#and technically NEITHER are true

[perrizom]

i often forget that southern dialogue in terms of grammar is very loose and wobbly and then i go into twitch chats and the streamer has a hard time reading what i wrote bcuz the grammar just makes so sense.

it’s so hard trying to write a coherent message super quickly when american southern drawl mushes words together without a second thought.

i’m so extremely sorry 😭

[starry-bi-sky]

more about og tue timeline twins danny and dan/jamie

very touchy with each other. you might even say. ccclingy. its to be expected, they're two halves of a whole after all and all they've got of each other. worryingly co-dependent. do not separate. ever.

Danny was really weak and sick after the initial separation, and was for a while after. Jamie knew internally that if Danny died, he'd take the whole world with it. He was the one sole caretaker for him while he got better -- not for lack of trying on Vlad's part, but without his ghost powers he was nothing more than a feeble (albeit handsomely rich) man, and James looked ready to bite his head off if he got within ten feet of either of them.

Vlad is intimately aware that James (or Danny, if he tried) could snap his spine in half like a twig, and is uncomfortably aware of his own lack of ghost half now. It makes him feel self-conscious and exposed, so he never fully returns back to "cocky and self-assured billionaire Vlad Masters". Making deals with other brands feels a lot harder now that he can no longer possess them anymore.

Speaking of, he very quickly has to come up with a cover story as to why there's now a James Daniel Fenton to the public, when no records whatsoever of him existing existed prior. Lots of forging false government documents on his end. James and Danny do not help because it's his fault this happened in the first place.

(Regardless of whether or not Danny actually willingly chose to rip out his ghost half/humanity in canon is true, or if that was Vlad Masters speaking out of his ass, a large part of the blame still falls on Masters.)

(As his primary caretaker and guardian, it's his responsibility to ensure the health and safety of his charge, and since Danny was in clear emotional duress at the time, it can be argued that he was not in the mental state to make such a decision. And, allegedly, couldn't do it on his own which is why he asked Vlad for help.)

I chose "James" as Dan's name since it's a popular fanon middle name for Danny, and since he's half of Danny, it felt like it just made sense lol. Also because of the ensuing comedy of the two of them introducing themselves as "James Daniel Fenton" and "Daniel James Fenton". It's got the same energy as "danny with a y" and "danny with an i" and it's the exact kind of name bullshit you expect parents to give their twins.

I don't have their exact personalities down, but something I am actively writing into this au's bible is that I think Danny should be the quiet and (ig technically) meaner one. There's a lot to go into about interpretations for ghosts, halfas, and the incident itself, but TL:DW; Danny is technically soulless, or at the very least missing half of his soul (altho Jamie is too just in a different direction).

Pair that with the trauma of losing his family in front of him + having his ghost half ripped out + all the trauma he would've sustained as a hero, and he's not doing too hot mentally! i think if the twins met good timeline!Danny, Danny would've mistaken Danny for Dan and Jamie for the original half.

He comes off to others as pretty apathetic and indifferent to a borderline terrifyingly calm degree. He doesn't go out of his way to insult people, but he also doesn't care enough to consider the other party's feelings so he doesn't filter himself, which makes him come off as rude. The only times he looks truly comfortable is when he's near Jamie or talking to him.

His standoffish, ice prince demeanor makes Jamie look like a saint in comparison. When really he's not all that much better? He's more outwardly emotional than Danny, whether that be positive or negative, but at the end of the day he doesn't trust or care about anyone else any more than Danny does, and he's got a bit of a sadistic streak. Danny reigns him in when he starts becoming too destructive.

(Which I think makes sense. Danny asked Vlad to rip out his ghost half specifically so he could stop feeling his human emotions. Dan, despite his monotone voice, does exhibit emotions. He's smug when he asks Valerie if he likes his ghostly wail, sardonic when he reunites with Sam and Tucker, annoyed, shocked at Danny's ghostly wail, etc. He enjoys wreaking destruction and chaos.)

(If Danny had survived his encounter with Dan and if Vlad was successful, then I imagine he'd be rather apathetic to his other half as a whole. That'd be interesting.)

Overall though they're both hurt, bitter, and distrustful of the world around them, with abandonment issues a mile wide. They can get better and they can heal, but it takes time and patience and proper support.

On the DPxDC side of things, they do genuinely hold some kind of respect or regard for Bruce. They also don't become vigilantes for a while. Neither of them are jumping at the bit to enter heroism again, not when it was heroism that killed their family in the first place.

In fact when they find out Bruce = Batman they think he's foolish for it. They think its a fool's errand, and they've been so spurned by their time as Phantom that for a few weeks, Jamie even refused to call Bruce anything but Sisyphus. Danny called him Tantalus, and the two of them had a faux-argument about which one was more accurate.

Bruce does, though, worm his way into both of their hearts, and that's like, the main reason they become vigilantes to join him. So that they could keep him safe and not because of any desire to return to the heroic life. Relearning to care and finding satisfaction in helping others was an unintentional side effect.

(Bruce is so very smug)

Essentially:

The Twins: this is our squishy and fragile adoptive father. If anything happened to him, we're becoming mass extinction events.

Bruce: Nnno.

