#feels like another example to people boiling a character down to they like to eat that one thing

[fettiowi]

I gotta be honest, the joke about sonic only eating chilli dogs gets pretty annoying to me after a while

Let him eat other things cmon

[semisomnosres]

I'll try to throw in a little bit of lore

A mysterious disease that only the Norisu clan could resist at the cost of their lives. Unfortunately, it was not possible to completely eradicate it and it terrorizes the city to this day, and only a ninja, thanks to the mask, can fight monsters without being absorbed by this filth. The disease is called the “Sorcerer’s Curse”; in ancient Japan it was believed that all illnesses and misfortunes were the fault of demons/yokai/punishment of the gods and other evil spirits. It all started with the fact that one of the first infected was mistaken for an evil sorcerer who cast a curse on everyone, which was completely wrong, but rumors spread like wildfire, and somehow, imperceptibly, this name stuck. (The First already has a shitload of things to do, he is one of those people who, if he could, would not blink so that he could work more, but coming up with an adequate name and then accustoming people to it is clearly not what he wants to spend his time on.)

Mutated beasts appeared just as unexpectedly along with the infection. Ugly, evil, hungry creatures, wreaking chaos and eating everyone they find. They usually live and hunt in their own territory, but at the same time they have the audacity to sneak into the city to hunt. The curse had a strong impact on the environment, poisoning the land for years and changing it over so many years so that some places resemble nightmares. (For example: Trees that look like a trypophobic hell, boiling swamps where even the steam burns to the point of pain, living pieces of meat growing straight from the ground and other delights that an adequate person would not want to see in person)

It’s relatively safe within the city, except for moments of monster attacks (which a ninja can handle) and shitty weather: hail of icy needles, acid rain season, etc. This is already common and people have adapted to such conditions over so many years. But there are also truly dangerous places where only a ninja or a complete idiot would go. (the level with the swamp from Dark Souls says hello)

From time to time, Randy has to go there voluntarily (forcibly), because only there can he get ingredients for some drugs (like those cones for creating smoke bombs) Infected people - It is quite easy to distinguish from animals - by preserved human features, personal belongings, hair, and the ability to speak humanly (but usually it turns out something incoherent, or the infected person repeats the same word) Over time, their consciousness and body will change more and more: they will begin to forget about themselves, become more aggressive and experience constantly incessant pain from body deformation and insatiable hunger (The speed of development of the virus depends on the person, some can retain their sanity and control over their actions to the last, while others They immediately break down and begin to attack those around them)

Although there are difficult situations, it will be possible to reverse the transformation, but there is an exception. - if they eat a person, or simply taste blood, then they are immediately classified as beasts and belong to extermination. (there is another point of infection, which I will talk about a little later). As in the canon, they are also called Abominations, but for a slightly different reason. In origa, their breath simply stinks, here the unpleasant odor appears due to the decomposition of cells by parasites. They smell like rotten meat in swamp soil and metal.

Logically, I decided to make changes in the approach to battles. (combat medics) They also use weapons/magic, etc., but in the original the ninja has a choice of how hard and how deep he will push the nunchucks into someone’s insides, there are more choices of poisons and types of heals.

Another idea is that it depends on the character of the ninja whether the treatment will be painless or even the feeling of an injection will be the same as being hit with a knife

And I will mention a person who has an important role in the city - McFist. As a true smart-ass capitalist, he managed to make money from the epidemic. (And more precisely, selling all sorts of devices for home protection, umbrellas against acid rain, alarms, etc. And his second profitable industry is the funeral home) Not to say that he is a straight-up villain here, he rather has the vibe of an annoying neighbor. It infuriates him that a ninja, in the heat of fulfilling his duties, can (accidentally) ruin some of his stores, and the ninja is annoyed that it’s up to him to clean up the consequences of some of his awesome ideas (for example, he will build a plant right near the borders of the city, where in the end the pipeline became for monsters highway directly to the city sewer system.)

[sunniedesi]

In Defense of Future Diary...

TW: lots of yapping.

Making a small essay for Future Diary is something I’ve been meaning to do for a while. Since my entire blog is dedicated to the series, it only feels right to put something like this out into the ether. However, I’m never sure of the topics that I want to discuss the most. Do I write a defense for the show? My reasons for loving it so much? Its relevance and importance for anime culture? An analysis of Yuno’s character? There’s so much I feel you could say, but I never find the right words to express my feelings coherently. Today, I’ll make the attempt, though. I’ll go over all of the aforementioned questions here, mostly focusing on my personal opinions and feelings regarding the show. I don’t have much experience writing essays or analyses of media, so sorry in advance if my yapping is all over the place.

To begin, I should probably address the elephant in the room: Future Diary, despite its popularity and almost cult-classic status, has turned into a show people love to hate. You see it everywhere, when it comes to reviews, comments, opinion pieces, you name it, if it has Future Diary on the title, people will let you know all the gripes they have with the show. And while I tend to feel defensive or even saddened when I see so much hatred directed at my favorite show… I don’t necessarily blame anyone for feeling that way. I don’t want to be one of those people who pretends to hold the intellectual high-ground, acting as if everyone else is media-illiterate and I’m the one who truly gets the meaning of the series. At the end of the day, it’s just an anime, it’s not that deep. Everyone’s gonna like what they like; we all have different tastes and interests, so it’s only natural we all hold such different opinions about the show, especially given its campy, gory and almost edgy nature. Future Diary is definitely a product of early 2000’s trends, which some people (me lol) appreciate, and others certainly don’t.

That being said, while I respect people disliking the show for personal reasons, there are certain criticisms I see thrown its way that are not necessarily warranted. These issues can be boiled down to the following categories: “plot-holes,” a weak protagonist and toxic pairings. I’ll delve into all of these in a second, but I must say, the amount of times I’ve seen these specific points parroted over and over again makes me believe that many of the people making these arguments are piggybacking off of one another. It’s almost like they’re following a trend, repeating how the protagonist “sucks ass” and that the plot makes zero sense, without showing any examples as to how. 

It’s really common to find shallow arguments like those in comments sections and forums, but since I don’t want to feel like I’m barking up a tree in writing this essay, I decided to look for a source that encapsulated all of the common criticisms, while also backing them up with examples. Now, there are many good video essays out there on Future Diary, my personal favorite is by The Hot Box. But as far as critical pieces go, the one I found that goes the most in-depth is by the creator NezumiVA, titled: Mirai Nikki is Garbage, and Here’s Why. I’ll be referencing the video as I go along, but please note that while I disagree with many of this creator’s arguments, I don’t intend this to be a personal attack. As I said earlier, we’re all entitled to our different tastes and opinions, I can respect them disliking the series while having my own criticisms to give regarding the video. Just a little disclaimer so my intentions aren’t misconstrued here. 

With that out of the way, let’s take a deeper look into the main three arguments I mentioned before:

“The plot-holes eat up the show”

If you’ve been in the fandom for a while, you know that this is probably one of the most common criticisms levied towards Future Diary, and perhaps the one that holds the most weight. Or at least it would be, if it weren’t for the fact that “plot-holes” aren’t exactly the issue people are pointing at here. To explain, I believe people who dish out this claim all have different understandings of the definition of “plot-hole,” so to clarify: a plot-hole is an inconsistency, a contradiction in the narrative. For example, Yuno’s diary is all about Yukki, if she were to have diary entries not about him, that could be considered a plot-hole, as it contradicts the original narrative. A smaller detail being unexplained or overlooked for the sake of pacing is not a plot-hole. A flaw, yes, but as long as it doesn’t contradict what’s already been established in the story, it’s not a plot-hole. 

On one hand, it is true that there are certain Deus Ex Machina moments that aren’t properly explained in the show (heck, the god of this universe is called that for a reason), such as: how does 5th acquire all of his booby traps? Or where did 9th pull that motorcycle from? Why are characters so quick to forgive/forget certain events? These are smaller details that aren’t properly justified on-screen for the sake of pacing and making the show more interesting. You could possibly count this more as a case of poor characterization, particularly with 5th’s character having a lot of knowledge despite his age or Hinata quickly accepting the coin toss challenge despite having an advantage. Given the show only has 26 episodes, it’s only natural that detailed explanations for smaller details are omitted to make the show flow quicker and be more entertaining. While this may bother some people, I don’t find it to be such a big deal, or at least not a reason to dogpile on the show, when many other animes with shorter runtime fall victim to poor characterization as well. 

Many deem the plot nonsensical for missing these smaller explanations, but again, I find that exaggerated as they’re much, much trivial details that the majority of people don’t think of or focus on when watching the show. The video I referenced touches on the plot being illogical several times, not necessarily mentioning plot-holes per se, but complaining that many of the justifications behind certain plot points are unrealistic or contrived, though let’s be real here… since when is anime realistic? Future Diary, I would argue, does a good job of balancing very unrealistic scenarios with some realistic characters (like Yukki, but we’ll get into that later), which is what makes it interesting to watch. After all, what’s the fun in watching a fantasy show if it’s completely grounded in reality? Not to mention that many of the points brought up in the video aren’t contrived, especially if you were paying attention to the show. For example, the scene of Yuno meditating to figure out Reisuke’s plan. This wasn’t a Deus Ex Machina moment, it was foreshadowing of the fact she has her first-world memories locked away, and the meditation was her trying to access those memories. Same thing with Bacchus having an overpowered diary, it isn’t for the sake of it, he literally designed it to be that way, because he was the one who presented the idea of the diaries to Deus in the first place.

I’m getting a little side-tracked here, but you get the point. Ultimately, the worst sin a show can commit is being boring, and while Future Diary has its flaws in pacing and characterization, it contributes in keeping the viewers hooked to the action, packing its small run of 26 episodes with quite a bit of entertainment. Moreover, a lot of people overreact to these so-called “plot-holes”, yet they also fail to pay attention as to why things happen as they do in the show. Many of these criticisms can be summed up as either: trivial details that are omitted since they have little relevance to the plot and/or people not paying attention to what’s going on. 

Moving on, let’s tackle another very, very popular argument:

“Yukiteru is a total pushover (to put it nicely).” 

This is, without a doubt, the most common criticism I’ve seen people have of the show. I’m not sure if this is because people are used to the upbeat, overpowered protagonist trope in anime, but people don’t realize that Yukki being frustrating, awkward and terrified is an important part of the show’s storytelling, not to mention relatively unique. Very rarely do we see a realistic portrayal of a teenage protagonist in anime, and it is important for the show since it serves as a contrast to the other characters, all dark, callous and obsessed with the goal of becoming a God. Yukki is the only character not interested in any of this at the beginning. All he wanted was to escape reality with his phone and imaginary friends, and he's now thrusted into this terrible and hopeless situation. How exactly is a young boy expected to react under these circumstances? 

Teenagers are naive, dumb, selfish, all characteristics portrayed in Yukiteru, and these characteristics are put under scrutiny by every one of the diary owners, constantly telling him to grow a pair and stop using Yuno. This is easier said than done when you’re used to avoiding every little bit of responsibility in your life, and a girl who’s self-reportedly “crazy good at killing people” suddenly thrusts into your life ready to do all the work for you. Yukki is indeed a very flawed character, but that isn’t an accident, it is an intentional addition. It’s what makes him interesting; it pushes conflict into the show, and most importantly, drives home one of the main lessons of the show with Yukki’s development: fear doesn’t mean you’re not brave, it’s having that fear and pushing forward that makes you brave. A little corny, I know, but a valuable lesson for the Survival Game. 

Every character has an incentive for becoming God, and they’re utterly consumed by it to the point of insanity. Even a character like 4th, who was originally concerned with the goal of bringing order and justice rather than more carnage to the game gets carried away when a proper incentive for God’s seat comes into play: saving his son. In a Survival Game where we're surrounded by the most cunning and twisted of characters, killers, terrorists, people in corrupt positions of power, Yukki stands out like a sore thumb for retaining his humanity throughout it all, unwilling to get his hands dirty, rather willing to see hope in everyone else. It comes across as naive and all-too trusting. This is especially true for his father, but considering how little people he has to rely on, plus his childish hopes of seeing his family back together, his forgiveness towards him makes sense. And the same can be said for Yuno, the one constant he’s got all throughout the game. Despite the abuse and manipulation, she’s ultimately got his best interests at heart, but I’m getting ahead of myself with this point.

Eventually, the circumstances that Yukki goes through (namely his parents’ death) put that humanity, kindness and mercy, the staples of his personality, to test. It’s a testament to how desperate situations can corrupt even the most innocent of individuals. Yukiteru goes from a hopeful individual to a callous killer, no different from Yuno and equally as selfish. Similarly enough, we know thanks to her third-world-self that Yuno was originally a normal, happy girl with the hopes of finally having a loving family taking care of her. All of this, to then be tortured by the people who were supposed to bring that peaceful family life to her. 

Yukki being a weakling may be frustrating to some, it is certainly brought up many times during the video essay, but it’s an important factor that drives the plot and many of Future Diary’s lessons about growth and accountability. Besides, the anime certainly wouldn’t be as interesting to watch if every character was just an OP know-it-all like Akise. Which no hate to him, but the show wouldn’t be the same if every character were like him.

And speaking of Akise, I’ll take the opportunity to mention a point in the video essay that bothered me a bit. The creator says the show is “queerbaiting” with his character, because Akise’s attraction towards Yukki is forced, but I don’t see exactly how this is queerbaiting. Correct me if I’m wrong, but isn’t queerbaiting when a character is insinuated to be gay, yet it’s kept ambiguous enough to never address it? The show straight-up explains the reason behind Akise’s attraction to Yukki. His love is forced because it was created by Deus to further his investigation about Yukki and Yuno. Akise himself is a fabrication of Deus. It is literally explained in episode 23. You can’t bait the audience into believing a character is gay if you explicitly tell the audience the character is gay lol.

But that’s one of the smaller issues I had with the video’s criticisms. My biggest gripes were actually the following: at the beginning of the essay, this creator talks about how many of the plot points in the show are contrived and illogical, but at the same time, they dislike the characters having tragic backstories that explain how they went on to become twisted individuals. Isn’t it a little contradictory that you complain about a character acting unnatural, yet when the explanation for their behavior comes up, you completely disregard it? They go as far as to say Esuno hates women and is misogynistic for his portrayal of female psychosis, and the use of SA as a tragic backstory being distasteful. Because, according to this creator, people who have been victimized never go on to become terrible people themselves, and that this is a “problematic stereotype.” 

To say that this worldview is incredibly simplistic and naive is putting it mildly. Being a victim doesn’t exempt you from the capability of hurting others, and in fact, the opposite is often true. Hurt people hurt people, that is another main theme in Future Diary, and one of the things I love about it so much. It doesn’t make its characters victims of terrible situations for the sake of pitying them, but to portray their natural descent into madness from being corrupted by a cruel and unrelenting world. Yuno, Yukki, Minene, Tsubaki, these characters all started out as normal until life turned them into the nihilistic monsters they became. They’re morally gray, an example of what you can become when your ethics and moral worldview is tested by society so many times, it ultimately turns you into a societal outcast. Which only makes it funnier that one of the questions asked in the video is “are we supposed to like these characters?” Yes and no, that’s the fun of writing morally gray characters.

I often see these takes with people who fail to understand that the portrayal of something in media ≠ endorsement. It’s the crux of people who lack media literacy, the failure to understand morally gray or just straight up evil characters as protagonists. The media itself isn’t telling you to repeat their actions, it is an exploration of how these actions manifest in the first place, a cautionary tale, if you will. I know that having evil or twisted protagonists isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but to accuse the story or the author of malicious intent would be completely missing the point of the story’s purpose. Not to mention, that it is important for stories like this to exist, to put us in the shoes of those who enact harm, to understand why they do it and keep us from becoming like them.

