#I'm very pleased to have finally found a real example

[laurasimonsdaughter]

Guarding your name from the fae in folklore

The idea of fae stealing names is quite recent (I’m a big fan of new, modern folklore, x, y), but the idea that you have to guard your name so no one could (supernaturally) us it against you, is definitely a widespread folk belief. However, I’ve never encountered an actual folktale that says the fae or fairies in particular could have power over you if they knew your name. I’ve been looking for one for a long time (and if you know one please let me know!) but so far I’ve only come up with one example. So let's take a look:

The power of names

Like I said, the power of names is an old belief that shows up all over the world. Sometimes it’s linked with naming ceremonies like baptism. Sometimes hiding the name from others (witches, djinns, etc.) is what will protect you, sometimes the name itself will protect you (like being named after a saint or in reverence of a deity or spirit). Edward Clodd published a huge essay in 1898 investigating how widespread this name guarding practice is and how it links to folklore. Which, while obvioulsy dated, certainly gives an impression of how deep this belief goes (Tom Tit Tot; an essay on savage philosophy in folk-tale, Clodd, E., 1898).

Not all folk beliefs show up in folktales though and protagonists who refuse to tell their name are not a staple of European folklore, whether it concerns fae or other entities. In “The Soul Cages”, collected by T. Crofton Croker it’s even quite the opposite, as the protagonist and a firendly merrow deliberately call each other by their full names (Jack Dogherty and Coomara). And for ages I wasn't able to find a story that actually incorporated the belief of guarding your name against fae, until I read that huge essay.

Hiding your name from the fairies

In his book, Clodd mentions a single folktale in which it is mentioned that the fae are trying to learn someone’s real name. Sadly he does not tell it in full, but since it is the only real example of this concept I’ve able to find so far, I will give the full quote:

While these sheets are passing through the press, my friend Mr. W. B. Yeats hands me a letter from an Irish correspondent, who tells of a fairyhaunted old woman living in King's County. Her tormentors, whom she calls the "Fairy Band of Shinrone," come from Tipperary. They pelt her with invisible missiles, hurl abuse at her, and rail against her family, both the dead and the living, until she is driven well-nigh mad. And all this spite is manifested because they cannot find out her name, for if they could learn that, she would be in their power. Sometimes sarcasm or chaff is employed, and a nickname is given her to entrap her into telling her real name, — all which she freely talks about, often with fits of laughter. But the fairies trouble her most at night, coming in through the wall over her bed-head, which is no laughing matter; and then, being a good Protestant, she recites chapters and verses from the Bible to charm them away. And although she has been thus plagued for years, she still holds her own against the "band of Shinrone." (Clodd, 1889, p. 83-84).

This story fits the concept of keeping your name away from malicious fairies so you cannot truly fall under their power perfectly. Sadly I haven’t been able to find this story in Yeats’ own folklore collection, but it fulfills my criteria even so.

What I have been able to find many examples of, however, is the reverse trope. Namely that knowing a fairy’s name will give you power over them. I thought this only showed up in Rumplestiltskin-type stories, but it seems a little more widespread than that. Which is very exciting to me, and merits its own post. So stay tuned.

[darkfaceuwu]

Yandere Sunday x reader

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.--.-.-.-.-.-

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

In Penacony never rains. That's what everyone say, but today I found out real meaning of rain. A cruel twist in my fate becauss of one crying man...

How did this madness start? What happened? Is this a dream or a nightmare? Y/n a young beautiful woman, was walking carelessly at night , coming back from work as always . In Penacony there's no danger , everyone is enjoying their time and it seems that nobody notices lurking silhouette in the shadows. I was no different.

As I turn in the corner of a street alley , I notice him. There's a man with wings, certainly a halovian, in what it seems a suit, looking elegant and noble, and he's staring at me like a hawk. In shining moon, I register his golden eyes . They're beautiful, but what I don't realize is the glint in them . A glint of desire and obsession.

"Ahem, I'm sorry to startle you, miss. " he smiles at me, closing his eyes to look more friendly. " I'm Sunday, the head of Oak family. I would like to ask you some questions which you could answer me as a citizen of Penacony. Would you mind sparing some time for this?"

I gulp. I'm not ready to answer questions as a citizen of Penacony. Why? Well, because I'm a trespasser of planets. My job is to get information about planets , for example their economy, how much finances they have or their history and etc. and sell them to other opposing planets. I get good pay. As a fake citizen, I get invested in politics, and that's the most valuable information to sell, and I don't have to lift a finger to get them. But now, as we face each other, I realize that this man is dangerous and he knows very well who I might be.

I try to fake my enthusiasm to answer him. "Of course, Mr. Sunday. I would be pleased to answer any questions to the head of family. It would be a pleasure. Just you standing here is so unbelievable in a good way . Am I blessed by a miracle?" I wonder if this is going to please him.

"Good to hear, Miss...?" He's waiting for my name. I would like to lie to him right away, but something tells me in my gut to not try or was it someone?

"Y/n, that's my name, but you can call me whatever you want, sir." It's better to get on his good side..

He repeats my name. I'm unable to hear him as he quietly murmurs to himself. "What a beautiful name for a lady like you. But now I would like to ask you the question, nothing scary, just an easy one, a simple one." I hold my breath. He smirks at me , one hand on his hip, and he confidently looks at me , knowing he caught me red-handed .

" What kind of cage would you choose? A rotten one or a secure one?" Sunday utters quickly, making me lean closer to him. When I realize what he uttered, he's looking at me or, let's say, looking down at me with condolence with his darkened eyes.

"I- I wouldn't like to be caged in the first place..." I whisper my words. This is the end for me . He figured me out. This question is just an option for my room in jail, isn't it?

"Hmmm, well, there are just two options, only one you can choose. Your side note thoughts aren't important right now." Sunday've tried to quicken my thinking. And as he intimidates me, he gets what he wants from me.

"I would choose a secure one...." That's my final answer to him.

"Great to hear, then I would like to welcome a new tourist here in Penacony personally." Sunday says with a smile on his face . A group of men so-called hounds surround us, and everything fades when Sunday touches me and leads me away.

........................................................................................

Now maybe a year went by or maybe more. Who knows? I find myself in a literal cage, a white one , a big one enough to have a kingdom sized bed with most luxurious pillows and blankets ever seen. It looks pretty but otherwise very humiliating . I have a bell to ring for my needs for shower, toilet , food, and drinks. But I never thought I would feel so lonely. The only one who sees me is my captor. And half of the day is out to work to my relief. If he would be here, he would right away scold me for my messy room , my only room. He enjoys also punishing me. Making fun of me . And degrading me of my hopeless situation.

As I am in my thoughts, footsteps are heard. " Darling, I'm home." Sunday declares, not even inside the very basement, he has me locked up.

"Welcome home, Sunday." I never realized I've been trained like a dog by him . This sentence was advised to me to answer him, but by whom?

The clinging of keys and creaking of door is only heard in this cage . A relaxed expression on Sunday's face. Does he know what day it is today?

"Suday..... today should be my leagal release from prisoment..." I'm trying to be hopeful and have a hope for my freedom. After all, he should follow Penacony laws, right?

Sunday chuckles at me. "Darling, do you remember the first time we met?"

"I think so." I hesitantly answer him. " it was in black alley, right?"

Sunday looks at me and nods in agreement. " Yes, this would be our first meeting in Penacony. But do you have any idea that we met for the first time in Dreamscape?"

"A dreamscape..? I can't recall if I've ever been in Dreamscape, but I think I would remember it."

"Well, I don't blame you for not remembering." Sunday says calmly. " After all, you were the first person to experience rain there." Sunday fondly chuckles ar that thought.

" That's impossible. In Penacony, never rains. What are you up to with this questioning?" I raise my eyebrow at him.

He hums. " Well, our meeting started with questions. But you were the one to start them. And I finished them just for you." He smirks bitterly.

I start to remember something. I heard a voice but not a human one, when I was little. I've been running around in Penacony, a family trip, and I've got lost. As I was running , I saw a monster and when I tried to run away, I fell down in what I thought was hole but it was another dream. And then I saw two entities. One of them had 3 heads of woman , body from puzzles, and then other one was broken , only a big eye, and then the whole closed face was seen. The tears from a broken diety fell down, and I was teleported to another dream. There was a little halovian boy, crying alone. Holding a bird with broken wing.

I was a little shy, but after seeing the bird, I rushed to him without thinking.

"Is the birdie alright?" I asked concerned.

The boy was startled by me . After getting courage to look at me, his cheeks start to heat . He shows me a bird, and he hints at his wings.

"It doesn't look good. Will you keep him?" I ask the mysterious boy.

" I would love to, but my sister thinks this bird belongs back to his nest." He quietly mumbles, still softly crying.

"Hmmm, but wouldn't the birdie safe in pretty cage? Think about it. If I were the bird, I would like to be safe without worries in a pretty cage. It's the best option for it." I tell him in quizzing tone and tries to coax him to agree.

Little boy then looks at me and softly nods. His tears stopped. " True, people like birds would feel happy in cage taken by loving owner. In that case, I should keep this little one."

"Hehe, look at you it seems raining stopped." I chuckle at him.

"Raining, but in Penacony, never rains." He tells me, confused.

"Well, it did stop right now." I smile at him.

He suddenly gets shy, and then, after thinking long enough time, he tells me: "You're pretty like this little bird here , full of colors. Could I also keep you in my company?"

I consider his words, and as a stupid kid, I thought this was his way of telling me to be his friend.

"Of course,you can. I would love to. As I can see you're good friends with his little guy so why not have a room for me?" I grin at him.

Sunday gives me an o-shaped parted mouth, surprised by my declaration, and happy with my answer. He smiles at me and tells me:" Then I promise to take care of you like I would take care of my precious birdie here."

The dream stops, and when he is about to ask me, "What's my name?" I wake up with my mom shaking me worried. As I stir, I can't remember anything of my roughly awaking from my slumber.

The memory bubble in my head is cleaned now. And as I stared at my captor, proclaimed as my lover. I see even the little boy in him. And my question is now answered.

When will he RELEASE me? Never BECAUSE he PROMISED TO TAKE CARE OF ME, didn't he?

He reads my expression correctly and tugs me into an unbreakable hug.

"Dear, I promised to have you forever, didn't I? Our meeting was in order for this to happen.~" He sighed happily, nuzzling into my hair, while I wondered why I twisted my fate when I stopped the rain.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The end~

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hey, so you seem to be the the All Knowing in terms of twst. With Glorious Masquerade getting a rerun soon, I was looking at the cards.

So what the heck is up with Jamil's freaking hat? I'm sorry but I can't look at it without laughing. It looks so stupid. The closest thing I can think of that matches it is the combined crowns of upper and lower Egypt, but this is the equivalent of France so that can't be it.

While I’m flattered that people come to me with their questions, I want to take a moment to remind everyone that I’m just another TWST fan like you are! ^^ It’s stressful to be considered “all knowing” or a fandom authority 💦 That puts a lot of pressure on me to speak on certain subjects or to interact in a certain way (since people might put too much stock into what I say), and then that ends up detracting from my enjoyment. I’d rather not be put on such a high pedestal, please and thank you.

Now, onto the question!

According to Rollo in 1-13 of Glorious Masquerade, the costumes the NRC students were gifted are “patterned after designs that are over 500 years old.”

