#and her reactions are so real and raw and powerful

[saphiccarma]

Hi, can you write something where Nicky gets lost in the forest and Rio and Agatha are desperately looking for him, or they find him with a witch in the forest and she's playing and showing her magic to him and it's cute? Please?

- Where Did You Go?

Relationships - Agathario x Reader

Summary - When Nicky goes missing Agatha instinctively panics. She doesn't expect to find him wth a strange witch who has unknown healing powers.

Warnings: None

A/N: Eee this was a fun little thing to help me get rid of the small writers block. Sorry it's not very long, but I hope you enjoy. Requests are still open it may just take me a minute to get to it

One minute, Nicky was right next to her, walking close as he was supposed to, and then he was gone. Panic surged through her as she noticed the absence of his small, and rather frail, form. Agatha had no idea what to do. They were in the middle of nowhere, with no town nearby, so he shouldn't be missing. Her eyes scanned the tree line, the large forces of nature surrounded her on all sides.

Nicky could be anywhere.

"Nicky?" she called, loud enough to attract his attention, but keeping her voice soft even as it broke, "Nicky."

There was no response. Agatha retraced her steps, trying not to let her panic consume her, and kept a careful eye on the tree line in case he magically appeared. Rio couldn't have- he couldn't be- No. She shook her head absently. He couldn't be gone yet.

Dirt was scuffed up as her steps became more frantic, her eyes scanning every inch of the area in front of her. All she was met with was trees that towered over and birds cawing. Desperation clawed at her as she grew more and more worried.

"Nicolas?" By now her panic had turned into something stronger, something raw and real. Her hands started glowing purple, a nervous reaction and a physical reaction to the anxiety that ran through her.

In an act of desperation, Agatha snatched a stick up off the ground, her hand clasping around the rough material. She traced a circle into the ground, adding an X through it and stood outside. The circle glowed bright green, the symbols illuminating the space that was steadily growing darker with the setting sun, before slowly fading. Rio stood in front of her, a flower twirling in her hand as she eyed the circle on the ground. Her feet scuffed it up, breaking the spell that trapped her inside and she stepped out.

"You called?" she asked, quirking a brow. The flower, a bright pink one, spun between her fingers as she took a step closer to Agatha.

She clenched her jaw and forced the words out, "I can't find Nicky."

Rio pinched the flower, one of the petals falling to the ground.

"You lost him?"

"I didn't lose him," Agatha snapped, purple flaring around her fingers. Rio eyed it with a hint of nerves, not for herself but for Agatha. The younger witch took a deep breath, reigning in her powers, and repeated her statement, "I didn't lose him."

"Hm," Rio hummed. She slid the flower into Agatha's hair, not caring for the other woman's scowl and the fury that radiated off her in waves. Taking off skipping, Rio moved through the woods, something pulling her towards Nicky.

There was always something pulling her towards him, a sense of death that kept her tethered to him. Rio never knew if it was because he was her son, or because he was meant to be dead. She didn't want to find out. The woods were getting darker the longer they went on, and Rio could hear Agatha clenching her hands impatiently as she trailed behind. As the force that was pulling her towards Nicky grew stronger, Rio felt another force of magic.

It was...soft. A soothing feeling that washed over her, calming all her worries and made it seem as if she had no responsibilities. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Agatha relax, hands falling limp at her sides and jaw unclenching.

She pressed forwards, stomping through bushes, but promptly stopping at the sight she was met with. A woman stood there; a green dress not so different from Rio's own covered her form as her hair covered her eyes. A red ball of magic swirled in her hand as she made shapes and figures with it, a small smile on her face as her tongue stuck out in concentration and she twisted her fingers. She looked so innocent. Untouched by the dangers of the world.

The magic, heat radiating from it so strongly Rio could feel it from here kept Nicky's attention. He didn't notice his mother's approaching. Flaring up in a way that could be compared to a flame, the magic wrapped around the two of them, and Nicky giggled loudly. It was a joyous sound that Rio wished she would hear more often.

But that joy was snuffed out when he coughed, hunching over and burying his face into his elbow. The other witch, with her red magic and innocent face, leaned forward and placed a hand on his back. It glowed a soft red, not like the strong color it was moments ago, and Nicky's coughing stopped. He looked at her with awe coating his face.

There was a knowing glint to her eyes as she glanced up at Rio, the smile on her face shifting from innocent to teasing. Her eyes flickered towards Nicky then back to Agatha and Rio. The woman paused in her magic making, making Nicky pout, his arms crossing.

"I am sorry," you said softly, "Your mothers are here."

The child, you think his name is Nicky, snapped his head around, his eyes locking onto Agatha's. You stood and out of the corner of your eye say Nicky's sheepish smile. He waved at his mothers.

"Hi mama, mami." He sprinted towards Death, a sight that you never thought you would see, and launched himself into her arms. Death herself laughed, burying her face in the child's hair and planting a soft kiss there. Even if she embraced him happily, you could feel the tension rolling off her in waves, unease etched into every one of her features.

"Hello my love," she said quietly, almost so softly you didn't hear it.

The other witch, one you didn't know, but you could feel the motherly presence radiating off her, eyed you suspiciously. You waved a hand in greeting, red still twirling around it as if it had a mind of its own. She eyed it like it would set the whole forest alight. It could if you wanted it to.

"Who are you?" the unknown witch asked, her voice terse and strained.

You smiled softly, "Y/N, protection witch."

"Fire," Nicky whispered softly, wiggling out of his mother's grasp and taking a hold of one of your hands, "Show them? Pleaseeeee?" He made his eyes wide, staring up at you with a puckered lip. You laughed, gently tugging your hand out of his grip and sparking a small flame to life in it.

Death eyed you oddly, her eyes transfixed on the fire while the other witch tugged her son closer, a protective arm rested on his shoulder. Wiggling your fingers with a small smirk, you put the fire out, dropping your hand to your side.

"Fire," you repeated.

"Who are you?" The unknown witch asked, and you smiled brightly. You glanced at Nicky who stood at your side, wide eyes imploring and innocent as they stared at you. But you knew he had seen so much more than he let on.

His sickness wasn't hard to notice, with the way he hunched over and even at a young age had dark bags under his eyes. Both women looked at him like he was such a fragile thing, ready to break at a moment’s notice. But most of all, you could just feel the death he gave off. Death shrouded him like a large coat. You knew that you could rid him of the death that clung to him stubbornly, cure him of whatever illness plauged him.

"Like I said, my name is Y/N. I'm a protection witch."

[unboundprompts]

hi! i wanted to ask how could i write a scene of a band performing and make it flow smoothly? Reactions to it and inner dialogue of the leader singer while performing?

I hope that makes sense!

Thank you :)

How to Write a Band Performance

Set the Atmosphere with Sound and Sensory Details

Use sensory language to capture the energy of the music, the movement on stage, and the audience’s reaction. Think about the sounds of instruments, the lights, the thrum of bass vibrating through the floor, or how the crowd looks.

Example: The drums kicked in, a thunderous heartbeat that pulsed through the packed venue. Strings followed, filling the air with an electric charge, and the lights dimmed just enough for the crowd to lean in, hungry for the next note.

Anchor the Lead Singer’s Focus

The lead singer might catch moments in the crowd, like a fan mouthing every lyric, someone laughing, or even seeing familiar faces in the sea of people. These little connections add a human touch and make the performance feel alive.

Example: He spotted a girl in the front row, eyes closed, every word leaving her lips like a prayer. She knew each lyric by heart, maybe better than he did. That look kept him grounded—kept him singing.

Use Inner Dialogue to Show Nerves, Confidence, or Distraction

Let the lead singer’s mind wander a bit, but keep it tethered to the music. They might think of something unrelated that they suppress to stay focused, or maybe they reflect on what this song means to them, especially if it’s deeply personal or symbolic.

Example: Here we go. Breathe. Just like rehearsal. But it was never just like rehearsal. Each word brought him back to the night he wrote it—a night he barely survived. He shook off the thought. No. Tonight, it’s just for them.

Describe Body Movements and How They Connect to Emotion

Physical sensations can be as telling as dialogue. The lead singer might feel the warmth of the spotlight, the stickiness of sweat on their skin, or the way their voice feels strong, raw, or strained.

Example: He gripped the mic stand, fingers tight, and leaned forward. His voice cracked on a high note, but he let it, gave it to the crowd raw. They wanted his truth, his realness. That was all he had to give.

Show the Crowd’s Reaction

Describe reactions like a wave, where energy ebbs and flows. The crowd might sway during slower parts, roar during the chorus, or go silent in the song’s more intimate moments. This back-and-forth dance adds rhythm to the scene.

Example: As the first chorus hit, the crowd became a sea of outstretched hands, fingers clawing for a piece of the music. A roar rose, then softened as they sang with him, their voices tangling with his own, something fragile and fierce all at once.

Balance Between Action and Inner Thoughts

To keep the scene flowing, alternate between what the singer does (interacting with the mic, moving on stage) and what they think. Too much inner dialogue could slow down the scene, so give action and reaction space to keep the reader engaged.

Example: He took a step back, holding the last note, letting it resonate through the space. He stole a glance at his bandmates. They were lost in the music too, faces set, eyes closed. It felt like the old days—a secret between them, shared with everyone.

End with a Climactic Moment or a Release of Tension

End the scene with a dramatic finish, like a powerful note, a burst of applause, or even silence if it’s an emotional song. The lead singer could feel relieved, drained, or exhilarated by the end.

Example: As the last chord faded, a brief silence hung over the crowd—a pause, a heartbeat—before it shattered with applause. He closed his eyes, letting it wash over him, knowing that for now, the song was enough.

