#and they're destroying their friendship and losing each other even though they're RIGHT THERE

[gayhoediaz]

Out of curiosity how far along are you on the cheating buddie fic bc I just read the new snippet and now I want to like bang my head against the wall or smth. Istg I can't stand cheating fics and I keep thinking that I probably won't read this one either but then you post a snippet and I'm like internally shrieking so considering my lack of self discipline I definitely will be dropping everything to read it as soon as you post it

oooh, i'm nearly 20k in, so i'd say i'm about... halfway done as far as actual prose goes, but i have a very thorough outline + a lot of rough dialogue written out, so i'm guessing i'll be posting it sometime within the next four weeks! i have to say it's been a lot heavier to write than i thought it would be, and it'll be heavy to read, but i think that's something this fandom will appreciate when it comes to this topic <3 (they end up together, don't worry - but it's certainly a bumpy road.)

[mythicalartistx]

Sea Salt Trio is the best Trio and here's why

The three trios are compared constantly and Sea Salt Trio is the one that work the best as the whole, but before we get into why it's why the others don't work as well.

As stated in my previous post, Destiny Island trio failed since the three never rarely interact much as a whole and are often in duos and Kairi and Riku barely interact as it is. Kairi and Sora seem awkward, while Riku and Sora seem to have the strongest relationship of the trio. And they also don't hate each other, none of the people in the trios really hate each other and all seem to be good friends.

Now Wayfinder Trio is much better however what makes it not work as well is the miscommunication. In Birth By Sleep they constantly mistrust one another and it's what lead to their ultimate demise.

However, I will say they all seemingly care for each other. All their actions come from a place of worry and care. In Kingdom Hearts 3, when they finally reunited they cried tears of joy and we're glad to have each other again. It's such a good scene. And unlike the Destiny Trio they still talk to each other and care.

And finally the Sea Salt Trio. The reason why this one works is that they all have a strong friendship. They start off as zombie like beings and form an unlikely friendship with Axel. The trio discuss silly things like being friends and identities while eating Sea Salt Ice Cream. They all also want the best for each other.

Xion wants to be with her friends. She likes being with them. And then she goes to run off for the sake of Roxas. She doesn't want him to get destroyed/ lose his powers. When Xion is weak Axel comes up with a plan so Saïx doesn't find out. Xion dies so she won't steal more of Roxas and hopes Kingdom Hearts is also destroyed.

The three of plan to go to the beach one day together. And their trio is from the simple moments of them talking every day after their missions until they realize bad things, but that's not initially their own fault. Axel want things to stay the same and cherish those moments, Roxas wants answers but cherish his friends, Xion is similar to Roxas.

Then after in 2, Axel keeps clinging onto those moments — the friendship between them (even Xion but he doesn't quite remember it was her, this is shown through the novel).

He liked how they made him be able to feel again.

Then he ends up sacrificing himself for Sora since he in some sense is part of Roxas and he knows he'll do a good thing. In KH3 while training with Kairi, he remembers Xion again. His eyes cry because of what his heart remembers. Kairi reminds himself of Xion, when he gets Ice Cream on the day before the battle he gets three which Saïx teases him for.

He remembers both of them and he wants them back. They are important and are his friends. And his whole reunion and even the battle before is bittersweet. Just like the Wayfinder Trio their reunion is really great.

And I just want to point out that none of these characters hate each other. Literally they don't. I've made posts in the past about some misconceptions are that Riku and Kairi hate each other/ don't like the other and that Axel and Xion apparently do? But they don't. There is literally in game and novel content that disproves this.

But this is why Sea Salt Trio works the best, but that doesn't mean the others are bad. Like I enjoy Riku and Sora moments and I strongly wish for Kairi to do more and make other friends. And I love the Wayfinders. This is why I think it works the best and it's not necessary my favorite.

And I have to say I've seen some amazing fanon comics or things of the trios that made them even better like Destiny Trio for example.

My favorite Trio actually isn't a canon trio and it's all from fanon— that's right shout out to the Lost Trio where some of them don't even interact in game.

(I need more lost trio content actually though, they're just so silly and funny to me)

[legayfuck]

okay but the way that noah and eva were SUCH GREAT CHARACTERS that NEVER DID ANYTHING is so upsetting. I know we all wanted a team e-scope comeback and wt TOTALLY COULD'VE DONE THAT like

and there's definitely possibility for people to get eliminated fairly late in the game, like sweeden sour, rapa phooey and of course double eliminations

first, I'm going to talk about the relations between the members of team e-scope

there could definitely be an expansion on the team e-scope relations. eva and izzy could have a very dynamic friendship- they're both some of the most threatening competitors while also having contrasting personalities. this friendship could've been used in island when they were both returning contestants. eva would recognize that they're both targets because they both skipped challenges and izzy really just went along with anything. she and eva definitely got along and they would be a killer alliance.

if eva made it even like a couple of challenges I think it would be good. just push trent and bridgette back once and move the no pain, no game challenge to after hide and be sneaky. there's the whole trent and heather plot in search & do not destroy, heather, leshawna, and eva could all have immunity in hide & be sneaky which would lead to bridgette's elimination, and then eva loses in no pain, no game. that would give enough time for at least a little use of eva and her rivalries with other characters. ALSO why was izzy in an alliance with heather? put her in with eva cmon. anyways. in hide & be sneaky, the guys could use eva's hate of bridgette to their advantage. anyways I'm going on a tangent here. NEXT

noah and izzy had at least some sort of thing going on since haute camp-ture. izzy with the 'throwing some shrimp on the barbie, that means you noah!' and the whole 'he kissed a guy!' thing definitely leads you to believe that at least izzy thinks they're friends, even if she just annoys noah. then in world tour, while he spent most the time calling her a nutcase, she carried him around a lot it wasn't like he hated her, he just didn't want owen dating her because she didn't treat him right.

noah and eva are a good team-up. noah's the brains and eva's the brawn, that's alliance material. they know each others strengths and neither really have friends. well, noah has owen but that's basically it. and owen isn't the most strategic person in the game. and both have a lot of enemies.

I'm going to talk about potential of the characters as if eva was in world tour and on team chris because that would make sense with canon

I feel like eva could be used so well. She didn't like being famous, so she was all in it for the money. She was straightforward. She was not playing any games. SHE WANTED THAT MONEY. I think Alejandro would see her as useful and keep her around, but he knows he has to get rid of her before the merge. Plus, she's so great for an antagonist. She has a lot of drive and could have a rivalry with literally anyone. She could have beef with tyler I mean realistically. he was a killer bass. also, I feel like she could have an alliance with alejandro. she doesn't seem like someone exactly all for alliances, but she understands a deal when she sees one- alejandro is a powerful competitor and she knows it. betrayal later could be AMAZING and I'll get to a point with that in a minute

and we all know the noah story, we've heard it a million times but it's true, he's a great character. He has a rivalry with alejandro, was labeled 'the schemer' or whatever even though he did nothing, he's really smart like they could have used that. he also had a lot of rivalries with people that were just not used. he didn't like alejandro, he didn't like sierra, he didn't like duncan, and he definitely had potential for relationships (positive or negative) with other contestants. he could still be eliminated at the same time, but at least let him do something.

okay. so I know we all love blaineley. well I actually don't really but we all love blainerific. HOWEVER. HER ASS DID NOTHING. I would bring back either eva or noah. eva, if having that alliance with alejandro, would be mad as hell. and post-merge, she could interact with members of team amazon. noah also is against alejandro and has a lot of potential for relations with other competitors. then I would have them last a little longer than blaineley did so they ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING anyways that's my little rant about eva and noah

[tohisprettyc00l]

Hunter alphabets

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?) Idk why but I feel like he would love to give gifts. Especially homemade ones. He likes to see your reaction :).

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?) Honestly, he's so nice (have you seen how he acts with Gus-) He asks for book and show recommendations. Bro if you ask him for recommendations, you better have at least an hour because, for each book/show, he recommends he has an at least ten-minute ramble about it.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?) He loves to cuddle so fucking much. He's usually a little spoon (Dude NEEDS to be held) But he also loves to hold you. Any chance he gets to cuddle with you he will happily take <333.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?) He's great at cleaning! Cooking on the other hand 😬. We all saw Thanks To Them, right? He was a part of that weird monster food that he, Willow, Gus, and Amity made( That was definitely not fit for human consumption.)

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?) Bro wtf- why do you have to do this to me??? I feel like he wouldn't be able to say it to your face. So he'll probably leave a note in a place he knows you'll see it. After that, he does everything he can to avoid you. He can't bear to see your face again.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?) Fears commitment 😨. Yeah, Belos has destroyed this mans trust. Takes a few weeks to months (Depending on if we're pre or post-Thanks To Them) But once he does trust he trusts you with his life. He wants to get married like right away but he is responsible. He isn't going to propose like ever but if he did he would wait. He doesn't want to rush things.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?) He is the most gentle person you'll ever meet when it comes to both. He'll do everything in his power not to lose you. If he ever hurt you either way he'll probably be more distraught than you. Will be begging for forgiveness even after you say you forgive him.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?) Read the last few sentences of gentle to get even an idea of how much he needs hugs. I've said this throughout this whole chapter but he can not get enough of physical touch. Once he learns more about what a hug is he'll be asking for it all the time!

