#it’s really fun figuring out what kind of lighting each panel needs and what kind of mood I want to set

[littler0b1n]

My brother recently taught me how to color in manga panels and so this is what I’ve been doing for the past 2 days. The trick is to use layer styles! Especially multiply. First panel is from Billy Bat and the next 3 are from Monster and Erased speaking of which…

Manga spoilers for Erased and Monster underneath cut!!

[toonocosm]

Concept sketches for HiveLight labs and the HiveLight team :) Pretend that aquarium is a terrarium instead in the last sketch.

Cress the HiveLight founder and A.P.I project leader. She's educated in all the interdisciplinary fields that are involved in robotics, but she specializes in artificial intelligence and deep learning. She plays the guitar whenever she needs a break from her work.

Ravi the solid light expert and designer, he was the genius that figured out how to turn photons into a solid form. He designs UIs, and software and makes visual designs for the stuff the HiveLight team invents. He was the main person responsible for HiveLight's interior design renovation, and he's a graffiti artist in his free time.

(Unnamed Crinoid) the information engineer, she specializes in making robots as autonomous as possible by giving them internal and environmental feedback, like senses.

Viking the mechatronics engineer. Viking is the one that works out how to engineer both electrical and mechanical systems for HiveLight's inventions. Basically, he builds things.

(Unnamed Frog) the computer engineer, they especially specialize in power electronics. They have invented the most effective solar cell panels on the market, which HiveLight sells (besides other gadgets) to keep their independent company afloat.

I want to give each team member one thing that they specialize in to really define their role on the team to make storytelling stuff easier. But It's hard, or kind of impossible, because many of the fields within robotics overlap with one another. It's good from a believability perspective, that means each one has some understanding of everyone's work and can work better together. But I really want that one thing that everyone can put their finger on and say "That's why you're useful. That's what you contributed to Api's creation".

So to try to summarizing their roles shortly:

Cress was responsible for his intellect.

Ravi gave him his force fields and holograms.

(Crinoid) gave him senses.

Viking built his body.

(Frog) gave him his power core and solar panels.

Ravi and Viking are the only designs I'm 100% happy with, I want to see if I can make myself like the other's designs more too. Mainly the crinoid and frog characters, I've redesigned Cress already.

_________________________________________________________

Copy and paste description from an old post: A friend gave me the idea that I could work with a theme. Can you guess what it is? It's meant to be subtle, but I think I can implement it a bit more.

I imagined a blue and black color scheme since I didn't want to go with the typical white, sterile look that you see all the time in media. But that did make it look very dark and monochrome so I threw in some orange in there and I think it looks very eye-catching! And the plants make it look a lot homier.

I like this, this is a setting I'm actually excited to include in a comic! This whole lab setting is an aspect I've been afraid to approach because I had no idea how to make it interesting. It's fun to finally see where Api came from.

[prince-honeypaw]

Heyhey!! May I request a regressed Shinsou with Aoyama as a big brother? They're my two favorite characters and I want to see how they get along (:

Have a wonderful day/night!!

♡ Of course! I haven't had the opportunity to do a caregiver Aoyama before so this was a fun experience! (And I certainly enjoyed working on the panel edit for him too >w>) It was rather difficult and I didn't get a lot of what I wanted in here, so there may be another post for these two in the future! :3 ♡ So I hope you enjoy this!

♡ Yuuga was a lonely child growing up. Stuck between a quirk that simply did not seem to fit his body and frequently moving with his parents, it was difficult to make friends. He longed for a younger sibling to fill this niche, but–for some reason–the mere mention of more children made his parents oddly antsy.

♡ So, he figured that this meant he was just... Supposed to be alone. As though the universe said this was how things were meant to be.

♡ On the other side of the coin, Hitoshi was also a rather lonely boy, though for different reasons. Being a foster child, he was usually passed from family to family, home to home, and city to city. This made it hard to make friends on top of his horribly stigmatized quirk, and whatever friends he did make would inevitably have to be left behind for another new home.

♡ It made him want to stop trying.

♡ When entering UA, it took quite some time before Aoyama and Shinsou actually had a conversation! Sure, they had "met" (see the events of the cavalry battle), but they hadn't really connected until Shinsou replaced one of the students in the hero course.

♡ Even then, it took the meddlesome help of a freckle-faced young man to build a connection between the two.

♡ On one of their socially awkward friendship building outings, Hitoshi had slipped into headspace without the rest of the group noticing.

♡ Everyone except for Yuuga. The boy has a tendency to mind himself and observe others, so it made sense that he saw Shinsou's shoulders slump more than usual. Saw his stride turn to a lackluster shuffle to the back of the pack... Right next to Aoyama.

♡ Hitoshi's regression isn't much of a secret at this point–what with the students all living under the same roof–but it's still unfamiliar to Yuuga. Someone else would usually come along and handle Hitoshi when he got to this point, so, surely the same could apply here?

♡ Despite knowing this... Despite knowing someone else, someone better, would eventually help him, Yuuga can't just stand there and watch him squirm. The lights, sounds, and scents of the mall didn't bother him, so Yuuga unhooked his bedazzled sunglasses from his ruffled shirt collar in a wonderful flourish and held them out to Hitoshi with a covert, "Here, mon ami, you look absolutely miserable! No need to thank me~☆"

♡ It was a bit startling to have the shiny accessory thrust upon him, but Shinsou was... Rather grateful. He gave a silent nod and slid the shades on without fuss.

♡ He looked very silly, but function over fashion! They functioned so well that he didn't even take them off when returning to the dorms. Izuku would take note of this! He's been on the receiving end of those glasses once or twice as well, and tentatively asks if he plans on returning them.

♡ Still being less than a year old, Hitoshi bundles deeper into his blanket and shakes his head. He's not ready to give them up just yet, and Aoyama hasn't asked for them yet, so mleh!

♡ No one can quite explain what happened afterwards. Maybe the simple act of kindness on Yuuga's part left an impression on Hitoshi. Maybe the fact that Hitoshi didn't turn down that kindness stuck with Yuuga. Or, maybe, they were two lonely boys that saw themselves in each other.

♡ Who can say?

♡ All class 1A knows is that the two became very close after that! Hitoshi gets almost hyper aware of where Yuuga is in groups and will make a point to join him, holding his sleeve like it's as natural as breathing.

♡ Hitoshi's bedhead also starts to develop more of a healthy sheen to it from the hair care routine Yuuga applies to it! Of course, it's still fluffy and alert, but now people can run their fingers through it without the risk of hitting any snags.

♡ Overall, Hitoshi looks less exhausted and more pampered with Yuuga keeping an eye on him! From clipped and painted nails to softer skin, Yuuga is giving the poor dear the love and attention he so rightfully deserves!

♡ The arrangement isn't onesided, though it may seem that Shinsou is getting the lion's share of affection, the mere act of being wanted is enough for Aoyama alone. But, the little trinkets, the quality time, being actively included in things...

♡ No matter how many times he's woken up in the dead of night to heartbreaking sniffles and hiccups.

♡ No matter how many times he has to brush away tears with the silk kerchief his maman gave him.

♡ No matter how many times he has to tuck an unruly head of hair under his chin and soothe, "You're fine now, mon cœur, do not cry. You are not alone."

♡ It is, and always will be, worth it.

♡ Because neither of them have to be alone anymore.

[psychewritesbs]

Hi I loved your analysis on hana when she came out and I was wondering if you have seen the most recent manga leaks? If so do you think Hana and megumi will be a thing? Do you have any ideas of what might happen to hana's crush?

HOLA! You are very kind. Thank you. I am always grateful when people nerd out with me. I have to admit I'll never get over how wrong I was about Hana and that only makes me love her so much more.

She’s just such a cute character and I personally find her crush "precious" precisely because of how irrational it is.

Speculation and mental gymnastics under the cut...

meguhana

Do I think meguhana will be a thing? Let's see... I mean... I have no clue whether they'll be a thing in canon, but I like what their characters represent individually and as a pairing (usually a prereq of mine).

What I like about this pairing is the idea that opposites attract. With Megumi, you have a character that symbolizes metaphorical darkness, and with Hana you have a character that symbolizes metaphorical light.

I really like how this panel shows Hana as light by the way. And let's not forget that in JJK cursed technique is a metaphor for the sorcerer's personality--so, what does this light say about Hana's personality?

I've read some amazing takes about how Megumi's personality is shadow-like, not just in the depth psych way, but also in the ego sense of self way. Something along the lines of how quiet and aloof he is. Thank you to whomever shared this idea with me and I am sorry I did not do it justice with my poor explanation.

What's cool about this interplay between dark and light is that they very much need each other. Light casts shadows in much the same way darkness needs light. Or something like that...

So even if Gege doesn't pursue this symbolical interpretation of the characters, the characters still symbolize opposites. More on this in a bit.

I also think there's something to be said about Hana's character design resembling an idealized Guardian Angel figure. Especially as we see her in chapter 173.

I was super distrustful of her design initially (🤣), thinking that it was a red herring. As it turns out, her design is literally angelic-like.

So it makes me wonder whether she represents Megumi's protector or something like that.

In one of the anime adaptations of a Boy of Flanders, when the boy dies, he and his dog, Patrasche, get carried off to heaven by angels. Will Gege do anything with that idea?...

But her cursed technique, Jacob's Ladder, also gives us a clue. In the Bible, Jacob has a dream about a ladder connecting heaven and the Earth:

"He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. There above it stood the Lord."

In the end, however, I guess she's like one of the angels walking up and down Jacob's Ladder. Hey it's me talking about Jacob's Ladder yet again! And if Urizen is at the top of the ladder, then that kind of means that Gege might be saying that reason = light, and instinct = darkness.

While Hana may represent one of the angels walking up and down the ladder, Megumi's Kon, as a symbol of the grey wolf, amongst other things, represents instinct.

In addition, Megumi also has a black and white view of good (light, reason) and evil (darkness, instinct).

With symbolism like this, there's a call to unifying opposites. This makes me wonder what that could mean for a pairing like meguhana.

So... do I think they'll become a pairing? Only time will tell if, canonically, Gege gives us an in-your-face type of confirmation. Not subtext, because subtext is always up for interpretation, but rather, undeniably in-your-face confirmation.

As a head-canon, while I am personally not emotionally attached to the pairing, I like what they represent. Either way, for those who might ship it, the pairing is full of fun and juicy symbolism because they are yin and yang, so I can totally see the appeal.

One of my favorite ships ever is actually a yin and yang pairing. The main difference between seisub and meguhana is that seisub's love language is getting killed by the Beloved. I have odd tastes in shipping in case it wasn't immediately apparent lol.

Hana's crush

As for what might happen to Hana's crush... ok but like... asf;ovahud f asdfj;j there's a legit science to keyboard smash and I have yet to master it.

Hana needs a hug after what Sukuna did to her.

Messing with a girl's innocence like that...

Days since I was able to accept inner-evil, Sukuna: 0.

I mean... the way Hana is brutalized by Sukuna is just so cruel. I'm only stating the obvious here when I say that Hana was blinded by her feelings for Megumi, creating an opening for Sukuna to exploit the lapse of judgment Hana's feelings created.

That is not to mention that the open invitation Sukuna gave Hana--look at his body language, his hand is stretched up and reaching towards her, palm open as if expecting to receive...

... was interpreted by Hana as an invitation to reach for Megumi and confess her feelings for him because she had saved him the way he once saved her.

To be honest, Hana's desire to save Megumi because Megumi had saved him once, felt very Yuji-like to me.

The difference between Yuji and Hana is that Yuji has gone on to have and nurture a relationship with Megumi.

And that's the thing about Hana getting fooled in the first place: Hana's obsession with Megumi is completely irrational. As far as we know as of chapter 221, Hana only met Megumi once before in her life, and yet she thinks of him as "her destined one" and even calls him "my Megumi".

Let's overpsychologize Hana's crush for a little bit because, like Yorozu, Hana suffers from "I only saw him once and I was struck by electric love" syndrome.

(source)

And you might think this is a criticism of her and her character, but quite the opposite, I find Hana so relatable because of her crush.

There's a reason I love the post above and I 100% agree with it. And op also strikes me as someone who's never felt the irrationality of falling in love with someone you hardly know, especially when you haven't been modeled what a healthy relational dynamic is and isn't.

Boundaries and self-respect aren't something we are always born with, it is something that needs to be taught and learned.

So... Is Hana's obsession with Megumi a trauma response type bond? Or was she blinded by her own light?

What if it's both?

I think we can assume from the conditions she was in that Hana's obsession can be considered a result of the abuse she experienced as a child.

It's almost like she was desperately reaching for some semblance of someone caring for her in the uncaring world she was raised in. After all, she was basically a feral child raised by a curse for the purpose of becoming it's next meal.

But there's still something to be said about a couple of axioms of falling in love like...

the idea that falling in love is a random experience that can almost feel is orchestrated by fate,

the idea that falling in love is an inevitable experience--your rational mind simply has no say in the matter, and

the idea that you don't fall in love with just any person, but rather your soul recognizes another soul because this other person carries and resonates with the image of your soul

Also, when you fall in love, you just know--it is a very distinct experience. You are either initiated into the mysteries of falling in love, or you aren't. If you are, then you know what I'm talking about.

You see, while I agree that love at first sight is often an unrealistic projection, I also subscribe to depth psych's definition of such bonds. In depth psych, this "love at first sight" type of bond is of divine origins--it's considered a religious experience that transforms your sense of self.

Again, you don't just fall in love with any one person, but rather, with the person who carries the image of your soul, your own divinity.

In that sense, if, like Hana you are in love with a guy you only met once, you are thinking with the heart (instinct), and not the mind (reason).

And in depth psych, the Heart has direct access to the soul in a way that the ego mind doesn't.

So, yes, love at first sight is completely irrational. IT IS MEANT TO BE COMPLETELY IRRATIONAL--there is no other way about it and that's the whole point.

ALL OF THAT TO SAY that I feel very protective of Hana's crush. Hana's crush is something sacred to me that needs to be nurtured and love bombed. Especially with the way fandom reacted to her crush.

Like OMG give the poor girl a break!

So, yes, her crush is intense and irrational, but that doesn't make it a lesser expression of love. The test of true love comes after the obsession is grounded in reality and after her ego sense of self has been transformed.

I think it's also important to remember these are teenage kids fighting metaphorical grown up battles. So Hana having a crush is 300% realistic.

In addition, given her age, Hana may or may not be mature enough to ground her obsession into a more realistic perception of Megumi, and Megumi may or may not reciprocate her feelings.

But I headcanon that none of that matters because, as Jung would say, “the meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed”.

So I'd be looking forward to how Hana is changed by this experience of bouncing back from betrayal--it also seems to me like, in retrospect, she's very aware that she wasn't betrayed by Megumi, but rather, Sukuna.

In a nutshell, I think what we'll see is Hana continuing to have a crush, after all, crushes don't go away so easily.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure we'll see much more depth to any of the themes I wrote about, as jjk is moving at lightning speed, because Hana suffers from "side character" syndrome, and/or because Gege may not be interested in exploring them.

Anyways! I hope this answers your questions in the way that only I know how to answer asks! By going around in circles before making my point, or by going on a crazy tangent that sort of not really answered your ask.

Thanks for sending the ask and inviting me to brainrot about this!

Oh, before I forget, Spooky wrote about Hana and Megumi over here if you're interested in a complementary take.

[twstinginthewind]

Punch & Juniper: ❝ just stay here with me … by my side. ❞

Softer shippy prompts

"Whoa." Juniper tilted her head back, and took a step backwards, a smile crossing her face. "This setup is AMAZING. When you said your dorm was going all-out for their Halloween Week display, you weren't kidding, huh??"

"A tribute to the best worst Halloween movie there is in Twisted Wonderland cinematic history, Pumpkin Hollow!" Punch grinned, and fiddled with the control panel on the laptop. "We're also doing our own thing, later on at the dorm? Kind of an afterparty for the afterparty. The theme is B-horror cosplay. Makes sense, since Housewarden Shroud probably won't have time to change, you know?"

"It sounds like a blast." Juniper reached forward as a holographic leaf drifted past. The projected particle passed right through her fingers, without her feeling a thing. "Wow... you helped work on the image mapping for this, you said? Soooo totally worth it. It looks realer than the real thing."

"Yeah, the whole dorm worked very hard on it." He rewound the display slightly, placing the projection of the leaf just above her hand. It looked as though it was bathed in moonlight, shining in midair in front of them. "Down to the smallest details."

"Wow," she breathed, eyes sparkling as she leaned in for a closer look.

"In fact, I think the bunch of us really earned that afterparty," he added, absentmindedly adjusting the cuffs of his uniform jacket. "And since we're allowed to bring a guest, I was wondering—"

There was a tiny click, and a slightly louder groan as the laptop, lights, and all the small projectors around the library all shut off at once. In the sudden darkness, Punch swore under his breath.

"Triple damn it! I told them to secure the extra generators, for this kind of output. And I don't even know where the fuse box is in here..." Punch paused, embarrassed. "Or where you are. I'm sorry. Juniper, you're okay, yeah? You didn't scream or anything. Are you still here?" He reached out his arms in front of him, and bumped gently into the coyote girl.

She laughed; a bright, short sound that echoed through the library. "I'm fine, Punch. It's just a little darkness, and that ain't gonna hurt me any." Her hand found his, and she gently patted it a few times before lacing their fingers together. "Don't tell me you're scared."

"More upset than scared." He squeezed her hand gently. "I'm glad this happened during the testing phase, instead of when there were off-campus guests. We can fix it and keep it from happening again. If I can figure out how to get to where I can fix this."

They both flinched as they heard a thump from the other side of the main room. "Orrrr we can wait this out together," Juniper yipped, suddenly sounding nervous. "Until the lights come back? Just stay here with me. By my side."

"Roger that." He leaned a bit closer, letting their shoulders bump together.

"And don't call me Roger."

"Sorry." He stifled a laugh.

Juniper squeezed his hand, seemingly pleased at his reaction. "Anyway, yes."

"Yes? Yes to what?"

"It sounded like you were inviting me to that party, and yes. I'd love to go."

Punch smiled broadly, even though she couldn't see it. "That's fantastic!! Yeah, it wouldn't be much fun without you there. Just make sure to stick to the theme, or you might end up standing out like a sore thumb."

"Like I don't already have a dozen movies I can pick from at the tip of my tongue." Another thump from across the room made them flinch, and they huddled closer together. "Provided we survive this silly incident."

"We can be ghosts and still go, that's a bit of Halloween magic."

"Absolutely not, Punch."

"Fine. No haunting the party, I guess." Just then, the lights flickered back on, and they realized they had been clinging to each other. They quickly separated themselves.

"Right."

"Yeah."

Juniper brushed a loose hair back from her face. "I'll... let you get to reporting and fixing this. I need to go back to my own dorm's display. We need all hands on deck, Ruggie said, haha. I'll show ya tomorrow, what we did."

Punch nodded, his blush just starting to fade. "Can't wait. And if you need help narrowing down that dozen movies? Call me."

"I'll do that anyway."

"Thanks." He grinned like a newly-carved pumpkin. "Happy Halloween, Juniper."

"Happy Halloween, Punch."

