this real.

if you don't think it matters.

can't take my eyes off it.

i'd give you everything if you asked.

you know that i can't give you that.

:mydopamine:

i am all the therapy you need.

i know you don't trust anybody, but you can count on me.

you can count on me.

i hate it, when things get complicated.

we're strangers standing in each other's way.

we've been through worse before.

i wanna take it all the way.

you are my favourite memoir.

don't drive me away.

a smile to make you weak(er) at the knees.

it hurts my head to care.

it ain't easy.

i think you're doing fine.

do you really care?

it hurts my head to care.

maybe one day you'll drop your guard.

you make it look so easy.

ultraviolence.

my heart is still beating.

there's no way of coming back.

i'll see you when the sunlight comes.

been living in the dark.

don't believe you could do this on your own.

there's too much noise in my head.

will you be there in the end?

i don't know where the good times went.

i see light in your dark.

you hypnotised me from the start.

nothing could tear us apart.

i don't know where it all went wrong.

a love letter to those who feel lost.

take it as it comes when you're feeling lost.

we used to call the shots.

wish i could make it stop.

all your working parts are my gateway drug.

you're the light that's on.

find it hard to say what i mean to say.

if i tell the truth, don't you walk away.

coming back's the hardest part.

when your world falls apart, not giving up.

[shadow-trick]

【Rexmet】The Forgotten Sunset（pt.1-3）

English ver. is translate by deepL！love it！

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

*1 Gambling

　　"Why can't you just get it?!" Rex's almost hysterical voice fell with his fist. Tangled up with Emmet, he clearly had the upper hand, but his voice contained a hint of an almost imperceptible tremor, but that tremor was completely overshadowed by the moves he was making like a blizzard. "You mean nothing to them! They don't care about you at all! You won't be able to wait for your so-called best friends to save you even if you stay here for a hundred years!"

　　Honestly, it was more than he had expected, Rex had wanted to simply take away his past self so that Emmet wouldn't be harmed by the people he recognized as his "friends". But there's no denying that when Emmet asked him to save his "friends" from becoming the brothers he never had in the past, Rex was overwhelmed by Emmet's offer - and everything that followed was both intentional and the result of going along for the ride. After all, Armamageddon was already doomed, and he was just helping fate. Using fate to keep Emmet away from those heartless plastic friends was a perfect plan any way you look at it.

　　However, he didn't realize that Emmet, who had never experienced the pain she had suffered, didn't believe him at all, but still chose to believe in those "friends" and was determined to save them.

　　"Because I knew she would come! As soon as they get out of there!" Emmet shouted hoarsely. "Lucy will come - she'll come for me!"

　　That was it. No matter what Rex said about the pathetic ending he'd gotten, no matter how much Rex emphasized that no one would come to this drying galaxy to save him if he waited any longer, Emmet still believed it, stubborn and obstinate to the point of Rex's despair. But somewhere in his heart, Rex knew that this was proof that they were the same person. Rex could remember a time when he'd believed the same thing as Emmet, and how determined he'd been to- - It seemed so foolish now. -It seemed foolish and ridiculous now. But that kind of conviction really wasn't something he could turn around with a few words.

　　Only by seeing it with his own eyes would Emmet realize that what he was saying was the truth. Only by shattering his naïve and childish beliefs would he be able to rebuild a hardened mind that wouldn't be hurt by it all again.

　　"Fine." gritted Rex. "Emmet, do you dare make a bet with me?"

　　"You need to recognize the truth. You can't leave because I will never let you go. To put it simply, you've been kidnapped, brother. But I'll give you a chance - since you're convinced 'your friend Lucy' is going to be here," Rex said in his most conspiratorial tone as he spoke of what he once considered to be his best friend. "So, we'll wait here now until you're satisfied. If she comes, you win, and I'll let you go without ever stopping you. If she doesn't come ……"

　　"Fine!" Emmet replied before Rex could finish. An almost lopsided battle ended there, Emmet was now in a sorry state but glared at Rex unconvincingly, "Just you wait and see - Lucy she'll come, she'll bring all her friends to save me! I believe in them!"

　　He was answered with a sneer from Rex. "You'll see."

*:: 2 Cold War time

　　Of course Lucy and the others won't come. At the moment, they've already encountered "Armamageddon" and have been sealed in a storage box.

　　Lucy and the others will not be able to escape until they receive Mother's permission for their release. Of course, for Emmet, it may be a bit difficult to understand all this - after all, even when he first "saved the world" and went to the real world, he did not understand what the "real world" is. After all, even when he first "saved the world" and went to the real world, he didn't understand what the "real world" was, and he didn't even understand how he got the ability to be a Master Builder.

　　He did his best to get the boy to notice him and drop him back into the LEGO world, but he still doesn't understand what kind of gift "coming to the real world" is, and he's already seen the truth of the world. Only he, who has become a Rex, knows how long ago he had the chance to break out of the box. Only Rex, who had spent countless days and nights under the Drying Galaxy and understood the laws of the real world, could grasp this opportunity and use it to create the future he wanted.

