#i'm working on something that's kinda related to this so it's on my mind rn

[flowerakatsuka]

thinking about kuroba going through the 5 stages of grief on repeat after remembering who karamatsu was only for him to hit them with a " it's a shame we were never in the same class together! :) "

[linawritestwst]

Hi! I saw you're request were open, if it's alright with you can I request riddle, deuce, silver and malleus with a reader who was a knight in their old world? Thank you!

riddle, deuce, silver and malleus x reader who was a knight headcanons (gn!reader)

that moment when you try to find a pretty sword gif but all you get is sao gifs 😔

thank you sm for requesting this, knight!reader is such a fun concept!

also i'm very sick rn and for some reason i have no inspiration to write anything twst-related at all, so.. i'm sorry if these headcanons sound boring, i'm trying my best 😭

riddle rosehearts.

♡ riddle would be very surprised to hear that you were a knight in your world, but when he thinks about it more, he realizes that it actually makes a lot of sense. you're always there to protect him, you're very brave and strong and you're good with a sword. you also mentioned that you have a lot of experience with protecting people from any dangers, so whenever you had to deal with someone who overblotted including riddle himself, you never went easy on them and gave it your all. so.. yes, he can see you being a knight.

♡ your dynamic would become even cuter after that, because now you can officially be the queen of hearts' knight! riddle would act a little shy about it at first, he'd try to assure you that he doesn't need your help, but you just smile and say that you know how strong and talented your boyfriend is, but you still want to act as his knight simply because this is how you show your love and loyalty for him. also you know that riddle secretly loves it and there's no point in trying to hide it.

♡ whenever riddle sees someone breaking the queen's rules again, you calm him down before he can say anything and you simply remind him that there's no need to use his unique magic on them or punish them in some other way, when you always have your sword with you <3 riddle is sure that you aren't actually being serious, but what he doesn't know is that you are serious. you don't hesitate to pull out your sword everytime someone makes riddle angry, because this school has way too many troublemakers and you think someone should teach them a lesson and it doesn't always have to be riddle.

deuce spade.

♡ he would lose his mind when he finds out about it, but when he finally manages to process that information, he is so?? proud of you?? like wow.. you were a knight.. that's so cool!! that explains why you're so strong and why you always can feel that something or someone is dangerous and others should be more careful. also he's totally not going to brag about dating a knight when he sees ace, haha..

♡ even though now he knows that you're literally a knight (or at least were one), he's still a very protective boyfriend and he always makes sure you're safe no matter what. it's not like he underestimates you or thinks you're weak or anything like that, it's just.. he kinda wants to be your knight too.. he just really wants to be someone you can rely on and someone who will fight for you when necessary (and when it's not really necessary. he's just always ready to fight for you)

♡ if you are the one protecting him.. deuce really wants to remind you that he can do everything himself, but he just can't control his feelings around you and instead of acting like a cool boyfriend, he just goes 😳😳😳. like wow.. you are so strong and brave and talented and- also, if you try to carry him, he will literally die. his face would be so red, he'd have to cover it with his hands.

silver.

♡ he is so shocked, but also so happy when you tell him that you used to be a knight. you're just like him!! he tries really hard to hide his excitement, but you can just see it on his face. he will ask you a lot of questions, like who did you work for, was it hard for you, did anything dangerous happen to you in the past.. he really hopes that it's not annoying, he's just so happy to hear that he and his s/o have something in common and it's also something he's very passionate about.

♡ he would love to train with you. spending time with you is always fun, but he can't believe that he actually can do his knight training with you now. or maybe you can watch him and give him some advice? he's sure that you have more experience than he does. silver always listens to your advice and makes sure to remember it. though he might get a little distracted sometimes because when you show him how to do something correctly, he finds it amazing just how much you look like a real knight.. ah, of course, you were one in the past, he knows that.

♡ of course, it's not like silver will stop caring about your other traits now that he knows you used to be a knight. he's just glad to learn something new about you and he's happy to know that you and him are actually quite similar. also a lot of things make more sense to him now and he can feel you two becoming even closer than before. and even though you used to be a knight yourself, it doesn't mean that silver doesn't want to protect you anymore. he actually wants to work even harder for you now and he secretly hopes that he will be able to impress you one day.

malleus draconia.

♡ .. what do you mean he has like three knights now. you being a knight as well is certainly a surprise to him, but a good one. he would love to know more about your past and as you tell him about everything you had to do as a knight, he just keeps falling more and more in love with you and now he admires you even more than before. he already knew that you were amazing, but now you've truly exceeded his expectations.

♡ he doesn't really need to be protected considering how strong his magic is, but after he finds out that you were a knight.. oh no. oh no, malleus draconia himself is actually much weaker than you thought he was. if only he could use some help- oh there you are, y/n <3 he knows that it's not good to lie to you, but he just loves it when you come to help him and you look like you're ready to do anything for him, so please forgive him for tricking you like this.

♡ he appreciates everything sebek and silver do for him, he really does, but.. oh no, it looks like he has a favorite now. whenever you come to his rescue, he just can't stop praising you for your strength and courage and he always rewards you with a kiss after that. yes, this is malleus draconia, one of the strongest mages in twisted wonderland. yes, he will pretend to be a maiden in distress just so that his s/o can remember their knight days and save him. also i hope you're ready for sebek's reaction because he won't be happy about this at all.

[spemtang]

This is gonna be a post of random Drakgo thoughts, blurbs and headcanons (maybe?) that aren't really categorized in any way I just need to talk about then rn.

A lot of fan stuff depicts Shego as being all suave and seductive towards Drakken. Which, duh. But I like to think their first kiss was him just awkwardly going for it in a never-kissed-a-girl-before, kinda-just-pressing-their-faces-together kind of way, before Shego sort of smoothens it out by the end. Dr. D is an oaf, but I feel he'd be the one with the boldness to do something like that despite sucking at it. It's his charm, really.

As much as I like the cuter aspects of DrakGo, Schooley's talk of their relations in the AMA get me thinking. Not that they'd end up with anyone but eachother, but that their romance post-graduation would be rocky and difficult. In "Emotion Sickness" we see a lot of Shego's affectionate side (to its extreme, mind you, but still representative of her in some ways). Despite her aloof attitude, I think she'd still have that grabby, persistence in ways that Drakken probably wouldn't be the most comfortable with (As seen in the episode itself). There could be tension between the two for that, maybe Shego would get too ahead of herself and become upset/feel rejected when Drakken declines further advances (Not that Shego wouldn't respect Drakken's boundries, but as in; she's not so level-headed in more personal scenes like those- she'd be more prone to getting emotional or taking things the wrong way)? He seems a lot softer, and new to romantic affection, so I feel their differences would create a disparity. Though, of course, I think they like eachother very much and wouldn't ever break apart because of it. They'd work it all out with time.

I had this small idea in my head of a little plot where Drakken would lose/accidentally trash his medal of honor he got during graduation, feeling distraught as it was a emblem of his only real accomplishment and moment of recognition. It'd only be after hours of searching in some dump with Shego's assistance that he'd realize why she was there - helping him. Not as a sidekick, or assistant, or henchwoman. But because she cared about it as long as he cared about it. It'd be then he'd realize the trophy he was looking for was with him the entire time 😭(I'm sorry if this one was cheesy or generic it just popped in my head and I wanted to write it. It sounded so sweet.)

They, obviously, watch Snowman Hank anually. Shego hates to admit that she kind of likes it in a weird sort of way.

When Drakken has nightmares, he now clings to Shego instead of calling his mother at 2 in the morning for emotional support.

[love-toxin]

miss ellie i'm realizing now that i never told you now revolutionary your ocs are. like. i've been on this website for literal years and the day i found your blog was with an oc post where you introduced such a dynamic lineup with so much variety, it was the first i had ever seen. maybe i wasn't looking hard enough but you had poc yanderes AND trans yanderes it was the first time i had ever seen any (i know it sounds crazy to say but i'm being so fr rn.) even when i look through your old posts and reread them i just get blown away by how each one is different and has their own personality even though you have so many?? anyway it's late and i just wanted to say that ty <3

will you marry me?? 🥺

LOL to be for real though that makes me sooooo happy you don't even understand, I'm really glad i get to be that way for you and all you lovely people 💕💕 it's a blessing to be able to write & post my work and I'm genuinely happy to see people connecting with it.

tbh, the representation i try to portray accurately is a really long-standing relationship i have with writing & authorship in general. this might not be a terribly interesting bit of lore but back when i was in my teens and consuming a lot of fanfic online in the early forms of it (ff.net my love </3) that was something that hit me a lot in reading self-insert fic, because I'd always been a huge reader and was just then tapping into self-inserts and community fiction posting rather than just books. and i remember distinctly (i think partly bc I've always grown up in multicultural neighborhoods/had mixed family growing up) reading fanfics and having the thought of "huh, i can relate to this description or this experience, but that makes me wonder whether other people can."

funny enough, it was partly when i would read descriptions of the author giving a self-insert long hair or referencing their hair in some way, and I'd start wondering how girls who wore a hijab would read that same piece, cause i went to school with a bunch of girls who wore it or a full niqab. and so i started wondering more like "if i was black, would i relate to this experience in this fic? if i was trans or gender non-conforming, are there characters i can relate to? if i were a mix of these things, could i find somewhere i belong in this setting?" and since then it kind of became a focus in the way i wrote stuff going forward.

i think using inclusive language in fic writing is really integral to a greater horizon of people enjoying it, and thinking on my ocs i always wanted to have characters that people could really relate to. I'd stop a lot in my process of creating my initial sets of characters and try to keep in mind those thoughts that i had in reading fics; "if i were this or that, could someone in that position relate to the stories I'm writing? and if not, what can i change to make that happen?" because if people are going to enjoy my characters or find comfort in them i want everyone possible to have the ability to. it's kind of intimidating at times to write for experiences i haven't had personally but it led me (and still leads me) to do a ton of research, and in doing so I've been able to learn lots of really fascinating things in the process. in doing so, it made it really easy for my characters to develop their personalities through my writing because i think they inherently have identities that are complex, which is always the goal you want for any character in the first place.

sorry that this kinda went off on a ramble LOL, but after so many years of writing and with my degree under my belt i still really think about it a lot. I'm really glad what i wanted to do has come across and i hope you continue to enjoy my ocs!! ❤️❤️

[valyrou]

Hi!! Could I request dazai with a weird person? (Ik it's not the term, maybe artistic, maybe something else, weird is the only global term which isn't that wrong). Basically they're extremely drawn by art, notice the most niche and least noticeable things and 'it makes sense in my head sorry' is their daily sentence which leads them to feel alone and not understood. Like this with dazai would be interesting I think (like the dynamic, i cant go on bc its starting to get so long but the whole 'dont feel like a proper human being too' ahhh i cant put the right words). There again- I'm sorry it makes sense for me-

Anyway have a good day and sorry <33

A/n: Hello Anon!! Of course I can do that!! I am working on multiple requests at once, kinda overworking myself with studies and work and on top of that I have finals soon and I should study a bit more.. ANYWAYS I related to this a little too much so I think I know what you mean by „weird person that can’t really describe what they think“ kinda stuff. But this isn’t about me so I HOPE YOU ENJOYYY

Warnings: to lazy to read over this rn so not proof read at all.. ALSO INSPIRED BY „no longer human“ by osamu Dazai lol?? Don’t know why but here we are :) reader doesn’t have a gender aswell, so GN reader

Dazai x Misunderstood! Reader

You couldn’t quite remember how you got to the art gallery with Dazai, but here you stood Infront of an magnificent piece of art. You could see how old it was by the cracks and discoloration, yet the way it was drawn, with such delicacy was as if it was drawn only a few minutes ago to you. The emotions and thought behind it, still visible to your eye. The way the eyes of that women were slightly casted down, the dark colored theme, the way the posture was drawn, everything seemed so right.

