#but i think i love its potential even more

[pomegranatelifethis]

I got another one!

Reader REALLY smart I am talking smarter then ALL of them but being passed on as useless untill solving a problem which is made for Harvard university final year students in a matter of seconds?

Thank you for your time!

**English is not my native language**

**I know it's bad But it will be sorted out**

I loved your idea and made a little sketch

---

In the Batcave, Tim sat at the computer, intensely focused on the screen. The problem in front of him was challenging—a mathematical equation designed for Harvard University senior students. The room was silent, except for the sound of his fingers rapidly tapping the keyboard. With every move, he believed he was one step closer to a solution, but still, he couldn’t find the answer. Numbers and formulas on the screen tangled together, each one seemingly going in its own direction, never quite coming together.

At that moment, the room was empty aside from you and Tim. Everyone else was off doing their own thing, but Tim's problem was the toughest of them all. You couldn't help but think of the way they all saw you—Bruce’s little girl, a mistake from a one-night stand, dismissed as nothing more than a nuisance. Everyone treated you like you were dumb, like you didn’t matter. They didn’t understand you, but that didn’t bother you. Not really. You knew what you were capable of, even if no one else did.

You watched Tim work for a while, then walked over to him, standing just behind his shoulder. "Need some help?" you asked, your voice calm and collected, tinged with just a hint of confidence.

Tim glanced up at you, pausing for a moment, then shook his head. "This is a problem Harvard seniors would struggle with, there’s no way you can solve it."

You raised an eyebrow. "Harvard, huh? You’ve really overcomplicated this."

Without waiting for a response, you leaned in and began typing, your fingers flying over the keys with remarkable speed. Within seconds, the problem was solved. Tim watched in shock as the solution appeared on the screen, his disbelief palpable.

“How... how did you do that so fast?” Tim asked, his voice a mix of surprise and awe.

You glanced up at him, giving a small, almost imperceptible smile. "Harvard’s brightest students would take hours to solve this. I guess the problem was in making it seem harder than it really is."

After your words, you turned and walked away, leaving Tim staring at the screen, still processing what had just happened. As you left the room, you didn’t look back. You knew that despite their views, despite the way they underestimated you, you were more than capable. And that was something they would have to learn the hard way.

No one had seen your potential—not yet. But you knew what you were worth. And that was enough.

[juricel]

heyyy its me again

I have a silly request for you which you can ignore if you want to, since I think your ask box is piling up haha!

basically,

Yandere reader x pre corrupt shadow milk cookie turns to reader x Yandere shadow milk cookie

Reader, at first is super obsessed and does a lot of stuff for pre-corrupted shadow milk cookie and hes like super disgusted by how they’re acting. And suddenly, reader disappears one day, and hes fine with it

beasts get corrupted then get jailed,,

while in jail shadow milk cookie misses how loving y/n was, and realised that he has taken them for granted </33 And now he wants them back because of how love deprived he became

when hes out of the silver tree he see’s y/n again and at first hes all hip hip hooray !! until he sees that y/ns clinging onto the THIEF!!!

he goes batshit crazy, you can be creative with this if you want or just give your little ideas/comments I just really want more food wahah

so sorry if this doesn’t make much sense, it’s 2am :’)

tysm for reading oh great one!! you don’t have to do this right away dont worry love ur work already

—💤non

a/n: it's okay, i understand what you were aimimg for! I focused on the other requests before this one and had some church duties to do, so I apologize for having you need to wait for so long.

— yandere! shadow milk cookie x past yandere! reader (ft. the bus driver, pure vanilla cookie.)

໒꒰՞ ܸ. .ܸ՞꒱ა ۪ ׂ CONTENT WARNING: manipulation, physical abuse, heavy possessive and obssessive behavior, unhealthy relationship, implied forced established relationship, implied mindbreak, corruption, objectification, stalking, pure vanilla cookie needs a fucking break, one of these warnings is not like the rest, potential ooc.

𖦁 blueberry milk cookie was a heaven sent gift from the witches above, he was a celestial jewel, an angel's whisper brought down to earth, the very breath of seraphim—an impossible, transcendental blessing cradled in the tender arms of witches' own grace. he was a splendid confection, kneaded from divine essence, destined to scatter blessings upon the crumbed multitudes of earthbread—a being way out of your league, you, an ordinary cookie who could crumble and wither into a flour with not a single eye batting to your direction.

𖦁 ah, but how radiant he was, you couldn't help yourself from your love, your dear, your luminous, immortal darling. does he even know? does he grasp the way his mind glows, the way his thoughts spill like molten gold onto the parchment of your very soul? he was your everything, your love—your guiding star, your perfect darling, your sole, necessary breath. and yet, the world, the pitiful, ignorant world, could not comprehend his brilliance, like a mere toy, they had molded him, and cast him aside once their utilitarian need had been served; they did not deserve him. no, the world could not deserve him—those who fail to recognize the sacredness of his mind, who treat his wisdom as commonplace, who look upon him without the reverence of a disciple at the feet of a god—it sickens you, stirs a fury deep within your chest. in the hollowed, gleaming corridors of his towering spire, you would see them—fawning, indulging in their miserable, blind inanities, lost in the sick lies they prefer over the sublime truth he alone could offer. and mind you, it was he—he—who spent his invaluable time, his precious moments, entangled with these dull, odious fools, these imbecilic cookies just for them to throw it away! he should not have to share his divine self with such paltry, uninspired creatures. no, no, no. you could not abide it. you would sever every connection, carve away every distraction, erase every tether that pulled him from you. and if it were required to cloak him in the softest, most unrelenting shadow, to shield him from the world that could never grasp his greatness, to hide him where only your gaze could drink in the luminous glow of his mind—so be it. you would protect him, cherish him, and keep him safe from those who could never understand him as you do.

𖦁 yet, he couldn't seem to understand it all; with every embrace, a look of disdain was given to you, as if you were a taint smeared upon heavens, can't he understand? these cookies were the one that were evil! they will defile him, corrupt his very name with degeneracy! you were merely shielding him away from the evil, how could he not comprehend that? he must've been brainwashed. yes, surely, or so that was what you wanted to believe, however, all his actions proved otherwise: with every touch, he recoiled, like a skittish moth repelled by the flame it once sought. with every affectionate word, he replied in clipped, mechanical syllables, blunt and cold, each one landing with the weight of a slammed door. there was no love in them—no warmth, no hesitance, no trace of a feeling that might, by some miracle, have softened the harsh lines of his indifference. you learned quickly that tenderness was a language he neither spoke nor cared to decipher. a hand reaching for his own was met with a perfunctory pat, a touch devoid of meaning, as if acknowledging, rather than returning, the gesture. you could pour all your warmth into him, let it trickle down the cracks in his facade, but he would not absorb it. He remained, steadfast in his distance, near enough to torment, far enough to elude. you tried to believe in the silences, in the space between his words, in the possibility that somewhere beneath that marble exterior, there was something that resembled love. but hope, much like affection, was wasted on him. you tried, really! to continue loving him, you truly did, but, ah, your feelings leisurely diminished into grains of flour until your love turned into rust and dust.

𖦁 it wasn't long until then your unfortunate sweet dear darling, the celestial beacon in your life was sullied into taint when you vanished into thin air. from graces, he fell, and into the bottom of the endless pit of corruption.

