#NOT ONLY DO THEY MAKE THEM CANONICALLY RELATED BUT ALSO CONFIRMED THAT HE WAS ALIVE THIS WHOLE TIME????

[kumomist]

WHATUDKDBDKDJBFKDJEJDJEKE

[kidcosky]

Okay.... Let's analyze what happened in dcmk these last few weeks. Obvious SPOLIERS will be commented so you know.

> Appearance of Aoko's mother in Magic Kaito.

Where was she all this time? Why did she never appear or even show a sign of life? She didn't even call her daughter on her birthday... She appears so oblivious to everything, she didn't even know who Kaitou Kid was since her husband has always been obsessed with trying to catch this thief for YEARS. It seems like Gosho just randomly placed her in the story without trying to connect with the canon, it's almost as if she was a character outside of her original manga.

> Film 27 and its breaks in logic and common sense.

After all these years, Gosho decided to go against everything he had already said and made the Kaishin to be cousins, not only ruining a unique relationship (whether you shipped or not) but also bringing plot holes and contradictions in the story. If they are cousins ​​what's the excuse for them never trying to even interact before? Why was it that when Yukiko first met Kaito, she never acted like she was related to her? The same with Toichi, she always talked about him as just her teacher and NOTHING more than that, it doesn't make sense to put that in the story now. Why did Kaito never even have support from his family? Not even showing up at Toichi's symbolic funeral? How come Yusaku never went to talk to his late brother's family, even if he knew the truth KAITO DIDN'T KNOW...

No one even considered his feelings...

> All the bullshit involving Kaishin.

The biggest problem for me about them being cousins ​​is not just because of the ship but because of all the history and construction they had. It's as if everything that's different about them is summed up in the simple fact that they're related. But Kaishin has always had something unique, something that Gosho himself defined as "a mysterious bond". Them not having the slightest type of relationship made everything so unique, a connection that only the two of them could have together, one would easily understand the other even though they were complete strangers. Now I feel like they want to throw that away.

> TOICHI KUROBA AND MY HATE FOR HIM.

Gosho had already said that Toichi was possibly alive but the confirmation brought me a wave of anger and contempt that I had never felt for any other dcmk character (even bo). Let's think about Kaito in this whole story:

• lost his father when he was just a child and is still traumatized by it today.

• for 8 FUCKING YEARS he discovers that his father's death was never an accident but a murder.

• His father was actually an internationally wanted thief who was after a precious stone capable of bringing immortality.

• he steps into his father's shoes as KID and decides to try to find out for himself what happened to his father, who killed him and why.

• now there is a criminal organization that thinks he is the KID who didn't really die and they are trying to kill him once and for all.

• he decides to put himself at risk looking for Pandora, being something belonging to the organization and the police themselves.

• a lot of people hate him, regardless of whether he hurts people or not.

• more and more he becomes more and more removed from everything and becomes burdened with the KID charade.

• his own mother doesn't care about him, on the contrary, it seems like she likes to make things even more difficult for her son (she disguised herself as her dead ex-husband just to screw with her son's head, that's sickening to say the least).

• everything Kaito does is because of his father's murder, he never wanted to be KID, he never liked stealing, he doesn't do any of that for pleasure (except when it involves a certain mini detective but that's not the focus now ).

• and in the end his father was ALIVE all this time, doing who knows what while his son was risking his life because of him... BRO...

This whole thing is insane. And not in a good way.

[melyapperofthecentury]

OKAY JUST HEAR ME OUT ON THIS.

No I'm not saying I'd smash (I mean I ain't saying no 🤭🫢) BUT. YOU KNOW ME AS THAT ONE HARDCORE JIYURI SHIPPER AND SO HERE I PRESENT IT.

.........that motherfrikken ring is for Yuri.

HEAR ME OUT. HEAR ME OUT IM NOT FREAKING DELUSIONAL!!!! IM NOT!! I HAVE EXPLANATIONS! I AM SMART BECAUSE I STUDY THEM.

Now I SPECIFICALLY took a picture of the card like that because it shows the name of the card...

Patient Groom

And like ohhh awww it means Jiro would be patient when it comes to proposing aw how cute BUT WAIT A FUCKING MINUTE!!! THIS HAS DOUBLE MEANING.

Patient, as in having patience and waiting for something for a while. In this case would be marriage! Now I think this applies to Yuri because we obviously know that doctor babygirl has trust issues and bad past relations with people he now hates (Jin and Romeo) which is WHY he has trust issues with most people now even now with JIRO! As when Jiro testifies he didn't go Frostheim Yuri thinks otherwise because of the snowflake in his hair. (This is just me explaining why Yuri has Trust Issues but yeah I'm ending it here unless it is requested I yap way more about it... WHICH I ABSOLUTELY CAN DUE TO THE AMAZINGLY LARGE WORD LIMIT BUT let's move on)

Because Yuri has Trust Issues and because Jiro knows Yuri well, Jiro knows that Yuri wouldn't trust Jiro enough to form a romantic relationship or atleast a healthy one. So he waits until Yuri trusts him first so he can make the move.

(before you fricken tell me Jiro doesn't care about Yuri I direct you to Mortkranken episode and if that isn't enough I sentence you to 40 replays.)

That's the explanation for the first meaning of Patient the next is...

Patient as in someone admitted to getting medical treatment this someone is Jiro as he is Yuri's patient. SEE WHERE IM COMING FROM??? Okay so, ever since Jiro has had hazy/vague memories from the clash all he knows begins from being Yuri's patient, Yuri was the ONLY doctor to actually attempt to treat Jiro and that's why he's alive now. Even if he is, his condition isn't perfect so he's still Yuri's patient, always Yuri's patient....

Guess what? IM NOT DONE.

That's right baby.. ITS TIME FOR FLOWER SYMBOLISM!!! But only the lilacs.

The lilac flower has many meanings, but most are related to expressing love or affection:

In Victorian times, giving a lilac meant that that the giver is trying to remind the receiver of a first love. Lilacs can also express confidence that the giver has for the receiver. This makes lilacs a good gift for graduates. A sprig of lilacs, especially white lilacs, symbolizes innocence.

I'm not sure how accurate this is I got them from google BUT What I AM sure of is that purple lilacs mean First Love and maaaybe infatuation and obsessionn oh and that people thought it was magical and it warded off spirits... Funny hehe because that could apply to anomalies here.

It's ESPECIALLY because of its health benefits that I think it's lilacs and it probably is too BECAUSE YOU CAN MAKE TEA WITH IT! And Jiro can make good tea.. FROM WHAT YURI PERSONALLY KNOWS AND EXPERIENCES AND TASTES EVEEERYYY DAY.

BUT WHERE WOULD JIRO EXPERIENCE FIRST LOVE... IF NOT WITH HIS OWN DOCTOR?! Scandalous, I know, shocking even. BUT NOW THEY'RE CLASSMATES I mean they're always been BUT THEYRE BASICALLY ROOMMATES BECAUSE THEY PULL ALL-NIGHTERS TOGETHER AND SLEEP NEXT TO EACHOTHER. WE HAVE SEEN ONCE CONFIRMED IN CANON AND ANOTHER IN WARDING CARDS!! SO YEAH THEY DO BE PRETTY CLOSE, HUH.

Also the only times we've seen Jiro smile and laugh besides laughing at MC for being scared of things IS JIRO SMILING AT YURI. LIKE YOU CANNOT CONVINCE ME EVER That THAT FREAKING SMILE is NOT HOMOSEXUALLY FUELED!

Wakarimashita, Yuri.

YOU FUCKING GAY ASS I KNOW WHAT YOU AREEEE I KNOW WHAT YOU AAAA-

Ahem ahem back to the the theorizing yes....

Sanest JiYuri Fan, I know 🫶

Lilacs also symbolise innocence, as said earlier from sprigs too in which these are sprigs (plant that has the stem and leaves with it) I think that the innocence is representing that Jiro's actions of love are innocent and don't mean harm unlike what Yuri's trust issues may think (Yuri's trust issues, my mental illness opp of tkdb.)

And.. YEAH! That's basically it, THANKS FOR READING MY RAMBLINGS I DOUBT ANYONE BUT BESTIE WILL THANK YOU BESTIE AND OR ANYONE ELSE THAT READS TO THIS POINT MAYBEEE JiYuri is CANON and I am the biggest supporter. I WILL WINGWOMAN THAT WEDDING I BE HELPING THE MALE BRIDE AKA YURI ISAMI, LOOK PRETTY AF FOR HIS HUSBAND JIRO!! I WILL BE THE FLOWER GIRL AND THE PRIEST IF NEED FREAKING BE!!!

