#if you only watched 2 out of 3 i want your rankings on those too tho!

[hoshinasblade]

second best |2| hoshina soshiro

PART 1 | PART 2 | BONUS: PART THREE

pairing: hoshina soshiro x f!reader genre: slight angst, comfort, childhood friends to lovers, a bit of that miscommunication trope snippet: hoshina soshiro always ranks second at everything in his life. god forbid he falls behind in the bid for your heart too. word count: 2.5K trigger warnings: author's note: hello, reposting the part 2 because of hiccups from saturday when i posted it first (tumblr blocked my blog lol). likes, reblogs, and replies are always appreciated but please do not copy or steal my works. in celebration of this blog reaching 100 followers recently, i have written a bonus part 3 which will be posted within this week. my taglist form is here, and feel free to let me know your thoughts by sending me an ask through here. using my degree correctly by writing hoshina fanfics yes

you aren't sure when things changed between you and hoshina soshiro.

when you were young, you would have understood that he didn't have the attention span to deal with you. he wasn't exactly shy, but you wouldn't call him friendly too - unlike you, who has taken it upon herself to be friends with all the children in the small neighbourhood. unfortunately for you, only the hoshina brothers are at the same age as you are, and at that time you thought that was a sign that fate was giving - you ought to be close to them.

you won't deny that you were fonder of the hoshina brothers than anyone when you started school. if you are being honest, you like them more than any of your expensive dolls or toys. being an only child, you thought it was only natural to want someone to be with - to want someone to share things with.

the brothers would have their endless training sessions every day, and though you did not know how to swing a sword then, you insisted to your parents - and theirs - that you must join them. sometimes you would be sitting on the floor just watching them, and frequently you would be the one keeping count of the score between soshiro and soichiro when they spar.

soshiro has never won a single match against his brother when they were kids.

but you didn't mind. you still preferred him over soichiro.

in fifth grade, you bought him the biggest cake your meagre savings could buy. it wasn't much really, but you won't forget how wide his eyes went when you lighted the candles and sang him the happy birthday song albeit out of tune. the next year, you gifted him a small keychain - a teddy bear in a purple kimono. you never saw him use it.

it wasn't until years after that you worked out what your feelings for him were. the girls from your class would make small talk and ask if you have a boyfriend now and then. you would say no all the time. at sixteen, you felt like you didn't need to be in a relationship - because you have soshiro, you said to yourself - and that was when it hit you.

every time soshiro would talk to you after that, you would peek in your little compact mirror, worried he had miraculously discovered your secret, afraid that maybe your face had given it away. he caught you doing that once, and he accused you of attempting to be pretty for him.

"is it me ye're trying to be cute for?" he volunteered to carry your bag on your way home but you declined. you didn't want to start assuming things; you knew he was just being nice.

"ya wish," you deflected effectively.

"well, whoever it is for, they're in for some trouble", he commented, and you chose not to read too much in his words. you realized how the walk to your house always seemed to be shorter when you were with soshiro.

when you turned eighteen, you asked your mom what it meant to be in love. she was the last person you had wanted to ask - your parents had broken their perfect marriage not long ago, your father choosing to abandon your mother and you. soshiro taught you the basics of kendo during those hard months. "i'll even let ya beat me", he said to you.

"it's when you care for them so much that you will go as far as to let them go because you wanted them to be happy," your mother answered.

soshiro did not have the decency to say goodbye when he left himeji. you wanted to celebrate with him, and it wasn't like you weren't familiar with his plans to move after graduation. you used to stay up late with him, and inevitably the conversation would steer to his dream of getting out of your town. he would say that it's to expand his horizons - for his growth - but you like to give yourself some credit because you know him too well to simply believe that. you can tell that he needs a place to stretch his wings and be the best - somewhere he can be better than his brother.

and maybe you are really your mother's daughter - you let hoshina soshiro go because you thought it would make him happy.

"vice-captain, platoon leader said ye're needed at operations." you saluted and walked inside his office. "get yer ass in there, were the exact words actually," you added, intending it to be a joke.

soshiro didn't even look up from the file he had been staring at since you came in. he's been like this for days after you were sworn in the defense force. you would bump into him in the hallways of the training building or sit at the same table with him for lunch, and he wouldn't speak to you at all. if you didn't know better, you would think that finally, after all these years, he is now aware of your feelings. but that would be impossible, because not only the other recruits would not dare to rat you out, but also because soshiro would not be acting this way if he knew.

"v-vice captain?" you repeated.

soshiro hummed. "i heard ya the first time, officer," he said, his glance on you so cold you felt it from where you stood. it wiped off the smile you were wearing that morning.

"ya can go," he said once more after he noticed you didn't move. "or d'ya need anything else from me?"

"no, vice-captain." you were almost out of the door when you remembered something else. "one more thing, hoshina-san," you faced him again, the way you said his last name soft against your own lips. "soichiro-kun will be visiting again tomorrow so we can go to himeji together -"

"do ya belong to the sixth division?" soshiro cut you off. "i didn't know ya transferred."

"i - i'm not -" you were still trying to look for the appropriate response when he interrupted you again.

"then why are ya spending so much time with him? d'ya wanna move to his jurisdiction?" soshiro is standing now, whatever he was reading earlier long forgotten.

it was difficult to reconcile this distant man in front of you with the boy you used to chase after during your childhood days. the one who would bring you an extra boxed lunch because you told him before that his bento tastes so much better than yours. the boy you fell in love with. you had both grown up, and taken different paths at a time, yes, but you did not expect to struggle so badly to find common ground with him. "im sorry, vice-captain, i'll be off now." it felt like a huge chasm had opened in the middle of the room that determined to keep the two of you worlds apart. you turned to leave, and you heard him mutter something.

"if ya wanted to keep going on dates with my brother, ya shouldn't have gone here."

there is only one thing sharper than his katana and it is hoshina soshiro's mouth.

pain swirled inside you, threatening to spill over. when you couldn’t keep the turmoil in any longer, you snapped.

"what is yer problem?!" your pitch reached a high octave that soshiro was shocked at the outburst. "did i do anything? cause yer being mean, soshiro," you pressed on, stepping closer to him. it didn't escape him how you dropped the title off his name, and the honorifics, too. he was about to respond, but you didn't give him the chance. "look, i know yer not on good terms with soichiro-kun, but he’s my friend."

"like i needed to be reminded." sarcasm coated his retort. "ya know what? ya can marry the guy and i won't even care. do whatever ya want", he said, dismissing you in a harsher tone

your forehead scrunched and your eyebrows met in confusion. "what are ya talkin' about? no one is getting married -"

soshiro's laugh was bitter. you recoiled at the offensive sound. "i'm not the one going around telling everyone she's in love with soichiro-kun.”

there was a loud ringing in your ears; you couldn’t believe what you were hearing, and you were suddenly afraid that this conversation is unfolding into something else entirely. “i never said that,” you protested. “i never told anyone i was in love with him. i don’t know where you’re getting this from.”

soshiro’s expression remained stoic and unreadable. “i heard you say it at the izakaya”, he murmured.

breath was knocked out of your lungs and panic started to rise within you. “i never told anyone i was in love with him”, you repeated. you tried to rewind every second of what happened in the party thrown for the new officers nearly a month ago. everyone was drinking and having a good time after the sworn-in ceremony. commander ashiro and the vice-captain had to leave ahead. your fellow newbies grilling you on your history with hoshina soshiro.

“save it.” hurt was evident in soshiro’s voice; his eyes glimpsed at you briefly, and you saw an emotion you couldn’t quite decipher flicker. soshiro’s expressionless mask faltered for a moment, revealing a glimpse of vulnerability. although you don’t have a clue how he would have heard it when he went with commander ashiro that night, the desire to straighten things out overtook you.

for a split second, the burden of the truth hangs heavily on your tongue. you gave in to the desperation.

“i never told anyone i was in love with him”, you reiterated, hoping he would understand this time. “because it’s you i’m in love with.”

there were multiple occasions in the past where you almost admitted what he meant to you; you had pictured a thousand scenarios in your head where you declared your love, but all of them did not include the part where soshiro would respond.

you thought confessing would ease the ache in your heart, but it was the opposite. "i didn't know how to tell ya, and that's my fault. but how could i? ya didn't even bother to say goodbye to me when ya left home." it was taking everything of you to hold your tears back, and ignoring the obvious tremble in your voice, you continued. "did ya know i taught myself how to pray after ya were gone? i thought it was the only thing i could do for ya."

"i didn't know", was all soshiro could say. he looks in distress, still grappling with your bold confession.

a loud knock on the door broke the tension. “vice-captain, they made me fetch you,” okonogi said from the hall.

“well, now ya do.” you turned away just when soshiro strode towards your direction, running after you. you were faster than him, and despite the possibility that you would be seen coming from the vice-captain’s office crying, you twisted the doorknob and ran.

it is still hot when you sit down on a bench at the rooftop of the third division's training building.  you welcomed the cool breeze, however, and you noted that at this altitude, everything from far away looks considerably smaller.

you missed two important briefings this afternoon already, and your team is most certainly searching frantically for you everywhere. you are definitely going to be scolded by your superior. yet you couldn’t bring yourself to discard the little comfort being alone had given to you, especially after such an emotional confrontation. you sighed, exhaustion slowly crawling all over you. lost in your thoughts, you did not notice the soft footsteps approaching until a familiar voice tore through the silence. the cold breeze blew, making you shiver a bit.

“hey,” soshiro called out. you freaked out, immediately looking for a space to hide at. “i already saw ya,” he let you know.

he held out a keychain in front of your face, a tiny bear in a faded purple kimono with the string attached to its head dangling from his forefinger. you recognized it instantly - you got it for him when he turned 12 years old. he sat beside you, not concerning himself with asking for your permission.

“the first few days were the hardest”, he began, and you listened. “i was too used to seeing ya every day, but when we were apart, i convinced myself i would forget how ya look like. i didn’t.” he offered the keychain to you and you took it - the bear’s fur worn out and old to your touch. “i hold that thing whenever i start to miss ya.”

shock was etched on your face and your gaze darted to him. “is it too late now to say that i love ya?” he whispered, his face mirroring the sincerity of his tone. sunlight bathed the rooftop as soshiro’s words hung in the air, leaving you breathless and stunned. you gasped. “maybe i should have told ya sooner. but i have been in love with ya for a while now.”

you leaned into his shoulder, and you quietly cried.

“i don’t think i have been anybody’s first choice in anything, so it didn’t enter my mind that ya would probably feel the same.” his hand found yours and you relished on the warmth.

“your brother advised that i tell ya, ya know?” you said between sniffles.

he chuckled. “he didn’t do an excellent job at that, did he now?”

silence ensued; his thumb tracing patterns on the back of your hand, your head on his shoulder still - your breathing still a mess from everything that has been said. “i’m sorry i hurt ya. let me spend my whole life making it up to ya,” he proposed. the promise made your heart skip a beat.

for the first time in a long time, you gave him a smile - the one you have reserved just for him, the one you made sure to convey everything you wanted to tell him. there are a lot of other things you feel the need to ask him, but this will suffice for now. this is more than you ever had in your whole life.

“i can’t believe we wasted so much time dancing around our feelings. that one time i wanted to hit one of our classmates because he was being pushy with ya, d’ya remember that?” he reminisced. “anyone can have everything in the world, and the only time i would crack is if it is ya being taken away from me.”

all your dreams pale in comparison to your reality now.

out of the blue, you heard soshiro giggle. “does this mean ya were telling the newbies that night that it was me ye’re into?” he stared at you, and you can’t help but see him as the little boy you grew up with. this is the man i love, you said to yourself. you squeezed his hand.

you didn’t respond. all you know is the color of your cheeks surely rivals the pink of the skies as the both of you watch the sun sets.

[nightmarist]

Some Zevlor Things —

EDIT 12/2/23: Added a few more things

A fellow Tiefling Hellrider, Tilses, is with him in the caves acting as his bodyguard. He sometimes calls her Tilly.

There is one bedroll in the caves shoved off in the far corner with a book titled "The Devil You Know: An Autobiography" - not sure if it's his personal writing or if he's reading it, either way it adds to the flavor of his of his tiefling pride (and/or anguish).

It reads:

Have you ever had a god change your blood? It is a horrifying thing, even for those who may desire it. Yet few tieflings wished for Asmodeus to claim their bodies, only be given no choice in the matter. It is not as if we were well-loved before the archdevil's gambit. Our people have always struggled against the notion of 'devilkin', as if a single drop of infernal ichor inescapably corrupts. How amusing, when so many others willingly sell their souls to fiends, yet their culture as a whole escapes the blame. By what method can we redeem ourselves, when the crime is not ours? I would drive a blade into every warlock that aided Asmodeus' damned ritual, but personal vengeance cannot undo the will of a god, much less one as slippery as the Lord of Lies. When every passerby thinks you a thief and heretic, it is deeply tempting to become one. (cut off) The only thing that has stopped me is knowing Asmodeus wants nothing more than for all of us to fall from grace.

Around the his table are Invasion Plans for Elturgard, Traveler's Guide to Baldur's Gate, Traveler's Guide to the Sword Coast Vol IV: The Risen Road (which aligns when he tells you earlier there are gnolls on the road), and "Front and Center: a Thespian's Memoir" that reads:

"... in fact, the greatest joy of my life hasn't been acting, but becoming. When you choose a character to play, you don't just wear a mask - you take a little bit of their soul for your own. Whoever you are in your heart of hearts, if only by the faintest note."

Zevlor aside I think this is a sweet quote for the player and player character relationship <3

Dialogue in the Caves:

Zevlor: I Hardly need a bodyguard, Tilses. This isn't Avernus. Tilses: No sir. At least the monsters there looked like monsters.

