#holy this whole concept makes me WEAK

[farmhandler]

Tumblr ficlet prompt: I've been obsessed with the concept of Logan doing sneaky little romantic things like taking Wade on a date but he doesn't know it's a date/logan doesn't want him to know it's a date, getting him little things and trying to pass it off as no big deal

Here's a little combination!!

---

"That was fun," Wade said as soon as they walked in the door. He immediately dropped his coat to the floor and slipped on his crocs, bending down to gather Mary Puppins into his arms. "Who's a good girl?" he cooed. "You are, my little precious baby!"

Logan picked up Wade's coat and hung both on the rack. He walked over to Wade who was still kissing Mary Puppins's head in repeated affection. "You had a good time? I wasn't sure you'd like it."

"Oh, I hate bowling. I haven't been since I thought I was straight," Wade said. "But watching you work so hard and shake that little tush to impress me was so adorable. And we had the whole place to ourselves!"

Wade wearing his full suit might have had something to do with that. Not that Logan had been complaining.

"Were you impressed?" Logan asked, only half teasing. He walked over to the fridge and pulled out a couple of drinks.

Wade cocked his head like he was thinking about it. "If I could remember what an impressive bowling score was, I'm sure I would have been. My eyes were on your ass for ninety percent of night. Why did you want to go to a bowling alley anyway?"

Logan tapped the drink to the back of Wade's head and dropped it in his hand. Wade immediately unscrewed the cap and lifted his mask to start drinking it.

"Holy fuck, that's so good," he gushed. "What is this?" He looked at the label.

"It's new, I think? Thought you might like it," Logan said. He scratched his neck. "You kept saying you were craving chocolate the other day."

He shrugged while Wade watched him, sipping on his drink.

"Are you having a mid-nearly-immortal-life crisis?" Wade asked.

Logan turned to him, brow furrowed. "What? No."

"Yesterday you gave me that Hello Kitty keychain you 'thought I would like'. And last week you brought in a bunch of outfits for Mary Puppins to try on out of fucking nowhere and the whole day became a photoshoot sesh, which you normally hate."

"One of the X-Men was getting rid of them," Logan said.

"You've been dropping random shit in my lap for weeks. And last week we went thrifting for four hours and you didn't complain even once."

Logan hadn't thought he'd been keeping track.

"And now bowling? What's up, peanut? Are you dying?"

Logan sipped his drink quietly for a second. "Wanted to take you out. I always liked bowling. Makes for a solid date spot."

Wade ripped off his mask and just stared at him.

"Date? That was a date?"

Wade slapped his hands over his mouth.

"Holy fuck. You've been wining and dining me? That taco truck you tracked down for me three days ago after we took care of that warehouse situation...Logan!"

Logan lifted his shoulders like it wasn't a big deal. It really wasn't.

"You sneaky little motherfucker. Is this your plot to make me fall in love with you?" Wade stood up and marched over. "Because it'll work! Food trucks after doing a bunch of murder is my weakness. But you should know..."

He stopped in front of Logan and walked his fingers up his chest. Logan snatched his hand and shifted closer, wrapping his arm around Wade's waist.

"What?" he said lowly.

"I'm wearing my rubber masturbating shoes," Wade whispered loudly. "Meet me in the bedroom after you shower. We are not fucking while you smell like a bowling alley."

Logan leaned his head forward, chuckling. His head bumped into Wade's, so all it took was a shift in angle to meet his mouth in a kiss.

[jumpywhumpywriter]

Villain's Coffee Shop part 21

Warnings: bleeding, grave injures, mind control, wounded Hero, corrupt Superhero

Inspiration for this one comes directly from the wonderful Anon who sent me THIS ask. So thank you Anon for your great idea for the plot!

Even though she wasn't dead yet, she would be soon if he didn't intervene.

But who could have done this? Villain kept thinking to himself, mind reeling. They were in an agency full of heroes! How would no one notice something like this? Had a villain somehow snuck in and attacked her without anyone seeing?! The odds of that were pretty slim.

"Hero? Hero!" Villain shook her shoulders roughly, and Hero finally jerked to consciousness with a groan, eyes cracking open to stare up at him dizzily.

"Ugggh... Villain?" She slurred weakly. "How did... you get here?"

"Long story, but I'm getting you out," Villain growled determinedly.

"Huh? Why are we leaving?"

"Because you're badly hurt, and -- why do I need to explain this to you?!?" Villain barked. "You're bleeding out, and that doesn't concern you?!"

Hero glanced guiltily at the floor, gaze cloudy and unfocused. "It's my punishment for failure," she wheezed. "For allowing Vito to be brought in so beaten up and mangled – heroes are supposed to bring them in as intact as possible for processing. My punishment’s not done yet -- I can't leave until it's over."

"Nonsense," Villain snarled, growing increasingly alarmed. Hero definitely wasn't acting like herself right now. What was wrong with her?!

"It's my punishment," Hero repeated robotically. "You can't take me anywhere until--"

"Your punish --- did Superhero do this to you??" Villain gawked as Hero suddenly broke out into a terrifying smile that lacked any real emotion other than what could only be described as reverent.

"Yes!" Hero said eagerly, voice abruptly dreamy and soft. "Superhero is helping me be better, he is wonderful and perfect and I would be nothing without his help. I need these punishments to teach me right from wrong."

Villain placed a firm hand on either side of her head, tilting it up and forcing her foggy eyes to meet his and holding her there. "Are you hearing yourself right now?! Something's seriously wrong with you right now! You need to snap out of it!"

"She can't," a deep voice rumbled behind him.

Villain whipped around fast as a snake to see Superhero leaning casually on the doorframe, eyeing him coolly.

"What did you do to her?!" Villain demanded harshly. "This--" he pointed an accusing finger at Hero -- "this is not a punishment! This is torture!"

"You act like there's a difference," Superhero chuckled. "All punishments require pain. It's how we learn. Pain is the world's most useful motivator. There's no room in this Agency for weak ones. Either the heroes under my control adapt and grow... or die. There's no in-between. If a young child presses their hand to a hot stove and gets burned, they won’t do it again, right? Same concept applies here.”

"But--you're supposed to be the good guys! How is this legal? How is the Agency allowing this?!" Villain shouted in rage.

"They aren't. They know nothing about what happens on this floor. It's my territory, and I do what I want in it. No one is permitted to know about it... I make sure of that. Isn't that right, Hero?" Superhero's voice dripped with venom.

"Yes, Sir!" Hero chirped obediently, eyes glassy and glazed. Her smile was crooked, verging on maniacal or insane as she stared at Superhero like her whole world revolved around him.

And then it clicked.

"Holy--you're a--" Villain glanced between her and the enemy in the doorway, eyes widening. His gaze met Superhero's, and his mind abruptly went fuzzy, limbs heavy and tired. "Oh... no... not..." He couldn't form words, his thoughts sinking into empty nothingness one by one, shutting down. He swayed dizzily on his feet, touching his head with wince and trying to stay in control against the strange power latching onto him. But somehow, he couldn't blink, couldn't look away from Superhero's piercing eyes boring into him. Mesmerizing. Commanding all of his attention in a lethal focus.

"You weren't supposed to see this," Superhero's voice echoed in his ears, the sound distant and warped like it was coming from underwater. "I'm afraid I'll have to fix that..."

The edges of Villain vision began to darkness, something rough scraping against his mind that made him shiver—

—Reality came crashing back with a roar and a shriek of pain. Instantly the effect vanished, and Villain was back in control, watching as Mocha viciously clawed at Superhero's face and surged into his panther form, smashing him into the ground and distracting him from his human friend.

Villain felt a wave of gratitude wash over him as he rushed to grab Hero. Where would he be without his amazing three-legged companion to save him once again. He threw Hero over a shoulder and spun around at hearing a pained yowl, seeing Mocha stagger backward favoring a bleeding hind leg. Superhero was holding a pocket knife in one hand as he slowly got back to his feet.

Villain needed to act fast while Superhero was still dazed if he wanted to save Hero. So he ran over to Mocha, and did what he could: drap Hero over the panther's large broad shoulders, shoving her hands into the thick fur. "Hold tight, Hero!" He barked, unsure if she could even hear him. But she must have, because he saw her hands tighten in the fur, and relief hit him like a truck. Then he looked Mocha straight in his feline eyes. "Get her out of here and take care of her," he whispered. "I'll buy you time."

Mocha's ears flicked back sadly, his eyes wide and worried, but he dipped his head in acknowledgement, turning toward the door and leaping for it, smashing straight past Superhero before he could stop the furry beast.

Screams of terror rang out in the halls as Mocha was spotted by employees who scrambled to get out of the way of the charging monster bearing a limp hero on his back.

"You fool!" Superhero snarled angrily, and Villain's attention snapped back to the problem at hand. He needed to get out. Fast.

He dashed for an opening to dart around him and escape, but Superhero threw a fist out and punched him square in the chest with enough force to send him flying and crashing into the far wall of the room, where he crumpled in a heap on the floor with a broken wheeze.

Right. Superstrength. Apparently Villain wasn't the only one with two separate superpowers.

"You're... a Mindbender?" Villain rasped, standing on shaky legs.

Superhero bared his teeth in a feral grin, blood dribbling down his face from where Mocha had raked his claws down it. "I am. It's how I've operated for so long without anyone catching on. Manipulating thoughts and memories, making people forget things I don’t want them to remember… And it looks like I'm not the only one with a dark secret, Villain."

Villain glanced down at his own hands, which crackled with dark energy, shadows at his disposal and ready to defend him.

"You are a clever rat, I'll give you that much," Superhero laughed. "You almost had me fooled. I had a sneaking suspicion you were my rival from the first day you joined Agency, but I wasn't able to confirm it until now. Because my nemesis was a rare Shadowbender, and you never displayed those powers. But now here you are. The mighty Villain. Right under my nose." His expression twisted with hate and was full of malice. "So uncharacteristically selfless of you to take Hero's place," he chuckled coldly, and menacingly stepped in front of the door, trapping Villain in.

