#I'm not caught up but I saw spoilers on twitter and like

[jq37]

Damn they’re really speed-running the whole Lois/Clark/Superman dynamic in this show, huh?

[lunerna21]

I FINALLY CAUGHT UP TO THE UPDATE FOR BOOK 7 AND I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED WITH HOW MUCH I ENJOYED IT

***SPOILERS FOR BOOK 7 JPN SERVER AHEAD! YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!***

***ALSO SLIGHTLY LONG POST AHEAD! MY APOLOGIES!***

UM CAN I MENTION HOW HARD I LAUGHED WHEN SILVER WAS TELLING THE STORY ABOUT FLOYD GRABBING RIDDLE'S HAIR TO SEE IF IT WAS HOT?!

AND JADE HYSTERICALLY LAUGHING WHILE AZUL IGNORES THEM!!!!

If they ever animate that scene, I'm gonna hurl from seeing Floyd just being catapulted off screen and Jade enjoying himself 😂

Floyd being so bored of his dream and just him swaying like the seaweed was freakin hysterical 😂

It just reminded me of this for some reason:

I mean it makes sense since Floyd is always up for a challenge and isn't afraid of basically anything, so of course Malleus's vision for Floyd's dream wasn't going to be very exciting

ALSO WE CAN TALK ABOUT FLOYD HAD THE BALLS TO FIGHT MALLEUS, LEONA AND EVEN FUCKING CATER?! CATER WIPED THE FLOOR FIGHTING FLOYD BUT I WASN'T EXPECTING CATER TO KICK ASS

HELL YES CATER!!

.......And then we jump into Jade's dream...

....The moment I saw how Jade imagined both Azul and Floyd...

AND THEN SOMEONE POSTED THIS ON TWITTER AND I ABSOLUTELY LOST IT

JADE BY FAR IS THE MOST HYSTERICAL CHARACTER IN TWST AND I CAN'T BELIEVE FLOYD HAD TO SEE HIS DOOFY LOOKING FACE LIKE THAT

I don't blame Floyd for duking it out with Jade I would feel the same if thats how my siblings imagined me lol

And finally, Azul's dream!!

First of all, AZUL WAS SOMETHING ELSE DURING HIS DREAMS

Azul being a coral rush player?! AND KINDA BEING JOCKY?! I wasn’t prepared for that! 😂

(special shoutout to Idia for throwing shade at his first image of a cocky player, that was 👌🏻)

JADE JUST GRABBING POOR IDIA'S TABLET AND GETTING AZUL'S SIGNATURE ON IT 😂👏🏻👏🏻

AND IDIA JUST SLOWING MOVING OFF TO THE SIDE THIS POOR GUY HAS BEEN THROUGH SO MUCH 😂

When the mermaids started harassing everyone and knocked us over, I WASNT READY FOR AZUL TO CARE WHEN WE GOT HIT

I WAS A FREAKING MESS IM SO DELUSIONAL AND I KNOW HE'S NOT ALWAYS NICE BUT AHHHHHHHH HE WAS SO CUTE HERE (Ignore me I'm delusional and I've missed Azul so much 🥺❤️)

It was so bizarre to see Azul playing a jocky player and being popular in school, but once Idia explained that any negative moments or lessons Azul had to face (bullying, losing the contracts) were no longer a thought because of it only being a dream with no negative emotions

It’s still mind boggling how detailed everyone’s dreams are but terrifying like damn Malleus has so much power and yet he can juggle so many of them

After Azul invited us to the party and was INCREDIBLY NICE for someone like him, and Idia got suss:

I knew something was up, especially after he made everyone wear the anenomes for the party AND GRIM SHOULD'VE KNOWN BETTER HE WENT THROUGH THIS BEFORE WHY DID HE BELIEVE THIS

Floyd and Jade bouncing off Azul being a bully was soooo worth it

It's kinda scary how I preferred the old Azul, considering he wasn't a cocky jock straight from a manga/book ICK ICK ICK

AND THEN AFTER AZUL FELL INTO THE BLOT, HE WAS A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO CORNER I WAS SO IMPRESSED WITH THE PLANNING AND HOW WE HELPED DESTROY THE CONTRACTS ONCE AGAIN

But this devastated me 😭

It still must've felt pretty shitty having to go through that again, but I started to cry I'm just so happy Azul woke up from his dream 😭❤️❤️❤️

Azul's battle with himself! *chefs kiss* I love how they reference it similar to the battle from The Little Mermaid and how Azul's blot form began to grow

But let me tell you something:

I WOULD DIE IF I COULD FRAME THIS!! JUST SEEING THE GLOWING EYE AND AZUL DOING THIS POSE! PERFECTION!!!

ITS SO GOOD TO HAVE YOU BACK AZUL!!!❤️

This chapter was such a fun trip, and I'm so glad we're slowly getting closer to releasing everyone from their dreams

BUT ONE LAST THING! TWST INTENTIONALLY DID THIS TO HURT MY FEELINGS!

HOOOOOWWWWW DARE TWST FOR SHOVING THIS IN MY FACE I WANT MY BEST FRIENDS BACK SO BADLY AND THE FACT THAT THEY DO THIS CONSTANTLY AND ALSO GRIM BRINGING THEM UP IS JUST AWFUL

I MISS THEM SO MUCH I NEED TO SEE THEM AGAIN

NEXT UP, SAVANACLAW!! (RUGGIE I MISS YOU SO SO MUCH!!)

Enjoy the weekend~~!!!❤️

(Screenshots from https://youtube.com/@gasmask01?si=lpin67yaOvHDdg_c )

[witchy-scribblings]

not even a ramble cause i'm currently not that invested but (jjk259 spoilers)

am i the only one who thinks jujutsu kaisen deaths don't feel canon anymore lol

like, i didn't even find out reading the manga cause i'm not caught up, i just saw the leaks on twitter. choso was right up there with nanami as my fav jjk character, and yet finding out about this chapter didn't even make me feel sad

i just keep thinking "what a joke". and what a waste. what's the point of introducing characters if you're just going to kill off half of the cast

maybe it's because i'm a character-driven kind of girlie, but gege's sukuna dick-suckery is getting ridiculous lmao

anyways, shoutout to those content creators out there whose contributions to the jjk fandom feel more fleshed out and, dare i say, more canon, than the official manga <3

[fuckentoastybitch]

I played Assignment Due: Project Blue in July but I just remembered I didn't talk about it at all here.

I was very busy with uni, still am tbh ;-;

Aaand there are also a bunch of other VNs I've played besides bloomic that I haven't shared my thoughts on on this blog. I swear I want to expand more than just BP but IRL stuff gets in the way y'know.

ANYWAYS. I checked the dev's (reidubu) twitter and I saw that they're gonna add updates to the game? Or something like that? I'm not caught up with everything but I just wanna gush over my favorite things about the original game.

I think it goes without saying, if you haven't played Project Blue before then beware for spoilers below! I don't go into detail about the actual plot with the exception for some screenshots.

Everything about the game from the aesthetic (baby blue and pink are one of my favorite color combo and I love bunny themed aesthetic), to the story is absolute perfection.

I feel like this game was almost made specifically for me lol because Asher, the love interest is literally the embodiment of my irl taste. My fictional tastes are a little more questionable but let's ignore that

I mean????? He's smart but super humble, clearly likes soft and cute aesthetics too, likes bunnies and froggos hello??? Wears comfy sweater AND THE GLASSES AND CHAIN oh my god just looking at him makes me blush.

Not only that but the MC also kinda talks like me?? At least they banter the same way I do with my friends in dms. I showed my best friend one of their dialogues and even she agreed the MC sounded so much like me lmao

and finally.. my most favourite part:

The "you're a good blue to me" monologue

Absolutely ruined me.

When people who love you say that you're a literal personification of their favorite thing >>>>>>>

UGH /pos

Okayyy that's all the thoughts I have for now djghjfhsd thanks for reading 💙

[look-mom-percys-on-the-tv]

Ep 5 reactions

spoilers beneath the cut for s1e5 and minor spoilers for most of the books, but I censored the traitor's name. mostly positive tone.

ANNABETH SAW THE FUCKING FATES

"Im the last one to realize this aren't I" A LITTLE BIT

I love Percy admitting there he was really ONLY in it for Sally. Poseidon does ONE good thing and all of a sudden it's "wait I think the conspiracy to start war betten the gods is... important?" SEE WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU MEET REASONABLE PARENTING EXPECTATIONS? A certain god could be taking notes, specifically the patent of [REDACTED]

go off Percy with the emotional intelligence. A for effort

and an A PLUS to Annabeth for the sharing important info and being vulnerable.

