#kinda... it’s moreso just General Quick Thoughts

[kozachenko]

And now we are finally getting to the most recent stuff I've worked on, starting off with my 2025 Marisa redraw! This time I'll actually have some more stuff to say since I can remember my thought process while drawing this yipeeee- (click image for better quality)

Artist's Notes;

So ever since doing these redraws, I've always kinda mourned the loss of the second redraw's dramatic lighting, so I decided to finally bring it back for this one! This one is kind of the melding of a bunch of my favourite aspects of the precious redraws, plus some of the newer stuff I've learned ever sine making them. I also tried out a new style of rendering hair for this piece and I'm really happy with how it looks! Also if you guys are wondering, yes that it s the same lantern from the previous Marisa drawing I did, I copy and pasted it because I was lazy and I just needed it to look consistent, work smarter not harder folks.

So I've been returning to my old favourite brush, the Clip Studio Paint Default Oil Paint brush for this one, and I did a bunch of the rendering for this piece with minimal blending. For the clothing, I wanted to incorperate a technique I did a few years ago, where I added some subsurface scattering to make the lighting feel more dynamic, and I love the effect it gave the white parts of the clothes. For the hair rendering, I did one base layer of shadows on top of my base colour for the hair, then a sort of mid-tone underneath it to add some variety in colour, and then did my highlights underneath all of that. I focused less on rendering every single strand of hair and moreso focused on getting the general shapes down, since I got inspired by some art I saw on Pinterest with a similar rendering style.

Once I finished with the base rendering, I used a multiply layer to create some more prominent shadows and also to give the lighting more direction. I did this with another piece as well and I think it gives me some pretty good results. It helps make the shadows a lot clearer and also gives me some better lighting while also allowing me to do some rendering to flesh it out even further, it's the best of both worlds and I have a lot of fun doing it. Also, what helped me a lot in the compositional stage was making a shitty little stick figure version of the character in the pose that I wanted and then painting in the base pose like a mannequin. I find that just painting in the figure immediately instead of forcing myself to stick to a rigid sketch has helped me out a lot, and here's an example of how the process went below. Later on in the drawing I did flip my canvas and after fixing it, realized that I liked it better flipped so that's why the orientation is slightly different. It also helps to just to some quick linework distinguishing the body parts to it's easier for me to draw the clothes. I do often keep major features of the silhouette in tact during this phase though so I don't forget to include them.

The background was actually pretty fun since it's just a nice outdoors scene. I didn't want there to be too much detail since I am all for creating the illusion of detail than rendering everything in immaculate detail, though I do think I could do just a little bit better, but hey that's why I've mainly been drawing backgrounds nowadays lol.

Overall, I'm really proud of this piece and I had a lot of fun making it. I want to continue experimenting with backgrounds and how to incorporate characters into them, so after my hibernation period you guys can expect to see some more of that.

[epitaph-echoes]

I wanted to go on a bit of a ramble about Misa so like

I've been seeing this sentiment recently about people expressing frustration over people ignoring Misa's wrongdoings and painting her as an innocent angel who never did any wrong. And you are all correct to point out the fact that yes, she very much DID do things wrong. The sentiment that she is pure and innocent is very much factually incorrect. She DID stalk Light and coerce her into dating him. She killed people. I just wanted to throw in my two cents on her real quick.

BUT I also want to point out that I kind of see people's love for her as almost a rebellion against the early days of the fandom. As a shonen series, a lot of the content and discussions around it were being had by anime dudebros. To add on, we KNOW how bad Ohba is about writing women. How many sexist undertones there are in all of his work. He himself has admitted with no shame that he cannot write women. (Which as a professional author should make you feel shame tbh but I digress)

When I was first getting into the fandom, Misa was pretty widely disliked as a character. The people that did like her were very much sexualizing her. The sentiment was that she was a dumb blonde bimbo unworthy amongst the genius of Light and L. There was SO much bashing of her. That came from fans that weren't the typical dudebro as well. This was peak shaming girly "shallow" girls era. The not like other girls era. I think this definitely played a role in at least some fans, now that the fandom is more chill, latching onto her as she was definitely treated pretty badly and people wanted to avenge her. Or people wised up more and thought more critically about her as a character. I think over time, that protectiveness over her, along with the somewhat humorous nature of it, morphed into the "uwu she did nothing wrong" narrative.

Additionally, I kinda have some thoughts on her as a character. I am not excusing her bad actions, maybe moreso rambling about my understanding of them.

She witnessed her family being murdered. This is stated to have happened a year before the series starts, so she was like? 16? 17? Understandably a very traumatic experience. She had to see the killer being allowed to walk free, her word, her testimony, not mattering. The man who took everything from her was allowed to walk with no repercussion while she had to live with that trauma. When Kira (aka Light) killed that man, avenged her family, it is understandable that she would form this odd parasocial relationship with him. She was mentally unstable enough to start with, griefstruck and seeing Kira as the one who helped her gain some faith in the world again.

To add onto that, she was also stalked by an obsessed fan, who after being rejected, was going to kill her. She was only saved by the sacrifice of Gelus, thus gaining the death note herself.

I see her as not an innocent angel who did nothing wrong, but as a deeply damaged young woman who had no agency in the world before this. Being hurt by multiple men, living in Japanese society which we know isn't very supportive of women in general. She finally gained some power, a way to protect herself in this world. And she saw the person, who helped her at her darkest, unbeknownst to himself, as her saviour.

Yes, she was absolutely not in the right for starting to kill people, yes she was absolutely wrong for stalking Light and forcing him to date her. I just wanted to ramble about her a little bit and give my silly little thoughts on her. I love her as a character, I can see WHY she is why she is. And it is absolutely okay to dislike her for those things! It is absolutely okay to criticize her actions because they are not okay. And yes I also believe her character missed a lot of the depth some of the other characters had simply because she was written by a misogynistic author. When I say she deserves better, I mean that she deserved MUCH better writing. But also Light is NOT innocent in their relationship either. I hope we can all still agree on that.

[syndianites]

Omg you should please ramble more about this princess/knight Capsize, Sonja, and Martha, I'm devouring it!!

Okay this is just me spitballing a vague plot but the general premise would be something akin to the rise of a Big Bad- whether that be the Shadows or what-have-you i dont know

For the fey-dynamic the world would generally have a "the fey are mysterious and quicked creatures" type deal ye olden europe had, which would encourage Sonja to hide her origins. My thought is that Sonja is one of multiple princesses, a middle child (bc lets be honest what screams Sonja more than forgotten middle child syndrome). There would be an event sparked by the Big Bad TM that caused chaos in the Fey kingdoms (havent decided if theyre be their own realm ala traditional fey storytelling or a collection of fey folk opperating under one general long living ruler) which lead to either the corruption of the Fey Ruler (also havent decided if id go with a classic matriarchy or not) or if the royal family would have been violently removed, but regardless Sonja would have been running for her life. In order to better blend in, her and any siblings she made it out with would have to seperate but keep in contact to avoid their general lump of fey magic from getting detected (since fey would still live around ye olde human folk and thus their magic would naturally linger). Sonja picks being a retainer of Martha both as a "this will be an easy, cushy job" and "if shit starts to hit the fan the royals would know first and i can tell the others to get out of dodge".

For the pirate dynamic it would be workshopped a bit differently than typical pirate-ism. I would imagine the Pirate "Kingdom" would be more so a collection of city states and alliances between different pirate groups, and they would either largely inhabit out of the way islands or go full floating city style. Regardless the "royal" family would be determined more through reknown and via combat- whatever pirate group is considered the most dominant and who ever is the leader of that group is essentially the "rulers." I think i would go to draw some inspo from Pirate of the Caribbean here since they do show a functional group of relative democracy lol. Capsize would be the princess of 7 years, with Redbeard being a prince ofc, but rather than it being a blood relation it would be moreso based on roles- Capsize, being the secondary head of the ruling pirate group would be in place to take over if the current head kicked the bucket (but she is also unofficially adopted by said head, which helps lol). Im not sure if the bounty would be placed on her head for being the next in line or because the current ruler died, etc, but i would likely have the pirate city states also be affected by the catastrophe in the Fey Kingdom due to it upsetting the balance with water-based fey and the general natural magics of the world (here, i would imagine that the pirates are blessed or follow a Water God, whether they be truly divine or something else is to be determined, but its hard not to make a Fianite joke and insert here lol). Capsize would end up going undercover with the general army of the nearest human kingdom that is friendly towards the Water God and end up getting bumped up the ranks because shes seen a shit ton of combat and is good at sniffing out deceit and conspiracies since thats the norm between rivaling pirate factions.