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?) Ethier says like a week after dating or a year in. No in-between. Yeah, I have nothing else to say on the topic.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they're jealous?) Okay, I've been trying my best to avoid mentioning the fact that this was written after the fluff alphabet. But there's the exact same question as that one so just read rn or wait.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?) He sucks at kisses. He does like to give you kisses on the cheek and likes to be kissed on the cheek back though.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?) I have to admit this man is horrible with kids. He wasn't raised well as a kid. But that's all he knows so he thinks it's normal. Don't worry he doesn't yell or hit any kids though don't worry. Though he is kinda unnecessarily mean to these like eight-year-olds. He does eventually stop.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?) Breakfast? Not in bed but on the table. He wakes up hella early tho so at first he keeps on making the food too early and has to put it in the fridge. And if it's the weekend he'll watch some episodes of a show you both like, with you.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?) We all know that on top of getting up early, he goes to bed late too. Despite him having a bad sleep schedule he WILL NOT take you also having a bad sleep schedule to >:(. If he sees that you are late like him he will force you to go to sleep.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?) I think I've said enough for you to know that it takes him a while to open up.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?) It takes a lot for you to angerhim. This comes from a mix of not being allowed to question Belos and his fear of losing you. Though he does speak his mind so while he doesn't get angry quickly he does talk when things bother him.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?) Remember a lot of the smaller details. Not every detail is more than most others. Also not sure if I have to clarify this but he does remember a lot of big things about you.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?) It might be kind of cheesy but your first date. Him finally being able to make good relationships outside of the emperor's coven. If it went perfectly it's one of his favorites it's his favorite for obvious reasons. It went just as perfectly as he sees you <3. If it went wrong he loves it because despite all the flaws you still ended up with him <3.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?) Protective, but only really acts if you are in danger. He is kinda nervous whenever he leaves alone because of your association with him. I mean being with a gut who is wanted by the Emperor himself is a reason to be cautious.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?) When it comes to the first three, you would not believe how much effort he puts into them omg. He takes hours planning dates and anniversaries, making sure everything will go to plan. As mentioned before he loves to make gifts for you. Also with everyday tasks, he puts the normal amount of effort into them lmao.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?) Often views himself as worthless :(. Also feels the need to prove himself to you, even when you tell him there's no need.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?) Ehhhh it's complicated. He is not really concerned with his looks. But he does wanna look nice to you. So after you start dating he does start putting more effort into his appearance.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?) Does he feel incomplete when you're gone? No. Does he miss so fucking much. Obviously 🙄. I feel like he would try to sing when he's alone idk.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.) The one time he tried melatonin he passed out for like the whole day. (Me? Projecting even the smallest thing onto Hunter? Yes.)

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn't like, either in general or in a partner?) I feel like he hates messy spaces. Ecsapilly if it's a place that you're supposed to work in. He immediately cleans it himself.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?) Look at those bags under his eyes. Are you telling me he has a healthy sleep schedule? Absolutely not. He goes to bed at 2 A.M and wakes up at 6 A.M.

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A ctivities - What do they like to do with their s/o? How do they spend their free time with them? He would love to tell you about the books he's reading, and vice versa! If you tell him you want to read the book he's talking about? He'll get so excited!!! Will constantly ask you where you are in the book and your thoughts. Okay, I got a little sidetracked but bottom line my boy likes reading and talking about it.

B eauty - What do they admire about their s/o? What do they think is beautiful about them? He finds you beautiful no matter what you look like <3, and he admires your kindness! He has been so starved of kindness so like any amount of praise you give him will be greatly appreciated.

C omfort - How would they help their s/o when they feel down/have a panic attack etc.? Has he had many panic attacks? Yes. Does he know how to help with one? No. All he knows is the basics. Comforting words, hugs n cuddles, and not much else. Though if you tell him what helps he will try his best to do it!

D reams - How do they picture their future with their s/o? He just wants to have a nice comfy life. After everything he's been through a lot, he wants to want to be calm and cozy, with you He would love to drink hot drinks and read books. Have the definition of a cottage care life.

E qual - Are they the dominant one in the relationship, or rather passive? This question makes me uncomfy.

F ight - Would they be easy to forgive their s/o? How are they fighting? If it was something small he forgives you after a day or two. But if it's something bigger Belos cough cough it takes him a while. But after a while, he will forgive you.

G ratitude - How grateful are they in general? Are they aware of what their s/o is doing for them? This answer should be obvious, he is so fucking grateful. He can't put into words how grateful for you, especially if/when you help him escape Belos. He is very aware and he is still kinda in the mindset of needing to prove he's useful to you(because there's nothing worse than disappointing someone who thinks you're special.) But after a while, he gets used to having a healthy relationship :).

H onesty - Do they have secrets they hide from their s/o? Or do they share everything? He tries, though he does tend to hide things for fear of disappointing you. Though, one thing does eventually slip and panic. He is surprised when you aren't mad (you do discuss communicating better because withholding info isn't healthy.)

I nspiration - Did their s/o change them somehow, or the other way around? Like trying out new things or helping them overcome personal problems? I feel like the answer is pretty obvious: you changed him and he (probably) changed you. If you ever pick up a new hobby he is so encouraging. If you even handedly say you want to try baking. The next time you see him he has a whole baking set + ingredients.

J ealousy - Do they get jealous easily? How do they deal with it? Ehhhhhh kinda. He worries that you might leave him when you get really close to other people. But more of an "oh God what if they replace me" way. Though after a few affirmations, he's good.

K iss - Are they a good kisser? What was the first kiss like?

This man had/has no idea what he's doing 💀 If you don't initiate the kiss then it's not happening. Don't get me wrong he loves kisses, he's just too awkward to initiate them.

L ove Confession - How would they confess to their s/o? It's either an accident and just slips out, or it's super duper cheesy. But I like the cheesy idea better. He uses one of those pickup lines like "Do you like raisins? What about a date?" It's super cringey and cute.

M arriage - Do they want to get married? How do they propose? What would the marriage be like? Yep mans wants to get married so badly. Though his ass is not proposing. Especially if he was the one who asked you out. He can not handle being that nervous again. Being married is pretty much the same yet it feels more special

N icknames - What do they call their s/o? he calls you: pumpkin, honey, princess//prince/royalty (Also if you are a woman he 100% called you unironically called you baby girl and had no idea why you were laughing)

O n Cloud Nine - What are they like when they are in love? Is it obvious for others? How do they express their feelings? He thinks he's so good about hiding his feelings (He's not.) It's super obvious, you're just oblivious. He is a blushing mess around you.

P DA - Are they upfront about their relationship? Do they brag with their s/o in front of others? Or are they rather shy to kiss etc. when others are watching? When you're around others he doesn't do much PDA. But when you're gone and he's around others, he brags about you so much omg. He has gotten into many fights with Amity and Luz (separately) about whose partner is better.

Q uirk - Some random ability they have that's beneficial in a relationship. Dudes fumking strong also at one point he was the Golden Guard.

R omance - How romantic are they? What would they do to make their s/o happy? Cliché or rather creative? He is pretty cliché, at least at first. He has no idea what counts as being romantic, so he binge-watches a bunch of romantic movies and copies lines from there. Though throughout the relationship, he starts being romantic in his way.

S upport - Are they helping their s/o achieve their goals? Do they believe in them? Kinda already answered this with the inspiration prompt he very much believes in you<3. He, himself, would even try to get into the activity too. He would ask you for tips about the subject and sometimes it actually helps him find new hobbies.

T hrill - Do they need to try out new things to spice out your relationship? Or do they prefer a certain routine? No. Like not at all. This boy NEEDS even a little bit of stability, that's not to say he doesn't like to try new things. But he doesn't like to keep changing things around or just jump head first into things.

U nderstanding - How good do they know their partner? Are they empathetic? He's pretty okay at reading facial expressions, so if you're an expressive person it's a lot easier for him to tell what you're feeling. But once he does figure out what you're feeling, he quickly tries to comfort you if you're feeling bad.

V alue - How important is the relationship to them? What is it's worth in comparison to other things in their life? I'm not sure how much more I can emphasize that you mean the world to them. Your so fucking important to him and theres little to nothing he would choose over you.

W ild Card - A random Fluff Headcanon. He made a wolf fursona the millisecond he found out about in the human realm. Luz has watched sad movies with hunter, she warned him beforehand and he was like "No I'm not sensitive enough to get sad at a movie." And he was way more sad than anyone else. If Luz and Hunter find out they like the same show/book they would 100% write fanfiction together.

X OXO - Are they very affectionate? Do they love to kiss and cuddle? He loves to cuddle you!!! He also loves to kiss you and when you kiss him <3. Whenever he gets the chance he will ask for cuddles (and hugs when he learns what they are.)

Y earning - How will they cope when they're missing their partner? Depending on the time of day (or whatever day it was) He will either try to do as many missions as he can. Or he will mess around with flapjack and read.

Z eal - Are they willing to go to great lengths for the relationship? If so, what kind of? Very big lengths you are his everything. If you were dating him as the Golden Guard your relationship is that one simpsons clip that is like "I'd kill for you. Please ask me to kill for you." "No Goldie-"

[generic-sonic-fan]

Now I know Shadow not thinking of Eggman as family is the more popular take. But may I present to you: Shadow treating him as the baby of the family.

Him preferring Robotinik tech

Him always referring to Robotinik as Doctor as a form of pride

Protective of him if he’s hurt or mentally unstable.

Him resenting characters saying he’s pure evil.

Ivo is treated as much as a weapon as Shadow is and Metal

Shadow having baby pictures and scavenging for childhood ones.

Just, Shadow Robotinik.

(First of all, if you haven't already, required reading for this post is Robotnik Family Reunion.)