I see that coat covering the bike seat. there's human skin on that thing, isn't there?

LIVING the portrayal of Ares as man-baby who starts twitter fights. average maturity level of anyone who likes war.

"there's no fear in you, is there?" STAWPPP

THEY KEPT THE MANHUNT PLOT🎉🎉🎉🎉 also the Gabe is Gabe-ing. Manipulate mansplain manwhore on the most literal level. except disney probably cut the womanizer bit.

the whole "Im immature as shit but my threats are real, I hold all the cards" THE GOD OF WAR IS GODOFWAR-ING

"can I walk them to the door" IS HE GONNA RUN FOR IT? they're really letting Grover miss out on this quest, huh? I mean I guess it makes sense. PLUS it means more Grover-exclusive scenes! MY BOYY

that's a lie. there HAVE to be corny movie nights at camp, right?

ALSO botl movie date, anyone?👀👀👀👀

is that? a JOKE I HEAR??? poking fun at Percy? a little. Genuine? ALSO TRUE. If you told me that "amusing" line was Liften from the book and I've just forgotten about it all five million times I read it, I WOULD BELIEVE YOU

Annabeth who complimented Circe's loom when Percy got cursed🤝 Annabeth who complimented Hepheastus when Percy got trapped

the way she says push before telling him what it is😭😭😭

WE'VE MET BEFORE. I'M 24. A FAN!? GROVER WHAT ARE YOU PLAYING AT

songs about feelings that was PERSONAL

*insert Coach Hedge talking about nature*

Annabeth asking what Ares need the kids for if he wants the bolt/thinks their quest means nothing🤝 Grover gaslight girlbossing : doing detective work under Percy's nose

OOOH good detail with Percy being caught up with all the "3000 year-old goss" because HIS MOTHER TOLD HIM hi sally i fuckign love u

"don't even try to tell me not to be weird about this" we love an honest queen. While I kinda miss book Annabeth being a bit stompy and whiny at this part, I do think that the show version suits its own characterization of Annabeth, saying whatever she thinks needs to be said.

this whole show, I've been able to see everything. episode five DO NOT be the one to let me down! PLEASE!

THE SONG omg i wasnt expecting that. miraculous movie flashbacks fr.

W CONVO. DOUBLEYOU CONVO. nothing to add. perfection.

Also. don't shoot but the song choice unironically fits Hephaestus's story.

SWIMMING

is that a giant gold naked statue of Hera? to taunt them for cheating on him? hypocrite.

"they like to ignore what doesn't fit their narrative" [REDACTED] APOLOGISTS TAKE NOTES.

also, SMOOTH AF

okay there's no way Annabeth doesn't know that story. there's ONE way to take a god's power and she doesn't know it? at least let them tell it in tandem! a little "Yeah I recognize the chair, what of it?" THEN let the touchy-feely boy present the bargain. AT LEAST.

SHE'S NOT LEAVING WITHOUT HIM

"do you need some help?" "FUCK OFF" that's Annabeth

in the one hand, I am not a fan of depriving Annabeth of her super wisdom hero moment. on the other hand, placing responsibility to fix things on the perpetrators instead of those kids from Season ONE queen shit, and showing people can change. slay, but PLEASE let Annabeth do some more puzzle shit!

THE SHIELD LOOKS SO BIG IN HER HANDS

THESE FUCKIGN TWELMVE YEAR OLDS

OH so [REDACTED] and Ares conspired to make sure the trio never makes it there, not just using the magic things that activate at a certain place, but also by DIRECTING THEM TO THE TIME FREEZE ON PURPOSE

TO SUMMON WHAT

that interaction. SO THEM

YOU KNOW WHO WHATTED THE WHAT

[dustiscium]

People need to leave Shinichiro alone

People literally need to leave the character that has been dead since the beginning of the series alone.

I already see people on Tik tok and Twitter, getting mad at Shinichiro for not reuniting Izana with Emma.

I've checked on the seaons 3 trailer of Tokyo Reevengers, a twitter user (@pixiekaku) used google translate for this.

I swear, if the whole situation turns out to be just like that Shinichiro theory, from a while back, i'm gonna lose it.

"Shinchirio is a bad brother"

"Why didn't he bring Izana with him"

"Shinichiro is sick and twisted"

The comments are either come for some people who are fixated on/simp for Izana or anime only, that's my guess on the reaction.

Reading through the comments from both platforms, there can be many reasons why Shinichiro didn't reunite Izana with Emma.

The following has spoilers to what is to come in season three and the remainder of the manga. I suggest you skip until you caught up to the arc of the manga or finished the series.

If you don't care, I still suggest you skip the last one, being 12 as a major spoiler (which is an entire spoiler to the whole plot of the manga.)

There being restrictions to where Izana can go or visit (Izana was in an institution, which Shinichiro visited, and which Emma couldn't visit at the time)

2.Shinichiro was in his teens, a minor, he couldn't just "adopt" Izana

3.Based on the letters, Izana already knew that Emma was with Shinichiro, Izana himself couldn't visit Emma yet and vice versa.

4.Shinichiro saw Izana regardless

5.After a few year, Shinichiro didn't know when Izana got out of reform school

6.Shinichiro it was even implied that Shinichiro would have Mikey and Emma meet, when Shinichiro asked Mikey when he was younger, if he had another brother!

7.If you want to talk about abandonment, look into Emma's biological mother (Karen Kurokawa), and her conversation with Izana when he's older

8.Not that it mattered, but Izana made it clear about his resetment towards Mikey in the letters he wrote to Shinichiro when mentioning a headache, note: the following isn't true, but Shinichiro may be taking precautions

9. Shinichiro is a family guy for sure, and tries his best to look out for everybody, he didn't care if Izana was blood or not, and there wasn't much he could do to bring Izana to meet the rest of the siblings, nothing.

10.The fact that Shinichiro has been compared with Takemichi throughout, reflects badly on him too, and yet, still attack the poor man regardless, that's just crazy!

11. Izana rejected Shinichiro as a brother, during the rain scene when they argued, after finding out from Karen, that they aren't blood related, and Shinichiro argued it didn't mattered wether they were blood or not, Izana decided he was alone from then on

12.REMEMBER, Shinichiro is a time leaper, the events he dealt with in the timeline Mikey died in is entriely different, he may have not have know of Izana's existence or what to do! (that and Emma was a runaway too!)

Not to attack some of Izana's fans or simps, but i'm quiet curious what their reaction will be when they come across the scene of Izana giving Kisaki permission to off so-and-so.

Feel free to voice your opinion on this.

[bythewillows]

I'm happy I can find a reonagi shipper that doesn't hate nagi's guts lmao. Do you think there's potential for them to end up together (in a general sense, like friends) and build a healthy relationship?

I'm tired of everyone on twitter expecting nagi to mess up again and hating him, and i know it's a possibility, but i want to see some character progression and not them making the same mistakes of the past (considering nagi DOES feel apologetic)

I don't want to think he's gonna toss reo away again like nothing, like so many people say in twitter. It's clear that they don't progress in football when they're together, but that doesn't mean their relationship has to be broken as a whole.

But anyway, i came here to let it all out, twitter is so stressful and even the reonagi shippers are sure of this happening

I completely understand my dude!!! Coming here after feeding off mostly twt for discussions was like a breath of fresh air haha, made me take a step back and realize "hey these two kids just SUCK at communicating" ☠️

First off (long rant incoming), yea it does seem to be a general consensus among reonagi/nagireo twt that Nagi's gonna "throw reo away in breakup part 3" after they lost to Isagi again, even after teaming up at their bests, n it do be a downer. As someone w a similar expressive style to Nagi (basically, bad at verbal communication and taking social cues) I can't hate him for what he did to Reo bc from his pov and with his personality it makes sense how he reacted, even if it was cruel and hurtful to someone he considers a close friend. Especially a friend who treated him like Reo did, which is why everyone's pissed off. But people forget that Nagi didn't even have friends before Reo, and that he probably wouldn't know he was being hurtful (other than the "you're a pain, idc anymore" line bc wtf bro but in hindsight he's a teenager who 1) doesn't think things through, 2) acts on instinct and 3) v rarely feels strongly on anything in the first place, so Reo telling him he didn't care abt the two things that got him into football, Reo's dream and Reo himself, probably tipped him over). Does it make all the suffering Reo went through alright? No, ofc not, and Reo should get an actual apology from his blockhead partner, but it's rlly sad to see so many people hating on Nagi for being 17 years old with no empathy skills (he says he and his parents are more like friends bc of how little they interact,,,,his best friend before Reo was a cactus,,,,give the boy a pass 😭).