Martha would kinda be the most static character in terms of getting jumped around- she would, of course, already live in the kingdom where the others end up. My thought is that this kingdom follows Ianite as its ruler and divine protection. Whether that means Ianite is her direct mother or she is from a long line of descendants i havent decided, but generally the royal family would consist of Ianite's descendants (with Spark being the Father, ofc, which means if i chose descendants Spark would NOT be Martha's immediate father like he would be if i go direct-mother Ianite). It would still be only Helgrind and Martha for siblings, but they would be long-living and have different specialties. While Ianite is considered the Supreme Ruler or what-have-you, Helgrind and Martha would be tasked with carrying out more down-to-earth tasks. Both would be able to have a direct audience with Ianite, but Martha would be the divine magic specialist, making her in high demand and often moving about the kingdom in order to fulfill the peoples needs. Helgrind would end up being the one to oversee the less magical/divine side of opperations, upholding and enacting law and maintaining the kingdom. Im torn between Helgrind having a deep-seated resentment of Martha for 1) looking much more alike to Ianite than he does and being more magically inclined, making her the more favored of the siblings and the de-facto head in most cases and 2) not having much if any magical power of his own and being expected to not only maintain the human aspect of the kingdom and also to continue the lineage and have children that will inevitably be more magically gifted then him. I would also imagine that Ianite, in this scenario, would favor Martha over Helgrind due to the nature of using divine magic needing a LOT of guidance, which he would take personally (especially since Ianite is meant to represent balance and fairness, which would make him believe Ianite is a hypocrite and is more self-centered than the people make her out to be).

Martha would also be a defense specialist, since her divine magic can change the tides of battle and heal and protect, and so on. She would likely also be the diplomat of the nation, with Helgrind minding the kingdom internally, and thus be required to 1) take on retainers and 2) be battle ready herself. I think this would make her resentful of Helgrind's freedom (or so she sees it as) since he can stay home and with the ones he loves (his family) and is able to actually live like "an actual human being" instead of being treated like a divine object that is there to answer any prayers sent up to Lady Ianite. This could also lead to resentment of Ianite herself, but I would imagine that would be buried deeeeep and be a cause of extreme guilt for Martha because her gifts come from Ianite and she can help so many people with them (even if she can hardly help herself sometimes).

My initial thought is that the story would begin with Capsize's introduction into the royal army and her selection as a retainer for Martha- Sonja would already be in her role and thus considered the "senior" to Capsize, which she HATES because Sonja is clearly not the best swordsman or general fighter at all. Capsize would keep the peace, of course, but would wonder how Sonja even got her position (keep in mind that Sonja would be more well versed in fey magic/using her animal form for attack to trying to adapt to more human methods would put her below her normal fighting strength). This would lead to suspicion when they first get into a scuffle because, despite Sonja's "lackluster" battle skills, she seemed to easily defeat the group trying to causing the ruckus. to Capsize, Sonja would become suspicious- is she pretending to be weak? why? is she plotting something? Or is she actually weak and has an agreement with the local bandits/troublemakers/secret org trying to take out Martha? Sure, Capsize isn't entirely loyal to this kingdom but its in a pirate's honor to see a job out to the end unless if gets you and yours killed, shes going to take this protection gig seriously. This leads to Capsize trying to figure out more about Sonja, which Sonja takes as "holy shit this super cool lady knight that i totally wouldnt mind kissing is interested in me but im undercover what should i do"

On Martha's side, she would have either recently gotten a prophecy from her mother foretelling the rise of the Big Bad or have noticed a rise in whatever forces the Big Bad would be using and start to grow supsicious- especially since Ianite would essentially start ghosting her after this. She would be wrapped up in trying to figure out what is happening and how to protect her people and thus wouldnt notice any slips both Capsize and Sonja might make, but she DOES notice how Capsize seems distrustful of Sonja and how Sonja seems to disappear more and more as time goes on. This would pull Martha into Capsize's prying, worried that maybe Sonja is part of the forces of the Big Bad.

Sonja, on the other hand, would be supsicious of Helgrind. Part of fey lore is being able to know someone's intentions/know when they are lying. I dont think i would specifically give Sonja the ability to know when someone is telling a lie, but i would have her be especially keen towards the Vibes TM and intentions of the people around her- the fey love to talk in sly ways and knowing what others mean and are trying to do is important. She would suspect Helgrind of trying to get rid of Martha (which would be true- but its tied into the Big Bad getting to Helgrind's head like Mianite sorta did s2) and would be trying to charm her way through unravelling secrets and getting information from both attackers and palace staff. This does NOT help Capsize's suspicions of her because Sonja would start wandering off more during "easy" times to get more information and figure out what is happening with Helgrind, which would make her look like a spy of some sort.

Essentially, the story would start with Capsize getting into the retainer job, getting suspicious of Sonja, and getting Martha into the plot. Id rotate POVs, so im not sure if id switch to Sonja first to get the other side shown quicker or go to Martha next since she gets roped in. Id probably go Martha, with her keeping her misgivings about hte Big Bad secret for now and trying to juggle the worries she has about that with the worry that one of her retainers may be a spy or in kahoots with said Big Bad. Then I would either wait til the confrontation to switch to Sonja's POV as a means of upping the intrigue for potential non-informed readers (lol like its gonna be more than us) or switching before that to get the suspicion thrown onto Helgrind while the other two still dont trust Sonja and get the "reveal" from Sonja that she is fey without getting into the actual background.

This was a LOT but honestly i might be getting too into it haha, god help me if i start another long fic

[mortuary-maggots]

HIYA SO THIS IS KASPER (ik its spelled diff in the pics i only changed it recently :sob:) he's my creepypasta oc :D usually he wears like average blue jeans and a brown/green shtriped turtleneck like in the last image kinda ? and green converse with like beads or drawings on them :D personality: Hates physical contact unless he initiates or very much trusts you, in which case he's always finding little ways to have contact; brushing their hand, tail wrapped around their wrist, hand on shoulder, bumping shoulders, ect. he cant get enough of it. Also just generally dislikes people (that he doesnt know/isnt comfy with) but can mask his hate pretty well and gives respect (with a side of sarcasm) where respect is due. Harsh and truthful, will not be afraid to get in your face and tell you how shit is as he sees it or just straight up insult you. If he's chill with you, he'll be pretty playful or sarcastic but can be ticked off or triggered somewhat easily. When he's on his own he's usually pretty relaxed and creative, a lot less prickly than when he's around people. he's pretty energetic and a bit of a trickster, a huge fan of pranks, he's a sarcasm lord and honestly pretty fun to be around if you can match his energy and keep up with his quips and jokes. if not, you're bound to get tired of him quick. he CAN be serious, but mostly only if he's in a fight and losing or if he's pissed off about something, in which he tends to lash out and say literally whatever he's thinking, be it brutal honesty about how he feels in the moment, how he thinks of someone or just random phrases and words that fly across his mind. any other time would be if he was comforting someone, in which case he turns into a big ole lovebug and does whatever he can to make them feel better. despite being such a yapper all the time he's a great listener too, and gives some pretty solid advice when he can. he canonically has a whole slew of issues including ptsd, anxiety, depression, autism, AND derealization/dissociation, coupled along with experiencing hallucinations, which is part of the reason that before he joined the mansion he was extremely wary of slenderman, less so because he was SLENDERMAN but moreso because he thought he was simply another hallucination. his backstory is located here , and while i need to adjust the writing bc i did it when i was like half sleep deprived its still accurate to his character. he is a cannibal and experiences blackouts if he goes too long without feeding, which send him into a basically unreachable state of rage and hunger. he's.. basically decimated a town or two thanks to this, because when he first realised he had to eat human meat to sustain himself he really didnt want to all that much and tried to avoid it until he realised just how dangerous that was. ANYWAYS YEAH i hope this wasnt too much to read and I HOPE YOU LIKE HIM i made him like right after i joined the fandom and hes probably not all that great in the grand scheme of things but i like him and hes my son and resides in a snowglobe where i shake him around for fun sometimes THATS ALL I HOPE UR DAYS GOING SUPER GOOD

I hope I did him justice!!!

