#its not mysterious or weird it just feels predictable

[pinkseas]

girl help i started thinking Too Much about the fic avert your eyes

[mrfoox]

Wtf is my fascination with this little freak.... Hes just a dude but I'm so intrigued, I'm tired

[lovelyyandereaddictionpoint]

Hello, I hope your having a nice day, can I request Yandere 1st Years + Grim (Platonic) with a Komi Reader? (From Komi can’t Communicate)

Reader’s known for being incredibly beautiful, intelligent, athletic and elegant in everything she does, however she has crippling Social Anxiety and ends up scaring everyone away with her ‘mean/scary’ look so everyone tends to avoid her (When it’s actually herself that’s nervous since she doesn’t know what to say)

Except for Ace, Deuce and Grim after they spent time with Reader in the mine, they discovered her anxiety she wrote it out so now they’re mostly the ones who do the talking for her and try to help her reach her goal of making 100 Friends in NRC, even though they both think that’s a ‘weird/bad goal’ because this IS NRC

Reader loves cats, so she spoils Grim and Lucius (The latter likes laying in her lap and even follows her around) with pets, treats and affection and helping her friends with studying since she gets perfect marks

How would they react to hearing Reader’s voice for the first time? Not to mention have Reader tell write out that she made a friend all by herself who visits her dorm at night and does nightly walks (You know who it is)

Komi-San Reader | Yandere Twisted Wonderland

You’re quiet and intimidating but not because others find you scary. The exact opposite, they’re obsessed. You’re athletic, you’re smart, you’re beautiful, you’re kind, and the list goes on. Without so much as opening your mouth, the school is at its hands and knees all for you. Little do they know about your silent struggle, not like your dearest first-year friends. More than anyone they know how hard you work and if their hearts could overfill with love for you it already has.  So imagine your stalkers' friends; reaction to you’re never heard before voice:

Ace Trappola

“Aw man, (Y/n) I can’t begin to explain how much of a pain he is! With his moodiness, we’re not going to win the game.”

“...”

“Don’t say that, I am great but not that great.”

“...Y-you c-can d-do it!” 

He plays 10x better 

All while running on his excitement and embarrassment

“Whoa, Ace! W-were you holding out on us!”

Everyone is floored that he’s suddenly just doing so well

He’s keeping your quiet cheers to himself 

Replaying it in his head

He will teasingly ask you for a recording even when you cutely shake your head

“Oi oi don’t get all shy now, you were doing so well!”

He does circle back having already written down the names of those who turned their heads

If they’re so inclined to hear your voice in a roaring crowd 

Then they should be alright with their ears no longer working 

He’s being merciful when he does just this

And if you mention any mysterious friends, he’d no doubt try to follow up on that same treatment

Deuce Spade

“M-maybe being an honor student was too high of a goal.”

You shake your head

“Ahh I appreciate it, (Y/n) but if I’m going to flunk again I’ll be in trouble. Both with Riddle and my mom, I just can’t measure up. ”

“You…are a good student.”

He blushes 

“G-g-g-g-good j-job (Y/n)!”

He knows how much this is taking for you to try 

But he just can’t keep it together 

He’s among the first to hear your precious voice

He has to be the only one

He doesn’t know what this feeling is but he doesn’t want to share

It especially rubs him the wrong way when you mention a mysterious friend 

He decides to wait it out

See who this new friend he’s going to gut he has to meet

Epel Felmier

“Grrrr I can’t stand it! Why can’t I be taken seriously? I just hate my face!”

“...”

“Don’t hafta lie ta me, (Y/n)! I know I’m not handsome.”

“...I….th-th-”

“Huh?” 

“I think you’re handsome.”

“Aw shucks, (Y/n)!”

He definitely wasn’t was expecting that

You’re just the sweetest as he predicted

He already keeps the notebook you’ve lost+ gone through with your written words

And the apple cores he lovingly retrieves from Ramshackle’s trash no doubt cultivating whatever ends up growing from them

He avoids the impulse to tear his book open at the mention of a new friend 

Well I hope they like a poison-apple

Jack Howl 

“I have a magift practice later on…are you still going to come?”

You nod your head

“T-thank you, I’d appreciate your support from the stands.”

When he says that he doesn’t expect you to actually whisper anything out

“G-go Jack!”

His keen ears pick it up and suddenly he’s breezing through obstacles like never before

And of course, he did his mate practically cheered him on

It makes it much earlier to replay that encouragement when he’s fighting for your honor his ownership of you

No doubt Savvannclaw is filled with your admirers

But some are a little too bold

So leave it to your mate to take action first

And while he’s at it he might as well guard your home more intensely

Sebek Zigvolt

“WHAT A MARVEL HUMAN! YOU’VE TAMED ALL THE FERAL FELINES ON CAMPUS!” 

“...”

“WELL FOR A HUMAN IT IS DECENT WORK! PERHAPS YOU DO HAVE–”

“C-can you please be quiet?”

“...?....!..Y-you think y-you, a mere human, can tell me what to do?!” 

Yes you can, having the loud half-fae go down two whole octaves was a feat

And he keeps replaying the moment in his head specifically the way your lips moved

Burning hot all over he’s not really listening to anyone for the next week month

But once he’s broken out of it he’s determined to repeat the miracle

And it seems it works best if your alone?

Then he’ll be sure to chase off the gaggle of scum+ admirers who you claim to be friends with

And he thinks nothing of a midnight friend…that is if you’re alone with them than that’s completely unacceptable

Grim

“Henchhuman! Everyone is soooo mean! Why doesn’t anyone like me? I know I’m so cool and maybe that’s why–”

“I like you.”

“Well of course you w–W-wait did you speak? T-t to me! Whoopee, I’m going to tell everyone the great Grim is who you spoke to first!” 

He runs off to do just that 

Bragging to anyone who would listen

He has to dodge a lot of assassination hits that day

But it gives him the content whenever that icky feeling comes up sometimes

And as for your ‘Hornton’ friend he’s seen him and next time he comes around he’ll boast all about his greatness and how you spoke to him

[jesswritesthat]

Bakugou Katsuki: Killer Skills

Fandom: BNHA // MHA — [ Masterlist ]

Summary: 1.2k, angst, fluff

• Being an ex-assassin provides skill, but when your secret is shared it makes things complicated with an explosive pro.

Warnings: Mature language, pro-hero age, mentions of killing.

>>>>——————————>

Never had you expected to be the catalyst of one night drastically changing form, yet neither had you expected your life to be thrust into the light by explosives either.

Calmly you stood, arms folded and expectant brow raised at said explosive.

"Look I'm not asking for help shadow shit, just a sous chef. I'm getting the extras together and need a hand since they're all still fucking useless in the kitchen."

"Alright, what are we making Katsuki?" Still addressing him so informally left him diverting his gaze but he gave a detailed list of his menu with vicious confidence.

—

It wasn't until hours later when surrounded by former classmates of UA did you feel minor pressure, even though you were trained to fit into any situation, this was still unnerving despite Bakugou giving a shoddy introduction. So many heroes, so many former enemies...

Did they didn't even know who you were?

What you were?

"Wow Bakugou, you finally found someone who's as good with a knife as you are!" The commentary of a bright brunette ripped you from your depths, the woman bubbly and impressed by the sight of the two of you dicing vegetables.

"Still think it's weird round face?"

"Yeah, how'd you get so skilled (L/n)?" Your blade paused mid strike upon hearing her question, low and regretful reply breathed into the world.

"Having skill with knife is pivotal to an assassin, luckily such a talent can be applied to various situations."

Aside from to Katsuki, you think it's the first truth you've told.

The room fell silent, Uraraka stepping back ever so slightly nearer the comfort of Izuku and beside you there was a prevalently harsh whisper from Bakugou.

"Shit."

That's when you realised you'd screwed up, of course they didn't know, Dynamight probably hadn't a chance to tell them nor the priority to either.

"Assassin? (L/n)-san you...?" The gravity quirk user stuttered out, the heroes in the room suddenly more defensive and dawned upon you one by one.

