#see it isn't impossible we just have to get a bit creative. right. right??? all hope is not lost. right. etc.

[vaguely-concerned]

if we get a scene with varric in the fade somehow (listen if just bleeding a bit in the general proximity of the ritual was enough to soul-hook rook into the fade, population: solas district for the foreseeable future, what the hell is going to happen to varric after having the whole dagger buried in his chest?? I'm scared) where he lifts his head as if he heard a voice no one else can perceive and just goes "...hawke?", it'll be over for me

[garycxjk]

Why everybody gets 100 Girlfriends wrong

I've been seeing quite a few comments that completely misinterpret The 100 Girlfriends Who Really, Really, Really, Really, Really Love You, so I'm gonna break down to you the series a bit, trying to not spoil it for anime onlies. This is mainly in response to someone wondering why they don't just "speedrun girlfriends".

100 Girlfriends, first and foremost, is not a romance manga. It's a comedy manga with focus on romance, yes, but first and foremost, it's a parody manga. It's parody in the same sense that Gintama is a parody. Yes, it's an affectionate parody, but a parody nonetheless.

It already starts with the premise that the main character has 100 girlfriends. The focus actually isn't the 100 girlfriends, it has always been the girlfriend archetypes. The pervert, the tsundere, the non-communicative one, the kuudere. They deconstruct, then reconstruct each and every single one. This is why it also does not speedrun the girlfriends, because it shouldn't.

In fact, the first seven chapters (up to episode 5) do show this already, it has a slight pacing problem. Not because it takes too much time to get to each girlfriend, but because it doesn't take its time to give us the deconstruction and reconstruction phases. It is only from the next two chapters (or episode 6) on that it basically uses each girl's traits and shows us creative ways they work with them.

But they had to speedrun at least the first four girlfriends to give us an idea of what the premise is. Rentarou is an impossible protagonist who actually manages to make a polyamorous relationship work. I'll get back to that later, but keep this in mind. It needs to establish the actual rules.

We know the visible rules, that if Rentarou rejects a girlfriend, she'll die. However, chapter 3, and by extension episode 3, establishes directly that Rentarou doesn't just make these girlfriends his because they'd otherwise die, he actually genuinely starts caring for them, and wants to love them, while at the same time he wants them to care for him.

This is one of the manga rules people miss, because, forget the rejection means death rule. That rule hasn't been important since episode 3 anymore, and hasn't even been brought up that much in episode 5, and that's the initial mistake many manga readers made when getting to chapter 7. However, from chapter 8 on (the next episode), something magical happened. We finally figured out that this manga has never actually been about playing the romance part straight. It was always a comedy first and foremost.

You see, the fourth wall breaks, the absurd situations, the literal physical abuse Rentarou gets (from Karane of all people). Heck, even the anime opening. Especially the first point, the fourth wall breaks, those should tell you that the manga never really takes itself too seriously. Yes, it does take the romance parts seriously, but that's because if you don't do that, it doesn't work as a parody.

Take Gintama. It's a parody of shounen manga (and by extension anime). However, it is also a shounen manga in and of itself, that part it still plays straight. If it was just riffing on shounen manga, do you think it would have been as successful as it has been right now?

Or take the many films by Mel Brooks, and one in particular, Spaceballs. Spaceballs is a parody of science fiction films, but Star Wars in particular. However, it still is a science fiction film in and of itself, it still takes that part serious enough to make the parody work.

Compare that to the later Scary Movie films or those other movie parodies. They didn't work because it became pop culture reference, the movie, instead of being a parody of the genre while still playing that genre straight enough to make it work. They fundamentally forgot how parodies work, which is why the parody film died.

So let's go back to my comment about Rentarou being the impossible boyfriend. Many manga readers joke about Rentarou being the chad, or Chadtarou. However, by now we've realized one thing about him. He's literally an unrealistic standard when it comes to boyfriends.

There's a reason the meme "Chapter 1: I want to become Rentarou, Chapter X: I want to be Rentarou's." We realize that we literally cannot be Rentarou, nor would we even want to be Rentarou, because, face it, his job sucks. He has to take care of, what, four girlfriends at this point, which already seems like an impossible task in real life, but Rentarou goes above and beyond to make sure each girlfriend is equally loved. Not proportionally, no, equally. And with each new girlfriend, he doesn't divide the love he has between his current girlfriends and his newest girlfriend, no, he adds on top of it. It's like, at the start, Rentarou's love capacity is 100%, but then he gets two soulmates. Does he just divide his love in two, 50% for Hakari, 50% for Karane? No, he gives 100% to Hakari and 100% to Karane.

At this point, we'd just rather be Rentarou's **girlfriend**, because at least we **know** we can and will be loved by him 100%. Rentarou deliberately sets an impossible standard for the harem protagonist, because it's a standard that should never be reached by any living being. Rentarou in and of himself is the ultimate parody of a harem protagonist, and the reason for that is so that the manga and anime can safely parody every single romance trope that exists.

So, to break down the five episodes for you, to explain why it's paced like this:

Ep. 1: It explains the premise of the story, and how it's going to subvert your expectations.

Ep. 2: It shows an explanation of such subversions.

Ep. 3: It shows you the more serious side of this anime.

Ep. 4: It subverts the harem narrative.

Ep. 5: Basically the same as episode 3, combined with trying to deconstruct and reconstruct the archetype of the week.

And you will notice that with each new girlfriend, it will do the deconstruction and reconstruction in one episode. It needs to explain an archetype, show how it would actually work in reality, and turn it around and make it actually work in the bigger picture. Then, in the following episode, it will... well, you will have to find out soon I guess. But there is a pattern.

To sum it up:

1. This anime isn't a harem romcom. It's a parody of romance manga.

2. Each girlfriend represents an archetype that gets deconstructed and reconstructed.

3. Likewise, without going too much into spoiler territory, any situation is a parody of an existing romance trope.

4. Rentarou isn't your typical harem protagonist, because he isn't meant to be one, he's meant to be a parody of one.

5. The reason it doesn't speedrun girlfriends is to give each girlfriend enough time to parody.

[callofdudes]

Hello! I loved your simon riley x autistic reader headcanons. Could you do simon riley x adhd-c reader, if you're comfortable with that?

I've been struggling lately and would love some comfort from our favorite LT 💖

Ah, welcome fellow neurodivergent people! :)

Just a small reminder that I do not have ADHD and something I say that may be inaccurate. My here to spread love and learn 😊

ADHD-C Reader x Simon Riley

Before we start let me just say you and Johnny are demons for this man. The two ADHD soldiers running around and causing several layers of chaos everywhere. He loves you both but... Why? Is his question.

Ghost watches you closely. You have a history of doing your tasks with less than diligent hands and often getting distracted somewhere along the processing line.

Ghost understood this when he learned about your ADHD, seeing the shed half washed or entire patches of dirt having been missed. The van not cleaned out right or a task completely disregarded.

Ghost will gently guide you back, helping you finish. Ghost has also been trying to find way for making your tasks funner and more interesting to focus on to try and hold your attention. (ie: hanging streamers on the shed you have to wash away with the hose) to try and keep the creative stimulation going for a bit longer.

Gun cleaning is something you especially struggle with. And it's very important. You don't want your gun going wrong or getting jammed on a mission and exploding your head off. Ghost has made this very clear to you several times.

You'd remember... If you didn't have trouble listening as well. Things he says goes in one ear and out the other. Ghost isn't entirely sure if it even gets that far. And sometimes it can be annoying, getting through a briefing and having you ask him five minutes later what you are doing.

But he's patient. Oooh so patient.

He honestly isn't sure if giving you a fidget toy during briefings makes any difference in whether you're listening to him. Your eyes aren't on him so it doesn't really feel like it.

This is also why you're not allowed on solo missions unless you have a paper objective stuck to your forehead. You get so pent up over the stress and pressure of solo missions you completely forget what you were even doing there in the first place.

And a lot of times you do get stressed and can break down over not being able to get anything done. Which usually results in frustrated tears and exhaustion. Simon is there for you though.

"Hey, sergeant, what's going on?" Ghost stopped you in the hallway, looking at you for answers while you tried to wipe your tears. "Let me go, I can't help-"

"Hey," Ghost grips your shoulder a little tighter. "What's got you in a twist?"

"All my tasks, it's 2:00 and I haven't gotten anything done." You choke out, thinking he'll be mad.

But he's not. Not at you at least.

"Ok, that's alright. I want you to take a few deep breaths for me ok? Can you try to do that?"

You nod, stifling out some deep breaths and slowly calming down. "Good, you're doing amazing." Ghost rubs your back. "How about we go and do your tasks together, yeah?"

Your smile is a little wobbly but you nod. "Please??"

"Of course, let's go see what you have to do."

Ghost will help you, but he can also push his weight. Sometimes when you just seem genuinely bored with a task and nothing can fix it, he's going to push you. He knows it's extremely hard but this is a place for push and progress, so he'll stand by you and help you finish it despite the lack of stimulation to your brain.

"Ghoooost-!"

"Absolutely not, sit down. Finish your work."

You whine, finding it physically impossible not to fidget and get up from your desk to find something to do.

"I can put on some music or get you another juice box? But you are not getting up until this is done. I can give you a stretch break and let you roll on the floor for a bit or something, but no leaving your office until it's done."

You look up at him with a pouty lip and he pokes it, pushing it back into place. "I'm serious about this one y/n, I'm here to help you however you need but I need you to finish this ok.?"

You sigh and read the next question on your yearly evaluation. "Sex? Like, gender??"

Ghost nods.

"Oh! Did you know my cousin is having a kid and they don't want to know the sex? Why do they even have gender reveal parties..? I would use green if I ever had kids because green is a good color. Like trees are green, and grass and-"

"Focus. We're drawing it all back in, look at me."

You look over at Ghost. "Huh?"

"Look at me, we're drawing all of the thoughts back to me, right?"

You nod, keeping your eyes on him.

"Good, now, answer the question, that question only and then you're mostly done. Ok?"

You nod. "Ok, yeah, I can do that."

"Awesome, answer that last question."

Ghost likes to reward you for being persistent and pushing through difficulties. However.. he's learned the hard way not to tell you he's going to surprise you with something until it's over. Because you won't stop talking about it, or thinking about it. And then nothing ever gets done.

He also helps you get to bed. You can get distracted by so many things bedtime is overwhelming a lot. Simon will be there for you when it's late, helping you from whatever activity you are doing.

He makes sure you don't drink any coffee or anything a couple hours before bed, and tries to get you to bed around the same time every day.

