#he can be nice sometimes & hes not the worst boss around. but ultimately hes still too concerned with profits to truly see us as people

[eldritch-spouse]

if all The Clergy had fallen in love with the admin…How do they all respond to suddenly seeing the empty husk Krulu turned them into?

just- this person who was smiling and laughing with them just yesterday is now…dead eyed and won’t even look at them anymore…

yeah sure the body’s eyes might turn and look at them but there isn’t any familiarity in them anymore…it’s dead…it isn’t them anymore…

anyways drink some water Pinnie ily <3

Well, ultimately, they have no say in what the boss does.

This was sudden for them. Krulu didn't announce it, he didn't proclaim that he was going to snuff the life out of you, that you'd never be the same anymore- He didn't tell anyone that he was going to kill the person they loved. It just happened, away from prying eyes, away from any possible help. From one day to another, all of them lose their loved one.

And the worst part of it all is that the staff has to act like this is normal, as if nothing has changed. Like none of this is extremely depressing and horrifying, as if they aren't this close to bawling their eyes out, forced to watch the corpse of their human lumber around by black veiny strings on their limbs as Krulu wears you like an old sock. A lot of them still call you Admin, they still act like you're there, even if all you do in response is twitch at the mention of your name or stare at them vapidly. No smile, no words, just a swaying, neutral pose while blackness drips off you in Krulu's attempts to preserve every inch of you. He can try to mimic your voice, speak like you, force expressions on- But they're never natural, never as they should be, and the monsters can't handle that.

They'd rather you weren't there at all.

Santi just holds you. He remembers all the times he teased you and you'd act tough and ubothered by his charm, with that lovely blush on your face that he will never see again.

Morell enjoyed your visits to his kitchen. You'd always want to "taste test" and chat it up with his bobbles, touch his knives. Can you even taste anything anymore? Can you see him?

Gallon still makes drinks for you when you're stationed near his bar. He gently urges your immaculate carcass to sit on a stool and slides you a drink that never gets touched, making one-sided conversation.

Patches can't really look at you anymore. But he's also too weak to let go, so the dullahan makes sure your body isn't decomposing and cries on your shoulder for hours.

For as much as Vinnel likes dolls, this isn't it. The jester doesn't say anything to you, his mask is always schooled into a completely blank expression as he laces bells in your hair and leaves.

Nebul is good at remaining impassive. He examines you quietly and respectfully, sometimes touching your hand to see if any memories survived/surfaced. All he can taste is coldness and the remnants of terror, betrayal.

Grimbly just cries. And he can't hide it, he just starts sobbing at the sight of you. Sometimes he runs away, other times he grabs you to dress you in nice outfits while he sniffles and smiles sadly.

Fank-e doesn't want to see you. He can't handle these feelings, so he just avoids you like the plague. His visor goes blank and he removes himself from the floor at high speeds.

Ludwig can finally open his eyes around you without fear of wounding you, but it's far from worth the price. He acts like you're still there, stil laughing with him. Because laughing is better than crying.

It's worth noting that all of them will become jaded and even more unhinged. Your job was to anchor them, to bring these monsters together and temper their wild shenanigans. Without you there, they'll just turn against each other to cope with the stress of knowing they can't harm Krulu for what he's done to you.

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Go Go Nekoma! Push it, Push it Nekoma! Coaches Chemisty (pt. 1)

Warnings: Angst, breakups, mention of virginity loss, Swearing

⚠️THIS FIC IS 18+ NSFW, MINORS DNI ⚠️

Word count: 6000+ (split into 3 parts)

"I'm really sorry Y/N. I just don't see this going anywhere. We are both leaving for college soon and going to different schools at that" your boyfriend of the past 2 years, Naoi Manabu said as he looked down to the ground kicking the dirt below his feet.

Your eyes watered as you drown out the words he's saying.

"B-but we can make this work. I can come see you on weekends and we can still see each other over holidays and school breaks" you plead trying to save a relationship you know is doomed.

The past weeks had been rough to say the least. Manabu had been growing distant from you. Making excuses and staying later for volleyball practice to avoid walking home with you. To say it hurt would be an understatement. It broke your heart.

"Y/N I'm sorry, I just can't do this" Manabu said as he looked up seeing tears welling in your eyes.

"I love you. Doesn't that mean anything?" You say sternly as tears roll down your cheeks.

"Y/N-" he starts saying as you place your hand in front of his face.

"No. Don't. I gave you everything. I stuck by you through it all! I stayed late to walk with you home from volleyball practice. I came to as many games as I could! I stayed up late helping you study! Fuck I gave you my virginity!" You scream.

The emotions are just too overwhelming.

"Y/N-" Manabu tries to say as you turn.

"No. I'm done. Good luck with your life Naoi" you turn away letting the tears flow as you start to jog away.

Almost on cue the sky opens up and rain pours down on your head. This is just like one of those awful romance novels. The girl gets dumped by the love of her life only for rain to continue to dampen her day. Just fucking fantastic.

This was quite literally the worst day of your life.

*8 years later*

"Y/N darling can you please water the flowers outside. I forgot to have Vee do it this morning" Your boss asks you politely with a smile.

"Of course! Let me just finish this arrangement and I'll get to watering. You can head home if you like Bella. I know your poor husband must be starving waiting for you" you giggle as Bella rolls her eyes.

"Let him die. No good worthless piece of crap. Couldn't even take the garbage out last night like I asked him too" Bella huffed as she walked over to your table.

"Stay single Y/N, trust me getting married is for the birds. Sure you meet some handsome young man and he charms his way into your life but the MINUTE he says 'I do' its all down hill from there" Bella says to you as she sternly shakes her finger.

You can't help but laugh. Bella is in her 70s and has been married to the same man for 50 years. He's really very kind and helpful in the shop when he comes and visits. Sometimes you think Bella expects too much from her husband but she's quick to shut you up.

"If you don't establish dominance Y/N, these men will walk all over you! You are young and beautiful. You don't want any man. And if you do, find one who will worship the ground you walk on. A man who will lay his coat over a pile of manure for you to walk. A man who will put your pleasure before his own" she says as she lectures you for the 10th time this week.

Bella loved you like her own daughter. Her son had moved away years ago and wasn't around much. She often invited you and Vee to have dinner with her and her husband. The dinners were entertaining to say the least. Usually ending with Bella ranting about how naive women now a days are or how shallow men are.

You enjoyed your time with Bella and her husband even if you didn't share the same sentiment as Bella did.

You hadn't been on a date in over a year. Every relationship seemed to go the same way. There was never a connection. You tried hard through college and after to find someone but always managed to come up empty.

After you graduated college, you took a high paying job in Tokyo. While you were more than qualified for the job, it provided you with little pleasure. It wasn't until you stumbled into Bella's flower shop that you found yourself truly happy.

Surrounded by beautiful flowers and arrangements. It was like heaven. You returned to Bellas weekly to get a bouquet. Soon you found yourself becoming friends with Vee and Bella. It wasn't until Bella mentioned needing help that you made the decision to quite your job and start anew. While the jobs pay was much less than you had become accustom too, your lifestyle really didn't change. You sold your suits in exchange for overhauls, shorts and t-shirts. You got accustomed to dirt below your fingers rather than finely manicure nails. Sure it was a big change but you were so much happier.

You're days were long and busy. Often starting early and closing late. You didn't have family close by, and no significant other so you often took extra shifts and offered to help so the other two ladies could enjoy their husband's.

Both ladies knew about your past dating relationships and the "one that got away" as they so ironically referred to it.

You couldn't lie to yourself. You often thought of Naoi Manabu.

What was he doing?

You were sure he had to be married by now. It had been 8 years since you had last seen him.

After you broke up, you avoided the man like the plague. It helped you only had a week before school ended and you graduated. It didn't seem like he was too worked up over your break up. You had spent far too many nights crying over him.

You felt like you had lost the love of your life.

You, in fact, had.

💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐🏐💐

"KENMAAAA" Coach Nekomata screams "stop running from the ball! We've been over this a million times!"

"I'd like to keep my limbs thanks" Kuzome Kenma whispers as he turns back to see Kuroo Tetsuro snickering.

"Kenma you act like you've never blocked a ball in your entire life" Kuroo teases the setter mercerously.

"Well I wouldn't have to if someone had read into the switch" Kenma glares at Kuroo who's smile drops.

"Alright that's enough" Naoi shouts as the boys return to their practice match.

He sits next to Coach Nekomata as he sighs "do you think they will be ready for nationals? We've only got a month before we leave. They've still got a long way to-"

"Naoi have faith. They will be ready. They are strong" Coach Nekomata smiles as he watches the boys continue to practice.

The game ends as the boys begin to pack up the gym.

Yaku Morisuke sighs as he finishes his stretches.

"Yaku what's got you bothered" Kuroo says as he kneels down to the team libero.

"I'm just thinking about Mai. I really like her but how do I even tell her. Confessing isn't really my strong suit" Yaku says as he rubs the back of his head.

"How about chocolates? Or maybe flowers?" Kuroo says with a smug grin "girls love flowers!"

"Tsk like you'd know Mr. Periodic Table" Kenma says non-chalantly as he walks by.

Yamamoto Taketora and Haiba Lev laugh at the rooster headed team captain as he glares at the 2nd year setter

"Are you even sure she likes short guys Yaku?" Lev laughs as the team shakes their head.

Yaku runs up to Lev kicking him straight in his back.

"Dumbass" Yamamoto shakes his head as he puts the remaining volleyballs away.

"Why don't we go check out that flower shop on the way home? What's it called like Bella's or something. It looks pretty nice" Kuroo says as he gestures to Yaku.

"Kai, you coming?" Kuroo says to his fellow third year and co-captain, Kai Nobuyuki.

"Sure I'll tag along" Kai speaks softly with a smile.

"Alright guys good practice! Remember we have practice this Saturday as well in preparation for nationals" Naoi shouts as the boys groan.

"And Kenma no skipping out. I'll have Kuroo drag you here if he has to" Naoi glares at Kenma who shakes rolls his eyes and huffs.

The boys showered and change, preparing to head to the flower shop as they wave their fellow teammates off.

Naoi boards the train heading home to his small apartment. To say things have gone to plan in his life would be an understatement. While he was doing what he loved, his love life was lacking to say the very least. He had tried numerous relationships, only to have them fail because he could never fully commit. He often found himself in a one-sided relationship where his partner would confess their love but he couldn't.

It became draining for the people he was with so he ultimately stayed single. He knew, in fact, what the problem was. The problem was that he had messed up the only relationship that mattered to him. He'd blown his chances with the only person whom he ever truly loved.

He had blown his chance with you.

When he decided to break up with you, he really thought it was for the best. He knew you had a bright future ahead of you and he couldn't help but feel like he was weighing you down. He thought it would be best to let go before it became impossible. Not that it wasn't hard to do. It broke him.

He found himself unable to date for years. You had been his first everything and you had been it. He eventually forced himself to move on. Having one night stands and short term relationships but never more. Commitment was hard when it wasn't you. He still kept the ring he had wanted to give you for your third anniversary.

Unfortunately he never got the chance to after he inevitably broke you heart. He often found himself staring at it, wondering how life would have been if he had in fact stayed with you.

By now you must be married with babies he thought to himself. It hurt to think about but he knew it would never be. You'd never be his. And he'd never be truly happy.

[dekusbrokenarms]

BNHA’s Family Motif and a how it predicts the future

I think the strongest evidence (in my very biased opinion) for All for One being Midoriya’s father is that it rounds out the family motif of the series quite nicely.

Family plays an extremely prominent part in the story. Unlike a lot of series where everyone besides maybe the most important characters is just a weird Schrodinger's orphan, even very minor characters are given familial roots. This motif serves the purpose of supporting the general theme of how societies are shaped - the answer in this case is through generational perpetuation of the status quo and the magnification of injustice overtime.

Some families of note for the motif are as follows:

Iida and his brother Tensei - a hero who comes from heroes. This is our first introduction to legacy heroism. It’s mild and benign, but overtime morphs to show us that caring for a hero leads to broken hearts. Broken hearts lead to reactions that bring out the worst in even good people.

All for One and his younger brother - a strong villain and a weak “hero”. This is our first introduction to families on different sides of this great societal battle. It’s the impetus for the entire series. 

Todoroki (Shouto) and Endeavor - a hero who comes from a bad hero. This is our introduction to the idea that not all heroes are good. Shouto is a legacy, but a begrudging one because of the abuse he suffers. It shows us how people with bad intentions can manipulate the current system for personal gains and harm a lot of people while still being heralded as a hero. 

Shigaraki (Tomura) and Shimura Nana - the villain grandson of a hero. This slowly eases us into the idea that heroes are the root of society’s problems, not the villains. It does this by showing how even heroes with good intentions hurt the people around them. But it gives us an out. Oh, but it was actually Tomura’s father who abused him. It was other heroes who failed him not Nana.  It lets us have our disbelief while planting the seeds that society is failing on a multi-generational level because of the hero system.

Overhaul and The Boss - an unethical villain raised by the ethical villain he defies.  The Boss raised Overhaul into the Yakuza, but he did so with a strict code of ethics. However, as society breaks down, Kai sees it as necessary to follow it down a path of deterioration to restore the glory of the Yakuza that The Boss once spoke of. The Boss even tries to stop him from going down this path, but Kai has been so warped by the society around him that he puts his father-figure into a coma.  Overhaul shows us that this generational deterioration isn’t 1:1 but rather a function of a greater society as well.

Shigaraki (Tomura) and All for One - the main villain raised by the greatest evil. We see the way All for One warps Tomura. How he uses his pain and grief to shape him into the perfect successor for his devious legacy. And Tomura is powerless to do anything about it because who else does he have in the world? The heroes already proved they do not cared about him.  Tomura’s relationship with AFO shows us how people cannot truly just make the choice to “be good” unless they are given outside opportunities to pursue justice and righteousness. These cycles can’t typically be broken from the inside.

Hawks and Takami the Thief - the hero with a villain father. This is the first introduction to a hero who comes from a villain. It’s laid out quite clearly that Hawks being a hero is only because of government intervention. But that intervention that should have saved him from a bad path ultimately we see is abusive and manipulative. Hawks has a warped sense of morals that is being intentionally perpetuated by the government. This shows us the issues are purposeful and systemic. 

Dabi (Todoroki Touya) and Endeavor - the villain raised by a hero. We’re no longer given any outs to suspend our disbelief that heroes are causing these problems. Dabi’s war path is a direct result of Endeavor’s selfish manipulation of the hero system to maintain his innocence despite his brutalization of his family. Dabi is the culmination of everything wrong with this society. He was failed not only by his family, but by every person along the way who saw him suffering and chose silence. 

Now what? The story isn’t over. That’s a really bleak thing to leave a message at. It offers all the problems and none of the solutions. Which is okay. Sometimes that’s just how motifs are.

However, I think a reveal of All for One being Midoriya’s father would round out the motif quite nicely. 

One, we end where we began: with All for One’s family.

Two, it offers us some respite from the bleak message that society is fundamentally broken and there’s nothing we can do.

Izuku would be the world’s greatest hero born from the world’s greatest evil. He is a message in how it is the choices of those around us who shape our environment and therefore our minds as children and even into adulthood. This isn’t a story of blood determinism. This is a story about overcoming the faults of a broken society to build something better in it’s place. 

Izuku is driven by an intrinsic sense of justice. However, he was also aided from his position of inferiority in society by someone who they themselves also just got lucky to meet the right person at the right time. Izuku is much more the child of Inko, All Might, and One for All than he is of All for One. And he’s only that because those are the people who shaped him into the hero he’s becoming. 

With that addition, the motif is rounded off. It’s come full circle through every iteration it can to all add up to the idea that society is broken, but it can’t be fixed through the good deeds of one person. Its going to require systemic, generational change. And that change has to start now. 

[bullshittierlists]

Spoiler Warning!!! - This review will contain spoilers for all of SDR2 and the first chapter of DRV3 as well as slight spoilers for DR1. You’ve been warned.

I see no god up here other than me

Gundham Tanaka- His name is GUNDHam TaNAKA

Sonia Nevermind- This is my third time typing this rant. I literally don’t know why people hate her so much?? There are two main arguments that I’ve come across. The first is that she is boring and shouldn’t have survived, but that’s the same as Asahina and everyone seems to love her. (Don’t get me wrong, I also love her, but all she had were donuts and her relationship with Sakura) She’s just a cute girl with some occult-ish quirks and I don’t see why that has to be such a bad thing. The other, more prevalent, argument is that since she’s at the center of the infamous love triangle, she must be the root of all its problems. It’s really frustrating when people blame her for Kazuichi’s faults. I’ll talk more about Kazuichi later, but his terrible qualities are a result of his own actions, and Sonia shouldn’t be blamed for being the object of his affections. It’s honestly blaming the victim and I’m sick of it. Obviously, she hasn’t treated him perfectly and I understand why people are frustrated with it. The only example of this, though, is in chapter four when she goes back-and-forth between treating him coldly and praising him when she should’ve just rejected him a long time ago. However, I think I can understand where she’s coming from in this chapter. I think it was kind of a Shuichi/Kaede situation. She had already figured out that Gundham was the killer, but didn’t want to admit it to herself, and definitely didn’t want to tell everyone else even though he was more than ready to admit it. Therefore, she treated Kazuichi coldly whenever he was getting close to the truth (or treating her poorly) and praised him whenever he was leading the group in the wrong direction. I don’t have any evidence that these were the times she treated him this way, but that’s how I remember it. Anyway, Kazuichi should stop being a creep, and apologists should stop rationalizing it. Her one slip-up in this case when she was panicked and worried for her closest friend does not make up for all of the other times Kazuichi treated her terribly.

