#but i'm excited to see people are picking them back up !!! i hope this trend continues !!

[kentopedia]

it makes me so happy to see more people are starting to write multi chap / series fics on here again

[lovelygirlwithablog]

"I'll be here. Always."

pairing: Harvey Specter x f!lawyer!reader

description: You struggle with the pressure of a high-stakes lawsuit. When you break down late one night, Harvey finds you and offers you the suport you never knew you needed. Reassured, you regain your strength to face the challenges ahead.

warnings: fluff, love confessions, mutual pining, use of Y/N, age gap and Harvey (yes, he's a warning)

word count: 1708

A/N: this is my first fic! hope you'll like it and I accept any constructive criticism 🫶🏻 i also take requests, so feel free to ask me! i'm down to almost everything :)

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You were staring at the wall in front of you, sitting on your expensive sofa in your office at Pearson Hardman.

Everything was great, right?

Except it wasn't.

You were stuck on a case, and you didn't accept anyone's help. It was your victory if you win, or your shame if you lose.

Your first major assignment is to represent HarperTech, an innovative startup that developed a groundbreaking algorithm to predict consumer trends. However, just as HarperTech prepares to launch, tech giant Dynasoft sues them, claiming HarperTech stole their proprietary code.

Dynasoft, a powerful corporation with a history of suing competitors, alleges that HarperTech's founder, a former employee of theirs, stole their code.

You were excited to make your mark with such a high-profile case, but as soon as the documents start piling up, you realised you're in over your head. You need to navigate complex tech jargon, a formidable opponent, and the high expectations of the firm - all while you sense Harvey Specter watching from all the sidelines, assessing your every move.

Dynasoft is not just any client; it's a Goliath in the tech world, with resources and a team of high-powered attorneys. You know that Harvey was the firm's go-to litigator for cases like this, but you're determined to handle it yourself and prove your value.

Suddenly, a knock pulls you out of your trance.

"Come in." you speak softly, looking at the door.

Harvey leans against the doorframe, watching you struggle for a moment before saying, "Careful, Y/N. If you stare at those files any harder, you might actually scare Dynasoft into settling."

Harvey was good at reading people. Maybe too good, because he knew every little thing about yourself that you don't even notice.

You look up, surprised. "And if you had any real advice, I'm sure you'd be the first to keep it to yourself."

Harvey raises an eyebrow, stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "Oh, I have advice. But then you wouldn't have the pleasure of figuring out you need me." He pauses, holding your gaze with a slight grin. "So... ready to admit it yet?"

You roll your eyes, but you can't hide a small smile.

You lean back in the sofa, crossing your arms, refusing to give him the satisfaction. "Admit what? That I can handle this without you?"

Harvey chuckles, strolling closer and casually picking up a random file from your desk, flipping through it like he's just browsing. "Sure, you can 'handle' it," he says, using air quotes, "but the question is—can you win it?"

You pause, and he notices the sudden silence.

"I'm... not sure." you sigh.

The HarperTech case has pushed you to your limit. You've poured everything into it, but the constant pressure and the weight of possible failure have finally taken a toll.

You look up, trying to mask the emotion in your eyes, but Harvey catches the telltale signs. Harvey doesn't say anything, just crosses the room and stands beside you, his expression softening as he sees his colleague—and friend—on the edge.

Without hesitation, Harvey reaches out, pulling you into a steady, reassuring embrace.

At first, you stiffen, but then you let go, allowing yourself to sink into the warmth and support. The weight you've been carrying finally breaks, and your shoulders start to shake as you fights back tears.

Harvey gently runs a hand over your back, holding you tighter, grounding him in a moment of pure, quiet comfort. As you let the tears come, Harvey leans down and presses a soft kiss to your forehead, whispering.

"You're not alone in this. I'm here. You don't have to carry it all yourself."

You nod, your voice barely a whisper. "I just—I can't mess this up, Harvey. Not this time."

Harvey pulls back slightly, keeping his hands on your shoulders, looking directly in your eyes. "You're not going to. You're stronger than you think. And I trust you." He brushes a tear off your cheek, a rare vulnerability in his expression. "And when you feel like you can't, I'll be here. Always."

You take a deep breath, grounding yourself in Harvey's words, and finally manage a small, grateful smile.

"I think you've stained my suit with your running mascara." Harvey speaks, looking down at his blazer.

"Get out of my office." you laugh.

After a moment of silence, Harvey steps back slightly, still holding your shoulders. He looks at you with a mixture of warmth and playful arrogance.

"You know what? This isn’t a night for drowning in paperwork. Let’s hit that new Italian place downtown. I can’t let you suffer alone. Bring your papers too." Harvey speaks.

You raise an eyebrow. "Dinner? With you? Are you sure you want to share a table with the girl who's still learning the ropes?"

"Oh, please. Sharing a table with me is the best decision you’ll make all week. I promise I won’t judge you too harshly if you order spaghetti." he grins.

You laugh, shaking your head. "I might just take that as a challenge. You do know I have taste, right?"

"Sure, but let’s be honest—your taste is probably in line with whatever you discuss with Rachel. Tonight, you’ll get the real deal."

As much as you don't want to admit it, he was right.

You roll your eyes, but there’s a playful sparkle in your eyes. "Alright, let’s do it. Just don’t expect me to hold back on the critiques when you order the wrong dish."

You pack your things and leave the building, going there with Harvey's car.

As he drives through the city, the soft glow of streetlights flickers across the dashboard.

"You know, you really held your own in there today. I’m impressed." Harvey speaks.

You turn to him, a smile forming on your lips. "Thanks, but I couldn’t have done it without your support."

Harvey smirks, but there’s a warmth in his gaze. "That’s the thing, Y/N. You’re more capable than you give yourself credit for. Sometimes, you just need a little push.”

As he reaches a stoplight, Harvey leans in slightly, his voice lowering just enough to create a sense of intimacy. "And I’m always going to be here to give you that push."

You nod, looking forward.

When you arrive at the restaurant, your mouth almost drops.

"Harvey, this... this is a beautiful place." you smile. It reminded you of your early memories from Italy, when you were just a child.

"I know." he smiles, looking at an empty table. "Let's go." he signals you to come with him.

As you settle down, you reach into your bag for your papers. Before you could even find them, Harvey puts his hand on top of yours.

"You think I brought us here to work?" Harvey raises an eyebrow.

"But- at the office-" you start.

"What I said at the office remains at the office." his voice is steady, yet calm.

"Mr. Specter..." you smile. "Is this a date?" you tease him.

He clears his throat.

"Take it as you want." he tries to hide his smile, looking down at the menu.

As you finish your pasta, you cross your legs and look at Harvey.

God, the soft lit room highlights his masculine features, making him even more beautiful.

"I really needed this tonight. It’s nice to just… be here." you speak softly.

Harvey nods, a soft smile forming. “I know."

Harvey leans forward slightly, his tone turning more serious. “I’ve always believed that life’s too short to get lost in the grind. We need to make room for the things and people that matter.”

You nod.

The moment hangs in the air, filled with unspoken connection. Harvey’s gaze softens as he holds your eye, the weight of his words settling between the both of you.

You blush slightly, looking down for a moment before meeting Harvey’s gaze again. "You make things interesting."

"Good. Because I plan to stick around for a while. Just think of me as your personal cheerleader—minus the pom-poms, of course." Harvey speaks.

You both laugh, the lightheartedness returning, but the warmth of your earlier exchange lingers, deepening your bond.

Harvey pays and you both leave.

As you exit the restaurant, you're greeted by a sudden downpour. Rain pours down in sheets, the sound of water hitting the pavement creating a soothing rhythm. You glance up, surprised.

"Oh, no... I didn't bring an umbrella." you face palm yourself.

Harvey chuckles, taking off his blazer and draping it over both of your heads as a makeshift shield. "Who needs an umbrella when you have me?"

You laugh. "You're going to get soaked!"

"As long as you’re under here with me, I don’t mind. Besides, I like a little adventure." he winks.

You and Harvey start walking, the rain soaking through your clothes, but you don’t care. The atmosphere is electric.

"You know, this is definitely not how I pictured our dinner ending." you pout.

"Yeah? What were you expecting? A boring dinner and a handshake goodbye?"

You speak. "Maybe just a nice chat. But this is much better."

Harvey glances at you, the playful banter shifting to something more serious. "You really mean that?"

"Absolutely." you smile.

You reach a quieter part of the street, the rain still falling heavily around you. Harvey stops and turns to face you, his scent filling your senses

Before you can respond, Harvey gently cups your face in his hands, his thumb brushing against your cheek. The rain continues to pour down, but neither of you cares.

Harvey takes a step closer, the air thick with tension. "Can I kiss you?"

You nod, breathless, your heart pounding. "Yes. Please."

Harvey leans in, your lips meeting softly at first, then deepening as the kiss becomes more passionate. The rain cascades around you, soaking you both, but all you feel is warmth. It’s as if the world has disappeared, leaving only the two of you in that moment.

When you finally pull back, you both are breathless, smiles lighting up your faces.

You chuckle, still feeling the warmth of the kiss. "I think I could get used to this kind of adventure."

"Good, because I’m not letting you go. Not now." and he kisses you again.

[pbandjesse]

I am very tired today. Which has me feeling a little lightheaded. But it was still a nice day.

I need to not be so hard on myself. I was just reviewing the day before I wrote everything down and was like. Oh you didn't do much, you didn't accomplish much. But that's not true!! I had a good day.

I did end up taking one muscle relaxer last night and it helped me sleep which was nice but I still woke up groggy. At least I didn't have to drive.

I got dressed and felt a little weird in this dress. I think it's the flouncy bottom hem. But I still felt cute. James kept telling me I was cute. And we loaded up the car and left.

We misordered at McDonald's but James got it fixed. And then helped me set up at the market. I was still feeling groggy and a little weird. But I was enjoying talking to Anne and working on some frogs. I got a few done today and that felt nice.

I also wished Stanley a happy birthday. He's going to Atlantic City with his wife and kids tonight for a few days. I hope they have fun and he wins a lot of money. I told him about when my dad left my mom at the beach for gambling quarters and how I can't be trusted to gamble because I have a terrible addictive personality. Made him laugh really hard.

We got baked goods from Ginny. It's the last week for summer flavors! I'm excited for her fall flavors, her stuff really shines that time of year.

I had a good time at the market. I was productive finishing frogs. I got like 5 or 6 done. Even sold one a few minutes after putting it on the table and got lots of compliments and faces (like the sad oh my goodness so cute faces) and it was encouraging. I would sell 3 plushies and 2 stickers packs plus a few stand alone stickers. It was a really good day.

I made a TikTok with my bears. It was the Taylor swift trend where you pick up a pet or an animal or baby and spin them around. So I did that and Ann was like. Jesse that looked so weird you know that right and I'm like Ann I have not one day care what people think about me. And she laughed and said the videos as very cute.

I had some excellent conversations and maybe made some market friends. One with a lovely couple who got a bunch of my stuff and we talked about arthritis and making and how we adapt things so it doesn't hurt so much. I hope they come back cause they were lovely. Someone requested I try to make a pig. So I'm going to attempt that tomorrow I think. Just to see what happens. it's really just going to be changing proportions I think.

One of the funnier parts of the day was when Rod, the bread guy, got terrified by a customer when he wasnt looking and she came up behind him. He legit screamed. It was very funny.

And then a whole bunch of little kids swarmed me. I'm talking like 7 kids! I had then all trying to loom knit. And we got a half a square done through teamwork. These were all 5 years old and you get except for two older brothers who mostly just watched and talked to me. The 2 year old, Luka, did not have the dexterity for it so I held his hand so he could get it. He was all snotty as 2 year olds tend to me and I would ask nicely for the pick tool and would say thank you when he gave it back, we had a good thing going.

The boys kept taking the yarn and unraveling it though which was only mildly annoying but their mom collected it and apologized. I mostly just didn't want them to wrap it around their necks, which they kept doing. I just kept saying "oh no thank you friends." And then redirecting giving them turns doing the loom. Stanley laughed at me with all the kids crawling all over me and my chair and I was like. Stanley I have opened a kindergarten.

Eventually the mom's would take their kids away a few at a time. Until only Mia and her brother were there. She showed her grandma and grandma said she has a loom too so maybe she can do it at home. I love to share especially when it encourages people to make things on their own!!

I was excited to go home though. It got really hot out all of a sudden, even under the pavilion. I would pack up pretty quick. I was already feeling a little woozy. I went inside and said goodbye to James. Chatted with Sarah, it was very nice to see her. And then when I started yawning James told me to go home.

Thankfully there wasn't a ton of traffic. Pratt street, a major through road, was closed for a concert tonight. So I was prepared for bad traffic but I lucked up. And was home before 130.

I parallel parked really well!! Very proud. And then brought everything upstairs. I hugged Sweetp for a bit. And put things away. I accidently squished the peanut butter pie. But it will still taste good.

After everything was put away where it needed to go I would take a quick shower and change. I trimmed my bangs. And laid down.

I would put on the AC and a video and fell asleep pretty fast. And I had intense dreams again. Nothing surprising. Was married to a colonial general in a space/time travel loop on an alien planet. We had three alien babies and were hiding from the government on a desert island/ abandoned nifty fifties.

I woke up woozy still. I went to make a sandwich and then James was home!! I was happy to see them.

They played video games. And I watched videos. And we had a chill evening. I would play with sweetp. And James would go for a bike ride and bring us home burger king. Which I ate in the bathtub. Nothing like a milkshake and fries in a bubble bath.

Now we are in bed. Half watching tiktoks. Half just talking. Resting. I am excited to go back to sleep. I hope it comes easy tonight.

I hope you all have a good night and take care of yourselves. Until next time!

[words-are-fireproof]

Haalur - (Din Djarin x fem!reader)

(*gif from @cutieodonoghue )

Summary: The tension in Din's body is too much for you to bear. So, you take him home to help him relax and breathe. He needs it.

