#ke essay

[frontlinebicepsoftheninth]

I saw you tagged killing eve in the 'worst series finale' poll - how *does* it end? I watched the first two seasons and then lost interest. (also I hope you're having a good day!)

first of all thank you i am and i hope you are too!!

but alright here we go ⚠️⚠️ MAJOR SPOILER WARNING MAJOR SPOILER WARNING ⚠️⚠️ for anyone who does want to watch for themselves bc tbh the first few seasons are excellent but i honestly don't know if i can recommend them anymore in good faith after knowing where it all ends up

so okay. you know how the whole crux of the show is this intense psychosexual relationship between eve and villanelle. and how there's an obvious romantic tension between them. well from what i remember (cause it's been a while) they started actually working together in season 3, but then because they realized they make each other worse they had this whole dramatic moment where they walked away from each other on a bridge and weren't supposed to look back but of course they both did turn around at the last second and then the season ends.

flash forward to season 4 and you can tell time has passed and they aren't working together and it's implied there was some big falling out and we have no idea what it is. eve is just annoyed and done with villanelle and villanelle is like trying to prove she's not a bad person and goes to church and stuff and actually that plot was extremely hilarious and she imagined up a drag jesus version of herself for advice and they were acting like exes and it was playing into the whole comedic surrealism aspect of the show really well. but after the first few episodes it just kinda fell apart like i just remember feeling lost all season and not understanding where we were going and this is definitely due to the changing showrunners (they should have just kept pwb for the whole thing!!!!) but they kept adding new characters out of nowhere, some of which were really well done but then we were following plots that were thrown in randomly and it was just a bit of a mess.

but eventually by the LITERAL SERIES FINALE eve and villanelle have both given in to the fact that they enjoy being in each other's company as the worst versions of themselves (which is honestly such a fun direction to go that i really enjoyed especially for a sapphic pairing). and after they've been apart for a vast majority of the season finally they have this good banter going and it's all domestic and then there's a scene where they're walking down an empty road together and this romantic music comes in. and they finally literally actually have The Moment. like they had kissed before in the previous season but not in an explicitly romantic way, they were physically fighting each other on a public bus and eve kissed villanelle to throw her off before headbutting her (SO GRIDDLEHARK OF THEM THAT SCENE IS ACTUALLY SO GOOD) anyways. villanelle kisses eve on the cheek and then eve stares at her and grabs her and they make out for a solid FORTY-FIVE SECONDS. it was so intense and they're kissing as they're stumbling down the road and they run back to the camper van they were travelling in and it's for sure implied that they have sex in there. so everyone was like oh my fucking god they actually did it. like this is where the show was always going, it's a whole I Can Make You Worse thing where both people were like "fuck it i'll be worse then" and gave in to the tension that had been building for years not just within the plot but FOR VIEWERS SINCE 2018.

so i don't exactly remember what happens next but the whole season they've been trying to kill The Twelve which was the assassin group in charge of villanelle, and we find out carolyn was a founding member actually, and i will be honest that plot was always confusing to me but iirc she wasn't with them anymore. so eve and villanelle infiltrate this wedding party boat that's a cover for a meeting of The Twelve (this is like the last 10 minutes of the show now) and they kiss again and there's a scene where it's like they're indirectly talking to each other through the wedding speech that eve somehow ends up giving and that's so romantic too and then villanelle slinks off, finds the meeting, and murders everyone. so yay the protagonists are together finally and villanelle killed her abusers and they are finally in happy gay love. then out of fucking nowhere as they're standing outside on the boat villanelle starts to get shot at. (this is literally the last five minutes of the entire show now) and she falls into the river or maybe jumps in to get away i don't remember and she's still getting shot and eve is swimming to try to catch her. and it's all this dramatic slow-mo beautifully shot stuff that's like horrible in context cause the blood is blooming in the water and eve can't reach villanelle and they do a whole creation of adam hand reach before villanelle slips into the depths.

so literally eve had just thrown away any chance at a normal life to embrace the side of her that loves violence and loves villanelle so they could spend the rest of their life together and that was such a slay. and then she loses villanelle which like, if they wanted a tragic ending it would have been kinder to kill them both, it's so much fucking worse to leave eve spending the rest of her life mourning the one person who understood her and let her give in to her carnal desires. and it is directly after letting the two queer characters finally achieve happiness that one of them is killed off which is the DEFINITION of the bury your gays/dead lesbian syndrome tropes, there have been literal academic papers written on how the phenomenon is like a punishment for queer joy etc etc. this shit has been in the discourse for decades and they fell dead center into the trope which is just so disappointing because at the start ke was such a unique story and one of the first mainstream shows that embraced morally gray queer characters in a way that wasn't homophobic.