((((spoilers for after the bllk manga ch202 here so if you haven't caught up or read the leaks pls be warned!!))))

Personally, I think they will end up together for sure, playing side by side once their character arcs are fully fleshed out (bc they're PARTNERS DAMMIT, THE SPINOFF CH8 LIVES RENT FREE IN MY HEAD)—but whether they stay together after the Manshine v Bastard match can go either way. We saw how well they played together and how the entire Bastard team couldn't stop their first goal against Isagi, showing how powerful their partnership can be, but it didn't last. Even if reonagi are completely in sync, Isagi could still shut them down over and over again (and even Kaiser could see what they were doing) after that first goal bc of two things: Nagi hasn't evolved his ego, and Reo devoted his extremely adaptable (therefore unpredictable) playstyle to accommodate what Nagi would want best at the moment. Because of this, Isagi and anyone with metavision who gets a read on what kind of player Nagi is has the ability to counter whatever they do—because Reo will do whatever Nagi wants to do, and will always favor Nagi. He said it himself, making Nagi the best striker is his new ego and that all other players are second to him, but this is detrimental to both of them because it makes them even worse than how they were in the first selection. Back then, Nagi could still direct plays while playing with Reo once pushed and Reo still wanted to score goals himself (the spinoff expands on this further when they play against other teams and w/ zantetsu), but now that they've both levelled up their skillsets (and bc Nagi likes succeeding + is frustrated that his game making isn't good enough yet), they've turned into an actual codependent team up in which Nagi relies entirely on Reo's creativity while Reo only focuses on Nagi scoring instead of him scoring, even when he has the opportunity to.

It's...bad. Even Ego pointed out how the We Beat Isagi Goal™️ would test Nagi's ego, bc he won't feel compelled to try harder anymore, and that that goal could never be replicated bc the conditions were too perfect both emotionally and physically, so even if Nagi was at his peak at that point, he would no longer evolve past now since his goal of "beating Isagi" was completed in such a memorable way. Nagi is basically stagnant and every other player with metavision can take advantage of that.

Reo, on the other hand, is on the other side of this and evolving extremely rapidly. During Yukimiya's final goal against Manshine, Reo had actually seen through Isagi's pass and moved to stop Yukimiya from scoring (but was tragically a step too late, my poor 99% boi, kaneshiro-sensei pls stop making him take Ls) and even Isagi was shocked he could!!! Reo's raw adaptability is growing to be a real menace and his main motive for evolving this entire time has been for Nagi, to get him back and to get Nagi to acknowledge him as the one who's best for him—so what'll happen when Reo gets to a point where his evolution is so great that when he looks back, Nagi is still at the same place he was during the Manshine v Bastard match? When he comes to a realization that the guy who's literally his own motivation to evolve isn't even trying to keep up with him bc he doesn't have any motivation himself?

I'm p sure you've read this already but @okkottsus has a rlly great analysis on reonagi n their skills + dynamic that puts it into words better than I can ☠️

If you haven't tho pls do it's amazing (and even has pictures!!):

So yea, imo, after a bunch of character development (on mostly Nagi's end bc he's stayed p much the same other than actually liking playing football after the team z vs v match) they'll get back together, but as for now I'm p sure they'll have at least one more break 😭 it's sad but it'll be good for them in the long run and above all else I just want both Reo and Nagi to be happy and healthy for each other. It's weird to hate on or blame one of them for their fallouts bc they're such a complex relationship and they both care for each other a lot in their own ways but oh well, people have opinions *shrugs*.

Anyway I hope this loosely related bunch of rambling is what you were looking for anon!! Ty for the ask, I'm also vv happy every time I see a reonagi shipper who loves both boys and it's always nice to talk abt them <3

[ophelliate]

even MORE turtle thoughts (just watched the movie again)

here's the last post and ofc, spoilers under the cut –

god where do i even begin

okay i forgot to shout her out last time but april was great !! i find it super interesting that her locker being fixed is the final shot of the movie before the mid-credits. i feel like that shot confirms this idea that april is kind of part of the turtle family and their theme of acceptance. they were both rejected by the people around them but through bonding and helping each other out, they were able to be viewed in a newer light, together

i think the theme/act of helping people is actually super crucial to the story, april revived her reputation because the turtles helped give her a story, the turtles are helped by humans to save the day because april saved their image, the turtles were saved by splinter because he cares about his boys and the mutants helped them with the mutagen ray because they realized there was more to family and belonging than any sort of violence, the entire pattern is super neat to me since well...

i feel like a lot of turtle iterations end up with the turtles thinking "we're the only ones who can do this" and it always weighs a heavy and isolating burden on them, so to see them actually receive this support and have them realize that they aren't alone in this, it seems like these guys are gonna have a much healthier upbringing than in the past!

speaking of support though, all of the mutants are in the sewers now??? they just have one big-ass cousin family?!?! bro i know at least one person will make some sort of The Family Madrigal-like parody with them, i don't know why that was the first thing i thought of but the potential is there

oh yeah and mondo had at least one rainbow bracelet i think, all of his bracelets are probably multicolored but i saw a pattern and just giggled with it

something else kinda funny was that aside from the shell-cracking, almost every turtle had a near death moment but was saved by family

like, mikey was about to be ran over TWICE (one during the Splinter flashback and again at the car mechanic fight, forgot who saved him after splinter), raph about about to get shot in the same fight before i think donnie intercepted it, and donnie was about to get completely crushed by a car before raph caught him

the only one who didn't almost fucking die (at least that i didn't notice) is leo and honestly considering past iterations, that's somehow scarier for him

during the movie, the boy i ended up focusing on the most was raph to my surprise (since tbh he was my least fav beforehand) but really i was able to grasp a lot more into each of the four this time around (which i'm sectioning because god these bullet points are long)

Mikey

my gut's telling me that mikey has a lot of potential conflict when it comes to a human life, since i think he's sort of shown as the most vulnerable of the turtles, he's always the one who wants to interact with the human world, to have a real connection to it and the people

but he's also the one who gets hurt the most often, from almost being run over, being the first one drained of blood by cynthia, and getting those black eyes. we see very clearly that he keeps getting hurt despite his goal and ideals being– basically the exact opposite.

even with that though, he's the one who perseveres and ends up being the kind of hope in the team, even if he presents himself as the silly guy, and i feel like that strength will carry throughout the series in the process

Donnie

donnie is a bit different this time around. people have already noted that he was considered the friendliest one by his brothers, which most versions of the team would give that role to mikey. i imagine that it comes from his fandom background where he may or may not have online friends (his phone had app icon colors that looked similar to twitter, snapchat and line or whatsapp).

though, it's been pointed out that donnie's interest in the human world contrasts to mikey, where he's more interested in the general culture and what is created out of them which is a bit more distant than mikey's interests.

side note but i genuinely thought donnie isn't really a stem kid at first with the problem solving he was giving in the movie, which in my head i thought would be the writer's attempts to avoid any savant syndrome qualities with him. though after thinking about it/looking through some articles, i imagine that his tech-qualities will be explored later and/or after he gets some public education.

Raph

raph was pretty interesting now that i really focused on him this time around. where, 1.) he might be the second nerdiest of the group, and 2.) he still might be a foil to leo's character.

when it comes to raph, he ends up being blocked as "anger issues" though it seems like very showmanship kind of aggression, like what you'd see on television than any sort of malice. and then it hit me: these kids were raised on martial arts/actions films. raph's favorite movie was legit confirmed to be bloodsport. i don't think raph is a violent warhammer more-so is he trying to be like the people he may look up to, which are action stars.

he also just views a lot of fiction as fact more than his brothers, like when he's the one to bring up that you're supposed to like school like in the movies. in a way, he's like a jeff winger nerd to donnie's abed.

the second thing to this is that raph seems to be the one who wants to distance himself from his family the most, though he admits to still loving them at the end of the day. he wants to differ himself from his brothers and splinter, so he does that by attempting to rebel and act like only type of "cool guy" he really knows, which luckily it seems like he enjoys doing it at least. this desire to distance himself is also likely what charges his need to be with humans, unlike mikey and donnie.

oh yeah, and something interesting is that raph was actually the first one to go to splinter when scared in the flashback, and it makes me think that something may have happened to change that dynamic to make him act the way he is now, that or its pure teenage rebellion

Leo

leo was kind of hard to grasp, maybe it was because i didn't relate to him as much, or he's just starting out, but what i got out of him now is still something that's hard to articulate.

at the start, leo was very distant from his brothers, staying in the shadow and following splinter's rules to a T. it made me wonder why exactly it was april to trigger his rebellious side and start being more in the group thereafter, but it seems like what connects leo to really anything is his own tangible relationships, or things he can really connect to in a non-conceptual way

yeah, he thinks humans are cool and wants to be with them as much as his brothers, but he puts his priorities on his family because he thinks that is all he can realistically have and doesn't strive for more. he looks up to his father since he thinks his wisdom is the best solution for his family's safety and happiness.

