#he doesn't seem like he would go as far as to intentionally kill someone to use their life as a bargaining chip

[preludicrous]

maruki convinces himself he isn't being manipulative and he acts as though he isn't but he so is. and its foreshadowed even from the beginning. i mean he used snacks to bribe the thieves into going to counseling just like he used other tactic to (bribe, manipulate, coerce) the thieves to living in his reality

[ann7av]

Spoilers for act 2

Isha is Jinx's inner child just as Warrick is Vi's inner monster and their mutual destruction is actually a pivotal event so they can both evolve as individuals, in this essay I will--

*start yapping*

No, I mean it, the hyper fixation kicked in and it kicked me hard. This is just about Vi's perspective in ep.5 btw but in my defense, she looks so tired

In the first arc, Vi starts to separate Powder from Jinx as a way of coping, she feels guilty about the destruction Jix caused and, as we know, Vi would never intentionally hurt her sister so the only way for her to try and stop her is to separate the two.

She can't kill her sister but she can kill Jinx (at least she thinks she can)

In ep.5 we see her spiraling into self-destruction, her entire character thus far has been taking care of others and now she has no one, and as such she doesn't think she has value simply as an individual.

Vi cannot accept change, that's her biggest flaw, she can't accept her sister's change or the change in the underground, and she begs Cait not to change in arc one. She somewhat recreated what her life in prison must've been like (she has a tiny apartment where she keeps herself enclosed, she's fighting on a daily basis, she's angry) so Vi's seeking familiarity in whatever she can find.

Now, she wakes up to Jinx in her little "protected" new reality, and her first instinct is to attack. She chokes Jinx (not her sister) and tells her off when she tells her about Vander, but THEN what happens?

Jinx starts to cry, and for a millisecond the illusion of Powder X Jinx is broken and Vi lets go of her, allowing her to say that "Vander is alive" and that "He needs OUR help".

Just like that, Vi's forced to face the possibility of change, she's not trusting that any of this is actually real and not one of Jix's "delusions" but it doesn't matter, the chance that someone NEEDS her help is enough for her to finally look at her own reflection on the mirror she broke in anger and denial, she has a choice to stay in the illusion or to take a risk.

Now, Vi follows her out and sees the mural. Not only does the mural depict Jinx (the person Vi is convincing herself killed her sister) as a hero but it also has Vander in it.

Jinx became Silco's daughter, the man who killed Vander and tore their family apart but for Zaun, she's also Vander's legacy of revolution. Vi is having to face that both things can be true at the same time.

They walk the tunnels and they start bickering, throwing things at each other's face and it's clear she's trying to avoid thinking too hard about what Jix is telling her.

Vi drops her gauntlets to make a point she doesn't need them, but her gauntlets are a physical symbol of her own emotional barriers, she takes them out when she's comfortable enough to let her guard down.

In this scenario, she's using her anger as a shield against Jinx, and anger is a safe emotion so she assumes there's not much risk, she doesn't expect Jinx to hit her, and when she does she hits back.

The thing is, that fight does not seem serious, they're not actually trying to hurt the other but rather just trying to prove their own points.

Now, Isha is serving as Jinx's inner child here and, as one would expect, she jumps in to help. But Vi's not expecting that and (as she does) she reacts.

She hits Isha (the embodiment of Powder) while fighting Jinx, she didn't mean to hurt the kid just like she never meant to her her sister all those years ago, but by fighting with Jinx (the sister she cannot accept) she does.

That's a visual representation of her inner turmoil, there's Jinx and there's Powder and she cannot see them as one, but she can't fight one without hurting the other, where one goes the other follows, they are one and the same.

Jinx goes to comfort Isha, and THAT'S when she puts her gauntlets back on, that's when she builds her defenses again, she can't allow herself to humanize Jinx or else she'll have to admit she's her sister and that she's changed.

Then we have Singed talking about Warrick (not Vander) something like:

"The beast was once a man victim of a great tragedy, but he had an incredible will to live, tolerance to pain, and was very resilient but it got lost in the bowels of the beast" - Yeah, sounds familiar?

We see in Warrick's pov, and he remembers wiping Powder's tears the same way Vi wiped Caits but Vi is blurred, her memory is still lost to him just like she's lost to herself

They find an office that belonged to Vander and Silco, and Violet takes one of her gauntlets off after she enters but keeps the other, her defenses are faltering but she's not willing to lower them yet.

They find a letter from Vander apologizing for what he did after the riot (the thing that broke them apart and later on separated Vi and Jinx)

Warrick came back to where Vander's apology to Silco was never read, he's roaming a familiar place with no purpose, desperately trying to find something he doesn't even know what means anymore.

And what guides him to the sisters is Isha's blood, the blood that was shed when Vi struck her in her fight with Jinx.

Jinx says everything might have been different if Silco had found the letter, and that same thought could apply to them.

If Marcus hadn't taken Vi away before she could come back to her sister, if Jinx had known what happened, if they had talked sooner after reuniting

Vi's defenses are crumbling here, they're both thinking the same thing and for a moment Jinx and Powder are the same, she almost comforts her with her uncovered hand, Jinx is being vulnerable, but Vi hesitates to trust her, so instead of reaching for her she reaches for the gauntlet again, putting her defenses up.

They leave back to the tunnels when Warrick finally catches on, and Vi sees this "beast" running towards them

It doesn't matter Jinx is telling her it's Vander, because Vi is still not trusting her, all she can see is Warrick and he himself is not stopping either, he can't recognize his daughters.

The only person who trusts the beast is Jinx, but she's not the person who can stop him at this moment, Vi is, and she does. Just like she has always done she gets in the way to protect the people she cares about.

Now, now, something very interesting about how this show deals with details is that Warrick was following the scent of Isha's blood so when he jumps to attack the camera focuses on the two.

As I commented, these two characters are being used to show Jinx and Vi's inner turmoil, and the fact Vi's inner monster (Warrick) is specifically aiming to hurt Jinx's inner child (Isha) is very telling.

But what is even more telling is that Vi is the one to stop him from hurting her, and by extension, she's protecting Jinx.

Just like before we see that Vi cannot attack Jinx without hurting Powder here we see that she can't protect Powder without protecting Jinx as well.

And THAT'S when we have the Jinx X Powder separation cracking

She says he's going to kill YOU, she's not worried about herself here, and the way she tries to protect them is to fight.

Vi always tries to fight her problem away by either violence or avoidance and now is no difference, she tries to fight him but here she's metaphorically fighting her own anger, the same anger that hurt her family and herself

The problem is that you can't fight fire with fire in these situations. Anger will not beat anger, punching will not stop the fight it will only make it worse.

They fight and he throws her against a wall before turning to focus on Isha but Jinx gets in the way and for a moment he recognizes Powder again

Jinx has been trying to protect Isha while making them stop and she tries again, but this time Vi is willing to hear her out,

She doesn't see Vander inside Warrick yet, and as this ginormous thing is barreling towards her she makes a decision, and for the first time, she trusts Jinx again, lowers her gauntlets and stops fighting. Vi's accepting the beast

There's a sequence where the image goes from Vi to Warrick repeatedly and they have similar expressions but then her eyes change and she calls for her father again.

Everything goes dark then, and we see Jinx completely terrified holding a lighter and looking for them. She doesn't know what she's going to find, she doesn't know if she was right in blindly believing Vander was still there.

The lights were bright during the fight but now everything is dark, and the dark is often used as a space of uncertainty and vulnerability Jinx couldn't save her sister from the beast and all she could do was try to guide her into saving herself.

Violet tried everything she knew, she tried fighting Jinx but in the process, she hurt the child, she tried avoiding the connection with her sister and by extension avoiding the family history but Warrick caught up with them again nonetheless, and when he did she tried to fight him off but the beast can't be killed by the same violence that created it.

In the end, it was the act of trusting Jinx that brought Vander back, Vi hugged him with the same gauntlets she used to hurt Warrick, she recognizes Jinx is also his daughter and by doing so she opens a door to seeing her as her sister again, even Isha got pulled into the hug.

Important to add that I do see Vander and Isha as more than just inner versions of Vi and Jinx but this show makes so many connections that everyone is everyone's inner something at one point tbh

Also, wdym both Cait and Jinx go to Stillwater and yet there was not ONE little detail of them thinking about Vi while my girl is literally hallucinating and only thinking about them? ONE MENTION

[yanderes-galore]

Angeldust with a prudish darling? :33 (Platonic/Romantic)🪲 [Shiny Bug Anon]

According to the dictionary, a Prude is;

"A person who is or claims to be easily shocked by matters relating to sex or nudity."

I'll see what I can do :) Definition is here for those who don't know what "Prude" meant like me. Please read Trigger Warnings THOROUGHLY.

Yandere! Angel Dust with Prude! Darling

Pairing: Platonic/Romantic

Possible Trigger Warnings: Gender-Neutral Darling, Obsession, Flirty behavior, Mature language/Themes, Intimate/Sexual behavior mentioned (he doesn't really do anything to you, just teases you), Drinking/Intoxication, Thoughts of violence/murder, Jealousy, Manipulation, Dubious companionship/relationship.

I feel a little bad for darling because you have the, for lack of a better term, Pornstar obsessed with you.

For a Sinner you seem awfully... tight lipped about sex.

The moment Angel says some innuendo or flirty comment, he notices you grimace or try to ignore it.

You practically run out of the room when he puts in one of his... "tapes".

At first he's confused, but honestly...?

He does find your nature a bit cute.

You just know Angel's going to tease you relentlessly.

After all, Angel's whole thing is about the intimate nature in Sinners.

Angel would definitely flirt and tease you just to see your reaction.

Afterwards he'd playfully laugh with a grin.

"No need to be such a prude around me, darling~ Such a carnal desire is nothing to be too ashamed about down here."

Despite this, I doubt Angel has any malicious intentions towards you.

He cares for you, be it as a close friend or some sort of genuine partner.

