#same if he actually tried to join the forum

[seaseren]

Personally I think if Alphinaud ever tried to go back to academia he would experience absolure burnout

[revacholianpizzaagenda]

Nuclear hot take on a possible motive for the Lund sisters. We know what they did (erase themselves from history) and we know they wanted to do it (they knew where they'd end up and were looking forward for Zigi to join them there eventually), but why?

It starts from the infamous "Luiga says that he and Kurvitz say that a certain forum post is is correct in positing that Dora is, somehow and to some degree, actually Dolores Dei herself". Specifically, the post says that there was a human Dora who was overtaken by something like an archetype and lost herself into being Dolores Dei.

As a secondary premise, it is possible that Noid was literally right when he suspected Dolores Dei in particular of being somehow not entirely human, an immortal of some kind: in the final dream, she mentions the something or something else of immortality, crown scepter and thingamajig that were "passed onto her by the rulers of late antiquity". She just might have already been around in Perikarnassis' time, before the isolas split. Like, separate from the Dora thing, the game tells us that Dolores Dei was chummy with the rulers of late antiquity, a good few thousand years before her historical relevance.

My impression is that this same... potential for being Dolores Dei... ...somehow... is shared by the Lund girls. Source:

similar if not outright same surname (after all, Jean lampshades twice that he's not sure about Ingerlund being Dora's surname, in a way that may hint at some upcoming twist),

the whole peaches of immortality detour (I'll leave the specifics to Estonian speakers but I'm told it's functionally the same as Dora's apricots, to the point that an older pdf had a stray "apricot" instead of peach)

and, most importantly, Zigi's omen of destruction as he meets Charlotte. She's flat out described as having footsteps that spelled the destruction of Iilmaraa, which just so happens to be where Perikarnassis was, bundled with its rulers of late antiquity (I can do the geographical conspiracy board on a separate post if anyone's interested).

I think that Dora meeting Harry and Charlotte meeting Zigi is the beginning of the same story, one that may have been repeating since antiquity if we take this literally as well. Harry and Zigi, too, famously share an archetype of sorts, by virtue of being overt, straightforward Kurvitz expys. We even have the same emphasis on their cool leather jackets. For the middle class girls, this contact outside their gilded world sparks change. But here is where their stories diverge: Dora eventually rejects this change and falls into the comfort of being bourgeoisie incarnate. The Lund sisters, on the other hand, emphatically go "fuck all y'all" and choose to annihilate themselves.

Sooo, based on these totally solid premises that aren't a stretch in any way whatsoever (source: my beautiful mind, also it was revealed to me in a dream, and also fayde dot co dot uk), here's the take:

By virtue of this parallel between them and Dora, I think it's... not completely impossible... that it was precisely this aspect of themselves that they tried to annihilate, maybe subconsciously. A potential they felt was so wrong that they tried to erase it from history entirely, just walking into the pale wouldn't have been enough, it needed to be scrubbed at its root.

[spiderfreedom]

idk if it's just me but I have never experienced the whole "guy tries to be your friend just to have sex with you thing." I tried to date a male friend once and he was not interested. I 100% believe it happens to others, but I guess I've been blessed. I have male friends who have been honest, reliable people in my life. My closest friends are female, but I'm happy to have the friends I do in general.

I'm actually sad that online spaces have become more gender polarized in general. I used to go on fan forums as a kid and while they were usually majority male, there was always a substantial female contingent. Some were 50-50 or even majority female. I feel like most fandoms I try to interact with nowadays are gender segregated - go on tumblr to talk to female and trans people, go on reddit for the rest. On Twitter people self-segregate with different follow lists. There's little overlap.

I had many positive experiences on these forums - I got to learn and understand the perspectives of people quite unlike myself. And I like to imagine they got to learn something from me. I enjoy being in all-female and majority female spaces. But I miss the small, gender-mixed spaces where I felt safe expressing my opinions, regardless of demographic differences. That seems to have entirely disappeared.

I suspect this is because of algorithmic engines funneling people who are likeminded together, and the general largeness of the internet now. Back in the day if you wanted to discuss [small property], there would probably be one or two forums you could join, and you had to coexist with whoever was there. It's much easier now to just leave and find people like you - to "curate your experience", as we're fond of saying on Tumblr. The post Gamergate/manosphere climate has also made gender politics in general much more insufferable and hostile.

If I don't actively fight it and seek out new spaces, I can tell that I end up in a bubble. My friends have only gotten more radicalized over time in whatever positions they previously had. If I don't do something about it, to try to join different communities, I can feel the same thing happening to me. All my friends who are not like me (different race, male, different political background, etc.) come from high school, where you mix with the general population. Everyone I've befriended since is someone from a similar class, politic, race, etc. to me. I find it weird. I don't want to be in a bubble. But it's very hard to break out when you're no longer in an environment that forces different people together. And the internet is no longer a help in befriending people who aren't like you.

[cosmerelists]

Who Will Be Odium’s Champion?

[Major spoilers through Rhythm of War!!]

Poor Odium. He needs a champion to fight Dalinar, and none of his plans have been working out. He tried to get Dalinar to be his champion, but that failed. Then I think he tried to get Kaladin, if I understood Rhythm of War correctly, but that also failed. And he needs a willing champion, so it has to be someone he can convince, and it needs to happen within the next ten narrative days.

So let’s write a list that will probably age very, very badly! Who are some candidates for Odium’s champion-to-be?

1. Moash

How Odium would pitch it: “Hey man, want to be my champion?” I mean, I feel l like this one would be easy. Moash works for Odium. Moash was already willing to kill Teft and volunteered to drive Kaladin to suicide. Plus Moash lowkey wants to die himself. Asking Moash to fight Dalinar to the death would be like asking him to go grab some eggs from the grocery store.

Likely Effectiveness: Not high, to be honest. I’m not convinced that Moash would win a fight with Bondsmith Dalinar--especially under the assumption that we’re going to get a big Bondsmith training montage in Book 5. And I feel like this wouldn’t be narratively satisfying either. Moash vs. Kaladin? I’m already sobbing. Moash vs. Dalinar? I mean...kinda meh, right? 

2. El

How Odium would pitch it: “Hey, man, want to be my champion?” El is one of the Fused, and works for Odium. He’s the guy who appeared right at the end of Rhythm of War and killed the Pursuer, if you don’t remember. He used to be Vyre. He likes humans. He wants Humans & Singers to join forces under Fused rule. So presumably he’d be up for the Champion business.

Likely  Effectiveness: Somewhat high. We don’t really know what El is capable of, but he appears dramatically at the end of Rhythm of War and the Pursuer seems scared of him. So presumably he is very powerful. I don’t know how emotionally resonant it would be for El to fight Dalinar, but I do wonder if that’s why he’s being introduced.

3. Nale

How Odium would pitch it: “Singers are the rightful rulers of this planet, and I am their leader. I am the highest law.” Nale and the Skybreakers have joined forces with the Singers, arguing--and they have a point--that it’s the Singers’ planet to begin with. Nale follows the law of whatever land he is in, and he kills criminals. If Odium presents himself as the Law and Dalinar as the Lawbreaker, then, well...

Likely Effectiveness: Pretty high. Nale is a Herald and has gone through all of the oaths. We haven’t seen him in many fights, but he has been fighting for a very, very long time. And he knows what Bondsmiths can do, so he’ll be ready for whatever Dalinar has learned. 

4. Kelsier/Thaidakar or Restares

How Odium would pitch it: “Hey, do you want to finally get off of this fucking planet?” I’m putting these two together because I think the pitch would be the same. Kelsier and Restares are both bound to their planets, and they both DESPERATELY want off. Kelsier also needs a body. If Odium could make that happen for them, would they be willing to kill one dude to make it happen? Maybe. This feels to me like a very Taravangian-esque plot, too. 

Likely effectiveness: Pretty high. Restares is a Harald, so the stuff I said about Nale applies to him as well. If Kelsier got a body back AND could use his powers, then he could almost certainly give Dalinar a run for his money. Plus, wouldn’t it be cool to see a stormlight vs. allomancy fight? 

5. Ishar

How Odium would pitch it: “Ready to take your rightful place as the new Honor?” I ran out of ideas and stole this one from Kaladin22 from this forum. Kaladin22′s post is very detailed, whereas my post is jokey, so I’ll just point out that Ishar believes that he is a god-king and wants to rule the land. If Odium offered him that at the price of Dalinar’s life, how could Ishar refuse?

Likely effectiveness: Very high. Ishar is a bondsmith like Dalinar, but one who actually knows how to use his powers. A Bondsmith vs. Bondsmith fight sounds incredibly cool. Plus Kaladin is heading to Shinovar specifically to therapy Ishar better. If instead Ishar decides to go kill Dalinar, that would break Kaladin. And if there’s one thing Sanderson likes to do, it’s to make Kal suffer. 

6. Baby Gavinor

How Odium would pitch it: “Do you want to get revenge for your father’s death? It was Dalinar’s fault, you know.” Once again, this idea is stolen--this time from PootisPoot on this Reddit thread. Gavinor is a serious and traumatized child who knows his dad was murdered. The idea is that Odium could pretty easily twist that--and that Taravangian-Odium totally would. 

Likely effectiveness: Very high. Dalinar killing his brother’s son, after failing to protect Elhokar? When the price of losing is just Dalinar’s own soul? I think Dalinar would throw that fight. 

7. Jasnah

How Odium would pitch it: We’re back to my ideas! Jasnah is logical and cares deeply about the greater good. If Odium could convince her that his winning is actually the key to protecting Roshar in the coming, all-Cosmere war, then perhaps Jasnah would listen. 

Likely effectiveness: Very high. Not only is Jasnah extremely badass, but I’m not convinced that Dalinar would be willing to kill her, no matter what. Whereas if Jasnah had to kill Dalinar? I think she’d do it. And I think she’d do it well. 

8. Zellion

How Odium would pitch it: I mean...we know very little about this character. I suppose it would be something like: “Hey, Zellion. You know that thing that you, Zellion, value above all other Zellion things? You, Zellion, shall have it!”

Likely effectiveness: Assured. So far as we know, Zellion has never failed at anything. 

Opinions? Take the poll!

[e-nishka-aosh]

Pass or Smash? Elias Daaé...

i am doing elias because he actually does have charisma (e-nishka does not) so i think the odds would be more so in his favor.

was not tagged, but wanted to join in -- feel free to do yourself!

quick facts

height: 5'9" (175cm)

age: sadly his 169th birthday has passed. he's 170 now

gender: it's complicated (in modern language, he'd be considered a trans man)

pronouns: he/him

sexuality: bisexual

pros

he will write you a custom music piece every week, at least, based on his love and affection for you

would profess his love to you in increasingly odd (but harmless) ways

he will braid and/or play with your hair, and you may play with his

he's kind of a manlet, if you're into that

he knows how to cook, thankfully, despite spending 50+ years in sharlayan

worldly and travels often, has lots of stories to tell and you can go on adventures with him

this would be the guy you'd want to marry for money(but please don't do that you'd hurt his feelings)

cons

unfortunately he is like devil's advocate incarnate. "i fully plan to leave this hill i'm not quite dying on once i get bored"

incredibly stubborn but also a little oblivious, which is a terrible combination

long lifespan...

he's kind of a manlet, if you want a guy taller than you

you will have to keep track of the finances because he really sucks at math

has a habit of appearing in places he shouldn't be quite suddenly

details

a gifted composer that specializes in orchestral music and operas. he writes under a pen name but is very bad at hiding it, so it's gap moe.

despite this he doesn't know how to read sheet music and has his faerie write down his compositions for him

he was married previously to a hyuran member of the sharlayan forum for fifty odd years. the marriage only ended because arthur passed away in his sleep... you will get bonus points if you are also a widow

was born in rabanastre after his mother decided to become a wandering bard. she married a hyur minor noble who straight up did not understand viera sexuality and gender but tried his best. elias took his name once he was old enough to do so

zero concept of money and cost. how much could a banana cost? 20,000 gil?

sexually: he is true neutral and will often do whatever is the most fun for both him and his partner in the moment. he enjoys being manhandled and also manhandling in return. despite this, he is incredibly loving and will take care of you more than anything

romantically: hopeless romantic. filled with so much love at any given time he has chest palpitations. he does not sacrifice his own personal goals for the sake of you, however, and he expects you to to do the same. mutual respect, understanding, and love.

[swap-cult-au]

MASTERPOST

[this AU is currently in the process of a revamp! Stay tuned...]

Basic Info:

This AU is a swap AU to the @cult-au-askblog created by @nashdoesstuff. Here, Killer, a college student under heavy stress, joins a cult that worships the God of Positivity, Dream. Dream finds interest in Killer, and gives more attention to him than any other cultist. Killer blindly follows Dream, thinking that if he is to Believe in the Light, the Light will give back.

