#which is fine. you know.. i just hate being like a nuisance i hate . idk how to phrase. imposing myself on others ig.. which is dumb bc the

[connormoving]

i think itis funny in the past when i would list my interests as if i post abt them i donot post abt the shit im into rly Mainly bc im not rly Into Into anything anymore i occasionally watch or read or play something but i dont do fandom stuff rly much.... just sometimes i get brainworms

[kurov1864]

How to live survive act in the demon world (to bring about the least pain possible)

PART 1

Okay so I've been thinking (and making plans) for like what happens if I get transported into WTDSIK world, all in of course different contexts. I'll split this into 3 different parts for the 3 different contexts I've thought of. Also, I'll update this after my finals and I have time to comb through the entire series again (if I remember).

Taking the place of Iruma:

Congrats? This might be the best possible outcome, since you won't die immediately. Of course, you'll have to be able to cope with the attention from Sullivan, Opera, the Babyls staff and like the rest of the demon world due to your status as the only grandchild of Sullivan.

Here are some of the challenges you may face along the way: Opera. Now, in the manga, Opera is a competent supporter that's like family to Iruma. However, that absolutely will not apply to you (unless you're like Iruma, which I highly doubt, because you are reading this). My best advice if you're a normal unassuming person with crippling depression and low self-esteem is to simply stay out of the way. Don't be a nuisance to them, but mostly make sure you show that you are worth something irreplaceable to Sullivan. Opera does the best possible thing for their master, so make sure that you are known as something they cannot get rid of/pose a threat to Sullivan.

Next challenge is the demon world itself. You don't have the same dodging abilities as Iruma, which means that you are cooked. Metaphorically and literally. Study up on plants and biology for a bit, and get something that is easily accessible at any time (even if your limbs are tied up). And make sure that that thing can kill you as fast as possible, with as little pain as possible. You're not sure if it can kill you? Experiment with weaker plants and poisons. BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH CORRECTLY. We don't want to accidentally die.

Adding on to the previous point, it's gonna be very important for you to see just where you stand as a human in a demon world. While Iruma seemed fine, it's also important to note this guy has been living in the streets and eating very suspicious food. His immune system is off the charts as well. So vet everything and anything that you touch until you're sure it won't kill/poison/harm you.

Next challenge would be Asmodeus. After the assembly, immediately head to the chairman's office. And like beg him for some sort of protection device, because your ass is gonna need it. Asmodeus would absolutely not let it go, and we're not sure if he's gonna try to attack you the next day. Either make up with him, beat him, or avoid the absolute shit out of him.

Remember to get a levitation device of sorts for your flying test!! Or tell your teachers (after discussing it with Suvi and Opera) that you're a flightless demon, idk.

Bond with Clara. She's relatively easy to get on our side, just play with her and treat her like an actual human being and not a convenience machine. However, she's also quite smart emotionally, so if you think she's going to become a hindrance to future plans then don't.

Contact Balam and tell him you're human. That'll get his protection, plus you have a more experienced demon to help you cope.

Be late to class on the first day. This would absolutely make Kalego hate you, but it's better than being skewered to death. You can come early I suppose, but they may try to force you to participate.

Kalego must become your familiar. Don't try to help him get out from the other side, but also don't make it too obvious you know what's going on. He's perceptive.

Pray and hope you get the ring of gluttony, because if you don't you'll have to ask Suvi for a mana-storing one so you don't fail your classes.

If possible, get Ameri on your side. But we don't know if your character would fit well with her, so at least start the manga-reading arrangement so that she doesn't tattle to her dad.

That's all for now, I'll try to update this where I comb through all compulsory events one by one, as well as who to to get on your side and who not to piss off.

[h5eavenly]

fuck is yeosang gonna break yeji’s heart now that she loves him? and is he gonna force y/n to be with him in exchange for keeping quiet about everything?

as much as yeji has been crazy annoying the last few chapters, i really feel sorry for her. tbh she’s the main victim in this shit show. like ofc i want hyunjin to know about the bet and everything bc y/n and hyunjin angst is top tier, but also if i was yeji i’d feel humiliated not only by the bet itself but also the fact that people knew about it and didn’t tell me.

idk if it was intentional but i think you’ve done a really good job of subtly showing how alone yeji probably feels rn. the only person paying attention to her atm is yeosang and that’s a trap in itself considering he treats her like shit and is hot and cold with his attention towards her anyway. she’s essentially in a lose-lose situation. and ofc hyunjin has a lot on his plate rn so it’s understandable that talking to yeji isn’t a priority, but i do think he needs to talk to her about her relationship with yeosang at some point. she’s his best friend and he also can somewhat tell it’s toxic relationship since he doesn’t live under a rock lmao. a bit of tough love is great and it’s good that he’s been telling her straight up that yeosang is a bad person and that she’s been lowkey weird since dating him. but as a friend he should also be there for her to seek advice from about concerns in her relationship, and not always dismiss it as simply yeosang’s a dick and you shouldn’t date him. but since he’s made it bluntly clear he hates yeosang and doesn’t want to hear about them she probably feels like she can’t confide in him if she needs to. idk i’m rambling but basically i think it’s completely fine for hyunjin to not prioritise her rn bc of the shitshow going on in his life atm, but i also feel sympathetic for yeji who’s in a manipulative relationship and probably feels isolated since hyunjin has been so dismissive towards her.

and she doesn’t even know about the bet yet so imagine how isolated and humiliated she’ll feel once she does find out. that she defended yeosang and damaged her friendship with hyunjin just for it to blow up in her face. ofc hyunjin will be there for her when that happens but i also feel like she’ll be mad at herself for not believing hyunjin and for ignoring the signs that yeosang is a bad person.

as much as she’s been a nuisance lately, at the end of the day she’s a victim of a toxic relationship and a bet she isn’t even aware of. 🖤

I agree with you yeji is quite literally the ultimate victim in all of this she got played and tossed around first bc of yns misplaced anger and now with yeosang's obsession AND SHE DIDNT EVEN DO ANYTHING SHE JUST EXISTED 😩 i feel so bad for her fr which is why i also have a soft spot for her tbh as for hyunjin situation i think two major traits that play part in the way he acts is the fact that he''s stubborn and strong headed he's the type of person that just needs to time to cool off and soften up so i do see him calming down and talking to yeji a bit later given he really cares about her and its shown a lot specially at the start where he was going head to head with yn for yejis sake🤧 with yeji tho i dont feel like shes gonna open up about yeo soon only because he probably made her feel crazy with all the love bombing at first and now being cold she isnt sure if its real or in her head which is so sad honestly :( i love reading your thoughts after every part i find myself agreeing with you a lot so thank you for writing 🖤

[59writes]

SEVENTEEN- REACTION: THEIR S/O GETS INJURED (PT. 1)

written for the lovely @honeyylin

again, thank u for being my first request, I will love u eternally (:

I might do the other version still, idk yet!!! but I hope this is satisfactory!!!

(also shout out to my phone for autocorrecting “finally” to “fistula” I hate it here lol)

tw: food, injury

SEUNGCHEOL

• Homeboy would do his damn best to stay focused on whatever task at hand!!!

• he knows you’re a responsible person and you reassured him on the phone that you’re completely fine, but he’s still got the jitters

• but after he zones out for the third time in a row, Jihoon kicks him out of the studio and tells him to go home

• “you’ll do better there, hyung.”

• “But… the songs-“

• “you’re not exactly contributing right now. go home.”

• and so he does, fidgeting the whole way back

• his anxiety is truly at a peak as he reaches the apartment door, practically chewing through his lip as he fumbles with the keys

• he calls your name the second the door swings open

• “y/n?”

• your head pops up from the couch, tired but grinning wildly. “Cheol!”

• the next thing you know he’s wrapping you in a hug, tension finally leaving him

• “I thought you were at the studio.” You frown when he finally moves away.

• “Jihoon made me leave.” He pouts, sitting down on the floor, eyes even with your leg, which is propped up on a chair. “I was too… out of it?”

• “Aw. I’m really okay, Cheol.” You assure again, reaching down to grab his hand, giving it a squeeze.

• “I know, I know. Just… worried.”

• It’s very clear he’s trying not to make a fuss and ask a million questions about the state of your existence, so you pat the couch next to you.

• “C’mon, we’ve got the day off now. Do you wanna finish the show?”

• His face reluctantly breaks into a grin, hopping up to join you on the couch

• and both of you forget about the pains for a little while as you lose yourself in the screen

• it’s peaceful and warm, and finally, you both get a chance to slow down

• maybe you should get injured more often (/j)

JEONGHAN

• he trusts that you’re completely fine, but he does not trust that you won’t somehow hurt yourself again

• he will babyproof the house for the next few days

• “nope, you’re not allowed to chop vegetables. give me the celery.”

• “hey! let me get that, idiot, you’re hurt.”

• “I don’t care. If you want the cat then text me and I’ll get her for you.”

• just generally being a nuisance, you know how it is

• but still, in his babyproofing he does make sure you take your pain meds on time, setting a little alarm on his phone so he can wake you up with a glass of water and your pills

• he also doordashes you your favorite food without announcing like he just says “Steve is on his way with food” and you have to just ponder who Steve is until some guy knocks on your door

• “he paid me extra to say that you’re the love of his life, so…”

• “let’s not and say we did.”

• he always makes sure to order something sweet too (:

• but yeah he’s doing work around the house and forcing you to stay in bed

• tbh it’s like having a very bossy butler lol

• but hey, at least he’s actually doing his own laundry for once!

JOSHUA

• oh my god he drops everything when he gets your text

• it’s literally just “hey josh can I get some help? I hurt myself moving some furniture” and this man goes feral

• you know how someone is so anxious that their brain shuts off and they’re scarily calm??? Joshua.

• he’s at your house in like, five minutes

• and tbh you just wanted him to finish moving the bookshelf so you didn’t have to

• but now he’s gently scolding you while wiping dirt and blood from your leg

• it’s not even that big of a cut but he’s treating it like open heart surgery

• like his hands are so gentle…

• of course he moves the bookshelf after a little more scolding before like,,, making soup like this man would definitely make soup

• like it’s just an annoying cut that’s gonna leave a bruise and this man is making some chicken noodle in the next room over like you’re dying of pneumonia

• it’s some good ass soup tho (:

JUN

• he would not know what to do tbh but he would be excellent company while you waited to heal

• he’d definitely be very panicky but would hide it as best he could!! cuz you’re the top priority!!!

• he’d lurk and when you get up he’d be like “do you need anything? aspirin? food?” and you’re just like “Jun I’m good I just need to go to the bathroom”

• he definitely knows exactly what you like, and does his best to do things like keep your favorite show on, or make you tea.

• (even when you assure him that you’re fine)

• his help is very random and antsy but still excellent lol

• and the fact that he’s constantly here to help really proves how much he cares about you and your health (:

HOSHI

• oh god, this man

• he’d be all over the place

• overreacting and then scolding and then just zoning out and then he falls asleep smh.

• this man would get out a chainsaw and ask which door you stubbed your toe on so he can destroy it lol

• but alas, no chainsaw is around (thank goodness)

• and so Soonyoung just gets to blame everything else while you’re replacing bandages or whatever

• like, he’s going on about how “just because they have safety stickers on ladders doesn’t mean they’re safe!!” and you’ll hold out your hand for gauze and he’d instinctively just grab it and put it in your hand even though he’s on a bit of a rampage

• he also most definitely is the kind to get a stuffed animal for when you’re hurt lol like every time you get sick or injured badly he gets you a bear that says “get well soon” on its stomach or on the heart it holds in its hands and eventually you just have a pile of creatures encouraging you to be healthy

WONWOO

• this man is just. excellent

• he’s caring without being demeaning, and is just so so so helpful

• he comes home and sees your arm bandaged up and just asks what happened

• and you tell him the story and he tries to hide his smile when he hears about your dumb mistake

• but still he’s patient and willing to help!!

• it’s like he could read your mind on what you needed and would just materialize behind you with a drink or an aspirin or something

• and he’d stay in the room with you whenever he could, reading or texting silently

• it was nice having such a caring presence next to you, even if he didn’t chat much

• I mean, the quiet helped you nap more easily too

• and somehow whenever you woke up, he was still there, keeping an eye on you

• if he had to leave for whatever reason he’d gently wake you up to let you know he was headed out and to call him if you need anything

• he makes the healing process peaceful (:

WOOZI

• when he hears the news he’s just. suddenly very very quiet

• like this man is out of it.

• he brushes off the others when they ask what happened, and makes it through the day fairly uneventfully

• when he gets home you almost don’t hear him, only noticing when he shuts the door

• “Jihoon?”

• He beelines straight to you before wrapping you in a huge hug. big tight hug.

• definitely swaying back and forth a little <3

• but you’re just like “woah ok bud what’s up with you”

• and one look at his face says everything

• it’s just been so much: the stress of a comeback, dealing with the managers and the other boys, and then his s/o gets hurt on top of that?

• maybe he needs a break too

• and so you both take one

• I hope you like sleeping lol

• basically you guys take the next few days to recover, just ordering food up and watching shows in silence before falling asleep together on the couch or even the floor once (hey the rug is soft!!!)

• and one day you wake up to find your injury no longer aching

• and the bed is empty next to you

• so you get up and peer down the hallway

• and Jihoon is in the kitchen, playing soft classical music while cutting vegetables

• he notices as you approach, silently offering you a carrot stick

• “I see you’re feeling better too?”

• he nods.

• you both spend the rest of the morning waking up again, cleaning the house and making food, Jihoon’s energy and personality slowly coming back too

• maybe your break wasn’t as much of him taking care of you, but you taking care of each other

• almost as if you’re tied together somehow, your ups and downs mutual

• either way, after that you’re both a lot more aware of the balance and way of recovery you two have

• and you can predict things in advance for next time!

[hail-dondus]

His Dark Materials - Season 2 Episode 5 (rambles)

I only realized last week, there’s only 7 episodes this series because the eighth would have been the Asriel centric one. So only two left now after tonight! :(

Also I finished the book during the last week so I am so READY

Ahh gotta love that London traffic!

I don’t know why but the Golden Monkey wearing a seatbelt SENT ME

Mrs Coulter is watching the mother and baby :(

Boreal saying that our world is barbaric and our world is corrupt is so accurate tbh I’m not even mad

Will literally just threw the knife into the wall omfg watch it!

Red PAN-da is becoming a permanent fixture in this show apparently

Lyra’s hair was so pretty this episode? Her costume too obviously but her hair had me in awe

The theme music to this show gives me literal chills

Boreal is evil but his house is A-fucking-plus

Okay but how does Ruth Wilson always look so gorgeous and fluid in this show?!?

Her faking nearly dropping one of Boreal’s precious collection pieces and him panicking 😅

Mrs Coulter’s little “hmm” and smile... we love a Queen

“Why are we whispering?” “I don’t know” - LMFAO

“Will, you left the window open” - LMAO and also please don’t do that, that’s like one of the BIG rules about the knife!

“He’s getting good at this” “he is” - we love a supportive feral wild girl and her dæmon

Mrs Coulter looking bored as fuck as Boreal plays his music is such a damn mood

“You’d like it here too” - Umm NO STOP PLEASE SHE DOESNT WANT IT

“Carlo, can you make that stop?” - OMG 🤣

“You’re far too conspicuous like that” - but she’s not??? She just looks like a posh well dressed woman, maybe that’s not common in this world but she looks fine??

Boreal picking out clothes he’s obviously got just for her is... eww. Just ewww.

Her reaction to the jeans/clothes though XD

“Would you mind?” - YEAH BOREAL STOP CREEPING AND FUCK OFF PLEASE

“Maybe it’s time we issue a firm denial of the tear in the sky” BRO IT’S LITERALLY HUGE AND RIGHT THERE YOU CAN’T PRETEND IT AIN’T

Oh shit the Magisterium know about that witches going to the new world + the massacre

MacPhail literally imprisoned Father Graves and for WHAT?! I think the power’s getting to him (which I know it the point but still!)

MRS COULTER SHUT THE DOOR ON HER DÆMON I’M-

Okay so I know it’s been implied/said that Mrs Coulter can go far away from the monkey already, and that they maybe have been through some kind of process that’s made that a thing, but like DAMN.