The show doesn’t justify any of their actions, in fact, it often shows them for what they are: twisted and morally corrupt; it is on the characters themselves to bear the burdens of these actions. A clear example of this is the confrontation that Yukki has with his friends nearing the end of episode 22. It is probably one of my favorite scenes in the entire show: Yukki being forced to face all of his demons at once, realizing just how much damage he has caused, damage that he later has to mend in his final confrontation with Yuno to finally put an end to everyone’s suffering. It is dense, crude, and it is certainly necessary for both him and Yuno. 

Funnily enough, this youtuber goes on to say the following about Yuno’s background: “I really don’t care what her (back)story pans out to look like… her actions are still not excusable.” Which is true, just because someone was abused doesn’t justify them perpetuating the same abuse later. However, they then crush their own point by claiming that Yuno’s obsessions started all because of “a passing conversation.” I guess they weren’t lying when they said that they didn’t care about Yuno’s backstory… because chalking up her obsession as solely a result of that scene is completely disregarding her background. That conversation in the classroom did start Yuno’s fixation towards Yukki, but it is not the root of her obsessive tendencies. Yuno herself believes it to be, but this is an idea that is squandered by Yukki in his final confrontations with her. Moreover, if you paid attention to her backstory, you would understand it is all due to her childhood neglect. And similarly, Yukki’s attraction towards Yuno stems from this as well.

This brings me to the final criticism:

“Yuno and Yukki’s relationship is problematic, toxic and makes no sense.”

There is no denying that Yuno and Yukki start out as an incredibly toxic and troublesome pairing, using each other for their own selfish wants instead of working with each other. This is the Achilles heel in their dynamic, and it is often the cause of their troubles. Yuno acts impulsive, unstable and manipulative towards Yukki due to her insecurities and debilitating obsession, while Yukki pushes all responsibility to Yuno due to his own lack of a spine. They hurt each time and time again, yet they can’t help but be with each other. And this is because, in a twisted way, they compliment each other. 

On one hand, we have a social outcast, ignored by everyone including his family, visibly alone and afraid of being hurt by others, but still seeing the best in people. Then on the other hand, we have a popular girl from a prominent family, visibly perfect, but in reality just as alone due to abuse she experiences at home, making her view people as fundamentally cruel. On the outside they’re opposites, but deep down, they’re both lonely, and terrified of said loneliness. It is only when they meet, when Yukki shows her the kindness she was missing for years and when Yuno gives him the support he had always craved, that they fulfill each other’s needs. By becoming acquainted with Yuno and the Survival Game, Yukki becomes increasingly darker, eventually maturing at the end of the show, while Yukki awakens Yuno’s empathy and pulls her back from the darkness, as we see when she falters to hurt third-world Yuno and her parents. 

Their complementary personalities are even referenced by their diaries, which only work seamlessly if paired. They balance each other out perfectly, bringing out the best of each other, but only after learning to push back on their worst characteristics, which is also true for real-life relationships. In truth, just like these two, people are flawed, traumatized and generally toxic to one another. There’s no such thing as people or relationships that start out perfect from the get-go, they need to learn to grow together. 

In that sense, this is what makes the ending of the show so powerful to me. Yukki isn’t set on killing Yuno or becoming God anymore. He’s finally taking responsibility, coming to terms with the awful deeds he’s done, and the fact that he can’t undo them. Instead, he wants to help Yuno come to terms with her own demons, finally giving back to her what she needs and not something for his own benefit. Similarly, Yuno realizes just how off the deep-end she’s gone when she meets her past self, acknowledging that she’s lost her original goal, and that repeating the cycle of hurt won’t fix her already broken spirit. That world isn’t for her, and so she finally ends the hurt, giving her and Yukki the peace they need. 

Many people don’t like Redial because they see it as an undeserved Happy Ending for two awful individuals, but the way I like to see it is as a form of redemption. Both characters, in the end, do what they have to do to restore order in the world. Yukki pays for his sins in the void, finally a God but at the cost of mourning what could’ve been. First-World Yuno ends the suffering she’s putting herself through so her new self can thrive, almost akin to breaking free from her past traumas to finally heal. The new self regains those memories, not to sulk, but to build from them, going back with Yukki to start a new world that isn’t characterized by their original hurt. In a way, it's a story about how the most downtrodden of individuals can find solace in love, break from their past and learn to heal together. For me, it’s cathartic and fulfilling to watch.

To finish this lengthy post, I feel it’s appropriate to mention the importance of Future Diary’s characters, and more specifically, Yuno. The video describes her writing as shallow and contrived, but I’ve already addressed that in the previous paragraphs. Many people love chalking her up to “cRaZy YaNdErE gUrL™ 🤪​,” but she’s so, so much more than that. Her character actually has a lot of depth if you pay attention to her story: she’s a girl, an orphan who went on to be neglected by her foster father and abused by her foster mother, resulting in complex trauma, insecurities and fear of abandonment that she tries to hide and overcompensate for in her overly aggressive tendencies. Her obsession in avoiding the loss of the only person she has becomes her demise, as she lives in a loop of torment all for the sake of not being alone again, a cycle of hurt only she has the power of breaking if she finds the strength to do it. Whether it was intentional or not, Yuno portrays a lot of the issues people with mental illness, such as BPD, struggle with. 

Now, claiming that Yuno is a perfect, one-to-one representation of BPD would be reducing this disorder to a caricature, there’s obviously so much more to BPD than what you see in this portrayal. But, I feel like out of the huge list of characters that fall under the “yandere” or crazy girl trope, she’s probably one of the best written ones in anime. I know she’s often dubbed the “yandere queen,” but seriously, it’s rare to see media committing to this trope and properly characterizing it. I would go as far as to say she’s the best character I’ve seen written in this genre, only sharing that spot with another character from a certain game (but given that the mere mention of its name is enough to ensue controversy, I’ll abstain from talking about it here 🙄​). A big portion of characters within this trope are quite two-dimensional, without clear motives for their obsessions, or having their issues played up for laughs (I’m looking at you, Anna Nishikinomiya). Heck, many of the characters associated with the trope aren’t actual yanderes, like is the case for Shion Sonozaki or Lucy from Elfen Lied. 

Yuno’s character is rich and interesting to watch, she isn’t just some “crazy girl” for the sake of it. She’s a product of tragedy, only motivated by the hope of finally having Yukki alleviate all of her insecurities and sorrows. I’ve always found the “yandere” trope interesting since it delves into the lengths people are capable of going over an obsession, and how these form to begin with. Given how complex, sensitive and even personal this topic can be, it’s important to have characters like this be properly written, and I’m glad that Yuno set a standard for this back in her day, even if many people don’t take her character seriously. 

I think it’s important to close up this post repeating the sentiment I had at the beginning. My purpose in writing this defense isn’t so much to force people into liking the show, and even opinions I disagree with like the ones in NezumiVA’s video are valid in their own right, as everyone has different perspectives in interpreting media. This is simply my take as someone who’s been a fan of the show for a really long time, since I don’t see many in-depth essays for Future Diary out there. It is a show that has stuck with me for its lessons on learning to be brave, healing from the past and selfless love. As silly as it may sound talking about an anime, it’s something that I can always look back to and smile, laugh or cry along with. Despite people’s conflicting views and endless criticisms, it will never fail to have a special place in my heart. Given how much time I’ve dedicated to this series, it’s only fair I dedicated a little bit of that time explaining my love for it too. And if you made it this far down the post, I would also like to thank you for dedicating a little bit of your time to my shower thoughts as well!

[boy-with-the-demon-blood]

AND ANOTHER THING

people who bash on 2012 raph need to get some fucking perspective. like. okay so in the middle-end of s2 there’s an interaction that kind of boils down all of raph’s issues into a few sentences.

also this whole analysis is coming from someone who just finished season 2. so if anything changes by the end of the series rip

raph just yelled at casey until he left because he was worried he would get hurt and he doesn’t know how to express his feelings, and then this happened:

mikey: you can’t do that dude! people have feelings! real, squishy feelings!

raph: well i’m not “people”

raph shut down all emotional responses to anything except anger because he was raised in an environment where showing any weakness was basically giving a neon sign inviting ppl to attack. and bc he did this, he’s fallen into the fallacy that everyone else should too, bc it protected him. “why should i have to deal with other people’s feelings? no one ever cares about mine!” is his mindset and it’s. really really damaging. to himself and everyone around him.

at first when i realized this i was like “aw he needs a hug” but no he needs someone to respond to his emotions decently. he needs to be given the benefit of the doubt and that’s really fucking hard when he reacts to vulnerability with anger. if someone tried to approach him with these problems bluntly he’d react by telling them to eat shit and die. like every time leo or splinter brings up raph’s anger issues, he storms out and doesn’t come home for hours. and he still doesn’t apologize or realize that if he wants to resolve his issues, it’s gotta be on him at least a little bit. sure, the others using every bit of vulnerability he shows to pick on him doesn’t help, but that’s just bc they give as good as they get.

he needs a kirishima to his bakugou, or an iroh to his zuko, and he just. doesn’t have one. he’s not as lucky as them and it sucks. and that’s what’s heartbreaking about his character. he’s realistic about his reaction to complex trauma, but he never gets the chance to heal from it. venting to spike was his one healthy coping mechanism and now spike is slash and slash tried to kill him and his brothers.

also splinter doesn’t help anything with his style of “parenting.” he’s like “why is my second son so rebellious and angry? surely not bc i regularly ‘make an example out of him’ and refuse to give actual real advice on how to manage feelings of fear and inferiority. it’s just that something is inherently wrong with him.” he raised the turtles to be ninja. he didn’t raise them like children. his only point of reference for children up until he had the turtles was his experience training other ninja. he raised them like any other ninjutsu master would teach his students. the difference is that those students had parents they went home to. having the person you train with and inevitably get hurt because of be the same person you call “father” is gonna mess up anyone’s head.

anyway all that to say: i project onto 2012 raph like a goddamn movie screen.

[10holmes]

Thanks for the fanfic ask game qs, now it's your turn! :D

I hope these aren't too many qs, but I'd love to know your thoughts:

C, K, M, S, T, V, Y

Thank you :)

Yay! Thanks so much for asking! So excited to answer these questions 😍🙏🏼🎉

The full (very long - sorry!) answer to be found below the cut! 😁

C: What character do you identify with most?

Oooh that's a tricky question... I think I can't boil it down to just one character but a blend of characters? I think the characters I tend to stan and ship are a good indicator bc I usually fixate most on ships and characters that somehow speak to me or that I relate to.

For example with XueXiao, I really identify with Xiao Xingchen in the way that he is kind and helpful to others and follows this ideal of wanting to make the world a better place and leaving the mountain for that, aka a place he could stay placid and content in, to instead do something about the injustices he knows about in the "real world", even if that means facing hardships and pain and struggles.

As for Xue Yang, I really relate to him and see him as my deepest darkest side if I could throw my morality over board. I am someone who whole-heartedly proclaims "eat the rich" and means it, so if I was any more like Xue Yang in the way not to give a fuck, I'd also just kill the people that hurt me or others and go unhinged... 😅🙈 Slight difference between us being I would not kill indiscriminately and for the fun of it or for the slightest offense but really only target corrupt rich people and super capitalists and fascists that have it coming for them 🤭

K: What's the angstiest idea you've ever come up with?

I really don't want to spoil anything, but it has to do with an alternative chapter / ending I came up with for my LiuJiu A/B/O fic. I love happy endings as much as the next fanfic reader but sometimes I just want to make myself and others hurt. And this one will hopefully make my readers scream.

Also there's a XueXiao reincarnation fic WIP I can't wait to post. It's nearly finished and I wrote it while listening to Tom Odell's "Another Love" on repeat - which should give you enough of a vibe to imagine the angst level of this fic. I'll just say this much: unrequited love 🤭👍🏼

Sorry I can't be more specific but I really don't want to spoil anything more😅🙈

M: Got any premises on the back burner that you'd like to share?

Maybe it's because I'm too young to know that phrasing or maybe it's a native speaker thing but I had to google what this meant first and hope Google got it right 😅🤣

My WIP file is massive... To give you a glimpse: Next to the ones mentioned above I've also started:

- an angsty post-canon Beefleaf fic, where SQX is haunted by a hanging ghost and made to kill herself but HX intervenes and they start their journey of reconciling, don't know if I'll ever finish it...

- a VegasPete vampire / vampire hunter AU based on a Tumblr prompt and gif-set post but I'll very likely never continue that...

- a LiuJiu AU where SJ is present during the events of SVSSS and LQQ knows SY is an imposter and now tries to bring back SJ into his former body. This has angst and hurt written into every line. Sadly it's merely all in my head...

S: Any fandom tropes you can't resist?

Enemies to Lovers always hits! It's my jam!

Also the angstier the merrier! Hit me with the feels, the pain, the hurt, the agony! Doesn't even have to have a happy ending, I'm a sucker for being emotionally destroyed and also emotionally destroying my readers (though I tend to give them a happy ending at least) 😈🤣👍🏼

And, like you, omegaverse is my guilty pleasure - the smuttier the better 😏

And speaking of guilty pleasures I also have to say monster-fuck AUs are on the menu as well... There have been some really good SongXueXiao ones, I've read. Didn't know that was something I'd ever be into - my 14 year old self would probably be appalled. But here we are 🤣🤣

Soulmate and Fated Pair AUs are something I like to dig into as well.

And I'm also really into mermaid AUs. Especially when one is human and the fic gives off The Little Mermaid vibes.

T: Any fandom tropes you can't stand?

I don't know why but any modern day AUs especially High School AUs... I just can't read it. The most I will do is mob boss / mafia or reincarnation where they slowly uncover their past, but if canon events are set in modern times/contexts I don't really like it for some reason 😅

But I'm actually quite open to a lot of fics and it's mostly not the tropes I can't stand but characterisation or writing style 😅🙈

V: If you could write the sequel/prequel to any fanfic out there (not you own) which would it be?

Bruh... What a difficult question... I haven't ever thought about writing continuations or pre-quels for existing fic as I love them the way they are and mostly just in between imagine possible canon-divergences if the characters had made different choices...

But I guess, from the top of my head, I'd like to write a sequel to "Mark of Jasmine" to give LiuJiu an alternative or reincarnation happy ending because they've really been played in that one... 🙈😅

Y: A character you want to protect?

So many. All my little blorbos and meow meows. On the top of that list - obviously - Xue Yang. But I'd also step in front of my best bois Loki and Shen Jiu to shield them. They deserve so much better 💕😭

Now thanks again for the ask and for reading this long-ass reply, it was my pleasure 🤣

[soul-dwelling]

More Zelda asks!

(Continuing from here.)

Spoilers below. 

So, in bold, are the asks I got after my remarks.

The thing with storys in video games is that yeah they don't really matter, but if the devlopers try to make us care, they better not be bad. Like all the flaws and all would be ok, if the game didnt act like it was all important, meaningful and deep, if interviews didnt tease how it talks about big events but then make it into a mere name drop. Basically you cant have your cake and eat it too, either comit or just do an excuse plot of "save the princess from badguy, thats all folks!"

Imagine BREW (the real one not the fake) existing at the end shattering while absorbed inside the kishin, only for Makas moms ring to glow and transform into another BREW thats even more powerful with an excuse that oh yeah it got passed from generation to generation as a failsafe. That would feel kinda weird right? Yeah thats how the 2 masterswords thing feels - having such a mystical item be copied by time travel just feels of

But yeah sorry for spaming the Zelda asks, guess I needed a place to vent and was to lazy to write a whole video essay or something😂

No problem about asks--whatever helps with writing, drafting a video essay, etc. 

Maybe it’s just that, in my time analyzing stories, I didn’t care enough about storytelling in video games. 

This came up years ago when I was at an academic conference. 

There was a presentation about one of the Arkham games. 

And after the presentation one of my classmates was criticizing this presentation for having an argument that boiled down to, “In a video game, you inhabit the character’s point of view.” 