CHARACTERS:

BACKGROUND:

Killer grew up in a strict household, and went to catholic schools throughout his teenage years after his parents realized his mental health got progressively worse. During their senior year, they opened up about their feelings and who he felt he was as a person, and his parents despised it. As soon as he turned 18, he was kicked out and told to move in with a friend. This friend committed suicide a year later, and Killer was left with a college dormitory and two annoying [and very flirty] roommates. Throughout freshman year in college, Killer felt hopeless, and nothing he did worked. He wondered what they had done wrong: they believed in Christ for ages (forcefully), given back to his community, helped others- why wouldn't anything good happen with him? One day, while working his second job as a waiter, one of his clients asked him if he was doing okay. Despite Killer's jabs at telling them he was okay, they didn't listen. They insisted he go to a "support group" nearby the forest, alone. Killer was hesitant, but went with it anyways. He had tried everything, what other choice did he have? Upon arrival, this didn't seem like any ordinary group. They all wore the same clothing lined with gold and a strange symbol on their belt. Shortly after, he realized he was brought into a cult's meeting by the leader of it. They told them to not worry, as everything would be okay with some explanation. They worshipped the god named Dream, the God of Positivity, because he supposedly gave his followers lives of peace and happiness. Killer decided to join, reluctant. After his second meeting, a prized possession of his, a knitted scarf, was sacrificed to this god. He also got a tattoo in the form of a star on his right arm. The scary part is, no tattoo gun was used. It was some form of staff, and it radiated energy Killer had never felt before. Since then, he's been hearing and seeing strange things pop up in his room. Turns out, Dream liked him a lot, and wanted to make sure he was "at his happiest." Killer was visited by him every night, and always ended up sleeping with a smile on his face. Maybe this whole cult thing was actually good. He's never felt better. OTHER:

Killer is an AFAB demi-boy who uses He / They pronouns. His friend who committed suicide helped with transition surgery costs. Killer is 5”6. He finds film to be interesting and an escape from the real world. He can just write something down and imagine it being acted out. The three languages he speaks are English, Spanish, and Arabic. He wants to learn more, but can't find the motivation to do so. Killer uses his name to mask their deadname. It was meant to be temporary, but they grew a liking to it. He is gay. Killer's text is in red.

BACKGROUND:

Cross was diagnosed with depression in high school, but later, after many therapy sessions, was rid of it. He was inspired by his counselor to go help other people, so he decided to study psychology to assist others in crisis. Cross met Killer on a forum about film design. Since then, he's been trying to help him, as he's noticed their tired look in appearance and some of the stuff he talks about in DMs. Though, he isn't as worried as they tend to talk about his family a lot. They seem like nice and accepting people!

OTHER

Cross uses He / Him pronouns. Cross' podcast is about real life stories, and how people have overcome tough situations. It's meant to be a podcast on inspiration, and Killer listens to it every time he updates it (mostly just to support him.) Cross is 5”7. Cross is bisexual! He has a bit of a thing for fashion and considered pursuing design for some time before finding the mental health field more interesting. He can sew really well! He has a sewing machine and makes his own clothing often. Despite his age, he's never drunk before and doesn't want to. Cross has dimples! Dream doesn't like Cross all that much. He thinks he should be the only one helping them. Cross' text is in purple.

BACKGROUND:

[short backstory here]

Dream, also known as the God of Positivity, is what appears to many as the bringer of hope. Little do his followers know, there happens to be a bit more to the story...

OTHER INFO:

Dream is genderfluid and uses all pronouns. He dislikes his brother. Dream is 6”4. He loves golden apples. He finds mortals amusing. Literally anything they might do is entertaining to him. His crown floats and the star glows. You'll go blind if you stare at it for over 3 minutes, alongside his eye lights. He dislikes shoes and wears none. His wings are made of light. They are there for show. Dream is polysexual. Dream's text is in yellow.

BACKGROUND:

[Additional info on Nightmare and Dream]

As his brother wreaked havoc on his home, Nightmare, in a last ditch attempt, found an additional tree that contained the blank apples his brother consumed for his power. When he grabbed it, he watched the white fruit turn into a dark, black one. Since it worked for Dream, it should work for him, right? As he ate that singular black apple, it supplied him with the ability to weave the shadows, with the price of one lingering his body. The shadow proved useful, however, but not for long. Dream's strength he had gained from the dozens he consumed overcame the singular one Nightmare ate. He lost the battle, and his home. Nowadays, Nightmare wanders the Realm of the Gods, trying to fix his brother's mess. He tries not to associate himself with the mortal realm as much as he can.

OTHER INFO:

Nightmare uses he/they/it pronouns. He doesn't hate his brother; he's fearful for him. Nightmare is 5”6. He feels pity for every one of Dream's followers, particularly Killer. Nightmare cannot take his scarf off. The Shadow is stuck onto his body, so therefore it's stuck to him. Nightmare's skull has that same dark substance on his hood. His hood is made out of special fabric that transfers the effects to it whenever it is worn. Nightmare wishes for balance once again. He is aroace. The more negativity there is in an area, the more powerful the Shadow becomes. It, however, cannot take control over Nightmare. Every time Nightmare feels strong negativity, dark substance releases from his sockets. Nightmare's text is in blue.

Other characters you may ask are the Leader [Swapped!Nash], Dust, and Horror, alongside Ink. Though, the last three aren't too different from the cult-au-askblog.

QnA:

Q: Can I make fanart?

A: Yes, absolutely! Tag me so I can see it! However, I would rather not see NSFW content. You can make it, but please do not tag me.

DO NOT USE MY CHARACTERS FOR HARMFUL USE.

_

Q: Will there be a comic?

A: No, sorry. I may write drabbles, though! _

Q: What are the tags for this AU?

A: The tags are #swap!cult au, #swap cult au, or #swap!cult!au.

Of course, the ask box is open for you curious souls out there... go wild y'all.

[opreaadriann]

Found your game today, and tried it out and really enjoyed it. I already brought up the trans name situation on the forums, which you so kindly already replied to and figured I'd ask the last few things here both to get your account here some traction, but to also avoid clogging up the forum post.

The player is able to get a tattoo, which is fucking amazing but I was wondering if it would be possible to get more than one? Unless individual tattoos and their meaning is brought up at any point in conversation, which it would then make sense to limit it to just one. But if the specifics of the tattoo isn't brought up, could you make so that the player could've multiple tattoos?

On the topic of tattoos, an option to have piercings would be a really cool option as well. Even if they aren't outright mentioned at all in the story, they would still be a cool addition if for no other reason than a head-canon of what your MC looks like. Again, having multiple piercings would be cool. Piercings would definitely add some extra spice for the players like me, who are going for the rebel without a cause / rockstar musician persona.

Height. Absolutely height. I want to be a tall trans girl rebel/musician who can tower over the shorter RO's, specifically the girls, even if I do feel like I won't romance anyone of them. At least not from what I've seen of them so far, and their personalities and past and present behavior.

And last but not least. Cigarettes. When you meet the clown that was our first friend, you can pull out a pack of cigarettes and hand him one, because you think he might find it cool. This option to me at least, seemed very out of left field since there was absolutely no indication the MC was a smoker. I don't personally mind the MC smoking, again it would fit her persona, but it might be jarring to some players. Maybe make it an option early on if the MC smokes, and if they do they'll have the option to pick this scene? Like that it's established the MC smokes, and as a result can be used later on in the story for other scenes as well, rather than just potentially being a one-off situation, and it could potentially become a cool story element to build on the MC and their potentially very different personalities from each different player. Because as it currently is, making it a one-off scene would make it even more weird than it already feels without any prior choice of smoking or not, because why would the MC smoking never be mentioned again if they picked this choice, because clearly they smoke otherwise they wouldn't carry a pack of cigarettes with them I would imagine.

This last bit isn't really a topic, suggestions, or request, but rather a question. If you join the band with your adept skill being music, the MC has some internal monologue about how you might be able to take over the lead singer role if you got trained in singing. Will this ever be an option? Because I would love to absolutely take over the band, as the main 'front girl' with my bass and singing, haha.

Hey, first of all, thanks for the name change suggestion. It really would have been stupid to keep the same name after the transition haha. I’ve already added the code for it, I’ll just wait to do a bigger update to add it to the demo.

Originally I was thinking of making the tattoos important in some way or another but It’s been 5 years and I can’t remember for the life of me what that purpose was. So yeah, I’ll add the option to add more tattoos and I’ll probably only talk about one of them or mention their overall presence.

And sure, piercings, why the hell not?

Oh yeah, height would be good for the character customization. I just naturally assumed the MC was relatively tall, but forgot I should actually give the choice haha

The smoking bit I thought worked well with the rebel/edgy persona, since, for example, the edgy type will have a lot of stuff never mentioned before ready for special occasions. In the cafeteria scene, the edgelord had food prepared from home and they don’t stay in line to get anything. But yeah, I guess I could explain better that our MC prepared stuff from home for occasions like these.

And, yes, you can become the lead vocalist for the renowned Fighting Rooster! Without spoiling anything, there will be a plot in the band where you’ll need to figure out who should be the vocalist. And that option can also be you.

[tokiro07]

How Styles Fit in Medaka Box's Mentality Power System

Over a decade ago, I wrote up an essay describing the different categories of Mentalities in Medaka Box's power system, and in that essay I claimed that Styles were not a matter of mentality, but ability

With absolutely no prompting or revisiting of the source material, I realized the other day that this was completely wrong and missing the point entirely

The overall concept of Styles is communication, the ability to impart meaning from one party to another to achieve mutual understanding. Unlike Skills which reflect one's view of other people, such as Plus Abnormals viewing themselves as above others or Minuses viewing themselves as below, Styles reflect one's approach when talking to other people

My confusion stemmed from the fact that Styles could be taught, and therefore didn't explicitly come from the user's personality (as with Minuses) or inform it (as with Pluses). Because anyone could learn any Style, the connection between user and ability seemed arbitrary, but upon closer inspection, that simply can't be the case

To communicate effectively, the Stylist in question must use a communication style that befits them, otherwise what they're trying to convey won't come across properly. The basis of a Style is one's words, their voice, so it wouldn't do for a Stylist to talk in someone else's voice, at least not without knowing how to do so effectively. In other words, the Style that one uses is a reflection of how that Stylist communicates in general; their mentality towards how best to impart meaning to others

Tsurubami

Let's take Tsurubami for example; his Style is Provocation, wherein he says something out-of-pocket, inflammatory, irritating, or just downright annoying in order to disarm a target of their composure. Tsurubami developed this Style on his own based on notes his dad left behind; in other words, he had to teach himself how to talk to people, rather than being raised on how to do so properly, and the conclusion he came to was to be a nuisance

Tsurubami is called "Lonely Birthday" because he doesn't have proper friends, and presumably this stems from not having sufficient social skills to maintain relationships. His Minus, Octopus, allows him to hold people in place and draw himself towards them, a clear sign that his mentality in childhood was to chase down and cling to others, possibly developed in part from trying to track down his absentee father. Provocation Style in turn builds on the clingy nature of Octopus by forcing the target into conflict; once flight has been removed as an option, the only thing left to do is fight. It's a terrible way to make friends, but it's certainly an effective way to hold someone's attention, like saying something stupid on an internet forum just to get responses from the "um, actually" crowd

Basically, the fact that Tsurubami can use Provocation effectively is because he's the kind of person who would say provocative things on purpose. If he weren't willing to talk like that, his words would carry no weight, and his communication would be ineffective

Nienami

Nienami's mannerisms are similarly cohesive with Contradictory Conjunction Style. Whatever the current flow of the conversation, Nienami makes sure to go the opposite direction. When Tsurubami tries to pretend that his father was a good man to protect Medaka's feelings about his death, Nienami chimes in to back him up, but in a way that is obviously insincere, making Tsurubami's words seem less trustworthy. Likewise, when everyone else is fighting Iihiko for their friends or their ideologies, things that meant the world to them, Nienami claims to join the fight solely for laughs, completely in contrast to everyone else

Even the act of her wielding Contradictory Conjunction is a contradiction, as while it's objectively the strongest Style ability-wise, she refuses to make proper use of it as relying on it is the same as cheating. She put in the effort to learn to use it and has the proper personality to do so, but in her eyes, its very usage denies the need for effort, so at least in a competition where a prize is on the line, she won't use it to win something she wouldn't have earned. This decision, contradictorily, turned the strongest fighter into the weakest

Hitoyoshi

Hitoyoshi was a pretty good fit for CCS in the battle against Iihiko specifically because of his own contradictory personality and status as well; Hitoyoshi is considered the most Normal character in the series, someone who approaches life and problems normally, using the sort of logic that any normal person could be expected to do. However, despite this, Hitoyoshi ended up being one of the strongest characters in the series, defying his Normal status and becoming a Main Character, gaining abilities on par with Abnormals and even choosing to throw them away for personal ideals over physical advantage

While "Normal," Hitoyoshi's decisions run completely counter to what one would normally expect in those same scenarios, and thus he ends up in positions that contradict his status as a Normal. Even his fight with Iihiko contradicts what one would expect from a Final Boss-level encounter; Hitoyoshi doesn't use CCS to deal damage to Iihiko the way that Fukurou designed it to do, he uses it to talk to Shiranui while Iihiko possesses her body, and then has her deal damage with Iihiko's Irreversible Destruction. Everything about Hitoyoshi's approach is contradictory to what anyone would normally do in his situation, and that's because it's, ironically, normal to be contradictory!