[mapple369]

The Ultimate Guide to Durable and Cool Hype Boys Backpacks Every Kid Will Love

Before going back to school or on an adventure, each kid wants a boys backpack that not only looks good but also works well and lasts a long time. The right bag can make all the difference. It should be stylish and practical so that it can handle a busy school day or a weekend full of activities. This guide will show you the best Hype boys backpacks that are both durable and stylish, so every kid will love them.

Why a boy's backpack needs to be durable

Imagine if your child's favourite backpack tore after only one week of school. That would be terrible, right? When choosing a boys backpack, longevity is essential. The kids are rough on their gear. They drag it around the field, load it up with heavy books, and spill their lunch inside. This kind of daily use should be able to keep a boys backpack from breaking.

Try to find bags that are made of good materials, like polyester or nylon. People know that these fabrics are strong and won't wear down easily, so they are great for rough use. Additionally, they are small and light, so the bag won't add extra weight. This means that your kid won't feel heavy as they run to class or go play. A boys backpack that is long-lasting is like having a friend who is always there for you when you need them.

Designs That Are Cool and Stand Out

In addition to being useful, a boys backpack allows kids to show off their personalities. Colours, patterns, and names that are in style can make a big difference in how a backpack looks. Boys backpacks from Hype come in a variety of styles that are sure to catch the eye, from simple black to bold prints that really pop.

If your child likes those kinds of things, you might want to look into bags with famous figures or trendy pictures. Kids love to show off what they're interested in, whether it's sports teams, superheroes, or video games. A cool design not only makes them feel unique, but it also makes them feel better about themselves every day as they go to school. When they feel good about their boys backpack, it shows, just like when they choose the ideal outfit.

Being comfortable is very important.

Kids who aren't very old may find it hard to carry a big bag. So, comfort is an important thing to think about. Boys backpacks should have thick arm straps and a back panel that supports the back. These features help spread the weight properly across the shoulders, which lowers the chance of getting hurt or uncomfortable.

Also, the straps need to be able to be adjusted so that the backpack fits your child correctly and doesn't sit too low or too high on their back. A bag that fits well can make school days more pleasant for your child, so they can focus on learning and having fun with their friends. It's like picking out a good pair of shoes: once they fit well, everything else just works itself out.

Finding the Right Fit: Size Does Matter

To ensure that your child's boys backpack meets their wants without being too heavy, it is crucial to pick the appropriate size. If the bag is too small, it won't fit all of your things, and if it's too big, it can be hard to take. The best option is typically a medium-sized boys backpack, which has enough room for books, a lunchbox, and other necessities without being overly big.

When choosing the size, think about your child's age and daily needs. Kids who are younger might need a smaller bag, while kids who are grown and carry more books or a laptop might need a bigger one. The bands of many boys bags can be adjusted to fit your child as they grow. It's like getting the right jacket—the right fit makes it comfortable and useful.

Backpacks with Multiple Uses for Active Kids

A boys backpack that can be used for many things is a must for kids who are always on the go. These bags are very useful because they can be used for school, sports, and weekend trips. Look for bags that have extra pockets where you can put snacks, water bottles, or a small tablet. These are great for any trip.

Similar to a Swiss army knife, a boys backpack can be used for many different tasks. A bag that can hold everything is very helpful for your child whether they are going to sports practice, a sleepover, or a day out with friends.

Eco-friendly choices for the kid who cares

Today, a lot of kids are caring about the environment, and getting an eco-friendly boys backpack is a great way to show your support. By buying bags from Hype that are made from recycled materials, kids can help the environment without giving up style.

Not only are these bags good for the environment, they're also stylish, with often one-of-a-kind patterns that make them stand out. It's a small change that makes a big difference to pick an eco-friendly boys backpack, just as choosing to walk or ride a bike instead of drive.

Our picks for the best Hype Boys backpacks

Now that you know what to look for, here are some of the best Hype for boys bags that have everything you need:

The Adventure Seeker: This tough backpack has a cool jungle design and lots of sections to make it easy to organise. It's perfect for a boy who loves to explore.

The Trendsetter: A stylish backpack that comes in vibrant colours, ideal for making a statement at school. Lightweight and equipped with padded straps, it’s both fashionable and comfortable.

The Tech Guy: This backpack is made for kids who are always on the go because it has a special section for computers or tablets and USB charge ports.

The Green Warrior: This backpack is great for kids who care about the environment because it is made from 100% recycled materials. You can wear it all day without getting tired, and it comes in fun, eco-friendly designs.

Conclusion: The Perfect Boys Backpack Awaits

It doesn't have to be difficult to find the right boys backpack. To find the best bag for your child, think about how long it will last, how it looks, how comfortable it is, what size it is, and how many things it can hold. Your child will be prepared for school or any trip that comes their way with the help of Hype's selection of boys backpacks, which are not only functional but also stylish. Start your search right now—your ideal boys backpack is out there waiting to be found.

[abbyindenhaag]

Here’s What I Loved From The Gulbenkian

1. Tile panel with leaves and flowering scrolls, Turkey, 1550

Tiles are fun, geometric patterns are fun, florals are typically beloved by me. The spiral patterns are very pleasing and the color scheme self-contained and soothing. But what made this tiling extra special to me was studying the symmetry. Although the tiles all look similar, it turns out there are actually two distinct versions, so you can’t tile a space with just one — you need to put two together. So the repeated tiles are actually blocks of four. Also, I spent long enough studying this that I found a mistake! The third from the left tile in the second row doesn’t look like the first tile in the row or the tile two rows below it. Oops. But I think it’s nice that the pattern allows for it. I also love that these tiles are so clearly handmade, with variations in the intensities of color or how many little white flowers go on a leaf or how detailed the flowers are. So this is a love.

2. Silk hanging, Japan, 19th century (?)

This one starts out strong with a nice balanced composition. I like how the twin birds are mostly but not entirely symmetrical/identical. Silk is always a strong choice for textiles. And the color scheme is gorgeous — I love the muted earth tones. But what I really love about this piece is the detail of the embroidery and the variety of textures the artist created. The feathers look so feathery, the scales so scaly. And even the background has a nice texture instead of being flat. And, I am probably not sufficiently well-traveled, but I just don’t think I have seen anything else like this before. Anyone??

3. Old Man with a Stick, Rembrandt, 1645

The BEST thing about going to museums is getting to look really closely at how things were made. And the best thing about going to a museum by yourself is getting to spend however long you want at each one without feeling guilty. I spent maybe 10 minutes with this one because I have never been less crowded at a Rembrandt and I wanted to figure out how he Does It. How does it look so real and so beautiful? How so glowy? I obviously have no answers, but I did enjoy discovering how much green and red there is in here. Look at the vermillion in the corner of his eye, the maroon shadow above it, and the greenish highlights on Che cheekbones. And in the hand, you can see how the light reflected on the underside of the fingers is reddish, offset by green shadows above. Also, it’s so cool how the fingers just fade out into the dark but you are absolutely sure of where they are in space. Somehow with this painting you can get really close to it, see the brushstrokes, and even then it still looks real.

4. The Stocking, Mary Cassatt, 1891

What I love about this painting is the strong, competing but not clashing Intentions from each of the subjects. I also love the patience and care of the woman and the intelligence of the baby. There were about seventy-five other babies in this museum alone — cherubs and Baby Jesuses and so on — and none of them looked at all like a person. This is a little person who wants something specific and is going to get it.

5. Boats, Claude Monet, 1868

Can you believe that Monet invented triangles?! What a genius. I think the colors are beautiful, the composition is beautiful, and the perspective kind of original — often we see boats at war or pleasure boats, but these are working boats home for the day. It kind of reminds me of the steam engine (Gare du Nord) paintings.

[poiuy-simblr]

WIP - Bathhouse - Guest Areas

Yesterday, I did this:

As before, I'm adding a cut for length & spoilers for the movie Spirited Away.

Some of the broadest environment shots we get in Spirited Away are devoted to area above the baths.

I don't have the squares for all that, but I can get close. I can get the vibe. And I'm getting closer to what I want.

It's been a really fun, overly-complicated match the detail game. There's different wood on each of the floors, for example - a dark stained wood on the lowest floor, laquered black in the middle, and bright red, a little more matte, on the top floor. The cavity for the podium includes the floor above it, and the whole area is lit by globe lights on the walls and columns.

I spent a lot of time yesterday flipping though images of that whole wall face, the podium up to the great door that the River Spirit leaves through, inside and out, to figure out what was going wrong and why things weren't looking right.

The answer was in the section above the main entrance:

Above the main entrance there is a sign, then windows with a small roof, and then the balcony with the huge door, another roof, another balcony, and so on.

Here's how I resolved that:

(There have been some small changes since this image was taken, but nothing that changes my point here).

So you have the entrance, the wooden sign with metal brackets (don't worry it's been moved down), the windows, the little roof, and the balcony above.

We get most of the information about the path from the entrance to the baths from this scene:

I got it into my head that they go down stairs to get to the baths, but I can't find the proof of that now. Oh well. Whether I'm right or wrong, it's how my build has it and it's too late now. And this is just an interpretation. Right?

Honestly, putting the baths beneath the main floor lets me make them much bigger, so it's a better solution. I'd never fit the hot springs on the entrance level. Right?

And I'm so sure I saw something that told me the entrance and baths weren't on the same floor.

Regardless.

The inside ends up like this:

The angles don't match, but you get the idea. The cavity that the podium is in sits directly against the wall of the entrance so that the stained glass is exposed within it, but the podium still sits far enough back.

Quick shoutout to myself for finding a way to capture those lovely gold panels. They were a doozy. They're taller than Chihiro's head, but shorter than the doorways, and are framed black then again with the wooden framing that's everywhere.

I was also really satisfied with the wallpaper for the podium. I was shocked I didn't have something with the whole moon / pelican imagery, but I found something with the right colors and shapes, and that'll do.

What I did is most easily explained with the floor plans I think:

RIP to the fun elevator I had in the cavity's place before, but it had to get switched (for now) to the opposite end where it doesn't belong. I needed that podium cavity to look right.

I also lost the stairs that went down to that floor and were hidden beside the podium. They're now off to the side, still perfectly usable by sims, but not technically correct. I'll probably fiddle with them more later. There will be both stairs and an elevator connecting the entrance floor to the baths, but where they go is still being interpreted.

But as you go up, the floors weren't adding up.

The balcony with the huge door is on the floor with the black laquered wood, not the red like it is in my build. The entrance level in my build is the brown wood, meaning the balcony with the huge door should be one floor up not two, because I needed that floor in-between for the sign and the small windows.

So I just kind of fudged it:

The balcony is on the red floor, and there's a little bonus balcony on the black floor. Also I won't be able to have a proper rooftop inside because the red floor is where the whole open to the bottom thing ends. I flirted with the idea of disconnecting the exterior from the interior and having a false giant door on either side, but it just felt wrong. So I'll likely use object roofing to make it work when I get there.

Or rebuild the whole floor like I did for the baths yesterday:

I've been a little frustrated by my lack of exacts - the characters on the sign and lanterns are wrong, the lights have flourishes they shouldn't, the curtains aren't a dark enough purple, but I have to remind myself that close enough is close enough. The sims aren't worried that the murals in the baths go from blue-toned to pink rather than yellow to pink. Sims can't read. This project is about finding enough things that are close enough that the overall experience feels magical, and I'm getting there.

As before, I'm happy to share any CC I used.

Until the next screenshots <3

[eyrieofsynapses]

Redemption Panel Highlights and Reactions

GATORS

i.e., Beth Riesgraf and Christian Kane (mostly Beth) talking about filming the scenes in (what I presume is) The Rollin’ on the River Job, where they’re pulling some stuff out of the water, and finding out the next day that there was an absolutely massive alligator pulled out of the same place just a little while after they filmed it

Beth’s impression of the wildlife folks warning them about the alligators

Beth scaring the hell out of Noah Wyle by yelling “GATOR” at him just after he finished his scene

seriously that was an absolutely WILD part of the panel

Everyone showering Aleyse Shannon with literally all the love!

Aldis Hodge in particular big-brothering her, and also the older actors calling her out for not giving herself enough credit, and Dean Devlin talking about how she blew him away at the auditions with her ability to turn on a dime

Seeing Kane with his glasses off wiping at his eyes, momentarily thinking “you okay dude?” and then realizing that he was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes

(same)

The The Bucket Job clip! I’ve been a bit meh on a lot of Redemption, just in how it didn’t feel quite right, but that is possibly the absolute closest I’ve seen it get to the original in the best way. Brilliant

Which comes as no surprise since BETH RIESGRAF directed the episode!!! And apparently put an insane amount of effort in!

Beth’s utter delight and joy at both directing the episode and having the crew behind her

THE CHAIR

So apparently she and Christian went to town on the fight scene and he winds up tied up in a chair somewhere along the line and there’s a whole wild scene, which I am really looking forward to

Beth knowing how insanely particular he’d be about things like zip ties vs rope and what kind of rope e.t.c. e.t.c.

Apparently this is also tied into a VERY DEEP scene with Eliot? It sounds like they’re going to go super hard on his backstory, which is terrifyingly exciting

Just. Beth and Christian going very hard on that episode together

Speaking of: the panel’s going amazingly, I’m laughing so hard my stomach hurts, things are relatively light, and then, of fucking course—

Kane hitting us over the head about Eliot being a mass murderer who can’t be redeemed, is trying to stay static so that he can maintain the place he’s in, and is thus LIVING VICARIOUSLY THROUGH HARRY

What the FUCK. This is of course incredibly insightful and perfectly on point (because it’s Kane) but also, EXCUSE ME, OUCH, why would you DO THAT to us?

Everyone talking about having their families on set and their kids!

Beth’s son growing up on the original Leverage set and now going into being a director himself!

Gina’s daughter also growing up on set!

Noah Wyle’s daughter is playing Harry’s daughter I REPEAT NOAH WYLE’S ACTUAL DAUGHTER IS PLAYING AS HARRY’S DAUGHTER

Gina Bellman remaining relatively stoic throughout much of the panel (seriously, this woman, how the heck does she do it) and then losing it when they’re asked about running/inside jokes

A lot of them are, of course, apparently not appropriate to be spoken on-panel

(A lot of the others are the little inside ones that are special enough not to be ones they want to share, which is sweet!)

Everyone collectively losing it over having LeVar Burton on for The Bucket Job

Devlin and everyone laughing about collecting the various Star Trek people on Leverage

Beth talking about Burton coming over while she’s getting ready and asking her if she’s living on coffee and water, her laughing because he was absolutely right, and then him gently reminding her to remember to eat, which is the sweetest thing in the world oh my gods

Kane apparently choreographing an intense scene with Burton and being scared out of his mind, because Burton really wanted to go for it, but to Kane it was like he’s a figurine that’s not to be messed with because he was so worried about hurting him

Kane choreographing a massive amount of the show, which I knew already, but seriously, this guy blows me away

Gina and the crew talking about how he’d be away for a day of shooting a fight and all of them would be missing him and thinking about him

Family Vibes

Everyone talking about how they’re very noisy and loud together on set and it’s a bit like walking into a group of people having Christmas dinner (or something to that effect) because they’re just Like That together

Aleyse being the most surprised by Beth when she met her because she was like a little angel of light during the auditions but turned out to be an absolute ball of wild energy on set

Gina going “wait you were a MODEL” at Beth

Aldis talking about how much he loved how Parker and Hardison’s relationship had developed and grown!

Also, Aldis apologizing when the New York (iirc) background noise got loud and everyone going “no no we get you”

His outfit is ON POINT today

Gina saying that Christian is the goofiest and wildest out of them in terms of humor

(she goes “some of you may not know this,” which, fair, but also, if you’ve seen more than ten minutes of this guy outside of character you know he’s an absolute ball of sunshine)

Gina, Beth, and Christian talking about how they’d challenge each other to stay off sweets back on the original set, because they knew they needed to stay in shape and also just because they’re competitive (apparently all of them are major sweet tooths) and hide brownies and things from each other, while Aldis is just. doing pushups. eating all the healthy stuff. and then wanders into the room with a literal cupful of chocolates

(and Aldis going “well yeah I have to work off the sweets SOMEHOW”)

Beth explaining that sometimes they’d order a “Kane burrito” from Christian and he’d alter it slightly

Like, you know, chopping up hot jalapenos super fine and mixing them in, and Beth practically not being able to talk after the first bite

Apparently Aldis still went back a lot even after that

(Christian just seems very pleased with himself over it)

(THESE PEOPLE)

Gina goes “hey we should have an episode where we all swap roles,” Devlin going “WAIT FOR SEASON ONE TO BE DONE,” and then somebody (maybe the moderator?? I don’t remember exactly) going “uh actually. We did that”

Cue immediate scramble of “WAIT WHICH JOB WAS THAT”

(paraphrasing) “Yeah you remember the bit where you put on Parker’s harness and went off a building?”

Turns out half the cast had actually forgotten that that existed and only remember when reminded

The original cast all think of the episodes as “jobs”!!!!

Everyone talking over each other, Devlin going “it was with Sterling when we blew up the offices,” deciding that it was the season one finale, and then trying to figure out what episode title it was (eventually they figure out it’s the David jobs)

Moderator and Devlin accurately commenting that the fans know the show much better than they do

Noah Wyle very correctly explaining how Electric Entertainment is like a family and Devlin just. Keeps people

Aleyse and Aldis talking about typing when they’re hacking and going “WHAT THE HECK DO WE TYPE”

Aldis goes “yeah I just type all the bad words that we’re not allowed to say”

Aleyse saying that she’s always a little worried they’re hiding a Word document behind the blue screen and they’re going to pull up what she’s typing at the end of the day and print it out and put it in her trailer going “what the HECK is this”

Noah talking about filming The Golf Job and just getting to direct Jason Marsters and Christian together

Apparently their dynamic in that episode accurately mirrors the one with their characters in Angel!

Which promptly goes straight to the comment that it was very hard to make Marsters look like a golfer (pfft)

(Also apparently Christian plays golf for fun with his friends? Not necessarily something I would’ve thought of!)

Aleyse happily talking about how she loved the dynamic on set and it was very different from what she was used to

Also Aleyse talking about doing stunts and everyone else praising her for going whole hog

Beth especially praising her for the bit where she’s hit with the paralysis injection (I don’t remember which ep it’s from) and her acting for it, because it was incredibly hard to drop off screen in the particular way she did

Aleyse promptly answers that she was terrified with some of those, especially one where she had to keep a clock from falling and breaking

Everyone discussing how they see a new aspect of Breanna’s character in The Train Job

Also, to get serious for a moment, Kate Rorick in particular talks about how Breanna’s part of Gen Z and how we didn’t get the “days of yore” where everything was chill. We’ve basically been living in a world of hostility the whole time. It’s something I deeply appreciate, as someone who’s part of that group, and I love how they emphasize that for us.

This panel was pure chaos and I loved every moment of it! My stomach was actually hurting from laughing so hard, I swear. They had me cackling well over half the time. I would happily take panels double or triple the length of this, this was amazing. I also adore how the second you drop these six people in a room together, they immediately take off and literally just run and give you everything you wanted and more. (It is also evidently very hard to get them to STOP talking.)

I’m also just going to stop and take a second to fawn over the effects for the 3D room. It’s gorgeous—I love how they replicated the headquarters, especially with the stained glass ceilings! Super impressive, especially with all the photos, and I just love the whole thing. Kudos to whoever put that together.

