#i can't exactly blame people but i still hate when people just treat the entire borderlands series like it's always been annoying

[300iqprower]

Every time I revisit Borderlands 1 I am reminded of what we lost to "irony"

God i miss the original Tannis and Moxxie

[nikethestatue]

SJM has had multiple opportunities to start setting up Elain. Instead, she kept her away from the crossover entirely. She could've hinted that Elain Saw Bryce coming. She could've been there when Bryce landed. She could've been present, even in mentions, if not in scenes, in HOFAS. Nothing. Bupkas. So whatever. SJM and BB have themselves to blame if the book bombs.

Honestly yeah. This is so true because I remember very well how Nesta was made to be prominent even at the cost of the actual protagonist in acowar. Like feyre was just a camera watching what nesta was doing by the end and then acofas very clearly set her up as the next mc despite all the hate for her and it worked out in the end didn't it? Despite all the Nesta hate people were still prepared that she'll be the next prominent character and they've accepted that now. Meanwhile with Elain she's so.... idk strange about her. The September interview a fan asked about elain and the way SJM said her name it felt as if it pained her to say it. Like the constant sidelining of her feels very intentional and atp stupid. I get it with Elain there's the thing of ships but nobody's asking to confirm the ship just at least treat Elain like a character the way she treated everyone else? Once she's announced as the MC antis will do too much and it'll be nobody but SJM's own fault.

Yeah, that's exactly my point.

She has been so stupidly secretive or something about Elain that I dont know what to make of it.

Like if she doesnt want to write a book about her, and Elain doesn't 'speak' to her, then that's fine. It's her right as a writer not to write something she isn't feeling. But I wish she'd just say it, and we can all move on.

If we find out that the next book isn't Elain's then I'll happily GTFO of the fandom and go on my merry way. But to this moment, I dont get why she can't just fucking SAY IT and be done with it. Like she is acting as if Elain is the greatest secret in the history of secrets, and it's just stupid, because lately, SJM hasnt been living up to anything that she hypes up. So maybe a more measured approach would be better?

[eerna]

I think the big problem witht the fan service in TPT was that it was to throw in your face.Fan service is good when you fell natural but simultaneously you could tell that is fan service.I rolled my eyes at taryn divine punishment it felt like she gave the fans what they wanted since qon(the whole taryn didnt got a punishment was always funny to me they were acting like having locke as a husband wasnt one)

I understand why HB tried to please as much people she could with it since from what i saw even people who enjoyed her other faerie books weren't big fans of TSH.I agree with J and C don't make good mcs anymore thei arcs endet and most of their problems were solved in a good note.

TPT tried to be a lot of things at once:

1.Fan service

2.the conclusion of the story

3.a bridge for her undersea book

4.Romantasy( marketed like this)

And fails at being a good structured story.(for a book marketed like a romantasy the romance was so little and rushed at the end)

From what i saw a lot of people started hating wren after TPT wich i understand in a measure since she was so little and most of her scene were not in a favorable light.(shes still my fav Tsh character and i love her but her arc was practically non-existent)

I enjoyed oak a lot maybe bc im a sucker for his type of character but i think it could have been done more with his character.

I don't know how a undersea book in jurdan pov will be but i dont think it would be a good one since what they will narate especially in the undersea!

Yeah, you laid it out very well. I am NOT above fanservice. I friggin love the stuff. Case in point: the way I was SO INSANELY HYPED for TPT because they promoted it with Madoc household content which are words to my heart. But the issue is when the fanservice overshadows everything else. Case in point: Wren becoming a side character in her own duology so that Oak's main storyline can happen with Jude. I legit can't blame anyone who hates her after TPT because oh my god her writing was SO BAD in that second book. You can't just have your character do the vilest cruelest thing in the world to her love interest and then remove her from page and later say that she was just manipulated and blackmailed into being mean and is ready for love now. Imagine if the everapple scene happened and then Balekin convinced Cardan to give him an oath of allegiance that kept Cardan on Madoc's side for the rest of the plot except for romance scenes and then in the end he and Jude still got together. BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT HAPPENED TO WREN. Well not exactly because she had a POV book first BUT YOU GET WHAT I MEAN.

Even the Oak-Jude storyline was not all it could have been. HB tried to give them a similar dynamic that Madoc and Jude had, where Oak isn't sure if Jude truly loves him and if she would sacrifice him if she suspected he worked against her. But there is no real tension because we KNOW Jude would never do that because like. That's the entire point of TFotA. I think that Oak slowly growing to resent his family was a fantastic concept, but the book barely gave it any screentime before it was solved. It's like HB didn't want to do anything too uncomfortable because this time around she would have to make Jude and Cardan his problematic parental figures, and that goes against every single rule of fanservice. So we get the worst of both worlds: Oak is a messed up kid doing very self destructive things that Jude is responsible for, but we can't explore them or treat them as very bad because that would make Jude look bad, and who wants to read a book about their fave girlboss accidentally ruining her baby brother's life? (Me I do oh my god I was looking forward to it so much I am still heartbroken)

There's still hope that the Undersea book won't be Jurdan POV, and I am manifesting it so much, because you're so right I have 0 confidence that I would like it.

(Marrying Locke was all the punishment Taryn needed fr. Rest in pepperoni loser)

[opinated-user]

first of all, LO, you literally described yourself on the first parragraph. you don't have any respect for any culture, as demostrated for how you treat your "native heritage", but especially none for non western ones. neither the culture or the people for that matter. everytime you have a chance to consider cultural differences or appreciate them, you rolled them into the dirt and claim they don't matter because your own cultural interpretation should be enough. you were the one who in a stream sounded positively giddy at the idea of the USA destroying Japan so throughfully that now there's no real difference between the culture, which means celebrating the total colonization of Japan. that's one of the more openly hateful and disgusting things i have ever heard anyone say about another country, and i'm not even counting the times you refer to the entire country as being filled with pedophiles. second of all... LO, when have you ever looked into any of this? when? because what i have seen, Japanese have a crisis with overworking and people being taken to their absolute limits because of work... since the 90s at least. by saying that it's just capitalism then you ignore the very real history of how the economy of Japan was affected since the first bubble exploded. if it was just "late stage capitalism", then every creative person in the west too would be sleeping on the studios to keep working first hour in the morning and until they literally fell to sleep on the studios. it happens in the west, the reason why people protest for the bad treatment of animators and especial effects people, but it's not nearly as common as it happens in japan. read the accounts of managakas who burned out, were close to it or for some miracle withstand work hours that we can't even imagine here in the west and then tell me it's the same. it's not. in fact, by claiming that there's no cultural factors and it's all some big and vague "late stage capitalism", you're erasing how serious the issue is. you're erasing the culture entirely out of the question and making it about some universal form of capitalism, as if capitalism itself affected all countries and cultures exactly the same around the globe when it very much doesn't do that. how can you say that and pretend like you're not the racist one? third... no, actually, anime wasn't censoring anything. western companies who bought that anime for cheap and thus gave it the bare minimum in term of care censored stuff. Sailor Moon had accidental incest lesbian cousins very obviously in love because of the censorship... something i imagine you were actually pretty okay with. if only they were sisters, then you'd have loved it a lot more. the people who made those animes had nothing to do with that decision, they had no control over how those companies worked. Ghost Stories is an example of a dub company having so much liberty to do whatever they wanted that they completely reinvented the story and characters into something completely different. again, without anyone involved with the original anime having any power to do anything about it or even knowing it was happening. LO keeps having this idea that Japan is making any sort of effort to appeals to westeners and they do not. they make anime for themselves, first and foremost. rather colonialistic mindset to have. so, indeed, those animes were westernized... to avoid queer themes. and it was all done by westeners. once again, this is LO riding the corporate train to avoid blaming those poor defenseless companies and still making it about how the people in Japan are the ones always in the wrong, because she's a racist ignorant white person.

