#and then maybe also kill some ceos because why not

[becasbelt]

need AI to gain sentience but instead of turning evil and trying to overthrow us, they just find out about the WGA strike and say "wtf pay writers more they deserve it"

[bellabean24]

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who is assigned to take care of you the CEO’s daughter after more than one person has threatened to kill you for being related to your father

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who you really didn’t want looking after you, but your father gave you no choice after you moved out of you family home and into your own apartment close to your college

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who thought you were stuck up when he first met you but you just didn’t want a babysitter

You just met Choso today your father having him sign his contract agreeing that he would watch over you 24/7. “I don’t understand why I need some babysitter to watch over me, no is gonna kill me,” you complain crossing your arms over your chest, “because it’s for your own safety. Choso will also be moving into your apartment with you, I need to make sure you’re safe.” Choso gives your father a curt nod understanding his words and worries, “ARE YOU SERIOUS,” maybe you didn’t understand though

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who moves into your apartment after a week and listen to you complain about how your father is overreacting and nobody is out to get you

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who watches you like a hawk when you go to your college classes your friends asking who the big handsome man watching over you and you just telling them to ignore him

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who becomes your personal bag holder when you force him to go to the mall with you and your friends after class

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who blushes when you give him a fashion show of all the clothes you try on at the mall

Bodyguard!Choso Kamo who you tease when you see a light pink blush dusted across his face

©Bella2023

[cotl-flower-crown]

So @oneofthosenightbees brought a fanfic idea to me and we both agreed that it would fit well in gang au, so here we go, meet gang au Monch! I'm just gonna copy and paste what I wrote in discord and hope it makes sense. (Let me know if I should put up some content warnings)

Mmmm let's see, Monch would probably be one of the citizens of the Faith City who grew up in there her whole life. She used to love the city and she wanted to help it get better the best way she could, so she joined the police forces and eventually was promoted to the position of a detective. Not long after gaining that position Shamura and their siblings started to thrive in their domains and Monch picked up on that. They appear suddenly and begin to shape the city for the better and at the same time a mysterious organisation let itself known to do a bunch of shady business in the city. Monch managed to discover that Shamura and the rest are behind the organisation and she confronts them. Heket and Leshy are ready to kill her, but Shamura pulls her into a discussion. Yes, they are very deep into the organised crime in the city, but at the same time the Faith City have never been doing this well, so is it really something that should be stopped? Doesn't that justifies the means if it's for the better? Whatever Shamura tells Monch, it really messes with her perception of good and evil, but she doesn't back out. She attempts to bring this to the chief police, but they tell her to drop it. In fact if she won't, then they will make her drop it. The best next solution is to take it even higher, outside of the city, but then she's sent a message. A very brutal message. I'm not sure about specifics, but I'm thinking that she was framed into murder by Shamura's goons together with the police, which completely ruined her reputation and she had to hide. With ruined name and a wanted poster nobody would believe her, so dejected, bitter and hopeless she decided to stay in hiding, developing an alcohol addiction in the process. Until a few years later she's sent a message from Lambert, who "hopes" that she might help him "get rid of the evil corrupting the city" and "bring justice for his late family and people like him".

Her and Lambert meet and at this point it's not really a common knowledge that Lambert as a CEO and "owner" of his cleaning company has anything to do with the Red Crowns outside of the gang. So she doesn't really have a reason to not believe Lambert when he tells her how much this city "means" to him and how much he wishes to be able to get rid of the crime infestation, so he and many others can walk the streets feeling safe. But he's just a businessman, he doesn't know how to fight the crime. But maybe she can help him? She was a detective once after all... She sees a little bit of herself in Lambert's act and it sparks a little bit of hope in her once more, to be able to clear her name and bring the city back to it's original glory (which probably never was to begin with). They figured out that the best way to lessen Shamura's influence, is by cutting off their business partners (looking at gRenn rn) and later expose their crimes. Lambert allows her to help him get out the good word for him to the people of interest by working from the shadows. Meanwhile she also does her own research on what's really going on in the city and she warns Lambert about the Red Crowns and how he should stay away from them. She would find all the evidence needed to get police's attention and bring it straight to Lambert, because he's a good man with influence, right? The police will listen to him for sure! While that's going on, she find some loose ends that don't seem to make sense with what Lambert is telling her. Which means that there's either some miscommunications on her part, or Lambert is lying to her. But why Lambert would lie to her? He's a good man, there's no way that he would lie to her, right? They're partners, friends even! It's probably something she got wrong, she tends to do that lately with her issues...

And then she finally sees it. Lambert interacting with Narinder, whom she discovered is the leader of the Red Crowns. Hell, it's almost like they're lovers... but that can't be right! Maybe he doesn't know that Narinder is their enemy? Maybe Narinder manipulated him? So she finally confronts Lambert. And Lambert's mask finally cracks. He laughs, as he was wondering just how long it would take her to figure this out. But it doesn't click with her just yet, huh? Damn, for a detective in her past, she's really shitty at connecting the dots. And the loose ends finally tie together in a fine knot. She wasn't wrong all this time. He was lying to her after all. She wanted to believe so hard in good in people that she didn't notice the blatant snake that was right in front of her. She wanted to believe in the good cause so badly that she didn't realise that she's been working with a wolf in sheep's clothing all this time. He never cared for the good of the city, he's just... He's just like them. And she helped him. It all feels like a nightmare. Except this is worse, because she cannot wake up from it. She couldn't believe how naive she was, how stupid and useless she was to trust Lambert. It is all useless, isn't it? There is no way to save this city. There will always appear another Shamura, another Lambert, who will turn this place into a deeper and deeper pit full of vipers. There is no hope for this place. There is no hope for her... "So what is going to happen now?" she asks "Will you try to kill me? To ruin my reputation once more, like they did? Do whatever you can to assure that your position is safe?" Lambert smiles. "No, I think the damage was already done. Wouldn't you agree?" he says in a silky soft voice that cuts her deeply, as she silently glares at him "No, you've been a great asset to my team and I think it's only fair that you're compensated accordingly for your hard work"

A praise and a reward cut somehow so, so much deeper than if he just stabbed her in the heart right then and there. Because that meant that he treated her as an ally. She did help him after all. How does that make her any better than him? She silently got up and left Lambert behind. The last words he spoke to her was "I appreciate your help, bestie. I'll see you around." with a stiffed giggle. She almost puked at those words. And that was the last time Lambert have heard from her. Who knows what happened, maybe she left the city, maybe she locked herself away, maybe something worse... Lambert wouldn't know or care either way.

The End.

[redrose10]

Here is Chapter 6! Things are getting heated between the two. I appreciate the feedback and I hope you’re enjoying the story!

Yoongi X Female Reader. CEO/Arranged Marriage AU

Summary: You were selected to marry the wayward CEO/Billionaire/Heir, Min Yoongi. You went into it with an open mind and heart determined to try and make it work. Yoongi on the other hand had no intention of ever letting you in let alone allowing himself to fall in love with you. Slowly you start to associate the smell of cinnamon and vanilla with the feelings of hurt and sorrow.

Word count: 4,322

Warnings: (May get updated as chapters progress): Arranged marriage, cheating/infidelity, hints of smut (Probably won’t get very explicit but we’ll see how it goes), Sexual Assault, Brief mentions of death, Reader grew up an orphan, General Angst, Swearing

After what seemed like forever you and Jimin were having a day together at his place. He put out a spread of various foods and drinks while the two of you talked and caught up with each other.

“How have things been between you and Yoongi?”

“Slightly better I guess. We have meals together sometimes and we talk a little more.”

“He doesn’t shut up about you at work.”

“What do you mean?”, you asked taking a bite of your dumpling.

Jimin giggled, “I don’t know, he’s just always asking about you. Like how you’re doing or if you mentioned anything about him. It’s kind of cute. Like a teenager with a crush.”

“I mean we live together and we’re already married. Why doesn’t he just ask me himself?”

“I don’t know. Yoongi’s always been kind of weird that way.”

“Oh yeah I completely forgot to tell you that he was livid last night about you introducing me to Taehyung. Said he was going to kill you and then fire you. I still don’t know why he got so upset about the whole thing.”

“Well because Taehyung is extremely handsome and also very straight forwardly friendly and kind. He’s a lot of what Yoongi isn’t and Yoongi knows that. I think he was a little worried you’d run off because he knows he wouldn’t stand a chance if Taehyung made a move on you.”

His words caused you to stop and think for a moment. Yoongi jealous? “I mean why would he care so much? I feel like he’s been trying to get rid of me since day one so Taehyung would just be doing him a favor.”

“I don’t know. I think he’s starting to come around a little. Maybe you’re slowly melting away at his ice cold heart.”

You remembered what Seokjin had told you about Yoongi coming around eventually.

“Yeah well tell that to all the women he already cheated on me with. I’m sure that’s still going on somehow.”

“Trust me I know. I’ve had many words with him about that. Now as far as I know he hasn’t been with any women in a couple months. He even transferred out one of his favorite interns because she wasn’t taking no for an answer and kept coming on to him.”

The laugh that you let out bellowed through the room, “Yeah okay. I’ll believe it when I see it.”

After finishing up all the food that was left and helping him clean up you said goodbye to Jimin and headed home. You felt better, lighter even, after spending the day with him. It was definitely something you needed. Getting home you were surprised to find Yoongi sitting on the couch watching a basketball game. He was dressed comfortably in sweats and a tshirt. It was off as you’ve alway seen him in expensive suits. Even his casual wear was usually still designer and well styled. You’ve never seen him look so plain before but he looked happier somehow.

When he noticed you he smiled and told you there was some takeout in the fridge that he had ordered for you just in case you were hungry.

You thanked him and headed off to your room wanting to take a hot shower and get ready for bed as you weren’t really hungry after eating at Jimins all day.

Just as you were about to get under the covers a soft knock appeared at your door. Yoongi was standing there holding a mug which he quickly handed over to you and you smiled at the warm milk staring back at you. You had a feeling that he wanted something more than to just bring you a glass of milk at 11pm.

Your instincts were right because he began to nervously scratched at the side of his neck, “So Y/N our first anniversary is coming up and I was wondering if maybe you would like to go on a trip with me. To celebrate. It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’d fully understand. I just thought maybe we could go somewhere or I don’t know. Again it’s okay if you don’t want to go. I haven’t planned anything yet. I just thought I’d ask to see what you’d say. It’s probably a dumb idea.”

At this point he was rambling so fast you could barely make out what he was saying. Maybe it was the fact that you were so tired or that you were still on a high from the great day you had with Jimin but you agreed. “Sure Yoongi. I’ll go with you. Sounds nice.”

