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silverinkbottle · 8 months

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Oh. You

Alright. Finished up the season, enraptured by the concept and premise. Especially with our lovely deer boi's total not mental break at the end.

HUGE SPOILERS FOR FINALE OF HAZBIN. GO WATCH THEN READ

Chapter 2 <-

Warnings: Violence. Murky employment of child-like spirits.

Alright. On to the premise of the fic AU.

Summary: Unexpected meetings with Exes are always dramatic. Meetings in Hell after a historic battle aren't an exception to the rule.

A/N: Shorter chapter, but writing the next one as we speak. Yes, more Reader powers/backstory shall be revealed. This was just a hint of it.

Radio Demon..Gone

A pause in the wave of whispers.

Defeated?

Your lips curled in quaint satisfaction. It wasn’t true. No, he was far too proud to go out like that. The cigarette in your left hand was quickly extinguished in a nearby ash tray as you slid over the familiar carriage of the metal typewriter. The melodic ding of the mechanisms as your fingers hovered over the cool keys. The pamphlet would have to be perfect as you could all but hear your boss’s ranting and raving if the ‘excitement’ of the failed extermination. The bravado of Hell’s singular Princess. That was the problem when writing propaganda, it was so much harder when imagining details instead witnessing them first. Or second hand as there was a faint ding of a bell, a small furred paw slid across a new memo over your desk as you glanced over it with little interest.

Radio Demon. Located.

“Show me. My little rabbit.” You purred as your little messenger respectfully tipped his hat to you. Gently gripping your hand with its paws, you couldn’t help but hold your breath at the claustrophobic sensation of the endless darkness. It was how these little lost souls traveled throughout Hell, through the little pockets of forgotten realities. Never really existing as a true Sinner or Hellborne, all but clinging to a semblance of existence instead of nothing. It’s how your ‘paper’ boys came to your service. The boys came in a collection of fur colors, blacks, browns, whites even the occasional red, all with long rabbit ears popping through tweed caps, looking smart in little vests and trousers. One key feature remained the same, their facial features were blank like a mannequin in a shop. As if unable to manifest their ‘true’ faces from their past, or was it the disjointed collection of spirits unable to enforce a singular will on the others.

“Oh”. Your eyes flickered around to the carnage of rubble. It was a mess, that was the gentlest way of putting it. However, there was an undeniable note of copper in the air, mingling with strangely sweet notes as you nudged at the corpse of an Exorcist in passing. Even that tap with your boot provoked further golden ichor from numerous stab wounds.

“Don’t touch that.” You hissed quickly grabbing the paperboy’s hand to plug him away from the puddle. Who knew what would happen if it managed to somehow consume the holy blood. The gory vision of an imploded corpse passed over your mind. Or somehow the souls reviving themselves. No, it wouldn’t do as your hand tightened about the child-like figure’s wrist as the pair of you marched toward the wreckage of the radio station.

The copper flecks in the warped into something far saltier as you unceremoniously kicked in the half-broken door. A squeak of excitement came from your servant as it was drawn to the energy lingering in the air, bouncing into the room. Paws reaching for the unseen as another loud squeal came from its’ faceless mask. A true scream like that of a small child as black blood dripped down onto the floor, followed by the corpse dissipating much to the disappointment of the predator. Alastor lazily flicked the ink-like blood from his hand as you sighed.

“You look like shit.” You said as that seemed to grab his attention from the corpse to you. Suit torn, a visibly hurt shoulder and above all, that dim smile that seemed to go even thinner with your inspection.

“Like even worse than the time with those moonshiners who gave us a bad batch after that wrong call out. Worse than-”

“What. Are. You. Doing. Here.”

His words edged with a metallic screech as you couldn’t help but laugh. His pride made it all the worse to have someone witness the great, dangerous, infamous ‘Radio Demon’ licking his wounds.

“Making sure your ears aren’t burning, darling. The walls talk and this whole stand-off with Heaven will be all the rage on the streets. Especially about YOUR disappearance after returning so briefly for all the fanfare you stirred up. Aligning yourself with the Princess of Hell, facing Angels and aiding in some hotel. Had to come see it for myself..”

“Seems like I was a bit late for that last part. Shame.” You sighed as you jabbed a pointed finger towards the mess outside. Stepping over the corpse it was all too easy to see the little restraint remaining in the demon’s gaze as sharp nails grabbed your face.

“Don’t get pissy because I am telling YOU the truth. A nice change for once, don’t you agree?” You teased as his free hand drifted over the crimson fur of your fox ears. Your sharp canine sank down onto your lower lip to resist the urge to squeal when the gentle touch turned to a rougher tug. A thin trickle of blood drifted over Alastor’s smug expression as you had managed to cut a razor-thin line with your folding knife over his skin. His throat would be next if he didn’t release your ears as you hissed low in your throat.

“Curiosity killed the cat, dearest. Surely you know that better than most.” Alastor retorted as his gaze flicked down to your covered throat.

“Aren’t we terribly clever.” You sneered as you took a few steps back. Even in his weakened state, you knew it was wiser to play your cards cautiously than provoke him further. Genuine surprise crossed your features as you spied to battered remains of that infernal microphone. So those rumors were true as you withdrew your little black book from your dress pocket. A snap of your fingers as an inkwell pen neatly checked off the short list. You were quick to close the book with a loud sigh as Alastor’s peering over your shoulder was less than subtle.

“Don’t you-”

“My, my, still writing all sorts of rumors aren’t you. However, do you find the time?” Alastor mused as he flicked lazily through the pages. Irritatingly sidestepping you with each attempted grab. There wasn’t much worth in that book, but it was still beyond infuriating. Taking a deep breath, you forced a pleasant smile on your face as your fingers snapped together. There was the faintest ding of a typewriter as another small rabbit-like creature sprang from the floor, collecting the book with a quick grab.

“I have reliable help. Which is surprisingly difficult to come by these days. Unlike some Sinners, I can’t shrink from my duties to throw a temper tantrum.” You ticked off the comments on your fingers as Alastor’s ears went flat at the petty remark.

“Oh, I am sorry. Would you like me to embellish it a bit? A dramatic session of sulking after a bruising defeat. An outburst of egotistical pride? No. Something far more crude. A shit-fit.” You nodded to your little rabbit as its paws hastily scribbled your dictation into the notebook.

“Hilarious.”

“I prefer charming.” You deadpanned as he shook his head at you. There was an almost faint feeling of nostalgia in the air now. It was almost human as the faintest memory of you finding him sulking after a less than perfect evening show. That his beat was off, ever the perfectionist as you patted his head with gentle encouragement. Far less cruel times before the darkness began to contaminate both of you.

“You never did answer my question. What are you doing here?” Alastor quipped as he ran a fingertip over the broken top of the microphone.

“You really think I would miss out on the potential of this?” You dramatically gestured to the carnage about you.So many stories waiting to be written as you clapped your hands together. Summoning two more paperboys as their ears quivered from side to side waiting for your word.

“Now off you go. Don’t leave a stone unturned. I wonder if we can get some true numbers on the casualties of saintly Heaven. Now would stir up the populace.” Your pen cut through your book without a thought as if you were in the privacy of your office. Instead of that of one ex-husband who was looking more and more perturbed at your avoidance of the question.

“I’m waiting.” Alastor chirped as his fingers splayed over the wet ink, pulling the book away from you. Or at least he tried to as you were quick to jab the sharp tip of the pen into his index fingers provoking a small hiss from the demon.

“You’ll keep waiting. I’ll give you a single crumb, I didn’t come here for YOU.” You snapped as you did your best to smooth out the crinkled page. The writing itself was a smudged mess of ink as you scowled at the once crisp paper.

“Then. Why?” Alastor asked as you gently closed the book shut, slipping it into your dress pocket. Now came the difficult or was it the dangerous part? Despite your estranged relationship, he was an Overlord and you were well..You. Your connections came from the rumor mills of Hell, whispers of your paperboys hiding in the shadows and the scant bit of information from the rants of your boss.

“I was asked to inspect the battleground, sort out the truth from the gossip and exaggerations. Plus the smallest bit of curiosity-”

“About-?” Alastor mused as he cocked his head at you.

“If it was true that Angels had been slain by their own weapons. I know markets are going to flux with all that. Not to mention the apparent discovery of near comatose cannibals found on the side of the road. Complaining about being TOO full for once, it was quite-”

“You’re chirping an all too familiar song, kit. I know you are hiding something far more than that. Now whoever could have convinced YOU to do the dirty business of finding out sources yourself.” Alastor mused as he placed a single finger under your chin, tilting your head up to look at him.

“It was Vox.”

Laughter burst from you as saw the telltale twitch of his right eye. The harsher smile over his face at the mere mention of his hated rival. The potential power vacuum or perhaps the reverse of it now that the King of Hell seemed less reclusive.

