#honestly this might be where I first heard a lot of the details of the case like the thumps on the wall

[thats-highly-significant]

OJ Simpson is dead post DC Curry’s bit about the trial

[milksnake-tea]

━━ welcome, rover .

Waking up in a foreign world with no memories and hostile natives isn't what it's made out to be, especially when you have a sassy voice telling you to jump off a cliff.

self aware!wuthering waves au (kinda.)

contains: male!rover, elements of sagau, ooc!chixia, canon divergence, based off of beta wuwa

wc: 2.2k

a/n: i wrote this on the plane while having motion sickness so uh sorry if it's bad but i had a vision... this is based on the old version of wuwa btw !! where everyone was kinda hostile towards rover so that's why chixias more antagonistic bc i heard she was kinda mean in the og... rover might be ooc too bc honestly my experience w wuwa is... limited due to the lagging but i hope i did him decently enough !! if he doesn't have sass that's uhm. that's my bad. anyways self aware beams your wuwa

When Rover awoke on that new world, the first thing he'd seen was a heated glare.

Alright, maybe “glare” wasn't the right word. It was moreso wariness, or distrust. Narrowed eyes, hostile and defensive body language, and hands hovering above where he assumed was their weapons holster - it was obvious that to the locals, he was an unwelcomed guest.

He'd barely regained enough consciousness to comprehend the language - their words were twisted, alien, yet he could somehow still understand them - before he was barraged with an onslaught of interrogations: Who was he? Why was he here? What were his intentions? Why was he alone?

And of course, when faced with all of these questions, his recently wiped mind went blank - that tends to happen when you have amnesia. Unfortunately for him, that answer wasn't exactly satisfactory. It was painfully obvious from their expressions that no one believed him when he explained that he didn't remember anything, not even his own name.

The redhead was the most aggressive - Rover was sure she would've already started getting physical had her companion, a darker-haired woman dressed in blue, not kept her in line. While the others weren't exactly kind to him, they still remained civil… or at least, as civil as they were willing to be.

In the end, the third woman, this one with sharp eyes and presumably the medic of the group, managed to convince the other two that Rover was telling the truth after a brief examination. It was then, and only then that the interrogations stopped, and Rover could finally have some time to himself as the three women discussed what to do with him.

As the details of their conversation faded into the background (he heard a lot of fancy terms that he wasn't familiar with), Rover decided to take a look around.

He'd landed in the middle of a forest, which didn't strike him quite right - out of everything, the one thing he clearly remembered was being underwater. But as he surveyed his surroundings, only looming cliffs, thin trees and swaying grass greeted him.

He winced, his head throbbing suddenly. A stabbing sensation struck through his head like a bullet, and then there was warmth, spreading through his body like sunlight.

“..ey. Hey!”

Rover blinked. The redhead planted her hands on her hips, irritation evident from her scowl.

“We’ve decided what to do with you,” the woman in blue said softly, holding an arm in front of the redhead to calm her.

Rover tilted his head innocently, prompting her to continue.

“We'll take you to the city,” explained the medic. Her voice was just as frigid as her gaze. “There, the officials will examine and determine whether or not you're a threat.”

“I’m-” Rover started, but caught himself. “Okay.”

The medic nodded, then bent down on her knees. Noticing her outstretched hand, Rover realized she was offering to help him up.

He stumbled as she pulled him to his feet. His legs felt like jelly, pins and needles pricking at him as they slowly woke up. For a second, he'd thought he'd fall over.

But then the warmth came again, and this time, with a voice.

“Steady. Easy does it.”

Sudden strength surged into his legs, and he stabilized himself, the pins and needles fading away.

“There you go.”

He looked up as if expecting someone to be there, but predictably, all that met him was a vast blue sky.

“Are you looking for me?” He heard the voice laugh, a clear, bell-like sound. “Maybe do that later, you're making yourself look funny.”

With a start, he realized that the voice was right. The three women were giving him weird looks, and his hand was still intertwined with the medic’s.

Hastily, he yanked his hand away, a sheepish chuckle escaping him as he rubbed the back of his neck. The redhead scoffed.

“Yangyang, this guy’s got a screw loose or something…” she muttered to the woman dressed in blue. Yangyang sighed in agreement, turning on her heel and walking away.

“Bear with it for a bit, Chixia,” she replied. “We'll drop him off at the City Hall, and they'll take it from there.”

Chixia didn't look happy with that, but she relented nevertheless.

“Wow.”

Rover flinched as the voice spoke again, this time closer to his ear.

“They do not like you at all, do they?”

Obviously not, Rover thought incredulously, but can you blame them?

He'd noticed it a while ago - the three were clearly on edge. Something was going on on this planet, something bad. Having an unpredictable factor such as him probably wasn't helping.

“Good point.”

So you can hear my thoughts. Rover huffed as he pulled himself up a cliff, vines scratching at his arms. The route the locals had decided to take wasn't a kind one.

“Well, yeah. How else are we supposed to have our super-secret confidential shittalking sessions?”

Rover paused. What?

“Don't worry about it.”

No, what'd you say-

“I said don't worry about it. Now keep climbing, they're leaving you behind.”

Easy for you to say, Rover thought indignantly, but did as the voice said nevertheless. He quickly caught up to the group, the medic raising a brow as he fell into step beside her. Thankfully, she didn't say anything and only kept her gaze straight ahead.

“Hey, I'm not the one who's being marched to officials for an inspection. And I don't have a reputation I need to maintain.”

Rover hated to admit it, but the voice had a point.

What are you, anyway? He walked past a small pond filled with fish. His hands twitched with the urge to jump in and grab some, but his first impressions were already bad enough as is.

“I'm God, actually.”

Rover deadpanned, unimpressed.

“Jeez, tough crowd.” The voice shifted, moving from his right to his left ear. “But seriously though, I'm human, just like you.”

If you were, I'd be able to see you.

“Fair enough,” the voice mused. “But I really am human. I just… happened to wake up invisible and connected to you.”

Rover grunted as he vaulted over yet another cliff. Very convincing.

“Says you.” He could practically hear them rolling their eyes. “At least I remember what my name is.”

That one hurt more than Rover would've liked to admit.

“...Sorry.” Quieter now, almost meek. “That was out of line.”

Rover closed his eyes briefly, breathing in as subtly as he could before opening them again.

It's fine. You didn't say anything false.

“It was still insensitive.”

Rover sped up. It happens to the best of us.

The voice went quiet, leaving Rover to the slight howl of the wind and the sound of boots crunching against sand. But they hadn't left entirely, no - Rover could feel a presence to his left, subtle but impossible to ignore.

“So you don't remember your name, huh?” Chixia said suddenly.

“No,” Rover muttered.

“Guess that just means we'll have to give you one. Or I could just keep calling you ‘Weirdo’ in my head.”

Rover’s eye twitched. “Let's not.”

Chixia grinned back at him, but the smile didn't ease his nerves at all - on the contrary, it made them worse.

“Why not? I think it's pretty fitting.”

“Chixia,” Yangyang warned, which Rover was grateful for. Had he retaliated, things wouldn't have ended well for him.

Chixia shrugged, crossing her arms behind her head as she sauntered off.

“I must apologize for her.” Yangyang turned to him. To his surprise, she seemed genuine. “Chixia usually isn't that rude, it's just that, well…”

She trailed off, uncertain on how to continue. Rover shook his head.

“It's fine,” he assured. “I can tell that you're all anxious.”

Yangyang’s shoulders slumped. “Is it that obvious? But… yes, you're right. Life hasn't exactly been calm as of late, with Tacet Fields appearing left and right.”

“Tacet Fields?” Rover repeated, tilting his head.

“It's easier to demonstrate than to explain,” the medic cut in, stepping forward as the cliffs and trees opened up. Rover followed her gaze to a darkened field, corrupted by dark matter and with a star-shapped scar at the center.

Abyss-like creatures prowled the corrupted zone, covered in dark armor, scales, and/or fur. They spoke to one another in gargled gibberish with voices that sent chills down Rover's spine.

“Those are Tacet Discords,” Yangyang explained. “They’re born from the distorted frequencies that result from the Tacet Field.”

“Ew.”

Welcome back, Rover greeted, to which the voice didn't respond.

“They're ugly,” they commented instead, scrutinizing the Tacet Discords one by one. Rover silently agreed. “But there's a few pretty ones I can see, like that wolf.”

Rover stared at said wolf's sharp canines and ravenous glare. Pretty… isn't what I would call them, but suit yourself.

“There’s a whole swarm of them out there,” Chixia observed, breaking through their conversation. She stretched her arms as if preparing for battle. “Can't get to the city without getting through them first.”

“Hm…” Yangyang contemplated to herself, before looking up at Rover. “Say, uhm…”

She hesitated, not knowing what to call him.

“Rover.”

His mouth moved on its own as his voice mixed with the voice's. Yangyang blinked, startled.

“I… I thought you didn't remember your name.”

“I don't,” Rover spoke without meaning to, like a puppet on strings. “It just… came to mind.”

Yangyang didn't look convinced, but she let it go.

“Alright, then, Rover, do you know how to fight?”

The feeling of being puppeteered left him as the voice became separate once more.

“Yes,” he said, trying to keep his voice steady.

What the hell was that?

Yangyang smiled. “Good, because we'll need to clear that Tacet Field before reaching the city.”

He nodded, understanding the implications. “I'll do my best to fight alongside you.”

“I don't know what that was,” the voice replied, and sure enough, they too sounded unsure. “I just did what the system told me to.”

The system? Rover questioned, but received no answer.

Rover heard a pistol click behind him as Chixia readied herself. “Don't try anything funny,.”

“I won't.” Operating on instinct, Rover drew a blade of his own. Chixia chuckled.

“We'll see about that.”

One by one, the group jumped off the cliff, deploying a glider so as to land safely below. Rover was the last to go. As his feet skidded at the edge of the cliff, sending pebbles flying down, unease swirled in his gut.

“Hey,” the voice said gently. “Don't worry. I'll help you out.”

What… Rover furrowed his brows, frustrated at how little he knew. What are you?

“Like I said, I'm just another person who ended up stranded here. I have a feeling we're going to be stuck together for a while, so I suggest you get used to me.”

Then, Rover sighed, at least give me a name. You said you remembered yours.

The voice paused.

“[Name],” it finally said, the name foreign to Rover's ears. “That's my name.”

“[Name],” he murmured, feeling it roll off his tongue. “We should get going, the others are waiting. You said you'd help me, right?”

“Yep. Just jump off the cliff and extend your left hand up to glide.”

Rover paused. Aren't these called intrusive thoughts?

“Just do it.”

Taking a deep breath, Rover looked down at the jump before him nervously. Closing his eyes and mentally praying to whatever god was listening that he wouldn't end up a black puddle on the forest floor, he lept.

Mechanical wings unfolded above him in a series of clicks and whirrs, a handle extending down for him to grab onto like his life depended on it. Peeking open his eyes, he let out a sigh of relief, feeling a small breeze brush against his face.

“See?” Although not obvious, relief bled into [Name]’s words as Rover landed safely on his feet. “You can trust me.”

A small smile slipped onto Rover's face, the first since he'd woken up.

“I guess I can.”

The glider folded in on itself, replaced by his blade as he joined the others.

“Took you long enough,” Chixia commented, but for the first time, it wasn't with ill intent.

“Sorry,” Rover replied. “But I'm here now.”

“Enough chitchat,” Yangyang called up ahead. “They've noticed us.”

Sure enough, the Tacet Discords were turning towards them, snarls twisting where he assumed their mouths were. The corruption worsened, dark energy forming in black smoke.

“Let's see what you're made of, Rover,” said Chixia, expertly spinning her pistols. Yangyang had already drawn her sword, and Baizhi, the medic, had summoned a pearly dragon-like creature to fight alongside her. [Name] didn't say anything, but he could feel their energy beginning to seep into his muscles, ready to aid him in battle.

Rover pointed his blade towards the Tacet Discords.

“Let's go.”

reblogs w comments are appreciated !!

tags: @sh0jun, @themoderatelyawesomeninja, @xphantasmagoriax, @rainswept, @lucensei

@akutasoda , @naraven , @scribs-dibs

[theflashjaygarrick]

So you've heard about the DC Absolute Universe and you're wondering what it is all about.

While details about Absolute DC is still coming out, I decided it might be useful to make a breakdown of what we know so far (mostly from SDCC).

DC Absolute Universe Breakdown:

The Absolute universe is a new alternate universe influenced by Darkseid energy. It is a 'darker' universe where all the heroes have lost something key to their Earth 0 selves which leaves them as underdogs. While separate to the main universe it will link in through the events of the All In initiative. There doesn't seem to be many superhero teams yet, but a lot of iconic heroes have had their own solo series' announced:

Absolute Batman (By Scott Snyder and Nick Dragotta):

The series brave enough to ask...what if Batman was an absolute unit. This is a Batman with no money and no status as the Prince of Gotham. Instead he is a construction worker and city engineer who has turned himself and his costume into an absolute weapon. He has an adorable French Bulldog and is also apparently blonde.

This Bruce Wayne never had a butler but there still is an Alfred in the Absolute Universe: Alfred "Penny", the grizzled and tired MI-6 spy. They seemingly meet for the first time when Bruce has already began his caped crusade against crime (and the series' confirmed big bad Black Mask)

Bonus: The Jim Lee variant cover gives us a better look at his costume's armoured texture and one of his weapons. He's seemingly more of a heavy hitter than the Batman we know.

Absolute Wonder Woman (By Kelley Thompson and Hayden Sherman):

This Wonder Woman was raised not in Paradise Island but rather in The Underworld. She has no sisters and no quest for peace. Instead she is the last of the Amazons who becomes a warrior and a witch, and eventually the Absolute Universe's first superhero. She is more heavily armed, carries a massive sword, and flies around on a skeletal pegasus made of iron.

Unlike her Earth counterpart who is notable for not wearing a mask, this Wonder Woman seemingly has two, including a rather demonic looking helmet. Also, her colour scheme is based less on the American flag and more on the idea of lava under rocks.

She also has a Jim Lee variant cover which suggests she also will have a lasso.

Absolute Superman (By Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval):

Superman is the member of the trinity we know the least about. He is supposed to be more alien (suggested by his glowing red arms and the fact the cape seems to be made of pure energy) and according to the solicitation is "Without the fortress... without the family... without a home" but honestly we don't know much more.

We do have some cool art though (including another Jim Lee Variant):

Absolute Green Lantern (By Al Ewing and Jahnoy Linsday)

Absolute Green Lantern is a "first contact" story and "reimagining" of the Green Lantern mythos featuring Jo Mullein, Hal Jordan, and John Stewart. We have some cool concept art of it including a redesign of Jo that suggests the lanterns might be in civilian clothing illuminated green.

Absolute Flash (By Jeff Lemire and Nick Robles)

This is the book we know the least about. All we really can infer apart from the creative team is that the Flash is presumably Wally West and that he appears to be more tortured character than in most other iterations.

(Shout out to Bleeding Cool for posting photos of the SDCC slides for people who weren't there)

[moonstruckme]

Hiiiiii mae 🥹 I have a prompt if you might be interested? First prompt not-anon, second request total 💃🏻

At work they play the radio and I heard in an interview that humans are born with only 2 natural fears: falling and loud sounds. Those fears are universal and the only things people are born fearing - every other fear is learned!

I couldn’t help but think of sweet Spencer explaining this when placating (or trying to placate) reader who is anxious/has a phobia/is feeling nervous! Hope it inspires something but no pressure xoxoxoxoxo love you long time

Hey babe, thanks for requesting!!

cw: public speaking anxiety, criminal case in court (case details not discussed)

Spencer Reid x fem!reader ♡ 573 words

You’re cold with sweat and trembling in your fingers when Spencer sits down next to you. 

“Hi,” he says. He sounds nearly as nervous as he makes you. His voice, you’ve noticed, is as gentle as his disposition, unchanging regardless of who he’s speaking to. And you’ve heard plenty of Spencer Reid’s voice throughout this case. 

You keep your arms stuck tight to your sides, wary of what you suspect to be atrociously large pit stains. “Hi.” 

“Do you want some water?” 

You take the bottle he holds out to you, not because you do want it but because you’re too nervous to contradict anyone about anything right now. You wonder if that makes you susceptible to suggestion. If so, that will probably not hold up very well in literal court. 

If Spencer’s dissatisfied with the tiny sip you take from the water bottle, he doesn’t say so. 

“You seem nervous,” he says, somehow both kind and matter-of-fact at once. “Is it because of the defense?” 

You shake your head, though that’s not untrue. The defense attorney is only one of the myriad of people you’re going to be expected to speak in front of in a few minutes. Your heart is a squirrel in your chest, scampering wildly

“I don’t really like public speaking,” you say. 

Spencer nods pensively. He’s good at this, at making you feel like he’s really absorbing what you have to say. You’ve wondered on occasion if it’s part of his training. 

“You know, it’s interesting,” he says. “There are actually only two natural fears that humans are born with; falling and loud sounds. Everything else is learned, we pick it up somewhere.” Spencer sets his elbows on his legs, slouching so he can see your face. He’s so handsome it’s unbearable. “Where do you think your fear of public speaking came from?” 

It has the makings of a personal question, but Spencer’s curiosity seems so pure it’s hard to hold it against him. 

“I don’t know,” you answer honestly. “It’s just always made me nervous.” 

Spencer’s mouth purses. “It might have been so early or subtle that you don’t remember. For a lot of people it comes from feeling like they’re going to be judged.” 

Your lip finds its way between your teeth without your permission, and when you look over Spencer’s gaze is knowing. 

“Everyone is here to judge the accused,” he says gently, “not you. You’re important as a witness, and we’re lucky to have you here, but no one is going to care if you mess up. Their job is to pay attention to what you say, not how you say it. All you have to do is tell the truth.” 

“Yeah.” You try to breathe in, but the air won’t settle in your lungs. “Yeah, okay.” 

“There shouldn’t be any loud sounds or falling in there,” Spencer goes on. If he wasn’t such a professional, you’d almost think he was joking with you. “So nothing’s going to hurt you. You’ll be okay, okay?” 

You glance at him again, and the profiler’s lips are curved in a small smile. You don’t know how he can do it, stay so good when he spends his whole day knee-deep in the minds of bad guys. But despite what he does for a living and all he’s certainly been through because of it, there’s a lightness about Spencer. It feels like peace. 

“Yeah,” you say again. “Thanks.” 

[thrumbolt]

Top 5 most annoying Tamlin scene misinterpretations

1. ''There is no such thing as a high lady'' I hate this one, because it is always taken as some sort of proof that Tamlin is a raging misogynist who doesn't want an equal woman by his side or some similar type of nonsense. I don't know where this is coming from. Tamlin never wanted to be a high lord. He would probably welcome for someone to take over most of the work so he could just keep running through the woods. He also has absolutely no issues with taking advice from women in power (Ianthe? Hello??). His first reaction to the high lady question is literally this:

“Is everyone just going to call me ‘Tamlin’s wife’? Do I get a … title?” He lifted his head long enough to look at me. “Do you want a title?”

And let's not forget that Feyre's first reply is ''No, I don’t know if I can handle them calling me High Lady”. To which he then answers that she doesn't have to worry about that, since ''there is no such thing as a high lady'' because the magic choses the title and it keeps chosing males. Also this whole scene happens while he eats her out. Not that it's relevant or anything, just saying...

2. ''Tamlin killed Rhys' family'' No. Tamlin's dad killed Rhys' family. I have no idea how Tamlin doing it is ever the takeaway from that whole story. Let's just quote the actual scene:

“Tamlin’s father, brothers, and Tamlin himself set out into the Illyrian wilderness, having heard from Tamlin—from me—where my mother and sister would be, that I had plans to see them. I was supposed to be there. I wasn’t. And they slaughtered my mother and sister anyway.”

Yeah okay, Tamlin gave the information (supposedly) and was there (supposedly) sure, but it's highly unlikely that he was so willingly. Let's not forget that it's established that Tamlin was afraid of his father, that Tamlin's father is worse than Beron (who, I might remind you, tortures his sons) and that Tamlin was friends with Rhys at the time - which neither family approved of. Even Rhys doesn't actually believe Tamlin did anything besides being spineless:

''I didn’t care that Tamlin had been there, had allowed them to kill my mother and sister, that he’d come to kill me because he didn’t want to risk standing against them.''

In the end we don't know the details. Tamlin could've been tortured and tied up or whatever. Making him watch could've been a cruel form of punishment for being friends with Rhys. We don't really know until SJM graces us with Tamlin's side of the story.