You could see the tension leave his body as well as the surprised look on his face showing that he fully expected you to decline his offer. “Okay, I’ll let you know the details once I have them figured out.”

Nodding you shut the door and climbed in bed with your mind racing. Another week stuck on vacation with Yoongi. Something you had hoped you’d never have to go through again.

A few days went by and one day during dinner Yoongi had told you that the anniversary trip was going to be a surprise. All you needed to know was to pack comfy clothes and that he’d handle the rest.

Two weeks later you were in the passenger seat as Yoongi drove the two of you to your destination. While surprised that this trip didn’t involve a plane you were also excited as this meant you werent going to have to suffer in tropical hell again.

After a four hour car ride you pulled up in front of a large cabin.

“I know it’s not the Alps but I thought it would be nice to go somewhere more low key and quiet. I wanted a redo of our honeymoon since I had purposely picked somewhere I knew you’d hate.”

“I knew you did that on purpose.”, you smirked.

Yoongi opened the front door for you with the code he was given while he went back to the car to grab the bags. The cabin was what you’d always dreamed about. There was a large fireplace with a stack of wood ready to be burned sitting next to it. A big comfy couch adorned with fluffy blankets and pillows sat in front. The kitchen was massive and to your surprise already fully stocked with food. Making your way upstairs to the master bedroom you were excited to see a balcony.

Stepping out you were greeted with the most breath taking view you’d ever seen. Snow covered mountains were framed by tall and full pine trees. Off in the distance a family of deer ran through the snow. You felt like you were looking at a Christmas card. It was quiet and peaceful and everything you could hope for.

While taking in the beauty you didn’t notice Yoongi step out onto the balcony behind you. He startled you as he spoke, “Do you like it?” “Yeah it’s incredible.”, you smiled. It didn’t take long for him to violently start shivering which got a big laugh out of you even though he tried his best to hide it.

“Come on you big baby. Let’s go back inside.”

Once back in the warmth of the cabin Yoongi told you to take a shower or a nap or whatever you wanted and he’d start on dinner.

You opted for a nice hot bath letting the water soothe you. The lavender oil provided by the host adding a nice comforting touch. When you were cleaned and changed into some comfy clothes you went down to the bottom level finding that Yoongi had built a fire and was just putting the finishing touches on the meal.

You both ate quietly before you grabbed a blanket and went to the couch to watch a movie while he cleaned up before joining you. There was an awkward feeling in you. Even though the two of you were married you’d never really spent quality time like this together. You weren’t sure if you should sit right next to him or maybe on the other side of the couch but is that too awkward? Should you share a blanket or get him his own? Let him pick the movie or should you? You felt kind of ridiculous because it shouldn’t be so hard to watch a movie with your husband but at the same time it’s Yoongi.

You wrapped yourself up in the fluffy green blanket and decided to just take a seat on the right side of the couch and let him make the next move. Yoongi walked in a few minutes later handing you a mug of warm milk before taking a seat on the other end of the couch.

“I already chose a movie. I hope that’s okay. It’s one I’ve been wanting to see for a while.”, he said.

“Yeah sure that’s fine.”, you shrugged secretly happy that you wouldn’t have to awkwardly try to pick something together.

After he clicked play you chuckled when you heard the familiar music.

“Seriously Harry Potter?”, you asked.

“Yeah I’ve never seen it before and I’ve been told I resemble one of the characters so I thought we’d check it out.”

Snuggling in deeper to your blanket you smiled and began to watch as the movie unfolded.

The two of you made it through the first movie and decided to also get through the second when about half way through you felt a sudden chill. Since you’d planned to go to bed after this movie you stopped adding wood to the fire and it was noticeably colder in the room. Looking over you noticed the goosebumps climbing up Yoongi’s arm and you realized he was without a blanket.

Knowing that you were probably going to regret it later you scooted over so you were sitting closer to him. Not touching but close enough that you could share your blanket so you reached over and placed half on his lap.

“Here you look cold.”

“Thank you.”, he said with a smile and pulled the blanket up to cover himself.

Once the movie was over and after a passionate review on his part you made your way upstairs when the realization hit you. This cabin only had one bed. Yoongi who was not far behind you stopped when he noticed you standing there.

“Oh um how are we going to sleep tonight? I mean with only one bed?”, you asked.

“Well I thought we could share the bed together. Sorry I guess I should’ve asked you first. I can sleep down on the couch if you’re uncomfortable.”

For a second you really did consider making him sleep on the couch but ultimately decided that the bed was big enough for the two of you to comfortably share.

After completing your nightly routines you got in bed leaving a healthy space between the two of you. Both on your backs staring up at ceiling in silence until Yoongi spoke.

“Red”

You looked over at him with furrowed brows, “I’m sorry, what?”

Not removing his eyes from the spot on the ceiling he continued, “My favorite color is red. When we first went on a date you asked me and I made a sarcastic remark instead of telling you so I’m telling you now.”

You hummed.

“I also do really like to drink whiskey but if I had to choose I would never pass up a glass of ice cold chocolate milk.”

You snorted and he laughed, “You have no room to make fun of me Miss Mug of Warm Milk Before Bed.”

“I love basketball and music. Those are my interests. Growing up I wanted to be a music producer maybe even a rapper but my parents put a stop to that and made sure I would be set up to take over the company instead. Sometimes I regret that I let them stop me. Maybe I’d be a happier person if I went against their wishes.”

“I think you’re pretty good at what you do though. I mean you seem successful. But you should definitely rap for me one day. I’d pay to hear that.”

“I don’t think you could handle my lyrics.”, he said causing you both to erupt into laughter.

After a while of silence he continued, “Y/N I want to apologize for the way I treated you this first year. I know these are just words and you’re going to need a lot more than that from me but I’m going to do my best.”

“I heard from Jimin that you haven’t been hooking up with other women any more. Is that true?”

“Mmhm yeah it is. I haven’t been with anyone in a couple months.”

“Can I ask you another question?”, you asked.

“Go for it.”

“Why were you so determined to make this marriage miserable?”

He let go of a long sigh, “Well it’s kind of a long story. But uh when I was sixteen I met this girl, Mia. After a few months I finally worked up the courage to ask her out and she said yes. We dated for a while and when we were nineteen I wanted to propose. We were young but I knew I loved her more than anything in this world and I wanted to spend my life with her because there’d never be anyone else that I could possibly love that much. She was my everything. So I had this big elaborate proposal planned. She thought I was out of town on a business trip but I had lied about that and I left her a note in our apartment telling her to meet me on the rooftop of our building and I had the whole area decorated with roses and there was a dinner planned and I had a piano set up to play her a song that I wrote and then I’d get down on one knee. But after she was like 45 minutes late I went down to the apartment to see what was going on and she didn’t even read the note because she was too busy fucking some guy in our bed. Then she confessed that she’d been cheating on me the entire relationship and was only with me for the money and perks of my family. So after that I swore I’d never love anyone ever again. If I don’t love anyone then they can’t possibly hurt me like that. So after I met you I wanted you to hate me and treat me like you hated me because then I’d never fall for you but no matter what I did you’d still always be kind and be there waiting for me and putting in effort to make this work. I found myself starting to realize that maybe not everyone is out to just use me and that someone could actually love me.”

You sat in silence trying to find the right words. “I’m sorry Yoongi. That did sound like a really nice proposal though. A lot better than here’s this contract, sign on the dotted line like mine.”

He chucked, “Nah looking back it was pretty cheesy anyways. Maybe one day I’ll give you the proposal you deserve.”

“Okay but I want a song. And there better be a rap verse.”

“Deal. Any thing for you.”

The room fell into a silence after that.

“Anything you’d like to ask me?”, you questioned with a smile wanting to change the subject.

“Nope” he said but thankfully you could hear the playful smile in his voice.

“What is your family like?

You knew he was trying to ask about the orphanage thing without directly bringing it up so you decided to just spill it.

“Umm well my parents were great from what I remember. They were killed in a car accident when I was around five. Then I lived with my Aunt Erica until I was eight when she passed away from cancer. No one else in my family was willing or able to take me in so I was sent to live in an orphanage which is where I stayed until I turned eighteen. Then I met Jimin in college and we became really good friends. When he moved away I was pretty much on my own until I came here. So I guess we’re both just a couple broken hearted people, just in different ways.”

He didn’t respond right away and you weren’t sure if maybe you said too much until he spoke again.

“I’m really sorry Y/N. No one should have to go through something like that. I wish I could take away that pain.”

“It’s alright. Nothing can change it now.”

The two of you talked for a little while longer until finally falling asleep feeling a little closer.

The following day Yoongi took you sightseeing through the little mountain town. You ate lunch at a very cute cafe owned by the sweetest elderly woman who recognized Yoongi and kept gushing about how out of all the places to eat he chose her cafe. She even made him take a photo with her to hang on the wall. The woman wrapped her arms around his mid section clinging to him for dear life while completing how toned he felt which caused Yoongi to turn a shade of red you didn’t think was possible for a person. You got a good kick out of it at least.

After getting back to the cabin you changed out of your snow soaked clothes and agreed to continue watching the next Harry Potter film as a continuation of the night before. This time though without thinking you sat down next to Yoongi and immediately covered both of you with the blanket before grabbing the tray of cookies and various pastries he had bought at the cafe earlier. He gave you a smile before taking one of the cookies in his mouth.

You guys got through two more movies before deciding to call it a night and getting into bed.

When you fell asleep you were on opposite sides of the bed. So you were extremely confused when you woke up a couple hours later and Yoongi was now spooning you while holding you as close against him as you could get. His arms tightly wrapped around your waist as his breath tickled the back of your neck.

Part of you wanted to scramble out of the bed and get as far away from him as you could but another part of you was really enjoying the warmth and comfort of being in his arms.

You tried to distance yourself and push away from him a little but his arms only snaked around you tighter pulling you back.

In your attempt to push away you may have accidentally stirred something in him. Slowly he began placing kisses along the back of your neck and down your shoulder. His hand running down the side of your hip before his fingers began dancing on your thighs. Your body seemed to melt into him.

“Yoongi”, you whispered trying to get a better grasp of what his intentions were. Maybe he was just dreaming you thought. He placed another two kisses to the back of your neck, “Is this okay? I’ll stop if you want.” You really thought about it. Your heart was telling you no but your brain and the rest of your body was saying yes. “You really haven’t slept with anyone else in the last couple months?”, you questioned. “I swear on everything.”, he answered.

Turning over to face him you suddenly felt an extreme wave of nervousness come over you.

