#//yes link yoinked their last name

[chaos-cousins]

So I've realized that pixie plate has had one (1) effect on me

I am slightly better at cooking.

So, naturally, I've decided to try an make the best possible curry I can

AND IVE DONE IT. I'VE FINALLY FUCKING DONE IT.

I HAVE MADE BETTER CURRY THAN LINK AMAMIYA, HERO OF HYRULE.

[tewwor-aaa]

* & INTROSPECTION — PILDO / JIWOO BY PROXY .

hi, hello, let me babble into the nothingness of my soapbox that is this platform thank you.

mn spoilers(ish) below!

in my third verse ( bite the bullet ) for pildo, i’ve noticed a fairly stark difference of personality and it won’t leave my head. like, yes, he did almost get shot in the head before jiwoo yoinked him out of the way. but it’s never really been about the physical trauma he experiences himself. it’s always what other’s go through that leaves a deeper and longer impact on him, so i think.

going back to the car scene ( again — no i won’t shut up about it ), pildo either has some serious compartmentalization skills going on to chat with jiwoo like normal when she wakes up and he deals with the trauma off screen, or nearly being pancaked by a car crusher really didn’t have a big impact on him ( which i personally highly doubt — which is why i have my hc of certain triggers for my version of him ).

also, when giho’s tapdancing on the line of dying, the shock and hurt you see pildo go through is visceral before and after the incident. in my mind, he becomes a little more desperate to get to the bottom of things ( whichever way that may lead him ) and open.

i know he has that whole speech of wanting revenge so badly that he began to lose himself in that shack on the beach. he didn’t recognize who he was anymore, etc, etc. but i think.. that maybe... after jiwoo ( in this third verse ) decides to continue her pursuit of mujin outside of the law ( because he’s still alive, he’s still here, danger can and will always follow so long as he breathes — even if it feels as if his own is linked with hers because of roots planted in betrayal ) that pildo breaks a little. he starts to revert back to that time where he doesn’t know his face anymore. where he’d do anything to catch whoever he’s seeking, albeit without wanting to harm them this time since it’d be jiwoo after she barely makes it out alive ( which he wouldn’t even allow himself believe ).

so he’s more rough around the edges. more brash and bold ( if you can believe that ). less peppy and outwardly annoying ( he doesn’t have the time to fool around anymore ). even quicker to anger, quicker to lash out, quicker to reprimand. more.. careless. but he’s still got a good heart underneath all of that. it’s just hidden for the time being as he sorts through ( or doesn’t ) the pain of understanding how jiwoo thought that was for the best. that, despite the deep trust they’ve developed, it’s better to continue that cycle of violence because it’s the only finality that will stop mujin.

last thing. even if pildo and jiwoo do cross paths again and — let’s say the best happens and they partner up again or at least stay constant in each other’s lives — i don’t think.. that pildo will ever revert back to how he is for the majority of my name. some of that light-hearted cocky arrogance will come back, sure, but never fully. like he’s almost.. mellowed out juuuust a little bit in a weird way. i also think he clings to those he loves that much harder and closer.

[tewwor-a]

* & INTROSPECTION — PILDO / JIWOO BY PROXY .

hi, hello, let me babble into the nothingness of my soapbox that is this platform thank you.

in my third verse ( bite the bullet ) for pildo, i’ve noticed a fairly stark difference of personality and it won’t leave my head. like, yes, he did almost get shot in the head before jiwoo yoinked him out of the way. but it’s never really been about the physical trauma he experiences himself. it’s always what other’s go through that leaves a deeper and longer impact on him, so i think. 

going back to the car scene ( again — no i won’t shut up about it ), pildo either has some serious compartmentalization skills going on to chat with jiwoo like normal when she wakes up and he deals with the trauma off screen, or nearly being pancaked by a car crusher really didn’t have a big impact on him ( which i personally highly doubt — which is why i have my hc of certain triggers for my version of him ). 

also, when giho’s tapdancing on the line of dying, the shock and hurt you see pildo go through is visceral before and after the incident. in my mind, he becomes a little more desperate to get to the bottom of things ( whichever way that may lead him ) and open.

i know he has that whole speech of wanting revenge so badly that he began to lose himself in that shack on the beach. he didn’t recognize who he was anymore, etc, etc. but i think.. that maybe... after jiwoo ( in this third verse ) decides to continue her pursuit of mujin outside of the law ( because he’s still alive, he’s still here, danger can and will always follow so long as he breathes — even if it feels as if his own is linked with hers because of roots planted in betrayal ) that pildo breaks a little. he starts to revert back to that time where he doesn’t know his face anymore. where he’d do anything to catch whoever he’s seeking, albeit without wanting to harm them this time since it’d be jiwoo after she barely makes it out alive ( which he wouldn’t even allow himself believe ). 

