#but i might use her to play with new people

[dailymanners]

Tips and ideas for how to respond when someone is being rude to you

For personal reasons I won't get into, I have a history of just freezing when some is rude / hostile / aggressive / condescending / patronizing / etc. It's obviously not something I'm happy about at all, most people who freeze or fawn aren't happy about it and would change it if they could.

One day I confided in my co-worker, a middle aged woman in her 50's, that this is something I struggle with. Considering how confident and assertive she always struck me as, I was shocked when she told me this is also something she's struggled with.

The advice she gave me is to just memorize and practice a few broad statements or reactions that you can pull out of your pocket so to speak when someone is being rude or disrespectful to you. It's not easy if you're someone who's been conditioned to freeze or fawn, but practice helps. Practice saying these things when you're alone. Put up a sticky note next to your bed or on your bathroom mirror with these phrases and practice them when you see them. Practice saying these with a partner or trusted friend, role-play scenarios where you might need to use these phrases.

Here's a few phrases that have worked for me. The nice thing about them is that they tend to shut down the situation rather than escalating, while still letting the aggressor know that you don't find their behavior acceptable.

"Are you okay?"

This works well in professional settings, because it's not like your work place's residential bully can run to HR about you asking if they're okay (but they might if you try to retaliate and give them a taste of their own medicine). However, it still effectively sends the message "I think there's something wrong with your behavior and don't accept it". It's also not likely the response they're expecting, so it'll likely throw them off and prevent further verbal aggression.

"Could you repeat that for me? I didn't catch what you said."

This one is most effective for people you believe to actually have a conscious and might regret what they said if they actually thought about it a little more. I find that often when I do this one, when people repeat the rude/snippy/patronizing/etc thing they either shamefully stumble over their words and show some remorse, or they change altogether what they say. In the off chance they don't regret what they said and end up repeating exactly what they said, this at least buys you some time to think of a better reaction since you're no longer caught off guard by a sudden rude and snippy remark.

"Can you explain what you mean by that?"

Similar logic to the last one. Often when people are being rude/snippy/patronizing/etc they're caught up in their own emotions in that moment and didn't think it through. This is a polite and civil way of putting their rude behavior in the spotlight and making them reconsider what they said. The other advantage to this one is that in case you did misread their intentions and they meant no harm by what they said or did, this gives them an opportunity to clarify that, instead of you just feeling bad over a statement or actions they actually had no ill intentions with.

If anyone has any further examples of reactions / responses / statements that have worked for them, I'd love to hear about them. I'm new to studying the art of how to civilly yet effectively shut down bad behavior from others, so I'm always open to hearing more suggestions.

[hera-arii]

I always felt the gods here with me throughout my life, even before I started worshipping them.

When there was a thunderstorm I would go to the window and bask in the embrace of the lightning, beautiful and spectacular I thought it was. The comforting sound and feeling of the storm was calming to me.

That was King Zeus with me, giving me a sense of peace when others wouldn’t feel it.

The feeling of parental instinct when a child is in need. Wanting to make your family proud and trying your best to be strong, for them. Doing whatever you have to do so everyone in your life is safe.

That was Queen Hera with me, protecting me and others.

Going to the beach and collecting seashells. Splashing in the water with my loved ones, finding new rocks and walking along the seashore, smelling the salty sea breeze, it’s amazing.

That’s Poseidon with me, showing me the beauty of the sea.

Thinking about the loved ones that passed. Having them in my memories and feeling their presence here even though they aren’t.

Thats Hades with me, remembering the past.

Taking care of the Earth. Cooking your meals by yourself. Being grateful for your belongings and food. Respecting others and willing to do anything for your loved ones, and keeping them safe.

That’s Demeter with me, caring and understanding.

Learning. Making sure your studies are fufilled. Being a strategist and using your brain before doing. Trying extra hard to pass your classes. Wanting peace between war.

That’s Athena with me, reminding me to try my best.

Loving. Giving my friends the love they deserve. Always trying to make them happy, even if im upset that day. Trying to love my family even when they make me feel negative about myself.

That’s Aphrodite with me, loving unconditionally.

Losing my temper, controlling my temper, feeling strong emotions. When I get mad I can’t even think. So angry I might start a war. Standing up for what I believe in. Making myself known.

That’s Ares with me, and my emotions.

Feeling the sun heal my soul. Using music as an escape from reality. Guiding me throughout the day with the light that shines in the darkest parts of me. Healing myself.

That’s Apollo with me, using his light to save me.

Watching the moon glow at night. Hunting for my purpose in life, and learning new things. Archery. I hold the bow high, aim, and shoot. It’s easy for me because of her. She showed me the way.

That’s Artemis with me, guiding me throughout the night.

That feeling when you built something by yourself. It’s so amazing, like you can do anything else, and you seem powerful for once. The best thing you can feel. Pride.

That’s Hephaestus with me, building my pride.

The warmth you feel in your heart when you are in your room. It’s the happiness of being in control of yourself. Being hospitable towards others.

That’s Hestia with me, warming my heart.

Having fun. Doing what you love. Dramatizing yourself and being playful with others. Always leading with what you want to do. Making time for your passions.

That’s Dionysus with me, reminding me to have fun.

Traveling. Doing new things. Trying to find new passions. Not be afraid of getting in a little trouble. Playing pranks and games with people you love. Getting to act like a kid again.

That’s Hermes with me, making sure my childish needs are filled.

Dreaming. Imagining yourself in a different way. Seeing the beauty of another life. Being someone else entirely, you can do anything. Nothing can limit you now. The feeling of being cradled to sleep like a baby. The care you are being handled with.

That’s Hypnos with you, and in your dreams

They were always with me, and now im with them.

[cerastes]

Was Wisadel's backlash at all comparable to the Chalter incident and do you think it would be enough to make them ignore her for a bit, or do you expect them to give her a skin on the more normal schedule for limiteds? I know there are a lot of complaints that even went beyond gameplay stuff (like being a limited alter of a limited) but I generally shut out the community when it gets super annoying so have no clue how big the stink actually got.

As far as I know, there was no backlash for Wisadel, but I’ve also not had my finger on the Arknights pulse as of late, so maybe I missed it, but, again, as far as I know, there wasn’t anything like with Chung the Hung, which makes sense, all things considered, because Chung didn’t get her backlash due to being overpowered, it was a molotov cocktail of factors which included being overpowered. Wisadel had some complaints, such as what you mentioned — limited alternate of a limited — but nothing much beyond what limiteds get.

Wisadel as a while evades the Chung trappings:

Regardless of your opinion on her actual design, Wisadel’s artwork is of good quality. It’s proportionate, well drawn, stylish, the whole deal. Ch’en the Holungday famously had really awful E2 art.

Wisadel is overpowered, but she’s a character that’s been ingrained in the narrative since day one and this “upgrade” is tied to her actual growth and role in the main story. Ch’en was overpowered, but while you can make an argument her growth is part of it (since it’s offhandedly mentioned in her Files, I guess), it’s tied to an overall filler summer event, has her in a literal swimsuit, firing a jury rigged Super Soaker for more damage than several of her contemporaries could manage combined per shot, all while having three Skills that were all basically the same and S3 being the best one by far, which also used the Ammo mechanic so you could have insane practical upkeep on it. Comparatively, Wisadel actually has three distinct Skills, which leads to the next point:

Wisadel is actually entertaining and satisfying to look at: The bombardment S2, the huge death beam explosion of S3, the graphics, the sound effects, the sprite animations, Wisadel has actual flair. Ch’en the Holungday is painfully boring to play and look at, all Skills have the same animations, the same dull sound effect, no variation or flair. Her skin definitely helped on the flair department, like 3 years later.

Though you could (correctly) argue that Wisadel might also be doing this for limited alts of limiteds, Ch’en was setting a very awful precedent: Overpowered Summer Units, maybe even Overpowered Seasonal Units, a hallmark of trashy gacha design. Hypergryph had tested the waters with other scummy strategies before — the period of time in which Thorns and Surtr, AKA stupid strong characters, among others, were rapid fire releases with no accompanying lore or event to give them a place in the world the way others have, which haunts them to this day as ‘lorelets’ — so Ch’en In A Bikini Godtier didn’t sit well either.