Villain swallowed hard, suddenly realizing the terrible position he'd put himself in as he slid into a stable fighting stance.

"We have some unfinished business, if I recall?" Superhero ran a finger along the razor-sharp edge of his fighting knife as he unsheathed it -- the same knife Villain vividly remembered punching through his gut the night he'd almost died. The night Hero had found him bleeding out and saved his life.

His blood went ice cold with fear. Raw, genuine fear. For all his charm and ways of weaseling out of trouble, he might not walk out of this one alive.

"Let's have a redo of our last fight, hmm?" Superhero smiled cruelly, twirling the blade in his hand before pointing the tip right at Villain's chest. "Let's see if you can get yourself out of this one."

Villain made sure not to look straight into his enemy's eyes, avoiding the mind trap. Mindbenders needed full eye contact to manipulate someone, he recalled. And he realized now why Superhero had never been able to entrance him before during previous fights -- because his old villain mask had a reflective visor so Superhero could never make direct eye contact before. It all made sense now.

Villain flexed his fingers, black smokey darkness flickering and coiling up his arms like living snakes. He was backed into a corner with no way out. And that made him all the more dangerous.

⏪️ Back Next ⏩️

Masterlist

@scoundrelwithboba @lumpofsand @isikedmyself878 @iamheretohurt @fleur-a-whump

@ay5ksal @otterfrost @sausages-things @togzy

@whump-till-ya-jump @cravesunconditionallove @whumpwritinglover222

@federthenotsogreat @everynameistakencarrots

[theblackcatspeaks]

A Youji Sakiyama analysis

A living hell in your own body.

CW: Pregnacy, rape, male pregnancy, abuse, violence, etc. Basically, a whole NitroChiral+ game.

Please be aware that this analysis will contain spoilers from the route of Makoto and the game itself.

So, here it is.

Basically, I've been meaning to write this analysis for a while now. I waited until I finished the route of Makoto, but I'll continue on making these analysis while I do the rest.

I can admit that I wasn't not expecting to connect to Youji that much, but I surprised myself. I connected to him quite A LOT, something that hasn't occurred when referring to masculine leaning characters.

From the beginning we can see that he's the protagonist of the story, suffering from an illness that makes him weak. Having to lose time out of school due of it, Youji doesn't really seem to care about his surroundings. There's an anxiety that keeps him still, between the looks of his classmates and his daily routine.

Of course there's not a direct mention of the figure of Mary, if you're someone who has been in a catholic environment; you can tell that the feminine concept is what makes the game so important. Youji, as we soon discover through the playthrough, he is a Mesu. A parasite lives inside his body and makes him suffer symptoms of pregnancy and PMS.

From the beginning of the game we learn that there's a lot of biblical references, later we find out that the cult that exists in the Sweet Pool universe worships Sodom. For those that are not familiarized with Biblical Mythos, Sodom was the city of sinners and sodomy. God punished the citizens for their sins. The cult worships the city.

Now, going back to the virgin Mary figure. Who's Mary? Mary was the Mother of Jesus and the most important female figure for Catholics, second is Mary Magdalene.

Right in the beginning of the game we can see that in the shoe racks, there's an statue of the Virgin Mary holding a baby, her son, Jesus. Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, without a sin. Her body is pure and an example of what an ideal wife and mother should be, faithful to her faith.

Youji is the opposite.

When Youji gets his first "period", I couldn't help but feel sadness. It reminded me when I first had mine when I turned 11 years old, coming back to school and suddenly feeling hot blood between legs; realizing with horror that I was able to get pregnant. Youji doesn't understand what is happening with his body and t his terrifies him.

In that very moment, Youji turned into an object of desire to others. Makoto, who was his only friend at school started to get attracted to him due the pheromones he is emanating. Zenya too, realizing that he is also one of his kind, since Zenya's family is part of the cult that I mentioned later.

Zenya couldn't become an Osu, a High Class male, with the Sodom parasyte, ending up severely traumatized and wanting to prove himself and his family that he can become one. In his ending, he ends up abusing Youji and violently does do so.

There's no happiness for Youji in his routes, but I'll mainly speak about his ending in Makoto's. Youji ends up cannibalized and raped by his best friend. If you are a someone with fem traits or appearance, you'll get definitely targeted by people who desire to touch you, or in the worst cases, to abuse you.

What I am explaining in this analysis, if you have female traits, you'll become an object of desire. If you bleed, you become something to produce. Youji turns into a whore and a virgin if you know about the Madonna complex.

As someone who deals with PCOS, having periods turned into a nightmare. Back in summer of 2022, I remember bleeding for almost two months, never knowing when it was going to end. I felt like there was a hell inside of me and that's why I connected so deeply to Youji and the parasite inside of him.

I think I'll write more of Youji later, but if there's something I can say about Sweet Pool that makes it different than DMMD, (I love both, truly, I had a very deep obsession with it back in 2014-2015), is that Sweet Pool connects to the female monstrosity.

Bleeding is something feminine and a monstrosity. Hence why is there so many horror movies that depicts motherhood and the female body like an Alien for example. I wouldn't say Youji accepts the parasite, but he ends up talking to them in a way.

Nobody was there for Youji but the statue of Mary in his school, observing how his body turned into the object of adoration and hate. Like hers.

[subway-boss-jericho]

(threataning with art anon) yes! Rambles! Also you are so incredibly real for imagining all that stuff in different mediums (I have had similar experience) wish I could make a full animated film. That would be So Cool.

And! At one time or another I think I’ve read through the majority of the aus, but you are so right I freaking. Love the Mech AU. And coupled (uncoupled) looks like it would a verrry interesting character study (in like a “I wouldn’t do this but ingo would. Huh” kinda way)

help I’m reading them all again

also! I am here to encourage prattling I love prattling (it gives me more ideas for drawing-)

Hiii hii welcome back thank you for continuing to enable me :D

:D Yayy I'm so thrilled you like them. I never know if people actually think my wild bullshit is interesting or they just follow me for one thing (wheeze) ((Which, to be clear, is still totally fair and valid. No shame)) Of the AUs I've uploaded, I think the one that has gotten disproportionately ignored the worst is Coupled (Uncoupled). I am fucking obsessed with the coupled twins, and you're exactly right on the money there because holy Shit it's Such a character-study-rich situation to put them in. They were my in my top 3 indisputably Favorite AUs for a very long time (along with Steady Tracks and Spirit Keeper as the other two) and while I feel like I'm not super vocal about them they're still extremely high on that metaphorical list.

Realistically I could never actually list my Favorites, for the same reason why I can't really pick favorite pokemon. I like all my AUs for different reasons, so I may like one aspect of a given AU more than a different aspect of a different AU, but actually Ranking them As Favorites would be virtually impossible. Just know that I'm horribly fucking ill about coupled uncoupled more than most of the other smaller ones. Some day I'll vibe check you all so fucking hard with art or animation or writing out of left field that is about them, and then none of yall fucks will ever be normal again /lh /j

Actually. I've been struggling to write a caption for this thing so I can post it for months. Check this out:

I'M SO NORMAL ABOUT THEM.

Slaps top of this guy. He can fit two people's worth of the worst existential socio-emotional crises in him. I love gel pens.

I've decided to keep rambling about whatever the fuck on this topic, but I'm putting a cut here for my sanity:

Anyway! I really did make this AU entirely because I saw a fandom trend and went Whoa! Did we consider The Implications! And then didn't wait for an answer. Considering the implications is actually the Thing I Do the Most as I am writing in general, as any friend of mine can easily confirm. It's how a decent number of my AUs happened. I also have a trend towards either 1. trying to make an AU that doesn't touch on anything I've seen other people doing or 2. is explicitly inspired by what I perceive as trends in the fandom. Coupled Uncoupled is one of the latter, being directly inspired by Diamond Crossing. God I was not normal about diamond crossing. I'm Still Not Normal about diamond crossing.

I'm a HUGE fan of fusion in media, just in general. I don't actually know a whole lot of examples off the top of my head other than steven universe, but fusion as a concept drives me totally crazy. What if you and your friend/best friend/closest ally/rival/enemy/lover/a stranger etc could be the same person through a process so crazy intimate and vulnerable that it forces you to expose your deepest weaknesses, insecurities, emotions and motivations fully and without restraint. Sure I can be normal about that 👍

But yeah coupled uncoupled isn't like, me looking at Diamond Crossing or any other fic for that matter and going "I could do it better/I don't like insert plot point A," it was actually me looking at diamond crossing and going holy FUCK this is the COOLEST SHIT I'VE EVER SEEN. I need to participate in this or I am going to die. Then I came up with a million different ideas of fusion stories I thought would be interesting to tell, identified aforementioned trope of using the b2/w2 DNA splicers as a plot device, and went. ohohohohohohhoohohohoo i could do something silly and fucked up me thinks.

What if fusion was great and cool and awesome and a coping mechanism for a trauma/grief and also not what you thought and also more than you bargained for and also didn't give you the closure you were expecting and ALSO you didn't know how to make it stop.

Fusion as a mistake. Fusion as a regret. Fusion as a character flaw. Fusion as a major conflict (that isn't inherently connoted about?? forms of abuse and toxic relationships?? can we use fusion as a metaphor for other nuanced things too?? pls let me have this /lh)

Anyway their story is extremely complex and just by listing off ^ that I am extremely underselling the level of interwoven conflict and complicated emotional states of all parties involved so please do not misunderstand and think that one of the twins is fucked up and evil. I swear i didn't mischaracterize them that badly 🤣 The main point of the story, just off the top of my head, is actually focused around the theme of vulnerability, conflict resolution, and the strength of relationships founded on communication.