　　Emmet, who doesn't understand all this, is sitting at the border of the Drying Galaxy, looking forward to the arrival of his friends.

　　But no matter how long he waits, there will only be one ending. After learning about the real world, Rex realizes what the key to all this really is. Since the beginning of all his tragedies came from the conflict between those two siblings, it didn't make sense to just let them make up so easily, right?

　　So, [Rex destroyed Watevra Wa'Nabi himself while working with Emmet to stop the wedding] - and it was complete, unrecoverable destruction.

　　His Master Destruction Fist was enough to turn her into the same parts she was before he created her in the first place, mixed in with the debris of the temple ruins so that she could never be put back together and restored. His creation became his disaster, and ultimately destroyed at his hands, just as the one who freed the devil with his own hands sealed it back into the bottle again.

　　Of course, Rex understands that Armageddon will not last until the end of the world, that Lucy, and the others, will be released, and that a mother cannot stop her children from playing with their toys forever. But if only for a little while, Rex is confident that he can win his bet with Emmet before then, and take him far away with him. From then on, imagination became reality, the sky and the sea were wide enough for them to travel, they could travel through the vast universe, they could travel through time and space, and they could go wherever they wanted to go.

　　Rex hadn't realized yet that he had underestimated Emmet's faith and patience.

　　After the bet was made, they set up camp at the edge of the Drying Galaxy where the bottom planets meet cosmic space, and Emmet and Rex battled it out, with Emmet looking in the direction they came from, and Rex keeping an eye on Emmet to keep him from escaping-which Emmet had already tried to do, in fact. Only Rex didn't let him succeed, while packing up his tent and supplies for the night.

　　He was ready to stay here for days on end. He was confident that within a few days, he would be able to make Emmet realize the truth and give up his obsession with his so-called friend and leave from here with him.Rex had even made a plan on which world they should jump to and what kind of adventure they should embark on once they left from this world. He already had a few alternate destinations in mind, just waiting for Emmet's nod so they could set sail.

　　"Really don't want to stay in this place though." Every second here made Rex feel uncomfortable. Unlike Emmet, who had literally been trapped here for countless hours, he had been crushed here, and even though he had been reborn as "Rex", this place still caused him immense hatred and pain. But every time he saw Emmet's back, sitting on the edge of the drying galaxy between the bottom of the galaxy and the universe, Rex gritted his teeth and endured. He remembered why he was here, what he wanted to achieve, and with his ultimate goal just this much time away from him, there was no way he was going to give up, no matter what. It was equally impossible for him to leave Emmet alone beyond the Drying Galaxy, because he remembered how painful it was to be alone in this place, so it was impossible for him to leave Emmet alone here.

　　Time passed, and Rex set up his tent, packed up his other things, and paced back and forth under the Drying Galaxy a few more times, but couldn't find anything else to do or divide his attention elsewhere. That pervasive feeling of emptiness and torment seeped into him from memory the longer he stayed here, and Rex couldn't stand it any longer, so he just went to the edge as well, put some distance between him and Emmet, sat down and started to wait. "They can't be out that fast." After some time, Rex finally couldn't resist taking the initiative to break the cold war stalemate. "You're just wasting time waiting here."

　　"Knowing that they will come, so my waiting is also full of hope." Emmet was still laughing at the moment. "Rex, they'll come for me, they must be thinking the same thing I am, just like I'm trying to save them now. You're finding it hard to wait too, so please, can you let me go so I can go save them?"

　　"Don't you even think about it, no way." Rex refused coldly. "Don't you dare cry when you can't wait for them."

　　"That won't happen." Emmet was equally adamant, as if he'd already seen Lucy flooding into this place with everyone from the borders of the Drying Galaxy, taking his hand and laughing as she led him away.

　　"Whatever." Talking about the subject only made him angrier and angrier, and Rex closed his eyes, dismissing the idea of continuing to talk Emmet down today. However, he didn't expect to see a marvelous sight beyond his imagination when he opened his eyes again.

　　The first thing that came into his eyes was a reddish, almost violet light, bright with a slight hint of obscurity and softness that belonged to twilight. The endless sky and the evening sun from far and near, are dyed by that light into different shades of cee color, forming a gradient color sky from bright red to pinkish purple, and then to blue purple.

　　"Is this …… sunset?" Rex rubbed his eyes and looked ahead again to confirm what he was seeing. As it turned out, the landscape in front of them was no longer everything they had seen from the ground-level perspective of the real world, but had become a magnificent, magnificent sunset.

　　Their world was made up of a combination of "reality" and "imagination", as long as there was a certain background of reality, coupled with a strong enough heart and imagination, it would be enough to create such a landscape. Emmet did not seem to notice that something was wrong, but was just facing the bloodstained sun, waiting quietly as if she wanted to see through it.

　　It was the time when the sun was setting, and some of the sunset glow fell into this room from the window, and Emmet let it grow into this sunset landscape in his imagination. The rays of the setting sun fell into this gap from the other side of the sky, and the ruddy glow, like a flame, carried a faint warmth as it fell, but somehow carried a faint sense of loneliness.