I'm not sure I agree with your take 100% of the way, but I do love to explore the relationship between these two as being closer than most people headcanon. I don't think Shadow acts as the older of the two- they're cousins, if Shadow's counting himself as Maria's sister, which makes them roughly the "same" age. But I do think that they have a strange sort of familial relationship that neither of them can really quantify.

Shadow is someone who cares very deeply about family. Not in an overt, loving sense; almost more of steely obligation. Rouge asks why Shadow even bothers with Ivo and the only reply he has is "he's family". Shadow can't just forget and move on. He's a Robotnik. If something truly happened to Ivo, (especially a chronic illness!) Shadow would be there. There's no other option to even comprehend.

Shadow holds a sort of respect for him. Calling Ivo by "doctor" is the main manifestation of this. But that's not to say that they like each other. They disagree on some fundamental things. Ivo reminds Shadow too much of Gerald's latter years with his desire to conquer the world, and those scars are still too fresh to heal. But there's also an understanding that comes from that. Shadow knows what it's like to be so angry at the world that the only solution you can see is violence. Instead of merely conquering, he tried to destroy everything. Ivo, at least, operates under the pretense that he's making the world better, and that's something Shadow can almost agree with, if it weren't for the scientific and callous disregard for the well-being of others that Ivo brings along with it.

Shadow remembers what it was like to be "evil", and knows it's much more complicated than that. When Sonic and the rest of the gang get to calling Ivo "pure evil", it doesn't sit right.

. . . but then sometimes Ivo does something so colossally stupid or evil that Shadow loses patience and considers just killing the man. To avoid making the decision, he lets Sonic be the one to give the final blow to whatever robot Ivo has himself holed up in for the latest scheme, and looks the other way as Sonic lets him escape every time.

They definitely have periods where they're closer than others.

Sometimes, during the good periods, Ivo lets Shadow get ahold of some of the old family heirlooms. He's got lots of things from old houses that he's inherited as the rest of the Robotnik family dropped like flies over the years, things with little use to him, so he lets Shadow pick through the remains. The most valuable find so far has been a blue ribbon that Maria wore as a baby before the ARK, along with a picture of her parents. Ivo says this exchange of family property is to bribe Shadow from breaking in and erasing his access to the PROJECT: SHADOW files from the EggNet, but. . . let's be honest here, he wouldn't have to go as far as actually giving gifts this important and meaningful to Shadow to achieve that.

Shadow talks about all this with Rouge sometimes. Rouge has had some unsavory family members in the past, so she's able to give some advice. With Omega, though, the topic is probably the biggest strain in their friendship. Omega made up his mind about the whole "family" situation since day one: Ivo is not his "father", and he is not a Robotnik. Shadow has only once made the mistake of implying that he and Omega were cousins once-removed. It took him a week to heal the injuries and even longer for Omega to start speaking to him again.

(Sometimes Shadow, despite himself and despite everything, catches himself feeling a strange sort of gratitude that Ivo built Omega. He keeps this very, very private.)

So, yeah- Shadow Robotnik indeed (no matter how messy the title and all the emotions that come with it may be.) Thanks for sending this ask. I'm always in the mood to have my brain picked about these two.

[rinhaler]

hi hi i’m from like one of the first toxic! megumi questions i was rlly nervous dk why, anyways! i have a few questions you don’t have to answer them all though. 1: so like i’m pretty sure megumi was the first to cheat right? correct me if i’m wrong. 2: how do you think megumi & reader could better their relationship?? 3: has megumi ever cheated on reader with any of her “friends”?

omg I probably said before but don't be nervous to talk to me ever I'm just a gworl with a computer I love talking to u guys abt stuff!! whether it's my fics or just life things :3 BUT THESE ARE ALL SUCH GOOD QUESTIONS THANK YOU NONNIE

I'm not sure if I specified how the cheating started but honestly Megumi being the first wouldn't surprise me but imagine if it was the reader 😭 I feel like if it was her he'd be like 'oh okay this is what we're doing' and then just take it too far and this is how they are where they are now 😬 (again it's been a while since I read that fic so if I specified either way feel free to let me know but adghgfdhgf). I don't know why the reader would cheat first but I think they're both very sexual people and we know they like to use it as a weapon with each other and against each other.

I think a lot of people who read this fic immediately pin blame on Megumi as being the worst and being awful and blah blah (he is) but the reader is just as bad. She can be very manipulative and cruel in that sense, she's definitely the type to use people to get what she wants and she doesn't really care who gets in her way or gets hurt. Hence why she didn't feel any qualms about sleeping with Yuuji, knowing he's Megumi's best friend. She made that decision knowing that Megumi would be pissed with them both but likely take more of his aggression out on Yuuji later down the line and destroy their friendship. The reader knows she and Megumi always forgive each other, so really, there's nothing she can do that would result in losing him. Their relationship is very toxic and co-dependent, they're addicted to each other.

I'm not sure if there is a way for them to repair their relationship without breaking up. I think maybe if they spent some real time apart to work on themselves and iron out the issues with their own behaviours and attitudes towards other people they might be able to reconcile and have a healthier relationship. However, I do think Megumi in this particular AU is very methodical and set in his ways in regards to relationships. And the fact that he knows everything he does keeps her yearning for him, I don't think he'd have any desire to change and I don't think he'd be able to keep away from her for long enough to make any real progress towards betterment.

To be honest I think he is on the yandere scale to some degree because whenever they have their little breaks he stalks her every move. Not always physically but he will almost always know where she is, what she's doing, who she's with, whether it's from following her or checking her socials or getting his friends to spy on her when he isn't around, he's got ears everywhere. He'd never be willing to let her go, I'm not sure what she could do to make him want nothing to do with her, but it's the same for her. They're very icky and toxic but they are kind of perfect for each other since they're both shitty people LMAO

Your third question is my favourite because to be honest I think the reader doesn't have friends of her own anymore. He has fucked them all. Not even because he thinks they're attractive or even close to being as hot as her. It's purely out of spite and leaning a little on that manipulation scale too because he knew after the first friend he fucked she wasn't going to leave him. And the fact that he's fucked all of her friends has completely isolated her from anyone who can make her see sense. She blames them rather than him. In her mind she's told them what he's like so they shouldn't have given him the time of day if they are truly her friends. She knows Megumi is shitty, she knows this is the type of thing he would do, so she doesn't hold him accountable. It's her friend's fault entirely.

The only friends she has now are also Megumi's friends. And they're never gonna say a bad word against him, not really. They may see how awful their relationship is but she is his property to do with what he pleases.

LOOOOOOVED these questions thank you so much nonnie 🥺 sorry for rambling I hope I didn't bore you with all of this gkfahlgahslgh love ur big brain and fun questions :P I can talk about my AUs allllll day so if there's anything else u wanna know u know where i am :3 PLS DON'T BE NERVOUS ILY BBY have a beautiful day!!!

[catierambles]

So as I play ffxiv and level up my classes, I'll write things in my head because I need to be focusing on my rotation and doing something else, mentally, apparently.

Anyway

I have this thing in my head where the US Gov't somehow finds out about the other Shards (they think they're the center of the Shards, because of course they do) but they devise a way to open a gate of some kind to the other Shards. Seeing as they are not the Source, it opens to the Source and they forcibly pull through my WoL (Warrior of Light) across the rift and into our world. She quickly corrects their arrogant wrongthink that they are the center of existence and lets them know there were 13 Shards to begin with counting the Source, 7 of them are gone, 1 has been consumed by Darkness, and 1 was almost consumed by Light but she stopped it. The Shards are all, well, shards (reflections) of her world, Etherys.

They do not treat her well because she's not from their world, they barely even consider her human (even though she is), so why would they treat her with any kind of respect or decency. They take away her weapons, her armor, subject her to all kind of medical examinations, trying to figure her out basically.

After explaining the Source, the Shards, and the Sundering she clams up. She refuses to answer any more of their questions. She stonewalls them, basically. If they're not going to treat her with any shred of decency, she's not going to play ball.

They manage to reach out to Superman because he's from another world, she's from another world, maybe he can get her to open up.

He rips them a new one because of how they've been treating her after basically kidnapping her from her own world and holding her against her will.

He and my WoL talk, he treats her with respect and like an equal and she's very appreciative of this. They even go toe to toe at one point, nothing serious, just messing around and it's basically an unstoppable force (Clark) vs an immovable object (my WoL). Once he realizes she's a lot more resilient than she looks, he takes off the kid gloves and they really go at each other. (At one point, he tries to drop kick her like he did Steppenwolf and she summons her shield at the last moment and just BONG! and she goes nowhere)

They form a friendship. She talks about her experiences with Eorzea and the First and everything she's done and been through. The 3 wars she fought in, ending one and starting and finishing the other two. The multiple "gods" she's taken down, the worlds she's saved, etc. She even tells him that she stopped the Final Days, which would have not only destroyed her world, but all the remaining Shards because they can't exist without the Source. Everyone on Earth owes her their lives, basically, and they have no idea.

Then he overhears that they're planning on "disposing" of her. They're not getting anything they can use, they have no idea how to send her back, and they can't just let her go, so they're going to inject her with a toxin that'll stop her heart the next time they take blood from her for analysis. He goes to her like "We have to leave. Now." Punches a hole in the wall, scoops her up, and takes off.

But they're tracking them via radar or something. Yeah, he can fly faster than the speed of sound, but radar can still pick him up. He figures they're tracking them and tells her and she just goes "drop me".

"What?"

"Trust me." So he does, he drops her and she transforms into the Phoenix (from the 10th Anniversary Rising event that's going on right now). There's a special ability where, as the phoenix, you spin midair and let out this blast of fire. She does this and it's like an EMF. It knocks out their tracking and they completely lose them.