“I’m sure you’ve encountered witches in your travels” - if I hadn’t already read the books, I would be asking if she IS a witch tbh like omg

This is probably one of the few times I’ll say this but... I feel so sorry for the monkey?? Just him watching her as she leaves from the window... like that’s so sad. I get why she couldn’t exactly walk around with a monkey but urgh

“I apologize if she was a nuisance” “She wasn’t a nuisance!” - Oof you tell her, Mary

“You must be so proud.” “... I am.” - OOF

Mary showing that she’s better fit to be a parent to Lyra than Lyra’s real mother tbh

Damn Marisa disappeared FAST

Mary really googled Mrs Coulter I’m-

“You must play the serpent” “hornbeam” “save the girl and the boy” - IT’S HAPPENING IM GOING TO CRY IM SO EXCITED

The computer turning completely off and the room going dark before going red OH MY GOD

“Oh shut it, Pan” - LMAO

OH NO OH NO ANGELICA FOUND TULLIO AND SHE IS PISSED D:

A+ acting from Bella Ramsay by the way

“We WILL get you” - OH SHIT

The fact that Will feels guilty over fighting and inadvertently getting Tullio attacked by spectres because he has the knife :’(

It’s so sweet to see Lyra and Pan comforting him though

“I’m not judging” - Mary’s sister says while totally judging her for reading the Holy Bible. She probably thinks she’s about to rejoin the convent!

I find the relationship between Marisa and the monkey so interesting?? I’m so intrigued by it

“Do they drink in this world?” “That, they do well.” - LMFAO ACCURATE THOUGH

“I found her arrogant, like many women in this world.” - umm, FUCK you, Boreal you misogynistic sexist piece of shit

So Mrs Coulter was denied a doctorate despite being the best in her class because she’s a woman, and they would only have published her papers if they were by a man. I’m starting to see why she got upset when she met Mary, who’s got her own office and a doctorate and is head of the department/project

“Who I could have been in this world” - oh shIT

The way she started talking about how she felt after the whole affair/baby ordeal, followed by “we’re not talking about Asriel, we’re talking about ME” - FUCK. I love Ruth Wilson’s portrayal, I love it

“You’ve spent your time trading trinkets” - lmfao you tell him ma’am

“Were you hoping to add me to your little collection?” “I was hoping this would be a life for you here” - oh god I hate it, fuck right off Carlo

“If you got me, you wouldn’t even begin to know what to do with me” - oh SHIT :O

Lyra turning up to distract them so Will could have the chance to cut a window and steal the Alethiometer had me on the edge of my seat

Let’s be real right now, the whole last 15 minutes? THE MOST TENSE AND INCREDIBLE PIECE OF TELEVISION ASDFGHJKL

Mrs Coulter’s face when she saw Lyra at the door :’(

Also she nearly saw Will and I was sitting there praying she wouldn’t find him, I was so worried even though I’ve literally just reread the book

So um THE FUCKING MONKEY BASTARD JUMPSCARED ME AND I AUDIBLY YELLED SO LOUDLY HOLY HECK

The way that Lyra saw her mum and immediately tried to run away though, she just keeps trying to yeet herself away from her parents and I honestly don’t blame her at all

Boreal was being truly extra in the way he dropped his snake dæmon out of his sleeve like that whilst advancing on Will

“Why would I trust you?” TRUTH

Coulter saying for Lyra to stay away from Will and getting super teary eyed makes me think she’s worried Lyra will suffer like she did? Like she’s worried that Lyra will suffer at the hands of men and be in the same situation she was I think? And that’s so sad but nuanced

“I am NOTHING like you.”

So Lyra did this little head move like Marisa did in 1x02, when she made the monkey attack Pan to subdue Lyra - AND THEN PAN ATTACKED THE MONKEY JUST LIKE THAT, LITERALLY EXACTLY THE SAME, AND MRS COULTER FALLING TO THE FLOOR AND CLUTCHING THE SOFA LIKE LYRA DID?? AND LYRA WATCHING WITH THIS COLD LOOK ON HER FACE?!

SOMEONE PLEASE MAKE A COMPARISON GIFSET BECAUSE IM CRYING

I love Will getting mad at Boreal taunting him over his mum, and immediately starting to punch him

HE SMASHED THAT COLLECTION PIECE ON BOREAL’S HEAD FUCK YEAH WILL 👏🏻

That was a DAMN close escape, holy fuck, but she’s got the Alethiometer back!

“The man who hurt you, I wanted to kill him” - same Lyra

I was so emotional when she was talking about how Marisa used her dæmon to hurt her and Pan, and Will saying that he’s never worried about his mum hurting him... the comparison is so sad

“I hope I’m not like either of my parents” - I mean I don’t blame her tbh

SHE CONSIDERED MA COSTA AND LEE SCORESBY TO BE BETTER PARENT FIGURES TO BE LIKE I’M CRYING

So Mrs Coulter is definitely planning some shit, like she didn’t seem that concerned when Boreal was talking about the Spectres, and like obviously I know what happens but I’ve always been intrigued as to why the Spectres listen to her instead of just attacking her. Also is it something to do with her dæmon? Like if they ARE separated in some way, maybe the Spectres don’t feed on her because it’s Dust or something? (Idk if that makes any sense)

“Deceive the guardian... okay... okay...” honestly same XD

Mary pretending to be Mrs Coulter to get past the guard is such a brilliant idea, like she just ran with it immediately, we have to stan a Queen who keeps a calm head

SHE WENT THROUGH THE WINDOW AND INTO THE CITY AAAAHHHH

The angels said they’d protect her, right? So she doesn’t need to fear the Spectres I’m assuming (I need to assume or I’ll worry)

The promo for next week was literally half what we saw THIS week and half Lee/John Parry footage I’m assuming is next week... ?

The fact there’s only two episodes left makes me so sad :( I have no idea what I’ll do waiting for the final series - and I’m assuming it’ll be delayed maybe because of Covid. Plus I’m hoping we get the extra episode NEXT series, the one that was Asriel-centred and supposed to be in this one but wasn’t filmed because of Coronavirus, so fingers crossed! 🤞

[iamanartichoke]

[please blacklist spoiler tags: #loki tv series spoilers, #loki series spoilers, #loki spoilers]

Yes, I did just watch episode 2 at 5:30 in the morning.

No, I am not sorry. Not at the moment, although when I inevitably crash later this afternoon, I will be.

Just some very, very quick - and scattered and messy - thoughts: That is a straight up lie; they’re definitely scattered and messy but not very quick at all.

Under the cut for spoilers and length.

I’m going to start with Loki’s characterization. My honest opinion is that Loki’s overall characterization feels like a fic characterization. He definitely is not Avengers Loki, like, at all. I don't know if Tom just, like, forgot how to play that Loki or ...?? That, or Loki was so much more mind-controlled than we realized and getting hulk-smashed just completely reset him back to zero but also fucked him up a little bit and affected his personality, kind of like how some people completely develop weird new personality quirks after a traumatic brain injury.

… yeah, I think that’s where I’m gonna land for now. TV series!Loki feels like a more-or-less canon version of Loki, but if that Loki got hit in the head really hard and now he’s just a little bit fucked up but overall no worse for the wear. Which - it may be that it’s so early in the morning, but that’s actually really fucking funny to me, lmao. God, I kill me. It’s not funny.

No, but, that’s pretty much how I feel. He’s ooc but he’s also ic, and the reason I’m not particularly bothered by the inconsistency, for lack of a better word, is because that’s what pretty much every fic Loki already feels like to me? (Including my own, so I’m not, like, saying that in a derogatory way.) Which is why I say Loki feels like a fic!Loki and to try to explain it better - there is always, for me, a little suspension of disbelief that I employ when I read fic. The reason for that is because the context, the plot, and the dynamics of the fic are usually pretty different than what we ever get in canon, so it becomes a matter of taking film!Loki and, like, bending him a bit in order to fit him into the perimeters of the fic.

The result ends up being that I don’t see the exact Avengers!Loki or TDW!Loki, and thus by definition the portrayal is ooc, but the version that I do see feels like a genuine extension of the canon version, possessing enough of Loki’s overall traits and characteristics that he feels authentic, albeit a bit pretzeled for the new context.

I honestly think that’s something that’s unavoidable, just due to the fact that in fic - and now, in this series - there are a lot more variables at play than there are in the films, wherein Loki is not just a supporting character but also the villain/antagonist and is therefore very limited in what he does/what the narrative allows him to do. When those limitations are taken away, what are we going to see? Probably a lot of different things, and yeah, a lot of them are going to feel a little ooc. And, like in fic, even if the characterization mostly lands, there are definitely bits and pieces (some fics more than others lean this way) where the author didn’t stick the landing or got carried away or otherwise probably forgot for a while that they were writing Loki, not their own OC.

That’s the point where it strays into cringe territory for me (and where the ‘heh, he’s Loki but with a brain injury’ aspect comes in), but while I had to consciously decide to just ignore those moments, overall the tone in this episode felt a bit more balanced between the new, the old, and the cringe, and less whiplash-y from the beginning of the episode to the end.

… I have no idea if that makes sense, but what I’m basically saying is that while I am enjoying this version of Loki, I do recognize all of the ways he’s ooc but, unlike how I feel about Ragnarok!Loki, the ooc-ness feels genuine and unavoidable rather than just a fundamental and careless misunderstanding of the character altogether. In other words, I feel like any ooc-ness here is happening despite the writers taking care to do their best, and isn’t just a result of Loki being lazily written by a person or persons who just doesn’t want to bother with him at all.

Again, I don’t know if that makes sense, but fuck it, there we are and I’m moving on.

I liked all of the little details, including again, things that felt straight out of fic, like Loki asking Mobius why he has the jetski magazine. (Also, if any of my thorki friends read this, was I the only one who noticed that when we see Loki reading the magazine, it just happens to be open to a page with a picture featuring a jet skier who looks like Thor? l.m.a.o.)

Loki interrupting things to explain the difference between illusions vs the other power (I can’t remember which one, off hand, and if I stop writing to go look it up I will lose my train of thought and not finish this) was great, but his overall input and contributions to the missions inspired very mixed feelings for me. On the one hand, I loved that the narrative, via Loki, is reminding us of all these things that he’s capable of that the films generally left out or brushed aside or ignored - but, every time he spoke, he was met with eye rolls and sighs and just a general feeling of “someone please shut this guy up” and I didn’t like the narrative treating him that way.

But also, it’s understandable bc none of the people on his team are actually on his team. None of them want him there (story of Loki’s fucking life), none of them trust him, and none of them are particularly interested in hearing what he has to say. So it’s like, I understand why they reacted the way they did, and I don’t think their reactions are meant to support an overall narrative undermining of Loki’s skills and input - but, the tone is hard to read for me bc I am very defensive and protective of Loki. I can’t quite determine the line between the TVA agents being unreliable narrators (ie, they’re annoyed by Loki bc of who he is to them, but that doesn’t mean the audience is supposed to feel the same) and the TVA agents validating that Loki is just being a nuisance (and, thus, the audience is supposed to feel the same).

That is, I know how I am consuming the narrative (that they’re unreliable narrators), but I’m not sure if that’s how tptb are intending for me to consume the narrative - and I guess it doesn’t really matter, but it’s worth mentioning.

In general, I really liked, again, Loki existing in his own space and watching the way he carried himself. I especially found it interesting that his hands were almost always in his pockets - for one thing it's a stance I tend to imagine him taking often in fic, but also it’s kind of a weird choice bc pockets don’t seem to be a thing in Asgardian clothing. It makes me feel like Loki is the kind of person who never knows what to do with his hands but is always conscious of them, as is common among anxious and self-conscious people, and I just find that relatable on a weird level.

I am really kinda torn on Mobius in this episode; when not interrogating Loki, he’s much less antagonistic toward Loki and therefore I’m more inclined to take-him-or-leave-him but I’ll go ahead and take him I guess. Yet at the same time, bc he’s not interrogating Loki he’s also not trying to put on a show for Loki and when you take that away, he really doesn’t seem to like Loki at all. It supports that Mobius only wants what Loki can do for him and doesn’t actually particularly care about him as a person, which is fine and more or less what I figured, but it contributes to me not really being able to decide how I feel about him in general. Idk, though, I kinda like their dynamic? Like I want them to end up friends?

Regardless, Tom and Owen have amazing chemistry and it’s really funny to me bc (not to be a jerk) I honestly didn’t know Owen Wilson could act. Like, I’ve never seen him in a role where he wasn’t just playing Owen Wilson. So for him to not only be playing Mobius so well but also having such chemistry and a sense of holding-his-own against Tom Hiddleston is like, color me surprised but pleasantly so.

I like B-15 a lot, even though she obviously hates Loki, so idk why I like her but I do. I like Renslayer less, but meh. (Side note - when I was in undergrad in Syracuse, I took the Amtrak from Syracuse to Boston and back more than a few times, for reasons that aren’t relevant, and that route always had a layover at Albany-Rensselaer and every single time I see Renslayer’s name, I want to call her Rensselaer instead.) Shout out to the guest appearance by Casey, sorry Loki stole your juice lmfao.

The moments from the trailer that were very cringe were less so in context (though still kinda cringe, tbh). I think we’ve seen most of the content from the trailers in the first two episodes now, though, which means going forward, it’s going to be like 95% previously unseen material (aside from the brief apocalyptic shots and so forth).

One thing I fucking loved was how Loki, reading about Ragnarok, was visibly affected and even teared up a bit, and you could tell he was in his feels about it, but then later when Mobius expresses sympathy, Loki is just like, “Uh huh, very sad, but anyway.” It was a subtle (well maybe not that subtle) but effective way to remind us that what Loki presents to other people is more often than not a mask and he keeps his true feelings close to the chest. It makes last week’s breakdown have even more of an impact, I think, bc clearly Loki was at the end of his rope to allow himself to show that much raw emotion and vulnerability, but also - for me - there’s a niggling little doubt there that wasn’t there before, in that there was probably more performance in it than I thought.

By which I mean, I think his reaction to the film of his life when he was alone was genuine but, while I previously thought his admission to Mobius later was also genuine, I now think was probably half genuine and half performative. I know others already figured that out, but I’m a little slow and, also, I don’t mind changing my opinion and interpretation from week to week.

Along the same lines, I wasn’t exactly surprised to see that Loki is “undercover” in the TVA, but it was nice to see it acknowledged fairly quickly. Not sure I buy that Loki wants to overthrow and rule the TVA - it’s still a little too “Loki only wants a throne” for me, but again, just because that’s what he told the variant doesn’t mean that’s actually what he’s after.

And, finally, I like the variant, I love Loki’s reaction to seeing her, and while I realize that the show has acknowledged Loki’s gender fluidity and we’re meant to assume that Lady Loki (I guess? Not sure if we’re going with that or not here) is Loki, I saw a theory somewhere about how this is actually not Loki-Loki, but - I wanna say her name Sophie but that’s the actress, again I can’t go look it up bc I will lose my train of thought - but it’s a character who is similar to Amora and who was created by Loki and models herself as Loki but she’s actually someone else.

Ugh I can’t remember the details of the theory, but I am kinda going with it bc I don’t think that Loki would look so - not surprised but just kind of “oh, well, I wasn’t expecting that” if he were seeing the female version of himself. Like, he doesn’t seem to recognize her the way I assume he would recognize himself, male or female. Not only does that make me feel like she’s actually someone else, but also not recognizing her as the female version of himself doesn’t necessarily mean Loki doesn’t recognize her at all. He may very well recognize her as this other Amora-similar character and, if so, I really want to see how that character fits with MCU Loki (as I think she’s a comic book character but, again, I’d have to go back and find that theory).

Edit: I found a version of it here.

Overall score, B-. Mostly solid, but needs moar Loki breakdowns and tears. (That's just me, don't fucking judge me.) Also, I really hate that we have to wait a week between episodes. I wish they were following Netflix’s method of dropping the entire season at once but, then again, if they did that, I’m not sure any of us would survive.

I gotta get ready for work and I deleted and rewrote so much of this and it still seems nonsensical to me, lmfao fml. Anyway feel free to interact/send me asks/whatever, it’s going to be a long fucking day with all of this on my mind. I’ll be working my way through my dash as best as I can.

Oh, also! Loki is so fucking pretty in this episode! The TVA suit is ugly, but he makes it work, and his hair's combed nicely and he looks like he finally got an opportunity to sleep and shower and eat something and, yknow, it's working for him.

