#makes me think that hmm maybe i didn't actually come to terms with feeling like i didn't belong ! maybe instead i repressed it !

[depresseddepot]

going to be absolutely haunted by every heart a doorway by seanan mcguire for the rest of my life i think

[propertyofwhitney67]

Read the ghost PC and the LI's finding dead PC's body posts and I love angst but nooo my poor Sydney 😭 but that got me really thing about this. What would happen if they ended up being haunted but instead of PC hating them they still love them deeply no feeling change or grudges and tells them they still love them as much as before. But the PC can only physically show up on the blood moon but can talk and interact a little during the day but not for long do a lot like the ivory wraith but won't force the love interests to do anything. So the PC is trying to help the LI's get out of their depression or for like Sydney break them out of the asylum and try to get them somewhat mentally stable.

Bonus note: Since PC is a lot like the ivory wraith and on the blood they are somewhat physically corporal idk why but I feel like maybe the PC also would get horny during this time who would take the chance and fuck the ghost lol?

ghost and body asks

hmm this is interesting...I didn't have pc mad at them in the mentioned ask but I do like this. I'd say they're all the same except they can actually interact with PC.

Whitney can finally hold you. He can brush against your bruises and wounds, telling you just how sorry he is. Please don't let him go. This doesn't really change anything but it does bring him some comfort every month. (would take the chance)

Kylar thinks you're somehow back, maybe it's something like with his parents. You're back but different. He loses it all over again when the sun comes up and he can't touch you anymore. (would take the chance)

Robin is terrified when he can actually feel your cold hands on his face. You're dead but he can feel you, he can touch you... This doesn't change all the much for him, he's so happy to be able to touch you but it doesn't change what happened. (wouldn't take the chance)

P!Sydney just thinks he's having another episode and tries to ignore you, even pushing you away. He doesn't want to get in trouble and end up in Harper's office more than he has to. It takes a while to get him to believe that this isn't just his head, it's actually you. He will fight against you trying to help him get out, it will only make things worse. (Might take the chance when he's all drugged up)

Alex once again just thinks he's hallucinating or even dreaming. This can't be real, you're dead, he saw you die. Why can he feel your touch? He tells you just how much he misses you, not caring if you're a hallucination or not. This changes some things for him but he's still a fucking mess. (would take the chance)

Avery gets the fright of his life when you snatch the whiskey from his hands. He screams and jumps up off the couch, "No!" He refuses to believe that you are able to do this. He must be dreaming. This doesn't change anything for him. (wouldn't take the chance)

Eden is in shock, why can you touch him? This shouldn't be possible. He's honestly scared to touch you, afraid he'll somehow hurt you more despite you already being dead. It takes a while for him to come to terms with this, it doesn't change anything for him though. He still isolates himself more than before and refuses to go into town. (might take the chance)

[johnwickb1tsch]

bittersweet ~ a yandere!John Wick x fem!reader sunshine/grump coffee shop AU... Part 16 all chapters

~AUTHOR'S WARNINGS: N$FW, SEXUAL CONTENT, COPIOUS SWEARING, TOXIC POSESSIVENESS , IF SOMEONE TREATS YOU LIKE THIS IN REAL LIFE RUN RUN RUN BC IT WILL NOT TURN OUT WELL U CANT FIX THEM~

-Aware that John Wick knows this city much better than you, you stick to the crowds. You manage to find your way to the Peggy Guggenheim collection, and you hang out there for hours, looking through the art works, but really only half seeing what is in front of you.

You are devastated.

You’ve had controlling boyfriends before, and it was not fun. They seem exciting at first, until the person you were before is eaten alive by their tantrums and their ridiculous expectations as they try to fit you into a box of their own making.

You can’t believe John turned out that way.

Or maybe you can. Maybe you have a fucking type, and you should have seen this coming.

You stay almost until closing, then grab a bite to eat before daring to wander the streets. You find a little walled in park, a courtyard filled with lush greenery and a tinkling fountain. By some miracle, there is only one other couple on a bench at the far end. You practically have the place to yourself, and you sit down on a wrought iron bench with a sigh and eat your sandwich.

You pull out your sketchbook afterwards to pass the time. Your doodling hand wanders, and perhaps its no surprise when you draw John Wick from memory, his proud lips and haunted eyes. There are tears running down your cheeks as you do so. When it gets too much, even though you’re in public, you hang your head and weep into your hands.

Darkness falls, and you know you should be getting back. The bench has long ceased to be comfortable, and yet it’s like you have grown into it, unable to move.

Even with your head down, when someone sits silently down beside you, you just know it’s John.

You do not look at him, and thankfully he does not try to touch you.

“It’s getting late, y/n. You shouldn’t be out here alone.”

“That’s none of your business.”

“Yes it is,” he insists, sounding almost tired about it. You hate it that your demeanor softens towards him, just a little.

“You broke my heart, Mr. Wick.”

“I was afraid I might.” He is sitting with his elbows on his knees, his hands clasped in front of him. “Would you let me make it up to you?” 

“I'm not sure that's a good idea.” 

“No?”

“No. I think you have a mean streak.” 

He had tried to warn you, you realize, in his way.

God, are you really such a fool?

“Doesn't everyone?” 

You make a sound between your teeth, and he nods like you have said something profound. 

“I'm not a nice man, y/n. But I would be good to you.”

“Like last night? I didn't like that.”

The corner of his mouth curves in a wicked smirk, and your heart skips a beat in your chest, damn him. Was the contrition all an act?

“Yes you did.”

“Not the last part.”

“Hmm. I tried to warn you.”

In the vaguest terms possible, maybe.

“My fanny.”

He raises an eyebrow to that, and you’re not sure why that little gesture wounds you like a knife to the heart all over again. Perhaps because he is beautiful, and even though you know he’s dangerous for you, you still want him so very much.  

You start to cry again, and try to get up from the bench. You need to get away from him, because you can’t think straight when he’s near.

“Y/n, wait.” He catches your wrist, and when you don’t really fight him, he pulls you down into his lap, and goddammit if this isn’t what you’d wanted all along. You feel small in his arms, cradled against his long torso and sheltered in the bend of his neck, even if in your hindbrain you know you are not actually safe at all. He strokes your hair until you quiet, and he kisses your temple like you are something precious.

How can this man be so sweet, just to turn on you?

“Why did you leave me, like that?”

You just do not understand. You could have had a lovely, fulfilling, mind-blowing if not vanilla night together. He’d laid all the groundwork like a master orchestrator, and you would have let him fuck you senseless. Fuck, you wouldn’t have even minded the tying up part, if he just hadn’t humiliated you.

“Because…” His lips ghost along the line of your jaw, and you fight not to squirm as his large hand slides up your thigh, his fingertips feather light on your skin. “Only good girls get to cum,” he says low in your ear, and you hate how it makes you ache between your legs, to hear him talk to you that way.

Outwardly, you do your best to keep your cool.

“And touching your hair made me a bad girl?”

“No.”

“Disobeying you did.”

“Yes.”

“That’s kinda fucked up.”

“Maybe.” He actually seems a little amused by you, which is not the reaction you were expecting. “I like to be in control. But you make me feel...unbalanced.”

“Me?” You sound incredulous. The thought that you could affect this powerful man in such a way seems absurd.

“Yes, you, kitten.”

The urge to demand he not call you that desiccates on your tongue. 

“So...what? You feel the need to take revenge for that?” 

“Maybe. I thought you knew the game we were playing, when you batted those big eyes up at me. Mr Wick, Sir, aren’t I a good girl?” His fingers dig into your thigh with the memory, and you can feel his growing erection beneath you. “But you’re just an innocent, aren’t you?”

“I wouldn’t say that.”

“You’re used to boys just eating out of the palm of your hand. But I am a man, with a man’s appetites, and a man’s desires.”

He was a little more than that, you reckoned.

“You want to control me.”

“That’s part of it.”

“Why?”

He smirks. “Maybe I had a rough childhood.”

You can’t tell if he’s joking or not.

“I want to take care of you.” He kisses your cheek again, and it is gentle and sweet and everything you had wanted from Mr. Wick, before this all went sideways. “I want you to be mine.”

You are not proud of the way those words unleash a fluttering swarm of butterflies in your belly, your breath quickening in your chest. You are proud when you manage to answer, “I don’t need taking care of.”

He just snorts lightly at that, as if it’s not even worth arguing over. “Come back to the hotel room with me. I promise I’ll finish what I started. With interest.” His hand slowly slides up your thigh, just beneath the skirt of your sundress, and you think you might die. You should not want this man, after what he did to you.

The ache between your legs suggests otherwise.

You give yourself some points, when you shake your head.

“No. I’m going back to my hostel.”

The shift in his demeanor gives you whiplash, a thunderhead of a frown pulling his handsome features. “Need to get back to your little friend Javi?” The jealousy in his tone hot as a brand. “Did he try to kiss you again?”

