#and he doesnt fall for her and the way he plays it its clearly because of her wait

[chucklepea-hotpot]

Susan's what if scene in s6e11 makes so absolutely sick, nauseous and angry.

[sabine-smitten-obviously]

Good Omens - December reads part #1- fanfics recs 🤓🩷🎄

I ´ve decided to write a short summary each month about the books i read. I need this to let go of the stories, its a nice way of saying good-bye to them and to spread the love to the authors and to you. 🩷

I only read finished stories and rarely one-shots. You will find no WIPs in here, as i really like to dive deep into the plot and i keep losing track of WIPs. Also you will only find happy or at least hopeful endings here - i couldn´t handle anything else.

Thank you to @di-42 for inspiring me to do this with her own monthly review! 🤗 Check her out, she is an incredible author!

Also i try to find every author here on tumblr to link-to, but sadly some times i am out of luck. If you happen to know them, please tell them, write to me in the comments or DM me and i will update the post!

Multichapter Fanfics

Forbidden roman(ce) by WorseOmens

Sadly this story seems to have been deleted, also the author is not on AO3 at the moment. Maybe they have disabled or deleted their account. Its a pity, because it was a truly nice story.

It plays in ancient Rome. Crowley is living in a villa just outside Rome and "inherits" a slave from his uncle. For at first undisclosed reasons he tries to keep him away from his other slaves - and what other way is there than to spend time with him himself?

A nice story, only a bit angsty to me, and the last 2 chapters really cracked me to sobbing tears. I do so hope that the fic goes up again or that some of you might know the author and tell them about this. Maybe some of you have downloaded the story already (just like i had) and will still be able to enjoy it!

Lunacy by @snae-b

OMG - i have been a sucker for the whole Alien-Films for decades. If you know them (Sigourney Weaver - i mean how cool can you be stearing a hauling-robot to kill an alien?) - you know the feeling they produce.

This is exactly what this story is able to capture. Crowley is head of a mining-crew on the outer borders of the known space. Aziraphale is a geologist coming with them. The plot is an angsty pageturner which had me leave the light on at night. Just loved it and made its way to my re-read list. 👽

Love in the Garden by @tawnyontumblr

It´s the early 90ties, its UK and its gay. HIV and Aids are kind of a rumor, no one knows exactly what is going on. Aziraphale and Crowley find themselves right in the middle of it. This story is SO SO important, but please do mind the tags before you start. It will be a hard read. 🩷 To me it was very precious, this is exactly my teenager-time and i remember it all too well. Please remember i only rec stories with a happy ending! Apart from that - i am SO thankful for how far we have come concerning this disease.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Goodbye? by appleseeds

Human AU; Aziraphale is dragged to a Halloween-Haunted-Castle-"Party" by his friend Tracy. He clearly would rather curl up in bed with a book than being there, but thank Someone there is this beautiful stranger sitting across of him, who doesn´t seem to want to be here either. They go ghost-hunting through the castle - what will they find? 😅

The small ad by @theladydrgn and @sylwritesstuff

Tall, lanky ginger of arguable gender available to be your significant other ... This is the ad Crowley puts out and Aziraphale decides to call. With the family reunion ahead he doesn´t want to go there alone - again. Gabriel would be too much of a nuisance. You can imagine the rest!

I love the authors and have read more of their books in the past. They are always very easy to follow, funny and satisfyingly smutty. 🌶😁

Three two one, we go live by HazelSage

Crowley is falling in love with his secretary Aziraphale, while secretly being addicted to a camboy called "not an angel". What he doesnt know - Aziraphale has a secret side-hussle ...

The story is merely an excuse for writing lots of cam-scenes with Aziraphale having solo-sx for his fans-only-channel. Do mind the tags !! Plot-to-Smut-Ratio = 15:85 😁

Tastes by @tawnyontumblr

Aziraphale is bound to be wedded and searches Crowley´s help to become a rake so that his betrothed doesn´t want to marry him any longer. Love in regency times, gentle gender discussions in a time that no-one even knew or at least talked about it. Wonderful story that had me re-read whole pages because they were so touching. Also: very hot!

One-Shots!

Anthony J. Crowley, Retired Demon and Airbnb Superhost by @theoldaquarian

I found this story through another rec from @di-42 and it really had me laughing. Crowley rents his flat out as an Airbnb and here you can read what people say about it. Very funny! 😅 The author seems to have deleted their tumblr-account, so i couldn´t link them.

Naked and afraid: Jingle Hell by @klikandtuna

Crowley and Aziraphale don´t know each other, they participate in the same TV-Show, which is called "Naked and Afraid" and is set in the Jungle. It´s a survival show. The rest is a very funny plot exclusively consisting of banter and scene-descriptions.

Not really a One-Shot, it´s over 20k, but i stumbled in and it was just so funny that i kept on reading. Biggest laugh: "I’m about to lose a testicle to frostbite." 😅 A christmas-story you can read all year through.

Some strangeness in the proportion by @trailingoff

Set after the end of S1. Aziraphale has been punished by the "destruction of the demon" and he grieves deeply. He moves into Crowleys flat and just wants to be alone. If just this angel wouldn´t keep showing up, trying to help him overcome his feelings.

Loved this one, it was written before S2 and somehow i wonder if it doesn´t hit to the point with its message ... Also a bit longer for a one-shot with 11.500 words.

Puttin on the Ritz by @moonyinpisces

It´s New York, it´s the 1920ies and Aziraphale is on a heavenly mission, when he accidentally bumps into Crowley. As part of their arrangement Crowley decides to take over and Aziraphale gets to watch a demonic temptation for the first time. Will he be able to resist? A short, funny, fluffy smut story. 😉

Incredible Artwork by Zoe @vavoom-sorted-art 🩷

Green Light by @dragonfire42

After the second not-coming Aziraphale decides it´s time for him to finally "cum". He uses all the historical appropriate terms to tell Crowley his wish and can´t fathom why Crowley doesn´t understand. At least at first. When he does, 6000 years of pining break loose. Very funny!

All i want for christmas by @naromoreau

Oh i loved that story so much! Crowley is the single-dad to Warlock, Aziraphale the single-dad to Adam. They meet at school for the christmas-party of their kids, where Aziraphale also acts as Santa Claus and asks Crowley to help him dress up. How they end up in the janitory closet? Guess you have to find out! Very sweet and hot. 🎅🩷

So thats 13 fanfics in the first 8 days - wow. I never kept track of my readings this way and i am a bit surprised myself. thanks to all the wonderful authors for making my nights! 🤗

[hotvintagepoll]

Propaganda

Toshia Mori (The Bitter Tea of General Yen, Blondie Johnson)—i think Toshia Mori is a great example of someone who clearly had the makings and charisma of a star & who its easy to imagine thriving in a less white supremacist system than 20s and 30s hollywood. she began acting in silent movies in the late 20s, and in 1932 was selected as a "WAMPAS Baby Star" which was an annual promotion of promising up-and-coming young actresses by the Western Association of Motion Picture Advertisers, becoming the first Asian woman to do so. previous baby stars included Clara Bow, Joan Crawford, and Joan Blondell, and another 1932 honoree was Ginger Rogers. this likely led to her most sizeable role in The Bitter Tea of General Yen (unfortunately a movie with a lot of orientalism going on and white actors in yellowface). she was well received but the studio seemed to lose interest in her career and she largely continued to get bit parts; her last appearance was in a Charlie Chan movie in 1937. she deserved better!!

Veronica Lake (I Married a Witch, Sullivan's Travels)—her look is so iconic they used her as a visual model for jessica rabbit in who framed roger rabbit and a bunch of other femme fatale types in cartoons and live action alike. i didnt think i liked women and then i saw her in sullivans travels and said gee i hope this doesnt awaken anything in me! every role ive seen her in she absolutely oozes an aura of "i know people would ask me to step on them" and her EYES bro every photo ive looked at for this submission its like shes piercing thru time and space to judge me <3

This is round 4 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Toshia Mori:

Veronica Lake:

Her HAIR, her FIGURE, her VOICE, the way she wore LEATHER AND SANG SONGS FOR NO REASON.

I don't believe there's a person on earth who can watch Veronica Lake in I Married A Witch and not be struck by how gorgeous she is. She had that youthful wonder about her that almost every Hollywood starlet was trying to achieve. Her hairstyle (peekaboo bangs) became an iconic Hollywood style after she popularized it, and made her signature look all the more suggestive. Also, witches are tumblrs favorite!

ICONIC hair sweep

The US government literally begged her to change her hairstyle because it was TOO HOT to handle and women who copied it were getting their hair caught in machinery

Her hairstyle was so iconic and popular that the war department had to come out with a PSA instructing lady ironworkers with ways they could pin their hair up to avoid it getting bound in machinery. [https://veteranlife.com/military-history/veronica-lake/]

She played a lot of femme fatale roles but my favorite is Sullivan’s Travels opposite Joel McRea, which is a comedy. She became famous for her hair style at the time—she wore it long and parted on one side so it would fall over half her face in a very sexy way. They called it a peek-a-boo I think. You’ve definitely seen Bugs Bunny dressed up like her, so I think if she’s being honored in such a way she’s very cool.

look at her

she's GORGEOUS in her little witch outfits that she wore for promos and also in the oversized coats and pajamas she wore throughout the movie...she's got RANGE

My Grandpa supposedly dated her in high school, he drove her to school in his car every day. This is legend in the family.

She has gorgeous hair, has got the smouldering look over the shoulder down PAT, and is just drop-dead gorgeous too!

Schizophrenic icon, popularized the peekaboo hairdo long before Jessica Rabbit

She’s just so prettyyyyy

So much hot in such a tiny package. She was no more than 5 feet tall, and some reports claim as small as 4'9"

If you picture a femme fatale in your head, almost certainly Veronica Lake had a hand in shaping the image you think of. She came to embody the look of the noir leading lady as well as the sound and the performance. Certified Noir Baddie.