And that's all I got.

[lovecatsys]

Sofia for the ask game

one aspect about them i love

she's a sweetie and a good soul but she can be a bitch when she wants to. the true duality of Sofia Mantega. and i love her so much for it. what's an academy x kid without a little bitchiness? a little rude attitude?

one aspect i wish more people understood about them

honestly this is a hard question to answer because she's such a minor character that hasn't gotten significant attention in like 15 years that like I hardly see people talk about her and whenever I do they're all right. But I guess one thing is that I wish artists remembered that she's brown :/ the only time she was really drawn w dark skin was in the New Mutants book where she was introduced and she's just been getting lighter since then, even to the point where her hair has somehow become red?

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have about this character

I think her powers manifested a bit earlier than most mutants, they came in puberty, probably when she was having some sort of emotional outburst in an argument with her mother– a meaningless argument, of course, something ridiculous and completely lighthearted, just a typical twelve year old having a bit of a tussle with her mom. But her mom immediately accepted her for her mutation, and taught her that it was beautiful, just like her. Her family and community in Venezuela all accepted her as well, she was free to use it whenever she wanted, they all loved her for it. Her mom taught her that she had a unique connection with nature, and never to look down on it. Naturally, the loss of her mother and that community, and meeting her cold and callous father, who refused to acknowledge her mutation, would have been so traumatizing for her. Of course she acted out the way she did, destroying his store like that. She was taught never to be ashamed of her mutation, so why not use it to get the attention of her father? This just makes her whole story hit a lot harder, especially when she loses her powers after M-Day.

one character i love seeing them interact with

Julian, obviously. Never thought I could feel so strongly about a het ship, but they are naturally perfect for each other. I want them to get married on Krakoa! I hate Leah Williams but one thing she did very well in was bringing them back, Julian calling her "beautiful" like he did back in the day, and holding her hand as she was resurrected, that was remarkable.

one character i wish they would interact with/interact with more

I feel like she and Xuân would get along really well. Something about their personalities just makes me think they'd connect.

ALSO Akihiro, idk why but I feel like they'd make a good pair. Maybe it's the pheremone powers/wind powers combination that's appealing, though I'd hope their friendship would be less toxic that Sofia and Laurie's.

one (or more) headcanon(s) i have that involve them and one other character

I think that if Laurie were to go truly evil, Sofia would be the one to stop her. The powers are obviously right for the situation, but I'm also just thinking of Sofia reminding her what she was like when they first met, how she once hated using her powers so much because she feared becoming evil, just like she is now. Sofia would be able to bring her down yes, but also help her realize that she doesn't want this.

[the-kipsabian]

OKAY. SO YEAH. BEEN THINKING ABOUT THIS FOR UH, QUITE SOME TIME. PLS STOP ME IF I GO OFF THE RAILS THOUGH LOL

i guess i kinda went over it in my last fic, but i think when it comes to the belt and its curse, it's not gonna leave easy. like, no. not happening. losing isn't a "get out of being cursed free" card. it gave them fame, power, prestige. it tried to eliminate every possible distraction to ensure complete focus on retaining the title. if someone were to lose the title, there has to be repercussions.

so when one loses the title, i think at first, they need to appear okay. like back to normal, everything's fine, the belt's gone and they lower their guard enough to think that they can finally move on from this nightmare. but then after that false sense of freedom, that's when the real effects kick in. like the hallucinations, which i've been tying to their fears and reasons for wanting the belt. so like for oc, wanting to be taken seriously, afraid that maybe he just got lucky in his career and he is more of a joke, the orange punch failing him because of his arm injury etc. for kip, i know he's talked about that injury and other health issues being a dark time in his life, so incorporating this fear of never really recovering and wasting away, being outcasted for his "weirdness" in the company, wanting validation for his efforts in overcoming all of that.

and of course the more graphic ones where these events are perceived by oc and kip as someone else doing something to them, whether it's enemies, friends, or even themselves or something not even of this world. but from an outsider's perspective, it always looks like they're doing it to themselves (and i tried to be clear on this in my fic but they don't actually want to hurt themselves or anyone else. it's the damn curse of the belt doing this because if you're gonna lose it, it is going to make you suffer for as long as it can, even if that means destroying friendships/relationships).

and then the senses thing. i like to think that the belt sort of dulls things while holding it to make it easier to focus or fight through the pain, so without it, it just turns everything up to 11. sight, sound, smell, taste, touch, everything. it all just goes through the roof and makes even the buzzing of lights sound like a fireworks show. it was probably already enough of an adjustment to go back to normal those first few weeks, but it only gets worse instead of better.

i like to think after they acknowledge that this was the belt's doing and they're not crazy or sick or anything, the hallucinations die down as the message got through, but everything else just comes and goes and it's a matter of adapting to it. like kip says, time doesn't heal you. it changes you. and it's going to change them with how they interact with people, how they interact with each other now knowing what happened to them and that no one else gets it, getting back in the ring and whether they accept opportunities to go after gold again or not (like, could you imagine oc and the best friends getting a chance at the trios titles and oc being the only one hesitant because god. what could those belts do to him or his friends? life isn't the same anymore). it's just a journey to learn how to cope at this point. it's not going away. that belt will forever be around haunting them in one way or another, but they learn to live with it together, helping each other out to keep living as much as they can.

... yeah, this was really unhinged. i'm sorry lol

IM SO LATE TO THIS (and right now probably not in the best condition to reply to this but i finally remembered it existed cause theres so many things in my inbox OH GOD) BUT

first of all. absolutely yes to the normal period after losing the title before the real repercussions, cause ive been thinking about that too. there needs to be a false sense of normalcy for a while, as if its because the belt is gone - the adjust period, but its more or less framed under the sense of them just not being a champion anymore, and not actually the true meaning of losing the belt, which is being free from the curse and corruption. i really love the added layer of it directly targeting the corrupteds fears tho (especially through ones self, seeing the one doing the damage being someone they love), that is a really good touch and tbh im just gonna steal that one for the canon of this au now lol

YEAH YEAH YEAH THE SENSES THO!! ive always thought about the dulling pain part tbh, how it makes sure the host fights through everything no matter what, cause holding the belt is what keeps the curse alive and as the challenges get tougher and the champion more worn out, the stronger the curse needs to be and that means feeling less about the punishment you are going through. so it would absolutely make sense to have it be the opposite after its all gone, and especially during the adjust period that would just be. absolute hell. god yes i love this

also i had absolutely not thought about the part about how going after other belts afterwards would feel like oof. but that would be so true tho. for both of them, single and in teams, that would be such a hard task to undertake and i love the added drama of that tbh. even tho no other belt is cursed (as far as we are aware of? idk house of black is holding the trios titles rn and we know what happened with the elite before), thats such an interesting take to it and absolutely something both of them would think about really hard before going for the titles, or letting their friends go for them. absolutely love this one OOF

i wanted to touch the 'time doesnt heal it changes you' part last cause this is an important topic to me personally, but like. thats so true for this tho. how time wont heal their wounds, physical or mental, about this and what they had to go through, it WILL change them. and it does over the course of the time/story too, as they do both learn to cope with the aftermath of this, both together and separately. they do understand each other better now, they can hold each other up and survive on their own. but its a positive change, they cant stop to dwell on healing wounds that will always be there, but they can move on, learn how to change things. and thats just. thats just what this is about in the end, i think. i just hope they, too, realize this on the way

[pipperoni32-blog]

You Bet Your Heart

By Danielle Parker / 4.5 stars

(Publish date May 30, 2023)

This one was too cute. Exactly what I needed after delving into mysteries and murder for maybe a little too long.

You knew as soon as bets come into play that things were going to backfire later. How could they not? But when Ezra and Sasha learn they're tied for valedictorian, and the accompanying scholarship, Sasha can't stand to leave it up to chance. Instead, they'll set up 3 challenges, and the loser will gracefully tank an assignment to assure the other will win. And Sasha is not going to lose.

Ezra comes on strong, playful and clearly open to rekindling their old friendship. Which makes his moments of sabotage that much more unbalancing. Sasha finds herself adrift, not knowing how to respond or what to think.

There's Kerrie, who seems poised to be a rival. Someone to stand in Sasha's way and trip her up at the worst moment. And maybe be interested in Ezra, from their first interaction. Instead, she falls to the side, never really having a full presence.

Priscilla and Chance are the kind of best friends you always hope for. Ones who support you, are ready to fight your enemies and also tell you the truth, even when you don't want to hear it.

Sasha and Ezra are great rivals. The kind that push each other, and are on a level playing field. They make an even better couple though. Their banter and chemistry is what I live for in romances, and Shelby, there's enough drama for you! They have this sweet, destined-to-be vibe, while also just seeming to fall into each other.

Once I got properly into the book, I couldn't stop reading! This was the right level of grief, heartache, and angst for me. It didn't destroy me, and the sweet moments more than made up for the hard ones. Definitely recommend!

(Thank you to the publishers through NetGalley for providing an ARC!)

[walks-the-ages]

I wasn't really into HTTYD when it released, so watching it later I just kinda shrugged and enjoyed the pretty graphics.

Now, after having read all of the original books (10000% recommend) , you can really see the weird gulf of seperation between HTTYD 1, 2, and 3.

HTTYD 2 is trying to make Hiccup a cool badass who, incidentally, only made a life-changing decision that saved his people and dragonkind from a generations-long war because...

.... Uh it's secretly in his genes because his mom, completely irrationally, did it first.