Humans are strange and difficult to predict; they act in ways that aren't always congruent with what should be done, what's the most effective or the most beneficial; they act in ways that contradict expectations, and Hitoyoshi's staunch defiance of everyone's expectations is perfectly emblematic of that truth. By being contradictory, Hitoyoshi contradictorily and earnestly stays true to himself

Yuzuriha

Of course, being honest isn't the only way for people to communicate, and getting across an intended message doesn't at all require that one be straightforward. People are allowed to lie and hide behind masks to get what they want, it's just a more roundabout method of achieving the same results. That's how Kumagawa acts, and while she has the least dialogue or screentime of all of the Stylists, I'm inclined to believe that's how Yuzuriha does too

With two Styles, 800 Lies and Metonymy, Yuzuriha is able to create a frankly absurd number of copies of herself and shapeshift. Not only is she deceptive about what she's capable of, but she can also hide behind thousands of alternate truths and false faces, even being capable of replicating other people's communication styles. She is the exception to the rule that you must use your own words, because she presumably specializes in using any words other than her own

This does seem to contradict her flashy appearance willingness to show off her underwear, but even those might be falsehoods used to disguise her true self. Sadly, Yuzuriha isn't nearly a well-developed enough character to delve beyond this point, but the synergy between her two otherwise seemingly unrelated abilities does give us an interesting window to examine her through

I think the rest of the Stylists are in a pretty similar boat, as we still weren't given a ton of time with any of them, but their visual designs and actions are generally congruent with

Momozono

Momo's Label Style is the simplest connection to make on the basis that it's the simplest Style: Momo is a child, an elementary schooler who is only just starting to learn how to identify the world around her. In other words, her concept of the world is tied quite explicitly to the labels she's able to assign to the world

I don't quite recall her having a particularly black-and-white mentality that would make sense with one who communicates through objective labels, but it would at least be a reasonable Style to teach a literal two-year-old before they've learned the concept of nuance, even if the child in question will quickly adopt a sense of nuance in the near future

Kanaino

Kanaino's smartly dressed design, with her glasses and pantsuit, is similarly appropriate for her Kanji Style, as it's the most explicitly academic Language Style. While she is skilled at manipulating the finer points of the concept, even going so far as using misreadings, hers requires the most straightforward and matter-of-fact approach. This gives the impression that Kanaino is the intellectual type, approaching conversation with logic and pragmatism, though I admittedly don't recall her actions or dialogue particularly implying that

Kugurugi

Kugurugi is the opposite, wearing the most relaxed outfit and manipulating homonymous kana via Misconversion Style. If Kanji Style requires academic knowledge, Misconversion uses a much more freestyle approach, allowing her to improvise based on her surroundings rather than needing to set up her attacks ahead of time (Kanaino carries stones and sickles for specific kanji attacks but had difficulty reacting to frozen gasoline which has a rare kanji, while Kugurugi was able to dominate her opponents using her environment alone). Her ability to twist words to mean what she wants them to mean matches her domineering and self-aggrandizing personality, able to make herself seem like she's always the one coming out on top no matter the situation

Kotobuki

Kotobuki's dialogue seems like the easiest to relate to her Style, as her Nursery Rhyme Style reduces her opponents to being children when she has explicitly admitted to being a lolicon, though this seems to have the least clear indication of how she actually communicates. She's not being contradictory, lying/hiding, reducing people to labels, using logic or free-wheeling it, she's just singing a lullaby. That's not something people do in normal conversation

However, since NRS actually reverses time, I think we can get an idea of what Kotobuki is trying to communicate: she's not talking to the target, she's talking to their inner child. She's actively playing on their nostalgia to bring them back to a time when they were more defenseless. Kotobuki lowers people's guards by appealing to their past selves. She's clearly the type to take advantage of a child, being wiling to put children in harm's way to protect herself, so this gives the impression that she's a manipulative person, one who knows how to use one's own memories against them. It didn't have to be through song, but lullaby's have an extremely clear association with infancy that makes communicating that message much simpler

Fukurou

With how well the Styles fit thematically with their Stylists, one could conjecture that Fukurou developed each Style for the Stylists while training them. However, in true Nisio Isin fashion, if you look at the collective abilities and their users' personalities, you see a pretty clear throughline between them and everything we know about Fukurou himself

The Kanji Style seems likely to have been the first Style that Fukurou developed, since Fukurou is an academic and likely needed something straightforward as the starting point for everything else. It's not tied to his personality per se, but it does line up with his circumstances and logically lead into the rest, which all do relate to his personality and plan

Fukurou's entire character is based on his obsession with his sister, Hato, and his twisted philosophy about love. Fukurou loved his sister, but her personality was so strong that it overwhelmed him. Instead of learning to accept her for who she was, he decided that the only correct way to respond was to create a fake Hato. To create a lie. In the interest of diluting the personality that he supposedly loved so much (Contradictory Conjunction), he developed a litany (800 Lies) of contingency plans (like how Kanaino preps to use her Kanji) to create and groom children (Nursery Rhyme) who are categorically adjacent (Metonomy) to Hato so that he can project her identity (Label) onto them based on the surface-level similarities they share with her (Misconversion)

Some of these are a little more of a stretch than others, but the main point is that while the Styles are meant to represent effective methods of establishing communication between people, Fukurou's character utilizes the base concepts of each of them in a way that demonstrates how manipulative of and disinterested in others he is, ironically making him a terrible Stylist. Fittingly, this leads into him being one-shotted by an accidental surprise attack, as he was never going to be able to sympathize with or understand Iihiko in the first place

Upon his death though, we get the true culmination of Fukurou's personality and mentality: Testament Style. Petulant and self-important, Fukurou decides that if he can't fulfill his goal before his demise, everyone's going down with him. If he can't be with Hato (or even the illusion of her), then the world holds absolutely no value to him, a message he very overtly sends by literally dropping the Moon on the Earth

This is also the final proof of the flaw in his plan, as his distinct disinterest in people runs entirely counter to Medaka, who loves people. Hato was a cynical and arguably hateful person, which Fukurou interpreted as the element of her personality that most contributed to her overbearing nature. When he introduced Hato to Kaijiki, a polygamist, Fukurou thought he would curb her intensity with love, not realizing that that intensity would be applied to her love. The more Fukurou tried to manipulate the situation to create his ideal version of Hato, the more he concentrated the elements that were incompatible with him because he simply couldn't sympathize or fathom where they came from

Medaka

Finally, this leads us to Medaka herself. Sadly, she doesn't get a specific named Style, but her usage of the basic techniques help us get a clearer idea of how it works at all

At their core, Styles are vibrations, wave patterns that carry information between points a and b. When she first realizes this, Medaka tries directly manipulating the vibrations themselves without trying to understand or sympathize with Iihiko, instead simply throwing herself at him and getting killed by the recoil. It's only once she understands the nuances of the human heart, or rather understands how little she understands, that she's able to truly consider others' perspectives and communicate her own viewpoint to them

When she strikes Iihiko, she's very literally speaking with her fists. The action itself is the message, and Iihiko's willingness to accept that message is why it manages to reach him...the first time

After Iihiko sees Medaka's Kurokami Final once, he understands the message and the technique itself, and flat-out rejects the communication on the second attempt. He closes his heart to it and shuts it down, only becoming receptive to further messages when he becomes confused as to why everyone pushes themselves to hard to oppose him. Whether it's his curiosity or the fact that Hitoyoshi was targeting Shiranui and not Iihiko that leaves him open to the message, I'm not exactly sure, but I think it stands to reason that participation is a vital element in communication and the Styles themselves

Conclusion

Provocation forces participation, simply speaking the same language facilitates participation, and rage closes off participation. The rules of the Styles honestly make for a very compelling power system that the Abnormalities and Mentalities alone don't quite manage on their own. The synergy, the communication, between those two halves of the series makes for a more complete power system once you know how they're meant to interact

I think the issue, or at least the weakness, of how Styles were presented is that they were only around for a short time and didn't get to be explored beyond showing off each of them exactly once. We didn't get to see how they interacted with each other or with various Pluses and Minuses; the Stylists, by and large, didn't impart specific messages to their opponents, they just fought them normally for the sake of delaying or beating them

The only character we really needed to see the Styles overcome was Iihiko, as he was immune to Abnormal Skills, which certainly highlighted the value of the Styles, but I think what we needed to see was how Styles helped Abnormals/Minuses/Not Equals connect with others. If the Stylists were explicitly established as Normals, Specials, or even Abnormals, we could have seen more of that key function in action, but instead they were relegated to being the sole weakness of a character who is categorically and ambiguously distinct from the rest of the power system. Iihiko being given any defining status, even if he was just a unique form of Not Equal, would have helped clarify this misunderstanding much earlier

I really like the Style system, and while it's a bit bland, I like the Mentality system too, but seeing how they work when actually pitted against each other, I see a lot of potential that Nisio either wasn't able to or chose not to fully develop for whatever reason. I don't think Nisio ever really delved into power systems previously, using pretty vague magic in Bakemonogatari and equipment/technique-based abilities in Katanagatari, so I think this was his first genuine attempt at the concept. If ever given the chance again, I hope that Nisio will find a way to make something more clearly cohesive and take the time to explore it from day one rather than waiting until the final 50 chapters

[kitsumidori]

Remember when I mentioned a code monkey that created Moss's AI? Well here she is!

Technic/25/♀️

Technic was originally a programmer for Tediore, specifically she's tasked with making simple ai's for their weapons. However, she'd rather be making more advanced ai's, ones that can grow and develop instead of having "kill the enemy" as their only thought, this leads her to develop Moss in secretly.

One day, she suffered a mental breakdown and desperately wanted out. After (constantly) hearing the C.O.V's propaganda and seeing her other coworkers quitting and joining the cult, she decided to do the same (except the cult part) and go into the vault hunter business along with Moss

Weapons on hand

Deluxe Baby Maker++: Was actually a gift from a coworker who ended up as her only friend. Tech hopes he is doing well.

Premium Frozen Polybius: She actually stole it from a Tediore warehouse shortly before she left

Engulfing Vicious Oger: Found it on the outskirts of nowhere. Oddly enough, it showed up after one of the twins was defeated

Popular Bitch: Like with the Oger, Tech found it in the middle of nowhere, and like the Oger, it showed up when the other twin was defeated.

Mics

Despite her main inspiration being the C.O.V's propaganda, she detest the cult and there so called "gods"

It didn't help that she intentionally put a huge target on her after one of the C.O.V's live stream. She kicked Troy's ass in a video game, called their videos "amiture-ish and hard to watch" and signed off with calling the twins "false gods"

Hates Troy with a passion after hearing that he tried to leach Maya, but he was stopped before he could do some lasting damage.

(She later found out that she's right and that the Calypso's were never siren's but are vault touched)

She is actually part of a galaxy wide fan club called the Follower of the Blight Phoenix. Her arm tattoo is her show off loyalty

Despite the name, the fan club actually focuses on the 6 vault hunters that took down and killed Handsome Jack

Once she got to meet them, she claimed up and nervously shouted that she'll do anything for them. Polish and enhance their weapons, get them refreshments, she'll even babysit Maya and Krieg's kids for them.

Terrible at socializing. Besides that coworker and Moss, she can barely hold or start a conversation with anyone.

Found this weird alien "mask" after first arriving at Pandora, she thought it was cool and kept it since.

Technic is not her real name, it's a name she goes by on online forums but has used it as a fake name when she became a vault hunter.

[princess-viola]

There's this guy who got permabanned from this online game/web forum I play called NationStates almost 11 years ago and I genuinely feel bad for the guy.

To try and explain what happened with this guy and why I feel bad for him, here's four simple things you need to know about NationStates:

You are allowed to have multiple accounts on this game

One punishment that can be meted out for rulebreaking is DEAT, which means that the nation that you broke the rule with is deleted (it may or may not accompany a temporary ban)

The ultimate punishment is DOS (delete-on-sight), which is a permaban. You try and sneak back on after you've been made DOS? You don't even get a warning, if the mods find out that it's you - your account is deleted. Find somewhere else to play.

The mods generally don't police roleplay or roleplay quality (so long as it's not rulebreaking or deliberately spammy low-quality RP)

The guy I'm talking about (I'm not going to say his nation name[s] because it's crazy easy to actually find some of his online profiles with his real name by searching his NS name) first joined NS in 2004, so several years before I joined (I joined in September 2008, for the record) and became known for the poor quality of his roleplaying. Now, poor quality RPing isn't anything unusual on NS but this guy completely refused to improve or learn and would constantly get into arguments with other players.

This eventually lead to the mods making a very unique decision regarding this player, especially after his original account was DEATed in 2007.

