#something that contradicts their personality maybe)

[toovaeloe]

curse biologist!reader x assistant!gojo hc’s

content: gojo pining off his ass . little flirty lab partners . tw for sliiighhtest mention of an autopsy and related tools . warning for gojo poppin’ a stiff one in the lab cause he’s a freak like that (ur a freak like that), so mildly suggestive

mdni

curse biologist!reader— the higher ups want you dead and gone, that’s for sure. You, who has a cursed technique that turns cursed energy into something tangible. After applying your technique to a cursed spirit, it becomes visible to a naked human eye, and instead of disintegrating, leaves a corpse behind. You’re dangerous. Crazy. And well…too weird. But they just hate progress, don’t they?

Not Gojo. He really doesn’t think you’re doing any harm to be honest (and he’ll do just about anything if it creases another wrinkle into Gakuganji’s ugly mug)

I mean, who else has been able to make waves in the integration of curses into science like you have? You’ve uncovered an exponential amount about the inner workings of curses in a few years when the rest of Jujutsu society’s had centuries, only to scratch the surface. It’s really admirable how you deep dive into the nitty gritty, as he calls it.

assistant!gojo— who loves being your little go-getter. Your own personal cursed spirit Fetch-Fido— maybe if you squint hard enough you’ll be able to see floppy ears perked to attention in his snowy hair or an eager tail whipping up a hurricane behind him as he brings you back his latest catch: a detained grade 2 curse manifested by the fear of monsters under the bed. Yeah, he knew you’d like something like that.

assistant!gojo— loves witnessing the way your eyes light up and it’s as if he can see the cogs immediately gearing to life in your smart little brain. He’s saluting exaggeratedly with a puffed out chest when you give him the go ahead to kill the thing after you’ve had your hand at it. It’s all he can do not to ask for a pat on the head and praise of how well he did. Getting a “Good boy,” out of you is on his mental vision board.

assistant!gojo— sticks around for the autopsies. Likes watching you poke around inside the creatures and is waiting on your hand and foot through the entire process. Scalpel? Bone saw? Enterotomy scissors? The bread knife??? He’s even starting to become attuned to your whims, tool already in hand before you extend your palm.

If you murmured an awed, “look at thaaat,” he’s quick to huddle in close under the pretense of observing whatever oddity that’s intrigued you. Only to squish his cheek against yours with a feigned, “hmm…mhmm…” nodding stiltedly, and not so discreetly nuzzling his face closer to yours with an impish glint in those azure eyes as he casts a sidelong glance to your skeptical neutrality.

assistant!gojo— staring at you with the widest puppy dog eyes as you discard your gloves and begin sketching diagrams of the latest brain you’ve picked apart, comparing it to the contradicting one of another curse, and contrasting from the drastically different human model you have. He can listen to you babble for hours, if only absorbing every other word of your theories on why a curse’s blood runs violet or how you’re so excited to get these samples to the lab. He’ll still chip in with his own question or hypothesis from time to time, because he’s curious too, but more than that he loves the way you answer.

assistant!gojo— purposely uses candy and sweets as a metaphor whenever you plead with him to explain how he views the electromagnetic spectrum through those eyes of his, just because he thinks it’s funny how desperate you are to know. To this day you can’t decode however the fuck that analogy about laffy taffy and rock candy was supposed to relate to infrared waves.

assistant!gojo— Satoru can’t decide what’s worse; the fact that he can’t get you out of his head or the fact that you want inside of his head

This whole situation is basically him giving you googoo eyes and kissy faces as you scribble down something on your clipboard and try to stick him with a needle

assistant!gojo— who’s willing to be a bit of a lab rat for you. He’s all giggles as he prances up to your vertical operation table, huffing lightly when you strap him against the cool steel. “Don’t be shy now, y’could go tighter than that. You know I like it when you tie me up,,” he encourages oh so unhelpfully.

assistant!gojo— chiding you to be careful when you begin application of the biosensors across his chest, cause he’ll get “a little too excited.” You don’t pay mind to his little quip until you see his already irregularly R-R intervals spike impossibly short on the electrocardiogram readings. And then again as you finish hooking him up to the machine.

assistant!gojo— thinks you might be overthinking what environmental stimuli might have caused that anomaly, or maybe judging by that poorly veiled smile and half-hearted “My mistake,” you’ve purposefully placed that one sensor node a little too low on his pelvis this time. Now that he’s thinkin’ about— yeah—there definitely wasn’t any need for you crouch so low until your nose was practically level with the apex of his thigh. Or for you to look up at him in a way that had him failing to suppress a shiver and his breath hitching when you smoothly rubbed the padding of the damn thing into his hip with your thumb. Aaaand fuck, he’s bricked in the lab. (again.)