𖦁 and oh, how much he changed: in the cold, lonely cell, he reminisced the past, thought of you, thought of your oh so tender gentle caresses! and to say that it made him deprived of warmth, made him ache—hunger not for food, but for yours was an understatement. he sought and yearned for it, hunger gnawed, a sensation with fangs, sharp and insistent, curling inside his ribs like a starved serpent. he gwaned for you—not sweetly, not poetically, but in the way of a body denied water, of lips cracked and trembling at the edge of a mirage. oh, to be held, to be devoured, to be anything but this wretched hunger pressing against the ribs, licking at the throat, whispering: more, more, more... ah! he couldn't stop it! he promises to himself that he'd apologize to you and pamper you with affection once he gets out of this petulant little silver tree!

𖦁 and he'd definitely stick to his word; the moment he flees from the withering tree binding him and his allies, he had his priorities straight: to find his dear darling! he was beyond ectastic, thoughts filled of embracing you once more and kissing you, but, ah, none could prepare him for the sight that would unfold infront of his very gaze—his sweet puppet was linking arms with /him/. at first, he laughed, he chuckled and brushed it off, no, no, surely he was just presuming things! there was no way his dear would betray him and replace him with such a... ungracious caricature of a cookie, right? right? if you were, he'd definitely need to give you a better eyes as a replacement which was a no worries for him! he has a nice stock of replacement! surely, you wouldn't stoop down to that level of degeneracy. yet, you didn't approach him like he thought and dreamed of within the silved tree, you only took a cautious step back, away from him, away from your perfect celestial darling and to the burlesque version of himself, realization dawned and it made him seeth with anger.

𖦁 blasphemous! how dare you! you superseded his spot with this thing?! to betray him was one thing, but to replace him with this cheap copy of himself whom hadn't grown ever slightly intelligent despite wielding his own power?! you little pest! he'll make you pay for this. oh, and, don't worry your pretty little brain! he promises to be much, much more tender than he will be to him, it will be grand, a show that will mark itself in earthbread's history. so won't you be a good little dear and wait till he finishes his one last marionette show before tending to you?

𖦁 and as for the destiny of the silly little thief... ah, he vows to make him taste his own medicine and he'll make certain it will be a fate worse than crumbling away! he wasn't gonna kill him, no, no, death was far too gentle, he was gonna corrupt him, brainwash his mind with sweet, insidious poison, and distort his reality into a glistening hall of mirrors where every reflection was a lie, every whisper a trick of the light. he would unravel, unravel most grotesquely, as his reason frayed like moth-eaten silk, his thoughts dissolving into the same exquisite delirium that had once seized his own skull in its venomous embrace! and most importantly, he was gonna make him feel like what it felt like to be in his place! he stole his soul jam and now you, surely he doesn't think he can get away with that, can't he? no, no, if he wants to take from him so badly, he was gonna make him /him/.

𖦁 but ah, don't be so upset, dear. shouldn't you be exhilarated? he's giving you the attention you craved for, the attention you digged the sand and soils for until your fingers scarred and numbed for, the attention you yearned and sought for like a madman. so, why won't you clap, give your sweet jester an applause for his spectacular show? don't tell him you were still concerned of pure vanilla cookie! he simply put him in the right path, the road down to the deepest depths of hell, of course, but it was still a befitting destination!

𖦁 yet, still, still, you prattled on, fretting that lovely little head of yours over pure vanilla cookie—his name tumbling from your lips like some sacred incantation, a hymn to a god too distant to listen. and oh, how it curdled something deep inside him, how it set his very marrow alight with a fury so exquisite it was almost pleasure. could you not see? he was here. here, before you, in all his resplendent, fevered devotion, and yet you—blind, foolish, maddening thing—spoke of another. oh! perhaps a lesson was in order. yes, yes, that's right, a lesson. a gentle one, at first—he was, after all, a man of remarkable patience. a game, then, a little amusement, something to turn those wandering thoughts back where they belonged. he would not interrupt, no, never that. he would only guide, nudge, mold. and in the end, oh, you would see. you would understand. you would learn.

𖦁 and to say the wait had been merely excellent would be a crime of understatement, a paltry insult to the fevered anticipation that had coiled and uncoiled within him for so long. no, the outcome was a marvel beyond the bounds of mere expectation. you were back, back as you had been, intact, whole—his darling, his own, still in possession of that precious, once-fractured self. giddy with triumph, he would fall against you, arms encircling the exquisite stillness of your form, his dear darling, still and unresponsive—your gaze, those glassy and depthless eyes, did not meet his but stretched past him, unfocused, fixed upon some distant and nameless horizon. there was no flicker of recognition, no gentle return of his embrace. and yet, he clung to you, triumphant, unbothered by your silence, unshaken by your vacancy. you were here. that was more than enough.

a/n: I've received like... so many requests featuring pure vanilla cookie with yandere shadow milk cookie after i made that one post... do you guys want him dead? anyways, i just lost my pity in the guaranteed banner to fucking sherbet cookie. i need frost queen to turn him into snow once again... can someone bless me their mystic flour luck, ill give you my burning spice who is currently 4 stars (f2p)

[essektheylyss]

idk I kind of feel like I'm an idiot bc I actually enjoyed cr 3 from the jump to the end but like the blogs who follow bc I feel they are definitely more articulate and insightful than me are like "the whole thing was meaningless and pointless! matt fumbled everything!" so maybe I'm wrong to have liked it all? I'm not really sure where I'm going with this sorry

I think one thing to keep in mind is that many (and in fact, I would argue, most!) people who are critiquing the story and construction have also generally enjoyed the campaign as a whole! Certainly I don't know anyone who stuck it out through the end who did not overall enjoy watching it, for various reasons; I know there are people who hate watch, which I think is an absurd and honestly really stupid waste of time, but from my experience they are normally making snide and vicious tweet-length posts rather than long considerations of what isn't working for them.

There are also a lot of levels of critique—I've greatly enjoyed a lot of moments in isolation that I simultaneously felt weakened, contradicted, or even actively undermined the structure of the story as a whole, but those moments were still really fun and interesting beats. The Arch Heart's cameo comes to mind, as does, in hindsight, some of the construction of the post-Solstice split, but there are plenty of others of higher or lower impact on the story. In the finale the Raise Dead falls into this place very strongly, so I'm going to talk about it at length for a moment, since it was an absolutely stellar moment for me personally and as such I do think it serves as very illustrative of an example where I simultaneously fucking love a moment while finding it worth significant critique. I think it also touches on the critiques you're referring to, which I would summarize overall as the idea that many of the outcomes feel influenced negatively by pulled punches on the part of the DM rather than a flaw of one player or another. (Also, I want to talk about it cuz I love it. :3) This got very long but I think that to your point, it is worth examining in this amount of depth.

First, the good: it is an absolutely phenomenal culminating point of an arc that was only really concluded in summary; I have, as noted earlier this week, written at length about how Essek is never situated as a protagonist, which is functionally fine and even good. He ends up tied very strongly to Caleb's arc, and moves in the narrative in such a way after 2x97 that allows Caleb to reach a concluding note, and strengthens that narrative. So we only really hear about the outcome of Essek's choices, his inevitable leave from the Dynasty, in the summarization of the campaign 2 epilogue. This is not inherently a problem, because he is not a protagonist. But this moment does functionally create a material representation of that denouement, and in particular the tension between the outcomes of his poor choices and the better—potentially even good!—person he is trying to be as a result of the Nein's influence, which does strengthen his arc in its own right.