3. ''It's really Tamlin's own fault that the spring court fell'' Alternatively also phrased as: 'Feyre just opened everyone's eyes to Tamlin's incompetence' and....honestly? This low key makes me question the reading comprehension of people.

Yes, Tamlin made a deal with Hybern, which was extremely risky, but the war was coming regardless (as we learn from Rhys in the first half of ACOMAF) and the spring court would be the main target because of its location next to the wall. Inviting Hybern into his lands in a trade is actually a pretty smart way to avoid a lot of death on Tamlin's part - plus he needed help to rescue Feyre and get her out of the deal she had with Rhysand (people forget that Tamlin didn't know Feyre didn't actually need rescuing from the guy that was abusing her in front of him in ACOTAR).

So yeah anyway, Feyre did several things to make the spring court fall: 1. She manipulated the solstice ceremony to make herself seem cauldron-blessed in the eyes of the people, 2. She made a sentry accuse Ianthe (who WAS doing sneaky shit) which essentially did nothing except putting Tamlin on the spot in front of Hybern, so he was kind of forced to throw the sentry under the bus. Good job Feyre, you got a poor sod whipped! But it also built resentment within the soldiers, which was her plan all along and 3. before leaving, she did this (let's just quote the whole thing):

''I had a people who had lost faith in their High Priestess. I had sentries who were beginning to rebel against their High Lord. And as a result of those things, I had Hybern royals doubting the strength of their allies here. I’d primed this court to fall. Not from outside forces—but its own internal warring. And I had to be clear of it before it happened. Before the last sliver of my plan fell into place. The party would return without me. And to maintain that illusion of strength, Tamlin and Ianthe would lie about it—where I’d gone. And perhaps a day or two after that, one of these sentries would reveal the news, a carefully sprung trap that I’d coiled into his mind like one of my snares. I’d fled for my life—after being nearly killed by the Hybern prince and princess. I’d planted images in his head of my brutalized body, the markings consistent with what Dagdan and Brannagh had already revealed to be their style. He’d describe them in detail—describe how he helped me get away before it was too late. How I ran for my life when Tamlin and Ianthe refused to intervene, to risk their alliance with Hybern. And when the sentry revealed the truth, no longer able to stomach keeping quiet when he saw how my sorry fate was concealed by Tamlin and Ianthe, just as Tamlin had sided with Ianthe the day he’d flogged that sentry …When he described what Hybern had done to me, their Cursebreaker, their newly anointed Cauldron-blessed, before I’d fled for my life … There would be no further alliance. For there would be no sentry or denizen of this court who would stand with Tamlin or Ianthe after this. After me.''

So, the sentries left Tamlin because of a lie. A fake story. Without sentries, Hybern decided to take over rather than just be guests and had a prime spot to attack the summer court in turn. Which is also why Tarquin is extremely pissed at Feyre - not Tamlin. So no, Tamlin wasn't a bad high lord. His only real mistake was ever trusting Feyre.

Sure, some argue that Feyre thought Tamlin genuinely sided with Hybern and might be a threat to the rest of Prythian, so taking him down would make sense for her even outside of petty revenge. But there's just one problem with that: Feyre is a mind reader. She could have just.....checked. lol

4. ''Tamlin didn't do anything Under the Mountain'' This one really gets my goat because it's not really true? Things Tamlin did to help Feyre: 1. He sent her away to the human realm. (People forget this, but he basically doomed his court to protect her ass - it's not his fault she came back!) 2. He made Lucien check up on her. (Yes Lucien was Feyre's friend but he still acted under Tamlin's orders!) 3. He ignored Feyre as to not rile Amarantha up even more (Come on, have you seen Amarantha? It totally makes sense) 4. He tries to get to Feyre, begging Amarantha to stop even as he is tied up, bleeding out from a stab wound to his chest that he can't heal because he has no powers - like what do you want him to do??? 4. He literally kills Amarantha the second he is able to

Also personal conspiracy detour: That music that Rhysand supposedly sent to Feyre was SO originally supposed to be Tamlin, you can't convince me otherwise. I will never not believe that this wasn't just a lazily done quick change when SJM rewrote book 1 and 2 to account for the boyfriend switcheroo. Attributing the music to Rhys makes absolutely zero sense. He's not a musical boy at all, come on! Music themes never come up with him again either! Meanwhile Tamlin played for Feyre before, is generally a musical guy COME ON! /conspiracy detour over

5. ''It's Tamlin's fault that Nesta and Elaine got turned to fae'' No. No it's not. He knew nothing about this. Ianthe did this on her own accord because Feyre told her where her sister's lived. Tamlin actually attacks (!) the King of Hybern over it (to no avail, but still).

Some people blame Tamlin for keeping Ianthe around afterwards, despite of what she did. Those people I want to refer to point number 3 in this list. Ianthe was working with Hybern. Tamlin tried to be buddies with Hybern for reasons. No, he can't just throw out Ianthe.

[andreabandrea]

The AndreaBandrea UTY post

I need some place to put my Undertale Yellow (UTY for short) thoughts & criticism, and this is my blog, so I might as well put them here. If you don't want to see constructive criticism about Undertale Yellow, don't click below the readmore!

Pretty much everyone I talk to really likes this game, and honestly, I'm really sad that I don't like it more. I like some parts of it quite a bit! But I have mixed feelings about other parts-- I think the writing and characterization could have been a little more impactful than they were, and I’ll be discussing that here. I don’t want to just rag on this game without expressing suggestions and parts that I do like in more detail, so those will be covered as well. 

I also want to add a disclaimer that I don't have negative feelings towards the development team or fans of this game in the slightest. I have nothing but respect for the creators of Undertale Yellow. This project was obviously a massive undertaking with a lot of love behind it, and I'm glad to see that it's found success and a community of people who do enjoy it. 

The reason I’m writing this post is that, again, I liked parts of this game and wish I enjoyed it more. If I didn’t like it at all, I just wouldn’t engage with it at all anymore. I also haven’t really seen any other people expressing constructive criticism on the game’s writing, so it’s felt more important for me to express these thoughts, be heard, and see if others feel the same way. 

The Good

I'll start off with the things I like. The art, the animation, and the music are all fantastic. I was very impressed by the battle backgrounds and the little touches, like the way Clover runs. Clover doing things like reaching for other’s hands, giving fistbumps, drawing their weapon, changing their expression at times-- they feel very dynamic and fun to play as.

The music is really catchy and fun. I love the iterations on the battle theme-- Snowdin’s battle theme having bells, for example. 

I also had fun with most of the fights in the game! I liked the unique mechanics that came into play (e.g. the lasso in North Star's battle). I think that changing the way Clover attacks compared to Frisk feels organic and fun. 

I also love the mail system. Ever since you could deliver and receive letters in Paper Mario 64, I’ve been hooked on mail as a storytelling system in video games. I think the letters you receive are interesting and clever, and it’s a great way to keep past characters relevant in lieu of a cell phone. 

I’m going to be discussing criticism of the characters later, so I’m going to take a moment to talk a little about things I liked about them. I really like Martlet’s optimism and belief in humans. Starlo made me laugh quite a few times and the Feisty Five have a great dynamic with each other. A lot of the background characters in the game are fun-- I like the one who serves you at the Honeydew Resort. The fact that you can go back to these vendors later on and get four new topics to talk about is fantastic and makes the world feel a lot more alive. 

The Slightly Less-Good (and more disclaimers)

The writing is where the game falls short for me-- and it’s sad for me, because the writing is the heart of Undertale. I don’t think that the writing is bad by any means! I like the characters and story well enough, but- again- I just wish that I liked them more. I’ll try to incorporate suggestions so this isn’t just a total downer post without anything backing it up. 

I want to express something about the ‘suggestions’ that I’ll be offering after the criticism. I know that Undertale Yellow  is now out, and the team isn’t going to go back and change it now, and that’s totally fine. I don’t want to make it sound as if the team should change Undertale Yellow just because I have some reservations about it. I’m just one fan out of many. In the very off chance that a member of the Undertale Yellow development team is reading this--

First of all, hi! 

Second of all, I know that changing major parts of Undertale Yellow at this point is very unrealistic, and I wouldn’t want you to. If anything, I’m honored you’re reading my ramblings at all. I’d be touched if you’d be willing to take some of my words to heart as you move onto your next creative projects.

The reason I’m including suggestions, therefore, isn’t because I think that the team should or must make these changes, but because I don’t want to just sound excessively negative about this game without offering a little feedback. 

I don’t presume that my criticism and suggestions are objectively correct or better than what the Undertale Yellow team created. This is my personal blog, and these are my personal rambly thoughts about Undertale Yellow. The reason I’m including so many disclaimers is because I’ve gotten into discourse before due to poorly thought-out posts about Undertale, and I hope to avoid that this time. I don’t want to just not post something on my own blog, though, because I’m afraid it could be misconstrued or possibly upset somebody. So, I’m trying to discuss this as carefully as I can. 

As one final disclaimer, I'll say that I know that it was more likely than not that I'd be at least a little disappointed by Undertale Yellow. The original Undertale was a very important game for me, and very little could reach that standard. (I think this is one reason why Toby decided to do Deltarune, a sort of AU/spinoff rather than a full-on "Undertale 2", and I respect that decision.) 

I also think that quite a bit of my criticism is subjective-- several of the characters didn't fully click with me and several of the jokes just didn't land for me, personally. More people than you might think just didn’t connect with the regular Undertale, either. I’ll be talking a little about my subjective opinion on characters, but I’ll try to explain why I feel the way I do rather than just say, “XYZ character sucks because they’re lame, moving on.” 

With that said, the post. I’ll be addressing my criticisms from smallest to largest. To begin, I’ll recap the plot of UTY to better analyze aspects that I do and don’t quite like. Spoilers abound.

Undertale Yellow Plot Recap!!!!

The central story of UTY, to my memory and understanding, is as follows:

In the past, a fallen human being went on a rampage in Snowdin and hurt Kanako, the daughter of Chujin, a former royal scientist and monster who happens to be a boss monster. Dalv, an unrelated monster, was also hurt in this incident and sealed himself away in the Ruins in a self-imposed isolation. Chujin’s family (presumably him or Kanako, but not Ceroba, as she doesn’t recognize Dalv) felt bad about this and left him corn from Starlo’s farm as a gift. But, when Chujin died, the corn gifts stopped coming. 

Stepping back a bit, after the incident, Chujin developed a deep hatred for humanity. He invented a security robot called Axis and told it to go kill the human. Axis did this (and we will return to this later). Chujin kept the soul (at least, for a time) to experiment on.

At some point in this, Axis failed to impress Asgore and Chujin was fired as the royal scientist. At some point as well, he began to teach Martlet how to build puzzles. Martlet got a job in the royal guard and Chujin disapproved because humans are very dangerous.  

Due to experimenting on his own boss monster soul in an attempt to find a way to turn regular monsters into boss monsters so that monsterkind could potentially stand up to the threat of humanity, Chujin wound up very ill and then passed away. He left video tapes to his wife, Ceroba, asking her to finish his research. However, he asked her to leave Kanako out of this so she could live a normal life. 

Ceroba agreed to finish this research, but Kanako found out about it and asked to be experimented on because she, like her father, has the power of a boss monster. Ceroba agreed to experiment on her, which injured Kanako and caused her to ‘fall down’. Ceroba sent the near-death Kanako to Dr. Alphys, the new royal scientist, who was collecting ‘fallen down’ monsters for her own experiments with determination. 

Plot summary over. I’ll take a closer look at some of these aspects going forward.

UTY Plot Criticism

I don’t feel like this is a bad story, necessarily. With that said, it doesn’t feel quite as tied together as Undertale’s story does, and I think certain aspects don’t land. 

First, I feel that the majority of the plot elements about Chujin & Kanako get dumped on you at the last minute. You might be thinking that the story about Chara & Asriel is also dumped on you at the last minute-- and to an extent, this is true. You do get a massive amount of information regarding their story near the end of the game, in the True Lab.

However, Chara & Asriel's story is a massive part of the narrative from the very beginning. You meet 'Asriel' (Flowey) in the very beginning of the game. Toriel is in the Ruins due to the fallout of Chara & Asriel's deaths. Asgore and the monsters are trying to kill Frisk and steal their soul because of this, and the royal guard has taken it up as their mission. Sans is aware of an anomaly that will end everything (implied to be the player), and he would have 'killed Frisk where they stand' had he not made a promise to Toriel. And so on.

I’ll be reviewing criticism of the game’s plot in sections themed around each major character. I will be discussing suggestions about each character in their respective section here, as I discuss things I didn’t quite like about each character, my suggestions are intrinsically tied to why I didn’t quite like them. 

Dalv

The connections between characters and the Chujin & Kanako plot feel a bit tenuous to me. Similarly to Toriel, Dalv is in a self-imposed isolation in the Ruins due to a major incident in his past. He fears humans due to the attack he suffered in Snowdin, and he suffers loneliness  after losing his friend (who left him corn). When he sees Clover, he wonders if this is “some sort of haunting” (implying he knows that the human who attacked him was killed). 

In the pacifist route, Clover can prove to Dalv that not all humans are evil and Dalv can move out and learn how to trust people again. This becomes a recurring theme-- Clover, pure of heart, proving to monsters that humanity isn’t that bad after all. 

However, Dalv then disappears from the story. His motivation is to basically be left alone, but once you prove to him that humanity isn’t so bad, his role in the story is essentially complete.

I feel that, by comparison, Toriel’s motivation is more active-- to protect humans who fall down from Asgore. It’s this motivation that drives her to return at the end of the true pacifist route and ultimately make the true ending of Undertale possible.

Dalv’s passiveness makes him a weaker character to me. Now that you’ve proven that you’re his friend and humanity isn’t so bad, I would have liked to have seen him take an active motivation to protect his friend or help them in some way. We don’t have to copy Undertale beat for beat and have him dramatically save Clover from Asgore or anything, but it would have been nice to see him vouch for Clover in some way at some point. 

Now, for the final time, I know that UTY is released and major changes aren’t likely. Some of my suggestions are “I would have liked to see this, but this change would require redoing the entire game,” which I don’t think should or could be done at this stage. This is just daydreaming and- if I’m praising myself highly- potential considerations for the devs’ future works (and the works of any other creatives who are reading this). 

With this proposed major change to Dalv’s character out of the way, I’ll suggest instead the most minimal possible change that I would like to see, so my suggestions don’t feel entirely like just daydreaming. 

I really like how Dalv sends Clover a letter about his moving out to Snowdin. This is active of him in terms of motivation-- Clover is his friend and he wants to keep in touch with his friend. I’d be absolutely thrilled to see a little bit of extra dialogue for him in an update. After you go back to Snowdin and see him, I think the dialogue he already has is totally fine! But, I’d be really happy if he’d take initiative and tell Clover a little more about his experience with the past human, or invite them to rely on him, too. 

Martlet

Martlet felt… a bit restrained in terms of her writing, to me. I think that one aspect of Undertale’s writing is that it’s not afraid to go over the top. Papyrus isn’t just silly, he wears a costume every day and cartoon eyes pop out of his head when he’s surprised. Undyne isn’t just determined, she aspires to be a badass anime heroine. I like Martlet just fine, but she never had a moment where she really stood out to me in this way. 

Martlet’s defining traits are that she likes puzzles, she loves reading and abiding by the rules of the royal guard, and she believes in humanity and wants to help Clover. As I said before, I really like this optimism and belief. I’d like to see more of it. 

Near the end of the true pacifist route, Martlet says that she was taught in the royal guard that humans are scary, but Clover proved to her that humans are kind. This felt very abrupt to me at the time-- we know that Chujin disapproved of her joining the royal guard due to his own trauma, but Martlet had no personal involvement in the last human’s violent actions. 

Martlet doesn’t seem to have any reason to dislike humans more than any other monster. We learn in her diary that she essentially joined the royal guard out of a desire to help people and build puzzles, and also because she needed a job. 

If she’s just supposed to be a representative of the average monster and their feelings toward humanity, and her growing to like Clover is meant to represent how all of monsterkind could grow to like humankind, that would be one thing-- but I think that she specifically is meant to represent a person who wholeheartedly believes that humans can be good and that humans and monsters can live in harmony. In the no mercy route, she repeatedly pleads to Clover to do better, that they don’t have to act this way, that she wants to help them. That’s not the response of the average monster, who fights Clover or tries to flee from them. 

I believe the intention is that Chujin & Martlet represent either end of an ideology axis (no pun intended). Chujin believes all humans are evil no matter what, but Martlet believes that humans can choose to be good. But why does she choose to believe in humans other than a sense of personal optimism? 

I would have liked to have seen some defining event that made Martlet choose to believe in the goodness of humanity. I would have liked to have her being kind and optimistic to a fault be more of a defining trait-- to have that go over the top in an Undertale-style way. A lot of her interactions with other characters just personally weren’t very memorable to me. 

Martlet spends a lot of the game sidelined. She loses you in the Mines. She gets thrown in jail in the Wild East. She has to go back to Snowdin once you're freed. Yes, she's there for you in the true pacifist route, but she's otherwise pretty absent through the neutral/true pacifist routes.

I recognize that the main characters in Undertale can be absent after you leave their respective sections of the game. However, you're able to call Papyrus & Undyne as much as you want, and you get a major hang-out (or “date”) with each of them and Alphys which gives time to expand on their backstory and character arc. Martlet doesn't get that. We even get a little bit of time to hang out with Dalv after we become his friend, but Martlet shoves us on a boat and hurries us to the next area as soon as we beat her. And sure, we get to talk to her on the boat, but it’s just a bit of silly dialogue-- it doesn’t really expand on her character. It feels like a missed opportunity. 

So, yes, my major suggestion on her would be to zoom in more on her belief in you and let her be a liiiiitle sillier and more over the top, and give more opportunity for Clover to hang out with her. 

At this stage, however? In this proposed minor ‘dialogue update’, I’d be really excited to see a little something more from her. Maybe a letter? She does send you one, but only in the neutral route to tell you to meet her on top of the apartments. It would be a good opportunity to either let her be silly or explain a bit about when she came to want to believe in humans-- or both, ideally. 

Starlo

I honestly have very little to say on Starlo. He seems to be the fan favorite, and I did find his section fun! Ultimately, though, he's just kind of… there? I mean, he's on the periphery of Ceroba's (and Chujin and Kanako’s) story because he's her childhood friend (and his family grew the corn that Chujin gives to Dalv), and yes, he later on reminds her that she can still choose to be a better person because he also almost killed Clover! However, every monster in the game almost killed Clover.

There’s nothing wrong with having a silly character who wears a costume and isn’t a major player in the plot. I feel like Starlo is similar to Papyrus in this way. But Papyrus isn’t just a goofball, he’s the monster in Undertale who believes unerringly in Frisk & the player’s ability to do better because he firmly believes that you can make anything happen if you just try. This belief helps elevate Papyrus from comic relief to an actual rounded character. 

I don’t feel like Starlo has any sort of strong conviction like that. We do learn that he wants to bring hope to the Underground by roleplaying as a sheriff in the Wild East town, giving them a slice of (supposed) surface life. I think this is fine, but I’d like to see a bit more of it. In the no mercy route, he does bravely stand against you because he’s a sheriff and it’s his job to bring justice to murderers like Clover. 

My expectation when I first met him, a fellow cowboy (gender-neutral), was that he’d have his own ideas about justice. I expected that he would clash with Clover about these ideals, and neither of them would be quite right or wrong-- and this would prove that justice can’t be measured mathematically, and one outcome can’t be applied to all situations. 

But, he’s not at all bad the way he is. He has a lot of fans, after all. The minor change I’d suggest now that the game is out is that I’d be interested in learning why the cowboy aesthetic specifically appealed to him. Maybe a diary in his room explaining that Westerns are the epitome of ‘justice’ to him? I’d like to see a peek into the motivation that transformed an ordinary farm boy into someone who could bravely stand against a murderous human. 

Ceroba

I’ll be honest. I want to like Ceroba, but I don’t.

I understand that there's an attempt to mirror Asgore in that the war against humanity, in general, has taken Ceroba's partner and her child from her-- and ultimately, Clover forgives her and helps her learn how to move on. It's about letting go, just like Undertale. I get that. But Ceroba’s story doesn't land for me, personally. In order to talk about Ceroba, I need to talk about her husband, Chujin, because Ceroba spends so much of the story acting out Chujin's will. 

