#rather he LITERALLY and ACTUALLY has MADE HIMSELF into a guy who is cool and confident and at ease in almost any situation

[inknose]

#HE KNEW XIE LIAN NEEDED A PRINCE OF HIS OWN#AFTER PUTTING EVERYONE ELSE FIRST FOR CENTURIES#HE NEEDED A HOT SEME TO BE HIS SAVIOR FOR ONCE#hua cheng wanted to be someone gege could rely on and that meant being cool and suave and confident and THE BEST and HOT#he coulda gone back to wu ming deference mode#but after seeing xie lian almost get stabbed a million times again he realized submission was not what would save XL#UGHHHHHHH#HUA CHENG MAKES HIMSELF BIGGER SO THAT DIANXIA CAN LET HIMSELF BE SMALL(in a non-self-sacrificial way)#tgcf#hualian

I can‘t get over how confident, self-assured and almost cocky Hua Cheng can act in front of Xie Lian even though he‘s actually super nervous and insecure about the love of his life liking him back after waiting 800 years and building his entire life around the hope of finding Xie Lian and winning him over.

[tubbytarchia]

Etho doodles in which I let my inner dinosaur nerd take over 😔 and also have no idea how to shade

Get it cause he's old and washed up haha... ok but actual raptor Etho hybrid justification below cut

To be honest the main reason was because I really wanted a hybrid in the mix who wasn't some furry creature and a reptile or amphibian or smth instead. Etho still ended up feathered but whatever it's close enough! But for ACTUAL reasoning:

He does feel damn ancient, like an old deity of the mcyt space that no one can dislike. Dinosaurs are the same!! They're old but still thought of with great fascination and fondness, everyone loves dinosaurs...

Dinosaurs are ever so mysterious, as many advancements as we make there's still so much we don't know. Just as we know jackshit about mister Kakashi skin man. Also, there are so many incomplete skeletons out there. I didn't have a particular species in mind for Etho, because where's the mystery in that? He can be one of those 5% skeleton 95% speculation dinosaurs like this guy!! Missing jaw and all

"I'm a runner, not a protector" - so, a raptor, or more specifically the Dromaeosauridae family, which literally has "running/runner" in its name

But! I'm always a fan of stuff going against its nature, especially in this case! Etho states he's not a runner yet protects his allies rather fiercely even in total silence. Eg refusing to kill Cleo in SL or to give away Tango's location during the LimL manhunt, same for Grian in SL. He was a bit flaky in 3L I think? And he only started to have genuine care for allies in LL with Bdubs? Though he is still very much a runner in many cases like during the LL Wither fight. Research also strongly suggests that most if not all raptors were solitary hunters, and the way I see Etho (through my shamefully limited watchtime of his POVs...) he feels a lot like someone who ultimately only trusts himself at the start even if he's pleasant and allying with others, and doesn't seem to think he can carry his weight in groups though he doesn't voice this a lot. That's just how Etho is, very composed, but it feels like there's an insecurity there, showcased especially in SL but again I haven't seen almost any of his POVs in full so maybe I'm talking out of my ass!! Sorry ethogirls I'm only a sidegig ethogirl myself... But yeah tldr to me he gives off the vibe of an otherwise solitary animal struggling to find 100% sure footing in a pack. In whichever ways he does go against his nature, its not usually made a show of

At the mention of a raptor, a lot of people will probably think of the glamourized Jurassic Park Velociraptors. But those awesome guys from the movies are actually the size of chickens. In general though, dinosaurs tend to be a bit.. exaggerated in media, despite how inherently fascinating they already are. And I think it fits Etho because we all know how the Lifers seem to fear and mancrush on him when he's just some dork with perfect capability to become pathetic at a moment's notice. Still, he's a clearly skilled player and still respected without question Etho's not some killer machine like some people make dinosaurs out to be. He's just a fellow creature fulfilling his role in the ecosystem 👍

dinosaurs are cool

The hook-like sickle claws on the feet... something something fishing rod

I swear I'm not turning all my Lifers into hybrids I'm not!! Still plenty normal humans in the mix I swear....... But Etho is such a radical dude, I really wanted to do something more for him. The whole Kitsune thing that I often see associated with him is really cool. I don't actually know the reasoning for it but I assume something something naruto, but also, him being this ancient mythical cryptid who people know so little about, you know? It makes SO much sense. So anyway I turned him into a dinosaur instead rawr

As a herbivore advocate I also considered stuff like the triceratops (known for how they protect themselves and their own) but nah the raptor symbolism...

[de4dlyniightshade]

I’d really just like to request your most feral Spencer Reid headcanons. SFW, NSFW, raunchy, tame - whatever. Just your like “I will fight anyone who disagrees, they are fact” type headcanons.

(Because I reread all your headcanons and love every single one)

I BEEN WAITING ON SOMEONE ASKING THIS! i've also just been meaning to make a hc post.

i was gonna split them into nsfw and sfw but they just ended up all mixed together 0-0

submissive and breedable spencer truther til i fucking die i'll get him pregnant don't play with me.

loves messy kisses like spit running down his chin, tongues down each others throat, desperately gripping at each other type of kisses.

maybe just me projecting and taking what mgg said as gospel truth but i fully believe that spencer loves a curvy woman, not even just for sexual reasons he also loves to rest his head on a nice big pair of boobs or thighs.

speaking of, boob guy! shamefully, but still a boob guy! adores groping your boobs whenever he can and would have your boob in his mouth 24/7 if he could, has literally fallen asleep with his head under your shirt and your nipple in his mouth.

munch! like the biggest munch ever, loves nothing more than coming home from a long day and burying his face between your thighs or having you ride his face.

knows full well that toys are his teammate and not his competitors and has no insecurities about you using toys on yourself or owning any.

does not care how well groomed you are, if you asked him what he preferred he'd be like??? it's literally none of my business???

needs lots of reassurance during sex, he just likes to know that he's doing good and making you feel good throughout the whole thing.

doesn't like talking about his sex life, especially with derek, no matter how hard he pressed and pries spencer wont let anything but the bare minimum out.

i imagine he's more drawn to a commanding woman, someone who will take the lead and teach him because of his inexperience and finds that he actually loves being dominated and hardly has any desire to dominate you.

really vocal! even though i've already said it like twice he just is, i can feel it in my bones, he's just such a whiny little baby and can't help but moan loudly any time you're touching him.

is completely against the idea of road head until you do it while you're on a long drive and it both changes his life and almost ends it bcs he swerved into the other lane which was luckily empty.

still gets shy when you kiss him in front even the team even years down the line.

learns to cook so he can make you breakfast whenever you're staying at his apartment.

on the same lines, lovesss morning sex, just that feeling of not wanting to get out your warm bed into the cold air, savouring the warmth in the best way possible.

had no idea what queefing was real until it happened and he was like genuinely so fascinated rather than disgusted.

i feel like spencer would own a bird for sure, not just bcs of gideon but he did help him realise how cool birds are which made him get one, probably a cockatiel or parrotlet with some silly name like dave.

all bark, no bite. likes to act a big game in front of others but the second you're alone he's begging and calling you mommy.

loves nothing more than waking up before you, pressing a kiss to your forehead before carefully and quietly getting out of bed to make you breakfast with the intention of bringing it to you but when you wake up before him and sneak up behind him to wrap your arms around his waist he can't help but melt.

very open to experimenting further down the line, anything you want to try he'll try at least once, except for blindfolds on himself, would be completely open to blindfolding you though.

loves public touching, not outright sex but he'd love when you subtly brush your hand over his crotch or take a handful of his ass in a public place.

teaches you how to knit and cries when you actually make him something like a sweater or even just a hat bcs he realises that's why you wanted to learn in the first place.

can't ride a bike.(this is definitely me projecting bcs i can't but i just feel like he can't okay)

lana enjoyer!!! especially if you are, he just wants to understand all the things you love and if you love lana so does he, he'd love to hear you ramble about your favourite songs and would take note of them and listen to them asap and tell you he loves them even if he didn't like some that much bcs he loves how happy it makes you.

wouldn't want to introduce you to his mother too soon but if you ended up meeting her by chance he'd be sweating buckets in case you didn't get along but you two just bond over your adoration for him and he's just so happy about it.

probably took a while to warm up to physical touch in the beginning bcs of his germophobia but when he finally does he regrets not doing it sooner.

washes his hands every single time before touching you sexually, not even for his benefit, he just wants to be as safe as possible with you.

loves elvis and almost proposes on the spot when you offer to dance with him to can't help falling in love, secretly sheds a few tears while you waltz around his apartment in your pyjamas.

okay i've definitely left stuff out that i've thought of but this is long asf so i'll leave it there😭

[poppetsisters]

There's this really cool horror trope I've noticed lately of a villain being introduced in a simplified, unscary form, but later evolving into something so detailed and terrifying, it takes your breath away.

This is not the same as a traditional metamorphosis like in body horror cinema because the trope relies on the medium it uses to sell the scare.

Minor spoilers for Don't Hug Me I'm Scared. Major spoilers for Inscryption and I Saw The TV Glow

To introduce you to the concept, I'm just gonna show you the Care Hound from Don't Hug Me I'm Scared.

It's the Carehound alright, or rather a pictorial representation of the Carehound. But how do they look in real life?

Ah.

Like the rest of the show, this is both terrifying and hilarious. You think because it's a 2D representation of the dog that the eyes on the side of the head are just artistic license, but then he turns toward you and you realise no actually, he literally has two eyes on each side! Genius. 10/10 joke.

But you see what I mean right? You're given a disarming image of the antagonist so that later, they can pull the rug out from under you with the truth. And there's an element of adaptation limitation that is then broken through. Suddenly the artifice doesn't feel so fake, and you're pulled in.

Now let's talk about Inscryption. Ironically, the game does this in reverse. Though Leshy is hidden in shadow during most of Act 1, we see his evolved form first.

and when Act 2 starts, we see what he was like before.