This moment also, hilariously, bears out my argument from this post. That the resurrection should only work with this intervention, particularly while the Nein are involved, does follow through on the Nein's general positioning within Exandria. Essek's leave happening without a fight (and, frankly, with only one attempted Counterspell) both makes for a very well-paced moment and also maintains the overall sense of story that the Nein impart when they are on screen; I'm thinking again of how their Ruidus episodes feel, much like their campaign and their post-campaign one-shots, like an intrigue action thriller series, and this fits well in that framing.

So overall, it is a fantastic moment... for the Nein. The Nein are not the protagonists of this story. They exist in the world, and are such active agents that they do continue to develop and exert motion on the narrative into this campaign, and frankly, I think this would have been fine if the party given ownership of this story and campaign did not abdicate their responsibility for it with unfortunate frequency. They do not exert a strong control over their story, which is at odds with the fact that the Nein do, and are present and also involved by the nature of their ending. It completely overshadows Ashton's heroic moment, in that the culminating action beat of this sequence is Essek getting away, which kind of takes the wind out of the sails of the Hells' involvement in the gods' outcome. It doesn't negate it, certainly, but it does refocus the story from them to, for some reason, Essek. So in this sense, it occurs at the expense of the Hells.

I find that while the handwaving of using dunamantic intervention to push Raise Dead beyond its limits (if indeed the reason it didn't originally work was because Ashton's brain was essentially gone) fits fine and even well within the framework of the Nein's story, and an NPC being able to do so without a roll is fine, since NPCs are vehicles the DM uses to guide the story, this is a significant divergence from the overall mechanics of the world at large; even the Nein had to do a full ritual for the resurrection of their tiefling. Matt put those mechanics in place specifically to create narrative meaning behind resurrections, which can feel very unmotivated and like a get out of jail free card in D&D, and while it's been noted that this would've really strained the runtime beyond its existing length, prioritizing it at the cost of, for instance, more truncated end notes for the Nein and Vox would've bolstered the Hells' presence in an ending to their own story that even many of their fans felt was ultimately lacking.

Giving the resurrection full weight would've also given Ashton's sacrifice and the Hells' involvement more narrative weight; the reason the other parties are involved at all is because the Hells were truly running on fumes by that point, but any lack of involvement this created could've been alleviated by having them directly involved through pre-established ritual elements that are not contingent on them having any mechanical offerings. So this moment sits within the context of critique that I agree with: that it felt like a pulled punch that ultimately also served to decenter the Hells within their own narrative, when it could've been used with more deliberate narrative force.

At the same time, I fucking love it, and watched it four times in a row yesterday, because it is so good—and it is, as I described, narratively and thematically coherent in one sense! And I think that is one issue of the campaign: many, many great moments are excellent and coherent in a certain framework but are weaker to varying degrees when considered as one piece of a larger whole. There are so many frameworks at play in this narrative, and not enough direct intervention to manage those as frameworks rather than as a single story, but at the same time, I think those frameworks are far more apparent if you're really looking for them, and that's much more difficult, if not impossible, when you're in the midst of them and telling the story.

I also don't think this means one cannot critique this; in fact, I would say this is more an issue of being a serialized narrative than an improvised one, which is often how critique of it has been pushed back against within the fandom. I was thinking about this as I'm currently in a course on, quite literally, how to critique comics, and we discussed this week how Marjane Satrapi said in an interview after making the film adaptation of Persepolis, which was first a serialized comic, that she ended up preferring the film, and I speculated that was because with a film, one has the ability to make a more cohesive narrative purely by virtue of the fact that with a serialized form, you cannot go back and make retroactive edits when new developments come to light. This is something that long-running comics must constantly navigate (as do many long TV shows), and in extreme circumstances such as decades-old comic franchises, ends up resulting in infinite timelines and hand-waving, which becomes so ridiculous that at this point it's a meme. In that scenario, though, it is not presented as a non-contradictory story, let alone a cohesive one.

Many of the critiques of campaign 3 are operating within the idea that this is presented as one overarching narrative. (And honestly, comics and other narratives that don't utilize that presentation are also still critiqued on that merit by people who greatly enjoy the texts they're critiquing anyway.) Within that context, I feel that the framing of the Raise Dead, as well as much of what would be my critique of the other pieces I referenced (the Arch Heart's cameo and some of the party-split sections) if I was to do the same kind of rundown of those, actively undermine this presentation by introducing and forefronting too many conflicting frameworks that are not interwoven well enough to create a single, cohesive overarching narrative.

This is a very long-winded way to illustrate my point, which is that I would really encourage reading critique not as a lack of enjoyment of the campaign, let alone a suggestion that no one should've enjoyed it (and if you did, then you're not smart enough to know better), but as a way to engage with the text(s) as presented within one framework or another. I think this is sometimes obscured in online fandom spaces, where we're not engaging in critique in as formal of a sense as one would in, say, an academic setting, where the norms generally dictate the framework one is using is explicitly stated if not fully delineated within the critique, but it is, more often than not, still implicitly present within the critique.

And as a final note, I would also really urge everyone reading others' opinions on something they enjoy to resist the urge to elide their own opinions from the conversation, even if you don't feel as articulate or as well-versed in critique. Critique is a trained skill, so it is certainly something one can pick up if they are inclined, and at the same time, someone doing it does not mean they are inherently right—and in fact, with all argumentative writing, it is up to the reader to consider the argument and decide whether or not they agree with it. (You can decide that you disagree with me about the Raise Dead! Just because I wrote a thousand words on it does not inherently make my interpretation truth; it's just an interpretation. You get to say whether or not you think my interpretation makes sense based on the evidence presented.) Even here I'm using the framework of some critique that others have made, but I don't delineate in full myself. In doing do I'm not presuming that you agree, but I am presuming that you've read it and know what I'm referring to. Strictly speaking it's also not even saying that I take that critique as true; it's saying that I feel the conclusions drawn are applicable as a basis for my argument. If you wanted, you could even say that you feel that my argument is irrelevant to you because you don't feel those critiques are true! But you ultimately do have to be the one to decide any of that, which does involve a balance between a confidence in the formation of your own opinions on the text and an openness to entertaining others'.

[neon-zipperooni]

in light of the new costume implying some things.. boy howdy, here comes a hot take, the crk fandom needs to understand the prospect of shadow milk being redeemed is not the end of the world

cookie run rarely even does redemption stories, the only big example of villainous characters being redeemed is in ovenbreak with lotus dragon cookie's growth and lychee dragon cookie building up to a redemption, which while i think on lotus's end it was kinda rushed they've been handling lychee very well, so its not like redemption stories in cookie run are "overdone" (also im sick of the "nooo im tired of redemptions" argument when 1. not everyone is, i personally love a good redemption story and 2. there are plenty of villains out there who are plain evil with no redemption, it's not a dying genre)

also it would be way more interesting than the more obvious resolution to the beast storyline of just sealing them away again, i think finding a way to appeal to the shreds of.. humanity? cookiemanity? still within them is a much more interesting narrative and lends itself to more stories to potentially tell with these five very interesting characters. and there are implications that the cookies they used to be are still in there somewhere, especially with burning spice, given how he full on bluescreens for a moment when reminiscing on the first kingdom he [....] (my money's on watched over, but we dont know what he was gonna say) when talking w/ nutmeg tiger in the kingdom

i've seen a lot of people say they'll lose interest in shadow milk if he gets redeemed which baffles me because for me at least, while a decent chunk of the appeal of the beasts is how interesting and entertaining they are as villains, one of my favorite parts of them is the heroes they once were, what they could've been like during those days, and the tragedies that led to them falling so deep into villainy: witnessing the worst in cookiekind and becoming disillusioned and deciding nothing should exist, witnessing their denizens live grow and die over and over and to the point they get sick of it and end up embracing destruction to take control of the cycle, and.. whatever we end up learning about the other three and what corrupted them.