BUT, when he meets april, he goes "oh, pretty girl, i'll help her out" (which like, completely fair), and likely the plan was for nothing else in return. But it's when april befriends them does it really click to him that this impossible dream life is actually possible. and THAT'S the moment leo starts rebelling, going behind splinter's back, and getting closer with his brothers.

he acts on what he thinks is best for the people he loves and cares about, and his desires are more based on the people around him than himself or anything conceptual. it contrasts with raph since his desires center more around individuality than anything, so i feel like there's something that might happen between that. that or leo figures himself out before any conflict erupts in the process.

oh yeah and one last thing

in the mid-credits, when the boys are highlighted in cynthia's recordings, the boys end up being numbered out of order, where mikey is 1, leo is 2, donnie 3 and raph 4. this may not mean anything in the end but it feels a bit odd to be something non-important.

aside from that, i'd love to hear y'alls thoughts! i just had a lot in my mind and needed to put it somewhere (and apparently a lot is an understatement holy shi–)

[stretchyyonko]

I just started one piece last month and I'm currently STILL ON ENNIES LOBBY...since I'm busy on school works and etc.

And here I am reacting to one piece Men I have been spoiled nor encountered in spoilers and mostly Tiktok and twitter. ( Part 01 )

1st up OF COURSE IT'S LUFFY

- THIS BISH RIGHT HERE REALLY MADE ME WATCH ONE PIECE AND SIMP FOR HIM LIKE HOW BOA AND BARTOLOMEO DO IT😭 like bro how can you not...(except the pre-timeskip 'cause I don't the FBI banging up at my door)

- Plus the way he never kills his enemies and him being dense asf funny to me, not to mention him having ADHD IS WAY TO FUCKING ACCURATE...

- AND HE'S TOO FUCKING INNOCENT ASF SKRKGKSNSNAAAAAAAA I just wanna keep him in my pocket and watch him smile at me like how he do 24/7

- Would 100% marry him (don't worry I'll fix him to go bath everyday even if I got to fight him using gear 5 nor fighting his simps and ships)

- I also love how he don't kill his enemies and just downgrade them like how what he did to bellamy.

2nd the cook and the swordsman

- Man...this two..well...I would not wamt to meddle into their banters like an old married couple...

- STRONG ASF

- To be honest I kinda like the pre time skip sanji but he grew up more fine after 2 years, plus I understand why he got unbearable during fishman island arc since he got isolate to an island full of homosexual people and even got into one LMAO but he slayed those heels and dress tho...

- As same as his captain THIS FUCKING SWORDSMAN ONLY BATHES ONCE A WEEK...SKRKGODJAJRJFJ I CAN'T WITH THE TWO OF THEM 😭. Also don't get me wrong..but I kinda find zoro more cool than simp cause I don't know what's wrong to my brain that I can't find him attractive...yet the way he handles women as equal to him is good to me...I find him funny and cool asf yet I find his captain attractive asf HOW 😭?!

- And the fact that I knew then as a ship first and their fanarts are just insanely good too 😭.

3rd Ace and Sabo

- To be honest the ever 1st one piece episode I had watch on TV when I was on 5th grade was the Amazon Lily episode where Boa simped for luffy and I got intrigued watching it because I kinda thought luffy would accept boa's confession LMAO, and by 6th grade I again catched a glimpse of Ace's death on marineford arc and I was confused at first why he got killed not until today wjen I saw some spoilers (By the way Those episode that I watch is a tagalog dub from a TV Channel in our country) So that's why back in the years that I still haven't watch one piece all I knew was Ace's Death and Boa having a crush on luffy.

- It's funny I learnt sabo from my friend who reads One piece manga where she was ranting to me about sabo and there I got curious and ask her what happened, and there she explained to me that Luffy has another brother which I got surprised cause all I know back then was Ace and there she was crying how handsome sabo was and was also crying because of luffy meeting sabo again. Back then I always thought that these three is brothers by blood and not by alcohol 😭.

- To be honest Ace's visuals back then was hella majestic but funny at the same time but after the re-animation he got babygirly-fied LIKE BRO HIS ANIMATION ON THAT SCENE IN WANO HIS TIDDIES GOT BIG ASF HELL IT BIGGER THAN MINE.

- Sabo on the other hand well I saw him in the movie Film Gold and Stampede First and also I took a little research about The Revolutionary army BUT WHAT CAUGHT MY EYE WAS KOALA...SHE'S SO CUTE AND GORG MAN...HELL I WOULD FIGH–ehem anyways back to sabo, yeah he's intelligence and strength got me shook cause how can he divide those fingers like that sjrkgks I wanna learn their karate too 😭.

4th Law and Kid

- Well knowing the social media the wano episodes are all over my tiktok fyo page and these two caught my eye since they are always beside luffy in wano.

- Except for Law I knew him on that edit of kamiya hiroshi's voice characters and yes I quickly went to the comment section to know his name.

- I got exposed to knowing him when my friend who stopped watching one piece told me that he often got shipped with luffy and boi after I typed the "LawLu DJ" there I got bombarded with some of their popular comic strips and fanarts that is sometimes questionable and sometimes sweet and fluffy and sweet and some others are traumatizing LMAO SPECIALLY THAT ONE WHERE HE USED HIS DEVIL FRUIT TO CUT HIM AND F HIM 😭. Plus the fact he kinda resemble my boyfriend that's why I found his visual quite appealing...EVEN THE HUMOR AND BRAIN IS ACCURATE LIKE ITS SCARY ASF 😭.

- To kid I kinda find him resemble to bakugo LMAO I DON'T EVEN WATCH MHA YET yet I find him cute and quite funny too.

- Not to mention the manga chapter 1063 and 1079 💀 got me thinking dark humor about then LMAO HELP.

End of Part 1 💗

[askgoyuu]

Omg hey, I just discovered your blog and I have fallen in love. Another goyuu fan in the non JPN fandom!! I'm so happy!

Anyways, I just saw your post asking for ideas/trope and it's been a little while so I'm not too sure if it's still open. Any case, just sharing one of my favourite that's been living in my head rent free for years: Haunted AU or Cursed AU. Gojo/Yuuji turning into a ghost/curse after death and haunting their living counterpart.

Sidenote: Are you an anime only or are you ok with manga spoilers?

hello!! glad to see fellow fans and make more goyuu friends!! they're just so cute and hot together it's insane <3

and yeah! i'm all for hearing what ideas people have~ of course, i'll end up deciding myself if i wanna draw one or nah, but i'm always open for discussions and headcanons in general, because that's how we can connect as a goyuu community better!! <3

no lie, like curse!gojo aus are very *chef's kiss*. because like imagine being that. just strongest of them all, feared by everyone, and then in comes a soft boy, with pink hair and the sun in his eyes, and you just get wrapped around their finger like.

and if they both are curses and haunting their counterparts, that just sounds chaotic and interesting!! like man. whoah. couldn't even imagine what kind of shenanigans could start up...!

I read the manga, but I also follow the anime. I'm not like fully caught up with the manga at the moment, but I do know what's going on. haven't had time to read due to work and what not so that's meh. I'm mostly rolling around on twitter and ao3 and enjoying the amazing art and fics people are writing!

but man. that one chapter? it hurt me so bad. like gege why. fucking unbelievable. good thing one can ignore canon and just be like: nah, that didn't happen. instead goyuu married and are happy together, thank you very much!

thank you for sending in an ask! <3 @yuu33

[tumblezwei]

I'm not even caught up on Yona, I just saw spoilers filtered on Twitter and was like "how bad could it be?" And then.

[arsenalgbt]

can i ask you your top 5 arsenal ship? 👀

(love your blog and works btw!)