I believe this was done to de-fang our feral card master after having been our antagonist the whole game. Where once he was powerful polygons, he is now pitiful pixels.

But while all this has been happening, the real threat has been hidden in our deck this whole time.

P03 was introduced to us as nothing more than one card in our deck. He wasn't even a good card. But now it's Act 2 and we realise he, along with the other three Scrybes were trapped in lesser forms by Leshy when he took control of the game. For a whole act, we see something close to a status quo with these guys, who bicker and fight over control of the disc.

We see P03's true form in all it's 16-bit glory, as well as the environment he inhabits. While atmospheric, you can tell the graphics hold him back. He seems so small and pitiful. Simple and limited.

and then he takes control.

The first time I played this section, there was something so visceral about the leap. I stopped seeing P03 as an NPC inside a 90s TDC and was forced to see him as an entity haunting a cursed floppy disc. Once again, the artifice made me too comfortable, and now anything that felt more real than that became hyper real.

and no movie pulled this off quite has effectively as I Saw The TV Glow.

I am once again flashing a spoiler warning. If you haven't seen I Saw The TV Glow, do not continue reading until you have.

We are introduced to Mr Melancholy as the antagonist of a young adult fantasy series called The Pink Opaque.

Not as the antagonist of the movie we're watching, but the villain of the TV show within the movie.

Right off the bat, Mr Melancholy isn't even on our radar. Even worse, the special effects they use to portray him are laughable.

We see him once again as our lead characters stare dreamily up into the sky, further re-enforcing how silly this guys looks. I mean come on, he looks like an uncooked pancake!!

That all changes when Owen sits down to watch the final episode of The Pink Opaque, which was mysteriously cancelled after a cliffhanger ending.

The build up and climax to what happens next is one of the most harrowing cinema experiences I've had in my entire life. This is your final spoiler warning.

Isabel and Tara, the two leads in the Pink Opaque, are kidnapped by Mr Melancholy's henchmen and brought face to face with the moon man himself.

He looks... good. No, good isn't the right word... he looks convincing. The visual effects between the last time we saw him to now jumped a literal century, and combined with the crt filter hide any possible cg imperfections. In short, it make him look like he's really in the scene.

Or rather... that he's really in the room.

He gets closer, explaining his plan to trap the girls in a realm without magic or memory, where they will suffocate in the nightmare. Where they don't remember the powers they have, or the people they are. where you don't even notice the aspect ratio switched.

Where you don't even remember that you're dying.

and just like that, Mr Melancholy becomes the most real thing in the entire world. He becomes YOUR villain, he's trying to kill YOU! He's already succeeded in killing YOU. YOU are SUFFOCATING right now and you don't even KNOW!

and that's when you remember to breathe.

[andcars]

[ 𝗘𝗩𝗘𝗡𝗧𝗙𝗨𝗟 𝗡𝗜𝗚𝗛𝗧 ] Mondays in Monaco

premise. being carlos' girlfriend means getting dragged along the limelight. you're invited to a sponsor's event and the two of you split for a moment. a moment is a long enough of a time for his jealousy to strike up

tags #ㅤjealousy, making out, posessiveness, semi-public display of affection wc #ㅤ 1.1k

ㅤㅤFEEL FREE TO INBOX ME FOR THOUGHTS OR REQUESTS !

| MASTERLIST⠀TAGLIST⠀PATREON GUIDE⠀MONDAYS IN MONACO

The hum of the crowd buzzed in your ears. It was a busy night for both you and Carlos, needing to nurse in some sponsors for the season. You stand near the open bar, a completely full glass of red wine in hand. You’re used to these functions by now, tonight was nothing different. Almost so, anyway. 

Carlos is rather busy. The lights catch the glint of Carlos’s eyes every time he glances your way. You'd think it was worrying about your boredom but it was something else. Perhaps it’s the persistent man who had been hovering at your side for the past twenty minutes, his charm falling just short of genuine.

“So, you’re not interested in Formula 1 at all?” he asks, leaning in a little too close, his breath tinged with whiskey.

You forced a polite smile. Not everyone gets it, you reminded yourself. In fact, more people have just assumed you know nothing of the sports. “Not my favourite sport,” you replied, “much more of a basketball person or wrestling. Carlos has made me deepen my love for F1, though.”

Your gaze drifts over his shoulder to where Carlos was deep in conversation with a group of sponsors. He looks back and a laughs fall short on him.  “Ah, Sainz. Lucky guy.” He takes a sip of his drink, his eyes locking back on yours. There's a strange confidence glowing from him, it's terrible. “But sometimes, it’s nice to get a little attention of your own, isn’t it?”

Whatever that meant.

“I’m good, actually,” you told him. Your drink suddenly seems even more unappetising than it was earlier. He doesn't seem to get the point that you're not interested in this conversation. “You’re from HP, right? That's nice. Must have more important things than listening to the WAG talk about the wrong sports.”

He laughs. It sounds like grazing. “Nothing more important, don't worry, girl,” oh God, “You think you’re up to some drinking?”

Before you could respond (an insult was on your tongue), a familiar presence materialised at your side. Carlos’s arm slid around your waist, his touch warm but almost too tight when it should be soft. “Sorry to interrupt,” he said, his voice smooth with an edge that made your heart flutter. You can almost tell what's going to happen next. “But I need to steal her for a moment.”

The man’s confidence falters. His expression neutralizes as he straightens himself, trying to compose himself. Maybe the act of literally hitting on your client’s girlfriend was embarrassing to an audience. “Of course,” he mutters, stepping back.

Carlos doesn't wait for a reply. He leads you away with a firm but gentle grip. His strides were almost rushed, weaving through the crowd until you both reach a secluded corner. The noise of the event fades into a distant white noise. You're far enough to be hidden with some walls but the chatter of people is still present. The moment you two become alone, he turns to face you, his eyes dark with something that sends a gleeful shiver down your spine.

“That guy,” he began, his voice playing with shallow water, “has been talking to you for way too long.”

The excuse is laughable. You raise an eyebrow, trying to play it cool despite knowing Carlos’ pattern already. “Jealous?”

His lips twitched, but there was no humour in his expression. You try to stop a smile. “Yes. And you should be flattered by that.” He steps closer, crowding you against the wall. His hands rest on your waist, body softly crashing into yours to kill the distance..

Your breath hitches as his gaze drops to your lips. You can feel his breath against your face as his fingers twitch to have a hold on you. You start, “Carlos—”

He doesn’t let you finish. His mouth crashes into yours, his kiss demanding and relentless. You feel your body respond in tone with his. Carlos’ tongue swipes past your lips, pushing in for entrance to further claim you. He wants to taste your entire being because it's the way he wants to own you. You melt into him, your hands gripping his blazer as both of you disappear from the world.

Carlos is touchy. One of his hands strokes up and down on your side as the other wraps around. You return the favour by swinging a hand around his neck, feeling that thick neck in your skinnier arms. He loves it. A small gasp leaves him as his tongue directly kisses yours. The feeling of it is dizzying and heartwarming. You're fucking addicted to it.

When he pulls back, you’ve become breathless, your lips swollen and tingling. In his eyes, you can tell that the two of you separated not out of his own choice. It's from the need to breathe. You know that if both of you didn't need air, he would be kissing you for days. 

 “You’re mine, cariño. Don’t forget that.”

A teasing phrase was about to drop from your tongue. It doesn't reach his ears when a cough interrupts you. Both of your attention move to the man—yes, that man—who stands there awkwardly. “I, uh, didn’t mean to interrupt,” he stammers, his eyes darting between you and Carlos. “Just wanted to reach the bathroom, mate.”

Carlos doesn’t move, his arm still around your waist as he fixes the man with an unbothered look. It's as if he hadn't just kissed you like a starved man just for him talking with you. “You weren’t,” he said coldly. “In fact, I was just showing her how much she means to me.”

The man’s face flushed as he mumbled an apology and passed by the two of you, his footsteps a fading noise. Carlos turns back to you, his lips curling into a smug smile. “Now, where were we?”

“Come on, Carlos,” you try to remind him, “you have a lot of people to attend to. I can just hang around for a while.”

“Hm…” he fauxes thinking as he hugs your frame. “Are they so important to me as you are?”

Your cheeks flush but you laugh at his ridiculousness. “I'm being serious. Go out there and entertain them like monkeys.”

He huffs. “Okay,” Carlos starts to pull away and you're smiling—

The ridiculous man turns around and returns with another kiss, this one slower but no less consuming. Immediately, he wraps himself around you in a warm embrace. You unexpectedly lean against him, putting your weight to his. He's loving the way you have to depend on him. Open-mouthed kisses come to your mouth and he breathes out,, “Tell me you’re mine.”

“I’m yours,” you moan out. You feed his possessiveness and he is receiving it gleefully.

He mumbles the same thing over and over and you gladfully tell him the same. He's yours, you're his. He doesn't put your lips to rest and it's like the event doesn't matter. You don't push him away because you don't really want him to leave either. You're utterly whipped. Carlos smiles against the kiss and doesn't let you go the rest of the night.

@Delululeclerc @hiireadstuff @rtorresblog @Jamie2305 @yourmommyagone22 @nichmeddar @vannylen2144

FOOTNOTE ────── I WANT HIMMMMM i found that front pic of carlos and i just WANT HIMMMMM pls lord one chance... one... one chance....

[solaarbeeam]

electric touch - kaminari denki x black reader

warnings: none, reader is portrayed as darkskin, usage of Y/N

a/n: guys he’s my favorite (besides shoto) soo here’s a special fic in his honor <33, i lowkey don’t like this but im trying to discipline myself when it comes to writing.

When Kaminari Denki made it to UA, he had a plan to become a heartthrob hero, not unlike Hawks.

His plan was completely thrown off the second he laid his eyes on you.

