#screw it i like these types

[hillsofuhhtennessee]

One of my more oddly specific yuri KISS headcanons is that Erica S is/was the coveted straight tomboy and just never thought about other options since she pretty much had her pick with men and their personalities tended to mesh with hers better. Jean just… weirdly bent her a bit from being her type but with boobs and VERY persistent and she fell for her eventually. There’s nothing romantic between them but they’re friends with benefits.

I have a sort of intro to something written circa Revenge era but haven’t really decided what I want to do with it. I just think their dynamic is fun and easy to write

[wafflinglumos]

Guys, Sirius canonically did not care about the prank.

He shows ZERO remorse for what he did, I don’t know why this fandom absolutely adores absolving the marauders of their flaws, but it’s quite annoying. Sirius, canonically, did not care or feel remorse for what he did, he in fact justified what he did, and I love Sirius, he’s one of my favorites but come on, he sucked as a teenager, as did all the marauders.

I’ve also seen a lot, a LOT of people try to make Sirius’ actions come from a place of self defense, or some type of retaliation for something that Snape did but that’s also incorrect. His exact reasoning is(down below)

"It served him right," he sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to... hoping he could get us expelled..." -Sirius in POA

After that Remus remarked that Sirius did it also because he found it amusing, and Sirius did not interject to disagree.

Also, a lot of people forget how important the prank was to James’ character, up until that moment James was to put it bluntly a complete dickhead to Snape, and vice versa sure but James was a dick, however he went out of his way to save him, and sure you could argue he did that for Remus more than Snape, but he still saved Snape. Diminishing the prank to just wolfstar angst is objectively incorrect.

Anyways, I still like “the prank” angst, but really guys, he did NOT care like at all. I also feel like there is so, SO much more angst potential with Sirius’ canonical feelings, rather than the angsty “it was a mistake” route that the majority of this fandom takes.

[bembwashere]

The Passport Guardian

"NOOOWUH NOOOOWUHHH"

--- Been rewatching a bunch of HLVRAI recently because it's been a tough couple of weeks, so watching something funny has helped lifting my spirits as of late <3

I like trying out a bunch of different drawing styles and since I semi-made this for an art class, I wanted to try my hand at digital painting again now that I have actual brushes that give the effect. It was also inspired by the Passport Guardian song thumbnail <3

Anyways, hope you guys like this piece! I think it turned out really well!

[frayedcircus]

i’m sooooo late to the spidersona trend but who cares!! i made a clown spider man :]

[ryanthel0ser]

[intermundia]

my favorite kind of boy is a brilliant, prowling, brooding, soft eyed, strong browed, curly haired, slim hipped young thing, who's dexterous like a dancer, lethal with a blade, pliant as a sapling, preternaturally strong, with prophetic visions and a doom awaiting, written in his stars. he has to be genuine and fierce, pure of intent, eroding into evil incarnate, with supreme power resting in his hands, used wrongly, always greedy for control, a menace to the galaxy. my favorite kind of man on the other hand is the gentle, strong, bearded, wise, possessive, supportive mentor who trains this youth in arms, building and defining his body over years of routine work, futilely shaping his mind, ineffectually striving for discipline, intimately familiar with the way he moves, hovering yet distant, guiding and protecting. the dynamic between these two, the conflict and devotion, the intense bond born of thousands of hours of sparring, and ultimately the fragility and impermanence of their connection, gets me every time.

[pregstiel]

season 4 is the start of the "dean is always right" trend. like god, how much more interesting would it have been if ruby was being genuine the whole time? she legitimately wanted to stop the apocalypse, legitimately thought killing lilith was the only way to do it. how much crazier would lucifer rising be if everyone is shocked by what happens? if ruby survives and she and sam have to deal, together, with inadvertently causing the apocalypse? what do you even do in that scenario, when it turns out you were the rube and the lynchpin for hell's plans all at once? it would be interesting! and it would make sam and dean way more balanced -- dean is right that what sam is doing is bad, but sam's judgment about ruby is ultimately correct, and she continues to help them. it would be so much juicer than sam just being wrong about everything and dean knew the right path the whole time

[until-another-one-comes]

Have you all ever stop to think that if it weren't for Miles, Pavitr would've felt the pain every other Spiderman had felt in their lives? The inevitable canon losing their loved ones? How he almost lost his girlfriend and said girlfriend's dad aka THE painful event that connects all Spiderman together? How Miles managed to stop it not because he knew but because that was the right thing to do? And now Miles is defying the 'canon' event in HIS own story, how he wants to break from the mold that almost always define Spiderman? And now its not just Pavitr but also Gwen found out HER own dad is also still alive and maybe just maybe if they can avoid it so can Miles? How Pav technically owes Miles because if it weren't for him he would've been yet another Spiderman with the same tragic event? How this might shape up their future interactions? How this might play out in the next movie? Have you? Have you? Have you?