That was something everyone could see, yet even the way the clothes hung from her body made an important difference to the picture „Can you see her naked shoulder and the robe that almost seems to be put on lazily?“ you had begun your sentence, „it resembles her innocence and purity, no men could ever touch her..“ your voice got a little dreamier on the end. It took you some seconds to notice that’s Dazai didn’t respond. You immediately got embarrassed „it made sense in my head.. sorry“

You looked to your feet, cursing yourself out for saying such stupid things to him as if he could understand what you were thinking… if he could ever understand how you felt when the art practically screamed for you to tell its story, because you knew no one else could quite think like you. No one could. You were alone in this world that seemed to abandon you. Reject you from society as if you weren’t a human being. As if, the moment you shared a piece of your mind, you were no longer human..

You snapped out of your thoughts as you felt a soft hand on your shoulder „Yea, but also look at her hips, the way her robe curves there.“ he pointed subtly to were he meant, „she also seems tense, as if to say that she knew what the men around think of her.“ impressed you looked up to the tall brunette „You saw that?“ in response, Dazai only chuckled „Of course, you are not the only one that has a unique way to see and think.“ his hand gently squeezing your shoulder

„You are not alone. Not everyone might understand what you are trying to say, but I promise you there are always a hand full of people that do. Don’t push yourself down, see the ups of having a unique way to think, even if you can’t voice it.“ he shot you a cheerful smile and for the first time, you felt accepted. Accepted in this so shallow society you always had claimed not to be a part of.

[phantomoftheorpheum]

PLL: OS (Summer School) 2x07 thoughts

*Spoilers for 2x01-2x07 of Summer School + the trailer for the final 3 episodes.

Okay, this is it, y'all, the last chance to make any predictions! I suspect this is going to be very long.

Unfortunately I have a lot going on rn, so I'm pretty exhausted and I fear this will not be my best, but I'm going to do my best to push through the brain fog. If I struggle with expressing my thoughts, at least you'll know why.

I think, for the final analysis of the season (I will post something about 2x08, but it will probably be a much shorter post, since I don't anticipate doing much speculating [outside of loose threads]) I'm going to break things down by girl, but fully go through every character most closely linked to each girl, then move on to stuff that doesn't fit well in those categories. Okay, let's do this. I hope you're ready for overthinking. (P.S. there are weird breaks in the formatting because of tumblr's limits of how long a single block of text can be).

Faran

I'm starting with Faran because she is both my personal favorite, and because I think she may be the simplest to talk about. So while it does feel like Faran's gotten to grow this season, a lot of her story is really an internal journey for her character development, and I think a lot of it isn't super directly linked to the BR plot. Despite her character getting a lot of physically strenuous scenes, I think her confidence/emotional strength was what was really tested this season. So like I said, aside from being linked to the church through the characters outside of the girls that she interacts with the most, Faran doesn't feel super tied in to the BR motive. I've really enjoyed Faran this season (and relate to a lot of aspects of her personality), but her story does feel a bit peripheral to the main events of the season (which is fine, tying to deeply tie villain motivations back to each of the girls in this plot seems like a lot. It worked with their moms, but would be harder to do repeatedly). That being said, there are characters and plot lines attached specifically to her, so let's take a look at those.

Henry - I think he's irrelevant. He was mentioned one time this episode. I think this is just a character (or maybe more the relationship) they just wanted to cycle out. He's felt doomed (figuratively speaking) all season, and if he doesn't make any kind of appearance in 2x08, that doesn't feel like a loose thread. I've never hated or loved Henry (and I think that's a bit of the problem and the reason they've basically written him out), he's just kinda there. And now he's just kinda not there. If they have a third season, I could see him possibly making very minor appearances (depending on the availability of the actor), but it does just feel like the show is pretty done with him. Considering his connections to Kelly's church, it is possible he "sold the girls out" in some way, but that just feels unnecessarily complicated, tbqh. This is probably the last time I will talk about him at all, unless he pops up in an important way next episode.

Coach Rhodes & Stringbean - It feels like this storyline was here to close out Faran's arc of finding herself and feeling confident/comfortable in her strength, both physically and mentally. Obviously Coach Rhodes has Faran's number, and they still haven't explained the info showing up on SpookySpaghetti, but that always felt like a distraction anyway (Coach Rhodes, I mean). I'll be surprised if he has any kind of important role.

Greg - I guess it's time for me to really talk about Greg, because I've mentioned him and Faran/Greg a little over the course of the season, but mostly in passing. It now feels like it's time. Listen... Greg is (I think) in my mind benefitting massively from the fact that I didn't bother to rewatch season 1, because I don't think I have as many negative feelings about him as people who that season was fresh for. I barely remember him in season 1, so I've forgotten a lot of the stuff he said/did, so basically season 2 Greg exists in my mind by himself. BUT, please don't get me wrong, he is still annoying and problematic and I think they've rushed (and cut) key stuff they really needed for a good redemption arc for a character like him. And I do think he needs a redemption arc if they want to move forward with him as a protagonist, even a background one. In the scheme of the show, sure, Greg is probably not the literal worst (I don't think he's murdering anybody, anyway), but the show has also made him intentionally an example of toxic masculinity, misogyny, etc. etc. etc. and because the show has chosen to center a lot of these topics, then ignoring that Greg has spent the majority of his screen time as an embodiment of all those things, just having him say a few "Sorry, I'm better now," kind of lines just doesn't cut it, imo. I actually really respect the idea of taking an incredibly privileged, toxic, and even harmful character and deconstructing them, to show that it's hard and it's a process and that people can change, but it's not easy to unlearn all that stuff. It can be fascinating, and also a reminder that, as hard as it might be for us to like someone like Greg, the message that "once a shitty person, not always a shitty person," is ultimately, if executed thoughtfully, a positive. So yeah, I think that kind of storyline can be done well, but it takes time, which is something this show lacks in a lot of ways (lots of characters, lots of elements, very few episodes). Personally, I think they should have played the long game with Greg, if they really wanted to turn him into a protagonist and possible love interest. I don't know why they wouldn't, except maybe that he's going to be sacrificed to add to the body count of the finale and so they knew they didn't have time to do a developed arc with him.

Faran/Greg as a ship - If you told me I had to write a follow up to season 1 and make Greg a love interest for Faran, here's what I would have pitched- Use season 2 to show that he's questioning things and people around him (maybe we introduce his gay cousin [I know that was a Riverdale reference, but that could have been anyone] who's visiting for the summer and he's someone Greg already loves/respects who calls out his inappropriate comments and toxic masculinity). Show him listening and absorbing the thoughts/behavior of the people that he's now surrounded by (his cousin at home, Faran and Ash [and Shawn if he existed enough to be anything] at work), instead of his usual group of friends from school. Show him becoming unsatisfied and embarrassed with the way that he's been acting. Make him realize, now that he's starting to open his mind a bit, that he does really respect Faran, shown through interactions of them working together. Have them clash at the beginning of the season, but also have them talk and have friendlier moments, because they're stuck together at work and there's a lot of just sitting around, basically. Let us, the audience, watch him change, while Faran maybe doesn't see it that much, because the change is slow. If you have to have Faran/Greg "romance" in season 2, make it casual. Faran will have spent enough time with Greg by mid-season that she's friendly-ish with him, but after her breakup with Henry, she's just looking for a FWB kind of situation and, now that she's seen a slightly better side of him, she thinks Greg's kinda hot. She sees him shirtless all day, she finds that their bickering has evolved into less serious topics and now it's evolved into some sexual tension, she doesn't see him as a real romantic option, but he and Kelly are broken up (which I would have had happen earlier), so why not? Get them to a point by the end of season 2 where you've set up a "he's completely smitten with her, but she thinks it's just casual and it doesn't even occur to her they could be a real couple," dynamic for season 3. If you get a season 3, great. If you don't, that's okay, too. That way, you still get your ship in season 2 (and it's PLL, they tend to have to have their ships), but it doesn't feel entirely unsupported, and you can continue to have that relationship evolve into something deeper, OR you can have it fall apart easily, whichever direction you want to go if you get renewed because there's groundwork for either (scenario one, Faran develops feelings, scenario two, she doesn't and realizes he has and that ends things). So that would have been my pitch if you told me I have to try to make this ship work (would I have pitched this ship in the first place? no, I wouldn't have, but that won't stop me from trying to retroactively work out how it could have been handled), anyway.

As it is, I really don't get the Faran/Greg thing from a pacing/storytelling/character POV. I get the tropes that they're leaning into with this relationship. I get that there's limited time. I think I entirely get what the intent was. I just don't think they've done enough with Greg's character or his relationship with Faran to support where we are now with them. Mostly. I said last week that I thought it was good they cut the 2x06 kiss, because while I could see where they were trying to go with things, it just didn't feel like they'd managed to actually get those characters to a place where it makes sense, but now I kind of want to take that back because I think this felt even weirder? Like I don't know what was said in the 2x06 conversation that led to a kiss, or what other Faran/Greg content they might have cut from earlier in the season, but I just didn't feel like they'd had enough legitimately friendly interactions (yeah, Greg apologized to her that one time, but they've not really talked about anything of substance with each other, ever) for them to suddenly be legit hanging out and hooking up. When Greg said, "You know why," I thought to myself- Yeah, I do, but what if I didn't know about the cut kiss from 2x06 and/or I haven't been paying that much attention to the show, would I? That conversation makes a lot more sense with the context of that not being the first time they've kissed, but since that scene was cut, I guess it canonically is and hhdfjshfkjsdfs. Because romance is not central to the plot, and you have 5 main characters, this is the perfect opportunity to plan multi-season romantic arc that doesn't ruin anything if it's not resolved, and I just think they should have taken that. Y'all, I want to be very clear that my critiques of the show come from a place of fun for me. I like thinking about how things that I believe are particularly weak elements could have been different. If I weren't enjoying myself, I wouldn't be watching, and I definitely wouldn't be making posts like this. So when I say I think something is done poorly, that doesn't mean that I'm horribly upset or I don't like the show. I just like talking about what could be done better. The only time I am legitimately annoyed (and it's more frustration than anything) is when I feel like I just cannot understand what/why/how the creative decisions were made. I don't think Faran/Greg has been handled particularly well (too fast, too unsupported, not enough change on Greg's part, etc.), but I do think I understand what the intent/goal was, in this case, and so it doesn't bother me as much as it easily could.