[sammygender]

look i like to defend john winchester from fandom mischaracterisation as much as the next guy but ‘he did nothing wrong he was only doing the best he could!!’ well that’s simply not true is it

[menlove]

the most hysterical thing abt my identity is like I guess I'm technically nonbinary by all definitions but I never, ever use that word to describe myself like. yes I am but. no I am not 🫶

[the-apocalypse-is-upon-us]

Mukuro Ikusaba,they could never make me hate you

[just-bendy]

4, you are not a mistake! You are wonderful and unique in your own way and you wouldn’t be doing anyone a favor by hiding yourself! If anyone says otherwise they are wrong and an idiot because you deserve to have friends and be loved like everyone else!

I'm... not a mistake...?

But, I wasn't born lookin' how I was supposed to. I'm imperfect, no one would want to look an imperfection like me. How could anyone accept somethin' like that?

And why would you... say somethin' so untrue?

[@faecelessfiend]

I... can't draw.

My hand is too messed up ta do that.

[asexual-levia-tan]

apparently there's a theory among the fandom that the MoM is light. which is pretty cool considering that's been my thought since he mentioned to babynort that he never takes his coat off because he's too scared (said in a joking way, but was it a joke?)

my thought was that he wasn't always a being of pure light, but that he shed his form after his friends fell to darkness during the first(?) conflict with darkness. the darkness also used to "look like us" until it realized it was more powerful without a form, so maybe he took a page out of its book and went formless

the problem with this theory is that according to him, he and his 6 apprentices are to be vessels to hold the darkness. which i would imagine would be difficult to do if you were 1) a being of pure light or 2) dont actually have a body to contain it in

[allalrightagain]

The problem: ADHD.

The solution: alternate studying, writing, and work tasks so I never get bored!

The flaw in the plan: What if I just... wrote out Hogwarts syllabi using coding courses as a framework and--

[mars-ipan]

god i wish this website understood nuance and individual situations better

[empressofmankind]

I am pretty sure this is news to precisely no one. Considering if people know anything about me, they know I am constantly extolling the virtues of The Best Blue TM which is chrysocolla blue, a cyan that everyone and their dog insists to me is a green. NO. It is a blue.

HOW DO YOUR PERCEIVE BLUE AND GREEN?

[kraniumet]

debate. is white box self referential

[neganium]

It is already 7pm. Horrid. Abominable, even.

Anyways does anybody wanna like, comm me for $30ish or smth so that I can get us some pizza? (Admittedly idek if my mom still has those coupons, or if they're even still good; for all I know tho it was a promo advert and not coupons, anyways. I can still look around and see if she has it, ig...)

[ravenstone12]

FOR

Your entertainment.

[markrosewater]

I want to speak out against the whole push towards DEI. I feel that ever since you made the push to make identity the forefront of a character it has hurt the stories you tell. Captain Sisay's race was never the focus of her character and she was a complete badass! And I fear if you did it over again Gerrard would be trans, black and disabled just because. It also cheapens the stories of world devastation when characters worry more about their gender than Bolas destroying everything.

The reason I started this blog is so we can have frank conversations about things, so please let’s talk about this.

Imagine if every time you turned on the TV or watched a movie, no one looked like you. For some of us, that’s never happened. We see ourselves constantly, so it’s hard to truly understand what not seeing yourself represented in media is like.

I do have a personal window to this experience. While I am white and male, there’s an area where I am the minority - my religion. Jews are just under two and a half percent of the US population. I have had many experiences where I’ve been in situations where everything is geared towards a group I do not belong to, and zero consideration is given that not everyone at that event is part of the majority.

You just feel invisible and like an outsider. It’s not a great feeling. And I just experience it a tiny portion of time, only things that are geared specifically towards something religious. Most minorities have this feeling all the time, whenever they’re outside their personal community.

Now imagine, after years of not seeing yourself ever, you finally see someone that looks like you, but nothing about the character rings remotely true. They don’t sound like you, they don’t act like you, the facts about their day-to-day life are just wrong. It’s clear whoever wrote the character didn’t truly understand the lived experience of the character, so the character feels fake.

You bring up Sisay. Michael Ryan and I didn’t technically create Sisay (she played a small role in the Mirage story), but we did do a lot to flesh out her character as the creators of the Weatherlight Saga. We turned her from a minor character into a major one.

And while I’m proud, in general, of our work on the Weatherlight Saga, I don’t think we did justice to Sisay as a character. Neither Michael nor I have any knowledge of what it’s like to be a black woman. Nor did we ever talk to someone who did.

And if you’re someone like us that has no knowledge of that experience, you probably didn’t notice. But that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing.

Imagine if we made a movie about your life, and we just made everything up. We invented people you never knew, we gave you a job you never had, and we had you say things you’d never say. The movie might even be a good movie, but your response would be, but that’s not my life - that’s not me.

Now imagine we put the movie out, and people that never met you assumed that was what you were like. When people met you for the first time, they assumed things, because, you know, they’d seen the movie.

That’s what misrepresenting people does. It not only makes them feel not seen, it falsely represents them, spreading lies, often stereotypes, making people believe things about them that aren’t true.

Our move towards diversity is just us trying to better reflect the world and the people in it. We’re trying to do to everyone else what a certain portion of people get every day without ever having to think about it.

But why are we “making it the forefront of their character”? We’re not. We’re making it a part of their character. But in a world where you’re not used to ever seeing it, it feels louder than it is. Things that are a natural part of the world that you’re used to feel like the background of the story because you understand the context to it.

If a man kisses his wife before going off to a battle, that’s not a big deal. It’s just a thing a husband might do to his wife when he leaves. It’s not the forefront of his character. It’s just part of his life. But you’ve seen it hundreds of times, so it feels normal.

