#bc he has every reason to feel betrayed in this game

[devilfic]

me going into marvel's spider-man 2 expecting to be unwell levels of horny for venom, only to come out of it attracted to harry osborn:

[pyrodolls]

yandere kung lao I’m begginf,,,,

self aware! yandere kung lao x reader pt.1

warnings: mk1 story mode spoilers, obsessiveness, gender neutral reader, ooc kung lao, self aware kung lao

summary: kung lao is aware he is in a video game, and he just loves you so much. he just wishes he didn’t have to be behind a screen.

a/n: anon im so sorry it took me a bit to get to this, anyways i decided to mix it up and make kung lao self aware bc i thought my yandere hcs were getting too repetitive and i am also a diehard SAGAU fan. (also sorry for my mini break, finals week is crazy man.)

part 2

- kung lao *hated* being stuck behind a screen. behind a stupid wall. away from you.

- you were just a regular mortal kombat fan. when mortal kombat 1 was announced, you were just so excited to get your hands on the game.

- you watched playthroughs before you could buy the game, and you were so happy when you found out that you could play as kung lao in the first chapter of story mode.

- when you got your hands on the game, you noticed that every time he had a funny one-liner in the story mode, he would look at the camera and wink. that’s weird… he didn’t do that in the playthroughs you watched… but oh well, it’s probably nothing.

- in the final battle you even chose to play as kung lao out of all the fighters. he was surprisingly easy to use, and his moves seemed to hit even harder than usual and the fights would be over in a blink of an eye. maybe he was buffed just for the fights?

- and when you finished the story mode and checked out all the skins and rewards you got, you noticed that you somehow had all of kung lao’s stuff unlocked. all of his palettes, skins, brutalities, etc. everything. you owned all of it. even the ones that weren’t out yet.

- you thought it was just a glitch, so you shut your device down and restarted it. but when you opened it again, his stuff was still there.

- and it got even weirder. when you tried to practice, the game only let you use kung lao. for some reason, you couldn’t use any other fighter. you couldn’t even use any kameo other than kung lao.

- he was still your favorite character and all, but that was weird. you tried to exit out of the game and restart it again, but it wouldn’t shut down. the game stayed on. it was frozen on kung lao. and he seemed to just stare at you. as if he knew you were there.

- you were starting to get creeped out, so you completely powered off your device and decided to leave it disconnected overnight.

- but over that little period of time, even though it was only a few hours to you, it felt like an eternity for kung lao.

- he felt hurt. a bit betrayed, even. did you not like him anymore? was he not enough for you? he gave you everything he could. he did everything he could to show his love for you, since he cannot communicate any other way.

- without you playing the game, he felt nothing. he couldn’t feel your warmth. it was nothing but a cold, dark space. he needed you. he needed you to always be with him. even if he couldn’t communicate with you, he’d figure something out.

- that’s why he was changing the coding of the game. he had to always be on your screen, or at least give you hints that he was self aware. he wouldn’t know what to do with himself if you weren’t looking at him. if you weren’t using him all the time.

- what do you mean you want to main johnny cage? or raiden? or even syzoth? what do they have that kung lao doesn’t?

- you liked the powerful fighters? no worries, he can just nerf everyone else and completely manipulate the coding of the game so he has the best damage.

- you thought the other fighters were more attractive than him? he’ll change the game so their designs were ruined and less pleasing to your eye.

- he would mend himself to your liking. he just needed you to use him. please make him feel important and useful. make him feel worthy of being your main. your favorite.

- if anyone became your favorite instead of him, he would go ballistic. he would rethink his entire existence. he’s so strong, and funny, and easy to use. so why would you choose anyone else? what’s wrong with him? is he not enough for you?

- if kung lao found out you wanted to start using a different fighter, he would erase them from the game. they would be nowhere to be found. their image in the game would be warped into a bunch of blurry pixels.

- if he has to erase the entire kast of fighters, he will. he needs your love. he needs your attention. if he isn’t your favorite, then what is the point of his existence in the game?

- kung lao needs you. and you need him too. why can’t you see that? he’s done everything he could to gain your approval. he was already so great, but he changed himself for you. accept him. please.

- the last thing he would resort to is bringing you in the game with him. what better way to stay by your side, than force you into the world of mortal kombat?

- at first, he didn’t exactly like the thought of taking away your freedom, but the more he thought about it the more he craved your company. why stay behind your screen when he can just bring you with him? now, you don’t have to turn your device on and off! he’s not going anywhere. and you aren’t either.

[solargeist]

I'm not sure if this has been asked, but what do the other hermits or members from empires think of grian being a watcher in your AU? i know martyn doesn't get on with him, but what are the others' view of it?

I don't know how every one would react, theres only a select few who know, but... !

Xisuma, because he was the first one to find Grian after he crashed into Hermitcraft. Xisuma already knows what Watchers are, so he took pity on Grian's reaction and took him in. He wasn't initially going to let him join HC since he was a stranger, (and a Watcher,) he was just going to help him back on his feet (wings?) and then send him on his way, but well things changed. Grian only told him whats relevant, so Xisuma doesn't know the whole story. Xisuma also comes from the End, he thinks the Watchers are inevitable and also none of his business as long as they don't mess with anything. Xisuma keeps tabs on Grian. Grian feels like he owes Xisuma the world.

Mumbo knows the full story, every little bit of it, Grian literally poured his soul out to him. Mumbo is the first friend he makes there, and Grian's still reeling from the whole experience so he built up a lot of trust in Mumbo and ends up spilling everything to him on a particularly bad day. Mumbo doesn't know what Watchers are, so he doesn't care that Grian was (is?) a Watcher, he just wants his friend safe, and doesn't think of him any differently. Mumbo sits right next to Grian with an arm over his shoulder, and fidgets with one of Grian's hands while he listens to him. Its sad at first, but towards the end of the rants Grian lightens up, a huge weight off his shoulders, and now they're both facing each other and gossiping abt their families. (Grian wins any family gossip bc his watcher aunt tried to throw him off a cliff)

Martyn and Jimmy, both were friends from Evo, and both feel betrayed by Grian leaving, and him being the direct reason their server is shut down. Martyn, while angry, and while he'd still fight him, he does want Grian out of there. Jimmy is more sad than angry, and tells himself he doesn't care, but he does, a lot. They both work with the Listeners, so Grian is a bit more villainized from their point of view.

Pearl also doesn't get the full story, she knows somewhat, and Grian has talked to her a bit about it, thats his sister ! But he can't tell her he left everyone on purpose, or how he was treated by Watchers, theres still a lot of guilt and shame. She doesn't force him to tell her everything, they're still siblings and repairing that relationship after being apart for so long.

Scar... Grian avoids Scar for awhile, after 3rd life he feels scared to face him in Hermitcraft. Though, to his shock, Scar can barely remember him, or the life games, its blurry, but theres a vague sense there, a memory or two, he recognizes Grian as much as you would a stranger you've seen twice in one week. Once they get closer though Grian tells him a bit, mostly abt the life game, and that his family runs it, but he didn't have anything to do with that. He also apologizes a lot. Scar just thinks Grian has a weird family, he doesn't know or understand what Watchers are, he mostly shrugs this off. Scar has a very "That was then, this is now" attitude, he wants to know This current Grian.

Thats everyone relevant that knows abt him, though I think there are a few Hermits that think theres Something up with Grian, but can't place it. Cleo, Etho, and Iskall, come to mind, theres something abt how Grian's eye catches the light...

(Theres also Taurtis.. The one that disappeared in Evo, one of the leading reasons Grian puts up with so much. I don't have much in writing abt Taurtis showing up again, but.. I do imagine his reaction to Grian would be very negative, maybe ? Angry and freaked out by him, I think Grian would collapse to his knees after seeing his reaction. BUT thats not really canon, thats just a thought I think is kinda fun.)

[bidisaster-peanut-romano]

Throughout the entire game, who do you think are some of the most underrated or under-appreciated characters?

stumbling into the askbox whyyy hello there!!! it had been a while!!