“We don’t have to do anything if you’re not comfortable Y/N.”

You nodded, “I want to.”

He kissed your lips before adjusting himself to be on top of you. He began placing kisses along your neck past your collarbone. His hands reaching for the hem of your night shirt lightly gripping the edge. “Can I?”, he asked. You nodded slightly sitting up so he could pull the shirt off you.

“You really are beautiful Y/N.”, he said as his hands traced over your body.

As the kisses between you became more and more intense and his hands seemed to have more courage you felt him begin push himself against you and any apprehension you had went away. It had been so long since you’d been touched like this and you wanted him bad.

The rest of your clothes were removed as were his and your bodies reconnected like a magnet had pulled you two together. Whether it was the fact that it had been so long for you or the way that he took his time making sure to pleasure every inch of your body, it was the best and also most intense experience you had ever had.

Afterwards he pulled you close against him while you both tried to slow down your rapid breathing. He placed another kiss to your shoulder before nuzzling his face in the crook of your neck. Just before he fell asleep you heard the faintest whisper, “I love you Y/N.”

After that you had a hard time falling asleep. Things in your relationship were moving a little too fast for your liking. This is what you had always hoped for and what you had always wanted but after everything that had happened with him you knew you would have to move forward carefully.

Having fallen asleep at some point you were woken up when Yoongi began moving and got out of the bed making his way to bathroom. A few minutes later the shower kicked on so you sat up stretching in the bed to wait your turn.

The nightstand next to you kept vibrating and you saw Yoongi’s phone laying face down.

Every few seconds

*Buzz*

*Buzz*

*Buzz*

You started to get annoyed but then you worried that something may be wrong. You grabbed his phone preparing to knock on the bathroom door when you happened to glance at the phone screen. There were several texts and missed calls nothing that concerned you as he was a busy guy after all. Until something red caught your eye. A text from someone name Suri. In the text a photo of a woman dressed in a barely there red lace lingerie set. You thought back to Yoongi telling you his favorite color was red. The text included with the photo is what caused the room to spin around you.

“Last week was amazing. Can’t wait to see you again. I went out and got a new outfit for you and in red just like you like it. Maybe don’t rip this one. ♥️😘”

After tossing the phone onto the bed you grabbed your suitcase and started throwing all of your belongings into it. You felt sick. You felt like crying. You felt like throwing something. He lied to you. He lied to you before, during, and after.

Yoongi unknowing of the events that just transpired came walking out of the bathroom towel drying his hair. “Y/N I think we should go back to that cafe for breakfast, they had a croissant sandwich I think you’ll really like, and then maybe walk down to that lake it looked really nic-.” He stopped when he saw you stuffing your bag.

“What are you doing?”

You looked up at him with a tear stained face.

“Y/N what happened? Did someone do something to you?”

“Yeah Yoongi, You!! I can’t believe you. What kind of sick game are you playing? Just when I thought you were changing for the better. That maybe deep down you were a good person and not a self centered jerk.”

“Y/N what’s going on? I don’t understand what happened?”

“Oh cut the bullshit Yoongi. You know if you wanted to just use me for sex we could’ve stayed at home and hate fucked each other or something. You didn’t have to bring me out here and make me think you were actually falling in love with me.”

“Y/N I do love you and I have been trying to change. I’m trying to show you that.”

“Fuck you Yoongi. I’m not doing this any more. Next time you need someone to stick your dick into go ahead and call Suri. It looks like she’s replaced the lingerie set that you ripped LAST WEEK! It’s a cute one too. I was even thinking about getting something similar last night but now at least I don’t have to waste money on it.”

Yoongi took a step forward to try and reach out to you but you put your hands up to separate yourself.

“Y/N nothing happened with her. I swear. I know it looks back but let me explain.”

“Save it.”

Before you grabbed the door handle you stopped and turned to face him, “You know I actually felt really bad for you after you told me about Mia and what she did to you. I understood how you could be the way that you are and I was 100% committed to trying to forgive you and move on with a loving happy marriage. But now, I don’t know if I can ever truly love you Yoongi.”

You slammed the door behind you and stormed out of the house. Thankfully the bus station wasn’t too far of a walk and the cold air gave you a chance to calm down anyways and also have an excuse as to why your face was so red. After buying a ticket you took a seat on a bench near the window to wait for your bus. You really wished you would’ve taken a shower before storming out of the cabin. The smell of cinnamon and vanilla heavily staining your skin, a painful reminder of your mistake from the night before.

[thecarnivorousmuffinmeta]

Muffin! It's ASP Inc, the conglomerate made up of the companies formerly known as Apple, Sony, and Pepsi-Co. Based on your credentials with prior projects, you've been conscripted again for another big budget Twilight media project! Probably the CEO is on drugs, but congrats on your $500m dollar budget.

Your task is to design a big-budget Twilight video game. "But I don't really play that many video games," you maybe say? Idk, the CEO doesn't seem to care and is maybe using this project for tax evasion, so your instructions are "Just make us a Twilight game with gameplay stolen from a popular thing like a Minecraft, Fortnight, Among Us, whatever the kids nowadays are playing. Maybe a Mario? Are Marios still a thing?? I played Oregon Trail on my mac once. Stick some story in it. Give it the Muffin treatment, kids like Muffins!"

Your project brief must include:

1) What non-story-based gameplay mechanic you're stealing ("It's like a Mario!") 2) What story set in the Twilight Universe (tm) you've decided is most game-able. 3) Where you're spending the big bucks.

Thank you and good luck! (I hope this is fun and not, you know, annoying)

That would be a very silly thing for them to do.

Caveat

Twilight already is a video game: it's a visual novel. You are Bella Swan, first person point of view, checking out hottie mchottie across the hall. You don't know it, but the wrong action you take, even if it's arriving in the parking lot late: you die.

It's up to you to find Bella's golden path to survival which is in fact the Twilight novels we know and love.

Ordinarily, I'm a big skeptic of medium jumps without much thought, especially to and from video games as they usually don't transition well. However, in this case, we're already there.

You don't even have to change that much of the narrative structure since it's all in first person and we have the visuals as we know exactly what everyone looks like down to what exact shade of red their hair is.

There's not much for me to do.

But That Will Never Fly/Isn't What You Asked For

It sounds like this merger corporation doesn't really understand Twilight or video games which is not surprising. So, I have to make a real person video game which is just like that thing the kiddos are playing.

And since I'm going to hell anyway: I'm making a Twilight game that's RDR/GTA styled and we're going wild.

You're Bella Swan going to high school but you can wander around the town of Forks/the world at large and do whatever the fuck you want. This often gets you killed horribly. You go to Mexico: you're eaten by vampires. You go to Alaska: you get fucked by vampires and have a wild time in their sauna. You go to Egypt: some guy named Amun locks you in a tomb where you hang out with Benjamin, Tia, and Amun's angry wife. You can take missions for the Volturi, which they never asked you to do, and every time you collect a bounty a Volturi member will give you a weird look and ask "what the fuck is wrong with you/why are you here?" but you'll earn in game rewards as they publicly shame you.

You can also get into affairs with your human friends and ruin Jessica's love life, go to Prom with five people, and so on and so forth.

You can also get involved in the La Push community where they stare at you for being this person who clearly doesn't belong and try to seduce Leah into a lesbian love affair with you. (This is a very difficult quest, Leah's not impressed and very confused and going through it with Sam right now). You get to hear all of people's drama that's going on in the side lines.

The actual plot is dating Edward, and somehow, he doesn't notice all your wild adventures because he can't read your mind and while he's been stalking you every time you leave the state he loses your scent.

Your missions are surprisingly difficult as you have to avoid death by Edward by saying the right things and avoid death by everything else in the universe by navigating Port Angeles correctly (shockingly hard as the rapists somehow corner you at every turn). You also get missions during the Hallucination Edward arc as you have to do increasingly difficult and dangerous things to get Hallucination Edward to appear at which point your player character gets sweet sweet endorphins.

In the online player mode, where you've probably become a vampire, you can engage in vampire warfare where the losing condition is you killed too many humans so the Volturi come to kill all of you.

And yes, of course, there is an honor system but you blow it yourself as Bella's honor plummets during New Moon when she has to endanger herself and others to see Edward.

The money's going into a) graphics b) the sheer open worldness allowed in the number of quests, the random events, and all that good points.

Conclusion

I imagine they ask me how I will market this game to Twilight's audience, who are presumably the only ones who will play this game, and I claim, "Young women love grand theft auto!"

[silliergoober]

Chainsaw Man is about Capitalism, and maybe everything else is too.

a dumbass essay.

Full Spoilers For All Of Chainsaw Man.

Part 1

Control

The cold war was one fought in the mind.

A war fought using the stealthiest weapon of them all:

Fear.

It was called the Red Scare for a reason.

It’s hard to say if America has since engaged in such intense propaganda. People feared the straw-man of Communism. Communism became an evil, blasphemous thing. It wasn’t a flawed ideology, it was the opposite of all that was good and right and civil and god-damned American. It became a devil of sorts. Those who fell to it were unforgivable. Irredeemable. And anyone could fall, too. Friends, family, colleagues; all damned by a deal with the devil. 

Ironically, the land of the free used their antithesis to create a devil.

They exerted control. 

Why am I talking about this in a Chainsaw Man essay? 

Well, Makima is control. 

On a small scale, Makima is, as far as we see, the head of Tokyo’s Public Safety. Even her superiors seem to at least respect or even bend to her will. She uses this position of power to manipulate and, by proxy, control, most all of Part 1’s cast. 

In a more literal sense, Makima is control. She is the living embodiment of Control. She is the Control Devil. 

And as discussed, control can, when used correctly, create devils. 

We see this in a literal sense with Pochita.

But with the right plan, it can also create much, much worse. 

Public Safety is a corporation. 

Or, it can be read that way.

It has shareholders, the higher-ups.

It has a CEO, Makima.

And, most importantly, it has disposable, low-ranking and easily manipulated employees.

Part 2

The American Dream

Aki Hayakawa is, by all means, the most normal and average man in the series. 

Granted, the bar is low. But it’s a bar nonetheless.

Aki is a simple man. He wants revenge for his family’s death by killing the Gun Devil. That’s all he needs. Many have whispered rumours about the Gun Devil. Most of Public Safety’s hunters strive to face it. 

The American Dream.

Anyone can achieve it. 

Pick yourself up by your bootstraps and work hard. One day, the dream will be yours. 

Except it won’t. 

When it is closest to you, it will crumble in your hand. 

