#the worst part is I know he adores me and would in theory be into me 💀

[interlagosed]

In a different world I definitely fucked one of my former professors/now friend

[taetebebe]

Yang Jungwon Fic Recs

꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷

꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷꒦︶꒦꒷✧꒷꒦︶꒦꒷꒷

Here’s a list (short but surely ongoing) of all my favourite Jungwon fics I hope you enjoy them, please show your love and support to these amazing writers and their blogs, just so you know some of the fics contain smut so no minors allowed please. I will add more with time. Happy reading everyone <3

To the amazing authors of these pieces of fiction: Firstly, thank you for writing and sharing your talented works. Secondly, Ik some people don't like their work to be on lists, so please let me know if you want me to take your work down <3

・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・

Key: ø - Smut | ✧ - Angst | T - Trauma | <3 - Love | ✂ - Pregnancy/Kids | ✤ - Gore | ☁︎ - Fluff/Cute | ś - Suggestive | ψ - toxic | </3 - Breakup | Series | One Shots |

・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・・┈┈・┈┈・┈┈・

Ephemeral (Second Chances) by @hwanchaesong [ ✧ , ☁︎ , ś , <3 , second chance ] Word Count: 12.1k Summary: You sat and listened to the silence, the time ticked and you watched him walk down the aisle full of strangers. What scared you though, was the fact that everyone was blurry except for his dimples that you used to kiss.

Covering Speed by @jpnriikicore Word Count: 650 Summary: F1 Racer Junwon x Journalist Reader au

Take A Bite by @cinnahoons [ ś , Strangers to ? ] Word Count: 500 Summary: Phone booth shenanigans

Bearer of Love by @woniedarlin [ ☁︎ , strangers to lovers ] Word Count: 2k Summary: It all began with Jungwon’s overwhelming day, leading him to tears in the park. A bear mascot then unexpectedly comforted him and from that moment on, whenever Jungwon sought comfort in the park, the bear mascot was there to cheer and calm his troubled moments.

A Tale of Crushes and Clumsiness by @woniedarlin [ ☁︎ , ś , strangers to lovers ] Word Count: 3k Summary: Jungwon, with his feline eyes and adorable dimples, was the subject of your biggest crush. Who could blame you? So, you frequented the local library, just hoping to catch a glimpse of him. But one day, in a bold move to get a closer look, you ventured closer, unaware of the chaos your clumsiness was about to unleash.

Moth to a Flame by @neos127 [ ψ , <3 ] Word Count: 650 Summary: You and Jungwon navigate the complexities of your relationship, torn between stability and your undeniable connection.

The Perfect Pair by @jwsdoll [ ✧ , ☁︎ , </3 ] Word Count: 500 Summary: Two lovers who can’t seem to realize the beauty and pain of love

Invisible String Theory by @soobnny [ ☁︎ , acquaintances to lovers ] Word Count: 2.2k Summary: A high school student navigates the routines and disruptions of daily life, leading to an unexpected connection and budding relationship with classmate Jungwon.

Wishlist by @soobnny [ ☁︎ , best friends to lovers ] Word Count: 7.1k Summary: Jungwon doesn’t understand why you won’t just tell him what you want for your birthday. Clueless and determined to give you the best present, Jungwon is left at a crossroad. Instead of getting it wrong, he might just… confess?

Rich in Heart by @woniedarlin [ ☁︎ , ś , <3 , acquaintances to lovers ] Word Count: 8.2k Summary: Your parents have always been proud of the person you have become, knowing that they raised a child with strong values and a gentle heart. You have always been grateful for the opportunities you have been given in life, and you recognise how fortunate you are. This has made you a kind and thoughtful person, even when others may misunderstand or assume the worst about you. So what would happen if Jungwon wasn’t able to pay for his lunch at the cafeteria but you stepped forward and helped him, initially proving him wrong with his assumptions? Part 2!

Goodnight Kiss by @gyumazing [ ☁︎ , ś ] Word Count: 870 Summary: Someone forgot their 1000th day...

[stcverogers]

TOP GUN FIC RECS 7!

top gun fics that i’ve been reading and obsessing with over recently

this is extremely important and i take this very seriously out of respect for the community. please do remember to read the rules for the respective blogs before interacting with or reading them.

F: fluff A: angst S: smut

𖥻 - series /multi part

masterlist

JAKE 'HANGMAN' SERESIN

F: it's all about you by @bussyslayer333 the four times jake knew that his girl was the one he was going to marry, and the one time he made her his wife.

F: next thing you know by @disturbedbeautywrites you and jake met at the hard deck. in the blink of an eye, you're happily married with children you adore.

F: one man's loss is another man's gain by @sebastianstangirl01 jake would never thank rooster for anything other than leading his wife to him.

F: dad's shirt by @stargazing15 you and your daughter get jake a shirt for father's day, though she's more excited to wear it than him.

F + A: oh deer by @wkndwlff jake loved you, that he was sure of. out of fear of ruining your friendship, he kept that a secret. when you're in a car accident and jake almost losing you, he had to let you know.

F: i think there's been a glitch by @folkloreslovechild jake can't help who he is when he's around you.

F + A: 5 times hangman got older + 1 time he got wiser, too by @folkloreslovechild jake had always loved you, he just never realised it.

F: jake and his sweet wife by @fireinmoonshot

F + A: always a bridesmaid by @sugarcoated-lame when the dagger squad arrived at rooster's wedding, he had given them a stern warning to stay away from his baby sister. of course, jake is never one to listen to what bradley bradshaw has to say.

F: and i know when i need it i can count on you by @carnationworld-writings jake will do anything to help alleviate some of his pregnant wife's pain

F + A: you again by @ereardon you and jake were once in love, till he decided that you needed to break up. years have passed and you've both achieved your aspirations. will this then make room for both of you to rekindle that lost flame?

F: apple pie and you and i by @honeyhenry jake realises how fortunate he is when he's surrounded by the people he loves most, his family.

F: reunions by @gigisimsonmars you and jake haven't been together long and a pregnancy scare creates uncertainty about your relationship.

F + A: beach day by @harvestleaves jake's main concern will always be his girl, even if it meant skipping out on showing rooster up at dogfight football.

S + A: stay by @sere-sins jake never spent the night, but you needed him. so he'll stay, even if it's just for today.

A: pink light by @sushiwriterhere jake seresin, in all his blonde haired glory, had you wrapped around his finger. you loved him like the earth loved the moon. he didn't.

A: past the texas line by @allbark-no-bite jake will do anything for you, there is no line he wouldn't cross.

F: let me walk you home by @fireinmoonshot jake thought that tonight was finally the night that he would make a move on you. much to his dismay, you were preoccupied the whole night. he settles on walking you home.

F + A: the worst best man by @youvebeenlivingfictional jake seresin was already an insufferable man. pit him as best man while you've the maid of honour for a wedding, you were sure to be on the verge of pulling your hair out.

F + A: hung the galaxy by @creativeashproductions the last time you stepped foot in the city of angels, you had become a runaway bride. this time, you’re happily together with a fiancé you love dearly.

F + A: would that i by @uselsshuman jake, the ever loving partner, will always be there to clean up your accidents, no matter how big or small.

F + A: the olive theory by @eternalsams on every person’s 24th birthday, they will receive an envelope detailing who their soulmate is. you’re disheartened when the contents of the letter doesn’t describe jake.

BRADLEY 'ROOSTER' BRADSHAW

F + A: i don’t know, blame the air force? by @gretagerwigsmuse you are hopeful in getting your end of year bonus, only to find out a big chunk of it was going to the defence budget. it didn't help that you were dating a military man.

F + A: days like this by @sometimesanalice when you've had a terrible day, bradley is there to cheer you up

F: a little bit of courage by @callsignmeiga you and bradley have reached the point in your relationship where he's ready for you to meet his found family.

F: all of the girls you loved before by @wannabeschyulersister all of the girls rooster's loved before made him the one you've fallen for.

F + A: do you want me? by @ash5monster01 rooster assures you that he wants you as much as you want him.

F: sweet encounters + sweet tooth by @junkdrawerfics rooster's first time meeting you was with payback drunkenly stumbling into your bakery, screaming for your croissants.

F + A: bad idea by @sometimesanalice rooster sees the girl that had dumped him at the hard deck, flirting with someone who definitely did not deserve her.

F + A: just roommates by @risriswrites you and rooster were just roommates, till you weren't.

F + A: rescue me by @beccaanne814 bradley is left haunted by the events of the uranium mission and seeks comfort in the one person who can give it to him.

F + A: ruffling feathers by @helloheyhihowdyheya yours and rooster's feud didn't just exist in the air.

F + S: baby come close by @bradshawsweetheart you trust bradley with all your heart, deciding that you are ready to take your relationship to another level.

F + A: pick your battles 𖥻 by @intoanotherworld23 your relationship with bradley ended on a bad note, cruel words were spat and feelings were hurt. you're both called back to topgun for a suicide mission and tensions arise.