OKAY SO. let's start from one fact: every. single. character has something special about them. so like the easy answer is... anyone, lmao. truth be told we (the whole community) has been around for llke, 18 years (WOAH) and some sides are completely unexplored. even just from the idea that... have you guys ever noticed how little content there is around about nerds and jocks, for exmple? and i don't only mean art but also writing, analysis, metas, thoughts and such. not to mention the townies, the townies, when, having some of them been given some actually adult attributes, there would be a lot to unpack.

i feel like this is a) mostly for the nerds, that the rightful fisgust for the horrible thing they did to mandy discourages a lot from engaging with them as characters too, and b) because they are quite overshadowed by the fan favorite preps and greasers. which, i mean, very legit. but i think that they do have a lot of potential, again, in terms of characterization and themes, and i feel like we are collectively missing out on a lot.

and there's also the fact that, even with the fan-favorites, there is so little tapping into the more serious and sometimes mature aspects. i wouldn't say christy is neglected by the fandom, but it's not often that i read someone talking about her repressed anger that explodes whenever she feels too much, that heirloom of her father that of curse she doesn't have, she isn't a problem boy like her brother, what do you mean with that, i could use this tie to strangle you goddammit! or vance, that we all love as the sunshine jokester of the greaser and heartbreaker queer icon, but how come none of us ever mention him having a canonical addiction, and what if his messy dating habits have to do with that, too? what if he's running from something inside himself, rushing to next best thing just so he can feel something?

but this is just me rambling as an introduction oops. so, just trying to list a couple of my favorites:

thad carlson (& dan wilson) (putting them together bc they're intrinsecally connected and while i do stand by the fact that he's wildly underappreciated in the fandom i would hit dan in the face with a brick): i would lterally give my first born for these two. they are what they actually wanted to write when they wrote about cain and abel. i'm not sure what is the exact reason why they have different last names, and i don't wanna enter headcanon territory here. what it does unavoidably indicate, though, is that they were doomed from the start. like it was written in their names. so, picture this: they were in the nerds together. they suffered the bullying, the abuse together. the humiliation tasted like blood in their mouths and shone like the stars they'd see with their heads smashed in a locker, but at least they knew their brother would've been there to hold them. there's something very visceral about suffering together with a brother. like the blood they share creates somewhat of a shell, one that can protect them from what is outside, that can give them the comfort that they will never be alone. whether they like it or not, their brother will forever be with them; it's inside them. except that thad had the rage of a wounded animal; dan had the fear of a small prey. so, while thad kept standing tall and proud and chin high against his bullies, dan started training and morphing until he could be accepted in the jocks. dan wasn't the bullied anymore. he was the bully. while his brother was still on the other side of the war- the side of the eternal losers, that is. the side that, no matter how many battles they will win, they will always be at a disadvantage. so thad has got all the hurt of having been betrayed by a half of himself, like the phantom pain of a lost limb. and the hurt makes him angrier and angrier and when he wants to take revenge on the jocks his brother is the first target he wants, because, see, he is the victim, his brother is cain who has killed abel. but also dan has got his head on backwards to look out for enemies and for anyone who might uncover him as the fraud he is, the way he just thought- they are just bullying me for what i am, so what if i become someone different? except that it's not like he didn't feel like a loser anymore, he just feels like a loser with a football sweater. so at that point you look at the direction of that violence, at where the anger and the resentment lies, and you stop there and wonder. who's cain there? who's gonna be the victim, who the executioner? like nathaniel orion said, "i want to kill him sometimes. i think sometimes he wants to die". i love them ur honor.

otto tyler: i have no literal idea why there is so so so little about him. admittedly, content about townies is in gnereal harder to track down, since they have... no last names.... for the most part. but the otto tag is absolutely desolated. this boy is what you'd call too angry to be this young. his first response to anything is extreme violence and fantasies of it. playing his audios you will be met with die, kill, die, kill, kill, die, die. and all of his vitriol is poured on the school, like they have all come together specifically to hunt him down. and he's been canonically hospitalized, as well; when you walk in the asylum for the first time (galloway away i believe) he tells you not to "anger the watcher"- but who is this watcher? the composition of the scene seems to implies it is the statue in the courtyard; the most coherent correspondence would be the orderlies you will have to avoid as you walk past them; maybe otto himself has just been told not to anger the watcher by the people who are supposed to take care of him, but that are just playing with his mind to make him too afraid not to behave. which, incidentally, doesn't sound too different from what he might have suffered at school. otto will ask you if you have ever punched a wall. he will swear he hates everyone in the school, that everyone in the school hated him, he will threaten to destroy it. otto is a landmine, he's an unstable kid who just needed some ground to stand on, and instead they placed him all alone on a shaking earth. all is anger is desperation, it's having spent too much time without a support system, too much time bound -to a chair, in a cell, in a straitjacket- surrounded by people who couldn't understand him. who stifled his expression instead of channeling all the feelings he had all the time, exploding and intense in an overwhelming and violent way. i like to think of him as an artist. he mentions tattoos; i like to imagine he's learning to do them himself. that he's finding that as an outlet for his expression. and yeah overall. i am a lot fond of otto, and i think he would have a lot to say.

mr. wiggins: look, this guy is super unlucky. he's the only teacher with no class minigame; he's only ever walking around, and if you saw him you probably mistook him for the more familiar mr. matthews. but believe me when i tell you he's a real one. example 1: when someone snithces to him, he says something along the lines of "thank you, but i will never be able to trust you again". BRO. let me tell you, in 1968 this guy was OUT on his college campus and he was MARCHING and RIOTING with workers and students. he even mentions having spent a night or two in JAIL. he will walk into class and say the nastiest things about reagan while he keeps saying that as a teacher he will have to be politically neutral as if he didn't just have a fight with hattrick about socialism.

[seraphtrevs]

Do you have some favourite analyses about Lalo ? (From you or others)

Do I ever!

Lalo is Gay

And I don't mean "can be interrupted as gay" or "the straights wrote a gay character without realizing it", both of which are fine reasons to say a character is gay.

But I mean actually written on purpose gay. Lalo and Gus are written as foils who are superficially different - calculating/spontaneous, orderly/chaotic, serious/playful.

But if you look a little closer, they have a lot in common. Both have no personal life outside the game. Both are playing 5D chess while everyone else is playing checkers. Both are loners who trust almost no one. Both don't flaunt their wealth. Both are motivated by devotion to a loved one.

They're so alike, in fact, that they can almost read each other's minds - Lalo immediately knows who got him sent to jail and who sent the assassins after him, even though he didn't have proof. Gus never believed for a second Lalo was dead, even though every scrap of evidence pointed to it being the case, including a corpse matching Lalo's dental records. Lalo knows Gus tapped the phone. Gus knew Lalo was headed for the lab.

So - although different at first glance, their essential natures are the same. Gus is gay, ergo...

And there are context clues pointing to his sexuality. He's a confirmed bachelor despite the fact that he should be having kids to carry on the family dynasty. He declines the opportunity to have sex with a woman, even though there were very practical reasons for him to have sex with her. Being invited into her home and poking around once she was asleep would have been easier than breaking in, but he chose to hide in the bushes. Plus, he forces Nacho to elope with him.

Will we ever get confirmation? Probably not. But I'm a legit truther on this

Lalo is Satan

Mira -

It's the same picture.

Lalo tempts Jimmy into selling his soul to him, which he later comes to collect. And as I've talked about probably too much, Nacho is very explicitly a Christ figure. Lalo tries to tempt Nacho with power and wealth, but Nacho is never tempted. They really are Cartel Satan and Cartel Jesus, and I love that that ties them together

Lalo is an anti-protagonist

Which is a term I just made up. He's not an antihero - that would be Jimmy. It's just that he hijacks the narrative whenever he shows up. He has a very protagonist-like story - Gus and Nacho are the ones who are sabotaging him, when all he wants to do is protect his family. Assassins are sent to his home, and he defeats them single-handedly. He is betrayed by someone he trusted - someone who he has always treated well and genuinely liked.

But he's not a protagonist! He's a villain, who does very villainous things! On the Insider Podcast for the Black and Blue episode (I think), one of the writers mentions how much she roots for Lalo when he's away from the lead characters. He's written for you to root for, and then feel weird about rooting for.

He's the embodiment of Chuck's final, terrible advice to Jimmy - if you're going to do bad things, don't bother feeling guilty about it. And he only shows up once Chuck is gone. Does Chuck really want Jimmy to be like Lalo? Is Kim's "ends justify the means" attitude in season 6 warranted? How much does motive matter?

@lalo-tellmeagain - we were talking about his blue shoes - I don't have any production notes on this or anything, so this is just my personal interpretation. But blue is the color of the good guys in BCS. Lalo's blue shoes are ironic.