Wisadel wasn’t the only good unit out of her banner; regardless of your personal take on Mizuki as a unit, he was widely agreed to be, and thus, perceived as a nothingburger of a 6*, and La Pluma, who is definitely a good unit but was a new archetype at that time, so people were cautious with her, so there was a clear winning roll and losing roll. Wisadel was joined by 6* Logos, who could easily be the limited 6* in any other banner, and 5* Fang, a highly anticipated character. Overall, the perception of these banners could not have been more different.

The overtuning of Ch’en is but one in a cocktail of complaints people had for her, basically. Any complaints there were over Wisadel were a fraction of what Ch’en got.

[felassan]

Polygon: 'How Dragon Age: The Veilguard’s writers decided each companion’s romance arc'

Rest of post under a cut due to spoilers.

“There’s so many different flavors of romances with the characters that even if one doesn’t work for you, one of them I think is likely to,” creative director John Epler told Polygon. “But they’re so tied to the character arcs that they become part of that character development as opposed to ‘and also you can romance them on the side.’” For instance, Epler said, Bellara’s romance is purposefully awkward and stilted. (“As Bellara’s writer, I’m very familiar with it,” he added.) “It’s clearly somebody who doesn’t see themselves as someone people are going to want to romance,” he said. “And so one of my favorite things is paying Bellara a compliment, and she takes it in the most awkward [way]. Because she herself as a character, and something you see through her arc, has these issues with how she sees herself, especially after what happened in her past. And so that romance kind of plays off of that as somebody who does have, I wouldn’t say necessarily low self-esteem, but has issues with self-regard. This is how that romance goes, especially if they are themselves a very awkward character.” Meanwhile, Lucanis — who joins the party after you rescue him from an underwater prison where he was tortured for a year after someone in his inner circle betrayed him — has a long road ahead of him in terms of opening up and letting others in. (That also means the results of one big early game choice might cut him off entirely.) “[He] has an arc that’s very much about family and letting people get close and seeing what happens,” said Epler. “And so with his romance, you get more of a slow burn where it doesn’t feel like you’re ever getting quite as close to him as maybe you want until the very end.” In addition to the player-chosen romance arcs, some companions you haven’t chosen to romance might enter romantic relationships with one another (or in the case of one character, with an NPC that isn’t in your party). This isn’t the first time non-romanced party members get together: A fan favorite, for example, is Qunari mercenary Iron Bull and Tevinter mage Dorian Pavus in Dragon Age: Inquisition. But Veilguard has more opportunity than ever before for these side romances to blossom. It all came down, once again, to what made sense for these characters’ own arcs. Bellara doesn’t romance anyone outside of Rook because, as Epler said, she is a “very focused person with a very specific obsession.” Romance isn’t exactly on the top of her mind. For Taash and Harding, however, a romance made perfect sense — both characters navigate accepting who they are and how that fits in with what they thought they knew about the communities and cultures they hail from."

“I think one of my favorite parts of that arc is how much compatibility comes through as you go through their arcs and you realize these are two people […] broken in ways that are so complementary to allow them to heal each other,” said Epler. “They end up developing this very lovely relationship, lovely romance that makes sense for the both of them.” Players might understandably want to go into the game without any spoilers about what characters might get together. But if you’re heading into your second playthrough and you already know more about what the characters’ relationships with one another look like, making decisions might take on a whole new level of significance. That was definitely the case for game director Corinne Busche. “What I love about those developments is that it really gives us some interesting and compelling decision-making about the choices and the consequences within the game,” she told us. “[The relationships] have an extra level, I think, for the decision making. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but there was a moment where I set the controller down and had to go, Oh my God, how can I possibly make this decision knowing what I know of these two characters and how they feel about each other? Oh, it just really makes it hit.” There’s a lot of emphasis on the inter-character relationships in Veilguard. Not only is there the usual party banter while out and about in the world, but you can also stumble upon conversations between characters back at your home base, mitigate disagreements between them, and read codex entries about their book club meetings, cooking rotation, and other things. It makes sense that writing interactions between these companions might spark some ideas for the writers. “It really does come down to who makes the most sense for these characters and who as the writers we are excited about pairing up,” said Epler. “Because I think something people forget is […] well, it’s not technically fanfiction. It’s the same impetus that drives fanfiction where you’re like, Who are the characters we love the most and who do we want to see together? Who do we think makes the most sense as a couple? And then playing with that and seeing if it actually does make sense.”

[source]

[lazyalani]

| Michael Kaiser × F!Reader

| open ending, bittersweet, mixed signals, situationship, mihya doesn't know what to do, reader just wants him, oh shit toxic, a rollercoaster, impulsive writing, ooc, might be bad but might be good, fast pacing, idk, not proofread, wushu angst

| You're losing me

| Blue Lock Masterlist

| Main Masterlist

and i wouldn't marry me either

The clock read midnight yet here you are, still awake. It wasn't like it was uncommon for people to stay up so late, anyone could stay up all night watching tiktoks and reels, or playing games. It was just that you weren't exactly doing any of those, here you are, watching the ceiling, waiting for him. Always just waiting.

It's always like this, a never-ending cycle of cursing him, but then waiting, and then cursing him again, but then when he comes knocking again, you open up.

You've always been someone reliable when you're asked questions, especially ones about that bastard. Why is Michael Kaiser so good at soccer? Talent. Why is Michael Kaiser so popular with girls? Genetics and Money. Why is Michael Kaiser always on the news? Arrogance. Why does Michael Kaiser always has a say on something? Ego.

Why does he come to you instead of heading to his oh-so luxurious mansion he flawnted with his huge ego along with the piles of money on his account? That one, you couldn't answer.

You swear under your breath when you hear a knock.

And yet you let him in anyway.

a pathological people pleaser,

"Mien leibe, how are you, love?" He says with that sickly sweet smile on his face as he enters and puts his coat and training bag on the couch, a routine you've gotten used to.

The routine also included you just melting into his arms as he sinks in into your bed, enjoying a few moments of his ego ranting and then falling into silence before falling asleep.

But not today.

"Michael, why don't you go home for today?" You say as you turn your back on him, busying yourself with the fridge to avoid his stare.

He laughs and sits down on the couch. "Oh? What's this all of a sudden?" He crosses his legs, spreading his arms on the backrest.

You grip a drink on your hand, still having your back turned. "Just, you should go home."

Because the routine also included him leaving before you wake up, without anything, a note, or something to hold on to, and then proceeding to live out his career, his life, where you couldn't be, where you don't belong. Soccer, victory, celebrations, promotions, advertisements, brand deals, partnerships, modellings, media. Models and media.

who only wanted you to see her

You didn't even know where you stand in this glorious life of his. Why is he even here with you? Why is he sitting on this cheap couch instead of his throne like home? Why does he come to you instead of those models the media claim to be his girlfriend that changes every brand deal and sponsorships?

Why you?

But then it's hard to divert and change your thinking because it changes to Why doesn't he stay here with you? Why doesn't he say a word when he leaves? Why does he even leave? Why does he only come at night? Why does he not clear things up in the media? Why do you even want him to clear it up when you have nothing together? Why is he with those models?

Why not you?

and i'm fading thinking

do something, babe, say something,

He laughs it off. "I'm already here, you want me to leave again?" He snorts.

It wasn't his fault you were so insecure. It wasn't his fault you were being selfish. It wasn't his fault you were being demanding. It wasn't his fault you're assuming things. It isn't his fault because you knew those peaceful nights would eventually come to an end.

But then again, you were tired. So be selfish again, and so you want to stop and rest. You didn't want to play this mind game anymore, it was draining.

You can't fight a losing game. But it was humiliating to think that you were the only one fighting, just to still lose.

Somehow, you knew deep inside he had reasons. Reasons only the closest to his heart would understand.

This empire he was living in was something he built from a rock. The lavish and luxurious life he lived now was something not even the sun and moon could offer him, because this was a result of his blood and sweat. Nothing could ever come in between him and his most treasured gold, his empire, he cannot afford to lose it now. Not when he endured so much just to get to the top. You knew that.

And you were a threat to that.

You were something forbidden. A normal nobody who stood nothing against the world he belonged. You would ruin his image. You would ruin him. He cannot afford to have you. Not fully, atleast, which leads to your current, toxic situation.

lose something, babe,

risk something,

He can't bring himself to choose, huh?

Then you will decide for him.

A few moments of silence passed by, you let him process and sink that you were serious.