Kelly

I'm giving Kelly her own section this time, and I think it makes sense for it to follow Faran's, since their plots are tied together this season.

Kelly's actions are quite interesting to me this episode. She seems to be genuinely investigating the Bloody Rose plot, and she seems genuinely suspicious of her mother. And also she could be dead now. (I do not think Kelly is dead, because if she is, then Faran didn't have to find her right away. I assume Faran will be able to save her, tying up the "Faran rescuing people from drowning," arc).

The question remains- is Kelly genuine? She does a lot of things in this episode that point to "she doesn't know what's going on," like calling Sandy's mom and asking where she is, questioning her mom about who she blames for Karen's death, locking her mom up and fleeing her house. All these things are consistent with actions a character would take if they don't know what's going on and are trying to find out.

My problem with this is... I think that there is a plan from the BR team (I'm calling it a team, because I think it's minimum 2 people and likely 3 or more) to frame someone (or someones) for the Bloody Rose attacks, so also all of those actions (along with a possibly faked attack intentionally witnessed by Faran) could be part of Kelly setting up her mother as a fall guy (so in this scenario, Kelly is playing out the "concerned friend & investigator" role by doing things like calling Sandy's parents to establish actions that would make her seem innocent). When you think about it, it would make sense. A lot of the BR stuff ties back to the church, which her mother has a major role in. Whoever BR is, they were able to convince people that their victims are still alive and not trigger a murder investigation or search parties. Whoever BR is, they are covering their tracks. Mrs. Beasley would be a great fall guy if Kelly were involved, and Mrs. Beasley is abusive towards Kelly, giving her motivation to frame her.

So, for that reason, I haven't cleared Kelly from my list. That being said, her behavior this episode does more likely point to her innocence, as it's a simpler explanation and allows her to stay in the show as a sometimes protagonist, sometimes antagonist. I also think this episode makes it pretty difficult to think Mrs. Beasley and Kelly are involved. If they were, a lot of their conversations don't make any sense.

However, if Kelly is involved, I can't help but wonder if her BR attack was staged (I mean, she may really be injured à la Billy and Stu) because she was tipped off about the girls beginning to close in a bit by Faran's conversation with her. She could also be pissed at Faran for her thing with Greg (though since the show seems to have cut a lot of that, it's probably not that important to the plot) if she somehow found out about that.

Mrs. Beasley is obviously incredibly suspicious at this point, but since PLL properties favor twist villains, she may very well be too suspicious. She blames the girls for what happened to Karen (and what warped thinking, that this happened to Karen because of the video is. Ma'am Karen's doom did not start with a video, it started when your husband r**ed Angela), which is certainly motive. She also specifically ties Karen's death to The Orpheum, which is another arrow pointing at Tabby's storyline. Anyway, obviously she's growing roses (but literally anybody could go cut some) and she's connected to the church and we know she's hurting Kelly, so... But those reveals are all pre-finale, and also all of those things would be a great way to frame her.

The timing of Kelly's attack is difficult to pinpoint. It looked like it was daylight when she locked Mrs. Beasley up, and Kelly is attacked after dark. It's not totally clear, but I think the only side characters with alibis during this particular attack are (actual Rose, Mouse's grandmother, Shawn, & Greg). Since I believe that there may be multiple people dressing up as Bloody Rose, this isn't really helpful. (Finally a BR attack where it seems like Shawn has an alibi, though).

Mouse

This is probably going to be a pretty short section, since Mouse doesn't have a ton going on, though there are some interesting implications in her story this episode.

So... how did Mouse get exposed on SpookySpaghetti? It still feels like there's someone with inside info on the girls (phone numbers, their redemption house info, now this), but as far as we know the only character who knows Mouse made the Angela video is Ash. Are we supposed to believe people just recognized her/her voice (which tbf, was not particularly disguised)? Or was the laptop she was brought a trap? (or even if it wasn't, could someone have remote access to Mouse's computers?) Is someone tracking her digital info, and possibly even watching her through her webcams? It's interesting because we've only seen this happen once, but Mouse accepted that video chat with Bloody Rose, so could the point of that have been for Rose to gain access to her computer? That's never come back around.

Speaking of Mouse's computer, we did meet her "computer teacher" this episode, and he is clearly a character who would be capable of all that, but it feels waaaay too late for an important introduction.

Ash - Again, I don't have a lot to say here. The fact that he knew about the Angela video does look not great for him, particularly with the leaked phone numbers, since he's someone who probably had all the new numbers at that point. The girls say they didn't give the numbers to anyone, but I think they mean new people, because they were all still talking to their boyfriends, so I assume they were excluding people they really trust. But... I just don't see how Ash fits in as a good villain for this season. He's been very background and the biggest part of his story is Pride vs Hell House, and that just feels really genuine. He's nowhere near the top of my predictions.

Mouse's Grandmother & Rose - I am glad that this plot point is going to get addressed to some degree, because I've been wondering why they had Rose jump off of a bridge. It would have been really easy to just have her be unwilling to speak to the girls or not coherent when they found her. Whether or not she actually is Rose Waters, and what her connection to stuff might be, does still feel like it needs to be resolved. I don't have much new to say about Mouse's grandmother. I suppose she might have known Rose back in the day, since her daughter obviously knew Angela.

Imogen

There are a few elements to Imogen's storyline this season that need to be addressed in the finale, the most obvious being if BR is pretending to be her mother and why.

I still think we're building to Imogen stabbing someone (quite probably Johnny), just not sure whether that's going to be a hallucination, a bad guy, accidentally a good guy, etc. I don't think the fact that she's had two meltdowns where she's grabbed knives and Johnny has talked her down from both of them is in any way an accident (rule of threes).

I'm still unsure why they introduced Rebecca, when it's had absolutely nothing to do with anything (I guess it's informed Imogen's mental state and kept her relationship with her mother at the surface). I just don't see how they tie it in with any sort of satisfaction because we've literally met this character one time.

In general, I'm honestly really not sure how Davie ties in to everything, unless she doesn't, really, but it's part of the storyline BR is crafting for a film or something.

Johnny - He's continued to be super chill about all the stuff Imogen is throwing at him. Out of the three new love interests, he is the least developed, which I think makes him the least likely to have a big twist reveal (though I do have a theory that includes him, but we'll get to that later because there's a lot of other stuff I need to bring up first), but that shot of what appears to be Imogen dragging his body across the creamery floor is something. I've thought it is most likely a nightmare that she has (because if he was revealed as a villain and killed or injured, why would she need to move his body? Surely under those circumstances she'd just call 911, like do we think Imogen is going to hide a body this season???), but I also kind of expected it to be in tonight's episode. I think I also instinctively discredit it a bit because if it is real & what it looks like, that feels very spoilery and I would never put something key like that in a trailer, but also sometimes they really do put stuff in a trailer that you probably shouldn't. Since I have no new information on his character, this is about all I've got for you on this one.

Imogen/Johnny - Johnny has one point in his favor with me, and it's a small point, which is that he got the 2x06 Greg treatment this episode, AKA they gave him a shot were Imogen leaves and then he's all smiling and smitten. There's literally no one there to see it. But I only give that a tiny bit of weight because it could just be editing. The choice to linger on him in this moment feels weird if he's going to be evil, but weird choices happen sometimes. It also makes me very nervous that Imogen keeps talking about how safe she feels with Johnny. That seems like terrible foreshadowing. I just really want Imogen to not have to relive the trauma of dating people who have literally always had an ulterior motive.

Small note, but- "Stop analyzing me." Imogen, I love you, but do you know what a therapist is for?

Dr. Sullivan - Okay, this is still a big thing, even though we got some kind of explanation out of her in this episode. It's hard to know how honest she's being. Even without her vanishing and the rose petals appearing, her past with this situation didn't feel resolved. Archie murdering her son for revenge against Dr. Sullivan for simply not reporting his situation doesn't totally line up to me. Like I get that she should have done something, but he had apparently already escaped at that point, so... She's from Millwood. Did she know the girl's moms? Did she know Davie? We know she knew Rose. Also Imogen couldn't find anything about her son online. He has a gravestone, so it feels like he's real (though she could have scouted the cemetery and found a Sullivan and then used that person's first name in her explanation to Imogen), so that makes me question if Dr. Sullivan is Dr. Sullivan. I mean, I know that Dr. Sullivan is a character from the original and she is definitely actually Dr. Sullivan, but with all the theories around twins, could she actually be Dr. Sullivan's twin, impersonating her to gain access to the girls (would also explain why she was so willing to risk her license by recording the girls without their consent)? But that feels overly complicated, too.

Obviously Imogen has that dream where Dr. Sullivan is BR and impersonating her mother. But Imogen's story is so intertwined with motherhood, she clearly spends part of the season looking up to Dr. Sullivan as a kind of stand-in mother figure, and Dr. Sullivan and Davie do look a little alike. This is clearly unresolved, but I'm conflicted in where I think it's going. It could be more about Imogen's personal journey, and I would probably assume that if BR hadn't (probably, we didn't actually see it) been wearing a Davie mask.

Dr. Sullivan's flashback scenes were weird, like tv (or film) recreations, rather than legit flashbacks (another SpookySpaghetti film? Or possibly the movie BR might be making?) and what was with Archie's mask in the flashback??? That looked like a Christian monster mask, rather than the A mask we're used to seeing. That's another reason I wonder if the "flashback" might be a dramatized recreation for the film. And is that supposed to be Archie's "real" face?

I still haven't forgotten that someone pushed her down the stairs (according to her) and we've just avoided bringing that up again.

"Something about Rose compelled me," is a very interesting wording. It's also very "The power of Christ compels you!" feeling.

And then, obviously, she disappears and the rose petals are left behind. So presumably she's either been kidnapped by BR or she's in on it. I'm still very conflicted about this character.

Noa

Here we are again. That's it.