You’re the best

Fuyuhiko Kuzuryuu- Boss baby boss baby boss baby. Also, he’s a fantastically fleshed out character and his relationship with Peko makes me cry literally every time :)  I just wish his character development had been a bit more stretched out, instead of on-the-spot like it was. I also kinda wish his sudden development had been a result of the despair disease, but you can’t have everything.

Nagito Komaeda- Recently, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about how SimpleFlips calls softlocking in SM64 “gay baby jail” and Komaeda makes me think of that.

Chiaki Nanami- I’m not quite as attached to her as everyone else seems to be, but I totally see the appeal. Cute girl, cute backpack, and plot-relevant??? Incredible.

Ibuki Mioda- She’s just so fun. I don’t typically like characters who are loud for the sake of being loud, but I can’t help but love her. This was the first game I fully voice-acted for fun (the girls, at least) and Ibuki was definitely one of my favorites. It just feels good to yell sometimes, you know?

Hey, I think you’re pretty cool, I like you a lot

Peko Pekoyama- I’m a simple woman. I think of chapter two, I cry. At least, the epilogue of that case. I wasn’t the biggest fan of Twilight Syndrome Murder Case and I definitely didn’t like the, albeit fake, serial killer twist. It didn’t feel natural and just felt bad. Loved hearing Sonia say “Sparkling Justice!”, though.

Hiyoko Saionji- I totally understand why people hate her. I get it, I do. But I just can’t bring myself to hate her. She’s obviously not a good person, but I have shit taste. Byakuya and Kokichi aren’t good people, but everyone loves them anyway. I just think she’s so funny and terrible, I can’t help but get attached. I’m not usually the type to like little sister characters, or even bullies, but she’s just such a perfect combination of the two that I can’t help but love her. I also obviously am not the biggest fan of Mikan (I’ll explain, I swear) so the bullying didn’t really affect me too much.

Hajime Hinata- He’s the protagonist. I don’t really know what to tell you. I used to believe in Hajime supremacy, but I’m starting to understand the Shuichi supremacy now, so idk, Hajime might end up lower after I finish V3.

Byakuya Togami/Ultimate Imposter- He’s just such a good guy. I know that the real Byakuya is an ass, but the imposter is so nice and supportive. I can’t even take him seriously as Byakuya anymore because of how supportive he is. The real Byakuya could never. I just finished his last free-time event and he really feels like his own person now, which I can imagine is all he’s ever wanted. He isn’t Byakuya to me anymore, he’s himself. I just don’t have a unique name to call him by.

I remember you

Mahiru Koizumi- Her photography thing was cute, I liked it a lot. I don’t know the basic stance people take on her crush on Hajime, but I thought it was really cute and believable. I don’t know if I ship it, but I can see it in canon. It makes sense and works well.

Akane Owari- She’s a jock. I feel pretty neutral about jocks unless they have another prevalent thing that fits my interests.

Nekomaru Nidai- Again, a jock. I’m just not the biggest fan. I know that his backstory makes up for a lot of his inherent jock boringness, but I just can’t get into him as much as some other people can. I definitely see the appeal, though.

Usami/Monomi- She’s a mascot. Cool. Honestly preferred Monophanie.

You are literally the worst. Actual scum. Leave this planet and never return

Mikan Tsumiki- I told you I’d explain. First, I need to explain some personal reasons I didn’t like her, rather than objective characteristics. Like I mentioned with Ibuki, I voice-acted the whole game with each of the girls. Never before has a voice physically affected me as much as Mikan’s. In order to make her voice so high and quiet, I have to close my throat and tighten my jaw. It makes my throat, jaw, and head hurt all at the same time and it feels awful. The only time this wasn’t the case was during her breakdown and that’s because I couldn’t make her say those things with that voice, it didn’t make sense. Which brings me to my next point: her breakdown. I didn’t like it. At all. It wasn’t interesting and it didn’t make sense. I know that everyone else was sad because she was bullied a bunch and began to romanticize it, and yeah, I feel bad, but it wasn’t enough to make me like her. Her breakdown made a little more sense after watching the anime, believe it or not, but it was still not great. She could’ve been easily redeemed for me if she had a different motive for killing Hiyoko. I don’t really have an opinion on whether or not Ibuki should’ve lived longer, or even survived, but I definitely agree with Hiyoko dying during the third case, I just wish the motive had been different. It would’ve been so powerful if Mikan’s despair disease had made her remember her past with the bullying, and then she realized how much she hated it. She started to notice how Hiyoko was treating her and finally snaps. She kills Hiyoko in cold blood on purpose, instead of on accident, and covers it up in a more reasonable way instead the literal impossibility that we actually got. Then, in her breakdown, instead of pleading for forgiveness, she tries to rationalize her actions and convince everyone else that she was in the right by killing her. It would’ve been much more interesting and would’ve made much more sense. I also wish she had made use of Ibuki’s despair disease (which made her gullible) and commanded her to hang herself instead of staging the other thing, because it was a lot of extra work that was really unnecessary and it would’ve made more use of the despair disease other than a plot contrivance for Junko’s entrance. This kind of turned into my review for the third chapter, but still. Killers are always more fleshed out in their respective chapters, so their existence is often pretty much tied to the events of that chapter, since everything typically revolves around them. I might as well add here that her execution was really basic and underwhelming, but as far as I’ve seen, I’m not alone in that opinion.

Monokuma- It’s kind of an ironic hate with Monokuma. Sure, he makes me laugh, but he’s also fuel for the killing game, so... I don’t know. He pisses me off sometimes, but he’s also pretty funny at other times.

Kazuichi Souda- This is basically a continuation of the Sonia rant, so here we go. I would like to preface this by saying that in the context of Kazuichi’s free-time events, he’s one of my favorite characters. However, in the main story, I placed him here. I would normally average out my opinions of his different forms, but his optional events don’t make up for his actions that are required to be experienced. While some of his quips toward Sonia made me laugh, they still made me uncomfortable to some extent. It’s honestly frustrating to see him try so hard when she obviously isn’t interested in him. Some people choose to see this as an underdog story, but I think it’s just annoying and low-key creepy. He’s constantly fetishizing Sonia and keeps making moves on her even after she treats him coldly. He isn’t brave or cool for doing this, like the media would like you to believe, he’s creepy and persistent, and not in a good way. While I do agree that Sonia should’ve just turned him down from the very beginning, I still don’t put all of that blame on her. I’m sure she’s had her fair share of creepy guys making advances on her and she’s just had to take it, since she’s a princess and it would hurt her noble reputation. Kazuichi should also be able to think for himself and see that she’s not interested. It shouldn’t be completely up to her to get him to stop. He should be able to take a hint and back off, whether she tells him directly or otherwise. She definitely hints to him that she’s not interested in some of the later chapters, but he completely ignores it and keeps trying anyway. I wouldn’t have such a problem with him if he didn’t represent a very real issue that we are facing in the world today. Nice guys will, unfortunately, always be plaguing our society and it doesn’t look like they’re getting any better. It doesn’t help that the media continually raises them up and convinces them that they are in the right, even though they definitely aren’t. No man is entitled to any woman and people need to stop sympathizing with men who are rejected and keep pushing. In almost every post I’ve seen from Kazuichi apologists, they explain that Sonia should’ve given him a chance. Really? She did give him a chance. She gave him several chances, in fact, more than she was entitled to. The first time she acted coldly towards him was at the end of chapter 4. That’s four entire chapters, plus a prologue, of chances that she gave him. She was always polite and talked to him when he approached her. Maybe she saw this as her noble duty, but either way, she didn’t reject him outright the first time she saw him. She tried to be friends, he was creepy, and then she started to hint that she wasn’t interested. This is a natural progression for her character and is in no way wrong of her. He is not entitled to her attention and should learn to back off when he’s not wanted. The other big reason I see that people don’t like Sonia is because she basically ruined any chance of Kazuichi and Gundham having any sort of relationship other than rivals. Again, it’s not Sonia’s fault that they both liked her. It’s also not her fault for choosing Gundham over Kazuichi, since he treated her respectfully and they also shared interests. She also didn’t need a specific reason to choose Gundham over Kazuichi, because she is free to make her own choices based on anything she wants, including nothing. Even though I said all of this, I do actually wish that Gundham and Kazuichi could’ve had some kind of relationship. I think it could’ve been very interesting, but it didn’t need to be devoid of Sonia. I think it would’ve been just as interesting for Gundham and Kazuichi to talk with Sonia as it would’ve been for her to introduce them to each other more formally and get them to become friends. I think it could’ve been fun for Kazuichi to have a little playful resentment towards Gundham for getting the girl, but instead, he went completely off the deep end. If he had just backed off like I suggested earlier, maybe they could’ve had that relationship that everyone longed for. I am also obligated to say here that I think all of his free-time events were absolutely adorable and the fact that he gets motion sickness is the single best piece of comedy every written.

Teruteru Hanamura- I’ve been doing a lot of rants and I’m kind of tired of it. You know why I don’t like him, I don’t need to explain it. He’s shitty, blah blah blah. His tiny bit of plot with his mother didn’t really do anything to redeem him for me and I just plain don’t like him. Sorry, not sorry.

Wow, this took way too long. I forgot I had so many opinions on these characters. I would’ve said a lot more about Gundham, but it’s kind of my thing here to say more about my second favorite characters and characters that I don’t like than my favorite characters, and I knew there were going to be several rants, so I decided to keep his very short. My definitive favorites list is Gundham and then Sonia, with a pending Fuyuhiko in third. The four dark devas are the best characters and I’m so upset they weren’t on here. I would apologize for my Kazuichi rant, since it had two parts, both of which were very long, but it all needed to be said because I’m sick and tired of Kazuichi apologists. They keep coming across my dash and I would like to be rid of them. If you like Kazuichi, that’s fine, I actually quite like him, too, you just need to acknowledge his faults instead of just rationalizing them in a bad way. If someone wants to send me reasons why Sonia is terrible, I’ll listen, because I’m sure I’m probably being a bit of a Sonia apologist, although I feel like her actions were a lot less impactful. Sondam supremacy, thank you, goodnight.

[mr-chrisevans]

for the drabble requests could you do number 8 with chris please!

Here we go! I actually had a great time writing this so I hope you enjoy it! More to come tomorrow in all likelihood but check out the original post here for more prompts.

Title: Happy Holidays, I Guess

Pairing: Chris Evans x reader

Prompt: “Look, I only came here for the Christmas cookies.”

You sat in your car outside the house for a few minutes, trying to find the will to go inside. The last thing you wanted to do was go to a holiday party filled with people from your hometown, but Chris insisted you come with him. Your phone buzzed in your pocket and you quickly pulled it out to see a text from Chris.

Chris

I can see your car outside.

Get in here or I will pull you out of the car myself don’t try me.

Y/N

God you are the worst.

You sighed heavily and finally got out of the car, carefully making your way up the driveway in the snow to make it to the front door. Before you could even knock Chris was standing in the doorway beaming.

“Y/N, you are the most stubborn person I’ve ever met, but I’m really glad to see you.” He pulled you inside and shut the door behind you.

“Look, I only came here for the Christmas cookies.” You shrugged off your coat and let him hang it up for you in the coat closet. “The fact that I let you convince me to do this is a testament to your skills of persuasion.”

“I know our hometown friends aren’t exactly your favorite people, but we can spend tonight making fun of all the people who were really shitty in high school and are now horrifically boring.”

“With that I guess I’m not only here for the cookies.” You joked.

Chris laughed and wrapped an arm around you and lead you into the kitchen. “Let’s get you something to drink because I think you’re going to need it.”

The second you got to the kitchen you were bombarded by hellos and questions about how you’ve been doing since you moved and a million other questions that you had absolutely zero desire to answer but had to be nice. Chris discreetly handed you a beer as you started talking to Kelly, the girl who hated you for two years because you beat her out for the lead part in the fall play sophomore year. “Yeah, I really love New York it’s a fantastic city.” You smiled at her. “How about you, what have you been doing?” You asked politely with no actually interest in what her answer was going to be.

“Well, George and I got married earlier this year so that’s been the most exciting thing ever.” She beamed at you. Out of the corner of your eye you saw Chris mouth ‘Not surprised’, and you tried not to laugh as she kept talking. “Not nearly as exciting as being a writer in New York though.” She said with the tiniest edge of sarcasm in her voice.

“Well, you know, everyone’s got something don’t they. It’s been great talking to you Kelly but I think we’ve got to make some rounds and say hi.” You quickly excused yourself and grabbed Chris’ arm and pulled him with you into a corner of the living room. The fake smile you had plastered on your face quickly melted off. “I’ve been here all of fifteen minutes and it is already insufferable.” You took a long sip of your beer and looked at all the people sitting in the living room. “I don’t even see any cookies here.”

“Wait here, I will be right back.” He walked back into the kitchen and left you leaning on the back windows by yourself, observing the people you went high school with as they steadily got drunker and devolved into their high-school selves. “Voila!” Chris exclaimed as he walked back over to you, an entire tray of decorated cookies in hand. “I promised cookies and now I have delivered.”

“Oh thank god.” You took a cookie off the tray and bit into it immediately. “That’s a damn good cookie.” You said as you chewed.

“Well thank you, I made these myself.” He said with a smile on his face.

“You are such a liar I saw these exact cookies at the grocery store the other day.”

“Okay, maybe I didn’t make them, but I did buy them so that counts for something.”

You chuckled at him and continued eating your cookie. “How come we never got invited to parties like this in high school? I mean, we weren’t that weird, were we?” You asked.

“We definitely weren’t weirder than any of the other theater kids, but I’m pretty sure Kelly had you on the party blacklist after the Midsummer Night’s Dream debacle. And since I was your best friend they stuck me on there too.”

“I fucking knew it.” You laughed. “She never could have pulled off Hermia though, let’s be honest.”

“Being Hermia was probably your finest hour of high school theater. Perfect performance, if you ask me.”

“I can’t believe her and George are still together. How on Earth did that happen?”

“I know, it makes literally no sense.” Chris said. “I swear I heard he cheated on her when they were in college with some girl he met when he went abroad for a semester.”

You laughed. “I would not put it past him, I mean look at him now.” George sat perched on the arm of the sofa talking very animatedly with a girl who was definitely not Kelly. “What a prick.”

Chris looked at his watch for a second, sighed, and turned to you. “I think we’ve been here long enough, shall we go for an Irish exit?”

“I would love nothing more.” You agreed excitedly and quickly finished your beer before following him out to the front hall. You both pulled on your coats as you walked out the door. “Shit.” You said, stopping on the driveway. “I should have grabbed another cookie.”

Chris stopped for a second and looked down the street, thinking. “Toss me your keys, I have an idea.”

“You want to drive my car?” You asked skeptically.

“Oh come on. I’m a much better driver than I was in high school.” You hesitated still before finally tossing him the keys. “Thank god, it’s fucking cold out here.” He ran over to the car and threw himself into the driver’s seat.”

“So where exactly are we headed?” You asked as he started the car and pulled back on to the street.

“It’s a surprise. Trust me you’ll love it.” The two of you drove for a few minutes in a comfortable silence while cheesy Christmas songs played on the radio. Before too long, Chris pulled into the parking lot of the old diner in town and turned off the car. “Well, surprise!”

“Shit, I haven’t been to Jack’s in ages. I don’t even remember the last time I was here.”

He got out of the car and gestured for you to do the same. “Let’s go, I’m starving.”

You walked inside the building, the warm air and smell of coffee greeting you. “Go ahead and take a seat anywhere, we’ll be over to help you in a second.” The woman behind the counter told the two of you. You both smiled and made your way to a booth. There were only a few other people there so it was pretty quiet and you managed to snag the booth you used to always sit at. 

“I don’t even have to look at a menu, I know exactly what I am getting.” You said as you slid into the booth opposite Chris.

He grinned. “I knew you would love this. You can never beat a late night trip to Jack’s”

“God, we used to do this all the time. No wonder my acne was so bad, Jesus.” You joked and the two of you laughed.

“We were definitely here way too often. That’s probably why everyone thought we were weird. They were out getting drunk in someone’s unfinished basement and we were here trying to see who could drink a milkshake the fastest.”

“And I beat you every time.” You said proudly.

“I was just very sensitive to cold, it’s not my fault.” He responded, trying to defend himself.

“Excuses, excuses.” He tried to continue his defense but the woman behind the counter had made her way over to take your order. 

She set down two glasses of water on the table before pulling out a little notepad from her apron. “What can I get started for you two tonight?” Her thick Boston accent made you feel even more at home in the diner.

“I will have the classic grilled cheese and tomato soup please.” 

She turned to Chris. “And for you?”

His eyes lingered on the menu for a moment before he looked back at the waitress. “I will have the cheeseburger and fries and we will split a chocolate milkshake.” He looked at you and smiled as she wrote down the order.

“I’ll be right back with all that. Anything else I can get for you besides water?”

“No I think we’re all set,” you replied. “Thank you.” 

“I think we’ve talked enough about the past tonight, it’s time to move on to the present.” Chris said, holding his glass of water between is hands as he leaned into the table. “How’s New York been lately?”

You sighed and played with your straw. “I mean, don’t get me wrong I absolutely love the city, but sometimes it can be a lot.”

He nodded along with you. “I totally get it. Work has been okay though, right?” He continued. You chewed on your lip a little and stared into your glass of water. “I take that as a no.” He added and leaned back into the booth.

You stared up at him. “No, it’s definitely not given that I no longer have a job.”

“Shit, Y/N. I’m so sorry.”

You tried to shrug it off. “It’ll be okay. I’ll figure something out soon.”

“That’s why you didn’t want to come to the party, wasn’t it?”

“And he puts the pieces of the puzzle together.” You lifted your glass to him in mock cheers. “I wasn’t exactly chomping at the bit to tell people here that I was now officially unemployed.”

“Right before Christmas too. Fucking rough.”

“We always knew my boss was a dick and now we have the ultimate proof.” You joked.