You hear the couch squeak as he switches his position on the couch, you finally turn to face him.

His arms propped on his knees as he leans forward, staring at you, as if discerning and trying to read your expression, your mind.

"Mien leibe," He slightly moves his head to side. "you should rest."

You let a smile slip as you stare at him.

He was always the same. Silky blonde with streaks of blue at the end, tattoo on his eyelids, the charismatic aura around him, handsome face, striking features, attractive body and voice. You never questioned how you fell for him. Because you knew who he once was behind the elegant facade. Before the money. Before the fame.

But it seemed like this was the life he was meant to live. This was the life he deserved. And this life didn't have you in it.

Putting down the drink, you approached him and bent down infront of him, cupping his face with your two hands and caressing his cheeks with a smile on your face. "Mihya, you've always been handsome, hm?" You slightly turned his face to sides, as if inspecting him. "I've always, liked your eyes." You whispered, voice almost too quiet. "The fire inside them never seemed to burn out."

His face hardens as he grips your hands and suddenly stands, pulling you up with him as he drags you to your room. "You're sleepy, love, let's go to bed." He says, face hard as stone, his grip hardening each second.

You stick your feet to the ground to stop you both. "Mihya, I'm tired."

"I know, that's why we're going to sleep." Before he drags you again, you hold his hand that was holding your other wrist.

"Michael, let's stop."

you're losing me

He chuckles humorlessly. "The only thing that needs to stop is your rambling, mien leibe. You're just tired from work, come on, let's sleep." He tugs again.

"Michael, I love you."

He stops and laughs emptily again. "Mien leibe, why are you doing this?"

"Mihya, I love you."

He shakes his head, eyes burning.

You cup his face again and press your foreheads together, his forehead on top of yours. "My precious Michael Kaiser, I love you."

You felt a tear drop on your cheek, but it wasn't yours.

Your heart contracted painfully seeing his red stained eyes.

"Why are you crying, my love?" You wipe away his tears with a smile.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?" He touches your hands on his cheeks.

"Is it wrong to say it infront of the one I love?"

"Stop saying that."

"Infront of my love?"

"Mien leibe, stop it."

"I love you, Kaiser."

"Stop it."

"Mihya, I—"

He grabs your shoulders and looks at you. You can't seem to read his expression. Is he mad? Angry? Sad? Disappointed? Furious?

"What will it take for you to stay?" The shake in his voice betrays his hardened face.

You shake your head. "Michael..."

"Do you want me to spend the day with you? Do you want to go out? Do you want to watch movies and eat all day? I'll fucking clear my schedule if that's it."

You kept shaking your head, tears falling with his.

"Do you want me to get on my knees and beg?"

You let out a sob when he drops on his knees and hold your hand.

"Stand up, Michael Kaiser!"

"Don't do this to me, mien leibe." He presses his forehead on the back of your hand. "Please..." He whispers against it. "I can't lose you. Not you."

"But you can't lose everything either." You say, dropping on your knees with him.

choose something, babe,

i got nothing to believe

You craddle his face with your hand.

"Please don't make me choose, I can't... I can't... I can't..." He kept shaking his head and repeating the same words.

Your heart contracted again at his desperation.

"I can't do this without you, mien leibe, but I don't want to go back anymore. I don't want to go back there anymore. Don't do this please, please, please, please..."

You were the only reminder of his past that he couldn't throw away. You were the only one who knew the real him. You were the only one who's genuinely proud of who he's become. You were the one thing no one could ever take away from him. But not if you were the one solely and willingly going away.

"Look at me, Michael. Are you not the greatest in this world? You've been strong, you can be stronger than this. You can be greater, even better, you don't need me. You never needed me, Mihya."

No, you were wrong. He thinks. But he can't get the words out his mouth. So many things circulating in his mind, he cannot even think anymore.

"You don't have to choose, Michael." You kiss his forehead. "I'll choose for us."

He stands up and leads you in the room, this time, you come with him. He lays you on top of him, enjoying a few moments of silence just like before.

You bring your face up from his chest to look at his face.

It was scarily devoid of anything, but the gentle hand on your hair calmed you.

Your rose up from his chest and brought your face above him, arms pressed on he sides of his head.

He stares up at you, fingers combing through the locks of your hair falling down, acting like a curtain, still devoid of any emotion.

You press a kiss on his lips, he presses you down further to prolong it.

"Once you've decided to settle down and finally have your peace, Michael..." You whisper against his lips.

He blinks at you, face still empty.

"Find me in the future, and maybe, maybe, we wouldn't have to be in another life."

[chaifootsteps]

I don't get this fandom's fixation with insisting Blitzo is the one who views relationships as transactional when there's so many examples of him obviously wanting to have more than that. IMP is basically his attempt to make himself a new family with Loona as his daughter and M&M first as the people he wants to threesome with but more realistically, his friends

Stolas meanwhile behaves in a much more transaction based mindset where he assumes if he gives X he can get Y

he views his cheating on Stella as not counting as cheating because 'cheating implies a betrayal and [Stella] never gave two shits about [him]'. Even though the marriage was arranged and he never loved Stella either (he somehow forgot he burst into tears when he first saw her and was miserable about the whole idea?) he expected Stella to make an effort to love him because that's how marriages work. He didn't seem to appreciate that it being arranged would make his partner's feelings more complex and things might have gone better if he hadn't tried to play happy families with her, despite the fact he also had reservations about the arrangement and is gay so he should be able to empathize with Stella on some level

he assumes giving Via a trip to Loo Loo Land in the hopes of getting back their close bond but it isn't until he actually listens to her that any progress is made (and while on the trip he actively upsets her by harassing Blitzo right in front of her)

but the bigger example of course is Blitzo. he uses the book to get sex out of him, literally describing what they have as 'favors for favors' and 'transactional'

then he lowkey kind of does it again when he uses the crystal in the hopes of getting a romantic relationship in return

Stolas is so fixated on the idea of Blitzo as an object who just fulfils his desires that he punishes him whenever he has a life of his own to attend to (taking Loona for the jab) or whenever Blitzo points out his fantasies are not reality (replying to 'that's a romcom' with 'fuck you'). He's so committed to this that despite knowing Blitzo's insecurities he dances with someone else because that person is giving him attention and that's all that matters.

And when Blitzo doesn't respond to the crystal with what Stolas wanted to get out of the interaction - a romantic partner - Stolas dips immediately. He doesn't explain himself and he doesn't make any attempt to keep Blitzo in his life. It's incel logic at its core - he doesn't want Blitzo in his life even as a friend, despite the fact he supposedly likes him, because ultimately he doesn't actually see Blitzo as a person. he's an object who is supposed to fulfil the transaction Stolas is still unconsciously setting up

worse than that is Stolas has fooled himself into believing he's the good guy who was doing good things for him out of the kindness of his heart. he reframes exchanging his book for sex as 'supporting him', reframes humiliating him in front of a crowd by sexualizing him as 'letting everyone see how much [he] likes [Blitzo]', talks about his passive aggressive texts trying to get Blitzo to still come over on the full moon as 'wanting to spend time with [Blitzo]' even though those nights were probably going to end with Blitzo feeling like he had to sleep with Stolas, again

tl:dr but so far Via is the only person who can break her end of whatever exchange Stolas views an interaction as being without him getting pissy about it, since he tries to empathize with her even when he repeats the exact same mistake 5 minutes later. he doesn't care Stella was forced into marriage too since he expected her to play house because that's what he was doing, and he cares so little about Blitzo despite saying he thinks highly of him that not only does he not want his friendship, he's happy to ghost him after their fight in full moon then for a full month going into ghostfuckers. Blitzo didn't give him what he wanted and Stolas doesn't actually care about his feelings, so Blitzo may as well not exist

This fandom, and increasingly Viv, don't seem to have the first clue what Blitzo is or what his problem is or what he wants. He just does things in whatever order, according to what makes Stolas look better.

[libra-cant-just-dance]

Am I the only one lowkey worried that JD might have just dropped having lore entirely?

No story mode, and I don’t think we’ve even gotten any new little lore tiktoks about any of the 2025 maps yet? Dina asked about the lore of the coach she played, and they easily could’ve made up some little story, but they didn’t. They reused a lot of coaches, but didn’t give most of them any new characterization or stories.