for me, i see it like this lmao

and like, don't get me wrong, i know all the beasts really aren't good people but a redemption story doesn't necessarily mean a slap on the wrist, a redemption story can be about atonement just as much as it is about changing for the better, it can be messy, a sobering moment realizing everything you've done and everything you need to do to make up for it, there is sooo much story potential in delving into their pasts and delving into a redemption story of the beasts atoning for their deeds and growing as people it's crazy.. and besides, they were heroes once before, who's to say the potential to be that again isn't still within them?

i personally really wanna see a beast redemption and i'll never fathom why so many people are so against it when it's so much better of a way to conclude their story as the current main threat than just sealing them away again, i just hope that if this really is the route the devs go they'll handle it well because it can just as easily be done wrong, i have faith though

also i've seen a lot of people say the shadow milk costume looks ugly and they're WRONG it looks amazing i love blue and gold as a color combo

[qoldenskies]

Okay okay I'll yammer about Rise!Splinter in your ask box because oh my god I cannot STAND people who legitimately villainize him on main. Like, alright, you can call him an emotionally unavailable or even slightly neglectful parent all you want, because even the show itself makes it clear that his parenting style wasn't exactly PERFECT and probably left the boys with at least a SMALL myriad of issues (Raph's parentification and Donnie's constant need for approval come to mind, though I can't say for sure whether those are entirely borne of Splinter's parenting style lmao). But I feel like so many people through trying to villainize his actions deliberately gloss over the fact that he was probably struggling with hardcore PTSD after spending a decade or more basically being forced to fight in a DEATH ARENA, not to mention probably having a good deal of body dysmorphia because he's suddenly been kind of forcefully shoved into a body that he can't even recognize as his own anymore. PTSD is a genuinely crippling condition to struggle with at times. On top of the depression he more than likely had, it'll make you not even want to get out of bed some days, and to struggle with that AND take care of four INFANTS that you've basically suddenly found yourself the sole caretaker of HAD to require a great deal of both mental and physical strength from Splinter. I'm sure he had his hard days, and the show points that out, but he was still trying his damn hardest to be there and be present for these kids, even if he fucked it up at every turn, even if he was far from the BEST parental figure that they could have had.

People can critique his parenting style as they wish (hell, even I do it), but so many depictions of him as an awful parent feel like they're glossing over the legitimate mental issues that he more than likely has, and idk sometimes I just feel like yammering about it on main

yeah like, a parent can seriously fuck you up completely unintentionally and have understandable, sympathetic reasons for it (while still not being in the right! a kid is never in the wrong for being hurt by an adult who failed them! but they're also well within their right to understand and empathize with a complicated parent who loves and changes for them!). generally im sure a lot of people who write abusive parent splinter genuinely had horrendous and abusive parents and are venting, which is why i tend not to be judgemental to people who do. characters are ultimately devices to drive a plot and if they're writing a story where they want to put them through some shit, that's one way to do it. aus are aus and allat

HOWEVER. lord does it frustrate me when people act like his behavior in the show itself is actually like that. i think its really uncharitable and unsympathetic. like if you want to see some of the things he did to them as potentially unforgivable thats fine, because if they're upset with him they dont have to forgive him, but him dealing with crippling ptsd and depression while being someone who goes out of his way to parent and change and grow while handling it just makes it idk nasty to me ,,,,

and also maybe this is just a hot take but esp. when it comes to raph and donnie i think them having more complex feelings about him makes for more compelling angst. its juicier, and i love to read stories that are empathetic towards everyone involved.

i am not a splinter defender but i will still fight splinter haters (not actually. dont fight me i will cry, i dont main tag most things anymore for a reason lmao)

[ivyues]

Chasing Yesterday | 2 | - Bang Chan

Bang Chan x lost connection trainee friend

Years after splitting paths, Bang Chan didn't expect a simple text to bring an old friend – and old feelings – back into his life.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

The days after your café reunion with Chris passed in a haze of texts and shared nostalgia. When you suggested he come over to your place one evening to catch up more, he hesitated for only a moment before agreeing.

On the night he arrived, Chris stood outside your door, his hand hovering over the buzzer. He wasn’t sure why his heart was pounding. Maybe it was the years of distance or the intimacy of stepping into your personal space. He shook his head and pressed the button.

When you opened the door, your wide smile put him at ease. “Hey! Come in.”

Chris stepped inside. While removing his shoes, he glanced around. Your home was cozy, the kind of space that reflected its owner. A stack of books rested on a coffee table, a throw blanket was draped over the couch, and a few polaroid photos adorned the walls. One, in particular, caught his eye — a candid shot of you laughing with someone. His chest tightened briefly. Did you have a boyfriend? Wait, that's possible.

“Come on, I want to show you something.”

You grabbed his hand without thinking and led him to your desk. The tiny producing setup was modest but well-loved: a small MIDI keyboard, a monitor, and a tangle of cables. “This is where I spend most of my free time,” you said with a grin. “But here—this is what I wanted to show you.”

You held up a USB stick, your eyes gleaming with mischief. “I found this while unpacking. It has some old files on it… something we worked on together back then.”

Chris’ eyes widened. “No way! I thought that got lost.”

“Apparently not,” you replied, plugging the USB into your laptop. After a moment of scrolling, you played the file. A rough, unfinished song filled the room, and Chris’ cheeks flushed. “Oh my god,” he couldn’t help but exclaim. It was clunky and amateurish, but there was something endearing about it. It reflected the rough beginnings of his own musical career, a thought that made him laugh.

“I mean, the melody… could’ve been worse,” he said with a sheepish laugh, scratching the back of his neck.

You smirked. “That's what I thought! It has potential–If you ignore the rest. We could try to work with it!”

The two of you dove into the project, tweaking the melody and layering new elements. It was pure fun, the kind that came from creating with someone who shared your passion. As the track slowly evolved, so did the atmosphere between you two. Little touches – a brush of his hand against yours when reaching for the keyboard, the way his laugh made your heart skip – blurred the lines between friendship and something more.

As you scrolled through the files on the USB, another discovery made you pause. “Oh my gosh,” you said, clicking on an image file. It was an old selfie of the two of you as trainees. 

The photo showed you taking the selfie with a big grin, your cheeks pressed against Chris’, his arm slung casually around your shoulder. His smile was wide and carefree, his dimples on full display. You both looked so much younger – teenagers with softer, rounder faces, and an innocence that only came before the pressures of adulthood. 

“Oh, come on. You still have that?” Chris groaned, covering his face with his hands. “Man, that must have been like… 10 years ago?”

“Yeah, look at you! You were so cute,” you said, grinning. 

Chris’ ears turned pink as he peeked through his fingers. “Stop. "Seriously." 

Then, after a beat, he asked, “Can you send it to me?”

You laughed lightly. “Sure, if you want.”

As you moved to send him the picture, Chris’ curiosity grew. “Do you have more of those?”