oh! and guess who shot villanelle? carolyn!!!! and it was still NEVER CLEAR WHY! she worked for MI6 now so it being in revenge of The Twelve didn't really add up, some people thought she wanted to kill villanelle as like a prize for MI6, it was kind of implied that konstantin told her in this note he spent his last breaths writing (yeah he also died which was the saddest tbh) that villanelle had killed carolyn's son kenny (this was a major plot point of season 3 and carolyn was trying to get revenge, he fell off a building under mysterious circumstances) but that made no sense because it was implied to be konstantin since he was on the roof with kenny and also villanelle was literally in fucking spain or something the episode when it happened.

like i get it. this is a tragic show. people die every episode. but from a writing standpoint it makes absolutely zero fucking sense to kill off one of the two main characters of your show, in the last five minutes of the show, after finally cashing in on your flagship queer romance between them, and leaving the motivation for killing her completely ambiguous.

anyways i'm so sorry that ended up this long jesus christ but tldr: killing eve ends in the worst bury your gays i have ever seen after a season that didn't even have good plot or pacing

[spiribia]

stop saying insect shame metaphor has to go. i see the wasp on the length of my arm.

[jemsbitch]

Tennyson and Hallum is so heronstairs coded and In Memoriam by Tennyson is the proof

[faceglitchsworld]

Guess I should update my DNI in my Carrd

[sirenofthegreenbanks]

n, o, t, z for the fandom ask game 😁

n: Name three things you wish you saw more of in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice).

this question had me think for a bit, im mostly content with whats going on in the fandoms i participate in, buuuuuuuuuuut then i recalled:

1) i once watched a video essay on ning yi that really impressed me. (i just searched the internet up and down to link it but i cant!!! find it!!!! whatt iisss thissss) anyway, i want more of that!!! for rise of pheonixes fandom, but also for WOH and for TYK!!! i neeeeeeeeEEEed it

2) generally more academic-approached textanalysis for tian ya ke. im dYING to read something like that!

3) for the fics i would like to request MESSINESS in regards to zhou zishu and wen kexing respectfully, thank u (BONUS IF THEY HAVE AFFAIRS ON THE SIDE OR SLEEP AROUND)

o: Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of?

i threw a dart and it landed on this which reminds me of wen kexing in that moment in the novel when hes gearing up to slaughter mo huaiyang and hes all exhausted and bleeding but he needs to avenge his a-xiang‘s silly little husband. (i lied i dont have darts. i clicked next in my epic orchestral music playlist and this is what showed up.)

(while im typing this this started playing and now im thinking about elizabeth swan ,, ,,,, im so gay)

t: Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? 

the headcanon i told u last night, about zzs and ljx! i dare u to reread qiye!!! come fight meeeeeeee!!!!!

z: Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.)

UM. ive always been very passionate about fictional characters and fictional worlds. when we were kids i would share comics with my brother and we would read them together, when i grew out of my childhood books my sister inherited them and grew to love them just as much as i do. my mom is not a tokio hotel fan per se, and she doesnt watch the same shows or read the same books as me, but we tell each other what we are currently invested in and she loves seeing what i create. fandom can looks like anything, it can be small and offline and familiar and private like what i just described, or it can be subscribing to magazines and read the fan theories and fan letters that are published in it. it can be organizing big events like conventions and forge a bridge between fans and the source material. it can be a community on social media like here on tumblr. but its in its essence all the same, people—sometimes literal strangers— forming connections to eachother simply because they are all in some way moved by the same thing, generating new thought and creativity everyday and cultivating a culture of communication and cultural exchange, entirely seperate from our capitalist society, and i think thats really beautiful

fandom ask game

[mimpinightmare]

VERY HEAVYILY ON WHAT HAPPENED TO JOMO-

(I'm still waiting for that next season, MoonBug. /HJ & Half Delusional-)

never ask a man his salary. never ask a woman her age. never ask a supa strikas fan about:

early season dingaan (i still shiver to this day)

early season el matador (yeah this one's also REAL bad)

LITERALLY ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING FROM S1-2

why klaus is still not a starter... sigh its tiring out here

fc nakama. bc we'll be here all day

where the banger minor characters went!!!!!

the show's timeline. seriously i thought cognito was a new team but as rookie season goes... it's apparently NOT??

how old any of them are

WTF HAPPENED TO JOMO (MOONBUG IM LOOKING AT YOU!!!)

speaking of which. never ask me how tf invincible united got away w hiring an actor to play shakes' supposedly dead dad. that HAS to be a federal offense

sp*ke d*ws*n

s7 finale "game over"

the youtube thumbnails

which voice actor voices who exactly

how the fuck these guys keep falling for inyo's trap

dooma's debut

the show's obsession w feet

the characters' casual clothes... yikes

shakes/skarra. you don't wanna open that can of worms

HOW THESE GUYS ARE STILL ALIVE

what the show is about. DON'T EVER ASK ME THIS. I DO NOT KNOW

[the-official-account]

TRUE TTRPG FACT: stars and wishes is a crucial step to finding out if you won the game :3

[jade-curtiss]

Voir le band local sur les app, voir les memes dans le top 5. Good job 👀

[legandairy-horror]

Does anyone else feel a strange sort of dread waiting for new deltarune chapters?