‘Now, don’t get your antlers in a knot. It wasn’t Vox, you really think I would lower myself and quality for his trash version of news? Please, darling. I do have standards.” You smirked as you smugly patted his cheek before turning on your heel to leave the wreckage of the studio.

“Now, don’t sulk for too long. I imagine that little hotel needs you now more than ever.”

As soon as you stepped back into the air. Small papers were all but shoved in your direction. Questions, answers, comments all things to be filed away as you dove into your work. Allowing words to shove out the memories of the past. To continue forging your path in this forsaken place in your own way. With the smallest bit of leverage through blackmail, threats and a flair all your own.

Flipping through the notes, the faintest tug on your sleeve pulled your attention from the words. A simple request. One that made you want to throw a tantrum of your own as the golden ink burned in your vision. It wasn’t a request.

It was an order.

“Fuck me.” You hissed as you pulled a cigarette from your pocket, allowing the flame of your lighter to ignite the blissful nicotine and eat away at the fine paper. Burning the message into ash to join the rest of the wreckage around you.

You hated feeling cornered. It was an ugly feeling that made your skin crawl like a fox with its leg caught in a trap. There was bitter irony in the scenario as you caught sight of your reflection in the mirror. The vulpine-like features weren’t as much of a hindrance as you knew it could be for other sinners. Your ears twitched as you could hear the faint conversation outside on the street beneath your room’s window. However, it did make your emotions more expressive as you could guard your tongue, but your ears were another story when it came to harsher emotions. Running a brush through the soft fur of your tail as you perched on the edge of your desk, quietly directing the paperboys about you. Files had to be carefully moved, copied, sent elsewhere for safekeeping and then copied again. Each copy had little fragments of the truth in it, it would be quite the task to assemble all the pieces of the puzzle if someone was desperate enough. Or stupid enough given the true owner of the content wasn’t fond of others knowing his secrets.

Hours passed in a mere blink of the eye as you sighed running your fingers over the last box of files with satisfaction. All written in ink or typed by typewriter, some called your method of recordkeeping outdated. You preferred to think of it as efficient, it was far more difficult to change dried ink than a meddlesome electronic document. Besides, your boss was pleased as long as you managed to write his dictations without the need for a pause in his rambling. Yet, given the events lately, hopefully the work would keep him bursting into your quarters late at night too often.

Clicking together the last few buttons of your tweed dress collar as the lapel was accented by a singular red rose pin, you couldn't help but admire the shine of it. Its metallic petals caught in the sunlight as you stepped out onto the busy streets.You were quick to grab the ears of the paperboys flanking you, halting them from bolting off, especially with the boxes in their hands.

“No time to dawdle, I can’t be late..” You hissed before releasing the furry ears with a nod. Others would soon follow their steps as you silently hoped your arrival wouldn’t be met with much trouble. Up to the steps of the newly refurbished, rebuilt and endorsed by the King of Hell himself, the newly improved..

Hazbin Hotel

#hazbin hotel spoilers #hazbin fanfic #alastor x reader #hazbin hotel #x reader #x reader fic #hazbin alastor

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theregardedminecrafter · 1 year

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As someone watching from q!Charlie’s/Gegg’s perspective, is definitely interesting to watch people talk about those who openly speak against working with the federation naive/idealistic when it really doesn’t feel that way. (Warning: there will be rambling and ranting and what feels like disjointed thoughts)

(I am mostly going to talk about Charlie because he is the one I watch so I understand him the best.)

The first exchange after the debate that Baghera and Charlie had was Charlie commenting that no matter who was voted in they would be doomed and her almost immediately agreeing.

I’m pretty sure Charlie is fully convinced he isn’t going to make it to voting day. For more then what felt like 90% of the stream he and Gegg were holding a totem. Even when Bad gave him extras and assured him he should only hold them in case he feels endangered. The only time he stopped holding a totem was in between the end of the debate and Bad handing him more totems in a reminder of The very fragile single life that the self aware very accident-prone Charlie has and when he was back in Eggsile, his lonely little beach.

While he is trying to stay alive, Gegg’s platform isn’t really to become the president. The point of running is to spread the message. He even admitted that not only does he think none of the people running are fit for president, including himself, but that the role of president is entirely forced onto them by The Federation. And is just another way to control them.

Being an Anarcho-Socialist, all government is sorta on Gegg’s list. Charlie did say that Gegg would definitely probably light himself on fire if he were to become president when Forever asked.

Also Charlie is very very aware of the power imbalance the federation has on them. (note: the life system he keeps stressing about) I don’t consider him the most haunted man on the server for nothing.

This man has however literally dealt with both the devil and angel Rubius toying with him and his family.

And one of the only times Charlie has dealt with Cucurucho was in a situation where Charlie was in caves deep beneath his eggsile, with his location off so noone can find him, stumbling into Cucurucho who then vagued him about his daughter(she was dead at this time but because of where he was he didn’t know that) and when Charlie got pissed and started to pressure for more open concrete answers, Cucurucho held him at gunpoint and shot around him. And Charlie made it clear that he knew Cucurucho wasn’t there to kill him and was unafraid. And after having El Mariana’s pov of Juanaflippa’s final death seemingly forced into him like a flashback.

He then tries to murder Cucurucho, got shot and then revived by it, tries to kill it again, and then swears to find a way to kill Cucurucho after it leaves. (Even though he acknowledges that it seems to know everything/is omniscient and how it took nothing from his sword)

After all, Charlie is someone who has lost everything he cared about more then twice over, he has had nothing to lose.

Which is probably why the whole openly fuck The Federation attitude he and Gegg have make sense to me. It doesn’t matter how strong they are because Charlie has always been stubborn and fighting against all the odds. He and Gegg refuse to be silenced and want the people to think and will cling at the chance to do that until either of them (in their own mind) inevitably die. The election might be rigged and there might be a target on his back, but he is very clearly aware of that and acknowledges that.

This is not an election for Charlie and Gegg, it is a stand against it and all of what The Federation stands for.

Thank you for listening.

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erimeows · 7 months

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Too Good To Say

Raindrops smack against the glass of the window as Rook Blonko lies in bed, amber eyes trained on none other than Ben Tennyson. The other plumber sits on the edge of the bed watching the new live action adaptation of Sumo Slammers. Normally, Ben would be ranting about how different it is than the original cartoon, but today is not a normal day. In fact, it doesn’t seem as if Ben is paying attention to the show at all, just blankly staring at the television but not really consuming the media in front of him.

Meanwhile, Rook just watches Ben, a soft smile gracing his lips. They got into a terrible skirmish with Khyber earlier that morning and lost him, but not before the accomplished hunter managed to stab one of his many blades through Rook’s shoulder. Thankfully, he’s bandaged up and recovering well, but he would be stupid not to realize how upset Ben is that they’ve let Khyber escape yet again. Rook is frustrated that Khyber got away, though more than anything, he’s glad that Ben made it out unscathed- that they’re both okay.

Rook sighs. The movement of Ben’s shoulder blades against the back of his jacket, the steady rise and fall of his back as he breathes, the way he slightly ruffles his own hair to calm himself down, it’s all reassuring in a way that Rook never thought it would be when the two of them first became partners.

Rook thought he was in love when he met Rayona, because she loved him. She was kinder than his parents, and she was stronger than his friends. The attention she gave him, the admiration he felt for her, it all mixed into a disjointed infatuation that he had foolishly assumed was love. The validation she provided was exciting. The love she had for him was the only love he knew.

But Ben, Ben is different. Ben is interesting and self-centered and altruistic; a cacophony of contradicting qualities that make Rook’s heart flutter with excitement whenever they’re together. The feelings he has for Ben are more than the intense infatuation he’d become accustomed to on Revonnah, because Ben isn’t perfect and doesn’t present himself as such. He’s strong in many ways and weak in others. He’s kind and caring, but inconsiderate and selfish. He’s authentically himself. He doesn’t care about how others perceive him. He’s beautiful, yet so incredibly frustrating, too. He’s nothing like the cool, collected, muscular, bold hero he’s presented as in all of the rip-off television shows, badly drawn posters, and dramatized stories. And Rook still loves him despite all of it, because the good qualities outweigh the bad ones, even when Ben is at his worst.

Suddenly, Ben snaps out of his trance and breaks his eyes from Sumo Slammers. He scoots to sit next to Rook on the bed, staring down at him with his jade eyes. Rook averts his gaze, heart thumping against his chest.

“How’re you holding up, buddy?” Ben asks and places a hand on Rook’s arm. Rook can never tell if the touches are romantic or not, but he always accepts them without question. He craves them, even; desperately wants the heat of them to burn the fur off of his skin and leave a scar in its wake- for it to stay there forever, in one way or another. Ben’s fingers brush through his fur. Rook isn’t prone to leaving it uncovered, mostly wearing a full suit of armor with gloves and boots to keep himself safe. Following his injury, however, Ben insisted he shower and change into clean clothes after having his stab wound tended to, so now he’s in a tank-top and sweatpants that are a little too short for his long body. His worn clothes sit abandoned in a pile by Ben’s bedroom door. “Rook?”