Rich and deep chocolate skin, brown eyes that nearly made it look black, and an all-white smile with the cutest tooth gems dotting your grin.

He was done for the second he walked in the room. He should’ve known then, but he didn’t.

He’d flirted with a lot of the girls in the class action once they had gotten to after the Sports Festival, but most just took it as jokes or rejected him, to which he calmly bowed out. No need to be an asshole about it, right?

As Jirou made fun of his quirk again, he laid his eyes on you once more. You were scribbling in your notebook, humming to the tune of what he assumed was a Bryson Tiller song, completely in your own little world.

He lost all sorts of common sense when it came to you. How couldn’t he, when you sat at your desk looking like you were the one that hung the moon in the sky?

“Hey, Y/N!”

Okay, he’d gotten your attention, what now? Oh lord, he’s an idiot. How is he supposed to do this? Your tooth gems catch the sunlight, making them gleam in the classroom, and he immediately hooks his eyes on them instead, so as to not come off as rude or creepy.

“Hey Kaminari, what’s up?” Oh my god he could stare at that smile for days. The coils of your hair makes him stare at them rather than look you in the eyes.

He holds his hand out. He mentally slaps himself stupid, because what was he thinking, just holding his hand out like that? Jirou could make fun of him for this all she wants and he wont even blame her, because what the hell?

He really loses all sense of self when he sees a pretty person, especially someone has gorgeous as you.

In response, you put your hand in his and marveled at how warm they were.

Three seconds pass by. Kaminari dies mentally.

He had just electrocuted Y/N L/N, the most beautiful person in existence, all because he can’t control himself or his quirk.

At lunch, he profusely apologizes to you, one because he knows your hair is important to you and if his quirk actually did anything bad to your hair, he’d put himself six feet under before you could.

“You’re honestly lucky my quirk prevents damage, but in all seriousness, it’s cool Kaminari. It was honestly kind of cute seeing you trip out like that.”

You have no idea what you’ve done, Cute? Cute?!?? You officially have Kaminari Denki wrapped around your finger.

They have the Training Camp. He’s stuck with Mr Aizawa for remedials, because he’s a dumbass and you can do no wrong. The villains attack, and you’re apart of the main fight. Your quirk, called Bounce Back, allows you to take damage, store the impact, and push it back out to deliver it back to the opponent. It was a perfect offensive quirk.

Until you, Bakugou, and Jirou get kidnapped by the league. You, because you were fighting Toga with Uraraka and Tsu, Bakugou for conversion reasons, and Jirou because of her scouting abilities and super hearing.

He goes with the team to get you back. He’d never forgive himself if he had the opportunity to do something and he didn’t.

Once they got the three of them out, he ran up to hug you, not caring who looked or who saw.

You hugged him back, just as eagerly and emotion full as he did. He felt whole, he felt complete again, and the feeling of you hugging him back with just as much warmth and intensity gives him hope.

They get dorms. It makes his crush a lot harder on him. For once, Jirou doesn’t laugh and actually helps him.

It was a regular night, a relatively warm one since summer had started. He knocked on your door, sparks literally flying from the tips of his fingers.

‘Do not electrocute them, this’ll be all for nothing if you can’t get it together.’

You open the door, and once he steps in, he’s hit by the smell of cocoa butter and hair products that smell distinctly like you.

“Okay so, Kami, what can I do for you?” You’re taking your hair out, as he can see, with half of your head still in mini-twists.

“Call me Denki?”

“Pffft-“ He feels blood rush to the tips of his ears. He’s already fucked up and he hasn’t even started the segway.

“‘Kay then, Denki, whatcha need?” He’s going to die. He will die here happily here.

You notice his hands are sparking. You coat your hands in a pastel yellow, a tell tale sign of your quirk, and you take the risky move of grabbing his hands.

He practically dies right then and there. You laugh out loud, pressing a kiss to his nose.

“You’re cute, yknow that Denki?”

The mention of his name brings him back to the present. He decides to just go for it instead of doing the whole plan he made with Jirou.

“Y/N, will you be my partner?”

“‘Course I will, I’ve been waiting for you to ask.”

It seems that at the end of the day, when it’s all said and done, you’re the one with the electric touch, and not him.

© solaarbeeam 2024. reposts and translations are not permitted.

[heartsteel-heartbeats]

More dating Heartsteel Kayn HCs (Birthday + Halloween Edition! ft. Rhaast)

Brief mention of drinking, but doesn’t go into full detail.

(( Happy birthday to this silly guy!! 😚😚 )) ~ OBBY 💗

You’ve known Kayn’s birthday was on the 30th and not the 31st thanks to a certain K/DA member texting him at a very unfortunate time, but you did enjoy the idea of celebrating both days in general. Kayn, on the other hand, prefers the 31st because that is what he says his birthday is. It doesn’t hurt to just simply indulge him. If he wants his birthday on the 31st, who the hell are you to say? Don’t let that stop you from doing something fun on the 30th though. Try to take advantage of the fact he has a habit of staying up very late. As long as you two aren’t caught, perhaps you could get away with a thing or two. Maybe a little spray paint to liven up this boring alley right?

Kayn might catch on to what your intentions are and he will tease you about it and telling you his birthday is tomorrow, but he truly does appreciate what you’re doing. Any moment he can spare just to be with you is everything to him.

“Is this for my birthday? You know that’s tomorrow.” “Whattt? Of course I know that.” “This is for my birthday, isn’t it?” “Totally not.” “It’s totally for my birthday!” “It’s past midnight anyway! It’s your birthday right now!”

On the 31st, do expect Rhaast to make an appearance. In fact, it may or may not have been his idea for you to dress up like him. He thinks it’d look cool, and luckily for both of you, some people seemed to have the same idea to dress up as him. Of course, it’d be obvious to tell which one was the real Rhaast, but you? The media can just say you were just a “mysterious talented artist” who practically nailed the costume. At least they never got a picture of your face or even your name, and they’ll never know that you actually got help from the man himself.

Rhaast does eventually escape from the crowd just to go to you and drag you onto a rooftop to watch everyone else. Does he make fun of other people’s attempts to dress up as him? Absolutely.

“[name]! Look at that one over there!” “A for effort, at least.” “No, that’s too high! Bump it down to C tier.” “Hah! That’s a little harsh, don’t you think? Not even low B tier?” “Not at all!” “Oh come on, look at that one. That one’s not that bad, right?” “Ugh, more like cheaply made.”

Rhaast himself is pretty anti-paparazzi. Not in the “literally blinding in the camera” kind of anti-paparazzi, but rather the one that tends to scare them away quite literally. Popping out of nowhere with a loud “BOO!” and a boisterous laugh. Although in general, Rhaast is just really hard to get a good picture of if it’s not during a show. I mean have you seen him? Look at him go.

tbh he’d probably scare some kids too

Since we’re talking about Rhaast, let’s talk about your relationship with him. He loves you. In fact, he’s the one that pushed Kayn to approach you when he realized how Kayn felt about you. In a way, you could say this relationship is polyamorous. Rhaast still gets very jealous if he’s not let out to have time with you, though it’s not so different with Kayn. Both of them can get pretty jealous in general.

“You’re such a wimp! Just do it!!” “No..!” “Oh come on!! They’re perfect! You even thought it!” “Well-! Yes, I did! But-!” “They even love the way I work things! If you want them, you have to get them before someone else does! Have you seen how that other guy was looking at them earlier?!” “I am not doing it.” “What’s that saying? “The worst they can do is say no”? Just do it Kayn!!" “Ugh! Fine! Tomorrow." "Pussy."

Rhaast was Kayn's personal alarm that next morning. He wasn't going to let Kayn forget the plan. Let’s just say he was a bit of a mess when he finally came to you thanks to Rhaast, but when you said yes, he was ecstatic. Kayn struggled trying to keep a straight face when all he can hear is Rhaast yelling triumphantly. That was also the day you realized Rhaast wasn't just his "alter-ego," but rather a whole other person that only Kayn hears and lets out time to time. Well, you did like Kayn, and you did like "not simply an alter-ego" Rhaast, so it worked out.

He definitely tried scaring you a few times. Maybe he succeeded, maybe he didn’t, but he’s done a handful of things to you and others to try and get a reaction. Maybe you grew a resistance to it overtime and your reactions gradually changed.

Rhaast does let you snap some pretty cool photos of him which probably includes him doing dangerous stunts. Still, seeing him go do what he loves to do without anything to stop him was nice. That didn’t stop you from being worried if he’ll actually get hurt, though. He sometimes teases you on that. To be fair, he does this all the time and comes out unscathed.

Heading towards your next destination (which would be wherever they had agreed to celebrate his birthday) had to be done with the two of you doing in different routes so that attention wasn’t drawn to either of you, or to you specifically. Wouldn’t want too many speculations now, though it is fun to see the fans create their own thoughts on the matter. They were either entirely wrong, or they were so close to the truth. You were going to meet up again a few blocks from the location, and of course, he was there first waiting for you in a wall just to kind of surprise you. You were greeted by Kayn instead of Rhaast, and he lifts the mask on your face to give you a kiss.

“Hey there gorgeous~” “Hey yourself. Were you just standing in that wall the entire time?” “Guilty as charged. You’re so slow.” “Says the one who can walk in walls.” “Yeah, but you love it when I do it.”

Serves as good time to just walk and chat now that you’re away from the crowd. Most people, and kids, would be at home and maybe sleeping by now, so the streets are rather empty.

“Not that I’m complaining, but are you here because Rhaast is tired?” “If I let Rhaast drink to his heart’s content, none of us will be going home.” “Since when did that ever stop you?” “Yeah… But Yone won’t be letting me off the hook, so I’m unfortunately at a limit.” “And on your birthday. What a shame.”

Whether this is your first time meeting the rest of Heartsteel or not, it’s safe to say you get along with them fairly well. Ezreal wanted all the details, but gets cut off by Kayn who would pull you away from him. K’Sante and Alune are always fun to talk to, so if things get too rowdy, you can run to them and chat for a while.