Whereas monsters in Undertale do attempt to kill Frisk and steal their soul, and Asgore has killed other children before, it's framed in a very 'video game' violence sort of way (again, Undertale has these meta elements). Ultimately, in the True Pacifist route, none of Frisk's deaths have stuck, and Asgore's actions- while reprehensible- allowed for Asriel to break the barrier once and for all.

Chujin, in the video tapes he leaves for Ceroba, implies that Axis’s murder of the human- presumably a child, like Clover and Frisk- was very violent and bloody. It feels a tiny step beyond the 'video game violence' aspect, for me. While it’s shown that Chujin regrets this, it still doesn’t change the way that this violence is expressed in the game. 

Instead of giving the human’s soul right to Asgore to bring monsterkind closer to freedom, Chujin- who has already been fired by Asgore, I should add- chooses to keep the soul and experiment with it.

This is very selfish, even though he has good intentions. He’s told nobody else about his experiments with his soul at this point- not even his wife- and Asgore has told him to cease all activities as the royal scientist. 

While monsters do want Frisk's soul for their own selfish reasons, they notably do not butcher them violently, succeed in this, and still try to get painted with the same quirky and fun brush that the other characters get. 

After Chujin dies, he leaves detailed instructions for his wife to continue his work-- and although he says "don't involve Kanako", he leaves her all the tools she would need to experiment on Kanako, and notably, no other way to finish his work except to experiment on Kanako.

As I said, Kanako finds out about this and asks to be experimented on. And while she does give consent, she is a child. I cannot stress this enough-- she is a child who just lost her father and is still wracked by grief. Kanako is a child who cannot possibly know what she is consenting to. 

Ceroba chooses to experiment on Kanako and more or less kills her. And then she chooses to send her 'fallen down' daughter to Alphys's experiment, despite the fact that Kanako presumably has some sort of trace of human soul/determination left in her-- which could have compromised Alphys's work as well.

Let's return to how I said that Ceroba is a mirror for Asgore. She's made so many mistakes and it's cost her her family and she can't stop now or it will all be for nothing. She's done horrible things, just like Asgore.

But the difference is that Asgore is the king of monsterkind. Asgore has no desire to kill human beings. He declared war on humanity in a fit of anger and grief, but the Underground had lost hope due to the loss of Chara & Asriel. Believing that Asgore could gather seven human souls and free them all brought hope back to the Underground.

His actions, while wrong, are selfless-- and much less explicitly violent and more 'cartoon violence'-like. Chujin & Ceroba have the well-being of monsterkind as their own pure intentions, but their actions are far more selfish and violent. Axis, Chujin’s creation, massacred a human being. Yet we're still expected to find them silly and fun and relatable-- it just feels unusual.

I’m not someone who hates nuance or morally gray characters. One reason I’m so sad that I don’t quite like Ceroba is that I love morally gray women. It’s just that we’re not allowed to really dislike Chujin or Ceroba for what they’ve done, and instead we’re supposed to see Ceroba- and Axis- as silly and relatable like the rest of the characters. 

Immediately after Ceroba’s boss battle, instead of processing what just happened to a greater extent, Clover chooses to sacrifice their soul for monsterkind. 

I understand that the intention is that Ceroba's grief and Chujin's desperation to protect monsters from humanity contributed to Clover's decision to sacrifice their soul. However, the idea is- to me- abrupt. Ultimately, too, Clover's decision is just as much about how much they love their friends (and how it's impossible for them to hide out in the Underground forever) as it is about Ceroba and her family.

Chara & Asriel’s deaths, Asgore’s war on humanity, the war of humans and monsters-- these elements impact every part of Frisk’s journey. But Chujin and Ceroba’s actions, while impactful on Martlet and Dalv to varying extents, are only part of Clover’s journey. And Chujin and Ceroba did awful things for this comparatively minor impact on the plot. 

EDIT: Further analysis about how Ceroba doesn't have a lot of agency and spends a lot of the plot just acting out Chujin's will, as well as the inconsistency in her characterization (and feelings about sacrificing Clover and the well-being of Kanako), with input from @carlyraejepsans. Thank you!

I would have liked to have seen a bit more from Ceroba without any influence from Chujin- maybe an interaction explaining her relationship with Martlet and an additional conversation about Martlet’s nearly unwavering belief in humans vs Ceroba’s inherited grudge against humanity- but I don’t know where this would fit in. Adding more time for Clover to process Ceroba’s boss fight before sacrificing their soul might throw off the pacing. 

In general, though, Ceroba's boss fight- while flashy and fun- ultimately feels pointless with how little she learns from it and how quickly she changes her stance on using Clover's soul for the benefit of monsterkind, and what will happen to monsters after they break the barrier. To quote @carlyraejepsans in the ask linked above:

In addition, it's like the writing didn't want to commit to her delusions and little character development. She feels that her daughter is alive and thinks she can save her—wait no that was a lie—wait it wasn't. The moment she's defeated she goes "Agh, what was I thinking!" out loud (which is already a questionable writing choice imo but i digress), and recognizes that sacrificing Clover for her plans is horrible... and then 5 seconds later Clover chooses to sacrifice themself to break the barrier and whoops nevermind she's suddenly the one getting the others onboard with the idea... wait. didn't she say she was making the serum because the humans would've only slaughtered them again if they broke the barrier? oh wait wasn't that also chujin again? whoops.

I would have felt better if there were more room to view Chujin and Ceroba in a critical light (and time to view Ceroba outside of just being a mom and wife). I can’t think of any ‘minor’ suggestion that wouldn’t require a lot of editing. 

Axis…

And... okay. Let's talk about Axis real quick.

I want to give the dev team the benefit of the doubt, but I need to point out that this security robot's name is "Axis 014." If you don't know what I mean by pointing this out, I'll just say that both of these terms are nazi dog whistles and allow you to look up the specifics.

I recognize that, by this point, it’s too late to change his name. I’d at least be grateful if the team would acknowledge this and confirm that they aren’t nazis. 

Axis’s name makes his actions far worse in retrospect. He, as a security robot wants to kill a child, but he isn't able to anymore because his programming has changed. So, as a legal loophole, he forces them to hold 'a weapon' (a trash can lid) so he can justifiably kill them. This is the same robot that brutalized and murdered a human being in the past at Chujin's behest.

It feels tone deaf and ultimately the one thing I’d just outright call bad about UTY. I don’t think it was intentionally done this way, but I don't like that we're supposed to find this nazi-aesthetic police brutality robot "quirky and relatable" like the Undertale cast. In the true pacifist ending, he falls in love with a robot made out of a trash can and his eyes turn into cartoon hearts and etc. It’s even more jarring than viewing Chujin & Ceroba in a fun/relatable way. 

In the no mercy route, Axis will defend himself and claim that his programming forced him to kill the human and he didn't want to. This "just following orders" defense feels weak to me as well, personally. Axis clearly delights in harming humans, going out of his way to try to kill Clover. But also, Axis spends a significant amount of the game displaying a very similar amount of free will to the other characters. He’s not just a janitor robot that sweeps back and forth. 

He’s a nearly sentient being-- and the fact that there are these nearly sentient robots makes Alphys’s accomplishment of creating “a robot with a soul” (at least, so she claims-- Mettaton is only the ghost in a machine) much less impactful to me, personally. Yes, Asgore thinks that Chujin failed in creating a sentient robot, and so it’s impressive that Alphys supposedly did it. But I don’t know why Asgore wouldn’t be more skeptical of Alphys’s accomplishment after Chujin failed more than eight times and set fire to his flowers. 

I think that Axis is ultimately a missed opportunity to make a really villainous character. This concept that he disobeys his programming- used as sort of a parallel for law, as a security robot- to attack Clover could have been explored to further the ‘justice’ theme. He doesn’t write his programming (the laws), he just carries it out (violently enforces the laws). 

The ‘minor’ suggestion I’d make, though, is to just acknowledge the name. 

Undertale & Meta Elements

Now, we’ll be addressing my largest criticisms-- the omission of meta elements and the way Flowey is written.

Undertale Yellow never quite stopped feeling like a fan game to me. And it is, of course-- but I think that it feels as if it tries so hard to be Undertale (in the writing style, the humor, etc) that it fails to forge an identity of its own, and that holds it back from being just a fangame to a fangame that succeeds in expanding on the original creative work. 

At the same time, although UTY tries to feel like Undertale, I don’t think it captures certain elements that make Undertale be Undertale. 

Whereas Undertale was ultimately about video games as a medium and the normalization of violence in them, UTY doesn’t have this level of metatextual commentary. UTY does have a running theme of 'justice'-- and I don’t think this is bad! After all, if Undertale already said all there was to say about video games and violence, why retread that path? I respect that UTY knows its limits and simply focuses on justice as a concept instead.

At the same time, Undertale isn’t just an RPG about mercy-- it’s an RPG about RPGs. The fact that you can talk to and spare enemies isn’t just a quirk of the game, it’s what the game is about. This is one thing that makes Undertale great that UTY doesn’t focus on.  

UTY doesn’t completely ignore these elements, of course. Flowey takes over resetting for you, and you do have three distinct paths based on whether or not you kill enemies-- the ‘true pacifist’ path, the ‘neutral’ path, and the ‘no mercy’ path (I will not be calling it the ‘genocide’ route, especially in light of recent world events). Through whether or not you choose to kill enemies, the theme of ‘justice’ is explored-- who is Clover seeking justice for? In the true pacifist route, Clover seeks justice for the monsters, while in the no mercy route, Clover seeks justice for the fallen humans before them. 

However, Flowey taking over the mechanics of saving and resetting for you makes concept of ‘the player’ obsolete. I recognize that not everyone in the Undertale/Deltarune fandom quite enjoys the concept of 'the player' and the meta elements of these games due to the fact that there can be implications that playing Deltarune (as an example, which ups the meta elements quite a bit) can actively hurt Kris and make their world a worse place. However, Deltarune isn’t a complete work and we don’t know this for certain. Additionally, I feel as if at least acknowledging Toby's intentions are important to analyzing the work, no matter what one's personal feelings are about them.

The Importance of the Player

The presence of you, the player, is important in Undertale. Frisk is a subversion of the 'blank slate protagonist' trope. You think that you're able to name them and control them, but in the True Pacifist route, Frisk begins to act on their own (they walk slowly in some parts of the True Lab because they're presumably afraid, etc). In the end, you realize that Frisk is their own person with their own name, and you as the player have to let go-- when Frisk & the monsters go to the surface, Flowey (a mirror of the player themselves) urges you to let them go. Don't treat this as a game anymore-- don't replay and wring out any last drops of content you can. You enjoyed it, now move on.

But many players want to see the No Mercy route because it’s the last thing they haven’t done in the game, and they don’t want to let go. And that's where the role of you, the player, becomes undeniable in the game's story. What is the No Mercy route except playing a 'typical' RPG in the way it's meant to be played? You grind to become stronger, killing every enemy that stands in your way. And when you've killed all the monsters and become as strong as you can be, you've won.

Many players didn't do this because they hate the characters in Undertale and want to hurt them-- if they hate them, they likely just wouldn't play the game. Many players did it because they like the characters in Undertale, and wanted to see what would happen. They couldn't stop playing. And this is exactly what Sans means in his dialogue during his boss battle-- to paraphrase, "you think that because you can, that means you have to."

This is one of the ways that Flowey is a mirror of the player. Flowey didn't start killing out of malicious intent, but because he had become so bored and isolated that he just "had to see what happens".

Chara's role at the very end of the No Mercy route is to call you out directly for this. They tell you that their power was yours. Their words were very misconstrued by fans for a long time, and they themselves wound up as a scapegoat for the No Mercy route-- but ultimately, there's no reason for Chara or Frisk to kill every monster in the Underground. The only reason is because of you, personally. You want to see what would happen. You want to grind and play it like a typical RPG.

They call you out for this if you don't want to delete the game world at the end. Why go back to that world that you've already destroyed? Why play nice with the monsters that you just massacred because you can?

Why am I talking about this at such length? Because I believe that ‘the player’ and how they interact with the world of Undertale is important. Characters lampshade the UI and battle mechanics often-- Flowey talking about the world as a game and ‘saving’ and ‘loading’, Papyrus telling you to “press C to open the dating HUD”, Sans explaining ‘LV’ and ‘EXP’, and so on.

This is my personal opinion, and I recognize this is very nitpicky, but I feel that not acknowledging this or adding to these meta elements in some way makes UTY weaker for me. 

Flowey’s Role in UTY

Flowey essentially saves and resets for you because he's bored, and he wants to use Clover as a tool to access Asgore’s five stored human souls. His role as a mirror for the player becomes him essentially just acting as a stand-in for the player. While this in itself can invite self-reflection, I think that the execution of his role is a little awkward. 

We learn at the end of the neutral route that Flowey has already reset the timeline hundreds of times by the time we first start playing the game. According to him, Clover always ends up at a dead end (they choose to stay in the Underground for the rest of their life) or they die (and they can’t reset of their own power). Thus, Flowey chose to set Clover on an alternate path by sabotaging a lever in the Ruins, which made them fall into the Dark Ruins and meet Dalv.

Flowey then tries to kill Clover and absorb their soul because they, again, hit a dead end. Yet he gives up on it after a while because Clover won’t stop fighting back, and he thinks he can just reset and try again anyway. 

At the end of the true pacifist route, Clover instead opts to sacrifice their soul willingly to Asgore & monsterkind. Flowey comments that he could just reset (and you still can, if you want to play again), but Clover “earned their rest” and he calls them a friend. 

This progression from “Clover is a tool that Flowey is using to access the 5 human souls” to “Clover is a friend and Flowey willingly lets them die and stay dead” feels undeserved and underdeveloped to me. 

"But, Andrea," you might say, "Flowey went from trying to kill Frisk as Omega/Photoshop Flowey to hugging Frisk as Asriel really quickly too!"

Yes, but in that short time, Frisk and Flowey/Asriel had a Whole Thing where Frisk 'saved' him like everyone else and he learned he needs to let go, too. It was a short time, but it was a poignant time. By contrast, Flowey is pretty much absent throughout most of UTY's true pacifist route. Sure, you could easily say that he just got bored of Clover and gave up-- but that, too, doesn’t feel quite right to me. 

I really hate to say this, but I feel that Flowey’s writing in UTY cheapens the original Undertale for me, which is why this is one of my major criticisms of the game. 

Flowey's entire character arc in Undertale is about how he was stuck with the same places and same people for an endless amount of resets. In my opinion, the limited amount of places and characters for him to interact with in Undertale only adds to how trapped he is (and the Underground being so small really strengthens the concept of "there's overpopulation and the monsters are running out of time to find a solution/earn their freedom" that we see in the game, but I digress).

So when something finally changes and he meets Frisk, it's deeply impactful to him. Finally, someone new to play with! Finally, potential for change! Even though Flowey admits that, even if Chara came back, there's a great chance that he couldn't really love them due to his lack of soul, just experiencing something new for the first time in ages is as close to love as he can possibly get. So Flowey:

Starts to believe that Frisk is Chara, this person he ‘loves’ or wants to love, or some manifestation of Chara. 

Refuses to let Frisk go, even if that means- when Asriel has the power of seven human souls- just resetting the Undertale timeline over and over instead of going to the surface or doing anything else.

For Flowey to have gone through everything that he does in UTY- all these new places, all these new people, Clover included- weakens this, in my opinion. And sure, there's very heavily implied to be lots of places that Frisk doesn't explore and people they don't meet-- 99% of New Home and its residents, for instance. But Clover themselves is the real problem for me.

No matter how many times Flowey reset with Clover, I really struggle to believe that he would get bored of a human being that easily. He even said that Clover's actions and choices would sometimes change from reset to reset, and he only recently learned how dramatically he could alter their path by sabotaging that lever in the Ruins. Clover isn't a static being-- and even if they were, they're at least a new static being.

And although we learn in the neutral route that Flowey can't really absorb Clover's soul because they fight back too much, I can't believe that would stop Flowey so easily. What about at the end of the pacifist route, where Clover has given it up willingly and it's being transported in a little jar? Clover’s body is separated from the soul, now-- could Clover still fight back?

Or, what about if Flowey tried to kill them as soon as they entered the Ruins? Or, what if Flowey played nice the entire route and then at the end tried to convince Clover that if they sacrificed their soul, he would take it to Asgore for them? With access to full control of the timeline, I don't think Flowey would give up on this. We learn in Undertale how painful it is for him to be soulless and how desperate he is to access power so that things will change.

For Flowey to acknowledge Clover as a 'friend'- maybe even a true person, not just a compilation of dialogue- suggests character growth. It suggests remorse for his resets that he isn't capable of having and doesn't have until the events of Undertale. I just don't feel like it’s earned. 

Flowey is, of course, an unreliable narrator. 

At the end of the no mercy route of UTY, Flowey expresses that he never saw Clover as a friend-- he only enjoyed watching them die over and over again. It should be noted that this was said while under extreme duress (Clover is LV 20 by this point and has killed everyone save for Asgore), and this route isn’t canon in the way that the neutral and pacifist routes are. 

With that said, if we agree that Flowey can’t feel love as a soulless being, then I could argue that this is about as much of a ‘friend’ as anyone could be. This is how he wanted to keep Frisk (“Chara”, in his mind) for eternity when he had the six human souls + the entirety of monsterkinds’ souls-- just watch them try over and over again, for eternity. 

Why am I contradicting myself? Because, let’s suppose that Flowey doesn’t mean Clover is a ‘friend’ in the traditional sense- that they earned his respect and he cares for them in some way- but Clover is a new toy that he got bored with and gave up on. I feel like this, too, makes Undertale a little weaker. 

If Flowey did have some type of positive regard for Clover, but was willing to let them go, then it feels- to me- like Frisk’s role in his story isn’t that significant. Frisk helped him learn how to let go and move on, but Flowey has already demonstrated being capable of this. The circumstances are different- if Flowey gives up at the end of Undertale’s true pacifist route, it’s over for real, whereas if he gives up at the end of UTY, he can just wait for another human to fall- but I feel like the core feeling is the same. Flowey, by the start of Undertale, doesn’t strike me as someone who’s capable of letting go. 

So, how would I have changed this?

I recognize that- again- Undertale already made these points about video games and violence, and Flowey has his entire character arc in that game. For Flowey to have more of an arc in this game would potentially make this game no longer line up with canon Undertale or weaken Undertale further. And why retread old ground that Undertale already talked about?

I respect the decision to tell a self-contained story, but the meta commentary about video games in Undertale is so significant for me that I personally would have liked to see a bit more of it in Undertale Yellow. I also recognize how much of my criticism of Flowey’s writing in UTY is subjective. It feels unrealistic for me, his arc feels abrupt for me, it makes Undertale less poignant for me. 

A lot of people love his inclusion in this game, and it’s very novel to see Flowey as a friend throughout most of UTY and hear his snarky commentary on demand rather than having him as an enemy who’s absent through most of the game, as he is in Undertale. 

The Flowey Suggestions

First, I’ll be honest. I know this is not and has never been possible, but my easiest solution to the dilemma of Flowey’s lack of a character arc- and the lack of an ability to give him a character arc- would have been to just remove him from UTY. 

I think that Flowey’s inclusion in the story of the yellow soul human and his role saving and loading could have been interesting. It goes against certain story elements implied in Undertale, and popular fan theories-- and I don’t mind that, if something meaningful is done with it. But, I feel as if Flowey’s relationship to Clover isn’t impactful enough to justify including him. 

To clarify on ‘implied story elements’ and ‘popular fan theories’: 

While I might be misremembering, I thought that it was implied in Undertale that Flowey came into being after Asgore had already collected six human souls, and that a significant amount of time had passed since the last human had fallen down. 

I won’t go into it at length because this post is long enough and I, again, am not an Undertale expert. With that said, it’s also implied that all human souls are capable of saving/loading/resetting in the Underground. If you make Frisk tell Asgore that he killed them before, he just nods as if he’s used to it-- and he’s the one character who we know has killed humans before.

Now, how did Asgore successfully kill beings that can just reset the game whenever they die? Well, Sans faces the same dilemma in Undertale’s no mercy route. There’s no way that he can permanently defeat you, the player, who is a real being. Therefore, the way he ‘wins’ is by infuriating you enough with his difficult boss fight until you give up and stop playing Undertale (or, at least, reset and make better choices). 

Think about all the times you’ve played a game, got stuck on a hard boss, and never played it again. While it’s not ‘canon’ to the story- giving up on your copy of Mario doesn’t mean Bowser really wins- functionally, giving up on a game means that the story ends for you. This is how I believe Asgore captured the six human souls, even if they were also capable of resetting like Frisk is-- he fought them until they gave up.

