#I'd also like to apologize for showing their work (which may lead to them being identified)

[oldmanjenkins985]

So, I wanted to talk about something since MD Twitter in particular seems to be having some issues with a current trend in the MD fandom. That being the Panic AU by @candyasbestos (apologies in advance for the ping, just felt like maybe you'd wanna see this)

So I'd like to start right off the bat by saying anyone who is uncomfortable with this AU is completely reasonable for being that way. It's more so that uncomfortableness leading to disdain for the AU that I wanna talk about.

So, I'm a horror fan. I watch plenty of things on horror movies and play plenty of horror games. And what exactly does horror media try and do? Make the player horrified and uncomfortable. Seeing grotesque imagery which may make you wanna vomit. One of the games that comes to mind for something that's definitely meant to make people uncomfortable and not just scared is Fear & Hunger. It's a game with incredibly uncomfortable imagery, sometimes due to gore and other times due to sexual themes. And it's perfectly reasonable for that to turn people off, yet I've never seen anyone have the kind of reaction to stuff like that compared to the reactions some people have had to the Panic AU

And that's the thing with the Panic AU, it makes *N* uncomfortable. Uncomfortable with himself due to Nyx's influence on him. That is the entire point of the AU it seems. And Nyx himself seems to be some kind of representation of mental illness (pretty standard horror trope, I know). I'm not an expert in the subject despite dealing with it quite a bit so I won't name any specific mental illnesses it could be, but it's clear to me Nyx is some kind of urge of N's.

I've made plenty of characters like Nyx for my original works that are also meant to be representations of mental illness. Voices that whisper to you to do terrible things, creatures that make you feel worthless and shut down, etc. I make these not only because I find them scary but also as reflections of my own experience with mental illness. And it's that first point again that makes me question people's reactions to it.

People have said "It's grossly out of character for N" and stuff like that which...honestly that makes me think they only saw the initial wave of art and don't really know how N feels about the whole situation. But the other thing is that so many AUs have intentionally mischaracterized N because of what the AU is. And I'm not talking just swap AUs, I've seen plenty where N's character is wildly different because of the circumstances of the AU. And I see the Panic AU no different.

I also saw another comment of someone saying "We shouldn't normalize behavior like this" and again, I question whether the person has actually researched the thing they're talking about. Nyx, the thing that makes everyone uncomfortable, is very clearly the *villain* of the AU. He killed Uzi, he wants N to kill Thad, he's a horrid little creature. Are villains not meant to do things we disdain? Murder, torture, etc. It's prefectly understandable these things would make people uncomfortable, but isn't that what many villains do? There's plenty of media with torture scenes in them which make people uncomfortable, but that's the point! Hell, some kid shows have torture scenes. What about the Lich's design from Adventure Time? He's a rotting corpse! In a kid show! His design is clearly meant to make the viewer uncomfortable.

So again, while I don't think anyone is in the wrong for being uncomfortable due to the AU, I think many of the criticisms are unfair. A piece of media which is specifically designed to make people uncomfortable should not be criticized for that very reason. Avoid it all you want, that's completely reasonable! Never feel like your reasons for being uncomfortable are unwarrented. But I'm just saying that if you were to critique Silent Hill because it's themes of mental illness and character depictions made you uncomfortable, and that was a *negative*, it just seems a little weird to me.

This is all just my opinion, obviously I'm not THE definitive person on the matter. And I'm not saying anyone who has the AU blocked or anything should check it out. I'm just saying, many people seem to be judging it unfairly.

[warblogs17282]

The more I think about it, the more that I think that Blitz is gonna hit a mental rock-bottom in ghostfuckers.

So, let's start off with the first clue: Millie being very consistently annoyed/angry in the scenes where we see her in ghostfuckers.

Why could this be? My theory is that it's because Millie is starting to suspect that there's something going on with Blitz, and she tries to figure out what this is exactly, but Blitz just keeps brushing her attempts to do so off, or just straight up won't tell her, leading to her slowly getting more and more frustrated at Blitz.

Another thing of note within the gif is that we see Millie shouting something, I can't read lips, but I'd wager that it's something along the lines of 'ENOUGH!', which could potentially play into what I mentioned in the last paragraph.

And it makes complete sense if Millie is the one to pick up on the fact that there's something going on with Blitz, considering she appears to be rather supportive/comforting to Blitz, with a major example of this being s2 e4, where Millie was the one to break the news to Blitz that Stolas got badly hurt. So it'd make sense to me if Millie is the one to see that Blitz is going through something, and wants to try and help him by making him feel better or something, but Blitz's tendency to push others away just ends up annoying and angering her.

Clue 2: 'Blitz is coping with what happened in apology tour in a not so healthy way.'

Assuming that this comment ends up being true, it tells us that Blitz is employing unhealthy coping mechanisms in order to cope with the events of Apology Tour, and we know that Apology Tour hit Blitz hard, just look at his face when he sees Stolas really enjoying himself with the BTB guy.

So, what method could Blitz be using to cope? A common theory during the mission shorts is that Blitz is purposely overworking himself/throwing himself into work because of the events of Apology Tour, and I personally agree with it, at the moment, it's the one that makes the most sense to me.

Another theory of what this could be was drugs/alcohol because of Blitz's past and previous relationship with them, but that theory doesn't really hold much water to me, mainly because we've only seen Blitz drink in social settings throughout the show, after the events of s1 e7 we see Blitz on the couch asleep after binge eating ice cream, and because Blitz said "oh thank Satan." when Barbie Wire said that she wasn't back on the drug named H-8.

Clue 3: Blitz's literal mental breakdown.

Blitz - "I destroy everything, I make everyone's lives worse!"

During the trailer, we see Blitz having what appears to be a literal mental breakdown, and I'd wager that this is the point where Blitz hits mental rock-bottom for two huge reasons.

1: Blitz's skull necklace that came from his mother that he normally always wears appears to be missing looking closely at this scene within the trailer.

2: A combo of all the other points I've listed in this post.

Truth be told I am not looking forward to seeing Blitz hit mental rock-bottom, but the only potential silver lining I can think of here is that it may make/force Blitz to actually be vulnerable in front of Millie and/or the others, which would allow them to actually be able to give Blitz some support, which it does look likely that Millie is trying to offer Blitz some support in that scene.

Plus, not to mention literally everything else that's gonna happen in ghostfuckers as well, like Blitz talking to his mother, and that hallucation with Millie, with "You always take from those around you, leaving them worse and more broken than you found them.", those are also 100% gonna fuck with Blitz's mental state a lot.

[mysteryshoptls]

SR Silver - Ceremonial Robes Vignette

"I want to repay that debt of gratitude"

[Courtyard]

Idia: Ugggh～～～ Nope, nope, nope! Why's the Spelldrive Tournament have to be broadcasted on TV, anyway?

Idia: Just thinking of showing my face on TV feels like I've gained some kind of embarrassment debuff. I have to figure some way around this…

Idia: It's 19:00 right now… The Mystery Shop should still be open.

Idia: I just gotta buy a welding mask and hide my face all day tomorrow, if that's what it takes…!

[rustle, rustle]

Idia: Waah!? S-S-S-Something definitely just moved―

Silver: WHO GOES THERE!? IDENTIFY YOURSELF AT ONCE!

Idia: Eeek!? I-I-I-I-I'm definitely not s-s-s-s-suspicious at all…!

Idia: I'm I-Idia Shroud!!! F-F-F-From Ignihyde!

Idia: So, please s-stop pointing that baton at me…!

Silver: Ah… I see, it was just you, Idia-senpai. Which means it was not some dubious presence.

Idia: I-I feel like you're the more dubious one, jumping out of a bush like that and brandishing a baton in someone's face…

Silver: Why are you wandering around at this time of night, anyway? Most folks around this time are partaking in dinner back in their dorms.

Idia: I-I was off to buy a welding mask…

Silver: Were you planning on using it for some sort of engineering experiment?

Idia: Urgh… Well, what about you, wh-wh-why're you running around in your ceremonial robes?!

Silver: That is because this attire is perfect for blending in during dusk.

Silver: It is a little difficult to maneuver around in, but at present time, due to an incident, I don't currently have my dorm uniform.

Idia: H-Huh? So, why're you in stealth mode, then?

Idia: S-Silver-shi, are you actually some sort of ninja?

Silver: Hm… What is a ninja?

Idia: Rumored to hail from a far eastern country, they are a people who covertly work to uncover intelligence or do other dirty jobs.

Idia: Haven't you ever heard of shurikens, or fire breath jutsu or whatnot?

Idia: You'd find them in a bunch of animes, and in video games the ninja is a super popular class, on par with samurai!

Silver: Idia-senpai… You're suddenly very loquacious.

Idia: Ah… My bad, went full on geek there…

Silver: I understand your explanation… However, I am not a "ninja."

Idia: When you shoot me down without sparing any emotion like that, I feel even more embarrassed now…

Idia: So… Why were you wandering around the courtyard at night then, Silver-shi…?

Silver: Tomorrow is the Spelldrive Tournament. The academy will be open to the public, and people from all walks of life will have gathered here, from the common folk to foreign dignitaries.

Silver: I was on the lookout for any possible assassin that may have chosen to take advantage of the bustling crowds.

Silver: It would be a disaster if something were to happen to Malleus-sama.

Idia: You're definitely thinking too far! Malleus-shi's got some OP cheat codes, don'tcha think you're being too overprotective?

Silver: My lord and master Malleus-sama will one day be king of the faefolk and rule over Briar Valley.

Silver: Before coming to this school, he would be surrounded by his guards if he ever took one step outside the castle for any reason.

Idia: Uh-huh…

Silver: If something were to ever happen to Malleus-sama, it could lead to an international incident.

Silver: Therefore, I do not consider this as being overprotective.

Idia: Wh-Wh-What's with this epic tale…?

Idia: I've only ever heard of assassins and international incidents ever happening in games, though…?

Silver: This is no game. This is our reality.

Idia: W-W-Woooooah…! I wish I could say a line that cool, too…!

Silver: …? If you wish to say it, you should.

Idia: Nah, it only sounds good coming from you, but if I tried saying that I'd just get ROFL'd at.

Silver: I see… I don't truly understand, but I apologize.

Silver: Well then, I will be going back to my rounds. Take care to not be mistaken for someone suspicious.

Silver: Both Sebek and Lilia-senpai are also patrolling the school grounds as well, after all.

Idia: G-Got it… I'll up my stealth modifier just like you did, then. B-Bye.

Silver: Right, see you.

Silver: I should link up with Sebek and Lilia-senpai and let the know that Idia-senpai is wandering around the courtyard.

Silver: It could be disruptive to others if Sebek were to encounter him and cause an uproar.

[Courtyard]

Idia: Whew… Done with class, finally. But, ugh, the sun's so bright today… This is the worst AoE for a shut-in…

Idia: On days like these, I just wanna hole up in my room and just lose myself in my dailies.

???: …

Idia: …Hm, is someone there?

Idia: S-S-S-S-S-Silver-shi!? Why're you collapsed dead in the courtyard!?

Silver: Zzz… Zzz…

Idia: Oh… Is he just sleeping…? The shock made me think the worst…

Idia: …But, dang, he sure has a handsome face. I bet everyone flocks to his good looks～

Idia: He looks all sparkly and princely when he's sleeping, to the point where even small, wild animals would gather around him…

Idia: He's completely different now than the guy I encountered right before the Spelldrive tournament.

Idia: It was scary having him point that baton at me…

Idia: He's the type of guy I never woulda gotten involved with if that'd never happened.

Silver: Mm… Rrhn…

Idia: Eek! H-H-H-He's w-waking!?

Silver: [yawn] Oh… I had a fleeing suspicion someone was there. Hello, Idia-senpai…

Idia: N-N-N-N-Nuh-huh!! I definitely wasn't staring at your sleeping face, Silver-shi!!

Silver: Hm? Please, calm yourself. You seem to be startled and tense whenever we meet.

Idia: Th-That's just a normal introvert reaction, though…

Idia: A-A-A-Anyone'd be jumpy, anyway, if they got a baton swung in their face, like last time.

Silver: You may be right… I apologize for what occurred then.

Idia: Urgh… Now I feel bad that you're apologizing so sincerely.

Idia: Silver-shi, you're pretty strange… Not only are you way more straight-forward than any of my dorm students, but also pretty loyal…

Silver: …Is that so?

Idia: Y-Yeah. There's no way anyone in Ignihyde would patrol after dark just to keep their Housewarden safe…

Idia: …Ah! O-O-Or maybe, does Malleus-shi rule through fear to keep the Diasomnian in line?

Idia: Th-That would make more sense… So, you were forced to do those night patrols, then?

Silver: He has no need to rule Diasomnia through fear. Even our patrol the other night was done of our own volition.

Silver: I do not know the relationship between you and the other Ignihyde students, but I would do whatever I can for the one I have sworn allegiance to.

Silver: The fact that I am here today is all thanks to my father and Malleus-sama.

Silver: Simply put, I want to repay that debt of gratitude to the both of them.

Idia: Wow… You may have kept a cool face throughout that speech, but that was just as passionate as any nerd infodumping…

Idia: Maybe we're just two peas…

Silver: In addition, I would like to prevent any sort of conflict between human countries and Briar Valley, if some trouble were to befall Malleus-sama.

Silver: I may not have much power, but I would like to do as much as I can.

Silver: My father always said while I was growing up that fighting was not the answer.

Idia: Woah… That's pretty deep.

Idia: Sounds like that father of yours is one of those charas with muscles of steel and an indominable will.

Silver: Yeah. My father was a member of the royal guard who served the royal family of Briar Valley.

Silver: I hear not only was he a renowned warrior, but the Queen herself trusted him personally.

Silver: He may be retired now, but back then, he was a soldier who had put his life on the line in battle and gained much accolade.

Silver: I'm sure he's had many a harrowing experience that I cannot even begin to imagine…

Idia: Y-You serious? This sounds like something out of an open-world RPG or something…

Silver: "Open-world"?

Idia: It's a type of online game. Yeah, sorry, I know a normie wouldn't know that. Sorry I'm such a nerd.

Silver: No, I know of online games. My father often stays up all through the night playing those sorts of games.

Idia: HUH!? Your pop just went from hero to zero in one go!?

Silver: My father has always loved keeping up with whatever is currently all the rage. He recently got a Magicam account, as well.

Idia: Huuuuh!? The image of a battle-hardened general of an elite royal guard is crumbling before my eyes…!

Lilia: Heeey, Silver. Why're you just shooting the breeze over here?

Lilia: You promised to help me out with that extra hard quest after classes.

Silver: Fa… Lilia-senpai. My apologies, I'll be right there.

Lilia: Hm…? Oh hey, it's Idia. Didn't expect to see you here with him.

Idia: Ah, uh… L-L-L-Lilia-shi. This is, uh…

Silver: He just happened to encounter me sleeping here.

Silver: Idia-senpai, see you later.

Idia: Y-yeah, later…

Idia: …It was kinda cool hearing about Silver-shi's dad.

Idia: He's a decorated soldier from Briar Valley, but also is really into video games and is a Magicammer lol.

Idia: If a guy like that really exists somewhere out there, even someone who hates people as much as I do would probably enjoy meeting him…

[Diasomnia Dorm – Hallway]

Lilia: I need to grind to prepare for the new items that are dropping soon. There's going to be a seasonal event next week, too. Ah, so busy.