You’ve spotted Aphelios taking pictures of some stuff happening, like how Kayn and Ezreal are still bickering which he’ll post somewhere later. He’ll probably go to you to show you some photos he took of the others a few days or weeks prior. There was even a photo of Aphelios and Kayn beating Sett with plushies and pillows (Ezreal took the photo). He’ll send it to you if you ask.

You know those little charms he has on his belt of Rhaast and his shadow assassin form? Your gift to him were matching charms of you and him. He wears the charm of you with so much pride, he loves it so much. You're even placed between the two he already had. No one would suspect a thing either if they see your little charm of Kayn. It's normal for people to have silly pins and charms of their favorite artist, and if anyone asks where you got it from, just say you made it yourself. It wasn't a lie after all.

It’s safe to say both Kayn and Rhaast had fun on their 48 hour birthday.

[bonny-kookoo]

Jungkook

𝐁𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤 𝐌𝐞 🔞

You thought you knew he only wanted sex. He thought you knew he wanted love. Who's gonna break first- and who's gonna pick up the pieces?

Tags/Warnings: PWP, messy sex oop, emotions, hurt & Comfort, major angst, minor manhandling, multiple rounds mentioned

Length: 2.3k words

A/N: someone send help I can't write smut no more I'm sorry

━━━━━━━━━━.~°💔°~.━━━━━━━━━━━

In the beginning, it wasn't supposed to be like this. Really- it wasn't.

Jungkook and you had been nothing but friends, casual ones that would mostly text and sometimes meet up for the odd takeout and drink at either his place or yours. And then, one day, it really kind of just.. happened.

For you, it was clear that he didn't mean it in a sense of 'hey, I love you' because he litereally told you so straight up the next morning. He'd stood up, got dressed, thanked you for letting him stay over, and made sure to tell you that this wasn't him confessing to you in a fuckboy'ish way or anything. That he was totally 'cool' with just staying friends and nothing more.

You had laughed it off. Had said almost nothing. You just took the hit silently, and let him walk out of your apartment, only to have him return a week later.

And the same happened again. You ate, drank, and end up having sex- and while this time it had been on the couch instead of your bed, it still turned out the same the next morning. He'd leave, thank you for staying over, only to text you a few days later if you wanted to hang out at his place.

And there too, he'd end up with his dick inside you. His bed had been comfortable, even if he lacked pillows for some odd reason. It was still nice. And this time, something was different.

This time, it was you who thanked him for letting you stay over, before you'd left.

The same game, simply with reversed players. Nothing new- it just looked like it. And now, after a year of playing this, you're yet again entangled with him in his bed, though he actually owns a few pillows now after noticing your complaints about his lack of them. You slept in the same bed after all, whenever you'd stay over- and while he hoped you'd at some point at least try to cuddle up to him, use him as a pillow, you hadn't. You'd rather accepted the sore neck you'd get the next morning, instead of showing him any kind of domestic affection outside of sex.

And he's not sure how long he can take it.

There's only so much he can do. So much he can offer. So much he can sacrifice for you.

He's unable to keep his hands to himself, uses them to push your wrists into the mattress below instead as he clenches his jaw, grits his teeth under the pressure of his own muscles aching already. He doesn't know how far he needs to go, how hard he needs to fuck your brains out so you understand that it's him who's making your mind spin. Him who wants to offer you so much more than just his dick down your throat or shoved inside your cunt. He could give you so much more than just purple marks on your skin, could give you a lot more lasting things than just a fleeting bruise.

You just won't let him.

And its agonizing.

He doesn't know what to do at this point to show you what he wants, because your eyes are always closed, no matter what. If not physically, then mentally- you don't ever look at him, never see him, all while he can't look away, has to watch every breath of yours. He knows he's not a perfect guy. He's got his flaws, a lot of them, but that can't be the reason you just won't love him.

Because in your touch, in your kisses, in the way you cling to him, he can feel it. It's not just lust and desire that's making you feel like this, he knows that. He just knows- but you act like there's nothing.

You pretend nothing is going on, you just keep your hands over your eyes and never spot the way he kneels in front of your feet, offering his heart clawed straight out of his chest. As if what you do is nothing but a stale job to get done, something not worth much more effort than necessary. A normal 9 to 5 that pays the bills.

And if that's what this is, he wants to be fired.

Because he surely isn't able to quit on his own.

But that's the thing- every time you give him the chance to leave, he just can't let it happen. And neither do you stay away from him for long either. If he doesn't reply to a message you send him for more than a day or two, you'll call him, worried tone in your voice while asking if he's alright. And it hurts, because he feeds off of those moments every single time like a drug addict, wants and needs your attention and has started to ignore you just to get that reaction in return. He knows it's cruel, that at this point you're more than toxic towards one another, but he needs you.

And it's clear that you need him too- you just refuse to admit that.

"Jungkook-" You gasp out when he pushes himself in deep, arms growing tired from the by now third round of lovemaking he's tied you up in. But he can't stop- he doesn't want to. The moment he's done with you, the moment he lets go, you'll leave.

And tonight, he can't handle that. Tonight is his breaking point.

"Jungkook I can't-" You start, but he instead leans back on his heels, pulls your legs over his thighs, before he pushes his length that had slipped out back in, hips lifting before he gathers the last ounces of strength once more. A hand on your cunt spreads the mess he'd made with you around, thumb pressing and circling over your red and swollen bundle of nerves, pushing you towards one last peak with him.

He knows it's ending. He can feel his muscles burn.

So he uses your limp and pleasure-paralyzed body to his advantage, as he moves his hands to pull your back towards him instead, having you sit on him instead, his arms around you, your face in his neck. He hisses a little at the feeling of your hand tugging his hair, the other scratching his back for just a second, as you spasm once more, core clenching around his by now painfully sensitive cock.

His last orgasm is empty, he's got nothing left to give-

and he notices the way you both shiver, just not from the cold.

And if this is the last time, he wants to be stupid- he wants to be selfish, and he wants to at least pretend for a moment while you're still out of it that he's got you. That you want him even if you're not just fucking.

His lips kiss the salty skin of the crook of your neck, up to right underneath your ear, as he leaves his head there, breathes in your scent. His arms hold you close, length softening inside you, cum and arousal leaking and causing a weird slippery sensation on the skin of his thighs. And then, you try to move. "Don't-" He mumbles, voice hoarse. "..not yet."

You're quiet, feeling a bit panicked. You need him to let go of you, right now. Because the way his hot breath fans over your skin, the feeling of his arms hot around you, the sensation of his body so close is making you delirious. It's causing your fucked up brain to come up with dangerously domestic scenes of a post-sex shower with him, where you both fail to stand up for long enough to get yourselves clean, so you have to rather take a bath and laugh about the trembling of your muscles as you somewhat clumsily make yourselves at home in the warm soapy water. It creates a dream where you sleep next to him tonight, only dressed in barely any clothes so you can feel as close as you can throughout the night, his heavy body clinging to yours at some point, raspy voice greeting you with a good morning the next time you both wake up. It paints a picture of breakfast together, of a playful argument with him about the muscle ache you both have from the excessive amount of lovemaking you both just did.

But it's not lovemaking. You two simply fuck- you don't make love.

"Jungkook, I'm all gross-" You whine, trying to push him, when you suddenly feel it as he holds you even tighter, face resting on your shoulder. He's shaking, but not from the exhaustion of his muscles.

He's crying, quietly, trying hard not to have you notice.

It confuses you. You're not sure what to do, so for now, you just lean into him, rest your own head on his shoulder, and interlace your hands behind his back as you relax. "Don't do that.." He suddenly says, shaking his head and leaning away from you. No you're definitely confused. "I can't.."

"Jungkook what's wrong?" You ask, as he takes in a deep breath to calm himself, hands wiping his face almost aggressively. "What's going on?"

"You should go shower now." He mumbles, not looking at you as he cringes a little when he finally slips out of you, sitting on the edge of the bed, before his hands rub his arms, muscles probably aching already. "Do you need me to drive you home?" He wonders, and you just sit on the bed, watching him.

It's silent, for a good while, until he finally turns a little to look at you.

And you've never really seen anything that physically hurts you so much as his face in this moment, heart dropping down towards hell, ice cold shock running up your spine at the pure exhaustion on his face. But it's not physical exhaustion you see. No- whatever it is, it's something else.

"Jungkook.. talk to me-" You try, but he scoffs, shakes his head.

"I don't want to." He denies, getting up to walk into the bathroom, where he turns on the lights and starts the shower. You feel oddly small in his apartment, weirdly out of place as you look around, surroundings unfamiliar now that you actually look at them. Have you ever really looked at his apartment? Or just the ceiling at max?

Then again, why would you? Jeon Jungkook doesn't do relationships, and you know this because he told you. Numerous times. So why is he so distressed today?

When he walks back out, you quietly wobble into the bathroom yourself, get clean and get out once more to see him already changing the sheets, angrily throwing the soiled one's to the floor. It's clear that something's off this time, and you're at fault- but you're not sure what you've done.

So you just sit down on the floor with crossed legs, butt cold on the ground since you're only wearing panties and a shirt of his you found.

"There's sweatpants in the hamper. They're clean." He mumbles, not sparing you a glance. "You can wear those. I'll drive you home in a second-"

"I don't wanna go home." You say, making his movements stutter.

"What?" He turns towards you, eyes all puffy from his earlier emotional break.

"I don't wanna go home." You repeat. "Not until you tell me what's wrong." You say, and he shakes his head, pulling the bedsheet over the mattress, groaning angrily when it slips up on another corner, undoing most of his work. You, instead, laugh a little, getting up slowly to walk over and help him.

He sighs.

"Why do you want to stay?" He asks, and you look at him as he braces his hands on the mattress, not looking up at you.