You see, it's pretty common for players who have their nation DEATed to just make a new account and treat it as the same as their previous nation. Which is fair enough, why start over with your lore and stuff that you've been working on.

But with this guy, on account of all the rulebreaking, flaming, and arguments that would happen with his RPs, the mods made the decision: his original nation did not exist. It was a straight up mod-ordered retcon. He could not mention his original nation, RP as his original nation, or do anything with it. It did not, does not, and will not exist in the NationStates multiverse. (This was also done to try and give him a fair shot at starting over as, by this point, he was known as one of the worst RPers on the site - but if you prohibit him from mentioning or doing anything with his infamous original nations, accusations of him being that original account are just speculation and not 'Yeah he's admitted to being him.'

Anyways, after a few more years of his continued poor RPing, trolling, and other rulebreaking (including apparently him once threatening a lawsuit against the site), in early 2012 the mods finally had enough of him and made him DOS and permabanned him from the site.

Now, why would I feel bad for someone like this? I'll tell you why: because this dude is completely and utterly convinced that the reason for his banning wasn't because of his 8 years of poor RPing, rulebreaking, and just being a general nuisance.

No, he thinks that the mods banned him because he's autistic and that they run a cyberbullying clique dedicated both to harassing him into silence whenever he tries to inform people of the 'truth' about NationStates and to banning any and all players with autism and mental disabilities from the site.

If you think I'm joking, I'm genuinely not. I'm obviously not going to link to any of this shit, but I once found his DeviantArt page and he had stuff on it like saying if you buy the book Jennifer Government (the book NationStates is meant to promote) then you're supporting Nazism, terrorism, and cyberbullying, posted a screenshot of a post on the NS forums which he said was 'proof' of the cyberbullying conspiracy against him (it was literally a post by a moderator after he had snuck back on the site and spammed the boards just saying this was a 'former user with mental health issues' or something like that), etc. He's even made online petitions to try and shut down the site for being a den of cyberbullies and he and his family once found the personal Facebook page of one of the NS mods and started harassing them.

Hell, I've interacted with this guy once before. To be clear here: I did not initiate the contact or harass him or anything like that. But he made a post on the unofficial NationStates subreddit a couple years ago (I believe it was October 2021, don't quote me on that) that was basically him talking about how people should stop using the site because it's full of cyberbullies who have been harassing him for years and I just made a simple reply explaining who this guy was, why he was actually banned, and how he's been at this for then-nearly 10 years. The worst I said was 'You're still at this shit?'

Naturally, he just accused me (and another user who also is familiar with him) of being part of the NS cyberbullying clique and asked how many rubles they were paying me in Google Translated Russian.

But really, regardless of everything else, I genuinely do feel bad for him. This guy is in his mid-30s and continues to think that he was banned from NationStates for being autistic and that the NS mods try and harass him in order to silence him. When in reality - almost no one cares about him. Long-time moderators and players around from when he was active will obviously remember him and know of him, but everyone else? He is at best just used as an example when people talk about 'infamous NSers' (and he's far from unique in that regard). That's it.

In a way, perhaps that's best. I can imagine an alternate universe where there actually was a cyberbullying and trolling campaign against him that led to him becoming an 'lolcow', but that didn't happen. And I'd rather someone just imagine that they've been harassed and cyberbullied for years rather than them having actually been harassed and cyberbullied for years (of course, them not imagining this at all would be the best option, but of the two I mean)

[ladyswillmart]

Some Notes

On one hand I should have probably come up with a seriously developed, well fleshed-out Avatar for my Serpent Isle adventures rather than just go with the same character I’ve been using for over a decade. I didn’t think twice about it, TBH, and I’m like “Well if I’m gonna use Giselle for this, I should at least try to develop HER a little” so now she’s an ex-Shepherd named Giselle Gizzard and my brain WILL NOT LET ME CHANGE ANY OF THIS so here we are 🤷‍♀️

As for Serpent Isle I always preferred your mostly temporary, kinda derelict companions that join you in this game over the traditional Shamino/Dupre/Iolo trifecta that’s forced upon you so that’s why I’m writing these stories I guess. Not all of these "adventures” are possible in a legitimate game (e.g., Stefano never rejoins after Freedom, Morty gets zapped to ???* immediately after he joins, Sethys gets dusted due to Inexorable Forward March of Time, &c.) but I made the bold executive narrative decision to just not give a rat’s ass about all that 🤷‍♀️

The 🤷‍♀️ emote is doing a lot of heavy lifting here but I figure... MAYBE three or four people will ever read these stories anyway and this is a VERY generous estimate. I still want to come up with a custom tag for them though so I can easily find them when the time comes to relocate all this nonsense on to my as-of-yet barely extant Neocities page.

(* I swear to god I remember reading something, probably a now-extinct forum post about a non-canon shard in UO where Morty actually came back but he was like Rude now and he tried to run for mayor of Britain under the platform that everyone should just die because it’s a lot easier to govern over a pile of corpses, and I don’t know how true any of this was or how accurate my memory is or where I even saw it in the first place but regardless it’s funny as hell and for the record he has my vote)

[missjessefantastico]

Misty Quigley has CANONICALLY:

amputated a man's leg with an axe (note: this is the sanest thing she has ever done)

got in a plane crash and proceeded to knowingly destroy their only chance to be rescued because her first aid skills got her positive attention

became obsessed with the gay man whose leg she cut with an axe

she was basically enacting her nurse romance fantasies despite the dude really not wanting her attention

she sneakily hurts him more so she can "help him" more

attempted to assault this man while he was asleep

poisoned his tea

only calmed down bc he pretended to like her back

emotionally blackmails him into being her date to doomcoming

decides to drug him with shrooms so he will loosen up

ends up drugging everyone at doomcoming

when he comes out she's mad bc he "tricked her into falling in love with him"

she's no longer allowed near food bc she will drug everyone again

is a cannibal

like, she literally ate human flesh and then proceeded to suggest they turned the body into stew so it would last longer

performed a monologue about a dead baby as her gift for her pregnant teammate

makes her first friend ever and proceeds to threaten to kill her and then corner her until she falls off a cliff

pretends she and her friend got separated during a snow storm instead of... you know... saying she killed her

the gay guy she was obsessed with? he tried to commit suicide and she threatened to tell everybody that he's gay + the father of her teammate's baby id he did it

participated in a ritual sacrifice to cure a different teammate

allowed a literal middle schooler to drown in a frozen lake as a part of the sacrifice and only reached for him when he was dead so they could eat him (he wasn't even the sacrifice)

25 years later becomes a nurse for the elderly and doesn't give a patient her pills bc she upset her

lists all her kinks during a first date

pretends her car doesnt work so her date will go home with her even though he clearly doesnt want to be in the date anymore

has a reddit account

she mostly posts in a forum where citizens try to solve crimes

has a bird named caligula

catfishes her friend's friend

her friend's car is not starting, misty is there by mere coincidence and offers her a ride (she messed with her friend's car to force her into a road trip)

stalks her friend

gives gifts with hidden cameras in them

watches her friend having sex through said hidden camera

pours gasoline on a man because he wont give her the information she needs

kidnaps a reporter

threatens to kill the reporter's father if she doesn't speak

actually knows how to find the reporter's father and has poisoned chocolate ready

snorts $300 of cocaine herself to stop her friend from relapsing

is flattered when asked for help hidding a body

is actually really good at getting rid of the body and all the evidence

her condition to help them get rid of the body is for them to go to the high school reunion with her

gets rid of parts of the body by sneaking them into the casket of her dead patient who is being incinerated

doesnt even remember the name of the patient

lets the reporter go but actually she injected her cigarretes with fetanyl

somehow knows the address and social security number of some dude that works at a motel

uses the info to force him to tell her what happened to her friend

joins a cult to save her friend

ends up liking the cult because, since she knows the leader, she's popular there

invites the rest of the group to join the cult

is supposed to reflect as a part of the cult but proceeds to hallucinate her bird doing a musical number

talks about the murders she has commited as if it were a discussion about the weather

this is just from the top of my head, i would need to be actively watching and writing down at the same time

here's the musical number:

misty wasn't born like this to lose to fucking bibble

VOTE MISTY

INSANE CHARACTER TOURNAMENT: ROUND 3, BRACKET A

[ID: Background is a gradient of light blue, lilac, and pink. On top, there's the pictures of the contestants, separated by a “VS” sign. Above it, reads “ROUND 3” in bold black letters. /End ID.]

[wincore]

field day | jung sungchan

pairing: sungchan x fem!reader

synopsis: when you, as cheer captain, are best friends with the pride and joy of the soccer team, rumors are bound to fly around.

genre: high school au, soccer au, bff2l, fluff

words: 7.5k

warnings: language, jung “the risk i took was calculated but man am i bad at math” sungchan

request: sungchan + ball + “ everyone is looking at us. is that a good or a bad thing? ” (from the first option) ^__^

song recs: after school - weeekly / pleaser - wallows / some - bol4 / sweet talk - saint motel / love so sweet - cherry bullet

a/n: i tried recalling some hs memories for this and im hoping i wasnt the only one that went through the “shipped with a random dude” ordeal LOL. i haven’t written shorter fics in a while so i’m glad i got to. tq for requesting, lovepie <33

In high school, peer pressure tends to come in different forms. For you, it’s taken the shape of this.

“Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” 

You look around your classmates, scanning each and every face chanting with glee like you’re a star player scoring the winning point. The tall figure shifts beside you, glancing at you like a blinking idiot. You’re not even on the losing team but it feels just as frustrating.

You glare at the boy beside you. The trouble is Jung Sungchan. The trouble has always been Jung Sungchan. 

“Come on!” Chenle calls with a teasing grin from the buzzing crowd. The little shit. It’s getting hotter with each minute you spend by the green soccer field and its dusty chalked lines, just at the tip of the bleachers. You didn’t even get enough time to breathe before you were surrounded, the soccer team pushing a stumbling Sungchan onto you. It’s too sunny for this today.

“The star soccer player gets a kiss from the lead cheerleader after a winning game! That’s the rule.” Chenle announces.

Sungchan looks at you and you turn to him, the both of you looking at each other like fish out of water. Even though you’ve clarified at least a hundred times that you’re just friends, your peers don’t seem to be satisfied. (“Famous last words,” they say.)

“No,” you say, firmly. 

“No,” Sungchan agrees, nodding his head wisely.

“Don’t copy me,” you say, smacking his chest, and a quiet ‘oof’ escapes his mouth.

The fact that you’ve been best friends since Sungchan offered you a light green crayon in elementary school just fuels the idea that you have to date. There’s this difference between elementary school kids teasing and high school kids teasing—it was so much easier back when boys were afraid of cooties from girls. It was innocent too. Now, it’s more of nudges and sly grins, teasing with unnecessary innuendo. (What else do you expect from teenagers experiencing puberty?) It doesn’t stop you from being best friends though. Sungchan still visits on Fridays to get on your mom’s nerves and help you with homework (or try to). You still have all the little trinkets he’s gifted you over the years and the lock to his phone is still your birthday. You’re best friends and strictly that. 

When you got into the same middle school though is when it started going downhill. Holding his hand was awkward, touching him in any way was awkward and god forbid you compliment him on something. The kids around you would run across the halls saying “(name) likes Sungchan!” or the other way around sometimes. Heathens, the lot of them. But at the very least, he wasn’t too fazed and you wonder how he could be that even-tempered. If it was just you feeling that way, then maybe you did like him more than he did you. 

You shake it off. 

Sungchan’s much more grown now and at least a foot taller since his awkward adolescent years; he looks handsomer too but you wouldn’t be caught dead saying it out loud. After all, it’s only going to spark another debate on the anonymous school forum. (“(name) finds Jung Sungchan attractive, they’re totally dating.” “I knew it. A boy and a girl can’t be friends, especially if they’re both good looking.”) If you’re being honest, you hate the rumours so much—it’s one of the reasons, apart from puberty, stopping you from being as close as before. However, you do understand that this is how the passage of time works. You’re not going to be spending all of your time with each other, yes, but you still regard him as important. Your life is too busy now, with exams and practice—and you’d think a busy bee would get some honey as reward.

Sungchan’s curls stick to his forehead, unruly after he wiped at them with a towel. The sunlight plays with his eyes when he looks at you intently and you shrug. The smell of sweat is starting to make you nauseous. You remember that you too need to take a shower.

“I’ll see you tomorrow,” you mumble.

“Not today?” He asks.

You shake your head. “The girls have a plan.”

It’s not just the sweat. Or the crowds. You don’t like being here at all. There’s one more problem with this place.

You hate soccer. 

And by hate, you mean you despise it. Like you’ll throw up at the sight of it. What’s so riveting about a bunch of smelly, sweaty guys excited about chasing a patterned ball? You’ve tried to understand it but every time your dad explains the rules, you find yourself zoning out of whatever alien language he speaks. 