“Oh,” Rook starts. Ben’s hand lingers a little too long, trailing up his arm before Ben finally pulls it away, careful to avoid touching anywhere near Rook’s wrapped injury. “I am fine, thank you for asking.”

“I’m going after Khyber.”

Rook tilts his head to the side, baffled. He knows Ben is serious based on the tone of his voice. Still… Khyber is dangerous and Ben has been cornered by the huntsman multiple times now. Ben going by himself wouldn’t just be risky, it’d be stupid.

“You… I am sorry? I must have misheard you.”

“No, you didn’t. I’m going after him tonight. Grandpa managed to get a tracker on his car and-”

“Ben, you can not go by yourself,” Rook interjects, furrowing his brow.

“Yes, I can. I have to- or we’re not going to be able to catch him! I won’t let him get away again.”

“Catching Khyber is not worth you getting seriously injured, or worse, killed.”

“Well, no matter what you think, you’re not in any condition to stop me,” Ben argues as he stands from the bed.

Rook gulps and reaches forward to grab Ben’s hand. It’s cool to the touch and calloused from all the fighting they do. Ben turns to look back at him with wide eyes. Rook drops his hand and stares down into his own lap.

“You are going to go even if I ask you not to?”

“Well, yeah,” Ben answers as if it’s obvious, as if Rook’s concern for him doesn’t matter at all.

“You…” Rook starts with anger bubbling up in his chest.

It’s an odd feeling, one that he hadn’t felt much before meeting Ben. There’s just something about the brunette that’s so incredibly frustrating. Maybe it’s his blatant disregard for others, or maybe it’s the way he so recklessly throws himself in danger’s way without any consideration for his own safety.

“What? Got something to say?”

Rook hesitates, unsure of how to answer at first. Ben just stands there glaring at him with his arms crossed.

“Yes, actually,” Rook responds after a few seconds. He stands up from the bed and goes to pick up his pile of old clothing and shattered armor. “Your self-absorbed nature is going to get you killed. When will you stop to consider the consequences your actions have on others?”

“Consequences? Nothing I do affects you, and neither will this!”

“And how did you come to that conclusion, exactly?” Rook demands while pulling his boots onto his feet and tucking his clothes underneath one arm.

“It’s obvious! You don’t care about me in all of this- you’ve never cared,” Ben spits. His words couldn’t be farther from the truth. Then again, Rook would argue that Ben is even more emotionally oblivious than himself, which is quite the accomplishment. That would be the only explanation for how he hasn’t figured out Rook’s feelings by now when even Kevin, Gwen, and Argit have made jokes about the situation in front of both of them. “What you care about is following the rules and- and controlling me!”

“Controlling you? Are you serious?” Rook scoffs, standing in front of Ben’s bedroom door. Both of his parents are gone on a vacation with Ma Vreedle of all people, so Rook can’t even try to get them to convince Ben to stay. “I do not think there is anyone in this universe let alone on this planet who is capable of controlling the likes of you, Ben.”

“Whatever,” Ben huffs and heads for the door, only for Rook to block his way.

“You can not do this. I will stop you if I have to.”

“Why? Why are you acting like you care about me all of a sudden?” Ben rants, getting closer and closer until his face is mere inches from Rook’s chest. “Worst case scenario, I go do this, and I get hurt, or even die. We’re partners- friends, maybe- but it’s nothing more than that! You’ll get over it, get another partner that’s probably a lot easier to deal with, and you’ll be fine. So, why does it matter what I do? Why do you care?”

“I will not ‘be fine’ if you die, I-” Rook raises his voice, and then stops. He can feel heat rising to his cheeks and he’s suddenly incredibly grateful that they’re covered by fur so he doesn’t have an obvious blush like Ben often does- like Ben does right now. “I...”

“You what?”

“Unlike you, I do not think I am too good to say to you how I feel,” Rook closes his eyes. He’s too scared to see what Ben’s face will look like after hearing what he’s about to say. “I will be shattered if something happens to you, because I love you, and just so there is no confusion… What I mean by that, is that I am in love with you.”

“You-” Ben stumbles over his words, an awkwardly choked noise coming from the back of his throat.

“But you are clearly not reciprocating my feelings, and that is fine,” Rook continues as he reaches behind him and opens the bedroom door.

“But-”

“I never could have expected you to love me. You’re you, after all; Ben Tennyson, the hero who has saved the universe a thousand times, and I am just your partner who you refuse to respect and refuse to listen to- who you never even desired in the first place. I would be a fool to expect more than what you are willing to give, I am aware of that. I have never assumed you would fall in love with me at any point,” Rook says, glancing at Ben over his shoulder. The brunette’s cheeks are bright pink and his pupils are blown wide as he stares at Rook. Rook can’t quite discern the face Ben is making; maybe it’s confused, maybe it’s angry. He himself is too frustrated to figure it out. “But I did make the mistake of assuming you would, at the very least, respect me and value my opinion.”

“Rook, would you just-“

“No, I see how it is now,” Rook interjects, shaking his head. “I can leave you alone, if that is really what you want… Just call me when you need to be rescued like you always do.”

Rook turns to leave, only for Ben to reach out and clasp a hand around his wrist. Rook freezes at the touch- it’s cool yet firm and he wants to stand there and let Ben hold his wrist forever, but he’s so angry that he just can’t. So, he snatches his wrist from Ben’s grasp and stomps out of the Tennyson household.

As the steps of Rook’s steel-toed boots thump onto the carpeted floor, he can’t help how disappointed he is that Ben doesn’t chase after him.

By the time Rook arrives at the plumbers’ headquarters in his truck, his fur is wet with tears and his amber eyes are puffy from crying. He scans his badge to get inside and heads to where he knows Ben’s grandfather, Magister Max Tennyson, will be manning the monitors.

“Magister Tennyson, sir,” Rook greets with a salute, to which Max turns around from where he’s sitting in front of the many screens.

“Rook, what’s going on?” Max greets, a big grin on his face. He seems excited to see Rook again following their confrontation with Khyber- at least until he sees Rook’s expression. The Magister stands from his chair and crosses his arms as disappointment washes over him. “Oh, no, what’d he do this time?”

“I assume you are referring to Ben?” Rook questions with an awkward laugh.

“When am I not these days?” Max sighs, shaking his head and adjusting the collar of his floral shirt.

“He is going to go after Khyber by himself. He told me that he refuses to let me come with him since I am still recovering from my earlier injury, and he insisted on going alone. I believe he will be angry if he finds out that I have gone behind his back to inform you of this, but I am quite concerned about his well being.”

“That idiot. I put that tracker on Khyber’s getaway car so we could find him together at a later date, not so Ben could go on a wild goose chase all by himself,” Max groans and pinches the bridge of his nose between his thumb and pointer finger. “Hold on, I’ll track him using his badge so I can send him some back up.”

Max turns back to the computers and types in Ben’s plumber identification number so he can pinpoint the location of his badge. Rook wouldn’t usually be so bold, but his concern for Ben overtakes him as he curiously peeks at the computer and then at Max’s face. Max appears to be baffled, his lips pulled tight and the rest of his face scrunched.

“What is it?”

“The badge… The coordinates are still at his parents’ house. Did he say when he was going to leave?”

“No. Him and I got into an argument over this while still at his house and I left, but he declared he was going to leave to go after Khyber then and there, which is what started the argument in the first place. I assumed he left shortly after I did, but if his plumber badge is still there…”

“I’m going to go and check if he’s actually still there or if he’s just trying to pull one over on us by leaving his badge at home,” Max explains, then stands up and places a reassuring hand on Rook’s shoulder. “You should head home and rest up. I’ll let you know what I find, okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

Max walks past him and to the exit of the monitoring room, only to turn and look back at Rook to speak to him one last time before leaving.

“Hey, now, don’t worry yourself to death. You’ve already got a lot on your plate as, and you know how Ben is. He’ll be fine- he always is.”

“Right… I will head home, then,” Rook nods. “Thank you.”

“Of course.”

With that, Max leaves. Rook immediately notices that the rest of the plumbers in the room are staring at him with curiosity in their prying eyes. He wonders if he’s really that obvious… If it’s so easy for them to tell that his concern for Ben goes beyond one plumber caring for his partner’s safety. If they can all tell that he’s in love.

Embarrassed, he storms out of the base before anyone can ask him about it and gets into his truck so he can drive back home.

Weirdly enough, as he drives down the streets of Bellwood, he can’t help but notice that his heart hurts far more than the healing wound on his shoulder.