[littleoddwriter]

Annoying | Roman Sionis x Male!Reader

"hi,,,, me again,,,, back,,,, with another request,,,,, 24 and 16,,,, with roman? like reader is talking about their hyper fixation (I don't mind what it is) while roman is trying to work on something and without thinking just snaps about trying to work and that reader needs to stop being so annoying, reader then withdraws into themselves because rsd is a bitchhhh and later roman is trying to act like he never did anything but reader is still :( and when roman asks why and reader is like "you called me annoying" roman just rolls his eyes and is like "you gotta stop taking things so seriously" which just further upsets reader (you can choose how to solve this, and stuff, how forgiveness is given and stuff idk) thanks ily bby" @theamazingspideymerc​ A/N: I hope this is to your liking. Ily2, my dear! 

summary; You talk about your current hyper fixation [Unus Annus, a (now in real time, but not in the fic) deleted YouTube channel], while Roman’s working, so he snaps at you. A small argument ensues, but you forgive and forget quickly.

notes: TW // Small fight/Fighting; RSD (Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria) + Abandonment Issues (due to past trauma). Male!Reader; Emotional Hurt/Comfort; Forgive and Forget; Actually communicating after a small fight; Hyper Fixations.

"And like it's gonna end soon and I'm really sad about it, right? But I'm also kinda happy because they'll have time for their own projects again and I can't imagine how stressful it must have been to put out a video every single day. Like, Mark and Ethan and Amy, Evan and all the editors were so busy every single day with it, but it was definitely worth it. And I mean, some of the videos were so fucking high quality and stuff. Most were like really long shit posts, though, and I loved it and I'm gonna miss it, but---"

"Fuck, y/n, could you stop being so fucking annoying for one second? I'm trying to actually get some work done here," Roman interrupted you harshly, piercing you with an angry glare.

Immediately your mouth clamped shut, your eyes filled with tears, your face and ears burned, and you lowered your head, as to not let him see your lower lip wobble.

"I'm sorry," you whispered.

Roman just turned back around and continued working. You were left sitting on the chaise longue, feeling exposed, hurt, guilty and ashamed. Curling in on yourself, you drew your legs up, so your knees were against your chest, as you wrapped your arms around them and lowered your head on them.

You just wanted to disappear.

This was it. It had to be. You annoyed Roman one too many times and now he would break up with you and tell you to fuck off, never wanting to see you again.

You tried very hard not to cry. You didn't want to disturb him any further by being loud while sobbing uncontrollably.

Though with the effort of holding it back, your entire body was quaking. You felt so uncomfortable. You just wanted to go, but you couldn't make yourself get up and go to the bathroom or bedroom, lest you would only annoy Roman by moving around.

A while later - you couldn't pinpoint how long it's been, but your entire body felt stiff and ached - Roman got up from the dining table and moved over to you, sitting down next to you.

"Come out of your shell, baby, hm? I'm done, now. If you like, we can eat then. All this fucking work's made me hungry," he said, tapping your shoulder and then squeezing one of your arms that was wrapped around your legs.

The lump in your throat felt so big, you couldn't make yourself talk, couldn't loosen it. Only a tiny whimper made it past your lips, making you cringe inwardly.

"Baby, come on. What is it, hm?" Roman asked, squeezing you again and then nudging you.

"You called me annoying." It was a hoarse whisper, hardly audible at all.

"Fuck. You've got to stop taking things so seriously all the time."

The grip your hands had on your legs tightened with what he said.

"It's not as easy as you make it out to be, Roman." Your voice broke throughout, it was so raw and hoarse from holding back those tears and not drinking anything for hours.

"Oh, come on. You know I wasn't serious. I was just busy and agitated by what I was working on. It didn't have shit to do with you. 'Kay?"

"That's not what it sounded like to me."

"Well, it's the fucking truth, though." Roman rolled his eyes and sighed.

You finally looked up at him, hurt written all over your face, your eyes shining with unshed tears.

"Look, I'm okay with you telling me that I need to shut it because you're working and I'm sorry that I haven't stopped talking sooner, okay? I just don't realise it sometimes. But you don't need to be such a fucking asshole about it."

Roman clenched his jaw and nodded jerkily.

"'Kay then," he rasped and got up, walking away from you, away from this conversation.

"Fuck," you muttered. "Roman, I'm sorry. Please!" Your voice broke even more as you raised it to still reach his ears, as he was almost in the hallway.

Roman halted and turned around, facing you again. His face was twisted with barely concealed hurt and anger.

"What?" He hissed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think. I'm sorry. Please, come back. Can't we just talk this through? Please?"

He took a deep breath and sighed, his shoulders sagging with it, the anger leaving his face, but the hurt remained. Then he walked back over to you and sat down again.

"Fine. Let's fucking talk then."

"Thank you," you whispered.

He jerked his head in a resemblance of a nod.

"People always shut me up and told me I'm annoying, too much, a nuisance, and so on, when I would talk about my hyper fixations, you know? All my fucking life, everyone would make me feel bad and ashamed for it. Not like I had much control over it. Though I started bottling it up and shutting up, instead writing about it on the internet or whatever. So that I'd stop annoying everyone around me and possibly make them hate me."

You paused, swallowing thickly.

"Yet, surprisingly you listened, even though I know you couldn't give less of a fuck. You don't make me feel bad about this stuff, you just listen and sometimes say something about it or ask questions and it's nice, y'know? 'Cause no one's ever bothered to do that for me before. And now-"

A wry laugh left your lips. Tears welled up again. A lump developed in your throat.

"Now you called me annoying, just like everyone else. And I can't help but fear that you will leave me. That you fucking hate me, that I've been annoying you all this time and now it was just one time too many. Roman, I don't want you to leave me because I keep talking about things you don't care about. I don't want you to hate me because I'm fucking annoying."

You couldn't make eye contact with him throughout the whole speech, looking anywhere but at him, like you always did when you talked.

He inhaled sharply, which made you look at him. Tears shone in his eyes.

"Fuck. I didn't mean to- Fuck! You're not annoying, baby. You're not. I was really just tired and fucking done because of work, is all. Your talking was grating on my ears and making it fucking hard for me to focus. That's why I snapped. I didn't even think of what I was fucking saying. I'm not gonna fucking leave you for talking, baby. I'm not."

An ugly sounding sob finally tore itself from your throat and tears rolled down your eyes, as you lowered your legs after all this time. Roman wrapped his arms around you and pulled you in close, your head resting against his chest. Your tears soaked his expensive cotton shirt, but he didn't seem to care. He rubbed your arms soothingly, as you trembled with the force of your emotions.

"Ssshhh, baby, sh sh sh," Roman shushed you gently, pressing kisses in your hair and nuzzling it. "I'm not leaving you, 'kay?"

"O-Okay," you whimpered in between snivels. "I'm sorry, though. I overreacted. I'm sorry."

"Don't. It's over now, isn't it? It doesn't fucking matter anymore, yeah?"

You nodded against his chest. It didn't matter, not now, not anymore. Perhaps only until the next time he would snap at you again, but until then it would stay in the past. 

[asknightqueendany]

To me, The thing about Dany character that makes her so complex, interesting and at the same time loved and hated is that she is not the usual perfect fantasy character who is strong, super smart, funny, brave and all of that. I mean sure, Dany is smart, but she is also very impulsive, she is resourceful, but not the scheming type. She is brave and fierce (probably the bravest character ever created to me) but she does show her fears. She is strong but she does have vulnerabilities that make her relatable. She is far from boring but she is not the funny type who always cracks a joke, as she is very intense and dramatic. I love the fact that GrrM creates such multidimensional characters. And even if many people people will probably disagree with me, the thing that stands out more about her is that she is the most compassionate (even if sometimes ruthless), idealistic and kind character in ASOIAF.

Don’t know when you sent this anon but sorry for the late answer as I know I haven’t been on in a while and whenever I am, my inbox never shows new asks even when there are new ones. 

Anyway, while my gut says this is an ask from someone who is genuinely Dany neutral, it sounds like one of those backhanded compliment things. And a lot of this just, I’m sorry, doesn’t ring true for me?

1) When is Dany impulsive? I mean, in order to give a character a label like that, you realize this has to be something that is a regular occurrence, right? The only thing coming to my head right now is Dany claiming the Lhazareen women in AGOT cuz that was entirely unplanned. But... seeing as how she saved people and seeing as how this is the only example coming to mind right now, I wouldn’t call Dany “impulsive” just for this one act. Everything else she does, she usually has a plan. She might not reveal that plan to her advisors or even the audience before she acts, but George usually writes things in a way so that we know Dany at least knew ahead of time what she was going to do. Like with the Unsullied in Astapor, when she burned MMD to hatch the dragons, etc. We didn’t see her thinking and making plans ahead of time, but we know that she had been planning them when said plans are acted out. 

2) A character showing their fears is usually never looked down on and actually, antis like to argue that Dany is arrogant and not self-reflective, which would imply not showing her fears. So idk why you even consider this a “negative” about her. I’ve literally never seen an anti make this argument or anyone say they dislike Dany because she shows her fears. Again, most of those scenes where we do see Dany express her fears are largely ignored by that side of the fandom. And, after all, “Can a [wo]man still be brave if [s]he’s afraid?” “That is the only time a [wo]man can be brave.”

Same thing with Dany’s “vulnerabilities”. Antis never typically use them as a negative against her because they like to pretend Dany thinks she’s perfect and therefore utterly unrelatable. 

3) Using “humor” as a negative against a woman in any context is usually sexist, no matter which way you swing it. Just, no. And Dany does say funny things. She has way more personality in the books than in the show. Though show Dany will live in my heart forever.

4) Everyone is intense and dramatic. Tyrion killed his father on the crapper for saying the word “whore” repeatedly. 

The “negatives” people often use as reason to hate Dany are just... stupid made up shit. It’s fine to dislike a character, just fucking be honest about it. And antis never are. So they have to make up dumb things about Dany that aren’t true in order to justify not liking her. And often, their criteria are things they also do not apply to other characters. Like, impulsivity. Sure, if you hate impulsive characters and you miss Dany’s nuisances and think she’s impulsive, that would make sense. But then you should dislike Tyrion for being very impulsive because he actually frequently is. And yet, those people usually don’t mind Tyrion, or any other character. The hatred for her is almost always for other reasons that are entirely unrelated to who Dany is and what actions she takes. It’s almost always because of another character people believe Dany takes the spotlight from. And I’m tired of people pretending otherwise. 

[parachutingkitten]

Season 5 Analysis

STANDARD DISCLAIMER: I am going to be applying the concept of criticism to a TV show you presumably love and adore as much as I do. If you do not want your idea that the show is immaculate to be challenged, I would not advise reading past this point.

Additional Disclaimer: This includes criticism of Nya’s arc, so if you’re the type of person to get catty about this subject, turn back now.

Mood for this season: It’s spoopy time.

You don’t need to, but if you are interested, and haven’t seen my analysis of past seasons, you can find those here:

Pilot - Season 1 - Season 2 - Season 3 - Season 4

You can also find all of these, and future installments, on my blog using the tag #analysis 

Hey everyone! I’m still doing these things! Let’s see, when was my last one? Over two years ago...? Yikes, I owe y’all an apology. I really didn’t mean to put these off that long. Anyway, get ready to hate me, cuz although (for the most part) this seems to be the fandom favorite season… I think it’s overhyped. I know, don’t kill me. I’ll explain myself. I don’t think it’s bad or anything, it’s very well structured, but I definitely wouldn’t rank it among my favorites. First, for a little context, I am making a one second of every ninjago episode video right now, so I’ve been binging the series and all it’s shorts back to back, so I think I’ll have a bit more to say about connective tissue between seasons, and hopefully you guys can look forward to more of these analyses between now and the new year when I’m releasing that video. I’m also officially a film major now so… sorry if I come of as extra pretentious or get too deep. Anyway, let’s jump into the thick of it, shall we? 

Plot

This is probably the area I have the fewest number of complaints about. This season has a breakneck pace and it keeps everyone busy. I think that’s why people like it. Everyone’s favorite has something to do. Which brings me to the question… which ninja’s season is this? Lloyd is on a lot of the promotional stuff, but he’s possessed and out of the picture for over half the season, so that can’t be right. Cole turns into a ghost, and the season is a ghost season, but that can’t be right cuz I don’t know that I’ve ever heard anyone claim it was his. Nya reaches her true potential, maybe it’s hers? Well, she does have a large b-plot, but she is consistently not a part of the a-plot. Kai has a whole thing with being protective of Lloyd, he has his fear of water, maybe it’s just another Kai season? Thing is, it’s no one’s. It is an ensemble season, and I think that’s a healthy thing for ninjago to keep doing. The more we label certain seasons for certain ninja, the more complaining we’ll get about who’s turn it is for screen time that we’ll miss out on telling a good story. Also, If the season is focused on a ninja you don’t like, you are less likely to like the season (see my next analysis for that can of worms). Again, this season tells it’s story really well. Morro directly ties into the ending of last season, and Nya’s getting water powers was foreshadowed the season before. That’s some cool connective tissue to start. The opening episode establishes the three different things the ninja will be looking for, and for once they’re actual tools instead of a series of weapons, blades, masks, whatever. I like that. Jay has some really good humor, Zane has his speech changes, Kai has his irrational fears and protective instincts, Cole has his ghost angst, Lloyd has to deal with his father’s passing, Nya is a new water ninja, Wu has a shop to run and a student to reconnect with, even Ronin has an arc about developing morals and gaining friends. There’s the mystery about how to deal with the ghosts, what the rules are, there’s the leader subplot, the ninja’s money situation, and lore of the different realms, they even worked in Skylor and Borg, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on. This is a tightly woven script that manages to include a lot of new concepts that you get pretty quick. I don’t feel like there’s even that much fat to cut. The opening is a little slow and strange, and the cloud kingdom episode feels a little unnecessary, but I do like the idea of visiting a different realm early in the season so the audience isn’t caught off guard in the climax. Again, the plot all works for me, it’s the other stuff I find myself pretty meh on.

Characters

Ronin

I’m pretty sure Ronin is the only new (non villain) character introduced. I like him a lot. Ninjago needed a true wildcard to shake things up and be unpredictable. I also think he’s pretty nicely woven into the action of the plot. I think his introduction is a bit strange. Like, the ninja already know him, but we’ve never seen him before? Just the way they talk about him sounds like they’re quickly recapping who this guy is for those who missed previous episodes. It’s fine if the ninja already know him but either 1) Introduce or foreshadow him a season earlier or 2) Introduce their dynamic to the audience before it becomes plot relevant. Maybe the ninja are grumbling about him being a nuisance while tea shenanigans are going on or something. Or maybe you have a scene of him stealing the scroll and making snarky remarks about the ninja while he does it. Idk. just something so his sudden plot relevance isn’t out of nowhere. Also, I don’t hate his and Nya’s dynamic, but I know a lot of people love it, and I’m just not totally here for it. Is he supposed to be a father figure for her? Mentor? Frienemy? Just plain friend? (love interest???) it’s not super clear and I could have used some clarification. I also like his use and tie to the next season, so overall, well integrated character.