—

Tilses: Commander— Zevlor: Just Zevlor, Tilly. We're civilians now, remember? Tilses: With respect, sir — being a Hellrider is for life. They can't take — Zevlor: They can, and did. Avernus changed things — best we get used to that. Tilses: ... Yes, Zevlor

—

Tilses: The Watch or the Flaming Fist? Zevlor: Pardon? Tilses: When we get to Baldur's Gate. Where are we enlisting? Zevlor: I'm done soldiering, Tilly. I'd like a clean start. But go with the Watch. You're too honest to be a mercenary.

—

Zevlor: No word from the scouts, yet? Tilses: No sir. But if there's a clear path past the goblins, they'll find it. Zevlor: Yes, of course.

ITEMS —

in the Chest there is a bronze goblet, 46 gold, and a battle-worn blade. On his person he has his gloves (Hellrider's Pride), an apple, a camp supply pack, and the key to his chest.

The blade says:

A fine by well-used sword. It seemed to have once belonged to a holy order, but the indication of rank and patron deity at the hilt have recently been filed down.

The gloves' flavor text says:

A waft of sulphur emanates from this proudly-kept piece.

Celebration at the Camp:

"I should be out there, talking with them. In... Just a moment, maybe." "Is this everyone? Our numbers have grown so few..." "No more. I can't afford to lose any more of them." "No. Let them have fun. I'll be ruining it come morning anyway."

Mindfayer Colony:

Things he mumbles in the Pod:

The pod will show you his memories of Elturel:

After saving Zevlor, I forced myself to pick the "mean" options just to see how it goes.

If you tell him its his fault tieflings were imprisoned in moonrise, he says:

If you tell him "Do yo have a right to ask?" when he asks about the tieflings:

He doesn't argue with any of your remarks except one, when he says "For a moment I welcomed it" and you tell him "For a moment until you realized your reward would be a tadpole" he corrects you:

If you tell him if he wanted power he should live up to his own ideal:

If you tell him to get out of your sight:

When you tell him it's not his fault he was enthralled:

If you tell him "Fine. Good luck, Zevlor."

If you say you could use another blade in the fight to come:

At the Netherbrain:

(smiling <3)

"The journey has been brutal, but I stand here a Hellrider once more, and I would die a proud man if I died this day."

I know it's a Soldier thing to be proud to die for a cause but it still makes me worry for him given his background so far <:]

If you click on him, he has two unvoiced lines:

if you pickpocket him at this point, he'll have the same items on him as before (in this save he has a carrot instead of an apple for me).

His stats at this time: (Steeped in Bliss is from one of my items)

Post Game (Patch 5)

I don't know if there are other permutations of this letter, yet, but this is what I received:

I hope my penmanship has improved somewhat in the past months. When I first stumbled into this city, I shook so badly that I could scarcely hold the soup the priests pressed into my hands - let alone write and thank you as you deserve. It is only when the city itself began to shake that I felt my hands grow still. Along with the other veterans sheltering at the temple - discards of Elturel's 'unworthy' legions - I watched that monstrosity rise over the city. We felt no fear. Only anger. Disgust. Purpose - and with it, power. I do not know what oath we cling to now, or how long it will last - but we shall use it to ensure that this city will not suffer as Elturel did. Whether it wants us or not. It is more than thanks alone I owe. No words can make amends for what I did to my people, but that is as it should be. More come to the temple every day to aid in the relief efforts, and if I am permitted to work alongside them, then I am content. Come and see us, when you can. Zevlor

It's interesting — if not bitterswet, tragic, and inspiring — to hear that Zevlor and other Paladins regained their Oaths via pure, stubborn devotion to saving people when it began to look as bad as Elturel.

[seireiteihellbutterfly]

Second Chance Sorcerer Chapter 3 - The Trials

Pairing: Nanami Kento x Fem! reader A/N: Chapter 3 is here! I'm glad I was able to write this out. As usual, this has been adapted to y/n format. To read the OC version, check out AO3.

Oh, and I highly recommend listening to Yet by Switchfoot while reading this chapter. It just pairs well. Warnings: childhood trauma, lots of angst

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Nanami masterlist

“By facing your deepest regrets.”

Nanami feels a chill rake over his spine as the shadow being says the words.

“Regrets? There isn’t a single sorcerer in the world that doesn’t have regrets. There’s no good way to rank them.”

“Really 7:3 sorcerer? You don’t believe some regrets hurt more than others?” The Spectator watches with keen eyes as Nanami contemplates its words. There’s a pregnant pause while he considers, glancing around at Phantom Tokyo as he does so. He didn’t like how the shadow easily figured out what he’d been hiding for years. 

A sorcerer’s life was always full of regrets; regret for not being normal, regret over their fallen comrades, regret over not taking time to themselves, regret for not being able to fall in love freely.

“What good is spending time thinking about regrets anyway?” he asks finally. “There’s nothing we can do about them. We learn to accept them and move on.”

“Have you? Accepted, that is?” the shadow asks back. Nanami stares at it, feeling a jolt pass through him.

“Of course I have. Now unless time travel is something the purgatory realm offers, I don’t see the point. I can’t go back and undo the things I regret. So of course I learned to accept them.”

“Then why do you never allow yourself to think about them? If you’ve really accepted them, then thinking about them shouldn’t bring that feeling of guilt in your chest, should it?” There’s a sly tone to the shadow’s question as it asks.

Taken aback, Nanami glares at it but doesn’t answer. Anyone who had lived his life wouldn’t question the guilt that accompanied his regrets. It was an endless cycle, reminding himself that most of the things that had happened weren't things he could have necessarily controlled yet it weighed down heavily on him. And how could they not? He was there when those awful things happened. It was a natural human tendency to wonder if the outcome may have been changed if he had done something differently.

The shadow does not fail to notice the less-than-kind expression on his face. “The only reason I ask, sorcerer, is because many try and fail to escape the purgatory realm even after agreeing to face their deepest regrets. Most believe it is coming to terms with them when in fact, it’s more than that.” 

It glides slightly closer to him before continuing. “It’s not enough that you come to terms with your regrets. But it’s learning to recognize that despite everything, despite all the guilt and unhappiness, life is still worth living. Many do not make it to that stage, and if that concept fails to take root, then the realm decides your life isn’t worth saving, and it will do what it was created to do, and end your life for you. You must want to live so much that all the regrets that feel like failures become reasons to live.”

“That’s unrealistic. Shouldn’t you have to find new things to live for instead? Who would want to continue living because of their regrets?”

“And what’s the guarantee those new things won’t become regrets later? Life doesn’t necessarily go linearly, does it? Something that brought you joy one day can make you miserable the next. It’s the same with people and relationships, isn’t it? You could have the best relationship with someone, and one day, they may hurt you, or you hurt them, and that too becomes a regret. Depending on the situation, it may be superficial or deep. If that person means enough to you, you won’t end the relationship because of that single regret, do you? Sometimes people experience multiple regrets with the people in their lives. It’s the same with wanting to live. You can keep finding new reasons to live, but ultimately, it’s realizing that life is worth living even with regrets.”

Nanami ponders the words, the frown on his face deepening. So many people in his life had come and gone. Some had been his choice, others due to circumstances beyond his control. He thinks about everyone he currently knows, and the shadow chuckles at his state. “I promise I’m not speaking in riddles meant to be solved. This journey is different for everyone. For some, it’s simple. Others need a few reminders about how much opportunity life offers.”

Nanami paces up and down the aisles of the bookstore, contemplating. “And what does facing one’s regrets look like?”

“It’s different for each person that enters the Trials. Some say it’s a withered garden, and they need to tend to the most neglected flowers and once the garden is in bloom, they can go back to living. Others are the only doctor in a hospital full of sick patients and don’t get respite until everyone is nursed back to health. But I will say that not everyone makes it through. Some become consumed by what they see or begin to feel hopeless with the amount of work necessary to survive. You have an additional restriction of being at the mercy of however long the neutralized energy remains in that charm of yours. So I’d say to not waste it much longer.”

Nanami glances at the aum charm on his wrist and feels a tinge of hope bubble inside him. He tries to think optimistically. Finding reasons to live even with the regrets…he hadn’t considered it that way. 

“You also have an unexpected plus. You have someone who desperately hopes you might come back to them. Most don’t necessarily have that privilege. The additional incentive will hopefully allow you to navigate this quicker.” The shadow adds trying to gauge his reaction.

Nanami again looks doubtfully at the charm. Deep in his heart, wedged away was a little box he hadn’t dared to open or peek at since he locked it away at 16. Even the sheer idea of it felt taboo, and he hadn’t allowed himself to dwell on it. But he allowed himself a moment of guilty pleasure, wondering if y/n had received his message by now. What would be your reaction? Shock? Happiness? Would you be crying tears of joy? 

He tries to imagine your face, putting together fragments of the various expressions he had seen during your time together. The lines of dissatisfaction that tugged at the corners of your mouth when he kept saying logistically sorcerers didn’t live very long, the glitter in your eyes when Itadori-Kun brought back a pastry for you, or the melancholic way the tip of your nose turned red when you watched those sad movies when he was teaching you how to channel your energy into the cursed doll. The day you had chosen Sophie’s Choice was a hard day overall, with him coming back from a mission only to see you, Ino-Kun, and Itadori-kun squished together on the sofa, the doll on your lap, all of you with tears in your eyes. 

Would you have cried like that for him after learning about his supposed death? Or maybe it was more intense than that? The kind of ugly crying where one trembles and can’t catch their breath? Or maybe there hadn’t been any crying at all. He shakes his head. He had no evidence that he had meant anything to you at all. The aum charms had been put on Ino-Kun and Itadori-Kun as well. Yet part of him hoped you had felt some kind of grief, that he had meant something to you, even if it was just as your teacher. 

In any case, whether or not you had cried was irrelevant. As the shadow had pointed out, it was thanks to your charm that he was now alive, and that wasn’t a thing to be taken lightly.

“You called it the Trials?” he asks The Mediator, who nods. 

“I will have to send you into another space where you can deal with your regrets. It’s rumored to be inside one’s heart but so far, no one has been able to confirm that. Now remember sorcerer. Once inside, you must look at your regrets, each one, learn the lesson it provides, and accept that you can live, despite having it. This isn’t about coming to terms with your regrets. It’s about understanding that your life isn’t any lesser to live just because you have them.”

Still not entirely convinced he knew what the shadow meant, he nods shakily. 

“Take your time, but don’t dawdle. You don’t have forever. And when in doubt, remember the reason you’re alive right now.”

“Have people have been successful before?”

“Indeed. And went on to live very happy lives, in fact even fuller lives than they had before.”

Nanami feels his pulse quicken. He had more questions but it felt pointless to ask them. As the shadow had pointed out, he was wasting precious neutralized cursed energy. He can feel his earlier dream of dying, of fading away into oblivion, slipping away like water through his fingers. 

“Ready?” The shadow’s silvery eyes gleam at him, waiting. 

With resolve, Nanami nods. It felt daunting, but he knows now he has to try. That there might be things he still needed to experience in the world of the living. 

The Mediator gives him a nod of finality before raising a shadowy limb from its side, looking eerily like the Grim Reaper for a moment, black smoky fingers curling up into its palm. Nanami turned to look behind him, transfixed, as what appeared to be a rectangle of light began to materialize. It had a strange metallic look, and as it grew larger, he could have sworn he heard the faint pulsation of a heart fill the space in the bookstore. Perhaps he really was going into a dimension of his own heart. The thought filled him with wonder, something he hadn’t felt since the loss of innocence during his teen years. 

He knew from a medical standpoint that his heart would be the same as any other human being, but he couldn’t help but try to imagine what it looked like in this dimension. Was it warm? Cold? Would he get a garden or a hospital? Or something more wondrous and complex than either of those? The rectangle finally stops growing and hovers a few inches off the ground and Nanami chances a peek inside. It looked curiously smooth and paved from his position, and appeared to have light reflecting inside it, and again, he heard the undeniable sound of a heart beating, like it was trying to urge him to look inside himself.

“This is where we part, sorcerer. I hope we do not meet again.” The shadow bows to him and Nanami returns the gesture, pushing his glasses back onto the bridge of his nose as he straightened. 

“Thank you for the guidance. I feel a little less willing to die at this moment.”

“That is reassuring to hear. Your initial attitude had me worried. Now go, there isn’t any time to waste.”

Nanami looks at the bright geometric patch before squaring his shoulders and purposefully stepping forward towards the metallic, reflective light. Y/n’s face burns in his mind as the sound of a heartbeat fills his ears and he walks through the door into what lay beyond. 

Once inside, he chances a glance backward and sees the portal sealing off, the briefest glimpse of the shadow creature catching the corner of his eye before it closes into a smooth surface of reflective glass. The dimension is plunged into silence, deafening and slightly unsettling. The blond sorcerer moves forward, taking in his new surroundings, astonished by what he saw.

His Trial was a smooth, long, corridor that appeared to be made of endless panels of mirrors from top to bottom. His shoes clicked on the polished glass as he moved forward. What was he supposed to do? Unlike the Trials that had been described to him, there was nothing here that needed his care or nurturing. He appeared to be alone, with nothing but his reflection for company. He ventures a few steps forward, thinking.

“The scenarios described to me said I needed to take care of whatever I found here,” he mused out loud, continuing to walk, randomly looking up, down, and to the sides where his glass image followed suit. “But I don’t see anything here. Wait, don’t tell me…” he almost laughs aloud, Y/n’s chief complaint echoing in his head. “Is the person I have to take care of myself?” he asks the mirror dimension. 