If we extrapolate this to real life, the implication is that these costumes have roots in Renaissance era (14th century to 17th century) French fashion. Interestingly, Rollo’s own hat is similar to a tricorne, which was primarily worn in the 18th century… so technically, his hat is more “modern” than what the NRC students wear 😂

So I browsed through records of hats from the indicated period and guess what? I couldn’t find an exact match—though I did find a lot of hat designs that I found way sillier than what the NRC boys have. Like… sorry, what is THAT 😭

Some headwear which bears a vague similarity to Jamil’s hat are the Egyptian combined/double crown (the pschent), which Anon has already mentioned, and the French hood, which was worn by women in the 15th century.

The actual closest match I came across was the mitre, a liturgical headdresses worn by Roman Catholic officials. If you look at it from the front, it doesn’t look like much, but it definitely has the height of Jamil’s hat. But then look closer and you’ll realize the mitre does not have one single flap of fabric, but rather two.

If you take the front flap of a mitre and fold it back, you would probably get something very similar to what Jamil wears. (Note that the black part of the hat is NOT his hair, but is fabric that is part of the hat.)

Considering that Noble Bell College is styled like a cathedral and that the Renaissance era from which the Masquerade Dress clothing derives is characterized by the rediscovery of classical literature, art, and philosophy… perhaps it’s not so strange to see a hat borne of religious associations.

… Why did Jamil specifically get this hat? Not sure, I’m not religious myself so don’t ask me to psychoanalyze him from that angle 😂

The golden part securing the front is unusual and does not appear in French fashion of the time (at least not from what I could tell?). It’s styled like pschent but more likely is meant to be turban-like due to Jamil’s inspiration, Jafar, having the same feather sticking up in the middle of a bulbous hat. You’ll notice Jamil had a “feather” too, albeit metal:

To summarize, I think the design of Masquerade Dress Jamil’s hat borrows from multiple inspirations and not just one/old French fashion. Yana has stated before in a March 2023 interview with the Apple App Store that the cultures of Twisted Wonderland are unique and that the clothing that appears in the game are not “reinterpretations of existing costumes”. She seems to incorporate elements from both high fashion and from a variety of cultures to arrive at the final designs. For example, there are elements of many Nordic cultures in the Apple Pom outfits, and the Pomefiore uniform has a Japanese kimono-like silhouette despite the dorm being based on the the Evil Queen (originating from a German tale). I assume something similar happened when designing the Masquerade Dresses; Yana and co. wanted to combine elements and make something of their own.

Final comment I'll make, the shape of Jamil's hat looks like a kind of dumpling... It makes me hungry.

[moniericreative]

Goro Akechi: A Mask of Heroism

Part 3 of my multi-post series: "The Universally Hated Futaba Line: Biased Opinion to Throw Out, or a Valid Point Taken Too Literally?"

The posts will be in the following order:

Part 1: Clarifying the meaning of the line (link) Part 2: A Mask of Lies (link) Part 3: A Mask of Heroism (this post)

Please check out the first two posts of the series for more context, as it'll help explain the direction I'm going in when discussing this subject.

Without further ado, enjoy the final part!

So you guys might be asking why I started with the "Mask of Lies" first, and not this one. Especially since Akechi's childhood dreams of being a hero are stated very explicitly in his Royal confidant.

Well, it's because when you ignore the lies aspect (i.e. Futaba's words), and focus exclusively on this single portion of Akechi's character... A lot of people tend to think that's all Robin Hood represents. That he's the "Good Shoulder Angel™️" to Loki's "Bad Shoulder Devil™️" and nothing more. Sound vaguely familar?

It's the other unfortunate extreme that's full-tilt in the opposite direction.

By fervently ignoring Futaba's observation, you accidentally horsehoe right around from pigeon-holing Akechi's persona(s) with a convenient, singular label to... pigeon-holing Akechi's persona(s) with a convenient, singular label. This time it just sounds cuter because it's childhood nostalgia flavored.

But both Robin Hood and Loki are far more nuanced than that, and nothing's a bigger example of this than how Akechi's ideals of a "hero of justice" grew up with him (even if he himself can't see it).

How his methods of helping others gradually evolved from playing pretend with a toy gun and saving imaginary people...

To expertly utilizizing his crafted image and its connections, as well as his own resourcefulness and cunning, to help real people even if it doesn't his benefit his revenge against Shido in any way.

Much like the actual hero of legend that Robin Hood is based on (or at least, it's more modern interpretation).

Let us go back to the previous examples in a different light, shall we?

Let's Discuss: The Game

So we've already covered Akechi's absolute masterclass of subterfuge and cheating a rigged system to benefit the Phantom Thieves.

Is he only doing this to win their trust in order to pull the rug out from under them?

Perhaps, but that ignores the elephant in the room: His relationship with Sae.

While he does have a single line of "foolish woman" before the interrogation room, there's one small detail that often gets overlooked.

Why didn't he remind Shido that Sae was a loose end in their plans?

While he didn't know about the Phantom Thieves' actual plans to keep Joker alive, that still doesn't change the fact that the Sae now has direct ties to the Conspiracy's actions because they used her palace as a trap, and she presumably has a Change of Heart.

With how close Sae was to uncovering The Conspiracy already, and with a determination to keep digging until she found the truth, it would make sense for Shido to order her death. After all, he did so for Kayo (Ohya's friend), Kobayakawa, and the SIU Director and they arguably knew just as much.

So why didn't he?

Because Akechi kept his focus on the Phantom Thieves, and not once did he ever remind Shido about Sae.

"Well, maybe Akechi was riding the high of victory and simply forgot? He seems pretty egotistical during that timeframe."

True, but then you have multiple scenes following the Interrogation Room.

The first is his phone call with Shido on 11/20 (while he's in the elevator), where he tells him he'll take care of the Phantom Thieves:

And then the second scene is during Shido's arc, after Shido becomes paranoid due to the Thieves destroying his cognitions of people in his palace, and he and Akechi are in another call:

Notice something specific about both of these interactions? Not once does Akechi give any specifc info about when or how he eliminate these people. He instead keeps giving vague half-answers wrapped in a villianous bow, downplays the threat of the remaining thieves (especially Morgana), or tells Shido "why not wait until after the election?"

The election that he's already planning to ruin Shido on.

Both moments are such a blatant attempt at damage control to ensure less blood is spilled in the long-run, and recontextualizes everything beforehand with Sae.

Throughout the game he says he respects her, and that's no more evident than this. Despite tricking her, he's not interested in killing her or inducing a breakdown/shutdown in her.

In fact he went along with the plan to Change Her Heart and left it at that, only knowing that by stealing her treasure, she'd hopefully re-evaluate her actions leading up to this and go back to normal.

He didn't know that the Thieves never planned to actually steal her treasure. He just trusted their methods, knowing it helps more people in the end than his own. He even asks Makoto herself this:

Which, while it could be seen as him just pretending to be comforting her, gains a more genuine layer with the above context behind his question. The guy loves his double-entendres after all. He put his faith in them, and lied on their behalf to Shido to keep the remaining thieves and Sae safe, regardless of whether he was aware he was doing such or not. On another note, there's also some cut Mementos lines as well (implying that it's not just Joker he opens up to, but everyone else as well):

And finally, we can talk about that Cut Mementos Request as well.

In a way, I understand why this was cut despite being nearly finished. It doesn't leave the players feeling accomplished, but rather like they just made the situation worse and can't take it all back.

But that's the point, and it's a very important lesson they sorely need.

Akechi intentionally chooses targets similar to his situation with Shido, and any information he gives to the Thieves is superficial. Past work history, past connections, etc. As far as investigating goes, he even says he'll do it himself, which the other thieves agree to. Then when they all discuss a game plan, he hangs back while the other thieves come up with their own narrative for what's happening, and doesn't correct them.

The entire point behind this long charade though?

He doesn't want the Thieves to get hurt any further by people like him.

One very important thing to note about this request is that it only occurs during Third Semester. Maruki's Reality. The same reality where, once they defeat him to restore the true reality, everything that occurs during it will be reverted.

Including the events of this request.

Which is probably the actual reason why it got cut other than time-constraints. What's the point in learning it if your mistake can be undone in the end, right?

But again, that's the point. It's a means of giving the Thieves a reality check to be more careful in the future, without them carrying a permanent weight on their shoulders like he has. To let them actually feel first-hand the consquences of their powers when used recklessly, or blindly putting their faith in anybody, and hopefully learn from it to save others more effectively.

He's giving them the lesson and out that he never got before he started working with Shido, and was in too deep to quit.

Let us discuss: P5: The Animation

This time, we've actually got two instances instead of just one.

The first is Yusuke's situation with Kawanabe: (Episode 13 · Dreams and Desires) The second is Futaba's situation with her uncle: (Episode 24 · A Challenge That Must Be Won)

In Yusuke's case, Akechi's main argument to convince Joker into helping him with the investigation into Kawanabe is this:

Of all the people he could've gone to for assistance on the case, he went directly to Joker because he knows Yusuke is his friend, and if they don't do this, Yusuke, a child with honest aspirations, will become yet another casualty of a corrupt individual in power.

He's solved plenty of cases without needing Joker's presence, case in point his entire years-long Detective Prince career (which the anime shows isn't just the cases involving the shutdowns). But he's still willing to ask for his help anyways because he knows Joker will also do anything to protect people in need, even if it means bending or outright breaking the law.

In Futaba's case meanwhile, the dynamic is flipped around completely: Joker asks Akechi for help. The whole situation starts with Akechi being the one to initiate the topic on Futaba acting off due to her uncle:

And Joker responds to him with this sometime later:

The day after, they both have this exchange while discussing the matter:

The entire time, Joker's very open about not wanting to share much information about Futaba's situation to Akechi, who at this point the thieves are well aware he's the Black Mask. It's only after Akechi shares his own experiences with his mother and the foster care system that Joker finally gives him the info he needs to look into Futaba's uncle. Akechi never asks for more context, he trusts Joker's judgement that this is another awful person who needs to be stopped and goes along with it without question.

And all to help a girl that he's aware is in this whole situation because of his actions, too. You could probably argue this is way of atoning for what happened to Wakaba.

Let us discuss: Mementos Mission

Here we can actually talk a bit of the grander plot in the manga, rather than focusing on an iconic yet minor part of it. To give a brief summary, Mika is accused of a murder, and Ann and Joker (followed by the rest of the thieves) want to clear her name and find the true culprit. To this end, Joker decides, against the judgement of the other thieves, to ask Akechi for help in looking into this whole mess.

One key thing to note about this is that Akechi goes out of his way to look into this in between his own cases, including that of the "Double Fanged Murder Demon" that they find out later on is connected to it. And the kicker? It's not even remotely connected to The Conspiracy at all, either. Nor Akechi's revenge plan against Shido (which does get hinted at in this story). There's no subtle clues indicating that some parties might be tied to the conspiracy, or need to be taken out like Okumura was. It's just an entire cast of people in their own smaller spider-web of coincidences, that Joker and co. happen to stumble into. Akechi has absolutely nothing to gain from indulging in Joker's request to look into police files or clues, but he still chooses to do so anyways, even if he's technically not supposed to share details due to confidential information.

The only thing he asks for in return? More coffee and curry. That's it. Surprisingly simple pleasures for a very complex guy.

Akechi's honestly one those characters that's fascinating to see others react to. When people hear the "lie" comment, they tend to jump straight into two categories afterwards:

The people who take it too literally, and proceed to loathe him with every fibre of their being and doubt every word he says (and end up falling for his black mask "being his true, more likeable self" by Third Semester when it's yet another distancing tactic).