It sounds crazy right? I admit it's a weird feeling for sure, and I'm not even 100% sure if dread is the right way to describe it. But as more info is revealed and the next chapter inevitably gets closer and closer to releasing I can't help but feel a strange sort of, melancholy? Longing? The only way I can describe it is "when you know the goodbye is coming". The strange somber feeling when you know you’re going to have to leave stuff behind, but aren't quite ready for it yet.

warning: words. Homestuck

In 3 months Chapter 1 will be 6 years old, and in 2 months Chapter 2 will be 3 years old. Deltarune is ostensibly in Early Access but this release schedule puts new chapters closer in time scale to whole sequals if anything, which they most assuredly are not trying to be. This has created a strange situation in the fanbase that I don't think I've ever truly seen anywhere else. One where, In the time between chapters It feels like everyone has had their own chance to decide what Deltarune is to them. To create their own version of this story, to write their own themes that they want to see explored, to imagine their own events and plot twists they want to see play out.

@lynxgriffin Paper Trail Comic Being an Alternate Story following off of chapter 1

@lilybug-02 The Chara Timeline Being one of many interpretations on the popular Asriel & Chara roommates headcannon.

@huecycles Andromeda Chapters being their interpretation on the full game

The innumerable Deltarune Theorists and analysts like HalfBreadChaos, Andrew Cunningham, Stuffed Alpaca, etc. etc.

@vyletbunni Deltatraveler being a whole ass fangame based around a chapter 2 meme that it has long since outlived

And that's kinda the thing isn't it? Once more deltarune comes out, a ton of these projects will just become outdated, it's an inevitability. So what will happen to them? will they become forgotten? maybe, maybe not, it's impossible to tell. but either way it feels kinda sad to think about yknow? that one day all the time and effort spent and all the memories made might one day just cease to exist.

There's a lot more I could say on this topic if given the chance but to keep this tumblr post from morphing into a 2 hour long video essay in text form let me leave off with this.

In the age of the internet and social media there will always be a fan of something. Nothing truly dies quite like it used to anymore, regardless of whatever influencers want you to believe. But that doesn't mean things stop changing, that there wasn't a past that has since been left behind. I'm a Homestuck fan. more specifically I'm a Late Homestuck fan, one who came in after the comic had already ended and it's peak in popularity was long behind it. The fandom's still around all these years later. But it'd be foolish to admit that, 8 years after the comics controversial end, the inescapable trend of new fans replacing old fans has left the fandom wholly disconnected from the monolith that it once was. the only remnants of which lie in decades old discourse and fanfiction. Like old relics of a long forgotten city, waiting to be excavated under a fine layer of dirt.

Before I close out here I just want to make it clear: I'm not saying that we should be trying to return to some nebulous "glorious past" that never really existed. I'm not trying to deride Toby Fox for not working in the sweatshop hard enough to produce more content™, or whatever you wanna try and spin-doctor this post into. It's just a thought that creeps into my head every now that I wanted to share, see if anyone feels the same, yknow?

Besides it's not all doom and gloom. For those of you OG Homestucks who read till the end. You remember Heinoustuck? Guidestuck? Nightfall? Fucking Ke$haStuck? yeah those are still going by the way! after years of inactivity they've now started back up again. some under new authors and some by the same author but still!

You could say a lot about that but to me at least, it makes me feels hopeful in a way. That, even if not everything will survive. we'll at least have some mementos to remember what came before.

[irena-dubrovnaa]

t*m dr*ke stans need to write a 10 page essay on orientalism and anti-arab racism/islamophobia in post 9/11 north american creative spaces and publishing houses before they're allowed to mention ra's al ghul or damian wayne ever again god bless

[yehsahihai]

Things I’ve said while editing my friend’s essay:

I TOLD YOU TO GET MORE SLEEP. NOW LOOK AT THIS BRAINFUCK

Sometimes, just sometimes, a semi colon goes a long way

WHY ARE YOU SHOVING HOWEVER EVERYWHERE?????

Reyyy ni….

Some brain also you have or you donated it?

Hein???

Why is there such a disconnect between your thoughts and what’s on the doc?????