You glanced at him mischievously. “Maybee,” you teased, your grin widening.

His eyes narrowed playfully. “Maybe?”

“Maybe,” you repeated, leaving him to wonder.

Chris’ gaze flickered between the photo on his phone and you. The years had changed you, but your essence – the spark that made his heart beat differently back then – was the same. He couldn’t stop himself from murmuring under his breath, “Your boyfriend is going to be one lucky guy.”

You didn’t hear him, but you caught the way his gaze softened. “What?” you asked, still smiling.

He shook his head quickly. “Nothing. Just… thinking how much has changed. And how much hasn’t.”

Chris let out a small sigh, his mind drifted back to the last time you had spoken before you disappeared from his life.

The memory hit him hard.

You had just received the news that you weren’t debuting in the upcoming group, and he – without thinking – had reacted with relief. Not because he wanted to see you fail, never that, but because it meant you weren’t leaving. He had lost so many friends to debut teams, especially that year, watching them move forward while he stayed behind. But you, especially you, would still be here. With him.

He hadn't realized how cruel that must have sounded to you at the time. How his own feelings had blinded him to the heartbreak in your eyes.

And you had been shattered. Furious. At yourself, at the system, at everything. And at him. His reaction had only deepened the wound, and before either of you knew it, the frustration had exploded into an argument, both of you screaming at each other, saying things that cut the deepest coming from someone you hold close.

After that, silence stretched for weeks. Then, one day, you were just gone. No explanation. No goodbye.

He exhaled, rubbing the back of his neck. "I, uh… I wanted to say this back when we first met again at the café, but I wasn’t sure if it was the right time."

You looked up from the screen, curiosity flickering across your face. "Say what?"

Chris hesitated, then placed his phone down, facing you fully. "I wanted to apologize. For… back then. For what I said the last time we spoke." His voice was soft, regretful. "I was selfish. I wasn’t thinking about how much it hurt you. I just— I was scared of losing another friend. But that’s not an excuse."

Your expression shifted, surprise flickering across your features before you let out a small sigh. "Chris… I was seriously hurt back then. I felt like my world was falling apart, and hearing you say—it just made it worse."

"But," you continued, your voice softer, "we were kids. We didn’t know how to handle all of that pressure, all of those emotions. And I was angry at myself more than anything. I think… I just needed someone to blame."

Chris swallowed, his chest tightening. "Still. I should’ve been better."

"We both should have." You looked at him for a moment, your gaze softening. “I kind of disappeared on everyone after that, didn’t I?” You murmured, a little embarrassed.

You sighed, your voice a little thick with emotion. "And that for sure didn't make your remaining time as a trainee any easier. I didn’t hear anything from you for so long. I thought you had also given up.” A small smile tugged at your lips. “That’s why I was so happy when I heard you debuted. I thought... finally, you made it."

Chris met your gaze, his expression softening even further. “It wasn’t easy. But if past-me would have known you were still rooting for me... that means more than I can say.”

Your smile grew, a bittersweet feeling tugging at you. "Hey, I was always rooting for you. I never stopped."

You were still for a few seconds, your gaze lingering on Chris as something unspoken passed between you. Then, a slow, teasing smile spread across your lips.

His brows furrowed. “What?”

You bit your lip, clearly holding back a laugh. “Nothing.”

His eyes narrowed, suspicion creeping in. “No, seriously. What?”

You exhaled dramatically before finally giving in. “I just… didn’t think you were the type to show off that much,” you said while vaguely gesturing towards his body, a small grin tugging at the corner of your lips.

Chris blinked. “Huh?”

“C’mon, don’t play innocent now.” You raised an eyebrow playfully.

Chris let out an embarrassed chuckle, rubbing the back of his neck – a move that only served to flex his biceps. “Yah, I’m not—” He stopped mid-sentence when he caught the way your eyes flickered to the movement, your smirk deepening.

Realizing his mistake, he quickly dropped his arm and folded them across his chest, which, unfortunately for him, only emphasized the definition of his forearms. You stifled a laugh, tilting your head. “Uh-huh. Totally not showing off.”

“I’m not!” he groaned, covering his face. “Unbelievable.”

You simply laughed, the warmth between you both growing more comfortable.

As the night and your operation on the song continued, you excused yourself to replace an empty bottle of water. Left alone, Chris’ curiosity got the better of him. Turning around in his chair, his eyes wandered again, landing on an electric guitar propped against the wall. He walked over and gently ran his fingers along the neck.

When you returned, drinks in hand, you found him staring at the guitar. “You really got one?” he asked, glancing over his shoulder. “You always talked about how you wanted to learn it back then.”

“Of course,” you said, setting the food down. “I still do, but…” You shrugged. “Life gets busy.”

Chris smiled softly. “You should make time for it. It’s never too late.”

Hours later, when it was finally time for Chris to leave, you walked him to the door. As you hugged goodbye, his arms lingered just a moment longer than necessary.

“Thanks for tonight,” he said, his voice warm. “It was… really nice.”

“Yeah, it was,” you agreed. “We should do it again sometime.”

“Definitely,” he said, stepping back. “Goodnight, Y/N.”

“Goodnight, Chris. Get home safely.”

As the door closed behind him, you leaned against it, your heart fluttering. A smile spread across your face, unbidden and unstoppable. Somewhere out there, Chris was walking away with the same feeling, his thoughts already drifting back to you.

-----

The next day, Chris arrived at dance practice with an energy that didn’t go unnoticed by the members. Han, ever curious, sidled up to him during a break. “So,” he began, waggling his eyebrows, “how’d your reunion go?”

Chris froze mid-sip of his water, nearly choking. “What reunion?”

Han rolled his eyes. “Don’t play dumb. You mentioned catching up with an old friend. What was her name? Y/N?”

At the sound of your name, Chris’ ears turned pink. He waved a hand dismissively. “It was fine. We just talked and caught up. Nothing big.”

But Han wasn’t buying it. “Oh, come on, hyung. You can’t drop a name like that and not spill. What’s she like? What’d you talk about?”

The other members, overhearing the exchange, quickly gathered around. Felix plopped down next to Chris with a grin. “Wait, who’s Y/N? Someone you knew before Stray Kids?”

Chris sighed, realizing there was no escaping their curiosity. “She was a trainee with me back in the days. We were close, but she left before debut.”

“That’s so cool you got to reconnect,” Seungmin said, leaning against the wall. “Did you bring her here? It’d be fun to meet her.”

“No,” Chris said quickly, his tone firmer than intended. “I don’t think it’d be a good idea. I don’t want to bring up bad memories for her. The trainee days weren’t exactly easy.”

Hyunjin tilted his head. “That’s fair. But… is she pretty?”

Chris huffed out a laugh, shaking his head. “What kind of question is that?”

The members exchanged amused glances. “That’s not a no,” Changbin teased.

Rolling his eyes, Chris stood and grabbed his phone, needing a way to shut them up. “I don’t have any recent pictures, okay? But… here.” He pulled up the old selfie you’d sent him the night before and showed them.

The reaction was immediate as his phone was snatched out of his hand.

“Whoa, you two look so close!” I.N exclaimed, leaning in for a better look.

“This is from back then?” Hyunjin asked, his eyes flicking between the photo and Chris. “You both look so young.”

“Look at how he’s smiling,” Felix teased. “Channie hyung, you were totally whipped back then.”