And my classmate (later roommate--this will be relevant later) thought this was such an obvious statement and did not meet the standard that an academic presentation should have, that being to say something new or more complex than “you are the character in the game.” 

I didn’t get why my classmate was this upset--except for three things. First, I’ve been in academia this long, and I still don’t know what people want to hear: do you want me to say something super-obvious but in a clear and compelling way, or say something complex but that is not going to make much sense to anyone but probably me?. Second, academic conferences can get boring when just about every presentation is a work in progress and rarely a complete and tidy argument. And third, my classmate/roommate was big in video game scholarship, really got into games when they would play them in our apartment, and made big waves in video game scholarship because they were this engaged with the topic, far beyond “you play as the character.” 

Maybe this presentation shouldn’t have been about Arkham and instead a visual novel or another type of game where your decisions are having you inhabit the characters? Granted, this presentation was long before Doki Doki Literature and Undertale came out, so maybe this presenter was just ahead of their time. 

And this is my long-winded way to get to my point: maybe I’m not worried about Zelda as much as I would be Doki or Undertale because, as far as I can tell, the Zelda game is linear and not with divergent paths, hence the choices I make in the story don’t matter? That doesn’t negate what you correctly point out: if you’re going to have a story, make it good. 

But for me personally, I probably have not cared as much about a story in a game because, in most games that I play, my choices in gameplay don’t change that story. 

For me to notice a bad story in a game, that story would have to be so bad that I would only notice the story once it does something I find to be bad storytelling. It’s like that adage, that you don’t notice something is good when it works, but you do notice it when it stops working: I don’t notice a good story in a game because it just works, I do notice a bad story in a game because it is getting in the way of enjoying the game. 

If I had any example of a bad story in a game? I don’t play enough games to think of one beyond maybe the World of Light part of Smash Ultimate being a lackluster ending? But even then, I kind of shrug and say, “It’s vague, it’s ambiguous, it’s that way to let you interpret the symbolism on your own, it’s deep because it means those characters have been freed back into our real world to populate their own stories once again.” 

But I’ve been rambling. Let me actually reply to points you’re making. 

Yes, if the developers put this story into the game to make us care--both about the story, and about seeing the game to its conclusion--it had better be good. Like I said, a bad story would be one that makes me set down the game and say I’m not finishing this (or, it’s just a difficult topic in the story that I’m not interested in sitting through: Doki Literature, Inside, Five Nights at Freddy’s). It’s not like there aren’t games I’ve played where I’m neutral about or enjoy the story: Sonic Mania, Crash 4: About Time. But those aren’t exactly meaningful and deep, so pretty much what you said about “save the princess” plotting: good at setting up plot, stakes, and action, without having too many characters have any progression (not that a static character is bad, mind you). 

Now, onto the two Master Swords, and, again, I don’t know Zelda lore or the entire plot of Tears, so I may get this wrong: 

The copying by time travel can work--if it is set up well. That is a conceit of enough time travel stories, that you have the same entity, usually a person, existing in the same location at the same time. It’s the problem when you don’t set up how it happens, or the stakes. In Back to the Future, Jennifer seeing herself risked screwing up the timeline and caused psychic damage to both. In Bill and Ted, it’s mostly comedy, things happen before Bill and Ted already knew to set them up. 

But what about objects themselves? In Ninja Turtles 2003 and Gargoyles, there is pretty much only one timeline--only one Time Scepter, only one Phoenix Gate, they just keep existing and repeating in an infinite loop, never duplicated. But in Avengers: Endgame and Loki, seeing another version of yourself is due to a divergent timeline. So, is that what is happening here, that Link going back in time with his own Master Sword meant that of course he is going to come across another Link with another Master Sword?  But that is me addressing how the two Master Swords got here, not why the story is doing it. Based on your metaphor, it doesn’t sound like the “why” is set up well in the game. Yes, if Maka’s mom’s ring was suddenly revealed to be a BREW all along, that would be so abrupt and out of nowhere. I take it, then, that looking at Tears again, or playing it again, it isn’t enriched by any foreshadowing that makes you realize, “Ah ha, that was the Master Sword all along”? At least if, in this scenario, there were so many hints that the ring was BREW, then re-reading the story, I would feel rewarded and see the setup was there all along and wasn’t just a cheap twist or a lazy way to give our heroes the power up they needed to win despite the odds. I take it Tears doesn’t do anything to make the second Master Sword feel natural and that it instead feels like an ass-pull so that the good guys can win?

[secondbeatsongs]

you mentioned sam’s home life earlier- can we hear your thoughts on that?

(previous iCarly posts: 1 - 2 - 3)

hell yeah, let’s dig into what we know about Sam Puckett.

firstly, unlike many of the other characters in this show, Sam’s absent parent is actually mentioned! (shocking, right?)

Sam talks about her father a few different times, but every time she does, it’s...not good. and, it’s always a part of a joking and/or snarky comment about something else.

one example is in s04e10 (iParty With Victorious). in this ep, Carly says (about a guy she’s worried might be cheating on her), "He told me I'm one of a kind!" and Sam responds with, "Yes, and my dad once told my mom he was coming back!"

another mention is in the finale (iGoodbye) when Carly asks Sam’s opinion about her going to live with her dad, and Sam says, “Dude...if my dad asked me to spend some time with him in Italy, I’d say - well, first I’d say ‘Oh, so you’re my dad...’ - and then I’d go.”

between these snippets, we can see a clear (but upsetting) picture - Sam doesn’t know who her father is, and it’s because he abandoned her.

cool, so, off to a dark start! but don’t worry - it only goes downhill from here.

a major part of Sam’s character is her love of food - and that’s great! it’s cool to see a female character have that personality trait, because that’s pretty uncommon. but although her relationship with food is often played for laughs, I think there’s a serious concern here that nobody in the show really talks about.

Sam raids the Shays’ fridge almost every time she comes over. Sam hoards food in her pockets, and reacts violently when people try to take food away from her. Sam eats very quickly, to the point where it’s almost dangerous.

these signs all point to one thing: Sam has experienced food insecurity from a very young age.

I mean hell, Sam and Carly’s very first interaction with each other happened when Sam tried to steal Carly’s tuna sandwich, because she didn’t have a packed lunch of her own (shown in a flashback in s01e17).

and when Sam got a decent amount of money for the first time in s01e18 (iPromote Tech-Foots), she hired her own personal chef. why, you may ask? because (and this is an actual quote from the episode), “Well, my mom doesn’t feed me...”

unrelated rant: speaking of s01e18, it’s absolutely wild to me that this show had an episode where the moral can be boiled down to “1. don’t take money to promote products that you haven’t personally used, and 2. smart technology is often dangerous or, at the very least, unnecessary.”

back then (in 2008), it seemed like kind of a weird thing to teach to children, but considering how influencers and sponsorships and easily-exploitable smart tech have flourished in the years since, I feel like more people probably should have taken that episode’s message to heart...

anyway, back to the topic at hand. here’s something you might have forgotten: Samantha Puckett is not an only child! she has a twin sister named Melanie who shows up in exactly one episode (but is mentioned in a few others).

Melanie is everything that Sam isn’t - she goes to a fancy boarding school, she gets good grades, and she’s the only mentioned member of the Puckett family that doesn’t have a criminal record. and here’s something else we know: Melanie is their mother’s favorite child.

this actually comes up in s04e02 (iSam’s Mom) when Sam’s mother (played by Jane Lynch, by the way!) yells at Sam, “Why can’t you be more like Melanie?!”

we can see from all of this why Sam hates Melanie so much - she’s spent her whole life being compared to her, while at the same time being raised very differently. Sam was abused and neglected by their mom, and had to fight to survive - but it seems that Melanie didn’t have those same struggles.

I’m not saying that Melanie had it easy (I mean, they were both born on a bus, and did probably have some shared trauma from when they were young), but at the very least, being at boarding school meant that she escaped a lot of their mother’s anger and neglect.

personally, I’m of the belief that Sam’s mistreatment stems from her mom’s own self-hatred. on some level, Pam Puckett hates herself, and so she takes that out on the child that most resembles her - Sam - while rewarding and praising the child that she most wishes she could be like.

it’s fucked up. Sam’s entire life is fucked up...which is why she needs Carly as much as she does.

when Sam and Carly met, they were 8 years old, and both of them had already been through so much. Sam’s mom was neglectful and abusive, and Carly’s mom had died. in the show they’re painted as polar opposites, but it’s not really surprising that with their shared trauma, they’d find in each other a deep and lasting friendship.

I think Spencer saw that too. he saw this scrawny, angry little 8-year-old trying to fight her way through life, and he knew that he had to help her. that’s why the Shay fridge is always well-stocked for when Sam comes over, and it’s why he doesn’t really mind when he finds her in their apartment when Carly’s not home.

I know I talk a lot about Spencer Shay, but I really think that he’s the glue that holds this entire show together. he may be a big goofy man-child, but he’s also the main role model for three kids, only one of whom he’s related to. sure, he’s done some weird and messed-up stuff, but I truly cannot shut up about the good that he’s done, and the impact he’s had on these kids’ lives.

and speaking of...

I see this ask, and I appreciate it. I’m still convinced that Spencer’s closeted for a reason (as I mentioned in my other post), but I do think that Spencer would see Sam and know that she wasn’t straight. the queer energy just bleeds off of her, mixed in with all of the anger and desperation that’s kept her alive.

the real question is, does Sam have the self-awareness to realize this about herself?

maybe. I like to think she does, especially near the end of the show. the signs have been there from the start: Sam got jealous almost every time Carly had a boyfriend, or even another close friend. she once got a job at the Pear Store just because Carly said that Freddie looked cute in his uniform. if Sam spent a moment in introspection, I think she’d figure it out.

but I also think it might be hard for her for another reason: she’s never really seen what a healthy relationship looks like. all of her friends’ parents are either divorced, widowed, or otherwise separated, and Sam’s mom is...I mean, she’s a mess. Pam Puckett’s been engaged eighteen times, and she’s fucked so many Italian guys that Sam learned how to speak fluent Italian, and yes, that is a canon fact (s04e01).

even when Sam dated Freddie, it was awkward and forced. they were basically two kinsey-5s trying to turn their mutual hatred for each other (and maybe even their mutual crushes on both Shay siblings) into a relationship, and when things got tough, they crashed and burned.

my point here is that when you haven’t seen healthy relationships, it’s harder to figure out if that’s something you might want. and if you do want it, it can be hard to reconcile what you’re feeling with what you think society expects from you, based on the relationships that you have seen.

and it’s not just about dating - Sam hasn’t seen many examples of healthy behavior in general. most of the adults in Sam’s life either ignore her, treat her like a criminal, or are themselves criminals! when it comes down to it, the only good adult role model that Sam has is...Spencer Shay.

Spencer knows that Sam is a troublemaker, but he never once tries to stop Carly from being friends with her. Spencer encourages her interests, offers her advice, and helps her out when things are rough - like the time she was having recurring nightmares about soup being stolen from her (which again, ties back into the food insecurity thing).

and in the series finale, Spencer gave her what is maybe the most important gift she’s ever received - he gave her a way out. he gave her that motorcycle, and told her she had a good heart, and that set Sam free.

Spencer saw the kindness (and the queerness) in her, even under the layers she’d built up to protect herself, and he gave her a way to carve her own future.

because of this, Sam got one of the happiest endings in the show. although her future was uncertain, she got to escape her abusive mom and create a new life for herself, under nobody’s terms but her own.

I just think it’s neat.

[ichayalovesyou]

I’m asking. Which Pike trait draws you in the most and why? Feel free to talk about more than one.

I think the biggest things are that he wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s vulnerable without sacrificing his professionalism or command of his crew. He’s humble and nurturing, and has an overactive sense of self sacrifice.

There are captains who bottle things up and act as though they have sacrifice making personal connections (beyond what they already have) as the burden of being captain (Picard, Janeway and Burnham come to mind). While other captains are more emotional and friendly but still struggle being honest with themselves (Kirk and Sisko come to mind). He’s the first captain that feels, if not we’ll adjusted, more in tune with taking responsibility for his emotions.

The primary example that I feel sets him apart from the others being that he doesn’t just sit on the fact he saw his own death and let it fester, at least not once he’s back on duty. He tells both people cares about what he thinks will happen that he’s legally allowed to disclose it to. He didn’t have to do that technically because he outranks them, he also goes beyond even that and voiced his concerns in respect to his own command. A lot of other captains would have waited until they made a poor command decision before feeling compelled to talk about that. Somewhat grim “no one dies” speech aside. He’s an open book beyond the call of duty.

Generally, he’s principled but not so stubborn as to ignore his prejudices and shortcomings (see, learning to trust Ash), he’s open minded and uncritical so long as he’s not given reason to not be.

But it’s not just that, another trait I find extremely refreshing that I don’t think any other captain possesses paired with that self awareness that I don’t think even Sisko (the most paternal of captains aside from him) possesses. He has this sort of, aura of nurturing others that transcends familiar labels like father or older brother or teacher.

He doesn’t just deliver the moral of the episode verbally or tell his subordinates what he thinks they should do, he lives and leads by example. He nudges his crew to reach their own conclusions, not his conclusions, and he’s not afraid to tell people when he’s proud or impressed. He makes people around him want to be better because he’s a good guy, not out of exclusively respect or intimidation, he’s inspiring. He’s a captain with the soul of a teacher, no wonder he ends up instructing cadets once he’s promoted to Fleet Captain.

Which leads me to the third thing, he’s got an enthusiasm for his job and for life that is hard earned and proves resilient even after he comes to terms with a future of extreme disability that he will have to learn to adapt to.The final step that he’s already started to inch toward recognizing it not as a death, but a another, more difficult and unprecedented chapter in his life.

He is selfless and principled where other people may have fled. “You’re a Starfleet Captain, you believe in service, sacrifice, compassion, and love.” “I give my life for you you give your life for me, nobody gets left behind.” He even goes so far as to almost refuse to believe there’s another way. Memorizing the names of the kids he saves. He’s almost overly self sacrificing which is genuinely probably one of my favorite character flaws because I relate to it and produces excellent angst (and also whump low key but I’m not gonna get into that *cough cough*).

These are the biggest reasons why I love this guy and I can’t wait to see how Strange New Worlds continues to evolve him and his dynamics with other characters. It could be boiled down to the word humility but there’s so many facets to it that I couldn’t just say only that. Part of me also wants them to pull out the “evil double/possessed by malevolent space entity” stock episode and see his nature inverted and see him be scary kinda like that one Short Treks but worse, I’d eat that up.

[maomao-words]

Here is another self-indulgent piece of writing!  (✿´‿`)

I binged Blue Lock’s manga in 3 days and I am now left with an empty void that I’m trying to fill by writing about my favorite characters in it.

On a side-note, I always seem to think of them as 18-19 years old. 

Contains few spoilers on some characters’ ranks after the Third Selection!

Being their Personal Manager at Blue Lock: (Itoshi Rin, Seishiro Nagi, Hyoma Chigiri)

Rin Itoshi:

Being assigned to the 1st ranker in all of Blue Lock immediately after your adaptability test barely shocked anyone. At this point in time where the whole existence of Blue Lock centered around Itoshi Rin, it was more than obvious that Rin would only receive the utmost care and the very best of the candidates as his manager.

Ranking first in the agonizingly harsh Entrance Exam and managing to out best all 600 other candidates from over the country, you were always the sole choice for Itoshi Rin’s personal manager.

You were already familiar with Rin’s character, preferences, weaknesses, strengths, diet and overall living style. You even had his body measurements down to the millimeter engraved in your brain. You thought yourself as perfectly ready to assist him in his endeavor, but reality soon proved you slightly wrong.

Meeting the genius called Itoshi Rin for the first time, you swore your blood ran cold within your veins the minute his eyes locked with yours. An oppressive aura, suffocating enough to send shivers down your back, surrounded you immediately the minute you stepped into his room. It took all of your willpower not to tremble in front of him.