Even though her reactions make zero sense whatsoever for her situation and she never offers up any proof at all, and it's never explained why Cloudjumper was there, (raiding their village and burning it to the ground!), if he wasn't controlled by The Red Death.

Valka is not shown to be forming a bond with a dragon the way Hiccup did and thus learning the truth about the mind control-- nope, she just randomly insists dragons aren't evil. As they're literally going out of their way to burn down their village, destroy their homes, and steal all their livestock so the Berkians starve and freeze to death over winter 🤷

Purely, purely because the writers of the second movie wanted Hiccup to be Just Like His Mom , even though he lost her when he was a baby still in the crib.

Even if her behavior makes absolutely zero sense.

Her actions in the deep past (randomly insisting that dragons are ~not dangerous~ as they're destroying her village each week) make no sense, nor do her actions in the intervening years or present.

Okay, sure, she never went back to Berk in particular because she was afraid how her husband would react (uhh.... To her getting kidnapped and surviving and coming back to him????) .

But if she truly cared about ~all~ dragons, and she knew from the get-go that The Dragons Raiding Berk Aren't Evil ....

Then why didn't she join up with the King of the Nest to go take down the Red Death to save all of the dragons in that area as well as her home village, without ever having to set foot on Berk if she didn't want to? Why did she, who apparently knows better, allow the Red Death to continue a decades-long attack on her home island, killing countless villagers and dragons, if she apparently knew the truth and had an entire army of dragons at her disposal to free the dragons from her control and ensure her family and tribe survived?

Oh wait, it's because the writers don't actually care about telling a consistent, coherent story lol. They just want flashy effects and pretty dragons they can market , otherwise they'd have actually followed the books's plot and made a story of epic proportions that could have spanned 6+ movies if they really, really wanted it to.

Annnnd then there's HTTYD 3. Which completely throws the supposed morale established in the previous two movies

"you should look past learned prejudice to actually get to know people for who they really are, and work on being accessible, inclusive, and understanding of other people/cultures" + "dragons are literally people even if we can't speak the same language"

to instead go with a PETA -esque narrative of

"dragons are just wild animals, they're not people , and they will abandon decades of friendship the split second a hot female comes along" + "minorities who are targeted by hate groups should just go hide away from the rest of society and pretend they don't exist, fighting for compassion and equal rights is doomed to failure so why are you even trying?"

HTTYD 3 is crap for many, many reasons, which other people have articulated in ways better than I have here.

It's a random, desperate attempt to get the same ending as the books, even though it makes zero sense for this complete alternate timeline established with the first movie, and it loses all of its meaning and impact by doing so.

Especially because they tried to do the whole "separation" thing and then immediately followed it up with a Christmas special of toothless and his kids going to visit Hiccup (and I guess hiccup and Astrid haven't told their kids literally anything about dragons because their kids are prejudiced against them as being scary monsters lmao. Yeah makes TOTAL sense for hiccup and Astrid.... Not! )

and then the 9 Realms Show (complete crap lol ) further derails the Attempted Significance of HTTYD 3 by saying "psych! Hiccup and his family actually went and lived the rest of their lives in the hidden world!" And it's just like. Okay. Why though. What does that accomplish other than undermining your own messages.

thinking about 2014…that was genuinely the first time I had ever been let down let down by fiction/a franchise. Like, I didn’t love Riders of Berk but I had such high hopes for HTTYD2. I genuinely believed it was going to be just as incredible as HTTYD1. I was definitely too old to believe that and when I saw the movie I was just. Crushed. 

[strangeswift]

This season five scenario is 100% completely inspired by this post by @stargrlism

Jonathan and Will are staying with the Wheelers. Most likely Jonathan is meant to take the guest room or something but he sneaks into Nancy's room at night. We get a scene of Jancy in Nancy's bed together, laying facing each other and looking at each other with so much love. The camera is above them so the shot looks like this one:

(Stole this image from that same post)

(Except this time they're facing each other like I said) So theyre gazing lovingly, but then Nancy averts her eyes, looking suddenly upset. In this moment she is reminded of how deeply she loves Jonathan. And with everything going on and all of them being in danger every day, she is terrified of losing him. She knows that losing him would destroy her, and that scares her. Jonathan obviously picks up on her sudden change of mood and asks her what's wrong.

Then we get a different angle, maybe something like this one:

(Except Jonathan would prop up on his elbow or something and be facing her, so they're both in frame?)

Then Nancy quietly admits that she's scared of losing him. Maybe she just simply says, "I can't lose you." And Jonathan understands what she means.

Jonathan reassures her, "Hey. You're not gonna lose me. I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." And they share a soft tender lil kiss. We can tell from Nancy's face that his words put her at ease. Then Jonathan pulls Nancy into him and holds her tight.

Then we cut DIRECTLY to Will and Mike in Mike's bedroom.

(At this point they have not confessed their feelings for each other. But Mike and El have broken up. And Mike and Will have been attached at the hip, there's been plenty of gay pining, and more heart to hearts and flirting, basically just status quo of what we saw in season four.)

The shot is a birds eye view, above them just just like the first shot of the previous Jancy scene. But this shot is wider because it includes both Mike's bed and the floor next to it, where Will is laying in a sleeping bag or maybe on a mattress on the floor. They are both staring up at the ceiling, wide awake.

Then Mike quietly asks if Will is awake. Will responds, "Yeah." And there is a beat of silence that goes on just a little too long to be comfortable, when Mike reluctantly asks, "Can you... can you just come up here?"

We see the surprise on Will's face. He lays still for a second before saying, "Yeah," for a second time, and climbing into Mike's bed.

Now we get the tighter shot that looks more like this one:

Except probably they're both still staring at the ceiling (not into the camera though, only Jonathan gets to do that). They're on edge laying so close to each other, they're both nervous.

After a few moments Will clears his throat and asks, "You okay?"

Mike turns to face Will, and Will mirrors him. Now the angle changes again and we get the shot that parallels the previous Jancy scene of them looking at each other.

Mike now essentially admits to Will that he's scared of losing him, but it's different than Nancy's confession. In part so that the scenes aren't too similar and they don't feel redundant, but also because Nancy didn't need to elaborate much, as she and Jonathan are established and he knew what she was feeling. Will doesn't know what Mike is feeling.

Mike says something like, "I feel like I'm still messing up with you." Mike is concerned about losing Will due to his own actions (or lack of action) in addition to being scared about Vecna.

Will seems a little caught of guard as he asks, "What do you mean?" Will is far too in love with Mike to hold a grudge even if he wanted to.

Mike looks nervous as he says, "I don't know. I just. I feel like... things are better between us, but they're not how they used to be."

We see the guilt on Will’s face. He thinks that their friendship not returning to the way it once was is his fault. His fault for having these feelings and for hiding them.

But then Mike continues, "And I feel like it's my fault because I'm not being honest with you."

Will looks surprised again and asks, "What aren't you being honest about?"

And Mike looks incredibly anxious as he responds, "I can't tell you. I... I don't want to lose you."

Will's face softens as he firmly says, "You won't. Mike, you won't."

Mike nods as the tears start to flow, and he see Will pause for a moment, deciding whether this is a good idea before pulling Mike into him and hugging him tightly.

Mike begins to cry, and Will rubs his back subtlety with his fingers (exactly how he did in Max's hospital room).

"You're stuck with me." Will jokes, but Mike doesn't laugh, just hugs him tighter, his face buried in Will’s chest.

End scene. We don't get our confession quite yet. But obviously Will is now wondering what Mike isn't being honest about. He soon finds out that Mike is hiding the fact that he's in love with him. Confessions happen, kisses happen, the audience cheers, we have world peace.

[pianostarinwonderland]

Thoughts on Episode 4 of Masquerade

Can you still believe that this is not the last part yet? I can't.

In general, I absolutely love that this part really makes the characters shine, especially the SSR characters.

Epel gets to protect Riddle using his UM!! Riddle makes himself the bait at first but eventually he gets affected by the flowers, so Epel protects him. It just makes me so proud of how far Epel had come from the start of the game. We can discuss and argue about the semantics of Epel having a UM during Halloween when he got it around Feb-March (when chapter 6 is supposedly set), but honestly, it doesn't really matter to me when we get to see this kind of growth from him. 🥹

Riddle willing to sacrifice himself 🥺 he's truly such a noble character. He also mentions how the Queen of Hearts would march into battle. An allusion to the live action Alice in Wonderland? :0

Ruggie and Jamil are the bastards as always. They use their UMs to make the NBC students as bait, and I think that's pretty funny of them. Go boys, do what you need to do.

Actually, I'm pretty surprised that they're all using their UMs when the flowers would absorb their magic. UMs use up a lot of power too, I'd think that that would be such a risky move.

Deuce protecting Idia from the falling chandelier!! That part made me feel so proud of him. He got a twisted ankle from it, though. 😭 It also kind of mirrors how Meg pushed Hercules away from the falling pillar in the Hercules movie and ended up dead. So, Meg!Deuce??????

Can't leave this post without mentioning that brief cut to Ace going, "Man, everyone must be having a great time in NBC." then going back to Deuce aggressively weeding out plants.

Rook meanwhile... I love how he can be himself despite everything. 🥺 Idia volunteered to stay with Deuce just so he'd stop running, but Rook interprets that as him being grateful to Deuce for saving him. And then he even makes Deuce say 'oui'............ the rookification of Deuce Spade...................

Sebek, though! Thank him for actually calling out Idia's complaining. Idia complains about how he wasn't left behind, but Sebek yells at him for it since it's like he's sullying Deuce's efforts to save him. Which is fair honestly, I think I would have been the same in Sebek's place. 😂

And Silver! I love how he managed to protect Azul, and I also love how he was the one who calms everyone down. We stan a chill guy like Silver.

