#it still gives them monopoly power though so who knows

[asleepinawell]

"we'll all have flying cars in the future" bro we cannot even do a web search anymore

here's a chunk of it since it's subscribe walled

"If you use Bing, DuckDuckGo, Mojeek, Qwant or any other alternative search engine that doesn’t rely on Google’s indexing and search Reddit by using “site:reddit.com,” you will not see any results from the last week. DuckDuckGo is currently turning up seven links when searching Reddit, but provides no data on where the links go or why, instead only saying that “We would like to show you a description here but the site won't allow us.” Older results will still show up, but these search engines are no longer able to “crawl” Reddit, meaning that Google is the only search engine that will turn up results from Reddit going forward. Searching for Reddit still works on Kagi, an independent, paid search engine that buys part of its search index from Google.

The news shows how Google’s near monopoly on search is now actively hindering other companies’ ability to compete at a time when Google is facing increasing criticism over the quality of its search results. This exclusion of other search engines also comes after Reddit locked down access to its site to stop companies from scraping it for AI training data, which at the moment only Google can do as a result of a multi-million dollar deal that gives Google the right to scrape Reddit for data to train its AI products.

“They’re [Reddit] killing everything for search but Google,” Colin Hayhurst, CEO of the search engine Mojeek told me on a call.

Hayhurst tried contacting Reddit via email when Mojeek noticed it was blocked from crawling the site in early June, but said he has not heard back."

[iamumbra195]

Random One Piece incorrect quotes cause I'm bored

Some of these are modern au though

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

*Sanji's not there*

Usopp: HELP! I TOLD LUFFY I’D COOK DINNER TONIGHT BUT I CAN’T COOK!

Zoro, pouring alcohol directly into a cereal bowl:

Zoro: And you thought I could help?

...

Luffy: In my defense, I was left unsupervised.

Nami : Wasn't Zoro with you?

Zoro: In my defense, I was also left unsupervised

...

Law: I trust Mugiwara-ya.

Penguin: You think he knows what he's doing?

Law: I wouldn't go that far.

...

Sabo: Dandelions symbolize everything I want to be in life

Ace, confused: Fluffy and dead with a gust of wind?

Sabo: Unapologetic. Hard to kill. Feral, filled with sunlight, bright, beautiful in a way that the conventional and controlling hate but cannot ever fully destroy. Stubborn. Happy. Bastardous. Friends with bees. Highly disapproving of lawns. Full of wishes that will be carried far after I die.

Luffy: edible

...

Nami: We need to get through this locked door. Usopp, give me your credit card.

Usopp: Here.

Nami, pocketing it: Thanks. Luffy, kick down the door.

...

Chopper: You know those things will kill you, right?

Zoro, pouring another glass of whiskey: That’s the point.

Sanji, smoking a cigarette: We’re trying to speed up the process.

Luffy: *Nods while eating raw cookie dough*

...

Robin: Why is Luffy so sad?

Nami: He took one of those “Which Character Are You?” quizzes

Robin: And...?

Nami: He got Buggy

*Zoro cackling in the background

...

Zoro: Self care is actually getting into fights with randos in dark alleys.

Nami: No, self care is stuff like taking a bubble bath, or putting on a lot of makeup if you like it, or taking a nice warm nap!

Kin'emon, trying to be poetic: Self care is the burning heat when rage washes over you!! Self care is when you feel the bones crack under your powerful fists!! Self care is the fear in your enemies’ eyes!!!

Usopp: Lmao self care is taking Luffy's birthday meat cake just so I can eat the frosting.

Luffy: If you touch my meat cake I’ll make you eat your hands.

Sanji, losing his mind: WHY IS THERE FROSTING ON MEAT?

...

Franky, about Jinbe: Apparently we’re getting someone new in the group.

Robin: Are we stealing them?

Brook: New or used?

Franky, cackling: Wonderful responses, both of you.

...

Smoker: You’re receiving a ticket for having three people on one motorcycle.

Sanji: Shit.

Usopp: Wait, three?

Smoker: Yeah?

Nami: OH MY GOD ZORO FELL OFF!!!

...

Kin'emon: Tonight, one of you has betrayed us.

Ashura: Is it me?

Kin'emon: No, it’s not you.

Denjiro: Is it me, Kin?

Kin'emon: It’s not you either.

Kanjuro: Is it me, Kin'emon?

Kin'emon, bleeding from several debilitating injuries:

Kin'emon, mockingly: Is IT mE kiN'eMOn?

...

Usopp: Can I be frank with you guys?

Luffy, confused: Sure, but I don’t see how changing your name is gonna help.

Chopper: Can I still be Chopper?

Franky, snickering: Shh, let Frank speak.

...

Sabo: You lying, cheating, piece of shit!

Koala: Oh yeah? You’re the idiot who thinks you can get away with everything you do. WELCOME TO THE REAL WORLD

Sabo: I’m leaving you, and I’M TAKING ROBIN-CHAN WITH ME

Hack, picking up the monopoly board: I think we’re gonna stop playing now.

...

Law, walking into his submarine: Hello, people who do not belong here.

Zoro: Hey.

Sanji: Hi.

Robin: Hello.

Chopper: Hey!

Law: I gave you my vivre card for emergencies only!

Luffy, grinning: We were out of meat.

...

Sanji: You know, I'm starting to regret showing you how that blender works.

Luffy, drinking meat: Why do you say that?

...

Zoro: Do you take constructive criticism?

Nami: I only take cash or credit.

...

Koala: Why are you on the floor?

Sabo: I'm depressed.

Sabo: Also I was stabbed, can you get Ivankov, please.

...

Robin: If I accidentally sat on a voodoo doll of myself, would I be trapped forever in that position, doomed to starve to death?

*everyone looks ay Karasu

Karasu: What? How am I supposed to know?

Lindbergh: You say, as if we don’t use you as a source of knowledge of the occult.

Karasu: *sighs*

Karasu: You wouldn't be trapped

...

Vivi: I love you guys, you're the best thing that's happened to me.

Nami: We're the best thing that's ever happened to you?

Vivi: Yes!

Usopp: ... I'm starting to feel a little sorry for you.

...

Usopp: WHY. why did you give Luffy a KNIFE?!

Zoro, shrugging: He said he felt unsafe.

Usopp: Now I feel unsafe!

Zoro: ... would you like a knife?

...

Dragon: What did you do with the target's body?

Sabo : What didn’t I do with the body?

Dragon:

Sabo: Okay, that sounded more sexual than I intended. I disposed of the corpse respectfully.

...

Luffy, texting Ace: Ace! Help I’m being kidnapped

Ace: Where are you?

Luffy: I’m with some strange person. In a car. Help.

Ace: I’ll call Gramps.

Garp, answering their cell: Y’ello?

Ace: Where’s Luffy? He texted me that he was being kidnapped.

Garp: Luffy? Whaddya mean, he's right next to me-

Garp, who shaved his head:

Garp: I’ll call you back. *hangs up*

Garp: THE NEW HAIRCUT ISN’T THAT BAD!

Luffy: WHO ARE YOU?!

...

*Ace, Sabo and Luffy sitting in jail together*

Sabo: So who should we call?

Ace: I’d call Gramps, but I feel safer in jail

...

Roger: Garp, my old arch enemy.

Garp: ... I thought I was your only arch enemy?

Roger: I have a life outside of you, Garp

...

Zoro: Sometimes I drink milk straight out of the container.

Luffy: The cow???

Zoro: What?

Sanji: *disgusted shudder* LUFFY, W H Y?

...

Usopp: Would you stab your best friend in the leg for 10 billion berry?

Zoro: Nami can stab me, and then when my leg gets better, we buy a big-ass house and erase my debt

Luffy: You can stab me too, then we'll have 20 billion.

Zoro: Good thinking.

...

Kin'emon: Come on, I wasn’t that drunk last night.

Denjiro: You were flirting with O'Tsuru.

Kin'emon: So what? She's my wife.

Denjiro: You asked her if she were single.

Kin'emon:

Denjiro: And then you cried when she said she wasn't

...

Marco: What time is it?

Ace: I don’t know; pass me that saxophone and we’ll find out

Ace: *Plays sax loudly and extremely out of tune*

Izou: WHO THE FUCK IS PLAYING THE SAXOPHONE AT TWO IN THE MORNING

Ace, proudly: It’s 2 am

...

Luffy: I can’t believe you live nearby, and you won’t let anyone crash at your place.

Law: You people already know too much about me.

Kidd: I know exactly three facts about you, and one of them is that you won’t let any of us crash at your place.

...

Sabo, an enabler: Tell Ace about the birds and the bees.

Luffy: They're disappearing at an alarming rate.

...

Brook: Schrödinger’s cat is overrated. If you wanna see something that’s both dead and alive you can talk to me any time of the day.

...

Zoro: With great power comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later.

...

Law: When someone points at your black clothes and asks whose funeral it is, having a look around the room and saying 'Haven’t decided yet' is typically a good response.

Bepo: Captain, no.

...

Law: Nothing in life is free.

Chopper: Love is free!

Luffy: Adventure is free!

Robin: Knowledge is free.

Nami: Everything is free if you take it without paying.

...

Usopp: We’ve been conducting an ongoing study to see what Luffy will and will not eat.

Franky: Grass? Yes!

Usopp: Moss? Yes!!

Franky: Leaves? Ohh, yes!

Usopp: Shoelaces? Strange but true!

Franky: Worms? Sometimes!

Usopp: Rocks? Usually nah.

Franky: Twigs? Usually!

Usopp: Zoro's cooking? Inconclusive!

Chopper: How did you… test this?

Usopp: You just hand him stuff and say ‘eat this’ and if he eats it, he eats it.

Chopper: ... I don’t know how to feel about this.

Nami: IS THAT WHERE ALL MY SHOELACES WENT?

Robin: What about humans? He tried to eat Crocodile once

Everyone: ...

Usopp: I think I might be too afraid to ask

(Someone pls draw this one XD)

...

Betty: In your opinion, what’s the height of stupidity?

Koala: *turning to Sabo* How tall are you?

...

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

That's it, this took forever to write lol

[slavonicrhapsody]

a deep dive into Rykard’s belief system

We all know that Rykard wants nothing more than to devour the very gods… but Rykard had despised the gods long before he ever became the serpent of blasphemy. Within dialogue and item descriptions, you’ll notice many details that indicate Rykard had quite specific grievances against the gods during the Shattering war and before. It was his audacious campaign against the gods that won him the loyalty and admiration of his soldiers: we meet the spirit of a Gelmir knight in Volcano Manor who tells us, “Praetor Rykard's ambitions, though blasphemous, marked him a worthy sovereign.” Though he was despised by many as a traitor and a blasphemer, Rykard’s beliefs before his devouring were seen by his followers as heroic and worth following. Let’s go through what those specific beliefs were according to the text, and why he might have believed those things…

When we officially join the Volcano Manor, Tanith gives us this speech about Rykard’s beliefs: 

“Now, perhaps the time has come to tell you. Of the true ruler of this manor, Lord Rykard. The Erdtree blessed the Tarnished with grace. But it was all too meagre, in the fate of the enormity of their task. The Tarnished were forced to scavenge, squabbling for crumbs. Like the shardbearers, vying for power in the wake of the Shattering. Our Lord, indignant, had refused. To scurry about, fighting over what miserly scraps they allow us. If the Erdtree, and indeed the very gods, would debase us so, then we are willing to raise the banner of resistance, even if it means heresy. We at the Volcano Manor, under Lord Rykard, have sworn no rest until it is done.”

Essentially, Tanith recounts to us Rykard’s view of the Shattering war: the demigods are compelled to struggle against each other for the ultimate seat of power. However, this struggle exists at the behest of the gods, and is for the power that they see fit to grant. The war is fundamentally under their terms. To “win” the conflict is still to serve the whims of the Greater Will. This is what Rykard finds so deeply insulting… the gods treat them like dogs fighting over scraps of meat from their high table that they can never reach. So why should Rykard engage in petty conflicts for the gods’ miserly scraps of power, when he can raise his banner against the very gods themselves? 

Displayed on the walls of Volcano Manor are these paintings depicting the Erdtree aflame, visualizing Rykard’s intentions to destroy the gods in a very literal and direct way: he has declared war on all that is holy. He has accepted the fact that in order to achieve his goals, he must carry out such grievous acts of violence: “The road of blasphemy is long and perilous. One cannot walk it unprepared to sin.” (Remembrance of the Blasphemous)

From the Taker’s Cameo, we learn that,

“When lord Rykard turned to heresy, taking by force became the rule. The gods were no different, after all.”

This description tells us a few things. Essentially, under Rykard’s worldview, “might makes right.” This philosophy is continued by the recusants of Volcano Manor as well: Bernahl tells us, “The strong take. Such is our code.” If one is strong enough to take what they wish, then they are entitled to it. Rykard believes that this is how the gods have always operated (and with good reason… more on this later). From Tanith’s speech, we know that Rykard resents the gods’ absolute authority… so essentially, Rykard making a point of imitating the gods’ displays of power is asserting that the gods have no special right to do these things – he is challenging their monopoly on power and violence. He also imitates the gods’ own practices to expose their hypocrisy: though the gods present themselves as virtuous, in reality, they have always taken what they pleased through violent conquest. 

We know that Rykard was allied with his sister Ranni (herself on a quest against the gods) through the Blasphemous Claw item description. It reads,

“On the night of the dire plot, Ranni rewarded Praetor Rykard with these traces. Should the coming trespass one day transpire, they would serve as a last-resort foil, allowing Rykard to challenge Maliketh the Black Blade, the black beast of Destined Death.”

The main takeaway from this description is that, since the description implies that Rykard had some involvement (or at the very least, knowledge of) the Night of the Black Knives, Rykard and Ranni closely shared their beliefs on the gods with each other. The phrase “Should the coming trespass one day transpire” even seems to imply that the two had hoped they might openly “trespass” against the gods, culminating in Rykard challenging Maliketh.  

Furthermore, Rogier gives us some pertinent details on the timeline of the Night of the Black Knives:

“It happened during the Golden Age of the Erdtree, long before the shattering of the Elden Ring. Someone stole a fragment of the Rune of Death from Maliketh, the Black Blade. And on a bitter night, murdered Godwyn the Golden. That was the first recorded Death of a demigod in all history. And it became the catalyst. Soon, the Elden Ring was smashed, and thus sprang forth the war known as the Shattering.”

Since Rogier’s dialogue places Ranni’s collaboration with Rykard before the Shattering, this means that there must be more to the story that Tanith tells us in her speech – Rykard’s resentment of the gods and his blasphemous intentions go back long before the Shattering war. 

This line from Rykard’s unused dialogue lines may give some context to the source of his beliefs… take this with a grain of salt because it is technically not canon, but I believe it is worth mentioning: he says,

“Oh shapers of gods, meddlers in fortune, I do not abide by your suffocating order.”

With the phrases “shapers of gods” and “meddlers in fortune,” he must be speaking directly to the Two Fingers (the envoys of the Greater Will) here, because this is precisely what the Two Fingers do. According to Ranni, they are responsible for choosing empyreans to become potential new gods of the coming age, and because they do this, it can also be said that they “meddle” with fortune and fate. This was the source of Ranni’s entire feud with the Two Fingers — they controlled her fate through her “empyrean flesh.” For these reasons, as well as the reasons listed in the previous paragraphs, it makes sense why Rykard might consider the current order to be oppressive and “suffocating.” 

I also believe it is implied that, when Rykard refers to “the gods,” he specifically means the Greater Will and its vassals. Indeed, Bernahl calls out the Greater Will directly by name:

“O Greater Will, hear my voice. I am the recusant Bernahl, inheritor of my brother's will, and you will fall to my blade. We refuse to become your pawns. Consider this fair warning.”

Bernahl’s words interestingly echo Ranni’s experience with the Greater Will as a force that controls fate — it is a fair assumption to make that Bernahl came to hold these beliefs about the Greater Will because Rykard passed them onto his followers after learning them from Ranni. And lo and behold, Bernahl turns up in Farum Azula near Maliketh, carrying the Blasphemous Claw, which Ranni gave to Rykard for him to use “should the coming trespass one day transpire.” Before leaving, Bernahl tells us,

“the Volcano Manor is no more. Though we may yet fulfil an old promise. We hunted our own kind, and took what was theirs. And with everything in hand, the time has come to rise, against the Erdtree.”