"Did you brush your teeth? No, then let's do that before bed."

"Do you want me to stay with you until you fall asleep?"

"Into bed little tree climber." Simon will joke. He knows you're an adult but it's still funny.

You sigh, looking at him while he runs his fingers through your hair and slowly massages your shoulder with the other, trying to relax you. You won't sleep if you're so tense.

You finally close your eyes, slowly relaxing while he runs his hands over your shoulders and down your sides in gentle motions to relax your spine and back, helping release all the tension and stress after the long day of running around.

"Im going to put on some music ok? Just take some deep breaths, try to close your eyes and sleep."

"Ok."

Simon turns on some slow music for you to help your brain calm down from all the zoomies of the day. He stated by your side, the room in total darkness with only the gentle music playing.

And soon enough you were off to bed.

Simon knows a lot of people find you exhausting. And sometimes you do tire him out, but he'll help you. He knows you need it a lot, and he'll always be there to gently nudge you in the right direction.

[0lshadyl0]

Thoughts on communal Yandere crew? Probably just platonic, granted, but still. I'm thinking Whitebeards specifically. Like, they're all yandere but relatively stable so most don't notice, even if they're a 'darling' and most members have rules. Like, Ace has to eat with someone so he doesn't drown in his soup. Marco has designated rest times that are enforced. Whitebeard has a drinking limit. Ect. Ect. Some have favorites, like any normal family, but they look after their own. It just feels like a somewhat overprotective family right up until someone is threatened or tries to leave without clearing it first. For the latter, they'll probably be grounded and maybe more depending on how they try to leave. The former? Nothing left to identify and it all happens so FAST.

New crewmates tend to wave off red flags. Like, how does Thatch ALREADY know their favorite food? How did Marco know they were being harassed by Marines? Why can't they go anywhere without seeing a 'brother' or 'sister' around every corner? *Shrugs* must be because it's such a big crew.

I mean... Ace was literally recruited with low-key Stockholm tactics, so it's not like it's far off from canon. I imagine legit yandere Whitebeards would be impossible to leave, difficult to figure out, and really good at the whole "You'll love it here if you'd just accept that we want to love you!" bit. Which is touching if you ignore the very real possibility that you slide too far into 'beloved darling' territory and never have any real freedom again.

For your own good, of course.

Certainly, my friend, it is just as you say (especially in part about Ace and how he ended up with the whitebeard pirates) and that is, if we really think and get a little creative by distorting the plot of the series, almost all pirate groups would be platonic yanderes with their own members, since we have seen how several of their captains care about their nakamas, an example of this is Trafalgar Law or Esusstas Kid in Wano

But yes, the best demonstration of a platonic yandere pirate group with its members, is definitely the whitebeard pirates, (which I like to think that whitebeard had the yandere disease thanks to his harsh childhood and he indirectly instilled it in each son that came to his crew) after all, Ace (if we see it in a yandere perspective) was looking for Teach to kill him and thus avenge Thatch's death, isn't that what yanderes do?, kill for the beings they love?

Not only that, Whitebeard in marineford was also shown to be a platonic yandere along with his group, after all, how many lives were lost in that battle, just to save a young fool who underestimated his enemy

Now that I think about it, Ace could well have been the darling of the whitebeard pirates and we hadn't realized it

[bcbdrums]

Top 10 Soul Eater episodes?

As in, favorite episodes?? Or best episodes??

I'll do...favorites I guess? If that's even possible my gosh... I'm hard-pressed at this point to find any I don't like, and others are like...yes this one and this one and this one and this one.... Like the whole underground battle series of like seven??? Is just one giant episode to me, lol.

ANYWAY.... FAVORITE Top Ten episodes, listed in airing order not a ranking cuz that's impossible, lol.

Now, to absolutely no one's surprise...

These are all Stein and/or Spirit feature episodes. Except maybe two. Here we gooooo!

Episode 4: "Engage the Witch Hunter! A Remedial Lesson in the Graveyard?"

Why a fave? Okay well first of all...we get to see the four main characters fighting together against an enemy. The episode starts with the feeling of...okay, here we go... Like setting the tone of the anime after the concept and chars have been introduced. Gonna be a monster of the week thing, fighting new enemies and collecting souls. Like Digimon but not you know?

So we see awesome techniques from both Maka and Black Star and Sid as a char is super creative, so it's all that stuff to start with. And then...then we start to get that tiny bit of backstory at the end about Spirit and Stein and it's like, wait say what now?? The red-head is more than a comic drunk deadbeat dad? So then...

Episode 5: "Shape of the Soul – Enter the Ultimate Meister, Stein?"

Yeah okay... I mean. Obviously. We see Stein and it's like whoa that design is creepy this guy is creepy and then we hear Spirit blubbering drunkenly about the past and it's like creepy and oh snap I am now sympathetic to Spirit and there is a far deeper backstory going on here with these adults cuz we had the privilege of seeing Sid alive before you know and suddenly he's dead in the prior ep so mystery and...yeah. And then it's very much presented as wow...Stein is...unbeatable. They're doomed. And that twist ending I was just as much huh??? as Soul was and I just. Got captivated by the backstory.

Episode 7: "Black-blooded Terror – There's a Weapon inside Crona?"

More Spirit and Stein stuff. I swear that hospital scene was my favorite scene in the entire show for the longest time. It's hilarious, I still crack up watching it. The toes thing is just... And that way too long dramatic pause and camera pull before he reveals the divorce, and Stein freaking already knows and just...yeah I'm getting giddy thinking about it. But ALSO it's like, okay...now we've departed from the casual anime silliness. We skipped the 30+ eps of growth like Digimon and went straight to the big major character issue. Which you know, makes sense the further into the anime we go for this anime. But...yeah. It gets. Real. Not kids anymore. Crona with Ragnarok are hilarious I love them, and Crona is highkey relatable; Crona is every teenager to exist ever. But yeah then Soul's sacrifice, for Maka... It's just...wow. Yeah it got real.

Episode 8: "The Witch Medusa – Bearer of the Great Terrible Soul?"

Truthfully, probably my favorite episode as things stand right now. My mind may change later. Why? Because obviously...Spirit and Stein get to fight together. We get to see what the future is... It's like seeing the past in Star Wars, the very beginning of Ep. 1 you know where we see Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan fight and it's like...yessss this is how things are supposed to be in a world that isn't broken. Seeing Stein and Spirit fight together like that is just... Yeah my heart is pounding thinking about how insanely awesome that is. Also Stein is hot. Plus more of that...not kids anymore. Maka's pure terror at sensing Medusa's soul, seeing her...seeing what a real witch is. Like yeah kid the little kishin egg monsters and magical cats you've been playing with are nothing. Maka realizes the world of meisters and weapons she's in is quite a bit different than her experience so far. And can we talk about how Maka wasn't going to leave Soul's side??? Was just gonna take the hit and die right beside him, because he died for her??? MY HEART! Also Stein is hot yes I know I said it already it bears repeating and man that...seriousness...the way Stein looks at Medusa, the way the witch knows who they are which in itself shows a greater threat... That utter gravity that falls over that moment at the end there, after Stein blocks her attack and it's like....oh snap. Now what? Not to mention all the new tiny details we get about soul resonance and the possibilities and how a weapon can take on features of their meister in the special attacks! (Spirit takes on stitches here on the witch hunter blade, and in the last episodes he takes on Lord Death's skull face on the kishin hunter blade. That's so cool...) Okay I have to stop. I could go on. Like I said...favorite episode as things stand right now.

Episode 13: "The Man with the Magic Eye – Soul and Maka's Diverging Soul Wavelength?"

This one surprised me because initially I didn't care for it. I don't care for Free's design, shark!wolf just doesn't appeal to me. But over time this really grew on me. The writing is excellent and soooooo many major things happen. We get the first bit of touching on the morality issue, like, is DWMA really the correct moral power? Free says something about it and then it becomes a bigger theme going forward. We get the beginning of the black blood effects and the battle against/with it and the start of what all that means... The start of the "acceptance" theme even if it isn't named. We hear Soul's piano for the first time even though it isn't named as such until Brew. We get to see Soul and Maka both so confused but both so dedicated to each other, and the maturing starting to happen, that needs to still happen... It's a huge ep for their relationship. And also...Eruka. I love Eruka. All things Eruka. Any episode with Eruka is a delight. But yeah this episode is just SO deep and excellent, it needs more love. (Also in the candle room fight if you listen close we hear that Spirit has an outy belly button and I'm just alksjdahkjghsd how silly.)

Episode 14: "The Super Written Exam – Heart-Pounding, Reeling, and Restless. You're Kidding!?"

Ehhh heheheh...heheh... Pure absurdity. Pure comedic awesomeness. Everything about this episode. I love things where many characters are featured in more than a cameo and get real attention. We see more of all their homes, more of what they do and who they are when not in battle... Spirit being an absolute fool... That hilarious buildup timer to the end of the exam... Blair ruining what should have been something GOOD agh silly cat I'm still annoyed, lol. I'm not gonna say much here since I said so much about the last episode but man, yeah. Just pure comedy gold, I never ever tire of this episode. "Giraffe, giraffe~" Heheheh.

Episode 23: "Dead or Alive – In the Rift between Revival and Dazzlement?"

Okay like I said before... The entire underground battle, starting with the anniversary party, I consider one giant episode. I name all of those as favorites. I selected this one for here because it's where we get some of Stein's backstory I think? Flashback to he and Spirit as young teens, and we learn where Stein's mental state really is. We get to see more of his and Spirit's dynamic, how they work together both successfully and less successfully... Many headcanons borne of this battle in this episode. My gosh I just...can't put it into words in any brief way. I could write an epic length post breaking down nearly every line, look, gesture... And is this also the episode where the kishin emerges and my gosh if that isn't the creepiest most suspenseful moment I've ever seen. Also, we see more of Eruka! I adore her. And Free. But yeah whole episode... Fantastic.

Episode 25: "The Death Scythes Convene – Stop Dad's Staff Reassignment!?"

And this episode...also silly and ridiculous, but awesome because we get to see a little more of the "adult" side of the DWMA and how things operate. Comedically yes, cuz Soul Eater is a comedy, but still there's quite a bit of seriousness too. Stein's madness as a plot point... But my gosh... Marie, Azusa... Justin... The dynamic between all the adults. I would give ANYTHING for a prequel anime where we get to see all these complete idiots in the academy and how it all went down between them. And my gosh we've had plenty backstory teased already with Stein's experiments against Spirit, Sid and baby Black Star... Seeing the adults as kids would be the perfect "reboot" series for me. Plus that basketball ending, bringing it all full-circle in terms of...okay, here we are again, and here we go again... Onto the next phase of the show/of our lives. It's a fantastic turning-point episode and I never tire of it.