[trulyumai]

an arrow of might

—synopsis: an arrow struck through the crowd, past the display of people and aimed for your head. geta was furious.

pairing: Emperor geta / Empress! reader

—warnings: violence, talk of death, protective Geta

enjoy!

The Colosseum was alive with a frenzy of noise and movement, the sun beating down mercilessly on the sand-strewn arena. The clash of steel, the roars of beasts, and the cheers of thousands of spectators created a tempest of sensory overload. Amid this chaos, you were absorbed in the delicate task of caring for your young son, who was captivated by the spectacle unfolding before him.

Geta, seated in his position of authority, kept a vigilant eye on the arena, but his gaze frequently shifted towards you and the child. The violence below, while meant to display Rome’s might, was unsettling, and you could not shake the feeling of anxiety gnawing at your heart.

Without warning, the atmosphere shifted abruptly. The roar of the crowd intensified, shifting to panicked shouts and cries. Your pulse quickened as you saw an arrow slicing through the air, its trajectory erratic and alarming. Time seemed to slow as it arced dangerously towards you.

Instinctively, you pulled your son close, shielding him with your body. The arrow whizzed past, embedding itself with a sickening thud into the wooden frame of your chair. Your heart leapt to your throat as you glanced around in shock, the enormity of the danger sinking in.

Geta’s reaction was immediate and fierce. His eyes, usually calm and composed, now blazed with protective fury. He sprang into action, his authoritative presence cutting through the crowd with decisive urgency. Each powerful stride was driven by the primal need to protect his family. His voice, usually steady, now carried a note of raw command.

“Protect her!” Geta bellowed, his tone slicing through the chaos. His personal guards, trained for such moments, formed an impenetrable barrier around you and your son, their weapons drawn and their eyes scanning for any further threat.

The world seemed to constrict to a singular focus: Geta and the peril surrounding you. You held your son tightly, his small frame trembling against you. His wide, frightened eyes met yours, and the sight of his innocent fear only deepened your own.

Geta reached your side in a heartbeat, his face etched with a fierce blend of relief and anxiety. “Are you hurt?” he demanded, his voice strained with concern as he knelt beside you, his hands carefully examining not only your face, but the space around you.

“I’m fine,” you managed to get out, your voice shaky but resolute. “But the arrow...”

Geta’s gaze followed the path of the arrow, his expression darkening with a protective rage. “Stay down,” he instructed firmly, though his voice was gentler, coaxed with honey and warmth to your scared being. He signaled one of his guards to remove the arrow while another scanned the stands, his eyes never leaving you.

The crowd’s murmur grew to a tense, expectant silence. The sudden intrusion of danger had shifted the mood dramatically. You looked up at Geta, whose normally stern features were now a mask of fierce protectiveness. He reached out to steady you, his touch both reassuring and urgent.

“I’m.. sorry,” Geta murmured, his voice breaking slightly as he looked into your eyes. “I should have been more careful.. to think I would bring you to such a spectacl—.”

“No,” you interrupted, voice trembling with a mix of fear and gratitude. “You protected us. You kept us safe.”

Geta’s gaze softened as he regarded his son, who clung to you with wide, terrified eyes. The arrow, now removed and inspected, was a stark reminder of how fragile safety could be. The danger had been real and immediate, and its impact was palpable.

With a resolute nod, Geta turned to his guards, issuing sharp commands to heighten security and ensure the safety of everyone present. His concern for you and your son was palpable, yet so was his unwavering commitment to maintaining order.

“Are you certain you’re alright?” Geta asked again, his eyes searching yours with a depth of concern that spoke volumes.

“Yes,” you assured him, though your voice was barely more than a whisper. “I’m just shaken.”

He nodded, his face returning to its usual mask of authority, though his gaze remained tender as it rested on you. “We’ll leave as soon as the games conclude. Your safety is my foremost concern.”

The spectacle continued below, but its appeal had been tainted by the recent events. Geta’s protective presence was a comforting shield, a reminder of his dedication and love. As you held your son close, enveloped by Geta’s unwavering vigilance, a profound sense of relief and gratitude washed over you.

In the midst of chaos and danger, the strength and love of your family had proven to be the greatest shield of all.

[pinknipszz]

short continuation of shogun!ryomen sukuna

numb is the feeling that courses through your limbs. a norimono so lavish, evident in its golden grooves and gilded glamour, is held proudly on the shoulders of six samurai whose faces remain hidden under their leather jingasa. although you do not expect it from anyone affiliated with the shogunate, much less armored men with more arrogance in their hearts than alcohol, they are kind enough to spare an ounce of privacy as you regard your parents for the last time.

you try to memorize the warmth of your mother’s arms as she weeps. “we’re sorry, we’re sorry,” a trembling hand cards through your hair. you neither comfort nor condemn her, but hold her tightly instead. when you tilt your head up, there are rivers rolling down her raw cheeks, collecting under her chin before spilling onto your kimono. you don’t know which of the stains are hers or yours. “we wouldn’t have done it if we had known— would’ve never sent you in the first place.”

your father only watches with hands curled into fists, tight-lipped and teary-eyed, but he doesn’t cry. whether he’s upset over losing his only daughter to a tyrant, or being cheated out of a potential bargain, something dances on the tip of his tongue but remains behind his teeth. “don’t say that mama,” you whisper ruefully when a samurai approaches to collect you. “don’t cry for me anymore.” but her sobs never cease, not even when you cross the horizon and your father takes his turn to hold her. 

the wedding itself is nothing significant. no ceremony, no banquet, no nothing. the only evidence of that day is a painting of you and your now-husband, wearing embroidered garbs and solemn faces, hanging high in the foyer as an example of incarnated divinity for servants and samurai alike. you lost count of how many months it's been there. whenever you cross the space, you can’t help but pause and crane up, your eyes drifting towards painted ones. the woman in the painting always stares back with disinterest.

but when you pick apart the layers in her concealed expression, you count the fear. the ire. the anguish. you recall the shogun’s only words to you that day: “did your mother cry when you left?” you think the artist must share the same twisted humour as him to have painted your reaction to such a tasteless question. when you feel your throat tighten around a broken sob, your gaze shifts to the shogun, who still radiates insurmountable power even in artistic expression. you count the tattoos on his flesh.

“don’t tell me you’re bored of it already,” a sudden voice chuckles beside you, pulling you out of your stupor. there’s a beat of silence before you stiffly turn to meet the real eyes of your husband, whose sanguine pools swirl deep with malicious intrigue. the shogun lazily tilts his head back, eyes narrowing in amusement at how your expression hardens. “i was under the impression that women like art, otherwise i wouldn’t have commissioned the artist.” you fight the urge to spit on his face.

“it’s fine,” you snap fiercely, fists clenching at your side. you don’t care if this man fought beasts with his bare hands and whispered war in the hearts of men. he stole you from your home, forced you to marry him, commissioned a painting about it, and to rub salt in the wound, displayed said painting in the foyer for the entire estate to gossip about. and while he’s off exploiting the country for his sick pleasure, you wander the halls like a ghost for people to gawk at, as if you aren’t capable of handling domestic affairs on your own.

surprisingly, the shogun does not speak of your outburst, his silence only allowing you to recollect your bearings. when you do, you desperately search those eyes for anything other than apathy. maybe a hint of sadness, or regret, or even pity. but there’s nothing. defeated, your gaze drops to the floor in a silent surrender. another battle conquered. as you wait for some sort of reprimand, or a strike to confirm rumors of his savagery, you briefly think that the shogun will celebrate this in your shared chambers later, but nothing comes.

only, your eyes widen marginally when ghostly fingertips brush against your right cheek. you watch a thumb run across the soft flesh several times, before gathering it between a finger and pinching. the sharp pain makes you yelp and swat his hand away, but the shogun merely chuckles. once he relents his ministrations, he pulls strand of your hair and twirls it around his finger. “you could’ve just told me you didn’t like it.”

(masterlist)

taglist: @yoontaedotin , @baku2345

[flicklikesstuff]

okay but what if we get silvie seeing that ominous creepy side of Rick when he talks about the coliseum?

what if we see real time just how dangerous a person who had to fight for their life every day can be? What if he’s protecting his friends from someone trying to hurt them and he slips back into that fight mode. And Molly and Silvie have to stop him from causing severe bodily harm to someone.

I think that when in the coliseum, based on how he talked about it, he still had to kill people, those who wouldn’t become friends. I feel like when it comes down to it he can be downright terrifying if he wants to be, he just never is because he genuinely just wants to be friends with people. Either because it’s a defense mechanism of self preservation or knowing that the more friends he has the more likely he’ll be able to keep them safe.

or we just see Rick put someone in a chokehold really easily and it freaks the others out just a little. I just think it be neat, he has such wildly different personalities for different situations, he’s so great

Oh-

Ohohohohoho~

Anon, you mind reader. How did you know that Rick’s backstory has been rotating a bunch in my head too? Now you’ve just sent me on a full-on ramble I want to let out about this guy.

I hope you know what you’ve just pushed me to do :3

(Btw, Prison of Plastic spoilers ⚠️)

I’ve always interpreted Rick’s pushiness about making friends comes from a raw feeling of wanting to survive. After all, his powers and proficiency rely on the friends he does have and it drops down whenever his friend count drops as well.

And the arena’s a terribly cruel place where the weakest ones eventually die at some point. And I think Rick’s fully aware of that. He knows his survival is determined by his ability to fight, and how can he do that without friends? I think that’s why he’s so pushy and insistent to make friends with people he just met immediately. It must feel so daunting to literally have 0 proficiency in a very new place nonetheless. So vulnerable too…

But aside from his epithet powers, I’m sure Rick can improvise as well if his proficiency is indeed low at the moment. I won’t be surprised if he’s efficient in targeting fatal areas or even use sorcery to take down threats out of defence.