[mekatrio]

literally so much has happened in tota jfsdjvnsjafk so here are some of my thoughts bc. So Much. has happened. and i think this is a good moment in gameplay to step back and review things before Even More Stuff Happens and i forget these thoughts. wanted to do this last night but i was too sleepy so 😗

where i am currently... literally just left the house and reached yulia city after lowering the outer lands like wow. the game was reallyyyy hyping up the battle with van to be The Last Battle but like theres no way right..... i didnt know what to expect but a one month timeskippy skip was not one of them so. this will be interesting. but ill babble more abt that later ummmm i think ill pick up from. natalia and her father making up.

that was a really sweet moment.... and Yes i did cry and also OMG the english voice acting in this game is amazing. i think its really cool how neither natalia or luke are the 'true' heirs to the throne although their situations are completelyyy different. though i do kinda feel like it came out of nowhere LOL while i love the story so far i do think it has some weak parts, primarily with its build up.. like the game is very dense with arte mechanics lore + politics and i dont think it does the best job of easing it into the story. theres a lot to take in and even now theres still stuff i dont completely understand like what. is an isofon. and also how come asch can make hyperresonances too Huh i thought only luke could cuz hyperresonances are when two 7th fonons collide and luke being a replica kinda made two 7 fonons in him but apparently no. what. huh. and also another instance i remember is like, as of Now i know that the score is a big deal, but before the legretta boss fight i didnt really get that cuz luke (and by extension me) was too busy learning basic societal conventions and the importance of the score was not one of them. so like yeah. still enjoying the game in spite of this but it could stand to be smoother

moving on um. let me babble abt guy. guy is a wonderfully complex character likeeeee the type of dude i love to rotate in my mind. skilled at hiding their negative feelings which is sooo interesting in conjunction with the time hes spent w luke and the fabres, bc he has a very valid reason to hate them, BUT he also genuinely cares for luke. probably. like its spelled out by the game that luke deliberately chooses to trust guy despite him having every reason to betray him and that is just SOOOO compelling and interesting like wow. and its also incrediblyyy compelling that guy is able to deeply sympathize with our main antagonist van bc they are both survivors of hod and its just like.... yeah very fascinating dude.

also interestingly enough i think tear's character narrative is the weakest to me despite being a character we've been around the longest? like shes similar to guy in that they both have close relations to the main antagonist, but guy had actually experienced the same thing that van had experienced, while tear had only heard abt it second hand. shes got her loss of faith in mohs / the score / the order going for her + her miasma sickness, but the story hadnt really touched on that tht much. with that said tho, i hold faith that the rest of the story will adequately flesh out the rest of her character, bc theyre gonna have to resolve her miasma sickness at some point and i think that's when she'll get her proper arc, along with asch's and van's characters which are also currently unresolved.

also my currently favorite moment of hers is from one of her training flashbacks with legretta, where in the present day she knocked out a monster that was about to attack luke, and in the flashback legretta killed a knight that attempted to attack tear. and legretta was telling her um... fuck i didnt take a picture so i cant precisely remember X( but it was something about the value of life, and showing enemies no mercy. but tear defied her and moved on from her teachings bc she chose to heal the monster bc it had children nearby. and that was a very sweet moment to me :') im looking forward to having more tear in the storyyyy

also speaking of legretta. jesus christ the sheridan massacre was crazy... and unexpected too. the antagonists are really crazy huh. like obvs they make a point abt freeing one self's from the score / "fate" but also like... the War Crimes.... idk ill have to see where the story is taking this but how it stands right now its like... compelling but also kinda weird because the question tota poses is... kinda theoretical?? but also not?? cuz a lot of whats being questioned is abt the score, which we, real world people, Do Not have a modern world equivalent for.. but its also not completely abt the score and is kinda like saying, "Is it ok to hurt others if it's believed prosperity will be achieved from it?" which is also kinda like saying "Is there any justifiable reason to destroy others?" and also when you throw replicas in there its like "For what reason are you alive for? If the reason for your life is already dictated, must you follow it?" something like that...... also im curious abt how the game will frame the church in the end bc like... ya mohs and the oracle knight are portrayed negatively, but our homie ion is shown positively like... its surprisinglyy nuanced but i wonder if it will steer around w that at the end. especially considering the numerous mentions of the church subsisting from donations which well... Can Be Problematic, to say the least.

speaking of the problematic church.... aniseeeeeee 🥺 at first i wasnt very interested in her character bc a young boy-crazy girl is a trope that im kinda sooooo over with.. but then it turned out that omg? anise isnt that at all but is actually a gold digger LMAO that is awesome?! and its very compelling how her reasoning for being one is very sympathetic, with how her parents are poor followers of the church and anise is trying to attain a better life for both them and herself. and the way we learn that shes not really boy crazy is really cool too with how she does a 180 and becomes completely (and justifiably) nasty to luke after akzeriuth, i think her meanness and brattiness is sooo awesome. but shes also very kindhearted like the.. oh....

this made me very teary eyed like T_T oh..... to see the first time we ever see anise crying is over someone who she probably used to be friends with.. and also how shes also been shown being sympathetic to dist, jade's former kinda maybe friend.. she is a very great character and not at all what i thought she'd be like initially, which im very thankful for.

also i fucking love her dynamic with jade it is SOOO awesome AND funny af cuz like, when u see these two you might expect a fucking, endearing older man looking after a younger child dynamic. but thats not what u get with these two at all, they are two very capable soldiers and jade is shown to rely on and trust anise and vice versa, and also jade is a very haughty and somewhat mean-spirited person, and anise can match with that perfectly. like when jade was being a well meaning douche casting suspicion on guy, which led to luke restating his decision to trust in guy, anise followed up with teasing jade like 'awww youre going soft on them teehee XD'. and also like this convo is so awesome

where epic observant anise points out to jade that 'Hey you care about these people dont you?' and its SOOO awesome that this is when jade realizes like 'LOLLLL apparently i do!!! 🤣'

and JADEEE like omg he is also a really cool character because like. during that moment where his sister speaks alone with luke to warn him 'hey my brother is Fucking Crazy and you are a Science Experiment so Watch out' i laffed bc it kinda felt like it came out of nowhere to me, but as the game progressed and jade's genius became more evident + when he admits this

thats when it really clicked to me that ohh..... jade is kinda Apathetic Af. and yet i find it very VERY cool that despite lacking empathy for others, jade is portrayed rather positively. like yes he's made unfathomable mistakes and has hurt others and yes he lacks basic empathy But he still cares about others enough to help everyone to save the world and he cares abt the party members in his own weird way like i think this is the first time ive seen a character that lacks empathy being portrayed positively like this and i think thats really really awesome.

i have a lot more to say but um i kinda wanna stop putting down my thoughts and play the game instead LOL so im stopping here yayy

[polysyndetonaddictsupportgroup]

if toji suddenly reincarnated back into ssg, how would each character react? like obvi gojo would try to hollow purple him on sight but he manages to hold himself back to get some answers from toji instead. do the others know that it was bc of toji that megumi is stuck in the situation he’s in rn? would megumi even want to talk to his dad?

and how would toji take finding out how the zenin treated his son? he thought that he’d be safe and happy there and then he finds out what they did to megumi and that it was gojo and co who stopped it.

Everyone knows that Toji sold megumi to the zenin.

I think it actually really bothers Megumi how it’s common knowledge. He doesn’t know anything about his own father other than he sold him, and that’s not even private to him. He’s just some unwanted kid who his dad only had to sell like prized cattle.

It was never a secret that Toji sold him to the Zenin. Maki knew, and she already told the others when giving them the rundown on what happened. They’d all know that toji’s the reason megumi’s stuck in this situation.

The second years:

It depends on when he arrived. If it’s when Yuuta still hasn’t gotten the RCT backlash under control, then he may have to worry a bit about the power of love and also this sword.

He’d survive. Not unscathed. But he’d survive.

If it’s after Yuuta’s gotten control, Yuuta still would hate him, but he wouldn’t be as proactive about it. Mostly because Megumi would feel weird about him making a fuss. He’d intervene every time Toji tried to talk to Megumi if Megumi established he didn’t want to talk to him. He’d try to quietly get him the fuck out of there. He'd radiate an aura of murder whenever Toji came close.

Maki would ice Toji out on principle. Like, she’d hate that she had to. Toji’s supposed to be the only one who understands her. They’re both Zenin clan rejects. They both were hurt in such similar ways.

But only one of them sold their fucking kid back into that hellhole, and that ended with Megumi in a hospital bed. She’d be bitter, internally, that she couldn’t try for something like a relationship with Toji. She’d wonder if she betrayed Mai the same way he betrayed Megumi. She wouldn’t outwardly react to him. She’d ice him out.

Inumaki and Panda would embark on a quest to ruin his fucking life. They’d short sheet his bed. They’d put itching powder in his pants. They’d put bleach in his shampoo. All would fail, but this would not discourage them.

The adults:

Gojo would bend over backwards to keep Toji away from Megumi.

Gojo's playing the game of "only let Megumi get information he can physically handle" right now. that's why he's refusing to let Maki tell him the truth about the Ten Shadows. He knows his kid. He knows Megumi's impossibly fucked up and is not going to tell them how badly or ask for help for what happened. He knows Megumi's going to break if anything else happens, and he knows that Toji showing up out of nowhere and dropping six bombshells on him is not something Megumi could handle. He'd squeeze Toji for insider information on the Zenin and threaten to punt Toji to the moon if he didn't stay the fuck away.

Toji would not be impressed by the threats.