Rin’s gaze did not move from yours for what seemed like an eternity, but noticing no visible signs of fear or submission on you, his lips slightly curved in a smirk and he finally stood up from his chair, discarding your test results on the table nearby.

“Not bad. She’ll do for now.”

Once you gained Rin’s initial approval, you started your mission as his closest aid. From the moment Rin opened his eyes to the minute he closed his door at night to sleep, you never left his side. You calculated his calories intake and planned his meals accordingly. You carefully reserved the training field and machines to Rin’s own wishes, making absolute sure they are available for Rin to use without any interruption or interference from other players. You planned, ran around, filled up water bottles and picked up emergency kits more quickly than you have ever did back in your own school’s competitive soccer club. You did that over and over again, to the point that you felt like dying. Until you finally broke down.

But being Itoshi Rin’s personal aid did not even offer you the privilege of breaking down in public. You waited until the day’s clamor and chaos was over. You meticulously prepared Rin’s lunch and reminded him to take the few tablets of vitamins afterwards before finally excusing yourself.

Rin raised a brow in faint confusion, as you have never willingly separated yourself from his side, even during meals. But the wound within your chest has finally festered to the point of no return, and you were unable to provide him with a convincing explanation before you gathered your papers and left.

The empty hallway located far from the center cafeteria soon echoed with your faint sobs. You gathered up your knees close to your chest and slowly rocked yourself in hopes of easing your pain. Weeks of harsh labor, zero communication with the outside world as well as the stress that came with handling all of Rin’s demanding responsibilities finally bled over.

You were not giving up. ‘Make no mistake,’ you whispered to yourself between sobs. You were just taking a much earned break before drying up your tears and returning to work.

But just as you began to feel frustrated at the tears still falling on your cheeks, you felt a heavy cloth fall on top of your head accompanied with an extremely familiar fragrance.

You jolted, hand coming up to clutch at Rin’s jacket before glancing up at the tall figure standing by your side. You opened your mouth but a round package slammed into your face next, leaving you to wince in pain.

“Eat that and let’s hurry back. I can’t find my black cleats.”

Rin’s voice echoed in the empty hall, forcing you to bring your attention to the melon bread he threw at you. Sounds of clothes rustling beside you made you look up again, only to find that Rin has sat down beside you, hand coming up to tug you closer to him.

Placing his palm on top of your eyes, Rin’s voice sounded as soft as ever as he whispered.

“Rest. I’m here.”

Seishiro Nagi:

As you stared down at your test results that have finally arrived after a long wait, you suddenly had the urge to cry out. 

Why him of all people?

Having extensively studied all of Blue Lock’s key players prior to passing the Entrance Exam as a manager, you were filled with admiration and respect to them and thus felt ready to be assigned to any of them. Any of them but Nagi Seishiro.

A beginning who did not even know the most basic of the basics on football yet somehow blessed enough to be labeled as a genius even among Blue Lock’s outstanding participants. That was Nagi Seichiro.

You abhorred geniuses. You abhorred how easily they reached their goals, how effortlessly they achieved their desires and how the entire world seemed to bow down in front of them. Becoming the personal manager of a hard working individual, like Isagi Yoichi for example, would have made you the happiest woman on the planet. To watch that individual sweat and toil, think and plan all of his minor actions in order to reach the pinnacle of his dreams through both talent and hard work and get to assist him in that process was the reason behind your entrance to Blue Lock.

So when the day where the eleven chosen managers entered the isolated towering building to meet the elite players ranking at the top of the whole project came, all you could taste was bitterness and rage in your mouth.

After Ego finished the basic introductions between managers and players, he gave the green light for you all to start performing your duties. As you began to collect your belongings that were delivered to you by the staff, you could see the tall figure of a young man approaching you from behind.

Without allowing Nagi the faintest chance to offer his help, you hoisted your luggage up with both hands and started walking towards the managers’’ sleeping quarters with only “I will be back shortly” thrown behind your back at the frozen Nagi.

A job was a job after all and you had no intention to slack off because of your personal dislikes. But you will be sure to maintain a professional distance from Blue Lock’s 6th ranker to avoid any unnecessary trouble.

Being Nagi’s personal manager was as hard as you have expected. Having to support a monster who does not cease to evolve with each passing day at a frightening pace would be considered had by anyone’s standards. But you were already aware of the heavy duties imposed on you from the start so you grinded your teeth and bared the pain. The only issue you seemed to have was, unsurprisingly, Nagi himself.

You have intended for your cold treatment the day you both met to be enough warning for the player. You wanted to perform your duties. Nothing less, nothing more. But Nagi seemed to have another idea on the relationship between you. 

He did not hinder your tasks nor act difficult on purpose to harm you, but he also made sure to greet you warmly each morning before plopping his large hand on top of your head and gently pat your hair for a few minutes before leaving.

He made sure to stick close to you during meal time, pushing off whatever he deemed not-tasty to your own plate, and innocently smiling when your try to scold him. He always shared his dessert with you, no matter how many times you tried to lie and tell him you disliked sweets. He constantly tried his best not to overburden you with questions on players and tactics and carefully chose the times where you were free enough to answer him.

In short, Nagi Seichiro was a weirdo. A weirdo you wanted to choke.

As the time went by, your perspective on Nagi was entirely transformed, despite yourself. You started to put extra care into his meals, go beyond what is required of you when it came to taking care of his training schedule and treatment and even sacrifice some of your free time in order to answer as much of his questions as you can.

One morning, as Nagi stepped in the room and smiled brightly at you, you found yourself moving in closer to him before raising your arms and catching him in a tight hug. Nagi almost stumbled in surprise, but managed to stable you both as he wrapped his hands behind your back. But before he could even utter a word, your mouth opened and a joyful, “Good morning Sei-chan!” came out.

Hyoma Chigiri:

“Are you sure you wish to be assigned to Chigiri?” Ego’s detached voice echoed in the almost empty hall, stopping you in your tracks. The results of the Blue Lock Entrance Exam for managers were just announced and the chosen eleven were asked to pack up and be ready to leave in a two-hours frame.

“You do realize that your rank actually qualifies you to become Itoshi’s Rin support, don’t you?” Ego’s fingers tapped on the table in a rhythmic manner, not stopping even as you glared at him.

“Yes, sir, I am well aware of that fact. But my decision will not change.” Your voice, calm and steady, caused Blue Lock’s host to grin, his raven locks falling to the side as he tilted his head to inspect you closely. “A calculative, rational and logical tactician as you, who managed to outrank all 600 other participants in a six hour long exam, is moved by mere personal emotions?”

It was hard for any regular person to detect the mockery dripping from each of Ego’s words and not feel their blood boiling within their veins. Only you slightly smirked at Ego, eyes curving in genuine mirth as you joyfully answered: “Yes! Is there any problem?”

All the struggles you have faced so far in order to reach this point were, after all, done for the sake of one person: Hyoma Chigiri. Specializing in medical treatment and athletic injuries as a manager was not a coincidence. You have long became aware of your intense desire to support Chigiri and aid him in his journey to achieve his dreams. No matter how many people laughed at you both, no matter how many criticized your choices and claimed you could do much, much better than an injured boy, playing on borrowed time, your resolve never shook.

As you finally locked eyes with Chigiri after your arrival at Blue Lock, you saw how his shoulders slightly trembled and his eyes widened, and your resolve was instantly renewed. Not many words were needed as you playfully extended your hand to shake Chigiri’s own. He was aware that you were there for him and that you will not change your mind no matter what he says or does.

Your duties at Blue Lock were slightly easier than your fellow managers simply due to the fact that you were already familiar with Chigiri’s routine. Needing no time to adjust, you dove head first into taking care of Chigiri, putting the well-being of his knee as your utmost priority. You tried your best not to bite your lips each time you bent down to take a look at the previously injured area, fully knowing that Chigiri has made his peace with the incident and was now focusing on moving on with no regrets.

Your favorite task to perform was, and still is, taking care of Chigiri’s silky hair. You were faced with his slightly damaged locks the day you arrived at Blue Lock’s building and Chigiri had to apologize a couple of times for ruining the hair you treasured the most. Ever since then, you returned to your usual task of picking hair products for him, drying and styling his hair depending on Chigiri’s schedule for the day. Braids were your go-to style but you also enjoyed changing things up, knowing that it made Chigiri happy each time you tried to come up with a new hairdo.

Now that you were finally reunited with your childhood friend and lover, you were ready to give it your all and see it all to its final end.

[anakinisvaderisanakin]

So I am curious: I've seen a lot of prequel fans who dislike Tcw for an inaccurate portrayal of anakin. why is do you have an easier time reconciling the two portrayals of the character. if you don't mind me asking.

So, I’m not sure why exactly, but I think it may boil down to lived experience and mental health in my case. As someone who has struggled with severe depression, and who used to behave very different around different people in my late teens and early twenties - I don’t feel Anakin’s TCW and PT behaviour negates one another, or that one has more gravitas than the other.

For example, it makes sense that Anakin would be tough and more overtly fun and admirable with Ahsoka and Rex. Ahsoka is the little sister who looks up to Anakin, and he would want to be a good role model for her. Rex has a similar relationship to him.

As for Obi-Wan, I think Anakin would be both tough wanting to impress Obi-Wan as his brother/father figure, as well as slipping up every once in a while and exposing his inner turmoil. When it comes to Padmé, I’d say what we see in TCW is him at his more stable. He’s happy, and feels like he’s found his place.

In AotC he’s still very much a child, and his instability and worries about his mother makes sense as to why he would be more moody and insecure. This goes for RotS as well, as at the start of RotS Anakin is much more happy go lucky - as he is in TCW to the naked eye - but he unravels throughout, when he is faced with losing Padmé as he lost his mother. He’s taken back in time to that moment, with the same fear controlling him, if you will.

Basically, my reasoning is that AotC/RotS Anakin is a more depressed, conflicted and troubled state of mind that Anakin displays at these particular times. It’s always brooding under the surface - as we see in TCW several times - but this is what Anakin is like when all his insecurities are on display. He’s merely a lost little boy, and given how young he is and the fact that most AMAB people don’t mature until post 25, it makes sense.

TCW is Anakin at his best, but also while he has his walls up and is trying to be the leader and inspiration he is expected to be. It’s more of the outsider’s perspective of him, and what makes people admire him. The PT is Anakin with his walls down, exposing how tortured and scarred he is, and how this eats him alive inside out. I’ve been in a similar place, keeping appearances until it’s impossible to continue with the charade.

I’ve been like Anakin, pretending all is well and leaning into my more likeable sides and what people expect of me - only to be broken, and distraught under the surface. For me, I find it extremely seamless to reconcile the two, as it’s such a common occurrence and something I myself have experienced and leaned into. I think a lot of people under 30, who grew up with TCW and the PT can agree. I think those who haven’t had the same experience, and haven’t juggled two personas who are very much them, but different sides that one chooses to expose, may not have as easy a time seeing how both can make up one person.

Happy TCW Anakin doesn’t negate distraught PT Anakin, or vice versa. For me, both portrayals complement one another and makes Anakin a  more nuanced, complex, and interesting character altogether. TCW and PT Anakin being different, yet not at all, is what makes Anakin my favourite character of all time. He is so complex, so relatable, and so easy to understand. You simply can’t hate him.

I hope this sort of explains my reasoning!

[iwaisa]

bnha boys crushing on someone with a cat quirk

pairings: bakugou, sero, midoriya, todoroki, and kaminari x gender neutral reader

warnings: swearing (thanks bakugou 😌👍👍)

a/n: i’d like to think that if i were in the bnha world, my character would have a quirk like the cheshire cat, so i brought it to life (๑>◡<๑) this is also supposed to be situations based off mannerisms of cats !

part 1 | part 2

► now shuffling...

head pats

when you first moved to U.A., the first thing everyone noticed were your ears and tail

everyone thought it was so cute, but they should’ve been more careful

behind that cute, adorable facade was a dangerous quirk that rivaled that of the class’ resident hot-head

speaking of hot-head, bakugou hated it

especially how your tail kept swaying back and forth while you sat in front of him during class

“oi shitty cat! move your fucking tail!”

…

you didn't move your tail.

you kept taunting him with it and teasing him which resulted in aizawa having to ask you to move to the back of the class

sure, bakugou laughed in your face, but he would never admit out loud that he would miss those days where he could see your smile and hear your laughter echo throughout the classroom

it had been a few months since you moved seats and bakugou still couldn’t come to terms with the fact that he just simply liked you.

he kept falling deeper and deeper, attempting to crawl out of the hole until one day he just decided that he was okay with it

he was okay with the fact that he liked you

that one day was on a weekend

bakugou had just woken up and was heading to the kitchen to make some tamagoyaki until he stopped dead in his tracks from the sound of your voice

more specifically, your laughter

he felt his heart rate begin to pick up, and the nitroglycerin sweat seemed to pour from his palm, resulting in loud crackling and popping

he stepped out from around the corner to see mina, kaminari, kirishima, and sero petting you

and you… liked it??

he watched with his brows furrowed and his mouth hanging open as you seemed to push your head into their hands

your eyes were closed and you looked so at peace that he couldn’t help but feel a pang of jealousy

why were you letting all of them touch you like that?

it pissed him off

he marched up to you and pushed kaminari and mina aside

“what the hell are you guys doing?”

mina kept squealing while explaining that since you were a cat, you really liked when people pet your head and ears

“that’s fucking weird.”

“c’mon bakubro! you gotta feel their ears man, they’re so soft!” kirishima exclaimed while going back to rub your ears

you giggled and leaned your head into his hand, making bakugou’s blood boil

“hell no! i want nothing to do with this!”

they kept teasing him until sero said something along the lines of “he just doesn’t want to pet them because it won't feel good to them. you gotta be nice and gentle, and bakugou probably wouldn’t be able to do that”

bakugou stopped in place and slowly turned around to glare at sero, “what the fuck did you say, plain face?? i can be fucking gentle!”

he stomps up to you and raises his hand

you flinch and close your eyes thinking he’s going to hit you until you feel his fingers just barely grazing the tips of your ears

you open your eyes to see bakugou using both of his hands to gently rub them

he didn’t even notice you were staring at him since he was watching as his hands played with your ears, a tint of red making its way onto his face

he watched in awe as you pushed your head into his hands, making his face even hotter - if that was possible

after a few minutes of bakugou not saying anything - and the rest of the squad staying quiet from shock that he was actually being soft - you poked his cheek with your finger

“surprisingly, you’re the softest out of all of them”

“sh-shut up shitty cat! i told you i can be gentle!”

you grinned as you watched him stomp away to the kitchen

when you turned around, the whole bakusquad was giving you these giant shit-eating grins

you just shook your head and brushed past them, making your way back to your room

stretching / poofing tail / kneading soft things

this boy literally felt his heart explode as soon as you walked into the classroom

you were literally so??? adorable????

however, after he saw you in action, he was lowkey terrified of you

your quirk was so unique and insanely powerful that he started to doubt himself and his abilities

during a training session you watched sero spar against iida, and noticed as his signature grin seemed to fade after he lost

he slowly trailed behind the rest of the class on the way back to the classroom, but you noticed instantly

you slowed down so that you were walking right next to him

“hey, i know i just moved a few weeks ago, but i think your quirk is really cool. a-and what present mic said was wrong, your elbows aren’t freaky at all.”

oh my, i think you killed him. you didn’t think his quirk was creepy? you didn’t hate the shape of his elbows? you didn’t mind his biggest insecurity???? why couldn’t he control his heart?

he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of you so he just ran into the classroom, leaving you behind

you stood outside the class for a few minutes, a little heartbroken

you couldn’t deny that you began developing feelings for the kind, supportive, adorable boy

sero felt awful for ignoring you the rest of the day

you sat right next to him in class which didn't make the situation any better

his heart rate never slowed down, and the red never left his cheekbones

you on the other hand, were confused and all you wanted to do was talk to him

as the last bell rang, you ran to the dorms so you could hide away in your room, but mina had another idea

she suggested a class sleepover in the common room, and you had agreed, not thinking that you would be nervous because of a certain tape-dispensing up-and-coming hero

upon entering the common room with a fluffy blanket that evening, sero’s eyes instantly found yours

fortunately, he looked away quickly

unfortunately, there was only one spot left

which was right next to sero :D

you slowly sank into the couch, accidentally brushing your knee against his

his heart rate picked up again, but he tried his hardest to focus on the horror movie playing on the screen

you started getting anxious about halfway through the first movie when sero shifted in his seat, letting his knee rest on top of yours

you began kneading at your blanket and you stretched, poofing the fur on your tail out

you didn’t even notice a part of onyx eyes watching your every movement

you turned to peek at sero, but instantly snapped your head to face the screen when you made eye contact

sero was having an internal crisis

you were so adorable and for what????

you stood up, your tail still poofed out and asked if anyone wanted more popcorn

everyone nodded, their eyes not leaving the screen

you smiled and made your way to the kitchen

“hey..” you jumped and turned around upon hearing sero’s soft voice

“h-hey.”