And the way that he and Sebek fight the flowers!! Both of them really just teamed up and went, "There's nothing we can lose to when we fight together." Like girl 😭 SebeSil stans got fucking fed this event, congratulations. They were even protecting each other, with Sebek going, "Silver behind you!" and Silver going, "Sebek, to your right!" Like bro 🥺 And the way that they both made it a competition to see who can take out the most flowers!!! I swear, they may act mature (kind of), but they are Boys at heart. They just have a little rivalry........

Now onto the three SSR characters because save the best for last.

I will proceed to be annoying for the next 5 bullet points.

First off, I just love how Azul's not afraid to call out on Idia's bullshit. 😂 "Please give up on giving up" and even making him move to the back of the line when it was just the three of them so that Idia actually does shit. I love how he has that bluntness, but it does come with the friendship too.

And secondly, the moment that I am still down bad for: Azul getting rid of the flowers without damaging the tower.

Fucking bear with me here: none of the other characters attempted to destroy the flowers because they would absorb their magic. It would take so much magical power to make them wither, and the only other person who was able to get rid of them was Malleus. And we already know how terrifyingly powerful Malleus is. And even then, that caused his power to get wiped out (makes you also wonder just how much flowers within the vicinity he was able to take out).

But then Azul was able to do it. He was able to do it guys, he did it.

What's more is that he did it without destroying any of the architecture. It takes a great amount of power to take out the flowers, and that could definitely damage the tower. In chapter 6, it was seen that his magic is very precise. And you really get to see this here, because Azul concentrated his magic on the flowers and ensured that it wouldn't touch any of the walls of the tower. So effectively, he was able to get rid of the flowers without compromising Idia's and Malleus' safety (and preventing them from paying NBC for damages lmao).

What I would even love to add to this is that when the flowers surrounded them at first, Malleus volunteered to take them out, but Azul stopped him so that he could conserve his energy. And he says he'd take it out, but then Idia tells him to just let Malleus do it. That caused Azul to yell at him to shut up and let him concentrate, but think right here: Can you imagine how much his ego probably got hurt because of that comment? Like, everyone is very well aware that the strongest person with them is Malleus, so of course you'd want him to do the biggest work. But imagine just hearing that over and over and having someone say the equivalent of "let him do it because he's the only one capable of doing it". That shit definitely would hurt his pride, and Azul just... proved it in front of the two of them that he was capable of taking out the flowers with his own magic.

And he got praised by the Malleus Draconia. Please, I'm so happy for him, you don't understand.

As for Idia, him being a bitch is understandably annoying, but it's also funny and a mood. There's so much to say here about him.

First of all, you really get to see his genius shine. When he was tasked with taking care of the flowers, he uses the handkerchiefs he bought to be bait for the flowers. They held a tiny bit of magic, but the thing is, Idia tinkered with them while he was drinking his grape juice earlier, so the handkerchiefs are now much stronger and contain more magic.

Also confetti whee

But more than that, when they read Rollo's diary, Idia went really silent. And it reached a point where Azul had to tell him that no matter what, Rollo is still their enemy. Like... poor guy. Whatever was in Rollo's diary impacted him so much. It's such a sharp juxtaposition from how self-centered he was the entire event. Suddenly, he's empathetic to the point that he couldn't say anything.

... though on that note, Rollo leaving his diary in the student board room of all places is pretty funny.

Anyway, onto Malleus. I really think he did so much this part.

Absolutely love how when Silver said "look at Malleus, be calm like him", he immediately says that he's thinking of how to make Rollo feel terrible for falsely inviting him. 😂 Go Malleus, beat his ass for wronging you like that. I fully support.

When he froze from the talking gargoyle!! That. Was so cute. Like, I was smiling a lot when the gargoyle was poking him 😭 and then Malleus just suddenly unfroze and then formally introduced himself. He looked so so happy, and that had to be the most adorable thing. 🥺 And he wanted to save the gargoyle when the flowers started growing around them... I felt so bad for him in that moment because he couldn't save someone dear to him.

You know, I really like that he couldn't save the gargoyle in that moment. I think one of my favorite things about how Malleus was written in this event is that we really see just how much people look up to him. They see him as this super powerful mage who should be the one to solve the problem at the end of the day. And Malleus is very well aware of his power and of how people perceive him. He takes it all in, and he expects himself to do the job done. That's why when it came to taking out the flowers, he was the first to volunteer.

Even in the entire game, Malleus was always looked up for being powerful. But here, it's not the case. He had his power drained to the point that he couldn't fly. We actually see Silver and Sebek being able to do their jobs as guards. And we see him having to rely on the others so that he could make it to the tower. When he was going to go to save the gargoyle, he had to be stopped by Azul and Idia because he needed to conserve his energy. And now, if he wants the gargoyle to be alright, he has to rely on the bell of salvation.

I kind of wonder how he feels about this. But it's also a pretty neat change of pace from the usual 'Malleus is all powerful' narrative. And it shows something more relatable about him. I don't know, I admit that I'm rambling, but yeah. I like Malleus' writing in this event, I'm really glad for it.

[astorytotellyourfriends]

LUKEBOBBY SECRET RELATIONSHIP

The first time it happens, they're both drunk. Bobby wakes up in Luke's bed with a terrible hangover and little to no memory of how he got there. Unlike Bobby, Luke has some weird vendetta against putting any sort of curtain over his windows so the sun is shining directly through them and beating down on Bobby's face.

Bobby's first thought upon waking up is fuck the sun, but then he realizes where he is and who's next to him and his next thought is what the fuck.

Luke's got his arm slung low over Bobby's hips and after a cursory check under the comforter, Bobby confirms that they're both naked. He's not sure if that's a relief or cause for more worry, honestly. Either way, he's pretty sure something happened last night, even if he can't really remember it.

Bobby shuts his eyes to try and block out the sun, weighing his options in his head: he could try and go back to sleep here in the blinding daylight, or he could risk running into Alex or Reggie if he were to try and sneak back to his own room on the other side of the loft.

With a heavy exhale through his mouth, Bobby decides getting up is the better option. There's no way he's gonna be able to get back to sleep with the stupid sun lighting up the entire room.

He shoves Luke's arm off of him, probably a little rougher than he should, and has to pause in his movements when he sits up because his head suddenly feels like it's throbbing and spinning at the same time. Stupid hangover.

While Bobby's distracted, Luke wakes up. He's barely conscious but he has the wherewithal to realize that Bobby's trying to leave, and so he takes it upon himself to perform his best octopus impression and yanks Bobby back down onto the mattress.

"Goddammit," Bobby grumbles as Luke knocks their heads together, snickering into Bobby's ear as he settles with his body half-draped over Bobby's and refuses to move another inch.

"S'early," Luke mumbles, his nose brushing against Bobby's neck as he speaks.

"Luke," Bobby starts, his throat going dry as Luke runs one of his hands down Bobby's side. It tickles and he jerks under Luke, his breathing going shallow when Luke's hand continues below his waist. "Fuck," he whispers.

Luke hums, his smile bleeding through his voice as if it's not pressed into Bobby's skin already. Bobby's eyes roll back in his head when Luke's hand finds what it was searching for and suddenly Bobby doesn't care about the sun anymore.

After that, they seem to spend a lot of time in each other's beds.

Bobby's fine with it, honestly. It's an unspoken loft rule that dating between the four of them is frowned upon. Not strictly forbidden, because they're not stupid enough to think that any one of them can control the others, but why would they run the risk of not only ruining their living space but also their friendships? If something went wrong, everything would be destroyed.

So maybe keeping this a secret isn't that terrible. Bobby really doesn't want to have to try and explain it to Alex or Reggie anyway, so he's perfectly happy keeping his mouth shut.

Though sometimes Luke makes that incredibly difficult. But the best part is that Bobby gives just as good as he takes, and he relishes in making Luke lose control.

Besides, their friendship can't get hurt if this is all in good fun, right? What's a couple orgasms among best friends, as long as everyone's happy? Bobby can't imagine that there would be an instance where he would turn down an orgasm, especially not after learning just how good Luke is when it comes to that sort of thing.

The problem is, once Bobby knows about that side of Luke, he starts noticing a lot more about him too. Before they started hooking up, he was pretty sure he knew everything there was to know about Luke Patterson, but oh was he wrong.

Luke is thoughtful. Bobby knew he was a good friend, but now every time he does something nice for Bobby - "just because!" he says - it does something to Bobby's heart. His chest seizes and his throat closes up, and that feeling doesn't go away until he's able to get Luke alone and kiss him senseless.

Things could've gone on like this for ages, Bobby's sure of it, if this one little thing didn't pop up out of fucking nowhere and bring Bobby's entire world crashing down on him. The day he realizes that he's in love with Luke is the same fucking day Luke goes on a date with someone else.

The kicker is that Bobby isn't even thinking about Luke. He's perfectly happy spending the day sprawled on the giant couch in the loft's living room, relishing in the peace and quiet that comes with him and Reggie being the only ones home.

Reggie comes out of his room and collapses on the other side of the couch, sighing happily as he wriggles around until he's comfortable. Bobby snorts a little, tilting his head to look at Reggie for a couple of seconds before he shakes his head and goes back to staring off into space.

"Aww," Reggie says a few minutes later, bringing Bobby back down to Earth. "Look!"