so he’s more rough around the edges. more brash and bold ( if you can believe that ). less peppy and outwardly annoying ( he doesn’t have the time to fool around anymore ). even quicker to anger, quicker to lash out, quicker to reprimand. more.. careless. but he’s still got a good heart underneath all of that. it’s just hidden for the time being as he sorts through ( or doesn’t ) the pain of understanding how jiwoo thought that was for the best. that, despite the deep trust they’ve developed, it’s better to continue that cycle of violence because it’s the only finality that will stop mujin. 

last thing. even if pildo and jiwoo do cross paths again and — let’s say the best happens and they partner up again or at least stay constant in each other’s lives — i don’t think.. that pildo will ever revert back to how he is for the majority of my name. some of that light-hearted cocky arrogance will come back, sure, but never fully. like he’s almost.. mellowed out juuuust a little bit in a weird way. i also think he clings to those he loves that much harder and closer. 

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh Ep 29 S4: Joey Wheeler, Dead Again

It took me kind of a while to get around to recapping again, been some drama on this end due to a couple natural disasters all happening in conjunction with eachother, but thankfully we are back in the green (sort of) there’s still wildfire smoke out my window but at least...at least the fires aren’t getting any bigger.

And it’s a shame we didn’t get to it sooner, because this episode has so many wild things in it, I don’t even know where to start. There was a lot of dueling, so I didn’t have to cap a whole lot...but even within such few caps, there’s some stuff to talk about. Like first off, the Kaiba’s inability to walk five feet without getting attacked by someone.

Seto still winning Brother of the year award even after nearly shooting his bro with real ass lightning. Because remember, this lightning is 100% real. None of these are holograms.

And by the way, a “hologram” just grabbed Mokuba with real ass hands and Seto was like “Clearly still a hologram!” Because that is how deep his denial runs.

Anyways, this is where the Kaibas will be until the remainder of this episode, so we’ll just leave them where they are.

(read more under the cut)

Back at the duel between Mai and Joey, we’re slowly working out what it is the Orichalcos even does.

We have had very little indication you can break the Oricalchos control on people’s minds up to this duel, but because Joey showed heart and bravery or whatever--he’s been slowly chipping away at Mai’s crusty, neon green, outer shell.

(I had a littttle bit of a hunger for some Taco Bell Baja Blast, not gonna lie. A little bit tempted because of that weird color. And now that I’ve eaten popcorn, I am 80% itching to drive to Taco Bell and make some mistakes. But I won’t.)

Comparing this to Pharaoh and Kaiba and their Oricalchos duels (even Rex and Weevil’s) it kind of makes you wonder why this never happened.......to anyone else? I mean, obviously it’s plot reasons, but it would have been a little neat to have some character development for the other villains.

But this unnecessary duel to the death between Joey and Mai spends most of the time screaming about how deep and real their love friendship is. Just a whooole bunch of aggressive friendzoning for the lady who just aggressively hates everyone.

(Haven’t seen much of Yugioh Abridged because it’s spoiler territory but everyone who retweets Joey stuff puts “Brooklyn Rage” in there so I have learned the lingo through osmosis.)

So because, someone’s absolutely going to die, lets start going through all of the flashbacks to remind the audience to feel something when they biff it. Lets recite the times we all spent with Mai.

Remember how they brushed Mai under the rug for 3 seasons, and now that they actually need her, they’re shooting themselves in the foot because there’s actually very little evidence that they like eachother at all?

But they do show those few times they hung out: the camping trip where they almost got burned alive by PaniK, that time that Joey caught her smelling her own cards, that time that Yugi had a panic attack because he was convinced Pharaoh would murder her during a card game, that time that she almost got hit by a fireball and then Joey jumped in front of her.

PS, that fireball scene--they keep going back to that fireball scene but they cut out the part where, yes, Joey jumped in front of her--but then Yugi jumped in front of Joey, and then Yami took over and was like EFF YUGI DAMN IT while he got pegged with fireballs. Like...c’mon, Yugioh, there was a lot of fanservice in that particular episode, and you’re leaving out a majority of the ships.

Partial truth, Yugioh--you’re telling partial truths. If we’re saying friendzoning is a good replacement for some sort of romance, then this show is just a giant geometric shape of “who might possibly like who if they weren’t so addicted to friendship.” This show has “friendship” as the underlying tagline of every episode with every person.