…

“i’m really sorry about ignoring you, i just didn't know how to respond. no one has ever told me that my quirk is cool and i kinda freaked out. i-i think you’re really cool.” he blurted out the last bit leaving you dumbfounded

“i think you’re cool too, sero!” you smiled at him

you turned around, waiting for the popcorn to finish when you felt a slight tap on your shoulder

you turned around and watched as sero tripped over his words

“i-i think you’re really cute too… like for example when you puff your tail out when you stretch, or when you knead at things, and just all of your mannerisms. i really like you, l/n.”

you beamed at him as you returned his feelings, making his heart implode

you jumped as the popcorn machine dinged, and felt your face heat up as sero just laughed at you

no one even noticed when you walked back into the room with your hands intertwined

wrapping your tail around his leg

it was only your first day at U.A. and a certain green-haired boy already wanted to know everything about you

said green-haired boy, named izuku midoriya, knew better than to assume anything about you

he had seen many people with surprising quirks, so he assumed yours was extremely powerful if you were accepted into U.A. near the middle of the year

he didn’t know anything about you other than you were extremely adorable

he found it intimidating

he also didn’t know what to expect when aizawa told the class they would be paired up to spar with one of their classmates

you were chosen to spar against ojiro, who was difficult to go against considering his quick attacks and strong tail

but you were strong too, countering ojiro’s attacks with your own

midoriya was even more amazed than he thought he would be

he began taking notes and started to watch your every move

how could someone go from being so innocent and kind to a terrifying fighter?

a few months later and midoriya’s notebook had at least 4 pages full of notes about you

not only were they notes about your quirk, but midoriya had began writing short poems about you

no matter what, he just couldn’t stop thinking about you and how amazing you looked during and out of training

you had walked down to the kitchen on a sunday morning in hopes of making yourself some food

you stopped when you saw midoriya cutting up some fruit to put into a smoothie

you greeted him as you walked to the fridge, and midoriya has never been so startled in his whole life

“h-h-hi l/n!”

you giggled and began making your breakfast, going to stand next to midoriya

you two were just quietly enjoying each other’s presence

until your tail had another idea

midoriya felt something soft caress the back of his calves, and stopped what he was doing, almost cutting himself with the knife

he felt your tail wrap and unwrap itself around his leg, and he turned to look at you

you, however, were very blissfully unaware of the predicament you were putting midoriya in

“u-uh, l/n?”

“mhm?”

“y-your tail…” he pointed to where your tail was wrapped around his leg

“oh shoot sorry! i guess i just do that so many times without thinking i didn’t even realize it would make people uncomfortable. i apologize!”

you unwrapped your tail from his leg

“t-that’s cute…” he muttered under his breath

you snapped your head to stare at him, and your breath hitched when you made eye contact with him

he frantically apologized for blurting it out while covering his face with his arms, his face a very bright red

you laughed as you watched him stumble over his words as you called him cute

winking / slow blinking

sitting next to class 1-a’s resident pretty boy was a difficult task

it was only your first day and you found yourself unable to take your eyes off the mysterious boy

however, todoroki believed the reason for your blatant staring was due to the scar sitting on his face

he turned to you during one of aizawa’s lectures and stared back, neither of you wanting to break eye contact

the bell rang, and before you could leave, todoroki had blurted out a question directed to you

“are you uncomfortable with my scar?”

you looked at him with a confused gaze

uncomfortable??? around such a beautiful man??? hell no. more like intimidated

“n-no! not at all! i just like your hair,” you refrained from telling him that the real reason was because you thought he was extremely beautiful

“oh. thank you.”

a few weeks passed since that encounter, and you had only grown closer to the half-and-half boy

you learned the real reason behind the scar, and assured him that you won’t think any different of him

he even felt a blush coat his cheeks when you called him amazing and strong

you, midoriya, uraraka, iida, and todoroki were studying in the common area, yet you weren’t focused on the textbook in front of you

you leaned your face on your cheek as you let your eyes wander over todoroki’s seemingly perfect features

todoroki looked up from his book just in time to see you wink at him

he was a bit taken aback, but shook it off as you getting some dust in your eye

he continued keeping eye contact with you and watched as you slowly blinked your eyes at him

todoroki brushed off the heat on his face and went back to writing in his notebook

he looked up again just in time to see you wink at him again

in all fairness, you didn’t even realize you were staring at him, you were a cat and it was a habit

“l/n, i appreciate the gesture, but why do you keep flirting with me?”

oh todoroki. you’re so beautiful yet so dumb.

you were a little confused since he just accused you of something you didn’t even do

“what?”

“you keep winking at me and slowly closing your eyes. is that your way of flirting?”

by now, the other three were watching you two with interest

“oh! no, that’s just a habit i have since i’m a cat. when i slowly blink at you it means that i trust you. and winking means that i really like you!”

you slapped your hand over your mouth

“o-oh. you like me?”

“i-i mean as a friend of course! i trust you and i don’t feel intimidated by you, that’s all!”

todoroki failed to hide the disappointment in his voice when he hummed back

while the five of you packed your books into your backpack, todoroki waited for you to finish before he began to talk to you

“l/n,” he began

you turned to him with wide eyes, scared that he would tell you that he didn’t like you like that

“yeah, todoroki?”

the other three scurried away, leaving you and todoroki alone

“i know you meant that you just liked me as a friend, but is it weird for me to hope that you possibly meant a different way?”

you were completely blindsided by his question

“uhh, actually.. about that…”

after you explained what you truly meant and how you think he’s super interesting and cute, he smiled and returned your feelings

he walked you to your dorm and left after giving you a quick (very cold) peck on the lips

swaying hips

of course i had to do this for this mf

SUCH A FLIRT

as soon as you walked into the classroom he began flirting with you

you sat behind him, and whenever aizawa wasn’t looking, he would slip notes with pick-up lines on them to you

when you returned the note with another pick-up line, he just about short-circuited

unlike everyone else in the class, kaminari assumed that because you were adorable, your quirk was a soft type of quirk

boy was he so wrong

he watched with his jaw on the ground as you sprinted around, not holding back from fighting with kirishima

mineta made some dumb comment about you being sexy with those ears and that tail and that was the first time kaminari told mineta to stfu

as someone who is notorious for hitting on people, his flirting began to slow down once he realized that the reason he wanted to be around you all the time, having the sudden urge to hold you, wanting to call you his, was because he liked you

and he didn’t know what to do at all

he most DEFINITELY didn’t know what to do one particular hot summer day

the bakusquad was hanging out in the common room trying to cool yourselves down

you got up off the floor and walked past kaminari to go to the kitchen for some popsicles

you began to sway your hips as you walked, leaving a very flustered kaminari

“gross, dunce face. if you like that so damn much go chase after them. i’d like to see you try to ask them out.”

“that’s not very manly, bakubro. kaminari, if you really like them, why don’t you just tell them? i’m sure they’d understand,” kirishima gave him a thumbs up as kaminari quite literally sprinted after you

“are you aware of how much you sway your hips when you walk?”

kaminari whispered into your ear as he placed his hands on your hips

“i knew you would notice” you winked at him

his face exploded red in color and he watched you in confusion as you laughed loudly in his face

“i’m kidding. i sway my hips when i walk because i’m a cat. i’m not flirting with you dummy,” you stuck your tongue out at him

“darn, you got me”

…

“hey l/n?”

you turned to face him, and you yelped in surprise as he smashed his lips onto yours

very good kaminari consent is a very good thing 😀👍👍

he pulled away to study your face, only to see your wide eyes and your mouth hanging open

“uh… i’m really sorry i just-”

he was cut off when you locked lips with his again

your tail wrapped around his body, causing him to shock you

he pulled away, grinning, “sorry. you surprised me there-”

“WHAT THE HELL, DUNCE FACE?? I TOLD YOU TO ASK THEM OUT NOT MAKE OUT WITH THEM”

you both sheepishly apologized, watching bakugou storm away, yelling that you two were practically eating each others’ faces

[papa-rhys]

Thoughts on Jack and His Borderline Personality Disorder and How It Shows Through His Behaviour - Because I Cannot Stop Analysing Things That Ultimately Aren’t Important

Symptoms/behaviours under the cut because holy hell this guy has a lot of them. Like, honey, are you okay?

Okay, so I’m pretty sure I can trace Jack’s BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder) back to his grandmother. His mum abandoned him, which shows a reckless/irresponsible behaviour and her mum had fits of rage that didn’t correlate at all with the trigger (ie; drowning Jack’s cat because he didn’t make his bed). So I think he has a family history of it, with both his mother and grandmother having BPD and passing it down to him.

Either way, Jack definitely has it. In fact, he’s a textbook case of it.

Impulsivity

Spending sprees: he bought a pony made of diamonds because he was bored and throws money at all kinds of ventures to keep him occupied and because he wants to. I really don’t know how else to describe this one lol. He bought a pony. Made of diamonds. Because he could.

Gambling: won some of the things on his trophy shelf through poker and owns an entire casino. Hunting the Vaults themselves were a huge gamble too, especially the first two, since he wasn’t truly sure that they existed. He was prepared to sacrifice a lot in order to come out on top in both his career and his social standing. All in all, he’s reckless.

Binge eating: he doesn’t even like pretzels, but still eats them because he’s either bored or stressed. Talks about food quite a bit in conversation, too, especially his cravings.

Substance abuse: admits to being high on uppers for the duration of the pre sequel (and his time on Elpis as a whole) and tells further anecdotes about drugs and getting high in tftbl.

Promiscuity/unsafe sex: nothing about having sex with Nisha is safe lol. But in all seriousness, there’s no way to prove this one. He does strike me as the reckless sex sort though. No proof, just 7 years of knowing him as a character.

Emotional instability

Inappropriate trigger response: he strangles a man to death for simply mentioning his wife, stabs Lilith for talking about Angel, and tries to kill Rhys for not being sure about his grand plan (more on this later). His response to triggers is disproportionate, often resulting in extreme anger over small things that don’t warrant that intense of a reaction. He gets big angry about almost everything; there’s no middle ground. His reaction is never really “you’re annoying me a lot” or “don’t talk about that, I don’t like it.” His reaction to almost everything is “oh my god I will murder your first born child how dare you-”

Quickly changing mood: aside from being prone to fits of rage at the flick of a switch, Jack also flicks back to “normal” pretty quickly, too. He flips between telling you to kill yourself after surviving the train and then talks casually about his day. He’ll be filled with rage after Angel’s death and then suddenly he’s laughing about you jumping into lava and having fun tricking you into visiting his grandmother. He can be intensely angry or sorrowful one moment and then nonchalant and sociable the next. His moods don’t last very long.

Idolisation/devaluation

Jack does this with numerous people across the games, but the two shining examples are Moxxi and Rhys; Rhys being the most notable. He idolises Moxxi, complimenting her on how attractive she is and how smart she is and including her in his circle of close friends/teammates. Then the inevitable happens and she lets him down and he instantly changes his opinion on her as if he’d never thought she was good to begin with. The same happens with Rhys. Throughout tftbl, Jack is best friends with Rhys and seems to form a one-sided connection with him where he idolises him and thinks they’re going to be best friends for ever and that they’re the perfect team. You cannot make him mad at you in tftbl (trust me, I’ve tried). He’s encouraging to Rhys the whole way through, like they’re brothers. Then the second Rhys displays doubts about something Jack is passionate about, Jack reacts violently and completely devalues Rhys, claiming him to be his mortal enemy and trying to kill him. People with BPD do this often. They have strong convictions and have a tendency to feel betrayed by people who go against those convictions. Jack does this regularly and it leads to the breakup of a lot of his relationships.

Paranoia

He vented a room full of scientists into space, just in case. I mean, that pretty much sums it up, really. Jack is under a lot of stress at this point in the game and stress-induced paranoia is a particularly difficult symptom of BPD. With him already feeling the pressure, the mention of a possible mole is a huge trigger for Jack. Especially since he’s reeling from the recent betrayal from a friend. His brain is already working over time, planting uneasy feelings of distrust and being unsafe. So when he’s presented with the idea from an outside source, he runs with it. Betrayal goes on to become a big button to push in Jack’s life to the extent that he actively betrays people before they get a chance to betray him (ie; killing Wilhelm). Paranoia feeds into a lot of Jack’s bad decisions, particularly in the pre sequel era.

Delusion

Jack wasn’t lying when he told us that he’s the hero. He absolutely was not the hero at all, but he wasn’t lying about it. Because lying about something implies that you know it’s not true, and Jack genuinely believes he’s a good person. The best person, in fact. It’s not a lie because in his mind, it’s the god given truth. He’s massively delusional, even before the events of the pre sequel. He’ll spout all the cheesy 80s movie lines about saving the moon and being the hero and he thinks he’s the protagonist of his own big adventure. We know that’s not what’s happening, but Jack doesn’t see it that way. Another delusion is the idea he has about how much everyone loves him. He thinks Moxxi is obsessed with him and he thinks Angel is being forced to work against him. He cannot conceive of a world in which people don’t like him or agree with him. Because why wouldn’t they agree with him? He’s the hero. Everybody loves the hero...

Intense but unstable relationships

Moxxi, Angel, Lilith, the Vault Hunter; I could go on. Jack’s relationships with people are volatile and rocky, even when they’re seemingly on the same side like with Moxxi or even Nisha (who he forms a tight bond with very quickly). People with BPD feel all emotions intensely, which causes a roller coaster. Jack really likes Moxxi, but then he doesn’t want to talk to her, but then he wants her on the team, but then he gets mad at her for calling him a pet name and beign friendly, and then he’s telling her she’s sexy, and then he’s cursing her, and then he’s hanging pictures of her in his casino. It’s the same with Angel - he subjects her to physical torture, then he loves her, then he’s mad at her for helping the Vault Hunter, then he’s doting on her, then he’s manipulating her, then he’s grieving for her. Everything is a whirlwind.

Distorted self-image

Oh boy. Jack has this physically and mentally. Mentally in the sense that he thinks he’s a good person when he actions are abhorrent and also because he’s massively insecure. BPD often comes with a lack of identity, which causes insecurity to begin with. Throw that in a pot alongside some childhood abuse, betrayal, work place bullying, and grief, and you got yourself a big pot of insecurity soup. Put plainly, Jack doesn’t really know who he is at his baseline. His personality and interests and ideas and needs all change on an hourly basis. He morphs to suit his circumstances. He can be open, honest and down to earth when he’s trying to trick Rhys. He can be full of worry and desperation when he needs you to head to grandma’s house. He can be cunning and clever when he’s tricking you into killing Wilhelm. He can be fatherly, he can be nasty, he can be torturous, he can be laid back, he can be clever, he can be ignorant, he can be sheepish, he can be cocky. He’s everyone and no one all at once and this probably leaves him feeling very hollow and empty; which is another symptom of BPD. In the physical sense, Jack issues with self image are pretty clear. He wears a face over his face to hide his face. Yup. And he does this because he thinks he’s disgracefully ugly. This scar he’s so vehemently protective of is something that defines his whole persona going forward. He literally claims himself as Handsome Jack, forcing people to adhere to the idea that he’s so attractive that it should be his title. Even though he doesn’t feel that way and does everything he can to hide the real him. He thinks he’s hideous and he struggles between loving himself and hating himself because of it.