[fistfuloflightning]

Rest stop

partly inspired by a wound, knit closed and left to scar by @albysant

[pikkish]

I'm new to the fandom, just played 2016 and Eternal in quick succession. Eternal's DLC left me really dissatisfied, but I can't really explain why or how. Based on that poll you made, it's clear you've got some Opinions on the writing, so I was hoping you would like to share them? I feel like I need someone to mull over that whole story with. You can message me privately if you wish!!

Hi there! Welcome to the Doom fandom! I hope you enjoy your stay here more than you enjoyed TAG's writing! And you're more than welcome to come yell with me about Doom and its related games any time!

You're more than correct in your assertion that I have some Opinions about modern Doom's writing, in fact, I have quite a few of them. Most of them can be summed up as "the writing is just plain bad," which is probably also the reason you're unsatisfied with it. It's inconsistent, it regularly sacrifices coherence for the sake of something that looks cool for trailer shots, it has a lot of details that very much could be interesting plots but are simply ignored after their first mention, and at least a few more things that I'm forgetting, it's been a little bit since my last playthrough of TAG and these are just the major ones off the top of my head.

Take Hayden, for example. In 2016, he's the classic egotistical, powerful CEO of a major weapons industry, who maybe didn't necessarily intend to get a ton of people killed, but now that he has, he's gonna stick to his guns and insist he's still in the right, this was an unfortunate accident, but what he's doing is necessary, for the good of humanity, can't you see? He's the good guy! He's just trying to make things better! And he's dedicated to this course well enough that he's willing to betray the man who's there to save him, and boot Doomguy back into Hell at the end of 2016.

Then you get to Eternal, and he's inexplicably changed his mind for no good reason? And it's not like he's learned his lesson and has become more humble for it; sure, he got his rear handed to him by demons, and he emphatically states that the creation of Argent Energy is an "unholy union" that "cannot continue," but at the same time, he still acts constantly like he has everything under control and heavily implies that, were he in charge, this situation wouldn't be so bad- as if he weren't in charge when it got this bad. It's like they wanted him to have the exact same attitude (and therefore, ability to deliver dramatic voicelines) as in 2016, but didn't want to commit to him being a villain, so they just went "ok! he doesn't like Argent Energy any more," and went with it, then never felt the need to explain how or why this complete shift in attitude came about. As a result, it feels like Hayden has no clear motive or goals, and falls pretty flat as a character in general.

And then, to take it into TAG, there's the Seraphim, and don't even get me started on how much I hate that that's his name, "seraphim" is the PLURAL form of "seraph," it's like how "Guy" is a real name but then if they decided to name a character "Guys" instead, and it drives me crazy-- whom they go to some lengths to confirm is, in fact, the same person as Hayden, but then, despite the fact that Samur is sick and dying from the moment you revive him, for some reason, Hayden has to turn back into Samur. I suppose there's maybe some indication that Samur and Hayden are actually different people implied by Hayden referring to the Seraphim in the third person through the beginning of the Atlantica level, but there's still never any explanation given for that, whether they are or aren't the same person, or why you need to bring Samur back in Hayden's place.

And then, you beat Samur up, and guess what? He immediately stops being relevant to the plot and is almost completely forgotten. And that's a recurring theme in modern Doom! Olivia Pierce and the Khan Maykr both share the same fate, the moment they're dead, they practically just stop existing. Sure, there's the statue of Olivia in Nekravol, and, like, a single mention of the Khan in one of TAG's codices, if I remember correctly, but personally, to me, both of those feel more like the devs giving you a wink and a nudge and saying "haha hey, remember them?" like it's more of an Easter Egg than them actually having any significance.

And then there's the whole mess that is Davoth. Admittedly, having the Divinity Machine be fueled by his power, and Doomguy being enhanced by that power is thematically appropriate, what with the whole reason Doomguy wins being that he's even angrier than Hell. I also think something like the Divinity Machine and Dooomguy becoming superhuman did have to happen eventually, because how many times can one man singlehandedly beat back the whole of Hell itself before he stops being just some guy? But I don't think it was executed very well.