[arson-jellyfish69]

How do you think "Eve" feels towards Cain? Especially after the murder? Also how do you think she feels towards him being contained and an SCP? And you know what how do you think she feels towards Abel too? I'm very curious now

Ok, preparing angst machine

After the murder:

Abel:

For the few days that Abel was dead, she could not stop crying. He may have been a grown man at the time but to her he was still her baby boy. When he was revived she couldn't believe her eyes, but the experience made him into an entirely different person, as if he was now just a shell of his former self. Hawwah basically watched her two sons die and be replaced by entirely different people and that deeply hurt her.

Cain:

She was absolutely distraught, she cared deeply about all of her sons and the fact that one of them did that to the other just completely killed her. She didn't hate Cain, but she didn't exactly love him anymore. After Abel was revived he refused to bring it up with anyone, even her. He became cold and distant to everyone,Cain was the person he trusted the most and his betrayal was the main reason Abel can simply just not trust people whatsoever.

After containment/foundation:

Abel:

Oh boy. Watching her son be brutalized like that every time he was revived, especially after all that he has already been through just killed her in a way that nothing else ever did. She didn't know the full extent of how he'd suffered after he left to fight the Daeva, but she knew that Cain's betrayal alone wouldn't have done this to him. She understands that it's for the better of humans that he stay contained, but she still can't help but feel for her son.

I personally follow the 'incident zero' canon, where Abel didn't cause the Omega-7 disaster, but he was blamed for it because the rest of the O5 didn't want to admit that their recklessness almost killed reality as a whole. Her knowing damn well that he wasn't responsible for that disaster but being blamed and punished for it anyway just hurt so, so damn bad. She was almost kicked out of the council for arguing that he shouldn't suffer for their mistake.

To Abel, having gone so far to save the foundation and his friends only for them to die anyway and for him to get blamed for it just screwed up his trust issues so much worse than Cain's betrayal ever could have

Cain:

She was somewhat happy to know that Cain had somewhat grown and recovered from his trauma, although she could tell what he did still hurt him even if it may not have been entirely his fault.

After the omega 7 incident, Cain was pretty much backed up into a corner and told that if he tried to tell anyone about Abel not actually being responsible for the Omega-7 thing he would get treated far worse than Abel is. He originally didn't listen and tried to discuss it with iris (who was amnestisized and had fake memories implanted after she saw the whole ordeal through a photograph and made to believe that Abel had in fact killed everyone and that she had seen all her friends get killed in real time) and was put in the highest risk class for months, he couldn't be harmed physically so the foundation fucked him up mentally so much that even after he was out he refused to talk to any foundation personel unless it was needed for several months. Hawwah wasn't told about this and the only reason he got released was because she found out.

[ultramarine-spirit]

Hello Mari, I'm not here to ask about something about wmmap but rather about another issue that has been bothering me in particular...

It's about female characters in abusive relationships.

So, I guess you already know that there are quite a few manhwas where the female lead ends up in a relationship with a very abusive male character and everyone hates him for that, right? Well that's not exactly my problem, no one likes to read couples that romanticize abuse, I understand why people hate it, I do it too, especially the male lead. My problem comes with the hatred of the female lead.

Okay, hate the relationship, I hate the guy for being a jerk but I don't like that they hate the female leads for staying with them. Many of these protagonists always have stories where they suffered abuse as children because the father hated them or the family ignored them, etc. At least to me it makes sense that a person who grew up this way can't fully distinguish what is healthy love from one that is not. If all you knew in your life was abuse, then why would you view abuse from your partner negatively?

And with this I do not intend to justify the couple, that it is okay for them to be together and that they should be together, of course not. I am completely against that.

My point is to stop hating fl for choosing the abusive ml!! I feel like that is like blaming the victim, if in a relationship the man is the abusive one and she still decides to stay with him it is still not his fault! Instead of hating the fl by calling it "stupid" or "annoying" they should try to understand the protagonist and hate the author for creating something like that.

I know that many of these stories are not for the purpose of showing an abusive relationship but rather they really sell it as if it were the best love story of all, but if we are able to use our criteria to know that the relationship is wrong then we should be able to understand that it is not the fl's fault for continuing to love her abuser.

I have thought about this for a long time but it resurfaced in me when this new webtoon came out called Beg or better yet, Cry. I have seen many criticize and hate the protagonist, Layla, for staying with Matthias but the girl suffered a lot of abuse, it is not her fault for not knowing what a healthy relationship is, and the guy did everything possible to abuse her.

I come to you because you really are the most reasonable in the entire manhwa community that I have found, those on Twitter are a bit weird (and in fact i saw these types of comments from them) I want to know if I am really the only one who thinks like this and I am overthinking it or not?

(Sorry for the late reply, I've been busy!)

I'm probably going to say something that will get some people mad, but manhwa readers aren't particularly progressive/feminist. Yes, even if most readers are young women and even if they claim to be feminists. So you have situations like the one you just described (I haven't read/seen the manhwa you are specifically referencing, but I definitely believe people would hate a FL based on those reasons), people hating on a FL for not choosing the ML they like, etc. I remember some people were even angry at Athy when she said she wasn't thinking about marriage yet (she is 15-6), because she didn't choose Ijekiel, and also because she didn't kiss Lucas. This misogynistic behavior is also pretty easy to spot just by paying attention to how readers treat any female character that's not the FL (I swear, as soon as a female character is introduced you'll have people commenting "She better not be a bitch" or something along those lines). Stanning the FL means nothing if you think she is the only good female character, or if the only female characters you like are the ones that are subservient to her.