Sungchan has been the closest to getting you to understand the game and even then, you refused to learn. It’s not like you’re society’s definition of girly—but you’re not a tomboy either. The school has granted you the “ice queen with a warm interior” stereotype so you’ll just go with that. To be honest, you’re just a little more awkward at open affection than your friends. (And Sungchan has the “friendly beagle” stereotype which you’ll agree is partly true. He’s more of a retriever though, with that size.) It’s just funny how you can never seem to know who you are but other people see so clearly.

You hurry up to the locker rooms and hope for a better evening than this afternoon.

-

The sky burns blue and you wipe the sweat off your brow once you step out of the changing room. Cooling off from your shower has gone to waste. Adjusting your school skirt, you take your usual strides to the school gates. 

Ryujin seems to be showing Yuna a very flamboyant dance move while the latter hypes her up. Ryujin is in her gym uniform because she has no care for her reputation apparently, but she makes it work. Yuna’s about to show her own move when she notices you and waves at you vigorously enough to make you jog towards her and stop embarrassing herself in front of the after school crowd. But then again, she’s too cute for that.

“We got bored waiting for you,” Yuna explains, voice hoarse from her cold. Poor thing wasn’t let into performing because of it. “Do you wanna see our cool new move? Ryujin came up with it!”

Ryujin rolls her eyes. “You’re trying to advertise me to (name) so she can recruit me into cheerleading, aren’t you?”

You smile and cross your arms, facing Yuna who’s been caught mid-act. She smiles sheepishly and pats your shoulder like she just said a funny joke.

“Actually…” You begin and Ryujin holds up her arms in a cross.

“No. Never. I’m already part of the hip-hop dance club.”

“I was going to say that I’ll join you instead.”

Yuna gasps in betrayal, big eyes widening, and Ryujin grins before sticking her tongue out and potentially ruining her image with that expression. She doesn’t care, however.

“Anyway, I can’t wait to get to college and join a dance club.” Ryujin looks at the two of you excitedly. “I keep getting snaps from Yeji and feel so jealous.”

Yuna pouts. “Don’t be so happy about leaving me.”

“Aw, is the baby afraid of not getting any more sisterly doting?” Ryujin teases and you laugh at the disgruntled expression on Yuna’s face. 

“Don’t worry,” Ryujin continues with a sly grin. “Taehyun’s here to keep you company for another year.”

Yuna turns red in the face, a high pitched complaint emitting from her throat. “I told you to keep quiet about that!”

“Oh, what’s this?” You wiggle your eyebrows. “We’re starting boy talk early today.”

Yuna huffs. “At least, mine’s just a crush. I don’t know what relationship status: complicated you have going on with Mr. Soccer Captain.”

You flush hotly. “There’s no relationship status to be complicated about! Seriously, why does everyone think we’re a thing?”

“You’re cheer captain and he’s soccer captain,” Ryujin answers logically. “Plus, you’re best friends.”

“You have a lot of sexual tension,” Yuna answers honestly.

You make a face, slipping your arms into theirs and pulling them along the sidewalk. You better get something to drink before the sky starts to turn purple from pink tinged blue. 

“Ooh, another desperate attempt from (name) to not get teased,” Ryujin leans back to whisper to Yuna.

You stop walking. “Wait. Where are we going?”

Yuna shakes her head. “I’ll lead the way.”

Skipping over the concrete sidewalk, you laugh at your friends and their stories (read: Ryujin gushing over Yeji’s college dance club and Yuna’s newfound crush on Taehyun). The blue sky has tinged orange by now but it’s the sort of colour that sits in between more significant timeframes, like night and evening. Passing by a city square, you eye the people with wonder. A girl in a pink skirt skateboards smoothly over the concrete, her boyfriend filming her with a loving smile. 

“We’re here!” Yuna announces.

You look around the large open plaza, with people of all ages and in different attires trying out skateboarding and rollerblading over the grey concrete. It’s been getting popular lately, with idol pop stars taking to it too but you never knew there was this big a community. There seems to be a few stalls renting out skateboards too. The wind caresses your hair, evening cool settling in nicely on your skin. The sky is purple but it’s lit up with the city buildings and street lamps flickering on. It’s not a bad day at all.

Someone catches your attention. A boy that sticks out like a sore thumb everywhere he goes. 

“Sungchan?!” 

Your eyes somehow always settle on his figure, tall and standing out in the crowd of teenagers. He clutches his blue bag, the one he’s had since third grade, close to his chest and looks more like a tourist in this place than a frequent visitor. He’s not the only one in school uniform now that you’re here.

“(name)!” 

You hate how you love the way his face lights up when he sees you. You’re not actually into him. It’s your friends brainwashing you.

“I was going to invite you,” Sungchan says, a sorry smile on his face. 

Ryujin and Yuna frown at each other but you can’t exactly ask the reason for it.

“Isn’t it great we had the same plans?” he beams at the three of you.

Yuna suppresses a smile and you wonder why. It’s not like your friends would know he’d be here—you’d know first as best friend.

"How did you guys come across this place?" He asks, eyes round with curiosity. 

"Somi's Tiktok," Yuna answers, smiling. "We thought she works here but if she really was, guys would be swarming this place."

Ryujin raises her eyebrows. "Speaking of which, I can clearly see why there are so many girls here."

Sungchan beams, turning to you for affirmation and when you don't give him any, he drops his grin to a more polite smile.

“I don’t work at the stalls though,” he answers. “I’ve just been here a few times.”

“You’re trying to learn, aren’t you?” Ryujin asks, raising an eyebrow.

He nods. However, you furrow your eyebrows at her. How does she know? Eyes widening, you realize it must be the school forum. You remember reading a post about a student wanting to learn skateboarding and the wording felt familiar but you didn’t think much. How they figured it out, you will never know.

“Oh! Oh, I think my nose is bleeding. Oh god.” Yuna sniffs vehemently, her finger at her nose. “I think I’m going to need Ryujin to get me to a clinic.” 

Linking her arm through Ryujin’s, Yuna makes an apologetic expression and runs off into a particularly crowded area.

You blink. The realization dawns. 

"They just left me," you tell him, exasperated. "How could they just leave me?"

He shrugs. "My team left me at a rival school's field once."

Great. Your last outing before midterms and your friends have abandoned you. If this is the case, you wonder why they complain about you spending so much time with Sungchan and allegedly ignoring them.

You regain a sense of your surroundings and turn to him. "Wait. They really left you?"

He nods diligently, eyes trained upwards as he tries to recall the memory. "I told you, didn’t I? On the plus side though, I made friends with the opposite team."

"That's so… cute."

Your cheeks heat up at saying it out loud. If Sungchan is affected by it in any way, he doesn't show it. Instead, he has his usual smile on. 

“Do you wanna try?” he asks. “Skateboarding. Or rollerblading but I personally don’t recommend that.”

He curls his lips, shaking his head slightly. You laugh. Of course this beanpole has trouble balancing on skates.

"I- I figured you'd be good at skateboarding. Since, you know, you're so balanced and all."

You raise an eyebrow. "You wanna add skateboarding to your resume or something?"

"Yeah, that and the ability to imitate dog sounds. Wanna see?"

"No, thanks. I’ll pray this weekend to cure your furry behaviour."

Before he can respond, you’re interrupted by a whirlwind of colours and excited calls. A few girls run up to the two of you, younger and probably in middle school, flocking to Sungchan like bees to honey. Never in your life have you felt so ignored as in this singular moment.

You blink, turning to Sungchan who looks like a rather helpless, flustered eye of the hurricane. The winds don't seem to be stopping any time soon.

You clear your throat trying to get their attention. 

"Wow, you brought your girlfriend?" One of the girls exclaims, sounding disappointed.

The other girls make similar whines of disappointment and you have half the heart to whack them over the head and tell them to focus on their academics instead of boys. 

"You're so lucky to have him as your boyfriend," a girl comments, round eyes brimming with jealousy. 

“He’s not my boyfriend,” you declare sharply.

Sungchan looks at you with his doe eyes, blinking cartoonishly. You nudge him with your elbow.

“Yeah!” He agrees, with far too much gusto to be believable. “I’m not (name)’s boyfriend. I have no idea why everyone keeps saying that.”

“Let’s go, babe,” you say, resisting the urge to stick your tongue out at the girls. They’re younger than you and you have high school dignity, you remind yourself.

Slipping your hand into his, you take a few long strides away from them before you realize what you said.

“I- I did- I didn’t mean to call you babe,” you sputter, pulling your hand from his to look at him with wide eyes. 

“It’s okay though?”

Sungchan raises an eyebrow and slips his hand back into yours, smiling. 

“I don’t mind the rumours, you know?” He says honestly but his smile feels all too teasing. “Maybe we should go out for real.”

You huff, separating yourself from him again. “Maybe you just love attention. Disgusting.”

You point an accusatory finger at him and he bites at it playfully.

“While you're here, wanna see a cool trick I learned?" He straightens only having to tilt his head to look at you.

"If it's you falling on your face, then yes."

"I mean, hey, I could totally do that. Done that several times actually."

You smile despite trying your hardest not to. You like this about him—that he’s easygoing enough to make you look at life less seriously. If it’s with him, you could quit everything that makes you unhappy and start everything you love. 

“So where is your skateboard?” you ask, walking side by side with him, who has finally learned to match your pace.

“It’s with one of my friends,” he answers, and points to a tall girl with long brown hair, wearing a pair of tomboyish shorts and T-shirt. Another girl with short hair and a bucket hat accompanies her, wearing a long hoodie and shorts, but she leaves before you reach them. They must be from a different school because you’ve never seen them before. The first thing that pops into your head is that they’d be good replacements for your cheerleading position if you were ever to leave. You shake your head. Now is not the time.

“That’s Jimin!” he introduces, and you wonder how he’s this way—how he makes friends so easily.

Jimin waves at Sungchan and then proceeds to ask if you’re his girlfriend with a big smile, like a script being followed everywhere you go.

She seems a little disappointed at the answer. “Well, I was going to suggest one of the couples skateboards.”

You flash her an awkward smile. 

“But those are pretty difficult! I’ve been here for a month and my idea of skateboarding is still sitting on it while Soeun pushes me around. That’s my friend, by the way.”

“Ah.” You nod. “This is my first time skateboarding, actually. The only ‘sport’ I’ve ever done is cheerleading.”

Jimin furrows her eyebrows before her eyes widen. “Wait a minute. You’re the cheerleader best friend that Sungchan wouldn’t shut up about!”

Sungchan flusters, in the subtle way he usually does, and waves his hands robotically trying to explain. “I was just saying- that- that you’d be good at skateboarding. Because of the cheerleading.”

A boxy grin accompanies his explanation. 

“Right.” Jimin covers her face and sends an obvious wink your way. “Anyway, you can have my skateboard for the day.”

She hands over a smooth black skateboard with white wheels, but on closer inspection you find that they’re light-up wheels instead. It’s oddly fitting for someone like Jimin even if you’ve known her the entirety of ten minutes. Sungchan is good at finding friends, rather. Soon enough, she runs off after making Sungchan promise he’ll deliver the skateboard home.

The trick Sungchan wanted to show you was a failed kickflip. At the very least, it made you laugh so hard you almost spit out the strawberry milk he’d bought you. Sipping his own banana milk, he sulked for a moment or two, telling you to try it out and see how difficult it is.

On the contrary, Sungchan was right. You are good at balancing on skateboards. But that’s where it ends. You don’t think you’ll be naturally good at kickflips, though being able to glide through the plaza while Sungchan runs after you with the drinks puts a big smile on your face. It’s the most fun you’ve had in a while.  

Accompanied by Sungchan’s panicked “oh no”s and “oh we messed up”s, the two of you try the couple skateboarding move too; no one’s watching you here. It’s fun to see him stress over a skateboard because frankly, you’ve never met anyone as easy-going as Sungchan. (“I’ll figure it out along the way,” he says when you ask if he’s studying for finals, and proceeds to get a decent enough score). Suddenly the wandering gap is closed again. You’re not going to worry about stupid rumours from now on. 

But for some reason, ‘you like him as a friend’ doesn’t sound right either. Despite having said it so many times, you might not believe in it. You shake off the thought. This evening, at least, you’re going to enjoy with Sungchan without thinking of teenage drama and hormones. 

"You still don't think you and Sungchan make the perfect pair?" Yuna pouts. 

You narrow your eyes. "I don't take opinions from traitors."

Chaeryoung leans back on her chair, and whispers to you asking if you’re okay. At least someone is concerned about you.

“It hurts to be left by my own friends but—”

“No, I meant, are you okay? Why aren’t you dating Sungchan already? You’re so cute together! And you’re best friends—Netflix writers literally daydream of this.”

You groan, throwing up your hands in defeat.

“And,” Yuna adds, knocking her chair closer. “Who’s really the traitor here? Us who ditched you with the love of your life—or you, who runs off every time she gets a call from her boyfriend?”

“Sungchan is not my boyfriend.” You cross your arms.

“She even shares her lunch with him more,” Ryujin complains from the side. “And they’re not even in the same class. Unlike me, by the way. Class 1 Shin Ryujin. Same class as you, (name).”