Rating: T (this might a strong T seeing as there's mention of smut but it's not quite M either so...)

Word Count: 4.3k

Warnings: mentions of past sexual encounters, a little bit angsty, super duper soft, uncertain reader and quite possibly more things that I'm forgetting.

A/N: So, there's a fic I read recently about Din and the reader having sex and him not taking the beskar off. I don't remember who wrote it and I'm embarassed to admit that, but I'm pretty sure it briefly leaks into this story and I AM SORRY ABOUT IT. It just makes a lot of sense and I guess I couldn't get the imagery out of my head. If that's your fic, lemme know so I can tag it and link it here to give you credit.

Also, this is only my second full length reader fic and while I feel a lot more confident in it, I'm not confident in my Star Wars lore, so apologies when I use the wrong words for stuff.

I don't do tag lists, but you're free to follow @fireproof-library for all my fics without the mess. Just turn on the notifications.

* haalur means breathe in Mando'a. Cabur means protector. mesh'la means beautiful. cyar'ika means darling/sweetheart *

[Masterlist]

-----

When you saw him again on Tatooine, your heart skipped a beat. How long had it been since you last saw him? It hadn’t been very many months, not like before when you hadn’t seen him in almost a year. This time, less time had passed, and you selfishly hoped that the downward trend would continue because the more time that passed, the less and less you’d see him, the more you worried about him. The more you feared he would never come back. 

He wouldn’t do that to you, would he? Leave you and never return to you? You wouldn’t put it past him. You couldn’t fall in love with a Mandalorian. The path led to heartbreak, and you were no stranger to it. No matter how much you thought he was different, you knew better. You weren’t Mandalorian, which meant he had no loyalty to you. 

But you knew better. 

The Creed promoted loyalty, Mandalorian or not. It’s why he kept returning to Tatooine. It’s why he continually sought out the same people over and over again. It’s why he was even on Tatooine in the first place. Peli found an old Naboo starfighter with the intention of giving it to him. A worthy replacement to the Razor Crest. 

You missed that gun ship something fierce, but you’d never admit it. You knew exactly how that ship sounded. Out of all the other ships that landed there on a somewhat regular basis, you could pick that one out of a line up every time. You knew the way the engines sounded when it dropped out of the clouds to land–a dull, low rumble that vibrated from your chest to your toes. You knew exactly what it looked like as it flew through the sky, built differently than most ships that landed on the planet. You knew to look for it when you expected him back. You never knew exactly when he’d return, but you knew he would. He was tethered to this place, much like you were. 

You were down at a local cantina in town when the commercial ship landed on a nearby landing pad. You heard the distinct metallic whine and the sudden influx of different languages and dialects. You weren’t exactly a polyglot. You knew how to speak droid and Jawa and just a bit of the wookie language but most of what you’d picked up over the years was from what you’d heard on the streets in the markets. You could barter and trade in different languages, but you couldn’t speak them fluently. A blessing and a curse, your mother would say, but you didn’t care. 

You finished your food quickly, bounding through the crowd to see who might be on the ship. Passers through, the most of them, but you happened to catch the glint of light off a helmet moving opposite you through the crowd. Your breath caught in your chest. The blood rushed through your ears, hollow and excited all at once. You broke off in a run in the opposite direction, cutting through the town on the way to Peli’s shop. You knew every nook and cranny and managed to get there right as he shot the womp rat trying to eat her. 

Dank Farrik, he looked good and you had to remember how to breathe. 

The two of them talked about the Naboo starfighter before he seemed to realize you were there. You’d tried not to draw attention to yourself, but you’d just managed to almost trip over one of Peli’s BD droids and the little guy wasn’t too happy about it, beeping and swearing at you in binary while you tried to silence it. 

“Hey, hey! What have I told you about yelling at my droids?” 

You immediately stop as the little guy toddles off cursing. “Sorry, Peli.” 

“And what did I tell you about sneaking into my place? You know better.” 

You shot Peli a fond little smile. “Yeah, but I like doing it anyway.” 

The woman in front of you huffed, obviously annoyed as she turned to him and motioned at you, “Mando this is–”

“I know who she is,” his voice sounded cold through the modulator, so different from the warmth you were used to. 

Peli looked confused between the two of you. You expected her to say something, but for once, she kept her mouth shut. “Okay, then. Wanna see this cool new ride I found you? It’s not finished. I just started working on it.” 

And that’s how the conversation ended. You followed them around as he expressed dislike at the idea of flying a starfighter instead of a heavy gunner. The entire time, you tried not to stare at him too much. Like always, he looked well put together. His beskar shone in perfect condition. Nothing knicked or scuffed that armor and something about knowing that made you smile. He was safe. Unless his ship was shot down in space. But you tried not to think about that. That was too much to bear. 

His flight suit underneath the armor looked faded and well worn. You wondered when was the last time he changed it out. You knew the Razor Crest held plenty of spares in all of its hidden compartments. But since it’d been destroyed, you didn’t know where his spares were, or if he even had any. You wondered if you could nick some clothes off a vendor and alter them for him. It wouldn’t be a flight suit, but it’d be something he could wear if he needed it. 

And that’s how the day goes. You trying not to stare. Him obviously knowing you’re there and also trying not to stare, all down to business and trying to wrangle parts for a starfighter that needed a lot of work. The two of you danced under Peli’s watchful and curious gaze but the fact she wasn’t saying anything said all it needed to. She knew and Mando knew she did, too. 

You find yourself at the back of the starfighter at the end of the day, fiddling with some part or other that you had no idea what it did or where it went. Your thoughts were on him and the way he looked crouched down under the nose of the ship. You didn’t even realize the older curly haired woman had slid up beside you.

“So,” she said suddenly, causing you to jump and drop the part you had in your hands. One of her BD droids scurried away so it wouldn’t get crushed. “How long has that been going on?” 

You tried to feign innocence as you bent to pick the piece up from the ground. “I don’t know what you mean.” 

She lifted an eyebrow. “C’mon now. I might be old but I’m not exactly blind.” 

“Peli–”

She raised her hands in surrender. “Okay, alright. I get it. But if what I think is true, why don’t you get him out of here? Take him to your place? Show him a good time, if you know what I mean.” She elbowed you in the side and you tried to bat her arm away from you. 

“Okay, okay. Peli, I get the point.” 

“Besides,” the woman began, her gaze settling on Mando as he stood to grab a tool and get back to work, “he looks like he needs it.” 

She was right. You watched him move around some, always so poised and strangely elegant in his movements. But underneath that beskar, his muscles jarred and hitched, some usually more refined moves jerky and not at all like they should be. Something felt wrong. It felt…off, and you didn’t know why. You wanted to lift the world off his broad shoulders if only to see him less tense than he appeared now. 

You took a breath, ignoring the thoughts in your head that said, don’t do this in front of the older woman, but she had suggested it and if he trusted her enough to keep coming back for help, then he trusted her enough with other things, too. You sat the part down on a nearby bench and ignored the way the woman pretended not to watch. You’d have to talk to her later when Mando left again. But for now, you approached the Mandalorian, fingers itching to touch him, craving the feel of the beskar under your fingertips and the rough wool of his cape. 

Flashes of a night you’re sure he’s long since forgotten dance across your mind. You can still remember the itch of that wool cape as it scratched over your bare skin, keeping you warm in the Razor Crest as you cooled from exertions you dare not tell a soul about. He had a reputation to protect. You wouldn’t dare be the cause of any pain. 

But this time, you took a chance in the hopes that maybe, just maybe, you could soothe some of that tension before you disappeared to your place. You settled your hand right on the edge of his shoulder armor where the leather of his bandolier dug into the flight suit. You squeezed and you swore you could feel him relax under your touch. 

“C’mon, cabur,” you murmured softly. “It’s time to rest.” He lifted his head, tilting it as he looked at you through the “t” of his helmet. You could almost feel the confusion radiating off of him. “Oh, she knows. She won’t say anything.”

He looked just past your shoulder at Peli who was messing with some coupling or something and muttering to her droids. Then he looked back at you. 

“I have warm soup at home,” you press, reaching up to settle your hand gently on his helmet like you were cupping his cheek.

He sagged into your touch. A sigh crackled through his modulator. “I have to be back here early in the morning.” 

You smile as relief slides through you. “I know. I’ll wake you up.” 

His body hefted up slowly as your hand slid down his beskar, stopping as your fingers slipped off his gloved hand. You almost settled your hand in his but decided better of it. You could imagine the stares you’d get on the street walking hand in hand with a Mandalorian. 

“I will be back tomorrow to keep working,” he said shortly in Peli’s direction. 

“We’ll be up bright and early. Maybe even with some parts. You know the Jawas, though. They come in late sometimes.” 

“We’ll do what we can.” 

Peli waved you both off. “Go on. Go get some rest. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” 

The woman winked at you and you knew that he could see it. You shrunk into a blush, wanting to disappear in the sand. By the stars were you always this obvious? You knew the answer to that, but you didn’t want to admit it to yourself. You didn’t want Mando to see it. Your relationship, whatever it was, as it was, wasn’t typically predicated on others knowing. Peli was…a bit of an unforeseen circumstance. Not that you were complaining. She pushed you in the right direction when you need the push. Even though you hated being pushed into anything. 

He didn’t say anything until you reached your apartment on the outskirts of town. The people there were thin on the ground until they seemed to disappear completely. Just the two of you lingered, lit solely by halogen lights, the beskar shining in the darkness. You unlocked the door and ushered him inside, out of the darkness and the chill that had begun to settle over the desert. You never got tired of the way it cooled off at night, despite the fact you were freezing by the time you shut the door behind him and began turning on the heaters. 

As you puttered around the small home, turning knobs and getting food from the cold case, you felt his gaze on you, watching you curiously as you moved. If anyone else had done that, you’d feel nervous, exposed, and far too vulnerable. You took yourself out of a situation once because too many eyes were on you and you felt like you were being critiqued on something you could never change or never knew you needed to change. You resisted going back out to that cantina when that happened. Eventually, though, you returned, even if the nervous feeling never really got any better. 

Under his gaze, though, you feel…strangely safe. Cabur suited him well in many ways, most of which you’d never tell a soul. You weren’t helpless. You’d dare anyone to make that insinuation. You could hold your own, and in fact, you often did. But despite your capabilities, you appreciated the protection he provided you when he blew into town. While he’d never gone into battle for you, you knew he would if he felt you were threatened. Or maybe that was wishful thinking. Either way, actions or not, his gaze felt warm and safe even if you couldn’t see his eyes through his helmet. 

“Make yourself at home,” you motioned as you put the promised soup in a pot on the stove to heat up. 

The heat hadn’t kicked on yet and you shivered as you turned the element on with slightly shaky hands. You were about to pull on a poncho or an extra tunic or something when you felt the scratchy wool of the cape drape over your shoulders, his strong, still gloved hands running over your arms as he smoothed the fabric over you. 

“Well, hello, cyare,” you murmured, your head falling back gently into the cool beskar shoulder armor. 

“You thought I didn’t notice,” his low voice dripped honey smooth from the modulator. 

“Didn’t notice what?” 

“The way you were watching me in the garage.” 

You chuckle softly, turning in his embrace and wrapping your arms around his tapered waist. 

“I wasn’t too obvious, was I?”

He shook his head and you couldn’t help but smile as you laid your head on his chest. You wished you could hear his heart beat, but you made do with what you had. At least he was there with you. That’s what mattered. He was there and he seemed happy to indulge you, even if he never did take off his helmet or his gloves. You found it odd that everything else was fair game, but you tried not to think about it too much. If you thought about it too much, you’d ask too many questions and you knew better than to ask him too many questions. 

“I’ll heat up the soup and then go take a shower so you can eat.” 

“Thanks,” he said and you swore you could hear a smile in his voice, his tone tinged with relief. 

You wanted to see his face, but you wouldn’t push it. To push a Mandalorian was to tempt his wrath. You wanted no part of that. 

So, you lingered quietly like that. Wrapped in his arms and his cape with your head on his armored chest as the soup heated slowly on the burner. Even with the beskar on, your suspicions were correct about the tension in his body. You could feel it underneath his flightsuit, the muscles of his back tight and rigid. His posture, even with his arms around you, felt rigid, too. Something twinged inside of you. You wanted to ask what was wrong, but you couldn’t make the words come out of your throat. You sighed and lifted your head, letting him go and turning to stir the soup. 

The hair on the back of your neck stood on end. Even though you had moved, he had not. He still stood stock still behind you. You couldn’t decide if he was curious about the sudden change in your demeanor or if it was something else. You could have asked, but again, you couldn’t make your voice work for some reason. 

“What’s wrong, mesh’la?” 

His voice jolted you out of your thoughts and you turned back to face him again.

“What do you mean?” He tilted his head and even with the darkened ‘t’ of his helmet, you knew he was giving you a look that meant he didn’t believe your feigned innocence. 

“You’re thinking about something.” 

You sighed a little bit, again, and shook your head. “Nothing.” Another tilt of his helmet. “You feel different is all.” 

“Different?” He asked curiously, his voice lilting softly through the modulator.

“Yeah. You feel…tense. I’m not used to that.” 

He fell silent, turning away to pad to the sofa. You tried not to feel hurt welling up into your chest. That was all you needed to know. Something was different. You didn’t know what it could be and you certainly didn’t want to ask if he was just going to clam up and draw away from you. 

You turn to the soup and stir it so it doesn’t scorch. You’re used to his silence, but this time it doesn’t feel right. This time, it almost feels like he wants to say something but maybe doesn’t have the words. You wouldn’t put it past him. You also don’t blame him. It’s not like you two are very close. You’re not. He just lost himself in you more than once and cuddled you once and you thought those things meant something. Fools errand. That’s what it was. 

“I miss the kid.” 

You stopped stirring, turning to look at his back as his helmet fell low in exhaustion. Without thinking, you turned the cook top down low and immediately came up behind him. Your slender hands gently settled on the area past his shoulder beskar that is padded with just coarse brown fabric. His cape drops from around your own shoulders as you begin to gently massage him. You can feel the knots in his muscles and the way a shudder works through him as you touch him. 