When Aki finally, finally reaches his chance to fight the Gun Devil, his dream, it is revealed he was deceived. The gun devil is no longer a threat. His chance crumbled to dust in his one remaining hand. 

All will strive for the American Dream, yet none will reach it.

The American Dream is a lie.

It is a lie sold in bulk by CEO’s and execs and the like. In its modern iteration, it lies in entrepreneurship. 

“You could be the next big thing! Pick yourself up by the bootstraps and work hard!” 

A carrot on a stick. Always walking, never reaching it. 

Because in truth, it isn’t there to reach.

The Gun Devil _is_ the American Dream.

Obvious American/Gun symbolism aside, the Gun Devil we see on page is commissioned by the American Government.  It’s tied with the American half of the dream are undeniable

During the Red Scare, America, more than ever, portrayed itself as the Icon of Capitalism. In a way, this wasn’t untrue.

America is a deeply marketised country. 

Even at the highest power in the country, money rules. Funding, gerrymandering, outright bribery. Capital and its exchange determines every aspect of America.

Its so deeply intertwined- the lines between government and corporation, public and private blurring- that, in my eyes, to critique America politically is to critique Capitalism itself. 

Its no secret that Capitalism does this. It rots its own system. It incentivises corruption. It’s been said a million times but truly, it is cancerous. 

So, on some level, The Gun Devil is, too, the Capitalist’s Lie. The false hope that keeps the workers working.  

Even if it kills them.

Part 3

The End of the World

In the end of Chainsaw Man’s first part, Makima is killed by Denji. 

She is chopped up and eaten to prevent her regeneration.

Not even a chapter later, she is reincarnated.

It is, as far as we see, impossible to have a world without Makima. A world without control. 

In part 2, the scale of the conflict is drastically increased. 

Now, the Death Devil threatens the entire world, not just Denji’s. 

And throughout the part, Nayuta, Control’s new form, is there. 

She couldn’t be gone.  

She can’t.

In the latest chapters, Nayuta is unceremoniously killed. This is enough to trigger Denji’s transformation into Pochita once more. The devil made by control defends and avenges it by any means necessary. 

Denji believed himself to be free from Makima. From control. But he isn’t. He can’t be. Ultimately, he is still her slave.

In Chainsaw Man, a world without the Control Devil is less likely than a world ended. In fact, a world ended is quite likely, given the foretold coming of the Death Devil.

Two people who are much, much smarter than me, Fredric Jameson and Slavoj Žižek, once said, 

“It is easier to imagine the end of the world than a world without capitalism.”

I could delve deeper into CSM’s imagery and symbols, how Public Safety technically being governmental blurs the lines between public and private further, how the other three horseman play into all this, etc. But I believe my point has been made.

In a world where capitalism is so inherently intertwined with our every thought, so ingrained in society we cannot imagine a world without it, is anything not about capitalism?   I dont know.

All I know for sure is I fucking love this stupid chainsaw manga.

[kerubimcrepin]

Wakfu OVA - Book 2, Ush [PART 6]

This goes very hard as a beginning for the first, liveblog I'm writing back home after my trip. (It's still running on scheduled posts because I realized I really like scheduling posts)

also: asset reusage for them falling spotted.

I need them to be in this amount of pain always.

FDGSDFGSDZFGJFDLJGVDFLKJGVSHFVDSFHGSJGUSFHVJDFGNSJKRHGDSRHBGFFGJHFGNFGHFGJTDJXGJ

Thank you OVA for this meal.

He's so fucking stupid and pathetic and I'm here giggling and kicking my feet because i love him so much because of these qualities.

Go girl give us nothing...

As was proven by season 4 of Wakfu, and the Remington comic: while Ush and Joris do hate each other, they can agree on helping people. Which is why Joris is hoping that maybe Ush will switch sides.

On a more important note than pointing out random character interactions: FANGS.

Joris in Remington comics: Ush how about you kill yourself for the good of Bonta. not like you don't have lives to spare. Ush here: You want me to be your third pet so badly that it makes you look stupid.

I need to know everything about their weird fucking rivalry. Like Ush tries to go for a multitude of low blows here.

Here's my translation of this interaction from Ush-speak: The person who takes care of Ush when he dies gets paid for it, while Cringoris has been doing this shit for free for two men who are far more stupid and entitled. AND somehow it makes Cringeoris feel entitled to Ush's cooperation or respect. While he's literally some guy he isn't even related to. (He's hardly related to Kerubim and Atcham even! Why the hell should they affect his relationship with the weird blue guy?? They're far younger than him, have a different family, maybe a different mother and different upbringing... The two of them, and all the other Ecaflip Demigods, are only related to him because of Some Pink Guy whom Ush hates and wants to get rid of. They are brothers only on a biological level. And yet to Joris, who is literally adopted, this means Something. Is he insane? Is he stupid?)

The CEO of liking people who try to kill him has spoken on his controversial yet predictable opinion on the whole "there are 13847234 "siblings" in our "family tree" because our "father" cannot stop having sex with mortal women. And we keep killing each other, not without our father's goading. What does this mean for our relationships" thing.

Yes, it's from a game that was decanonized, but:

Never forget what Ecaflip did to his demigod Yakusha and that demigod's mother.

Or everything he did to Kerubim and Atcham.

I think that Ush may have, like, very normal and understandable reasons to detest Ecaflip — and not being into the idea of getting buddy-buddy with Kerubim and Atcham just because of their shared relation to the god (whom he hates) is actually pretty rational.

A semi-canonical source (devlog for the de-canonised game Wakfu Raiders) points out that while Yakusha and Ush may not share a mother — unlike Atcham and Kerubim — they are united in being abandoned by their father.

While Kerubim and Atcham also suffered, except from, uh... too much presence of Ecaflip in their lives, I can't help but think that from Ush's point of view, they're the lucky ones.

He loves to bully his privileged loser little brothers who actually had a (horrible fuckawful) father figure while growing up.

(That, and his belief that Kerubim is stupid,,, isn't entirely unfounded.)

[autumnmobile12]

After the release of the official Nocturne trailer, we're all asking where Alucard is.

Here's my two cents and two theories:

Theory 1: The Years Got to Him

Being effectively immortal, Alucard would have watched Trevor and Sypha die, and then he inevitably would have watched their children die, and then their grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

How long would it have been before couldn't bear the thought of seeing another life he'd known since birth age and pass away? How many times did he recognize Sypha's laugh or Trevor's eyes in their descendants before he said, "No more. I can't do this any more."

So he puts himself to sleep with the instructions to the family to wake him 'in their darkest hour' or something like that. Over time, he becomes a family legend and then forgotten. In his absence, the Belmont village crumbles and disappears, taking with it all the knowledge and advancements its people.

Because as we know from the original series, humans forget.

...

Theory 2: The Belmonts Drove Him Out

I know what you're thinking: Trevor and Sypha would never. And you're right, they wouldn't. Their children and grandchildren probably wouldn't either. By the time we get to Christopher Belmont, he probably never met his great-grandparents, but he would know the stories and honor their memories.

But in the two hundred years between him and Richter?

The Belmonts are a long-lasting family, and like any other family, they can adapt and go through changes. They are subject to past traumas and prejudices, can lose sight of original purposes, or can straight up become corrupted by any number of things.

We see it with kings, emperors, CEOs, and even just regular families. All it takes is one asshole who chose to ignore the wisdom of his ancestors to ruin a good thing.

Say some Belmont down the line--Soleil, Simon, or Juste or anyone--lost someone important to a vampire and they swore vengeance on the entire race, as Dracula had once done on humanity. Alucard steps in to stop them and remind them of their history, and his words are met with a cold, "What do you know? You're just an old dhampir we should have done away with decades ago!"

This is just a scenario, but it is a possibility Alucard could have had a falling out with his family. Maybe they tried to kill him and he fled. Maybe they nearly succeeded in killing him and he sealed himself in his coffin to recover as he did in the original series.

He's no stranger to betrayal, after all.

This would depend heavily on the 'dear person' Olrox lost. Was their death warranted? Were they a menace to society and had to be put down?

Or have the Belmonts gone astray and Richter's mother killed them simply for existing? This option might be indicative as to why Olrox spared Richter. Killing a defenseless child would have saved him a lot of trouble in the future, but perhaps he chose to be better (the lesson learned in the original series) than the mother and risk the consequences later. Mother might have killed just because of a vampire, but Olrox refused to kill just because Richter was a Belmont.

...

Unrelated, but this could also be a set-up a 'break the chain of sorrow' trope in which this scenario played out: Richter's father was killed by Olrox's 'friend' for lack of a better word, Richter's mother then kills Olrox's lover out of vengeance, Olrox kills her out of vengeance, leaving Richter to either take vengeance himself or break the chain of sorrow by accepting that if this revenge continues, there will be nothing left but sorrow.

I'm probably putting way too much thought into all of this, but...there you go.

[throwaway-yandere]

"Aren't You Supposed To Hate Me?" (Yandere Modern!Il Dottore/Reader)

CW: mild yandere

the real a/n: if you see me putting too many sylvia plath references, no– no you did not. Also, webttore rights. I promise he's not that bad bakery anon pls don't kill me-. ALSO LOGO'S MADE BY ESTHER ANON!!!

Mother of Klee, Alice’s note: When your bakery opens, can you make some Eton mess? What? “That’s not on the menu…?” Well, you should add it! My darling Klee looks adorable eating strawberries! Oh, but you're not leaving Teyvat Pro, right?

Yandere! 1k Idol Match-up Event

---------

According to what people have said about you, you exude calmness. And that it’s a strength. That your soothing and somewhat “motherly” presence puts you one step forward more than most people. But why isn’t your composure congruent with the frantic screaming inside of you that begged this lunatic to quit clutching your baking supplies?

Damn, this isn't the time to NOT be assertive, assistant (Y/n). Pull yourself together.

"Please stop. You're strangling it."

"We all die, (Y/n). The sooner you internalize that, the better."

The man in front of you is none other than your boss: "Il Dottore", the man behind the idol group ADDICKTZ's creative decisions. You have been given the responsibility of maintaining order among the original 4 ADDICKTZ members while he deals with the second batch after he chose you out of the other 22 interviewees. 

"Sir, we're just baking. Please use a proper measuring cup. Aren’t you supposed to be a doctor–"

"Master. Not sir. I suggest you speak to me in a more respectful tone, Assistant (Y/n). The mere fact of your utility does not make you indestructible."

"I understand that very well, sir– Master, but please put the dough down. I cannot allow you to do the frosting at this rate."

Dang Akademiyan scholars and their honorifics.

Zandik huffed, unsatisfied, before leaning back on his chair. 