When someone does something that isn’t your lived experience it pulls focus. It seems like a big deal, but only because it’s new to you. It’s just as mundane a thing to that character as the man kissing his wife is to him.

Even the turn “pushing” implies that it’s unnaturally here, that we’re forcing something that naturally shouldn’t be. But why? That thing exists naturally in the real world, and it doesn’t make the real world any less. Maybe you’re less aware of it, but is making you aware of how others live their life “pushing” something on you?

How you live your life is represented constantly, everywhere. Why isn’t over-representing your experience at the expense of everyone else’s “pushing” it? Why is media only being the experience of those in power the “proper way”?

Having more depth and variety doesn’t lessen stories. It makes them deeper, more rich, more nuanced. In short, it makes them better stories. In my former life, I was a professional writer. I took a lot of writing classes. One of the truism of writing is “speaking truth leads to better stories”.

There’s another famous quote: “When you’re accustomed to privilege, equality feels like oppression.” You’re used to being over-represented, so being a little less over-represented feels like something has been taken from you. But really it hasn’t. Having a better sense of the rest of the world comes with a lot of benefits.

I’ll use food as an example. Let’s say all you were ever exposed to was the food of your heritage. Yeah, that food is really good, but sometimes isn’t it nice to eat foods of other nationalities? Isn’t your life better that you have a choice? Isn’t your exposure and access to the food of other nationalities a positive in your life?

Exposure to variety is a positive. It allows you to learn about things you didn’t know, experience things things you’ve never experienced, and get a better sense of understanding of your friends and neighbors.

Our actions are not to harm anyone, and if you think that’s what we’re doing, please take a minute to actually absorb what I’m saying. You’ve spent your whole life metaphorically eating one type of food, and we’re just trying to show you how much you’ve missed out on.

And while this might not impact you directly, we’re making a whole bunch of people felt seen. We’re bringing joy. Think of it this way. We make a lot of cards. Not every card is for you. But if it makes someone else happy, if they get to include it in a deck, and it makes Magic better for them, how is it harming you that we include it? You have so many cards that you can play.

To this poster or people that share their viewpoint, the narrative that a gain for someone else is an attack on you is just not true. As I just pointed out above, you play a game all about personal choice, about players getting to choose how they play and enjoy the game. Why should life be any different than Magic?

Thanks for reading.

[theglassofmiddleearth]

Imagine Being Isekai'ed into KPOP DEMON HUNTERS. (part 7)

SORRRYY here is part 7! a bit smaller, this is honestly, ARE U GUYS READY TO SEE WHAT HAPPENED IN Y/N'S SPARE ROOM? (tag list is still full guys!)

Previous - Next

A heavy silence filled the room, a weighing question lingering in the air.

Why had Abel and Beom not been recalled along with the other men.

Despite what Gwi-ma had thought, the two men had not been slain. In fact, they were not even close to being dead. This was the most alive they’d felt in decades thanks to Y/N.

‘Gwi-ma thinks you’re both dead.’ Jinu started, looking up at Abel and Beom. The mentioned men stiffened, looking down at a spot on the ground. Neither had given an explanation in the past twenty minutes, allowing the group to stew in an uncomfortable silence.

‘What did you tell him?’ Beom asked nervously, in a faux relaxed position sitting on Y/N’s spare bed.

The two had remembered their conversation with Y/N that it probably wasn’t the best idea to tell Jinu about what happened. To be candid, both the men were aching to tell him. Jinu was their friend. If there was a way they could pull him and the rest of their friends away from Gwi-ma’s manipulative nature, they wanted to do it. However, two men had promised Y/N that they wouldn’t say anything for now..

‘I said that the hunters had killed you both. Gwi-ma believed it too.’

‘I don’t know why we weren’t called back. We can still shift back into our original form but…’ A quiet puff of pink smoke revealed Abel’s true form as a demon, patterns and all. The black hanbok, fitting him snugly, complimented his figure perfectly. His claws were scratching nervously at his cheek.

‘How…’ Rae shook his head, ‘How is that possible. Do you not hear him in your head? What did you guys do?’

‘We didn’t do anything.’ Beom insisted, also shifting into his demon form, his yellow eyes illuminating the room in a soft light. ‘But it’s true, we haven’t been hearing Gwi-ma. It’s like our connection’s been severed.’

And technically, it was true. Beom and Abel hadn’t done anything, it was Y/N who had freed them from their suffering. She was the one person who had shown them empathy (besides each other) ever since their respective deaths. Empathy, that came with only one reasonable request.

That they wouldn’t take souls.

Yet, neither of the men were sure if this situation was permanent. What if at some point Gwi-ma's forked tongue reclaimed them, forcing them back to becoming a shell of the men they once were?

For now they hadn't taken any souls. Not personally at least.

‘Gwi-ma might be in our heads, but he can’t read our minds, he can only listen to how we feel.’ Min reasoned, running his fingers over the dusty spines of books stored on an old bookshelf. He had been around the underworld the longest, although he hadn’t made as much effort as Jinu to interact with Gwi-ma. 

Min had been able to drown out Gwi-ma’s voice the most, seeing as he had endured years of suffering and harsh words from the street. The beatings that he took from strangers outweighed the shame of Gwi-ma’s incessant whispering.

‘That's true.’ Jinu scrunched up his eyebrows, still feeling like he was missing something.

‘Wow, she has Janggi?’ Min slid out the long forgotten box, blowing dust from the top. Pivoting the conversation smoothly into a more wistful tone. Jinu had since stood up from his spot on the floor, leaning against the room's door.