Nya

I’m adding in Nya here cuz she goes through a major character change, and how she’s handled is one of the things that rubs me the wrong way about the season. A lot of people will probably disagree and/or hate me for this section of the analysis so… here we go! The thing she has to get past to reach her true potential is fear of failure (supposedly) and the solution to that is to just… not care as much? First of all, I know this isn’t supper important, but the fun thing about the ninjago elements is that every elemental master matched up personality wise with their element. Jay is the energetic master of lightning, Kai is the hothead master of fire, Zane is the calm and calculating master of ice, Cole is the strong and dependable master of earth, Lloyd is the literal child master of energy. This especially goes for all the new season 4 masters. So what qualities are often associated with water personalities? Well, serenity, control, flexibility, elegance, patience… calm. You know, like a Zane type character (the element directly adjacent to hers). These are things that Nya isn’t - or at the very least don’t define her. (there’s also something to be said about water and its ties to more feminine qualities, which Nya has been actively shown to reject, but I won’t go into that rant here.) She was designed as the fire master’s sister, and when you try to fit a fire personality into a water shaped character mold… it doesn’t exactly mesh well. It doesn’t make sense. But, like I said, whatever. Maybe that’s the point? Like she has to change her personality to be more in tune with water? Sure. But let’s talk about this fear of failure thing. Because that’s the stated thing that dialogue tells us she needs to overcome. But when has Nya ever been afraid of failure? Fear of failure means avoiding doing something because of fear. Nya is ridiculously persistent, always has been (you know, fire personality). She tries training when no one tells her to, she makes her own alter ego to try and be a hero and save the people who would constantly tell her she wasn’t ready. Wu says she only wants things that come easy, but that’s never been her character before now, she has carried the team with her tech, research, and covert ops that no one forced her to do, all things which are not easy. Fear of failure is usually characterized by what if questions. If Nya is so afraid of failure, why don’t we hear her saying stuff like “but what if I’m not strong enough, what if I can’t save them in time, or worse, what if I lose control of my power and end up hurting people?” Cole shows much more of a fear of failure this season surrounding his insecurity about being a ghost. He wants to sit out from missions because he’s not sure he’ll be able to do it - he’s afraid of failure. But whatever, the writing isn’t clear at expressing her true setbacks, but she does display a real problem that a lot of people have and I think could have been well done if set up correctly. She shows an undying persistence that gets her too close, and makes her increasingly incapable. She lets her frustration hinder her progress (again, fire personality trait), and I think that’s interesting because I don’t think ninjago has done this character arc yet. The supposed solution to this problem is that she just needs to… care less? And yes, I kind of see where they were going with this, we sometimes cloud our natural potential by thinking about it too much, but saying “you need to stop caring” is the absolute wrong way to word it. Caring is not her problem, the problem is her control over the emotions that come from her caring. Caring is a good thing, and teaching kids that if you’re ambivalent about your problems, they’ll go away is not a good message. What she needs to do is take a step back. She needs to take a break, stop to think, and look at the big picture instead of hyper focusing on the roadblock directly in front of her. The usual and much better wording of the moral I think they were going for is “stop overthinking things”. Teaching kids to look at a problem from a different angle and give themselves time to cool down is a great thing. And just think of it, in the climax she could have this ah-ha moment where she steps back and looks at the bigger picture - the whole town, surrounded by the ocean - and gets the idea to sink the preeminent into the water, you could even easily tie that back into the bucket exercise, and that’s what triggers her true potential rather than the current… I’m honestly not sure what. Random flashbacks and the end of the season approaching quickly. Alternatively, you could tie it more directly into samurai x, and make her struggle with letting go of the past and allowing yourself to give up something good in your life to progress to something better. Anyway, I don’t think this was a bad decision long term, she needed to be solidified on the team as a full fledged ninja, I just think this season doesn’t handle the transition that well. Anyway, whatever, I’ll be waiting for your hate comments in the notes.

Romance

Um… there’s none this season? Like there’s a few Wusako moments that are still as weird as they were in season 2, but they’re really not prevalent. There’s also the Jay seeing the future thing which has some weird implications next season (again, some interesting connective tissue between seasons), but that’s about it. Maybe that’s part of why I don’t love this season? Like where’s the pixane? Lol, I’m kidding. But maybe that’s why a lot of people do like it. If you don’t like the canon ships… this is a nice little safe haven for you. Rare for a majority of the series.

Villains

So Morro is a good idea… in theory. I know he’s the fandom’s favorite edgy boy, but idk I think the brand of angsty teen they ended up with was more of an angsty 13 year old than 17 year old. His voice is really grating and I always want to yell at him to just… go get some cough drops. Stop throat screaming, use your diaphragm man! Also, everyone goes on about his last minute redemption, but as far as season 5 goes, he has like half a second of a change of heart. Literally, when Wu comes over and he’s drowning, he’s still being a persistent little idiot like “you never cared about me nooooo!” and it’s only at the last possible second that gives him the crystal, and even that he does it kind of saltily. The preeminent is pretty cool, I like her concept, her design, all that. All the other ghosts are fine I guess. Nothing super memorable out of them, although their aesthetic, especially when there’s a bunch of them swarming around is pretty cool. One last thing was I never understood how Morro “becoming the green ninja” worked and what exactly it was that… did for him? Like he didn’t actually get the power of energy, right? I don’t remember him using it. Did just him defeating Lloyd make him the green ninja? How does that transfer work? And why did he need it to take over the world or realms or whatever? Like I get that it’s supposed to give him more power and what not but idk, it wasn’t super clear. That’s a minor thing though.

Climax

Pretty cool. I like the ATMOSPHERE. Green light is a hard thing to use and justify correctly, but it works really well here, especially with the dark kinda gray blue sky complimenting it. When the preeminent starts walking into the ocean, it’s genuinely terrifying, but you understand exactly how it works and why she’s strong enough to do it. Nya’s true potential is again a little out of left field and could have had some better motivation put behind it. Like what is it Nya learned in that instant? To not be afraid to protect people? She’s… been doing that. Idk. I’ve hit on that enough for now. Overall, there was good variety. I like the green ninja fake out, I like the realm hopping, I even like the little Garmadon visit and Lloyd getting the robe. I feel like we didn’t need a part one and two, you could have had different titles. I mean come on. But hey, now we know, if Pix had only been there, the whole climax would have been wrapped up in like 10 minutes apparently. Pix for the win.

Humor

Really good. Like I’m surprised how much I laughed. Jay wasn’t annoying humor, it was good stuff, there were some good running gags, there’s a solid fourth wall joke about who the lead ninja is at the beginning of the season. Overall, I am pretty impressed. My favorite joke was perhaps the bit where Jay is sarcastically positive, the voice acting is just really solid. Then again, there’s also the whole Borg scene where he roasts half the ninja, that’s solid stuff right there. There’s just some really solid character interaction this season and the humor feels a lot more natural and less forced.

Drama

Okay, we’ve got a lot this season. Y’all know how I feel about Nya’s arc by now. It does not work for me. Ronin’s relationship with her is alright, but kind of comes out of nowhere. Ronin’s solo plot about kinda working for the ghosts works. Cole’s ghost angst works for the most part, although I wish he would have actually skipped a mission and then gone in to help save his friends once they can’t do it without him. That was probably the most solid drama of the season. The other main thing we have this season is Kai’s whole… fear/protective streak. This also doesn’t really work for me. Like, I get that Lloyd and Kai are friends and stuff, like his whole true potential was centered around Lloyd. But like, why does it have to be framed so weirdly? Sometimes in trying to make it seem like Kai is protective of him, it seems like the other ninja just like… don’t care about him? Not all the time, but there are some weird vibes. Also, it doesn’t really go anywhere. No one learns anything about themselves from this subplot, nothing comes of it, there isn’t really a payoff. Also, Kai has yet another irrational fear, this time of water, which really comes right the hell out of nowhere. They try to explain it away like “Oh, Kai feels powerless and so water can get to him” but like… what? That’s the exact situation he was in at the end of season 2 and he seemed perfectly content to literally swim across the ocean (which um… what do you mean the sworn protector of ninjago can’t swim?). Where is this coming from?! Again, it doesn’t really go anywhere, there’s not a point where he has to learn to confront it or he grows because of it. It’s just pointless stuff added cuz the writers like giving Kai vague trails to try and develop him. The cloud kingdom is kinda cool. That last minute twist about them working with Morro is… stupid and unnecessary though. 

Spotlight Episode

I really like the Spinjitzu master tomb episode. Some cool riddles, I like the first two rooms a lot. I do think the third room is a bit strange. Like, the clue was “don’t look ahead” and the solution was to look beneath them, which is the exact same solution as the previous room. Like, you already have magic ice that shows the future, why not play into that? Don’t look ahead could maybe mean don’t look to the future, the opposite of that being the past. Maybe they have to draw on their past adventures to solve it somehow? Learning from the past is a good lesson, right? But overall, I really like it. Some real solid humor this episode. This episode has the sarcastic Jay optimism, Kai totally stalling for time, Zane dealing a pretty sick burn on Cole, just a lot of fun stuff. I like it. It just has great energy and nothing feels like it’s drawn out for too long.

Misc

The aesthetic this season… can be inconsistent, but the main ghost vibe displayed in the opening theme is really solid and I really like it

Speaking of the opening, Ghost wip is great and the opening in on par with last season’s (which is my fav) for sure

Ice age references… okay.

Chima references…. OKAY...

Okay, but like Deepstone can… kill ghosts? Or not? Is it just something ghosts can touch? It’s supposed to be like water in weapon form, right? Like that’s how I understood it when they first introduced it. Wouldn’t the deepstone bars kill Ghoultar then? And then like, Cole’s bike is made of deepstone. He uses it as a weapon. Wouldn’t it kill him? It kills other ghosts when they touch it. How… how does it work?! I need answers!!!

The captain of the steam boat says they’re going as fast as possible, but later Ronin comes in and cranks it up like twice as fast… that always bothered me like, why would he lie about that? Who is this captain and why is he so chill about everyone’s lives?! And then later Wu cranks it up yet again, like the ship had slowed down to it’s previous speed. What the hell is happening with the controls of this ship???

So pissed that the nasty CGI nightmare cloud monster that chases the ninja is named Nimbus. Totally forgot about that. I have an OC with a cat named Nimbus… I promise, there is not going to be a stupid twist bout the cat being the monster thing in Mists of Fate. That would be very stupid.

I was all excited that season 13 gave us minecart chases, but I totally forgot season 5 gave us one first. I really like the return to the caves of despair btw, good reuse of a known location.

How many times this season did we do the: 

Kai: Oh, I don’t like water, I can’t do it uwu  Cole: ...You serious?

Thanks for reading! And if you got this far… I don’t know. I would love to hear your thoughts if you have any! These are just my opinions, so don’t think too much of it if you disagree.

-Kitten

[morning-star-57]

Miraculous Quirk AU

Idk if someone has already done this but here we go!

So, I recently got into Boku no Hero Academia and I got to thinking, what if the Miraculous universe was set in the same one as Bnha?

So, those of us who watch Bnha know the drill, 80% of the population has superpowers, called “quirks.” The other 20% are “quirkless.” So here’s how it would play out in my brain.

Super duper long, oops, so under the cut!

Miraculous:

works pretty much the same way as canon

only doesn’t give you a suit the holder picks that themselves

they work similar to One For All does in Bnha

the power of the previous owner fuels the power of the miraculous and the previous user can still use the power, but a weakened version of it

Ladybug miraculous gives the holder the power to create things and heal

Black Cat miraculous gives the power to destroy things with a touch (at will)

And so on, pretty much like canon but with some modifications

Marinette

was born quirkless

when she was younger, kids (cough Chloe cough) would make fun of her for it

was insecure about it for a long time and then saw all of the ways that quirks could backfire and decided it wasn’t worth it and it no longer bothers her (much)

(seeing Chloe blind herself was funny tho, even if it was temporary)

still wants to be a fashion designer

wary of superheros because of all of that property damage and also some of them are lowkey sus.

parents still own a bakery

Sabine’s quirk is levitation. She can make items and people float with her  mind but they have to be things she can physically lift (it’s okay tho cause she’s smol but strong). The drawback is that she gets really bad headaches and if she uses it too much or for too long, she can get a migraine.

Tom has a smaller, tamer version of pyrokinesis. He can’t make his entire body burst into flame but he can make certain parts, like his hands. He has a naturally high resistance to extreme weathers as his body heat is unusally high (hugs from him during the summer are bittersweet b/c he’s a great hugger but it’s too damn HOT DAD GET OFF-). The drawback is that he can’t control the temperature of the flame so if he’s not careful or if he uses his quirk for too long, it’ll burn him. His arms have many burn scars, rip.

back to Marinette

Decided the Hero Life wasn’t for her but still supports her friends who want to do it

Until she met the Lucky Hero, Tikki, her favorite

After plot happens, Tikki gives her the source of her “quirk���, the miraculous, and entrusts Marinette to carry on her legacy

Lots of angsty turmoil before she accepts the miraculous and decided to become a hero.

Chooses to be named the Ladybug, same as canon

Her hero costume would be the same as canon AT FIRST since her decision to go to a hero school was last minute af but then the suit will go through modifications to better suit her power needs and fashion needs

Got through the entrance exam after training with Tikki and because she’s badass shh

Doesn’t get a crush on Adrien until later once they’re already friends (or at all really idk yet)

Adrien

was the result of a quirk marriage

was the *failed result of a quirk marriage

Instead of inheriting both quirks of his parents, like intended, they combined and created a new one

His quirk is Charm. His body releases an invisible pheromone that makes him seem more attractive or trustworthy, sometimes both, depending on the person who smells it. This makes the “victim” more susceptible to his suggestions, but it’s not a total brainwash, unlike his father, so they can still easily fight it off if they wanted to. The drawbacks are that he can’t really stop it so he has to be constantly covered so that he doesn’t accidentally charm everyone. Also, after a while, people can build up tolerance to him and it won’t work as strongly on them.

Gabriel has Brainwash, which is often seen as a villain’s quirk. Everyone is thankful the he decided on fashion as a career and not villainy (oh those poor naive souls). If he looks into your eyes, you are put in his control and won’t be able to fight it unless he lets you go or if you receive a blunt impact to the head. The drawbacks are that he can’t control it so anyone who he makes eye contact with gets brainwashed unless there’s an obstacle in the way i.e.: glasses

Emilie’s quirk is sleep gas. Her skin cells naturally produce a gas that can put people in a coma-like state. The drawbacks are, again, can’t turn it off and the person has to be within range. She also has to be constantly covered.

Adrien wanted to be a hero at first to spite his father

Gabriel always hated heroes and saw them as a nuisance.

So Adrien basically said “fuck you, I’m going to be the best hero because I can”

And somehow convinced his dad to enroll him in College Francois Dupont, a local hero school

(he acutally just charmed him cause his dad isn’t around him enough to build up immunity to his quirk but shh)

He gets in through recommendations and is put in the hero course

This version of Adrien was still childhood friends with Chloe (who is immune to him) and a lot more distrustful of people, especially if they’re nice since he has no way of know if they’re genuinely a nice person or if they just fell prey to his quirk

rip the sunshine boy he has no friends except Chloe for the first few weeks of class

Becomes friends with Nino after they got paired up in a fight simulation

The slowly gets more comfortable around people and becomes more open to friendships

Doesn’t get the Black Cat Miraculous until much, much later when the Squad gets caught up in a fight with villains and the Unlucky Hero, Plagg (Tikki’s partner and husband) decides to entrust him with it

Impulsive chaotic gremlin that gets threatened to be put on a leash made by Marinette 

Chloe

also the result of a quirk marriage, this one being successful

Her quirk is called Diamond. Her skin has an extra layer that acts very similarly to an actual diamond so she can reflect, refract, and disperse light. This layer can also harden at her will so that she can become a semi-indestructible prism. Her body’s reaction to light intensifies while in this state. The drawbacks are that while her body is hardened, she cannot move easily and her speed will be greatly reduced. Also, her skin is just very sparkly almost all of the time which makes it hard to hide from villains and to see when it’s sunny out. Usually wear large sunhats and sunglasses to try and reduce the shine

Her and Adrien bond by being products of a quirk marriage

also got in through recommendation and everyone thinks she bought her way in but actually tried very hard to earn her spot

is VERY protective over Adrien and will blind someone if they say anything she deems offensive

She and Marinette practically hate each other on a good day before they were forced to hang out since Adrien kept bringing Chloe along with him whenever the Squad would get into shenanigans

They developed a mutual agreement to be civil at one point and that slowly turned into friendship

Y’know the type of friends that insult each other and fight over every small thing but the second someone else tries to come for the other they won’t h e s i t a t e BITCH

yeah that’s them

anyways, I digress

Is surprisingly the sensible one of the group

“no you cannot run headfirst into the fight Adrien, these are actual villains and you can’t even pass a simulation without dumb luck.”

“I don’t care if your quirk can heal you Marinette, stop jumping off of rooftops and go down the stairs like a normal person!”

“Put it down, Nino.”