Episode 31: "Drying Happiness! Whose Tears Sparkle in the Moonlight?"

This one...so much happens here. We get delightful glimpses of normal life, we get the reminder that Soul plays piano which becomes important quite soon... We get the comedy of Spirit having to parrot Lord Death to Justin because they just won't make the kid take out his earbuds! We get a moment of Crona and Ragnarok actually getting along and having a normal conversation and ohhh myyyy gosshhhhhh I wish we'd had more of that in the show. I adore Ragnarok. But then...ugh. The saga of pain that begins. You get everyone reaching out, you get to see Crona happy... Marie after wandering around lost, saying if there's ever anything you need... Later inviting Crona to her home... Only to be betrayed. And the absolute skill and execution of the writing as they make us believe for a moment that Marie is okay in returning the pen...and then it's revealed that Crona put a snake in the coffee. Just. Oh man. Ugh the pain. Whyyyy Crona whyyy when you had the entire academy to back you up, everyone on your side, full protection from friends, from a death scythe who trusted you to invite to her home, from Lord Death who gave you a second chance... But you still betrayed them all. And then of course, that little snake then is the catalyst for SO much of what happens in the next episodes... Big deal. This ep is so huge. So many different feels...

Episode 40: "The Cards Are Cut – Medusa Surrenders to the DWMA?"

Spirit feature, Spirit feature! I like getting to see a little more of Spirit's responsibilities other than hovering at Lord Death's shoulder waiting 800 years bound to Death City what the heck his poor death scythes for battles that will never come. I know logically he has other jobs as the death scythe, but it's nice to see him doing some of it and more of his relationship with Lord Death (those two raised their children side by side I mean come on there's so much comedic opportunity here). Also the sheer TENSION in the episode from the fact it's Medusa, and Maka's reaction, and Stein's reaction, and then the deal at the end... It's like...okay this is a serious tone-shift and no clue now what is coming. It's a lot of weight all at once leaving me feel like I'm in a whirlwind and kicks off the final arcs of the show and...yeah. This is a good one.

Also hey guess what!

Turning this ask into a tag game! So...what are your top ten favorite episodes??

@midnightcaptions @memethebum @chickycherrycola @blackbloodteeth @mellancholy-morose @beeejayy (that's right Sunny start interacting with fandom LOL) @takeyourcyanide @cannibal-nightmares

AND...anybody else who wants to take this on! Have fun!

And BONUS... Any and all episodes with Excalibur are awesome and if you don't love him you are wrong. That's okay you're allowed to be, you do you. 😘

[animehouse-moe]

Shangri-La Frontier Episode 4: A Trash Game Realignment of Elevated Tastes

So, to no surprise, this episode is way lighter on action. Which can sometimes be a bit of a concern for viewers. Will it end up a wasted episode, will it cut corners and make things easy on itself? In both cases, that's a no for Shangri-La Frontier as it makes the most of its downtime to really set the stage for the game, giving me a lot to chat about!

First and foremost though, a little detail or two from the start of the episode. We got another bug shown. I know bugs are already associated with the Hizutome household, but I wonder if we'll continue being shown them as a sort of connection from the family to Sunraku's buggy game loving tendencies.

Second, this really fun detail from the game store. On the one TV in the scene they actually bothered making a little video game demo to put on it. A very fun addition to add a bit more life and feel to the scene.

Anyways, let's talk actual episode content. Right away they put focus on exploring Shangri-La Frontier outside of the game, and I think it's a really important piece to take a look at in this sort of context. I'm always big about VR game series taking a minute to exist outside of the game, so seeing stuff like this is really good.

Even better I feel is how they build the game up. Sunraku isn't the first to find Rabituza, which I think is really important in selling the world. It's existed for a hot minute, so people should have discovered things like it and shared that information online. It really creates the feeling of a fleshed out and lively world that Sunraku is taking part in.

Back into the game though, the art in closeups in this episode are really just something else. The detail and shading on them is incredibly good, and is only further accentuated by the strong camera angles.

And then there's the "best" part: the collar. I think it's really great for two reasons. First of all, it's effectively saying that Vysache "owns" Sunraku, but there's also its effects. Before that though, I really like that they snuck something creative in with the collar. It's an unequip-able item, so Sunraku's pretty outraged by it, but he did agree to it. That is, he agreed to the trigger that would equip the collar, so it's not like it was forced on him.

Anyways, the effect of the xp drop, I think it's a great idea. They're building Sunraku up to play a "shitty" game within Shangri-La Frontier effectively, and I think that's really awesome. It's not shitty by nature, like a lot of the game Sunraku plays, but it's shitty because of how he plays it. It's a really thoughtful approach to the concept of the series, and at each turn they find great ways to use it to their advantage.

And the author gets that fighting an impossibly uphill battle can be a little monotonous, so they actually counterbalance the collar with Emul! Just really really smart decisions that put a really great level of awareness into the idea of game balance.

And you know, there's been a lot of talk about Kusoge as of late, so it's great to see Sunraku get back to his roots as a way to establish a party around him. It just makes sense, and is a very fun way to stay true to Sunraku's ideals while providing strong backing for him in this video game world.

Also, goofy glitchy fights. It would have been fun to see them go all out with the idea, but I wouldn't say I'm disappointed.

Getting into the back half of the episode, time sort of flies. There's some good humor thanks to layouts like this one, but for the most part it's talk about expanding the worldview of the viewer.

And I mean, it has to be done at some point or another, so I think filling the gap between area bosses as Sunraku speedruns the early game is the most suitable spot for it. They do a good job of folding it into the natural flow of things and playing off of it, so I don't really have any complaints.

Well, that's a lie, I do have one complaint. They went and showed us such an insanely good looking area boss that I can't wait for next week's episode.

Even better is that, like the Ravenous Python, Sunraku has to face an uphill battle here due to his lack of preparation. Though instead of it being the hidden challenge of poison, this time it's the explicit challenge of being unable to run in a swamp. Just really great ideas that challenge Sunraku's playstyle directly rather than being mostly random obstacles.

Shangri-La Frontier is doing a hell of a lot to remind viewers that this is a video game, while all the while dragging them deeper and deeper into the wonders of its world. C2C is absolutely providing on all fronts for an effort that I could only imagine manga readers are loving at this moment. Really excited to see what they end up doing with the Mud Digger boss fight in the next episode!

[smileymoth]

Let me preface that I'm not well spoken on political topics. But what I do find odd is people struggling to boycott food products. Obviously, it isn't as easy as "oh lets boycott all of these" because there are Way Too Many companies that fund Russia/Israel because "ouhch but our business partner 🥺." Your business partner has blood on their hands. Anyway. Not the point rn.

However when it comes to organized boycotts or being aware of brands that support genocide. I fail to understand why it's so difficult for people to just not buy those goods.

From what I'm aware, Milka, Oreo, Ben&Jerrys, Coca Cola group, Macdonalds, Starbucks all support oppressors. My hand does not reach for them at the store. I absolutely love Milka btw but knowing that they fund Russia makes me feel ill. Obvs with big name brands like Nestle and Coca Cola its really difficult because they own like half the products on the market. I bought Fanta the other day forgetting that CC owns it lol. But you get my point, right.

We don't have Starbucks so I can't speak on that but it can't be the only coffee shop nearby if you really need that overprized big drink. Theres 5 million other burger joints you could go to. Milka isn't the only chocolate brand. Coca Cola isn't the only soda brand. Ben&Jerrys is overpriced, get some cheaper ice cream.

What's a bit more tricky imo is big internet/tech companies. Boycotting Google??? Virtually impossible as every goddamn thing is owned by that thing. Youtube, Drive, the search engine (do not tell me about duckduckgo it sucks), everything. Obviously there are alternatives but it's so much more difficult to escape Google than it is to avoid McDonalds.

Adobe??? I'm forced to sell my soul for them because of school and while it is easy to pirate, with fonts it's a big gamble of legalities and in work spaces creative cloud is shared along. It is easy to boycott it but if you have to work in the industry you are. Kind of doomed.

Apple, Samsung, HP. Again, I dont know the details for HP but with Samsung and Apple i think they condemed Russia but continue to sell there. I don't know if other tech companies like Lenovo or... i dont know more... it's just difficult with those. Which is why organized boycotting exists.

But for goods like food and drinks I don't see a reason why it would be so difficult to just... not consume them

My thoughts on boycotting that plaque me daily 👍

[flowerpotmage]

I'm hopping on anon for this because it might get too specific (← is definitely exaggerating)and uh. I'm paranoid lol

I have a lot of trouble coming up with anything to say about the whole creativity problem, because I'm on the exact same boat, even down to the abandoning fandom thing. and sadly know plenty of other people in that same position. and I feel, I guess, that big sibling urge to give solutions that would make the problem just disappear, and make everything better. but it's like… impossible, because I can't give you the answers I haven't reached myself.

if it helps any, I don't think there's any pressure to continue or not. this isn't exactly something you can fix or take control over. and as much as we, as readers, want to give support and make it better by showing love and appreciation, it just… doesn't really help in giving the nudge, and getting that mental hurdle out. because all it takes is that one single instance of someone showing distaste or critique, for it to become ingrained and for us to question every single decision. it's especially disheartening when it reaches the point of you looking at something, detesting it, but knowing deep down that if this was done by someone else in the exact same way, you'd be thinking it's amazing.

hardcore fan of tgbd, currently my favourite fic ever, and I'll just say, no pressure and no hard feelings over whatever happens. we're already so incredibly lucky that you shared as much of this amazing story as you did, and I don't think any of us want to see you experiencing emotional anguish over it. even if it comes down to getting one update a year, or the fic being abandoned altogether.

I totally get it. I always want to have the perfect thing to say, especially about things I've experienced myself and it kills me when I don't have the right thing to say that'll just fix it.

all it takes is that one single instance of someone showing distaste or critique, for it to become ingrained and for us to question every single decision.

It's awful bc this^ is exactly what I'm struggling with!! Like I know I posted about the whole RSD + creativity scar thing but oof!! And especially difficult bc there's all these studies about how humans might be wired to remember negatives more than positives as an old survival mechanism but like..... Come ON. It doesn't help, of course, that I have a hard time internalizing compliments being for me, no matter the context or what is being complimented. It's very silly.