[lunatic-fandom-space]

I just saw a very interesting post about the difference between how todolf shippers look at todolf as a fantasy vs how elisatod shippers look at elisatod as a fantasy and i wanted to throw my two cents in regarding elisatod in canon, but Im feeling a lil shy so Im not reblogging it, and this is a pretty small fandom so Im sure youve already seen it or will see it if you just keep scrolling down. In case you havent, the gist of it is that for a lot of elisatod shippers (and for a lot of the people in charge of the more recent german-language productions) one of the biggest appeals of their dynamic is this idea that death doesnt love anyone except for Elisabeth which makes her special, whereas with todolf its more like. Im having a hard time summarizing it in my own words, I guess i personally would say that its literally just the inverse where todolf shippers think that death has a romantic relationship with everyone (or at least everyone who thinks a lot about death and dying) so the 'specialness' of it doesnt matter/doesnt factor into it, its basically just about their dynamic in a vacuum, but i dont think thats what the post was saying ? Whatever, we're talking about elisatod rn so it really doesnt matter

So, for me the most important thing about the love between Elisabeth and der Tod is that its pretty much unrequited until the moment she dies. Like, we have a brief moment of mutual interest when they first meet and she sings the little Wie Du reprise and (in the 1992 prod) he gives her this suggestive look after shes done, but after that its basically all him pursing her when she clearly does not want that, until Rudolf wo bist du where she is finally ready to give into him, but now he doesnt want her, and then they only really fall in mutual love when she dies and they basically have no other choice. This friction where they can never really be in mutual love because Elisabeth never wants to lose her agency or control over her life until she doesnt and tries to give it up, and Tod only "wants" her when shes clinging on to life and rejecting him, is the core of their relationship.

Now, you'll notice that i put the word 'wants' in quotes when i was talking about Tod and thats because i dont think he, as originally witten in the vienna productions, is capable of wanting anything because hes not a person, hes a reflection of the people around him and because of that, his behaviour in any given scene is determined by the context around him. I know thats kind of a clunky way of phrasing that, but I have to do describe it in such a broad and vague way because his behaviour is really not consistant. For an example of what Im talking about, in Elisabeth mach auf mein Engel, he tells Elisabeth that he loves her but hes only doing that in contrast to Franz Joseph; her husband comes up to her trying to burden her with his own problems when she's feeling bad and in need of comfort herself, meanwhile death is offering her unconditional love. Another example that I like is in Die Schatten werden länger reprise, where he has to start the song because Rudolf is too paralysed by fear to articulate his feelings until he has his support

But the moment of death's behaviour being influenced by the people hes interacting with that I find the most interesting, is his introduction during the prologue where the people he's interacting with are the audience. Because during that part of the song, hes essentially playing into the audience's expectation that Elisabeth and death will be a traditional soft tragic romance, hes talking about her in a very gentle and wistful way and in way that subtly implies that she was the only person he ever loved, but then during the actual story, hes treating her very aggressively and their relationship is honestly pretty unpleasant, and we can clearly see that she was not the only person he ever loved because his and Rudolf's relationship is just as intense in a similar overtly romantic way (and arguably more so because its mutual and requited). But then obviously we got Kein Kommen ohne Gehen which essentially contradicts all of this and severely clashes with the entire rest of the elisatod relatio ship, but its late and if i start complaining about that, Im gonna add another 2 paragraphs to this post

So yeah, these are some of my thoughts about elisatod, i have a lot more but its 2am and i just soent two hours writing this and I can feel my brain turn into mush, so yeabh. please let me know what you think

[warcholica]

i really like the how the olgimskys designs in the first pathologic play around with material. obviously – mainly with fur.

big vlad has his huge fur coat – it's very much in spirit of his hes bourgeoisie caricature like design. it's arguably not the best looking and i dont think that's intentional – his coat in patho 2 is clearly supposed to look very cozy and nice. i actually like how symmetrically the fur falls in the upper back of the original design. it's charming. overall the coat really emphasizes this very old school idea of wealth.

it reads to me clearly as fashion, not as an uniform – alexanders outfit is very elaborate as well, but it does read very, well, governorish. vlads quite extravagant compared to the other rulers.

and that design philosophy is not really typical for pathologic, i don't really think it is – grief does fall into it a bit, but that's all. it makes vlad stand out in some really cool ways, as he has an unique silhuette. it's kind of insane how well theyre able deal with a character that has to overpass the barriers of their standard design. everyone knows that his face in p2 is like. insanely well made. but did you maybe notice how good his voice acting in the original pathologic is? ridicoulously good compared to like. anna. it really makes me wish they decided on more variety regarding other characters. oh well.

let's talk p1 kapella because shes obviously a showstopper. besides her obvious cuteness, i like how much it focuses on jeans as a material. it is, i think, a symbol of wealth in her case. i am polish and for me there was always this idea floating around than during the PRL period jeans was considered to be a luxury good.

(here it is represented in ryszard zamorski's sculpture "playboy"-- a pop art image of a smiling man covered in jeans from head to toe. fun. hip. well-off)

and so she is draped in jeans, just like her father is draped in fur – her wealth manifests clearly as well.

its also worth noting, that she has fur details on her collar too. that plays into the visual identity of them as a family – she is his daughter, she is a successor. i love her biig satin bow. so cute. makes her look like a very pretty rich girl. old-school wealth with a modern-ish twist.

and i think you already know where i'm going with this. yeah... vlad jr does not have any fur element in his p1 outfit. i like to overinterpret that.

like in the context, i feel fur represents mainly wealth – but it's also worth noting that it's a material foreign to the setting. i really like the spindle touch quote from p2

and i think it works for fur in p1 as well, although, obviously, every textile material comes from outside town.

but whats fur outside of that? lets think fur as a symbol a cruelty that also connects man with nature. fur as a terribly sensual material. ​

and vlad doesnt wear it: what are the reasons for that?

1. hes working with dirt. it would get dirty

2. he doesnt really like looking wealthy – hes not like the other olgimkys! the unusual simplicity is, to me, kind of reminicent of what victor is wearing – and vlads a successor to victor. in utopian ending hes supposed to tame maria/nina a little with his normalguyness. when you choose to do an utopian ending as artemy, he notes that maria will be dangerously wild without a husband

3. i think he denies himself luxury. because of how his shed looks i think hes an utopist that separates himself from the reality of his feelings – and so he separates himself from such a sensual material. but thats reallly a material for another, much more headcanonish post in which i will incorporate fragments from czesław miłosz's biography. i will make that one when ill play p2.

and btw: its a strange model, right? but i like it, i actually really do. i like how obviously blonde he is -- it is a soft callback to victoria. hes similar to her. her son.

also, i dont think it was intentional, i like how big he is in game. it feels like there is too much room for his soul in this body and so it echoes. i have the same feelings about like. ross from friends so thats more like a throwaway point.

it does manage to make him very much like a bussiness man – and vlad sr in his bourgouise caricature swag is very bussinessmannish as well. so maybe in that way he takes after him too? just a bit.

this is all very surface level analysis, but i do think about it a lot. i think p1 managed to communicate what it wanted to do with those characters very clearly through visual language.

[kdramaxoxo]

hihi!! i wanna ask for a list of dramas with a lead whos cold, mysterious, haunted by a troubled past, secretive, prolly has a vocabulary of like 10 words. but is super soft on the inside, like they push ppl away cus theyre afraid of hurting them or being abandoned or smthn like that. ik this is hyper specific so sryyy if its hard to answer, but all my fave characters fit this bill so wanted to kno if u have any kdrama that can give me this high (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧ thxxx!! ♡

p.s. it doesnt have to b exxxactly this but if it fits a few of the categories, ill be happi! ♡♡

We LOVE mysterious haunted trauma babies over here so thank you for this ask. (also this might be one of my favorite lists ever??)

K-Dramas leads with cold personalities/mysterious past, secretive trauma pups...morally grey a plus

The Smile has left your eyes - Kim Moo-Young Aside from this k-drama being a masterpiece that’ll leave you a pile of tears, Seo in Guk as Kim Moo-Young is the perfect example of a morally grey character you will fall in love with. He’s involved in a murder plot line, uses women to get what he wants and is clearly hiding something. You’ll try to resist being interested in him sure, but you’ll fail.

Beyond Evil - both leads This is a passionate unrequited romance crime drama about two detectives that are paired up to solve a crime in a small town. Everyone is really messed up and that's what makes this drama super good! Scary, haunted and super well written.

Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938 - Lee Rang Lee Rang is one of my favorite trauma pup blorbo from my shows! This drama is the second season of the fantasy drama Tale of the Nine Tailed. I recommend you watch both but season two was my favorite because it focused on Lee Rang. You will LOVE HIM! MUST PROTEC.

Alice The Final Weapon - Gyeo Wool Finally a GIRL with a traumatic past and the boy who loves her!! Actually everyone in this drama is messed up and dealing with horrific things. It's a very short and creative little drama and despite the gore, I really fell for the mains! They are blorbo from my shows!

See You In My 19th Life (both leads) This drama featuring a woman who can remember her past lives was one of my favorites this year! Both leads are tackling the trauma of the FL's death and there is a lot of healing that has to happen. Shin Hye Sun is a goddess!

The Eighth Sense - Jae Won A queer kdrama about two leads that meet surfing and fall in love. This drama is my favorite "bl" k-drama ever and the lead definitely has a traumatic past he's in therapy for. I highly recommend this one!

Flower of Evil - Hyun Soo: A psychological thriller centered around a jewelry maker who is running from his past, and his cop wife (power couple alert!)  who doesn’t know his original identity. The chemistry of the couple is amazing and all of the characters are nuanced and interesting. I was on the edge of my seat, AND sobbing! Also, I finally understand Lee Jun Ki stans, he was SO GOOD in this! A total trauma pup you won't believe it.