The people who write it off completely, and proceed to victimize him to the point that it takes away any agency he has over his crimes (in spite of how frequently Akechi accepts the blame for his own involvement, or says that it wasn't solely Shido's manipulation driving him forward).

Even Akechi himself says it: It's not that simple.

He's a liar, but he lies for a damn good reason.

It's just such a shame that there isn't much room to have nuanced discussions about this, because of the two sides and the admittedly knee-jerk reactions to anything opposing them.

Because everything involving the Robin Hood side of Akechi is honestly fantastic. It's a middle-ground on justice between blind righteousness (like the Phantom Thieves) and tunnel-visioned "might makes right" (like Shido, Yaldy, Maruki, and to an extent Sae).

It's the stance of someone who's crawled his way up through a living hell with pleasant smiles and a gun behind his back, but still has enough faith in humanity to put his trust in Joker: The closest person to his idealistic image of a hero, moreso than himself.

The Detective Prince and Black Mask may have been public images, but underneath both is a kid who just cares deeply and painfully about others.

[am-i-the-asshole-official]

AITA for yelling at my husband for spending "my" money for a part?

My husband stalks the actual AITA reddit so I am using my friend's account here as she has shown me these.

I (25m) have a husband, Liam (25m), and we have a daughter (just turned 2). When I first married Liam, I truly loved him, but I'm not sure now. We have ups and downs and I suffered from postpartum depression and I know Liam has said i was a handful then.

We are almost at five years of marriage. When we got married I had a job, which I left when me and Liam moved for his promotion across the country. Liam encouraged me to stay home and watch our dogs, which then translated to watching our daughter after we had her. I have tried to get a job multiple times, for example I had an interview and missed it because our car wouldn't start (Liam worked on it when he got home thst night and fixed it, but they wouldn't let me interview again). One time we all came down with covid. Just normal life things that occur.

Liam has discouraged me from getting a job, saying he makes enough to support us and wants me to be with our daughter. I do love being with her, but I feel unfulfilled and want to work. I tried to sell stuff online, but we decided it was too expensive to continue. Liam finally agreed for me to get a job, I got an interview and they offered me the job, but I just found out I am pregnant. The job is very labor intensive and my first pregnancy was not easy, Liam doesn't want me to accept and I am inclined not to, but I want to earn my own money.

Well, our heater unexpectedly went out and we had to pay for the part to fix it. Except, instead of using the joint account he used my account. Liam told me that it is his money and he can spend it how he pleases. I yelled at him that I would have money if I was able to get a job, and he told me I was being too hormonal because of the baby and needed to look at things logically. I told him to fuck off. I said some other things in anger, and I'll be honest i don't remember exactly what I said but i didnt think it was that bad, but Liam won't tell me. He says it was absolutely terrible and i must not love him to say what I did and that my brain fog is just me blaming the pregnancy. He has since slept in the guest room while I sleep in our room. I apologized for yelling but told him I still wanted a job, he says that isnt a real apology. AITA?

My friend says to add this here for context:

We have three accounts, they all are joint accounts. The first is a checking which is what we take our rent, bills, etc out of and what the part should have come out of. Then we have the first saving account which is his account. Then there is the second checking account which is considered mine. He puts money in it weekly for me to spend on groceries and our daughter. Anything extra I don't spend I get to keep.

What are these acronyms?

[suratan-zir]

an extremely long and personal rant, you're not gonna gain anything by reading it, and if you do decide to read it in its entirety - I'm so sorry

I just need to vent, and this blog is the only place for me to do so. I can't tell the whole story, it's very long, messy, and personal. But long story short: there's a man who's been an unshakable influence on me for almost two decades. He shaped my life and molded me into the person I am today, one way or another. Oh, and he just so happens to be a covert narcissist - not like in those stupid dramatic tiktoks, but in a very real and infuriating way.

We said goodbye. We've been in no contact for over three years since I left the occupied territories. Since Savita's death, I haven't been doing all that well. I've been spiraling, quite frankly. Eventually, when everything else failed to help, I messaged him. Following a series of mostly dry and noncommittal replies, which always ended with "Write me more, I'll be waiting!" from him but contained no questions, no real engagement, no reactions to what I was saying at all - I said, "either drop this BS and start really communicating with me, or tell me straight to go fuck myself, but nothing in between, please."

So, finally, he tells me, "Look, I reach out first, I take the initiative. Let's talk about movies. What would you recommend for me to watch?" and recommends a movie himself. It's just a normal friendly conversation, right? No, the fuck it isn't. With people like this, everything is about control and power, about the opportunity to put you in your place.

Here I present to you our "normal" texting:

me: I watch mostly horrors. We have this tradition of watching a horror movie on the weekends, even though they never scare me. There's been a very recent one starring Hugh Grant - it's not so much a horror as it is a thriller, IMO. But I really enjoyed it. To understand some things better, you may need to know a little about the Mormon sect. But it's not necessary. (Now, dear reader, if you haven’t found anything offensive in my message, you didn’t look close enough, I guess.)

him: I am amazed by your arrogance - "you should know at least a little about the Mormon sect."

me: Why are you being like this? I only told you this because I myself didn’t know anything about the Mormons before the movie, except that it’s a cult in the US. I knew nothing about their rituals, beliefs, etc. This wasn’t directed at you. This wasn’t arrogance. I don’t even know if you watch horrors, but it was the first movie that came to mind because it was the best out of the recently watched.

him: This is such nonsense. Horror is for fear - that is, for teenagers. If there’s no need, then there will be no particular fear - why watch… to awaken old memories when this film still evoked the necessary emotions? As if there are no genres except horror and comedy. Noir, for example. Biopic. Historical. Melodramas. Art house, etc. Why limit yourself… aaaah, it’s to proudly say "I only watch horrors, but they don’t scare me."

me: No, not for that reason. This is my favorite genre because it's the easiest for me to watch and because we have this tradition—to watch horror movies on weekends. You (not only you, but also the film industry as a whole) have a very limited view of this genre. You don't watch it just to be scared. Just like any other movie, you watch it because it’s interesting. Because it evokes some emotions, it doesn’t necessarily have to be fear. Not all horror movies are jump scares and girls climbing out of TVs. I perceive them more as movies that should keep you in suspense, not as something that scares you. People have different tastes, what can you do?

him: A film that keeps you in suspense… I wonder why (fear, of course) comedies don't keep you in suspense, huh? And what else is there in horror? The realization of a child's need for a specific experience of fear. And this is not about tastes (taste is a personal preference). This is objective. And it's easier to watch because there is almost no plot.

me: Wow, you’ve only been watching bad horror movies in your life, then. You're not being objective at all now. You can't consider an entire genre, which is very broad, so narrowly. Heretic is formally classified as horror, but it's not about "fulfilling a child's need for a specific experience of fear." We're talking about different things. Often, horror elements are used as metaphors - not directly as horror. Not to make you afraid, but to make you think about something, to convey an idea in an unconventional way. Don't be so biased. No plot? You have to watch Hereditary or The Empty Man several times to notice everything you missed the first time because there are so many details, and the plot is so twisted.

him: A twisted plot does not speak of the quality of the film, but only of the quality of the mess in the director's head. The best films usually have a clear plot.

me: You could also say that comedies are for children because they like to laugh, and biographical films are for the elderly because they're interested in the past. You can basically say this about anything: Why watch comedies? Just to laugh? Why watch melodramas? Just to compensate for the lack of romance in your life? Why watch dramas? Just to feel sad? Etc. Only scientific and educational documentaries would remain because they have an "objective" benefit. Not everything is so one-sided, and a film has to be very bad to evoke only one emotion in you. Good films aren't arranged like that, and genres often overlap. As I said, many different films are formally classified in this category. The Lighthouse is also considered a horror film, but its goal isn't to scare you. There are psychological horror films, atmospheric ones, dramas, etc. If you follow this logic, then any strong emotion is a "childish need." Adults also cry during dramas and get anxious during thrillers. A movie is good if you don't regret watching it.

Him: Oversimplified, common man's view of genres - don't confuse like/dislike with good/bad.

me: Well, I’m a "commoner." That's my opinion. Who's to talk about arrogance… How does a simple conversation about cinema turn into an argument? Why do you have such a need to prove that I'm wrong about what I like instead of just sticking with your own? It’s strange. You can't prove that all films classified as this genre are bad. Simply because it's objectively impossible - they're too different. The genre is broad and often mixed with others. Maybe you're just sad that you don't watch films with anyone on Saturdays, with disgusting dry pizza and wine? When this is all over, we'll watch a good (good!) horror movie together, and you'll tell me all about how much you didn't like it :)

him: "You should know first…" is arrogance. And to claim that comedy is for the elderly is philistine segregation. I'm not saying that they're all bad. I'm saying that the plot is overly twisted because of the mess in their heads and to hide a weak script.

Me: What? I didn't claim that comedy is for the elderly. It was a deliberately absurd statement that directly mirrored yours. Of course I don't think so - it's stupid. That was the point. -----------------------------------------------------------------

If your head hurts and you're losing your sanity, I'm sorry. Imagine how mine felt. And it wasn't enough for me - oh no. We had a phone call later. Despite my desperate attempts to stop this idiotic argument, he was persistent. I watched the movie he recommended (didn't like it, but oh well), but he said he's not going to watch mine. Okay. Then he starts complaining that I didn't watch his suggested movie dubbed in russian. I explain that I don't watch anything dubbed—movies, TV shows, nothing. Haven't for over ten years now. You know what? He says that I'm MISSING A LOT by watching the ORIGINALS. That I can't possibly get everything there is to get when the movie isn't dubbed. I say that most of the things I watch are in English, and I understand everything. And if not, I watch them with English subs. "And what’s the original? Do you speak Ancient Greek? Do you know how little original English has in it?" WTF Still, he insists - you can't possibly get everything. I say that there are often puns and other untranslatable things, so by dubbing it, you have to write a brand new joke because the translation wouldn't work. Like, for example, "We're werewolves, not swearwolves" in What We Do in the Shadows. It was my favorite joke there, which would've been ruined by dubbing. "To understand puns," he says, "you have to know the language really well." Implying that I can't possibly know English that well.

Then he jumps back on the horror-hating train. I'm trying to explain that I don't actually watch movies that often. "Like, even this classic movie by Tarantino that everyone has seen, Pulp Fiction, my husband only recently talked me into watching it," - I add. "Pulp Fiction? But what's the movie title?" he asks. No, it is the movie title. "No, it's a genre. What's the title?" It is the title. I apologize, I say I'm sorry but I don't know what it's called in the russian adaptation. I describe the plot. "Ah, Криминальное Чтиво," he says. "Yes, that one," - I confirm. "There, Kate, there is your arrogance again."

My arrogance because I genuinely didn't know what it's called in russian. MY arrogance. I'm to blame if he didn't know something. I was supposed to predict he wouldn't know it and not embarrass him by mentioning such things. He has an English teacher diploma, among other things, by the way. The person trying to prove to me the stupidity of watching movies in the original language.