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN DOING IN ENGLISH HL FOR TWO YEARS?

*incomprehensible noises of wanting to strangle someone and still trying to be nice*

Have you even read your essay again???

“the opposition towards the approach to enforce the veil upon those who don’t abide by it has clear opposition” Girl……are you high? 

What even is mediatory bey?

You have bullshitted so much, my god

“Holistic approach” what is this? A school?

Shhhh. Let me think because clearly………..you didn’t

What even is grammar, amirite?

I think, I need a new brain. 

How many times will you repeat the same idea in updated words?

WHAT IS YOUR OBSESSION WITH HOWEVER?

Confide to the law? The law is your friend that you confide to it? 

*indeterminable levels of confusion* Hein????????

People of god? PeOpLe Of GoD?? Did you just directly translate Allah ke bande or what?

You're footing my therapy bill

[meraki-yao]

Some people say Nick posts about mary & george when there is something about Taylor because he wants to show that he has real jobs and shift the focus to real projects god, they're so evil

Jesus Christ, fuck them. They're stirring drama for drama's sake. That's their FUCKING JOB. M&G is literally 2 weeks, 14 days away, why wouldn't Nick post about M&G? Like they didn't choose for these dates to collide, it just did.

So yeah you're right, those people are fucking evil who can't leave a good thing alone.

But honestly, I'm amused by this "argument"/"criticism", and I'll tell you why (warning: discussion of real-person shipping under the cut, please don't read if you're uncomfortable with the subject)

Also warning, I ended up with a short-essay, because I'm me lmao

As I mentioned before, for rwrb I'm mostly active here; but I also look at the posts and opinions of the Chinese rwrb fandom (i don't post there though, I don't have nor want to have Chinese social media accounts)

and the thing about shipping culture in China is that RP shipping is almost DEFAULT (and I can write a whole dissertation on this phenomenon if anyone wants to read it) like, if you ship a pair in a show/movie unless the actor/actress is publicly in a long term MARRIAGE, not just relationship, MARRIAGE FOR LIKE AT LEAST FIVE YEARS, the audience will automatically ship the actors too. So much so that this is part of THE MARKETING STRATEGY of all locally-produced streaming shows

Also, when I say ship, I don't mean "aww that's cute they're cute together", I mean tin hatters. I mean they genuinely try to find snips and bits in photos that might serve as proof that they're together. We call it 嗑（磕）糖 ke tang (Eating/Drugged by Candy), because in Chinese weddings candy (called 喜糖 Xi Tang "happiness"-"candy") is given to guests, and because it's sweet. The "evidence" is called "candy", and the act of looking and finding "candies" is called "eating candies".

all this to say, nearly all rwrb fans in China ship Taylor and Nick together, and they're genuinely convinced that they're together. I've seen my fair share of "candy"/"evidence" and they keep coming. (some of those i genuinely think they're trying too hard but there are really some that I see and go "...damn.")

now finally back to this ask. Nick posting when Taylor has an event, what the people mentioned in the ask is bitching about, IS CONSIDERED A CANDY. EVERYBODY IS GIGGLING AND GRINNING OVER THE FACT THAT NICK AND TAYLOR POPPED OUT TOGETHER IN THE PAST COUPLE OF EVENTS LIKE THE GQ, THE ACADEMY GALA, MILAN AND TODAY. IT'S LITERALLY THE OPPOSITE END OF THE SPECTRUM.

a last little tidbit from me and my opinion on the whole shipping thing for now: personally I don't entirely agree with the default real-person shipping, it has proven to be problematic in the past and honestly I hate how monetized it is, but 1, it's such an "everybody in the country does it" thing that I... would be lying if I said I'm not influenced by that mindset at all, 2, I know where this mindset came from and it has stuff to do with the societal pressure of young adults in the country and rebellion against traditional concepts of marriage and stuff. It's a sociology phenomenon, and when I look at it as an outsider, I find it kind of fascinating.

As for my opinion on the boy's relationship, I don't...care? I know they have a good relationship and that's all I want for them. As for what type of relationship they have, I don't really mind/care, and I don't think we should look too much into that. That's their relationship for them to define and them to publicize if they want to. I know for a fact, that they are great friends. Are they more than friends? That's unfalsifiable, and that's no one's business but their own. So that's my stance.

But I had to choose one extreme fan's reaction, rps is a much less harmful thing than the sheer amount of hate and deliberate drama-stirring I've seen. So there.

[anonymouse-is-here]

This is stage 2,, stage 1:

Mere Shinchan Obsession Ka Koi Ilaaj Nahi Hai

You have my gratitude for only adding fuel to this raging fire😌 In This Essay I Will-

Sach bolu toh mujhe bachpan se Shinchan ko lekar itna bura obsession hai ki mujhe lagta hai main Kasukabe ki full time resident ban chuki hoon.