Silver: You seem to always be in good spirits when talking about your games.

Lilia: They didn't have these newfangled online games when I was younger, you know.

Lilia: People from around the world can now enjoy playing with each other without worrying about physical borders. Society truly as gotten so blissful.

Silver: You're absolutely right. And when it comes to the world in which you are able to enjoy gaming so much…

Silver: I know, without a shadow of a doubt, that I must protect it.

Lilia: …You've grown to talk pretty big, it seems.

Lilia: Well then, let's put money where that mouth is and start our marathon of gaming! I be letting you sleep on me tonight��!

Silver: P-Please, anything but that, Father…

Requested by Anonymous.

[shrinkthisviolet]

So I noticed your tags on a reblog a while ago about how you had a problem with The Flash - and I'd love to know more about what you thought of it overall (as I understand that the later seasons took something of a nosedive in quality.)

Oh boy 😅 I could go into depth about my problems with each of the seasons, but honestly, for the sake of brevity, I’m just gonna abbreviate the major problems I have for each season:

Season 1

—Iris should’ve been looped in sooner, especially given how many times she was put in danger by not knowing

—The waterfront kiss and the lightning psychosis bs is stupid—I’m glad the first thing was erased, and I try to ignore the second thing. There’s nothing romantic/funny about cheating or justifying it

—Eowells should’ve been killed off normally, not by being erased from existence (because?? How does the timeline still exist??)

Season 2

—Zoom’s motives were incoherent, and he’s only a good villain because of his menace factor

—Wally and Jesse should’ve both gotten powers from the accelerator, not just Jesse

—Jesse should’ve had Zoom-related trauma that impacted her ability (and desire) to be a speedster in s3

—Eliza Harmon should’ve been a WOC like in the comics, and she deserved a better storyline, and she deserved to live, yes I’m still mad about this.

Season 3

—Savitar. In general. Wtf (existence makes no sense, him being a wannabe god instead of just Future Barry is boring, and also he was only interesting in the finale. By which point he should’ve been dead anyway. Also there’s no mf way he could’ve actually killed Iris bffr)

—Killer Frost. Incoherent—her siding with Savitar makes sense with the s4/s5 retcons (though it still kneecaps her as a villain by making her a lackey), but those are from seasons when she regressed as a character imo. Also I never liked the split personality idea

—Iris being the only one at risk means there are no stakes because she’s the main female lead and would never really be killed off (it would've been especially bad optics for the CW considering they intentionally cast a WOC as Iris). All of Team Flash should’ve been at stake, with the possibility teased that they might disband permanently.

—Flashpoint was wasted potential and tbh should’ve happened after s1. Or at least, it should’ve been more deeply explored here. But in any case, it feels cheap to have this after Barry already fully came to terms with his mom’s death in s2 (I know, it was grief over his dad, but still. It undercuts a fantastic episode)

—The time loop setup is nonsensical and impossible. Breaking it means that s3 never happened. No one should remember anything that happened this season.

—Caitlin and/or Frost never apologized to Iris for being an accessory in her attempted murder (and in s4, Frost threatens her life again!! Yay!! Friendly bonding!! / s)

Season 4

—Can someone tell me why tf Team Leader suddenly became a thing? I swear the closest the Team ever had to a Team Leader was Eowells, way back in s1. The idea of a Team Leader after that feels too hierarchal for them, idk why that was introduced

—Caitlin worked with a human trafficker of her own volition (and Frost too, this was presumably a decision made by both of them) and yet she is only held accountable in one line (“Where have you been the last 6 months again?”) and it’s quickly swept over by making Amunet into a ditz and ignoring the fact that she is a human trafficker

—Bodyswap plot was weird, DeVoe should’ve just taken their powers

—Marlize never had any clear motives after she gave up her ideals to side with her husband.

—The Thinker in general is just stupid tbh

—Caitlin and Iris barely got to be friends, and after this season, they may as well not have been. Caitlin was also unnecessarily snippy to Iris this season too (“we will, Caitlin” “no. I will” + “I’m your friend, Caitlin” “work friend”). This is a general problem with this show—female friendships are given lip service at best and no room to grow

—Barry and Iris deserved a proper wedding that wasn't interrupted

—Thawne did not hate every minute of pretending to be Harrison Wells, that is garbage writing and fundamentally misunderstands his character

—Barry should've killed Thawne in this crossover. He was so close!! WHY (and they still could've brought him back later if they really needed to)

Season 5

—Both Cicadas sucked, and the father-daughter Orlin-Grace/Barry-Nora parallels fall flat when you remember that a) Dwyer literally hates Grace until she’s comatose and b) those parallels only get mentioned in one conversation

—I wasn't too fond of Cisco giving up his powers, it felt like a strange decision, especially since he gets them back briefly in Crisis and somewhat permanently in s7. I've talked about that more here (definitely read all the additions too!)

—Iris’s angle in the argument with Barry should’ve been “no one works with Thawne, they’re manipulated by him” not “it doesn’t bother me that our daughter worked with the man who half-orphaned you, threatened my life, hurt everyone on this Team, and killed my fiancé”

—Nora acts wayyy too young for being 25-28. She should’ve been 18-20. She very much gives off the vibes of a young adults who’s newly independent (and this further ties into the themes of legacy, which is a theme usually present in YA stories, with teenage/young-adult protagonists. Obviously the theme of legacy can be present in any story, but this presentation of it is usually prominent in YA stories)

—Nora having the NSF should’ve occurred at the end of s5, not during 5x20. Would’ve been more poignant if she had to choose between keeping it and becoming Thawne, or giving it up and dying a hero 😭 and her having the NSF in canon came across more as a temper tantrum than her being corrupted by a destructive force.

(Hey also why tf do people remember Nora after she’s erased—)

Season 6

—Loved Iris having a fleshed-out journalism arc, especially going forward, but her journalism career should’ve been reintroduced a while ago. Possibly even in s4 (beyond just a scant mention of her writing an article about DeVoe)

—Thawne should’ve been in Crisis. Especially over Lex mf Luthor

—The Mirroverse arc is…ugh. I don’t love the idea of Iris being replaced with an evil alter and no one noticing for an entire half-season. And an important Westallen conversation about Iris’s agency happening with Mirror Iris, not real Iris!

—Mirror Iris had sex with Barry under false pretenses (this is rape by deception). And gloated about it. But five minutes later, we’re supposed to feel sorry for her?? Yikes

And now we’re on to my least favorite seasons! Not a lot of points here, but that’s because out of all the bad stuff, I’m just picking the egregiously bad stuff:

Season 7

—Iris being saved by an emotionless Barry is weird, and they both deserved better than that

—Chillame is the worst character this show has ever made. Or at least the top 5

—Eva is a dumb villain who wasn’t even compelling to watch. She was very one-note and…I don’t even remember her motive??

—The Forces arc is bizarre. I don’t like how they personified literal forces of nature, it’s dumb. And them calling Barry and Iris “Mom” and “Dad” is worse

—Frost’s arrest storyline was bs. I was honestly kinda excited, because I hoped she’d face some consequences for the stuff she did in s3 and s4, but…nope!! Kramer’s a bad guy who hates all metas!! And Frost (a white woman) gives a speech modeled after the BLM movement!! It’s gross.

—idk much about Godspeed in the comics, but he was definitely done dirty here. And that’s not even mentioning the stupid lightsaber fight…and the fact that Barry just…lets Thawne go?? And says “yeah, he’ll be back one day, but that’s Future Us’s problem.” Speaking of which…

Season 8

—Well, well, well, if it isn’t the consequence of Barry Allen’s actions. We get Armageddon, which is compelling for the first half and drops off in the second half. The logic is faulty (how is Barry the RF when Thawne killed him as a kid? Why does Iris love Thawne just because he’s the Flash?), some of the stuff in this arc is arophobic (“why don’t you love love?”) and tbh the Chester/Allegra romance is very forced, I’m not a fan. Cecile trying to one-up Iris regarding grieving Joe was also very gross

—Iris’s time sickness is so ridiculous. It started back in s7, but the show acts like it started in s8 because of the Negative Forces. It’s awful and it’s another excuse to rob Iris of agency. It should’ve just been a pregnancy…or scrapped entirely

—So regarding Caitlin's grief and Barry's response...honestly, so many problems would be solved if these characters consistently went to therapy, especially Caitlin. She always reacts to grief destructively. Barry, however, shouldn't have responded by destroying everything in her lab instead of...idk relocating her and having a talk somewhere else??

—No, Barry would not be a bad person for killing Thawne after he thought Iris was already dead. Personally, I think he should've killed the mf ages ago

Season 9

—Red Death was underwhelming, that’s all I have to say about it

—why tf is Chillame still here

—Khione deserved to make her own decisions and not be forced to die for Caitlin and/or Frost to live…but also, as a character, she’s very bland. I also skipped any episode where she and Chillame were even remotely romantic, mostly for my own sanity

—I was so excited for the finale arc and it did not deliver!! It flopped real hard!! Eddie is turned evil so fast it made my head spin, the return of prior villains was underwhelming (including their defeats...why tf did Allegra defeat Thawne?? Why did Cecile defeat Godspeed?? Why did Nora defeat Savitar with one stab wound not even piercing the armor??), and the resolution is just...hugging it out?? I guess??

And that's about it as far as major critiques go 😅 if anyone wants me to expand on any of these points, I'm happy to!

(Except the s7-s9 stuff, which I don't even plan on including in my Morgan AU because those seasons are honestly so bad that I'd rather forget about them entirely. I don't like s3 much, but at least it has potential that I'm interested in revamping/exploring)

[sparkyblizz]

Sherlock Gnomes: The Movie About Gnome Johnlock (No, Really)

I really genuinely like this movie and its predecessor, Gnomeo and Juliet, and I call them cinematic masterpieces. While they may be silly movies, they're also charming, have a great soundtrack, and the sequel has a surprisingly impactful story, I feel. In regards to the title of this post, the plot of the film revolves around the dynamic of the two main partnerships—Juliet and Gnomeo, and Sherlock and Watson. Their relationships are even paralleled, as Juliet has become neglectful of her partner in the face of her newfound responsibilities, just as Sherlock has become neglectful of his partner in the face of his work. A very important part of this movie is both of these people (or rather, gnomes) must learn that they've made their partners feel underappreciated, and they must fix things and make amends. I'm not kidding.

This movie begins with the human characters, Mr Capulet and Miss Montague moving into their new house in London. the previous leaders of each garden, Lord Redbrick and Lady Bluebury name Gnomeo and Juliet the new leaders of this new garden. Juliet now takes on the responsibility of getting the garden ready. the conflict with our main couple is set up pretty early, when Gnomeo tries to obtain a Cupid's Arrow Orchid (the flower they both tried to get in the first movie, both put their hands on, and had their love at first sight moment over) and Juliet is mad at him. This is when this exchange occurs:

GNOMEO: Unbelievable! What do you care more about, the garden or me?

JULIET: Oh, you're being ridiculous!

GNOMEO: That is not an answer.

JULIET: The garden can't wait and you can!

Immediately after this, they discover that all the other gnomes have been kidnapped, and this is when they meet our other leads, Sherlock Gnomes and Dr Watson. Sherlock believes Moriarty, an ornamental mascot for a pie company, is responsible, even though Watson and Sherlock saw him get destroyed. Sherlock believe's he's lived, and the clues are his calling cards.

Throughout this movie, we see Sherlock belittle and disregard Watson, as well as being curt and dismissive to everyone. You also see that Sherlock's general lack of care or tact means that Watson has to clean up after him, apologising for him and being the more friendly of the two. This is especially exemplified when we are introduced to the Empress Dowager Pom-Pom, who Sherlock offended, and Watson sent a bouquet of orchids as an apology gift, but as he wasn't the one that offended her, they are not forgiven.

During their investigation, our two pairs split up, Gnomeo siding with Watson, who wants to go investigate the museum, while Sherlock wants to go meditate at the modern art gallery so he can crack the latest clue, and Juliet agrees with him. Gnomeo runs off, upset with Juliet, and when Sherlock shows no care, Watson lets out a wistful sigh, saying, "Sherlock Gnomes," and assures Juliet that he will go after Gnomeo, which leads to this exchange between the two at the museum:

WATSON: Look, I know you're angry.

GNOMEO: How would you feel? It's like she doesn't even care about me!

WATSON: A partner who takes you for granted. Can't think of what that's like.

GNOMEO: I don't know how you put up with that gnome.

WATSON: If we had six months, I'd list all his faults. But despite them, he is a brilliant detective. We all have our good and bad sides. Sherlock, Miss Juliet... me.

GNOMEO: D'you know what, mate? You're right. I shouldn't have left her. I need to go back. I need to make this right.

This is obviously a very good example of the parallels between the two relationship conflicts and shows us how Watson feels underappreciated, just like Gnomeo. In the next scene, Gnomeo is kidnapped by one of the gargoyles that kidnapped the others, and Watson falls from a great height, and you hear a smashing noise. Juliet lets out a cry, and this is the first scene you see Sherlock show emotion. His eyes widen, he looks horrified and saddened. He whispers "Watson" in disbelief. Crucially, Juliet is behind him, and cannot see his face. She is crying, and for the first time, he shows a gentleness, softly urging her to keep going with him. I think this is especially important because this is the first time we've seen him show care towards anyone, and we see he truly cares about his partner.

In the next scene, Sherlock is trying to keep up his composure, not acknowledging the events that have just happened, instead focusing on the case, which leads to this interaction:

JULIET: Gnomeo got taken. He is gone! And Watson just got smashed. Why aren't you sad or angry?

Once again, she is stood behind Sherlock, unable to see his face, as we can see he's struggling to keep face, his expressions wavering.

SHERLOCK: Sadness and anger will not help me save one single gnome. Emotion is the enemy of logic.

JULIET: That is not an answer.

SHERLOCK: The case can't wait. You can.

This is a parallel to the earlier argument between Juliet and Gnomeo, where she has her words parroted back to her, and realises how in the wrong she was. She leaves, and we once again see Sherlock look saddened. He's clearly a man that hides his emotions and doesn't want to be seen as vulnerable.

I did want to note that part of the ballad I Need You to Turn To by Elton John plays over a scene of Sherlock and Juliet in the gallery, each ruminating on their sadness, in which the lyrics heard are:

And I wonder sometimes and I know I'm unkind, but I need you to turn to when I act so blind

And I need you to turn to when I lose control

You're my guardian angel that keeps out the cold

Which I think is fitting lyric choice for two people who lost their partners in different ways, struggling to cope with it, knowing that they've not treated them the way they should.

Another thing that makes this movie great to me is Irene, Sherlock's ex-fiancee, who is voiced by MARY J. BLIGE. She is mad at Sherlock for ending their engagement in a letter. She is a doll, and she sings Stronger Than I Ever Was, a Mary J. Blige song, to Sherlock and Juliet, and this song is a banger. I was obsessed with it, and when I was binge reading a fanfiction series over 2-3 days, I listened to this song on repeat. (Said fanfiction series is called Phantoms and Mirages, a series on AO3 that is about Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies and is a Simon Blackquill/Bobby Fulbright fic series. This will mean nothing to you if you're not an AA fan, but this movie and this pairing are inextricably linked for me, as it was looking this movie up on tumblr that led me to this fanfiction. But I digress.) Irene throws Sherlock and Juliet out, and Juliet storms back into the doll museum that Irene is the boss of. Irene proceeds to sling passive-aggressive insults at the gnome, thinking that she's Sherlock's new girlfriend, which leads to this exchange:

JULIET: Sherlock didn't "choose" me.