Your heart drops to your feet.

“How did you know he tried to kiss me?” you ask, your voice so small.

That was in Rome, after all.

What should have been obvious before comes crashing in, and you realize what a little fool you’ve been. That feeling that someone’s been watching you, and John’s so convenient and coincidental appearance outside the alley…

“Holy shit. You’ve been following me.”

“I’ve been protecting you.”

“Excuse me?”

“You have no idea what the world is really like, sweetheart. It’s a dangerous place.”

You frown at this.

“So…you think I’m stupid?”

“No, of course not.”

“You think I can’t take care of myself then.”

“I think I found you wandering around here like a lost little lamb. There are monsters here who would have gobbled a sweet little treat like you up in one bite.”

The fact that he sees you that way is more alarming than the thought of some unnamed threat in the shadows.

For some reason it makes you think of the men in the van back home—and how that van was found empty and on fire.

“How do you know about the monsters, John?”

“I just know.”

“You said you weren’t a cop. Were you FBI?”

He glares at you, which you take as a no.

“Interpol?”

You are met with silence, and you nod, mostly to yourself.

“You know about the monsters because you are one.” You think about those fierce looking Italian men with their scars and their bespoke suits. His previous words echo in your memory. Sono retirato.

“Were you in the mob?”

“Not…specifically.”

Then you remember he’d said he was from Belarus.

“Bratva, then.”

You should be terrified as you work all this out, trapped in the circle of this man’s arms, but you feel strangely numb about it all.

“My clever girl.” He sounds almost sad about it.

“Not clever enough,” you sigh.

You are not sure who is more surprised, you or him, when you burst to your feet. You actually manage to slip out of his grasp, though you only make it three steps before he captures your wrist again with a grip like an iron manacle. He gives you a dark look, annoyed that you would even try to play this game with him.

You remember what you learned in martial arts class a lifetime ago, pointing your thumb down towards the weak point of his grip and trying to jerk free. It’s worked before, with grabby men.

Not with John Wick, though.

“Stop.” Again, there’s that steely tone. The alpha voice one uses to reprimand a naughty dog. It only makes you angrier, and you struggle.

He pulls you hard against him, and you bite his hand. He doesn’t let you go, just adjusts his grip. “I didn’t want to do it this way,” he snarls low in your ear. “But you are so fucking stubborn.”

“Thank you.” You try to headbutt him behind you, but he ducks into the bend of your shoulder. You feel his chest trembling against your back, and only belatedly do you realize he is laughing at you.

“Enjoying this?”

“A little.”

“There’s no fucking way you can get me out of here without someone seeing. Let me go.”

He just sighs into your hair, like you’ve said something extremely naïve.

The arrival of newcomers into the park catches both of your attention. You lift your head, ready to ask for help, when you recognize the besuited tough guys from before.

Well, fuck.

“You've got some balls, showing your face around here, John Wick. Gianna d’Antonio’s son sends his greetings.”

“This isn’t a good time,” he snarls in return.

“Sorry, are you too busy fighting with your little girlfriend?”

He actually releases you then, pushing you to stand behind him. They are blocking the exit, so for now, you comply.

“You know how this will go,” John says, assuming a ready stance, his feet spread. He almost sounds regretful about it. “Do yourselves a favor, and leave.”

“Can’t do it, John,” says the one in the lead.

“For fuck’s sake,” curses John under his breath. The lead Italian makes a move, and John bursts into action. He is like a tornado of carnage upon them, throwing punches and breaking arms, cutting tendons and stabbing throats.

You are absolutely frozen as you watch all this unfold before you.

That is, until one of the thugs throws a knife at John, and you watch it bury in his chest. This is the thing that breaks your spell, and you run towards the fray with a scream, though who the fuck knows what you intend to do.

However, like he wasn’t just stabbed in the heart, John takes another attacker’s gun, pistol whipping him with it before shooting the knife thrower, then the last one standing. It cannot have been more than minute, before all of them are dead at his feet. He leans on his bent knees for a moment, catching his breath.

“John?” You hardly recognize your own voice as you rush to him, certain he’s taken a lethal blow and somehow fought through it with the surge of adrenaline. However, when you peel back his suit jacket you find no blood. He lets you look him over with frantic hands, maybe enjoying the fact that you don’t wish him dead, before pulling the still protruding knife from the breast of his jacket.

When he produces the little leather journal you’d gifted him from his inside pocket, now gravely marred with a puncture through the cover, you understand.

“Holy fuck.”

“You saved my life,” he says with an odd little smile down at you, as though all this is normal and what you just saw is totally ok.

Utterly horrified, you run.

“Y/n, wait!”

You throw yourself into the dark winding streets, taking any turn you can, trying to stay out of sight. Your feet fly beneath you; even in your shitty strappy sandals, it’s the fastest you’ve ever run.

It’s not fast enough.

When strong arms close around you, lifting you from the ground, you try to scream. A big hand clamps over your mouth, and you find yourself pressed hard into a stone wall. “Please, calm down,” he pants in your ear, out of breath from killing four people then running you down.

Your answer of, “Are you fucking kidding me?” is nothing but muffled syllables.  

“Goddammit,” he sighs behind you, rifling in his pocket for something as he pins you with his body. “This is not how I wanted this to go.”

Your pitiful plea of “Let me go,” is cut off by an evil-smelling cloth shoved into your nose.

[changingplumbob]

With the pancakes cooked the pair sat down to breakfast.

Silver: Did you sleep well

Glenn: Yeah I did actually. Is that like an old person thing to ask

Silver: I'm not that old

Glenn: You won't tell me your age so in my brain that translates to old

Silver: *chuckling* I'm trying to be mysterious. So you're really okay from the whole bachelor challenge now? You're not just pretending

Glenn: I thought it wasn't good practice to discuss ex's with someone attractive that you can imagine developing feelings for

Silver: You only imagine? I must be doing something wrong

Glenn: No! You're not- I mean... your brother was the first time I properly fell in love so it was a big thing to get over but- I don't want you to think I'm pining for him when I'm not so that's why I'm trying not to mention him

Silver: Good. Because I do like you Glenn. I don't really have any flowery prose to say it in but being around you feels...

Glenn: Amazing? Mind blowing? Like you want to both listen to me prattle on and kiss my mouth to make me shut up?

Silver: I was going to say comforting but sure, let's go with those

Glenn looked down at his plate and felt warm inside. He didn't want Silver to leave tomorrow, but he had to remind himself Silver was still here for now. He was attracted to Silver but saying plainly what his feelings were... he had no experience with that. Relationships were still foreign to him after so much of his life was spent keeping people at arms distance.

Silver: So what do you want to do today then

Stay sitting here talking. Get lost in your eyes. Finally get a glimpse of the abs you claim to have.

Glenn: Well the weathers nice so a run could be good. Then maybe some fishing

Silver: Oh I love fishing! That sounds like a good plan

Glenn: Got any tips you could give me? My fishing skill is still rather low

Silver: I guess you'll just have to wait and see

Glenn: Ah, do you want a proper shower? I need to get changed but I can wait-

Silver: As much as I enjoy your abs I'll let you get changed first. I may have been living outside for decades but I can still be a gentleman

Glenn got changed quickly and left Silver to do what he needed. Trying not to think about what Silver looked like undressed under hot water he headed back downstairs and got startled seeing a visitor at the door.

Glenn: Ophelia! Why didn't you knock

Ophelia: Oh I saw you letting me in so I knew I didn't need to knock for it to happen

Glenn: Right. Well uh... this isn't really a good time for visitors

Ophelia: *quietly* Because of Silver

Glenn: What? How did you know about him? I put extra shields over the house

Ophelia: Ah Glenn... I see the future remember?

Glenn: So... you've seen him sticking around? Staying?

Ophelia: Not exactly. Can I come in?

Glenn let her inside and was filled with an undefinable nervousness.

Ophelia: You know I can't tell you exactly what I see

Glenn: *sighs* Because it's like cheating

Ophelia: You remembered! I wish Drusilla would remember, and Carmine, and-

Glenn: Ophelia?

Ophelia: Hmm? Oh yes, point. Well I've seen enough to know what his name is and that he's here at the moment

Glenn: He told me he's not the best at meeting new people

Ophelia: Oh I don't meet him now, just talk to you. But it's tricky. So I'm telling you this stuff as your friend okay? Not as a fortune

Glenn: Now you're making me nervous

Ophelia: Everyone heals at different speeds from different hurts and running can be a survival method. It doesn't mean someone doesn't care about what they're running from. And just because someone runs doesn't mean they don't want to come back, okay? Sometimes we need to meet people on their terms. Can you get the door for Miranda?

Glenn: *confused* Can I get the door for Miranda?

Ophelia: Yes she'll be here in ten seconds. Nine, eight...

Glenn got up and sure enough when he got to the door he opened it in time to let Miranda and a box in.