For one thing, I don't think it was a good move to imply that Doomguy always was some sort of pseudo-god super entity right from the start. Sure, like I said, he did inevitably have to stop being just some guy, but him being just some guy was a good bit of the charm of classic Doom in my opinion. All we knew about him was that he loved his pet rabbit, and was more willing to punch his commanding officer in the face than follow an order to shoot civilians. And yeah, if you take that, and also assume that the story cards are Doomguy's own internal monologue or at least a representation of his attitude, then you can't really say he was ever a blank slate character, but he was still just some guy, and he was relatable for that. And going "well, actually, he was a godling from the very beginning" just doesn't feel very good in my opinion, and feels like a big retcon besides. (And we'll get to more "well, ACTUALLY" stuff in a bit, but first I wanna finish up the tangentially Davoth related stuff first.)

All that aside, if we take it at face value and say sure, Doomguy was always something a little more than human, always destined to become the ultimate warrior, rather than making himself into the Doom Slayer by surviving Hell, then there's still not really any reason for Davoth to have looked exactly like him, beyond going "you-- but EVIL!!" for the drama of it. I think there was maybe one codex entry that says Davoth's whole soul-stealing operation was for the sake of providing his own people with immortality, which is to say, he was fighting to protect his home or something to that effect, so an argument could be made that his looking like Doomguy is an attempt at exploring "this is you, gone too far, this is you if you ever let go of your morals, this is everything you risk becoming," but, again, it's mentioned like... once, in one codex, and never explored or elaborated upon further. If I remember correctly, Davoth himself never even acknowledges this, it's just the codex entry, and he just goes on about how he'll kill Doomguy and destroy everything he ever loved. If they really wanted to make him a sympathetic villain like that, then they should've actually given us the opportunity to feel that sympathy for him. Let me see the people he's trying to protect- is it an idyllic paradise, oblivious to the lengths being gone to to keep them comfortable? A broken, dying people who should have gone extinct long ago, but for this thievery of the lives of others? I know Hell is supposed to be Jekkad, corrupted, and even in theory, that's fine- you could say Davoth's become so ruthless in pursuit of this immortality for his people that he's blinded himself to how it's also destroyed that which he was attempting to save- but you can't really see that. It's still just Hell, not really any sort of remnant of something worth saving.

And speaking of that. Trying to make Davoth a sympathetic villain at all feels like a bad choice to me. Doom is about fighting demons, about carving a bloody war path through the ultimate evil of Hell itself, and about feeling viciously satisfied about doing it. Making it about a desperate man who can't accept that he failed to save what he cared about, and making about killing that man before he does any more damage in attempting to do what he's already failed to do just doesn't feel good the way the rest of Doom does. And beyond that, TAG doesn't even succeed in the emotional gut punch that would come from it, had they managed to make Davoth into an actually sympathetic villain. It's like they're trying to strike a balance between the gratuitously violent and exhiliratingly triumphant feel that Doom is known for, and an emotionally impactful story, and as a result, both end up landing somewhere between mediocre and just plain bad.

I don't have a good segue into this bit except to say it's coming back to the "well, ACTUALLY," thing I mentioned earlier, which is: there are a lot of parts that feel a lot like a six year old kid is just making up the plot on the spot, like, for example, "Doomguy LAUNCHES himself out of a CANNON and he has a MAGIC SWORD and a PET DRAGON that carries him to the MAGIC CRYSTAL in the MIDDLE of the PLANET." Granted, these ones are pretty small and relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things, and, yeah, okay, they do look pretty cool. But they don't really... fit? Yeah, it's not like classic Doom didn't have this too, In Doom I alone, Doomguy gets pissed about not getting a reward for beating up the barons, practically just jumps off the side of Deimos, and then finally gets to go home when a secret teleporter just opens beside him after Hell decides he's "too tough" for it. But that all fits in classic Doom, because it's not trying to be a serious, grimdark story. Classic Doom is goofy, and it knows it, and it doesn't try to be anything else. But modern Doom tries so hard to be a very serious, dramatic story and also keep the sillier bits of classic Doom, and- yeah, okay, I already made this point once, but here it is again- it ultimately kinda fails at both as a result.