But yeah, I just like... idk my biggest struggle is that TGBD has a very special place for me and I remember the excitement and the ideas and the way I was feeling about it and how invested I was (and am) in the characters, but I just haven't been able to get the words flow and then I start overthinking about how it'll be seen and it's....... It's a weird place to be, emotionally and psychologically.

I don't intend to abandon it, that's for sure, but I'm like just... Trying to let it breath, I guess?

Regardless, I really appreciate this ask 💚 knowing someone else has been in the same boat at any point in time and understands really makes me feel a bit better about the struggle haha

[beingbigbrother]

Week 1 Writeup: Big Brother feels like Big Brother again

▲ Dark days are over

Nearly five years since Big Brother UK's second "last ever" episode, the all-seeing eye returned to our screens on Sunday.

I loved - loved - Big Brother back in the Channel 4 days. Even in its darkest days (Big Brothers 8 thru 10), a properly good season was never far away (Big Brother Celebrity Hijack, Celebrity Big Brother 6, Big Brother 11).

And then Channel 5 happened to Big Brother.

The only two Channel 5 seasons I managed to get through were Big Brother 15 and Celebrity Big Brother 15, both of which were pure poison. The other ones I tried just bored me.

I've been watching Big Brother 19 - Channel 5's final season - in the run-up to ITV's reboot, and I have to admit it's a diamond in the rough. So it bodes well for this year's revival that much of the BB19 creative team is also working on BB20.

The good

There's a lot I like about this year's season.

The outdoor set is - well, it's a bit of silver MDF and a fog machine really, isn't it - but it still trumps pretty much all of Channel 4's efforts. And the House itself still blows my mind - considering this is ostensibly "just" ITV dipping its toes into the BB pool, with a six-week run on a free-to-air digital channel.

The casting is great, somehow managing to push the feelgood wokeness of BB19 even further with one of our most diverse groups of Housemates ever. Speaking of casting, one of the new hosts is great, too (AJ).

But the absolute greatest change is that the Live Stream is back for the first time in a decade! It's not on 24/7 - you'd have to go back to the Channel 4 days for that - but 23 hours a week is a big step in the right direction, and shows ITV at least has the right idea about Big Brother.

It feels so good unwinding with the Live Stream every evening, and I feel like I'm getting to know these Housemates so much better because of it. Big Brother finally feels like Big Brother again!

And, as I said before: this is ITV's inaugural toe-dipping season, so who knows what will happen in the future.

The bad

It's not all sunshine and rainbows, mind you.

What the fuck was up with those nominations, Big Brother?! They took place on Thursday, so we had to wait till Thursday's Big Brother Late & Live to find out who was up.

That gave viewers one measly day to cast their votes. For casual viewers, who aren't interested in BBLL, it would've meant finding out who was nominated, who nominated who, and who was evicted - all in the same, roughly one-hour episode.

It's quite frankly broken, and I really hope it changes in Big Brother 21. I didn't love each Housemate only giving one nomination, either - it means the obvious troublemakers will be up every week (which is exactly what happened this time) and we may well end up with bland Housemates in the final.

Presumably they've done it to try to speed things up in the highlights show - but they should probably have just copied BB11's editing, which made nominations the best they've ever been on BBUK.

Oh, and, to follow up on my earlier point: one of the new hosts is, um, not great (not AJ).

The ugly

Let me just finish off by saying the new opening titles, theme tune, and motion graphics are - frankly - rancid. There's the ghost of a good idea in there somewhere, but unfortunately it's almost impossible to make out behind multiple layers of inexplicable film grain(???) and "Free Glitch Effect Premiere Pro Beginner" google searches. ����

[thosearentcrimes]

In a recent conversation I recalled the narrative device, particularly common to the more tediously moralistic Westerns, of the upright sheriff or other lawman. Specifically, the one who confronts a lynch mob intent on murdering his charge, seeking by reason or failing that by threat of arms to convince the crowd to await the course of lawful justice. What a heroic figure he puts up, willing to risk his very life to save that of the accused, knowing that by the standards of law the man who is jailed is yet considered innocent, and even were he not so that it is only the law and not public hatred that can condemn him. Truly it is not by acts of legislative bodies, but by the fearless conduct of those who defend it, that the law has any force.

As a testament to the enduring power of this narrative, consider the (extraordinarily poorly conceived) Wikipedia List of Lynching Victims in the United States. There we learn that at least six "law officers" were killed attempting to protect their prisoners from lynch mobs, three of whom succeeded. How are these claims sourced, because presumably that number comes from somewhere concrete, right, there's got to be six discrete referenced persons involved there? Well, there are two references, both linking to creative writing repository Officer Down Memorial Page. Well, this isn't starting well.

The first reference is frankly obviously fake. There is no other mention of this alleged deputy sheriff anywhere on the internet that doesn't track back to this one blatant fabrication. The other is either real or an enterprising local historian has spent a decent but not impossible amount of time fabricating sources to support the story of a lynch mob murdering a prisoner along with a sheriff and deputy transporting them to court. This account is credible enough, so I suppose we have 2/6, and absolutely no documentation of the claim of victims saved. Well, that's still better than expected, from the encyclopedia anyone can edit.

I hope we are all a little bit too smart and too cynical to really believe in the justice of the system the lawman embodies. The crowd shouldn't decide on guilt, instead 12 randomly selected members of it should. Well, I don't see how that helps matters. The imposition of the monopoly on violence in the otherwise lawless United States was probably good and reduced the rate of violence significantly, don't get me wrong. But that doesn't change the fact that the police cannot necessarily be distinguished from a gang. When a gang imposes its monopoly on violence, the rate of violence falls also.

But aside from any denunciations of the bourgeois state and its institutions, any ruminations on the absurdities of the criminal justice system, the sheriff bravely dying in "defense" of his captive is horrifying on its own terms. If he cared the least bit for the health of his charge, upon hearing of the formation of a lynch mob he would set him free and endeavor to hide him. In reality, of course, he almost certainly wants the same thing the mob does, he just wants it his way.

Consider the jailors, orders of magnitude more numerous, who have abandoned their posts, left their caged prisoners to their brutal fates at the hands of the mob. They are far more responsible for the murder, in their apprehension and incarceration of the victim, than most members of the mob. If the jailor is not a murderer, shall we say the person who ties the rope is not one either? But to the victim, what is the difference between the coward and the hero? Sometimes, perhaps, the hero does manage to talk down the crowd, which then duly takes its place in the jury box and lynches the victim with the force of law, if everything goes right.

[btsxmalereaders]

☆ Even in zero gravity, I would still fall for you!

♡ pairing — bang chan x male reader

> genre — fluff | f2l

> word count — 4.3k I don't know how this happened

> summary — chan realises he likes you by not being able to use pickup lines on you

> a/n — i saw a tiktok where chan says he's gonna use a pickup line on felix and my love-deprived self ended up writing this lol i hope you all like it

| 05282021

| Please keep making more whosfan accounts and keep streaming WOLFGANG on the correct platforms!

"Hey, how you doin'?" Chan casually says as he enters the kitchen, trying not to grin and start giggling right away. He even places his hands over the table and tilts his head a little in an attempt to look confident. Felix takes his attention away from the food he is cooking and turns on his feet to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

"Good?" He answers with an air of suspicion. "Why?"

Chan finally lets out a small giggle, "Oh nothing, I was just thinking that... I am not a photographer, but I can picture me and you together."

And Felix thinks it's a creative pickup line, funny even, but what ends up making him laugh is the way his best friend bends over to start laughing louder and the way his cheeks turn reddish at the embarrassment he's probably feeling.

"That was a good one, I must say," He chuckles. "Not as great as the Optimus Fine one, though. Even if it made you laugh for ten minutes after you said it."

And Chan can only laugh harder at the remembrance, placing his hands over his slightly aching abdomen and gasp for air when he can't handle it anymore. Felix giggles as well and denies with his head, going back to stir what's on the pot.

"Stays keep getting creative when it comes to flirting with you," He speaks again as the laughter finally dies down. "They probably think you might use it on someone you like, and you're here almost crying because you use them on us."

Chan hums, "Well, I don't really like anyone right now."

Felix turns off the stove and makes a -dramatic- pause, turning again to face Chan as he gets closer and squints his eyes. "I don't believe it."

"What?" Chan laughs. "Why would I lie?"

"I don't know, but I don't buy it. Maybe it's the love songs you have as drafts in your laptop."

"Ah, that doesn't mean I'm in love," He explains and takes a seat in front of him, nervously scratching the back of his neck. "That's why they're still drafts, though. They don't convey the feeling of being in love because I am not in love, you know?"

"Good point, but it still doesn't convince me."

"Why?" He asks again with a chuckle, a little embarrassed by the sudden interest in his - nonexistent - love life. "You know our activities barely give us time for ourselves, so it's almost impossible to have a relationship with someone. At least a formal one."

"You can still like someone and not be with them." Felix shrugs. "So spill it. Who is it?"

And Chan knows he's just messing around with him, but he can't help but feel flustered. "No one! I think so." He almost says it in a whisper; however, Felix doesn't comment on it.

"I still want to listen to those drafts," He stands up and smiles. "Why don't you show me?"

This was not the way Chan expected the conversation to go, so he hesitates a bit about his friend's request. Well, it wasn't unusual anyway, at least Changbin had heard a couple and also helped in the composition of the songs, so having someone else hear them wouldn't hurt. He might even listen to ideas on his part to improve them.

"Okay, I can do that. Next week Y/N will come to the studio and work on something, why don't you pop-up at some point and I can show you?"

Felix nods, "Sounds good! Y/N asked for help for his new album?"

"Yeah, he wants me to listen to some tracks he has been working on." He casually comments, taking his phone from his pocket and leading his attention to the device, so now Felix can't see the slight blush on his cheeks.

"Hm, I haven't seen him in a while. Why hasn't he come to the dorm lately? We should invite him."

"He has been busy with his album, that's why. If you think I leave late from the studio, that's nothing compared to him, he truly spends an ungodly amount of time there."

"So you see him often?" Felix asks with sudden interest, now being aware of how Chan's ears are tinted pink.

"You could say that, yeah. He also spends time on my studio whenever he has the chance. And vice-versa." He shrugs, not finding it odd. You two were really good friends, so it was a normal thing for you to do. "Why?"

"Nothing, I was just curious." He mischievously laughs. "So, next week, you said?"