Nanami and Shoko would refuse to have anything to do with him. Shoko wouldn’t speak to him. Nanami would, but only to inform him that his sole priorities are the wellbeing of his family, and that Megumi has a right to speak with Toji if he so wishes, but if he doesn't, toji needs to steer far clear of him. He's done enough. toji may have been his father biologically, but Nanami was the one who carried him home--twice--after the family Toji sold him to broke him to the point he was close to death. Nanami has been there for the parent teacher conferences and the nightmares and all the shit Toji never even tried to be there for even when he had a chance. Toji surrendered his place in Megumi's life, and it's been filled. And Toji should not dare to try and hurt nanami's family again. He's already done enough.

Megumi:

Megumi hates him. And he wouldn’t want to talk to him.

Megumi never talks about his dad. If someone asked, he’d say he doesn’t care about him, didn’t expect better from him, and doesn’t care that toji sold him. It’s hard to be hurt by someone you never expected to love you. He’s not surprised; he’s not disappointed; this is just his dad being on brand. He was a piece of shit before and a piece of shit now.

He’d be lying.

His dad selling him to the Zenin cut megumi deeper than anything else in his life. The zenin were always his abusers. But Toji was supposed to be his dad. He was supposed to take care of him.

He was supposed to love him. And a part of megumi has never been able to understand why he didn’t.

In megumi’s mind, he had to have known what pieces of shit the Zenin were, and he sent him there anyway. And Megumi hates him for it, he really does.

I guess it really depends on when in the sgg timeline it is. Like, are we dropping him right in the middle of the currently chapter?

Megumi would assume he’s a hallucination. He’d think his brain would be just fucking with him and making it all hurt more. It would make him violently upset, and Toji would have to be removed from the room, and Gojo would probably have to knock Megumi out to get him to calm down again.

If he’s gotten better, then Toji would still make him violently upset. But he’d be aware enough to hide how much.

He’d refuse to see him. He’d refuse to talk to him. He wouldn’t want to be in the same room as him. His dad couldn’t be fucked to ever be there for him, so Megumi doesn’t see why he should drop everything to see him now.

Megumi's not in a mindset where he could ever healthily see Toji, coming right off SGGs. like, he's traumatized out of his fucking mind. He's absolutely unable to handle the added stress of his deadbeat dad coming back to life and wanting to chat.

Toji:

Toji would kill all of them.

The thing is, I don't think Toji actually thought Megumi would be safe and happy with the Zenin. I think that's the lie he told himself to justify selling his son to his abusers. Like, he knows his family's cruelty better than anyone. He knows that even if you have cursed energy, they're not exactly tender parents.

I think he was just in a spiral, struggling with a gambling addiction, and was trying to take an easy way out and lying to himself about what exactly he was doing to his son.

He'd feel like shit over it, the confirmation that he son could be literally the most important person for hundreds of years to the zenin and they'd still hurt him. He'd kill them for putting Megumi in the hospital bed, for hurting him all those years ago. He wouldn't know how to begin fixing things with his son, so he'd do what he knows how to do, which is just fucking kill the people who hurt him to begin with.

[eurydicees]

Correct me if I’m wrong but Iwaizuimi’s weakness in fhq is Oikawa right??? Which. Yeah. That does things to a person

And another question: what are your thoughts on Kenma as a magician (or is he a wizard? The details are fuzzy I’m sorry 😅)

jkhkahdgkjs so real. things that DOES to a person.

i'm trying to find a source for that but i can't seem to find anything, which is strange because i could've SWORN i read that tidbit somewhere a while back when i was writing my take on the au last yr.

but what i DO know is that a number of iwaizumi's stats and traits--way more than really is necessary--are, like, relative to oikawa and their relationship. they are so deeply connected in their lives and futures in this au (and canon imo) that iwaizumi's player stats often have to do with him. like. god. okokokokok. tell me ur souls are intertwined and he shaped you into who you are without telling me--

anyways. iwaizumi's player profiles are HERE and HERE, where you will find information such as "attack: not that fond of oikawa" and speed: "quick to retort to oikawa" and "specialty: oikawa's former friend" . i did find one other profile but i can't find a translation for it; maybe that's where the weakness thing is from? not sure. i wish i could find that though bc it makes me need to take a fucking lap.

just. something like you're so loyal to someone that everything that you fight for and with is tied to him but you have to betray his trust and his friendship because no matter how much you love him, he's fallen to the dark side and you can't live with that, with the him that has become corrupted, but to save him is to destroy him and while you join the heroes on their quest to do it you also know that every way you fight and every time you fight, you're carrying him with you because he was your friend.

so yeah do you ever feel crazy about a piece of humorous media drawn for a 3ds game made based on a joke movie poster au of the volleyball manga.

AND KENMA !!!! so technical terms he's a white mage, but in my head he's "wizard on the good side." similar to how kuroo is a black mage and i've just decided he's one of the demons with oikawa. i think also some of it might be that there are different translations floating around between mage and wizard! tbh translation variations is half the reason this whole post is a little iffy. there's no officially translated version of the "canon" (as much as things can be canon when they're inherently not canon) as far as i know.

but i love this for kenma! i think it fits super well for him. i don't remember what movie FHQ is supposed be a spin on, but in my head it's all the generic high fantasy DND style fiction. so looking at it like that, i really see kenma is a kind of advising/strategic role, if that makes sense?

he's not on the front line fighting with his hands, he's at the back of the group casting counterspell, yk? he's the mastermind, the one who knows things the others don't know or don't notice, the one who uses it all to his advantage without letting everyone in on the plan in its completion. the war/battle/fight is a chess game and he's the one predicting the next moves. kinda gandalf-esque? idk i fell asleep during lord of the rings.

but i think it makes a lot of sense to have kenma as a highly intelligent archetype, but also one with, like, low hp. it parallels canon really well imo! brain of nekoma who doesn't like getting tired. also i like the idea of kenma with a magic staff. just in general i think that's neat. he deserves that.

[bustyasianbeautiespod]

I find it so interesting how closely Aziraphale holds onto his identity as an Angel as opposed to Crowley who plays the role of demon but knows very well that it’s just a role and that heaven and hell are just labels. I do think it goes back to their loneliness and sense of belonging, maybe. Because Aziraphale wants (wanted?), far more than Crowley at least, to belong in this whole system even tho he knows he doesn’t. Crowley knows he doesn’t belong in the system but he does want to belong somewhere and that somewhere is, well, with Aziraphale. And it’s so sad because you know they both are outcasts and hurting and only have each other and they both want more but in different directions. UGH! I love them so much. They’ll figure it out, they’ll be okay (<- affirmations)

HELLO WORDS THAT MAKE ME FEEL AND THINK THINGS.

crowley really does fully think it's a job! there's soo much book stuff for that ("Anyway, why're we talking about this good and evil? They're just names for sides. We know that." + Now, as Crowley would be the first to protest, most demons weren't deep down evil. In the great cosmic game they felt they occupied the same position as tax inspectors-doing an unpopular job, maybe, but essential to the overall operation of the whole thing. + "We were only doing our jobs," muttered Crowley. being part of the climax) that I loveee (this is not the point of your ask at all i just love anthony j crowley w all my heart and soul). and that's prob bc they already decided heaven was bullshit before the beginning and has seen and gotten the chance to evaluate both sides firsthand. but it still has to be devastatingly lonely and it isss bc p much everyone in hell is a traumatized betrayed person taking it out on the ppl below them in the command line and deciding that Being Nice is an executable offense so it's tough to find companionship there. and as for humans, do u ever think about how it must have been SO hard for her before she got sunglasses. like obv ppl would react differently to his eyes depending on culture/religion/etc but i'm sure it was often hard to talk to people! and i think enjoying wine and technology and constructing fun things for her job was satisfying enough to get by and having someone who Gets Him (But To A Hard Limit) in aziraphale helped add joy to it all but in s2 they're stagnating and depressed and she LITERALLY wants to belong somewhere and that somewhere is aziraphale......

for aziraphale i think that post-fall heaven had to be like "did you have fun killing your former friends with swords? well you were all chosen to stay angels for a reason but every day you should be terrified that if you step one toe out of line you're unworthy of god's love. lol." (also michael's whole "you've been a bit of a fallen angel" being a valid way for angels to refer to bad behavior) and it makes so much sense for someone to come out of that propaganda feeling the way aziraphale does! grey and i just recorded 2.02 and the ways in which heaven makes aziraphale feel silly and inadequate there but he's still crying his eyes out on that rock at the thought of falling make me soo. and 2.01 aziraphale saying it's nice to tell someone all the good things you've done now that he's not reporting to heaven is soo. showziraphale rlly needs outside reassurance and to belong somewhere and for millennia that somewhere has been heaven despite them all hating his ass. GOD IT'S SO MISERABLE

i think often about how by episode two of the show grey already said "I find it fascinating that both of them are situated as 'They’re different from the other people of their community,' like, Aziraphale is different from the other angels. Crowley is different from the other demons. And what they are most like is each other." well. i also love them and believe that they'll figure it out and be okay! (whether neilman is able to write that in a satisfactory fashion is something i... don't have the highest hopes for, but they will figure it out and be okay regardless of what that guy writes)

- Crystal :)

[the8thsphynx]

I know that, with Beryl, it's on sight for River, but it'd be super interesting to learn what ur ocs' relationships are like with the other crypters!