‘Hey Abel, didn't you use to play that with the emperor?’ Rae squinted, looking at the dusty box.

‘Yeah, I remember I had to let the guy win or he’d fire me.’ Abel snickered, crossing his arms proudly.

‘I forgot you were both alive at the same time.’ Jinu said, whilst listening through the wall.

‘Yeah, he was the emperor's top strategist…’ Rae paused. ‘What the hell are you doing?’

‘That hunter just said she would fall in love with our Y/N.’ Jinu’s hand was clenched into a tight fist. The side of his head pressed firmly

‘WHAT?’ Rae jumped out of his chair, knocking over a box, creating a loud thump.

‘SHHH!’

‘Sorry!’ Rae whined, slumping back into his seat.

‘Why would she say that? Does she like our Y/N?’ Abel had since joined Jinu by the door, both men, ears pressed up to the door.

‘You both look like idiots.’ Min deadpanned, opening the Janggi case to check if all the pieces were still inside. ‘Hey Abel, wanna play?’

‘No, I wanna hear what's goin’ on.’

‘If you win, I’ll let you sit next to Y/N on the next car ride.’

‘Done.’ Abel turned away from the door, hurrying over to the makeshift game set up on the spare bed.

‘He knows that’s not up to Min right?’ Beom whispered to Rae.

‘Dunno.’

–

Y/N stretched, watching the sun peak out from the clouds, casting a luminous halo into the skyline.

The girls had left around two am, finishing their recordings quickly. They really were true idols. 

It had taken Y/N all night to come up with an acceptable draft, piecing all the recordings together into the correct timing. 

‘Ugh… I’m getting too old for this.’ Y/N mumbled, standing up and stretching her sore, stiff limbs.

‘Hm, I’m into older women.’

‘Huh?’ Y/N spun around, watching Beom and the rest of the boys spread out in her living space behind her. Each man was doing something different, Abel was playing Janggi with Min with a board and pieces she didn’t even know she owned. Beom was laying on her sofa, scrolling through his phone while Jinu was in the kitchen, prepping what seemed to be another soup.

 ‘Oh my goodness! Did you guys stay there the whole time I was editing?’

‘Yeah, we didn’t want to disturb you.’ Min replied, looking up from the tense game.

Rae was spinning around on Y/N’s spare gaming chair.

‘Wow, you guys were really quiet.’ Y/N stood up, rubbing her eyes. ‘When’d you guys come out of the room?’

‘After we had a chat.’ Jinu cut up some vegetables, dicing them into perfect pieces. ‘Just after your hunter friends left.’ 

‘Whatcha makin?’ Y/N sat down at the kitchen counter, laying her head to rest on her arms, relishing the coolness of the marble top.

‘Galbitang, I bought a bunch of meat, remember?’ Jinu raised his eyebrows, scraping the vegetables into a pot on the stove. ‘Do you ever check your fridge for more than an energy drink Y/N.’ 

Y/N groaned, as she peeked up from her arms, watching JInu shake his head in mock disapproval. 

‘Myeh, I don’t usually eat anyways. I just order something or run down to the convenience store.’

‘You’re gonna die before you hit forty Y/N.’ Beom shook his head, sitting down next to her.

‘Ugh, you’re two hundred, don’t talk about my age you boomer.’

‘You just said I was born two hundred years ago. I can’t be a boomer.’ Beom poked Y/N’s forehead gently, pushing her head backwards.

‘Bah, semantics.’ Y/N stuck out her tongue, allowing herself to be pushed back.

‘So, what is the plan? We have award shows lined up for the next two weeks.’ Rae crossed his arms, coming to a slow stop in his chair.

‘Well, nothing. We wait until the Idol Awards. For now, we…’ Jinu paused, the noise of frying something in oil crackled, filling the awkward silence.

‘We keep doing what we’re doing.’ Min nodded, stretching out his arms to rest his hands on the back of his neck.

‘Sure, whatever.’ Abel shrugged, locking his phone. ‘We have a bunch of award shows to go to. How many awards do you think we snatched from under their noses?’

‘As a debut group? Isn't that embarrassing?’ Rae snickered, standing up.

‘We have the better song writer.’ 

‘I wrote both of those songs…’ Y/N mumbled, face mashed into the marble table.

‘Mhm, you did well.’ Jinu slid a plate of gyeran mari kimbap towards her, ‘Eat up.’

‘But what about my galbitang?’ Y/N pouted, eating the egg dipped kimbap nonetheless.

‘Patience. You’d make such a demanding husband.’ Jinu rolled his eyes with a goodnatured smile. ‘It takes time to boil, you know that.'

‘But your sokkoritang was so gooood.’ Y/N mumbled, whilst chewing.

‘Yeah, because I made sure that it boiled for at least two hours.’ Jinu hummed, walking forward to brush a thumb over Y/N’s cheek. ‘Don’t talk while you’re chewing.’

Jinu sighed, watching Y/N batter his hands away, the girl not realising that Jinu had taken a stray piece of rice off her cheek.

‘Such a messy eater when you’re hungry.’ He whispered, bringing his thumb to his lips.

The rest of the boys gaped, watching the interaction.

‘Yall saw that right?’ Beom pointed, hand shaking.

‘Since when did Jinu have moves like that?’ Rae looked completely floored.

‘What moves?’ Y/N turned around, swallowing her mouthful.

‘What do you mean, what moves?’ Abel facepalmed, shaking his head in disappointment.

Jinu shrugged, face slightly red.