But to be fair, otome isekai manhwa itself is not a particularly progressive genre either, so maybe it makes sense that it attracts readers like that. Of course, there are exceptions, but in general, the most a manhwa will do is portray the FL as a swallow caricature of a "girlboss". MLs are allowed to have plenty of flaws, but the moment a FL doesn't follow that (honestly, very boring) archetype, has ugly flaws, or dares to go against the ML's wishes, a lot of fans will hate her.

My theory is that the manhwa fandom has the worst of both the kpop and anime fandoms, so that's why this happens.

[egg-emperor]

You have an entire life behind the screen and a lifetime of experiences nobody else has been through exactly or understands--People have no right to judge you based on internet posts and fictional writings you make. I'm sorry you've been treated so unfairly. I've been through a similar experience of being kicked out of an entire community, but I have new friends today. Keep in mind there are still thousands of people you haven't met yet--I hope you can find supportive people one day.

YES thank you for saying it, I've been really upset with how I've been dehumanized and seen as unworthy of respect or consideration for not thinking or feeling the same ways they do, and their refusal to hear me out and even begin to see and understand my perspective at all. Nobody has been through my exact personal experiences to understand my desires, thoughts, and intentions behind what I do like I do and can't possibly do so in what I create, yet they try to decide it for me and smear my name based off it.

It's painful that people intentionally hurt me because they merely claim I did the same, without caring if it's true or not. And they don't have remorse because they think they're the moral right and accuse me of horrible things because they're not into my posts and writings. Even after apologizing for my mistakes and explaining my reasons, it's been dismissed, I've even been blamed for my experiences, and treated like I'm just as bad as them and that hit a nerve in an already sensitive subject that's impacted me terribly.

I'm sorry that you've experienced similar but I'm glad you found more. It really sucks when so many people suddenly turn against you and kick you out and want to forget you exist. It hurts everyday that I was treated this way then abandoned and left to deal with a new pain added to something I've already been carrying for a long time and they don't consider or care how serious and painful it is for me for that, like I'm not worth the respect or understanding after everything I've been through. I'm really thankful for all of you that have been giving me that chance.

Thank you so much, I'll try to keep remembering and have hope. It's easy to feel like everyone hates or rejects me when those that do are very loud but I need to remember not everyone does and appreciate those I still have and those that are to come. I really hope I can find more friends and hopefully more people will discover my stuff and enjoy it, I need to tell myself it's not as impossible and hopeless as it feels when my mind gets negative. And I need to focus on and appreciate those I still have now. This helps a lot, I really appreciate it 💜

[runawaycarouselhorse]

[Fruits Basket: Prelude mini-review, spoilers, CW for attempted suicide, organized crime, parental neglect, age gap, and whatever else I can't remember right now.]

I finally saw the Fruits Basket: Prelude movie! The first half hour is, effectively, mostly a recap, but I liked getting perspective from Kyo's perspective and most reassuringly, him finally understanding the "I won't forgive you..." was about the "a man's promise" to protect Tohru. ;___;

I did not expect young Kyouko's life to be like this. This was a shock... her family life was also such garbage, yikes...

(Call the police on what, a girl sleeping in the streets?!)

GOD, I hate parents who are obsessed with their image and what will people say, your child is suffering, why is this what you care about? (Ironically, she really seemed to care more about Kyouko than her husband did--her husband's like fine, whatever at this random guy proposing in front of him and she's just like pleading, but cannot change things.)

I ship a lot of age gap ships, but usually only ones in historical or fantasy settings, where it's normal, if it's in a modern, realistic setting like this one... it feels a little too close to reality and man, I was fine with Kureno and Arisa because the difference was small and Kureno had basically the life experience of a middle schooler before Akito divorced him from reality to stay by her side reassuring her, but Katsuya and Kyouko... D:;;;;

Katsuya was pushy, Katsuya's weird reaching over the table from behind (I would've either frozen in fear or kicked behind me like a mule, unsure which--damn, that was creepy), making big ol' life decisions on his own, I found his behaviour predatory and his personality... very strange!

I never expected this. Katsuya's whole personality was a surprise. The extremely polite speech coupled with his very, very unorthodox and does-whatever-he-wants-on-a-whim personality was so incredibly bizarre. He DOES make an interesting character, fascinating, not entirely likeable, but the relationship feels such a weird fit for Fruits Basket (...... then again, exhibit C: Akito and Shigure.)

They did make a lovely family together, though, and the scene where Kyouko's in tears and horrified about being pregnant because she doesn't think she has the capacity to raise another human being, because her life was so messed-up was so sad and poignant.

I don't hate Katsuya, but the ship had such a weird start, I do like that he saved her, but the ship's just not my cup of tea, but it's an important part of the story and Kyouko's story too, and Katsuya's character actually was fascinating and unique.

His comforting her with the fact that she realizes it's another human being, she'll be alright. Remember what makes you happy and what makes you sad. Raise them while remembering that. Basically, treat them as you'd want to be treated as a human being, and if you lose control, apologize, and embrace them again. That was powerful.

Kyouko realizing how she must've hurt her mother with her words was also a good moment (... even if Kyouko's parents are objectively bad people, her mother still cared... a bit...)

It reminds me of the moment where Kyo heard his father blaming him and had that realization that this was probably exactly what he used to do to his wife and suddenly, understood it was his father who drove her to suicide with all his blaming of her.

Tohru was such a cute baby. Such a cute, quiet child. ;_; Very relatable and endearing and ah... even when she was effectively left to starve, she didn't complain, she just kept waiting for her mother to notice her. I understand why she felt, back then, that she hated her father and he would take her away.

I already hated Katsuya's family so much for the rumours about Tohru, but hearing the stuff they said about Kyouko when Katsuya died too… wow, you gossip-mongers won't rest even during a funeral. Push a woman to suicide with your constant rumours and blame.

That scene where Kyouko's saved from her suicide attempt by hearing another random child cry "mommy!" was so, so, so poignant and powerful and beautiful.

Kyouko and Tohru's love for each other remains absolutely precious and Tohru imitating Katsuya's speech... it's interesting we don't really hear Tohru speak at all before that, likely because this is from Kyouko's perspective and she can't remember the last time she spoke to her, because she's been swallowed up in the grief over losing Katsuya.... but Tohru's sad little attempt to keep her in her life by imitating her father stole her heart.

Little scenes I also enjoyed: Kyouko yelling at the ocean reminded me of Kyo challenging the ocean, PFFT.

There were some really great comedic moments, I LOVED Kyouko freaking out over Tohru's little nosebleed, that was such a realistic scene, the parent panicking and the child just being totally fine and smiling, even while bloody, reminds me of my own kid sibling... very funny.

Also loved the wedding dress scene, hilarious. No ceremony for you.

[v-anrouge]

Hi pookie 👋🏻

You know why I’m here don’t you ? 👀 (for the match me with someone-)

So, I think my love language are quality time and physical touch. If I have a partner I really want someone I can hug and kiss and all, as for quality time I don’t care what we do, we could be doing two different things as long as we’re in the same room I don’t care.