“If he didn’t live in an apartment in New York I would say we should egg his house.”

“Damn, that would’ve been amazing.” You both laughed.

“Well, let’s toast,” he said, gesturing for you to lift your glass with him, “to things being even marginally less shitty next year.” You clinked your glasses together and took a sip of your water. 

“That is definitely something I can drink to.” 

[mikkock]

Hey hi your murder mystery art is super totally cool and amazing and I'd like to Extra! Extra! hear all about it *rattles bells*

haha wow i cant believe ud ask me THIS! unbelievable! now im gonna have to make a long post!

all info under the cut cause im kind like that ♥

For reasons I felt like making a Fancy Ass murder mystery story, with you know, hella complex secret storylines and everyone having drama and shit, and one person died but the more the story goes the less people care about who did the murder and the more they want tHE JUICY DETAILs. X and Y had an afFAIR you say!!! well that’s thousands time more interesting than that murder that happened, who cares about the culprit its not like any of us are going anywhere anyway! tell me more about the marital issues!

The ultimate Vibes are Clue (the game, ya kno, it had a movie too, and that movie was shot with three different endings -fun fact- so that movie theatres could play one alternatively that way people wouldnt get spoiled or even if they did they would not get the ending they were spoiled or even if all three were spoiled you couldnt know which ending you were getting anyway, big dick move, cause its an old movie and film is expensive, also that movie stupid and campy, ALSO I ONLY LEARNED MAKING THIS AU THAT IN ENGLISH THE GAME’S CALLED “CLUE” wE CALL IT CLUEDO therefore my wip playlist is called cluedo. because. fuck it.)(i just have an emotional attachment to that game i even had a cd rom video game version and it was the spookiest shit for a 6 years old, trust me, i played it so much tho i didnt even understand the rULES i was just making scenarios like gathering the characters in rooms n making conversations outloud cause honestly the banter is the best part of a murder mystery) ANYWAY that sure is a whole paragraph of tangent. 

BUT YE the inspo from the Clue game. you can tell it from the Colours obviously, everyone’s colour codded.(even everyone’s name is colours as well you’ll see it’s real dang fancy! im just remaking that game but with 2932020 characters and more behind the scenes drama and also for gay people.)

So BASIC PLOT!

Sir Belyy, the dude in white, is The Rich Powerful Respected Fancy Boss, and he throws a Fancy Reception Party with his closest friends and associates to celebrate the opening of a new branch of his business. All the lads gather in his wonderful little very isolated mansion in the middle of nowhere, like ok he got a death wish or something or he’s very trusting of his business partners, but not a good move, cause in the middle of the reception, as A Phat Storm Starts (for plot convenience, we going with a campy vibe if you couldnt tell), his body is found, it’s awful, there’s a killer on the loose! All the guests gather, and attempt to maybe contact the authorities, to not avail, since The Storm ya know, phone lines are Broken my dude. Its clear that the culprit is among them, since no one could have entered the house, or left it (cuz once again, ThE sTORm). And then it’s all about interrogating each other, distrust, alliances and betrayal, revealing one’s deepest secrets when they form an alibi and revealing someone else’s deepest secret for they could be a motive! Meanwhile there’s a dead body in the mansion just chillin there. 

.

So as I mentioned, I changed everyone’s name to be colour related (or ya know, food or flowers of that colour cause sometimes a colour in a language would not work as a name given the way names work in that culture all that jazz) which is the trippiest thing cause tHATS NOT YALLS USUAL NAMES but its fun (also changed so many ages hgfhs it was a trip)(still no one’s really old i guess i got boomerphobia). The “Cast” is clearly the most important part, and if ur a True “My OCs” Connaisseur (hdfghd the most useful skill to have, knowing *MY* Charactersdshgd) you may have recognised some faces and can already read some vibes and predict who will be progressing the plot and who will be yelling at people throwing accusations ghdfgd.

(god i wish i hadnt slacked off making the portraits of everyone in that AU i only have 3 tho that’s so sad so ill just make little sketches just cause <3 only text??? i got too many hoes with no attention span for that)

.

Sir BELYY (the one who dIEs lmao)

(bust shot missing the fact that this man is the tallest beefiest lad around)

Intimidating, powerful, composed, wealthy, carries the name of a family who has generations of control to it’s reputation, he’s The Man that hoes who believe in the economy wishes they were. As in, the “self made” man who only just happened to benefit from having a wealthy background to uplift his plans. In his youth, he wanted to prove his worth, seperated himself from his father, started a business, that business became big, then got attached to the family’s business, bam back to square one but with Reputation now. There seemed to be VERY big tension between him and The Father, some speculate it had to do with his unknown mother, and some family drama there, and it never got resolved as old man Belyy died quite young (the jUICY speculations are that current sir Belyy mURDEREd old man sir Belyy, fucked up if true!). People love him though in general, as he has that reputation of “Cold Lad With a Gold Heart” aka he takes people under his wings, donates, doesnt treat his employees like the absolute worst garbage etc... you know, he’s rich and a half decent person, so obviously he’s an angel on earth. But does it matter though, he’s dead! that’s the concept of the story!  

Mr.GRAY (the grey guest)(who could have guessed from the name)

He’s one of Sir Belyy’s oldest employees, and benefits from a high rank in the company. But, sadly for him, he’s been stagnating lately, as newer, youngest employees seem to have Belyy’s favours, and are his prefered associates for important tasks and positions. Therefore he has Some Bitterness, Some Salt, Some Distaste, some unbriddled but professionally muted hatred for Specific people in the company. He can be an antagonistic figure, but the amount of time he spent in Belyy’s circle grants him an immense quantity of information about the man, but mostly, about his business. Anything about the company’s history, dealings, operations, he’s aware of, either having been told of them, or having snooped around to obtain, immune to being questioned due to his legitimacy in the company.

Mr.LIM (the green guest)

Remember when it was said that Gray had beef with some employees cause they were younger and rose to high ranks faster than him and became Belyy’s favourite over him? Yeah well here comes the one he hates the most for that (ofc he’s belyys fave cuz he’s Mine <3) Our lad caught Belyy’s attention for his Exploits in like, em fancy high school tournaments of smart people, it’s a thing its ridiculous, making kids compete on Smart stuff for the pride of their schools n shit, well homie Lim got clout when doing that, and Belyy was extremely interested cause that kid’s main thing was how “this young lad got mad strategic skills tf are u a war general or smth how fancy”, and that’s a coveted skill for ruthless business. So as soon as the kid is an adult, bam, join the company my dude. And because he’s just that Cool n Sexy ofc he met the expectations Belyy had, and old man Belyy got attached cuz it do be such a young lad, a kid, mentally i am adopting. That’s how you get a youngas employee becoming the right hand man of one the phatest CEO in a few years, and even make your way into being a Good Lad on top of a business partner. And that’s how you get Gray to hate your ass too. Now though, fine lad with mad strategic skills, rising to power that fast, and even infiltrating Belyy’s private life? If I were Gray I’d call suspicion there’s surely some shady stuff going no way we’re just dealing with a nice fella who just happens to work good and be friendly to the boss right?

Herra MUSTA (the black “guest”)

Belyy’s newest butler, assistant, house keeper, he multitasks. His family has been tied to Belyy’s for generations, fullfilling roles of help, but also of confidents. He’s been the head butler since only a short time, after his mother passed, and as such is still “in training” you could say, despite having served the family his whole life. There are rumours going around that the contract tying his family to the Belyys may end on his generation and need to be resigned. He known the manor by heart, and carries all keys to any locked room (and mostly, The Master Key, cause in an old house, some doors may be locked beyond all still existing keys). He also knows secrets of the family that no one else knows, but good luck getting em out of him, he’s under contract not to divulge em bro.

Mr. HASSEL (the brown guest)

Belyy’s childhood friend. They grew up together, pictured their dreams together, sworn to flourish together, worked together when starting the company, and then Hassel felt he should create his own thing instead of depending on his friend’s existing wealth, and while Belyy’s business went wild, his never took off. They still stayed very close, despite the massive difference in wealth. Belyy considers him his closest friend, the one person he can trust (fucked if hassel did the murder lemme tell u). So of course, he’s still always invited to the Prestigious meet ups where’s he’s free to feel uncomfortably out of place amongst all the rich and powerful people that he could have been a part of had he had a tiny bit of luck and a small loan from a wealthy relative...People LOVE saying he’s still hanging out with Belyy so much to leech off his wealth, cause of course they do! His bestie status means he has a whole different brand of information of Belyy than his butler does, the Most Intimate Stuff, the Childhood Stuff. The Juicy stuff ya kno...But Bro Code, its all secrets...

Sir RUZH (the red “guest”)

Deep dive into Belyy’s personnal history, the man has many employees working at his house keeping it working, clean, ya know the vibe. They live on the premice, one has a kid who’s just a Joy to be around, all the employees just vibe with that lad, he’s just a born socialite you know? Belyy gets to meet the kid, and also hella vibes with him. And because human are influenced by their feelings, he gives the kid’s mum a bit of a preferencial treatment, in the tasks she fullfils and all, til he gives her an important-as mission, and then there’s an accident n mama dies, and now Belyy got guilt and there’s this kid who just Vibes. So naturally the move is to take the kid in, and play on how his vibes are just so clean, and raise him to be the Perfect Entertainer for guests, bam, its soft power propaganda, if everyone loves your now son’s vibes, they associate them with you too. And also that’s kind of a clean rep, the selfless man who adopted his employee’s son to not have him fall to the streets, how heartwarming. Not at all traumatising for the kid too I bet! But anyway now the lad is just the most charming young adult, mission accomplished. He’s always present at any reception, ready to work his people-pleasing magic, and then going back to a gigantic empty manor to wait for the next and curate the perfect vibes to meet the expectations of dad. On the plus side, he knows everyone, and those who don’t know him cannot wAIT to, he’s just got that aura ya know. People skills for miles, and the insider knowledge that comes with being the son of the CEO, all this hidden behind the personna of the fresh innocent bashful party lad. 

Dr.FEN (the pink guest)

Do not get mistaken by the title, he’s no doc, he will not diagnose you with anything, he just studied long enough to get the sexy title. Study in what? Haha. Nothing shady. Just toxicology. He’s a world reknown poison expert basically, that’s his main thing. Oh but don’t worry, of course studying substances that may kill people is only for finding out how to cure them from it of course. What brings him in this circle? Simple, Belyy may or may not have started to suffer some weird illness that no doctor has been able to find the source, let alone cure, of. Him and Dr.Fen had met previously on some event, cause some rich man also love flexing how smart they are and attending sciencey shit, and he was contacted as sort of a shot in the dark. The lad does know how to treat some things, maybe he can treat The Mysterious Unwellness, since no traditional doctor was able to. He knows science, he’s trustworthy, bam, you’re hired to work on My Case Exclusively. Thanks to this, Dr.Fen has access to the whole health history of Belyy and his family, to many mANY dangerous substances, and also has The Respect of the hoes at the party. He HAS a doctorate after all. Epitome of knowledge. And he’s a kind to people and he wears pink like dang how can you nOT pour your wHOLE trust in him. 

Sir MOREVITCH (the blue guest)

Youngest son of an affluent family, who used to be close the the Belyys. The two families fell slightly appart after the death of the previous head of the family on the Belyy side, as they do nOT vibe with the current one (well current, til the first night of the story ig). But, unbeknownst to all, one strong link had been kept, between the youngest of the Morevitch, who dislikes his family and wishes to emancipate himself from them while also assuring his depart will not throw him basically in the streets, and our beloved Sir Belyy, who also dislikes the Morevitches but loves to see the rebellious energy of the young one (and ya know, my enemy’s enemy’s my friend or however you say that). So Belyy’s basically offering tips and helping Morevitch plant himself safely out of his family’s grasp, but it’s all taking quite some time isn’t it, slow and steady is fine until your parents try to arrange a wedding to secure more political power, and suddenly it is all quite urgent that you escape that situation because No Thank You Parents I Do Not Want A Wife I’m Too Young And Also Huh <3 Stuff You Won’t Like Hearing For Sure <3. The people who know they’re working together also know that it’s a big point of argument between them, the difference in vision between “you have to go slow and steady to be safe” and “I have very limited time to get to that safety anyway so I gotta risk it” “hell no you cant i can’t follow through if we’re going that quick that’ll put me at risk and you’re family’s gonna send gunmen to take me down”. A mess, it’d be much quicker to just obtain a few million bucks out of nowhere and bolt for sure...

Mr.GANG (the orange guest)

Morevitch’s trusted assistant. He hears the concerns, he helps the secret businesses, he lies to the parents about the whereabouts, and mostly, he’s basically a budget spy. The lad got that talent where people just don’t notice him popping behind them and catching all their dirty laundry as they confess it to someone they trust, and he always manages to break into places, get the intel he was looking for, and escape, putting everything back into place as if no one was ever there (wonder where he got all those skills from damn!). But what he’s even better at is being sneaky not only to benefit his boss, but himself as well <3. If he can catch all the info in the world, go any places, nothing’s stopping him from playing double agent and also going behind Morevitch’s back. After all the assistant life isn’t the most glamourous and rewarding, who can blame him from going and using his talents to build his own little exit route, right? Everybody sort of knows he cannot be trusted, but also no one managed to really incriminate or stop him, and as much as he has tea on many people, no has it on him, but bet once found that would be heeeella juicy.

M.MOUTARDE (the yellow guest)(this one is straight up the name of the yellow player in the french edition of clue too when i say its my main vibe)

Moutarde was an influential celebrity. He had a big break acting in a movie that the whole country stanned so hard they basically turned the script into their national anthem (they would have if it was a true democracy where the people really decide), he was so handsome and elegant, everyone’s dream husband. And then the fame fiddled out because it’s how fame is, one moment you’re the sexiest dish on the table and the next someone brings in dessert and baam, its all about that fresh cake, and no one pays any mind to your delightful aroma anymore, you’ve gone cold, they had a bite, their interest is somewhere else. Belyy really admires his work though, and mostly finds his image fits with the brand of his company, therefore the two are working on a collaboration to make Moutarde a representative. This WOULD boost Moutarde’s reputation, for his ads would be displayed on every imaginable surface of the country, and it would also benefit the company cause being represented by thAT sexy motherfucker? clearly that’s a deal. The freshness of the partnership means Moutarde is a newcomer in the guests, a fresh face, with no reputation, no relationships, no unfair biases against him. He’s just the new handsome charismatic lad with a squeaky clean image. Emphasis on “image”. After all, no one really knows anything of his background, right?

Kun.LAWENDER (the purple guest)