(Rick doesn’t strike me as a malicious guy. I feel like he kills in the arena only when necessary to live.)

I agree with you, Anon. He could absolutely fold someone if he needs to, but I doubt that would be his first choice. Rick did escape the colosseum for a chance at a better start, so I think he’d be a lot more reserved in committing bloodshed and rather try to be more friendly to everyone he meets to build up his strength again. If he could, I feel like he’d much rather keep from making enemies. (Unless….. time calls. He’s shown to be open to the option in the POP!book)

That doesn’t mean his traumatic experiences from the colosseum don’t seep out to be observed by others though. No one else knows about his past other than Molly but uhhhhh…. questionable stuff happens y’know?

(Remember how Rick first sees Lorelai and his instinctive reaction is to yell “WITCH-!” and shoot at her? What if that’s just his reflex from years of fighting and killing other witches and wizards?)

(He already freaks the others out a lot in many diff ways, lol)

Btw Anon, sorry for not drawing Rick unhinged with someone in a chokehold like you requested, I didn’t have the motivation or time for a full action scene drawing. 😅 But if you really want me to, just send me another ask and I’ll find some time for it :))

[artsyannierose]

POPPY FINALLY FANGIRLING LIKE I ALWAYS WANTED HER TO

NO CAUSE THE NEW SCENE COMPLETELY BROKE ME INTO PIECES I DIDN’T UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH I MISSED THEIR RELATIONSHIP KWABDJDFGSDSWRSFDYVJBKJKHTTDGCHBJBJ

im calm

i think

can I first talk about this small conversation in particular

I dunno about you guys but the voice acting just feels so…REAL

Like, raw

like an actual conversation between to people rather than two actors

There’s so much emotion, and that goes for other scenes I’ve seen too, like Viva’s introduction, I’m a big fan of the voice overs this movie

OK BUT BRANCH’S FACE WHEN POPPY CALLS HIS NAME IM MELTING

HE LOOKS SO HAPPY TO HEAR HER MY BABY 🥹🥹

literally went from 😒 to 🥰

THEN WENT BACK TO 😑 AFTER HEARING HER SUGGESTION LMAO

I’m crying at how he immediately jumped to the idea that Poppy was against him and did a double take like “wait what”

AND POPPY KNOWS HOW TO GET HER TO DO WHAT SHE WANTS ITS ACTUALLY SO FUNNY

AND HE HAS NO POWER TO SAY NO TO HER PLEEEAAASSEEEE THEY’RE SUCH BF AND GF

“Alright, fiNE”

😭😭💀💀

AND LOOK AT HER FACE SHE KNOWS HER POWER OVER HIM LMAO

im not going to elaborate on the song bc I’m too Broppy-hyper but DARN DID I FEEL ELATED WHEN BRANCH STARTED SINGING

I LOVE HIM GETTING THE SPOTLIGHT FINALLYYYYYY

ily Justin Timberlake

literally my reaction was worse than poppy’s💀

ANOTHER THING I WANNA MENTION

HELLO POPPY SIMPING OVER BRANCH IS SOOOOOO LONG OVERDUE

I NEED MORE OF THIS THIS MOVIE BETTER DELIVER

POPPY PINING OVER BRANCHHHHHH

And honestly the way she sang along and mouthed lyrics was so cute omg 😭😭

I

FRICKING

STAN

SUPPORTIVE GF

She’s so goofy

The way she yanks out that camera and COMPLETELY DITCHING HER QUEEN STATUS

NUH-UH SHE IS A HARDCORE BROZONE FANGIRL AND I AM HERE FOR IT

They’re so perfect for each other bro the king of pop w/ the literal royal queen of pop

the way she pulls out her camera tho

…

y’all I just

just

🫠

THIS SIR

IS THE STATUS THIS KING DESERVES

THANK YOU DREAMWORKS

MAKE POPPY FEEL LUCKY TO HAVE HIM (I mean THIH did that well but sTiLL)

New obsession unlocked:

FLIRTY POPPY >>>

I’m so ill for them goshhhh

TBH I WASNT AS EXCITED AS THIS MOVIE AS I WAS TWT AND THIH BUT NOW I AMMMMM

BBBBRRRRROOOPPPPPPYYYYYYYYY HERE I COMEEEEEEEE

im sorry I’ll shut up and let you move on with your day

[desmon1995]

After Dark: The Park, Power, and Abuse

Alright, let’s talk about The Warriors Album—specifically The Park at Night, which I’d argue is one of the most gut-wrenching songs in the entire album. If Sick of Running was a blazing, victorious high, then The Park at Night is its dark reprise, dragging the characters and us into a chilling, sobering low.

We just left off Sick of Running on a triumphant note. Ajax, fresh off advice from the Hurricanes, finally rallies the girls to fight back against the Furies, who’ve been pushing them to the brink. It’s this powerful, adrenaline-fueled moment that feels almost like a win. But just as we’re feeling that rush, The Park at Night drops us straight into a scene that feels like someone cut the lights in an alley.

The tone shifts immediately, with Mexican indie artist Elain’s haunting sample—“Folks go missin' in the park at night”—whispering through the track, setting an eerie, predatory vibe. It’s as if the girls are being watched, hunted, and in this fog of tension, we meet Barnes.

Barnes is played by James Rainer, the original Ajax from the 1979 Warriors film, and here’s where the casting choice really lands. The original Ajax was a vicious character, driven by toxic masculinity and a hunger for power. He’s homophobic, sexist, and would rather use strength to bully than find any real connection. Barnes inherits all of these traits. If you’ve never seen the original, you’d just think he’s a sleazy cop. But for those in the know, there’s a dark irony in Rainer’s casting, like Barnes is a shadow of his former self, or maybe an Ajax in a system that empowers his worst traits.

The timing couldn’t be worse. The Warriors have been through a nightmarish journey already, chased, ambushed, and betrayed by gangs across the city. They’ve likely lost Cleon, their leader, and with it, a sense of safety. So, when Barnes sees Ajax and reduces her to a “sex worker,” it’s not just creepy—it’s an abuse of power, this cop using his authority to exploit vulnerability. It’s heartbreaking.

And let’s talk about Ajax’s reaction. She’s not about to let this pervert slide. After everything she and her friends have endured, Ajax snaps and unleashes all her pent-up fury. This moment is raw and heartbreaking because it’s not just about Barnes; it’s about every man and gang that’s used and abused her and her friends. But Barnes, clutching his badge like a shield, retaliates by arresting her—not because she did anything illegal, but because he can. In this moment, Barnes embodies a brutal reality: men in power often get away with preying on those they deem “lesser.”

And, honestly, the symbolism here is haunting. Barnes calls in backup to hunt down the rest of the Warriors, making these taunting catcalls, even echoing the sound of a police siren. It’s both a literal threat and a grim commentary on how those in power dehumanize and hunt down anyone who doesn’t “belong.” It’s unsettling, especially when you consider that Ajax is a young woman—likely a teenager—which makes Barnes’ actions even creepier. He’s not just harassing her; he’s flaunting that no one will stop him.

As pointed out by @Genzwriter on The Warriors Album Reddit, this scene is a searing critique of how sex workers are brutalized by cops who see them as disposable. Barnes doesn’t see Ajax as a person or even a gang member; he sees a powerless girl he can intimidate. And Ajax? She’s rightfully enraged, and she’s finally done being quiet. But, of course, her fight back is met with punishment, as Barnes flexes his badge and power to silence her.

What’s amazing, though, is that Ajax gets the final word. Despite being overwhelmed, she declares herself a Warrior—a small act of defiance, but one that ripples out to inspire Fox later on in Reunion Square.

The Park at Night is a brilliant example of Lin-Manuel Miranda and Eisa Davis bringing their unique strengths together. Lin, with his deep love and understanding of The Warriors, uses the original Ajax’s character to reinforce this nightmarish descent for the group. It’s a painful homage, but one that works. And then Eisa’s contribution adds a whole new layer—the way she infuses this number with an authentic, powerful female perspective that wouldn’t have hit the same if this story was solely told by a man.

And then there’s the bleak reality of Barnes. He isn’t punished. There’s no justice served, no moment of reckoning. He walks away unscathed, and that’s so infuriating. The album doesn’t fault Ajax for her choice to lash out—she did what any of us would do after being pushed to the edge. But the reality remains: cops like Barnes are empowered to hurt the vulnerable without consequence, a message that lands painfully close to home.

The Park at Night is dark, relentless, and all the more powerful for it. It doesn’t pull punches, and it doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, it shows us the breaking point for Ajax and her friends, and while it’s a bitter scene, it’s one of the album’s strongest. This song hits hard because it shows that sometimes, no matter how hard you fight, the system will do everything in its power to break you down.

[stormandforge]

Raw reactions to X-Force #5

Yup, someone dies.

MASSIVE spoilers (and controversial opinions) below.

It's Nori. There'd been so much foreshadowing in the comic - and so much fan discussion about the upcoming character death - that I had started believing it wouldn't be her. But no, it was always going to be her. When you consider the way she joined the team, her post-Krakoa trauma, her selflessness and her relationship with Forge, it makes complete sense.

That death scene goes hard. We actually see her burned-up corpse, we hear her farewell words - oof, my heart. Rest in power, little blue-haired hero.

This said, everyone attacking Geoff Thorne over Nori's death needs to calm down. I would understand this amount of upset if he'd done her dirty, but he really hasn't. He's consistently written her with respect, gave her as much spotlight as he could in a team book, and gave her a heroic death. Stories kill characters, people. That's just the way it is.