Everything we got in the new game story-wise seems to be stuff we already knew or was probably already planned before Aroure (I think I spelled that wrong) left.

Grace and Ari in that one Ariana Grande song: Aroure already told us they were having trouble with their relationship. Their thing was probably already planned.

Payphone: People care more about that storyline than story mode because it’s iconic, so they had to give us more of them. They didn’t really continue the story though. What did we know before Payphone? Rasputin wants his girlfriend back. What do we know after Payphone? Rasputin wants his girlfriend back. That’s kind of it.

In Your Eyes and the Eva Chase thing are kind of the only really new pieces of lore we got. Even then, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was planned while Aroure was still the loremaster. Maybe they just gave us In Your Eyes to tide over the story mode freaks (it’s me, I’m the story mode freaks) while they phased out their lore era.

It’s just a theory (a game theory), but I’m wondering if the team just tried out story mode as an experiment, didn’t get the audience payoff they were hoping for, and called it quits. Maybe Aroure left because they decided lore wasn’t worth the investment and let her go, and that’s why we haven’t heard anything about a new loremaster.

Hopefully I’m wrong? It would really suck if they just decided to leave off story mode on a cliffhanger because appealing to the lore fans didn’t make them enough money. But it really wouldn’t surprise me. I know their #1 priority is making money, that’s just how business is. I just wish they’d give us a yes or no on if they plan to continue story mode so I know if I’m waiting for nothing or not.

[lacrimosathedark]

The Radioapple Haters™️ are at it again.

This time they're attacking shippers with the newly released Playbill.

There's so many issues with that. Beyond harassing people for ships is dumb.

This is what people are pointing at.

This is on the cast info page. It says Lucifer misses his wife.

So, three things about that.

Firstly, We Been Knew, babe.

His very first appearance, after his daughter says her parents split up, he's in a room covered in pictures of not just said daughter, but her mother too, and he's still wearing a presumed wedding band. If that's not "showing not telling" with a goddamn airhorn, idk how more clear it could get without Lucifer flat out saying he misses Lilith. So like...this is not new info. So there's nothing to really rub in. We knew this.

Secondly, this is in-character Lucifer saying this.

I'm not a professional, but when I was in high school performances, we wrote our own little Playbill bio info things. That seems to carry into professional ones too. If you can read the actual cast, some of the the actors less entrenched in the fandom culture have basically an IMDB of their relevant previous roles, while the ones you see at cons are more personable. Those were written by the actors. So, logically, the character bios are written as if by the characters. This could not be made more obvious.

So, logically, you can read that little above as Lucifer himself actually saying he misses his wife. Which leads me to--

Third, break-ups are messy and painful and Lucifer not moving on, unwilling to remove his ring or call Lilith his ex, doesn't mean they are still together. Hell, they could still even be technically married, doesn't mean they're still romantically entangled.

Look, I know the only seeming one-sided relationships in the show is Vox/Alastor and Adam/Lilith and every other "pair" are together or at least friendly (Chaggie, Huskerdust, Cherrisnake, Staticmoth, Guitarspear) but not every separation has to be a violent resentful split. Lucifer is explicitly Depressed™️ which can be hard for any partner to deal with, especially someone as ambitious as Lilith. It wouldn't be surprising if she, not even cruelly, thought she'd be more successful away from him even if he still loves her.

And all this is on top of the fact that most Radioapple shippers don't expect their ship to happen (some hope it does, some hope it doesn't, I'm personally neutral on the concept), and that a lot of writers and artists explicitly acknowledge and use Lucifer's love for Lilith in Radioapple because people love the drama.

I have several posts listing why one might ship Radioapple so I won't go off about it here, but suffice to say the entanglement between Lilith and Alastor and how the two are similar and different makes interacting with Lucifer interesting from any angle.

This also hurts me personally a bit because a lot of these people are Lucilith shippers and, yall, I'm one of you. I don't want them to get back together for many reasons, but I would love to see endless flashbacks of them obnoxiously in love. Most of my favorite works of fanart aren't even Radioapple, my primary ship, but Lucilith, in large part because of how adorable they are. How indulgent or smitten Lilith can look. How adorably excited or flustered or just happy Lucifer can be.

I love Lucilith. I adore Lucifer. I just also think his interactions with Alastor are funny and intriguing.

We don't need to hate each other. We can try to keep our little sandboxes separate, but we can play nice when we spill into each other, can't we?

I am really just so sick of the silly in-fighting. It costs zero dollars and zero energy to not be a dick. Need to type out a rant to get it out and off your chest? cool. But you can post it privately or delete it instead of going into peoples' ask boxes and and posts to be nasty. Not having the self control and wherewithal to not go out of your way to be a dick to people is honestly pretty pathetic. If you think you're so much better, prove it by being better, or being smug in your space. Making people feel like shit for a nonexistent fictional relationship does literally nothing for anyone and makes YOU look worse.

Dislike the ship all you want. No one cares either way. Just don't waste your limited time in this life making your distaste everyone else's problem.

[lemotmo]

Thoughts and ruminations on 911 8x07

I just finished the episode.

So… before writing my thoughts down I took a quick look at my ask box to see what people said about the episode and I have to admit I was quite surprised to see so many people disliked it.

Because I have to admit… I really kinda liked this episode.🫣 Was it a filler episode? Yes. But I still liked it.🤷‍♀️ Sorry not sorry.

Athena’s storyline is interesting, because she is getting older and it might be a very interesting story for her to move on to the next phase in her career. I love how she finally realised that being a lone wolf might not be a good thing for her anymore.

I love how she used all of her instincts and clocked that rookie right from the start. I also really liked the actor playing the rookie. He did a great job there. I started out the episode liking him and as the story progressed, I slowly started realising (together with Athena) that this kid might just be bad news. It’s the way the story was set up and the way he reacted that made me suspicious about him. It was a great storyline for Athena in my opinion.

That Athena & Hen scene? *chef’s kiss*

And let’s be real here… Angela is such a wonderful actress. She pulled me right into that story. For once it wasn’t Athena going all lone wolf and breaking the rules, but she actually followed the rules this time. Which was very refreshing.

Then we have the hotshots storyline. Again… I liked it a lot. I laughed out loud a couple of times during the episode. It was fun. The whole Gerrard thing was funny. I mean… no, I don’t like the way they are absolving Gerrard of all his past wrongs, but it’s obviously the road they’ve chosen, so we have no choice but to go with it.🙄

As for Brad? He is one strange very volatile character, but Callum plays him so well. I’m looking forward to him riding along with the 118. Bobby will go nuts! I do wonder where they are going with the whole Brad thing. Why is he still there? There has to be a reason. 🤔

That scene with Bobby standing up to Brad. I mean, seriously… that was kinda hot. Bobby’s still got it. When Athena sees that video, she’ll break out the handcuffs, no doubt.😌

That brings us to Buck. His heart has been broken. He is allowed to suffer a little over that. We might not have liked Tommy and we all know that Tommy wasn't right for him, but that doesn't change the fact that Buck cared for him, so he will be sad about it. It's normal.

But the man obviously doesn’t have a clue who he really is. I hope they’ll explore his bisexuality a bit better during the next episodes. They need to do something with this.

The stress-baking was hilarious. So much food!😆 The whole Madney/Buck convo about the universe bringing that special person made me go all 👀👀👀👀👀👀. Maddie knows what’s up with Buck. She has known since season 7 and the whole Eddie & Tommy mix up. She knows! 😋

Buck got to experience some happiness as well, which was fun. The pregnancy announcement and his little moment with Jee were so cute. Loved that.

I also loved the whole Eddie taking Buck's phone, actively preventing him from texting Tommy.😏 This is the guy who told Buck to call Tommy last season and now he’s taking away his phone. I love it! It’s so symbolic. It also shows us a more playful Eddie who is trying to find his joy. That scene was so good.

We knew that Eddie was going to react differently to the break up, because Ryan mentioned it in an interview. This might be part of that. He knows what Buck needs as well. The man doesn't need pampering, he needs someone to take action, so Eddie took action. I love seeing Eddie so happy! Happy Eddie makes me happy!

That last Buck/Hen/Eddie scene was so good. I shows us a more happy Buck, a clear sign of him moving on, so I don't think we'll get any more 'calling Tommy' mentions next week. That scene also shows us a happy carefree Eddie, which was lovely to see!