Fear of abandonment

Aaaand here we are at the crux of the problem. BPD boils down to the intense fear of abandonment and this is probably what guides Jack for most of his life. His father died, his mother literally abandoned him, his grandmother neglected him, his first wife died, second wife left, girlfriend and friends betrayed him, and daughter killed herself to get away from him. Abandonment is practically coded into Jack’s DNA at this point and every time it happens, it confirms his fears more. He clings to Moxxi after she betrays him - taking her ideas to try and rile her up and even going as far as to recreate her entire bar in his casino because he wants to keep her presence around. He fights tooth and claw against Angel’s rebellion, begging both her and you to stop what you’re doing and leave. The only time he begs you is when he’s facing perceived abandonment, that’s how strong the fear is. His final words to Angel are “I’ll still forgive you.” Jack isn’t a forgiving man by any stretch, but he’ll say anything he has to in order to prevent her from leaving him. He’ll stalk people, he’ll manipulate them, he’ll lie to them or keep them physically locked up - all to prevent them from abandoning him. The worst possible thing that could happen to Jack is that, and we see the spiral he slips into after Angel. After Moxxi. After the Meriff. After his wife. He can’t bare the thought of someone leaving him and he’ll do anything and everything to prevent his fears becoming a reality.

So yeah! There it is, I finally got around to posting it lol. There’s probably a lot more little details that I’ve forgotten, but I cannot think of them right now. I’ll probably update if I think of any more! The tl;dr is that almost all of Jack’s behaviour can be linked to massively untreated BPD. He needed meds and therapy, but he didn’t get them and he spiralled as a result.

[agustdakasuga]

You Never Walk Alone | Chapter 7

Genre: Werewolf!AU, Poly!AU?, Mate!AU, romance, fluff

Pairing: OT7 x Reader

Characters: Student!reader, Omega!Seokjin, Alpha!Yoongi, Beta!Hoseok, Alpha!Namjoon, Omega!Jimin, Beta!Taehyung, Alpha!Jungkook

Summary: You live a quiet life in your late grandfather’s cabin in the woods. You go to school just to graduate and get your diploma, not to make friends or stand out from the crowd. That was until one day, you enter your home to see a pack of wolves that need shelter.

Dinner with the boys gave you a new experience that you knew would stick with you for a while. Although you cannot forget the wolves, you’re just as happy with your 7 new friends. 

Friday drew a lot nearer than you expected. After school, you parted ways with the boys and went home. Of course, they didn’t stop reminding you about coming over to their house for dinner later. As if you would forget in the span of 5 minutes. 

“Should I bring anything?” You asked. 

“Just yourself.” Jungkook smiled and you nodded your head with a smile. You headed into your cabin and took a quick shower.

“What should I wear?” You stood in front of your closet, only wrapped in a towel. You haven’t really been to anyone else’s home for a meal before so you were a little nervous. 

“Too casual... Too fancy...” You tossed aside each outfit that you felt didn’t fit. 

In the end, you decided to go with a blue skater skirt with stars and a white button up shirt. Staring at yourself in the mirror, you brushed your hair. 

“There.” You nodded in approval. 

*KNOCK KNOCK*

“Coming!” You put your brush down and headed downstairs. When you opened the door, you were not expecting to see RM standing there. When he saw you, he was taken aback by how simply breathtaking you were, even if you didn’t deliberately dress up. He cleared his throat before smiling at you, flashing you his deep dimple. 

“I came to escort you. Make sure you don’t get lost on your way. You look good, by the way.” RM explained with a smile and you blushed. 

“Oh, thank you. Am I over dressed?” You asked. 

“Not at all.” He shook his head.

“Just let me get my bag.” You said to him and ran back to your room. You slung your bag over your shoulder and wore your converse shoes. After you were done, you turned off the lights and locked the front door. 

“RM- Oof!” You had turned and bumped into his chest, not realising he was standing right behind you. 

“Sorry.” The both of you stepped away from one another. 

“Ready to go?” He cleared his throat. You gave an awkward smile and nodded your head. RM led the way and you followed him through the forest. 

“We’re on the way.” RM told his brothers as he cast you a subtle side glance. You were focused on the path ahead of you, not being familiar with this part of the forest. He smiled softly at you, finding it a little hard to believe that you were standing by his side, walking alone with him. 

“Woah.” You stopped as the big bungalow came to view. It was so big and modern that you wondered just how they built it so quickly. 

“What do you think?” RM nudged you gently. 

“It’s huge!” You chuckled. He gestured forward to the steps and you bowed your head, stepping up. RM opened the door and led you inside. If you thought the outside was nice, the inside was even more impressive. 

“(y/n)!” You were tackled by hugs. 

“H-Hello.” You stuttered. 

“Hey, let our guest breathe.” The 3 youngest ones were pulled away from you and you straightened your skirt. 

“You’re here.” Jimin grinned. 

“That, I am. Thanks again for inviting me over. Your house is so beautiful.” You complimented and the boys once again, mentally fawned over how adorable you were as you had a fascinated look on your face. 

“Have a seat! Dinner will be done soon.” J-Hope invited, pointing to the empty couch, and you nodded, tucking your skirt under your bum as you sat down. V placed a cup of tea down in front of you and you bowed your head, taking the cup and sipping the liquid lightly. The 5 boys all sat around you, Seokjin and Suga staying in the kitchen to finish cooking. 

“The tea is very nice.” You turned to V. 

“Thank you. It’s my own custom blend that I created.” V said and you nodded your head, impressed. 

“I have not greeted Seokjin and Suga.” You remembered and stood up. 

“She’s so polite and courteous.” Jungkook stared at you. Jimin led you to the kitchen, where the oldest two were cooking. They were so busy that they didn’t even notice that you walked in. They didn’t even smell your scent.

“Hyungs.” V coughed and they jumped slightly, turning around to see you standing there with a shy smile. 

“Hello. Thank you for cooking.” You said to them. 

“No problem. It should be done in about half an hour. Did the boys get you a drink while you wait?” Jin asked and you nodded your head, laughing. Your tinkling laughter was like music to their ears. 

“Please, don’t rush on my accord. I love the tea V gave me and the boys are nice to talk to. Actually, is there anything I can help with? I’m not a gourmet chef but I can do simple things like chopping or stir frying. If that will help take some load off you.” You offered, rolling your sleeves up. 

“How generous.” Jin and Suga melted. 

“Nonsense. You’re our guest, we can’t possibly make you cook with us. You should be relaxing. And you’re dressed so nicely, we wouldn’t want to dirty your clothes.” Yoongi spoke softly. 

“That’s okay. And it feels weird to be treated so formally. We’re friends after all, right?” You asked and they all nodded their heads. 

“Still, we’re not going to let you cook. Come on, we’ll give you a house tour.” Placing his hands on your shoulders, Jimin led you out of the kitchen. You followed them as they showed you their new house. 

They didn’t bother going through the bedrooms because that was boring. But they did show you the library, the backyard garden, the dining room, the bar area and their home theatre. Even their hallways had a lot of glass panels, which let a lot of natural light in, giving the space a warm feeling. It was very homey but you knew it must have cost a lot. 

“Really nice home.” You told them. 

“Thank you, we’re glad you like it. You know you can come over whenever you like.” V grinned and your eyes widened slightly. Jungkook nudged his older brother gently. 

“Hyung, you can’t say that to a girl.” Jungkook whispered. You covered your hands to stifle your laughs. 

“Oh, sorry.” V blushed. 

“It’s fine.” You laughed and continued walking back to the living room with them. You saw Jungkook helping the others set the table and stepped up, going to the kitchen to find J-Hope scooping the rice into bowls. 

“Can I help?” You asked. 

“Alright. Help me bring these out?” He smiled and you nodded, taking the bowls in your hands. With each bowl, he told you who was having which. There were different amounts of rice. For example, Jungkook, Seokjin and RM ate a lot more rice than Suga and Jimin. 

“Is this good for you?” He showed you the bowl. 

“Perfect.” You grabbed the bowl graciously and brought it out. Of course, he knew how much you ate after seeing out cook for yourself over the course of 2 weeks. 

“Wow, what a spread. Thanks for cooking.” You turned to Suga and Seokjin. 

“Hope it’s to your liking.” Seokjin smiled. 

“Don’t worry! It looks so good, I’ll definitely like it.” You chuckled as everyone took their seats. You sat in between V and Jungkook. There was seriously so much food but mostly beef. Seeing how the boys ate so much beef reminded you of the 7 wolves yet again. Wolf Jimin would have loved to have so much beef instead of that boiled chicken he hated. 

“(y/n)? You okay?” Suga waved a hand in front of your face. 

“Huh? Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just day dreaming, sorry.” You blushed and continued eating. Jungkook grabbed a piece of beef, putting it in your bowl with a small smile. 

“Thank you.” You turned to him. 

“Eat up!” Jungkook grinned, reminding you a bunny. It felt awkward at first but the boys were quick to make you feel comfortable with conversations you could relate to. You have never eaten a home cooked meal with this many people before.It had always been you and your grandfather.

“How’s the food?” Seokjin asked. 

“It’s really good! You guys are great cooks.” You smiled as you put another spoon of rice into your mouth. 

“So, what’s the reason you guys decided to settle here? You all seem like the kind to live in the city rather than a secluded country side like here.” You asked. 

“We’re here because of you.” They all thought. 

“Not really though. We appreciate our nature. The city gets too noisy and stressful some times. But you never get tired of the countryside. We definitely wouldn’t be able to get such a nice house if we were in the city.” V spoke. 

“You’re right. I grew up here with my grandfather. This place is my life and I never want to leave.” You confessed, remembering fond memories with your grandfather. 

“Even if he’s not here anymore, I still want to continue living here.” You added. The boys grew soft. 

“We’re sorry for your loss.” Suga whispered. 

“Thank you. But I guess I got to meet you guys so I’m not completely alone.” You shrugged with a smile. 

“Ever the optimist. You’re right, you will never be alone again.” J-Hope smiled softly. 

“Next time, you guys should come over to mine. I’ll bake something if you guys like.” You smiled. The boys were all excited at the thought of going over to your house. They missed the scent of your cabin and most of all, they missed being around you. And now, with the promise of your baked goods, they were even more than thrilled to go. 

“We would love to!” Jungkook said a little too enthusiastically. You grinned and reached out to pat his head, making him freeze. 

“Sorry! I shouldn’t have...” You panicked, not knowing what got into you. 

“No! No! It’s okay! I don’t mind.” Jungkook assured. It was more than okay. The skin to skin contact you had with him just sent shivers down his spine, in a good way. 

“Calm down.” Jungkook scowled to his wolf. 

When dinner was done, you helped bring the dishes to the back, which the boys already tried to protest to you doing. Therefore, when you tried to ask to help with the dishes, they kicked you out of the kitchen.

“I just wanted to help. It feels weird not to be doing anything.” You rubbed the back of your neck. 

“Just relax, (y/n). It’s our agreement with one another anyway. Those who don’t cook, help to clean up.” Seokjin leaned against the back of the couch. Suga nodded in agreement, drinking his iced coffee. He looked up but when your eyes met, you turned away in embarrassment. 

“Cute.” Suga thought fondly. 

“You like coffee?” You asked. He nodded his head. 

“I want to visit your cafe.” He stated quite straightforwardly. Your eyes widened and Seokjin burst out laughing. 

“Forgive my dear Suga, he speaks his mind without thinking. What he means is, we would love to visit the cafe you’re working at. You know, to try the coffee that you make.” Seokjin quickly explained. 

“Oh, right. Here.” You gave them the name card of the cafe. Suga took it with two hands, slipping it into his back pocket. You checked your phone and saw that it was getting quite late. If it was your first time over, you shouldn’t overstay your welcome. 

“I should get going.” You slung your bag over your shoulder. 

“I’ll walk you home.” Suga stood up as well. The others came out and grabbed Suga and Seokjin, dragging them to the ktichen. You stood there awkwardly.

“Rock, paper, scissors.” They squinted at each other. 

“Wait! Namjoon hyung already got to pick her up! He should be excluded.” V said and everyone turned to look at the leader. He sighed and backed away with his hands held up in surrender. 

“Rock, paper, scissors!” They shot out. Seokjin won. He held his scissors up proudly, smirking at the rest. 

“I’ll bring you.” Seokjin smiled. 

“Thanks for coming over.” The other 6 walked the two of you to the door with smiles and waves. 

“Thanks for having me.” You bowed slightly and followed Seokjin out. The forest path was dark and quiet but enough moonlight shone through the tree tops so you were not walking back blindly. You turned slightly to look at Seokjin, his handsome features standing out more than usual under the illuminating moonlight. 

“Yes?” He turned to you. 

“Nothing.” You shook your head, turning your gaze back forward. Seokjin snickered silently to himself. It was a nice silence that engulfed the two of you. 

“Are you cold?” Seokjin removed his denim jacket. 

“It’s okay, Seokjin.” 

“I wouldn’t want you getting sick.” He chuckled, draping the cardigan over your shoulders. You smiled gratefully and hugged the jacket around your frame tighter. It did bring some warmth and Seokjin’s faint scent on the cloth made you feel more comforted. 

“Have a nice night, (y/n). Sleep well.” Seokjin stopped in front of your door. 

“Thank you for having me over and walking me back. Have a good night.” You wished. Seokjin waited for you to enter your house before leaving. As you closed the door, you realised that you still had his jacket. 

“I’ll return it on Monday or something.” You threw it in the wash and headed upstairs to your room. 

-

You had morning shift the next day at the cafe. You headed in and removed your hoodie, changing into your barista uniform. Checking your reflection, you adjusted the apron around your waist and headed to the front. 

“Morning.” Your manager, May, came out a few minutes after, checking the cash register. 

“Morning, May sshi.” You bowed your head and turned on the coffee equipment. The machines buzzed lightly as it heated up. There was half an hour until opening time so you went around your area, checking and making sure you had everything you needed. You went back to get the milk out, stocking the mini fridge that was below your counter. 

“The new cups need labels.” May told you. 

“On it.” You went to get the bag of new cups, sticking the cafe’s labels on each one by hand. 

“I’m going to open up.” May smiled and you nodded your head, putting the finished cups aside. The regular office workers came through to get their hot coffees on the go. You were very much focused on delivering the orders. 

“1 iced americano, please.” A customer ordered. You heard the order and immediately started making the order. 

“So this is it, huh?” The same voice spoke and you jumped slightly. You looked up to see the customer in front of you, with only the counter table separating the both of you. 

“Suga sshi?” You moved your head slightly forward to see the face that was covered by the black cap.

“What’s with the formality?” He tilted his head. You blushed slightly.

“Sorry, I’m just used to formalities while I’m at work. I wasn’t expecting to see you.” You smiled as you fixed his coffee. 

“I told you I was going to come check it out.” He shrugged. You rubbed the back of your neck sheepishly and closed the lid over his cold beverage, putting it on the pick up table. You gestured to it with a slight bow of the head and he grabbed it, along with a straw. 

“Thank you. Have a nice day.” You hummed and went back to making the other orders. Suga sat at a table near the corner, on his phone. You would occasionally look over at him to see him on his phone.

“Afternoon.” Your other colleagues, Junseo and Soojoo, came in. You bowed your head in greeting. 

“Go have lunch. We’ll take over.” They said and you nodded. 