Anyway, I’m definitely missing some stuff too; seriously, there wasn’t a second wasted in this thing, they were cracking some kind of joke or dropping some really interesting piece of information practically every thirty seconds. (And I haven’t even gotten into the clips OR the bloopers. I miiiight do a separate reaction purely for those.) It’s still up right now if you missed it and you want to watch it! I’ll probably watch it again, honestly.

[technowoah]

Can I request a prompt #37 with Karl Jacobs? I love your writing btw :)

Ring(s)

The four times Karl tried to propose and the one time he actually did.

- Karl Jacobs x gen!neutral reader!

- Prompts: 37) "Are you proposing?!"

⚠︎ swearing, fluff, angst if you squint and a rushed ending. I didn't proofread either

an// TYSM FOR LIKING MY WORK 😭ALSO Thanks for requesting and sorry this came out so late! Hope you enjoy :)

To say that Karl loved you was an understatement. He adored you and practically worshipped the ground you stood on. He is so respectful, which is a major upgrade from your other boyfriends, and loves you for who you are. You didn't have to put on a facadè at all during the 3 years you two have dated.

This love wasn't a one way thing. You loved him just as much, or even more, than he did. Everything he did you supported, you were always cheering him on from wherever you were. You were here for the good and the bad, and he was too. You two never shyed away from admiting your love and support. You could write a essay on each thing you love about Karl.

The idea of marriage came up during a late night dinner at Denny's. The idea came so naturally to you, so it surprised Karl that you didn't tense up. Karl was tense when bringing up the topic of marriage, so when you said "Yeah, I wanna get married to you one day." so casually it caught him off gaurd.

You two had already talked about marriage time and time again, but this time Karl wanted to take the initiative. He was ready to get married and since the marriage talk was just a few months ago it was fresh in his mind. Karl could vividly imagine you walking down the aisle towards him looking angelic. He could see everything now and he wanted those daydreams to become a reality. He wanted to physically feel your hands against his as you two say "I do" to one another.

He couldn't stop thinking about settling down in a nice house with you. Karl already bought a ring for you and always has it with him. Now he justs needs to figure out how to tell you.

1st proposal: Fireworks

"THIS IS THE MOST EXPENSIVE FIREWORK IN THE ENTIRE WORLD-"

You blocked out Jimmy's yelling as you sat in a lawn chair in the middle of the woods. Karl had invited you to a MrBeast video shoot because he thought it would be a great early 4th of July. It was late at night and slightly cool outside, so you were wearing a MrBeast hoodie Karl was wearing earlier. You zoned out as the boys talked to the camera over and over again, taking multiple shots.

You found yourself looking at Karl most of the time you sat there and you always caught his gaze towards you. Every time you caught him looking at you, you sent him a small wave or blow him a kiss and every time he sent a shy wave back or sent a more exaggerated kiss back.

During halfway through the shooting you begrudgingly had to move your lawn chair further and further away from your original spot. Karl always checked up on you before and after each firework set were blown up. He has been acting fidgety around you and you didnt know why. When you tried to confront him about it he would always turn away and go back to the boys without a glance back, and his hands in his pockets.

You loved watching the guys play with so many different types of fireworks, this was a great 4th of July for you, but you wished that Karl was sitting next to you feeling the bliss that you were.

You were currently sitting behind bulletproof glass while the guys had a control panel on their lap. Karl kept sending glances towards you and you looked at him and smiled whishing he was next to you and not over by the guys. You knew it was selfish, but he invited you here.

Karl kept bouncing his leg, he kept his hand in his pocket which held the ring. He kept sending glances towards you, knowing he should be on one knee right about now. Jimmy was about to fire off the last rocket of the night and Karl couldn't seem to go over and ask you to marry him. He knew he was hilding himself back which made him hate himself. You deserved a good night and he hoped you enjoyed the fireworks, but he knew on the ride back he would have to apologize.

He stayed with the boys as they went to go see the fireworks they would be setting off soon. Once they came back they were all about to press the button to set off the expensive fireworks they counted down from 5 and he looked towards you. You were standing up with your arms crossed, hopefully shielding yourself from the cold, and looking towards the fireworks that were going to burst. They finally pressed the button the fireworks went off.

Each burst of light in the air sent a glow onto your smiling face. Karl sent a somber glace and marveled in how the explosion of the fireworks sent a beautiful glow around you.

This wasnt the right time. Next time.

2nd proposal: Donuts

"Im sorry for last night." Karl apologized as you both took a seat at a booth by the window at the small coffee and donut shop.

This was supposed to be an apology for the last failed proposal. Instead of spending time with you, he kept his distance which was the opposite of what he really wanted to do. This was a way to spend much needed time with eachother, but this was also another attempt at a proposal.

Karl wanted to hide the ring in the middle of a donut so when you inevitably look at it when he hands it to you, you'll see the ring and then he'll propose right there. To him it seemed flawless.

You never wanted a huge proposal. You didnt want that much attention on you when your future significant other would propose. Something simple would be the ideal proposal and you've hinted that many times to Karl and right now he was listening. There were only two other couples in the small diner because others were picking up donuts and leaving. If he decided to get down on one knee it would cause a scene.

You stayed silent for a moment looking at Karl before deciding to speak.

"It's no problem. Please dont stress out about it." You smiled softly and he smiled back at you. "I mean the fireworks were beautiful, but you all were screaming too much."

You both laughed as you both recalled that night in the desert.

"Yeah I just didn't..I didn't really talk to you all night. I feel bad." Karl said fiddling with his hands.

"Its in the past Karl. And I still know you love me." You reached out to grab both of his hands and hold his cool hands in yours.

"I do love you." He whispered for only you to hear leaving both of you smiling ear to ear.

"What kind of donuts you want?" Karl asked looking into your eyes carefully.

You thought about it for a while before speaking up. "I'll keep it simple. Icing with sprinkles. Surprise me with the icing color!" You exclaimed while letting go of his hands for a second.

Once you two let go of eachothers hands he immediately went to his pocket and played with the velvet box. He nodded his head and without a word he stood up to meet the cashier behind the display box of donuts. He ordered only one donut as you said with orange icing this time.

He paid for the food and stayed at the counter where he paid. Karl looked back to see if you were paying attention to him only to see you looking out the window at the people passing by. Karl smiled at the sight knowing he really wants to marry you one day and then he looked down at the glistening ring inside of the box.

Karl was supposed to put the ring in the middle of the donut that was laying alone on a napkin on the counter. He started to think of the possibilities of what could happen. What if you didn't see the ring and crumble the ring with the napkin and throw it away? What if you accidentally put the ring in your mouth? What if you weren't hungry anymore?

He looked over again to where you were looking at him giving him the same smile you gave during the fireworks. Karl sighed and once again closed the box with the ring. He was a coward and he knew that.

Karl picked up the donut from the counter and made his way over to you.

"Here's your donut with sprinkles and orange icing!" Karl exclaimed putting emphasis on the 'orange' part.

"Thanks babe!" You smiled as he sat down across from you. "Wait, you didn't get anything for yourself?"

Karl sighed again for what seemed like the 100th time today and put on a smile. "I ended up not being as hungry as I thought I was."

"Well I could always share!" You started to eat your donut as Karl ended up looking outside.

Unbeknownst to you he was thinking of another way to propose without himself getting in his own head.

He'll find a time.

3rd proposal: Livestream

"Chat! As you can see I have my significant other here with me!" Karl exclaimed to his Twitch following.

You were sat next to him in another one of his office chairs with a blanket across your lap. You loved to join Karl's streams, the last couple of time you two played minecraft, gang beats, played on the nitendo switch for a while, but this time he didn't tell you what games you two would be playing. Karl just told you to come over tonight and ended up asking to join him for a stream last minute.

Now you are here next to him as Karl glows with excitement as he streams to his growing followers. You loved how he interacted with his fans and had a genuine connection with them, but sometimes that strong connection can, and has led to some nights where you had to stay the night and comfort him from his inner demons and the internet. Those nights made you love him even more, the vulnerability he gave to you made you comfortable with him.

It seems like the more time you spend eith him the more you want to officially get married. You didn't want to rush him because you soon figured out for yourself that there is no rush to express your love, which you two do everyday day. You two can get eloped in Vegas and you'll be happy, as long as you can spend the rest of your life with the man you love.

Karl kept sending glances towards you throughout the stream hoping you were having fun with the chill, q and a stream. Again he wanted to propose to you tonight during the stream. He loved showing your relationship whenever he could and whenever you would allow him to. His community also loved you the moment you became his significant other, so hopefully this will be a beautiful moment.

You talked to his chat as he contemplated, again, about whether to propose tonight. It wasn't infront of people, it was infront of a screen and it would be on Twitter in less than a week. This would be a good moment, but then again he wanted this moment to be between you two and he couldn't find the right time nor the right "moment".

As the stream continues you ended up wrapping yourself fully in the blanket and lying your head on his shoulder. You both cuddled eachother while you two answered questions. Karl kissed the top of your head and finally collected all of his thoughts.

He didn't need to propose to officially claim his love to you. Karl knew you both loved eachother to the ends of the Earth and back. There's no need for ceremony and the one day he will propose, he know it will come naturally. There is no need to force it, and now he wont.

Only time will tell.

4th proposal: spongebob

"Are you ready, kids?

Aye, aye, Captain!

I can't hear you!

Aye, aye, captain!

Oh!"

The TV illuminated the comfortable, dark room you two were in. You were lying on the couch with Karl with the blanket you had while streaming. It was late at night after the stream and you two ended up watching re-runs of spongebob. Karl sang along to the theme song softly while you hummed along. This was the 4th episode you both watched this night and it was a great way to end the week.

"Do you want to stay over tonight?" Karl asked softly with tiredness in his voice.

"Of couse. Im too tired to move, so thanks for offering." You chuckled.

"You're welcome here anytime." Karl yawned and squeezed your sides. "Do you want popcorn?"

"Hell yeah." You got off of Karl as he walked to the kitchen.

He put the bag into the microwave and leaned back onto the kitchen counter as he waited. Karl looked over to the side and saw a empty vase which was next to the velvet box he was carrying with him this whole week. He shook his head and laughed to himself before getting the popcorn out of the microwave, dumping it in a bowl and walking back to see you taking up the whole couch.

"Move over or I'll sit on you." Karl said standing above her.

"Is that a promise?" You teased.

"Okay then!" He turned around and began to slowly and dramatically fake sitting ontop of you.

You began to laugh and try to push him off of you. You successfully got him to sit down and returned to your previous position, but this time with popcorn.

"I love you, you know that?" You hummed into his chest.

"Yeah, and I love you more."

"I love you most."

"I love you mostest." Karl laughed.

"That's not a word." You smiled.

"I love you so much I made up a word for ya." Karl kissed you head and you hugged him tighter.

"You know what?" Karl chuckled. "I love you so much that I tried to propose to you 3 times this week."

Karl finished and you sat up from your spot looking surprised. Karl sat up as well thinking he made a mistake telling you. He was abkut to apologize, but you beat him to speak.

"Oh my gosh!" You exhaled.

"Look, I'm sorr-"

"Are you proposing?!" You exclaimed with a smile on your face.

"Huh-?"

Karl was surprised just like you were before. He remembered that he wanted the Maybe this was the moment he needed this week.

Karl grabbed both of your hands and caressed them both, looking into your eyes. "I was planning to all week. But now I think this is a good moment. So Y/N? Will you marry me?"

"Of course I will!" You enveloped him into a tight hug and peppered his face with kisses. He finally found his moment and he couldn't be happier.

"You said you tried to propose three other times?" You questioned. "When was that?"

"Its a long story."

[makeste]

but I just feel too tired to be fighting

this is a follow-up post to what I said in my recap the other day about this arc being the Deku Angst arc, as opposed to the Villain Hunt arc or the Deku SIXQUIRKS Exhibition arc. I feel like the fandom discussion tends to focus on the flashier parts of the chapters -- the sexy villains and the new quirk reveals and the Shindous -- each week, and so the quieter emotional beats sometimes get overlooked, especially since the character arc here is playing out in little bits and pieces over time rather than all at once.

this has always been a very reactionary fandom, and there’s a tendency to judge the chapters week to week without ever going back to look at how they all fit into the big picture. so I figured I would try to attempt that, and basically go chapter by chapter here to look at what exactly Horikoshi is setting up and how it all fits together.

so let’s start with the end of chapter 306, which is when the arc officially kicks off. specifically with the very last page:

this is imo one of the best pages Horikoshi has ever drawn. I got the sense that this was a scene he’d had in his mind’s eye for quite a long time, and that he was excited to finally get to this part of the story. it’s extremely effective as both a chapter-ender, and an arc-opener. like, look at this:

it establishes the initial premise of the new arc -- the world is in chaos, and Deku is now seemingly on his own

it leaves the readers with a number of questions. why did Deku leave U.A.?? is he really on his own now?? why does he look so beat-up and exhausted?? what is he up to?? what is the world like now that all these villains have been unleashed and the heroes have been decimated?? and most importantly of all, what the fuck is going to happen next??

it pays homage to some of Horikoshi’s comic book influences -- Batman in particular

it dramatically hits us with that “THE FINAL ACT BEGINS” and lets us know that shit is getting real now

that’s some good shit. so much so that I think people tended to overlook the other notable thing about this page amidst all of the initial excitement and discussion and speculation about where the series was headed. and that is the fact that the final panel in this chapter is NOT the panel of Deku standing above the city. the very last panel, the one that this chapter actually ends on, is instead the close-up of Deku’s face. his face, which is covered in shadow; and his eyes, which have dark circles under them and are prominently missing the usual flecks of light that give him his signature “sunny optimistic shounen protagonist” look.

not to mention this last line here, which is a call back to the very first time we saw the 14-year-old Deku way back in chapter one.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Horikoshi chose to throw this reference in. nor is it a coincidence that THIS is the scene he actually chose to end the chapter on. what this does is show us the drastic shift in Deku’s emotional state of mind, and his attitude towards being a hero. he’s gone from being thrilled and excited to being jaded and exhausted. he’s matured, but at a great cost. it’s always been his dream to be a hero, but “be careful what you wish for” is a popular adage for a reason. and right now he looks the furthest thing from happy.

and this is the emotional beat that Horikoshi chooses to end the chapter on. this is the panel that closes out the War arc, and begins the final act. to me the message could not be clearer -- this arc will be about the exploration of Deku’s character, and his struggle as he tries to live up to the expectations that have been placed on him as the Last Holder of OFA and quite possibly the World’s Only Hope.

it’s a character arc that builds on a lot of the things we’ve already learned about Deku over the course of the series, such as the fact that he is reckless, and that he focuses on others often at the expense of himself. but more importantly, it’s an arc that finally expands on the dark side of what has up until now been a net positive for Deku -- the power of OFA. up until this point, despite its ups and downs, it’s been a boon for Deku overall and has allowed him to pursue his dream. but now we’re finally reaching the point where the monkey’s paw part of the OFA blessing/curse finally starts to come into play. OFA gives Deku more power than he could have ever dreamed of, but it also comes with a built-in destiny that he can’t opt out of whether he likes it or not. AFO is on the loose and out there trying to destroy the world. and now everyone has pinned their hopes on this sixteen-year-old kid, and the question of whether or not the sixteen-year-old kid is ready is apparently not one that anyone feels inclined to ask (possibly because they’re afraid that the answer might be “no”).

he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. he has to do it, because there’s no one else who can. that’s the kind of pressure that is on Deku now.

and on that note, we begin the Deku Angst arc.

chapter 307

this in hindsight was mostly just a set-up chapter to better establish the current state of the BnHA world at large (spoilers: it’s not good), while also providing an answer for one of the big initial questions of the arc -- namely, “what happened to all of those villains that AFO released from Tartarus?” these are important things to touch on, but the pacing could definitely have been better, and the bulk of the chapter was dedicated to providing fanservice to all of the Shindou fans who spammed the most recent popularity poll (which, whatever lol). anyway, so this was the sole chapter thus far with absolutely no Deku development. thankfully the arc picks up from there.

chapter 308

on to the next one! this was the one and only chapter thus far which I think actually qualifies as an “exhibition fight.” this was definitely all about showing off Deku’s current powerset, as well as introducing us to another of the SIXQUIRKS. however, there was Deku development here as well, most notably in this scene:

this is the scene that got a lot of people speculating that this arc was going to focus on Deku hunting down all of the old villains. but I think people got so caught up in that speculation that they overlooked what this scene tells us about Deku’s mindset. and yes, there is new information being revealed here, and it’s not just a rehash of the stuff we already knew. like yes, we know that Deku was shaken up by the recent encounters with Dabi and Tomura, and we know that made him start questioning why villains become villains in the first place, and all that good stuff, and that’s great. however, there are two additional important things that this scene helps establish for us.

the upcoming battle with TomurAFO is weighing heavily on Deku’s mind. this is something that will become a recurring theme in this arc. Deku is thinking about this constantly. the question of what to do when he finally encounters TomurAFO again is knocking incessantly at the back of his mind, and this won’t be the last time it comes up.

Deku is using these villain encounters as test runs. can Tomura be redeemed?? is he just being stupid and naïve?? or is this really something worth attempting?? the interesting thing about this is that Deku’s resolve to save people is usually so strong and unwavering that it’s more than enough to overcome any doubts that he might have. but this time it seems like the repeated objections posed by the Vestiges and Gran Torino have really gotten to him. it’s possible I’m just reading way too much into things, but to me it really feels like Deku’s recent attempts at Talk no Jutsu were meant to do more than just show his growing awareness that the line between heroes and villains is thinner than he once imagined. they’re also serving as trial runs for the real test, when it finally comes. if he can “save” even a villain like Muscular, there’s hope for him being able to save Tomura as well. and so that moment when Muscular rejects him out of hand is all the more disappointing to him, even if it wasn’t really unexpected. basically it wasn’t the answer that he had been hoping for.

aside from those little notes though, like I said, this was unquestionably an exhibition fight first and foremost. which is fine; we needed to establish where Deku is currently in terms of strength, and it was also just fun to see him kick some ass, ngl. in terms of story purpose this chapter was similar to 219, which showed us how Shouto and Katsuki had powered up after getting their provisional licenses. people who don’t care about those characters might argue that these fights weren’t necessary, but as someone who stans all three characters hard, I would disagree! but anyways, moving on.

chapter 309

in contrast to the previous chapter, this chapter focuses more on establishing Deku’s current mental state, as opposed to his physical state. and this is what we learn:

(1) Deku is ~technically~ being shadowed/accompanied by All Might and the Hawksquad (but in practice he’s avoiding them).