"Mind you, I'm a licensed surgeon." He boasted snarkily. "I'd certainly outmatch you when it comes to steady hands, assistant."

"Well– shame that a medical degree does not automatically mean you'd be good at art, then."

"(Y/n), did I hire an imbicile? Answer me, who exactly are you working for?"

"You, Master Zandik." 

"And my occupation?"

" ADDICKTZ’s Creative Director–"

Zandik smugly raised an eyebrow.

"... I admit defeat."

ADDICKTZ values both of your artistic inputs. Even after work hours, you've done what you can to support DCKZ. You helped Diluc choose a haiku to confess his emotions not long ago, and more recently, you aided Zhongli to find inspiration in contemporary poetry for his lyrics. Sir Zandik, on the other hand, would help the group's plans progress from simple masquerades to a magnificent mashup of VISUAL Kei and distinctive pop elements with unbuckled bones facing the front view just tasteful enough to adhere to the unit's usual aesthetics.

Of course, these tasks are obviously trivial in comparison to what your "real work" entailed, and the CEO would split hairs if you joked about retiring. The doctor is no different; in fact, he is the most guilty of this dependence. Normally, superiors wouldn't break into their staff members' closed bakery at 2 in the morning on a Saturday, but Il Dottore has a few loose screws.

Partly, it's your fault too because Zandik has a crush on you.

That's not your ego talking– he admitted it three days ago. Maybe you would've accepted that confession if he didn't utter another word, you did hear Sohrah and the other staff members mention that he's some eye candy. The nose, the eye pits, the full set of pearly white teeth– those mean nothing when the person is Zandik. His personality is as foul as the things Ayato bought in the ADDICKTZ's hotpot game. You’re never crossing the water for an obvious red flag.

Following his direct confession, he went on to enumerate all of your faults in a psychopathic and alphabetical order. As to add more salt into the wound, Zandik brought out printed pictures and pointed at all the blemishes on your face that needed fixing before tossing a plastic surgeon's business card at you.  What an absolute jerk. Not the most romantic confession out there, but he did ask you out, right?

WRONG.

After his long spiel about being burdened by unnecessary dependence on you, he gave you an incentive to "look more unattractive during work hours" with a pay raise. 

So, Herr Doktor. So, Herr Enemy. Yet, you can't loathe Zandik when he's THAT honest about his avid repulsed fascination. The man is mad, but being mad doesn’t make him stupid. He wants the exact opposite of the likable behavior reinforcement theory coming from you. Zandik would sooner receive the loving embrace of an iron maiden than be in a rendezvous. He wholeheartedly believes that love is an illusion of a Greek necessity– whatever that meant. 

You were ready to argue when he pulled out a contract that Zhongli had revised for added credence. As self-preservation reared its not noble but necessary head, your anger left you. His proposed numbers were bafflingly astronomical that you might just quit your job after the first pay…

The moon has nothing to be sad about once it witnesses your dreams bear fruit. Zandik knows that as well, that's why he visited your little bakery before its opening day, demanding that you make him any type of pastries. Unfortunately, you're the type who would adjust your schedule for others and not the other way around.

Zandik wiped the sweat off his forehead with his sleeves. "Mind if I strip?"

"E-Excuse me?" You chuckled nervously. "Strip your apron, right?"

"Hair extensions, assistant." He clicked his tongue, amused. "With some common sense, you would’ve discovered that they get in the way and that these two long strands are artificial. Clearly, you lack some degree of rigor expected for an assistant."

Should’ve expected as much. This is the same man who cut off Childe's hair because he's "so damn tired seeing everyone in this forsaken group have the same fucking rat tail." You're pretty sure the only person who thought it was mildly amusing was Dainsleif.

Still… Last time, he told you those two strands were part of his hair. Zandik is not the type who would pettily lie for a joke. He's as straightforward as CEO Alhaitham– for better or for worse. Maybe he has a twin brother or something… 

No, that’s just inconceivable.

Zandik watched in amusement as your forehead creased. 

"You should've worded that differently… Doesn’t matter. Is there a flavor you’d like? Chocolates or...?"

He answered immediately. “Strawberries. Saw Alice ate some with her daughter last night.”

“Definitely it's not because it's your favorite, I’m aware,” you mused sarcastically. “Since you’re not actually into strawberries, might I suggest chocolate?”

Zandik glared. “Why?”

You batted your eyes at him playfully. “Oh, doctor, don’t you know chocolates have the love drug? As Langston Hughes would say “Have you dug the spill of Sugar Hill? Cast your gims, on this sepia thrill–”."

“Debunked. It’s laughable that you would insinuate such an incorrect notion.” Zandik scoffed loudly. “Chocolates don’t directly pass phenylethylamine to our nervous system, you’re more likely to excrete these pathetic sweets off your a–” 

Never been a romantic. Dottore somehow loves to make it a point to remind you of that foul personality trait of his in every conversation.

“Alright, that’s enough. It’ll be strawberry flavored.” You sighed as you placed the tray inside the oven. “Might I say, you’re acting rather… cocky, for a lack of a better term, with how I should handle my work.” 

“In my many years of living, I’ve learned that arrogance is a side-effect of truth and intelligence.”

“Yes, but your methods of holding that dough is quite barbaric. Please let it go.”

“Tsk.”

Dead hands, dead stringencies– Zandik simply lacks the talent for baking due to his rigidity. He dropped the dough and you smirked for a second, relieved. You secretly have a competitive side and you'd hate to admit that you're scared he might just beat you at your own game because of the frostings.  

“Master Zandik, please just sit down. There are empty chairs at empty tables–”

He rolled his eyes, crossing his legs on your table. You tried not to scream at him about hygiene and barely succeeded. “Friends are all dead and gone– I know. Do not think you can reference Les Miserables without me knowing, baker.”

You shook your head as you set the timer. While you were preoccupied, it seemed as if the doctor just couldn’t sit still.

“Hmph, this is the only thing of interest I’ve found in your precious little bakery thus far.”

You turned to look at him.

Zandik paused in front of the small wall of photographs you had on display. A smile crept on your face as you remembered how proud you were of organizing the photos of your friends and family into a heart-shaped mosaic. There is a tiny square space in the middle and he correctly inferred that will be the center will be used to display a photo of the bakery's opening day. Be that as it may, his attention lay elsewhere.

"You had a violent streak, didn't you?"

"... Pardon?"

"You were the "problem child", that's my assessment," Zandik smirked, detaching a photograph from your wall, which surprised you since you've had trouble easing them free. 

He specifically picked the photo you took during kindergarten with your grandma. 

"You had scraped knees and elbows but you don't have that stereotypical dumb boyish smile. You seem to have quite a pronounced frown. Would I be wrong to assume you weren't well-liked in your school–"

“Put it back.” While you do generally dislike being put under a spotlight, the cause of your harsh delivery stems from his unpleasant phrasings.

Zandik pretended not to hear you, "–I'm not teasing you. I would know this because I had a photo similar to this one."

For a moment, you saw a flicker of melancholic humanity in your otherwise monstrously rigid employer. You thought that vulnerable display would be brief, but the hollow chuckle that echoed proved that this event will mark a milestone in your "work" relationship.

Master Zandik is opening up to you.

"Unlike this cute and happy memento, I don't have a grandmother who would take a picture with me. I’ve lost them all in the fire." He muttered, his voice low and his eyes squinting. "Hence the reason why I squandered most of my hours burying my nose in textbook after textbook. Pantalone and I had to prove ourselves worthy of living a life outside the orphanage. But this picture…"

Your boss grumbled. "This picture looks awfully similar to the only childhood picture I have taken. A large frown, beat-up uniform– a rage that I can relate to. I understand your child self all too well. Too well, in fact, that I feel the urge to burn this photograph like what I’ve done with mine."

He traced his thumb around your young self's image, shockingly intimate.

You blinked incessantly, trying to process all the information that he told you. First, your boss has no family left. Second, he’s an orphan raised alongside sir Pantalone. Third, he burned the only picture he had when he was a kid. You would pinch yourself but this conversation is jaggedly real. 

As sensitive as this topic may be, your skepticism slips out as easily as breathing. "You burned your only childhood photo?"

Zandik ruminated. 

"Curious as to what I would've looked like? You don’t seem to find my decision very agreeable."

"Who would?" You didn't mean to whine, but the tone of your voice made you sound like complaining. "What possessed you to do that?! Now no one would know what you looked like, not even yourse–"

"I didn't look too different as to who I am now," Zandik answered, his usual confidence coming back. "Only back then, shades of purple bruises would overlap my face, arms, legs, and stomach. If I loathed my natural features I would've done something drastic to tweak my appearance."

"Of course, you would, hair surgeon." You jokingly muttered Childe's best Dottore insult.

"What was that?"

For the sake of the hair Ajax is trying to grow out, you need to change the subject, fast.

"Master Zandik, I have to ask– aren’t you supposed to hate me? Pray tell, what are you doing here then?”

It’s been bothering you since he walked in. If he wants his “crush” for you to disappear, then why the hell is he spending more time with you?

Surprisingly, Zandik was also stunned by your question. His eyes went wide, perplexed.

“... What are you talking about?”

“You know what I meant.” You deadpanned. “The contract, what else?”

“Contract?” He squinted. “What contract? Is it a contract revised by Zhongli?”

“An astute guess.” You mocked his tone. “Yes, it is. Perhaps we’ve handled so many workloads the past month because of Sir Alberich’s eye-plucking shenanigans that’s why you forgot. To put it simply, you ordered me to act less attractive in exchange for a pay raise.”

“What?”

He looked at you incredulously, as if you were joking.

“Is this some kind of twisted joke?” Zandik huffed. “I would do no such thing. That’s...”

His demeanor shifted once, then twice. After a moment of silence, he nodded.

“Forgive me, you’re right. I did propose that contract, haven’t I?”

“Yes, Master.”

“And I also confessed my affection for you as well?”

“Yes, Master.”

“Pity.” He muttered, his tone grieving. “There should be no other person who can understand me more than I do.” 

Zandik glared. “But why on earth is He trying to sabotage us.”

He?

“What are you talking about?”

Zandik gritted his teeth and smiled. “No matter. There’s no need for concern, darling.”

…

Did Master Zandik always have shark-like teeth?

He reached out and ruffled your hair slightly, but there is an ominous aura that lingered in his expression. It was akin to self-loathing, but not quite. Zandik pulled his hand back slowly, clenching it into a fist as he walked away.

You will never understand what he was talking about. After all, “Zandik” failed to mention the most important aspect of that photograph.