I didn’t expect much progress in the whole Buck and Eddie story this episode, so I’m glad with what we got. I’m expecting some more Eddie next episode though. I think they want to really set up the narrative of him finding ‘joy’ again. It started in 7 and I think he’ll get more focus in 8.🤞🤞🤞

I know I talk about Eddie, Buck and Buddie a lot, because they are so important to me. But I don’t exclusively watch this show for them. I watch it for every character and I love all of these characters so much. 911 is my comfort show. I love it so much.

That being said though, let's focus on the Buddie front for a minute.😆 They recycled two more of the greatest Buddie NDE’s in this episode: the lightning strike (Buck) and the shooting (Eddie). Next week seems to have a drowning scene, which is something both Buck and Eddie went through. Buck with the tsunami and Eddie when he was buried alive. This has me sitting up for real! They are cooking up something big for Buddie. I can smell it in the air.

Okay, so overall conclusion?

Was it a filler episode? Yes, it was. But you know what? It was a good one. I thoroughly enjoyed it. 🤷‍♀️😁

Now off to answer some asks! 😋

[folkdances]

in the trilogy, character pairs were a lot of the time set in bringing someone back from the dead or generally playing with the dead and the undead and the alive. this was the case with mia/maya in aa1, mimi/ini and adrian/celeste in aa2 (edgeworth/franziska as well to a certain degree), and of course in aa3 it was iris/dahlia, but also godot/diego, and obviously there was a lot more going on but this is a recurring thing that ace attorney does. it works with the turnabout theme, reviving the dead and reviving dead cases, and it works with phoenix's literal name. that's why i think it's really cool that that doesn't happen in aa4. aa4 is a really grounded game and isn't super interested in telling these literally 'magical' stories. the feys were magic, but trucy and troupe gramarye are magicians who work with practical things, illusion and obfuscation.

of course it is implied that trucy and apollo's perception ability is magical in nature, but i don't think it is ever outright stated that it is the same way it is confirmed that the feys possess unique magical powers. and because aa4 is so grounded and so invested in telling this particular story about corruption in every meaning of the term, it does its character contrasts with characters being "moral" and being "immoral" in the sense that the lines between these two labels are very blurry.

there is the contrast of kristoph/klavier, obviously — klavier is the good one because he can accept defeat in the name of truth, because he strives to find the truth and, when he realizes that what he is pushing for is not the right thing, will stop pushing for that thing, whereas kristoph is driven by his own pride and ego. it gets more complicated when you shift your focus towards, for example, phoenix (attorney)/phoenix (father). trilogy phoenix is naive and loyal and has these searing convictions (not that apollo doesn't), but he regularly puts people on pedestals and himself in positions to be betrayed. it is difficult for him to accept that his judgement of a person might have been faulty we see this thinking in turnabout goodbyes and in farewell, my turnabout and in bridge to the turnabout.

disbarred phoenix has lost that naivete because of the sheer amount of time that has passed, yes, but also because of the breadth of the "betrayal" he suffered. we know that disbarred phoenix wright is still a "good person", but he is more willing to get his hands dirty, is more willing to lie and omit and yeah, cheat.

there is the example of lamiroir/machi, in which lamiroir is portrayed as being a very innocent and tragic figure and for a good portion of the case, we sort of believe that machi has taken advantage of her innocence to a certain degree. the main parallel is of course that of kristoph/phoenix, but i think it is so interesting how phoenix dips a hand into the same methods kristoph used with the bloody ace — a less drastic and "evil" play, yes, but one from the same book nonetheless.

back to what i said about dying cases and turnabout, that's what a lot of the trilogy cases, every single one almost, focused on. the end-message is always one of rebirth and reinvigoration — two examples so you know what i'm talking about: in turnabout goodbyes, phoenix's revelation of the truth by bringing dl-6 back from the 'dead' is what starts edgeworth's journey towards becoming a different person. in rise from the ashes, his highlighting the detective's work in bringing sl-9 back from the dead is what frees the skye sisters and allows lana to experience a "new lease on life". this repeats over and over again. these are very classic endings. but in aa4, what's highlighted is the exact oppposite: corruption.

kristoph starts off as a very cool and collected person (in the player's eyes) and his descent into paranoia and greed and egotism is revealed to us across the past and present. we see apollo start off in turnabout trump as a different person than who he becomes by the end of turnabout succession; he doesn't become a bad person, but he's been through enough that he develops a sheen of pessimism while still remaining recognizably apollo, so brash and convinced and caught in the pursuit of justice, a corruption, yes, but less drastic. i already covered the change phoenix undergoes. trucy goes from being an element of zak's tricks to conducting tricks of her own (page vs ace). lamiroir has undergone a sort of breakdown of identity. wocky's slowly dying. even the clients we defend vary so deeply from the clients of the trilogy in that their innocence is already cast in doubt when apollo defends them because they've already gotten their hands dirty or are societally deemed 'shady characters'. in the first case, the client is a disgraced and disbarred lawyer. in the second, a gangster part of a violent mob. in the third, a seemingly innocent child is revealed to be a smuggler. and of course behind it all there is the legal system, already dark and corrupt in phoenix's time, now twisted so far out of shape that it is a miracle any cases are won at all. and that's also why i think making the prosecutor apollo goes up against (klavier) be a very just person works out amazingly.

not sure how to really end this but tl;dr apollo justice is an amazing game that plays with themes in a very different way from the trilogy and i love it!

[cursedtransby]

Ryoshu and Sinclair, Mother and Child

As I've mentioned in this post, Ryoshu and Sinclair have an interesting dynamic that has been played with for a long time now, and this is the followup post that mostly focuses on Ryoshu's perspective and actions. Obligatory Spoiler Warning for all of Limbus.

As I've discussed, Ryoshu doesn't exactly start off friendly with people. It's something shown with how she callously murders Heathcliff and Ishmael at the start of Canto I, but she ties Outis in being distrustful of those around her. She's hyper aware of betrayal (I wonder why) and the most she does for sympathy at first is give Greg a cig at the end of Canto I.

However, She's one of the sinners who comes to Sinclair's aid during Canto III, and while this canto is arguably one of the biggest for sinner development, it's a massive one for knowing that Ryoshu does in fact have her ways of caring for those she considers close to herself.

In terms of her parenting, we've seen so far that Ryoshu is arguably a girldad. She's gruff and offputting, but deep down shows that she cares for others, mostly through forms that aren't outright telling the person that she cares for them.

One of these forms is through 'tough love'. Tough love is a technique that's popular among father units and those that want to toughen up those they love, and while I'd argue it's efficacy until the cows come home...it seems effective for Sinclair, who is someone that is learning to express his aggression and determination more profoundly.

The last one is extremely important to me because it shows another quirk of hers. Her single "heh" one offs that are fairly uncommon. She's only said it directly in response to two other sinners' jokes besides Sinclair, in fact.

Gregor, her smoking buddy, and the sinner she has a whole identity based around caring for. Her giving Sinclair a laugh then takes on a whole new meaning. It's a dad snort of approval, in essence, and shows that she does in fact care a lot for the rest of the sinners and their 'comedy'.

The other major way I see her caring for individuals is the physical. We see it manifest in a couple different ways, most prominently in relation to her lob corp identity with Yi Sang

Ryoshu in this world takes on a similar vein of protection to her team that she does as Edgar Family head does, outright telling Yi Sang he's safest with the group and that she'll be the sole reinforcement for Training Team's group. She isn't the Safety Team Captain for nothing!

All of this is to say that Ryoshu cares for Sinclair like a kid. While it might be born of some guilt from her previous life, it's clear it's transcended to more. Like a child looking for approval from using one of their parent's fancy swears, Sinclair is willing to perform violence for those he trusts, and Ryoshu is more than happy to give him credit for it. All I'm waiting for now is a mirror world where the two are linked in some way.

Obligatory thanks to @lu-is-not-ok and @ryoshudoodles for inspiring my posts about the funny yet depressing murderer mom.

[kandadze]

Ep 27 loose thoughts

Well, that's one way of snapping someone shell-shocked out of making a drastic decision. I feel like PSJ snapped something in herself at this moment, too. Anyone else found the ancestor's commentary going on in the background while the girls are bawling their eyes out hilarious? Just me? Okay.

While I was waiting for the ever burning wood to activate or something, the moment WX opened the box to reveal dried flowers I choked. ZYC!!!