(2) it was Deku’s own decision to leave U.A., and he did it because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in order to protect him.

and finally, (3) Deku’s game plan is to stop Tomura and All for One before they reach full power.

this last part is very important, because it means there’s a countdown in effect. as far as Deku is concerned, there’s only a finite amount of time before TomurAFO becomes unstoppable. which means that he’s not only under “gotta get stronger” pressure, but time pressure as well. he doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time and training in safety. he’s being rushed now; this is do-or-die.

this chapter is also the first in this arc in which we get to see Deku’s expressions without the hood covering up his face, and what we see is very telling. as previously stated, the light is gone from Deku’s eyes. he keeps his expressions very neutral, and the only time we even see a hint of a smile is when he hugs his mom in the flashback, and it’s clear from the dialogue (“it’s okay, I’ll come home to you”) that he’s doing it for her sake in order to comfort her.

but aside from that, this is very much not the Deku we’ve grown accustomed to. this is the chapter that really establishes his current mental state imo. above all else, he’s afraid that more people will get hurt because of him, and so he’s distancing himself from everyone around him. and he’s also morbidly preoccupied with the inevitability of having to face TomurAFO again, and soon. the chapter ends on the flashback of Gran giving him his cape, and telling Deku that “killing can be another way to save someone.” there’s a lot on this kid’s mind, to say the least.

chapter 310

this chapter opens with a gang of civilians who are trying to open fire on a nice fox lady whose only crime was walking around in the rain at night. Deku intervenes to save her, and it’s the first time in this arc that we see anything close to the “old” Deku, who just wanted to save people with a smile.

but it’s bittersweet, because all the lady can talk about is how scared she was, and how horrible everything is right now. and so Deku, who feels responsible in a lot of ways for everything that’s happened, just feels that much more pressure to somehow make things right again.

there’s also this extra throwaway line which is especially heartbreaking:

“I can’t afford to be around anyone.” fucking ouch. just reinforcing once more how incredibly isolated Deku is right now -- not by choice, but because he feels like it’s not safe to let anyone else get close to him. and so he’s out here running around this dystopian cityscape in the middle of the night in the pouring rain all on his own, and neglecting himself to the point where All Might practically has to force a bento on him.

but does he complain? of course not. because his focus is never on himself. instead, when he settles down to eat, his thoughts immediately drift back to, guess who...

it’s that time pressure once again. “unless I draw out One for All’s full power, I can’t stop any of this.” it’s just nonstop, I have to get stronger, I’m running out of time, I have to do better, and constantly thinking about that inevitable confrontation.

Deku is a thinker, you guys. and when left to his own devices he will overthink, every time. his mind will run in endless loops while he mentally works his way through all of the possibilities. and that’s one of his greatest strengths, don’t get me wrong, but at a time like this it’s also one of his greatest weaknesses. it’s just so fucking easy for him to get stuck in his own head, in his endless rambling thoughts and analyses. and without anyone else there to help distract him, or help him focus, he’s become fixated on his mission, and it’s slowly consuming him.

this, incidentally, is also the chapter in which we finally see Two and Three’s faces, and learn why Two in particular is so reluctant to lend his power to Deku. he appears to be the lone holdout at this point, so stay tuned on that, because I don’t doubt this will wind up being crucial to Deku’s future development, however it winds up playing out.

chapter 311

this chapter flips back to the Hawksquad for the first half, so we get a brief respite from the ongoing Dekuangst. right before we switch back though, we do get confirmation of something we had pretty much already guessed:

like, that much was already apparent based on what we’d seen (the bags under his eyes; the fact that he refused to sit still in any one place for very long even at night), but it’s always nice to get the official confirmation so that people can’t dispute it lol. so yeah, Deku isn’t sleeping much. and not eating much either, if all he’s getting is the occasional bento from Dadmight. so basically not taking care of himself at all, huge shocker there. but this is something that’s important enough to the story that Horikoshi took the time to point it out in the dialogue, in addition to all of the visual clues we’d already gotten.

and just in case we needed to drive that point in any further, this chapter ends with the appearance of Lady Nagant! like yeah, no shit Deku isn’t getting much sleep, what with him having to fend off racist civilians and hired assassins every five fucking minutes. smdh. can he live??

chapter 312

so this is the chapter that properly introduces Lady Nagant, who maaaay or may not be one of the primary antagonists of this arc?? like, it’s really unclear right now tbh, but she gets hyped up by Hawks and AFO, and has a flashback and a mysterious past and a weird trump card (where did you go, Overhaul) and all that good shit, so yeah? one can hope at any rate.

but anyway. so to his credit, Deku’s first thought is to retreat, but he quickly abandons that plan once he figures out Nagant’s location. this is played off like a logical strategic decision at first, but the subsequent chapter quickly makes it clear that Deku’s decision to take the fight to Nagant is less rational than he might have you think.

chapter 313

so yeah. last but not least, the most recent chapter, in which Deku’s real reason for targeting Lady soon becomes apparent:

what’s more, it quickly becomes clear that he miscalculated and probably would have been better off following Hawks’s advice, seeing as he promptly gets himself shot, and subsequently realizes that AFO gave Nagant an extra quirk, something he hadn’t taken into account. but instead of cutting his losses and running at this point, he doubles down instead and not only breaks out Smokescreen, but also the Third’s quirk which he has never even used before.

it’s worth noting that both En and the Third start telling him to chill at this point, and warn him that what he’s attempting is too dangerous. but tbh if they were expecting him to listen, they haven’t been reading the same arc I’ve been reading. once again, Horikoshi makes it clear that Deku has one thing and one thing only on his mind right now.

of course. once again it all comes back to this. hunt down AFO. it doesn’t matter that he’s exhausted. it doesn’t matter that he’s just been shot twice. it doesn’t matter that Hawks, despite knowing what Deku was capable of with his OFA abilities, specifically warned him away from this one person only. it doesn’t matter that even the Vestiges are trying to tell him you’re going too fast and you’re trying to do too much and it’s too dangerous.

he just doesn’t care. long story short, the only thing that matters to Deku right now is tracking down and defeating TomurAFO. and as the person who knows him best once so aptly put it, “he doesn’t take himself into account.” and therein lies the major challenge of this arc.

and so this is where we’re currently at now. and this has been a very long post, but if nothing else, I hope I was able to get this one point across: there is absolutely no way that Deku will be able to defeat TomurAFO as he is now. not a chance in hell. somehow he’s managed the uncommon feat of waging a war of attrition against himself, which is really quite an accomplishment. he’s not taking care of himself, and he’s refusing to listen to sound advice from the people surrounding him, and is trying to skip ahead to the final boss battle before he’s ready, because the guilt and pressure from feeling responsible for the current situation are eating him up. the only way that the world can go back to normal is if he can defeat AFO; therefore he has to do it as soon as possible, because time is running out and everyone is counting on him. this is who Deku is. and this is what inevitably happens when his saving mentality is taken to extremes, and left unchecked.

anyway so to wrap up this post now, I do think this arc is a lot more cohesive than it’s gotten credit for thus far, and Deku is the glue holding it all together. I for one am loving the exploration of his character and all the subtle little angsty touches as we build up to the big moment, whenever it finally comes. just keep in mind though that if his decisions right now seem reckless and short-sighted, it’s because they’re supposed to seem that way, because Deku is not in a good mental state right now. the cracks are finally showing in our perfect protagonist, just like everyone has been wanting this whole time. he is just a kid. he is doing his best. he is trying far too hard to do his best, and it is hurting him so badly, but he doesn’t even realize. this arc is not an endorsement of the Angsty Nomad Hero lifestyle, lol. it’s the exact fucking opposite, and I think it’s being wildly misinterpreted with all of the emphasis on “oh look at that, he mastered another quirk with no effort”, as opposed to “oh look at that, he is shutting down emotionally and is a few more missed nights of sleep away from a complete and total breakdown.”

tl;dr the overarching storyline of this arc is all about Deku slowly falling apart due to his trauma from Jakku, and the subsequent pressure that was put on him by the Vestiges with their whole “GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE THE LAST USER OF OFA, THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ALL ON YOU BUDDY” pep talk. and mark my words, things are not going to go according to plan. something is going to go terribly wrong here. whether it’s something happening to All Might, or AFO setting up a trap for him, either way Deku is being set up to fail in a major way. unless of course, someone (or a group of someones) manages to intervene first, and possibly stage an intervention or something. it’s what he needs right now, but idk if Horikoshi is going to make it that easy.

anyway, but in other words, the point of this arc is not to show how much stronger Deku has gotten and how he doesn’t even need his friends anymore. it’s the exact opposite -- the point of this arc is to show that Deku needs his friends now more than ever. that in spite of OFA and all of its mystical trappings and fancy SIXQUIRKS, Deku can’t do this alone. he needs his friends. that’s the core message. and right now, we are at the “I can get by on my own” part of the story. and the part we are all waiting for, but which is coming -- I guarantee it is coming, you guys -- is “the thing is, you don’t have to.”

and that shit is going to slap hard you guys. and I for one can’t wait. but until then, enjoy the angst.

[violetlilysunshine]

He’s Not My Harry

Boyfriend Harry Holland x Actress Reader

Summary: You’re presenting at Comic Con and a fan asks you a question about your relationships with Harry and Tom.

WC: 1,550

Warnings: A little angsty maybe??? But nothing really

A/N: I’ve never been to Comic Con so I don’t really know how it works, also written before Tomdaya, so don’t at me.

REQUESTS OPEN - Or just come chat :)

MASTERLIST - JOIN MY TAGLIST

Your new show was invited to present at Comic Con this year and you were over the moon. You were already planning to go to Comic Con, since Harry would be there with Tom, but now you got to be featured as well. You hadn’t seen Harry in way too long. You and Tom had filmed together in Atlanta, becoming fast friends. After he had introduced you to Harry, you guys hit it off immediately, quickly becoming a couple.

The distance had been pretty hard on the both of you, but you were still going strong after two years. You and Harry made your relationship public just a week before Comic Con, knowing that you wouldn’t be able to keep your hands off each other once you reunited. You posted a casual, “Happy two years,” and a cute picture, keeping it short and sweet, mimicking Harrison and Grace. Harry on the other hand seized the opportunity and posted, “Two years. Gotcha beat Haz and Grace,” making sure to tag them both. Luckily, they found it funny and you all laughed it off.

You both had gotten more positive messages than you were expecting, but quite a bit of hate as well. You expected to get some, but didn’t really think people would be sending as much to Harry as they were. You felt really bad about it, but he reassured you over and over that he was fine. The absolute last thing you were prepared for, was how much hate he was getting because the fans were shipping you with Tom instead.

The boys got in last night and Harry called you immediately upon leaving the airport. He texted you again as they were pulling into the hotel and you bolted down the stairs. You found them at the front desk, checking in together and Harry was just taking a room key.

He turned around, spotting you standing by the staircase. His face broke into a giant smile, his eyes lighting up at your presence. You skipped across the room, jumping into his arms immediately as he dropped his bag, his other hand still holding his phone and key as he wrapped it around your waist.

“Hey, Red,” you greeted him quietly in his ear as you snuggled into his neck.

He rubbed his face deeper into your hair, “hi, darling,” he whispered back.

You pulled back slightly, arms still latched around his neck, and pulled him into a deep kiss. You were glad that you’d posted together because you wouldn’t have been able to hold back.

When you pulled away, you saw some fans taking pictures scattered across the lobby, but you weren’t all that worried about it. You’d kind of expected it, and most of their focus was on Tom anyway.

“Alright, you lot, c’mon,” Tom called, picking up his bag and heading towards the elevators.

You unwrapped from Harry, taking his camera bag over your shoulder as he grabbed his larger suitcase.

“Alright, love, so I’m in 615 with Harrison,” he told you as you waited for the elevator, “you can drop by whenever you like, alright?”

“Oh,” you answered in a small voice, smile dropping just slightly.

“What is it?” he asked gently.

“Well, I sorta thought maybe you could stay with me...”

“Oh, well, I didn’t know what you wanted to do, so I just got this one with Harrison. It’s connected to Tom’s too, but uh, I’d rather be with you if that’s what you want,” he said with a smile.

“Hey!” Harrison called turning around.

“Sorry bro, but do you really blame me?” Harry said, smirking.

“Whatever, div,” Harrison turned back around, climbing into the elevator behind Tom.

“Okay, we’re in 710,” you told him, as well as Tom and Harrison, passing Harry your second key.

“Maybe I should write the numbers on them so I don’t get ‘em mixed up,” Harry laughed.

You giggled back, looping your arm around his wrist.

~~~~~

Waking up next to Harry was your favorite thing in the world; you loved feeling his arm carelessly thrown over you and his legs tangled with yours. You loved seeing his sleepy morning smile and crazy bed head curls. You loved hearing his raspy morning voice and his grumbles as he awoke. You’d never get enough of it or him.

You rolled over this morning to find his eyes already on you; you smiled gently, bringing a hand up to push the curls off his forehead.

“Morning, baby,” he said, pulling you closer.

“Mmm, hi,” you whispered.

“Wish we could stay like this forever,” he said, leaning forward to kiss along your jawline.

You giggled as his hair brushed over your face, “unfortunately, we both have things to do.”

“Mmm yeah, stupid work,” he grunted, tucking into your neck, pressing a few kisses to your skin before mumbling, “stupid Tom.”

You laughed loudly at that, knowing he was just joking and he didn’t really think badly of his brother.

You giggled again, pulling his head up to kiss him for real. He held your kiss for a moment, before pulling away. He brushed his fingers against your skin under your shirt, just watching you for a moment. You giggled under his intense gaze.

“What time are your panels, darling?” he questioned gently.

You rattled off what you could remember before asking, “why?”

“Well I wanna come to as many as I can o’course! Maybe bring the guys with me just for fun.”

“Mmkay,” you giggled, before pulling him in for a few more slow kisses.

Before you knew it, your alarm was going off, “have to get up and get ready,” you said sadly.

“Me too. Was supposed to be at Tom’s half an hour ago,” he chuckled.

You slapped his chest lightly before rolling out of bed to get ready for the day.

He chuckled deeply, watching you fiddling around and getting your stuff together for a second before getting out of bed to do the same.

~~~~~

You weren’t really expecting anyone to bring Harry up today in your panel, but of course, three questions in, someone said something.

“Hi, um, my question is for Y/N,” the fan said timidly into the microphone.

“Hey, darling!” you cheered with a big smile, “what’s up?”

“Um, well I saw you posted a happy two years with Harry, and I was wondering why you picked him instead of Tom?”

Your face dropped instantly, lips curling down and eyes losing their sparkle. You stared blankly at the fan before asking, “are you serious?” in a low voice.

The fan just looked back at you, nodding only the slightest bit.

You took a deep breath, glancing at the ceiling before opening your mouth. You opened and closed it a few times, trying to figure out how to handle the situation.

“I know that the smart thing to do here would be to not answer that question, but I’m going to,” you breathed, “I’m going to answer it once and that’s that,” you said finally. “Let me start with this: I hate that question because it sounds like ‘why’d you settle for Harry when you could have had Tom?’” you paused, “it makes it seem like Harry is less than Tom and that is absolutely not true at all,” you took a break there, breathing deeply.

You noticed fans were beginning to chatter in the audience, pointing at the boys sitting in the front row. You noticed the look on Harry’s face and after that, all you could see was red.

“I don’t need you to point at them, guys, I know they’re there,” you spoke tenderly into the mic, chuckling a little bit so as not to scream.

You continued your answer, speaking slowly, “Tom and Harry are not one-in-the-same. They’re not interchangeable. They are two completely different people. Harry offers me things that no one else in the world ever could. He’s kind and smart and beautiful and confident and genuine and hardworking and so, so incredibly talented and one of the absolute greatest people you could ever surround yourself with,” your voice started to falter as you got choked up, almost crying from anger, “and not that Tom isn’t all of those things, but he’s not my Harry. Tom is great and one of my best friends in the world and I’m so grateful for that, but... I love Harry so much that it hurts,”

You took another break, glancing at the ceiling again to try and keep yourself from losing it, “and if anyone puts him down in front of me again, I’m absolutely going to lose my shit. So…” you trailed off, chuckling again, “so, in conclusion, they’re very different and while Tom is great, Harry is the best. Next question, please.”

You turned to face the fan on the other side of the audience, placing your mic in your lap and tossing your hair behind your shoulder. You took a deep breath, shaking off your anger, and looking at Harry in the audience again. His happy expression had returned now, his eyes brightening and a very small smile gracing his features. You gave him a tight lipped smile back mouthing, “I love you,” to him quickly.

He mouthed, “I love you more,” back, making your smile grow even wider.

TAGLIST:  @samhollandscupcake @spider-barnes @hogwartsmarvelmommy @tulipholland @harryhollandsgirlfriend @cupids-crystals @sunwardsss

[firstofficerwiggles]

Chapter 4: A Rather Indecent Proposal

Links to other chapters: Chpt. 1, Chpt. 2, Chpt. 3 Chpt. 5

Pairing: The Mandalorian x female reader

Rating: T

Warnings: Jealous!Din, a little bit of canonical violence

Word Count: ~9900 (I know it’s long, but it felt better as one chapter instead of split into two.)

Author’s note: Happy Mando Monday! I hope you enjoy this new chapter! First though, I need to apologize if the man you love or you yourself are called Eugene, but please don’t hate me for thinking it’s an unsexy name. Also, apologies to skinny men everywhere, you might not be my type, but I’m sure someone is into you.

“Do you think you could come with me for a business meeting? I could use your language skills.” Mando surprises you with his request. So far, he’s always conducted any business on his own, and except for a few weeks ago when you asked him about his bounty, he hasn’t shared any details of his work with you. But as always, you’re eager to help him if you can.

“Of course, I can. What do you need?” You’re actually kind of excited at the chance to accompany him.

“The client comes from the Unknown Regions and I hear he prefers to use Sy Bisti when possible,” Mando explains, “He’s also known to be very particular, so anything that can impress him would be helpful.”

“Absolutely, I can be your interpreter,” you agree, “When is this meeting?”

“As soon as we get to Canto Bight in a couple of hours.” He tells you. Oh, you look down at your lounging-on-the-ship comfy clothes; you’ll need to get yourself pulled together for a business meeting.  

“I better go get changed into something more presentable then. Can you watch the little guy?” You ask him.

“Why? You look fine.” Mando is such a guy sometimes. You just give him an incredulous look with a small raise of your eyebrow as if to say really? “I mean, sure, I’ll watch the kid if you want to change.”

“Thanks. But, yes, I definitely need to change before we meet your client,” you reply and head down to the hull; you’re almost out of earshot when you hear him mutter to the child, “Don’t get it, she always looks fine to me.” It makes you smile to yourself that he thinks that, yet there’s a part of you that’s eager for him to see you dressed a little nicer for once.

For about the millionth time you tell yourself that you shouldn’t have a crush on Mando, but that voice is getting drowned out more and more by another one that keeps telling you to enjoy it. After your trip to Crucival, you know that he finds you attractive at least. And Maker knows you’re even more attracted to him now that you know him even better. Plus seeing him almost naked was hard to ignore! So what if he considers you just a friend, as long as you don’t let things get out of hand, or say something stupid to him, you might as well have fun with your silly little fantasies.

You rummage through your clothing and pull out a nice black dress. It’s stylish but without being too fussy and you think, it will be perfect for a meeting with a client. Besides, if you’re going to Canto Bight, you know most of the women there will be dressed to the nines so you want to make sure you’re helping Mando give off a good impression. You take the time to style your hair and put on some make-up too. You give yourself a once-over in the small mirror in the fresher and, even in the harsh industrial light, you have to say that you look pretty nice. You knew that being a nanny to a toddler was never going to be a glamorous job, but the chance to clean up like this is fun every once in a while.

“We’re landing soon, you need to come sit down!” You hear Mando calling to you, so you quickly make your way back up to the cockpit.