Also: Nori's coming back, maybe even in this run. We just don't know yet. And don't give me nonsense about the resurrection protocols being gone - mutants came back from the dead before Krakoa, they will continue to do so.

"Forge always has a plan." YES. Nothing to do with his power; he's just always up to something. That's Forge 101. Fuck me, it's so good to have a writer who understands him. And because Thorne has done his homework, I believe what we're witnessing is a typical Forge plan: something that he believes will benefit the greater good, but that is also misguided and full of hubris and will repeatedly backfire in his face.

Forge can be cold, but this is subzero. He loves Nori, he wouldn't act that way if he was fully himself. Something's going on. Someone needs to shake him real hard - beat him to a pulp, really - and realign his neurons. The two most qualified people to do that are showing up in the next issue, so I'm thinking this is what will happen.

Why does he take her gauntlets? It can't just be for the sake of getting his tech back. As i said he's not that cold, and also he can probably make those again in his sleep.

FORGE ALMOST KILLED AN ALT VERSION OF STORM IN COLD BLOOD. The man is not well, I'm telling you.

There's a theme of Forge hurting the women he cares about in this issue. Trust Sage to see the pattern and get the hell out before anything can happen- the hurting or the caring.

OK, now he's levitating with a big shiny triangle around his body. That's magic, isn't it? For a second I started thinking the Analog must be magic after all, but then I remembered Sage loves staring into it too, so it can't be. Mmm...still processing.

Thorne understands Forge's power better than any writer I've seen (yup that includes Claremont), and I appreciate that he mentions his need for materials to build anything. It should be obvious, but most writers have him make things out of thin air. There's only so much he can fit in that utility belt.

So many people, so many things! Poor Marcus To.

Marcus To is still doing excellent though. Do I need to tell you that Forge is hot? I think I've been clear on that already, but let me reiterate: FORGE IS HOT.

"Slippery as ice": oh, that made me hap-py. Such an evocative, accurate way of describing Sage.

No, Forge's power doesn't let him see what will happen. But you know whose power can see every eventuality? Sage's. This was highlighted in the very first issue, and Forge repeats the exact same words from this moment in this issue. THERE'S SOMETHING TO THAT.

I continue to dig the dynamic between Forge and Sage, curses and all. The little cerebral push and pull they have going on is very interesting.

Also continue to adore Tessa herself. The way she challenges Forge at every opportunity, the way she always asks the right questions *chef's kiss*. Everyone obviously wants to murder Forge on that last page, but I love that she's the one who tells him to go fuck himself, even though she's been the person closest to him on the team. She's my girl. I'm this close to opening a side blog entirely devoted to her awesomeness. (I see what Geoff Thorne means when he says she tries to steal the show. She does!)

OK, so, there's no way Forge has a team anymore at this point, so I assume the next issue will be a downtime one. I imagine he'll go home, have an existential crisis featuring his two exes (as you do) and then get back on the road. Or something? Also, the next issue has a Sage variant cover, which could imply she plays an important part in it. One can only hope. If it's the issue of Forge getting his ass kicked by awesome women, she should take part.

[l0stfoster]

Hi same anon who asked abt paul (i love him so bad) what are the reactions from the others the first time paul (or marcia/cherry for that matter) gets jumped like, real bad .

Paul Anon (that's what I'm dubbing you now get fucked /silly) the beloved OKAY SO! Giving you some deets on their first jumping & how their closest friends (or in Cherry & Paul's case {Marcia's if you're a Marbit fan} how their partners react) Cherry:

- For Cherry (and Marcia) the initial reaction the gang has is absolute anger and fury. The fact that the girls were attacked just for merely being in/around the presence of the gang and or part of the population that holds power is so infuriating. They're girls, so they're not roughed up as bad as greasers usually are on account of general 60's shit, but it's still not great. - Cherry's is arguably worse between her and Marcia's on account of a psychological impact; she's got rope burns around her wrists due to them being tied to stunt her power and her hair was cut practically up to her ears- both to prevent any magic usage and just for raw humiliation. She's also bruised and beaten a good bit; god knows fights are horrendous. I wouldn't be surprised if they ripped her earrings out, as Bev's the one who leads their jumpings. - Ace loses her absolute fucking SHIT. The only thing restraining her from going nuclear and burning down soc territory in her rage is both the risk of prison and to an extent doing something that drastic would get innocent people hurt. That would make her no better than the socs. It sure as hell doesn't stop her from going wild on the ones she can find, probably gets herself a few nights in the slammer for it. - Recovery is rough all over. They get her a neater haircut but she's shaken for obvious reasons, it probably takes a while before she has the guts to walk around her side of the tracks again.

Marcia:

- Marcia's lack of power means that she's less of a target, but if she gets the sight of her, it's a rougher fight. She can't defend herself all too well, but her jumping is more on the physical aspect as they beat her pretty bad too. Lots of bruises and cuts and her earrings are ripped out too. She probably has a better chance of fighting back because she wasn't automatically restrained, but 1v4 (or more) doesn't go well. - The most impactful thing for her that happens during it is that they destroy the feather she was gifted by Two-Bit. That's quite literally one of the most cherished things she owns, as she values how Two's been willing to interact with her after she'd watched his jumping without trying to stop it. Bev burns it beyond salvaging and Marcia's absolutely destroyed. She could handle the beating, can overcome being sore and pained for days, but having the thing that resembled the trust she'd fought so hard to earn back was devastating. - Two was probably THE most pissed off of the entire gang for Marcia's jumping, not only at how she was hurt but the feather being destroyed is such a blow to him as a Harpy. If he weren't afraid of Bev under the risk of having his wings fucked with again, he'd hunt her down and give her a taste of her own medicine. Cherry and Ace are also super pissed, 'cause the girls gotta stick together, but they don't really match the fury that is a pissy harpy; especially since harpies gang together— Two could've easily had every other greaser harpy on his side if he prompted it. - Recover is obviously just as rough, I wouldn't be surprised if Marcia starts rooming with someone on the east side out of fear of returning to the west side; especially since it's fully known now by other socs that she's powerless despite her association.

Paul:

- Paul is, to put it simply, almost beaten into an early grave. Not only did he previously have the most notoriety of the socs— which made him hanging with greasers a complete slap to the face— but he is also cursed. Another really prominent reason behind his humping is pretty simple; he’s gay. Society will look at Cherry and Marcia and the socs will go easier on them because they’re girls, but Paul? Paul’s a man, a guy who turned his back on the high society in favor of these pests. - His jumping Is rough all over. They're taunting him throughout, snarking about his sexuality, poking fun at how he can't even fend them off with his magic because not only is he weak, but he's a cursed who can't even do that right. They fuck him up bad; busted ribs, broken nose, and his arms are likely dislocated from them pulling him around hard to tie his hands together so he couldn't use his magic. He's got cuts and bruises galore. I'd go as far enough to say they probably broke an arm or something. I like to imagine they ripped his letterman jacket away from him because he didn't deserve something their kind wore when he was with those freaks now. Honestly, the only reason they stopped was because they couldn't see he was still breathing from the angle they were at, though they killed him, and booked it 💀. If they hadn't, though, they probably would've gone until he did stop. - The only reason he's found is because his familiar trails back to the house and grabs the attention of whoever’s there to get them to come with her, since Paul’s completely knocked out. It’s most likely Soda who finds him since he is arguably the one she likes most of the gang and she’ll gravitate towards him. He’ll follow easily too, since he likes her. It’s very similar to finding Johnny, practically that all over again - Darry is obviously the most pissed, probably the same level of anger he felt after his brother's jumpings and Two’s own. The same people who used to be on Paul’s side of things turning a switch so fast over what? A bit of magic and the fact that he likes dudes? Anger doesn’t even describe it in a way— the fae are territorial, and as far as he’s aware, Paul’s a part of that. He's out for blood; but Paul won't spill names so he's got no specific target. That sure as hell won't stop him from finding out, though. He's just got to behave enough to keep his brothers in his care. - The rest of the gang is a whole mixed bag. Dally doesn’t like Paul but his general response is “It’s deserved but only if I were the one doing it”, so take that as you will. Pony’s petty like Dally but since Darry cares he helps out with patching him up. The rest come to the conclusion that pretty boy here probably needs some watching eyes so he’s stuck with them for a bit. He does NOT know how to respond to it. Pretty much the idea for them is that only they're allowed to fuck with Paul, not the socs. - Paul probably has the easiest (mental) recovery for a few good reasons. It's certainly not his first fight/jumping, and it's not his first time being hurt that badly. There's a reason he's gravitated toward his mom despite her efforts to shove him away.

[adamnablelittledevil]

What did you think about that moment in chapter 24?! I'm dying to know!

(The part that starts "I looked down on Lestat, who was unchanged...")

Hey! I'm sorry I couldn't answer it immediately and you had to wait, but I wanted to give this a proper answer with all my thoughts, so I hope this was worthwile and and makes up for it. 😉🙃 Anyway, here we go… I already knew what was going to happen, so, I was counting the pages to finally get to the chapter. And when I did, man, it did not disappoint.

Obviously, that wasn't romantic, but it was such a meaningful, intimate, delicate and tender moment that it felt even more powerful to me. Yes, part of the reason Armand went there was to get answers and try to quiet the anguish in his heart, but most of it was genuinely love. Which is why he returns, approaches, touches and shows Lestat affection again, even after drinking his blood. And it speaks volumes how Armand had all the reasons to keep a safe distance and yet he didn't flinch or even hesitate. And not only he approached Lestat, but also touched him, multiple times, and kept getting bolder and bolder with those gestures and 'pushing his luck'. Whether Armand was willing to take the risk of Lestat having a negative/defensive reaction or knew he would allow it by mere instinct, this is a proof of how deep their bond goes and how far they have come in their relationship. And from Lestat's side as well, because Armand was the only person he gave his consent to get near at the time and that was a huge thing. It was overall a really big and turning point in their relationship. And it's one of my favorite Lesmand/The Vampire Armand/The Vampire Chronicles moments as a whole.