"Why do you never want me to stay?" You ask instead, and his brows furrow in confusion, as he finally looks up.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" He asks, genuinely confused. "You're the one that always leaves the moment I'm done with you." He accuses, and you stare at him almost offended.

"Excuse me?" You scoff. "Who leaves me while I am asleep after almost breaking my bed twice now?" You argue.

"You didn't invite me to stay, like, ever!" He barks back, now standing to full height again, staring at you.

"Well boohoo, didn't know the prince himself needed a formal invitation to stay in my bed after I sucked his dick!" You huff, crossing your arms.

"What the fuck is your problem?" He asks, and you open your mouth, offended.

"No, what the fuck is your problem?!" You respond back, before both of your faces relax visibly.

"I always wanted to stay. I just didn't know if you wanted me to." He says awkwardly, and you sigh, fingers playing with the hem of his shirt you're wearing.

"And I wanted you to stay, but I.. you said you don't do relationships and all that, so I didn't want to seem clingy." You mumble. "I rather, you know.."

"...took what you offered and never asked for more.." He continues.

"..so I would at least not lose you." You finish, and you both stare at each other for a good moment-

before you both break out in tearful laughter, falling into bed together-

for the first time, actually holding each other throughout the night, and many more to come.

━━━━━━━━━━.~°💔°~.━━━━━━━━━━━

[crescentpaws]

i genuinely don’t understand what is so appealing about gethen?? imo, there is absolutely nothing that makes him unique. i’m curious as to why some of you guys think he’s more interesting or more cool than FINTAN of all people. (i know fintan is still the more popular character overall but obviously there’s been a lot of gethen posting lately)

(yes this is a rant partly inspired by the keepblr sexyman comp but also i’ve been thinking this for a while anyway so. the comp was just my motivation to actually write this down. (though if i’m being real it seems like a lot of the support for gethen in the poll was a result of wanting fintan to lose, rather than actually wanting gethen to win) anyway here we go)

gethen is. not interesting at all to me. he doesn’t have a backstory or a reason for joining the neverseen or anything, he’s just There and for some reason y’all love him for that. even fucking UMBER has more lore than him atp and we don’t even know her real name or what she looks like (and she’s not even alive anymore 💀). he does crimes. that’s about it. i don’t understand. every other member of the neverseen also does crimes. gethen hasn’t done anything to set him apart from them character-wise. what’s his motivation? what drives him? what is he hoping to get out of this? i have no fucking clue and frankly it just makes him a boring character to me. just your classic “haha evil villain” guy that has absolutely no depth. and most of the things people think he’s cool for are things any of the neverseen members could have done. it doesn’t say anything about his character specifically. he tried to kidnap sophie in book 1? so did everyone else. sophie punched him? sophie would have punched literally any neverseen member at that point. he’s hot? so is literally every single elf in the entire series. he killed mr. forkle? fintan killed kenric (also, i don’t understand why people think he’s more “willing” to kill people than fintan is? are we all forgetting the time when fintan was fully committed to killing an entire species…? (+ humans count too) fintan has 100% done worse things than gethen has. no one ever talks about “gethen’s big plans”)

every time gethen has shown up in the series so far it’s been like okay… so you’re just here with your buddies to carry out a plan that you didn’t come up with. cool. meanwhile fintan is out here doing dramatic reveals and giving evil speeches. gethen has literally NOTHING going for him y’all i’m sorry 😭 even the way he talks is similar to fintan. like he genuinely has no unique character traits. who is this guy. he’s just a follower. and even if he IS planning on taking over after vespera & gisela, that doesn’t make him special. i’m sure MANY neverseen members have been waiting for the leaders to doom themselves. it once again doesn’t really say anything unique about him

the only prominent thing i actually ever hear gethen fans talk about is his fucking sword. which. again. is not a character trait. and yknow what? the only reason he uses a sword in the first place is because he doesn’t have a cool ass ability like fintan does. i actually can’t think of a moment where gethen’s telepathy has been remotely useful (other than in lumenaria, but his extra mental energy is a side effect of his ability, so it doesn’t count as using the actual ability itself. not to mention he had help taking down the castle. oh right and whose idea was that again?? and sure he read tam’s mind when he was with the neverseen, but that was because gisela basically kidnapped him. gethen played no part in carrying out the actual plan. plus… the neverseen didn’t even seem to actually do anything with the information they got from tam. what was the point of that)

fintan is in prison because he was knocked unconscious after grady made him beat himself up. peak pathetic sexyman material. you have all been brainwashed by propaganda!!!! /j

tldr: everything gethen has done is something fintan has done too/is something fintan is fully capable of doing. which makes fintan the better character. & he actually has lore. and personality. thank you for coming to my ted talk

[muzansfangs]

Hello. Its been a while since i saw that giant aizen requests in some bleach fan page i want hear your thought about this (MAN that's the craziest thing EVER but also its fun😅)

There is a community called G/T(means giant/tiny its sfw and it can have fearplay or fluff or even both)

i think imagining aizen in this case will be anyone's nightmare but still cool😏😁

Giant Aizen Sosuke and how his condition would affect his relationship with his significant other.

Starring: Aizen Sosuke x f!reader;

Format: head canons;

Warnings: fluff, some fear play and Aizen being the absolute menace he has always been;

Plot: If Aizen Sosuke was a giant, what would happen to his relationship with his significant other? Would his behavior change overall? What could happen to the world? Would his condition be detrimental to his plans?

Author note: It is rather rare for me to put the ‘author note’ on the top of my works, but since I am unfamiliar with this field and community, I felt like apologizing ahead of time if I have not centered the topic. I did not plan to write this request now, I have already written down a list of works with ‘TOP PRIORITY’ to take care of, but when the right inspiration for something strikes me… Well, guys, you know me. I have to write down whatever crosses my mind. As per usual, feedback is greatly appreciated, especially from people who might have experience with this scenario!

﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏﹏

• Aizen Sosuke is already a menace with his standard height. Now, if he was a giant, what do you think would happen? Oh, guys, world domination is coming. Nothing could ever stop this man from achieving his goals and I believe his condition would make it actually easier for him to literally squash down onto the concrete his opponents, seeing them as nothing but ants.

• Destroying things and enemies with a snap of his fingers became an hobby for him. He did not even had to wield his sword, most of the times. Thus made his confidence boost, naturally.

• Albeit he constantly needs to calibrate his strength, or else he is going to demolish everything around him, Sosuke mantains his grace and he does not need to put much effort into reducing the impacts of his limbs on his surroundings. It comes natural to him.

• Expect a lot of sassy comebacks from him, when Yamamoto or Ichigo try to slash at him. A shit-eating grin plastered over his face, he would literally swat them away like flies. Amusement rather than annoyance filling his eyes.

• “Midges are truly pests, don’t you agree, darling?”.

• Obviously, he actually becomes the Soul King and haa no qualms about anyone, but you. Always by his side, nestled into his pocket, he never leaves you alone. He can not risk his enemies hurting you, his most precious thing. Wherever he goes, you follow him. Maybe it would be more appropriate saying he would ‘carry you’ with him. Literally.

• This giant villain would give you the moon, if you wanted it. There is nothing he could not provide you with in his regular form. Just imagine whatn he would be able to do if he was a giant. He could literally eradicate the Eiffel Tower from Paris to give it to you. Your wish is his command.

• I believe he would be a little scared of hurting you. Stroking your cheeks and hair was not that easy what just his finger could break your spine. Sosuke was extra careful in touching you, but this would not be much of a problems. Years of experience helped him to adapt himself to the situation. There are times, though, when he would love nothing more than to hold you in his arms, nose buried into the crook of his neck. While it could be impossible to ever be involved into a tight embrace, Sosuke would work day and night for a solution: making you a giant too would solve a lot of problems after all.

• While you were frankly scared as Hell at the thought of going through such an invasive practice, forcing your body to transform into a larger one, challenging biology and human limits, he was a smooth talker and he persuaded you to let him try to turn you into a giant. He was a brilliant man, after all, he knew what he was doing. Also, the incentive of finally experiencing his hugs was enough to make you agree with his plan.

• Sosuke is not a man keen to lose control. Yet, when he does, his shouts literally make the ground shake and your body tremble in fear. You knew he would have never hurt you, but you feared his rage. His power, his reiatsu were amplified and all you could do not to evaporate, victim of a tragic and collateral damage, was running away as fast as you could, looking for shelter somewhere in your Fortress.

• “I will miss the tiny version of you. There is something endearing in having such a deep connection with you, a fragile being, that almost made me desist from committing atrocities” he whispered once, while holding you in the palm of his hand.

• While everybody feared him, you did not. Loving him came natural to you, his edges never scared you, not even a bit. How could you be scared when someone as powerful and cruel as him watched over you when you were asleep and got rid of anything that generated fears and insecurities in you?

AUTHOR NOTE.

Hello there! Geez, I hope that was not that bad! In that case, forgive me.

Until next,

X O X O

[tealvenetianmask]

can you picture western energy striker defiantly hissing "vermin" in the face of sure death? can you imagine the harvest moon one getting offended at the dick statue he himself built being made fun of? or letting sex jokes get under his skin after he p much spent the pain games seducing blitz?

Sweet anon, you responded seriously to a shitpost.

*Ahem*

Honey, you can take a joke about as well as Striker can.

*cough cough hacking fit*

Gumdrop-----

*sigh*

Okay, none of that is fair. I'd better respond to your actual argument. In most shitposts, there's a grain of OP's actual opinion. This one is no different. My opinion is this: I think Striker's character development in Season 2 is good actually. I'll explain why, and I hope I'll get around to all of your ideas along the way.

Point 1: I concede- Striker did come across as COOLER in The Harvest Moon Festival, but I think that "cool" was skin deep. He had a confident attitude and cool weapons. He could fight and kill a wild hellbeast and tied with Blitz in the tough guy contest. He had the voice of Norman Reedus for fuck's sake. The screenshot I used in the shitpost was a smear, which is a technique for animating fast motion, and Striker doesn't look dorky unless you pause it at exactly the right split second- it was a joke. Now, did that present potential for him to be a villain who was super slick and formidable all the time? Sure.