Trying to avoid spoiling The Entire Plot because I really think Coupled (Uncoupled) is going to be my next major fic project but in essence it does get better and this new tool available to them only opens the door for them to be closer than ever before and express care and compassion in new ways unique to them. i might make myself cry if I keep yammering. i care them

God I totally just used your ask as an excuse to go off. I've been doing that every time you send an ask, actually. This is why I love asks. Tysm <3 And I hope you enjoyed reading or if you didn't and TL;DR then basically god i'm so ill about them.

Every day I think about how a friend of mine made an entire animatic for this AU and yet we can't put it anywhere because we both want to remake it digitally. thats going to be one hell of a day when that bombshell drops

Thank you for the ask, and as always thank you for listening!

Coupled (Uncoupled) Masterpost

[goodveigar]

okay first act rambles (spoilers) below cut

So pre-Arcane, Viktor was probably one of my favorite characters lore-wise. I loved how he was just a guy trying to help his city, albeit he was doing it by replacing flesh and metal. Even then, that concept was so interesting to me. Like, "I am going to help you even if you lose what makes you you." And the whole cult worship of him just made it all the better.

So, in season 1 of Arcane, I was a bit afraid for his character story when he wasn't yapping about how flesh is weakness etc etc. I definitely had hope that he would get there, as I doubted fortiche would change a character that much. And Holy Shit. Just these first 3 episodes delivered. His detachment from being human on an emotional level but still burning with the need to help those in the undercity. The staff...the way he walks...EVERYTHING. They managed to both change his character while still keeping the fundamentals that made me love him in the first place.

2nd topic, HOLY FUCK THE BLACK ROSE. So, The Black Rose has to be my favorite "faction" in all of league lore. LeBlanc is another one of my favorite characters. Part of this love definitely originates from head canon as most of the lore is that there is no lore. However, The Black Rose has definitely not been presented as the threat I believe it to be. The whole "childern clowning on the Black Rose" thing that has been pretty much the only updates for it recently. Like everything has been the Black Rose supposedly fucking up (Annie, Rell, Briar etc.) So to see Arcane present them as the threat I KNOW them to be...amazing. I was fucking literally kicking my feet and squealing when I saw the black rose form in the woman's hand. The aestheics...the everything...Amazingly done. The truest gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss.

And a more minor note, I love how Ambessa is just such a true Noxus champion. Like it is one thing to just be "grrr fight...grrr..." But Noxus isn't just fighting people head on. There is so much lying and backstabbing and manipulation. And Ambessa really shows that.

More minor minor note, Ambessa guard guy (to lazy to google his name) uses a runic weapon. Yknow, the thing produced by the Black Rose. Ambessa is absolutely fucked if she decided to piss them off by taking it. So excited for the next episodes.

[archer-kacey]

On the Bendy books not being canon: this might be a good thing??? Because at least Adrienne Kress can keep doing what she’s doing without having to work around BATDR. With the ink clone concept (is everybody an ink clone? What actually did happen?) and Joey’s intentions for the cycle (from making living cartoons to torturing ink Henry?), it feels…unclear what is canon anymore. I mean BATIM is stated to be cannon but in what regards? The cycle happens but what about the audio logs? Are we even sure of who died and how anymore? There’s just a lot of things left open enough for the meatley to softly retcon things while not technically contradicting BATIM. And while BATIM is vague enough to fit BATDR’s changes…what about the books? What are we supposed to make of Joey “murders teens” Drew from the books being the same Joey in BATDR who’s being painted in a goodish light at the end of BATDR and in the archives? Hell, Tom’s characterization in BATIM has already been pointed out as inconsistent with the books.

It just strikes me that the meatley always told stories installment to installment, throwing out a flashy twist and vague storytelling. And this is coming from someone who likes BATDR. While Adrienne Kress, as a novelist, has to tell a complete and satisfying story within each book. And like you mentioned, a lot of what she gave us in those books were what people loved about the characters. At least those versions of those characters get to be preserved in someway?

I'll try to address as much of this as possible lol!

I have a lot of thoughts about this ask, and there are some points where I flat out disagree, but I do see where you're coming from! I do agree that the books not being canon leaves things more open-ended, which is a strength in some aspects and a weakness in others.

"...at least Adrienne Kress can keep doing what she’s doing without having to work around BATDR."

I agree in the sense that BATDR is messy. I don't think she had much trouble working around it, though? I mean, we see Wilson in Fade to Black, so I don't think she's afraid of bringing up BATDR.

"(is everybody an ink clone? What actually did happen?)"

Henry at the very least is an ink clone, expressly made for the purpose of Joey having a Henry-shaped stress ball to kill at his convenience (as stated in BATDR.)

If we look at the novels and games, there are three main ways to end up in Cartoon Hell: First, just be created there, like Ink Henry. Second, you can basically be teleported in via the Gent glasses, as shown in Fade to Black. Thirdly, you can just Die In Ink, like Audrey in BATDR. These technically don't contradict each other, but holy hell that's a lot of ways to end up on the wrong side of a Gent Pipe.

"Are we even sure of who died and how anymore?"

Yes, for the most part. We have letters from Allison (who also mentions Thomas), and Wally Franks. We also have confirmation that Henry left to go live with his wife. And we see Joey himself at the end of BATIM.

As for the rest of the cast, we have to think of Henry's Cycle as an imperfect reflection of real events.

The audio logs in particular do line up with things that really happened, and usually we can rely on them. Take Shawn, for example. In BATDR he mentions that he's leaving the studio. Notice that there's no coffin in BATIM with his name on it. In BATIM, Susie mentions that Joey has a proposition for her. Notice that she does have a coffin, and the outcome of her inferred death is...well, Alice Angel. (The details of how she and Sammy ended up in Cartoon Hell are a little fuzzy, but that's a whole other discussion entirely.)

"What are we supposed to make of Joey “murders teens” Drew from the books being the same Joey in BATDR who’s being painted in a goodish light at the end of BATDR and in the archives?"

Oh boy. If you want my opinion, BATDR really shits all over Joey Drew's victims, regardless of his kill count in the books.

Let's pretend the books don't exist for a minute. Joey still manipulated a woman with the end goal of getting her killed for his own selfish gain. He almost worked his best friend and business partner to death and kept him from seeing his wife for days on end. His accountant died in a horrible and unspecified manner on studio premises. Norman, Bertrum, and Lacie all died as a result of working at JDS as well. Not only did Joey kill real people, but he made an artificial world in which basically all creatures suffer. Don't even get me started on the Lost Ones in Chapter 4 (which include children, by the way.)

It's also confirmed by Grant in BATDR that Gent was "pouring in some funds", and while you could argue it's just for research without killing anyone...they still made the Ink Demon. Nobody's gonna sit here and tell me that A. the Ink Demon never escaped, and B. His kill count was 0. No way.

I get really sussed out at BATDR saying "Well, Joey kind of raised a kid so he's paid his just desserts!" In short, that's not a Bendy book issue, it's a BATDR issue.

"...a lot of what she (Adrienne) gave us in those books were what people loved about the characters."

I'm not gonna lie...I really wish she was a writer for the actual games. Lol.

[livefromcastledracula]

Odd thought, but what's your personal take on the vampiric weakness towards religious objects and places? Now obviously the myths, legends and folklore where our modern concept of a "vampire" originated, as well as the literary works that would popularize them in pop culture originated in deeply Christian Europe.

However distancing a bit from that context, I kinda like the idea that vampires as a rule are repelled by ANY religious object and place of worship backed with legitimate faith and belief. Could probably lead to a quite comedic scene where a Theistic Satanist of all things manages to have a better time warding off a vampire than a con man televangelist who doesn't actually believe a word he's saying.

There's a fair bit of debate about the cross thing, and I think it's important to separate the crucifix/cross repelling vampires in mythology and folklore from the depiction in pop culture.

Because pop culture vampires and folkloric vampires are quite different beasts, most of the time, and the underlying intent is different. And yes, pop culture does often query the "is it the power of the symbol or the power of the faith" and come up with different answers - the Netflix Dracula series as an example makes a big plot point out of this.

For Stoker, I think, his vampires are specifically demonic. They are not so much just the person they were in life but with fangs and blood hunger, they are a ravenous unclean spirit posessing the person's corpse - this is why Vampire Lucy is such a 180 from the sweetheart we knew her as - so the repulsion of the crucifix comes from that good vs evil thing.

And it's worth noting that whilst Jonathan is a Christian, he's Church of England and 'regards such things (as carrying crucifixes and rosaries) as in some measure idolatrous'. But the symbol still works for him, so it's possible that either his baseline Christianity still empowered it, Stoker (a Catholic definitely not a Catholic, my bad, but that makes this more interesting to me) was implying that Jonathan was wrong and the symbol DOES have power, or...the repulsion wasn't about the symbol or the wielder, but was on Dracula's end. Because there's also the argument that perhaps the vampires repelled by religious imagery, many of them (like Carmilla and Dracula) being themselves from that Christian old world in life, are repelled by the holy symbols because the symbol reminds either the demonic spirit or the shreds of the person that was of all the faith they once had that is now lost, of their severing from God, of their eternal, damned fate, like Mephistopheles in Faust mourning being cut off from the light of heaven, it's too overwhelming for them to bear. It's also plausible, of course, that both Carmilla and Dracula were not actually Christian in life, with Dracula having studied black magic at the Scholomance and Carmilla being born to the notoriously wicked and decadent Karnsteins, so then the implication would be that they were in life witches, devil worshipers, or dabblers in sorcery, and therefore find the whole Christian faith and all of its signifiers repulsive and hateful because of their own opposed faith (and may be afraid of the Christian God's power and judgment, in the context the authors are writing them in) In that case, a vampire from a non-Western culture, or a vaguely analogous creature like say a jiangshi or a manananggal, would arguably only respond to superstitious or religious repellants related to its part of the world and specific to its folklore, and not be repelled by a symbol that meant nothing to that creature, regardless of the faith of the wielder. On the 'mythology' end the cross, like the garlic and the wolfbane and the wild rose and mountain ash and all of the original folkloric vampire countermeasures are part of a much broader aspect of folkloric creatures being repulsed or warded off by specific symbols, rituals, superstitions or cultural practices. Some of these have connections to the religion of the culture they're from and some come more from local and community tradition. This is a very broad and complex topic, and it's hardly restrained to vampires - revenants, fairies, ogres, demons, witches, and evil spirits of all sorts have their specific wards and charms. As always with myth and folklore, it's not about what is 'true' or 'canon', because such things get very, very blurry with oral traditions that are centuries or millennia old, it's about the people telling the story - the people the story belongs to.