In the process of removing romance--they accidentally made SO MUCH MORE romantic implications in this show. I just feel like this backfired in so many ways. Or...maybe this was exactly what they wanted. And by “they” I mean that one writer who stans Seto Kaiba in the back--just sitting there in the corner of the writer’s room tapping his fingers together and cackling like an evil villain. He knows what he did. Genius mastermind, slipping in his favorite ships by making every ship Yugioh-legal.

And, also the Joey/Mai duel was a lot of this type of questionable content:

Joey Freakin Wheeler.

So I forgot if I mentioned this, but my bro had this friend in college who go struck by lightning not once, but multiple times in his life. He lived in like Virginia or North Carolina--one of the monsoon States, and he’d go on this hike to the top of this mountain--and on two different occasions at the same spot, he got stuck by freakin lightning. So like...Joey Wheelers do exist. There are people out there who just...

They’re just lightning rods wherever they go and their brain is somewhat scrambled eggs because of it.

(PS fun fact I googled just now because I couldn’t remember which state Virginia was, a Virginian by the name of Roy Sullivan was supposedly struck by lightning 7 different times and survived all of them. The more you know. ((PS still on the Google deep dive and the same guy also claimed to have been attacked by a bear 22 times (he’s a park ranger, so that checks) and once he was attacked by a bear immediately after he got struck by lightning which is like some pretty pro strats by said bear.)))

But like...kinda weird that Joey’s now kinda into this, and got super into it during a lovers friendship quarrel.

Anyway, all things come to an end, so Mai decides after enough cards have been played and Joey is clearly about to die...maybe it’s time to just accept not being 1st in the world in cards. Which...would have meant she should have been playing Yugi during this duel but, wtv. She clearly wants to be mad at Joey, specifically.

And I think the show didn’t do such a good job explaining why she was focused on Joey and not any of the other duelists until the very end, but we’ll get there. We’ll finally get to an explanation of why she was so fixated on Wheeler, we just have to wait for him to die first.

Because after the lightning strikes, and after putting so much effort into punching Valon right before this...Joey is too sleepy to continue.

So he’s just gonna die here instead...

2nd time he’s passed out in a duel by the way. Remember that Joey almost beat Marik, but was too damn sleepy after the electrocution? Same situation here. Look at that parallel.

Reminder that Joey STARTED this duel.

It’s like when you’re playing a game with a toddler and then it just passes out halfway and without any warning with it’s face just flat into the carpet.

Anyway, Mai grabs him in her arms sobbing all over him like she just did with Valon and it’s like...damn, this girl can just turn it off and on huh? Like she’s only 100% or -100% when it comes to the relationship meter, huh? No in between?

Mmmm cue that irony that Yugioh loves so much, this entire duel was unnecessary, because all you had to do was yoink that necklace.

Really the solution to dealing with a lot of assholes in Yugioh, to be honest.

This really is what Seto says in the show, by the way--a glitch. I like that Seto does not accept that dragons can feel sadness, and is just ITCHING to patch that out in the next release of duel monsters. I imagine that he’ll make a meeting once this is all over with his code team and at the top of the list will be the demand “Make The Dragons Stop Crying.” triple underlined, bold, and in bright red font. The entire code team will side eye eachother, unsure if this is a literal bug or something that Seto just hears all the time but no one else can hear.

So back at the Joey death fort, Mai decides to finally illustrate with words why she had to go so hard on killing Joey wheeler.

It was because she saw his kindness and his help as a weakness and a failure on her part. Mai, who always wants to be independent and in charge, could not accept that someone else had saved her or would want to save her. Which was apparently why she decided to peace out back at the end of the Marik arc.

It’s a bit of a complicated character for a kid’s show, I’m not sure how many kids understood the pride situation here, but it’s nice they stuck in something that wasn’t just “I want to be the best.” It was more that she didn’t want to be helped in order to become the best.

(PS, there’s this flashback scene where Joey’s like “bye” as she drives away and it was unintentionally a very awkward and funny cut and I may grab that little quip. I have to cap a couple of animations, tbh, I haven’t done that in a while)

So, now that she is fully recovered, she decides to complete the parallel of when Joey saved her in a death coma and now she will do the same (although it is SLIGHTLY different since in this version she kind of absolutely killed Joey Wheeler but...still works). She decides to do the job these stupid boys have not been able to do for the entirety of this season.

(these boots are REALLY well drawn, by the way. OBSESSED with Mai’s boots.)

If only she swooped up Pharaoh and just stuck him on the back of her bike to get this final fight going.

But Pharaoh’s too busy getting lost in San Francisco, and stumbling upon Joey’s dead body.

That this is the season where Yami can do nothing right and it just keeps happening.