But was it representative of anything more about his character than the attitude he projected and his fighting skills? No, I don't think so-- we knew next to nothing about him. And cracks in his exterior were already visible in some core contradictions, which brings me to . . .

Point 2: He was overtly presented as a racist, self-hating hypocrite who was not as tough as he pretended to be ALREADY in The Harvest Moon Festival. I'm not exaggerating. I went into way more depth about this here, but here's the gist. He presented himself as sort of an imp rights activist (royals treat them like playthings, etc.) but also said that he and Blitz are superior to other imps and yes, like you mentioned in your ask, called Moxxie, a smaller imp with more typical imp traits "vermin" and demeaned him throughout the episode. He also genuinely had his ass handed to him by Blitz when they actually directly fought hand to hand, so there's that . . . AND he calls what Blitz does beneath him but literally works for royals himself. The fantasy he tried to sell to Blitz IS a fantasy that Striker IS NOT LIVING.

Point 3: The character development he gets in Season 2 is consistent with what we see in Season 1. Why wouldn't a character who represents toxic masculinity in Moxxie's character arc have a giant statue of himself with a pointy dong? A character who's delusional enough to see himself as a free agent "slaying overlords" when he's really working as a paid assassin? Who describes himself as "superior to most of his kind?" Why would you expect that character to react well to losing? Because he acted angry and called Moxxie vermin rather than begging for mercy (which he never does later)? Please. He continues to act angry when he's losing in Season 2- he just gets more unhinged about it as he loses more and more. And then he runs the fuck away. At the end of every single episode in which he appears. Because his bravery has a fucking limit.

Point 4: And that development is actually more interesting (and potentially scary in the future) than a villain who's just cool and unshakeable. We learn more about his fixations and insecurities. That when other characters flirt to disarm him (different from when he's the one seducing/manipulating), he gets flustered and messes up. We learn that he's insecure enough to need the validation of success, and when his losses pile up, he starts to break.

For him, breaking shows up as murderous rage rather than sadness because he can't stand to be weak. He's willing to kill Fizz and incur the wrath of Asmodeus just to satisfy that rage, just to sate his murderous hatred for someone who committed the crime of being an imp in a relationship above his station. This suggests that going forward, he'll be capable of unspeakable cruelty, motivated by hate, free from the constraints of morality and common sense. He will become increasingly dangerous and increasingly tragic. The audience wants to know his backstory (because how could someone get like this without profound pain?) and wants to see what he'll do next.

In short, Striker is an awesome character, but not in the ways that his defenders think he "should have been" based on his first appearance.

[fangirlanxiety74]

Oh u ate!! Yeah the way the characters are treated is kinda .. headcanon heavy nowadays in the fandom. I absolutely understand why some people’s interpretations of the text can become very emotionally charged and personal and maybe even biased, but we can’t really pick and choose what we see. Ted is an unreliable narrator yeah but Ted quoting Ellen saying she doesn’t enjoy the sex isn’t him saying that they assault her, it’s Harlan showing what a gross, twisted situation it is that the sole woman of the group feels that she has to give herself to the others just to comfort them (the way a lot of women are often reduced into sex objects or maternal figures). You can argue that Harlan writing the only female character this way is sexist but it’s also just the reality of how a low of women are viewed. Ted can’t bear the idea that she’s doing it out of genuine good intentions in any way, or maybe that everyone else is suffering as much as he is, so he claims she must enjoy it. He is constantly shifting between putting her on a pedestal, above them, and then seeing her as dirty for servicing them in the first place.

Yes the circumstances are unnatural and abusive and in any other context, Ellen wouldn’t have done it. It’s up to interpretation if it was all her decision or if AM made her a nymphomaniac (I’ve seen people say this but I don’t remember it?), the point is that it is a bad situation, they’ve all been stripped of their agency and a lot of AM’s psychological tortures on Ted can be interpreted as parallels to sexual assault imo. (‘He touched me in every way I had ever been touched’, I really hate how people sexualise that line as if it’s shipping fuel it’s literally mind r*pe.)

Ellen does it because she’s meant to be the ‘kind selfless woman’ of the group. The main message of ihnmaims is kindness in humanity and I feel Ellen and Ted’s dynamic, how he focuses his attention on her and how he decides to mercy kill her at the end instead of freeing himself, is meant to symbolise this the most. He treats her terribly despite her ‘kind’ offers, because he has convinced himself that no one would be so selfless in their situation. Near the start, she takes him twice out of turn as a thank you, or maybe because she thought she was using him, he assumes. He is so messed up guys and the text makes it hard to understand what is really going on.

The men didn’t assault Ellen as far as I’ve interpreted it. It’s terrible circumstances, and at most it’s dubious consent because she is clearly doing it out of a feeling of necessity and wanting to keep the peace rather than actual want. It’s sort of complicated. It’s hard to have a set answer because it’s all from the pov of an unreliable narrator. None of them are exempt from responsibility of course but like,, Ted isn’t just an evil bad person who raped Ellen. It was consensual but grey, AM takes their agency away and doesn’t let them have anything good ofc it’s complex and uncomfortable for all of them

Sorryyy I know this is a super long ask I’m tired and wanted to write down my thoughts. Idk if I maybe repeated stuff u already said . Again; everyone is totally valid in their own interpretations. I love seeing people talk about the characters with nuance and not just reducing them into easy to digest tropes (toxic yaoi tedam ugh). Part of me just wants Ted and Ellen to be friends because their dynamic is so messy and cool to me I just want them to be happy 💔 oka bye

Hello anon :)!!!

I agree with all of this! The fandom has become very fanon in terms of how the characters are written, or focus more on their game selves, that we often forget who they actually are! Hell, people forget that AM doesn't even have an assigned gender or pronouns; AM was given those things by Ted.

It's a little disappointing. I've come to notice that if the way we write the characters deviates from the fandom's interpretation of them, they get hate or ignored entirely? It's why I never really speak on my own hcs; especially my own ideas for AM. He looks completely different to most AMs, and I fear the backlash.

But on Ted and Ellen: Absolutely what you said. I personally read Ted's hatred towards Ellen stemming from him being jealous and envious of her. In his eyes, she got off "scott free" by being turned hypersexual and placed into a wife/mother role of the group, while him and the other men suffer. There's also personal hc reasons I have on why he's so envious, but to put it short: She got the life he wanted.

Now, obviously he's wrong, and is in the wrong to think like this, but that doesn't mean he always did or that this is his "true nature" or whatever. AM is constantly fueling these delusions and intrusive thoughts. AM is literally forcing this line of thinking onto him. We see him do that. That's canon. To try and take that away is just... incorrect.

I wouldn't say the men didn't assault Ellen. Because they did. But they were forced to. Being forced into raping someone is a thing. And they were. AM forced them all to rape each other because he found sex to be funny and something to mock. That's just the long and short of it.

Though, I do agree: Ellen is shown in the comics to have offered Ted sexual favors in the first place, and Ted constantly contradicts himself on whether or not Ellen does actually want this, so there is dubious consent involved depending on how you read it. That doesn't change the fact that Ellen was still raped, though. It just means she isn't the "perfect victim" that people make her out to be. And neither are the men. But they're all still victims.

Also, people forget: Harlan Ellison was progressive for his time, but he was not a feminist by any means. He had his own biases; his own ideas rooted in misogyny, homophobia, and racism. And he wasn't this amazing, perfect person the fandom holds him up to be.

ALSO THANK YOU FOR POINTING OUT THE MIND BS I HAD FORGOTTEN ABOUT IT. YES. THAT.

Literally. The way Ted describes AM invading his mind is so disgusting, and yet people wanna claim they're "toxic yaoi"? Like, it's a kind of funny joke once in awhile in a "wow, wouldn't this be so fucked up if it were true?" way. But back when I first joined, the fandom understood it as just that: A joke. Now to see people actually believe that is insane to me.

It's what I mean by 'the fandom is ableist towards Ted.' I have intrusive thoughts and paranoia that's very similar to his. I know and understand his line of thinking, and how terrifying it is. The fact that people constantly demonize him and consider him malicious because of thoughts he cannot control is ableism, and I fear what they think of real people who also suffer from the things he does.

Lastly, on them being friends: I think it'd be cute if they were, kind of! I love them as foils and I love reading their interactions from a purely platonic standpoint. Though, imo, I think what these two need is to have one really long conversation with each other, and then cut off all contact. That's the best case scenario.

It's saddening. How I view Ellen: She is not as perfect or innocent or nice as Ted makes her out to be. Not because Ted is lying, but because AM *forced her* to be perfect, and innocent, and nice. If they were warped into their worst selves, i wouldn't be surprised if Ellen's worst self was her worst fears: Being put into a wife/motherly role. Being forced into becoming the stereotypes that were rampant during the 1950's. And that sadly includes making her a hypersexual.

Justice for Ellen, justice for Ted, justice for all of them. None of them are truly bad or good people. They are just people, who went through the absolute worst, and I think we all need to be a bit more understanding of that.

[vellichorom]

You make rlly good rants / have great takes,. So. I was wondering. What do you think is the biggest / most popular stereotype when it comes to the Narrator ??

I wanna make a drawing kinda based off of the stereotypes people see , and I was wondering what you think. Is probably most popular :3

oh GOD, the biggest most popular stereotype eh? ironically asked just as i'm listening to the narrator's voice lines...

well, i'm going to have to go with something OBVIOUS & say that that would be the IMPOSSIBLE to miss notion that " he's hot " & people envisioning him ONLY through an attractive filter;

do i think his voice is attractive? of COURSE i do, i'm not made of stone! & kevan PRIDES himself in his work & knows a vast majority are INSANE about his voice, as well he should, he's got great talent!