　　"Huh?" came a sudden questioning snort from Emmet. Right beside him, Rex suddenly came over and sat down without a word. "What are you doing?"

　　"Don't you think the view is extraordinarily good from this angle?" Rex said casually.Emmet had grown up a bit after this period of time, and could see that Rex's words were merely pulled to perfume him, but he was still in a state of semi-cold war, and did not continue to make conversation after all, but just looked away in the direction of what was once Castle Doom, and was now a wasteland. I don't know if it was Rex's illusion, but as twilight drenched the sky, the light of anticipation in Emmet's eyes seemed to fade a little. Is the light fading because night is coming, Rex thought uncertainly.

　　As night fell, Rex built a campfire and roasted some sausages, corn, and marshmallows, half coercing and half cajoling Emmet, who had tried to refuse even the food he had brought.

　　"I don't want to see you starve to death first before the outcome of the bet is known." With that said, Rex forcefully passed the sizzling sausage towards Emmet's mouth, who in the end ate the food Rex gave him. Seeing this scene Rex's mouth corners of that classic villain general impish smile are a little softer.

　　At night, under the Drying Galaxy even the stars in the sky could not be seen, the night seemed particularly eerie.Rex pointed to the tent: "Are you really not going to go to bed?"

　　"No, I'm going to wait here." The firelight reflected Emmet's back, while most of his body was dried in the shadows, as if he had been surrounded by dust, burying even himself in it.

　　"Aw……!" Emmet suddenly felt something soft hit him. He rubbed his head and picked up what had just hit him to see that it was a blanket.

　　"The night temperatures will freeze you to ice." Rex had another blanket wrapped around him and sat directly next to him. "What, you think I'm going to give you a chance to escape?"

　　Looking at Rex, who seemed to have completely taken over the role of 'kidnapper', Emmet felt a hint of amusement despite his resentment, and couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips. He wrapped the blanket around him, and within moments the warmth returned to his already chilled body, causing him to let out a long breath.

　　"Thank you, Rex," Emmet spoke suddenly. "Uh……," Rex rolled his eyes a little incredulously in Emmet's direction and flickered off again in the opposite direction with desire, and then he suddenly glared back hard as if in reaction, clenching his teeth with a note of hatred: "Don't thank me, you're my prisoner now, I'm just doing what needs to be done! Like you, you're bound to have Stockholm Syndrome!"

　　Emmet ducked his body in the opposite direction at the sudden aggression of Rex, who, seeing that the intimidation was working, sat upright again under the blanket with his arms folded and looked away. After a few moments, Rex suddenly hears a low-pitched question, "Why are you doing this?"

　　Rex was startled. He turned his head, and from the light of the fire reflected behind himself, he saw Emmet looking at him.Emmet looked uncomprehending, and a little sad, "Actually, I still don't understand why you're doing this to me, and everyone else?"

　　"Since we met, Rex, you've always been good to me, and I've really had fun when we've had adventures together - I know I've never been mature enough, or tough enough, and I've always let my friends down. But you've never made me feel lost, never made me feel like I can't do anything right."

　　"But why did you have to trigger Armageddon? You know it would obviously make me, and everyone else, very sad. But then you take care of me when I'm feeling like you're a bad person - even though that's not what you're saying, what you're doing is being as nice to me as you were in the beginning."

　　"I …… don't understand. I'm confused, Rex," Emmet's gaze was clear and helpless, like a meek lamb lost in the wilderness. "All I know is that you are me, too. But if you are me, why are you doing this to me?"

　　"Why be nice to me and then push me away? Why hurt my important friends? Why do you want to comfort me and take me away after destroying the world and doing things that hurt my friends and broke me too?"

　　"I ……" Rex opened his mouth, suddenly speechless. How was he supposed to go about explaining this? Was it to say that he'd actually been trying to be nice to Emmet, trying to save his past self, so he'd done things that included hurting Emmet's friends and ejecting Emmet into this shithole of a hellhole and forcibly detaining him here? Or did it start with the abandonment, betrayal, and forgetfulness that he had actually told Emmet about, so he took the liberty of making choices for Emmet's sake? That he saw through the reality of the world, that all of them are just toys of the so-called "gods", that destruction and reconstruction are only at their whim, and that the world they live in is just a "matrix" that exists in the gap between the real world and the imaginary world, and that he wanted Emmet to be a part of it? "So he wants Emmet to be truly free?

Time travel is complicated beyond belief, and the world they live in is doubly so, and Rex has no compunction about destroying Watevra Wa'Nabi, triggering Armamageddon, and reducing everyone to the level of a storage box precisely because he knows it's all just a bunch of plastic toys. Those people have no real hearts. Those people had no real hearts, but in the hands of another, they would be brainwashed into doing things that were so out of character that in the hands of that little girl monster, superheroes and supervillains could even call themselves brothers and sisters! Because he knew this, he didn't hate those who had been his friends much, but rather became to not care at all. Perhaps one other person he cares about more or less is Lucy, but his feelings for her are completely different than they used to be, and are only left with a grudge because of her withholding, betrayal, and abandonment as a result. If he had to say that making that world what it is now is "revenge", he would agree, after all, in that world he got nothing but deception, ridicule and disregard. Except for Emmet, there is no one he cares about in this world, and Rex only came to this time and space for Emmet, who is his only obsession, his hope and future, and the meaning of his life.