Okay, no, I'm actually going to talk about it. I'm not going to continue to go on about all the stuff leading up to this episode because I have discussed it in length in previous posts. Yes, I'm still frustrated with this storyline, and yes, that's still mostly because I cannot figure out what the show is trying to say/do here. Either Noa is getting set up for a big fall/surprise, or they genuinely didn't see how this arc was going to be received. It's one or the other.

While I can understand why Noa would feel so connected to Jen and why she might grow apart from Shawn and why this love triangle situation happened in the first place, what I struggle to understand (from a character perspective) is how she'll go from casually discussing the fact that she's been cheating on Shawn (those are her own words, it's not like she's in denial about her actions), then crying and seemingly genuinely feeling guilty, but then she'll turn around and think she's justified in smashing up his car because... he was angry at her and Jen for their affair?

Characters respond to things emotionally, and I do think Noa is someone who operates on her gut instincts, rather than spending a lot of time thinking things through, but what in holy hell was she thinking? Of course he's gonna be really pissed, Noa. You cheated on him (and it's not even addressed if he's aware this happened while she was in juvie, too), literally moved the person you're cheating with into your house under his nose, asked him for 2k to bail out the person you're cheating with, continued to instigate a sexual relationship with him instead of breaking things off, didn't actually do anything when the person you're cheating with literally robbed his own house (which he may also still not know), then dumped him without even being honest about why. But he's the bad guy because... he yelled at the person you were cheating with a put a hole in the wall? Wild. And like... listen, someone putting a hole in the wall in anger is a red flag to me (irl), but considering the circumstances and his lack of a history of violence, if we are supposed to think this in any way warrants Noa then smashing his car (which like... at least equally big red flag irl as punching a wall) then I don't get it.

So that brings me to the fact that I'm not convinced Shawn actually did damage the wall (he does not specifically deny this when confronted, but he's also a little distracted by the fact that his ex is smashing out his car windows). I mean, who the hell knows? We literally only have Jen's version of events and she's got a history of lying and twisting situations around to suit her ends. We also don't know what her reaction to being confronted by Shawn was. Her pattern in confrontation that we've witnessed is to get angry and accusatory with the person confronting her. She also basically taunted Shawn to his face with the comment about not getting much sleep, so why would I believe she didn't intentionally escalate that situation as well? She hardly seems like a character who would sit there and be all shaken up by it.

All that being said, if Jen is going to get majorly exposed as a villain, then this storyline will make a lot more sense to me. I'm frustrated with this storyline because I feel like I don't feel the emotions they imply we should with things like the cinematography, lighting, music, editing, etc. but if that is an intentionally contradictory choice, then that removes my frustrations. I mean, it's still a trope I don't particularly enjoy the journey of, but at least it will have been on purpose. And that's the thing I've been asking myself this season, is this on purpose? If it is, then great. It's not my kind of storyline, considering I really dislike love triangles, but they did what they wanted to do. If it's not, then someone missed the mark big time.

I'm going to discuss Jen further in a later section, so I'm not going to give her character too much attention here, but I do have one thing-

"Some lies are helpful," 👀 okay, Jen, are we gonna find out about yours? Is this going to be a "Well, yeah, I originally came here for nefarious purposes, but now I actually love you, so it's all good, right?" type of thing?

Shawn - If he's not a villain, then sorry bro, this has been a rough season for you.

Tabby

We've made it to Tabby! Our ultimate final Final Girl of season 2! At this point, it very much does seem like Tabby is at the absolute center of all this (which is why I am the most suspicious of characters directly tied to her) and that probably means some really not fun things in store for her in the finale.

We already know (from the trailer) that she's going to fall down the steps at Christian's house. She's also MIA from the riot at the Orpheum scenes (Riot At The Orpheum sounds like a PATD cover band or something, lol), so I think she's getting a lot of solo screen time in the finale.

This may not matter, but I wanted to note it here that Wes calls the owner of the movie theater "Mrs. Orpheum," which stuck out strangely to me. "The Orpheum" is a super common theatre name, so I have to assume this is a nickname (and not her actual name) Wes is using to refer to their boss, so then... considering how much is centered around Tabby this season, who actually owns the theater? And could they be behind the LLC that turned Imogen's house into Redemption House? Clearly whoever owns this place has a ridiculous amount of money, considering they're running a 35 mm capable theater that appears to have practically no customers.

Wes - So. Yeah. How likely do we think it is that Wes is dead now? Or at least kidnapped? His storyline is clearly completely unresolved (masks in his apartment, mysteriously missing for days, no BR attack alibis, his relationship with the film festival stuff, etc.) and he pretty much either has to be evil or is being framed. Him suddenly moving away (I mean, I don't think he's gone, but he did clearly tell Tabby he was leaving, so it's not like that was entirely fabricated) makes me wonder (assuming he's not BR) if he's been threatened to do so somehow. I also have no idea how Tabby is not suspicious of him. He's been acting weird, you have no idea where he is most of the time, you know he's a total asshole, and you found masks at his place and evidence he was using SpookySpaghetti, but he's not on your BR suspect list??? He's ridiculously suspicious! So suspicious, in fact, that it makes me slightly less suspicious of him. But the fact that no one has brought him up as a suspect circles me back around to being super suspicious of him again. While I'm considering some other options heading into the finale, if he were behind BR (though it has to be more than one person, imo) I wouldn't be shocked. He certainly has potential motive (I mean, if you're a terrible, terrible human being, which he is) with his film storyline and his "things are so hard for straight white men these days," mentality. I just don't love this theory as much as I did before the show started pointing at him so hard.

Mrs. Langsberry - I don't think I need to talk much about this. If she is part of the BR plot, we all know why. She has also been confirmed as a member of Kelly's church, so she does have links there, and it seems like someone on the BR team must be directly involved with the church.

Christian - I didn't want to be so suspicious of him, but we're here now. Also, Tabby, I love you, but someone is dressing up in special effects makeup and masks, both a horror mask and a hyper realistic one (we think) and your response is, "I'll ask Christian if he knows anybody," with absolutely no suspicion of him?? Like, WHAT??? And then you spent the night at his house??? I absolutely could not sleep in a house I knew had all those terrifying masks in the basement, particularly if someone was dressing up in masks and trying to kill me and friends?? I also think we spend a lot of time with Christian this season (without learning much about his past or him having his own separate arc), which makes sense if Tabby's the center of the story, but also if Tabby is the center of the story, then the villains are more likely to be directly connected to her. I also wondered why Tabby didn't question Christian suggesting they leave town together (don't you think some parents might have some opinions on this?), and because I am very suspicious of anyone the girls are not suspicious of, it made me think, "Are you trying to set up a situation where people won't think to miss her right away?" Like with Sandy or Pastor Malachi.

When Tabby asked Christian if he would help her make her movie, I thought, if he is part of the BR plot, and if that plot does involve making a movie, wouldn't it be absolutely wild if he responded to this with, "Already done." (like saying it in a friendly, 'of course' kind of way, but then meaning it literally). I feel like that's the exact kind of fun/silly thing this show would do. And if he's not involved, what a missed opportunity to creep your audience out and make them spiral (but I'm doing that anyway, so) about his character.

I want to be super fair, since I just wondered how Tabby is not suspicious of Christian and how she felt comfortable staying at his house (also where are anyone's parents? Like at least with Noa we understand why there's no parental supervision, but everyone else just stays over at their SOs place anyway?? this is one of those things I just have to not think too hard about because I don't think there is a good explanation), all of that applies to Imogen with Johnny and Noa with Jen, as well.

While horror has always been referenced in this show, it really does feel like horror films are making a huge appearance in different ways, and it just feels fitting for this to be Tabby-centric.

Speculation & More

With the "trio of villains" imagery on the poster (that has literally predicted the first 4 tests, so seems very relevant), I can't help but wonder if it could be as simple as all 3 of the new love interests. Johnny, Christian, Jen, all in it together. They're all new in town and we haven't met any of their family, so they're all pretty mysterious. I have at least one big thing about each of them that bothers me.

With Johnny it's simply those shots from the trailer (well, plus my incredibly far fetched theories about set decor and his line about his dad, but I wouldn't call either of those things compelling evidence), which make it seem like he may die in the finale (or at least be incapacitated), and since it seems to be Imogen that is possibly trying to cover that up, that doesn't bode well for his innocence. I can't think of anything that's been mentioned about him that would indicate motive, so I would have to assume that he's related to someone (like Chip) and has a revenge motive. But the shots from the trailer could still all be a dream.

With Jen it's the contradictory ways they've portrayed her storyline with Noa, and the fact that we know that we cannot assume she's being honest. It's not been specifically brought up a lot, but she could easily have a financial motive to be involved. Her stealing has been a consistent part of her character, and she says this is because she and her mom need the money. I don't know whether or not to believe that, but regardless of why she needs/wants money, it seems pretty clear she is a character who could be tied to the events of the season for financial gain (or it started that way and she regrets it, but is in too deep). It's also possible production just didn't realize how unpopular this love triangle would be (but it's hard to imagine, when they were emphasizing how loving/trusting Shawn is all season, like it feels very intentional, but then sometimes it doesn't) and the contradictory tone is not intentional.

With Christian it's his special abilities (horror makeup), the fact that he fits well into the "someone is making a movie" theory, and that he's directly tied to Tabby this season. His motive would presumably be film related (though there could be a personal element as well, since we know basically nothing about his past). But he could be a red herring or a fall guy.

Anyway, my problem with these three as a trio of villains is that it doesn't obviously connect back to the church in any way that I can think of, and I think it needs to. I guess all three of them could be supporting villains with someone else as "Rose," or maybe only one or two of them are involved.

Another consideration is that any of the love interests could be secondary antagonists, not in on the BR plot (or aided it without realizing how serious it was) and they will have a separate villain reveal (like Chip last season).

I certainly haven't forgotten about the online faction of the BR cult, particularly since it looks like they're rioting next episode (The Reckoning?), but how specifically they tie in, I don't feel confident in predicting. If the film theory is true, then I suppose their purpose could be to provide a "grand finale" for the film. I mean, it's kind of hard to get extras when your film is also an actual murder project, so brainwashing people into creating a big action sequence for you is the next best thing, I guess.

Dr. Sullivan's past just really feels like it also needs to come back around and be resolved, and I keep forgetting about the fact that she vanishes in this episode because I'm thinking about so many other things.

I'm bothered that I don't feel confident about where they're going with the Davie stuff.

I am putting a certain amount of faith in the show that they heard the criticisms of season 1 and the villain reveals will be characters we've spent a lot more time with. They have seemed to take other feedback (like the Ezra thing) and apply it to season 2, so I'm hoping this is the case for this, as well.