If you read this far - sorry. It's not about movies, languages, or anything else specific. It's nearly any conversation with him. That's how it's always been. The kind of person who would accuse you of everything they themselves possess and display. The kind of person you can't win an argument with because it's not about what you say. It's not about trying to hear each other. It's about power. About showing you that you're less than him. If I make a good argument, it'll be ignored or twisted. If I slip somewhere, I'll be ridiculed mercilessly. If I dare to complain about it, I'll be called overdramatic, overanalyzing, instigating. The only way is to stop playing his game. But I can't stop. I'm stuck in a fucking loop of thinking, "This time I'll be smarter, calmer, more mature, and everything will be different."

[x-on-the-calendar-business]

ryan ross iceberg explained (masterpost and tier 1)

tier 2, tier 3, tier 4, tier 5, tier 6, tier 7, tier 8

if somehow you have no idea how icebergs work/what they are, then i’ll give a tldr: it comes from the saying “it’s just the tip of the iceberg,” so basically, the entries at the top of the iceberg are the stuff the average person would know, and as you go deeper, the content becomes more obscure. for example, if you’re a more casual panic! fan, then a lot of the entries in the sky tier are more likely to be things you would know, whereas you’re probably only going to know the stuff at the very bottom if you’re an insane person (me).

i got most of the entries from this iceberg from a couple of others that i found on twitter, here and here [i]. i combined them, shifted some stuff around, and added some things to make this one. of course, a special thanks to the twitter users areyouIlooking and checkyesjuul for making the ones i used to create this one.

i also want to give a special shoutout to the tumblr blogs @pathetic-at-the-disco and @prettyoddfever because i got so much info from them for this iceberg and they are just incredible sources of information for panic! fans.

finally, i'm really hoping everything on this iceberg is correct; of course, i did my research and there was a lot of it i already knew. however, i was not actually there for presplit panic! so i can't speak off of firsthand accounts for a lot of things. with that being said, if something is wrong, or if there is something you think should be added, please feel free to let me know, and i will go back and edit the post.

enough introduction, let’s get started.

the sky (tier 1):

guitarist of panic!:

what he is most well known for. ryan was the original guitarist of panic! and one of the true founding members. he departed the band in 2009 with former bassist jon walker, which we’ll come back to later.

rosevest:

this refers to an iconic piece of clothing that ryan wore while they were touring their debut album, a fever you can’t sweat out. he wears it in live in denver as well.

(side note: the post i got this pic from is a very interesting look at their outfits from that tour so i would recommend checking it out here!) [ii]

good at makeup:

during the fever era, ryan was really well known for doing makeup looks, some elaborate. i’m inserting some examples here, but i’m also going to link a post that showcases more pics of the makeup looks he did. there are more that he did than just the ones shown in that post or here (like the god awful blue eyeshadow he did on that red carpet), and there were a lot of times he just did the classic black smudged eyeliner.

and the tumblr post as promised: the makeup styles ryan ross wore in summer 2006 [iii]

ryden:

oh boy, where do we even start with this one. there are actually going to be quite a bit of ryden references in this, but at the end i’ll link a masterpost for further reading (although most of it will be covered here). but to be keep it short and simple, ryden is the ship name for ryan ross and brendon urie. it was arguably one of the biggest ships in early 2000s bandom, as evidenced by the litany of fics written with them as a pairing. this ship (unfortunately) still lives on in people’s hearts today even though ryan and brendon don’t speak anymore.

also, i know it would seem to make more sense if their ship name was ryDON not ryDEN because of how brendon’s name is spelled, but the ship name comes from the mashing of their nicknames ryro and bden (which still doesn’t make any sense but i digress).

unfortunately, all of the ryden content on this iceberg will probably be long because i am a former rydennie (yes u can make fun of me for it go ahead) so i have a lot of knowledge on that ship. but trust me i know that ryden was not real.

“creative differences:”

this entry refers to the july 6th, 2009 split where ryan and jon left the band. the most cited reason for the split was musical differences, as stated in these interviews with brendon and spencer [iv]. however, most people believe the band actually split due to personal reasons since they basically all stopped speaking afterwards, and because of some comments jon made [v]. in fact, one MTV interview specifically singled out ryan and brendon as not getting along, but it has since been deleted [vi].

cheez wiz:

this references a clip from the pretty. odd. short-film called american valley [vii]. the video went viral circa 2015/2016 and became a huge meme in the bandom community, especially in the crankthatfrank yeemo fanbase (that sentence wasn’t in the bible). if you were a panic! fan during that time, you know the cheez wiz jokes were inescapable.

milk fic:

“ryan was kneeling in the bathtub…”

this is also unfortunate. to be blunt, this is a ryden fic in which brendon gives ryan an enema with milk. it catalyzed a trend of other shocking fics within the bandom sphere, such as the comb fic. it’s just cringy. sadly, it became so iconic that brendon knows about it and even made a vine referencing it [viii].

i would link it but i’m not going to because the author, druscila, is a pedophile. so there’s that.

onceler jokes:

i’m going to put a picture of the onceler, who is from the lorax, and ryan side by side. and that should explain this.

now let’s move on to the next tier.

tier 2

references:

[i] https://twitter.com/areyouiooking/status/1366887508441718790?s=46&t=srOJ3YueMMsx9_sm96odQQ, https://twitter.com/checkyesjuul/status/1368794897499615233?s=46&t=srOJ3YueMMsx9_sm96odQQ

[ii] https://prettyoddfever.tumblr.com/post/628882839458512896/panic-at-the-discos-2006-summer-tour-costumes

[iii] https://prettyoddfever.tumblr.com/post/629161631117656064/the-makeup-styles-ryan-ross-wore-in-summer-2006

[iv] https://patd.livejournal.com/2943372.html, https://patd.livejournal.com/2928377.html#cutid1

[v] https://oneweekoneband.tumblr.com/post/131968366779/jon-walker-and-ryan-ross-from-a-2009-interview-in

[vi] https://whisperdlullaby.livejournal.com/9051.html

[vii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBot_X9pquo

[viii] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyWlisnfrm0

[destinygoldenstar]

"But Pomni just couldn't do it. She considered the possibility of facing Ragatha. Admitting she had abandoned her for the exit after she promised to get help. She might be abstracted for that. And in such a crazy world, why had she taken that risk? All because she believed this was a dream? They would think she was crazy."

"And then something occurred to Pomni."

"'Maybe' she thought to herself, 'Maybe I AM crazy. My entire identity blinking completely out of existence in a single moment for no reason at all?' None of it made any logical sense."

"And as Pomni pondered this, she began to make other strange observations. For example: Why did her skin feel like rubber? Why did doors punch her in the face whenever she opened them? And for that matter, these rooms were starting to look pretty familiar. Were they simply repeating?"

"'No!' Pomni said to herself, 'This is all too strange this can't be real!' And at last, she came to the conclusion that had been at the tip of her tongue. She just hadn't found the words for it. 'I'm dreaming!' She yelled. 'This is all a dream!'"

"Oh what a relief Pomni felt, to have finally found an answer! An explanation! That circus wasn't actually real! She didn't lose her identity! She wasn't crazy after all!"

"...and then perhaps the strangest question of them all entered Pomni's head. One she was amazed she hadn't asked herself sooner."

"Why is there somebody out there rewriting a monologue from Stanley Parable of all things? Now the text was describing her own thoughts and dictating what she was doing and thinking. It was particularly strange."

"'I'm dreaming about a monologue of someone else's thoughts explaining my exact thoughts as though they were my thoughts even though they weren't originally my thoughts' she thought."

"And when she thought it all very odd and wondered if this was something other people did and thought in their dreams, the truth was that of course, this was not a dream."

"How could it be? Was Pomni simply deceiving herself? Believing that if she's asleep she doesn't have to take responsibility for herself?"

"Pomni is as awake right now as she's ever been in her life."

"Now knowing how this monologue ends was quite a shock to Pomni. After all, she knew for a certain beyond a doubt that this was in fact a dream! This face, this name, these thoughts, they were her own too! SURELY! SURELY, IF SHE COULD JUST-"

"She would prove it. She would prove that she was in control. That this WAS a dream. So she drifted away in a daze, and invited herself to wake up."

"She felt the calming warmth of her skin, the tickle of her hair on her neck, the fresh air of a world outside this one..."

"'Let me wake up.' She thought to herself. 'I'm through with this dream. I want it to be over. Let me go back to my life. Let me be myself again. Please. It's all I want. I want my home. And my body. And my name. All I want is who I am exactly the way I've always been. My life is normal. I am normal. Everything will be fine. I am okay...'"

"..."

"Pomni began screaming."

"'PLEASE! SOMEONE HELP ME! MY NAME IS POMNI! I HAVE A NAME! I HAVE A LIFE! I AM HUMAN! PLEASE JUST SOMEONE TELL ME I'M HUMAN! I MUST BE HUMAN I MUST BE! CAN ANYONE HEAR MY VOICE?!'"

"WHO AM I?!'"

"'WHO AM I?!'"

"And then it was dinner time."

[mamirhodessxox]

Last Friday Night

Dashing!Cody Rhodes x Playboy Model Fem!Reader

Desc: It’s the 2010’s also known as the trashy dirty messy parties decade besides the 2000’s, Cody’s career was just going off along with his best-friends playboy model career, after a successful WWE Match Cody throws a large party at his house for celebration & It gets messy real fast

Contents: Alcohol, Foul Language, Smut, Fluff, Trashy parties, Douche bag cody in the house, DASHING CODY FUCKING RHODES CHAT, Gets STRAIGHT to the smut so enjoy

{~I'm very serious with you guys interacting with my writing!!!! it would make me so happy & excited, the more comments & reposts the more inspiration i have to write :) Votes and comments are strongly appreciated so please COMMENT COMMENT COMMENT COMMEENNTTT the more comments the more content <3!!!~}

Cody was beyond full of himself, especially when he had this entire Dashing Cody Rhodes gig going on for him, The dashing part definitely got to him, Every goddamn person & their mother knew he was fine as fuck and so did he, his confidence being boosted as-well as his ego was apart of his character & success. He just won a goddamn championship & as his way of celebrating this Friday night? Turning the fuck up.

You & Cody had been best-friends since his early wrestling days within WWE which was the time you became a playboy model, you two were practically made for each other, the both of you being near each other had people questioning their sexuality, You were hot as fuck, he was hot as fuck, and you both knew it, who wouldn’t embrace themselves if they were as hot as you two?

Cody’s house was filled with flashing lights, drunk guests & loud obnoxious music & You knew you were at the right place when your driver started pulling into a neighborhood that sounded like a fucking rave.

You stepped out of the car & immediately Cody stepped out of his house & made his way towards you “The most important guest of the night finally arrives” he wraps his arm around your waist and walked you in while you laughed into his shoulder “Shut-up Cody you’re just saying that!” You & Cody had a strange dynamic that people automatically thought you dated, You two would hold hands everywhere, cling to each other, hell paparazzi found you two getting lunch one time with his hand comfortably against your ass. You two were once labeled as the decades IT couple no matter how many times one of you addressed you were “just friends” which was complete and utter bullshit.

Cody lead you to the kitchen and gave you a cup filled to the brim with alcohol just for you “Here you go doll-face, slow sips ‘kay?” You giggled nodding before kissing his cheek, you took a large sip of your beverage with him and hummed hooking your arms around his shoulder “y’did so good tonight in the ring Cody, I’m so proud of you” he smirked “Yeah? I won just for you gorgeous.” You smiled as you felt his breath fan over your lips, The party was such an obnoxious scene, Everyone was either drunk or bumping into you two about to get drunk or make dumb life choices, for example, You two went into the backyard where someone practically thundercunted themselves off of his roof and into the pool

And somehow SURVIVED? Cody laughed and took a swig out of his beer bottle before turning to you yelling over the music “Now, correct me if I’m wrong but I think we should go off somewhere more quiet, a little more intimate?” You smirked at the Idea & nodded while he set down his drink & lead you off inside his house & to his room.