He’d kill to know what’s going on in your noggin. And frankly he’s dying to get the pants off his fave smartypants.

a/n: as soon as I got this idea i was like ooo biting my lip and bigbig smile,, onto something? am I onto something??? would anybody maybemaybe read a one shot with this concept 👀? okay I love you byyyee

[lockpickingliar]

We ran out of tags so I guess we gotta do this in the body of the post. Sorry.

Not sure who's at the helm right now muse-wise, but it's nice to see the acknowledgment. It's probably Cookie or Gemini or another who's experienced Chapter 4. Kichi? Moonpie? Joker? Maybe it's several of us in a lump. We do that sometimes.

But anyway. It's like...

Yeah, Gokuhara and Iruma were important to us.

Then imagine our turmoil when we figured out that Iruma was planning to kill us.

It makes sense. She could lie about whatever she wanted with the program without us around. Aside from the fact we were carrying the trials when it came to lies, we were the only one who knew anything remotely useful about the program because we helped he set things up and had an opportunity to snoop beforehand. Without us to contradict her, she could say whatever she wanted and she'd get away with it.

Everyone would die, so it had to be done.

But then imagine our NEW turmoil realizing we couldn't just get the job done ourselves.

If we wanted to avoid the program altogether, then everyone would think it suspicious of us. They all had a hate-boner for us for whatever reason, so any complaints from us would be regarded with suspicion at best and malice at worst.

If we tried to kill Iruma ourselves, we'd die because of the way she programmed our avatar. Iruma's not stupid, she knew who she was dealing with and wanted to room for us to be able to fight back at all.

So we had to get someone else to do it.

And the only person who left who listened to us at that point was Gokuhara.

Maybe we should have made our own post. An X on Y Essay or something, we don't know. Not a lot of people take kindly to the first person speech on analysis posts we've seen.

But we had to say it.

It hurt.

It hurt it hurt it hurt.

In one fell swoop we were forced to lose both of our only remaining companions. We would've been content with the 50/50 split and going down with the ship. That would have been fair, we think.

But that's not what happened.

Even then, nothing seems to go out way and we had to survive and reckon with what we'd done.

You all know the rest of the story. How much of a wreck we were after the trial. Our downward spiral after that. Our doubling down.

We were alone. And we always would be.

honestly everyone in v3 who survived up until chapter 5 is such a clown for believing kokichi was the mastermind

[shatcey]

Mirror event (Victor)

Now it becomes clear why Vivi looks so much like hemself in this story. Because it wasn't a dream…

I look at this men standing next to each other, and think… I… belong there. Literally. Right there, between them. I've never felt like I belong to any place, perhaps because I really need to be there.

Okay...

And now Vivi's thoughts. As always, they made my brain explode a bit.

He was ready to kill her if something went wrong, because his children are at the top of his list of priorities (after the queen, of course), but… He still wants her to stay. I'm surprised… Is this a contradiction? Or does he just want to add another seed to his garden of children? Or… she is any different?

This… It's terribly sad. Does this mean that no one will ever want to take care of him? Maybe were afraid to do it? Didn't think of him as a person? It's become a painful topic for me lately… Could it be related to his abilities? Or his status? He is a man who stands firmly on his feet, who achieves a lot, who is the second person in the country. Maybe… No, I'm probably imagining…

Victor often talks about light and darkness. What if it's not just a metaphor… What if he really can see the color of the soul? He's a grim reaper after all. What would make so much sense… He can tell who deserves to die and who deserves to be saved. This makes him the same judge as William.

Sure… Victor drops such a bomb… I'm not even surprised. Bound… He's bound… trapped… restricted. Maybe he just phrased it that way, after all, they all have a grim fate. But… What if it's literal? What if… his fate not allow him to get to close to people? I don't like where this thought leads me to…

You're breaking my heart! Why??? What can't he do? Follow his desires? Or… being too close to someone? He doesn't allow himself to do this because he had some experience in the past… What was that? What happens to the other person? Why did he decide never to do it again? I have… so many questions.

No, don't you dare say that was the last time! I'm going to punch you, painfully….... on the shoulder. You look like a teddy bear, and I love hugs! You got the point, right?

Why is it in quotes? Who told you that? This person was lying! They can, and they will come true. Ally is proof of that. He didn't dream, but his dreams came true. Don't ask me how this is possible! It defies logic…

So… It was a very short story, but it managed to give me a headache. I'm… not surprised at all.

Now I'm curious to know what was in the other stories. I remember reading Ellis' story a year ago, and in the end he killed her. So… It was definitely a dream! If so… how can we read the story from his POV???

Don't tell me… Ally, don't let these guys exploit your abilities!!!! You are not a tool! I'll really going to punch Victor if that's the case.