Perhaps this “old promise” could have been a promise Rykard made to Ranni, to challenge Maliketh, release the Rune of Death, and destroy the Erdtree once and for all?

If we accept the idea that Ranni’s struggle against the Two Fingers caused Rykard to resent the gods on her behalf, then there are plenty of other instances of the gods causing Rykard’s family misery that might have also shaped his beliefs. Rykard cared enough about his mother to place two of his abductor virgins at Raya Lucaria to guard her, and the descriptions for some of his magma sorceries imply that she was an inspiration to him in the ways of sorcery. It is a fair assumption that Rennala’s suffering would have upset him, and the cause of her suffering was Radagon’s departure… who immediately wed the god-queen Marika, and founded Golden Order Fundamentalism. Rykard could have interpreted this as Radagon choosing the gods over them. It is also stated by the telescope item description that the Golden Order was the direct cause of Caria’s decline: “During the age of the Erdtree, Carian astrology withered on the vine. The fate once writ in the night skies had been fettered by the Golden Order.” Though the Erdtree made peace with Caria, it still ended up eroding its strength anyway. Radagon’s departure would have also reopened old wounds from when he originally came to conquer Liurnia: his bond with Rennala that once made peace between the Erdtree and the moon has now been broken, calling into question the Erdtree’s true intentions. 

Indeed, the intentions of the realm of the Erdtree have always been characterized by violent conquest; the desire to expand and the elimination of potential threats to its rule. Rykard would have known of his father’s attempts to conquer Liurnia, as well as Queen Marika’s extermination of the fire giants, who were Rykard’s astrologer ancestors’ neighbors (a bond enshrined within the Carian royals’ Sword of Night and Flame). To return to Rykard’s “might makes right” mindset, I believe his time as the head of the inquisition and an enforcer of Erdtree law taught him the true nature of the gods’ power: he would have brutally enforced the laws of the Golden Order and punished those who did not follow its creeds, and would thus have become intimately familiar with the harsh nature of carrying out the order of the Erdtree. Rykard learns that the gods must protect their rule through terror and violence, so the idea of the gods’ benevolence and divine right to rule is in truth, a farce. The one truth in the world is that the strong command the weak, and in order to avoid being commanded, one must become strong. By any means necessary. 

To summarize, Rykard’s beliefs are essentially that the gods position themselves as virtuous and holy beings, but in reality, they administer their absolute authority through force and violent conquest, undermining the free will of their subjects. They are the worst kind of hypocrites, and the only way to end their tyranny is to rise in rebellion, using their own ways against them, no matter how high the price may be. Through a deeper examination of the narrative, I believe it is heavily implied that Rykard came to hold these beliefs because of his experiences serving the gods himself, and feeling the gods’ injustice firsthand through how the ones he loved had been treated.

[bagopucks]

J. Hughes - Blackouts

✄————————————

Jack Hughes x Reader

Requested✨ (as a comment in a previous post)

@lolihaveaproblem

Word Count: 1.8k

Warning(s): None!

Not proofread!

—————————————

“This is so stupid!”

“Well if you hadn’t blown all your money, you wouldn’t be losing this bad.”

“Jack, you idiot.”

“I don’t wanna play this any more. You guys cheated.”

It’s all Ive heard all evening. When the boys at the lake house asked me to oversee monopoly, I did not think it would be this hectic. Or heated. It was Monopoly.

To be fair though, I did learn quite a bit about the Hughes and their friends.

Quinn was silently competitive, and I had definitely seen him slipping Luke some money here and there under the coffee table. I only let it slide because I was rooting for the youngest brother. I learned Cole was incredibly good with his money. Maybe a little stingy, but he was definitely a saver. Trevor didn’t give two shits. He was playing just for the hell of it, spending here and there and everywhere, but still managing to stay out of debt or bankruptcy, and Luke just seemed to have a natural knack for the game.

My beloved Jack was trying to do Trevor’s method, but luck was not on his side. He was owing people money he did not have. He was all over the place. He was a financial nightmare. I kept it in mind in case of the day you both get married. Any conjoined bank accounts would certainly have a pin or password he would not know.

“It’s a little late to quit now. Might as well stay in.” Quinn tried to reason.

“With my one property? Hell no.” Jack quickly stood up from the floor. I was not the only person who winced at the crack in his back. “Trevor can have it.”

Trevor, who somehow seemed to be the richest and luckiest.

“Oh fuck yes!” I giggled at Trevor’s excitement.

I would say I had more fun overseeing monopoly than Risk. When the boys decided to play that, I had to take headache medication due to all the yelling. They took that strategy game quite seriously. Again, except for Trevor. Who had a weird obsession with Australia, and overpopulated it with his troops.. and somehow ended up winning the game after two days of on and off playing.

There had been a lot of F-bombs there. A lot of negotiations. A lot of snack breaks. The second time it was brought out to play, halfway through day three, one of the boys got so tense they flipped the board.

The NATO of hockey players did not enjoy that.

Sometimes I played board games with them, but other times I really did enjoy watching them bicker and argue.

Throw Throw Burrito was another I enjoyed to watch. From a safe distance. Considering the main concept of the game was to throw foam burritos at one another. Some of the welts those boys left the table with amazed me. But I hadn’t laughed harder than the time Trevor got hit in between the legs. The speed with which everybody scattered, was highly amusing.

They didn’t play board games often at the lake house, but seeing as we were in the midst of a three hour power outage, and phones were on their last percentages, everybody was desperately looking for something to do.

“Babe, come on.” Jack mumbled, ever the sore loser. I looked up at him from the couch, his face illuminated by the many candles we had burning. Fucking scented candles that had the house smelling like too many things at once.

“I don’t know, Jack. Last time I left a board game unmonitored the whole thing was flipped.” I commented. I knew what I was doing, and as soon as the words left my mouth, the uprising of displeasure from that memory came in the form of new arguments and accusations about who it was that had flipped their poor game of Risk. Jack chuckled softly. I swiftly climbed over the arm of the couch, seeing as boys were sitting at the foot of it all gathered about the coffee table.

“They’re never gonna get over that.” Jack mumbled as he grabbed my hand. I was swift to snatch up one of the candles before he led me down the hall to his room.

“Not my problem. I still have my money on Cole.” I whispered in response. We both snickered softly, and I winced at the sound of another outburst. Trevor yelling about money missing. Looks like they caught Quinn and all his laundering.

“So, Rowdy,” I began with a playful smile as we wandered down the hall. “What’s on the agenda for tonight?”

“I don’t know. There’s gotta be something in this house to do.” Jack shrugged. I smiled at his cluelessness.

Once we got back into his room, I pushed the door shut behind myself. I opened his blinds and watched the rain pelt the windows, gently biting my bottom lip. Jack swiftly snuck up behind me, wrapping his arms around my body.

“Watch out baby,” I whispered, holding the candle out.

“Sorry.” Jack’s mumbled apology made me smile.

“Come on, Jack-O.” I tried to make my way to his tall dresser, but seeing as he wasn’t letting go, we both waddled our way over together. I set the candle down on top of the safe area, slowly turning in his arms to get a good look at Jack’s face.

“You think my mom and dad are okay?” His question caught me off guard.

“I have a strong feeling they’re more than fine.” I assured him, reaching up to cup his cheeks. “Probably having a more peaceful night than we are.” I added playfully, just in time to hear another shout and a loud bang. I winced. Somebody was beating the table now.

As much as I claimed to hate the noise, the silence in the lake house was often worse than that. Especially in the evenings. I got so used to the noise that the silence began to feel eerie. Like something was incredibly wrong.

“Can’t do movies, not enough phone power to play games. Not enough light to read.” I mumbled thoughtfully. “I have hair dye in the bathroom.”

Jack seemed to really consider the idea before shaking his head.

“Okay. Makeovers?”

He shrugged.

“Wanna watch me try on lingerie?” He lit up like a kid on Christmas. It was a cruel joke, but alas, I had no lingerie to try on, and I was not going to resort to seduction at a time like this. Not when something could go worse with the weather. The last thing I wanted to do was be huddled up in the basement with my boyfriend and his brothers and friends, in a less than appropriate outfit.

“Sorry for the false hope,” I apologized with a smile. Jack groaned.

“I’ll play mini sticks with you.” I finally offered, and Jack shrugged before deciding that was good enough.

“I’ll go get ‘em.” He was out of his room and back within a minute, two tiny little plastic nets in hand, a ball, and two sticks. I giggled softly. Even in the off season, we couldn’t escape hockey.

By the foot of his bed, Jack set up one net on one side of the room, and a net on the other. We quickly got situated on the floor before Jack slid a stick in my direction. I felt incredibly silly, but anything to pass the time at this point.

“You know the rules?” He asked, and I nodded.

“Same as normal hockey.” I checked. Jack smiled at me before he tossed the foam ball in my direction.

“Loser has to eat the melted nasty ice cream on the counter.” Jack made the condition. I grimaced. How disgusting. But once I agreed, we faced off, and our game began.

I could not say I was surprised near the end of the game, when we took an ‘intermission’ and I found I had holes in my leggings. Jack and I had played quite an aggressive game of knee hockey. Despite the fact that he tried to enforce penalties, he quickly gave up when I reasoned that he couldn’t be in charge of them. Especially when he kept grabbing the back of my shirt to keep me from getting too close to his goal.

The Hughes brothers were always cheating to win in some kind of minor game.

We’d laughed and yelled, pushed each other over and played with no mercy. But it was 9-9, and I seriously did not want to eat the warm ice cream. I figured if Jack had cheated, then I could play dirty too. So when I had the foam ball in my own possession, I rushed Jack, who was trying to play defense in the middle of the floor.

We made eye contact at the last second when I moved my stick into both hands -acting as though I planned to cross check him- and pressed my weight against his chest, shoving him onto the floor and effectively pinning him down.

Jack broke into a fit of laughter as I climbed on top of him.

“That’s a penalty,” he tried. I laughed and shook my head.

“Your mom is.”

I was swift to tap the puck into his net with my stick.

“And I win.” Jack was still laughing at the ‘your mom’ joke when he actually registered his loss. The poor brunette craned his neck to see the goal, his expression dropping with realization.

“What? You cheated!”

I leaned forward while he was busy complaining.

“You’ve been cheating since we started this game. I’d just accept my loss and get ready to eat shitty ice cream, Hughes.” I was quick to kiss him before I stood up, dropping my stick on his chest for effect.

“I want a rematch!”

“Can’t, Jacky. I’m retired.” I’d certainly give him hell about this moment for the rest of our lives.

“Bullshit. One more game.” Jack finally sat up, staring up at me as he held my stick out.

“I can’t, buddy. Not pulling a Tom Brady. I’m retired, end of story.”

“This sucks.”

“Aww it’s okay. How’s about you just come to bed and we can cuddle for a bit instead of the ice cream.” Jack eyed me cautiously, seemingly trying to decide if it was another joke or not.

“I’m not making you eat warm ice cream, Jack.” My tone took on a much more serious sound before I held my hands out to him. “Just come lay with me.” He let me help him get up from the floor, dropping his own stick and nodding.

“Can’t believe you thought I was cruel enough to make you eat that,” I teased.

✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾❀✾

[oleander-nin]

Yandere Rottmnt Headcanons

Tw: Mentions of kidnapping, death, killing, breaking bones, revenge, possessive and obsessive behaviors. Please procced with caution. If you notice any other possible triggers that are not listed, please tell me so I may add them. Thank you.

Words: 1873

Mikey:

Restraints/Obsessive. Hints of monopoly as well

Gets really upset if/when you reject him. He’s the baby, he always gets what he wants.

Tries to talk through everything with you, wants you to see his side and just agree with him. He just ignores all arguments towards letting you go.

Doesn’t like to use more physical punishments on you, but wouldn’t go farther than breaking bones if he feels like has to.

He’s also the least likely to kill. He believes everyone can change, and tries to set them straight. Lets them off with only a few broken bones and missing fingers. Will kill if he has to though, he would never let anything happen to you.

Clingy, likes to always be touching you in someway and gets upset if you try to push him off.

Uses his mystic chains to tie you to him or other things so you can’t leave him.

Guilt trips you a lot. After all, he only wants what's best for you. You just need to let him do his thing and stop resisting.

If you say or do something he doesn’t like, he’ll try to ignore it at first. You probably just made a mistake, no biggy. Keep going and you’re going to get hurt though.

Drugs your food if you make him really mad. Mostly sleeping pills, he doesn’t have much access to anything else.

Speaking of food, he loves it when you cook together or you cook for him. Will literally force you to be in the kitchen with him, you aren’t leaving till it’s done.

Absolutely adores everything about you, will hit someone if he hears them talking bad about you.

Isn’t as jealous as his brothers. You belong to him, so why would you ever think about being with someone else?

Uses his mystic powers to keep you near him. Probably figured out how to soul bond y’all together so you can’t leave him no matter what. 

Is probably the most delusional of all his brothers. Genuinely believes he’s not doing anything wrong.

Paints you a lot. Like, before he took you. You arrived to a gallery full of paintings of you. Likes to paint you a lot still, gives them as gifts sometimes to prove his love.

Full heartedly believes you are the greatest thing in the world, and he is the only one who is even slightly deserving of your love. It’s his entire life mission to prove it.

Doesn’t like your friends very much, he thinks they aren’t worthy of your attention. Threatens them a lot, but doesn’t really go farther than that.

Escaping Mikey would be difficult, he’s always attached to you somehow. It’s worse if you get that soul bond, you’re never going to be able to get rid of him.

If you did successfully escape him, he’d search high and low for you, not stopping for anything until he’s found you and brought you home. He can’t survive without you, and you without him. He’ll make sure to keep the chains tighter around you this time.

Donnie:

Possessive/controlling(didn’t know what to call it) and protective. Sight obsession.

Thinks he’s the best thing that could ever happen to you and is convinced you need him as much as he needs you.

Makes a schedule for you, as well as a nutritional diet that he insist(forces) you to follow. Try and break the schedule/diet. I dare you.

Slight touch aversion, but less so. He read somewhere skin to skin contact will help bonding, so sometimes(when he's feeling okay), he will do physical touch. Gets mad when/if you seek out touch from others if you’re a very physical touchy person.

Tends to stare a lot. He just wants to admire you. Never really makes eye contact though, his eyes just wander on you.

Low empathy for when you cry or complain about a punishment. He thinks it was a necessary evil.

However, he is really smart and thinks about his punishments. He wants to find the best way to break you without breaking you.

Gets mad when you get mad at him. Uses silent treatment as a punishment when upset, but gets pissed if you do it back to him.

Would eventually mutilate(cut off or severely break/damage limbs) you if it came down to it, but tries his best to wait it out as he knows he’d lose all progress with you and that would just be annoying(plus he really does not want to hurt you. He loves you, just let him love you. Stop trying to leave.)

Refuses to accept that something is his fault/he is wrong(unless glaringly obvious, but he still won’t really admit it).

Likes to know what you’re doing at all times, mostly to make sure you’re safe and has SHELLDON watch you when he isn’t physically able. Puts a tracker on you ASAP.

Knows what he’s doing is wrong, but at the same time, he doesn’t? Like he knows you don’t like it and it’s illegal, but he doesn’t care

Drugs you at any sign of retaliation and will tranq you if you try to leave.

Wants to be the center of your attention at all times and will throw a fit if you don’t give him the attention he thinks he deserves.

Gets extremely Jealous very easily, but usually waits until you’re gone to deal with it(will kill/mutilate someone who gets to close). If he thinks it’ll benefit him, he does it in front of you. Usually just a last resort to get you to behave.

Will kill everyone close to you if it comes down to it. Or, well, his tech will. He’s too busy to do it himself.

Stalks you before kidnapping you, mostly just to learn everything he can. Bugs your house and hacks cameras when he isn’t physically there.

Raph:

Monopoly/Protective. Slight worship

Wants nothing more than to see you happy and be the reason for that happiness

Constantly worried about you. You’re so fragile, and helpless. What if you’re hurt? Raph needs to be there for you at all times.

Very emotionally dependent on you. You’re an emotional crutch he can’t let go.

Babies you. A lot. Acts like you can’t do anything on your own.

Is afraid to hurt you, and treats you like glass. Doesn’t even let you use a knife in the kitchen, bribing Mikey to help you or doing it himself.

You can be upwards of 6'3"(190.5 cm) and weigh over 200lbs(90.72 kg) of muscle, and he'd still treat you like a small child.