For the love language I search in someone I think physical touch and words of affirmation. I’m very insecure and I need someone that will assure me they love me and that they will never leave, as for physical touch it’s just because I do that too and don’t want to bother so having someone with that too is ++

Hobbies for them I really don’t care, maybe something not dangerous or else I’ll be freaking out every time they do their things but other than that I don’t care at all. For my hobbies I really like writing, reading and being on my phone doing anything (+ I can play the guitar lol).

For personality I don’t want someone cold, I will not be able to stay with them. Maybe not someone too overly excited too because my social battery runs out quickly even with people I love a lot lot lot. So yeah someone calm maybe and with some energy but not too much is mwah, perfect for me.

That’s all I think ? (I really sent you everything lol sorry for the long rant-)

i think u should date me haha just kidding or am i (/j)

long ass post under the cut also sorry for any grammar/spelling mistakes lol

STARTING OFF STRONG WITH

ROOK i think it's very clear that rooks love language is physical touch and words of affirmation (those r just the main ones tbh he has all of them he just wants to express his love for u as much as possible) he will GLADLY reassure you of his undying love and affection towards you, he hates being away from you and when he is forced to do so you're always on his mind and he'll make sure you know that with the multiple calls and messages he leaves u and even letters 💀. since you love physical affection i hope you're ready because this man WILL hug you kiss you hold your hand at any time he's allowed to, he really doesn't care about what anyone says he's just a guy showing pure adoration towards the one he is an absolute fool over can you blame him???

rook's hobbies are quite dangerous and he knows how much you worry about him so he always make sure to let you know that he's safe, you trust his knowledge and skills but still you cant predict the future so you can't exactly just stop worrying, to make up for the anxiety he gave you he'll always return home with gifts, any treats you like and one day he even both you a giantic ass plushie and he'll sit with you and hold you telling you how much he absolutely adore you, not all of rook's hobbies are dangerous tho, he loves art, all types of art, rook also enjoys writing especially poems so he'll love to read all of your works if you let him (he'll find a way to read them either way unless it's something very very personal you don't feel comfortable sharing with anyone) he's literally your biggest fan, he could talk for hours about how much he loves your writing and if you let him he'll love to sit close to you and watch you writing he's unusually quiet because he's so focused and doesn't want to interrupt him, but in case you'd prefer to hear him talking then he'll gladly chat with you the entire time even give you tips if you ask him to do so. rook would love to read with you he loves to hold you and read to both of you he'll also appreciate it if you'd like to talk about the book after, also be ready for rook to sneak up on you and suddenly start reading a poem he wrote just for you he really enjoys doing that especially if u get spooked easily because he loves seeing you calm down when you realize it's him it warms his heart that you feel safe by his side. rook knows he can be too much sometimes so when you ask for a break to recharge your batteries he won't be sad at all!! he'll just kiss your hand or your cheek and ask you to tell him when you feel comfortable again, as extra as rook can be the only truly overwhelmed you like 4 or 5 times and it was in the start of your relationship (as friends or as lovers) because as you two got closer he understood your boundaries better so he can always notice when you're starting to get overwhelmed and immediately will stop the situation in a way that you will only notice after you're feeling better because he doesn't want you to feel guilty in any way

IN CONCLUSION: rook loves you so so so much and he WILL let you know, this man is every insecurity's nightmare because he will have no mercy as he absolutely destroys it he won't be satisfied until you start seeing what an amazing person you truly are he'll always do his best to make you happy and WILL be mad if anyone ever disrespects or make u sad

another person i think would be good for you is

AZUL i know u might think THAT CAPITALIST?!?!?!?? but hear me out azul is also quite insecure and having someone that understands what he goes through will help him so so much, he loves affection he feels so safe around you he just wants to make you happy and that he WILL do!!! it may not look like it but azul loves physical affection, surely he's very shy and will ask you to not do anything too extreme in public but in private??? oh boy he will hug u so so tight and while he's doing so his face is BURNING hot this man looks like he's about to faint his hands are shaking a bit too but u can feel his little smile that he's trying to hide by burying his face on your shoulder, azul tries to hide his excitement to take you on dates and spend time with you by luring u into contracts which is literally just him giving u gifts and getting to stay by your side as a "payment" yes the tweels bully him for it

im pretty sure it was said azul's hobbie is collecting coins or something and like he's so silly cuz he'll one day take your hand and proudly show you his collection he has such a adorable proud smile too please praise him tell him how cool it is and how you're amazed at how many different coins he has, azul would be very very interested in reading the things you write he tries to hide but everyone knows that if u post your works he's the first one reading them in a fake account that's definitely not suspicious at all, he always leaves u such cute reviews and u can always tell it's him but if u ask him he'll die of embarrassment so please don't

he'd also love to hear you playing guitar and he'll ask if you'd like to make a duet w him he'll stop at some point because he's absolutely flabbergasted by your skill make sure to tease him because he's cute when he blushes he's such a pathetic wet dog

azul is a calm man and whenever you feel overwhelmed he'll always immediately take you to his office which is a very calming and quiet atmosphere, if you'd like to be alone he trusts you enough to leave you there but if you'd like his company then he'll stay there quietly by your side as he does his thing, he's very happy you trust him enough to allow him to see such vulnerable sides of yourself and he wants to make sure he'll protect you, azul can also get overwhelmed due to work and in these moments he'll just quietly ask if you can hug him or let him lay his head in your lap, if you can read to him that'd be great too, soon he'll fall asleep with a smile on his lips and all his stress gone

IN CONCLUSION: azul would be an amazing lover for you, you two are a very cute couple it doesn't even look like you're both so silly for eachother for ppl that don't know u both well

another possibilities could be: silver, riddle, trey, jade & idia

[blackvahana]

It's just wild to me. Lev said I need to approach this as a god from now on, not in the usual way leading up to now of "you will need to" and "you should" but from this point on to do that and... That's sharing in his blood, that's sharing in his roles. We're equals in this place as he wants to be... I've come up to points that share this same description several times - the whole "it's time for you to be a god" but now it's so... Two of Cups. Sharing. Equality.