After a quick glance at the time on your phone, you decide to stand up and stretch your body. It's been a long time since you started working, and you still have a lot to do; and on top of it all, the progress you've made tonight doesn't totally convince you, and that just meant you'd be spending more time in the studio.

As you take your phone again to read your notes, a notification pops up on the top. You weren't supposed to meet up with Chan until later, but in the new message you just received, he tells you that he's free from working on his stuff and you could go earlier if you wanted.

You decide to go; after all, it was nearly impossible for you to concentrate again, and you truly needed to know what does he think about the tracks you sent him a few days ago to finally make an advance. So you grab your laptop after making sure you've saved the changes and the cup of half-drunk coffee, walking out to the long hall and taking the elevator to an upper floor.

The soles of your shoes are dragged across the floor all the way to the studio's door, where you softly knock a couple of times before remembering you already know the password to enter. Your fingers press the buttons, entering code you know by heart at this point, and the door quickly unlocks, making Chan to look your way and greet you with a smile.

"Hey, how have you been?" He sweetly says, seeing you entering the room and placing your belongings on top of the big desk in front of you and taking a seat on the couch behind him.

"Busy. And tired." You murmur and let out a sigh. Chan immediately plays a song at a low volume and takes seat next to you.

"You're still struggling with the track you told me about?"

You nod as an answer and pout, "I am desperate. It's like, no matter how many times I rewrite the lyrics or change the beats, it still doesn't convince me at all and I hate it."

"I get it," He sighs. "But don't worry about it, I'm here to help you out."

And Chan isn't someone who breaks his promises, so the following hours are spent listening to your music, carefully reading everything you've written so far, listening to your ideas and giving you advice.

In between work, he tells you every other joke to make you laugh and feel at least a bit less stressed; and it works wonderfully since he has a long list of dad jokes that take you off guard, plus his laughter is contagious, so not laughing with him is impossible.

It's no surprise that his advice and opinions are so accurate to the point of clearing your mind and helping you out of your creative block. Chan has always been hard-working and so good with words that every time you engage him in conversations, you feel more relaxed and less burdened. No matter what situation you had a problem with, Chan would always help you find the best solution for it. Maybe that's why you admire him so much, maybe it was one of the many reasons why you didn't hesitate for a second to go to him and find security in his presence and words... Maybe it was one of the thousands of reasons why you had romantic feelings towards him...

"Is it better now?" His voice takes you out of your thoughts. He's sweetly smiling at you; he probably realized you got lost on the way his lips were moving as he told you his thoughts on the recent draft of your song.

"Yeah, yes, honestly, you've helped me so much. I don't know what I'd do without you." You smile and go for a quick hug, taking the opportunity to ruffle his hair. Your fingers sliding between his soft and messy curls and making him fondly smile in the process. "You're my hero. I mean it."

Chan chuckles and can't keep his eyes off you as you type something on your laptop and hum. He recalls the conversation he had last week with Felix, and that ambiguous feeling settling on his chest makes him wonder if, after all, his friend was right. He doesn't remember when was the last time he felt the urge to hold someone in between his arms and dearly appreciate, and he wants to know why he smiles and feels his stomach tickling when he sees you.

Maybe it's because you spend a lot of time with him, a voice inside his head says. But he doesn't feel this way with any other friend.

Maybe it's because you have known him for a long time and you just appreciate him a lot, the voice tries again. Maybe. He finally gives in at the last thought. He'd have to figure it out.

His phone buzzes inside the pocket of his jeans and he takes it, knowing for sure it's a message from Felix.

"Felix is arriving in a few minutes." He murmurs, making you take your eyes off the screen. "He wants to listen to some songs I have, is that okay?"

"Of course, it's your studio, silly." You giggle. "I am almost done with this, so if you're gonna be busy I can go back to m-"

"You can stay, if you want to." He quickly adds. "Plus, he says he wants to see you, you know... He misses you." Chan laughs. He wasn't lying, but that wasn't the only reason he wanted you to stay.

"Okay! Sure, I haven't heard from him in a while, either." You nod and keep making changes on the file you have open.

Just as he said, Felix enters the room just a few minutes later, smiling brightly and immediately running to give you a big hug once he sees you.

Soon, the room was filled with laughter and long conversations to catch up on everything around your lives. Felix tells you about the new pastries he baked last week and that he was waiting for you to come around and bake with him, the new video game Jeongin bought and has been playing with Hyunjin, the new songs Changbin and Jisung have been working on and how Seungmin was learning to play piano, playing songs at night for everyone at the dorm.

"And you know? Chan hyung has gotten better at flirting." He laughs as the latter gives him a threatening glare. "He can't stop saying pickup lines whenever he has the chance."

"Ah, really?" You chortle. "You haven't said one in all the time we've been here."

"Well, we've been working, and I've told you many other jokes... Besides, it's not like I come up with them out of nowhere."

"Yes, you do!" Felix says. "You do that all the time, what are you talking about?"

You glance at Chan, who's currently blushing and at the loss of words. Felix, on the other hand, seems to be happy to see what he just provoked. And he'd definitely enjoy every part of it.

"I want to hear one! C'mooon!" You laugh. "Please?"

Chan rolls his eyes and tries to look confident as he would normally do. He clears his throat and thinks of a good pickup line he hasn't used yet.

"Alright," He says and smiles, he even thinks it's gonna start laughing before even opening his mouth, but the very moment he looks into your eyes, it's like he forgot every single word on his vocabulary. "Uhm, are you, no. Did you-? Wait! I forgot what I was gonna say-"

Felix can't help but burst into laughter, and you only look at him, as if you couldn't believe it. Was he nervous or was it because of the fact that Felix was in the same room? Would it have been any different if he weren't there?

You end up laughing at Felix's loud laughter, as well as seeing Chan blushing up to his ears and hiding his face behind his hands, probably also in an attempt to cover the huge grin he now has.

"Wow, that was an epic failure. And I thought you were the biggest flirt on earth." Felix teases him, to which Chan ends up groaning.

He continues talking about other stuff while Chan stops feeling embarrassed, even though he's not able to look in your eyes for the entire time until you have to go back to work.

You close your laptop and stand up, throwing the now empty cup of coffee on the trash bin. After thanking Chan for his help and promising Felix you'd drop by their dorm soon, you walk out of the studio with a smile and feeling your heart beating fast. There was no way you didn't have feelings for him.

"Oh my god, so I was right!" Felix says a few seconds after you left. Chan's first instinct is to cover his face again. "Look who got nervous so suddenly."

"Stop, I- I don't even want to talk about it." He murmurs, feeling flustered and avoiding Felix's gaze. He types something on his laptop and presses the play button, hoping that this way, his friend would forget about what just happened and could focus solely on the music.

And Felix doesn't talk about it anymore. The next few minutes are set by the music coming out of the speakers; the room filling with Chan's voice, singing the love songs that probably no one else would listen to. Felix seems to be concentrating on the lyrics, but Chan's thoughts are solely about you. As he listens to the songs, he is aware of how his skin bristles every time his hands accidentally touch you, the times when your eyes connect with his and you give him smiles every time it happens, all those times when his heart would race when he hugged you.... It's as if all those songs that professed a love he said he didn't feel, started to make sense.

He feels overwhelmed. Maybe if he was aware of it before, maybe if he listened to his heart instead of his head, this wouldn't be a big revelation to him.

Chan pauses the music, and before Felix can ask what's going on, he speaks up: "Why- why did I do that?"

"Did... what, exactly?" Felix asks, confused.

"The pickup line thing!" He blurts out. "I mean, I do that all the time, right? Why did I just forget how to even talk?"

Felix giggles, "Well, have you considered it's because when you use those pickup lines on us you just do it for laughing? To joke around with us, and with Y/N it's because... I don't know, you have feelings for him and it gets real? Like you're flirting with him."

Makes sense, he thinks. He remains in silence for a moment, processing everything that just happened and finally connecting the dots.

"Wait, you just had your epiphany?" Felix jokes. "It took you too, too long."

"I can barely fall asleep, how was I supposed to know I was falling in love?"

"Fair enough." He says, comprehensive. "Are you telling him?"

"Should I?" Chan's eyes sparkle, but he still feels confused. Should he even try? It's been so long since he last felt this way about someone, and given the circumstances of his life as an idol, he felt more reluctant to take the next step. Even more, considering he had just taken the first one by accepting his feelings a few minutes ago.

"I was right all this time by you being in love," He says. "And I am also sure that it's mutual. I've seen you two for a while, you know? I am surprised you didn't come the realization way earlier than this."

Chan giggles. "Alright, I get it."

"But it's up to you now, I guess. All I know is that you deserve to be happy, and you deserve good things... And Y/N is a great person. You should give yourself an opportunity on love."

Chan feels chills as he hears those words. Tonight's even have been too much for him to process, so he'll think deeply about it later.

"Okay," He nods. "Thanks, Lix. You've been really helpful."

"I know, what would you do without me?" Felix laughs. "Now let's keep listening to the songs, I am loving all of them."

Fortunately, the help Chan gave you really made it possible for you to finish the songs in no time. You are just now walking out of a meeting with your managers and the people in charge of the release of the album to set the final details, and you quickly send a message to Chan to let him know the news.

In the meantime, you drop by your studio to clean up a little and maybe write down some ideas for new songs that have been in your mind for a while. After a few minutes, you hear a knock on the door, snapping you out of your thoughts and then feeling confused. You weren't expecting anyone to come. So you slowly open the door, and a smile spreads across your face the moment you realize it's Chan.

"Oh, hi!" You greet him with a hug, immediately letting him in afterwards. He shyly gets inside, taking a seat on a chair and placing a bag on the small table behind him. "What brings you here? I thought you were still busy with you guys upcoming album."

"It's okay, Changbin is working on his stuff now at the studio, so I took the chance to come here and celebrate with you!" He grins. "Congratulations on making your first self-produced album!"

He starts clapping, making you smile; he truly was the sweetest person you've ever met.

As soon as he read your message he went to the nearby cafeteria and bought your favorite drink and pastries, claiming that it was a special occasion and should be celebrated.

"For all your hard work and the success of this album!" He makes a toast as he raises his cup of tea.

Soon you find yourselves immersed in a long conversation about everything that went into creating this album; from when you had the first idea for the concept, to those sleepless nights when he helped you without hesitation. Chan was definitely an essential part of this whole process, so to be celebrating with him right now felt right. It was how it should be.