Likes to carry you a lot and gets sad if you fight it. 

Gets frustrated really quickly when you fight him on things. He’s just trying to keep you safe, so why do you keep arguing with him?

Wants to shield you from the dangers of the world, you’re too precious to be with the rest of the world. They might hurt you.

Is more worried than jealous. While there's always that nagging feeling you might fall for someone else, the constant fear of you getting hurt is stronger than the jealousy. It doesn’t really matter though. Both end with you by his side, and the person who tried to talk to you far far away.

Likes to keep you in his line of vision. If he can see you, he can save you.

Freaks out when you get mad at him, feels like he failed. He’ll usually ignore it though. You hating him won’t stop him from loving you and protecting you. He’ll still be sad and try and make it up to you.

Talks to you about his worries, and likes you listening. It’s what drew him in really. You cared about him, so he cares about you.

Would hurt someone without hesitation if they so much as looked at you the wrong way. No ones allowed near you if you’re hurt, he has to make sure your safe.

Is almost as clingy as Mikey.

Holds you close and tight to the point where you can barely move. He’s just protecting you with his body is all.

Is constantly scared you’ll disappear, so he’ll randomly just scoop you into a bone crushing hug to make sure you’re still here and not a dream.

While he holds you tight, he’s also the most lenient with punishments, opting for a long talk rather than locking you up somewhere

Escaping Raph would send him into a frenzy, his anxiety spiking so bad Savage might even make an appearance.

Keeps a tighter hold on you when he gets you back, vowing to never let you go again.

Leo:

Extremely manipulative/protective. Hints of removal.

Wants you to rely on him and only him. Wants to do everything for you, it makes him feel needed.

He’s observative, you can’t get anything by him.

Knows immediately when you’re planning something and is very quick to shut it down.

Is also really jealous, but unlike Donnie, he’d just kill them then and there, not really caring if you see. It’s not like you could leave him after all.

Is pretty clingy and gets really upset if you don’t let him hold you. He desperately wants to be near you at all times and keep you in his line of sight. Gets cranky when he hasn’t seen you for a while.

Stalks you a lot before he jumps to kidnapping, tries to see what you like so he can provide it for you.

Has a journal in his room filled with everything he’s noticed about you, and has it all memorized.

There really is no escaping him, he will find you. And when he brings you back, there will be hell to pay.

He’s fast, has portals, and I’m pretty sure 2nd strongest canonically.

Is really good at using your weaknesses and insecurities against you for his own benefit.

Wants to be the only thing you think about.

Wants you to idolize him and see him as your hero.

Would 100% make a fake danger scenario so he could save you and prove he is the best for you.

Gives you some leeway with being bratty, but push him too far and it’ll get dangerous.

Is not very patient and can get fed up with you not reciprocating his love pretty quickly. He doesn’t understand why you don’t love him. After all, hasn’t he proved he’s the best for you?

Most likely to do physical punishments. Say something wrong and all of a sudden your shoulders dislocated. Nothing more than broken bones however, he doesn’t want anything to go wrong. He doesn’t like seeing you hurt but doesn’t know how else to get the results he wants. (He does not want to hurt you, but he knows it works so he does it as a last resort for when the manipulation is ineffective. If you don't try to leave or fight him, you'll be A-okay.)

Gaslights and guilt trips tf out of you, wants you to only believe what he tells you.

Before he kidnaps you, he slowly isolates you from everyone you know. Deletes numbers, threatens friends, etc.

Only really trusts you around his brothers, but even that’s iffy.

He shows you the basics of medical aid(if you weren’t already knowledgeable) because he likes it when you help patch him up. After all, your his S/O, don’t you want to make sure he’s okay?

Really likes it when you make eye contact with him, but understands if you can’t. The eye contact makes him feel special, but is okay with you looking behind him/somewhere else on him or near him.

A/N, isn't important: I used this to help deciding their personalities. Check it out for more details. I only mentioned the parts that specifically applied to them, but it's still a great reference if you plan on doing something yandere related. If you don't trust links, look up "yandere types wiki". Should get you to the same place. I sincerely hope these headcanons made sense, my brain tends to jump around and I barely even know what's going on in there. These will probably be added to and slightly changed as time goes on and I get a better read on their personalities. This is supposed to be a gender neutral reader, so if I make anything too masculine or feminine, please let me know. If you have any question, comments, or concerns, please don't be afraid to reach out. All criticism is appreciated, constructive or not.

-Ollie

02.07.23

[radiokathryn-if]

Hola amigo (amiga). It’s me again. I’m in class, slaving away my life and with my newfound brain juices, I decided to spend it on something worthwhile like expanding your own brain juices.

The ROs decided to play Monopoly (because that’s where brain power works more effectively). Who loves it, who hates it, how do they play, and who ultimately wins against one another? Also, have a good day (or night depending on when this is.)

Hello friend! Just for you and your slaving brain power, I shall gift you with a little bonus!──long answer! +I just finished cooking(&eating) supper so it has indeed been a good night lmao, I hope you have one too! ++I may have way too much fun trivia about monopoly just rattling around in my head, so I apologise if I start rambling! +++also! I'm acting as if they're all playing together... which would never happen but is still fun to think about!

Which little mascot token thing do they choose/get/fight for/end up with?──in 1972 there was only: the shoe, the hat, the dog, the iron, the car and the boat... so I've added more such as the thimble, the lantern (retired in 1950) and the rocking horse (retired 1950)

NATE──is picky and also very narcissistic, he has to pick first and he always gets the dog (a yorkshire terrier!) because it's "objectively the best one" no one really objects because they don't want to deal with his whining.

EVA──she always gets the lantern. when she's not at the table to claim it first, it's gets set aside for her. unlike with Nate, everyone else lets her have it because she simply asks nicely. Eva just thinks it's pretty─she calls it her good luck charm! (she has a nice winning streak!)

MICA──does not care for their token at all, and is usually the last to gain it, often getting the one no one went for or wanted... which mostly ends up being the iron... Mica thinks it's rad though so they don't mind!

DETECTIVE HAN──doesn't really play board games and is subsequently a bit slow to the battle royale of the token picking... they end up with the shoe because it's only of the only two left and they'd rather not pick the iron...

JOSÉ──they're not going down without a fight! they are pretty competitive, especially when it comes to board or card games─curtesy of their many siblings─and they will bargain for the token of their choosing... which is the the thimble... but they usually lose out to Ji Han, in which they fight Fauve for the boat!

JI HAN──he wins the thimble from José but he only goes for the thimble if the the plane is gone and considering its the one token lost to the void, well...

FAUVE──she watches José and Ji Han fight it out for the thimble with glee and then when José sets their sights on her and the boat its quickly wiped away... she knows when to take her losses and resigns the boat to them after she can feel a ten minute debate forming, leaving her with the car!

JACKSON──used to picking last when playing board games, though most times Cilly just gives him a token she seems fit... he'd end up with the hat (a top hat!) because even though he doesn't particularly care, he's still quicker than Mica or Detective Han to scoop up one of his favourites!

???──they like most of the tokens and are usually the first to pick, in actuality, they're the one who set aside the lantern for Eva and make the dog easy to see for Nate to claim 'first' after which they swoop in and collect the rocking horse! much like Eva, the token is a bit of a good luck charm for them─the only time they've ever gone bankrupt was when they were playing with the boat instead!

actual game play! who loves it, who hates it, who's winner and who's a sore sore loser baby?

Nate says he likes monopoly but he is quick to change his mind as soon as he loses his money... honestly, if he didn't fixate on the money side of things and strategise like i know he can he'd probably give Eva, ??? and Ji Han a run for their money! (sore sore loser, losing loser baby, sore loser baby)

Like most things outside of her personal life, Eva stays winning. She loves strategy games and she's very good at interpersonal tactics (and she doesn't get greedy or blind sided by fake money.) She's on a winning streak... but there are a couple that give her a run for her money! (somehow she always manages to get one or both dark blue's on her first circle of the board...)

The ever unbothered Mica could honestly care less about monopoly──that is to say that they get surprisingly intense around two thirds in! Something about monopoly specifically ignites the competitive fire under them. They're strangely protective of the train stations and the utilities. They always somehow end up going bankrupt though, and sell out to Eva or Ji Han (or ???) depending on who can give them the most appealing sales pitch... Mica just likes hearing what they'll come up with!

Detective Han is a baby at playing board games... that aren't chess or checkers that is. The first time they play they're too caught up in the rules to realise all the spaces are slowly being taken up. The next time they buy every space they land on and were the first to go bankrupt so quickly in a while! They're a bit of a rules lawyer but have since mellowed out to enjoying the game without getting worked up about losing.

José is competitive and they love a classic board game. Playing with their siblings, they're known to be one of the winners more often than not... playing with the other ROs? That's a whole different ball park─a whole different weight category! Especially with brilliant players like Eva, Ji Han and ??? (when they're in the mood to win)! José can admit when they're out of their depth but that doesn't mean they aren't going to go down without a fight. They're the most... involved player, often propositioning places or money with literally anyone if they can see it coming out advantageous for them. (Not many of their propositions are accepted, though some are for the sheer audacity and the entertainment value they bring!)

As opposed to his older sibling, Ji Han is actully quite well versed in the ways of the game... Given that he's only played it while half drunk in university halls at 3 in the morning while they wait out for a 5am lecture... playing it with the rest of the ROs is only a little different. (that and he plays with a clear mind and thus remembers the rules and can get into the manipulation tactics!) He's won almost as many times as Eva has, and it's usually the two of them as the final two! He's a gracious loser, even if he's a bit of a show off winner (that's mainly spurned on by Eva's taunting and the final overcoming of her as an opponent.)

Fauve has a competitive streak in her, but it's mainly for bragging rights. She actively tries hard to beat at the very least José and then sets her sights on Ji Han. (The sexual tension between them when she does is quite, palpable... if the teasing barbs and lingering looks are anything to go by) She has yet to win over Eva though and is hedging her bets on a team up with The Trio as a means to an end. (She loves the bragging rights... is winning bragging rights over Eva in monopoly of all things super important? Yes. She already reigns supreme in Uno, this is the next step in her bragging rights empire!! She's up for the challenge!)

Jackson is an easygoing run of the mill average player. He's used to going easy at these kinds of games since most of his experience playing them is with his daughter and her friends... That being said, Jackson is an excellent banker! He's very strict about the money, especially after they found out that Nate was sneaking money when he would designate himself as banker! He bankrupts quite early, but his heart nor his pride is hurt by it, he takes losing like a winner!

Secret mastermind, ???. They're actively the best at playing the game however, they don't have the competitive flare or heart to actively secure more than third place. However, when ??? is in a competitive mood, or a mischievous mood (or just wanting to impress a certain MC or Eva) then all the cards are down and all the bets are off!

bonus round! common team ups!

Eva and ??? are unstoppable when they're both playing together and playing to win! Not that a team up trio of Ji Han, Fauve and José won't give them a run for their money. Nate refuses to team up with any of them, not like they're dropping everything to offer. Mica is a lone island of overconfidence and chilled cockyness... (MC over their shoulder like an angel(or devil) during a poker game...) In a shocking turn of events, Detective Han and Jackson team up as Rules Lawyer and Banker after they declare bankruptcy and are kind of terrorfying to defy... which leads to people trying to loophole their way through the game and providing many moments of laughter inducing entertainment!

lmao i started this at like 8pm... it's taken me like 8 hours to finish and if that doesn't tell you what my mental states been like then idk what will

[steddiebang]

the freaks who could never love anyone (October 10) author:  dima (ao3/bsky/tumblr/twitter) / artist:  robin (tumblr / twitter) Hawkins High School’s show choir group, the Treble Tigers, is in desperate need of new members. Eddie Munson, the group’s de facto student leader, is well aware that they need to do anything they can to be in contention for Nationals.

But Eddie immediately finds himself at odds with one of their latest members, Steve Harrington. A prototypical pompous jock that has no place in a group that’s meant for misfits. But when Steve starts opening up about the many secrets he’s carrying, Eddie realizes that he might need the Treble Tigers to go to Nationals as much as Eddie does.

Tell Me Then Would You Lend A Hand (October 13) Author: funeralbeldam / Artist: rrrrraatt An exploration of Steve’s trauma. How it affects his everyday life, opens him up to Vecna, and sends him on a path of self discovery as the world is ending. His relationships with his friends - most notably one Eddie Munson - and how he views his own self worth. How one man will tear down Steve’s curtain to reveal the truth inside, through the power of music. Who says metalheads and jocks -turning-punks can’t get along?

scheming on a thing (October 14) Author: greatunionic (ao3 / tumblr) / Artist: daysarestranger / singinginmay It’s 1994, and Eddie’s been a guest of Uncle Sam at Pelican Bay since it opened in ‘89, when his public defender stopped defending and he resigned himself to the sixth to life bag the Spring Break of ‘86 had left him holding. Sure, the series of frantic transfers that made Wayne and the party lose track of him (and cost him his unlikely prison penpal, Steve Harrington) truly were a bummer, but life’s actually not too bad, in the long run: he’d got three hots and a cot, ya know, and sometimes a few of the other inmates actually believe him when he tells them he’s innocent. Still — the new lawyer and paralegal shaped suspiciously like one Erica Sinclair is starting to give him pause, and make him wonder if the story’s not quite over yet…

Or: a story about seven letters, the worst love song ever written, and a heist.

Of Space and Time (October 15) Author: @appledagger / Artist: @Ahhrenata / Additional Art: @appledagger, @betwixtandbetweenn In 2073, the world is still moving forward despite arid climates and the quick relay race between man and machine. Within the walls of the hospital center at Vecna Labs, Steve Harrington has just woken up after an accident inside the depths of the classified sections of the lab. Stricken with amnesia, he is brought to Edward Munson’s home to recover and to be observed during his recovery after experimental treatments had brought him back from the brink of death. In Edward’s home, Steve finds question after question. Why does Eddie seem to hate him so much? What do all the observations have to do with his accident? What exactly is going on with his malfunctioning mind, and what does this all have to do with Creel and Vecna’s tech monopoly? All the while, Steve struggles with the feeling that there was something more to his relationship with Eddie that he can’t quite understand.

Road to Nowhere (October 14) Author: @sharpbutsoft / Artist: @patternscolorsflowers Eddie Munson isn’t dead, and he’s trying not to make it everyone’s problem. After the horrorshow that was Spring Break, he’s been keeping to himself, attending his “legally you cannot call this a bribe but, yes, obviously it’s a bribe” physical therapy sessions, and trying to recover from his brief but violent death. Enter Steve Harrington, and his compulsive need to be useful, who’s volunteered to taxi him to and from these sessions (with minimal bitching.) This newfound friendship isn’t without its challenges though. Steve, not the best with his words, struggles to define his feelings for Eddie, who has it in his head that the only reason they’re not together yet, is because he’s not better yet. When an argument threatens to snuff out the sparks flying between them, Eddie has to learn that better is a journey, not a destination, and one he doesn’t have to take alone…

The Ones Who Know (October 15) Author: @tacticat / @hereforthesteddie / Artist: @miloboiwonder / @milotheboywonder / Artist: @donttellunclesam “Robs, Eddie’s mad at me. I did something wrong, I think. I don’t really know.“ 

"Can you tell me what happened?" 

"We were watching movies last night and we-” his throat closes up on him and he struggles to take in a deep breath. “We kissed." 

"What!?” The unlucky customers waiting on them can probably hear her, she reacts so loudly.

“I know! I wasn’t expecting it." 

 A look of confusion crosses her face.

"Wait but Steve, you’re-”

“Straight? I know!”

Does he, though? She gives him a curious look that seems to ask the same question. 

Steve didn’t used to like being someone who knows, when that meant keeping secrets about horrifying and heartbreaking things. But now that he’s learning beautiful and precious secrets about the people who are important to him, he’s starting to learn that being one of the ones who know doesn’t have to be so bad.

change your mind (October 16) Author: helix_stomper / Artist: horsegirleddiemunson  After his breakup with Nancy, Steve Harrington keeps it a secret that he hasn’t made an effort to meet his soulmate. When he accidentally wakes up next to them a few days after his 18th birthday, he’s surprised to find that it’s not only another guy, but somebody else in Hawkins. Between losing all his old friends, learning how not to be an asshole, and balancing his newfound sexuality in a closed-minded town, Steve has his work cut out for him. Eddie Munson doesn’t believe in soulmates, but that doesn’t stop him from waiting in the dreamscape every night for his. Balancing life as an openly queer, drug-dealing super senior in Hawkins, Indiana is no cakewalk, especially with Billy Hargrove on his ass. But maybe, just maybe, there’s something to that whole soulmate thing after all.