Ophelia: You finished it

Miranda: Considering you saw it finished before I did I think it's odd you need to ask

Ophelia: *shrugs* I am odd

Glenn: Is the box for me

Miranda: Yes

Ophelia: No

Miranda: So you wanted me to make it to give to Glenn but it's not for Glenn

Ophelia: Don't worry, he knows who to give it to

Glenn opened the given box. Inside was a cellphone.

Glenn: I already have a phone

Ophelia: That's why it's not for you. Miranda say the stuff you're going to say

Miranda: Ah, right. Well I combined the latest technology and a little bit of magic in this baby. Basically it has satellite reception capabilities combined with magic stability. So wherever the person who has the phone is, they'll always have signal and be able to call and text

Glenn: Reception, anywhere?

Miranda: Mmhmm. Whether they're on a glacier, or deep in a cave, or smack bang in the middle of a forest. This phone will get a signal, the person will be reachable, as per Ophelia's request

Glenn was in shock. He didn't even know if Silver knew what a phone was but... it was so much better than relying on snail mail when he left. Which from this gift it seemed like he would be doing as planned tomorrow. Ophelia got up and pulled him in to a big hug.

Ophelia: Stay strong Glenn

Glenn: Thanks Ophelia

Ophelia: Come on Miranda. Glenn is busy now

Miranda: He's literally just standing in his living room but whatever floats your boat. Later Glenn

Glenn waved them off and steeled himself to go upstairs and talk to Silver.

Previous ... Next

[misc-obeyme]

Thinking about petty Mc...

What are you getting us this year for our birthday Mc?

Nothing.

..huh?

Nothing, except for Mammon, asmo, and purgatory hall y'all are getting anything.

Why?

Diavolo knew belphie would kill me, and let him, so did Barbatos. Lucifer tried to kill me multiple times not to mention his own brother and a young angel. Levi almost killed me over a movie series, Satan got mad cause I didn't want to make a pact with him, beel tried eating me alive, belphie, well I'm sure you know.

Do you need more? I can get into specifics.

No, that's quite alright...

Ok

As you can imagine Lucifer's pride was extremely damaged after this. Belphie was no wear to be seen, the fridge was emptied quicker than usual, Levi stayed in his room longer than normal, Satan won't come out of his room, and diavolo and barbatos have been awfully quiet lately...

I'm done for now

Bows for barb

Hmm I dunno is it petty to be upset over your life being threatened (and in one instance actually taken, resurrected or not)?

I'm kinda with MC on this one.

I think that's why a lot of us tend to think of our MCs as going through more intense reactions to those exact events.

Don't get me wrong, generic OM MC is absolutely the love of my life, but they can roll with anything. It's funny but also like what are you doing there lil sheepie??

Anyway, let those demons stew about things for a bit.

Then again, when I think about it in terms of my actual self instead of my MC, I'm like noooo forgive them all! Maybe I'd feel differently about it if they weren't fictional lol.

[anemoarchonhoe]

Commissioned by @unkownknowledge

Hmm, how about just having trouble in school then? I'm commissioning this for a friend, and I think that's something else they'd relate to. Something with tests being tiring and a pain if that works?

Thanks for commissioning me and for being super patient! Here's your request.

I decided to make it pure fluff, slice of life with no plot since you didn't provide any other indication otherwise. I hope you enjoy! Again, I'm sorry for taking so long with this. 😭 Life just severely beat my butt.

Venti is the very definition of "work smarter, not harder"

He likes being lazy so that's why as soon as he gets schoolwork from your teacher, he immediately works on it so he can get it over with quicker.

It's probably out of character for someone so carefree to finish work early and even efficiently, but perhaps not?

After all, he can lounge around in bed more if he's got nothing to worry about.

Your childhood best friend is an enigma.

Unfortunately you've got no time to puzzle his logic when it comes to academics when you have to worry about your exams.

While you're cramming for tomorrow's tests, Venti is doing nothing but lay on your bed and playing the flute.

"Oh my Archons, stop playing the flute!"

You irritatingly snatched the offending wind instrument and lightly hits his head with it. Venti lets out an exaggerated "OW!", clutching his forehead with his other hand reaching shakily for the sky.

"Argh, you gave me a concussion, sweet friend! Is this the end for me?"

You roll your eyes, shaking your head at his theatrics. "It will be if you don't get your dramatic butt off my bed and study with me."

He sighs and stands up, plopping down on the floor at the side of the small wooden table where strewn papers full of notes and books laid on the surface. He looks at you. You look like you are pushing yourself past your limits. Venti is tempted to make a joke about what brand your eye bags are, but held himself back just in case you were serious about ending him.

"Hey," he reluctantly calls out to you. "Maybe we– you should take a break? You look like you haven't slept at all. Were you studying all this time?"

You nodded without looking at him, grumbling under your breath the keywords that would help you memorize terms you need to remember.

That's it.

Venti slams his hands down on the table, making you yelp and place a hand on your chest. You glared at him.

"What's that for!?"

"Time for a break! I'll get you some snacks. If I catch you reading a book..." Venti jokingly threatens, even narrowing his eyes at you. For good measure, he places your favorite bookmark on the page you were reading and closes it.

Alright. Perhaps he is right. You were so sleep-deprived that nothing is really registering in your mind anymore, so you let him arrange your notes neatly before leaving to get something to eat. You placed your arms and head on the now clean table, closing your eyes to rest them. About a couple minutes later, Venti is back with some apple juice and sliced fruits to snack on.

"Glad to see you're actually taking a break and listening to me." He cheerfully notes, placing the tray on the table before taking an apple slice for himself. "You know, I can help you study if you just ask. You don't have to needlessly push yourself too hard."

"I know," you reply, taking a sip of the cool juice. You felt refreshed, so you drink some more until the entire glass is empty. "I don't want to be a bother, though. And I want to do this on my own."

Venti's eyes softens as he takes your hands slowly in both of his, his thumbs tracing circles on the back of your hands. "You will never be a "bother" to me."

Your eyes widen, feeling your heart skip several beats like a rock thrown across a lake. You feel the ripple as pleasant tingles that originated from the warmth of his hands, spreading throughout your body. It made you relax. Suddenly, you feel the burden you put on your body and you yawned, becoming tired now that you're not as stressed.

Venti notices this and places your head on his shoulder.

"Sleep."

And so you did.

When you wake up an hour later, he did help you study. Venti explained the topic in a way that you could easily understand. Perhaps it's because both your desire for sleep and snacks were both satisfied, but reviewing what you've learned because much easier. You highlighted the important parts that Venti pointed out on your notes, and wrote down extra information that he explained to you.

"Thank you, Venti. I learned a lot." You smiled up at him. He really did not strike you as an academically intelligent guy. Now, you're not saying he's dumb, but all of his grades are all average that you now begin to suspect that he is keeping it that way on purpose.

"You're very welcome, friend!" He sing-songed, closing the book that he was using and began to put it away. He was humming as he did so. "Remember, I'm your friend! If there is anything, and I mean anything, I could do for you... I'm always ready to help you out."

"...Well, I'm kind of broke right now–"

"Not the financial kind of help." He shoots you a playful glare. "I'm broke too!"

You both laugh in unison.

You both made quick work of putting away books into both of your bags before deciding to hang out and watch a movie. Sure, you could do more studying, but you are both all tuckered out and just wanted to call it a day.

Venti picked a cheesy romantic comedy that is Christmas-themed. You both playfully argued that he should pick something else.

"It's July, for Archons' sake, Venti. Hardly the season for Christmas movies."

"Then let's make it a night for watching not-in-season movies!"

Venti used Cute Puppy Eyes. It was very effective.

You ended up watching Christmas movies all night until you both fell asleep. Thank gods you both shared a boarding room.

The very next day, at school.

You did not necessarily achieve the highest score in your exam. But damn it, you passed and that's what matters. To celebrate the end of both your suffering (honestly, it's just you who suffered. Venti was fine with his average scores and average grades), Venti decides to treat you to ice cream. He bought an ice cream sandwich for himself while you got your cone. He paid for it and took you to a peaceful walk on a nearby park to unwind.

"How's the exam?" he asked you, taking a bite of his ice cream.

"Eh, I passed. How about you?"

He hummed, swallowing his bite. "It was pretty hard, but I also passed!"

"Neat."

He makes a noncommittal hum. You fake-yawn and awkwardly put your arm on his shoulder and he stiffens in surprise.

A pause. Your heart pounds.

He clears his throat and casually lays his head on your shoulder. You smile.

Word count: 1,005 words

[sirenjose]

So I've been really into your analysis lately and I'm a huge fan now, wanted to ask some questions, feel free to not answer any

1- what was your favourite idv story/event to analyze?

2- your least fav of the latter?

3- are you into anything else besides idv?

4-how do you find the motivation to analyze stuff? I've tried before and it was very draining :')

Thanks for your time, hope you have a lovely day

I'm very happy to hear you're enjoying yourself despite my own low opinion about much of what I put out. I'll do my best to answer!