"Not anymore but my hands aren't clean and they never will be. However I'm trying to be better, now that I'm free. I swear upon my life."

"You are The Shadow, right? I suspected as such after their mysterious prolonged absence." Izuku decided, just as Katsuki predicted he would, but never had you been disappointed by sheer terror and anger tainting once gleaming faces before. Until now.

"I was. Then like you said, I disappeared. I made my first choice in a long time and chose to kill myself so I wouldn't be forced to do anything else I didn't want to." With your harrowing explanation and final assassination poetically being that of your previous alias, the room fell tensely silent once more upon the digestion of such a tale.

"You're responsible for so many d—" They were cut off before they could finish (but you knew where it was going) by the deafening sound of a knife stabbing into your chopping board with knuckles white on its handle. You felt the dangerous presence towering behind you, enough to make anyone think twice about a comment so brash.

"Bakubro why aren't you saying anything?! You should be blowing up right now unless—" A flash of realisation as Kirishima settled upon his friends' protective frame. "—you knew."

"'Course I knew, you think I'm an idiot?!" The blonde aggressively barked back, you felt his riding temperature against your back as he leaned forward slightly.

"No but this is insane! Since when were you one for villain redemption?"

"Like you fuckers can talk about redemption, we've seen plenty of assholes do bad things and sometimes it ain't their choice. You still saved them didn't you?" A knowing look was directed at Deku, who already seemed to emphasise.

"Kacchans' right, we can't assume a situation based on actions. Only that if a lighter path is what (L/n)-san has chosen, then we should support it until given reason otherwise." Miraculously the words of this admired man seemed to resonate with them, yet Katsuki remained somewhat defensive and hadn't revoked himself entirely from your space quite yet.

"Besides, if (Y/n) wanted to kill any of you, you'd be dead already. Take that as a trusting start." He made a point of eating your food, almost as if making an example of his guests' unanimous wariness once stepping back to his station.

"Katsuki! Don't say that, it doesn't help my case."

"What?! It's not a fucking lie, you even gave me a hard time." He bit back defensively, glaring daggers that all most matched the sharpness of yours.

"Someone who made Bakugou sweat? I'd like to take a crack at sparring you sometime if you wouldn't mind." Kirishima seemed revitalised with newfound admiration that was mildly unnerving, maybe this new hero generation hadn't forgiven your crimes but they were willing to get to know you at the very least.

"Uh— I mean I'm trying to be better, if helping you improve accomplishes that then I'll participate." You bowed, Katsuki only snorting and providing a venue proposal.

"Could use my training room? It's been a while since I've seen shitty hair and Pikachu get their asses kicked."

———

So after turning the night upside down, Red Riot and Chargebolt became your opponents in an orchestrated game.

"Alright I have two powders, if you get marked you are dead as per my previous occupation. If you can hit me, you both win." Came your brief explanation, holding up a pair of red fingertips on your left hand which everyone agree and understood.

With that, the onlookers could only watch as you manoeuvred varying attacks, sidestepping, jumping, and swishing past jolts of electric whilst simultaneously avoiding the hardened combat from Eijirou.

Suddenly, after about 3 minutes, you came to a solid stop which allowed Kaminari to barrel into you rather unceremoniously a second later who dizzily voiced his victory.

"I got them!" A panting breath. "I win!"

A chorus of applause and laughter echoed in the room with comments spewing from observations.

"Kiri check your back man!"

"Denki... you've got a little something..." Jirou vaguely gestured to her forehead and lo and behold when mirroring her actions, his fingers came back dusted with scarlet powder.

"Also I should say that the second powder was UV sensitive, so if Katsuki kindly adjusts the lighting?"

Immediately there was gasps of astonishment, both bodies were decorated with reflective vibrant marks that almost made you feel sick of your own competence.

"Woah?! You coulda killed use twenty times over and we didn't even manage to zap you!"

"Told ya morons." Katsuki joined your side, a nudge to your arm to knock you from your worrying thoughts and a diverting suggestion to get you away from the situation. "Let's eat, we didn't go through all that shit to waste the food you damn extras!"

"Sweet, then you can tell us the story of how you both met over dinner!" Despite being beaten, Kaminari had newfound interest in your past life as did the rest of the heroes - you couldn't blame them, you were infamous for a reason.

The domino sound of agreement left you snapping to the host in mild panic upon the possibility of having to relinquish such a turbulent memory. You hadn’t even told him he’s the reason you quit killing and he hadn’t dared bring up that kiss you shared in case it meant nothing to you. A seemingly mutual whisper escaped both of your lips.

"Shit."

<——————————<<<<

[ Masterlist ]

[iridescentttears]

idk about u guys but this feels like a riddle… sommonday, 8 days, guarded secret, december 1964, whistleblower, hyperbole.

okay so if summonday is the 8th day of the week, and the countdown began on release day july 23rd, and then 7 days later on july 30th the countdown ended and another countdown in negative time began. if “time is dead and meaning has no meaning” then everything could be malarkey and there’s not gonna be any way to predict what’s gonna happen. but also, maybe time got reset when it “died” and july 30th became day 1/ the first day of the week. we’re currently at day -5 and 19 hrs.

perhaps (based on nothing but the number 8 maybe-clue) on the -8th day of the countdown which falls on august 7th, they’re will be some form of a release/ another clue that hints closer to the answer.

that would make the time from release day to lost files release day 16 days (two weeks if we are counting summonday as the 8th day of the week)

all i’m saying is this feels very much like the brewings of a modern day cipher hunt like maybe it’ll be less about traveling to physical places like the original but instead some sort of wild goose chase treasure hunt online through hopping websites and soundtracks and books from 1925 and just like mixing the media formats. i think the mixed medias in tbob are so incredible and are really what set this book apart as its completely original entity and not just a sequel to journal 3. and with that shift feels very reflective of the era of time we live in now and in no way tries to recreate any previous era. ALSO all the metaphorical foils and parallels that alex hirsch has been begging us to see through the great gatsby are important. the literary connections between bill and gatsby’s characters AND the real life lesson of: we can’t repeat the past, we can’t get back things we lost, if we choose to live in the past it will lead to our demise but if we look to the future and accept what’s happened, we have a chance of building something amazing. (sooo no season 3 ppl like that’s not what any of this is about)

and and side note if the majority of the public believed the government release of the truth about “summonday” to be hyperbole, what about the minority that took it seriously? who are they? did they decide it together? are they in some sort of group/cult together?

the themes of cults, cult leaders, sociopaths, narcissists, and control come to my mind immediately regarding tbob, great gatsby, and now these weird cryptic messages from jason ritter…

sooooo long winded answer later,

i would love it if the countdown would end in 3 days @ -8 days and for it to lead to another link or to a code or to some sort of next step for us all to work together on tumblr and twitter and reddit and discord and all the platforms. thus ushering in the beginning of a new cipher hunt— but not like a cipher hunt 2. this is alex hirsch we’re talking about. i think the stakes will be different and i think it will be much less about physically finding things in the real world and more focused to online clues. and if it does end up being some sort of wild goose chase treasure hunt online i will be sooooo overjoyed.

cause i think that working together to solve mysteries as a collective is where this fandom shines. we make allies, we learn from each other, y’all are all so fucking funny and smart and passionate and genuine and i love hanging out in this community in the space between space and time.

i would love to go on that adventure with y’all cool internet sleuths!!

[rassicas]

We are getting playable Cuttlefish in Splatoon 3.

i dont like saying im totally certain about predictions, but the evidence is so subtle, yet so very intentional in the exact way that the splatoon team would do if they were trying to hint at something. (under the cut because long post)

I’m sure some of you have seen PandaUniverse’s tweet introducing the cuttlefish evidence. first two images are from that tweet, putting it out there that i cant take credit for those.

exhibit A: train station gates

the splatoon team foreshadowed OE before release with a blocked off train station in inkopolis square....this seems even more obvious? no entry for squids, mysterious 2 finned squid thing can enter? exhibit B: weird hat

again, two finned squid thingy like in the ticket gates. i saw some ppl saying “its just a weird octopus” but like. why would the splatoon team purposely model an octopus hat super weirdly? also @sprousprou​ sent me a better image:

that is not an octopus lol After i saw the tweet, i remembered a thing that me and my friend dodo were scratching our heads at a few months ago while we were reconning all the s3 stages for details, because... Exhibit C: that’s a fucking cuttlefish

again, 2 fins. found in Mincemeat Metalworks, it’s in the same style as the Angry Squid and Angry Octopus graffiti that’s been seen before.