Drowning In Your Love (October 20) Author: @steveshairychest / steveshairychest /Artist: parasite_z (twitter) / @parasite-z

There’s something so enticing about forbidden love, about yearning for someone that you know you can’t have. Eddie knows he’s breaking every oath he took on the day of his knighting, but he can’t help but be drawn to the golden prince that beckons him with a sharp tooth smile. It’s forbidden to speak with the merfolk that occupy the ocean around the city but Eddie has never been very good at following the rules, especially when he’s got his hands tangled in a beautiful merman’s soft hair. Each day, he finds himself with his toes in the sand and with his heart in the hands of Steve Harrington, the heir to the merkingdom. They meet in secret at the rockpools, and the more Eddie learns about the prince, the harder it becomes to keep away. His knights oath to never take a lover gnaws at the back of his mind the first time he presses a kiss to Steve’s lips. Things become difficult when the Queen of the merkingdom starts to pressure Steve to take the necessary steps required of him to become King, the first being to choose a bride. But Steve doesn’t want any of the maidens that his mother forces him to meet. He wants the knight in clunky armor that brings him treasures from the human world, the knight that he shared his first kiss with under the light of the moon. Forbidden love is never easy. It hurts and bares its teeth just when you thought things were going well. Will Steve and Eddie be able to make it through unscathed?

Nobody’s Baby (October 22) Author: ArtaxLivs / Artist: LexPlexDraws It’s Dirty Dancing but Steddie Style. Steve is a privileged young college graduate who is supposed to spend one last summer with the family at an upscale resort but stumbles in unexpected friendships with some of the resort’s employees. Eddie is the dance instructor with a chip on his shoulder. An impossible situation makes them unwilling dance partners but maybe the possibility of trust will make them more than that.

it’s a lonely world when everyone knows your name (October 23) Author: @whataboutthefish / Artist: @hawkinsleather and on Twitter Steve Harrington had a nemesis, Eddie ‘The Face’ Munson. The only thing was, Eddie didn’t know. Eddie Munson was the face of the decade and fashion’s darling, but his hard partying ways and lack of professionalism- in Steve’s opinion- had him seething. When Steve was paired with Eddie for a photo shoot he was already anticipating hating the whole ordeal. What he didn’t expect was Eddie being more than just his persona.

Or

Hottest Alpha Model Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington just might be wrong about Omega Supermodel Eddie ‘The Face’ Munson.

My Dad, Your Papa, Our Father (October 25) Author: @strangerthingssteddiebrainrot / Artist: @waldos-art Steve thought a memorial for the fallen if Hawkins lab was pretentious and insincere. He wasn’t the only one. But if he hadn’t come, he probably wouldn’t have found out about, this. So really, it could be argued, understood even, that he was completely taken off guard when a picture of one of the deceased scientists was placed on the memorial table and he couldn’t control what came out of his mouth, loud enough that there was no way everybody didn’t hear it. “Dad!?”

A Haunted House With A Picket Fence (October 25) author: Quinn (ao3/tumblr/twitter) / artist: AtlasMoth666 (twitter) Eddie Munson is no stranger to bad choices. It’s how he ended up a single father selling drugs to keep him and his kid clothed and fed. Dumb choices have him fleeing Chicago in the middle of the night and renting a place in his shitty hometown in Indiana while he plans his next move.

It’s also how he ends up asking his stupidly hot neighbor to babysit his daughter while he goes on a last-minute job interview, and much to his surprise, stupid-hot neighbor agrees. And it turns out he’s not just handsome, but funny, a great cook, he loves Eddie’s weirdo kid, and may just be the love of Eddie’s life.

If only starting over and escaping his past was that easy.

after all this time (i’m still into you) (October 26) Author: oriscribes  / Artist: unspcfiedfigure / Artist: @hellfireloserclub Steve just wanted to keep working on his TV show, but due to some clauses buried in his contract he’d been coerced into a fake dating scheme. Which was especially stupid because Munson didn’t even like him. Steve should know, Munson had already rejected him years ago. Eddie just wanted to keep his head down until his contract ran out so he could get back to writing with Corroded Coffin instead of doing this idol shit. He wasn’t counting on getting outed and having to do damage control… by pretending to date someone who he maybe sorta had (has?) a huge crush on. OR: Steve pretends that if he keeps calling Eddie by his last name then he won’t develop any feelings to go with that crush he’d been trying to forget about. Meanwhile, Eddie is trying to figure out what went wrong years ago and if this time could be different. 

how greedy my heart (October 27) Author: @matchingbatbites / Artist: @amethyst-crowns After his first encounter with the Upside Down, Steve needs something to help him relax. He gets more than he expects from drug dealer Eddie Munson, who pulls him into a world of gentle care, good feelings, and calm that he’s never experienced before.

All Eyes on Me in the Center of the Ring (October 28) Author: a_lil_a_lot  - twitter / tiktok / bsky / tumblr / Artist:  bienmoreau - twitter Ex-Olympic gymnast, Steve Harrington, is politely asked to not return to college after the summer - upon his return to his hometown, he’s not expecting a trip to the circus with his best friend to have such an impact on him. Just when he thinks he’s run out of options, he takes a chance in following the Munson Family Circus and finds not only something he enjoys, but a place where he belongs.

(he’s) a runaway foal that doesn’t know where to go (October 31) Author: @patti_cake08 (twitter)/ @moltenchocolatelavacake  Steve Harrington has always loved too much, he knows this. And yet he’s never been enough for anybody. It’s why relationships never work out for him. But he tried again because of course he did. Always too stupid for his own good, his feelings were bullshit. A week after having his heart broken by a man he believed he’d meant more to than flirty phone calls and occasional fucks, Steve ends up at Forest Hills Trailer Park. He’d gone looking for a reprieve, a comfort, a way out of his grief. Instead he finds a pair of pale arms and a yearning heart eager to help him heal and, maybe, show him his love is enough.

[andiwriteordie]

Andi congrats on 1.5k!!!!!!!!!! Ily. I am bad with short prompts ngl and uhhh I was writing an ask out and then I think I forgot about it???? Like I think I fully exited the app and deleted it so uhhhhhhhhhhhhh yeah no I got nothing ily 💕💕❤️💕

(??? Idk if it sent and I think it was something something monopoly.)

thank you so much, toy!!!! also huge bummer that you lost your original ask hahaha, but hey! i hope that you enjoy this silly little ficlet featuring the wheeler-byers-hopper family! set about 10 years after the mess of the upside down, so will and mike are about 27-28 years old here. :)

—

you didn’t cheat (but you’re still a traitor)

“No. Absolutely not.”

“Come on, Will… It’s not that big of a deal!”

“‘Not that big of a deal?’ What do you mean it’s not that big of a deal, Mike? Of course, it’s a big deal! How could you do this to me? To us?”

“...Will, I love you, but you’re being ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous? I’m being ridiculous? You cheated, Michael!”

“Oh, for the love of…” Mike groans, running a hand through his hair. “You say this every time we play Monopoly, Will! I didn’t cheat!” 

Will narrows his eyes at his fiancé, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “Oh, really?” he asks suspiciously. “Then, you want to explain to me how you always seem to win Monopoly?”

Mike gives him a look back, gesturing to the rest of their family, who really doesn’t seem to care that Mike just cheated at Monopoly again. “Because our family sucks at Monopoly,” he deadpans. “And yet, you still make us play it every year.” 

“Because I want to prove that you’re cheating!”

Another exasperated groan escapes his fiancé’s lips, and he falls back onto the floor dramatically. “Is no one going to help me?” Mike grumbles. “Anybody?”

“Nope,” Jonathan deadpans.

“Nuh uh,” Nancy says with a yawn.

“This is much funnier,” El adds. “Especially since you said that we suck at Monopoly.”

Mike holds up his middle fingers at the three of them, then he turns to look at Will’s parents. “Joyce? Hop?”

“Oh, now look at you,” Will accuses, and he playfully throws a pillow at his fiancé’s face. “Trying to turn my own damn parents against me. I’m breaking up with you.”

Mike sits up, and he gapes at Will. “You wouldn’t.”

“Try me.”

“Will,” Will’s mom says, rolling her eyes. “Honey, you are being a little dramatic.”

“It is funny though,” Hop says with a chuckle. “Even if every damn person here knows you’d never break up with Wheeler. Unfortunately.”

“Asshole!” Mike calls, and he chucks the pillow Will had just thrown at him towards Hop. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Mike misses spectacularly.

 “Listen, I just think that it’s really funny you’re calling me a cheater, Byers,” Mike declares, turning and meeting Will’s gaze. There’s a playful glint in his eyes, and as he crosses his arms over his chest, Mike adds, “Especially since this entire family is full of traitors.”

Before Will has a chance to respond, Mike begins pointing to everyone in the room. “El likes to cheat when we play Operation. She uses her powers and just hides the blood. I’ve seen her do it.”

A panicked look forms on El’s face. “I do not—”

“Jonathan and Nancy have both cheated at Settlers of Catan,” Mike adds. “You remember that time we all played as teams since there were too many of us, and they won and were insufferable about it? Yeah, it’s because Nancy convinced Jonathan to cheat.”

Nancy’s face turns bright red. “Okay, I did not—”

“Mom and Dad usually don’t care enough to cheat,” Mike says with a shrug. “Unless we’re playing poker. Then both of them are dirty little cheaters.”

Will’s parents both exchange a look with each other, and Will gapes at them. “Mom? Dad?” 

“Sorry, sweetie,” Will’s mom says with a sheepish laugh. 

“You literally won so much money off me when we were here for Thanksgiving!” Will protests.

“And that money went to paying for all of your Christmas gifts,” Hop deadpans, gesturing to all the gifts under the tree. “You’re welcome.”

Mike just smirks triumphantly, and he leans across the coffee table, looking at Will now. “And you, my dearest William,” he says with fake sweetness, “my best friend in the entire world… the love of my life… you have a lot of gall accusing me of being a cheater… when, in fact, you love cheating at UNO of all games.”

“I don’t cheat at UNO!” Will protests, narrowing his eyes at his fiancé. “How the hell would you cheat at UNO anyways?”

“You always like stacking the +4 cards,” Mike huffs. “When clearly the rules say that you can’t do that.”

“Everyone stacks the +4 cards, Michael!” Will exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “As long as we all agree to play that way, it’s not cheating!”

“Well, I didn’t agree to play that way, William,” Mike parrots back in the same exasperated tone. “Ergo, you’re cheating!”

“...Oh for the love of…” Will runs a hand through his hair, and he glares playfully at his fiancé. “You’re sleeping on the couch tonight.”

A little smirk forms on Mike’s face. “No, I’m not,” he says stubbornly. “You get too cold at night and like to use me as a personal space heater. So, once you stop being a sore loser, you’ll come downstairs and beg me to come back.”

Will gapes at his fiancé, and Mike just smiles innocently, as if to say, Tell me I’m wrong.

(He’s not wrong, of course. But Mike doesn’t need to know that.)

“I hate you,” Will decides to say, shoving the monopoly board towards his fiancé. “I hate you very, very much.”

A grin forms on Mike’s face, and he sits up, leaning across the coffee table. He tugs on the collar of Will’s flannel and pulls him into a kiss. “I love you too.”

[moonsghostwriter]

Types of Yanderes

The different archetypes of yanderes in media

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Mentions of Murder, Suicide/Self-Harm and Domestic Violence

•Mugai-gata: The Harmless Type

"As long as they're happy, I'm happy"

The most harmless type of yandere, the one where they've fallen in love in an unhealthy, obsessive way, but they don't do anything insane about it. They'll try hard to become your partner, but won't harm anybody in the way. If you get a partner, they won't attack you two, they'll be happy you found happiness, and maybe still have hope that you choose them in the end.

•Kanchigai-gata: The Wrong-Idea Type

"They gave me an eraser...they must like me!"

They get the wrong idea when you do something in order to match their expectations. If you say you don't love them, they'll think you're lying because you don't want to hurt them or something. If you do something out of kindness to them, they'll think it's out of love. And so on.

•Shuuchaku-gata: The Obsessive Type

"I sent you 50 messages, why didn't you answer? Where were you? What were you doing?"

Tries to learn everything about you. Personal info, hobbies, routine, etc. Sends regular messages to check on you, asks why you haven't answered if you didn't, wants to know what you're doing always. All the time. And, if possible, walks around with you all the time too.

The obsession type doesn't necessarily want to monopolize you. They'll let you hang around with friends, etc. but wants to know everything you do. They probably want to go with you, too. If they can't go somewhere with you, they might stalk you.

If they learn a person is too close to you, they might attack.

•Sutookaa-gata: The Stalker Type

Follows you around, often without you knowing. May be in broad daylight or at night, when you're walking alone on the streets. Maybe even online. A person of this type is also often of the obsessive type.

•Dokusen-gata: The Monopoly Type

"Why were you talking to them? I thought I told you not to talk to them."

They want to monopolize you. Will ask who you talk to and hang with, in extreme cases won't let you be with anyone else, not even your friends.

This type of behavior is unfortunately common in real life. It displays insecurities and lack of trust in the relationship which might develop into much worse yandere behavior.

•Ison-gata: The Dependent Type

"Where are you going? Are you leaving me? Please don't leave me, I need you! I can't live without you!"

Can't live without you. Begs you to not leave them or throw them away. Says they will die if you go away. May lose will to do anything if you aren't watching. If you do leave, they might go full crazy and end up doing something crazy like going on a murderous rampage or something.

•Touei-gata: The Projection Type

"You're just like them."

After their former love turned out to be a completely different person than they loved, or got a partner, or died, or something like that, and they can no longer stay with them, they searched for someone who was just like what their love was, and they found you.

This type of of yandere is very innocent at first, but if they're given power to dominate their new beloved, they might end up trying to make them more and more like what their old interest was. For example, wearing the same things, doing the same things, etc.

Sometimes, they might project her ideal lover not on someone else but on same person. That is, they might say "you are not them, they do this," to you even though you actually are them and you don't do "this."

•Shoushitsu-gata: The Disappearance Type

"They'll never love me, so what's the point in living?"

They love you, maybe you know that, maybe you don't, but unknown this gives them a crushing depression. They think you'll never love them and they have no chance, but they can't stop their unhealthy feelings of love. They think you're too good for them, or that they're too worthless for you. This makes them slowly fade away, disappear from your life. Until they snap and kill themself

This is an atypical yandere since it has so little effect on other characters' lives.

•Shuumatsu-gata: The Final Type

"I don't need a world where they don't exist."

After learning that you died or you left them, they lose purpose in life. The world for them was you, and you're now gone. What this results in varies. Most of the time, they become broken emotionally, as expected. They might also kill themself, or sometimes, they might destroy the world that let you die/"took you away from them", or just go on revenge killing spree.

•Boruyoku-gata: The Violent Type

"I'm hurting you? That's too bad, I told you not to do that!"

When jealous, feeling ignored, etc. uses violence against you. They'll beat you and say it's your fault. This can be either discharging pent-up rage through violence and you just happen to be their favorite punching bag, or deliberately punishing you for doing something they didn't like.

Both cases, unfortunately, are also common in real life.

•Haijo-gata: The Removal Type

"You don't need other people. You have me."

They will remove from your life everyone they think you don't need. Which means everyone else. This can include things like excluding your contacts and messages to even murdering everybody who approaches.

This type of yandere has two sub-types:

First, the one that removes people secretly. They see you hanging with someone, the next day that person has mysteriously disappeared. You are probably as clueless as a sheet blank paper about this incident, and the next several incidents like it.

Second, the one that removes people openly. This also ranges from removing messages to killing people. They might be expecting you agree with them, "yeah, you're right, I don't need other people," or they might just want to show you what they're capable of.

•Shinjuu-gata: The Double Suicide Type

"Let's be together forever!"

Why be always together in life if you can be forever together for all eternity? This type of yandere will propose what no sane person would: let's die!

Sadly, suicide pacts are a thing. Double suicide, lovers' suicide, too, is a thing. One of the most famous pieces of literature, Romeo & Juliet, sort of ended up in a double suicide.

One thing different in an yandere double suicide is that, often, you don't really want to die. It's more like they want you both dead and they'll kill you then themself. Although there are also actual consensual attempted double suicides involving yandere.