F: baby on my left, wife on my right by @popcornlover wanting to be carried from the car into the house, you and your daughter pretend to be asleep

F: stuck on you by @teowritesthings bradley gives you the sweetest morning surprise.

BOB 'ROBERT' FLOYD

F + A: my girl by @rlphunter phoenix sets you up on a date, not knowing that you are secretly dating her backseater.

F: fix it by @lovingperfectionsblog bob was not good with women. he also should have known better than to seek advice from womaniser, jake seresin.

F: you gift bob flowers by @peachystenbrough

F: wicked game by @icegirl03 you and bob slow dance in the living room

F: baby, i'm yours by @superhornetbaby bob dials up the endearment when he's drunk

MICKEY 'FANBOY' GARCIA

F: 512 by @bonitanightmxres you've always thought that the guy living in apartment 512 was cute. you finally gather the courage to ask him out.

[obae-me]

I am so sad that I'm not a Solomon fucker, because if I was, I would have actually cared about the Bon Voyage event. It's kind of cute, but I am very apathetic towards good old Sol. What are your thoughts on it?

Sorry for getting to this late! I wanted to actually complete the event before I responded, and I got to it very last minute! (Since I have low-key kind of hated the events lately. I hate spending 2-6 minutes doing the songs only for five lines of text as a reward, it's almost painful, but anyways...)

Now, Solomon as a character, I love. I was very meh towards him in the original Shall We Date, but they really started working on his character towards the end, and in Nightbringer they really pulled it home! Now I love Solomon! Before, he was just kind of some sketchy little sorcerer that they usually brought in to help solve plot devices- and don't get me wrong, he's still like that, but we definitely get a deeper look into *why*.

He's an immortal human whose desire for power and knowledge was so great, he somehow went head on with nearly the entire Devildom, convinced Barbatos to make a pact with him, and then made Barbatos show him every experience he could, at least, that's what I remember from the lore dropped thus far. And what do you usually get when you get a human that knows and sees too much? A broken human. A human who feels like there is no purpose left. A human with mixed morals and a shattered ego.

Now, this part is just my own personal thoughts and theories, but Thirteen talks about how Solomon's soul used to be beautiful like MC's, but then it became ruined. I imagine it's because he 'flew to close to the sun' and it nearly broke him. MC has hope, has love, has so much to learn still, so much to give. I imagine when Solomon learned and saw everything he could, he had hardly any hope left. Nothing was new to him anymore. He spent so much of his life seeking knowledge, and once he finally got it all...what was left? It corrupted him, surely. But then, clearly, somewhere along the line, his new purpose was to protect and stand for the human realm. Then his dealings with demons began.

The game always talks about how Solomon is now closer to a demon than a human. But I think that's because he *had* to "become" a demon. He has so many pacts, had so many exchanges with the Devildom, he had to learn how to survive amongst them. The way he withholds key information until the crucial moments. The way his "accidents" always seem to line up in his favor. The way his generous actions typically end up satisfying something of his as well. Exactly what a demon does. Exactly what someone would learn spending so much time around demons. I mean, that's exactly what MC learns how to do throughout the entire game! Play it smart, do whatever you can to earn the Brother's favors, and get their pacts. And then when MC throws that concept out the window and does things just to be selfless and then gets their pacts anyway? It almost breaks the "law" of the world that Solomon has come to know.

I'd like to think that maybe that's the reason why Solomon was sent to live with Simeon and Luke in Shall We Date. He needed to learn how to be around other beings, and maybe being around angels could correct some of that.

Now, about the event, the event was actually pretty cute. And while I have my general complaints about the events being very short and shallow, this one wasn't the worst of the bunch. Solomon getting some of the demon brothers together to give you a really nice dream is such a cute thing to do (even if he went behind your back to cast a spell on you). And also I'm not sure if it was stated specifically, but I'm like 98% sure MC and Solomon shared a bed at the end there, which is really adorable. I love sleepy bed cuddles.

This kind of ties back to my insights into his character, where he's spent so long being around demons that he's not really sure how to be a normal human anymore. He spends so much of his time planning and prepping how to do something for you when all he really needed to do was ask. All he wanted was a cute little date and to watch the sunset with MC and went through like a 100 step plan just to get it. And MC's little options to scold him for his schemes is really adorable in my opinion. Essentially it boiled down to them just saying "just ask next time, you idiot!". And Solomon being one of the smartest characters in the game being so lost and confused in terms of relationships and romance is really...very cute, which is why I think I like the concept of his character so much. I love when super overpowered characters have weaknesses like this, or learning new lessons.

I also loved the concept of just Lucifer, Asmo, Luke, Belphie, and Satan all just really hamming it up for MC. They preformed for them all just as a little thank you, and when they clarified, it wasn't really for anything huge. Shopping, helping them with decisions, just spending time with them, that was enough to fully convince them to pick up this dream-world-improv. Which...is really sweet.

Man I love these boys.

[tearwolfe]

Okay, but there are a number of possibilities as to how this latest event with IdolKasa transpired, and I would like to share the ones I've come up with, even though I highly doubt you'd tell me if I somehow got anything correct.

(Warning, this is a very long ask, read at your own risk, lol.)

While very very unlikely I think, there is a non zero chance that this was a ploy (most likely by Tsukasa himself) to try and boast his ratings back up- one last desperate attempt to save himself from obscurity. After all, who wouldn't want to tell everyone they know about the Dying Star Idol Tsukasa Tenma almost actually dying at the end of his very last show? (This does not end up working out btw; at best, people talk about it nonstop for about a month or so before he takes too long to recover and his fame finally fizzles out for good.)

This could also be an attempt at faking his own death (again, likely orchestrated by Tsukasa himself), because he's finally reached his breaking point and is hoping this will get him out of the eye of a public that no longer adores him. Why exactly he made this decision and what exactly he plans to do afterwards, I've no clue, but that's another theory (and probably one of the more likely ones imo).

This could have also been a very real and legitimate public murder attempt by someone who doesn't like Tsukasa. Either by one of his competitors trying to pick off the competition, or by a hater of the famous idol (or the industry as a whole) who's taking his significant drop in popularity as an opportunity to kill him off now that no one will really care.

(Worst case scenario, RuiNene are somehow related to/behind this, though I highly doubt they'd ever go to such lengths, especially Rui.)

Hell, this could have been nothing more than a frightening and unfortunate (depending on who you ask lol) coincidence- for all we know, that stupid star thingy has been threatening to fall off for ages at this point, and the hopes and prayers that have been holding it up have simply given out at the worst possible time.

Either way, if this event isn't somehow the result of it, it's definitely the inciting incident that results in IdolKasa's final thread of sanity snapping and him doing something drastic and making some decisions he probably won't be proud of down the line.

(And this all is under the assumption that he's not dead from this, which I refuse to believe he is, even though it's a very real and likely possibility.)

Anyway, I am entirely too engaged in this AU, especially after you dropped THIS madness, and I cannot wait to see how things develop in the future (whenever you get around to making more, obviously. Take care of yourself <3)

this was a fun read!! i love the theories. i can say you're close on something.. what that is, is up to you.

(i fizzled out a little bit with this AU in the past month, but finally posting this part after sitting on it since july has given me my spark back!)

[lunarriviera]

another thrilling spirealm update

henlo my friends yes it's that time once again where i tell you what is happening on the bizarrely named drama "the spirealm," i am at episode 25 having shotgunned it all weekend and i have thoughts, opinions, and a gabillion screencaps of ruan nanzhu looking stricken, i finally had to stop taking them because he has the exact same face of devastated yearning in all of them and i was filling up my cloud drive. spoilers ahoy! [parts one and two are here if you even care]

as just mentioned, ruan nanzhu spends his time looking either 1) icily indifferent (when people who aren't qiushi are talking to him and/or dying in front of him, to his vast annoyance) or 2) torn asunder by pangs of desire (whenever he's staring at qiushi, who's babbling obliviously about science or clues or absolutely nothing of any importance whatsoever). here is a representative screencap but he has this look on his face pretty much continually, like he's just been hit by a car. a car of love.

it makes me put my head in my hands and scream quietly, i haven't seen a BL actor who understood the assignment this well since zhang xincheng or maybe even z1l. (who all clearly not only read the novel but underlined it, highlighted it, and stuck in colored post-it notes.) when not busy with adoration, he swans around being magnificent in a frockcoat like he's edward rochester, while lin qiushi trails behind him wearing a fit he got out of the goodwill box in his college dorm.

in spite of being besties with a literal fashion icon, at no point does it ever seem to occur to lingling "hm maybe i should dress a bit more formally for my imminent demise inside the doors"—no, instead he proudly wears his ratty sweatshirt with holes in it. which i sort of think might belong to huang junjie. idk maybe qiushi trusts it, and feels safe in it, hey look at that i made it sad.

massive power couple energy. also notice how their outfits are exact black-and-white negatives of each other, the harper's bazaar wedding photoshoot would have been so goddamn lit.