Thank you for the ask!!

And sure thing, I'll go through them in order of the Lostbelts! Just a fair warning, I haven't read any of the fan translations for LB7 yet, so I have next to no knowledge on Daybit! He'll likely be the only one out of the lineup here!

River:

Kadoc- Complicated, but River does actively try to reason with and bring Kadoc back since he can sense that he doesn't really want to be there. While Kadoc is in the Stormborder after LB1, River gives him his iPod and says 'I think we listen to all the same things, so you can have this for a while and give it back some other time'. Kadoc tried to return it before Traum, but...

Ophelia- There wasn't much to say; Brier took over most of the interaction with Ophelia in LB2.

Yu Meirin- The Crypter that River has the weirdest connection to, and this has to do with his true identity as Aim. Yu and River have a heavy unquantifiable empathy towards each other to where in the fight in LB3 they even verbally agree with each other, 'I wish we could have been friends'.

Peperocino- Also VERY complicated, but River doesn't hate Pepe. There are times where River and Pepe actually flirt and banter like friends until River snaps out of it-- remembering where they are-- and is cold towards him again. Pepe feels sorry for River bc he knows his true nature and even calls Chaldea out on being divisive about what they're going to do with him.

Kirschtaria- It's sad that in any other circumstances Kirsch and River would have been best friends, but after Atlantis they both had a very sturdy resolution to kill each other. River sees Kirschtaria as someone who betrayed humanity and is their biggest obstacle to restoring the world, and Kirschtaria sees River as humanity's biggest threat, regardless if it's PHH or a Lostbelt.

Beryl- Like you said, It's on Sight. Complete hatred. Primal need to hunt each other down like animals. Beryl hates River because River is who he will never be, and River hates Beryl because it's who he was compared to and someone who's hurt/killed people River loved.

Daybit- [tbd since I havent read LB7]

Brier:

Kadoc- As a note, Brier knows about every Crypter. The only blackbox is Daybit. In the way of Kadoc, she seriously pitied him but uh... rarely anything makes her merciful. She was the one in this AU that took the shot on Anastasia at the end of LB1.

Ophelia- OOOOOOUGH the girls have BEEF. Ophelia's Mystic Eye is the only thing that can effectively counter Brier's Mystic Eye. There comes a point where Brier says 'fuck it' and starts breaking Ophelia down mentally by insulting her based on her upbringing.

Yu Meirin- Interested, but not hateful. Brier picked up on the fake af records on Yu and was the one that passed the info to the team. Learning that she was a True Ancestor got Brier's gears turning afterwards.

Peperocino- They're so besties. Like they literally met and knew each other before Chaldea and Pepe is the reason Brier had any gateway to find Chaldea. Even with circumstances, they were super happy to see each other again.

Kirschtaria- Brier is on the same page as River with this one. Even though she has a lot of respect for Kirsch and his former position in the Clock Tower, she was game to take him down if that's what was needed to restore PHH.

Beryl- They Have Been Actively Hunting Each Other For Five Years. Brier took the most recent hit Third Eye put on Beryl because Beryl has wiped out the past four Third Eye assassins that have been sent after him. She's made everyone in Chaldea (even River) swear that she would get him in the end.

Daybit- [tbd since I haven't read LB7]

Fakkir:

Kadoc- She sees a lot of her own son in him. Fakkir really really wants to convince Kadoc to defect from the Crypters and come back to Chaldea.

Ophelia- Cue the Aizen line 'admiration is the furthest thing from understanding'. That's basically what she says to Ophelia. Fakkir has respect for Ophelia's skill and empathy for the situation she grew up in, but she doesn't pity her or hold back on ripping up LB2.

Yu Meirin- Very neutral, only because Fakkir agrees with the idea that she too would happily abandon the world if it meant she and Adam could be reunited with her husband. In fact it drags out of Fakkir that the only reason she's going so hard to save PHH is to see her husband again.

Peperocino- At first Fakkir really can't stand Pepe, because he outs her on her family name and the very big name lineage she comes from. Gradually, though, they develop respect towards each other. Even moreso in LB6.

Kirschtaria- They had met before and were good acquaintances before Chaldea. Kirsch was actually the one who recommended that Marisbury try and get her into Chaldea, since Fakkir had been outcast from the mage world by her own family and therefor wasn't on anyone's radar. Kirsch and Fakkir tried between Atlantis and Olympus to reason with each other, but they're both so stubborn that it went nowhere.

Beryl- Fakkir heard whispers of Beryl and already was on guard about him, but very quickly she's down to kill him after what happened in Olympus.

Daybit- [tbd since I haven't read LB7]

[a-student-out-of-time]

Tbh, aall of those drdt people that goes "Arei is 100% dead and Teruko shouldn't trust anyone else in the class bc they don't deserve her after almost throwing her to the wolves in Chapter 1" have the same vibes that the canonronpa people that are always like "Makoto shouldn't be trusting class 78 anymore, they not only blamed him of Sayaka's death, but also almost killed him in Chapter 5. They're just abusive bastards and Makoto would be better with class 77-B"

//Fandom as a whole has this collective problem with simplifying characters down to the elements that either make it work for them or don't make it work for them, and it usually comes from a place of personal taste rather than anything based on what the characters would really say or do.

//There's a reason why "canon version vs. fanon version" is a meme, after all.

//Danganronpa is a series that's all about exploring the concept of what people do and how they act under duress, which doesn't automatically equate to who they are as people. These stories are much more than just funny antics and occasional shipping fodder broken up by the occasional murder trial.

//The moralistic aspect of this view is easily the worst part. Chapter 1 is so iconic because, right from the beginning, the game isn't telling you whether or not you should view Sayaka's actions as entirely selfish or a last-minute change of heart to protect someone she really cared about. It's left largely ambiguous as to why certain things happened and Makoto still chooses to see value in his relationships with Sayaka and Leon anyway.

//But no, a lot of the fandom depicts Sayaka as an evil conniving snake who was only ever manipulating Makoto...even though she didn't have any reason to do so until she saw her bandmates. And if she really felt that way, she could've easily just gotten Makoto alone and killed him, but instead she chose Leon.

//And Leon, despite having every opportunity to go back to his room and tell everyone what happened the next day, since Sayaka would have a broken wrist as proof, instead chose to break into the bathroom and kill her. The fact that he did that is proof he's not innocent of any blame, but it's the nature of the first execution that really cemented the reality of the game for everyone, and so I see why sympathy would be more on his side.

//Yet everyone seems to forget he also spent that trial trying his hardest to blame Makoto, deflected blame just by screaming "stupid" over and over instead of providing any counter-arguments, and also said anyone else would've done what he did in his position. Really? Because I think most of us wouldn't have deliberately gone back and broken into the bathroom just to kill her.

//In the end, the entire point is that it's a morally grey situation, yet Makoto also makes the correct decision to shift his anger onto the person who put everyone into this situation in the first place. He's also clearly left with a lot of guilt and complicated feelings on the matter, even if he chooses to see value in knowing them both.

//On the other end of things, Teruko is not Makoto. She's had a long history of being betrayed, getting hurt and losing the people she cares about. She has much more of a solid character motivation to stop trusting others the first time this happens, but refusing to trust anyone is very dangerous in a game where everyone's life hangs in the balance.

//Not to mention, despite her protestations, Teruko does care about other people, but feels like there's nothing she can do to help others or be a good person.

//There's so much more to discuss with these characters beyond "murder bad, no murder good," and simplifying things down to these elements really does a disservice to the writing and characterization of canon and fangans as a whole.

[simonxriley]

can i ask why you’re anti mwii? from what i’ve seen it’s mostly dude bros who just hate the babygirlification of the characters, so i am extremely curious as to why you do specifically. i know that you would have something actually insightful to say and not just spewing bs lol

I'm about to go on a rant so, sorry about that 😅.

I personally think the story sucked and so do most of the characters (bad writing). Here's why. This game should've been about the fallout of Price killing Victor Zakhaev and when we met Makarov. Instead we got a game where you're fighting a Mexican drug cartel? until Shadow Company and Shepherd betray you. And don't even get me started on Graves and Shepherd. They messed up Shepherd's character who should've been pivotal to the plot like he was in the original. In the original MW2 he started the war with Russia bc he was still angry about losing 30,000 people and how people just 'moved on'. So he uses Allen to get what he wants. The war between the US and Russia. The reboot version he was giving missiles to freedom fighters? that got ambushed by the Russians, but since this was done under the table and Price and the 141 were getting close to finding out the truth he betrayed them? Like what? And he let Ghost and Soap go? Or was going to until Alejandro attacked Graves. Ghost and Soap should be dead, same with Alex, Rudy and Laswell. But for some reason no one is dying and it's annoying me. I'm 98% sure Graves is still alive.