Baby!Yichen breaks my heart, so impressionable, so open to learn. It's interesting to see that the phrases about suffering we've seen him use as an adult might have come from WX... Not a fan of telling people in mourning to stop dwelling in misery and sadness like it's as simple as flipping a switch (not to mention, she apparently *just* met him for the first time? The heck?), but at least the rest of her words seem to have helped him... so much that he kept the flowers 😭 The irony of her snow metaphor contrasted with their current predicament is indeed exquisite, A+ for that.

Are they going to be saved by the power of lurrrrve??? (At least this time. Still holding out for how that's gonna play out in the finale.) I mean, what other way to sway an ancient creature who's seen pretty much everything there is to see, than to show them something new? What's that? A test for a future event? (I'm getting really paranoid about nothing we've seen so far being real. It's like Alice in Wonderland on a bigger scale. Or Finnegans Wake on a smaller scale. I don't know.)

Oooh Bingyi and Ying Long, our original doomed couple (of self-sacrificial idiots)! I would watch a whole drama just about them. And damn, I can definitely see where Zhao Yuanzhou got his masochism from. Stoppppp not "Just let me be the first star"! (Especially since I just remembered ZYZ's "I'll be the rain...") It's not supposed to be literal! 😭😭😭 Ahhhh this scene just broke me, also because it seems to reinforce the idea that ZYZ *has* to be killed for the greater good. The visualssss in the execution- sacrifice? What the heck do I even call it?- scene though, soooo good!

"Let me do it myself." LET ME DO IT MYSELF??? FUCKKKKKKK DAMNIT HE JUST- ::head in hands, crying forever::

"Remember. This is my choice, not yours. You don't have to bear any blame or guilt." That's not how that works. That's not how any of that works!

Again, we're dealing with choices. But the fact that ZYZ choice was the same as Ying Long's... the fact that YL says that neither he nor Bingyi had any regrets... oh this is going to hurt.

Oh? ZYZ's future is not what he wants? (And wouldn't that be funny, considering ZYZ's own words while schooling ZYC in the very first ep... 9 times out of 10, things don't go our way?)

"You two are really like us." 😭😭😭

I was wondering if they were going to show us what ZYC saw, and not only does the image of ZYZ's body on that dark floor mirror Ying Long's body floating in the water, both ZYZ and ZYC wear the same clothes as in the very few scenes from the trailer that didn't happen yet... These poor sods, they've been Going Through It for almost a decade now with the only end in sight being yet another tragedy (even if the drama seems to suggest that they don't see it that way at this point.) ::head in hands, crying continues::

"My friend is here. We'll go together." The *sound* I made. Everything else this drama has given me aside, the growth of these characters and their bonds is so well done, and absolutely precious to me.

I want Ying Long's hopes and wishes for them to become true. Seeing how there's hints everywhere in this drama, I hope the words of one of the most powerful beings in existence will count for *something* in the end! (Am I grasping at straws? Maybe. Let me be delusional for a bit longer.)

What do you mean, five, ZYC? What's Ying Lei, chopped liver?

Oof this *almost* hug before WX starts feebly hitting ZYZ. It's relief, it's anger, it's fear for the next time, it's all the feelings that became too big to contain. I feel her so much. (I would've started whacking both him and ZYC way earlier tbh 😅) And ZYZ allowing her that release before pulling her in for reassurance, patting her as if she was a scared child. 😭 Cut to PSJ, looking as if she wanted nothing more but to be the one offering the reassurance to WX. Cut to ZYC, remembering that willingly or not, he's going to hurt WX beyond reassurance. Once again, the bonds in this drama!

Wait hold up hold on what? You just removed Bingyi's blood from him, that should mean that ZYC will not have to become a demon, right? So what's that about developing the inner core? (Also, I just realized that so far all they got from this trip was "go east and ask for a dragon scale" lol) Thankfully him and ZYZ had their conversation(s) about titles and identities so being asked to make that particular choice was not completely out of left field at this point. And all he cares about is whether that means that the last trace of Ying Long will disappear! 😭 (I'm so with Bingyi on this one... I would hold onto that last shred of my friend's existence, too, *especially* if they offed themself via my goddamn sword.)

What's with that look after he says that he thinks he has it - the inner core - is there a joke here somewhere? (I *gotta* go back to learning the language, the things I'm undoubtedly missing on!) The only thing I can think of is - did they think he said he's pregnant??? ::dies:: "So what's your true form?" "Must be dragon." "I say you're a mule." "Better than being a monkey." "I'm a white ape!" ::dies again:: Nice to see we still get a friendly ribbing between all of them, and I can breathe after all the angst. Fingers crossed? There's still 5 minutes left...

Oh good, let's talk about getting Bai Jiu back! (I knew there was one more character from the opening credits that didn't show up yet... guess it's the rebel princess.) While Ao Yin is eavesdropping! Talk about good hearing. Sigh, here it comes, another goal they have that will conflict with Li Lun's; they want the scale to restore the sword, and LL not only doesn't want that to happen, the scale could potentially help him get rid of the poison.

Oh for fuck's sake, I think I was subconsciously waiting for Chongwu Camp to show up, knowing that they've eavesdropped on the gang earlier, and here they are. ZYZ should really think of putting up some sound barrier when they discuss important plans, everyone seems to know exactly what they'll be doing at any given moment!

Ahhhh we're getting a nod to that little cough and stumble WX had shortly before this trip. Something's wrong with Baize token? Or with her connection to it? We only have 7 episodes left, drama!

(ZYC is such a good little brother.) Oh great, it was the rebel princess who killed WX's dad? I repeat, we only have 7 episodes left!

Sigh... with only 7 episodes left, we *also* find out that the goddamn 3-face-mask has history with the princess? And has everyone and their mother sat on that little bridge???

This feels like the endless final scenes in Peter Jackson's "Return of the King," my head is spinning.

Note to self, *stop* looking at previews. Ying Lei, what the absolute fuck?

[col0rlord]

Pool table 🎱

Jake Seresin x reader!

Summary: You like playing pool? Someone you know does too. This challenge might be a win, win for you either way you play.

~🎱🍒🍺🐆~

It was a typical Thursday at the Hard Deck around 7:30ish. Maybe a little later. You placed the pool balls in the rack, with the 8 ball right in the middle. A little warm up before the crowd came shuffling in.

There were a few older men sitting at the bar nursing their drinks. Too busy talking to one another before it was too loud to even hear the balls clinking off each other. They seemed like they were catching up and talking about the latest news in their life.

Regulars you have seen before.

Never got their names, but they know yours from Penny yelling it across the bar for you to retrieve the drink you get every time. A blue moon glass bottle.

Taking the rack away from the balls and hitting the first shot straight to the middle watching as the balls landed in their placement like popping open confetti on January 1st when the clock hit midnight. Feeling the heat from the heater roll of your neck after taking your hair and putting it in a ponytail.

Not playing anyone just practicing the hits and warming up when someone does come up and ask to play.

Warming up the little tricks you had. Put on a show for the people. They liked it. Sitting on the table and shooting from behind your back was the crowd favorite. Skipping the ball over the other and getting it in was a good one too. When you put the two together there was always someone coming up to you asking how you did that in the first place.

Slowly the bar became more alive and you weren't even halfway done with your drink yet. Downing the rest before people came over to watch you and some random play for money or anything really.

Walking to the bar to get a refill Penny looked you up and down as she was wiping a glass with a white rag she then flipped on her shoulder to rest for later use. “Y/n, those moves are going to get you in trouble one of these days.” She said as she grabbed my glass bottle, throwing it away and opening another one for me.

Shrugging at the idea of a man throwing a fit over losing to you in a game of 8 ball. “Maybe we will make the big bucks tonight. People love to see me as they try and win. I’m just too good at this shit. Nights like this seem to be busier anyways, so I came tonight instead of tomorrow night,” You told her as she placed the drink in front of you winking as you grinning knowing you are right.

“Watch out Y/n. We got some Aviators walking in soon. Might have a bit of a challenge up for you there.” She spoke out as you were walking away back to the table to finish what was going on, on the spread of balls.

Later on, around 8:30 now, you had some guy walking up to you wanting to play. This poor guy came in almost every night trying to win against you. You even went a little easy on him a few times. Trying to offer help but he always turned it down saying he ‘Could win against you without a female's help.’