CAN YOU---OF COURSE YOU CAN ANON, PLEASE, FINALLY LET'S GOURrr

it's so long grab a snack~

1.a. Aaron/Martin like, sorry I coined 'martindale' you saw it you heard it here on my tumblr FIRST. writing martindale? will be there. reading martindale? I will be there. screaming crying at their interactions caught in 4k? will be there. discussing with my fellow martindale believers? I'm in.

blame everything on Aaron mucking about Martin being the el parchio of the squad and my gunnerinnas' tags whenever Aaron says sth about Martin.

and how we all are a bit 👁👄👁 about our captain's behaviour around men 😋😋😋

1.b. Benjamin/Willo. anon I can write an essay........... but long story short, it's cuz they're such opposites!!!! visual wise and personality wise they're sooo chef's kiss.

this ship is just so VIVID in my fucking mind. older, kinda bitchy, secretly funny, definitely slutty, very cool benjamin/scary, menacing aura but looks about 5 y/o when smiling, actually younger, hilarious willo? obsessed!!! 🥰🥰🥰

(also I'll just say it again with my whole chest; I hailed willo as a babie way way before gunnerinnas began gushing about him. it was me and the thirsty twitter men. I did it. I love that now my gunnerinnas have come out supporting the babieliba agenda!!)

2. sakanelli 😭😭😭 ik I'm not too vocal about them but I rly rly rly like them, they're so precious to me hence they're second on my list. two starboys?????? imagine such iconic power couple, giggling, cuddling, nelli improving his English picking up Londoner accent because of his bestie B???---except I can and will only write G rated fics about them. sometimes soon, I hope. I remember one of my moots' tags, something along these lines; "it's so important to me that they both actually like each other" under a sakanelli post AND TRUST ME. oh the possibility. oh the 'started from the bottom now we're here' trope. they're my babies. I read a sakanelli fic on ao3 but it was so sad 😭

3. reiss/either Aaron or Jorginho....... I know. I KNOW IM SO QUIRKYYY CRIES. listen; aaron/reiss size difference? DELISH. jorginho/reiss being opposites (infuriating old man/calm, confused boy toy) PLUS reiss' babygirlism from one (1) video

literally I haven't stopped recycling this gif as my motivation to continue writing sugar daddy jorgi/confused reiss lol

tldr; it's reiss' face tbfh. he's so pretty... like... i CAN'T let such a pretty face go to waste (not writing fics about him lol).

fuck I think that's it?? cuz I like these three equally:

xhakarteta; BUT eye think eye am just a reader. it's so hard to get their characterisations right (for the standard I set for myself lol). thus, I'm afraid/lazy to get my hands on writing actual plot for them 🫡

Aaron/benjamin; again, amazing, time proven, OG friends to lovers trope, etc etc but I'm just a reader for them I guess!!!?????? same excuse with my view regarding xhakarteta. them fics I read??? LOVE THEM. Aaron is soooooooooo whipped, so golden retriever coded. spoiler alert; I'm writing an Aaron/Benjamin/Martin threesome as we speak :O

ZINNY/GABBY OH GOSH!! Zinny is clearly so into gabby but gabby is this sexy workaholic who is never aware of the attention he gets from men (multiple). iktr.

honorary mention, I used to and still have a soft spot for giroud/ramsey. like... goddamn rambo was thirsty... and granit/ramsey as well ngl... OH ALSO; nelli/fabio lmaooo gawd these twinks...

PSA; in my hc, Aaron Ramsdale had a crush on Leno 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 OKAY NOW TELL ME YOURS! thank you for reading thanks for liking my works!!!!

[saffronapplemanga]

Tenjou Renka: Kin no Oujo to Hi no Kusushi - 天上恋歌～金の皇女と火の薬師～

HISTORICAL, ADVENTURE

Tenjou Renka ~Kin no Oujo to Hi no Kusushi~ by Aoki Tomo

(6 volumes, ongoing)

JP only - English summary in this post

Links to my other manga posts here

I can't remember where I first saw this, but Tenjou Renka caught my eye a while ago with this cover. Look at it — it's gorgeous. Like I said in my Tenmaku no Jadoogar: A Witch's Life in Mongol post, I've been really getting into historical fiction so this manga looked like something I'd enjoy. I'm currently reading Yona of the Dawn, which Tenjou Renka has some similarities to (ye olde Asia, princess on an adventure, etc.), and I've been having the best time! I plan to give my thoughts on that too, but there's a lot more content with that series and I've been taking my time reading it.

The full title of Tenjou Renka roughly translates to Heavenly Love Song ~The Princess of Kin and Medicine Man of Fire~. I was excited to read this manga because it seems we have a cool falconer princess with some lovely art! So, how did it do?

Twitter reading thread here. Thoughts after the summary.

***SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

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In the first few pages, we see a precession from the country, Kin, making its way to the allied country, Sou. Here we meet our nomadic princess, Aira.

There are rumors that Aira is to wed the prince of Sou... except she herself doesn't know this??? Awaiting the arrival of their allies, Sou greets them with a show of fireworks. Aira, however, runs straight over to one of the fireworks craftsmen and gives him a big old hug... before saying a word to the royals... when she's supposed to be an ambassador of sorts from Kin... and there are talks of her marrying the prince that's literally standing right there... uh...

What are you doing... She said, "I didn't get the chance to thank you! I'll never forget that night!" GIRL, YOU'RE GONNA GET THIS MAN EXECUTED!!! He's gonna get guillotined! He's gonna get the noose!!!!!!!!!!!

We go back in time a few days, and long story short, Aira and company got attacked mid-journey which led her to fall off a cliff and into a river. The fireworks craftsman, Hakurinshi (or as Aira calls him, Rinshi) finds her washed up. He takes her to his hut to treat her and her falcon. When she wakes up and says she needs to meet back up with her brother. Rinshi tells her to follow him so he can show her something. He lights a firework, which Aira had never seen before, and signals her brother to their location. Reunited, Aira turns to thank Rinshi, but he's already gone. Flash forward to the current day, she sees her savior and takes the opportunity to finally thank him... by aggressively hugging him... in that situation. *sigh*

If you see me spell something wrong, no you didn’t. Twitter, where’s my edit button???

Unsurprisingly, this is bad. Rumors start spreading, some Sou royals and citizens are not happy, and Rinshi gets called in by higher-ups to explain himself. Aira has completely fallen for Rinshi but ends up getting scolded by her brother Uju. He tells her to forget it and that Rinshi is from a different country and class. And he FINALLY tells Aira that there were talks of her being wed to the Sou prince, Kouou, but it's been tabled for now. (Why tf was Aira the last person to find this out?!) She's shocked at this information but Uju says that they wouldn't go through with it if she didn't want to. It isn't until she mulls over the new information and what she did at the palace does she realize, "Oh no, I was super rude to the prince and made an awful first impression!" ...UM, DUH?

*Deep breath*

Prince Kouou shows Aira and Uju around and he reveals that he's a two-faced jerk to only Aira just like I expected. (Aira, why didn't you tell your brother that Kouou wasn't to be trusted?! WHY WON'T ANYONE COMMUNICATE???) Apparently, he thinks the marriage is still on and that it doesn't matter what they want. It's their duty to go through with a political marriage if that's what's decided. Aira has to continue doing ambassador/goodwill duties for the next few days at the Sou palace so they'll be in town for a bit longer.

The last bit of volume one has the people of Kin falling ill from poisoned food. Aira is one of the few who hadn't eaten yet and was spared, thus leaving her to take charge and care for the sick. She goes looking for Rinshi for help since he was able to take care of her and her falcon before. What was weird to me was that she asked him to teach her how to care for the sick instead of asking him to come with her to where they all were. Rinshi is the one who said he was coming with to help, and Aira was surprised by this...

Instead of wasting time at his place learning how to play doctor, take him with you dummy!!! Also, the Sou palace knew what happened but they were like, "Oh no, it's getting late and it'll be morning by the time the doctors come to help!" DON'T YOU GUYS HAVE DOCTORS AT THE PALACE??? WHAT??????

The resolution to this section of the story was also annoying. Plus, no one was at risk of dying. They just threw up and felt sick.

Why THE HELL would you, the cook who prepares everyone’s food, including the Kin royals, use some random plant you don’t know??? Fire him immediately. This isn't poisoned food, this is food poisoning smh.

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***END OF SPOILERS FOR VOLUME ONE***

I usually try to give manga a few volumes, but honestly? I made it halfway through volume 2, skimmed the rest of the volume, and gave up. I'm going to mention minor spoilers here btw.

It doesn't make sense. The setup for the drama doesn't make any damn sense. I can't even be mad at Aira, at least not completely, because I blame her family/handlers for not teaching her ANYTHING before sending her off to be an ambassador and putting her in these situations! Literally, her handmaiden was teaching her things about the Sou royals she should've already known while they were at the Sou palace... Like... excuse me? I also don't like how there are info dumps.