•Jiko-gisei-gata: The Self-Sacrifice Type

"I would die for you."

They'd make any sacrifice for you, as long as it means getting you to love them. They don't even mind dying for you or fighting bloody battles, sustaining multiple injuries, etc. as long as it means staying with you.

Unlike the self-harm type, the self-sacrifice type isn't seeking attention with their suicidal behavior. Instead, they want to make themself useful and support the one they love.

This is easier to visualize in anime where fighting monsters, etc. is normal. However, this kind of sickness also exists in real life. Some people do sacrifice themselves for a beloved one in an extremely unhealthy and unrewarding way, just because they "love" them.

•Suuhai-gata: The Worship Type

"I would do anything you ask of me, I am devoted to you."

They worship you and will do anything for you. Sometimes even without you asking. And more: they don't even mind if you love them or not, or what will happen to them. Killing, dying, committing crimes, losing respect of others, they'll do anything if it means providing support to your infinite greatness.

This is one of the least-harmful type of yandere since they would never do anything to harm you and will never be in your way. Nonetheless, it's also one of the most depressing types; it makes you feel sorry for the yandere, who thinks of themself less like a person and more like a tool who might get thrown away if they're not useful enough.

The difference between the "worship" type and the "self-sacrifice" type is that the "worship" type is also like the "disappearance" type. The "self-sacrifice" type wants to be useful so they can be loved, the "worship" type doesn't mind if they are not loved back, in fact, they probably thinks they are not worth being loved by the delusive greatness they consider you.

They wouldn't, for example, attack your partner or other people out of jealousy, but they might attack a person approaching you because they think the person is stepping out of your boundaries and being presumptuous by daring talk to your greatness without proper respect.

•Choukyou-gata: The Training Type

"Say you love me... come on, say it. Say you love me. SAY YOU LOVE ME! Good! Here's your reward."

The word choukyou was once only about training animals or breaking animals. In modern times, it's also used in BDSM contexts, dominate training submissive. It has nothing to do with training for sports.

They'll break you into loving them.Sometimes using torture, a punishment/reward system, brainwashing, etc. This probably involves you getting kidnapped and forced into it, although there might be more subtle ways to accomplish this.

•Koritsu yuudou-gata: The Loneliness-Inductive Type

"Shh it's alright. You didn't need them anyways. I'm here, you can always count on me."

They will make, induce, or force you to feel or be alone. By spreading malicious rumors about you that make others alienate you, by murdering your friends and family, etc. Then they'll jump in and present themself as the only one you can count on when you're most fragile mentally and in need of company.

Inducing things that don't make you feel lonely but give some sort of mental damage, trauma, also count as this type. Conversely, if your friends and family get killed on their own and you're alone but they had nothing to do with it, it's not the same thing since they didn't induce it, although an yandere might abuse your condition to get closer to you.

This type is similar to the "dependence" type, except it's not the yandere that's to become dependent on you, it's you that's to become dependent on the yandere.

•Kyouki-gata: The Bizarre-Seeking Type

"I love you, so... can you give me your fingernails? I want them so I can always have a part of you with me!"

Undeniably in my opinion the weirdest type of yandere. They will murder you, and not by accident, not by jealousy, not by revenge. They will murder you because they love you. And then they'll keep your rotting corpse in their bed, or home, or preserved in some way because there's no way they'd throw you away.

In a sense sane people are better off not even trying to understand, the bizarre-seeking type of yandere is purely insane, mad way beyond explanation.Undeniably the worst type of yandere, she will murder you, and not by accident, not by jealousy, not by revenge. She will murder you because she loves you. And then she'll keep your rotting corpse on bed or preserved inside a glass because there's no way she'd throw you away.

In a sense sane people are better off not even trying to understand, the bizarre-seeking type of yandere is purely insane, mad way beyond explanation.

The word kyouki, used in the type's name, is normally associated with disturbing imagery involving gore, blood and worse stuff. It's also related to "grotesque" art, guro グロ, which's dubbed "pornography involving gore" despite the fact nobody in their sane mind can figure out how the fuck can someone even get off to this

Likewise, nobody in their sane mind can relate to the grotesque love of bizarre-seeking yandere. Ranging from murder, mutilation, and maybe something ever worse us mere mortals can't even begin to imagine, their bizarre displays of love can only be summed up by: what the actual fuck?

•Mousou-gata: The Delusional Type

Similar to the "wrong idea" type above, but far worse.

When their insane love is unrequited (for obvious reasons), and you start literally running away from the crazy bitch, they'll think it's because you're embarrassed, and not because you don't want them. Their love distorts the reality they perceive. They see a bunch of delusions instead.

The delusion type may also be in denial something unpleasant happened. They'll just forget it happened. Their memories may also be replaced with delusions: they'll remember you being extremely nice to them when you were indifferent, you saying you liked them before you even met, or other people rubbing themselves on you like cheap sluts when all they did was saying "good morning"

•Jishou-gata: The Self-Harm Type

"If you leave me, I'll hurt myself!"

They harm themself, cutting wrists, etc. in order to get your attention. This often happens when they're ignored. The "dependence" type might evolve into this if they are abandoned.

There are two sub-types to this.

First, the one where they harm themself in secret and have you notice their injuries, then they say "it's nothing to worry about" hoping you worry about it more. This is usually something light like a knee bruise or small scratch, etc.

Second, the one where they harm themself in your face as a way to say "I'll kill myself if you leave me," forcing you to stay by their side out of guilt.

And that's all for now! If you find yourself or a loved one in a relationship with a person that seems to act similar to any of these behaviors, please, please, please leave them/help your loved one to leave them. This is all supposed to be about fictional archetypes, however sometimes someone who is severely mentally ill or simply a bad person can exhibit these behaviors and it is UNSAFE!!! If you find yourself relating to any of the yandere types themselves, please seek mental help.

And if you're reading this because you like horror/psychological thrillers then I hoped you enjoyed and feel more informed about the yandere archetype! I had a lot of fun compiling this list.

[disorganizedkitten]

Moving Places

Miraculous Ladybug | 2019 | 2,838 | Ao3 | @chimpukampu and @ZiriO

Adrien Agreste and Marinette Agreste, parents of 3, are finally moving to a bigger home. That forces them to reckon with a heap of stuff that's been collecting and gathering dust over the years. Things get a little... funny and fluffy.

“Adrien, We’ve been through this a thousand times. We need to trim things down this once. We’re not taking everything!”

Yes, that’s how moving homes usually happens, but it’s always a reason for a little bit of bickering, but some endearing moments included too. Adrien and Marinette Agreste, parents for 3, have been waiting for this for a long while now, and yet…

Their kwamis hovered about with amused looks, Plagg more so than Tikki, wondering what might get unearthed.

The boxes rattled as Adrien moved them about. A slight puff of dust bloomed from one as it was opened, giving the air a very mild acrid smell.

“I think we haven’t opened these up since the last time we moved, if not the time before! Isn’t that a hint, Adrien?”

“Mari, we are not touching my Ladybug collection! Look, it’s a collector’s edition!”

Adrien brushed off some of the dust and pressed the button on the doll.

“Time to de-evilize!” a high-pitched voice emanated from it as Adrien smiled. “See? It still works!”

“Wow, that’s amazing. Can I try too?” Marinette snickered. “Time to de-evilize!” She called in a theatrical fashion. “So, who did it better?”

Adrien’s smile widened into a full-fledged grin.

“Hey, I never said I didn’t have the single-issue real thing in my collection” he cooed.

“Oh do you now?”

“I could show you but then we’d never get any packing done.” He jested and then his face went a bit more serious. This turned their attention to the heap of stuff still waiting for them to sort through.

“Fine.” She grumbled at the missed opportunity. “But the monopoly box goes. That one was a mistake.”

They looked at a miraculous-themed monopoly board. A cheapskate producer named Zag somehow convinced them this was a good idea. By the time he started to leak pictures to the press, it was hard for them to stop it. It was a good thing that Chloe found them a legal loophole and used her family’s clout to threaten him to a halt. But they did have the box to remember that one.

“How on earth did he convince us to do such a silly thing?”

“The guy had charm and a good deal of luck.”

“Mari, do you think it’s the power of-”

“Adrien Agreste, don’t you dare!”

“You practically walked into that one, milady… “

“If only I could toss away all your puns at that.” She sighed.

“Actually, you sort of did last time, don’t you remember?”

“Please don’t remind me. I was horrified. A notebook full of lame puns!”

“You can’t get them out of my head though.”

“If your lips are busy they can’t throw puns around, you know.” she winked and he smiled back at her.

We are never going to get any packing done like that…

---

A quick kiss later, they were back to sorting stuff.

“What’s that? Is that Emma’s first pacifier?” She said as she examined one.

“Oh yeah. I keep hoping we can still use it. That girl won’t shut up!” He jested.

“Out it goes! Our girl is all grown up now, maybe it’s time someone else would grow up too!”

“Hey, it’s always good to have a reminder of us growing up. After all, we have 3 kids and you still don’t look a day over 3000.”

“Now you know why I’m so much wiser than you.” She retorted. “Now let’s get back to packing, you… adorable goober of a flirt, you.”

She gave him another quick kiss. He earned that one too. They both looked at the next item.

“A solitaire thinking challenge? Aren’t our kids too old for that?”

“Well, there was a time when you couldn't think straight around me. And you were adorable.”

“Adrien Agreste, If I had known this was going to haunt me all through our marriage… I’d do it all again.” She chuckled. “Anyway, what the hell is this?”

They both looked at a box full of a random assortment of seemingly useless stuff.

“I’m… saving this for Emma? Kidding, I have no idea what’s exactly in it. There’s only one way to find out.”

They cautiously opened the box, looking at a mix of extremely oddball items, scratching their heads at each one trying to figure out what’s it doing there.

“A gecko-shaped pendant? What’s that doing here?”

“Emma made one on art class.”

“And we’re keeping this… why?” She gave him a stare over it.

“It’s… uhh… we can play pretend it’s a real miraculous?” He suggested half-jokingly, only to be met with Marinette’s stern look as she discarded it into the trash.

“She made A ladybug themed brooch?”

“She’s a big fan, you know…”

“I can understand that, but why are we keeping it?”

“Uhh…”

Marinette threw that one into the box marked “for cataclysm”.

“A lego toy welding machine? Who had this stupid idea?”

“It’s Max… and he’s smart so maybe it was a smar-okay it really was a stupid idea, she never even opened it. Too bad Alix never stopped him!”

“That can go to the donations pile. Next!”

“What’s a map of Jerusalem doing here?”

“Geography class, I guess?”

“But how’s that a souvenir when we’ve never even been there?”

Marinette crumpled the thing into a ball and threw it to the trash.

“An ad for a Louvre exhibition from 2015? So useless.”

“We could sell it on eBay...”

Marinette rolled her eyes.

“God, sometimes the things you say actually make me prefer a pun. And that’s a major achievement, Mr. Agreste!”

She sighed as she went on.

“An aimee mann CD? Do we even have anything that can play these things?”

“No, we don’t…”

“Donations pile. Next?”

“A defunct Wacom pad… you said you were going to get it fixed like what, 2 years ago?”

“I still plan on… okay you can throw this.”

Marinette had fond memories of that one, she used it to do quite a bit of sketching, and yet even she couldn’t but admit that no, she wasn’t going to get that one fixed. She then moved on to the next item.

“Okay… what the hell is this?”

They both examined a pink rod with a heart-shaped fake gem on top.

“Oh, I brought this back from Japan to Emma. I think it appeared in some anime or something.”

“I am letting you bring too much trash in, and that’s the result… sometimes I am just way too nice with you.”

“It’s my kitten face, bugaboo. It’s irresistible. Besides, she actually used that one on Halloween!”

A stern look and Adrien threw the thing into the Cataclysm box. Marinette then examined the next item.

“A dream catcher? Oh yes, I remember now. You bought this for me after I told you what was my nightmare in ‘sandboy’!”

“Oh, what fond memories that one brings…”

Adrien had a sly smile on his face as he started to play-act his part.

“Marinette… the prettiest and the smartest one of all is Chloe…”

“Now there's the holder I know,” Plagg snarked. “So good to have you back.”

“My god… what a mistake that was…” Marinette gently touched her palm to her forehead at her husband’s act as she came up with the retort.

“Do I have to remind you I can play-act your nightmare too?”

That did the trick, snapping him back.

“Please don’t do that… You’re the lady of my dreams, bugaboo! I even have a ring to prove it now.”

“Adrien, flattery is going to get you… actually, going to get you good things. Keep up at that.”

They exchanged yet another quick kiss.

Adrien eyed another box, around the size of an A4 page. As he reached out to grab it, he heard his wife squeak a ‘No’ at him.

“What, Mari, what’s in that one?”

She turned slightly pink, reminding him for a moment of that blushing teenager from Francois Dupont college that he ended up marrying.

“Uhhh… umm…”

He carefully opened it. The first page had a drawing of Marinette wearing a grey superhero costume with a pink skip-rope and pink hair ribbon, with the caption “Mousinette”.

“Ha, so you drew yourself as the Mouse superheroine! That’s…”

She lost her blush by now. She wasn’t a teenager anymore, after all.

“Yes, that’s… ?” She urged him to complete his sentence.

“That would have been real hot, sweetie. I’d pay to see you dressed up in Halloween like that!”

“In that case…” She said as she put her finger thoughtfully at her chin, “... a dinner out for two, as your payment?”

“You know I would have done it anyway after we finish packing, right?”

“I know you well enough by now, dear husband.” She smiled and booped his nose affectionately.

“Well, I should certainly hope so.” He grinned, thumbing the edges of the pages. “So….how much of this sketchbook did you fill, again?”

“I usually fill all the pages, why?” Her eyes narrowed, regret and the sudden thought that maybe she needed more than a dinner out as payment starting to creep over her.

“Mind if I keep looking?”

“Adrien, we are never going to get done at this rate!”

“Yes, but how often do I get to look through your old art?” The kitten eyes made a swift comeback, leaving Marinette groaning in disgust.

“Fine, but you get five minutes!” Which was enough to sate his curiosity, or at least she hoped.

“So why did I never see this cute bee costume on you? Or this amazing Ladybug-themed dress?” He pouted, though that was nothing compared to the look on his face when he came across a sketch of her as Chat Noir, with a massive ribbon for the tail.

“No. Don’t even ask, I won’t make it. That ribbon is a joke, and the peplum look went out of style years ago!”

“Marinette!” He was sulking now, pouting as he lifted the sketch.

“Absolutely not, besides, there’s no way I could put the pawprints on the gloves and shoes, it’d look ridiculous at my age!” He still sulked, but she shook her head anyway. Somebody had to put their foot down, or they’d never get anywhere.

Which, yeah that was normal. Downsizing to move always took forever. How did they even end up with this much stuff?

“You looked at my art, now we need to go through one of your boxes.” Marinette decreed, grabbing a box with the label ‘Adrien’. She unfolded the flaps and sighed. “We can’t get rid of these, pass me the next one.”

“What are they?” Adrien set down the sketchbook, a drawing of a Tiger holder displayed, to peek over her shoulder. “We were supposed to put those on the mantel ages ago, weren’t we?”

“I think so.” Marinette pulled a fencing trophy out of the box, turning it over in her hands. “I completely forgot we had these.”

“Think we’ll be able to put them up at the new house?”

“If there’s not space, maybe we can add in a few shelves? Emma’s going to start competing with Akari soon, if they continue at this rate.”

“Purr-fect idea, as always, M’lady.” Adrien draped himself over her shoulder batting his eyelashes at her.

“Okay, where’s the tape? I should relabel this one so we don’t forget again.”

Adrien pulled himself off her, scooping the masking tape and marker up and depositing them in her lap. “While you do that, I’m going to go through this one.” Adrien moved a few feet away, dragging the box back with him. “Are assignments important enough to be kept again?”

“Which assignments?”

“Cat breeds.”

Marinette groaned. “That wasn’t an assignment, Adrien, that was from you trying to bribe Chloe into getting Hugo a cat for Christmas.”

“Oh yeah. Can we keep it?”

Marinette shot him her most deadpan look. Adrien replied with puppy-dog eyes. Marinette sighed. “Fine. Toss it into the maybe pile.”

“Yes!”

“Moving on, have you found the box with the photo albums yet?”

“Not yet, I’ll get to them. When we have a break.”