Suga saw you leaving to the back room and stood up, his almost empty cup in his hand. When he saw you coming out the kitchen’s double doors with your bag, he followed you. 

“You’re still here?” You giggled. 

“Are you having your lunch break?” He ignored your question as he opened the cafe door for you to exit. You nodded your head. Suga looked conflicted, he wasn’t someone confident in his verbal confessions. 

“Suga, would you like to have lunch together?” You asked. He nodded his head, looking away. 

“Noodles?” The two of you walked to the nearby noodle bar together to eat. The owner gave you a table by the window and Suga removed his cap, running his fingers through his hair before fixing the accessory over his head again. His fluffy hair reminded you of the white wolf’s soft fur and it made you softened slightly at the memory of the wolves. 

“One spicy soup for me.” You looked at the menu. 

“Same.” Suga nodded. He called the waiter over to take your orders. Even if Suga was quiet, it was a nice kind of silence that the two of you shared. 

“Sorry, I don’t hold a lot of conversations. I’m not like V or Jimin.” Suga cleared his throat. 

“Don’t apologise. You’re Suga, you’re your own person. I don’t expect you to be like V or Jimin. Besides, sometimes I like the peace and quiet too. And I’m sure there are things that make you uniquely you.” You sent him a soft, reassuring smile. 

“That’s why you’re perfect.” Suga mentally smiled. 

“Two spicy noodles.” The waiter placed the bowls in front of you. You gave out the cutlery while Suga poured the cold tea. 

“So, when did you move here?” Suga asked. 

“I think... When I was about 5? The memory is quite foggy that I don’t quite remember what happened to my parents. My grandfather also grew sour when I asked him about it so I just stopped asking.” You shrugged. 

“Do you... ever want to know what happened?” 

“Of course, I do. At the end of the day, they’re still my parents.” You said a bit coldly. 

“I-I’m sorry! That was totally not cool of me. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that.” You realised how horrible your tone was and was in panic. You didn’t want to make Suga feel bad for asking. 

“No, it’s alright. I shouldn’t have asked so much.” Suga replied. 

“That still doesn’t give me a reason to be rude about it. It’s just... I do want to know what happened to them. But I don’t even know where to start looking for them and maybe after so many years, I’ve just accepted the fact that maybe they just aren’t around anymore. If they really wanted to reconnect, they would have done it by now.” You sighed. 

“Whatever it is, I don’t want you to think it’s your fault in any way, okay? With your parents, that’s between them.” Suga comforted. 

“Thank you for saying that.” You smiled. 

“What about you, Suga? How did you come to live with the other boys?” You turned the conversation on him. 

“Well, it’s kind of obvious that we are biological brothers. But we have been together since we were little. Our parents are all very close and when we grew older, we just decided to stick together.” Suga said briefly. 

“I see. Must be nice to have such a big family.” He noticed the slight falter in your voice. 

“You are part of that family too, (y/n). We’re friends now, you don’t have to feel like you’re alone.” Suga told you. 

~~

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[murasaki-murasame]

Thoughts on Higurashi Sotsu Ep15 [FINALE]

For better or worse I think Ryukishi achieved exactly what he set out to do with this series, and I guess everyone’s just gonna be forced to reckon with how they feel about his own perspective on this franchise versus how they feel about it, lol.

Anyway, thoughts under the cut, plus Umineko spoilers.

I’m not entirely sure where to even start with this, but I guess the TL;DR is that I honestly think Gou/Sotsu was ultimately just fine despite it’s issues, and part me of can’t help but be like ‘I told you so, lol’ about how this really did end with this episode, and also committed pretty hard to the Umineko prequel elements.

It’s not like all of my theories were correct in the end, but I at least think I was pretty spot on in my prediction last week that this would end with the miracle of them side-stepping the sword issue entirely and choosing the third option of forgiveness and reconciliation. And also them ending it with an epilogue where we go back to the Matsuribayashi timeline and get a happy ending for Rika and Satoko that provides a ‘non-magical interpretation’ for the story while also giving us an idea of how Bern and Lambda formally split off into their own entities and start the relationship we see in Umineko.

I didn’t quite expect them to go down the route of having them agree to just spend a few years apart and accept that they don’t need to literally always be together, but I think that was a really good way to wrap things up between them. It’s pretty much the healthiest compromise to their conflict that doesn’t come across like it completely invalidates one of their dreams. I get why it feels too anti-climactic and convenient for people, but when you pull at that thread you get into wider topics of what the entire story is about, since this was always going to end with Satoko being redeemed and forgiven. People might not have taken him seriously, but Ryukishi was 100% genuine about his regrets about Matsuribayashi’s ending, and how part of why he came up with this new story was to create a better ending, while also doing more with Satoko as a character.

Basically I think a lot of the fandom negativity towards this boils down to people fundamentally disagreeing with the idea that Matsuribayashi was even ‘flawed’ in this sort of way to begin with, or that Satoko was badly written. It’s valid to disagree on this stuff, but at the very least we all have to grapple with how Ryukishi has his own specific relationship with this series.

People like to focus on how he’s a troll who likes to mess with people, but I feel like this is a bit of a wake-up call for people about how he’s actually extremely sincere, almost to a fault, and he likes to use his stories as a vehicle for expressing his personal philosophies and ideals. 

This whole story is also a good example of how he just sees this as ultimately being a fictional story about fictional characters, and not literally a matter of real people who need to be sentenced for their crimes or whatever. As early as the original VN he was almost being outright preachy about the message that nobody is irredeemable, and that philosophy carries through to this. But to be more specific, nobody *in this story* is irredeemable. He’s pretty open about the fact that in practice you can’t apply this sort of ideal to real life, but fictional stories are their own separate matter.

I think this whole issue of how he views this as a story first and foremost is also the central reason why this ended in a way that comes across as Satoko being let off too easy for her crimes. One way or another, Ryukishi’s made it clear that he sees this as being no different to how other characters had arcs where they committed crimes but still got forgiven, or how Takano is basically a straight up war criminal who also got forgiven for her crimes.

Anyway, this episode at least committed to the Umineko stuff, so that was satisfying. Sure there’s people that still want to deny it, but at this point I think a lot of people are just being stubborn, so it’s not like anything would have really convinced them, lol. I’m also genuinely not sure what people even would have expected them to do beyond what we saw her, aside from having the two of them literally put on their gothic lolita outfits and turn to the camera and go ‘we are literally Bernkastel and Lambdadelta from the video game series Umineko When They Cry’. I almost feel like there’s some kind of misunderstanding from people who aren’t familiar with Umineko when it comes to the idea of what it even means for this to be ‘an Umineko prequel’, or ‘a Bern/Lambda origin story’. I mean, this is quite literally exactly what I expected and hoped for in that regard. It’s not like I was expecting them to incorporate anything related to, like, Beatrice or the Ushiromiya family.

I think this is also one of those things where you just have to decide for yourself whether or not you want to earnestly engage with the story that’s being told, or if you want to assume that there’s some level of malice or trickery going on.

To be honest, I wasn’t expecting them to literally have Rika and Satoko recite part of Bern and Lambda’s final conversation with each other word for word, lmao. Combined with the scene at the end where ‘Witch Satoko’ talks to herself about how she’s going to give her body back to Satoko while she goes chasing after Rika, it was literally just the exact origin story of their relationship as it’s depicted in Umineko.

I still feel like this would all only really be ‘worth it’ if we actually get something like a full on anime remake for Umineko, but at this point I can’t help but feel satisfied with this part of it all.

It’s not like I think Gou/Sotsu as a whole is perfect or anything, though. I don’t hate it as much as basically everyone else does, but I think Ryukishi’s the sort of VN writer who really struggles with the shift to writing for an anime. I think a big part of the frustration people have is just from how this is formatted as a weekly anime series spread across basically an entire year, instead of being something like a stand-alone VN chapter that you can read at whatever pace you want, even if it ultimately takes the same amount of time to read as it would to watch all of Gou/Sotsu.

There’s also the whole issue of this being a sort-of-remake, which snowballed into a whole list of structural problems. They absolutely tried too hard to have their cake and eat it too, and they should have just committed to it being made for old fans only, instead of trying to sincerely incorporate elements from the VN that old fans don’t care about anymore because they’ve gone over it already.

And as I’ve said several times before, it was a major issue for them to decide to put Nekodamashi in the middle of Gou and then spend like 20 episodes on flashback answer arcs until finally getting back to that cliffhanger. I’ve been waiting until this all ended to decide exactly how I feel about that, and now that it’s all over I still think it was a really bad idea. I don’t think it was an issue for them to reveal that Satoko’s the culprit that early, but having the gun cliffhanger specifically happen that early just gave people misguided expectations and tainted the answer arcs because people were just impatient to get back to the cliffhanger. And then the cliffhanger itself ended up being somewhat anti-climactic, which is what I’d been fearing would happen. It would have worked fine if they shuffled it around so that the cliffhanger happened right before Kagurashi and was followed up in the very next episode, or if this was a VN where you could binge your way through the flashback stuff, but spending like half of an entire real-life year to get back to that point only to have the resolution be ‘Satoko just shoots Rika and the death loops keep going’ just didn’t really work properly.

I’m a lot more generous towards the Akashi arcs than most people are, since I think they really over-estimate how much re-used content there is there, but they still suffer from the central issue of the show trying to be accessible for new fans. It could have been heavily condensed otherwise, without losing anything in terms of Satoko’s whole character arc.

On the other hand I think the first half of Kagurashi was awful specifically because it highlighted how bad of an idea it was to put Nekodamashi so early in the story. They still ended up having to go back to that arc and repeat it anyway, in the most 1:1 recap-y way in the whole show, but that wouldn’t have even been an issue in the first place if that was instead the first time that arc happened in the show.

I’ve been thinking a lot about how I would rearrange the story to make it flow better while still following Ryukishi’s intentions, and I think they could have condensed it into a 2-cour season with this sort of structure if they did something like this:

-First arc where Rika gets thrown back into the loop and quickly figures out that somebody intentionally caused this to happen, and it’s not Takano because at least in this idea of mine she’d try and investigate her only to find out that this version of Takano regrets everything and is planning to flee the village with Tomitake.

Basically I think this could tie into the idea of Satoko initially wanting to just concoct an idea world for Rika so that she won’t want to leave this time, but sort of like what I think happens in Saikoroshi, Rika would still reject it, and this time around there’d be the additional layer of her knowing that somebody did this to her for an unknown reason. Maybe they could even initially market it as a new adaptation or a remake of Saikoroshi, and then reveal that it’s a sequel, to keep that whole element to the series. Either way I think this would end with everything going to shit when Rika rejects that fragment and wants to go back to St. Lucia’s, and Satoko basically snaps and kills her, and that way the audience can find out about her being the culprit without Rika finding out about it yet.

Maybe there could even be some dramatic irony where Rika’s attempts to meddle with certain ‘trigger events’, and her displaying her looper side, inadvertently triggers people around her to get paranoid, and the whole fragment would start to spiral into tragedy from there. I think they could at least use the whole conflict in Tatariakashi about Teppei actually being good this time as a starting point for that sorta thing.

-Second arc, rounding out the first cour, which is basically just Satokowashi. I don’t think there’s much that you’d need to change here, but like I said above I like the idea of her initially trying to just invent a perfect world for Rika and her to live in, instead of jumping straight to murder. But maybe instead of her literally just watching Rika’s loops, she could instead just be stuck using her looping powers to try and figure out how to create that ‘perfect world’ in the first place, by personally investigating all of the different tragedies and how to prevent them.

-Staring the second cour, a third arc where we basically just get to see those loops Satoko goes through, and her whole process of solving the tragedies and ‘purifying’ characters like Teppei and Takano, until we eventually see her perspective on the first arc, and how she reacts to Rika ultimately rejecting the world she tried to make for her.

-A fourth and final arc which is basically just Nekodamashi + Kagurashi, where she just totally snaps and tries to just torture Rika into never wanting to leave the village again, and eventually Satoko gets exposed and they have their direct confrontation with each other.

With that sorta story structure, you’d keep all the relevant bits of Gou/Sotsu as it is now, while being more focused on Rika and Satoko instead of doing kinda half-assed reruns of the Rena and Shion arcs. It’d also push the big cliffhanger between them until near the end of the show, while still revealing to the audience relatively early on that Satoko’s the culprit.

I’d also like them to do more with Satoshi and Shion, so maybe like with how Teppei gets redeemed and Satoko almost gets to have a happy life with him in Tatariakashi, the central question arc of this hypothetical story could also involve Satoko making sure that Satoshi wakes up from his coma, and Shion also gets to have a good relationship with all of them. You could probably do something interesting with the idea of Satoshi and Shion being in the camp of not trusting Teppei and his whole redemption arc.

Honestly I could spend a long time talking about how I would have done things differently, lol. For one thing, I think the Akashi arcs would have been much better if they just changed it so that Satoko used psychological tactics to make people paranoid, and we completely cut out the whole syringe plot device. I get how it fits with Satoko’s whole certainty gimmick, but it made those arcs way too predictable. Even if we knew the outcome, it’d at least be entertaining to see exactly how Satoko might go out of her way to set up the different tragedies. We kinda got glimpses of that sorta plot point in Wataakashi when things seemed to go outside of her control, but they didn’t really do much with it.

Anyway, this is a whole lot of words to say that I think that in spite of the serious structural issues going on, I think Gou/Sotsu as a whole is fine, and was at least working with a lot of perfectly good ideas that could have been executed much better.

Also, on a side note, that one scene during their fist-fight at the start where the art-style changes a bit was kinda weird, but I really liked how it looked, and part of me almost wishes the whole show looked like that, lol. I like Akio Watanabe’s character designs, but I feel like that sort of stylized, almost TWEWY-ish art style would have been really fitting for this series, especially in the horror/action parts.

Oh, and the new rendition of You was so good it almost felt emotionally manipulative, lol.

[ginger-and-mint]

Hey, I'm wondering if you have any advice on writing kink stuff? Basically, it feels like I'm writing the same story repeatedly. Coming up with stuffing scenarios that both make sense, and aren't just retreads, is really hard. It probably doesn't help that a) I don't have much writing experience, b) my interests are really narrow, and c) I have no imagination, lol. How do you keep stuff fun and interesting? (Jsyk, I sent this to Tiny as well, I love both your blogs 😊)

Hey, anon! Thank you so much, I’m so glad you enjoy my and Tiny’s content and I’m flattered to be asked for advice! ♡ I have a lot of thoughts about this, so I’ll do my best to boil them down into something useful.
 ^^

Since you mentioned being pretty new to writing, I broke up my advice into a few different “stages,” starting with things that are easy to implement and moving to things that might feel more manageable as you get more comfortable with writing. Under a cut because Real Heckin Long.


Stage One — Don’t Sweat It

This might sound corny and unhelpful, but I genuinely think that especially when you’re first starting out, it’s best not to put pressure on yourself to write the world’s most original stories. Write to please your inner fiend and nobody else! If repeated versions of the same story continue to light your fire, there’s no shame in embracing that.

Doing this will honestly help you with originality in the long-term anyway, because you’re giving yourself the freedom to learn more about what specifics you really enjoy in kink writing. Later on, you can use that knowledge to put new twists on those specifics and invent new scenarios.

Stage Two — Stuffing Scenario Cheat Sheet

I completely agree that believable stuffing scenarios are really difficult to invent. What’s realistic is a matter of opinion of course, but for me, this is a quick breakdown of logical reasons for a character to overeat. If you’re getting tired of using the same justification in your fics, try picking something new from this list:

Accidental stuffing:

Character is distracted by something during the meal

Character eats so fast they don’t realize when they’re full

Character has been hungry for awhile and overdoes it when they finally get to eat

Reluctant intentional stuffing (motivated by external circumstances):

Character feels social pressure to keep eating **

The food will go to waste otherwise **

Eating contests / challenges **

The character is trying to bulk up

Enthusiastic intentional stuffing (because the character wants to):

Character just enjoys the feeling of being full

Character and/or their partner(s) have a stuffing kink

Character has temporary access to good food and is indulging while they can

Fantasy Shenanigans:

Side effects of being a magical creature (e.g. a werewolf eating too much for their human form to handle, a vampire needing to feed all at once, etc.)