“Thanks,” you say as you get back to your seat, but before you sit down, you turn to Mando with a little flourish and say, “See, much more presentable for your client now.”

Din stares at you in the elegant dress; you’re literally taking his breath away and he can’t even speak for a few seconds. Finally all he can think to say is, “You look good.” And he immediately chides himself for not being able to come up with a better compliment. Thankfully, you seem pleased with his pathetic words and just give him a happy smile before buckling yourself in. He’s still staring at you, taking in the pretty hairstyle you’ve created and looking at whatever it is that you’ve done to make your lips seem redder and fuller. It isn’t until a sensor on the control panel starts beeping loudly that Din snaps back to reality and focuses on landing the Crest.

“Wait, what about the child, do we bring him with us?” In your excitement, you’ve forgotten your primary job, as you’re getting ready to head out into the hustle and bustle of this flashy city. You look at the little one’s big eyes and like his father, he also seems to be fascinated with your done-up appearance.

“Sure, I have a satchel he can ride along in. And he’s plenty old enough to get into the casino; the age to get in is 18.” Mando chuckles as he maneuvers his 50-year-old toddler into a small brown shoulder bag. Mando’s cape partially obscures the little one making him less noticeable. You suppose he’ll be all right, it’s only a meeting in the restaurant of a casino; it’s not as if you’re taking the little one to the gaming tables. Although if you’re honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if Mando said that was perfectly ok too, so long as he’s safe. You give his tiny hand a squeeze and he coos back at you seemingly eager for your little adventure.

You follow Mando off the ship and through the throngs of men in sharply tailored evening jackets and women beautifully attired in chic gowns. Everyone looks very cosmopolitan especially against the stunning background of the decadent casino. You have to admit that you were expecting something a little more garish based on the descriptions you’ve heard of Canto Bight, but this particular establishment is quite nice with marble floors, crystal chandeliers, and unique modern art pieces strategically placed throughout the large lobby. With Mando in his beautiful beskar armor and you in your fashionable dress, you make a dashing pair as you pass by the colorful lights of the gaming machines.

Din leads you to a restaurant entrance and tells the maître d’ that he is here to meet a Mr. Omseki. The man seems slightly taken aback by the presence of a Mandalorian but when his gaze lands on you, his face softens and in a crisp accent he says, “Right this way, Madam” and then he barely glances at Din, as he says, “Sir”. It’s not surprising that the man would rather keep his eyes on you with your eyes shining in delight as you take in the scene around you. Din’s never cared much for Canto Bight and its rather pompous atmosphere, but he’s finding some charm in this place as he watches your reaction to it all. Not to mention, Din knows he would have received a much frostier welcome here without you by his side and he’s very glad you came with him. As you reach the client’s table, this feeling is renewed, as Mr. Omseki is all smiles as you greet him in the unusual language. Despite not understanding the words, Din can tell by the man’s animated speech, that he is positively delighted at the prospect of meeting with a beautiful woman and not just a Mandalorian bounty hunter. The man also seems happy to see the child and he gives him the flower from his lapel to play with as a small gift. Din listens as you interpret the client’s words and you all begin to exchange some welcoming small talk. Greef Karga had been the one to pass on this client to Din as a lucrative off-the-books bounty, but the man he described was temperamental and moody. Mr. Omseki is anything but moody tonight and if Din didn’t know better, he’d swear the man was flirting with you. He doesn’t love that idea, but if it helps this meeting go smoothly, it will be worth it.

Mr. Omseki is a charmer and he is thrilled to be speaking to you; he’s told you several times how pleasant it is to talk business in an ‘appropriate’ language and how overjoyed he is to speak to you. You suppose it must have been a while since he’s had the opportunity to speak Sy Bisti and perhaps that’s why he’s enjoying himself so much now. You’ve felt a little abashed at times, as you’ve interpreted his rather flowery praise of you to Mando although at least some of it has also extended to him. However, this client seems more interested in just chatting with you than he is in talking business with Mando. You try to steer the conversation back to Mando’s work, but each time you do, Mr. Omseki manages to ask you another question about yourself. Mando must sense your worry that you aren’t doing a good enough job and he drops his hand down to cover yours where it is sitting on the table. He gives you a reassuring squeeze and you continue making polite conversation with the client. You figure this must be part of his business negotiations.

Din leaves his hand covering yours in a clear message to the client that you belong with him. It’s a subtle gesture, but one that Mr. Omseki is shrewd enough to understand as shortly afterwards he shifts the conversation to the bounty that he wants Din to capture. He listens carefully as you interpret the details and he begins to formulate a plan for the hunt. Din almost has all the pertinent information, when a sudden commotion interrupts the conversation. He immediately pulls his blaster and shields you behind him. A man in a disheveled suit is pushing past the maître d’ and several waiters as he stumbles towards your table. Din realizes disappointedly that this man looks exactly like the quarry that was just described by Mr. Omseki.

“Mr. O-Omseki, I have it, I have all your m-money and the in-interest,” the man stutters out as he begins pulling out bags of credits from his coat.

“Well, well, Mr. Sanditore, looks like this is your lucky day,” Mr. Omseki drawls out, “I was just about to send this Mandalorian off to kill you.”

“Th- thank you Mr. Omseki, thank you, I promise you won’t have any trouble from me again.” The disheveled man is practically shaking with gratitude.

“Well, I am sorry Mr. Mandalorian, it was delightful to meet you and your most lovely interpreter, but I am afraid I no longer have need of your services.” Mr. Omseki says to Din. Then he turns to you and speaks in Sy Bisti in a soft voice. Din obviously can’t know what he’s saying but the mild look of surprise on your face is enough to raise his concern. Whatever it is though, you handle it gracefully and end the conversation with a pleasant tone before shifting back to Basic to say good-bye. As you exit the table, you reach for Din’s arm, threading your hand around his elbow. He is surprised by your touch but says nothing as you walk towards the large bar near the center of the restaurant.

“What did he say to you?” Din wants to know.

“He asked me if we were romantically involved, because if we weren’t he wanted to know if I was free for the rest of the evening.” You reply looking a little embarrassed.

“What did you tell him?” He really wants to hear this answer.

“I lied and said that we were. It seemed like the best solution.” You’re slightly looking away from him as you say this as if you’re worried about making eye contact.

“Good.” Din’s pleased you lied, and it’s petty, but he likes the idea of that rich man thinking that Din has something that he wants and can’t have.

“I’m sorry about the job though,” you’re saying to him now, “I know you must be disappointed.”

“It’s alright,” Din sighs a little though, “these things happen.” He sees you look around the bar area with a wistful look and realizes that you’re not ready to leave. “Besides, now we have time to stay and have a drink, just the two of us, well, us and our little sleeping bundle here.” The baby has curled up and is napping in his little satchel.

“Really?” You look so pleased that it makes Din smile to himself. You settle into one of the stools at the bar and Din motions to the bartender to order your drinks. He orders one for himself too, asking for a straw in his.

“Wait, so you do use straws?” You ask with a small laugh.

“Sure, it’s the easiest way to drink in public.” He shrugs matter-of-factly, but that just seems to make you giggle more. “What’s so funny?”

“I don’t know,” you say between giggles, “but there’s something so cute about you using a straw.”

“Cute?” He says, sounding slightly insulted.

“Oh stop, I mean it in a good way,” you say and light push his shoulder in a playful fashion, “It’s probably just because I’ve never seen you use a straw before.”

“So when you see me do something new, it’s cute to you?” Din is playing up his affront to the word cute because he’s enjoying teasing you.

“No, not everything new.” You roll your eyes at him. “It’s just when you do something ordinary, I guess, because I tend to think of you as extraordinary.” You let your lashes flutter a little as you say that last word, flirting with him.

“Extraordinary, huh?” He cocks his helmet to the side as he looks at you, “I like that better than cute.”

“Whatever, you’re still cute too.” You give him a wink and then turn to the bartender who has your drinks. Both glasses have a straw and you make quite a show of using yours, so much so that Din can’t help but let out a laugh. You’re both enjoying the moment so much that neither of you notice a thin, lanky man approach you.

“Ex-excuse me?” The man is trying to get your attention. Mando shifts back into alert mode almost instantly as he says, “Yes?”

The man is about as tall as Mando with very fair hair and pale skin. He looks to be in his mid-thirties and seems a little out of place here in a casino. Although, like the other men here, he’s wearing an expensive suit, but everything about him looks slightly uncomfortable and it’s as if he doesn’t quite know what to do with his body, like the way he holds his shoulders and moves his hands looks anxious.

“I’d like to hire you for an evening,” the man says, but weirdly he looks at you instead of Mando, but you figure that’s because he’s probably too intimidated to look directly at the Mandalorian.

“What sort of work do you need?” Mando asks in an even tone.

“Oh?” The man turns and looks at Mando directly, “I- I didn’t mean you. I want to hire her for an evening.”

Mando’s reaction to this statement is so swift you almost miss it. He instantly pulls his fist back and punches the man square in the face, knocking him to the floor. Mando looks down at him and grits out in an angry voice, “She’s not for sale.”

Well, this is a first. You thought you looked pretty nice tonight, but apparently, you look like a prostitute.

“Wait, wait, I’m s-sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.” The man cowers on the ground but tries to explain himself, “I didn’t mean to insult her, or you.”

“So what did you mean?” Your curiosity has gotten the best of you.

“I just need a beautiful woman to pretend to be my girlfriend for an evening, that’s all.” He says.

“Exactly how is that different?” Mando is still towering over the man in a very threatening manner.

“Just to attend a party with me, and help me look good,” the man says quickly, “I promise nothing s-sex related at all.” He holds his hands up in a defensive posture. He looks back to you with pleading eyes, “I can pay you really well, and all you need to do is go to a party and wear a pretty dress.”

You admit you’re intrigued by the idea and you know that with Mando losing out on this latest bounty, any extra funds would be helpful. You put your hand on Mando’s bicep in what you hope is a calming motion as you say, “It can’t hurt to hear him out, Mando.”

“Are you serious?” Mando asks you in a low voice.

You shrug, “If we don’t like what he has to say, you can punch him again.” The man on the floor lets out a little whimper at that, but Mando gives you a small nod and backs away from the man.

Tentatively, the man picks himself up off the floor and extends a hand out to you, “I’m Eugene DeWitt, I own a company that creates high-end gaming machines and I develop algorithms for those machines.”

You shake his hand briefly, and give him your first name. “So, Mr. DeWitt, why do you need a pretend girlfriend to go to a party?”

“Please, call me Eugene. It’s the annual celebration for the casino owners and it’s my best chance to network with them. I’ve been to the party the last three years, but I haven’t been able to barely get a word with any of the important owners.” He explains.

“What makes you think I’d be able to change that?” You’re not sure what effect your presence would have on his ability to do business.

“I need to find a way to catch their interest and impress them, and I think a woman like you would be the best way to do that.” He tells you.

“I’m flattered, but I think you might be overestimating my appeal,” you reply, “besides, why don’t you just ask out a woman you want to date?”

“I’ve tried,” Eugene admits, “but honestly, even if they’d said yes, I know they wouldn’t have the same effect as you; you’re drop dead gorgeous.”

“He’s right,” Mando says softly, almost under his breath. Your head snaps to the side to look at him after that comment. You don’t have any time to process it however because Eugene is still speaking.

“I’ll pay you 20,000 credits just to go to the party with me and pretend to be my girlfriend.” He offers.

What?!? Is he serious? Suddenly this job has real potential. But you’re still skeptical that he wants you to just attend the party, it feels like that amount of money would come with additional stipulations.

“Let me get this straight, you want me to just go to the party with you and pretend to be your girlfriend, but you’re not expecting sex or any other sexual favors?” You state this outright because you need everything to be clear.

“Yes,” he confirms, “I would need you to be affectionate towards me, but only in an appropriate way in public.”

“Define what you mean by affectionate.” You want to make sure you know precisely what he wants.

“Hold my hand or arm, let me put my arm around you, dance with me, maybe let me give you a small kiss?” He suggests.

“No kissing.” Mando interjects all of a sudden.

“O-Ok, no kissing,” Eugene agrees, “But would you be alright with the rest of that?”

“Yes, I can do that.” His terms seem reasonable and honestly, that much money to just attend a party? You’ve had way worse jobs.

“I’m going too,” Mando states and from his tone of voice this is not up for debate, “I’ll be your bodyguard for the evening.”

“That’s a good idea,” Eugene is intrigued by the prospect; “A Mandalorian bodyguard would also be impressive.”

“Good, then you can pay us 40,000 credits for the evening,” you counter-offer. You know it’s ballsy to ask, but truthfully Mando’s skills are worth a lot and he should be paid as well.

“That was uh more than I was hoping to spend,” Eugene says.

“Maybe so, but now you’re getting both of us to help you impress these future clients,” you smile flirtatiously and look him right in the eye holding his gaze.

“I can do 35,000,” Eugene offers.

“Alright, 35,000 and you buy me a new dress and shoes for this party.” That last part is really only because you don’t own any other dresses that would be suitable for his event, but also part of you wants to see if you can get him to give in to you.

“Can the dress be red?” Eugene asks.

“Sure, I’ll get a red dress, if that’s what you’d like,” You’re totally fine with that.

“We have a deal.” He says.

“One more thing,” Mando speaks up again, “Pay her half the credits now.”

“How do I know you won’t just take my money and leave?” Eugene asks.

“You have my word as a Mandalorian.” His tone is serious and just intimidating enough that Eugene capitulates. He takes out a holopad and asks for your information and just like that, 17,500 credits are in your account. It’s more money than you’ve ever had.

You finalize all the arrangements for tomorrow, with Eugene offering to have his mother watch the child for the evening. Mando is a bit reluctant at first to have someone else watch the kid but he realizes it will be hard to pull off looking like a bodyguard with a baby in tow. Likewise, you can hardly play the role of trophy girlfriend if you have the little guy. You wait until Eugene takes his leave of you for the night before you turn to Mando to exclaim over this crazy turn of events.

“Oh my, Mando, can you believe it? 17,500 credits for each of us, just for one night of going to a party?” You can’t help the excitement in your voice.

“Hmm, yes, it’s a lot,” he says, with a lot less enthusiasm, “but it’s all your money.”

“What?” He catches you by surprise, “No, Mando, I’m going to split it with you.”

“He only wanted to hire you,” he states firmly.

“Yes, but I was never going to do this without you. I was going to suggest you come too but you beat me to it.” You explain to him.

“Were you really?” He sounds a little skeptical, but there’s a small note of hope in his voice too.

“Absolutely. I’m not so naïve that I would agree to go to a party with a total stranger without you there to protect me.” It feels so natural to you now that of course he would be there to watch over you. “Besides, I know that you being there will keep Eugene from getting too handsy.”

Mando makes a little snorting sound, “Yeah, I could do without the affectionate part.”

“Don’t worry, I can do just enough to make it look believable without letting it get out of hand.” You link your arm through his and lean a little onto his shoulder, “C’mon, Mando, be a little happy about the money with me.”

He reaches up and pats your hand where it holds onto him. “Alright, since it means that much to you, I’m happy.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day you are in a swanky boutique recommended by Eugene where you are on a mission to find a red evening gown for tonight. You tried to tell Mando that his presence was not necessary for this, but he insisted on coming along with the child in tow. It’s been an adventure already because as you were looking over possible dress choices with the saleswoman, the mischievous toddler managed to climb out of his satchel and onto a table in the lingerie section. When you caught him, he was playing in a pile of lace thongs with one pair dangling off his ear. Even more amusing was Mando who was trying to extract the kiddo from his panty pile while trying hard not to touch any of the thongs. Thankfully, the saleswoman thought it was all utterly charming and laughed right along with you. Now Mando and the little guy are sitting together looking only slightly out of place on an elegant velvet sofa while they wait for you to try on dresses.

It’s been so long since you’ve shopped for anything this fancy, you were feeling a little intimidated at first. Yet the more you viewed the beautiful gowns, the more excited you became at the prospect of wearing one for the evening. The selection in this shop is lovely and since you know Eugene is paying, for once you’re not worried about the price. You slip on the first dress and can’t help but smile at your stylish reflection. This first one is a slinky satin gown that hugs your curves. You step out into the main area of the dressing rooms where Mando is waiting and where there is also a large three-sided mirror.

“Oh that looks very nice on you,” the saleswoman says.

You turn to look at yourself in the multiple angles offered from the mirror, “I’m not sure, what do you think, Mando?”

“It’s fine,” he says flatly. Well, with that lack of enthusiasm, you know this dress is out.

The next dress is more of a ball gown style and it’s kind of a lot with a beaded bodice and a full tulle skirt. Still you figure you should see it in the better mirror for the full effect.

“Oh no, I look like a red powder puff!” You say in dismay.

“I like it better,” Mando says, and then under his breath you just barely hear him say, “You’re more covered up.”

“I can’t wear this and be taken seriously.” It’s on to dress number three.

As you adjust the straps for the third dress, you find your face heating up at your reflection. This dress screams trophy girlfriend as it is super sexy. The deep sweetheart neckline shows off a lot of cleavage and there are thigh-high slits on both sides of the skirt.

You’re barely out of the dressing room when you hear, “Absolutely not.”

You can see Mando’s visor trained on you and it feels like that black T is boring a hole into your body.

“I don’t know, I think I look really good in this one.” Wow, when you turn around you can see that this dress is practically backless.

“You look fabulous! Very hot!” the saleswoman coos at you.

“Go change.” Mando’s voice sounds deeper somehow and he’s using his this-is-not-a-request voice. A little naughty part of you wants to argue back with his demand, but you did tell him that you didn’t want Eugene to get too liberal with his definition of affection, so you figure Mando’s probably right.

When you head back to the dressing room, you’re down to just one more dress and as you slip it over your head, you know that this is the one. It’s made of a soft, floaty chiffon with a bodice that accentuates your bust and your waistline. The skirt flows down your hips and legs gracefully and while there’s a slit in this dress too, it’s more hidden and only offers a glimpse of leg as you move. When you step out of the dressing room this time all you hear is a soft murmur of approval from the saleswoman.

You smile at your reflection as you twirl a little in the mirror and imagine how nice you will look with your hair styled and with your evening makeup.

“This has to be the one,” the saleswoman is saying to you now, “Doesn’t she look enchanting?” and she turns to Mando for his approval.

Mando nods his helmet slightly, but remains quiet. You didn’t really expect him to say much, but you were hoping for a bit more than that. At least he isn’t disapproving of this gown though.

“I have the perfect shoes to go with this dress. I’ll be right back!” The saleswoman tells you.

Din waits until she is out of earshot and then says softly, “You look beautiful.” He watches as your face lights up with his compliment and you thank him, reaching out to grasp his arm briefly as you do. That seems to be a thing you do now when you’re particularly pleased with something he’s done. You turn back to the mirror to inspect the dress more and he lets his gaze roam over you.

The truth is Din thought you looked beautiful in all of the dresses, even in the silly puffy one. He didn’t want to encourage you too much with the first dress because although you looked great it in, the style was fairly revealing and he disliked the idea of Eugene seeing you in it. But then, that third dress, Maker, he almost had a heart attack when he saw you in that. It was so sexy he wanted to rip it off you right there in the middle of the store. There was no way in hell any other man was going to see you in that. This dress you’re wearing now is more sophisticated and gives off more of a sensual elegance than outright sexiness. He still hates the idea of Eugene seeing you in it and what’s more thinking that you chose the dress special for him. This whole job is stupid, but he can’t deny the money is too good to pass up. Still he doesn’t trust Eugene to have such pure intentions as he claims and he knows he won’t let the man have a single moment alone with you if he can help it.