“Why?”

“Chloe and Emma baby pictures.”

Marinette stifled a laugh. “Yeah, okay.” She glanced back into her current box. “I found Emma’s old EAH dolls, do you think she’ll still want them?”

“No idea.”

“Into the maybe pile, we can check with her later.”

“Good idea.”

Silence for a moment, and then Adrien snorted.

“What did you find?”

Adrien leaned back to look at Marinette, smirking. “Remember your crush?”

Marinette pouted. “You already teased me about that today. Is it still not old?”

“Not when all the memorabilia right here.”

“Not when the- Oh!” Marinette shrieked, scrambling over to him. “You found them! Finally! I seriously thought Master Fu had taken them.” She smiled brightly.

“Why would Master Fu take them?”

Marinette blushed scarlet. “Alya didn’t tell you. Of course not. Okay. Um, actually. Oh dear it’s kind of embarrassing. Why is it embarrassing? It wasn’t when I told Alya and Master Fu. Maybe it’s because it’s you. Oh boy. Okay so-” Marinette’s rambling died off in a whine as she buried her face in her hands. “It’s only embarrassing because it’s you. It was actually really smart at the time. Uh, move the top hundred or so.”

Adrien blinked at her reply, before turning back to the box. “What did you do?” he asked slowly, gathering up photos and slowly moving them out stack by stack. “Oh.”

“Yeah.” Marinette peeked over her fingers. “No one ever looked under that stuff, so it was the safest place to hide my research.”

“You never fail to amaze me,” Adrien snorted. “Using your crush to protect your identity? Constant multitasking at its’ best.”

“It was multistorage actually.” she tapped her head. “One track mind.”

They carefully dug through the box a little more, pages upon pages of translations and coded information sitting at the bottom, with cardboard dividers in between the layers. They pulled another set off, and Marinette promptly collapsed backwards, laughing.

“Are these the Kwami-sitting dolls?” Adrien asked, pulling the Pollen and Plagg ones out of the box.

“Those are the Kwami-sitting dolls,” Marinette confirmed, wheezing.

Marinette’s foot snagged something pointy, and when she stepped back to inspect the object, she grimaced “Adrien Chat Noir Agreste, bring your ass in here!”

“What is it M’ - whoa!” he stopped momentarily while schooling a dumbfounded look “What is that doing here?”

“You tell me,” she snarled as she spread out a big tarp of an old Gabriel perfume ad.

“Well, you said that you love fashion, and you want to update your ‘mini’” he made an air quote there “Adrien shrine -”

“Adrien!”

“Radiant,” the blond uttered dramatically as he reenacted his commercial ad “Carefree...Dreamy…”

Before he could finish the line, his wife hurled the incriminating poster and hit him squarely to the face.

‘ Why did I marry that man-child? ’ Marinette muttered to herself as she returned to her work, trying not to mind her crying husband, then paused when she saw another familiar banner.

“Why is this thing still here?”

“I swear to Plagg this is the only tarp that I saved... Oh. Oh, that .”

It was an old banner with a logo of a fencing team and quote in bold letters ‘ Excel and Power Pointe ’

“I thought Louis threw this?”

“He thought he threw it,” he smirked toothily as he walked towards his wife and snatched it from her hands “He didn’t know that his Papa saved it.”

Marinette gave him a beady look “You know that Louis will throw that again, right?”

“Not if we keep it.” Adrien retorted cheekily.

She rolled her eyes indignantly “C’mon, Kitty. This is just a dumb cheering banner you made for Louis’ fencing tournament, and he really hates it so much he had to knock his opponents in a short record time because he didn’t want to see that banner waving on his sight!”

“That’s more the reason why we have to keep it!”

“You’re just keeping this because of the pun!”

“That’s because it’s a good pun!”

“No, it’s not!”

“Will you two just stop this marital fight?” Plagg hovered above their faces, scowling “You’re both adults, for Kwami’s sake, not a toddler!”

“What Plagg was saying,” Tikki added with a smile “That you two were shouting so loud the neighbors heard your bickerings.”

The couple blushed furiously and apologetically resumed to their task.

Soon they had finished with the last box, and after repacking it - There was nothing in there they would have actually gotten rid of, they went through it for memories and to kill time - went back to work on the other boxes. Thankfully there weren’t that many that had been abandoned for the four years since they last moved.

They Lapsed into silence for a little bit, each finding their own boxes of miscellaneous things to go through. Occasional laughs, or questions, broke the silence, but for the most part it was just that. Silence as they prepared for a huge change that was to come.

[akuaya-stories-tl]

Prologue, Episode 6: Belladonna Arc

Sena: So this is Devil Realm...

Adder: What's the matter? Frightened?

Sena: It's not that... It's just that the atmosphere here is too different from above ground.

Adder: No need to fret. As long as you remain useful as "Tuner", the Belladonna Family will guarantee your safety in the Devil Realm.

Finish your work right away and better return to that defective Dia at once.

Sena: Defective...?

Adder: —There is it. The Belladonna Mansion.

???: He~? So this one is what they said? Y'know, what was it again, that one! [Super]?

???: It's [Tuner], Rosé.

Rosé: Right, right. The one who appeared on the [Throne of Sagacity]? I wonder what their insides look like? Hey, can I open you for a bit??

Sena: Huh...!?

Adder: Control yourself, Rosé. At least for now. This thing still has a role they need to play.

Rosé: I know that, big-brother. It's the purification power, right?

I'm also pissed by the curses. If they can make it go away, then I'll let them live.

Adder: Let's get it over with. It's about time the other dukedoms realized and complained about Belladonna's monopoly.

Rosé: Again? You're just gonna ignore them complaining, aren't you?

Adder: Who said I'm ignoring them. I'll give them a reply out of courtesy.

Sena: ...

???: Hahaha, troubled because you're surrounded by scary big brothers? You don't need to be so scared, you'll be fine.

Sena: You are...?

???: I'm Vanis. A carefree freeloader that's allowed to stay in this mansion.

Adder: If you keep being useless like this, I'll kick you out.

Vanis: Oops. Was me saying "carefree" unnecessary? Don't worry, I'll repay you properly for the things you've given.

By the way, Tuner.

Sena: Y-Yes.

Vanis: You're really interesting. The fact you appeared alongside the oracle, you feel more like the "God's emissary" than actual Angels.

Anyway, I want to take my time to talk to you. Is there more to you than what's recited in the oracle?

Sena: I don't remember anything at all...

Vanis: Fufufu, we still don't know how much we can trust that word, do we?

That's why, let's get along better from now on. Pleased to meet you, Sena.

Rosé: Whaaaaat, Vanis. Are you stealing a head start? Even though yours truly has been patient despite the swelling intellectual curiosity inside.

They're a substitute for Mana, does this mean their belly also produces Mana? Like, what's the color of their blood? The taste of their soul...

Vanis: Oh. Rosé, your evil desires are leaking out.

Rosé: But there's no need to hide it? I say that it's best when your heart and body are frank as it is ♪

Adder: ...

Vanis: Oh my. Adder doesn't look too pleased. Let's put aside the greeting for now.

Adder: What greeting. Don't mistake it with worthless idle chit-chat.

What the Belladonna Family needs are the purification power. They're nothing but a tool to achieve that.

Rosé: Yeah, yeah. Then, let's get the Mana already?

Adder: Tuner, do it.

Vanis: Heh... So this is the power of purification...

Adder: ... As the family head, let me test it first. Finally, I can get rid of the filthy curses from the mansion in one sweep.

Rosé: Well then, give us a grand spectacle~, big brother.

Adder: Shut up and witness. It's about to begin...

[giddlygoat]

tbh i did not know who cyrus borg is nor have i ever interacted with the ninjago fandom but i am obsessed about him. blorbo via osmosis.

anyways if you have any headcanons about him i would like to hear them :3c

cyrus borg my beloved blorbo babygirl <3

thank you for asking about this man. he is like a chew toy for my brain. hold onto your butt bc it’s 2 am as of writing this and that’s when all the big brained stuff happens 

in his mid/late thirties and slaying <3 he started his tech business at about 17 and now he’s got a crazy monopoly on like half the city but it’s okay bc he’s a kind philanthropist and actually treats his employees like human beings so no one cares that he’s effectively one of the most powerful men in the city lmao 

i see cyrus as autistic and adhd tbh. the way he gets so hyper focused on his work that he literally does not perceive anything else around him is a bit too relatable, and he strikes me as a very brilliant man who simply does not retain information unimportant to his interests. he could tell you the precise components of the most advanced computers and explain their relationships with one another, but hell if he knows who the president is. you’re lucky if he even remembers what day it is. this man constantly uses reminders and alarms for sure. 

he’s on the aroace spectrum i think. i’m not exactly sure how but he just gives me those vibes. 

also transmasc swag tbh?? i think i’ve seen that hc around and it goes hard 

hear me out. cyrus listens to rap. this is based on absolutely nothing at all i just know it with my very being. he likes stuff with fast, predictable and heavy beats. would totally blast shit like masquerade by siouxxie sixxsta at full volume in his office. it helps him get in the zone. idk what to tell you man [<- 100% projection] 

cyrus is like. absolutely fascinated by zane. he admires dr julien’s work so much and wants to study zane under a microscope. as he gets to know zane better personally though, i think he would realize that he has been looking at things through the lense of an engineer for so long that he forgot zane was just like his human family. it’s not that he ever viewed zane as simply a machine, quite the opposite - he fully acknowledged that dr julien had created a full person, and an incredible one at that - but cyrus still has to remind himself that people don’t like being poked and prodded. [the moment he makes the mental connection between zane getting put on an examination table and himself getting operated on by the overlord against his will, he realizes the error in his line of thinking] 

oh yeah. the trauma! yeah cyrus might be just a little bit majorly fucked up over the overlord thing. the overlord did amputate his right arm after all, which leaves him with only one fully functioning limb. he still has nightmares about it. getting used to a prosthetic arm wouldn’t have been such a hurdle if the overlord had put any sort of thought or care into the operation, but it left him severely scarred up and just fucked in general. however! as the years pass he becomes pretty much fully accustomed to his situation and doesn’t let it inhibit his creative passions. 

also when zane died in s3 cyrus was super broken up about it and blamed himself for it in part. then, not days later his daughter disappeared for reasons he would not understand until like a year later, which totally messed him up. he inevitably threw himself into his work in an effort to not feel anything. he didn’t take very good care of himself during this time. when zane returned from chen’s island, he let pixal explain everything to cyrus, who was just glad they were alive, but the whole situation took a really long time to get over. 

when he’s hyper focused he forgets to eat/sleep etc and can run on fumes for hours before his body suddenly becomes a wet paper towel in a parking lot at 3 am and he has to konk out at his desk. thankfully he has people looking out for him, and he’s slowly getting better about it, but once he gets started sometimes the only way to stop is by brute force. 

i absolutely love @alanshee’s amazing cyrus headcanons, so you should totally go check out her takes. she has some really cool headcanons about his 16 robot children [in reference to a line where cyrus mentioned pixal was the 16th iteration, i believe] and they always make me smile so big. a lot of my headcanons are inspired by her stuff! 

[sorry for the late ass reply it’s been a crazy week and then i forgot rip but thank you sm for the ask!!!]

[mobblespsycho100]

waittt aventurine is from the ipc not penacony ... im rlly curious to hear that then

YES. OKAY SO , instead of just mentioning fav and why, I WILL ELABORATE ABT MY LOVE FOR THE IPC GUYS LETS GOOOOO

so we know how the IPC is an intergalactic corporation that basically has a monopoly on the trade routes and currency and is basically just a HUGE part of the universe in hsr. This is honestly so interesting to me because of how they dedicate themselves to Qlipoth the Preservation whos building Walls to seperate planets for some reason, but IPC wants to Connect planets while also helping the Amber Lord. its so interesting? almost makes u wonder if the IPC is even dedicated to Qlipoth or is simply an interastral corporate wanting their economic influence to dominate the entirety of the universe. But we do know one thing. WE ONLY HAVE *TWO* KNOWN EMANATORS OF PRESERVATION IN THE IPC, one is Taravan Keane one of the board members of the IPC whos rumored to not even be a follower of Qlipoth, the other is Diamond, Head of the Strategic Investment Department and Leader of the Ten Stonehearts...

THE TEN STONEHEARTS ARE ALSO KNOWN AS THE SENIOR MANAGERS OF THE STRATEGIC INVESTMENT DEPARTMENT. Their official like term / job title is "Non-Performing Asset Liquidation Specialists", theyre all handpicked by Diamond and given Cornerstones which are like a Gemstone that represents what theyre like good at and gives them the authority to borrow Diamond's power as the emanator of Preservation. So its like. They have powers too, but its from the cornerstones, and the cornerstones are given to them by Diamond who gets power from Preservation and the cornerstones are an extension of Diamond's powers.

ANYWAY. Topaz's cornerstone is the "Topaz of Debt Retrieval". Shes also the leader of the Special Debts Picket team and currently the lowest ranking (P44) and implied to be the or one of the youngest member of the Ten Stonehearts.

I love her a lot because of how assertive and confident she is while also prioritizing being kind to others and going with a soft approach first, shes like the customer service Queen. shes also rlly good at math which she actually hates bcuz ppl keep using her like a human calculator if she discloses that information.

ALSO ONE OF HER IDLE HAS HER SPEAKING IN ALL THE DIFF LANGUAGES HSR OFFERS (AKA EN, JP, CN, AND KR) ITS SO COOL ??? Also yes shes technically had to be in the IPC because of how her dying planet made a contract to basically all of them work for the IPC.

I love Topaz for her flaws and also her strengths, shes both incredibly . i dont know the word but its like when you rlly believe ur right and dont think anything else? Shes genuine in a sense that what she does she genuinely believes shes helping people, even though she also acknowledges the faults and bad sides of the IPC, she wasnt hesitant to literally say the IPC was going to use Belobog/Jarilo-VI for the resources and develop it in their own view of how they could improve the lands (aka basically a lot of restructuring and destroying the culture to improve it) but again shes like this because shes experienced it firsthand, how her planet with the most unliveable conditions started to Thrive under the IPC's influence despite it essentially giving up their freedom to work For the IPC. For Topaz she believes that the IPC IS THE ONLY WAY TO SAVE BELOBOG from its current slow recovering state after the stellaron crisis and corrossion that caused the eternal freeze to ravage the planet. That is of course until she saw that Belobog has its own way of survival, its own way of thriving without the need for IPC's meddling, that she steps down/backs off and immediately took the blame without asking for anything in return, just that shes only buying some time and it isnt possible to erase the debt completely. and in a way, I know that it didnt affect her much because she works for the sake of helping the world (in her mind) and not for the money, but it would still suck to get demoted and be known to fail at ur assignment even though you were doing a good decision for the sake of the native inhabitants of the planet. Like?? Oh my gosh. I need to hug her im so happy she has like friends actually like furry creatures and cats and Numby her constant companion because OH MY GOSHH HER character stories make me emo tbh.

shes the silliest gal ever in history of the IPC and I think she needs more fans FORREAL FORREAL ‼️‼️‼️ topaz main for LIFE i need everyone to experience her fun playstyle and numby running around with her and LOKE OMGGG HER SHINY DIAMOND PATTERN SCARF THAT SPARKLES IN THE LIGHT <3 best aspect of her design IMO. i like her thigh mole too but that sounds too 0///0 of me so ill shut up abt topaz now BTW HER LIGHTCONE IS THE BEST LIGHTCONE ART (SHE IS SO CUTE WITH THE CATS AND DOGS AND LIL NUMBY IN THE BG BEING JEALOUS AND WANTING ATTENTION) I WILL SCREAM THIS AND DIE ON THAT HILL . also meta wise her eidolons are All really good for her i need to get her to e2 when she reruns if possible <33 my BELOVED TOPAZ / JELENA U WILL ALWAYS BE FAMOUSSSSS ♥️💖💖❤️💗💕💞❣️💌💘💝💖💞💕💓💟🫰🫶

anyway for Aventurine . HES A FREAKING MENACE <33 i love his "constantly smiling" persona and his gambling addiction. He is the epitome of a business guy imo, business guy to beat all business guys APPEARANCE WISE (except Reigen , Reigen is top tier business guy hes so me fr fr best character in history :3) anyway back to Aventurine. I like his angst a lot I think.... his persona... his hidden side ... IM SO EXCITED TO PLAY THROUGH IT BECAUSE HIS STORY IS SO DAMN RAAAHHH i cant believe he says "use me as you wish even stab me in the back if you see fit" what if i cry forever i love this guy. more ppl need to as well. ik hes morally gray btw he wants to #win and i for one support him GO AVENTURINE U LIL SMUG GAMBLER U CAN DO IT-- okay ill shut up now i just love his silly personality soo much.... and his voice <3 he makes me so ouhhwgwg emotional fr fr. The only two negative part abt Aventurine is his design not being a person of color and the fact that his iconic hat and sunglasses ARENT on his playable model. I hate hoyo for this /hj but srsly. man. I NEED HIM SO BAD I NEED TO PULL FOR HIM NOWWWWW AND PUT HIM ON MY TOPAZ/FOLLOW UP TEAMS RAAHHHHHH ‼️‼️‼️‼️

also i love the IPC's NPCs like Velite from Argentis Companion Mission and Wilder from the Aetherium Wars event ‼️‼️ and Owlbert our fav host in the youtube videos <3 silly silly

[janetbrown711]

Bestest Friend in the World

Mei is the bestest friend of MK and that will surely never ever lead to grievous injuries no siree

tw for stabbing, blood, major injuries, hospitals, etc.