"You know," Chan clears his throat as another song starts playing. "These past days I've had this thought in my head, and after talking it out with Felix... I am certain about it. And I want to tell you about it. I know I have to."

You frown, feeling curiosity, especially since his semblance has changed to be a bit more serious. He still has a small smile that gives you some kind of tranquility, but another part of you can't help but feel nervous as he gets a little bit closer.

"Of course, what is it?"

"So, uhm" He starts. "Some weeks ago, when Felix came to the studio and we were talking with you... Well, the reason he came was because he wanted to listen to some love songs I've worked on. And, after listening to all of them I figured out why I didn’t like them. I was sure I wasn't in love. That's why, to me, they all sounded plain and didn’t convey the feeling of love... But then..."

He makes a pause, catching his breath as he feels more and more nervous. He knows for sure his ears and cheeks are red right now, and it's impossible that you haven't noticed it. His hands slightly shake behind the table, anxiously looking for yours, but refraining from doing it because he doesn't know how this was going to end. You don't want to interrupt him, so you give him his time to clear his head and talk again.

"While listening to those songs, the only thought I had in mind was you." He finally confesses, with his gaze now fixed on his lap. "I guess that for a while I didn’t realise that I started to, uhm, catch feelings for you. And, it's okay if you don't feel the same way about me. I just really wanted to let you know because the thought has been on my mind for so long and I needed to let it out."

For a moment, the only thing that can be heard in the room is your voice coming from the speakers along with a sigh from Chan, who still didn’t dare to look up and face you.

"So... what you're saying is..." You speak up, feeling incredibly shy, trying to process the words addressed to you.

"What I am trying to say is that I am in love with you."

And you swear you could start screaming to the top of your lungs right now, but you try your very best to stay calm and finally grab Chan's hands. With that, he looks at you again.

"Channie," You softly say, looking at him in his precious eyes and dearly smiling. You don't even know where to begin, but a voice inside you begs for you to give him a hug. So you open your arms and embrace him tightly, feeling instant comfort and love. "I am so glad you feel this way too. I love you too."

Chan sighs in relief, placing his hands on your waist and pulling you closer; his nose pressed against the crook of your neck and closes his eyes, melting between your arms and enjoying every single second of that gesture.

"Wait a minute," You say out of nowhere, so he separates a bit from you and tilts his head. "That's why you couldn't even say a sentence when you tried to say a pickup line?"

You laugh when his expression changes to look ashamed, his lips frowned in a pout and his gaze avoiding your eyes again.

"Try again, I'm sure you're good at this." And Chan's head only comes up with the dozens of lines he has read, but seeing you smiling right in front of him and your arms over his shoulders, he can only think how lucky he is. He can't possibly say anything to you. "Alright, let me try instead."

You hum and recall all the pickup lines you've read and have been told before, "Hm, can I borrow a kiss? I promise I'll return it."

And you expected Chan to start laughing out loud, instead he starts blushing again and giggling, covering his face as he feels nervous.

"C'mon! Seriously?" You laugh and wait for him to stop being shy.

"You make me nervous, give me time." He excuses himself and laughs some more. "That was a good one, and you know what? You can borrow all the kisses you want, as long as you keep your word and return them."

"See? That's what I'm talking about!"

Chan fondly smiles at you, placing his hand on your head to pet your hair for a moment. You close your eyes as he does it, feeling his soft touch traveling all the way down to your chin. He rests his thumb on your cheek and after a few seconds you decide to open your eyes.

"Can I?" He murmurs as his gaze shifts from your eyes to your lips.

"You don't even have to ask."

And just as you give him permission, he breaks the distance between you two. He starts carefully, placing his lips against yours in a tender, chaste way, barely there pressure that makes you exhale through your nose as if you had been holding your breath all along. One of his hands still holds you by the waist, so he takes the opportunity to slide it to your lower back, carefully holding you and sending you shivers to your entire body.

You lean forward barely a few millimeters, but it's enough to feel more pressure over your lips. Chan angles his head and traps your bottom lip, tongue trying to dart out of his mouth to taste more of the sweetness of yours. He, however, contains himself and smiles in between the kiss, instead. He was probably gonna be the death of you.

The deep kiss loses intensity as a minute passes by, so you two end up giving smaller kisses and share smiles, your noses constantly touching in skimo kisses. And you think it's perfect; it's way better than what you one day imagined.

Chan can't miss the chance to make you sit on his lap, so now your head rests over his chest. Your fingers fidgeting the hem of his hoodie and shyly longing to intertwine your hands.

"Hey, Y/N?" He grabs your attention and smiles. "Are you a parking ticket?"

You raise an eyebrow, "Why?"

"Because you've got fine written all over you." He ends up with a muffled laughter.

"Oh no, what did I just get myself into?" You joke around, this time finally making him burst into a louder laughter. "You just declared war on me about pickup lines, you know?"

"Oh, so you got some lines, too? Can't wait to hear all of them, then."

And for the rest of the day you let yourself be held in between the arms of the person you loved the most. Later you'd find the way to flirt with him and make him feel flustered when he least expects it.

[aidanezra]

Cybermen? Really? (Part Two)

A/N: I am ridiculously proud of this, I have no clue why, but I love it. I hope you all enjoy it as much as I did writing it! Disclaimer btw, I took many creative liberaties in the terms of the cybermen and their reasoning for wanting the doctor. I tried my best to stick to what I knew and could find information wise, but if something is off, let me know!

Theme: ??

Summary: After running into a group of Cybermen, Y/N and the Doctor get captured and taken into custody by the metal men. And the Doctor gets slightly stubborn.

Pairings: Tenth Doctor x Gn!Reader

Fandom: Doctor Who

Warnings: swearing, mentions of death (not graphic)

Words: 1,091

Tags: @bittersnowflake

Part (One) (Three) (Four) (Five) (Six) (Seven)

----

"So, Doctor, what's your plan?" I ask him, rocking back and forth on my feet, trying to calm my building anxiety.

"I don't have one." He mutters, turning his head only a small bit towards me, giving me a wry smile. His eyes are wide in fear, and all I can see are the apologies painted in the color of his eyes.

"What do you want?" I stare straight towards the Cybermen, my glare aimed at the leader --which is the middle one and only who I assume is the leader.

"We need the Doctor. He is the final piece." The Cyberman takes its time spitting out, stepping a few steps forward. Taking a deep breath, I keep my composure, holding a solid glare towards the army of metal men in front of me.

"What do you need him for? Hm? He's just an old man who needs saving, what does he have to offer?" I inquire, my voice shaking while I try to keep it steady and stern, obviously failing. I step forward, hesitantly. I don't want to move too much, I don't want to risk it. But maybe if I can get a step up, spark some fear in their cold hearts, maybe I'll have an upper hand.

"Oi! Y/N! I'm not that old!" Doc snaps back, practically growling, I somehow manage to keep from laughing at his outburst, and face towards the army again.

"We need the Doctor." The one on the far left speaks this time.

"Just spit it out already!" He snaps, his jaw clenching. I jump forward, but the Doctor grasps my wrist and pulls me back before I get myself in trouble.

"He is the final piece." This time, the one on the far right is the one who speaks.

"You're annoying me now! I'm the final piece for what? What puzzle am I a part of? A puzzle of world domination? Universal rule?"

"The superior species. Time Lord Cybermen." The leader then speaks, and the ones on the side step forward, towards the Doctor and I. They harshly grasp onto our arms, practically dragging us away.

"After this, no more adventures for a week. We're staying in the Tardis and not moving." I try to wiggle from the metal man's grasp, failing and falling limp. It lifts me up, to stand straight and pulls me along.

" Okay, I deserve that." He laughs, dragging his feet along beside me.

"What do you think they could want you for? The whole Time Lord Cybermen thing seems ridiculous. Like a lie." I whisper over to him, trying to get this situation over faster and jumpstart the brainstorming process.

"Energy." He mumbles, nearly inaudible but I catch it, he then meets my gaze. Fear written clear on his features.

"Energy?" I try to clarify, he doesn't utter a word in return, but I know exactly what he's thinking. They need power and energy. They can get that energy from anywhere, but that energy isn't the same as that of a Time Lord. The energy he holds within himself can strengthen their race of Cybermen. Making them nearly impossible to take down. Superior creation, made of human parts and Time Lord energy. But how would they even get it? Force him into regeneration and steal it like fairy dust in bottles?

Atron energy, or Time Lord energy, is stored in a Time Lord's mind. Humans carry only a very small amount which would make sense as to why they chose the Doctor. He has more of it than any human, and they need humans to make more cybermen. So my thought process is, they steal the energy from him, use it to power their buildings, and ships, helping create more Cybermen. But, it's not going to last them an awfully long time, so it makes me wonder, why do they need him now? Shouldn't they have enough with what humanity has?

I look around me, still dragging my feet as the metal man's hands are wrapped around my arms. We're surrounded by soft hills, going on for miles. The city looks dead. No sight of lights, no sounds to be heard but the movements of the Cybermen's feet, hitting the ground and our own dragging along the dirt. I try to catch a glimpse down the hill we're standing upon, the town below looks deserted, no cars pass, or pedestrians walking the street. All cars that are seen are parked, but hastily. Lazily almost, some half on the sidewalk and half on the road, others stopped in the middle of intersections.

"Doctor," I whisper, so low and quiet, I don't even expect him to hear me. "St. Albans is dead."

I hear him take in a breath, "I know."

—

About a half hour ago, we got shoved in a small cell, seemingly in the basement of their lair-- which in reality is just a pub they killed the owners of. Ten has been pacing for the majority of the time, I've been trying to find some way out. A crack in the wall, a scrap of metal, something-- anything, that could give us a chance of escaping. I offered for him to use his sonic, but he said the door was too primitive, that it wouldn't work.

"Okay, we need a plan." I stand up from crouching in the corner, looking for a crack in the stone walls.

"I know, I've been trying to come up with one." He sighs, running his hand through his hair, ruffling it up. He stops his pacing, staring at the ceiling.

"Do you want to try to sonic our way out? Or would you like to help find a crack in the walls?" I ask then cross my arms, staring blankly at him.

"I told you, the door is way too primitive for me to use my screwdriver."

"Give it here." I put my hand out, and he throws it towards me. I grasp it in my hand and then swiftly move over to the door. Pointing it towards the lock, I press the button, it then making the buzz sound it always does. A few moments later, a clicking sound erupts. I gently push the door, and it opens wide in front of us. I smile over at the Doctor.

Glaring, he huffs out "You are practically a baby! How did you even do that?!"