But then there's the bigger of these, namely VEGA. You spend the majority of both 2016 and Eternal with him as your main companion, and, as far as I can remember, there's never really anything to indicate that he's anything other than what he's introduced as, a sentient AI, created to help manage the Mars base. And then you get to the end of Eternal, and- after basically making you sacrifice him for a second time- with next to no buildup, go, "well actually, he's the god of the bad guys." And I'd complain about that plot thread also being brought up and then dropped with no further elaboration, except they do elaborate on it, and that's basically all that TAG is about. They spend the whole of TAG 1 telling you how VEGA is the god of Literally Everything, and how he made Davoth, then didn't kill him when he started to get out of hand, and aren't you MAD at him, for making all your problems, for being too merciful with his own creation that he loved, and don't you just wanna DESTROY the thing that would give him power again?

And then you get to TAG 2 and they spend the whole time going "WELL ACTUALLY it's DAVOTH who's god and VEGA STILL couldn't kill him and he's been LYING to you this ENTIRE TIME." It almost feels to me like a bad fandom interpretation to justify not liking a character, except worse because they're actually the ones who made the character and wrote the story, and I'm not entirely sure why they intentionally tried to make VEGA a helpful, likeable character, gave him a backstory that arguably makes him more sympathetic than Davoth, and then went "actually we hate him now and are gonna do everything we can to try to make you hate him too."

There are definitely more things I could bring up, like whatever the whole deal with the wraiths and the World Spear is, and probably a handful of other things I'm forgetting, too, but it's getting late and I gotta get up to go to work tomorrow. At any rate, thanks for stopping by and giving me an excuse to finally yell about these things! Feel free to stop by and chat with me about video games whenever you want, I love getting to hear other people's thoughts on these things just as much as I love getting to give my own.

[thatfantasylovingdork]

Me: imma listen to a comparison of all Starscream's voice actors cuz I need to hear his voice right now 😍

Me, after listening: oh god Steve Blum does a SEXY voice, that's it I'm done I got turned on by a robot, lol what is wrong with me

[abirdie]

Gael García Bernal in Desierto (2015, dir. Jonás Cuarón)

(these gifs also feature Alondra Hidalgo)

Gifs are all 540px wide so you can click to see larger.

[other gael filmography gifsets]

[mask-of-anubis]

If the first half of season 1 had gone just a little bit differently a Nina and Patricia enemies-to-lovers plot could have been so plausible

[dandyshucks]

sorry but the whole pk.mn leak t.yph.losion story discourse is so bonkers to me 😭 i grew up hearing stories from ancient Norse religion, ancient Egyptian/Kemetic religion, various Turtle Island indigenous religions, and like... ancient Greek religion has it too, where monsters or animals would be involved with humans in different ways and it was just... a relatively normal part of the stories. it's literally just folklore ??? half the time these stories are not even meant to be taken literally. why are ppl being so horrified or skeevy about it CMONNNN

[gwydionae]

SAY IT WITH ME:

FEMALE CHARACTERS CAN BE WARRIORS AND FEMININE

MALE CHARACTERS CAN BE SMART AND MASCULINE

BEING BOTH IS NOT A "FLAW" WHERE ONE NEEDS TO BE REMOVED

IT'S CALLED "COMPLEXITY"

[discoknack]

Kikoru's Spirit Guy Part 2

Part 1 here

For @sonicasura 's ghost!Kafka AU. Also, to clarify, Kafka's character-color is currently green, not yet cyan - that's why his thought paragraph is green.

Also also, I don't know what the floor plan of the mansion looks like so I'm just making things up as I go along.

I have one two more posts in me. Not about this particular storyline, but the ghost AU more generally.

Kafka completely forgot himself.

For a while that day, he had been stalking around for Kaiju souls to consume - awful quiet on that front for now - and beating back some delinquent desire to decorate the outside of the mansion like a haunted house. Again. He noted Kikoru's arrival and her sprint for the door, but didn't think much of it. Until he soon realized: he was bored. Then he figured he might see what Kikoru was up to before mischief sounded too enticing.

Simply phasing through the wall, he heard it: the kind of scream that had him frightened! He merged with the shadows and slithered fast. Kafka sweeping closer, the scream had evolved into a sob before he reached the kitchen.

His urge was kind in nature. Which was a great thing, as he was overwhelmed by it and had lost his usual sense of discretion.

Overwhelmed so much so, that when he spotted the distressed pre-teen Kikoru - red in the face, tears flowing, and gripping her chest as if she was about to go into cardiac arrest - he completely spaced on the fact he resembled some screwed-up worm-on-a-string made of darkness, with human-like hands and a face that glowed green like a Jack-O-Lantern.