IRENE: And he never will. With Sherlock, work always comes first. There's always another case to crack, another mystery to solve, another backyard of gnomes to rescue.

This shows that there's precedent to Sherlock's neglect of the people he's close to. I also want to add this interaction, after Juliet talks about how wonderful and caring Gnomeo is:

IRENE: A man doesn't make you strong.

JULIET: You're right, a man doesn't make you strong. But the right partner can make you stronger. But I've let mine down, and now I need to make it right.

This convinces Irene, who hands over the clue that Sherlock and Juliet came for, and she requests that Juliet come back to tell her about saving the day, cementing their newfound friendship. Love these ladies, queens, I tell you! I also want to note that there is a poem on the final clue (the clues are cards with an M on them, for reference): "You already know it's all about you. What is the pattern in the final clue?"

Another great thing to note is that the final clue leads them to Traitor's Gate, which Sherlock says is where he and Watson solved their first case. This is amazingly poetic, as once they enter Traitor's Gate, they discover Watson, who survived.

SHERLOCK: Show youurself, Moriarty!

WATSON: No, Sherlock. Not Moriarty.

JULIET: Watson?

SHERLOCK: But... that's impossible.

WATSON: Not impossible. Merely improbable. [Here he holds up the calling card with an M on it, and turns it upside down.] It wasn't an M. It was a W, for Watson. But I knew you'd miss that, because it had to do with me.

Watson revealed that he did not intend to hurt the gnomes, and apologises to Juliet, saying it was only to challenge his partner. He enlisted the help of his friends from Traitor's Gate, the gargoyles, for his plan.

WATSON: Miss Juliet, I am sorry I had to involve your garden. But this was the only way to get through to Sherlock.

SHERLOCK: You did all this? But why?

WATSON: Because we used to be a team. Sherlock and Watson, friends, partners in crime-solving. But over time, you stopped respecting me. The only ornament you respected was Moriarty. There was only one way I could prove myself to you: I had to pretend to be Moriarty. I orchestrated this game. I challenged you to a battle of wits.

SHERLOCK: And you won. You beat me.

WATSON: That's all I wanted to hear. And now you and I are finished. Maybe you'll treat your next partner a little better.

The gargoyles turn on Watson, imprisoning him, Sherlock, and Juliet on a boat, and it is revealed that Moriarty really is alive and sent the gargoyles to deceive Watson. He took the gnomes and plans to have them smashed by way of the counterweights of a bridge crushing them as the bridge moves to make way for the boat Sherlock, Watson, and Juliet are trapped on.

MORIARTY: In that moment I saw how I could finally bring you down, Sherlock. I saw how you treated Watson. Poor old miserabubble Watson. He looked so sad. So I thought, I'll use that. I sent the gargoyles to you, Watson, and they let you think you were in charge. As if! You know what your problem is, Watson? You're too nice, too trusting.

I think it's ingenious that Moriarty saw the failings of his nemesis and the mistreatment of his partner and orchestrated this plan to take advantage of it. Poetic. This leads to this next exchange:

SHERLOCK: So, Watson, on a scale of 1 to 10, how well do you think this is going?

WATSON: I never meant for any gnome to get hurt. You know that.

JULIET: Hey, knock it off, both of you. Watson screwed up, but you did, too.

SHERLOCK: What did I do?

JULIET: The same thing I did. We took our best friends for granted, we stopped listening. They were the last thing we were thinking about and they should've been the first. [She leaves.]

SHERLOCK: I suppose somewhere within that haystack of emotional twaddle there may lie a thin needle of truth.

WATSON: One last case.

SHERLOCK: One last case.

Juliet's speech to me is one of my favourite things about this movie, and how even though Sherlock is still putting on his facade and not being vulnerable or showing his emotions, he manages to somewhat acknowledge her point.

Juliet and Gnomeo are reunited, and as they go to deal with the gargoyles, we get this next interaction that's important to me.

SHERLOCK: I'll draw his fire, you rescue the gnomes.

WATSON: You trust me to save the gnomes?

SHERLOCK: Well, of course. You're Watson.

Previously, Sherlock has saddled Watson with the dirtier work, even using him as a punching bag to practice his fighting moves on (albeit Watson was wearing padding). Now, this shows growth, in him acknowledging Watson's worth, and showing him respect again.

Moriarty next threatens to throw his hat at the drone Watson, Juliet, and Gnomeo are on, and Sherlock, next to him, knocks into him to stop him, but the hat still knocks into the drone, causing it to fall out of the air. Moriarty then steps on Sherlock's leg, injuring him, and goes to finish the job. Moriarty knocks Watson off the bridge, and as he holds on with one hand, Moriarty steps on his fingers, trying to get him to let go. Sherlock tries to come to his aid, albeit being unable to walk, begging Moriarty not to hurt Watson. He throws himself at Moriarty, knocking them both off the bridge as Watson cries out his name, and uses his cane, which has a grappling hook function, to catch his partner as Moriarty falls into the river below.

WATSON: You'd give your life for me?

SHERLOCK: Of course.

WATSON: Because you're the sworn protector of London's garden gnomes.

SHERLOCK: No. Because we are the sworn protectors of London's garden gnomes. Watson and Sherlock, partners and friends. And I promise to treat my partner a lot better. That is, of course, if you'll have me back. [He holds out his hand.]

WATSON: Watson and Sherlock. I rather like the sound of that. [He takes Sherlock's hand.]

I love the noble self-sacrifice or attempted self-sacrifice as a trope, it often makes me emotional, and I love this reconciliation. Sherlock pledges to treat Watson better, if Watson will give him a second chance, and he will. After this, Watson and Sherlock and Gnomeo and Juliet are paralleled, Gnomeo and Juliet standing hand in hand, and Sherlock with one hand on Watson's shoulder and the other on Watson's cane, for support for his injured leg.

The last scene of the movie is in the garden in spring, as Lady Bluebury and Lord Redbrick proclaim Gnomeo and Juliet the new leaders of the garden. Irene shows up, slaying, makes a minor passive-aggressive comment to Sherlock while greeting Watson happily, and Sherlock acknowledges that he deserves that. Sherlock and Watson say that Juliet and Gnomeo have a 0% chance of breaking up, and as they turn to leave, Sherlock puts an arm around Watson for support once more, and Watson puts his arm around Sherlock once more, and they walk off together as the movie fades to black.

This was mostly a plot summary, or rather, a character arc summary, but I just think the movie speaks for itself, and that it's genuinely amazing that the relationship between these two incarnations of famous characters is compared with the relationship of the romantic leads, and that they both have the same lesson to learn. To me, even though it is canonically platonic and can obviously be read as platonic and still be just as powerful, I feel like you can also analyse this through a romantic lens, which is one of the things I love about this movie. But ultimately, the story of this movie and of Juliet and Sherlock having to learn the error of their ways and to respect and appreciate their partners is just wonderful to me.

[dravo-carolus]

Okay! Saw Arcane finally, just this past weekend. And I just watched the season 2 trailers, so I have some THOUGHTS

So! First off, loving the Goth Vi here, wonderful, the pain she is in is Visceral and ohhhh Boy I'm here for the arc.

Loving Jinx's new makeup. The cloak is Very cool, the pink cheek paint is also Amazing. Very pretty paints by the artists, seriously skilled!

But I actually wanted to get some thoughts out about Victor and how the HexCore is gonna go.

So! They kept saying the hex core was an "Evolving" set of magic runes!! Magic AI anyone?

So season 1, He gets some shimmer that'll help him "Survive a volatile change" afterward he carved runes into his leg brace and skin. He reached to the hex core, it changed his leg into some form of blue magical flesh, allowing him to run afterwards.

Then he attempted another experiment into changing himself more, via carving more runes all over himself. But critically, he didn't have any more shimmer, so he was just kinda stuck screaming in pain with his hand on the hexcore. Until! Until Ms Young (assistant researcher) ran up and attempted to help him, at which point she was devoured by the (demon)hexcore. She was dusted, some of her clothes and her notes on that project she was working on survived. Victor is distraught, and attempts to destroy the hexcore, but wilts at trying to destroy his life's work.

He drops the stool he lifted to break the core with, THEN! The core sparked, and his new leg suddenly wasn't working.

Next we see him, he has visibly limped his way to a lil nook in the wall, and spreads Ms Young's ashes, apologizing for not knowing her prefered location. Then he steps up as if to throw himself off, but Jayce interrupts him. Victor says "you have to destroy it (the hexcore)"

Now I'm just spitballing a bit

But!! I'm thinking, that Jayce and Victor are gonna survive (maybe, the trailers CONSPICUOUSLY DIDNT SHOW THEM OFF (or at least, not that was obviously and unambiguously them) so they may just be dead. Unlikely, but a possibility!) And Victor is gonna be way worse off. So!

Either we're gonna see them immediately post explosion, jayce pulls Vic outta the rubble, notices he is Very badly wounded, and ALSO!! His Leg!!•

(Or they'll wake up in the hospital, doesn't really matter. But I'm thinking it'll be the first, because Warlord Madarda says "Your Council is Dead" in the trailers. So I think they are either dead or at option 1•)

So he notices his leg, and remembers the HexCore! And so jayce drags his almost corpse friend to the hex core, and kinda throws him at it, at which point it heals Victor up into a magical blue corpse that walks. (Critically the hexcore is an evolving thing. And it has Already Eaten a smart young woman.) So! Hexcore has a "Healed" Victor, walking around and being a wealth of distracting joy (meanwhile the hexcore is in control because THAT would be the sick nonsense that I'd expect from what they were foreshadowing! The evil plants, the arcane being malicious (probably), and also how it punished Victor for trying to break it. Also. It'd let the showrunners have a nice lil inner POV of Victor's head, and they could have him react to what the hexcore is having his puppet of a body do. Because that'd be just Sinfully delightful, the pain of the guy that was dying because his body was poisoned, then finally he found a cure that was SO MUCH WORSE!) oh I'm living for this.

It'd also lead into the "Jayce and Victor are enemies because Victor is a cartoon supervillain that committed "crimes against Science!" (BTW the dumbest thing I've ever heard. The only crime against Science you could commit would be a complete destruction of knowledge and ways to find knowledge. But other than that it's not a crime *Against* *Science*) so they're now enemies.

Because Victor is a puppet in the control of the Hexcore~

Idk if it's likely, but eh, fun idea either way.

[beardedmrbean]

Yeah I got the obvious ones

Tbh I got…nephews (cousins sons that shit how) and when I was building up my anime collection I went

“Oh shit, I need some kid friendly stuff!”

So I got digimon, the pokemon movies, and studio ghibli movies. Still building it up

Also from ac red, idk wth is their pr department doing. During black history month, I suggested to a friend that Ubisoft could have down a post at the end of month like

“Thanks for the Amazing Black History month…but there are more black stories to tell”

Cut to a quick gif of Yasuke putting on his ONI mask (very likely to be in game) and flicking his hidden blade and then say “Full Trailer Reveal In May”

Twitter a shitshow about Yasuke being a lead mainly because of Afrocentrism

But I would tell the executives, to just fucking rip off the bandaid and let people get used to fact Yasuke is the second playable character

I would have done a reveal trailer like this Viking game https://youtu.be/L0Fr3cS3MtY?si=xrkk3hycjg3ksxUs

Basically it start out with the two protagonists childhoods. Naoi being trained by her father while kid Yasuke is on slave ship.

Than cut to Yasuke washing up on Japanese shore (they change his past for the narrative) where you see his samurai training and Naoi more depth ninja

While show they will fight each other

Then show the tragedy of the hojo incident and Naoi father who will be killed by the Templars

And cut to Yasuke nearly being killed by the Templars only for Hattori Hanzo (who part of the brotherhood) to save him and offer him a chance to join the order

Then the final part of the trailer is Naoi in her marking outfit on a mission being cornered, but cute to Yasuke now in his assassin outfit helping her

Then Yasuke and Naoi standing side by side to symbolize their understanding that they must work together to unify Japan

Sorry for the fanfic, but the issues with non white characters especially black ones is the EXECUTION

If red acknowledged that Yasuke is a outside and DO point out the no gain rule that the Tokugawa established it might be good

Still don't think I've ever even seen a whole episode of Pokemon, Ghibli movies I know and love tho so that's stuff I can approve of at least. Pokemon is fine too, they've been bringing smiles for a insanely long time.

Also from ac red, idk wth is their pr department doing. During black history month, I suggested to a friend that Ubisoft could have down a post at the end of month like

ect.

That actually could have been cool, don't need much footage to make it work either even just a few drawings could do it.

Twitter a shitshow about Yasuke being a lead mainly because of Afrocentrism But I would tell the executives, to just fucking rip off the bandaid and let people get used to fact Yasuke is the second playable character

Personally I'd tell them these are people that will never be happy so listening to them is pointless, not like they're gonna buy the game anyhow either.

They can make their own if they're not happy.

Which is a attitude I wish more creators would adopt, don't like it don't buy it but we're not going to custom tailor our products to cater to your narcissism.

Sorry for the fanfic, but the issues with non white characters especially black ones is the EXECUTION

FanFic is always good, no need to apologize.

I hope the game meets to your expectations when it comes out finally.

[nem0-nee]

On "heavy inspiration"

First, I'd like to apologize for the contents of this post. I do not wish to be a blog that just complains about matters, but I feel like I need to say this at least once.

If you don't agree with what I say, that's perfectly fine. We can agree to disagree, that is all.

It never fails to anger me when I see any issue related to tracing and "heavy inspiration." These are definitely tools when it comes to learning more about art, but there's definitely a line that dictates whether the use of those methods are acceptable or not.

I will not be naming names, but back then there was a blog which was "heavily inspired" by me. I'm flattered that I inspire people out there, but this case was truly something else.

[NOTE: If you recognize the account I'm referring to, please don't bring them up. I don't want this to escalate, nor do I want to stir up any issues. This is just to discuss what happened.]

There was a time where I've made a character sheet/template for one of my OCs, intending it to be for her specifically; every element about it reflected her as a character in general. A few days later, I see that a certain blog had done the same with their own sheet. The only difference was that it was all mirrored. I commend them for giving me credit, however I was not on board with what they did.

DISCLAIMER #1: Yes, I am aware that I may sound like a whiny baby for being possessive over a character template. It truly sounds absurd, and even now I don't know if what I felt was valid. But my reason for it was that I had specifically designed that sheet for THAT character. It was completely original, as I had made it all from scratch. It took me a while to conceptualize it all. Then someone comes along, taking and running with it without asking me? Can you blame me for being upset?

I didn't want to cause an issue, so I privately settled this issue with them. I made it clear with them that they should've asked me first before doing it, but also added in that they don't have to take the post down. I may be protective of my works, but I'm not a jerk to force someone to take down their own hard work. Plus, I didn't want to cause any drama nor controversy over a character sheet, so I just kept my mouth shut.