Before, when he lost himself in you, when he surrendered to his basest desires, he barely allowed you to touch him. He kept the armor and the helmet on, leaving indentations in your skin with the beskar, the coarse fabric of his flight suit rubbing a burn on the curve of your bum that bothered you for days. Even his gloves stayed on, but you couldn’t complain about that. You could still feel the way that buttery smooth leather slid easily between your legs. You wouldn’t mind a repeat of that. 

But now, when you touched him, he let you. You still dare not touch him without the suit but the appreciation is obvious as he allowed himself to relax incrementally under your adept hands. You let the silence between you linger. What could you say to him that didn’t sound contrite or pointless? You hated seeing him like this, but your tongue had a nasty habit of getting you into trouble and like earlier, you didn’t want to risk him clamming up completely. 

As you continued to massage his shoulders, though, you almost felt compelled to talk. So, you did, even if you felt like you were making a huge mistake. 

“Can you go visit him?” You asked softly, voice barely above a whisper, not wanting to break this trance you’ve both settled into. 

“I could. I do have something to give him. Just have to get the starfighter up and running first.” 

You nod. That makes sense. He can’t do anything without a means of transportation. 

“What do you have to give him?” 

“A chainmail shirt. For protection.” 

“Fit for a foundling,” you murmured as you worked a particularly tense muscle. He hissed in pain. Your hands faltered on his shoulders. “Sorry. Sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.” 

“It’s fine,” he gritted through clenched teeth. 

You resisted the urge to smack him upside his helmeted head. “No, it isn’t.” 

You ease up your movements despite his protests. He’s been through enough without you adding pain to it. 

“I…found my people. What’s left of them,” he said softly. Even through the modulator you could hear the regret and sadness in his voice. 

“And…?” You trail off curiously, leaving the door open for his reply or his dismissal. 

He shook his head. You yearned to touch him. You yearned to comfort him properly. You could only do so much like this and it always felt like it was never enough. 

“It’ll be okay,” you whisper. “In the end. It always is, right?” He shook his head again. “Oh.” 

You both fell silent. Your hands lingered on his shoulders, not moving this time, just trying to offer him some sort of help despite feeling embarrassingly inept. You aren’t sure how long you stay there like that, but it was long enough that you forgot about the soup and you forgot about the insistent hunger gnawing at your insides. He must’ve too, but you didn’t mind. This was much more important, you reasoned. Food could always come later. 

As the silence continued, you lost track of time. You lost track of yourself, of him in relation to you. It felt like you’d always been there for him yet somehow you’d never really been there for him at all. Everything felt off kilter and the sadness in his voice ate at your insides. What you didn’t expect was for him to reach up to gently lay an ungloved hand on one of yours. Startled, you jump a little, frowning at your reflection in his helmet. 

“I need your help, cyar'ika,” he said suddenly, cutting through your shock and confusion. 

Cyar’ika. You dragged the translation from the deepest part of your brain. Darling. Sweetheart. It felt far more intimate than any other pet name you’d used for each other before. 

“Anything you want.” 

You rounded the sofa to stand in front of him, your body reflected at you through the beskar. You stared into that darkened ‘t’ curiously, trying to read him though the act was impossible. There was no way you could know what he was thinking without seeing his face. 

He took a deep breath. “Take off my helmet.” 

You froze. No, you recoiled at the request. You didn’t exactly mean to, but the request came so out of left field, you didn’t exactly know how to feel about it. 

“What? No.” 

“I want you to see my face.” 

“But…your Creed…” you floundered and trailed off. 

He didn’t say a word in response to that, staring up at you through his helmet, body still as a statue, intent on his request and clearly not wanting to back off from it. Your breath caught in your chest. If you did this, if you removed his helmet, you knew the implications. You knew he couldn’t put it back on again. But…maybe that was the point. His words earlier, the sadness laced in his tone. Realization hit you square in the chest. He’d taken his helmet off before. He must’ve. It confused you even more but now was not the time for questions. He was testing you. You didn’t want to find out what would happen if you failed the test. 

With a shaky breath, you took a step forward, then another one, then another until your thighs pressed against the bent curve of his knees. You tried not to let your thoughts run away with you when he spread his legs for you to step even closer. You swallowed thickly and your slender fingers found the edge of the beskar. It felt smooth under your touch, but you didn’t linger with that thought. If you stopped now, you weren’t sure you could do what he asked. 

You swallowed again then slowly began to lift his helmet. Inch by tortuously slow inch, you got your first look at him. Scruffy chin and cheeks, the brown beard flecked with gray, betraying his age. He was older than you or maybe the stress of his life up until then had caught up with him early. You didn’t know but you also didn’t care. Strong nose. It curved down at just the right angle. Soft looking tawny skin flecked with the light knicks of scars. Deep soulful brown eyes that met yours as soon as they were revealed. Maker and stars above you felt your knees go weak. 

As you lifted the helmet completely off, his mop of shaggy brown hair flopped onto his head. You almost laughed, worrying your bottom lip between your teeth to keep it back. Like his beard, his hair was beginning to gray a bit, but it was no less beautiful that way. You sat the helmet aside and immediately plunged your hands into that hair. The locks slid between your fingers, impossibly soft and surprisingly well taken care of. You watched as his eyes slipped closed at your touch, body swaying a bit as he reconciled with what was happening, what he was feeling as you touched him. You couldn’t imagine what was going through his mind.

You didn’t ask. 

“Thank you,” he murmured softly, sending shivers down your spine. 

Without the modulator, his voice was lighter, less deep but no less honeyed and sweet. It dripped over you easily. You could get used to this. 

“You’re welcome, cyar’ika.” You didn't quite get the pronunciation right, but he didn't seem to mind. 

All his beskar came off that night. The soup soon remembered when hunger drove you both to the kitchen table but then quickly forgotten again when, after having your fill, you made sure he breathed and relaxed even more. By the end of the night, you were grateful for the lack of marks and fabric burns on your skin, but you were even more grateful at the feel of his bare arms wrapped around you. You nestled close against him, unsure when you might get another chance like this again. You knew you had a short time with him. You knew as soon as the starfighter was finished, he’d be gone again. But for now, you had the memory of his skin against yours and the memory of how it felt to properly kiss him to keep you going. 

-----

I just wanted to take a moment to thank all the wonderful creators out there who write and put things out in the world for everyone to see. I love all of you so very much and I'm so happy to be in such great company. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[demonicheadcanons]

can you do a HC of 18th century Obey Me brothers?? I'm super into historical drama at the moment and would love to see classical Obey Me AU

AN: Thanks for sending this in!! I’m not very good with history, so please forgive any mistakes as I have pretty much just skimmed a few different websites trying to find whatever info I could pick up ;u; This isn’t a traditional headcanon set, but rather an overall ‘18th century Devildom’ headcanon. I hope that’s alright!!

It is occurring to me as I write that this probably isn’t what you want at all because this ask says ‘historical drama’. Sorry ;u; I kind of just ran with whatever came to my head.

I make some references to things that happen later on in the game, around Lesson 15/16. I don’t mention anything outright, but there are definitely hints at some spoilers, so please don’t read this if you haven’t gotten that far ^^

Obey Me - 18th Century AU

The brothers are less put-together than they are in the actual game, with a few hundred years less development under their belt. It shouldn’t make much of a difference as they’re all at least a few thousand years old, but because of some issues between the brothers that have been dragged into the Human Realm, the Devildom is a disaster.

Issues like... Satan and Beelzebub have been having an ongoing argument, contributing to the many wars and famines across the globe. In his free time, Satan has been travelling to the human realm and assisting global leaders from the sidelines, to relieve stress and to cause chaos for his own amusement. Beelzebub’s anger causes food to spoil easily in the Human Realm. Belphegor watches it all from the sidelines, enjoying watching the Human Realm crumble under the demons’ grasps. He doesn’t like seeing Beel upset, and encourages him to take it out on the humans. Beel himself is reluctant to do so, and most of the damage he does is accidental. He feels guilty for it, but is confused because it seems to make Belphie a lot happier than he has been.

Diavolo decides to put a stop to it, and settles on an exchange program of sorts. He puts it into action immediately, banning the brothers from travelling to the human realm and pulling a few humans into the Devildom. The first exchange goes... poorly. There isn’t any way for the news to really spread in the Human Realm, so the disappearance of a few humans is easily covered up. The next time, the MC is pulled into the Devildom and put into the care of Mammon, who is less hostile than his other brothers.

Mammon believes he can personally benefit from a stronger bond between humans and demons - he’s already in contact with witches, and it would help him gain their trust. At the same time, he’s also willing to follow Lucifer’s lead irregardless of how reluctant he may seem. Because of this, he puts effort into actually protecting his human this time; last time, things hadn’t gone well, and he really hadn’t enjoyed the cleanup. He hadn’t been attached to the humans then, and now that he feels a pull to the MC he’s going to be by their side constantly so they don’t meet the same fate.

Asmo loves the clothing, and is one of the first to bond with the MC. The secrecy of it all! What do you really look like? Why do you insist on covering up so much? He treats the MC like a forbidden treat, but genuinely loves the outfits they wear and, with a few adaptations, starts trying to get similar clothing trending in the Devildom, with some genuine success. His forward and suggestive nature is somewhere between disturbing and almost refreshing - its nice to be around someone so open once you get used to it.

Levi is the same as ever, but without all of his technology. The Devildom is still more advanced than the Human Realm, but I can see him with a typewriter writing out poetry and such. Perhaps he and Satan are closer during this time, Levi not being quite so much of a shut-in, and the two read and write together at times. Levi also helps contribute when Satan travels to the human realm to cause chaos - he doesn’t really care all that much, but its fun to lead any navy, even if its a pathetic human navy, and it helps him to de-stress and gives him some inspiration for his writing.

This changes when the MC arrives. He meets them on that first day when Mammon runs away, and they still go through with the pact plan. He’s a little less awkward, but still talks down to the human until they break their seemingly quiet and controlled nature and snap at him. It creates an interest for him, because he’s never seen humans up so close when he’s not fighting them, and he’d only paid attention to the fictional humans in his books. He ends up watching the MC and spending time with them when Mammon isn’t, one of the more controlled brothers who doesn’t really feel like hurting them because there isn’t some big game to play on a watery battlefield.

Lucifer is... busy. RAD isn’t what it is yet in the game - its tough trying to wrangle the demons in and to get them to adapt and better themselves. He’s determined to help Lord Diavolo however he can, but between getting everything set up and dealing with his brothers’ outbursts, he’s rarely able to see the MC.

When he does, he’s a bit of a mess, jumping between being proud and acting like a nobleman, to teasing them because before they’ve adapted to Asmo’s nature, their reactions to everything are entertaining. He’ll flirt and be downright inappropriate at times to get a reaction out of them, using it to help him stay calm amidst all the chaos. Because he usually ends up feeling calm or excited around them, he takes a liking to them quickly enough and ends up quite defensive.

He has quieter moments with them, too, if they know how to play the pianoforte. He invites them to play duets together, and likes to listen to them sing or work their way through the sheet music he has laying about. One day they quietly make their way through an old, old song he last heard hundreds of years ago, and he stands silently in the doorway before walking off to spend some time with his brothers, the memories of easier times fresh in his head.

Satan is also a mess but for different reasons. He’s suddenly lost his main output, and now there’s a human here that he’s not supposed to mess with? He might be a little manipulative at first, but one day he walks into the library and the MC is curled up reading one of the many books, or has discovered some of his writings and is smiling to themself as they read it before carefully and gently setting it back where it was. He changes after that, becomes quieter and tends to watch them a lot when the two are in the same room together. Were all humans like this when they weren’t fighting with each other? When they didn’t immediately rise to his words? It’s not that he feels guilty for the things he’s done, because he doesn’t feel he has done much other than offer advice to people already wanting to fight and conquer. But a soft spot develops for the quieter moments in human lives, where they create - through embroidery, drawing, painting, singing, etc. He finds a new output through them.

Beel tends to avoid the human, not wanting them to realise that he’s potentially been a catalyst for some of their struggles in the Human Realm. However, he begins to feel left out as his brothers are all one-by-one getting attached and spending more and more time with the human. They remind him of something, some old memories he’d long since pushed down, and now he isn’t sure whether he wants to remember or forget about them. They become easier, softer, to hold onto with this human around, and so he stays by their side whenever he can. They seem almost enchanted by him too, Beel being different from how most humans present themselves at the time. A common curiosity is what holds the two together, really.

Belphegor stays the same as he is in game. When the two eventually do bond, its because of Beel, and because all of his brothers are already so attached to the MC. He wanders around silently for the first few days he’s able to, watching them read with Satan or sneak into Levi’s room to write letters together, listening to them laugh with Mammon and Beel, and play piano with Lucifer - it’d been so long since he’d heard that song, since he’d heard Lucifer sing like that. Its hard not to get attached, and he realises that there’s no ill will in their heart at all despite everything the demons had done. One day he’s in the planetarium, laying on the floor with his eyes closed, taking a break from watching the stars. The MC walks in and freezes when they see him there, and they lay a blanket over him before leaving, and it settles everything into place for him. He could trust them.

Diavolo throws a lot of balls / parties for everyone to get acquainted, and because he heard it was common in the Human Realm. He has the MC and other humans help to teach the brothers some dances, and in return the brothers and himself teach them dances common in the Devildom. This sparks a jealousy between the brothers, who have all in one way or another, started to become attached to the MC. It becomes a silent battle of who can ask them to dance first, who gets to spend the most time with them, and so on.

Diavolo himself joins in if only to see the brothers reactions, and to see how well his plans have all worked out. The human seems content, seems to feel safe, and they smile calmly up at him and he feels guilty because he himself has accidentally caused harm to their kind before. How can they look up at him as if they’re safe in his arms, how can they laugh as the two dance together, practicing and developing a new dance that combines human and demon tradition together to form something new, to begin a new era? He relaxes over time, especially with Barbatos’ guidance and input. The plans are working and the MC is happy, and he feels like both are equal accomplishments.