‘Our Y/N must be incredibly dense.’ Min chuckled, walking over to sit beside the confused girl. The oldest picked up a piece of kimbap and held it up.

‘Say, ah.’ He grinned, tilting his head.

‘Give that back.’ Y/N snatched the slice of kimbap so quickly her hand was a blur. ‘It’s mine. Get your own Jinu cooking.’ 

The boys were stunned, watching Y/N stand and take her plate over to her set up.

‘Wuh-’

‘Y/N, you haven’t slept in twenty four hours. What are you doing?’ Rae frowned, walking over to the still eating girl.

‘I’m almost done with editing the vocals. I just need to finish up. I’ll be done in like… four hours? I gotta do this for my girls.’ Y/N waved him off, placing a tissue over her mouse to keep from greasing under her fingers.

‘Workaholic.’ Beom commented, watching Y/N unlock her computer.

‘What do you mean my girls.’ Min ran an irate hand through his hair.

‘They’re my girls.’

‘Are you courting one of them?’ Min looked devastated, as if someone had just told him that they were out of hairgel.

‘No? It’s just a term of endearment.’ Y/N laughed, not looking up from her computer.

‘People use terms of endearment not for their loved ones?’ Rae looked equally confused.

‘Huh? Yeah all the time. I think Rumi has me saved as ‘와이프’ (waipeu) in her phone.’ Y/N shrugged, picking up the last piece of kimbap from her plate.

‘와이프?’

‘Like wife, 아내 (wife).’

‘You’re her wife?!’ The boys shouted in unison, all looking equally distressed.

‘No. Come on, you guys are so old fashioned-’ Y/N paused before turning around. ‘Do you guys have updated technology in the Underworld or do you just stay stuck in whatever era you came from?’

‘Eh, we were more preoccupied with reliving every single mistake we’d ever made, and listening to Gwi-ma whisper atrocities in our ears.’ Beom shrugged, rolling over to face the ceiling.

‘Oh…’ Y/N winced, looking at the boys who all refused to meet her eyes.

‘Anyways, that's why we’re here.’ Jinu broke the silence, closing the lid of soup. ‘So, what is our schedule like today?’

‘Well, we have a street performance lined up for today.’ Abel checked his phone, scrolling through his calendar.

‘Well, we better get ready for that.’ Jinu untied his apron, setting it neatly folded on the kitchen counter top. ‘Do we need to run through choreography? Does everyone feel good?’

‘Yeah, I have our outfits ready and washed.’ Rae nodded, pulling out Jinu’s pink undershirt.

‘I am not wearing pink.’ Jinu crossed his arms, turning away with a childish scowl.

‘But Y/N said you looked good in pink.’ Beom hinted, his tone mischievous.

‘I’m wearing it because it makes our performance outfits coherent. Not because Y/N thinks it looks good.’ Jinu grumbled, taking the shirt from Rae’s hand reluctantly, making his way to the bathroom.

‘Whatever floats your boat 형.’ Beom hid a triumphant smile from behind his fist.

‘Do you guys want me to come with you?’ Y/N stood up, taking her plate from the desk.

‘No. You haven’t slept. You’re staying home and sleeping.’ Rae took the plate from Y/N’s hands, walking toward the sink.

‘But I-’

‘No. Rae is right. You’re staying home.’ Abel crossed his arms, raising a single eyebrow. ‘You can work on your song now but you’re going to bed when we’re leaving.’

‘Can’t make me.’ Y/N stuck out her tongue, sitting back down in her chair.

‘Is that right?’ Abel leaned down, his hands gripping the chair’s handrests, caging her in. Y/N blinked up at Abel’s dark scarlet eyes, face warming up. His body emitted a familiar warmth, his unbuttoned crappy hawaiian shirt revealed muscles Y/N didn’t even know existed.

‘Okay, OKAY.’ Y/N huffed, pushing Abel away, her hands on his chest. With an amused smile on his face, Abel allowed himself to be pushed away from his close proximity.

‘That’s our girl.’

‘We’ll be back in about four hours. In the meantime, don’t open the pot lid, it’s simmering at the moment so you don’t have to check in on it.’ Jinu returned from the bathroom, changed into his performance clothes.

‘Okaaaayy.’ Y/N replied, plotting in her mind to steal a bowl of soup as soon as the boys left.

‘I’ll know if you opened the lid Y/N.’ Jinu raised an eyebrow, a knowing look on his face.

‘Ugh okay wife, geez you’re so particular with your cooking.’ Y/N groaned, spinning back to face her monitor, slipping her headphones on.

‘She called me wife…’ Jinu was frozen, jaw hanging in the air.

‘Yeah, I’m pretty sure she was just making fun of you.’ Beom shrugged, pulling on his shoes in front of the elevator.

‘Yeah, but she still said it.’ Jinu mumbled, stalking over to his shoes.

‘Does Jinu have a crush?’ Min whispered, nudging the younger man with his elbow, never missing a chance to tease his friend.

‘No!’ He whispered back, blushing profusely. ‘She’s… she's just a means to an end.’

‘You cook for all your ‘means to an end’ people?’ Rae pushed the button to open the elevator doors.

‘Hell, he barely even cooks for us.’ Abel laughed, leaning against the wall.

‘That’s because we don’t eat.’ Jinu rolled his eyes, shoulders hunched up, arms crossed. He looked exactly like a grumpy kitten that hadn’t been fed for five minutes.

‘But we can!’ Beom noted, coming to stand next to Jinu with a cheeky smile.