All of this brought you to the current situation you were in now, getting sat on-top of the dresser in his room while he dug into your neck leaving hickey after hickey and tugged on your hair a bit as he stood in-between your legs, he pulled away and grabbed you by the jaw & slammed his lips against yours & even slipping his tongue last your lips while unbuckling his pants & pulling, “Anyone ever fucking tell you this is better than the goddamn playboy magazines I see you on everyday?” He teased while pulling away to rip off your shirt & bra, you couldn’t blame him rushing the situation since you were practically wet & aching for him

You sighed out as he pinched your nipples & bit at your neck while letting out a cocky laugh “Of course that fuckin’ turns you on, almost everything I do turns you on huh?” You let out a whine in response before nodding your head, You already looks disheveled, hair all sloppy, eyes glazed over, mouth parted, your hands clutched over his shoulders as you dug claw marks into his back while he would fondle your breasts & grin at you “Such a good damn girl for me aren’t you sweetheart?” He slid off his pants & took your panties off before aligning his cock with your entrance and holding onto your face while thrusting himself inside of you & letting out a guttural groan.

“So fucking tight f’me princess” He whimpered into your ear while you shoved your nose into the crook of his neck moaning, He slammed his hand against the wall behind you as he fucked further into you & filled you up to the hilt with his dick alone, You threw your head back letting out a loud moan before looking at him in the eyes “g-gonna fucking cum Cody!” You whimper out while he slapped your clit “It’s just that fucking easy for you isn’t it? All it takes is my cock to be inside of your pretty little pussy for more then 4 minutes & you already wanna cum and make a mess?” He mocked you while he started to pick up the pace.

You squealed and scratched his shoulders throwing your head back moaning “h-Holy shit cody!!” You felt like he was forcing you to your climax given the fact you felt that little feeling in your tummy, your body writhed against him while he continued fucking himself into you & rubbing your clit at a ridiculous place before sticking his tongue in your mouth & kissing you before groaning against your lips & spilling his cum inside of you while you had just hit your climax.

He held you close before picking you up & lying him down on his bed while he went to go grab a wet warm wash cloth but you teased him while wrapping around his blankets “Such a gentleman mr Rhodes” he looked over shrugging and chuckled “Only for the best.” He came back over to you & kissed the top off your head before cleaning you up “I think it’s safe to say you’re mine now sweetheart.” You laughed and tilted your head “Oh yeah? What makes you think that?” He looked at you scoffing “I just fucked you on my dresser shouldn’t that be enough for you?”

You laughed with him as he climbed in the bed with you ignoring the loud music & music surrounding the house & wrapped you around his arms while you fell asleep.

By the time you woke up the next morning you were more than hungover, in-fact, you were positive you were hot by a sledge hammer, You sat up groaning pushing your hair out of your face & huffing while Cody walked in with breakfast “Wakey wakey eggs and bakey” he plopped a plate on your lap while you rubbed your eyes glaring at him “I feel like I got ran over by a semi-truck.” He hummed “Well aren’t you just a little ray of sunshine!” You held up your middle finger & took a sip of the coffee he handed you “fuck you” he shrugged and set your plate of food on the night stand “Geez again? Wow you must REALLY be feeling me huh?”

You groaned out in annoyance and got up out of bed putting your clothes from last night “You’re not very funny codes.” He grinned and handed you a hairbrush “I’m fucking hilarious what are you on about.” You walked off to the bathroom but felt a quick smack on your ass and looked back to Cody walking off with a laugh.

Thank fucking god you did this on a Friday night because you were a hot mess.

🏷️ list: @ginswife @coolpastelartshoe @greatkoalawizard @cokolin044 @kotoriarlert @alicerosejensen @bunnybot55 @agent-dessis-posts @adollonyourshelf @valkyrurr @alyyaanna @niknakbucks92 @mini-rhodes @southerngirl41

xtripleiiix’s Masterlist

[aerkame]

Hello!

First of all i wish you lots and lots of hapiness and health. Congrats on getting your graduation..superduper proud!!!

Take all the time in the world you need for yourself. We'll all still be here after that!

Secondly i'm currently writing a ff for your welcome home finfolk au. And i do have a few questions about...Howdy.

(If you do not want to answer totally fine!!)

-you once said that Howdy has 'calmed down' from what he usually was in the past. Seeing the damage he did to Wally i'm gonna assume he's a real damn powerhouse. Since even Home doesn't seem able to completely heal Wally yet. Is he like second in rank from Wally when it comes to magic/physical power etc?

Also ....to give an idea what was Howdy like in the past? Actions personality wise.

Now he's probably nicer....well as nice as finfolk are.... . But would he still be able to get petty, cruel vain? Well more like fall back into old habits?

Whqt kind of things would he say/ do etc. In general?

Sorry for the questions! Again if you do not want to answer totally fine! Have a nice day either way!

Thank you for the kind words!

I don't really write for Welcome Home anymore. However, the finfolk AU was kind of a bit of a passion project for me since I had gotten into marine biology and folklore related to it so I'll happily answer!

You are correct in thinking Howdy is a bit of a power house, both physically and magically. He used to be equal in strength to Wally and most of the damage done is difficult to heal because Home isn't exactly in good shape right now and hasn't been for years. He just wants to keep everything on his own little island away from society. Let his little finfolk friends do as they please and be happy.

He would be far nicer than how he used to be in the past, but Howdy is a very petty finman and that bit of him might just come up again every now and then. For some past actions as an example, let's just say he really didn't like it when Wally tried telling him what to do when he finally found someone he liked. Didn't help that he was already growing annoyed with Wally's arrogant behavior and flaunting his shiny scales and fins all the time in front of his lover.

As for the present? He's more mellow and quiet. Sometimes there might be a flair of annoyance, but overall he's very controlled now in his actions. Very deliberate. He's also quite smart. Not talkative though. He's learned not to always jump to action, but to simply wait and lay out plans to get what he wants. (In case you couldn't tell, he has done a lot of learning in his life)

[curio-queries]

I’m loving your production breakdown posts, they are so interesting and insightful.

I think you mentioned it maybe in the first ep breakdown but it was about expenses. I just thought it was interesting in ep4 when JK mentioned at the chicken place, paying in cash, and he solely has this conversation with Tae, not Jimin. Would there be an arrangement do you think? Or was that scene cut and he’d have asked Jimin too? I’ve noticed in comparison to Bv where they were usually only allowed a certain amount of money between them, with one usually being in control, or a sum for a task, in AYS, Jimin and JK have been whipping out their cards, be it their own or a company card, in Big Dicks store, in Walmart etc.

I just found it interesting

Hi anon,

The finance bits are interesting in the most boring corporate sense if that makes any sense. 😅 Trust me on this. Let's dive in:

In my opinion, it really boils down to two concerns: taxes and sponsorships. Taxes to insure the company receives every possible benefit for every dollar they spend. Sponsorships because some brands can have fussy rules about how individuals interact with their product and especially any competitor's products while they have an active agreement.

Obviously I have no actual insight onto how the finances and budget were managed for any of these specific shows and I know absolutely nothing of the intricacies of taxes in South Korea but in the US, there are many regulations when it comes to how companies can claim expenditures for tax breaks.

Every company that has had me travel for work has gone to a lot of trouble to insure that I was aware of exactly all of the requirements on my part regarding expenditures. I'm 100% sure all of the BTS members are aware of their requirements as well so I don't particularly think there's any motive other than as a cute convo for the moment between JK and V. Imo, the only reason it made it to the final cut was JKs endearing tone in his response.

Let's go through some examples though:

Receipts: in both AYS and Bon Voyage, we see the members be very specific in getting Receipts. JM and JK talk about it as they're leaving Walmart. In BV, it's all of the shenanigans with the money pouch they acquired in Malta and continued using in New Zealand. This is usually documentation required for any operation that's going to be claimed as a business expense for tax purposes.

Personal Spending: off the top of my head I can think of several clear instances where we know that the members are using their own money for purchases we see them make on the shows. In Run BTS ep.70 in Toronto, JK pays for the member's clothing purchases himself. In BV4, JM pays for the member's clothing himself a couple of times (remember the drama of his lost wallet? 😅)

Budget as Content: BV 1 & 2 mostly only include finances as part of the game-ification of the show. The members had to earn money as an allowance for the activities and determine the best ways to spend it. (I do vaguely remember some members wanting to negotiate for more when buying souvenirs? Was that just in the extra scenes? It's been so long, I've been holding off on rewatching until I'm done with my Run series).

Thankfully, the success of BTS has basically nixed the budget games. I think the last time we saw something like this were the Run episodes of a hotel staycation? But the prices were ficticious and not necessarily about real-world spending but rather determining the secret number to not exceed. (If I'm misremembering and there are more recent examples, please share!) Imo, it would just be too tone-deaf to continue portraying the members in that context. I know we all joke about them being broke millionaires, but there's a reason why celebrity game shows always make it clear that the money involved is for charity.

Anyway, back to AYS, the interesting bit to me is wondering about the inclusion of Taehyung from a budget standpoint. How was that reconciled? None of us can possibly know the answer, but it's interesting to think about. Some costs wouldn't have changed at all with one extra participant, like the house rental, or booking the climbing gym or yacht tour. But there were a few extra concessions, getting the extra mattress likely was more a logistics headache on short notice rather than an impact to the budget. And most Korean meals are served family-style so there honestly isn't a huge difference cost-wise. Except maybe the omakase. That I can imagine was noticeably more expensive with an added individual.

But really, the most expensive item per person would likely have been travel. Did someone say Tae was already in Jeju prior to filming? If he wasn't, did the show cover his flights like they would have JK, JM, and the crew? Or is the budget on these shows big enough that it was just another drop in a bucket? Also, the intent likely was for JK to zip around on the motorbike and JM to be on the scooter. I'm curious if they weren't logistically able to get another such vehicle with the short notice or if the budget/sponsorship constraint didn't allow for a third one the day. Or it could be that the scooter exists because of the 3 member count and production thought one of them could be JKs backpack. That bike has the space for it. But perhaps the difficulty to get coverage and/or converse wasn't appealing. Or maybe there just wasn't a third radio-enabled helmet prepared?

I know the various shippers are using this in their arguments. I'd like to firmly state that I am not building a case for either side here. Go do that on your own and leave me out of it. Lol.

There are so many questions and it's interesting to theorize how the finances could have impacted the development of the show. Maybe we'll get some more insight with the remaining episodes and bonus footage but I doubt it. Finances don't usually make for engaging content.

Thanks again for the ask! It's one of the points I want to discuss when I start doing my BV and ITS posts but who knows when that will be!

[breed-the-stars]

Hot writing tip to make your erotica so much better!

Your writing is going great. Things are steamy and hot. The story is reaching it's literal climax-

Hold up.

Pause.

You have a character who's about to orgasm? Then consider the following;

There are many different ways to experience an orgasm, and not just in the way the orgasm is achieved.

Let's say you have Jean, who's having sex with Terry. Terry is a very energetic lover, and is hitting all of Jean's pleasure points very quickly one after the other. Jean experiences a very sudden orgasm that seizes their muscles entirely.