Additionally, I made a post as a measure to make sure this incident doesn't repeat.

You'd think this would all stop, but it surprisingly didn't! A few months later, I released a Birthday Union Card for one of my characters. I took some creative liberties with it and added my own twist to things. So, I gave my OC a different kind of bow and nail polish. A few weeks later and what do I see? The same kind of bow and nail polish are on their own birthday card too!!

DISCLAIMER #2: I am aware I don't own these "creative liberties" or certain aspects of design. I would've brushed this off as a coincidence if they hadn't taken "major inspiration" from me before, but this was the second time it all happened. I was beginning to get paranoid; I felt like they were keeping note of everything I do so they could do the same. damn. thing. Plus from what I know, I don't think anyone has done this before? Maybe that's just me...

Don't get me even started with the post formats! I did things a certain way back then, mixing up the font styles, incorporating colors, cringeworthy quotes- you name it. Would you believe me that they got inspired by me to this degree? That they would format posts that contained similar content as me IN A SIMILAR WAY?

DISCLAIMER #3: I am aware that I don't own post formats. My point here is that they were truly coming across as a copycat. I believe they could've changed things up for the sake of originality. But I suppose you can't have everything nice in life.

Every time they post something, the first thing that comes to mind is "what did they copy from me this time?" And it's truly a shame. Any slight resemblance or similarity to what I did stirred panic within me. It wasn't healthy, and I felt like I couldn't do anything about it.

Though, I must admit I'm not entirely in the right for this. Thinking about it, I may have enabled them due to my lack of communication.

FAULT #1: I must acknowledge my fault for not telling them off enough. I really thought they'd just eventually stop and learn from their mistakes. I just didn't have the heart to tell them any more. Being accused of copying is not a great thing, and I didn't really want to be that person. Unfortunately, look where that got me.

FAULT #2: It's also my fault I decided to follow them back despite the first instance and didn't block them. Admittedly, I have a bad habit of wanting to see the good in people. So I assumed that they would change in the long run.

Things only stopped when I finally blocked them and notified them about it. I don't think they're active on here anymore, and sometimes I worry if I was the reason for that. I wished it didn't come to this point.

This is a cautionary tale for fellow artists out there. Please, don't take things without permission. This whole incident took a toll on me for months, and I still fear instances of these. Some artists may be more lenient and wouldn't mind, but there are definitely others who are not okay with "heavy inspiration." Always, ALWAYS ask.

[pettyprocrastination]

Abby x reader head canons?

I will say may not be the best representation for her character because I've only watched (many) play troughs and not played the game yet cause I no longer have my play station :( but I am absolutely horrendously down bad for her ngl so here we go (also abby is closeted wlw in this sorry guys)

warnings: repressed sapphic feelings, gets a little sexual at the ending but nothing major, jealousy, mostly just fluff here cause im easing myself into her character

I feel like she's not particularly into pda? not anything egregious but she'll have an arm around you is enough, maybe a hand in the back pocket to give you a lil bum squeeze but even that's pushing it. She doesn't want to be obnoxious like *those* couples (she does actually) but she wants people to know your hers.

connecting to this I feel like she gets jealous pretty easily. Not from a place of seeing you as property but from her own insecurities and worrying that you'll find somebody "better" which means sometimes she'll give a snide little comment when you've been hanging out with somebody else that makes you pull back and go "excuse me?" often leading to her either talking herself into a corner or going silent and passive aggressive until your able to pull the truth out of her, often times after the anger has fizzled out hours later and she slips into your room with a soft mumbled apology when you tell you that you love her and only her but that doesn't mean she gets to be an asshole to you for it. (she makes it up to you though. all night long in fact)

braid her hair. please braid her hair. It's a small sign of love that makes her go absolutely crazy. The feeling of your nails gently scritching her scalp has her stretching out like a cat in a sunbeam on a lazy sunday afternoon. She'll set her head in your lap while you undo the braid and run your fingers through her soft locks until she slowly drifts off to sleep because she just feels so at peace with you that she's comfortable letting her guard down and falling asleep

even if you have very short hair, you probably end up wearing one of her hair ties on your wrists because she tends to lose them + its a little part of her to keep by your side :') (i will say its interesting that in the show, it seems like ellie keeps her hair tied back with a hairtie that seems to have been cut, so she has to wrap it around and then tie a knot which makes sense because i'd gather that elastic isn't that easy to come across post apocalypse yknow. I think it'd be cute if you like. found a scrunchie or smthn for her that even though its not her style she's still wear it cause its a gift from you :'))

that being said? i imagine after everything she's been through she's a pretty light/paranoid sleeper so if you slip from the bed for any reason be ready to see her padding after you, squinted eyes and grumbling with sleep still in her voice as she mumbles 'where you goin'?' because babygirl woke up without you by her side and it caused her to panic :(

confident in her body. She's worked hard on her physique and she knows you enjoy it, so don't be surprised to see her not-so-subtlety flex if she catches you eyeing her up. You'll roll your eyes at her peacocking but it doesn't stop that lovesick smile from growing on your face that makes her feel all giddy. Bunch of goofballs in love right here <3

idk why but she gives me a bit closeted energy growing up. I feel like she probably got plenty of shit for being a tomboy and she gives me the energy of those girls who are like "women can be masculine and straight you know >:(" but so incredibly gay lmao (knew countless gals like this god bless them all) but yeah she'll huff and puff because just because she's not girly doesn't mean she's gay but also likes it when you sleep in her bed and you guys tell stories and fall asleep in eachothers arms, sometimes she'll stay awake so she can watch how peaceful you are and maybe maybe think about kissing you and how soft your body would feel in her hands and the little noises you'd make and that makes her feel something owen never did. but yknow. she's still super straight

[chirpsythismorning]

hi! i’ve been reading your analysis/theory posts and i love them all! i had a question about your will being twelve theory, i definitely see how he could be, the only thing i don’t really get is how he would be at the lab and have a life outside the lab? like mike said the first day of kindergarten will was on the swings by himself and they’ve been best friends ever since, and joyce talked about the crayons for his eigth birthday and how his friends all got him star wars toys, so we know he was friends with at least mike and lucas (i think dustin came in the 4th grade so it’s possible he was also friends with will at this point) and possibly other kids when he was younger, so how would he be able to have this whole life outside the lab while also being a kid at the lab?

Hey! I’m so glad you love reading them!! And also apologizes for taking so long to reply!

I don’t think, based on any fandom-wide consensus of the events on the show, as of now, that I'd be able to provide a definitive answer?

Like there has to be pieces missing, which have been left out for a reason, and those are the details that I think will be necessary to fully transcribe to this theory. Until then, there's too much missing for even me to believe it fully.

However, if twelvegate is real, or at least close to what’s going down, then even despite the entire audience missing it, I do think there are probably hints in the details connecting Will to Hawkins Lab, that were either missed or not pinpointed properly, which may or may not hold some answers.

I do have a of couple theories about where some pieces of the twelvegate puzzle might be hiding in earlier seasons. Although, I think beyond pointing them out and talking about them, it will only lead us to more questions!

TBH, most of this post will just be me trying to come up with some possibilities. While I don't fully believe all the observations I've came across are leading in every direction I speculate them to be, I do think the answers for the ending have to be in the show. There are only so many options to work with here... And so, whatever. I'm going for it.

To start things off, a wise man once said:

I always wondered if this could be a hint to the audience that the answers to some major questions are hidden in some sort of papers we've seen/heard of throughout the show? Newspapers, documents, drawings perhaps?

This then reminded me of the newspaper clipping(s) they showed at the end of s1 related to Will's disappearance:

Hawkins Lab Blocks Inquiry (left)

Coroner Arrested For Falsifying Autopsy (middle bottom)

More Heads Roll in Ongoing State Trooper Scandal (right)

The Boy Who Came Back To Life (middle)

The former missing child Will Byers has been found after a week of searching. He is presently in stable condition in Hawkins General Hospital. Byers' mother, Joyce Byers, alleges Will was the subject of a secret government program run by the Hawkins National Laboratory. The allegation comes amidst a massive investigation into the hidden organization and its elaborate experimentations in perusal of mind control. — The abuse detailed in the first report includes prolonged physical duress and psychological interrogation. This [gove]rnment sanctioned torture has [prov]oked outrage amongst the American . . . In a statement issued yesterday . . . Ives mentioned her "disgust" . . . the organization saying, "our own [Ame]rican people are being treated like . . . we should be directing our . . . to the real target, the Soviets, not . . . own daughters and sons." Under legal . . . Brenner has issued no comment on . . .

An article by that same title resurfaces in s2. However, it seems to have changed some of the details about what happened, in an update of sorts.

The Boy Who Came Back To Life (s2)

"In a recent statement, the state coroner's office has admitted to misidentifying the body recovered from the Sattler Quarry as twelve year old Will Byers. Will Byers had gone missing two days prior, inspiring the town of Hawkins to form a search party in the hopes of finding him. When a boy's body was recovered from Sattler Quarry, the case seemed solved. Six days later local police, lead by Chief Jim Hopper, found Byers alive in an abandoned cave a few miles outside of Hawkins."

Obviously, the update of this article had to do with the State coming in and covering things up.

I've read up on it, but all I can find from the ga's consensus back then, is there was some confusion over the fact that the article went from being about Will and his disappearance being connected to Hawkins lab and experimentation and mind control, only to switch in the next paragraph to Terry Ives report on Jane's abduction. A lot of people speculated that it was probably just a copy paste error, where like the Duffers were too lazy to put something relevant there, and so they slapped on a random paragraph and called it a day?

Now, to be real with you, even if the Duffers themselves said this was the case, that it was just an error on their part, I would not believe them...? Because rewatching that shot, you can tell it's important? Like what else is the point of it, if not to hint at something? And then why have it return in the following season (literally one episode later?), with an update, that clearly covers up most of the details, if there's no deeper reason behind it?

One thing from the s1 version that has me side eyeing is, 'our daughters and sons' (Willel s1 crumbs?).

I also find it interesting that they refer to the quarry as Sattler Quarry, twice? It doesn't seem that important on the surface, but from what I remember Sattler Quarry was really sort of sus in terms of what they were up to and the way they were talked about, in connection to Hawkins Lab and them scrambling to cover up Will's disappearance by planting a fake body there? Idk it just feels weird...

Which brings me to this next small detail I haven't heard anyone talk about before, but I have a feeling it could be part of this, or perhaps part of something that is still yet to be revealed.

The night they find Will's body, Karen and Ted are watching the news. We hear the reporter talking about Will's body being found at the quarry. Though the audio is loud enough to hear at the beginning, the newscast shifts to quiet background noice as Mike's parents begin talking.

White text is easy to hear/red text is a little difficult to hear:

"Byers' body was found in the water of this quarry by state police earlier this evening. He was discovered by state trooper David O'Bannon, just after dark. The state police are mounting an investigation to determine Byers' cause of death. But an initial inquiry... *few indistinct words* suggests that foul play was involved. Will Byers was a 7th grader at Hawkins Middle School. He was reported missing on Monday morning by his mother. Now, Byers isn't the first person to drown in Sattlers Quarry, if you'll recall, only 7 years ago--"

Now, I have tried and tried, but even still now, I cannot discern what was said after "But an initial inquiry...", because Ted interrupts and it muddles up his words with the reporter's, to the point where I can't discern it well enough. I think I hear the word media somewhere in there?

As far as I know, no one has talked about this, at least not enough for it to even be mentioned on the Stranger Things Wiki timeline.

I legit checked the timeline while making this post, hoping to find it, and hopefully anything else that might have occurred that year.

TW: byler

Okay. Cool. It appears, according to Wiki at least, nothing substantial happened in the year 1976, other than the fact that it was the year Mike and Will met on the swings in kindergarten. I assume that would've been in August/September of 1976? Then this drowning at Sattlers Quarry would've been on Nov. 7th, 1976, a few months later (and 7 years before Will's 'vanishing')?

I always thought it was interesting that they said kindergarten specifically. Like kindergarten? That's such a cliche in and of itself. But what if that was the point? To make it something we heard and then just went with, but in reality they're giving us a hint? (Will and Mike would've been five years old in 1976).

I do think that the mention of something happening, exactly 7 years prior, to the day...? Like that's really odd? Not only is it connected to Will because it's the day he went missing, but also... 'it was a seven'?

Though, I feel like if it had to do with Will specifically, they would have included that (which reminds me, if anyone can transcribe that indiscernible part of the newscast, LMK!)? Also if it was another child even, wouldn't they have mentioned that too? That seems like it would be an important detail?

But then the scene cuts off right there. Like the second the word 'ago' leaves the reporter's mouth, we're suddenly in Mike's basement (interesting...). And so, apparently they were willing to mention this anniversary like event, with the infamous number seven, only to cut it short without any further context for what actually happened 7 years prior?

I guess I would have to rewatch and pay attention to see if there are any other hints that could somehow relate to this occurrence that happened in 1976, but since like I said, no one's really talked about it (correct me if i'm wrong pls!), there isn't anywhere for me to really go from here in regards to that.

But it does make me wonder if this was one of the easter eggs David talked about being all the way back in s1, because like? I just really don't see a reason for it be there at all unless there was a reason?

Specifically in combination with Twelvegate it interests me because, Sattler Quarry was the place that Hawkins lab decided to put Will's fake body (why did they need to go all out in the first place in Will's case??).? Is it possible they were doing something there 7 years ago, related to the lab?

Like this does make me wonder about the whole Will created the upside down theory? I've read some crazy theories over the years about how a lot of what occurs with the supernatural happenings going on in Hawkins, aligns with Will and his emotions at times? For example, there's quite a few times Will sensed the mindflayer before/after something occurred, often related to Mike, and then we'd see Will touching his neck. But it wasn't always like that from what it seemed, and so I never really thought anything of it.

And then s4 happened, and this theory has sort of slowed down after it was 'confirmed' Henry got banished to the upside down by El after the massacre at Hawkins Lab, presumably encountering the mindflayer, before Will?

However, in combination with twelvegate and everything, what if Henry getting banished there also had to do with Will? Because I mean technically speaking, if Will is Twelve, that would mean he was right there in the rainbow room with El that day, only like a few feet away...

What if they were doing wonder-twin shit? Will creation powers combining with El's destruction powers?

It's still unknown why Henry would target Will in the first place, like could it be because it was all Will's creation to begin with?

This also reminded me of the constant imagery of Twelve playing with the red tower in the rainbow room. We see this repeatedly, like a lot. We even see El hung up a drawing of said tower in her room at the lab... Twelve building that red tower reminds me of Flayed Billy's 'we've been building it!'...

TBH I had no idea what the red tower in s4 could possibly mean up to this point. But in the context of Will being Twelve with creation powers, it makes a whole lot more sense. (Is the upside down stuck on the day Will entered it, because the creator showed up and now it's just stuck on create mode? LOL... Wait, but actually???).

I think the only way it would work, is if Will was a unique case, which obviously he would have to be if he created the upside down? Though I'm not so sure I think that Hawkins Lab knows this? Or maybe they do?

TBH I think it's a lot more likely Will has been able to predict some things, for example, Owens keeps talking about how this has been a long time coming, they've been preparing for this. And that took me back to s2 when Will was at Hawkins Lab talking about a storm...? Could that have been Will sensing what was still to come? And was Owens taking notes? Because in the past he had been able to predict some things based on what he saw/how he captures what he sees in his drawings?