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

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

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

[thepigeonhasapen]

🦇SFW A-Z: Eddie Munson🦇

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

Uber snuggly very physically affectionate cuddlebug. Eddie is always hanging off his friends and you're no different. Absolute nuisance about it though. Constantly playing with your hair or climbing on you or picking you up or poking you or tickling you. Undiagnosed ADHD king and always looking for something to fidget with. Sometimes (often) that thing happens to be his friends. Will generally back off if he's told no but not for long. Often has a tendency to forget that he can be a lot.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

As a friend, Eddie is already ride or die so you can just imagine what he's like as your bestie. Tends to be extra clingy and will always catch up with you between periods even if his next class is way the fuck on the other side of the building. Can and will hunt you down if you don't come and eat lunch with him. As his best friend, you get treated to exclusive jam sessions and discussions about D&D. That last bit's non-negotiable, sorry. Whether or not you play, Eddie is going to use you as a sounding board for bouncing ideas off of. You're also quite lucky because, being so close to him, Eddie lets you see the softer side of himself and not just the bold persona he puts up for the rest of the world. You'll need a strong personality to match his own if you hope to vibe with him and he'd absolutely adore that you can dish out as much as you take. Lots of flirting, jokingly or otherwise. The kind of relationship where people genuinely get confused on whether or not you're dating.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

Your best bet for snuggling with Eddie is to put on a movie he likes or catch him when he's sleepy. Eddie's huge on physical affection but he's also a public menace and will pester anyone in touching range. If he doesn't have some sort of distraction, cuddles will very quickly turn into wrestling or tickling.

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

My man hasn't even graduated, give him a minute! Maybe in the very distant future? Honestly, he hasn't even given it much thought to what he wants to do with his life, never mind what he's going to do when he gets old!

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He just wants it over with. Assuming it was because he fell out of love, Eddie would feel super guilty about leading them on. He wants it done quick and easy but he can't work up the courage to actually go through with it so he probably just... avoids them. This man isn't even twenty-five yet, do you think he's going to be at all emotionally mature? He acts cold and distant until confronted, at which point he will ashamedly let on what his problem is. After the break up, Eddie is cautious but willing to let things return to the way things were before the relationship, you just have to push through his weird vibes until he mellows out again.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

Hasn't really given it much thought to be honest. Eddie is deeply committed to his relationships and would never cheat on his partner but marriage? He hasn't thought about it. Would likely defer to whatever his partner wanted. If they want to get married? Sick. If they don't? Also cool, doesn't mean he cares for them any less.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

Eddie is a nice complicated soup of contradictions. He's blunt but he's kind. He can be mean but he can also be incredibly sweet. Eddie will roughhouse but he'd never actually hurt someone. His friends anyway. He would cut a bitch if someone else started it. As you get closer to him or if you're nice to him or if you're just a nervous person in general, Eddie will let his coarser outer shell slip. He can be a bastard but he (mostly) knows when to pull his punches.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

Probably won't initiate them, but absolutely loves receiving them. Unlikely to give hugs in public but behind closed doors, Eddie gets really clingy. If he's upset, he will bury his face in your neck and hold you just a little tighter.

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

Platonically, Eddie has a lot less reservations. If he's swept up in his emotions (or high), he's a lot more willing to just let whatever's in his head slip out. Most likely to save it for extreme circumstances like dying if you brought his homework to him and it's due like right now and he needs this last assignment to graduate or else he'll fail again. Romantically, Eddie is a good deal more shy about it. He doesn't want to move too fast or overstep and push you away. Praying you'll say it first, but if you don't, he'll let it slip by accident at some point anyway. Either he's high off his ass or he's just caught up in a burst of strong feelings, but it'll get out before he can stop it. After he says it for the first time, he just never stops. Tends to save it for private moments between the two of you, but Eddie will tell you he loves you every chance he gets.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Despite his outwardly cocky persona, Eddie is actually quite self-conscious. He gets hurt very easily if his friends choose to spend time with other people over him, but he can mostly hide his feelings about it. His jealousy might manifest in a few snide remarks about the person in question and, if he's feeling really petty, something bad happening to your character in D&D. Mostly, though, he manages to keep it to himself. However this immediately goes out the window for a romantic partner. Someone flirting with you? Yeah, sorry, you now have an Eddie surgically attached to you for the rest of the evening. He's not extremely possessive but he is also rubbing up against you like a cat marking their person so take that as you will.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

Eddie's a dramatic bitch. He lives for kissing the back of your hand like he's some gallant knight who just vanquished a dragon for you. He may also get down on one knee to do it if he's feeling particularly whimsical. Not to say Eddie isn't capable of giving other kisses. He loves kissing you on the mouth and on your cheeks and on your forehead and in your hair and on your neck and pretty much everywhere within reach. Gives the most kisses when he first wakes up and he's all sleepy and silly.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Kids love Eddie. Eddie does not care for kids. Anything below high school age is on thin fucking ice. As he gets older, I feel like he'll grow to like and even want kids of his own, but for the moment he's still in that "too cool to hang out with children" stage of his life. Eddie, bestie, you practically are a children.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