Anyway, the question you're really asking is - is the vampire repelled by the holy symbol because of: A) A spiritual power inherent in the symbol itself. B) The wielder's faith and belief in what the symbol represents. C) The vampire's belief in or fear of the power of the symbol or what it represents. D) Something else.

I think there's validity in each answer and a lot of fun to be had exploring them in fiction.

[incesthemes]

final thoughts: supernatural season 15

holy shit. i did it. i finished supernatural. i actually finished it a couple hours ago but i'm still having trouble processing it. i've been working at this for six months (but with a one-month break back in december) and i'm finally finished. honestly i don't think i really believed i would do it because shit this show is long, and i am not predisposed to enjoy shows like this. so this is a huge mark of pride for me, that i can finally say i did indeed sit down and watch all 327 episodes of supernatural :)

anyway all that to say i hated this season with a passion lmao, hasta la vista baby ✨

honestly i think i'll end up keeping this short because frankly most of my criticisms boil down to

how did you fuck up your own lore this badly

holy plotholes batman

this is so disrespectful and irreverent toward kripke's supernatural

nothing about this writing makes any kind of sense

well, that's convenient (in the most boring way imaginable)

so it's basically just a game of spin the wheel and see what it lands on.

the season started super weak; the concept was bad from the get-go and executed only to a mediocre standard, so i couldn't help but cringe my way through it. rowena's death was really well done, but her character was never well developed, in the same way most side characters on this show are never well developed, so while i appreciate the care that went into that scene it felt rather empty. it made me regret how poorly and inconsistently written she was. and yeah most side characters get this treatment—hell, cas gets this treatment which is why i don't care about him much—but she had such a provocative death scene that it had me lamenting that she didn't get a better foundation and better development. alas, that's just what it means to be someone other than sam and dean on supernatural.

after that was... the eileen subplot. i do really like eileen despite her being a rather flat and uninteresting character the way most women are on this show (y'know, kickass independent "girl power" women without nearly any other significant personality trait), but i really didn't appreciate the substantial pivot sam took from dean-focused to eileen-focused in this season. yes, season 12-14 did go to great efforts to make sure this wasn't The Sam And Dean Show anymore, but season 15 is so dramatically incongruous from even 12-14 that it just boggled my mind. the sam/eileen stuff was a major part of that, and it just didn't feel good because it was one more nail in the coffin with regards to how little the showrunners respected the foundation of the show (y'know, "the epic love story of sam and dean"). the only real salmondean moment in the entire season was the 7-minute incest speech in the finale—like what? i couldn't even properly enjoy that because of how poorly it was set up, thanks to the four seasons of retconning their relationship and making it less important to the series overall.

anyway all that to say, they had this massive sam/eileen subplot and then nothing even came of it. sam didn't even call to check if she was alive after jack resurrected everyone? he didn't meet up with her on screen even once? like if you're going to give him this season-long romance with someone other than dean, you could at least have the balls to commit to it. i find that just. godawful writing. eileen didn't have to be sam's blurry wife or anything, but he should have had some kind of resolution, literally anything at all, if we're meant to believe she's in any way important to him. c'mon.

more incongruous moments: dean got weirdly angry in this season. like what's with episode 17 man? there is nothing about dean in that episode that feels even remotely in character. from "jack's not family" to dean pulling a gun on sam, it all felt wildly overblown, way too melodramatic and sudden, and just not anything dean would do. yeah he's an angry guy, but???? this was too much, even for him. and the whole jack argument between sam and dean made me roll my eyes hard. because how do you expect me to believe that after all of the developments up to that point, that

dean wouldn't consider jack family. first of all that's stupid, dean drops the f-bomb on literally anyone he thinks is useful to further his goals. second of all it contradicts the bond they've formed since season 13, and it no longer fits with the parallel themes set up between sam, dean, and jack. it undermines what's been established, what's been developed, and what jack means to them on a thematic level. so so so stupid. cannot stress how dumb this move was. it just felt like the writers pulling out yet another OOC moment just so they can conveniently move the plot in the direction they wanted. so annoying.

sam and cas are equals in dean's eyes. like that's just hilarious to me. the last time cas died dean got sad for a little bit and burned his body on a pyre. the last time sam died dean committed suicide. these are not equal reactions. and sam and cas have never been equal to dean because dean always chooses sam over everyone, again evidenced in the series finale. so it was just hilarious for this one episode to pretend like sam and cas could ever be equal.

of course season 15 did really push a destiel agenda in the most unexpected and bizarre way. like wow, and i thought seasons 12-14 were a totally different show. no, season 15 is so much worse than that. i have absolutely no idea why they made the choices they did with this season, but they were not good, they routinely disrespected kripke's foundations of the show, and they ignored every theme ever laid out up until then. all for... what, exactly? so dean and cas can have a weird little non-romance together for 18 episodes only for them to slip wincest back in at the end? what's up with that? no like seriously, what were they trying to do here????

i told my friend this earlier, but i do think it's funny how cas's death speech is just straight-up factually incorrect regarding dean. i'm 100% fully willing to believe that castiel was blinded with lust by dean winchester that he simply made up some guy in his head who looked like dean. and that will be my headcanon going forth because wow it's shocking and funny as hell how much he got wrong while waxing poetic about dean. "you're the most selfless man i know" when kripke spent 5 seasons pounding it into our heads how fundamentally selfish dean (and sam, obviously, but the speech is about dean) is. girl what are you saying. dick so good he rewrote dean's basic character traits to be more convenient to him. i respect it truly i do.

anyway the finale. i hated it! to absolutely no one's surprise. a few days ago i wrote out what i thought would have been the most thematically cogent endings for supernatural. i knew what actually happens, obviously (hard to miss tbh), but my resolve on this front was only strengthened by actually watching it. yes the 7 minutes of incest were very nice and compelling, but... wow. this episode has some of the worst pacing i've ever seen in my life. dean died halfway into the episode? and the rest of that was... a sequence of short scenes that are too drawn-out to be a montage??? like there was no tension, no buildup, and no setup for what they did. it felt so lazy and underdeveloped, lacking any kind of poignancy or thematic cohesion. and then i had to watch TWENTY MINUTES of half-baked scenes of dean in heaven and sam growing old. i wouldn't have hated this ending so much if they had better pacing, i'm serious. like the outrage i feel is predominantly because of how badly it was written. the concepts aren't good, but they were par for the course. but TWENTY MINUTES OF MONTAGE. A MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH WITH NO EMOTIONAL BUILDUP, WHICH ACTIVELY CONTRADICTS THE THEMES OF THE SHOW. WHAT!!!!!!! WERE THEY THINKING!!!!!!!!!!

anyway i disliked that a little bit.

so overall i pretty much hated every part of this season and there were very, very, very few redeeming features sprinkled in. it's fine though! i'm fine. it's all over now :)

a few brief thoughts on the series overall: i regret ever speaking badly of kripke's supernatural; i didn't know how good i had it until it was gone. in hindsight, a lot of the seasons i thought were dogshit were actually not the worst things ever—i just didn't realize how bad bad could get. i know now. i will carry that knowledge with me forever.

dramatics aside, i honestly did enjoy watching the show. as much as i hated so many of the writing choices, the plotholes, the retcons, the way the writers just handwaved away anything inconvenient and rewrote characters entirely just to force them into the story they way they wanted them—it was still, like, fun. the agony was enjoyable (things masochists say). i think it helps that the fandom at large generally agrees that the writing is bad; it gives a sense of community and solidarity in the misery. there's no uneasy disconnect between myself and the rest of the fanbase, and that honestly does make all the difference. it's fun to suffer together, and i don't regret watching this show one bit :)

so with that said, here's my final ranking for every season:

season 1 (thematically strong, tight writing, incredible vision, truly foundational in its establishment of overarching themes, tone, and genre)

season 2 (such an interesting plot which builds on what was established in season 1. this is where the meat of the show is, where the heart is exposed to daylight as the chest is ripped open)

season 3 (well written, though disappointing in some areas largely due to kripke dropping the special children plot thus leaving a hole. not very noticeable due to the good writing, but still there. i'll never forgive them for killing off henricksen)

season 4 (this is the first real drop in quality imo, but it's relatively insignificant. the writing feels more meandering, and the tone shifts rather drastically away from the horror of its origin. the introduction of angels destroys a lot of the religious anxiety that formed the foundation of the show, but at the same time introduces a fantastic story about fate and doom)

season 5 (same as season 4, but with the flaws a bit more glaring. castiel's unclear motivations and underdeveloped shift in perspective are a major point of contention for me; i don't think it was handled well and could have been written better to make him a stronger character from the get-go, possibly allowing him to be a better character in later seasons instead of the conflicting mess we ended up with)

season 9 (the writing is atrocious, but the vision is so good. i still don't know how they managed that. they had such a great idea and they took kripke's supernatural and expanded on it in such a satisfying way. it drove me crazy! but holy shit the actual writing is so bad)