You’ve finished choosing the shoes and now you’re heading back into the dressing room to put on your regular clothes. Din breathes a sigh of relief at seeing your normal self again and he feels himself relax a bit. He follows the saleswoman to the register station and watches as she carefully places the gown in a garment bag. You’re about to give the woman Eugene’s account information, when Din hands over his own credit chip to pay for the dress and shoes.

“Mando, what are you doing? Eugene is going to cover the cost of this.” You voice conveys your confusion at his actions.

“I’m not letting another man buy you a dress,” Din mutters.

“Why not? It’s only to wear for this party tonight.” You’re looking at him completely perplexed.

“Because I want to buy it for you,” he says more firmly this time. Din sees a flash of something in your eyes that he likes; it’s a mixture of respect and awe, and perhaps a touch of desire too if he’s not being too hopeful.

“Well, if you’re certain,” you reply softly still looking at him in that new way.

“I am.” Din takes the garment bag from the saleswoman and motions for her to charge everything to his chip. “You’re sure you didn’t want the big puffy dress, though?” And even though you can’t see the smirk on his face, he’s fairly confident you can hear it in his tone.

“Thank you, Mando, but I think this is the best choice.” You let out a light laugh and give him that beaming smile again that he loves to see. You follow him out of the store and then grasp his arm again as you say, “I really do love that dress, thank you for buying it for me.”

“You’re welcome,” Din tells you, wishing that it would just be the two of you going out tonight.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You’re sure you want to do this? We could still turn around and leave.” This is the second time Mando has asked you that. The first was when you came out of the fresher after finishing your make-up and he saw your completed look for the evening. He didn’t compliment you again, but the long pause he took to look at you and the way he tilted his helmet to the side made your insides flutter nonetheless. Now you’re standing outside Eugene’s door and it seems he’s still having second thoughts.

“It will be fine, Mando. Just remember that this money means you can take a break from hunting and spend some extra time on finding the Jedi for the little guy here.” He sighs in response and knocks on the door.

You shift the toddler in your arms and you look down at him. He’s been having fun playing with the soft material of your dress and he’s got a big handful of your skirt in his little claws right now. The only worry you have is about leaving him with a stranger tonight. Eugene’s mother will probably be fine, but you’ve grown so attached to the child you’re feeling more anxious about being away from him that you anticipated.

“You’ll be a good boy tonight, won’t you, buddy?” You say to the child as you carefully extricate your dress from his little hand. “Mando and I will miss you but we won’t be too late.”

The door opens to reveal Eugene in a tuxedo with a red flower on his lapel and next to him, a cheerful looking older woman.

“Good evening, you look spectacular,” Eugene greets you enthusiastically.

“Thank you, you look dashing yourself,” you respond with a slight flirtiness to your tone. You figure you might as well get used to your role now.

“Oooh! Is this the sweet little baby I get to watch tonight?” The woman seems kind and the child coos at her with interest.

“Yes, thank you for doing this,” you respond pleasantly. You give the little guy a hug and a kiss on his forehead before handling him over to her.

“What a little charmer! You don’t have to worry about a thing, my dear. I’ll take good care of your baby and you take good care of mine.” She says with a wink towards Eugene.

“Th- thank you, mother.” Eugene sounds embarrassed and you try your best not to snicker. “We should get going.” He extends his arm to you and you lightly thread your hand around his elbow.

This whole time Mando hasn’t made a sound and is standing so still you’d almost think he was a suit of armor on display. But when you take Eugene’s arm, Mando lets out a little grunt that sounds like disapproval. You turn to look at him and mouth, “It will be OK” and give him as encouraging a smile as you can. The nod of his helmet to you is slight, but you know he understood.

Eugene leads you out onto the city walkway with Mando following close behind. The party is being held in the largest casino and it’s a short walk from Eugene’s home. Once again, the streets are filled with fashionable people ready for a night on the town. You feel the soft swish of your skirt against your legs and smile again at how nice it feels to be dressed up like this. You make small talk with Eugene, getting comfortable with him so you can make this look like a real date. You resist the urge to turn back and look at Mando though because you know if you do, your feigned interest in Eugene will falter.

By the time you reach your destination, you’ve managed to perfect a nice light laugh at Eugene’s jokes and you feel comfortable enough to lean into him in an affectionate way. As you enter the opulent ballroom of the casino, you paste a brilliant smile onto your face as if you’re simply delighted to be there. Eugene has told you he wants you to help draw the attention of various men in attendance so you figure you’ll sort of openly flirt with the room and see who notices. You catch the eye of a well-dressed older gentleman, and your technique works wonderfully as he comes right over.

“Good evening, I’m Mr. Belvers, the owner of this casino; it’s so very nice to have you here, my dear.” He greets you with a small bow and flourish of his hand.

“Why, thank you!” You respond warmly, “It was so nice of my boyfriend to bring me here tonight. You must know him, Mr. Eugene DeWitt of Advanced Gaming Enterprises?” You introduce Eugene with a smile.

“Oh yes, of course, Mr. DeWitt, how nice to see you again.” With the introductions made, Eugene launches into conversation with Mr. Belvers. You listen as best you can to the business talk and smile and nod like the perfect trophy girlfriend. It’s boring, but really easy when you realize that not much more is expected of you. Finally, with a promise to dance with Mr. Belvers later, the conversation ends and you breathe a small sigh of relief that if anything at least you got Eugene a few minutes with the owner of this place.

“That was incredible!” Eugene is saying excitedly, “I’ve never even met the man before but he acted like we were old friends. You are fantastic!” He gives your hand a squeeze and pulls you a little closer to him. He steers you deeper into the ballroom, eager to make another contact. You turn your head to look at Mando and give him a smile and a subtle nod, which he returns.

The pattern continues throughout the party, you spy an older man, make eyes at him, and reel him in for Eugene. When you’re between conversations, Mando has taken to checking in with you to make sure everything is going well. All in all, it’s about what you expected and you have to admit that Eugene was right; apparently, these men are all easily swayed by the look of a pretty face. You’re please to see that Mando’s presence is having a good effect too. These bigshots are very impressed that Eugene has a Mandalorian for his private security. Several of them have even asked Mando if he’s available for future security jobs too. Who knows, maybe Mando will come away with some business contacts of his own at the end of tonight.

As the evening continues, Eugene seems to be growing more confident, and you’ve noticed he’s taken to placing his arm around your waist. It doesn’t bother you, but occasionally his hand does seem to be a touch low. He also leaned in just a moment ago and let his lips brush your cheek. It wasn’t really much, but still you’re surprised he dared to try it.

“I said no kissing.” Mando’s voice is hard and direct, causing Eugene to flinch and instantly put more space between the two of you. “Keep your hands above her waist too.” Your heartbeat stutters at Mando’s protectiveness and you look at him with a grateful smile. When you’re sure no one else is looking, you give him the flirtatious look you’ve been using all evening and then top it off with a wink. You notice that he clenches his fists as you do this and then gives you a deeper nod in response.

I hate this, I hate this, I hate this. Din’s mantra for tonight is not a pleasant one. He’d much rather be hunting down a bounty right now than having to watch you flirt and simper to every man in the room. He’d rather be slogging through a swamp or crossing a frozen tundra to catch a quarry than have to watch yet another man ogling you or touching you. And then, there’s Eugene; Din would like to punch him in the face again. The man keeps getting bolder as the night progresses. Din’s caught him staring at your breasts and your ass several times, and he’s clearly getting too handsy. The only thing making this night remotely bearable is the way you keep looking over to him with such sweet glances, as if you’re sharing a secret with him. Although the way you looked at him just now made him want to sweep you up in his arms and haul you out of here as fast as he could. If you do that again, he doesn’t know if he can be responsible for his actions.

Din groans to himself, and prepares for this night to get worse because Eugene is leading you out onto the dance floor. There’s no way for him to follow close to you while you’re dancing and he’s willing to bet that Eugene takes advantage of that opportunity. In an attempt to stay in Eugene’s eye line as much as possible, Din stalks around the dance floor following your swaying movements. He can’t help but watch the graceful way you move as you dance, noticing the soft arch of your back and the delicate glide of your feet across the floor. As he sees Eugene’s arms pull you in closer, Din feels a deep burning anger in his stomach and once again thinks about breaking Eugene’s nose with his fist. This is the worst job ever.

Dancing with Eugene isn’t so bad you decide. It’s a nice break from all the forced flirting and extremely dull conversations you’ve had to put up with all evening. And despite the fact that you’d much rather be dancing with someone else, it’s still a pleasant activity. Moreover, after Mando’s warning, Eugene is back to being a gentleman and keeping his hands in polite territory. He does seem to be enjoying the dancing himself, quite a lot by the expression on his face, although every once in a while his confidence seems to fade for a moment.

“May I ask you a personal question?” Eugene looks at you quizzically.

“Alright,” you agree, curious.

“Are you and the Mandalorian involved? Romantically, I mean?” He looks nervous as he asks this.

“Do you think I would have agreed to this date if we were?” You deflect his question somewhat because you find that you don’t really want to admit that there’s nothing between you and Mando. Especially because it feels like you’ve been growing closer. You think about when he insisted on buying you the dress earlier today, and how special that felt, definitely not something a friend would do. Even tonight, there is this energy between you and Mando that you can’t deny, nevermind that you’re technically on a date with Eugene.

“He seems extremely protective of you.” Eugene replies.

You shrug lightly, “He is.”

“You know, if you wanted something else, a different life, I could make that happen for you,” Eugene looks at your earnestly, “After tonight, I’m going to be an even wealthier man. I would treat you like a princess.”

“Eugene,” you sigh, “I appreciate the offer, but-”

“Don’t answer yet,” he insists, “Think about it. Please.” He pulls you in closer to him so that you’re dancing cheek to cheek. You know he means it to be romantic but you feel nothing. There’s nothing to think about.

When the music ends, you feel relieved that you can put some space between the two of you. You’re turning to look for Mando when unexpectedly you hear a loud crash followed by blaster fire. As if he materialized out of nowhere, Mando is at your side pulling you to the floor and covering you with his body.

“I’ve got you,” Mando says, holding you close with one arm as the other holds his blaster. Your heart is racing and you hear the commotion of many people shouting, rushing feet, and general mayhem. You pull yourself tighter under Mando, squeeze your eyes shut, and try to keep as still as you can. Suddenly, Mando lifts off you slightly and fires three shots in rapid succession.

“It’s alright,” He tells you, “I took care of them. Everything is alright.”

“You’re sure?” Your voice comes out shaky and high-pitched.

“Hey, look at me, come on, look at me” Mando’s voice is soft and comforting, and you tip your head up and open your eyes to look at his visor. “You’re safe, no one will hurt you.”

“Thank you, Mando,” you breathe, feeling relief flood your body. Even though you can’t see his eyes, you know he’s looking back at you and it’s soothing.

“You have to let go of me now, cyar’ika, so I can help you up off this floor.” His voice is still soft and you can hear a lightness to it now. You hadn’t realized but you have a death grip on the material of his thick protective shirt on the side of his body. Chuckling weakly at yourself, you release him and he climbs off you before reaching down to pull you back to your feet.

“That was incredible shooting, Mando!” Eugene can’t hide how impressed and excited he.

“I’ll say it was!” the casino owner from before, Mr. Belvers, is coming over to offer his praise to Mando too. He gives Mando’s hand a hearty shake and then raises his voice to address the party, “Folks! Everything looks to be all safe now, thanks to this heroic Mandalorian!”

The partygoers erupt in applause and for the next several minutes, people are coming up to thank Mando personally. You’re glad to see Mando get appreciation he deserves for saving everyone, but from his body language, you think he seems a bit embarrassed by all the attention.

“Who were they?” You turn and ask Mr. Belvers.

“Some thugs who have been plaguing the casinos for weeks now. I think they came here tonight trying to rob people of their valuables. By the way, there is a reward for their capture and I’ll see to it that those credits are yours, sir.” He says this last part directly to Mando.

Din thanks the man and gives him a small card with his guild information, explaining how best to pay him. Now that the danger in the room has cleared, quite literally by casino workers who’ve come to take away the bodies of the dead men, people are starting to go back to the party. These people are so wealthy and spoiled that these violent men and the Mandalorian who dispatched them are already just an amusing anecdote to be shared over cocktails. He is so ready to leave this place. Din looks over to you and sees that while you’re calmer now, you are still visibly shaken from the intrusion of the would-be robbers. He wonders sheepishly if maybe he scared you a little too by yanking you to the ground so quickly, but it was pure instinct to protect you. Nitwit Eugene is rambling on about what an exciting evening it’s been to whoever will listen, completely oblivious to your discomfort. Din decides Eugene’s gotten more than his money’s worth and he’s taking you home right now.

“It’s time for us to leave.” Din’s voice is stern as he steps closer to you and Eugene, not caring that he’s interrupting the man.

“So soon, the party is still going-” Eugene tries to protest, but when he sees Din’s rigid posture, he trails off.

“I am rather tired, Eugene,” you say, and then lower your voice “Besides, it will be better to leave them wanting more.” Din watches as you bat your eyelashes at the man and give him a soft smile, and then like magic, Eugene is agreeing to leave. Din does have to admire your skill at using your feminine wiles to get men to do your bidding. He also knows that if you ever choose to try that with him, he’ll be putty in your hands. He smiles at the thought, but it’s short-lived as soon as he sees Eugene slide his arm around your waist again as he steers you towards the exit. Din tromps after the two of you, at least this stupid job is almost over.

You’re close to Eugene’s place and you’re feeling quite glad that this fake date is almost over. You just want to get the child and hurry back to the Crest so Mando can fly you away from here. Eugene is wittering on telling you how great you were and what a wonderful pair you make, but you’re only barely listening to him. Blessedly when you get to Eugene’s door, Mando is all business.

“It’s time to make the final transfer of credits,” Mando tells Eugene.

“Of course,” Eugene replies, taking out his holopad and completing the necessary functions. “Thank you again, you were both very impressive.”

Eugene opens the door and you and Mando wait for a few minutes until he returns with the little one who is sound asleep. He hands the child to Mando and then turns to you, “I’d like a moment alone to speak to you before we say goodnight.”

“Eugene, I think I did everything you wanted tonight, but our fake date is over.” You say pointedly.

“Please, it will only take a moment.” He looks at Mando, “Please.”

“Fine,” you say and give Mando a small nod. He doesn’t exactly give you any privacy, but Mando does take a few steps away and turns his body slightly so he’s no longer facing you head on.

Eugene takes your hand in his and says in a soft voice, “Please, tell me that you’ve thought about my offer?”

“There’s nothing for me to think about; I belong with them,” you tell him as you pull your hand from his grasp and gesture towards Mando and the child.

“But there’s so much more I can do for you, I can give you more than he can. I can give you a safe home, beautiful clothes and jewelry, you’ll never want for anything.” Eugene must think you’re completely shallow and nothing but a gold digger. “And, I would worship you.” He’s really piling it on thick now.

“Eugene, you don’t even know me, and if you did, you would know that I’m not interested in that life,” you state firmly, “I think it’s time to say goodbye. I wish you all the best with your business.” You turn to go but Eugene reaches out for your arm. Fortunately Mando is already back at your side and he brushes Eugene’s arm away roughly as he says,

“She said no.” Din turns to escort you away, placing his arm around your waist, mimicking Eugene’s earlier touch. It means he’s holding you much closer to his body than he has before when he usually just places a palm on the small of your back. He feels you relax into his touch and for the first time this evening, he feels a sense of rightness. Still though, Eugene’s words I can give you more than he can are ringing in his ears and his self-doubt makes him sigh.

He waits until you are far enough away so that Eugene cannot hear him and in a small voice, Din forces himself to ask you, “You’re certain you don’t want to stay? He did make you a good offer.”

“What? No, I absolutely don’t want to stay with Eugene.” Your answer is swift and a bit shocked.

“I would understand if you did.” Din says, his voice still soft and trying to hide his emotion.

“Mando, do you want me to stay?” You stop and turn to face him so you can look directly at his visor, your face openly displaying your displeasure at his words.

“No,” he says strongly, “I don’t. Not at all. But it would be wrong of me to hold you back if you wanted to leave.”

You slip your hand into his and look at him with soft eyes as you say, “Mando, I don’t want to leave you, or the child. I’m happy with you both, happier than I’ve been in a long time. Eugene is wrong; he doesn’t know what you can give me.”

Din’s heart pounds at your words, as he says, “I’m glad,” he pauses just for a second before he tells you, “I don’t want you to leave us.” He gives your hand a small squeeze and turns to continue walking.

“Besides, there’s no way I could stay with a man I’m not attracted to in the slightest.” Your voice has a lighter tone to it and it breaks a bit of the tension.

“He wasn’t that ugly,” Din shrugs and you laugh in response.

“No, it wasn’t really about his looks, just the overall way he carried himself. I prefer a man with more confidence.” You say.

“Confidence is attractive.” Din agrees with you.

“Yeah, it is. I like a man who can walk into a room and earn everyone’s respect just by the way he holds himself. That’s incredibly attractive.” You give him a slight side-glance as you say this. “But if we’re being shallow, then I also wasn’t physically attracted to Eugene either.”

“Why not?” Din’s curiosity is peaked.

“He was much too skinny.” You wrinkle your nose a bit as you say this.

“You like chubby men?” Din chuckles, and while he’s not chubby, he thinks of his own stomach which isn’t quite as flat as it used to be when he was younger.

“I like bigger men,” you clarify, “Men who are broader, more muscular. Although chubby is cute too. When I cuddle with a guy, I want something to cuddle in to.”

“Is that so?” It’s not lost on Din that what you’ve just described is essentially him and he can’t deny how much he likes hearing that. Plus, now he’s imagining what it would be like to cuddle with you. He doesn’t have time to dwell on that thought however, because you’re giggling at something.

“Well and then there was the worst part, his name,” you say rather playfully.

“What was wrong with his name?” Din’s never thought about a name being part of someone’s attractiveness.

“Honestly, I don’t think I could seriously moan out Eugene in a moment of passion.” You’re consumed by giggles at the idea.

Din is stunned by what you’ve just said and all he can think about is what your voice might sound like if you were to moan out his name, his real name. Fortunately, he doesn’t seem to need to respond to you as you’re still wracked with laughter.

“Oh no!” You stop laughing and gasp, “I didn’t think.”

“What?” He has no idea what could be bothering you.

“Your name isn’t Eugene, is it?” Your eyes are wide as you look at him.

Din lets out a loud laugh at how comically horrified you look at the prospect. He’s still chuckling as he tells you, “Hell no.”

“Thank the Maker,” you mutter under your breath, making Din laugh again.

You’ve made your way back to the Razor Crest now and it isn’t until you have to let go of him so that he can open the ramp, that you realize you’ve been holding Mando’s hand this entire time. It felt so natural and easy to walk holding his hand, and you hope he felt the same way. You watch as he tucks the child into his pram for the night. You should probably go get yourself ready for bed, but you want to keep talking to Mando.