Immediately, the panel of mirrors on his left changed. While the ceiling, floor, and right wall retained his reflection, the left began to show swirls of color and distorted shapes. Fascinated, Nanami steps closer to the one nearest to him and peers into the glass. The abstract splotches instantly form a crisp image, playing like a scene from a movie and Nanami is astonished at what it shows him. A young boy with a tuft of messy blond hair ran towards a lake in happy abandon, water wings around his thin arms as he splashed in. Nanami’s gut twists as he remembers this day. The day so long ago, when he had learned that things such as curses really did exist, that they were not imaginary misfortunes cast by witches onto unsuspecting people like his storybooks had said. 

He watched his younger self floating at the surface of the water, his family a short distance away as they set up lunch on a picnic table. One of his cousins joins him shortly, giving chase as he lets out a peal of laughter and tries to kick away from him. Knowing what was going to happen, Nanami watched his younger self helplessly as he swam towards the middle of the lake, a brave 6-year-old unaware of the darker things that lurked in places that held negative emotions.

Unbeknownst to his family at the time, a girl had drowned there that past summer, something that Nanami had unearthed years later after this incident had occurred. His younger self now reached the middle of the lake and was suddenly lost, dragged under by an invisible force. The little boy blinks in shock, then opens his mouth and lets out a muffled scream as he sees the ugly curse that had caught hold of his foot. It grins, showing off too many teeth as he struggles, its pale green skin glimmering grotesquely under the watery light before he manages to kick the curse with his foot, swimming to the surface, coughing and spluttering, desperately trying to make his way back to land. His cousin looks at him in confusion as he swims in the opposite direction. 

“Get out of the water! Get out!” The shrill screams echoed off the lake as he finally made it to the edge and hauled himself out, laying on the grass shivering. He watches in panic as his cousin stays where he is, treading water and not making any attempts to come back. His father sprints over to check on the situation looking alarmed.

“Kento, what’s going on?”

“There’s something in the water! Tell aniki to get out!” Younger Nanami practically yells, trying to put distance between himself and the lake. His cousin shrugs, then takes a breath and goes underwater. When he resurfaces, he shakes his head. 

“There’s nothing in here! Kento did you see a huge catfish or something and freak out?” he taunts, a smirk appearing on his face. The blond boy shakes his head no vigorously. 

“There’s something there! I swear!”

“You’re just making things up! If you’re too scared, then stay there, I wanna swim.”

Nanami watches his younger self shrink, drawing his knees up to his chest in terror, watching his cousin swim fearlessly in the water. However, nothing happens. Several minutes pass by before his cousin finally comes back out, hair dripping. “Fraidy cat,” he shoots at him before joining the others at the picnic table. Younger Nanami walks to the table too, determined to get his point across.

“There really was something there!” 

His mother reaches out to pat his head. “It may have been a large fish Kento. It’s ok to admit it startled you,” she says emphatically, and the younger boy’s expression drops. Adult Nanami felt it inside his chest, that feeling of knowing they didn’t believe him, and that it was the beginning of almost a decade of them convinced he was a liar, saying things for attention. Younger Nanami becomes quiet after that, sitting in defeat at the table, the fresh barbeque and corn on the cob tasteless in his mouth. 

What was he supposed to learn from this? Adult Nanami pulls away from the mirror, feeling his heart tighten, feeling sad for the little boy sitting so dejectedly at the table. He takes a deep breath, knowing this was the moment he started to not trust his family, his parents, with any of the things he saw. The curses only worsened from there, almost like because he had seen one, all of them suddenly felt comfortable revealing themselves to him. His chest felt heavy with the grief filling him. The shadow had said to take the lesson from the memory and move on.

He leans against the opposite panel of mirrors, trying to get his feelings into check. Regrets from that day…he regretted scaring his family. He regretted being able to see that curse in the water. He regretted finding out he was different from everyone else that day. And how were these regrets supposed to become reasons to live? He racks his brain. He tried to warn his cousin about the unseen danger. That shaped him into becoming the responsible one in any situation. He had to be aware of what the others couldn’t see. It made him protective. It made him want his students to have a better childhood than he did. Was that it? Him turning into a guardian for everyone around him was a reason to live?

And just like that as the thought came into his head, the mirror began to frost at the edges, becoming more and more opaque as it covered the length of the panel before the memory became fully obscured, no longer visible to his eyes. 

Nanami swallows, still slightly unsettled by what he saw. It had been one thing to experience that as a child, but watching it as an adult, seeing how the people who were supposed to be looking after him brushed away his fears like they were nothing, hurt, even now. Part of him wanted to hug his younger self, to tell him he had become someone that everyone depended on, that someone wished for him to stay alive so hard that she put a neutralizing charm on him and saved his life. 

Was this how the rest of his Trial would be? If the first memory it showed him was this one, Nanami knew it would only get worse from here. His being felt painfully raw after seeing that childhood recollection, and he was unsure if he wanted to see more of that. The events that occurred at Jujutsu High when he was a teenager were unavoidable; he had been prepared for those to crop up based on the conversation he’d had with the shadow, but to see himself defenseless, as a child, with no one on his side was already breaking down his psyche. 

As he gathered his will to push on, he recalled the shadow saying this Trial was so he could face his deepest regrets. Deepest, not every. Could he have possibly found a way to get out of here faster? Nanami knew he had regrets that ran deeper than the day at the lake. If he approached each mirror, he would know which regret it was showing him. What if he could skip over the ones that weren’t as bad and only get to the ones that had really impacted him?

Motivated by the idea, he peeks into the next mirror panel, the colors and shapes coming into focus and he sees himself at 11, seated on the sofa with his parents, his dad looking stern, his mother exasperated. Recalling this event, Nanami quickly walks away from the mirror to the next one. Dealing with his regrets should not involve also dealing with his emotional trauma. That was too much. 

He stands in front of the next mirror and waits for the memory to come into focus. However, to his dismay, the colors remain as jumbled objects colliding with each other, refusing to coalesce. Hoping this was just a coincidence, he moves to the next one and is met with the same view, abstract movements, and blurs of action, refusing to show themselves to him. 

A regret is a regret, no matter how big, perhaps. Or maybe, the mirror dimension had determined what his deepest regrets already were, and he would have to face whatever it threw at him. 

With a sigh of defeat, Nanami turns back and goes to the mirror he was hoping to avoid. His heart was racing at the thought of reliving that day, but he was left with no choice. Once directly opposite to it, he braces himself for the memory. 

“Kento, this cannot go on any further. Your mother and I…we’re at a loss about what to do.”

“I’m sorry otosan.” His 11-year-old self keeps his gaze trained downwards, observing his legs that were swinging off the edge of the sofa. “But I mean it, it was there, trying to hurt my classmate.”

“Kento.” His mother leans towards him. “I am not sure what to believe anymore. These…incidents. These…stories. They’re becoming a more frequent occurrence. The doctors are baffled.”

Nanami’s dad, a man resembling him now in terms of height and build, tsks and shakes his head. “They’ve suggested medications, talking to a therapist-”

“The therapist wasn’t helping. They never believed anything I said.” The small boy appears to shrink a few inches in between his parents, his little fingers now fidgeting with each other as he speaks his words. 

“Kento, the problem is, we’re having difficulty believing you as well.” His mother looks like she’s about to cry and it fills his younger self with guilt, that he’s making her this way over him. “The doctors believe you have schizophrenia. It would explain you seeing things that aren’t there-”

“But they are there,” little Nanami insists desperately, looking at his parents with tears in his eyes. “They’re there, but it feels like I’m the only person that can see them.” He sees the look his parents exchange and feels like his worst fear is being confirmed; that his parents thought he was going crazy.

Adult Nanami steps away from the mirror, feeling sweat on his forehead. He feels his heart hammering in his chest and he slides down the smooth glass onto the floor trying to not fall apart. It was behind him. He had put this all behind him. He had vowed to never remember any of this ever again. It was why his will stated all his possessions should be donated to charity. He didn’t have a family. Had no one checking in on him. No one to visit during the holidays, save the other staff from the school. 

Jujutsu High had been both a blessing and a curse. But Nanami hadn’t felt like he was part of a family in decades. Hadn’t allowed himself to want that simple wish because it hurt too much. The aum charm swings against his leg, a pendulum reminding him of the limited time he has left. He realizes the day spent at the amusement park had been the first time in his adult life that he had allowed himself to indulge in that little fantasy. That the little group he had trained had somehow become his family of misfits. It wasn’t until now that he realized how much he wanted that to become a reality. That he wanted to belong.

Taking deep calming breaths, he gets to his feet, not totally prepared to face the memory again but is astonished to see the mirror has already frosted up, the memory blocked and gone. Admitting he wanted a family…another lesson learned. 

Unsteadily, Nanami moves on, hoping the next memory isn’t as brutal as the first two.  

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[multifan2022]

Fearless 4

 

PART 1 PART 2 PART 3

"For those of you who don't know, my name is Eric," he says. "I am one of five leaders of the Dauntless. We take the initiation process very seriously here, so I volunteered to oversee most of your training." 

You roll your eyes crossing your arms, trying diligently to avoid looking at Four who is staring at you. He knows you're avoiding him, which only makes him stare harder. It pisses you off that Eric is 'overseeing' anything. You specifically told him to stay out of it, hes just doing this to piss you and Four off. He has absolutely no training skills, he just gets off on being cruel. 

"Some ground rules," he says. "You have to be in the training room by eight o'clock every day. Training takes place every day from eight to six, with a break for lunch. You are free to do whatever you like after six. You will also get some time off between each stage of initiation."

You shuffle from foot to foot again, the need to get out of here and away from the stress eating at you. But you stay in your spot and silent as Eric keeps speaking  "You are only permitted to leave the compound when accompanied by a Dauntless, behind this door is the room where you will be sleeping for the next few weeks. You will notice that there are ten beds and only nine of you. We anticipated that a higher proportion of you would make it this far."

"But we started with twelve," protests Christina and you sigh seeing Four shake his head out of the corner of your eye. Clearly what you said to her earlier didn't stick, she was going to need to learn to stay quiet. 

"There is always at least one transfer who doesn't make it to the compound" You say stepping forward to try and wrap up this dreadfully long speech. "In the first stage of initiation, we keep transfers and Dauntless-born initiates separate, but that doesn't mean you are evaluated separately. At the end of initiation, your rankings will be determined in comparison with the Dauntless-born initiates. And they are better than you are already. So I expect—"

"Rankings?" asks the mousy-haired Erudite girl "Why are we ranked?"

That anger that was flowing through you earlier, that is almost always right under your skin comes back. You could feel the RBF you always have morph into a true bitch face. It only took four strides to be right in her face, "I will only say this one more time today.. So EVERYONE LISTEN UP." Your voice raises towards the end of the sentence. The girl in front of you flinched slightly at your tone but you kept going. 

"WE are your SUPERIORS! I do not give one flying fuck who you were in your old faction. If you want to make it through the next few weeks you will learn to shut your damn mouths. You do NOT interrupt us when we are speaking, and knock off all the bullshit questions. Everything will be answered in due time if you are QUIET." 

You turn your back to the group and nod to Eric who smiles, and in the blue light, his smile looks wicked. He continues as you take a few deep breaths, curling and uncurling your fists. Four doesn't look at you this time, it almost hurts but you're so worked up you can't focus on that. 

"Your ranking serves two purposes," he says. "The first is that it determines the order in which you will select a job after initiation. There are only a few desirable positions available. The second purpose," he says, "is that only the top ten initiates are made members." 

All the initiates' faces drop, they must've thought that they all would get a place here. They really know nothing about the faction they moved too. You watch a few of them as they start to rethink their decision, but it's far too late now. 

"There are eleven Dauntless-borns, and nine of you," Eric continues. "Four initiates will be cut at the end of stage one. The remainder will be cut after the final test." 

"What do we do if we're cut?" Peter says and it takes everything in you to not say 'when you get cut'. "You leave the Dauntless compound," says Eric indifferently, "and live factionless." The mousy-haired girl clamps her hand over her mouth and stifled a sob. You roll your eyes, you know you're being kinda bitchy. 

Life with the factionless is not one you would wish on many. But you are seriously wondering how these guys didn't do even a little research on who they were joining. It's no secret that you don't keep everyone who shows. It's no secret that a lot of the factionless came from Dauntless. It's not something you're proud of, but there's nothing you can do about it yet. 

As the girl starts crying you hear Eric sigh as he turns to you and says "Pathetic" repeating the word you used on the train. You look back over the 16 year olds, watching the determination fall over Tris's face.

 "But that is...not fair!" the broad-shouldered Candor girl "If we had known—"

"Are you saying that if you had known this before the Choosing Ceremony, you wouldn't have chosen Dauntless?" Eric snaps. "Because if that's the case, you should get out now. If you are really one of us, it won't matter to you that you might fail. And if it does, you are a coward."

Eric pushes the door to the dormitory open. "You chose us," he says. "Now we have to choose you."

~~

Its raining as your feet pound the pavement. The cold water and even colder wind cooling your insides, as the pent up rage and stress leave. You know its been hours since you left, you know you really should be going back but your not ready. 

You're not ready for the questions from Tori, Tris or Christina. 

Not ready for the questioning looks Four will send your way.

But also not ready for the possibility that he wont look at you at all like earlier. 

You know you lost your shit a little, but it was better you put her in her place over Eric. Hes vindictive and cruel. He would hold a gun to your head, or a blade to your throat like it was Sunday breakfast. 

After another thirty minutes you turn towards the compound. Climbing the ladder to the roof, and launching yourself over the edge without pause. 

Fearless. It was one word that you could always associate yourself with. Because at the end of the day what was the worst that could happen? When the net below caught your body you sighed in relief. Your muscles were burning, lungs aching from the cold air they were forced to breathe. 

A deep voice next to the net startled you, "I wondered when you would come back."

You turned your head to the side, still not moving your body as you looked at Four. He smiled a little, relieved that you had calmed down. "You want to talk about whatever all that was earlier?" 