“Luka. No.”

you get the idea

she is Mom

Says she wants to be a hero because hero’s are cool and she’s cool so it just makes sense for her to be a hero

(actually though because she wanted to make her mother proud of her but you didn’t hear it from me)

Is lowkey really powerful and if she tried to use the full extent of her powers, she’d be a beast

but don’t tell her that, she’s already got a big head

Luka

is working towards becoming an underground hero

His quirk is sound amplification. He amplifies preexisting sound waves to what ever frequency is needed. Depending on the frequency, he can break through almost any object. The drawback is that sound waves can damage his hearing and can become temporarily deaf if he uses it too long or if he creates a frequency that’s too high for his body to handle. Has a chance of becoming permanently deaf if he overuses his quirk too many times

His suit comes with modifications to help with that so he should be fine he hopes

His guitar doubles as a weapon since he usually amplifies whatever chord he plays

Already has his provisional hero licence

is still really chill

is one of the first to figure out Marinette’s secret but is a good boi so he doesn’t tell

you’d think that being the oldest of the group he’d be the sensible one but nope

is accidentally the one that encourages shenanigans 

Luka, innocently: Hey, did you know that the teachers don’t lock up the sim rooms?

Chloe: *Death glare*

Luka: *nervous confusion*

the one who encouraged Juleka to go for the hero course 

Nino

Adrien’s best friend, just like canon

started out as general studies since he wasn’t sure if he was good enough to be a hero but a teacher saw his potential and was transferred into the hero course

His quirk is time reduction. He can slow time or even stop it completely if he concentrates very hard, allowing him to get one place to the next in literally no time at all. He used to think it was super speed because this but found out what it really was when he tried to save a cat from being run over and stopped time. He can also stop  only certain objects in time but that takes up more energy. The drawback is that if he overuses his quirk he starts to speed up his own time in order to compensate for the time he’s losing so he becomes very tired and after “3 hours” of his own time passed he will pass out from exhaustion. Also, he can only manipulate the time within his quirk’s range which can go up to about the size of an american football field (160 feet/49) meters.

is super insecure of his quirk because he thinks it’s not as cool as everyone else’s

they make sure to let him know that that’s bs and he’s very cool

feeds off of Adiren’s chaotic energy during simulations

has been put in timeout by Chloe when this happens

will stop time to bask in the moment 

gets emotional during this

there have been many times where the Squad is chilling and suddenly everyone just sees Nino sobbing 

group hugs ensue

Adrien, probably: “Chloe get your shiny ass in the cuddle pile or so help me-!”

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 I’ll make a part two since this is already so long, but that’s it for now! What do y’all think?

Part 2 is now up!

[yurtletheturtlehenderson]

S.T. REWRITE - S2:E6; Chapter Six, The Spy - [Pt. 2]

A Will Byers x Reader Series

Will’s connection to a shadowy evil grows stronger, but no one’s quite sure how to stop it. Elsewhere, Dustin and Steve forge an unlikely bond.

Warnings: vomiting?? kinda?? it's not actually puke, it's the flashback of Will coughing up Dart in season one but the details came out more graphic than I anticipated and idk if any of you are sensitive to that stuff. Ya know, see or read about puke and get sick themselves?? Again, idk but yea, that's it ¯ \_(ツ)_/¯

||3rd Person POV||

Dr. Owens peaks his head in the door uneasily, Hopper sits on the edge of the bench hunched over a bucket. He is still in the gown lab had provided, his new pair of scrubs still sat folded and untouched to his left on the bench. Another retch is torn from his strained throat as his insides empty into the bucket. Owens fights a grimace and clears his throat announcing his presence.

"All right, cowboy, good news." He steps inside, his assistant behind him. "We're giving you the green light. How're you feeling?"

Hopper, still shaky and weak from his night in the tunnels and the full hose down from the medical team, turns to give the doctor an exaggerated grin and speaks through gritted teeth.

"Never better."

"All right, well, we got a present for ya," Owens says, letting the sarcasm roll off his back.

The assistant steps forward, a folded hazmat suit in his hands. Hopper attempts no such efforts to hide his own grimace at the sight.

"The hell is that?"

"Uh, something you should see."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The heart monitor beats steadily as Will sleeps, color has begun to return to his cheeks but it is scarce. Mike is tucked under a blanket, fast asleep in the bedside chair while Joyce and Bob speak in hushed whispers in the corner. Joyce had, for the most part, filled in Bob on the events of the past year.

"They made me sign, like, a thousand. I mean... we all had to. We had to. I mean, I lost track at a certain point. They're gonna make you do the same. I'm sure."

Bob nods, his eyes returning to Joyce after lingering worriedly on Will.

"Yeah. Well, hey, whatever."

There's a brief pause as Joyce gauges his reaction suspiciously, surprised by his shockingly relaxed demeanor. Finally, Bob speaks.

"What kind of documents?"

"Uh, confidentiality, and there were these official forms saying, like, nothing ever happened, which is why..."

Bob steps towards Will's bed, clarity written on his face.

"Will got lost in the woods."

"Yeah."

Bob shakes his head, the wave of shock finally crashing over him in full.

"Man, I always thought stuff like this happened in movies and comic books. Certainly not in Hawkins," He returns to Joyce's side. "and certainly not to someone like you."

Joyce nudges Bob.

"Or you."

"Yeah," he chuckles, quirking a brow. "Bob Newby, superhero."

The pair share a smile, but it does not last long before it fizzles out in the unresolved tension in the air. Joyce notes the shivers shaking Bob's body and throws him a concerned glance.

"You cold?"

"Just a little jitters, I guess." He says, drawing the blanket around his shoulders closer. "Hey, don't you start worrying about me. Okay? I'm fine. I'm fine."

Joyce nods in understanding, though she can't quite seem to shake the worry.

"It's not like you didn't warn me. 'This is not a normal family.' Isn't that what you said?"

The ends of her lips curl into a weak smile, a deflated chuckle escaping her. Bob soon joins in, gesturing to Will.

"You weren't kidding."

There's another thick pause, and Bob takes a silent breath before returning to a familiar subject.

"It kinda makes my idea of moving to Maine sound a little less crazy, right?"

"Oh, it... it's not crazy at all."

A warm smile tugs at his lips and Joyce can feel the effects of his contagious charm, a smirk drawing her face as well. But the moment quickly slips away at the sound of a familiar voice stirring from the bed.

"Mom?"

The couple is quick to join his side, and Bob enters the hall in a beat calling for the doctor. Joyce reaches him in no time, her palm reaching out for her son and she stroke his cold cheek.

"Sweetie, how are you feeling? You okay?"

Bob steps back into the room, leaving the door ajar and Mike stirs awake at the small commotion.

"Okay, they're on their way," Bob says, joining Joyce's side, and gives Will a warm smile. "Hey."

Will frowns at his mother, gesturing to Bob.

"Who is that?"

Joyce chuckles nervously, and worry quickly settles into everyone's chest.

"What?" Joyce asks.

"It's me, big guy. It's Bob."

His palm extends to meet Will's, to give him a reassuring tap on the arm but Will pulls away reluctantly. There is suspicion and fear in his eyes as he inspects the man for what looks to.be the first time.

"Are you a... doctor?"

The tension in the air rises, but Bob tries to push through it. Joyce and Mike only watch the exchange with great worry.

"No. No, it's just me. Just... just Bob."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

Lucas coasts down Old Cherry Road, his heart rate climbing steadily. As he approaches his ears perk up upon hearing muffled rock music blasting from inside one of the many houses. He knows this is the one he has been looking for when he recognizes the car Max had climbed into many times. And more importantly, the one that nearly ran him and his friends over.

Inside, Billy hardly fights the anger rising in his chest at the doorbell that keeps ringing. He continues his set, his fuse shortening when it goes unanswered. With an angered grunt, he drops the bar and grabs his cigarette from his lips.

"Max, are you getting that or what?" He roars.

An impressive huff escaped her, her eyes rolling to the back of her head briefly in disdain.

"Okay!" She snaps, chucking her half taped board on her mattress before standing.

The doorbell rings once more, and not a second later does Billy continue to berate her.

"I swear to God, Max!"

She stomps down the hall in a fury, making an effort to glare menacingly at her stepbrother in a last act of defiance. She moves swiftly around his equipment, hair flying behind her as her speed increases with every frantic ring of the doorbell. She rips the door open, expecting to deal with another noise complaint from Billy's music that would somehow get her in trouble, but what she finds is much worse.

Lucas stands on the porch to her horror and fear for the boy's safety, she knows if he is caught here, there was no telling what Billy would do to him. Her head whips around to the living room, grateful Billy has his back turned. Quickly, she steps outside closing the door behind her.

"What are you doing here?"

Her voice is urgent and hushed, and oh how she hates that Billy holds this power over her. The power to make her feel unsafe in her own home, the power to make her fear for other people's safety no matter where she is.

"I have proof," Lucas says.

"What?"

"Proof that what I told you was real. But we have to hurry."

"What kind of proof? Y/n, proof, or something I'm gonna regret seeing later, proof?"

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

With a half-hearted grunt, Billy places the weights back on the rack and sits up. He takes one long drag of his cigarette before exhaling, his attention returning to the front door. He realizes he hasn't heard any conversation and when he sees he is alone - no sign of the nuisance he called a step-sister, and a closed front door - he knows Max is up to no good. In his eyes, she isn't. He rises from the bench and stalks forward towards the door, taking a swig from his beer can and places it on the mantle just as the door swings open.

Max slips inside through the small gap she created in the doorway, quick to close the door the moment she was inside. As if on autopilot, she stomps through the living room - not very far - before she halts suddenly in her tracks. Billy is blocking off the entryway, his shoulders squared and a fixed glare on her. She jumps, not expecting his presence but she tries to hide it.

"Who the hell were you talking to?" He asks with venom.

Max collects herself, her eyes struggle not to dart around the room and he notes the uneasy twitch in her brow line.

"Mormons."

A sick smile tugs at his lips, a smirk made of a mix of disgust and triumph. He can almost laugh at her pathetic lie. Almost.

"Mormons?"

She nods, a rising sense of confidence in her tone that makes it harder for him to confront her.

"Talkative ones."

With that, she slips past him and makes a swift exit to her room. He stares after her, the gears turning in his head but he can't quite pin anything on her yet, much to his chagrin. He heads for the door, ripping it open as she did moments ago and steps onto the empty porch. His eyes scan the street but he sees no sign of anyone, just an empty lawn and others like them up and down the road. His jaw clenches, his anger flickering inside him more but he shoves it away for now, and heads back inside.

Meanwhile, Max reaches her room, closing her door behind her and making her way to her window and slides it open. Just as she had instructed, Lucas awaits outside her window, his movements urgent as he beckons her down.

"Come on, hop on!"

Max quickly climbs through the window, her feet planting on the small landing just below and jumps onto the grass. She quickly takes a seat behind Lucas, grabbing his shoulders she leans around him to speak.

"This better be good, stalker."

In a matter of moments, the pair is off. Silently, they slip around the back of the house and disappear down the road.

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The yellow beam of light shifts from eye to eye and Will does his best to ignore the flash of negatives his brain sees. He is surrounded by somewhat familiar faces. He does not understand the fuss being made, his mother and friend he recognizes but now there was a strange man in scrubs that stayed behind. Bob. He wasn't sure why he was being treated like this.

"Do you know your name?" The doctor asks.

"Will."

"Your full name?" He asks, tucking the flashlight into his breast pocket.

"William Byers." He says simply.

"Do you know... Do you know who I am?"

Will thinks for a moment, the question obvious and unnecessary.

"A doctor."

Will tries to ignore the fact that he is surrounded by a medical team that watches him studiously. He does all he can to focus his attention on the doctor before him, and answer his questions but he can't help but start to doubt his own sanity. Or at least the sanity of everyone around him. Was he supposed to have known everyone circling him now?

"Have we met before?" The doctor asks.

Will's brow fell into a crease, he shakes his head simply.

"I don't remember."

"Hmm."

Elsewhere, a large team of staff assigned to the Byers case watches the feed with intrigue. The live footage from Byers' room is displayed on one of many monitors and they watch, paying close attention to the quizzical and unexpected turn the boy has taken.

"You don't remember me?" They hear Owens ask.

They see the boy shake his head, and Owens nods.

"Okay," he extends an arm and points in 's direction. "How about, uh... How about this guy here?"

Mike shifts uneasily, his heart pounding against his chest as his best friend slowly turns to look at him. Nervously, he retracts one hand from his pocket and waves weakly before returning to the comfort of the is pocket. His fingers fumble anxiously with the loose thread from the shoddy stitching. Will does not answer immediately, his eyes are darker and his gaze is distant and detached.

"That's okay, take your time," Owens assures.

The look in his eyes bothers Mike, and the longer Will neglects to speak the longer eternity seems to stretch on. Never, not even once has Mike seen this look on Will. He is not himself, and he fears the worst. The ghost of their conversation at the Byers house being shoved to the back of his mind as it creeps up. He isn't frowning, like Will usually does when he is stumped. His brow isn't furrowed, and there is no sign that he is frustrated by his stump. He just stares. All emotions devoid from his features and he is much too calm. Finally, he speaks.

"That's my friend." He says slowly. "Mike."

Mike doesn't fight the breath of relief, but he can't help but think that their troubles were far from over. The next person to speak, the tallest man in the room who joined them not long ago and had stuck by his mother's side. He smiles weakly, but he can tell that for the man it is genuine.

"What about me, kid? You remember me?"

His attention slowly shifts to the tall man, and he searches his brain, what's left of the foggy memories that have only grown clouded and dark in the past few hours. But he sees nothing, nothing about this tall bearded man and he shakes his head. He recognizes the look of disappointment and worry, but he quickly tries to bury it.

"They tell me you helped save me last night. You remember that?"

Will shakes his head once more. His attention is once again shifted to the doctor at his bedside.

"Do you remember anything about last night? About what happened?"

Will feels a twinge of anger, and the ghost of the pain from the previous night ignites his memory.

"I remember they hurt me."

《•••》

Will collapsed to the ground in agony. Mike dropped to the ground quickly after him, grasping his friend trying to get him to calm. But it was no use. Will was now lying on the grass, his entire body felt like it was on fire. His vision was as white as the white-hot searing pain running through his veins.

《•••》

Joyce winces at the memory, her stomach turning and her palm reaches to her face, her fingers massaging her temples. She feels Bob's hand reach her backband pat her soothingly in an attempt to calm her.

"You mean the doctors?" Owens asks.

His eyes still dark and blank, his composure flat and calculated he skates his head.

"No. The soldiers."

《•••》

The figure, who had been properly equipped, aimed his device and a violent spurt of fire erupted from the end. The vines writhed and shrieked violently as they shriveled up.

《•••》

"The soldiers hurt you?"

Will blinks slowly, the first he has in a while and his voice grows hoarse and angered. He is angered and betrayed, the darkness clouding his usual hazel green eyes and now they seem almost black. His tone only sends spikes of fear into the hearts of those who are closest to Will. And it only reminds Mike of the previous day, when he had forced Y/n away.

When he spoke, Mike felt a familiar chill run down his spine. And only now does he recognize the tone in Will's voice. How it held no emotion and he seemed distant. And cold.

Not himself.

Mike felt as if he was reliving that moment over, but the only difference was the person who hurt him. Or something inside him.

"They shouldn't have done that."

His pale face slowly slips into a scowl, a threatening glance and his voice grew more venomous.

"It upset him."

Mike could feel the blood pounding in his ears, and on instinct he finds himself looking to Mrs. Byers, but all she can focus on is her son, or what looked like her son. What used to be. Mike had to shake the dark thoughts from his mind, but he couldn't help but blame himself. He had already slipped into this state before, why hadn't he done more? Talked to Mrs. Byers? Tell him how he changed so briefly but drastically right before his eyes? At least he managed to break free from it last time. But now, now things were different.

All he can manage to do for now is watch as Owens takes a photograph from a file folder that sits on the bed, he hands it to Will who takes it.

"You say, "Upset him." Is that him?"

Will's darkened eyes trail up from the picture and meet the man's eyes. He merely nods, and even though no words are spoken aloud, the room is hit with another dreadful chill. Owens takes the photograph back and sets it on the folder as he looks around the room.

"Okay, I want to try something." He instructs. "It's gonna seem a little odd at first, but I think it's really gonna help us understand what's going on."

He gently places a hand on Will's shoulder, sending a reassuring look to the boy as best as he could manage.

Will's eyes flicker to the hand on his shoulder, he tries to ignore the small but uncomfortable body heat from his palm and he tries to stifle the anger. It reminds him of her and what she did, how she hurt him. He pushes the memory aside and looks to the man, nodding.

"Okay."