Him teasing you about nudity and intimacy is his form of showing affection since you're just so cute.

I mean, seriously... a Sinner who isn't promiscuous in the slightest?

It's a surprise to Angel... Although... Perhaps it's a welcome one?

Definitely makes comments about nudity around you, if he has romantic interest towards you it's no doubt about you or himself.

Honestly? He lives for the blush on your face.

You try to tell him off, telling him to stop teasing you...

However, how could he?

Again, you're adorable...

Plus, messing with you takes away his stress.

If he went too far, especially if Husk gave him a little too much to drink, he feels horrible.

Which results in him chasing you down, apologizing profusely and clinging to you.

He really does care about you, to the point that if anyone touched you... especially Val... Angel may just snap.

Angel would kill for you, if he can't he'll get someone who can...!

So while he may be playful and likes to see you blush or freak out, he hates making you upset.

It makes him feel like shit, really.

If Angel goes too far, he'll comfort you.

If someone else was teasing you, you can hear the growl that leaves the Spider-Demon's throat.

Teasing you is just you and him thing.

If anyone else messed with you, he'd immediately be protective.

He'd pick you up and glare daggers at the demon who dared to upset you like that.

"Hey. They don't like what you're doing, asshole. It's best you leave before things get ugly, scum...!"

Overall, Angel is teasing towards a darling who's prude.

He means well and is still affectionate, never intentionally trying to hurt you or make you upset.

Teasing you is his favorite thing to do with you...

The moment anyone else tries to take advantage of your nature, however?

They'll be gotten rid of and you'll be firmly placed in Angel's arms.

"Come on... you aren't at least a little bit curious?"

[graementality]

behold?? my full interpretation on all of the main factors of CCCC!! I don't know what compelled me to write all this but here we are. (whoops this got LONGG)

enjoy!

[disclaimer that this is my own interpretation and, while I take alot from canon, some of it will be closer to the fanon side of things. ]

[disclaimer 2 that I get all writery in certain parts and essentially write "from the characters' perspective" so those bits aren't MY OWN opinions, it's what I think they would feel about certain things C:]

[disclaimer 3 that alot of this is me stating the obvious, aswell as making them out to seem quite horrible, I promise I love them all and while they do have many flaws, they have good moments too </3 uhh ok yeah don't kill me with rocks pls]

Heart

• first of all: Heart has a huge victim complex. whether intentionally or not, he will always play the victim- he can get quite emotionally manipulative in this sense too. It can never be his fault- "he was provoked" "the other deserved it" "the other started it" "I'm innocent I'm innocent I'm innocent."

• he *can be* immature. now this word gets thrown around alot by Mind but i think he's 'immature' not in the sense that he throws tantrums and can't be trusted and has nothing of importance to say like Mind thinks. he is in the way that he refuses to listen to others, refuses to take the blame, and can also be quite petty and has a tendency to blow up (sound familiar? yeah. Minds immature too, we love Heart Mind parallels).

• he is spiteful and impulsive, but can you blame him? he's constantly being belittled and fought against; of course he's gonna take any chance he can to get back at Mind- to show him how it feels- to make him finally *listen*.

• Heart constantly feels like no one listens to him, that he is the disregarded part bcus he's "uncontrollable and unruly". this obviously forms alot of built up resentment because no one is taking him seriously. I think he can switch alot between "I need to prove that I'm just as good as Mind, I'll show them." and "they're right, I'm violent and impulsive and I'm ruining our chances of becoming Whole.". as you'd expect- his mood swings are wild.

• he is Inherently violent and impulsive. nothing is premeditated- if he's angry, he'll act on it. he'll say and do whatever he thinks will get him out of a situation or will make the other person listen.

• just the same as Mind- he is under the full impression that his opinions on how Whole should be are correct. And of course there is truth in that, emotions are a necessary part of existence, but just like Mind, he doesn't understand the need for his other half's part aswell.

• I think he very much wallows in his depression. he finds it difficult not to, but when he's bad- he's bad. he takes after Whole in that sense. he will be selfish and cruel and will isolate. he will spend all his time in his room and will be significantly more vile to Mind. he gets very caught up in his own emotions and depression, which just enhances it. (that is until things start being better and they're on their way to concord ofc, they all start helping eachother and themselves again) (this sounds mean I promise I love him, sadly I love projecting onto him more)

• there's alot of negatives here for him being my favourite character but trust me he can be good too. He's excellent at comfort, he knows just how to make someone feel better when they need it. He's empathetic, he can read people's emotions with ease and because of this-is able to understand them. Every fight with Mind- he feels his anger and frustration just as much as his own, he knows Mind gets just as riled up as him when tipped over the edge. The same goes with Soul, he can feel Soul's anger like a looming threat when their fights escalate too far. He can feel Soul's guilt and and how he relishes in the control despite it. That is to say- Heart can be kind and caring too, when it counts. he's the love AND the hate; it just so happens that he's got ALOTT of things to be mad about in his life </3

Mind

• Mind is astronomically emotionally repressed, it is a problem. he views emotions as something that holds him and everyone back from rational thinking and being at their optimal performance levels. he doesn't allow himself to get caught up in emotions (this of course is a lie, and excludes his petty outbursts at Heart, those don't count).

• ^ so much to the point that he 'removes himself of everything humane and emotional' by replacing himself with mechanical parts. no I don't think that's canon but I love this headcanon and I will die on this hill.

• though he would deny it: he is very petty, and does enjoy provoking Heart whenever given the chance. (which of course Heart does aswell)

• he is a 'control freak' to his core. though it comes off as tyrannical, he truly does think he knows what's best for the Whole, and that's why he's so adamant on being the ruler. logic is straightforward, logic can be easily worked through and used to make optimal decisions, thinking clearly avoids all possible bad situations. logic is his mainstay, his rock. (If he were to let in the flood of repressed emotion, he wouldn't be able to handle it all, and would lose hold of his mainstay whilst desperately trying to stay grasped onto it. he would be scared and lost in it all without a way back up.)

• he hides behind his apathetic facade but he *does* feel and he *does* get angry and upset and scared- and he hates himself for it. he can't be seen as vulnerable, as weak. I don't think he even knows *how* to deal with emotions either. he's spent so much time shoving them down that when they finally all come back up, he genuinly doesn't know what to do, he panics, unable to use logic in a situation like this.

• he is stubborn as all hell.

• he is Whole's ego. he doesn't think he's ever good enough and yet pretends he's the best; he believes he's the best too- contradictory I know, they're all hypocrites /lh.

• despite all these sympathisable things, he *is* cold and he *is* cruel at times. just like Heart, he has his reasons, but that doesn't make his actions justified. (make up already you guys suck!!!!)

Soul

• sigghhh identity issues x1000; he doesn't know who he is or what he's meant to be. he isn't a real person, and what's worse, he isn't *Whole*.

• I think so much of his character is based around Whole rather than him being much of his own person. his identity is a mimicry of Whole, botched together to make the imperfect Self, always wrong, never perfect enough. he has spent his whole existence working towards becoming someone else that he's never once thought to make an identity of his own- it's all for Whole, he would be nothing without him.

• he does not want to have to hurt the other two but in the end, that's all they'll listen to. he mimics power and control. he doesn't want to hurt them- but what else does he have if not power over these two? he has no control over the loops, no power against Whole, he can't do anything to stop this in the grand scheme, so he exerts control in the only way he can. he (tries to) keeps them in line. there is a large amount of guilt around that though.

• he's actually a very guilty person in general, his existence is merely the happenstance of dissonance; he and the others are born from it. he is the hubris of his Whole's misery- how could he not feel guilty about his every motion and thought, his existence itself is made from anguish {his Whole's anguish}.

• he yearns for non-existence and existence simultaneously; he contradicts himself. he wants to be Whole, but at the same time he wants to co-exist with him, happily.

• overall he is tired, he is very very tired. he doesn't have much left in him and he'll do whatever is necessary to just make it *stop* at this point. I think even after cacophony ends and the fighting finally stops, he's still on edge. he flinches at every little sound and raised voice. he wakes up in the middle of the night thinking he heard the other two arguing again, he has nightmares. he's very paranoid at all times.

• during cacophony I feel like Heart and Mind are defintely dehumanised by him. whether subconsciously or not. they become the ids, rather than his fellow thirds. they're a problem he needs to fix, parasites he needs to be rid of. he wants to get along and trust them, truly, but he never can.

• touch starved. this needs no elaboration.

• he worships Whole, devotes himself to him. he thinks of him like a god, something holy and perfect and completely out of his reach. his whole identity and existence is built around becoming him, this places Whole as the epitome of perfection. he wishes he was able to be close to Whole, to know him- but that's impossible, and he thinks if he ever even got the chance to brush their hands together his body would explode at the heat of his divine touch. yeah listen to this freak, please be normal for once in your life Soul.

Whole

(disclaimer: this is the character Whole and is in no way how I view CJ!! they are completely seperate thank yew) -

• my entire perception of Whole is mismatched ideas I've collected from mutuals but a large portion of his personality is from 'live the dream'. so, just picture that version of Whole mixed in with the weird codependent god relationship with Soul and that's my Whole 👍

• he is selfish and hypocritical at his core, he's almost as guilt-ridden as his Soul.

• he knows he does bad things, to himself and others. he hates it, he regrets it, he feels guilty for it- but he will always come back and do it again.

• he lacks barely any form of self love- of course this is going to make it difficult for him to sympathise and love his little blots- *parts of himself*.

• he is (of course) suicidal, alot of his (self proclaimed) 'selfishness' stems from this; he can't help it but its true. he's spent so long only looking out for himself, in isolation, believing that everything he does is pointless- his actions are gonna be selfish, whether he likes it or not. hence- the loop; he continues to repeat it.

• he is a chronic liar, he lies to himself, he lies to HMS, he lies to his friends. sometimes harmlessly, sometimes Very Much Not. there are times he's sworn he won't restart the loop and believed it, but of course that never lasted very long.