Once again you have Jean, but this time Jean is having sex with Drew. Drew takes their time, but Jean is enjoying themselves just as much as with Terry. When Jean does orgasm, it's one that's a slow build and a wonderful release.

How would you describe the physical effects of both of these orgasms? What muscles are moving, what body parts are reacting, how prominent is the sound of one's heartbeat? And so on.

(If you noticed that the names are gender neutral, it's because that yes both vaginas and penises can experience different types of orgasms. It's not exclusive to either.)

(And obviously if your character has something other than human genitalia *gestures to the monster fuckers* then that's your cue to really get into the nit and gritty!)

The word itself "orgasm" (and the other words that mean it) is a double edged sword. Your reader might look at it and think "Oh so it's [reader's idea of a standard orgasm]" and might not be able to imagine something that deviates from that idea, even if you then go on to describe the specifics. You have to be smart about when you use the word, and why.

You just spent [insert number here] words describing all that juicy buildup, don't shoot yourself in the foot by skimping out on your climax.

Need some spicy examples? Sure thing!

With an aching breath Trevor felt it, the unmistakable lurch as his body fought against the high. Just a little longer. He just had to hold on a little longer-

He screamed, nails hooking at flesh as he trembled, unable to stop as pulse after euphoric pulse echoed throughout his body. He couldn't stop it. He couldn't stop himself.

Here's an example without the word ever being used. If an orgasm implies even an ounce of pleasure, then it counteracts the main focus in this scene, so it's completely avoided for this one instance.

"More- please I need-!"

Zoey gasped as her body started singing, her heart rushing every drop of blood throughout her body, warming every fiber inside her the same way her dearest had done. Zoey barely registered her legs had found their new home, locked tightly around her lover's waist. She was too enthralled by how right it felt, offering her own body as a home for her love.

They chuckled, smiling at how doped up Zoey looked right about now, "I'm guessing you came?"

She blissfully nodded.

Here it's used for comedic effect, to under exaggerate what Zoey experienced. Whatever preconceived idea you might have about coming, it's probably not quite like what Zoey just felt.

Now that you've gotten that first climax described, you've given your reader something to think back on if you decide to have multiple orgasms in a single session.

From here you can use the term when appropriate, just remember the classic "show don't tell" rule. If something specific is happening during these other orgasms, let your ready in on those juicy details!

Ken came for the last time that night, feeling his balls struggling to release their final spurts.

But maybe you have a story where the first time someone orgasms isn't that important, like it's a blink and you miss it blowjob or something. The real climax is only much later, and it'll be one to pay attention to.

Then that's when the word is to your benefit!

As Monica psyched herself up for the day, she stepped past the shower curtain and thought about that lovely woman from last week. With her deft fingers it didn't take long to feel an orgasm wash through her, the shower cleaning away any evidence.

Much later, Monica thanked whatever gods had cared to listen. No longer was the woman from her thoughts trapped in her mind. She was here, pressed against Monica, cooing pleasantly. Unlike this morning, Monica wanted this to last. She could feel herself wanting to just cross that razor's edge, let herself go.

And she would.

Soon.

Very soon.

And by God she did.

Hopefully this helps you out, or that you enjoyed reading through the example snippets.

[not-too-many-eyes]

For some reason I decided that, despite having wrist pain and my right hand currently being in a Brace, it was a good idea to type analysis in my Umineko Liveblog Document (I am at the end of EP 3 no spoilers please)

Oh well, I just think it's interesting how much projection the moms do, and how they Say their motives out loud.

This is ultimately an example of what Battler notices about Chessboard Theory in Ep 2

Umineko Ep 2 Part 56: Fleeting Resistance

In the end, chessboard theory is a technique of thinking where you project yourself on your opponent. So greedy people see their greedy selves inside their opponents...

While most of the characters don’t explicitly use Kyrie’s chessboard thinking, most of them do try to play detective, and project themselves onto the “culprit” in their own ways. Revealing more about themselves in the process.

Which is something Battler thinks about in regards to Rosa in Ep 2.

Aunt Rosa had proclaimed that she couldn't trust anyone who had not been killed. Aunt Rosa's chessboard thinking... saw herself inside her opponent. In other words, Aunt Rosa might have been an isolated woman, unable to trust anyone and unable to let her guard down.

We can apply this to the motive she assigns the servants.

Umineko Ep 2 Part 55: Devil's Proof II

Rosa: “You! And you!! I’ll bet you were all bought by that witch, that your eyes were blinded by gold!! Do you really want money that much?! That’s right, isn’t it?! You want to live the easy life for as long as you live?! What value could a life like that possibly have?!”

(Used the Mangamer tl here since that’s the one I’m actually reading, and since this line was in a picture I thought I might as well transcribe my existing screenshot.)

Umineko Ep 2 Part 60: Banquet of the Witch

I can't let go of the gun that protects my body. I can't let go of the gold that protects my future. But even so, I let go of the hand of my daughter, the person who is my future...?! —-------- Aaaaaaaaaaaaah, what am I doing... I'd had the gold, which would have been worth several million yen. I might have been able to start over with that!! And yet I fell, lost it, and that's not all, my own life is in danger, even Maria's life is in danger?! What has my life been?!!!

This applies to Eva as well, as we can observe that the things she says about others in Ep 1, reflect her/Evatrice’s motives in Ep 3. (Thanks to my friend for pointing this one out.)

Umineko Ep 1 Part 15: The Curtain Rises on Tragedy:

Eva: "I'm the one who would gain the most from these murders. Since I'm going to be suspected anyways, I might as well get it out in the open myself." I had tried to trick her by joking around, but it looked like it hadn't worked. Eva: "The inheritance will be divided between the siblings. But right now, the four siblings are just me. All of the assets of the Ushiromiya family will become mine. Eheheheheh." Battler:  "If uncle Hideyoshi heard you, he'd say 'Could you give it a rest, it's not a joke'..." Eva:  "I'm sorry? No matter how I try to smooth it over, I'll just be suspected anyways, so I was just fooling around. So I've been thinking, from my point of view, this murder might have been planned to cast suspicion on me. Unfortunately, my alibi for last night is weak."

Umineko Ep 3 Part 84: Coronation II

Eva: "...You idiot, isn't it obvious? This is that haughty Krauss nii-san and that sly Rudolf we're talking about. Even if we do announce it eventually, it's certainly too early now." Eva:  "Unless we carefully investigate how to make our next move, it's possible that all of the gold we've finally found will be snatched away by Nii-san." Eva thought she was saying something extremely natural. So when she saw Rosa's expression suddenly cloud over, she was a little surprised.

Umineko Ep 2 Tea Party

Eva nee-san is a real adult, so she's very smart. So she hated the stupid kid, Rosa. She was always a very sly person, and she often lied to me, tricked me, bullied me all the time.

Umineko Ep 3 Part 93: Real Magic

Eva: "...I thought that if I could gain the position of the Ushiromiya Family Head, that alone would be enough. But then, as soon as I saw that mountain of gold, my greed grew. I was struck by a desire to have that mountain all to myself..." Evatrice:  "That's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, it's your natural right as the Ushiromiya Family Head. How could you give up even a bit of it to anyone else?"

While Eva and Rosa share similar motives and reasoning for being the culprit. Natsuhi actually stands out quite a bit, as when she starts accusing the servants and also the 9 year old in episode 1 she doesn’t really bring up the gold.

She assumes them to be the Subordinates of a Ringleader (Genji) like Eva does in Episode 1 since she thinks Natsuhi did it, but assumes the motive is due to Devotion and Obligation to Kinzo.

Umineko Ep 1 Part 25: Besieged III

Natsuhi: "Doctor Nanjo, it truly pains me to say that you are suspicious...! But as Father's head physician, as his only peerless friend, you've been together with Father for a long time. You might even know about Beatrice. Are there any old obligations that you're hiding?!" Nanjo:  "How could there be...!! Calm yourself...!" It was pitiful to watch Doctor Nanjo frantically pleading his innocence. It was probably a normal reaction that anyone would give if they were suspected. Kumasawa was the same. Since Jessica had started suspecting her in the murder of Kanon, she had been totally flustered. That was why Genji's still calm appearance looked so bold. Aunt Natsuhi pointed the barrel of the gun. Natsuhi:  "...Genji. You were Grandfather's number one subordinate. Was Beatrice an illusion you showed to Father, with you as the performer?!" Genji:  "...If by suspecting me, you recognize me as the Master's greatest servant... then it is a great honor to me, regardless of the circumstances. However, I am not the one who put the letter there."

Though her reasoning for Maria is couched in this idea that Maria is a pest that just wants to cause conflict and nothing else:

Natsuhi: "Silence!!! I don't want to label you as the culprit, but there is no longer any doubt that you enjoy making this situation unpleasant and are providing assistance to the enemy!!"

Since this family hates autistic people, and Natsuhi as a character values keeping the sanctity of the family and its image above all else. Nanjo and Genji are loyal servants. Maria is not. They are allowed the “honor” of their motive being an ultimately sympathetic one in service to a greater person, while Maria gets ascribed the unsympathetic motive of someone who only wants to “cause trouble” and nothing else. 

(Though, arguably this could also be a reflection of Natsuhi’s inner fears of just being a “borrowed womb” and how Natsuhi is ultimately a Very Loud and Very Passionate person who is unable to be the “perfect quiet wife” of Krauss, and is commonly told to stay silent, or cool off, or to “know her place.” After all, this family hates autistic people.)

So that’s all really fun and all, but then, as I always do when I think about chessboard theory. I have to ask what that means for Kyrie. She's the one who first brought this up after all! And I’ve been having a blast rereading previous Kyrie dialogue with what I learned about her in ep 3 and ep 2 in mind.

So, I went to look, and the motive she assigns Beatrice is:

Umineko Ep 3 Part 68: The Witch's Written Challenge II

Kyrie: "Yes, that's right. When people have an overwhelming advantage, they tend to get arrogant. And when they do, they want to show off that advantage to the losers, so they sometimes take on small risks. A moderate amount of risk adds a little spice to the joy of victory. It'd be boring to win without any risk." Eva:  "...I understand. I like that kind of thing too... Yeah, I understand it well." Kyrie:  "I thought of a few plausible explanations for the true motive behind Beatrice's letter, but I think this really might be the truth. The emotion hidden behind that letter was... arrogance." Eva:  "...Arrogance." Kyrie:  "She's trying to throw her weight around, looking down on us, as if there's no way we could figure out such a difficult epitaph. It might even be possible, if surprising, that the epitaph wasn't written by Father, but by her."

Considering Kyrie’s favorite hobby is Psychological Manipulation, and has been on the good side of basically everyone while playing all of them. 

Umineko Ep 2 Part 37: Guest of Honor

Rosa: "I must join in as well. If I don't assert myself, those people will quickly forget that there are four siblings." Kyrie:  "...It's pretty tough for you too. Maybe I didn't choose my words well. My apologies." Rosa:  "No, I don't mind. I'm the one who should be apologizing. As a pair of mothers with daughters, we must interact more often. Every time we meet, we talk about something strange..." Kyrie:  "...That's the fault of the atmosphere in this mansion. Once we breathe in this air, everyone gets so strained. Just once, I want to drink a nice, long cup of tea with you, Rosa-san, when you aren't attending a family conference. There's a wonderful coffee shop in Ginza which is a favorite of mine. Please let me invite you sometime soon." —-------- Rosa: "I, I'm sorry, I'm going outside for a second. I'll be right back!" Rudolf: "...What the, what's going on with her, really..." Kyrie:  "It's fine, right? She'll be right back. More importantly, should we begin? Our main topic." Eva:  "That's right. We can keep talking about that without Rosa. Let's return to our discussion." Kyrie:  "..."