⊹ ⊹ ⊹

The steel cart jostles as it crosses the bumpy threshold of the room, a glass case with no lid sits on top. Inside, a loose tentacle collected form the tunnels. Hopper quickly recognized the thing, and he felt his insides twist in knots, alarms going off in his head. He had only just been shown the lab's secret, he couldn't say he was surprised but Owen's and his team had just taken them underground. Where they had their very own, private access to the tunnels he had previously been trapped in.

He had been assured they were monitoring it, but it all felt like a load of crap to him. He shifts on his feet as he watches it all unfold.

"Now, Will," Owen's begins. "I want you to Bust let us know if you feel anything. Okay?"

He nods once more, and Owens gives the assistant the all-clear. The blowtorch in his hands flick on, a steady hiss emanates from the strong flame and the man slowly lowers it inside the case. Will stares wide-eyed as the blue flame is lowered, his breathing hitches and speeds up. Short and ragged, and his face has already begun to pale.

The creature begins to hiss, it's dark violet, and the slimy body begins to write against the steel. It shrinks back, clearly in pain. The others watch, their attention breaking from Will to the heart monitor he is hooked up to. Beeping increases and his heartbeat picks up.

"Do you feel anything?"

Will's breath hitches, his face twitching in pain. He begins to stammer as he fidgets.

"Little sting."

"It stings. Where?"

The flame lowers further and Will shift on the mattress, his left hand suddenly clutching his heart. His face contorts in pain, and his cold demeanor has begun to melt into pain.

"My chest." He whimpers.

"Okay, son." He mumbles, patting his arm but he makes no effort to stop.

Joyce reaches out and places a gentle hand on his leg from the end of the bed and begins to mumble encouraging thoughts and showing her concern and support. After a determined and swift nod from the man, the assistant nods and lowers the flame. Everything immediately intensifies, the heart monitor beeps faster, the creature squeals turn to shrieks and Will begins to write clutching desperately at his chest.

"How about now?" He asks urgently.

Will begins to choke on air, he is desperately trying to speak through the pain but he can barely manage the words.

"It... It burns."

Dr. Owens only grows more intense, he leans forward I'm the slightest as his bushy brows furrow. The flame lowers further and it nearly touches the creature, it cries in agony and so does Will.

"Ah! It burns!"

"Where?"

Another screech and Will gasps for breath, he chokes on his words but he manages a scream that tears through his scalding chest.

"Everywhere!"

The flames lick at its slimy, moist and sizzling skin and it ignites a deafening, agonizing scream from Will. Joyce's face hardens and she begins to shout.

"That's enough. That's enough!"

Will's cries climb higher and louder and within moments it's just as he was when they brought him in. The assistant does nothing and the flame continues to burn the flesh of the creature and Will shifts feverishly on the bed, his head rolling back as he shrieks at the sky. His agonizing cries pierce her ears and stab at her heart. She continues to stop their efforts but her voice is drowned out in Will's screams and even then they ignore her. Hopper jumps in, separating Will from Owens and throws his arms out and he roars at them viciously.

"Stop! You heard her! That's enough!"

The flame retracts and the man shrinks back as the creature does. Patches of its skin are burned away, showing pinkish and inflamed skin, and Will gasps for breath. Hopper stands over the boy protectively and himself and Joyce sends deathly stares to every staff member.

"That's it! We're done!" Hopper barks.

The rooms falls silent and every staff member squirms uncomfortably. Joyce sets aside her fury and redirects her attention to her boy. Soothingly, she pats his leg - the only place she can reach from the end of the bed - and whispers encouraging words.

"Sweetie... Sweetie. It's okay."

Will visibly relaxes, his breathing is still harsh and spotty. He pants heavily, and the heart monitor gradually slows. The creature's wails die down to a ragged hiss and everyone looks around the room.

Owens ushers Joyce and Hopper outside to the hall where they now speak in hushed whispers.

"Our best guess right now is it's some kind of virus which is causing this neurological disorder." The man explains. "Now, when... when a typical virus attaches itself to the host..."

《•••》

- DEC. 1983 -

Will grips the bathroom sink, his knuckles turning white as he feels a gag shake his body. He lurches forward over the sink as nauseous shakes his body. He can feel movement traveling up his throat, and something tells him it's not vomit. A disgusting salty taste travels across his tongue and he watches in horror and disgust as a thick slug-like creature hits the bottom of the sink with a shuddering 'plop'.

Will manages to keep his coughs stifled, hopefully his mother and brother do not hear him from the dining room table. His stomach plummets, not only in disgust that this thing was living inside him but also fear. It slithers towards the drain, leaving a trail of paled green slime in its tracks.

《•••》

"...it duplicates, right? It spreads, essentially hijacking the host."

Joyce winces at the man's words, and once more do her fingers reach her temples and rub fixed circles as he continues.

"A virus is alive. It has an intelligence."

《•••》

Will was panting heavily, but he slowly turned around coming face to face with the monster. It towered over the school, looking directly at Will.

《•••》

"That's not... That's not unusual." Owens pauses with a frown, gesturing down the hall. "What is so unusual here, this virus... the infected hosts seem to be communicating."

《•••》

The figure, who had been properly equipped, aimed his device and a violent spurt of fire erupted from the end. The vines writhed and shrieked violently as they shriveled up.

At that exact moment, Will - who had been waiting worriedly outside as the army of men surrounded and descended after his mother and Bob - collapsed to the ground.

•••

Will convulsed uncontrollably, his limbs on fire, spreading as rapidly as the flames in the hub below. As the vines screamed in agony, Will screamed too. He was now on his back, screaming violently into the night. Mike jumped back startled, watching helplessly in horror as his best friend writhed in the grass, his mouth wide open and his eyes rolled back into his head as he shrieked in agony.

《•••》

"It has some sort of hive intelligence, and it's connecting all the hosts."

《•••》

The monster bellowed, and one large tentacle began twirling down onto the ground, the size of a small tornado. The swirling gust of black fog engulfed Will.

•••

Dart looked up from his meal and faced a horrified Dustin, his long slimy tail flicking back and forth. He roared, causing his head to open up, hundreds of bloodied teeth showing as any other Demogorgon would.

•••

The flame lowers further and it nearly touches the creature, it cries in agony and so does Will.

《•••》

"The good news is a virus can be cured. We... We're gonna continue to run tests. We're gonna see what we find."

Joyce shakes her head in disbelief and fights back her tears as she speaks.

"What happens when he can't remember anything? W-When there's nothing else there?" She steps forward towards the man, who once again grows uneasy. "What happens when my boy is gone?"

The man stands dumbfounded and without an answer. Joyce brings a trembling hand to her quivering lip, choking back sobs at the horrendous thought. She feels helpless like there's nothing she can do. And she loathes it.

+++

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[yaboylevi]

What about this chapter did you not like? love your art btw ❤️

Thanks!

Sorry for the wait, I wanted to read the official chapter and wait for a bit to see if my feelings changed (spoiler: they didn't).

It would be way faster to list the few things I enjoyed but alas.

VERY negative opinions under the cut. Seriously, if you liked the chapter, don't read this, I don't want to spoil your fun or upset you. I didn't bother to write this in a respectful tone, it's not an analysis, it's just me venting. That being said, if you guys read this ignoring my warning and get upset, it'll be your fault and responsibility, yeah.

The Annie's father stuff was okay, though I hope it's gonna be explained why he was the only one in Liberio running against the flow of the screaming crowd.

Then we get Reiner being pathetic once again, I am so tired of this. What's his purpose in the story aside from killing people, being a nuisance and or dead weight to others and feeling sorry for himself? I would've appreciated if he had had some introspection on how his rushed plan was partially the cause for Porco's death and Falco's transformation (and all the other deaths bc Zeke would've never screamed in Shiganshina if Reiner hadn't pushed for another attack there). But anyway if he'd had introspection, it would've been about self-pity and NEVER growth because he seems unable to have that, so I would've disliked it anyway. 

If I wasn't already rolling my eyes this hard at Reiner, then I would've started at Gabi. She's all over the place and I guess it's understandable since she is a kid and also deeply shocked and in pain. I understand it. But I don't like how Isayama made her go from despair, to murder instinct, to calm and collected in 2 pages. It's just ???? Then we have the Eren parallel and I groaned out loud. Whatever its meaning is. It's just forced.

One of the things I hated this chapter for and that I'm becoming so annoyed at in general lately, is that EVERYTHING parallels something that has already happened, and I don't understand if Isayama thinks he's being smart or if it has some deeper meaning like "oh see, history repeats itself!! wow!! a concept that is not being repeated ad nauseam in the series, not at all!! /s". I don't need it to be shoved into my face.

Idk. Also Reiner, of course, being safe in a house amongst titan territory...of...course...

Then the 104th scene. Ugh. Jean's delusion is so annoying. One moment he's rational, the other is like "muuuuu ereh is doing this for us!!! we couldn't do anything!!!", then he's rational again. Maybe if they had paid attention to Eren, and didn't only take into consideration stupid ideas that would've never worked for 4 years, maaaybe yeah, this wouldn't be happening. Who knows. I'm just tired of the 104th whining about their situation. I understand where they're coming from, their feelings, etc, I understand it's a crazy and emotional situation and all, but we already have SO MANY CHAPTERS about it, it's time to move on at least with the plot. It's just so pathetic and annoying. It makes me angry how he's basically trying to avoid responsibility or rationalize genocide like all the Eren goat stans in the fandom. I hate this mentality so much. "if they disappear, so will all the hatred! Do we really have to stop him?" JESUS CHRIST JEAN..............yikes

And then of course they (and Isayama) had to ruin chapter 108.

Then Jean also had the guts to say they should kill a kid so they can revive a commander, just bc he's too scared to take the reins of the situation. Again, I understand the struggle, it's the same as Hange afterall, it's just very, very ugly how he didn't even waver. Connie's been acting irrational, and he's been swept up by his anger for a while now, so I understand his development. Plus I find it more relatable to wanting to make a big sacrifice for someone you love, rather than someone you (think you) need. But Jean???? wtf. He doesn't even think back on the sin he was willing to commit, he isn't ashamed.

Armin as well doesn't even care that it's a kid they're talking about, he's only strategizing. And here's another annoying point: he's able to make these calculations now but when it comes to Eren his brain freezes and he becomes a delusional kid. Where were his brains when he had to think up of ways to negotiate with the world? Anyway, I get it, it's because Eren's his childhood friend and family. I am just so tired of seeing this again and again, and again. We've been stuck on this for over a year... Nothing has changed, they're just dejectedly going back and forth on their opinions and feelings. Really goes to show that Eren was the real heart of their group...

Connie flying away from the battlefield, effectively splitting again the povs we need to follow is...big yikes.

Parallel to Trost, parallel to Serumbowl. Yeah wow so interesting.

Nile dying so quick like that was also underwhelming. And it was unnecessarily cruel, imo, that as a titan he tried to kill children when as a person he was so sweet with kids (except with Eren, of course...).

The Gabi-Sasha parallel left me a bit confused. On the one hand, I don't like the killer being paralleled to the murdered. But on the other hand, I understand why that is [/inserts meta that i don't care about writing]. The Kaya-Gabi moments were also cute + Nicolo's little speech was nice, though a bit awkward, imo. I bitterly laughed at Gabi finally admitting that she mindlessly killed people just to be praised. At least she can better herself from now on! If only her cousin could take his self-pity and do something to change himself with it, but no, he just wants to change others or run away (and this is why i don't like reiner anymore).

Shadis saving these ungrateful kids was pretty cool.

I felt bad for Yelena, I want to see more of her (and maybe Mikasa+Louise), but instead, we have Jean vs Floch angst and I'm already sleeping, because I care so little about both of them.

Isayama painting Jean as a cool leader is just embarrassing when moments before he was pathetically whining and trying to kill a child (to which there was no setup, especially comparing it to the setup for Connie's plot thread. The last we saw of Jean with a kid was him wondering if he hesitated in killing the Cart because of Falco 15 chapters ago...and that was a compelling doubt but I guess he hadn't hesitated at the time, after all lol). The pages dedicated to the killing of the titans were boring, occupying space for nothing imo. Glossing over them would've sufficed, there could've just been the Pixis stuff, and it would've been fine. Which, btw, made me laugh a little in retrospect, because Armin is once again involved in the death of a Commander. Oh well.

I also didn't like that mini-flashback with Eren&Pixis. I guess Isayama wants to ruin every single nice moment Eren had with other people, because Eren is soooo so so bad now uwu, for no good reason, and it's only his fault right? people were nice to him and look at how he repaid them uwu. Big yikes for me.

I expected more from that Louise panel because it made me go [EYES EMOJI], but I guess I'll have to wait.

It's also unbelievable that NO ONE IN THE WHOLE STORY has thought of stopping Floch, when last time they arrested him, so technically why would they even leave him running around NOW? It's beyond me. Do they have a brain?

As for the basement conversation with Gabi, I hope that "I won't give up on Falco" panel + Armin looking at Gabi thoughtfully will start a "We can't give up on Eren" mindset for the 104th, but I doubt it's gonna be handled in a non-pathetic way, considering how's been done as of late.

Gabi screaming to talk to Eren was also very embarrassing from a reader pov (well, my pov). Because she was RIGHT THERE when EMA talked last time, and she should know that would most likely not work (I guess she's talking out of desperation but still...ppl be like "yeah!! they should talk to ErEn!1 why didn't they think of it!?!?!" and I mean it's probably gonna come down to that if the final audio is of any indication...I just find the presentation of this concept awkward and forced). 

I really disliked most of Gabi's part, even though she's a character I have learned to enjoy. I guess what shined through in this chapter is exactly what I don't like about how Isayama uses Gabi's character: it seems like she's just there as a fast-paced mini representation of the story themes, so she's just an instrument to the story. Sometimes I feel like she's a real character, sometimes I feel she's just a tool for the story and the themes.

Armin's reaction to hearing about Annie is...I don't know. aruani has been one of my first ships and I used to be obsessed, but this is just awkward and forced, just like the previous aruani scene that made me angry at Armin. I don't even understand if Armin's shocked, scared or happy. All of these don't make sense to me, because I have no clue what he even expects from her.

Annie's release from the crystal happened in an unexpected way which i appreciated, though I would've liked it more if she had decided to get out on her own. But it depends on if she was stuck in there or if she was still willingly escaping from reality. If she was stuck, I will love this a lot more, because basically Eren set her free.

Also, Eren's radio podcast was longer I guess ("Eren said he would undo all the hardening"), and I wonder why we couldn't hear it all. Sigh.

In general, the "theme thread" of the chapter (adults & kids) felt really pushed in our face. I appreciate when things are a bit more subtle, this just came off as...boring, because every scene made me go "well, of fucking course this scene would end like this...". The only tense moment was the Connie part, let's be real.

And yeah, my perception may be also partially because I am so tired of no Eren pov and "eren is the evil, evil villain" rhetoric, so maybe I will appreciate this chapter more once we get his pov at the end of the story (bc i have no illusions left that this won't happen anytime before the finishing line). For now, I'm just frustrated because I didn't care about ANY of the things that went down in this chapter. Like, okay, let's move on, ffs.

Everything felt forced and contrived, like, Isayama must know that nobody cares about this stuff that much and everyone would prefer to see literally anything else amongst Eren, Historia, Levi&Hange, the Colossals. Hell, imagine if this chapter didn't have Annie at the end. That was the only thing that made this chapter barely worth the read for me. I hope the next one will at least follow Connie and Annie, if I can't get any of the other things that interest me.

[wahbegan]

Review of HD Spooky Specimens

Yes, after finally giving in and playing the remastered version, a few of them actually merit re-assessment. Not all of them, but some. I wasn’t going to do this but THEN someone reblogged my original so what the fuck

Specimens 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 all remain the same

#3 (ARACHNIPEDE yeah that’s pretty good right came up with it myself): So, first of all they fixed the “usually in the green room” bug, and now it basically always spawns, and actually comes out of the holes in the ceiling. More pressingly, the mad bastards made it EVEN BIGGER with SIGNIFICANTLY MORE LEGS and, as we’ve established, there is nothing that can’t be made scarier with more shitty little bug legs. Oh yeah, also its speed now seems to indicate it’s just had six cans of monster and a bunch of adderall and it’s about to shit its pants. Then they gave it a really good death screen! One of the only ones where you actually see the process of it killing you! Jesus christ! This thing’s perfect! Firing on all cylinders! They did it, they reached horrible perfection. This thing legitimately scares me now. I fucking hate it. Thank you for that. Previous score: 5/10. New score: 10/10.