taking a brief moment for a shoutout to this guy. chen fei i don't even know what your fate will be but i already know you deserved better. not only do you patch everyone up with your veterinary knowledge, but i have seen your unrequited love. it did not go unobserved. you would have been a great partner, you're unimpressed by everything and drink your soy milk with chilling apathy. i'm real sorry the theatre gay didn't love you back. you're too similar i guess.

back to lin qiushi who has the worst case of main character energy since harry freaking potter. somehow the game is about him??? he has trauma??? none of this was in the novel and i'm just pretending it's not happening until it becomes impossible to ignore. in the meantime he continues to sympathize with door ghosts because he's just that nice of a guy. (EXCEPTION: nanzhu literally murdered two competitors bc they threatened his darling, and lin qiushi helped him cover it up. i was appalled for like 5 minutes then i shrugged. it's a cutthroat game, the doors change people. also it's like captain mal used to say: if someone tries to kill you, you kill 'em right back.) i have big Theories about what is fixing to happen but for now i will end by relating that lin qiushi has gone into a door alone, because he wants to butch up and be a better partner for ruan nanzhu. and that would be a great idea and super helpful except that nanzhu IMMEDIATELY WENT OUT OF HIS MIND WITH BLIND TERROR. outwardly of course he gives no signs of this (other than hiring someone to protect his fragile boyfriend, which, if lingling figures this out, ruan nanzhu will be sleeping on the sofa forever).

here he is pushing food around his plate miserably at lingling's funeral pre-solo-door party. everyone is having such a fun time.

and here he is standing in front of the door waiting like a dumb wounded animal. i have a feeling if lin qiushi doesn't emerge at 15 minutes on the dot, nanzhu will simply expire on the spot, like a wolf separated from its mate. maybe that's the end of the spirealm JUST KIDDING, we still haven't gotten to the part where they're on either side of a different door wailing at each other. i really need lin qiushi to stop being such a cheery equanimous little frat boy and START SUFFERING, can we get some mutual pining up in this bitch. (also i need his hair to change in the traditional BL post-wedding hairstyle alteration because i can't remember at this point if huang junjie even HAS a forehead under that vast curtain of bangs)

to sum up, we've had a) sexy handfeeding of lychees b) tender cat fur removal from face and c) stalking your pretty boyfriend aggressively against the wall so you can…offer him a packet of disinfectant. in the novel of course nanzhu bites him and yes xia zhiguang absolutely knows that's what he's supposed to be doing here, we love to see it.

oh and also d) "i'll protect you. i'll protect you forever."

SOON: THE THRILLING CONCLUSION. IT'LL BE SO FUCKING SAD. PS unrelated to any of this but the OST SLAPS and i sing along every time now, that opening song is an unskippable cut scene of a banger

PS gonna be sad when [redacted] dies, he's a real card. and that other person dies too. and that third person. shit it's about to get messy

[zvdvdlvr]

fluff alphabet

( dallas winston )

-> navi. | -> outsiders masterlist

-warnings: sexual references, (mention of) smoking/getting high

-pairing: dallas winston x gn!reader

-reading time: 8-10 minutes ish

-reader's pronouns: unmentioned (lmk if i need to edit)

A = Admiration (what do they absolutely adore about you?)

honestly he loves your temper. he loves your possessiveness. dallas loves your fighting spirit. dallas fucking winston admires your anger

B = Body (what is their favorite part of your body?)

he loves your pretty lips. he loves to watch them wrap around a cigarette, blunt, and maybe something else...

dallas is a sucker for watching you argue with someone. he loves that you'll argue for him when he's not there, how you'll defend him even when he has all of his morals fucked up, and he especially likes it when you argue with him

C = Cuddling (how do they like to cuddle?)

damn ok so i love the idea that dally always lets you snuggle into his arm while he does whatever. if its smoking, drinking, laughing, talking

either way, dally loves when you're asleep and you're both on someone's couch or whatever and you have your arm draped over him and your leg is thrown over his idfk. dallas just loves you & him

D = Dates (what does their ideal date with you look like?)

him + you + cruising on some back road + getting high

dally has a thing for falling asleep with you while looking at the stars in his car

E = Emotions (how do they express emotion around you?)

by looking at you and hoping you know whatever the fuck is going on by his facial expression

F = Family (do they want one? If they do, when?)

no. i really dont think our very own dallas winston has it in him to sit still for very long. that and dally isn't really a fan of kids

G = Gifts (how do they feel about gift giving? What are their habits when it comes to this?)

dallas showers you in cigarettes, joints, and car rides. dally doesn't have much money, and when he does, he spends that on buying gas for his car, but he saves up for your birthday

for the record, you're the only one allowed to drive his car

H = Holding Hands (when/how do they like to hold hands?)

anytime you're together. dally isnt afraid to show you off if thats a worry of yours, and the gang finds it digestingly cute

I = Injury (how would they act if you got hurt?)

absolutely pissed. he would go bat shit crazy on the person that hurt you (if someone hurt you) and would be listening to your every beck and call

J = Jokes (do they like to joke around with or prank you? how?)

dally isn't much of a prankster, but he jokes a lot. if he can't get a laugh out of you, he'll make daces at you to get you to smile (its so sweet thinking about it)

K = Kisses (how do they like to kiss you?)

passionately, roughly, and full of emotion. theres so much that you've gone through with dally that he cant and wont fully express what that means ro him, so he makes his kisses meaningful

L = Love (how do they show you they love you?)

by looking out for you when possible. dally isnt as affectionate as he wished he could be, but will always try to be there for you, whether hes good at comforting you or cheering you on or not

M = Memory (favorite memory together?)

either when you made out the first time or the first time he fell asleep

N = Nightmare (what is their worst fear?)

regarding you: turning your back on him

O = Oddity (what is one quirk they have?)

dallas plays with your fingers when hes nervous. only you know because you can feel how clammy his hands are and who would ever question if dallas winston ever got got nervous?

P = Pet Names (what do they like to call you?)

doll, baby, my girl, my boy

Q = Quality Time (how do they like to spend time with you?)

cruising while smoking with you

R = Rhythm (what song reminds you of them?)

-young by vacations

-tonight you belong to me by patience & prudence

-garden by pearl jam

-santa monica by THEORY

(idk abt this but whatever)

S = Secrets (how open are they with you?)

honestly depends on the situmatation

T = Time (how long did it take you to get together?)

it took dally two years to convince you his flirtations and advances weren't bogus

U = Upset (how do they act when you’re upset?)

Dallas himself has Red Rage. dallas gets defiant and sometimes loud and 18392829 times more reckless, and it takes you a while to get through to him

when you're upset (crying), he will be there to comfort you the best he can. if you're upset (fury), then darry will try to keep you from doing something illegal and will keep you from getting hurt, but will let you do something impulsive if you're absolutely sure thats what you wanna do

V = Vaunt (what are they proud of? Do they like to show you off?)

he's proud that he finally 'caught a good one' in johnny's words. he'll take you everywhere and anywhere you wanna go, especially if its with him. if it's a fight, dally will make sure you're safe and if the fuzz pull up, he'll make sure you escape before people get thrown into cars and into the cooler

W = Warrior (how do they feel about you fighting? Would they fight for you, beside you, etc?)

the thought of you fighting is hot as hell to dally. he'll 100% fight with/for you if you just said the word. fighting with dally would definitely taking a few hits for him and keeping him on his feet

X = X-Ray (how well are they able to read you?)

depends on how far into the relationship you are. dally's pretty clueless for a while, but will easily pick up on what makes you tick and how to comfort you

Y = Yes (how would they propose to you?)

by asking you when high or half asleep or both. it'd be asked as an idea, with or without your parents permission

Z = Zen (what makes them feel calm?)

smoking, driving, you, and johnny.

[curio-queries]

Musings on MUSE

Long post below the cut. Overall, I do like the album but this release has definitely been a journey for me, that's for sure.

First, let's check in on the rest of my theories:

Open Locker Meaning: Nope, I don't think there was any meaning to this. It was fun to theorize though!

Sound Effects Interlude: Nope! I'm still kinda bummed about this. I talk more about it in the Showtime section below.

Rooms Going from Dark to Light: Yes, I still think this was intentionally done for the purpose of helping us realize that MUSE was such a departure from FACE

SGMB as an Actual Band: Yes, confirmed. I talk more about this in my Final Thoughts below.

The Emoji Poll from the Insta Chat: Honestly, I now think the company did intend each of these to reference the different songs...which is disappointing to me as a marketing tactic for the reasons I stated in the theory. Oh well.

So, some right, some wrong. It was definitely fun to participate in the theorizing this time. And as Jimin said, he wanted us to come up with all sorts of ideas for the meanings.