HOWEVER, then going on to define his EVERYTHING based on this attraction is annoying at best & sickeningly irritating at worst.

it's SO obvious some narrator designs are solely based on artist wet dreams or banking on others', with the narrator's actual characterization being thrown COMPLETELY out the window.

guys your sexyman literally gets all pouty without attention & has the bite of a 5th grader, he would Not be as attractive or cool as you think he is. this ISN'T even exclusive TO people who make the narrator a handsome twink either! however, it is WAY more prevalent in that area, therefore we side-eye.

it just feels a Lot like others create designs SIMPLY based around aesthetics & generic appeal rather than... creating a CHARACTER, or recognizing the character that DOES come attached with the voice you find so hot. & then SOMETIMES, people form entirely alternate characterization for their design rather than canon, but still insisting that it IS indeed canon!

listen can we stop touting the funny clock 0ut guy as the Token, peak, & true TSP narrator design. i like him too but it's making me real upset now

IF you're going for characterization of the narrator that you want to be AS TRUE to canon as possible, you need to take a step back & realize this man is a manchild & probably does Not have the divine powers of a god & doesn't have to Look or Act as attractive as you think his voice is. even the most BEAUTIFUL aspects of a person can come from a deeply flawed individual & that's okay, & in characters, EXTREMELY endearing! insisting to make a character beautiful & flawless in every aspect just results in a very flat character that will ONLY ever serve as basic eyecandy, & only to a handful in the end.

beyond that, i can't really think of anything else that's as strongly stereotyped for the narrator beyond. you know, general fandom mischaracterizations methink? pushing his attitude to extremes with NO even level & misunderstanding his intentions. ...but at this rate, i'll TAKE THE most pathetic soft boy narrator as opposed to the absolutely physically RIPPED daddy narrators i've had to see a few times. jesus

& hey, listen- MAKE your AUs, MAKE your characterizations into OCs & such, do WHATEVER you want that makes you happy, i'm REALLY HONESTLY not here to kill anyone's fun & i won't ever resent you for how you choose to enjoy your blorbos, take my words with some salt; these are simply my dipshit ass opinions that some people enjoy hearing!

which, THANK YOU anon! may this new rant satisfy thee & help you with your project!

[bigbeautybigheart]

So I went back to check stuff and now I'm 👀 about how it all turned out

So who exactly WAS Zwijo at the very beginning of the series, hmm?

Right, this Cool Guy Admired By Everyone TM.

But as the series progressed, the dynamic gradually changed, and there's a HUGE difference between the Zwijo from the very beginning and the Zwijo from the very last arc.

It was not quite visible during S2 while Kuaidul was an active threat and he was involved in dealing with the whole situation along with everyone... But then Velgerians began going extinct all of the sudden. As this post is being made, we still don't know exactly WHY they were suddenly dying so rapidly, but my theory is: because their "role" ended. What "role"? If we go by what Kuaidul told Zwijo about Velgerians having been "born to fight endlessly", then Yudias ending the war in their home cluster essentially put an end to their "programming". Like, if Velgerians were more like NPCs, sims within a warfare simulator, what was the point of them existing if there was NO war anymore? Thus, their deaths were natural in that sense: no war = no reason for them to live anymore.

...But then S3 came and Zwijo was revived. Mind you, he was perfectly FINE dying in 98 as he thought that was it: his life reached its natural end. He was so ready to rest in peace... until he was reanimated pretty much against his own will. And as he was revived he came to a terrible realization that... he no longer was and could NEVER be the same as he was before. His "programming" as "The Supreme Leader of Velgerian Assault Force" no longer mattered as the war was over and he, essentially, lost his very identity... The only thing left inside of him was quite literally Void. And ever since the beginning of S3 he has been looking for ways to deal with that... to find himself once more, to gain new Identity. Thus his attempts to be Dark Meister's "Knight" and then serve Yuhites.

...But it was still quite obvious that Something was missing.

And what that Something was?

Yep, I called it all along: it's Character Development, LMAO

Oh yeah, and I know how CERTAIN PEOPLE looooove pointing out how Zwijo was "the happiest" when he was serving as a vassal to Yudias. But the thing is, WAS he really?? Like, why would this be the case then 👇🤭

What Zwijo has felt all along while being next to Yudias was SENSE OF INFERIORITY. I dunno, if you ask me, one cannot TRULY be happy if such feelings linger at the back of one's mind 24/7?

Again though, I'm not saying that Zwijo WASN'T glad that Yudias has finally grown some big balls (because, frankly, Yudias NEEDED that 😑).

The problem was that Zwijo also realised that HIS OWN balls... well, they haven't grown AT ALL.

And yeah, this part was NOT actually some vision from the future - it was Zwijo coming face to face with the harsh reality that Yudias has now officially outgrown him... which, in turn, made Zwijo feel some deep-rooted insecurity and jealousy.

After all, he was used to being:

But now he became:

Must say, that's rather tough for a dude who's so used to being praised and admired as the greatest warrior.

As for him being"the happiest" around this newly grown Great Lord Yudias?

I've always felt that this behavior☝️was somewhat weird. And now with what was revealed in 148, it became pretty obvious that the aforementioned hyper behavior could have pretty much been just Zwijo... coping? On top of that:

I immediately saw the parallels between these scenes. They're so similar... yet there's one critical difference: Zwijo is NO LONGER in charge and he KNOWS that. So, at the very least, the closest thing he could re-create from his past to make himself feel better was, yep, act as Yudias's Second-in-Command. The all-too-familar military hierarchy, the very thing Zwijo knew best.

And yet, that STILL wasn't enough. After Yudias specifically called him to talk about his growth:

It became clear to Zwijo that, no, being on standby as a mere Second-in-Command was NOT enough. And so, he acts on his previously suppressed impulses and decides to chase Otes himself. And yeah, WITHOUT even notifying Yudias:

Zwijo, overwhelmed by his own deeply-seated insecurity challenges Otes... and the latter knew almost immediately what was up. Cause, if anything, Otes possesses some INSANE level of insight into things:

He knew EXACTLY what Zwijo's most painful button was and he pressed it mercilessly, trying to get to him on the most visceral level in order to manipulate him and win. AND he would have succeeded as Zwijo was on the verge of losing it:

HOWEVER!

When I heard Manabu saying all that I couldn't help but think of this meme:

*nervous laughter* I mean... My poor boy Manabu can be rightfully called The Character Who Has Seen The Most Shit in YGO GR... both in the show AND in the fandom. He was called a joke/a clown/a jobber/a loser/Manabubu/an arrogant jerk, had his friends turn on him even though he was trying to protect them as best as he could (arc 5), was not taken seriously even when he was literally telling the truth (about Yuna being an obsessive psycho towards Yuga), had his mistakes repeatedly rubbed into his face (General Study). But still! No matter how many injustices, mistreatments, failures, insecurities he has gone through... he REFUSED to let them define him!

No matter what, no matter how many times he fell, Manabu just got up again and kept trying to do all the RIGHT things he could to help others. He kept his dignity as a warrior in his own right, cultivating his personal growth and THAT turned out to be his very own Something:

The Underdog of GR English speaking fandom, the guy who was disliked and ridiculed by pretty much everyone turned out to be The One to help The "Coolest" Main Rival TM to overcome his weakness and insecurity. How about THAT, haterzzz?! 🤣

Oh, and last but but not least: I believe these two (three, counting Damamu?) did not die. Like, c'mon, y'all SERIOUSLY believe that they would just let two out of the main five just perish at the very end of the series? Especially Zwijo who still has *cough* certain people *cough* whom he owes some sincere apologies *cough* for all the pain he has caused them with his stupidity *cough*. 😉😉😉

P.S. Btw, I also think that it would have been better if we actually saw some more clues about Zwijo feeling insecure around Yudias, but the pacing of this final arc is so horrific that I'm 🤨😒 *shrug* I guess this was the best these writers could do?

[sasha-whos-askin-racket]

I JUST REALISED I NEVER POSTED ABOUT SEEING ASSASSINS LAST YEAR ANYWAY HERE ARE SOME OF MY FAVOURITE DETAILS (in no particular order

BOOTH STARTED IN THE AUDIENCE. Okay so I was sitting on the second row, right? And like, they did the first song, and Booth wasn't there, and when they do the "hey gang, look who's here" bit, its Prop noticing him in the audience. And from behind us, I hear "you want me up there?" and all the assassins start cheering and beckoning him up, and he goes "no, no, i'm just here to watch" and they all keep cheering and he kind of sighed and was like "oh, okay" and just GOT OUT OF A SEAT AND WALKED UP THE AISLE AND CLIMBED ONTO THE STAGE.

and then when he shot lincoln, he swung himself down the stairs off the stage and ran back up the aisle, and the "sic semper tyrannis" wasn't yelled by him, it was yelled by all of the other assassins. which was just. a really cool parallel to oswald.

oswald firing the shot at JFK was done really well. like, the other assassins kind of literally FORCED HIM. like, fromme and booth were holding the gun steady so he couldn't move it, and guiteau was holding his arms.

Moore was incredible during the gun song. as always. just. emptied her bag by throwing the things that she didn't want and therefore forcing guiteau and the others to keep ducking out of the way of flying objects. apart from the shoe, which she gave to guiteau. and he just held. and then when booth confiscated her gun, guiteau gave her the shoe back and she was just waving a shoe for the rest of the song.

Back to Oswald, they had two different people playing Oswald and the Balladeer, and the death of the balladeer was like, they tore her instrument off her and started ripping the petticoats out of her outfit and forced her offstage, and then the guy playing Oswald was the guy who was the bartender in the saloon, so Booth reaches over the bar, grabs him by the front of his shirt, drags him OVER THE BAR, THROWS HIM TO THE STAGE AND RIPS HIS DRESS-SHIRT OFF HIM, TO REVEAL HE'S WEARING LEE'S TSHIRT UNDERNEATH.