#4: (For legal purposes we should clarify it is NOT Samara): The original remains unchanged, but in Endless Mode, which we’ll get to, they put in this new version that has a huge maw of gaping fangs and a bunch of extra arms, plus it twitches all over the damn place like it’s struggling with an epileptic disorder, or possibly Parkinson’s. This is all rather more effective than the usual form, and it has a new power with this weird static overlay effect that ends up basically blinding you before resetting with the sound of a camera, inexplicably, because the devs realized they forgot to suck Fatal Frame’s dick. It does make the chase much more tense, but it also treads that line between hectic and scary and just fucking annoying and frustrating, and occasionally drunkenly tumbles over it. Previous score: 4/10. New score: 6/10. 

#6 (Benjamin Puppetfucker): This, i think, is the only one where the changes in the new game made him significantly LESS frightening. More fair, definitely, but much less frightening. See, in the og, when he spawned, no matter where you were, he’d spawn right behind you. And if you looked at him too long he’d decide to just fucking cheat and teleport behind you. Also sometimes if you tried to hit him with the axe he’d decide to call FORCEFIELD like that obnoxious little shit on the playground we all knew and it wouldn’t take. Now he always spawns by the door and waits there like a good boy for you to calmly saunter over and split his fucking head open. Very good for working out my anger issues, but still. Previous score: 9/10. New score: 6/10.

#12 (URBAN EXPLORERS GONE WILD): Yeah, no, literally the only change they made to this guy is that they added a mechanic where when he sees you outside his mansion, a scare chord plays and he just starts fucking BOOKING it at you, like full on fucking Usain Bolt sprinting at you. Very simple tweak, but also it made me drench myself in piss. Only draw-back to scariness is he apparently has smoker’s lung and can only keep it up for like 2 seconds before he gets tired and has to take a breather. Previous score: 2/10. New score: 5/10. 

BONUS: ENDLESS MODE-

KH1 (Cop Popeye...Copeye?): Yeah, this guy is so slow and ineffective that he’s not even actually in endless mode, but I felt bad leaving him out. Kinda freaky looking? Idk. ACAB 2/10

KH2 (Body bag on loan from Arkham Asylum): He’s aiight. He’s a decent boy. I mean...the fog’s aiight. He’s pretty fast. I like that he fucks with the environment in KH, but there’s nothing really...special about him. He’s just kinda there. 4/10

KH3 (Excellent argument for abortion): So these things are viscerally extremely gross, and the sounds they make are god-awful, but they just refuse to go away, and the god-awful sounds stop being god-awful in a good way and start being god-awful in a decidedly gross way. They either block your way out of a room completely or just hang out and do nothing. Nuisance. Gross nuisance. 3/10

KH4 (The Incredible Teleporting Mummy in a Gown): Yes, I know it’s a hospital gown, shut up, i’m still technically right. Anyway, this dude’s spooky, teleports basically exactly the same way that Mr. Benjamin Puppetfucker does, but his presentation’s nice. I mean what do you want? It’s functionally the exact same monster, so same score. 6/10

KH5 (Now THAT’S what I call a Mad Cow): One of the coolest and most unique designs across any iteration of the game. I love it, especially in this with the glowing eyes and shit? Ooh, mwah, chef’s kiss. BUT....exact same issue Deer Guardian, Guardian of the Deer had. Unnnnfortunately, once you’re out of its maze, you realize that they put it in a maze because there’s really no other way it’s any kind of credible threat to your safety. Just kinda floats along. Doing its thang. It’s just vibin. 6/10. It gets one less point than Deer Guardian because it can’t even go through walls. Amateur.

KH6 (FUNNY TOPICAL REFERENCE THAT WILL AGE VERY WELL): This thing is legitimately freaky as fuck with its eyeless, grinning face and bloody fingers and weird intestine/floral designs on its dress, and the way it appears in front of exit doors is a nice change of page from the usual chase. Then it kills you and between its nonsense death screen and its name in the game files, you learn it’s a fUCKING Rebecca Black Friday joke. Well, that’s getting your score cut right the fuck in half, missy. 4.5/10 Ah shit, I just remembered that this is one of the like two monsters I legitimately dreaded running into, so FINE, terrible genesis to one side and give her an 8/10. I’m still docking her one point from the 9. I can’t let that shit go unpunished.

E1 (Whiteface. It’s literally Whiteface. You know, from Imscared.exe? Yeah that): Now when I say literally, I do mean quite literally. Like they got permission, i guess. So uh...we won’t judge based on that, i guess, since it is an official cameo. Interface screws are cool, second chance mechanic is unique and gross, I didn’t want to run into it, chase is like a bit overly long to where it starts dragging, though. Also since its supposed to be a sentient computer file that breaks the fourth wall, I get very distracted and hung up on the logistics of what the fuck it’s doing in this castle and it takes me right the fuck out of it. Let’s call it a 7/10. 

E2 (Otto the Otter (yes that is its real in-game name)): I, too, hate Five Nights at Freddy’s, and this thing is very obviously not supposed to be scary, it’s supposed to be hilarious and petty and kind of adorable. And he succeeds beautifully. I felt myself cheering for him. I almost wanted to let him kill me so he’d feel good about himself. I love you, Otto. You’re my boy. 10/10

E3 (OH GOD THAT’S NOT E.T.): I fucking love this monster. The soundtrack and interface fuckery are great, the chase mechanic is unlike anything else, it’s truly original, and it’s disturbing in a much more subtle and low-key way that this game is generally sorely lacking. I love this kid infected with an interdimensional parasitoid! At least that’s what I think it is. Hey, if you have a better explanation, I’d love to hear it, smarty pants. (10/10)

E4 (Wolfu, the Wolf Waifu): I’m so conflicted about this thing. I love its gimmick, I love that it sends you to a forest to be ripped apart by wolves, I love the shadow animals. But it’s a fucking anime girl. A FUCKING anime girl!!! I....??? Why is this creature of indeterminate age deliberately drawn to look somewhere between 13 and 16 floating after me? Why does it have catgirl trappings? Why am I suddenly stricken with the unshakable and truly dire knowledge that there is fetish porn of it somewhere? 5/10.

E5 (Lisa it’s just Lisa from P.T.): oKAY, SO. Blatant plagiarism aside (this isn’t like the Whiteface thing, it’s more like the Mermaid Puss being directly lifted out of Amnesia thing), this monster is incredibly effective. Terrifying. Horrible death screen, number one enemy I dreaded seeing. BUT her chase really is obnoxiously long, especially with the looping room number, and eventually you figure out that she doesn’t teleport while you’re looking at her, she just turns invisible to psych you out, so if you just walk backwards she can’t do shit. I’ll still give her a 9/10, but with the caveat that if I wanted to play P.T...I’d just fucking play-Oh. God damn it.

[roxannepolice]

But yah rey as a character is just so frustrating you know? Cause like, yeah sure she could be complex with a powerful arc where shes forced to come to terms with the fact she wasted years of her life on self-imposed delusions in a cathartic way, or she could be a flat piece of marketing cardboard which Disney is banking on vagina+superpowers=profit without having to go through that persnicty character flaw overcoming or the like. Because like you said, hearing shes a nobody (which ngl, her assuming she was a somebody wasn’t really ever supported in tfa, just that her family was coming back and she desperately wanted them to) is apparently the worst thing but it changes absolutely nothing, not her approach, not her demeanor , if vaguely sad is the absolute worse a character is gonna experience in a goddamn space opera then yeah, full offense ill take the l on Mary sue discourse but her character will definitely be a boring ass wash. We all make fun of whiny new hope Luke but him being a kinda nuisance to both the audience and those around him is what made is transformation into full blown Jedi knight so powerful. With Rey so far what weve got is badass perfect cinnamon roll finally get her due as such, which is clearly working for some people, but I fail to see how that isn’t spectacularly tone deaf to make a protag in this genre such. Operas about drama, not patting you on the back. Rey (assuming she remains as is) would’ve been fine as a protag s the only piece of Star Wars media we ever got was a new hope. But rn she a chosen one architype (and I know that bunch of ppl are gonna go but the series ‘but shes not the chosen one, Anakin still is, the new series isn’t trying to make her one!’ but lets not beat around the burning bush, if u got a character that walks on water and the reason why is because god said so, ur dealing with a chosen one trope and if a character is star wars is made ultrapowerful in lore breaking ways because force said so? Yeah were dealing with a chosen one.) when we had both the deconstruction and the reconstruction done. Shes a straight hero when the success of the ot rest on hitting the formula near perfect the first time. What exactly is Rey, the individual character, bringing to the table? What makes her story supposedly so important the a perfectly good ending had to be made invalid to tell it? A bunch of ppl will say heroines’ journey! But if that’s the case I gotta say, wheres all the feminine shit? Im serious, if the heroines journey is reintegrating the feminine and realizing ‘oh shit mom had a point’ there where is both the feminine skills/coping mechanism and the mom? I mean I saw some ppl arguing for leia in a ‘reys Persephone!’ meta (she isn’t, you can make a much better case for ben himself as Persephone to be quite frank, yall are focusing so much on the trees ((girl gets abducted by guy)) that u forgot the forest existed, the actually story ((girl winds up queen on the underworld, well gee whiz which character just took control of that after leaving the world of living and a grieving divine mother behind, it’s a mystery apparently) behind, it’s a mystery apparently) ((but seriously though even if we hope for dark rey does anyone assume its gonna be taking control of a dark/dead coded org at least partially at this point, do you, do you really??). but given the fact she had what, one line of screen dialogue that’s breaking ur arm with that stretch. As far as skills go I guess you could make an argument for scavenging, but if that’s the case dlf did a shit job of conveying that as female-coded. Everything about rey in tfa seems deliberately androgynous, and yeah, she had her hair let down/mascara moment, but that’s tied to her ‘failure’ on the supremacy thus something nw.SPEAKIGN OF FAILURES ON THE SUPERAMCY AND LACK THERE OF. I find it kind funny that bunch of reylo bnfs (you know who they are) are all ‘hur dur fanboys/antis are dumb and don’t get story structure.’ And then going, ‘why are yall asking how/assuming rey fucked up in throne room/climax of her story in the second portion/darkest point of her character arc? Why do you hate women/ur own ovaries so much?’ because it like walking into a prefurnished house and being told by the relator ‘HERES THE LIVING ROOM’ and having no damn couch. It’s a living room, I expect a couch here. And in a movie where it’s the low point of a character arc and they drag puppet yoda out to tell me the movie is about failure, I expect a damn failure in whats clearly the climax of the characters arc for this movie. As it stands now there are three possibilities imo. 1st, rey had no failure, she is the pure badass maid o light ppl want and every inch the boring cardboard she is accused of by fanbros, remains static, and is relegated to an also ran to benlo taking the most compelling character trophy this trilogy in 10 yrs2nd possibility and the one im hoping for, failure speech wasn’t just thematic explanation but also foreshadowing, rey fucks up big and dramatic in a way that makes her manage to stand out as unique with both her contemporaries and her predecessors(last part, if its ever to much lemme know pls im sorry i just gotta get it out) 3rd and most likely possibility, rey isn’t the main character, benlo is and that’s why his failure both moral in the throne room and logistic on criat take center stage for the last third or so of the movie. Rey is merely a pov character to tell the dramatic villain protag story they wanted and have their very marketable unproblematic Disney heroine cake too.

Ok, so this discourse kinda died down by now, but thanks to that it’s possible to maybe have a calmer look at it I’m totally not trying to justify my late response.

Anyway, the good result is that quite recently my brother, who’s not overly taken with Rey - or the sequels in general, for that matter - said something which really stuck with me as a possible crux of the problem: 

She’s neither comical nor tragical. Just bland. 

This neither comical nor tragical really struck me. And the more I though about it, the more it was appearing to me that this qualm really applies to the sequels as a whole. The thing is that DLF are essentially telling a straightforward story that they’re trying to make captivatingly convoluted. And not just make, but keep this appearance over four years. And this is... a narrative teeth crasher. Like, when you’re honest about the endgame (in the context of the most structural meanings of comedy and tragedy), you can maintain a decorum, though you can also play with it, of course, whereas when you don’t want to be honest about the endgame, you end up mixing the styles somewhat messily. You can’t break or discuss with the rules without acknowledging them, so to speak. Because the originals were honest about the happy/hopeful endgame (the first episode is title A New Hope ffs), they could allow themselves deeply tragic moments like Larses’ deaths, Han getting frozen, destruction of Alderaan, etc. Because the prequels were open about being a tragedy, they could allow themselves lighthearted comic relief for the sake of lighthearted comic relief. 

The sequels... badly want us to consider the possibility of FO winning and Ben dying unredeemed while simultaneously insisting we root for those things not happening, while appearing conscious we’re definitely not buying the former and the latter only somewhat. And it’s tiresome. Dishonest. And indeed, bland. If the story is a tragedy it will be a bloodcurdlingly real one, if it’s a comedy it will be a borderline grotesque one. 

But yeah, returning to Rey, I guess as the main character she’s a lens which focuses the above problems. A very bitter tragedy of what her parents did t her prevents her from being comfortably comical whereas whoohooos I like thats and prancing like a husky on red bull over idols and visions because it’s for children so it must be hopeful prevents her from being intriguingly tragical. So I guess the intentioned effect was tragicomism but, from pov of an engaged casual fan that is my bro, it’s neither. 

As far as Rey’s heroine’s journey lacking some of the usual elements, I blame it on Disney being... a bit too ambitious, maybe. I think they tried to make a heroine’s journey that isn’t ostentaciously seeped in traditional feminine/masculine traits, maintains the structure without what could be called accidentals. On the one hand, I would point out that hero’s journey has pretty much desexualised itself over time, we are rather accustomed to “shero’s” journeys, but on the other... maybe Disney set out on a too novel a territory and may crack their teeth on it, alongside trying to out-Vader Vader at redemption. To elucidate, “toxic femininity” in which a heroine is supposed to find herself in the beginning of her journey, in Rey’s case is uprooted from any of our usual concepts of feminine-masculine social roles (it’s space, duh). My interpretation is that Rey’s version of toxic femininity kind of exists in contrast with Kylo Ben’s version of toxic masculinity - and since the apparent focus of the story is the attitude towards the past/parent figures, toxic femininity would mean her clutching onto the past. Which is why I predict that some act of IX will find Rey inebriated with apparent success in masculine world, meaning she’ll be the one rejecting the old gods this time - and I would point out that panel in Poe comic where she shows herself more sceptical towards idolisation of past don’t mind me, I’m just expressingmy trash dreams for a proper sith lady Rey.

Then again, Rian Johnson said she already found perfect balance between Luke’s clinginess and Kylo’s rejection of the past, so... idk, maybe I’m giving DLF too much credit again.

As for the Persephone thing, I guess the rub is that this reylo reading focuses less on the traditional reading of the myth (where Demeter is the actual main character and Kore is a Princess Peach MacGuffin) and more of an interpretation of it as one of the eldest (at least in Europe) versions of story depicting a transition of a girl into a woman, making Persephone more of a protagonist. 

Like, y’know, this Persephone (D. G. Rosetti, source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proserpine_(Rossetti_painting))

I’m no expert, but myths can lose their original meanings because of power relations (anyone still remember about Dionysus, the god associated with excessive drinking, going through a very Christ-like death and resurrection?) and I think it’s possible that this is the case with the story of Persephone becoming a pre-scientific explanation of seasons changing over the year. So teah, that’s how I always understood the Persephone theme regarding Rey.

But yes, I must agree that I’m confused about Disney’s handling of the mother figure, which... Look, SW became a legend of a modern myth because of how epically Lucas handled the hero dealing with his very explicit father. So yes, I don’t understand what exactly is their game with Rey Nobody from Nowhere in this regard. It’s one thing that they had a cool idea with giving her no lineage, another that parent figures are an essential element of archetypal journeys and from symbolic viewpoint the case of a female character the biological relationship is even more crucial than in male’s. And I swear to all the ewoks and porgs in the galaxy, I do hope Disney’s idea of Rey healing the mother/daughter divide isn’t through her healing the divide between Leia and Ben. Again, this isn’t the idealistic sphere. Just... no. 