　　But all this he has no way to explain to Emmet, explained Emmet most likely will not understand, just as he passionate speech his rebirth road, the result of Emmet only understand the first sentence.

　　So he had no answer for all this. At Emmet's gaze, Rex could only furrow his brows and say viciously, "Because I did it because I wanted to, is there a problem?"

　　Emmet withdrew his gaze in defeat.Rex turned away with a betrayed look, but the question Emmet had asked lingered in his mind for a long time.

　　And was he really doing the right thing?Before Rex's eyes, once again, Emmet's sad look appeared. This is like a pot of cold water, poured on Rex's heart. At this moment, his heart felt as if he couldn't step on the ground and couldn't make any strength, but he didn't understand - he and Emmet were obviously the same person, obviously, he realized his own wish was to realize Emmet's wish. Originally Rex was so unwavering in his belief, he believed that when Emmet saw himself abandoned and forgotten by Lucy as well as the others Emmet would understand and support him …… But suddenly he didn't seem so sure anymore. Though Rex himself didn't understand it, a fear and panic spread gradually upward from his stomach like a blanket couldn't keep out the chill of this night, as if it were trying to freeze his heart a little.

　　"Hoo ……" Just then, Rex suddenly heard a small snoring sound. It turned out that Emmet had fallen asleep at some point during the wait. He fell asleep, body a crooked, will fall to the side.Rex hurriedly reached out a pull, finally did not let Emmet directly head to the ground. As a result, Emmet's body swayed in his sleep, and he leaned directly onto Rex's shoulder, not only that, but the blanket he was draped on also slowly slid down and fell to the side.

　　"Ugh." Rex sighed. Looking at Emmet, who was asleep at the moment, he really didn't want to toss and turn too much. He could carry Emmet into the tent to rest, but they were still in the middle of a semi-cold war, if he woke him up, it would be too embarrassing.Rex wanted to pull the blanket up for Emmet and let him fall asleep like this, but unfortunately Emmet's blanket had already slipped out of Rex's reach, and if he tried to hold onto it, he would probably wake Emmet up. In the end, he was worried that Emmet would get sick from the cold if he fell asleep like this, so in the end, Rex could only pull his own blanket to wrap around both of their bodies, and kept the position of Emmet leaning against him as he continued to keep watch.

　　After Emmet fell asleep, there was no other sound around them. All was silent, the only sound left in the long dark night was the occasional crackle of a campfire burning.For a moment Rex felt as if he had been transported back to the time when the ship had crashed and he had been thrown here. Though that event had happened a long time ago for him, it was easy to get swept back into that vortex of gray memories whenever he dreamed, or was left alone. This time though, even after staying in this nightmarish place, Rex didn't have that sad, almost breathless feeling. The cold winds that once traveled through the bottom of the Drying Galaxy seemed to have all but disappeared …… or rather at this moment he could no longer feel them, and at this moment Rex could only feel the warmth coming from the person leaning against him beside him.Rex turned his head slightly sideways and realized that at this moment Emmet's sleeping face was very serene, like a bird's nest in a tree on a stormy night, curled up on the warm belly feathers of the mother bird. Like a nestling curled up under the warm belly feathers of a mother bird on a stormy night in a tree.

　　Suddenly, Rex's heart softened. He would let Emmet have everything he had ever wanted, everything he had ever wished for, but had never been granted, and now he would fulfill all of Emmet's wishes. Only if Emmet had everything he once didn't have could he soothe his soul.

　　Being leaned against by Emmet was like having a warm baby snuggled up next to him, dispelling the chill that hovered in the back of his mind. Just feeling Emmet's presence already made Rex feel like he had been rescued from the place he had once been trapped in.

　　At some point, Rex fell asleep without realizing it, surrounded by this warmth.

*3 Sage's Farewell

　　It was Emmet who was the first to awaken early the next morning.

　　"Wow." he had been mildly surprised, or rather startled, upon realizing that he and Rex were sleeping leaning against each other, causing him to scurry to the side, which caused the blankets on them to slide down.

　　It was then that Emmet noticed that the blanket he had been draped in last night had slipped to the floor, and that it was Rex's blanket that had been warming him last night.

　　That Rex would share a blanket with him and fall asleep leaning against him? Leaving no time for Emmet to be surprised, Rex quickly woke up with a yawn, "Heh ah …… you woke up so early to see the sunrise?"

　　"Sunrise?" The sky was just fish-belly white when Emmet woke up, but in a matter of moments, it was already bright. "There's no such thing as a sunrise here."

　　"No sunrise?" Though a little puzzled, Rex didn't pursue the question. "Whatever - is there anything you want to eat in the morning?"