Slow. Eddie doesn't go to bed until like midnight so, assuming he woke up that morning at all, he's going to spend the first hour or so in a cranky half-asleep fugue state. When he first wakes up, he's very sweet and cuddly... until he actually has to get out of bed. Has said some very unkind things to the toaster during his mid-morning tantrums.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

If he had a choice, he'd be exclusively nocturnal so it probably won't be spent sleeping. His uncle works the night shift so he doesn't really concern himself with keeping the volume low (despite his neighbours' desire to kill him dead) and will definitely try to entice you to stay up and blare heavy metal with him. Usually has a smoke in the evenings before bed because it helps to settle his mind.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

Anyone pretty much knows Eddie's deal from the first minute they meet him. A bold, loud, and opinionated motor mouth, Eddie refuses to even pretend to be one of the normies. He's is pretty forthcoming with his thoughts and feelings so generally all it'll take to get information out of him is a simple question, assuming you can't already guess from the way he's acting. There are certain things he does keep to himself though, things that you won't get out of him unless he's in a really bad place emotionally. Because he's failed to graduate so many times he feels really self-conscious about his intelligence, but won't ever admit it until it's bothering him so bad he's actively having a mental breakdown about it.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

Eddie doesn't get mad really. Irritated, annoyed, or perturbed sure, but the most you'll ever get out of him is a slightly raised voice. Holds a grudge but also forgives easily, so long as he receives what he considers an adequate apology. His definition of adequate will fluctuate wildly depending on the severity of the crime. Spill something on him? That's cool, accidents happen. Miss a D&D session? May the fires of Hell have mercy on you because Eddie certainly will not. You better get down on your knees and BEG for that man's forgiveness because he's not letting that shit go unless you were like in the actual hospital. And even then he's very lowkey like I know you had appendicitis but can you maybe schedule that better next time? Maybe consider how this affects me.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

Eddie has a memory like a steel trap (see: remembering the clothes Dustin and Mike were wearing when he met them, and also that he learned Master of Puppets on the guitar in like two weeks considering how long the song would've been out at the time.) Unfortunately, that memory only kicks in when he's super engaged with something... or just at absolute random. Eddie will recall the strangest shit about you. He'll remember what your pencil case looks like and what your favorite arcade game is and the exact spot you held hands with him for the first time, but what day your date's at? Uh.... Eddie better be scribbling that on his arm real quick or else it is absolutely gonezo. Has probably stood you up at least once and felt super bad about it because he legitimately forgot you two were going to hang out. He feels awful about it, he just struggles with keeping things straight in his head. Forgive the poor boy please, he's trying his best :(

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

Help him study and Eddie will be your best friend for life. He struggles so hard to keep his grades up and he just wants to be OUT of this damn school already. If you help him do that? Eddie is over the moon. He appreciates you attempting to explain concepts in a way he understands or gently steering him back on task. If he wasn’t ride or die for you before, while he certainly is now. He also lowkey loves the way pencil smudges and pen ink look on your hands, and he may or may not get distracted staring at them more than a few times.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

Eddie is extremely protective over his friends and he displays it by way of making himself a target instead. He's bold and loud to draw attention away from other people, taking all the bullying and cruelty onto himself. Eddie hates seeing his little flock get hurt and will always step in to protect them. He feels devastated and awful if any of his friends get hurt despite his efforts. Most people tend to view his behavior as Eddie just being Eddie, and it is mostly, but they don't often think about just how often Eddie plants himself square in the firing line. Eddie doesn't even consciously think about it, it's just something he does, so imagine his surprise when you stand up for him. He loves knowing you have his back and feels absolutely giddy having you there. Eddie will mostly rely on intimidation factor because he honestly kinda crumples like wet tissue paper in a fight, so if you can throw a punch, he's gonna fucking fall in love with you right that minute. Seeing someone else initiate will also bolster Eddie’s courage and he'll probably get physical too. After a few seconds of staring at you with wide-eyed adoration because oh my god you just punched a guy for him!

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

Eddie is a man of extremes. It's either all or nothing with him. He agonizes over gifts until he finds the perfect one, will plan special occasions down to the smallest detail, but also tends to be super lax about dates. Eddie just likes to hang out on them. He doesn't need anything special to do that with you, he just needs you.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Eddie's a true sweetheart at his core, but he's also a bit of an asshole. He's rude and brusque when he's upset, but at least you can generally tell what's upsetting him. He's also a total snob, looking down on anyone he considers a normie. By default, cold to people he can't immediately clock as one of the freaks. Frequently inconsiderate about hobbies he doesn't share, i.e. basketball. A complete elitist about metal culture and probably looks down on battle jackets that don't contain strictly band patches/pins.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