[still-a-morosexual-help]

Can I just say that I love Satan and MC's relationship? I'll read fics (romantic or platonic) and just sit there. "Huh."

Yes! Yes! Yes! They have such an underated friendship and they're probably the most similar to each other in the family?

• They're the two newest members in the family

• Neither of them were accepted by the others in the beginning and there was a lot of friction between them and the others

• Neither of them were present in the Celestial Realm with the others and didn't live through two wars with the others

• Neither of them really knew Lilith even though she's an important part of their family

• Both of them only witnessed the past through the eyes of another (MC through Lilith and Satan through Lucifer)

• They're the only two in the family who are more or less related by blood to someone else within the family (Satan to Lucifer and MC to Lilith)

• Physically they're both pretty unique. As far as we know Satan is the only demon created from the anger of an angel. MC is blood related to someone who had the soul of an angel

• They can both be mistaken for "the normal ones" within the family but truthfully they're both just as chaotic as everyone else and are just better at hiding it

• They both like cats and reading

• They both initially had a pretty bad relationship with Lucifer and now though that relationship is better they still like getting on his nerves

• They're both social and have a lot of friends

• They're both good at cooking

• They're both hardworking and responsible when they want to be

• They both look out for the others

• They're both softer with Luke than they are normally with other people

• They're both pretty calm but when pushed to the limit they have an explosive temper - though obviously it takes a lot more to reach MC's limit and a lot less to cool them down

• They both found their perfect place within the family dynamic to the point that you can no longer imagine what it would be like without them

What I'm trying to say is they have a lot of similarities and the biggest one is being the newest members. Imagine how hard it is to be tossed into a tight knit group without your consent and to be expected to just fit in with no issues, specially when it's clear that, at least initially, the others don't want you there? Plus the fact that neither of them went through the same trauma as the others which would have helped the others bond or had to deal with the grief of losing Lilith. It would have been hard having to deal with that on your own, specially with the feeling like you're an outsided who didn't fit in, and didn't deserve to fit in because you didn't live through the same problems as the others. I imagine because of that Satan and MC would have had a lot to bond about and a lot of reason to seek each other out and lean on each other and take comfort from each other.

And we do get to see this in canon as well.

We see in S2 how supportive Satan is of MC and how much he goes out of his way to help them.

We see in S3 how much he trusts them and relies on them. How they silently sit next to each other and hold hands when Satan is upset. How he looks to them for confirmation that he isn't just Lucifer's clone, even after Lucifer himself already said he wasn't.

Also, I might be remembering this wrong, but I'm pretty sure Satan's the only one who apologised to MC for trying to kill them in S1?

We see in Nightbringer how Satan is even more isolated and out of place after only being truly alive for one year. And how much he values MC's opinion and abilities. I could actually write a whole essay on how Satan in Nightbringer seems to look up to MC - (unknowing to him, because they have experience) they seem to fit in with the others in a way that he can't, despite being newer than him, but also in a take charge + competent way that he can respect. MC's attitude probably seems like an ideal to him that he should be able to achieve. They also know how to treat him in a way that makes him feel seen and respected - they don't talk down to him or walk on eggshells around him.* So when they compliment him he takes it more to heart than when the others do and gets flustered and blushes. Their dynamic in Nightbringer really reminds me of a younger kid with a crush on their cool upper-classman.

* I worked with this kid with anger management issues who was refusing to cooperate or work with any of the others and how MC's interacting with Satan in Nightbringer is a great example of what should be done. They listen to him and take him seriously and talk naturally to him instead of talking like they're constantly trying to placate or baby him. They offer him suggestions and alternate perspectives on how to get the cat to approach him, an activity that would make him want to keep his anger under control because he'd need to be gentle to interact with the cat. All of this is something Simeon and even Luke does with Satan too.

Edit:

This is giving such sibling energy - like a little sibling (younger than 10) with an older sibling (at least late teenage years) wanting to do something new and failing and geting advice from their older sibling and being so proud of learning how to do it and wanting to impress their older sibling so they excitedly share it

Also it's killing me that in Nightbringer MC is technically older than Satan

[luniviravosshipper]

Okay, so, I’m actually going to talk about Viren’s death and why it seems a little pointless after season 7.

So, this entire time I thought that a lot of the problems I found with Viren’s arc had to do with the writers not really knowing what to do with him anymore and feeling like he wasn’t relevant to the story they wanted to tell. And that’s why for an entire season he was in a coma-like state and in another he only interacted with one person before dying again.

But watching season 7… so many of the things would have made more sense if he just stayed alive??

Like, so many people are talking about how a fitting ending for Aaravos would’ve involved him being talked to and negotiated with. But there’s only one person I feel like would be perfect for him to talk to and that’s Viren. And that would have made much more sense added to the fact that now Aaravos has bonded with his daughter. So they would share that connection and maybe Viren would be able to get through to him and teach him how to reconcile with his grief.

I mean, yeah sure, in arc 3 maybe one of the kids who lost their parents (which is nearly all of them) could talk to him and relate to his experience but from the other side of loss. But I don’t know, it feels more suitable if Viren was the one to do it. And I don’t even say that as a Viravos shipper, I just mean in general Viren is the character who has known Aaravos the longest and has had one of the closest relationships to him. I’ll even make a separate more well articulated post on this, but Aaravos seems to have legitimately treated Viren different from the other cast members including Claudia, and I feel like that could have been because he was secretly hoping he’d exceed his expectations of him. And just the fact that the first intro of act 2 we got was just of Viren and Aaravos (and there’s some really interesting analyses of that too that I’ve seen when it was first posted)… I feel like they were playing their relationship up like there was going to be more that was going to happen between them and I think this would have been a perfect opportunity for something more to happen.

And then the confirmation of the Harrow is in the bird theory… I’m not entirely mad about it being confirmed, just mainly annoyed by how they went about it… But also… I’m even more annoyed by the fact that I don’t think it’s going to really work out at all without Viren. I mean, the Virrow fans were the ones who were keeping that theory alive. The whole fight over Harrow sacrificing himself instead of letting Viren use dark magic on him was significant to their dynamic and to Viren’s character development later on. And Viren has dealt with so much unresolved grief over Harrow’s loss that’s been hinted at in the books and throughout the seasons. (It didn’t even feel properly acknowledged by the end of his life.) To canonize that Viren did trap him in the bird… that tells us so much more about Viren as a person and his relationship with Harrow and yet we are never going to be able to explore that further because he’s dead. Even if we learn some things from Harrow’s perspective, so much of it is about Viren’s own choice to save his life without his permission. How could they explore that in length if we’re not hearing Viren’s side? And to have that never even explored earlier when he was alive, to have it be hinted that it could be something they were planning on canonizing but not have Viren’s feelings towards what he did to Harrow ever reconciled… How are we supposed to believe now he died in peace?

It also just seems like an afterthought? I mean, (the way they went about treating it like a joke and decided to place it at the very end of the season so that we could see the characters still struggle with coming to terms with how he died but having the writers not realize that making this decision for him to not have would completely undermine all of that development and the messages surrounding loss in the series, but also) the fact that in the last season there was no indication made that this was something they were planning to reveal. There was some stuff in season 5, but not really at all in season 6. And I feel like this would have been very important in some way acknowledging prior to the big reveal with the “redemption arc” they tried to give Viren.

Edit: Oh, and I completely forgot. The fact that they let Runaan completely off the hook compared to Viren. Not just by confirming that Runaan didn’t kill Harrow in the first place, but also by having the show at multiple times act as though it was completely unfair for having Runaan be punished for what he did by Ezran. Obviously, I don’t think Ezran was completely justifiable in all his actions this season, but the extent in which the show actively antagonized his character was insane… Having Rayla show absolute disregard for what he was going through or what Runaan did just because she wanted to bring him back to the Silvergrove. And never in this season do they acknowledge the lack of sympathy that was shown to Ezran and his situation by her. But somehow when everything was said and done, Ezran was willing to hear him out. But Viren was never given the chance. And I know that arguably Viren made a lot more wrongdoings than him, but just the fact that we literally watched for 3 seasons Viren change as a character… and even prior then that in the first act doubting his own motivations... Just for the show to act like there was no chance at offering him forgiveness or reconciliation at all… It would have been so interesting to see them parallel Viren and Runaan this season, on how if one didn’t deserve that sense of forgiveness then the other one didn’t deserve it as well. Not saying that Runaan shouldn’t have been forgiven, more like disappointed at the fact that that conflict didn’t even arise in the first place. It was like there was never even a question about whether or not Viren deserved to be heard out, he just didn’t in the show’s eyes. But had they kept him around longer, they could actually flesh out his character arc more in a way that, if they weren’t willing to hear him out earlier, would be more willing to hear him out now.