No idea how we’re going to resurrect Joey in so short a period of time, but we’re completely out of spooky necklaces, so I guess we can’t do the Pharaoh solution to just...stick him back in there.

Anyways, I’m off to recover from the trauma of my house burning down last week, so I’m gonna go eat a pint of ice cream while I dream of a life before quarantine (was there a time before quarantine? I honestly don’t remember)

If you just got here this is a link to these in chrono order.

https://steve0discusses.tumblr.com/tagged/yugioh/chrono

[catsafarithewriter]

Day 7: Heist

A/N: Another ficlet for Day 7: Heist of the TCR Birthday Bash 2020, cause this idea came suddenly from a Discord discussion, and also from this post. A ficlet, in which the non-human members of the Bureau perform a heist into Haru’s flat for entirely chaotic reasons. 

x

On the fridge in Haru’s flat was a list. It read:

Pirates of the Caribbean The Princess Bride Nightmare Before Christmas Robin Hood (Errol Flynn) Robin Hood (Douglas Fairbanks) Robin Hood (Disney)

And other such movies that Haru had deemed Bad Influences due to the dramatic tendencies the characters displayed. 

(Haru had learnt that lesson after showing Galaxy Quest to the Bureau, and then having to yoink Baron back from his newfound desire to wait until the last second before pressing big impressive countdown buttons.)

And the latest addition, scribbled on in orange marker, was Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time.

Now, Baron could somewhat understand the rest. Haru had given a quick rundown of the plots - and, yes, he could see why pirates and kidnapped princesses and dashing do-gooders might have dramatic leanings that would be irresistible to a Creation such as him. 

However, the Cinderella one had stumped him. 

“After all,” he reasoned as he pushed through the cat flap, “it’s not as if I haven’t seen the original movie, and she didn’t ban the second.”

“Chicky’s really just making yer more curious,” Muta said as he followed Baron through. “Yer think she’d have spent enough time around cats to know that curiosity... that curiosity is what... Call this a cat flap? This ain’t big enough for a gerbil, let alone a cat.”

Baron tried to heave his friend through the undersized opening, dislodging the welcome mat in the process.

“Maybe she had a reason for adding it to the list,” Toto offered, who was thinking about how he was the one who had to cover for Baron’s dramatics, which was already quite the chore without throwing more fuel to the fire. “Anyway, I don’t think,” he said, hopping up onto the table beside the door, “that sneaking into Haru’s flat to watch it is the answer.”

“Then why did you come along, birdbrain?”

“Damage control.” 

“Damage control? Why would we need damage control, ya overgrown--”

Baron and Muta’s combined efforts finally bore fruit, and Muta shot out of the cat flap like a champagne cork and rammed straight into the table. 

Toto caught the bowl of keys before it could clatter off and wake Haru. He carefully repositioned it with a talon. “Oh, I don’t know, Call it a hunch,” he replied sarcastically. 

Baron was picking himself back up, dusting the imaginary dust mites off his coat. “I don’t know why you’re fretting, Toto,” he said. “After all, we’re just visiting a friend to do some... necessary research.”

“At 2am,” Toto supplied.

“The Bureau runs on all time zones,” Baron said. “I’m sure that somewhere, someplace, it’s a reasonable hour.”

“And is that the excuse you plan to use when Haru catches us?”

“Do you think it will work?”

Toto cocked his head. “On the basis that she has more than a single brain cell... I don’t think so.”

“In that case, we better not get caught. Now, who knows how to work the television?”

There was an awkward pause. 

“Well, Chicky’s usually the one to sort it all out...” Muta muttered. 

Baron nodded, as if this wasn’t a major flaw in the plan. “Good point, good point.” 

“Maybe,” Toto said reluctantly, as if already regretting enabling this endeavour, but unable to resist helping, “there’s a manual for it.” 

“Excellent point, Toto. Now... where is it?”

“Yeah, leave this to me,” Muta called, scurrying off into the joint kitchen and, after several ungainly jumps, reached a small drawer. He battled at the handle until it slid open, rooted around, and dropped a couple of thick manuals onto the floor.

The two Creations neared the findings with bemusement. 

“How did you know those were there?” Baron asked.

“Eh, you know... I may have got familiar with the kitchen in search of food. Though there’d be marshmallows somewhere for a cake, and found this weird drawer instead. He pawed at the contents. “If yer wanting dead batteries, outdated cables, and tech manuals from the Stone Age, this is yer drawer.”

“Yes, well.. thank you, Muta.” Baron spread the manuals across the floor. “Well, how difficult can this be?”

x

The answer, naturally, was very. 