You shake your head and make grabby hands in his direction, he chuckles before pushing the side of the net down allowing you to roll towards him. When you sit up he turns around letting you climb onto his back as he makes his way towards his room. Your cheek is pressed against his shoulder as your eyes get heavy. 

You're tired in a way you haven't been in a long time. You wished that Tori hadn't put the weight of watching Tris on you, but you knew it was for the best. That didn't mean you had to be happy about it. OR that you had to be nice to her. 

A slight blush filled your cheeks as he lifted and readjusted you on his back. Moving his hands further up your thighs, fingers digging into your skin threw the soak material of your leggings. You hadn't thought about the fact that you were soaked when he lifted you. But now wasn't the time to start caring, not when about 15 steps away was his room. Where everything was going to come off anyways.

He bent down slightly signaling for you to open the door. Pushing with one foot to let it swing open, resting your chin on his shoulder. Trying to ignore the fact he could probably feel the warmth radiating from between your thighs.

He didn't stop in the main area, instead making his way into the bathroom. Sitting you on the counter before turning around and setting his hands on either side of you. Bringing his face down so you are eye level with his dark blue eyes.

"So.. Are you ready to tell me what was going on." He said it more like a statement, it wasn't a question of if more like when. He was going to get it out of you, he just didn't know how far he would have to push.

You felt your teeth clamp down on your lip as you shook your head. When he sighed and turned around you felt relief flood into you.

For about a second.

Until he reached back and pulled his shirt off, fluidly turning the shower on just after. In that moment you knew you were in trouble, if he really wanted to know he would figure it out. Part of you wanted him to want to know.. Just to see how far he would take it. The other part was screaming just tell him now, before your to stupid to watch yourself.

When he turned back to you he was unbuckling his belt leaving it in the loops as he pushed his jeans off. Leaving him in just his black boxers, you had to force yourself to not look down. You already knew what was waiting for you, but didn't want to give him the satisfaction of looking.

The steam from the heated water started filling the air, making the small room feel smaller somehow. He was only one step away from you, so his hands easily found your hips pulling you off the counter. His eyes stayed on yours as he pushed your leggings down.

You tried to not laugh at the extra effort it took, them being practicality glued to your legs from the rain. But when you cracked a smile you were rewarded with his in return. And a beautiful smile it was. The way it lit up his entire face was breathtaking. Tobias Eaton was a beautiful man, scars and all.

Not that you would ever call him beautiful out loud. You had called him hot before, even sexy here or there. But beautiful seemed like it would cross the line the two of you had drawn. The line where it moves from friends with benefits to who knows what. You loved him too much, in too many ways to risk losing everything but alerting him to your feelings.

When he stood, he lightly drug his fingers up the back of your thighs. Gently squeezing your ass in a way you knew was meant to be teasing. When he was back to his full height he traced the straps of your bra watching his finger dip under it pulling before letting it snap back.

"Are you ready now?" He said slowly, that smile still in place on his face. You could tell that even though he wanted to know, he was enjoying the game he had barley started. And if he was enjoying it... Who were you to end it so quickly?

"I dont know Eaton.. Am I ready to tell you?" You said side stepping him as you pulled your bra off. His eyes followed you until you stepped into the shower, purposefully leaving the curtain open. He sighed through his nose as he watched your figured threw the fogged mirror.

When your raised your arms to pull your hair down you flicked your hair tie at him. Watching him chuckle as he stepped out of his boxers and into the shower.

~

~

@@coolestgirlhere @everydayisordinary

WARNING, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS SHITTY SMUT!

[monsterkasa]

PRSK Crystal Farming Guide

I'm 2+ years into the game and there's a lot I've learned that the game doesn't really directly tell you. Here's all the ways I've found to get crystals!

FULL COMBO/S RANK SONGS

Getting a full combo on a hard, expert, and master will give you crystals (more per higher difficulty).

Getting an S rank on a song (can be any difficulty) will award you crystals. This is easy if you have a strong team, otherwise it's best to go to co-op.

CHALLENGE SHOW

Hitorinbo Envy is the best song to play during your challenge show (it provides you the highest max points because it's short + card skills activate more). Play it at the highest difficulty you can get close to full combo/actually full combo.

If you haven't already, unlock every character's challenge show. There's a lot of crystals you can farm (3,250 per character).

Level up your best cards for each challenge show character team to maximize the highest rewards.

AREA CONVERSATIONS

You get 10 crystals per area conversation. More unlock as you view events + as the game updates.

CHARACTER RANKS

Character Ranks are the biggest crystal farming strategy in the game. There's a lot of ways to unlock the ranks (buying stamps, costumes, alt covers, playing enough songs with a card leader) but I'll just cover the ones that you can get a lot out of at one time.

Max the mastery level on all of your 1* and 2* cards. If you have enough materials, begin maxing your 3* cards as well.

Max the skill level on all of your 1* and 2* cards. Again, if you have the materials, begin on your 3* cards.

Watch the card stories on all of your 1* and 2* cards. This can get expensive because you have to level up the cards, but you get crystals from just watching them + character ranks. If you have the materials, begin watching the card stories on your 3*s.

Train all of your 3* and 4* cards. This may take a while if you don't have level-up materials, but you can just put them on your team and level them up organically.

Level up area decorations (character items in Sekai and the plants outside of Kamiyama and Miyamasuzaka).

EVENTS:

The event exchange always has crystals. Exchange for those. Also always exchange for the cards because they help with character ranks.

Play enough to rank T50000. You will get 500 crystals at the end of the event. It's not very difficult if you utilize your auto shows every day (Melt) and make a decent event team.

Watch through all the event stories. You don't have to actually read them if you don't want to, just skip through them. They only give you crystals if you "read" them when the event is ongoing.

Attend the event show. You obtain 300 crystals from this (along with the event sticker, which helps with character ranks). As long as you enter the show, you can leave and it'll still count as "viewing."

PAY TO PLAY:

If you buy the mission pass (~15 USD), having Colorful+ (~5USD) is very useful in getting it completed in time without having to spend too much time playing (in case your schedule is busy).

DAILY CRYSTALS

Log in every day to get your daily rewards. Sometimes you can get additional rewards depending on what campaigns may be going on.

Play your challenge show (Hitorinbo Envy).

Watch the daily ads (if they're available in your version).

Use up all your energy (20 if you watch the ads) by either playing or using the auto show feature (I recommend Melt, since it's so long it'll give you the highest amount of rewards).

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

03/06/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; David Jenkins; Kristian Nairn; Ruibo Qian; Fuckeries; Watch Party Polls; Watch Party Reminders; Fan Spotlight; Cast Cards; Pink News; Q+ Magazine; Stats; #ReleaseTheJenkinsCut; Love Notes/Morale; Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

== David Jenkins ==

David popped his head out today with all the Jenkins Cut talk going around. @bbviago thank you for bringing Dad out of hiding!

Our friends at @adoptourcrew captured the fandom reaction pretty well me thinks:

Also too, @skrifores had a really excellent point about how different the interpretations of this were. Which way were you all thinking? Any thoughts?

== Kristian Nairn ==

Remember the book Kristian kept hinting about? It's up for preorder! It comes out Sept 24! Wanna pre-order it? Visit Kristian's Linktr.ee

Src: Kristian Nairn's Instagram

== Ruibo Qian ==

Our pirate queen singing and playing the guitar for us. In addition... there's some clown/honking going on because of the note she added to her Instagram. *Resurrection* with 3 tiny stars, anyone? 👀

Ruibo Qian's Instagram

== Fuckeries ==

Save OFMD Crew is calling out for some help! Please reach uot to businesses, streamers, personalities, etc today to bring in more engagement if you have a few spare minutes!

== More Watch Party Voting! ==

We need you!

Our crew-mate @iamadequate1 implores you to come vote for the final version of the watch party hashtags! They're neck and neck!

Final Short Poppies Watch Party Hashtag Poll

Flight of the Conchords Watch Party Hashtag Poll

== Watch Party Reminders ==

= A League Of Their Own =

Tomorrow the 7th is ALOTO Episodes 6-7, and then OFMD 6-7 Time: 1-4PM EST/6-9PM GMT Where: You can watch ALOTO on Amazon Prime

Watch Party Hashtags:

OurFlagMeansBaseball

ALeagueOfTheirOwn

SaveOFMD 

= Mar 4 - Mar 8: Wrecked Season 1 =

Don't have access? DM @iamadequate1 on Twitter or Tumblr

Season 1 watch from March 4th to March 8th. 

Times will be 10pm GMT / 5pm EST / 4pm CST / 2pm PST.

Saturday there will be a re-watch for those who need to catch up (time TBD) .

Hashtags: 

#WreckedPirates

#SaveOFMD

#RhysDarbyFaction

== Fan Spotlight ==

= Cast Cards! =

Thank you thank you @melvisik for recognising our dear Gabriel, Nick Kroll! So glad to see some of the actors from just one episode getting some love! Another card to add to the collection!

= Pink News =

I realise that Pink News is an actual news site, but they are joining under the fan spotlight tonight for their continued dedication to #OFMD and quality content/memes.

= Q+ Magazine =

Our friend @spanishjenkies caught Q+ sending some incentive over to Chaos Dad 😉. Just more reasons to love Q+ for their continued support!

== STATS STATS STATS ==

Great News Everyone Looks like Season 1 and 2 are ranking in the top 20 Comedy shows in Germany! WAY TO GO DEUTSCH CREW! Thank you @quirkysubject for the update!!

= @AdoptOurCrew Data Updates! =

== #ReleaseTheJenkinsCut ==

Thank you to @sweet-little-goldfish-stede (@Rowan_ofmd on twitter) for bringing this new hashtag to our attention! #ReleaseTheJenkinsCut is being used not only for fun, but to encourage streamers to #AdoptOurCrew! Please feel free to use it liberally, especially with your favorite BTS scenes! Also, kind thanks are in order for catching Jenkins trending!

== Love Notes / Morale ==

Hey there lovelies! Today had some pretty great excitement going on! Chaos Dad popped his head out, Kristian's book got announced, our Ruibo put out a lovely song for us. All good news! Even though a lot of folks had peaks today, I know some of our crew is still having some troughs, so I wanted to send out a little reminder that it's okay to have bad days. It's okay to not be as excited as everyone else. It's also okay to be excited when others are feeling down. We are all individuals and we all have our unique experiences and struggles we deal with every day.

You don't need to compare your experience to others-- you're allowed to be exactly how you are right now. If you feel down, give yourself a hug, you don't have to come out of it right now if you're not ready, but if you are, there are plenty of things happening to give you some joy.

I was going to save this song for when I wanted to talk a bit about mistakes and dealing with them, but I think it's pretty applicable to any situation where we're feeling down. It helps keep me grounded sometimes when I'm not feeling up for things. Here's just a couple lyrics from: "It's Alright - by Mother Mother"

"It's alright, It's okay, it's alright, it's okay You're not a demon, there's a reason You behaved in that way It's alright, it's okay, it's alright, it's okay And I believe, yes I believe that you will see a better day It's alright"

Another lovely note from @spanishjenkies I thought was really important to include tonight-- Jen is right, David didn't say stop :) Remember that whenever you're feeling like the gravy basket is feeling too deep. Chaos Dad is still fighting the good fight in the background and he hasn't told us to throw in the towel.

Goodnight/G'day Lovelies, hope you all get some rest and have a wonderful day tomorrow!

==Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika==

You can blame thank @celluloidbroomcloset for the inability to think after that Darby gif. @ofmd-ann thank you for the reaction gif for all of our brain cells in the form of Taika.

[dangermousie]

Here is my subjective ranking of all the costume trailers iQIYI released (since I didn’t watch moderns or republican stuff they posted) note - not only is it subjective, it is just the trailers which often does not correlate with either quality of or my interest in the drama itself.

11 Go East - I am vvvv fond of Tan Jianci but this was the only trailer that bored me. It wasn’t bad, it just gave me NO hook of any kind. It’s a pity since this was one of the very few historical trailers (as opposed to wuxia, xianxia etc) and I love those. This said, trailers and dramas often don’t correlate so I hope the drama is good.

10 Reborn for Love - half this trailer is cutesy hijinks and I am just not wired for that. By the time the trailer was halfway over, I found myself thinking that if it wasn’t for leads, I’d not check it out. But the back half has blood and romance and I sat up and paid attention.

9 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Red Moon Pact - I wanted to be more excited for this than I was. I love the cast. But even in comparison with the trailers for the other two entries in the series it looks…generic. I don’t truly get the vibe or the story. It’s nice but doesn’t grab me.

8 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Sword and Beloved - it’s gorgeous and intense and screams fantasy romance and Cheng Yi fighting and bleeding. Pay your taxes, everyone!

7 Fox Spirit Matchmaker: Love in Pavillion - the visuals, the vibe, the angsty love feel, the colors! That trailer was my fave out of Fox ones. I need this drama now!

6 Strange Tales of Liao Zhai 2 - I haven’t seen s1 and mysteries (even supernatural ones) aren’t my thing. But the visuals in that trailer are insane and I spy with my little eye Yang Xuwen as one of two mains and the man owns my heart for Eternal Brotherhood and he brings his young Hu Ge vibes here too!

5 Win or Die - this baby is apparently only 18 eps and is all war war war but it’s a Cao Dun drama so the visuals are eye popping. It’s just stunning to look at tbh and sometimes (a lot of times), I want a grim war epic.

4 The Legend of Rosy Clouds - this trailer just grabbed me for some reason - it really makes you want to watch these people. It’s not visually amazing compared to the rest but it’s just dragging me in. In fact, while this isn’t my favorite trailer, out of all the dramas they promoed, this is the one I want to actually watch the most. I used to love the anime so maybe that’s why?