[jihyocentric]

toxic sahyo fics are so rare T-T let’s change that!!

like sana is specifically feral about jihyo in such a different way than her usually flirtiness, like there’s a desperation when she’s around hyo like she wants her carnally… (jihyo trying to kiss all the members in ttt pocha and sana blurting out that she’ll kiss jihyo if the other members don’t want it + ujb actually kissing lives in my head rent free)

every single time jihyo is having a ujb moment with jeong during a concert encore, sana is guaranteed to be there to interrupt (nayeon mostly just watches lol)

sana being that type of scarily possessive presented in a cute packaging (yandere-ish but less violent and moreso cutely manipulative). like she’ll give you a sweet smile while plotting all the ways to make you suffer for even looking at jihyo lol. sana using her cute gentle voice while absolutely ruining hyo for anybody else, because jihyo belongs to her, she’s her partner 😚

sana’s genuinely a lot smarter than people give her credit for and not enough writers play around with that 😮‍💨 aside from dahyun, she’s the member that the others never use hidden camera pranks on… she’s intelligent about her idol image so making people believe she’s unassuming and harmless would be so easy for her

this is kinda funny because i can't remember the last sahyo fluff i wrote... they're subtly toxic to each other in a lot of my works. i really don't do it on purpose though!

but now that you mentioned the jeonghyo kiss (yes i went to watch it again for the 9999th time) i'm so curious as to how sana would react if jihyo ever let her kiss her irl, because the accidental kiss with nayeon made sana literally fall to her knees, but i think that if she kissed jihyo, she would be SO smug.

sana always looks so proud when she gets to hold jihyo's waist, hug her, give her kisses or just be close to her. remember how she bragged about being the only one jihyo kissed that one time at an award show (i think), all while nayeon had to steal a (quite violent) kiss from jihyo... that's really sana's jihyo. hopefully one day they'll just kiss so my theory will be proven! it's all for science, definitely not because we all want to see it.

sana using her cute gentle voice while absolutely ruining hyo for anybody else

YES? the implication of a corruption kink!!! we love to see it 😵‍💫 but you know what's funny, when i got your ask, i was listening to diet pepsi. the lyrics are SO sahyo-coded. it's hard to pretend as if jeongyeon and momo wouldn't shake jihyo a little (a lot if we're being realistic about jeongyeon), but it probably happens more because messing around with them makes sana switch up from adorable sana to the jealous sana, and isn't she so attractive when she's angry?!

and i know my entire blog and my time as a writer overall has been dedicated to subby bottom jihyo, but i see irl jihyo as more of a dommy bottom/power bottom, and that could be sana's fault... like the way she touches jihyo when jihyo is in her usual submissive position (she's only a sub with her) is just not comparable to the others (and i'm not talking about twice. other lovers in general) and jihyo can never have the same dynamic with them.

not that jihyo is with anybody other than sana in the current time of this thought, though! but she's been with other people and sana will never know how they touched her. this 100% makes her more aggressive in their little sessions, but jihyo talks back, and she never gives sana what she wants, which is to know what jihyo had been doing with her past lovers. if they are as good as she is, if they made her come like she does, if they were able to tame her like she does.

i'm rambling a LOT atp (sleepy + as i write this i'm trying to get 4 stars at a genshin event...) but i'll finish this thought here real quick. what i think makes sahyo so prone to being in a toxic scenario is the fact that jihyo is sana's jihyo, but sana also treats her other girls almost the same way she treats jihyo.

jihyo being constantly annoyed about the fact that when she's with sana she feels special, but then the next day sana is taking dahyun to her lap, all over anyone who's next to her really. sana seems to do everything in her power to make jihyo become bratty. and jihyo is only bratty because sana shows she feels threatened when she's touchy with jeongyeon or when she seems to enjoy momo's praising a little too much...

last paragraph, i promise. yes, sana is so underrated! in ttt she could literally be one of the best ones in physical activities (and she's only not because she ends up laughing and it makes her lose concentration... ijboler number 2). i think that this, her being a cuter kind of feminine than the rest of twice and the fact that she's not muscly makes people see her as this weak, silly pup (which she can be. we love pup sana here btw and she'll be coming back soon), but sana is so smart. and she's hot when she's angry. she's not miss giggles 24/7, and after mina i think she's the dommiest in twice for a reason..!

[humorisstoredinthetits]

Polykessoku Headcannons

These take place in an AU where Kessoku Band gets big, think like BTS big, and the four of them have been in a poly relationship for a good bit

General HCs:

None of their fans know about the relationship, having purposefully kept it a secret for privacy reasons, but also because a lot of discussion around the band was about which of them were dating

It makes them, especially Nijika and Kita, feel kinda icky knowing that they are purposefully leading on their fans in order to create discourse and therefore interest, but they cannot deny the results and so reluctantly they keep doing it

Most people think the pairings are Bocchi/Kita and Nijika/Ryo with a notable minority thinking its Bocchi/Nijika and Ryo/Kita, and a few thinking Ryo/Bocchi and Kita/Nijika

There have been a handful of people who correctly guessed they were a polycule, but they were laughed out of the online discussion, unbeknownst to how right they were

The first person they told about their relationship was Sekia, thinking that she would be chill with it bc of her situationship with PA-San and Kikuri

Instead they were treated to a lecture about how poly relationships often fall apart and yada-yada, which was not what they needed to hear, given how recent and fragile their relationship was

Nijika got so upset that she stormed out, the others following in quick succession, moreso out of worry for Nijika than anger at Sekia

She spent the next few days at Bocchi's

Bocchi's parents have basically adopted all of Kessoku Band, them being so grateful that Hitori found some good friends who truly care about her

During this time Bocchi worked up the courage to tell her parents about their relationship, and it took them a little while to understand but they were fully supportive and told Nijika she could stay for as long as she needed, which she was thankful for

Her parents never thought she would have one partner, much less three, so they were overjoyed once they understood what was going on

Eventually the four of them went back to Starry for band practice, giving Sekia the cold shoulder the whole time

Eventually PA-San went to talk to them, telling them that she understands why they are upset and doesn't really blame them for how they reacted, but that Sekia meant well and was only looking out for them, recounting how messy things are between her, Sekia and Kikuri and how Sekia probably just wanted them to avoid the mess that she's dealing with

Eventually Nijika went to talk to Sekia in private, the latter apologizing profusely

It took a while but eventually the band became comfortable around her again, sans Bocchi who was never comfortable around her to begin with

The four of them buy a futon big enough to fit the four of them when they get their own place, thinking it was gonna be super awesome and that they were gonna have lots of cuddles

Except it wasn't

Bocchi got overwhelmed and she decided to just sleep in her own room

The Kit-Aura was so strong when Kita was in it due to how happy she was that it made it so Nijika and Ryo couldn't sleep so they kicked her out

Ryo snores, loudly, so Nijika then proceeded to kick her out, leaving her to sleep in the giant-ass futon all by herself

As for sexualities, they are all lesbians

They're lesbians because there's no men in their world to be attracted to

The band really blew up whenever Bocchi revealed to her GuitarHero fans of her true identity and membership in Kessoku Band, driving a lot more attention their way, their following basically doubling overnight

It had taken a lot of convincing by the others for her to take this step, Bocchi wanting to have the band be a success without relying on her pre-existing fans, but they had reached a point where Bocchi felt it was ok to do so

They had been slowly but steadily gaining more followers, but the influx of ticket and album sales from the GuitarHero fans allowed the Band to access bigger and better events, further spreading their name, until they got to be where they are today

Unfortunately with the increased popularity came increased attention, with paparazzi starting to follow the girls

They really stressed Bocchi out, preventing her from feeling safe even in her own home

Things came to a boiling point when the four of them were out at the mall for a date and some reporters spotted them, and they got all up in Bocchi's face and started asking some really personal questions, and she became so stressed out she had a meltdown

Despite this the paparazzi didn't let up, and so Ryo decided to take matters into her own hands, grabbing their cameras and throwing them onto the first floor, from where they were on the third

They were left alone after that

This incident also made Ryo the most popular member of the band, with fans loving how her usually myserteous and stoic personality hid a caring and gentle side

She ate it up, her ego expanding massively

She then used her newfound influence to raise money for "Hitori's mental health" (to buy more basses), but Nijika made her use it to pay back the reporters whose cameras she destroyed and the rest went to the band

They got a nice van once they started to rake in good money, its name is Kessoku Van (Ryo is the one who named it, and much to Nijika's chagrin the name stuck)

Nijika and Kita are the only ones allowed to drive it, with Ryo not allowed anywhere near the steering wheel, not after the incident

In this universe instead of Lego making the BTS set they make a Kessoku Band set

It's not much, just a little stage with them, their instruments, and a large Kessoku Band logo built out of bricks in the back, but they included fun little easter eggs like the box Bocchi used to hide in or a plant piece for Ryo

Bocchi:

Bocchi is actually really touch-starved and loves physical contact, just only on her terms

If they're in public or pretty much anywhere outside of their home she doesn't like to be touched