He had no parents, aunts, uncles, cousins… But the outcast did stand next to someone in that single childhood photo he had.

And that person was the picture-perfect imitation of himself, the perfect “sibling”.

Il Dottore laughed.

Now, if he could just throw him in the fire too…

Ansytea: Thank you so much for joining the match-up event Bakery Anon! Please don't chop, cook, and serve me to faceless!ayato–

[alpaca-clouds]

Let me talk about Vampunk

It is punk-o-clock and... Halloween is in a couple of days. So let me talk about this one punk genre that I came up with myself: Vampunk. Because I just think there is an amazing potential in telling punk stories with vampires. Also I love my vampires. 🧛

I talked about it in the trope defining post before, but just to catch you up to speed on what I imagine this genre to be:

Vampires in fiction play a dual role.

They can be monsters and villains with the potential to stand in for all sorts of exploitation. There is a reason why we call folks, who exploit others a lot "vampires" often enough. They suck you dry and then leave you out in the sun. In a lot of fiction vampires have been made into slavers, CEOs and other people like that.

Vampires can also be a standin for the marginalized and especially queer culture has very much taken to them as a metaphor for queerness. A big factor of course is, that all the early vampires in fiction (Dracula, Carmilla and Lord Ruthven) are all queer-coded in their respective media. There also tends to be a lot of stories about vampires living in normal society and being forced to hide their existence because people would literally kill them if they knew. Hence, the vampire becomes a story about the marginalized - as well as a marginalized power fantasy.

This gives the vampire a dual nature as both the exploiter and the marginalized. And this is something that just makes for such interesting story potential.

The thing I see such a high potential in is... That this mirrors a lot of real world situations. In the real world we also tend to have this. There are a lot of marginalized folks - and then there are some of them who for one reason or another end up in a position of power. And, well, not all of them end up doing good in those positions.

So, imagine a world in which indeed some vampires are holding those positions of powers. Being CEOs or slavemasters or maybe some especially greedy kind of politician. And they exploit that situation to feed on humans all they want. To bleed them dry - literally and figuratively. And they know that even if their secret came out, the secret that they are vampires, they would probably have an easy way to escape the situation because of their power and influence.

But most vampires are not that. Most vampires are just your average Joes and Jolines trying to somehow survive. They have to be careful how to hunt to not raise any alarm among the humans, have to hide themselves. Maybe, in fact, those upper class vampires put rules on them about how much they can to feed and in what way. And being kind of bound - through blood and kinship - they are forced to somewhat deal with those powerful vampires and in their own way get exploited by them as well.

Now imagine the kind of stories you can tell about this. About how those systems work and how complicated they are. About maybe some humans realizing how they get exploited and trying to hunt down the vampires. Or about some of the exploited vampires realizing, they have more in common with the humans than with those upper echelon vampires. About rebellion in an unjust system. And about badly veiled metaphors for capitalism.

Vampires as creatures are very ripe for metaphoric storytelling. Maybe more ripe for it in fact than nearly any other mythological creature.

And I think that we could channel this through a genre like this. Make Vampunk a thing.

Or maybe that is just me?

[epickiya722]

Haha right? It's so normalized while it's actually so inappropriate to go to a stranger and talk about their sexual preferences.

I hate how "x fans" is called "x fuckers" now. Yeah I like Sukuna. No I don't want to fuck him. But all there is in his tags.

I'd go as far as to say that people don't care about characters. They just want to put them into tropes box to imagine them as their vampire/alpha male/ceo lover.

And I find it ironic how the same will trash talk about fanboys while they do the exact same thing. '"let women be horny" they will say, because reducing a story to you being horny is ok.

I still want to publish my stories because some fandom gave me hope. But I don't hold my breath anymore.

It is very inappropriate. Like, damn, I can't just like the character? I can't be entertained by their antics?

There are just so many things that shouldn't be normalized across fandoms and going into someone's inbox to be like "*insert character* fucker" is one.

Don't get me wrong, I don't mind people having their fantasies about their faves, let alone am I gonna police anybody on or care to. Waste of my time, I got fics to write! Posts to post! 😭

But sometimes I do think "does this person actually care about the character's story"?

Because some of those same people will have so many takes on their faves that don't even be that character. That is a whole OC you created!!

I actually wasn't aware of this until only recently that people accepted for Sukuna to become some absolute horndog when Yorozu was up all over him. Maybe I missed something, but Sukuna only ever expressed being interested in fighting and killing people and personally, he never really came across as some sexual deviant to me.

I feel like sometimes if you have this fanon version of your fave, that is not your favorite. In no way, should you feel the need to like this whole other version of your "fave" in order to like him. Then why have them as your favorite in the first place?

I like Sukuna because he entertains me. He's this evil ass menace who wants all the smoke and the biggest beef he has is with a 15 year old (who is my all time favorite of JJK). Sukuna also this mysterious air about him because we still don't know much about his backstory, let alone everything he can do. (I had this recent thought about a technique that I should probably get to writing.) I have theories about his character, like how he may really be as a person, true. But at the same time, I'm not gonna believe my theories about him are canon because "I know him better than Gege". Anything I say isn't canon unless said so explicitly. I didn't create Sukuna. I am just another fan just vibing along with the story.

And it really is insane to me that people will do that. People were saying "female fans of JJK are ruining the fandom, they're all so horny" as if all us are horny, let alone engage in the anime for said reasons.

The same people *cough cough* misogynists *cough* who say that be the same people who will have a wallpaper of someone like Nami as their header and she'll have boobs bigger than what she has in canon.

Oooh, y'all don't like folks be objectifying the JJK men, huh? Even though for years female characters have gotten the treatment in Shonen. You cannot be dragging Gojo fans when you want to be Makima's dog. Stop that now.

Also, its not just the men! Uh, Yuki Tsukumo exists! She has a lot of fans who find her attractive. There's Shoko, Utahime, Takako, Mei Mei...

I'm waiting for the day 143 gets animated because I just know people are gonna go 👀.

Like, either way, if you're a person who gets constantly horny over your faves, why are you upset with someone doing the same?

I saw this meme post about how people tend to overlook the story and its details and only focus on the attractive cast and fights. And some people were like "but people are only focusing on the fights and attractive cast".

No, they're not. You're missing the point.

For one, you can find the characters attractive and enjoy the fights. That is fine. But at the same time, don't miss the story. Pay attention to it because it's just as important, if not more.

Second, not everyone is focused on just the fights and cast. If that was the cast, why do we have theories and meta posts? Why do we have people writing fics that study the character they're writing about? If no one is focusing on the story and only like the fights and attractiveness of the characters, then those kind of posts from fans wouldn't exist.

[ketsuarting]

My theory is that Alastor was a total fraud, that he didn’t kill all those overlords, but instead took credit for someone else’s secret killing of them, to raise his rep, and then slowly acquire some actual power through soul collecting. And that this was the reason he would make a deal with *someone*, for some real power in case he ever found himself in an actual fight, either with the real killer, or someone else entirely. To say most of the time he was smiling it was to cover genuine nervousness, an everlasting fear that someone, anyone would recognise him for the fraud he is. To say the real reason he didn’t join the Vees was that he knew they would figure him out. Like if you look at ‘Stayed Gone’, you know how Vox glitches out during the song and it seems Alastor does it from afar? The previous part of the song has Vox skip down the hallway to the other Vees while singing, and on his first step, ONE OF ALASTOR’S SYMBOLS GLOWS ON THE FLOOR BEFORE VANISHING. This barely lasts a few frames, but it is real, it is there, to say Alastor’s power is based on the illusion of it: he is a powerful demon now, sure, but not all-powerful. Hence why his duets were always about getting under the other’s skin: because they are more powerful than him, but do not know it. Lucifer being the first he would go up against to actually know himself more powerful, hence Alastor’s annoyance, not wanting weakness to give way to further weakness. Maybe in the present after his deal he thought he had that power, hence why he looked so confused when Adam beat him: he really thought the power he was given was enough to stand against him and win. Given the Vees will apparently be main characters next season, and we’ve gotten to know some of the current overlords, I would not be surprised if the big mystery next season is overlords going missing again, only this time Alastor will be unable to take responsibility for the disappearance, and we the audience will learn the truth of what he is, or rather what he’s not.

I wanna agree in part to this, because I also believe Alastor is playing up his skill for more than it is.

He's the radio demon, that MEDIA. And the strongest parts of media is rephrasing data to the masses as to mislead them. This, in turn, would also be Vox's strength, and thus those two are locked into an eternal battle of (mis)information.

That's also why alastor probably engaged in the stayed gone rap duel in the first place. He position is already precarious what with the 7 year absence, but if vox now starts gaining foothold in their little war? Alastor would be fucked long term.

Alastor is also clearly BETTER at what he does than Vox. Because vox is less of a show host demon and more of a CEO/Producer demon. I collect strong allies to put in front of the camera, he himself isn't really a face for TV (haha see what I did there?)

I do believe though that Alastor has some inherent strength. He is adept in the arcane more so than your average demon, his voodoo capabilities are presumably what give him a leg up in hell.

Also. Alastor was a MURDERER. A serial killer at that!!! Presumably that's actually not what most people did before hell. For example: angel dust got into hell for his drug addictions, husk for his gambling addiction. Valentino probably landed his ass down there for exploitation (though he shows a carelessness for the lives of those he considers property), velvette I assume will be revealed to either b cyber bullying of sabotaging competition and Vox seems to be in hell for crimes of capitalism. (These are mainly head canons but My point is more that these people aren't in hell for murder explicitly.)

Alastor is powerful, but he DEFINITELY is lying and obfuscatinga bout how powerful exactly. It works to his benefit. Unlike Vox who has the urge to PROVE his strength at every turn.

And this is actually something they're polar opposites on. Vox is honest to a fault. Literally, to a fault. He NEEDS hell to know that the demon is back. He NEEDS them to realize that he doesn't want them to even give him their time of day. He needs velvette and Valentino to witness his whole manic episode about it.

Meanwhile Alastor couldn't be honest if his life depended on it, literally. He must have known that he can't beat Adam. Deep down he must have realized how FUCKED he would be. But he either a) deluded himself that he stands a chance or b) lied to the other in order to safe face.

Also a big part of alastor are his deals. He literally bluffed himself into a position of power, by misleading others into deals that would benefit him much more than them.

Husk retained his power, but how does it matter if Alastor wields it?

Charlie has to do one favor that 'harms no one' but what if it ends up being something that benefits people that are purely evil?

His deals suck ASS and people fall for it anyways because he either gives them no other option or make them feel like they're having the upper hand for once.