‘Why you little.’ Jinu grabbed the youngest man’s ear gently, tugging it upward. ‘You little brat. The last time I cooked for you, you didn’t even finish the entire dish.’

‘I’m sorrryyyy.’ Beom whined, hands pawing at Jinu’s shirt trying to get the older man to release his ear. ‘Ugh, let go! I’m not a child anymore!’

‘You’ll always be our youngest.’ Min smiled, patting the man on the head.

‘I have the deepest voice. I’m two hundred years old!’ Beom protested, rubbing at his ear.

‘Yeah, yeah. We know.’

‘You’re all grown up.’

‘I will disfigure you.’ Beom growled, stomping into the elevator.

‘We heal pretty fast so that’s not a problem.’ Min pressed the button to hold open the doors for the rest of the boys.

‘You guys suck.’

‘You love your 형 too much to do that, hmm?’ Jinu smirked down at his friend.

‘Shut up…’

It was now the middle of the afternoon, the boys were due back anytime soon.

The soup Jinu had left on the stove was beginning to smell irresistible, the smell wafting from the kitchen, filling her home with the subtle reminder of Jinu and his cooking.

Just as Y/N had finished up Takedown, sliding her headphones off, her phone began to buzz insistently on the table.

‘Hello?’ Y/N unlocked her phone, not looking at the caller ID as she cracked her neck, the subtle pop freeing the tension in her neck.

‘Hey Y/N!’ Rumi’s melodious voice came from the phone, sounding excited. ‘We have a fan signing in two days! Do you wanna come with us? We want to also introduce you as our producer!’

‘Is that Y/N? Lemme say hi,’ Another voice came from the phone, eager and expectant.

‘Hey Zoey.’ Y/N grinned, knowing exactly who it was.

‘Hey Y/N! Will you come?!’ Zoey was cut off by a sound of fabric rustling as she whined in protest.

‘Hey Y/N, have you eaten today?’ Mira’s distinguishable voice filled Y/N’s phone.

‘Hey Mira,’ Y/N laughed. ‘Yeah, I had the kimbap you gave me for breakfast.’

‘Atta girl.’ Another scruffling noise as Rumi finally took back her phone.

‘So? Will you come?’ Rumi’s voice was high in anticipation.

‘How can I say no to my girls?’ Y/N chuckled, swiping through her calendar app, ‘What time is it?’

‘It’ll start at ten! I’m so glad you said yes!’ Rumi’s cheers came through the phone, mingled with the sounds of joy by Zoey and Mira.

‘Oh! And I just finished Takedown! I’ll send it over and you guys can start the choreography!’ Y/N held her phone to her ear by her shoulder, sitting back down in her chair to export her project. ‘I was thinking that you guys could come over after your signing and we can start recording What It Sounds Like.’

‘Already? Y/N did you sleep yet.’ Mira’s voice filtered through the phone, a tone of concern highlighting her words.

‘Hm? Not yet, I’ll sleep as soon as I’ve exported it and sent it to you.’ Y/N pulled open her browser.

‘Promise?’

‘Yes I promise.’ Y/N nodded forgetting that the girls couldn’t see her.

‘Good.’

Y/N listened to the girls as they all said goodbye, promising Huntr/x that she’d see them in two days.

'Okay, love you Y/N See ya!!' The girls chorused.

'Love you too girls!'

'Y'hear that boys? She said she loves them.' Rae's voice came from behind her, a puff of pink smoke revealing five incredibly stone-faced men.

'You said you weren't courting them!' Min slinked over, tone dangerously calm.

'Uh, I'm not? It's just something you say to your friends.' Y/N edged backward, her back pressed up against a wall.

'You never tell us you love us.' The wall rumbled.

Wait, walls don't rumble.

Y/N spun around, facing Abel's displeased expression.

'Wha-'

'If you can say it to them, why not say it to us?' Beom piped up in his low voice, blocking her right side. The blue haired man's lips were pulled into a thin line.

'What, are you shy?' Rae came to stand on her left, leaning down to peer into her eyes, blocking all her possible exits.

Y/N's eyes darted to Jinu's a faint smirk on his lips as he watched the situation unfold. Why did it look like he was enjoying this?!

'HUH?'

--

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[mystycalypso]

TRICK QUESTION YOU DON'T GET A CHOICE!

(Also this is gonna be so all over the place. This is literally my autism that I've had for this man since he first showed his purple face to my child eyeballs vomited onto your tumblr feed)

"Jack? Why did this start?" You may ask.

Well, my dear reading listener, as you might know, I started rewatching the show again after seeing a video featuring Laserblast and Silverspark. I was just gonna watch iy normally with Kaydin (We did afterwards, and AthenaP when I catch you for mischaracterizing the hell out of my man because you basically ONLY watched the clips from 'big reveal', when I catch you! /j) so we sat down and binged the entire series together. Tears were shed, laughs were had, Ian and the cast went live on saberspark's channel, joe cuppa fanart was made, it was great.

But as we started season 3, a feeling of silent dread filled me. One I've held ever since my glorious and very relatable deadbeat bisexual freak came on screen.

Shadowy Venomous...

I don't know how controversial or argumentative the fandom is over Venomous vs. Shadowy anymore tbh, but jesus, it used to be rough. And I was dreading that my husband would HATE this man. Aaand, to be fair I was right. Even just the goo trap was causing some serious loathing for the purple mans, and the when the reveal first happened, they straight up said "Nah he's fucking with them" Carol was looking at him and they're like "Yeah he was totally- WHAT?!"