Anyway, I think this is all I've got right now. If you're still reading, thanks for sticking with me! I know this was a long one. I probably didn't need a whole "if they had to have Faran & Greg as a couple, here's how I would have done it," section, but Faran is my favorite and I've criticized Noa & Jen loads this season, so I gotta be fair and call it like I see it. If I think of anything else, I'll do a part 2, because this post is clearly long enough.

EDIT:

This literally doesn't matter, but I forgot to mention it & didn't want to make a whole new post about it, but I just now noticed Christian's movie on his name tag is Attack the Block, which is a absolutely ridiculous, underrated film, imo.

CLARIFICATION: I called all of the 3 new love interests "new in town," but I'm not sure that's really accurate. Christian is new in town, Jen (I think) lives elsewhere but reasonably near by because she mentions having to come to Millwood for summer school and clearly does not usually attend their school, and Johnny we really don't know. I didn't get the impression that he's recently moved like Christian, but we don't know where his house is, and none of the girls seemed familiar with him (and Millwood seems pretty small) and he mentions Rosewood when he's asking that girl out, so I kinda assumed he might be more from the Rosewood area. Anyway, "new in town" might only technically apply to Christian, but the point that all their pasts are pretty unknown still stands.

[haljathefangirlcat]

Some more character backstory speculation in the Volsung-Nibelung-Dietrich cycle. Sigurd/Siegfried spends his childhood in the woods under the watch of Mime/Regin the dwarven smith in all versions of his story except for the Nibelungenlied itself, which goes out of its way to make Siegfried RESPECTABLE. Even in the Scandinavian material, which presents him having two living parent figures and a grandparent (Hjordis, Alf, and Hjalprek), he still gets fostered and tutored by Mime. Though he does keep in contact with his family, as he says he's used to getting anything he asks for from them. His childhood with Regin makes sense in the versions where he's a foundling, but it seems a little weird for his family to hand him off to Regin of all people for his upbringing. Svend Grundtvig discusses the theory that Regin related to Hjordis through his sister Lofnheid, which would provide some reasoning for choosing Regin, but Reginsmal darts between the origin of the hoard to Sigurd meeting with Odin on his quest for vengeance, so it's hard to figure out what's going on. What do you think is the in-universe rationale for Regin being chosen as Sigurd's foster-father?

"[...] except for the Nibelungenlied itself, which goes out of its way to make Siegfried RESPECTABLE."

I kinda love how you phrased that because it immediately made me think back to Lang's movies, which generally stick close to the Nibelungenlied but still have Siegfried be fostered by and learn to forge metal from Mime -- so much for all efforts at respectability! XD

As for me, I like Regin being related to Hjordis. I think it makes sense, especially as Hjordis' side of the family seems to already have some pretty strange male figures on it (hello, Gripir!), I like how it neatly ties up the Volsungs' supernatural weirdness with the (back)story of the cursed gold, and I feel there's some good potential drama fuel in it. (Not to sound like a broken record -- tho I probably do, lol -- but Stephan Grundy uses the Regin - Lofnheid - Hjordis connection in his books, and I really enjoy both his take on Hreidmar's family and its ramifications through the later events of the story.)

However, it doesn't quite feel necessary to me. Part of it is that Volundr/Weland, too, gets a "taught by dwarves" story, and while the guy's admittedly the Master Smith and sometimes a giant/elf/other supernatural being himself, that sort of takes the edge off Sigurd's upbringing for me, making it, in my view, just a Weird Thing That Happens To Heroes Because They're Built Differently (And Sometimes Get A Little Too Close To The Borders Between Human & Non-Human) and something Hjordis and the rest of the family might have agreed to, even if with some reluctance/wariness, after noticing the kid wasn't exactly your average boy and needed something to balance off the otherwise all-human normalcy of his life.

Another part is that, a couple of years ago, I was trying to find out more about smiths in Norse and Germanic society. Unfortunately, nothing specific's coming to mind rn, only some vague recollections, but I remember reading about a seeming discrepancy between literary smiths appearing as isolated, mysterious, often not-quite-human figures and historical wealthy, well-respected smiths who were actually probably very socially active and connected to their communities. (Obviously, there was more to it, and I doubt the whole story was as straight-forward as I'm making it sound rn, with every literary smith fitting in a box and every historical smith fitting in the other, but again, this isn't all exactly so fresh in my memory.) So, I think it'd be kind of sweet for the adults in Sigurd's life to encourage him to pursue an interest that couldturn out to be very advantageous for him in the future in both a pratical, know-how sense and by giving him a possible new way to connect and work with other people with ease. Even if I do see Regin as a bit of a recluse himself, given his own history... XD But, hey, it's not like Regin's personality would necessarily rub off on Sigurd as he teaches him, right?

[kamiversee]

MY FACE IS BEET RED AT WORK HELPPPPPPPPP

Kami!!!! 🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝🤝 THANK YOU 🤝🤝 THANK YOU 🤝 🤝THANK YOU 🤝 🤝 omfg the Choso girlies are eating GOOOOOOOOOOOD with this chapter 😭 omfg and that Gojo wet dream blurb was too fucking good aaaaaAAAAAAA i miss that blue eyed beauty every day 🤍🤍🤍 ok yeah pls consider a filthy noncanon poly ending i need these two to ruin the reader expeditiously

my mind is so hazy from reading everything. oh my god. Choso was such a menace in this chapter 🥹 this is definitely what we needed after looking at all those deleted scenes you had for him. art majors are always hidden freaks so this was just *chef's kiss*

"The man had you ruined as someone else once had you before." KAMI I JUST ABOUT DIED!!!! YOU KNOW HOW OBSESSED I AM WITH THE SUKUNA CHAPTERS AJHKAJHDASD AS SOON AS I READ THAT HER HEAD WAS BEING PUSHED INTO THE BED MY MIND IMMEDIATELY THOUGHT OF THEM 😭😭😭😭 every Choso fic/headcanon i've seen so far always makes him so subby not that i'm complaining but seeing this dominant and demeaning side of him was sooooo fucking good omg. that coupled with the cute aftercare seriously makes me contemplate on making this my favorite chapter 🥹

that part where you mentioned the night the reader first slept with him and how he had thoughts of doing other things with the keys... depending on how the sequel's going to go, i can't even imagine how some people are not going to let this go 😅 ALSO WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU ALREADY SPOILED THE ALT ENDING??? i'm about to spend the remaining 7 hours at work scrolling and scheming omfg Kami pls

"You were his now, and he was yours. Nothing and no one would change that." this warmed my heart soooo much because i've had this weird anxiety that he'll eventually find out the details of the list. i just hope this statement will stay true!! maybe it's my paranoia but this also felt a bit ominous? idk i prob just need to renew my anxiety meds lmao

KAMI YOU COOKED FR

-☃️

Haha I love these sm, gimme kiss rn.

I do have the extra scene tht you & some others requested in mind so Ig I’m just curious if I should write both men dom with the reader or both subby with her since they’re both down terrible😭 Or even one dom & the other subby, IDK. But I am excited to write tht smut, TRUST.

It’s not an ending tho, just extra what if stuff !!

AND YES ART MAJORS ARE SECRETLY FREAKS !! Especially Choso bc like… look at him and tell me he’s not having horny thoughts abt his lover 24/7…

OH OH AND I HADDDD to reference Sukuna again, him and Choso do have their slight relation soooo I need to make a parallel or two ><

& as for Choso being dom… I once saw someone say how Choso would be the kinda’ guy to rage on video games based on how mad he gets in the anime & his facial expression… So like, with tht in mind for some reason I’ve just pictured Choso as the kind to only be subby when he’s still learning something in regards to sex or when he’s with someone knew & he’s just shy…

BUT ONCE THT MAN GETS COMFORTABLE? Oh yeah, its ONNN 😩🙏

Also, I didn’t explicitly say what’s gonna happen in the alt ending! I just kinda said what it’s gonna be… Like, y’know how a lot of chapters are ominous cliffhangers? Haha, imagine that but x10 ^.^

[elizabethshaw]

thoughts on "echoes"!! under the cut bc of spoilers:

this boxset absolutely came out at one of the worst possible times for me (my busiest day of the week, at a time when i have 6 different exams, a presentation and also assessments for my home uni to prepare for), and i fear it may have regnited my 8das fixation somewhat which is. not something i have time for rn lmao. we'll see how it goes i guess! anyway personal stuff over now-

i definitely enjoyed it overall! i'm still not entirely sure where i'd rank it in comparison with the other post-stranded boxsets but it was a lot of fun, and it was (as expected) a joy to hear this tardis team together again :)

i will say however that i did have one major qualm with it, which is that i felt a bit let down with how little it followed through with the emotional plotlines set up in the preceding two sets. i got the feeling when listening to "what lies inside?" and "connections" that they were very much going somewhere with this team's (particularly helen's) emotional arc, and while i won't deny there were some nice scenes with them in this set, the fact that these threads were otherwise left to one side most of the time was a disappointment. there was potential to do some really interesting character work in continuation from the events of those previous episodes and it just. didn't happen. i don't want to sound too down about it because i did still really enjoy these stories, but i think this side of things was missing a little bit for me. hm.

anyway, episode-by-episode thoughts:

birdsong

i think this was my favourite of the set. i really love audio drama that leans into more horror-adjacent aspects (even though i'm not a massive horror fan otherwise tbh), and also love it when audio drama just gets kinda fucked up with it. this story hit on both counts for me :)

love that this continued the running trend from the previous boxsets of the episode starting with eight, liv and helen just getting to be silly for a bit before the Horrors inevitably happen :D

lowkey actually love the concept of barcodes as a written language! part of me wants to try and work out how that could work now

scots pine trees... it never rains... bracken... sand... they're literally in breckland lmao

saying that it does also have the Suffocating Quietness going on so i think i'm onto something here...

when the vortex previews for this set mentioned a family member of helen's first mentioned in doom coalition being relevant to this story, i wasn't expecting it to be the grandmother she mentioned in "ship in a bottle". however it was actually really nice to have helen's relationship with her developed further, and it was woven into the story well i thought

being Normal about the scene between liv and helen at the fireside. i am being so normal about it

"i'm not sure i could do this with anyone else, you know? everything from exploring strange new worlds... to talking about my family." i'm fine. i'm fine!!!