Ok, now let's go through some thoughts on each of the tracks:

Rebirth (Intro)

I remember being actually surprised by how much I was liking Rebirth on the first listen...and then it ended. I had to remind myself that it was intro and likely would be not as complete as a full song but even now...I just really can't get over it. This would have been an absolutely lovely song if fully developed. I'm not saying the way it ends is bad, but a big problem I have with it is that it's an intro that doesn't deliver.

The next track is Showtime...an interlude. But an interlude from what? All we've had is an intro. A beautiful intro, don't get me wrong but both of these tracks are used to set up what comes next. And Rebirth just doesn't have anything next. It's just such a shame there wasn't a song in between. I've put other songs (usually Slow Dance) in between these when I listen and it absolutely makes everything better.

Interlude : Showtime

The first time I heard this on the album, I had some choice words for our beloved trickster. Little did we know that we'd already heard a good chunk of this as the intro on SGMB's video (see it IS an intro...anyway, I'll stop bringing it up). Once I got over that, I still couldn't help being a little disappointed that we weren't in fact getting an Interlude like Dive on FACE. Dive was such a great storytelling point and I loved that Jimin recorded many of the sounds himself.

Initially, I didn't think I'd be listening to it much except when doing full album runthroughs but do y'all hear Jimin's absolutely lovely humming in this track?! Oh it absolutely hits my brain in just the right places. This may be one of my absolutely favorite things we got from the MUSE project...definitely top 3 at least.

Smeraldo Garden Marching Band

I don't have much to say that wasn't in my SGMB post. The little tidbits we've gotten of Jimin interacting with Loco were beyond adorable.

Slow Dance

I am so conflicted about Slow Dance. I absolutely love the overall tone of the song, the pacing, Jimin's performance. I think it's a great song with one exception...I really don't care for the featuring artist. I don't know anything about her beyond this track but hearing her on this is easily my least favorite thing from the whole MUSE project. I knew to be wary going into it as women's voices generally don't appeal to me but I wasn't expecting to dislike it this much. It's that much worse on a song that I think would have been my favourite without her. Oh well. She's very talented, absolutely performs her parts well. It's just not to my personal taste.

The live performance video has some of the absolutely worst camera work and cuts as well. I realize they were trying to show off the skyline as the backdrop and intentionally used the band as cut points so they could edit better takes together but it just doesn't come off well. And they have such awkward chemistry live, which I fully blame on the weird obsession people seem to have with seeing members interact with women. Jimin is very specifically measuring his interactions with her to prevent as much drama as possible.

Be Mine

Be Mine is actually pretty forgettable to me. It's not bad but not great. I was expecting to do another english lyric comparison post like I did for Like Crazy but I just can't yet find the motivation to. Maybe that will change in the future but for now, probably not.

Who

There is so much to talk about with Who. I was originally going to make a separate post for it but I'll just include everything here:

The Song: It's a fine pop song. I do actually enjoy listening to it but that's all. There's no depth to dive deeper. Again, it's fine. I don't think pop songs are inherently less because they lack depth. This song accomplished exactly what it needed to. As far as actually listening, I do prefer it over Like Crazy but LC has other things going for it.

The Music Video: I hate it. It's so very amateur and I expect more from this production. The bad CGI. The overt vhs effect with no actual storytelling purpose. If you took all of those out, it'd be a fine performance video. But no, it's the 'official music video', they have to try to make it bigger than that...emphasis on try... Also, I adore our members but I'm so over these mumbling-lip-syncs. I don't know how else to describe it but it's just bad. If you're doing the music video 'sing along', do it right. If not, don't do it at all. This non-commitment just comes across as incomplete.

The Perfomances/Choreo: I think this choreo is absolutely perfect. It accomplishes everything this song needs. They were able to take advantage of the fact that it's not getting performed in front of an audience and the staging is so perfect for camera. The camera director of the dance practice absolutely killed it. The lighting of the Jimmy Fallon performance was stunning as well. I was reminded of how much I loved the lighting in many of the Golden performances. My favorite part of the Who choreo is the little jumping-leg-cross move.

The Remixes: I think I'm in the minority here but I hate all of them. Yes, there is a legitimate industry tactic to releasing these and I don't begrudge them for running a business but I'm so over remixes that are just a reinstrumentization of the original song. I do think these are well produced and some do highlight different aspects of the song that make for great moments...but it honestly comes across to me as not being able to make up their mind about who the target audience is. If they're looking to get rock-lovers, release an actual rock song...not a pop song that's put on a rock costume. I was hopeful for the acoustic remix at least but there is something off about it. I haven't been able to figure out what bothers me about it but it absolutely doesn't speak to the acoustic-loving part of my brain.

Closer Than This

I spent a LOT of time evaluating CTT as potential context for FACE in this post but we've now learned this was written AFTER the FACE promotions so I'm very happy to see I wasn't completely off the mark with saying that it didn't fit into FACE at all.

I still absolutely love this song. Some of that may be the pure nostalgia of when it was released. It was christmas time, we'd just sent the last of the members for their military service, and this song was exactly the kind of comfort I needed at that time of the year.

Final Thoughts

So, like I mentioned in my Theories and SGMB reaction posts, I do see MUSE as Jimin intentionally showing us what he's capable of. Jimin is the ultimate performer. He absolutely loves being an idol. This career allows him to dive into whatever he needs to embody the music and performance. I stand by what I said previously about MUSE being more of a work project than a personal one like FACE was. MUSE was about breadth while FACE focused on depth. Both good but different. (I have a side post I may eventually release about my thoughts on this as a music fan brought up in the west that's now enjoying kpop but that'll have to be another day).

MUSE was a lovely project and a great tool for Jimin to expand his music catalogue whilst knowing that he wouldn't be able to properly promote whatever was released during this time.

One final point: the pronoun debate is beyond asinine. If people find more meaning in certain pronouns than others, let them be. Arguing over original lyrics vs hiding behind public expectations is childish. This is music that was created with a professional purpose, not someone's diary of their deepest thoughts that we stole from a bedside table. Pronouncing the creator's intention like this reminds me of those bad english teachers that were fishing for specific answers on authorial intent and masquerading the lesson as reading comprehension. Those are a scavenger hunt with one hidden 'answer' and not real life.

[sephirthoughts]

3, 15, 19 for vincent and/or genesis :3c

oooh hoo hoo making me choose between my sons, are ya? joke's on you sucker i pick both!!

3. Obscure headcanon Vincent

He's Wutaian. He's Wutaian he's Wutaian he's Wutaian. Half, to be precise, as his father was clearly not. I don't know how this is even an obscure headcanon at this point because he so clearly is (to me) that it baffles me that it's not the widespread theory.

Also I could be wrong but that seems highly unlikely as I have never been wrong ever in my life.

3. Obscure headcanon Genesis

Unlike many kids who get singled out for their hair color or other physical traits they have no control over, Genesis always loved his red hair and refused to feel weird or othered about it. No one else had red hair, so it was clearly an indicator of something special about him. He was prettier and more unique than them, so they were naturally jealous, which motivated their remarks. He believed it so firmly, that the attitude in Banora began to shift toward seeing red hair as a rare and desirable gift, rather than something weird to be mocked (it did help that he was the child of the most influential and wealthy people in the town).

Angeal always loved Gen's red hair, but he kept that to himself, because all the boys that approached Genesis immediately complimented his hair, and it stripped the uniqueness and sincerity out of what would have been a very heartfelt statement about the thing that he adored so much.

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done Vincent

Vincent was a Turk, so he's certainly done some very morally questionable things. For example, disposal of witnesses. Shinra has a strict policy of leaving no evidence of wrongdoing whatsoever. It was up to the Turks to clean up whatever mess had been left behind, in the wake of the most recent PR disaster waiting to happen. Vincent knew that going in. It was part of the job, and if he couldn't do the job, he shouldn't have signed up for it. Once it was done, it was done, and you moved on to the next assignment. Guilt and regret would only lead to hesitation, in the future, and impact your performance. He understood all of that.

It's just that…some of those kids were probably too young to even understand what was happening, let alone remember and tell anyone. Was there really no other choice?

15. Worst thing they’ve ever done Genesis

He did kill his adoptive parents, but he doesn't feel the least bit bad about that, so it doesn't count.

However, in a moment of anger, as a young First, he called Sephiroth a pathetic orphan and told him being the best at fighting wouldn't bring his parents back. Sephiroth just looked thoughtful, and then nodded in agreement. The boy's quiet acceptance of his cruel but not-untrue jab haunted Genesis for years afterward. Sephiroth claimed not to recall the incident, but insisted he wouldn't have been hurt by such a patently accurate statement, anyway.

19. Vices/bad habits Vincent

Vincent smokes!!! Or, more accurately, he did. A long time ago. Most of the Turks take up smoking, to calm their nerves or kill time on shitty stakeouts, or just to socialize with the others. It's pretty much endemic to the job. Vincent was no different. That's why he isn't bothered by Cid's smoking in the least, and actually rather likes the comforting familiarity of the smell. He doesn't smoke as a habit, anymore, because nicotine has zero effect on him, rendering the activity pointless from that standpoint, but he will smoke a cigarette with Cid ever so often, from nostalgia. Sometimes it's nice to pretend to be alive again.