Humans all are said to have great amounts of ‘determination’, not just red soul bearers. We don’t even know what trait the red soul exemplifies. Whatever it is, I don’t think it’s determination itself. 

The bottom line is that I don’t think it would be unrealistic for Clover to be able to save/load/reset on their own, or for Flowey to not exist yet during the time they fell down. 

But, I get it, Flowey was in UTY’s demo that has been out for seven years. He’s in the trailers. He couldn’t be removed at any part of development, and he sure as hell can’t be removed now. 

My second suggestion would have been to zoom in on him, instead. While the prequel is about Clover, the yellow soul human, I would have liked to see it be about Flowey in a significant way. I kept hoping for Clover to have an opportunity to ask Flowey at some point, “why are you helping me, anyway?”.

This is my personal interpretation, but I’ve come to believe that Flowey thinks that the reason he’s stuck as a flower is that it’s a punishment. Because he, as Asriel, refused to fight back, he failed Chara, and now they’re dead. Now he’s stuck as a rinky-dink flower with no soul, he can’t love his former family, and he can’t stop playing this game. 

In the no mercy route of Undertale, Flowey feels very much like he’s trying to appeal to Frisk- the person he believes is Chara- in a way like a younger sibling trying to impress an older sibling. He says he’s impressed by how you killed everyone. He helps solves puzzles so you won’t have to slow down. He brags to you about how he’s also a heartless killer. 

Notably, he talks about his past. He tells ‘Chara’ that he was afraid to start killing, at first. He said he wouldn’t enjoy it, but he just had to know what would happen.

Then, Flowey laughs and says that you (Chara) know how liberating it is to be this way-- to kill people and shape their fates. He ‘recognizes’ Frisk as being actually Chara because of how they killed everyone in the Ruins. 

But we have no indication that Chara was a violent or evil person in their life. I believe that Flowey is partially projecting and partially recognizes Chara because, in the last moments of their life, they were telling him to kill. He always knew that Chara hated humanity and wanted power to better the position of monsterkind. This is why Flowey brags about how he has a plan to get the human souls, and once they do so, they can go to the surface and “finish what [they] started.” 

To Flowey, in my opinion, killing people isn’t just about seeing what happens. It’s about trying to understand and appease Chara and doing what he thinks he should have done all that time ago, as Asriel. 

I bring this up because I think that I would have liked to have seen this be explored in Undertale Yellow. Flowey is still a very misunderstood character today due to being an unreliable narrator. I believe that a lot of Flowey misinterpretations are due to taking him at face value-- hearing him say that he’s an unfeeling, manipulative, patient killer and agreeing with him.

But Flowey contradicts himself at several points. He gives up his “catch these friendliness pellets” trick after you dodging just a few times. These aren’t the makings of a perfect manipulative killer, but an impatient child. That’s who Flowey is at his core-- a child. 

I recognize that, again, if Flowey told all of his tragic backstory to Clover and they became true friends, this wouldn’t fit with canon Undertale and his actions in that game. Flowey and Asriel distance themselves from each other, and it wouldn’t make sense for Flowey to tell this to Clover-- especially if he just views them as a tool to use and play with. 

I think, however, it wouldn’t have been impossible for Clover to have learned this information about Flowey in a way that could still be canon compliant with Undertale itself. Hypothetically, maybe the “hopes and dreams” statue in the UG Apartments near the Core could have sparked intrigue in Flowey. 

Maybe analysis of Flowey could have come up during his neutral route boss fight-- after all, Clover appears to peek into the minds of Ceroba and Martlet during the true pacifist and no mercy run boss fights, respectively. We already get a little of this- Clover has to run through a hallway of flowers in Flowey’s boss fight, and we hear sad and scared dialogue that’s presumably from a past version of Flowey himself. However, it’s not necessarily new and doesn’t quite add to Flowey’s character in my personal opinion.

I feel that including Flowey’s story more in some way would justify having Flowey in the game, and knowing the history of Asriel & Chara could factor into Clover’s decision to give up their soul for the sake of monsterkind. Chara, too, sacrificed themselves willingly, after all. 

I don’t have a ‘realistic suggestion’ that could be implemented with a dialogue update because these suggestions are so vast-- and, ultimately, very personal and subjective. I have very strong feelings about Flowey.

Meta Elements of Undertale 

In Undertale, you’re asked when you should or shouldn’t fight. As a pacifist, you can get through the Ruins without killing anyone. Flowey will then ask you what you would do if you met a relentless killer. Would you betray your morals and fight? Or would you give up and let yourself die?

Undertale is the friendly RPG where nobody has to die. While you have to kill Asgore at least once to do the neutral route, and you do have to fight back against Omega/Photoshop Flowey to end his battle, the game ultimately posits that there never is a good time to fight. You don’t beat Omega Flowey by being stronger than him, you do it by appealing to the souls and allowing them to rebel. You don’t beat God of Hyperdeath Asriel Dreemurr by beating him up, you do it by saving your friends- him included. The game, again, is about an inversion of the necessity of violence in video games to me.

I would have been interested in seeing an exploration of when it is necessary to fight, and this could be done through the lens of ‘justice’. Would Clover fight if it brought them closer to justice (on a pacifist route)? Is it morally correct to kill one person if it saves thousands? 

Sparing someone is always the correct option in Undertale. In that way, the true route is quite linear-- there’s one solution that works for everyone. What if there were situations in UTY in which there is no single correct option that works for everyone? What if Clover were placed in situations in which they had to act as arbiter and decide between two outcomes and what is right? It could have been like how they get forced to solve the trolley problem in the Wild East, but with consequences. 

Adding to putting a ‘twist’ on the elements that Undertale introduces with its combat system-- what if sparing someone ultimately enabled them to keep hurting others? What if fighting to weaken someone was the correct solution for once? These inversions could have built on the meta elements of Undertale, and I think that it would make Clover’s decision to sacrifice themselves to bring justice to monsterkind more poignant to me.

Again, I have no ‘realistic’ suggestion for this in the full release of UTY. I think that the plot about justice alone isn’t bad, but I would have been happy to see it tie into the gameplay a little more. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, I think that UTY tries too hard to be Undertale without iterating on the aspects that made Undertale memorable. The characters feel like they fail to pop or relate to the game’s story in meaningful ways, and to me, the main story isn’t executed as well as it could have been (and far darker than the main Undertale in ways that don’t feel as if they’re handled sensitively). 

I will say, again, that this project is very impressive in scope, and I applaud the dev team for finishing it and releasing it. I recognize that a lot of my distaste is subjective, and creating another Undertale is a fool's errand considering the acclaim that Undertale got. I recognize one final time that my suggestions are just daydreaming, and this game has already found a lot of success-- which I think it deserves.

I tend to criticize a lot of media I like, which might sound contradictory to some, but it makes perfect sense to me. If I don’t like something, I won’t engage with it. I think that the original Undertale has its flaws, too. At the end of the day, I like UTY, but no media is perfect. This is how I think it could have been better, and I hope that I think other creatives who want to make Undertale fanworks (or any creative works, for that matter) will take these thoughts into consideration.

Thanks for reading.

[tafferling]

Dying Light: The Beast Demo Impression

Imagine, if you will, a Taff who finds a life saving sort of affection in a game named Dying Light, followed by nearly ten years of dedication to one Kyle Crane. If you’d told that same Taff she’d get to go to Techland HQ after Crane’s return was announced in Dying Light: The Beast, she’d have called you silly. 

And yet.

I had the privilege (the WHAT ON EARTH, how) to watch about forty minutes of Dying Light: The Beast today. It was prefaced by an in-person intro from Tymon Smektała (which was about the most heartfelt thing I’ve ever heard, genuinely), and shown to us on a big-ass screen. 

During those forty-or-so-minutes I might have shuffled in and out of this here physical realm a few times. 

The demo covered an early mission in the game. Here’s what happened:

We start in a small village and tightly forested woodland, a fading day around us. Crane is off to follow a lead, given by the new voice in our ear, named Olivia. The lead will take him to an industrial area. Eventually. But FIRST I get to feast on a gorgeous sunset, lots of smooth as heck parkour, and honestly when we ducked through a small apartment on the way, I wanted to say “Babe, pls stop I GOTTA TAKE PICTURES!”.

I don’t kid. Techland was not fibbing when they mentioned handcrafted; the attention to detail I was criminally denied the chance to rub my face all over has my hopes so far up, they’re tap dancing in the clouds. And then those very same hopes were given wings when two insanely talented artists walked us through how these environments have come together.

Seriously. I can’t wait to get absolutely nothing done in the game because I Must See All And Perceive All.

Anyhoo— back to the demo.

Night falls—as it so likes to do—and we’re warned about how the Volatiles and Freaks (at least I think I remember this right, I was often distracted by, you know, I mean, yeah) are difficult to avoid out here. All that dense woodland makes for shit sight lines and all. But Crane can be subtle and that means I will finally get to hide in the bushes with him come game release. Yay me!

One sec. Spacing out.

What was I saying?

Oh yeah. Stealth. Volatiles. 

OKAY, LISTEN— the sound design in the night-time section of the game was sublime. The snuffing and clicking of the Volatiles. The snap of twigs. The rustle of leaves. Stealth is the jam I like to put on my various bread-adjacent baked goods and this was delicious.

And pretty. Crane’ll be craning (hehe) his head up a lot ‘cause those stars need gazing.

But it’s also a night full of creepy crawlers and so we head towards the nearest safe house, which, in good old Dying Light fashion, needs a bit of TLC. Secure. Remove Infected. Find a spare fuse. Mess with a Charger and his buddies (the handgun came out at that moment and while I do not approve of wasting bullets, I approve of the reload animations). And, finally, plug the newly acquired fuse in and Let There Be Light.

The layout of the safe zone and the tasks to complete brought me back to Harran. I loved the safe zones there; each had its unique look, unique vibe; and was just different enough in what you had to do to secure it to make them their own little experiences. I hope we’ll see this make a comeback.

(Yes, I have not yet mentioned much about Crane. Stick with me. I’ll get there.)

After a snooze (well deserved), we continue to the industrial area, where the demo shifts to showing off guns even more so than before. Honestly, I liked the Dying Light (1) guns. I liked Crane with a gun. He’d always struck me as the type of man who’d know about 500+ ways to kill his fellows; and firearm mastery would’ve been right at the top. So. Yeah. I do like their inclusion.

I also fucking know he’ll keep them holstered for the majority of my game time, because pssst, the bow is right here, darling. We’re using that, quit pouting.

(Hey, she’s still not talking about Crane, is she okay? you may ask. Ha. No.)

We fight our way through a bunch of the Baron’s men, which eventually leads to one of those idiots shooting out some sorta electrical box. There’s a bit of a ruckus over something escaping, a few angry roars thrown in from a distance, and as we decide to investigate we run into a— scientist type? At least I think I’m remembering this right. 

And now I’ll talk about Crane. 

Beware: loads of personal thoughts here; not based entirely on canon. 

Kyle Crane might have once been a man who thought murder is still a big deal. Kyle Crane also might have once been a man who’d roll with the punches, always coming up swinging, but, you know. First he rolls. Then he swings. 

Now? After whatever happened to him between the Following and his capture, leading to thirteen years of being experimented on in what I suspect’ll be a cage of sorts? 

First of all, is murder still going to be a big deal? (No, henchmen don’t count; ludonarrative dissonance wants a word).

Yeah, he doesn’t straight up kill our new scientist friend. Just threatens him. Effectively. But there was a bit of disconnect in how Crane behaved leading up to the solution of the interrogation (him getting what he wanted) and what he eventually did. Namely punch the guy out, rather than kill him. 

I expected our scientist friend to die. I was surprised when he didn’t.

And I expect Crane to no longer roll, but to swing first and not give the narrative the chance to get the first lick in.

All of which I’m deducting from how they’ve leaned heavily into giving him the voice of a man who’s been thoroughly wrung out by that very same narrative. His tone is dark. Clipped. Gone are the expletives; the colourful fucks; and how everyone’s an asshole because that’s just a mood and a half.

And honestly? I don’t know how I feel about it. Yet. Sure, I’m all for the pent up anger we hear whenever he swings a weapon, but—

I love Crane because he wasn’t the moody, broody post-apo dude. You know the Imma chew some nails for breakfast and then get all growly over my (insert trauma here). The Joels, basically (and I gotta hell to the no on him). 

So, no, I don’t know how I feel about this yet. I’m approaching this with trepidation over how they might have removed what made Crane Crane; all in the pursuit of being darker and ‘more mature’, as it’s been said.

BUT— this was just forty minutes. That’s not much. And even if it ends up being true, I’ve still got, like, I dunno— at least another ten good writing years in me to bring that man back to the light. 

. . .

You know what, I am beginning to warm up to this idea. Please. Carry on.

EDIT: Since I’ve originally written this, the new dev blog came out and through that (along with what I’ve heard on site) have made me a lot less anxious about Crane having gone the way of the Complete Grouch. And just as I’ve been getting ideas.

ANYWAY

Our scientist friend got punched out, though not before he’s given us intel in how there’s a Freak here—the thing that just escaped, I presume, I was too busy collecting all the marbles I kept dropping whenever Crane opened his damn mouth to be sure—and how we can lure it.

Next stop(s): get freaky science gas, hop into a truck, drive freaky science gas around the countryside, and then jam it into a freaky science apparatus! 

(I have theories.)

But wait! Ambush! By more of the Baron’s men, no less. They, much like any other good collection of henchmen, have not learned from their rag-dolling buddies’s endless corpses and continue to think attacking Crane is a Good Idea.

Ah, well.

Then, finally, boss time! A Behemoth enters the arena (which is a junk yard, by the way) and it’s bringing with it a certain 10/10 Demolisher vibe paired with more freaky science. Someone’s obviously been tinkering on this gentle-boulder, leaving it with tubes attached to its body that give it this wonderful bioengineered look I’m so endlessly fond of. 

We fight!

It’s not going so well. 

Now I’m suspecting we’re seeing a method on how to build Crane’s fury up enough to unle— 

No. I am not writing that. You can’t make me. You cannot make me say the line, I refuse. I’ll just use increasingly silly alternatives, how’s that?

We get run over one too many times and Crane finally pops the lid off his fury. This applies the same orange filter as the one we got whenever Aiden redlined his biomarker (during a scripted sequence) and allows Crane to literally pick up a concrete barrier and lob it at the Behemoth. 

(You know, I bet that feels really good; delicious payback after getting car after car after car and fridge after fridge after fridge thrown at him before.)

Then he goes toe to toe with it, only to wrap up the fight by pulling the Behemoth’s head off its shoulders. Not cleanly, I’d like to add.

Soooo— what? We’ll be building fury in a number of different ways, then get unhinged and unlock the opportunity to finish with a flair? Cool cool. I’m in. Or so I’m thinking this’ll go. I genuinely do not know the ins and outs. 

What I do know though is that I lost all my remaining marbles after the fight. The camera fucking zooms out and I get to see the whole Crane. And, look, you can’t expect me to go to this event and be perfectly reasonable about this; about seeing this man I’ve dedicated nearly a decade to and remain normal. If you do, why are you even reading this. HAVE YOU MET ME?!

I have no clue if this means we’ll get third-person cutscenes or if this is a cinematic choice done solely for the demo, but a Taff may dream. Right?

The cutscene ends with Crane extracting something from the Freak into a jet injector. 

(Again, I have theories. Fury Power Progression? Fury Power Suppression?)

But anyway. Third-Person Cutscene. Taff is on the floor (not literally, but metaphysically) and the lights come on again and I SWEAR TO GOD, I will play this game at day one come hell and high water, and I am so, so, so unbelievably grateful to every single person ever involved in creating this franchise because you’re all a bunch of heroes to me.

:exhales:

Thanks for reading.

EDIT: I forgot to mention the weather. How did I manage to forget to mention the weather. We got so sopping wet in the rain. It reminded me of the heavy rainfall out in the countryside which I missed so terribly. Cannot wait to see how they've improved the weather system in this one.

From The Following:

[didishawn]

Vogue (Pedri x Model! Reader)

Warnings: basically you showing off your home to Vogue, a bit of Spanish here and there

Masterlist

You do the simulation of opening the door as if the cameraman has caught you by surprise, ample smile on your face as you greet the future viewers.

"Hello Vogue, I am y/n s/n and today I am giving you all an inside look into my home"

The video starts in the living room, modern furniture, a bit impersonal at first if you will, the true essence lays in the small details.

"So, this might be disappointing for some, to hear out furniture doesn't have a deep meaning behind, but it is the truth. When my boyfriend and I were looking to fill up the house, we honestly just wanted everything to fulfill their duties, a coach to be a coach and a desk to be a desk. The only real thought we put into it were the color coordinations really, but not even that as you will see in some parts"

The camera follows you as you direct yourself to the chimney, watching it with a special glint in your eye "The one thing I really wanted the house to have was this, all my life I have dreamed of the typical scene, you know? The cuddling in front of the fire with your loved one and a good book"

The camera zooms in to the decorations on top of the chimney. Photos of you and Pedri, his family, your own, your friends, the lens of the camera stops in a photo of Pedri and you, waiting for you to explain yourself about it "This was back in Qatar for the World Cup when he had a free day from training and we just went around the city. Unfortunately, this was the only photo decent enough to set up here, but we have probably hundreds of that day" the photo shows the two of you on a date back in the day, bright smiles and the sun setting on the background.

The camera then follows you into the kitchen, much more colorful than the living room and not matching at all. There are plant decorations all over the roof, and cooking robots that not even you are sure what they are for.

"For the kitchen I must confess we did have some help from Pinterest, and by that I mean there is probably another kitchen somewhere in the world that looks exactly like this"

You walk to the counter "Of course we have lots of Canarian bananas, I wonder why, and then, I am more of a sweets as a snack type of girl, I know, not the healthiest but I promise I don't abuse them either" you open one of the closets and show them all your snacks "and here we have every kid's dream, you all better believe that our house is ready for whenever one of our friends needs someone on babysitter duties"

"Now, I must confess neither Pedri or I are the best cooks, we won't burn the kitchen down but someone might get sick after eating. And while Pedri has lunch on the club, I most of the time eat out too because of work. But we are pretty lucky that Fer, Pedri's brother, is quite the culinary and comes lots of times to eat with us and cooks us something too"

"We have heard Pedri's mother is a pretty good chef" the cameraman says and you nod.

"Yes, she totally is, I have asked her to teach me a thing or two, but a few lessons in and I think she has learned that I am a total disaster, but don't worry Rosy, I promise I will get better and won't kill your son with my food"

You leave the kitchen and they follow you through a long hallway decorated with pictures of you in the front pages of the most famous magazines in one side "This decoration was Pedri's idea, I hate it but he doesn't let me take them down" on the other there are photos of Pedri with both the Barça shirt and the National Team's, as well as some shirts of other players -Messi, Mbappe, Agüero... - and his own all signed "And my revenge were this pictures"

You walk them into your office "This is where I lock myself up to work if I ever need it" the room is filled up with books, some photos with friends and fashion magazines "as a model you always have to keep up with fashion trends, or even study to create your own" you point to the projector hanging from the roof and the screen "I also study old catwalks to see what I can improve"

You walk them closer to you bookshelf, and show off your precious collection "As some of you may know, I am a huge bookworm, most of my freetime I am buried into the pages of one"

"Any recommendations?"

You think for a moment "Well, it depends, for younger ages my absolute favorite is the Percy Jackson saga, probably my favourite too as you never grow too old to read them" you point to the books, in the center of them all for everyone to see "Now, for older ages I do like very much Daisy Jones and the Six, The Song of Achilles or maybe The Secret History. They are all typical really, but a good way for new readers to start or if you simply want someone to comment books with, its easy to find people who have read these"

You now direct them to see the photos "Now, this is for sure one of my favorites areas of the house, there are photos with friends..." photos with Gavi, Ansu, Ferran and then also with your own friends "Pedri..." photos of you two kissing, one with his parents and another with his brother "my family..." a big family photo, then single ones with each member "and now onto the big part, celebrities..." photos with Messi, Neymar, Bella Hadid, Ariana Grande, Dua Lipa - anyone you can name, really.

"Which is your favorite one?"

You think for a moment, then answer "I really like this one with Pedri and Messi when Pedri won the Golden Boy, it was a good night, I almost cried when Messi said my name"

You leave your office and next is the gym "Mostly Pedri uses it really, I am more of a run around the city type of girl, but yeah, we have everythung he needs to stay in his top form"

Next are the guest rooms "Mostly Pedri's family uses them really"

"Does your family not come around?"