Barbatos himself is happy to watch it all from the sidelines. He trusts that Diavolo will lead things where they need to go, and if anything happens, he knows he himself is capable of taking care of it. He finds himself curious about the human, who has settled into a life so different from what it had been. He doesn’t get too involved, but regularly brings them treats and, if he passes them at RAD, asks about how they’re doing. He mainly keeps Diavolo updated on anything he notices.

The angels aren’t brought into the picture yet, but a second exchange program is held shortly after that involves the Celestial Realm as well, and both Simeon and Luke quickly grow attached to the MC. They’ve helped so much with settling the Devildom and helping peace grow between the realms. Luke clings to them and asks about how they can cope around so many demons, and enjoys participating when they bake or draw or paint. Simeon’s interest is quieter, and he mostly enjoys watching how they interact with Lucifer, and seeing what traditions they have kept from the human world. Like Satan and Levi, he finds them to be an inspiration, and asks if he can write a story based on them.

[topweeklyupdate]

TØP Weekly Update #142: A Formidable Album (5/21/21)

So... how 'bout that album release week?

There's so much to cover; the release of nine new songs, the hype that's building for the World's Best Band to return to the stage, and (if we're able to come up for air) the massive speculation of what the future brings for our band.

I'm gonna get right into it, laying out my thoughts regarding this bold new album and covering all the most notable news from the week. I'll be sharing my (mostly) positive opinions about Scaled and Icy under the Read More line; I hope they're the start of a fun conversation with all of y'all who have stuck around through this last year.

Scaled and Icy Review

First, my general thoughts on the album: It's good! Really good. Do I think it's a no-skip like Vessel or a cohesive piece of art like Trench? Absolutely not! But it's also not the potential misfire that I worried that we might be getting when I first heard "Saturday" (more on that later); I think all of the songs are at least good, and some of them are downright great tracks that hold up with anything else that our band has ever released. It is also indisputably very different, but I think that generally works pretty well. Many of the songs evoke '60s rock or Britpop sounds and structures that you can tell Tyler is still trying to navigate, but I think he does a very solid job at adapting them to suit his strengths- namely his lyricism and knack for melody- rather than change to suit them. Unfortunately, this does result in a bit of square-peg-in-round-hole syndrome at times; most of the rap verses on the album feel like they're here just to fulfill an obligation to fans who would be mad if they weren't here, and most of the songs that use them are the weakest ones in the project.

"Good Day" plays a major role in getting the rest of the album to work as well as it does. Its gradual ramp-up, introducing the sound that will be used throughout the rest of the album. Its playfulness belies its message about how one can project a somewhat false optimism for oneself in the midst of tragedy: the type of dark stuff in a bright package that Tyler is so so good at. It's perhaps not an instant classic, but I am excited to see how it comes across when it's eventually used as a show-opener. 9/10

I've of course already discussed "Shy Away"; an anthemic, inimitably catchy track that I just wish had a bit more going on under the hood. Still going to be so good to hear thousands of voices scream "An 'I LOVE YOU' that isn't words!" someday. 9.5/10

"Choker" definitely took a little bit to grow on me. I think part of that was a bit of disappointment from over-inflated expectations and the environment I was in when I first heard it. With further listens, I fall more and more in love with the melody of the song... well, most of it. Like the rest of this album, the biggest weakness in the song is when Tyler tries to tick the box of having a rap verse; it just feels really out of place, unfinished, and almost amateurish, and it doesn't end the song on the note that it really should. Without it, it'd be one of my favorites on the album; with it, "Choker" is a solid 8.5/10.

Speaking of unfinished-sounding songs really hurt by their rap verse: "The Outside". There's a definite something to the vibe of the song, but that seemingly nonsensical verse is one of the two weakest parts of the entire project for me. The way the song meanders only adds to the feeling that there wasn't as much energy and attention paid to it compared to other parts of the project. It's pretty easily my least favorite track on Scaled and Icy, and the only one I might regularly skip. I've also seen plenty of people saying it's the best song on the album, so please tell me why I'm wrong! 6.5/10

"Saturday", as mentioned above, had me really nervous about this album. Like "Choker", it's grown on me a bit since I first heard it, in part because it fits better with the context of the rest of the album. However, this one really does feel undercooked lyrically and overreliant on the novelty of using a disco-inspired sound that seems to chase trends more than almost any other TØP track. The inclusion of that very sweet audio clip from Jenna boosts the song in some ways, but also adds to the disappointment in others; there are many other songs on this project that would be more worth surrendering time watching Friends. Thankfully, those come next. 7/10

"Never Take It" is fascinating. I never thought I'd hear a Rolling Stones-style song from Tyler Joseph featuring a gd guitar solo of all things, and it actually sounds pretty great. However, I also predict that this song will see some of the greatest critical scrutiny out of all the songs on the album. The lyrics seem to be Tyler's criticism of the media for playing up division in our society, but he's extremely vague when discussing which entities are spreading said division and ultimately recommends that people "educate yourself, but never too much". I'll be honest: maybe it's the fact that it sounds like something my dad would listen to, but it feels like this would get tons of play on Fox News. Since it makes specific reference to the events of last summer, it's hard not to feel like song is at least partially inspired by Tyler's brush with cancellation last year. Maybe I'm reading too deeply into it, but those reservations come from the song's lack of specificity, which is an issue of songwriting more than politics. They hold me back from truly loving a song that still manages to be one of the most exciting the band has ever put out. 8.5/10

"Mulberry Street" seems like the perfect realization of the entire album's intended tone. It is so pleasant, so lush while also simply produced, full of great lyrics, metaphors, and imagery. It really brings the whole project together, even if it's missing That One Line to really move this up to the top tier of the canon. 9.5/10

"Formidable" is the best song on the album and one of two songs I would truly rank in the top tier of the band's canon. Extremely pleasant and brimming with well-crafted lines to make your heart swoon. Jenna (and Rosie) is (are) a lucky gal(s). Or is it about Josh? Who's to say? 10/10

"Bounce Man" is just plain wild. I think Tyler's smuggling someone to Mexico to escape the feds? The playfulness of it all really covers up any frustration I might have with the clarity; it makes it clear that there's not really stakes here, just vibes. 8.5/10

"No Chances" sees the album take a turn that I'm sure the Reddit Clique is going to have an absolute field day with; it and "Redecorate" both sound quite different from the rest of the album and evoke enough elements of Trench to make me think that's it's actually possible that all this 'SAI is Propaganda' stuff might actually have something to it... until I actually pick apart the lyrics, then I'm even more confused. The song has some of the best rapping on the album, though that's not saying much (the feng shui line is a groaner right out the gate) and the gentle pre-chorus is really pleasant. I still haven't made up my mind on whether the chorus is effective or just plain goofy. This one might get worse or better on repeat listens, impossible to say for now. 7.5/10

"Redecorate" rounds out the album by opening with a Clancy quote (Tyler, you bastard), firmly setting this as a coda to Trench more than the album we just listened to. The rest of the song is really storytelling, with Tyler describing a bunch of people who are struggling deeply. The idea of "redecorating" here stands for how they are faced with the option to clean and resort their own spaces and lives or leave that to their loved ones to do after they're gone. By the time it gets to the album's name drop, you begin to wonder how much of this is potential autobiographical of the last year. It's moving stuff, a callback to some of the great strengths of the band's discography. 10/10

If I average those scores all up, this project ranks below almost every album among the Pilots discography on my rating scale, very narrowly edging out Self-Titled. That's still a very solid 8.6. Scaled and Icy is a very good album on first listen. We'll see how I feel about it after having a little more time to sit with it, but I've rambled enough: let's move through the rest of the week's news.

Other News

Of course, there was a lot else going on this week! To accompany the release of "Saturday", Zane Lowe over at Apple Music dropped an interview with Tyler. As usual, Zane did a pretty solid job of getting to the heart of the craft and the creation process. However, Tyler also wound up skirting a lot of the questions to just talk more about how much he loves being a dad, which makes me happy; if the cost of getting a little less attention and mental energy devoted to the music is that little girl getting all of his attention, that's honestly preferable for me.

The album rollout is not even close to over. Later today, the concert will be streamed live. It's our first real performance that we've gotten from the band since 2019, but the previews that we've seen have completely exceeded any of my expectations, and really anything that we've seen from the band. It appears that they've transformed the entire arena (which I think is the ol' Schott at Ohio State) into a whole TØP world, with different sets laden with Easter eggs and a cast of backup dancers. If the website can hold up to the traffic (and I acknowledge that might be a big ask), this could really live up to Tyler's promise of this being the best livestreamed concert ever.

Oh, and this guy dyed his hair pink.

What a time to be a fan. Catch you all tomorrow.

Power to the local dreamer.

|-/

[chromium7sky]

The Devil Wears Armani| chapter 11

A/n: amg, finally updated this one 😭😭😭💖💖💖💖💖 you guys can follow this story with #damirae , #devilwearsarmani and #fashionistaau tag

2 weeks. It's been two weeks since the last video call. Raven have been pouring her attention on working the suit that she has planned for Damian Wayne to wear for the Gala.

She had done the cutting, the sewing and all, and what's left is doing the embroidery. She chosen the gold thread selectively which give the vivid glow and bring out the majestic value to the wearer.

The embroidery are complete within 95% thanks to a specified sewing machine which she bought with the price money she won before during the her first fashion competition. It helps alot.

The date of Gala approaching like crawling on the thread of time and for the final touch, she combined all the pieces into a handsome looking suit.

As she put the wardrobe on the mannequin, she took a step back and see it as a whole picture. With her both hands, she makes the photograph gesture to capture the feels of how Damian would look like if he wears them.

Contemplating and satisfied she felt after she iron the suit and store in special cover suit. She looked at the calendar and looks like she has extra two weeks before Gala.

Speaking of Gala, she wondered what would the dress look like since it was Damian who made for her? Would it be shoulder bare? Would it be one piece dress? Raven rubbed her chin as she wonder then she noticed herself on standing mirror. Slowly she spin to the left then to right as she look her body shape contour. If she was designing her own dress she probably went with thick fabric drape style. Simple, elegant and exclusive.

Her eyes glanced at the clock that's shows 10.30pm.

Wait.

She blink her eyes. How come she didn't thought of it. What would his design for herself? She did shown her sketches to Damian but won't he shown his? Curious, curious.

Raven imagine what if she asked, Damian would probably say, ' you don't trust me? Tsk tsk.' Raven sighed as her hand run down her face thinking about that. "Maybe I'll try to ask tomorrow."

Suddenly, a bleep sound indicate a message comes in. Raven blink then looked at her phone screen.

"Girl, You busy today?"

- Karen

It's been a while. Raven smiled then diligently answered the question.

"Not quite. Just finished designing a suit. What's up?"

She hit send.

Then came up another message on her inbox.

"We got party tomorrow at Viva La coast at Riverside. Wanna come?"

Raven narrowed her eyes then humming. Should she go or not? Perhaps she need a time off after that intense week. A little entertainment doesn't hurt.

"Sure. You pick me up?"

" For course, sis. 😘 See you at 8pm, tomorrow."

"On it.👌"

Raven smiled then landed on her bed. As she let out her relief sigh she put her phone at table nearby.

As she sleep, she dreamt of something pleasant. She's at fountain garden where surrounded by fragrance flowers and palm-like trees.

She notice her dress has gold accent along with silky texture clothes. Slowly her hands touched the dress she wear, felt it's smooth surface.

Her heart stop as she felt a hand holding her waist. Slowly she turn her head over her shoulder and -

BLEEP BLEEP BLEEP

Her eyes wide open as soon as she heard her phone alarm. She blink once then twice, trying to process her thoughts. When a sprinkle of dream remembrance filled in her her head, her cheeks start to blushed. Her hand quickly grab her pillow beside her and buried her face beneath it.

"O dear, don't tell me it's him that I'm dreaming about last night." She let out her sighed. She had fallen for him.

A message bleep chiming in her phone makes her peek under the pillow and quickly she reached for her phone.

A message from him.

'OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG' Raven's heart start racing. "Wh-Wha...H-How...." She tried to question reality, how on earth he's messaging her. Right now?

"You're awake?"

Raven bit her bottom lips as she look at her phone screen. Her finger diligently working on touch screen pad.

"Just awake. Can't sleep?"

She hit send button. Then for a few second she received his reply.

"I just had dream about you...

You look beautiful."

A dream? She blinked. Then another message comes in.

"Still busy working on the suit?"

Raven biting her lips to keep it as a secret but it's almost 25th like in 5 days away, so....why not? Her finger tapping the keyword on screen replying him.

"Actually I've finish the suit."

She replied. Another thought hit her and she quickly tapped it on the phone.

"I did promise making for dinner right? Maybe tomorrow?"

Again she send the text.

Interval in 2-3 second, her phone bleep it back.

"That would be great. I'll bring something as surprise."

Surprise? Raven mind start racing, mostly to that forbidden thoughts. What kind of surprise? She bit her lips and start typing.

"Well uh, I hope it's not a refrigerator you're bringing."

She shaked off those thought and try keep the conversation as innocent as possible.

"No. It's not. It's something, you probably would like it. 😏"

Raven looked at the emoji face he send. Did he send an emoji? Damian Wayne doesn't use emoji while texting or emailing.

"Well, alright then. See you tomorrow?"

She hit the send button.

Then a message came in.

"Can't wait to see you.♥️"

Raven flopped to her bed and her face now are red tinted. What is this? Why is this feeling so intense? She closed her eyes retracing her memory between them. Those bickering and end up with hot make out along intimate session in his office.

"I guess we should discuss about this terms of relationship." She talked in her pillow.