So how do I feel about this? well... not even a month ago i thought it would be weird to expect a new playable species, but the evidence feels so undeniable now. but i also mentioned in that ask, cuttlefish are pretty much the only species that would make sense with current lore. being ink-producing cephalopods in real life, unlike nautiluses or dumbo octopuses, i would expect cuttlefish to be ink-based shapeshifters like the inklings and octolings. and we have seen cuttlefish in splatoon’s canon before... albeit only once in the japan-only octo expansion artbook....and they look a lot like inklings. However i find it a bit... weird... that they’d be introduced like this with next to zero build up, unlike the playable octolings which were hinted at from the first game. i’m also deeply concerned about the idea of this truly becoming a pattern, like the splatoon team potentially introducing a new species in each DLC, leaning on "play as this New Guy” as the main selling point and not “play this cool story.” I also would prefer if they just expanded on customization for octolings and inklings and not added a new species. but i guess it’s splatoon 3, gotta have 3 species too. and ill take it any day over salmonlings also in the aforementioned ask, the only justification i could think of for a sudden introduction of cuttlefish would be that they happen to live super far away outside of inkadia/splatlands. combine that with the knowledge that the DLC is more than likely going to be a world tour of some kind...well, that’s probably gonna be the reason for their introduction: they just live far away. tl;dr im feeling 100% sure cuttlefish are coming to splatoon whether we like it or not

[candiid-caniine]

im sorry this is a silly question, but what does it mean to be clicker trained? i haven’t been able to find a good answer but it seems hot (although i think everything’s hot tbh)

okie so pls prepare for autistic infodumping on psych and hypnokink below/

so. clicker training is often used for dogs and sometimes cats; basically, you're clicking the clicker every time you give them a treat. eventually, the animal becomes conditioned to associate the clicker with the dopamine rush of being rewarded! that's how it's used on animals. but the overarching concept is (afaik) a form of Pavlovian conditioning.

Pavlov (at least partly) got famous for an experiment where he conditioned dogs to associate the sound of a bell with getting food. eventually, anytime they heard the bell, they started to salivate.

why am i talking about animals? that's weird right? well the truth is that humans work basically the same (tho ofc our minds are more complex): over time, we are trained to associate certain stimuli with certain things. if you listen to the same song every time you go to sleep, eventually that song will always make you sleepy; our brains love repetition. it makes things predictable and orderly, giving us clear signals that help us navigate the world.

now...obviously...conditioning also has its applications to kink ;)

im a simple creature: im *stupidly* easy to condition, esp if i'm being intentional about it. most of the time it happens accidentally tho. here are some examples in my life:

i'm so conditioned to associate a collar with subspace that even touching my neck gets me wet. having the side of my neck sucked on immediately makes me go limp. when i noticed it happening passively, i vocalized it, strengthening the connection by intentionally "noticing" it every time it happened. it has only gotten stronger with time >.>

i also ended up accidentally being able to cum on command. once (i repeat: once) i was super worked up in between changing positions and i blurted out, "if you told me to cum right now i think i could" and owner said "cum for me" and...just like that, i fkn cum on command now. it's been that way for 4-ish years.

now...conditioning, esp when it's accidental, is an inexact science lol. i started getting more into denial. that fact, combined with the fact that i cum on command, eventually turned into *only* cumming on command. this was mostly coincidental: when owner and i moved in together, the only times i'd ever cum were when they were home, usually having sex/playing with me, and would command me. my brain turned that into an inability to cum *without* command. again, once i noticed it, i vocalized it, got intentional about recognizing it mentally, and it has only strengthened over time.

now: clicker training. theoretically, any effect you want (within reason) can be conditioned with enough consistent training. you could clicker train a person to feel sleepy at the sound of the clicker by using it when they're going to sleep. you could tie it to basically anything that isn't too complex, probably.

in my case, the goal is for me to hit the edge every time the clicker's pressed, so i've been clicking the clicker every time i hit the edge.

theory: eventually, my body will be so conditioned to think "click = edge" that i won't need to be touching when it happens.

theory: to really make this stronger, i need to get close to the edge, then use the clicker to get "there." stepping back further and further from the edge until, even if i'm idle, not turned on, or doing something else, clicker = edge, instantly.

here are the effects so far:

i'm not at the point where click = edge when i'm idle, yet, but the clicker does = a powerful clench of my cunt lmao...body's still getting on board.

*imagining* the clicker sound also prompts this effect, but a little less strong. HOWEVER...

suddenly, mysteriously, if i imagine and concentrate really hard on the way my body feels at the edge, i edge mentally.

this takes some concentration. curiously, it also makes me feel like i'm about to squirt; don't know what that's about.

why is this happening? because conditioning a human being is an inexact science. it's messy; the brain is very involved. so, in theory:

because i concentrate intentionally on the idea that click = edge, every time i edge and use the clicker, i'm also concentrating on my body.

concentrating on the feeling as i get closer to the edge. thinking, intentionally, "this is how i'll feel whenever i click this button."

so consequently, in the background, my body/brain is learning that "concentrate on how edging feels = you're edging now, fucko."

in conclusion: ymmv. my theory is that this kind of conscious conditioning method would be less messy and more precise if used with well-practiced, methodical, and specific hypnotism to strengthen and simplify the connections...but for the moment, i'm enjoying the chaos. i do like feeling powerless lol.

[alexanderwales]

Roguelite LitRPG Theorycrafting

I had a great idea for a litRPG that takes its inspiration from roguelites rather than JRPGs or Skyrim.

I do not have the time to write such a novel, and will not have time to write it into the foreseeable future. But I do have time for some theorycrafting:

A classic roguelite of the current generation has variable powers and powerups drawn from a small pool that change the character of the run over time. Maps and enemies are boundedly random. When you die, you might have some meta progression, which is usually in the form of unlocks. Sometimes this makes the game easier, but often it just adds in variety. You go until you win or die, and then you go again, starting from nothing.

To start with, I think this has to be a time loop, because it fits that pattern too well. I wrote a blog post about time loops, and would include some ideas and variations from there.

The protagonist starts every loop as a total scrub, but gets to select from a few options at the loop start (or just after) and then at either intervals or with things accomplished. The pool of powers needs to be fairly small, but large enough that we don't see repeats all that often. We want a protagonist who is forced to make the best of a bad situation.

There are a few cool things about this, but the biggest is that we get to see the protagonist solve the same problems in different ways. One one loop, getting into the compound is easy, because he has flight and invisibility, but on another loop, it requires a firefight because he's got a laser belly and can absorb flesh to regenerate. The protagonist presumably has goals, so we also have some stakes built in: all runs are not built the same. When you're on a "hot" run where it seems like everything is going your way, you can't immediately grind your way back to that if you fail. Stakes are one of the things that are sometimes lacking in time loops, so we're solving that problem as a byproduct.

Similarly, a weird power build can take the story in different places. You're able to walk through stone, and all of the sudden you realize that you can penetrate the defenses of the mage academy. You strike while the iron is hot, and uncover things that would, in a normal run, be locked away from you.

There are problems here. The biggest is that I think a lot of audiences would cry about the author's thumb being on the scale, because audiences will always cry about that no matter what. Which powers get offered to the protagonist on any given run will be under scrutiny though, and even things that aren't forced will feel like they might have been. Readers don't like that, particularly litRPG readers, who sometimes come to the genre for a sense of "fair play". I'm not sure there's a way around that, though this is one of the rare cases I feel like an author rolling dice might actually make sense, so long as it was done in a way that would be difficult to fake. This might make for a worse story though, since the author would have less control of the plot.