[putting on my clown shoes] this is how liv/helen can still be canon in some form before helen inevitably dies! :))

i love how vivid this story felt to me. i always end up getting visuals in my head as i listen with any audio drama but some stories end up, for storytelling or sound design reasons, or both, creating really clear and vivid pictures in my mind and this was definitely one of those

i hope to god that when i visit home over the summer and listen to these with my mum (who loves these audios but refuses to listen to them without me, which is kind of sweet of her), my dad is not in the same room. i love him but he absolutely would be asking me to pause it every few minutes so he could identify the bird calls and then also getting really frustrated when i inevitably end up being unable to guess any of them correctly myself lol. the pains of being related to an ornithologist

big fan of the way things got increasingly more disturbing towards the end. i do think the eight-liv-helen era has been lacking in terms of properly creepy stories (this is just my personal taste tbf), so it was cool having them properly lean into that for once. i have to say though the mental image of the scout's body with all the roots forcing their way into her eyes is not going to be leaving me for a long time

also thought the sound design was really well done on this one!! you could really feel the discomfort of the silence i think

got slightly choked up at helen and liv singing to bex as she died. i might have just been in a weird mood while i was listening to it but. yeah. it did something to me

anyway had a lot of fun with this episode! it had a lot of elements that appealed to me personally, and the character work it did was nice. i look forward to listening to it again one day :)

lost hearts

m.r. james episode!! i've only ever read two of his stories (both of which are products of me knowing this episode was coming haha), but was quite excited for this one regardless because a) ghost stories! and b) he's actually got connections to a village in the area i grew up in, and as i've never actually seen/heard any stories set where i come from in my life, it was neat to have a story in my favourite show, featuring some of my favourite characters, star someone more or less from where i'm from :')

have to say though i am disappointed to have lost the unofficial "will they namedrop great livermere" bet i had going on with my mum and brother. it's such a middle-of-nowhere village (it's not on the way to anywhere, has 3 streets (one of which is named "the street" and another of which is actually a dirt track), and you invariably see more chickens there than actual people), it would have been deeply amusing to me for it to have canonically existed in the dwu

loved all the direct (and indirect) callbacks to "the red lady" in this story! it felt fitting seeing as on some levels they do share certain elements in terms of plot/setting, and was also just fun for me as that is one of my favourite stories :)

was also a big fan of how active the story felt (not sure if that's quite the right word?) - each of the characters had a clear role to play and all the main cast got something to do, it never felt hugely like any of them were being sidelined, which does happen on occasion with 3+ person tardis teams

if helen had punched someone at some point in this story i honestly wouldn't have blamed her

"he's like the museum of cairo, stuffed inside a... well, a-" "a rude, ungracious little twerp?" oh my god askdfjdsfjkds

(let her swear!!!)

i like how the story was riffing off some of the plot/vibes of m.r. james' actual short story "lost hearts" (helpfully one of the two i've read)! it gave it that nice kind of connection, without feeling overly derivative and like it was straight-out copying it

my only main issue with this episode was that robert felt kinda underdeveloped. they started off well in his opening scene with liv, but i don't think we got enough of a chance to get to know him as a person after that point and i think the story suffered for it a little. i don't think it helped either that he's not a family member helen had ever mentioned prior to this episode, so they were essentially having to start from scratch and with everything else going on in the narrative, didn't quite find the time to give him sufficient detail

loved the emotional moments that were brought out when helen got erased... "helen, she's my- she's everything i have left" ough

and the salzburg parallels?? liv attempting to fly the tardis in a desperate attempt to rescue her friends, much like helen did? this is so... it's a lot

i won't lie, it did feel a bit odd to me that they would go to such lengths to avoid actually naming the uni in this episode as cambridge. i suppose it may have been to avoid spoiling the "it's m.r. james!!!" reveal at the end, but given that i think anyone who would have guessed it was him from the setting being cambridge probably would have guessed it anyway beforehand either from the episode blurb or the fact that the episode literally starts with him reciting one of his most famous short stories, it feels a little pointless. i mean i clocked it as an m.r. james episode when the set was announced and i had never read any of his work at that point lmao. not a glaring issue or anything, but felt like a weird choice

anyway loved helen getting to geek out a bit at the end... i love her :')

i think i'm going to have to relisten to this at some point so i can fully get my head around it but i did enjoy it!

slow beasts

this was a solid ep. not my favourite story this tardis team has ever had, but i did absolutely enjoy listening to it, and thought there were a lot of really good ideas in it!

the colonialism plotline especially worked really well for me, it felt pertinent in just the right sort of way. it's not necessarily something new for dr who, but i think it was definitely a good example of how to do it well.

i think "simple, but effective" is the way i'd sum this one up tbh. not exceptional, but it knew what it was setting out to do, did it, and did it well, and i think that worked. it did admittedly feel a bit strange after two more complex/experimental sort of stories, but i don't think that's any reflection on its actual quality

"here is the psychic paper. be confident. it only works if you're confident." "but... i- i'm not confident?" me if i got asked to use the psychic paper tbh

enjoyed the use of the translation circuit in this one :) i have a lot of thoughts on it as a general thing so i always like seeing the ways it gets utilized in different stories

so! had fun with these! a couple of things that maybe could have gone better, but overall a set of three stories i had good fun with and i suspect will enjoy listening to again. fingers crossed the december boxset is with these guys again and they do a bit more with helen's emotional plotlines next time :)

[chaotic-toby]

I just finishes making two creepypasta OCs and I'm planning on writing a story about them. Well, even though Toby isn't going to be a main character, I still want to include him bc he's my favourite and I relate to him. I'm making this post about his characterization bc I want to get it right, and I hate how some people infantilize him in fics, or write his tics.

Anyways, Toby's characterization!

Attitude!

Now, I am thinking hard about this. So, isn't it canon that Toby continues to age even after his story ends, so I wanna say he's probably around 21-22 ish. He's mature but not completely mature. He has his funny moments. Toby is a proxy who obeys Slenderman's every command. Bc of that, he tends to be serious most of the time, unless he's not actively doing something, then he lets loose and relaxes. I also like to think he can be a smartass when he needs to be. He doesn't take shit from no one. But, if someone is nice, then he'll be nice as well. Toby, when he's working and whatnot, is quiet, barely talking so he can focus, but when he's with any creepypastas he's comfortable with, he can be quite talkative. He has a soft spot for anyone who can't easily defend themselves bc when he was still living with his father, he was in the same boat.

Toby isn't exactly a prankster, but if someone asked him for help with a prank, then he'll gladly help, especially if the victim of the prank is someone he's doesn't like.

Tics!

Now, I know in recent fics, at least the few I have read, people are writing Toby's tics in a more realistic way, and I'm happy about that. As someone who has tics, I wanna explain how I'll write them. Just a disclaimer, I only have motor tics (I might possibly have chronic tic disorder) so I might not write the vocal tics good. If that's the case, anyone feel free to correct me. Anyways...

Toby's motor tics consist of his nose twitching, head jerking, his eyes looking to the left uncontrollably, which causes intense headaches (I'm projecting). His right shoulder also jerk occasionally but that isn't a very common tic that he has. Another motor tic is that his arms will randomly extend outward, hitting anything in the way (not something that I do but I have seen in a fic I read years ago).

Vocal tics includes clearing his throat, repeating something he heard (in my fic, I really want him to say, "ding dong ditch, you are a bitch" bc my oc will write that (my oc doesn't talk so he writes)), whistling (from what I've seen, is a common vocal tic), and lastly, stuttering. NOW, I'm not talking about constabtly stuttering, no. He only stutters when he's really emotional or stressed or just in a very intense situation.

Relationships!

I'm not gonna go into detail about his relationship with every creepypasta (humanoid creepypastas Ig), but I will briefly mention how close he is to a select few, just the ones that comes to mind rn.

Jeff- Toby doesn't like Jeff bc in my fic, he's kinda an asshole. Though Toby does admire his honesty and how surprisingly trusting he is? Like, if you tell Jeff something, he won't tell a soul. Also surprisingly, he can be quite helpful, which Toby admires as well.

Masky + Hoodie- They're not creepypastas, and in Marble Hornets, are shown to actively go against Slenderman, so I like to think that Toby, who obeys Slenderman, despises them. They would try to get him to see through Slenderman's brainwashing, but he refuses to listen to them (who knows, maybe one day, he will listen and finally break free from Slendy~)

BEN- I like to think of them as friends (not bc they're my two favourites) but because despite BEN's age, he can be quite mature at times? And helps Toby if Toby ever needed information about a target. They play games every now and then.

Sally- Everyone loves Sally. End of discussion.

(I was gonna do more but I don't feel like it bc it involves thinking)

With my OC!

If you're not interested in anything about my OC, feel free to skip this part but I am in love with my OC and have been dying to talk about him!

Now, how is Toby around my OC? My OC is named Noah, and he doesn't talk, like at all. He has the ability to, but refuses to ever speak bc of his speech impediment: rhotacism. When he wants to talk to someone, he writes what he has to say on a notepad. Since he's quiet and minds his business, Toby is fine around him, but there's a part of Noah that unnerves him. It feels like Noah isn't just Noah, like there's another part of him that's more... evil. As a killer himself, Toby isn't scared of Noah, far from it. Noah is probably one of the most pacifistic creepypastas in the entire mansion. He never actually kills anyone, he just somehow makes people so angry that they start attacking each other. Toby is just a bit... curious about him. But they rarely see each other since Noah is either always in his room or disappeared somewhere, and Toby is mainly in the woods. Whenever they do see each other or hang out, it's always a calm experience. It mainly involves Toby talking about something with Noah writing back his responses. Not like Noah doesn't take the lead in conversations at times. When he gets excited about something, he hastily writes it down, which makes it difficult to read, but Toby doesn't care. Honestly, at times, Noah feels like a younger brother he never had. If Noah ever needed help, Toby would probably help.

(Gah, now all I can think about is Toby being an overprotective brother figure <33 especially since Noah never had any siblings. Also, this went off the rails a bit. I just really like my OC and Toby <33)

[reddiamondyeet]

For the writer ask game

1, 2, 4, 18, 40, 56

(Sorry if that's a lot)

YIPPEE ASK GAME!!!!

Don't worry I'm actually basking in this rn lmao

1) One shots or multi-chapter fics?

I much prefer one shots. I have a tendency of running out of steam and leaving fics half finished, which hurts less for one shots than for multi-chapters cause I usually already have chapters out of a multi-chapter once I hit that point, so it kinda feels like I'm disappointing people.

2) Plan each chapter ahead of write as you go?

I definitely just write as I go. Most things I try to plan never get written, so I just have to go go go and try my hardest not to stop until I have to, otherwise I'm not picking it up again for a decent bit.

4) Where do you find inspiration for new ideas?

My mind wanders a lot, so my inspiration comes from everywhere. I'll see a funny post and it'll make me think about something barely related and I'll get a fic idea, stuff like that.

18) When do you title your fics? How do you come up with titles?

Sometimes my fics get their titles as early as before I start writing them, sometimes they don't get a title until right before I post them. A lot of the titles I use are from songs, but the others can range from something I thought would be funny to what I thought would be most poetic to... Anything really.