Hmm I always dislike picking favorites because I'm bad at picking eheh... But the ones I liked most... I honestly enjoy T&I and COA (1-5) even more than the main story. So I think I might pick... Atropos' Ropes for T&I and for COA, thats harder... 3-5 are my faves but I might pick 4 just because of how it felt it had the most story/details given than all the rest. Even the *SONG* had story. I loved it.

Least fave, eh... Orfeo and Zinaida immediately come to mind, though Orfeo I'd say was worse... COA 1 is another primarily because of how DIFFICULT it was for me to figure it out enough to put together an analysis. And I had to rewrite that thing at LEAST 3 times to the point I'm just hoping it's good enough and leaving it alone. Time of Reunion I think is another that comes to mind, mainly because I didn't appreciate how they treated Norton in there, especially in the videos (but at least those aren't canon like the in-game event was). So based on all that, I might say Orfeo if I really had to pick 1. Then rank ToR 2nd and Zinaida/COA1 3rd.

FF14 and Honkai Star Rail especially I'm playing actively these days, but I honestly like a lot of stuff. Like Persona (espeially 4), 999 aka Zero Escape, and Star Ocean Til the End of Time. Least in terms of games.

Hmm... Maybe because the 1st reason I play a game is because of the story, and gameplay is always 2nd to me. If the story and characters are good, that gets me interested. Issue with IDV is we only get bits and pieces. Really need to look deeper to really understand some of the characters. I actually only started analyzing because I challenged myself (partially out of curiosity for the answer) to see if I could prove if Norton wasn't as evil as people thought (based on all the comments I saw when I 1st joined the fandom a long while ago). From there, there was Jose who I wanted to analyze because he honestly had so many plot holes I couldn't (and still can't completely) solve. So I get the most enjoyment analyzing something that doesn't have a clear answer. Which is why I don't always post for every letter. A big part of it is I enjoy history and culture and such, so it's fun for me to learn about different foods, or time periods, or how bad the environment was for miners or sailors back in the day, etc... I dont think I have an easy answer (I can see I'm rambling). Norton I actually only began to like because I was spending so long working on my 1st analysis for him (and my perfectionism made me analyze all of Norton's essences before i could call it finished). Jose was because I love Captain Hook, and then after because of the plot holes that bothered me. Then for others, I think I enjoy making analyses to... try to sometimes change people's opinoions/beliefs. Like with Margaretha or Vera. With Edgar was because I was more interested in his story and him as a character only once I put together all his lore. Sort of goes on from there. I could ramble on but I'm going to get even more guilty. I hope this helps somewhat, but let me know if it doesn't and I'll keep going. Maybe the simple is A) I like history/culture/research, B) I like to convince people that certain characters arent as evil as they think or change beliefs I think aren't quite accurate, C) I like solving puzzles and I love story, D) I already think too hard about literally everything, and combined with my perfectionism, we get analysis

[cursedvibes]

kenjaku :-) or tengen/uraume if they've been done

Thank you for the ask! I'm just gonna do all three :D

Kenjaku

Sexuality Headcanon:

I think Kenjaku generally doesn't care about a person's gender in regards to attraction. It's far more important that the people are interesting, able to hold their attention for a long time and if they are actually looking for a relationship of whatever kind, they must feel like they are equal to each other. Also, I think as far as purely physical or aesthetic attraction goes or when it's about casual sex they prefer men.

Gender Headcanon:

Kenjaku got all the genders and goes by any pronouns or none at all. They might have some preferences for what sex their body has, but that changes over time and sometimes it aligns with their current vessel and sometimes it doesn't. Generally, in canon the characters who actually know Kenjaku don't refer to them in gendered terms, but I don't think they'd have a problem with being referred to with she/her while in Geto or Noritoshi's body or with he/him when in Kaori's. I also think this was always the case with them, it didn't just come through their CT or with age. Their CT just helped realize the fluidity of their gender more.

A ship I have with said character:

I have a whole bunch of them, but at the moment my fave is definitely TenKen. Got a great toxic mix of longing, obsession, lost friendship and vore. And it is especially interesting to get into because Tengen is so important for Kenjaku's character overall. She is their primary motivation for this whole insane plan they got, getting close to her is what drove them forward for centuries and she is likely the cause or one of the factors that drove Kenjaku to get more and more lost in their need for entertainment because they lost the connection to her.

A BROTP I have with said character:

Uraume. I just love their dynamic so much, both as a BROTP and as a sort of hatesex ship. I really miss their bickering and casual insults. Kenjaku is so gleeful about driving Uraume up the wall it's great. But also how they reluctantly help each other out and do such wild shit like going on an international tour to rile up an invasion of Japan. Or Kenjaku having to hold Uraume back like a rabid dog from killing everyone in sight because it would be Not A Good Look. True trans solidarity.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Hmm, I think it's GoKen (sorry, I know you love them). I'm just not interested in Gojo in a shipping sense, I don't really see anything interesting in their dynamic beyond the meeting in Shibuya and even that has gotten a bit old for me because everyone is talking about it constantly. I also don't like how it is often/most of the time so focused on stsg because in canon that's the only reason Gojo has any interest in Kenjaku. Without Geto he wouldn't give a shit. So from what I've seen of it, most of it is just repackaged stsg angst (especially in fanfic) and I don't care for that.

A random headcanon:

Tengen used to be something of a teacher for them, maybe they were somehow involved with the cult that formed around her, and then they slowly became more of a friend or partner for her. They developed the concept for jujutsu society together, but disagreed on the details and how far it should be taken, how curses should be handled etc.

General Opinion over said character:

*gestures at my blog and AO3 account* idk I guess I like them

Uraume

Sexuality Headcanon:

They give me a bit of an ace vibe. I think they generally don't engage much with sex or have much interest in it, but on the odd chance that they do, they prefer men (probably also who they are most aesthetically attracted to).

Gender Headcanon:

No. If we use a label, agender would come the closest, but they just don't have any gender and live completely outside of it. They don't really care if people make assumptions about them because they see these people below them anyway, so what do their opinions matter. They wouldn't really get mad about it unless they are being pestered about it or they feel like the person is stepping out of line. But if that happens, they can just kill them. Easy. Same as with Kenjaku, I think they always felt this way about their gender, it's not that they stopped caring about it with age.

A ship I have with said character:

Mainly SukUme because Sukuna is really the only person Uraume has much interest in and I like how chill Sukuna is around them. Love the scene of them laughing at Yuuji together and joking around. You can tell they have been close for a long time. I also like that Uraume shows Sukuna respect, but isn't his doormat and gets away with far more than anyone else. Unfortunately we haven't seen it yet, but Uraume cooking human meat for Sukuna Hannibal-style is also the main thing that pulls me towards them. Cannibal couple.

A BROTP I have with said character:

Kenjaku, like above. Although, their dynamic with Hakari is also becoming really interesting and I wish we saw more of them. They actually seem to vibe very well and respect or even like each other, which is quite rare with Uraume. So far they seem the most normal around him. Probably because they might see something of young!Sukuna in him and he isn't as annoying as Kenjaku.

A NOTP I have with said character:

idk...there aren't that many ships with them. I can't think of any I've seen that I didn't like. Have to say though, that I don't like when people treat Uraume in SukUme as a self-insert and you can clearly tell that the person who wrote/drew it just wants to get railed by Sukuna and doesn't actually care about Uraume.

A random headcanon:

They were eating and cooking human flesh even before Sukuna came around. They saw Sukuna tear the raw flesh from people's bodies and eat it and were like "this is so uncultured, I gotta help this guy. where's my cauldron"

General Opinion over said character:

Love them! One of my top 10 favourite jjk characters. Gege please show me more of them, especially their current fight. I also really want to know more about their philosophy, view of humanity and how it differs from Sukuna's, how they first came to meet Sukuna and who they were before that.

Tengen

Sexuality Headcanon:

Pretty firmly aroace. I don't think they ever had much interest in romance, long-term relationships or sex. She might have experimented a bit when they were younger or maybe she used to be married because of societal conventions, but as she got older she just stopped engaging with it altogether and her philosophy and buddhist beliefs only emphasized what was already there.