I mean Owens was literally rewatching Will's tapes. And there are moments with him that just feel like there's something deeper going on there that we're missing. Quite frankly a lot of the scenes with Will at Hawkins Lab are missing answers, so that in and of itself is, very weird to brush off.

Eery to say the least.

These scenes also remind me of the onlookers El was met with when she arrived at Nina:

I've said recently that Owens and Brenner give off good cop/bad cop vibes, and I still feel that way. However, what I think at this point is that Owens is more focused on the 'cause' aka the US military having the upper-hand against the Soviets aka what he could get out of this monetarily/reputation wise, as like a patriot/war criminal. This would also parallel quite nicely with Paul Reiser's character in Aliens, which is a movie that's heavily inspired ST since the beginning.

Yeah, Owens would rather not hurt people if he doesn't have to, especially if he's not even getting any results out of it. But even still, I think Owens would choose to exploit anyone if it meant getting the results that he is expected to be getting, in the position that he is in.

In contrast to Owens, what Brenner gets out of it appears to be some weird father/daughter bond, manifested from raising El in the lab, which was also manifested by Brenner's weird familial bond with Henry as well.

Notice how Owens refers to Brenner as Martin, like, twice...? He even refers to them as an us? These dudes are colleagues, they are equals. The only difference is Brenner has this weird familial lens guiding his actions, whereas Owens actions are all keeping the goals for their cause in mind. And what even is their cause exactly?

We basically get Owens revealing that Brenner convinced him this was the ONLY way they could do this. Which means there were arguably other options, though this was the plan they went with because Brenner insisted it would work, and now they're having to stick to it.

El was a unique case compared to all the other kids presumably, who were brought there at some point in their childhood. From what I recall, Kali (008) for example, was discovered in London, then abducted and brought to Hawkins lab at a young age, but not infancy. Even in her case, she managed to escape Hawkins Lab before the massacre. And so, it's not like every scenario has to look identical El's in order for it to work, though in Will's case, it would definitely need to be explained in a way that fits with what they've told us so far. Which I agree, would be hard to do.

My guess as of now, is that they came across Will's powers via him being able to predict things with his drawings (rainbowshipgate), and that might have inspired part of Hawkins Labs efforts in the year 79. That scene with Ten and Brenner drawing felt very much like this was their first time doing this, and so it must have been a recent disovery at the time?... Hawkins lab wasn't always like that, even when El was a kid growing up there, like SUPER young, it was a little bit different than the numbers 1-19, shaved head, nightgown 24/7 vibes. That version of Hawkins lab required them gradually getting to that point over the last decade, making discoveries as they went. As far as I could tell, they used to be kind of accepting of letting families in there back in the day, because they came off as more lenient in those times, before they cracked down and started being a lot more secretive, resorting to covering things up almost entirely.

Although I think it's likely they're unaware Will made the upside down itself (if he even did), they know something... There's something about this scene with Brenner and Owens in particular, that's just so downright suspicious, to the point where I don't understand why it's not talked about more.

This scene is from 4x07, right after Owens bitched Brenner out for not getting them any results. And so, what is being alluded to here, is that EVERYTHING we saw in 4x07, essentially what was presumably being presented to us as the real truth, after 6 episodes of us watching everything from El's confused POV, isn't even the whole truth???

Also, notice the tapes. Brenner takes the tape labeled with the day of the massacre, Sept 8th, 1979. However, the shot makes a point to show him almost hesitating. We see like 4 tapes from the month of August, and like 7 tapes already for the month of September, with no more tapes to follow after the 8th (obvs bc the massacre). Apparently it was a busy September. What I find weird is that there were two tapes for the day before the massacre, Sept. 7th, 1979.? There's nothing else I find too suspicious about this shot, besides that, and so I am curious about what this could possibly mean.

"How much time did you skip?"

Why not let the audience see what was skipped? It's almost like whatever they skipped over would be a major spoiler to us? And combined with everything else, I would not be surprised if whatever they didn't let us see had something to do with Twelve aka Will...

I understand your doubt with this theory, because I too struggle with figuring out how exactly it would overlap with our understanding of the story and the presumed timeline that's been presented to us thus far.

However, again, I think that there has to be small details in the story, which are essential to un-cracking this, even despite what the overarching narrative has been leading us to believe and assume up to this point. I also think it requires us being misinformed about some things, because otherwise it would be too easy to figure everything out. I mean look at us rn? They don't want people getting too close to the truth and so they need those barriers in the way stopping people from getting to close to the surprise. They literally depend on us assuming they are stupid to achieve all of this.

And even still, the Duffer's themselves have said that the final season will circle back to s1 to answer things that were never answered, along with David saying there's easter eggs from s1 that will make the ending wonderful, and Noah himself saying the show started with Will and will end with Will... And so, there's gotta be something here.

And honestly, upon some casual rewatching since coming across twelvegate, I've noticed a lot of details that connect Will to Hawkins Lab...

One in particular, is the fact that it's established within the first 5 minutes of the series, that Will lives near Hawkins Lab:

So there are arguably places for this theory to build off of, which already exist in the show...

One explanation in particular that I've seen a lot of fans use as a possibility to explain all of this, is Lonnie.

In s1 he showed up after Will's body was recovered, and he made a remark about how Sattler Quarry had no warning signs around it, and that they should be held accountable. Joyce grew suspicious of his behavior and went through his stuff, discovering that Lonnie only came to sue Sattler to receive a big sum of money.

And so within the context of the show, right off the bat, they are saying that not only did Lonnie make homophobic remarks about Will, treat Joyce like she was crazy, but he also apparently only came back after Will was dead, so that he could get a bunch of money out of it...?

There's been theories about this for years, but this could fit into Will, and now even Henry potentially, being brought to the lab, on the front that it would be treatment for conversion therapy.

The parallels between Will and Henry could be entirely related to the upside down/powers, but I just think the wording of those parallels between them, being tied mostly to Will's queer-coding, makes me very skeptical there's nothing more to it?

And like I said, Hawkins Lab was looking for any excuse to not only find kids with natural powers, but to also exploit anyone that posed as an opportunity to them.

Terry Ives for example, wasn't one of the numbered kids in Hawkins Lab, but she was still involved with others who literally volunteered there, and were put on experimental drugs (also another way Lonnie could have been involved with the Lab), which led to El being abducted with the guise that she died during a miscarriage.

People forget that mind control is Hawkins Labs' specialty. And that they used it for more than just studies and experimentation...

The lab did everything they could to cover up what's happened over the years, when it came to El and Terry especially from what we saw. And so, why wouldn't this apply to other kids?

I remember in s2 when Brenner got replaced, Owens said the everyone involved with the lab previously, was gone, with him insisting he was one of the good ones, practically begging Joyce (and Hopper) to trust him... And yet not even a few episodes later he was telling Jonathan and Nancy that he would stop at nothing to keep the truth from spreading... Nothing.

Which then brings us to the most complex of it all. Memories.

I think that it's possible that memory stealing could be a thing that spans multiple characters, and with an organization that specializes in mind control, with us literally seeing that play with Terry Ives in earlier seasons, and also with El's repressed memories in s4 (with the lab having tapes to bring back those memories), I'm gonna presume it's not out of the realm of possibility that there's more to all of this.

Not saying that it's going to be memory stealing in the most generic way possible. Same with the whole time travel debacle. I don't think how we understand these concepts, based on what we've seen in other media, is going to apply exactly in every shape/form for ST. I think it's going to be a lot more complex and have to fit somehow into our understanding of things in this universe already. Do I think it will be easy? No. But the Duffers have surprised me before so I do think that they are capable of doing it again.

And even still, I only feel comfortable speculating about this, in the cases of the kids and the parents, aka Terry and El, Will (Jonathan?) and Joyce, Hopper and Sarah...

And that's about where my theory starts to get kind of stupid.

If you remember, there was a theory way back in s2, that El, Will and Sarah could have all possibly been connected to Hawkins lab. And it's because they all 3 had similar stuffed animals.

Hopper is also shown to be at Hawkins lab in his flashbacks around the time of his daughter's death in 78 (1 year before the massacre). We also get a parallel shot of this, with Sam Owens in s2 (s/out Sam Owens is evil truthers)

BONUS: Shot of El in s4, in this same staircase in the flashbacks of the lab massacre in 79.

Back in the day, there were theories Sarah's death could've been a cover up, and that perhaps she was targeted by the lab similar to other test subjects. It just so happened that for whatever reason, her case ended differently than the others? Or so we think...?

Now you might be wondering, what could have possibly connected Hopper to Hawkins Lab?

Vietnam.

This is another avenue I could totally see Hawkins Lab recruiting test subjects. I mean, it's not like it's one of the most well known tropes in comic books for a person whose encountered radiation to gain super powers or anything...

I also find it interesting that Hopper’s daughter died of cancer, after having an episode quite similar to Will's, which lead her to losing all her hair. And this happened at Hawkins lab (what we can presume based on the setting), a little bit before the labs whole weird shaved head, crayon drawing renovation..?.

Interesting...

In all honesty, Hopper himself has been keeping secrets. This is something that David Harbour has alluded to since s2, when there were boxes from Hoppers cabin shown, with the one El went through literally being labeled Hawkins Lab.

Not to mention, s4 finally explored and introduced to us how Vietnam affected him and his family, sort of building up this storyline, with flashbacks of Sarah, which we’ve been seeing for like season upon season now? They really like showing us these flashbacks with Sarah for some reason… and I can’t help but feel like that storyline isn’t over. So considering some of the evidence, it feels like there could be something going on there.

Not to mention, at the end of s1, we get this moment where Hopper goes in a government vehicle and what happened is only really alluded to. But why not let us see what they talked about?

It does beg to question, that if a lab managed to convince Hopper his daughter died of cancer... Anything is possible.

I also think Joyce being referred to as crazy/out of her mind by herself, Lonnie, Jonathan and like everyone in town in s1, does make me intrigued by the prospects of s2 sort of covering up whatever facts they gave to us back then, bc like.. idk. There's room there for something to have happened I guess. Like the fact that she even felt an urge to check to see what Lonnie was up to, and found out he was trying to get a bunch of money out of Will's death? Like, was history repeating?

I also love that you mentioned the crayons for Will's birthday, because I actually came across Twelvegate when I was reading about another theory, Rainbowshipgate.

If you haven't read it, RUN!

Basically what it boils down to is how the story about Will getting crayons on his eighth birthday, using those crayons to draw a rainbow spaceship, which Joyce then hung up at Melvald's, even going as far as to apparently show it to every person that came in, saying her son drew it... could have been a hint that connects Will to Hawkins Lab.

In fact, this is something several casual fans have observed and talked about on reddit since s2, comments about how ironic it was that Will drew a rainbow spaceship, when we all know there's another major significance to rainbows in the show, ie the rainbow room at Hawkins Lab...

So it's like, are these the easter eggs David was talking about, or??..

I shit you not, reading everything I could about rainbowshipgate, I got curious and decided to rewatch the Hawkins lab scenes from s4.

I was thinking like, hypothetically, if rainbowshipgate was on track in some way? Couldn't Will be a lab kid?

And so I literally went into rewatching those scenes, looking for a lab kid that could be Will-coded. And I was not disappointed. There Twelve was, giving off major Will Byers vibes, and that's when everything sort of clicked for me and I started posting about it.

Also, for those that don't know, there were theories back in the s3 era at least, where fans were already speculating that Will could be Twelve... Though those same theorists haven't returned to update their observations for s4 (meaning all their evidence predates s4 evidence).

However, what I now personally am leaning towards, is that they are connected.

Because if Will's birthday is March 22nd, then it's possible that anytime throughout that year, someone from Hawkins Lab could have stumbled into Melvald's, observed the drawing, and told other higher ups at the lab about it. Upon a little bit of digging, they discovered this kid lived right in their back fucking yard?? I would not be surprised what lengths they would go through to get that kid. Like come on man, that's too easy!

That's another thing, the Byers' home being like right next to Hawkins Lab is just weird in and of itself? So that could be an easy explanation for how Will attended the lab. It would have likely required it being a secret between Lonnie and maybe Jonathan who found out and had to stay quiet. It also could have played a role in their divorce? Who knows. I do think that they're consistent mention of Will's sexuality/queer-coding as the main topic to come up whenever they talk about Lonnie is really suspect. But that's just a theory for now.

Personally, despite all the evidence, because there is quite a lot, I'm still not entirely confident in regards to all this.

It does make me feel more intrigued by other theories though, like birthdaygate and will having powers. I am like 99% confident in those theories, and so there is this element of appeal in that I feel like stuff we've already speculated about in the fandom before, fits quite nicely into twelvegate.

What I'm honestly excited for is ST5 promotion to start rolling out. As early as production starts, we should start getting some crumbs, and it will only grow exponentially from there!

And that's when all us theorists will have more to work with. Because they'll definitely leave easter eggs and hidden messages within the major promotion they drop. And this time a lot of us will actually be paying attention!! Whatever they leave here and there could have the potential to prove/disapprove theories we've been compiling for months before all of this.

Thank you for the ask!! And sorry again for the delay!

[inkrabbit]

Hello!

First I'd like to say that I love your writing! Also I'm still a bit new to Tumblr so please forgive me if I'm doing this wrong or don't explain something well lmao.

I was wondering if it would be possible to do headcannons on how any of the Papas would react to finding out their s/o is incredibly strong? And they can pick their Papa up and carry them around with no problem? I imagined that and thought it was hilarious :D

Thank you and please feel free to ignore this if it is confusing or overwhelming at all <3

you're so sweet omg ty <3333 but bb don't you even apologize. so long as anything is within my rule set, anything goes. requests can literally be like Primo x reader and I would be fine with that xD

hcs below the cut. if anyone's wondering, I'm keeping Rob Zombie's version of Michael Myers in mind as a sort of "base". and, as always, it's GN

Primo:

he's surprised at first

like really surprised

he knows the ghouls are pretty strong, but someone who had originally started out as a sibling??? it catches him off guard

bonus points if you worked under him and one day just casually show off your strength

mans has never been so confused in his life

but you know what? he absolutely loves it

his ghouls get a little jealous since he starts asking you for extra help with anything

but he's also gonna worry about you

"Girasole, are you sure you're not straining yourself? You know you need to take breaks."

pls don't pick him up. he might not like to admit that he's old, but he's decently frail and he's a little scared of heights

Secondo:

he knew something was up when you didn't back down from one of his ghouls that was getting a little snippy with him

and it may or may not have turned him on watching you quite literally throw said ghoul across the church

"Minga! I knew you were the one when I laid my eyes on you, uccello canoro."

starts calling you "mia guerriera/mio guerriero" which just means "my warrior"

but pls don't try picking him up around people

or doing anything to even hint that he's weaker than you (even tho we all know he is)

he still likes to appear as though he's "top dog"

100% changes behind closed doors tho

he turns into such a sap in your hands, and when he's feeling extra stressed, he'll happily let you lead

he trusts you, with both his mind and body. and he especially trusts you know how to keep your strength in check

Terzo:

"MY S/O CAN BEAT UP YOUR S/O!"

often gushes about you to anyone who's unfortunate enough to be within earshot

and he won't shut his mouth, even if you pay him

has his absolute favorite stories about you showcasing your strength

but don't let his enthusiasm about everything fool you. he is a little weary around you

sure, he trusts you. but it's not 100% and he unintentionally walks on eggshells around you

"I'd rather take a fall on stage any day than fight you, amore."

he still spoils you with whatever you want, even if you don't want him to go through all the trouble. he's just that type of lover

if you train/spar, know full well he's gonna be your personal cheerleader. you might make him a little hesitant, but you're still his number 1, and he's gonna remind you that

congratulations, you're also one of his bodyguards whenever he goes out. and it's totally not an excuse to spend all of his time with you

Cardinal Copia:

have you always been this strong??? was he blind???