Matlab, kaun itne saal baad bhi ek 5 saal ke bacche ki bakwaas dekh ke has sakta hai?? MAIN. HAR ROZ.

Masao aur uska rona dhona. Bhai, iss bande ka koi break up chal raha hai kya? Har baat pe emotional ho jaata hai?(Lekin main bhi bilkul waisi hi hoon😭)

Bochan aur uski bin sar pair ki baatein,, literally philosopher vibes. Mujhe toh lagta hai is bande ka dimaag alag hi dimension me chal raha hai🪨

Kazama aur uski over smartness. Beta, tumhara Harvard ka admission kab ho raha hai? Ya toh this route or burnt out gifted kid, iske liye do hi options hai. Lekin Kazama ko kya, jo bhi ho aur ye chahe na chahe Shinchan toh sab sambhaal hi lega✨

Nene aur uski mummy. Ek toh Nene ki mummy ki tarah mujhe bhi punching bunny ki zaroorat mehsoos hoti hai, upar se I can relate to Nene ka gussa aur love for office-office and ghar-ghar. Lagta hai mere punarjanam ka us parivaar ne theka le rakha hai🐇

Aur SHINCHAN khud???. Agar is bande ka 5% bhi confidence mere paas hota na, toh aaj main billionaire hoti. Yeh banda mummy se maar bhi kha ke has khelke nikal jata hai. Koi tension hi nahi hai life me, bas buri buri aur action kamen🤡

Mujhe bhi Shiro jaisa wafadar kutta chahiye(mera wala is only loyal to food🫠 but I love him despite his flaws(/j he's got zero flaws, he's perfect))

Bas Mitsi jaisi mummy nahi chahiye, warna maar padti rahegi(jo mere paas pehle hi hai so I speak from experience😔)

[ace-of-ferraris]

after recovering from my initial shock, i can now come out of the dark and say that it was color theory all along.

*killing eve spoilers below*

the tarot cards were so important. the yellow being the rain jacket villanelle wore and eve wearing black jacket but on the yacht, eve is wearing yellow and villanelle is wearing the black. the cards were reversed. it's so genius of the creators *kissing phoebe waller bridge loml* to use a thing like that to portray the sun and death cards.

and honestly after the jesus hallucination episodes, you could kinda tell where villanelle was headed mentally and plot-wise.

also even if carolyn martens did all that AND MORE, she was still the most powerful, most complex, most well-written woman i have EVER and i mean it, EVER seen on a show. i will never forget that she controlled the whole show's narrative not because she had loyalties to someone or doing the right thing. she just did things she was good at (serving cunt ALL THE FUCKING TIME).

(btw nothing has made me gayer than watching arcane and killing eve in a very close timeframe. jodie comer, sandra oh, fiona shaw, camille cottin. the whole time my bestie and i were watching, i'd say "range is playing aunt fuckass petunia AND the sexiest woman alive THE CAROLYN MARTENS")

there were so many men in high ranking positions in the twelve and mi6 and kgb and whatnot, but the show was so perfect they all had zero impact on the plot or on the audience's memory. i for one wont remember vlad or lars or whoever the fuck.

idk why but i honestly thought konstantin would survive the being killed/maimed by a woman narrative that haunts every man *rightfully so* on the show. he is also one of the most complex and memorable characters on the show.

i hated the hannigram of it all *the relationship* btw. i do it to myself. each fucking time. with hannibal, supernatural, arcane, interview with the vampire, fellow travelers. doomed gays istg.

and finally, the show is honestly not for anyone who cant take 32/32 episodes of edging. cause they literally team tf up and unite in the VERY LAST EPISODE.

*sorry for the looooooong essay but ke deserves it*

**ke makes me think of kinetic energy lol #stemthings**

[lakenscorner]

Day 9: Accept

James hadn’t spoken to the Countess in days. After a few weeks of nightly dinners, she simply disappeared. She ignored him when he went to ask why, leaving the ghost alone. He spends most of his time wandering around the hotel, watching guests, judging Iris and Liz’s decorating. The hotel had changed a lot since he was the owner. It’s technically none of his business, he supposes, how they decorated. But truly it’s still his hotel and he’s allowed to cast his judgement.

               Liz’s newest marketing scheme confuses James. Allowing some college students to stay in the hotel for free for a year all because they won some stupid essay contest? It will lose the hotel money! And they’d probably throw parties and disturb the other guests! Lord knows he makes his concerns known. Liz and Iris just put him in charge of looking through the essays, growing tired of him bothering them. He’s supposed to pick 25 out of the 100 essays sent in. None of them catch his eye. But then he picks up his next one. The name on the top of the page reads ‘Y/N L/N’, and the title intrigues him. “Why I Find Comfort in the Horrifying”. He finishes with one essay in the ‘yes’ pile and 99 in the ‘no’.