40) If someone made fanart for your work, what scene would you hope to see?

I think I'd just be shocked that someone made fanart for my fics at all lmao. A scene I know for certain I would love to see having fanart though would be the scene in Hatred immediately after Gregory punches Blaise in the face, where Gregory's satisfied with how miserable Blaise looks about it all. I just think that's a really good scene lol.

56) What's something about your writing you pride yourself on?

Maybe it's just me, but I really like how I write characters in pain. Emotional pain, physical pain, it just feels like I can get those feelings across rather well, especially the more intense the feeling is. Kind of a messed up thing to be proud of, I guess, but I'm proud of it nonetheless.

[ofmdee]

foof. typing this out on tumblr because it feels easier to collect my thoughts here rather than twitter, lmfao, but MAN my creative well is bone dry rn, i feel like i have zero energy and motivation to work on projects and i just. it's driving me crazy lmfao, and in the back of my mind i know i'm burnt out and need a break, but it's so hard to take a break, because like, i don't have much else going on in my life rn, or ever, like fandom has always been a huge, important part of my life and i don't rly know what to do or who i am if im not obsessed over SOMETHING lmfao. my gf said last night something like, i guess it's hard to take a break when it's related to a hyperfixation/special interest and like!! yeah!! it's rly hard to untangle all of that!

but. idk. i don't feel happy rn with a lot of things irl and online, and i know i need to rest and do nothing and let the well fill up again but that also scares me? so i am just going to try to ease up on myself a little bit, try to go more than a day without feeling compelled to post something new just because i'm afraid ppl will leave or forget me or something if i don't constantly pump out Content. and i know i did this to myself, lmfao, i rly don't know how to do things in moderation and this is a constant cycle of going too hard and then abruptly losing all interest

my gf sent me this last night and even the first paragraph got me!!! like, that's ME!!!

i am in the reluctant admission stage rn lmfao.

i am not going to say i am completely going to stop creating during this time, because that would be a lie, but i am rly going to try and chill tf out, stop worrying about getting fics done in time for mermay, and just kinda try to recharge. and i don't wanna say this is a firm break or whatever because when i inevitably fail at taking a break, i will end up beating up on myself, so im just gonna say i am gonna try to be like...... idk, creative Lite or something for a little bit.

im still gonna be around every day lmfao, but probably for less time than usual. i'm still gonna reblog/retweet things, and i'll probably have some original stuff as well, but i am not gonna keep holding myself to the impossible standard of having something new every day. and i know no one else expects that of me!!! but i have somehow put that expectation on myself. i can use this time to share some old favorites again instead!!

i just started a new game+ in coral island, so ive got that going for me, lmfao, and it's getting nicer outside finally and i rly truly need to touch grass more often!! idk why i always feel like i need a huge explanation for what i do, and it probably wont even be super noticeable to most ppl lol, but!! idk. sometimes i just need to work things out this way.

so, i am releasing myself of the burden of having some fics done for mermay, and posting daily, and feeling like i have to make tangible progress on creative projects on the regular. or, that is my goal, at any rate. i think i'll just focus on gifs/still shots for mermay, my fics will be ready when they are ready 😤 but even if i don't do that much, it's okay!!! mermaids are good any time of the year imho.

i just need to get to a point where i actually Enjoy the process of creating again, because it feels like a chore rn and i hate that :((((

idk, anyway if u read all this thank u, thank u for following me and liking what i do, here is an old gif for ur troubles

[seoafin]

i’m gonna be a nasty lil nerd and geek out about the fic okay i’m on vacation rn n i feared if i left it for when i came back home i would forget. SO ur insane actually sooooooo crazy for writing that like i’m willling to check u into a mental hospital for putting me through all of that. (it was amazing please never stop) can i tell u my lil ripmc headcannon it doesn’t have to be true and please feel free to ignore if u hate it but i kinda hc that she can read a cursed objected history or take important information from it. i’m unaware if you’ve delved deeper into her techinque ik she uses the katana n idk i think it would be kinda cool if she realized that technique n decided to get proficient with the katana maybe as a way to raise her value as a sorcerer in the eyes of the higher ups n fight curses with the collected information she learned from them in her fighting style with her katana! sorry if like hc stuff about ur if’s is annoying and please feel free to ignore i just thought it’d be kinda cool! like making her super powered up i feel like would clash a bit with geto n gojo but making her just interesting enough a nice puzzle piece to fit in between them she’s capable of understanding an objects entire history but incapable of reading between the lines that her two best friends wanna do the nasty. also i love love love the way you’ve written ripmc n her view in love and relationships i relate so much to it. i’ve tried verbalizing it to myself but end confusing myself even more and i just really loved the simple way in which you explained that she simply loves geto gojo n shoko n all the kids of course. like i have some trouble dissecting the difference between romantic love and platonic love but i just know i have so much of it to give even tho i don’t see love as a huge huge part of my life? we’re u interested in writing ripmc with any hints of aromance or pansexuality in the mind? idk just so cool all around!!!! also the first chapter with her and geto cooking was so fucking wrenching because u do so well the thing where they look at her and they’re clearly mad and they know they’re mad and she’s just apologetic for existing n they’re just fed up and there’s so much unsaid in the quiet of it all n in between all those stolen glances it makes me wanna rip my heart into two. ALSO just the way you wrote rip mc with geto cooking n then gojo n her touching like i feel like you incorporated their love languages so beautifully woah man woahhh. last thing loved the guilt tripping from the children it was awesome i felt like an absentee father who didn’t go see her childrens recital or smt 10/10 recommend. ALSO ALSO megumi is sooooooo possesive of ripmc he is such an adorable lil jealous brat i love how it makes gojo spiral n wish he could revert back in age so he could cuddle up to her and hold her hand ughhhhh🤯

ahhhhhh!!! you can honestly project and imagine whatever you want onto rip!mc she's meant to be written that way!!! but yes haha if you know me then you probably im a very big proponent of having platonic and romantic love overlap. to me there's no clear boundary that marks romantic from platonic vice versa and i don't really think it's something to be necessarily distinguished as different. love is love you know. but also imo our western constructs of romantic love vs platonic love works to our detriment. it places too much of a heavy burden on a partner to fulfill all your emotional needs and emphasizes romantic fulfillment over platonic fulfillment when ideally you should have both! anyway I went off on a tangent lmfao. In the end love is love and rip!mc sees that. no matter how many people you love or how you love. I am sooo looking forward to actually writing mimiko and nanako past a few lines. I know I mainly focus on megumi but all the kids are very precious!!! as I said before you can definitely read rip!mc as pansexual/aromantic (which other ppl have also hc'd her) thank you for reading I'm glad you enjoyed it!!!

[jjackfrost]

1, 3, 13

How many books did you read this year? 24 ! reading the 25th rn. (booktube has poisoned me into thinking this isn't a lot, but i had a lot more fun reading when i didn't pressure myself into reading more like i did last year lol)

3. What were your top five books of the year?

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (reread - it was my fav last year as well lol. This is my FAVORITE BOOK EVER.)

The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler (THIS IS VERY CLOSE BEHIND PHM. THIS IS THE REASON I CANT STOP THINKING ABOUT OCTOPUSES)

Our Hideous Progeny by C. E. McGill (this book means so much to me, please read it. ESPECIALLY if you like frankenstein. AND dinosaurs.)

Dracula's Child by J. S. Barnes (a sequel to Dracula that I did not expect to like as much as I did. He's currently writing a sequel to Frankenstein too and I'm like pissing myself)

Romantic Outlaws: The Extraordinary Lives of Mary Wollstonecraft and Mary Shelley by Charlotte Gordon (talked about this in the previous ask. It's a biography, about what it says on the tin. It's so good)

13. What were your least favorite books of the year?

I thought I didn't have many books I super didn't like but then I went on a rant about one of them so I guess I do

The Space Between Us by Doug Johnstone seemed on first glance to have all the ingredients to be a favorite of mine, but it completely failed to make me care about the characters, and the sci-fi aspect of it was pretty underwhelming. Also, the run-on sentences were horrible. Ig it was a style thing, but I hate that so much lol.

The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery was on of the four octopus-related books I read this year after falling under The Mountain in the Sea's spell (The Space Between Us is also one of them, though the octopus in that one isn't really an octopus). It is a non-fiction book about Sy Montgomery learning about octopuses. The beginning was promising, where she first goes to the aquarium to meet an octopus called Athena, and she gets to hold Athena's arms and stuff - but then this just keeps happening. Athena dies and is replaced by another octopus, who Sy holds hands with for a bit, and then that octopus gets sick and is replaced by another octopus, and they hold hands a bit more. Then, maybe I didn't like it as much because it had a lot to do with other animals and learning how to scuba dive, which probably is interesting for other people, but my one-tracked mind was only there for the octopuses, so I just found it tedious. And then even when it was about octopuses, it always felt more like Sy was writing like "wow this is so amazing for ME," like about how it made her feel, and not so much about the actual octopuses ?? And there was something really uncomfortable about reading about them keeping an octopus in a bucket for several months because they were waiting for the other octopus to die, WHILE talking about how incredibly intelligent octopuses are like...isn't this just animal abuse at this point? They BRIEFLY mention the ethics of aquariums and capturing wild octopuses for no reason except to put them in an exhibit, not to rehabilitate them or anything, but it feels like the problematic aspects of this just kinda gets brushed away..... Anyway, didn't do it for me, and by the third time she writes "octopus time" (describing how time seems to flow differently while she's over the aquarium holding the octopus' arms) I was just kinda annoyed lol. Anyway, rant over

Autonomous by Annalee Newitz. This book isn't actually on the bottom of my list because I ranked it both by how much I enjoyed it, just pure entertainment value, and how much I admired the work that went into it. The Soul of an Octopus and The Space Between Us are at the very bottom, but there's still four books between them and Autonomous (The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee, The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness, The Unexpected Return of Josephine Fox by Claire Gradidge, and Half a Soul by Olivia Atwater). The reason I'm talking about Autonomous and not any the ones I ranked lower is because I did find the book compelling and entertaining like 80% of the time -- meanwhile, those other books were just fine. They were okay, the didn't really make an impression. I didn't dislike them, there were just other books I enjoyed more. THE THING IS. Autonomous did something so fucking weird at the end that it kind of ruined the whole book for me?? Like, please message me if you've read this in case something has just gone over my head, because like I swear to god there's a character who is gay but refuses to acknowledge it and instead says some really homophobic shit, who never comes to terms with his sexuality and instead puts the label Woman on the genderless character he has a crush on (who knows this isn't correct, but this character is kinda like, "well if it makes him like me then I guess I don't mind," which could have been interesting to explore if it weren't at the end of the book and it never goes anywhere??) and that's just how it ends? Huh????