I think you can call that an Overwhelming Advantage. So I'm very curious as to where this will lead.

[tocomplainfriend]

Responding to your post about fiction affecting reality: very well-written post and that’s something I agree with wholeheartedly!

Full disclosure: I am a Vivz supporter and don’t really interact with the critique community because of negative past experience (hence the anon), but I really liked your post as it was well-researched and brought up a lot of points that I did agree on. Mostly that, as you evidenced, “it’s just fiction” isn’t a great argument for poorly portraying a serious concept when there can be tangible consequences for that portrayal. And you gave some really striking examples.

In terms of Hazbin, it is not that I believe that Val’s portrayal as an abuser (and consequently Angel’s as a victim) lacks any impact, but instead that it adds a positive one. This isn’t something I’ve researched so the evidence I have of this is personal experience, but as you said in your post that media can affect real life I felt inspired to add to that conversation with how it personally affected me.

So I was aware rationally that a common result of abuse/SA is hypersexuality, like I’d seen that on psychology blogs and such but never really understood it. I’m ashamed to say I thought it was a little weird and very rare. Hazbin was what finally challenged that notion with me. Being able to see how abuse looks and attribute those events to Angel’s actions step-by-step made something click in my head. I even remember that shortly after seeing that episode, I apologized to one of my friends (a survivor themselves) over some judgmental comments I’d recently made over hypersexuality. Said friend also watched Hazbin with me and it’s the reason they talk more openly to me now and we’re a lot closer. Val’s “stupid” behavior in the show and mentioned in Vivz’s comments did not lessen the impact that episode had on me, or make it unbelievable to me that Val could be manipulative. If anything I understand more now that abusers don’t always appear as psychopathic masterminds. And I know my friend finds comments like the Mean Girls one funny and they tell me it’s empowering to make fun of Val’s incompetence.

That’s not the only positive influence Hazbin’s had on me, but the most relevant to your post, I believe. It’s the reason I’m often a skeptic on most criticisms, because my lived experience tends to go against them. You said the negative impact of Val was that people are drawing fetish art of him, but the only time I ever see that art is within critic’s posts. It never shows up in my regular feed, so it looks to me like he’s equally as fetishized as every other character; the unfortunate inevitability of the internet. I can’t say I’ve seen anyone post about stories like mine about learning to understand survivors, but I have heard positive stories from survivors themselves in person and online which lead me to believe that the positive impact outweighs the negative.

Fiction has real impact, very true. But consider that might be a good thing in this case.

Thanks for being respectful!

TW: Rape, SA

I'm a victim of SA myself and that's why I wrote all of this post. If you got something positive out of this piece of media, that's great. Same with victims that saw potion and were okay with it- that valid as much as the people that didn't like it at all. I recommend watching many others shows yourself (or movies, books, whatever) will help you out with sorts of topics in bigger ways. I understand you feel like you got something good out if (and I'm glad) but I do need to say, this is minimal in comparison to other media you could consume regarding the topic!

I personally suffer with Hypersexuality, and the treatment in the show (and merch and otherwise) I found completely wrong. Even if you got to a good understatement of the topic, please put research into it (also outside Tumblr for that matter! There are better places to find stuff about!). Thank you also for admitting your faults over your treatment of hypersexuality and apologizing for it. Many people will never let themselves grasp this concept, so thank you.

If you took Valentino's comparison to Mean Girls or Powerpuff Girl as a way of making fun of him, that's you. I found it, personally, terrible. Specially cause many comments regarding that (that I put on the post) were people actively disregarding the topic at hand. Saying that Valentino is just a karen, or He is Bubbles coded, feels so out of the realm of everything (the last one didn't feel like making fun of him). I don't like the comparison of an active sexual predator to a mean high school girl or a kinder garden girl that's regarded as bubblely or dumb. Feel like you should reach into his actions over It feels diminishing to me and other people (who also complained about this themselves).

People should be extremely careful of what they portray about this topic in media. Other stuff written in Hazbin or Helluva Boss regarding R-pe jokes also is extremely disgusting to me. Never forget that if you think this portrayal is ok, one episode apart it's a gang r-pe jokes towards Sir Pen... and an r-pe joke towards Moxxie in Spring Brakers. Which I find extremely disrespectful to do and adds to r-pe culture as much as any other r-pe jokes (general or towards men) in media. Especially when they want to portray it in a serious way with Angel, where was that energy then? (Don't say Viv didn't write that, she liked a tweet about the Sir pen joke, and the spring braker is written by Viv and Brandon.)

Also, about manipulation:

The tweet right below says that "He isn't manipulating them" because he is too stupid to do so. Responding "The Vees are just meangirls" it's crazy to me.

About "You said the negative impact of Val was that people are drawing fetish art of him, but the only time I ever see that art is within critic’s posts. It never shows up in my regular feed"

Val has being fetishized by the crew itself! The person (who is not an SA/r-pe victim said by themselves, who has being open of shipping ValxAngel and being into r-pe porn) is the one that produce the whole poison part of the episode (also based on his previously non canon ValxAngel comic). You could also go throught the people Viv's responds and likes and it's mutuals with, and they also do the same thing as this crew-member (Raph). Congrats that it doesn't appear in your timeline, tho. If this art appears in a critic post, it is because it's being criticized or brought up to make a point.

[It's not on my blog yet, but I don't like receiving double ask in the inbox, specially of anons! Sorry. I don't know if it's the same person or not, and I don't want to end up receiving 5 asks in my inbox again.]

[sonic-gallery]

Another World Ogiri September 2023 [What are Rouge and Omega doing...? ]

★Example

I was told that my apology was 30% insufficient.

Two characters appear every month in surprising outfits and situations! Let's enjoy Ogiri together with illustrations that will make your imagination run wild!

This time, Rouge, who is working on ikebana in a dignified kimono, and Omega, who is wearing a hakama, are appearing, looking on with awe! What is Rouge's purpose in arranging steel flowers beautifully?

What kind of lines or narration would you use?

You can style it based on the atmosphere and world view of the two of you in the game, or you can create a bold arrangement! In the example, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to express the very unique instructions...but it's OK to use such free-spirited jokes!

Please enjoy it and tweet with the tag "#Isekai Ogiri" on Twitter (X) ♪

We will introduce the good ones in a reply from Sonic's official Twitter (X) account.

We are looking forward to your fun Ogiri posts!

Act9: “Just like me”

...Once upon a time in the Warring States era.

An evil light emitted by a sinister iron ark that flew from the sky. What bursts forth from the red-purple light is the ``Karakurihana'', an iron ayakashi.

The sharp leaves cut through armor, and the buds of fiery flowers sprinkle hellfire... The folk grasses of the world are terrified by the raging Karakuri flowers.

The only person who can control the turmoil of Karakurihana is the most honorable and powerful warrior...his name is Omega.

The founder, Omega, found ``beauty'' in the life of a flower that single-mindedly seeks a deadly fight, and gave it life as a mechanical samurai.The founder, Omega, named it ``Senka.''

This is the beginning of the ``Omega style of Senkado'', where Senka compete against each other and the winner is considered to be the true beauty.

And the time is modern...

Omega-style Senka Arrangement boasts a history of hundreds of years.

Due to the severity of the training, not a single disciple has yet appeared... Among the many disciples is an up-and-coming bat beauty, Rouge the Bat. ....?

＜＜Dogagagaga! >>

"That's it! It's a violation to have three layers of heavy weapons!"

``Senkado begins with every human being, and there is no violation or foul play on the battlefield.''

Rouge's Senka can do nothing against the rain of bullets fired from Omega's Senka.

Omega's Senka is overwhelming as it continues its onslaught with an abundance of firearm-type contraption flowers. With a final blow of the sharp leaf, Rouge's Senka is cut in two. The winner was decided easily.

Rouge's Senkado begins and ends with beauty.

Dressed in a gorgeous kimono herself, she gives instructions to Senka one after another and fights brilliantly as one human flower, so that her clothes don't wear out in the slightest after the match. That's her style.

Now, among the Omega-style disciples, there was no one who could compete with Rouge, but all they could do was scatter their flowers and leaves in front of Omega... Today's practice match also had a disastrous result.

Perhaps unable to see Rouge depressed, Omega pulls out a pair of scissors that emit a strong glow from his pocket.

"Disclose mission rewards"

"that's......!"

It is the ``Vajra Stone Flower Scissors'' that are awarded only to those who have passed on.

Rouge's real goal is to obtain these scissors. This was the driving force behind all her efforts.

The sparkle of the large diamond on the handle...how beautiful. I can't help but sigh.

"Be even more diligent!"

Rouge regained her energy for a moment when she saw the rare treasure, but Omega's words brought her back to reality and her shoulders slumped again.

......A trudging walk home in the twilight.

Every day of training, I have put in an unprecedented amount of effort for the sake of scissors... Even though I keep running, the goal is still getting farther and farther away. Rouge let out a huge sigh of despair, but suddenly stopped as she felt something strange.

Yes, right now, I'm very unconventional. What are you so serious about?

She stared up at the moon for a few seconds or minutes... Rouge let out a short sigh and smiled mischievously.

“Wouldn’t it be nice to have it in a beautiful way, just like me?”

A few moments later. On a different note, there is Kougyokuen, a fabric made of mechanical flowers that was once built by sealing off the place where the ark from heaven crashed.

There, Omega was seen firing heavy weapons and cutting down the flowers, and Rouge was supporting him.

＜＜Zugagagagaga...! >>

Kougyokuen is not just a ``karakuri flower production area''. It is also an isolation facility that confines the ferocious Karakurihana, and requires periodic ``thinning.''

In exchange for her help, Rouge was allowed to see the scissors kept in the back again. The purpose is nothing more than a preview of storage security.

"Incineration! Cutting down! Karakuri flowers are eliminated!"

As Omega knocks down the attacking Karakurihana one after another, Rouge can't help but smile when she sees his Senkadou.

And we arrived at the innermost part of Kogyokuen...

There, the coveted pair of scissors was enshrined in a covered but wind-swept gazebo, shining brightly.

An overwhelming presence that does not fade even in the dark. The blade, which is transparent like ice, diffuses the slightest light and shines in rainbow colors. When Rouge instinctively reaches for the scissors that are left unprotected...

Hidden Senka placed on both sides of the scissors are activated! In an instant, the ivy grew and covered the scissors.

"Protected by strict security"

“Hmm.”

Rouge looked impressed, but from her point of view, this kind of security was playing tricks on children. It seemed like it would be easy to break through. Even on her way home after leaving Omega, Rouge continues to walk with her, grinning. Enough security checks already. At that moment when I thought, "She's already going to sneak in tonight..."

This time, the hardships I had gone through and the frustration of losing to Omega were now welling up in my heart.

"...Hmph"

It's not my style to keep losing and get upset.

I want scissors and I want to win against Omega. As a greedy person, I can't give up on either!

What should I do...

Rouge suddenly looked up at the sky and noticed that the Karakuri flowers that Omega had decimated by gunfire were dancing lightly in the sky. Karakurihana is a flying type that is considered unsuitable for Senka, who fights directly across from her...

At that moment, Rouge murmurs, ``It's surprisingly easy to fly,'' and has a great inspiration.