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

She has complete all the order that has been request by some local boutique and some are from online website. She's quite amazed with things that happens after the talk show incident where Damian said about Raven going to Wayne Gala this week.

People start to shift their attention to her especially her design clothes. Does Damian intend to promote her? She rubbed her chin then sudden, Mona, her assistant knock her door.

"Come in."

Mona peek behind the door, she smiled and slowly walk to her boss. " You have received a gift!" The assistant handled to her a parcel.

"A gift?" Raven whisper under her breath. Could it be Damian? Her eyebrows furrowed. She took out knife letter and slowly cut , unwrapped the parcel and she saw an apparel, black with velvet felt. There is the tag at the collar says Draco.

Her eyes widen. Draco? You mean Melchior Draco?

"Who is it? Your lover?" Mona feeling excited.

"No. This is from my competitor." Raven cover the box and push it away. Her head suddenly filled with painful memories about her and Melchior encounter. The way he flirt her before her first joining competition, the betrayal, and stolen her design to built his empire.

Her heart boiled with anger which in result she crumpled her paper nearby which made Mona a bit fall back by her intimidation.

"I'm sorry about that, Miss." Mona bow her head quickly apologize for not realise what is going on.

Raven snapped back from those memory and quickly look at the paper . " Oh!" She's surprise and quickly she try to straighten up the paper she crumbled. " No, no, it's okay, Mona. It's nothing." She smiled. " You can go now."

" Ah, alright then." She nod and walked to the door and-

" By the way, boss, there's a caller said he's from metropolis daily planet wanted to interview you about being guest at the gala." Mona turned to her as she spite out another appointment.

" Well, set it tomorrow then." Raven tidy up her table and throw the parcel to the bin nearby.

"Uh, you threw that?" Mona pointed at the parcel inside the dustbin.

"You want it?"

"Ummm...it looks beautiful." Her assistant fidgeting.

Raven smiled and took the parcel. She dust a bit. "Take it and wear where I don't see it. Or else I end up burn them with hellfire." Raven eyes shown deep hatred and anger.

"Ok boss." She smiled, quickly snatched the parcel and run to the exit.

As she was alone in her office, she slump in her chair and sigh heavily. "I guess he's also in town too." Her finger tapping on her table creating random melodies.

-------

Its 7.55pm, Raven now waiti g for Karen to pick her up as she lingers in her living room. She's wearing a one piece black dress decorated with golden and black labuci make it more fabulous looks.

She look at her phone to kill her waiting time until she stumbled on a post by E fashion news.

"Top trending designer DRACO are in town for launching their latest collection 'BLAK MAJIK' "

As raven read the article, she felt upset as she remember Melchior stole her ideas in doing a line fashion about magic before she presented the ideas at her first fashion show competition.

As she read the article, the sound of the car honking makes her jolt and quickly look at the window. It seems Karen has reached at her apartment block, quickly she goes out and greet Karen who parked at the entrance.

*********

"I heard that bastard Melchior are in town." Karen slowly stirred her cocktail as her and Raven where sitting on a table outside of the Viva La Coast restaurant.

"Yeah, I did read the article about it." said Raven as she drink her pina colada. " So, who are we waiting for again?"

"I forgot to tell you, Kory won't be able to join us. She has to come with her boyfriend meet with his family at Wayne Mansion."

"Wayne Mansion?" Raven's eyes jump out. Wayne, wasn't Damian last name is Wayne too?

" Yeah, but she's dating with Wayne's older adopted son, Richard Grayson. A high profile detective , probably will be promoted as soon. " Karen updating the status of their friend.

"I see." Raven looked at her drink. It's been a long time she hasn't talk to Kori because of her business setting up her small company.

"How about you then? You and Mal?" Raven raised her eyebrows.

"Well we've been planning for a wedding maybe in next year. " Karen smiled.

"Wait, I thought you're still in doctorate?" Raven eyes wide open as she remember Karen used to be a student in mechanical and atomic engineering.

"Will be graduated in two months." Karen smiled widely as she let out the fantastic news.

Raven goes all tears as she heard the good news. "Oh my god, Karen! I'm so happy!" She tried to hug Karen across the table.

Karen laughed with Raven's sudden behaviour. "That's why we celebrate it!"

"We should buy a cake. Wait, I know! Waiter!" Raven call up the waiter to get some dessert as celebration.

"And..."

Raven turns her head to Karen.

"I wanted you to design our wedding dress and suits." Karen faces flushes as she speak her request. " I really, really adore your work , Rachel. I wanted you to design it."

"Damn it , Karen. You make me all teary." Raven wiped her tears as she smiled sheepishly. " Of course I will."

"Karen, do you know anything about the youngest Wayne?"

"You mean Damian Wayne?"

"Yeah."

"I heard that he just back from middle east after doing charity project between the Wayne Enterprise and Leviathan Industries."

"I think everyone knows about that, Karen." Raven smiled as she drink up.

"I am very speculate that both of you have met." Karen with her mischievous smile now painted on her lips. " Is that the same guy who become your muse in your long lost sketch book?"

Raven clutches her hand on her drink, almost breaking it but she keep with her calm face. " I don't think so." She tried to denied it following with Karen's giggle.

"Plus, when he said there will be Raven in Wayne's Gala, I was like 'Raven?!' to the tv screen and I swear there's something going on between both of you." Karen crossed her armed with one eyebrow raised as she looked as Raven like she's a suspect.

"Well..." Raven averted her sight to the table and nervously tug her hair behind her ears. " There is."

BAM!

Raven jolted as Karen slammed the table with her drink. "TELL ME."

She swallowed her saliva as she seen Karen being over eager. She sighed as she adjust her seating, leaning towards the table.

"It start with that day, the day when he show up out of nowhere with that deal." Raven start to spilled what happen recently.

[fnafslinky]

Fazbear Frights 1-9 review.

Into The Pit:

Slow and meandering during the first half but picks up speed after Spring Bonnie shows up. Good message and good idea, but the execution could be better. 6/10

To Be Beautiful:

This story is so full of fluff, you can cut out like 60% of it and lose nothing. I know it's going for a fairy tale thing with the repetition and all, but fairy tales do that because it's made for children. Repetition is to train a child's brain to remember better. These books are aimed at teenagers, so this narrative device is not needed. On top of that, it has unfortunate implications of "Not like other girls" memes that we don't need to revisit. Only saved by its creepy af ending. 3/10

Count The Ways:

Legitimately my favorite story out of FNAF and one of my favorites of all time. It fixed the previous story's Not Like Other Girls problems by having the goth main character hate the pretty blonde and being called out for not even knowing her and being shallow. It is actually surprising to have these two stories be back to back.

The narrative device of switching back and forth between the MC facing her death and how she got up to that point means it keeps your interest throughout that the previous two stories had problems with. It makes for great drama and tension.

The main reason I love this story in particular is because of this exchange near the end:

“Silly Millie, for someone who doesn’t want to die you sure spent a lot of time talking about it,” the voice surrounding her said. “But that’s the way of things, isn’t it? Talk is always easier than action.”

“I think,” Millie said, sniffling, “that when I said I wanted to die, what I really wanted was to escape. I didn’t want death. I just wanted my life to be different.”

“Oh, but that really takes action, doesn’t it?”

And, if I can be real for a minute: I feel like that kinda changed my life. Or very least, my point of view.

As someone who has made attempts on his life before and frequently battles depression- It made my problems so much less overwhelming. Of course I didn't want to die. I wanted my life my life to improve. And now whenever the thought of suicide passes through my head, I just remember this phrase and it helps me keep it together and calm down.

And also F.Freddy's follow up with having to work for happiness is spot on too. Misery is comfortable, that's why so many people prefer it. Happiness takes effort. 10/10

Fetch:

I'm in the minority for not caring for this one. I felt like there wasn't any direction or character arc, I didn't find Fetch particularly scary or interesting, and the MC makes a lot of dumb decisions in it.

That being said, I love how it jumps right into the action instead of taking awhile to get to it like the other stories did. The stories tend to play out like a different book and then FNAF characters are slapped in at the end. This one gets right to it and makes it integral to its plot. 6/10

Lonely Freddy:

Another one I really love. The Frights series has a good traction with its tragedies and this one is no exception. I really connected with the feeling of being pitted against your siblings, usually by accident and circumstance with your parents. Particularly this line:

“Maybe you’ve made them what they are,” Aunt Gigi said, pausing for a moment before adding: “Hazel’s the easy one. Alec is the hard one. It’s like you put them on their own little islands.”

I wasn't Alec, but Hazel in this situation. And it made me realize what my sibling went through because of it.

And this is another story where Freddy's is more integral to the plot too, and one of the few times it's not already abandoned.

I really like how well done Alec's back and forth he had with himself whether to befriend his sister or not. It's a believable character arc when he realizes his mistake at the end unlike another story that we'll get to.

And the fact they made a God damn teddy bear legitimately creepy is a mastery of horror writing that I can only ever hope to strive for. Definitely the scariest in Frights 2. 9/10

Out Of Stock:

I agree with Dawko that this one feels best to make a 30 minute special out of. It feels like a Halloween special or creepypasta you would watch/read as a preteen. Old enough to want to explore more mature stuff, but young enough to still have more cartoony stuff be familiar. And I mean that as 100% a positive.

I also like how this one is a bit more comedy based. Like the scene where the MC gets thrown across the room after electrocuting himself and his friends dont even notice. I can picture that bit so clearly.

The climax is the best part of having a dire game of Red Light, Green Light with the Plushtrap Chaser. It's very energized and exciting that the other stories don't have as often because the subject matter doesn't lend itself to it.

The trend in these stories of kids learning to appreciate their parents, and they're parents realizing they have to sacrifice some stuff to make their child happy is very sweet. And it's no different here. 8/10

1:35 AM

What I like about this series is that you never know where its gonna go from story to story. I though for certain this story was about how the doll was gonna have an evil spirit possessing it.

But no, what actually happened is that it's never made clear if the MC is losing her mind, being haunted, or just seeing stuff because she's sleep deprived. That ambiguity makes the book a lot creepier and sadder because you don't know how this poor woman should be helped. And it ends without any clarification. That's great and a perfect idea for horror story.

That being said, Scott's writing quirks (and it's definitely Scott doing it, I can tell) of front loading info, constantly stopping the flow to have backstory and over explaining things that don't need makes it frustrating to read after several books of it. And we're not done with that either. 9/10

Room For One More:

I skipped over all the dream sequences because it adds nothing to the story. Its great you remember Sister Location, but it feels like you don't trust your audience to read a FNAF story if there isn't animatronics every couple pages. And honestly? Understandable.

I do know based on my own FNAF comic, pages featuring humans is a lot less popular than the ones featuring animatronics. And I get it, you're a bunch of furries it's more interesting to visualize. And you can go in the opposite direction and have very little FNAF stuff when they're needs to be more. The New Kid doesn't even bring it up til the last third.

But I digress. The strongest qualities in Room For One More is three points.

The location is very vividly described. The underground security office with steel walls, the radiation disposals, the musky scent. It paints a clear and unique picture.

The main character's fallen arc of self care and distrust of others is a well done cautionary tale. It goes hand in hand with the speech before of having to work for happiness, and the difficulties there are from even trying. But you still need to do it.

The body horror is not as visually disgusting as it could've been, and more conceptually horrifying. But if you have a fear of bugs in your skin or crawling in your mouth, prepare for something so much worse! And no, that's not a spoiler, it's pretty obvious where its going from the beginning. 7/10

The New Kid:

This one was disappointing. This is not the way to do a tragedy, because I don't care about the MC.

Throughout the entire story, the main character has literal sociopath tendencies. He is controlling of other people, he doesn't have any empathy, he sees other people as tools to use, he kills a bird and doesn't care- So at the end when he accidentally kills someone, I don't believe him feeling bad about it. And I sure as shit don't care about his death after him leaving his victim to die, while he was still breathing, and not coming back for a week.

Also the twist at the end makes no God damn sense and I'm not even gonna dignify it.

A better tragedy would've been his friend, Mick, getting into trouble for the murder after refusing to ever stand up to the MC. Or even the MC being betrayed by him last minute for him to learn how his shit behavior really screwed him over. But the end result ended up being an unsatisfying mess. 2/10

I'll review the 4th's books with 5 and 6, since I'm sticking with a three at a time theme and because I haven't read 4 yet.

[smartzelda]

Remind Trailer Analysis Part 1 (Warning Remind Spoilers!)

So, after I watched the new trailer, I found out it got leaked I felt really bad, but I really wanna talk about it cause it's got me screaming

So...here we go

First off, a lot of people are excited with the reveal that Final Fantasy characters such as Aerith, Yuffie, and Leon will be returning. Although I'm probably not as excited as most, I love how beautiful their renders are and can't wait to see how they fit into the story!

Okay, so Riku boi at Radiant Garden trying to figure out what happened to Sora (Riku boy looking for Sora!) I'm personally excited to see how everyone's trying to find Sora, and how everyone is taking Sora's disappearance

So, we get a shot of Sora at Ven's station of awakening, then a shot of Sora experiencing Aqua's hurt at the keyblade graveyard. It's pretty much been foreshadowed since Re:Coded that one day Sora will have to take in everyone's hurt, and even though I never wish hurt upon my boi, the angst is gonna be yes and I'm excited. Also, my guess is that Sora's going to the station of awakening of every guardian of light to feel how they felt and take in their hurt during moments in the keyblade graveyard. I've heard speculation that the reason all those anti-aquas are in the demon hurricane is that she has PTSD over being in the darkness for so long and those anti-aquas are what she saw right before being swept up in the demon hurricane. I support that theory because it's definitely plausible and I know I'd like to see how succumbing to darkness affects Aqua like we got to see how it all affected Riku during his character development.