The day the students move in he lurks in the lobby. People trickle in, and still no sign of the one that interested him so much. But then he hears the name. James perks up, whipping around to see what the mystery person looks like. He watches them sign in. He admires the way the silver of the person’s rings contrasts their dark skin. James finds himself longing to touch their curls. He looks away, shocked at the thoughts in his mind. But James had to meet Y/N, talk to them at least once.

It takes Y/N a while to unpack. He organizes and reorganizes his closet, dresser, and bathroom counters until everything fits in a way that won’t piss him off later. It’s hours before he finally collapses on his bed. He tries not to think about the grocery shopping he’d have to do to fill the kitchenette. Instead, he thinks about how much he needs a drink. He drags himself downstairs to the bar.

               “All unpacked?” Liz asks.

               “Yeah I am, finally” Y/N hands Liz his ID “Can I get a dirty Shirley?”

               “Coming right up” Liz says before pausing “You wouldn’t happen to be Y/N L/N, would you?”

               “That’s me, why? Am I in trouble already?” He chuckles

               “No, nothing like that. Someone just left a note for you.” She holds out a note written on a fancy letterhead. Textured paper with gold patterns on the edges, the hotel’s logo at the top. The writing, a neat cursive, only added to the flair. Y/N rests his elbows on the bar and reads the note.

Dearest Mr. Mrs.

Y/N—

               Ever since reading your essay I cannot seem to get you out of my mind. I simply must speak to you. I will admit your appearance confuses me, but I’m sure I can look past that in time. Would you do me the honor of sharing a meal with me?  I’ll treat you to a proper six-course meal, which should give us plenty of time for us to talk. Meet me in room 215 at 7:00 sharp.

See you soon

—JP March

               Y/N stares at the note for a few minutes after reading. Not even a full day here and some fancy dude is asking him on a date?

               “Well then” Y/N lets out a breath “I guess I don’t have to plan dinner, free meal!”

               At 4:30 Y/N comes to the realization that he has no idea what fancy rich people wear on dates.

At 4:35 he opens Pinterest, searching for ‘fancy goth outfits masc’.

At 5:00 he stares at his collection of body mists before settling on a basic vanilla.

At 5:05 he nearly slips in the shower.

At 5:30 he tries his best for a fancy outfit, not so bad if he says so himself.

At 6:40 he falls on his ass trying to put on a pair of platform boots.

By 6:45 Y/N’s on his way to the room on the note.

               After a few weeks, James grew tired of Ms. Evers’ constant begging for him to re-employ her. He keeps her at arm’s length of course but he allows the woman to serve him again. He puts her to work preparing courses worthy enough to serve him and his new interest. He sits at the table, mind racing. In his time a person of Y/N’s color wouldn’t get the time of day from a man like him. He’d taken the time to unlearn the beliefs of his time, of course, but the obsession with Y/N still surprises him. And the fact that he can’t tell whether the object of his obsession is a man or a woman. Would it be rude to ask?

               James is snapped out of his thoughts by the bell’s ringing. He stands quickly, adjusting his suit as he walks to the door.

               “Y/N! You look” James pauses, searching for the right word “radiant” he offers his arm to Y/N.

               “Thanks” Y/N takes his arm, allowing the man to lead him to the table “I take it you’re JP March?”

               “Call me James, my dear” He pulls out Y/N’s chair and pushes them in. He lets his hand move to Y/N’s hair, stroking their head a few times before moving to the other side of the table “Thank you so much for joining me tonight it’s an honor to have you across from me”

               James rings a bell, summoning Ms. Evers. James’s eyes never leave Y/N. The way their eyes widen as the hors d'oeuvre was served, the way their hand hovers over the forks like they’ve never used more than one in a single meal, the way they turn red when they catch him staring.

               “Dear, if you don’t mind me asking” James reaches over and guides Y/N’s hand to the correct fork “Are you a man or a woman? I do hope that’s not rude to ask”

               “Man-adjacent” Y/N’s cheeks turn a bit redder at the touch “he/they pronouns”

               “Ah, yes” James smiles softly “In my time we didn’t have all those different pronouns. And if my father ever saw me speaking to someone of your color, he’d beat me”

               “Racist parents, I get that. I’m just glad you’re unlearning that shit.”

               James let’s out a chuckle. Of course, Liz failed to mention his ghostly condition. It’s for the better truly. He wouldn’t want to scare Y/N away. James steers the conversation toward Y/N’s writing. He watches fondly as the college student talks, occasionally stopping to take a bite of food. He reaches out, resting his hand on Y/N’s.