Gender Headcanon:

Pretty much what she already told us. She feels more drawn to the identity of woman, but it was never that rigid for her and as she got older and especially when her body started to change, she cared less and less about it. However, she still cares about gender in the sense that she doesn't see herself as a man and prefers to not be addressed as such, especially in a private setting. Like, she doesn't care what the higher-ups think, them thinking she's a man is even beneficial to her, but if someone she knows well or cares about addresses her that way directly, she will correct them. She likes masculine clothing though and playing around with assumptions and societal conventions for gender presentation in general. If I were to summarize her gender in one brief label it would be something like: woman* (star even fits with her theme)

A ship I have with said character:

TenKen (obviously). Most of the action in that ship naturally comes from Kenjaku, but I find it fascinating how despite all the shit Kenjaku has done over the centuries, she still gives them the cover of anonymity and even protects them to a degree. Heavily side-eyeing Kenjaku surviving a fight against the Heian six eyes user twice. The fight wasn't even close from what we know and yet Kenjaku somehow managed to slip away and recuperate. I also find it fascinating how in the end, she almost gives in to Kenjaku's demands or lets herself be swept away by them. She doesn't try to merge anymore and she puts up the bare minimum of a fight. Like, she knows Kenjaku is a threat, but she still cares about them in some way and sees them as just an attention seeking child (true). Also kind of funny how she says she has no idea what motivates Kenjaku because she can't see into the human heart and yet when we've seen that Kenjaku isn't at all shy to talk about why they are doing all this. Especially with her around they are basically screaming their motivation and she's there like "hmm, big mystery why they are doing this. feelings are so hard to understand." no wonder Kenjaku went insane lol She's always trying to keep that emotional distance somehow, even when her actions speak against it. It also makes it very tragic from Kenjaku's perspective. They swallowed her and still can't reach her (anymore). Also, they see their relationship as equal, while Tengen still places herself above them in terms of skill and maturity. Argh, I need their backstory.

A BROTP I have with said character:

There aren't really that many people she has a closer connection with and a friendly one at that...guess Sukuna? Her turning his corpse into a mummy is really interesting and also their similarity when she started evolving. The mummy stuff is very similar to the urban legend of Ryomen Sukuna, so I wonder what exactly her and Kenjaku did with Sukuna before and after his death and if they might've been involved with him becoming more powerful. I also like her and Yuki together. They aren't exactly friendly, not from Yuki's side at least, but the "forced to hang out with my bigoted grandma" aspect of their relationship is funny.

A NOTP I have with said character:

Her and Sukuna. I just don't see anything there except shared fascination for jujutsu and what I said above about their past. Definitely nothing that comes even close to romantic or sexual feelings on either side.

A random headcanon:

She's not from Japan or she had a long period where she toured around ancient China, India, Korea and the like. She only really started drawing attention when she was at least 200 years old, so there is a lot of time we don't really know anything about.

General Opinion over said character:

Manipulative, conservative Grandma who ruined everyone's lives with the system she created and couldn't be bothered to change things for the better. And I love her for that. Top 3 jjk character for me <3

[pico-farad]

Vrains season 2 thoughts - part 2!

Go, Blood Shepherd, Ghost Girl, and the Ignis

All Vrains season analysis posts

⇀ Go

I'm devastated LMAO. In shambles. They massacred my boy (shh don't tell me the Go in my head isn't canon).

It's okay Go, Secret Identities AU will save you...

So, I don't think it was a bad idea for Go to "defect" to SOL. Go was already playing third fiddle very hard in the first season, and there was no way he could compare to Soulburner in terms of popularity as a main character, so turning him into an antagonist could be refreshing.

But it says something about Yusaku and Go's lack of relationship that when Go joins the bounty hunters Yusaku isn't even interested, much less betrayed. He doesn't ask, "Hey Go, why are you doing this?" he just glances at him and goes "Hmm, SOL Technologies sent bounty hunters."

You can tell too, during their duel later, that Yusaku just isn't close enough to Go to even attempt to break him out of the brain hacking. The best he can do is, "Didn't we fight against Hanoi together?" Uh I dunno Yusaku, did you? Isn't the reason why Go is in this downward spiral because you solo'd Hanoi by yourself?

The Soulburner vs. Go duel could have been a good place to explore that reasoning. Go's annoyance here is justified. It's completely understandable to feel like you're being talked down to, when fanboy Soulburner -- god bless him -- tells you that you're a hero who saved Vrains, even though you know that you couldn't do anything, you were useless. There's almost a narrative self-awareness there, that your duel was only used to make Playmaker look better. Playmaker is the real hero of Vrains, and you were just a stepping stone. Of course Soulburner's gushing would rub you the wrong way.

This relationship could have been sooo good if they built on it. Soulburner believes in Go, even when Go himself doesn't believe he's a hero. He understands that it isn't strength that makes you a hero, it isn't winning duels. It's having the courage to stand up to evil. That's why he admires Go and the others. Because that's what gave him the courage to stand up to his own demons. Imagine a rematch where Soulburner returns the favor, where he's the one to save Go from the darkness and convince him to be the hero that he believed in.

But no, instead, they kind of make him as unsympathetic as possible. Maybe that was the point, considering how they end up gutting his character, but this duel really, really makes him look bad. A grown adult playing victim olympics with children and losing. "You were traumatized as a kid? Oh yeah, well I grew up in an orphanage!" nooooo go you can't say that to an anime boy.

Go: For everyone to appreciate me, I must win! Playmaker is in my way. Lost Incident victim, he says? I know he suffered, but I also bet my life on dueling! I'm the one who'll be number one! I'm not Playmaker's stepping stone! Soulburner: ...I don't think you're Playmaker's stepping stone. But right now, you're just SOL Technologies' pet dog. Actually, a pitiful loser dog who complains to strangers. Go: How dare you say that-- Soulburner: The Go Onizuka in my heart is a great duelist! Number one? Everyone appreciate you? The Go Onizuka I know would never say pathetic things like that! Go: Be quiet! What do you know? Soulburner: I do know! Because Go Onizuka is a hero who gave me courage when I couldn't move forward. No matter how cornered he was, Go Onizuka was an independent duelist who believed in his own strength to the end. Where is that person who gave me courage? Go: *turns away* ...I end my turn. Soulburner: Go Onizuka... I want to duel the real you.

Do you see my vision?

But none of these ideas really come back, and it's all downhill from there for Go, with the AI implant and Earth and all. He just becomes another evil, unhinged, "pathetic" villain to be put down by Yusaku, who doesn't give a shit about him. We were so robbed of the Soulburner vs. Go rematch.

⇀ Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd

I don't have much to say about Blood Shepherd, I'm sure I would have found him cool when I was 13. No, I really only need to talk about Ghost Girl vs. Blood Shepherd.

This duel needed to be a two-episoder. They've built up this mysterious shared past, raised the stakes by putting their accounts on the line, and then the duel is over in three turns. The majority of Vrains is two-episode duels, but Ema gets the short stick by having both of her duels be singles?

(Aoi also has 2 single episode duels, out of 3 total. Let's do some math, this season Aoi and Ema combined have 6 episodes of duels. That's the same amount that Go, Revolver, and Lightning each have alone. Blood Shepherd has 8. Soulburner gets 11 episodes of duels. And Bohman gets 12. All six of Bohman's duels are two-parters, four of them are against Yusaku, and none of them are that memorable. Couldn't he have donated one episode to Ema?)

It's revealed that Ghost Girl and Blood Shepherd are half siblings, but it's not particularly clear whether they've even spoken outside of Vrains. If they had the extra episode, they could have given them a flashback together, arguments about their respective upbringings, anything to flesh out their relationship and make the ending of this duel make sense.

Ghost Girl loses. Fine, we can't have nice things. She isn't going to get anything important for the rest of the season, so let her go out honorably. But no, Blood Shepherd doesn't even give her the dignity of following through on the stakes of the match.

It's not like I want the female character to get deleted, but without showing any kind of shared history or interpersonal relationship, this "brotherly mercy" reads as patronizing bullcrap. They're both adults who have committed to an unforgiving line of work, but Blood Shepherd does a 180 because his absent father -- who we were just told about 8 minutes ago -- actually did sort of care about him.

Never mind that his father and Ema didn't try to help him, this one sentence is apparently enough to make Blood Shepherd not only take back the stakes he proposed, but also risk and lose his life to Lightning, because, "It's a brother's responsibility to protect his sister." No, you're both adults, you don't have a history together, you don't have "a responsibility to protect her" just because you share the same father. And when that's all that they show, it feels uncomfortably essentialist, out of character, and cheaply written.

Part of this is cultural difference, but it's just a trope that I personally hate for various reasons.

⇀ The Other Ignis

I don't really have thoughts on Earth or Aqua, other than that they sure did girlcode the Water Ignis and then damsel her. Windy and Lightning are fine as mid-series antagonists, though I think they lack impact with just two of them. If either Earth or Aqua was also on the side of the bad guy Ignis, having a nice round antagonist trio would be more imposing and balanced (3 Ignis being pro-human and 3 against)

They even acknowledge themselves how underwhelming their group is, by trying to recruit Blood Shepherd, and by the fact that they had to really clumsily split up the hero team in the final fight so that they aren't clearly outmatched. This contrivance is lame. Compare that to, say, Ark Cradle in 5Ds where each character has a specific opponent, a high note to end on, and all the other characters are counting on them to prevail.

This is the same problem Vrains had in season 1, where they insist on Yusaku being the Last Man Standing, and less important characters have to be picked off so that Yusaku's big boss fight has higher stakes. We'll see if that actually pays off in season 3.