Eddie's not vain per se, but he does definitely care about his outward appearance. He doesn't outright preen in front of the mirror but all of his clothes are chosen to match a certain aesthetic. He likes the way he looks and he dresses that way on purpose, but he's also not like putting a whole lot of effort into it, yknow? He takes pride in the way he looks but not to the extent that I'd call him vain. About average level of liking to present himself the way he wants to.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

Now I'm not saying Eddie goes into a depressive spiral upon a break up, but I'm also not NOT saying that. Eddie loves with his whole heart and is quite thoroughly devastated when his feelings aren't returned. He'll try to brush it off and play it cool, like it's not a big deal, but he's also playing sad songs on his guitar and laying in a limp puddle on his bed so take that as what you will.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

Secretly loves chess but won't tell his friends because like... that's nerd shit. And Eddie’s a freak not a nerd, c'mon. He's not one of those super smart, straight-A geeks, he's cool and he's edgy and sure he likes tabletop games but not LAME ones likes chess and checkers. Plays his Uncle as often as he can even though Eddie wins pretty much all the time.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

Conformity. Eddie hates people that aren't weirdo freaks. Be too typical for him and he's barely giving you a second glance. But to be fair, he can deal with boring. He won't like it but he can play nice if he has to. The real thing that gets on his nerves is bullies. Eddie despises people who pick on others and he'll make sure they know it. Being needlessly cruel to someone in front of Eddie is a good way to piss him right off.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

Eddie sleeps like a nightmare. He talks in his sleep, he drools, he gets the absolute worst case of bedhead every night no exceptions, he kicks, and on top of it all he rolls himself in the blankets like a burrito. It's not like you can wake him up either because that boy sleeps DEEP. But it might just be worth it in the end, because every morning Eddie will wake up just enough to wrap around you like an octopus and mumble sleepy words of affection into your skin. His big brown Bambi eyes are still so dopey with sleep that you're not entirely sure he's actually fully conscious but that just make his ooey-gooeyness all the sweeter actually. He'll say yes to anything you say right now, to the extent that you could probably convince him to shave his head, move up to the mountains, and become a monk. But maybe don't do that. Maybe just convince him to make you breakfast instead. (Actually don't do that either, he'll light the trailer on fire.)

[lionhanie]

the first snow (lee riwoo)

working during the holidays isn’t too bad with sanghyeok by your side 

co-worker!riwoo x gn!reader (non-idol au) 

this work is my contribution to @onedoornet’s christmas event, a very onedoor christmas! check it out here!

word count: 4.1k ˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ genre: fluff

warnings: a pinch of angst i'd say (alluding to burnout/seasonal depression), reader is a people pleaser, i curse maybe twice lol, riwoo is referred to as sanghyeok! 

a/n: SORRY I KNOW CHRISTMAS IS OVER…. had fun writing it regardless :,) hope u enjoy ^^

reblogs ↺  + feedback always appreciated!

Being one of the younger workers in the office was frustrating to say the least. Pausing your work to complete trivial tasks in the middle of the workday – making copies of a meeting agenda, fetching your seniors’ morning coffees, reorganizing the ridiculously large stack of your current client’s files – the list seemed to never end. For some reason, everyone around you was conveniently occupied with something so urgent that they couldn’t attend to the matters themselves, leaving the responsibility up to you. Sometimes you felt like you spent more time faced with useless errands than doing the work you were hired to do in the first place.

You were expecting a bit more respect from your peers when you were appointed as the team leader for your company’s newest project, but you were quick to realize your naivety in the earlier group meetings, finding that no one seemed to take you seriously. You would’ve thought that because the other members on the project had years of experience on their side, surely they’d be able to hold their weight to a certain extent... Right?

Painfully enough, it was the complete opposite. You can’t count the number of times one of the more “experienced” workers asked you to repeat a detail you’d discussed just minutes prior, or proposed a suggestion that completely contradicted the end goal of your client– it was clear to you that no one saw your leadership as more than a joke, no matter how hard you tried. 

And to top it all off, your company was structured in such a way that made it nearly impossible for you to speak up against your elders. Your word as a senior associate meant close to nothing if you were going against one of the partners of the firm. It didn’t matter that you put in ten times more effort than your team members, it was almost as if they were praised according to how long they’ve been in the office.

Safe to say you were relieved when Sanghyeok was added as a member of the team you were leading on a random Tuesday afternoon. Not that you two were close by any means – the extent of your interactions consisted of small smiles exchanged in passing in the printer room or short discussions of weekend plans over coffee in the break room. Rather, you were hopeful that his addition to the project would mean someone would finally start contributing even a fraction of the work you were putting in.

Even though you dread your bi-weekly team meetings, it was so much more rewarding to at least one other person cared about the success of the project. Sanghyeok was always in his unassigned-assigned seat right by the projector, intently nodding along to your agenda and taking notes when he deemed necessary. Hell, he’d even chime in whenever someone would ask a question that was obviously answered earlier in the presentation, giving you the chance to save your breath for something that actually mattered, and shooting you a cheeky grin afterwards, clearly satisfied helping you whenever he could. 