And her gfs, family, and Jimihen are the only people (and animals) that she's ok with touching her, with her becoming very upset if anyone else touches her

It took a while for Bocchi to understand where her boundaries were and communicate them to others, but her gfs are very respectful and abide by her wishes

She's also a tinge agoraphobic

Its not so bad that she refuses to leave the house, she just stresses about all the things that can go wrong out in the world

She is usually fine if she's with the rest of the polycule, and if she's been to a place alot/spent a lot of time there she's also usually fine (think places like Starry)

She's deathly afraid of flying and because of that Kessoku Band has never had a concert outside of Japan despite having a large international following

Her gfs are more than willing to accommodate her to help her feel more comfortable, but she hates that they have to do that

She wishes she could just be normal

She envies Kita alot, she being someone who can go outside or make a post on social media without having debilitating anxiety, unlike herself who can barely function

At the suggestion of Nijika she started seeing a therapist and was prescribed some medication which have helped a little but she still is held back by her anxiety

She's made improvements over the years, when she was younger she never could've seen herself being in a relationship or performing with her face out in the open, and she now can even meet fans and sign autos without needed to hide in a fruit box

But even with those developments she still berates herself for being unable to do what she perceives as such simple things

She's asexual not only because she doesn't feel any attraction that way but also because the thought of it makes her extremely uncomfortable, more than anything else ever has

When she started dating Kita she added a red cube hair thingy to accompany her blue and yellow ones and it made her so happy she started crying

That is the reason that most fans suspect that they are the ones dating

She has really bad body dysmorphia and for that reason hates wearing clothing that shows off a lot of skin

Her preference is to wear her pink tracksuit and leggings, as they cover up most of her body

Once Kessoku Band blew up she dropped out of high school, which she considers to be the happiest day of her life

In hindsight she probably should've completed it, but at the time she was so caught up in the band's newfound success that she didn't care

Thankfully it all worked out in the end, but had they been a 1-hit wonder then she would've been screwed

Nijika:

She's the rock of both the relationship and of the band, being the most regularly and emotionally mature

She's the best at dealing with Bocchi's meltdowns, greedy companies trying to stick the band with unfair deals, Ryo when she decides to be annoying, dealing with these things 99% of the time ends up falling on her

And don't get her wrong she's glad to be there for the people she loves, but it gets very exhausting dealing with it all

One day she snapped and had a breakdown of her own, the pressure of everything weighing on her so heavily that she could no longer handle it

The other three immediately started panicking and tried comforting her, but their efforts were in vain as Nijika kept crying and didn't even seem to notice that they were there

It got so bad that they had to call Sekia who was able to get her to calm down

Later they brought her some food in bed and snuggled up to her and watched whatever she wanted to, while telling her that they were gonna help her out by taking over some of the responsibilities

At least they tried too, Nijika refused to let them

She's the one who does interviews

Bocchi is too scared, Ryo would probably say some dumbass thing that would cause controversy, and Kita would get off topic

But she doesn't want to reveal to the world just how dysfunctional they actually are, so if anyone ever asks about it she just gives them the look until they move on to another topic

The Look is also useful when dealing with annoying blue-haired bassists

She can be very intimidating when she wants to be, and it honestly kinda scares everyone

But back to the interview thing, she's very careful to maintain their band's image

She knows that one bad remark could ruin everything, and now its not just her and her sister's dream, but the dream of her bandmates, as well as all of their livelihoods

Thats part of why she agreed to hide their relationship status, same-sex marriage in Japan is still not legalized and public opinion is divided, she doesn't want to risk the controversy

Its fine if its just discussion, because that's all it is, once they confirm it, it becomes a real tangible thing that can be used against them

... And people said that Bocchi was the overthinker

Her stress and anxiety has only skyrocketed since they blew up, and it only seems to grow everyday despite her gfs best efforts

She used to think that once they made it big then things would be smooth sailing, but now she understands the expectations of being superstars

She's one bad day, one event gone wrong away from having a complete breakdown

As the band's leader she feels as if the band is entirely on her shoulders, and she puts a lot of pressure on herself to ensure their continued success

Apparently its very difficult to continually put out good, high quality music that the fans would like at a regular enough pace to keep interest in the band but not oversaturate the market, as well as ensuring they do enough of a variety to not bore people but also not too much to scare away older fans, who would've guessed

Lately she's been finding herself snapping a lot more, at Sekia, at stagehands, even at the other members of the band

She eventually goes and apologizes, but the frequency at which these incidents are occurring is starting to worry everyone

And as Bocchi opens up more, she finds herself keeping more in, not wanting her issues to interfere with the band's success

She really needs a hug

Ryo:

Ryo and Bocchi are both trans women

Ryo often forgets to take her hormones and will sometimes still forget to take them even after being reminded by all three of her gfs

While i'm on the subject PA-San is a she/they enby but they haven't decided on a new name she's happy with yet so for now they just go by PA-San

Except its been literal years at this point and Sekia is starting to think that she really wants her name to be PA-San

Kikuri is trans too

She's autistic, so is Bocchi, so is Nijika

She has a special interest in plants and that's how she knew which ones were edible

She keeps their home full of different plants, but not just any plants, she has unusual ones

Things like Venus Fly Traps and Cacti

She is super clingy in the morning before she's has some coffee and will latch on to whatever poor unfortunate soul has the misfortune of being around her whenever she wakes up

When they got their big break and got the first big paycheck, Ryo spent it all immediately, as she does

It was at that point that an intervention was staged by her gfs

Well, by Nijika and Kita

Bocchi doesn't like confrontation and was just kinda sitting off to the side occasionally saying that she agreed with whatever the other two said

They took control over her accounts and set aside money for savings, rent, her share of utilities, etc, and continued to do so until she demonstrated financial responsibility

Ryo thought that it was stupid and played their concerns off until Nijika had to explain that they weren't kids anymore, they were adults who had responsibilities and they had to start acting like it, which made her sit and think about it (for once in her life), eventually agreeing that this was for the best that they did take control

As much as she acts aloof she actually picks up on things most people might miss

She plays it up whenever someone tries to get her to do something she'd rather not do, like cleaning or not buying the third bass this month

She's also extremely blunt and can come across as rude

Sometimes she doesn't mean too and just can't get her thoughts across any other way, other times she just doesn't care

Most of the time its the latter

She just finds politeness to be a waste and wishes everyone just said things like they meant, regardless of wether it hurt someone's feelings

Kita:

Kita has ADHD

She only found that out when she went to get tested for autism, bc she though she was since all of her gfs were

She still sleeps with a stuffed animal, a little red rabbit that she's had since childhood

She's pretty embarrassed about it but it helps her sleep

Nijika and Bocchi were really supportive and told her they didn't think it was weird or anything and that it wasn't something they had to hide

Ryo made some jokes about how she was childish, Nijika then proceeding to elbow her in the stomach

Ryo was just trying to say that she thought it was cute

She spends FOREVER in the bathroom

This wouldn't be an issue except for the fact that their home only has 1 bathroom for some ungodly reason

She's a social media addict, not like in the haha funny spends lots of time on Issta sort of way but like an actual addiction

It got to the point that they would have to stop in between takes during practice and recordings just so Kita could check her accounts

And more concerningly , they had noticed that she had been eating less and less

TW: ED

They would go to restaurants and she would take photos of the food to post online but never take more than a few bites, if she ate any at all

After spending so much time on social media she started to internalize that they way these models looked was how she was supposed to look, not realizing the amount of editing and the like that went into these photos

Eventually Ryo pulled the others to the side explaining her worries, and the three of them planned an intervention

It didn't go super well at first, Kita becoming very upset and accusing them of wanting her to be fat and ugly, but she eventually gave in and admitted that she had a problem and wanted to get help

Bocchi's therapist was able to hook her up with a specialist for ED and combined with constant reassurance from her gfs Kita was able to overcome the ED and returned to a normal weight and eating habits

Of course these kinds of things just don't go away, and occasionally she'll have a resurgence, but she knows to let the others know and then they'll help her until the thoughts go away

Its also a sign that she's spending too much time on social media, and she limits herself to only using it to keep up with family and friends, as well as using it to promote Kessoku band

Kita's parents, but mostly her mom, were not thrilled with the path she was going down, and she's gone NC with her mom, and while she still talks to her dad semi-regularly things between them are strained, but slowly improving as he comes to understand and accept that she is an adult and can make her own decisions

It hurt having to go NC with her mom, it really did, but it would hurt more having constant reminders that her mother saw her as a failure

And besides, Mr. and Mrs. Gotoh treat her like their own daughter and are nothing but supportive

Ryo also got cut off by her parents after she dropped out of college once the band blew up, but she seemed much less affected by it