And as if it isn't enough that it's such a monumental event on its own, it's so poetic too. The fact it happens in a chapel, they are both silent, Armand's tear falls on Lestat's cheek… It's all about the aesthetics, the body language, facial expressions etc. The imagery is so delicate and beautiful. The wording is stunning as well. Specially for this line:

"I tried to keep my heart absolutely pure of pride and pure of anything but love. It was not differentiated or defined, this love, but only love […]"

This has become one of my favorite quotes ever, maybe even my ultimate favorite from The Vampire Chronicles. I absolutely love the idea of a love that can't be classified, nor separated in different boxes, but instead defies all definitions and simply transcends. And when she wanted to, Anne Rice knew how to execute the concept brilliantly on her books. She even knew how to elevate and still manage to make it better almost two decades later. When she went on Facebook to further elaborate on it from Lestat's point of view, it just made my heart ache in the best way. I mean, the screenshot below speaks for itself.

Plus, if the show does that in the future, in any shape or form, it would be incredible. I'm such a sucker for scenes that are more complicated and primarily rely on the talent/chemistry of the performers and the actors need to work twice, three times as hard to execute them. Silent, scenes where the actors don't touch, phonecalls where they can't look at or feed off of each other in any way… I like to call them 'raw scenes' and they're usually my favorite on any show/movie I watch, including Interview With the Vampire. I can see it being a mix of Aragorn taking care of Eowyn after she was wounded

and Lizzy and Mr. Darcy dancing,

filmed and edited in a way that makes the people around them disappear for a moment and slowly reappear at the end, just like the way Armand described how the situation felt here:

"There was no chapel then for me, or outraged sighs or reverential cries. I heard nothing, and yet knew what was all around. I knew it as if the substantial place was but a phantasm, for what was real was his blood."

I'm personally obsessed with that trick and find it so sophisticated and mind-blowing that it frustrates me how it's barely used? So, I always appreciate it whenever I see it. And I also just know that Assad would be phenomenal at that, because he's already been doing that kind of acting for two whole seasons now. I can see him being soft, gentle and even somewhat tragic and I just know the affection and pain in his eyes would kill me in the best possible way. I could even see it becoming part of my top 5 moments on the series, maybe even my number #1. Right now my favorite clips are the 1x01 church sequence, the 2x08 loustat reunion and armandiel's last scene on 2x05. However, considering how much I love this moment and pretty much all things lesmand, they can easily become just as big of an obsession, possibly even bigger in future seasons (they already are my #1 on the books). I mean, the scene they have alone already makes my heart skip several beats because the chemistry was magnetic and irresistible,

that eye contact was *INTENSE* and I felt the sparks all the way over here. Felt like I was witnessing something that I shouldn't lol, but I was happy to invade their privacy because it was simply mesmerizing.

Anywaaaay… Hopefully, that will happen on the show someday, even if the context and circumstances of it may differ. Still, regardless if they do a version of it or not, that will remain a wonderful part of the book and that gladly I will never move on from.

[ivanttakethis]

End of Round 6 - Tov’s Log

Vermillion vs. Aurien - ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR ERROR

————————————————————

Solei had been the sun to Aurien’s moon for as long as Tov could remember.

Their light illuminated every fiber of Aurien’s being. She shined because they shined.

But after Solei disappeared, after Aurien’s daylight gave way to endless night, she let the darkness swallow her whole too.

She was never quite the same.

Even the way she sang was different.

It was haunting.

To the audience, it probably sounded beautiful.

But Tov knew the ghost behind Aurien’s voice was real.

Vermillion sounded haunted too, though in a slightly different way.

His ever present charm had melted away, raw emotion flooding his voice as he sang.

Tov knew right away that this round would be close. Aurien would have to give everything and then some to avoid a repeat of Round 3.

She couldn’t watch another friend die.

She couldn’t.

But Vermillion was Aurien’s friend too, right? Tov didn’t know if Aurien would ever betray a friend in the way that was necessary to win.

She ground her teeth.

The song finished, and the scoreboard totaled the points.

Vermillion 54. Aurien 46.

Her heart thudded once, hard enough to bruise. She stopped breathing altogether.

The moon would crash to the planet’s surface, and the tide would rise wild to meet it.

Tov thought of Solei. For the first time since they disappeared, she hoped they were dead.

If only so Aurien could reunite with them sooner.

“Vermillion Win” was projected in big letters on the scoreboard.

Then the screen went black.

“What the—”

A gun fired.

An emergency alarm started blaring.

Then the audio cut out too.

No! Aurien!

Something fast and sharp shot through Tov’s system, seizing her still weakened heart in its brutal grasp.

It wasn’t adrenaline, she knew that chemical reaction well.

No, this was something different. This was something worse.

Cassio, her mind screamed, I need to call Cassio now.

Tov fumbled for the phone and punched in her guardian’s number with a bit more force than necessary.

She held her breath as the line rang.

As soon as Cassio picked, Tov was assaulted by the panicked cacophony in the background.

Aliens were screaming, guards were shouting orders that fell of deaf ears, and that damn alarm was still wailing too loud to think.

“Tov?”

“Cassio.” Tov never thought she’d be relieved to hear their voice. “The broadcast lost the video feed and then there was a gunshot. Is everything alright?”

“Alright” definitely wasn’t the right word to describe the lead up to Aurien’s execution, but she couldn’t think of anything else.

“Everything’s gone to shit.” They hissed. “Someone cut the power to the whole complex and triggered the emergency alarms. There’s a stampede of aliens trying to get out of here and I’m currently stuck in the middle of it. We’re all trying to get to the backstage tunnels now.”

Tov’s mind was spinning. Was there an attack on Alien Stage? If so, what — or who — were they after? The judges? The audience? The contestants?

Himei and Tallis were still there.

What if something happened to them?

What if something already had?

She would have no idea until the lights came back on and someone sorted through the carnage.

Tov’s medical band beeped.

“This place is swarming with AREPH agents.” Cassio muttered, yanking Tov out of her spiraling thoughts.

AREPH. The Agency for the Recovery of Escaped Pet Humans.

Tov remembered a few AREPH agents showing up at Anakt Garden the morning after Solei disappeared.

The agent who interviewed her wore a silver badge with the agency’s seal. She could still recall what it looked like; how it gleamed when it caught the light.

Tov frowned.

Why would AREPH agents be there?

“Oh fuck—” Cassio’s voice shook.

“What? What is it Cassio?”

Their tone turned grave, “Tov, I need you to listen to me very carefully. I’m only going to say this once, and then I’m going to hang up.”

“What’s going on—”

“JUST LISTEN TO ME TOV!!”

Tov recoiled from the receiver. Cassio had never so much as raised their voice at her before. Her medical band beeped again.

They took a deep breath to compose themselves, then spoke in a very deliberate and deathly even voice, “Lock the doors. Turn off all of the lights in the house. Draw the blinds.” They instructed. “Don’t make any noise. Don’t pick up the phone. And don’t answer the door for anyone. Stay put until I get back.”

Tov finally had a name for the emotion that had a vice grip on her heart.

Fear.

She’d felt it so infrequently in her life that it was hard to identify amidst the chaos. But she felt it now.

Strong. Overwhelming. Terrifying.

A chill ran down her spine. Ice surged through her veins. She couldn’t move.

“Why?” Tov could barely get the words out. “Why do I have to do all of this?”

Cassio took pity on her.

“It’s about Solei. They’re here.”

And the line went dead.

————————————————————

Round 6, amirite?? <- (is definitely failing to cope)

Shit got real this round. Lots of chaos. Lots of blood. Lots of thoughts and feelings. Honestly I’m still processing most of it.

It’s a good thing Tov stayed home for this round too because the ensuing panic probably would’ve given her a heart attack (not joking btw).

If you’re wondering how Cassio knew it was Solei at the competition, they passed by a monitor backstage that had the emergency message from this post flashing on it and recognized Solei’s ID number.

They tell Tov to act like she’s not home because AREPH agents could come looking for her since she is thought to be withholding information about Solei’s Anakt Garden escape.

Aurien belongs to @aurienneirua and Solei belongs to @solei-eclipse.

Himei, Tallis, and the Agency for the Recovery of Escaped Pet Humans (AREPH) belong to @lookatmysillies!

[imsociallyanxiousgetoverit]

My Reaction To “The Edge Of Sleep” Show

Spoilers below obviously

ep 1

so was Dave like unknowingly being prepared for this tragedy??? that’s my first thought about what’s happening

ep 2

I actually understand Katie’s view cuz she just believes Dave has disrespected her wishes. I’m glad once he’s there she reacts somewhat well considering

ep 3

this brings up the question if life is worth it even with extreme pain each second. it’s a good question to start discussion about from both those experiencing the pain and those caring for them. primarily the former talking to those around them about their feelings on it.

ah so perhaps I was correct about my ep 1 theory ha

ep 4

I’m so glad Dave talked to Katie finally. I’m also glad someone finally talked to Ruth. Their reactions are all understandable and I really appreciate that.

This concept is so cool and the execution is so well done. God I’m so glad to be watching this now. I’m checking out the podcast after this for sure. Never had the attention span for it before, but I’m hooked now.