season 8 (i feel largely the same about 8 as i do 9, but i just think the writing was overall worse. it does get brownie points for having benny in it, though)

season 10 (boring. boring and paced so, so, so badly. the sole redeeming feature was how committed it was to its vision. it has the exact opposite problem as season 6 in that it has too little content to fill out the season. but god, the vision. you'll hear me waxing poetic about the season 8-10 vision on my death bed)

season 7 (it did a lot to pave the road for seasons 8-10 which i can't ignore. it also got itself fairly settled after the mess season 6 was and didn't try to bite off more than it could chew. i didn't love it, but it had a lot of moments that were provocative and interesting, and it provided pretty good setup for season 8. the writing was not good, but i think that goes without saying)

season 6 (introduced really interesting ideas, but tried to cram so much into one season that it failed to deliver satisfying payoffs for any of its setup. soulless sam was an interesting exception and really redeemed it for me)

season 12 (12 and 13 are about equal for me because i hate the plots, i hate the intense diversion away from The Sam And Dean Show, i hate the writing, i hate the concepts, etc etc. but they both introduce supporting characters which show off new and interesting sides to sam and dean: mary in 12 and jack in 13. it allows for focus to stay on sam and dean's relationship a little longer even though they're no longer generating any organic conflict between them, so i appreciate that at least)

season 13 (i fucking HATE the apocalypse world. that is my deciding factor between seasons 12 and 13. also i hate what they did to mary here)

season 14 (honestly an inoffensive season. i still hate the writing way more than anything else pre-12, and it doesn't have the benefits of a new character introduced to provide external conflict between sam and dean, so while it was relatively inoffensive it was also boring, lacking, and really obvious how little the writers cared about maintaining sam and dean's relationship as the emotional core of the show)

season 11 (the writing all things considered wasn't the absolute worst thing i've ever seen, if i'm being fair. on the other hand, i hated everything about this season conceptually, and i hate that it vouched for christianity as the ~one true religion~ which again undermines kripke's original series. this is me being petty and i'm okay with that)

season 15 (see above. oh but i'm honestly surprised it managed to surpass my ire toward season 11. like honestly it's impressive because i hold a massive grudge toward 11 which should have been insurmountable. a feat has certainly been achieved here!)

anyway. i said this wasn't going to be long but then i just kept on writing and writing. because that's what i do. i never learn 😔 i'll end it here then. i intend to go back and rewatch seasons 1-5 now that i'm finally finished, so i'm looking forward to that. i want to see if my rose-tinted glasses that i've been looking at kripke era with are based on reality or simply a longing to return to less terrible times :P

[demonsfate]

FINISHED THE TEK8 STORY. Under the cut, I will be saying how it affects my blogs and changes i may make to my own depiction, as well as how my blog will be canon divergent (for some obvious reasons). under the cut will contain MASSIVE SPOILERS. so, do not peek unless you don't care or you've finished the story already. if you've already completed the story, I highly recommend you look as it will be crucial to my blog and depiction as well as writing with me in the Tek8 verse. thank you.

I liked the story but I was also a little disappointed by a few things. I will disclose that later, for now I want this to focus on primary the depiction and what will change or stay for this blog and how this blog handles Tek8.

-JIN STILL DIDN'T START THE WAR. Honestly this is something that made the story so hard to really really like is that Jin's just good again and there was no real explanation as to why he is back to his old self. Before his character episode, they said he was consumed by the devil's blood ... but it still felt so unclear to me. Regardless, Jin didn't start the war nor was he responsible for it. DJ still started it in hopes to do what Kazuya did, awaken Azazel and take its power. Jin's guilt and suicidal tendencies are still there. However, his guilt, as always on this blog, comes from his weakness, his body being used, and feeling as though he should've killed himself and DJ sooner.

-DJ AND HIS RELATIONSHIP WITH JIN. Holy shit. This is definitely gonna be the hardest for me - as I am struggling to even know how to push forward with this. As yes, I didn't expect DJ to be precisely what I believed him to be, but MY GOD, the story basically went against almost everything I've written. So I'm gonna do my best to make it work with my own concept. So there will be a lotta points regarding DJ and their relationship, starting with -

-DJ AND JIN KNEW EACH OTHER SINCE THE END OF TK3. Tek8 seems to imply that it's Jin's first time actually meeting DJ. This blog strongly rejects that notion. Why? This blog's biggest focus has been on Jin and DJ's relationship and how they live with each other. It's actually the most fun about writing the two. So, to say they never actually really knew each other would just destroy a lot of fun and love I had for this dynamic. DJ's been talking to Jin ever since he woke up after Jin was killed by Heihachi. Not only do Jin and DJ know each other, they know each other better than anyone else.

-DJ IS NOT IN ANY WAY JIN, HE'S HIS OWN ENTITY. This is pretty self - explanatory, but no. Jin and DJ may share the same body, but they are not the same person. I'm never changing this.

-DJ REGARDING JIN. Okay, as sweet as Jin looking to DJ and saying "you've always been protecting me..." and DJ saying with a small smile, "I'll go anywhere with you" or some shit. But... that does go against my whole depiction. Y'know... DJ did attempt to kill Jin and came close to it before he started the war. So this is something I'm struggling with the most. I THINK I might have an idea of how I can better fit this in my depiction, though. Since whenever I write his Tek6 verse especially, I always strongly imply that DJ misses Jin. However, I'd make it unclear whether or not DJ genuinely misses Jin and thus cared about him to an extent, or if DJ is just uncomfortable by the change and new silence in his head. Because of the "you've always been protecting me" line, I suppose I'll just go completely straightforward and say yea, DJ does care about and genuinely likes Jin. However, as I've also stated many times on this blog - even if DJ likes somebody, when it comes down to it, he'll always put himself first. But DJ liking Jin is also one reason why he's so possessive of him. It's his own fucked up way of expressing that like - so a very toxic relationship.

-DJ'S JOURNEY IN 8. DJ is still mad at Jin for taking away his chances during the war. DJ still tries to gaslight Jin and isolate him as a means of getting back. Jin ends up defeating DJ regardless - like what happens in the story. However, Jin learns that DJ is something - no, someone that will always be with him no matter what. Perhaps using his Kazama powers, or Jun's influence, he/she "purifies" DJ and brings out the best in him. DJ admits his true feelings to Jin, and how they both do need each other if they want to take down their common enemy. Jin, of course, can't so easily forgive DJ for y'know... the selfishness and war crimes. But he also learned from his mother to show mercy and give second chances, as he felt he's been given a second chance. And plus, with a more purified mind, Jin feels DJ in a different headspace than he once was. DJ willingly gives his powers to Jin to fight Kazuya. In a way, DJ and Jin's relationship has improved and they've reconciled.

-DJ'S FATE? Since Jin seemingly lost the ability to activate the devil (or angel's lol) powers. I, uh... I don't know what this means for DJ at all. I really don't know if this means DJ is "dead" or just "dormant." At the point of writing this, I don't know if I'll say that DJ is dead - therefore he can't be interacted with during post Tek8 verse. Or... if I'll say he's still around, but Jin only hears him in his head, and there's no way that DJ can actually take over. Therefore, still kinda hard to interact with DJ in this verse :')

-JIN'S FATE. I'm still unsure what I wanna say Jin's fate is. It seems like he's going off with Xiaoyu, but... I don't think he's necessarily becoming a hermit like many think? For now, I'd like to think he's making up for loss time with Xiao and they're exploring the world together. Jin is absolved of his crimes due to Victor getting to actually know Jin, seeing how Jin has helped saved the world, as well as choosing to believe that Jin was indeed not the one to blame for the war. Jin's also learned to forgive himself for his mistakes, and learned that with friends - he is stronger. Jin is at his happiest, and is no longer suicidal. He wants to live!!!

-JIN ACCEPTING HIMSELF. Yes, Jin is willing to use Mishima-Style again, but NOT because of Heihachi or that Heihachi was actually a good guy (I swear this game felt like it was doubling down on Heihachi actually being noble - barf). Jin accepts Mishima-Style because he realized not all Mishimas are as bad as he originally thought. (See Lars, Jinpachi and himself, - even if Lars doesn't practice Mishima-Style)

[kandisheek]

FIC REC WEEK 44 - HORROR

The Ghost in the Machine by Frankensteins_Monster

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 3,393 Tags: Married Couple, Character Death, AI Tony

Summary: Steve Rogers and Tony Stark have been together for seven years and married for three of them. They work and fight and dance and laugh together. Steve secretly believes that the only wedge in their otherwise perfect marriage is the time that Tony spends in his lab, working on some super-secret project for days at a time. And in a way, Steve's right.

Reasons why I love it: The whole concept of this fic is beyond terrifying, holy shit. I know Tony was trying to do something good here, but if I were Steve, I would never recover, let alone be able to move on. I love everything about this fic, and you should definitely read it!

Once the Brain Fog Clears by Impala_Chick

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: M Words: 5,945 Tags: Psychological Horror, Lovecraftian Monster, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: SHIELD HQ loses contact with their Arctic Base, and they ask Steve, Sam, and Nat to go recover their agents. But there is a monster lurking in the ice, and it knows Steve's weaknesses.

Reasons why I love it: Wow, the descriptions of what the monster is making Steve see really got under my skin, they're so chilling. I love the bits of lore we get at the end, and the resolution with Steve and Tony is super sweet, a perfect way to balance out the dark. This fic is wonderful, and you should definitely read it!

Hypnagogic by CaughtAGhost (ghosthan), ghosthan

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: E Words: 4,225 Tags: Hydra Steve, AI Tony, Major Character Death

Summary: [Hypnagogic state: the period immediately before sleep, or between wakefulness and sleep, during which hallucinations can occur.] “Fine. You want an enemy?” Steve says, bloody saliva dripping from the corner of his mouth, “I’ll give you someone to hate.”