Wether she really doesn't care or is just that good at hiding it, no one can tell, Ryo is a very hard person to get a read on

Whenever the four of them have a movie night she'll pick horror films so that Bocchi will cuddle up to her

It turns out they also scare the shit out of her so both of them end up cuddling up to Nijika, who knew about Kita's plan and just sighs in exasperation

She is super clingy, especially when she sleeps

Whoever she is sleeping with will become her own personal heating pad

Even in public she loves holding hands and having physical contact with her lovers, except for Hitori because she respects her boundaries

This is the main evidence that some of their fans use to say that Bocchi and Kita are not together

[hirokiyuu]

thinking abt gsgw/twst. under the cut bc this is a thing that appeals to maybe two people (me and also me but in a trench coat)

i want security team leona for no reason other htan i think it'd be fun. i think his brother is a director (inherited position) and he was a field team ace until he got corrupted so bad he couldn't keep doing it. now if he touches any living being it'll turn to sand, no exceptions. long gloves + sleeves + generally full body covered + facemask but he leaves his head uncovered bc hair doesn't trigger it and also he would get too overheated otherwise. when his mental corruption gets too bad he'll start fiddling w/his gloves as if he's abt to take them off which is ruggie (also security)'s cue to jump in Immediately

i kinda want ruggie whose path is basically a mirror to leonas........ mostly mental corruption but bc they were on the same field exploration team his default is Listen to Leona even when mentally corrupted. i think its like........ puppet themed corruption where he can use basically invisible strings to control others lmao i think bc theyre "part of" ruggie leona can use his ability to disssolve them + disrupt the control but if he's in big Destroy Everything mode ruggie can slip past his defenses and use them to calm the guy down. basically i want them as each other's hard counter so theyre together LOLOLOL

i think this also means jack is default security team but unlike leo+rug i think he's new and i think he Hates it. i think theres part of him thats still convinced he can get de-corrupted enough to go back to normal work/life (he cannot) (in fact he's even less capable of this than leona+ruggie might hypothetically be) but so it goes. i think he's similar to j3 probably for corruption.......... wolf.....................

OK THAT ASIDE. that was more savanaclaw than i meant. i have other thoughts

i think the three big powers are malleus' family faction (formerly his mom who died/got corrupted+had to be put down maybe?, currently him who is new and more easily manipulated as a result), kalims family faction (he is Not the head there), and leonas fam faction (ran by his brother lmao) kind of at odds but united in Profit LMFAO

malleus was definitely born w/some kind of mental corruption from his mom i think........... definitely closer to a creature than a human, much moreso than the rest of the board who aren't normal but who could still collect dream essence if needed. Unlike Him. idk details but its fun

kalim is still perfectly human. hes got a cushy research position that does literally nothing but takes home a big paycheck and gets to be closer to the family business. jamil is his bodyguard and his job is essentially to keep kalim alive through any possible darkness and if he can't make it out w/o at least one death, to die in kalims place lmao. basically an elite squad member living the roundoff squad life.

hearts are probably exploration squad. riddle gets Big Number............. maybe an elite squad? tho i want adeuce as hteir rookies LOL tho i might shift cater+deuce to a dif squad and leave it at rid+trey(+chenya?)+rookie ace LOL riddle loves the manual..........

i kinda wanna make pome government. i think agent vil+his usual partner rook + the newbie epel who he's mentoring is fun. is rook some kind of corrupted creature? is he just a Really Weird guy? who knows! either way tho he follows vil around and they get the job done so just close your eyes u kno. its fine

i think........... former elite rookie silver + new hire sebek who's trying to outdo silvers records but gets saved by him more than once lmao. sebek is good even w/o a good manual bc hes quick on his feet + can adapt but also he can be impulsive and stupid <3 my dumbass dog <3

UHHHHHHHHH OK I THINK THATS ALL THE THOUGHTS I HAVE if u read this u have to tell me i am clawing at the walls rn

[mappingthesky]

is it just me being delulu, but have you ever thought how maybe the reason why nymphia tends to switch topics once it gets too personal abt jane is bc maybe she’s wary of how her words come out? its not that she’s uninterested, but moreso just not comfy in airing it out so candidly and riling up people’s speculations.

kinda the opposite w jane in a sense, who is so quick to retort and is blatantly obvious w her obsession. not insinuating a platonic/romantic discourse btw. just a general observation since i rlly dont wanna prod into their personal business.

i’ve noticed this too and i think you’re exactly right - nymph seems much more reserved on the subject than pj, and there’s been several times where she’s been asked and you can see her trying to find the right way to respond.. she seems to either lean into joking about it or just brushing it off entirely, whereas pj literally always talks up their dynamic (she stays feeding planymphia nation, let’s be so real about it). i do get the feeling that nymphia is more hesitant to rile up people’s expectations. maybe she doesn’t wanna get personal w stuff, maybe words are just hard, who really knows!! i will say that it makes her lil moments of pj appreciation that much more special… they’re usually a lil understated and seem to come from a place of genuine appreciation (like including her in her post-win ig dump) and i love it :’)

whatever the case may be, nymph being shy on the subject and pj being outspoken is the most adorable dynamic and i live <3

[harley-style]

Back on my TWEWY!VBS au bullshit

Featuring headcanons post-Game!!

Toya is less reserved and does things without a hint of shame to the embarrassment of the others

He randomly kisses his teammates (akito corner of mouth, kohane's fingers, an's cheeks) just to see them redden. He enjoys it immensely.

Hes still rlly kind and earnest and genuine but the game kinda fucked with him yanno he's adopted a yolo kinda mindset

Akito is more or less settled in his own skin. Hes had to get some help from others but ultimately he realizes that even without his passion/dream or talent, he is still a very good person and someone important to his team. Hes more of a live for the people you love kinda guy now

Hes still temperamental and moody but around his team he's less harsh and moreso just blunt

When hes embarrassed, he will find kohane first to bury his head in her hair, if he cant find her its an's shoulder, and when those two arent around toya's jacket it is. (Toya does most of the teasing to him, so more than likely akito's trying to hide from him)

An turns up the physical affection a lot. You will now see her hanging off toya and akito's shoulders, linking arms with kohane or just in general having an arm wrapped around their waists

Shes scared if she lets go of them theyll disappear haha abandonment issues go brrrrr

She likes changing up her hairstyle a lot, and lets kohane and akito mess with it. Kohane likes brushing an's hair a lot

Kohane goes nonverbal a lot bc she forgets she has her voice again

When it happens in a show she somehow finds a way to make sure the audience is still engaged haha. She might force herself to make sounds just to backup their song vocals, but this is rare. An akito and toya can tell when she cant speak so taking over her lines is seamless

Though toya once done goofed by doing his funky kohane voice like he does in the hollow song. He thought itd be funny....akito didnt talk to him for a day

All four of them get odd when ppl ask them about their incident and the one week hospitalization

Toya is the most normal, you ask him about it and he just goes quiet and doesnt want to talk about it. Its like attributed to a regular trauma response, bc to everyone else vbs DID nearly die so like.

Akito kinda avoids the issue. When ena corners him about it he shifts to his more polite persona except its jarring bc you can feel him glaring at you. Ena of course is confrontational so another fight breaks out between them

An gets super weird. She starts acting like Nagi -- it was never noticeable at first but the longer she did it ppl started to get concerned.

Kohane suddenly goes Akito Mode, getting all grumpy and huffy haha. Just dont ask about the game to her, it wont end well

Did i mention Joshua becomes Toya's music teacher? Harumichi goes bug eyed at this bc Joshua is kinda famous with classical musicians. That toya managed to ask him for lessons is insane. He starts thinking that toya is back on the classical music grind

Joshua shoots that down pretty quick and says hes a music teacher, not a classical only teacher. Hes got a condition for toya to come to him for lessons, and thats to continue his activities with VBS and succeed at them. Harumichi is stunned lmao

Kohane pesters Neku a lot, as more visually creative people. He helps her create a tag for VBS bc surprise graffitti artist kohane wheeee

She has An or Akito spot her a lot.

No one knows if VBS is dating or not and tbh neither do they, they just like being close.