-----

Gonna cut it off here, I need to watch the rest to properly cover Bohman, Revolver, Yusaku, and Ai. I know I really went in on the writers in this section, but I am actually looking forward to these next 30 episodes. I don't think I'm gonna come away loving Vrains, but I'm very curious about this ending, and why I see so much fanart of hot anime boy AI. I think it's gonna be a good time!

...Sorry, did I forget someone again?

Sigh...

Next time on Yu-Gi-Oh Vrains Analysis: How the Fuck Did Aoi's Writing Get Worse

[snackugaki]

... just make an iteration* for fun, I said

a universe where they've made it into their late 30s-early 40s and they chill and can be serene in the company of friends and family for once. maybe a flashback or two for the action moments

"fix" your childhood turtles so they can have a reprieve and some shenanigans, i reasoned with myself--

WELP.

my tmnt au iteration (where everyone made it past their 20s, splinter’s alive just old, venus is here, and they deserve some goddamn respite and shenanigans)

tmnt au iteration part 1 | part 2 | part 3 | part 4 | part 5 | part 6 | part 7 | part 8 | part 9

tmnt au iteration omake 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11

lny visit 1 | 2

is this actually new ramblings for the iteration or like one new lore bit and just a rerererererehashing of lore i sprinkled across the other posts.

first though, with my sorta-outsider-not-active-participant-in-fandom history I realized "au" isn't the proper term for what I've been doing, the more suitable term is "iteration".

and we're gonna sit with the fact that even someone at my old-ass age recognized my previous understanding of a term was, for all intents and purposes, not entirely correct and that I acknowledged it, rectified when I could, and that's it, it can be that easy.

...

okay back to the bullshit.

so my Mondo was introduced in the Archie run, a funky guy with a metal band called Merciless Slaughter, dressed like a punk Hulk, all around good peoples, hung out with the Mutanimals.

His design cobbling isn't too deep, I don't think. Just thought it'd be more rad if he looked more like a guy who fronts a band called Merciless Slaughter while remaining the same ol' Mondo inside, post mutation.

Kept some of his original color palette around in his hat, his pants, his NYHC logo (links) knockoff, and his little dyed leather cord bracelets.

the letters for the logo are for, Skate or Die (across), and Merciless Slaughter (down)

hmm still waffling on if I'm more tickled by him being taller than Mikey or the same height (5'4")

_________

and now for the rererererehash rambling because none of this design progression is coming out linear for me. so super quick, am an original 90s turtlemania survivor, Rise brought me back, gorged Rise then Bay then 2007 movie then rererererewatching of Next Mutation and the 90s trilogy for fun then hacking my way back through the Archie and Mirage runs then caught up with IDW and then just... slogging through 2003 and 2012 which honestly I feel like I got the gists of through gif sets alone.

one hand I can see why old fans (90s turtlemania) didn't seem to like the Rise designs, ours really were just the same li'l green dude but in different colors and hit sticks looks-wise. But here comes Rise with all the character design classics: different shapes! different sizes! exaggeration! and that's on top of all the nudges and twists made to the usual lore; Raphael is now the oldest, Leo and Donnie are now twins, they're different species of turtles, they're tools for war, brand new antagonists etc.

idk, to me when I was watching that shit, it was fun and refreshing so... ionno, built different cope maybe to the other oldheads pissing their pantaloons still ig whatevs

what tickles me most, personally, is the utter fuckton of Rise AUs, and a few Rise-driven iterations, and also some of the other non canon media iterations. so tickled that I got hit by the makeaniterationigitis itllbefunoccocal virus too. UnU (i'm kidding, i'm having so much fucking fun) just I'm addressing the flowers I wanna give to the kids who took Rise's take on tmnt and just RAN with the "different turtle species" from full out coloring their turtles the same as the species they picked to mimicking Rise's design language with different markings.

God, the markings thing just really nestled into my heart, it's such a simple thing and yet it took Rise to just try it, not even a lot, just a little for flavorrrrr. It's just enjoyable as fuck to me tbh and I'm sharpening my teeth when I revisit my coloring choices for the 8th time... fuck where was I?

right, mine are mistakes. wrongright place at the wrongright time, mutagen was there and now they can swing swords around and eat pizza.

someone(s) was high tailing it outta a TGRI lab with some mutagen barrels, driving recklessly while a bunch of eco-vigilantes had broken out of a pet shop that was the face of a black market pet trade/medicine/exotic food racket of endangered species. hence where their bit of human pre-mutagenic contact comes from (the strike team of people who freed them from their cages because all of them were endangered species & destined for a tank, a cutting board or a pill box); including a sea turtle Venus, Leatherhead, Tokka, Rahzar, Man-Ray some others etc etc. Jennika keeping her origin because it was dope as fuck. splinter was just there watching this symphony of human fuckery happen and decided to adopt some kids with no one asking (it was tang shen's onryo that is rooted in Splinter's mind that was asking, shh)

and ever since it clicked when I was gathering ref shots, ✨sea turtle Venus just makes sense✨ to me, it's taken my brain stem and rung it like a bell for new year's nonstop and i am not mad

... fuck, I am but also am not looking forward to when I start delving into ninjutsu, ninpo, Venus' whole schtick and how the supernatural fits into this world that I definitely don't need to be fleshing out this much just to draw them chilling on April's couch.

i've got like over 70 refs, holy shit

[desultory-novice]

He'll Branch be like:

Even in Hell, miracles can happen.

Noir: 😃

But not for you. Suffer forever, teenage boy!

Noir: 😢

"Yeah, Dess! What did teenage boys ever do to you, huh?!"

...I thought that's what everyone's teenage years were like! XD

But your comment did lead to this bit of inspiration...

Noir: "Is this...all there is?"

Magolor: "To the afterlife? Don't ask me! I didn't even know building a theme park would work til I tried it! (I don't remember too much about it because I was massively hallucinating at the time. Max says I don't have to worry about litigation if anything breaks because everyone's already dead! ...You didn't hear that, by the way.)"

Magolor: "I thought you'd been here longer than me, actually."

Noir: "Yeah, I guess... I just kind of...zoned out through most of it. Kind of hoping...if I stopped thinking, I would disappear..."

Noir: "I... I'm only 16, you know? And...I only made one real mistake. Or... maybe everything was a mistake. Because every stupid decision I made on my own just made things worse."

Noir: "...Maybe the mistake was being born, I don't know."

Magolor: "Hmm. My boyfriend is damned for a near-eternity just because he 'whimsically' tried to take something for himself that belonged to everyone..."  (And it's going to BE an eternity if he doesn't stop pulling dumb pranks that add hours onto his clock!)"

Magolor: "I thought I'd done far worse than he had, but I feel like I got off lighter, even with this thing rooted deep into my head." 

Noir: "...What, the literal clown who pranked my sister? Who's always laughing like a drugged out fiend all the time?"

Magolor: "The very same! He used to love flying. Said it was the greatest, most freeing feeling in the world. ...He has to waddle everywhere now very, very slowly or he falls apart - and he hates it."

Noir: "...You know what sucks also? Not having hands."

Magolor: "Or to have them but not have control over them! ...Marx laughs because he would never admit to anyone how hard it is. And even though he can't stop pranking people, he's secretly terrified of being left here alone as the very last one of us damned souls."

Noir: "..."

Magolor: "...I don't know what it is that makes some lives harder than others. Why some of us live in a frankly blissful world of naps and sunshine without a thought in their round pink, friendly heads while some of us live to see everything we wanted, even the simple dreams, ripped away from us. And I don't know why half the patrons here are physical manifestations of nightmares and nihilism and death while the rest of us just wanted to be pretty, or prosperous, or strong, or have friends, or to protect someone they loved..."

Noir: "...Yeah..."

Magolor: "I thought if I built the best possible theme park, I could make everyone smile and shout with joy. My own little universe where I was in control. Not the harsh reality. But...this place is only a short-term fantasy. A game of pretend that fades as soon as you look away and see that the rest of the world is still on fire."

Magolor: "I haven't known you that long, and though you buried my boyfriend in the lake of fire, I think you deserve to be saved. To have everything good that was taken away from you and then some."

Magolor: "Despite a long time being used as a host for limitless power, I can't give you any of that... But I can promise, for you at least, the rides and games in Merry Magoland will always be free."

Noir: "...Guess it's something. And starting from nothing... it's a lot."

Noir: "Oh, but get rid of the mother%$!& tea cups for me!"

Magolor: "I could repurpose the land to build a 'Scope Shot' arena. There's been a lot of requests for that one to come back."

Noir: "'...Scope Shot?"

Magolor: "Interested? I've got some gameplay footage right here!"

Noir: "Wow, what are these, PS1 graphics?"

Magolor: "......"