Private investigator, very useful to be around at a party it’s almost like it was expected there’d be a body to investigate, he’s a very close associate of Belyy, as there’s nothing more important to business than investigating the rivals and finding dirt on them to make them fall through infamy. He’s not exactly the PI who goes look for justice to be served, he’s just here for cash bro. He’s got intel on everyone, and will only let it out if offered the right thing in return (money, or sometimes other pieces of very secret intel, trade is good). Wouldn’t advise letting him and Gang team up tbh but they probably wouldnt, as Lawender is really more of a lone wolf player, going on his own for himself. The one thing that negates his usefulness as a PI on an accidental crime of scene is that even if he knew the whole truth of the event he would not spit it out unless he benefitted from saying it. He sure is a polarising lad, but at the same time, an untouchable one, he’s too knowledgeable to be taken down. Rather than sneaky, he’s extremely observant, noticing the tiniest details and engraving them in his memory, ready to be linked up to other details to deduct the big picture. He’s the upfront tea gathered basically (as opposed to Gang’s shadow tea gathering if you will, they are similar forces but using opposite methods)(also one of em got a licence n the other does not hAH).

~~~~

Now the secrets, all of em have them. One of em at least got the secret of having KILLED Belyy that’s that. But that’s to be kept for later (for if i ever use this story for more than daydream material gfhjgh) bet you can imagine what some of em may be just out of Knowing what i do, from having seen the characters in other contexts, or just because you’re a genius and reading the character profiles immediatly lit up the bulbs in your head forming the perfect theory, props to you, mad genius.

Honestly my thoughts are just how lit of a game that would be, you get to pick one hoe (maybe sum are locked til u find their secrets for juicy purposes) and you do your invetigation using your character’s perks and disadvantages, and maybe there could even be Multiple scenarios and outcomes, to spice it up, give replay value, i just think it’d be a game id spend hours on. tryin to get the spicy details of everyone’s life. walking around n digging through a rich man’s stuff, witnessing the drAMA of people fighting cause they’re locked in with a murderer and that’s stressful ngl. That or a long ass show @ netflix wanna give me a show maybe? give me hella budget we’re making it animated cause im too cultured for live action. 

whatever i make of it though, i hope i can make this story Flourish, just so that i can lay down all those secret backstories i’ve written. i want the satisfaction of throwing out the craziest secret drama between character n seeing peeps loose their minds, it just is a tasty experience.

also i gotta say, i plug the hell out of Clue for an inspo but when i was building the basics of the story my mind immediatly went “oH MY GOD THE VIBES,, THE BACKSTABBING AND tEAMING UP and all,,, its The Genius, that one tv show where peeps have to do the wildest games that require strategy n they’re in that fancy set that looks like a rich ppl mansion oh god the vibes” so yeah, i rewatched the whole first two seasons cause they’re my faves and that had an impact if only minimal in the aesthetic.

Anyway hope that quick presentation gave you a lil taste of the story, and maybe,,,, got you curious,,, craving to learn more like you never did before (im exaggerating the only real question we all got is just “so who’s fuckin with whom then how many of yall secretly dating” this the real deal)

[gorogues]

Spoilers for Flash #750!

You can see a few preview pages here, here, and here.  There are so many pages in the issue that it’s tough to choose which ones to include here.

This was definitely worthy of a milestone issue.  There are multiple stories: one set in the present, a Len solo story which is sort of set in the Johns era, a pre-Crisis Sam story, a New 52-esque Speed Mind story, a Golden Age Jay story, and one about Wally's new role.  Plus, of course, a bunch of gorgeous pinups.

To get things out of the way, unfortunately it is definitely confirmed that Commander Cold is dead.  Steadfast and Fuerza are alive but off to do other things, James is locked up in a cell again, and the other Rogues are loose.  David Singh appears and is surprisingly nice to Barry, and it's confirmed that he and Hartley are still together and doing well.  Roy appears briefly and is now 100% confirmed to be in current continuity (technically his previous appearances were in a holiday issue, which are often of dubious canonicity, and he'd seemingly appeared twice in Zandia but at least one of his 'appearances' there was a Psych illusion).  And Iris is working on a story about how the Flash has helped people and inspired them, so we see flashbacks of Barry saving the day from various Rogues and Grodd.

Then Godspeed shows up, and lures Barry to the Flash Museum so Paradox can confront him.  Paradox airs his grievances, and tells Barry to give up being the Flash or see everything he cares about destroyed.  Paradox sics August on Barry, and the story ends in a cliffhanger, undoubtedly to be continued next issue.  It's notable that August is surprised to learn of the future Flash who was killed by Paradox, and perhaps that'll play into him turning on his boss in the story to come...at least if his desire for atonement is real, and he's actually upset to see any version of Barry killed.  It's possible that he thinks he can play along and save Barry from Paradox even if he has to beat him up a bit.

Then we've got the Len solo story by Johns and Kolins, which is shown above.  As always, Kolins is great with the little details which don't even figure into the story but add a lot.  We see the Stanley Cup stashed in Len's filthy apartment, as is tradition.  And Len's got a computer now, which is interesting.  Some of Lisa's stuff is stored in his closet, and he's got a yearbook photo of the Rogues.  And later in the story Jai is wearing a turtle shirt, which must be a nod to the long-rumoured plan that he was supposed to become the new Turtle before Flashpoint (you may recall that he was depowered in Flash: Rebirth and resentful about it, and Eobard claimed that one of Wally's kids would ruin his life).  Jai and Irey's appearance tells us that this isn't quite in proper continuity or is set during the Brightest Day era -- but if it was set during Brightest Day, Wally wouldn't necessarily think Len's actions were directed specifically at him, since Barry would be around too.  And even the yearbook photo fudges things a bit, since we wouldn't have a costumed Lisa and a youthful Roscoe around at the same time, barring a retcon.  Though Johns does love his retcons, so you never know.

The Len story is great and a lot of fun, and shows much of what we love and maybe also dislike about that era of Len.  As always, he over-indulges on the beer even as he otherwise decries drug use (although in fairness, he doesn't say anything about drugs in this story), but that is one of his flaws and probably one of the remnants of an abusive upbringing steeped in booze.  Johns seems to be throwing a little shade at the New 52 Rogues with the line "Guys who can snap their fingers and make a snowstorm because of some meta gene, how do you respect that?  When I hold that gadget in my hand, it means something."  Agree or disagree with that statement -- I don't think it's necessarily right or wrong -- there's no question that the meta Rogues were very much at odds with the Rogues of the Johns era.  And you may recall that Johns depowered New 52 Len as soon as he got a chance to; it's pretty clear he didn't like that development.

Wally's interpretation of Len's actions is very interesting and completely understandable from his POV, but of course he's misread the situation entirely.  Obviously he doesn't know Len as well as he thinks he does.  He'd be correct if it was quite a few other Flash villains (including some of the other Rogues), but he assumes the worst of all of them and we've seen before that sometimes he's wrong.  But the Len of that era deliberately cultivated misperceptions of himself and the other Rogues to get people to underestimate him or keep them off-balance, and ultimately he's probably got himself to blame for Wally's misunderstanding.  I don't think Len would mind Wally misunderstanding him for the reasons mentioned above, but maybe Wally would treat him better if he truly understood Len's motivations.  Food for thought.

It's also nice to see Chyre and Morillo too, who are very much missed.  Chyre's been name-dropped in the Rebirth era, but I'd like to see him and Morillo actually appearing again, even if just occasionally.

The Sam story is pretty cool and has a lot of Silver/Bronze Age simplicity and weirdness to it, and wouldn't be out of place in the published stories of that era.  So I admire that Wolfman and Rossmo were able to capture those aspects in it.  The issue doesn't contain something from every era of the Flash, but this story covers the Silver/Bronze Age era wonderfully.

The Jay story is really interesting; it's otherwise a very Golden Age-inspired story with the Thinker, but then Eobard puts in a surprise appearance, taunting Jay that he'll be forgotten in the future.  It's a very Eobard thing to do, although unusual to see him taking an interest in Jay.  And obviously it foreshadows Jay's disappearance from this Earth/continuity from the New 52 until recently.  I'm very much looking forward to seeing how Jay is used now that he and the JSA seem to be back, and wonder if Eobard will continue bothering him.  Obviously Eobard's primary grudge is with Barry, but of course he's messed with other members of the Flash Family as well.  And messing with the Flash Family in general may become a hobby of his with the [spoilers for comics in May] development that he's creating his own Reverse Flash Family.

The Wally story is partly an epilogue to the Flash Forward series and partly a prologue to the upcoming Generation Zero issue on Free Comic Book Day.  In it, Wally observes different versions of continuity: the pre-Flashpoint history and the post-Flashpoint history, side by side and seemingly both still in continuity.  Or, if not still in continuity, then still existing together.  Presumably he (or someone else) will deal with that to streamline continuity, but the question is, will both versions still remain, get merged into one, or will something else happen entirely?  We may not find out until FCBD and beyond.

So all in all, this was a great issue, and fitting for a milestone.  It was great fun to see the various stories, pinups, and variant covers, and so nice to see a classic Johns-Kolins story about Len, a spotlight on Jay, and an era-appropriate story featuring classic Sam.  It's also good to finally get some answers about lingering questions in current continuity like the fate of James and Commander Cold and the missing Forces users, even if we're not always happy about the developments.  I do think Henry's killing was weirdly abrupt and has been handled as something of an afterthought so I'm not thrilled about that, but it is good to get confirmation and some finality to it.  Hopefully he isn't completely forgotten after this.

[politicallypretentious]

This sub-chapter within the book titled “How to Successfully Offend Every Person in the World” was contributed by Keyshawn W., a young black man in his mid-twenties.

TL;DR Irrelevant of skin color, cops killing blacks is the same as brothers killing brothers.

The Sentry Guards By: Keyshaun W.

Classes aren’t as distinguishable as one might think; we don’t wear red uniforms instead of gold ones. We have jobs, zip codes, and skin color to stratify ourselves, but even these lines have gotten blurred over centuries.

Transcribed from the great words of Malcolm X,

“The house negro always looked out for his master. When the field Negro got too much out of line, he held em back in check… The house Negro could afford to do that because he lived better than the field Negro. He ate better, dressed better, and lived in a better house – he lived right up next to his master in the attic or the basement. He ate the same food as master ate, and wore his same clothes. And he could talk just like his master; good diction. And he loved his master more than the master loved himself. That’s why he didn’t want his master hurt. If the master got sick, he’d say, ‘what’s the matter boss, we sick?’ And if the masters’ house caught on fire, he’d try and put the fire out… He never wanted his masters’ property threatened. And he was more defensive of it than the master was. That was the house Negro.

But then you had the field Negros who lived in huts. Had nothing to lose. They wore the worst kind of clothes, ate the worst food, and caught hell; they felt the sting of the lash. They hated their master; oh yes they did! If the master got sick, they prayed that the master died. If the master’s house caught on fire, they’d pray for a strong wind to come along. That’s the difference between the two. And today you still have house Negros and field Negros.”

I may have a different interpretation of this than the next person. I believe that white skin does not automatically mean that you are the apex class in America. Black skin does not automatically mean that you are of the slave class. America is weird, because everyone believes that they are of the middle class, which linguistically and statistically does not make any sense.

We are not the elite; we are not the ruling class. We are the production class, the service class, segregated out into different levels/factions within our servant roles. As we’ve seen throughout the Covid shutdown, even business owners are temporary placeholders for the bulldozing juggernaut corporations. Yet we do not define ourselves as a united servant class of people.

We buy into a false sense of pride above others with a lower status. We see injustice, and although we desire positive adjustment for the underserved and over-discriminated, we put forth all of our energy into semantics. We may demonstrate a desire to fight for change, but are unwilling to give up our higher paying jobs and slightly higher ranks and somewhat lavish lifestyles. Some of us may be more than slightly scraping by, but are unwilling to rebel and potentially die for a cause. We all have the same master.

The oppressed classes could rebel, but a system of control has been put in place. There are laws to keep our nation at status quo. These laws let the controlling elites get away with grand scale robbery and destruction, while the lower classes remain relatively oblivious and busy, suing each other over stupid shit.

And who enforces these laws? Why the ‘house Negro’ does. Yes, the house Negros are still around. They’ve changed uniforms and added other ethnicities for purposes of mystification, but the ‘house Negros’ remain in action - rebranded as modern day police officers.

Just as the ‘House Negros’ came from the same slave boat as the rest, policemen are of the same cut of people as us – politically designed, knighted commoners coming from the same neighborhoods, high schools, and colleges as us. Whether we call them ‘house Negros’ or the police officers, both wear nice clothes and benefit from the rank that the master gives them.

These modern day Sentry Guards do see the world in prejudice. Undeniable for many, the feeling of danger is attributed to dark skin tone. A typical reaction by cops may consist of both fear and hatred, as many have experienced loss of a comrade who had approached a black person labeled as ‘armed and dangerous.’ So, with a cop lens on the world, a fearful/hateful reaction is somewhat understandable.

For a fuller picture, we should learn to understand both the cop and the criminal. We can begin the second round of understanding with the underlying idea that that poverty creates criminals. What kind of person becomes a cop, and what kind of person becomes a criminal? If a kid was brilliant, and given the opportunities to cultivate his brilliance through good schooling, he’d potentially become a scientist. If that same kid was not given the opportunities of a good school district or even simply a desk of his own, his future options would be severely limited. So lets imagine a boy (of any racial background) that came from a limiting delinquent/impoverished background, to later gravitate towards the examination process to become a police officer. A would-be gangbanger or low-level hustler turns cop – a best-case scenario. Of course not all cops come from impoverished backgrounds, but a mix of lower and middle class backgrounds as well as a mix of lower and middle level academic achievement. (I assume a higher level of wealth or achievement would give more rewarding opportunities such as business enterprises or higher-level agencies).

One likely unifying characteristic trait would be a desire for ‘an otherwise non-accessible’ power. Power is alluring, and nearly overnight, these boys are given power and status beyond their class restriction. They are able to denounce their own working-class crest, and take on an entirely new Sentry crest plated gold above their heart. These officers (often trained for just a few months before wielding immense power) do not spent ample time with emotional, psychological, and moral thought processes. The nuanced complexities remain unlearned, thus the factory bulk setting allows deadly mishaps to occur too frequently.

Poverty might have crept up onto some of the officers had they not been given their status,  yet these same officers ‘uphold’ the same set of laws that perpetuate poverty. Some of the worst eggs within the force even crack skulls or choke to death their (would have been) neighbors. They engage separation of humanness with a ‘them or us’ mentality.  

Elevated and elated, the Sentry Guard upholds the (sometimes slanted) fraternity values in order to maintain the separation between him and the commoners; the separation between the high-powered elites that purchase the law and the rest of us scum. Officers take pride in their badge and their ‘heroic’ duties - maintaining oppression against their true brethren. These men forget about where they came from, and wage war against the delinquents and the destitute instead of waging war against the system that created the unfair inequality.

To equate the two groups to each other will be seen as maddening, but this is what it is. It’s not cop on black violence; it’s commoner v commoner, service class v service class. Too often, we shoot our family members in the face. Lets not forget who wields the ultimate decisions within our lives. Cop or not, wealthy or not, irrelevant of skin color, you and I are within the spectrum of ‘field Negro’ and ‘house Negro.’  

“Tell me why are we… so blind to see…

That the ones we hurt are you and me?” – Coolio, Gansta’s Paradise.

[steve0discusses]

Yugioh E8 S4: Joey’s Turn to Hallucinate During a Card Game

Alright, lets jump into Yugioh while I wait to wake up this morning. Hate mornings. Hate them.

So I guess in the Yugioh universe, San Fransisco avoided Loma Prieta, but instead got smacked by a KaibaCorp satellite dropping from space. Dunno which is worse but uh.......thanks, Seto. Maybe the building was empty though. I mean it’s not like anyone is here right now. apparently everyone working for Pegasus does so from their laptop in their pj’s situated in their apartments in Oakland.

And good news, this is one of the episodes with That Really Good Storyboarder. Like you can REALLY tell when this particular storyboarder enters the room, and apparently they really like Joey episodes?

Anyway, for anyone who’s like “I want to draw hands better.” This whole episode is a good study for how to do dynamic hands. It’s insane.

In fact apparently there is an art book just about hands in the works BY the guy who designed a lot of the Yugioh hand shots--thing is it’s entirely in Japanese and I don’t really know much Japanese....so I’m waiting for it in English. But, my friend translated the promo for me and mentioned that if you preorder the book you get 3 instructional videos for drawing dynamic hands from this particular artist.

Only problem is, the videos would go right over my head because it’s still not in English, so uh, missed opportunity because I never got serious with my Duolingo. O well. And people keep asking “are you learning Japanese for anime? Are you dating a Japanese guy?” and it’s like no, for reals, I’m an artist, this is just what you have to do, learn Spanish, learn French, learn Japanese, or you will miss out on so many good tutorials. Like every DAY I see a good ass tutorial on Twitter and it’s like...did they have to hand-write it?

Anyway if you want to buy it, it’s on Japanese Amazon and I don’t know what it’s called because it’s been a hot minute since it’s been a few months since I’ve looked at it. But it exists. I have no idea if it’ll be shipped internationally either, in fact, I was just gonna ask very nicely to my one friend like it’s middle school and I need some good looking authentic jelly pens delivered. But youknow...instead I’ll keep an eye out because I’m banking on this getting translated into English.

I will let you ALL know when I see this book translated into English.

(read more under the cut)

So, we start this episode with Mai being transported to Atlantis island. I’m not entirely sure if the Atlantis Island is the same place as the Atlantis on the bottom of the ocean, but whether she’s above or below the water won’t matter because they did a very wise jump cut.

So I have no idea if she jumped out of a motorcycle to get here. Maybe?

Anyway, Valon introduces her to the Lair. Shows her the snakes, the fire torches that are always lit, a couple more snakes. Youknow, normal stuff for a completely normal date.

PS I do appreciate the bismuth pattern here. Bismuth is a really amazing under-used concept art tool. I mean LOOK at bismuth.

Gollllll I just want to see a whole lot more bismuth in art, it pops.

And then, Valon decides to introduce Mai to his Dad, who is a LOT when you get up close to him.

Man just SO many elements here. The head chain, the yellow eyeball (which is the same eye that Pegasus wore his golden eyeball--dunno if it’s related but as I’ve mentioned before, this show is rude to eyes), The very LONG lower lashes (I’m a SUCKER for putting long lower lashes on all of OC’s myself, it’s a good time) the amount of side-bangs on this guy that would have taken like 12 hair extensions. the wind always seems to flow around him to pick up his cloak and his cape (yes he has both) And on the back he has like a princess Jasmine style ponytail where it’s like......how does he do that? Truly magical, this Ultimate-OC-looking-guy is.