Akito gets annoyed with some of the reaper uniforms and drags mizuki to help him redesign them (mizuki doesnt know about reapers lol)

An learns breakdancing! She puts a blush on her partners' faces everytime she makes a move, bc goddamn An is fucking gorgeous

They all take commissions and requests from shibuya to perform haha. Ken is surprised when some well known person goes into Weekend Garage to ask specifically for VBS

Ken somehow also becomes their manager. An has tried to tell him he doesnt have to, they can manage, but goddamnit Ken nearly lost his daughter and her friends (ppl he considers his own kids at this point) he really doesnt want to let them out of his sight

The SEKAI changes too. Its still a street sekai, but now there are more...people, kinda? Like in stage sekai theres an audience, the livehouses in Street Sekai have audiences too, which delight the vocaloids

Somehow there are also shops and stores containing the kids' interests

The changes are honestly due to the influences the twewy cast has on VBS. Their souls are unnaturally strong, so some part of their soul latches onto the VBS squad and sorta imprints on the sekai.

Its like fragment sekais but it anchors to the street sekai itself so it becomes stable

So now VBS goes exploring their sekai a lot. Kohane likes going to the rooftops, toya tours the livehouses, an and akito go through the stores

[ruvviks]

fear and hide for tiberius >:)

tiberius asks!

FEAR: What is your OC's greatest fear? What do they do when confronted with it? Are they open with their fear, or do they hide it away?

tiberius is scared of death. he may not be quick to show it, especially not after getting infused with the children of atom's special boy radiation cocktail, but he is in fact terrified of dying. in any "regular" situation he cares very little about what happens to him and has a lot of self-destructive tendencies, but the SECOND he's done something that in the moment seems irreversible he starts to panic big time. wounds bother him very little but oh no, he can't seem to stop the bleeding and he starts getting a little light-headed? it's over. panic will take control and he will do anything in that moment to get someone to help him and to save him. it's not even really the act of dying itself, but moreso the moment in which the thought "there's a big chance i won't live to tell the tale" crosses his mind that he's just terrified of :(

tiberius is also pretty scared of a special type of feral ghoul that i don't have a name for yet, but they're kind of similar in appearance and behavior as these enemies from the evil within 2!! the idea is that they're a lot more recently turned ghouls in a slightly different way which causes them to be a lot more aggressive once they've been set off, but kinda in hunter-esque fashion. they're a lot quieter and actively stalk their victims rather than charging right at them, and while they ARE easier to kill than other feral ghouls due to radiation not yet giving them a health boost whatsoever, they are also a lot better at killing you, knowing exactly where to hit, slash, or bite to get their victim to die as quick as possible. any other type of feral ghoul can also make tiberius pretty nervous, especially the stronger types, but this one is just scary as hell because they are a lot more likely to outsmart you in combat

HIDE: What does your OC hide? Why do they hide it?

tiberius hides a Lot. most of it is not even on purpose, he's just not one to quickly share stuff about himself and just in general doesn't speak unless spoken to. he most often hides new scars and wounds from his loved ones as to not want to have them worrying about him, and for a good while he doesn't open up to anyone about what happened when the children of atom just kinda took him in for a couple of weeks. he's never told anyone about the horrible nightmares and the sleep paralysis that followed after getting the radiation cocktail, and also doesn't want to tell anyone now that That's settled that he sleeps like a brick instead and sometimes worries he won't wake up in the morning

tiberius simply has a lot of trouble opening up to people. he's been hurt before in a variety of ways and being vulnerable with other people especially in a harsh world like the one he's found himself in is simply just something he can't afford to do :( if anyone asks about anything, he will be willing enough to talk about it, but still often tries to talk around the truth or be as vague as humanly possible; it really takes quite some effort to get him to be straightforward with you about how he's feeling, which is a very big contrast with how he usually talks since with everything else he prefers to be as direct as possible

[darthnell]

These are such good questions yeah 👀 i don’t have an exact timeline myself, but as someone in the replies pointed out, it’s kind of assumed that this all takes place a few hundred years or so after modern day, so theoretically some of the modern day tech could carry over! (It’s also worth keeping in mind the amount that modern tech has developed since the trilogy itself was written. A quick google search says that facial recognition was around in the late 60s but wasn’t quite at the level it is now until much later - the FBI started really using it around the early 2010s, and it wasn’t put into iPhones until 2017; and feel free to look into that on ur own too! My point is moreso that it’s difficult as an author to predict that kind of thing, but u coud absolutely just make it all up LOL). We do know though that muttations like jabberjays and tracker jackers have been around before the Dark Days since the capitol used them against rebels in the war (Rue mentions this I believe, and also Snow spends enough time with the snakes and jabberjays in BOSAS). Mutts (and that type of genetic engineering in general) seem pretty advanced, so it seems reasonable enough imo that the Capitol is fairly technologically advanced since before the Dark Days. How much of that they recycled from the pre-apocalyptic world vs how much they created on their own is up to anyone’s interpretation. I think it’s fun to consider a mix of both (:

As for what might be considered groundbreaking by the 74th… so based on the movies at least, it seems that the Capitol can very quickly fabricate mutts at will (though how much of that is Reasonable is. Hand-wave-y). We do know that the development of the force fields came from Beetee iirc, which means that definitely wasn’t around by the 10th. And we can see that in BOSAS - no way is anyone just gonna up and Walk into the 74th arena 😭 75th games I think show a lot of technological innovation regarding the arena as well - the way the GMs can control what happens so smoothly in each of the pie slices. They can control the beasts and the lightning and a TIDAL WAVE, and they can spin the arena around just to confuse the tributes. Even things like temperature control that we saw in the 74th (maybe books moreso than movies). They had none of that in the 10th games! In my personal headcanons, the Capitol generally sees the arenas as an opportunity for innovation, and it’s definitely a fun sort of testing ground for all sorts of horrific inventions!

Also re: Katniss.. she got away with a lot of stuff before the Games when she was just a nobody from the Seam. The Capitol doesn’t even bother electrifying the district fence in D12, which kinda goes to show how little they gave a shit about D12 and how little of a threat they saw them as. But this changes once Katniss and Peeta become Victors - now they’re high level targets for surveillance, bc of course the gvt would want to keep a keen eye on the pair (!!!) of victors that defied them so blatantly and successfully. Katniss can’t skate by under the radar anymore, and she learns that the hard way.

And your point about the victors having their houses constantly bugged - yeah. I’m right with you on that one (: not sure how much of that thought is shown or hinted at in canon (i could do for a reread also) - maybe Katniss just didn’t know to look for it - but. Yeah. We already know how little the Capitol cares about the privacy of their tributes. I definitely imagine them having eyes on the victors pretty damn often. But also they would have to consider how much they want the victors to be aware of this, and consequently if/when to step in and flex their muscles (a la Snow showing Katniss the video clips). If the victors don’t realize how closely they’re being watched, they’re more likely to act freely, and maybe the Capitol would be more willing to let the illegal poaching slide if it means catching an entire rebel cell later on.

(…sorry for the rambling, i just think this is Neat to think about 😅)

I need a book nerd to create a timeline for me in regards to Hunger Games technological advancements. Because how did they have facial recognition technology and drones during the 10th Hunger Games?? What year is it?? What was considered groundbreaking during the 74th games??

Maybe I need to reread the OG books, I’m currently on the prequel ‘cause I wanted to get ready for the movie. But I guess it makes me wonder that if they had this tech during the 10th Games, what did they have prior to the war?? And how did Katniss think she could get away with half the shit she pulled in twelve if they had drones for 6 decades?? Like, miss gurl, what do you mean you were surprised when Snow showed up at your house and played you that clip of you with Gale?? Or you in the woods?? I’m honestly surprised every citizen in the districts, or at the very least the victors, didn’t have their houses mic’d up or with secret cameras.

[dyketectivecomics]

Me n dad DID watch the DitF movie (yes with all the endings and yes I loved it to pieces at the VERY least for providing such excellent fic fodder and What If meta omg)

But something that’s lived Rent Free in my brain ever since is how they kept the change of Jason goin Off on his own, not because of his quest of self-identity and searching for his mom (which is so so important to the original story, but bc it’s so glossed over by retcons I fear it might be more permanently forgotten and retconned out of continuity completely by this point), and him n Bruce stumbling upon the Joker being a product of Happenstance....

Instead, they make Jason going after Joker a Conscious decision.... on behalf of Barbara. And that honestly reflected something that was set up so perfectly for Post-Crisis Jason. Violence against women is a clear trigger of his (can’t remember who meta’d abt it recently but maybe I’ll hunt that down again later) so it makes sense! It makes perfect sense that on behalf of one of the few ppl that you’d expect Jason to be close to, that he would be seeking justice (or possibly revenge) and THATS why he’s gone off!