Reasons why I love it: I think I'm gonna have to breathe into a paper bag after this one, Jesus Christ. It's gloriously dark and gory, and the underlying terror of it all is so good it makes me want to cry. Steve and Tony's characterizations are incredible, and the ending literally made my jaw drop, it's amazing. Definitely check this one out if you haven't yet.

Potshot by jellybeanforest

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 2,765 Tags: Zombie Apocalypse, Survival, Bearded Steve

Summary: In an expansive wasteland infested with hordes of the undead, Steve, leader of a group of ex-military operatives known as the Avengers, searches for survivors and supplies in the ruins of the old world. That’s all well and good, but Tony would do just about anything for an American cheeseburger.

Reasons why I love it: The things you do for a meat grinder. I love the contrast between Tony's somewhat fresh-faced naivety and Steve being already hardened by battle, it makes for excellent drama. And the attack scene is fantastic, I could really feel the urgency. This fic is amazing, and you should definitely check it out.

Six Feet Under by SummerKnight717

Pairing: Steve/Tony Rating: T Words: 5,391 Tags: Buried Alive, Team as Family, Rescue Missions

Summary: They should have known the fight had gone too well. They should have suspected. But they didn't. Now Captain America has been captured, and the Red Skull has entirely too much to do with the matter.

Reasons why I love it: I've always found being buried alive to be one of the most horrible ways to go, and this fic does a great job at conveying that particular horror. It's raw and awful and everything you'd want out of a fic like this, and I loved every second of it. Definitely check it out, because it's amazing.

[lawlietscaramels]

I think you and 🍰 have mentioned it before, but I’d love to hear your thoughts about the way the musical portrays L. The concept album was my introduction to Death Note as well, but I feel like the L in the songs is a much more dramatic take on L? Which, y’know, makes sense, since it’s ✨musical theatre✨ and all. Like, “The Game Begins” is SO fun, but we’d never get a monologue like it from L in the manga or anime. Idk, the musical paints a bit of a different image of L to me. Not a bad one at all, just a different one.

-🎲

holy space cows 🎲 anon okay let's go! again answering this before my other asks because it's more me rambling than an actual story

GOOOOOD musical L when I first watched the musical I wanted to pick him up take him out of the screen and squeeze him like a stress ball. honestly I loved (love?) him maybe even more than anime L dhdhhdh

I'll put a break in here because I think I'm gonna say a lot

like. he did so many things like anime L (I've never read the manga so I see that L as "base" L) but also I feel had his own quirks. like how he hopped onto chairs (Teen Angst L did this too but because it was screen not stage it felt different. I've done stage acting before so maybe it's just me but screen doesn't feel as close, I just loooove stage acting, UGH. This was also why it was more dramatic in some places, you have to act for the whole audience but, I'm assuming you didn't see it live, WAIT have you even watched the recorded version?? It's on YouTube it's sooo good the subtitles are great too, you can sing along to the songs. it's in Japanese tho. Anyway my point was going to be, because you're acting for people really far away, your movements will be big and dramatic and you'll notice this if it's recorded up close).

HIS VOICE WAS SO NICE TOO like damn this is a fine ass man. His songs, I agree looking back at them they aren't all things anime L would say, especially not unprompted. But I don't think that it was so far out of character that it was unbelievable, you know? I actually think that though yes, the Game Begins was dramatic, that was just the song and not the tone of it, if that makes sense. I'd say songs like Playing His Game and (I can't remember the name but the one LawLight duet they sing at the college? not the tennis one. UGH I know the Japanese...) Anyway, I'd say those songs are more ooc. Cause I think L sees all of his cases as a game, his job as a game. Like yes he cares about human life but he also only takes on interesting cases. I've heard this is more like his manga version, which is kinda cool that this "headcanon" of mine is "canon."

AHAHA anyway the point I was actually going to make with that paragraph was: in the final song (a little ooc but in some lines very in character) L holds this one "O" note that makes me go WEAK IN THE KNEES and of course Light is singing over it at the same time, sobs. This is in the Japanese version. I prefer that version overall, but I like some of the English songs too, like Playing His Game and Requiem. So if you haven't listened to it YOU SHOULD!! It's on YouTube music, you can search up english song name + death note musical. A lot of them are by "LyricNear" I think. and you can ofc watch the full musical. but aaaa the final song breaks my heart but I have to listen to that goddamn note... you guys... you don't understand.

Uh, the musical did of course take some creative liberties. There was no Matsuda which I will always bring up because it is a crime, MUSICAL REMISA WAS THE BEST, the limited runtime cut plots and explanations (I kind of appreciated the ending, though I cried because I was hoping it would end differently), and I don't think they had a Watari. Actually thinking about that, that's probably the most ooc L thing in the whole movie: being able to take care of himself. (well presumably to some degree considering he's still alive at the start)

But yeah... I love musical L... I don't mind when he's ooc because it only disrupts soft headcanons of mine, not hard ones. I also haven't watched it for a while so I may be misremembering some things, but still. Gosh I really want to hug him... his clothes look so soft.... maybe I'll just steal his voice box/j

[twentyfivemiceinatrenchcoat]

ARI IM BREAKING IN AND SHAKING YOU SO HARD RN. u think u could just drop those tags on my post AND LEAVE???!!!! im literally so giddy rn because u get it……u get it so bad

“knightly demeanour vs animalistic tendencies…gentle nature vs his violent actions” my knuckles are white im clenching my fist so hard rn because!!! ur so right there IS something just Off about the guy isnt there?? “simmering” UGH THATS SUCH A GOOD WORD like its there but it isnt so obvious at first because he truly believes hes a good person, fighting for a good cause, helping the weak, protecting vulnerable towns and villages!! but its also the fact that like that isnt really what hes fighting for deep down in his heart. im still messing with this but tell me what u think!! i think hes just the slightest bit misguided (by slight and bit i mean a lot❤️) and has no clue how to view his knighthood because he doesnt get to choose!! he doesnt get to choose who he has to raise his sword for and who he has to bend the knee for

BLARGG i got carried away but im so glad u liked the little drabble🫶🏽🫶🏽knight!sugu lives in my head rent free, im so glad someone else is crazy about him hes so hot

PEHJDJSJD MOSS????? ur making the brainrot worse pls stop 😭😭 this is gonna get extremely long i think just bear w me </3 god i adore ur take on him SO much i cant even explain it

moss. grabs ur shoulders. no because youre actually a genius. i was already sold but i never even considered how perfect a knight au is for suguru holy shit????? UR SO RIGHT. ALWAYS. he is ABSOLUTELY misguided and i think there are so many possibilities for his character in an au like this…

its so similar to his canon circumstances but also Not. and there’s that whole other factor of knighthood and honour thats so different from sorcerers because sorcerers can be (and SHOULD be) a little insane in the head but knights have to be Perfect. but then they also have to be Human and the tragedy is that u cant be both at once. (more on that later 🔥🔥 im normal abt this concept)

this is just my own take on sugu but!! i see him as like… Obsessively Moral. in the sense that he follows his own morals without thinking about anything else. almost destructively. and god moss the way that could translate into a knight au…..

just. suguru being born with so much empathy and strenght (and also that one simmering Thing that makes him a bit off) and immediately being recognized by the people around him. being branded a knight and given a sword to Protect people with. a purpose that he devotes himself wholly to, pledging himself to the protection of the people around him, and finding genuine satisfaction out of helping them (while also getting his kicks out of killing monsters bc it satisfies that one little simmering Urge he has). and the people love him and he loves them!!!

but then we get into the concept of knighthood (which im extremely normal about) and how fucked up and paradoxical it is. bc knights are supposed to Protect but also Kill. and they have to do both. suguru is given a sword to Protect people with but swords only do one thing and that is Kill. so how could he not get a little addicted to the way it feels?

its just sooo… messed up. honestly. knights are branded as heroes and saviors and theyre loved by all but deep down theyre more like dogs who have to lunge in whichever direction their superior throws a bone at. ”he doesnt get to choose who he has to raise his sword for and who he has to bend the knee for” <- LITERALLY THIS. he has to be obedient because knights are defined by Loyalty above all else and there are…. SO many ways that could fuck suguru up mentally.

him being seen as a Perfect Knight… having love for the people hes sworn himself to protect but also an undeniable love for violence…. and having no choice but to do what his king tells him to. its just bound to go wrong!! and when it does he’ll have no choice but to bear the blame alone bc thats what a good knight is supposed to do.

like im just imagining knight!sugu having a similar crisis to canon sugu in which he fails to protect someone, or has to sacrifice a certain amount of people to save more, or maybe just has to Kill something in a very gruesome way. and then slowly people turn their backs on him. maybe not entirely shut him out or anything, but now there’s this tension when he walks in and he sees a hint of fear in the eyes of the people he used to speak to so warmly.

and its just this nausea that he cant get rid of because hes spent his LIFE protecting these people. its all he knows. its what he was born for. and now theyre afraid of him? when he does nothing but devote himself to them? when all he ever did was save them over and over again? i can just imagine that contempt building up inside his stomach. slowly rotting.

and then suddenly all he can think is how ungrateful they are, how weaklings who cant protect themselves should just sit still and let him do it for them……. Yeah. i just think knight!sugu could be corrupted so easily because of how kind and moral he is (the traits that made him a Perfect Knight in the first place . throws up blood)

anyway all this just to say knight!sugu is genuinely the hottest sugu ive ever seen in my life not even kidding thank u for feeding me 🙏🙏🙏 i SCREAMED when i saw it in ur masterlist. if i saw him beat the shit out of a monster w his bare hands i would fold instantly and follow him wherever even if he went crazy and got banished <33 rip to the rest of the village but im different

[hyperray]

Just watched the finale and...