As for not liking most of the characters. I knew going in they obviously would be a bit different with new VAs and all. I just think they're written badly. Soap annoyed me, but i can let that go since i know he's the youngest member of the 141. They tried to make Ghost more 'edgy' and i find his character more bland than ever. He was more intriguing in the original by just being there. Shepherd i explained above and Graves, though now a bad character could've been a better if they did the betrayal a little bit better. Price, Gaz and Farah are the only characters i like. Though Price only being angry at Shepherd for betraying them is bc he didn't tell him? I feel like Price should've been angrier than that, but whatever 🤷🏻‍♀.

This isn't just for mwii, but the reboot series as a whole. Apparently the theme is supposed to be about consequences? It's really not though. Almost every character has done something that should've had repercussions at some point in the future, yet nothing happens. They just go about their lives. Which brings me back to the original MW2. There were consequences for the characters actions, whether intentional or not. Ghost and Roach ended up dying bc there was incriminating evidence about Shepherd's involvement with the terrorist attack in Moscow that they had no idea of. Soap dying to safe Yuri. Price and Soap killing Shepherd, which resulted in them becoming fugitives. Those were all consequences of the characters actions. We're not getting that this time around for some weird reason. I personally think the reboot version of the series is a watered down version.

I hope this makes sense i'm not that good with words or explaining things that well.

[onehundredandeleventropicalfish]

(MAJOR COMIC SPOILERS ON THIS ONE)

i just. i love brief lives for a lot of reasons, it’s so beautifully written, and it’s funny and has good character moments

and it also has a fuck ton of really interesting parallels

and right now i’m thinking about “never had the sense to come in out of the rain”

like i’ve written a lot about desire and dream’s complicated relationship and i’m sure i will continue to, here and here for existing metas

but this is really what gets right down to it - desire is very aware of dream’s incredible ability to fuck himself over with very little provocation, and when it doesn’t matter, when there’s no real consequences, they love pushing him around just to see how far he’ll fall, because he’s annoying and it’s funny and maybe now he’ll take them seriously

but desire knows when to stop. and that’s what this entire volume is, it’s dream falling into every trap desire’s ever laid for him, except this time, none of them were desire’s fault

so like, this volume starts with what is, at that point, pretty much a purely humorous scene - dream standing barefoot outside in the rain for three weeks because his latest girlfriend left.

and, while merv is generally a bit overcritical of dream, and this is mostly complaining about the rain, merv catches it right then and there - dream’s problem is he doesn’t know how to let things go

and it’s that that drives this plot - dream accepts delirium’s offer to travel, not because he wants to find destruction, but because he’s hoping to meet with thessaly again

but he meets with desire before he does - and he asks desire, was this your fault? desire’s certainly messed with his love life in the past, this is one of their signature moves, but this time they’re not playing. they know delirium’s on a dangerous path and they tell delirium to stop and dream to stay out of it

which doesn’t work. and dream not being able to let his relationship go means he stumbles into an actual problem, which he can’t let go, which means he has to go to destruction to solve it, which means he has to talk to orpheus, who he can’t betray, which means he breaks the most important rule - endless can’t kill family.

and desire knew it was coming. knew something bad would happen if he kept down this road, it’s why they warned him away (and this isn't the only time desire's tried to keep dream off a dangerous path - they fixed everything in overture in secret, without ever asking for credit, bc they knew if they revealed themselves dream would immediately stop listening and go do something stupid, and if they didn't help dream at all he'd die and eventually so would everyone else)

(that plan worked. the second time, they don't have as much advance warning to come up with something clever, and their word alone has never been enough for dream)

but dream never did come in out of the rain, he just brought the rain with him, chasing that feeling as it snowballed.

and spilling family blood, that’s the other old trap of desire’s. they’ve tried to get him to break it before, but again, that was a game. those were times when they didn’t really think dream would lose. but it’s always been real to dream, so he doesn’t recognise the warning for what it is, and it means there’s nothing desire can do but watch their plan that they never wanted to succeed win. and that terrifies them

and the snowball keeps going. orpheus’ murder calls down the kindly ones on his head, who he tries to wait out, but he can’t let go of his promise to nuala, which means they get access to the dreaming

and he can’t let the dreaming go. was never the person who could leave, no matter how much he wanted to, couldn’t abandon his responsibilities. he had a hundred opportunities to stop, to back out, to say this wasn’t his problem and to save himself. but for all his siblings tried (and all of them tried, every single one of them has their moment where they try to get through to dream about escaping the trap he’s built for himself), dream doesn’t know how to let things go

and keeping that much weight tied around you, billions of years of it, compounding constantly without being able to stop or move on - that’ll drown anyone eventually

and their address at his funeral is so simple. but because of that one repeating line, it says so much

[the-unconquered-queen]

I agree completely (tangent risk)! For me, the issue is also that there seems to be a double standard wrt the game treats Aerin and Valax, because while there is every opportunity to hold a grudge against Aerin, there is no chance to do so with Valax, when it can be generally understood that Valax hurt MC more than Aerin did. And technically speaking, while the group should reasonably feel more betrayed by what Aerin did to them due to the fact that he played nice first (Valax's can hardly be called a betrayal bc she was telling them all along what she would do, it's just that MC was written as, quite frankly, a dumbass for not taking her at her word), based on what b2 showed us, they would have been more hurt by what Valax did than what Aerin did (save for Nia, obviously, who is justified if she hates him and never forgives him), bc as far as the rest of the party is concerned, while Aerin kidnapped Nia and they got her back within a few hours, MC's yearlong kidnapping was shown to have changed the rest of the group, such as by turning Imtura into an alcoholic and making Mal depressed and practically suicidal, so by all means, they shouldn't be all buddy-buddy so quickly with her either. Meanwhile, MC is quite understanding toward Valax, but outside of romance scenes, is not that kind to Aerin, which leads to an odd vibe switch when one is on his route if MC is so doting one-on-one but has a different energy in a group setting.

I've previously expressed issues with how MC in b2 has to be a bit of a pushover toward Aerin regarding his past actions if you want to maintain a good romance route (this is when their romantic relationship is being rebuilt, when there should be baggage that needs to be overcome before they're an established couple), but Valax is outright forced as a friend, not just as a group member, with no chance to have the friendship develop organically. And this isn't going into how I feel hers and (mainly) MC's development was stunted in b2 in order to make way for her route. But yeah, ultimately my issue is with that and not the fact that she's with the group; I'm all for having her integrate, except I don't like that it means sweeping what she did to MC under the rug.

I think ultimately, players' opinion is gonna come down to which character they romance/prefer. Obviously, someone who takes Valax's diamond scenes will have a better sense of her character and will be more likely to forgive her (I've heard she apologizes in those) than someone who doesn't, like I mostly don't, meaning that in my pt all the trauma she put MC through is glossed over and it feels like "yeah, I did that awful shit to you but I had thought I was doing the right thing so 🤷‍♀️" while everyone ignores it. And in comparison, someone who doesn't particularly care about Aerin and isn't on his route isn't seeing that he deeply regrets how he hurt the gang, that he resents that he was manipulated the Dreadlord as a nine-year-old and for the following decade, or stuff like how he regularly ingests poison because he feels he needs to prove his value and that he deserved his second chance. If you don't know that, he's mostly just the guy who hides all sincerity behind his sarcasm, and that can be understandably grating if you don't like him already and especially if he doesn't express regret in your pt.

I guess I feel that in both cases, if you're going to have a villain/antagonist redeemed and integrated into the group, you can't keep crucial development stuff, such as regret or apologies, etc., behind a paywall, or it works to the detriment of the overall player experience.

Aerin having a hard time still being a part of the group is understandable because he was friends with them, they trusted him and ultimately he betrayed them so it’s more reasonable for them to still be upset with him because he was lying from the start. Valax kidnapped and hurt mc but still the group knew she was evil because she was blunt about it, they didn’t expect her to be sorry from the get go but ig spending time with her they got to know her and she was able to adjust being in the group. I do think they shouldn’t have rushed this friendship with her. Sometimes i think about whether they just wanted to add a cool new badass character instead of actually developing her properly and address mc and valaxs complicated relationship. Like mc is all friendly towards her giving her hugs and I’m like this woman kidnapped you and took your blood?? The least they could have done is make mc flinch when Valax is near her sometimes and then slowly start being more comfortable around her. I see the treatment towards Aerin similarly to Reiner from Attack on Titan. Reiner was there guiding them, helping them, becoming their friend but he knew in the beginning that he was their enemy. It hurt them more when Reiner betrayed them bc he had become friends with them. (Plus the snarky remarks Aerin makes to cope can irritate anyone)

Ultimately what hurt Aerins development in book 2 is because they were just too focused on writing a new villain (who will be redeemed in the same book.) They had to dial it down on the torture to still make Valax redeemable for players. It’s like you have to play an mc who is forgiving and openly friendly/trusting nature and other players had a different idea to their MCs and again i completely understand why you wouldn’t want to be friends with Valax just as you don’t want to be friends with Aerin.