Ao3 link

Mei Dragon was the bestest bestest bestest friend in the world of MK– and had been since kindergarten. Every afternoon was spent hanging out until her parents and nannies started to disapprove but even that didn’t stop them as MK just started sneaking in and Mei gained the power of puppy dog eyes that the nannies and sometimes even her father couldn’t refuse.

She was ride or die for him since day one too– being part of the Dragon family had its perks like that. She was a formidable foe, so if anyone so much as looked at MK sideways, she was ON it with that White Horse Dragon energy. It helped MK was just as ride or die– they were together through graduations, breakups, get-back-together-s, art classes, PE classes, driving lessons, their Silly Band monopoly turned Multi-Level-Marketing Scheme turned banned from selling to the school turned illegal bracelet selling business turned all silly bands are banned from school forever now, more graduations, and Mei even helped him move into his apartment above their favorite restaurant Pigsy’s Noodles on his 18th birthday.

Ah Pigsy– the old fella’s place was practically a second home to the pair– something that originally bothered him until Mei showed the classic Dragon Credit Card and suddenly she was welcome whenever. It was also a second home in a more sentimental way, that was true– Pigsy practically raised MK since his parents were… complicated. Not to mention Pigsy was also way more sentimental than her old man ever is– even if he pretends he isn’t. The big softie liked to pretend he’d get mad at them but his punishments were always so empty to her (though MK still believed otherwise– even though Mr. Tang really should be proof enough).

In the heat of battle, Mei had MK’s back more than anyone else on the squad. The two were two halves of one whole– two peas in the pod, peanut butter and jelly, daddy issues and heroism, pigsy’s and noodles, Mei Dragon and the motherfucking Monkey Kid!

No duo had ever been so badass or cool or loyal or awesome or as amazing as Mei and MK were. They were one of a kind, truly and infinitely.

“On your right Mei!!!” MK shouted on the battlefield, Mei drove to the left so MK had room on the top of the Pigsy’s Noodles-mobile to jump off and take a swing at the demon in front of the– The Single Horned Rhinoceros King who was on a ramage, having once again escaped the court of heaven, and brought his army with him too.

MK went in for an attack, going for the neck, but his fingers somehow slipped and the second he let go the demon grinned, pulling out a sparkling silver ring which had a force so specific and powerful, the staff went within and disappeared entirely.

“What the heck–?” He said as he fell, more confused about that than the emanate doom of falling onto the ground.

“MK!” Mei immediately drove off to try and catch him, but thankfully Wukong was there and able to catch him on his cloud instead.

“Man, you’d think they’d lock up heaven a lot tighter after how many demons keep slipping through– wait, aren’t you Lau Tzu’s buffalo? What the heck are you doing out again?!” The Monkey King taunted while MK got his wares back.

“Sun Wukong! Here to lose again?” He grinned with sharp teeth and an eyebrow raised.

“Wait, you lost to this guy?! I thought you never lose!” MK looked at his teacher.

“Psh– I didn’t lose per se, not as much as I did against the Samadhi Fire, and the journey was allowed to continue so you know– no real loss,” The Monkey King brushed it off as he always did and Mei couldn’t help but role her eyes with a laugh.

“Besides, taking weapons is a cheaters game, and I know I could easily beat you hand to hand,” Sun Wukong winked with his tongue out.

“As if I care for that,” The Rhinoceros King grinned, summoning a spear of his own.

“Alright– that’s it. MK, give me my staff,” He scowled, and MK laughed as his face turned red with embarrassment.

“Haha, about that…”

“Ugh, not again. You are SUCH a cheater, I don’t know why Lao Tzu even likes you that much,” Wukong scowled at the demon, who couldn’t care less, going in to attack the cloud, and continuing the fight. Wukong dropped off MK with Mei to get the demon away from the mortals while MK and Mei tried to think of a plan while dealing with the army of much more regular sized demons.

“Nice job, butterfingers,” Mei teased, parrying an attack with her family’s sword and slicing through a demon’s chest. “Remember any of Mr. Tang’s stories about this guy?”

“I remember something about Budha and ‘don’t use weapons or fire because he’ll just suck it all up’ I think but honestly my mind is kind of everywhere right now,” He said, trying to fist fight, but he knew his strengths were more in staff fighting.

“Well, does that apply to the Fire of Samadhi?” Mei got a mischievous glimmer in her eyes as she looked back at Wukong and the demon Rhino King.

“Could be worth a shot, I don’t think it was mentioned in the original story,” MK said, grabbing her and summoning a cloud (a newer, shakier ability of MK’s), and taking them right to the demon.

“Kid, what are you doing?!” Wukong said and, having created a sword out of one of his hairs, was currently attempting to ‘empty fade’ the demon, but was blocked easily.

“We’re gonna see if this guy can handle a little heat,” Mei said, feeling the familiar burn in her chest starting to rise.

“Wait no– you probably shouldn’t– Well…” Wukong couldn’t make up his mind so Mei took that as an invitation and after getting MK to get out of the way she unleashed the Fire of Samadhi on the Rhino King, Dragon style.

However, the Rhino King simply laughed and brought out the diamond ring, consuming the flames whole until Mei was left exhausted and weak on MK’s cloud.

“W-Well I guess I’m going old fashioned then,” She grinned, looking at the monkey king, “Two sword fighters are better than none, right Sun Wukong?”

“Sure kid,” He laughed, and she joined the battle, making sure to keep a tight, tight grip on the hilt. MK went back to fighting the lesser demons, which would’ve all been fine if the demon king didn’t order some of them to also start attacking MK and Mei, meaning the battle went from 2 on 1 to 2 on 8 in the blink of an eye, and it was getting harder to keep their ground, even with Sandy and Pigsy running to help them fight too.

“Man, you really are an asshole, you know that Unicorn King?” Wukong huffed as he swept a demon’s leg and stabbed them through the chest.

This made the Rhino King very angry and his attacks against the king started getting far more aggressive than before, swiping faster and faster and hitting harder and harder while demons pulled at his clothes and tried to trip him.

“Monkey King!!” MK leapt from where he was to Wukong’s defense, leaving Mei to deal with even more demons all on her own– which was chill but like– annoying at the same time. She was doing a fairly good job slicing through some of them despite feeling depleted from the fire release, but she wanted to attack the king not just the sidekicks– man it would be a lot better if she hadn’t gotten off her motorcycle, then she could go all… shit what was that guy’s name? Aragorn! Yeah, she could go all Aragorn on their asses.

“Kid I said I got this,” Wukong grit his teeth as he pushed against the Rhino King’s weapon.

“Yeah sure, don’t take my help, that’s something new,” MK laughed as he punched and pulled demons off of Wukong, which succeeded in making things easier for Wukong.

However, demons were still going for Mei and the more there were the more she swung violently and while she usually would have solved this with a lil bit of that Fire of Samadhi, it sure wasn’t going to be back for a hot minute, so all she had was sweaty hands, heavy breathing, and a determination to keep on going.

As the battle waged on, the Rhino Demon took a hard notice of MK and, with a smirk, silently ordered his armies to attack him. MK panicked and Mei realized she had to do something.

She ran through the hoard of demons, slicing only when she had to, and when she got to MK, a demon grabbed her jacket, causing her body to jerk and she dropped her sword with a loud clunk, that was just loud enough for the Rhino King to hear and rejoice at as he brought out the ring once again and took it right off the ground and also destroyed Wukong’s pathetic hair sword while he was at it too.

“HEY!! You give that back you dickweed!!!” Mei shouted on the top of her lungs, smoke flaring from her nostrils.

“Cute how that little dragon girl doesn’t have any fire left,” He said at Wukong, who recognized he was at a standstill once again.

“Yeah, well maybe if you played fair—”

“It surprises me how you always try to see the best in people, Sun Wukong– even when you have no business to,” He pointed his spear at Wukong’s throat.

“Monkey King!” MK cried out, getting on his cloud and going to grab his master away. Mei recognized he needed a distraction and so got on top of a car and started shouting.

“I was talking to you! Hello?!” Mei’s insides burnt as little flames began to spark once again. She ran to the demon, who took his staff away from Wukong just as MK grabbed him and before Mei could blink, he hurled it and—

Fuck.

At first, not much, just her heart beating in her ears as she felt a warm liquid starting to drip down her stomach. She fumbled backward, and a shlink and a tugging feeling left her feeling very, very cold instantly.

“MEI!!!!!”

Several voices cried out behind her. Mei’s vision was spotty, but she could see MK running towards her as Wukong started to scratch and claw at the Rhino King.

At some point she fell backwards– she knew that because of the massive pain in the pack of her head and a ringing in her ears. She saw familiar yellow and pink blurs as Mei slowly started to close her eyes.

.o0o.

Darkness.

Cloudy light, lots of dust and debris– voices.

“What do you mean you can’t heal her?! Y-you’re a billion years old– th-there’s gotta be something you know–!”

“I-i’m sorry, Bud, I-i know I should, but–”

“MK, let’s just get her to a hospital, okay? It’ll be alright there.”

“Right… Right, thanks Pigsy…”

Darkness.

.o0o.

Darkness.

Jesus christ– Blaring lights.

“I don’t care if the building is half destroyed, she tried to save it– do you know who she is?!”

“Sir please, I’m going to need you to calm down, there are many other patients–”

“I’ll handle this, kid. You and Pigsy go sit.”

“Sun Wukong, I’m sorry I can’t–”

“UGH FINE–! Tang knows stitches I’ll just take her back to the shop–”

“No, my boat is far more equipped, you tell Tang to go there and I can make tea.”

That voice was much louder, causing a rumbling sensation in her left side. She was being held by someone… her brain couldn’t focus on who– trying to caused a throbbing headache.

“Wait, is she awake?! Mei??? Mei!!!”

Darkness again.

.o0o.

Darkness.

Blinding lights again– Jeez, what’s with all these lights?!

A smell of bleach and sterile cotton, as well as a distinct beep of a heart monitor filled her senses.

So she didn’t go to Sandy’s boat after all.

Sandy’s– holy smokes she could think again, thank god

Owowowow– okay not without massive headaches and excitement yet, let’s tone it down.

She stared up, trying to get her eyes to stop being so blurry and while it took a solid while, she eventually got it together and started seeing the perfectly white and blue hospital room with the classic uncanny feeling hospital art and all.

She eventually noticed someone was holding her hand– the one without the heartrate alligator clamp thingy, and painfully turned her head to see it was MK– snoring away with a puddle of drool but with a tight grip on her hand nonetheless. Pigsy was next to him, also asleep and holding a little green bag that said “Get Well Soon!” with a bow on it with his other hand on MK’s back.

Mei smiled, not even noticing her biological parents weren’t even there.

She wanted to look around more, but her insides felt like the Fire of Samadhi and she cringed tremendously in pain, squeezing MK’s hand as hard as she could.

“H-huh? What– I’m– MEI!!!” MK shot up and was thrilled to see her with her eyes open– even if it was only really halfway. He immediately grabbed and hugged her, but that hurt even more than trying to move, and Pigsy pulled him away.

“Remember what the nurse said? Gentle, MK, gentle,” the chef grunted, and MK stepped back ashamed.

“S-sorry Mei– I just– I was so— And now you’re–” He sighed a breath of relief.

Mei smiled and opened her hand and when MK took it she gave it a squeeze again.

“S-so… what happened, exactly?” Mei asked.

“Well, Monkey King went berserk on that demon guy and chased him all the way out of the city and somehow managed to get that stupid diamond ring and managed to turn him back to his true form where he then dropped him off on heaven’s front doorstep and then–”

“You got stabbed in the gut with that guy’s spear and we took you to the hospital. You had to have surgery to repair the organ damage and–” Pigsy had interrupted MK but he suddenly couldn’t speak anymore. He took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes. “You’re still really hurt, kiddo, a-and they still don’t quite know how everything’s gonna heal and you lost a lot of blood and we didn’t know if you’d…”

Oh god…

“W-well that explains the hospital,” She tried to smile, but seeing Pigsy and MK’s tearful eyes made her want to sob.

“Monkey King’s working now to get back all the weapons and stuff, so don’t worry about your family’s sword,” MK informed her after suddenly remembering.

Frankly the sword was the last thing on her mind, but it was good to know it was being accounted for– no need for her family’s legacy to crumble apart like this so soon.

Maybe that’s why her parents were gone.

“That’s good,” Mei smiled tiredly.

God it hurt so much to breathe or– hell, just to live– right now.

“Mei, I am so, so, so sorry I couldn’t protect you– I should’ve done something– I could’ve turned into an eagle and grabbed it or something or–”

“MK, MK, it’s fine, really. I’m okay,” Mei stroked her best friend’s hand with her thumb.

MK went a bit silent.

“Mei, not to state the obvious but like… you aren’t– you could’ve– you nearly—”

Right.

“Y-yeah… I…” Mei felt like such an idiot for not knowing what to say.

“It’s not your fault kiddo, and it’s not Mei’s either,” Pigsy glanced at her to make sure she knew that too.

“Easy for you to say, you don’t even have any cool powers,” MK muttered under his breath.

“Yeah, but I was there, wasn’t I?!” Pigsy got a little huffy before sighing. “Look… tensions are high, Mei’s gonna be here for awhile… how about we just spend this time being happy she’s at least awake, alright? Because she very easily could–... not be.”

MK turned back to Mei.

“I’m just– I’m so sorry anyways. I-i– we’re two halves of a whole, you know that,” MK laughed a little and wiped his eyes.

“Yeah I know. You really think I’d let such an iconic duo fall apart like that,” Mei tried to punch his arm but ow.

“Yeah, without you, who’s gonna distract my best and only employee other than that old sap of a story teller?” Pigsy joked a little too, though Mei caught a tear rolling down his cheek.

“If you think this is bad you should’ve seen him in the hospital lobby– sobbing like a piglet,” MK whispered and Mei laughed a little, but owowowowow

“Alright, alright, enough of the whispering,” Pigsy rolled his eyes. “I got you something.”

“Oo! I love me a gift,” Mei smiled. Pigsy handed it to her and MK helped her open the bag and remove tissue paper to reveal a cheap little dragon plush keychain that looked to be from a claw machine and a coupon to Pigsy’s Noodles– 50% OFF???????

“Holy shit– You don’t even treat Tang this good– I-i don’t know what to say– I-i-i–” Mei instantly started tearing up.

“Hey, why can’t I get 50% off, I work there!” MK crossed his arms at his boss/dad.

“Have a near death experience again, then we’ll talk,” Pigsy shot him a look before cutting in front of him to get closer to Mei, offering his arm which Mei began to weep into, ignoring the absolutely godawful pain that flared with every sob. Soon enough MK was crying too, and he went on the other side of the bed and offered his arm too, and soon Mei was just holding onto both of them as best she could, crying her eyes out.

“I-I-I love you guys s-s-s-so much,” She wept.

Pigsy stroked her head with his free hand. “Yeah, love you too kiddo.”

“Y-yeah me too. Like you said– we’re two halves of a whole; the most iconic duo in history,” MK sniffled.

Mei couldn’t say more after that, in too much emotional and physical pain. She wanted to apologize for scaring them like that– for almost dying (maybe still dying, who knows) but she knew they wouldn’t care.

She was okay.