Magic that causes a character to overeat (e.g. enchanted food, curses, potions, etc.)

Magic that requires a full stomach and/or extra energy to work (e.g. my di-mage spell mechanics, the antidote in this fic of Tiny’s, etc.)

[free space because fantasy lets you set the boundaries of what’s realistic, so your imagination is really the limit!]

** If you’re aiming for realism, I would be careful of these scenarios. In my opinion, they can be done believably, but often are not. Some things I would look out for:

Most foods can easily be stored for later, so if you want to use the “avoiding waste” trope, make sure that you’re either in a setting without access to refrigeration or that the food is something that genuinely wouldn’t keep until the next day (or at least would be way less tasty after a night in the fridge.)

Social pressure works best in scenarios with people that the to-be-stuffed character 1) doesn’t know very well and 2) wants to impress or keep face around (e.g. formal events, business dinners, first dates that involve food, meeting their partner’s family, etc.)

Loving friends, family, and partners don’t pressure or guilt people into overeating! Characters stuffing themselves because their loved ones are really insistent that they have to taste-test everything or act so disappointed because they went to all this work on some extravagant feast always ring at best false and at worst abusive to me. What kind of loving relationship is it if you don’t feel safe to say “no thanks, I’m full?” That’s not to say social pressure with loved ones can’t be done well, but it usually indicates some kind of character flaw (i.e. an inability to say no and/or a steamroller-y personality) that in my opinion, has to be acknowledged by the fic’s end if you want the tone to stay light and fluffy.

Again, this may just be my opinion, but eating contests only come across as realistic with certain character personalities and in certain contexts. Like yeah, I can believe that a himbo with YouTuber Energy would take on a hot wing eating challenge in front of all his bros, but not so much that an otherwise self-respecting character would drop everything to eat themselves sick because a friend randomly challenged them.

Stage Three — Change Up Other Elements When Using Similar Tropes


Especially if you have narrow interests, it’s probably inevitable you’ll write same basic story structure over and over. I know I sure do! However, I would say that changing other elements of the narrative can give your writing an entirely different feel, turning it into a whole new story that will not feel like a simple retread to a reader.

One thing you can change up is setting. A lot of times kink writers will just plonk characters in the comfort of their own homes, which is valid — but setting hugely influences the atmosphere of a story, so the same Kink Plot will read really differently if it happens, say, at a campground or on a boat. Providing a rich setting can even become a feature of the kink itself. For example, setting your story at a lavish buffet could introduce an element of indulgence that hits you and/or readers differently than a story that involves casual takeout in the living room, even if the rest of the story is similar. Try bold settings! They’re fun!

Another element to vary is context. For example, the basic trope of “stress eating” would play out really differently if a character is about to go on an important mission vs. if they’re recovering from an emotionally difficult day; a story about about a character intentionally stuffing themselves will have a completely different flavor if they’ve been going hungry for awhile vs. they’ve been overeating all week; and so on.


Finally, consider changing up the focus. An easy way to do this is to switch up whether you’re writing from the POV of the stuffed character or a caretaker. You can also focus on different details of the stuffing — for example, lingering on how delicious the food looks and tastes vs. how the character feels as their stomach fills vs. physical details like whether they’re getting bloated or grumbly.

Stage Four — Connect to Character or Plot

The most surefire way to make kink stories distinct is to give the story an additional purpose besides just being kinky. This doesn’t have to be some big, extravagant plot (although it certainly can be) — it can be a simple as writing a kink story the way you usually would, and just finding something within it that you can use to reveal an aspect of your character.

Start with an ordinary kink scenario and try to dive a little deeper. For example:

Say you want to write a story about stress eating. Okay — what is the character stressed about?

Maybe you come up with something relatively simple and generic, like school. Okay, what about this character makes them so likely to be stressed out by school? Are they a perfectionist? Are they facing a lot of pressure from their family? Do they have a goal that requires excellent grades? Have they struggled with this subject in the past?

Let’s say you decide to go with perfectionism. Now, what scenes can you use to show this struggle? And optionally, can you give the character some kind of resolution by the story’s end?

And there you go! Your fic now not only has kink, but also shows how your character reacts in a certain situation.

Character especially is a treasure trove of uniqueness, in my opinion, because well-developed characters react differently to the same scenario. Stories feel more original because even if a reader has read this exact same plot before, they will not have seen how this particular person handles it. So one of the best ways to make fics distinct is to spend time developing your characters!

If the goal is to simply write solid distinct kinky stories, trying to create detailed plot is more work with lower return than investing in your characters, if you ask me. You have to enjoy the process of creating plots itself for it to be worth it. If that’s something you’re interested in, I have a whole load more thoughts about that -- but since this is already incredibly long, I’ll save that for a separate ramble if anyone is specifically interested.

---

I hope something in this huge infodump is helpful to you! Some of it may sound intimidating if you’re just starting out with kink writing, but it’s absolutely all something that can be worked up to. Please feel free to ask any follow-up questions if stuff I’ve written doesn’t make sense. Good luck with your writing, anon, and thanks for giving me an excuse to just go off. ^^’ ♡

[brawltogethernow]

So, I don't think I've ever asked you this... what IS the whole point of the Spider-Sense? It really seems like something that only exists for writers to ignore or work around when they want to inject Legit Tension into a story.

I’ve thought about this power so much, but never with an eye to defend its right to exist, so I needed to think about this. The results could be more concise.

Ironically, given the question, I have to say its main purpose is to ramp up tension. But it’s also a highly variable multitool that a skilled creative team can use for...pretty much anything. It does everything the writer wants it to, while for its wielder always falls just short of doing enough.

I went looking through my photos for a really generic, classic-looking example to use as an image to head this topic, but then I ran into the time Peter absolutely did not reimburse this man for his stolen McDonald’s, so have that instead.

A Scare Chord, But You Can Draw It

That one post that says the spider-sense is just super-anxiety isn’t, like, wrong. It’s a very anxious, dramatic storytelling tool originally designed for a very anxious, dramatic protagonist. I find it speaks to the overall tone of the franchise that some characters are functionally psychics, but with a psychic ability that only points out problems.

Spidey sense pinging? There’s danger, be stressed! Broken? Now the lead won’t even KNOW when there’s a problem, scary! Single character is immune to it? That’s an invisible knife in the dark oh my god what the fuck what the fU--

Like its counterpart in garden variety anxiety, the only time the spider-sense reduces tension is in the middle of a crisis. But in the wish fulfillmenty way that you want in an adventure story to justify exaggerated action sequences, the same way enhanced strength or durability does. Also like those, it would theoretically make someone much safer to have it, but it exists in the story to let your character navigate into and weather more dangerous situations.

For its basic role in a story, a danger sense is a snappy way to rile up both the reader and the protagonist that doesn’t offer much information beyond that it’s time to sit smart because shit is about to go down.

Spidey comic canon is all over the board in quality and genre, and it started needing to subvert its formulas before the creators got a handle on what those formulas even were, and basically no one has read anything approaching most of it at this point, so for consistent examples of a really bare bones use of this power in storytelling, I’d point to the property that’s done the best job yet of boiling down the mechanics of Spider-Man to their absolute most basic essentials for adaptation to a compelling monster of the week TV series.

Or as you probably know it, Danny Phantom. DON’T BOO, I’M RIGHT.

DP is Spider-Man with about 2/3 of the serial numbers filed off and no death (ironically), and Danny’s ghost sense is the most proof in the formula example of what the spidey sense is for: It’s a big sign held up for the viewer that says, “Something is wrong! Pay attention!” Effectively a visual scare chord. It’s about That Drama. And it works, which won it a consistent place in the show’s formula. We’re talking several times an episode here.

So why does it work?

It’s a little counterintuitive, but it’s strong storytelling to tell your audience that something bad is going to happen before it does. A vague, punchy spoiler transforms the ignorant calm before a conflict into a tense moment of anticipation. ...And it makes sure people don’t fail to absorb the beginning of said conflict because they weren’t prepared to shift gears when the scene did. Shock is a valuable tool, too, but treating it like a staple is how you burn out your audience instead of keeping them engaged. Not to go after an easy target, but you need to know how to manage your audience’s alarm if you don’t want to end up like Game of Thrones.

The limits of the spider-sense also keep you on your toes when handled by a smart writer. It tells Peter (everyone’s is a little different, so I’m going to cite the og) about threats to his person, but it doesn’t elaborate with any details when it’s not already obvious why, what kind, and from what. And it doesn’t warn him about anything else-- Which is a pretty critical gap when you zoom out and look at his hero career’s successes and failures and conclude that it’s definitely why he’s lived as long as he has acting the way he does, but was useless as he failed to save a string of people he’d have much rather had live on than him.

(Any long-running superhero mythos has these incidents, but with Peter they’re important to the core themes.)

And since this power is by plot for plot (or because it’s roughly agreed it only really blares about threats that check at least two boxes of being major, immediate, or physical), it always kicks in enough to register when the danger is bearing down...when it’s too late to actually do anything about it if “anything” is a more complex action than “dodge”.

Really? Not until the elevator doors started to open?

That Distinctive, Crunchy Spider Flavor

The spider-sense and its little pen squiggles go hand in hand with wallcrawling (and its unique and instantly identifiable associated body language) to make the Spider-Person powerset enduringly iconic and elevate characters with it from being generic mid-level super-bricks. Visually, but also in how it shapes the story.

I said it can share a narrative role with super strength. But when you end a fight and go home, super strength continues to make your character feel powerful, probably safer than they’d be otherwise, maybe dangerous.

The spider-sense just keeps blaring, “Something’s wrong! Something’s wrong! God, why aren’t you doing something about this!?”

Pretty morose thing to live with, for a safety net! Kind of a double edged sword you have there! Could be constantly being hyperattuned to problems would prime you for a negative outlook on life. Kind of seems like a power that would make it impossible for a moral person to take a day off, leading them into a beleaguered and resentful yet dutiful attitude about the whole superhero gig! Might build up to some of the core traits of this mythos, maybe! Might lead to a lot of fifteen minute retirement stories, or something. Might even be a built in ‘great responsibility’ alarm that gets you a main character who as a rule is not going to stop fighting until he physically cannot fight anymore.

Certainly not apropos of anything, just throwing this short lived barely-a-joke tagline up for fun.

One of my personal favorite things about stories with superpowers is keeping in mind how they cause the people who have them to act in unusual ways outside of fights, so when you tell me that these people have an entire extra sense that tells them when the gas in their house is leaking through a barely useful hot/cold warning system that never turns off, I’m like, eyes emojis, popcorn out, notebook open, listening intently, spectacles on, the whole deal.

It also contributes to Peter Parker’s personality in a way I really enjoy: It allows him to act like an irrational maniac. When you know exactly when a situation becomes dangerous and how much, normal levels of caution go out the window and absolutely nothing you do makes sense from an exterior standpoint anymore. That’s the good shit. I would like to see more exploration of how the non-Parker characters experiencing the world in this incredibly altered way bounce in response.

It’s also one of many tools in this franchise hauling the reader into relating more closely with the main character. The backbone of classic Spidey is probably being in on secrets only Peter and the reader know which completely reframe how one views the situation on the page. It’s just a big irony mine for the whole first decade. A convenient way to inform the reader and the lead that something is bad news that’s not perceivable to any other characters is youth-with-a-big-exciting-secret catnip.

Another point for tension, there, in that being aware of danger is not synonymous with being able to act on it. If there’s no visible reason for you to be acting strange, well...you’re just going to have to sit tight and sweat, aren’t you? Some gratuitous head wiggles never hurt when setting up that type of conflict.

Have I mentioned that they look cool? Simultaneously punchy and distinctive, with a respectable amount of leeway for artists to get creative with and still coming up with something easily recognizable? And pretty easy to intuit the meaning of even without the long-winded explanations common in the days when people wrote comics with the intent that someone could come in cold on any random issue and follow along okay, I think, although the mechanic has been deeply ingrained in popular culture for so long that I can’t really say for sure.

It was also useful back in the day when no artists drew the eyes on the Spider-Man mask as emoting and were conveying the lead’s expressions entirely through body language and panel composition. If you wiggle enough squiggles, you don’t need eyebrows.

Take This Handwave and Never Ask Me a Logistical Question Again

This ability patches plot holes faster than people can pick them open AND it can act as an excuse to get any plot rolling you can think of if paired with one meddling protagonist who doesn’t know how to mind their own business. Buy it now for only $19.99 (in four installments; that’s four installments of $19.99).

Why can a teenager win a six on one fight against other superhumans? Well, the spider-sense is the ultimate edge in combat, duh.

Why can Peter websling? Why doesn’t everyone websling? Well, the spider-sense is keeping him from eating flagpole when he violently flings himself across New York in a way neither man nor spider was ever meant to move.

How are we supposed to get him involved with the plot this week???? Well, that crate FELT dangerous, so he’s going to investigate it. Oh, dip, it was full of guns and radioactive snakes! Probably shouldn’t have opened that!

Yeah, okay, but why isn’t it fixing everything, then? Isn’t it supposed to be why Peter has never accidentally unmasked in front of somebody? ('Nother entry for this section, take a shot.) That’s crazy sensitive! How does he still have any problems!? Is everything bad that’s ever happened to characters with this powerset bad writing!? --Listen, I think as people with uncanny senses that can tell us whether we are in danger with accuracy that varies from incredible to approximate (I am talking about the five senses that most people have), we should all know better than to underestimate our ability to tune them out or interpret them wrong and fuck ourselves up anyway. I honestly find this part completely realistic.

*SLAPS ROOF OF SPIDER-SENSE* YOU CAN FIT SO MANY STORIES IN THIS THING

The spider-sense is a clean branch into...whatever. There is the exact right balance of structure and wishy-washiness to build off of. A sample selection of whatevers that have been built:

It’s sci-fi and spy gadgets when Peter builds technology that can interface with it.

It’s quasi-mystical when Kaine and Annie-May get stronger versions of it that give them literal psychic visions, or when you want to get mythological and start talking about all the spider-characters being part of a grand web of fate.

Kaine loses his and it becomes symbolic of a future newly unbound by constraints, entangled thematically with the improved physical health he picked up at the same time -- a loss presented as a gain.

Peter loses his and almost dies 782 times in one afternoon because that didn’t make the people he provoked when he had it stop trying to kill him, and also because he isn’t about to start “””taking the subway’’””’ “‘’“”to work”””’’” like some kind of loser who doesn’t get a heads up when he’s about to hit a pigeon at 50mph.

Peter’s starts tuning into his wife’s anxiety and it’s a tool in a relationship study.

It starts pinging whenever Peter’s near his boss who’s secretly been replaced by a shapeshifter and he IGNORES IT because his boss is enough of an asshole that that doesn’t strike him as weird; now it’s a comedy/irony tool.

Into the Spider-Verse made it this beautiful poetic thing connecting all the spider-heroes in the multiverse and stacked up a story on it about instant connection, loss, and incredibly unlikely strangers becoming a found family. It was also aesthetic as FUCK. Remember the scene where Miles just hears barely intelligible whispering that’s all lines people say later in the film and then his own voice very clearly says “look out” and then the room explodes?? Fuck!!!!

Venom becomes immune to it after hitchhiking to Earth in Peter’s bone juice and it makes him a unique threat while telling a more-homoerotic-than-I-assume-was-originally-intended story about violation and how close relationships can be dangerous when they go sour.

It doesn’t work on people you trust for maximum soap opera energy. Love the innate tragedy of this feature coming up.

IN CONCLUSION I don’t have much patience for writers who don’t take advantage of it, never mind feel they need to write around it.