[goobiegoobert]

Could I ask for the Glamrock band confessing to their crush...'s twin by mistake?

Just like you?

_______________

A/N: I love this idea so much and for no fucking reason??? It's just muah perfection a brilliantly silly idea

Warnings: None! Maybe just a little bit of identity issues so be careful just in case!

[ GN reader ]

_______________

Glamrock Freddy

This was his moment, puffing out a bit being told by others that taking time to yourself and deep breaths helped, couldn't say he understood it perfectly but with each pretending breath it did feel quite silly. Maybe that was the trick? Feeling absolutely silly until all your nerves went away!

It didn't really make things much better, though what did help was having a good old conversation with a buddy! Chica understood to a specific degree of his nerves but ended with a shrug and pats on the back pushing Fazbear out the dressing room with words of encouragement.

❝ Go get 'em, Faz! ❞

It took a good while but he did find you! Circuits start to fry and warm them beyond recommended safety features, placing their paw on your shoulder giving it a warm shake and hesitant chuckle. You seemed so, surprised and confused.. Chica had already gotten to you huh? So stumbling over his words with garbled buzzes from their talk box making it hard to decipher until muttering out a very defeated 'Do you love me too?' Only to be pushed away with shock and anger on your face until.. Oh no, in all the words of Fazfuck dictionary could the one Freddy Fazbear tell he fucked up. This wasn't you huh? Each way the twist of disgust didn't feel right, your noose didn't scrunch up how it usually did and the eyes seemed differently colored too.

➤ Let's just say that he instantly began to apologize and ask who this person was! ➤ If they didn't respond at first he'd start trying to correct things in a soft voice about how he was looking for Y/N L/N, and thoroughly apologizing nearly a thousand times over to this person ➤ After initial shock and disgust from your twin, it morphed into them laughing at the damn bear nearly choking on themselves and using the animatronic as support ➤ Freddy could absolutely just collapse here and now, wouldn't even mind his case being slapped on a new endoskeleton and getting scrapped ➤ Teasing ensued from this look-alike, taking their sweet fucking time to milk this ➤ Letting time pass and finally allowing their hurting stomach to ease up from the constant pressure until mentioning something about you to him ➤ Freddy was zoned out for a good bit until leaning down and allowing your twin to whisper some funny little findings to him, which in the case at point raised Fazbears confidence in managing to land a yes from you skyrocketed ➤ Good luck !!

Monty Gator

No. ➤ I have to be real with you guys, Monty wouldn't be fooled, king absolutely knows which one is which like fucking Haruhi from OHSHC. ➤ I feel maybe once he fucked up and got his shit wrecked by your twin bc he went in to give you a smooch on the top of your head from behind ➤ Thinks having a twin is neat and will confuse the rest of his band with his games from this ➤ As well to this he totally befriends your twin simply for the fact it's funny as fuck to em

Roxanne Wolf

Wouldn't fail their confession but! ➤ Roxanne is here for you tbh, has managed to figure you out fair and square ➤ Sill can slip up between you two but still can and will fuck up ➤ Instantly apologizes and when you're around expresses all her guilt by hugging you and promising she'll never do it again ➤ Still happens but every time is so awful for her, it's almost as if she's betraying you ➤ mostly confuses you two if she sees one of you from behind ➤ gotten pretty good at telling apart the front!!

Glamrock Chica

It had been almost an hour of you two performing karaoke during the time of Chica surprisingly not being too busy for once, surely this was the moment!

You paused and asked to take a break to use the restroom before sprinting off and leaving the chicken to her own devices whilst thinking about how to pull this off now or never right? At least Chica believed this confession to be a do or die, a real rockstar moment. So once she'd seen you pass by the window and rearrive knocking onto the greenroom door she'd open happily simply awestruck and pick you up placing pecks all over you carrying you into the room.

Only to realize you were banging your fists on her chest and squirming about with a scowl on your face, huh weird. So putting you down with a tilted expression, gears within turning about processing why you seemed so upset.. usually excited about being smothered in her affection what happened!

➤ It took you walking back into the room to be super confused ➤ literally looked back and forth between the two of you multiple times before placing your twin down and moving to pick you up and study you ➤ Man chica feels really bad now :( ➤ Literally apologizes to your sibling and to you before just picking up where she left off to continue professing how much she really loves ya! ➤ Not the most hung up one about it but instead finds it funny that their first attempt at confessing to you was met with a practice dummy look alike ➤ Has a hard time understanding the concept of twins but overall such a sweet girlfriend about it 10/10

[tinyyoungblood]

hi!! do you know that tiktok trend where the girl asks her bf if he can temporarily break up with her so she can be heartbroken when she listens to olivia rodrigo’s new album and the bf always says no? could you do that but with peter and avenger!reader? i don’t really know how the avengers play into that but i trust you to think of something great. love your work babes <3

pairing: peter parker x avenger!reader

word count: 2.7k

a/n: hey fren, tysm <3 i do know that trend, and it always warms my darn heart. you probably meant for this to be a headcanon but halfway through i realised that i was writing full sentences, so i just rolled with it bc i have no self-control lol enjoy x

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Peter, I need you to break up with me.”

Not a moment later, you heard a series of loud crashes and Peter stumbled out of the bathroom, hopping on one leg while fiddling with his zipper. “What did you just say?” His eyes were wild as they scanned your face.

“I need you to break up with me,” you repeated calmly, not taking your eyes off your laptop.

“Break up with you?” Peter echoed, hand raking through his hair in bewilderment. “Why would I do that? Do you want to break up?”

This made you look up. Peter was staring at you like you had just insulted his face, making it quite an effort to stay serious. “It’s just for 34 minutes and 46 seconds,” you assured. “So I can listen to Olivia Rodrigo’s new album.”

He blinked at you.

“What?”

“Please?” You set your laptop aside, shuffling to the end of the bed so you were sitting right in front of him. “I want to listen to it in full effect with a broken heart and everything.”

“I…” Peter slowly shook his head. A helpless laugh escaped him. “Um, no. Thank you.” He turned and made to return to the bathroom.

“Peter,” you whined and grabbed for his hand, pulling him to a halt.

“Sorry, angel.” He shrugged, supressing the faint tug at the corner of his mouth.

“Pleeeeaase.”

“Nope.”

You pouted. “We can break up when you train with Bucky! In that way you won’t even notice because you’ll be busy and distracted. I won’t even be on your mind.” You weren’t sure what you had said that made Peter stare at you like you were insane, but it took him a second to snap out of it.

He cupped your face with his hands and made sure to meet your eyes. “Babe, I think about you all the time.” He said it like it was a wish he wanted to word correctly. Slow and precise. Then he switched to a lighter tone that implied that he was done with the conversation. “I’m not breaking up with you.” With that he turned and left for the bathroom.

“Fine,” you called back although the water was already running and you doubted that Peter could hear you. And if he did, he probably didn’t care. You took that as your cue to leave. Defeated, you plucked your headphones into your phone and picked out a song of Olivia’s album at random.

Steve was lounging on the couch of the common room when you entered. He looked up from his magazine and gave you a small smile by way of greeting. You returned it by tapping two fingers at your temple in salute, ignoring the way how his stare lingered a little longer. You sat down next to him. When you locked eyes again, you saw the silent question on his face and let out a laugh. It ended up sounding more like a delightful scoff.

“I know Tony takes pride in being the philanthropist amongst us, but for someone who grew up in the ice age, you’re really good at reading people’s faces.” You wanted to annoy Steve, maybe even coax out a laugh, but he just kept looking at you, and you held his gaze. You were good at it—an aftereffect of living with Bucky who happened to love the same yoghurt as you did. Sometimes you put all western movies to shame with the way you narrowed your eyes at each other early in the morning in front of the fridge.

To your luck, Steve was just as stubborn, which meant that you two could’ve kept it going until death if it weren’t for the door banging open.

“I can’t believe you did this to me!” A voice boomed. You took a wild guess and assumed it was Clint.

“Tell me about it!” Another voice bellowed right back.

A second later, Sam and Clint marched into the room, furious, whereas Bucky strolled in behind them with no care in the world.

The former two were holding bags of food. Both were animated and waving their arms through the air while arguing. You turned down the volume of your phone in time to hear Steve demand, “What’s going on?”