Bobby turns to see Reggie holding his phone out to him, and it takes a second for Bobby to realize that he's showing him an Instagram story. Bobby groans and shifts closer to get a better look at it, and within a few seconds he wishes he'd never seen it at all.

On the surface, it's a photo of Alex and Willie with a cute, obligatory "date night" caption. In the background is Luke and a girl Bobby's never seen before. His mind immediately jumps to conclusions that he'd much rather not even think about, but the damage is already done.

"N-Nice," he forces himself to say, and Reggie pulls his phone back. Bobby settles back down into his spot on the couch, but his mind is stuck on Luke in that photo.

He should've known better. Of course there was a reason why they never talked about what they were doing. It was just a friends with benefits thing, a placeholder until Luke found someone he actually wanted to date. He could never actually date Bobby.

Bobby's crushed to discover that somewhere along the line, he started wanting to date Luke. He didn't want to keep them a secret anymore. Maybe he wanted to post a photo of them on his Instagram story. Well, if he had an Instagram, anyway.

"Hey," Reggie says, tapping Bobby's forehead. "You okay?"

"Huh?"

"I asked if you wanted to order food and you didn't answer," Reggie says as he sits up, turning around on the couch to get a better look at Bobby. "You okay?"

"Y-Yeah," Bobby says shakily as he sits up, letting out a nervous laugh as he runs his hands through his hair. "Sorry, guess I spaced out."

"No worries," Reggie replies with a smile. "So, food?"

Bobby nods. "Sounds good."

"Cool. I was thinking Chinese, but…"

Reggie's voice fades into the background as Bobby sinks back into his own head, wishing so badly he could rewind the last twenty minutes and go back to blissful ignorance.

What's he going to do when Luke comes home? He's absolutely not going to cause a scene in front of Alex or Reggie, he'd die of embarrassment. Maybe he's blowing it all out of proportion, maybe that girl is just a friend.

Or maybe Luke would just laugh in his face if Bobby admitted that he wants more. He can't take the risk. He can't.

"Bobby? Dude?"

Reggie waves his hand in front of Bobby's face and Bobby jerks away.

"Are you sure you're--"

"Actually," Bobby says, swallowing hard as he gets to his feet. "Raincheck on the food?"

"O-Okay," Reggie frowns as Bobby makes his way to the front door. "Where are you going?"

"I just-- I forgot, I have something to do," Bobby says cryptically as he grabs his keys and leaves the loft without another word.

He can't stay in the loft, not when Luke could come back any time. He takes the elevator down to the first floor, unsure of where he's gonna go when the doors open. He'll figure something out.

filled prompts

[gyroshrike]

gamzee or feferi for ask game?

For the “Send me a character and I’ll tell you…” ask game

Gonna pick Feferi because someone else sent me Gamzee!

Also, this ask has talk about pailing and a bit of kink! In case anyone isn't comfy with that, here's your heads up!

My NOTP for them - I... don't know if I have one? Not super into Feferi and Cronus, which I have seen around  here and there. But it's a ship so off my radar that I don't even think about it that much. That's the closest I got though.

My BROTP for them - Love me some good bro feels between Feferi and Eridan ngl. In a perfect world, there's that whole feeling of two kids who grew up together, had an emotional catalyst in their relationship, distanced from each other while they figured themselves out, and then were able to renew their friendship, platonic and stronger than ever. Love that. That's the dynamic I like for them. I adore the kind of camaraderie that comes with knowing each other since diapers. There's that level of "even though I kind of can't stand you right now, very few people know you better than me." And I also love the concept that even at their peak distance, where they are getting along the least, they still care about the other an unfathomable amount and they always will.

My OTP for them - I'm going to make the poly question hard on myself, but my otp's for her are either Aradia♥️/♦️Sollux♥️/♦️Feferi (both flushed or a mishmash of pale and flushed) and Eridan♠️Sollux♥️Feferi. Aradia and Feferi are both weirdly morbid in their own ways and I think they'd bond over that. Erisolfef is especially fun to play with for sexual encounters, because how haywire would it make your brain to have your pitch and flushed partner at the same time? Especially if you hc that flushed and pitch interactions activate different hormones/chemicals.

My second choice pairing for them - Solfef in general is just really cute. I LOVE the contrast between the terrible circumstances between the Condesce and Psiionic and then the sweet matespritship of Sollux and Feferi. Defying destiny/changing the patterns of your predecessors is one of my fav fav fav things.

My fluffy pairing for them - Not necessarily ship, but Feferi being close with Rose so they can bond over their appreciation of eldritch beings is A+. I want them to talk to the horrorterrors together. Also Rose being goth with the hc of Feferi being the troll equivalent of goth (because she wears bright colors) is so freaking cute.

I also love Feferi and Jade being super great friends. They're both so sweet and bubbly and adorable and excitable. Feferi putting so much faith in the horrorterrors as Jade did in her clouds, idk I just think they have a lot in common and it would have been neat to see them be friends. JadeFef would be super cute tbh??? An AU with Jade on an island and Feferi is the merfolk who visits her.

My angsty pairing for them - this is more just a scenario than a fleshed out dynamic, and not even close to being a full on ship, but I've got one with Feferi and Gamzee. Basically Gamzee goes and begs Feferi to have the horrorterrors enact retribution upon him for the terrible things he's done. He can't handle the guilt and seeks her for punishment. (Ngl this was born as an idea for a femdom tentacle kink fic LMAO)

My favorite poly ship for them - Eheheheh, well I think I got the poly thing taken care of. Oh, but I really enjoy Equisolfef with Equius joining for pailing sometimes. Especially with Feferi sweetly ordering Equius to basically destroy Sollux LMAO

My weirdest pairing for them - this stems off the previous answer, but LOVE me from Equifef. This is mostly a ship I visit for sexual dynamics than a quadrant or romantic ones. Equius getting ordered around by THE highest blood? The heiress? Are you MAD? He'd freaking explode and I love that. Equius would lose his absolute goddamn mind and enjoy every moment of it.

Here, wait, wait, wait, I've got something:

This is the kind of dynamic I like for them. Just the sweetest of doms Feferi and the most willing of subs Equius. I have not been able to stop thinking about them for WEEKS.

I also enjoy situations where Nepeta is there the first few times (platonically) as his moirail to help take care of him in case he gets too overwhelmed or has trouble stating his boundaries to Feferi. Nepeta would cradle his head during, running her fingers through his hair and making sure he's doing okay. I especially like if Feferi is the one who requested she be there because she doesn't want to hurt Equius.

The whole thing has so much of Feferi being extra careful of Equius and making sure he's comfortable and also completely ruining him.

[thosch3i]

The finale of Ultimate Note airs 12/9 (tonight in China) for VIP. Thank you to this drama for bringing me my favorite Iron Triangle ❤ Longer discussion of why I love it so much, and why I strongly recommend it to book fans (especially those upset with certain previous adaptations) below the cut, apologies if it’s not fully coherent at times because I haven’t slept enough and also it’s almost 1am. But your TLDR is basically: characterization, plot, pacing, relationships are the best of any DMBJ drama. Iron Triangle especially.

First, the pacing of this show is excellent. Pretty much all cdramas I’ve seen or heard of have been inundated with filler, and the previous DMBJ dramas fall victim to this as well. Ultimate Note took 36 episodes to cover 4 book arcs, whereas previous adaptations have taken more episodes to cover far fewer. There’s really not any content you’d be wanting to skip, as almost all of it is plot-relevant or character-relevant.

Second, the plot is the most cohesive out of any DMBJ adaptation. Frankly, this isn’t saying too much, given the novel plot can also be confusing as all hell sometimes, but Ultimate Note goes above and beyond in pulling in information from later books and, if I heard correctly, common fan theories, doing their best to fill in the plot holes left by the author to create a more complete story.

Third, the female characters are actually done well. (As well as they can be, given the source material’s unfortunate habit of fridging its women.) For example, A-Ning’s decision to go the Tamutuo wasn’t because she was ~in love~ with some man. She is a determined individual who has made her choice about her path a long time ago, and she is willing to risk death to achieve her goals. Even her death was done about as well as it could have been--it wasn’t drawn out to the point of it being sickeningly cheesy, and Wu Xie tried his best to honor her goals and bring her to the Palace of the Queen Mother of the West (even emphasizing to Pangzi, “if you died, I would carry you too”). In addition, Chen Wenjin wasn’t stuck in some ridiculous love triangle. She loved Wu Sanxing, of course, but her loving a man isn’t made out to be her entire personality. Her goodbye to Xie Lianhuan is poignant but not mushy. She’s steady and sure in her goals, and she knows what she has to do in order to save herself. Yuncai’s character, as well, I think was handled about as well as it could’ve been given the source material. Her relationship with Pangzi wasn’t overexaggerated and nauseating, and I think their relationship was more tolerable in the drama than it was in the novel overall. (In addition, I prefer how they handled her death in the drama versus the novel--instead of just killing her offscreen, they give her a redemption, and show how she’d grown attached to her new friends, Pangzi especially, resulting in her hesitation to deal the final blow.)

Related to the above point: no added forced romances that destroyed the female characters’ personalities and reduced them to just love interests for men, thank god. Pangzi and Yuncai’s relationship was already there in the novel, but nothing about their relationship was distorted in the drama to the point of being annoying, and Yuncai is shown to have her own goals for cozying up to Pangzi (at first, at least). If you want to get technical about “added romances”, you could honestly argue that it’s Pingxie. (And Hei///hua, but I’ll be honest and say they’re not my cup of tea, so I won’t really be discussing them. However, I do think their characters, while also exaggerated for humor at points, were also done well, and their relationship--while AFAIK was not a really a thing in the books at all?--was written in a way that the development made sense, and their personalities compatible.)