• he's not good at maintaining relationships- with anyone. this is why he struggles so much with Soul's unwavering devotion to him. not only does he feel like he's not putting into their relationship as much as Soul is, but he also lives in constant fear that *it will end eventually*. Soul will realise what a bad person he is and abandon him, or he'll fuck something up on his own.

• Whole has religious trauma (two wuv), and because of this he is very uncomfortable with Soul's worshipping of him.

• despite this, he still leans into it; no one's ever adored him this fervently, without hesitation, he can't help but enjoy it at least a little. both him and Soul are touch starved as hell so, it's *alot*. It's easier when they're in the loops, when he's separated from them all, from their resentment and their love. he doesn't think he deserves anything but what he thinks of himself. so Soul's unwavering love and devotion throws him off, but who would he be to refuse such a scarce thing in his life?

The Juno Incident

• ok!! I like lot's of different interpretations of the Juno incident honestly, though the ones that align best with what I think happened are these:

• Heart missed, literally. his bullet did not hit Mind. I believe he had low vision (just like me fr!!) before being blinded fully after TJI and this of course made aiming difficult.

• ALTERNATIVELY, he *did* shoot Mind, and the bullet *did* hit. Whether that was in the throat or some other place idrk, it fluctuates.

• In both instances, I think it went like this: after Heart's shot, Mind was shocked, he was scared, ESPECIALLY if the bullet did actually hit. I think in that moment, he did not have his logic to rely on, emotion- shock, fear, betrayal, anger- all of it, took over. he probably couldn't move for a few *very long, agonising* minutes, he was shaking, he was trying to organise his thoughts to best approach the situation and *couldn't*. his smug demeanour was finally broken down and in that moment he was truly *weak* (which he resents both himself and Heart for every day).

• meanwhile Heart very quickly flips from seething hatred and anger to regret, he's a sobbing mess. he's also scared- partly for Mind (if the bullet hit), but mainly for himself, mainly of *Soul* and what the consequences will be. he starts hysterically apologising, not to anyone in particular, just whoever will listen. he immediately goes into defence mode- victim mode.

• when Soul gets to the scene it's a mix of emotions. he's mad, mostly, but also feels betrayed- this is going to impact Whole, this is a setback we can't come back from, how could they do this? but of course the first thing he has to do is help, mediate, punish- as always.

• when it comes to whether or not Soul blinded Heart, I'm not sure. I enjoy the interpretations where he does, but also the ones that don't. but I firmly believe that it was majorly Heart's doing (self inflicted whilst in Apathy which I'll elaborate more on soon).

• Soul still punishes Heart obviously. after realising that Heart isn't the one that's been hurt here, and is crying crocodile tears, he quickly makes his way to Mind, who is still trying to regain his composure. Heart is obviously still screaming and wailing, and Soul now has the full picture of what happened, he tears into Heart. he yells at him about how he's betrayed them, betrayed Whole, how he's broken everything. Heart just defends and defends, cries and cries, he doesn't want to face the consequences. Soul eventually sends him to Apathy, where he can't wreck anything else (except himself). This was maybe the first time they were all equally afraid of eachother. (It will happen again, and again, of course)

• after dealing with Heart, Soul tends to Mind, who is *very* averse to being looked after (he doesn't need his pity). But he is obviously Very Fucked Up and accepts the care anyway. cue weeks of recovery and PTSD.

Apathy

• Apathy is somewhere in headspace that no one knows how to get to, they just end up there when that is where they need to go. It's a long walk, or a short one; no one really knows when you end up underground, you just do.

• I picture it as something of a cave system but instead of rocks, it's made up of decay. It smells like dirt and rotting flesh, the walls squirm as if they were alive, the floors are covered in rotting vine-like things that crawl around you and pull you deeper into the pit. Its dark and agonising.

• Heart relies heavily on sound and touch, this place is a sensory nightmare for him to say the least. he can barely see, Apathy is unable to harbour sound, and everything around him makes him want to throw up.

• eventually his own actions, with the additional side effects of being somewhere so horrific all alone for so long- causes Heart to scratch out his eyes. I hc him as someone very prone to scratching and skin picking- it got a bit much here to say the least and that got taken out on his eyes.

• I imagine he was down there for at least a few weeks. at the max a little over a month. Soul is the one to come get him, Mind does not want to face him.

The Loop

• Whole purposefully restarts the loop. for quite awhile I stuck with the idea that the loop restarts itself, like when they start fighting again- as the cycle of depression does. and while I still believe that- I like Whole restarting it on purpose more :]. It gives not only the plot, but all of the characters so much more depth in my opinion. there's resentment, there's guilt, there's it's effects on relationships and relationships with oneself. It's just overall so horribly good.

• I mainly like the way things happen in 'live the dream'. as in: Whole gets tired of Being A Person, he doesn't want to exist anymore- so he sits down at his piano and begins his song to restart the loop; the loop that brings him to the peaceful realm of unconsciousness whilst his thirds go through hell once again. and when they finally reach concord, he's brought back to reality. and it repeats itself.

• regarding memories: Soul remembers the most, which isn't saying much but yk. his memories of the loop mainly consist of the main events (split, fighting, Juno incident, any other significant things). his memories aren't clear enough to ever prevent any of this though, he just has to live with the fact that he knows something bad is going to happen, and he can't do anything to stop it. even if he did manage to, the loop would find a way to make it happen anyway. (for example: he calms Heart down before he manages to shoot Mind. Soul thinks all is well but later that night he hears muffled yelling from one of the blots' rooms, he's annoyed for a moment- just another fight- until he hears a gunshot. It happened anyway, his efforts were fruitless.)

• Soul is aware they've been through many many loops. he doesn't know how many, but he knows they've been here for A Very Long Time. he's tired.

• Heart and Mind are..somewhat aware of the loop? I think during calamity and closer to concord they're able to remember better, but in the midst of cacophony, they might as well know nothing. the battle for control and constant warring prevents them from remembering they've been here before- and will be once more. It all feels familiar, they write it off as deja vu. alot of things happen because of their 'instincts', for example: Heart's first thought during The Fight with Mind is to grab the gun; he's never shot anyone before, so why'd the thought come up? well it's obviously the most efficient choice of action- it'll certainly get Mind to shut up and listen to you. <- and so the cycle repeats itself.

• on how many loops there have been. I think it comes and goes like the cycle of depression (obviously). I think they each last for a few months up to a year at a time, and concord lasts for roughly a few months aswell. however many of those fit into the time that Whole has been alive and struggling with depression is how many loops there have been.

done!! holy shit that's alot, over 3k to be exact. these ideas will probably change and fluctuate over time but it was nice to get it all down for now :] feel free to send me asks about my headcanons of these weird little bugs, I love them :33 !!!

[howlsofbloodhounds]

You ever thought about the fact that, if Killer retains his SAVE, LOAD, and RESET abilities he's, like, basically a necromancer but for whole ass universes?

Like, he could genuinely go into any universe, reset it to Frisk's fall, kill them for good (aka convince the Player that their game is bugged by spawn killing them until they give up), and voila! The universe is fixed!

Like, I don't think he'd actually do it (especially considering the fact that to him Players are basically gods and he doesn't seem to want to challenge them) but I do think that if this possibility is ever revealed to others there are quite a few people who'd try to pressure him into it.

Perhaps not, like, Dust. 'Cause he's already too far gone to think there's any fixing his universe. But what about Horror or Cross? (It probably wouldn't work with Cross since there is some far greater bullshittery going on there, but he'd definitely nag at Killer until he at least tries).

I'm firmly of the belief that Color would never pressure him into it. But what if word spreads? What if it reaches Dream? He definitely could use something like that, and it would be for the greater good. I don't even think the pressure from him would be malicious, but Killer's not in the mental state to take it well.

And if the rumor spreads to someone like Error, he may be incentivized to get rid of him. As for Nightmare, he'd probably double his efforts to yoink him back.

I also don't think that Killer would be a fan of using any of those powers since they're heavily related to Chara and his trauma. Like, no matter how this goes, no matter if he agrees to help or not, he's gonna have a shit time.

Holy hell, no matter where this guy goes, someone just always wants to use him as their weapon, huh. Can’t he ever just catch a break.

And id imagine both the idea of going against Players, saying no to saving universes (because he’s trying to be “good” now and “good” people would save universes right?), and actually saving universes which actively goes against what he was made for would create an absolute shitstorm of psychological, mental, emotional and behavioral regression in killer.

color is definitely gonna have to step up and defend killer against being used again. killer is already struggling to think of himself as a person let alone a “good” person, it’d be so easy to guilt trip him when he’s in stage 1–knowingly and intentionally or not. And it’d be so easy to take advantage of him once he’s in Stage 2 and too apathetic to care about his own well being.

Because yes it would definitely improve his standing in the eyes of the multiverse and it could do a lot of good, but not only would it draw in more people who want to use him, and would once again set him back to viewing himself as a weapon. Different from a killing machine, but still nonetheless someone’s machine.

He’s already struggling under Nightmare to not kill, because the Boss needed people alive for negativity and yet killing is Stage 4’s first instincts.

And putting him in a similar situation as the one with Chara and Nightmare is just asking for his soul to tip over into Stage 4 permanently and completely losing himself. Perhaps this is the situation that sends him mentally regressing back to the early days with Chara even.

{ @stellocchia }

[wickedsnack]

i think solas meant to release elgar'nan and ghilan'nain from the prison, or at least didn't mean to put them into a stronger one.

if the prison he was putting them into is locked by the regrets of the person inhabiting it, uh, what exactly do elgar'nan and ghilan'nain regret, first of all. not much from what we've seen. they seem like they sleep rather well at night for all the atrocities they've committed.

second of all, if the veil was tied to their life forces, he would have had to kill them to bring it down. putting them in a prison wouldn't have accomplished shit for his master plan.

i'm not gonna go so far as to say he intentionally got himself trapped so that someone else would kill elgar'nan and ghilan'nain for him, but he wasn't just trying to lock them in a regret prison. that doesn't make any sense.