3 Snowy Night: Timeless Love - all the snow and the longing and the battles and we all know we will see red blood on that pristine white soon enough.

2 Love of the Divine Tree - it’s very very pretty and has so much shipping and angst and I have a huge 17 hangover so seeing Deng Wei with similar vibes is sending me. Honestly, my fantasy romance junkie is thirsting.

1 Fangs of Fortune - if someone told me a trailer for a drama full of actors I don’t care for would be my favorite, I’d not have believed it but here we are. This is fantasy and visuals and hooking you done right. I need this NOW!

ETA; I forgot follow your heart OMG! That’s my most fave except for Fangs of Fortune!

ETA2: and A Moment But Forever - I would rank it just behind snowy love.

[respectthepetty]

I need to stress something somewhere. And I know you will be able to help or even help be observe but, I have a haunting feeling that in the clips we have of Mork reading to Day, is in the future and….Mork isn’t actually there anymore . … many reasons with the scenes set up but the main things for me is the fish. There is only one in the rank now in that scene. And the book marks in the book. 1 fish bookmark, the other an avocado? And their legs are covered with a blanket. So no 2 slippers of fish is shown……am I creating narrative things that are not there or seeing things wrong? it just feels almost a melancholy scene set up in front of the tank…… and I’m scared!!

What are your thoughts pretty please?!

Anon, I'm choosing violence first, then I'll be kind.

On Spanish TikTok, or as I like to call it Tea Talk, someone stated they saw the book's ending, and it ended with Mork dying and donating his eyes to Day.

The people of Tea Talk ripped that video to shreds. The comments section was not pleased with the mentiras (lies), and Indonesian TikTok even showed up in the fray with the actual book to prove the original poster was "Livin' La Vida Loca."

I don't know how this cookie will crumble, but let me remind you of two things:

#1 - This is GMMTV.

It gave us The Shipper in 2020 at the height of the pandemic, and I think it has been correcting that wrong since.

And it gave us Only Friends in 2023.

I wanted murder and mayhem. Instead it gave everyone happy endings except the slut because apparently he had too many "happy endings" and *morality* or some bullshit.

If you are watching Playboyy, it's what Only Friends could have been if Disney BL hadn't produced it.

I might sound salty (because I am), but I'm really just trying to emphasize that GMMTV wouldn't. Period. Full stop. GMMTV wouldn't give us a sad ending to a branded pair. It will kill a mom quick, but sad times for a branded pair? ¡Nunca! For example, how did we all know Palm x Nueng were gonna be safe and sound in Never Let Me Go? Our Skyy 2. Can't have Our Skyy 3 if it kills a ship now can it?

#2 - This is Aof

The director, producer, and screenwriter extraordinaire shot Pat (Ohm) on Christmas Eve.

He killed Papang!

Hell, he killed Singto before the series even started!

Mork (NOT GAWIN, NO!) got beat up and was hospitalized!

And yet, we got a happy ending each time.

The man wants to make use cry, but he has never ended with queer trauma to do so.

Which is why there are still two fish in that tank.

And I think the avocado is a shout out to Jimmy's love of them (because who doesn't love avocados, am I right?).

So as much as I do not think the reading scenes we keep getting are set in the present,

I don't think they are setting us up for a sad future, especially because Korea already did this trick.

If you watched To My Star 2: Our Untold Stories last year, you know that shit hurt, every, single, episode,

and because it hurt, we were too blinded by the pain to notice the happiness sprinkled throughout.

The happiness we were seeing wasn't flashbacks of their past relationship or even snippets of their current one.

THEY WERE GLIMPSES OF THEIR HAPPY FUTURE!

Korea gave us The Eighth Sense and Strongberry's Choco Milk Shake, both which had the perfect premises to fuck us over, and yet my only complaint was NO POLY!

If Korea can delivery happy endings, Disney BL can too (but not the kind it punished Boston for. Never those kind). It isn't Taiwan, and it certainly isn't Japan who is ALWAYS itching to give maximum pain. This is "soft power" Thailand, GMMTV, Aof, and a branded pair. If GMMTV brought out Gawin to get Krist and Joss back to kiss a homie, I greatly doubt it would tank the JimmySea ship for a sad ending (did you get the pun?). If there is one thing I can count on GMMTV for, it's to secure the bag. Sell merch. Sell novels. Sell a special box edition of the series. Sell the ship. That won't happen if this is sad.

Also, color-coded boys in love get happy endings.

It's science.

[blortch]

You've probably answered a question like that before but what would you say was your favorite episode of each of the rlm "shows" (for lack of a better word) if you had to pick one from each? Interpret "favorite" however you want

I actually haven't gotten an ask of this sort before! The closest I can think of was when I ranked the Halloween BOTW sets. I know you prob meant like HITB, BOTW and Re:View but like I'm gonna go a bit more extensive and include other small series they have. I'm gonna leave out anything Spitballs bc idc and anything Plinkett-related bc in the 100 years I've been watching them I skimmed through like the first part of the phantom menace review and Nothing Else.

Going to start with Re:View bc it's fuckin' easy. It's Obviously the FWWM Re:View. It's what got me into Twin Peaks, and it means a lot to me. In hindsight Jay's kinda off with some of his takes (nothing Bad, just a different perspective as a massive Donnie Darko fan and projecting too much of that dynamic into the movie):

BOTW-wise this might be a super normie pick but like it's a good BOTW for a reason. Best of the Worst: Wheel of the Worst #16. Jackpots guy followed by Surviving Edged Weapons was too great. You can kinda see that They themselves Knew this was going to be a BOTW Classic because when Mike tells Jay to talk about the tape he's Legitimately Nervous over Talking about it. ("Oh man...this is a lot of pressure...I don't know if I can do this..."):

For HITB...I'm sorry but this one's going to be a complete cop-out, (but hey at least I didn't choose the Death Cure HITB...) it's Half in the Bag Episode 138: 2017 Movie Catch-up (part 2 of 2). When I think of what I want from them review-wise it's honestly like... pointed discussions about a movie or show and this delivers exactly that. Whenever they go a little too deep they often dig themselves into a grave of either caring about something too small and inane or something they think is funny but isn't at all (cough Mike's tangents cough) so honestly letting them talk for only a few minutes tops about a movie is the absolute sweet spot. The reviews where the entire discussion is good are rare imo:

Of __ and __ Talk About I wanna say... probably Rich and Jay talk about the Boys? Just because it's the only show/movie I gave a fuck about among this series? I don't get what Rich sees in Garth Ennis' work specifically bc he's kind of a suckass but the show itself was interesting to find out more about regardless through them:

Of Nerd Crew I have to go for The Nerd Crew: Episode 2, the bit with the nerd box+geek crate was fucking hilarious. Not to mention the ending where Rich knocks over the cameras... I imagine Mike prepared the Nerd Box and Jay the Geek Crate? Just because Mike seemed to comment a lot more on the nerd box' contents (Rich said too that the knock-off Rey figure inside it was his doing) and seemed bewildered by the geek crate while Jay laughed nervously at everything Rich took out of it. Jay's such an asshole for making poor Rich gag uncontrollably with those sliced up sausages if so 😭:

ig by now they've put together enough Mini Docs to have a playlist for them so I'll pick one out of those too - I have to go for We Finally Watched Nukie: The VHS Grading Video just because the fact that it lead up for years from them collecting all those Nukies to joking about donating to charity in their trivia video, their tape destructions etc...And the entire video is just legitimately well-put together:

Talking about Trivia...of those videos I like the first one (Star Trek Trivia Showdown: Mike vs Jay (Episode 1 of 2,873)) the best just because it tortured Jay specifically. That's it that's the entire reason I shan't pretend otherwise. He was flustered throughout its entirety and also seemed smitten by the suggestion in the patreon bts of it to be compensated with a Twin Peaks trivia after:

From the Dudebros I have to go for Dudebros Episode 3 - The Dinner Surprise, ig out of all of them it was on the meatier (no pun intended) side (unlike Too Glose for Comfort) and the choices in this one are the most bizarre out of all I think...I'd like to have been a fly on the wall as they decided that Nate should cum in his pants over watching Tommy and Ronnie eat:

I'm not gonna name a season from the Grabowskis I think it would be too cheap for me to not pick a specific episode so I'll go for the third season episode where Honey gets chosen as the Face of the company Wings and Things and Cliff thinks she's gonna leave him. The whole ep makes me think that they cared a lot about the show at some point, or at least enough to make a cute little pigeon trap prop:

Out of their horrible, horrible 48 hour film projects (Das Foot, The Great Space Jam, the Western Ore Musical) I'm gonna have to go for The Western Ore Musical... just bc it was like... something as opposed to Nothing... Das Foot is very Jay I think and respectively The Great Space Jam is very Mike which makes them both super embarrassing and unwatchable:

ty for the ask! t'was fun to put together B]

[lizzaneia-elizalde]

Loving your new yandere set 2! I’m back again to ask a question for all the men (yandere set 1)

What would be each yanderes’ ideal outfit/clothing style they’d want to dress up their darling in? (Basically if the yandere had full control and decision making over their darling’s wardrobe from now on)

For example…casual outfit, fancy formal, the yandere man’s own clothing, etc. Or is there a specific piece/accessory that’d make them go wild like high heels, oversized shirt, sundress, etc.?

Also, will you do the same asks I’ve sent in before with the yandere set 2 once they’re completed? (Ranking as fathers, how they’d behave if their child/ren were yanderes, dream date…any other I missed that I sent in?)

Thanks as always, you’re the best! And I hope school is still going ok for you!

Yandere! Men and their Choice of Outfit for You

Heyya! Well, about the choice to make the second set of Yanderes with the same question. Not gonna lie, it sounds exhausting 😭 maybe if I felt like it, I will do it!

YAN! ARTIST

Arlen wants to matchy-match with you, so he definitely would pick soft light academia looks. Cardigans, sweaters, a-line skirts, pants, with boots, loafers or kitten heels. Then a small, statement pin of a palette on you and him!

He will go crazy though if you wore his paint apron with nothing underneath. Let's just say you won't walk straight for some days if you did that. He'll paint you with his colors if you do that, that's for sure *wink

YAN! DRAGON

Lavish outfits just for you, his royal partner. Silk, satin, cotton of the highest quality, velvet, with golds and jewels to decorate your sacred royal body. And, he'll pluck a scale from his body and give it to a smith to create jewel out of it just for you. Vincent will personally put it on your neck. Then suddenly, the other jewels seems so insignificant...

Yet, he goes crazy whenever you will only wear a robe on your body. God, just seeing you teasingly show off skin to your dragon husband is enough to warrant his want to breed you. And that's like... Everyday.

YAN! THEATER ACTOR

Ignatius would want to match cosplays with you of roles and plays he was in. May it be from Waitress, Heathers, Ride the Cyclone, Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked... This man will conjure casual cosplays with you. Of course, not the costume and outfit itself, but like a casual iteration of it if warranted.

But, his most favorite is seeing you in outfits that he wore and that his character dons. Not the leading lady/man, but that character itself. Let's say, if you wore the JD costume that he wore too, he'll perform Dead Girl Walking all night with you.

YAN! BUTLER

Well, with Zero... In the earlier stages, he would be adamant of choosing outfits that you won't wear. So he'll still clothe you in noble clothes.

But once Zero has developed his own tastes, he'll want to see you in a maid outfit. Yes, even if you're masculine presenting. Something that's remotely lower than his personal butler status. He will have a field day watching you fluster and order you around for a change. And it will end up in a weird power dynamic that both of you will end up wanting for more.

YAN! SUGAR DADDY

Rowan loves seeing you in all of these high end clothes. No, not branded clothes that you can easily see from malls. No, definitely not that. But clothes from runways? Clothes that are exclusive from Fashion Week that has only a handful of copies? Outfits from fashion designers with fees so high it makes a person weep? Yeah. Those. It displays his raw money and prestige. And seeing them on your body is like owning you completely <3

Nothing beats it though if you incorporate his clothes with yours. Like you made his shirt as your dress with a belt on the waist to wear on dates or outings? Let's say that the both of you aren't gonna go to the outing after all.

YAN! JOCK

He will still clothe you on your normal clothes. He liked it that way. He doesn't remotely care about dressing you in clothes he likes, but buying clothes of your taste but with a higher quality is something he will like immensely.

But, if you wear Damon's letterman jacket though... He'll get so pumped and suddenly, with you cheering on the bleachers with his jacket on, he's scoring points left and right. And when he inevitably wins, he'll have his celebratory win with doing his ways with you. Interpret that as how you like lol

YAN! ASSASSIN

You, in formal clothes, but with harnesses? How does that work? You don't know. But he makes it work really well. He loves seeing you in these corporate attires but with touches of his own tastes on your body. And, harnesses are restricting. Like he's restraining you, owning you, making a statement that you're his.

Although, he has twisted tastes though. If he just came from a mission a bloody mess? Let's say goodbye to the clothes you're wearing that day, and that you're gonna spend the rest of the day washing off blood from your body. Yeah, he's into that.

YAN! EX-BOYFRIEND

Lee would love to wear you in casual coquette clothes. He thinks it would look cute on you. And he's right! It fits so much with how amazing on you. And then, he would make you wear other styles too! Academia, cottage, even cyber. He will make it up to you by showering you with gifts of clothes that he knew will look good on you no matter the style.

He will go crazy if you did tropical stuff though. Tropical gyaru, beach core, sailor outfits... He's a sweating mess when he's watching you in that swimming outfit and it's not even hot out (The beach traumatized him and he's coping it in a somehow healthy way).

YAN! COWBOY

Is it obvious? Cowboy clothes all the way! Flared jeans, patterns, flannels, boots, he will have a field day deciding on a buckle for your belt. He loves seeing you in clothes from his daily life. It made it feel like you're integrating yourself for him (despite the clothes being his choice and not yours lol)

And this one is also obvious. His cowboy hat on you will never fail to make him excited in one way or another. If you wear it by yourself whenever you're doing the deed? Get ready. His stamina just increased tenfold and you will be needing a horse to transport you everywhere.