Doom at Your Service: Doom A girl is diagnosed with cancer and a morally grey god grants her wish to live 100 more days the way she wants to live. While I didn't LOVE this drama, the romance is amazing - that KISS! Doom is the perfect damaged god with a chip on his shoulder.

Hello Monster - Lee Hyun and His Brother Jung Sun-Ho Featuring two brothers who have a murderous backstory, both are morally grey. Sure one is definitely “worse” than the other when it comes to being a murder baby but let’s face it - they both have their problems (sorry, didn’t want to post any spoilers so that’s all I can say about that!)

The Crowned Clown: Ha-seon The King The contrast between the good guy and the bad guy in this historical drama are so interesting to watch because one brilliant actor (Yeo Jin Goo) plays the same character. The king is insane and a murderer. He’s terrible in every way with literally no way to be redeemed but you’ll still feel for him…just watch.

My Liberation Notes - Mr. Gu This slice of life takes place mostly in a small town where siblings who really don't want to be there, live. Mr. Gu is renting one of the buildings and he's extremely burdened and and keeps to himself. I personally didn't ship him with the lead but he's definitely the type you're asking for!

Scarlet Heart Ryeo: Wang Soo Scarlet heart will destroy you, but you’ll also find yourself deeply empathetic to (and totally in love with) the most toxic of princes: Wang Soo. Cast out by his relatives, and treated like an animal he’s deeply wounded and despite knowing in your heart that he’s done terrible things, you’ll find yourself making excuses for him and imagining him as your boyfriend (wait…can you ignore that last sentence?)

Summer Strike - Both leads This slice of life has a quiet and thoughtful male lead who is traumatized by the murder of his sibling. I was a little disappointed in the ending but overall the show's mains were so soft and lovely.

Just Between Lovers - Both leads but. Kang Doo! I'm sure you knew I'd put this on the list but kang doo is my favorite trauma baby of all time. Slice of Life romance between poor pups just trying to live! The OTP is one of my favorite couples EVER and even as the years go on, very few couples have matched their love in my opinion. There’s a lot of comfort/healing themes with for me is just *chef’s kiss.* Lee Junho became my bias wrecker because of that drama.

Psycho But It’s Okay - Everyone A gorgeous k-drama using fairytale narrations as a backdrop, features two brothers who lost their mother, and a beautiful & famous author who grew up in a traumatic and abusive household. Everyone is very closed off and holding onto intense pain, but the three come together to help one another move on and find happiness. Gorgeous angsty and melodramatic romance.

Thirty But Seventeen - Woo Jin Precious puppies with past trauma! The main has basically stopped living his life because of his past. Don’t be turned off by the shows description as it turned out to be one of the best surprises of 2018 for me. The leads are lovely and everyone relies and supports one another - it’s so sweet.

Come and Hug Me - Do Jin This thriller is not for the faint of heart but the main theme is healing. Two friends are torn apart when the boy’s dad kills the girls entire family. Later in life, they find one another and walk on the path to healing while still being tormented by their past. It also focuses on the trauma and manipulation the killer has on the whole family, making the show beautiful, terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time. 

Goblin: Grim Reaper Most of you have watched this drama but I’ll try hard not to spoil it. The Grim Reaper is such a hilarious character in the current time line but in order to be a Grim Reaper, you have to have done something “bad” to become one. His pain is deep and cutting and you’ll want to protect him.

It’s Okay that’s love: Jang Jae-yeol This is one of those cold male leads that you’ll just end up liking even though he’s kinda the worst in that “Pickup Artist” type of way? I had this show listed in my top 10 but then I recently watched it again and realized I’ve made progress in my “don’t like jerks who display jerk behavior” because he’s kinda an ass. You’ll soften for him when the plot moves along for sure, but he’s aggressive and says really sexist things sometimes (as does most of the male characters honestly - i really need to remove this from my top 10)…

Enjoy!

[tallulah477]

YESS loak who lives in his brothers shadows falling for the girl that was BETHROTHED to his brother (who has a nasty attitude and isnt well liked within her inner circles but her people loves her bc shes nice to them only in her own ways lol) is a level of angst that is so hot

like loaks reaction when neteyam confided in him telling him hes gonna run away with his maid/childhood friend and loak is like ???? youre going to run away from your duties? and neteyam is just like yeah i love my beloved more than aristocracy lifestyle

few months have passed since then and now jake is stressed out from all of this - his oldest son is missing and no one knows where he or his maid is (except loak who he sends letters too from time to time)

and like u said he NEVER thought he would be the next king he had his whole life plan out, train the knights for his brothers army, date some girl who isnt ultra famous and wealthy but in the middle and settle down and pop out a few kids and now his whole world is turned around because he now has to fill in his brothers (complicated) shoes and hes realizing how intense this was all for neteyam and hes has to learn it pronto

but omg poor princess??? the man she was supposed to marry since she was practically born, has been told from a young age she was going to be prettiest wife to neteyam and then he goes into hiding for some maid ??? that would break her ego so bad, and now she has to marry the brother who all he does is play knight oh its so bad for her

but as they hang out they slowly (so slow neteyam would have his first baby by then lmfao) they slowly begin to become friendish - princess finds it hard because her attitude is the worse and she cant accept the fact that she likes someone who all he wanted to be was a trainor for the knights

and loak is trying to ignore that she was originally supposed to marry neteyam, he knows neteyam never liked her but it still fucks with him sometimes but he gets over it eventually

AND OMLLL princess!reader who goes to visit loak on the training grounds and shes definitely does not fit in bc shes hoping her custom made dress doesnt have mud on it as she tiptoes bc god its gross here and she asks the knights where loak and they guide her to where she is

cue her knocking on the door and opening it to see loaks back and oh my god his back is so hot its so broad and waist is so tiny and hes sweating n loak just turns around like what?? meanwhile her face is super red bc she didnt know he was that built underneath that hes leaner than the knights he trains who are meatheads but he was still so defined and the mixed metal necklaces he wore just compliments him so well and now shes needs to find her maid and ask her what are these feelings

— 🤍

Catch up on the story:

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five

Extra: One | Two

CW:// Slight Mention of Pregnancy

Right?! She has such a "don't fuck with me, I'm not the one," attitude. She needs to be serious all the time, needs to always have her head on straight and can't make stupid mistakes because if she does, she loses all credibility. Sure, she's kind and looks out for her people, helping them and protecting them however she can, and her people see that and appreciate that - but she doesn't want to act like the emotionless bitch that she has to be. She wants to be happy, free to genuinely smile and feel what she feels, but she knows that if she shows even the hint of too much emotion, too much weakness, she's just going to be ripped apart.

And Lo'ak can understand that. He knows what it's like to not be able to be who you want to be. His whole life he's been compared to his perfect brother: Neteyam who is better at facilitating communication between neighboring kingdoms, Neteyam who speaks clearly and takes responsibility humbly when needed, Neteyam who's never had to be told not to slouch during court. He's been cast aside as the 'spare', but not invisible enough to not need to be on his game.

He can't joke around like he wants to, at least not without Jake and Neytiri hissing at him to behave. He can't go exploring, can't go out and see what far away lands have to offer because "your duties are here, son". So he found something that he enjoys, a way to get out all his pent up energy and aggression, and he's good at it. So good. He has a true gift for training the knights, getting them ready to battle and protect the kingdom, but even that's sometimes overshadowed by his brother - having to train Neteyam to fight, train Neteyam to be the best, even better than himself - to be worthy of the crown he would get one day.

Would have gotten. Because Neteyam is gone now. And somehow the responsibility, and all the duties that come with it, have fallen on Lo'ak's shoulders and now more than ever he feels he can't be himself.

He would understand how Princess feels . . . if he could get over his own bitterness.

Jake is freaking out - he's sent out a search party on multiple occasions looking for Neteyam and his runaway maid, but they can't find them. Neteyam is smart, building their cottage outside of the kingdom's boundaries, and the only person who knows the location of it is Lo'ak. Lo'ak is bitter, of course, and angry with his brother for what he's done to him. But he would never give up their location. He wants his brother to be happy, so he keeps the information to himself.

He appreciates the letters he gets from Neteyam though. They make him smile, to see that his brother is finally living the life he's always wanted: something calm and peaceful with the woman he loves. He's super giddy when he gets the letter that Neteyam and his wife are expecting their first child. He's going to be an uncle! And the news makes him so happy that he just can't help but smile all day, sneaking off to tell Kiri and Tuk the good news too, and Princess is just looking at him like he's crazy - "Why is he so smiley all of a sudden? What could he possibly be happy about?"

Their relationship is rocky at the start . . . and in the middle. At first, when she was still Neteyam's betrothed, Lo'ak thought she was a spoiled brat. And now that they're supposed to be together, they can't stand each other even more. But the more time they spend together, the more they can't help how their eyes start to trace the other's movements. Their ears seem to always latch on to the sound of the other's voice. Random thoughts popping into their heads about the other (how nice they look in their formal attire, how their eyes glimmer in the glow under the chandeliers) before they have to physically shake those thoughts out, annoyed that they were even there to begin with.

Lo'ak actually growls to himself when the thought of Princess, round and beautiful with their own future child, her fancy custom-made gown falling perfectly over the bump, pops into his head after he finds out Neteyam's expecting.

He's shaking a similar thought out of his head as he's undressing after a rather intense training session. The new knights he's training are annoying, young men who think they're so great and are flooded with undeserved confidence and it just makes Lo'ak want to rip his hair out. But he heard a couple of them whispering about how beautiful Princess is, and how they'd give anything for a night with her and Lo'ak can't seem to justify the dark feeling swirling around in his chest when he hears it.