You slump, resting your forehead against the desk. At this point, you wish the teacher would walk in and start the class already. Unfortunately, lunch break isn’t over for another ten minutes and lady luck clearly isn’t smiling upon you. 

“Speak of the devil!” Ryujin announces monotonously, leaning against her desk.

Sungchan and a few of his friends from the soccer team wave at you and the girls from the classroom door. Noticing Taehyun, Yuna quickly fixes her hair and you would tease her if Sungchan hadn’t casually strolled up to your desk and sat down on the chair in front of you. Long legs barely contained in the space, he adjusts himself by resting his arm on the headrest and his chin upon it. It’s all normal. However, when he leans down to match your eye level, you hear the sudden pit-a-pat of your pulse in your ear. At this proximity, you can even see the mole on his lip that he’s pointed out before. The sunlight from the open windows is pulling golden strings over his eyelashes and his lips aren’t dry as a desert like you expected. You know he uses the watermelon flavoured lip balm. 

“Too close,” you croak. Embarrassed at your own voice, you rise sharply and glare at him.

“Is your heart fluttering?” Sungchan asks, smiling as he looks up at you.

You roll your eyes. 

You can hear Yuna’s giggling and before you can shoot her a glare, Sungchan calls. 

"Do you have any bandaids?" 

He points to a rough scratch at the base of his palm, fingers slender and less calloused than what you'd pictured. Then again, soccer players don't use their hands much, do they?

You blink. "You came all the way here for bandaids?"

"Well… I remembered you keep band-aids in your phone case. And the nurse hates me."

You giggle.

Yujin mouths from behind Sungchan, “He just wanted to see her.” 

You would feel flattered if you didn't know these people and their shenanigans. They'd do anything for some drama (and to get two innocent people into the dating trap).

“Why would I waste my cute band aids on you?” you mutter under your breath. “They’re limited edition, you know?”

No way are you sticking Ice Bear on your urban hazard of a best friend. A tall, cute, surprisingly polite hazard but he still annoys you nonetheless.

However, Sungchan's pleading smile has grown on you.

You reluctantly take the band-aid out of your clear phone case, the pink panda doll attached to it swaying with the movement. Proceeding, you take Sungchan's hand and lay it on your desk. With careful focus, you place the band-aid, admiring the size difference of your hands before snapping to reality.

Enough with the pink cloud of thoughts, you scold yourself.

When you look up, the proximity makes your heart skip a beat despite the logical part of you saying you shouldn't. Your faces are too close and this time, you don't even have the energy to croak it out.

"Thanks, (name)," Sungchan smiles at you. 

Right then, the sound of a chair sliding harshly against the floor makes the two of you jolt away from each other. All of your friends and his friends seem to be sporting Cheshire cat grins and you don't like it one bit. You don't like not being in on the gag.

"Anybody up for gaming after this? My treat." Chenle looks around. “Sungchan is banned from the arcade soccer game though.”

"'Ey," Sungchan complains.

"Hey, Jisung and Ryujin are banned from DDR too but that's because they almost broke the handles off last time."

The memory makes you smile. Sungchan was there too, and you don’t know why you’re only just recalling all the memories with him in it, carefully and in detail. Every one of them seems to have been amplified, the little interactions suddenly coming to mind. 

“(name)? You’re coming?”

You take one look at Sungchan and give up. Even if this is another childish ploy by your peers, you don't mind spending some more time at the arcade with infuriatingly addictive games. A tiny part of you is even willing to go along with them and see if it turns out the way they want it to.

“I’ll go,” you mumble, and the rest of the group cheers. 

“But I have cleaning duty today.”

The group groans. 

“Just get someone else to do it. Like a junior.”

“Isn’t that bullying?” You ask, frowning.

“Ask nicely. Anyone would be willing to do your bidding, (name).”

“Chenle, will you do it?” You give him a sickly sweet smile. “You’re class president after all.”

Chenle wrinkles his nose. “You’re getting stupider every day, (name).”

You sigh. “Fine. I’ll ask one of Yuna’s classmates then.”

“By the way,” Chenle announces. “Only twelfth graders are invited—”

A bunch of groans interrupt him. 

“Quit whining.” He crosses his arms, glaring at them. “What do you even have to worry about? We’re preparing for the exam of our lives. Oh, and Jisung is an exception.”

“We’re only two years apart,” Yuna mutters under her breath.

“Oh, and from class 5, only Sungchan is invited.”

Another round of complaints pass and Chenle breaks into laughter. “Just kidding.”

Your friends are and will always be an odd bunch. Sungchan has previously proved to be the weirdest (several times) and it makes him the most lovable too. But then again, you don’t have free space in your timetable to put in teenage crushes, much less falling for your best friend. What you do have time for this afternoon, however, is relaxing at the arcade. 

-

“Let’s go! I am so good at this. Think I’d impress your Steve Curry?” Ryujun gloats, after having scored three hoops in a row at the arcade basketball game.

“It’s Stephen Curry,” Chenle corrects. “And no, let’s focus here. Our goals are—”

He points to the two figures by the DDR machine, looking like a real couple. He’s been acting as damage control for the rumours and making sure you don’t drift apart because of it. They really don’t make guys like him anymore, Chenle sighs. He should get a friendship award or something.

“—those two.”

Really, Sungchan better be thanking him by the end of this. He’s never met anyone quite like Jung Sungchan, especially because Chenle cannot picture himself liking the same person since elementary school.

“Man, now I wish I had a girlfriend,” Chenle mutters.

Ryujin snorts. “Who’s going to date you?”

“You don’t have a boyfriend either,” Chenle reminds and gets a basketball to the shoulder.

“Why are you playing that when you don’t even know how to use it?” Your voice rings through to them.

“I said I’ll figure it out!” Sungchan reasons.

Chenle and Ryujin stare at the two of you blankly, as you bicker over a claw machine game and they share a look.

“Do they need our help?” Ryujin whispers.

Chenle shakes his head. “I think they’ll figure it out from here.”

Soon enough, you were laughing at Sungchan’s failed attempts and trying to outplay him. Your friends have already given you the shove. Chenle and Ryujin share a high five and that’s where the new story begins.

You finally know the thrill of a teenage crush. It makes you so damn infuriated that it had to be Jung Sungchan. 

Now every time he waves at you from the field or hands you a bottle of strawberry milk or explains the calc notes you missed or does the bare minimum, you need to deal with the quickening of your pulse and a few butterflies loose from their cage in your stomach. It doesn’t help that you’re almost always together.

The two of you currently sit by the school field, Sungchan tying his shoelaces while you cool off with the water bottle he offered you. Practice ended a while ago for you and the girls have receded into the air conditioned indoor gym. The indoor gym is apparently occupied by the gymnast club and you couldn’t be more disappointed that you didn’t join them instead. 

If anything, however, you’d rather leave this whole thing and focus on your academics. Hobbies shouldn’t be draining you—they should feel like skateboarding on a lilac evening with the wind in your hair.

With a friend you like very, very much.

“Sungchan,” you call quietly. 

“Hm?” 

When he looks up, you can’t hold in the urge to fix the hair out of his eyes. You’ve never been very physically affectionate so it might have come off strange. Sungchan looks at you quietly, stars in his eyes and you clear your throat.

“How long have you been playing soccer? It was before we met, right?”

He hums, eyes traveling up and then back to you when he remembers. “Since I was six. You were there at my first soccer match actually.”

“I was? Oh my god, was it the one you lost horribly and the whole team started crying?”

“Yes. Yes, it was.”

You giggle. “Six year old you would be so in awe now.”

Sungchan beams at that. 

“Who knows?” he smiles, looking into your eyes with firm determination. “Maybe I’ll be the next Son Heungmin.”

“Even I know who that is so… no.”

Sungchan pouts and you make a face in disgust. “Don’t act cute, it gives me hives.”

“Okay, maybe not Son Heungmin. I could definitely be the next Park Jisung—and I don’t mean him.”

Sungchan points to a boy passed out on the benches, his exhaustion typical of any high schooler while another boy sits beside him, fanning him with a bunch of assignment papers. Jisung and Chenle really are more entertaining than any game on this field. 

You turn to look at Sungchan, who’s moving his head around trying to catch their attention. When he finally does, he waves at them and gets big grins in response. He’s not all that bad, you think. In fact, he’s quite possibly the most amiable boy in senior year.

“Just be Jung Sungchan,” you mutter. “Not Son Heungmin or Park Jisung.”

Sungchan turns to you, smiling wide. “Advice taken.”

You scoff. “Whatever.”

Maybe it’s just you but Sungchan has been glancing at your lips very frequently today and mentally thank Chaeryoung for letting you borrow her lip tint. You didn’t know something so subtle could get you this giddy.

“Are you… going to give the CSAT?” You ask, glancing at him nervously. Part of you is sad you only developed your first high school crush in the very last semester. Or if it’s comforting, you could believe you’ve liked him all this time.

“Nah. Sports scholarship,” he says nonchalantly. “I was going to tell you but… I’ve been scouted already.”

You gasp. “That’s… great. Your future’s all settled.”

Sungchan seems to dislike the idea, lips pursing. “I don’t think anything’s settled except for the next step.”

You nod, somewhat understanding. 

“What about you?” He asks. “Any university in mind? SKY? I’ve seen you study extra hours at the library.”

You look away, not feeling ready for the conversation.

“I don’t know,” you say quietly. “I don’t know what I like and what I want. I don’t even like cheer anymore.”

Sungchan gazes at you wordlessly but it’s the most comfortable you’ve felt talking about this.

“Maybe I should quit,” you mumble.

You don’t want to commit to something you no longer have passion for. But then again, you’ve spent so much time on it that it’s hard to leave. 

“You should,” he responds, honest. 

You scoff, shaking yourself from that moment of vulnerability. “But why would I quit something I’m good at?”

“If you don’t like it. If it hurts to leave but isn’t any better when you stay, you should leave.”

You roll your eyes. “You’re quite the philosopher.”

“I’m smart, right?”

You smile. 

“Oy, you two!” Chenle calls, making his way to you two with Jisung trailing behind. “I don’t mean to interrupt your flirting but you got a spare water bottle?”

“Are you two going out now?” Jisung asks as a follow-up, and you feel a hot flush for some reason, unlike the previous times you’ve been asked this question.

“No,” you answer. You don’t mind the idea though now.

“Don’t lie,” Chenle complains. “I saw that picture of Sungchan teaching you how to kick a ball. You? And soccer? Something’s up.”

You throw up your hands in exasperation. “Seriously, who keeps up posting to the school page? And where do they get the time?”

"Two people with this much compatibility will always be a hot topic."

"We're not compatible," you retort quickly.

"Wait," Jisung says. "I know how to resolve this."

You raise an eyebrow.

"How do you have your cereal?" He asks, looking from you to Sungchan.

"Cereal first, obviously," you answer.

Sungchan looks up, finger below his chin as he thinks. "I drink the milk first, then eat the cereal and then breakdance to mix it all together."

You pinch your nose. "I swear I question your sanity all the time."

"Hah! That means you're thinking about me all the time."

You look away, rolling your eyes. He responds with an open-mouthed smile and finger guns.

"See?" Jisung grins. "Compatible."

The gruff voice of Coach Lee startles the four of you and Sungchan leaves with a sigh and a promise of meeting after practice. Jisung leaves with Sungchan and Chenle gives you one last teasing smirk before sitting down and going through the assignment papers he was using as a fan previously. You will never understand his miraculous ways of performing his presidential duties.

You don’t have a good feeling about the next match. The only reason you’re even sticking around anymore—as embarrassing as it—is to spend more time with Sungchan. Being with him puts you at ease, even if the school tries to wrap the two of you in a rope of uneasiness. This is your very last practice, for the next match is the final one of this year and then you’ll be back to spending even longer hours at the library with a stack of textbooks. It’s supposed to be a carefree age. At least, adults say that. Your high school life seems to be riddled with worries, and with that thought, you head into the air conditioned room to take a breather off your anxieties. 

Only one more match, you remind yourself. 

The pre-match buzz is driving you to the edge.

Your form is off, you can feel it already and Coach Kim isn’t as sunshine-as-rainbows as she usually is, courtesy to it being the last match of your life. She’ll never know though, how much you don’t want to do this. 

Sungchan waves at you as he usually does before a match, disappointing a third of his fangirls, but it helps you ease. One last time, (name).

Watching the crowd of people, parents and siblings and friends, all excited and talking makes you take a deep breath. You practiced but it wasn’t good enough. You can never do well at something you don’t like anymore. This time, you feel guilty for committing to things half-heartedly. You want to start that fresh new college chapter already, with all of this behind.

There’s ten minutes left. You go back to the empty hall outside the lockers only to pace. This isn’t helping.

“(name)!”

You turn around abruptly to find Sungchan’s tall figure, and you must be looking miserable because his smile falls.

He doesn’t even ask what’s wrong, only takes careful steps towards you. “Do you need water? Medicine?”

His hands hover over your shoulder but he doesn’t burden you with them. You put your face in your palms and sigh, sinking down to the floor in a crouch.