Lucifer below, he doesn't remember you being able to pick everything up like it was nothing before you two started dating

okay, yeah. it's hot to him. but he's too embarrassed to say anything

who wouldn't want you? you literally make him feel so safe, like nothing could ever hurt him

well... whenever you're not zoning out

Copia's a naturally shy guy, maybe a little too pampered growing up. but he's seen the horrors of the world and of people. he's scared you're only dating him out of pity, or simply you'll simply just one day and snap and show him how strong you really are

don't be offended, but he's also hesitant to let you hold his rats

not many people like them. it's fine, but he's just being extra careful. they're like his children they are

still makes all the time in the world to be with you tho, and he showers you in affection

and it's not just to stay on your "good side". he's just a naturally loving man, and he's gonna make sure you get all of his love second (Sister Imperator comes first)

Papa Emeritus IV/Popia:

any worry he had about you? gone. doesn't exist anymore erased like his older brothers

brings you everywhere with him and shows you off, especially during rituals because, yes, you're either gonna be off to the side of the stage, or down on the ground in front

and expect him to trot on over while he's singing to interact with you

has he cirice'd you during a ritual before? yes he has. does he plan on doing it again? 100% and you can't stop him. he loves telling stories about how "Papa cirice'd the strongest person in the abbey and got away with it"

feels safest when he's with you, especially if you're holding him

pls give his forehead a little kiss. he loves having you pick him up while he's on stage just to show off, but he also craves gentle affection

"Ah, not even my own ghouls give me a sense of security like you do, mio roccio/mia roccia!"

he doesn't look at just your physical strength, but also taps into your mentality

and you're also the first person he goes to whenever he's worried about something

all he'll want is to lay in bed with you, cuddle with you and his rats and talk about anything that comes to mind. nothing else matters

Papa Nihil:

gives you increasingly heavier things to see what your limit is

is a bit scared when nothing bothers you and you're lifting everything up like it's a feather

nearly had a heart attack when you lifted him up as a joke

saw his life flash before his eyes and cowered behind his ghouls for a bit

dw he's fine. he's just being the drama queen that he is

congratulations, you now get all of the heavy-lifting jobs, especially the ones he doesn't feel like doing

he's praising you all the way tho, very supportive

"I know I can be a little... overzealous, especially on stage. But you, mio piccolo diavolo/mia piccola diavola, will always be the one I want."

give the idiot a chance. and then a couple more after that. he's a little dense and lives in the moment, but he's trying his best... and he might like being able to gloat that his S/O could probably lift a train

you'll never know it, but several songs he's written (and eventually scrapped) were all about you and how amazing you are. there was only 1 that ever mentioned your strength

[sunarintoes]

Pretty Setter Squad Boyfriend Headcanons

part one can be found here II wc: 2.4k II includes: kageyama, suga, kenma, akaashi, semi and oikawa II atsumu and shirabu 

rewriting because i cringe at the old hcs 😭

✗ Kagggggsss

✗ The emotionally constipated blueberry <3 oh yeahh 😎

✗ Okay well first off he can barely process his emotions (*cough* evidently *cough*)

✗ When you two first started going out he was quite shy and unsure of what to do so you may have had to guide him a bit, but if youre equally shy then it just would have taken longer to get to where you are now; oh and if that was the case it probably took some random burst of energy/confidence from either one of you to make the first move. 

✗ He will buy you milk but uf you hate it (like me 🤢) he will buy you another drink - like juice :D

✗ I dont think he will be the most affectionate, it’s not his love language - and neither are words haHAH. His love language is most likely quality time and gift giving.

✗ He does like to cuddle though 😳

✗ In fact he really likes to :D his favourite is when youre sitting in his lap while he watches a volleyball game (at home - he hates pda). 

✗ This brings us to our next, short point. Kageyama absolutely despises pda, he just thinks its something meant for closed doors and he does not believe that he has to display his relationship for the whole world to ogle at. The most he will do is light hand holding - mostly just linking your pinkies though.

✗ When it comes to height he does not care if you're smaller or taller than him ← but bb, please don't tease him about his height if he’s shorter because he will blow a fuse.

✗ He alternates between small spoon and big spoon, kinda depending on his mood. 

✗ BOY O BOY does he get jealous. Uh please reign in your setter >:( 

✗ Its mostly due to the fact that he’s insecure about himself - he thinks you will leave him like everyone else (in middle school - yes, he is still traumatised from it.)

✗ When he does get jealous he might be snappy to the other person and glare at them or be snappy at you and glare at you. When this happens please give him space because he needs it to clear his head. When he feels better he will come up to you and hug you into his chest so that he can’t see your face and you cant see his, then he will mumble an apology.

✗ Ever since you two began to date he has practiced apologising and getting better at apologising, this is because his inability to admit to his own mistakes was a sour patch in your relationship that almost ended it but he really did not want to lose you so he sucked up his pride and worked on what he had to; of course you also worked in what you had to. God I love character development 😩

✗ Dates are mostly at home dates or dates revolving around volleyball. If you're not into volleyball, Kageyama would not date you, it's something he is so passionate about and loves with every breath he takes (like you) and he refuses to compromise one love for the other. 

✗ ooooh he likes arcade dates a well! He thrives in a competitive environment. If you're not competitive and don't want to compete against him then he’ll compete for you - against the machines lol. Of course you play as well! But i doubt youre as competitive as this blueberry, and if you are - well i guess at the end of the day youll both be stacked in tokens 🤠

✗ Sugawara my beloved <33

✗ He. Is. So. Affectionate! 

✗ Mans loves skin on skin contact ykwim?

✗ He is down for pda and does not care what others think - only what you think <3. 

✗ I mean he might make out with you in public if you ask nicely 

✗ Dates are very fun with him, he’ll take you to cafes, to amusement parks, to carnivals, to movies and all the like. He’s a cliche lover and he’s proud of it.

✗ Your first kiss happened on New Years Eve/Day. The two of you sat on the roof of his house and watched as the fireworks lit up the starry sky of Miyagi and chanted the count down together. The second ‘one’ left your lips he grabbed your face (softly!!) and pulled you in to crash his lips against yours. 

✗ Suga loves to cuddle, preferably face to face because he just thinks you're the most beautiful person in the world. 

✗ He is not the most jealous person, he definitely does get jealous but never of strangers. It's more when his close friends or your close friends get a bit too comfortable if that makes sense? He normally plays it off with humour and messes around because he acknowledges that he is insecure and that it is most likely him thinking of the worst case scenario; however if he really does start to worry and get jealous then he will sit you down and talk about it with you. To him, communication is key. 

✗ Ngl Kenma is definitely in my top 3 favourites. 

✗ I may or may not be a Kenma kinnie 😳🙈

✗ i love my non-toxic gamer boy <33 anywho: no matter what ANYONE says, kenma is definitely affectionate. In fact I'd say he’s one of the most affectionate boyfriends. As we all know, he is shy and introverted but he likes to hang around and spend time with people he likes. He also talks a lot to them. So I hc that he’s a bit of a chatterbox with you and it makes him really happy when you let him talk about a game or a theory he has. He’s a great listener so you can count on him to pay attention to what you say.

✗ if you didn't already have one, he bought you a switch. He loves video game dates especially when he can't see you in person (*cough* lockdown *cough*) 

✗ he loves when you sit on his lap when he plays video games. I know everyone talks about sitting on their partner’s lap as some sexual thing and yeah that can happen but most of the time he’s really soft with you and just enjoys being close to you. Loves when you cuddle into him while he plays so that he can place his head on yours or your shoulder. 

✗ i think he is a bit shy when it comes to kisses but definitely warms up after a while. He absolutely refuses to sleep if he doesnt get your goodnight kisses. He loves to kiss you on your nose and your cheeks the most. He loves when you kiss him on the forehead and the nose <3

✗ kenma is not one for pda, it's just not his vibe. He prefers intimacy and privacy; his relationship is not a movie for the world to watch and gawk at. Especially timeskip!kenma. Though that does not mean he wont ever show you skinship in public, occasionally he will softly hold your hand and maybe press a light kiss to your cheek. 

✗ in terms of jealousy, he is moderate. Kenma, as we all know, has incredible people reading skills, so he understands the situation pretty clearly and knows when you’re uncomfortable/what you think of the situation. Most of the time you can deal with the unwanted attention and he doesnt get jealous, but he does get insecure. He shows this by going quiet and looking away when you look at him, you can cure this by giving him hugs when you get home. 

✗ Akaashi my beloved <3 he’s so pretty i can't even-

✗ ugh! Just imagine him in a dark/light academia aesthetic. 

✗ perfection. 

✗ akaashi is the sweetest most attentive boyfriend, he loves you to pieces and never fails to let you know. He tells you he loves you every morning and every night. He probably makes meals for you and leaves notes in that have a sweet comment like “i love you, you're the best <3” 

✗ he love back hugging you BUT also receiving back hugs 🥺✨

✗ akaashi is a booknerd and an introvert. Please cuddle up to him and let him read his book to you. 

✗ there are only 2 things that can restore his social battery: sleeping and you.

✗ which means he wants cuddles when he’s tired 😊

✗ he is not jealous. He just doesn't get jealous, maybe annoyed if the third party is being a bit too pushy and you're clearly uncomfortable, but he just never feels jealous. No matter how hard you may try to make him jealous (plz dont cause that's kinda toxic imo) he just won't feel that way.

✗ definitely the ‘mom/dad’ as he carries sinister, pads, bandaids → a whole first aid kit basically, everywhere. Bb must be prepared. 

✗ dates are so sweet with him, cute niche cafes and dimly lit libraries. Maybe the occasional abandoned building. He loves spending time with you, so really he's happiest whenever he’s with you; having coffee at McDonalds or a niche cafe won't change anything. 

✗ he’s hard to pinpoint for pda. I feel like he’s indifferent about it. He probably prefers to keep it indoors or to just small and sweet gestures (no making out in public sorry-). It definitely comes down to your preferences, if you don't like it then he won't and vice versa.

✗ semi semi semi semi semi semi

✗ omg mr musician 

✗ he definitely plays guitar - lead guitar and bass guitar. 

✗ skilled fingies for sure 😗

✗ boy why are musicians so hot???? 😫😫😫💦💦

✗ he writes songs about you. Semsem has a bit of trouble saying exactly how he feels, so he writes it and sings it to you with a small little smile and eyes full of love. 

✗ off topic but Semu has the best music taste in haikyuu

✗ he loves hugs so much <33 please hug and cuddle with him 24/7

✗ very affectionate, he’s always touching you someway. Loves kissing your forehead. 

✗ he is jealous. Yeah definitely. He writes songs about being jealous 🗿 not that you mind of course ‘cause they're bangers. I think he might get snappy when he’s jealous, not directly at you but at the other person. He definitely gets a bit bitchy. Sometimes he acts that way to you so you've just gotta slap some sense into him. Say something like “what's your problem?” or “tell me what your problem is so i can help fix it.” ← that's probably the best thing to say. 

✗ afterwards he’ll just snuggle with you until he feels better. 

✗ he asks for your opinion about his songs all the time, please be honest (but also praise them if you like them lol)

✗ he takes you to niche spots he finds, like hidden concerts and stuff. Loves when you come to his gigs <3 oh and when you scream for him (in more ways than one). 

✗ dates are cute and fun. Mostly walking around together → carnivals, main street, farmers market. Those kind of things. 

✗ when it comes to pda he loves it. Loves being able to show the world who his s/o is. If you don't like it then he will tone it down and only do what you’re comfortable with. If you're also into pda then he will happily make out with you anywhere (you're one of THOSE couples 🤢 /j) 

✗ all round best boyfie <3

✗ oikawa 😳 have i told y'all how much i love him? Oikawa is the best written character, no cap, he is so complex and real it's crazy. It's so fun to write about him because you can pick him apart, you know his flaws, his weaknesses, his nightmares but also his strengths and dreams. Anywho i'll stop ranting now but i just love writing for such a perfectly imperfect character-

✗ he puts up a cocky exterior but thats all false. He's as scared as you are, he's scared that you'll leave him like his exes because of how obsessed and focused he is on volleyball. However he is a changed man, he's learned to balance his priorities. If you ever feel like you're being sidelined please communicate with him. 

✗ he values communication above all else and wants nothing more in a partner than for them to also value communication.

✗ back to the point → if you feel insecure of your relationship and that volleyball is taking too much of his attention let him know. He will change that. To an extent → he may have an important game coming up which is why he is focusing more, but he will always find time for you. 

✗ he never forgets to text you good morning and good night. He also sends you wholesome memes and makes sure you're taking care of yourself - they're like reminders for him to also take care of himself. 

✗ he is both jealous and insecure. Everyone who gets too close to you or spends a lot of time with you, he is jealous of. Jealous because he wishes he could spend more time with you but he knows he can't - not without jeopardising his volleyball career. He's also insecure, because he knows you could just leave him for a more fulfilling, more attentive, more balanced relationship. You know that too, I mean, of course you could leave him but no one would be as good as him. No one could match up to your beautifully flawed boyfriend.

✗ he is affectionate, very, very affectionate. He loves you so much. And because he spends so much time on volleyball, anytime with you he's touching you - memorizing every dint, every curve, everything about you so that he won't ever forget. 

✗ Oikawa has trouble sleeping unless he's with you, he wants to sling to you in his sleep and be grounded and remember that he is loved and cherished and appreciated y'know?

✗ pda is not an issue for him. He doesn't care what anyone else says or thinks :P in this relationship the only opinions that matter are his and your’s. Tell him you're uncomfortable with something and he won't do it, and vice versa. But otherwise, like Semi, he won't mind having a good makeout session with you in the middle of the street ;)

[sh3llysh00]

Hetalia: America/Alfred Headcanons (Updated: Sep 17th 2022)

Okay okay, so since I think most people has this headcanon/fanon version of America, I thought I'd give mine since I lowkey disagree a lot with how he's portrayed in both funimation's dub and how fanfics generally perceive him <3 I am big brain

.

Okay so first of all, I don't think Alfred is a downright idiot, but he is naive and young. He means well and is always curious about other Countries and their cultures. That does sometimes lead him to asking some Countries millions of continuous obvious questions that he may have already asked before, which obviously gets very annoying after a while. He may be uneducated, but he's trying his best, leave him be, he's baby :')

Alfred loves his people and his country. He is patriotic, but not a full on nationalist. "Anti-governmentism" and general distrust towards both political parties has never been higher in American history than it currently is today. Alfred has never in any aspect represented the government, only the people. That doesn't mean he's immune to the manipulation and propaganda tho, much like American citizens. Alfred knows that people no longer feel free in the Country he calls home. It tears him apart, but he's definitely not some soft pathetic depressed kid that many fanfics portray him as. He'll be damned if any of those Europeans insult or belittle his people. He's strong and optimistic. But he also naively just hopes things will work out and get better. His people come before any billionaire politician.