He thinks it's one of them who slams the door open, come to annoy him even more with stupid questions or overconfident remarks, but instead it's her. The woman he can't seem to get out of his head. She's panting, face flushed with exertion from trying to walk through the mud coated ground. The bottom of her dress is covered with dark brown, once shiny heels now sticky and sinking into the ground. She always looks so put together and clean, so the ruined look throws him off a bit and he can't help but think that she looks beautiful like this too - all flushed and hair out of place from where she tossed it over her shoulder carelessly in her frustration just to get it out of her face. She's scowling, mouth opened ready to give him a few choice words no doubt, but her words die in her mouth when she sees him: topless, corded muscles and strong back on display, all glistening and sweaty and fuck - now she feels like she's starting to sweat.

She's never seen a male like this before. Never seen so much skin. And he turns around when she enters, surprised and the question "what are you doing here?" falling from his lips, but she doesn't answer. Can do nothing more than gape at him like a fish because now his broad chest is on display too, tapering down into a narrow waist. All he's got on is a pair of tight black pants and boots, and her eyes can't help but linger on the slight bulge she can see from where they hug him between his legs.

She feels hot all over, a tight ball forming in her stomach the longer she looks at him and it's only when she feels a strange wetness pooling between her own thighs that she snaps out of her trance. She turns and leaves without a word, running to her bedroom and immediately calling for her maid. If she ever had a best friend, it would be her maid - the person who has been there as her helper ever since she was a little girl. Her helper, her protector, her guide.

Her maid's eyes widen as they take in the look of her Princess's state - dress ruined and covered in mud, face hot and red with embarrassment and something else she can't quite place.

"I don't know what I'm doing!" the Princess cries. And her maid is there for her, to clean her up and wrap her in soft blankets, ready to hear what her Princess has to tell and give her the best advice she can.

[spiderjellys]

inara kissing mal in our mrs. reynolds is my enemy forever and forever. like creepy and bad writing? pick a struggle. it’s just so odd to have in there.

inara places a lot of importance on consent and consistently establishes boundaries in both her work & her personal life so her kissing mal when he’s unconscious is very out of character for her, imo? it seems like just a vehicle for the subsequent scenes between them in that ep and to lay the groundwork for mal/inara. it feels like they needed a way to show that inara cares about mal but without a big reveal & confession. they show her kissing him without him knowing ( :| ) so that the audience knows inara cares about mal but mal doesnt. but it ends up very… jarring and derivative because a) he’s unconscious. that’s disgusting. she wouldnt do that. and b) we already know inara cares about mal, it doesnt need to be spoon fed to the audience. even just in that ep, it’s so so so so obvious that she cares for him deeply. inara realized saffron was dangerous and had done something to serenity or the crew to warrant escaping, but as soon as saffron told her that mal was dead inara let her go and ran straight to find mal. she was so clearly worried about him and relieved when she found him alive.

inara did not need to kiss mal when he’s unconscious and changing the scene would not affect the episode at all. if inara had just fell and hit her head like she pretended to bc she had been so worried about mal she wasnt careful, it couldve played out the exact same. she would still be embarrassed about falling bc she’s usually much more graceful, and esp embarrassed about WHY she fell (concern over mal). mal wouldve still assumed that she had kissed saffron and inara would still not admit how she feels about him. its dumb and i hate it. who wrote this lame shit i could do sm better🐥

[stevie-petey]

I loved chapter six!! I think it's really cool that Nancy can see Steve's love from the outside. When she was with Steve there was too much going on for her to see what he was trying to do for her, and there was also all that angsty teenage bullshit happening. (Not related but did you hear they retconned Jonathan taking photos of Nancy and Steve? Weird.) Anyway, she couldn't see what Steve was trying to do, her grief and guilt with Barbara was overbearing. Steve's love wasn't what she needed and Jonathan was what she needed. Now that Jonathan's in California and there having issues she can see the love between bug and Steve more clearly. Nancy never really looked at Steve and bugs relationship, she had her own to be in. Nancy and Jonathan had their own little dynamic and they loved each other just like Steve and bug do.

I really liked what you did with Nancy's insecurity, how she worried that maybe Jonathan wanted bug again (valid cause he is slipping) like Jonathan wanting bug back would hurt worse than them just falling out of love or him meeting someone new. It's not just pain/heartbreak but confirmation of deep insecurities. I appreciate you cutting the stancy scenes and keeping everything friendly. If bug had to sit there and endure every lingering look or flirty comment I'd crash out. I understand that there may be moments like that later on when Nancy is taking care of Steve's wounds or their talking about old times, but still it's nice it isn't going down a jealous, comparison, competition trope. Nancy understands Steve's love for bug and vice versa. I can see where the girls affecting each other is gonna come from. Bug knowing about the phone call and how Nancy doesn't know. It's easy for that guilt to turn to paranoia. I mean they used to date, Steve used to be head over heels for Nancy just like bug was for Jonathan. Why do bug and Jonathan always reveal their feelings too late 😭. What's with them??? Like bug Waited until Jonathan was basically with Nancy and Jonathan starts saying he wishes things turned out different when bug was with Steve and deeply in love??

It makes me so sad that Nancy doesn't know what Jonathan said. She's almost completely in the dark, she feels him distancing himself but can't do anything about it. I hope when he comes back to Hawkins he gets his shit together but I doubt it. I feel like he won't be able to hide how he feels when he's around bug. He'll deny it, but everyone can see it. It may be some kind of confirmation for Nancy and that may make tension between bug and Nancy grow. And the second bugs okay, Steve will not be playing with Jonathan. He's gonna be so petty. And Jonathan is gonna be a little shit, two snarky boys pushing each other's buttons. Or maybe he'll realize he was wrong and it'll just be awkward, because the way Steve will act around him will be enough for Jonathan to put the dots together that Steve knows what he said.

god ive been WAITING to have some smaller scenes of nancy finally recognizing how steve has grown and changed for bug and how different he is now and happy <333 but not in a bitter way but in a "i once cared for this person deeply, seeing them happy now makes me nostalgic but warm". i also wanted to show how her sudden realization that steve and bug love each other just as much as nancy loves jonathan. they reflect one another :(((

as for nancy and her insecurities regarding bug, we will see even more of that later !!! and vice versa with bug and her fears about nancy (because theyre there, trust me, just subtle !!) and with bug knowing about jon while nancy doesnt ,,, it WILL complicate things and TRUST it gets resolved !!! well. kinda. in a way. (for now)

and why do jon and bug reveal feelings too late ?? WELL ! its their flaw lmao. it was their overall arc for seasons 1 and 2. they kept missing each other every time. jon loved bug all season 1 and the moment she realized she loved him, it was too late. and i wont say its necessarily happening again but this time with jon, but ,,,, history can be a tricky thing. it can leave scars that reopen and bleed.

now what will steve do once the people stop dying and jon returns ??? LMAO. hes gonna be pissed and im excited for petty steve season 5 mans is gonna be hovering over jon like a hawk and hes just gonna be in a corner scared but sarcastic as always. god im excited for season 5 yall dont understand because by then my girls will be all nice n settled with one another - finishing THEIR jealousy arc while jon and steve BEGIN theirs lmao

[kabukibun]

i cant believe im typing this i-

since its the tcg patch, heres this: scara teaching kabuki how to play tcg. Kabuki was honored bc usually scara only plays with wanderer (that brought the game to the house from the scholars in the academia) and anytime kabuki asked to join, scara would tell him to go away, that he doesnt know how to play and he will ruin the fun (even tho wanderer tells scara to zip it)

so when they start to play, scara will say the next few rounds will be for learning! He knows kabuki lacks alot of knowledge about humans, game logic included, so even after kabuki will catch the tcg rules, kinda, he could manipulate him.

Kabuki truly enjoys playing with his brother, even if he keeps losing, and he loves staring at the cards! Theyre so shiny and pretty! (Also wanderer made a custom mommy card in an extra art class he had, and since scara told kabuki he can have it, he should have KNOWN something is up. Red flag.)

Kabuki starts to learn, and scara explains the rules in a patient way that doesnt suit him at all. When kabuki wins, he let the pride get to his head (he made some wrong moves on purpose) and lets him relax. Then, he drops the next line:

"y'know, humans bet stuff when they play this game."

liar.

Kabuki doesnt understand gambling too well, but he believe his brother. He is quite concerned, and he tells scara he doesnt have any money. (Broke💀) scara tells him its fine, and betting isnt all about money. "For example," he says, "if i win, you stop running naked around the house, (He had enough, just like mommy) For, eh, week.." (he soften the deal)

"And if i win?"

"...you could share the milk time with me, and not have to wait for you and wanderers turn. For a week." (usually scara drinks alone)

Kabuki is excited. He plays, and he loses, and that puts a stop to mommys headaches... from him at least💀

He is ready to stop, he clearly lost, but scara keeps suggesting stuff he knows kabuki is interested in, and stuff kabuki can lose to him, before he says: "now.... if you lose, you give me 20% of your milk time with mommy." Kabuki is stunned! He tells scara thats not a good thing to bet on, because last time they somehow messed with their milk time, they got punished. But scara convince him with these words:

"If i lose, i give you mine."

Kabuki loses. And he loses again. And scara keeps making the milk time% higher and higher. And when his common sense finally sets and he wants to quit, he lost so much of his milk time and he wants to cry to mommy about it, (not snitch! Poor cutie kabuki just wants to cuddle with mommy and tell her he lost "fair and square" to scara.)

Then scara tells him - one more round. This time, he wont take his milk time, he just wants to keep kabuki from telling mommy. And if kabuki wins - he gets all his milk time back.

Of course, kabuki lost. And thats a good time to mention scara didnt explain ALL the rules to him.

Scara smirks, praising himself for this genius plan, while kabuki is sad and about to cry! Little did they both know, that when big bro wanderer came back home and saw scara and kabuki playing, he decided to spy on them and when the game was finished, he went to tell mommy.