And then, Rayla. Okay. Don’t get me started on her. I have a lot of controversial opinions on the handling of her character in act 2 that I haven’t shared on here before because I’m scared to lol. (Don’t worry though, I do love her still and I don’t think she was done as bad as Viren). But there was so much setup for there to be this big confrontation between Rayla and Viren… And I’ve thought about this since the moment season 5 came out. This is a bigger issue with the way they wrote Viren’s arc that I haven’t seen anyone else who is also critical of his arc talk about. I feel like so many of the issues I had with both arcs could have been resolved if these two characters interacted with each other. I mean, if only Viren could have joined Rayla and Callum on their trip to the Starscraper instead of going to Katolis. Literally everything would have been different and it would have all flown so much more smoothly. (I can outline how I think this would play out plot point by plot point and for the better at another time.)

Oh, and of course, Kpp’ar. If they weren’t going to give us any new information this season about him and were just going to use the excuse that that would be too upsetting for one of the characters (I’m talking about Claudia shutting down the conversation about him as soon as Aaravos brought up the idea he could have been self eating) or that one of the characters doesn’t know enough to give us new information on him anyways, then couldn’t we have had Viren in this season to tell us more about him? Like, just a flashback or something. Just to have him in the background supplementing some intel that Claudia couldn’t. He could have at least been given that purpose this season.

I know a lot of these thoughts don’t seem very coherent, and they aren’t. I’m purposefully leaving out some other thoughts because I feel like it’d be more appropriate to share them later. But I have had thoughts like this reminiscing since the release of season 5. I didn’t know where they were going to go with his character after that season and I was incredibly anxious about how they would write his interactions with Soren in particular and season 6 really confirmed a lot of my worries. I had hope though that this season would be good without him, because, as I said earlier, it really felt like maybe they were just having trouble fitting him into the narrative so perhaps it’d be easier for them to write certain plot points without him. But after this season came out… A lot of the things that were left too open in the end I feel like he could have helped close. But I don’t know.

Anyways, this is all I’m going to share for now. I have a lot of other thoughts, but I’m going to wait till I am better capable of explaining them properly and in a way that isn’t formatted as a rant. In the meantime, I’m just going to start reblogging some posts I like that commentate on the handling of Viren as a character and his arc.

[silliergoofierclown]

Guys guys I wanna do my silly headcanons for the King Boos cause I can and 🫶

Just listen to my massive yap session its too late for this

Some following background information on boos in general before I start:

⟡ Boos, in my vision, are not spirits of the undead and are instead their own species. Whether or not this is confirmed is beyond me, but this is how I’ve always seen it! Other ghosts could fit this same scenario (like the ghosts in Luigi’s Mansion with the exception of the boss ghosts who I totally see as being once alive).

⟡ They have a hierarchy very similar to bees where one of their species is the most powerful and important, acting as their King while the rest are essential workers. How a boo becomes King is determined by their magical ability to create other boos. Typically every 100 years or so, a new King will arise and take the crown. Their size also shows this off as a King Boo will be much bigger compared to the rest of the species.

⟡ Speaking of how boos are created! As I said, only the Kings can create new boos. It’s not exactly asexual reproduction.. it’s just magic that they have the ability to create unique life (so no.. none of them are related 😬). This can only be achieved every year where a King will birth a new batch of baby boos. It’s actually considered a major celebration for the species who gather around every year to watch the creation of life.

⟡ Just a small side note since I’m on the topic.. I wholeheartedly believe boos are completely genderless and sexless. The only reason they have a “king” is solely because it seems like Kings rule most of the other species (King Bob-omb, King Whomp, King Bowser, etc etc..) so the boos thought it was best to detonate their leader with the same title. Most boos use he/him to follow suit with this as well 🫶

Anyway!! Moving on to the actual Kings!! :DD

— — —

⟡ King Boo - The King of the Living

- Due to there being multiple King Boos, they are given small nicknames to help differentiate..

- This King Boo is basically the iterations we see in every Mario game of King Boo besides Luigi’s Mansion or Super Mario Sunshine. The barebones big ghost with a crown.

⟡ They are the friendliest King out of the known three King Boos and the eldest. They rule over every boo species with a few exceptions.. He is overall considered a decent ruler who only wants what is best for his kind, even if it means working with Bowser to achieve a semblance of peace for his people + give them a place to reside in since the Mushroom Kingdom has specifically warded out boos long before they worked with Bowser.

⟡ The reason why is he known as the King of the Living is for what I stated earlier about boos not being undead creatures and are instead their own species. Therefore, the “living”-

— — —

⟡ King Boo - The King of the Dead

- This King Boo is strictly from Luigi’s Mansion. I do consider King Boo from Luigi’s Mansion and the barebones one from like Mario Kart to not be the same individual, even though I believe it’s canon? They’re different people in my glorious little eyeballs 💅

⟡ This King Boo was unfortunate enough to be born an heir to the throne, given his size, but found out that he was completely unable to create life due to an unknown cause. Before it was discovered, he was essentially groomed and treated as a young Prince who was quickly thrown to the wolves once it was found out he wasn’t a “true King”. He was seen as a deformity and ridiculed for it. He was unable to find purpose for himself as his original one was ripped straight out of his hands.

⟡ Slowly over the years, he grew spiteful and bitter, dedicated to finding a way to fix this. Since he believed it was a magic problem, he sought after a crown that would be sure to make him powerful. This, of course, would be the red crystal crown seen in the first Luigi’s Mansion. However, it didn’t come with its costs of meddling with King Boo’s mind, making him more prone to impulsive decisions and rash thoughts.

⟡ The crown was a success though! He was able to create new life, new boos. These boos are slightly different from regular boos as instead of the four fanged mouths, they instead have simple vampire fangs! King Boo rules over these individuals, keeping them away from civilization to avoid his secret from breaking.

⟡ The main reason why he was known as the King of the Dead is that he also rules over and gives those like the Boss ghosts a place to reside! Those who were once alive :D

⟡ I don’t believe King Boo is inherently a bad person as he was the one provoked in the first place by both Professor E. Gadd and Mario, two people harming his subjects. The crown also has its fair share of worsening the already built up anger in his body. I think he just needs a smooch from Luigi to make things better 💪✨

— — —

⟡ King Boo - King of the Unreal

- This King Boo is the one seen in Super Mario Sunshine. The high one. I love him 💅

⟡ The technical youngest of the Kings. Lore wise: He is not a real boo as he is made entirely from paint alongside his subjects. He can still create more boos out of his own magic without the help from Bowser Jr. He rules only after the sleepy boos found in the game and therefore is still considered a King.

⟡ The sleaziest and probably worst King out of the three, being particularly evil in letting others play his gambling games with no way to win. He enjoys tormenting others, letting his boos scare and be absolute nuisances to citizens, and being an overall douche.

⟡ Despises spicy food. It is his worst enemy. Big ol baby hisses at the sight of pepper

— — —

Honorable Mention!!:

⟡ Bouldergeist

- This super cool boss is found in Super Mario Galaxy!! Eee I love him so much how could I not mention him

⟡ As in the game, he has the ability to create a new type of boo called the Bomb Boos. Black boos that explode when thrown around. I haven’t fully decided lore headcanons for this guy, but some ideas are popping up.

⟡ Bombs boos, I’d imagine, are the most mindless out of the entire boo species and probably aren’t real boos. They’re kind of built to die quickly and act as offensive guards for Bouldergeist.

⟡ Is Bouldergeist just a deformed Bomb Boo?? He looks the part and constantly creates them when his rocky exterior is destroyed… Maybe they’re like a hivemind. The bomb boos are Bouldergeist ya know ya know.. or another thought is that he’s like a really deformed King Boo 😭 Who knows- I love him though, he’s a cutie patootie

— — —

There’s more I could delve into. Like what boo rules what or are some ghostly enemies just kinda without a ruler. Ex: Who rules over enemies like peepas, fishing boos (which are just dead lakitus I’m assuming..), octoboos, etc etc..

Anyway that’s my ranting for the day that I just wanted to get out of my system. If anything contradicts the lore, sorry about that, I’m not t h e most big on extensive Mario lore, especially for games I’ve never touched- 😭

[lilflowerpot]

Hiiii flower! This has beeen eating me alive and I just have to ask because I think I’m going crazy is there a post about lotor having a past lover/love interest?I swear I saw one but I can’t find it and im thinking I’m fixated so much on little blade that im actually dreaming/imagining about them🤭

IF he did have a lover what happened to them? And is that character going to be in little blade

Also how would keith reaction be if lotor had or has a lover and he still falls in love with lotor how would keith react to realizing that he fell in love with someone that already has a partner or has had a love interest in the past?