[binkywinky]

I liked seeing the realism of the awkwardness between Carol and Monica and just how generally awkward Carol would be after years alone in space but I miss the cocky know-it-all version of Captain Marvel we got in the first movie. She was just so competent and cool and this movie felt a little tepid in that regard. Also wanted much more in terms of a conversation between Monica and her especially considering the ending. There should’ve been some kind of deep emotional exchange and we just didn’t get that. What do you think?

Hmm. Honestly, my first thought is that it sounds like maybe you wanted a different movie, but let me take a crack at this.

I'll address the version of Captain Marvel part first.

In CM, Carol was cocky because she was a young soldier as part of an elite team that only cared about the Kree. She had cool powers and never saw her actions as having any consequences because she was told the Kree were always in the right and she was a hero. She also had no memories or real emotional attachments to anyone, so there was no one depending on her or waiting on her back home. She could be as brash and know-it-all as she liked.

In The Marvels, she's almost 70. She has some of her memories back. She has people she cares about and who care about her - and who have expectations of her. She's lost one of the most important people in her life. She has thousands of planets of people who look to her to help them. And she has seen firsthand that being cocky and a know-it-all can have catastrophic consequences that spiral out of your control.

It wouldn't make a lick of sense for her to have the same attitude in The Marvels as she did in CM unless the plot and trajectory of her character was completely different. CM was about owning her power and reclaiming herself, which leans itself towards showcasing the cocky side of her. The Marvels is about family, reconnection, and atonement - which does not really call for that cocky aspect of her personality to be at the forefront. She still had moments of being cocky and certainly competent (like while fighting), but it was tempered by experience, as it should be. So while it may not be as exciting, I think it was better for her as a character because we actually got to see more sides of Carol and not just Captain Marvel. And personally, I find that a lot more interesting than the cocky, know-it-all schtick. We've seen that with countless characters in the MCU - I'm kind of over it. It's lazy IMO.

Now as far as the stuff with Monica, I stand by my statement that their deeper conversation would naturally have come after they finished the mission with Dar-Benn. They had to reach a point with each other where they're willing to have that conversation first, and that wasn't earned until the end. It's just unfortunate that Monica got trapped on the other side, so we can't see that full talk yet.

But you bring up an interesting point, and I really want to know, what exactly did you want or expect to happen? And I'm asking to take into account the actual situation they were in and what makes sense for the characters, not the fanfiction of what we're all guilty of imagining playing out. Because, for example, I've seen people say Monica should've fought Carol or screamed at her, and that makes zero sense because that's not in Monica's character. I also don't know what Monica would yell at her about after being told point blank, "I wanted to come home, but I inadvertently doomed a whole planet of people to die, and didn't feel like I deserved to be with family until I fixed it." Like what is Monica supposed to say to that? "I don't care - you still should've visited." That's silly.

So genuinely - and this is open to anyone - what would you have preferred to happen that still makes sense within the context of the movie and with the characters?

[rathayibacter]

Ask meme: Death, The Tower Reversed, Nine of Swords

[ask game here]

going off the beaten path, nice! ill try and do em justice lol

Death: Talk about an idea you’d love to make that no-one would expect from you.

this ones real tricky cuz i feel like my output is really eclectic. ive got some weird ideas in the books (like a collection of parallel-history card games, or a game-riddle that you can only play twice) but i dont know how many of them would be surprising coming from me, yknow? maybe the zine about how to run a Tarrasque would, given my noted.... disdain for dnd, but that wouldnt even really be about dnd yknow?

The Tower: Talk about about a game you tried to make that crashed and burned. Reversed: Talk about a game you were surprised didn't crash and burn.

ill do both of these! i had a game years back (pretty sure inspired by a Prokopetz post) called Party Planners, where youre a high-level adventuring party who spends more of their time throwing galas and managing your reputation as heroes and adventurers than you do actually saving the world. the idea was you had to meticulously schedule everything with a diegetic calendar, so you could make sure to attend all your rivals' events, set up your own, and fit in some adventuring on the side. new dungeons would pop up periodically and everyone would scramble to explore them first for the best loot and biggest bragging rights, but can you afford to do that when the same weekend youve gotta accept an honorary diploma from the wizard school? sadly the concept never got anywhere past "god thatd be really funny" despite trying to make little prototypes several times. i did wind up using a pared-down version of the calendar mechanic in Unskilled Labor though, so thats neat!

and for the flipside, BXLLET! i think ive told this story before, but i had BXLLET 95% done on my hard drive for three months before i finished and released it, because for some reason i was really struggling to get it to a place i was happy with and didnt wanna look at it. if it werent for my friends' passion about it, i dont know that i would have released it at all! which is such a weird thought now that its undeniably my most successful game, lmao. just goes to show, perfectionism's the enemy! reject its vile promises and put yourself out there, flawed and vulnerable, and let the chips fall where they may!

and hmm. nine of swords is usually associated with doubts and anxiety, which i kinda covered in the tower reversed, so lets take a slightly different spin on it

Nine of Swords: What's something you don't think you'll ever master, or that you struggle with every time?

working on large, long-term projects is definitely a struggle for me. ive been getting better at it, im happy with how KATABASIS is coming along even if i wish i could put out releases faster, but i definitely long to be one of those folks who can disappear for a few months and come back with 300 pages yknow? as it is i tend to juggle a couple projects at once, and then switch between them as the mood strikes or as i get blocked on something, and that helps me get things done but doesnt really lend itself to working on A Magnum Opus yknow

on a much more minor note, i wanna get better at worldbuilding around food. i cook! a lot! im pretty good at it! and yet for some reason whenever i sit down to write about food it doesnt come out right lmao

[astro-b-o-y-d]

What sort of concepts or ideas have you had that you've either replaced or had to abandon? Things like characters, plots that didn't make sense in the long run, fun facts that won't be relevant in the final? It's always interesting to see what sort of stuff was in the prototype versions of stories!

GOOD QUESTION.

I think so far, I haven't had to really ABANDON any of my ideas so much as simply tweak them a little to the left when it comes to fitting them within the story. Like the eventual Big Bad of the story might turn a little different in the final product than what I initially planned with him (I also bounced back and forth on WHO I wanted him to be in terms of how he fits into the plot), but the overall concept will still be the same as what I'd originally wanted.

I do have a few fun little tidbits I can share, though~! Going into this story, I wasn't actually sure if I was going to make Bill both physically AND mentally a child. I was still bouncing between 'maybe he's just STUCK in the body of a teenager but not actually one' and 'no, wait, he's actually been stuck at this age for a trillion years'. I did briefly consider keeping him an adult, before I was like 'Hmm, well, the Pines family having beef with some kid would be way funnier.' and went with that.

There's another good one; I'd initially put Bill at 13-14 years old mentally. Obviously the little joke in TBOB inspired me to bump it down to twelve, which I feel is the opposite of a problem. It works so much better AND it's far more amusing to me. PLUS HEY, dubiously-canon evidence to point to when it comes to that plan!

ALSO ALSO a super big change!!! Mina was not a thing during the earliest stages of the fic being planned!!! I'm serious, I only made her about a year or so ago, whereas I'd been planning out the fic for about two-and-a-half years at this point. She helped me expand on my story plans a LOT, especially in terms of my plans for her and Bill's home dimension.

Speaking of which, you would think the recent TBOB stuff would've crushed a lot of plans regarding that. Realistically, it was less than you'd think. Sure, I'll end up tweaking Scalene and Euclid's personalities away from what I'd initially planned for them.

But even THEN, my overall plans for the Second Dimension/Euclydia were so flimsy and malleable because by the time it was important to think about, TBOB had been announced. I knew by that point I had a potential ticking clock when it came to new canon information about Bill's dimension, so while I did have SOME plans, I tried to keep them from being too set-in-stone.

Some I will still have to ditch, unfortunately. I did have some concepts regarding Bill and Mina being a twin pair of equilateral triangles and how that was something rare and interesting to their dimension, causing their parents to both treat them as trophies to show off while also berating them if they step too far out of line. That'll have to be scrapped; with Bill's mutation, it just feels redundant to include. Maybe it'll still be a neat thing for them, but overall it won't be super important to the plot.

Not to mention the concept of shapes being male and lines being female as a whole I've clearly had to toss out, which is really only a shame in the sense that you can't immediately look at a female shape OC like Mina and know right off the bat she's trans. But that's not a HUGE issue; Mina is trans in the sense that she is both a female triangle and a female human girl. As I've said in the past, she's never wanted to be seen as a LINE. So lines not being strictly female in Euclydia isn't a huge deal.

I think finally, I can bring up Scalene and Euclid, and how we have crumbs of information about them. As I said before, I've had to scrap some of my initial ideas for their personalities, as flimsy and wavering as those initial plans had been. I'd had this idea of them using the intrigue of their rare twin equilateral triangles to help get them further in life, thus the pressure for them to stay in line. I don't think I'm going to make them that cruel in canon, or even that well off.