That night, Rook finds himself unable to sleep as he sits in the windowsill of his living room, staring out the window. The apartment he started renting a month or so back is small and a little crowded, but most of the time, he doesn’t mind it as it’s significantly larger than the dorm rooms that they had on the plumbers’ base.

A knock rings through the room. At first, Rook assumes it must be one of his neighbors’ doors, but then there’s a second knock, and then a third. The knocks quickly form a rhythm that Rook recognizes as Ben’s, so he rushes to let his partner inside. When he opens the door, he’s faced with Ben, who is slightly hunched over. He has a black eye, bloody nose, and a busted lip.

“Ben!” Rook exclaims, amber eyes widening in horror. All of the anger, the frustration, and every other terrible thing Ben had him feeling earlier morphs into pure worry and fear. “What happened to you?”

“Rook-“

“You are badly hurt,” Rook scolds and grabs Ben’s hand without thinking. He intertwines their fingers and while he would normally never do something so bold, he can’t stop to think about the implications of hand-holding with a human amidst his many conflicting emotions. He practically drags Ben inside, shuts the front door behind them, and pushes Ben down onto his living room couch. “You should have called me before it got to this point. I do not know if you are aware, but I was waiting by my cell phone and had my badge on hand the entire time you were gone so you could contact me!”

“You were mad at me! You really expected me to call you in the middle of the night to come save my ass after the argument we got into this morning?”

“I am still upset, but that does not mean I want you to be hurt,” Rook kneels in front of the couch where Ben is sitting, holds both of his hands in his own, and glances up at him. “Why did you not go to your mother and father? They were supposed to return from their vacation this evening, correct? Or why not your grandfather at the plumbers’ headquarters? He went off to look for you.”

“They don’t understand,” Ben looks away and crosses his arms over his chest. “You’re the only one. You always have been… You’re just easier to talk to. No one else gets me like you do.”

And Rook pauses, because for the first time since leaving his home planet to become a plumber, he’s being chosen first. He swallows tightly and allows his mind to race. Part of him entertains the idea that Ben may actually reciprocate his feelings, but at the same time… it seems like such a reach that he doesn’t dare to ask. If Ben doesn’t feel the same way, he’d rather they just forget about it and pretend as if nothing happened between them in the first place.

“Hm… So, how did everything unfold?”

“I lost him… We beat the shit out of each other but I had the upper hand. He realized that he wasn’t going to win and made an escape, and I was too messed up to catch him,” Ben explains while running a hand through his hair to push the fluffy brown locks away from his bruised, bloody face. “I barely even made it here to you.”

“I see.”

Rook lets go of Ben’s hands and goes to retrieve a damp washcloth, an ice pack, some bandaids, and a bottle of the water. When he returns, he opens the bottle of water and pushes it into one of Ben’s hands, then sits down next to the other plumber and starts to gently wipe the blood off of his face with the washcloth.

“Not going to lecture me about how I was wrong?” Ben indignantly demands. “No ‘I told you so’?”

“No. You already know you were in the wrong when you went after him. You do not need to be informed of that fact.”

“That somehow made me feel even worse.”

The two plumbers fall silent as Ben chugs the bottle of water he was given by Rook. The crinkle of the plastic bottle echoes through the small room. Rook thoroughly cleans and bandages Ben’s injuries, and though they look gruesome, they prove to be quite minor compared to so many of the other ones Ben has acquired with the work they do. Once he’s finished, he tries to push the ice pack into Ben’s spare hand, only for Ben to put it to the side and reach forward. He holds both of Rook’s hands in his own and stares into his amber eyes.

“What is this?” Rook questions, moving to sit next to Ben on the couch.

“I’m sorry. I do respect you, and I should listen to you more. I do value your opinion, I just…”

“You are stubborn. I understand,” Rook says with a small smile. “It is something I love about you, most of the time. I admire your tenacity. In situations like this, however…”

“I know, and about that… Y’know, it’s pretty messed up to confess your love like that and then leave without letting me respond.”

At that, a lump forms in Rook’s throat. He’s barely able to swallow it in time to reply to Ben, who is staring at him expectantly with an undeniable blush on his face.

“I see. Would you… Like to respond now?”

“Yeah, I think I should,” Ben answers and leans forward to rest his forehead against Rook’s. Rook freezes in place, his heart skipping a beat. He and Ben have been in closer quarters before due to their profession, but it’s never been so… Intentional. So intimate. Ben shuts his jade green eyes and allows a small smile to take over his face. Rook just stares at him and waits for what’s next. Much to his surprise, Ben gives him a kiss. Though brief, it’s sweet, and enough to lift the weight that’s been on Rook’s shoulders since their argument earlier that day as Ben pulls back. “I love you, too, Rook. I’m glad you told me.”

“Oh.”

“Oh?” Ben laughs.

“It is a lot to process,” Rook answers, barely able to get the words out. “Would you stay here with me tonight?”

“Yeah,” Ben nods, his smile as radiant as the moonlight that shines upon them through Rook’s living room window. “I think I would.”

#benrook #omniboyfriends #ben 10 #ben 10 omniverse #rook blonko #ben tennyson #ben ten #ben ten series #ben 10 series #fluff #oneshot #oneshots #drabble #drabbles

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damnfandomproblems · 1 month

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5501:

"Why waste your time doing something you hate over something you like?"

...Wow. Because people see the potential in something and want to improve it for themselves? Because they want to have something they like, so they can easier forget about canon they hate? Because people do, actually, enjoy retconning canon and making something more palatable to themselves? Because if canon is just that messed up, people enjoy the challenge of fixing canon to their preferences? Because people like sharing their takes on canon in fandoms where there's a lot of unanimous discontent about it, and they like seeing other people voice their satisfaction?

So... "Why waste your time" my ass. A lot of people are not wasting their time, for the above reasons. They do not hate the process. They hate the canon. Learn the difference. Because really, this problem makes so many assumptions about why people write fics "despite hating canon", and how they must function as people, it physically hurts.

If someone is blasting canon and swearing or ranting in the tags or author's note? That's a DNF. It's immature and stupid and gross. If they're adding a couple tags saying they don't like canon and did their own thing (AO3 actually has canonical tags that describe this, for the record)? Who cares? Not to mention, as someone else said, a lot of people make things out of spite or hatred, and trust me, you can't tell. Because not everyone is a nuclear reactor of a person with the emotional maturity of a five-year old, who feels the need to aggressively splash their opinions all over the author's notes and tags.

Lastly:

People don't just write fics for canon they love. There are so many long running fandoms where people are upset with new canon, but they aren't going to just drop everything like a hot potato and go to another fandom. Would you, if you were following the stories for 2 or more decades? Five years? And are still invested in the characters and their story?

Anyways, that's it, I'm done. That problem just completely rubbed me the wrong way and I had to get this disjointed mess out!

Posting as a response to a previous problem.

#fandom problem 5501 #response to previous problem #mod sf

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beaft · 1 year

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Hi and sorry in advance for using this as an excuse to rant a bit about Good omens 2! I feel the same, I binged it with my girlfriend and at the end we just sat in silence for a minute and then went "...what the fuck was that." It was so incredibly poorly written and plotted in many aspects, though I understand that if one doesn't love dissecting stories piece by piece to analyse it from all possible angles it could be hard to understand why some people are saying it's bad. I feel like it's comparable to a house that looks pretty but is build on really shitty foundations and has a lot of structural issues. Most people can't see anything wrong with it and find it good, but the people who know how those things are built can immediately see all the glaring issues under the surface.

In short, in my opinion a lot of this season's short comings hinge on it's complete lack of thematic coherence and structure, completely ignoring or even discarding what was at the heart of the original story. This season was a disjointed jumble of scenes and concepts that only superficially lead to other scenes that within the bigger picture had no weight at all, plot or thematic-wise. Once you start thinking back to some of the plot threads the show established to move the story forward it's almost ridiculous how little they actually meant for the conclusion. And I don't mean stuff that 'might be resolved in the third season'! Creating a miracle to keep Gabriel hidden from everyone? He could've hid in a closet and it would've had the same effect for the plot. Muriel being set to keep an eye on Aziraphale and Crowley? Nothing, no consequences, in fact Aziraphale fucks off on his investigation right after, which, by the way, served no purpose than to give us some exposition that in the end got re-iterated to us during Gabriel's flashbacks. He doesn't actually figure anything out in a way that impacts the story lol. Even the whole "we have to make these two women fall in love so that Heaven believes us!" is kind of just forgotten by the end of the story, and nobody holds them accountable to their claim. The character of Jim is completely non-existent for half of the season and has no emotional arc or impact as a character on Aziraphale and Crowley - he could've been a magical cardboard cutout that spouts funny lines every now and then. There were so many set-ups within this season itself that had completely lackluster or non-existing pay-offs it's actually kind of ridiculous.