Lunging, he shouted, "Kikoru!" And grabbed her shoulders. Partly in an attempt to physically stabilize her in the case of a medical emergency, and partly because he was all wound-up. Kikoru drew in a deep gasp, opening her eyes at the same time, as Kafka shouted, "are you okay?"

No, she was not. Her eyes widened at him, horror striking her face. Kafka realized his mistake too late, as Kikoru's eyes rolled upward and closed. She went limp in his hands.

Kafka exclaimed, trying to be gentle as he shook her slightly, "Oops! Oops! Oops! Not good!"

He paused. Keep it cool, Kafka. I'll just check her pulse and make sure she's breathing. Her soul is still in there, so that's a good sign.

But before he had the chance, he heard rapid footsteps approaching.

"Kikoru-Sama?" It was the butler! Sebasu. The gentleman entered only to see an empty kitchen. He called for her again, looking around, and fidgeted with his collar when he heard no response.

Kafka was hiding in a corner of the ceiling, of course, having wrapped Kikoru and himself in shadow. He watched Sebasu continue marching. But before leaving the room completely, Sebasu looked in the direction Kafka was hiding. Looked right at him! A shadow too large and too dark for the atmosphere. But it wasn't enough to make Sebasu pause - he slowed down but did not stop - and he disappeared through a door.

Kafka waited, listening. He could tell by this point that Kikoru was fine, her breathing steady as she slept. Now, what to do with her?

Sebasu called for her again, his voice anxious.

Kafka considered taking her to her room as soon as the butler was far enough away.

But the gentleman paced through the kitchen again, muttering, "Perhaps the mistress ran to her room!"

Of course he would think that!

Kafka had to be fast. No, not just fast, but nimble and quiet. Slinking away from the wall with Kikoru in bridal-carry, he followed the quick butler through the house. Kafka knew where Kikoru's room was, but needed an opportunity to get there first.

The stairs were a literal turning point. If he was too slow, Sebasu would turn at the landing and easily spot either a floating Shinomiya or a dark spirit carrying her. Luckily, Kafka had no need for stairs to ascend, so he flew himself up in a back-flip - coiling to minimize his presence and keep Kikoru secure - over the banister at the second floor.

Once at the top, he spared no pause and glided straight to her room, opening and closing the door with a wave of his ghostly tail, and gently set her down on her bed.

Just in time, too, because before Kafka could really stop and think, Sebasu knocked on the door. "Kikoru-Sama?"

A moment was long enough for Kafka to hide under the bed.

Sebas opened the door a crack, half-entering. He whispered, "Ah, you're asleep. Not wearing your blanket?" He hummed thoughtfully. He tiptoed to her bedside and remained there for some small amount of time. Then he turned in no particular direction. Perhaps he was looking around for something. He walked back to the door and paused, humming again. Finally, he left.

Kafka finally had time to reflect. In the kitchen, Kikoru had screamed. And this brought the attention of Kafka, Sebasu, and Hikari - who saw most of the situation unfold and now materialized at the head of Kikoru's bed, glittering with an almost divine aura. Kafka knew this because he could sense her presence and now saw her foot.

The one person who didn't show up to check on Kikoru at all? Mr. Shinomiya.

Chaos boiled inside of Kafka, and he considered pouring every ounce of his venom into Web That Makes You Go Insane 100%. His fingers itched as he imagined storming the man's office and spraying him right now.

Hikari stage-whispered, "Kafka!" Startling him from his thoughts. "You are like a cat who hides and throws up. I sympathize with you, I do." And she huffed a sigh, growling a little. "Heaven knows I do - but you're making a bit of a mess here, bud!"

Kafka looked down and saw, mortified, that he had been leaking Web That Makes You Sufficiently Paranoid 35%. In this room, of all places! How irresponsible.

Exclaiming, he rapidly wiped it away, muttering something about restraint or clumsiness. He phased upward through the bed, still embarrassed, "my bad..." He also clipped through Kikoru's leg, and she pulled away and curled up on herself a little more. No harm done, though.

Hikari was stroking Kikoru's hair, deep in thought.

That's right. Putting Isao in the psyche ward would leave Kikoru alone, and leave no one to pay the butler (who was a real-one for providing his service keeping Kikoru safe and happy). Plus, it would piss off Hikari to no end. If Kafka had no quarrel with her, but she had plenty with him, the ensuing fight would be at least a little one-sided. And even if he survived, the loss of their friendship would devastate him.