YAN! EMO

Ashton will dress you in Jirai Kei clothes! HOW THE FUCK DOES HE KNOW THAT? As a child of the internet, he of course discovered different types of alt fashion. He got too immersed and found Jirai Kei, and he absolutely loved it. So, expect frills, dark cutesy clothes with a hint of vulnerability due to it's origin, it's the perfect matching fashion with him despite not really being emo.

He's aware of Jirai Kei's dark history and implication though, and if he knows you're not comfortable with those, then, he'll completely dress you in emo clothes. There is a reason though why he went with Jirai first and not emo. Whenever you wore emo, he gets so aroused, especially it's the opposite of your original fashion choice. He loves tainting you with blacks and darkness, with the vulnerability and intimacy he enjoys so much.

YAN! WEREWOLF

Greens, blues, browns... Anything nature themed would do good for him. So, cottage core is the go to for this guy. He loves seeing you in these cute dresses that has floral hints that blended seamlessly with the nature of the place you both live in. Like you belonged, like you were his.

But, seeing you wear stuff you knitted from his wolf fur is what would set him off. Even if it's just a scarf or gloves, he WILL groan from the want he's feeling. Breeding you won't be enough, he wants you to smell like him completely.

YAN! EX-HUSBAND

Inigo, just like Rowan, would not want generic branded clothes on your body. But, unlike him, he will have a tailor to make formal, casual, evening, sleeping, active wear clothes just for you. Only one in the world. Even if the tailor or designer isn't well known, but if that designer is really skilled and do clothes that will fit you, then he's sold.

But, if he sees you in his shirt and nothing more than maybe your undergarments? Such a vulnerable choice of clothes is guaranteed to make him want to have more children from you ;)

YAN! HOSPITAL CHAIRPERSON

Xavier is a simple man. He would love to see you in flowy clothes. I mean, somehow, something on you should make you look free and not locked up in his mansion due to his anxiety and paranoia, right? So, light, airy clothes would ebb the guilt he's feeling inside from locking you up.

You wearing his white coat though would make him throw the guilt out of the window though. He'll go haywire, since his coat would probably have bacteria, virus, or anything that can harm your health on it! So, he'll punish you greatly by "sanitizing" you. Not medically accurate? Meh. He's too far gone to think straight from the pleasure.

YAN! VILLAIN

Eros on the other hand from the other nobility yanderes, he would love to see you wear simple clothes. Sure, he will gift you regal clothes fit for nobility, but nothing beats seeing you shed from your noble life and just relax in his arms in simple garments just like back in earth for him, and just like back in your childhood for you.

Although, seeing you in modern earth clothes for him is guaranteed to satisfy him. Not casual clothes, but in evening gown clothes with high slits, straps, backless, clothes that will kill a conservative lady in Saphiri. It makes him feel like he's in earth, and how he wishes to whisk you away in this life back home.

YAN! POLITICIAN

Maximus would give you clothes that is reminiscent of the 50's. Skirts and dresses below the knees, pearls, something not revealing yet so classy and elegant. It's okay if it's figure hugging, but he will pick something that is not short and with no windows to show off your skin. It's only for his eyes, and nobody else's.

He will go crazy seeing you in modern clothes though. It is a secret, and it's up to you if you decided to tease and test him and wear short, cocktail dresses with a backless design and tube tops. He'll "punish" you for it, burying himself deep in you as he whispers who you belong to.

YAN! MAFIA BOSS

Hades would dress you in something not reminiscent of his work. So light academia, cottage core, coquette, kawaii, anything that doesn't taint you with his job. Although, that "not tainting" bizz is just on your clothing though. Other than that, like your lifestyle will inevitably be tainted. Whether he likes it or not.

If you did decide to wear clothes that fits the "mafia" aesthetic (whatever that means), he'll get inexplicably aroused. Seeing you in this strong and authoritative style is making him want to put you in your place.

[silverraes]

10 BL Boys I Want Carnally

10 BL Boys That Make Me Feel Things™

(not sexual, not romantic but a secret third thing)

okay so I wasn't exactly tagged in this but I saw several people doing this and I'll take just about any excuse to scream about my favorite characters so I'm just going to very sneakily join in on this trend 👀

there is absolutely no ranking to these bc I couldn't rank them if I wanted to

(also I changed the name a little bc my ace ass is literally physically incapable of wanting anyone carnally but I still have lots of thoughts lmao)

1) Tharn (The Sign)

I mean. is literally anyone surprised that this is where we're starting?

he's the nicest person out there. he can kick your ass if he wants to. he lost his parents at a young age and is absolutely convinced that everyone he loves is doomed to die and he keeps seeing visions of people dying and he's told again and again that those he has wronged in a past life - which he doesn't even remember - are still out to get him and yet he has so much kindness left for the world??

also he can be such a little shit and knows exactly how to tease Phaya back I love him so goddamn much.

(also that mole-)

2) Kim (Kinnporsche)

was he also on my characters I'd hit with my car list? maybe. and what about it.

I love him so much. he's such a badass but he's such a loser. famous singer who falls for a fan he was supposed to be investigating but is too emotionally constipated to admit it. badass son of a mafia family who can kick ass but only if he wants to. who does it like him honestly

(it also helps that he's played by just about the prettiest man alive)

3) Babe (Pit Babe)

did I start watching this show ironically? yes. is every mention of alphas and mpreg and that mama/papa thing hitting me like a brick and causing me 9000 psychic damage every single time? also yes. did I absolutely fall in love with the show and just about every character in it? you bet your fucking ass I did.

but I especially love Babe. he's just so babygirl. special alpha man who has to act tough and strong but just wants to be babied by his dumbass loser (affectionate) alpha boyfriend. like, he's actually so goddamn soft?? I love him.

4) Guy (Bake Me Please)

I think we all knew this was coming. I was literally gushing about him for half of the episodes. Guy my beloved. that show did not deserve you.

he spends the entire show supporting his crush's every decision and trying to make sure he's okay literally how could you not love this man

(yes he was a petty bitch for like 5 minutes there but he immediately apologized for it the next episode. properly. unlike certain other people-)

5) Sprite (Twins)

he's so himbo coded. himbo of all himbos. the himboest. not a brain cell in that head. he's my little dumbass I love him.

he deserves so much better than what he's being put through. someone please just love and support him for who he is. and also take him away from that family

(please talk to your boyfriend tho I am begging)

6) Wei Wuxian (The Untamed)

MY BELOVED. I could write essays about him. he's such a great character I love him so fucking much. if you ever had to bear witness to me talking about him.. I am so sorry.

sassy emo bitch with a flute and a tragic backstory who's seen as evil by just about everyone but only ever had the best intentions. absolute fucking dumbass. kicks ass. always smiling despite the circumstances. loves his siblings so damn much. doomed by the narrative. what more could you possibly ask for

7) Zhou Zishu (Word of Honor)

I'm trying so damn hard to keep this list to one character per show and it really took me a while to decide if I wanted to include him or Wen Kexing but ultimately it was Zhou Zishu for me

just.. god. him. assassin sect leader just trying to retire who keeps getting dragged into the biggest bullshit but doesn't really mind bc the bullshit comes with a mysterious pretty man. also that whole god damn nail thing. I have so many thoughts and feelings about that but this post would get too long if I got started on those-

(also actually pulling the "I'm literally dying" card to get out of chores is so fucking valid of him. more characters should do that)

8) Milk (Choco Milk Shake)

he is quite fucking literally a reincarnated cat, of course I love him. I could list reasons for why I love him but it would be the exact same reasons just about every cat person on earth lists for why they love cats so. but here's a quick summary, just in case:

petty. dramatic. knocks over glasses. silently loves you so fucking much.

9) Tew (My Dear Gangster Oppa)

I really did not expect to love him this much? greenest of green flags (except for the plot line we shall not talk about). can and will kill people and is fine with it (seriously it is so refreshing to see a mafia character not having a huge moral dilemma about being in the mafia). both a badass mafia man and a gamer guy who doesn't know how to talk to people and is absolutely whipped for his gamer bf.

also scars make a person just about 110x more attractive I don't make the rules. even if the scars are weird and yellow, it's the thought that counts.

10) Tian (A Tale of Thousand Stars)

I? love him??

I just love how he sets out to do something for someone he didn't even know because he feels like this person deserves that much at least and how he ends up genuinely loving and caring for those kids and the village and this inner conflict he's having the entire time but hiding oh so well and how he actually calls out his parents on their rich people bs and-

tagging everyone who reads this far and wants to do it. seriously. I mean it. if you want to do this, please go ahead and say I tagged you. I love reading everyone's thoughts.

[thosewildcharms]

Well i was talking about towl fav ep and fav richonne moment but i want your thought on twd too now :)

thank you so much clarifying anon, and for the question! i think the easiest way to do this is to break it up by show.

towl

favorite episodes: I think it goes without saying that just like everyone else episode 4 is my favorite. it's a stand out not just for towl but for twd as a whole and is magnificent from start to finish. as for the rest? i have a lot of trouble ranking them actually because i love all of them for different reasons, but I guess my other favorites in no particular order are:

6 because it was just SO satisfying. that reunion seriously healed something in me. I love the flashbacks and how their pillow talk was incorporated throughout.

3 because it had me literally screaming at my tv and i love angst <3

1 because i didn't realize how much i missed rick grimes until i got him back, and i'm still so impressed by how much they accomplished in that one episode. also i think andrew lincoln was phenomenal and the ending was perfect. it gave me that WE'RE SO FUCKING BACK!! feeling that set the tone for the whole series.

favorite richonne moments:

the family reunion in episode 6 goes without saying right? it's all i wanted from the series and they gave it to me and it was everything

like, all of episode 4 lol but the standouts for me are "you don't have to thank me ever" (like, that whole sequence of him saving her) "the only time I feel safe is when I'm with you" (because i'm STILL reeling from that) the without you I die monologue obviously and i also really love the specific way rick's voice cracks when he says "you think I didn't want to be with you? I tried everything" and the way michonne's lip trembles in response. i talked about how rick is suppressing his emotions throughout that entire episode and that's one of the few moments he loses his composure - it's SO effective

the full reunion in episode 2!

rick putting the ring on michonne's finger MID THRUST. hello?

the proposal! his nervousness! her obvious joy and delight! i actually really love how light and funny they were all throughout episode 5. i re-watch all of those scenes a LOT

rick pulling his gun on thorne when she put her hand on her knife while interrogating michonne/rick stepping in front of thorne's gun when she had it pointed at michonne.

MICHONNE THROWING THEM OUT OF THE HELICOPTER

an underrated moment from the finale i really love is when rick grab's michonne's fingers when thorne orders them to walk with their hands up. i love that he needed that contact!

in the finale when rick says he just wants to go home. he wouldn't have, and they both know it, but i love that he was allowed to express that. AND i love michonne's reaction to it.

michonne dropping her sword (again!) when she thinks rick is dead

i really really REALLY love the dream sequences from episode one. it definitely felt like a huge fuck you to everyone who said they never would have ended up together if the apocalypse hadn't happened. like! sorry but no! michonne is rick's soulmate! die mad about it!

twd

favorite episodes: 6x10 the next world, 7x12 say yes, and 3x12 clear for obvious reasons. I also really love 6x09 no way out for having one of my favorite richonne scenes ever, 4x09 after, 4x11 claimed, 5x11 the distance for the amazing richonne build-up, 9x01 a new beginning (richonne just feel VERY married), 9x05 what comes after because i was tense and distraught the whole time even though i was spoiled for the ending, and 9x06 who are you now: michonne's grief is so palpable even years later, danai was incredible and that scene with judith at the end wrecks me. plus the RJ reveal!

favorite richonne moments:

"i've never seen your face like that before." listen. LISTEN. years ago i saw a gifset of this exact scene right here on tumblr dot com and it was so cute that i decided i would watch the zombie show if those two get together. and now HERE I AM. it's the scene that started it all for me, and it's still one of my favorites because it's so cute.

FIRST KISS ON THE COUCH. arguably the best first kiss of all time

all of say yes but SPECIFICALLY when michonne drops her sword, and how she jumps into his arms when it turns out he's alive, the panicked way she says "no no no" when rick tells her she could lose him. but also, how goofy and silly they were the rest of the time. they have fun together! they don't just love each other, they like each other!

THE END OF 6x09 WHEN RICK WALKS OUT INTO THE HERD. michonne loses her shit completely in a way we didn't see again until the bridge. nothing is more terrifying to her than rick (or her kids) dying, and that will always get to me. the way she was the FIRST one out the door once denise gave the go ahead? the fact that the ONLY thing that kept her from running after him sooner was the fact that carl still needed her? GIRL???

rick smiling at michonne and carl on the train tracks AND the "i'm okay/I know/how?/because I'm okay too" exchange also on the train tracks. i'm a 'rick fell in love with her on the train tracks' truther forever and ever amen.

that hug at the end of 7x10 and the little kiss on her forehead :)

"I'm still with you." everything about that scene is just the two of them saying "i love you" without actually saying it.

"we should go to washington" oh my god the look on her FACE

in 4x09 that whole sequence where michonne sees herself in the walkers, kills them all, makes the deliberate choice to follow the tracks and they lead her directly to rick and carl???? the way she LOOKS TO THE HEAVENS AND CRIES??? rick's incredulous laughter and "it's for you"? what kind of invisible string tying you to me-soulmate bullshit?

the 9x05 "do you know why i fell in love with you?" dream sequence

9x01 "how'd I get so lucky finding you?" the domesticity of that entire scene.

first meeting at the prison. it's SO charged and it's so amazing to re-watch that scene and be like rick!!! that's your wife!!! and again. towl just confirms it really WAS soulmates meeting for the first time. incredible!