19. Vices/bad habits Genesis

He has a terrible habit of getting riled up, in the moment, and saying the worst/cruelest/most dramatic thing possible. He doesn't mean it, usually, and he's not actually a cruel or vindictive person—and it's not like he hasn't tried to rein it in, he has! But he literally can't control his tongue when his anger runs high (he certainly has an undiagnosed executive function disorder). Without fail, he winds up saying something nasty again, and then regretting it yet again. He always apologizes sincerely and tries to make it up to the person, but they're not always appeased by yet another after-the-fact mea culpa.

In the case that it's too late to apologize…well, those words just echo in his mind, forever, like an ugly litany, memorializing everything he regrets.

Thank you so much for the ask, these ones were really fun!! 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[ironunderstands]

What do you make of Childes correlation with Biblical judgement? He was released on November 11th, he is 11th ranked, achievement for defeating him is Judgement Day has not yet come, narvhals theme is called Eschatologia ludicata which is a reference to judgement in theology etc (and make a long yap response or ratio wont be getting lore next patch 😈)

Alright Aleksa alright

*cracks knuckles* it’s Childe-posting time.

yeah my man is cooked.

absolutely roasted.

Honestly it’s not even a remotely new idea within Childe-fan circles that the Tsaritsa or at the very least the Fatui are going to sacrifice him for some purpose (likely by fulfilling the primordial human stuff in order for them to truly duke it out with Celestia)

Childe seems to think he’s going to be right there alongside them, topping the thrones, but unfortunately even without the themes of “judgement day” the vibes of this man getting dropped off like unwanted baggage are absolutely there.

His problem is that he is incredibly loyal to two opposing forces- his family and the fatui (really the Tsaritsa). For him, the worst punishment, or rather judgment, would be being forced to pick between the two, which he will absolutely have to do so in the future, as even if Childe sees no problem with these opposing loyalties, the story, and other characters, absolutely do.

Now I’m no expert on Christian stuff in the slightest, but through cultural osmosis I have learned that Judgement Day is essentially when everyone gets, well, judged, and those deemed worthy get to go to heaven, and those unworthy to hell

Now, the Celestia as Heaven, Tevyat as hell theory is old as balls and honestly I don’t know enough about it (or care enough, as the way it works really isn’t relevant to this discussion anyways) to say much more. However, with this idea of judgement day being so tied to Childe, that makes it seem like he alone will be seperated/judged from the Fatui, either sending him towards heaven (Celestia) or hell (Teyvat, maybe even the abyss).

This could play out in so many ways.

The aforementioned human sacrifice, Childe dying or otherwise losing something (maybe his family/connect to them) to allow the rest of the fatui to head to Celestia, leaving him behind, and proving to him that he never should have put his trust in the fatui in the first place, which would be so goddamn angsty that I have no choice but to adore it.

They attempt option one and fail MISERABLY. Ironically, Childe is judged the only one worthy to head to Celestia- likely because he chooses his family above the Tsaritsa, something he always will do. From there idk but maybe then he shits on them for his own reasons (imo he probably discovered what they really did to khanreia while in the abyss, so he’s got plenty of reason to not like them based off that, especially considering Surtalogi is one of the sinners, even though I don’t think they’ve met).

Childe willingly offering himself to be “judged” by the heavenly principles, which could either end greatly or horribly depending on which loyalty he chooses (both of which have their own good/bad outcomes).

Secret fourth option. To be honest, we don’t really know enough about project Stuzha or what exactly the Tsaritsa is planning on doing with the Gnosis, although I as well as a lot of people suspect it’s got something to do with Childe, as that primordial human shit never leaves the consciousness once you learn about it, and if anything could make him one of those, it would be a gnoses.

How exactly this “judgment” is going to work or what it’s going to do is unclear to me, however after going over it, there are a few things I’m confident are going to happen.

-This will happen. I know, an extremely hot take, but you’d be surprised how many people think Childe’s role in the story is just done

-If we are ever going to see how he earned his vision, this is when, as that’s a very crucial part of his character the game has not offered even a lick of explanation for, although we can make some guesses

-he’s going to have to pick between the Tsarista or his family, and he will choose his family, even if it appears he’s picking the Tsaritsa (aka she forces him to do whatever she wants him to do by threatening his families lives otherwise)

-he will survive this. Even if the game goes full human sacrifice, in some capacity Childe will live on, either literally or through his words/wish for the traveler, he will get the last laugh

That’s about all I can say for now. Honestly I’d like to keep Childe theorizing, but I’m very, very rusty on his lore and haven’t really kept up with his communities perception on him, so I’d need to read that all over again. Through observation I’ve learned that him being named Ajax isn’t necessarily that he’s a reincarnation of the previous ones, but rather they share a fate because they share a name, and names add important.

What implications that has? We shall see

[beevean]

hot take game: I don't think Barok van Zieks's arc in TGAAC was really that outstanding among all the AA prosecutors'. But not because of the racism, more like because while the first game set up a nuanced and refreshing premise to his story and promised to engage with some complicated topics about the bigotry in Britain, what we got in G2-3/4/5 was yet another instance of "oh noo some evil guy killed my family member, and that made sad and edgy! You, the protagonist defence attorney, are obligated to give me a councel appointment and absolve me from the darkness!"

Strongly agree | agree | neutral | disagree | strongly disagree

Barok is my favorite character in AA and I adore the way he turned around thanks to Ryuu's selflessness, but undoubtedly, the second game cheated by reducing the interesting real-life societal and political conflicts to "one bad guy did all the bad things, go and punish him to save everyone". Which influenced Barok's tragic story.

The thing is that, in theory, "Japanese killed brother so now am hate Japanese" would still work with the frame of the first game! Barok was the babyboy of a British noble family. He most likely grew up sheltered from the world and learning all the bigotry of British nobility at the time, including that the British Empire was morally superior to all. Then he met three Japanese people for the first time when he was 20 or so, he was starting to challenge his bigotry... And he was proven right in the worst way possible. Stupid him, for trusting a dirty Nipponese, didn't he know that those people are barbaric? Add to this roughly ten years of depression, five of which spent in isolation, and you have the perfect recipe for unbridled hatred. From this optic, it's nothing short of a miracle that he changed his mind in a year.

But no, that's not how the game presented it: Barok's story was heavily simplified to echo Edgeworth's and create a parallel with Asougi's, and we lost the very important societal component of Barok's xenophobia, which was not a personal flaw like Edgeworth hating defense attorneys but a serious rotten part of the empire he grew up in.

(game also forgot how disgustingly classist he was towards Gina in G1-5 too :/ I love the man, but he was a product of his time in more ways than one)

[caylinmiraki]

My relationship with The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

I love TotK, I really do. It's fun to play and to explore for a while. But that's it. I kinda have a toxic relationship with this game. It gives me the highest heights just to shove some pretty unnecessary hindrance in my face.

tl;dr: Erasing BotW from TotK was the worst thing they could've done to this game. It's hard to believe that this game's got 5 years of development under its belt. It truly is a disappointing Masterpiece.

I’m just going to head right in.

I absolutely adore a well-written story and exploring new Lands to see what kind of secrets it holds. and am someone who really can't deal with spoilers of any kind, so color me surprised when the second memory I encountered was the one near Lurelin Village where it's exposed that we got a fake Zelda. It felt great to have my theory proven right because I’ve cleared a few Stable Quests before looking for the Tears and figured it out (isn’t very difficult I know). But when I realized that I’d skipped a massive part of this story I was disappointed because I expected a story progression like Botw but ended up spoiling myself with one of the most impactful memories. At the same time, it was so frustrating to see everyone dance on the palm of this impostor's hand while the player knows exactly what's going on and you/Link couldn't do anything about it.

The fact that almost no one recognized Link or even knew of him was also so frustrating; infuriating even. This legendary Hero saved Hyrule along with Princess Zelda in a 100-year-long battle, only to be forgotten? While everyone knows of Zelda? Like, you wanna tell me that the whole time Zelda traveled the lands of Hyrule to learn about the people and forge connections, Link wasn't with her? Her appointed knight that never leaves her side?

I know they chose to basically erase him to make the story less complicated for people who didn't play BotW, but let's be honest the amount of players that fit this criteria can't be more than 5%, and that's thinking generously, so why ruin the experience for the other 95%? Besides a small part of the Zora, the Stableowners, the people at Lookoutlanding, some Shieka, and the Yiga-Clan no one knows about him. In addition to that we also only get two mentions of the champions from botw. Mipha is referenced and I think Daruk gets a mention as well. When I entered Zoras Domain in TotK and saw that they had replaced Miphas Statue with a statue of Link and Sidon (which I find hideous tbh) I was so fucking furious. I adore her and they just pushed her onto some faraway cliff to collect dust. I think Daruk gets referenced in a dialog with Yunobo but that’s it, besides his statue in Goron City. Urbosa and RevalI have been completely forgotten it appears. They could have at least referenced those two regarding their successors having similar powers.