It's just wild because I'm sitting in his study and I'm not being kicked out, and it's sinking in the fact that he's given me access to his libraries, I've been with him at work several times, I've access to his... goddamn family home, I go visit his Wife wife sometimes and say hi and mess up the bed lmfao and - I'm still here making jokes about how my presence is just causing mess and just annoying people

It's hard to actually step back and understand that for thousands of years now I've been actively told and treated like and punished for messing up people's entire lives, all their hard work, all their minds. I'm abusive, I'm clumsy, I'm selfish, it hasn't been abstract. My need to withdraw from everyone has not been abstract. I keep being screamed at and torn apart mentally for what amounts now to existing near "bitch eating crackers" type people where I'm the fucking bitch eating crackers now terrified to eat because... It wasnt just random people hating me. I said before lull and I are related. I was supposedly a horrific force he was forced to be around and... I tried leaving. Everywhere I stepped I left footprints all over his freshly cleaned floors. Every time I tried to leave I slammed and damaged his doors. When I finally got away from him I was deserting him and neglectful. When I tried saying hold on, you're actually being a horrible person because I just caught you doing something fucked up I was blaming his brothers manipulation and grooming on him or I was fucking psychotic in the way I was literally delusional about it...

I've spent thousands and thousands and thousands of years navigating being around someone who forced me to be around them and then demanded I leave constantly with "proof" of all the reasons I needed to leave

I sit here avoiding everyone and refusing to make friends because I know I'm horrible to be around. I wonder why lmfao. I can't see a world in which I can see properly and have any welcome or worthwhile talents or strengths, Im convinced I don't know what reality is... It's one thing to be around an abuser for a lifetime, genuinely it's horrific, it's soul-crushing in the sense that the unincarnated soul will be scarred by it for the rest of their own life outside of incarnation life spans.... But man. I've been pursued and fucked with for.... so long now. On both sides lull is there. On one side he's grooming a child from birth to be an oracle for him, a weapon, on the other side he's abusing a family member's trust, chaining them to him to to be a weapon and source of power, a protector who can't ever leave and who doesn't have enough hatred for him to question who he's being ordered to protect and who he's being ordered to get rid of.

And none of this... is... a breakdown. This is lucidity. This is me looking out the window with Lev in his study, understanding that my god, it genuinely wasn't me. I'm free. Thousands and thousands and thousands of years especially when you take incarnations as their own years of constant nonstop stalking and manipulation by gods who study psychology and brains and consciousness who are cult leaders without an ounce of selflessness in their whole bodies... It wasn't me. I'm not the horrific bad guy. I don't need to constantly leave people's lives as the only preventative measure for abusing them. The reason I don't know what exactly I do is bad and how to stop doing it is because i wasn't doing anything.

I'm just sitting here with Lev and... I'm allowed in his study because who cares if I spill a tea or something on his notes, he won't have a several hour long breakdown in front of me over it, I won't have ruined his chance at being perfect, loved, wanted, and so on

[verynormalaboutkinnporsche]

E2 Scene 14 - Introducing the Minor Family

I'm going to treat this sequence as a unit, too. I hate when the spelling in the subtitles fights with the spelling in the credits (Kan vs Gun). Pete provides us with exposition about who's who and what's going on.

First sight of Vegas, who has a smile for Porsche (or was it Pete...?). The difference in the dress codes followed by the family branches is stark.

Out in the garden for a smoke break, Porsche finds a kid throwing rocks in the carp pond.

The ironic thing is that this is the first time Porsche has actually tried to do his job even a little. He's already gotten in trouble once with respect to the fish. If Porsche had been paying attention before, he would know who Macau is, but given his behavior to date, that might not have changed much. Macau ends up in the pond, bleeding, and now Porsche is really in trouble because he's gone running to his dad.

Gun is quick to blame Kinn for failing to teach his new bodyguard manners, and to insinuate that things are going downhill since Korn put him in charge. Watching those two is interesting because with their relative ages, the main/minor thing, and Kinn's not-exactly-real leadership position, the status situation is complicated. Kinn doesn't talk back. He is generally hard to read in family scenes. Acting choices: it would have been easy for him to stay entirely still during the brief moments he's in frame here, but he's moving his hands a little instead (briefly calling attention to the ring?).

Korn takes responsibility, but Porsche continues to do himself no favors by acting like these are in any way shape or form normal people. In reality they are people for whom lethal violence is always at the top of the option list; somebody pulls a gun.

Pitting two characters against each other to see what they do (like his fighting fish) is one of Korn's favorite things, but this? This is a problem. Korn wants to keep Porsche intact, but it would look really weird if he was to defend Porsche too strongly against one of his own family. Not like Korn can tell Gun, "You're too easy to manipulate, and I'm bored with making my kid's life hell, so I got a new guy to play with and btw remember Nampheung? Funny story there."

This is a look we've already seen once, a Take care of this glance at Kinn. (Never mind that Kinn never wanted to hire this loser to begin with, Ugh fine, Dad.)

"It's my fault I can't handle my people." Hard-working line of dialog. First there's the acceptance of blame for the situation, which defuses some of Gun's touchiness. This is coupled with a double claim on Porsche, both openly as "my people" and more subtly as someone for whom Kinn is responsible.

The only way to get Porsche to shut the fuck up and stop digging himself deeper is to make it physically impossible for him to talk. As we have seen, Kinn is someone who takes decisive (violent) action, and so Porsche gets choked out and Kinn very coolly goes back to the meeting.

This action serves a secondary purpose (this scene is very efficient): a reminder to Gun that he is not just dealing with Korn, who hates getting his hands dirty. Kinn is personally dangerous in a way Korn prefers not to be, or at least not to be too obviously. Gun looks aware that he's lost a round.

Porsche wakes up back in his room and is still reacting like a normal person; Pete has to explain to him that Kinn literally just saved his life.

This is what I think of as Porsche's Labyrinth moment. The main character spends the first chunk of the movie making everything harder for herself because she refuses to accept that the rules here are different than what she's used to. "Things here aren't always what they seem."

This is the moment where Porsche actually starts to think. This is also where Pete gives us another vital piece of intel: Kinn used to be a lot nicer.

What we learned:

The two branches of the family have a monthly meeting to discuss business

There's tension between the branches

Macau is a liar

Gun is pleased to have an angle of attack he can use on Kinn

Something happened to cause a change for the negative in Kinn's personality

[nientedal]

#Book gollum knew sam and frodo wouldnt leave each other. to the point where- when frodo is coaxing him out of the waterfall to get arrested #Gollum asks 'where's your mean friend who doesn't like me' which implies he understands it's really weird for frodo to be alone #he goes to great lengths to separate sam and frodo in shelob's cave. he has to physically pull sam away #what i'm saying is that gollum understood these two characters better than the filmmakers did. but anyway #Sorry this is the worst post on my blog but it genuinely bothers me that no one mentions that movie gollum is a different character #I've seen ppl say he was one of the most accurate #I would posit he is among the least accurate #The scene with the rabbits is exactly the opposite book to movie #Seriously you can't just throw in his vocal quirk and pretend everything else tracks #They cant keep getting awaaayyy with itttttt

"this is the worst post on my blog" NO IT IS NOT, SAY MORE RIGHT NOW, THIS IS FANTASTIC, YOU'RE SO RIGHT

I personally didn't have any, like...active beef with what they did with Gollum, not on the face of it. From a storytelling standpoint, I can mostly recognize what the filmmakers were doing with the changes they made, and I think the changes do work for what they were doing. But you are correct on all counts. Gollum WAS NOT the same character as he was in the books, like, AT ALL.