“Muta, I do believe this manual has the same instructions copied six times over.”

“That’ll be the other languages,” Muta replied. 

“It’ll be the Sanctuary magic translating it for us,” Toto supplied. He peered over Baron’s shoulder. “Do the other languages say anything helpful?”

“Some questionable grammar, but nothing noteworthy.” 

“I’ve found the remote!”

Both Creations furiously shushed Muta. 

“Sorry. I’ve found the remote,” he whispered in exaggerated tones.

“Where was it?”

“Behind the sofa.”

“Remind me to give Haru a few tips on good tidiness habits.”

“And how are yer gonna do that? ‘Hey, could yer make sure yer tidy the place up so next time we break into your home, we can find the remote?’“

“It’s not breaking and entering if we don’t break anything,” Baron replied back. 

“How does Haru’s trust sound?” Toto asked dryly. 

 “Haru has made it quite clear we are welcome whenever. Now how do we turn this infernal machine on...?”

x

Several false starts, one rapid muting, and ten minutes on the wrong input channel later, they found their way to the menu screen for Cinderella 3: A Twist in Time. 

For the first half, Baron failed to see what Haru had made all the fuss about. For, except for a momentary dramatic flair from the prince as he parried with both words and sword, there was little to add to Baron’s already impressive repertoire. 

Then the film rolled towards its climax, and as the prince ran down the stairs to find his true love, he found his way blocked by his father.

“This is ridiculous! Now, you agreed to marry the girl in the glass slipper,” the king ranted. “I was completely with you on that one--”

“And I will,” the prince retorted, attempting to step past his father. “Just as soon as I find her.”

The king made a variety of disgruntled noises. “I’ve - I - I forbid you to take another step down these stairs!”

There was a pause as the prince considered this statement. Then a smile spread slowly across his face. “Okay,” he said, and jumped out of the nearest window.

Muta and Toto simultaneously looked at Baron. 

“What?” he demanded.  

“Do not,” Toto said, “even think about it.”

“I wasn’t!”

Which was true. There was very little thought involved.

x

“THIEVES! VANDALS! RUFFIANS! YOU COME BACK HERE WITH THAT VASE!”

Haru raced down the steps, taking them three at a time and hoping gravity wasn’t about to get the better of her. “Is... anyone else... worried,” she gasped, “how often this... happens?”

 “The running or the name-calling, Chicky?”

“Both?! We’re the good guys! We shouldn’t get called ruffians!”

An arrow whizzed over their heads. 

“Or shot at!” She pivoted on one foot to glare at their pursuers. “We’re trying to help you, you idiots!” 

 Another arrow buried itself into the stone wall above her.

“Sure, sure, Chicky, go insult their intelligence. That always goes down real well.” 

“I certainly feel better for it.” Her foot missed a step and she went sprawling. Baron caught her before she could go the rest of the stairway head-over-heels.

“Enjoying our little trip, were we?”

Haru snorted. “And how long have you been waiting on that one? Anyway, you can put me down now--”   

“HALT! IN THE NAME OF HIS EMINENCE, THE ROYAL HIGH KING, RULER OF THE SUNSET ISLANDS, CONQUEROR OF THE CRIMSON WASTES, RIGHTFUL HEIR OF THE AURORA THRONE--”

“Are they waiting for us to die of old age?” Muta muttered.

“--YOU ARE ORDERED TO STOP!”

“On second thoughts, Baron, let’s not make any sudden moves,” Haru said. She leant back in his arms and laid a glare on the garrison of highly-decorated soldiers blocking their path. “The vase we took is cursed. That’s why you’ve been plagued by bad luck for the past year.”

“LIES! DECEIT!”

“Geez, does this guy have an indoor voice?” Muta grunted. 

“YOU SHALL BE BROUGHT TO THE ROYAL COURT TO FACE JUSTICE FOR YOUR CRIMES!”

“Baron, this would be a great time for you to pull out one of your last-minute plans,” Haru whispered. 

“I’m working on it.”

“Work faster.”

“YOU ARE FORBIDDEN FROM TAKING ANOTHER STEP DOWN THESE STAIRS!”

Baron grinned the kind of slow grin that wouldn’t have been out-of-place on the Cheshire Cat. “Haru, do you trust me?”

She raised an eyebrow at him. “I always do until you ask questions like that.”

“Then hold on tight.” 

Haru hastily linked her fingers together behind Baron’s neck, securing herself with the kind of grip that spoke of many, many experiences. 

“Not another step down these stairs, you say?” Baron called. “Then, naturally, we shall respect your request. Haru, are you ready?”