One of the other things that interests me is ... what if the world changed in the same way it does in a roguelite? In a normal time loop story, the world is static and predictable, but wouldn't it be interesting to write a story in a time loop that acted more like Rogue Legacy, where there are certain "anchors" and patterns to the world, but much that is random and different? The protagonist wakes in the same apartment building every time, but sometimes he's next to a park and other times it's a train station. There's a corner store three blocks away that's always exactly identical down to the misalignment of the Mars bars, always with the same woman with a streak of blue hair behind the counter. Is this meaningful, that everything changes except the things that inexplicably don't? Almost definitely. It's another mystery to unravel with every new run and a new, diverse set of powers under your belt.

There's a chance I write this at some point. There's always a chance. But I think sometimes it's good for me to sit down and think about the possibilities, then resign myself to moving on without devoting the next month's word count to something that's captured my fancy.

[faeleven]

7B - which had good ideas but suffered because Moff was too busy with the anniversary to edit - managed the revelation that the companion the Doctor believed was supernatural was actually an ordinary woman much much better, because the narrative was constantly pointing out that the Doctor’s fixation was both incorrect and unfair to Clara.

This was more like if Neville was revealed at the end to be the chosen one after following Harry Potter for seven books. You can’t lead the viewers to a conclusion, pull the rug from under them and then laugh at them for not getting it when they were never provided the dots to join.

happened to see this ask right after rewatching the bells of st john but yes exactly! 7b wasn't moffat's best work but he clearly had the conclusion planned out from the start and that was reflected in how the narrative treated clara and the doctor, whereas rtd was setting up something totally different from what he ended up doing. with clara, the doctor (and the audience to an extent) go in thinking she's some crazy, weird, impossible thing, but in 7b itself all the signs continually point to her being an ordinary human and the doctor just ignores that because of his fixation on her "mystery". the exact opposite of s14 where no one thought ruby was anything but human until RTD started surrounding her with weirdness and specifically drawing attention to it. the message he's sending to fans is "don't try to analyze my writing or predict* where I'm going with things, because I don't care about thematic consistency and will just pull plot points out of thin air"

*caveat that I don't necessarily think a twist should be predictable, but I do think that looking back after everything is revealed, you should be able to feel that it was done with intention and not by spinning a wheel.

it's hard to have any real analysis of this series because it doesn't have that sense of being crafted intentionally. some episodes in it were good, but as a whole it's incoherent. any discussion of its themes or ruby's character is necessarily either extremely shallow or driven by fan theories that have taken what little the writing gave us and run with it.

RTD says he wants to provoke reactions, and I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but I do think he's going about it all wrong. if he made something that had genuine depth and was thought-provoking, fan discussion would naturally follow AND would keep going for a long time. instead he's chosen to chase after moment-to-moment shock value and soundbite reactions, and as a result I don't see this new version of doctor who having much lasting popularity.

[fuckyeahgoodomensfanfic]

Good Omens Fic Rec: Omens On Baker Street (Good Omens/BBC Sherlock Crossover Series)

The Ineffable Game Sherlock and John are no longer the only crime-solving disaster duo in London. After Sherlock unknowingly wrongs a demon, he finds himself with two mysterious rivals in the detective scene. For Crowley and Aziraphale, it's just a bit of fun, but they end up learning more about human nature than they bargained for. London Falling It’s time to start reconnecting. It's been a long time since John and Sherlock first came face-to-face with the supernatural. Crowley and Aziraphale now spend their days bickering in the South Downs instead of London. Life seemed to be getting back to normal... Unfortunately, 'normal' is only a relative term. Welcome Home Tulip arrives in the South Downs, and finds that starting a new life isn’t as easy as she first thought. Luckily, she now has a family to fall back on.

Length: 155,306 words (full series)

AO3 Rating: Not Rated (but basically PG13)

Best for: Pick-Me-Up, Safe in Public, Comedy

Triggers: Brief Violence

Read it here, series by WorseOmens

Personal Rant: I've been ignoring this one for months. I'm sure I'll bring it up plenty, but BBC Sherlock was my life 10 years ago. Reviewing fics on fuckyeahjohnlockfanfic was such a joy and I have so much fondness and nostalgia for that part of my past. Good Omens is the first time I've engaged in fandom at all since then. I was betrayed by Season 4, I had lost my love for fan spaces, tumblr was emptying. I moved on. But the day I finished Good Omens season two I dived headfirst back into this world. It's been nonstop every day since then for me. I started reading 2-3 fics a DAY again. I kept thinking how insane it would be to start reviewing again. But this series? Idk, I didn't think I wanted to engage with Sherlock again. I thought it'd be too weird, maybe too cringe to indulge in something I thought I "grew out" of. But since I've been working on this new review blog I thought it was time. And oh my god I can't tell you how good this felt. I feel like my Moffat induced heartbreak is starting to heal. So enough about me, let's talk about this series.

*Minor Spoilers* I'll let you guys find out for yourselves just how it happens, but let's say eventually Sherlock and John team up with Aziraphale and Crowley. The first series is set just after the Apocalypse-that-wasn't, and in Sherlock canon in between S1 and S2. The second installment is set post S4 of Sherlock. I am overwhelmed by how much I enjoyed this series. I had assumed I knew how this would go. I thought it was going to be a predictable checklist of crossover tropes. My eyes were practically rolling before I gave this a chance. I wanted to hate it, maybe to prove that I was totally over my past love of Sherlock. But its good. It's entertaining, it's surprising, it's funny, it makes sense.

This is mostly a Good Omens story. If you were never that into Sherlock you'll mostly be able to follow along fine, but I'm not sure the opposite is true. Crowley and Aziraphale are sickeningly in love, and I ate it up. Their relationship is established by the time this starts, but it's been maybe a year (?) since the Notcalypse. John and Sherlock are firmly in their canon of "I'm not his date". I can't spoil it for you, you'll have to see yourself, but how John reacts to Aziraphale just took me out. I was shocked. I had to walk around for a bit. It was unexpected, bold, I wanted to hate it and I loved it. It shouldn't have made sense! Moving on before I spoil...I just can't believe that this series took all the assumptions I had about the rapport between all of them and just chucked them out. Characterizations are all amazing, though I feel Sherlock's presence was a little quiet at times. I feel like he should have noticed more was off sooner than he does. But that can all be explained by supernatural interference so I don't really care too much. This plays with Sherlock canon in such a way that's just like, oh totally that actually makes perfect sense. And it's so smart to skip over past plot lines that it knows we're familiar with. We don't need to go over scenes we all have ingrained in our memories, let's enjoy the story happening right now. And it handles S4 so well. The thing that ruined Sherlock for a lot of people. It's not waved away, but just moved on from and brings Rosie into the second series.

I could spend days in this combined universe. I love the banter between Crowley and Aziraphale. They’re also very Gomez and Morticia here. Very secure in their relationship and madly in love. Extremely possessive Crowley, so expect some fun moments with that. Protective of each other, but also have complete trust in the other’s ability. I love their clumsy half hearted attempts at being human and that it completely goes over everyone's heads. Come on Sherlock! Cosmo and Wanda aint slick!! It's fun and silly. It's the kind of fanfic that makes your cheeks hurt from smiling too much. But it's not shallow. It has some excellent insight. Even though Sherlock and John are not the stars here, they still get their moments to shine. In the second installment there is a line about their bond being foraged not in the danger of their lives but in the quiet and gentle in-between and I wanted to cry. It was so healing for my broken Johnlock heart.

This post is much too long already. If you are a fan of both series, just do me a solid and read it. I just know you'll like it. Embrace the silly, warm your heart with the rest, and enjoy it. It's completely safe for public, but it was incredibly annoying to have to keep walking away from it. My next read will be at home, and very soon.

Read it here, series by WorseOmens

[arcturianview]

DGS 1-2 notes!

Okay off the bat I love Herlock, and I love all the Shelock Holmes references they're throwing in! I'm a decent Sherlock Holmes fan, myself, having read a fair chunk of the stories and watched my fair share of adaptations, so I'm really enjoying the homage being paid.