ALSO is that (possibly fake/real) love interest the reason that lotor doesn’t get involved with other people?And since I know it’s mentioned that he doesn’t get involved with them because of Haggar does that mean that Haggar has done something to this person(Ex, past possibly still in love partner, past dead partner?)

Sorry I know that most of these questions can’t be answered but im still curious and I been thinking if its just my imagination making these post up😭.

Also have to know (not related to my last questions) if Keith would to have met sane Zarkon and Haggar and lotor would have been born in the future around Keith’s birth time also if they would have been lovers with the original story line straying from canon then would Haggar and zarkon approve of Keith?

Jesus I’m very very sorry for all these questions I been reading your older posts and honestly it’s been piling more theories and questions and since summer is up and school is back up again and me not putting attention in class I been thinking more and more about little blade it’s ok if you don’t answer bye flower have a good day/night/afternoon♥️💜

I cannot express how relieved I was when you acknowledged that I can't answer most of these questions, because when someone's so clearly enthusiastic and I have to be like "irrespective of whether I confirm or deny this, it's still going to be a spoiler" I always feel so mean 😭

As for whether there's a post explicitly delving into Lotor's romantic past, though it's entirely possible that I've let the odd tidbit slip here and there, I believe I've been rather particular in avoiding addressing that topic in full; I do have thoughts on said romantic history, naturally—Keith's too, as a matter of fact—but that is something for which you shall have to be patient and wait for the story-proper to take its course.

Keith, I think, would be more surprised if he were to learn that Lotor //hadn't// a romantic past than had, I mean... he's a literal prince and looks like that?? The only thing he's reasonably certain of is that, regardless of whether there was/wasn't someone like that in Lotor's life at some point, there isn't anyone anymore, for the simple fact that Lotor's arrival on Voltron's doorstep seemed quite obviously the move of a man with nowhere left to turn.

Your last question is one I actually can answer, or rather, I've already done so! Both for uncorrupted Zarkon, and also as the man he was before the rift ♡

[mulberry-leaves-yearn-for-envy]

Prompt Submission by @yiling-laozu-is-loml

Mingxian Prompt - No war AU. Instead of GusuLan, QingheNie hosts guests lectures

CANON SOURCE: Please only use novel and donghua as source material and avoid everything that has to do with untamed/cql. For appearances and outfits, please refer to the donghua.

Bottom Wei Wuxian only please! the number of children they have depends on you but I'd love it if they had at least 2!

No War AU. Instead of Gusulan lectures, QingheNie hosts guest lectures open to everyone, not just sect-allied cultivators but also rogue ones. Rogue cultivator Wei Wuxian decides to chance his luck and maybe learn a few new tricks and sabre wielding but mostly, he goes to confirm rumours about Nie Mingjue's skill, height, attitude, etc (basically to gawk like the gay man he doesnt know he is yet). The way he treats Nie Mingjue (the martial arts and saber instructor) is a mix of how he treats Lan Wangji and Lan Qiren in canon. He flirts and teases and tries to get kicked out and Nie Mingjue keeps him just to outstubborn him and show him his playground bully bullshit wont work on him. Wei Wuxian's parents are alive but he left them to rogue cultivate on his own and make his own name with his inventions and talisman. How they fall in love, have sex and marry is up to you as are the ages. I'd just like for Nie Mingjue to be older, if only by a few years. Feel free to add anything to the plot!

Oh and Wei Wuxian definitely calls him "A-Jue" because I am a sucker for this. What Nie Mingjue calls him is up to you!

Do Not Wants: Nie Mingjue to have been in a past serious relationship, still having sex with someone else in the fic, children from other partners (as in, Wei Wuxian is the only real serious commitment), miscarriage and unhappy ending. If you put Jiang Clan in the fic, please ensure they either have bare-minimum interactions with wei wuxian, are operating in the background and have no plot-related things OR outright Jiang clan bashing. I dont want JC/WWX reconciliation, nor do I wanna see Jiang clan positively please.

If you need help with brainstorming, hmu! And definitely lmk if anyone(s) writes this because I'd wanna feast my soul on this for sure!

[gunsli-01]

We should unpack the impact the person Kazui actually liked still being implied to be alive is having on his verdict taking his previous written interrogation trial questions into consideration. Especially when it comes to him being guilty.

Answer referring to his childhood friend.

Q.02 Who do you look up to?

Kazui: You won’t know them even if I say, but I have a childhood friend I really respect. Sorry for just answering someone from my personal life.

Q.17 If the world was going to end tomorrow, what would you do?

Kazui: Relax and go trawling. The childhood friend I mentioned before has a boat.

Answers referring to an unknow third party.

Q.13 Who do you want to see right now?

Kazui: They won’t see me anymore.

Answers regarding Kazui's feelings.

Q.03 If you were able to get away with anything, what would you want to do?

Kazui: I’d like to try living honestly.

Q.07 Do you like yourself?

Kazui: Well, not especially I suppose.

Answers regarding Kazui's daily life.

Q.14 Do you listen to music?

Kazui: I guess I do from time to time. It’s all super old music though, so I don’t think you’ll know it.

Q.15 What time do you go to sleep and wake up?

Kazui: Since I’m not working I’m able to do whatever I feel like.

I just sleep when I feel tired, and I usually wake up in the morning sometime.

Over the course of Milgram, it's been established that the person Kazui likes is still alive. Unlike with Shidou, whose wife and children have died. Something that made Shidou come off as more sympathetic to most of the audience. Simply because he had lost everything. Kazui, despite having lost two people he cares about, has not actually lost everything.

Only one of those losses is permanent. He states in his written interrogation that there's someone who won't see him anymore at this moment, but that could change. He continually brings up a childhood friend who is implied to still be spending time with him when possible as well. All this may cause people to feel less sympathetic in Kazui's case.

Because unlike the others, he doesn't particularly seem to be suffering. That and he has things to fall back on if he is released from Milgram. Even if his family and this one other person won't see him anymore. This mixed with the implication that the person he does like is very much alive and well even if his wife is not could cause some people to be envious of Kazui.

Despite his situation still being far from ideal. He has the opportunity to have or make a better life if given the chance to something a lot of people may hate. Having someone that he is still canonically interested in also makes him more difficult for people in fandom spaces to sexualize. Especially with other characters or even his wife as his feelings towards her are incredibly complicated.

He's still very much not over the person he did like and his second song just further reiterates that. Then we don't even know that much about who he did like. Their appearance has been obscured multiple ways, either having no face, being a shadow, or being made out of words. Causing it to be even more difficult for people to relate to Kazui's situation as they still don't have a clear idea of what this individual looks like, how they act, or even confirmation on who they are.

All these things, in my opinion, make it easier for people to emotionally distance themselves from Kazui's situation and relate more heavily with the only other person given a face on screen in Cat, his wife. However, that's just my opinion on that.

[willel]

Contradictions

As some of us guessed, it seems the play has a handful of contradicting information. The same kind of contradictions you see when the novels and comics. Stuff that directly conflicts with the show itself.

What makes this more frustrating is the show runners insist this is canon despite the contradictions, so once again, I think the only thing one can do is take SOME of the information as useful and the rest of it as being dramatic for entertainment sakes.

Once again, my thoughts will be below a read more because of spoilers.

Contradiction #1: Henry's Coma

Apparently in the play, Henry does not go into a coma after killing his family......... he goes to school the next day or something. All for the purpose of allowing Joyce to confront him and say Victor Creel did all of it.

Why was that necessary? There could've been a scene of Joyce saying it was Victor Creel's doing without needing Henry to come to school after what just happened???

So pointless. I think Henry being kidnapped by Brenner and Victor being accused of killing both of his kids and his wife is pretty important to what they set up in the show. Why contradict that?

Contradiction #2: Communication through the void

Apparently in the show, Henry can willy nilly just speak to people through the void whenever he wants.

Either this is a direct contradiction to El's experience in the void or it's just something Henry can do since we've seen him easily mess with peoples heads and whatnot.

El has only communicated with someone through the void 3 times. Once with Will when he was in the Upside Down. Once with Terry who also has powers. Lastly, once with Billy when he was possessed by the Mind Flayer.

There have been plenty of instances where she's in the void and no one can hear her no matter how much she speaks or yells.

Contradiction #3: Henry's already been to the Upside Down

A friendly anon sent me a message related to this, but apparently it isn't the Upside Down that gave Henry powers, he already had them by the time he got there. I guess due to the run away scientist's machine? I dunno.