"...This is it!"

Rouge grabbed one and headed home excitedly.

On the day of the Kaiden exam. In the center of Kogyokuen, the innermost part of the dojo at the foot of the ancient "Ark" ruins...

In a magnificent hall with 12 tatami mats and 300 tatami mats, Rouge and Omega were solemnly and fiercely living out their Senka. and......

＜＜Boooo~! >>

The sound of a conch shell signals the start of the match.

＜＜Bushuuuuu! >>

At the very beginning of the opening, Rouge's Senka releases smokescreen seeds and obstructs visibility! At the same time, take a defensive stance and prepare for Omega's onslaught.

"Smoke screen jamming detected. No problems."

Omega's Senka pays no heed to this and rains down suppression fire from the sky.

＜＜Dogadogadoga! >>

Rouge's Senka endures through the smoke screen, but is definitely exhausted. But...the moment the smoke cleared, Omega was shocked by the sight before her eyes.

There were two Senka of Rouge...one of them was holding the "Vajra Stone Flower Scissors" high in the sky.

“Soreha!?”

"Security at Kougyokuen is for personal use only... You read that right! The treasure is Itadaki♪"

At the very beginning of the episode, Rouge separated Senka under the cover of that smoke screen, and instructed her clones using flying Karakurihana to steal the scissors.

"Rekai, fun...!"

Omega blinks at the unexpected event. An instant love was born there.

＜＜Gakkiin! >>

Rouge's Senka's powerful blow pierces Omega's Senka's vital point, inflicting a fatal wound.

"Unacceptable! Violation of match regulations! Foul!"

"Oh? Once the match started, there were no violations or fouls, right?"

Immediately after that, her two Senka flew with leaves and merged in the air. If you hold the scissors in the upper position, you will be able to capture Omega's Senka within range.

"Do whatever you want and get everything you want...! That's my Omega style!"

The next thing Omega saw was Rouge's dignified straight sitting position staring at the battlefield with an undisturbed demeanor... Rouge's Senka with her back cutting Omega's Senka in two with a single blow of her scissors. It was a brave figure.

＜＜---Kin! >>

"...Stunning."

A quiet dojo. ...A new kind of "beauty" was born here.

"Rouge, license pass and pass."

"I did it! I have to come! I like Iemoto who understand what I'm talking about♪"

Rouge plays like a little girl with scissors and a license letter in hand. The scissors had been stolen during a match, but now they were purely hers.

However, after achieving her dream, Rouge also realized that there was no longer any reason for her to stay here.

"Well, I don't care about titles or anything like that...If I get what I'm getting, I'll be too happy to go to such a seedy dojo."

Rouge muttered that and started walking away, but as if reading her thoughts, Omega took something out of her pocket.

"Second mission reward. Red stone flower scissors..."

The fiery shine of the ruby ​​captivated Rouge's heart... She quickly turned around and instantly approached Omega, saying:

"...Tell me the details."

The "Legendary Seven Scissors" passed down in the Omega style.

Rouge, the new master teacher, took on the responsibility of sealing Kougyokuen, and while she and Omega sometimes struggled, they continued to improve each other's beauty until they had all the scissors in their hands... ..

This is the beginning of the golden age of Omega-style Senkado.

"Following the red ball..."

"The Senka battle was fun, Tails! Rouge and Omega were so cool! They have to be like that!"

Sonic was in a good mood as he watched the unexpected match from behind the bushes in Kogyokuen. Tails, who loves mecha, will also follow.

"That's right, Sonic! By the way, 'Karakurihana' seems to be a strange version of Eggman's mecha, but how does it understand its creator's orders? ...And more importantly... ...!”

Realizing an important fact, Tails returns to his serious expression and shows Sonic the readings on the energy detector in his hand.

"Look! This energy reaction. This energy wavelength...is the aftermath of the Phantom Ruby's energy!"

...``Phantom Ruby''.

It is a mysterious stone that has the power to influence the brains of living things, implant a powerful virtual reality, and twist the world. It was lost after the previous battle with Eggman's army and was supposed to have disappeared from this world...

"Energy is being emitted from this botanical garden in all directions. I'm sure there will be such a huge reaction in the aftermath all over the world...I mean..."

Sonic jumped up and landed on the Ark in the center of Kogyokuen, then grinned and continued:

"This ark is the epicenter of the incident...is that so?"

An ominous wind blows through, rustling the leaves of the contraption flower beneath their feet, and Tails, who was already investigating inside the ark, continues.

"Yeah! This ark was also a strange transformation of Eggman's battleship! I found a part that looked like a capacitor, but it had a powerful energy reaction left behind. I'm sure it was activated during the previous battle. I think the Phantom Ruby's energy was still being charged...I 'm sure Eggman made the most of it in some way!

Tails excitedly raises his head all at once. But, but..., I thought, my shoulders slumped again.

“However, this situation that is currently occurring in the world is a little different from virtual reality, and there is no way such a disparate situation could occur with a single activation... There are still so many things I don't understand.Hmm, sorry. ......”

Tails crouched down with his head in his hands.

Sonic couldn't help but feel tired, thinking that he had gotten used to sitting down so his skirt wouldn't get dirty, but when he jumped down from the top of the ark and sat next to Tails, he patted him on the shoulder and cheered him up with a smile. Masu.

"What are you talking about, Tails? It's like you know everything now!"

"...!?"

"The fact that this is ground zero means that the opposite side of the planet from here is the least affected by the energy, right? If Eggman isn't here, then shouldn't he be on that side?"

"......a!"

"If you don't understand anything else, just ask Eggman himself!"

"Oh, that's right...! I'm sorry, I'm alone and depressed again..."

"No problem, Tails! I wouldn't know anything without you. I'm counting on you!"

With that said, Sonic quickly stood up and clicked his heels, and Tails also hurriedly got ready. Why is it that I always feel happy when I'm with Sonic?

I'm sure this incident will be resolved successfully...

Confidence that rises up even though there is no solid basis for it. Tails' expression was no longer gloomy as he enthusiastically started running after Sonic.

"Now wait, Eggman! No matter where you're hiding, I won't let you escape!"

[cyrusthedragon]

Okay, I know this post will read only one man and his dog, but I really need to write down all my thoughts on season 4, and just keep it structured. If you're interested in discussing it - you're always welcome!

HUGE SPOILERS BELOW, CHAPTER 1/2

Word count: 1,057

Includes: Vicky Neuman, Zoe, Kimiko, Frenchie, Hughie, Hughie's mum

1. Victoria Neuman + Zoe

First of all, I really need to appreciate this intro cuz, excuse my goddamn french, Vicky Newman is HER. Vicky Neuman is absolutely HER, I'm really looking forward to her character development. I honestly don't think she's a villain, she's just an antagonist, but a very good one. She is not a bad person in any particular way, she has an Idea in her, she has a Meaning, she has Reasons and Motivation. More Neuman please, especially in GEN V. Thanks.

Like Vicky, her daughter is also a scary ass Supe, but unlike Vicky, who's a bloodbender, Zoe's powers hardly can be used for anything good. Some headcanons here:

While Vicky thought that she was the monster because of her “terrible” abilities, she, by injecting her already grown-up daughter CompV, somehow created a real monster. She stupidly turned her child into a freak, who will be very difficult to accept by society, because her... superpower is something that u often see in nightmares. And it’s unlikely that the typical "don’t judge a book by its cover" slogans will be enough to accept that someone can pierce your mouth while kissing you with their four...tentacles? Whatever they are. I personally find them cute, btw, but in The Boys Universe, I'm not sure ppl will accept Zoe. Zoe, forgive your mom. She's not thinking rationally when she's worried about you.

It is also very much worth thinking abt her willingness to kill without any questions asked. That was definitely not her first murder. Vicky could use her power, as a politician perhaps, and bring victims to Zoe so that she could kill them and get used to it.

2. Kimiko

These are just very beautiful shots that I want to share with yall. First - Zoe tore off Kimiko's hand, it just grew back :D I love this scene for its absolute absurdity. God bless Karen Fukuhara. + Demonstrated that Annie can fly, also a good introduction to new abilities! Well done!

Secondly, I ADORE Frenchie's reaction here, it just shows so much love he has for her: Kimiko's face literally peeled away, she REATTACHED IT, and Frenchie, her platonic soulmate, at first was confused af, and then he UNIRONICALLY SMILED to his girl being literally unkillable. I feel you, Serge, I love her too!

Kimiko is very balanced. Information about her comes up every season, and each time there is enough information left to theorize but be satisfied. She's small and cute, like a mouse. She loves girly stuff like doing hair, wearing jewelry, and dressing up. She’s all about having fun and smiles a lot. Her gentle, kind personality totally contrasts with her powers of mega strength and near-immortality from regeneration. She was raised to defend and attack, but her empathetic nature is well shown in the smallest details.

For example, new information: Kimiko gets wasted super fast. I adore her.

3. Frenchie

Next to Kimiko, literally being her soulmate (i fuckin' can't believe that we're so lucky that in addition to the chaos of dicks and murders, we also have the genuine, platonic love between a man and a woman AT FIRST SIGHT), is Frenchie. We've already seen he's bi; this isn't the first rodeo, but now he shows it ON THE SCREEN, HURRAY, COMRADES. I'm very proud of him, he's my baby 🥹 we finally, with the help of his new love interest, found out about all the murders he committed when he worked for Little Nina and even before that. Frenchie is a very balanced character, just like Kimiko, you learn a little about his life in each season, and each time enough to build theories and be satisfied. I wanna know how to write like that.

My favorite things about Frenchie are his wild love affairs and his doglike loyalty. He's got an unbelievable knack for forming strong platonic (with Cherie also sexual, but you get the point) bonds with women, who end up adoring him. Probably because he has a heart of gold and doesn't act like a jerk. He also sincerely tries to be better. C'mon now, he's doing his best! All the love for my boy.

4. Hughie

Hughie loses the only person who has been with him his whole life. His father was a great, excellent parent. But it’s time for Hughie to stand on his own two feet and become at least a little bit the main character - which means, eh, i guess rest in peace, Mr Campbell?... If this doesn't happen, I'll be overjoyed. Although besides pushing Hughie to mature, the coma plot also provides a chance for us to learn about his mother. His dad is in a coma - won't she come? Here we learn a lot of interesting things about our babyboy.

Hughie's emotional outburst when he sees his mum for the first time since he was just a kid is very realistic and I love everything in here, including the cast choice. Because Hughie is a spitting image of his mother. This kind of attention to details makes me wanna chew Kripke's brains off.

Hughie is very similar to his mother: in speech, in movements, in facial expressions. For some reason I really like this. He, like his mother, has tenderness and a steely core, they are both very stubborn. Although he also has a note of “cowardice” from his father, his desire to push forward and that decision in the first episode to go help Butcher and take revenge on Reggie were just visible sides of his mother’s character.

Not gonna say that was the original idea, but I think Hughie saw Butcher in his mother. Because 'I'm not made to be a father'. And he realized that Butcher was almost just like she was. At least it seems to me that way. That being like Butcher is... normal. Ppl do fear being parents. And this is currently the best representation of postpartum depression, very realistic shit, Kripke, I'll stuff your brains into a Thanksgiving turkey. With all love and respect.

If you've made it this far, congratulations, you're a survivor! If suddenly s/o wants to be tagged in the second part of this review (well, sort of), write in the comments and I’ll tag you!