"One) I'm an adult, you're the old one and two) just because you think it can't work, doesn't mean it won't." I pause, shooting a sly grin at him, "Now let's get those metal fuckers!"

"So much for a calm afternoon."

<- Previous || Next ->

[daesungindistress]

do you think daesung's ok? i've been worried since d'splay's hiatus announcement.

I think he's busy! Especially with the, uh, rumors of him being seen at YG and getting a haircut & color, if all that is to be believed.

But if that's not it, if he isn't busy (with work), if he just needed a break from Youtubing, then that's okay too! We've all been there in some form or another, right? Needing to step away from something for a bit for some reason or another that isn't necessarily a sign of a problem, just a normal, if undesirable, part of the creative life cycle. Planning, filming, compiling, editing, narrating, captioning, and uploading videos can be intensely time-consuming, even if the final product doesn't give that impression... and that's to say nothing of his engagement with fans in the comments afterward. I'm amazed he kept it up as long as he did. Thinking it best to step back and catch your breath? I find that very relatable. Maybe he felt like he was running out of meaningful things to say and content to share in this format.

Or maybe something (or someone) has caught his fancy and he just wants to focus more of his time and energy on that. Daesung is so private about his personal life, the vlogs haven't really changed that about him, and being given only the smallest peek into his daily routine, it's impossible for us as fans to know what's going on with him when he doesn't feel like sharing. It could be anything. The way I see it, worrying about it when we have nothing to go on won't do any good.

That said... I think he's preparing something. Call it a hunch, but overall I have a good feeling about it, so I'm just gonna keep doing what VIPs do: wait and be on the lookout for good news.

[babysizedfics]

I HC that big Vee still likes to be put to bed. Not like bedtime story etc, but occasionally he will go to one of the CGs (or even Ro sometimes) and be like "im heading to bed" very deliberately, trying to get someone to come with him, or he'll curl up on the couch and start someone off on a long speech about something, just so he can fall asleep and its like he isn't alone, but he doesn't quite realize that being babied to sleep when he's little is the reason till one of the cgs points it out

I have been thinking about this All Day while i packed so i have a lot of things to say abt this - this is a VERY long post so be prepared shhshs

firstly: ADORABLE THANK U

i rlly do think this is in character! because adult virge actually has a lot of trouble with sleep - he has nightmares most nights and we've obviously established that he wets the bed a lot. both of these things tend to wake him up only a few hours into the night and he's not always willing to sleep again afterwards (to avoid nightmares and wet sheets)

on top of that he (used to) struggle with getting himself to bed on time, he would stay up into the early hours indulging in special interests, stimming where he hid it during the day, or being little (when it was still hidden from everyone) and this has all messed up his body clock quite a lot so some nights he just can't get himself to sleep - this is why he's so sleepy during the days

Also i think he just likes being around people, it calms his anxiety because he doesnt worry about whether anyone is hurt or anything because he can see/feel them around him - so im sure after so many nights being babied to sleep by his CGs and getting so used to having someone with him to fall asleep he subconsciously seeks it out when he's big

also while we are on the subject, adult virgil has a very specific bedtime routine! this is me projecting again but he NEEDS to do every part of it otherwise he feels really stressed and upset and gets anxious and that makes it even harder to sleep - his routine is calling roman a nickname until roman calls him one back, saying 'Night L' to which logan has to reply 'Good night, Virgil.' (if logan replies differently virgil keeps subtly trying to postpone bedtime and repeating 'night L' until logan says it exactly right), and having a hug with patton - patton is the most reliable because every time without a doubt he sways them side to side, squeezes virgils shoulders, kisses his head and whispers 'i love you stormcloud' and virgil always replies 'love you dad' while avoiding his eyes. This routine has been in place since before the regression is revealed i think

ugh the fact that virgil finishes everyday by hugging patton is so cute already but also i said that he also starts off everyday by hugging patton too and thats just ADORABLE

now with actually asking for people to put him to bed, it will be different with each person:

with logan, as you suggested, i think he would get logan to talk about something academic that interests him or maybe even - much more rarely - shyly ask logan if he could read the book in his hands out loud. Logan of course understands that virgil does these things when he's getting tired and is happy to do so to help virgil relax before bed. It helps him relax too

with patton virgil is the most obvious - he knows theres no point hiding it from him and he just outright asks if patton can please help him fall asleep. though I think he would actually be most reluctant to seek out patton, ironically, merely because he knows that patton picks up on it and has no qualms with pointing out that virgil clearly loves bedtime and 'of course i can tuck you in kiddo! Do you want me to stroke your hair? Do you want your paci? Shall i sing to you sweetie?'

So virgil mainly kind of avoids getting patton to put him to bed when he's grownup because pattons instinct is to just treat him like a baby - which virgil appreciates of course but some nights he actually wants to stay big and its kind of impossible to do that when patton is humming a lullaby and rocking virgil in his lap

with roman its a very different story - virgil will only ever seek roman out if both CGs are already in bed, which brings me onto a HC that I've been meaning to tell you guys about for WEEKS:

roman and virgil often have 'sleepovers' - theyre really just all-nighters where both of them have trouble sleeping and instead of suffer alone they go into romans room and chill together for the night

they keep this a secret from the CGs mainly because they're sure patton and logan would both have something to say about the fact that at least once a week virgil and roman completey forego sleep and instead eat snacks and watch disney and play video games and shove pillows into their faces to try not to wake the others with their sleep deprived laughter

but also? its just become special to them and they want to keep it as Their Thing

you see virgil isnt the only one who struggles with sleeping - roman tends to stay up very late working on creative projects (even if the CGs put him to bed he will usually get up again because he cant get his brain to switch off) and he won't admit it, at least not for a while, but he actually has a slight fear of sleep

the fact that you are unaware of what goes on around you and are not in control of your body or mind while you are unconscious just doesn't sit right with roman, if he thinks about it too hard he starts freaking out and purposefully avoids sleeping - thought he doesnt tend to think about it too much, he's learned to ignore these thoughts since when he was a teen they led to a pretty bad case of insomnia

so vee and ro tend to be awake late at night and often one will text 'you up?' and within a minute virgil will be sneaking into roman's room to keep each other company

this is where i think most of their adult brotherly bonding happens, its quiet since they dont want to wake up pat or lo and it's a calm atmosphere because of roman's constellation nightlight and the whole vibe of it just makes them a lot more open and soft with each other

they tend to end up talking about Big Life Things on most nights

as they play minecraft one night virgil opens up about his internalised ableism and how no matter how much everyone assures him its okay to need extra help he still feels awful about it and roman doesn't say much, he just listens, but when he notices virgil getting choked up at one point he pauses the game and silently pushes his teddy bear aladdin into virgils hands and pulls him in with one arm to lean against his shoulder

another night they are lying on romans bed, side by side but with some distance between them, and staring up at the projected constellations, talking about how cool it is that logan and patton take care of them and roman blurts out that sometimes he feels a bit scared of logan and thinks he will tell him off for being stupid and force him not to be virgils brother anymore because he cant be trusted.

they dont look at each other, they keep staring at the stars as roman rambles, supplemented by lots of sarcastic comments and jokes and nervous laughter to hide the fact that his voice is shaking. And again, virgil doesnt say much, he doesnt interrupt roman and they both know that they feel comfy opening up to each other on these nights because theres a silent agreement that they dont discuss it, it's just a venting session, no advice or sympathy please.

but virgil does shuffle closer on the bed and presses their shoulders together, and he does take romans hand gently when roman starts picking at his nails

so yeah.. virgil seeks the CGs out when he wants to sleep, but its not so bad when he can't sleep either because he'll aways have roman too

[sinchronicity]

TL;DR: complaining about TXF season 8

scully taking over mulder's role and doggett brought in to be the new sceptic doesn't work, largely imo bc doggett isn't pulling his half of the equation. he just shows up and goes "that's impossible, agent scully!" end statement. no possible alternative explanation given, in contrast to those unlikely but scientific explanations scully would come up with, which are rightfully poked fun of but are essential. doggett's not bringing any creativity at all; scully at her most alien-denying still did.

scully is struggling with her half too but at least the show is aware of that. she is purposefully trying to do mulder's job, but failing at it. i hated s8e10, but it did have a great scene of scully crying, overwhelmed from having essentially done all the actual work on the case (mentally & physically, i might add) and still failing to "see" the paranormal possibilities that she thought mulder would have. i don't even know if she's right, mulder misses plenty of stuff lol, but it makes perfect sense that scully would build him up in her mind given the circumstances.

and that scene is what i WANT from this season! scully trying to be sceptic and believer at once, scully realizing that somewhere along the way she DID start believing, a little bit, but only when that explanation was the best.

which still leaves the real problem, which is doggett. doggett is funny to me bc i actually don't hate him despite my distaste for the season he's introduced in, but he is simply not filling the role vacated by mulder at all, which is seemingly purposeful by the writers, but like - mulder was co lead for 7 seasons y'all, you can't just chuck him and put a New York Cop (TM) in his place with nothing balancing the loss of mulder's other roles in the show (seeing as mulder actually does have atrributes beyond going "what if it was a vampire, scully!"). if doggett was a reoccurring side character rather than a lead, this would work better.

like, he and scully aren't even friends! this is great for both of them characterization-wise, but it isn't exactly thrilling to watch a bunch of mediocre mysteries get solved by like, coworkers who don't even like each other. there is a reason so many procedurals run on romantic tension or deep friendship and that's because you have to give the audience something to care about over the course of the episodes. if the murderer is stopped at the end of the ep but our leads haven't kissed yet, it's a reason to keep watching. i don't even usually watch that sort of show, nor am i all that committed to the mulder/scully romance tbqh, but like. c'mon! there's a reason why those things work, lol, and why most of the cultural currency that TXF has *now* is about the characters of mulder and scully and the relationship between them.

the fact that this bland man with no deep connection with scully is getting episodes focused on him when SHE just lost her partner is ridiculous. the whole season would've benefitted immensely by having the earliest episodes focused on scully, solo. you can toss in doggett but let her BREATHE. by any rational count she's THE lead; the show starts when SHE joins TXF. but i guess the story always has to be about a man, or, god forbid, we might lose the "male 18-35" demographic that doggett was explicitly introduced for 🥴🥴

[gold3nladybug]

Let's build a Legacy Deck

I do a lot of thinking about magic; you've possibly realised that, since I post long diatribes about what the game means to me on a somewhat regular basis. However, I'm not really very... let's say creative in how I approach the game. I'm not looking to explore new ground, I'm mostly trying to be as good at this game as I possibly can be. I'm pretty competitive, but my motivation isn't really winning - it's more about improving.