It's a bit of a relief to hear that. But this presents another problem. Henry has already been to the Upside Down. It's not "somewhere new". All it does is confirm El didn't create Dimension X. Still don't know how to feel about this.

Contradiction #4: Barely any symptoms of possession

Apparently they made it pretty clear in the play that Henry was possessed by the Mind Flayer in much the same way Will was. Through special effects, they show the Mind Flayer entering Will much the same way it did to Will in season 2.

I don't know if this is the viewer's interpretation or the play said it, but Henry liked to be in the attic because "it's cold". But.... usually the attic is one of the warmest places in the house. Heat travels up out the main house and into the attic. Depending on the attic, it can get really hot actually. Henry hanging out in the attic "because it's cold" makes no sense. I guess if the play is taking place in the fall or winter and the attic is not insulated whatsoever, THEN it would be closer to the temperature outside than the temperature in the house, making it cooler than the house?

I don't mind recentering the Mind Flayer as the main baddie, but making this a direct possession is just... an odd choice imo.

I would expect the show to have depicted things way differently if this was all just a possession story line.

Contradiction #5: No gates, but still alive?

Something that totally slipped my mind. When no gates are open, the Mind Flayer is completely cut off from the real world and everything it is in possession of dies.

If Henry was possessed and no gates are open, how is he still alive? How can the Mind Flayer communicate/influence him?

I suppose the show contradicts this itself a bit with the Demogorgons, Demodogs, and the Mind Flayer smoke being alive and well all the way in Russia without a gate.

Conclusion

So far, here is what I will be ignoring and what I will be accepting in my world view of Stranger Things. Keyword "my". If you're reading this, you're free to believe and accept whatever you want, I'm not telling you what to do. Just wanted to make that crystal clear, sometimes I feel like people think I'm speaking as some kind of authority and they couldn't be more wrong. Lol

#1: Henry does not go to school after killing his family. He is kidnapped and kept secret by Brenner, just like the show depicts.

#2: Only Henry can easily communicate with anyone through the void because of his telepathic mastery displayed in season 4. If he can give people waking nightmares, then he can have conversations with them too.

#3: Unless the show is going to show more, I choose to believe Henry was not fully possessed like Will or the rest of the Flayed. But some secret third option. My brain will decide what that secret third option is later.

#4: I guess I can accept the blood transfusion thing. But, I also want to acknowledge that I still think powers exist naturally in the world, it just takes a lot to make it happen and they might not be very strong. So, I'm thinking a combination of natural aptitude, MKUltra and Henry's blood is what made El is the person she is today.

My opinions will likely still be changing, but this is where I am for now.

[littlespoonevan]

i really want to know your opinion on last night's episode! do you think we finally saw Eddie's oh moment? I see a lot of people talking about it and about his heartbreak but I'm not seeing it? like I see eddie upset about what buck is saying, but that could easily be platonic imo, my best friend saying someone else actually sees them? that would make me feel awful, like I'm here??? I see you??? and i get eddie feels lonely as well, but i dont ser that particularly related to him realizing he's in love w buck, idk idk what are your thoughts?

askjdhlf okay. where do i begin??? i should preface by saying i only got a chance to watch the last 25 mins of the ep like an hour and a half ago bc of how long it took for the ep to upload this morning so i'm still very much processing bUT

that cemetery scene was a lot.

to start by answering your question, i don't think we got an oh moment in the deliberate sense?? by that i mean, i don't think this was the show telling the audience "this is it!!!! this is the moment eddie realises he's in love with buck!!!!!" however i do think that scene did A Lot to suggest something big and buddie-related in the pipeline.

something about the tone of it felt very different to what we've gotten previously???? it's most certainly one of the longest conversations they've ever had at 3 minutes uninterrupted. it's also one of their most serious and touched on a wide range of topics (like it felt almost like a post-ep coda fic conversation to me????? askdjfh) and i think it's interesting that twice now in 6b we've had meaningful conversations between them that don't involve chris being brought up. because that's been something i've always said was maybe missing when it came to the possibility of them becoming canon??? we have so many conversations that emphasise buck/eddie/chris as a family but very few conversations between buck and eddie just about them and their friendship/relationship, y'know??

likewise eddie's reaction to natalia was in very stark contrast to the usual way he sort of snarkily comments on buck's relationships. @mellaithwen made the great catch that it paralleled buck talking about ana in 5x02 and it also reminded me of eddie's reaction to abby??? in the way it was this sort of weary-frustrated-resigned combination where he Knows this won't end well for buck and he's maybe a little bit annoyed at buck's lack of regard for himself (in 3x18 bc he's willing risk his own life for abby to save her fiancé even after she left buck the way she did and now with natalia in a 'how can you say she sees you better when the version of yourself you're showing her isn't you' way)

there's also just the big giant elephant in the room where buck is talking about how natalia sees him when eddie is the one who's always Seen him - all the way back to "to be seen to be found, isn't that what we're all searching for?". eddie is the one who constantly validates buck's feelings, who understands his reasons for the choices he makes, who knows exactly what to say to make buck open up. he even does it in this scene!!!!!! when he says "you don't have to be anything for anyone". it felt like a big fat example of dramatic irony tbh

and i think for me, regardless of what happens on the actual show, when it comes to how i write and approach canon in fic that scene acts as confirmation of my favourite headcanon that eddie knows about his feelings but buck has no fucking idea. and while we may or may not ever get real confirmation of that in canon, i think you can for sure read the scene that way without twisting it into something it's not :')

overall, you know i'm the most cautious person alive when it comes to canon buddie but i do genuinely, genuinely feel something has shifted in this scene even if it's not a definitive oh moment for now💛

[flowerslut]

why does he care about finding alice very very much? is it something we should’ve picked up on yet or are the reasons going to come

I mean, I feel like it should be sort of obvious, y’know? but in case it’s not I’m gonna put the rest of my response under a cut for people who haven’t read/caught up to where we’re at in roots right now

(spoilers for the end of act 2 onward)

so peter is in a reeeaal awful position right now. he went from traversing across the southwest with charlotte, to blacking out and waking up as a captive of god-knows-who without one of his hands. he's rescued before he can figure out what's happening; all he knows is that newborns are involved, and his and charlotte's lives are in terrible danger. then, when he's rescued, he's forced to listen in as charlotte is brutally murdered (his name is one of her last words and there is nothing he can do but listen to her screams as she's torn apart).

peter is... Not Okay. he doesn't understand what's happening but assumes it's related to the Wars, and with the confirmation that his life has been spared but charlotte's is lost, he turns into a blackhole of anger and despair. peter is grieving. to make matters worse, the cullens' don't even know what's going on, but you all have a sinking suspicion that its related two one of two things: the southern wars coming back to drag them (peter and jasper) into something nightmarish, or the volturi, aiming to finally eliminate the cullens (peter is smart enough to know he was being sued as bait in something Much Larger than him and charlotte).

peter is/was obviously closest to charlotte. now, charlotte is dead. peter is next-closest to jasper. jasper is currently undergoing a psychotic break. we can only infer, from what canon has given us, that the only other person on the planet peter gives a shit about is alice. it's canon that the four of them (peter, charlotte, jasper, and alice) traveled together for a period of time before jasper and alice broke off to find the cullens. peter is a good dude. peter and jasper already had a conversation about this: they promised they'd take care of charlotte/alice if anything happened to either of them.

peter knows that, while jasper is still physically there, something is very, very wrong. and even though charlotte is dead, even though jasper couldn't hold up his end of the bargain, even though the odds are against them and the outlook is bleak, peter is gonna do his goddamn best to help get alice back. if not for alice's sake—the fate she is currently doomed to is more horrific than much of what he witnessed back in mexico—than for jasper's. peter wants alice alive because he cares about her, but also because he gave jasper his goddamn word. and if alice dies, jasper will suffer just as peter is currently suffering now. and despite the grief still suffocating him, and the threats that are looming, peter cannot have that happen.

in short: peter is such a baby and i love him so much! he's just a good dude!!!! one of the most underrated twilight characters of all time!!!

[brandwhorestarscream]

Do you think the chestbursting kills the mech? Cybertronians are rather resilient.

Because if it does kill them, I could see Megatron being like nope, I'm not sacrificing my fellow mecha for this.

This is, of course, when he's young and idealistic. Older, more cynical Megatron might not have a problem with it.

On an unrelated note, I feel like Megatron would be quite big in this au?? Bigger than in canon, I mean.