Did Mark do Larry and sing by the way? I swear I’m hearing him everywhere lol. It’s so cool seeing his name in the introduction credits. Also the way we slowly understand more of them as we watch is 10/10

ep 5

Trying to figure out if the whale or elephant is good is hard cuz it seems obvious but what if it isnt?

Oh no they crash though…. right? Damn I’m so hyped to know what’s up.

oh my god the choice to make it like falling asleep as a viewer was so good Holy crap

it’s a hard thing to exert energy to stay awake but not so much you lose any energy to stay awake… as someone with insomnia this is a battle I am too intimately aware of

I’m so glad this is the cast. It’s so well picked for each role cuz they’re killing it.

NOOOO NOT THE POOR WORDING

ep 6

woah new intro.

is he dreaming awake now too? oh no.

Holy hyuck Matteo is going through it.

oh no there’s concerning sh info I really hope nobody uses it hyuck.

two hours. yall got this.

Holy thwip water landing okay so not a crash technically??

HEAD BETWEEN KNEES MFS WHAT ARE YOU DOING (ik theyre out of it but ahhhhh)

Holy crap they survived Holy crap all of them

we love abandoned islands lol

oh no hallucinations.

I just realized is the elephant wearing a red dress? its too bright to be a monk-inspired robe right?

I wonder if this is all one island or if its shots mixed together to look like one.

These people are so strong Holy crap. Handling literal torture

it is a red dress!!

oooooo love raw power let’s hyucking go.

Would Katie really want that?

it’s interesting that the elephant needs him…. the fact it can’t just take control… hmm

they made it!!!!

what?

okay much more sense context wise now with so many survivors.

Safet okay. Interesting the name has safe in it. Sounds like prophet too.

This is suuuuch cult thwip.

lol are they real like bro its the actual whales

oh lord. war? more torture sigh.

he’s not gonna take “all as it should be” well

that room has got to be hot as hell tf

so much fire is not safe yall

oh hell no what the hyuck

OH NO KATIE NO

post series

I want to see what’s next so bad omg yes.

Podcast time!!!

[homenecromancer]

There’s a read-more on this post because it turns entirely on an excerpt that is a huge spoiler for the final portions of both Dune the novel and Dune: Part 2 the movie.

Part of the reason Dune has meant so much to me ever since I first read it is, like… OK, here’s a passage from very late in the book (page 445 in the Berkley paperback).

In context: Paul has literally just awakened from a near-death trance caused by ingesting the Water of Life. His mother, Jessica, has just verified this fact, and its significance — her child is the prophesied Kwisatz Haderach, and possesses psychic ability beyond any other human being.

"What happened?" Chani demanded.

Jessica shook her head.

Paul said: "There is in each of us an ancient force that takes and ancient force that gives. A man finds little difficulty facing that place within himself where the taking force dwells, but it's almost impossible for him to see into the giving force without changing into something other than man. For a woman, the situation is reversed."

Jessica looked up, found Chani was staring at her while listening to Paul.

"Do you understand me, Mother?" Paul asked.

She could only nod.

"These things are so ancient within us," Paul said, "that they're ground into each separate cell of our bodies. We're shaped by such forces. You can say to yourself, 'Yes, I see how such a thing may be.' But when you look inward and confront the raw force of your own life unshielded, you see your peril. You see that this could overwhelm you. The greatest peril to the Giver is the force that takes. The greatest peril to the Taker is the force that gives. It's as easy to be overwhelmed by giving as by taking."

"And you, my son," Jessica asked, "are you one who gives or one who takes?"

"I'm at the fulcrum," he said. "I cannot give without taking and I cannot take without . . ." He broke off, looking to the wall at his right.

OK let’s shift gears real quick and I’m gonna describe this image rather than make it: you know that Gundam meme where the viewer is going “wow cool robot” as said robot shoots the actual themes of the anime over their head? Now imagine that but I am the reader and Frank Herbert is the, uh, giant robot.

Frank Herbert: Weird 1960s Gender Essentialism

me: Paul Atreides was supposed to be one gender but was born another, and people are hopping mad about it. It is repeatedly noted that he is able to do things that people of his (assumed by others) gender cannot. Within the context of his society, he is neither a “normal” man nor a “normal” woman, but possesses abilities belonging to both. His ability to fuse these two genders into one unique thing, specific to him, is crucial to his final rise to power. Muad’Dib… non-binary icon?

…like, I’m mostly serious here — it is certainly not a canonical reading, just a personal, idiosyncratic reaction to the text — but the feeling that Paul was, at a minimum, atypical for his assigned gender meant a lot to me when I first read these books. I couldn’t articulate at the time what fascinated me about passages like this, but they captivated me in the same way as other texts where the protagonist defied their assigned gender. They resonated with me on a level it took me years to understand. (Things began to make more sense when I realized I was trans.)

Anyway. Paul Muad-Dib Atreides’s gender identity is ‘Kwisatz Haderach’

[icrypop]

Yam sbg gang + parents with a reader that enjoys being in the phantom realm because they like killing the phantoms, I can just imagine reader being a duel machete wielding ninja, that slices through phantoms like their butter, the only thing you hear from reader is crazed laughing as phantom body parts drop and roll on the ground, but then in the real world reader is just like hella chill like I mean cool kid chill, they don't talk to much but not too little and their just constantly tired no matter what before and during the plot.

Sorry if this long, ur like my sbg content supplier

<3

Yandere SBG Gang + Parents Reactions to Phantom-Slaying Reader:

Ashlynn, Taylor, Tyler, Aiden, Logan, Ben +Parents

⚠️Warning: Yandere tendencies, violence, slight disturbance.

Okay sooo this was a cool ass idea and I like to think about Aiden and how he was when he was a crazy murder machine lmao

I'm sorry that requests are coming out so slow...I always start writing the beginning of every request and then slowly work on everything all at once and then put it out all at once....So I Apologize-

Anywayyy, enjoy!!

-Writer Icy♡

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

Ashlynn:

-Phantom Realm Reaction: Ashlynn is both impressed and a little scared of the reader’s sheer efficiency and wildness in the Phantom Realm. She’s fiercely protective of them, but seeing the reader tear through phantoms like a seasoned warrior makes her both awe-struck and desperate to keep up.

-Real World Reaction: In the real world, Ashlynn is always worried about the reader’s exhaustion, constantly asking if they’re okay or if they need rest. Despite her concerns, she loves the reader’s chill and laid-back vibe, often seeking their company just to relax in silence.

- Yandere Tendencies: Ashlynn is obsessed with keeping the reader safe, despite knowing how capable they are. She admires their skill in the Phantom Realm but wants to protect them in the real world where she feels more in control.

---

Tyler:

-Phantom Realm Reaction: Tyler is more amused than angry/nervous whenever he gets to watch the reader in action. Their crazed laughter, the way they slice through phantoms with wild abandon—Tyler feeds off their chao and it only strengthens his obsession with them. He’s mesmerized by their raw power and skill.

- Real World Reaction: In the real world, Tyler is always trying to relax the reader, constantly dragging them into quieter areas to "Make them rest.” He’s also extremely protective and possessive, especially when others notice how cool and calm the reader is. To Tyler, their chill attitude is part of what makes them so irresistible.

-Yandere Tendencies: Tyler thrives on the thrill of the Phantom Realm, often wanting to fight alongside the reader, but also to make sure they don't get hurt He’s fiercely possessive, seeing the reader as his equal and his partner in chaos, but in the real world, he becomes overprotective, feeling the need to guard them when they’re vulnerable or tired.

---

Taylor:

- Phantom Realm Reaction: Taylor is terrified yet captivated by the reader’s bloodlust in the Phantom Realm. She clings to them, desperate to feel protected by their strength. Her yandere tendencies spike whenever she witnesses their raw power, making her obsessive desire to be by their side more intense.

-Real World Reaction: In the real world, Taylor’s concern is more about making sure the reader doesn’t push themselves too hard. She likes the reader’s calm, tired demeanor because it makes them seem more approachable and less dangerous—but she’s always there to hover and “help” them even when they don’t need it.

-Yandere Tendencies: Taylor is clingy and desperate to keep the reader close, both in and out of the Phantom Realm. While she’s terrified of their ruthless side, it also fuels her obsession, making her want to protect them in the real world where they seem more vulnerable and “normal.”

---

Aiden:

Phantom Realm Reaction: Aiden is both excited and a little hyped up by the reader’s behavior in the Phantom Realm. While he loves the thrill of battle, seeing the reader go full ninja-mode on the phantoms both impresses and excites him. He’s always nearby, ready to jump in if needed, though he knows they don’t need him.

- Real World Reaction: Aiden loves the reader’s laid-back attitude in the real world. He often tries to make them laugh or engage in light-hearted activities to keep their energy up. At the same time, he becomes incredibly protective when they’re visibly tired, making sure no one else disturbs them.

-Yandere Tendencies: Aiden’s yandere tendencies surface when he sees the reader tired and vulnerable in the real world. He wants to be the one to care for them and bring some light into their life, but he also gets jealous when others take notice of their cool demeanor.

---

Ben:

Phantom Realm Reaction: Ben watches the reader with quiet admiration in the Phantom Realm. He’s fascinated by their efficiency and ruthless skill but also unnerved by their crazed laughter. He’s more calculating, always observing the reader’s actions closely, and his obsession grows with every phantom they take down.

- Real World Reaction: Ben is more concerned with understanding why the reader is crazed like they are in the Phantom Realm. He likes their calm, almost distant personality, as it gives him more control in their interactions. He’ll often stay close by, not saying much, but always watching over them like a silent guardian.