And while is not as nuanced and won’t be as endearing for some ppl, it’s a change I can respect bc it is still in line with how I like to read Jason. It’s not something everyone’s gonna like and enjoy ofc, but it’s something that I REALLY loved seeing and really wish that DC would explore Jason n Babs potential dynamic just... a tad more (but god, then again, apparently the only time they do that is to shoehorn Jay/Babs so maybe I shouldn’t go making monkey paw wishes)

[optimisticcoffeedelusion]

Okay, so... I’ve finished reading the first book in the Killing Eve series - Codename: Villanelle. Before starting, I thought I was gonna get into something terrible, but...it was not terrible. It just wasn’t great, but it was okay. Nothing special. Still okay. Which is good, because I already knew it was not going to be like the show and I wasn’t wishing for it to be.

It is true what they say about the characters being different. At least in the first book Eve is not explored much, personality speaking, but Villanelle is. While there are similarities (even when it comes to the sex part; both Vs only use it to kill time and don’t care about it on a deep level at all), the biggest difference I noticed is the complete absence of the childish, bratty, playful side that makes Villanelle so easily likable in the TV show. Book Villanelle really doesn’t have that side, so she’s harder to like-like. She might feel interesting, but definitely not likable. In case this might be of any of you’s concern, while V engages in several sexual encounters, they’re never extensively described or anything. It’s all pretty quick, just a few words (I was “afraid” I’d have to skip entire paragraphs or something, but I didn’t have to, so... lol).

I didn’t dislike that the author mentioned the stuff about V’s upbringing, training and whatnot. That might be because I’m on the “while it was a masterpiece performance-wise, we really could’ve done without that V backstory in Season 3″ team. Beware, anyway, that there’s almost nothing at all between Eve and Villanelle in book 1. Like they barely actually meet. And show first meeting is so much better anyway!!

One thing I liked was to recognize the points of inspiration for the show, what they took even moreso than what they didn’t. There’s Bill (called Simon; with hint to non-straightness, though different from the book), there’s Nadia (called Lara, with a quite different story - I found it funny how we get to know that Nadia had her hair grow up, while Lara actually cut her short), there’s Konstantin (though he dies like he was supposed to in the show, early on), there’s similarities in the places for the kills, in some quick scenes (like V running away from a kill place changing clothes and putting a cap on), there’s the gas kill which is pretty much like the show one, some similarities also in Eve meeting the Chinese man, heck there’s even Anton! It was fun to recognize stuff here and there.

Eve is not presented to us as a female assassin fan (and I liked this about the show), but the dedication to her job and how it impacts negatively her relationship with Niko is pretty similar I’d say. Her “blandness” (look-wise) is also pretty pointed at, I feel to contrast the Villanelle’s standing out so much in every way. It was weird that she wasn’t much older than V, though. I’m so used to Eve being Sandra!! While it wasn’t  hard to imagine a younger Sandra, I like that she’s older in the show because that’s a sort of representation that’s really lacking in media. Both generally speaking as a woman, and then more specifically as an asian woman and as a bisexual woman who gets to realize her bisexuality later in life (I think this one is pretty important).

What else? Ah, I have to say found myself wondering whether I like Anna’s story best on the show or in the book, because they are quite different. The similarity is that she’s a teacher in both cases that she stands out as the only person V really seemed to be emotionally involved with (before Eve), and that castration happened. However, book Anna rejected V’s attempts at seduction unlike show Anna. And the castration was not of Anna’s husband (she didn’t have one), but of her rapist. And...part of me liked this more. Why? Because I felt like on one hand the show choice emphasizes V’s egocentric and immature side and also kinda vaguely plays into an idea of a Freudian-ish resentment of men (she cut his penis off literally because Anna said she loved him because he had one...- it’s always been one of the very few parts I didn’t like in S1*), while on the other hand the book path emphasizes the point - which is made very clear - of Anna being the only person (her dad aside; and before Eve) Villanelle genuinely cared for up to that point. She did it thinking she was avenging Anna, she wanted to torture the person who hurt her. In the show, it was for her own self only, so Anna could be all hers. Nevertheless, the end result is still bad, because Anna ends up being horrified by what happened (well I mean...understandably) instead of being grateful like V hoped she would be (and here we have the lack of understanding of other’s emotional perspective, which V obviously has).

Anyway, the book is an okay book. It might depend on how much stuff you have read in your life, but I have personally read much worse. And it’s interesting to me, getting to know these other Villanelle and Eve! It was not a bad experience for me at all, and now I’m left wanting to read scenes with them together! So I’ll probably begin book 2 quite soon.

*also because it’s reminiscent of the daunting idea that bisexual women will always, deep down, never be fully satisfied with women. Yeah, really dislike that bit. Better to chop off rapists’ knobs lol

[vrisrezis]

Uh how would they react if their s/o is really stoic

In case you couldn’t tell I had fun with this rq

Osomatsu is very joking, teasing, and flirty towards a stoic s/o (even more than normal), bonus if he can make you blush! He doesn’t understand why you’re not so open about your emotions, he figures it’s just your personality (like ichimatsu?) overall he doesn’t care but makes lotsa jokes about it. If you tell him it’s because of trauma though he’s a lot more careful about making jokes about it. He really appreciates you even if you don’t always know how to reciprocate affections, you can show it in other ways and he appreciates it regardless. I think you two would have that dynamic where he loves to annoy the hell outta you and your just done with his shit but you secretly adore him. (Think raven and beast boy)

Karamatsu loves to compliment you in general, he appreciates if you awkwardly try to compliment him back. It shows you’re trying for him! Also it fills him with confidence sorta because it kinda shows your nervous around him which means he must be a super cool and attractive boyfriend. Likes flirting with you too, even if you don’t do the same thing he understands that’s just how you are. Very understanding if it’s because of trauma and always willing to listen and help you if you need? He shys away from kisses and affections other than like compliments and flirting though, just because he’s unsure. You’d have a fun dynamic as well, a “cool, macho” guy who isn’t actually cool and macho and is just tryna impress you while you stand there unimpressed but you love him anyway.

Choromatsu admittedly gets nervous with somebody more stoic and feels a bit awkward at first, however he can bond with you over similar interests and such and learns to eventually get more comfortable with you. Just don’t be afraid to be honest with him and try to hold his hand every once in awhile. He understands emotions are new and difficult for you, and if it’s because of trauma he feels horrible and is willing to listen. Admittedly he was a bit frustrated at first with your lack of emotions but he understands it now. He’s open with you about how he feels, I feel like he needs a lot of reassurance in a relationship and he likes being open with his emotions so he tries to get you to be more open but he’s overall understanding. A dynamic where you are both always in sync and always in agreement and both always done with his brothers shit.

Ichimatsu doesn’t mind since he’s mostly the same way you’re just even worse. Never thought he’d meet somebody like you but here he is. He’s affectionate though, so he’s not gonna shy away from that with you, might be a bit bothered if you don’t reciprocate so he will tell you that. He doesn’t really try to make you open up because he knows how hard it can be to do so but because it’s hard you both don’t know how to talk about it so he just forces himself to open up and let you know it’s okay to open up too. If your lack of emotion tends to be because of your trauma hes open to listen, you two are pretty honest with one another as well. Ichimatsu gets nervous around you at times though, thinking they’re so serious all the time I am going to shit myself. You two kinda have that two seemingly scary motherfuckers but are actually just softies in love.

Jyushimatsu isn’t frightened by you in the slightest, you remind him of Ichimatsu if anything. He’s a very clingy and affectionate boy and loves to give you kisses and love, if your not good at reciprocating that’s okay with him! He understands it’s just not in your nature. He will constantly compliment you and loves taking you out on dates a lot! You two are just such a weird and surprising couple because of how different you both are, the only reason you’re even approachable is because of him. His brothers are terrified of you, but jyushi is quick to list all these “cute” qualities about you, he’s not wrong. You’re a softie deep down. If your personality is because of trauma he feels really sad and tries to tell you that it’s okay! He’s here for you always and you can always be yourself with him! You two kinda have that dynamic where Jyushimatsu will do something absolutely insane and you either try to stop him or are just like, this might as well happen. Or your like that meme where it’s like “who is that idiot? … oh shit that’s my idiot”

Todomatsu might be a bit scared to be honest. Honestly when he had a crush on you he thought you hated him which really tore him apart because he tried so hard to be friendly towards you. He still tries to be really fun and cute and friendly now that you’re dating but still. He compliments you, buys you things, and nervously gives you physical affections. He’d be a bit bothered if you don’t do the same for him though, (not the buying part exactly), he just wants somebody to at least try to show they care. However he’s grateful you show it in your own ways, he’s understanding, even moreso if you tell him it’s because of trauma you’re this way. He’s a supportive boyfriend and tries to convey that to you and show how trustworthy and reliable he can be. He can’t help but wanna impress you. You’re definitely just the scary s/o and cute boyfriend typa couple but deep down totty can be just as scary.