However, I have to say that Gerudo Desert was one of the best areas in TotK with a nice twist to the Questline leading up to the Dungeon. The Desert is being plagued by weird undead monsters and shrouded in a never-ending sandstorm. Gerudo Town is desolated and abandoned and you worry for its citizens. I loved this dreadful approach on the Demon Kings homeland. There are just two things I can't agree with in this new Gerudo Desert.

First, they don't kick Link out of Gerudo Town after the situation is resolved. This clan of proud warriors that cling deeply to their roots and traditions, just let Link walk in and out of Gerudo Town as he likes. It apparently isn't that much of a deal anymore if young VaI were to see a Voi, and saving their Town for the second time after defeating Va Naboris, returning peace to Gerudo Desert, and retrieving their heirloom was now enough to allow him to enter without a disguise? Oh yes, I forgot BotW didn't happen apparently. Secondly, I want female Gerudo clothes for Link. Why would you rob us of this experience? I also strongly feel like they designed the areas in this order Rito>Gerudo>Gorons>Zora it just gets less and less refined throughout the game. I first encountered the Wind Temple and then went to the Water Temple afterward. I felt like I've skydived full speed from the sky islands straight into the depths without a paraglider. Moktoroc was a Boss I'd expect in a meme fight or mod or something, but a fully-fledged dungeon boss..?

Talking about bosses, something I really enjoyed in TotK were the encounters with Master Khoga. He is such a delight to encounter in this game; truly the most polished and lovable character in all of TotK (and BotW in my opinion). He has his purpose, he is silly, sometimes overly so, but all in all, is he a real threat to the inhabitants of Hyrule and Link. For real, Master Khoga and his Clan always recognize Link and engage with him BECAUSE he is Link and not because he just happened to be there. When I encountered Master Khoga for the first time in the depths I was so excited because I remembered that he fell down this chasm in BotW and that the most iconic and best villain in BotW is still alive. I really was just so delighted I think I almost cried (I'm a huge fangirl, leave me alone). He and the Yiga Clan made the Depths their own in the time that passed between those two games. The only thing I would have wished for was that Master Khogas questline could have been a bit longer and that he shouldn't have ended up like in BotW. And what I would have liked was to have one huge Yiga-Clan structure that served as their home base in the depths, like the Yiga Hideout on the surface.

There are just three more things I want to mention that don't sit well with me in this game.

First: the Depths are empty. I want to make each Zelda game my own and play it at least once to 100% in any regard. All Locations, all Shrines, all Lightroots, all chests, all quests, all Koroks (urgh), and so on. I want to harvest everything this game has to offer. But when I was "exploring" the depths in my progressed savestate I just found myself comparing the overworld to the depths to find shrines or lightroots. I traveled from one destination to another just to complete my task and gaining every shrine in the process was a nice addition. Tbh, I don't even know what the reward was for clearing all Shrines. I remember you got some kind of seed or flower from the lightroots tho.

The depths are incredibly dull. What happens in the depths?

1. You get the Autobuild ability

2. Fire Temple (Great design choice btw, very esthetic tho not challenging)

3. Minerus questline

4. Master Khoga and the Yiga-Clan

5. Weird Poe trading Statues (idk if this should count tbh)

6. Lost Woods access

7. Demon King Ganondorf (Daddy)

So we've got 6-7 major events in the depths. An area as big as Hyrule itself filled with almost nothing. You encounter abandoned Mines that always work the same. Search for the chest, pick up some Zonaite, and off you go. Yiga-Clan outposts; kill the Yiga, read the journal, loot the chests, and next. And don't get me started on the recycled dungeon bosses you can now just kill for fun down there. WHY?? I hate when bosses, incredibly strong monsters that are tied to a location as its last obstacle, as its guardian to prevent the Hero from accomplishing his goal, just get reused as an overworld boss. Tho they're so easy to kill a Gleeok is more dangerous. Now that I think about it King Gleeok might just be the most challenging Boss in TotK.

The second thing I would have wished for, but knew it would not happen was for Link to permanently lose his arm and for Zelda to remain a Dragon. I knew it wouldn't happen because Zelda always has a happy ending but it would have solidified TotK as another huge break in the tloz formula. Link losing his arm would have shown just how incredibly dangerous this whole situation really was, even to the Hero of the Wild. A crippled Hero with lost limbs and remains scarred for life (like the theories for the Heros Shade from Twilight Princess) is something Zelda lacks and just solidifies that Link is fucking overpowered and nothing can stop him. Don't get me wrong, I know it's kinda his thing to just be like this and to make the player feel accomplished in saving the land of Hyrule and its Princess, but we’re in the 2020s, and people want some kind of realism, drama, and especially in this case, involvement in the story. The way things are, it just feels like a fever dream sometimes. Might be an unpopular opinion but I'd like to see Link struggle for once in a while. (I know, botw’s basically a summary of Zelda and Links’ struggle to save Hyrule, but that’s not my point here and you know it.)

I know the chances of Zelda remaining a Dragon forever were close to nonexistent, and I think I wouldn't have a problem with this, if the developer had just given us a real explanation as to why, and how this is even possible. Mineru emphasized multiple times, that this forbidden ritual is irreversible and that she would erase herself if she were to proceed. Her decision has such a massive impact on the Story. Zelda went to such lengths to protect her Kingdom and support Link, she gave up everything and she was so terrified but her trust in Link is just so great that she believes that he will at least save Hyrule; her kingdom when she can only provide him with the tool to do so. Only to be reversed because two ghosts appeared. The theory that Sonia and Rauru channeled their energy through Link to reverse Zeldas form like Mineru said is just that, a theory. But aside from Raurus power and spirit residing with Link in his arm, where did Sonia come from? When the imprisoning war happened Sonia was long gone and there were no hints of her spirit being connected to Link or Zelda. It just feels unpolished and the explanation of "magic" isn't satisfying at all.

Lastly, something that bothers me in particular, I don't think many miss this feature. I am a huge fan of the Dark Souls series and challenging games in general. So my disappointment, when I learned that there wasn't a Master Mode for TotK, and there are no plans to implement one in the future, was immense. I would have loved to play through this game with a more challenging note and 100% it that way. I’m really sad about this, would have loved to see improved golden monsters that would have destroyed me and tested my skill.

To end this rant on a positive note, TotK is still one of the best games I've played. Its mechanics and freedom of action are one in a kind and I could spend hours just playing around with ZonaI devices and build the most ridiculous builds. It has really well-thought-out Quests and fun characters to interact with. Link and Zeldas relationship (as an aromantic myself) just feels so fulfilling. I know many people see their relationship and their dependency on each other as signs of a canon love story between these two, and by all means, go for it (that Zelda lives in Links house now is evidence enough. And I ship them occasionally myself)! But for me, the fact that it isn't explicitly said leaves room for interpretation, and, they are just two people who can 100% trust each other and whose lives are so incredibly intertwined that they are just codependent at this point. I love how they've written Zelda and Links relationship.

And my highlight, of course, is Ganondorf and the final boss fight. I adore Ganondorf his design is so incredibly well done, you feel his ambitions and dominance throughout every "encounter" we witness. Though we don't know those ambitions and anything about him besides that he wants to restore the rule of "the survival of the fittest", to be honest. He is pure fanservice I tell you. And I live for this.

The final fight is a (almost) one one-on-one with the Demon King(Just like Twilight Princess, one of the most epic showdowns of all time). An excellent magician who mastered all forms of weaponry just like Link and is even capable of flurry rushing (an ability that many/I thought was Links champion ability in BotW). It's epic, it's cinematic, and filled with surprises. When I fought Ganondorf in the first half, I just assumed we got two phases, and that's it, like in Botw. But holy shit. The second phase started and his health bar just kept going and he looks like THAT with his cocky attitude; brother. The moment you defeat him, and think it's over, you realize what he's about to do but before you can act he just grabs Link, and smashes him through tons of stone, and debris (however he came out of this unscathed; would have loved if he got at least a little injured and then healed by the light dragon or something.) and suddenly you are in the skies facing off against this massive titan of a Dragon. This fight is as challenging as the Dark Beast Ganon fight in BotW but its buildup and the resulting fight high above the surface with the help of Zelda who subconsciously knows it's her destiny to support Link in this fight makes it way better than just a cinematic final showdown. Link manages to defeat the Demon Dragon and after he blows up like a nuke (wtf was that anyway, so awesome!) and Zelda is transformed back to her human form. Link is skydiving to catch Zelda as they plummet from the sky and the moment, he finally reaches her hand and catches her will be forever one of the most emotional and impactful scenes in any Zelda game. Despite its flaws, TotK offers an undeniably captivating experience. With its innovative mechanics, memorable moments, and interesting characters, it carved its own niche within the Zelda universe. While it does leave me a bit disappointed that it ended up like it did, expectations for Zelda Games are always skyrocketing but I still don’t think that we expected too much. I rate this a solid 8.5/10 while every other Zelda entrance is a 10/10.