Just doing investigations the whole time was quite unexpected, but it didn't drag like it would have in a mainline game because of the delightful new Deductions mechanic.

The deductions had me grinning the whole time. Not only is the mechanic fun, but you mean to tell me that these two grown men are dancing around a room after someone was *murdered* and pointing and being dramatic about the very obvious things they've figured out? Dorks! I love them both.

All the text in the game is strangely small and difficult to read. The instructions in the bottom corner, the dialogue options, the settings and save screen, they're all so much small than they need to be. The only things that are appropriately sized are the usual text boxes. Its just rather odd.

The mystery was fairly enjoyable, if very predictable. I'm just glad to have Shu Takumi back at the helm. Maybe its a Placebo effect, but his writing just has a different mouthfeel to it, you know what I mean?

As far as characters go... I'm enamored with Sholmes (He's so funny, he's so weird, his animations are a delight), and have vaugely positive feelings towards Susato and Ryunosuke. Ryunosuke is just being an average protagonist right now, and Susato hasn't shown a whole lot of personality, though she seems very smart and determined. I just need them both to be a lot weirder. I'm sure we'll get more as time goes on.

All of the case specific characters were perfectly serviceable, and I enjoyed the friendship between Bif and Nina.

I'm very entertained by the idea of Ryunosuke trying to get a law degree in 40 days. Can't wait to see him passed out from overwork and stress in the next case.

[penguinkyun]

chapter 161 review

cw for attempted suicide in this chapter

honestly i was actually so relieved on getting the full context for the scenes because oh thank god aqua stabbing himself wasn't played for shock value

official confirmation that yeah hikaru was behind the deaths in the series but what i cared about most was whether or not he was implicit in ai's death and what this chapter basically says is No He Was Not and i'm totally fine with that!

the general read before we got the the whole cascade of reveals was that hikaru spiralled after ai's death anyway (although im also happy yura isn't retconned kasfjdks justice for her) + it felt kinda weird to pull the He Was Totally Innocent of Everything when we have chapter 109

ignoring whatever 160 tries to imply with 15yo hikaru manipulating nino and ryousuke though lmao thats incredibly stupid. hes not responsible for their actions especially not when he didn't even do anything? he was heartbroken what is he just supposed to do. not wallow? im just taking that as nino trying to push responsibility onto hikaru to take the heat off her actions just like she blames ai in 158

honestly the whole mystery reveal and timeline is so fucked its genuinely difficult trying to make sense of any of it in a way that doesn't damage the themes of hikarus character purely because both are just so inconsistent

in the same vein it feels very ehhh to have hikaru disparaged like this and barely receive any sort of sympathy (even in 160 which. no really how was ai's death his fault) especially when hes a csa victim

this also makes 153 and 154 kind of lose a lot of impact? like hikaru trying to kill ruby doesn't really make sense especially when you factor in the phone call in 158 where he's actually trying to turn himself in. the way i've been reading this whole scenario is that aqua finds out about rubys attempted murder sometime between the concert starting in the evening and the whole knifeproof vest debacle happening in the morning and spiralled in a combination of hoping his revenge was over and having it ripped away from him + his guilt that since he'd let kamiki go this happened (because he knows about yura) and came to his own conclusions and that he's heavily projecting onto hikaru

unfortunately crow girls dialogue puts a wrench in things. we'll see how this goes

anyways. the back half of this chapter was so good i actually almost forgot my complaints about the hikaru + mystery inconsistencies. my earliest predictions for aqua's revenge had actually been that he'd attempt suicide in order to frame kamiki because there was no actual "evidence" for any of his other crimes so. imagine my surprise when this chapter came out LOL

also i do have to get this one out of the way but making sure rubys reputation stays clean would be hard to do when it comes out about who kamiki being a serial killer as is implied by the movie??? (incl. killing ai but like. when did this happen. in the movie. did aqua add a post credit scene or smth?? offscreen no ko) but maybe it would work if the lie is sold about kamiki being responsible for ais death??? im reaching here

i was so worried when the initial leaks came out that aquas murder-suicide attempt was for pure shock value because in conjuction with earlier chapters it didn't really feel like aqua's character was at a point where he'd do this, even if it would be in character for movie aqua

but no! the prior sequence with aqua acknowledging every relationship in his life with tenderness and love and the soft, rueful smile on his face (god he looks just like ai im shaking) as he says he'd abandon it all. in tears. come on.

this was honestly so good to read with how ruby focused his speech was in 160. because. aqua has so much love and care for every person in his life that he spends at least half the manga screaming crying throwing up from how much he just cares.

god. that whole sequence has me kicking my feet. crying. shaking in my boots.

so happy for taiki mention!! aqua considering him as part of his family!! the mini arc of taiki and aqua going from "yeah don't call me brother though" to beach trips is. ough. now let ruby have some bonding with taiki too cmon

i had to take a minute to scream into my pillow when aqua said he wanted to call miyako "mom". aaaaaa he sees her as his mother!! its such a good callback to 155 when miyako called him her son to his face. he wanted to say it back and tell her he saw her as a mother too. wailing. man. miyako lamenting about not being able to be as close to the twins as she wished and being upset about it because she wasnt their actual mother but here aqua reciprocates that love!! shes his mother!!!

it would have hit a lot harder if we saw miyako more in movie arc though but thats been a complaint for a while now askfdjsdks

now all thats left is for aqua to call ai mama too. come on. you can do it.

god it is so so good to see aqua wanting to make it up to akane and start over as friends with her. their mutual respect and care doesn't diminish just because they're no longer dating and aqua specifically acknowledging that he messed up and wanting to get back on equal grounds with her because she is very important to him, with and without the romance! she was the first person he ever fully admitted his revenge to! i'm just happy to see that akane doesn't fade out of importance to aqua just because he's romantically interested in kana. he still wants to have a good relationship with her. augh.

aqua is romantically in love with kana and while that already confirmed in 150 it sure is great to see it double confirmed in this chapter by aqua himself. and its those dreams along with wanting to be a doctor and supporting his family that just makes it really heartbreaking when he abandons them

god the artwork in this chapter is so damn good mengo is on fire like usual. aqua's rueful smile as he explains what he's about to do, and the way the smile stays on his face, a version of one of ai's horrible smiles that she has during her death and its. augh. yelling crying i want to wrap him in blankets

he looked so much like ai i physically flinched

i said it before but like everything about aquas sequence in this chapter his dreams, his rueful resigned smiles, his love for everyone in his life combined with the absolute loathing he has for himself, the self hatred and guilt that makes it near impossible for him to see himself as truly valued by the people he loves to the point he'd give up everything for them...this is truly aqua and thats what makes it really utterly heartbreaking when he does finally use the knife

guess his answer to goro in 150 is this huh

i don't want to make any predictions for what's going to happen in the next chapters but i will say that i don't really want either hikaru or aqua to die. not only is it unnecessarily traumatizing for aqua if he survives and hikaru dies, but its also just a cop out if hikaru does tbh. it would feel cheap and not meaningful in any way and also reflects really badly on hikarus arc as a whole. hikaru should make good on his promise for making it up to ai, but i dont think he should die doing so

anyway. that was certainly a chapter whew

NO BREAK NEXT WEEK IVE DREAMED OF DAYS LIKE THIS

[hamofjustice]

Nemona the Unrivaled

Chapter 2: An Open Window

Info / Chapter Select: here

Nemona and her Cyclizar zoomed down the dirt road through the beautiful Poco Path, past its assorted curious little wild Pokemon, accompanied by the considerably less beautiful slapping sound of Cyclizar’s rubbery paw pads...

When there was a violet flash in the sky above.

A strange shiny purple thing with what looked like yellow wings or fins was falling out of the sky right towards them. A Pokemon they’d never seen before? Some kind of fallen spacecraft? An oncoming missile?! Cyclizar slowed down and backed off and Nemona shielded her face with her arm...