“May I ask you a question?” You say as he turns back towards you.

“Of course.” He nods to you.

“Why were you so adamant about no kissing tonight? I mean not that I wanted to kiss Eugene,” you make a face at the idea, “But, it seemed to really bother you?”

“Oh” Is all that he says and then he looks away slightly. You wait patiently but for a while it seems as though that might be the only answer you get, until he finally says, “I didn’t want to see him kiss you. I don’t want to see any man kiss you.”

The air between you feels suddenly charged, and you look into his visor where you think his eyes are, and you can’t help yourself from asking, “Why not?”

“Because I can’t kiss you.” Mando admits.

“Do- do you want to kiss me?” You can’t believe you’re daring to ask him that but you need to know.

“It doesn’t matter what I want,” he says and you can hear frustration in his tone, “I shouldn’t and I can’t.”

“I would like to kiss you, but only if it’s something you want too,” you admit to him softly.

“I do want to kiss you,” Mando sighs and he moves towards you slightly but then holds himself in check.  

“So Mandalorians don’t kiss? I just want to understand, I don’t want to pressure you to do anything you don’t want to do or that goes against your beliefs,” you explain, wanting him to understand that you respect his creed. You can’t deny how much you want to feel closer to him and show him how you feel, but the last thing you want is to make him uncomfortable or do something he’ll regret.

“They do, there are… loopholes, but I- I’ve never-, I want to, but-” Mando shifts his feet and looks down.

“It’s ok, I understand.” You’re quiet for a moment and you think perhaps you should just drop this. But then you can’t stop yourself from asking, “What about the Keldabe Kiss? Didn’t you say there was something softer?” Your face heats up as you remember that moment well; you’ve thought about it often.

“You remembered that?” Mando says in a low voice.

“It was pretty unforgettable, Mando,” you reply with a smile.

“There is a softer version. I could show you. If you’d let me.” His voice sounds hopeful.

“I’d like that.”

He steps closer to you then and seems to stare at your face for a long moment until you decide to close the distance between you two. You’re so close you can hear him breathing. He reaches up and places his large hands on either side of your face, holding you still, as he slowly brings his helmet down to touch your forehead. When he finally makes contact, you hear him let out a shaky breath. You bring your hands to his waist and pull him in a little closer to you as you maintain contact with him. While this isn’t what you pictured when you thought of kissing him, you can’t deny how intimate and special it feels. Just from the deliberate way that Mando is holding you, tells you how important this is for him. You stay like that holding each other and feeling suspended in time.

“I know this isn’t the same as real kissing,” Mando says, “but I like holding you like this. I’ve thought about doing this a lot.” His voice is so soft you almost feel like you imagined his confession.

“I like it too,” you tell him. You’re about to tell him how much you’ve thought about being held by him as well, when suddenly the child’s cries fill the air. Just like that, the moment between you and Mando is gone and you hurry over to pick up the little one and soothe him.

“I guess I should go get us on our way. Besides, he always sleeps better when we’re in hyperspace.” Din takes a step towards the ladder, but then pauses before coming over to you and dropping his helmet down onto your forehead again for just a few seconds. It’s a small gesture, but his heart soars at being able to do it. He gives the child a comforting pat on the back before turning away and heading to the cockpit, his head full of thoughts of you.

P.S. Don’t think that you missed hearing him call you cyar’ika, you’ll be sure to ask him about it later ;)

--------‐------------------------------------Thank you for reading! Here's the link to Chapter 5 Please let me know if you’d like to be tagged in later chapters.

Tag list: @im-the-nerdiest-of-them-a11 @theravenreads @nicotinebirds @boomtownboy @nova646 @wandering-storm-lost-shadow @becks-things @sleepwithacommunist @mackycat11 @som3thingcr3ative @punkdalek @pinkninja200 @s-unflowxr @ladyjenny19 @peppywitch @haley7242 

[jimclassicstoycollection]

Knock Off Generation 2 Construction team

by (unknown)

Got this in Mid-March 2021 off of ebay for a little over $60.

Buying this set without watching any reviews of it I was under the impression these were all deluxe scale, and I was very surprised to learn that each Constructicon is about Voyager scale, which means the combined form is going to be a similar height of Combiner Wars Devastator.

All six members to the team in their vehicle modes the primary colors are yellow and purple, which would be Generation 2 colors; the main reason why I bought this set.

Accessories:

-6 separate instruction pages

-6 pistols (All of these guns can integrate into each individual vehicle mode, which I forgot to demonstrate in the pics below)

-Winged shield

-2 arm/trailers (the combiner hands can fold into the arm, which as wheels on them and can attach to the KO Scavenger and Bonecrucher, which I also forgot to take pictures of as well.

Notice on the winged shield this abstract symbol. Since it’s a third party toy it can’t have an official Decepticon badge, so what you’re going to see throughout this review is that I placed G2 Decepticon stickers overtop of these symbols that are on each toy.

I’m going to try to keep things very simple, since I’ve got A LOT of figures to comment on, and some of them are going to be the same for each figure.

Transformation:

Since there’s a lot of ground to cover I’ll make this blanket description which applies to each figure.

The plastic quality is somewhere between retail and knock off; converting each figure I took some caution because you can just feel it.

Also with each transformation there’s a lot panel-ly stuff, things that fold and swivel out of the way; a lot of little stuff to shift around which quite frankly make the transformation process less fun for me.

Scrapper:

Starting with Scrapper, the leader of the group...well this is a 3rd party toy, so perhaps he needs a 3rd party name...How about Scrumper for now?

Scrumper is a front loader cast mostly in yellow plastic, with some black plastic for the wheels and shovel arms, and some clear, light purple for the windows.

The toy rolls well with those gigantic wheels, and the shovel and arms articulate like a front-loader should, and it overall looks pretty good.

I do have to say that the vehicle modes doesn’t hold its shape too well. Yes, the plastic quality feels decent, but I’m talking about the rear half of the front-loader (which would be the legs in robot mode) feel a but wobbly, like something should be locked into place, but it’s not. 

Scrumper’s vehicle mode scaled with Gen Selects G2 Megatron.

Robot Mode:

I really like Scrapper-er-Scrumper’s robot mode. For some reason having the arms and legs be similar length almost gives him a dwarven look to him; but I think it works for this toy.

The figure’s got a lot of decent articulation and balances well.

Standing next to G2 Megatron, Scrumper is just a tad shorter.

Hook:

Let’s call him Flook, is a crane. Flook is a big crane. It’s more solid than the front-loader. 

The crane boom swivels, and telescopes; it even has functioning pistons, and you can swivel out the stabilizers on the sides of the crane, so you can swing the boom around and it won’t lose balance.

Robot Mode:

Flook is a tall glass of water, I think he’s the tallest of the group.

Though the figure poses and stands well I’m a bit disappointed that his face is just a visor and mask. If he’s supposed to be based on Transformers Hook, that’s not his facial design. But this is a 3rd party reinterpretation afterall...

For the some reason the crane boom has this peculiar feature where it can hinge in several places. It’s kind of cool, I guess, and I suppose can add more to the toy’s robot mode than just part of his back like the official versions of Hook.

Mixmaster:

For KO purposes let’s call him...Max Mister? (I might already be running out of ideas...)The cement mixer is a solid vehicle. It rolls well, and the drum spins. The funny thing is there’s beads, or something in the drum so when you spin it, it sounds like a rattle. I don’t really get it, but it’s a thing.

I’m not really too sure these two vehicle modes are to scale with each other, but maybe it’s a BIG mixer.

Robot Mode:

Converting Max Mister into robot mode, you get a decent robot mode. His lower legs are pretty much the entire front cab section of the cement mixer, and it gives the illusion that his legs a bit squat, but I think it works for him.

He poses well, and even has a bit of hip flex (part of the ankle tilt for the Devastator mode) but it works for his benefit too.

No here’s my complaint about this toy. Max Mister’s cement funnel which is his overhead weapon in bot mode doesn’t stay attached to the toy. At first I thought this might be have a roll to play in the combine mode, so I tried to make it work, however this piece made manipulating the toy so frustrating that I was starting to lose my cool over it. 

Every time the overhead piece slide off it was helping to hold the cement drum in place so that came falling off too. 

Max Mister (from head to toe) is just as tall as G2 Megatron.

Scavenger:

Scavenger, or Scrounger for 3rd party purposes is an excavator.

The vehicle feels solid, and it sort of rolls on tiny casters beneath the molded tread, and it looks okay.

The shovel arm is well articulated. It swivels at the base of the arm, and everything hinges well, much like the crane the shovel parts all have working pistons. This is a really nice touch.

Robot Mode:

Scrounger’s robot mode is actually really cool! The tread panels on the legs pop off occasionally, and that can get annoying, but it since this set of figures have such extra fiddly parts I wasn’t too surprised.

Considering that fact the shovel arm just hangs off his back Scounger had some decent articulation, and stands well too.

Scrounger’s just a tad taller than G2 Megatron.

Longhaul:

I’ll be honest here, the toughest part of the review has been trying to come up with good knock off names for my knock off Constructicons...

Heavy Load? Is that already a Transformer? How about Load Heave? Yea that’s a good one.

Load Heave’s dump truck mode is...well, a dump truck. It’s got big wheels, it rolls; it’s fine. Problem is it doesn’t look much like a dump truck from the rear.

The loading bay itself cannot really hold a lot of stuff. Disappointing considering the vehicles attention to detail, but it how often am I going to keep this guy in vehicle mode?

Robot Mode:

Once we get Lead Heave into robot mode he’s also one of the biggest bots in this group. I was pleasantly surprised to see a head sculpt different from the rest of the bunch, and somewhat accurate to the original.

The bot mode is so much fun. He’s just this towering bruiser bot with some decent articulation.

Lead Heave is a big one.

Bonecrusher:

Skeletal Mangler is a bulldozer. It’s decent. The shovel can pivot up and down.

Robot Mode:

Transformation for Skeletal Mangler was interesting, I wasn’t expecting the shovel parts to split and be his shoulder pads. Pretty inventive.

Again, not an accurate face to the source material, but at least he has a wide jaw, and not the same head as Scrumper, Flook, and Max Mister.

But the figure poses well, and I think he looks really good.

Devastator:

Now! Merge to become...Ghettostator! Getting all of the components into limb mode and putting everything together was mostly a piece of cake.

The individual parts lock into place fairly well and I mostly like his look. He’s got a lot greeblely details and pretty cohesive.

I think Ghettostator looks great, in a knock off sort of way, but when handling it is arguable a floppy mess. Moving a him, and posing him can be a mixed bag.

Fiddly-ness aside you can get Ghettostator into poses, and for the most part he’ll stay in them. He even has ankle tilts as well.

Ghettostator has fully posable fingers, but the plastic feels a bit sus, and I’d be concerned about breakage if roughed up too much.

There’s a button behind the head and the eyes light up red. It looks really good in the right light.

Remember how I mentioned the Max Mister’s loose overhead cement funnel is always coming off, well it happened while in combined mode, and I quickly learned that is not part of the combining process, and has no practical function at all. So I super glued it into place and have no further issues with it.

This is the biggest complaint I have about Ghettostator is his butt or lack thereof...

The hips are a load-bearing part of any combiner and Ghettostator’s is only held together by two, tiny pegs on the pelvic section where the cod piece would be, and those tiny pegs dislodge very easily. So easily in fact that on several occasions just when the toy was standing there the cod piece would come on done and suddenly Ghettostator was hip flexing like Elvis Presley. I’m surprised that he never fell over, but he didn’t.

Either way this is a major weakness which is why I’m displaying him on the floor and not on a shelf.

Final Thoughts:

This KO G2 Constructicon team isn’t bad. The individual robots were kind of a blast to handle though I wasn’t a fan of the generic heads.

The combined mode on the other hand was a letdown. The combined mode is the main event of those toy set and those janky hips being so unreliable hurts the fun factor and display factor of this toy.

I’m likely going to keep Ghettostator in this mode and have him stay on the floor. 

For $60 I’m not going to complain too much, and I suppose I got what I paid for...

[polite-pandemonium]

I fixed Start-Up to my satisfaction

No one asked, but here’s how the fix-it fanfic would go for Start-Up if I had the energy to write that (I don’t and I already have too many works on the go):

1. This would be a total rewrite cause the writers clearly never intended to have Jipyeong and Dalmi end up together. Never giving him any real chance was a disservice to the love triangle and since it dragged on for so long, ultimately the characters. So the only way I would feel like I could make it work would be doing away with the triangle all together.

2. Forget the revenge plot, 2STO, Alex, and the time jump. None of that added to the story or moved it along. Ultimately, we could have done without.

3. If I don’t specifically mention something it’s cause I wouldn’t change it or I think it’s so inconsequential to even matter.

This got LONG, so it’s under the cut.

OK, so:

The first few eps go along the same way except for a few clear details: Jipyeong and InJae interact backstage at the panel they do at the beginning. They kind of seem to hate each other? But also a little flirty? Ms. Yoon is equal parts exasperated and entertained.

Leading up to the hackaton, the plot relatively stays the same, but after Dalmi discovers Dosan at Sandbox, Jipyeong, Dosan, and grandma start to realize the lie is going too far. Keeping up long term is never going to work. They all separately agonize about it, before coming together and agreeing that they have to tell the truth. A fun episode full of their almost-confessions ensues! It is humorous!! Light!! They are going to tell her!!

Dalmi is always a little skeptical. How come Jipyeong is *always* around? How come Dosan remembers *absolutely nothing*? Why did he lie to her about being successful, really? Why did Jipyeong help him? None of it makes sense.

Before they can find the right time to tell her, Dalmi outsmarts them. Following the hackaton, she’s messing with the handwriting software they developed, so proud of their work, and the day’s presentation. She picks up the presentation notes Jipyeong marked up and notices the handwriting looks familiar. She compares it to a letter and runs it through the software. It’s a match.

She brings the letter and the presentation to Dosan and asks him for an explanation. He comes clean; Jipyeong was the one who wrote the letters and asked for his help, but he himself was so taken with her that he wanted to keep getting to know her, even under false pretenses.

Dalmi is devastated. She has no idea who this stranger is and now she works with him? She blows up at grandma, couldn’t believe that she would lie to her for all these years and let her humiliate herself.

Once Dalmi has calmed down, grandma talks to her. Explains that she wanted to help her when she was young cause she was so lonely. Explains about Jipyeong, explains that he was young and lonely too. She didn’t expect it to go this long. She just wanted to give her something back after all that pain.

The next day, Jipyeong talks to Dalmi. He explains that he has been indebited to her grandma and has tried to find them. He says that he had no friends then and her letters were his only comfort. He tells her about growing up an orphan and how her grandma took him in. Dalmi starts to fall for him; he’s he first love, the one she has been looking for all along, and he is finally here, and has been through so much.

Only problem? Jipyeong kind of views her as a sister.

Her actual sister though? Continues to infuriate him. He still volunteers to be Samsan Tech’s mentor and the way she keeps messing with them is driving him insane. He’s still tough as hell, but invested in being a mentor. He doesn’t understand why she can’t let it be? They bicker at every opportunity.

Dalmi told Dosan that they’ll have to continue to work together, but she is wary of him now. What parts of him that she knew were real? What part was fabricated? Now that she knows who her real first love is, she wants to focus on that.

Dosan is disappointed, but understanding. He finds out about grandma in the same way and decides to make the code for Noongil in secret. He still cares for Dalmi and hopes she can grow to learn to care about his true self.

Dalmi finds out about grandma from grandma. Idk how but she does.

Dalmi, in a fit of sadness, goes to Jipyeong at his apartment for comfort, and tells him about her grandma. He is devastated. Together, they drink the night away, laughing and crying, talking about their past. Dalmi tries to make a move, but Jipyeong rejects her, saying she is drunk. She says she isn’t and she loves him. He lets her sleep it off. The next morning, she doesn’t remember anything, and Jipyeong has no idea what he is going to do now cause he doesn’t want to hurt Dalmi.

The next day, he sees InJae at work. She asks him why he seems so upset and he doesn’t know how to reply. She says it must be something stupid her sister did again. He explodes and they fight; he doesn’t understand how she can just abandon her family like that, she doesn’t understand why he cares so much. He tells her to go visit her grandma. InJae is confused.

InJae goes and visits grandma and finds out she is going blind. She is devastated; she hasn’t seen her for years and now it feels like she had wasted them all. She ends up going to Jipyeong’s and breaking down, standing in his doorway crying saying she’s never known how to reconcile with her grandma and sister after all these years and now it might be too late. Jipyeong hugs her in the hallway as she cries on his shoulder.

Unfortunately, down the hall is Dalmi, witnessing the whole thing. She had come by to surprise Jipyeong with dinner and to ask him some questions before demo day. She is heartbroken - Jipyeong and her sister?! - and flees.

Right before demo day, where the team is going to present their handwriting software, Samsan Tech is hit with a ransom ware attack. The twins were at it, obvs, and no one knows what to do. Yongsan says they need to call Jipyeong but Chulsan tells him no, they can figure it out on their own. The two Sans look to Dalmi to make the call. Still upset about what she saw a few days prior, she says not to call him.

It blows up in their faces. They were unable to stop the ransomware attack and their data was erased. They have nothing, with a mere 72 hours before demo day.

Jipyeong is livid. He can’t believe they didn’t call him. Samsan Tech fights back, saying that he never believed in them anyway. He’s so harsh and never supportive. Jipyeong realizes he hasn’t been the best mentor.

InJae goes to visit Dalmi. She heard about the ransomware attack and wants to make sure she’s okay. Dalmi admits that she was foolish, not willing to let Jipyeong help cause of her personal feelings. She doesn’t think she deserves to be a CEO. Injae asks if she likes Jipyeong and Dalmi nods, embarrassed, and says she is pretty sure he likes someone else. Injae is clueless and says whoever that is must be an unlucky fool. She responds with her own stories of failure in her first few years as a CEO. The sisters smile; the cracks in their relationship are still there, but starting to close.

Getting ready to pack things up and leave, Dosan is backing up his files one more time. One of the Sans sees the code over his shoulder? What’s this for? He asks. Dosan tries to hide it; it’s the code for Noongil. The team prods at him and he pitches the idea. Wait, this might be something.

Jipyeong doesn’t love the idea; it’s not profitable, they would have to secure CSR investors in like, a day to make it to demo day. But he knows it will help grandma. He agrees to help them make it happen.

Cue montage of them trying to put together a pitch just in time! All nighters! Grandma brings hot dogs! Sleeping in weird positions! But they gotta do it!! They gotta stay in the game!!

It’s the middle of the night, only Dalmi and Dosan are awake, still working; everyone else is taking a nap. Dalmi asks where he got the idea for the app and he confesses it was her grandma. Dalmi is touched. Maybe there is more to him than she thought.

Jipyeong, sleep deprived, runs into Injae the morning of demo day. Things are awkward between them since their hallway encounter. She notices that he looks tired and asks to get coffee. Over 1+1 lattes, she asks how things are going with her sister’s company. He says he thinks they might pull through. She asks if he likes Dalmi and that’s why he’s putting so much effort in. Jipyeong says that she is very dear to him and very important, but not in the way she’s implying. They exchange a look and awkwardly glance away. Jipyeong muses that it was strange that someone was able to hack into the Sandbox servers to get the code; whoever it was must have had working knowledge of Sandbox’s set up. Injae thinks to herself, reflecting on the twins recent weird behavior. Something clicks; she runs off. She has to fire the twins.