I love TotK but like I said. It's a toxic relationship and whenever I find myself wanting to revisit this Hyrule I rather play BotW than TotK. Sorry for my rant.

[yukine-sakamoto]

More Shadows House: I’m near the end of the debut arc (ep. 7, 8, & 9). I suppose I should start tagging these for spoilers so: spoilers

I’m loving how Emilico helping everyone comes back to her in so many different ways, and how it disarms everyone and allows them to help and be helped as well. Honestly makes me feel a little bad for ever assuming the worst of someone. I’m glad we saw John panic over what he said to Kate, too. It was adorable and grounds his character, plus he did go a bit too far. We basically get confirmation that all shadows have soot powers but with different strengths, and that does seem to be part of the test. It was also interesting to see the interaction between shadows of different rankings. The third floor crew basically treat the other shadows as servants, not quite to the degree of living dolls but more than I would have expected. I suppose they need servants since their living dolls are… consumed, I guess. I did not expect that reveal at all. Kind of throws most of my theory out the window (unsurprisingly), but I still wonder what they do with all the soot, especially since it relates to negative feelings.

I definitely underestimated Rum. I mean I was rooting for her, but I’m so glad Emilico was able to support her and give her a little self-confidence, so she could really show her strengths. The moments of her figuring out the map and the maze and being reassured about Shirley, so good. More than that though, I think I underestimated Shirley. I had assumed she was shy like Rum, and that we never saw her produce soot because she was used to being on the sidelines. But knowing that Rum has never seen her make soot at all and that her room is always spotless makes me think there’s a lot under the surface. Even someone with weak soot powers would normally give off a little when they feel negative. Shirley must be content and likely confident/above-it-all in order to never make soot. I bet she’s super smart like Rum. She knows something the others don’t, or has figured something out. She’d rather observe and learn more than engage in posturing for the competition. (Also, very into the theory I saw that Shirley somehow created Rummy through soot powers, and has been talking to Rum this whole time.)

I really wish we heard what was said between each pair when Rum rescued Shirley and when Ricky rescued Patrick. It would’ve been very revealing for each of their characters, but especially since we haven’t heard a word from Shirley yet. I’m guessing they’ll show Rum/Shirley later though.

I’m glad they had the third floor crew talk about how strange this test is and how biased Edward clearly is. It’s a lot of what I was talking about in my last post, so it was satisfying. Still, they seem content to just be entertained and not worry to much about the validity of the test, which is expected but disappointing. Actually, they seem really eager to see someone, anyone fail and die. I think they probably care very little about the event as a test and focus on the spectacle. It was interesting to hear I think Ryan say something like “do we want a bunch of star bearers?” I was confused initially because I thought that was a title of honor and authority, but it was said with distain. It was during the conversation about dolls and individuality, though, and I saw someone guess that star bearers are shadow & doll pairs that can’t or won’t merge, which makes a lot of sense to me. I think due to Emilico’s influence none of this cohort will be willing to merge. They are all learning to be kinder and less competitive, which breaks down the walls separating master and servant. Certainly Kate and John wouldn’t. Louise might since she is clearly obsessed with Lou, but depending on their relationship she might actually prefer Lou to have a body.

But that being said I have to talk about Kate’s & Shirley’s prisons. There’s literally no way to properly free Kate except one random chance at the beginning. That’s not a test, it’s an execution. I mean I’m mad about the injustice of it, but it also would’ve been less of a show for third floor crew if things had gone to plan. I wish we had seen more about the intended solutions to the other prisons, too. Louise’s literally had instructions on it, clear bias and very stupid. John destroyed his, but I imagine it was similar to Patrick’s, which was very interesting to me. They kind of glossed over it, but I don’t think we’ve seen soot used that way before. I had assumed it would not be able to hold a shape on its own, or if it could, it would be too brittle to turn a lock. For Shirley’s, they explained how the soot mechanism that would kill her worked, but never said there was any kind of key or other mechanism. Kate was last in the ranking when this part started, so by Edward’s logic Shirley’s should be slightly easier than Kate’s. I think cutting through the plants was the only way, maybe that’s what the shears at the beginning were intended for.

Speaking of Louise and shears. I never thought Ricky had it in him to hurt Lou or Louise, and I mean that as a compliment, but I also don’t think he had a right to get mad at Shawn since he did think about it and it would be in line with his behavior thus far. Then again, being mad about it is also very in character for him. It was nice to see Lou show some initiative and give him the shears. (And very clever noticing the differences in the masters’ soot trails) I’m not necessarily on board with the little romance they seem to be teasing between the two though. There’s clearly something going on with Lou that needs to be addressed first. She’s growing, but she still seems like not all there at times, and it’s worrying.

Also John is a badass just punching that boulder to pieces. Is it bad that I was kind of into how excited Sophie got over “the volume of his soot”? *blush* Anyway, I’m always slightly frustrated by these boulder chase scenes because I feel like you could just lie flat in the corner and the boulder would pass over you. Or, he could hide in the turnstile. It’s metal, so part of me doubts the boulder would do more than dent it. Actually that whole exchange was silly. Once both pins are lifted, it looks like they won’t lock again until a full 180° turn. You could open it once and just pass back and forth freely without ever letting it lock again. I don’t know, maybe there’s more to the mechanism.

Also, back to Kate’s prison and the rescue. Kate and Emilico’s reunion conversation was so cute and yes wasted a bit of time but technically maybe worth it to calm down Kate and slow the soot mechanism. I did have trouble suspending my disbelief for the rescue sequence though. Emilico was very valiant running along the beam and jumping to save Kate, but the physics just don’t make sense to me. How could she leap forward over the lip, but somehow reach back far enough to grab Kate? And if the flower cart was there, did she need to catch Kate? I mean the flower cart felt a little convenient on its own, like, Emilico did not look before she leapt. But more than that, and it was hard to tell, but in certain shots the cage looked like it was over grass. It was definitely close to the edge, and it only looked about one story up. That’s a survivable fall. You couldn’t catch yourself if you fell with the cage, but if you hung on, as Kate did, you could just swing forward, land on the soft grass, and like tuck and roll. Very survivable. Still it was cute for them to land in the flowers together. Criminal that Emilico’s nickname was translated as sunshine instead of flower bed. So many good references to that name are missed.

Can’t wait to see how it all turns out.

(Also thank you to the person who reblogged my last one of these and said they wanted more. I don’t know if you’ll see this, but I’m new here, so that made my day.)

[lemonadedino]

Have a snippet of landoscar enemies to lovers background story from the much ado about nothing au fic below the cut 🫶

I have to prove to myself that I’ve actually worked in it lol

As he walked back to his seat, amid all the polite clapping, he heard him.

“That Piastri guy had the most boring presentation ever, I swear. I was actively falling asleep. And don’t get me started on the slide choice, Carlos! Where was the color? The variety? The fun, engaging design elements? It was just all so bland, mate. Blergh.”

Oscar was pretty sure the curly-haired man currently launching a vitriolic attack on his PowerPoint was named Lando Norris. He vaguely recognized him from his presentation earlier in the day.

Oscar had heard his name floating around the office break room. Supposedly, he was the office prodigy, some sort of comp-sci genius poached straight out of Oxford. Public opinion on Lando seemed to deem him as an intensely likable and cherubic, if slightly hyperactive, team member with a strong work ethic and sharp sense of humor.

Listening to the Brit’s increasingly passionate tirade, Oscar wasn’t so sure about the first part of that descriptor.

Unaware that he now had an audience, Lando kept on ranting to his companion, gesticulating wildly.

“I can’t believe he used Times New Roman, Carlos. Times New Roman! That’s literally the worst possible choice. It means you intentionally didn’t want to use the default font, Arial, but still couldn’t branch out and be more exciting! Oswald is right there!” His voice gradually climbed in volume. “Also! Who actually adds transitions to their slides? That’s some George type shit.”

“Mate, yours wasn’t much better.” The words came spitting out before Oscar even registered that his mouth had opened. Clearly, four hours of sleep had lowered his normal inhibitions surrounding conflict avoidance. Two sets of eyes snapped to look at him, one pair unnervingly reminiscent of watercolor and the other velveteen brown.

Oscar swallowed. Well. There’s no backing out now. He might as well fully commit.

“At least I didn’t use brain-meltingly bright neon colors and an overcrowded SlidesGo template. And a soundtrack? Really, Norris? Where did you even find that?” Oscar was on a roll now. There was something oddly liberating about it. “What are you, a five year old who got access to Microsoft Office for the first time?”

Lando pouted, which in theory should look absolutely ridiculous on a full grown man. It certainly didn’t help him fight the “five year old who got access to Microsoft Office for the first time” allegations. Yet somehow, on Lando, it was adorable. Oscar shut down that train of thought as soon as it sprouted.