- Yandere Tendencies: Ben’s yandere tendencies revolve around his need for control. He prefers the reader’s quiet, tired demeanor in the real world because it makes them seem more manageable. However, he is secretly obsessed with the power they display in the Phantom Realm and wants to ensure no one else can share that connection with them.

---

Logan:

- Phantom Realm Reaction: Logan is silently in awe of the reader’s prowess in the Phantom Realm. He watches them with quiet fascination as they cut down phantoms, their crazed laughter both disturbing and impressive. Logan sees their strength as something to admire, though it fuels his desire to shield them when they’re not in battle.

- Real World Reaction: In the real world, Logan often tries to get the reader to rest, offering quiet moments together where they can simply chill. He enjoys their calm and tired demeanor, finding it soothing to be around someone who isn’t constantly demanding his energy.

- Yandere Tendencies: Logan's protectiveness manifests more in the real world, where he worries about the reader’s fatigue. He craves the idea of being their rock, the one they can rely on when they’re tired, and his obsession grows from wanting to be the one who takes care of them when they’re not in “warrior mode.”

---

Parents’ Reactions:

- Ashlynn’s parents: Ashlynn’s parents respect the reader’s strength in the Phantom Realm, seeing them as a warrior. In the real world, they keep a close eye on them, often pulling them aside to make sure they’re okay, especially since Ashlynn is so obsessed with them. The dad focusing on helping them with any fighting they want to practice while the mom checks on them and their health.

- Twins Dad: The twin’s dad is more fearful of the reader’s behavior in the Phantom Realm. He constantly expresses concern and tries to dissuade them from returning to such a dangerous place. In the real world, he’s more at ease with their laid-back attitude, preferring this side of the reader.

- Aiden’s + Bens 'parents': Their dad silently admires the reader’s abilities in the Phantom Realm, though he finds their love for killing phantoms disturbing. In the real world, he tries to help Aiden care for the reader, often offering advice or support to ensure they’re well-rested.

Their mom is more focused on keeping the reader safe. She is deeply concerned about the risks the reader takes in the Phantom Realm and prefer the calm, chill version of them in the real world. She will try to encourage healthier ways of dealing with their exhaustion.

Logan’s Parents: Logan’s parents are wary of the reader, seeing their Phantom Realm behavior as too extreme. In the real world, they notice Logan’s obsession with them and try to subtly distance him from the reader, fearing their influence on him.

---

The reader gripped their machetes tightly, their body moving with precision and speed as they tore through the wave of phantoms like a machine. Each strike was calculated, yet the crazed grin on their face and the eerie laughter that bubbled from their lips showed a side of them that no one in the real world ever saw. Phantom limbs scattered across the ground as their laughter echoed through the dark, twisted landscape.

"Another one down," they muttered, breathless but exhilarated.

Back in the real world, the reader slumped against the wall of the school, their eyes heavy with exhaustion. Aiden sat beside them, handing them a bottle of water.

"You really should take it easy in there," Aiden said softly, watching as the reader took a slow sip, their eyes half-lidded with fatigue.

"Too fun," they replied with a small smirk, though their voice was quiet, almost bored.

[lageografiademicamino]

UMK 2024 Song Review - Sara Siipola

The hype is very real around Uuden Musiikin Kilpailu (UMK), the Finnish national selection for Eurovision and the race to Malmö continues with a ballad this time!

Sara Siippola - Paskana

Sara Siipola is fairly a new name in the sky of Finnish female artists. She kind of popped out of nowhere making a record deal with Sony Music in 2019 and releasing her first singles which were fairly successful. She also released her debut album "Kaunis Kun Itken" two years later and last year she was seen in popular music tv-show "Tähdet, Tähdet".

Still never heard of of her before and the artist announcement did nothing to me.

Paskana is power song that gives no hope. It's very raw lyrically and vocally.

It's a modern ballad with immediate hook. The song itself is not a traditional power ballad but does instrumentally push its boundaries. The electronic beat has 80's sound which also reminds many of the Russian girl duo t.A.T.u's sound. R'n'b beat separates it from an average ESC ballad and makes this super easy to listen.

Sara's voice can be compared to Amy Winehouse's being capable of interpreting the painful text brilliantly. The topic of being "paskana" which is translated as fucking wreck, is easily relatable. Social media quickly filled on Monday night with heartfelt comments from people around the world crying and feeling this song.

This is simply captivating - you can't pass this without stopping to listen to this and feeling what she sings. This will translate across language barriers.

ESC doesn't allow swearing so in case of winning UMK Sara would have to find another title for her song which might be a difficult task. There have been hopes of her translating this into English or pieces of it but I do hope this masterpiece remained in Finnish. Also this would differ quite a lot from our previous ESC entries. The last time we heard a female ballad from Finland was in 2017 with NormaJohn.

In a scenario where she didn't win UMK she might be the next Bess (Ram pam pam, 2022) or Kuumaa (Ylivoimainen, 2023) which either were the winning acts but made the biggest hits of their careers with the help of UMK. Reactions have been positive everywhere you go and her UMK videoclip has already been viewed over 240 000 (more than Sexmane) times. She's on her way to stardom!

What do you think of the third UMK24 track and would you vote for Sara Siipola to go all the way to Malmö? UMK final takes place on February 10th!

[loopscereal]

I wasn't sure whether to ask you or Pía so maybe each of you can add your own commentary?? but I'm very curious about your OC Red :0 you've both posted about them a lot and I've been very curious about their admiration for Owynn and their feelings of being inorganic I think? (I might have misinterpreted idk sorry). Whatever the case I just want to know more about the lil guy

Hello!! Sorry for the late responseeeee. Thank you very much for being interested in them :D Also don’t apologize for presumably misinterpreting stuff it's not like we’ve explained him lol ToT It will be a bit of a really weird story to share though, so buckle up lol (Red uses any and all pronouns btw)

This is the capital weird part of our lore AKA programs which we already mentioned in our Pup explanation, but yeah for recap: when shadows interact with a video game that meets the requirements of 1) being kinda broken and 2) having a lot of care put into it (whether it’s how it was created or how the person that had it cherished it or whatever) as in the saying of “putting your soul into it” the shadow gets the idea or asset or whatever of a character or a concept within that game and becomes conscious, that good old trope of "The game becomes self-aware". Normally they get a body and that’s it, they incorporate to normal human society normally and also have mandatory therapy because you cannot come out normal from that ToT 

The exceptions to this are Pup and the now titular little guy!! Red. Red’s name comes from rival red from Pokemon! Red itself comes from a Pokemon copy, a really broken and busted down copy of the most broken Pokemon game everrrr Pokemon fire red: A really buggy and glitchy mess held by tape and raw will power, a start of a beloved franchise with tons of love put into it and also just busted. And That sort of brought Red into existence 5 years ago.

Red did not take over a character or an idea or a concept of a character, Red took over the literal glitches, every unused asset and every game breaking bug, this made it so that whenever he TRIED telling someone of its existence, it just read as glitching and nonsense and what you would think of when someone tells you “haunted game”, everyone with self-preservation is not going to entertain that and will just shut the thing off and sell it or something, programs are expected to emerge in a somewhat normal 4th wall break or something not screaming and static and the game shutting off on its own. He took the name red because among the scrapped nonsense there was also a scrapped trainer Red sprite in there and it was the only semblance of a face amongst that entire mess, and you take any face you can get when you don’t have any, and you take any semblance of an identity you can get when you also don’t have any.

So Red gained consciousness a hot second ago, 5 years ago from current timeline, but was not taken anywhere to become a real person because no one could tell she was one. A guy had his cartridge and just let it rot under his desk for those years because that thing is unplayable and also probably haunted!! Eventually he decided to sell it and you would not guess who got it (Owynn and Loon.)

Loon bought it because he’s just game obsessed, and at this point he was already dating Owynn so they were just hanging out and Loon wanted to play the thing. Haunted game screeching and screaming ensures and Loon was about to do the normal person reaction that is turning the thing off, but since Owynn is a weirdo he didn’t really care? Owynn is curious, not easy to scare at all, and he HARDCORE doesn’t believe in ghosts, so he was determined to fucking around with the thing trying to figure out if it what was wrong with it.

So a lot of Red’s inherent craziness towards Owynn and Loon comes down to the fact that they were the ones who actually got him out of that hell, Owynn fucked around and treated her as some sort of ARG like a loser and figured out what she was trying to say and what she was. Thisss is also badd and this is the moment where we tell everyone that they should never look up to Owynn OR Loon.

Basically, they figured it out! (Mostly Owynn) woho!!! Now they will take her to get a body and be normal right? (no). Owynn is a curious bastard and also inherently just morally skewed, and Loon is sort of a pushover and also an absolute dickhead to strangers and rlly low empathy (doesn’t seem people he’s not close with as real), so owynn just basically kept her in there?? for a few months??? They tried to frankenstein him a bit, tried to figure out what he was and how he worked and all that stuff. And it was obviously dehumanizing as hell and messed up how they were just playing mad scientist with his life, but also 5 years of being completely alone kind of warps your brain a little (a lot), and being seen as something “precious” or cool or interesting got her crazy attached to them 2. 

Eventually they talked and Loon got over his “if i don’t know you you aren’t real” thing because he DID know them now, and they EVENTUALLY after a literal hot second got Red to get an actual body. Took them long enough jesus. 

First of all, they had no idea how to even do this?? Because you need to fill out forms and that and Owynn couldn't on the basis of bad homelife, and Loon technically could but he was also incredibly out of it because he was taken to a part of town he didn’t even know at all and that just panicked him way worse. So problem number one is that, problem number 2 is that Red wasn’t even normal by program standards and was still just inherently glitchy. It all worked out surprisingly, Neither of them had the money nor the want to take care of Red or whatever, and in theory he should’ve ended up in the foster system but the woman who worked on his body saw that even with a body she is just inherently unstable and decided that she could take that responsibility given that she was an expert on the stuff.