We moved past that as I kept winning, he never said anything else about it after those first 4 times of me winning.

“That's game Logan.” you said bent the table over looking at him through your lashes as you hit the 8 ball into the far right pocket all the way from the other corner. Smirking as you watch it roll into the pocket. Looking back at the older ladies smoking a cigarette as they all high-fived me. Taking a swig of my beer. Feeling the condensation roll down my hands and between my fingers.

He rolled his eyes and placed the pool cue on the end of the table and walked off. The cue rolled over the edge and onto the ground with a loud clanking sound, as it tottered from the tip to the end about 3 times. The noise ended abruptly. Whipping your head around fast to watch who stopped it. You see this tall man in an Aviator uniform. Brown hair and green eyes. Face was sharp and square. Tan, buff. easy to look at. I could go on and on

“Y/n Y/l/n. heard of the name but never met in person. Saw your picture on the wall back there. I’m Lieutenant Jake Seresin. Pleasure is mine.’” Reaching his hand out for me to take it after he moved the toothpick in his mouth. Looking at you with a wink and a smirk plastered on his face. You placed your hand in his. You both shook as a greeting.

“Lieutenant?” you asked him up and down taking in the uniform and how it fitted him. Then moved your head to the side to look at the other uniformed people behind him. One wore glasses. One with his arms crossed and a shaved head, and a lady with a slick back bun.

He chuckled and looked to the right of him at the table. Then right back at you letting go of my hand walking around the table. “Want to go a round or two?” He asked, walking to the table and placing the balls back in the rack. Moving the rack around staring right in your eyes.

“Are we playing for anything or are you just testing the waters first?” You asked, walking back to the table you placed your cue to lean against the table and grabbing the blue chalk. The ego needed to be checked on this one and you were the one that was sweating to do so. Leaning it back against the pool table to spread your hands out to lean over and watch his moves at the other end.

He chuckled again pulling out his wallet. You raised an eyebrow watching his moves and he walked over to the table right next to him. “Oh Y/l/n. how I was praying you would be here tonight. Just! So I could get this opportunity to play against you. 200.” He said bending his knees and squeezing his eyes shut at the word ‘just’ pulling out four 50 dollar bills and placing them down with a hard smack.

“But for me. All I am asking for is one date.” He said walking back to the other side of the table.

You looked up from the green fabric table and up at him, smirking. Tapping your foot as you thought about it. He wasn't ugly. Like you said, easy to look at. You rolled your lips together and walked over to him placing a hand on his shoulder and leaned closely into his ear so he could feel your breath on his neck. A little teasing wouldn’t hurt, would it?

“You’re on Lieutenant Seresin” You whispered into his neck. He clenched his jaw and closed his eyes as he swallowed hard. Then stepped back as he got ready to take his shot right down the middle.

[hoshibatake]

Build! Freedom packed with ideals! - FREEDOM - Prologue

<Spring of the second year since ES was established, “Trickstudio”>

Makoto: I’m back～♪ Sorry for making you wait.

Makoto: I noticed that I was hungry, so I got us all a hamburger menu. The one with the limited edition side dish—

Makoto: Huh? What’s that red beam of light on the wall?

Subaru: Don’t move, Ukki～!

Subaru: If you touch the light beam, you’ll be turned into a cute plushie! Just like this!

Makoto: That plushie, is it supposed to be Isara-kun? It’s so cute～♪

Makoto: But I don’t think it’s possible for people to turn into plushies. We’re not in a sci-fi movie, after all.

Makoto: …Ooh, were you trying to set up a bit with that!? Let me think for a moment, I’ll play along!

Makoto: This plushie looks just like Isara-kun! And here I thought you were just kidding.

Makoto: Have I ended up in a different reality while I was out shopping? Or could this be a dream?

Subaru: No. Sadly, this is reality. Apparently, this is the result of extra security measures in the building.

Makoto: Hng, Isara-kun… Even if you’ve turned into a plushie, nothing can destroy our friendship. I’ll always be your friend, Isara-kun!

Hokuto: …Yuuki. Why are you standing in the doorway? Are you having trouble getting in?

Makoto: Oh, Hidaka-kun.

Hokuto: Hm? What’s with this red beam…?

Makoto: No, Hidaka-kun, don’t do it! If you touch that beam, you too will get turned into a plushie—

Hokuto: Turned into a plushie? What are you talking about?

Subaru: Jeez, Hokke～. You never play along with our bits. You killjoy, you～

Hokuto: Don’t prod me with your elbow. What on earth are you two doing?

Subaru: We got a new lamp, so we were pretending to be in a sci-fi movie☆

Subaru: That light beam is just from a lamp. If you press this button, it’ll project Trickstar’s logo onto the floor, like this.

Mao: It’s quite fun, and it was on sale, so we ended up buying it. Though, it’ll probably lose its novelty pretty soon.

Makoto: Oh, Isara-kun. So you were on the second floor.

Makoto: What’s with this plushie? It’s an adorable little caricature of you. Did you buy this somewhere as well?

Mao: It’s a sample of a plushie that will be sold as merch soon. Anzu just came by to drop it off.

Hokuto: Is Anzu here too?

Subaru: No, she left again right away. Apparently she was needed somewhere else.

Mao: Exactly. There wasn’t even any time to make her some tea～

Makoto: Oh. I wonder if Anzu is just as busy as ever this year.

Makoto: She graduated from Yumenosaki, so I figured we would have more time with her than last year, but I guess not.

Subaru: Despite the fact that the four of us are hanging out in the Trickstudio almost daily～

Subaru: Speaking of. We’ve managed to spruce this place up quite a lot. We’ve added lots of decorations, and it’s starting to look like a true hideout…☆

Mao: That’s because you keep showing up with more sparkly things, Subaru～. Anyway, I hope Anzu finds this place cozy too.

Mao: Because the Trickstudio is meant for her as well♪

Hokuto: …Speak of the devil. I just got a message from Anzu.

Hokuto: Apparently she wants us to come to the StarPro office. It seems that Tenshouin-senpai has business with us.

Subaru: What kind of business?

Hokuto: No clue. Apparently Anzu doesn’t know the details either.

Hokuto: We know who we’re dealing with. I can’t say I have a very good feeling about this, but it’s not like overthinking it is going to help us.

Makoto: Yeah. Nothing in particular comes to mind.

Makoto: In two hours, huh? Then I guess we’ll have time to eat lunch first.

Mao: Sounds good. The smell of junk food in here is making my stomach growl～

Mao: Let’s eat up before it gets cold. Itadakima～su♪

<Two hours later. StarPro’s office>

Subaru: Oh, there’s Eichi-senpai. And Anzu is here too! Yaho, yaho～♪

Eichi: Yaa. I’ve been waiting for you, Trickstar.

Eichi: It’s already April, so this might be belated, but… Congratulations on your graduation.

Hokuto: Thank you. Did you make us come all the way here just to tell us that?

Eichi: Of course not. I don’t have that much free time.

Eichi: While you may no longer be students, a new year has started. As the president of StarPro, I would like to ask you what your plans for the future are.

Subaru: Wow, this feels like one of those student-teacher meetings at school. The future, huh? Hmm…?

Subaru: How about one that’s “bright, fun and lively”?

Eichi: What is that? It’s such a vague idea that it sounds like a slogan.

Subaru: How about “great financial growth”? Or “immaculate health”?

Eichi: Both are important, but neither are the kind of answer I’m looking for.

Eichi: You’re no longer a bunch of fresh new idols who are still wet behind the ears. You should at least set a clear goal for yourselves.

Mao: Ahaha, I’m so sorry… But we can’t just think of something like that on the spot. We’re always just flying by the seat of our pants, after all.

Hokuto: That’s right. Even if we draw up a detailed plan, we always end up in one predicament or another anyway.

Hokuto: Dealing with stumbling blocks on our path and overcoming obstacles that stand in our way is simply our way of doing things.

Subaru: Ooh, Hokke～ you’re so cool～♪ Woo～ woo～☆

Eichi: Come, now. Don’t try to glorify not having any plans.

Eichi: I was already worried that you guys would have this mindset. You should look at yourselves a little more objectively.

Eichi: There are children all over the world who want to become idols because Trickstar are their role models. Now is the time for you to set a good example.