               At the end of the night Y/N swore that he’d never eaten so much. He yawns, the rich food making him drowsy.

               “Tired, dear boy?” James gives their hand a squeeze. Y/N nods, mumbling out apologies. “No worries, I’ll take you back to your room”

               James offers Y/N his arm, the younger man takes it. James smiles, talking about anything and everything as they walk. Well, anything but his hobby. He chuckles at Y/N’s sleepy demeanor and pats their hand.

               “Y/N, I had a wonderful time talking with you tonight” He squeezes their hand before bringing it to his lips “I hope that you will consider seeing me again”

               “Are you asking me on a second date already?" Y/N pokes James’s chest, earning a chuckle.

               “I suppose I am. Same time tomorrow?”

               “Same time tomorrow.”

@fluffbruary

[klug]

So Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop is out and I see a lot of theories going around… This is half a self-indulgent post for me and half a poorly thrown together essay reviewing Sig and Aya's and the blue soul and the crimson soul's, relationship to each other. because boy is it a bit of a complex web. @_@

Some people were talking about their relationship today in EPPC, and I'm bad at talking to people, so I decided to put my thoughts in a post + touch on some misconceptions (I guess?) around since the game just came out and it relies on knowing information presented in extra material like the audio dramas and the (sega) novels.

And of course, spoilers for the first 4 main routes of Puzzle Pop.

some quick bullet points before I start… you can skip this if youre fairly familiar with fever 2, tetris 2, and the novels

is Aya possessing Sig?!

how did Sig's power get unleashed by Meena? are they super ultra powerful??

no, Aya is clearly still imprisoned safely contained in the tome of sealing, so it probably isn't behind this. We also know in Lidelle's route that it and Klug were having some kind of argument after he ran into Sig.

Well, in the game, Lemres establishes that Meena normally is not that powerful… Rather, it's been a bit implied over the course of the games that his powers have been growing stronger, so I think that it's more that Meena broke down a dam that was already barely holding itself together… a brief timeline…

Puyo Puyo Fever 2 - Sig transfers to Primp Magic School and his hand suddenly turns red. This can presumably be linked to his proximity to the tome of sealing. Akuma attempts to prevent further resonation by using the Ito Hairito enchantment. Attempts at "curing" his hand are touched on in Puyo Puyo! 15th Anniversary

Sig's Secret happens a bit before Puyo Puyo!! 20th Anniversary, and he has the incident of his powers being awakened by Witch's potion. This is the first time we actually see the "Demon part" of him take over, and it turned both of his eyes red when this happened. (src)

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 - Sig and Klug are protected by a certain power from being influenced by Marle when she's causing mayhem in Primp Town. The crimson spirit was potentially protecting Klug in this situation, but what about Sig? I theorize that his own demon powers, which have been growing stronger, actually protected him as well. (Lemres' substory, PPT2)

Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop - Sig befriends Meena and offers to share some of his power. This seems to open the floodgates and allow the demon parts of him to take over.

fun fact: The words for "arm" and "hand" are the same in Japanese, so a lot of fans were actually surprised when they saw that his entire arm is red and not just his hand when his art in 20th came out.

Now, with those bullet points out of the way… the meat of this post is focusing more on Sig and Aya/Strange Klug/Possessed Klug/Crimson Spirit/Whatever name you want to call its relationship.

I think most people take the text in the games at face value, though the editing choices in translation don't really help I guess...the first instance of "red power" being translated as "evil power" will never be forgiven, but it's okay since Lemres and Schezo get it right--. I see a lot of people think that Aya is somehow influencing Sig in this story, but it has been established that Sig has the potential to tap into the full power that Aya probably wants access back to in Sig's Secret when Witch's power potion spills on him.

Back then, Sig and Amitie's friendship, and really any of his friendships, weren't very well-defined. However, she was able to bring him back by reminding him of their friendship...

Hey, Sig! …Let’s go back to café prep, alright!? I mean, Raffina’s gonna be super mad if you don’t show up! And then Klug’s gonna go all sarcastic on you again! Do you want that!? And, and, we haven’t even figured out what to put on the menu for our Special yet! If you really want me to, I’ll let you put whipped cream, for real!” I just kept screaming one thing after another as it came to me. Please, please, please… Please, let Sig hear my voice! “Please, come back to us! I promise, we all love you, so, so much! And I know, I know that deep inside, you really, really want to stay with us, too…!”

(src)

He manages to regain control of himself though clearly Amitie reminding him of everything isn't working in Puzzle Pop.