So many of the things people list or write about when talking about this season are there in concept, but they're not acted upon in the writing. A prime example of this is the Aziraphale/Crowley and Nina/Maggie parallels that people are pointing out - but within the season's current day scenes there isn't any romantic or emotional development between Aziraphale and Crowley, and the story doesn't center itself around that parallel or development. The only scene I could think of that even remotely does something with that is the Jane Austen dancing scene - except where Nina and Maggie have a conversation about what is going on right in that moment and how they're feeling, Aziraphale and Crowley are as good as emotionally dead and then the scene already ends.

If you start breaking down the plot elements it could've been made so, so SO much more tight-knit and coherent by focusing on what was important - ergo the character's relationships now and the bigger plot beats. As much as I loved the flashbacks in season 1, in this season they merely serve to tell us what we already know about Aziraphale's and Crowley's relationship and to add some superficial and pointless context to the different locations Aziraphale visits. Another thing I think is a big difference between this season and the original story is that every character, every concept had a Point to it, usually a joke or some sort of funny commentary (whether it was good/actually funny is another thing entirely). That's what made it feel interesting and sharp, whereas the new characters in this season just kind of... are. If you break down the concepts to their bare essence, coffeeshop owner in a toxic relationship and record shop owner who has anxiety are pretty bland as character concepts go. Shax as a character is also just so... pointless lmfao. It's almost badly caricaturing the concept of Gomens demons, which are already caricatures, so the effect is somewhat reminicent of beating a dead horse long after it has died. Anyway, so sorry to clutter your inbox like this but I just needed to get this off my chest. It's so weird seeing the dissonance between what is textually there in the show and how people are reacting to it!

hi! i hope you don't mind but i'm posting this publicly because tbh you really hit the nail on the head with every single one of these points. the whole season felt like this:

over and over again a potentially interesting plotline would get introduced, and then the writers would kind of just. forget why it was there? best example is, as you say, the nina/maggie thing - originally it began as a cover story to explain away the Forbidden Miracle, but that quickly ceased to be relevant, and the "we need to make them fall in love to get heaven off our backs" became a half-hearted running gag that was returned to every now and again with increasing half-heartedness. no sense of forward planning, no callbacks or consequences, just the constant sense of frantic improvisation without an end in sight.

#good omens #good omens spoilers #long post

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funfettiheart · 1 month

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Spoilers for the new season of The Umbrella Academy

I think one of the (many) things that really fucked up this season of TUA for me was how they could NEVER keep any of the siblings in the same room for 5 minutes. 2 or 3 of them would go and do one thing and then everyone else would just??? fuck off? and they constantly seemed to forget that any of the other siblings existed.

The plot felt so disjointed and slow but at the same time rushed because at no point did anyone TALK to one another. I know theyre all dealing with their own shit but the most interesting part is watching them deal with it TOGETHER and seeing how each person reacts to stuff happening. But they barely speak to each other, not that any of the subplots were connected to the main plot in any way. What was up with the subway? We'll never know. Why did they get new powers? No idea. Why does Reginalds wife just appear near the end to go "AHA! It was me all along!" like??? Why was Reginald an alien? Why was Jennifer in a squid? How does the main cast dying get rid of the cleanse when there are at least 36 other children born with marigold powers?????

Also, getting new powers from the marigold should have been way more interesting! A new start, a new problem! Or at least a big change? But it wasnt because none of the characters gave a shit! Which has been one of my biggest ongoing gripes about the series: None of the characters care about what is happening. Klaus can literally fly now and there is 0 reaction. Luthers hairy again, whatever. Allison is telekinetic now??? Who gives a shit. Fuck it: KLAUS WAS SEX TRAFFICKED AND THEN BURRIED ALIVE AND NO ONE CARED.

In fact the way the characters are all treated was downright cruel. Luther could have had some much needed depth after what happened with Allison but was reduced to a dumb guy in shiny pants. Bens a dick and becomes obsessed with a woman he's just met and the entire rest of his plot is just that. Lila ricochetes between Diego and Five and is basically just The Wife when her whole thing was being a wildcard assassin. Diego was reduced to a suspicious moron and was the butt of a load of fat jokes for some reason. Allison flashed her new powers around twice and barely appeared in the plot. Victor goes to live out his dream of working for his abusive father. Five got trapped. Again. Klaus went through hell. Alone. Again.

It felt like they forgot how to write more than 2 people interacting. Fuck it felt like they forgot EVERYTHING THE CHARACTERS WERE AND WENT THROUGH IN THE PAST 3 SEASONS. To the point where whole arcs and side characters that were vital to the plot vanish.

And then finally they had this big dramatic ending... where they all kill themselves to save the world. And I felt nothing but dissappointment. The deaths of these characters that I'd seen for seasons, that I cared about and enjoyed left me thinking "I'm glad thats over" because the characters weren't even themselves any more. They fought so hard over the past few seasons to be alive and to live how they wanted and to get away from the horrific trauma that Reginald had put them through. And then the finale is them just... calmly committing suicide with none of their issues resolved. Not to mention the endless plotholes and dropped narrative threads. I'm honestly angry that this is the ending they settled on. "Youre damaged and traumatised and all of this is your fault and it always will be. Now go die about it". How miserable. How poorly thought out. What a perfect ending for season 4.

Sorry this is such a long rant, I have a lot of feelings. But most importantly: Sorry Gerard Way.

#not to mention the whole baby shark thing... how much do you think they paid to get to use baby shark #imagine using that money to idk... make a better more cohesive show #not to mention putting 5 and lila together... like the age difference is so offputting.#and having ben just turn into a flesh kaiju??? wack #And Gene and Jean were such delightful additions but they get gracelessly killed off when theyre no longer needed with 0 thought #im just SO ANGRY that this is where the story is being left #the umbrella academy #spoilers #tua spoilers

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yalster54 · 4 months

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walk with me here..... rachel, betsy, kitty love triangle (more like a love arrow) cause it'd be the funniest shit to ever happen in a marvel comic.

honestly I think it could work like Rachel having to choose between the person who she has this deep emotional intimacy with but who has kinda treated her like shit in the past and a person who has always treated her well but they just aren't quite that same level of closeness. do u give what was another chance and get hurt again or do u go all in on what's new at the risk that it might not be as good hmmm.

betsy is all the things kitty isn't I mean she's got a clear purpose/role in life (Captain Britain stuff), she's objectively gorgeous (Britain's most beautiful woman), an aristocrat and she's also really fuckin rich on top of that. its kinda like a coordinated attack on all that girl's insecurities. but on the other hand kitty and rachel's relationship is this deeply emotionally intimate thing, I mean they've literally merged more than once, rachel let kitty see her at her worst and they have a bond deeper than mere telepathy and that would make betsy insecure bc in a way how can u measure up to that.

kitty and betsy feeling pushed out by the presence of the other is real interesting to me, from betsy's pov its the chick who her gf trusts more than her and who knows more about her than she or anyone else does and for kitty its feeling like u guys can't even have any sort of relationship anymore because it encroaches on ur bff's romantic relationship.

like Rachel is the person for both these ladies who can handle their neurotic bs and in the immortal words of Scott Summers "love her just the same"

idk I just feel like there are some things where Rachel would choose kitty over betsy and there could be some fun push and pull there that could make betsyrachel more interesting

anyways sorry about the very long disjointed rant but yeah xmen comics need more lesbian drama and I will not be silenced on that matter 🫡

#maybe I should just write fanfic about this 😔#I just want retsy to be interesting 💀#the idea of betsy getting cheated on for once is so funny to me #rachel summers #rachel grey #kitty pryde #betsy braddock #kitty x rachel #betsy x rachel #greypryde #retsy #x men #x men comics

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emotionallcowboy · 2 years

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your new fav ghostface is boring as fuck .