“I was not,” Chris said defensively, grabbing his phone and shoving it back into his pocket. “Can we drop this now?”

The members weren’t about to let it go that easily. 

“Hyung,” Lee Know started, grinning like a Cheshire cat. “You’re blushing so much right now. Are you sure nothing happened during your little reunion?”

Chris groaned, rubbing the back of his neck. “I swear, nothing happened. We just talked, alright? Caught up on life.”

“But you wanted something to happen, didn’t you?” Hyunjin smirked, his chin resting in his hand. “Is she single?”

“No!—What? Why would I know that.” Chris shot back, but his face betrayed him as his ears turned an even brighter shade of red. “She’s just… she’s really nice. And talented. That’s all.”

Seungmin, ever the observant one, raised an eyebrow. “If that’s true, why are you getting so defensive?”

Chris sighed, feeling cornered. “Because you guys are making a big deal out of nothing,” he muttered, glancing away. 

But just as he was about to end the conversation for good, he mumbled the same thing he thought all those years ago – under his breath, barely audible, “She’s way out of my league anyway…”

pt.3 | pt.4 | pt.5 | masterlist

[vidavalor]

Just thinking about...

Spoilers for The Finale filming stuff.

C: "I'm so sorry-- it [the bookshop] burned down."

A: "... all of it?"

C: *hesitates in meep-uh-meeps for a moment* "Yeah?"

and

"No more old bookshops."

and

Ok, listen, the bookshop is as magical as its owners and we've never seen all of it by design. For all we know, Aziraphale can, idk, pop open a closet door in the kitchen and walk into into the rest of the shop... which looks like a whole other location. Like, say, what appears to be a different bookshop in Edinburgh?

And wouldn't that just work so well?

Think of the England and Scotland in the book and the series-- think of Aziraphale flipping the guy's phone to a Scottish flag in S2. The euphemistic stuff in The Arrangement passage in the book where the "cities" are first in England, then in Scotland. Themes of duality everywhere and it would be a lot of fun if the bookshop actually has a whole other facade-- we think it's just in London but it's actually also in Edinburgh.

It's entirely possible that the scenes in question that they were filming are meant to be in the present of The Finale but it's also possible that it's a flashback. Yeah, even with Aziraphale having dark hair.In fact, I think I'd love the idea that he sometimes just did in the past, even more than I would if he were to fall and then suddenly had it. Aziraphale has dark roots beneath the blond that have been there all along and the whole thing would work better if it's the kind of thing where it just has always been because, fundamentally, Aziraphale wouldn't be any different than he was before when he fell and that's the whole point.

Plus, that would give a fun layer to "shades of a dark grey" in 1941. Aziraphale with darker hair was familiar to Crowley then. It would only be a surprise to us. It also could potentially then mean that the scene they're filming could be a flashback, for all we know. It might not be but it could be.

And, omg, if they tell us in The Finale that Aziraphale can literally walk through a room in London and be in Edinburgh... if we thought the euphemistic "I rather thought I might take the car" bit from S2 was already hilarious, imagine how much funnier it would become if we learn that Aziraphale didn't even have to drive there. 😂

[love-byers]

Hi, I first want to say that I absolutely enjoy reading all your analysis! About Mike's monologue, I'm kinda playing the devil's advocate here, the actual line in the script is: "And I knew somehow then -- in that moment -- that I loved you." That's definitely better than "I knew right there and then", this was actually Finn paraphrasing, and yes they chose to keep it, but I don't think we should analyze that line that much when it's not even what the writers initially wrote.

I'm a Byler who believes Mike truly loved El, but this is a story of learning to let go of your first love. And Finn kinda confirmed that to me in his recent answers. It's a first love vs right love story.

Also, another interesting thing I found. The script says "But I am scared…that one day, you'll realize -- you don’t really need me." He says it like it's a fact: El doesn't really need him, that's not even a question. Mike is not scared of the eventuality of El not needing him, he's scared of her realizing that she doesn't. He knows deep down this love isn't right. Just like he said in the initial van scene script: "She's already beginning to understand she doesn't need me. I saw it -- I saw it in her eyes, that last time we talked."

To me, Mike has to learn to let go of his first love, El, in order to let in the right love, Will.

thank you!! :)

i don't rlly see how those lines are any different, the wording and addition of "somehow" doesn't change anything or make it better. it's still a statement, not a hyperbole, and a lie. the "in that moment" is the nail in the coffin. it pin points his realization on that moment specifically, so there is no way around it being untrue. if anything, the "somehow' makes it come off more like mike is acknowledging how outlandish it would be to know he loves her 2 seconds after seeing her for the first time in the woods in a rain storm, but claiming its the truth anyways. removing "somehow" makes it more so that mike is really leaning into it and pushing that its the truth, desperately wanting her to believe him. it would make sense that he wouldn't preface that with acknowledgement of how crazy it is, because he wants to seem assured and confident that its the truth, giving el no reason to doubt him.

i definitely think mike had romantic feelings for el, but i just don't think that ever crossed the line into true romantic love. he definitely grew to love el and appreciate her and care for her, but that was never tied to his romantic feelings for her. his true love for her is just not romantic. their relationship is built off of insecurity and attachment, which is why they stayed together for so long. i just don't think he was ever in love with her, nor was she in love with him. i don't argue with ppl who say it was a first love situation, because thats accurate enough. but i think a better description is puppy love. just like stancy vs jancy. stancy was immature, teenage puppy love built on physicality and a desire to feel normal. jancy was true love, built on natural chemistry, trust, respect, and emotional connection.

i just cant get behind saying mike fell out of love with el, cause i really don't think thats the case. i think they rlly highlight this in s3 with the mlvn breakup and byler fight. mike says el is the "most important thing to him in the world'. but, after she breaks up with him he does nothing. he goofs off with his friends in his basement and complains. he doesn't go after her or try to stop her, he doesn't go to her house to apologize, nothing. he does, however, do all those things when he and will fight and will leaves. i think its clearly implying who is more important to mike, just in the sense that one is true love and one is not. mike can't stand the idea of will being upset with him and potentially losing him because of it, it eats at him and he wants to make things right immediately. meanwhile he doesn't take his breakup wth el seriously at all. there is just no way mike is in love with her in these scenarios. and im sorry, but there's no way you can be in love with someone after knowing them for five days. i really just think he never was, he only thought he was.

and yesssss about the script!! mike states it as fact, like he has not a shadow of a doubt that its true. and we never see el soothe this insecurity of his after she finds out. we don't even see them speak. will is the only one who has ever addressed mikes insecurities and made him feel better. he is the only one who considers mike's feelings and stands up for him (And he doesn't deserve that.)

[cremefralche]

hi sorry ive been sitting on this since june, and it recently came up in conversation with a friend. i do think about the woobification of whitney a lot, and how the defanging of their character takes a way a lot of what i find essential to and interesting about them. its a bit frustrating to witness as someone who also cares about their characterization a ton.

i like the abuse they dole out onto PC as more of a psych horror experience, wherein the person who loves you, that you love in return tortures you, humiliates you, defiles you even. things like the loft scene or quiet scenes where they're softer doesn't work as well without the abuse because a lot of the appeal lies within the gap; you hang onto them by a thread because that gap keeps you hoping that Maybe someday things will be better, despite having no evidence to prove so.

however, in mild defense of the fanartists that draw softer whitney fanart: art takes a lot of time, energy, and effort to create. its very emotionally taxing to create art that depicts a lot of whitney's abuse because illustrating what's basically intimate partner violence can be viscerally upsetting. creating is so different from consuming; a scene where whitney stomps on the throat of my PC goes away the moment i go to the next passage. drawing said scene puts me in that moment for what could potentially be hours, or even days. soft fanart is abundant not just because there's woobification going on, it's abundant because abuse fanart tends to be harder to create.