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ Four days before the deadline. . .

Everyone begins to pack up their belongings the second it hits 5:00PM, slowly but surely filing out of the office before it gets too dark. It was no surprise to see your colleagues zipping up their briefcases far earlier than you planned on clocking out; the project deadline crept up on you faster than you’d like to admit, and your mostly incompetent team forced you to work overtime a majority of the recent weeks. In any other case, you probably wouldn’t be breaking your back hunched over your keyboard hours after the sun had set, but because the project was in your name, it pained you to present a finished product you weren’t proud of. 

“You aren’t leaving yet, Y/N?” You look up from your monitor, finding Sanghyeok looking at you from across your cubicle, wrapping a plush scarf around his neck. His eyes are full of concern– he’s noticed the way you never seem to budge once your peers start going home for the night. Even on days when he logs off later than he’d initially planned to, you’re still there, typing away at your desk.

“Agh, our Y/N is always so hardworking! They never seem to leave with the rest of us,” Alvin, a senior on your project notorious for sending in half-assed work far past the deadline you set for him, comments from his seat beside you. “I could never put in as much work as you do, not when I’ve got a family waiting for me at home!” Yeah, no shit. It’s hard to believe he’s stayed at the company so long performing the same quality of work you were doing in your first year in the office.

His words stung a bit, feeling oddly bitter at the idea of someone like him having people who loved him waiting for him to return from work– Coming back home to an empty apartment late at night never used to bother you, but something about the long winter nights and freezing temperatures made it undoubtedly sad in nature. It wasn’t just the weather making your loneliness feel colder than usual. 

The smile you return is painfully fake, something Sanghyeok clocks almost immediately. He gnaws on his lip, wanting to say something to the senior, ultimately deciding to hold back on it given how new he was to the project. Maybe it wasn’t his place. He didn’t want to make things worse for you by saying something out of line. Alvin shrugs his coat onto his back, quickly leaving the premises without another word. 

“If I didn’t see you in a new outfit everyday, I’d think you slept at your desk,” Sanghyeok jokes, trying to lighten the mood. From his first meeting with the new team, he quickly learned to admire the way you seemed to take charge when you needed to. It was impressive the way you’d joined the company later than he had, and were already put in charge of such a big task. He knew exactly how it felt to deal with all the stupid tasks from the other seniors in the office, finding himself doing the same thing for weeks before you came in. 

You chuckle pitifully, mainly towards yourself. “At this point, I should stop paying rent and start living at my desk.” You groan as you take a break for a well-needed stretch, your back cracking from your poor posture. “Some days I feel like I’m in the office more than my apartment.” Your words are lighthearted, but Sanghyeok notices the underlying melancholy in your statement. 

And Sanghyeok takes his leave, only after wishing you good luck and a “get home safe” as he always does, but he can’t stop thinking about how much time you’ve been putting into your work. He’s constantly shut down whenever he asks you if there’s anything else he can help with, just wanting to take a fraction of the load off your plate.

He knows you’re doing it just to be nice. You’re the type of person to take on a burden all on your own, even if it means committing to the ungodly hours you’ve become so used to. Even on the bus ride home, Sanghyeok can’t shake your tired eyes out of his mind. For some reason, it hurts to imagine you slowly killing yourself over a silly project all because no one had the decency to bother trying when they knew you’d fix it for them anyways. He wanted to do more… No, he needed to do more. 

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ Three days before the deadline. . .

Sanghyeok wonders how you’re always earlier than him when he walks into the office, finding you so put-together and diligently editing the project presentation when he’s still groggy after his commute to work. 

The workload around the holidays is never too demanding, thankfully the company’s clients normally don’t ask for much as the year comes to an end. In your case, however, all your time is spent on trying to perfect the project proposal for your overwhelmingly-nitpicky boss. You’re convinced it’s some sort of test to see how good you’d be leading a team before you get the promotion you’ve been waiting on for the past couple months. Even if you make it out of your boss’ critiques alive, you’re certain you’ve lost countless years off your life with all the stress weighing down on you. 

You lock eyes with Sanghyeok every once in a while, finding him peeking over the divider separating your desks more than normal. That’s odd. You figure it’s probably because he has a question about the numerous items that still need fixing on the project. It doesn’t occur to you that he wants to talk to you until he rises from his chair, tapping his pen on the top of your monitor to catch your attention.

“I don’t know if you saw, but I just fixed a lot of the trouble areas you mentioned in the meeting the other day,” He’s excessively clicking the pen in his free hand, feeling oddly nervous to show you his work even when he knows he did everything properly– He knows how high your expectations are when it comes to your job. “I’m pretty sure I made sure to do everything you asked for, but you might want to double-check if I missed anything.”