Anyway, I still maintain hope (this whole meta blog is built on hope) that Rey will indeed turn out to have a proper personal mistake which will make her stand out in the saga. I do have to admit, though, that I find your last theory very likely. I mean, even when I read all the reylo metas going oh, Rey is going to have such an exciting arc in IX, she has so much to deal with though of course it’s not going to compromise her morally, it will be sooo exciting, I just... f*ck’s sake, what you’re describing isn’t a dramatic character only a dramatised role model. It’s great if that’s your thing, but don’t claim it is space opera-worthy, in operas people drown themselves because of cursed sailors, kill over a break up, decapitate over a bad dream and get dragged to hell over a dinner, not persuade their fallen lovers to change their ways, let alone patienly wait for them the understand the error of their ways (and if they do it’s doomed to end in someone dying).

[edxwin-elric]

So Much I Can’t Breathe

Rating: T

Pairing: Edwin/Edward Elric x Winry Rockbell

Disclaimer: I don’t own Fullmetal Alchemist.

Word Count: 1670

Title: So Much I Can’t Breathe

Description: Edwin One Shot/angst/fluff? – Post-canon, married fic

Edward surprises Winry with some news, which leads to a fight more intense than their usual shouting matches.

A/N: Request by anon. #91 – “Tell me you need me.” From this prompt list. Idk if this is what you were looking for, but here you go. It’s time it was released from my WIP folder. Comments are always appreciated. Enjoy!

ffn || ao3 || JennIf

Winry

I hear the door open to my workshop, and I wince. Is it that late already?

“I’ll be out in a minute, Ed,” I call. “Let me just finish this–”

“Don’t bother,” he interrupts me gruffly. “I just came to say goodbye for the night.”

“What?” I drop the screw I’m holding and twist my neck to look over my shoulder.

I flinch when I see him. He’s wearing a face I’ve never seen before. Dark and surly. Like he has no emotion. It’s just…empty.

“I’m going to stay at the hotel in town tonight,” he announces in a low tone. “We can talk in the morning.”

“What?” I repeat, my voice faltering. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m sick of it, Winry,” he says quietly. “This…whatever this is. I can’t do it anymore.”

He turns to leave, and I jump up from my seat. “Wait!”

He doesn’t even turn around. My heart plummets as I chase him out into the yard.

“Edward! You can’t just leave,” I shout at his back. “Talk to me!”

He stops walking, and I freeze, waiting.

“Tell me you need me.”

“Tell you I—What?” I blink at him and take a step back.

“Tell me you need me, Winry,” he repeats, turning to look at me slowly.

“Are you serious?” I stare at him in shock. “You think I don’t need you?”

I watch a muscle in his jaw twitch.

“Well, it sure as hell doesn’t seem like it, Winry,” he bites out. “You’re always in your workshop obsessing over automail, and when I try to help, you just snap at me constantly about how I’m doing it wrong.”

“Ed,” I whisper.

“And no matter how hard I try, I can’t seem to cook a decent meal or wash the damn dishes right. If I attempt to fix anything, I fuck it up. I’m just…done. I need to feel useful in my own fucking house, and right now I don’t. I just feel like I’m a nuisance.”

“Edward, please.”

“I’m not finished,” he snarls, holding his hand up.

I go quiet and wait while he takes a deep breath through his nose.

“We haven’t had sex in over a month, Winry,” he announces softly. “A month. Any time I mentioned it, you told me you were tired, so I quit bringing it up. But I heard you in the shower the other morning, and I know exactly what those sounds mean. So, you do have the energy, you just don’t want to spend it on me.”

“I thought you were asleep,” I say softly. “I didn’t want to wake–”

“You didn’t use to mind,” he cuts me off. “You used to wake me up in the middle of the night with your mouth between my legs. What happened to that?”

“I…” I feel my eyes start burning, and my chest gets tight. “I don’t know,” I confess. “You’ve been spending so much time working on your research, I didn’t think…”

“Do you even want to be married to me anymore?”

The question hits me like a punch to the stomach, and I feel like the wind has been knocked out of me.

“How can you ask that?” I whisper. “I love you.”

“Do you?”

My face heats with a rush of anger, and I ball my fists at my sides.

“Of course, I do, you idiot!” I scream at him, tears slipping down my cheeks. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you! But if you’re just going to-to–” I throw my hand out wildly. “To give up when things get hard for you, fine!”

“I’m not giving up!” he shouts back, walking toward me. “I’ve tried to talk to you about this, but you’ve been busy doing what-the-fuck-ever in your damn shop so much you haven’t given me the time of day! Since when are you so selfish?”

“Selfish?” I hiss. “You think I’m being selfish? Designing prosthetics for deserving people who have lost limbs?”

He frowns at me.

“Not like that,” he growls. “You know that isn’t what I meant. I mean the other times. The early mornings and late nights that I know you aren’t spending making customers’ designs. What about then? Are you avoiding me? What?”

“I’ll admit I’ve been putting in extra time in the shop, Ed, but there’s a good reason.”

“Is that so? I hope you’re not entering into another competition in Rush Valley. You have enough damn awards.”

I jerk back as if he slapped me, and feel my cheeks burn.

“I didn’t realize you felt that way,” I murmur, “but it’s not.”

“It’s not?”

“It’s not for a competition, and I’m not avoiding you either.” My voice sounds weak, and I hate it.

“Well then, what–”

“It’s your leg,” I speak over him.

Edward

“My…what?”

“Your leg,” she explains, looking up to meet my eyes. “I’m designing you a new one. It was supposed to be an anniversary gift, but…I guess there’s no point in keeping it secret anymore.”

“Shit, Winry,” I groan. “I…”

“I wanted to surprise you with it,” she whispers, blinking rapidly to keep the visible tears in her eyes from falling.

My gut twists, and I want to bang my head against the wall.

“That’s why I was working early mornings and late nights,” she goes on. “I was working with a new alloy and incorporating all these cool upgrades that I thought you’d like…”

“Look, I…” I exhale slowly. “I’m an idiot,” I mumble finally. “I didn’t mean any of those things I said, and I’m so sorry I hurt your feelings.”

“Usually, people are more honest when they’re angry,” she ventures carefully. “Are you sure you didn’t mean anything you said?”

“I…well, no. I mean, yes? I don’t know–”

“You don’t know?” she echoes bitingly.

“No! I mean, God, Winry, I didn’t mean to—Just…” I groan and run a hand over his face. “I shouldn’t have reacted like this. I let my insecurities get the better of me, and I let myself believe something ridiculous.”

“Insecurities? About what?” she asks, her tone losing its edge.

“Well, us.” I exhale slowly and look away. “You’re too good for me, and I know it, and sometimes…it gets to me. I love you like crazy, and the idea that you could do so much better than me–”

“Shut up.”

I blink and look up at her. She looks ready to slap me, and the way her watering eyes are glaring at me is unnerving. My entire body freezes at the intensity of her gaze.

“Don’t you ever say something so stupid ever again, Edward Elric,” she demands, her voice vibrating with rage. “If you do, so help me, I’ll knock you senseless.”

“Winry, I–”

“Do you really think I would’ve married you if I thought I could do better?”

I start to open my mouth when she waves a hand in my face.

“Don’t answer that.”

I watch as she takes a few breaths before turning back to me.

“You’re it for me, Ed,” she says softly. “You always have been. And…it hurts that you don’t think you’re good enough because I know that you’re so much more than that. I married you because I love you, and I want to spend my life with you. I want to have your babies and bring them up, teaching them about how their daddy saved the whole country and their Uncle Al. But it doesn’t matter how much I believe in you, if you don’t believe in yourself.”

“Fuck. Winry, I…”

“I know you’re trying to figure out how to live without alchemy still, considering you’ve been using it for as long as I can remember, but you’re not useless. Your research is important, and I’m sorry if I nag at you sometimes–”

“I love you so much sometimes I can’t breathe,” I blurt out over her.

“What?”

“I just mean…I’m sorry. For all of this.” I grab her hands, pulling her closer. “Can you forgive me?”

“Always.” She tugs her fingers from mine and reaches up to caress my face.

With her lips so close to mine, I can’t resist the pull, leaning down to kiss them. She melts against me instantly, and I slide my arms around her back.

God, Winry is everything.

After a long moment, she tucks her head into my shoulder, breaking the kiss. I rub my nose in her hair, the familiar scent instantly soothing my nerves.

“You know,” she murmurs, her voice muffled. “Since it’s not a surprise anymore, I could go ahead and fit you for your new leg.”

“Really? Are you sure? I mean, is it done?”

She tilts her head back to meet my eyes and grins. “I just finished it last night. I really wanted to show you, actually, so I’m not really upset that you know.”

“Our anniversary isn’t too terribly far away anyway.”

“And if I swap it out now, I’ll have time to do any alterations to make sure you’ve completely adjusted to it before the day.”

I frown at her.

“Why does that matter?”

“Well…” she starts leadingly, “maybe I should say the night.”

“The night?”

“Uh-huh. If you have plans for our anniversary night, Ed, I definitely do. Plans that don’t require…clothes.”

I swallow hard and almost choke when I feel her hand slide under my shirt.

“You know, if you want to, we could practice right now.”

“Practice?”

“Yeah,” she breathes, her fingers skimming across my waist.

“You don’t have work to do?” I grunt.

“Work can wait. I want to spend time with you right now.”

Well, how can I say “no” to that?

“Lead the way, Mrs. Elric.”

She lets out a giggle that hits me straight in the chest, and I brace myself as she leads me to the house and upstairs toward our bedroom.

What started out as a terrible confrontation took a wild turn, and I honestly couldn’t be happier.

[daehwvns]

hey guys, i’m june! i’m 21, from the pst and my pronouns are she/her! my son here, daehwan, is a mix of beauty and chaos because...well, he’s beautiful but has a lot of issues deep down lol. if any of y’all would be down to have something going on with daehwan, just send me an IM or like this post and i’ll message you instead! under the cut is his story so far :)

( min yoongi, cismale, he/him, twenty-seven ) — daehwan shin, better known to the media as ares has been working for the yōkai for around 6 years. rumor has it, he can be insightful & plucky but also blunt & virulent which is why he makes the perfect crowd control.

** daehwan’s mask looks like this -- basically inspired by the devil, with the horns and everything. he wants it simple but not too boring either so he settled for black plus the details it has.

backstory

tw: death

daehwan was born in morioka, japan to a wealthy family. his dad is a businessman and owns a large share of a pharmaceutical company based in seoul while his mother was a doctor.

daehwan’s upbringing was…sad, in a way, because his parents were barely there when he was growing up. daehwan’s father was always away, doing business out of morioka or the country but whenever he’s back home, he would always pressure ( not encourage ) him to do better in his studies. his dad was strict and daehwan hated his ‘nurturing’ ways because to him, it didn’t help him be better in any way.

but his mother, on the other hand, was the opposite of his father. she was very nurturing and supported daehwan in the best way she could; often encouraging him to continue his passion for the arts ( painting and drawing ) but she lacked the time to be with him due to her work and usually being assigned as the head of medical teams sent to work abroad.

basically, daehwan was often left in the hands of his nanny hired by his parents and this made it difficult for him to really bond with his parents, especially his dad. so he grew up and matured in ways that wasn’t necessarily always fit to make the best decisions.

despite his upbringing, daehwan was a good student at school. he’s pretty smart but sometimes, too smart that some of his teachers find him a nuisance lmao. nevertheless, he survived high school and went to uni to pursue a degree in fine arts.

however, at 19, daehwan’s mother died on a plane crash on the way back to japan and this hit him pretty hard ( his mom was the only one who supported him so even when she lacked the time to be with him, her death still affected him heavily ).

daehwan ended up quitting uni and because he found no purpose in living in the empty house that his parents had ( his father was still m.i.a even after his mother’s death ), he left morioka and moved to tokyo.

at 20, daehwan starts out his life in tokyo and worked as a tattoo artist. he started out in small tattoo parlors before ending up in a well-reputed one where his clients consisted of people who had some form of affiliation with gangs to actual yakuza members and while he should’ve find such clients frightening, daehwan found himself intrigued by them.

in the same fashion was how he ended up meeting ( and eventually befriending ) a person who had ties with yokai ( potential plot ). he hung out a lot with this person and in one of their night outs, some drunk guy started shit with him and his friend and...well, things didn’t end up pretty, especially on the other guy’s end lol. needless to say, daehwan beat the shit out of the guy and before the police could arrive to the scene, his friend dragged daehwan away from the place -- saved his ass the jail time it could’ve served sksks

that scenario, however, sparked an idea in his friend’s mind and ultimately resulted to daehwan being recruited into the group as a crowd control.

soon he found himself tangled up in the illegal yet fascinating world of yokai, and daehwan, to say the least, loved it. he was drawn to it and the people surrounding this newly discovered world that his transition came by rather smoothly.

now daehwan works for the group for six years and has no plans of ever getting out of the world he now lives in. he knows he can’t get back to how things were for him --- not that he had anything nor anyone to get back to anyway.

personality

daehwan is a relatively affable guy. befriending people is usually not a problem to him unless he didn’t like them right off the bat ( or vice versa ) and if that’s the case, there’s no way he’ll show his good side to that person lol all they’d get for him are caustic comments and him laying out reasons why he doesn’t like them lmao

he’s insightful and could sense someone’s bullshit pretty easily. daehwan is also very self-reliant and would usually want to handle things on his own ( unless the ordeal is too much for him, then he’ll ask for someone’s help though with loads of hesitation on his end ).

as such, daehwan is headstrong af and if he knows he’s right, he won’t stop until you know for sure that he’s right and isn’t scared to speak his mind ( and a lot of times, that could be a problem ).

he likes making money ( probably why he found the whole underground scene fascinating because of how relatively easy it is to earn money if you know what to do; in his case, he does ) and a bit self-indulgent ( likes to party, drink and fuck lol ) and this lands him in trouble from time to time.

violence tw: this boi is also hella plucky and it can either be a good or bad thing, depending on the situation. additionally, him being virulent meant he’s not afraid of starting or finishing a fight even with someone who’s way bigger than him. doesn’t really give a fucc if he goes home with his face ruined so long as he knows the other a-hole learns their lesson and/or got a good beating from him lmao

daehwan also likes...flirting. he’s subtle most of the time but get him drunk and he can get vocal. would most probably hit on anyone as long as he found them attractive lmao

can get really soft with the people he loves/cares about though and can get overprotective as well. he’s a soft boi but also not a soft boi at the same time lol

all in all though, daehwan is a pretty good person who has the tendency to act first before thinking of the consequences later. save this boi from himselfksksks

quick facts

he’s skilled at painting and drawing and is an excellent tattoo artist.

he’s still working as a tattoo artist and has very recently opened his own small tattoo parlor in tokyo. basically, tattooing is like...a side job for him at this point (because he definitely earns more with yokai) but he loves the art -- loves making art with ink so don’t think he’ll drop this hobby/job anytime soon.

can tattoo people using a machine or using the traditional japanese technique called “tebori” -- which is basically tattooing manually by hand with a wooden or metal tool.

daehwan is bisexual. if he finds someone attractive or the connection is there, he’ll pursue them. that being said, he have had relationships and flings with both males and females in the past.

he has 8 tattoos and counting. one of them fills his right forearm, one on his right hand, while four are on his left arm, another one on his left shoulder blade and one on the back of his left ear. that being said, he makes sure to always wear clothing that covers his tattoos entirely when carrying out their ‘jobs’ so as to not be recognized by anyone by them.

speaks 3 languages: korean, japanese and english.

he’s korean japanese. basically, him and his parents are/were ethnically korean born in japan.

he stands 5′10 and has a pretty muscular build but not that muscular, if that makes sense? he’s not the big buff guy people might expect a ‘crowd control’ person to be and the result is often him being underestimated by anyone who tries to start shit with him. only when they get the beating from him that they’d realize how wrong they were for doing such because boi has such good brawling skills matched with an ‘idgaf’ attitude and idk about u but that’s pretty scary and dangerous ksksk

has a 1 year old husky doggo named ‘chan’. daehwan goes full softie with this good boi like...that’s his son ;~; slander or hurt his dog and daehwan would come biting your ankles sakjdlajsd

will probably add more later when i think of something!