And I LOATHE the whole thing with the bread and the blaming Sam. That whole thing was really weird. First of all, Gollum is not someone who's going to do something as risky as trusting that a few snide remarks will be enough to turn one friend against another! He's not a fucking master manipulator, he's an ambush predator! He bides his time, he wait to strike! He drags Sam away in Shelob's maze of tunnels and figures that'll do the trick. And it very nearly does!

Secondly, as for Frodo...you pointed out that in the books, he hates Gollum and wants him dead; he is kind to Gollum because that is who he is as a person, while the movies invent this sort of quasi-love triangle dynamic that straight-up was not a thing in the books. I think the only reason it works for the movies is because movie!Frodo isn't really seeing Gollum as Gollum at all, or even as Sméagol. Frodo is seeing him as his own future self. Story-wise, this is a nice bit of angst and I think it is done pretty well, but unfortunately, it carries a clenching, selfish desperation to believe Sméagol can come back from this if only he's treated well, and that selfish desperation is what the Ring grabs onto in a critical moment and twists Frodo's mind so he sends Sam away.

I have no idea what the point of it was. I can only assume it's because they thought the people watching the films who haven't read the books would connect better with the change than they would with...the idea that Frodo would just...be kind?

(I guess it's a little hard to show via film that someone's simple core of kindness and morality is what's giving them the strength to outlast the Ring in its own country. But like. Come on.)

Anyway you're right and you should say it. Sméagol had value as a character to begin with. That was the whole point of him. He had worth. Broken-down, loathsome, corrupted entirely, his worth as a person was still fucking intact and Frodo saw that and THAT WAS THE POINT. WHY WOULD YOU CHANGE THAT.

(this isn't about characters who weren't included in the films in the first place)

[duran-duran-less-official]

I dunno man, I reckon Macavity gets a really bad rap, the true scapegoat of Andrew Lloyd Weber's Cats. Just listen to those lyrics.

Like, the only thing the other cats know for sure about him is that he's NOT at the scene of a crime. That doesn't sound particularly sinister to me. You can't fault someone for not being around when crimes are happening!

And they play it up all suspicious-like every time he's NOT apparently guilty of something, it's insane! Oooh, you can't even find his paw-prints in Scotland Yard's files! So, what, you're telling me he DOESN'T have a criminal record? Hasn't even been arrested for anything, ever? Sounds like a completely innocent cat who's done nothing wrong to me.

"He's broken every human law, he breaks the law of gravity!" That's entirely normal for a cat!

"You would know him if you saw him, for his eyes are sunken in. His brow is deeply lined with thought, his head is highly domed, his coat is dusty from neglect, his whiskers are uncombed." Okay, so you're telling me that if he DID show up at the scene of a crime, ever, in his life, you have an instantly recognisable mental picture of him that you can use to identify him, but you STILL can't place him at the scene of a crime? Like this guy isn't some sort of anonymous Guy Fawkes mask-wearing shadow, you know EXACTLY what he looks like. Basically what you're describing is a slob, perhaps, or a lout. And to be honest, I probably wouldn't find the time to groom myself properly if I was constantly being treated as a social pariah.

"You may meet him in a by-street, you may see him in the square, but when a crime's discovered, then Macavity's not there!" Ah okay, so you see plenty of him when there AREN'T crimes occurring? How did you come to the conclusion that this is the guilty party then?

So much of this damn song is just people listing hypothetical crimes that Macavity hasn't been seen doing! And then, and then, they go on to blame him for everyone else's crimes too! "And they say that all the cats whose wicked deeds are widely known... are nothing more than agents" Like, do you not know a smear campaign when you hear it?

Oh but he's been lurking around our Jellicle Ball! Have you considered that he probably wants to join in, since he's also a cat?

Oh but he cat-napped Old Deuteronomy! And what happened then? You say that all the cats called on a Stage-Magician cat who conjured Deuteronomy out of thin air? So everyone ended up blaming Macavity and praising this "Mr. Mistoffelees"? How very convenient. Let me ask you: how did he know where to conjure Deuteronomy from? I reckon we've all been hoodwinked. Macavity is just some socially awkward cat who everyone hates, and the REAL villain is Mr. Mistoffelees, the cat who has a history of cat-napping ("and not long ago, this phenomenal cat produced seven kittens right out of a hat!" - where did those kittens come from??), and even has an illegal monopoly on certain kinds of magic ("for performing surprising illusions, and creating eccentric confusions"), but he gets all the accolades because he's charismatic and makes flashy lights.

Macavity did nothing wrong.

[studiojeon]

bitterness in goodbye | jjk

this is part of my troubled outsiders series. sadly, you can't read this as a stand alone (meaning: feel free to check the previous parts ♡)

| summary | - You can’t help but feel a little sad when Jungkook doesn’t refrain from cuddling your arm after pleading to forgive him. You wish you could cuddle him instead, that he would lay his head on your chest as you play with his soft hair, but you recognize there are some things you just can’t have.

warnings: none (?) i mean chaeryeong insults jungkook which is an atrocity in itself but-

contents: we diving into the angst my friends. jungkook is an innocent, kind hearted soul, i promise. oc's got the feels (out oct. 1) for jk. idol!jungkook × student!reader.

author's note: I EDITTED THIS FROM MY PHONE DO YOU UNDERSTAND HOW FUCKING ANNOYING THAT IS? also, thank u for the amount of support i've been receiving lately, i appreciate everyone lots. feel free to ask away or suggest anything btw, i would love to write for any prompts you guys come up with. 💞💗💖💘💓💕

words: 1.57k

playlist: honey by halsey

Four weeks later, the receptionist of your apartment complex hands you over a cardboard box with the hoodie Jungkook and you had talked about that day on the Han River. Jungkook kept pestering you to please please please send him your address for confidential purposes, which you knew had to do with his determination to literally provide anything that catches your eye right away. You assumed it was a sensitive topic for the boy whether people had purposefully taken advantage of his money before, so you didn’t dare to say anything when the man asked you for your size literally two hours after he dropped you off, scared to either reject his solidare intentions or piss him off for bringing unwanted memories back. In  your defense, your personality type keeps oscillating between INFP and INFJ so it’s only natural that you take extra care to make sure those around you have as much peace of mind as possible in your presence. 

As pretty and comfortable the piece of soft clothing is, an important factor is missing, something that you can’t recreate buying two of the same size and color, and that is Jungkook's escence and how good it looks on him in comparison to anyone else in the world. Meaning, you didn’t like it as much as you thought initially would. And it absolutely did not have to do with the fact that your short stature made you look like a toddler who stole their dad’s jacket.