I mesn, we kinda already confirmed it is at least possibly survivable. Megatron's parents are unmutated mecha, and the one he's actually related to is still alive. I think... it probably depends on where in the chest they break through. If it's too near the spark chamber and damages the crystal casing, chance of death skyrockets but if it's lower in the abdomen, nearer fuel tanks, engine, etc, it wouldn't be as lethal provided there's a medic nearby

So. There's a chance Megatron wouldn't be terribly averse to fetching incubators, depending on the statistics. It's also possible that the eggs/nest could have some kind of lure that coaxes people in, a hypnotic pheromone or some specific frequency that only unmutated mecha can hear 🤔 and that's assuming that they're actually fertilized. Is this a perfect asexually reproduced batch, or does his cybertronian half make it so they need a second party to be viable? 👀 decisions, decisions

[theforgottendiamondau]

Not necessarily an update, but sorta. I’m currently slowly reworking on everything. Barely anything from before now is going to be canon to this AU because I’m wanting to completely start over, but idk if I’ll actually go through and delete old posts. Just know that anything with old Sophie art (her design before this) is no longer canon unless I state otherwise. I will be keeping the idea of Rose and Steven coexisting (aka Steven has his own gem) but they will be still sharing powers (with some of his own) because Steven was created using Rose’s essence (it’s complicated but makes sense in my head). I’ll be figuring out other things that’ll still end up canon in this AU, but it’ll take some time since I’m doing this for the fun of it (despite not being hyperfixated on SU at the moment). I’ll also be working on an actual timeline unlike before since I’m planning on setting this after the events of SU, but nothing is confirmed yet. Especially since I’ll have to be figuring out how everything happens now that Rose/Pink is still alive (which is more work for me, but I wanted to have Sophie kinda bond with Rose and Rose seeing that she really wasn’t the only diamond to see how flawed gem society really is/was or something along those lines).

As a sign that I am still alive and working on things (albeit slowly) here’s some art I’ve made related/for this AU. Basically the only confirmed designs for this AU.

Firstly, we have Sadie’s performance design as 80die. This is confirmation that 80die will still exist in this universe because I really just love the idea. Her design is more inspired by actual outfits female artists in the 80s wore (a mix of pop & rock). Also the star earrings are a nod to Greg’s star shirts since he is her manager.

Secondly, I have finally given a design to Purple Diamond’s disguised form as an amethyst. I kept a bit of Amy’s original design (light purple hair with a dark purple streak), but mostly completely changed her look. I kinda did a slight color shift with her design like Rose and I kinda (unintentionally) designed her skirt to be a bit similar to bottom of Rose’s dress. Though I did look at a ref of CG!Amethyst to kinda have her look similar yet still different since she’s just a diamond pretending to be an amethyst. Also the hearts in her design is actually a callback to the original concept I had for Purple Diamond’s symbol when after her rebellion (since stars is kinda the Crystal Gems thing). Though I think the only time I’ve ever shown anything related to the original concept for Amy’s group of gems (which mostly consisted of 2 or 3 other gems) is in Sophie’s earliest concept design, which is somewhere on my main account.

Lastly, I designed a fusion between Steven and Sophie. This is mostly the design of what their fist time fusing would look like. It’s heavily inspired by Stevonnie (for reasons I will not explain yet). Their fusion is called Stevie and their pronouns are They/Them. I don’t have much on their personality or really anything other than their design. However, I can say that both were surprised and excited to be able to fuse. (Also it’s really the first drawing I’ve ever made that actually has toes since I tend to avoid drawing them lol)

So yeah. A lil update and some art. You can send in asks for any questions based on what could possibly change or what ideas I have for this AU or even my thoughts on Sophie in other AUs. However, I may end up being vague with some answers for this AU since I’m still figuring things out and working on the timeline, but I’m fine with answering any questions for this AU. I may not be very active here (I’m more active on @artistically-unique-girl or @artsartblog since their my main account/blogs) but I still see things and check up here every once in awhile since I’m not trying to burn myself out over this (like I did before) and actually figure things out before just throwing out too many ideas at once. So feel free to leave any questions or thoughts you may have about this AU as I’m working on it (some things could spark new ideas for how this AU will be) or just questions or my thoughts on Sophie in other AUs because I have fun thinking about how Sophie would be/exist in other AUs. That’s all for now. Until my next post, stay creative!

~Mod Art

[glassesntea]

Hey! For the character ask, since you have him in your avatar, Levi!

Oh, hi! :)

How I feel about his character

Levi's character surprised me, because I didn't expect to love him this much. It wasn't an immediate love, though, the Uprising Arc really did a numer on changing my perception of Levi, as well as reading the manga and discover all the nuances that were lost in the adaptation.

(Never forgiving WIT for chicken out THAT scene with Historia)

He is a deeply human character that has torn himself to pieces for others, until the very end. I'm glad he survived to finally live a normal life.

Maybe all the hardships he endured since he was a child and, despite that, being a compassionate and kind invividual make me feel a genuine attachment to his character. And not beign suave at all, with his awkwardness and coarse demeanor contributes at rendering him very unique.

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Pretty much just Hange. I like their dynamic, how well they understand and balance each other. Their interactions are great: they are basically the parents of a bunch of teenagers, holding the weight of everyone expectations (Levi) and the difficulty of command (Hange) and they pretty much just have each other to shoulder the pressure, being the only two veteran left.

I can imagine them getting closer in a romantic way.

However! Let's move forward with the next question.

My non romantic OTP for this character

Hange again. If Isayama will confirm in the future that between them there's nothing but a platonic relationship, I wouldn't bat an eyelid. Because I think that even in a romantic relationship they wouldn't act any different from their usual self.

They just work, because they care for each other and their friendship is just special. Probably one of my favourite scene in Aot is Levi's farewell in Odiha. It just break your heart Whetever you see them as simple friend or an item.

I would have loved to see some more interaction between Levi and Mike, with the fact Mike was the strongest after Levi and how they interact with each other after No Regrets.

Mikasa/Levi is another huge non romantic OTP for me: because they come from the same clan, being the strongest in the army, their rocky start. I would have liked to see them interact more.

My unpopular opinion about this character

MAPPA design for the winner. I know it's not about Levi as character, but the design is pretty important when you present someone. It has muscles, it looks his age and not a teenage stick. So thanks MAPPA.

My second unpopular opinion is that he was vital in the final battle and that Isayama didn't nerfed him just because...

He put the groups together when their resolve started to wane with the upcoming transformation of the Eldian (and Jean and Connie) into Titans. He pushed them to act, and they won.

"But he was so injuried because he did something stupid": he's human, humans do mistakes, if a character is perfect it's boring. A story needs some conflicts. Zeke just titanized 30 of his men, whom he was forced to kill, he was angry and despite that he kept Zeke alive for Paradise sake. What Zeke did was pretty unpredictable and it costs Levi a steep price.

Last unpopular opinion: why many of you are so upset with him being in a wheelchair? It made sense after the injuries he got and this doesn't diminish him at all. Once cool you'll always been cool.

One thing I whished would happen/ had happened with this character in canon

More interactions between him and Mikasa, and some lore about the Ackerman in relation.

Also I would like to see his life after the Rumbling, with Onyankopon and Gabi and Falco and their family. Did he opened a teashop?

Isayama said that, maybe, he will write some post-canon Levi so, finger crossed!

Thanks for the ask! :D

[specialagentsergio]

rationalizations

rationalizations: a defense mechanism in which one makes up a false but reassuring explanation to explain their behavior and/or feelings to both themselves and others, thus avoiding the reality of why they are really acting or feeling as they do.

summary: You’re the psych evaluation for Spencer. You think he’s full of shit, so you refuse to sign his clearance form until he actually tells the truth.

pairing: spencer reid x f!reader

category: angst (happy ending)

content warnings: spencer’s canonical trauma, flashbacks, mentions of suicide and suicidal ideation, swearing

a/n: i wrote this for @imagining-in-the-margins‘ enemies to lovers event. it’s not my favorite trope, but one of the prompts sparked inspiration for me. i also took a good amount of inspiration from meredith’s various therapy scenes in grey’s anatomy, so if some of it feels familiar, that’s why! i swear i intended to make this cute and funny, but, well… here we are lmao.

word count: 3.6k

masterlist

Spencer throws his bag onto his desk with a frustrated huff. It thumps loudly, startling JJ at her desk across from his. She gives him a sympathetic look regardless. “Still not cleared yet?”

“No!” Forgetting that it’s wheeled, he drops himself into his chair. It skids backwards and he has to scramble to grab something to keep from falling out of it.

“Careful there,” JJ says, trying valiantly to suppress a laugh. “That psychologist's got you really worked up, huh?”

“I don’t know what she wants from me!” he complains. “It’s been nearly a month! Hotch’s ex-wife was murdered by an unsub, but they cleared him. I was only shot in the neck.”