“I want to quit,” you whisper. Your voice comes off more brittle than you’d like, and you realize that Sungchan hasn’t seen you cry since seventh grade when you failed a math test. You didn’t tell him then but you appreciated him studying extra hours for math just to teach you.

“You don’t have to go out there if you don’t want to,” he says quietly, dropping to the floor beside you. “I’ll stay with you.”

You stare at him dumbfounded. “Don’t be ridiculous! They’ll lose without you—you’re the ace, Sungchan!”

“There will always be an ace,” he retorts. “Maybe Jisung will finally get to shine. Or anyone else. I don’t mind spending an hour with you alone.”

You feel a hot flush spread over your cheeks. Looking away to the side, you mumble an ‘alright’ and only glance from the corner of your eye to see him smiling. Jung Sungchan is the most unreasonable boy you’ve ever met. Perhaps it makes him somewhat loveable too.

“It’s your last match,” you whisper helplessly.

“I’ll join the college soccer club and get to play more matches.”

You sigh, giving in. If he’s so adamant, you think that perhaps there is something in you worth sacrificing his game over. It makes an oddly warm feeling bloom in your chest. Sungchan is so damn convincing with his words. You wonder if it’s really okay.

With shoulders touching, an awkward silence takes over in the next second. You turn to him and open your mouth, watch him do the same and close it at the same time he does.

“You know,” he begins, “I was kind of lying about not worrying because I get the feeling coach will evaporate me tomorrow but—I can handle it. Mostly.”

You stare at him with wide, worried eyes. “You don’t have to do this, Sungchan. I’m the one running away.”

You slouch, pulling your knees closer to your chest and burying your face in them. The urge to scream is boiling within you but you can’t get caught. Not now.

“Sometimes to run is the brave thing,” he responds, insightful. “If you’re not up for it, it’s better to quit early than to regret it in the long run.”

You don’t know if it’s the fact that he just quoted Taylor Swift or spoke like your old school counselor—but you find yourself laughing. He makes sense. Sungchan, in his weird, oddball ways, always makes sense. And in that same way, he feels like home.

“You’re so good to me,” you say, looking up at him and at a proximity you’ve never been before.

It’s his turn to fluster, though he doesn’t do so as visibly as you do. He clears his throat, shifting his eyes around before meeting yours. “I- This is bad timing but… I like you. I really do. Since third grade when you drew that birthday card for me. I have it in my bedside drawer, by the way.”

He looks away and makes a face, probably wondering why he said that out loud.

You press your lips tight to prevent the smile that tugs at them. He looks at you with a wobbly smile, trying his hardest to resume his usual dignity—but he’s just a boy, after all. 

“My type is dumb and pretty, though?” You tease, the smile escaping. “You said it yourself.”

He blinks. “Well, I am pretty but if you want me to be stu—”

You shake your head. “I like you too. You don’t have to act cute.”

He pauses, thinking. “I have never acted cute in my life ever. I was born cu—”

You hold his face between your thumb and forefinger. “You do that again and you die.”

He breaks into a smile. 

“I’ve never met someone quite like you,” you whisper, embarrassed of your own feelings bubbling up from the bottle you had kept them in.

He laughs, open-mouthed and pretty. 

“Actually, hey, I didn’t like you all this time from fifth. I liked you and then I didn’t like you and then I liked you again—”

“Okay, I get it.”

His shoulders relax and he smiles at you. You look up at the clock on the wall by the entrance to the field and bite your lip. You don’t love performing anymore but you know all the girls do, even the stand-bys. Jisung might not have to take over Sungchan’s position but you bet one of those tenth graders would love to take yours, the same way you did back then. They’ve practiced harder than you too and it’s only a matter of deserving.

You take a deep breath and get up, pulling up Sungchan by the hand. He raises an eyebrow, inquisitive eyes scanning over your face and you smile at him, strengthening your resolve. You should have done this way sooner.

-

Sungchan plays. You don’t let him sit it out with you. 

Halfway through, you cheer the hardest you ever have, plastic decorative gemstones stuck by your eyes borrowed from the other girls cheering. It’s much more fun, you think. You’ve never experienced soccer like this. You’d love to sit at stadiums and join in victory chants. There’s enough weight off your chest to yell your lungs out.

Sungchan scores a goal almost immediately after and sends a thumbs up over to you. You laugh. This is the best break you’ve ever taken from cheerleading. 

“Ooh, is this perhaps the (name) effect?” Chenle’s voice rings through the speakers and you feel yourself shrink slightly under the eyes. Out of the corner of your eye, you can see your homeroom teacher signal very angrily to the commentator box. You shake yourself off it. So what if everyone’s looking?

Sungchan places his hands on his hips, chest heaving and sends another signal to you before beelining for a straight goal. You whoop and the girl with a notebook beside you is visibly annoyed at this point but you don’t care. 

Without doubt, your school wins and you watch as Sungchan runs to his team, a big smile on his face. The second he’s done getting pet by the team, however, he rushes to the bleachers, skipping over the steps to you, panting when he stops. The risk he took was definitely not calculated. He holds up one finger while he heaves.

“My cheering worked best this time, it seems,” you say to him, laughing.

His face is flushed from the exertion but he laughs heartily. “You could be yelling profanity at me and it’d still encourage me.”

You shake your head at the cheesy line. He takes a step forward, well inside your space but you don’t mind. He leans in.

“Everyone is looking at us,” he says under his breath. “Is that a good or a bad thing?”

You look behind him to find the whole team, along with your girls sharing furtive glances and giggling at the sight of the two of you. A few of the junior girls slap each other’s arms, bouncing on the balls of their feet in excitement. You’re not a celebrity. But everyone wants to cheer things on once in a while, don’t they?

“Good,” you answer, before pulling him by the shirt into a chaste kiss. When you pull apart, Sungchan’s face is so struck with awe that you want to look away but instead you bite back an obvious smile. It’s about damn time, someone from the soccer team yells.

“Woah. I think I scored a goal either way,” he says, an offbeat smile on his face.

“Oh come on, we didn’t even get to chant ‘Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!’ yet—oh shit, the mic’s on.”

Chenle is definitely getting an earful from your teacher after this. The two of you wave at him at the box and end up laughing at him trying to hide behind the desk. 

As expected, the whole crowd surrounds the two of you in less than a minute’s worth of time, with several congratulations and “good score” offered to the two of you. The boys mess up Sungchan’s hair while the girls compliment you on how cute a couple you are. There’s also the question of when you started dating that pauses the buzz and makes everyone look to the two of you for an answer. Sungchan turns to you and you turn to him, and there’s no way you’ll tell half the school that your confession came in a private hallway outside the field—teenage imaginations run wild. 

Instead, you slip your hand into Sungchan’s and run down the bleachers and towards the exit, laughter spilling from your lips. There’s only one place you can think of going to spend a cool blue late afternoon with.

“Skate plaza?” He asks.

“Skate plaza,” you answer.

[autisticandroids]

Okay so this was a while back but im preety sure you had mentioned an au of yours where dean is a serial killer and cas successfully stalks him but i don't think you talked about it more than that and i just really want to hear a bit more bc that idea sounds so tastefully fucked up

okay so. weeks later i finally end up answering this ask. it inspired this post btw. anyway spn is a show that's like. all about justifications, as i said in the post inspired by this ask. it's about having no choice and doing what you have to do. and like there is the phantasy embedded in it, a phantasy that is both indulged and punished. but most importantly it's justified. the monsters are super strong to show how brave our heroes are for fighting them, the main characters let out great wails of grief every time their lady loves are violently ripped from them (even though now they are free to do whatever they want), the narrative twists to show our heroes as correct whatever they do. the fantasy (of being allowed to enact violence, of being free from feminine "control," of being right) comes first. the material construction of the universe of supernatural comes afterward. whatever the fantasy is, the universe of supernatural will provide material conditions to justify its acting-out.

and what this means is that our protagonists, dean in particular, are constantly doing just horrific things, which in any other circumstance would be unconscionable. but the universe of supernatural provides justification for these acts. the point of my serial killer au which i think about so so so much is to ask the question: what if these justifications melted out from under their feet? what if dean was left holding nothing but a lie and the weight of everything he's done?

therefore, the premise of my au is such (under the cut because this baby is long):

john and mary winchester, in the mid seventies, joined a doomsday cult known as the men of letters. the men of letters were rather unusual for a doomsday cult, in that they believed that the apocalypse could be prevented by human behavior. this started as correct living, correct worship, yadda yadda, the kind of behavior and thought control that cults are known for, but with the justification of: if you don't do this, the world will end. eventually, this escalated to human sacrifice. the men of letters managed to untraceably kill two homeless people in the late seventies. but they eventually fell apart. however, a month after john and mary left the men of letters (mostly john's choice, mary still believed), mary died in a house fire. john took it as a sign from god that actually, the men of letters were right, and the world would end unless john himself did something about it. so he took some of the (intensely numerological) theology of the men of letters. and he worked out his own formula. and he applied it to the yellow pages. and started ritualistically killed people to prevent the apocalypse, with his two sons in the back of the car.

now, obviously, this is some kind of grief induced temporary madness on john's part, shaped by the mental abuse he suffered in the men of letters. but the thing is, once you've killed a couple of people to prevent the apocalypse. well. there's this thing called the sunk costs fallacy. john wasn't gonna question his own beliefs after that.

and he raised his boys to believe it, too, or at least he raised dean to. they didn't tell sam what they did until he was twelve, and sam didn't buy it, tried to call the cops on them several times but in the end, they always prevented him. eventually sam ran off to stanford, where he now lives under a cloud of guilt that he's too loyal to his family to rat them out.

john died a few years back of a heart attack, but dean is convinced it's because he messed up a ritual two weeks before it happened, so it pushed him further into this belief system.

dean's killings (and john's before him) are ritualistic and distinctive, obviously the same killer each time. but they happen anywhere in the united states, seemingly at random, there are inconsistent amounts of time between each one (sometimes as short as days, sometimes as long as years), and there is no particular victim profile. obviously, since our killers are following an arcane mathematical formula to make their choices for them, but the police don't know that.

castiel novak is an unemployed shut-in with a small inheritance which he's living off of, a cryptography degree, and an obsession with all things morbid. he spends most of his time on the reddit true crime forums, playing amateur sleuth. by complete chance, he happens to recognize one of the symbols frequently used in corpse displays by the so-called sioux falls satanic slaughterer (so named because the first time three of his victims were in the same part of the country, it so happened that they were all in sioux falls, south dakota. this was in the late eighties.) as being mostly only used by a little known cult group called the men of letters, which dissolved in the mid eighties.

he only notices this because, as a teen, he had a special interest in cults and fringe religious groups. the men of letters weren't a particularly notable or well known phenomenon; they were small, and a lot like every other cult that formed during the seventies cult boom. (no outsider ever heard about the human sacrifice; there were rumors, of course, but they were garbled, sensationalized, and mixed up with satanic panic fodder.)

(the men of letters' two sacrifices were nothing particularly romantic or fantastical. they first lured panhandler josie sands back to their compound with promises of food and a warm bed when she admitted she couldn't get a bed at a shelter, and was thinking of getting caught shoplifting just so she could be under a roof in the county jail. the men of letters' leader, a man who took on the name alistair, forced his inner circle to dress in the ceremonial black robes he had given them when he initiated them into his nearest and dearest, and which his wife had sewn out of old bed sheets and dyed black with home made oak gall dye. these robes still left black smudges on the wearer's skin occasionally if they sweated too much. josie was laid, bound, on the altar, a slapdash thing constructed over the course of two days from scrap plywood and a couple of milk crates. a rich red tablecloth purchased at macy's for $3.99 hid its ugliness and gave it grandeur. alistair attempted to kill the struggling miss sands by bringing a sharpened kitchen knife down on her bosom and piercing her heart, but, having never killed a human or even slaughtered an animal before, was unaware of the problem presented by the human ribcage. after rather ineffectually poking at the area beneath sands' bosom with his knife while she shrieked in pain and terror for about ninety seconds, alistair tried a different tack, and slit her throat, which worked just fine, and she bled out quite nicely. the second and final victim of the men of letters was a local vagrant named larry ganem, an older gentleman who walked with a limp. he was lured back to the compound in approximately the same manner as sands, but instead of being bound, he was fed stew laced with sleeping pills. even if alistair hadn't slit his throat, he wouldn't have woken up. it's actually arguable whether he was still alive at time of sacrifice; mary winchester (eight months into her first pregnancy), who, as a member of the inner circle, was in attendance, actually tried to take ganem's pulse as he lay on the altar (now covered by a different tablecloth; the red one had turned stiff with sands' blood and been subsequently burned) and found nothing, so it is entirely possibly only sands' death can be directly laid at alistair's feet, and ganem's is the fault of mrs. ellen harvelle, who prepared the laced stew. regardless, these two deaths are lessons in the nature of human evil: it is very rarely skilled, suave, or smooth. it's often slapdash, half-hearted, and just plain incompetent. but that makes it no less grisly. alistair may have begun to drink his own kool-aid, as it were, and escalated this far out of genuine belief that the apocalypse was coming and it was up to him to stop it, but it is far more likely that he sensed the imminent collapse of his little empire, and wanted to bind his subjects to him through the horrors of shared guilt, considering two lives a small price to pay for the continued loyalty of his inner circle. and the tactic worked: the men of letters didn't start to collapse in earnest until almost four years later. perhaps if alistair had continued the killings, the men of letters could have lasted for far longer, maybe even up until the present day. but it seems that alistair, a psychiatrist by training and unused to violence, simply didn't have the stomach for it. unlike, say, john winchester, who before his time with the men of letters had done a two year tour in vietnam, during which he had killed three living, thinking human beings with the american government's go-ahead.)