Still, in order to show Jungkook how much you appreciate his gift, you bring it to work the next day, and the rest of the days after that, with the excuse that with winter rolling around you needed something to keep you warm in the office. Jungkook doesn’t miss the opportunity to confirm your assumptions regarding your appearance whenever he barges into your office randomly throughout the week, arguing that ”you look so adorable” and doesn’t stop for two weeks more, until he gets used to seeing you wearing something you shared with him. Which doesn’t help ease your growing romantic feelings for him whatsoever.

Because yeah, you liked Jeon Jungkook, just like every human being with eyes and sexual desires, except, you didn’t just like him in a superficial way, and that’s where the problem with him resides. Though you are sure everyone has fallen in love with the endearing boy at some point - especially the excluded and invalidated women of society - you can’t help but place some blame on you for allowing yourself to be swooned so goddamn easily. Your mom had said to you at some point to be wary of the way some men would talk to you when you grew up, their intention usually being getting inside your pants, which has happened to you more times than you'd like to admit. And with the argument that she knew you better than anyone, she claimed you would comply right the second someone talked sweet to you; you despised the fact that was the case with Jungkook (and Jungkook only), although he had never shown any sexual innuendos. What your feelings could do to your relationship with Jungkook and your rather chill lifestyle scared you to death, shiver me timbers and all that shit, having romantic feelings for someone else is embarrassing, especially when your chance with them has been scratched out the second you laid eyes on them.

Jungkook sits on your couch, legs spread on your thighs as you two pretend to watch some series on netflix. “I don’t buy for a second the act you’re putting on right now.” he speaks randomly after staring at your deep-in-thought state for a few minutes and laughs when you snap at him for not letting you overthink in peace. “What’s going on?”

Truth is, you don’t fucking know. A few hours before he arrived at your place (you had to pick him up at the dorm and sneak the both of you through the subterranean parking lot, because god forbid someone saw Jungkook arriving at some chick’s dorm on a saturday afternoon) you swore you would be able to conceal whatever emotional turmoil you had going inside of you without compromising your regular behaviour around the man, but when push comes to shove, it’s impossible to keep yourself from wondering how far you could go before that special someone found out what was going on inside of your head.

Jungkook’s phone rings in his pocket with some annoying tone he had downloaded illegally from youtube the same day the company had handed over the device as a gift for him (you still were a little bitter over how they neglected the rest of the staff but you also knew it was kind of impossible for the human kind to just gift a-thousand-dollar-phones to almost five hundred people out of solidarity). “Hyung?” he picks up, still wary of your unusual behaviour, concerned eyes looking at you. “No, uh- i’m with Yugyeom right now.” and your heart shatters into a million pieces.

You have been suspecting for a while that Jungkook is being hesitant to introduce you to his social circle. Although, you’ve tried your best not to take it personal, it is getting harder to resist the urge to ask him what the fuck is up with that. The fact that Jungkook had to lie about the person he was hanging out with broke your ego; he could’ve just said he was with a friend, right? You suddenly feel like you’re fifteen again, when the guy you liked would love you in the dark but pretend he didn’t know you in the light. 

Holding your tears back, you gently push him off and make your way towards the bathroom in the most nonchalant way you could. This is your fault for falling for the nice popular guy in the first place, you remind the reflection staring back at you. Still, as bad as it hurt, there was no way you were going to cry over a stupid boy, let alone when he was literally sat on the next room. He can go fuck himself if he thinks he can just toss this behind as if nothing ever happened.

You text Chaeryeong instead.

“chaery bom bom: i swear to god i gonna throw hands the next time i see the bitch.

chaery bom bom: like who the hell does he think he is? fucking squidward looking asshole.

chaery bom bom: he ain’t even that cute bub, you’ll get over him. i know jinyoung wouldn’t treat you like this”

You sigh. Chaeryeong has been enamored with the idea of you and his former company colleague from GOT7 since the day she met the guy (which was somewhere around ten years ago), and although he was all that, you didn’t like his quiet and cold aura, it intimidated the fuck out of you (Jungkook was the entire opposite of that).

You spray on some perfume just to have an excuse as to why you randomly ran to the bathroom when Jungkook’s inquiring eyes stare as you sit back on the couch, which is exactly what he does. “You done with your call?” you ask, bitter.

Jungkook frowns, a bit taken aback by the sudden question but still unaware of the way his words had made you feel, not even sensing the hostile change in your mood. “Yes, it was one of our managers. He was wondering if I could come back to reshoot some...-thing.”

Okay, now you kind of understand as to why he lied in the first place and to say you feel guilty is an understatement. “I supposed he backed down once you mentioned you were hanging out with Yugyeom.” playfulness makes its appearance on your tone and Jungkook rolls his eyes at you, tongue poking on the inside of his slightly red cheeks.

“Sorry for that” he moves closer and cuddles your arm, like a sad guilty puppy. “It’s just- I don’t want them asking questions''.

You understand. He is a very reserved and private person after all. It took you a bit to crack him open yourself. Plus, you kind of share that trait with him, you’d hate it too if people were constantly on your nerves for the people you decide to hang out with. 

And that’s all it takes to forgive him. Not very cash money of you.

“You better not pull that shit again, though” you shift in his hold and he looks up at you. One look into your eyes and he knows what you mean. “I’ll kick you out.”

After nodding, Jungkook resumes his concentration on the series you picked out for him. Due to your short attention span, you are very picky about what you invest your time in, especifically with audiovisual pieces of media, so Jungkook trusts you whenever you recommend something on very rare occasions. As a matter of fact, Jungkook was busy attacking your kitchen counters for snacks (which you didn’t have) when you mentioned Money Heist. “Munch on some grapes instead” you suggested to soothe his disappointment.

You can’t help but feel a little sad when Jungkook doesn’t refrain from cuddling your arm after pleading to forgive him. You wish you could cuddle him instead, that he would lay his head on your chest as you play with his soft hair, but you recognize there are some things you just can’t have.

[ripgray-moved]

           peter suddenly feels white-hot with anger. while he does have sympathy for lupin's loss, he's also not going to pretend that he too— that anybody still alive to tell their tale— hasn't suffered too; that he didn't endure the loss of his entire family before the apocalypse even begun, and in what he believes may very well be one of the most horrific manners he's ever considered. not even in his sickest fantasies could he dream up the things that paimon had done to his creed.