Alfred might eat a lot of junk and fast food, but he doesn't believe it's a bad thing. When he does have chub on him, he doesn't see it as a bad thing at all. He owns it. He's not insecure about his eating habits. He just loves eating food. Rather it's cheap fauthentic imitation of foreign food, or it's a classic big Mac, he'll eat it with joy. He has no sense of taste afterall, it's all just food to him at the end of the day! He doesn't apologize for his eating habits or his body.

Alfred does have his insecurities, though. He doesn't show it because of his pride and his hero complex. Heroes are strong, brave, and fighting warriors that protect their nation. He's supposed to be the world superpower for a reason, he doesn't need anyone else pitying him! It already took so long to convince the other Countries that he really was worth something, despite being so young. He wasn't going to have them babying him more than they already do just because he gets a little sad sometimes.

Adding to that, he takes being comforted as pitying him or even personally insulting. He knows its a problem of his, but he'd be damned if he let anyone comfort him, a hero who needs to put others before himself. Alfred will comfort and protect others, but he'd feel bad and selfish if he'd let anyone do the same for him.

Some extra lil' hc's:

- Alfred is fluent in a handful of languages, and understands a plethora when he hears them. He chooses to keep it a secret. For war tactics? Personal reasons? Only he knows.

- Alfred cannot learn how to use chopsticks to save his life. He's asked Kiku to teach him, asked some of his citizens to teach him, but he never has been able to do it.

- Alfred longs for a family. He can handle not being the center of attention for a few hours, but he literally cannot be alone for more than 10 minutes.

- Extremely extroverted, obviously. He has been compared to a golden retriever puppy on a multitude of occasions.

- Alfred has ADHD and takes medication for it. Well... when he remembers to take it.

- Kicks his feet like an ecstatic kid when he's excited or enthusiastic about something he's talking or hyperfixiating about.

- Best friends are definitely Matthew and Kiku :]

- His States and territories all have personifications of their own, and he loves them all like a father. He likes being the "cool dad that let's you have ice cream for breakfast."

- Actually has an amazing skin and hair routine. He's a hero, he needs to look good while he's saving the world!

- Captain America is the best one, obviously.

- Very Pansexual. Goes to pride parades around the Country every year.

.

That's all I've got for now. Feel free to share your thoughts and headcanons! <3

[callsigndreadfrost]

Okay, so this is gonna be a long post and probably very detailed because I don't know how to summarize shit. I'm gonna be very honest in this post and it's nothing new to some of you but like I said I wanna be honest and in my being honest I may use certain language but it doesn't mean I'm making excuses for myself or looking for pity. I am just being very honest about how I feel. Now, with that outta the way, I wanna apologize for the length of this post lol

So as you may or may not have seen from a recent post I have been making plans to go back to school, technical school to be precise, but school nonetheless. Why? For the last 4 months I have been working very hard to find a job. I shit you not I have at one point filled out 30 applications in less than 72 hours. I've gone to countless job interviews, have wasted my own time, gas and money to be able to get a job. So far I landed that job at the airport but I left it before the week was out. See, during that interview I was promised a position directly with Spirit Airlines because of my previous 6 years of working at the airport. I only signed up because of that. So when I officially started I was then told they tell almost everyone that kind of thing to get people to sign up for the job. I was back at pushing wheelchairs only this time the company was somehow far worse than the one I had worked for previously. Pushing wheelchairs wasn't the problem. The problem was I had signed up for something in particular and was promised something wildly different than what I was facing. On top of that the first thing I heard on my very first day was "Watch what you say and to who to avoid drama. Also watch out for Nino because if she had a bad day she's gonna take it out on you."

...

What the fuck?

I also found out the hard way that leads don't like to help out other employees regardless of how busy the day is. I literally saw Nino seating her ass down all day long drinking coffee, meanwhile the rest of us were starving because we couldn't take our breaks because there were too many wheelchair requests. Hell, no. I left. I'm at an age where being a miserable sack of shit at a dead end job is NOT what I want.

And if any of you remember on February I'd been hired at The Exchange which is a U.S. military owned store. A glorified Walmart to be very fucking honest. I'd applied for a certain position and they put me in another that I couldn't do so they gave me the choice of either staying in that position or quitting. Not much of a choice. So countless mistakes on my part, a lot of humiliation, and gaslighting from management later I was fired for not being able to "perform my duties well". No shit, you piece of shit. Basically they set me up to fail which I did because they kept me in an area that I told them I wouldn't be able to work in and asked to be changed to the position I had applied to but they didn't. I even showed them all the email evidence but they all decided to tell me to my face that "I was aware of what I was doing". That was a super low point for me and my depression came back 10x fold.

Between March and July I was at the worst I'd ever been and being serious here video games kept me alive. I fucking sunk myself into ER and other games just so I wouldn't have to think about anything. I didn't really talk too much about it just to avoid thinking about it.

Then in July I got hit with the combo of covid and bronchitis and there I found I have diabetes. I legit wanted to fucking die right then and there. I hadn't felt that low since my last actual job, which, was the hotel.

That one single year at the hotel was one of the most traumatic experiences of my life. I had a boss that CONSTANTLY kept telling me I was doing shit wrong. We were told to always remain driving the golf carts regardless of if it was raining or sunshine. My back hasn't been the same since. I was so stressed my period got fucked up and it was non-stop for a whole 2 months. I had to see a doctor and he even pointed out it was due to stress. My mental state deteriorated and I was in an ugly place. On top of that during that job was when I had that incident where some drunk asshole wanted to have his first gay experience and wouldn't take no for an answer and got VERY handsy.

That one whole year destroyed me and after I got fired it just destroyed my confidence and the effects are still affecting me. I legit question myself and I'm afraid of fucking everything. Every time I apply for a job I question if I can do it even if it's just standing there doing nothing. I will go hours on end worried half to death if I'll be capable of doing the job to the point of nausea.

So yeah, for a few years I avoided looking for a job because I was super afraid and depressed.

Coming back to 2022, around mid August I was actually doing a lot better, like pre depression me better. Sure it was due to the scare of catching the dieabeetus but the support from my family was so eye opening. It was life changing. So learning how to manage my radically different life I decided I was ready to get out there and get a job and get back on my feet after 5 years of depression.

It's been exhausting trying to find a decent job. The straw that broke the camel for me recently and made the depression pop back up again was an interview at a funerary home where they legit told me to my face, "We actually called you in for an interview because we were curious about this large 5 year gap between jobs. We were wondering if you just didn't wanna work."

.........

Listen, older people in the island keep parroting that nonsense about people not wanting to work anymore and it is so fucking damaging and harmful. Look, I am insanely proud of the younger generations telling shitty jobs that barely pay to fuck off and die. I am so proud that people have had enough of the abuse and want to stop it. So employers are out there crying that people don't wanna work anymore. No, you stupid puta, people are just so tired of abuse and barely making ends meet because y'all don't wanna pay people livable wages. I hate that shit, every time someone says that "no one wants to work anymore" I chew their ears off. I don't care who it is. I will verbally assassinate you if you say that garbage in front of me.

I've been working my ass off trying to find a job. Am I being picky about the location? Yes. Yes, I am. Traffic in Puerto Rico is a massive fucking nightmare. I don't want an 8 to 5 where I have to get up at 4:30 to be out at 5:30 to get to work at time and then get home at 9. I want to have enough time to get to the gym. Ever since I joined I've been losing so much weight and have been feeling so fucking amazing and it has had my diabetes in such amazing control that my A1C results went from 10.35% down to 4.2% from August to October! My family was in absolute shock when they saw the paperwork. So I do NOT wanna sacrafice my time at the gym for some crap job that'll treat me like shit, barely give me any time to myself and pay me horribly. Going to the gym has been the best decision of my life and I do not want to give it up.

So on to now. A year or more ago my aunt brought up courses of pet grooming to me but back then I was still deep in my depression and mess so I shrugged it off. Recently she noticed I was frustrated and stressed over not being able to land a job and she brought up the pet grooming courses again and I thought it was a good idea. I love animals, especially dogs, so working with animals, being able to set my own schedule, rules and do my own thing sounds like an amazing idea. So in February I'll be starting pet grooming classes. The course is 8 months long so if all goes well I'll be done by October.

I wanna dedicate all 8 months to the courses so looking for a job is on pause. The classes are 5 hours and 50 minutes from Monday to Thursday and I get overwhelmed easily. I've been stuck in a depressive jobless state for 5 years what's 8 more months? Besides, it was when I had full availability and I wasn't getting hired, a restricted schedule will make me seem far less appealing unless they're okay with a weekend warrior which I've yet to see.

What I'm getting at is that I am actually considering opening commissions just to get a teeny tiny bit of cash flow while at school. Now, I don't really have any unique angle to bring to the table, I don't have many followers, I am very painfully obviously self-taught but I'm willing to dedicate Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays to that. I'm still very unsure if I'll try that yet but I've been flirting with the idea. I wanna play around with some other ideas before I give a definitive answer. IF and when I do I'll make a post about it with all the info.

So yeah, that's pretty much everything covered. Sorry for the length but if you read till the end I am eternally grateful and I love you for it.

[j-minte08]

Why do I award BalanWonderworld as a masterpiece?

Introduction

⚠️I'm using a translator, so I apologize if any parts are difficult to read.

In this article, I will write about why I award Balan Wonderworld as a masterpiece, with answers to criticisms.

When I played the demo version, I thought this game was SO BAD. But I believed Yuji Naka and bought the full version. (Before I knew it, I had bought four of them...) I'm not raving blindly about it.

At first, I was hopelessly disappointed because nothing had changed from the demo version. However, in chapters 2 and 3, I was impressed by the three-dimensionality and beauty of the stages, and in chapter 4, I realized the comfort of gaining freedom through the acquisition of costumes.

By the time I was completely finished, I was convinced that this game was a great piece of work.

This is an article that I wrote after spending nearly 100 hours on this game.

I hope you will read it.

Main part

First of all, this game is not a game with flashy action as its primary objective. (Flashy battle action is possible in some scenes.)

【Puzzle】　【RPG】　【Exploration】

It is structured around these three main components.

The game also features a "Balance AI" that senses the player's movements and makes changes to the difficulty and world. There is also a presentation of my own work, so please take a look!

Please read with the above in mind.

■ One button action is stressful.

▶︎ As mentioned earlier, this game is not intended for flashy action. At its root, it is an RPG and does not require multiple buttons. The reason it's a simple operation is because it doesn't need to be.

There is only one button, but instead the player is given the freedom to select up to three actions of their choice. The way to play Balan is to find your own strategy within these constraints.

Some people point out that you can't jump, but only a few outfits limit jumping. Most of them are attack-oriented outfits. It's up to you to decide whether you want more attack power or more movement power.

If you're still not convinced, this game just isn't to your liking.(If that's you, I recommend the Wii version of Rodea.)

NiGHTS and Sonic are also action games with simple controls, but the concept is different from Baran, as explained below.

From the very beginning, NiGHTS and Sonic are one-button games that allow for exhilarating action. The action feels good and allows for improvement through trial and error.

However, Balan begins in a state of helplessness. One of his goals is to use his wits and eventually gain the power to run freely around the three-dimensional stage.

Freedom from discomfort. This catharsis is the best part of Balan.

It is also linked to the story's theme of opening closed minds.

■ The structure of the puzzle is sketchy.

▶︎ There is an intention behind this. By making the puzzle structure more flexible, the player is given more choices.

Therefore, each player will have a completely different solution to obtaining a single statue.

Also, each time you play the game, you will find new strategies, making it a game that can be played repeatedly.

This is the reason why Yuji Naka was so confident about this game.

Personally, I think that this action with a puzzle concept has a similar point of view to card games and rock-paper-scissors.

The Mega Man series is a typical example of a game that requires you to observe the situation and your opponent's movements to find the right technique and move. In fact, there is a famous episode where it was derived from rock-paper-scissors. This is also a game where you can enjoy improving through trial and error, but I think the structure of the rules is similar to that of Balan.

■ It's a pain to stock up on costumes.

▶︎ There is no need to overstock costumes. The minimum number of costumes needed to clear the course will naturally be available. Dependence on certain costumes can make the game monotonous. Also, the BalanceAI can sense your movements and take countermeasures.

As the difficulty level increases, you will have a hard time because the costumes will not come back.

The game is made more interesting by the style of play that allows you to use all the costumes to their fullest extent and bring out the true value of each one.

If you run out, explore the stage while collecting costumes. It may lead to new discoveries.

Even if you don't have a specific costume, there are many situations you can get through by applying other costumes.

This degree of freedom is what makes Balan so interesting. The strategy is left to your imagination.

■ The stage is curved. Isn't this a useless design?

▶︎ The curvature of the map allows you to see every corner of the stage. You may be confused because there is no other game that tries to do something like this. However, this is an ideal map for exploration games.

The basics of this gimmick are used as of chapter 1. Chapter 7, which has particularly large differences in elevation, makes good use of this gimmick.

■ The difficulty level is too low.

▶︎ Basics → Application → Review (Boss battle)

This game is designed to follow the above flow thoroughly. As a result, the difficulty level in the early stages is kept low, but the endgame is quite difficult. I almost lost my mind in chapter 12.

The bosses are easy to defeat. However, it is difficult to conquer all three strategy patterns.

Also, if you keep defeating enemies quickly without taking damage, the difficulty level will increase.Stronger and faster enemies will appear in large numbers.I found the difficulty level increased at chapter 3.

In other words, the difficulty of the game depends on how good you are.

■ I want to have a HP separate from my costume.

▶︎ This system prompts the player to use a different costume in case of failure.

Depending on the situation, you can either sacrifice valuable costumes, or use inconvenient but well-stocked costumes... The game throws a variety of choices at the player. This gameplay becomes more apparent as the difficulty level increases.

If you separate the HP from the costume, this tense gameplay will be lost.

The system of choosing outfits based on what will happen next fosters the ability to think and survive on one's own. It will also help the child's ego independence.

■ I need more explanations and hints. It's designed in an unfriendly way.

▶︎ It's not a game that requires you to do anything difficult, so if you think about it, you should be able to understand it to some extent. All you have to do is immerse yourself in collecting statues by any route you can think of.

Some people criticize Balan for being old-fashioned, but they are missing the point.

Games are essentially content that teaches you to think and act for yourself. This is a posting of what games should be, and a refreshing return to the basics.

However, I don't mean to criticize modern games. The immersive feeling of being in a movie, and the friendly design of the UI that shows you where you are going so you don't get lost. I think it's a beautiful evolution for today's hectic world where it's hard to find time to be alone.

However, to be honest, it is abnormal to say that only works that follow the latest trends are evaluated, and it is difficult to say that there is creativity in such works. Evolving technology and the presence or absence of originality have completely different meanings.

I would like to say that games like Balan, which have their own rules and think for themselves, are what we need today.

■ I don't understand the story. I want subtitles.