...But whatever it was disappeared from sight behind a cliff down to the beach, without a splash or explosion or anything -- it must’ve landed quietly in the sand. Everything weighing on Nemona’s mind before was forgotten for the time being as she fully committed to investigating this, feeling renewed by the curiosity. Was whatever this was fate? She dismounted Cyclizar in front of a broken cliffside guardrail fence and they peeked over the edge together to check out the beach below.

A purple metallic... Pokemon? Pokemon, with four large silver paws and a very long silver tail, was indeed lying in the sand, looking like it was hurt or passed out. Nemona thought it looked pretty awesome and powerful, but she knew it wasn't the time to focus on that. A pack of Houndour ran out onto the beach from a nearby cave to surround the mysterious creature.

“OYEEE!! Leave that thing alone!” she shouted down at them, cupping her palms like a megaphone as if a group of wild Pokemon were just going to listen to her that easily. When they predictably did not, she quickly returned Cyclizar to its Ball in exchange for her Kilowattrel, and rode the large, imposing electric seagull down to the beach below. The last time she tried jumping off and relying on her Rotom Phone to slow her momentum like some daredevil trainers did, she couldn’t use her arms for a couple days.

Nemona hopped off her Pokemon’s back onto the sand and backed off, giving it the space it needed to drive the Houndour pack back into the cave by threatening to use Discharge. Meanwhile, she ran over to check out the status of the violet beast from the sky. It seemed like a robot, covered in lights and sparkly bits that were flickering and going out, with what seemed to be... an LCD display for eyes? Yet it also had the presence and fluid motions of a living and breathing creature -- a very weak, barely conscious one. It looked a bit like a bigger Cyclizar, with riding gear as a part of its body (as well as those silly jet engines Team Star punks loved strapping onto them). It was definitely like nothing Nemona had ever seen in real life before, only in sci-fi or those weird conspiracy magazines. What the heck was she looking at? More importantly... was it gonna be okay?

“Hey, buddy... hey... you alright? Need help? Huhhh...?” Nemona asked gently, trying her best to sound like she was soothing a baby and not let her worry for its safety (or her own) seep into her voice. She was pretty sure she shouldn’t try to touch it just yet, given she had no idea what it could do if it felt threatened. Kilowattrell returned to Nemona’s side, ready to intervene if anything happened. Nemona’s composure didn’t last long, as this potentially being a critical situation she was now responsible for began to sink in. “Uh... okay, um, um... Hey, are you hurt anywhere?”

“... Gia...” it muttered.

Okay, that was a response, but it seemed too tired to move. Hopefully that weak cry meant ‘no’. Nemona pulled a Hyper Potion out of her bag and thought for a moment, then shook her head and put it back. Not yet. She rummaged around a bit more before pulling out a baggie of Sitrus Berries instead. It was amazing how much stuff someone could fit into the backpacks and satchel bags Trainers typically wore. “You want some of theeese, bud?” she asked temptingly as she held a couple of the healing fruits out in front of what appeared to be its snout, realizing a bit too late that it might bite her fingers. It sniffed a few times, then slowly scooped the Berries into its mouth with an unsettlingly organic lavender tongue. Gross, but lucky.

After a slow gulp and a few moments of suspense, the semi-robotic creature slowly rose to sit on its haunches. That seemed to have done the trick.

“Agias...”

Kilowattrel spread its wings and squawked in celebration. “SkreEEK!”

“Woorgh.” the violet beast responded, wincing away from Kilowattrel’s volume.

Nemona offered it a third berry. “There ya go, that’s it... feel a little better, amigo?”

The lizard-thing scarfed that one down more eagerly than the others, then stood on all fours and gazed up... longingly? at one of the steep cliffs above them.

“Huh? What’re you lookin’ at?” Nemona asked as she wiped off her slobbery hand on her shorts. She noticed an empty Poke Ball sitting in the sand and picked it up for good luck -- she always had trouble resisting picking up random stuff she saw on the ground -- then craned her neck up to follow the beast’s gaze. “The lighthouse?”

“Agias!” it barked eagerly. ‘Lighthouse’ definitely seemed to be a word it knew.

“You wanna go up there?” She asked, pointing upward. “And... I guess you probably can’t fly anymore. Hmm... I don’t think I have any Pokemon with me that could carry a big fella like you, sooo... uh... Oh, we’ll go through this cave over here, okay?” She continued, pointing to the large opening the Houndour came from, then tracing her finger back up to the lighthouse in case that wasn’t clear enough. “My Pokemon are pretty strong, we’ll protect you, no problem!” she promised with a fist pump.

“Woorgh. Agias.”

The mysterious Pokemon turned toward the cave and seemed to agree to follow Nemona through it. She decided the tunnels might be a little too cramped for Kilowattrel’s huge wingspan, and put her Tauros on guard duty instead. The escort went off without a hitch; most of the Pokemon in there wanted nothing to do with the bull Pokemon, and it easily smashed some of the boulders blocking the path through the winding, mossy cavern. While the Houndour pack’s Houndoom leader did attempt a confrontation, it was knocked aside too easily to even call it a battle. Soon, Nemona and her old and new companion emerged from a tunnel back onto Poco Path, fairly close to where she’d gone down from.

Nemona’s new friend perked up at the lighthouse now being so close and eagerly trotted up toward it. “Agias!”

“Oye, wait up, haha!”

Nemona and her Tauros chased it happily through the grass. She was having a good time for just a bit... until she saw a familiar fluffy-haired classmate in their path and snapped coldly back to reality. Yeah, okay, she kinda thought he lived in that lighthouse but wasn’t totally sure...?

Arven jumped back in surprise. “Why you little... what're you doing out here?!" he shouted incredulously... but after a moment, Nemona realized Arven wasn’t looking at her -- he was addressing the violet beast that ran ahead of her.

“Agi! Agias!”

“Huh? You know each other?” Nemona asked with wide eyes.

“You... I wasn’t talking to you. You can shove off.” Arven sneered.

Nemona’s brow furrowed and jaw clenched in an instant. Some part of her still felt raw from earlier, and facing another hostile attitude so soon felt like ripping the bandage off way too early.

“Hey! I just rescued this fella from passing out on the beach after that crash landing, why don’t YOU can it for once, buster?” She retorted as she marched up to him and crossed her arms. Tauros stepped closer alongside her, but looked a bit surprised by her reaction.

Arven huffed and turned away from her to give the mysterious Pokemon a once-over. “... What’s with this form it’s in? I wouldn’t be surprised that it needed rescuing, it can’t fight anything all powered-down like this.”

“Form? Powered-down?” Nemona asked with an eyebrow raised. She expected Arven to have a retort rather than give her information.

The subject of their conversation started pawing at one of the doors to the lighthouse in the background.

“Ugh. Yeah. Miraidon here is... a real special Pokemon. And a real special thorn in my side! Hey, knock that off, you can't go in the lab. It's locked."

Miraidon cowered a bit.

“What happened, you big brute, did Dad stop feeding YOU, too?”

“Gia...”

“... Too? Wait, is this something Professor Turo found? What do you mean by --”

Arven gritted his teeth. “Didn’t I tell you to shove off?! I’m far too out of sorts to humor more of your prying little questions about my problems right now, student council girl. Don’t you have some trophies to polish? Tie length regulations to enforce? Little kids to beat up for their lunch money?

Nemona scowled more with each passing second as her Tauros side-eyed her nervously. It wasn’t the type to attack Arven like a wild Tauros might, but it did snort loudly. She shut her eyes, attempted to bottle everything up, and took a deep breath, before asking her next question in an unsettlingly calm and even tone, like her best impression of La Primera.

“... Arven. Why are you always like this.”

He just glared back at her and didn’t say a word, despite Miraidon looking at him expectantly too.

“If there’s something I did to deserve this rotten attitude of yours... could you PLEASE just tell me so I can fix it?” Nemona continued with her hands clasped together in front of her chest. Her composure was starting to crack just as quickly as she’d gained it.

Arven looked down at the ground. “... Why’s it so important to you? Couldn’t you go buy some other friends, student council girl?” He muttered.

And then her composure shattered. Her hands tightened into fists and everything she’d bottled up that day began to spill onto the dirt.