“Sure, but for whaaaaa--”

She devolved into a scream as Baron leapt through the open window and rappelled his way down by means of the creeping ivy clinging to the castle walls. 

Baron landed at the base of the castle with not a single hair out of place. 

Haru looked... less immaculate. 

She elbowed her way back to her feet and leant heavily against the nearest non-floor thing, waiting for the world to stop see-sawing. “Oh boy...”

Muta and Toto followed after, although Muta’s descent was slowed by his claws. “Real smooth, Baron,” he grunted. 

“It worked, didn’t it?”

“Tell me, Baron,” Toto said, alighting on his shoulder, “did you know about the ivy before or after you jumped?” 

“It is entirely possible I took note of the castle’s foliage on our entrance here.”

“That’d be a no,” Muta said. 

Haru groaned and straightened, pushing her hair out of its birdnest and into something approaching any kind of style. “You know, I’m getting the weirdest sense of deja-vu...”

“That’d be from when he jumped off your school roof,” Muta offered.

“Or the time he interrupted the clockwork wedding via the cathedral window,” Toto said.

“Or when he escaped from the sky castle.”

“Or the lightning pirates incident.”

“Or the--”

“Yes, yes,” Baron said, a trite curtly. “I think we get the picture.”

“No, that’s... that’s not it.” Haru frowned, mouthing something to herself. “It was... I think it was something you said... or something the guard said. The whole ‘not another step’ thing sounded awfully...” her eyes suddenly widened, “...familiar...”

Muta cackled. “Now yer in for it, Baron.”

Haru spun round accusingly to Baron. “Did you watch my copy of Cinderella 3?”

“Watch is such a strong word...”

“Baron...”

“If you’re asking if I occupied the same room that the movie happened to be playing in, then I suppose--”

“Oh my god.”

“--in the loosest sense of the word--”

“You’re in so much trouble.”

“--one could say that, yes, I did watch Cinderella 3. Are you quite all right, Haru? You seem to be breathing rather heavily into your hands.”

“I’m counting to ten.”

“Why-- oh.”  

Several arrows embedded themselves into the creeping ivy just above them. 

“As much as I fully endorse this admonishment,” Toto chipped in, “may I remind you that we are currently running for our lives?” Several more arrows pinged past them, notably closer to their marks this time. “Preferably before the archers find their aim.”

“Wait,” Haru said. “Did you know? About the movie?” She watched Muta and Toto’s guilty shuffling, and the penny dropped. “Did you help?”

“Help is such a strong word,” Muta said.

“If you’re asking if we happened to occupy the same room as Baron did during the movie...” Toto muttered.

“..and maybe jiggled your cat flap open...” Muta continued.

“...and worked the TV...”

“...then I suppose, in the loosest sense of the word...”

“...one could say that, yes, we did help him. How high are you counting this time, Haru?”

“As many as it takes before the murderous tendencies wear off,” Haru growled. “Baron, your tea privileges are banned for a month; same goes for you and cake, Muta; and Toto...” She paused. “Is there anything I can ban for you?”

“Bickering with Muta?” Toto supplied wearily.

“Fine. No bickering with Muta.” She groaned again and rubbed at her temples. “Alright, let’s get this cursed vase outta here and get home.” She glanced around. “Who’s got the vase?”

“Oh,” Baron said. 

“Oh?”

“I think I may have left it in the staircase,” he said. “Just before we jumped.”  

[quillyfied]

First Lines Meme

Tagged by @cheeriosandwine

Rules: List the first lines of your last 20 stories (if you have less than 20, just list them all). See if there are any patterns. Choose your favorite opening line, then tag 10 of your favorite authors!

Oh, goodie, this should be fun XD Taken from the last 20 stories off my AO3 as of 4/2/21, I’m not gonna post links bc that’s exhausting but here’s my AO3 account, have fun.

1. It wasn’t often that Aziraphale got the urgent and sudden sense of being needed, not these days. (Summer Blockbuster Teenage Angst Fest, Chapter Nine: HOLY WATER)

2. Once upon a time, there lived a king named Shadwell, who did alright for himself as far as kingdoms went, but he had no heir to inherit his throne. (far longer than forever (you’re my best friend) )

3. Warlock Dowling walked his three special invitations to the mainland mailbox in the dead of night, six months before the posted date of the event.  (dancing queen (guaranteed to blow your mind) )