The gasp of relief you let out is uncharacteristically loud, so much so that it earns you a side-eye from Alvin, who was currently playing solitaire at his desk next to you. He’d just saved you hours of overtime with his work, finding everything done to a tee. “No, no, this is perfect. I was dying to fix those until I realized I forgot Christian told me to come with him for his fieldwork later and–”

“It doesn’t matter who goes with him, right? I’ll go with him instead.”

“Huh? Are you sure? I don’t mind, plus he specifically asked me so maybe–”

“Y/N, it’s fine, really! I used to go on client visits all the time before he started dragging you along with him. I’ll be okay, promise!” He’s confident in his words, reassuring you of all the concerns he knew were starting to bubble up in your head. “I know you’ve been worried about getting everything done before the deadline, you shouldn’t have to waste your precious time following him around and pretending like you care about his wife.” 

The comment makes you giggle, everyone knew the senior for the way he could go on and on about his family life knowing damn well no one was actually listening to his neverending rants. “Thank you, Sanghyeok. It means a lot, really.”  

“Maybe we’ll be able to leave at the same time today, yeah?”

 

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ Two days before the deadline. . .

The following day, after everyone else in the office logged out for the night, Sanghyeok sneaks back into the office. He made it his mission to discreetly plant a care package for you while you’re busy in the printer room– It’s nothing big, no, rather just a hot cup of tea and a sandwich he’d purchased from the cafe across the street from the building. 

You’d offhandedly mentioned the way you get so immersed in your work without anyone peering over your shoulder that you forget to cater to your growing hunger, often resorting to eating instant ramen in the break room before returning to your desk. Sanghyeok knew how much the project meant to you, but that didn’t mean he was going to let you neglect your health just for a positive response from your old boss.   

You’re confused when you come back to your cubicle, finding all of your previously haphazardly scattered project papers perfectly organized in a folder by the edge of the desk. The lid was taken off the cup of tea, presumably to let it cool down a bit before drinking. Huh? The note atop the sandwich container answered the questions lingering in your mind.

hope you don’t mind me moving some stuff around on your desk :p  eat up before you get back to work! good luck y/n!  sanghyeok (  ≧ᗜ≦)

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ One day before the deadline. . .

“You think Alvin will mind if I borrow his spot today?” Sanghyeok questions, swiveling around in an office chair that didn’t belong to him.

“You could probably erase all the files off his computer and he wouldn’t bat an eye,” You joke as you sort through the stacks of papers residing on your desk, looking for a particular document. “I’m convinced he gets paid to just sit there and play card games for eight hours.” 

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever seen him touch his keyboard.” Sanghyeok chuckles before logging into the computer beside you.

“Why’re you using his computer though? You’re not going home yet?” 

“I think it’s only fair for me to help you finish the proposal when we’re supposed to be submitting it tomorrow,” Sanghyeok answers matter-of-factly. You watch as he opens up the same powerpoint you’ve been staring at on his own monitor. It’s quiet for a few minutes, the only sounds coming from the occasional clicks of your mouse. “...Doesn’t it get lonely working all by yourself?”

You pause to think for a moment. It’s not the worst thing in the world, you’re sure you wouldn’t be capable of doing it everyday if it was that unbearable. “No, not really. If anything, it’s nice to not have anyone pulling me away from my desk for some stupid shit– Sorry, stupid stuff.” You correct yourself. 

“I know we’re still at work and all, but you don’t need to censor yourself when it’s just us. I’m not gonna snitch on you for cursing on the clock, Y/N.” He teases, not surprised to see that you’re still in work-mode even when the office is practically empty. 

“Oops, just force of habit. I'd rather die than accidently curse in front of one of the oldies we work with,” You smile sheepishly, feeling at ease with him at your side. You’re not sure when you grew so fond of the man – maybe it’s because of how similar you are in age or the way he’s always so quick to defend you in the meeting room – but he’s always felt like more of a friend than a co-worker in times like these. “...It’s nice to have some company for a change, though. Felt like I was going insane looking at the same documents all by myself.” 

“It’s okay to admit you get lonely sometimes, Y/N.” Sanghyeok pauses his typing to look at you, his eyes soft when they meet yours. “I was thinking about it on my way home the other day, you know, the way you willingly stay in the office after everyone leaves every night. It’s hard to imagine it isn’t difficult being by yourself all the time.”

You’re silent, knowing that he’ll see through you no matter what you say. Sure, you had your fair share of moments sitting crying at your desk, in fear that your efforts wouldn’t pay off despite how much you’ve been trying, but that doesn’t mean you need his help. You made it this far all on your own, after all. 

And when you fall asleep at your desk, exhaustion finally catching up to you, Sanghyeok doesn’t hesitate to rest a sweater on your back. He knows how upset you’ll be once you wake up, bummed that you dozed off at such a crucial time, but he’s more than happy to let you sleep for a bit before gently shaking you awake after a well-deserved power nap. 