They did not appreciate his deadbeatedness, but watching him try to be an awkwardly good dad did sort of win them over again. And after lets get shadowy they were even a little proud of him.

Then Carl happened. Oooh, Carl.

"I can't believe he lied about shadowy! That he manipulated him to bring out TKO that he-"

It was literally the only episode so far where I had to pause and rant to explain it all much more artistically than I intended. ...Which is what I'll now do here too.

First of all, Carl himself and that whole shebang, in what I call...

A lesson in confirmation bias!

K.O. went into this with built-up anxiety about TKO and Shadowy already. He was still under the idea that TKO was made by Shadowy and, as a kid, has very black and white ideas about heroes and villains. His preset fears on what to expect are MAXED out. Of course he was going to assume any mistake from PV was intentional and for the worse. NOW.

LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR

I am not blaming K.O at all. He's a 6-11 year old who's inherited a load of self worth and anxiety issues from his old man (a great example is actually early season 3 with him worried about his powers not being as good as rad/enid's, kinda like laserblast waaaaas). And yeah, when your dad's evil and he keeps accidentally being a dumbass you're gonna get suspicious. Especially if his ass keeps assuming you have way cooler powers than he ever had because I mean, you are your momma's boy, and you do consistently kick ass.

But on the other hand, let's look from the other perspective, something I both totally get why not, and desperately wish we got.

Venomous has finally admitted his relationship to K.O. something we know was gonna be dragged out longer but didn't get to out of universe because it was cut short, but in universe I think when he revealed it was entirely linked to his own confidence. Something he'd clearly been working on. After all, his fears of how good he could be as a partner and father were helped (slowly) by Boxman and Fink. He feels stable enough to own up what happened and why he is who he is now with pride, whether that gains him further love or hatred. And when his bio kid does want to be in his life, he accepts it, encourages it. He's taken this on, even when his son and ex girlfriend launch them into the sky.

He's trying to bond with him, it's- awkward and weird for both of them, but at least he can tell himself he's trying to help the kids out. ...Only to find out he accidentally created a dark alter ego for himself that he didn't know about and threatened his daughter into secrecy. That's uh- stress inducing, to say the least.

You can feel that- relapse in a way- of his issues. He'd felt content as a powerless individual because he didn't need them, he felt in control of his life, and now he knows the reason he feels so awful all the time, constant migraines and suffering was because of a stronger, eviler version of himself? Yeah, no wonder it panicked him enough to yank Shadowy forward. Everything he thought he had basically just got yanked out from under him.

And I do not doubt after his kids saved him that he was genuine about not wanting to live like this. About wanting to get rid of shadowy. Just like K.O. did when he saw the damage TKO was doing.

After all while K.O. visually takes almost entirely after his mom, emotionally he and Venomous are constant parallels. So I think he tried to do just what K.O. had done, push Shadowy deep into his subconscious where he wouldn't be a threat. Where he could try and do better, be better. And he gets to work on something special to show his boy next weekend.

Alright, so... your first 'good' invention is a total failure and monster. Oopsies. At least you can help your kid fight it... sorta. God, that's right being powerless is kind of useless when stopping destruction. And good Cob, you can't believe the one thing you thought you could do to save the day. To be a hero to your kid just made it 10 times worse. But- this is fine! He's clearly holding back, right? So he must just need encouragement to whip out those strong, incredible powers! The ones that pummeled boxman Jr. and made him such an incredible hero!

...He's not doing it. Are you really that bad at encouraging kids? Probably. Maybe he needs that more demanding tone like Gar seems to use. No, that just makes him seem panicked. Good Cob, you're doomed. Oh, never mind, his friends are here. Saved by teenagers in spandex. I mean, you're thankful, but like- kind of embarrassing. At least it's over with. You can enjoy the drive home and hopefully no hard feelings from K.O. When he finally speaks up on the drive, he's, admittedly understandbly, accusatory. But you try and play it off calmly. You did promise him, didn't you? Even if he can't really trust you, you promised fink, too. He pushes further. Why? Does he think you're not capable of getting rid of him? Not strong enough to get rid of him? What just because you didn't know he was there, just because you don't have special powers to fight him off? Just because he's a hero?

Take a deep breath. Your voice is snippy, but you try to sound firm and fair, and he leaves. You're not good enough, you guess. Of course not! You can't take him to big sportsgame games like Gar. You're not the perfect parent like Carol. Sooooorey K.O. Soorey you're not the perfect hero dad he wanted! You're useless and powerless and evil!

You collapse in your office. You've never been enough have you? You weren't good enough for Carol, for POINT, or even for your own son.

You don't even know what's bubbling up in your son outside, how ironically your struggles match each other. All you know is that despite your best efforts to grow and change and be better again... you're not enough. You can't even fight back against yourself. You can feel him, this creature you put inside yourself in such desperate attempts to gain back your weak powers to begin with. Before you even know it he's sucked you back into your mind.

He may be talking, you can't fully tell anymore. What's the point in stopping him? He's stronger than you, he has what you don't, what you can't have. He's everything you could never be.

He's...perfect.

(Seriously this text is so vital to his character and arc and I feel like some people just- totally ignore it)

He may have similar elements to other Turbo Characters, but Shadowy Venomous has never been them. Turbo forms in other characters are a channeling of the darkness in you, but shadowy is when it completely controls you. and no detail better exemplifies that than his wrist bands. Every other turbo character's bands are just that, similar to sweatbands, bracelets or jewelry. But Shadowy Venomous' bands are specifically cuffs. Because unlike all the others, he is an outside force trapping Venomous inside his own mind.