But anyway, while Ultimate Note does make Pingxie seem closer to each other than they were in the novel, we do have to remember that the novel is from Wu Xie’s point of view, and he’s a little bit of a blockhead when it comes to noticing how much Xiaoge cares about him. (IIRC, he wonders if Xiaoge even considers him a friend in Zang Hai Hua...after Xiaoge’s literally called him his “only connection” to this world in book 8.) However, from an outsider POV, it’d be natural for us to see Xiaoge worrying more over Wu Xie. Because from Wu Xie’s perspective, what did he actually see? Xiaoge dropping in to save him a few times and often vanishing or turning away right after, leaving Wu Xie with mixed feelings and confusion about his value to Xiaoge. Xiaoge being aloof before they set off to Tamutuo, claiming that he is a person with no past and future, and that no one would remember him if he disappeared. (Xiaoge smiles before telling Wu Xie that he’s on Wu Xie’s side--that’s a smile that the viewers see, but that Wu Xie doesn’t.) Most of Xiaoge’s visible worry for Wu Xie in the desert was also when Wu Xie himself was not there to see it. During the scene where the fungus was growing in Wu Xie’s stomach, he was entirely out of it while Xiaoge visibly panicked about hurting him, and after the fungus was dealt with, Xiaoge only stood off to the side--only to smile faintly to himself, relieved, after Wu Xie wakes up. (Again a smile that the viewers see, but that Wu Xie doesn’t.) But because from an outsider POV we can see all this, while Wu Xie remains partly ignorant, lines like “thankfully, I didn’t bring death upon you” and Xiaoge calling Wu Xie is only connection to the world seem that much more logical, now that we can see some of the depth and development of how much Xiaoge does care about Wu Xie.

That brings me to the primary reason why I love Ultimate Note, because the main selling point for me on any franchise is not actually world-building or plot, but rather the characters and the relationships between those characters. And for DMBJ, the relationship I’m always looking for--and the relationship that the entire franchise ultimately centers around--is the Iron Triangle. And the mutual trust and the strength of the bond between this Iron Triangle is unmistakable; no one is treated as expendable.

As much as we have joked about Xiaoge's double standards with Wu Xie versus Pangzi, the end of the Banai arc especially and the last five episodes have cemented the importance of Xiaoge and Pangzi's friendship. Their relationship is often the weakest leg of the Iron Triangle in DMBJ adaptations, but Ultimate Note has nailed it. Pangzi helps carry Xiaoge out of Tamutuo, and Pangzi's the one who primarily takes care of Xiaoge after he loses his memories. There's also Xiaoge's clear worry over Pangzi after Yuncai's death, and his assurance that Pangzi won't die as long as he is here in the later episodes when the two of them are separated from Wu Xie--showing that the Iron Triangle is a triangle; Wu Xie isn't the single connection that Xiaoge and Pangzi's relationship hinges upon.

Pangzi and Wu Xie's friendship doesn't need much explaining: the two of them bicker like they're brothers, and they could probably star in their own buddy-cop comedy together. Both Pangzi and Xiaoge are shown to be clearly worried for Wu Xie after the Xie Lianhuan reveal, and even though neither of them quite know how to handle it, they are there for Wu Xie. And of course, there's the scene where Pangzi pours out the water while they're waiting for Xiaoge to leave the meteorite. Wu Xie cries for Pangzi when they're in the Miluotuo cave and he chooses to carry out Xiaoge first, and once again, his worry for Pangzi after Yuncai's death is palpable. Even when Wu Xie has to leave Pangzi in Banai, he instructs Xiaoge to look after him (not that Xiaoge really needed the instruction, anyway--that’s his best friend, too).

Wu Xie and Xiaoge's relationship needs even less explaining: anyone who's watched the show can attest to how much they care about each other. From Wu Xie's frantic scrambling to grab the tapes upon hearing they were from "Zhang Qiling" and Xiaoge's introduction in the show being him stopping outside Wushanju to stare up (longingly?) at the sign, we see their relationship unfold in all of its quiet pining and lingering looks. When Xiaoge claims no one would know if he disappeared from this world, Wu Xie doesn't hesitate in promising that he, at least, will. Xiaoge smiles before telling Wu Xie that he's on his side, and Wu Xie vows to walk with Xiaoge until the very end. During the entire Tamutuo trip, Xiaoge is visibly worried for Wu Xie--when the parasitic fungus grew in his stomach, that worry was the most clear. But Wu Xie worries for Xiaoge too: insisting on going to save Xiaoge from the snakes that night when they all went blind; swearing that even if he faces death, he would wait for Xiaoge to leave the meteorite; telling Xiaoge that he will take him home. (Related: the soft, almost vulnerable way Xiaoge tells Wu Xie “take me home” in episode 31.) Not to mention--even when Xiaoge loses his memories, he still remembers Wu Xie. (And Pangzi smiles knowingly right after that scene.)

There are too many character/relationship moments I could write about, but one that stuck out in particular was when they were facing the spiders, and Wu Xie stopped Xiaoge from cutting his hand and using his blood to make the spiders retreat. At this point, Wu Xie and Pangzi don't know the extent of how Xiaoge was (mis)treated as a child (and used as a blood bag, apparently), but they know about how "A-Kun" was captured used as bait. Wu Xie and Pangzi would never ask Xiaoge to bleed for them, no matter what. Not now, let alone 10+ years later. (I won't name names, but if you know what I'm talking about, then you know.)

Which brings me to my main point: the characters in Ultimate Note are the closest to their novel selves I have ever seen in a DMBJ adaptation, and this is objectively the best adaptation of the DMBJ novel. (Whether you prefer another adaption or not is your opinion--I absolutely love the Time Raiders movie, even though that plot is literally all over the place, and Xiaoge is decently OOC--but Ultimate Note is the best adaptation of the novel, and the characters are the most true to what they actually should be.)

You can see the innocent and naïve Wu Xie, but you can also see the developing confusion, frustration, and anger he feels because he's been lead around by his nose his entire life. And he is angry in the novel; he is a bit of a hot-headed bastard; he's not just a naïve child. I remember seeing some complaints that Wu Xie felt "OOC" in the first episode for being so furious with his San-shu, but I think his reactions were spot-on with how he felt, and how he wanted to react. A similar point is the scene where Wu Xie slammed Xiaoge against the car--aside from just being some fun fanservice, in the novel Wu Xie really was furious at Xiaoge for vanishing on him and never contacting him after leaving the Heavenly Palace in the Clouds. A lot of the novel is Wu Xie's inner thoughts, which are difficult to portray in a live action adaptation, but he really did pretty much want to pick a fight with Xiaoge about disappearing, and  Ultimate Note decided on how to express this frustration in a way that suits a drama adaptation. In addition, you can see how Wu Xie’s past experiences like the trip to Tamutuo has changed him in how he manipulates Panma into bringing him to the lake; and you can see how almost losing Xiaoge and Pangzi to the Miluotuo changed him as well, when he thinks he’s lost them for real in episode 36 (leading up to his decision to put on his San-shu’s mask by the end, despite the fact that “some masks, when worn too long, can no longer be taken off”).

As for Pangzi: even though he has scenes that were clearly exaggerated for comic relief, he has plenty of moments that build his character and the Iron Triangle’s bond. These include him pouring out the water while he and Wu Xie are waiting for Xiaoge, his grief over Yuncai’s death, his standing by Wu Xie during the hotel auction scene, and his almost mother-hen-like worry about Xiaoge while they’re entering the Zhang Family Mansion in the last five episodes. Not to mention, he’s really quite a smart and perceptive character, despite his goofiness: he sees through Xiaoge’s worry about Wu Xie, and he knows when to step in and liven the atmosphere (see: Wu Xie being all awkward about his gift to Xiaoge in episode 31, and Pangzi being there practically just for emotional support). Also in episode 31: Pangzi telling Xiaoge that he’s getting more and more humane (the implications about Wu Xie here are pretty obvious). All in all, Pangzi is a funny person; he is often comic relief, but he’s also a steadfastly loyal friend and someone who loves deeply and without regret. Initially we saw more of his humor, but we definitely got the depths to his character by the end of Ultimate Note.

Finally Xiaoge, who I’m discussing last because he’s my favorite character: for once, I can see the humanity behind the title “Zhang Qiling”, and in a way that isn’t OOC. Xiaoge isn’t treated as a free source of bug-repelling blood; he isn’t treated as some overpowered, untouchable idol; he isn’t treated as a rescue machine for whenever another character needs it. He is a human, not a god. For the rest, I think his actor’s words speak for themselves. (And now I really don’t trust anyone else except him with Xiaoge's character.)

Ultimate Note succeeded in capturing the nuances of its main characters: Wu Xie’s loss of his “tianzhen” and slow maturation to the man he will eventually become by Sha Hai; Pangzi’s outwardly humorous pseudo-caricature but inwardly deeply loyal and loving spirit; Xiaoge’s vulnerabilities, painful humanity, and the “heart” given to him by his mother, hidden beneath a seemingly impenetrable armor. This is an Iron Triangle that feels like the Iron Triangle, without needing say so much in words. This is an Iron Triangle with mutual respect and a friendship I can see and believe in.

In conclusion: Ultimate Note does the story justice; it does the characters justice; it does the relationships justice; and it did all this with a low budget and almost no promotion. You can tell the crew definitely cares about the source material.

My only complaint is that they couldn’t film the finale.

Rambling over! All my love to the Ultimate Note cast and crew <3