“No! No I can’t! And why! Do you keep! Calling me that! Arven?! I have a NAME!! You used to know it! I used to have fr- I-I used to be a PERSON, to people, not... not... ‘Student Council Girl’, or... ‘Princess,’ or ‘Big Shot Champion’, or, or... ‘Annoying Pest’, o-or ‘Other Daughter’... or... g-grah... aagaaAAAH!!!”

Nemona dropped to her knees -- sobbing, raging, overwhelmed -- in front of one of the top three people in the world that least she wanted to break down in front of.

Arven, meanwhile, leapt back a bit and momentarily held his hands up in fear, which would probably be hilarious under different circumstances.

She raised her gloved arm shakily, like she was about to punch the ground, but she thought better of it and let it fall limply. Tauros and Miraidon checked in and sniffed her from each respective side. Man, she was just a total mess right now. There was no coming back from this. She just wanted to cover her ears and shrivel up into a ball and return to the earth--

“... Uh. Um... S-sorry.” Arven said quietly.

Wait, what did he say?

Arven knelt down to her level. “I, uh... I dunno what exactly’s going on with you, but... It sounds like you don’t need to be knocked down a peg today... Nemona.”

Huh?

“I’m...” Arven huffed and scratched his fluffy scalp. “... I’ve really been at the end of my rope lately, let’s say. But I’d never guess you were too. Sorry.”

Nemona looked up at Arven, quite confused. Her glistening eyes darted around his face looking for a sign this was some kind of trick. But no, he mostly just looked guilty and uncomfortable. She’d gotten through to that standoffish brick of a boy somehow. She felt some pretty intense whiplash from being furious, ashamed, and cautiously relieved in such quick succession, but... found a tiny smile in her heart that she could wear.

“Heh... I’m just full of surprises.” she said with a sniffle.

When the moment ended and Arven stood up, offering Nemona a hand, she took it.

[ariays]

My 'Destined With You' Prediction/Theory

I posted this on MyDramaList and Reddit. Let's me share my theory here as well.

Ya'll I think there's more to the story than we think. Right now it's confusing because we're just seeing and being shown the surface. The show is definitely holding back some details and information on purpose. But I'm pretty sure we'll be diving in deeper next week once the past life's story is introduced and we'll be able to see the mystery being revealed layer by layer. Now that we know the existence of the 'black magic/curse' book, i have a feeling that there's another copy of it out there and someone is holding on to it and using it (the voodoo which Shin Yu and Hong Jo discovered) and its someone who knows the existence and location of the shrine. Apparently that voodoo was used to cut off the ties between two people (which in this case is Hong Jo and Shin Yu). I read this in a Korean community post. I just think there's a reason why Shin Yu seems almost stupidly loyal to Na Yeon. It just doesn't feel right. He doesn't seem to be emotionally in love with her but yet he's being stupidly loyal to her for no reason. Despite being told multiple times that what he's doing is wrong, he always seem to disregard it (as if breaking up is never an option he could consider). Almost feels like there's a unexplainable force that's constantly holding him back when it comes to Na Yeon. He seem to always put her up on this weird pedestal. Him believing that she doesn't have any faults even when its being presented that she's somehow involved in Hong Jo being transferred  (+ even when Hong Jo specifically said that Na Yeon slapped her, he completely dismissed it), finding her to be matchless/incomparable to other women even when he's obviously attracted to another and pushing the attention he received from others whenever they're together towards her to boost up her ego even when the attention was obviously on him and not her. He acts really differently when it comes to her too. He just doesn't act like his usual self, he acts weak when he's with her. Kinda like a puppet. & he was acting this way even before the whole 'love potion' confusion. Also the whole voodoo thing happened after Hong Jo met Na Yeon to tell her everything (about the use of spell) . BUT SUSPICIOUSLY, we didn't get to see her reaction... Now that feels rather on purpose. Why would they leave that out? Hmm. Now I'm really suspicious. What if Na Yeon is the one with a copy? Maybe her family is involved with shamans too. & she used one of the spells to 'seduce' Shin Yu two years ago. Its weird because he just seems so uninterested but felt compelled to tolerate her for some reason. He wanted to break up but couldn't even be firm about it. It just feel weird to me because that's not how he is to everyone else. He's only like that towards her. I feel like it could be an outcome of black magic being used on him. Apparently, from the historical records which we saw Shin Yu googling from the earlier episodes, there a 'Lady Yoon' mentioned that was involved with the death of Aeng Cho(which I believe is Hong Jo's past life). If Na Yeon is not the reincarnation of Lady Yoon then she is most definitely a descendent which would explain how she possibly would have a copy of the black magic book. The question is if it's Na Yeon, how is she able to obtain Hong Jo's PJs? I think the stalker is definitely working for Na Yeon and the stalker is the one that stole Hong Jo's pjs. She may lie that she received the photos from an unknown number but the stalker definitely knows her well enough to be able to, firstly, recognize Shin Yu as her boyfriend, and secondly, knows her phone number in order to send her those photos. Also I'm pretty sure she would know where the Jang family shrine is since she's been with him for 2 years and hangs out with his family. This is just a theory so just take it with a grain of salt.

In my opinion, this theory will also help to make Shin Yu more redeemable. Because as of now, his character is a red flag but notice how he's only becomes a red flag when it involves Na Yeon? What if he was blindsided by black magic and the root cause of it has been Na Yeon all along?

[goodluckclove]

Actual Hot Take: Ramble Incoming

I'm in a mood, less than a week out from my hysterectomy, and I have some thoughts. Rough thoughts. Medium spicy.

They're about world-building and critiques and readers and writers. It turned into a big ramble as I processed some feelings - you'll note the subject change partway through - so I'm throwing a read more.

I would say here that this is my own personal opinion but essentially I realized that my real issue here was how sick I am of cynicism in lit spaces and like...yeah I don't think that's a crazy hot take. I feel at this point that I am incapable of hot takes.

I am deeply intimidated by the kinds of writers and readers who eviscerate logistical world-building choices in genre fiction. I usually only see it in sci-fi and fantasy communities but I have to imagine it happens in every genre.

Maybe an unrealistic fabric is used in a historical fiction novel. Or a poor choice of saddle in a western. Or a medical inaccuracy in a horror scene. It has to happen all the time because certain people have expertise that research might miss, or a writer's research could be wrong, or they could've just not researched at all. But for some reason specifically the Speculative Fiction crowd are the most likely, in my experience, to lose their goddamned minds.

Has anyone read Greg Egan's Schild's Ladder? It's about the hardest sci-fi out there. So esoteric and thorough in its scientific accuracy that when I tried to read it it circled back around and sounded like fantasy. Listen to this excerpt from the plot summary:

Huh? Huh???

I don't know about you, but this is virtually indistinguishable to me from the schizophrenic rambling of Philip K Dick. I did not hate the book. I couldn't finish it because I had no fucking clue what anyone was talking about, but I enjoy it's existence. The prose was pretty retro. It's like a pulp novel from an alternate universe where everyone has a PhD in Quantum Physics.

It's just a weird spectrum, the questions you're supposed to answer and the ones you're allowed to leave a mystery. What mysteries will the reader use against you as proof that you didn't think it through? People say write for yourself, and you should, but some of those same people are quick to produce massive think pieces on why your choices make you a bad writer. That's just a thing some writers choose to do. And there's really no way to predict what someone might get unreasonably rant-y about. As I put my writing more out there I have no idea what people will use to claim I put no thought into the most emotionally vulnerable writing I've ever created.

And they say that's not supposed to bother you. But like. Of course it does? There's a level of thick skin you're supposed to develop about writing, but I don't think that applies to all aspects of writing or all the time. If someone disregards my entire novel that I gave myself tendonitis over because my depiction of back of house food service wasn't realistic or my magic system didn't go in a direction they thought it should, I'm going to be upset. It won't ruin my life or get me to give up writing - I don't see anything doing that at that point. But I'll get sad. I'll probably get pretty sad and it's weird that I feel like it's bad for writers to admit that.