Mommy is FURIOUS.

she already told them not to mess with the milk time, but the little stunt scara pulled truly crossed the line. While she is about to give scara the biggest punishment she can think of, AND taking his milk time, kabuki bursts into tears in the corner, begs for mercy from mommy, he truly believes hes as guilty as scara for gamblimg and falling for scaras tricks. Wanderer just rolls his eyes. Scara is now actually really really scared. Just an avarage day for them.

(Im so sorry its so long- i also never sent something to your blog before but i saw it for quite a while. Im sorry if theres any grammar errors english isnt my first language! And i hope you are okay with this stuff?)

such a cute scenario!!! 🫶

i can’t help but imagine scara having such a hard time holding back a smirk as he’s playing with kabuki.. his poker face gradually fading until he’s practically grinning at kabuki’s misery.

big bro wanderer being such a good spy for mommy, letting her know when her boys are up to no good! scara curses him for being a snitch while kabuki looks up to him for looking after them <3

wahhh kabukimono definitely would share at least half of the guilt with scara if he could. tcg match aside, if scara were to get in trouble, kabukimono would run up to mommy when she’s scolding him and tell her it’s his fault too! he should’ve told scara not to do it, or tried harder to stop him! kabuki’s puppy face has softened many punishments for scara…

(don’t worry it’s okay! i appreciate any length of asks sent to me :) thank you for seeing my blog for so long! no worries about your grammar, english isn’t my first language either!)

[kozykricket]

knight ramblings

alright so, im watching this video on how theres not only one knight, and going in im like. YEAYEA everyone is "the knight" for their own reason... and im only 3 minutes in and. well, the stuff talked about gets me thinking, and i pause at 3:27-ish and... i comment this: oh my god its gonna be the WILL of the knight is probably the only thing they know. she was GUESSING based off the knights ACTIONS of creating a dark fountain (and thus their will, their desire to delve into fiction) ...that they want more. that they desperately need even more escapism taken literally, this is a computer seeing someone reach out to them as a form of escapism and being like "this person WANTS to spend ALL of their lifetime enveloped in fiction." aka they must clearly want the world enveloped in darkness... heck maybe the will of the knight ends up... having the knights desires be given to the darkners, and their desire is . that theyre sick of the light world and the way it treats them. that they subconsciously DO want the roaring, even if they dont know its the roaring. they want more fantasy

and also... re-reading queens monologue during her fight... (also thanks to the video) soon the world will be covered in darkness... and then no one will have to suffer THATS OKAY YES I KNOW ITS VERY OBVIOUS WE ALREADY KNEW DELTARUNE WAS PLAYING WITH ESCAPISM AND FICTION BUT LIKE GOD "NO ONE WILL HAVE TO SUFFER" is SO on the nose how didnt i think of that its. when you just step back and look at the narrative as "this is toby tryna tell a story about how fiction can be great, but it can be dangerous to just get absorbed solely in the world of fiction." "also hey what if the fiction you get absorbed in... was sentient and actually believes you want or need more, to stop your suffering..." like honestly. thats a more innocent take on the messed up way tech companies design social media. like. oh, you need MORE distractions to be fed your way... so that you need not suffer. we will bring you all the comfort of never having to face the real world.

these are all just.. toys, games, and other things, that see our desire to escape from the real world using them... and who will gladly accept that role. but end up tryna take it too far when they try to fulfill our subconscious desires to stay enveloped in fiction. one can argue that since King doesn't believe in serving lightners, this falls apart... but still, maybe he... sees the knight as a Special lightner, and . thinks that the other lightners are those who dont want to "play" who just want to cast them all away. and THATS why hes against serving them. because he thinks if hes just a temporary escape for them (one to be thrown away when we're done with him, like a card game) ...then well, ofc he doesnt trust lightners. but someone who wants to just... not live in reality, and live in a world like the card kingdom forever? that'd be someone he'd appreciate, and gladly try to help. even if they didnt TELL him that they *wanted* that... maybe its just a thought they, again, subconsciously have and queen takes it in a more innocent way where shes just like oh dam yea lightners r all kinda sad arent they. hm. and hm im gonna continue watching the video, even though they're kinda getting onto a different point about the knight(s) involving how... the king and queen knew each other. hmmm. dont entirely agree? but i still think there are multiple knights, for plenty of reasons. i just think the "agenda to cover the world in darkness" and the name "roaring knight" just come from the will of a lightner who crave escapism. though ...admittedly THAT truly falls apart when you consider queen didnt know what the roaring was. yet still calls them the roaring knight. why would she call them that, unless they specifically called themselves the roaring knight? edit: upon further watching the video, i dont really agree with who they think the knights are exactly... the reasoning feels fairly off however yes alvin will definitely be making a fountain lol i do think its very plausible noelle was the knight in ch2!! if we ignore the uh, knight calling themselves the roaring knight.. but like, i think its REALLY funny to envision. noelle. doesnt know what a dark world even is. but shes just really determined to ... take a break from the stresses of home life. wants to stay at the library. and in some frustration at a question on her homework, she stabs her pencil onto the table. and opens up a fountain. and then berdly and noelle just both kinda forget wtf happened

[s0lar-ch3ri]

a tiny ramble on luz's character: the symbolism i saw when she just stood there (spoilers obviously, for both season 2 and 3)

so i've been watching fan vids of the ending for toh and in this one reaction vid i was watching the death scene in a sense and i just had to over analyze it

for context, after belos is removed from the heart, he tries to lie again to luz and it starts to rail, the boiling water melting his human disguise. shes still in this titan form, clearly being as strong as ever, probably getting close to the level of the collector imo, and yet she doesnt do anything as he talks to her. she just stands, blank faced and doesnt move a bit (image shown below, low quality since its from the yt vid)

she just glares him down, not a word. she expresses no emotion other then annoyance, or maybe hate, and thats even just from looking at small details that we get.

yet here phillp is, giving it one last try, one more chance to trick her again. he shows a fake expressing of concern, later on worry that boils to anger and rage. unlike luz, he shows a ton of expression. hes using emotion, a very human concept, as a way to make her believe that he wasn't in the wrong, that he can be trusted, that he can be forgiven in a sense. he talks a lot, repeating with "better" words parts of sentences to show how good it is that she saved him and that wild magic is bad. however, he wasn't always this expressive. infact, the amount of emotion he shows here plays into how luz has reacted before!

i found the screenshot of when hes talking to hunter (its eclipse lake btw, around 1:15) and he seems not so smug but rather relaxed and welcoming. looking from hunter's eyes, this is really his uncle, and his uncle has always looked out for him, hasnt he (no he hasnt lol; also so do note that in hollow mind hunter does hesitiate before going through the memory with the portal door, like he'd take the eyeball monster over going through that again??? (i will be analysing him next hes just so ever))?

now heres an image of when he was talking to the collector in the mind scape. his energy is less familial and cozy but like an adult entertaining a child, he seems so smug and more like someone who you talk trash on others to. the energy he has for the people he surrounds himself with changes with who said people are. however, the amount of emotion he shows isnt excessive like the scenes with luz. even in elsewhere and elsewhen, he's shown more emotion when talking to her then with other characters.

this is how he knows her, the excitment and high energy, want to save everyone luz is how he has seen her. not to mention, he notices how lilith is getting concerned and starts talking differently. i know i keep jumping around with belos, but ill get back to luz soon!

another detail of lesser emotion with belos: we've seen him mostly wearing a mask. now, obviously the mask would hide his face and any form of emotion, but the mask noticiably has no mouth. all it shows is eye holes, lines to represent eyelids id presume, and nose holes. the mask cant show any kind of emotion at all due to the lack of detail. as such, we've only been able to tell his emotions through the tone of his voice, the way he speaks, etc. he has no need for emotion here.

from what belos has seen, luz has shown much emotion and empathy, so he plays into what he thinks is her weakness, pulling her heart strings with a fable that he believes surely she'd fall for. belos is good at manipulation because his style of how he does it changes with whoever he talks to, but one unexpected detail has stopped him now: this human has managed to change in such short time.

however, luz is very expressive even after everything, even in battle, even at the last battle. she always puts her best into whatever she does because she cares (its similar to the papyrus: blink motherfucker post basically, she always puts 110% into whatever she does). shes the main character because shes a very caring person and would never do anything to harm the innocent, making her a very good mc for the show! she speaks out against belos and his evil that one time at the night market because she wants to do the right thing for these people, because she cares for them.

she could just put him out his misery now. she could just kill belos just out of her hatred. yet she doesnt. because shed be stooping down to his level, killing someone because you simply dont like them. in this scene, belos finds sp,ethomg (ok ik ruining mood with that but the mispelling is just too funny, i meant to say something) he never expected, luz just does not care about him. she doesnt care to listen to him, doesnt care for his fate, and will not care in the end. she knows he doesnt deserve the respect of a response.

she doesnt even look at him, she doesnt have the care to now. and why should she? hes hurt many people, and tried to put her on his level of awful, comparing them as if theyre remotely similar. another thing by the way, when trying to use sympathy fails, belos switches to blame, saying how horrible shed be if she didn't help him now.

in this scene, he says "we're human, we're better then this!" with the irony of him being the least human hes ever been. this is pretty noticable, but theres more irony than just this. this is also the least human that luz the HUMAN has ever been. shes constantly been given that title, one example being eda telling luz that her life is great because "shes friends with luz the human"! yet shes harnessing the titan in her, and we see her doing things like eda and king do. and a big human thing we have? emotions and empathy. we sympathize with each other because we care and are run by our emotions, and thats a pretty key part in what makes us human. however, belos uses this against those around him, with promises of things that they desire in a sense. belos has lost any sense of humanity just to fulfill this savior complex (ill be doing more analysing so ill explain this later but no its not like a hero complex) while luz has became more humane with her journey, taking in how what she's done has affected those shes with, understanding them. luz being human is what makes her better then having to stomp him out, needing the last hit. she already did enough and doesnt need to care anymore about defeating him, because even if the rain didnt kick in and he was able to keep his human disguise, he would still lose.

tdlr: luz simply ignoring belos can be very over analysed by my neurodivergent ass, and the reasoning why is simply because when shed care once now she does not.