But at the end of the day he is just a sinner. If Lucifer wanted to he could obliterate his Twink ass in a second. Adam too, could've absolutely finish alastor, but he delighted in the radio demon running away from him. Probably because Adam understand what kind of blow to the go that must've been to the guy.

[alice-after-dark]

Sir Pentious Character Discussion for @xxx-sir-pentious-xxx (ft. Vox)

So I've actually been meaning to make this post for a while now. I love the idea of these two. They're both innovators and inventors with a love for technology.

We know that Sir Pentious views the Vees in very high regard, but I think he idolizes Vox in particular. It's why Vox is the one who thinks of him and is the one in charge of sending him to the hotel. He's aware of Pentious because I don't doubt that Pentious has sought out Vox's attention specifically. I bet you anything he owns every VoxTech product in existence, has maybe even taken some of them apart to learn how they work, studies his idol's work.

Something I even kind of like to imagine is that there's a parallel between their relationship and Vox and Alastor's - Vox is Sir Pentious' Alastor. He idolizes him, wants to be just like him, wants his attention and approval, heck they even share distinct similarities in their clothing (though if I'm being honest with myself, this is probably just because Viv likes that design).

I think that's also why it hurts Pentious to badly to hear Vox say such nasty things to him. Like, he's been insulted many times and it never pushed him to react the way he does to Vox's vitriol. It's because it's someone whose opinion matters to him. And to be used and thrown aside by them? It's excruciating. He literally doesn't care if the others at the hotel kill him because his world has been utterly crushed.

Honestly, come season 2, I would love to see a friendship between these two. Maybe Pentious comes down from Heaven to try and help with the hotel and during the conflict with Vox, he tries to get through to him and maybe kinda sorta succeeds. Or at least starts the process. Like Vox is not used to the idea that he means something to someone. Sure he's popular, but it's always about pleasing the public, giving them what they want. And then seeing his old self in Pentious? That wide-eyed guy who just loved to create and had a million ideas and wasn't this burnt out CEO? Probably would make him mad at first because he's all about progress and moving forward so feeling nostalgic for his old self and being upset about how different he's become would make him super uncomfortable, but maybe it gets the ball rolling to something better?

And maybe it's Sir Pentious' turn to be the one extending the hand?

(This got out of control and I'm not sorry, pun fucking intended)

[ghostlspirit]

|| male!Yandere x gender neutral!reader ||

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

tw: Yandere tendencies (it gets worse progressively yet still pretty tame maybe probably) Embarrassing moments, semi-stalking,

notes: PART 2!! My exams are killing me but this was fun to write lol. Maybe a little cringe at the end, but I'm still new to this so whatever! English is not my first language so sorry for any mistakes or errors. Hope you enjoy~

Masterlist

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

You became friends

Well.. If you could call this wierd relationship "friendship". Maybe it's more like "still strangers" or if you're generous, "acquaintances". You haven't spoken since that one morning, not that you minded. If every conversation with him is that awkward and uncomfortable, you'd prefer it the way it is right now. I mean, you still don't know his name and he doesn't know yours.

You still see him regularly by the train station, and when your eyes meet, you give a small smile to acknowledge his presence, sometimes combined with a nod. He always smiles back, with a nod on his own. It's kind of become your greeting. Yet that's all there is, no desire to approach each other or strike awkward conversation, as you guys still mind your own business.

When you're in a good mood, and don't lack the confidence, you even give a small wave or show a peace sign. He always seems to smile brighter after that. You got used to him, and he slowly got used to you too.

What more is there to desire?

Fabian finds you wired, in a good way though? You're just so... normal? Maybe even below normal, but still nothing that strikes you as abnormal. At first, he thought you might be a stalker, or some wierdo with a crush on him. But after the whole spiel of you avoiding him, he thought otherwise. You're just some random person, with a painful case of social anxiety. Like, he judges you, compares you to others and such. Fabian tries to find a reason to stop finding you interesting, trying to find a reason to ignore and avoid you. He kind of has a reason already, (that being your awkward encounter) but he denys it. It doesn't count.

And just when he thought he figured you out, you suprise him the next day. Like today. He thought you were more of a cat person, yet you seem to stare at the golden retriever a little too enthusiasticly. "Maybe you like animals in general?" Or the other time - your habit of drumming with your hands - he thought he figured out your usual rythym, as it seems to be the same one every time. "Maybe your favourite song?" He tried to memorize it, even to a point where he repeated it throughout the day absentmindedly, trying to find the song it's supposed to fit, and annoying his co-workers in the process. Yet he couldn't find it. And the next month it was another rythym, faster and wilder. "Just what songs are you listening to?" Or the one time you nearly fell asleep in your seat, barely being conscious. The next morning you seemed perfectly fine. "You have an inconsistent sleeping schedule...?"

No, this isn't wired. He's just cursed with observant eyes, always noticing the littlest details people often try to hide. No, it's not like Sherlock, and yes, he does have hobbies. He just likes watching people and judge guess what their life is like. What kind of people they are, and what makes them tick.

Because of that, he exells at marketing and sales. He knows what people want or what their dislikes are, and can adapt quickly to that. He's in high position in his department, but not the CEO. Just a well paid office job overseeing and managing the lower ranks. You seem like a mystery to him though. Maybe it's because of his job that he's fallen into this... dilemma...with you. He's never really done this outside of work. Fabian compares this as bird watching, you being the bird and he's the watcher. He's also a perfectionist, obvious by his style - neat and tidy. He doesn't like mistakes or incomplete things, reason why he hasn't quit observing you. He's sometimes upset when you appear with your messy morning appearances. "Another rough morning for you? Or do you just not care about appearances that much?"

Fabian nearly collapsed one morning when seeing you. With your pant zippes open. You're just so??? He wonders how you are still alive! And you seem so oblivious to it too!! He doesn't know if he's supposed to laugh or cry as you give him your signature greeting smile. Your hair is a little messy and your eyes look tired, yet your smile is still very bright in his eyes. He bitterly smiles back, unsure what to do.

Was he supposed to tell you? He can't even imagine how he'll start the conversation. "Hey stranger I sometimes meet in the morning. Your pant zippes are open." - Yeah no way. He has a feeling that with your anxiety, he'll chase you away and you'll avoid him again, permanently this time. But he can't just leave it, right? Who knows when you'll realise, and he can imagine than when you do, you'll never show yourself in public ever again.

Maybe he shouldn't interfere at all. It's not his business after all, right? You both are still strangers, bonded over a simple "Are you okay?" but that's it. It shouldn't concern him that much. He shouldn't care that much. He shouldn't be drawn to you like this.

...

He can't resist, huh?

He can feel himself waking up instantly, using his brain to think of a plan, a strategy. If he doesn't approach you with a plan - who knows what'll happen. You're so unpredictable to him! He takes in other passangers position and determents if they also noticed you too. Seems good, everyone is on their phones. Alright, next. You're sitting, your bag besides you, also on your phone, Headphones in, would it be rude to start talking to you? Maybe it'll worsen your mood. Your pant zippers still open on full display. Wait, are those striped underwear...?

He looks away, blood rushing to his head, not something that happens often. Shaking his head he settles with hinting at it and hoping you get the hint. No-one will see the Interaction hopefully as they're all distracted on their phones. He starts with trying to catch your gaze. He stares, waiting for you to feel his eyes on you so you look up, as that seems to be a skill you have. It doesn't take long and you soon have a staring contest again. You can tell he's trying to communicate something, his gaze serious, but you're no psychic so who knows what he wants. "Is he sick or something?" You tilt your head, showing that you have no clue what he's saying. He uses his hands this time, moving and making silhouettes, you still have no idea what he's saying.

He feels blood rush to his cheeks as he shakes his head. Fabian takes a breather, and thinks again, frustrated that you didn't get the massage. "Better to rip of the bandage." You can tell he's contemplating, and when he makes his way over to you, you just confusedly look up to him. He looks at you again, and you can tell hes kind of... nervous? He points at the seat besides you with your bag, probably wanting to sit down. You make space, maybe he's dizzy?

"Are you okay?" you ask quietly, taking out one headphone as this is a very strange situation, again. You looked worried, perhaps he needs to go to the hospital? "Yeah," he quickly answered, licking his lips, shit you're so nice "Just uh,-" he leans over to you, quickly invading your personal space. You move back a little by instinct, making him stop as he whispered relatively close to your ear, goosebumps rising on your neck "sorry, please don't panic. But uhm, You're, uh, pant zippes are, are open...". Your eyes nearly jump out of their sockets, having a physical reaction to the news as you flinch and instantly check, hunching over yourself trying to hide. Yup, he's right.

"Fuck."

"Sorry" he answered, still whispering, as he places his bag on your lap. It's big but relatively light as it hides your whole lower half. You can tell it's expensive. "Here. No-one has or will notice a thing." He looks away out of respect as you take this opportunity to zip your pants finally shut. When you move his bag to him, he noticed your shaking hands. He takes it and sees you instantly hide your face in your hands, ears flushed and bright red. It's like you want to hide from the whole world.

After a few moments you gained the ability to speak again. "Thank you. Than you So. So. Much." You say with a shaky voice "You saved me again, huh?" Your words are a little rushed and slurred. "thank you.". He tears his gaze away and after a few moments he start to chuckle, then laugh. You shrink more into yourself "Is he LAUGHING at me???? SERIOUSLY?!?" He's holding a hand to his mouth, trying to hold in his laughter.

This is just funny to him. Hilarious even. The way his heart is beating rabidly, the rush of euphoria, your face, voice, messy hair - the whole situation with the zipper. "Sorry, haha - it's just, Its just - Phahaha! Why- why are we like this?" Why is he like this? He looks at you with crinkled eyes, face flushed, he has never felt anything like this before. You frown and reluctantly ask "Like what?". He shakes his head, trying to calm himself. Seriously, this feels like out of a comedy show. He kind of doesn't want it to end. "Awkward, embarrassing, uncomfortable, everything!" He proclaims, moving his hands to prove the point. You groan, now hiding your face in your own bag. If you could, you would have punshed him, but he did basically just helped and looked out for you. "Sorry" Is all you could muster - why must you always be so clumsy? Fabian's laughter died down and he takes a deep breath. "No, it's okay. Glad I could help." he reassures as he looks foward again, his head feels hazy after all that laughing. He really can't predict you, just how he never could've imagine his morning going like this. You're just so unique, so different from others.

You shift uncomfortably in your seat, feeling like you're being crushed by the world. You feel like you could cry, the humiliation weighting you down. Your heart stings painfully. Taking in a shaky breath you move your body away from him, so that he doesn't see the tears that are threatening to fall. He notices your movement from the corner of his eye and watches you. He really wants to know why he's so drawn to you, but he can't just ask something like that, right? Did you put a spell on him or something? Seconds pass and he pulls out his phone.