anyway. castiel is the first person, ever, to make the connection between the men of letters and the sioux falls satanic slaughterer. and once that connection is made, castiel begins to research the men of letters far more in-depth. and he notices something: the theology of the men of letters was intensely numerological, filled with patterns, significant numbers, and even spiritual equations.

castiel thinks of the seemingly random selection of the slaughterer's victims, and has an epiphany.

he cracks all his fingers, and gets coding.

six months. it takes castiel six months to discover an equation that could fit the slaughterer's pattern. it's complex, but also clearly based on several of the men of letters' holy numbers, and accounts for every single one of the killings. it also suggests that there should have been two or three more deaths scattered across the years, but more than likely those did happen, it's just that they weren't reported as part of the slaughterer's portfolio.

but much more importantly, castiel's model can also make predictions. there will be two killings, fifteen days apart, in a city seven hours' drive away, six weeks from now.

so castiel waits. and he books a hotel room. and two months later, he's waiting outside 217 oak street when a shadowy figure climbs up a tree and lets itself into the upstairs window.

dean winchester is feeling particularly all alone in the world when he breaks into maisey banks' home (217 oak street). his father has been dead for half a decade, and he hasn't spoken to his baby brother for twice that. it's not like this whole grizzly saving the world business makes him a lot of friends. so once he's done killing maisey (which is easy, she was ninety three and dying of cancer anyway. she doesn't even wake up when he slits her throat) and arranging her corpse in the appropriate manner, with prayers and sigils, he turns around. and sees a man standing behind him.

smiling slightly.

as he watches dean gut this old woman.

dean freezes.

the man takes a step forward.

"you're very attractive for a serial killer who's been operating since the eighties."

dean is silent.

"family business, is it?"

silence continues.

"i'm not here to report you to police. i'm just here to see if my algorithm worked right."

and dean finally breaks his silence: "what the hell is wrong with you?"

what's fun here is that dean knows (or rather "knows") that he isn't a serial killer. so he finds what cas is doing, this amoral serial killer stormchasing, morally repugnant. because cas has no way of knowing he isn't a regular serial killer.

there's also the fact that that cas proceeds to flirt with him. aggressively. and follows him back to his motel.

but the thing is that dean is all alone in the world. and as cas continues trailing him around, he starts getting, well, flattered. and feeling a little bit less alone.

it doesn't take very long before they fall into bed. even if cas is an amoral stalker with a fetish for what dean considers a distasteful yet necessary vocation.

so. they fall into bed. they fall in love. they make a little life together, in dean's big sexy car. dean tries to explain to cas that he's saving the world. that these people's lives are a necessary price to pay. and cas seems to listen.

of course, castiel doesn't believe a word of it. but he's found that he likes dean. really likes him. and he realizes that the collapse of dean's belief system would destroy him.

so he sets about becoming as complicit in it as possible.

even to the extent where, when dean is hit by a car and ends up into the hospital a day before one killing is meant to take place, castiel agrees to take on the job. (he doesn't actually kill anyone, obviously. but he does use his extensive skill with computers to create three fake newspaper articles which make it look like he has.)

but five years later, something goes wrong. really, really wrong. dean miscalculates the formula. and by the time he checks his work, the actual date of the next kill, as demanded by the formula, has passed. in fact, so have three others. and the world didn't end.

dean collapses. he hyperventilates. all those people. all those people. for no reason. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people. all those people.

cas seems totally unfazed. dean stares at him in shock. but cas just takes dean in his arms, and whispers in his ear: "oh, dean, i never believed in the equation. i love you no matter what you've done."

and dean buries his face in cas' chest.

[clone-wars-imagine-2]

Bad Batch Preference: How you meet and grow closer together

A/N: I hope people enjoy this and I guess I am back on here. Hello people who still follow me!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sergeant Hunter: You were surprisingly a Jedi and not just any Jedi, you were Anakin Skywalker's twin sister. Being the sister of that knucklehead wasn’t easy but if you managed him you could manage everything. Hunter and you met through Cody as the Bad Batch often reports to him and on one of their mission debriefings you walked into the room in full Jedi attire, beaten up from the battle you just came back with a grin on your face. Hunter felt like his heart stopped as your two gazes met and he knew right then and there he wanted to be with you.

For you it wasn’t any different. When you looked into his eyes you immediately felt a connection to him you couldn’t describe even if you tried. Something drew you to him and it made your heart skip a beat. At first you didn’t know if it was the force playing tricks on you or not. And to be honest the face tattoo he had was something that intrigues you and added something to the attraction you felt towards him and you were sure to ask him why he got it.

You two got to know each other when you requested their help on a mission on gathering some intel about something the sepratist were planning. The mission went exceptionally well and you not only grew closer with Hunter but the rest of the Bad Batch as well. You liked them a lot and you felt like they felt the same. It didn’t take long for you to decide that joining them wouldn’t be so bad and you worked better with them than any other troop so it was decided.

Being with them brought something new and exciting to your life and every day you learned more about them and how to maneuver the galaxy than you ever did with the Order. Of course you made sure to learn as much about the sergeant as possible.

Crosshair: The last mission of the Bad Batch went, nicely said, horrible leaving all of them with injuries so it was decided that they would get a medic assigned to them. Neither Crosshair nor the others wanted a reg among them and protested until the supervisor caved in and decided to assign one of the voluntary medics to them. Then in came you, a sunshine in person smiling brightly at all of them introducing yourself as their new medic.

Crosshair absolutely hated you in the beginning, yes you were better than a reg, but he despised your upbeat and innocent attitude from day one. You knew that he disliked you, he made it very clear by telling you to your face, but that didn’t stop you from being nice to him and getting feelings for the sharpshooter.

It took over six months and a reveal about your past during one intense mission that he started to see what was behind your facade and understand you. You all were on a mission to free a Jedi General that was captured a few weeks prior and the planet it brought you to was your old home planet. You begged Hunter to let you stay on the ship for this one and he was ready to leave you there until Crosshair interfered with one of his snarky comments that made your walls come crashing down.

“Excuse me that I do not want to run the risk of seeing my kriffin abusive family again, Crosshair! I spent years trying to get away and I am not about to lose all that kriffin progress because of you asshole!”

None of them has seen you in any shape, way or form angry and you screaming at Crosshair, seething with anger even made him shut up. In the end you stayed on the ship until they came back with the General. It wasn’t until that night that Crosshair came to you and apologized, actually apologized for once, and you two talked it out, paving the way for a future where you two would get along in more ways than you’d expect.

Tech: You two first met through a forum where things about technics and new inventions got discussed. One of your comments caught his eyes because you explained the flaws a new X-Wing model had and how it could be easily fixed. Tech was impressed with your statement and sent you a private message in the forum, starting a discussion between the two of you that lasted for three days. You immediately became friends and chatted every day.

The first time you two met in person was because threats were made against your father, Senator Bail Organa, and because you always tagged along with him he wanted to request protection from the Jedis. You knew that that was your only change and so you told him about how the Bad Batch were the best around and with a bit of prodding, begging and some luck they were assigned to your and your fathers protection.

They protected you for the next three weeks and it was the best three weeks of your life. You spent every single second you could with Tech, getting to know him and ranting about everything that came to your minds. It was a bliss and even though Tech was a bit insecure at first about you being a princess it didn’t hinder the both of you to start a relationship.

Wrecker: Being one of the best inventors and mechanics in the galaxy had its perks but also its downsides, one of them being that when the war came the Republic wanted you in their ranks. They were persistent and the only reason you said yes was so they left you alone, it worked in some ways at least.

You met Wrecker after he and the others came back from a mission where they barely escaped which left the Havoc Marauder half destroyed. You went by them without paying them much mind besides the half giant that was Wrecker which caught your eyes for a moment. Your heart ached seeing the modified omicron-class attack shuttles so ruined and you immediately went to work on it.

It took Wrecker a long time, and some nudges from his brothers, to muster up the courage to talk to you because of your cold and distant behaviour towards them when they first met you, but when he finally did he was pleasantly surprised. You were kind and soft to him and answered every question he asked you. Something about how Wrecker talked to you and how nervous he was in the beginning made your heart immediately melt for him.

Throughout the whole repair process Wrecker would be glued to your side, talking to you about some of the missions they had and crazy stuff that happened. He would also listen to your rambles about your newest inventions and whatnot. When the ship was finally repaired and they left again Wrecker promised to comm you every day which he kept, even if they were in the middle of a battle. It was one of the cutest things ever and it was one thing you loved about him.

[otnesse]

I've had to witness similar crap going on there as well, and with a user named Cyber-Sai (and I'm familiar with him from various Pokemon sites like SPPf, BMGf, and Pokecommunity. I think he's gone by the names CyberCubed, Scott85, Precita, and the like. Heck, witnessing his treatment of Misty fans during the AG days was part of the reason I joined the first two forums [my main home front being Pokecommunity].), where he basically bashes anyone who likes Misty and Pokeshipping, says she's dead, that the writers never liked the ship or even the character, chastises people for still being invested in a character who was gone for 20% of the entire show (that's rich, considering his shilling for May and Dawn who even including cameos got FAR less), and even implied the endless fillers in Johto were an excuse to get rid of her. Oh, and get this, he wasn't even a Serena fan, he if anything was a May fan (one who quite frankly stabbed his fellow Misty fans in the back in the process), and boy is he one of the WORST of them. You thought the XY-stans and Serena-stans were bad? He pretty much shilled for AG repeatedly, claimed it was the strongest team Ash ever had by that point while repeatedly trashing Johto (even though Johto at least had his team actually GIVING Ash a rank up, with or without his Kanto starters, and quite frankly, it's hard to buy Ash's Hoenn team being nearly as strong when said team not only failed to have Ash get a rank up during the Hoenn league, but ended up losing to Brandon TWICE [and their second bout had them faring even WORSE against him than the first, and Ash was possessed during the first fight]), and even claimed May and Dawn were miles more popular than Misty (despite all evidence to the contrary in May's case where she barely even gets cameos since DP, whereas Misty actually DID get referenced, even subtly in the case of XY regarding the Kasumi flowers in the background of the ending of XY). Even claimed AG "saved" the series when a good look at the actual ratings between series indicated that, if anything, AG was more likely to have inflicted long-term damage to the series that ultimately led to them being forced to retire Ash's character after one mistake too many. Oh, and whenever I try to set him straight, he basically acts all belligerent, claim I'm a full idiot and imply my autism is what makes me a full idiot (worse, my current spat with him was because he, COMPLETELY unprovoked by me BTW and if anything when I saw he was on there before then, I made absolutely NO attempt at even replying to him knowing our past history, proceeded to post a message basically saying I taught him how autism negatively affects a person, basically bashed me for my autism, even when I made absolutely NO attempt at even talking with him, much less attacking him). Heck, he even behaved the exact same way when I tried to give evidence against the common story of how Takeshi Shudo hated Pokeshipping and never wanted it canon (even though, if anything, his including a fairly blatant hint at Pokeshipping in his own novelization would imply it WAS in fact canon), even accusing me of derailing a comment thread which was ABOUT Pokeshipping in the first place. And for the record, I'm not even a supporter of Pokeshipping at all, and just wanted to set the record straight, yet he treated ME as if I mindlessly supported the ship.

I already left Serebii.net willingly, while I was banned from BMGf and Pokecommunity (and by that I mean permabanned), around 2012 and I think 2018. And yeah, there were a few people who were decent, at least TRIED to be reasonable in their statements.

This is why so-called FANS can’t be nice to other (REAL) fans

People were asking me why I don’t post Pokeshipping-stuff on deviantART anymore. This is why I don’t. I got bashed on liking what I like and people want to tell me my ship is crap and when I’m replying (=acting) in the same trolling way they flame me, they tell me I’d be a so, so bad and idiotic Pokeshipper, who is JEALOUS on other shippings/characters. Don’t you see how f*cking stupid you’re acting?! Do you read your own crappy words?! I’m so f*cking sick of this and I just want to punsh such trolls in the face. They say I’m trolling when I’m just get against their troll-attacks.

Isn’t that ironic? Well done, dA-users/so-called-”shippers”. You’re done to me, too. It’s NOT the PokeSHIPPERS or Pokeshipping itself, you have to go against, you’ve to BLAME YOURSELF. Get it!