[kyyuri]

to be or not ! -yang jungwon

19 ! war zone

★彡 synopsis: what happens when y/n, who is hopelessly pinning over her best friend, jungwon- gets betrayed by not one, but both of them ?! and what happens when jungwon falls for her despite all odds ?

word count: 827

taglist is open ! send an ask to be inside !

a/n: happy early chinese new year !

“heeseung oppa ? i didnt know you were here !” yujin slid into your seat while you were gone. “we are here too you know.” sunoo stated, “i know ddeonu, its nice seeing you and niki here as well.” sunoo felt something snap in him, how dare she use that nickname on him. “likewise.” niki replied, gritting his teeth. “so, heeseungie oppa, what are you doing here ?” yujin batted her eyelashes as her hands reach for heeseung’s slowly. “trying to have my meal in peace ?” he swatted her arm away and took a sip of his drink “what are YOU doing here at our table anyways ? arent you supposed to be with jungwon right now ?” he eyed the poor clueless boy. yujin giggled “i told him im going to get us some drinks.” “well move along then.” sunoo finally snapped. “aw i was hoping to catch up with you guysss. its been a while since we all hanged out, we should do it again sometime soon !” she said, this time grabbing heeseung’s hands in hers.

“yujin ? what are you doing in my seat ?” you said, appalled by the sight before you. “it doesnt have your name on it.” she feigned her innocence. “it has my bag hanging from it.” you pointed out. somehow, it sent shivers down your spine how she smirked before saying “my bad, here have your seat back.” she stood up, backing into a waiter at the café that was holding onto a cup of cold latte. the impact caused the waiter to stumble and toss the drink towards your direction, soaking you in the process. you just stood there shocked. “im so sorry.” yujin apologised to the waiter but spared you none. by then, jungwon had already SEEN and heard the commotion.

he ran towards you, grabbing you by your shoulders and turning you to face him. “y/n ! are you okay ?” you were still stunned. everything was happening so quickly. niki was on his way to pack up all your items, preparing to leave, heeseung was giving yujin a tongue lashing and sunoo was helping the poor waiter out while jungwon checked up on you. your lack of response worried him a lot at that moment. once you snapped out of it, you realised your school blouse was starting to become see through and you started to panick, though trying your best to not make it obvious. it wouldnt have been a problem if heeseung, sunoo or niki had a blazer to borrow but all of them left it in school, leaving you almost helpless. “y/n ? whats wron- oh.” jungwon seemed to have understood the situation immediately. taking off his blazer, he helped put it on you.

“won what the fuck ?! heeseung oppa is blaming me for a minor mistake and instead of defending me, youre giving your blazer away ?!” yujin cried. jungwon was clearly not having it. “yujin, whats wrong with you ? youve been acting all hostile today. i brought you here because YOU wanted to come here. if youre going to make a mess, at least play a part in cleaning up instead of trying to get away, mistake or not. you can talk to me once you’ve calmed down and start thinking rationally. and you BETTER apologise to y/n. “ jungwon led you to sunoo and niki before heading off to apologise to the manager for the mess his girlfriend had caused, also offering to pay for the spilled drink. “noona ! you alright ?” niki asked with a worried look. you simply nodded your head, “yea i just wanna go home now.”

suddenly, you all hear sobs. yujin has buried herself in heeseung’s chest and started to cry about how it was all an accident. “o..oppa… im sorry ! i-i didnt mean to do it on purpose… i didnt even see the.. the waiter coming… please forgive me…” she hugged heeseung’s waist tightly. a disturbed look was plastered all over his face. how could she, someone who is dating another, be hugging and crying to him right now as if they were friends ? heeseung tried to pry her off of him but to no avail. “you shouldnt be apologising to me. apologise to the manager, the waiter and most importantly y/n.” and with the last bit of strength, he pushed her off, making sure to dust his clothes a little (not wanting to catch any yujin virus). but the persistent yujin STILL hooked her arms around heeseung like some love sick puppy “heeseung oppa, bring me home please… im not feeling well.” this earned a scoff from him and he, without hesitating, dragged her over to jungwon and flung her to him. “ your girlfriend’s been getting real clingy with me while you’re distracted. “ jungwon muttered a quick apology to heeseung and with that, you, hee, sunoo and niki finally left the war zone.

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[thequackcity]

Quackity and Schlatt’s Relationship - More Complicated Then You Think

(this is all /rp and about the characters from the dream smp! pls assume i have the dignity not to write analysis of youtubers)

recently there was a bit of discourse surrounding the relationship between Quackity and Schlatt floating around on tumblr. tho i never saw the original post that sparked the conversation, i did see a few posts that were inspired by it mentioning how they disliked that the original post implied that Quackity and Schlatt were mutually abusive and/or equally bad for each other 

since i never saw the original post, i can't be sure if that's what the op meant to imply. it's not really my place to speak about a post that i never got the chance to read. BUT the conversation that was caused by the post in question did get me thinking about how this fandom treats the relationship between Quackity and Schlatt and how little nuance there is in discussions about it

now before i say anything else, i want to make a few things clear:

i don't think Quackity and Schlatt’s relationship is mutually abusive. no need to worry about hearing that from this post

i don't look down on ppl who have different interpretations of their relationship

there will be potentially triggering content in this analysis. i will place a quick warning whenever i think one is needed!

their relationship is romantic in canon and therefore i’ll be treating it as romantic

alright now that we’ve gotten all of that out of the way, we can finally get on with the analysis! i apologize for how long this is gonna be

part 1: let's talk relationship!

i think we can all agree that Quackity and Schlatt’s relationship was not exactly a healthy one. tho it didn't start out that way, it certainly turned into what could be read as abusive or toxic (i personally read their relationship as being abusive in its later half due to evidence provided by the text, but i understand if others prefer to view it as just toxic instead)

but what happened that led to their partnership ending so badly? what caused all of this mess?

well, it was a lot of things. but we will get to that later. let's talk relationship first!

from the very beginning, Quackity and Schlatt’s relationship was pretty one-sided. tho they both clearly liked each other as friends/partners in crime both before and after the election (yes they did interact before the election!) Quackity was also interested in Schlatt romantically- something that Schlatt wasn't fully committed to

as we all know from the infamous date stream and from a few other moments, Quackity and Schlatt enjoyed playfully flirting with each other- tho it was pretty obvious that Quackity was more serious about it then Schlatt was even tho Schlatt considered Quackity to be very attractive

in my opinion, Quackity is someone who wants a long term relationship, while Schlatt is more interested in flings. this can be seen in Schlatt refusing to marry Quackity and rejecting most of his advances while Quackity tried his best to convince him to feel otherwise. Tommy put it best: Quackity is just one of Schlatt’s many bitches U_U

to Quackity, the romantic aspect of their relationship was very important. because Schlatt never actually shot him down or told him that he didn't feel the same way, Quackity took that to mean that they were truly in love. Schlatt on the other hand wasn't very invested in the romantic side of things but clearly valued Quackity’s looks and his support as an ally against Pogtopia so he never fully rejected Quackity’s advances

this might not seem like too big of a deal considering the other things that happened between them, but i think it shows part of the nature of their relationship. there is a lot of miscommunication and, on Schlatt’s end, manipulation of emotions. love is a strong motivator for loyalty and Schlatt is a smart guy who would know how to use that to his advantage

but that isn't to say that Schlatt didn't ever care about Quackity!

Schlatt is a complicated guy and figuring out when he's actually being genuine can be pretty difficult. but i think there are some moments that point to Schlatt genuinely caring about Quackity

when he was alive, Schlatt was pretty paranoid. not as paranoid as Wilbur, but certainly up there. but there were never any times where he truly questioned Quackity’s loyalties after his first day as president. Schlatt also seemed truly upset that Quackity betrayed him, bringing up their status as partners in crime while ranting about how much it hurt him and singling Quackity out while talking about how he had been abandoned during his time of need

Schlatt also spent a lot of time sulking after Quackity betrayed him and whining to Ponk about needing a new bitch. this is in contrast to how angry he was after Tubbo betrayed him- both during and after the execution

there is also the situation with the Big Man Gym 

after being dead for a while, Schlatt contacted Quackity despite them leaving off on bad terms and asked for him to visit him in his cave gym. when Quackity showed up, Schlatt talked about how he valued their relationship and the good times they had together. tho this can easily be seen as emotional manipulation, Schlatt’s a lot smarter than he seems and- if he doesnt have memory issues due to being a ghost- would know that Quackity’s opinion of him was in the dump at the time of his death and most likely wouldn't have improved since then. Fundy has a higher opinion of Schlatt than Quackity does and is someone who obviously craves validation. but Schlatt went to Quackity first anyway and trusted him to help revive him

i think that this is all good evidence that points towards Schlatt truly caring about Quackity as much as someone like Schlatt can care about anyone- or at least valuing him as a companion

i also think that it is pretty common knowledge that Quackity cared about Schlatt- and possibly still does- but i will go over a bit of evidence that i haven’t already mentioned before we move on to the next part

Quackity tried multiple times to impress Schlatt (like when he lied about knowing how to play chess), would attempt to help Schlatt when he was drowning in water, sadly said that they could have had something together while Schlatt was dying in the caravan, and implied that he wouldn’t have left if Schlatt hadn’t taken down the white house. Quackity also willingly went to the Big Man Gym after being summoned there by Schlatt and wanted to revive him long before the revive book became part of the story

part 2: what made it fall apart?

everything i've said so far has been pretty interesting (hopefully) but it doesn't really answer the original question: what went wrong to turn Schlatt and Quackity’s mainly positive partnership sour?

well it comes down to two things in my opinion: their incompatible desires for political power and Schlatt’s deteriorating mental state

Quackity wanted political power from the beginning and wasn't afraid to be open about his desires. he pooled his votes with Schlatt because Schlatt offered him the position of vice president, something Wilbur and Tommy weren’t willing to give to him. tho Quackity obviously cared about L’Manburg and wanted to see good things for it, he also desired power and was willing to team up with someone he didn't fully agree with to get said power

at 32:40 in this video, Quackity talks about how in politics everyone uses everyone so it's alright if Schlatt is using him. he then talks about how he doesn't want to be a man with no power and how he understands that Schlatt’s main goal is also gaining/keeping power. Quackity also shows a bit of his naughty evil side by saying if he overthrows Schlatt then the fun ends too early! 