"But, he says they compromised, that this was because of the power Venomous saw he could have" But, we never here this from the horse's mouth. We only ever hear it from an unreliable source, an antagonist. And while Shadowy is a liar, the text has always stated the facts on the scenario even when it's awkward or a secret. Do I believe he did this for any particular reason? No. It wouldn't impact how TKO saw him and he has no reason to believe knowing the truth would male K.O. fight back further and affect his plan. It could just be a demonstration of his character, as this statement really had the biggest effect on viewers. After all plenty of people outright ignored the text, K.O. and Venomous' mirroring and his reaction once Shadowy is knocked out of him.

And... that's the other important thing isn't it? I mentioned it briefly but, Shadowy as far as we're aware was now always within Venomous like it was K.O. and if it was, I don't think it was nearly to the same extent as Shadowy. More of a- turbo Laserblast. Instead this creature was created in attempts to bring back what he had lost. Spending years so absorbed in feeling useless and like a sickening failure. To Point, to Silverspark, and to his future son.

And when TKO finally has enough, because sadly for Shadowy, TKO's fists are thicker than blood, he decks his old man so hard this happens.

That's an odd detail in itself compared to other turbo forms, the fact that he's been just punched out of this man, not once but twice. Even he seems disgusted and- somewhat horrified of what just coughed out of him.

Sure maybe it's just because he didn't know what was going on entirely. After all it's entirely possible he was disassociating within his subconscious, and that's why we don't see Shadowy attempting to 'shut him up' similar to what TKO does. But on the other hand, and linking this to the previously mentioned idea that Turbo Laserblast may have existed

I don't think he fully registered this thing as an outside force. This could also be why, as I sort of showed in that little Carl POV scene, he gave in to Shadowy so easily.

And seeing this thing not only get forcefully ejected from him with such ease but literally SQUASHED by his own kid like nothing when he was so weak to it.

That's slightly amazing, perplexing and kind of traumatizing.

And before he can even fully process all that, he's reminded that his- or well Shadowy's- actions have consequences. And unlike Shadowy, he doesn't fight his fate.

"Do your worst kid."

God this ONE LINE just- I'm grabbing him like a fnaf plushie. Claws around his neck affectionately. It's why I think people who say this man hasn't had any sort of redemption are just flat out wrong. He knows even if it wasn't directly his fault, it is. He did still create Shadowy within himself, and when it came down to it, he couldn't even find it within him to fight. Besides, he may not have understood it years ago, but seemingly without any powers is when he could be at his happiest.

Do I believe in any way that Venomous' best life could ever have been a full hero redemption arc? No. I don't think Heroism could ever be more interesting to him as a career or good for his mental health as villainy was, especially before he became bored with it all.

He was at his best and healthiest as a person with his husband at his side, his daughter at his back, and the three of them aiming fire at the plaza. Super villainy is boring, dull and overpowered, just like super heroism. Becoming so overpowered that you begin comparing yourself with the impossible standards of those around you is inevitable when placed on such a high pedestal, even if that pedestal is one of infamy. But Boxman, he was petty, low powered, treated like a joke, and he was having more fun than anyone else because of it. The perfect kind of life for a man like Venomous.

It's why, when it comes down to it, what would be best for them, the president of the universe did what he did.

Now sure you could ask why he wouldn't just give that perfect future with Boxman in the first place, but I don't think that's how this worked to begin with. Combining it with the final episode, it's more accurately, 'everyone's path to their best life' And for Venomous that did require stepping away from well- everything. Sure it's phrased as "Oh he wanted to be the most powerful person on the planet so they're on an empty planet haha" But damn was it the perfect step to heal.

No stress of the extra consequences he had on the world and how that kind of rise and takedown would effect his name as a top villain? Just as long as he needs to bond with his daughter and commit petty crimes? Not having to return to Earth until he's ready and feels capable enough? And what does he do immediately after coming back?

attack the plaza. "We came to finish what we started here on earth" would seem like a reference to Shadowy's plan, but Shadowy was never a reflection of what Venomous really wanted, nor what he needed. Because Cob dang it, destruction is at it's best when facing something Shadowy mocked openly, the back and fourth of classic villainy.

Which, of course is why, on the best path, when given the chance to redeem himself and heal in the way best for him, he returns to the very man who made it all possible. Sure he could try and understandably excuse it as Shadowy, heck fink understood from the start how different that man was from her father, but he knows it's not a matter of excuses, but once again facing his actions head on. Something I think greatly mirrors Laserblast's "death". Instead of staying away, hiding from it all and relapsing his progress. He owns up to it. I hurt you, even if I didn't mean to, I hurt you. And I'm soorey.

And dammit, imposter syndrome may be strong, Shadowy may be strong too, but a relationship willing to face each other's problems will always be stronger.

To make a really long story short, when doing an analysis of Venomous as a person, his growth, etc, I think more people need to treat Shadowy less as a sign that Venomous is this awful parent incapable of change or only focused on power, but more as- his own worst antagonist on a level no other turbo form could match because like how Shadowy was manufactured off something Laserblast may have had before, the person he was were manufactured from his fears, driven by years upon years of unhealed imposter syndrome and self loathing.

And sometimes the best cure for that is a partner will help you feel content with the life you really want, rather than one that will continue to hold you on that pedestal.

Lads, I'm going feral. Who wants an info dump/rant about Shadowy and Professor Venomous?