“I mean, that’s still kind of a big deal,” she says. “You could’ve died, from the gunshot, or from the nurse that tried to kill you afterwards.”

“Speaking of that nurse,” he starts, “Garcia is the one who shot him and she’s been a wreck over it. She insisted on going to the guy’s execution. But the therapist cleared her!”

“Penelope’s not in the field,” JJ points out.

He crosses his arms. “Still. This isn’t the first time I’ve been shot. That possibility is part of the job. It’s not like it came out of nowhere and I was completely unprepared for it.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Spence,” she says. “Just keep all of your appointments and I’m sure you’ll be cleared soon.”

He pulls a stack of papers on his desk towards him. Paperwork—one of the things he’s actually allowed to do. “I better be,” he mutters.

---

“And it was really scary, you know?” Spencer wipes at his eyes with a tissue. “Not knowing if I was going to live or die.”

“Mm-hmm.”

He takes a deep breath. “But… it’s over now. The preacher who shot me died in the same shootout. Owen McGregor, the leader of the corrupt deputies, died later that night, in another shootout. And Greg Baylor, the one who posed as a nurse and tried to kill me, was sentenced to death row and he’s gone now, too.”

His psychologist makes a note on the paper in front of her, but doesn’t say anything, so he continues.

“I… I feel better now, just letting that out.” He takes a new tissue and dries his nose. “I feel ready now. Ready to go back to work.”

She nods slowly, considering him. But she doesn’t even look towards her desk where the clearance form sits, frustrating him to no end. After five minutes of silence, he breaks.

“You can’t be serious.”

She raises an eyebrow. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I’ve been coming to these sessions for over a month, and I’m still not cleared to be in the field. I…” He musters up more tears and makes sure his voice wavers during his next words. “I just don’t know what you want? I’ve tried everything.”

“No, you haven’t,” she says plainly.

He blinks in surprise, sending some of the crocodile tears down his cheeks. “What?”

She crosses her legs. “You’re full of shit.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’re not being honest with me, and I don’t think you’re being honest with yourself either,” she says. “You’re a great actor. I can see how you’ve gotten clearances easily before. But that stops with me.”

Spencer stares at her. “I don’t understand.”

She moves her notebook to the side. “What happened in Texas isn’t the first time your life’s been in danger. Why do you think that is?”

“Wh—that’s part of my job,” he argues, fake crying long since forgotten.

“Not to the extent that you take it. I’ve read your file,” she says. “You take unnecessary risks with regularity.”

The tissues crumple in his hand as he clenches it. “I do not.”

“Let’s go back to the beginning.”

“The beginning of what?”

“Of your career.” Yet she doesn’t take out his file, or look at her notes. She speaks from memory. “2005. The BAU is assisting with a hostage situation. You go into the train, posing as someone who is there to remove a microchip from the unsub, but the first thing you do? You take off your bulletproof vest.”

“Okay, clearly you don’t understand what the situation was,” Spencer cuts in. “Ted Bryar was suffering from a psychotic break. He was somewhat unpredictable, and he told me to take off the vest.”

“And you just listened?”

“He—he had a gun, and was threatening both me and the other passengers with it!” he says. “What was I supposed to do, not listen?”

“Uh, yeah,” she replies. “You easily played into his delusions just a few minutes later to distract him. Why not do that to keep yourself safe?”

“I was twenty-four and was running on adrenaline,” he says defensively. “And it was my first time doing something like that. You can’t expect me to think of everything.”

“You’re right, I can’t,” she agrees. “So let’s jump forward a few years. How about the time you approached a teenager who was wielding an assault rifle with no protection, not even your own firearm?” she challenges.

“You mean Owen Savage? That was a unique situation,” he protests. “I knew I could talk him down.”

“No, you didn’t. You thought you had a good chance, but there’s no way to be one hundred percent sure of that. He was volatile, and on a killing spree,” she counters. “You didn’t know if you’d succeed--”

“I did!” He startles himself by unconsciously raising his voice, but he doesn’t apologize. “I did, because….”

“Because you related to him,” she fills in. “And that’s fine. Having empathy for an unsub doesn’t suggest something’s wrong in and of itself. But you still put yourself, and the rest of your team, in danger, didn’t you?”

He crosses his arms. “I got that lecture from Hotch when it happened, okay?”

“So then why’d you confront an unsub alone a few years later in Miami?” she asks. “You didn’t even tell anyone where you were going. You left your vest behind and just ran off.”

“I was having a head—wait, how do you even know that happened?” he questions. “It wasn’t in the report.”

“Well, first of all, you just confirmed it,” she points out, and he wants to kick himself. “Secondly, I can read between the lines.”

“I was having a headache,” he repeats. “I wasn’t thinking all that clearly. I just knew Julio’s life was in immediate danger, so I went to help him.”

“Uh-huh. More recently,” she says, brushing past his excuse, “You confronted your girlfriend’s stalker without your vest or gun.”

Spencer’s getting angry now. “I was trying to save Maeve. She asked me to leave them behind.”

“And you simply listened. Do you see the pattern I’m drawing here, Dr. Reid?” she asks. “These are just a few of the instances that stand out. Time and time again, you put yourself in unnecessary danger. So I’ll ask you again. Why do you think that is?”

Spencer looks over her—really looks over her, trying to understand what she’s getting at. “Are… are you suggesting that I’m suicidal?” he asks quietly.

She looks him straight in the eye. “You don’t act like someone who wants to be alive.”

It’s like she set off a bomb in his brain. Memories, and the feelings attached to them, emerge—Elle handcuffed to a seat, a teenager with a rifle, a blinding headache, Maeve and blood on the warehouse floor.

“Here’s what I see,” she says. “I see a man who’s been through so, so much. Your mother is mentally ill, your father left--”

His father is packing a suitcase. Spencer doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do or say, so he falls back on what he knows.

“Statistically, children who grow up in two-parent households attain three more years of higher education than children from single-parent households.”

It doesn’t help. “We’re not statistics, Spencer.”

“Your file says she’s staying at an institution, and with your father out of the picture, I can only assume you were the one who had her admitted--”

“Spencer, please don’t do this to me!” she cries as she’s escorted out of the house by Bennington Sanitarium’s transport staff.

“A few years into your work here at the FBI, you were kidnapped, tortured and drugged--”

He’s tired and cold and his whole body aches. Tobias—the real Tobias—looms over him with a syringe.

“Please. I don’t want it,” he pleads of his captor. “I don’t want it, please.”

The needle punctures his skin regardless.

“—you were held hostage by a cult leader--”

Emily sits across from him on the plane with a black eye. “What Cyrus did to me is not your fault.”

He pretends to agree.

“—you went through the death and reappearance of Agent Prentiss--”

He’s tried to make it clear to Jennifer that he wants to be left alone, but she won’t stop trying to talk about it with him, and he’s had enough.

“I came to your house for ten weeks in a row crying over losing a friend, and not once did you have the decency to tell me the truth.”

“—and your girlfriend was shot in front of you.”

“Who’s Thomas Merton? Who is he?” Diane demands, gun pressed against Maeve’s head.

“He’s the one thing you can never take from us,” Maeve replies, and Spencer’s heart drops. Thomas Merton is Maeve’s way of saying goodbye—she’s giving up.

“Wait!” he cries out, but it’s too late.

“This is just some of the more traumatic stuff. And then there’s what happened last month, which is why you’re here. You present a face of not being bothered by all of this, because that’s what you’ve been doing all your life, but I think you are bothered. You really, really are. And you don’t want to admit to anyone just how much it all has affected you. Maybe you don’t even want yourself to know.” Her expression and tone of voice are certain.

Spencer can’t take it anymore. The whirlwind of emotions and memories is overwhelming.

“The number of times you’ve almost died is staggering--”

“Yeah, and sometimes I wish I had!” He glares at her, breathing heavily. “Is that what you wanted to hear?”

But she doesn’t seem intimidated or alarmed at all. She leans back in her armchair. “Now we’re getting somewhere.”

The response only serves to make him angrier. She questioned him relentlessly and made him admit something he swore in the dark hours of sleepless nights that he’d never think again, never voice, let alone admit to anyone. She forced it out of him, forced. She made him say it against his will.

So why does he feel a sense of relief?

“I…” Tears well up in his eyes—real ones this time. “I’m done,” he chokes out.

He pushes himself off of the couch and out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

---

He storms in Hotch’s office and demands to see a different psychologist. But she was one step ahead of him—a few hours before the appointment, she had emailed Hotch and told him that under no circumstances should Spencer be allowed to get a clearance from someone else.