Aira's handmaiden is teaching her info about Sou AFTER she just did a ceremonial thing at the palace. You should have taught her this stuff before!

We do find out that Aira's tribe recently won independence 8 years ago, so they're kind of "new royalty" but they should still know to tell her to watch herself in Sou. If there was some Sou custom they weren't familiar with that she messed up, or was awkward because she wasn't a princess from birth/comes from a more "primitive" country, then okay. But that's not what's happening here. I mean, even if you weren't promised to the prince, YOU'RE A PRINCESS WHO'S AN AMBASSADOR IN AN ALLIED COUNTRY!!! You didn't even greet the prince and king!!!!!!!!! That's just Manners 101!

And I’m a nobody!

I don't want to compare to Yona of the Dawn, but it's a little hard not to. I'm very early on in Yona of the Dawn (mid vol 5) but even then we see that while Yona is extremely naive, scared, and sheltered, she's not stupid. And in her case, she wasn't prepared for the events that resulted in her life being turned upside down. For Yona, it came out of nowhere. But for Aira, they planned to go to Sou. They knew this was happening. She should have been more prepared to do her duties as the princess of Kin, yet she fumbled it within seconds of her arrival at the palace. It doesn't make her funny or charming. It just makes her look dumb.

There are some parts that DO make sense. Aira being able to stand her ground adds up because she comes from a nomadic tribe.

Action scenes!

A lot of people in Sou, both noble and peasant, call the people of Kin savages/barbarians. Some nobles ask ignorant questions like, "I heard your people live in caves? Is that true? What, you can move your homes? How strange." And honestly, that's realistic. I cannot tell you how many times I've been asked if my family lives in tents and rides camels to school/work.

The start of the show here is Rinshi, hands down. He's known as the local weirdo who collects random plants and rocks and the like.

Mood, tbh. Throwback to my Yotsuba&! post about how me and my friend drove all the way from Tokyo to the Sea of Japan just to go rock collecting.

In reality, he's just a quiet guy with unbound curiosity. He wants to travel and see new things, learn new things, and collect new things so he can learn about those too. Rinshi wears tinted glasses to protect his eyes from light damage, which happens to a lot of craftsmen. But they’re are an unusual thing that no one's ever seen before and just adds to his "weird" status. I swear this man is ahead of his time.

Dreaming of all the cool stuff out there in the big wide world. I'm rooting for you buddy.

He also just seems like a genuinely sweet guy and would make for an awesome male lead!

The author, Aoki, clearly has a great love for Chinese history. This isn't even their first manga with this setting. On Aoki's Twitter, you can see all the research they do. They even get recreated armor/clothing to take reference photos!

Mad respect.

Remember kids, reference is important!

Tenjou Renka is amazing for seeing historical clothing and settings, as well as culture. However, I feel like these things take priority over the actual story.

We love well-researched historical fiction!

I was curious to see what other readers thought of the story, and while unsurprisingly there were people who really enjoyed it, some reviewers share my sentiment.

This reviewer is basically saying how Aira doesn't realize her own position/the situation she's in and just causes so many problems.

This person says that the girls feel immature/juvenile and it's a real shame because the historical aspects are well-researched.

But yeah, this was a title I was excited to get into, but it just left me frustrated and disappointed. I mean, listen — a foreign princess betrothed to the prince falls in love with a local weirdo and they both want to travel the world and learn new things? It’s so frustrating because this manga has the recipe… Tenjou Renka had so much potential, but the contrived drama annoyed the hell out of me. So much didn't make sense or could have been avoided, and that really soured any good it had. I can see a lot of people enjoying this, but unfortunately, it's just not working out for me. I would like to flip through the later volumes if only for the clothing and setting design.

Not even best boy Rinshi can make me keep reading. I hope you collect all the stuff your heart desires.

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If there's any Japanese-only manga you want me to check out, let me know! No promises, I'll only read what I'm interested in, but I'll take suggestions into consideration. Preferably, shorter manga or newer manga with a few volumes out since I like to take breaks from longer series I'm reading :)

[asterjennifer]

Hello! I'm not sure if you take requests or brainrots but feel free to ignore this if not! It just pop into my mind when I was playing Saeran's route for the sixth time LOL. It makes me wonder what if Saeyoung meet Ray and Suit!Saeran respectively. Like, (spoilers) Seven was still missing at the end of his route but what if after all that and he was found and years later, he just found out that his bro has other persona(?) since Ray was the one who always tended the garden and Suit was more...aggressive than the usual Saeran he knew lol.

I kinda think he'll be heartbroken because Saeran didn't tell him about the two 😭 but it makes me wonder about the possibility that Ray was the one who told Saeran not to say anything about them because he was kinda?? Insecure?? Scared?? Because Saeyoung promised to be together WITH Saeran not WITH Ray and Suit.

Just thought its a good angst/comfort reveal lololol. Have a great day!

🎀 That is a really nice concept if I'm honest. I think Seven and the whole Ray/Suit dynamic could've played out really well from a storytelling standpoint! 🎀

© rinjkk on Twitter

There's more than me

Fandom: Mystic Messenger

Pairing: Seven & Saeran (& MC)

Category: Fluff

Warnings: Spoilers

Word count: 2634

Summary: After so long, there are things that come to light. Some more significant than others.

It gives Seven and Saeran some honest conversations about the past.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saeran kneeled down carefully between the endless sea of flowers planted all around the garden he now owned for himself and his loved ones. How long it took everyone until there's only peace remaining was absurd. He pulled the rubber gloves over his hands, making sure not to get scolded by his Angel again after they whined last time to not just dig his fingers into the dirt raw. Saeran saw no issue, it's not bad coming back messy when taking care of his passion, if anything, he secretly preferred the direct contact with the earth.

Not to mention; it's fun touching what's underneath your fingertips as he forbade himself that joy back at Magenta most of the time due to the gloves he wore. Although there's more benefit in his eyes, they begged to him in a pleading voice. And who's he withholding a wish coming from the love of his life. It's been a while Saeran got used to the new lifestyle, and yet he still dealt with moments of internal doubt about his happiness. They promised him it's fine, that he deserved it more than any other person in the world. Both his Angel and brother reassured him whenever it's necessary.

Saeran took the shovel while lifting the surface of the dirt underneath the blooming hydrangeas, just checking if there's no parasite settling in and playing potential enemy to the beauty he caressed. Saeyoung liked the bush of flower the most, especially afterwards, when Saeran explained the hidden meanings to them. »The hydrangea represents gratitude, grace and beauty.«  He'd told the older one, watching the amber eyes he once carried widen with this particular sparkle of adoration. »Woah! Yeah, I like that. I mean.. I'm sure as hell grateful for everything you've done and overcame, little bro~«

Saeran hit his shoulder that day because it sounded way too cheesy. However, there's no reason to lie since he felt his heart gliding into a peaceful state. A gift in some sense, he thought that moment. Saeran looked up a short second, thicker clouds were gathering all around the precious sky over his head. It would probably start raining later. What a convenience, considering it meant Saeran didn't even have to fetch the watering can from the garden shed. The sound of the door opening caught his attention, revealing the older twin with a box inside his arms. Saeyoung smiled at him, which Saeran tried to return wholeheartedly.

He's still working on some habits, after all. »Hey hey, busy?« The older one asked curious, jumping down the terrace floor and onto the grass. Saeran shrugged, letting the leaves of the flower fall back down into their position. »I'm good. What's that box?« He pointed to the carton, which made Saeyoung wiggle it a bit from left to right. »This, my dear brother, is a small package that arrived for ya~« The older chimed, unable to swallow the laughter by the almost bewildered gaze Saeran showed openly. »What? But I didn't order anything. Are you sure it's not yours instead?« But Saeyoung shook his head, pushing his glasses back up. »Nope. It's for you! I just bought it.«

He held it out, waiting in anticipation for the younger twin to take it. Saeran's eyes widened a bit, pretty surprised even though it's no news Saeyoung had a small addiction to buy things online. As good as every day, there's at least one package arriving at their door. Neither you nor Saeran managed to make him stop though, that's a hopeless task you're attending since moving in together. Saeran rubbed his hands, getting most of the dirt off the gloves before accepting the gift. »Really? Thanks. It wasn't necessary though..« A slim whisper of shame crawled over his cheeks, yet Saeyoung only kneeled down near him with a big smile.