So, Red has a really warped vision of those two because how do you not after that??? He sees them as sort of gods? which sounds crazy but then again how do you not after that. When Red is taken out of DS hell, two things are evident. 1) Her file was an English copy, so their “mother” language is English, most of the spanish he knows was acquired directly from hearing the real people out in the real world talk with each other over those 5 years, and even if that sounds like a long time to learn his cartridge was stuck and stored in a desk so what he could hear was limited and also muffled. So their Spanish is kinda bad, they tend to default to English but even then words are pronounced wrong because he never had the need to say most or any of them out-loud. 2) they have no animal. This is due to the scrapped Rival Red sprite having no animal traits. So he has to chose what type of animal person he will be, they knew they wanted to be an arthropod. Loon and Owynn are both arthropods, and she wanted to resemble her saviors, her gods. She chooses a cicada, a true bug! Actual bug! It’s a bit of a play on words on our part, since Red is an accumulation of all of Fire Reds bugs. Cicadas also represent rebirth, and new beginnings, and he was pretty much reborn into a new life by being taken out of DS hell. Another thing you may notice about their design is their eyes, one is a bar that you cannot see the end of, and her other small dot eye, this is also something he chose to have. Its the same eye disorder Owynn has! Xe also styles xir bangs like Owynn, wears stud earrings like Loon, and is in the insect subsection of arthropods with Loon. Generally tries to emulate them both. So, for the parts of themself that Red could choose in, he decided to look like the people he admires/worships.

Little visual help go!! :

Due to forming within an accumulation of glitches, and not a normal sprite like most programs, her physical form still glitches out. Things like chromatic aberration and actual spikes of distortion, which are all visual glitches but still hurt. This facet of how she exists is a lot of electricity, and messes with electronics, and with other programs, since their bodies, although made to be as realistic and human as possible, are still built things. machines and electronics, and therefore tamperable. Due to his glitchy nature, this means that he can bypass a lot of rules set inside of Programs that were made in fear of “machine uprising” nonsense.  Every program is able to re-enter electronics, they can go into the computer and chill there while their body is just sleeping/knocked out. They can do anything you normally can, but have a built in chip that prevents them from easily prating things, easily stealing people's information to make purchases, getting peoples ips, and in general messing with things for their benefit. These are all bypassable by Red due to her “inherently broken” nature. 

Speaking of being compatible with computers, programs have little items on them that their consciousness can retreat into if their physical body is too damaged, this item is sort of like a hard drive of their entire being? It holds them, and can be used to transfer their memories onto exterior hardware like a laptop, phone, or computer. Think of it as back ups to keep themself extra safe! Red is, again, glitchy, and have a terrible memory that gets erased and corrupted as they exist, and the longer they go without uploading their memory the more likely he is to have it become corrupted and forgotten. THey are reminded to upload it, and sometimes do, but even still the memory held within its own mind will corrupt eventually. They are left with watchable memories, thoughts and experiences that they don't remember doing or having. Undeniable proof (memory upload on exterior device) vs I Dont Remeber THat. 

Due to the fact that they clinged so hard to the image of the only useable face they had, and being baseline modeled after it, she has a bit of a thing with hats, since one of the key features of trainer red has always been having that iconic red cap and all of that it’s both a comfort and also something she hates. He doesn’t want to be trainer red or code or something that isn’t alive, but it’s also something that makes him feel less afraid and lost and stressed out because it's familiar, and she has very few things she can even classify as familiar at all. Which is why in some art she has it and in some she doesn’t. 

Xe also needs glasses given that xe willingly screwed his eyes up, but they tend to forget them a lot and having stuff on their face is just generally a foreign and weird feeling she hasn’t gotten used to, so she also may pop up with glasses or without glasses.

She has yet to really crack how to act like a normal person, has a hard time understanding social norms and the concept of lying in general. She’s blunt and sorta rude, she’s not used to moderating the volume of her voice so it tends to be either too loud or too quiet, and he’s horribly bad at lying and borderline cannot do it. They are very easily startled and scared, but she translates that fear into an immediate fight response, so they read as very easy to piss off and also very easy to hit things or hit people. 

Programs are sorta normal by now, and there’s other students who are programs, Red absolutely loathes all of them. It’s mostly just crazy strong jealousy at the people who claim to be “like him” to live so much better than him. Aside from the glitching, Red’s origin has made her have bad memory, be sort of physically numb to a lot of sensations aside from pain (can’t feel cold all that well, can’t feel light touches and stuff), and have an awful time with a lot of motor skills. And none of the other programs have to deal with any of that and it drives him crazy. Other programs also have memories from inside their world, since they are usually “character gains sentience” types, but Red has none of that, They are not a character, not even the MC, they are the glitches. Super jealous, sad, but overall mad. So he just messes with a lot of them, due to being glitchy when he touches other programs he makes THEM glitch and therefore hurt, and he tends to not get into a lot of trouble for it given that Owynn is vice president and plays devil's advocate. He tends to stick to just touching them to mess them up that way but he does have one guy he specially hates who he straight up gets into fist fights with, and it’s the guy who used to have his cartridge. Who is also a program!! how unfair!! he got to live those 5 years completely normal while Red was stuck! Xe wants to absolutely kill that guy.

Speaking of her body and the issues that come with it, They have a hard time doing a lot of stuff and are inherently clumsy due to not being used to any of this. They've had a body for about 6 months? So everything is still insanely overwhelming, scary and stressful; and such emotions of instability heighten her glitches which hurt and make her more stressed and it’s just a mad man’s cycle.

She also just has a really hard time even seeing her body at all, he has dysphoria because he’s nonbinary and her body was made to be male so they look masculine, they have a broad back and a square-ish face and a deep voice and it makes her feel gross. And he also has body dysmorphia, so he just looks fundamentally wrong and it cannot click in her head that the body in the reflection is actually hers at all, it doesn’t feel real in the slightest and it tends to make her derealization and her feelings of not being a real human worse.

They tend to have a really hard time feeling real, mostly when they’re alone because it just plops them right back into that crushing loneliness of being completely on her own for 5 years. When it’s on its own a way they ground themselves often tends to include biting, biting his fingers or a pen or chewing hard candy, likes the pressure in her teeth and likes exerting any force at all and it having a clear effect, this also means that her jaw tends to be super tense and that they grit their teeth a lot, also just bites her nails off and tends to pick off the loose skin around the nails with her teeth which just ends up in messed up fingers.

He has a fixation or proving his own realness, by experiencing as much as he can. Doing is living. Theyll try anything once except they will actually do it, unprompted, anything. Impulsive thought to eat something that by all means no one should consider eating? It's already in her mouth, sorry. Uh she learns about her cicada biology through Owynn (freak) and learns that she can process liquids a lot better than anything else. Soooo her best friend is the blender in her kitchen. They will blend up bread, insects, and meat. Think of that funny scene where Town explains his juices except 100 percent serious that is what she is drinking. It will also drink blood, in some hope that it will make it more of a living person. “how would drinking her own blood make him more of a person if he's having a hard time thinking of himself as one?” Who said it was their own blood? checkmate.

They are mostly not good at school, which makes sense given her background, but she’s freakishly good at math. This isn’t a robot thing, it’s not because she’s has a calculator built in or anything. It’s  because in those 5 years she spent completely alone there wasn’t really anything else to do other than thinking, because doing much else broke the game and therefore threatened to break them. But after a bit she just ran out of things to think about, and then she just started counting to entertain herself, counting up and down, making up operations and then solving them, and doing anything at all to keep himself (somewhat) sane. Numbers click into place and make sense, numbers tend to be constant and expected, a multiplication between two numbers no matter how big will never vary, counting is a way to keep herself entertained. Fun fact, Owynn also counts when he feels trapped, smiley. 

He outright despises the idea of trainer red, the literal character, because a part of his brain tells him that he’s not really a person, nor is he that beloved character, they are a scrapped version of it, a literal error that just happened to present itself with that well known face. And yet he clings to it, because if he doesn’t have that face and that name then he has nothing at all, and she has changed her body enough to resemble other people so it shouldn’t matter, and sometimes she wants to look like the character to feel as if he was a normal program at all. Just don’t bring up that character in front of her, lights a fire in her head.

Despite how Red may feel about their “game counterpart”, they don't harbor any resentment toward the overall Pokemon franchise. This is mostly because Loon really does like Pokemon, I mean, he was interested in the Fire Red cartridge for  a reason. Red has this mental system about how they feel about things, naturally you'd assume they hate Pokemon bc resentment for their source material, but since Loon is someone they consider above them, it “overrides” that. Her emotions toward people she would otherwise be indifferent to is easily and sharply shifted by the people she considers herself to be “on the side of”. extra thing we didnt know how to transition to: 

While Loon is unable to see strangers as real living people, Red has a tendency to see strangers as just inherently more alive than her, more deserving of being called living beings and all of that, everyone who isn’t a program is an actual breathing person, while programs are a cruel mockery and none of them are alive, including her.

AND THATS ALL THANKS FOR READINGGGG

Never ask us anything ever again we WILL send the bible every single time without fail /J

thank you so much for being even a littlee bit interested in our beloved oc Red, we really do love him alot. Uh! you can always ask either of us anything, we share one braincess we have a bluetooth connection… Uh uh iiii do suggest if u were to ask pia ask it oh his not-art-blog @3point14a <- that blog, if you would be so kind