My hot take, nestled within this hot take, is that I think this applies to every writer. Even the ones that react with ego and anger to massive critiques on their books - right before we cringe and scoff and laugh online - are probably also just sad that we didn't like their writing. Unless they specifically didn't try, or posed a scam in the form of a book, they're likely sad they offered something born out of creative effort and got rejected. Nobody likes that.

It's one thing if the writer themselves has some trash beliefs. I am fine with people eviscerating JK Rowling or any of the writers who feel like the best way to get a book deal is to bring down other writers or pretend to be a different race online. But it's just crazy to be a writer in an age where you might publish a book someone hates so much that they release a three hour-long video essay roasting entire segments for a potentially incalculable audience.

I used to be into that kind of stuff, but after being here for so long relishing in that rage-bait feels weird. Because a lot of the people here, even if they write themes I'm not interested in, seem like nice enough people actually trying to do something. I had strangers on here send me their writing and someone sent me what was clearly a fetish thing and even though I wasn't into the kink I talked to the person about it and they were perfectly civil and courteous. I'm almost 30 and I'm learning that while some artists are using their medium to push unhealthy beliefs or hateful ideologies, a lot more people just want to tell a story that feels important to them. Even if other people don't like it.

I don't know. I was angry at first when I started this but by now I'm just sentimental and I think people should stop treating complaining as their primary hobby. I think critiques are important, but there comes a line in which I'm forced to think you'd just like hearing yourself talk. And if you like to talk why not talk about something you enjoy?

If you've read this far (you're very odd), I'm going to go ahead and list a few books that inspired my writing and say why I like them a lot.

Cat's Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut: Love my man Vonnegut. His prose is so warm and easy to read and his stories are so wild and interesting to think about. Everyone should read Vonnegut he's great and he seemed like a pretty nice guy.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison: This book wrecked me hard. Some of the descriptions were so beautiful I put the book down and let out a sigh. When I finished I walked out of whatever classroom I was in without asking for permission from the teacher and spent the rest of class wandering campus in the rain and weeping openly.

Griffin and Sabine by Nick Bantock: it's a trilogy told through postcards and letters you can physically open and remove the pages. Has some of the most beautiful romantic intimacy between two people who never meet. There's one particular letter I read and reread a lot when I was younger because it was exactly what I wanted in life.

[ravenbloodshot]

How Enhypen view each other (PT.3)

Jungwon (pov)

Jay

Positive traits: (these two are just co-workers) fast paced, good taste in food/fashion, calm and quiet, can blend in easily, not overly talkative, fun to talk to, knows how to live in the moment, independent, okay with being by himself

Negative traits: greedy(food wise), stubborn, aggressive, out of shape, rude, bad temper, too intense, always ready to fight, not adaptable (doesn't like change/spontaneity), boring, not agreeable

Jake

Heads up:Jungwon views Jake and Jay similarly. He just likes Jake, not so much Jay.

Positive traits: passionate, fights for what he believes in, go getter, (these two are close), takes care of his responsibilities, possessive (I'm not sure why Jungwon likes this), protective of loved ones, adaptable, adventurous

Negative traits: Too fast paced, bad clothing style (bad hygiene), can be too aggressive and head strong, impulsive, hard to talk to, impatient, bad with time, doesn't properly heal himself (like he could injury himself badly , but insist the next day he's fine and can work), over confident

Heesung

Positive traits: Good fashion(styles himself well), smells good, predictable, beautiful eyes, 'heart like a horse', jungwon likes when he's drunk, intuitive, eccentric and creative, open minded, curious, artistic, adventurous, imaginative, other- wordly, leadership qualities, honorable, more powerful/influential than he's aware

Negative traits: too imaginative, up in lala land a lot, childish, petty, bad at arguing his points, gives up too easily, too soft(sees him as feminine but not in a good way), holds himself back, unstable, bad with money, runs from his problems

Sunghoon

Okay. so......the energy here is very interesting. These two don't communicate with each other (its not exactly hostile energy but its not comfortable either between the two of them). Sorta of like Sunghoon never truly tries to get to know Jungwon so Jungwon opts out of trying to get to know Sunghoon (but he secretly wishes to find out more about the guy)

Positive traits: (these two are just co-workers) perceptive, soft skin, smells good, small face, independent, nice voice, intuitive, mysterious, finds him to be very handsome (very), lucky and fortunate, secretive, risk taker, smart, wealthy

Negative traits: mysterious, closed off, secretive, Protective of his real personality/identity(only a selective few gets to experience the true Sunghoon and jungwon isn't one of them), beautiful and model-like(Jungwon's energy seems to be a bit jealous so I'll stop here)

Honestly this is my first time feeling this strange vibe for two idols in a long time, how Jungwon views Sunghoon is quite weird(I may do a separate reading on this, it really peaked my curiosity)

Niki

Positive traits: Looks soft but is really tough, surprising and unpredictable, garners attention easily, nice and slim body, Flexible, charismatic, easy to get along with (they're close), easy to vibe with

Negative traits: sensitive (anger wise), too perceptive, reads others almost too well, lazy, doesn't help out around the dorms as much as others, Shares others secrets that he doesn't deem as serious secrets, holds on to his past, doesn't like to share his culture with the others

Sunoo

Positive traits: ditches toxic people/habits, not afraid to walk away from situations not working out for him, small/cute, active, talkative, fun to chat and gossip with, exciting, has an exciting personal life and dating life, dates interesting people

Negative traits: self esteem issues, unrealistic expectations, blinded by his own emotions/thoughts often, gets into toxic relationships, fast paced, too active and reactive, moves on too quickly, impatient, self centered

Sunoo (pov)

Jay

Positive traits: His gut feeling is right a lot of the times, not afraid to call out hypocrisy/ stupidity, beautiful voice, (something on Jay's body is small that he likes), learns his lesson, stops toxic patterns, admirable, gentleman, knows when to let go

Negative traits: too intense, not fun to talk to, doesn't like to gossip, keeps unruly hair(may not shave enough), preachy, thinks he's too good to do certain things, standoffish, cynical, pessimistic about finding true love, doesn't party (even though he gets invited to A LOT of them)

Jake

Positive traits: Head strong, go getter, stubborn, decisive, manly, aggressive, intense, fiery, feisty, spontaneous, adventurous, all action no talk, constantly improving and changing himself (stays in the studio longer than others)

Negative traits: not sensitive and caring enough, not sweet or gentle, bad with small talk, doesn't know how to network with people he doesn't like, player, too sexual, sleeps with too many women, non committal

Heesung

Positive traits: (Sunoo likes him a lot), leadership qualities, responsible, caring of others (silently), manly, does what he has to even when he doesn't want to, wakes up easily(even when its super early), calm, fatherly, good style and good hygiene, overcomes his obstacles

Negative traits: passive-aggressive (or just plain aggressive at times), too emotion driven or in the moment motivated, sneaky, sly, non committal even though he wants commitment, scary when upset (especially his eyes), doesn't believe in marriage

Sunghoon

Positive traits: (Sunoo and Jungwon talk about him not in a good or bad way) Star power, eccentric, beautiful, doesn't disclose his secrets, mysterious, protective of his energy/space, unpredictable, independent, doesn't need to be in a relationship, lets love come to him, has a loving family dynamic

Negative traits: Impassive, detached, cold but cute, Doesn't appreciate his family as much as he should (or just doesn't realize how loving they are compared to other member's families), over works himself, too giving with money, doesn't have good stamina nor thought out plans

Niki

Positive traits: hard worker, loyal, serious about getting his job done, reliable, independent, knows what he wants

Negative traits: pushes people away, lashes out on others, aggressive, rude, blunt and sarcastic, has a nasty attitude (moody teenager vibe), hard to relate to and get along with

Jungwon

Positive traits: loyal, hard worker, cute, enjoys nature, environmentalist, good memory, takes good selfies, good performer

Negative traits: TOO perceptive and analytical, stalker, aggressive, when upset spits fire in his speech, curses like a sailor, verbally aggressive, so serious about planning for marriage but doesn't date enough, cold and can hits a persons deepest insecurity when upset