　　Emmet, who had been worrying about his friends since he woke up and started thinking about ways to get out again, didn't really have an appetite or mood. Still, Rex strong-armed him with a cup of coffee with sugar and milk, fried eggs, and a sizzling muffin toasted to perfection, while he sat back calmly with his black coffee. "I'm still watching you, so don't think about running."

　　"But for Lucy's sake, and everyone's …… I can't stick to my agreement with Rex." Being a good and honest boy, seeing that there was really no possibility of getting Rex to release himself, Emmet finally made a difficult decision. He secretly thought that he had to find a chance to just escape and rescue his companion who was trapped in the organizer. But it turned out that no matter what Emmet came up with, Rex was able to anticipate his prediction, and even when Emmet ran out he was able to be captured and returned with a group of raptor crew members. "I told you, I won't let you get away."

　　Soon the next day the sun set, Emmet is still sitting in the same position as yesterday's sunset, looking away from the sunset, looking melancholy, Rex was a little annoyed by Emmet's cleverness, but still conscientiously as a good "nanny". Days like this continued day after day. In the next period of time, the battle of wits between Emmet and Rex has been continuing, each time to Emmet by Rex to catch and return to the case and end, every day, Emmet will sit at the bottom of the drying galaxy and the junction of the vast universe, and Rex and look at the red bright like blood sunset. Until the end, exhausted all the escape methods Emmet completely gave up struggling, can only sit in the same place all day long staring blankly at the organizer, as well as the direction of the former Fortress of Doom.

　　At first, Rex thought that Emmet did not run away, he can greatly save his mind, and for this reason, he also breathed a sigh of relief - he was also almost out of tricks by Emmet, if not for the hands of a team of velociraptor crew members and the power of science and technology, he really can't suppress Emmet, but he did not last long, after a day, Rex felt that Emmet was not a good person. After only one day, Rex felt that Emmet might as well be a bit more boisterous ……

　　Because now Emmet is too silent, so silent that Rex panic. Emmet as if already know the result, waiting for the final judgment to come, sitting in the old place, looking into the distance. As the sun sets again and again, the light of hope that was once bright in his eyes dims; he no longer confronts Rex, but also reduces his communication with him.

　　This very abnormal Emmet makes Rex feel uneasy. He was worried that Emmet was sick, and secretly used the machine scanning method to test Emmet's physical condition, but the machine gave the feedback that Emmet was healthy and everything was normal. Later, Rex guessed that Emmet was thinking about those "friends", so he sat down next to Emmet, accompanied by Emmet to talk about jokes, the movies he had seen, what he had seen and heard in the time-traveling …… He tried his best to replace those friends in Emmet's mind. He tried his best to replace the friends in Emmet's heart, but the result was very little.Emmet's look has always been with a sadness that once would never appear on his face, but correspondingly, it seems that he is also rapidly becoming more mature.

　　If it were Rex in the past, he would have been very impressed by this change in Emmet. But as the time accompanying Emmet grows longer and longer, Rex does not feel much relief for Emmet such changes, but instead feels a …… very subtle sadness. Is it infected by Emmet's mood?Rex felt that because it was Emmet's mood was too low, so it made him himself not happy; after all, they are the same person, maybe there will be such a situation is also normal, so he did not think deeper.

　　However, as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, Rex's thoughts changed a little, Emmet's figure looked too lonely as he sat in the afterglow of the sun's bloodstained rays, even if Rex would accompany Emmet every time he looked at the setting sun, even if Rex could break the silence and talk incessantly about any topic, the forlorn aura of Emmet's body wouldn't dissipate and as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, Emmet's mood wouldn't change, and as the number of sunsets they had seen increased, he didn't think about it too deeply, so he didn't. number of sunsets they'd watched, it became thicker and thicker.

　　Looking at Emmet like that, Rex convinced himself that this was the growing pains that had to be experienced on the road to maturity, and that when he passed through this stage, Emmet would no longer have to be afraid to endure the loneliness and the anger of betrayal in order to become strong enough, as Rex himself had. Yet there was a voice in the back of his mind that kept questioning: really? Are you sure?

　　But that voice is so small that Rex, though a small doubt exists, quickly puts it behind him. He absolutely believed in the path he chose, only in this way could he prevent the tragedy that happened to him from being repeated on Emmet, he was the future Emmet, and only he could give Emmet everything he wanted, he could make Emmet happy.

���　Day by day, Emmet still insisted on waiting in that place, but Rex felt that his patience was running out. More than once he had wanted to ask Emmet if he had waited long enough, but he had held back each time and just sulked and stayed by Emmet's side. He had sensed the source of his own unease behind this anger - though he insisted that there was absolutely no way Lucy and the others would come to Emmet's rescue, but what if? What if they did come, as he had once expected when he was trapped as Emmet? By the end of the day, Rex couldn't tell if he wanted to see "Lucy and the others won't come" or "they will come". Emmet has shown his obsession with waiting for the end, and Rex has been tortured repeatedly in the process, making him anticipate the final result and at the same time feel intense anxiety.

　　And the moment when the final outcome is revealed finally arrives sometime during sunset.