We again recap a little more of Mai’s perspective from the Prism, which I didn’t think she’d be able to see everyone else from...but apparently she saw enough.

And so, because Mai didn’t want to feel scared ever again, she decided to instead feel nothing. Trade in your plateauing card career for getting OP card magic powers. I mean, it tracks.

Then our Storyboarder just started FLEXING.

Y’all.

He just...did that.

Do you know how good you have to know hands to draw that? You’d have to firstly know hands like a freakin hand surgeon, then you’d have to get like so many different references to study what the hell is even going on there. Go ahead and do this hand pose. You CAN’T. It’s amazing. And on top of that--she’s wearing a fingerless glove? And a weird duel disk in perspective?

This whole thing is FORESHORTENED are you freakin kidding me???

This storyboarder!

Enter Duke, who just woke up today thinking it’d be a normal day but alas, it was a Yugi Muto day, and you can’t escape this asshole even if you fly halfway across the world. He will show up, somehow blow up some gas station, and your boss will be mysteriously dead and there’s nothing Duke can do about this horrible curse he’s had to deal with ever since Pharaoh cursed him with Being Friends With Pharaoh. The worst curse.

Like imagine you showed up at Apple Headquarters and this madness was there instead of a lobby.

Then, because things aren’t yet weird enough for Duke Devlin to just walk into, the dragon card starts glowing and takes our third dragon boy on a Spiritual Dragon Journey.

Right now.

During a card game where Joey is facing off a serial murderer/ex-not-a-girlfriend.

And it’s not just Joey and Yugi this time.

...I know I was just applauding this storyboarder but there is NO WAY they didn’t know what they were doing. I get that Seto has a thing for dragons. I don’t need this upskirt shot to remind me of his weird hallucinatory love affair with dragons.

The amount of weird upskirts they like to do with Seto. I mean I’m glad it’s not Mai but youknow...I just didn’t expect this.

Ever.

I never expected this shot with the...joystick.

There is a very obvious joystick in this shot and like 15-45 animators looked at this and said “well it’s too late now, the good storyboarder likes it, and this is the toll we pay.”

I just want to know if any animators saw this and said to their friend “hey....I need to go take a break. Want to go to a very long lunch and forget this ever happened?”

And that’s the whole dream. We are now officially out of porky dragons, which means everyone else in this party will just have........nothing to do, right?

Is it too much to ask that Mokuba get to have a dragon?

Way too much to ask, just realized it as I was typing it.

The concern coming off of Mokuba right now.

Like seriously Mokuba is in a constant state of “do I listen to my older brother or do I heavily sedate my older brother before I get abducted for the sixth time?”

Apparently all of the Orichalcos etc is responding to the dragons, which makes sense, since it’s like...toys that were sold next to eachother in the toy store. Just feels like these things are constantly glowing but everyone forgets that there’s not just three cards and three stones but also Yugi has a stone in his pocket somewhere.

We just have a lot of artifacts hanging out everywhere but it’s Yugioh, so of course no one is going to keep track of any of them. If only Bakura were here, he’d have that down but like...instead it’s the Yugi team, so if it’s not directly around your neck it just doesn’t exist.

Anyway, it’s the holidays so I’ll get the next post up......sometime? Kind of a shame what happened to my update schedule but that’s life.

And if you want to read these from the beginning, you can click on this link here

[levaer]

THE BIG BLEACH HC MEME centering around politics, repost & fill out! For anyone who wanted to explore those aspects more, considering it played a big role in the story. Some things may be unknown to your Muse, just think in WHAT IF then & well, have fun and take your time!

BASICS

Name:   Askin Nakk Le Vaar    / / /    Age:   1000+    / / /    Gender:   Cis male Race:   Shinigami / Quincy / Hollow / Fullbringer / Visored / Human / Other Currently lives:   Soul Society / Hueco Mundo / Silbern / Living World / Hell  Exact Location:   Half of his life is set in the Wandenreich. Post-war, his location varies. Group(s): Quincy / Sternritter / Schutzstaffel

QUESTIONS

- Would your muse consider themselves more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - Would your muse consider their group more: GOOD / BAD / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see them: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their race: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ? - How does your muse think others see their group: GOOD / EVIL / NEUTRAL ?

- Is your muse considered a threat: YES / NO ?  From whom?:  No, because I hc that the Shinigami aren’t actually aware Askin survived; if they knew, however, there’s the possibility he’d be deemed a threat.  - Is your muse powerful: YES / NO ?  Could they be considered OP:  YES / NO ? - Did your muse commit any crimes: YES / NO ? - Does your muse think they are doing mostly the right thing: YES / NO ? - Would society think the same: YES / NO / MIXED OPINIONS ?

- Does your muse think they are treated unfairly: YES / NO ? - Does your muse feel understood from others: YES / NO ? - Is it important for them what others think of them as a person: YES / NO ? - Would they welcome death:  YES / NO ? - Will they ever find peace:  YES / NO ?

01.0.  Do they fully stand behind the group they are part of? YES / NO. Why is that? Explain: Askin likes to think he’s rootless, and that’s true for the most part, but he’s still a human being. He was rootless enough to drop everything he knew, his entire world, and embark on a journey with a blurry destination - but not enough not to feel a little bit of sense of belonging to the Wandenreich, which he has been serving for over a thousand years, and for the Quincy as a whole. They’re not all good or bad, they’re people; he’s not all good or bad, either. But they’re his people, a part of his, even if not aloud, acknowledges this.

02.0.  Do they like as things are in Soul Society? YES / NO / INDIFFERENT. 02.1.  Is there anything they would change? Explain here: Askin is not one to judge. He would not condemn the many for the sins of the few, but ... he would not forgive the few for the sins of the many, either. He’s not too informed about the specific dynamics of Soul Society, though he’s familiar with the violent foundation of it since he fought against the first generation of the Gotei, during the First Quincy War. Let’s say, he would not change anything in particular, but he would not mind if all got wiped away, either. 

03.0. Would they ever actively try to bring change (in general)? YES / NO. 03.1. Is your muse more: passive / active ?  Introverted / Extroverted ? 03.2. Does your muse care more about: others / themselves ?  / /  all of Askin’s life has been projected on someone else’s dream. Ultimately, he looks after himself, but he led a strongly collective life for so long, it kinda shaped him. 03.3. Do they trouble their mind over a lot of problems, others? YES / NO. 03.4. Do they mostly involve: the world / everyone / themselves / comrades / friends / family / elderly / kids / teenagers / home / workplace / strangers / souls / humans / quincy / shinigami / nobles / fullbringer / visored / hollows / espada / arrancar / (former) boss(es) / pets / animals / zanpakuto spirit / enemies / partner / lovers / soul king / god / other…(add more) 03.5. Name (up to) three which are the most on their mind (optional, adding names): Askin has a tendency not to hold onto anything. His own thoughts feel light as clouds to him as they cross his minds, and he’s definitely not the type to obsess over something or someone. After the war, Urahara Kisuke has been on his mind for a while; mostly, he wondered whether he had succeeded in taking him down. Grimmjow too; I think, especially for a Quincy, the feeling of a Hollow’s claws is not something easily forgotten.  

04.0. Do they think frequently about politics? YES / NO / SOMETIMES. Why is that? Explain: More frequently than he would like to, actually. His social background demanded of him at least some basic knowledge of the feudal system, administration and interrelations with other Quincy families and with the central power of the Carolingian empire. That said, Askin never let himself got too involved, but growing up witnessing his lord father administering justice, taxes, law-making etc. kind of left an imprinting. He spent a thousand years serving as a soldier in an army where all the power was intensely centralized, so he did not have much to do with politics - that’s how the Wandenreich was, as Yhwach really wasn’t a politician, anyway. Post-war though, if he contributes to the reformation of a Quincy nation, he will have to get involved whether he likes it or not.

05.0. How do they feel in their current location: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 05.1. Why is that?:  Silbern gives him vertigo. He preferred the instability of the Lichtreich more, but still, he’s not one to complain. The world of the living is as colorful as he remembers, always shapeshifting, and it’s really nice to see the light blue sky again after being hidden in the shadows for so long.

06.0. Does your muse have any goal: YES / NO ?  BIG / SMALL ? - 06.1. Does it involve anything world-changing: YES / NO ? - 06.2. If goal or not, any future plans? Share here:  You know how Askin is, he goes where the wind takes him. He only ever committed once in his life and it wasn’t even to a dream of his own, it was Yhwach’s design, so it would be really unkind to ask him to think about the future haha. In my rebuild verse, any plans for his immediate future involve making himself useful to the new Quincy state. Best way to keep himself occupied.

07.0. Does your muse know about the Original Sin of Soul Society*: YES / NO ? * curious? Read about it here. 07.1. If they knew, would it change their views on Soul Society: YES / NO ? 07.2. More: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ?  / /    I’m not sure Askin would care to the point of completely changing his opinion on Soul Society, since it’s already a pretty negative one. It would feel somewhat eerie to him, thinking that the victim of the original sin was Yhwach’s literal father, though.

08.0. Who is the worst person in their eyes?:  Mayuri Kurotsuchi. 08.1. What should happen to them?  Execution (quick / slow death) / Imprisonment / Stripped of their powers / Torture / Repay for their sins / Pay a Fine / Social Work / lose their loved ones / Exile / other… (add more). 08.2. Explanation: he’d kill Mayuri off quickly, as one gets rid of a thorn. It wouldn’t be a painless death, but it wouldn’t take too long; Askin is not a sadist by nature, and he would just want to make sure the bastard doesn’t take one more breath in the world.

09.0. Thoughts on: Quincy Massacre if they knew: POSITIVE / NEGATIVE / NEUTRAL ? 09.1. Would they be alright with such thing happening again: YES / NO / INDIFFERENT ? 09.2. Would they try to prevent it: YES / NO / DEPENDS ? 09.3. Explanation:  I said this already, the Quincy genocide is a generational trauma for the Quincy, even those too young to be born at the time. Askin is unmoved by most things, but he witnessed with his own eyes those of his kind that were captured and killed and experimented on.  It’s something you just don’t forget, and Askin doesn’t forget easily anyway. If such a thing were to happen again, and lbr there’s a possibility since the numbers of the Quincy are always carefully monitored, Askin would fight, despite his general dislike for overall idea.

10.0. Would they ever switch sides: YES / NO ?  10.1. If yes, What could bring them to do so?:    - 10.2. Would they create a new one: YES / NO ?  or join a current one? If so, which:  Until his defeat, Askin’s allegiance is to Yhwach and betraying him / switching sides like some Sternritters did is off the table. After the war, however, he’s free of bonds, so if someone were to try and gain his loyalty, he’d consider it. He doesn’t fuck with Soul Society, though.

11.0. Does your muse follow a certain moral code*?:  YES / NO / GRAY AREA ? * (ethics) A written, formal, and consistent set of rules prescribing righteous behavior, accepted by a person or by a group of people. 11.1. What does it involve?: it’s more of what’s in his character than a real set-up code, he’s not so chivalrous. He lives by the principle of letting people live their lives without prying and being chill, mostly.  11.2. What does it NOT involve?: Askin is not a sadist, although he can be a real bastard if he commits to it. He has no problem killing, no matter how gruesomely, but he’s not entirely comfortable with harming children. He’s also not a creep lol, he wouldn’t give someone unwanted attention. 

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE GROUPS ?

Central 46:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because: the core of Soul Society executive functions, and by extension, the most fucked up.

Four Great Noble Clans:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because: he’s not knowledgeable enough about the specifics of Soul Society politics to have an opinion on its nobility. Askin is nobility too, after all. 

Royal Guards / Gotei 13:   positive / negative / neutral .   ━   because: they’re the ones primarily responsible for the genocide, the ones Askin fought against during the first and the second war, the ones who reinforce the violent supremacy of Shinigami and who openly oppose his people. 

Fullbringer:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  doesn’t really know them, doesn’t care. A human with hollow-based abilities is somewhat of an abomination in the eyes of a Quincy, I believe, but Askin is an open-minded person.

Visored:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Shinigami AND Hollows? Ew.

Espada:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  his only experience with an Espada in canon was Grimmjow, and it’s a tricky subject. He’s never come in contact with Aizen’s whole elite, so not much of an opinion could be formed.

Quincy:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  he’s a Quincy. It doesn’t matter how disconnected Askin might feel from his people, he devoted his entire life to the Quincy as a group, though indirectly. Askin has a cynical and disenchanted look on the world, he doesn’t buy into the romanticized concept of ‘Quincy pride’, but at the end of the day, he remains a Quincy. The millenary story of his people, their culture and powers are integral to Askin’s upbringing. He thinks he’s rootless, but he’ll never be able to uproot the Quincy in him.

YOUR MUSE’S VIEWS / OPINIONS ON THESE (IMPORTANT) PEOPLE ?

Aizen:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  he knows Aizen by reputation alone, as one of the Five Special War Powers; he’s been told the guy is a real asshole, but Askin doesn’t judge. 

Yhwach:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Yhwach is awe-inspiring. The sense of wonder he got Askin to feel, unmoved by the passing of centuries, is the closest thing to feeling really alive he ever experienced in his life. It’s not that Askin is loyal to Yhwach himself; he’s loyal to that deep-seated feeling of wonder, the thrill of diving into the sea without knowing what’s awaiting under the surface.

Mayuri:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  his gratuitous cruelty and the horrible things he did to Quincies viscerally nauseate Askin. And you know it takes a lot to upset him.

Kurosaki:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  he’s just a boy. Why is everyone obsessed with this boy? 

Soul King:   positive / negative / neutral.   ━   because:  Askin is, and always has been, quite divorced from religion. He knows the guy is literally God. He knows Pernida and Gerard are directly linked to him, parts of him, and that Yhwach is his son but ... that’s about it. 

EXTRA(optional): add more characters which hold some meaning to your muse.

Grimmjow:   This is largely self-indulgent, but being (almost) killed by Grimmjow was like catching an disease you have been vaccinated against. The illness is meeker, sort of slowed down, but you feel the clash with the vaccine within your veins, you feel it distinctively. For one who lives between life and death, the experience Grimmjow gave him, that of a frozen instant in which he’s both alive and dead, is something Askin will never forget. He will never forget the feeling. 

CONGRATS, you managed till to the end, now tag your fellow bleach partners!

TAGGED BY: myself, @senboago​ and @tatarfora​ TAGGING: steal it.

[characteroulette]

Hey PQ was pretty good!

so I’m having trouble getting into PQ2 because of several factors, so I thought I’d write a half-think piece, half-essay on why I think the first PQ gets more flak than it deserves. So here’s that.

------

I genuinely don't understand why, when talking about Persona Q, people are always saying things along the lines of, "The gameplay was good, but the characters were trite and the story wasn't that great." Like, as a fan of the Persona series, I genuinely don't understand that assessment.

Not saying PQ is flawless, oh no. There are PLENTY of things in PQ that I have an axe to grind with (the small door scene with the P4 gang, for one), but the overall story? The characters? They're both fine. Good, even, dare I say. And here's my argument as to why:

The returning Persona series characters (from 3 and 4) in PQ do a good job of representing their games and their own personalities, even if a little more light-hearted than their source material,

AND

The story is genuinely in-line with the rest of the Persona/SMT series, even if it ultimately doesn't matter due to time shenanigans (and I'm okay with that).

These are my two points. Just those two. Because these are the two most contested parts of PQ, as far as I can hear, since we all agree that the gameplay is the real breadwinner here hahaha

Anyway.

First, let's talk about the returning characters, since they seem to be the ones who matter most. The P4 cast are generally less griped about (save Chie and Teddie) and I believe this is largely due to the brighter, more hopeful tone of P4 as a whole. (Aaand, in my opinion, they're done a MUCH BIGGER disservice in the Arena games, but no one ever talks about that so let's not bother with those right now.)

P4 was a game about making friends, the hijinx that come from that, and finding the truth about a string of murders and confronting the worst parts of yourself in a harsher world in the process! And it executes this with the appropriate amount of balance between serious moments and comedic relief. The theme colour for the whole game is bright yellow/gold, a happier and more friendly colour which helps remind you that this game is all in good fun.

(Side note here: I honestly think that P5 really failed in this respect, despite my liking its tone slightly more. I just personally like darker-themed games, but P5 was a little too dark and oppressive right out the gate, with hardly a friendly face, which helps make your gradually growing group of friends much more appreciated but also a harder atmosphere for jokes to really land well. Most of the 'funny' sequences felt very undeserved and really dragged because uh guys we literally just fought a rapist, an abusive father figure, and some other fucked-up shit. Can we please acknowledge that a bit more instead of pretending it never happened by laughing at the expense of Ann's autonomy of her body? Especially when she was a target of said rapist??) But that's its own discussion for later.

Really, the fact that most of the P4 gang get out of this with little criticism shows how accepted their caricatures have become. I guess? At least, except for Teddie and Chie.

Teddie being a wannabe Casanova must've been a huge hit with the Japanese audience, because it's just the hill he's going to die on for the writers. There was more to Teddie than his hitting on the girls in P4, believe it or not! (And there's a whole thing about it being brought on by him mimicking the type of behaviour he saw Yukiko's shadow exhibiting, which has a lot of really interesting undertones, but it makes him more swappable with Junpei, so whatever, I guess.) Meanwhile, Chie's not as meat-crazy, either, but I guess it's a better trait for them to roll with than her (cut in the translation) glossed-over sexism.

Both work fine, however, and aren't really too annoying enough to be that egregious. (Though they both go right up to the line sometimes. Teddie more so, but none of the girls playing along really helps show how gross his actions are. Most of the time.)

No, the real complaints I see directed at the characters being 'too cartoonish' are usually reserved for the P3 gang.

P3 is, really, such a bizarre game to go back to now when compared to its two successors. It's dark and hopeless, like P5, but formulaic and mystery, like P4. It's actually a natural progression when looking at its two/three older siblings (both P2s are bleak. As. Hell!), but, at least to me, it's the odd duck of the bunch, being the first to implement this winning formula of being caught in a time limit of a school year and managing spending time exploring this other world. It adds Social Links and social stats with this new time limit and this idea that the Persona and Shadows you fight don't just happen out on the streets in 'normal' circumstances for everyone to see. It pretty much went from an RPG to a management game with RPG elements.

And its emotional, impactful story, like P5, had a lot of tonal whiplash due to the attempts at comedy!

I feel like a lot of people forget this about P3 (and maybe I think more about it because I haven't actually beaten the whole game yet myself), but the story is actually a goddamn mess of tonal confusion. You got kids shooting themselves in the heads and a Social Link dealing with a classmate's crush on his teacher. You got wacky foreign exchange student and kids taking experimental drugs to suppress their Persona and slowly poisoning themselves to death as a side effect. The protagonist is an orphan who lost his parents in a huge, plot-relevant accident... But he's able to date every single girl at the same time and be the most wish fulfillment charming guy if the player so desires.