Not sure what to do with himself, Kafka sat at the foot of the bed, coiling his tail under him.

Hikari spoke, frustrated and gloomy. "How did things wind up like this?"

Kafka's mouth quirked, his sharp green smile a touch ironic. "You can say that again."

Hikari threw sarcasm, "Ha, ha. Common complaint!"

Kafka interpreted this as anger and he shrank, hands in surrender. "No no! I meant...!"

"Just messing with ya." Hikari stuck her tongue out. Then she bent down to kiss Kikoru's head, and the girl smiled in her sleep. "A lot of us do have similar feelings. It's natural."

Kafka had watched her display of affection, and now hummed in the affirmative.

-

"Kiiiikoruuu... Kiiiiiikoru-chaaAAAaan- oh! I'm saying it like that again..."

Kikoru stirred, groaning and lazily opening her eyes. She sniffed. "Smells... candy?" She licked her lips and hummed, suspicious. No trace of the treat she had earlier. What was that scent?

A man's voice greeted her from the foot of the bed.

Kikoru lifted her head, wide-eyed, and scooted herself backwards. It was the shadow monster from earlier! But she didn't shout, and after some moments, she relaxed against her pillow. She simply watched him, slowly slipping on her best attempt at a poker face.

The ghost explained that he had woken her up in case she needed to do homework today, but he'd let her sleep if she felt she needed it more.

Kikoru wanted to go back to sleep; she had a wonderful dream. But thinking about it too much now would make her cry, and this thing in front of her looked nefarious. Kikoru had displayed enough weakness already and wanted to deal with this monster sooner rather than later. She didn't understand the situation, but supposed that if the ghost did have evil intent, he probably had to follow some set of rules, or else he would have enacted his plans while she slept. "What do you want from me?"

"Eh?"

"You can’t have my soul. I need it." She didn't tell him why beyond the obvious. If, for example, she told him she needed it to save the country, he would probably try to barter her soul for something that would accomplish a similar goal. This is how she thought of the situation: From her perspective, she was an unlikely folk hero up against a mysterious being in a deadly game of wits. Then she realized she might already have enticed him, if he were the more mischievous type that wants to take something personally important from his victims. But she tried not to let her mistake show on her face.

Kafka barked a laugh, which came off a little sinister given his looks. "I'm not hungry. -Uhh! Bad joke, not funny..." he waved his hands as if shooing away even the mere suggestion. "I don't eat people~."

He almost sounded tired by the end. But even so, that was exactly what a ghost who ate people would say. Kikoru held her suspicion. This ghost might be able to lie.

Kafka made a casual gesture like he was thinking. "Maybe you could think of me as, an undead body guard!" He held up a clawed thumb, nodding to himself once and making a hmph noise, like he got it perfect. "I'm here to make sure you're safe."

"Why?" Kikoru narrowed her eyes.

"'Why?'"

Though she acted brave, Kikoru hugged her knees. "You're not my mommy."

Kafka's smile widened and he squinted, seeming shy. His voice was warm. "Nah. I wish I could be as cool as her."

Kikoru kept scrutinizing. "You're no angel, either."

His smile became more like a grimace. "...no..."

"Uh huh. You scared me really bad, Obake-san*. You're lying about protecting me."

*Obake-san means Mr Ghost, basically.

"Nuh uh!" Kafka protested. It hurt, but ultimately didn't matter if she believed him or not. Sighing, he began to uncoil. "Whatever. I'm doing a favor for a friend by watching over you. Expressing my gratitude. That's why. I'm off now, so," the ghost set his posture, ready to fly off. "You don't have to worry about me anymore."

Kikoru couldn't come up with a response. It seemed like she won for now, but didn't resolve the situation. He would come back, she was certain.

Kafka stopped at the wall. "One more thing. Actually, two." He turned around. "Call me what you like; I don't mind. But know my real name: Hibino Kafka."

Kikoru returned to scrutinizing him intensely. "Shinomiya Kikoru." The ghost used her name before already, so she wasn't giving more information away, but this seemed to be some more formal introduction.

Kafka raised a finger. "And, I heard you got a 'B' on your test." His smile returned. "The first failure is always the hardest. Try not to let it discourage you."

Kikoru watched him phase through the wall, growing frustrated. What kind of preachy nonsense was that?