[scream 6 spoilers ahead]

so i never post on here, like ever. i’m MUCH more the “silent scroller type,” so obviously, this was the first place i went to after leaving my screening for scream 6, as i was on the hunt for people’s thoughts and theories. not to anyone’s surprise, the related tags are filled with mostly people fawning over the newest ghostface killer, that being ethan landry, a rather minimal side character with no more than 15 minutes of screen time and no real development other than “you killed my brother, so now you have to die lol.” on paper and on-screen, he is simply not an interesting character AT ALL.

and yet, he and fanfics with him as their subject have absolutely flooded the tags. now, this isn’t a shot at the actor himself because frankly, i don’t know enough about him and this isn’t a shot toward the authors or consumers of these pieces of work, you’re obviously entitled to enjoy whatever you want, as long as it not hurting others. this is really just an aimless, disjointed rant toward a general problem that is not at all new to “fandom.”

as a latino person, i truly struggle to understand why that in the year 2023, fandoms, or at least certain parts of it, insist on devoting themselves to underwritten, underdeveloped, and utterly mediocre fictional white men. more often than not, these characters usually become the most prominent aspect of the entire project, leaving characters, who happen to be people of color, as nothing more but an afterthought. and yes, i understand that for this specific instance, ethan landry, a conventionally attractive white man is revealed to be one of the main antagonists, so obviously he will attract a certain group of people. however, the point i’m trying to make is that he is not an interesting character beyond just being the villain.

some will chalk that up to him receiving not enough screen time to develop his character throughly. others, including myself, will attribute this to poor writing and mediocre performance. and yet somehow he has managed to garner most of the attention, why? there are four people of color at the heart of this movie, and i have yet to see the same type of adoration toward them as i’ve witnessed for easily, the most forgettable character.

as i mentioned before this isn’t some new phenomenon; devotion, a film about the first black naval aviator, jesse brown who is played by the wonderful jonathan majors. in spite of this being a notorious story about a black man, the internet has once again decided to shift their gaze toward the supposed supporting role played by jon’s white co-star, glen powell. another unexceptional performance by a white actor that has taken the spotlight from a person of color.

i wish i could end this in some clever way, maybe giving a suggestion on how this habit could be changed in the future, but i have nothing else to offer other than my frustration. even in 2023, i find that more often than not, when there is a person of color at the helm of a project, whether it be a small indie film or the next summer blockbuster, they are almost guaranteed to be looked over if they star alongside one of the internet’s favorite less than average white man. a pattern that i’ve seen time and time again and honestly don’t think will ever change, but i know that i will give the core 4 their flowers, for as long as we have them.

#scream #scream 6 #scream 6 spoilers #scream vi #scream vi spoilers #scream 5 #scream spoilers #ghost face #ghostface #jenna ortega #melissa barrera #mason gooding #jasmin savoy brown #the core four #ethan landry #chad meeks martin #mindy meeks martin #sam carpenter #tara carpenter

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lightprkdraws · 5 months

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ooh okay now I'm curious: what don't you like about v3's ending?

Hhh I hope you won't regret asking this, because I am going to rant a looot about it XDD

SPOILERS for ALL danganronpa main games (also, long rant ahead)

The first thing that I want to say is that it makes me cringe. It makes me cringe so hard when the in-universe characters talk about the previous games and literally say danganronpa. It's too meta for my liking.

Additionally, it feels mean spirited to the player. Sorry, I can't get to the moral high ground here, I just don't like getting lectured for the things I like by the things I like. It's a bit hypocritical too, no? You were the one who made the murder mystery game, not me!

---

Having gotten those two points out of the way, it feels really silly as a reveal in comparison to the previous two games' reveals. The first one basically said that the world as the characters knew it had ended, and the second one not only said that, but it also revealed that they were the ones responsible.

In comparison, DRV3 has a very bizarre (also overused, also juvenile) "we live in a society" kind of reveal. "Ooooh look how uncaring all these people are!"

(also, seriously? who could watch 53 of these killing games without getting bored? that number is ridiculous)

It certainly tries to give it more of a punch with the inclusion of the characters' audition tapes (seeing that they signed up to be psychologically tortured and literally murdered on live TV) in an attempt to make it more like DR2 instead of just DR1, however that aspect is brushed aside in favour of dealing with the bigger issue (the actual murder show). It's so incredibly cartoony and weird, and not in a good way. Maybe if it were some kind of underground, dark web type of deal there would be a better flavour to it.

Also, there were sooo many red herrings in the previous chapters, instead of a slow buildup of the reveal. For comparison's sake:

In 2-2 the characters learn that they've lost their school memories, and, after that, Monokuma starts talking about the world ending on multiple occasions. In 2-3 we read a document about a reserve course that exists at hope's peak. We also learn about protests that were carried out by said reserve course. Then in 2-4 we get the payoff that Hajime is in the reserve course. Finally, in 2-6 we learn that all the people of this game were the instigators of the apocalipse. Hajime's personal struggle is only a small part of the bigger reveal, but it also supports the bigger narrative: the fact that Hope's Peak is an incredibly corrupt organisation that treats people as expendable labrats, and how that led to the protests, and how that helped Junko escalate the situation in a massive way.

Meanwhile, in V3 we get some flashbacks of Suichi talking with a random young kid, him talking with some classmates, him being chased by a mob of people. Then there's a whole thing about getting to the exit through the tunnel and hope's peak building a sanctuary for the last remains of humanity?? And let's not forget Kaede's sister, for whatever reason. I'll admit that I don't remember all the details of V3 because it's been a while since I played it, but all these events are so disjointed and random. There's just so many things shown that in the end don't have anything to do with the reveal (apart from showing how stupid the whole organisation running these killing games is).

Another thing to mention, is the existence of the nanokumas. The creators must have really liked the fact that Monokuma could see everything all the time in DR2, because they had to somehow make that work outside of a digital context in V3. I hate the nanokumas. They are so incredibly dumb as a concept.

And after all is said and done, the game has the gall to say "but who knows what the actual truth is"

Neither of the previous games had such an unecessary open-endedness to them. But ig I have to admit that, specifically with DR1's ending, there is a bias of certainty because we got multiple sequels that confirm what the truth is (although I still believe that it didn't really leave much room for debate).

Both games had a feeling of "and the story continues" but not a "wait, what was the truth after all?", if that makes sense.

---

Now, about Tsumugi specifically. It's really really dumb that she was made out out to be a big bad evil mastermind, when she's just a showrunner. She's got 0 actual power. Nothing like Junko or even Izuru. They were the instigators. Tsumugi is a small cog in a machine.

Idk if I've said this before, but I'd like her a lot better as a mastermind if she'd been some rich spoiled girl who's obsessed with the danganronpa franchise and ends up kidnapping a bunch of her classmates and brainwashes them in order to make her own real-life killing game. That to me, specifically for Tsumugi's character, would be 1000x or even 1000000x more compelling than her canon motivations and role. This way, you can even keep the meta-narrative of the previous games being fictional in the V3 universe, but can completely remove the entire world being in on the joke. AND it would make her more interesting because she'd be so passionate about this game that she's literally willing to die for it!

---

In conclusion: there's probably things I can't remember right now, but these are the main points that come to mind off the top of my head.

Don't get me wrong, I had a lot of fun playing it until the trial of chapter 5. It became too confusing and convoluted for me after that point. But before that, I liked seeing most of the character interactions.

I do feel bitter that Kaede was killed in the first chapter (it'd be a lot more interesting if Suichi had died and Kaede had then had to learn how to take on his role, there could even be a lesson that one does not need to keep themselves within the confines of their assigned ultimate talent), but it's not like the whole game suffers from this one decision.

I especially liked the interactions between Suichi, Maki, and Kaito during their nightly meetups. Such small moments of bonding time is something that was missing from the previous two games.

#danganronpa #danganronpa spoilers #drv3 #tsumugi shirogane #long post #analysis #ask #lowkey nervous to say so much about this #i dont really care to argue with people who believe that the v3 ending is good actually

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married-2-the-music · 11 months

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K-pop Discography Deep Dives: Only One Of (Supplemental)

A Disclaimer: I was planning, when I first started Tumblr, to be a lurker, but then I began an office job and needed something to listen to to keep myself occupied. And then, I started going through entire K-pop groups’ repertoires, album by album, and jotting down my thoughts. And then, I stumbled into K-pop tumblr and decided, you know what, there’s at least four people on this hell site who would read in depth rants about these discographies and at least five who wouldn’t read it and then get mad because it’s kind of our job as K-pop fans. My lukewarm takes should be taken with an entire silo of salt and the knowledge that this is completely for fun and occupying my very bored, very neurodivergent brain. All this to say, for the love of god, I’m a sleep-deprived student and I don’t have time for internet hate, so don’t kill me. With that being said, enjoy!

So, since I’ll probably be tackling some groups with large discographies, both now and in the future, I thought it’d be good to shine lights on some smaller groups and soloists who either aren’t as popular and/or have much smaller repertoires, so that’s what we’re doing today! These are going to be a lot more chill than my deep dives because they’re really more of a fun break than anything else.

Here are my credentials: I’d already been a fan of SHINee for a while before, but it was actually OnlyOneOf that helped me realize that I wasn’t just a girl group stan and SHINee weren’t just a one-off. I’m mainly a fan of their Underground Idol solos series so I’m looking forward to hearing more of their other titles and b-sides. Let’s do this!

OnlyOneOf debuted in 2019 with seven members: Love, Nine, Yoojung, Rie, KB, Junji, and Mill (Love left in 2021). They’re most known for their…concept in a way? Basically, for basing their music around queerness, while not stating their actual orientations. This is thorny territory, as k-pop is infamous for its shipping and fanservice-heavy culture, which we could argue about until we’re so blue in the face that we’d be mistaken for smurfs. Is it queerbaiting? Is it representation? I know what I believe, but is that “right”? I don’t know. Either way, it’s important to keep in mind (even as I’m going to praise them for the good work they’ve done) that what they’re doing is, at the end of the day, proving profitable.