"Oh they do, just not as much as his. His family adore each other so much, my own knows we better not spend that much time together or we will probably end up killing each other"

You direct them through a door and lead them into your dressing room, the thing is full with yours and Pedri's clothes, mostly yours though.

"My favorite part here is definitely this one" you say and lead them to a zone full of sweatshirts that are definitely not yours "I must confess I am a steal-your-clothes type of girlfriend"

You show them your shoes, pointing to your favorite pair, the same with other types of clothing's before showing off the famous mirror you take selfies in that everyone is in love with and leave the room.

The bathroom comes next, big enough for two people to be inside at the same time "There is a side for Pedri and one for me" you say in front of the two sinks "He says things are not proportionate, though" and it is true, as you open you own closet the thing is full of everything you own, on his there are a couple of things that are his, the basics, and on the lower part he too keeps some of your stuff "I don't see what he says, everything is good in my opinion"

As you leave the bathroom, you hear the door open on the background, and are quick on your feet to greet your boyfriend, the crew almost struggling to keep up with you and film the kiss you two share.

"Perdón, se me olvidaba hoy tenías esto, me puedo ir si quieres" (sorry, I forgot this was today, I can go if you want me to)

You turn to look at the crew, they all sake their heads "Noo, quédate, igual solo me queda por mostrar el patio" (noo, stay, only the backyard is the one thing left)

"¿Mostraste la habitación?" (you showed the bedroom?)

You shake your head "Claro que no, no se van a morir por no ver una cama" (of course not, it's not like they will die if they don't see a bed)

"No lo sé, algunos de tus fans son muy intensos" (I don't know, some of your fans are pretty intense)

"Hablo él que tiene a las niñas de 12 años peleándose por él en tiktok" (says the one who has the twelve-year-olds fighting for him on tiktok)

You are followed by your boyfriend and crew outside to see the big pool, the goal, the basket full of balls, a barbecue and the seats you use to tan.

"I must confess it's Pedri who spends most of the time here, I mostly only come out during the summer to keep myself tan"

"¿Les estás diciendo que no usas nuestra piscina?" (are you telling them how you don't use our pool?)

"Más o menos, ¿por qué no presentas tú nuestro gran jardín?" (more or less, why don't you present our great garden?)

"Seguro lo haré mejor que tú" he clears his throat and puts on the same face he does on Barça videos "Espera, ¿tengo que hacerlo en inglés?" (I most definitely will do it better than you do. Wait, do I have to do it in English?)

The crew shakes his head "We will make sure to translate it later"

"Menos mal. Bueno, acá tenemos una gran piscina que la señorita no usa más que para postureo, se habrá metido cuatro veces contadas" (thanks god. Well, here we have a great pool that the young lady only uses for photos, she will have been in it about four times)

"¡No le digas eso!" (don't tell them that!)

"Silencio, que estoy en mi entrevista con Vogue. Bueno, también tenemos esta portería, así para practicar un poco, aunque la portera s/n no es muy buena que digamos" (silent, I am in my Vogue interview. Well, here we have a goal to practice a bit, even though goalkeeper s/n is not very good)

You roll your eyes and he sticks his tongue out at you.

"Las tumbonas para que la señorita se ponga morena y una barbacoa que ninguno tocamos porque nos la cargamos" (the chairs so the lady can tan and a barbecue that neither of us touch because we would break it)

"Well guys, that is all our house, we hope you liked the video, thanks so much to Vogue for coming all the way to Barcelona. ¿Quieres decir algo?" (you want to say something?)

"Ehhh, give a like? Subscribirse y... ya está, ¿no?" (subscribe and... that's it, right?)

"Yeah, that's it, lots of kisses and I will be seeing you next time"

The camera takes one last shot of you two mustering out your best smiles and the video is over.

[randomfandomisuppose]

Honestly a batfam fic I want to see, as someone who immigrated to a new country and had to learn a new language, is one where there’s a language barrier between Damian and the rest of the batfam. Also I think not a lot of people talk about how huge of a thing it is to suddenly be uprooted by one of your parents and moved halfway across the world like I was.

By language barrier I don’t necessarily mean that he only speaks Arabic (although that would also be fairly interesting) but also in the sense that even if he is fairly fluent he learned English from a textbook and doesn’t understand any slang or even random things in everyday use.

He gets confused by sayings he hasn’t heard before. He doesn’t know/remember the word for random household objects. Occasionally he pronounces a new word in an odd way. He meets someone with a strong accent he isn’t familiar with and suddenly he has trouble understanding what they’re trying to say. He tries to say something to someone else and suddenly blanks because the word he’s thinking of doesn’t exist in English. Sometimes he directly translates a word or saying into English and everyone else is slightly confused.

Something else I’ve also experienced is kinda feeling out of place because there are some things that I can’t share with people. Not in the sense of “oh I can’t tell them about it” but in the sense of “this is only funny in my own language” or just kind of feeling like an “other” because everyone around you is speaking their first language and you’re over here speaking your second, third or even fourth language.

Just people talking about the things they did or liked as kids and just not being able to relate at all cause you had completely different experiences. You learn their pop culture references and the everything into the intricacies and smallest details of their culture that they don’t even think about but they don’t know where your country is on a map, they don’t know how people speak there, the food, the cities, anything really. You spend your time learning everything about their culture, but it just feels so one sided because you’re speaking their language and they don’t speak a word of yours. Both literally and metaphorically. You are tuning yourself in on their wavelength constantly and not a lot of people will ever make much of an effort to tune into yours.

There is no one around you that you can have a conversation with in your own language, apart from maybe family, and you can’t easily find books in your language. The more you surround yourself with people from your new country the more easily you can feel like you’ve lost contact with your own country and your own language. The longer you stay in a new country the more you feel like if you went back to your own country you’d be just as out of place as you feel in the one you currently live in.

It goes the other way too. The more you look and sound like you fit in the more uncomfortable it gets because people like to put you in one box or the other and a lot of people don’t understand that you might never completely feel completely like one or the other is “your country”. You’ll never be completely the same as the people in the new country. You may know all the same cultural references as they do after some time but you don’t have the same emotional basis or nostalgia around it as they do. You don’t have the same acquired tastes as they do. There are things from your old country that used to be a common thing where you came from but just do not exist there.

You end up missing the dumb things. The differences in the trees. The food. The dumb children’s characters. The holidays. The dumb little sayings that people would have. Body language and verbal cues that people in your new country just do not have. The way buildings are built. The way the weeds in the pavement are different. The way even the DIRT has a different composition. The way the seasons aren’t the same, the difference in weather and temperature throughout the year. The shittiest, cheapest candy they sold in every store but don’t sell here.

This is all stuff I’ve experienced before myself and I think it would be fun for Damian to have some of the same experiences with it.

[sp7-mr]

-𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒏𝒐 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑰 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒚𝒐𝒖-

-Mattheo Riddle x Yn- -Enemies to lovers-

ᯓ★ I'll start by saying that English is not my first language so you might find some mistakes

❥Part 1 Bianca Grindelwald

Bianca's POV:

Here I am... I'm here, at Hogwarts, in front of me is a huge decorated door, full of details. With me here is a guy in a black and blue uniform, I think he's a prefects or something; anyway, we are waiting outside the Great Hall, waiting for Dumbledore to introduce me and then sort me into one of the 4 houses. Honestly, I'm a little anxious, I'm not enthusiastic about the idea of walking in front of hundreds of students, walking with everyone's eyes on me to find out which house I'll end up in. Yet that's exactly what happened, I didn't even notice and the door was already open.

Dumbledore: Silence!!! Good morning to all of you dear students, I will leave you to your delicious breakfasts but first I have an announcement to make. A new student will join you today. It will be part of the next year, please welcome Bianca Grindelwald

the door opened, I walked across the entire room, which was really huge, until I arrived in front of Dumbledore and other teachers. A lady put a sorting hat on my head.

SH: Hmm... what do we have here? a Grindelwald.... you look a lot like him.... cunning, intelligent, determined but.... generous and courageous at the same time

The Sorting Hat took a rather long pause

SH: Slytherlin!

the Slytherin table applauded, and I went and sat there with them. I was happy to be in Slytherin, I feared for a moment that I would end up a Gryffindor, how was I going to tell my dad?! Luckily I'm in Slytherin, he would have gone crazy.

I went and sat next to two girls who seemed nice. Honestly there were a lot of bitches in Slytherin, not that I knew them but they gave me that impression.

the two girls introduced themselves immediately, they were really nice

P: Hi, I'm Pansy, this is Elizabeth, we call her Liz

B: well.... hi, I'm Bianca

?: Hey darling, a Grindelwald huh? pleased to meet you, I am Draco Lucius Malfoy, Draco to my friends. Pureblood, rich, charming, top of the class, famous among the girls and incredibly handsome, Slytherin of course.

said a blond boy, as handsome as he was vain

B: Well nice Malfoy...

BZ: Hey Malfoy forget about the new arrival she's been here for two minutes and you're already trying said a smiling, dark-skinned boy. Oh and by the way, I'm Blaise

he seemed nice and it didn't take me long to see that Pansy was interested in him, she was looking at him with heart eyes

Who would have thought that I would find such a nice group among the Slytherin assholes

❥Part 2 Asshole

L: (liz) bianca, how often do the three of us share a room, do you want to come with us? we were just about to go there

BZ: there are 3 of you in a room?!

D: Well, if you're too tight, Bianca you're always welcome at my place

B: ohhh I'm honored but we'll be fine, I'd rather sleep on the floor. anyway Liz, I think I'll come later, I have to go to Dumbledore's office first.

L: oh ok

P: We'll see you there then, see you later.

the two left and soon the great room was empty. I went out after everyone, to avoid confusion. I went out, walked down another corridor that seemed endless and turned the corner.

I wasn't looking so I collided with someone. I looked up.

B: I'm really sorry, I wasn't looking

those eyes looked so beautiful like those of a - an asshole! I thought as soon as I heard the boy's answer.

?: Watch where you're going, stupid girl.

B: what?! calm down, I apologized to you

?: watch how you speak

B: ohhh why?! who do you think you are, I apologized, I didn't make you fall or anything

?: Who do I think I am?! Matthew Riddle. Have you figured out who my thief is or are you that stupid?!

ohhhh that asshole was Voldemort's son, well good for him, I'm Gallert Grindelwald's daughter. I wasn't afraid of him

B: ohhh in that case - nothing changes! I'm not afraid of you asshole, you're not a king

M: yes, here I am. you better respect me, lest you want to die on your first day.

B: listen to me Riddle I won't repeat it. I'm not afraid of you, and I know you're not used to hearing that, but it's true. I don't fear you.

in the meantime he had closed the distance between us by putting my back against the wall, his figure loomed over me, his breathing, his voice like a whisper....

M: what's wrong princess? You're being very tough but trust me, in a week maximum you will be at my service, like all the others

B: believe it Riddle

M: it doesn't end here, I'll be back soon, I'll make you pay

Riddle left, disappeared like an illusion. Merlin... what an idiot! what an asshole! obviously it had to be his son, assholes and sick people alike

*time skip* I went to the common room, said the password and entered. I headed towards the dormitories, up to mine and the girls'. I walked in visibly pissed off.

L: what's happening?

P: what's happening already? it sounds like you want to kill someone

B: it just so happens that I met the biggest asshole ever

L: who?

B: Mattheo fucking Riddle the two blanched at that name

L: have you met him....? did you talk to him?

B: I argued with him

I told them everything and the two were shocked P: are you crazy?! that's peicopath be careful that kills you.

L: Some say that he killed two students and he is a Death Eater

B: I don't give a fuck, he's a pumped up asshole

P: you, my friend, are crazy

**time skip-the next day** I woke up when the alarm went off. I wanted to be on time it was my first day of classes here at Hogwarts. I went to the bathroom, brushed my teeth, took a shower, combed my hair, put on some mascara, concealer, blush, and lip balm. Then I chose the outfit.

I took the bag with a notebook and what mk could be useful. Meanwhile Liz and Pansy had just woken up and were looking at me in shock.

B: I don't want to be late on my first day

we sat next to Blaise and Draco, and after a while Riddle arrived... obviously that bastard had to eat with us and be part of the group.

he sat right in front of me, his lips didn't move but he seemed to be smirking, in an evil way

we had breakfast and then went to potions class. on the way Malfoy showed off his charm (⁠+⁠_⁠+⁠) and his flirtation; he approached me walking D: don't worry darling, I'll carry it he said, taking my bag and carrying it himself. The girls started laughing, I remained serious with a face like 'seriously Malfoy?', Blaise raised his eyebrows and smiled, while Riddle well... just the same dark and pissed off face.

I was bored to death in class, Snape was a really gloomy, emo asshole. But luckily the morning ended early and we returned to our rooms.

L: so Pansy, do you think it's time for White's first Slytherin party? P: Mmmm.... I think so B: wait, what are you talking about? L: There's a party in the Slytherin common room this evening B: I mean, are there really these things at Hogwarts? I didn't expect it.... P: we have to prepare! what we put on B: ok.... we started choosing what to wear, we did our makeup and hair

1°=Liz

2°=Pansy

3°=Bianca

We were ready.

B: I really think Pansy won't come back to the room toonight.... You know.... Blaise

P: Wha-

L: uh-uh she just arrived and she already understood everything

We went out of our dorm to go to the common room, where the atmosphere was chaotic to say the least, music, lights, students, noise, alcohol. wow. This was a real made party!

I'll continue the story 🫶🏻🫶🏻

[schrijverr]

I Didn’t Mean to Say I Do, but I Do. I Do. 20

Chapter 20 out of 50

Secret marriage of convenience buddie slow burn AU, where Buck and Eddie have been married for years so Buck could adopt Chris and no one at the 118 knows.

In this chapter, Hen deals with Eva and Nathaniel, before the 118 gets drugged. Chimney kicks himself for not noticing, but how was he supposed to guess Buck and Eddie crying together wasn’t normal?

On AO3.