P3 being messy isn't a bad thing. P4, P5, and even P2 and PQ are all a little messy in their own rights, too. But because P3 was a lot of fans' first in the series, and PQ is just a spin-off, it gets way more flak for this than I feel it deserves.

(I mean, hey. Both P3 and P4 have those classic anime scenes of the boys walking in on the girls while at a hot springs. All PQ's got is an awkward group date scene and the implication that Yosuke and Kanji kissed each other while getting knocked out.) (They all. Have. Problems.)

And I know a lot of this comes down to personal preference. I'm not saying you're wrong for liking P3 or P4 more than PQ. I'm just saying I feel like PQ is often wrongly accused of being worse and less well-written when, really, they're all pretty much on par with each other. (And someone on the team really doesn't understand how to handle large casts of characters sharing the same space...)

But, personally, from everything I've seen from P3, I don't like the way most of the characters get presented to me in the source material. Junpei is way more insufferable in P3 than in PQ and Yukari is way more uninteresting in P3 than in PQ. Really, PQ helped me appreciate these characters more than P3 itself did. And, yes, they're more funny when they're trying to be, too. Because PQ is set up better for comedy than the 'remember you are mortal' tone of P3.

(Which makes dramatic moments hit all the harder when they happen) HEY check that segue! It's time to talk about the story and the two original characters of the game!

So, second point: people say the story isn't very good. To which I wanna ask... "Did you stop playing before defeating the fourth Boss?" Because it really sounds like, to me, everyone who says that didn't actually finish the game and reach all that juicy character development that happens for both sides around the fourth dungeon, where all the issues they've been building up (like Yukari's issue with Mitsuru for the P3 side and Kanji and Ken's awkwardness in the P4 side) start getting resolved in a satisfying way. And it comes with a reveal for the two characters we've been getting to know, Zen and Rei, as well.

(And, from here on in, there be spoilers. You've been warned.)

The two new characters to this game are Zen and Rei, who were in this place before the P3 or P4 gangs were called to the scene. Zen is quiet and a bit unsettlingly dense, but devoted to Rei, who is bubbly and full of life, but terrified of the dungeons you have to traverse. The two have been in this place for (what's implied to be) a very long time and enlist the help of the P3 and P4 teams in order to find a way out through defeating the bosses of each Labyrinth/dungeon. Simple enough, as it also helps the P3 and P4 team's goal of getting out. With each new dungeon, it feels more and more like something about Zen and Rei aren't quite right, but the length of the dungeon and all the team chats help you put it out of your mind each time. Rei can even get kinda annoying with her loudness and big appetite if you don't find her cute (which: how dare you. But yeah, I get it).

And then, at the end of a fiery festival fourth dungeon, you find yourself in a dark tomb at the bottom level. The boss awaiting you is Rei's shadow (a nice callback to the way P4 works) whom she still doesn't accept after you defeat it.

All the locks are gone and the P3 and P4 teams can return to their worlds if they wanted. Except Rei gets kidnapped after Zen reveals that Rei has been dead all along and it was him who trapped them here. It was he who created this place and even he who called both teams here.

And this was a plot twist that I friggin' loved.

It definitely had more impact on me because Zen and Rei easily became my favourites out of the whole cast, to the point of having them on my team for the whole game, but to find out such a fucked up twist is wild! (Seriously! Go watch the cutscene and tell me it isn't super fucked up!) You can say the P3 and P4 twists were shocking (or P5s I guess), but for my money, this is the best reversal of expectations I'd ever seen in a Persona game. In any game, really!

Zen was, in effect, the villain the whole time. His true identity as Chronos, God of time, makes sense with displacing the teams from their own times and the time here being erased once you reach the end. His own power that he sealed away growing impatient and taking matters into its own hands by drawing the teams to this haven displaced from time also makes perfect sense! And the entire climb through the last dungeon is his redemption arc and it makes for a super emotionally investing final dungeon all the way. (Which is great, because I hate every single one of the enemies that appear in this god-forsaken place.) (Even P4 and P5 can't really boast that, I felt very little investment through Izanami's dungeon and Baldabaoth's distortion.)

Of course, if you found Zen and Rei to be annoying and pointless, I can see how this would fall flat for you. The fact that they hinged such an emotional climax on these new characters, characters that don't even matter outside of this game!, was such a risky move. Especially when you consider this is just a fanservice game made basically under the promise of seeing the P3 team interact with the P4 team. But, for me, it really paid off.

And whatever complaints you had with the P3 or P4 characters, I feel like the resolutions to those character moments I mentioned earlier get explored even further during the climb through the final dungeon. From the P3 gang coming together to finally communicate with one another to the P4 gang reconfirming their bonds with one another, it's a really investing and emotional journey. I do wish the writing had been this tight and impactful through more of the game, but I believe it's worth it in the end.

Perhaps this moment comes too late in the game, though. I can definitely see others giving up before reaching this point due to the repetitive nature of the dungeons and the tidbits of character development that are meant to build up to this moment that can be too sparsely placed. (But, really, it's the same from P3 to P5, Social Links don't really add much variety when they can be just as repetitive and boring, just saying. Especially when you get caught in waiting to rank up hell, ugh.) For me, however, this really sealed the deal on this game being an incredible experience that I adored from start to finish. 7/10. Final score.

....

....

(7 outta 10?? Not perfect??) Well, it's not perfect. Japan's blatant homophobia and sexism really ruins a lot of scenes for me. I'm super salty especially about how the fake marriage scenes are handled so differently from the girl choices to the boy choices. (But you just argued in its favour for 2000 words!) Listen. ALL the Persona games wouldn't receive perfect scores for me for this aspect alone. There are a lot of other factors as well, but they vary from title to title and PQ in particular is guilty of spending too much time focusing on Teddie and Junpei being girl-crazy. And Marie is in this game more than she really should be. UGH.

But I digress.

In conclusion, this game's story and characters are better than most give it credit for. Hopefully, my argument helped you see why I believe this and why I think claiming that both aspects are just 'bad' is lazy.

[askthiscpblog]

Prompt: Jane discover that she's not the only one to survive Project Liquid Hate.

Her mind couldn’t help but flash back to when the fight took place. While she was out and looking for Jeff, Jane’s mind kept wandering back to the man that almost killed her. If it wasn’t for Sally, who knows what would have happened? This was not the first encounter of someone stronger or supernatural, but this guy was on the next level. He was with…the other party but he was human.

The man with two different colored eyes haunted her thoughts as the search continued for Jeff. His strength was overpowering her, like how Jeff did sometimes but it was on a rare occasion. But he was like Masky too, the more pissed he got the stronger he got. What could this mean? He was human as far as she could tell. So was Jeff and herself, but they could do things that normal humans couldn’t. Like her with magic and Jeff being able to stun people by looking into their eyes. A shiver went down her spine, then crawled back up as the memories of learning how Jeff could do that flashed in her head.

Nothing made sense. He didn’t have a defining mark beyond the eyes, but that is common enough among normal people. The side he was on, he was on an eldritch demon’s side opposing her boss. That was obvious to everyone who encountered him. But what else did anyone know about him? His rage was something like Jeff and herself, but he didn’t seem infected with anything that they were or even Jace for that matter. Yet it didn’t feel the same way how the three of them do. It wasn’t the same blood lust, the feeling of wanting blood running through her fingers and seeing the carnage around her. The internal craving to see blood come out of a body running down as their face pales in comparison and their eyes to roll to the back of their head; the light twinkling out their eyes as their soul leaves their body.

Deciding to try and knock herself out of this stump and train of thought, she pulled out her phone to check what is going on in the world. Scrolling through some news, she reads about how people are going missing. Boring. People are dying. Same old same old. Yet people from this company kept going missing, turning up dead left and right all over the country. This now has her attention and she had to know more. Taking advantage of the fact she needed to recover for a day, she searched the internet for information on the organization/company that this was about.

After a few hours, Jane threw her phone against the wall and it broke in half. That fucking organization, they fucking were the ones who did this to her! Or rather, who helped the infection from Jeff along and gave her the extra abilities she can do. Liquid Hate, that fucking project of sick fucks. Slender preyed on this when he recruited her, knowing that this happened to her. He even mentioned it, which made her wonder how much more he knew about this.

Putting on her mask and a simple black dress, Jane made her way out of her room and into the open air of the Domain. The weather never changed here; overcast with no rain, cool with an uneasy breeze that shows up at the worst moments for the ultimate creep factor. It was nice to have a little home to herself, no one else being able to enter and infiltrate her sanctuary. The mansion was always within walking distance, never more than twenty paces away. He had to have the answers or at least a few to what is going on.

Marching up to the mansion, she heads inside and goes right for where she knows Slender to be. His library/office for when he knows someone is coming. Slender usually has tea ready for her to drink with him, with their usual book discussions and complaining about Jeff. With the latter asshole not being here, it only went down to talking about books and loving how quiet it is in comparison.

‘You may enter Jane.’ A voice rings in her head as she goes to knock on the door. Without hesitating, her heads move from the going to knock to open the door. The door closes behind her with a slam, harder than intended which hinted at her steaming anger in her. She needed answers, and he had to have some of them.

‘You come because of the raid.’

Slender states, knowing it wasn’t a question, setting a cup of tea down on the elegant side table.

“Of course you know. I need to know a few things about Liquid Hate. Namely, were there people other than me who survived? Or did they continue, or someone else picks it up and use the data gathered?” It was a lot of questions at once, and she spoke quicker as more words spilled out of her mouth. It wasn’t normal for Jane to be this nervous, this demanding. But if her boss had answers, he owed it to her.

Slender looked calm to her, not indicating any emotion due to not having a face. All he did was pick up a teapot and pour the second cup of tea, steam rising into the air, swirling before dissipating. The area around them became that calm that would cling to a person, making them paranoid that someone was watching. She knew that he was watching her, probing her mind without her consent how he always does to everyone he talks to. Jane knew this, knew it was happening, but there was nothing that could be done about it without getting in some serious headaches. Fighting him out of the deepest parts of her head would waste more energy than she wanted to spend for the time.

‘They continued, yes. Despite being taken down by you and many others, the company came back and continued on their experiments. You wish to know because of the male you fought, yes?’ Slender responded, unmoving and staying still.

“Yeah, the guy with the two different eyes. The one Sally helped me with.” Jane didn’t have to much pride to admit the child helped her unlike some of the others in the house.

‘Ah yes, him. I do not know much of him, not even a name. But his strength is like Masky in that the angrier he gets the stronger he gets, but he does have some other things. I could feel the spirit of the dead surround him, connected to him. What that connection is between the spirit and him I do not know. I was more focused on trying to not die myself, and making sure that all you will survive the night with the least injuries as possible.‘

Jane huffed in response to that because it only partially answered her question. “So what, is he a part of Liquid Hate or not?“

Slender appeared to have sighed from his body posture despite having no mouth. ‘As far as I am aware, yes because no one can get that strong without some extra help. He’s marked by my competitor, but it didn’t give him anything extra from my observations. Be it he allowed it, or it happened to him without his knowledge I do not know.’

“So there is a way he could have no idea that he’s experimented on. With no side effects, like my black eyes?“

'You expect me to know all the answers to something I personally care to not take part in, especially something in the past child. I would not be taking that tone with me, else you wish to relive those times. I can not say for sure if he was or wasn’t. Now leave me.’

Standing there watching, the woman in black looked at her boss with hate and rage bubbling under her skin. It felt as if she was a teapot boiling over, the steam billowing out of her head. How dare he treat her like this, hold out on her. She knew why because he was a being who believed himself higher than her. He was, he was something that wasn’t human, that wasn’t an angel or a demon, a being that is nothing and everything. He might not know anything, but being a person of time he has all the time in the world to look into it. If people were being used against him from the same program she was a part of, he should research it. With a huff, Jane turned on her heels, stormed out of the library office area into the kitchen of the mansion and out the back door of the whole building.

Getting back to her own mini-domain in this entire place, slamming the door behind her as it faded into nothing leaving her in the small house she built this up. The steam from the teapot boiled over now as she screams out in frustration and anger, losing her temper and her level-headedness in one fell swoop. All the while Jeff wasn’t here for her to blow off some steam by fighting him. No, he had to be gone! Jane looked around at her destroyed room, not remembering how it got this far; she could see nothing but red.

Picking up two knives, Jane slid them into their sheaths on her thighs. Tonight is the night to blow off steam the old fashioned way. A good ol’ killing of creeps.

[paperclipninja]

Younger post-ep ramble 6x02

You know how sometimes an episode of television feels like really good value? This week’s Younger episode, “Flushed with Love” felt like that to me. There was a LOT going on but it felt like it flowed really well, there was clear set up for the season and I gotta say, the first 7 mins of this ep gave me so many laughs, the writing was on point from the get go. The 23 min (though hello extra 2 mins, I see you) format is tricky at this stage of a series, especially one that has developed characters and relationships the way Younger has, because in order to keep the story moving forward attention needs to be paid to all those elements that have been established. So it will be interesting to see the pacing for the rest of the season, this ep was fast paced but didn’t feel too rushed, though I do hope that every now and then we get to sit in scenes of the upcoming episodes a little longer.

I love a morning in the loft with Liza and Maggie opening scene, there’s something so comforting about it and this ep served us up a good ‘un. Maggie paying out Liza’s outfit (she’s not wrong though), talking about her hook up with Clare’s mum as missionary work (first actual lol) and Maggie’s spidey senses tingling about Clare and her trustworthiness (though Liza is back in the Clare camp for now). It was brief, yet a nice reminder that these two roomies really have a relationship unlike any other on this show (I heart it very hard).

We waste no time getting to Aunt Liza’s first call of duty and that is, of course, baby goods shopping with Josh. This scene was utterly delightful and again, actual lols to be had. One of the many things I love about Younger is that it can venture into the silly or absurd to suit any given situation or character and even when it’s wrapped around something realistic and serious, it just works. This is one of my favourite scenes between Josh and Liza in recent memory, I felt like I saw what their friendship could/would look like (when someone finally puts this limping triangle out of its misery). I cackled at Josh’s, ‘I don’t understand why it comes out before it’s completely assembled’ and seeing him chug that gripe water after dry retching about the umbilical cord stump was pure slapsticky goodness. Of course it would not be a Liza/Josh scene without the reminder of Josh’s heart eyes for Liza, which featured in his lingering gaze as Liza advised against getting mobile as it gets in the way when you lean in for a kiss.  

You know what I have heart eyes for? The 4 mins of this episode that starts at Lexington research centre and ends with Quinn asking Kelsey, ‘ARE YOU CRYING?’. The whole sequence is comedic gold. Seeing Diana, Kelsey and Liza sitting at the table together made my heart so happy, but not as happy as Diana taking Kelsey’s ‘since I’m the publisher’ from the start of the scene and using it to wish her luck telling Quinn her book sucks at the end. D. Trout is here to support you Big K but not put up with your ‘tude. This is also the first scene where we begin to see the experience vs. youth idea surface, as Diana tells Kelsey and Liza that it’s nice they think they have a choice about debuting with Quinn’s book. While Kelsey’s inexperience is easy enough to spot, Liza’s ‘I think this is so smart’ comment, just as the focus group feedback starts to roll, is the first reminder that Liza may be a fine editor with great ideas and her life experience sets her in good stead a lot of the time, but she is pretty much as green as they come in the business world. The Claw reader response reel, sweet lawd, I have watched this so many times and LAUGHED (yes, capital letters laughed) because the selection of responses, working their way to Suzzane’s shingles flaring up and Vicky begging to unread the book, are just too funny for words (”strong reactions”).

Thankfully we don’t have to wait long for Kelsey to deliver the news to Quinn because the nightmare continues over lunch aka. hilarity ensues. In case we needed some more convincing that Quinn does what Quinn wants, she immediately railroads the conversation by giving Kelsey and Liza gold business cards holders (that ‘poor Charles’ comment re: a quick exit, this woman just cannot help herself, Claw could not be a more apropos book title *meow*). Seeing Kelsey trying to find her feet in her new role is really interesting in this ep and the contrast between the first meeting and the later one when she makes Quinn sign a napkin contract to leave if the book bombs (boss move on Kelsey’s part, I rate that whole exchange a lot higher than Maggie’s current Uber rating...you’re welcome), demonstrates that Kelsey has the capacity to be a great publisher, but obvs there will be loads of DRAH-MAH to get there this season. But I tell you, if that drama includes being forced to chant in a restaurant full of strangers with a billionaire who may or may not have peaked in high school (Liza’s ‘what is happening’, the birth of ‘Big K’, Quinn sort of shrieking ‘are you crying?’, I just cannot with it all) then I am HERE FOR IT. I love the whole ridiculous scenario so much and once again, it’s flat out absurd but it somehow works and I’m 100% looking forward to Quinn’s next hit, coming this season: Fifty Shades of Cray.

Kelsey’s insecurity kicks into overdrive straight after lunch and this is undoubtedly going to be a recurring theme, as evidenced in the later exchange between Kelsey and Liza when Liza passes on the advice Charles offered in relation to publishing Claw as the first Millennial title under the new regime.  Kelsey chastising Liza for discussing the book with Charles was the first sign that the pressure is getting to her and the immediate accusation that Liza was running her ideas past Charles (as opposed to just talking about her day, you know, as you do with someone you’re in a relationship with) mirrored Kelsey’s reaction to finding out Liza and Charles were together in season 5, when she leapt to the conclusion that Liza was trying to undermine her decision not to publish the Krieger book. 

Kelsey assuming the worst of Liza is something I really struggle with, especially considering Liza has proven time and time again that she has Kelsey’s back. I am still scratching my head at how the whole exchange resulted in Liza feeling the need to give a peace offering to Kelsey at the gender reveal party later, but I will park that for now. Ultimately, I felt sorry for Kelsey as we saw her presume that Liza thinks she’s out of her depth and misconstrue Liza saying she wasn’t strong enough with Quinn regarding the edits to mean that Liza doesn’t think Kelsey is strong enough herself. There has to be a point when Kelsey realises that Liza and co. all want her to succeed and turns to them for the support each can offer (at least I hope there comes a point) so it will certainly be interesting to see that play out.