[akkpipitphattana]

i haven't rewatched the episode yet so i'm going off memory and gifsets but was it actually said at any point that ruerat was the one who groomed lilly into an assassin or is it interpretation? because to me, it sounded like the only responsibility he had in her story was being a (regular?) client. like he'd paid the local mob boss for a kill and she was the one sent to do that job, maybe he liked the result and asked for the same professional to go for the next hits he needed.

the "i thought she left to start a family" line especially makes me think there was one or two degrees of separation between them at least because why would her boss/groomer/parent figure not actually be aware she'd left field work to raise the next gen and rather think she went on to marry a normal bloke and have normal kids like nbd when "[death] is the only way you get out"? idk, that seems unlikely

in the end it doesn't change the fact that he's still directly responsible for the boys' situation since he, yknow, ordered the hit that made lilly decide (she's had enough of field work? and) she should adopt the orphans she created to pick up the business after her so he really do be a bad person who deserves to die but i don't feel like she first got into this line of work because of him/by his hand.

oh it’s absolutely more up to interpretation, don’t get me wrong! i think they left it mostly vague on purpose so we could draw our own conclusions about who ruerat really was to lilly, so i totally think your interpretation is just as valid as mine

however, i just also don’t think anyone is like. born a killer yknow? lilly had to have gotten into it somehow, whether that was through ruerat or someone else entirely. like i definitely don’t think he was a father figure to her or anything, at least not in the direct way that she is a mother to fadel, bison, and keen. if anything, i assume their relationship was likely closer to how kant’s is with the captain. so, i do think he absolutely had some amount of influence over her and was somehow involved in the majority of her life as a killer. that they were to some extent close, that he manipulated her to some extent. why else would she want him dead so bad?

like i don’t think the fact that he didn’t know the truth of her starting a family disputes that, either. fadel, bison, and keen all have boyfriends they never told lilly about, yknow? and she still raised them. she clearly wanted to get away from ruerat, why would she tell him more than that, especially when clearly part of her goal in starting a family was to get back at him eventually?

i also struggle to believe that with how complex all of the main characters in this show are, that lilly would essentially be some one dimensional villain. like for me, it’s far more engaging to interpret her as someone that’s again, part of this cycle but never had the strength to break it. someone that tries to love but has no idea how to. and i think the ruerat reveal does add depth to that theory in one way or another.

but i could be totally wrong and it’s totally fine if you think differently about her relationship with ruerat! again, i do think they left it vague intentionally

[respectthepetty]

I think your theory about Saifah robbing Kang’s house seems pretty plausible. Im just wondering what happens after that. We see Sailom getting shot at which is crazy. But why? Are the debt collectors just evil villains willing to murder a poor kid because he can’t payback money or is it something else?

Anon, oooooohhhhh, I have spent far too much time thinking about this particular scene in the Dangerous Romance trailer, and I think it boils down to politics.

So I offer you my wildest ass theory yet!

At first, I thought since Sailom has to go back to escorting with Saifah in jail, Kanghan will fuck up that job with his anger, leaving Sailom with no way to get the money to pay the debt collectors. They follow him with plans to shoot him, but . . . they are the torture type (iron to skin, remember?) because they still want their money. They wouldn't kill him. ❌

So I thought about the possibility of Kang swindling someone on his honeymoon by playing pool to get more money, and pissing someone off, so they go after Sailom, but they have to drive to the honeymoon place, so would that person find them again back in their hometown? No. ❌

Then, I thought that Sailom hustled someone to get the money, and they are pissed off at him. He knows how to make money, so maybe he swindled someone, and they angrily chased him down like the guy who aggressively approached in the alley for sex in episode three.

But then I remembered that Sailom isn't about that life, which is why he gets upset at Saifah. He doesn't like to deceive people, so he can get money. He takes up escorting because the client is getting what he paid for, which is his company and dinner with him. Sailom isn't being deceitful to get money. ❌

This is Laws of Attraction political.

Why would Saifah, who normally asks clients for gifts, rob a client's house? But more importantly, why would he rob a client's house that his brother is basically living in?

HE WOULDN'T!

At least, he wouldn't do that intentionally. But his high school buddy who doesn't have an honest job sure the hell would!

But, but, but, why would Name want to rob the house? He is a debt collector. Saifah and Sailom being in that house assures that they can pay their debt. So is he trying to make a quick buck too? NO!

Either Name leaves his job as a debt collector and joins Saifah in his great adventure as a rich person's caretaker or he has motivation for being in that house and "robbing" it. I have believed someone gets shot during the robbery by mistake, but what if it isn't a mistake? What if the robbery is simply a cover-up, and the shooting is the real purpose for being in the house?

The dad is running for office.

That means he is a target from "all sorts of people."

So Name gets in the house under the guise of taking some stuff, only to intend to shoot Kang's dad because his boss tells him to. Saifah isn't about this plan, freaks out, and tries to stop it. The dad still gets shot, but it isn't as bad as it could have been because Saifah intervened maybe. Saifah gets arrested, but Name (and others?) escape. Sailom believes his brother didn't have anything to do with the shooting and in normal Sailom fashion, he won't let that injustice slide.

Saifah is already in jail, but Sailom has now become an unpredictable loose end. The night of the Sailom's shooting, both boys are in a (police) office possibly hearing more news about the open investigation. This could be before he gets shot, but it could also be him reporting the shooting after Kang rescues him, but either way, it's meaningful to the criminal investigation.

Name or whoever his boss is can't have Sailom out there running his mouth. Sailom may not even know anything, but he knows the debt collectors, he has been escorting (the ONE client who may or may not have some info), and he knows his brother would not shoot someone. He knows SOMETHING that can connect Name or whoever his boss is to the shooting of Kang's dad, so little homie gotta die.

I noticed before that Kang doesn't take Sailom back to his house after rescuing him, and this isn't Sailom's house either. It's not the hotel from their honeymoon stage that has to happen in episode 8 or 9.

If the grandma was shot, I feel the dad would stay at the house, but if the dad got shot, the grandma would move Kang somewhere safe because she knows this wasn't an accidental shooting (Pimfah's house?). Kang is protected, but Sailom isn't.

The last snippets from the trailers and OST are coming up in the next two episodes, which means only the shooting, the shower scene, and the swings scene (which feels like the final) are left for the last three episodes.

It seems like a lot of plot but we need the "dangerous" portion of this romance, so if the dad is shot by episode 9 . . .

my wild ass theory might just have a chance.

[beatcroc]

How do you feel about Theodore Noisevelt? As someone with ADHD I can feel it oozinf out of him so bad I love him so much

noise is the one guy i've kept intentionally 1-dimensional/ comic relief because i simply enjoy tormenting him too much and if i gave him any real depth i'd start feeling bad about it shjsdjsdf. also i dont even TRY to reconcile the unmasked 'just some guy' Theodore J. with noise's regular look because theres just way too much mental dissonance there. hes not allowed to be normal like that theodore j. isnt real he cant hurt me

i started trying to come at this one like 3 different ways and it turns out i have a lot of trouble organizing my thoughts about noise too. he sucks and i hate him. by which i mean hes great and i love him. I think he's one of the best examples of how to make a character legitimately fun and enjoyable despite being a horrible little shitlord with zero redeeming qualities. You just gotta 1: keep it light, 2:CRUCIALLY: make him funny, and 3: as a potent extra bonus in noise's case specifically, make him a huge fucking loser who is only /almost/ able to fully convince you of the contrary.

Point 1 is like 90% just because this game is funny cartoons and leans hard into that, and noise is like, the MOST cartoons out of everyone. like when i say unmasked noise haunts me it's because he does not feel like he should be A Guy. he is a Cartoon Entity. but seeing as pizza tower can also pull a surprising amount of gravitas when it wants to, that last 10% is really just that like. Noise isn't really actively mean? He is an absolute hellion but he's not Mean. More than anything he just wants to get a rise out of people, and though this often entails being destructive, none of his bastardry really does much lasting or large-scale damage [compared to, perhaps, lets say, pizzahead]

2 wraps pack into both other points; he's funny both because it's cartoons, and because he's a huge loser. A tangential point to both of those that fits here though is that he's fucking like pathologically obsessed with peppino. Which is really par the course for like half the characters in this game, and i do think at least half the reason he targets peppino so much is just that peppino is Incredibly Easy to get a big reaction out of, but it also seems like there's more to it that just that? and for noise specifically there's like zero logical reason for it??? He is, in nearly all walks of life, far better off than peppino, and yet. Here he is. Seemingly quite jealous and insistent on tormenting [and perhaps even imitating?] this guy who is realistically quite far beneath him. And like. Why. Don't you have better things to be doing mr. TV star? You literally have better things to be doing but this is what you're dedicating yourself to you fucking little weirdo. And it's not even like a genuine hatred! It's a bit! They're still like lunch buddies off-camera or whatever! I forgot where I was going with this im moving on

Point 3 is just. He doesn't have any fucking friends? You can kinda get the vibe of this normally but getting his campaign REALLY drives home how much emptier all his shtick is than peppino's. And this would potentially be kinda sad if not for the fact that 1. He doesn't care at all and 2. It is his own damn fault. for being such a such a petty little gloryhound. like for the most part the cast of this game is pretty befriend-able but noise is only particularly interested in being the center of attention at all times; and he will lie, cheat, and kill to make sure it stays that way. and again hes allowed to do this because its funny cartoons. and also because no one cares. its just like yeah, that's noise, he's our local bastard, whatever. he puts on so much bravado and no one is phased by it they all know he is full of shit. he never drops the act because GOD FORBID he not be the coolest and best at everything forever and everybody else just kinda lets him believe it and/or let him believe he has them fooled. there's also the occasional peeks that he hates but then like BRO WHY ARE YOU DOING IT???? YOU CAN STOP. NOBODY WOULD MIND!! IVE SEEN YOU HAVING CASUAL LUNCH WITH PEPPINO!!!! anyway. i think thats pretty much everything i wanted to say.

tldr: thank you funny cartoons

[matan4il]

hey, are you Israeli/do you speak Hebrew? what is Israeli media saying about how Netanyahu has handled relations with the US? or at least his decision to cancel the DC trip after the UN vote?