We start off with Savanna, which has one hell of a music video intro. The song is more subdued than I’m used to from their later singles, but with a similar subject matter. It gives me Taemin vibes with its self-assured sexuality, but speaking of sexuality, what would later make them famous is basically non-existent here. I do like this song, especially the slowed-down reverb and distortion, but it’s not especially unique, and it didn’t have a lot of staying power with me. I love the drama of the visuals though—I’m a sucker for cathartically lighting things on fire. (For the FBI agents reading this, I promise that that was a joke.)

From the Dot Point Jump single, I enjoyed the chill soft-rock of Time Leap, which absolutely did have staying power for me and I added it to my playlist. I really liked that chorus, and by the end of the first one, I was in. I think their voices both blend better and feel more unique in this one than in the title, which is probably another reason I liked it so much. Blossom I enjoyed less but it reminded me more of what I’m used to from them.

Sage is up next, and again we have a really odd MV intro. A lot has changed since Savanna—now, the song has much more sing-talk, feels more disjointed in terms of when the tempo changes, and it has a greater focus on the cyberpunk citypop vibes than before. It also adds a greater sense of drama with the slight strings and the control in the voices. It took me a few listens but I like this one too, more than Savanna, and I can see how the singles are slowly shifting to become the OnlyOneOf they are today.

Line Sun Goodness is a pretty solid EP, and I enjoyed the whistling hook in Boss, the chill guitar in Desert, and the breathy layers of vocals in Only One Of Me (which was my favorite). However, the songs, despite the few quirks I mentioned before, sound very similar to each other. None of them are bad, but none of them stick out either.

Dora Maar goes even further in the direction that Sage began, with its harsh background clanging, its heavy use of percussion, and reliance on more intentional frying in the vocals. I wasn’t as big a fan of this one as Sage, to be honest, because I felt like it went from the calmer (yet still fried) parts to the harsher ones, and I got a bit of whiplash.

Angel was a song that I’d heard before, but I actually had no idea that it was by OnlyOneOf. It’s catchy from the outset, and has a self-aware humor that I could get behind. It’s also softer than their usual titles, and that little bit of vulnerability is a good balance for the flashier parts of their discography. That repeating rap in the pre-choruses caught me off-guard every time, I have to say, and by the time I’d gotten used to the new tempo, we were back to the usual. I have no idea why it's there, because it really didn’t have to be. I really liked Heartbreak Theatre from the single, because I love some drama and that piano was perfect.

A Song Of Ice & Fire pulses with a great energy, and I was nodding my head through the first verse. I was worried they’d go with the dreaded anti-drop chorus and they kind of did in the second half, but thankfully the rest of the chorus is quite strong. I liked this one, but I actually have the opposite comment I have on the rest of their songs, which is that I wish it carried through that great build up through the chorus, because they were almost there…but no. I didn’t have a hidden gem for this single.

Libido is the song that I think most people know from OnlyOneOf, and it’s obvious why: unlike many of their singles, it’s pretty unique. I was surprised that what they’re so known for started here and not before though. Between the choreo, the lyrics, and the music video, it definitely breaks the boundaries of what’s normal in k-pop. It’s a song I appreciate more than enjoy, I’ll be honest, but I do like the pre-choruses. I know the whole point is that the chorus comes out of nowhere, but it’s not for me. I admit though, the “girl I just wanna know” makes me cackle every time, because what girl? Where? There is not a girl within a 10 kilometer radius, folks. If we’re aiming for plausible deniability, that train left the station halfway through the first verse with whatever the hell Nine’s character was doing watching Love take a bath.

From Instinct (Part 1), my favorite was Instinct, because it has good drive and its vocals match perfectly with that distorted guitar instrumental in the background. It’s definitely not a combination I’ve heard before, but it works quite well. The other songs are similar to other b-sides from earlier, in my opinion.

Coy is calmer and more subdued than their usual singles as well, while still keeping the smooth sexuality that defines much of their work. I think it needs more of a show stopping moment, personally, but this isn’t a song for me. I don’t have a hidden gem from this single, but I did like Night Flight.

Skinz gave me a jumpscare right away, I admit it, with that scratching noise grating on my ears. It continues the queer themes from Libido. Unlike a lot of their other work, it doesn’t have enough of a balance between the harsh distortion and the gentler moments, because there really aren’t enough gentler moments for that to happen. It’s just not a pleasant experience on my ears, and not one I want to repeat either. OnlyOneOf has a lot of charisma but none of it carries through enough for this one, and quite frankly, I don’t like it. From the single, I think that Suit Dance would’ve made a better single with its well-flowing vocals and jazzier beat and I also liked Ultimate Bliss.

It’s nothing new for idols to release solo music while still part of a band, but Only One Of’s “Underground Idol” series is absolutely unique. The members were divided back into their branded pairs for this, and each pair told the story of a couple from two different perspectives. Yoojung and KB were the first in Begin and Be Free, Junji and Rie were the second in Be Mine and Because, and Mill and Nine were the last in Beat and Beyond. This series is both where I found them and where, at least to me, a discography that could have been seen as queerbaiting-for-profit becomes something that genuinely means so much to so many queer people, myself included.

Begin, fittingly, begins the solo series, and expertly captures the feeling of boredom expressed in the music video until, of course, we get the meet-cute and literal crash into each other that begins the relationship too. The song is a gentle, breathy city pop sound, and feels both hopeful and resigned (“when you’re free from prejudice, freedom will begin”), reaching a catharsis in its understated bridge (“It’s time, and I know it.”) as Yoojung’s character takes care of KB’s when he’s drunk. Never has a k-pop song title so fit a song, because it’s about so many different beginnings: the relationship, the freedom, and even the journey of coming out itself. I like this one.

Be Free is Begin’s other side, and starts where it left off. As befits the title and its character’s personality, it’s far more open from the beginning and knows what it wants right out of the gate (“Hey guess what?”), while also embracing a funkier, brighter sound that feels more joyful. The relationship continues, and the characters bond deeply in the space of a night (a very queer thing in and of itself), before they end up waking up together, shirtless. Genuinely, the first time I watched this, I was shocked that they were so open about it, despite the fact that nothing is shown, and it was this that began to change my mind on the subject of queerbaiting. The story shown here is given an open ending—we have no idea what happens after that one day—but the final line (“You never know, baby. One more time could make it right.”) seems to hint that it won’t end here. I like this one more than Begin, but it’s not my favorite.

Be Mine starts the second of the three stories, and, again fittingly to the title, feels softer and more romantic with its gentle piano as Junji’s character runs after Rie’s. This duo shows an established relationship between its characters as they have a summer romance that involves dancing, listening to music, cooking, and just spending time together. Its slow and settled melody isn’t for me, personally, and neither is its seemingly out-of-nowhere rap verse, but on the whole, the song is very sweet.

Because was actually the first song I’d heard by OnlyOneOf, since it was recommended to me about a week after it came out, and, as previously stated, changed my mind that I was only a girl group stan. I was surprised by it right out of the gate, and was soon won over by the quite convincing intimacy between its two characters, its quiet folding of paper cranes, and overall bluntness of its subject matter. The song is nostalgic and feels lived in, waffling between comforting and melancholy as the characters have a fight and go their separate ways while all their best memories replay, then reconnect many months later (though it’s left open whether they get back together). It’s genuinely quite touching; I wince when Junji’s character smacks the paper cranes off of the table and I hurt for Rie’s when he’s heartbroken. It was my favorite of their songs when I first watched it and it’s stayed that way since.

Beat marks the start of the third and last series, and sticks out from the rest of the songs in the solos with its harsh beat and most of the song is either sing-talk or outright rapping. Mill is the group’s rapper, so I do get it, but this one is just too grating for me. The video shows two students falling in love with each other while facing hinted-to-be-homophobically-motivated bullying and dealing with both the fear and the excitement of that love. The song does fit the video, I’ll give it that, perfectly connecting with the insecurity and genuine danger the characters face (“wanna tell them to beat it, beat up, beat out”), and the video ends with Nine’s character falling into Mill’s arms after getting beaten up.

Beyond is the last of the Underground Idol series, and rather than match the harshness of Beat, it goes the exact opposite way, and is quite an understated slow burn mixed with citypop that makes the most of Nine’s smooth and soothing vocals, meaning that I enjoyed this one much more. Its lyrics are quite lovely with how they mix floral imagery (“perhaps it’s withered; my heart is dried up, but you take root”), and openness (“Baby, I wanna make you mine”), and captures the head-over-heels feeling of first love quite well. These two videos don’t push boundaries in the same way as the first two sets do, only because they tell what is a quite well-trodden story rather than breaking new ground, but seeing the characters take care of each other is very sweet. The quiet, mutual moment of realization at the end where they’re lying next to each other and move to kiss feels very comfortable and honest.