Even at the fancy clothes event (this is what I have been referring to it as since seeing everyone dressed up in promos etc so I’ll stick with it) Kelsey is feeling like she does not belong (can we just talk about Kelsey’s portrait wedged in between all the unremarkable white-haired white men on the event poster? I want to print that whole display as postcards to send to people for no reason). Zane’s, ‘You’re standing in front of a bar, you’ve never belonged anywhere more in your life’, was both accurate and also a sweet attempt to reassure Kelsey. I’m finding Kelsey’s willingness to show vulnerability to Zane this season quite a contrast to their previous dynamic; last episode she was talking about finding her job harder than expected and this week, she reveals her struggle with impostor syndrome. I’m neither offended or excited by the Zelsey situation so that will be what it is and for those who are into it, I feel like there might be some great moments coming up in that relationship now that they appear to be on again *shrug emoji* Are they? Not sure. I am curious to see whether their relationship allows Kelsey to continue to open up more and give the audience a glimpse into her struggles and fears and I feel like I say this a lot, but I would like to get to continue to get to know Zane.

It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge that my excitement for Liza and Charles being dressed up and out together as an actual couple was through the roof going into this episode. Their entrance, with Charles’ smitten gaze firmly on Liza, followed quickly by the effortless literary exchange that reveals Liza is feeling a little out of her depth at such an event herself = le sigh. What I did not expect though was a) how much I was going love Lauren in this scene, I mean I really do love every time she is on my screen, but her conversation with Diana and Enzo, I could just transcribe it word for word (or you should just watch it again) because the whole thing, including Enzo’s delight and Diana’s horror (just a modern-day Juliet but with poop in her ear), was glorious; and b) Charles telling Liza that she’s taking bullets meant for him and he needs to fix it and the entire apology to Diana that followed. Zane and Charles’ little nods and Charles’ obvious diversion from Liza asking what that was about is duly noted, clearly the mystery around the newest Millennial/40-something team abounds and will no doubt come to a head soon. 

So it may have been a convenient distraction, but Charles cutting through the awkwardness to tell Diana they both know he owes her an apology, only for her to lay it all out as only Diana could, encapsulated the dynamic we’ve seen for the past five season between these two characters perfectly. Even though it’s only been two episodes, I miss their incidental interactions in the office, even if they’re often only fleeting. Obviously I blacked out momentarily when Charles told Diana that he can’t apologise for falling in love with Liza, but I thankfully regained consciousness in time to hear Diana twist Charles’ words and be happy to leave it as her hearing that she would be running Millennial had it been up to Charles. 

I love that Liza continues to confront Charles and challenge him if she disagrees with him and hearing that Charles’ belief in Kelsey is genuine was lovely and I am so pleased that he has been confirmed as an ally and backer of hers. The reality is, we knew that Empirical was in financial trouble last season, Charles was open about that, but his advice around how to handle Quinn’s book was sound, I love that he also acknowledged that maybe Kelsey’s plan will work and I feel like the ‘experience means something’ idea may resurface in a surprising way down the track. Liza’s cogs were clearly turning and the challenge for her is going to be whether she is strong enough to call Kelsey out or stand up to her at times. 

I am glad to see Charles respect that Liza is in a difficult position and his understanding when she asked that they not discuss Millennial was admirable. I adore how dry Charles is when he and Liza are alone, his humour in the way he talks about branching out to other cuisines and of course, the fabulous dead pan agreement that he will not tell Liza about the movie other than a few tidbits and ‘that’s all you get’ *swoon*. Cue Liza once again being unabashedly suggestive and helping herself to dessert. I really appreciate that Younger shows the way characters are different in these private romantic relationships, it’s realistic and reflects the way we show different sides of ourselves when we’re with someone we love and are comfortable with. Of course Liza’s request to keep work talk out of the relationship will no doubt prove problematic as Charles and Zane’s machinations unfold, however it also means that if Charles is not forthcoming in revealing their plans, he may arguably be respecting her wishes. I still hold out hope that whatever drama that needs to play out does so, but that Kelsey, Liza, Charles and Zane ultimately team up again to work together, along with Diana and Lauren. I mean, talk about the A team.

Speaking of A teams, Diana and Enzo (#Dianzo I think we settled on??). Never have I shushed at a character quite like I did Diana as she careened towards the point of no return during her post-event walk with Enzo. It was like watching some kind of horrifying game of insult Jenga, where instead of wooden pieces, every time Diana kept trying to clarify that actually, she just meant she thought she’d be with someone cultured, sophisticated etc, we could see the pieces of Enzo’s heart being slowly extracted before the whole thing broke completely (along with mine). I actually yelled ‘stop talking’ at one point and it was a reminder that Diana’s tendency to be self absorbed and inconsiderate is still well and truly in tact. It did allow for yet another splendid Lauren/Diana interaction the next morning at work, Lauren’s sympathy evident as she referred to Diana by her actual name instead of Diva, and I just love how obsessed Lauren is with Diana. I need to see more of them together and yes please out at a bar. 

Of course the real pay off and Dianzo resolution came towards the end of the episode when we discovered that Diana had written and published their love story herself. Side note: I want Miriam Shor to narrate all my books. Diana and Enzo’s simple yet emotional reunion was so moving, in part because of the accompanying narration but also because Diana’s walls are finally down with Enzo, she’s allowing herself to be in love with him because that’s what she wants and needs. I just love the character development of Diana over the series and I cannot wait to see the Diana and Enzo story unfold over the rest of the season. 

The fastest moving part of this episode was undoubtedly the gender reveal to birth of baby which occurred in the space of about four minutes. When Liza arrived at the party I really got the impression that as she looked over at Josh and Clare, she was simply happy for them. And poor Liza being tasked with holding the balloon for the big reveal only to let it go, that whole situation was so relatable and would definitely be me if I was given that responsibility. Clare did a fantastic job of moving from first contraction to crowning baby in the back of an Uber in mere minutes. I cannot even tell you how ecstatic I am that Maggie was the character put into the back of that car, that scene was so bonkers but the dialogue, from Maggie asking why she was in the splash zone and ‘it’s coming for me’ and telling Josh the breathing’s not working, to Clare’s ‘you and I are the only two women who’ve been inside my mother, we’re bonded’ and of course ‘no baby in my Uber!’, it has to have been one of the most hectic moments ever on this show but jeez was it funny.

The entire outro of this episode, with Diana’s narration tying together all the fragments, was sublime and obviously credit to Don Roos for the stellar writing. I have said it before, but having a young guy so openly yearn to be a father is really refreshing and seeing Josh with his baby was beautiful. This character just desperately wants to love and be loved and I really believe that his daughter will give that to him in a way he deserves. For Liza, seeing Josh with the baby would undoubtedly dredge up all kinds of feelings. I am not naive enough to believe that the writers won’t continue to stoke the ‘Team’ debate, however for now I am going to put my faith in the fact that actually, the story that’s playing out is one that is real and multifaceted. To see an ex, whom you loved, with a baby that you were very clear you did not want, I don’t doubt that there would be a moment of, ‘what would my life have looked like if that had been me?’. It doesn’t mean Liza wants that now, but I do believe that coupled with the words Diana is reading, it is a time of letting go and reflection for Liza.

When Liza returns to the brownstone (ok, two things quickly, umm how does she get in to the house? I would NOT put it past C. Brooks to have given her a key already but I need confirmation asap. Also, turns out casual Charles is a barefoot guy, which I am struggling with a little because it is Winter and he is sitting reading, surely there’d at least be socks but apparently not), I will admit that I found the exchange between her and Charles a little odd, I can’t really explain why. I really liked Charles’ reaction to the news of a baby girl, his understanding of what it’s like to become a parent felt really evident in his response. I could (most likely am) be completely over-thinking it, but I wonder if Charles asking Liza if she’s happy is because he knows this would be hard for Liza? 

I feel like the fact she needs a hug is a dead give away that she’s needing some TLC and time to process. I truly love a hug, I find them to be more intimate sometimes than a kiss, like a real proper hug and I feel like we don’t get many on TV and the way Liza pulls Charles to her and he holds her does things to my heart. The look on Liza’s face at the end, it is obviously to serve the purpose of stirring up the Josh/Charles debate but you know what? I just want to engage in the narrative as it is written and I do believe that Liza is happy with Charles and is grieving the ‘what could have been’ with Josh in that moment and to me, that’s ok. It will be how these characters and the story move forward from this point that I’m really keen to see.

All in all, I really enjoyed episode 2, it was an episode of extremes in many ways because the funny was oh so funny and the emotional really up and got me at the end there.

Be sure to have your fire blankets ready for next week’s ep, if you’ve seen the sneak peek you know why and if you haven’t just trust me, it will be necessary.

[mountphoenixrp]

We have a new citizen in Mount Phoenix:

                                     Evelyn Seo, who is also known as Eve;                                               a 23 year old daughter of Ah Puch.                             She is a tattoo artist at Taste of Ink and a dancer at Minx.

FC NAME/GROUP: Soojin - G(I)-DLE CHARACTER NAME: Evelyn “Eve” Seo AGE/DATE OF BIRTH: March 3, 1996 PLACE OF BIRTH: Los Angeles, California, USA OCCUPATION: Tattoo artist at Taste of Ink, Burlesque dancer at Minx HEIGHT: 1,65cm DEFINING FEATURES: Two tattoos: - a lotus flower and “life doesn’t allow you to be weak” at her back - “courage” is on the right side of her rib

PERSONALITY: + Charming. Her voice is honey; and her smile sugar. Artistic. And a music lover. Sociable. She just enjoys communicating. Intelligent. One of her favorite leisure activities is learning. Bold. Never turn down a challenge or run away from a fight. Responsible. She knows what she’s doing with her life. Protective. Just don’t mess up with her beloved or belongings. Thoughtful. Only to a few ones who she really cares for. Loyal. A ride-or-die, and again, only to her beloved.

- Sarcastic. And sometimes her tongue can cut people in half. Cunning. She’ll do whatever it takes to get what she wants. Manipulative. Sometimes it happens without her own awareness. Competitive. Either she wins, or the competition isn’t over yet. Impulsive. She knows what she’s doing, but not always she has a plan for it. Hot-headed. And may be truculentin her bad days. Fickle. Her mind is a chameleon. Perverse. To her, not everything that is good also needs to be right.

HISTORY: Evelyn didn’t know who is her real father, or if her mother had a chance to feed her breast milk before taking her leave from the world. It is a little bit too complicated to figure out.

Fortunately, what she knew for sure is simple enough. She is Evelyn Seo, usually called Eve, the youngest, also illegitimate, daughter of a notorious drug baron, who is both respected and feared by the Asian underworld for her canniness and cruelty. Her mother, a gorgeous starlet whose secret is bigger than her own life, passed away one day after giving birth to her due to postpartum hemorrhage. By her last words, Evelyn was left in the care of her maternal grandparents, where she was supposed to have a completely peaceful, normal life, without ever learning the truth about her parents.

But her mother’s worst nightmare had come true. By the age of 7, Evelyn had already showed several abnormal signs regarding her mental development. No matter how hard her grandparents tried to cover and excuse her strange behavior, it only worsened. In one afternoon, long after school, her teacher caught her sitting near the rim of the large pond behind their school, staring at the still water surface. When the teacher approached and asked what she was doing, She smiled meekly:

“I’ve just tried to be nice.”

On the following day, when the headlines of every newspapers in town read something similar to [7-year-old schoolgirl drowned in pond near school], chaos officially ensued.

Evelyn wasn’t insane or born to be a psychopathic murderer. She was just too young to control herself. Too special to fit in anywhere in the mortal world. But no one, except her miserable grandparents, would acknowledge that fact. The girl was forced to be sent to a children asylum, where she witnessed doctors trying to ‘normalize’ her, something they called ‘intensive care’ or whatever. Evidently, all the attempts made to be nowhere else but in vain.

She spent years trying not to literally go insane, although, she admitted, sometimes it was really fun having doctors and other children unconsciously followed her lead. That was also the time the young girl got more aware of her powers, and started to learn to control it by herself. On her 10th birthday, when Evelyn had run out of hope to get out of the place, an unfamiliar man stopped at the door of her patient room, held her hand, walked her out of the asylum’s gate and straight to a very long, big black car. The man told Evelyn that he was her father. The girl had no reason to not believe. The best part of the story was that she never had to return to the asylum. She was already satisfied.

Since that day, Evelyn has stayed in the place exclusively made for her. Behind the dark, next to her father, in their inferiors’ terror, and on their enemies’ lips. Her power hasn’t been under perfect control yet, but that was a little secret between father and daughter. Also, Evelyn knew she meant more than just another daughter of the old man. The other children may help their father to kill, to hunt, to conquer. But, only she could guarantee the drug baron’s ultimate victory. She helped to expand her father’s empire, making the old man the most powerful king ever of the underworld. She was her father’s precious secret weapon. Evelyn should feel exhilarated.

“I’ve found an ideal place for you, Eve. You’re going to love it!”

Her beloved father told her one day, after twelve years of her believing that there would never be any better place than in between the old man’s secretive social circle. Evelyn didn’t say anything, however. The 23-year-old lady had been trained well to know when to keep silent and wait for ‘the boss’ to finish what he needed to say.

“Mount Phoenix will be perfect for someone like you, my girl. You’ll go there at the beginning of next month. Then you can enjoy your freedom, learn something, have some fun, then come back when I told you. Simple, right?”

The baron patted her head tenderly while flashing a loving smile at him. He always loved his daughter that much. Evelyn knew it was the right time for an obedient nod, and she did just so. That earned her another contented smile from her father.

“Don’t worry, we will keep in touch.”

She remembered the last words he said the day he sent her off. She also remembered she had replied with something close to I’m not worried, dad; but the old man didn’t care much about that. Evelyn wondered, if that day she told him the second part of her statement, would he care enough to remember it like the way she had always remembered everything he said.

See you in Hell, motherf*cker.  

PANTHEON: Mayan CHILD OF: Ah Puch (Cizin) POWERS:

Emotions Manipulation: She can induce, deduce, cause, and channel either positive or negative emotions (feelings, moods, and their affects) of both others and hers own. Better at manipulating negative emotions, and the effect is usually stronger. All the effects are only temporary and should not cause any side effect or further damage to the object. Doesn’t work on animals and individuals with strong mental strength or possess mental immunity power.

Pain Empowerment: She becomes more vigorous when someone around her is in pain or suffering. The greater the pain, the stronger she and her powers will be.

Death Sense: She can determine others’ life-span and when they will die, if they are within five feet from her and if she concentrates enough. She can’t predict how the person will die nor do anything to help the person change it.  She also doesn’t have full control of the power, so her premonitions may not 100% precise.

STRENGTHS: + Is quick to recognize others’ feelings and act accordingly + Is good at negotiation and persuasion + Able to control her emotions well regardless the situation + Able to endure stress and work under great pressure

WEAKNESSES: - Is prone to cause and attract dramas - Lack of empathy for the weak and her ‘victims’ - Has disregard for moral beliefs, and… - Her moral judgment is not in line with most of others’

[inexchangeforyoursoul]

I’ve had a chat with ~someone~ and guessed it was The Time to publish this rant... SO. Speaking for both Jasper and Hendrik: what the FUCK was that (also beware of post game spoilers I guess)

I may not have continued to watch streams and LPs after the first Mordegon fight, but from what I’ve gathered from various posts and sources, Act 3 gives everyone a more-or-less happy ending, and then there’s that. Not to mention this ‘everyone’ almost definitely includes not only totally innocent people like Michelle, but also the mother who sacrificed fucking people to her ex-son, and Mia, who was literally in the exact same fucking boat as Jasper. (Speaking of which: out of everyone monsterified in any way or form, only Jade seems to remember what has happened to her to a degree- and she’s the only one who was not under the direct influence of Mordegon, SO... similarly to Mia and Carnelian, Jasper also must have little to no recollection from the past 15 to 25 years, but that’s a rant for another day. Someone really hates Heliodor’s top knights... one is fucked in every way, and the other cannot live a single decade without encountering something gravely traumatizing smh.) Time travel shit is hard to write, but DAMN, is this a fucking mess, especially considering everything else.

Like, okay, let’s start with the basic problem regarding these two dumbasses: Jasper has always been a little shit. We know that. But while mischievous, he’s also perfectly fine giving love and attention to people he likes, even if he's rather roundabout in expressing it. Seeing how diligent and eager he was to better himself while clutching that pendant, I’d say he’s one of those people who care a little too much about the people who count--- and feeling un- or underappreciated is the thing that can twist him into an attention hungry beast. tl;dr: he does expect the important people in his life to return the attention and care in due time, otherwise he becomes a ticking bomb and things will spiral out of control eventually. Now, what makes this complicated is that he’s too subtle in expressing himself in the first place, and will never be the one to walk up to someone with a “we need to talk”; thus, his needs or disdain go unnoticed by people like... well, Hendrik. I love that man as much as anyone else, and he’s super, if not comically heroic, but damn is he an absolute idiot when it comes to personal relations, not to mention his almost robotic hulk-smash tunnel vision when it comes to Carnelian. Chivalrous to a fault, indeed. (I actually like that this is treated as a problem, because it damn straight is. Hell, prioritizing work over everything else is a fairly important catalyst in things ending up the way they are. It is the reason he blindly trusts the king even after finally realizing something’s really wrong with Jasper, and why latter had drifted away until the distance became an unsurmountable chasm. (I kind of see the husband&wife sidequest for the coral to be a good parallel to this situation ngl))

Let’s not even complicate things by raking the king into the equation as a likely father figure to both of them who had apparent favoritism going on, and what effects Mordegon taking over him had on Jasper, shall we? (I personally prefer the option of him approaching Jasper soon after the fall of Dundrasil. With Jasper being one of the smartest people in the game, (if not THE smartest motherflunker around,) maybe he even noticed something was off. Which, may I add, makes him the only one who could notice once Jade was gone. Get those two out of the picture, and you’re SET, man.)