I can't stand other Whitney fans. There's so much woobfying and mischaracterisation of them, that I've begun to find it actually painful to look at a lot of fanart of them. It's practically a red flag to me that someone likes Whitney now - especially if its m Whitney - because I now just assume that their blog will treat him like a cranky soft boy, instead of the abusive asshole they are.

I love Whitney so much, but I'd rather talk to people who hate Whitney for who they are, than people who love the watered down version they've created as if it's canon.

honestly, i have met a lot of people who like that version of whitney, but never played the actual game. so it kinda makes sense that they dont know about all the torments he will make PC go thru or just not take them seriously because "hahaha he didnt mean that! it's joke! such a prankster" but yeah, not in me to judge their masochistic asses

-mod gwylan

[tasteslikesoap]

i think about how pink pantheress said if you can listen to kpop, you can listen to anything and i think about how i agree. but i also think about how incredibly frustrating kpop can be when it comes to boy groups.

if you're in it for the music, boy group kpop sounds like a slap in the face to your intelligence and it comes from a deeply misogynistic place. young girls are an impressionable market. send hot boys with too tight pants their way and they will buy any garbage. it's loveless music.

i think about how people will defend skz to the ends of the earth calling it "noise music". i wish that were true! i wish it was weird and funky and ambient and dronal! but instead you can practically hear the complacency in the production. "fuck it, no one is actually here to listen. throw in some more air horns". surprisingly, i feel like girl groups are far more experimental.

obviously, there are bg songs that i think are fantastic. but i can count them on one hand. i just wish that boy groups had the freedom to really sink their teeth into what kpop is and can be. i think about enhypen's vampire concept and how there's so many opportunities to make something new and interesting. to infuse bauhaus or early mcr or she wants revenge into modern kpop. i DREAM of the day they're allowed to be ugly and cover a song like "i never told you what i do for a living". yet every album roll-out is just more placid shopping-in-the-mall music. it's like watching a rabbit blindly chase a carrot, but that carrot is "these boys have got to sexier"- completely forgetting that they're here to perform songs.

[secriden]

*cracks knuckles* Okay lets talk about the elephant in the room: Style going to the support group for those who've suffered loss and telling what appears to be a fake story about losing his pet dog.

I'm going to point out a few things that I think provide a framework for Style's actions here. Not because I think it excuses what he did, but because I think a nuanced read is what the character deserves.

Point 1: An irresistible opportunity

The subs put the "Support Group for Loss" on the image in the notebook, but I'm not sure there's anything to suggest that Style would've known that was what this image represents until he showed up and saw the sign on top of the door.

In episode 2, Bison says, "He plans everything down from years, months, weeks to days" and then tells Kant:

So Style is literally just going to addresses/locations at given days and times, potentially not knowing what to expect. And as much as Fadel is certainly attending this meeting as a response to having that heartbreaking flashback (😭), this is also something he attends regularly and has planned to attend way in advance. So Style has no reason to think Fadel is attending this meeting because of a recent resurfacing of his pain.

What we, the audience, and what the characters know are very different things.

Now, should Style have turned his cute ass right around once he realised what this meeting was? Of course he should. But that wouldn't have been true to Style's character. We've been told by his best friend that he is "crazy" and been shown repeatedly that he lives right up to that description.

Style is impulsive. He's all base instinct and he acts on his desires without thought or contemplation. And by this point he is desperate for a deeper connection with Fadel. He's fascinated, captivated by the mystery that is Fadel and this is an excellent opportunity to finally see behind the wall Fadel so carefully maintains.

When Style sees the sign above the door, Style looks at the notebook (which, again, shows nothing but people sitting in a circle with the words RISE UP) like he's just realising what it means. He then gets this amused, almost rueful look on his face (like he's thinking "am I really going to do this?") before it shifts to determination and he walks through the door.

(My soul for the ability to once again gif something because FUCK Dunk is doing SO MUCH in this show!!)

To Style, this is just too good of an opportunity to give up.

Because let's be real, Fadel is so clearly lying and hiding something:

Fadel is shady as FUCK. He is simultaneously actually a really good cook (Style finally tries his burger so he knows, now), and also has the skills to work at a strip host club, and also can take on 3 guys in a fight, and also can break a man's arm with his thighs. Can you honestly blame Style for losing his mind just a little bit about wanting to get his hands on something, anything, to figure this man out?

Style is being absolutely consistent in his persistence to understand Fadel. This isn't about the car or about finally 'winning' the fight (thank you @airenyah for giving such a detailed framework to understand what Style's been doing until this point) anymore. This is about Style wanting to know Fadel himself.

Point 2: The potential implications of the setting

Now, what might give us a bit of insight as to why Style is this way? I have a theory (albeit one that could prove to be very wrong, but hear me out). I think this whole entire show is set in what could potentially be quite a small town/suburb.

There's a few things that make this theory plausible:

(1) Fadel and Bison are in hiding after Bison blew their previous cover. They're probably on the run from some section of the authorities and so it makes sense to settle in a quiet/out of the way place.

(2) Style seems to be really familiar with the people in the area. Like he grew up there and its the kind of small town where everyone knows everyone and everyone is in everyone else's business.

(3) Style is clearly the darling of the market aunties and uncles.

Style just lost her a sale and potentially a loyal customer, and she's still rooting for him? In episode 2, when Style asks the uncle to let him borrow his cart, it takes nothing but his word for the uncle to give Style his entire cart of produce for his ridiculous scheme.

Style is so clearly someone they all know well and have great affection for, and a very plausible explanation for this is that they all watched him grow up and the entire market (town/village) is fond of him.

And honestly?? Yeah, we see the way Style is actually quite sweet in that careless, guileless, thoughtless way. He goes the extra mile to fix his mistake with Fadel by replacing his car parts for free in episode 1. He helps out by taking orders in episode 2 without being asked and takes it seriously. In episode 3, he tries to drive more business to Fadel's store (bless him, he so clearly does NOT understand how restaurants work, but he MEANS well!!), and can we all acknowledge that it works?? He understands how to appeal to potential customers in the area because he knows the people there. It's not (entirely) his fault that Fadel wasn't remotely prepared for an actual rush crowd and Bison was off getting kinky with Kant and not doing his (fake) job. He is so clear about not judging Fadel's host job and tries his hardest to help him (to absolutely NO effect, but still) when the 3 guys gang up on Fadel.

Style is so loved and more importantly so very loveable.

Point 3: What this could mean for Style's character

So, potentially, Style is someone who grew up in a small town, who has been well loved, potentially spoiled and coddled, but also very much kept within the confines of the narrow viewpoint that a quiet, country town places on you.

It's in the way his dad scolds him as if he was still a child when he's at least in his mid to late 20s. It's in the way Style was so mad at Fadel for scolding him ("thanks for the lecture, dad"), like that hit a sore point for Style. It's in the way no one in the market takes him seriously; they're fond, but he's still a kid in their eyes. It's in the way he has an abundance of free time like he doesn't REALLY need to work at his dad's shop. It's in the way he sees Fadel beat 3 guys up with ease, starts wondering if Fadel is an assassin or a hitman, and is completely unfazed like he doesn't quite have a handle on reality.