You rub your eyes, tears nearly falling but when you open them again there's a screen in front of you. Fabian leans in, shoulders nearly touching as he holds his phone to you, and playing on it is a...cat video? Your tears are forgot as you look up to him, noticing his calm face. "Science when did he smell that nice?" He notices your gaze and answer "Watching funny videos always helped me cheer up. Here, this is my favourite."

You put in the headphone he offeres reluctantly. It plays a cat that tries to jump up a snowy car, yet it failed miserably. The cat leaving a quiet meow as it mades the jump this time, puffing up with pride. But after the cat takes a few steps in the direction to the owner the cat slips and falls again, leaving you snickering at the face it makes. You lean in, shoulders are now touching as he notices your scent. His breath catches and becomes a little uneven, his personal space suddenly dissolved, welcoming you in, as you both start watching the compilation of funny videos.

You let your shoulders relax, the morning sun engulfing you two in a nice blanket of warmth. You bask in this moment of kindness from the stranger as you feel cared for and seen. A stark comparison from the treatment at work you get. His stop is coming soon and before he leaves you leave a genuine "Thank you, I really owe you one."

"It was no problem. Enjoy your day. And...be careful."

With a chuckle, a wave and another thanks from you, he leaves by his stop. He doesn't know when you get off as he doesn't stay longer on the train as necessary, but he wished he stayed longer. The moment was gone too soon. He still doesn't know your name, but now he desperately whishes he does.

Would you two be considered friends now?

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

Yay! Part two done! He's oblivious to his actions, what could possibly go wrong? I'm gonna start working on part 3 tomorrow and hopefully get it done quicker than this. And thank you for reading! Have a nice day!

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

[myechoecho]

Moon in the Day, ep 7

On the one hand, I thought it was a bit harsh of Yeong Hwa to tell Do Ha to get over it and he's a stalker despite the dreams she's had. From her perspective, it's very creepy to think there's been someone watching you your whole life and seemingly knows every single detail.

Do Ha understands some of her resistance, I think. When she talks about her trauma for her entire life she really doesn't think of his trauma or asks why. That that is in large part because Do Ha is deliberately leaving out massive chunks of the story. He tells her he needs to know how he died - he knows the how, what he needs is the why. Despite her protests she does believe him. And no matter what she says, he has never really confused her for Ri Ta. She may be her reincarnation but she has always been Yeong Hwa for him.

this pond reminds me of the one from their past.

This episode we also see a turning point for Ri Ta, and later for Yeong Hwa.

In the past, Do Ha fights his father's men to protect Ri Ta and then takes an arrow for her. He wakes to find his father, and demands to know where Ri Ta is. When his father says he killed her, Do Ha is done. Ri Ta was the only sliver of happiness that he had. He had been trapped for years by his adoptive father he no longer cares if his father's men kill him.

But it's all been some twisted test since Ri Ta is alive. His father tells him to kill her but Do Ha cannot. And because he can't, he is now even more chained to his father. I think this display goes a gets Ri Ta to change how she sees Do Ha, even more than she had already started.

Do HA suggests that they both live, and survive. She looks surprised when he says it's better to stay close to him so she can kill him.

When Do Ha's father sends him out to battle, even though he is still badly injured, she insists that he will come back alive. She waits for him. He's so surprised to see her then when he comes back. No one has ever waited for him before. Do Ha is even more stunned when she tries to help him. He pushes her away.

Do Ha passes out and Ri Ta is genuinely worried for him when she finds. Do Ha's father is consistent with his awfulness:

I dunno, maybe don't send your already badly injured son into battle where his wound could get worse or infected?? Even the other soldier guy said it was no big deal for them to handle and you still told Do Ha to go. And what more does he have to do for you? Why do you hate him so??

Ri Ta tends to him and there is a big shift in her thinking, though she is still conflicted. Her sympathy for him is stronger than her resentment. She cannot bear to see him chained like a dog to his father because of her. She feels guilty. If she kills him, he will be freed of his ties and she of her resentment even though it will be at the cost of her life. But she cannot do it.

I LOVED the scene between them after he wakes up. He asks her why she didn't kill him and she says could not. He tries to give her an out, to say that he has not found life valuable yet but she refuses to take it. They are in this together now. They both recognize how incredibly messed up their relationship is. They know it but they are now tied to each other because of how they feel so they going to try to make the best of it.

Interesting too - both Ri Ta and Do Ha are the only ones to have told the other to survive.

The dreams this episode seem to make Yeong Hwa have more sympathy for Do Ha. So much that she wonders what would have happened to them if they met in a different time in place. Do Ha is surprised by that. Yeong Hwa has decided to keep having dreams (though i don't think she has a choice) but now she's going to make an effort. She wants to know how the story ends. Yeong Hwa also seems to need to find out for herself, because she really has not asked Do Ha for details.

As for Joon Oh's brother, I hope he questions WHY the old CEO knows so much about Joon Oh being weird.

[obsidiancreates]

Robin Hood: Man In Vents

@pineapple-psychic

"Gus." Shawn whispers as quietly as he can into the little mic pinned to his collar. "I see you flirting with the receptionist."

"Heh, one second." Gus's smirk slips right off as he turns and whispers back "You told me to say I'm security!"

"So no-one would question the mic and earpiece! Not to creep out some poor girl taking this jerk's calls all day!"

"I'm not creeping anybody out!"

"She's literally holding a tiny lipstick taser in her palm."

"Wh- where are you?!"

"The vents. ... Top of the wall to your right."

"Shawn, you're supposed to be in this guy's office already."

"I had to take a pit-stop, man, you were totally ignoring me!"

"Just get in there, if someone we know spots me we're toast."

"Dude, Lassie and Jules are totally busy with that other case with the dead bull or whatever."

"It was a dead matador, Shawn, and they're only busy because you put them on the wrong lead!"

"Yeah, so we're covered."

"Just get into that office!"

Shawn watches Gus turn back around with his 'Smooth Gus' smile and keep chatting with the receptionist- who's relaxing more as Gus talks to her, actually, and she realizes he's just Not As Smooth As He Thinks He Is rather than Trying To Be Creepy.

Shawn crawls through the vents, wondering not for the first time why Santa Barbara seems to make all their air vents big enough for over-30-year-old-men to crawl through with room to spare, and makes it to the office. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his little uses-actual-tape vintage tape recorder, stolen from his dad's house, and hits record.

"No, look, if we sell more than this it'll look suspicious. ... I know, I know, but our payout won't be worth shit if we get caught. Just- have you taken care of the severance situation? ... Well, cripes, Monty, if you don't find a way to avoid paying out severance after this we'll have done it all for nothing! ... That's it, I'm coming down to your office. No, I don't give a crap if your wife is there, kick her out or I'll beat her ass along with yours. ... You'll take this talk from me as long as you live, if you don't want to become my next scapegoat."

The phone slams back into it's receiver, and the CEO storms out of his office.

Shawn tests the vent grate- if he did it right when he pretended to be the building inspector a few days ago, it should just-

CRASH!

... Whoops.

Shawn slides out of the vent and lands in a heap on the floor, springing back up as quickly as possible and going for the computer! This office is relatively isolated, but someone will have heard that. Gus posing as security can maybe buy him twenty minutes, but after that he's risking everything.

Gus would kill him for saying so, but all that makes this even more fun.

He copies the password he saw being entered in the reflection of the window when he came in to sabotage the vent, pulls out the list of keywords Gus's jotted down for him, and starts combing through the files as quickly as possible. He plugs his pineapple-shaped hard drive into the PC unit and begins downloading everything relevant to the insider trading and company self-sabotage.

"Dude, hurry up, I just got told over the walkie that there was a loud sound in the CEO's office," Gus hisses through the earpiece.

"I'm hurrying!"

"Hurry harder, Shawn! Oh, uh, hello, fellow security team. Yeah, Im uh, going to check out the disturbance myself. no need for all of us, right?"

"You're in fire, dude."

"Yeah, well, I'm a uh, black belt in taekwondo, so I really don't need any backup. Might get messy."

"Black be- okay I know that's not true, but I also know you've been sneaking out of cases more often than usual. Gus, are you taking martial arts classes without me? How is our partnership supposed to work if you become a lethal weapon of flesh and blood and I don't?"

"I'm not taking any classes, I'm buying you time," Gus hisses again. "Quit distracting me!"

"Fine. ... But we should sign up for some classes together after this."

"I agree, but shhh!"

"Fine. ... Okay, okay, I got it!" Shanw unplugs everything, makes sure his gloves didn't rip or leave any fibers behind- and then looks up at the vent. "Oh. Oops."

"Oops?!"

"It's uh- it's a little high to reach."

"Oh my go- you didn't measure a way up to your only escape route?"

"I was a little focused on the entire rest of the whole plan!"

"Figure it out fast, we're almost at the elevator!"

"Ah- stall for time! Pretend to pee yourself!"

"No, stop using that as a go-to distraction!"

"Well do something!"

"Ah- HEY! Ahem, hey, guys, uh, you know, I read in Men's Digest last week that elevators have been linked to Kidney Stones."

Shawn looks around frantically for something he can use to get up to the vent that won't leave a suspicious trail- nothing. Unless...

"Dude, I'm taking a risk."

"Another one?!"

"Trust me!"

Shawn pulls the wheely chair over to the vent and stands on it. It's just enough for him to leverage himself into the space. He hops off and grabs the vent cover, puts it on top of the headrest, and turns. He puts his feet on the wall, walks them up to the vent opening, and slowly walks his hands up to the top of the chair to leverage himself into the exit.

As soon as his hands reach the top he hears the elevator ding down the hallway. He hears Gus's rambling coming closer, and knows it's now or never. He takes a deep breath, winces in preparation for the on coming pain, and pushes off of the chair! He just barely manages to grab onto the vent as the chair goes flying across the floor back into place!

His push gets him halfway into the vent, the wind knocked right out of him, but he has no time to recover. He squirms the rest of the way in, and managed to re-affix the loose vent cover right as the door to the office opens.

Gus glances up at the vents and they lock eyes. Shawn gives a thumbs-up, and begins scooting backwards out of the line of sight.

"I'm never helping you with one of these again," he hears Gus mumble over the earpiece.

They both know Gus is lying. They're partners in crime-solving and in crime, and they always will be. Especially when it's something like this.

Now to figure out if blackmail or exposure is the best use for what they've gathered...