4. Crowley’s slumber was interrupted by a very insistent poke to his face. (Pen to Paper)

5. It is quiet and still, in the After. (repose)

6. How it happened wasn’t entirely clear. (Peace and Goodwill, although to be fair this was a collaborative work and I’m pretty sure this line in particular was olwendylluan’s; I thiiiink, if memory serves, my actual first written line was either “As a group, they followed Junior into the greenhouse, Angelica carrying her plate of food, Datura with half a danish still hanging out of their mouth.” or ““Where did you even find pipe cleaners?” Clem asked, looking up from his bow-making station at Angelica, sitting across the table from him and weaving together black and red pipe cleaners.“, it’s not entirely clear)

7. Marley was dead, though this has very little bearing whatsoever on the story about to unfold. (Bless Us, One and All, though props to Mr. Dickens for the yoinking that took place)

8. “Angel!” Crowley called as he stepped into the bookshop, one fine autumn afternoon well after Armageddon’t. (you don’t have to answer, leave them hangin’ on the line)

9. “Crowley. Crowley, look.” (Thirteenth Night, Chapter Two: Bones; it’s a compilation work of both standalone art and writing, I just took where one of the writing bits began)

10. Some days Junior couldn’t get out of bed. (Third Eden, Chapter Five: Step by Step; a collab, but this latest update was one of mine so here we are)

11. “Father?” (Snake Cottage, or Snottage, , Chapter Eleven: An Awkward Question)

12. The morning was cold and grey. (The Whole Truth)

13. Angelica, being a master of the art, knew when she was getting the cold shoulder. (The New Arrangement, Chapter 18: WAR AND PEACE; another collab, but this particular chapter, the latest update, was my own, so first lines from there it is)

14. It was a quiet afternoon in the bookshop, which didn’t happen often these days. (Snake Parents, or Snarents,)

15. It occurred to Aziraphale that he hadn’t heard the hissing of tiny tongues in quite a while. (A Very Wiggleverse Snektember, Chapter One: Sunbathing; another collaborative work but one that’s complete so I just took my first line in it)

16. In the end, Michael did not stay with Adam and Eve and their brood the entire time, though when she first left the little humans latched onto her hands and wailed. (Frabjous Portents, Chapter 4, which I am going to get back to I swear, I have an outline and everything XD)

17. Crowley was not in bed when Aziraphale woke up. (The Empty Nest)

18. Aziraphale drew his hand through the water of the bath he’d drawn for his beloved, stirring in the scented oils, testing the scalding temperatures. (living waters)

19. It started with an overheard conversation at school. (To Have and to Hold, Chapter One; another collab, but the first chapter was mine, so here we go!)

20. You have all, perhaps, heard the tale of the little cinder girl, yes? Good. (find me (somebody to love) )

I feel like I tend to start on one isolated kind of scene-setting or dynamic, dramatic sentence, but there were quite a few that had whole paragraphs to start, which surprised me, so I suppose I’m very pleased about it XD My favorite of the bunch is probably the opening of “living waters” but “Snake Parents, or Snarents,” has some very satisfying transitions, which isn’t opening lines but if you think about it, it kind of is, just for entire scenes.

Oh, tagging people...um...tell you what, if this sounds like fun to you, this is my explicit given permission, and you can even fib and say I tagged you, if you’d like XD

[cartoonlonk]

► NAME ➔  Link ► ARE YOU SINGLE? ➔  I think there ‘s one of me?? I hope?? (multiship) ► ARE YOUR PARENTS STILL MARRIED? ➔  Ah.   .   . I w-would hope!

NINE FACTS.

► BIRTHPLACE ➔  Outset Island! ► HAIR COLOUR ➔  Yellow! Er.  .   . blonde! ► EYE COLOUR➔  Black! ► BIRTHDAY ➔   December 13th ► MOOD ➔  Happy! ► GENDER ➔ Uh.   .   .boy! ► SUMMER OR WINTER? ➔  Either ! ► MORNING OR AFTERNOON? ➔ Afternoon

EIGHT THINGS ABOUT YOUR LOVE LIFE.

► ARE YOU IN LOVE? ➔ I’m full of love! ► DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? ➔  Yeah! ► WHO ENDED YOUR LAST RELATIONSHIP? ➔  Nada! ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN SOMEONE’S HEART? ➔  Uh. .   . I dunno, hopefully not. ► ARE YOU AFRAID OF COMMITMENTS? ➔  Depends? I usually do all I can for thin’s ta stay happy! ► HAVE YOU HUGGED SOMEONE WITHIN THE LAST WEEK? ➔ Yep yep! ► HAVE YOU EVER HAD A SECRET ADMIRER? ➔  Um? Wouldn’t that defeat the purposes of secret? ► HAVE YOU EVER BROKEN YOUR OWN HEART? ➔  .   .    .

SIX CHOICES.