“And you’re going to believe her?” he cries.

“She’s doing her job, Reid.”

“You barely know her! You’ve known me for a decade!”

“Yes, I have,” Hotch agrees. “And you’ve told me yourself that you’ve fooled psychologists and therapists before. So if this one is saying you’re not ready yet, I’m inclined to believe her.”

Spencer just stares at him, but as usual, Hotch doesn’t blink.

“Unbelievable,” Spencer eventually mutters.

“Take the rest of the day off,” Hotch replies, glancing down at fists Spencer hadn’t realized he was clenching.

“Fine.”

Too agitated to stand in the elevator, he takes the stairs. As he stomps down them, he swears he’ll never go back to her office, even if it means never going into the field again.

A week passes, then two, and he hasn’t seen the psychologist since. But he doesn’t feel any better—he actually feels worse. It’s like her words broke a dam in his mind, in his gut, and feelings of unease and uncertainty won’t pass. It keeps him up at night. Her words echo in his head. “You don’t act like someone who wants to be alive.”

Spencer’s had yet another sleepless night and is struggling not to doze off at his desk despite the coffee he’s drinking. He stands up with the intention of splashing some water from the bathroom sink on his face, but his feet take him somewhere else.

He stares at the nameplate on the door. He swore he’d never go back, yet he feels compelled to knock.

It only takes her a few moments to answer. “Dr. Reid. Can I help you?” she asks.

“I…” He sighs. “Are you busy?”

“No. Come on in.” She steps to the side, opening the door wider to let him pass. He sits down on the couch.

She waits patiently. She doesn’t rush him. She lets him speak first.

He wrings his hands in his lap, staring down at them. “Something you said is bothering me.”

“What was it?”

“About… living,” he admits quietly. “I… I think you might have been right.”

When he gets the courage to glance up at her, he finds a soft smile on her face. “Would you like to talk about it?”

Spencer hadn’t realized he was expecting judgment and disdain until it didn’t happen. His shoulders slump down in relief. “Yeah,” he says. “Yeah, I think I would.”

---

“You’re still thinking about her, aren’t you?”

Spencer looks up from his paperwork, slightly out of it, to find Derek watching him. His coworker had, indeed, caught him thinking about her again. His psychologist. Well, former psychologist. After his second session back with her, she’d handed over a clearance form and a referral to a therapist outside the bureau to see long-term.

“And you better follow up with that,” she’d told him, the corner of her mouth turning up despite her serious tone of voice. “I’ll know if you don’t.”

He’d promised that he would, and had followed through. But despite the progress he was making with the new therapist, he was feeling a little disappointed that he didn’t get to see her anymore. He only saw her in passing, sometimes in the elevator or walking down the hallways of the building. They would exchange hellos, she would ask how he was doing, then give him a little wave as she left. Each time his heart would skip a beat, and he’d feel an urge to follow her to wherever she was going.

Yet he hadn’t quite realized why he seemed to be preoccupied with her until a dream he had a few weeks ago—a dream in which he found himself kissing her. Despite being alone in his bedroom, he’d woken up feeling embarrassed. He promised himself that he would put her out of his mind. Having a crush on his psychologist? It was ridiculous.

But then he saw her in the elevator a few days later and he couldn’t help but analyze her body language. It was open, and she twirled her hair around a finger while she looked at him to ask him how he was. A few other people entered the elevator on the next floor, but her attention remained on him. They were subtle signs, but signs that he recognized nonetheless—signs of attraction. And once he started seeing them, he couldn’t stop.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Spencer tells Derek, picking back up the pen he hadn’t noticed he dropped.

“You can’t pull that on me, kid,” he replies. “It’s your psychologist. You can’t stop thinking about her, can you?”

Spencer sighs. “So what if I can’t?”

“So go ask her out already!” Derek says like it’s obvious.

“You don’t think that’s just a little inappropriate?”

“You’re not seeing her as a client anymore, are you?” he points out. “Go for it, kid. You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Spencer takes the advice—as soon as Derek said it, he knew he was right. He would regret not taking a chance on her and the connection he felt. Sure, she’d helped him with therapy, but it went deeper than that. It feels like she knows him.

He leaves the bullpen ten minutes early that evening, hoping to catch her before she leaves for the day. On her doorstep, he feels just as nervous as he did on the day he admitted that she was right, but it’s a different kind of nervous. An excited nervous. He knocks on the door.

She’s surprised when she seems him. He watches as her pupils dilate, and it boosts his confidence. “Dr. Reid. Can I help you?”

“You can. I’d like to talk,” he says.

“Oh. Well, I guess I could do that,” she says. “I thought things were going well with the therapist I referred you to, though.”

He shakes his head. “No, I don’t mean I want an appointment.”

Her eyebrows come together in confusion. “Okay, then, what do you want?”

Spencer doesn’t hesitate. “I want to take you out to dinner.”

“I’m sorry, what?”

“I really like you, and I think we’re meant to be together,” he replies, voice softening a bit.

She pauses before answering. When she does, her voice is gentle. “Dr. Reid, sometimes a medical professional’s care can start to feel like affection over a period of time, but--”

“No one has ever listened to me like you do,” he interrupts.

“That’s my job,” she points out.

“I’ve seen therapists before, but none of them have been like you,” he counters. “You understand me.”

She sighs. “Well, I’m glad I was a good fit and was able to help you. But that doesn’t mean that I see you as anything more than a client.”

“You’re lying.”

“Excuse me?”

“You do feel something more for me,” he says firmly, but then backtracks a little. “Well, I know you’re attracted to me at least.”

She blinks and shakes her head slightly, take aback. “Dr. Reid, this is not appropriate--”

“Please call me Spencer,” he says, then jumps into his explanation. “See, when we’re attracted to someone, our bodies display involuntary signals, and I’ve seen you do some of them when you’re around me. Whenever we run into each other here, your body will turn a little towards me and you’ll play with your hair. Your attention is almost entirely focused on me. And, when you see me, your pupils dilate. They did it when you opened the door just a few minutes ago. Oh, and I’m attracted to you, by the way,” he adds as he realizes how one-sided he’s been. “I imagine my pupils probably dilate when I see you, too.”

Her mouth opens and closes a few times, like she wants to speak but doesn’t know what to say. She looks flustered, and he wonders if maybe he’s pushed it too far or said too much, but he can’t turn back now. “So, please, let me take you out,” he says quietly. “Just… just give it a chance.”

She bites her lip and looks at the ground. There’s a crease between her eyebrows, which he’s come to learn means she’s thinking. She speaks seriously when she looks back up. “If I go out with you, I can’t treat you anymore. If you ever need another evaluation or session, you’d have to get it from someone else.”

“I know,” he says. “I get along well with the therapist you referred me to, though. And having to get clearance from a different psychologist at the bureau is something I’m willing to give up in favor of getting to know you better.”

She considers him. “You’re serious about this,” she states.

It’s not a question, but he answers it anyways. “I am.”

She tilts her head to the side, eyes unfocusing as she ponders the situation. Eventually, she says, “Let me think about it.”

It’s not exactly the answer he was hoping for, but he’ll take it.

---

It’s only six PM, but Spencer is already exhausted. He unlocks his apartment door, fully intending to collapse onto his bed, but instead receives a pleasant surprise in the form of his girlfriend waiting for him on the couch. He can’t help but smile.

“Sweetie, what are you doing here?” he asks, then adds, “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Penelope told me it was a bit of a rough case,” she replies. “And I missed you.”

She holds out her arms and he takes the invitation, joining her on the couch and laying down between her legs, placing his head on her chest. “I missed you, too.”

Her next words are overly familiar. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Hey, we agreed to no therapy,” he says. “Something about I can’t be your client anymore?”

She huffs. “This isn’t therapy. This is being a good partner.”

Spencer smiles into the fabric of her shirt, snuggling in closer. “I know, I’m just teasing you. I don’t need to talk about the case,” he says, finally answering her original question. “I feel fine now that I’m here with you.”

She lets out a pleased hum and starts running her fingers through his hair. “I ordered take-out for dinner, by the way.”

“Where from?”

“You know where.”

A wide grin spreads across his face. She must have ordered take-out from the restaurant he took her to on their first date. He lifts his head to look her in the eye. “Aren’t you glad you said yes to me all those months ago?”

“Oh, I suppose,” she says with pretend annoyance, rolling her eyes.

Then she kisses him.

Spencer’s never been so happy to be alive.

---------------

tell me what you thought here!

please note that i DO NOT ENDORSE asking out your therapist/former therapist. this is fanfiction. thank you.

general taglist: @calm-and-doctor​ , @spencerreid9​