[curseofbreadbear]

[Bell Steven was quick to reject Jeremy's formalities -- at this point, knowing that the pizzeria had closed, referring to Steven as "sir" or "Mr. Bell" was a force of habit. For as long as Jeremy had known him, Steven had been one of his bosses; it was a bit rough trying to adjust.]

❝ Right. G-Got it. ❞ [Jeremy swallowed, ignoring his instinct to scratch at the back of his head ( God forbid ).] ❝ This...might be a silly question, but what do you want me to call you? ❞ [Probably "Steven," but he didn't want to make assumptions.]

[According to Steven, showing up was the least he could do. It was more than that, though -- from day one, Steven had been trying to stick up for him in ways he'd never seen another Fazbear employee do. Sure, he was a manager, but managers didn't often take on an underling's job because their life was in danger they were scared. Not only that, Steven had bothered to show up...he'd even pulled up a chair and tried to make conversation, saving Jeremy ( again ) from his thoughts.]

[Jeremy didn't fully understand why his former boss would go to all of those lengths, moreso because he didn't blame the man for anything he'd gone through. Maybe Steven just...cared. In a corporate world, that was pretty rare.]

[Right -- it wasn't about him. If they wanted to reopen ( Jeremy shuddered at the thought ), they would need to make sure the animatronics were safe. Part of that was figuring out why they'd targeted Jeremy, but even after digging into their software, they were drawing a blank. Had he done something without even realizing? Or was it possible that...]

[He shook his head, willing away the idea -- he instantly regretted it, a newfound dizziness overwhelming him. It felt, unrealistically, like his brain was a puddle of mush slushing around in his skull. For a good minute, he could barely see through the distortion in his vision. Note to self: never do that again.]

❝ M...Makes sense. ❞ [Jeremy finally replied, wishing he could hold his spinning head in one of his hands without feeling queasy about it.] ❝ I-If...if you figure out what happened, would you tell me? ❞ [He knew for a fact that he'd never recover if he was left to imagine the possibilities.]

[Surprisingly, Steven hadn't seen his brother at Freddy's...but now that he thought about it, he'd also never heard a single comment from Steven about how they "looked so alike," nor a single question about why there were two Fitzgeralds on his roster. Weird.]

❝ S-Same as me. We're, uh, twins. ❞ [Jeremy shrugged, inviting himself to an inevitable barrage of questions about his brother. At least those were better than listening to his head right now.]

[Steven smiled at him ( AT him, not just in his general direction ), now inquiring about his bond with his brother. Jeremy gave a weak smile of his own, then stared down at his stiff, oppressive bed sheets. Spying a few stray specks of lint, he started to absentmindedly pick at them.]

[Simon had been his best friend when they were younger. At some point, though...his brother changed. Or maybe they'd both "grown up?" Whatever the case, Simon had started to distance himself from Jeremy, a pattern that had continued well into their days of working at Freddy's. Not once did Jeremy see Simon while he was at work, even when he was finally switched to the day shift, almost like Simon had intentionally been avoiding him. He'd honestly been worried that he'd done something to upset or hurt him somehow, but...]

[Seeing Simon today was...reassuring. It was a sign that his brother did care, in his own way. Maybe Jeremy had jumped to conclusions.]

❝ Kinda. We were close when we were kids, b-but now...uh... ❞ [Jeremy stumbled, trying to put his words together.] ❝ Now he likes to do h-his own thing. Before...this happened, we barely s-said two words to each other. It's...I was...I-I'm happy he does care. ❞

[Steven rambled ( again ) about potential future guests, but also how meaningful that family visit was, and a fretful batch of reasons to hint at why Jeremy wasn't "popular" today. Technically, Steven was right -- Jeremy was in pain, and he'd been encouraged to sleep as part of his recovery -- but he didn't think he could rest right now. He wanted to conk right out and have a peaceful nap for once in his life, but he knew how sleeping would pan out...more nightmares. Maybe even one that'd trap him all over again.]

❝ Please don't leave. ❞ [Jeremy quietly begged; he needed company right now. He couldn't be alone.] ❝ S-Sorry, I...I just...I don't want to be alone right now. ❞

"Please don't call me 'sir' anymore, Jeremy." Besides the fact that Fitzgerald almost certainly doesn't work for him anymore, it's an awkward reminder of the previous power dynamic between them. Jeremy had only worked the night shift because Steven had told him to. Jeremy had only been stationed next to the animatronics because Steven had placed him there. Jeremy had only done anything that might have set off the machines because Steven was his boss and Jeremy didn't have the luxury of saying no.

Bell's stomach twists and he settles his gaze on the floor, idly toeing at a stray smudge near his chair.

"I get it. You don't have anything to thank me for. It's the least I can do."

He glances up when he catches movement from his periphery, looking over just in time to see Fitzgerald gingerly feel at the bandages around his head. A sudden, sick curiosity creeps over him. What does Jeremy's head look like under there? How much had they been able to patch up, and how much had they replaced? If someone were to remove those bandages right now, would they see what's left of the kid's brain pulsing beneath scabbed, bloodied skin--?

Steven looks away again.

"Oh, sure. I mean, we have to figure out what went wrong if we're ever going to reopen." He freezes. Did he screw up again? How much of the behind the scenes of Fazbear Entertainment's plans for the future does Jeremy actually want to know?

"Really? No, I don't think I have. How old is he?" What a weird coincidence. Steven can't help but wonder why the other Fitzgerald left. ...certainly not due to any workplace injury as bad as that of his brother, or Steven would have heard about it.

He offers an encouraging smile, finally looking Jeremy in the eyes.

"He must have been really happy to see you! Are you two close?" Sometimes Steven feels like the only guy in Hurricane who doesn't have a sibling. He often wishes he did, but then something like this happens to remind him that he's probably better off with as little family as possible; the more loved ones you have, the more likely you are to watch them get hurt. What must it be like for Jeremy's brother to see him like this? What would it have been like if Jeremy hadn't been quite so lucky?

"But not the last, I bet!" He shouldn't say things like that. Now if no one else ends up coming, he'll feel like a real ass. "But, uh, really, I wouldn't get hung up on stuff like that. Your family came, and that's what's important. I almost didn't come, just--just because I wasn't sure if it'd be better to give you some space. I didn't know if... you might be in pain, or need to sleep, you know. ...you can tell me to leave whenever you want, by the way."

[acespec-ed]

Hey if you've read the handmaids tale, I'd like to know what you think because i have complicated feelings on how love and and sex are framed as core human things in the book. I kinda know how it was written in the 80s and aces and aromantic people weren't recognised then (they still existed ofc!) but idk it just kinda doesn't sit right with me as an ace because well sex is the basis of part of it i guess

I have! Along with the sequel. This was back in 2020 though, so my memory on the book isn't clear. (I'm horrible at remembering what happens in books unless it's something I've read several times or something happens in it that sticks in my mind forever.)

I remember enjoying it but at the same time, that book terrified the crap out of me. Like I said, I read it in 2020, when a certain president was president and I kept seeing scary parallels to what happened in the book (that led to their society) and real life. So, my main takeaway from the book was, fear that we were headed down that route.

I don't remember much about sex/love in the books so I had to skim through the plot summary on Wikipedia. Looking at that, I think the sex part was just another aspect that terrified me- especially as someone who finds pregnancy a horrific thing and does NOT want kids. On top of being forced into sex in general. It's the stuff of my nightmares.

Looking at the love part, I totally overlooked anything wrong with that because, the whole "secret forbidden love" is one of my favorite romance tropes. 😬 I was suckered in.

But yeah, I can see what you mean. I think the world the book takes place in is horrifying for aros and aces too, if not moreso. Living in a world where you are forced to pair up and have sex with, when you don't want a relationship and don't want sex. Especially those of us who are repulsed/averse. The lack of free agency and choice of partner is horrifying enough for allos, but at least they generally want to be in a relationship/have sex. Whereas aces/aros often don't. It would've been interesting if they focused on an aro and/or ace character in it. Or just scrapped the romantic subplot (as much as I enjoyed the trope). It's very amatonormative when you step back and look at it. Like, the fear is based on the fact allos wouldn’t be able to choose their partner. But, iirc, there wasn’t any fear based off of being forced into a partnership when you don’t want a partnership AT ALL. Both are horrifying, but of course, there’s always that assumption that everyone wants a relationship of some kind, ignoring those who don’t. And people who don’t want a relationship need more rep.

(There’s a good chance I’m missing a few things about sex/love being pushed as a core human thing- these thoughts are based off what I can remember and a quick Wiki skim.)