I don't really know what to say about this. Apparently Terranort can see Sora?? I'd like to know more about the "forbidden path" and why Terranort can see him even though no one else seems to be able to while he's feeling people's hurt. Also, what is the ultimate sacrifice? I feel the sadness coming. It's probably going to be Sora disappearing from the world though

The wielders of light fighting the norts from Scala. This looks to be a cool fight and I'm excited to figure put how it fits into the story, but I don't really have anything to say about it

Seems to be continuation from an earlier Remind trailer

I hope this means we'll get to see what happens to the other characters after Sora defeats the enemies in a section. My guess is that Demyx just came to pick up the replica, so...good to know that the replica body isn't just left there during the final battle. Also, that replica body is probably going to be Naminé's, so maybe we'll get to see them bring her back?

There's a couple ideas for all the showcased battles. Some think they're data battles, but I think you might have to fight them either to enter stations if awakening or after you leave a station of awakening

OKAY THIS. THIS HAD ME SCREAMING AND DYING AND REJOICING.

So first off, that station of awakening is so freaking pretty like oh my gosh

Next, Sora talks about how everyone always told him to follow his heart, then follows it up with, "follow my heart...hearts are all connected". He says this while pointing his keyblade at what's probably (I'll say why in a sec) Riku's heart or maybe what he thinks is Riku's heart.

Okay, so Sora's station of awakening has him from kh1, so it's possible Riku's is too (just an idea), but this station of awakening shows com Riku. Now, when all the seekers of darkness die, they disappear in this darkness pillar. When Repliku and Replitwo die, the pillar is a darkness and light pillar. Based on this, I guess that Repliku might be a guardian of light. So, if you've read the SRT, part of the theory is that Sora brought back all the guardians of light in the original timeline, beginning the timeline we see in kh3. Part of the theory is that Naminé wasn't in Kairi's heart just based on some stuff chirithy says, so Sora didn't bring her back, meaning that she wasn't a guardian of light. I would say she isn't just because she doesn't do anything in the story and can't do anything to make her a guardian of light while in Kairi's heart (or didn't at least). We could say it's because Naminé was in Kairi's heart and Kairi was one of Sora's friends he knew he was bringing back, but this doesn't explain Repliku. Right before and after the first "drop" detailed in the SRT we have evidence that he is in Riku's heart, and this means that he was brought back by Sora at the end of the original timeline, because if he wasn't, he would be in the final world with Naminé, so he must be a guardian of light.

Where am I going with this? So what, Repliku might be a guardian of light, what does that have to do with anything? I'm going back to that station of awakening. It has Com Riku on it, and com is the game Repliku was introduced. So, my theory is...what of that station of awakening is Repliku's?

Now, I've heard a theory that the stained glass has Naminé in addition to Ansem and Mickey rather than Sora and/or Kairi because she, Mickey, and Ansem had an impact on Riku's life that lead to him being able to get the strength to protect Sora (it's no secret that Riku is the one that matters most to Sora). It's a good theory that's plausible.

Here's my theory though. What if Sora believes that station of awakening to be Riku's, but it's Repliku's? If Sora's connecting to the stations of awakening of the guardians of light, and Repliku might be one of them, he might encounter Repliku's. Repliku's fake memories were similar to Riku's, though they had him in love with Naminé, so he would've met Mickey and Ansem in his memories. AND since Repliku has feelings for Naminé due to his fake memories, it would make sense for Naminé to be on his station of awakening since he cares about her.

So...all that aside I'm dying cause Soriku. Also, you notice how the station of awakening is purple right? You know what color makes purple? Blue and Red. Based on trends and the secret ending, Riku is blue and Sora is red (like Yozora's eyes) so...

We're finally going to see how Sora saved Kairi!

Now, some people have pointed out them holding hands, but it doesn't seem like a romantic thing to me. It's pretty evident that they just arrived at the final world, especially considering Kairi's comment on how pretty the final world is. Sora would have to lead Kairi back since she died, and my guess the handholding is to make sure she doesn't get lost. If Sora has to use a keyhole or a portal like the DDD ones to get there, he'd probably (at least I think so) have to hold hands with Kairi so he can take her with him. It's to make sure they don't get separated I think, and I think Sora would be extra afraid of that happening cause he's trying to bring her back and because he cares a lot for all his friends, and, based on the Jap version of the scene where he goes to save her, he doesn't want to her (or any of his friends) to feel and be alone and he wants to bring her back so he can have all his friends alive and well

And....I'll have to continue on another post cause the 10 photo limit...shoot

[mystery-salad]

WELL ... u said u have 38 kiddos and theres 26 letters in the alphabet soooo because i'm extra and love reading about them i think u should do one letter for 26 characters of ur choosing (as long as u choose tvelle for one of them) :-) Don't have to do all the questions for each letter, just whichever excites you most!!

Well…THIS is going under a cut for sure lol, that’s gonna be a long-ass post! I’ll try to include pictures of everyone I choose since I know y’all haven’t seen all my kiddos. Instead of answering one letter for 26 kids, I answered all 26 letters for one kid each! Same number of answers, but a little more variety~

TAOMESIN

A: Aptitude

1. what are your oc’s natural abilities, things they’ve been doing since young?

They’re naturally nimble and light on their feet, very manoeuvrable and can get to just about wherever they want to!

2. what activities have they participated in?

They used to love holiday activities so much~

3. what abilities do they have that they’ve worked for?

They have worked hard to become a phenomenal sniper so that they can also attack from afar instead of only using close combat.

4. what things are they bad at?

Social interactions and caring

5. what is their most impressive talent?

Their ability to react fast in battle even if things have gone disastrously. They’re incredibly logical and level-headed.

RIEFT

B: Basics

1. what is their hair color?

Light, vibrant green!

2. what is their eye color?

It varies from gold to emerald, colorful flecks and streaks everywhere~

3. how tall are they?

5′8″

4. how old are they?

To current day, she’s 7 years old!

5. how much do they weigh?

Roughly 150 lb

MINT (on the left)

C: Comfort

1. how do they sit in a chair?

They like to curl up with their legs pulled close, nestled as far back as they can be!

2. in what position do they sleep?

Curled up tight, preferably with Azin’s arms around him while they hold onto him.

3. what is their ideal comfort day?

A day where Azin is home all day from work so that the two can simply cuddle and be together while they relax~

4. what is their major comfort food? why?

They love ice cream, the cold numbing feeling inside their body is actually very nice and welcome to them on some level.

5. who is the best at comforting them when down?

Azin is the only one who can comfort them at all.

BODACC

D: Decoration

1. how would they decorate a house if they had one under their name?

It’d be a mess, scattered parts all over the place, mid-build machines sitting on every elevated surface! Lots of benches and tabls, a couple cleared off for guests but ultimately it’d look like a workshop.

2. how would they decorate their child’s room?

She’d never have a child, but if she were to decorate a child’s room she’d fill it with small animatronic toys and puzzles to ensure the child stays thoroughly entertained!

3. how do they decorate their own room?

It’s overcrowded with nicknacks and spare parts she accidentally carried to her room when tired. The bed is constantly messy and she curls up in a next of blankets and pillows in the center of her mattress.

4. what type of clothes and accessories do they wear?

Lots of tight clothing that can’t snag easily on tools or gears. She’s really fond of pink so a lot of her clothes are in pink tones. She tries to dress nicely to impress other asuras.

5. do they like makeup/nail/beauty trends?

Nope! No makeup or beauty trends for her, it’d just get messed up from her work within the first hour anyways.

TVELLE

E: External Personality

1. does the way they do things portray their internal personality?

Absolutely! She’s eager and so enthusiastic and excited, she’s constantly bouncing around or hanging off of her friends talking about things excitedly.

2. do they do things that conform to the norm?

Not by asuran standards for sure! She holds no concept of superiority over others, doesn’t particularly care for traditional learning or sitting at a desk or in a workshop for any amount of time.

3. do they follow trends or do their own thing?

Definitely does her own thing! Whatever makes her happy is good, and she doesn’t really care if it’s not on trend or fashionable.

4. are they up-to-date on the internet fads?

She’s not at all, though the younger recruits she trains sometimes try to catch her up on the fads around Tyria. She good-naturedly pays attention when they all tell her something at least.

5. do they portray their personality intentionally or let people figure it out on their own?

She’s very outward in her personality, what you see is 100% what you get with her. It throws most people for a loop at first, a lot of people think she might tone down more if you get to know her better, but nope! She’s just genuinely that exuberant. 

IMEKAARI

F: Fun

1. what do they do for fun?

All sorts of things! Go out to explore the town, meet new people, invite a friend to a new restaurant, learn a new hobby, relax at home with a good book, etc…he really enjoys getting the most out of life.

2. what is their ideal party?

Lots of new people to talk to, well lit and music’s quiet enough to hold casual conversation. Good food, good drinks, and of course a nice place for games or dancing if it comes up!

3. who would they have the most fun with?

He has the most fun with his three closest friends: Io, Lace, and Trahearne!

4. can they have fun while conforming to rules?

Yup, he’s actually very on top of following rules himself, but he’s having a grand time!

5. do they go out a lot?

All the time! Whenever he has a break from work in a new location, he goes out at least a few times to explore. He also tries to get the others to go out more by inviting them places with him.

KVOLD

G: Gorgeous

1. what is their most attractive external feature?

He has gorgeous eyes, a deep blue brimming with excitement!

2. what is the most attractive part of their personality?

He loves playing around with others and goofing off~

3. what benefits come with being their friend?

You’ll always have someone excited to hang out with you anywhere you want to go!

4. what parts of them do they like and dislike?

He likes his hair a lot, he missed it dearly when it grew in as vines while he was stressed. Since it’s grown soft and leafy again he’s worn it differently every day!

He doesn’t like how he seems so naive to people, he knows he can handle himself really when it comes to anything except the Court.

5. what parts of others do they envy?

He envies that others had the chance to grow up normally.

CHERIE

H: Heat

1. do they rather a hot or cold room?

He likes it warm!

2. do they prefer summer or winter?

Prefers summer, but winter snowball fights and hot drinks are delightful~

3. do they like the snow?

Yes!!! He was so excited the first time he saw it.

4. do they have a favorite summer activity?

He loves beach parties or hiking!

5. do they have a favorite winter activity?

Snowball fights!!!

AQUN

I: In-the-closet

1. what is their sexuality?

She’s pan, but leans more towards girls

2. have they ever questioned their sexuality?

Nope, she was pretty confident from the start!

3. have they ever questioned their gender?

She did for a while wonder if she was a different gender, but after a year or two of exploring she settled back to female pronouns.

4. would/was their family be okay with them being LGBT?

Her family supports her but really hopes she at least adopts a child to carry on the family name.

5. how long would/did it take for them to come out?

She never made a big announcement, and doesn’t care to. Those who would need to know already do.

TOJOLL

J: Joy

1. what makes them happy?

She loves the thrill of adventure, and a good beach party!

2. who makes them happy?

Her girlfriends do

3. are there any songs that bring them joy?

She loves good bar songs about victories in battle

4. are they happy often?

Almost all the time, she’s doing very well!

5. what brings them the most joy in the world?

Hanging out with her girlfriends

ILLIADDE

K: Kill

1. have they ever thought about suicide?

Yes, she’s thought of it several times but has about as much reason to kill herself as to not. Meaning none.

2. have they ever thought about homicide?

She’s committed homicide many times and will many more times, without so much as a thought one way or the other.

3. if they could kill anyone without punishment, would they? who?

Lace

4. who would miss them if they died?

Strair

5. who would be happy they died, anyone?

So. Many. People.

EMBRANT

L: Lemons

1. what is their favorite fruit?

She loves plums and apricots a lot!

2. what is their least favorite fruit?

Kiwis and Pineapples, too tart for her taste.

3. are there any foods they hate?

She’s not a fan of figs or peanuts

4. do they have any food intolerances?

Nope! She’s not got any

5. what is their favorite food?

Cupcakes! Preferably funfetti

LAIGHE

M: Maternal

1. would they want a daughter or a son?

She has a daughter, but would be happy with either

2. how many children do they want?

One at a time is honestly enough

3. would they be a good parent?

She really would be, and she was, when she wasn’t so weighed down by her job. A lot has happened since then.

4. what would they name a son? what would they name a daughter?

She’d let them pick their own name, considering it’d probably be another sapling.

5. would they adopt?

That’s about all she’d do lol

AEZLIN

N: Never Have I Ever

1. what would they never do?

Say anything remotely self-conscious

2. what have they never done that they want to do?

Nothing at the moment, he’s got everything he currently wants in life. Though I’m sure that’ll change off and on as it does.

3. is there anything they absolutely can’t believe people do?

Fight extraneously. Getting sweaty? Chance of injuries? Gross

4. what is the most embarrassing thing they’ve done?

By his standards? Nothing of course. He’s perfect.

5. have they done anything they thought they’d never do?

“completed” his wyld hunt…in a way…

ENNRECK

O: Optimism

1. are they optimistic or pessimistic?

Optimistic for sure

2. are they openly optimistic, throwing it on others?

Not particularly, he’s pretty laid back and chill. 

3. are they good at giving advice?

Yup! He likes to help where he can, he just doesn’t run into many people very often.

4. is there anyone in their life that throws optimism on them?

Nope, he lives a relatively solitary life, which he enjoys~ He goes to see people when he wants to socialise.

5. were they always optimistic?

Nope, he grew up pretty unhappy in traditional charr life as someone who was pretty non-confrontational.

REGNIETTE

P: Personality

1. what is their best personality trait?

They’re full of determination! If they set a goal, they’ll reach it.

2. what is their worst personality trait?

They’re far too stubborn for their own good

3. what of their personality do others love?

It’s never boring with them, they’re impulsive and always come back with an interesting story.

4. what of their personality do others envy?

They’re very good at loopholes

5. do they hate anything about their personality/about other’s personalities?

They hate when people are cowards or show no initiative.

ELAPHURUS

Q: Questions

1. do they ask for help?

Yup! They always ask for help when they need it.

2. do they ask questions in class?

If they were in class, they’d be that student with a question about almost every topic.

3. do they answer questions that make them a little uncomfortable?

They would, but they’d look awkward during it.

4. do they ask weird questions?