Anyway, this became a lot longer than I thought it would, hope that answers the questions LMAO

[shai-manahan]

OK OK OK CALM DOWN CALM DOWN THIS IS NOT AM EMERGENCY BUT I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU KNOW JUST HOW MUCH I LOVE YOUR WRITING AND IF LIKE- ????? THE WAY YOU DESCRIBE THINGS IS SO BEAUTIFUL AND OMG THAT NIGHTMARE SCENE IS GIVING ME NIGHTMARES THE MORE I THINK ABOUT IT SO I JUST WANTED TO LET YOU THAT I ABSOLUTELY LOVE YOUR WORK AND HOW GLAD IM THAT YOU DECIDED TO BRING IT TO LIFE- SO KEEP IT UP AND PLEASE TAKE CARE YOUR HEALTH AS WELL 👍👍👍👍👍👍

also i have a few theories about our MC if you don't mind-

1. so... as i played through the nightmare scene for the 9th time in a row to fully relish the horror and trauma, i realized that our dear (but unfortunate) MC must have gone through something MUCH MUCH worse than merely watching their father get oofed off by their mother 🤔🤔🤔 because i once read somewhere that if someone experiences like a really bad traumatic experience their brain will instinctively suppress their memories and lock them away to protect the person from getting anymore affected and also to give them a sense of normality? dunno about that our brains can be really mysterious sometimes, which brings me to my second theory

2. OK OK OK i know this may sound crazy and also scientifically inaccurate, but i think MC has some sort of Dissociative disorder? i mean- how do you explain their sudden black out from their home to their journey all the way to Bale's territory and the bar? or maybe im just overthinking it and perhaps its somehow related to the hallucinations and the syringes that have been emphasized over multiples times in the demo

3. why do i feel our MC is being drugged with something 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 or maybe something happened before or after the incident with their father otherwise why would Alex act so sus, Vincent too, YALL TOO SUS

and so ends my theory spree as i have exhausted my remaining two brain cells to make SOME kind of sense and connection through this whole theory thing

ALSO ALSO ALONZO WHY DO I HAVE A FEELING I WRONGED YOU SOMEHOW AND SOMEWHERE AND IF I DID IM SO SORRY -

which puts me to my next question, i wonder why our MC just offed 11 of their coworkers 🤔 corruption maybe? whatever the case Is, it still doesn't excuse bernard (or whatever his name is, he's a jerk) for acting like the lil piece of poop he is, to both us and finn cause oh boy imma bout to throw hands (you better sleep with one eye open you lil shit)

ALSO ALSO ALSO MORE WESLEY LORE YAY omg now i feel kinda conflicted rn like i still wanna sock that lil bastard for exposing us but i feel kinda pity for him too, also that wholesome moment between them was so cute if not for the current angsty situation, but i guess i'll them off with one good bish slap on the face for the whole expose before listening to their side of the story

and now finally, after going through your whole blog i realized that we have a hidden mental health stat- lol my mc is gonna be one helluva self sabotaging half depressed boi bu the end of this IF 😂

SORRY FOR THE EXTREMELY LONG RANT / ASK I WAS JUST TOO EXCITED AFTER PLAYING THE WHOLE DEMO AGAIN OVER 9 TIMES BEFORE FINALLY FEELING SATISFIED- IM SORRY 😭😅

Oh that is long, but don't be sorry! I love seeing long messages like this 😌And I’m so glad you love the story to this extent 😭

First of all, so there'll be no misunderstandings, I want to make it clear that what the MC is going through isn't exactly a dissociative disorder, although there is some degree of disassociation happening. I can't explain further because it's a very huge spoiler, but not everything they've been experiencing can be solely attributed to the level of trauma and other related occurrences that DID patients often went through before being diagnosed. It's a little... different.

This does not mean, however, that the MC has no repressed memories 😔 If you look carefully, there are actually some more hints spread throughout the demo, although some of them are hidden behind certain routes. A lot are in Chapter 2, though. Anyway, the revelations relating to it won’t be the focus of Book 1, but there will be a lot more clues in the future.

And yeah, I'm afraid Alex and Vincent will continue to be sus all the way.

YALL TOO SUS

ah but I wouldn’t have done my job right if they’re not sus :)))

why do i feel our MC is being drugged with something 🤔

🤔🤔🤔

ALSO ALSO ALONZO WHY DO I HAVE A FEELING I WRONGED YOU SOMEHOW AND SOMEWHERE AND IF I DID IM SO SORRY

Well, I suppose that depends on the perspective but Alonzo does believe the MC has wronged them haha which is tbh actually valid.

which puts me to my next question, i wonder why our MC just offed 11 of their coworkers 🤔 corruption maybe?

To be fair, I don't think arresting them counts as offing lmao but yeah there's a heavy corruption occurring within the police force and everybody knows it; it's just that most of the people in Gaile cannot do anything to stop it. And don't worry about Bertrand, he already sleeps with one eye open lmaoooo although he does have kind of a huge role (spoiler: he will always be an asshole).

Wesley's reuinion scene, though... if you all think the flashback scene is already conflicting you, well, the reunion might uh.... actually nevermind, I'm not gonna spoil it.

and now finally, after going through your whole blog i realized that we have a hidden mental health stat- lol my mc is gonna be one helluva self sabotaging half depressed boi bu the end of this IF 😂

There are four types of mental health stats in the demo right now, but I'm arranging all the variables in a spreadsheet to see if I've missed anything. I kinda have a lot of them lmfao.

[justtelling-shinobuisthebest]

Sorry, got busy and just remembered about this.

Okay, continuing our, yes, now you're with me, "Loving Shinobu" week. I just came to an idea, that one of the major reasons, why I am even doing this, is something as important for a plot fact as important for us oxygen.

Interactions within characters.

I just caught myself while rereading manga, that I always stop at some not extremely actions-filled moment, just to think of how I would like some of the characters to do something different, say, mimic, gesture, I don't mind. And always I analyze how sure I was while making this. I payed attention, how good or eye-catching was writted at least the most important aspects of characters. Wait... I don't think it's Shinpbu related. Nevermind, I just made quick list that I like. As always, as we say in russian "shit and sticks 👌" (govno i palki, means quick, bad or both, most of the time one is cause for the other)

Tamayo

Starting from a really dumb and bold fact. Thay are different. Wow..

I like that from the moment Tamayo was offered to help ending Muzan, I knew with whom she's going to work. I knew, or at least was able to guess, that we needed combine two scientists rn. And, I was able to predict very first reaction for both of 'em. Like, it was kinda an open book. I wasn't much surprised at Tamayo's flashbacks. I knew Shinobu would still have some hatred towards demons. I knew that Yushiro will react negatively and Tamayo would be more understanding and friendly. But, I liked fact that at the end of their work they got more loyal to each other. Just recalled moment when Yushiro helps Shinobu. I loved changing in their relationship, but couldn't get from where does all of the misunderstanding comes.. Yeah, it's not main interaction for both, but still. I guessed that this came from lack of really good written moments in their dialog with each other, more specifically, their absence. But, I'm not here for this. I just talk about Shinobu, that's my job.

Closing eyes at all hatred or discomfort in the lab. I still have headcanon, that both shared kinda lost family bond. You know. Tamayo, in form of a demon, killing everyone in her family, including her children.

Shinobu, because of demons, losing everyone in her family, including her last hope, love, her sister.

I can see how in quich break Tmayo sees working hard Shinobu and imagines how blessed, happy, contented and just grateful she would be if her daughter was like Shinobu. Yup, first impression may be the first reason why this hc is only a hc. But, how happy she would be if she got to know that her little kid is tiny genius? Very, she was so loving towards them that her murder shattered her.

I can see how in quick breaks Shinobu sees in Tamayo her long gone mother and imagines how blessed, happy, contented and just grateful she would be if this was world wothout demons. How much time she would be able to spend with her parents. But I just still see those similarities between Tamayo and Kocho's mom, at least facial. I see how she would struggle not to call Tamayo as mom or at least aunt. Just, how over the moon would Shinobu be if instead of preparing herself for death, she was still with her family? Very, extremely. Her mother looked so loving and carrying that i couldn't even imagine how much was Kanae upset or lost after their death.

In conclusion, those two making me see them as kinda found - family.

Butterfly girls.

At this point it feels like I would never shut up about how much do I love them.

Even if we skip how lucky Kanao was that people who rescued her was Kocho-sisters, we forget that every girl's parents were killed by demons, we won't pay attention how young were triplets(caterpillars), we still get to see how caring and loving Shinobu was towards them. That after Tengens attempts to take them on his mission , she's still angry and didn't forgive him. That the first person to even know about her revenge was Kanao. That I mistaken Kanao as Shinobu's last thought , but instead she was furious that without demons all of the girls would be with their parents(ch.143).

That Shinobu had kind of sign language with Kanao.

That everyone in Mansion shares respect for Shinobu not only because she's hashira, but also because she sees them as their family. I love their relationship. I love their family. I love them. Also, don't forget, that after last fight, they take care of Fugu, Shinobu's goldfish.

Oh wait, did I forget to talk about their relationship too? Silly me.

I'm sorry, I didn't payed much attention to Fugu and Shinobu's friendship. But honestly, I love, adore, the fact that in her freetime Shinobu with Fugu, playing, feeding, Idc just being with her friend. Aww.

In conclusion, I can't pass a day without thinking how would their relationship go if there would be no demons, no deaths. How would it go if in Modern AU all 9f families lived in one apartment, Kocho sisters were playing and helping those kids.. well, I'm crying. Someone pls, I need a story abt them.

Inosuke

I felt strong need to talk about them.

The way how he changes with Shinobu. The way how he sees her as his mother. The way how much he wanted to ask Shinobu about it. The way how he helps Kanao, because she's Shinobu’s sister. The way how he never gets her name wrong. The way how he kinda scolds Kanao getting so much bruises, because Shinobu will get mad. The way how he changes after knowing about her death. The way how he continued crying alongside Kanao after battle. The way how she calls him a honey badger(I guess) The way how much I love them. It breaks my heart, that in manga there is nothing from Shinobu's side. That there's not so much moments with them. That there is people misunderstanding this cute mother-son relations.

In conclusion, I can't wait to see more at least cute momets with them, really.

Love Shinobu..

They make me speechless when it comes to them. I can't imagine where I would be without them. Their cute, beautiful and bright interactions always makes my heart skip a beat.

Loving Shinobu. Day 6

I didn't add Douma because it's either keeps me boiling or just doesn't lay with everything I already wrote.

Love you,Happy Halloween ❤️