It's in the way his best friend is a man who has no qualms about lying to him and putting his life in danger, and how Style seems to have no other friends or people (aside from his dad) in his life.

@wuxian-vs-wangji made a comment to me about Style being desperate for a meaningful connection, and I think she hit the nail on the head. Because along comes Fadel, a mysterious stranger with a suspiciously versatile set of skills who is also very hot and keeps giving Style these wonderfully complex reactions? Who sometimes wants nothing to do with Style, but at other times seems to be at war within himself about desperately wanting him? Who treats Style with anything but apathy?

This is catnip to Style; he never had any hope of resisting this.

Breaking news: Style is a complex and imperfect character...

Here's the thing, though: he was never going to try. The show has been incredibly upfront about who Style is as a person. Regardless of whether I'm correct about why he is this way (ie. that he is very much the product of the environment that didn't know how to handle a kid with Style's personality), episode 3 shouldn't have surprised anyone about Style. He's been incredibly consistent and true to himself.

He wants Fadel and he's "crazy" enough to go all in, no holds barred about it, and the Support Group was the biggest doorway to finally discovering something REAL about Fadel.

And its not just about sex or to prove his superiority anymore. Because if it was just that, then Style would have reacted very differently to their first time.

In this scene, Style is pleased and evidently enjoying himself, but he isn't exuberant. He isn't overcome with joy. If anything, he was more happy and excited when Fadel let him help out in the diner (I mentioned this in the tags in this post too) than he was when Fadel is literally fucking him. He lets Fadel set the pace; barely moves to touch Fadel except to hold him close. Almost like he doesn't want to accidentally mess this up, like he's worried he'll take too much, so he'll take what Fadel gives him and no more (please appreciate @braceletofteeth's amazing tags on this post). For a character that has been so aggressively on the offensive, this is shocking until you realise that sleeping with Fadel - while it's a step in the right direction - isn't Style's end goal anymore.

And he makes that abundantly clear in this episode:

Does Style even fully realise the weight of this desire? I doubt it. But I do believe that Style is in earnest. He doesn't fully understand his own feelings, but he also doesn't really care to either. All he knows is that he wants Fadel, wants his attention and his passion and his focus and his heart.

...but Style is also kind of, sort of, perfect.

Because he's exactly, precisely, breathtakingly exactly what Fadel needs.

Because Fadel is hurt and broken and bleeding inside. Because Fadel is barely holding it all together for Bison's sake, but has already given up hope for any true happiness for himself. Because Fadel can't trust anyone or anything in his life, when he's been used and used and used by the family who should've loved and cared and protected him.

Because it's going to take nothing short of this kind of unwavering, unshakable, uncomplicated determination to give Fadel even a chance of healing and opening his heart to love again.

[faaun]

last night i got home kind of tipsy and very much in tears and my mother told me the force you exert to keep someone in your life is proportional to the force with which they will leave your life. if you have to fight tooth and claw to keep them, their leaving will be just as hard, just as harsh, and just as definite.

[evelynpr]

Might be a hot take as a bkdk and tgck truther here, but I find izuocha endlessly fascinating, beautiful, but also tearfully tragic.

I see their love for each other as something representative of their innocence and naivety when they only knew so little about who they were, and what was to come.

I think the main barrier of their relationship is that its rooted in how they see each other very idealistically, specifically that they're attached to the image of their Best Heroic Selves, and not the deeply selfish, destructive, freaky, and egotistical parts of them. To each other, they need to keep fulfilling that image or else that same person they looked up to would almost die in front of them, and that would be too cruel. Although that hero is still there, that same person they looked up to is not the same now because of...well...everything.

Izuku had barely even talked to girls when he first met her. She was Izuku's first ever real friend (Sorry Kats, everyone and him knows he was terrible), so he saved her in that entrance exam even if it was so dangerous. She gave a new meaning to his derogatory nickname just by being a friend that believed in him. After that, she saved him several more times (Blackwhip and Megaphone are the biggest samples iirc). It makes perfect sense that she is Deku's hero.

Ochako hardly knew what it meant to be a hero when she first got into UA. Just by reaching out to some kid tripping, she made a new friend who would then save her in that exam, then save him again in return. This boy then became someone who was always working so hard to save everyone in trouble, and she realized she wanted to be just like him too. "I want to save people"

But...Deku changes. The weight of One for All is on his shoulders and he needs someone to carry this burden with him. He continues to want to save other people at the expense of himself, still not letting his true selfishness and ego ever show- and it only grows more and more unbearable.

Then...Ochako fell in love with Himiko. Truly, relentlessly, selfishly and devotedly in love with a girl who then dies giving her blood to her- the greatest expression of love Himiko could ever give.

Not that they can't love each other because of this happening (and...so many other things oh god), I'm honestly not sure how to explain it- But them ending up together after losing that innocence and naivety? After Ochako will forever grieve the girl who showed her love in its most beautiful and ugly form? After Izuku changed so fundamentally as a person that the butterflies of a nice girl talking to you doesn't exist anymore? After that simple image of being a hero and being in love has completely changed for them both?

Even so, I believe they still love each other. There is no label I know of that can properly describe them though. They are each other's image of being a hero when it comes to saving people. Aside from Shoto, no one else can grasp the grief of the person you tried to save dying in your hands. They would no doubt try to cope with these losses together, and just try to get better together...but so much has changed. They've changed. The world changed. What are they now? Who are they now?

"What happened...to us?"

[geodesick]

[ID: a drawing of pye from outer wilds, standing with her writing staff. she's wearing an orange nomai space suit without the helmet, and she has a light brown face with curly darker brown fur. end ID]

figuring out how i want to draw the nomai, so here's a pye since i am obsessed with her !!!

[hesbianyaoi]

i like when people give atsushi cat-like traits like purring or having sharper-than-average canines and i think we should take it a step further and just keep adding onto it. atsushi should chuff. he scratches on walls and his desk until there's obvious nail marks digging into the wood. he rubs against the others to mark them as his territory. there has to be a meeting held because he won't stop shedding and there's white hair everywhere so a good portion of the agency's budget goes into getting everyone lint rollers. he freaks people out at night because of his tapetum lucidum. and he does all of this subconsciously so if you tell him he does any of these things he'd be absolutely mortified

[stiffyck]

Okay what if the winners got to meet previous versions of themselves through the life games.

Like grian meets no one. He didn't have any previous "versions".

Scott meets 3rd life Scott.

Pearl meets 3rd life and last life pearl.

Martyn meets 3rd life, last life and double life Martyn.

Scar meets 3rd life, last life, double life and lim life him-

This whole thing was an idea that I got just because I was thinking about ll and sl scar because they were both so lonely like wtf and I just though about a scene that would be so. Grips chair.

Ll: "We won?"

Sl: "Yeah"

Ll: "Did we have allies? Friends?"

Ll scar probably thinks sl scar won only because he had allies to support him. He knows what its like being lonely and he hopes no one has to go through that loneliness. And he wants to be optimistic for once that sl scar, future him, gets allies, gets friends.

He tries to hope and then he sees the look on sl scars face. Or maybe sl scar tries to lie- maybe he tries to say they had allies.

Ll scar sees right through him. He's him after all. Maybe he's always gonna he lonely anyway