Hi Nonnie!

I am, and I do. But I'm not sure how well I can reply to you. You know that joke about how, if you ask 2 Jews about something, you'll get at least 3 opinions? Yeah, so imagine the range of opinions, many of them contradicting each other, in a state full of Jews. Add to that the opinions of non-Jewish Israelis, which also have a variety of view points. Now imagine the opinions expressed by those who end up working in the media, meaning the most opinionated and outspoken ones. IDK that I can condense it all into one coherent reply.

But basically, any opinion you can imagine, someone expressed it. I will say that most did seem more upset with the US, for allowing what's seen as an anti-Israeli resolution to pass at the UN unvetoed, because the harm from that is real, massive, and could affect us for years, maybe even in ways we can't yet foresee. So keeping in mind that the UN resolution is harmful to Israel, and that the US was absolutely making a political point by allowing it to pass, most understand Netanyahu's reaction in that context.

That said, even with that context in mind, there were a lot of different opinions and reactions on whether it was the right move.

Personally, I do not like Netanyahu and have never voted for him. I used to dislike him because I thought he was anti-peace. It took me time, but I realize that actually, the biggest issue with him is that more than anything else, he wants to stay in power. He doesn't actually have (IMO) an ideological spine. At the same time, I won't demonize him, either. I very much hold him to be the person responsible for a lot of terrible things that have happened to Israel, to a great degree because he chooses to believe that if something didn't go wrong so far despite him not doing anything about it, then it will continue that way and he can go on ignoring it, but I don't believe that he would actually willingly sacrifice masses of Israeli civilians just for his own sake. In other words, I do think he is guilty of neglecting many things until they get to the point where people pay with their lives (while convincing himself it won't get to that), but I don't think he's an unfeeling monster who will intentionally get people killed.

So... let's put it this way. I was not surprised he canceled the trip, and I was not surprised that he re-instated it about a week later.

The trip had to happen, because a total break in communications is against Israel's interests, and becuase Israeli and American officials sitting together in person to talk about the Rafah operation is the best way to figure out an action plan that fits both. It was therefore in Netanyahu's interest for the trip to happen, but also in his interest to take some stand, and show the White House that their UN move is very upsetting to Israelis, enough for even him not to ignore.

I hope this kind of helps! xoxox

(for all of my updates and ask replies regarding Israel, click here)

[super-hero-confessions]

Homelander is great example of how desensitized and normalized actual grooming, trauma, and victim blaming are in society from multiple facets.

Every scene of him with Madelyn is intentionally made creepy and gross in the show, but people ignore this and what is being portrayed in favor of sexualization, even with eerie music or sound designed to make the interactions off-putting and sinister.

With victim blaming, there are as many people willing to blame Homelander for his situation and upbringing as there are people willing to blame Becca for being made a victim because of Homelander. All while ignoring the true root of the problem, society. Or in this case, Vought. And ignoring that sometimes the abused can and do become abusers.

It's a little disheartening because even some with genuine sympathy for Homelander seem to relish in the idea of him suffering further, being de-powered and tortured, or put into the same abusive dynamic if not similar to the one he had with Madelyn Stillwell. But then try and call it healthy, healing, and redemption.

Speaking from experience. Repetition of the trauma that you've been through doesn't help you get out of the place the trauma created. It just reinforces the walls and gives you new trauma.

Tough love isn't real. It's just the excuse people make when they want to be cruel without taking accountability for their actions. You can teach someone to be strong without being an asshole or abusing them.

I actually want one of two endings for the show. Either it's something a bit akin to the comics in which Homelander (in place of comics Noir) likely kills Soldier Boy (in place of comics Homelander), and then is killed by Billy, who's then killed by Hughie (spoilers I guess for those who haven't read them). Likely with the Boys forced to pick up the pieces and continue trying to dismantle Vought.

Or I want to see Homelander lose his shit and completely destroy Vought with no chance of the company recovering, probably because of something Billy does or says. Then disappearing for a while. Maybe being found as a completely different person in the future. Not necessarily redemption, but freedom from his tormentors, including the internalized ones.

But I feel the ending might work best if either both Homelander and Billy Butcher die, in which there is reflection on the hands they'd been dealt in the aftermath of their deaths. Or that they both survive and manage to stop that proverbial hand from dragging further victims into the fold.

When it comes to fandom and fics, I always find it a little odd but as an idea I have yet to see used? I think Vought could be brought down with the evidence of Homelander's upbringing being released to the public. One vial of compound V was enough to stir up a little trouble but nothing they couldn't sweep under the rug.

But with so many skeletons in that proverbial closet, if anyone could convince Homelander that Vought was the true enemy and his abuser. The archives he has access to would bring down Vought faster than the Nazi shit brought Stormfront down. And I do not understand how I haven't seen fandom use this concept. Maybe I haven't searched far enough, fair enough.

But I do find it a little ironic that while knowing and complaining about Vought being the true villain, people still individualize the problem and prefer to go after Homelander in fics. Even the people who claim to love and adore him.

Anyway, just a couple thoughts I wanted to chime in on. I could definitely hope for the survival ending, but I expect the death all around ending and hope at least for the post mortem reflections and maybe revelations of Homelander's past. I do wish fandom could be a little better on some things though.

This might seem crazy. But there is a lot of grandiose self importance and holier than thou attitude that goes around in The Boys fandom. I get that show plays with morality a lot and has people polarized as much as nuanced but Jesus fucking Christ.

And no, Justice is not Vengeance.

[primary-022]

"As M/N's wide, searching gaze fixates on the horizon, he contemplates the possibility of reuniting with his mother."

"Hey M/N, what are you doing over there?" Murphy called out. "You know you shouldn't wander too far; we just got here."

M/n gazed at him with his wide, unsettling eyes, releasing a long, audible sigh.

"You're a weird man, but I get it. Anyway, I made us both knives out of the dropped shift and- hold on, I got to deal with something," he said as he walked off.

M/N turned to see where Murphy was heading off to, but he didn't expect him to grab a girl and force her over the fire. He didn't know why he was surprised because Murphy would do some extreme stuff, but not this.

As everyone came over to see what the screaming was about, Murphy said to the crowd, "Check it out, we want the ark to think that the ground is killing us, right? I figure it'll look better if we suffer a little bit first."

M/N wanted to intervene, but he never became involved in Murphy's wrongdoing. Additionally, people are unaware that he and Murphy are friends, but mostly he doesn't want the attention to be directed toward him with something like this happening with Murphy.

Until, well, the chancellor's son stepped in.

"Let her go," he yelled, pushing him over.

"You can stop this," he told Bellamy.

"Stop this? I'm just getting started," Bellamy told Wells.

"Then Murphy came up and punched Wells. A boy in the distance yelled "Fight!" causing everyone to chant "Fight!" As the boys fought, getting thrown and exchanging punches, Wells managed to get Murphy down. Wells got up and faced Bellarny. "Don't you see you can't control this?"

"As Wells finished the sentence, Murphy stood up with a knife and said, 'You're dead.'"

Wait, "Fair fight," Bellary said, tossing a knife on the ground for Wells. Now M/N was getting a little bit worried, not for Murphy, but for Wells—maybe a little for Murphy.

M/n confidently moved away from the scene, intentionally avoiding it. In the background, M/n noticed Clarke and her group returning from their trip, with one member missing. "WELL!, let him go," Clarke said assertively, with concern in her voice.

M/n was sitting down, trying to gather his thoughts and take in his surroundings, thinking of ways to survive out there for the rest of his life, when he felt someone's hands on his shoulder. His eyes widened as he saw that it was only Murphy.

"He had some blood on his face. M/n reached up to his face using his sleeve to clean him up a bit.

"Why do you always do that?" he questioned. M/n looked at him with his big eyes and made an unsure sound.

"I mean with your eyes – they're always wide."

M/N let out a soft "I don't know" through his lips.

"Murphy couldn't help but chuckle as he said, "Let go," pulling up m/n and striding over to where Bellamy was."

Bellamy was tending to Octavia's wound. M/N seemed indifferent to where she got it and was present to hear Murphy complain about Wells and his sore face.

Then Clarke came along to talk to Bellamy and his gun which got M/N intrigued.

Good, follow me," Clarke said. "And why would I do that?" Bellamy said. "Because you want them to follow you, and right now they're thinking only one of us is scared," she added.

Murphy and your friend, come with me. M/n eyes widen. Atom? My sister doesn't leave this camp, is that's clear. Bellamy said, "I don't need a babysitter," Octavia called out. "Anybody touches her, they answer to me." Let go.

Since when are we in rescuing business, huh? Murphy said walking with Bellamy with m/n close behind

"The ark thinks the prince is dead once"." they think the princess is, too, they'll never come down. With a pause, Bellamy said, "I'm getting that wristband, even if I have to cut off her hand to do it."

M/n glanced down at his wristband, gently rubbing it with a thoughtful expression

"Hey, hold up," Bellamy called out. "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart. Put the gun away Bellamy," Wells said in an aggressive tone. "Well, why don't you do something about it, Murphy," said, shoving Wells. "Huh?"

Jasper screamed as they moved him. "If the spear had struck his heart, he would have died instantly. We don't have time to waste," Clarke said.

as the conversation continued between Bellamy and Clarke.

Behind Murphy m/n slightly moved his hand on his upper arm and grasped softly so he didn't do anything stupid while he stared down wells.

Then he heard Finn call out, "Hey, don't you find your own nickname? You call this a rescue party? We've got to split up and cover more ground. Clarke come with me."Finn said as he walked off with her leaving the rest of the guys behind.