I'm still working out the details in terms of how I want to characterize them, but the most important goal for me is to make them...well, for lack of a better term, human. They will be very flawed individuals, ones who cared for their kids and each other, but still did a lot of things to both traumatize said kids (whether it's deliberately or even not deliberately), and cause their originally-strong relationship to waiver. Their tale will be a tragic one for both themselves and their kids, and I'm very excited to get there.

Wow, this got long. Clearly I had a lot to talk about and I don't even think that's EVERYTHING, just the stuff off the top of my head I can recall! We'll see if the list gets bigger as time goes on!

[tsutsumi-kurose]

What do you think will happen in this next chapter?

hmm, in terms of things that i think will happen, the only theory/expectation i have for the next chapter is that we'll switch to nene, teru, aoi, and akane, who will probably enter the red house in some sort of scooby doo mystery gang fashion lol. and imagine they'll probably get split up? also in scooby doo fashion haha, probably into pairs at first and then maybe getting further split up until all of them are alone, at which point I expect some of them to come across kou and mitsuba, and others of them to come across one or both of the yugis. I don’t really know which combinations of characters to expect though!! they’d all be exciting!!

i would honestly like if they took some time to explore the red house before finding kou, mitsuba, or the yugis though! we didn't see any of the wish granting powers of the red house last chapter, so those powers might not be in place in this timeline, but it seems unlikely? as wish granting is such a fundamental function (approach? method?) of the red house. so i'd be really interested to see that come up again!!

from here i only really have things i think would be interesting rather than actual theories for the chapter:

i would love to see other characters' desires called out by the red house. if wish granting (and more specifically, sensing people’s wishes) is still a function of the red house, i think it would make sense to see aoi and akane paired off together, since this timeline's aoi seems to be used to repressed desires, on both her end and akane's.

and speaking of repressed desires!! i want to see into teru's brain!!! what does he want? does he have things he wants for himself? how much can a person deny themselves their own desires before those desires don’t have a hold on them anymore, or cease to exist entirely?

i would also love to see teru interacting with mitsuba again because i feel like them meeting is a really significant thing that happned but we haven't seen any big consequences of them meeting yet? would LOVE to see teru's reaction to learning how important mitsuba is to kou. does he know? how much does he even know about mitsuba?? I feel like if teru knew the extent of how important mitsuba, a supernatural, is to kou he’d have a lot of feelings/opinions/etc? teru please go into the red house so i can see inside your brain thank u <3

i also think that if our current mystery gang pairs up and splits off it would be really interesting to see nene and teru paired up! all the character combinations would be really interesting, but I don’t think we’ve really seen nene and teru together too much? and it's always interesting to see characters in new combinations!!

I also would love if this team up happened because teru and nene's relationship to one another has been on my mind ever since 117. specifically these moments:

they're small moments, but they feel distinctly different from how teru has treated nene previously. i think teru, up to this point, has treated nene as very naive, and with the niceties you would show a kid. he's also very aware of her admiration of him, and often plays into it. he doesn't tend to include her in plans, like in the red house/far shore bound arc. they haven't had a bad relationship, but it has certainly been one of knowledgable, skilled upperclassman and an underclassman who admires him.

but in 117, teru looks like he's really considering what nene has said, both with his expression and the thoughtfulness of his response. of course, teru is still lecturing and exasperated with both nene and akane in 117, but he doesn't seem to be trying to go behind nene's back or dismiss her. honestly, him being so openly exasperated in front of her is also a sign to me that he's moving away from just giving her a smile to appease her and moving on; it feels like he's starting to be a little more open with her?

or maybe what i'm trying to get at is, he's kind of starting to treat her the way he treats akane! not exactly the same of course, but there are more similarities there now, I think. teru lectures and toys with akane, but that doesn't mean he doesn't trust and respect him. one of my favorite parts of 117 was seeing teru roast nene so blatantly to her face lol. he obviously has his thoughts about her relationship with hanako, but he's being so open with her about it now! even if he's giving her shit, it somehow feels more friendly than when he was feeding into her crush on him. maybe he’s just truly met his wit’s end lmao but in any case i feel like he could be starting to see nene as someone to work with rather than someone to work around.

this feels very significant since this arc started on a note about how much nene has grown and all the work she's done!

i think teru—who has largely been a Smart and Responsible older character compared to nene’s idealistic, sometimes naive optimism—trusting nene and treating her as a friend and partner in a team up would be a really sweet and interesting way to emphasize the theme of her character growth that the start of this arc explores!

but, of course, I never really know what’s going to come haha, at least it’s hard to predict chapter by chapter! but these are some themes and relationships I would love to see explored!! and there are always so many things I never see coming, so I’m really excited to see what this next chapter brings 👀

[bibliotheque-des-reves]

Late Night Poetry and Kindness - Yi Sang x Reader

(Y/N) = Your name

Reader uses They/Them pronouns and there are no gendered terms

831 words

Fluff

Closing time is closing time, but perhaps one last customer for your bookstore is worth waiting around for.

"Have a nice day!" (Y/N) would wave to the departing customers with a smile upon their face. The bell chimed, announcing the couple leaving the store. After taking a note at the clock, it looked like it was time to call it quits and take care of everything before (Y/N) had to scurry home.

Getting up from a stool, the bookstore owner would go up to the door and reach out for the sign to flip it and yet-

"Ah-"

A man stood in the doorway, wearing a rather unique uniform. He was quite pale at that and had short black hair that appeared slightly unkempt.

Not only that, but goodness did he look tired-

"Oh! Yi Sang!"

"I tried to come as fast as I could... Am I too late..."

(Y/N) shook their head, allowing him into the building and flipping the sign once he had stepped in. "You are, but... I know you missed me last time, so I'll make an exception." They smiled, locking the door to ensure no one else would come in. "You certainly get out of work late..."

Yi Sang sighed, instantly going over to the poetry section. Not a man of many words, but (Y/N) didn't mind. "...Do you have any recommendations?"

"Huh?" That was a first, quite typically Yi Sang would be the one who would browse the section without a care of what anyone else thought. "Um... Some of these I haven't read, I'll admit."

There was a slow nod from Yi Sang.

"I'm going to be dusting up a bit around some shelves, so just call if you need anything!" (Y/N) gave a gentle wave and walked off, knowing that Yi Sang wouldn't cause any trouble.

Grabbing the broom and dustpan, (Y/N) would walk back to the shelves, humming as they swept. Normally, they'd be a bit upset with a straggler or two, but-

Yi Sang was at least good company.

He didn't talk much and frankly, he never really needed to. Whenever he walked into the bookstore, it seemed like Yi Sang knew exactly what he wanted. Though, tonight it seemed like he was lingering a bit longer than usual.

"(Y/N)-"

"Oh, all set?" After finishing the shelf of history books, (Y/N) would turn around, looking at Yi Sang as he stood by the counter. "Give me a moment!"

After setting down their tools for cleaning, (Y/N) went to the register and began to ring Yi Sang up for the books. "Oh, you picked two copies- Did they stick together...?"

"That copy is actually for you."

"...Huh?"

"You mentioned you hadn't read any of those books. I just tried to pick out one I thought you'd like best..." Yi Sang spoke softly, giving a small nod. "Besides, I want you to consider it my apology for arriving so late."

(Y/N) shook their head in surprise. "You don't have to do that-! I'm more than happy to get a chance to see you!"

"...I see-"

Upon realizing what they just said, (Y/N)'s cheeks became a rosy pink and they quietly went back to scanning the books. They told Yi Sang the total meekly and finished ringing him out.

"...(Y/N)-"

"Y-yes?"

"Thank you for allowing me in." Yi Sang would give a look- he wasn't smiling, but it was perhaps the norm. It was within the way he spoke did (Y/N) know it was genuine. "I do hope I am not being too selfish with my presence or even my gift."

"N-not at all!" (Y/N) gave a nervous smile, shaking their head once more. "You're normally still at work, right...? You don't get out until very late... if you get out at all."

Yi Sang nodded.

"Hmm- Maybe I can rearrange my hours..."

"Are you sure?"

(Y/N) hummed. "Well... You really seem to like being here. It makes me feel bad when I'm locking the doors and I turn and see you around the corner, honestly."

"...I really am being selfish..."

"N-not at all! Besides... It means I can sleep in a bit." (Y/N) would bring up, offering a small smile. "I'll think about it, but it sounds like we both win here."

"As long as you're certain. I'd much rather this not be one-sided." Yi Sang would take the bag of books. "...Please don't forget this-"

He placed the gifted one on the counter- making sure it wasn't going home with him by accident.

"...I won't, don't worry." (Y/N) smiled. "Let me get the door for you."

Yi Sang looked like he wanted to say something, but simply nodded. "...Good night, (Y/N)."

"Have a good one!" (Y/N) waved before locking the doors. They gave a small sigh, walking back to the counter to count the money.

Eyes went down to the book and a hand gently went over the spine.

"...Isn't the selfish one me?"