To summarize, one’s too roundabout, the other’s too dumb, and this is why these two will keep talking past each other fiveever. Not even a mermaid’s whole, entire lifetime would be enough for these two to sort things out on their own, which is why they’d need an outsider to nudge them in the right direction. The only two who are in the active position to do so are the Hero and Mordegon. We’ve seen how latter plays out- the Lord of Shadows is much more invested in manipulating people’s weaknesses into killing their friends and family (see also: Mia). So it would be on us to kick them in the shin, right? Except we get no fucking options to do so.

The worst part of it is how easily they could have gone with more insteresting shit. I’ve seen some PC mods already regarding costumes, and you know what? Dubbing problems be damned, I’d give my lunch money tenfold for a mod that gets you a mentally unstable monster tamer Jasper for Act 3 into the team instead of Hendrik who’s forcibly mordegonized instead, even though I don’t have the game, and likely never will. Just this one change is a good enough setup to easily throw a decent storyline together, no??? I bet it wouldn’t be hard to keep the ultimate uberboss for after this shit as a nice bonus, either.

Let’s not even get started on the party dynamics. He’d be suspicious of the Luminary and expect to be used and thrown away as soon as he’s outlived his usefulness, bacause apparently that’s all he’s good for... but that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Cat fights with the other Black Mage material Veronica? Yes. Chatting with Sylvia about Hendrik being as thick as a brick wall both physically and mentally?? Hell Yes. Hitting it hilariously well off with Serena and bonding over shit like being lowkey savage and cakes??? HELL FUCKING YES. Him and Erik not even remembering who this other motherfucker is so they can start on decent terms? They are basically the dog and cat type of the same person so it would be a fucking treat to watch that mess unfold. (in case it wasn’t clear thus far: I’d rather take an altered Act 2 with an Act 3 on top; still post-apocalyptic and somber, but with better outlooks, and healing time for wounds. Just... striking a better balance of hope and despair, you feel? Not everything has to be 90% perfect or 90% depressing.) And JADE, guys, JADE. She could just be the missing link to break Jaspers LVL 99 Mistrust Barrier and make all those other things possible. Apart from maybe Rab, she’s the only one around who knows him to an extent; it would give her some of that much needed active character development, AND be a display of her diplomatic skills as a soon-to-be-ruler. Two birds with one fucking stone, I tell ya. Just thinking about this makes me feel robbed.

Also, party members mean pep powers. Some sly shit with Erik. An ultimate Charm Nuke feat. Jade&Sylv. A Double Re-Vamp where he beats up shit with former while everyone watches in horror. One last power exclusive for the last boss where Hendrik joins the two of them that’s referencing Heliodor’s two headed eagle.

Ah, and there’s the obligatory face-off with Hendrik... and Carnelian, I suppose. Might keep the old dude around to make sure mr knightiest knight no-brains orders... anyway. That shit. That shit would be 100% psychological warfare directed at Jade and Jasper. And actually Evil™ Greg (aka Hendrik, sorry, I love that nickname from a JP playthrough) could totally bring out the receipts on both of them. It wouldn’t even be OOC because A: he spent time with baby Jade, and B: Mordegon knows like 99% of Jasper’s emotional baggage anyway. That  shittalk would work like a charm, and dig under the lad’s skin, I tell ye. And past the humiliation and hurt, Jasper would also get fucking pissed and just tackle Hendrik to the ground before punching the fuck outta him, because feeling betrayed or not, even he knows that Hendrik would never, ever say something like that to his, save Jade’s face. It would be to no avail as our Wall of Meat could kill p much anyone by just flexing on their neck... But that’s also a perfect moment to pull an “if only there was someone who loved you” that would rattle everyone’s jimmies in- and outside of the game.

Man.

(I seriously don’t expect anyone to program this shit on the spot, but I may or may not be halfway done with some more-or-less episodic fic chapters that I also may or may not finish sometime, and y’all are free to contribute yourselves, too)

[frankensteined]

35-40 for Gambon, Jules, Frasier, and Newt!!

i’m putting these answers under a cut because this nonsense got SUPER long:

35. How does your character behave around people they like?

GAMBON: given how short this list of people is, it’s easy to figure out but kind of hard to explain all at the same time? he’s still not outwardly social or chatty, but if he likes you he is way more likely to initiate more silent interactions with you. as in: he’ll catch your eye across a room where someone is being annoying, and he’ll send you a look, trusting that you’ll feel the same way as him. he’ll offer up dry commentary on things if you’re standing nearby, rather than ignore you entirely. he’ll just kinda do favours for you without making a fuss about it (like when he goes into his landlord’s apartment to turn off any lights that were left on once said landlord has fallen asleep in his recliner). he might make a joke??? or at least a sarcastic remark??? like there’s not really a lot that would outwardly tell you that gambon likes you, unless you compare it to how he treats everyone else, but, even so, most of the lucky(?) few that he does like don’t even know that he likes them.  

JULES: jules is really fond of the “affectionate teasing” school of making friends, so if she likes you, expect a lot of that. she loves banter, and people teasing her back so that she can return fire and, generally speaking, she enjoys a playful dialogue that might sometimes border on snarky. she’s also really keen on giving people nicknames, and the more she likes someone, the more personal the nickname will obviously be, so you can kinda tell how much she likes someone by how generic her nickname for them is or isn’t. and she’s very affectionate towards people that she really likes, so the more she likes someone the more often she’ll give them hugs and such. it’s worth noting that she spends a lot of time paying attention to how other people are acting, though, so if she realizes that her typical Make Friend Happy tactics won’t be appreciated, she’ll adapt, however awkwardly. like, she’ll go in for a hug, remember that they don’t like hugs, and then arm flail for a second to play it off as a stretch, and then just pat their arm or something. she’s naturally tactile, but she’ll override that if it’ll help along her relationship with someone else.  

FRASER: he’s just a way nicer guy if he likes you! fraser tends to come across as a pretty self-absorbed Dude at first (and he is! he’s very self-absorbed because he’s quietly very self-conscious!), so it’s hard for him to sometimes break out of that, but, since it is the result of being self-conscious, the second he’s given the opportunity to be genuine with another person the nicer he’ll become, and fast. he’s basically a sponge for approval and kindness, so if you let him absorb it he’ll soak it all up and deliver it back when prodded. he’s very respectful right off the hop with people, generally using the “sir/ma’am”, “mr.lastname/ms. lastname” ways of not only speaking to them, but also about them to other people, so him dropping that and actually addressing someone by their first name is a good first indicator that he likes that person. it means he feels comfortable with them. he also volunteers his time/help a lot when he likes someone, cuz he feels like he needs to prove himself constantly, even to friends. he kind of starts out tightly wound, in that must-prove-himself mindset, but then the more he likes someone and the more comfortable he gets with them, the more he mellows out and ends up being a pretty laid-back buddy (but always ready to snap to action for his friends)and, of course, there’s the fact that he tends to become smitten with girls that are nice to him, and he wears that pretty plainly on his sleeve, so when he likes someone he’s...really obvious about it.

NEWT: if newt likes you know it. he’s a friendly, welcoming guy to begin with, but once he likes someone then he amps it up significantly and broadcasts it loudly. he’s big on compliments, bigger on playful teasing (so that’s what him and jules engage in 85% of the time), biggest on taking a very personal interest in the events of their lives. so he will remember everything someone tells him, and use that as a way of wiggling into their good graces. (like if someone goes “i ruined my favourite pair of shoes :(” he’ll track down a new pair online and shoot them the link within an hour or so. and if they don’t buy them and then the shoes just happen to show up at their doorstep one day...well...miracles happen every day! he has no idea how that happened!!) it sometimes borders on kiss-assery, but it’s born from a need to be liked, rather than an interest in advancement (so if he does it for someone at work it’s “LIKE ME!” rather than “PROMOTE ME!”)he likes to be part of people’s lives, but he also likes to have them be part of his life, so he invites people to things they couldn’t possibly care about just because he’s excited about it, or he hands them complete box sets of his favourite shows with the expectation that they’ll also watch them and love them, or he’ll take people to his workplace to show them what cool things he’s working on, OR, he’ll develop programs and tech specifically for that person...he just wants to take care of people in the ways he knows how!it is worth noting, though, that for all his good intentions, newt can be a bit Much when it comes to his interactions with people he likes! i mentioned up in jules’ answer how she’ll hold back from her typical displays of affection if she can tell that the other person isn’t into that because newt ...does not, by comparison. it’s never intentionally overbearing, but he is also very into hugs and shoulder pats and all that, and he gets pretty excited and just goes for it (narrowly refraining from hugging his bosses sometimes, tbh). like he feels really bad if he makes someone uncomfortable, obviously, and makes an effort once he knows boundaries, but he’s not as good at reading people right off the bat....also he takes an annoying interest in his friends’ love lives, so the more he likes someone, the more he’s like “EYES EMOJI” at the possibility of them getting involved with someone else.

36. How does your character behave around people they dislike?

GAMBON: ...hahaha. okay, WELL. he’s the worst. he’s condescending and dismissive at best towards people he doesn’t like. if you’re talking and he doesn’t like you, and you happen to glance over at him, it’ll be written all over his face in the form of the iciest stare he can muster. if he bothers to say anything to you, his tone is wilting, like you’re literally wasting the air between the two of you. and he’s cruel right at the end, just to deliver a verbal fatal blow, before he walks away. it’s not a nice encounter. he actually doesn’t start or take part in actual fights or arguments because he doesn’t think it’s worth interacting with people he doesn’t like any more than he has to (which is probably a healthy response, except it’s tangled up in his ‘thinking so little of the other person’ mindset that it’s still pretty bleh)HOWEVER...........he doesn’t like to get outmatched. it smarts. it bothers him just enough for him to actually go out of his way to best the other person in whatever way he feels will be sufficient. so, he’s very rude and scathing and then ultimately dismissive to people he doesn’t like....but if he really, really feels slighted by you then he becomes a Nemesis. but that doesn’t happen often, cuz it’s very rare for someone to strike a nerve in him that badly. but it can happen!

JULES: oh, she’s an absolute asshole to the people she doesn’t like. jules is always a little bit ready to fight with people she doesn’t get along with, and, provided that there isn’t a massive power imbalance between her and whoever she’s dealing with, it’s not uncommon for her to kind of goad people into responding aggressively, just so that she’ll have an excuse to push back. if it’s someone that has a lot of power over her, she’ll have to grit her teeth and swallow that, of course, but that just makes her a little bit more punchy (there’s that word u like again!) towards the next person that she ends up squaring off against. she enjoys getting to fight with people she doesn’t like (verbally or physically); it lets off steam, and she is super-shitty-bad at walking away from challenges, so if someone pushes her back. well.

FRASER: he’s a fighter, so...he wants to fight. he knows he can’t always do that, but when he’s around someone he doesn’t like he also can’t help his jaw getting tight and his shoulders straightening out and his hands kinda almost wanting to curl into fists. so, fraser gets quiet, especially if he’s in a room with someone that he knows he can’t fight, and he’ll wait til he can go be alone somewhere to vent his frustrations. but since he’s such a heart-on-his-sleeve kind of Dude, you’ll know if he doesn’t like you just because he’s so obviously wearing that dislike on his face.but if he’s in a situation where he’s absolutely able to start or take part in a fight? he’ll talk all the shit he wants and instigate and throw punches til it’s settled. he doesn’t bottle stuff up often, though, so if he can’t do that then he’ll hit a punching bag instead. he’s a dick to people he doesn’t like, but it’s less venomous and more “let’s just settle this right now” to get it out of his system.

NEWT: newt is massively passive aggressive and vindictive towards people he dislikes! he’s not always a friendly sweetheart! he is actually more than willing to be petty and go out of his way to make life more difficult for people that he’s not fond of, and he takes a certain amount of pride from knowing that he had a hand in someone else’s misfortune (as long as they deserved it). he isn’t directly confrontational, though. he prefers to pull the long con of waiting and then unleashing hell on them when he gets the chance a ways down the road.

37. Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

GAMBON: gambon’s “status” would be his reputation as a hit man, i guess, and he’s infinitely more invested in protecting that than giving a shit about what people are saying about him. like...he honestly could not care at all if people wanna slander him. but, like i said earlier, if he’s bested in any way then he takes it upon himself to get revenge on that person, so i think that HE thinks he’s more concerned with his status......but really, he’d want to defend his honor.

JULES: jules has kind of built up her identity around the services that she provides her employers, and has a hard time kind of figuring out who she is outside of that, so she’s definitely more concerned with her status than her honor. if she didn’t have the position that she does, she wouldn’t know what to do with herself. she’s also inherently reckless when she’s unwinding, so her “honor” is pretty questionable to begin with. the big exception to this is her reputation in the eyes of her parents and their social circles, because she works really hard to keep them from knowing anything about all the other stuff she does, so it’s important to her that they all think that she’s just a nanny. so if someone was gonna challenge that and upset her parents, she’d defend it.

FRASER: fraser is all about honor. acting with it, protecting it, defending it in other people,...he’s just far, far more invested in that than any status he could acquire for himself. for as desperately as he wants to be approved of and recognized, if he doesn’t feel that it’s an authentic reward for himself, he won’t want it. he isn’t interested in things he hasn’t earned, or things that aren’t real to him.

NEWT: newt’s all status! he’s part of an r&t branch of a biotech company, and he will protect that part of his life, uh, with his life! the only way that he’ll leave it is if he’s moving up!! which is kind of where newt’s character gets to be a little bit of fun, because he really is this wonderful person who cares about his friends and loves discovering and all that...but when he’s this tied to his work, that he’s willing to maybe put honor on the backburner...what does that do to him? how far is he willing to stretch his own morals for the sake of everything he’s accomplishing? HMMM...

38. Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

GAMBON: gambon’s entire career is built around removing threats (for the right price). ironically, though, if it’s a problem/threat to himself, he’ll remove himself from it instead.....and then circle back around to remove it instead lol.

JULES: to quote myself in an earlier answer: “she is super-shitty-bad at walking away from challenge” SO. she removes problems and threats herself. that’s also part of her job, but unlike gambon, even if she’s in over her head she will fight it out rather than remove herself from the issue. 

FRASER: ditto, with a big side order of it wouldn’t even occur to him to remove himself from the problem. he’ll go down swinging. 

NEWT: he’ll remove himself immediately. he’s not the guy who wants to be in the middle of a big hoopla. he’s the smart guy who is dealing with things from behind the safety of a keyboard and monitor, or behind a lot of safety glass.

39. Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

GAMBON: fletcher has a few birds in his office, because fletcher is annoying like that, and i absolutely, wholeheartedly believe that at least one of those birds has nipped gambon on more that one occasion. and gambon hates those birds, and feels even more justified in being a definitive Cat Person.

JULES: i haven’t thought about this til now, but she’s probably been bitten by a guard dog at some place at some time. it just kinda seems inevitable. so, yeah, she’s gotten bitten on the leg by a german shepherd or rottweiler or something while trying to get away from it! but she doesn’t blame the dog, she blames herself for being sloppy in her work. the lesson she learned from it was “don’t be a dumbass”, rather than ending up with any fear of the dogs, which is good! if anything, she’s got a healthier respect for them now.

FRASER: he’s been stung by bees a lot because he’s like “don’t worry, i’ll get the bee!” whenever one gets inside places, but he never learns, so...he was unaffected, in the long run. good thing he isn’t allergic. but no actual animal bites!

NEWT: as a kid, he liked to pick up and look at everything, so i think that newt has been bitten by hamsters and cats and probably a snake, and maybe a rabbit, and everything you can think of except for a dog. but newt zaps himself with his inventions and things so often that it’s pretty obvious that he just lets it roll off his back now. he’s also like “it was my fault, they’re just doing what they do” like jules is.

40. How does your character treat people in service jobs?

surprise! none of them are garbage people who treat folks in the service industry poorly! not even gambon! we can add that one to his list of “not the worst you could be” traits, which brings that list up to......like, five things.  

GAMBON: the best you could hope for here would be for him to just be decent, and that’s exactly what you get here. he’s polite, but not social. doesn’t make small talk, but doesn’t completely blow off attempts at it, either. he can recognize that they’re just doing their jobs, and are likely trying to get a tip by going that extra mile, so even if he doesn’t like it...he’ll stomach it. somewhat. like he’ll give very bland answers and very tight smiles, hoping that they’ll leave him alone (and since he never gives off an inviting appearance, that happens more often than not), and if it’s in a place where you leave tips, he leaves tips. says “thank you”. gets outta there. not warm, but not an asshole iceman either. he really tries not to do anything that might make him a memorable customer anywhere, because in general he just prefers to blend into the background.

JULES: jules frequents coffee shops and 24 hour diners that serve all-day breakfast, so she’s very familiar with being an absolute sweetheart to the people working in those places. she’s being given precious, precious coffee and pancakes, why wouldn’t she be super nice to them?! for the places that she goes to most often, she probably knows the staff by name, and remembers stuff about their families and makes overly-familiar chit-chat with them. and, on days where she’s just dragging herself in there after she’s been beaten half to hell and doesn’t wanna talk, they know her orders well enough to just bring her things and she doesn’t need to chit-chat. she likes being chummy with people that perform services like that, and will absolutely step in to defend them if she sees someone being a dick to them.

FRASER: take that “sir/ma’am” politeness and crank it up to eleven, because he was raised to be respectful of people doing him a service, plain and simple. he’s charming in a “i came here for the food, but i’m staying for the company :)” way, but doesn’t go out of his way to force conversations with people, either. he’s A Good Boy to people that are working, and, like jules, he’ll step in if he sees other patrons being disrespectful. and sometimes that causes bar fights, but y’know. that’s not his fault, the other guy shouldn’t have been rude to the bartender.

NEWT: newt is the nicest, chattiest, worst customer in the world!! he loves to make small talk! he loves to ask how the other person is doing, and to relate something personal of his own to whatever they tell him, to keep the conversation going! he’s That Guy who holds up the line with stories, and he’s also That Guy who takes ten years or order anything because he always wants to try something new. he wants to tweak menu options, or he wants to try the same shirt on in five different colours, or he’ll ask five hundred questions about the item he’s going to buy. he wants to hang out while repair people are doing the repairs so that he’ll understand the repairs so he can just repair everything himself in the future he can keep them company!but he’s so genuine, and sweet, and really does like to zero-in on subjects that the service people clearly enjoy talking about, that it’s hard for them to hate him for it. he tips well, always, and is always full of smiles. so he’s that customer that people are like “he’s so nice but oh my god does he talk a lot!” but they still are happy to help him.

character development questions meme!