So Many weird questions. They’re pretty new to the world.

5. are they curious?

They’re incredibly curious! About everything! Especially other sylvari.

STRAIR

R: Rules

1. do they follow rules?

Fuck no

2. would they be a strict or laid-back parent?

They’d be a Terrible Parent

3. have they ever faced a consequence for breaking a rule?

Nope, they’re very good at fucking talking their way out of a situation!

4. have they broken any rules they now regret breaking?

Nope, they have zero regrets in their life. None at all.

5. do they find any rules they/others follow absolutely ridiculous?

Absolutely, some laws are just ridiculously constraining or restricting or specific. They’re not about that shit.

MATTHIAS

S: Streets

1. are they street-smart?

He’s very street-smart!

2. would they give money to someone on the streets?

No, he got the money himself, he’s not giving it to someone else.

3. have they ever gotten in a fight on the streets?

Ooooooh so many times in his youth

4. has anything happened to them on the streets?

Considering he grew up among bandits, a Lot has happened to him. He’s still looking over his shoulder for some people from his past.

5. are they cautious when out?

If he’s out without his team, he’s on guard constantly.

NIXXTE

T: Truth

1. are they honest?

They’re as honest as their job requires, they write honest reports after missions.

2. can they tell if someone is lying?

Usually yes, they’re part of a spy organisation and can spot a lot of tells now.

3. is it obvious when they’re lying?

Nope, they can lie blatantly and it’s pretty much impossible to tell. That’ll happen when half your face is missing and you sign to speak.

4. have they lied about anything they regret lying about?

Nope! No lying remorse

5. have they told truths that have been spread against their will?

Nope, they don’t talk about anything unnecessary to say unless among people they trust.

NIKLAE

U: Underdog

1. have they been bullied?

Yeah, one or two saplings who weren’t so nice would bully them sometimes. Thy were a skittish and twitchy target who can’t see what’s coming.

2. have they bullied anyone?

No, they don’t socialise much if thy can help it. Positive or negative.

3. have they been physically attacked by a bully?

Yuuup

4. have they ever been doubted?

No, they don’t regularly voice an opinion to others. They just pretty quickly rebuff most people.

5. have they surprised people with being good at something?

Over the years they’ve gotten used to being blind, and good at maneuvering around the world seamlessly.

THALE

V: Vomit

1. do they vomit often?

No, they’ve got a relatively strong stomach

2. do they get lots of stomach aches?

Sometimes they do. There are days where they don’t eat and those can hurt pretty bad.

3. are they good at comforting someone ill?

If they knew anyone they likely would be very attentive and accommodating when the person is ill.

4. what do they like as far as comfort goes?

A nice, warm and cozy corner to curl up in with a blanket~

5. do they burp, cough, or hiccup most when nauseous? when vomiting?

They burp and cough some. They don’t hiccup much!

TIRS

W: Water

1. do they drink enough water?

She does!

2. have they learned to swim?

She can swim very well, loves spending time in a nice lake when it’s hot out~

3. do they like to swim?

Yeah, it’s tons of fun, especially deep dives!

4. can they dive?

She isn’t particularly graceful, but she can dive competently enough

5. can they swim without holding their nose?

Yup, thanks to the breathing filters Tyria has!

CUE (right)

X: Xylophone

1. what is their favorite genre of music?

He enjoys just about everything to an extent, he’s not too picky. He really enjoys upbeat dancing music though.

2. do they have a favorite song?

No particular favorite, it changes day to day depending on what he’s feeling!

3. do they have a favorite band/artist/singer?

If you walked up to him and asked him what band he’s listening to, as he’s listening to a song, he’s shrug and say he just enjoys the song.

4. can they sing well?

Nooooope, he’s mediocre at best.

5. can they rap?

Definitely Not.

ODOLLUMN

Y: You

1. how old were you when you created them?

I was 20 I think!

2. what inspired you to create them?

Frilly/Lacy Pastel Goth was the goal back then

3. were they different when they were first created?

Oh yeah she was so different, she was gentle and kind and beautiful and elegant. She’s still beautiful, but now she’s unsettling and emotionless and a bit menacing.

4. do you enjoy writing them more than other characters?

Not more than my other favorites, but Odollumn is definitely way up there for me!

5. what’s your favorite thing about them?

She’s a challenge to give motivation for since she’s so apathetic, but it’s a really interesting challenge to be honest.

ENVERT

Z: Zebra

1. what’s their favorite animal?

She loves fern hounds, they’re particularly hardy and survive a lot of physical stress.

2. do they like animals?

She loves animals! They’re so convenient.

3. cats or dogs?

Dogs are easier to trap and handle.

4. what’s their dream pet?

She’d love to one day get her hands on an electric wyvern.

5. do they have any pets at the moment?

She’s currently got several ‘pets’, yes!

[luxuryt-shirt]

Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt

Despite what ESPN guys are saying Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . the boosters wouldn’t have been told it was done if there was any shred of doubt. That contract is signed. I love how everyone calls us delusional for months, someone calls them out, and now we’re the assholes again. This is what it means to be a Michigan fan, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, they gained a little sympathy from me last season. It wasn’t fun. It was like clubbing a baby. Part of me hoped that they’d come back and be grateful having been through the bad times. Instead, they just returned to the same obnoxious Michigan fans that I hated before. I hope OSU mops the floor with them. And Sparty too. And Minnesota.  So let me get this straight. Having Sparty and OSU fans talking shit all year is alright. Then when it comes time to find a coach the same people say we are garbage and will forever be awful, but that’s fine in your book. Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Men's But this guy says I told ya so and that’s what sets you off? C’mon man Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . Try living near them or working with them. T-shirt design near me. Almost none of them went to UM but they think that being UM football fans makes them better people than you. Well, I’d been res-saving the 0% comments for a few months so it was just a matter of picking out the better ones and copy/pasting. Took maybe half an hour. Worth it. Absolutely beautiful. I was so jacked up by the OPs happiness that even though I never took a side I feel like I was right and those motherfuckers were total idiots. Also in Jaymar’s defense, he still has a year before you can call him wrong. Amen. I never doubted the possibility of him ever going to Michigan, but I was just hoping the Niners weren’t fucking stupid enough to let him go. But it seems Jed York was hellbent on going full retard. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[newshirtonlines-blog]

Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt

Despite what ESPN guys are saying Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . the boosters wouldn’t have been told it was done if there was any shred of doubt. That contract is signed. I love how everyone calls us delusional for months, someone calls them out, and now we’re the assholes again. This is what it means to be a Michigan fan, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, they gained a little sympathy from me last season. It wasn’t fun. It was like clubbing a baby. Part of me hoped that they’d come back and be grateful having been through the bad times. Instead, they just returned to the same obnoxious Michigan fans that I hated before. I hope OSU mops the floor with them. And Sparty too. And Minnesota.  So let me get this straight. Having Sparty and OSU fans talking shit all year is alright. Then when it comes time to find a coach the same people say we are garbage and will forever be awful, but that’s fine in your book. Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Men's But this guy says I told ya so and that’s what sets you off? C’mon man Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . Try living near them or working with them. T-shirt design near me. Almost none of them went to UM but they think that being UM football fans makes them better people than you. Well, I’d been res-saving the 0% comments for a few months so it was just a matter of picking out the better ones and copy/pasting. Took maybe half an hour. Worth it. Absolutely beautiful. I was so jacked up by the OPs happiness that even though I never took a side I feel like I was right and those motherfuckers were total idiots. Also in Jaymar’s defense, he still has a year before you can call him wrong. Amen. I never doubted the possibility of him ever going to Michigan, but I was just hoping the Niners weren’t fucking stupid enough to let him go. But it seems Jed York was hellbent on going full retard. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[tshirttrend]

Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt

Despite what ESPN guys are saying Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . the boosters wouldn’t have been told it was done if there was any shred of doubt. That contract is signed. I love how everyone calls us delusional for months, someone calls them out, and now we’re the assholes again. This is what it means to be a Michigan fan, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I mean, they gained a little sympathy from me last season. It wasn’t fun. It was like clubbing a baby. Part of me hoped that they’d come back and be grateful having been through the bad times. Instead, they just returned to the same obnoxious Michigan fans that I hated before. I hope OSU mops the floor with them. And Sparty too. And Minnesota.  So let me get this straight. Having Sparty and OSU fans talking shit all year is alright. Then when it comes time to find a coach the same people say we are garbage and will forever be awful, but that’s fine in your book. Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt, hoodie, sweater, longsleeve and ladies t-shirt

Classic Men's But this guy says I told ya so and that’s what sets you off? C’mon man Zocoshi I'M So Excited I'M So Scared T-Shirt . Try living near them or working with them. T-shirt design near me. Almost none of them went to UM but they think that being UM football fans makes them better people than you. Well, I’d been res-saving the 0% comments for a few months so it was just a matter of picking out the better ones and copy/pasting. Took maybe half an hour. Worth it. Absolutely beautiful. I was so jacked up by the OPs happiness that even though I never took a side I feel like I was right and those motherfuckers were total idiots. Also in Jaymar’s defense, he still has a year before you can call him wrong. Amen. I never doubted the possibility of him ever going to Michigan, but I was just hoping the Niners weren’t fucking stupid enough to let him go. But it seems Jed York was hellbent on going full retard. You Can See More Product: https://luxuryt-shirt.com/product-category/trending/ Read the full article

[spring-emerald]

For this writing meme with words: matsudai + 15. pack? (I'll probably send more but for now I'm just matsudai starved and you're the only person who indulges me with this pairing :* )

Oh no! We can’t have you starving >

I’m sorry it took so long, but here it is!!! 

“Hey, Daichi?”Matsukawa sidles up to where Daichi was sitting on the couch. He hums inresponse, without taking his eyes off the book he’s reading.

“Wanna try somethingnew with me tonight?” The statement made Daichi pause, and he slowly lifts hiseyes away from the book and turns to look at Matsukawa’s face. He’s expectingto see a leer of sorts, or any indication that this is Matsukawa’s lame way ofbeing suggestive, but all he finds is the usual bored expression, albeit hiseyes are holding a little glimmer of excitement and mischief.

Daichi frownsslightly. “What does something new mean?”

Matsukawa grins thenholds up different colored rectangular foil packs, all with small pictures ofanimal head in the middle, spread out in both his hands like a fan.

Daichi stares atthem, then back to Matsukawa’s eager face. “What are those, exactly?” He closesthe book he’s reading and adjusts his sitting position to be able to faceMatsukawa comfortably.

“They’re facialmasks.” He says, like that explains everything. And maybe it does, for otherpeople who actually know what they are, but not for Daichi. As such, Daichionly blinks up at him, waiting for him to continue explaining.

Matsukawa lowers hishands. “It’s the trend right now. For skin care.”

“The trend? For skincare?”

“Yeah.” Matsukawanods.

Daichi scoffs at him.“Since when did you care about skin care? You, who barely even shaves, and onlydo it when I tell you to.” He picks the orange colored one and reads the labelwith skepticism.

“What are you evensupposed to do with this?” He puts it back down with the rest. Why did Matsukawaeven get so many?

“You put in your faceand it’s supposed to make it look and feel better.”

Daichi frowns deeperthis time. “Are you saying I’m ugly?”

“What?! No!”Matsukawa shakes his head frantically. “It’s not that! I love your face! It’samazing!”

Daichi raises an eyebrow,quelling the amusement from showing on his face. “Then why do you suddenly wantto put facial mask on my face?”

“I’ll be putting themon as well. It’s not like you’re going to be the only one.”

“Yeah, but why?”Daichi mild accuses, crossing his arms defensively in front of him, not lettingup the irritated act. He’s not truly angry, he’s mostly just curious about thesudden request, but he’s always had a kick for seeing Matsukawa flustered.

Matsukawa sighsdeeply and slumps his shoulders dejectedly. “It’s for a dare.”

“A dare?”

Matsukawa nods.Daichi rolls his eyes. “Let me guess, Hanamaki?”

“And Oikawa.”

“Of course.” Daichisighs. “What are you supposed to do, exactly?”

Matsukawa startsrubbing the back of his neck, but he looks quite hopeful when he meets Daichi’seyes as he explains. “Just to convince you to wear a facial mask, and take a coupleselfie and post it online.”

“That’s it?”

“Well, yeah…”Matsukawa says slowly, “Although it will make me feel better and it will be agood way to get back at Oikawa, if our picture actually gets more like than hisand Iwaizumi’s.” The glint on his eyes was unmistakable.

Daichi ponders for itfor a moment, and when he looks at Matsukawa again, he sees the mischief onthem as well. Daichi isn’t one to take competitions lightly, no matter howpetty it may seem, and if it’s Oikawa they’re talking about, then he’s keenerabout showing him.

“Then, let’s put thatfacial masks on and take that damn couple selfie!”

Suffice to say, theirphoto (the two of them donning the facial mask; Daichi got the tiger one on,while Matsukawa went for the panda, cheeks squished close, goofy smiles ontheir lips) got way better reception, and that’s as good as any victory.

I had fun experimenting with the pairing (and the word). XD Thanks for sending in one, Kath! Hope this is enough to get you through. Fighting!!

Send me a ship + word

[oumakokichi]

Hm, I've been wondering.. is there any reason why the survivors color scheme are red and black? Or there isn't anything at all? :0 I'm not sure if someone have talked about this, and I was curious so..

This is a pretty fun question! I wouldn’t know if there’sany definitive reason per se, but I do feel like it represents a pretty strongstylistic choice. There’s some pretty heavy imagery revolving around red andblack throughout the DR franchise, so the choice of having all three survivorsfeature that color scheme in one way or another feels like it does havemeaning, at least in my opinion.

When I mention red and black having strong imagery, I thinkno one could disagree that those are probably the two colors that mostrepresent “despair” in the entire franchise. Junko’s uniform most heavilyfeatures red and black, and the black side of Monokuma’s face having an ominousred eye has been a trademark of the series ever since the beginning. Unlikendrv3’s opening, which features purple eyes for all the characters to highlightthem as potential “liars,” red eyes and shadowy imagery usually indicate “despair”in some way—there was a lot of that with the sdr2 characters at the end of DR:Hope, if I remember correctly.