I almost feel nothing. I feel weird. I am both excited from the cool moments, and dissapointed by the cringe moments. Its like the cool matter and cringe matter met and they annihilated eahc other to zero. My mood swings about the finale is comparable to the infrared wavelength. Actually let me visualize this by showing the peaks as + and cringe moments as - +Vox laughing at the hotel's preparation -Vox swearing (Actually I'm giving a minus to all the swearing, which OH MY GOD!! There is so much of it, I have an extremely hard time to find this cool and interesting. Viv, STOP IT, PLEASE!) +General Pentious +Charlie's speech +The whole scene where everyone is enjoying themselfes before the fight -Besides Pentious expressing his feelings for Cherri (Which I do ship) the whole concept is rushed, she only appeared one time and when they are eye to eye the ship thing if forced quickly, and she only starts considering him after Angel tells her that he might have two dicks. Like, hmm, that would make it a very one sided relationship -The Charlie and Vaggie song having the same style as the Charlie and Lucifer song makes this all feel somewhat incestious. Am I the only one who feels that way? -Lute is being uncharacteristic with how she is swearing, feels a bit like the Striker treatement +I love everyone's battle outfits! I think Charlie's shield might be a reference to that one christian folklore how someone was using a shield made by Lucifer himself which later broke from another holy weapon +Alastor's shield -Yeah it is pretty weak how the angels can be killed with their own weapons, though I also find this interesting, maybe their own weapons can kill them not out of holyness, but from power-level essence, you get me? +++Besides the swearings and the Lucifer vs Adam fight, this battle was AWESOME!!! Especially Adam vs Alastor -Vox' hard on, or his entire appereance in the episode and Alastor swearing. I really hoped Al would be outside the swearing curse --"Vagatha!" "Not my name" I really feel like this is Viv's spiteful way of saying "Fuck you guys, the way I name my characters is completely fine and stop whining like there is anything wrong with it." +Angel Dust protecting the Egg Boi ++Pentiou's build up of attacking Adam and manning up to kiss Cherri ----------Pentious being casually whiped out by Adam in one pew and everyone imemdiately mourning for him. Seriously WHAT THE FUCK!!! That was the most UNDERWHELMING SHIT I've ever seen! +Razzle and Dazzle becoming Dragon and Vaggie vs Lute fight, as well as her speech to humiliate Lute +Charlie and Adam's fight and interaction +Lute ripping her arm out --The entire Adam vs Lucifer fight and interaction. Okay I expected there to be a large power gap between those two, it is Lucifer after all, but it felt too one sides, and I got second hand embarrasment for Adam by being so casually humiliated by all these silly animal transformations and insult ---Also did Lucifer really sleep with Eve too? That makes the whole view on the Morningstar family relationship so wrong. Luci and Lilith supposedly were deeply in love, but if Lucifer must've slept with Eve too it must've been soon after he met Lilith too, and Luci was trying to be a sort of prometheus figure to Eve, what a massive downplay on so many things! Though I hope he wasn't serious about it and just wanted to get under Adam's skin ----Lucifer saying "I'm going to fuck you" to Adam was the MOST VRINGE INDUCING thing here! --Adam's true face. Look I don't care if this is suppose to reflect his actor's face, why is he this white boy hill billy? Jeez, does Viv even care about the Bible lore and trying to make it more accurate than just the surface level stuff?Would it have been so hard to just make him more lore accurate? I'm seriously starting to think Viv might have a kink on that.

[mdhwrites]

You know, I think Dana didn't plan Belos at all in s1.

The whole eating palismen wasn't even a thing till s2. And what frustrates me about it the most is Lilith, most of her actions in s1 created a huge plot hole in s2 with that decision. He confiscates and eats all the palismen yet she's allowed to keep hers while Hunter is on a stress marathon at the idea of Belos finding Flapjack, and I couldn't care much since Lilith was right there. Same about the coven sigils, why does she not have one????? She was the freaking E.C head not just a regular.

And another plot hole about the sigils brands, one coven scout mentioned switching covens (Severine was her name don't remember the episode), was that meant to be a silly joke? Or considering that Dana voiced her, people assumed she did it to poke fun at Disney's decisions. It still creates a contradiction to the brands being permanent tho, people did consider a possibility that there's a way to debrand someone, and there should be in this case right?

Sometimes I feel like Dana cares more about hating Disney than writing sense in her story and I'm tired to pretend it's not like that, which pisses me off. Can you forget about that mouse for a damn second to consider that maybe you shouldn't write some things that make no sense? Or be aware of your time limit to not write certain things, like the freaking collector? But god forbid you'd be mad at her in this fandom smh🤦

So... I could talk about each of these subjects on their own. Belos/Philip as just a complete mess of a character and inconsistencies, Palisman and how they're a good concept that got fucked over by what this blog will actually be about and the EC/Coven system which... Holy fuck. HOOOOLY Fuck S2 fucks it up sideways.

And because I've talked some about some of these topics, here are three different blogs covering

Belos' asinine rise to power and TOH wanting to mirror historical fascism in his rise.

Talking about why people are mad about Stringbean is the closest I've actually come to talking majorly about Palisman.

And I did some talk about metatext and plain text to do with the magic tracks in TOH that is about to become VERY relevant to this blog.

It's actually your last paragraph I want to talk about though. Because... The problem isn't that Dana was too focused on hating Disney. That would only explain, realistically, the problems with S2B and S3 and the jokes at the Mouse's expense take very little time and don't really detract from the show. It is not a major issue about her as a writer.

Now before I get into what her biggest weakness, at least as you can tell from TOH, is as a writer: Don't attack creators. I am attacking her writing and criticizing it but I am not attacking her as a person or getting mad at her. Her creation does nothing offensive, nothing cruel, etc. like that. Are there problems with it? Yes. Do I have issues with how she has used excuses to shield herself and TOH from criticism? Yes. But we still need to be good people and I just wanted to take a moment to remind everyone about that.

Anyways: I've talked at LENGTH about the fact that TOH has a focus problem. That it is effectively three shows at once. I even just yesterday talked about how this lack of focus damages its ability to have coherent themes because nothing is given enough time, attention or is actively contradicted eventually.

As the show runner, it's Dana's job to keep focus. To not let writers do whatever they want and keep the show consistent and in continuity with itself. Her job, effectively, is to follow a line I ADORE:

A great piece of art knows as much what it isn't as it knows what it is.

The problem is... Dana quite obviously doesn't agree with this. She appears by her writing to have a mentality that there is no idea she doesn't like. There is no statement, regardless of the contradictions it makes.

If you want to talk about how early this happens, just look at Covention. Dana, as the creative lead, should know that the covens are a very serious thing, that the nine covens are important to Belos' plans and she should know about glyph magic.

That is the episode that introduces there being potentially HUNDREDS of covens simply for the sake of a job fair joke and setting and also the power glyph EXISTS. Yes, the power glyph is used to make Amity more impressive in the fight, cranking up the spectacle, but notice how it has NEVER been brought back up? And Construction magic explicitly isn't what was described when we were first told about it? Almost like witches using paper goes against Amity's shock at seeing Luz use a piece of paper to cast a light spell.

Dana also should be the one most acutely aware of how dangerous it is for a witch to be a wild witch. How much deciding to use multiple forms of magic is hazardous to them. Well... Dana was on the writing team for First Day (linked in the metatext blog) and Reaching Out was SOLELY written by Dana. You know, an episode where Amity treats joining a coven like going to college, Alador has no objections about this and the twins both get a bad girl coven shirt like it's something to purely celebrate for them.

And if we look at what Dana hasn't explicitly written, she still doesn't appear to be willing to say no to anyone. Hollow Mind was written by other people and includes the line that the Titan was believed to be dead when Belos rising to power. In King's Tide, an episode Dana DID write, Belos talks about Luz must having been blessed by the Titan in order to have already gotten glyph combos despite Belos being the LAST person who should think the Titan is alive, especially since he's been in the things skull and made a fake religion around it.

Worse yet is that while Dana has never met an idea she doesn't like... She's never met an idea she likes enough to commit to. So much of the show is about presenting potential, even with what I've described above, but then doing nothing with it. In fact, more often than not, ESPECIALLY WITH THE COVEN SYSTEM, it will be discarded, ignored or changed for the sake of a different concept. Amity's parents are like this where Alador seems 90% on board with anything Odalia does in his first two appearances but then he's only a little neglectful but still moral come Reaching Out. We can have Luz and Amity try to have a healthy relationship and agree to not lie to each other but that would make the reveal of Luz's dad being dead so much harder so just... ignore that. It's okay that Luz is still blatantly lying and breaking her girlfriend's trust.

Remember: It was Dana's FIRST solo episode, Eda's Requiem, that setup how important the coven heads were for the sake of the Day of Unity. That even one going missing at this point would be a MAJOR problem for it.

Buuuut that is a problem that a lot of prophetic fantasy faces and usually doesn't have an answer to. It's a hard thing to have an answer as to why the heroes don't just keep one mcguffin away, let alone what TOH did with three of them being on the side of good. So what did other writers do with it when they actually had to deal with what Dana had written?

Throw that shit out in one line that implies replacing coven heads is as easy as replacing paper plates.

The show is, to put it lightly, a disaster. And you know a better show runner can do better than this because Amphibia doesn't have these contradictions. Gravity Falls doesn't have these contradictions. Hell, we go to less renowned media, to stuff like Randy Cunningham Ninth Grade Ninja or Danny Phantom and THEY don't have the same sorts of inconsistencies despite being about as serialized as TOH just not touting that as some sort of revolutionary aspect of it.

And the worst part? At least to me? It... It's a fanfiction writing problem. And in fanfiction, it's fine. Fanfiction is meant to use a piece of media to explore every potential part of the world and characters it wants. A professional piece of media, that takes so much money and effort to create, is meant to have greater focus and coherence so as to actually have a point to its story.