[pessimisticoptimistsblog]

A/N: Two chapters in two days, I'm on a roll! I hope you all like this, finally getting some of the show in this.

Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8

Chapter 4

What the fuck

Grabbing another book off the dwindling pile in front of them, Caelwen’s shoulders slumped. This was the 4th day that she and Lucifer had been in the library. As much as she was enjoying the fallen angel’s presence, every book that wasn’t what they were looking for made her want to cry.

The news of the extermination moving up had come as a surprise and shock, Heaven truly was heartless. But it also moved Caelwen’s deadline up, she was too close to making Adam pay to wait until the following extermination – it had to be this one.

Lucifer tossed another book on the pile of useless ones, having given up on putting them away for now. Looking over to see his companion also growing weary, he checked his watch to see it was almost lunch time. Lucifer tapped Caelwen on the shoulder to pull her away from her current book. “Let’s pause and get lunch, we could both use a break.”

In the kitchen, Lucifer summoned ingredients for some sandwiches to the island, arranging them so they could both make their own. As Caelwen was going to sit, she felt her phone buzz in the pocket of her dress. Pulling it out, she noticed a message from Nia.

Nia: hope it’s going okay boss lady. We’re all good here, Velvette was a bitch but I handled it. Don’t forget about overlord meeting tomorrow. I know you don’t normally go but with everything happening…

Caelwen: Thank you. Yes, I was thinking this might be the time to go. I’ll go alone though, I’m more interested in seeing who still stands and assuring them I’m still capable.

Nia: let me know if you change your mind, okay? I’m here if needed.

Caelwen finally sat down, rubbing the bridge of her nose; she hated those meetings but with all the chaos of the extermination being moved up, she knew being present could make or break her company and position.

“Is everything okay? Your assistant hasn’t let your business burn to the ground, hopefully?” Lucifer asked with a chuckle.

Caelwen gave him a small smile *Yes, she was telling me that all is well. She also reminded me that there is an overlord meeting tomorrow. Despite not owning any souls, I rank rather high amongst the demons apparently. I’ve been considered an overlord for almost 300 years now, but it’s been a few decades since I last attended a meeting. With the extermination moving up, this is one I don’t think I should miss.*

Lucifer’s was slightly taken aback, he had always thought the sinners were only led by fear and power. This woman in front of him seemed so gentle, how could she have gained respect amongst heartless demons? Caelwen could see his confusion and chuckled silently.

*I can be quite scary when I need to be. Plus, I do have support from Beelzebub with my business. And that’s been a helpful bonus* Caelwen finished with a smirk.

Chuckling, Lucifer agreed with the Nephilim – not too many sinners would willingly try to piss of one of the sins. Though he wasn’t sure he could ever see Caelwen as scary.

Back down in the library, the two continued the cycle they had established on the first day. The 14th and 13th centuries had been a bust, nothing had come close to the symbol Caelwen had been branded with. Despite their lack of success, though, they were both smiling and laughing. Between sharing stories from their lives and making small jokes there were secretive glances, light touches that lingered on hands or shoulders, and faint blushes that they each did their best to conceal.

Caelwen had never felt so light in her life. In spite of how long she had lived in Hell, the Nephilim had always been more concerned with staying alive and hidden then with maintaining her company and image. She had never bothered with romance; she’d read about it, sure, but never looked for it. Still, here she sat, next to the strongest being in all of Hell, blushing and feeling as though her heart might beat out of her chest every time his hand brushed hers. And, fuck, if he kept brushing the feathers of her wings she might combust – she’d never realized how sensitive they were!

When night rolled around and they retired to their separate rooms, Caelwen lay awake, trying to sort through her feelings. Having been unable to speak for so long, she’d become well-attuned to her surroundings and reading people. She knew Lucifer was reciprocating her actions, truthfully he’d been the first one to start lingering when handing her books or moving her wings to a better position. The problem was that she didn’t know how to proceed or if she even should.

~ The Next Day ~

Caelwen was gone after breakfast, expressing her desire to check on the office and Nia as well as grab some clean clothes before the Overlord meeting. She hated taking a break from their search, but Lucifer assured her he’d keep looking while she was out.

After changing into a clean, sleek black dress and assuring she was consumed in shadows, Caelwen headed into her office. There, she saw Nia sitting in her chair with her legs propped on the desk with a phone to her ear. Plopping down into a chair across from the hell hound, Caelwen waited for the call to wrap up. From the eye rolls and the hand yanking at her hair, it was obviously not a fun conversation.

Finally slamming the phone down after a gruff ‘fuck off’, Nia turned to her boss with a grin. “How’s it goin’ boss lady? Any luck with the books?”

*Unfortunately, not yet. We’ve worked through quite a lot though and Lucifer is going to keep going while I’m out today.* Caelwen leaned forward then, peering at the spread of papers on her desk before looking back to Nia. *I assume everything here is still okay? No one has died or tried to get one over on us?*

Nia smirked, “Duh! I’m pretty good at this shit. You know, if you ever wanted to take some time off, I’d be more than happy to run this place for awhile!”

*Good. I may take you up on that; once this seal is broken, I’ll probably need some extra time to adjust and get myself in order before the extermination.* The two women smiled at each other then Nia began to catch her boss up on everything that had happened over the last few days.

An hour later, Caelwen was standing in an elevator of the tall building, and the overlord meeting would be held in. Consumed in shadows, she took a deep breath to center herself and mentally assume her alter ego. The elevator door opened, and Madame C exited and turned to walk towards the meeting room. Entering the room, she noticed Carmilla walking to the head of the table. Madame C looked around, taking note of each Overlord in front of her, a couple she didn’t fully recall, but most were the same. When her eyes landed on Alastor and his unnerving grin, a shiver rolled down her spine – she’d thought for sure he had died, wished for it honestly.

“Welcome Hell’s sovereign Overlords. I’ve invited you all here because you represent the controlling powers of our city. Together you own millions of souls, souls at risk with the new extermination schedule. We need to discuss what can be done to minimize the impact to our interests.”

As the tall woman was talking, Madame C made her way around the table towards her chair. Despite not being present for a few decades, the chair next to Carmilla and opposite to Zestial had always been hers, and no one had bothered to try and occupy it.

“Zestial, so good to see you my friend”

“Enchanted as always Carmilla” the spider demon said, summoning a cup of tea.

The arms dealer then turned towards the radio demon in surprise, calling his name. It seemed Madame C wasn’t the only one who had thought him dead.

“Oh, yes, I know I’ve been absent some time. I’m sure you’ve all been wandering!” How she hated the sound of his staticky voice, like nails on a chalk board.

“Not really,” Carmilla shrugged. “But welcome back in any case.” She turned to the shadow-encased woman beside her next. “I’m glad to see you as well, Madame C. It’s been some time since you’ve graced these halls.”

Madame C gave a short wave and nod of her head, eager to be done with the niceties and this meeting.

Carmilla snapped her fingers and was handed a clipboard. “This years extermination was brutal, far more even than years past. We have assessed that about 16% of the population was lost. With the Angelic legions returning twice as quickly, I think it prudent we-“

The door was kicked open by Velvette, entering the meeting late and on her phone. ‘Children’ Madame C had never liked the Vees much either, to brash for her taste. She propped her elbow on the table and placed her head in her hand, doing her best to tune out the youngest Overlord.

Madame C jolted back as a head rolled towards her before stopping. It was the head of an exorcist, golden blood leaking from where it had been severed from its body. Bringing a hand to her mouth, the shadowed woman looked away to re-center herself.

“Where did you get this” Carmilla asked Velvette.

“We found it during extermination day. If these Holy Rollers can be killed, the game has changed!” She hopped up on the table walking towards the center, “We can take the fight to them. The boys and I have come up with a full assault plan –“

Loud slurping interrupted Velvette’s tirade, thankfully. Everyone turned to Zestial.

“If it be true thee and thy colleagues desire to war with such meager proof, thou art far more foolish than I be thought.”

Madame C gave a subtle nod agreeing with the spider, one exorcist meant nothing in the grand scheme, no matter how wonderful the thought of eliminating the holy army was.

Velvette snorted, “’Meager proof’? It’s a dead fucking exorcist. I’d say that pretty fucking definitive. You goin’ blind, old man?”

“We know not how this perished. Mayhaps t’was not by a demon’s hand at all. If we rush to war without knowing, mightn’t they purge all of Hell for daring an uprising?” A round of agreements was heard from every overlord around the table, angering Velvette.

“Oh I get it. So, grandpa is too pussy to fight so I guess there’s no point. Right?” She got into Zestial’s face. “Oh what’s the matter, fossil? Too senile to make a real power grab?” Madame C clenched her fists to keep from throttling the girl, letting Carmilla stand up for Zestial.

The two women began to battle it out over showing respect. Madame C felt a headache forming behind her eyes, doing her best to not lose her mind over the shit show this meeting had become. She could have been with Lucifer - looking through the library, getting closer to actually flying, sharing more stories. Testing the boundaries of their growing friendship. Instead, she was stuck here watching a child argue for all out war with angels trained to kill sinners.

Madame C tuned back into the conversation when she heard Velvette accuse Carmilla of knowing why the angel was headless. If it was true that Carmilla had killed or at least knew how to kill the exorcist, she’d need that information for later.

Carmilla called for the end of the meeting abruptly as Velvette tried to get a confession, leaving the other Overlords confused and upset. They had all taken the time to gather, and the meeting had barely begun before it was over. Madame C had not missed the chaos these meetings could be.

Rising from her seat with the other Overlords, Madame C made her way to the elevators, avoiding any questions thrown her way. It wasn’t like she could answer, so why did they try?

Once out of the building, shadows consumed her and transported her to Lucifer’s front door; she didn’t want to bother with being interrogated by Nia after the disastrous meeting. Greeting the imp that opened the door, Caelwen dropped her shadows as she waited in the entryway for Lucifer. Less than two minutes passed before a portal opened in front of the green-eyed woman, a black gloved hand hastily pulled her through.

Stumbling, Caelwen was caught at her shoulders by a grinning Lucifer, his smile so wide it nearly split his face.

“I found it! It’s not the exact symbol, but that’s because he changed it to make it what he needed. I’ve spent the last hour triple-checking and I can’t believe I forgot about bindrunes! They’re very old, but powerful and it makes perfect sense for the timing and-“ he cut himself off, running a hand through his hair. “We can break this seal within the next couple of days, just need to get a couple things first!”

Caelwen’s jaw had gone slack, her brain silent, eyes wide in disbelief. When Lucifer said she’d be whole in just a few days, she couldn’t contain her body and threw herself at the blonde man, wrapping him in a tight hug. She felt his arms slowly encircle her waist, returning the hug slowly as his mind processed the action.

Pulling her head back to look Lucifer in the eyes, it took everything she had to not kiss him. Instead, she grinned at his shocked face before squeezing him tighter and then pulling away slowly. Caelwen grabbed Lucifer’s hand and gestured for him to show her the book, her headache completely forgotten as the two lost themselves in reading through the book together and making a list of everything they might need.

Whether they realized it or not, neither one made any attempt to pull their hand from the other’s, content with the connection as they basked in their victory.

A/N – Ahhh!! I’ve done a quick proofread of this, so hopefully, I didn’t miss anything. We got a little peak into Caelwen’s mind this chapter which was fun. I’ve been developing her since the season premiered on prime, and it’s so nice to get her written down. Hope you all enjoy; likes, reblogs, and comments are so appreciated. They’ve literally kept me out of a depressed funk this past week, so thank you all!

Tag List:

@leximus98

[beautifulpersonpeach]

Bpp I'm dying to know your song rankings in chapter 2 now they've all debuted. What are your top picks this year? I miss your writing and hope I can coax you back with 'a fun ask'

***

Okay. :)

Since you asked...

Top 10 Non-BTS K-pop Songs in 2023

10 - Watch It - The Boyz (this song just dropped and it's already in my top ten, yes)

9 - Seoul - H1-key

8 - Ay-Yo - NCT 127

7 - Sweet Venom - ENHYPEN

6 - Neverland Farewell - TXT (Say whatever you like about BigHit, they know how to make good music. Soobin sounds incredible on this song. Beomgyu too. Really, they all do.)

5 - Cool With You - NewJeans

NewJeans isn't going anywhere, so everyone else really should get comfortable with the idea of seeing them at the top. That's all there is to say.

*

4 - Crying - BOYNEXTDOOR

I don't know where my head was at when I ranked this the worst song on the album. Clearly, I was wrong. This song was a pleasant companion during the autumn months, and I can't wait to see what else they come out with.

*

3 - Chaconne - ENHYPEN

Do you know what a chaconne is? That's not a rhetorical question btw. No shade either, I'm just curious. For those who don't know, a chaconne is a rhythmical and harmonic motif over a pronounced bass-line. That's my leftover understanding from music classes taken a lifetime ago. According to google, a chaconne is also "a slow, solemn dance in 3/4 time, of Spanish or Moorish origin, similar to the passacaglia." For a non-k-pop example, I recommend Hilary's rendition of Bach's chaconne (more leftover knowledge from a lifetime ago).

Anyway, this likely isn't important context. The use of "chaconne" in the song probably has more to do with how it sounds in the song, than what it means. In any case, Enhypen earned a gold star from me with this pantydropper anthem.

*

2 - Criminal Love - ENHYPEN

I'm not sure how many of you were here when Heartbeat and Dream Glow were released. What I remember was shock, pure incredulity that BigHit would release songs of that quality for game OSTs. From ARMYs and k-pop stans alike, this was the sentiment. It was like a flex that BTS had such a peerless discography they could make songs like this for a side gig.