Ships: Buddie (slow burn), Madney (pre-slash), Henren

Warnings: internalized homophobia, referenced addiction, non-consensual drug use

~~~

Chapter 20: High on Life (And Substances)

Hen is glad Buck and Eddie are getting along. When Eddie first arrived and Buck puffed up like an offended peacock she had expected the worst testosterone filled tomfoolery until ultimately they would have to let Eddie go, which would have been a shame, since he seemed like an alright guy.

In a way, she hadn’t expected it from Buck, who despite being the epitome of a frat guy, actually has a heart of gold and so much kindness in him. But she guesses his toes felt stepped on and, in the end, it didn’t take much more than one close call for them to work it out.

They work it out so well and quick that Hen nearly gets whiplash, but it’s great for the team as a whole.

Buck needed someone to watch his back and keep him in check and Eddie seems to fit into that role perfectly. With Eddie there, Hen is worrying less about Buck, who is like an annoying little brother to her. She usually can’t watch out for him in the field, since her partner is Chimney and she’s often manning the ambulance instead of the rig. So having Eddie gives her peace of mind.

She also thinks Buck is good for Eddie. He seems uptight. Hen doesn’t mean that in a bad way, but he’s too rigid and very closed off, that can’t be healthy for someone.

None of them had managed to get under his skin or get him to give anything away, but Buck had warmed Eddie enough for him to offer his Abuela’s home to Maddie and to mention he has a son, a detail he had never even hinted at despite working there for two months already.

Hen remembers Eddie’s defeated frame in the parking lot, looking at his blocked car, the relief that coursed through him when Buck offered to drive him to Chris’s school. She also remembers the hug Buck got alongside Bobby after they let Chris crash here until Maddie could pick him up.

Buck has been getting Eddie out of his shell and that’s good. He needs to be coaxed out and he needs people to help him, even if he is as stubborn as his partner. They’re honestly made for each other.

During the Abuela breaking her hip debacle, the two got even closer. They had already known they lived near each other after the earthquake, but now they’re carpooling to work each day and Hen has heard Buck discuss the move with Eddie, having recruited him alongside Chim.

From what she hears, Eddie and Buck are also hanging out outside of work like she does with Athena and Chimney. Buck is pulling Eddie into the fold as Maddie naturally gets pulled closer by her texting with Chim and now her drive along with Athena.

It really feels like they’re going somewhere. Like the bonds between them are growing and their lives are becoming more intertwined.

When out on a picnic with Karen and Micheal along with Denny and Harry, it sounds like Micheal is struggling slightly with Bobby taking up more space. Of course her amazing beautiful wife has words of wisdom for him: “Well, listen, you don’t need to worry. ‘Cause you are those babies’ father, and they know it. And anything they get from him is just extra.”

Hen couldn’t have said it better.

Everyone in the 118 has their own family, she has Karen and Denny, Bobby has Athena and her kids, Chimney has the Lees, Buck has Maddie, and Eddie has Chris and Pepa. But having each other makes it better. It gives them that extra cushioning to fall back on. It’s nice.

And it might be very necessary to have a bigger support system, because Eva is back in their lives again and this time she brought Denny’s father. It’s just like her. To appear like that and cause nothing but trouble and stress. Hen hates what she does to her family, despite the fact that she can never wish her gone, because she gave her Denny. She gave them their son.

But her presence drags up everything again. Everything that Hen only just managed to make right, that she just managed to fix.

She got her family back, she can’t lose that again. She can’t only have the bit extra, she needs the whole. Holding Denny in her arms and promising him that mama’s gonna fix everything only solidifies that for her.

Stalking Eva might not be the best way to do so, but she is desperate and angry. Mostly angry. How dare Eva. How dare she. How dare she come back into her life and hurt her, hurt Karen. How dare she drag Denny into her own pathetic petty bullshit?

Watching her nearly die, nearly walking away from her, but turning back, because saving awful people is what she does, is healing in a way. Just because she knew Eva, doesn’t mean she needs to keep trying to save her. She doesn’t have to do her job off the clock, doesn’t have to drag it into her personal life. There’s a reason she takes off that uniform each day before coming home.

However, just because Eva is going back to prison doesn’t mean Nathaniel will disappear.

Athena has put some of her worries to rest, but she’s still stressed out when she comes in to work after everything that has gone down. Chimney naturally sees right through her and asks her what’s up, the whole story spilling out.

“That’s awful, Hen,” Chimney tells her voice filled with sympathy.

“Yeah, custody shit is the worst,” Buck agrees, surprising Hen until she remembers when this first came up and Buck apparently went on a research spiral about it. No wonder he has opinions and it’s not like she disagrees, custody shit is definitely the worst.

Next to Buck Eddie is nodding along. He doesn’t seem surprised that Buck knows anything about it, she wonders if he rambled about it to Eddie – the man has proven to be incredibly patient about Buck’s rambles – or if it came up due to something Eddie said. He never talks about his situation with Chris, though they have inferred some details.

“Are you ever worried about anything like that with Chris?” she finds herself asking anyway, wanting to connect with someone who understands, who might be able to give some advice.

“Oh, uh,” Eddie’s eyes grow wide as he stumbles and Hen feels a little bad for asking, since he obviously isn’t a sharer. He doesn’t meet anyone’s eyes, looking at the ground as he says: “Shannon – my ex-wife – divorced me when I was in Afghanistan. We had shared custody until a little after I got back, then she signed it over to me. So it’s uh- it’s different.”

Eddie looks obviously uncomfortable and Hen regrets bringing it up. She’s about to wave it off, but Buck beats her to it. “Have you talked to the guy yet? I mean, Athena said he was a good dude, right? And just because Eva’s an awful person, doesn’t mean he is.”

“I suppose we can try,” she sighs, letting Buck bring the conversation back to her own problems as she watches Eddie relax from the corner of her eye.

In the end she does try. Her and Karen talk with Nathaniel and he’s a good guy, who just wants what is best for his son and willing to follow their lead on it. To keep his distance for Denny’s sake. It feels like a tension is released, a wound that is healing. The stitches have been taken out and it can now continue mending on its own.

She is not the only one who is healing. She hasn’t gotten a lot of alone time with Maddie yet, but she’s been hearing nothing but good from her two most trustworthy sources; Athena and Chim. And of course Buckaroo is an endorsement of his own.

Today she is moving out. Hen is more than happy to let the others help her move, choosing instead to spend some time at home catching up with chores while Denny is at school and Karen is at work. It always feel good to do her part, since slack can creep in when you don’t work regular hours.

Chimney, however, is very much helping. Maddie is incredibly beautiful and kind and funny and totally worth dealing with overprotective Buck for.

After what happened with Doug he totally gets that she isn’t itching to jump into a relationship with anyone, so he’s playing it cool. Besides, she’s awesome, he’d like to have a friend like her, regardless of whether she wants to date him.

Still, he can’t help but happily volunteer himself for setting up and explaining the security system to her, so he can be close with her, while Buck and Eddie are moving and doing their own Buck and Eddie thing.

He usually doesn’t mind the Buck and Eddie show. It can be kind of entertaining to watch them in the loft or during slow pace calls. They’re very in sync – much like he and Hen, though it took them a little longer to fall into that kind of pattern – and their back and forth can be hilarious.

Chimney is glad Buck found a match for work, he always seemed a bit like a lost puppy before, like he was missing something. Being complete looks good on him.

Though it might not be only Eddie, but Maddie too, who makes him look like that. And Maddie is definitely more interesting than her brother and his bestie (Eddie would hate it if he knew Chimney referred to him like that, which only amuses him more).

By the time, they’ve eaten their pizza and said their goodbyes, Chimney has secured himself a hang out with Maddie to show her some of the local bars and food places.

When they rescue a helicopter, he has no idea it will lead to seeing her sooner while he is tripsitting her baby brother, but life works in mysterious ways like that. He likes to see it as a sign of the universe, that it is pushing them together.

But rewinding again, it starts with the helicopter, which leads to Taylor Kelly showing up to their firehouse with a film crew.

Chim is cleaning one of the trucks. They’re doing a deep clean of everything, the B shift staying later, while they came in earlier, so everyone is helping.

He hears some commotion behind him with Cap talking, he doesn’t sound too happy, so Chimney isn’t going to mix in whatever is happening. Buck, however, has no such inhibitions and comes up to what appears to be a film crew with Taylor Kelly when Chim chances a glance.

As he works, he keeps an ear out, watching out for the baby of the firehouse – no, he and Hen don’t care that Eddie has been here shorter and is the same age – as he talks with Taylor. With him, Chimney never knows if he is flirting or if he is genuinely interested in her job. Both have definitely happened on calls before and there have been misunderstandings. Messy ones.

Just as he is deciding Buck might be flirting and he should step in, Eddie does it for him. He gets up from the gym and starts asking Taylor about how she is recovering. The interruption is a little abrupt and almost jealous. Chimney finds himself turning away from his job to watch this episode of the Buck and Eddie show.

Though he must admit he gets pulled in when Taylor starts pitching her plan to them. Chimney is not above admitting he likes the attention his job gives him. Sure, right now he cares the most about saving people, making a difference in their lives, but he can’t deny that he started working in the field because of the hero worship you can get.

Looking around, he sees Buck is kind of excited about the prospect, while Hen is apprehensive, Cap is a definite no, and he can’t get a read on Eddie.

Eddie is a private person from what he has seen. If he had to guess, he’d say Eddie wouldn’t want anything to do with this. However, Chimney can’t forget that Eddie walked up to Taylor, interrupting a conversation he wasn’t a part of while he would have otherwise stayed in the background, so maybe Chimney is wrong.

But Eddie does look slightly anxious about the whole thing, trying to catch Buck’s eye probably for some of the mind reader bullshit they do sometimes. Buck is too distracted to notice and Chim almost wants to rotate his eyes towards Eddie so he can know what’s going on in Eddie’s brain, but that might not be the best thing to do with a camera pointed at them, so he restrains himself.

With the all clear from the Chief, Bobby resigns himself to her presence and everyone does their little interviews.

More in line with Chim’s expectations, Eddie disappears a bit to the background saying something about the military when asked and very pointedly never mentioning Chris, while Buck sticks with Chimney to be in the camera, happily showing them around. Bobby avoids the camera like the plague, while Hen doesn’t shy away, but doesn’t seek it out. Chimney knows that despite the fact that she isn’t the biggest fan, she will never pass up an opportunity to show that people like her can be in this line of work.

Over the two days that Taylor Kelly follows them, they primarily have medical calls. So the only person upset they don’t get to shine is Buck, though Chimney isn’t sure that call with the bug eating contest would be called shining for him.

Of course, Chimney doesn’t know that it also works out with the frantic deal made in the Buckley-Diaz household after that first shift where they’d been surprised by it; they aren’t going to mention Chris and kind of stay out of each other’s way in the firehouse, except on calls. It’s not like they were going to act like Eddie’s first day, but maybe not as close. Best not to invite questions.

Since Buck is mostly sticking with Chimney and the camera crews, the others haven’t picked up on the fact that it is each other they’re avoiding.

Naturally it can’t go right forever. Chimney supposes they should be lucky it wasn’t a worse call, that everything ended well in the end, that he didn’t have to deal with a camera crew on top of it all as well.

The fucked up part is that Chimney – a licensed professional – doesn’t even notice. Sure, Buck and Eddie are halfway on top of each other and Buck apparently checks the pollen index even though only Eddie has a hay fever, but that’s practically normal.

No, instead it’s Athena, who notices first and figures out it’s probably everyone as she takes those with him on the call into custody so they can’t hurt anyone. And she also leaves Chimney with three of his high colleagues, while she goes to save Bobby – which of course she should, but it’s not the ideal for Chimney right now.

Hen is the easiest, not only is her high a peaceful one, but he also has Karen’s number and can easily get her picked up.

Eddie on the other hand is still on the brink of crying and Chimney is sure that the only thing that is stopping him from falling off that ledge is Buck, who is seemingly making up stories about Christopher and chickens. Chimney isn’t going to ask questions, happy to let Buck ride out his gentle high while doing part of Chimney’s job for him, because he has no one to call for Eddie and now has to call Maddie about her baby brother being drugged. Joy.

Naturally, Maddie is quite stressed out, though quickly on her way to pick up Buck, as well as providing him with the number of Eddie’s tía Pepa.

Maddie arrives first and together they struggle to separate Buck and Eddie. If it weren’t kind of terrifying that someone had drugged their family and it could have gone incredibly wrong, it would almost be funny how petulant and sad both are about it.

With everyone picked up and the scene taken over, Chimney heads back to the station. As the only one not currently high out of their mind, he’s the man left behind until they can get a full and sober crew in the firehouse that hasn’t just come off a long shift.

Karen sends him some videos of Hen staring lovingly to a point behind the camera (Karen) rambling even more about love to fill the time. It makes Chimney a little sad they’re already married, because that would have been great best man speech material.

Chimney doesn’t hear from Pepa and can only hope Eddie’s high is going slightly better. He sends Athena a short text to ask about Bobby, but only gets a curt response. Understandable, since Bobby just got tricked into breaking his sobriety and nearly killing himself.

The whole stunt could have ended so much worse. To soothe his worries he also texts back and forth with Maddie, but she isn’t at her phone a lot, since Buck’s gentle high has turned into an emotional one.

Despite not taking any calls, he is drained when he finally gets to leave. He feels like he repeated the story a million times already, to relatives, to the police and now the to the B shift that came to take over for him.

Buck has according to Maddie moved from crying it out to sleeping it off and Chimney tells her that despite usually knowing better, he’s going to follow her brother’s example, which gets him some laughing emojis back.

After a good amount of sleep for all of them and a drug test for most of them, they’re all back for a shift.

Bobby has come in early and hidden away, a clear message that he does not want to discuss it. But Hen is right there to be made fun off, which she takes like a champ. She sniffs: “I’m not embarrassed about being filled with love, Chim.”

“According to Karen love is not the only thing you wanted to be filled with,” Chimney says gleefully.

“Oh shut up!”

“What are we talking about?” Buck asks as he and Eddie come walking up, both looking better than the last time Chimney saw them. Which isn’t that hard admittedly, since both were crying said last time.

“Nothing.” “About Hen’s horny love ramblings.” They answer at the same time.

Hen gives him an ‘are you serious’-look, before turning to Eddie and Buck and saying: “Did both of you get everything out of you system alright?”

“Yeah, did either of you stop crying soon?” Chimney asks.

“Crying?” Hen repeats, looking between Chimney and Buck and Eddie to get answers, but both look flushed and horribly embarrassed and neither of them are answering.

Chimney doesn’t mind filling Hen in, however. “Yeah, when Maddie came to pick Buck up it was a whole thing to get them separated. Eddie still hadn’t calmed down completely by the time Pepa came to get him and according to Maddie, Buck cried later too.”

“Shut up,” Buck pouts, his blush not at all hidden by his complexion.

“Ahw but it’s so fun, Buckaroo.”

“I can literally text Maddie and ruin any chance at being her friend or more, do not test me, Howard.”

“Oef touchy, touchy,” Chimney says, but he does drop it, instead turning to Eddie. “So, what about it, Eddie?”

“Uh, no, I mostly slept it off,” Eddie lies. He swore tía Pepa to secrecy, something she might not keep, but at most Buck will find out that he cried about not being able to go home to be with his family and that will only be mildly embarrassing. He can spin that to be about Chris, not both of them. He doesn’t know why that is important to him, but it is.

“Really? Nothing big happened?” Chimney asks, a little disappointed.

“I mean, Chris was a little confused about why there was no one to tuck him in while we got send home early, but Carla was able to work late and explained it to him,” Eddie shrugs.

“Ugh, lucky,” Buck groans, throwing himself on the couch. “I embarrassed myself so much. After all my efforts to do dumb shit like this when Maddie couldn’t see, this had to happen to me. I’m never going to eat anything I didn’t see prepared.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t that bad,” Eddie tries to comfort him. Buck hasn’t told him anything about what happened yet, which to be fair, he didn’t either, but Buck is more of an open book.

“You weren’t there,” Buck grouches, crossing his arms. “I had to wrestle for control to get those videos deleted.”

Buck had, much to his humiliation, spend the evening crying about missing his husband, only barely managing to not cry about his kid as well. Probably because he was actually with Eddie when he got separated.

When he sobered up, Maddie had a whole lecture ready for him about work place conduct and how inappropriate it was to refer to people like that in a professional setting and how she got that this was his first steady, grown up person job, but that he really couldn’t do that.

While it was nice to get the conformation that she hadn’t caught on and thus hadn’t been homophobic that first time, because she was super cool about him saying he’s bi, he could have done without that.

He also could have done without her gently discouraging his crush on Eddie – likely because she thinks he’s happily married or whatever, since this is his life now – because that had been kid of soul crushing in a different way. A part of him had wanted to explain it to her then, but he’d been hung over and the thought of having to deal with that while having a pounding headache, didn’t sound too appealing.

“This sounds juicy,” Chimney says. “You sure she might not tell me? I mean, maybe a movie or something could warm her up to me.”

“You are not allowed to get close to my sister to get black mail material on me.”

“Tsk, like that would be my only motivation.”

“Ugh, don’t be gross, dude.”

“No! I meant as in she is a nice person and needs friends. Don’t you want your sister to have a social life, Buck?”

“Okay, okay, gentlemen, let’s tone it down,” Hen interrupts them, before the bickering can go further.

“I agree with Hen,” Bobby says, materializing next to her. “The Chief has now officially banned accepting baked goods from strangers, however, I am not a stranger, so you all are in luck, because we baked brownies to share this weekend.”

“Fuck yeah, brownies!” Buck cheers, before the rest registers and he pouts: “I’m gonna miss the carbs.” Apparently he has already forgotten about his vow from earlier to never eat food he didn’t see prepared.

“Come on, you big dummy,” Eddie rolls his eyes, knocking their shoulders together.

The action seems to cheer Buck up, because he smiles and gets up, bouncing over to the kitchen ahead of them and scooping up a big portion of brownies. That in turn gets Chimney running, not wanting to miss out again (though missing out last time hadn’t been the worst in the end).

With Taylor not airing their drugged misfortunes, they move on from it. Buck and Bobby both take to bringing baked goods to work more often to make up for it and Chimney does actually make good on his idea to watch a movie with Maddie, though he doesn’t get any embarrassing stories about high Buck from her. Maddie doesn’t out people and is good at secrets, something Chimney doesn’t know yet.

And so they all move towards Halloween.

~~

A/N:

This is only slightly related, but oh my god, I am so gay for Karen, we need more Karen content, bc I am such a homo for her and I want her on my screen <3

Hope this doesn’t read too much like a filler chapter for the sake of getting through these episodes (even though it kinda is) bc I feel weird glossing over episodes, so I’m kind of including all of them (except the ‘Blank, Begins’ episodes of season 2)

[quibbs126]

So I have some more vague ideas of the stupid Transformers AU thing from last night

I think originally it was going to just fade away, but last night I decided I might as well rewatch the original FNAF timeline videos since Part 3 made me realize I didn’t entirely remember what was going on, and so the mentality came back to my brain at 3 or 4 in the morning because I accidentally woke up too early

Anyways, on to random stupid ideas

So Orion is some strange entity, and quite honestly even Primus doesn’t really know what he is, even though he’s pretty sure he created it. Fortunately Orion’s full cosmic horror seems to be locked away due to currently having a mortal shell. Orion just sort of popped out of the ground in the middle of nowhere

Also for some reason my brain gave me this idea that Orion has this ability to basically become a corpse for a few hours while he just chills out in some weird spirit form. I think my brain borrowed it from a concept I had seen around for Aligned continuity’s Thirteen

Also Orion is under the impression that he has amnesia, and is unaware of his weird cosmic status. He wants to know who he is but there’s problems in finding that information, as will be detailed later

After popping out from the ground, he sort of wandered until finding himself at the mines D-16 worked in, and stumbling in there unaware of anything really happening around him

D-16 heard weird noises in his sector and went to check it out, only to find Orion in some equipment and they both sort of freaked out at the sight of each other, D might have punched him out of reflex and shock, and Orion accidentally went corpse mode

D-16 now thinks he just accidentally killed this bot, which is made worse when he gets a good look at him and is 99% sure he is a higher class bot, on account of him being much smaller than the miners and having bright colors (which here would be like a symbol of class, duller/monochrome colors means you’re likely on the bottom rungs), and then later when he hears he has an actual name instead of a number. And if someone discovers he killed a higher class bot, he is at the very least getting fired and sent to prison, which he doesn’t want, so he hides the body so no one finds it and plans to dump it after his shift is over where he won’t be traced back to him

But later when he’s doing so, Orion reactivates and gives D-16 another huge scare, but this time he doesn’t attack because he realizes he probably shouldn’t try to repeat history, thinking maybe he was just mistaken the first time (despite him definitely looking dead)

He tries to figure out who Orion is so he can try and get him sent home (while apologizing for the whole situation), but Orion doesn’t know since he doesn’t really have any memories. D thinks he must have amnesia so he tries to smuggle him back somewhere until they can figure out what to do

Meanwhile Orion thinks he’s just made a friend

D first just tries sending him on a train to Iacon, but Orion refuses to leave without D, not understanding that he’s not really allowed to leave, and sneaks off the train to stay with him. He then tries to get information on Orion since he knows his name, though getting access to a database as a lowly miner is incredibly difficult, but he has no luck there since apparently Orion Pax doesn’t exist. Though he figures it may just be an issue of them having a limited database. And by this point going up to the guards isn’t gonna work because now he’ll be arrested for “kidnapping” a higher class bot

Basically the setup here is Orion hanging out with D-16 in the mines, with Orion trying to make his new friend happy, as he seems constantly stressed and generally miserable with his lot in life, while D-16 is trying to figure out who Orion is and how to get him back home without getting arrested

D admittedly grows to like the company of Orion, as he seems unaware of any sort of class difference between them and just genuinely wants to be his friend and be nice, but he also can’t deny that Orion’s unawareness makes his life a living nightmare now and things would probably be easier for the both of them if he just got back home

Orion also has this instinctual hatred for the government that he doesn’t quite understand (still a very corrupt Cybertron here), but will act upon. D-16 agrees that the government sucks, but hopes Orion doesn’t get into too much trouble defying it. Because he’ll be the one suffering the consequences