And if you want a comparable example for professional work, look no further than 50 Shades of Grey. I'm not saying TOH is as bad as 50 Shades but they both suffer from whenever the writer loses interest in an idea and just writes it out or has it vanish for no reason. Both go on tangents when the writer has some new idea that comes into their brain.

It reminds me of when people would ask while I was writing Crises Girlfriends, "What are Gus and Willow doing in this AU?" Because I am more of an original writer than I am a fanfic writer, and Crises Girlfriends was a story that I always planned to convert to original fiction, I'd never even considered them. Not for even a second.

Because... Could I have given them a role? Yes. But like TOH, it would have been performative, dilute the point and focus of the story and just felt like a waste of word count. So I didn't include them because they had no point.

But it was also fanfiction and Willow and Gus probably mean a lot to the people who asked. That's not their fault. That's part of fanfiction. I didn't get mad or anything, I just described what I just did as to why they wouldn't show up.

Because I knew what Crises Girlfriends was. I can make a one sentence pitch for it. It's about two girls who find love through the person they are with, but find help through the place they're in. It gets across how the two give support and care for each other but that love isn't the answer to mental health so within the story, you can actually expect some treatment of their mental health issues.

For Amphibia, you can say "It's the story of how another world helps bring light to the flawed friendship of three girls and makes them better people" and that works for explaining the main thrust of Amphibia.

What the hell is the main thrust of TOH? I can say what its main theme is, that self expression is king, but that's even an awkward placement when it clearly wants to be about reality versus fiction. But then it also is way too much wish fulfilment. It wants to be subversive of the fantasy genre but it uses too many of the tropes and excuses of it.

It doesn't know what it isn't, which doesn't let it know what it is. And that's such a shame. =======

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead,

And finally a Twitter you can follow too!

[scribeforchrist-blog]

Persistent ,Powerful Prayers

MEMORY VERSE OF THE WEEK

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 + Romans 12:10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

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VERSE OF THE DAY 

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 + Jeremiah 29:12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you.

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** SAY THIS BEFORE YOU READ; HERE’S SOME CHRISTIAN TRUTHS **

I AM HEARD BY GOD

I AM A PRAYER WARRIOR

I AM FILLED WITH JOY

I AM NEEDING GOD

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THOUGHTS:

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     We use prayer to let God know we need him, and when this happens, we release our strength, our ways or concepts, everything and say I need you, God; I need you to make me better. I need you to make me stronger because, without God, we can't do it; a lot of times, when some people say they don’t pray, they are too prideful to pray because it shows we need help; it shows weakness.

   Some people will say I have tried that before; it doesn’t work; God doesn’t have to answer us, but he does; he answers us when our heart is in the right place, where is your heart position? Is it after gaining a quick blessing, or is it on building a genuine relationship with God?

In order to have success in our prayer sessions we have to be Persistent and believe that we have Power because of what Christ has given us which is the Holy Spirit ,When we activate our faith and we are praying in His Will Not ours and most of all when we are being Persistent we will always have what we need .

  •Hebrews 4:6 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need

  It says right here that we need to draw near, meaning we need to come to the throne; we need to approach the Lord so that we can receive mercy and find grace when we need it; that’s the only way to do it, is when we call out to Jesus and say I need you. How many times have you said I need you? How many times have you talked to him about your situation ?? how many times have you done this to let him know he's the only one who can turn everything around?

  When people in the Bible needed Jesus, they called out to him. Jesus, son of David, called out to him because they knew no one else would show mercy to their needs. That’s what some of us are looking for now: more mercy, but have we shown and given mercy? Do we deserve mercy?

  •1 John 5:14-15 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests we have asked of him.

  We must have faith that many people forget this part if we ask anything according to his will. Have you asked him what is his will? Have you asked him what did he want? Many of us are still looking for something he doesn’t want us to have because he knows that once some of us get what we want, we will stop communicating, stop reading our word, or stop seeking him.

     We must seek him every day with our whole hearts. Then, whatever we ask, he will give to us. It might not look exactly what we want, but it will be what we need. To know God's will, we must ask him; we must seek him and say, God, show me your will, please, because I want to be on the path you desire. We have a path we must go through or a season of our life we must endure before we get to where we are going. This will help us grow, but we must seek him for his will.

  • Matthew 18:6-7 And the Lord said, “Listen to what the unjust judge says. 7 And will not God bring justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?

   The Lord is telling us to be persistent; he’s telling us that he will hear us because we are the chosen ones, but we must pray according to the will of God; a lot of times, we are mad at him for not giving us what we wanted but have we lined ourselves and life according to his will??

•James 5:6 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.

  When we pray, we have power; we are strong by God's power, which gives us power, but this is given to the righteous. Many people think that healing and miracles only work through the elite. No, my friend, when we follow the will of God, and we have faith that he will move mountains, and we do as the Lord says to do every day, we become righteous and holy. That’s called living the holy life by sustaining from things of the flesh and heeding his will. 

    When we do this, he will give us power, power to conquer situations, power to heal the sick, and power to succeed because God wants us to succeed, but he wants us to do it through his power. When you pray, do you pray for his will to be done, or do you pray for whatever you want? However, you pray, and it must be the right way because sometimes prayers aren’t heard because they aren’t his will for us today. Pray for his strength to help you conquer every vise that you have so that you can have the power to walk in his will.

  *** Today, we learned about our power in prayer through the power of Jesus. Peter prayed for a man once, and that man received healing because of the power of God; a man fell out of a window while Paul was teaching, and he died, and Paul brought him back to life; how?? all because of the power he had gotten from the Holy Spirit we too can have this same power when we build a powerful prayer , when we walk in the light and pray we can have tremendous power because of God. 

   Some of us don’t understand the power Jesus has left us because we don’t want to sit down and pray or sit long enough to hear his voice. Jesus can answer any prayer, but it must be what he wants for us, and we must have faith. The weakness that we have, the vulnerability we have when we pray it, ’s nothing to be ashamed of; he wants us to come to him when we are weak so he can show us how to become strong, but if we never go to him if we never say what we need we will forever be at a disadvantage. Allow Christ in so that he can show you what you need!   ©Seer~ Prophetess Lee

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PRAYER

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Heavenly Father, thank you so much for everything; we ask you to see our hearts and see how much we need you; we ask you to help us to become stronger in you; we let down our guard and seek you with our whole heart. Lord, we are sorry if we disappointed you. We are sorry if we offended the Holy Spirit. Lord, please hear our cry and take care of our pain. We thank you for everything, and we thank you for grace and mercy; in Jesus' Name, Amen

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REFERENCES 

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 + 1 Timothy 2:1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people,

+ Luke 1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”

+ Luke 11:1 Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.

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FURTHER READINGS 

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 Proverbs 6

Ecclesiastes 3

Ruth 1

Jude

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[theboytatu]

se me olvida q nos podemos hablar en español... IGUAL, COMO ESTUVO EL CONCIERTO !!! Detalles... fotos .. videos POR FAVOR 😭😭😭 review

AHHH SI ES CIERTO! wowww que hermoso poder hablar en español también amo <3 but i'll just post this in english so everyone can understand it. honestly? it was hands down the best kpop concert i've been to hfksjdkkf (others i've seen were blackpink, nct 127 and loona) so it might not be a lot but holy shit. the crowd went APESHIT it was by far the best crowd for me and i think the best they have seen cause they said it too hfkdjfkg 😭 they sold out the venue and you could tell it was packed cause the energy was OFF THE WALLS....

so first the good things

in terms of their performance: man aespa have surely worked hard to beat the no stage presence allegations. i think you could really tell they've been on tour since the beginning of this year cause they have improved SOOO MUCH. they have developed a lot of crowd control skills and they truly interacted with us in there. giselle specially is a MASTER at interaction and i think the group benefits a lot from her

the vocals were great cause the backing track wasn't too loud and they did handheld mics for most of the setlist. ningning was working OVERTIME with the adlibs. winter did extended high notes for everything. they were so confident in their vocals it was amazing to see. there were no in-ear or sound issues as far as i could tell and the venue while not being the best acoustic wise it didn't mess with the experience. i do wanna say i'm sad there was no live band :( everything was just a recorded track

lastly PRODUCTION. oh man. OHHH MAN. this tour has a BUDGET cause the visuals were fucking lit 🔥 the whole stage setup was so good and the props were there, winter with the electric guitar is a HIGH point in this. in my experience there arent a lot of kpop groups that put so much thought into their design like this and aespa were milking tf out of the cybercore and kwangya concept cause the vcrs and screens were giving blade runner. i was mesmerized by the visuals in the screens

for the not so great things... I think their costume design was lacking so much 😭 there weren't a lot of costume changes and the outfits were pretty basic. they lacked cohesiveness and even for their solos it did feel like they just threw on whatever. SM insists on putting them in ugly ass school uniforms for like the entire last part of the set. and they use the shortest fucking skirt for ningning it makes me nauseous.

another weak point was the dancing. it simply didn't stand out as much as the rest of the stuff i mentioned but tbh the girls still put on a good show. they did full choreo for their biggest songs and the backup dancers helped elevate it a lot but a lot of the bsides didn't have or needed choreo you know? like im content with seeing them sing a great song rather than have them jump around the stage trying to do a bunch of choreo we don't even know. the moves were kinda meh and i get it cause they're bsides but yeah just stick to the full choreo for the title tracks.

but speaking of dancing, karina was SOOO good her solo was insane and she has truly improved so much as a main dancer! ningning blew us all out with her stuff too ngl that girl is the best dancer in the group after karina. bonus points for giselle as well cause she has definitely put in the work to become a better dancer and i appreciate how much she has improved her stage presence.

ok this got too long already hkdjdkkfg so i'll just leave some pics i took here! and ill go through my camera roll to see what's good enough to post later <3