(side note: these two are pretty evenly matched in intelligence and manipulativeness, i love it!) 

it's a bit of a fandom misconception that Quackity was a love sick yes man during the Manburg era. tho Quackity did want to please Schlatt and was in love with him, he didn't shy away from standing up to or disagreeing with Schlatt when he believed it was needed

at around 26:12 of this video, Quackity and Schlatt meet together in private and Quackity tells Schlatt off for playing down his role in the power structure of Manburg. since this was very early in Schlatt’s reign, Quackity shows no fear towards him and confidently tells him not to treat him like that

Quackity also broke Niki out of jail after regretting letting her be put there in the first place, tried to convince Schlatt to not execute Tubbo, jumped in front of Fundy when Schlatt tried to attack him, tried to stop Schlatt from tearing down buildings, and attempted to protect the white house he built from being destroyed by Schlatt. these are not behaviors of a pure yes man but of someone who, despite fear, has the confidence to speak up for himself even when disrespected by someone in authority

Quackity has always been someone who wanted power and someone who was never a yes man to authority. this contradicts with how Schlatt believed Quackity should act as vice president. in Schlatt’s opinion, Quackity’s one job is to sit around looking pretty while Schlatt does all of the important things and holds all of the power. Schlatt was a big fan of promoting people to worthless positions of authority and its pretty obvious that he considered vice president to be similar to the fake positions he gave Fundy and Tubbo 

in the end, this was a big part of what destroyed their relationship. like it or not, Quackity’s a power hungry guy and always has been. he didn't like that Schlatt constantly shoved him aside and refused to listen to him

now onto the nasty bit...Schlatt’s mental state

cw for mentions of alcoholism, mental deterioration, and abusive behavior  

before i say anything more, i just want to say that i don't think having issues with alcoholism makes someone a bad person. i personally have some issues with such things so it would be pretty stupid of me to say being an alcoholic makes you a bad person. alcoholism does negatively affect your cognitive functions tho and, combined with other health issues, can cause some of the very serious mental problems that Schlatt clearly struggles with

throughout the Manburg era, Schlatt’s mental state rapidly deteriorated. he went from a pretty normal- if eccentric- guy who had a drinking problem, to someone who was delirious most of the time. it's a sharp and noticeable decline that caused a lot of pain for Quackity due to Schlatt often taking his excess aggression out on him by yelling at him and/or belittling him. tho Schlatt often belittled Quackity before he went fully off of the deep end, it was never as aggressive as it was when he was in this delirious state of mind

it was during one of Schlatt’s most aggressive and delirious moments that he tore down the white house despite Quackity’s protests. as we all know, this caused Quackity to snap and kill Schlatt (it's more complicated than that but we will get back to that). as mentioned previously, Quackity implied that he would have stayed with Schlatt if the white house hadn’t been destroyed

in my opinion, these two things combined are the biggest reasons why Quackity and Schlatt’s relationship fell apart. their differing desires for power were not compatible and Schlatt’s awful behavior while his mental state declined caused a rift between them that couldn't be fixed

part 3: how toxic was it really?

cw for emotional and physical abuse 

as i said all the way back in part one, Quackity and Schlatt’s relationship was not healthy. i have provided many examples in the other two parts that shine a light onto why it wasn't healthy, but i didn't show the entire picture

there are many moments that show exactly how Schlatt treated Quackity when he was acting at his worst and none of them are pretty. tho Schlatt was never truly aggressive with his insults until he started to go off of the deep end, that doesn't mean that what he said wasn't negatively affecting Quackity

Schlatt would belittle, insult, and mock Quackity for his appearance not being up to his standards, for his opinions, and for being emotional in ways that Schlatt disapproved of like crying. tho Schlatt would often brush off Quackity’s reactions towards this cruel behavior, it's very clear that Schlatt’s treatment of him has stuck with Quackity in many ways

Quackity is very sensitive about his appearance and it seems to be because of how badly Schlatt hurt his self esteem during their time together. Schlatt tied Quackity’s worth to his appearance and then would claim he wasn't meeting his standards of attractiveness. we can tell that this has stuck with Quackity because of his sensitivity towards people bringing up the scar on his face (something that greatly alters his physical appearance) and he still reacts very badly when Schlatt calls him the mocking nickname flatty patty

speaking of flatty patty- that stupid insult shockingly has a lot of weight in Quackity’s relationship with Schlatt. tho its something the audience is meant to laugh at, the nickname also shows just how little Schlatt respects Quackity because he's constantly throwing it around just to make Quackity upset. Schlatt’s last words are flatty patty all because he wanted to get in one last dig at his ex and ruin Quackity’s day even further 

Schlatt tends to do a lot of things that are intended to make Quackity upset. tearing down the room Quackity made for him in the white house is the biggest example of this- especially since Schlatt mentions how it will upset Quackity while he does it. you can see this moment at around 19:10 of this video

and now let's get into the elephant in the room when it comes to these two: Quackity was scared of Schlatt. tho we never really see Schlatt hit or attack Quackity physically outside of their confrontation at the white house or their confrontation in the caravan, these clips imply that Quackity was at the very least scared of Schlatt physically harming him in some way 

as for actually physically harming him, Schlatt hits Quackity multiple times with a pickaxe and with his fists during their white house fight. Quackity hits Schlatt a couple times too, tho these are all primarily defensive blows since he is trying to protect himself and his property. he also chases after Quackity with a bow after Quackity’s plan to trick him into signing Manburg over to the Pogtopians fails and hits him multiple times during the caravan confrontation

all of this evidence shows that Schlatt was an abusive (or at least toxic) partner towards Quackity and someone who greatly affected him in many ways

tho Quackity did a few questionable things throughout his relationship with Schlatt (such as trying to get Schlatt to have sex with him despite Schlatt not being interested as shown in the later half of this video) and did some downright morally wrong things during his time as vice president of Manburg, no one deserves the pain of an abusive relationship- even a person who has done bad things

as a brief side note before we move on because i know people will bring it up if i skip over it, Quackity did- and most likely still does- want to literally possess Glatt. he brought up reviving Schlatt and using him as a political pawn after Schlatt’s funeral and during their conversation at the Big Man Gym Quackity talked about owning Glatt and having him work at Las Nevadas with no pay

this is unsettling behavior to say the least but this essay isnt about the aftermath of their relationship so much as it is about their relationship when it was actually happening. maybe i will make another post talking more about how Quackity’s relationship with Schlatt affected him even after Schlatt’s death and/or about Quackity’s relationship with Glatt

part 4: final thoughts

i’m not exactly sure why the nuances in Schlatt and Quackity’s relationship get lost when it comes to the fandom, but it’s pretty disappointing to see. hopefully this essay can help people take a closer look at canon and maybe even help them find something interesting that they’d want to explore!

tho the point of this essay is to clear up any misconceptions and hopefully add some nuance to the conversations surrounding Schlatt and Quackity’s relationship, i also wrote it in hopes of showing people how fascinating these two partners in crime were back in the Manburg days. i didn’t cover everything but i think i did a pretty good job for my first analysis post in the dsmp fandom

also since you read to the end, i must say thank you! it really does means a lot to me that you did. i hope you enjoyed and maybe even learned something. this post can be used as a resource if anyone wants to use it as such

here’s a tiny devil Quackity for your troubles <3

[thekingofwinterblog]

It’s all for his sake - Endeavor and the Sunk Cost Fallacy

My hero academia 301 is a pretty interesting chapter, but for me, the most notable piece of it was how Endeavour reacted to the realization that Touya couldnt surpass All Might.

upon realizing that his son might not be able to do it because of inborn physical limitations, he immediatly stopped his training, which frankly was the responsible and adult thing to do. 

This stint of real parenthood did not last long however.

After taking the matter to a doctor, he is flat out told that not only cant Touya achive what endeavor wants, but it is a direct result of his incredibly selfish and irresponsible attempt to play god, by trying to breed the “perfect” hero into being.

It is how you react when you lose however, that shows who you really are, and endeavor illustrates that very, very well.

Upon being told in no uncertain terms that his attempts at Breeding an heir failed magnificently, producing a child that was not capable of resisting his own immense power, but also admonished by his doctor for even attempting it, and adviced not to try again, Endeavor instead doubled down, while focusing on the child he screwed over from the start with his attempt at genetic manipulation.

It was all for him you see. Endeavor doesnt use those words, but that is how he spins it here. it was all for Touya, all for his sake. if i stop now, then Touya was all for nothing, a mistake, im doing this for my son.

if im doing this for my son, then im not responsible for any of this.

his wife however, calls him out on it, as she understands Touya much, much more than endeavor does. or rather, she sees him fully as a human being, instead of as a thing, a weapon, a failed attempt at an heir.

Unlike Endeavor, Rei is able to see the way this all is affecting her son. She is able to see, and understand that Touya has fully accepted what Endeavor wanted him to be. a stronger, and better version of himself. however, unlike Endeavor, she only cares about him as a person.

Endeavour by comparison isnt completely uncaring about Touya. like most abusive parents, he does possess love for his offspring, but it is forever tainted by the fact that however much he might care, or not care about Touya, any familial love he has for his son is tainted by the fact that to Endeavor, he is a failed experiment, a failed heir, not his child. 