           ❛ i'm sorry about your dad, ❜ peter says through clenched teeth— because contrary to what lupin had said, he's anything but insensitive. in fact, his sensitivity may very well be why he winds up in so much trouble in the first place; why people think it's okay to push him to his breaking point and then get angry at him when he blows up. it isn't unlike what lupin is doing now.  ❛ but you don't get to do that. if i kept my mouth shut every day where someone i know has lost someone, i'd never say anything again. look around, lupin! the world is suffering. everybody's losing people. this is exactly my problem, actually. you're so self-absorbed. ❜

           while he can't blame him for focusing on his own losses, particularly on the anniversary of them happening, he wishes lupin would take in how everybody else is faring. he hides behind his 'oh well, i'm just not fit to be sociable' mask like a coward and peter has had it. he can either own his behaviour so that he can comfortably distance himself from him, or he can face up to his own selfishness. the same damn selfishness that he's insistent peter is displaying.

           ❛ of course it's not about the fucking dog. i love animals, but human lives are more important. that's just the way it is. period. i really hate that you think i'd have such an immature problem with you. this is about how you don't consider me at all. you treat your own problems like they're so much bigger than mine but guess what, lupin? if this CULT gets a hold of me? paimon's gonna take over my body and then he's gonna take over THE WORLD. is that a big enough problem for you? you're not the only one with real fuckin' heavy baggage right now. i almost DIED out there today because you ran on ahead without me, insistent that you could do it by yourself. hell, you almost got YOURSELF killed. i need you to do better! i need you to LISTEN! because if i die? by god are you gonna wish you did, and i don't want you to live with that guilt. i don't know what kind of ego trip you're on, but paimon? he'll chew you up and spit you out, and i don't want that to happen to you! i don't want it to happen to ANYONE! ❜

He looks at him for a moment, considering his words so as not to exacerbate the tension between them any further (it was bad enough already without adding more fuel to the fire), and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and places his hands on his hips, his leather jacket bunching up from the movement, revealing a flash of his shoulder holster, where he keeps his hunting rifle. It was likely that Peter would perceive it as a threat, prompting him to curse in a mix of Romanian and Italian as he scraped his fingers through his untamed, long, dark hair.

He is trying to reign in his anger with only little success, accidentally showing a flash of one of his fanged teeth as his sister moves around them,humming a tune that transports him to a happier time with his father fishing in the bayou. She is completely oblivious to the argument occurring in front of her due to the headphones covering her ears. He had found the Walkman while searching through the cardboard box he kept under his bed and gave it to her as a get-well present. She had kept it on her ever since. 

❛I will only apologize after you tell me what I have done to you to deserve an apology. Is this about me abandoning that dog to escape a zombie horde? You can't be serious. Would you rather I died than a dog you had just met?❜ He looks up at him again without really seeing him before moving over to sit in the only chair in the room. This was his personal space, and he didn’t  have to make it comfortable. He brings his knees up to his chest and rests his arms on top of them, hiding his face and the tears that are forming in his eyes. He curls in on himself a little tighter, as if it could shrink the world or make him disappear.

He wishes his father was here to guide him, but he died the day the apocalypse began, ripped apart by a horde of zombies hungry for blood. It didn't matter if the blood came from a non-human. ❛How can you be so insensitive? Did you forget what day it is? It is the day my father died.❜

[manofmanymons]

No one asked but I feel like talking about them so I will

I could go on all day about all the different reasons I really love Miu and Kaito as characters, but I could also do the same for literally every other character. Bc I love the entire cast of Survive to death and have more to say about them than anyone would ever want to hear.

But the main reason these two stand out to me above the rest despite the fact that I wouldn't say they're BETTER by any means is just that...they're so relatable to me, it almost hurts.

Starting with Miu, I'm both a younger sibling and the youngest in my friend group. So like, I'm no stranger to being coddled to death. Even people who I've specifically asked to stop treating me like a child still act like I'll somehow accidentally kill myself if they leave me alone for ten seconds. I'm an adult and literally earlier today my roommate freaked out that my hand was too close to the stove even though I've been cooking and baking for us for the past week. And it's infuriating! I know they mean well and I know it's because they care but ffs it makes me feel like everyone thinks I'm some kind of weak useless idiot. I digress (spoilers for the harmony route) I also know what it's like to have parents that won't believe you when bad things happen to you and try to blame you for things that can't possibly be your fault. I ALSO also know what it's like to have a special interest that means a lot to me but that other people think is weird.

And with Kaito

Boy I don't even know where to start with him

Guess I'll start with saying even though I just said I'm a younger sibling, my family dynamic is a little weird. My sister has always been a bit of a troublemaker, while I was the "so mature for your age" kid, so for as long as I can remember, I've been the one looking after her. I've always felt so responsible for her, and when some shit happened to her in our old town that was bad, well...it kinda felt like I failed my one (1) job. Our parents didn't take her side in what happened; in fact they were pretty pissed at her for getting into trouble. And she didn't wanna tell her friends. So I was really just...all she had. If I wasn't there for her, then no one was. We moved to a new town, she started acting up more, things got difficult. I hated my classmates and my family and I was just so goddamn angry all the time that I was constantly getting in fights at school. It's a lonely experience, feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and no one even notices or cares. And it wasn't until YEARS later that even my sister looked back and was like "holy shit I would've gone insane without you" and even acknowledged that I did a lot for her. So yeah I guess you could say I know how it feels to love someone and want to do anything you can for them even if you're not sure they love you back.

It's exhausting and frustrating and you get PISSED a LOT. Sometimes at them. Especially when they get mad at you when you're just trying to keep them SAFE goddammit why don't they GET THAT. But you don't just stop loving them, ya know? And yeah that makes me a hypocrite considering earlier I said I hate when people feel like they need to protect me, but also my 5 foot 90lb sister tryna go out ALONE with telling anyone where she's going is not the same as me having someone pull a box cutter out of my hands because "sweetie be careful that's sharp"

ANYWAYS

The hyperspecific circumstance of being an edgy 14 year old suddenly adopted into a friend group where people are baffling kind to you and now you have to learn how to communicate with words is just comically relatable like Kaito gives me so much secondhand embarrassment with his shitty communication skills. Like I, the player, understand exactly what he's TRYING to say. But then what he actually says is just so far off the mark that I cringe at the flashbacks of teen me doing the same thing. Like okay spoilers for the wrathful route and dracmon's mega evolution but FOR EXAMPLE

The time he tried to tell Aoi that he understood that she felt responsible for Saki's death but that it really wasn't her fault and she did all she could but he accidentally made her feel 10x worse instead

And the time the sentiment of "please leave so I can go all out in this battle knowing that you are safe because you're important to Miu which makes you important to me and I need to protect you" just came out as like "get out of my way"

He tries so hard to do good but he fails so much at conveying his intentions that it always comes across as bad and it makes me so sad for him because like...MOOD, little buddy.

Even though the violent cringey little bastard that was 14 year old me doesn't exist anymore and hasn't in a very long time, Kaito is just such an intensely personal character to me—to an almost terrifying extent. He occupies a very special place in my heart, even over characters I've loved for years. He's my favorite little guy!