M/n and Murphy walked together leaving Wells and Bellamy together.

You know that picking a fight with him isn't going to do much I said in a soft tone.

"OMG, you can talk?" Murphy said in a fake surprised tone.

"Haha, very funny -_-," m/n said.

I understand what you're saying, but it somehow brings me comfort, you know?" Murphy said. "What, from getting your ass kicked?" M/N asked. "Shut up," Murphy said, punching M/N in the arm.

Hey, how do we know this is the right way? Murphy said.

"We don't," Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker," Bellamy said.

"It is called the "cutting sign" for fourth-year earth skills," Wells cut in.

"Do you want to keep it down, or should I paint a target on your back?" Finn said. "Seems the only one who knows to keep quiet is big eyes over here." He suggested to m/n, whose eyes widened when he said that, slightly going behind Murphy.

See? You're invisible," Bellamy said to Wells. "Then, they hear Moan in the distance." "What the hell was that?" Murphy said. "Now would be a good time to take out that gun," Clarke said.

Jasper said, Clarke.

OMG

Clarke be careful, said Finn.

As she ran around toward him and then slipped into a trap before she fell m/n caught her

She stared at m/n

Clarke! "Get her up," Finn called out as the boys helped m/n pull her out. "Hey, are you okay?" Finn said to Clarke.

"Yeah, thank you," she told him, panting.

He nodded his head at her.

"We need to get him down",she said

I'll climb up there and cut the vines Finn added

Yeah, yeah, I am with you," said Well "No, stay with Clarke and watch him," Finn said, suggesting to Bellamy. "Let go," talking to Murphy.

There's a poultice on his wound. Clarke said. "Medicine? Why would they save his life just to string him up as live bait?" Wells said. "Maybe what they're trying to catch likes its dinner to be breathing," Bellamy said.

"Maybe what they're trying to catch is us," Finn said.

"Hurry up, Murphy!" Finn said.

"Be careful!" called out Clarke.

Then there was growling in the distance.

"What the hell was that?" Murphy questioned.

"Grounders," Bellamy answered in an unsure tone.

Then a jaguar came running up.

"Bellamy, gun!" yelled Clarke.

Then Wells started firing the gun, but everything went quiet.

The jaguar jumped at Bellamy, but before it could get him, Wells shot it.

"Now she sees you," Bellamy told Wells.

M/n was breathing heavily as the whole thing with down.

"that was crazy, "M/n thought.

as they made the journey m/n helped carry the jaguar back

"Who hungry" yelled Bellamy causing everyone else to yell.

m/n stood next to Finn as they both watched everyone take their wristband off for food.

"Are you not going to get food?" asks Finn

M/n shook his head no.

"Are they taking off their wristbands for food? No way, I won't do it," Clarke said.

"You don't have to," said Finn, walking up to the food.

"Why aren't you going to get food like the rest of them?" Clarke asked M/N, to which he shook his head no again.

"Do you have someone you love up there too?" Clarke asked softly.

"Yes," said M/N softly.

Clarke and Finn were eating. Then Finn got up, took a piece of their food, and walked over to m/n who was sitting by a different tree lost in thought. "Hey," m/n looked up at him and waved. "Here," Finn said as he gave him a piece and then walked away.

Unknowly Murphy was watching and he didn't like it one bit.

If yall want me to make this into a series let me know or make a one-shot instead.

🤗💋

[ach-sss-no]

SH liveblog Ch9

First chapter & explanation | Previous chapter

Gollum is surprised in his wardrobe by people coming in to their mice-ravaged abandoned house!

Gollum inadvertently did the homeowner a favor by dealing with the mouse infestation. This will start a trend of 'Gollum increasingly makes the world a better place by accident'

"But passing sinister that so many animals would die without a trace. Poison would have left corpses." So the cat had vanished, after making herself a nuisance. Of course she had!

There's another place where I should have added clarity. Gollum hears this and blames the cat because if the cat was present, it wouldn't be mysterious that the mice are dead.

Lmaoooo Gollum buried bits of mice in the medieval rush floor nooo those are going to rot Gollum nooooo

The tails were chewy and the stomachs were sour. Gollum only ate those bits if he was very hungry, and after the first five mice he had not been so hungry as to bother with the less appetizing parts.

When I was writing this chapter I looked up what parts of mice cats do not choose to eat. FYI. I also looked up the most humane way to kill a rodent. This is not stuff I just happened to know, not this time, but it will be in future. I know it now. I'm not gonna forget about it now that I know it and someday I'll bring it up and someone will ask 'how do you know that?' and I will not be able to tell them that this is how.

And then the cabinet door was opened. Gollum sat stock still. The Man who had opened the cabinet did not see him, it was his companion- apparently sharper-eyed- who spoke. "A vagrant." "Greetings," said the one who'd opened the cabinet, firmly. It seemed that as Gollum was wearing proper clothing and his face was covered, the Men only saw that he had the figure of a human. "This house is mine and I have come back to claim it. You cannot stay here, but I can direct you to where you can find food and shelter."

They're assuming he's a homeless Man and not an orc in part because it would be really unusual for an orc to be able to slip this far into Minas Tirith and stay there so long. It's supposed to have been months since the end of the war. Also, Gollum doesn't really talk like an orc. Or smell like one. And his accent is different. Minas Tirith guys would know orcs well enough to tell.

Gollum runs away and finds a hiding place.

He slunk along as quickly and quietly as possible. Fortunately it did not take long for him to find an entrance to the sewer.

I DREW UPON THE POWER OF VICTOR HUGO, and researched Byzantine sewers in some depth. I don't remember much of what I learned, because it was, umm. boring. But I think I concluded that a city of the technological development of Minas Tirith would NOT have a separate rain sewer and sanitary sewer, poor Gollum, he would love a nice clean stormwater-only sewer

Gollum hides in a little niche in the wall.

Rough, wet rock! The scrape of it on his skin sent enjoyable prickles up his spine- the world of Men was smooth, rounded, soft, without texture. This felt rather homey.

Gollum misses Cave Hobo Bed

Later on he eats a rat.

Gollum followed the rat for some time, hiding in the rough crags of the stone wall. This was an old game for him- an old, old game. He knew it well. But today he was a little slow and clumsy- when he made his final grab the rat flipped around and bit into his wrist before he could finish it off. He examined the wound. The rat's teeth had gone into the side of his wrist, unnervingly close to that big blood vessel that caused orcs to die if someone with more anatomical knowledge bit it intentionally. But not too close. He'd live, but it was an inconvenient place to be bitten and would trouble him for some time. Gollum sat on his haunches and regretted for a minute, licking the bite clean. Then he picked up the dead rat and took it to a more sheltered spot against the wall, where he could sit and pick it over and anyone who might come by would not immediately see him.

I'm still enjoying the subtle narrative shift to 'Gollum in an environment where he knows things, alert and able to interpret accurately to the reader what is happening'. And this is what he's doing, of course.

Oh, I researched rat bites, too...

The sewer rat. OK, here's a place where I had to massively revise my outline, because I initially wrote this from the perspective of a sanitary-culture 21st century wuss. And Gollum was supposed to get an infection or food poisoning or something and have to go home because ew rats icky!!!!! But then I thought, wait a second. This is Gollum. Even post-Ring, I think he has a pretty strong immune system. So he survives his Rat MealTM and actually has quite a bit of fun in the city once he gets used to it, and instead he goes home because he picks a fight later.

And perhaps there was something else that he had not quite realized until now- now that the desire was quite satisfied and no longer poked at him. He was used to a life of constant creeping and prying. Finding secrets and then keeping them to himself (and in recent months, sharing those secrets with Sam and Frodo- but they only got to know what he chose to share). His other experiences with living quietly indoors had involved being kept in a small filthy cell, and had not been pleasant- he was not used to being in a house. And he was definitely not used to being supervised. The strangeness of being kept and minded had become familiar enough that it was not quite interesting enough to keep him occupied anymore. But now he had seen enough of the city to satisfy his need for exploration, and the idea of more travel sounded wearisome and frightening.

Gollum's self-awareness has gone up a level! He's realizing he's feral and was going stir crazy before. This is important enough that I should have alluded to it before but that's the trouble with serial fiction (I had this written several chapters ahead while posting, but usually only in rough draft form)

there was an aftertaste that he did not like at all- no- he suspected the rat might have been eating sewage instead of merely coming here to hide. But he had already eaten it, so it was too late to worry about that. Besides, he had eaten much worse things in the past with no ill effects.

Yeah he'll be fine. He's too delicate for cooked chicken but sewer rat is fine and that's just the paradox of Gollum.

He's so nonchalant about this (of course he eats the poop rat) that I'm forgetting it's not an ordinary thing to be doing myself, lmao

His wrist oozed little drops of blood- the same shade of appetizing red that came from Men and hobbits. He licked the drops away- they had the same coppery taste, the same tantalizing smell as if they had come from a creature that walked upright under the Sun.

Not a guarantee whatsoever. Orcs have black blood.

He hangs out by the storm drain waiting for nightfall. On another occasion, some children scampered past and Gollum thought: If one comes close enough we can grab its ankles and pull it in for a meal, perhaps. He shuddered all over and almost gagged. He had not meant to think about anything of the kind, but it had come into his head from habit. I'm not even hungry, he thought, disgusted.

Oho Gollum is having intrustive thouhts now I see

I guess I was writing the cannibalism as if it was a sort of inflicted mental status that mostly wore off after the Ring because Gollum went pretty quickly from

'*snif Gandalf* is fud? nom nom handses'

to

'haha why are you asking if I ate babies. who cares'

to

'oh it's kind of cringe that I get hungry when I talk about baby orcs'

to

'i didn't eat a baby. don't ask. shut UP'

to

'i thought about eating that child. i'm not even hungry. what is wrong with me?'