»Nah, I know that. But it had your name labeled on it. I just couldn't resist, ahh..« Saeran smirked by the helpless sigh. Taking the scissors he brought along to cut some striving shrubs. The one with bleached hair cut the tape open thoughtfully. Not that he accidentally left scratches on the contents, that happened one time and that surely was more than enough. »Com'on, Not clamping down on torture! I wanna know if you like it!« Saeyoung waved his hand like they're in a hurry, but Saeran put the box down slowly on purpose for the sake of teasing.

It made the older twin sit down at the grass as another, dramatic sigh fell over his lips. »You're mean, Sae!« But he just smiled to himself when opening the carton. »Hm, am I? Couldn't tell.« He then peaked, a little noise coming out his mouth after realizing what's waiting inside. »It's...« Saeran pulled the brand-new book out, inspecting the cover first. It's a flower history book, that conclusion made him stare up in question. The redhead rubbed nervousness away from his cheek, avoiding eye contact for some reason. »I know you uh.. You have plenty of books talking about language and whatnot. I thought it's cool to have one about the emergence of the flower language.«

He suddenly lifted both hands, seemingly excited. »It starts waaay back at the ancient Egypt! It's insane! I thought you might like to have it.« His voice ended up mumbling, quite hard to understand. The usual rollercoaster of motions the redhead struggled containing. Saeran turned the book like it's an excavation of a valuable piece of contemporary history, eyeing the words, fond, pictures sensually. Another wave of warmth crashed into his chest, followed by a timid 'thank you' for the consideration. A gift's always coming with the secure emotion of gratitude, whereas other people seem clueless to such reaction, his brother understood without a word exchanged.

To know there's someone who cared, people willing learning about the depths inside his heart and staying nevertheless. He's truly a lucky man. Saeran laid it down in his lap, none of the darker clouds above reflecting in his eyes. Only the clear blue created by happiness. »I mean it. Thank you, Saeyoung. I really like it.« His brother huffed relieved. »Glad you like it as much as I do!« They stayed silent, no need to pressure words if the air's already conveying meanings by itself. There's a calm that's often impossible to maintain given the older twin's energized behavior, Saeran appreciated the times of peace a tad more, which he couldn't bring over his heart to point out.

»Ray!« Another voice calling out to him's like a melody, forcing a smile to his lips once his Angel stuck their body through the door. He titled his head, Saeyoung immediately threw his head back to make out their shape. Finding them peeking through with a tiny hand placed onto the door frame. Saeran couldn't help it, it's so adorable. »Yes, love?« Your cute expression melted his heart like nobody's business. »Oh, Saeyoung you too! Perfect. I just wanted to know what you'd like to eat today? Since, you know.. My turn to cook.« A giggle filled his ears, lingering sweetly.

»Whatever you chose, my love. Everything you make is amazing.« Despite you thanking him for the compliment, they both could tell that's not the answer you're seeking. The redhead took the burden off your shoulders instead by gasping. »Oh, I know! What about pasta? Hadn't that in a second.« Your eyes wandered back to Saeran, obviously waiting if that's fine with him as well. It caused his heart beat to increase. As he nodded in agreement, your smile reached your eyes. »Sweet! I feel like pasta, too. I start cooking then!« You waved at the brothers, leaving again to get the work done.

After your steps silenced, Saeyoung turned his head back. There's a slight uncertain touch to the way he saw through Saeran's mind. »What?« But the older one just bit his lower lip. letting the focus drift over the plants instead. »It reminded me.. There's something I wanted to ask for a while now.« The serious tone told Saeran everything he needed to know, therefore he hummed. It costed Saeyoung a long intake of air, having the one across wonder what exactly's plaguing his head. And that for a while, apparently. »Well.. I never came to understand why- Well..«  He collected his words, rushing through the red chaos on his head in order to smooth his nerves better.

»Why do they call you Ray sometimes..? Is that, like, a nickname I'm unaware of?« Saeran's back straightened in alarming rate, making Saeyoung stutter out an apology right away. It reached Saeran's ears muffled though. It's true, once Mint Eye was out of his priorities, he smoothed your desperation when allowing you to use both names as you liked. Which led to you calling him by both. Albeit Saeran being your personal favorite, Ray's still popping up here and there. Depending on your mood, or rather his, you switched without thinking. How come the one with ocean-colored eyes didn't cross the thought of his twin feeling confused?

When it's conspicuous and justified. Saeyoung let his head fall forward in defeat. »I'm just lost, sorry.. If it's a touchy subject then we can leave it be.« The apology's bitter on Saeran's tongue, because there's really no reason for one. »It's fine. It's..« His words caught in the back of his throat since he's less than prepared for this conversation. Back at Magenta, Saeran told Ray over and over to never reveal his name to others, specifically when it came to the RFA. They're not supposed to learn about him in any way, that's a secret rule his Savior- no.. Rika tasked in between the sea of hacking.

Saeran's hidden in the shadows whenever Ray's awake, telling people beforehand he's not the only one occupying this body, it'd take power away. That's what she preached on end, saying that Ray didn't have much to begin with which should make him cherish the bit he did own treat with caution. Once Ray vanished, however, things became messy to the point it's out of his control. »You're both! Saeran and Ray, it doesn't matter.. You're one person.« That what you tried to engrave into his consciousness for what felt like an eternity. »You've always been one.. That's why I love every side of you.« The words never failed to have the younger Choi tear up.

You had experienced the change first hand, but Saeyoung hadn't been there to witness. Saeran never spoke of Ray before, either. On one hand because you didn't like it when he split those names. Maybe you're subliminal with your opinions, but Saeran could read you like an open book, knowing regardless how it made you feel. On the other there never seemed to be a reason for it. That's past which felt insignificant these days, he just never considered it might be important to his brother. Maybe that'd been wrong, despite his habits screaming otherwise. »Saeran..? Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to trigger..« Saeyoung whined, that tip-toe tone he disliked the most.

As many bad habits as Saeran held onto, Saeyoung's often no better. This particular treatment of guilt made the older one with glasses come across as if he's dealing with some porcelain doll instead of a human being. »Stop pitying me, I'm okay. Let me think.« He rubbed his eyes, hearing Saeyoung give a little sound of acknowledgement. How to start? More important; where to start? He could tell this was going to become messy. »Ray's.. Let's just say Ray is the child you knew back home.« Unsure how to phrase it, Saeran picked his words wisely. It's surely hard to comprehend if you're not familiar with such process. »Ray was another one in here for the longest time.«

He pointed to his chest, right above his heart. Somehow the sentences came out fluently and honestly? Saeran's surprised about that himself. To talk about the flower boy this way, it 's been what felt like ages. As if bringing awareness to it influenced how he felt deep inside. Who knew, maybe it did. He had no way of knowing. »(N) met Ray first, too. But.. Ray sometimes left the control to m- Saeran.« He corrected quickly. It's awkward to talk this over, especially to Saeyoung hearing the story. His therapist once calmed him, promising he didn't have to tell his twin everything that happened. Yet it's Saeran's decision, here. It felt okay.

It was okay, he replayed the comfort using your voice while gathering his memories. »Saeran is.. angry. And more pessimistic. Um-« He stopped himself, taking a look at the invested expression on Saeyoung's face. A bit of shock to discover, some confusion still left as his brows frowned slightly. Saeran licked his dry lips, stroking his hand over the book cover. »But (N) showed me that I'm not actually.. I'm me now.« That came out rather dull, Saeran could've facepalmed himself for it. Habits, he figured. »I'm going by both names, I told (N) that when we left Mint Eye. But I'm not just Saeran or just Ray anymore. I'm both.. kinda. It's hard to explain.«

He wheezed the tension out, this vulnerable fear nagged on his soul. What if this was a mistake? Would his brother be able to understand? »I never knew about that..« The older one whispered, leaving Saeran on the edge considering he could neither categorize the tone of voice very well, nor predict which meaning his thoughts had. »Thanks. For telling me. haha ..« The emotional giggle gifted the younger one the courage to look back up. It scared him to death as Saeyoung teared up. »Man, you amaze me so much these days! There's so much to you.. I can't catch up, it seems.« He smiled through the tears.

Saeran lifted his hand, hanging uselessly in the air as he's uncertain what to do. It hurt seeing Saeyoung wipe his eyes dry after taking off his glasses, did he do the wrong thing by confessing? »I feel like I missed out on.. everything. I'm sorry I wasn't there when you.. you know.« Now his hand moved by itself, landing on the older twins' shoulder. »Hey, it's alright. I had (N) to help me.. I'm good now— stop crying.« He ended up pushing further when squeezing Saeyoung's shoulder. The redhead sniffed away the overwhelm, nodding to himself rather than the other.