　　As Rex suspects, Armamageddon will be over when the real-life siblings make up - or are able to superficially get along and stop fighting over toys. The Lego ban was lifted and the two siblings got their beloved toys back out again.Lucy and the gang were released.

　　At that moment Rex felt his body freeze. Anxious for a result, the present Rex, and the Emmet within him, who had been trapped for so long at the bottom of the Drying Galaxy, seemed to merge at that moment, and together with the Emmet who had been "kidnapped" by Rex in the present timeline, looked expectantly toward the Castle of Doom, which seemed to be so far away that it had merged with the waning rays of the setting sun! --Or rather, it used to be the city, Fort Doom, but now it's not sure what it is, but it's the place where Lucy and all the other people that Emmet loves are located.

　　But no matter how much Emmet waited, no matter how much he tried to run to the place, no matter how much he tried to call for help (Rex hesitated, but in the end didn't stop Emmet from sending the signal), the place didn't respond, and Lucy and the others really weren't looking for Emmet.

　　Rex thought to himself, "That's it!". In the bottom of his heart, the Emmet who had been waiting for a long time under the Drying Galaxy was also looking forward to a different result this time. Unlike in the past, when he set out on his journey through the universe alone, this time Lucy and the others knew that Emmet had been taken by Rex. Lucy, the "friends", and the superheroes will not do anything?

　　The answer was now clear.Rex sighed and turned to Emmet just about to say something when he saw a tearful Emmet.

　　"Ah …… hey, don't cry ah …… "At this time Rex can't have much heart to mention anything about winning or losing a bet, he hurriedly picked up a towel and wiped Emmet's face off the Tears. "I told you, none of them deserve your trust, they don't deserve your love!"

　　The words did little to comfort. Rex was a little overwhelmed at the prospect of facing Emmet, who was crying out in pain, and finally he threw away the towel and wrapped Emmet in a hug, "It's okay, I'm here."

　　"I am you. I will never betray, never leave you, never forsake you. I will always be there for you." Rex stroked Emmet's hair, letting the particles of blue tears that continued to erupt from beside Emmet's cheeks pile up around them and roll down towards the side.

　　Everything on that day seemed to have melted into the cinnabar-colored slanting sun, and what remained in Rex and Emmet's memories at last was that from the lofty sky to the distant earth, all of them were dyed by the setting sun into a brilliant, bright red color with a slight hint of dark violet, as if their pasts had been melted by the red flames of the setting sun, and a blood-colored bond had been recast between the two of them. The whole world that was dyed with the color of Xi seemed to be the world itself's last and grandest farewell to Emmet.

　　After that Rex took Emmet by the hand and led him step by step to the Rexcelsior and threw Emmet a big welcome party with the raptor crew, Rex took Emmet by the shoulders and with his other hand raised an energy drink and made a loud toast, he told Emmet that they were going to set sail into the infinite universe of space and time, into a whole new world of futures and adventures, and that they would be the most loyal of friends. They would be the most loyal of friends, the best of brothers, family forever. emmet smiled a little forcedly, but never mentioned Lucy or his former friends again.

　　When the ship was about to jump out of the two different galaxies of the universe, the place that used to make up their whole world, and in reality was a small "home" for their parents and two children, Rex subconsciously looked at Emmet.

　　He saw the melancholy in Emmet's eyes that could not be dissolved, as well as the pain that he tried to hide. It was as if the grand sunset had been forever engraved in the bottom of Emmet's eyes, and as they went into the distance, the warm colors belonging to the sunset gradually dispersed, leaving behind only bleakness and sadness.

　　Seeing this scene, somewhere inside Rex also became empty.

　　What he did, was it really right? That voice resounded softly in the bottom of his heart again, as if an echo suddenly came from the infinite universe.

　　At this moment, Rex really couldn't answer himself.

TBC.

[thestobingirlie]

so glad that other people are being haters about the tiktok au ❤️ there’s a recent arc where steve started to get letters harassing at threatening him at his school and house, and at first he kept it a secret from eddie, but then eddie found out (while going through steve’s stuff to check if he needed his prescriptions refilled before he left town, because clearly steve can’t check that on his own 🙄) and eddie posted a tiktok canceling a meet and greet and saying that he wouldn’t be going on the upcoming corroded coffin tour bc people were threatening his family.

and since then, steve has become increasingly anxious and is bailing on plans with Robin and pretty much only leaving his house for work (which apparently no one has noticed???) and he couldn’t go on his daily jog cause he was worried about someone trying to hurt his dog. and in the most recent post of this arc, steve said that he was thinking about retiring and at first eddie was like “oh! you could go on tour with me!!!” before telling him to think over the decision more. my dude, i thought you weren’t touring anymore?? or have you just stopped caring about people threatening your husband???