At other times, people walked past who were speaking another language. Gollum did not understand it. Naturally, he wondered if they were talking about him. Unlikely, but not impossible, no.

Those kids were randomly talking about him in the last chapter so it's not impossible.

Sindarin is a second language in parts of Gondor and I think is supposed to be especially common in the Capital. But those could also be guys from Rohan speaking Rohirric at this point, I think.

One such conversation involved two women, laughing as they spoke, and sounding happy- then one gasped, and a small object hit the ground outside with a metallic cling. A light sound, a familiar sound- he held out his hand and something fell into it. It was gold. It shone, it was so beautiful, so cool and lovely in his palm. Gollum held it tight in his fist and rocked back and forth. Outside, a woman was searching the ground on her hands and knees, crying out in her language. She was so upset! Mine now, Gollum thought. His heart beat loudly. The woman spoke to her friend in words he did not know, but in tones of distress and loss. Lost. Lost. My Precious is lost. The ring felt so smooth and round in his hand. It was a plain band of gold. The woman outside wept for her lost treasure. Perhaps it had been a present to her. A real present, given by someone who cared about her. Gollum did not quite have the temerity to try it on. It did not belong to him. It was not his. It had never been his. I don't care! he thought. But the Master would not want him to keep it.

Gollum has now gone from

'Frodo (who has partly soulbonded with me) is experiencing my same trauma with my same traumatic item'

to

'This random stranger cares about her possessions just like I do so it would be wrong to steal her stuff'

With a hiss of rage he flung it back out through the storm drain. Cries of shock and relief followed, and then a tense discussion. A wary pair of eyes appeared, looking in at him. He stared insolently back, and slunk away to find another drain to lurk in, just in case the woman went off and told somebody he was here.

You drop your item in a storm sewer. The sewer throws it back at high speed. I would wonder too.

Gollum eventually leaves the sewer, wanders around, hangs out in a tree, recuperates, babies his hands a little, and notes for the first time that he's wearing a child's hand-me-downs. He's becoming more aware of societal and cultural cues. His clothing isn't a random assortment of fabirc bestowed upon him by aliens. It once belonged to a child somewhere, or was at least made for one.

SPIDER TIME

Something moved in the tree. He recoiled, digging his nails into the bark of the tree. A spider. It was tiny, only the size of his hand! Harmless, harmless.

A little kid shows up at random and climbs into the tree next to Gollum. This is Prestien. She's kind of a weirdo and just accepts Gollum's presence and appearance and greets him politely. Gollum says nothing because he is thinking about Shelob.

"Hello," she whispered. [He doesn't answer] "I'm playing hide and seek," the girl whispered. [He doesn't answer] "Are you playing hide and seek too?" the girl asked. "I'm not good at-" "Haha, found you!" one of her snot-nosed friends called from below. [Gollum says nothing. Kills spider] "Thank you," she whispered. "Sssh," he hissed. He had not killed the spider on her account.

Gollum and Prestien are now friends for life, as he will soon discover to his horror.

She looked up at him. "You're very good at hiding," she whispered up at him. "My friends didn't even see you and you were right there!" [He says nothing] "I'm not good at hide and seek," she said. Obviously. Her friend had found her right away. He hopped to the ground and hesitated- the girl was blocking his path. "Leaving," he said.

He asks her the way out.

The city is nice, why do you want to leave? It's lonely and sad outside." "Is it?" Gollum muttered. "It is, it is, but we must go, yes, we must."

I am DETERMINED to keep making Gollum child-coded in this chapter (by running on little-girl logic) even alongside reminding you of the cannibalism with the bluntness of Mjolnir to the face

"The city is a circle, more or less," she said. "With a big mountain behind it. So if you're not going towards the mountain, you're probably on your way out." "Hrm." Gollum leaned back and looked up, to see if he was facing the mountain. He couldn't see past the houses. If he could get up higher he could probably see the mountain, or the big Tower that was at the center- also something he ought to be heading away from, if he wanted to leave.

Oh I guess Gollum doesn't see the mountain because he's nearly eye level with the pavement. OK.

"Prestrien!" a voice called. "Prestrien! Where are you?"

Her name was Prestrien in the name generator. I began misspelling it almost immediately and just kept going with it.

Prestien got a good reception in this chapter so she does return in the epilogue for a cameo. She's too young to be a major part of the story.

I didn't save the meaning of her name anywhere. OH WELL, I GUESS.

The woman looked panicked. She ran up to her daughter and took her arm. "And haven't I told you that you're not to approach anyone you don't know? Who-" The woman saw Gollum and recoiled.

'why are you talking to strangers again- THIS ONE IS LITERALLY MINI SLENDERMAN!??!?!?!?!'

The woman wants Gollum to come with her and offers things until he agrees to follow her home for a glass of water.

I think I might have been attempting some kind of symbolism with Gollum and the water and a nod to the fact that it's canonically the only thing he accepts from Sam & Frodo but I don't know. It's not the first time he accepts water from someone or asks for it, and it won't be the last. The kid telling Aragorn that Gollum is only kind of a jerk in the last chapter was bringing him water. Galil brought him water as well as food. Eardwulf bonded with him after watching him play in the bath. (That's why he's calling him 'otter')

The girl- Prestien, apparently- kept shooting curious glances back at him.

Yep, already dropped that second R

This fic is remarkably typo-free apart from that, though. I should note, maybe, I've done a little bit of freelance work as a proofreader. (Would be nice to find more projects like that sometime)

"No, no," Gollum said. Then a scrap of memory came to him- This very River goes past Minas Anor, my polliwog. Eh, Gran, if it was as big as you says it is I could see it from here! No, no, it's very far away. But you say it's by the same River? A long River, it is. "It's far away," Gollum sobbed. "It's so far away!"

Woe! Grandma memories be upon ye!

He follows them home and it turns out Prestien's mom wanted to show Gollum to her husband who is a city guard.

The woman led him to a large house and bade him sit down outside at the edge of a small garden. He waited by the step, sniffling, and poking at the soil in case there were worms in it. Someone was coming. Gollum huddled in the shadows and tugged his hood over his face. It must be the woman's husband, she had said he would come home soon- and here he was, a tall figure dressed in brightly colored layers. He went inside without noticing Gollum. She had said her husband would come home- she had not lied or tried to trick him into an ambush, he reminded himself, clenching his jaw. But perhaps Gollum should leave. Before he could make up his mind to go, the Man re-emerged with a wry expression, holding a pitcher of water and a cup. "Sméagol?" he called in a calm, quiet voice. Gollum froze, with an involuntary intake of breath.

He hasn't said his name to Prestien or her mom.

"I shall not capture you," said the Man. "I have been warned of you. Many who work in the Sixth Circle have been warned that we may see you, and have been told to warn others that we may see you, and that you are not a bandit, nor are you a starved Orcling." Gollum stood up with a convulsive motion. The Man remained calm. "I've been instructed to leave you alone if you are doing no mischief. I have also been instructed to tell you that you may walk openly, you may go where you will in this city, if you do not trouble anyone; but you are missed- your caretakers are afraid you will come to harm. The Ringbearer is especially concerned for you."

Plot twist! Aragorn knows you left and we're not mad and you're not in trouble but please come back maybe?

Gollum did not answer. His long hands formed a knot near his heart. He could be immensely short-sighted, could Sméagol; he had taken it as a matter of course that people would want to fetch him back if they knew he was gone but it had never occurred to him that Frodo might get involved, nor had it occurred to him that the people looking after him would be put out and might get in trouble- this was occurring to him now.

Gollum is realizing for the first time, I think, that he may get others into undeserved trouble.

"You are welcome to the water." The Man filled up the cup and held it out. Gollum did not go any closer. "It puts it on the ground and goes in the house." "You are in no position to command me, Sméagol, or to address me in such a manner."

puts the lotion on its skin

He did get so terribly thirsty! He recalled that the Men in the guest house had repeatedly made remarks that something oozed out of his skin- and it made things around him slimy and had given someone hives. Gollum did not notice this, perhaps because it had been the case for so long or because he was accustomed to living in wet places. But it must be true, people brought it up so rudely often, and that ooze must come from somewhere. And it must be made of something… He was lucky that Aragorn had not seen fit to hand him over to someone with an interest in natural philosophy!

'Natural philosophy' is the period-appropriate term for 'science'. I've learned since that oddball 'research study' mention in Chapter 2. I should have clarified a little, though; Smeagol is thinking that someone interested in science would want to dissect him and see how he works.

We will see later on that Sméagol has an interest in natural philosophy and that's why he thought of it.

He glanced at the cup- Gollum had left dirty handprints on it. He looked down at his gnarled, filthy hands in dismay.

There's beginning to be a bit of an 'out damned spot' theme.

"Only tell the nice Master he needn't worry about Sméagol, he is used to being on his own, he is," said Gollum. "No one should fret over Sméagol, he has a little job to do, that is all, and then he will be back. And also-" He paused. "No one let Sméagol go, he was very quiet and they didn't know he left, so they shouldn't be punished."

Hey, he's helping. So proud of him!

And as an ending note Gollum is finally somewhat friendly to Prestien.

Gollum started to edge away. A voice rang out from inside the house: "Why do you have webby feet?" It was followed by "Shh! Leave him alone!" from the girl's mother, but Gollum called: "Why do you not have webby feet? Eh? Eh? It is because you do not swim often enough." "It's because you're from the River?" Prestien called. Gollum was about to say 'yes', but he remembered that the Man might not like him to talk to Prestien, and he hurried off before anything could be thrown at him.

[moonfurthetemmie]

So i said that part of Gonzalo and Petruccio's separation anxiety and jealousy was because, when the rings showed up and everyone else killed each other, some people almost found where they were hiding

And while i think that's definitely going to be part of why they're so protective of each other, but i think the rest is more from travelers who came by afterwards.

Do you think two kids who just witnessed such a horrific scene would've buried the bodies? Especially with how awful the villagers were to Gonzalo in particular?