Eichi: I’m not saying you have to become perfectly orderly and exemplary. I’ve experienced firsthand how difficult it is to reign you in, after all.

Eichi: But still. You need to at least put in considerable effort in order to avoid disappointing those who look up to you.

Eichi: Because you are shining idols¹ that are physical representations of their hopes and dreams.

TL note:

Eichi used the word 偶像 here, which literally means “idol” (a statuette to worship). But there was the reading “アイド���” (aidoru) behind it in parentheses, so it carries a double meaning, similar to how the English word “idol” carries a double meaning.

Translated by me, proofread by Altea (@icaruswasthesun on Twitter)

[birchbow]

the motherfucking big leagues

The empress’s blocks are always full up to the gills, and this time’s about the same like it ever motherfucking has been.  Only this time it’s not just full of glittery gold and pink bullshit, it’s got a whole crowd of trolls in fancy soft pile clothes with rolled-up sleeves and shiny pro smiles on. 

“Your Condescension!” says the one who looks the most in charge, and the whole squad pulls up behind him to bow.  “What a pleasure.  We hoped we would see you tonight.”

“Yeah, had some business come up,” Meenah says, and waves grand around at all of you, like it’s clear why you oughta be around and there’s no way a motherfucker could question or guess twice.  “Got some additions to the spa day.  My head clownfish needs to glubbing relax for the first time in his life, and I atoll’d him he could invite a couple of quadrant-corners along.”

Comes to mind you’re going purple, under your fresh new paint.  Comes to mind, when she made mention of a spa day you didn’t put your pan to think what that would mean, or that if anybody’s got the dough to hire up a team of body-easers in soft block-wear and put them to work all up in your business, it’s the motherfucking empress.  And Karkat’s right there.

Might just as well go to one of those sex parties you saw getting rowdy on the Sinner, sit across from your matesprit and watch him fuck someone and let somebody touch you about it.  Fuck.

“Uh,” says Karkat, and glances up at you, and then back down at the motherfuckers in the next room, red all up to the eartips and down to the neck.  Licks his lips, nervous little flash of dark tongue over white fangs.

“What?” says Meenah.

“What the fuck do you mean, what,” Karkat says, all motherfucking types and ways of incredulous, and waves a frond around at the rubbing oils and the soft sweet air and the motherfucking horn-polishing kit, fuck you twice up to the carnival and back.  Holy shit.  “Did I walk into some kind of highblood decadence-play porn set?!  Is this real?!  You actually do this?”

��Shore?” says the empress, like Karkat’s the crazy one.  

“You have a moirail,” says Karkat, all motherfucking scandal.

“Uh-huh,” says Meenah, impatient with him, flicking the pink off her fins about it.  “He can come too, nubsy, c’mon.  He’s school.  Don’t be a glubbin’ square.”

You look to Kurloz; Karkat does too.  He does look like he’s motherfucking cool, and not like he’s having to try hard to be, so that’s…good, you guess.  Only like.  What the fuck.

“Perks,” Kurloz says, like it’s all a motherfucker’s gotta say, and shrugs.  “That’s the motherfucking big leagues, wrigglers.  You get all the feel-good you can swallow, if you wanna send out for it.”

“Except His Hilarity’s no glubbin’ fun,” Meenah says, and throws a frond out ‘round his waist to pull him over.  The motherfuckers in their soft dress-ups can’t see her play grab-ass at him, but you sure the fuck can, and it’s just how you’d draw their eyes that keeps you from making a face about it.  “Never saw a motherglubber so funny be so coddamn boring.”

“Watch it,” Kurloz says, half-growling, and bumps her off his hip—and it’d look like she just kept her grip on him to spite him if you didn’t see how his feet stumbled a second.  “You know how hard I got it to get any kind of motherfucking hires up onto the Dark Carnival without getting a couple picked off for paint on the way up?”

“Charming,” Karkat says, snippy.  “Your Imperious Condescension, how well-vetted are these people?  Gamzee’s got—I mean, I don’t know if they can handle him.  And I’m not going to have all four of us hazed at the same time—”

“Of course, Threshecutioner Vantas,” says the head guy, real sweet and soothing.  “I can assure you, our sylladexes are checked and emptied before we’re admitted, and we all value our positions and our lives enough to be extremely discreet—but we would be honored to have you guard your moirail, while we work on him.” 

You swallow hard enough if you had real seadweller gills you’d be glubbing at him, and he smiles just as nice at you.

[itsjustlux]

Screw It, Tony Baddingham Analysis

Yes, I said I wasn't going to do a Rivals essay. Yes, I totally lied.

** TW for unhealthy power dynamics and discussions of ab*se/violence/violence towards women. Honestly, the man is just a walking warning, read accordingly **

Let's talk Tony. Because I can't help but be constantly intrigued by this simultaneously devastatingly sexy and utterly rizz-less (did I use that right? Kids these days...) sad wet cat creature.

He's relatable. Understandable. Someone who's been constantly put on the outs for being "new money". As someone who's spent her whole life trying to fit into academia and traditionally wealthy spaces and failing spectacularly, I understand that. And I understand the thought process that having enough money, and enough status will finally make it go away. They can't make fun of you if you're the one in control. If you're the one calling the shots.

I see Tony as a character fundamentally motivated by deep, deep insecurity. We don't know much about his childhood (season 2 I beg), but I would put a fair amount of money on him being the sort of traditionally bullied nerdy kid. The kind that starts out well-meaning, but eventually just fucking snaps. Tony is the kind of character determined to either make those around him fall in line or pay the price. When put through this lens, he just sort of looks like a child throwing a temper tantrum.

Because, while Tony's motivations come from a reasonable place, the actions he takes are so far out of the left field he blasts himself out of sympathetic morally grey dude territory straight into the land of big bad evil guys like a member of Team Rocket. See, it's Tony's continuous feeding of his bottled-up resentment and shame that fuel his ego and general shittiness. He is capable of being a decent human being. Everyone is capable of that, I think. But he's trapped himself in a cycle of rage and isolation. The more angry he gets, the more people will leave him. The more that happens, the more isolated and ashamed he becomes. The more that happens, the more angry he gets. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy.

It's why we get that sort of switching on and off of different personalities. That sad, wet cat creature I mentioned in the introduction? That's who Tony really is, underneath all his schemes. When you see that, you're seeing a genuine representation of what's going on inside his head. When he's angry and cruel, that's who he really is. Everything else is an act. Charming, confident Tony? A lie. Sweet, sympathetic Tony? A lie. Any time he needs something from someone, he puts on that charismatic personality. If he needs to draw them in, to pull them in closer so he can feel better about himself, he puts on an act. (Bonus points that DT is so good at what he does that it works on the audience, too)

The irony, of course, is that if any of that behavior was genuine, he'd probably have a hell of a lot of an easier time getting what he wants.

Oh and that last scene? Isn't that just the perfect epitome of all of this? Because it's a result of him trying and failing to pull in Cameron one final time, first with that false personality, and then with who he really is. And, of course, who he is is Not Great (TM), and she knows that. So, he's screwed from the outset. And she hits him with the goddamn trophy, the physical representation of what he's achieved. Proof that he can do more, that he is more than some misfit kid. Demonstrating once and for all that no, Tony. You will never be more than what you are. What you have always been. Even while your show plays in the background, even in your giant office, none of it matters. You have lost, and you will always lose. You will lose the girl, you will lose the company, you will lose the legacy. All of it.

So, now it's time for a little customary speculation. In the event he survives (and that's reliant on like...several factors so this all might be moot), I can see a few different directions for his character. Full disclosure, I haven't read the books. So, this is purely going off of the show and what they've put forward. There are a few places we know we're going to end up. Taggie/Rupert is endgame, Tony will 'lose' again in some fashion, and Cameron/Tony is pretty obviously done. The most likely scenario is that Tony will continue to lash out, and may become an even bigger threat now that he's heartbroken. Some grand final attempt to hurt his rivals, and then some final crushing defeat. I could also see them taking the route of a more obsessive Tony. Some Kilgrave vibes towards Cameron could be horrifying, but not unexpected. It would really push the question of how much he actually cares for her versus how much he thinks he cares for her. All of this keeping in mind he's probably going to have further conflicts with his wife, who's the only one who sees the real Tony and isn't scared off by it. Whatever happens, it'll be interesting.

I'll definitely be tuning in. ;)