(also maybe this is just me, but it feels so ooc for steve to be scared of some anonymous assholes writing letters? like, he’s been killing monsters since he was a teen, but some people who don’t even have the guts to hate him to his face would be Too Much? why would he even care whether people they’ve never met think that he’s not good for eddie? his specific issues in canon are around people being dishonest about their feelings towards him, not what other people think of the relationship. i get that things have changed and there is the issue of gun violence, but steve has already been threatened by the government, which is way more likely to carry out its threats than some random person sending a letter)

i love being a hater <3 i will always encourage people to hate <3

but yeah, i saw that and it’s like. well, if my partner looked through my shit i’d be pissed off, and yeah, once again eddie is sharing steve’s private information (stuff he didn’t even want eddie to know!) to a huge audience.

and damn, that’s pretty heartless lmao.

but yeah, i don’t actually think steve would keep those threats to himself. he’s tell eddie and then fucking laugh about it because he’s almost been ripped apart by monsters, threatened by the american government, and then tortured by the russian government. a couple teens sending mean letters to him isn’t likely to strike fear into his heart.

[ina-nis]

The few people that still reached out to me in the past only did so due to fear of me committing suicide - yes, sure, they “care” about me... but it felt more like a “please be alive, don’t do anything stupid” kind of thing, and lot of life “lessons”, unwanted advice and unintentional toxic positivity.

In the end, this is too much work and stress for people to deal with, so they don’t. I don’t blame them, I would walk away too if I could. Why do you think I’m suicidal?

Now that I started telling people the “truth”, that I’m sick and need to stay away. They’re gone. They don’t bother. Good for them. I wish I had that option too!

Deep inside, I wish I mattered to them. Deep inside, I wish they would pick me, go after me and fight for me, even when I don’t, even when I’ll just push them away because I don’t want anyone to be hurt. Deep inside, I wish I would be chosen.

But the reality is that I’m probably very low on other people’s priorities, and that’s nobody’s fault. I’m just some person they know. And for the ones I’m more than that, I feel like it still doesn’t change things. My wounds are too painful and no matter how close they were to me, it was not, never enough.

There’s no point in my resenting people over some connection or relationship that was either non-existent or superficial at best, but felt like something so profound for me - this is why it feels so one-sided, huh?

But yeah! I have to do this on my own! It’s my own problem after all! Only then, I should let people in, because as I am right now, it will just end up badly for everyone involved with me, including myself. I know that way too well.

Here I am trying to solve an issue of loneliness by myself, using stopgaps and distractions. Trying to fill an evergrowing void inside of me with whatever is meaningful to me, exercise, a good diet and sleep habits, hobbies, going outside, being around other people and animals and seeing absolutely no improvement whatsoever because ultimately, I’m still alone and I still feel alone and none of these things have helped alleviate the loneliness because I need something specific that happens to be... none of those things.

It always and only works for a little while... then I need to try again, or to try something else, and so on... the pain is dulled but doesn’t dissipates, my feelings become numb and the emptiness only grows. My needs remain unmet. My desire has nowhere to go and no one I can redirect it to.

Oh, but I tried... I tried using fiction as a medium, I tried the whole fantasy thing and just using about anything I could think about to cope and to redirect my feelings into something else... art, writing, music, and so many other things...

It’s gone now.

The things that I manage to do now feel mechanical and dull, they feel heartless and empty... it’s so ironic, isn’t it? My creative outlets took a hit when they stopped working as coping mechanisms. I try to look on the bright side here and believe that, ok, this sucks and it’s hard but I’ll not be able to go back into hiding or avoidance anymore - I literally can’t, it’s literally not working anymore, and I tried several times in the last few months - I have no other option but address things.

Being alone and dealing with this on my own is making things worse. And trying to not stay alone, and forcing myself to be around others is full of triggers which make me feel even lonelier, and ends up being worse overall.

It’s like I’m going down a path where things get worse and worse... the only options I have at the moment will end up poorly and it’s just a matter of how fast they will “work”. I have to find more options...

I’m really scared I will not get proper help... I’m scared it will go the “social anxiety” route, or maybe the “embrace loneliness” route. Neither have worked for me and I’ve been trying to do the latter for several years now: it obviously doesn’t work.

My longing keeps me going, and so does my desire to get better. I don’t know if there’s a way out but I still feel like I have not exhausted all my options.

I will see this through the end.

[justtogetthrough]

Just when you think you’ve seen all the possible evil in your field of work.

Then somebody who works for a Children’s Aid Society on behalf of the government speaks such an evil thing like it’s nothing and you interrupt him to be like I’m sorry, what did you just say? And the person repeats it, and you have several of your colleagues on this call as well and you all sit there on camera, mouths agape, and two texts pop up on your phone from your manager, both simply saying “OMG.” That’s it. OMG. Twice, because we can’t believe anyone would feel this way let alone say it out loud so cavalierly.

While this buffoon keeps speaking, either under the impression if he keeps talking we’ll eventually come on board with him (less likely) or just power tripping and saying this is what he’s going to do, just because he can, and yeah in reality there’s not much we can do to stop it (more likely). We all just sat there stunned. I looked from face to face and no one could mask the horror they felt.

The man went off camera halfway through and stayed off (coward) while his colleague remained on camera and fucking smirked every time this senior person spoke. Every time my colleagues stared at their screens in complete shock and disbelief, that man sat there barely trying to restrain glee? while the senior person doubled and tripled down on a plan for a child that is virtually guaranteed to result in an act of self harm before all is said and done.