Maybe some of their friends from the traveling theater troupe, but most of the bodies were probably ignored.

Imagine being on a long journey, and you see a sign that points to a nearby village, and you decide to stop to rest and maybe stock up on supplies.

But it's empty. Not a soul to be found.

Until you find your way to the stage set up near a hill with a strange tree on it, and you find the rotting corpses of everyone who had lived here. There's blood on the stage, maybe still in the grass.

And then these two kids come down from the hill. They look human, but not quite. They have these odd rings on chains around their necks. They ask you where you came from. They look at the corpses with disgust but seem otherwise unbothered.

Something is wrong with them. They look at you like a spider watching a fly as it wanders near the web. The younger of the two looks like he's expecting you to attack them, and is ready to stab you if you try.

And they will kill travelers sometimes.

Sometimes their guests realized that they're in danger before it gets that far and are ready to defend themselves.

Sometimes their guests know about the Tree and want to steal the fruit, through whatever means necessary.

Sometimes (though rarely) their guests are also looking for a new victim, and don't care if they're kids if it'll satiate their bloodlust.

And sometimes their guests noticed absolutely nothing, and just felt bad for the two kids living alone with nothing but each other and the remains of the dead for company.

They've probably been tricked and forcibly separated from each other multiple times. Each time, whoever went off with the stranger got hurt and almost died.

Or the stranger tried to 'adopt' one of them and take them away.

Occasionally there are other kids. Kids they get along with. Kids that may get along better with one of them than the other. And Gonzalo never had a friend his age, so any time one of those kids decided they liked him, he'd be much more excited to go play with then than Petruccio would be if he made such a friend.

Petruccio probably became much better at taking care of Gonzalo out of necessity once they got the rings, and between their precarious situation and everything that they'd been through he feels like he's the only one Gonzalo can really trust.

And that Gonzalo's the only one he can really trust.

So seeing his dearest friend spend more and more time with someone else...

Gonzalo, used to Petruccio spending time with other friends, doesn't care as much. so he thinks it's funny. in fact he probably thought it was so funny as a kid he did it on purpose a lot. Part of it might've been because Petruccio would never have gotten so jealous if he didn't care about Gonzalo, and the thought made Gonzalo very happy.

it probably took a while for Petruccio to notice, and which point Gonzalo had chilled with intentionally making him jealous. he still thinks it's funny though.

[beardedmrbean]

The 19th century Austrian socialist Ferdinand Kronawetter once remarked, "Antisemitism is the socialism of idiots." He was not wrong, but I believe even he would have been surprised that most of these idiots are either celebrities or attend the West's most prestigious educational institutions.

From Greta Thunberg to Harvard yard, you can barely throw a stone without hitting someone holding an anti-Israel rally. Apparently, we also have normalized Jewish students needing to be locked up in university libraries for their own "safety," or the BBC regularly publishing blood libels, first about a supposed bombardment of a hospital in Gaza by Israeli forces, and a few weeks later with the claim that Israeli Defence Forces are intentionally targeting medical personnel and Arabic speakers.

But even that is, in fact, old news: In January 2009, the French public broadcaster France-2 aired footage of Palestinians killed in an Israeli air raid on New Year's Day. As it turned out, however, the recording was from 2005 and not 2009, and the victims were not killed by the IDF but an "accident" of Hamas explosives detonating prematurely. And on it goes: Recently, pictures showing the carnage inflicted on the Syrian people by the Assad regime made the rounds claiming to show destruction in Gaza.

Who needs the "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" when you have the mainstream media?

Sometimes it seems as if no ideology evolves as quickly as antisemitism: Before Israel, the Jews where hated for being rootless and without national allegiances. Now that they have a state, they are hated for that. And if the last Jew were to leave the Middle East tomorrow, some other reason would be found to justify Jew-hatred.

In fact, after 1948, Jews had to leave most of the Middle East and North Africa: Once thriving communities from Morocco to Iraq ceased to exist after the regimes of these countries drove out their Jewish populations. Many of them moved to Israel, the only state in the region that actually allows Muslim Arabs and Jews to live side-by-side.

Alas, if you are Jewish, it is never enough: Unless all of the Middle East is "Judenfrei," the Jews will always be painted as oppressors and everyone else as oppressed.

So in some ways, it's not surprising to see antisemitism thrive in the ranks of the global leftist elite. When global climate celebrity Greta Thunberg blabberers on about "no climate justice on occupied land," she is only revealing the next iteration of Jew hate. It turns out that for the "environmental movement," the solution to the "Jewish Question" seems to be more important than addressing climate change.

Similarly, in the famously tolerant Netherlands where government advisors are openly pushing for the normalization of paedophilia, the line needs to be drawn somewhere: Several filmmakers pulled out of the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam after the organizers refused to allow their stage to be used for promoting the eradication of Israel.

Pot, porn, and paedophilia are all a go for the Dutch, but being pro-Israel? One should be careful not to go too far!

Another turn-of-the-century Austrian who would have a lot to say about this would probably be Sigmund Freud: If the West is suffering from the pathologies of historical guilt for all the alleged sins of its past, Israel and the Jews are the favourite object of projection. If the Jews are as bad as the Nazis and European colonialists, then opposing them is like re-running history, but this time those Westerners on college campuses can finally be on the side of the oppressed.

Both Israel and the Palestinians are just extras in an exercise of excessive narcissism that allows one to stand "on the right side of history" and virtue signal at no cost. Of course, this doesn't apply when Arabs are slaughtering Arabs. There were no protests for the peoples of Syria or Yemen or when ISIS was committing an actual genocide against the Yazidis.

That's what this all comes down to: a rewriting of history so that the Jews' oppressors can absolve themselves of guilt and claim to be the oppressed. During the Holocaust, the Jews experienced the worst that men can do to their fellow man, and many in the West are itching for the opportunity to find historic salvation in creating a moral equivalence between the Nazis and the state of Israel.

Neither Greta Thunberg nor her acolytes have any clue about Middle Eastern or Jewish history, because it is not about that—just as her climate activism was never about climate, but the usual Leftist tropes from colonialism to social justice.

In 1968, Eric Hoffer wrote about a premonition that would not leave him: "As it goes with Israel, so will it go with all of us. Should Israel perish, the Holocaust will be upon us." After all we have seen in recent weeks in in Western capitals and college campuses, I am afraid that he was right.

[demonsfate]

as much as i love shipping hwoarang x steve, as a jin main i can't help but feel like a loud minority of them seem to really hate jin. i remember someone on this site said like "they clearly get along better than Hwoarang ever did with Jin". like they think jin is a rude bitch who constantly trash talks hwoarang. when jin has shown throughout the series (especially tekken 3-5) he actually gives a fuck about hwoarang. unlike other "edgelord" characters like say sasuke or vergil (especially the former, who is such a jerk bastard that constantly calls naruto and sakura "annoying" and tries to kill them multiple times on his own volition), jin never intentionally hurt hwoarang's feelings or downplay his strength in any way. jin straight up apologizes to hwoarang for breaking a promise in tekken 5, and also says he's busy with family issues at the time. if jin really was a rude person, he would've called hwoarang "an annoying weak nuisance who is nothing compared to him". jin also saved hwoarang's ass in tekken 4 when he was about to get arrested by the military, jin could've easily just left hwoarang behind but he decided to help instead. in his non-canon tag 2 ending, jin clearly enjoys going on a motor bike race with hwoarang. jin also actually smiles when he is around hwoarang too, which means he is happy around him and actually appreciates his friendship with him. the only time jin "tried to kill him" was in tekken 5, when he lost control of his powers and hwoarang got hospitalized. jin is only distant towards hwoarang because of his fucked up family starting shit and his devil gene which he couldn't control at the time. he doesn't want hwoarang to get into the cross fires. it's thanks to tekken 6's existence where jin kazama was OOC as fuck in that game we get takes like this in the community.

like i said earlier i LOVE hwoarang x steve, i enjoy looking at fanart of the two being shipped together and i have so many bookmarks of them as a gay couple on ao3. i wish hwoarang and steve got to interact more often in canon outside of tekken 5 intro, tekken 8, and street fighter x tekken. i love watching hwoarang's character relationship with steve fox. but i get so angry when they hate on jin for "being a stupid kazama/mishima getting in the way" of their ship just like how so many damn SNS/SasuNaru shippers hate on literally every female character in Naruto (I hate both SNS and Sasuke with a burning passion). I enjoy reading HwoSteve fanfic, I just hate seeing my main being basically a victim of yaoi sometimes lol. (T＿T) hope you have a good day, been enjoying your blog so far.

surprisingly i don't care much for the steve x hwoarang ship. i dunno why! maybe due to their lack of interactions outside the stuff you mentioned? (not that that's ever stopped me before haha!) but i do see the potential in it. and well, jin, hwoa, & steve are my brot3.

the funny thing is, outside of tk6 and awful crossovers that were affected by tk6's virus, jin is usually nicer to hwoarang than hwoarang is to jin. usually hwoa tries to instigate jin, much to hwoa's failure. actually, it's not like jin is any "meaner" to hwoa than steve is. in all their official interactions, they tend to fight or insult each other lol.

i find it funny that there's a big belief that kazuya was influenced by the devil gene and is truly a Fine Guy, but when jin was genuinely not in control (devil nearly killing hwoa in tk5) -- everyone still blames jin and uses that as ammo as to why he's truly a Bad Guy lmao.

really and sadly, many shippers tend to hate any one that "potentially gets in the way." i know i used to argue with jinxiao shippers who would go as far as to deny jin & hwoa even being friends just because they can't stand the idea of the "hwoajin" ship getting in the way. even though i'd only say they're friends not lovers -- which is true! they are CANONICALLY friends, it's so silly to deny that.

LOL, can't say i share your hatred of sasuke tho just 'cos i've never watched / read naruto! i probs won't ever just 'cos it's too long for me to hold interest in lol. but thank you! i hope you're having a good day, too.