“Hope,” by contrast, usually is represented by greens,browns, and occasionally white (though there’s certainly some white in bothJunko and Monokuma’s design as well). These much more neutral, lighter colorsare often associated with the idea of hope in real life as well as DR, so it’snot surprising they’d be used to indicate a certain mood or idea. And theycontrast well from the darker, heavier colors associated with “despair.”

It’s extremely interesting to me that all three survivors inndrv3 very deliberately have color schemes which are almost entirely red andblack, considering I don’t think there’s ever been a survivor with thatparticular color scheme in either of the other two main games. The onlycharacter who you could perhaps make a case for is Syo, rather than Fukawa,considering the red eyes and all the blood imagery—but then again, she’s aliteral serial killer, so you could argue just as well that the red and blackimagery still represents a “despair” of some sort there.

Ndrv3 is all about breaking the trends of the previous DRgames and subverting our expectations. That’s exactly what happens during theChapter 6 trial, when Kiibo as the protagonist begins trying to rally everyone’sspirits and talk about hope and cooperation and working together, only for Saiharato interrupt bitterly saying, “What do you mean ‘hope’?” Saihara rejects theidea of hope entirely, especially as it’s presented in the killing game show:he’s smart enough to realize that this “hope” is exactly what the audiencethemselves wants to see, and hurt and tired enough that he literally says itwould be better to pick the “despair” option in Tsumugi’s choice if it meansnot playing into the audience’s expectations.

Despair, then, takes on a very different tone and feeling inndrv3 compared to previous games. By choosing not to pick hope, Saihara alsochooses not to reject despair. Technically, he picks neither, opting in the endfor an answer that would be the most disappointing to Team Danganronpa and theaudience by rejecting the game altogether. But it’s still very interesting thatdespair itself, the idea of just giving up and refusing to cooperate or pulltogether or do the usual DR thing of everyone believing in themselves, is stilla better choice in a way than playing into the usual tropes of friendship andhope overcoming the evil of despair.

The Hope’s Peak arc has made a few attempts over the lastfew installments to try putting hope and despair as concepts on a more evenfooting and question whether hope is really good or whether despair is entirelyevil—but I feel like it never really accomplished that task fully. When dealingwith such obvious moral dilemmas and ideals like hope and despair, the twotended to get used as a rather obvious stand-in for “good vs. evil.” And it’shard to make a case that being evil is not entirely a bad thing or that beinggood can be worse than being evil when you’ve got people literallymass-murdering others on one side, and people saving the day and being friendsand trying to keep others alive on the other.

Thankfully, ndrv3 deals far more with questions of moralambiguity and more vague concepts like “truth vs. lies,” rather than hope ordespair. There’s a definite sense the entire time in ndrv3 that dealingstrictly in ideals will only get you killed, and that’s really fun to playwith, especially when the game itself starts playing on our expectations ofseeing the whole plot shift back to Hope’s Peak Academy.

Ndrv3 really did succeed for the first time, I think, intreating hope and despair both like very dangerous concepts, rather than twoideals which need to be pitted in a life-or-death battle. And it was very funto see the idea that despair itself was the lesser of two evils in the killinggame show per se. Despair at least was real within the killing game. The painand suffering the characters experienced, the loss of their loved ones, theirdismay and horror at realizing they had nowhere to go in the real world—all ofthese things constituted as very real despair.

Even the audience in the outside world per se experiencedwhat I would call something very close to “despair” on a pretty regular basis,regardless of how the state of the outside world might or might not be inndrv3. The glimpses we get of the young boy named Makoto in Chapter 6, theimplications of Saihara’s audition video, and Tsumugi herself all suggest thatthe monotony and pressure and boredom of outside society has made it impossiblefor certain people to live at all without throwing themselves into DR as anescape.

Considering how much boredom and the idea of seekingexcitement and entertainment is veryintentionally linked with despair (despair itself is Junko’s only solution tothe problem of boredom, after all), I would say that it’s not a stretch to saythat the outside world in ndrv3, or at least those who can’t perform or keep upwith societal expectations, are “in despair.”

“Hope,” meanwhile, is… well, fairly nonexistent in ndrv3, atleast not until Kiibo’s sacrifice at the very end of the game. I don’t thinkMonokuma was necessarily lying when he says in Chapter 5’s post-trial that “hopedoesn’t exist anywhere in Saishuu Academy.” Every single moment that has to dowith hope in ndrv3 is a carefully crafted lie meant to trick the charactersinto continuing the killing game, rather than ending it. There’s no such thingas Hope’s Peak Academy (or if there is, the Hope’s Peak arc at least isentirely unrelated to the ndrv3 characters’ struggles), and the choice of “hope”and “graduation” is actually the worst possible one during the Chapter 6 trial.

The audience wants to see the characters reach “hope” in theend—and that means that they want to see them first suffer, struggle, andovercome “despair.” The two ideals can’t exist without one another. As long asthe outside audience wants to keep seeing the characters “hope,” they’re goingto have to keep “despairing” first, and that means that the killing game showitself will keep going for the sake of entertaining and providing people what theywant. And this kind of “hope” is very much a false hope, something that canhardly be called “hope” at all when you know it exists solely for the sake ofmaking people suffer.

This brings me back to all the “despair” imagery with thecharacters. Red and black are so prominent in Saihara’s, Maki’s, and Himiko’scolor schemes that I can’t help but feel that them being the three survivorsrepresents a subversion from the survivors of the previous games. Ending the gamewith three survivors who have very much experienced despair and rejected hope,who very much gave up their lives entirely and would have all died had Kiibonot sacrificed himself for their sake, has a very different feeling than thevery hopeful, looking-towards-the-future sort of messages of both dr1 and sdr2.And it also, I think, helps put emphasis on the whole idea of “the end ofDanganronpa” and stepping away from the killing game show itself.

It might be a stretch, but just like Ouma in Chapter 5 saidthat he wanted to make both the ringleader and the audience themselves taste “truedespair” in order to get back at them for making them suffer, I wouldn’t besurprised if the three survivors having a color scheme so heavily associatedwith despair was meant to come back to that idea a little bit. After all, endingDanganronpa means ending “everyone’s hope.” It was a taste of despair forpeople like Tsumugi and Team DR itself.

This is, of course, just my interpretation! There’s probablysymbolism to be interpreted from the whole thing, but I also wouldn’t doubtthere’s a certain element of “well, red and black are just really popular inthis year’s video games.” At least, that seems to be the case judging byPersona 5 coming out around the same time. Anyway, thank you for asking! I hada lot of fun answering this one!

[popculturedruid]

How would you recommend finding out more about an entity when the source material is very vague, limited, and not very popular? I'm trying to figure out a pantheon based on the Great Ones from Bloodborne, but information about pretty much all of them is few and far between. Also, I have trouble meditating due to literal ADHD, do you have any ideas for how to concentrate better? Thank you so much, your blog is lovely!!

Aww, thank you so much! That means a lot!

This is such a good question. I wanted to take some time here again to really answer this one to give you a proper answer. That’s why it took me a bit to get back to you.

I understand your frustration here. It is very frustrating to look for information about your desired entity and find little to nothing. I looked up Bloodborne just to see what we were getting at, then quickly realized I was going to give myself spoilers because I probably wanted to play this game. :)

From the bit that I let myself get a look at, the Great Ones pantheon immediately reminds me of the Daedra from the Elder Scrolls games. Not in such basic terms as good and evil, but simply from the scope of multiple forms, alternate planes, and just generally screwing with people. There is a fairly large group of Tamriel PCPs on Tumblr, it might be worth a look to check into see how they structure their relationships for ideas to maybe start your own. I’m going to refer you over to @popculturepagan who has a tag on Elder Scrolls PCP. Not saying you need to go that way at all, I’m just trying to show you another pantheon that’s a bit more established that might give you some ideas to help you get yours started!

It appears the direct reference for the Great Ones is H.P. Lovecraft and his “Great Old Ones.” You have undoubtedly heard of Cthulhu. Cthulhu is just a high priest to one of them. Many folks make Cthulhu and the Great Old Ones out to be chibi, but if you read the stories, they’re actually quite terrifying. If you haven’t read the stories, and you’re still itching for more Bloodborne, the best place to go would be for the inspiration for the Great Ones: Lovecraft’s stories. He wrote many, but you can get the stories that just contain the ones with Cthulhu. I think they would also mostly include the Great Old Ones in those as well. His stories are just great in general, however. From these stories of the GOO (I got tired writing that out :P), you could probably pick up a bit more on the general characteristics of your GOs.

I would also encourage you to search through fanfiction. I have called fanfiction our weird version of Shared Personal Gnosis. If the community in general kinda feels a certain way about a character, they generally might be on to something.

For instance, everyone is probably going to say that Luke Skywalker seems like a pretty swell guy. He’s not likely to go nuts anytime soon (I would though, all alone on that planet, let’s be real). If someone writes a version of Luke that runs around murdering all the things for the lolz, people are generally going to disagree.

(That’s not to say you can’t end up contacting a different version of that entity, but that’s getting into something different, and that’s where the theory of multiverses comes into play. And how @octomantra and I have two different Eds in our heads.)

You might point out again that this is a small community still, and a character being out of character this early on is not going to be as obvious as Luke running around killing all the younglings. But I hope you would start to see a trend in how others are viewing this world as well, even if they aren’t viewing it in the exact same way. It’s still getting built.

Here’s the link to the Archive of Our Own Bloodborne Tag: https://archiveofourown.org/tags/Bloodborne%20(Video%20Game)/works

Fanfiction.net:https://m.fanfiction.net/game/Bloodborne/

I also noticed there is a huge crossover community at FF.net. Not sure if that really would mean much to you, but here you are:https://m.fanfiction.net/crossovers/Bloodborne/12234/

As for your question about ADHD and meditating, I feel your pain here. I have this, and it takes a lot for me to focus. To get my brain even in the mindset I say the Jedi code about 3 times until my brain realizes we’re going to just STOP for a second. And this takes a sheer force of will to get it to stop and focus. For a moment. It’s fine if you can’t, I’m lucky if I can for about 30 seconds before my brain is on to whatever else I thought I needed to do next.

In answering your question, however, I realized that for me if I truly want to meditate and reach out to my entities I have to create a place in my head where I’m going. It can’t just be “breathe in, breathe out.” Then my brain starts going, “wait, am I doing the breathing right? Wait, is my mind wandering? Wait, I’m still the only person in this room, right?” Even though I know damn well I’m the only person in the room because I would have heard it, but my brain just thinks, “ooh, shiny!” And I’m gone.

If I want to actually talk to my people for more than 10 seconds I have to create a place in my head for me to actually be standing in. You would think it’d be more distracting, but apparently once I’m out of how distracting this world is I’m fine. The other place can’t be too detailed either though, otherwise I’m like, “hey, I got to get closer to that countertop because I don’t know what color it is EXACTLY, and if I don’t know right now, I may literally die.” Forget the fact I’m talking to someone, nope, I’m gone.

You will fail sometimes, and it will be fine. I do it frequently enough. I usually don’t go into meditation to talk to my entities, I just talk out loud. I suppose this could be a talking meditation if I’m focusing hard enough. This doesn’t always work. I have a particularly amusing memory of trying to pseudo meditate/talk to tell Colonel Mustang “happy birthday, Colonel” and “it is good to meet you” in Japanese on his birthday. I’d only been learning the language for 3 days. I had worked fairly hard to get to this point, so I was fairly proud of myself. Colonel Mustang had been grumpy all day, and I had a fairly good idea why. So I thought, “hey, let’s try to greet him in the language his original materials were printed in to see if it will cheer him up.” It did, for about 30 seconds, until my brain completely derailed because I knew one of the words wasn’t translating properly. I spent the next at least 20 minutes tracking the problem until I somewhat figured it out. By then though, the damage was done. He was back to being irritated, and I got the distinct impression he wouldn’t even look at me. At the time, I was disappointed. Now, it’s funny because I realize he was throwing a hissy fit. (The chaos in my head, right now.)

So, as silly as it sounds, make a happy place. A field in the middle of nowhere, a snowy plain, your favorite movie, a library, the actual area your characters are from, wherever. Create the starting place, but let the world build itself. That’s what I do. I don’t build it. I let it happen. It’s less stressful, and less distracting.

It sounds insanely difficult, but it’s not. We don’t let our imaginations run free anymore, but when we do, it’s beautiful.

Besides building your happy place, I also try to minimize distractions by going into a room where I won’t be disturbed by someone for at least a fair bit of time. I have to make sure the room is straightened first. It doesn’t have to be absolutely cleaned, but just tidied first or I can’t concentrate on anything other than, “did you just invite your friends over to a pig sty?” I turn off the lights. I get into comfortable clothing, which for me is just sweatpants and a hoodie. I get into a comfortable position, it doesn’t matter if it’s sitting or laying down, hell it can be standing if it’s what works for you. Just make sure you can stay in it without having to move. I like lighting a candle, because candles. I pull up my hoodie and just start zoning and talking. I focus on a place right behind my eyes, oddly enough. It actually slightly hurts, but I’m assuming it’s because I have strabismus, and I’m making my eyes go straight. I actually caution against falling asleep in this state. I have done it a couple times, and it’s like you bring things back from whatever gate you didn’t close. I have had the oddest dreams while falling asleep mid-meditation. That’s just me. Maybe you’ll find something else. :D

If and when you decide to get your practice started, whether with the Great Ones or whomever, and if you create a Tumblr, please let me know. Or even if you just create anything let me know so I can have a link for the next person who comes asking. This community only gets bigger when we reach out to each other! I am super happy to see new universes get people everyday. It’s super exciting!

Best of luck! I hope I helped a little, and please, please, please let me know if you have any more questions!