Demo day happens. It goes well! They secure a modest investment that will keep them up and running for a couple of years. Everyone is so excited!! Quietly, in the hallway after, Dalmi confesses to Dosan that she is thankful for him. He is bashful in response. It’s cute!

Samsan Tech continues to work closely together. Jipyeong mentors them, like an exasperated babysitter, but you can tell he likes it. Dosan and Dalmi continue to grow closer together, running into each other on the bus and working late, having a bunch of meet cutes.

Meanwhile, Jipyeong goes over to see grandma and Injae is already there. He’s surprised to see her; she’s a little dressed down, making food with her mom. He’s never seen her like this. Grandma asks him to stay for dinner.

Dosan and Dalmi work late one night. No one else is around. They end up talking about their perspective dreams. Dosan says he’s not sure what his is anymore, but he thinks that working on Noongil and with Dalmi and the team will help him find it. Dalmi’s heart flutters.

Meanwhile, Jipyeong and Injae are doing the dishes after dinner. They talk about their pasts; how Injae has felt alone since she left her family, how much she regrets it. He says he has felt alone his whole life. A moment passes between them, as they look at each other. Grandma interupts. They jump.

Dalmi wakes up the next day and looks at the Follow Your Dream ball. She realizes that she can’t stop thinking about Dosan; somewhere along the way, he’s replaced Jipyeong in her mind. She likes how considerate he is of others, how he smiles with his eyes, and how he has a sweet boyish charm. She realizes she might be falling for him.

At Sandbox that day, the news comes out; the twins have gone to Morning Group and are launching a competitor product to Noongil and this time, with a huge financial backing. Everyone is devastated.

Injae comes to see Dalmi about it and they fight; Dalmi says that this must have been Injae’s plan all along. Injae insists it wasn’t and that Dalmi is always looking to blame someone other than face the facts. She leaves, angry.

The team asks Jipyeong if there is any hope of continuing. He admits that it is unlikely they will surpass a product with a heavy backing and corporate support. They lash out at him, saying again that he never supports them. He counters that they only listen to him when he says things they want to hear and they’ll never be successful at that rate.

Saha says they might as well disband. This is hopeless, two strikes against them. The two Sans agree. Dosan says they should consider trying and looks to Dalmi for support. She tearfully disagrees.

They decide it’s over.

Dosan goes to visit Dalmi. They talk about dreams again. Now that it has been taken from them, Dosan knows what his is. He wants to make AI that will help people. He wants to make people’s lives better. Dalmi is overwhelmed and kisses him.

Injae is in her office, cleaning up files, when she notices something saved on an encrypted, secure doc on the server. She goes inside and sure enough; it’s all of the code to hack into Sandbox and Samsan Tech’s servers. She immediately calls the police.

The twins and Morning Group are charged for whatever charged you get when you conduct a ransomware attack. Idk I am not Googling it!!! Their investors pull out - Noongil is saved!!!

Jipyeong goes to Injae; he knows this was her doing. He thanks her. She says she is starting to understand why he cares so much, about family. They kiss.

Dalmi and Dosan stand outside a large skyscraper. They are going to go inside to pitch their business to a huge investor, Jipyeong had made them practice over and over again. They know there is a small chance they will get it, but they are going to try again. They take each other’s hand and walk towards the building.

EPILOGUE; time jump of three years later!!!!

Samsan Tech has created a huge amount of AI software for a variety of disabilities and has their own offices. Yay!

Dosan and Dalmi get married; Injae at her side, the two Sans by his. In the first aisle sits Jipyeong next to grandma, he and Injae’s baby on his lap. Cute!!!

Grandma has a hot dog stand again, cause Dalmi, Injae, and Jipyeong pitched in to help her buy it. Everyone helps out on the weekends and they hang out there with her mom, Jipyeong and Injae’s baby running around, like HAPPY FAMILY TIMES.

THERE I FIXED IT TO MY SATISFACTION

BYE

[ateezgf]

Hi I’m a new atiny and I’m excited about my first comeback with them but I had a question? Maybe it’s dumb but is there like a storyline to their MVs? I still haven’t watched all of them but I was wondering what the hourglass meant that’s all over this comeback. Anyway thank you very much, I’m sorry if this is weird

hi !! first off, welcome :D how are you liking ateez so far? any favorite boys yet? i hope all the pre-comeback activities are hyping you up!! ALSO, that isn't a dumb question i promise !! yes, they do have a storyline! it comes with a lot of theories since they won’t explicitly tell us & it also spans across A LOT of their content. like mvs, albums, lyrics, vcrs, shows, etc. i’ll put my own thoughts under the read more because it’s a lot. i also can’t explain the hourglass without telling you about their story too. 

to me, the ateez storyline has pretty general themes in regards to good vs evil.. rebellion vs control.. multiverses/timelines/time travel. i’ll be going through this per era (treasure & fever) !! i’ll try to focus primarily on their mvs, but i’ll mention some things from their albums and some vcrs for their comebacks.

TREASURE ERA (EP.1-5): 

pirate king/treasure mv doesn’t have too much story to it. these two mvs are mainly just introductions to them and their story. esp with the very iconic lines “will you be my friend?” and in the intro track on the album right before pirate king, “will you join us?” they sing a lot about their ambitions and the future. it’s safe to believe that this is the good ateez. 

say my name is our first glance at the bad ateez (or who everyone calls halateez). in this mv, we can see that ateez are in distress. in a lot of their solo shots, they’re typically in not likable settings. yeosang is trapped in a glass box with a member of halateez staring him down. hongjoong is sat in a blue hallway with a lot of smoke. yunho is at a desk surrounded by papers & this is also where we first see the hourglass (or cromer). however, it’s just a prop for now. san is in a room surrounded by broken glass.. BUT only after he is seen staring at one of the members of halateez through it. in the big table scene, you can see them all working to find the answer to something.. which is very interesting to note that wooyoung is the only one to be seen in that room alone after an alarm seemingly makes all the other evacuate. WE ALSO get the first face-off between halateez and ateez. but they’re not directly face to face. they’re only seeing them through glass panels & we can see that ateez is very clearly defiant when it comes to them. we also see that when seonghwa is facing the halateez member alone, that it’s him. which could also showcase the time traveling aspect. as if halateez is jumping through the timelines to get to them. another interesting thing to note that in the last verse of the song, it switches off between ateez and halateez. this mv ends with the treasure instrumental & yeosang missing from the glass casing. 

in hala hala, it is primarily halateez. the members in this mv are seen in darker attire & makeup and more clean cut. i believe halateez is from a universe where they are the ones in charge & calling the shots. if not that, then a very organized and powerful rebellion group. hence the same outfits almost like a uniform. this mv isn’t much but halateez dancing.. HOWEVER, the ending is VERY interesting. all members snap their necks at the same time (hence the lyric ‘suicide squad’).. all members BUT wooyoung. he ultimately pretends to do it, but is the last one standing and wiping blood from his mouth while surrounded by all of the bodies.. and remember, wooyoung was the only one alone in the room all of ateez were in while they were working on documents. 

jumping to wave & illusion.. we can see that this is a pretty sudden change. however, it all still matches with their storyline very well. 

in illusion, the members are seen in bright and colorful clothing on a flying boat asleep. in this, they’re back to that adventuring pirate crew from the beginning. however, the lyrics show that they have... no idea who they are and where they are. it’s believed too that the lyrics are talking to someone. in the middle of all of their singing about how they found paradise and how they can just party it up now, there’s a repeated “let me free” which kind of seems.. out of place. if we’re having fun, why do we need to be let free? as the title entails, this is all an illusion. the hourglass is seen again along with a glass cube and a butterfly on a table. we also see a quick glance of a halateez mask on the globe. we can see mingi listening to a headset/tape player. they make it to an island that is very.. fake. a large compass.. a floating hourglass and just very desaturated colors. even the members lose saturation when they reach the ground. they eventually find.. a cave? it has a lot of drapes and tinfoil looking walls. for a split second, we see a member of halateez standing there. ateez then reaches a very smokey room with lights and flowers. they don’t look so happy anymore. it’s like the illusion is very much wearing off. also remember, they initially were looking for their paradise so for the illusion of one to be broken... hmm. this mv ends with the members running away towards a light & shots of them sleeping in wave play where it ends with a whispered “open your eyes”. 

in wave, the members are together once again on an island. just them this time. it’s very fun. but.. it’s almost like they were dropped there. i mean, sure it makes sense that san/yeosang/jongho wake up in a bed... but why is mingi waking up under a tree in the middle of nowhere? looking at the headset/tape player confused like it isnt his? why is seonghwa waking up in a pool and why is hongjoong waking up on the road? for the most part, they all wake up alone but they eventually find each other again. once they’re all together, we can see that ateez are suddenly the same carefree souls they were before. constantly talking about how there should be no worries. 

in wonderland, it’s kind of.. hard to distinguish if this is halateez or ateez. we can see a lot of power dynamics here. hongjoong raps about how he shouldn’t be doubted if they wanted to reach neverland/their utopia. i say this because he mentions being a child forever like peter; but also because of the illusion mv. it’s also pretty obvious that mingi holds a type of power here. he’s seen as the center of attention with the marching band like he’s the leader of a grand army. aside from that, i think there’s a bit of a rescue mission occurring? in all honesty, i do not know where san & jongho are within the storyline for this mv. however, we can see that yeosang & seonghwa are in the same tunnel.. but not together. the elevator shot in the beginning is believed to show them going through time and same with the tunnel. which makes sense when you look at the updated ateez logo and the way it looks like it has a lot of lines that meet into the middle. aside from that, we have yunho staring at a bunch of tvs albeit they’re playing nothing we can see. then we have wooyoung.. all chained up and alone. it looks like nobody’s coming to save him the way hwa came to save yeosang and san. perhaps because he had betrayed them in hala hala? the staircase is also pretty important. i dont know the exact piece but i know it’s similar to an art piece that shows an endless staircase and continuous loop.. perhaps a hint at a continuous cycle in the storylines? seeing as this wonderland mv has gone up in flames, it looks like the next plan of action has to be to cross that bridge seen earlier. believed to have been the bridge between dystopia & utopia. 

in the utopia mv, there isn’t a lot of crazy storyline? it’s believed that once ateez walk across that bridge and through the door, they’re in utopia... or so they think. it’s mainly a lot of dancing and pretty shots, but the reoccurrence of smoke-filled rooms leading to rooms of oversaturation is back. the answer vcr before this comeback also show a lot of story. we see halateez and ateez facing off together once again with essentially.. the same question. we’ve spent this whole time believing that ateez are the good guys and halateez are the bad guys... but what if that wasn’t the case? sure, we see them as such but is that who they really are? each respective party holds up a mirror to the other asking “are you evil?” / “are you good?”. cut to the iconic intro of san on his knees.. almost like he’s the one having this war? almost like he’s trying to figure out the answer himself about if he is good or evil. 

the answer mv starts with a man in a white suit looking at the destruction of what was left behind of ateez/halateez. the move of san tipping over an overflowing wine glass.. it’s also thought like he’s turning the hourglass as well as if to start their timer once again. mingi is talking about how he sees that the end is near, but hongjoong brings up how we should finish as strong as we started until we get what we desired. it looks like wooyoung is walking in snow.. or is it the sand of time? i mean.. the hourglass was just tipped over wasn’t it? yeosang is seen alone in a red desert surrounded by broken glass. almost like he’s alone with no way out? speaking of mirrors, it’s also possible that ateez uses mirrors to travel through dimensions. like how san was staring at a member of halateez instead of himself in say my name? well.. yunho is surrounded by mirrors but cant seem to see anything but himself. he’s pretty frustrated about that. wooyoung is also seen in a room of butterflies. butterflies typical have a positive meaning of change, hope, transformation. we then get the icONIC AS HELL SHOT of halateez and ateez face to face at last at the table. as a repeated line entails, they’re making a toast to something. perhaps they have finally come to terms with each other and what to do so that they could exist peacefully as one? but maybe ateez has already done so much to one timeline that another had to be ruined? either way, an agreement was made between both hongjoong’s. at the end of the mv, we are greeted by the man in the white suit again... perhaps it’s another time traveler who knows about what ateez & halateez had done and was trying to stop them. no one knows who that is in all honesty. it’s believed that it might be one of the members. 

FEVER ERA (EP 6-8): 

PHEW OKAY UHHH.. honestly.. i say it’s crucial to watch this diary film at the very least. it explains this timeline of events now. halateez makes a brief appearance to hongjoong and the hourglass is back. poor hongjoong is tasked with finding everyone to bring them together once again. seemingly.. a fallout between friends.. another broken timeline. i feel as though it’s pretty explanatory on each individual backstory, but there is a lot more in depth things. like seonghwa crossing the line and breaking the rules. the endless loop of staircases being represented with san on the escalators as he recounts having to leave his friends again.  they all have their individual things that grounds them whenever theyre feeling lost, but they also had each other. i’m assuming that ateez from the treasure era managed to mess up this timeline of ateez causing them to drive everyone away from each other.. which is why halateez tasked hongjoong with the control of time. i mean, an hourglass holds a specific amount of time but you can manipulate it by turning it before it’s done or choosing to turn it way after it has finished. ultimately, the diary film shows 8 friends who broke off into 8 different paths when they weren’t suppose to and now they’re trying to find each other once again. 

we can see this in the inception mv. a lot of their dreams were broken and so they’re lost without it. ultimately.. they are lost again without each other and their dreams. 

hm.. im not too sure about thanxx. we see a parallel shot of ateez holding the flag like in wonderland. we see the theme of defiance once again. this song talks a lot about how they’re choosing to move on their own path despite what anyone says because who knows themselves better than .. themself. in this mv, they tease their song the real, which they performed on kingdom. 

SPEAKING OF KINGDOM.... EVERY STAGE HAS SOMETHING TO DO WITH THEIR STORYLINE. wave overtune showed the pirate route where something happened to hongjoong’s crew and he lost them all. similar to how hongjoong in inception/thanxx has lost them all. from the wonderland is showing WHAT happened to the crew, but this time they don’t lose. rhythm ta (the awakening of summer) has all of these past props (records, yeosang’s violin) being confiscated. this performance is inspired by money heist. AGAIN, we have the theme of government defiance. on the newspaper that wooyoung rips up, it shows that the govt had deemed halateez (Black Pirates) as terr0r1sts. initially, i was wondering if this is just a re-branded halateez but then i remembered.... ateez and halateez had that agreement. perhaps this is the original ateez and they’re doing their part of the deal in protecting halateez. which means stealing back all of the stuff that was stolen and removing evidence & calling for the people to turn against the govt. i see this as halateez turning ateez into a second version of them. especially because the stage ends with hongjoong punching the glass and retrieving the hourglass after putting on a halateez hat. 

in answer: ode to joy, it offers.. closure to the treasure era. kind of. we see yeosang in the glass case again looking at the man in white from answer. then it cuts to halateez seonghwa in the cage with yeosang & the two of them flipping the hourglass together. it’s like yunho tries to stop him, but is too late... which is when he starts facing off with the man in the white suit to distract him so that yeosang & halahwa can get away. we are once again greeted with halateez and ateez facing each other at the table directly mirroring each other. halasan is right behind him copying every move. i know.. yeosang’s bit has symbolism but i can’t remember.. but i know it’s suppose to be like he’s swimming? then during hongjoong’s part, we can see halateez assisting the members in each kingdom stage leading up to answer.. so it’s like showing that halateez (although not seen) has been orchestrating everything this whole time. 

this last bit is pretty major in the story. so it seen that san is praying in the middle of this entire fight.. and wooyoung tries stopping him. his efforts don’t work and san essentially sacrifices himself so that he could fight the man in the white suit alone. i feel like there are more.. perhaps.. 8? men in white suits given that san took down one, jongho was with another, and hongjoong was surrounded by them. it makes me believe that these white suits are again ateez from another timeline trying to stop them. halateez is giving ateez the crown.. as if passing off their power to them. but jongho throws it away instead of accepting it. at the end of all of this chaos.. ateez ultimately comes out on top and defeats both halateez and the white suits. 

OR SO THEY THOUGHT !! in the fireworks mv, they are seen in a dystopian society once again. if you remember, i had brought up smokey rooms often. reason being in the diary ver. of this album, there’s a part that goes into more detail about their story. i need to read into the theories for this era more but the smoke is very important. jongho recounts how he gets suffocated with a smoke that makes him see illusions and past events, but since it all feels so real it all just seems like DEJA VU.......... the dystopian society ateez are in for this mv... it’s smokey as hell. which is believed to be the smoke that causes such illusions but they’re able to break through it. i mean.. look at this teaser for the comeback.. looks way too colorful and peaceful. we don’t see this at all in the fireworks video.. SIKE. when ateez are walking around the dystopian wasteland (aka strictland), they’re in these nice suits. it’s almost like the effects of their illusion from the teaser was wearing off and they started waking up to the reality. and once they start seeing everything for what it is, they once again.. start creating havoc as they have in the past. this mv ends with the white suit man RETURNING ... and seeing the aftermaths of what ateez has done. he looks around as if he knows.. that it was them. 

in the dreamers mv.. again it has small symbolisms. jongho with the headphones (mingi’s headphones).. hongjoong with the small cube.. the spray cans like from halahala. but i dont know too much here. 

NOW.. WE HAVE DEJA VU AND ETERNAL SUNSHINE. we don’t have too much info on them right now since it hasnt been released.. bUT THE HOURGLASS IS BROKEN. the teaser they posted showed that the hourglass has been broken and essentially... all the timelines are broken. this leaves room for a lot of mixed up timelines. which is what people believe is the reason for the reoccurrence of similar hair colors from past eras on different members. we’re all getting deja vu from these repeated looks, no? eternal sunshine... it’s another super bright concept like illusion, thanxx, and celebrate. people are tying this to the movie eternal sunshine of the spotless mind (i actually like this movie). in the movie, the couple gets a medical procedure to have their memories erase from each other. perhaps like how ateez had forgotten about each other?.. but in the movie, the main guy is trying REEEEALLY hard to get her back. which causes a mess in the timelines of their memories. things start repeating with countless acts of DEJA VU and things that just do not seem real. which again.. lines up to their story. 

SIDENOTES: 

first off.. if you read all of this, i love you. i never have been so invested in a story like this before and it genuinely is such an amazing storyline. 

there’s plenty i missed. like.. i didnt even talk about fever road but they have a couple things in there that elaborate on their friendship and everything. i also remembered their mama stage?? im p sure that had plot but i never.. looked  into that one. and not EVERYTHING ateez releases is releated obv.. unless KJK is the man in the white suit but i doubt it. 

but yeah :D those were just my thoughts. if you read this far and have any other theories, plEASE SEND THEM. i think it’s so interesting and i love discussing things.

ADDED NOTES:

control — if you look at some of the choreos, mingi controls ateez with just a gesture of his hand a lot. so perhaps that's also story-related as well? like how i mentioned he had a type of power in wonderland? leader of an army? ateez also has this seoul music awards 2021 perf where they dance like puppets, but it’s not orderly.. they’re missing their puppet master & this performance was during mingi’s hiatus.. hmmm