That's immediately what I was reminded of when I first heard Criminal Love, released as the OST for Enhypen's webtoon. It's moody, vampy, seduction in a song. That's what that song is. Sad too, when you hear the lyrics. Watching the live performance only drives it home.

*

1 - Blind - ENHYPEN

This song has given me one of the best auditory experiences I've ever had in k-pop. Which is a bit odd because yes a lot happens in the production, but the switches are so subtle you almost don't notice it.

Heeseung, Ni-ki, Jay, Sunoo, Sunghoon, Jake, and Jungwon - all outdid themselves on this song. Vocally, they sound incredible. The writing, (again) is top notch. This is one of the only songs released this year that I genuinely struggle not to loop.

*

Top 5 BTS Solo Songs

5 - Yes or No - Jung Kook

This is one song I'm praying and begging that we get thousands of remixes of. HYBE, please work your magic and give us 10 remixes of Yes or No. I need it. This is the perfect pop song in that it makes you crave more. I know it's got a predictable, common almost, chord progression in VI -> V -> I -> IV, but it's perfect in that it's impossible to get sick of it. It just worms itself into your head and all you can think of is all the ways to sing all over those chords.

Jung Kook's vocal work on that song is irreproachable. He's really set himself apart with this album and I'm glad he did it.

*

4 - Snooze - AGUST D, ft. Ryuichi Sakamoto & Woosung

HUH?! should be here, as should Amygdala so consider this a triple entry: HUH + Snooze + Amygdala. The reason why is self-evident (I hope).

Anyway... I want to talk a bit about Snooze.

Yoongi loves using the piano. He likes the sound of it, and you can tell in songs like Snooze. He has such a profound love and respect for that musical instrument that it only makes sense a man like Ryuichi acknowledged Yoongi before he passed.

With everything that happened this year, remembering Moonbin, and knowing that Yoongi made this song for his juniors... the first time I heard this song it completely destroyed me. Anyone who hasn't paid attention to the lyrics yet should check it.

When I casually listen in to TXT, SVT, Enhypen, BoyNextDoor, and see the work they're doing, putting out easily some of the best music and performances in their generations, I hope and pray they develop a support system that genuinely values them, soon. I hope they survive this industry, and thrive in it.

*

3 - All Day - RM ft Tablo

Not to be that person (since he's canceled for reasons and it actually makes sense why), but when I first saw the song title All Day, I immediately remembered All Day by Kanye West - one of the sauciest and meanest songs he's ever made. I was worried, given the tone of the album to that point, that Namjoon was going to give us his take on Ye's original. Joon is more than capable of dropping a track just as mean if not more. I didn't put it past him to pay homage to the Kanye joint by taking a spin on it. But, thankfully, All Day is nothing like Kanye's song, and it's my favourite song on Indigo because it's the best.

Joon's diction on this track is *chef's kiss*. His voice.... that outro, and thank goodness, Tablo came through. He actually has a presence on the track and made it even more worth the listen.

It kills me that we don't even have a visualizer for this masterpiece.

*

2 - Set Me Free Pt 2 - Jimin

Thank you for giving me another chance to talk about Set Me Free Pt 2.

One reason all the anxiety and fear-mongering around Jimin seems insane to me is because Jimin dropped this song and ended k-pop in 2023. He literally has no real competition. He came in, showed out, and left. That song is the sexiest joint out of Korea this year. It's so nasty. He's absolutely disgusting on this song in how brutally he makes rubbish of everything beneath him. Like, he literally has people bowing down to him in the choreography. Bobbing their heads like Funko Pops, while he sings to be set free. I'm going on a bit of a tangent here, but I want to say something. There's a cruelty in the way Jimin speaks. Whether to someone else or to himself. It's often (somewhat) restrained, born of the way he sees the world I think, and it was especially brutal in their early days, but he's toned it down significantly since 2016. It's virtually non-existent in his speech patterns and word choice now. Jimin of the last few years communicates gently, directly, tactfully, and at worst, bluntly. A lot of that cruelty is toned down but he unleashes a whisper of it on SMF Pt 2. Just listen to what he's saying on that song. That autotune effect on his voice was for our benefit and safety. Nothing can convince me otherwise. And we haven't even yet gotten into the full symbolism of the MV and his lyricism...

The moment I heard this song I knew I would bias Jimin. He's a man who knows what he's doing.

Jimin is a one of a kind wonder. Real magic in a person. An artist. He proves it on Set Me Free Pt 2. Kudos to PDogg too - the GOAT.

*

1 - On The Street - j-hope ft J. Cole

When it comes to song construction, I have to give credit where credit is due and the fact is Hoseok outdid himself with this song. It is perfect, my top pick for a k-pop song in 2023. Jermaine did good on it too. But, you know... Hoseok.

The whistle melody he came up with, the beat, the vocal layering, the mixing, the MV direction - all of it is perfect. If we were giving scores based on separate components, OTS would get 10s in every category.

Honestly, Hoseok coming out at number 1 is kind of expected of him lol.

[daitranscripts]

Demands of the Qun Pt. 3

Gatt

Iron Bull Masterpost First: Letter From the Ben-Hassrath Previous: Qunari Contact

Gat: Just waiting on you and Hissrad—or “Iron Bull,” I guess.

1 - Dialogue options:

Investigate: You knew Iron Bull? [2]

Investigate: How will an alliance help me? [3]

Investigate: How did you end up here? [4]

Investigate: I’d like to discuss the Qun. [5]

General: We’ll move shortly. [6]

2 - Investigate: You knew Iron Bull? PC: You knew Iron Bull when he fought in Seheron? Gatt: Yes. He led the group that freed me. I was a magister’s slave, and when the magister went to Seheron, he brought me along. For company. Iron Bull and his men attacked my magister’s ship and killed him, as well as his soldiers. Bull set me free.

Dialogue options:

Special: And then you joined the Qun? [7]

[Back to 1]

7 - Special: And then you joined the Qun? PC: And you decided to start following the Qun after that? Gatt: What do you think? I had just watched a giant, horned warrior kill the magister who hurt me. PC: He never told me about this. Gatt: One on the few things he hasn’t shared with you, I gather. Sure, Bull. Share the secret Ben-Hassrath reports, but keep that bit where you saved the elf boy to yourself. [8]

3 - Investigate: How will an alliance help me? PC: No one’s actually detailed how an alliance with the Qunari will help the Inquisition. Gatt: The answer is above my rank… but the Qunari don’t really bargain. They don’t know how. I doubt you want Qunari troops stomping around your stronghold, and you’re too far away for supplies to be useful. You’d get more use out of our ships… and the agents we’ve got spread across Thedas. We know a lot more than what Bull sees in those reports he’s been forwarding to your spymaster. [8]

8 - Dialogue options:

Special: Is Bull in trouble? [9]

[Back to 1]

9 - Special: Is Bull in trouble? PC: Is Bull going to get in trouble for passing those reports on? Gatt: The Ben-Hassrath aren’t pleased with how forthcoming Bull has been… but he was one of their best agents. He kept the streets clean in Seheron longer than anyone before him, or after. He fought until it nearly killed him. The Ben-Hassrath trust him enough to accept how he joined the Inquisition, even if they don’t like it. Besides, they hate to discard a tool that might still have some use left in it. That’s why I have a job. [14]

4 - Investigate: How did you end up here? PC: How did an elf end up working for the Qunari out here? Gatt: The Ben-Hassrath usually pick elves or humans to work outside of Qunandar. We’re a little harder to spot. I’ve worked in Orlais and Nevarra, but only a few years now.

Dialogue options:

Special: And before that? [10]

[Back to 1]

10 - Special: And before that? PC: What did you do before that? Gatt: When I was old enough, I fought Tevinter forces in Seheron. I was too angry to do much else. It took me a long time to accept the Qun, to get past justice, to purpose. Some days are still difficult. [14]

5 - Investigate: I’d like to discuss the Qun. PC: Do you have a minute to talk about to Qun? Gatt: I’m a spy, Inquisitor, not a teacher. I’m not interested in converting anyone or debating the philosophy. But I suppose it would make an interesting report to hear the Inquisitor’s opinion on the Qun.

Dialogue options:

General: It’s alien to me. [11]

General: I detest the Qun. [12]

General: I admire the Qun. [13]

11 - General: It’s alien to me. PC: To be honest, I don’t really understand the Qun enough to judge it. Gatt: I think you have to be raised under the Qun for it to ever make sense. The people who join as adults end up unhappy, or, well… For many, it’s just a kinder form of slavery. [14]

12 - General: I detest the Qun. PC: Tell them that the Inquisitor thinks the Qun is loathsome and disgusting. Gatt: you must really want our ships, then. I understand your viewpoint, for what it’s worth. Out in this world, the Qun sound terrible. A way of life, the simplicity, the fairness of it, is something I cherish. The lack of identity though… I’ve struggled with it myself. [14]

13 - General: I admire the Qun. PC: I think the Qun’s philosophy is fascinating. We could learn a lot from the Qunari. Gatt: It’s a very different way of life. It’s… fair, at least. That’s not something you can say out in this world very often. I like the simplicity. I like knowing my place and knowing it’s the right place. Other parts, I’ve struggled with myself. [14]

14 - Dialogue options:

Special: You had trouble with the Qun? [15]

[Back to 1]

13 - Special: You had trouble with the Qun? PC: It sounds like following the Qun hasn’t always been easy. Gatt: I had a temper. Bull’s nickname for me, “Gatt,” comes from gaatlok, the explosive powder in Qunari canons. I was so angry when I was first freed. I wanted revenge. I wanted to find my family, still enslaved in Minrathous. I thought about leaving when the Qun didn’t tell me what I wanted to hear. But I didn’t. PC: Why not? Gatt: The Qunari were always ready to listen, to teach. They cared for me as much as one of their own. And if I leave, the parts of the Qun that I like are never going to change.

6 - General: We’ll move shortly. PC: I’ll let you know when we’re ready. Gatt: I await your pleasure, Inquisitor.

Next: Plan of Attack

[rewatching-sam-and-dean]

Ranking 327 Episodes of Supernatural

(And I need your help first!)

Okay, so I'm finally planning to live up to my blog's name by doing a full rewatch of Supernatural (Only 3+ years after the show ended and 1+ years after I made this blog for this purpose 🤦‍♀️ ). Anyway, I’ll be "Rewatching Sam and Dean," in other words. (Sorry 🙄.)

I'm not only gong to rewatch it and comment, but I'm going to try to rate and rank every episode. I'm generally bad at ranking on a large scale, but I want to be able to say with confidence what my top 5, 10, 20, etc. episodes are. Because right now, I can list episodes I love, but I can’t say which one I like best among my favorites. Also, ranking gives me an additional purpose to my rematch.

(I’ll put my particular criteria for ranking under the cut, so there no need to skim through that part if you’re not interested in specifics.)

So, you might be asking, "Why do I care about this?"

And if you don’t, that’s cool. But, I’m posting about it here because I’m hoping to get some ideas for things to track as I’m watching the episodes. I don’t want to do too many things because that’s a sure way to get bogged down and make this feel like work, but there are often those little things that I wish I had a quick answer to, and looking for them as I go through each episode should be easier than hopping back and forth to track things down. And I know there are things like Superwiki for that (though they aren’t perfect), but I want to track some things for myself, too

So, these are some things I’m already planning to watch out for:

How John is described/acts, and his relationship with both boys

Sam and Dean's "anger issues"

How/when each brother responds when the other is upset (and how this changes), and which brother shares more

How Bobby treats each brother

How each brother relates to Mary and how she treats them

When each brother prays; who is it to, and what is it about?

Times when Sam and Dean are depicted as classic brothers, vs. blatantly compared to a couple, a parent-child, friends, or are just weird.

So, if you made it this far, could you please give me your suggestions for other things I should keep an eye out for while watching? Or, suggest other things that might be interesting to rate/rank as I go through the show?

Thanks for reading!

How I’ll be Rating the Episodes:

Now, when I rate these episodes, I’ll be determining MY FAVORITE episodes, not what I think are technically THE BEST episodes. For example, "On the Head of a Pin " is a very well executed episode, but I can pretty much guarantee that it wan’t be in my top 25 or anything, because Alistair disgusts me so thoroughly that I can't stand rewatching it.

I’ve created a bit of a rubric for myself to quasi keep myself honest, though there is still a lot of room for subjectiveness in my ranked areas. So far, my criteria is:

1. The Brothers: Are there good or meaningful brother moments? Do we learn anything new about either brother or their relationship? Are they behaving in character?

2. The Monster: Is the monster or antagonist of the episode interesting, frightening, handled in a unique way?

3. Story: Is the narrative strong, impactful to the show as a whole, or entertaining? Is there canon-breaking or retconning that damages the show?

4. Recurring/Side Characters: Are the characters who are sharing the screen with Sam and/or Dean interesting, effective, important, and/or standouts in some other way? Do I care about them?

5. Re-watchability: On Subsequent viewings of the episode, am I still entertained? Do I gain a new perspective or find more to enjoy when I watch it again? Does the episode lose impact, relevance or entertainment value (in a significant way) on repeat viewings?

Anyway, as I said, this is deeply subjective, so maybe no one will be interested in my takes, and that’s fine. But, I will give reasons with canon support, for what I like or don’t like, so my ratings won’t be based on what I head-canon to be true. I’d ideally like to do this on YouTube with edits, but I’m not sure I want to put myself out there to that extent. Either way, I’ll be on here, too. Either I’ll post here, or link my videos (if I ever make them) here.

My Pilot Review

From ages ago …

Also, if anyone is interested, you can find my original attempts at episode reviews HERE. My format for rewatching will likely be a bit more structured now (and not take multiple posts per episode), but here’s how my brain works, if you’re interested.