She was awake.

And she was still the bestest bestest bestest friend in the world of MK, with a pretty cool secret-softie pig dad to boot.

Mei was the luckiest dragon girl in the world.

[just-rogi]

Are you Marxist?

Right now I’m a teacher- and I know that isn’t the answer that you wanted but listen-

Ideologically I don’t care what we call it, I will support my kids getting food every day and my classroom being funded so the kids can have the materials they need.

I will support any programs that complete fund public transportation, and which will actually put roofs over the heads of the people I pass on the street every day. I support the radical dismantling of government programs like the military and the police and the redistribution of those funds. I support the private dismantling of monopolies and large corporations hoarding wealth and food and homes.

I support not having to work myself to the bone every single week- coming home so dead tired that I fall asleep in my work clothes at 7:30 because I feel my body breaking from the five day/ eight hour work week. I support the death of the landlord class and the model, by which, a public City of Boston employee who works 40 hours a week for the city can’t afford to actually LIVE in the city on my salary (I have four roomates)

I support the complete reconstruction of the Forster care system, which in many cases takes children from loving parents for lack of funding, rather than just giving the parents access to food and clothes and a home to call their own and raise their children in. As wealth isn’t an indicator of morality and responsibility, and certainly not a reason to separate children from families who love them.

I support free and accessible educational for the brilliant black and brown children I see every day who have been barred from higher education due to the costs of privatized education- I support the fully funded public schools, community centers, libraries, and museums as safe spaces for all people of all ages to go, as knowledge should never be only accessible to a certain class.

I support gutting the private medical and pharmaceutical industry and instead building up public healthcare in which people will have access to medication which they desperately need without having to pay thousands of dollars. Where people can access mental health care, elder care and senior homes drug and alcohol abuse care (and yes that includes safe sites to dispose of sharps, and inject drugs without fear of dirty needles and ODing I know for whatever reason people can’t stomach that one) , rehabilitation for addiction, mental illness, and eating disorder without being in crippling debt for life. As a kid I had to ration my inhaler as they were close to $100 USD each. As an adult I want to make sure that no child - or person in general- has to do that with something that they NEED.

Everyone deserves to live in comfort and dignity, and no one man or company should have the power to sway politics or hoard property, food, or medication while the people are in need of care.

I have read a little bit about communist theory, and know all The Hits (hello communist manifesto), and yeah ideologically I suppose I agree with a lot of it on the surface level, but frankly I’ve read a LOT more about Socio Emotional Leaning, and teaching phonetics to ELL students, and textbooks on Ancient Civ as that is how I spend my whole day.

It would be arrogant and ignorant to call myself a Marxist, as I am know knowledgeable enough about the difference between Marxism, or Marxist Leninism, or Maoism, or all the nuances between the different communist and socialist political and ideological movements. And frankly, at this point in my life I don’t care about the label that you use- I care that food gets on my kids lunch trays and that they all have a warm bed to go home to and a place to learn and all their health needs met. Weather that is achieved by voting or by revolution, I don’t care. Weather it’s the marxists that get it done or the Maoist’s, I don’t care. Fuck if the Democrats were advocating for all that I’d be first in line to the polls (though even now please still vote, both in national and local elections- not voting is used to silence you and is a tool of the oppressor).

I really honestly don’t know shit about anything, and it would be sooooo much easier to give you a sound bite and respond “FUCK YEAH MARXISM BASED!!!!” With gif of a hammer and sickle flag…. But that feels reductive and unrepresentative as I honestly and truly am not intelligent enough about the subject to talk about it at length. What I am knowledgeable enough about is working full time in public education in a low income school. And working for a non profit organization in rural communities. And volunteering to get my boots dirty doing non profit work during what little free time I have. I know a lot about the world that I WANT to make better and if Marxism can get it’s shit together all the better- but a revolution WONT just be peacefully standing around discussing ideology. It starts in your classrooms and food banks and your streets. So I suggest that any real Marxist get themselves a pair of practical shoes.

[misakialter]

Ok but am I about to Rant?

...You know what? Fuck it.

Why not, I'm gonna end the year talking about something nobody really cares but I certainly do for whatever reason: Dragon Ball Super, babyyyyyy.

Specifically the Granolah Arc.

(In advance, thank you for reading.)

Genuinely, I have like a lot to criticize about it but for those who need a refresh or have no idea what I'm about to say but still wanna read my thoughts anyways lemme do a quick summary for you.

The story continues from the resolution of the prior arc, as a power copying enemy known as Seventhree is salvaged by it's creator. Before this guy could do anything though, the titular Granolah trounces and steals the Android.

We find out he's the last of his race, and had his planet wiped out by Saiyans working under Frieza back then. He's serving a faction known as the Heeters, they sell planets but work under intel over force, now holding their own monopoly after Frieza's first death.

Keyword: FIRST. Now that he's back, they are in trouble and tell as much to Granolah, whose trauma kicks in and wants nothing but vengeance, but of course, he's too weak. Though the Heeters start to carefully plot around this development thanks to SevenThree's memory helping them get caught up with last arc's development and our heroes.

Granolah returns to his planet and the topic comes out with his caretaker, a namekian elder. Reminded of their set of 2 Dragon Balls and with the finding of the missing one, Granolah wishes to become the strongest (At a cost) and demands to see Frieza.

The Heeters, of course, tell him to stay put and set in motion their plan: Get rid of Granolah before he destroys the empire they wanna overtale by tricking Goku and Vegeta into coming, while they wish their toughest member, Gas, to be THE strongest to then kill Frieza.

After a long brawl between our heroes trying to talk Granolah down, the elder is forced to reveal some truths: A Saiyan (Bardock) saved them and the Heeters killed his mom actually, he couldn't reveal it prior as Granolah was put to work with them in exchange for their safety.

Thus, Gas turns into the strongest and faces the now teamed up trio who are vastly outmatched as he continues to grow, little by little wearing him down until Frieza's surprising arrival, who wipes out Gas in one clean sweep and leaves Goku and Vegeta with the bitter feeling of being left behind powerwise.

With Granolah now giving up on his vengeance, Goku finding out more about his father and adapting Ultra Instinct in his own way, and Vegeta fueling his newfound Ultra Ego form with his feelings on the Saiyan's past, the gang says their goodbyes and set off.

People with familiarity on the arc will notice me describing the entire second half of it in three paragraphs. And this is for sure not a mistake: This IS the relevant information of that section. So you know, we'll be here for a while when I get there. :)

So like, was the arc bad from the start?

No. Much like the grand majority of DBS, I think it's got one of, if not the most promising start so far, because as it stands, the arc set in motion a very character centric narrative over something with a bigger plot in motion. This is actually the most enjoyable part of it which we hardly get in this series at all, so it feels fucking good when people come to blows because we have so much baggage on each side the clash gets hype, much like how DBS: Broly toyed with (Or you know, how Battle Shonen that go hard do it).

Granolah is an interesting character, despite having his arc rushed at the very end and with some missed out chances. Already having seen a similar concept with Baby from GT, we know the idea of a surviving race member of a wipeout from the Saiyans writes itself. Not to mention his unique aspects such as his trauma or his combat quirks help him stand out beyond the cool design. He's also integrated into the world with as much grace as the new group, the Heeters, who serve as our "people to punch" this arc.

From the duo of Maki and Oil proving to be a little more comedic than threatening but still effective, and the cunning Elec being modestly entertaining, they don't feel out of place in the world of DB. Gas in particular I'm going to put off for now, but know that his interactions with Elec is what make the latter vastly more unique in terms of narrative role. Commander Red comes to mind but if he was played entirely straight. I think they serve the narrative pretty damn fine without the need to go beyond as characters, Gas nonwithstanding.

When it comes to Goku and Vegeta's role in the story, the latter gets the most out of it. His training with Beerus, his theraphy session with Granolah, his showcase of the Ultra Ego to an extent and him getting to interact with the Saiyan's past in a fresh way. They have never fucking fumbled Vegeta since the "doing the same thing as before but worse" allegations from prior arcs, which is a strong positive for his fans, but yeah, he doesn't get any Ws lmao.

With Goku, we have... Things happening for sure, of varying qualities, but the praises are getting short on that end, so I'm going to save it for later. On paper, I do appreciate the attempt to do more with this character and he still is not the weakest part of the character centric narrative.

In general, the central core of said narrative is one of the more interesting and cool so far. It makes the entire portion of the fight against Granolah all the better, not to mention that section having bouts of good coreography and action. I love having an enemy worth punching in a series where punching people happens so much they can be souless bricks to punch, especially if the bricks aren't interesting unlike, say, Frieza.

Speaking of, he turned out the be the funniest, most shocking element in this arc. Like not even as a joke, his presence is a legit highlight from the sheer absurdity of his impact. He barely gets foreshadowed at the first half, with the asumption it's the character who is most commonly tied to everybody what makes you think of him at all times, and isn't even used until the very last minute. But when he DOES show up, he ONE SHOTS GAS, VEGETA AND GOKU, claims to have been OUT OF RANGE for the "make me the strongest" wish to account for him, found a HYPERBOLIC TIME CHAMBER in space and proceedes to brag that he knew what's up and that got a brand new form only to LEAVE.

It's truly a chaotic shock to the system which matches the ridicolousness of Dragon Ball Heroes whipping out a new Broly out of nowhere every anniversary or so, but in an oddly positive way. Like you could've done more with the concept but honestly I can't truly be mad with the sheer boldness in display. But that's because... Well...

So like, is the second half bad or what?

I can certainly say the ending woke me up. But it's kinda fucked up how once Granolah stopped being the opponent everything else kinda crumbles into fighting a boring nothing character with no connection to the heroes and progression being constantly halted JUST so we can attempt to give this opponent some fluff.

Let's be fair: Gas holds his own with Granolah padding and brick personality aside, there is some setup to their rivalry and the backstory works, albeit motion is wasted to highlight aspects that only come out now instead of beforehand: The fact that he was envious, the stubborn devotion to his own techniques, Granolah feeling anything beyond towards him, etc. Still works fine, still patched up now.

There's also his relationship with Elec as a highlight, the former manipulating him and hyping him up in spite of Gas doubting himself, showing devotion and loyalty back to Elec and even being grateful he made him strong as he is, which is kinda tragic once he realizes what he becomes.

But I can't fucking caaaaare.

I believe the core problem with Gas is that they waited too fucking long to start showing his development and choosing the very distracting battle that HALTS ALL PROGRESSION to try and do something with him.

This is also after the big break which was the Bardock flashback, we'll get to that, but since the goal became his defeat and he has no one to bounce from naturally, the second Goku steps up as the main opponent (After the fight has had MANY twists and he powered up several times) everything resets completely harder than when each form turned the tides. Because Goku still had no internal change, he doesn't remember Bardock yet, and the story didn't think of bringing Gas along to recruit Goku and Vegeta and build THEIR personal rivalry outside of Bardock's impact on Gas after defeating him so it feels limp without the connective tissue.

So what we have is a scene which deadass could've played like this:

Their goal is to kill Frieza. They did not want to waste time. They literally just believed they killed Granolah and incapacitated both Goku and Vegeta. What are they gonna fucking do? Defend Frieza? They don't fucking care if he dies again, maybe they wanna fight them, but it would provide a fucking change of scenery which hasn't happened since the start of all the fighting. Gas too, like, sure, he would want to kill them for knowing too much but at this point NO ONE is a threat.

As a result the jawdropping moment of Ultra Ego and Ultra Instinct together feels wasted on a very lame opponent. The revelation Goku has to use Ultra Instinct his own way is just kinda there because Gas is the least important part of said development. The epic struggle to take him down feels done already.

It's tiring. Really tiring. No matter how fancy the techniques, the core character is being built as we speak in a narrative that SOLELY focused on characters on the last minute. And I can't care as a result.

Speaking of breaking progression and being tiring, we also need to talk about a little something.

This is another joke page, dw.

But uh, anyone feels like the first flashback would've been enough? Technically, they could skim on HOW Bardock defeated Gas interrupting an already glacial paced conflict, especially not without any substantial information to the characters, Goku's development aside.

Bardock doesn't feel entirely realized either. I appreciate the fact they are trying to bridge the gap between Minus and Z Bardock to make it look like it's mostly the same character but it's not until he's fighting where this seems to be at play.

He feels like he's on autopilot on his own plot thread. There's feeling his actions are arbitrary (To the point of needing a flashback within one for justification) as him being conveniently set up to be there, rather than let his character flow naturally. His impact is felt across the characters but "just so happens to be there" is not the card they play. This isn't a rando — Nonono, this is Goku's Dad™, therefore he MUST be important... Which goes against the core idea of making Minus Bardock and Z Bardock the same character, but topic for another time.

Point is: When the story could've chosen to use the Saiyans as a positive influence (A loaded statement but yet another topic for some other time), they really chose to tell this story in a rather clunky way, contradicting the core idea of a typical Saiyan without exploring Bardock's uniqueness regarding it (If he has it) when we need it to buy into it. We're coming off from the character from Minus, you HAVE to expand on it because that one had ALSO next to nothing going for him.

So yeah, I may be beating this aspect way too much but in hindsight, if the story decided it should be focused heavily for breaks between fight while also having a half that is meandering just to trigger Goku's memories, then maybe they should've thought about it a little more when telling this story.

Which leads us to perhaps the biggest weakness of writing for DB: Getting Goku involved in the plot without him feeling less like a problem solving plot device they are forced to keep out the action. He's active, sure, but he has no connection to anybody, so what do?

His arc this time around is Ultra Instinct being a technique Goku needs to improve on despite everyone in the fandom swearing that the one we were calling MASTERED Ultra Instinct for years wasn't really it. As such, he has to find a path to use it on his own, which obviously means "dodge on your base form" but there's more to it: He has to learn and stop mimicking Whis when doing so.

The solution is simple and it works in every aspect but to make UI less impactful, but asuming we saw that coming and we don't mind, this leaves Goku accepting his emotions instead of repressing them while using UI, thus getting the most out of the Sign form.

...And it's kinda disconnected to everything? They tacked in Bardock's sole focus on his drive to win as a catalyst which is why they used the second flashback, and that kinda gets a little lost when this still doesn't tie him to Gas and with how little that statement says on it's own. "He has the same determined look" doesn't work and the Sign reveal loses a lot of impact, so what we're left is with what feels like a very random power up.

This scene of Goku recovering his memories is used as a superficial aspect as a result, because the memories themselves don't make for anything beyond one disconnected touching moment. It's even lacking impact on Goku as a character because he sure knows the thing which never mattered to his core identity at all save for being a fighting freak, it would be nice if this was important as it wants to be. But that's it. Him being positively in touch with his Saiyan side internally has always been a thing, he's supposed to be the opposite of the stereotypical one, so yeah, sure. It's not awfully offensive but it sure feels wasted.

Wait, that's it? Those are your takes?

Listen, you probably expected me to go off over the new set of DBs making the story lame with how anyone can wish for strength or what I think about the new forms and how I think they are either ugly or cool, but like, I feel there was a bigger urge to talk about the core narrative problems and less about the window dressing of the action. The balls have always been in a downward spiral to becoming too convenient already, and forms as punctuations for progression is like, tiring but it works visually, it's not a specific problem to the arc but the series as a whole.

Overral, I just feel uneven about it. The character driven conflict is obviously gonna leave you with a lot of holes if you don't keep it PERSONAL so the failure to do something so cool with DB hurts a lot. Undeniably though it's first half was the best part of this entire Manga on setup alone.

The second half is an atrocity however that makes me call the arc trash without the hesitation that I should be having. The fighting? Drags on with a nothing opponent. The opponent? Boring us to death as momentum has to stop to develop them. The developments? Tied to Bardock between breaks in a couple of flashbacks, used sloppily with a protagonist that feels uneven. Our actual protagonist? Hardly there.

Frieza coming back to end the arc feels cathartic on top of hilarious as a result. It's a spit to the face to the whole of it. And it's not horrendous as the Future Trunks Arc's ending thanks to at least having promises for the upcoming stories and ultimately being more interesting too.

o(-(

I don't know. This especially sucks because we were going so hard on something amazing like always but DBS just has a mystifying way to fuck things up for literally no reason. But you've heard me ramble enough. I still enjoy the series for that alone: I can't stop peeking no matter if it's a trainwreck with thousand dead. It's easy to pick apart the pieces.

Thank you for reading this if you did. I really appreciate it.

Take care! <3