► LOVE OR LUST? ➔  Love ► LEMONADE OR ICE TEA? ➔  Lemonade ► CATS OR DOGS? ➔  Dogs ► A FEW BEST FRIENDS OR MANY REGULAR FRIENDS? ➔ I have a lot of friends but I prefer a few besties  ► WILD NIGHT OUT OR ROMANTIC NIGHT IN? ➔  ??? Wild! Lets go explorin’! ► DAY OR NIGHT? ➔  Both!

FIVE HAVE YOU EVERS.

► BEEN CAUGHT SNEAKING OUT? ➔  Yeah ► FALLEN DOWN / UP THE STAIRS? ➔ Both ► WANTED SOMEONE / SOMETHING SO BADLY IT HURT? ➔ Mmmhm ► WANTED TO DISAPPEAR? ➔  No

FOUR PREFERENCES.

► SMILE OR EYES? ➔  Smile! Buh I love both ► SHORTER OR TALLER? ➔  Either ► INTELLIGENCE OR ATTRACTION? ➔ Huh? Both ??? ► HOOK-UP OR RELATIONSHIPS? ➔  Relationships

FAMILY.

► DO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY GET ALONG? ➔  Yes! We care ‘bout each otha very much! ► WOULD YOU SAY YOU HAVE A “MESSED UP LIFE?” ➔  I guess?? I try nota think of it badly ► HAVE YOU EVER RAN AWAY FROM HOME? ➔  No ► HAVE YOU EVER GOTTEN KICKED OUT? ➔  No

FRIENDS.

► DO YOU SECRETLY HATE ONE OF YOUR FRIENDS? ➔ HUH? NO! ► DO YOU CONSIDER ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS GOOD FRIENDS? ➔  Yes ► WHO IS YOUR BEST FRIEND? ➔  Otto ( @gyrcid ), Aryll, Claus ( @maskslip ) ‘n’ Tetra! ► WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING ABOUT YOU? ➔  Mmm....My sistah,,,, maybies 

TAGGED BY: stole TAGGING: yoink it

[tewwor-moving]

* & INTROSPECTION — PILDO / JIWOO BY PROXY .

hi, hello, let me babble into the nothingness of my soapbox that is this platform thank you.

mn spoilers(ish) below!

in my third verse ( bite the bullet ) for pildo, i’ve noticed a fairly stark difference of personality and it won’t leave my head. like, yes, he did almost get shot in the head before jiwoo yoinked him out of the way. but it’s never really been about the physical trauma he experiences himself. it’s always what other’s go through that leaves a deeper and longer impact on him, so i think.

going back to the car scene ( again — no i won’t shut up about it ), pildo either has some serious compartmentalization skills going on to chat with jiwoo like normal when she wakes up and he deals with the trauma off screen, or nearly being pancaked by a car crusher really didn’t have a big impact on him ( which i personally highly doubt — which is why i have my hc of certain triggers for my version of him ).

also, when giho’s tapdancing on the line of dying, the shock and hurt you see pildo go through is visceral before and after the incident. in my mind, he becomes a little more desperate to get to the bottom of things ( whichever way that may lead him ) and open.

i know he has that whole speech of wanting revenge so badly that he began to lose himself in that shack on the beach. he didn’t recognize who he was anymore, etc, etc. but i think.. that maybe... after jiwoo ( in this third verse ) decides to continue her pursuit of mujin outside of the law ( because he’s still alive, he’s still here, danger can and will always follow so long as he breathes — even if it feels as if his own is linked with hers because of roots planted in betrayal ) that pildo breaks a little. he starts to revert back to that time where he doesn’t know his face anymore. where he’d do anything to catch whoever he’s seeking, albeit without wanting to harm them this time since it’d be jiwoo after she barely makes it out alive ( which he wouldn’t even allow himself believe ).

so he’s more rough around the edges. more brash and bold ( if you can believe that ). less peppy and outwardly annoying ( he doesn’t have the time to fool around anymore ). even quicker to anger, quicker to lash out, quicker to reprimand. more.. careless. but he’s still got a good heart underneath all of that. it’s just hidden for the time being as he sorts through ( or doesn’t ) the pain of understanding how jiwoo thought that was for the best. that, despite the deep trust they’ve developed, it’s better to continue that cycle of violence because it’s the only finality that will stop mujin.

last thing. even if pildo and jiwoo do cross paths again and — let’s say the best happens and they partner up again or at least stay constant in each other’s lives — i don’t think.. that pildo will ever revert back to how he is for the majority of my name. some of that light-hearted cocky arrogance will come back, sure, but never fully. like he’s almost.. mellowed out juuuust a little bit in a weird way. i also think he clings to those he loves that much harder and closer.