We will not work with people who don’t treat children as humans. We do not accept children into our foster homes if we know their CAS cares more about dollars and cents than a child having the care they need and living a good life. Historically, we’ve only ever had one or two CAS’s blacklisted for this. I was trained when I joined this agency to receive their referrals and politely decline, maintaining positive rapport because we don’t want them to know we’ve blacklisted them. When there’s been giant ruptures and a fundamental difference in philosophy, we just smile and move on and let them ruin kids’ lives in other people’s homes and not ours. We refuse to be complicit.

But good lord, twice a year theres a new agency really showing up the rest by how heartless they can be these days. We have a good reputation in the province and we’ve been around a long time because agencies know we provide good care. It makes me wonder how we even get to places like this. It makes me wonder if the exact things that made us sought after in eras past are now what makes us come to meetings 4, 5, 6 staff strong to put up a fight, and if that makes CAS’s now consider us undesirable to work with. CAS’s talk and I’m always curious how these fights get framed. How honest agencies are when recounting why there was conflict. At what point do we become “difficult”?

We don’t want to place with agencies that don’t treat children fairly. I am so alarmed at the rate at which agencies care more about the dollars and cents than children’s wellbeing and I worry about the state of and future of child welfare, and all those kids being traumatized by the system in place to protect them. So few agencies will stand up to CAS like we do, and the more we do it and the more these agencies stop placing with us, the more those children end up as pawns, after-thoughts, and objects/collateral under other peoples supervision where none of the adults/decision makers care about them as human beings.

It’s jarring, upsetting, and defeating to be faced with this. There is so little we can do when the legal guardians won’t take our advice based on our knowledge and experience of directly caring for these children for so many years. We can’t stop agencies from taking actions that very clearly will damage children and make their lives worse. We can support children in contacting the Ombudsman and encourage them to fire any lawyers who aren’t promoting their voice, but we are so limited. We lose excellent foster parents to the defeat from these battles each time it happens. The moral injury is too much to bear and so many devoted foster parents retire when the kids get pulled from their loving homes and families they’ve attached to. For dumb fucking reasons, usually. That’s when it hurts the most.

Of all these battles we’ve charged into head on, today was the second if not the most horrible things I’ve ever heard CAS managers say. I wish I could wrap this up with some sort of hope. I don’t have any. This is just a long vent because it took me an hour to stop shaking from that meeting today and I’m still in disbelief it happened. I hate what’s happening to this kid. I hate how obtuse the agency is being, how unwilling they are to listen to the kid, to listen to us.

I hate knowing that shit like this happens. I hate watching ~adults~ add so much pain and suffering into a young person’s life for no reason other than they view this child’s wellbeing as an unnecessary cost.

I don’t know. It touches something firey hot inside of me.

[confusedgoldenflower]

Dear Hollywood,

Why don’t you stop, sit down and take, like, a month to study Studio Ghibli, a studio that’s massively successful WITHOUT cut-out “female characters” and no constant conflict, some actual quiet moments and deep characters, female and male.

We’re tired and you’re losing money.

Drop the pandering and you’ll have work that’s got actual heart (and also not wind up supporting mysogony, phobias, etc), and art that has rewatch worth and can be passed down to our children and continue to inspire thousands like the classic movies are.

Jasmine and Snow White are strong characters, just not in the patriachatyped way the west seems to think is The Way TM female characters can be strong (i.e. Laura Croft and Captain Marvel because they can run with the boys TM, but in that aspiration, forgot they need to be actual characters.) Hell, a majority of the Marvel characters have become an “I cope too hard with humor like Deadpool to cater to the grossly immature members of the audience, but really I’m just ensuring nothing about this film stays serious and profound” characature. Essentially, Marvel no longer has characters; even the old ones who’ve survived this long have been mutilated by writer/director ignorance of the previous works of which they, somehow, became a part of.

Continuity and good characterisations are not too much to ask for. It’s the basic principles in story telling.

You want more live actions? Fuck Snow White and the talking animal movies; no one wants to see it live/another live action of it and they can’t be improved with live action and CGI (unless ingenuitively reimagined), give us Atlantis and Treasure Planet. Revive the works you sent out to die but are tremendously wonderful stories.

DO support inclusivity, but don’t do it in transparent pandering, it’s obvious and heartless, and we deserve more than that. Take risks, damnit, you’re essentially too big to lose badly anyway, right now, and you’re dying slowly now either way. (Hmm, gee, I wonder why Spiderverse and Nimona are sooooo good!)

PS: treat your writers and CGI techs like actual people. Also, NOT supporting a genocide would really get you back into the good graces of most of my generation. And people (see: companies) would listen to you if you so much as tried to pave the way in green energy and planet conservation (like your work likes to make it seem you care about).

*The news is too depressing and heavy for me to watch, so I learn bits and pieces of what’s happening mainly from discourse I come across online, so if I got something wrong, what’s why it’s wrong. Let me know what’s right and everyone will go on with their days.