D-16 and the other miners are probably cogless, but they’re much bigger than the miners in TF One, with this D being closer to Megatron’s size. I’m not sure if Orion can transform or not though, but I do have a mental image of D just folding him up into a cube or something, harmlessly as he can easily pop out of it

I also don’t know how Optimus and Megatron come out of this scenario. Best I can say is that Orion unintentionally starts driving D-16 crazy as he finds no leads on who Orion Pax is, and becomes more and more convinced he isn’t actually real, or that he actually did kill him that first day and everything since has just been hallucinations and delusions. But I don’t know about Optimus since becoming Optimus probably means he can no longer be this chaotic little eldritch gremlin thing

And I think that’s about it. Now I have to go study for a quiz and probably start on that short story I have due tonight

[bisnes-socks]

i said i might do more in depth thoughts of stephanie and so i did.

the first post was a bit rushed but many of the points very much still stand, this post i guess is just trying to make the same points a bit better and deeper. so idk how much of a musical analysis this is, and how much i'm just trying to put vibes and feelings into words, but here goes.

i said in the first post how i like that the structure isn't the usual verse chorus verse chorus - well, actually it kind of is that, but the chorus doesn't feel like an obvious chorus, because they only play it twice and it's not the same those times. there is almost a pre-chorus like feeling to it, and then the song ends in what could have been a bridge, if the song was longer. this song to me feels like a part of something bigger, and that's why i'm super excited to hear in the context of the full album. with that being said, i still think it works super well on its own as well, i really love the vibes.

the early 2000's brit rock and indie rock influence, such as arctic monkeys or black kids, is still quite obvious to me, but so is the 80's influence as well, like orchestral manoeuvers in the dark was the first one that came to my mind. then again, the 80's influence on early 2000's brit rock and indie rock in general is also pretty obvious, so i think influences in music in general should always be seen as a spectrum, rather than fixed, separate points. everything is always influenced by things that came before it, and what we can name as an influence on something will always depend on where we've heard a specific style or flavour or spice in music first.

it's a different sound than what we've heard from them before. i don't know if this makes any sense to anyone other than myself, but to me, the sound on this song is the sound of a collective more than the sound of the band. what i mean by that is that there are so many elements in the song that are not straight forward band instruments, or instruments that are in their usual line up. this sound is produced by five professinal musicians working as a collective, rather than five band members playing their respective instruments simultaniously. does that make any sense? i don't know, but it's how i feel - like there could be more people on this song than there are. but i think the best songs always do sound like all of the people who made it, not just one or two.

like i said in my first post, the drums are super interesting in this one. the drum machineness of it all, the super 80's style drum fills, the percussive details of little pings and pangs that decorate the track, that's all something that hasn't been super typical in pop or rock music recently, and harkens back to the 70's, 80's and also the early 2000's indie scene. it's super interesting to listen to, and i can genuenly recommend taking the time to listen to the track a couple of times focusing on just the drums and percussion.

in fact, i'd recommend listening to the track (this track and honestly just songs in general) several times, always choosing a different instrument or element to focus on, because there is a lot of cool stuff going on in this song! vocals and lyrics often take the main focus, but i always find it worth it to carefully listen beyond the lyrics.

the drum parts are also just genuenly fun. the drums and the bass make it a very dancable song, which again, it's both very 80's and very early 2000's to make super bop-y, dancable songs with sad or dark lyrics. the contrast is quite yummy to me. it also brings a vibe to the song i really really love. it reminds me of a quote about movies, about how drama movies should always have a little bit of comedy in them, because that's how real life is. there is always always both light and dark, sadness and happiness present in everything. crying and laughing all at once. that's the vibe of the song to me, and it's brilliant.

the song has so many layers to it, it's honestly brilliantly mixed: there's something happening in almost every direction, every distance, so to speak. and so many different synth sounds! sharp strikes here, notes held there, runs here, backround walls there. take a moment to find them all, it's super rewarding and again, genuenly fun!

the vocal delivery is also a cool contrast with the musical aspects. the voice doesn't convey a lot of emotion, on purpose i think. he sounds a bit numb and detached, and the music being so whimsical with all of its details and decorations, it's just a really cool juxtaposition.

and at the end, repeating the lines about love and happiness not being built for people like me, with the guitar playing the same melody, when the vocal line and the guitar line go out of sync and he starts repeating the lines to a different rythm, i think it highlights the juxtaposition even more, it's like.. it's like he's not even listening to the whimsy of the music anymore, but getting carried away in his own head by the lines. and repeating them in an almost monotoe way.. i just think it's a brilliant way to deliver the emotion behind the lyric.

but the song ends in the major key whimsical runs on the keyboard with a very fun percussion rythm, and so i think ultimately the mood left behind by the song is quite positive. it's melancholic sure, a bit angsty yes, but at the same time it's not a depressing feeling. 

like i don't know how else to put it, but the whole song is like. everything is going to shit in your life, but you're on a walk and the leaves are super pretty colours and the weather is just perfect, and you breathe in fresh air and it's like. yeah everything is kinda fucked but right in this moment, right at this minute, it's all kind of.. okay. and for a split second you can imagine a future where things are less shit. where maybe happiness and love are built for people like you.

[kangshxrtie]

ch. 30 ⤍ interrogation

you get home a little after midnight, hoping your roommates would already be asleep by the time you walk in. just to be safe, you go in first while kazuha parks the car, figuring you might get bombarded at the door. aside from replying to a few comments, you haven’t checked your phone much since posting the photo, but it’s been on silent the whole time. 

nonetheless, the second you open the door, you're hit with it.

"y/n! how could you not tell me immediately" wonyoung practically jumps off the couch to greet you, her arms flailing as she rushes over.

yujin stays on the couch with her arms crossed and a smirk plastered on her face. "i knew something was up when i heard those noises in your room the other day."

leeseo is sitting on the couch, with her phone in her hand, “i’ve been waiting for this one,” she mutters under her breath, amused.

from the corner of your eye, you catch gaeul, rei, and liz all crowding in the doorway of the living room. this is technically the first time they’ll meet kazuha in person.

“where’s kazuha?” gaeul asks as you finally walk into the house, “you’re not hiding her, right?”

“she’s parking,” you reply, “she’ll be here soon.”

“now sit,” rei says, motioning toward the couch. “we need answers.”

you can’t help but laugh nervously as wonyoung practically drags you to the couch, forcing you to sit in the center of the room. the interrogation begins the second you sit down.

“so... how long? we know about the flirting on stream but when did it become official?” yujin asks, eyes locked on you.

"yeah, i know y'all aren't just e-daters so when did this even happen?" liz adds, leaning forward with her elbows on her knees. 

“well…” you hesitate, rubbing the back of your neck. “it kind of just… happened. we’ve filmed some videos together and went on a couple of dates but we didn’t become official official until not too long ago”

wonyoung gasps dramatically. "how long is 'not too long ago'? is this like a today thing?"

“no, but it hasn’t been more than a month yet.” you said.

"and why have we not been updated on this at all?” gaeul asked.

“nobody asked.” you said.

“i didn’t know 

"y/n, you guys were flirting non-stop,” rei points out. “like, it wasn’t even subtle.”

“yeah, even when we met her for the first time, it was obvious. you two couldn’t stop staring at each other” wonyoung adds. 

"that was not staring." you groan trying to cover your face.

“oh, please," yujin cuts in, laughing. "it was staring. me and wonyoung were literally placing bets on when one of you would confess.”

before you can respond, there’s a knock on the door. you quickly get up and open it, revealing kazuha standing there with an overnight bag over her shoulder and an awkward smile on her face. she pauses for a second, taking in the scene and offering a small wave, “hey.”

"welcome in y/n’s girlfriend," yujin says, grinning.

kazuha sets her bag down on the counter, while wonyoung shifts over to make space for the both of you on the couch. her hand instinctively reaches for yours, intertwining your fingers. the small gesture makes everyone in the room collectively react, letting out a low “ooooh” sound from everyone else in the room.

“now that you’re here, we can ask the real questions.” liz teases, her eyes locked on kazuha.

kazuha smiles, squeezing your hand gently. “second time this week but i’m ready.”

"okay, first things first," gaeul says, narrowing her eyes. "how did this start? and what exactly do you like about her?"

kazuha glances at you, then back at the room. “it started last wednesday, and what do i like about her? there’s a lot, honestly, i like how ”

“that’s a safe answer,” rei mutters, “give us details!”

“details?” kazuha looks at you for help.

“they’re just nosy. ignore them.” you chuckle and squeeze her hand.

yujin laughs, shaking her head. “no, we’re invested. we’ve been watching this unfold since day one.”

“okay, but what was the moment? like, the moment you knew you liked her?” wonyoung asks.

“i think it was when we played our first game together. she was really shy our first meeting but when we were alone on the call together and stayed up talking til’ like three in the morning i just really fell then.” kazuha’s expression softens, her eyes locking onto yours.

you feel your heart skip a beat. the room goes quiet for a second before wonyoung breaks the silence.

“awww, that’s so cute!” she exclaims, clapping her hands together.

rei nudges gaeul. “fucking simps.”

"alright, alright," you say, trying to rein the conversation back. "are we done here now? it’s getting pretty late and we should all probably go to sleep.”

“i’m sure you are,” yujin teased with a smirk as she got up from the couch.

“listen, mind your business,” you shot back, standing up alongside kazuha.

“just don’t be too loud. i know your room is soundproof, but that only goes so far,” gaeul chimed in, her voice teasing.

rei groaned dramatically. “i’m so sad i live next door to you.”

you rolled your eyes, laughing. “just go to sleep, and none of this will be a problem.”

grabbing kazuha’s bag from the counter, you and the rest of the group began walking back to your rooms. the teasing continued, but it was all in good fun. once inside your room, you set kazuha’s bag down on the chair and turned to find her already sitting comfortably on your bed.

you joined her, sitting down next to her as she leaned in close, her breath warm against your ear. “i think i survived that pretty well, right?” she whispered, her voice soft but playful.

you couldn’t help but smile, squeezing her hand gently. “you did great,” you murmured back.

her hand lingers, fingers lightly brushing your skin, raising goosebumps in their wake. every subtle touch makes you shiver, and you instinctively pull her closer, your arms wrapping tightly around her, refusing to let go. as her tongue teases the outline of your lips, you part them eagerly, tasting the sweetness of her kiss, each stroke of her tongue igniting a fire within you.

a low moan escapes your lips as kazuha’s fingers start to move, tracing delicate circles on your thigh, inching closer to where you crave her touch the most. her breath is hot against your neck as she leans in, her lips brushing your ear.

“god, you’re so hot,” she murmurs, voice breathy and full of want. “i’m so glad you’re mine.”

the kiss grows more urgent, filled with longing and need, each second of separation between you fueling the desperation. kazuha’s fingers continue their tantalizing journey, skimming the edge of your inner thigh. her whisper is a heady mix of desire and restraint.

“i want you so bad,” she breathes, her voice husky with yearning. in response, you push her gently back against the bed, your lips crashing into hers again.

as the kiss between you and kazuha deepens, the passion builds, growing more intense with every passing second. your bodies are pressed tightly together, and you can feel her chest rising and falling in sync with yours, your breaths coming fast and heavy.

kazuha’s hand continues its slow, deliberate path up your thigh, inching closer to where you ache for her touch. the moment she makes contact, a gasp escapes your lips, your body instinctively arching into her.

“i need you,” you murmur against her lips, your voice barely a whisper, thick with desire. her touch is intoxicating, sending waves of heat through your body as you melt under her hands. in response, you deepen the kiss, your lips moving against hers with even more urgency.

her hand moves higher, and the heat between your legs becomes almost unbearable. without breaking the kiss, you shift, straddling her on the couch. the warmth of her body presses against yours, the friction only amplifying the tension between you.

kazuha pulls back slightly, breaking the kiss, her gaze locking with yours. her eyes are dark, filled with longing and need, and the intensity of her stare sends a shiver down your spine.

as you continue exploring each other, kazuha’s hand moves down from your thigh, her fingers teasing the button of your pants. her touch is precise as she unfastens it with ease, her eyes never leaving yours. the zipper slides down slowly and your heart pounds in your chest, the tension between you building with every second.

when she reaches the end of the zipper, she pauses, a sultry smile tugging at her lips. “can i?” she asks, her voice low. you meet her gaze, unable to resist her and nod, your body already trembling with desire.

kazuha's hand slips inside your pants, her fingers exploring the soft skin of your inner thigh. a soft moan escapes your lips as her touch sends shivers down your spine, tracing delicate patterns over your skin. her gaze remains locked on yours, intense and full of desire, as she leans in to kiss you deeply, her lips warm and insistent against yours.

when her fingers finally reach your core, a wave of pleasure washes over you, and you gasp softly. “you’re so wet,” kazuha whispers, her voice low and seductive, each word sending a thrill through your body. her fingers begin to stroke you gently, teasingly, spreading your wetness with slow, deliberate movements. 

“f-fuck, zuha,” you pant, your breath catching in your throat as her touch sends sparks of pleasure shooting through you.

without breaking the kiss, you grab her wrist and guide her hand to your clit, and she immediately takes the hint. her fingers move with more purpose, rubbing you vigorously, while her other hand slides under your shirt and finds its way to your bra. her fingers pinch and tug at your nipple, adding another layer of sensation that has your body trembling.

“y-yes… just like that,” you slur, your body arching into her touch. “feels so fucking good.”

kazuha smirks against your lips. “good,” she murmurs, her voice thick with satisfaction. “because i’m not done with you yet.”

with a swift but deliberate movement, her fingers slip lower, teasing your entrance before pushing in slowly. at the same time, her thumb swirls across your clit, the sensation overwhelming you in the best way. “you’re so tight, y/n,” she mutters, her breath hot against your skin.

her fingers begin a steady rhythm, thrusting in and out, while her thumb continues to circle your clit. your body responds instinctively, muscles tightening as you feel yourself closer and closer to the edge. the pleasure is building fast, and your breaths come in short, desperate gasps.

“oh, fuck, zuha,” you moan, unable to hold back.

kazuha looks up at you with a smirk, clearly enjoying the effect she’s having on you. “mmm, i love it when you moan my name,” she says, her voice dripping with desire. “say it again for me, baby.”

you oblige, moaning her name once more as her fingers move with even more intensity. she grins, her satisfaction clear as she continues to work you, each stroke bringing you closer to the brink. “you’re so fucking hot,” she murmurs, her voice husky and full of need. “i could do this to you all night.”

you can barely think as the pleasure overwhelms you, the sensations almost too much but also exactly what you need. your hands find their way into kazuha’s hair, pulling her closer as you press your lips to hers in a bruising kiss. the heat between you grows even more intense as your bodies meld together, her fingers still working their magic as your kiss deepens.

every brush of her lips, and every movement of her fingers sends you spiraling as you cling to kazuha.

“zuha, i’m close,” you gasp against her lips, your body writhing with the intensity of it all.

kazuha doesn’t miss a beat. she responds by increasing the pace and before you know it, the tension snaps, and you cry out her name as the orgasm crashes over you, waves of pleasure coursing through your entire body. “a-ah, sh-shit, zuha!” you gasp, your body convulsing, completely at her mercy.

she doesn’t stop, her fingers continuing their gentle strokes, drawing out the sensation and making it even more intense as your body quivers beneath her touch. you collapse onto her, trembling with the aftershocks. kazuha watches you with a satisfied look in her eyes, a flicker of lust as she brings her fingers to her lips and licks them slowly.

then, without a word, she wraps her arms around you, pulling you close, letting the warmth of her body settle against yours. the two of you stay like that for a moment, catching your breath, and letting the world slow down around you.

after a while, you pull back slightly, both of you still a little breathless, your heart racing but calming. a grin spreads across your face. “wow,” you say, your voice hoarse and soft. “i know this sounds hella cringy, but it seriously gets better every time.”

kazuha grins right back at you, looking pleased with herself. “i’ve had some practice,” she teases.

you roll your eyes but can’t help laughing. “of course you’d say that,” you chuckle, lightly smacking her arm. she just smiles, pulling you back into her embrace.

"as long as i’m the only person you’re practicing on all is good," you say, leaning in to give her a quick kiss.

kazuha responds eagerly, deepening the kiss for a moment before pulling back with a grin. "oh definitely. we just started i’m not fucking that up already," she says.

you nod, “that’s good. i like you too much now to let you go.”

ALL CHAPTERS !!! | NEXT CH !!!

an ⤍ ngl i was never gonna write smut for this book but some horny mfs wanted it soo bad

[sandyca5tle]

Slime HRT - 22 Months

Slime time again, and the goo keeps gooing.

General update on slime-ification - I’ve only got bones in my head left! All my musculature and squishy bits have dissolved now, so I’ve just got a skull floating in my goo. I noticed that all this dissolving happened way quicker than it had previously, which I’m guessing is due to my acid helping to break things down

I have to say, having your spine dissolve is very painful, turns out all those nerves do not enjoy being eaten away by acid/medicine. Additionally, having all those nerves change caused me to have various movement and coordination issues - I spend quite a bit of time over these past four months as a puddle of goo, just about able to shuffle towards food, which honestly sucked, not having proper control over my body is the exact opposite of what I want. Obviously there were moments when it was fine, and I was able to do things normally, but even then the pain typically persisted in the background.

One benefit has been that, since my spine fully dissolved, I’ve felt more in control of my body than ever, and while that might just be in contrast to having less-to-no control recently, I think I have actually improved. Some of my fine motor skills that I lost in the early stages have returned, and I can perform finer manipulations of and with my slime, and I just feel more connected to my body now, which is very neat.

I’ve been working under the assumption that my brain is still inside my skull, as I’ve heard you know when that goes, plus if I move my skull around I can get a little dizzy, so I’m pretty sure it’s still in there. On that note, yeah, I can move my skull around my body, since it’s the only part that isn’t goo, so there’s nothing really holding it in place. In theory I could take it out of my body, but I don’t wanna try that as I’m honestly afraid that could kill me (I think a lot of the lack of control while my spine was dissolving was due to the lack of connection to my brain to hold myself together while the nervous connections reconfigured to be slime), so for now I’ve got the neat party trick of being able to move my skull around my body.

Of course with all my fleshy bits melting away, I’ve had some interesting experiences with my senses and similar things. The first thing I’ll run through is eyesight - I didn’t have great eyesight before, but I found my eyesight slowly deteriorating which, especially combined with the struggle to remain coalesced from my spine degrading, was pretty terrifying. The only thing that kept me somewhat calm was being fairly certain that, as with my lungs, my body would learn to replicate the function of the organ. Fun fact - slimes don’t naturally have eyes, so when I lost my eyesight, it didn’t naturally come back. I sat for a decent while waiting in blackness, waiting for it to come back, much like I’d started absorbing air through my slime with my lungs, but it simply didn’t. The only reason I can see now is ‘cause I kinda just made it happen. I figured that even if it didn’t automatically happen, my body still had absorbed the organ, so it should be able to replicate its function, so I shaped myself some eyes, playing around with them until eventually I was able to see again. It seems short written out, but I was at this at least a good few hours, trying to work out how to replicate an eye - fortunately, it does seem like there’s at least an instinctive part of my new body that can help fill in gaps, so I didn’t have to consciously replicate every fine detail of an eye. 

I do have to say, it took me a while to fine tune everything, started off with it being all very blurry and desaturated, but I eventually found where I was before, and actually, once I took my glasses off, I was able to correct my eyesight altogether. I do wonder if I can go even further, but with the experience so fresh in my mind, I’d rather my body get used to having eyes again as a default before I mess around more. Despite 20/20 vision being very nice, it is a little sad for me to no longer need my glasses, I’d gotten used to them, and it’s kinda a shame to see them go. 

I do have to add, weird thing about slime eyes, since it’s all really just my slime seeing, I don’t need any depth to my eyes, frankly I don’t even need ‘eyes’ in the traditional sense - any part of my slime can see, I just have to choose to see from there and I can, so my eyes are just kinda indents in my face so that people have a reference point as to where I’m looking from. At some point I’ll mess around with additional eyes, but as before, I wanna make sure I don’t accidentally blind myself again.

Taste and smell are a pair that I’ll group together, since they’re linked in both humans and slimes anyways. Naturally, much like with my sight, I slowly lost both of them as the responsible parts were consumed by my slime, rendering me unable to taste or smell for a while. Honestly, compared to sight, this wasn’t such a bad loss - made meals very uninteresting for a while, but aside from that it was easy enough to work with. Honestly, I’m not sure I ever really got them back properly, despite trying, I was never able to force them back into being like I did with my sense of sight. One day I did begin to taste again I noticed, although I also noticed it had definitely changed. For one, I can kind of switch it on or off, and for another I can now taste anything I eat, regardless of if I put it in my mouth, or just absorb it. It’s neat, and also definitely adds to the lack of distinction between differently shaped parts of my body - my mouth doesn’t do anything special with regards to eating, it’s just habit to eat through there, I can eat, and taste, just as well through any part of my body.

Smell however hasn’t come back, well at least, not really in a human sense - I can ‘smell’ things, but it’s more like tasting the air, rather than actually smelling. I’m guessing it’s because I don’t have to breathe any more, so I’m not inhaling the particles, instead, I simply absorb them passively as I move around. Of course, since this is now tied to my taste, turning that off stops me from smelling, so I’ve been trying to find a middle ground where I don’t taste things all the time/don’t taste things I don’t wanna, but can still smell - haven’t quite found the sweet spot yet.