Legacy is a beautiful format. Not just the cards themselves, but the complexity, diversity and unbelievable skill ceilings that you can strive to attain playing these cards. I always feel like there is so much more I can learn, so many things I can improve. The level of mastery that could be achieved with these cards is seemingly endless.

So it is only fitting that we start here:

Mercadian Masques is the best Brainstorm. Don't @ me.

Now, beyond that, it's actually not that easy to branch out too far. There is a very real, very challenging financial barrier to playing this amazing format (and indeed all non-rotating formats share this problem to some degree). I own a handful of blue duals, and that unlocks a certain subset of the format for me. I bought them over the course of a year or so, and they were much, much cheaper than they are now. I doubt I'll ever be able to justify buying more, and since I don't have the quantity of duals necessary for some decks, and I own zero Tropical Islands, that subset actually isn't that large. I also don't really own any of the cards to play non-brainstorm decks - no Death & Taxes, no Eldrazipost, no Lands, no Quinn the Eskimo (yup, that's a real deck name. Give it a google, its delightful).

So, I own Tundras. That means that in Legacy, I'm pretty much always playing Miracles. My collection supports that. But that isn't really where I think I wanna be right now

Beautiful.

Stoneblade has had a bit of a renaissance recently, putting up good finishes at a high level because someone recently decided "I think I should play Death's Shadow in Legacy" and almost won the Pro Tour. Decks that play white mana have a pretty solid answer to that, and Stoneblade's ability to switch strategies between defender and aggressor is really valuable. I loved Miracles with Sensei's Divining Top, but the deck was a problem, and without that card it can't always claim inevitably. You need to win the game somehow, and Batterskull is a pretty solid somehow. But it can't do it alone.

Here's the rest of the team.

Snapcaster Mage is a ridiculous magic card. There are a lot of good instants and sorceries, y'all. In a format like legacy, though, playing the full four copies can sometimes be a liability, especially if you don't have cards like Lightning Bolt that can let you convert excess mages into a noncommittal, one size fits all kinda spell. All the cards I have are pretty specialized, and Snapcaster Mage can be all of them. Absolutely wild. I hear Tiago Chan, the winner of the invitational that led to this card, became a professional wrestler.

Wild.

Jace, the Mind Sculptor set the gold standard for what a Planeswalker could be. It feels like a privilege to be able to play with this card sometimes. One thing that I find interesting, is that in my experience I am vastly more willing to +2 Jace as my main plan than others. I get that Brainstorming is awesome and all, but the elevator going up is pretty cool too. It doesn't create numerical advantage, but using Jace's fate seal can create a lot of qualitive advantage and also let's you use an ability that wins the game. I'm a fan.

Vendilion Clique, though, might just be one of my favourite magic cards. It does a whole lot of very cool things, the most important of which to me is create informational asymmetry. This game would be a lot easier if you knew all the cards your opponent had, and usually that means you have to play cards like Thoughtseize. But that card is gross. Also, don't sleep on using Clique to send one of your own cards away, especially if that card is an equipment that you can find with your stoneforge mystic.

Lastly, we have True-Name Nemesis. This card isn't always good, but when it is it's the best card in your deck. If creatures attacking or blocking matters in a game, there is no card that does either that is better for its cost than TNN. My copies are the only cards in my deck that are altered or signed, and I normally like having things be really consistent in my constructed decks, but you can see Zack Stella's beautiful signature. Can you blame me?

So that is how I'm going to win. How am I going to not lose?

Death's Shadow matches up so poorly against Swords to Plowshares, like damn. My pick for the most outrageous removal spell of all time, even with Assassin's Trophy coming down the pipeline, Swords to Plowshares solves so many problems. A lot of this post is just me gushing about these cards, and I understand that might not be the most engaging thing to read, but I really do just love so many of them.

The rest of these spells are broadly about patching holes up. One of the amazing things about Brainstorm is that you get to see a lot of cards each game, so having a few discrete answers to unusual problems can pay a lot of dividends. Council's Judgment and Enginnered Explosives can answer weird permanents that might otherwise beat me, and Supreme Verdict (though sometimes weird in a deck that wants to put creatures on the battlefield) will occasionally just bail you out. And while it might sound funny, it really is relevant that it is blue sometimes.

This is also the best counterspell art. Still don't @ me.

Force of Will is a bit of a weird card, because in a perfect world I wouldn't even want to play it. It is clunky, puts you down cards a lot of the time and is a massive hassle to play for retail. But also, sometimes Force is the only thing standing between you and rampant degeneracy. People play Belcher in this format! It is the glue that holds the format together.

And then we get to this, and I start to question if I actually know what I'm doing. Sometimes I make these really calculated choices, trying to eke out the smallest possible advantage. Other times I think to myself "yeah, that seems right" and this is one of those times. Flusterstorm is a really powerful, versatile piece of interaction that comes with inbuilt protection and scales throughout the turn. Great with Snapcaster Mage, but absolutely worthless some of the time. People play Chalice of the Void in this format!

Spell Snare is hyper specialized, but it does a lot of things that Flusterstorm can't. There are a legion of incredibly powerful, diverse threats that exist at 2cmc in this format; Baleful Strix, Hymn to Tourach, Tarmogoyf, Sylvan Library, enemy Snapcaster Mage, Counterbalance, Exhume, Infernal Tutor, etc, etc. Snare stops them all cold, but only them.

Spell Pierce is the middle ground, the bridge between two entirely different points of view. It's kinda boring, but its pretty okay at standing in for both of the other's jobs. Spell Pierce never wins employee of the month, but I hope it knows I appreciate it.

One last spell in the main deck, and its Search for Azcanta.

X marks the Spot! I play with checklist cards almost exclusively for any DFC cards that I use, even if I'm 100% sure the sleeves I'm using are completely opaque. It is way better to be safe than sorry, and I also like not needing to actually take my card out of the sleeve to flip it when I can have the real card off to the side in an inner to place on the board when I need it.

Once, when I was playing two Azcanta in a standard deck, I asked my teammate if I should have two Azcanta sleeved, one flipped and one not, because I couldn't actually have two in the same state on the battlefield. They looked like they wanted to slap me.

After that is just lands, and you probably don't want to see that...

Who are we kidding, the lands in a legacy deck are beautiful

I'm really proud of my legacy manabase.

This is also one of those examples of those really calculated choices, optimising for the smallest possible advantages. It turns out that you're only allowed to play four Flooded Strand, and after that NONE of the fetches get both basic Island and basic Plains. Normally this means a couple of Scalding Tarns, or whatever other blue fetch you have a few copies of, but why not extract the tiniest, most infinitesimal fraction of an advantage. What if they Pithing Needle Scalding Tarn? What if they're monsters who cast Surgical Extractions on random targets to see if they getcha? Well you're not going to get me, because I have insulated myself by playing three different blue fetches and an Arid Mesa.

Otherwise, Karakas is a lovely tech land against any sort of reanimator strategy, while also unlocking all sorts of fun play patterns with Vendilion Clique. Wasteland is playing in a similar space, being a low investment singleton that can be really good in some matchups, but I don't know if I like it. I might play an extra basic over it, we'll see.

But wait, I hear you asking, why are you playing Volcanic Island. You don't have any red cards!

Entirely fair question.

All the way from the sideboard, red cards.

As you might have gathered, there are some pretty amazing blue cards in legacy. I'm not one to let people just get away with playing blue cards. It's a little weird to have a 2/1 split of red blast effects, but it's just one of those micro optimizations. Sometimes they'll have a meddling mage naming Pyroblast, you know? Also, on my wishlist is a black border red elemental blast of some description. My pyroblasts just look so much prettier.

Also I guess I lied about TNN being the only signed card I play. But again, just look at Franz Vohwinkel's signature. Impossible to turn it down.

The rest of the sideboard is pretty easy to break down. A Hydroblast, because we can't let people get away with playing red cards either. An extra Flusterstorm, because it's just a fantastic card that usually gets better after sideboard. People usually have pretty good spells in their decks, and stopping Flusterstorm from countering those spells can be pretty challenging. Disenchant is a pretty good hedge a lot of the time, for a similar reason. People tend to have some high impact enchantments or artifacts kicking around, so I usually want a cheap way to fight that available to me. Containment Priest and the two Surgical Extractions are a concession to the speed and power of reanimation strategies, that also happen to have some really good splash damage against other really powerful strategies. I kind of want to make room for a Rest in Peace, but for now these will serve. Monastery Mentor is just one of those cards that, in a post sideboard game where a lot of the removal is gone and Pyroblasts imperil the battlefield and stack, can take over a game with extreme speed and quickly end it. It could also be something like a Gideon, Ally of Zendikar, but there's value in dodging Spell Pierce.

So the only part of this that might be a bit weird is the Spell Queller, Counterbalance package. My thinking is, coming from Miracles, that Counterbalance is sometimes an exceedingly powerful card. And sometimes it's pretty janky. It's hard to truly cut it from the main deck there, because it helps enable so many of the soft synergies in the deck (revealing for Predict, making all the cantrips that much better, finding spots to crack fetch lands for extra value), even though the times that it's bad it is so bad. But here, I've almost got the same amount of cantripping and deck manipulation as I would in Miracles, but my main proactive gameplan is strong enough that I don't need them in my main deck. It's a perfect card to slide into the sideboard, where I can access it both as a value engine for blue pseudo-mirrors and a desperate tool to fight combo as well.

Spell Queller was a card I considered for Vendilion Clique's spot for a long time. They are approximately as vulnerable as each other in the context of the format, but eventually the inability to profitably play it for value proactively gave Clique the nod. But the other main three drop I play kept me thinking about it. When it matters, TNN is exceptional. But when it's bad, there's nothing you want less; True Name feels like such a brick if your opponent is doing something degenerate. It's an easy swap in those situations for this powerful reactive spirit. Like Mentor, dodging Flusterstorm and Spell Pierce is a huge deal in winning counter wars while also transitioning into an aggressive stance. So many important cards are vulnerable to being quelled, and I'm honestly quite excited to play with it.

So... there you have it. That's my legacy deck. It's not perfect, and I'm sure before too long I'll end up putting Terminus back in here and going back to Miracles. It's hard to change decks in Legacy, and not just because of the price. These cards really do feel special, like you're playing with important pieces in the history of a really great, really important game. I hope I get to keep playing Legacy for a long, long time.