He is the golden child that Endeavor was building up as his true and only heir, who he breed, trained, and molded to for that single purpose, and now that he’s reached a point where he cant continue that legacy.

so, its time to abandon him, and start over new, despite literarily having just learned how stupid this plan was, and that it can, in fact, go completely wrong, with a quirk that will fuck over the person he brings into the world.

Of course, Endeavor doesnt use those words to frame it. there is no way to pretend to be a hero, if you phrase it like that after all. Intead, this is the words he uses.

this is a very important series of panels for a great number of reasons, some that can be debated, argued, and we will probably never know the full truth to the questions because this is a series published in 2020′s shonen jump, and there are things that probably wasnt gonna fly with Hori’s editors, if it was the case.

but lets start with what can not be debated. Endeavor’s words here.

“If we want him to give it up, then we have no choice... Touya... Cant surpass him.”

These are very telling words, and however you believe The third and fourth children of the Todoroki family was concieved, there is not denying the meaning of what he’s saying here.

The only way that my son will stop being an idiot and fall into line, is if we have another baby. that is the only Right way to move forward. it is morally right, because if we dont do this, then he’s going to destroy himself.

there are two ways to interpret this scene.

The charitable way is to read it as the fact that he used Rei’s oldest son’s mental state as a justification of guilting his wife to have a third child, to give this attempt at a superpowered breeding project another shot, despite the fact that they now know that this can lead to a child who is essentially born crippled from his own powers, and despite the fact that Rei obviously understands the effect of them continuing this insanity will have on their oldest son.

the uncharitable way to look at it, is that he used this as justification for flat out raping her, and forcing a third, and then later a fourth child on her.

I personally believe the last one, given a number of factors shown in this chapter(the way this page is framed, the fact Rei obviously didnt want a third child, given she predicted exactly how touya would react, the way her eyes would latet turn when she looks at who is presumably touya which really brings to mind how she would later react to her youngest son’s face after her mental breakdown, etc.), but i’ll frankly admitt that withouth a direct quote from Hori, its impossible to know for sure one way or another. 

either way however, this is a very good example of Endeavor both being influenced by, and using Sunk Cost Fallacy to justify bringing another potentially crippled child into the world for his own, selfish goals.

sunk cost Fallacy, is a mental reaction to when you invest more time and resources into a project, that you becomes so emotionally invested into said project that you will continue to invest into it, even if it reaches a point that it becomes clear that the resources you put into it, far, far outweighs the potential gains you can achieve.

because if you give up after having invested years, and years of effort to breed, raise, and train a kid, and then all that effort was absolutely wasted. hence he choose to keep going, despite having learned what a terrible idea this is.

He doesnt care about the fact that his next child might be even more crippled than his firstborn, he doesnt care about his son’s actual wellbeing. he cares about the fact that if he doesnt continue this insanity, then not only will he not achieve his dreams, but everything he did to get to this point was for absolutely nothing.

and endeavor cannot accept that. and so long as he can justify breeding more children into the world, and there being any chance they might inherit both quirks perfectly, he doesnt care about anything else.

and the moment he realised that this kid wasnt gonna cut it either, he did it again. it is not a coincidence, that the age gap between Endeavor’s second, third, and fourth children were all 3-4 years apart. because thats the age where you can usually tell when a quirk will manifest or not, as established earlier in the series.

While she isnt brought up directly by Endeavor as a justification, it is very telling that Endeavor decided on having a third child, only after his second child was old enough that he could tell that that there was no chance she could take the place as his heir instead.

So, he had his third child, and as time passed and it became obvious that he wasn’t gonna be able to fulfill Endeavor’s goals either, he dumped him, and instead breed a fourth child into existence.

and finally, he struck gold. he did it. he produced Shoto.

everything was finally worth it, and now, everything would be absolutely fine. the cost fallacy had reached its end, and it was now all full sails ahead.

except of course it wasnt.

His oldest son, now in middle school, had been raised from birth to believe he would surpass his father, only to be thrown away, and getting to see his father try to replace him, not once, but twice.

frankly, this scene is probably my favorite in the chapter, because it goes to show Endeavor’s mindset. Natsuo made a point that their father completely ignored his older children. and he did... from Natsuo’s perspective. however, having a more thourough picture of things, we can clearly see that this wasnt the case with Touya.

Endeavor genuinly cared for Touya, enough that once he got that child he tried to breed into existence 4 times, he genuinly wanted him to just abandon trying to be a hero. he genuinly thinks of himself as a good dad here, wanting his son to abandon the mission he set out for him before he was born. of course, with context, this heartwarming scene is incredibly sad and insidious, because we understand why Endeavor got so attached to his oldest child. because he WAS the golden child. he was the child Endeavor genuinly cared about, and invested in, and trained personally with great warmth and enthusiasm.

And not only did he abandon him as a failed project the moment he realized he wasnt gonna live up to his ridiculous standards, but he literarily created 2 more kids to try and replace him, just as his oldest son was old enough to understand what exactly his dad was doing. over the course of this chapter, we get to see Touya’s start as a 5-8 year old, his deteriorating mental state over the years, until he finally seemed to reach the breaking point with Shoto’s birth sometime in his middle school years 12-15. 

Endeavor is in this scene, just not capable of understanding why Touya so desperately wants to become a hero, when obviously he isnt physically able to do so. he isnt able to understand that he is 100% to blame for the fact that his son is having a full emotional breakdown after literaly being replaced by his siblings. 

In other words, Endeavor genuinly think’s he’s a good person. a person who has made a few mistakes along the way sure, but a person who was always justified in the end, and now that he’s having to face the fact that as dabi would later say “The past never dies” and has to face the aftermath of his inane attempt to play god for the pettiest of reasons, things simply arent going to work out.

He isnt going to have a happy family, who can now put the awful early years behind them, he put way too much effort, caused too much suffering and sacrificed too many years of his life for this not to work out as he wants.

after all, if he walks away from this project now, and lets Shoto have a normal childhood, and decide for himself, with no pressure from him, wheter or not to become a hero, then the sunk cost fallacy will have reached a negative end. it will all have been for nothing.

and we know he did eventually double down on this mentality, literarily beating into Shoto that he WAS going to become a hero, and there was not but’s or no’s about it.

there was no way that Endeavor was EVER going to let things be for nothing. His treatment of his older children could not be for nothing. His treatment of his wife could not be for nothing. His treatment of Shoto, and the way he beat him black and blue to train him, could not be for nothing.

Because if it all was for nothing, if everything he feels guilty about was for absolutely nothing, then he was in fact, a bad, bad person, who had no justification for anything he ever did.

[i-will-post-whatever]

Also when approaching the motherlobe Raz says Maligula looks familiar which is some foreshadowing but then he immediately redirects to, 'she looks familiar because I saw her in true psychic tales.' Which kind of plants some suspicion in the players mind and is seen as obvious foreshadowing for replays. I love the way they show you levitation, with Raz falling and Milla coming to remind him of what he's learned. Another thing I love is how they show Razs' fear of water by having him dive head first, of course the better graphics and facial expressions set this up but the hand of Galochio really confirms it. Setting up the tutorial in a mind is great because it shows right away what the game is about. When I first played psychonauts 1 I was very confused about what psychonauts even were and I was surprised when you actually went into the coaches mind. It helps that you have psychic powers when you start since in the first game I was confused when Milla, Sasha, and the Coach try to catch Raz. I didnt understand that they had psychic powers until i got pyrokenesis and saw sasha using psi blast. For new players it establishes that Raz and others are psychic and for old players its familiar and doesnt feel like we're starting with nothing. Psychonauts 2 doesn't leave any time for you to be confused but also explains things quickly and clearly while leaving suspense. I could be biased since I played the first game and I already have the knowledge.

Why Loboto's Labyrinth is a Brilliant Tutorial Level

Psychonauts 2 has an amazing opening. The point of a tutorial level and introduction is to establish the game's setting, characters, rules, tone, and story, and Loboto's Labyrinth does this brilliantly in various ways.

To establish the setting they chose to have us thrown immediately into the mind of one of its characters, though at first have us believe that we are in Psychonauts HQ. Having the first part of the level be just a boring office layout sets up our expectations for what Psychonauts HQ looks like, so when we actually get to the Motherlobe and see it for ourselves, it's just as amazing and fantastical as it is for Raz. Having the first area we play in be a mind is also a good choice I'd say, as it gives the game time to properly establish just how crazy this game is going to get and how weird it will be.

They give you time to interact with the characters around you, allowing you to get a feel for the writing and the tone the game is going for. Given that this man kidnapped your girlfriend's father, they still take the time to give him a light of sympathy, showing that this is a game about understanding. Milla especially hammers this point home with her insistence that they need to help Loboto.

Given that it's a tutorial level as well, they also establish the rules of both the game and the world around them in a linear but straightforward fashion that doesn't feel hand-holdy. The reasoning for the abilities to come up makes sense and feels natural, so if you're a new player you get introduced to them naturally, and if you're an old player you can quickly get into the swing of things.

And even this level, which is mostly just here to be a tutorial, also serves the story super well. The themes of trying to keep quiet that permeate throughout the level are fascinating. The dental doors that are literally mouths that are zipped shut, the posters around the place telling Loboto to keep quiet, and the sections where Loboto does dentistry work on himself because you literally cannot talk while someone does dentistry work on you. There's even foreshadowing to the end of the game, with the figment of Truman's Case that can be found in the Trap AND the chandelier resembling Gristol's crown that hangs above the Loboto poster in that same room by the time you get to Lili's section.

Loboto's Labyrinth is an excellent way to start off Psychonauts 2. It's an excellent level, with an excellent story and themes, and an excellent setup and payoff for later down the line.

Join me in the possible future for a breakdown of Hollis's Mind and why Hollis could be so much more of a deeper character than the game allows her to be.