On the topic of the mouth becoming redundant as a defined part of my body, I also lost my voice once my vocal chords were subsumed. These, fortunately, were the easiest to restore, or at least achieve the same function, simply by vibrating my slime to produce sound. It took me a little while to work out how to do this, but given the amount of time I’ve spent learning how to shape my slime, it wasn’t too hard. I have to concede that at first it was very wet and gurgly sounding, but I spent time working to refine it, and now it sounds much better. The slightly funky part is that it does sound different to my old voice… which I’m not sure how to feel about - I wasn’t overly fond of my voice before but it was familiar, and suddenly having a new voice is weird - I’m still adjusting it to find a voice that’s overall closer to what I had before, but I am having fun playing around with it a little. Oh, and of course, as with tasting, since I can do this from anywhere on my body, again, the ‘speciality’ of my mouth is kind of redundant, it’s just simply a shape on my body which is familiar and a hangover from my time as a human.

Surprisingly, my hearing hasn’t been affected yet, not even sounding like I’m underwater - I’m guessing that since bones go last, my ear bones and all that haven’t gone yet… and that maybe my slime is acting in place of my eardrum, assuming that that has also been absorbed. I’m guessing that that’s gonna go at some point over the next few months.

As for the rest of what’s been going on, I’ve continued to try to practise controlling my acidity, and I’ve gotten a little better, I’m able to make portions of my body neutral pretty easily now, buuut if I stop focusing it immediately returns to acid, not to mention it’s only parts at a time. I did get a suggestion about using air pockets to produce safe areas within myself to store objects - kinda a fly in amber situation (y’know, since I’m literally sap) - which has been useful, although since I don’t breath anymore, providing the air has been a little difficult, but I worked out how to move air around with my slime so I can blow on things now, as well as make the pockets. Still gonna focus on my acidity control, but until I’ve got that down, I’ve got a good work around!

On the shaping front, I've added a few new features to my form. First, I gave myself horns, and made my ears kinda aquatic looking, kinda like fins, but ears, like merpeople are sometimes depicted with. Neither of these particularly do anything, but I like how they look. On the more ‘functional’ side I shaped myself a pair of cat ears, and some big ol’ dragon wings on my back, of course all made from slime. I put the ‘functional’ in quotation marks since neither really work for their intended function, so they’re also only decorative at this time, but I’m hoping I can get them to work eventually. The cat ears don’t work since I’m pretty sure I’m still reliant on my human hearing system which doesn’t connected to cat ears on the top of my head (unlike my fin-ears which just replaced/were reshaped from my old ears) and I haven’t worked out how to fly with the wings yet - and I’m honestly not sure if my slime will let me, gonna have to experiment more with them.

On top of all of these, and combined with having had a lot of issues holding my humanoid form over the past few months, I’ve actually been experimenting with a sort of slime ball form. It’s very nice, small, and definitely adds to my feeling of ‘slimeness’, plus it’s a form that fits my skull pragmatically and aesthetically (main reason i haven’t shrunk my humanoid form is ‘cause i’d have to keep my head approximated the same size to house my skull, which’d lead to weird proportions). Only issue is, while the hopping isn’t exhausting (no need to breathe and no muscles means exertion isn’t as bothersome) it does kinda rattle my skull, and therefore brain, around which makes me a little dizzy. 

Kinda can’t believe I’m saying this, but I can’t wait for my brain to go and leave me fully slime, it’s gonna be so awesome!

See y’all next time! Goobye! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

First - Prev - Next

Tag List below cut

@calliecwrites, @friedsputnik, @now-entering-the-goop-zone, @scrubbinn, @lilacinthefog, @mint-and-authoress, @losttodreams, @redroversendjayover, @ariathelamia, @kanithedemoncat, @copperweave

[maritessa]

Love, Laughter, and Lipstick: A Recipe for Romance (Maybe)

Katsuya and Maya, despite dating for months now, are finally going on their overdue first date. Everyone's excited except Katsuya doesn't really have a lot of experience in dating so he goes to his little brother, Tatsuya for help.

Story undercut

Tatsuya was minding his own business, solving a Rubik's Cube on the dining table when he heard a plate plopped in front of him. He looked away from his toy and saw that his brother, Katsuya, had placed a huge portion of medium-rare ribeye steak before him.

Tatsuya was apprehensive by the sudden appearance of his favorite meal. He looked up at his brother, who had a small smile on his face, and raised a brow. Tatsuya didn't trust the whole situation and demanded an explanation but Katsuya didn't seem to catch the signals he was trying to send.

“Okay, just, tell me what you want,” Tatsuya sighed.

“Excuse me?” Katsuya answered, taken aback by the unexpected response. He was looking forward to seeing his brother excited over the fancy meal he prepared.

Tatsuya pushed back his hair and shook his head. “Whenever you ‘feel like making steak’, you want to ask me for something. Just tell me what it is.”

Katsuya awkwardly coughed and looked away from his little brother. It was true that he needed Tatsuya for something but he didn't realize that there was a pattern to his actions. He scratched the back of his head to brush the slight embarrassment of his predictability away.

“So?” Tatsuya tilted his head to the side.

“Well…” Katsuya inhaled before continuing. “Amano-kun and I finally have the opportunity to go out on a date soon….” 

Tatsuya rolled his eyes but Katsuya ignored his reaction to continue, “... and I wanted to ask for some advice. Where do you take Jun-kun when you go on dates?”

Tatsuya gave his brother a skeptical side-eye and rudely pointed his fork at his brother.  “Before that, you're aware that Jun is male, right? He may look beautiful but he's a man.”

“Yes, he is a nice boy.” Katsuya nodded, unsure as to why Tatsuya felt the need to put emphasis on the obvious. 

“So if you want to know where to take a woman, it would be better to ask a woman.”

“I did think of that but I thought it would be inappropriate to talk about my dating life with a female co-worker.” Katsuya sighed deeply.

When he and Maya started dating, Katsuya picked up the habit of calling Maya when his shift ended. He would update her on how his day went and he'd tell her his plans that night. When his co-workers questioned the sudden spike of his phone calls, he honestly answered their queries. 

“I was just informing my lover that my work for the day is done,” Katsuya replied seriously.

The whole room went silent and everyone turned to look at Katsuya. Katsuya wasn't sure but he thinks he saw the chief drop his cup of coffee. 

“You have… you have a girlfriend, Katsuya-san?” A brave female co-worker spoke up. All of the other women in the room leaned in closer.

“Yes.” Katsuya blushed at the rare opportunity to directly call Maya his ‘girlfriend’ which caused everyone in the room to gasp in shock.

Katsuya felt a chill down his spine when he witnessed more than half of the room taking in a deep breath. 

“Katsuya-san!!!” His junior called out to him. “It's unfair for you to get a girlfriend when you're always working so seriously!!!” 

“I suppose it is inappropriate for me to discuss such matters in the workplace. Very well, thank you for correcting me.” Katsuya patted the shoulder of his junior and packed up his items. 

Unbeknownst to him, the whole female population of the office was cursing his junior for not letting him spill more details. Just who was that amazing woman who broke Katsuya's walls?!

Katsuya remembers the discomfort he felt for a whole week after that revelation. He couldn't shake off the feeling that he was being watched.

“I thought of asking Serizawa-kun but she might tell Amano-kun about my plans and I want it to be a surprise.” Katsuya continued enumerating his missed options. 

“Baofu has experience with women but who's to say he wouldn't tell his Serizawa-kun about our discussion.

“I also thought about asking Mother but... I just can't get the courage to actually go through with it…”

Tatsuya nodded. As much as he hated being subject to the conversation, he can't imagine allowing their mother to help plan Katsuya's first date. He could imagine the whole household being involved in planning this date since his brother never really showed interest in romance before he went out with Maya.

“So, I'm your only choice, huh?” stated Tatsuya bluntly as he took a bite on his steak.

“Yes, so please just answer me honestly,” Katsuya pleaded. 

Tatsuya closed his eyes and pondered. “We walk around fields and gardens.. Sneak into each other's schools? I take him on motorcycle rides….” 

“What do you do?”

“Nothing really.” Tatsuya shrugged. “Just hang out.” 

Katsuya raised a brow at his brother and leaned in as if he was doing an interrogation. 

“Are you sure you're treating Jun-kun well?” Katsuya asked in a stern tone.

The sharp “Ha?” rolled out of Tatsuya’s tongue almost instantaneously. He was clearly offended by the accusation. “We're in different schools so we don't have time to meet in the first place. When I get to Kasugayama, it's already late.

“Besides, Jun doesn't fare well in crowds and he prefers looking at the flowers. He talks non stop whenever we go to the gardens and they change their decorations seasonally so we go there frequently. There was one time I did try to surprise him by bringing him to a floral-themed cafe but he got scouted by multiple modeling agencies when I left him to go to the restroom. He felt uncomfortable so I don't think we'll be going back to the city any time soon…” 

As Tatsuya rambled on, Katsuya couldn't help but feel his face heat up at the extremely rare sight of his brother making a soft and gentle expression. He hasn't seen such a small yet pure smile from Tatsuya in a long time. Katsuya couldn't help but hold his breath.

“What, huh, why am I talking to you about this?!” Tatsuya blushed, realizing how much he blabbered about his boyfriend and to his brother, no less. Katsuya looked away as a form of respect.

“Anyway,” Tatsuya coughed sheepishly. “Just take Maya-nee anywhere as long as you can talk.”

“I can't do that.” Katsuya shook his head. “I'm worried about haphazardly choosing a place she might not like.”

“I don't think Maya-nee is the type of person to be picky about these types of things.” 

“I won't deny that but she's an editor for a teen magazine. I'm sure she's been to all of the trendy places and she's tried all of the best food in Sumaru.” Katsuya felt the need to put emphasis on Maya's love for food and Tatsuya nodded, understanding where his brother's concerns were coming from.

“Then…” Tatsuya took another bite from his steak, consuming about three-fourths of the meal. “Why not just bring her some of your cooking?” 

“What do you mean?” Katsuya asked, surprised by the suggestion. 

“If you want something she's never had then you can just make her one of your cakes or something.”

“That's true….” Katsuya rubbed his chin, already crafting a recipe at the top of his head. 

“Can I compete with a professional's baking though….” Katsuya sighed to himself.

“Didn't you wanna be a patissier?” Tatsuya said as he took his last bite of his steak. “Are you telling me you had that dream while being such a wimp? After feeding me hundreds of cakes against my will?”

“... Okay,” Katsuya smiled. “I suppose I do want to share that side of me with Amano-kun.”

Tatsuya dropped his fork on his empty plate and whispered a “thank you for the food” under his breath. He stood up and headed for the door. 

“I gotta say I didn't expect to have this conversation with you,” said Tatsuya, looking  back at his brother. “I'll ask Jun if he has other ideas.” 

Tatsuya left the room but not before he could hear his brother reply with a “thanks”. 

___

“Katsuya-san, good evening!” Jun greeted Katsuya as he entered the living room. Behind him stood Tatsuya who had two helmets under both of his arms.

Katsuya looked up from his laptop and smiled. “Jun-kun, how have you been?”

Jun deftly removed his shoes and sat on the sofa opposite of Katsuya. Tatsuya left the room to leave his and Jun’s belongings in his room. 

“I'm okay. I heard from Tatsuya that you and Maya-nee are going on your first date soon?” Jun said excitedly. Jun doesn't typically get this excited but seeing Katsuya fretting about making Maya happy made him feel like he had some sort of solidarity with Katsuya. Outside of Katsuya being his boyfriend's brother, of course. 

“Yeah, yes….” Katsuya responded, surprised by Jun’s enthusiasm. “I've been asking Tatsuya for advice but I haven't gotten a full idea on what to do yet.”

“That's alright.” Jun smiled. “Planning the date is part of the fun of it.”

Before Katsuya could continue their exchange, Tatsuya entered the room again and patted Jun on the head to grab his attention. 

“Jun, what do you want to drink?” Tatsuya asked, slightly ruffling Jun’s hair. 

“Hm....” Jun closed his eyes in thought. “Peach tea please!”

Tatsuya nodded and walked off to check the options they had in the refrigerator. Of course there was water; Oolong tea; Pocari Sweat that Katsuya stores in case someone gets sick; milk but it's mostly for Katsuya’s baking; apple juice; and his mom’s aloe vera juice. No peach tea. 

“Jun, I don't think we have Peach tea.” Tatsuya sighed, slightly disappointed at how unprepared he was to accommodate Jun's tastes. 

“Oh, that's fine. I'm good with just water then.”�� Jun replied, noticing the change in Tatsuya’s mood. 

“No, no.” Tatsuya shook his head. “I'll go out and buy some right now.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Mhmm. I'll take the bike so it'll be quick.” As he was saying this, Tatsuya grabbed his keys from the table. 

“Okay, thanks Tacchi! Stay safe, it's dark out.” 

Katsuya flinched at the use of his brother’s childhood nickname but Tatsuya nodded and went up the stairs to get his helmet again. Jun did nothing and simply smiled at Katsuya while staring at him. Katsuya couldn't help but feel self-conscious about Jun’s gaze so he tried to strike up a conversation. 

“You came straight from school, right?” Katsuya said sheepishly. 

“Yes. Tatsuya picked me up.” Jun said blankly and went back to staring at Katsuya. It was silent between them so you could clearly hear Tatsuya yelling “where did I put my wallet?!” from his room, along with the rustling of his items. 

“Are your parents okay with this?” Katsuya asked. 

“Yes. They know Tatsuya and you're here so it's okay.” Jun replied. 

…..

…......

….........

Once again the conversation died and it killed Katsuya inside. What happened to the enthusiasm Jun showed earlier?! Why did he kill the conversation immediately?

“I found my wallet, I'm leaving now!” Tatsuya yelled out from the front door and slammed it shut. Shortly, the sound of his motorcycle driving off could be heard at a distance. 

“Okay, we have time to talk without Tatsuya so you can be honest with me, Katsuya-san.” Jun’s enthusiasm returned.

“Hm? What do you mean?” Katsuya asked, unsure about Jun’s sudden change in demeanor. 

“I knew Tatsuya would go out to buy some tea for me so I picked one that's hard to find.” Jun smiled widely. “The stores near here are out of stock.”

Katsuya wasn't sure on how to feel about Jun’s scheming but he could see where the boy was coming from. His brother did seem a bit avoidant when it came to discussing his experiences on romance so Jun was right to buy them time to discuss. 

“Tatsuya's shy about these things so it'll be a bit hard to discuss your date in front of him,” said Jun as if he had read Katsuya’s thoughts. 

“Wow Jun-kun, you really thought about this.” Katsuya nodded his head in amazement. He couldn't help but admire Jun’s foresight on the whole matter. 

“Of course! This is a very important day for you and Maya-nee which is also why I brought someone else who can help.” Jun exclaimed as he stood up from his seat. 

Katsuya tilted his head to the side, wondering who this surprise guest could be. 

Jun knocked on the front door and shouted, “Okay! You can come in now!”

“Is the stage ready!” A deep voice yelled from the other side. 

Jun rolled his eyes and turned to Katsuya. “Sorry Katsuya-san, this will be quick.” 

Jun turned off the lights and pulled out a flashlight.

“It's ready now!”

Suddenly, the door busted open and there stood a tall figure, his right hand draped over his face, his left arm hugging his body, and his left foot was on a tiptoe. Jun pointed the beam of light at the door and revealed that it was none other than Eikichi “Michel” Mishina from Gas Chamber in their presence. The surprise guest swaggered his way to the living room, with a beat on his step, and his chest puffed out. Of course, Jun’s flashlight followed his every move. 

“The Great Michel is here to save the day,” Eikichi pulled out a blue rose from his breast pocket and posed in front of an extremely lost and confused Katsuya. 

Jun clapped his hands and Eikichi returned the flower prop to his best friend. Katsuya and Eikichi have met before, once or twice. Maybe even three times if you count Katsuya breaking up fights Kasugayama High students started in the streets. Okay, maybe three is a bit too humble. Probably about five times. Still, Eikichi didn't seem to be fazed by this fact and he turned the lights back on by his own will.

“Since Michel is seeing a woman I thought it would be good to have his opinion too.” Jun explained, seeing Katsuya’s blank expression. 

“Leave it to me. The ladies always scream when they see me in the flesh,” Eikichi winked. 

Katsuya was stunned beyond belief. He always saw Jun as a proper, shy, and soft-spoken boy; the complete opposite of his brother. He figured that Jun was an honor student who hung out with grade-conscious individuals and listened to classical music. He didn’t expect the former Head Boss of Kasugayama High to be his friend and for Jun to go along with Eikichi’s antics.

He pinched the skin in between his eyebrows and sighed out loud, “I can't believe I'm asking high school students about my love affairs... Is this appropriate?”

“It'll be fine, Katsuya-san! Michel is a good guy and he always helps people out.” Jun vouched for his best friend. 

“That's right. Come on, Katsubro. What do you have planned out so far?” Eikichi plopped himself next to Jun on the couch opposite of Katsuya’s. 

“I'll bake her a cake,” Katsuya replied, ignoring the fact that Eikichi just called him ‘Katsubro’. 

“I heard from Tacchi that you make really good cakes.” Jun nodded seriously. “I think that's a great idea.”

“He really thinks so?” Katsuya asked. “He usually complains when I bake….”

“Really? The only complaint I got was the amount of cakes….”

“That sounds like a good plan. Ladies do like it when men are good in the kitchen.” Eikichi gave Katsuya a thumbs up. “What do you want to make her feel on this date anyway?” 

“I want to surprise her. I want her to have a memorable date.” Katsuya answered firmly.

“Memorable, huh….” Eikichi muttered, closing his eyes to think.

“That’s pretty hard to narrow down, Katsuya-san…” Jun rested his head on his hand. “I remember all of my dates with Tatsuya.” 

“Well, I especially want her to see me in a different light. Maybe to see me a bit more as someone cooler….” Katsuya blushed at his own words. He couldn’t believe he still had such childish desires.

“I got it.” Eikichi lightly tapped his palm with a closed fist at the thought of this idea. “The best way for men to show their cooler side is to have a gap between their personality and their image.”

Jun and Katsuya didn’t really follow Eikichi’s train of thought. They both looked at Eikichi with expectant eyes, waiting for him to elaborate further. At that moment, Katsuya felt like maybe Eikichi does know what he’s talking about. 

“I mean… Okay, so this comes from experience.” Eikichi put a disclaimer and also a small bit of his credential to talk about this topic. “But, as you can see, I am a very handsome, cool, man of mystery.”

“Uhuh.” Jun nodded. Katsuya didn’t react to Eikichi’s words.

“Miyabi tells me that she likes it when I tell her about my troubles because you don’t really see my sensitive side from how I look.” Eikichi continued. “Men look the coolest when they show a side of them that you wouldn’t typically see. 

“I mean, I don’t know, I don’t really look at guys that way. What do you think, Jun?” Eikichi pointed at Jun who was nodding along to Eikichi’s words the whole time.

“Hmm…. I suppose the memories that have impacted me the most are of that nature. One of my favorite things about Tacchi is that he brings me new flowers to put in my breast pocket.” Jun took out the Lily of Incas from his pocket and showed it to the group. “He puts so much thought in the meanings too, this one means that there’s such a strong connection between two people that it can’t be put into human language.”

“Woah, I definitely didn’t expect that from Tatsuya. So, that’s why you’ve been bringing different flowers?” Eikichi unconsciously raised his voice at the realization.

“Yeah,” Jun giggled to himself. “Can you imagine him going to the florist’s alone?”

“Should I bring flowers to Amano-kun then?” Katsuya cut the conversation.

“That’s a good idea, I’m sure she’ll be happy!” Jun cheered.

“It is a good idea but, the thing is Katsubro, I think that’s not surprising for you.” Eikichi interjected. “You have this impression of being serious and traditional, y’know? Flowers aren’t really the most surprising things to bring on a date.”

Katsuya saw where Eikichi was coming from. To be fair, he was planning to bring Maya a bouquet of flowers even before their conversation. Isn’t it something a gentleman should naturally do?

“We can have a different approach.” Jun spoke up. “What about changing the way you call her?”

“Oooh, that’s pretty forward. I like that,” Eikichi chuckled heartily. “Why are you still calling her ‘Amano-kun’ anyway? It sounds so…. old.”

Katsuya swallowed the lump in his throat at Eikichi’s words. Has Maya been seeing him as old this whole time?! He didn’t want to change the way he addressed her because it seemed disrespectful. But if it made Katsuya seem old then, that’s just unacceptable.

“Yes! Why don’t you try calling her Maya?” Jun suggested with a huge smile on his face.

Katsuya tried to say her name. 

Maya. 

Two syllables. Two vowels. Two consonants. 

Maya. 

It’s so simple but how come everytime Katsuya tried to blurt out her name, he felt a heat rushing up his face?

“I, I don’t think I can do it that suddenly.” Katsuya said with bated breath.

“What? Dude, if you can’t say it now how will you say it to her face?” Eikichi voiced out seriously.

Katsuya had no response to that.

“I know! Let’s practice!” Jun stood up and got closer to Katsuya. 

“Yeah!” Eikichi followed behind Jun. “Let’s get into character, let’s change up your look so it’s even more surprising!”

Before Katsuya could protest, the two Kasugayama boys had pulled him out of his seat. Eikichi pulled out a bag and brought out several outfits that Katsuya could only wear in his nightmares. He tried to refuse them but the combined power of Eikichi’s physical strength and height added to Jun’s sweet disposition and his polite insistence was just hard to fight against. Katsuya didn’t really expect the destructive power these two best friends brought to the table but now that he’s subject to it, he wished he was at least a bit more mentally prepared. 

A few minutes had passed and Tatsuya returned from the store with a 1-liter bottle of Peach Tea on hand. Before he could open the door he could hear loud noises from inside but he couldn’t make out the words they were saying. 

“I’m back. Sorry, I took a while.” Tatsuya placed the plastic bag on the console table at the entryway. “But I got the brand that you liked, Jun.”

“Come on! Just say it, you’re already armored up!” Eikichi encouraged Katsuya.

“You can start with a ‘Maya-san’ if her first name is too intimidating. Anything to make you feel more comfortable,” Jun suggested, trying to ease Katsuya’s nerves.

“I think the first issue is the clothes, Jun-kun,” Katsuya whimpered.

Tatsuya had just entered his home but the first thing he saw was his brother’s face painted in clown white face paint; he had a heavy smokey eye; the thinnest eyebrows painted on a person; a bold blue lip; a graphic tee with the words "Fuck the Police" printed in the chiller font; a torn up denim vest; ripped skinny jeans; and 6 inch platform boots. Katsuya could barely stand. 

All that to say, they’ve cursed his brother. His boyfriend and one of his closest friends. The two didn’t even seem to be aware of their crimes; they were happily cheering for him and pressuring him into saying something.

Tatsuya briskly walked up to the two best friends and pulled them by the collar. The two immediately went silent and looked at Tatsuya with wide-set eyes. They honestly forgot about the possibility of him returning. Katsuya could’ve sworn that he saw a halo above his little brother’s head at that moment. He knew his brother was always a good boy but at that moment? Literal saint.

“Jun, I asked you for help with my brother’s date,” Tatsuya said in a terrifyingly soft tone. “You said Eikichi would be able to give good advice so we brought him here too. I didn’t want to but since you said he would be great, I believed in you.”

“I did give good advice!” Eikichi argued.

“Okay, so tell me why you made my brother look like a cursed clown.” Tatsuya snarked.

“Hey!” Eikichi lightly hit Tatsuya on his arm.

“We just gave him some of Eikichi’s clothes… To wear on the date….” Jun tried to reason.

Tatsuya rubbed his temples, picked up Katsuya’s former clothes from the coffee table, and tossed it in Katsuya's direction. He bobbed his head to gesture for Katsuya to go and change his outfit. 

“Let’s take it seriously this time and not get carried away, okay?” Tatsuya directed with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

“We did take it seriously! What do you mean-” Eikichi declared but immediately stopped on his tracks after seeing Tatsuya’s sharp glare.

“Sorry, Tacchi. I guess we got too excited.” Jun pulled on Tatsuya’s sleeve.

Tatsuya sighed and sat down on the closest couch. He knew if those two got together, it would only result in nothing but chaos. He silently apologized to his brother for not following his intuition and exposing him to the raw power of the Kasugayama students.