»Yeah, yeah.. I know that. Still. I'm glad you told me. Thanks for sharing that with me, it means the world to me.« Saeran didn't need to pay attention to the sincere smile to know he meant it from the bottom of his heart. That's good, better than he expected. »Sure, I guess it's worth telling you about- Huh?« Cool hit his forehead, followed by more until he realized there're raindrops falling from the sky. Saeran stood up to shield the book better, stretching out his hand to the older one. »Come, it's raining. I don't want the book to get wet.« Saeyoung chuckled amused, accepting the offer and stood up as well.

»Right! (N)'s probably done with dinner soon. I'm damn hungry, anyway.« Saeran raised an eyebrow since the timing's perfect for Saeyoung's stomach to rumble. It made him roll his bright eyes. »No wonder after living on chips and cola for years on end, idiot.« The redhead gasped, pressing his hand to his chest. Freed of the shock, both appreciated the moment regardless. »How can you be so cold!! I'm hurt, Saeran!« The younger referred from chuckling, holding the door open instead. » Hmh, whatever you feel due to my words isn't real. Now get in.« Again, another loud sniff after stepping inside. »Pain, Saeran... My pain is real and you're mean!«

[lokiondisneyplus]

Warning: This post contains spoilers for Loki episode 5.

The penultimate episode of Loki introduced several new variations on its titular mischief-maker — including Jack Veal's Kid Loki, Deobia Oparei's Boastful Loki, and Tom Hiddleston's ill-fated President Loki. But of all these new faces, perhaps the most memorable was Richard E. Grant's aptly-named Classic Loki — an older, world-weary version of the Asgardian god we know and love.

Decked out in the familiar green-and-yellow suit from the comics, Grant's Loki is older and perhaps a bit wiser than his younger counterparts. Years of isolation have left him disillusioned and lonely, missing his brother Thor, but that spark of mischief is still buried deep underneath — and he ultimately sacrifices himself to help Loki (Hiddleston) and Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) escape the Void.

It's a delightful showcase for the 64-year-old Grant, who says he's thrilled to be able to carve out his own chaotic corner of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ahead of the series finale this week, EW caught up with Grant to break down his big sacrifice — as well as his newfound friendship with Owen Wilson and his pitch for a Loki spin-off series.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: To start, I have to ask about your costar: How was working with Alligator Loki?

RICHARD E. GRANT: Alligator Loki was fantastic because in reality, he was three stuffed sofa cushions that had been sewn roughly together to react to. [Laughs] The fact that I was the only person that could understand what he was saying was just fantastic. I think it's the perfect segue into having Classic Old Loki and Alligator Loki as a sub-series to go to next.

So it's safe to say that you would be willing to reprise this character down the line?

If I had a muscle suit, most certainly. I was denied that. I saw the costume design, and I was very familiar with Jack Kirby's original illustrations from the '60s, so I thought, "Ah, this guy's got muscles!" As I had been born without any, I was finally going to get in a muscle suit. I got to Atlanta [to begin filming], and they said, "There's no muscle suit! You're just wearing this!" I said, "But I look like Kermit the Frog!" They said, "Nope, you're not having a muscle suit." So I was very, very upset about that. [Laughs] Short-changed!

I was going to ask about your first impression when you first put on the costume!

That's what I asked: Where are the muscles? Where are the Stallone/Schwarzeneggers here? Because they're missing! This is what people will expect! This was in the costume drawing, and they're not here, and I don't have them! I was very upset.

When they first asked you to join the show, what was that initial pitch like?

I had known Tom Hiddleston socially for some years, and we'd always joked that we could feasibly play father and son because of our vague physical similarities and hairlines, certainly. So when I got this offer at the beginning of last year, before COVID, I thought, "Alright, this is that moment that I had hoped would come at some point." I thought I would play his father, but I'm playing a variant of him. So that's how that came about. I was thrilled.

Tom has been playing his version of Loki for a decade now. Did you get any guidance from him, or have any conversations with him that you found particularly helpful?

He is a walking Loki-pedia, so he was very, very informative about the whole etymology and the history of the Norse gods and Loki. He's also brilliant at imitating people. He goes on chat shows and imitates famous actors absolutely to the letter. I don't have that talent. So when I read the script of episode 5 that I was offered, I saw that [this older version of Loki] described himself in his backstory of being the god of outcasts — rather than the god of mischief, which is so absolutely embedded in Tom's interpretation of the role. So I thought, well, [if he's] the god of outcasts and is somebody who's been isolated for years and living on these planets and is willing to betray himself by going back and being arrested by the TVA and making the ultimate sacrifice, offering himself up to Asgard, I thought, well, this is somebody who is more in the twilight zone of his life, as am I. As opposed to a young man, who's full of mischief still.

So, I thought that was a way into interpreting this character, rather than trying to do — and something I couldn't possibly succeed at doing — a pale imitation of Tom Hiddleston.

I'd imagine that would be tricky, but it would also be a fun challenge: You're basically sharing scenes with all these different versions of the same character.

Exactly right. And I love the fact that he was the one person who could communicate with the alligator. I love that.

So would you now consider yourself fluent in alligator?

Indeed. I am the Doctor Dolittle of the Marvel universe when it comes to speaking to alligators. I speak alligator fluently. Put that in the contract of when I'm doing a series as Classic Old Loki, with muscles and the alligator. It'll have subtitles, so the audience can hear what the alligator is saying, and everyone else is saying, "What is he saying? What is he talking about?" That'll be the way.

I also wanted to ask about your big finale, where we see your Loki conjure Asgard. What do you remember most about filming that final moment?

Huge wind machines, blue screen in every direction, and following a camera on a crane that was maneuvering around the ceiling of the studio, and then swooping down. I was having to shout at it, and then finally laugh in the face of my own immolation. So it was a great thing to do, with these huge air turbine wind machines that were blowing four tons of air at me from every direction. It was exhilarating.

Did you have any practical elements around you at all, or did you have to imagine and conjure it all yourself?

Most of it you had to imagine. The actual landscape that you walked on was real grass and this sort of rocky landscape, but all the other elements — all the ships and all that stuff — was put in afterwards. We didn't see any of that.

The Loki palace that looked like a sort of bowling alley, that was all for real. Everything that you see in that scene was actually built and practical.

Was it chaotic to film in the bowling alley with all those different versions of Loki, bickering and bantering?

Because there was so much action involved, it was paint-dryingly slow, because action takes much longer to do than five pages of dialogue. I prefer talking, as I'm not exactly an action man, as you can see. [Laughs]

Was there anything about joining the Marvel universe that you weren't expecting or that really surprised you?

I didn't expect to find true love with Owen Wilson. We're having a surrogate baby together in October.

Oh, congratulations!

He was just so hilarious to work with. He's just one of the greatest characters I've ever met. He is so open and curious and amenable, with this sort of dry sense of humor. There seemed to be no divide between Owen Wilson acting his part and then just being Owen Wilson. I don't know if he was scamming me, but he was an absolute delight. I loved him.

Was there a particularly memorable day on set with him?

Yes, when we conceived our twins. [Laughs] No, my daughter encouraged me to post this thing on Twitter and Instagram, where he said, "Richard, I'm going to give you some acting advice. Put your camera on." I said, "Yes, okay!" I owe him for that because it got like 640,000 views already in a few days, which on my Instagram feed is off the chart. It's nothing for Beyoncé, but for mine, I'm pretty gobsmacked.

[romanticslimecreature]

📌 (a moment that lives rent-free in your head) 🤖 (favorite ai character) 🎬 (drop a random podcast opinion)

A moment that lives rent-free in your head

I answered this on @theonebeeontyphon as well. Without spoilers for Malevolent, I can say that a lot of John moments are on rotation in my head because of and as reflected by my recent fic, "Nameless." (Which contains spoilers through Part 15, so if you're not caught up, steer clear.)

Favorite AI character

How could you do this to me, I have such a soft spot for AI characters! Normally I would say both SAYER and SPEAKER, but lately I'm really feeling the love for the audio tour guide from Mistholme Museum.

Drop a random podcast opinion

I don't get why fiction podcasts are so hard to explain to people outside the community. I can say "I listen to [podcast], it's about [describes fictional plot]," and someone will still say, "I listen to something like that! The hosts interview celebrities and talk about the news." This is nothing against those individuals. I guess I just wish fiction podcasts were more popular? I saw something on Twitter the other day about how podcast newsletters frequently "discover" that fiction podcasts exist. Fiction podcasts have come a long way in the last few years, and I wish they had more recognition.

On the other hand, small fandoms are pretty nice, so maybe it's worth it.