When Oswald tried to flee from the assassins, Booth chased him up and down the aisle and back up onto the stage, and Guiteau had to hold Booth back from attacking Lee when he was calling him a vacuous vapid non-entity. Like, Lee was kinda curled up on the stage and Booth was standing over him SCREAMING and the others had to hold him back.

Lee was killed at the end of Something Just Broke, they did the famous photo shot, and then the lights went out, and when they came back up they were back in the carnival and Lee was like, freaking out and patting himself down where he'd been shot (which has like, so many intriguing implications im OBSESSED.)

Booth did kiss Prop, which I am willing to accept only because Prop also had immense sexual tension with Squeaky (she had all of the guns on her person, and the one that she gave to Squeaky was in a thigh holster and she made squeaky take it OUT of the holster herself and they were very up in each others spaces about it.)

Booth stole the Balladeers banjo during the ballad of booth because the balladeer was pissing him off. Also Booths death was done by the balladeer shooting him and dragging his body off-stage rather than him shooting himself.

FROMME KEPT TRYING TO PICKPOCKET MOORE DURING THEIR SCENES TOGETHER. AND SHE WAS NOT SUBTLE AND MOORE ABSOLUTLEY NOTICED BUT SHE JUST KEPT TRYING.

How I Saved Roosevelt was done so cleverly, like, the actual song was done by Zangara forcing his way through the crowds, and during the bystanders versus they would step in front of him, so in his verses he was just running back and forth across the stage trying to get in front of the cameras but there was always a bystander in his way.

they hung guiteau from the ferris wheel in the carnival. not particularly important but the imagery was haunting.

the proprietor playing like, davey and emma goldman and the accomplicaces/people related to the assassins was so clever because it really leant into the temptation aspect of the character and i very much enjoyed it, because even when she was being goldman or davey or whoever, she was still also being the proprietor.

[asingleshampdition]

Sympathy for Jin Shirato

In all honesty, I actually feel just as, if not worse for Jin, than I do Chidori; especially in Reload, despite Chidori being the most fleshed out of the Strega three. This character analysis will not include developments from Shadow Cry, as I'm not aware of most of its contents enough to include it. (P.S. There are no visuals because for some reason, Tumblr doesn't want to save with them.) I think the motivations of the three Strega members are very important. All of them came from the same background, as child experiments; and thus, we can draw fair conclusions from them.

Takaya wants to get back at the world for hurting him. He's a man who is very weak-willed, and wishes for death, as long as it means others come along with him. He's adopted this view in which his only purpose in life is to bring everyone down with him: as he's been granted the power to do such (in the form of Hypnos), he's under the impression that his life is meaningless otherwise. This is why he's so unwilling to give up the Dark Hour to SEES; he's unwilling to start over, because in his mind, he's built up meaning for himself. Takaya doesn't really care for anyone; everyone he comes across, to him, is either an asset he can use to achieve his goal (Jin and Chidori), or an obstacle (SEES). As much as I'd like to believe Takaya genuinely did care for Jin and Chidori, I can't see it. At the end of the game, Takaya becomes a cult leader; Strega had always had parallels to such, and cult leaders, like Takaya, don't typically care about their followers. Rather, they see them as tools, to get their way. From my point of view, Takaya is an irredeemable piece of garbage, in the games, and cannot compare to Jin or Chidori in terms of sympathizing potential. As previously stated, I'm not accounting for Shadow Cry in this post, so I don't really know how the pathetic wet cat man is portrayed there. Chidori's motivation is that she, quite literally, has no motivation. She finds no purpose in life, and therefore, doesn't really care what happens either way. In her eyes, dying just means she'll never wake up again, and the end of the Dark Hour? "Cool, more days to live until I inevitably die," is probably what she would've made of it. Either that, or, "oh no, Medea!" Chidori's motivations are so radically different than both Takaya and Jin's motivations, and I believe this is why she was able to break away from such a cynical, nihilistic line of thought, much more easily than the other two. The only reason she followed, and was loyal, to Strega, was because Jin and Takaya were similar to her. Other than that, she held no regard for them, and did not consider them friends. It did not matter, to her, who she followed. If Takaya had been a better guy, maybe with hopes of reform, she probably would've turned out better as well. The only person she really cared about, until Junpei, was herself; as selfish as that sounds. She considers Medea her only true friend, as a representation of how she isolates herself, in order to not be afraid of death. So, where does that leave Jin? I believe Jin, unlike Takaya and Chidori, possesses a trait that neither of the other two have: genuine care for the few people close to him. The reason Jin doesn't want the Dark Hour to disappear is very similar to Takaya's; however, as shown in Reload, this isn't really the case. We have to remember that Takaya, essentially being a cult leader, even before he starts such, is incredibly manipulative and charismatic. Think of Jin as a young, impressionable dude, who is at an incredibly low point in his life; someone who is emotionally vulnerable, someone who can be targeted. The perfect candidate for a potential cult member. Then comes along Takaya: someone who is kind to him. Someone who treats him with dignity, with respect; someone who is there for him when he needs it most. Someone who 'saves' him. Kind of like Chidori, I believe Jin could've fallen for anyone; it didn't have to be for Takaya, it just had to be someone who was kind to him during the darkest time of his life. Unfortunately for him, Takaya does not truly care for him, unlike the vice versa, and whatever kindness Jin experienced from Takaya may or may not have been an act of manipulation. Kind of like how cults usually target young, impressionable, emotionally vulnerable individuals. Jin was manipulated into siding with Takaya; and kind of like a cult member and a cult leader, the member would align with the leader's ideals. Therefore, I do not believe Jin's true reason for standing against the Dark Hour's absence is the same as Takaya's.

This is not to say Jin doesn't have a 'real' reason; unlike Chidori, I believe he does. His statements on 10/31, being: "If the Dark Hour disappears, we might forget everything that happened, won't we? / I'd forget you and Chidori, the things we did together, our time at the facility... All of it." I find this line an incredibly simple way of painting Jin in a sympathetic way; and yet, it's incredibly tactful. Jin values the time he's spent with Takaya and Chidori; he values them. To him, they're like family. They are what SEES is to Makoto/the protagonist: his friends, the only friends he's ever had, and he'd rather die than forget about them. The only problem is that both Takaya and Chidori hold little to no regard for him. I'm somewhat sure he knows this, and yet, he still chooses to view them in such a way; even after Chidori pays virtually no mind to him as a person, and when Takaya separates from him in the final stretch of Tartarus, knowing that Jin would probably die.

This conclusion does raise some questions, though; when Chidori sacrificed herself for Junpei, why didn't Jin say anything? Rather, why didn't he try and stop her? After all, he's mostly silent, and Takaya does most of the talking during the sequence. Strega's philosophy on death is to not fear it, as it is inevitable. Perhaps this is also why Jin does not show sadness when Chidori dies? To Jin, as well as Takaya and Chidori, they've accepted that they will all die someday, because of the suppressants, as well as their Personas. Jin doesn't view Chidori's death as sad, not because he doesn't care for her, but because Strega has already established that death is inevitable for people like them. Another potential reason for Jin supposedly not caring for Chidori's death is the presence of Takaya. As a cult member is to a cult leader, Jin is dependent on Takaya. Since Takaya only views Chidori as a pawn, perhaps Jin would take on Takaya's view on the matter; to Jin, Takaya is wiser than anyone else. I really can't think of any other reasons as to why Jin wouldn't show much emotion during Chidori's death, other than either one: Jin specifically referring to Takaya, and only adding Chidori in as an afterthought, in his quote, or two: bad writing. The first one I doubt, as I feel like Jin would be one of the last people to tell a half-truth (to Takaya, of all people, to boot); especially since his last name is Shirato (white door), referring to how he can't keep his fatass mouth shut when talking about important information with SEES. I don't really think the writers would make such an oversight; adding Jin's sympathetic statement, and then forgetting to make him sympathetic otherwise. Not saying it's not possible; it definitely was, considering the quality of the villains' writing in the older versions of Persona 3. I just find it unlikely. This all just goes to show that Jin could've ended up just like the SEES members, if not to a greater extent than Chidori. He loved the ones he was close to, and he believed in bonds, to some extent. Of course, maybe not in the way SEES does, but the point is that he did; and bonds are the entire premise of the Persona series. Takaya never believed in bonds at all, throughout the entire game; he's too focused on himself, so he's out of the question. Chidori doesn't believe in bonds until Junpei shows up, even with Jin and Takaya in the picture. Jin is the only Strega member who would go as far to die for his found family, the only member who loved his companions from the start.

The more I think about it, the less I really blame Jin for who he became. Like I've mentioned before, you have to think of Jin as a cult member. A cult member who was 'indoctrinated' by Takaya, because he was naive, impressionable, and a lost soul; looking for someone to love him, respect him, stay by his side, and 'save' him. Would you fault a lost soul, someone who is incredibly emotionally vulnerable, as well as naive, for being manipulated into a cult? Sure, you could view Jin as 'stupid' for falling for Takaya, but that's the thing: people who become cult members aren't always stupid. They could be the brightest, most mature person you know; and that's not the point. Cults target people who are lonely; who want love. No matter how bright, mature, talented, well-read you are; at the end of the day, you are not immune to manipulation, if the manipulators pull the right strings. I think that's what's most scary about Jin: his story revolves around how someone so bright, so talented, someone who was one the right track, who more or less had the right mindset about relationships, was thrown off course, because he was also lonely, naive, and lost. It's very similar to many people who join cults; his character, even in Reload, can be written off as just some cynical, Takaya-obsessed bomb maniac, kind of like how a lot of people write cult members off as off-putting, evil, and sadistic. I think Reload did a terrific job at exploring this part of his character, even if it was just a few extra scenes. Or maybe I'm just overanalyzing because he's my favorite character lmao, who knows?