Clint and Sam stared daggers at Bucky until Steve amended, “Buck, what did you do?”

The man in question turned around, facing his best friend in exasperation. “I asked these two to get food for me.” This earned him a snarl. Bucky waved them off and examined his metal arm, unconcerned. “Honestly, I have no idea why they’re getting so worked up about it.”

“We—” Sam gestured wildly between Clint and himself. “—were asked to pick up food for him from two different places. And neither of us knew about it!”

“Yes, neither of us knew,” Clint chimed in, eyes narrowing at Bucky who was busy flicking dust off his arm. “And I don’t know about you, Sam, but I was touched. I was moved, okay? Because Bucky never asks for anything and here I was, thinking we’re starting to bond or whatever but now I just feel USED.”

Sam gave a harsh sound in agreement.

“Bucky,” said Steve after no one had anything to add. “What do you have to say to that?”

Your gaze flitted between them, not sure what to expect. Bucky didn’t give any sign of wanting to respond, making you wonder if he had heard Cap at all. But then a slow smile swept over his lips and you noted that it was probably the most feline smile you’d ever seen. It was a smile storybook villains wore after burning down the world.

“The only thing I have to say is that I regret not having the moment they ran into each other in the elevator on video tape, because that—” He turned and looked Sam and Clint straight in the eye. “—was amazing.”

No one spoke.

“Ruthless,” you said under your breath and just like marionettes, the four men glanced you before another argument broke.

You took the chance to turn the volume back up. “happier” was playing and you settled further into the couch to watch the scene unfold. Sam was arguing so passionately that the vein on his neck was making an impressive appearance. Clint, on the other hand, had a palm pressed flat to his chest; his face showing pure betrayal. Bucky didn’t seem to care for the chaos. He tried multiple times to grab for the bags only for one of them to move out of his reach. When you glanced at Steve, you nearly lost it.

He was staring at them like his lifespan had just been reduced to ten years. He looked like he wanted to throw pebbles after them.

Nudging him with your arm, you silently handed him one of your earphones. He glanced at you and hesitated, probably thinking of the many times you had offered him a taste of blaring electronic music. You rolled your eyes and insisted again. This time, Steve took it and you watched in amusement as his brows rose in surprise.

“I like the piano,” he mouthed and glimpsed at the name of the song. You grinned.

In the meantime, Clint and Sam had decided to form an alliance. They had planted themselves in the opposite couch, digging into the contents of the brown bags while Bucky gawked at them from the other side of the room with his mouth ajar and heart ripped out of his chest. Shaking his head in disbelief, he let himself fall into the armchair facing them. He looked devastated. You weren’t sure if you had to stifle a laugh or tears.

Next to you, Steve chocked back a laugh. You quirked an eyebrow and considered him only to realise the reason behind his glee. Bucky was brooding in his seat while Sam and Clint did an excellence job on commenting every bite. Nothing has ever received as much praise as that pasta, and you were certain that if this were a cartoon, there would be rain clouds hovering above Bucky’s head. As if the angels had set it up themselves, you took notice of the lyrics.

I hope you're happy, but not like how you were with me

I'm selfish, I know, I can't let you go

So find someone great but don't find no one better

Bucky was pouting, poking the leather of his armchair with his finger while stealing glances at Sam and Clint. It was perfect. Steve slapped a hand on his chest and he tipped his head back, laughing.

I hope you're happy, I wish you all the best, really

Say you love her, baby, just not like you loved me

And think of me fondly when your hands are on her

I hope you're happy, but don't be happier

You were both laughing hysterically. The others had stopped their on-going war to stare at the two of you; their expressions baffled. The song came to an end and Steve gave back your earphone, rubbing his eye as if wiping away a tear. He rose and walked over to Bucky, hurling him to his feet and putting an arm around his shoulders.

“Oh, Buck,” Steve said with a note of laughter in his voice. “There’s a song I need to show you.” You smiled as you watched them leave.

“Well, this was fun.” You pushed yourself off the couch and shook your head as Sam offered you some of his sushi. “Thanks, but I’m on a mission to get heartbroken.”

Leaving the men to their food, you wandered the halls and listened to “traitor” as you walked past Wanda’s room. Her door was open and you could see that Vision was in the middle of a chess game with Bruce and Wanda. By the looks of it, Vision was as good as winning and you reined the urge to cheer for him. You peaked around the door frame and saw that Vision had their king in check. Deep betrayal crossed Wanda’s face.

You chuckled quietly and whispered, “FRIDAY, play what I’m listening to right now through the speakers in Wanda’s room.” FRIDAY didn’t bother to respond but not a second later, the lyrics were blasting through her room and their heads snapped up in confusion.

Don't you dare forget about the way

You betrayed me

'Cause I know that you'll never feel sorry

For the way I hurt, yeah

“Wanda?“ You heard Vision’s careful voice. “What is going on?”

Guess you didn't cheat

But you're still

You're still a traitor

“I’m not sure, but these lyrics aren’t wrong…You are a traitor.” Wanda narrowed her eyes at him, slowly bobbing her head to the music. Treason danced in her eyes. It was the beginning of a villain origin story.

“Maybe it’s a sign of God,” Bruce said and you almost burst out laughing.

God, I wish that you had thought this through

Before I went and fell in love with you

“Hell yeah!” Wanda yelled and this time you bolted down the hallway, wheezing. You dashed right into Tony’s lab and slammed the door.

“What are you on?” He looked up in amusement. You simply shook your head, laughter still bubbling over your lips.

“Just spreading love in this facility.” You waved your hand at nothing in particular and Tony nodded.

“Right, I heard you asked Peter to break up with you to listen to that one album? Very dramatic. I like it.”

“See.” You gestured at him, indicating that he was the only one who got it. “It’s a good album. Maybe you should ask Pepper to divorce you.”

Tony gave a humourless laugh. “Yeah, I don’t think she would come back if I asked her.”

“Yikes,” you mumbled and this time Tony’s laughed for real.

“So what? You’ve just been walking around waiting for heartbreak?” He turned back to whatever he was working on. You stepped closer to get a peek.

“Precisely.”

“Sounds tiring.”

“I’m powered by exhaustion” You handed him the wrench he needed. “Want a listen? I think there’s a song you might like.”

He contemplated the offer and lifted his shoulder in a half-shrug. “Sure, why not.” You couldn’t help but squeal. You knew that Tony probably didn’t care but sharing your music was always exciting.

Beaming, you removed your headphones and connected your phone to the speakers of Tony’s lab. The first tunes of “good 4 u” started playing and Tony tapped his foot to the beat, head bobbing just slightly. When the chorus hit, he stood up and you stepped back, thinking he wanted to headbang. Instead, he reached for a tool that was further away. You didn’t miss the way he moved his shoulders in a little dance move though.

“I like this one,” he said, and you flashed him a smile. You continued working on the suit, handing Tony things you knew he needed until you passed him a plier and he froze. You furrowed your brows, glanced at the tool you knew was the right one, and cocked your head in silent question.

Maybe I'm too emotional

Or maybe you never cared at all

Looking you straight in the eyes, he flung the plier over his shoulder, opened a drawer, and took out another plier to use on his suit. You gasped.

“How dare you,” you whispered in shock. Tony had the nerve to shrug.

“Enjoy your little heartbreak moment, Y/N.” He shooed you away like a cat. “FRIDAY, yank up the volume, would you.”

Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy

Not me, if you ever cared to ask

Good for you, you're doin' great out there without me

“Guys?” Peter’s voice was drowned out by the booming music. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching in amusement as you and Tony towered on the lab tables, using screwdrivers as provisional microphones. While Tony played a terrific air guitar, you sank dramatically to your knees and impressed the crowd with your air drumming skills.

“Guys?” Peter tried again, chuckling. This time you and Tony whipped around at the same time and pointed straight at Peter.

Like a damn sociopath

You threw your arms up in the air and spun in circles while Tony jumped into quite an impressive split leap.

I've lost my mind

I've spent the night cryin' on the floor in my bathroom

Just over the fact that I really don't get it

But I guess good for you

The song came to an end, and you leapt on Tony’s table to share a screwdriver with him as you sang the last lyrics together.

Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily

The song ended and all you could hear was heavy breathing. Peter began to clap. “This was great, you guys. Wow.”

You exchanged glances with Tony before making a show of bowing at the waist.

“So this is what happens when I refuse to break up with you?” Peter strolled over to where you sat on the lab table, positioning himself between your legs. Tony chuckled and jumped off to grab a water bottle from across the room.

“I’m gonna need you to elaborate on that,” you said, just for the devil of it.

Peter smiled. “Cap and Bucky are crying over a song, Vision is sending Wanda flowers in ten-minute intervals, and you are down here having a rock concert with Tony.”

You gave him a toothy grin. “I was just feeling sour.”

* * *

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