▶︎ With both video and dubbing, the amount of information is extremely high. By not using real words, all the people in the world have the exact same experience. Very romantic, don't you think?

It's not to dismiss the unspoken parts as non-existent, but to let your imagination run wild and have fun with it.

Since ancient times, there has been an aesthetic in Asia that finds meaning in blank spaces.

If you want a more substantial story, I recommend the novel version, which probably has what you want. It is available for Kindle.

At the end

Balan Wonderworld is a game designed to grow with the player the more time they spend playing.

Despite its gorgeous visuals, the reality of the story is deep and Yuji Naka's philosophy shines through, making it a masterpiece that can be called a compilation of his work.

At first, you may find some scenes difficult or the system annoying. However, they all have a meaning and will make sense as you continue to play.

Balan is built on a very complete system.

EVERY MOMENT IS AN ADVENTURE... This tagline is true.

But the fact is that Balan is a very peaky game. But that's also true for Sonic and NiGHTS.

If you have enjoyed Yuji Naka's past works, you will surely understand the quality of Balan. I recommend that you take the time to face this game first without any preconceived notions.

Now that I've spoken highly of Balan, I'd like to offer some criticism of the official advertising.

I think the main reason for this failure was the poor choice of stages included in the demo version, which made it difficult to convey the fun of expanding the degree of freedom by acquiring costumes, the sense of freedom, and the fun of being able to create a number of unique strategies.

As for the official SNS, rather than introducing the costumes and the storyline by themselves, the official should have done a better job of showing how they are all connected to make this game interesting.

That's how it looked from my personal point of view, but I believe that the current situation is the result of continuous failures in the area of advertising.

I'm so disappointed that this masterpiece is being buried, and I hope that the officials will have the guts to turn its reputation upside down even now.

Hopefully, this game will get the recognition it deserves. I love Balan Wonderworld.

[the-paris-of-people]

Hi. This is really not a question but more of a rant. A really really long one. I apologize in advance. I honestly care waaaaayyyy too much about this show than I should. Clearly too bored🙈.

After reading people's comments on this show and the ships, there are so many things that irk me and I thought I'd share even if I might get crap for it. So here goes:

1. "Ben only wants Devi when she is with Paxton." I.e. it's about Paxton. Lol people are funny. As though Ben thinks he can compete with Paxton on a social level. He's not stupid, he knows full well he can't. It's about Devi and in part her obsession with Paxton. People don't like thinking about things from Ben's perspective because they just don't like him. He's the one that finds out Devi is cheating, she runs after Paxton at the party ( now granted before she runs out, she's intensely staring at Ben and then realises Paxton is leaving but Ben's not gonna remember that) and she was busy chumming it up with Paxton in episode 3 in front of Ben with absolute disregard for him. So his natural defence is to guard himself and have his walls go up. It is a valid response. He burries his pain (exactly what Samberg said). And does not let his guard down around her romantically until episode 10 when Paxton literally rejects her at school. At the school dance, sparks are flying between those 2. Is Paxton around at the time...Uhm no (I'll get into the whole Aneesa thing). In his mind Paxton is out of the picture and it's like he can almost trust her again. And then when Paxton shows up with Devi, he basically feels like a fool for ever thinking that he was ever something more than 2nd best or sometimes anything at all ( especially considering Devi still wants Paxton after Devi and Paxton's last public interaction that Ben witnessed- I mean he does not get to see the shit behind closed doors). But then when Eleanor spills the tea, that look on his face is disbelief, yes a little bit of jealousy but overwhelmingly heartbreak. He is essentially watching the chance he never knew he had go away. Now you could argue that he should have known that she wanted him back but she broke his trust and does not explicitly say, " I want you back". Ben's not trying to get burnt again based on some assumption/hunch. He has been wrong before.

2. "How dare Ben be upset that Devi is with Paxton when he is with Aneesa". Fair point. Just like how dare Devi be upset and lose her shit over Ben and Aneesa. But yet it still happend. Devi gets 5 episodes allowing her to be upset and Ben can't even have one moment when a firkken bomb gets dropped on him.

Aneesa and Ben should have never date. Everyone knows that. He was never over Devi. He just pushed those feelings down to make him believe he was over her. I obviously don't agree with this. Aneesa doesn't deserve that. Ben needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet. He is similar to Devi in that he doesn't want to process what happened and would rather move on and react. However, his reactions are far less impulsive/severe as Devi's. Him dating Aneesa is unfortunately a reaction. He didn't give himself time to really process how he feels. People say he dated Aneesa solely to spite Devi which is not true. Is there an element of " you never wanted me but someone else does"... absolutely but Aneesa is also very kind to Ben, they get along really well and she puts him first. Technically what's not to like. I mean if it was just to spite Devi, could he have not tried to hustle his way back in with Shira?? Problem is that dumb dumb didn't work through his Devi feelings and let's just be honest, the same spark and chemistry he has with Devi, is missing with Aneesa. It often feels forced, especially in regards to the pace of the relationship. I so wished Aneesa remained friends with Ben. That's what he needed...not another relationship.

3. "Aneesa is so amazing, she doesn't deserve to get hurt." I agree. She absolutely doesn't deserve to get hurt just like Ben and Paxton didn't deserve that crap Devi pulled. I think Aneesa is a great addition and I like that Devi has someone within her community to connect to. I'm South Asian myself and I genuinely value this aspect of my own life. I mean she is pretty great, kind and the anorexia rumour Devi unintentionally started was pretty heartbreaking. That scene where she talks to Devi at the relay about it, is so sad (especially coz we as viewers know Devi messed up). Now that being said is Aneesa also low key shady? YES. And it's not because she dated her friend's ex. It's because she started dating him knowing that Devi started the rumour about her because she was jealous about Ben and her. How does she think Devi would go from being so jealous that she starts a rumour, to the next week becoming their biggest "Stan". Come on girl. But there was no way Devi could say no after the crap she pulled with Aneesa. Ben did ask her out so if there is blame, he absolutely gets it too but he didn't know why Devi started that rumour (based on his surprised AF face when Eleanor spills the tea). Which leads me to my next question. Why didn't Aneesa tell him? Aneesa said Ben was supporting her through the rumour. She probably told him Devi started the rumour but didn't tell him why? That is odd? Clearly if Ben had known, he may changed his perspective on Devi actually wanting him instead of ignoring his feelings.

Lastly Aneesa knows there are unresolved feelings between Devi and Ben. This is evident from that dance scene. She literally runs to cut in their pretty intense conversation. Like why you running girl? I didn't think much of it at first but coupled with another moment, it makes a lot of sense. When Ben agrees to dance with Aneesa, he looks back at Devi and lingers and Aneesa picks up on this and pulls him away. It's a blink and you will miss it moment but it is there.

Now all of this doesn't mean she needs to get hurt but they probably need to break up. Ben needs to be single for a while and work through how he feels about Devi, Aneesa and most importantly himself. Whilst I don't particularly enjoy their relationship, you never get to see it from either of their perspectives. Maybe that could change things but honestly I just prefer Ben and Devi.

Also can everyone stop acting like Ben is dating Devi's best friend. Being brown doesn't make you automatically best friends and Ben and Devi met Aneesa the same week. People are acting like he is dating Eleanor.

4. "Devi chose Paxton". Please! The only thought through decision that girl made in regards to these 2 boys is when she chose herself and decided not to be Paxton's little secret. I mean in episode 1 and 2 she can't decide so she dates both. In episode 3, she interacts with Paxton because of the whole tutoring thing. He says they don't makes sense. While she seems a bit sad she doesn't seem too upset like she is season 1 and she isn't looking for any opportunity to spend time with him (unlike season 1). Episode 4,5,6,7 and 8 she is losing her mind over Ben. Half way through 8 she knows she has no choice but to let him go. But even after that she doesn't pursue Paxton. He does that at the end of episode 9 when in all honesty she hasn't really thought about him in a while. Then of course Paxton does what he does and she finally choose herself, issuing an ultimatum essentially. Paxton does eventually show up...but it's a choice by default. She just yo-yo's between them. She also needs to be single, deal with her loss, love herself and think about what she wants.

5. "Devi loves Paxton". Sure bud. Does have Devi have feeling for Paxton? Duh! But is it love. Nope. People like to confuse infatuation for love. She has been infatuated with this boy this the 3rd (she knew squat about him). When her dad died, she turns that infatuation into an obsession. It like becomes a full time hobby in season 1. She ruins relationships over it. In season 2 you can argue there is more depth to it and Paxton does grow in Season 2. But somehow she is still fixated on the fact that it's Paxton Hall-Yoshida. I mean she smells him (totally normal), Mc Enroe's comment at the relay was, "did this hunk of beef just say he likes spending time with her", when she breaks up him she says , "you are very good at kissing" not possibly any of his other good qualities. And at the end she says , "I guess I'm Paxton Hall Yoshida's girlfriend now". This boy is so far up a pedestal that if he fell of it, he'd break something. Now granted if he fell of it in Season 1, he'd be dead. So progress I guess...

Maybe the relationship will change in Season 3 and she genuinely falls in love with him. I mean Id be sad but obviously a real possibility. But also that relationship needs to move on from being just the "Paxton project" which it was basically all of season 2. Maybe actually talk about her every once in a while.

Also people who find the ending so amazing because he shows up...bare minimum bro. I understand his perspective, how does it look to go back with someone who cheated on you. Fair point 💯. However she didn't start this shit up again. He did. He liked her so much that he had to make out with her In the middle of the night out of the blue but not enough to respect her publically. That's some BS right there. If he started it, he should have thought it through instead of guilt tripping her. But he is a teenager and ALL of them make incredibly stupid decisions (we all have). Devi messed up big time too and she apologized. The same compassion must extend to him but in no way is it a grand gesture, it's the bare minimum...like her apologies

6. "Paxton forgave Devi forgave Devi so quickly whilst Ben didn't and was so mean". He did forgive her pretty quickly. Good for him. However let's not act like circumstance didn't carve the way for that. They were pushed together because of the whole tutoring thing and he knows that they have to see each other all the time. So logically just makes sense to keep the peace. But still mature oh his part. Also he wasn't as emotionally invested as Ben. Did he have feelings? Yes. However, based on his inner monologue (Gigi Hadid) his ego took more of a hit because how could Devi, the "weirdest girl" he ever liked two time him with Ben Gross. Did his feelings deepen by the end? Yes. But at the start...it isn't that deep.

Also it's great and all that he "forgave" her so quickly but he sure did like bringing it up a lot. Like at the relay guilting her, upset at the end of 6 because he failed...I mean wtf girl you owe me- I don't really care what else is going on in your life, again in episode 8 in the car and finally we all know the mess that is episode 10.

In regards to Ben. His anger is justified for reasons stated in point 1. In fact his reaction seems more real because he is deeply hurt by Devi. Do I like some of his reaction (i.e. nose piercing-will discuss this further) ...nope but she only sincerely apologises to him in episode 8 vs 3 for Paxton. He accepts it. People acting like they would be so calm and chill about being cheated on. And yes he did cheat on Shira. He tries to kiss Devi at party twice but apologises that day and the following week. He doesn't try anything with Devi the whole of episode 10 until she kisses him. He acknowledges that it was wrong and immediately breaks up with Shira. Although cheating is not something we should condone can we actually acknowledge that Shira was the worst and doesn't even remember Ben's name. Compare that to Devi's premeditated cheating. Her Eleanor are literally laughing at how amazing they are for pulling it off and Devi didn't care about either of their feelings cause she was going to be India. Sorry but that is far worse. She also thinks she can bullshit her apology with Ben. He isn't here for that...which is fine! He kept trying his level best to avoid her but even that she wouldn't let him do.

7. "Ben is Horrible". Has Ben done some shitty things. Absolutely. People complain that he has never apologised for anything. Fair enough. He needs to apologize for the UN comment and the psychosomatic comment. It was incredibly hurtful. However, no one does call him out of it. Now you could argue he should just do it. Please... have you watched these particular set of teenagers? None of them apologise without being called out on it first(except maybe Fabiola). And you only get called out my your support system ... which Ben does not have. He practically looks like he raised himself. He doesn't have parents to put him back in line or a sister to call him out on his shit. Devi has her mom, cousin, grandmum , Elanor, Fabiola and her therapist. Does she ever listen to them the first time? Nope. And her first time apologies are such messes. She only gets it right the 2nd or 3rd time. All of them have some form of support but not really him. And it is heartbreaking. It's why I genuinely believe he needs to go to therapy. He needs an outlet to express everything he feels. He also needs to be held accountable for those comments and understand the root of it (ok let's be honest Devi even in their rivalry was probably the most constant person in his life, and fighting with her meant she stayed close by- it's a subconscious thing). He should apologize to her and also find better ways to communicate what he is feeling. The nose ring thing was manipulative. I agree. He should apologize. But I'm not gonna lie, it doesn't piss me off as much because I think it's pretty messed that it took that for her to realise how much she hurt him. Also tbh if you were willing to alter your body on a 2 minute thought out dare, you wanted to do it anyway. But again not a healthy way to emote on Ben's part. The David thing doesn't upset me because he knows how to pronounce her actual name. It's not like he doesn't know how and doesn't bother to try. It was part of their rivalry to irritate her. I honestly find it quite endearing as part of their friendship and think Devi does. I may be wrong and she may not like it and in that case he needs to stop and apologize.

I am not upset by him coming over to her house and calling her out about Aneesa. She deserved it. Also if she was that uncomfortable she could have taken him outside to talk like she did with Paxton. She is clearly comfortable enough to have him in the house. And her therapist agrees with Ben. If he hadn't, she wouldnt have known that Aneesa was leaving. Her mom took away her phone. And even then her first attempt at an apology was soooooo bad. And I don't think Ben did it solely to get Aneesa to stay so he could date her. This is Ben, he was willing to do long distance with Devi from India, I think he could have done the same with Aneesa from like the same town 🙄

I genuinely like Ben because he is a good kid. He makes mistakes like they all do. His personality is hilarious to watch but also his and Devi's relationship is so special. Me liking Ben and Devi has nothing to do with what Paxton has or has not done. I just like the dynamic between the two. They obviously care deeply for each other. Their conversations are hilarious. I love their banter. I love how comfortable they are with each and am sometimes surprised by the depth of their conversations. But also they have amazing chemistry. All the jealous looks and angst are between these two idiots pining for each other. I think she does have chemistry with Paxton but it's more because he is PHY, school Adonis. I mean let's be honest, he'd probably have chemistry with Fabiola solely cause he is PHY. The two nerds just match each other and it's so funny how often they are in sync. It's honestly adorable. They just get each other. That bathroom scene was the sweetest thing and also proves he's not this terrible person. She only comes out of the stall because of his support. He is genuinely hurt for her when technically it should have been a great moment for him.

I do believe the two have to be single for a bit before admitting their feelings for one another and moving forward. That's why my main thing for season 3 is that he absolutely cannot interfere in her relationship with Paxton. He needs to give her the space to figure that. Do I think there will be moments between them... absolutely but no cheating please. Everyone needs to move on from that. If they do it...I honestly think il be done with the show.

Anyways sorry for the really long ramble. If you made it to the end thanks for your patience 😌

Thank you for this beautiful masterpiece, I pretty much agree with everything and need to put it out there for the world to see