The description box written for Beyond on their official YouTube channel states: “How did our music reach you, who are far away? How did our small melody crafted in Korea reach you, who are on the other side of the world? To all those lovers who do not feel like they’ve been given the blessing, we hope our music will comfort you and cheer you up. We hope you’ll dream the same dream as us.” Is it a little cheesy? Perhaps. But does it make me emotional? Absolutely. Does it still matter? Hell yes.

The thing that really felt meaningful to me was the mundanity with which the characters live their lives; they may face internalized or external homophobia, but what the solo series gets across so well is how normal and everyday these people are, no matter who they love. The best way I can explain it, as a queer person myself, is that it feels like another queer person wrote and planned these six songs. They feel very honest and self-reflective, and don’t try to tiptoe around their subject matter, which I really appreciate. Look, I’m not going to speculate on whether any of the members of OnlyOneOf are queer themselves, because I frankly can’t stress enough that unless one of them bursts through my window at 2 am with a megaphone and tells me to share it with the world, it was and remains none of my fucking business.

Seoul Drift is their latest comeback, and similarly to many of their other full-group singles, it’s not that fun to listen to. It follows Skinz; there isn’t really a break in the song, which normally I’d be a fan of, but here it just makes it feel overwhelming and unnecessarily harsh. I like the idea of it—the lyrics are pretty good and the whole idea of loneliness and the intensely fast pace of life in Seoul in the MV intrigues me—but the execution just doesn’t win me over.

From the album, Seoul Collection, Blue Blue Seoul stuck out to me. It’s breathy and soft, and it moves along with an inviting, almost warm feeling. It feels a lot like a song from their Underground Idol series, which is probably why I like it. I love the way the voices are layered and how the minimalistic background gives them a chance to grow.

OnlyOneOf have gained attention yet again this year, not only for their earlier comeback but for their participation in Bump Up Business, a short drama adaptation of a BL webtoon that stars Mill and Nine as two k-pop idols forced to do a “business gay partnership” (basically, act like they’re in a gay relationship with each other), who actually end up falling in love. You can see why this is causing a stir, when their whole concept already has people declaring it queerbaiting.

Personally, I honestly don’t know where I stand, because I do think that they do genuinely important, boundary-breaking work, but they also play into the queerbaiting and the lines between characters they play and the idols themselves are intentionally made smaller. I applaud them for acting in this and having the guts to actually kiss on screen, and despite how toothless the show is, I did watch it and go “aww” at several points.

I’m glad I did this! Even if I didn’t end up becoming a Lyon or a fan, I did still have fun with this, especially watching the series and the solos, and a couple interviews (which gave me some good laughs, so thanks guys). I also learned that Nine and KB are very involved with the writing and composing of OnlyOneOf’s music, which is something I really appreciate that happens to be quite rare in k-pop.

My top 5 songs from Only One Of are Because, Time Leap, Heartbreak Theatre, Be Free, and Beyond, with Only One Of Me as an honorable mention. Only One Of gets a 7.75 / 10 from me. To be honest, I’ve found that besides their Underground Idol series and a few odd b-sides, their music is mostly not for me. I do really appreciate the self-production, the important messages, and the experimental quality of a lot of their work, but at the end of the day, this is my blog and it comes down to personal preference.

Next time, we’ll be doing part two of the Red Velvet deep-dive and next week we’re restarting the one-group-a-week schedule with a boy group. Tschüss!

#onlyoneof #k-pop #review #k-pop deep dive #k pop boy groups #yoojung #kb #rie #junji #nine #wookjin #mill #love #be free #underground idol #bump up business #Spotify

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pinheadbella · 9 months

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I have a project involving the TDI reboot in the works BUT I will have to go on a liiiittle rant about season 2 first. So SPOILERS BELOW

Season 2 has really great character dynamics and challenges that make me want to like it more than season 1. Bowie and Raj being officially boyfriends. MK and Julia being an evil alliance. Ripper and Axel softening each other up. And the challenges finally aren’t just slightly different obstacle courses/races.

The problem I have is how…disjointed everything feels.

The slide challenge felt weird without Scary Girl. If she wanted to try to be normal (and fail), then she should’ve been around to see the death trap that was the four point slide. And you know she would’ve gone crazy when Damien went tumbling down.

Chase being stuck to Emma during the sap challenge would’ve been funny. Emma didn’t really do much in the sap challenge besides some slapstick with animals. So literally sticking her with her ex when she genuinely doesn’t want to give him another chance would’ve been cool.

Speaking of Emma, why was there literally no acknowledgement of her and Bowie being friends this season? Never interacted. Please you can’t do this to me I wanted closure or them to be besties again or SOMETHING

Millie would have been insane in the bridge challenge. She would’ve fallen back into her judgmental ways to figure out how everyone would answer. And maybe, just maybe, that would get people that Bowie isn’t the only evil person involved in that notebook strategy. I mean, Millie wrote that thing. Wanted to make that into a book. And compound this with Millie shoving Damien down that slide. You got a player who wants to win but goes about it in the wrong way. She’s not malicious, mind you. She just doesn’t realize that what she says or does is wrong until someone calls her out.

Caleb and Priya is a genuinely cute couple. And Caleb being a genuinely nice guy only to be framed as a Justin or Alejandro because of a misunderstanding is a neat twist. But I don’t like how the others get sidelined when Prileb becomes the focus. And when all they say about each other during the team phase is either “we’re a great alliance” or “he’s so amazing,” I kinda wanted them to hook up sooner instead of yknow HALFWAY INTO THE SEASON I mean Ripper and Axel hooked up early-

-which is a perfect transition to Ripaxel. I like how Ripper is less mean because of his crush on Axel. I like how Axel went into the game wanting the be nice. I like how sweet it was for Ripper to write a poem for Axel after finding out she loves poetry. And I actually cheered when they kissed. But then they kept kissing. And kissing. And just making out or flirting whenever they were on screen. I don’t like that that’s what their relationship became. I thought we were gonna get some more serious heart-to-heart stuff that ties back to what Ripper hinted at back in season 1. That his family sucks. And maybe Axel could sympathize with that since she’s too busy training to really connect with people. But nooooo literally throw out all their personality and backstory that’s the way to write them off.

Rapid fire for the characters that I don’t have much to say GO

Nichelle: I think it’s fitting how she quit cause she puts her career over the show. Although it could be handled better so her whole “I don’t need you, Hollywood” thing isn’t shoved down our throats

Damien: I wish he was less of a scaredy cat and more of a nerd and a straightman like he was last season. After leaving last season as a hero, you think he’d be a bit more confident at the start.

Zee: He’s at his best when he’s silly and wanting to be friends with everyone. He’s at his worst when he’s saying things he definitely shouldn’t.

And the thing that I thought was going to be the overarching plot. The cheating arc. I really thought the hockey bros were gonna struggle with this. That Chris causally dropping that he’s okay with cheating would break them or make them call foul. But nope. Now those guys are there to be silly. They are entertaining and I still love them. But I fear that they’re gonna get out of the game without leaving much of a mark on the rest of the cast. And let’s not forget the active cheaters. Ripper only cheated in one challenge. But he wasn’t in on the first two cheating schemes. Why did he want to help all of a sudden? And why not make Axel, who was upset about the cheating, be upset at her new bf for helping? Bowie got the most punishment and all we get is a confessional from Julia saying how she gaslit him out of the game? I ain’t buying it. He could’ve gotten more time to actually play fair, prove himself, and come up short. But an even earlier merge didn’t help. Speaking of. Julia and MK. I liked the initiative they took to keep winning. I liked how both of them like messing with people to get what they want. But uuuuuggghh. They really are getting away with it, huh? Just got a beat down and now they’re free of charge. And at this rate, I see one of them making finale and ultimately losing there cause oooOOooooo villains never win Total Drama. So predictable…

…so what if there was a different way to connect all these pieces together? What if I rearranged the challenge order and the elimination order to give everyone their proper amounts of growth? What if some arcs from the original season 2 get tweaked so that every character can contribute in a meaningful way? What if Priya and Julia aren’t the main good and bad guys again? What if some unresolved matters from last season are brought back? And most importantly, what if everyone treated this season like the “grudge match of the century” that Chris said it would be?

I want relationships tested

I want more morally gray moments

I want new allies to join forces and old ones to falter

I want players to go in thinking they know what they’re doing only for someone to screw everything up and make them rethink their life choices

Most importantly…

…I want to write Total Drama Island: Hard Reboot

A season with all the challenges and interactions I loved in season 2. But with different people taking charge. Different power dynamics. A fight for control over the game that’s so intense that you won’t know who the main hero or main villain is anymore. Which’ll make the journey to the finale all the more fun.

So be on the lookout for updates! I’ll be starting school back up soon so this may take me a while ^^’ But I got a whole google doc full of bullet points so it’s gotta become a cohesive story eventually, right?

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