Lando pursed his lips, primed to respond, no doubt with another jab at Oscar’s presentation.

“Oscar! Great job, dude!” Logan suddenly hollered from across the room, eagerly waving him over. Oscar had never been more grateful for his best friend. He would definitely be buying him one of those Arnold Palmers that the American so adored from the office café in thanks.Taking the opportunity to escape, Oscar waved back and slipped away.

He heard Carlos chuckle as he left.

“He’s really got you there, Lando. You know, I quite liked his presentation. He’s a good speaker. Very articulate,” the older man said.

“Shut up. That’s my new Sworn Arch-Nemesis you’re talking about.”

“A bit dramatic, don’t you think? What happened to Betty from HR being your Sworn Arch-Nemesis? You were complaining to me about her just yesterday.”

“I’m not being dramatic, Carlos. Can’t you see it? Betty’s been ousted. Oscar Piastri is an infinitely more qualified candidate for the role of my Sworn Arch-Nemesis.” Lando paused. “Plus, I’m pretty sure Betty is nearing her 70s. She talks about her grandchildren all the time. I don’t want to deal with the hassle of finding a replacement after her retirement.”

Up until that moment, Oscar had been planning to chase Lando down after the conference, buy him a coffee, and apologize effusively for his outburst. Sure, it had been rude of the Brit, but it didn’t justify Oscar insulting his presentation. He didn’t know why he had reacted so strongly to Lando’s snarky commentary. Truly, Lando’s presentation hadn’t been that bad. He’d seen way worse. Oscar actually thought that the soundtrack was a nice touch.

But if Lando was already dead set on treating him as his Sworn Arch-Nemesis, Oscar didn’t see why two couldn’t play at that game. He had to spice up his workday somehow, after all.

Since then, for the last couple of years, there had been a constant stream of traded barbs and petty jibes, more often than not sent via Microsoft Teams, because Lando transferred to a new division based across the country a year ago.

Oscar would never admit it, but he had started looking forward to opening his inbox every morning, eager to see what creative insult Lando had launched at him. Obviously, he shot one of his own right back.

[roguelemon]

This was meant to be a short little joke style theory but it turned into a character analysis so the before cut is the main interesting point and the rest you can read if you want my take on Vox as a whole, and what I personally would do with him nest season.

The reason why Vox hates the past so much is because he has so many regrets/ kind of hates himself for getting into the situation he's in where every waking moment is either dealing with his public image, dealing with Vals tantrum/manipulative bs (Yes I think Vox is being manipulated by Val I believe in the "Val can secrete a date r*pe drug type substance in his saliva") OR endlessly trying to make power grabs to "prove himself". The other overlords DO NOT like this man, I reckon that upsets him more than he lets on (my theory as to why he sent Velvett to that meeting instead) .

Vox focuses on "upgrading" because facing his past and where he fucked up is his literal worst nightmare. It just so happens that part of his past that he regrets (Alastor, whether you think it was a failed romantic proposal or not it CLEARLY had a big affect) is somebody who embodies the past.

He moves away from past technology to move away from Alastor. He constantly upgrades himself/ his products because looking into his past is not something he wants to do.

Of course, that only worked for 7 years, now Al is back he's FORCED to face at least some of where he fucked up which is why when we see him, despite being an overlord, he looks incredibly pathetic. It's not that his power level is so much below Alastor, (though that could be a factor) but he's facing his worst nightmare every time the deer fucker shows up.

Alastor pisses him off sure, but what really gets him so twitchy and almost paranoid is what Alastor represents, his past.

This isnt trying to defend Vox or whatever but I do think that he's the least objectively evil out of the Vees. To me he's a "doesn't want to be evil he just wants recognition and oops, now you've got it through bad means" kind of guy who's been teamed up with a sleezy manipulative asshole who doesn't seem to have any motivation other than just enjoying being a creep. And Velvette, who while we haven't seen anything super bad yet, she clearly endorses Val (the love potion advert) and is also more abrasive than Vox.

Its even more so shown in the finale when Vox is super exited about something (it's Alastor dying, but still) and the other two are just completely uninterested until it benefits them.

I've seen some people saying that Vox and Val are the main and Velvette is the one that's off to the side out of the three but despite doing, whatever you want to call THAT in the finale with Val, Vox is more obviously the one who doesn't line up with the other two as well.

Vox probably wished he'd pursued a deal with Alastor rather than the Vees because then he'd get what he wants, to be recognised and respected. Even though Al does mostly command through fear there is respect for him among those who are more powerful than him, all save Lucifer of course. Vox on the other hand has basically no respect from anyone who he doesn't mind control, Velvette treats him like Val control and Val is CLEARLY using similar tactics that he would on one of his 'employees' on Vox. (Acting super whiny/ guilt to get what he wants, pushing his buttons to get a reaction after his initial outburst didn't piss Vox off enough, THE RED SALIVA). While the annoyance between the three seems to be just petty bullshit I'm certain that, at least on a subconscious level that Vox knows that if he hadn't got in with them that he'd be better off. VoxTech certainly seems the most lucrative out of what the three control. And the other two wouldn't exist if it warned for the tech HE supplies. (Vox is the real backbone of the Vees). This man clearly SO DESPERATELY wants attention and to be adored. Rather than hating him like I do with Val, it makes me pity him. And THATS the centre of all this, he is pitiful and so has MORE room for character development.

Its fully possible that he blames himself for fucking up whatever proposition he had for Alastor when in reality, Al is just an ass but Vox can't see that

Of course this is just my interpretation, but it'd make S2 where the Vees are confirmed to be a bigger focus much more interesting if Vox also gets this internal dilemma/ self doubt.

They could still feasibly swing in either direction of characyer development and I'd consider it well written and thats what makes him so interesting to me. He has so much potential for both good and for evil, also for general annoyance and comedy.

If it were up to me I'd do the megamind route of FINALLY letting the character win against their enemy, only to end up pissed off about it because the person they pinned all their problems on wasn't actually the cause of them, then swing in a completely different direction because this is hell and the feel good stories are reserved for characters who believe in therapy. Maybe a song where Vox prevails, only to then later reprise in a version where he loses his sense of self a little, maybe finally realises how little the other two care after he finally bests Alastor in something but it doesn't matter because he "didn't get any new territory or souls" or something along those lines. A second song could be Vox actually coming into his own more with a song all about him, nobody singing over or with him. It doesn't even have to redeem his character it would just be singling him out as Vox, not one of the Vees.

This ramble was brought to you by the powers of procrastination. Congrats on actually reading all that shit. (And lmk if you'd add anything in your opinion?) =3.

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

s1 episode 8 thoughts

this was a very stressful episode and it taught me a lot. for instance i Do Not Like Body Horror! and now i know that about myself.

the first thing i wrote in my episode notes was during a closeup of scully and i wrote as follows: "good lord she is so pretty. like so pretty. like it's really not fair" and i stand by this assessment.

the next thing i wrote was simply "big ass coats". this is because they were wearing big ass coats and i thought it was adorable.

when scully took a picture with the big camera she announced that there would be a flash. this is because she is, once again, keeping an eye out for those who need accommodations and would be effected by a camera's flash, which adds proof to my theory that she is purposefully mindful of accessibility needs. may be considered a basic thing but she was photographing dead bodies in an arctic compound so good to know she shall not be distracted from her mission of being based!

after being attacked by a dog, i wonder if mulder has become a cat guy. was he ever a dog guy? he seems like a cat guy tbh. i wonder if this further solidified his viewpoint. discuss with the person sitting next to you which pet each member of our duo prefers.

scully, however, very much gave me dog person energy, and not just because she masterfully examined that dog, it was a theory i already had cooking. however at this point the parasite in the dog was moving and i had to look away because it was disgusting.

the sounds of the two of them arguing in the distance in an arctic base. well. let's just say i found it very empire strikes back coded!

then when they started screaming at each other and pointing guns i was suuuuuper stressed. she literally said if he is infected with a murderous alien then it's NOT HIS FAULT???? don't be mean to him???

also. how many times are these guys gonna have to take their clothes off to inspect each other for aliens. does it stop being erotic after a certain point?

the low poly worms in the jar brought me such happiness. i know they were Evil Worms imprisoned in their jars for their wormy crimes but a low poly creature just makes me laugh every time! they will be doing Very Serious Business and then the worst CGI u have ever seen will cross the screen and take you out of the moment but this is entirely a part of the series's charm imo.

when scully was petting the dog i saw a glimpse into a future in which she has a Big Ol' Dog and it was a good one.

Overall the episode was really well done and stressful and well written and i can objectively say it was one of the best so far BUT my aversion to body horror means i will probably not rewatch it anytime soon (and i know it was tame! but it was still yucky!)

and the scenes in which scully and mulder screamed at each other will stick with me for a long time. i look forward to being at a point in which i can look at other blogs freely without needing to be wary of spoilers so i can reblog the hell out of that gifset.