I kind of resummarized the climax of Sig's Secret because it felt important to contextualize his behavior, how its different in Puzzle Pop, and how people tend to conclude that "he must be possessed by Aya" as the first thought in Puzzle Pop. I also did this, though it was because I watched the routes out of order (lol). The behavior of this not!Sig is reckless, power-hungry, very very very gloating (just read the novel), and doesn't see any importance in friendships when it comes to Amitie and Meena (Lemres' route in Puzzle Pop). Meanwhile Aya, who has a very clear outlined goal of getting Sig back is…generally levelheaded, calm, and although angry about its situation, doesn't always charge straight for Sig whenever it's unsealed ("Amitie and Lidelle's Primp Tour", Puyo Puyo!! Quest story mode, etc.) So I think the binary the game presents of Aya being "evil" and Sig being "not evil" is not necessarily true considering how unreliable the narration of the "tome of sealing" is. I find it more accurate to say that they're power/impulse and control/logic, or you could argue they're a conscious and an unconscious.

I theorize that a piece of their original power lies dormant in Sig, and it is this power that Aya specifically wants back because it's…pretty powerless in its current form. This power, possibly the "crimson power", drives the "blue soul" in Sig a bit power hungry when its unleashed, and it has no conscious to control it because the "crimson soul" isn't in the vessel. I also think Sig and the "blue soul" are separate entities to an extent.

“Stop talking… Be quiet, just shut up! Gh… With every word you say, the voice in my head, it…GAAAAHHHH…!” “A voice, in your head? T-That’s gotta be Sig! Hey!! Sig!! If you can hear me, say something!”

(src)

The best comparison I have to this situation is Cinderpelt's reincarnation into Cinderheart in the book series Warriors. Cinderheart inherited Cinderpelt's soul after the latter's death, but because Cinderheart's grown to have her own experiences and is a separate entity while Cinderpelt lay dormant in their mind, they will separate in death. I think this "copilot"-ish situation is the case with Sig and it's why they're vying for control a second time in Puyo Puyo Puzzle Pop.

I think that's why not!Sig is so "evil" and also gives people the impression that it might be Aya -- considering I also thought this -- though it's probably not the case since this story follows a similar formula to Sig's Secret with some tweaks to reflect a lot of subtle character growth, which is the subject of the next section.

Now, people might ask…why aren't Sig's eyes red and his hair dark like they were in Sig's Secret? Well, I think this is due to texture limitations for one, but I also think this is a sign of Sig's personal identity growing stronger over the course of the games. He has relationships he wants to hold onto, his own experiences, his own life, so he wouldn't just easily give up control of his physical vessel, even if he hasn't been speaking as himself in Puzzle Pop so far… This story's already done a lot with establishing Sig as a character and the importance of his relationship with Amitie, and he hasn't even actually spoken, which I find impressive. I also just like that all this stuff is only clear if you pay attention to the steady build up of the stories from the past few years… well, they were just breadcrumbs, I guess...Listen I've been following this plotline for 7-8 years and its been in the works for like 13? So you have to forgive me for feeling happy about having all the pieces of the puzzle.

As for what this means for the role Aya/the crimson spirit will play in the story… I'm not sure. I honestly don't expect it to appear at all since all the models/animations are recycled from Puyo Puyo Chronicle with some touch ups save for Meena. It has been referenced though, and the profiles in-game go in-depth on who it was and is, but I can't say if it'll actually make a fully story appearance…Especially since Klug was relegated to a side story role. Which is fine, I don't really care despite my URL. it was a good story. I do however expect this story to shed a lot of light on the relationship between the Sig, blue soul, and the crimson soul once its complete. I haven't even touched on my personal interpretation of Amitie and her hat, so maybe I'll make another post about that in the future? I think her situation is meant to parallel Sig's, but I'll save that for another time if people are interested...

As usual some of this is my interpretation, but everything I sourced is real and true and I'd never lie to you, etc.

Misc. Fun Stuff

These were things I liked about Aya and Sig's imagery/motifs but I wasn't able to fit into the post concisely.

not!Sig uses the same pronouns as Aya, 我 (wa) and お前 (omae), though they're written in hiragana as opposed to Aya's kanji. This is actually why I thought he was possessed because I walked into a stream in the middle of Ringo's route, haha.

My theory of Aya and Sig being a conscious and an unconscious are actually inspired by one of Aya's spells anima. Now in Latin this really just means "soul" which is fine, but in Jungian psychology the anima and animus are a dualistic archetype…which is cool, though this would potentially mean the crimson spirit is the unconscious part, haha! Technically they'd align more with Freud's concept of an id and a superego as I explained them, but I always like pointing out the possible Jungian reading of Aya's spell Yes, I realize I'm grasping for straws