“Shit, how long was I knocked out for?” Embarrassed, you rub the sleep from your eyes, turning away to yawn. 

“It wasn’t even thirty minutes, you’ll be fine Y/N. I finished editing a section of the report while you were sleeping too.” You tap on your mouse, waking up the black screen, happy to see that a good chunk of the comments you’d made on the document were long resolved. “Can you promise me something?” 

You’re offset by the sudden serious mood lingering between you two, but you slowly nod regardless. “Even when this project is over, will you promise to come to me if you need help?” 

“I know I only joined your team recently, but I want you to know you can depend on me. It’s not fair for you to do all this on your own,” Sanghyeok can sense the way you’re processing his request in your mind, watching as you hesitate to answer. “I know it’s probably weird coming from someone who’s only been here a couple months longer than you, but I promise I’ll try my best if you ever need me.” 

“Okay.”

“...So that means you won’t try to turn me down whenever I offer to do something for you, right?” 

“Yes, Sanghyeok, I won’t turn you down when you try to help me.” You roll your eyes at him before turning back to your computer, missing the way his face lights up at your response, proudly smiling to himself. 

ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 .ᐟ The day of the deadline. . .

You’re sure you could cry tears of joy when you send the final version of your project proposal to your boss. There were a few sections you wish you had more time to perfect, but it was impossible without an extension to your deadline– There’s nothing else to do but wait until you get feedback, which is entirely out of your hands at this point. 7:15PM. It’s still two hours past the usual 5:00PM ending time, but far earlier than you’ve clocked out in the past two weeks. 

“You’re actually leaving at the same time as me? I’m not dreaming, right?” Sanghyeok pinches at his cheek, earning a giggle from you in response. 

“Well, I just forwarded all the documents to our boss. Felt like I deserved at least one early night during the holidays,” You close your eyes as you fall back in your chair, letting out a content sigh knowing there wasn’t anything else you had to do for a while. “God, I don’t know what I’d do without you, Sanghyeok.” 

He holds the door for you after you’ve both collected all of your belongings, bundled up for the harsh temperatures waiting for you outside the building. The elevator ride down is silent until the man next to you clears his throat, prompting you to look at him. “So, do you have plans tonight?”

“Ah, not really. I was planning on picking up some dinner at the convenience store before heading back to my place.” He nods, fiddling with his tie in a feeble attempt to calm down his nerves from what he was about to do. 

“Can I take you out to dinner, Y/N?” Your eyes widen slightly, unsure what to make of the question. Was he… asking you on a date right now? It wasn’t out of the ordinary for coworkers to share a meal off the clock, but the fact that it was just the two of you had your brain malfunctioning. “...You know, as a thank you for working so hard on the project! It’s the least I can do.” Sanghyeok laughed nervously, hand flying up to the back of his neck as he waited for your response. 

It doesn’t take long for you to decide your answer, nodding in confirmation, feeling slightly bashful at the sudden act of appreciation you weren’t used to receiving, especially not at work. There’s a pep in his step as he brings to you one of his favorite ramen spots, a hole-in-the-wall joint tucked away from the main streets. It’s cute, honestly. You’ve learned a lot about your coworker in recent days, but this side of him was entirely new to you. 

You’re glad you trusted his recommendations when you take your first bite, the hot broth immediately melting the chills you garnered from the short walk there. Despite this being your first interaction with Sanghyeok outside of work, there’s no awkwardness in your time spent together– Instead, a fuzzy feeling rests in your chest as you look at the man sitting across the table from you. Perhaps it’s due to the newfound absence of pressure on your back from sending in the project proposal, or maybe because it’s the first time you’ve allowed yourself a proper meal in days, but it’s a feeling you don’t wish to lose any time soon. 

Usually you’re one to rush back home immediately after dinner, not wanting to lose any second of rest you have before you’re forced to go back to the hell you call work, but you’re more than happy to accept Sanghyeok’s invitation to go to a nearby bar for some drinks following the meal you shared. It’s there you realize he’s a lot wittier than he comes off as when you’re on the clock, your cheeks aching from smiling so hard at his endless supply of jokes. 

You don’t stay there long, only garnering a couple drinks before finding yourself walking around one of the parks in the area you didn’t even know existed, gawking at the string lights adorning the trees. Work was taking up all of your attention that you didn’t even have the time to decorate your apartment for the holidays like you normally would’ve. This was the closest thing you could get, but you were far from complaining. 

“I never expected you to be like this, Sanghyeok.” You confess after coming down from the fit of laughter he’d induced with one of his stupid puns.

“What do you mean?” He asks, worried that he’d done something wrong. 

“Oh, I wasn’t trying to say anything bad! You’re just… A breath of fresh air, I guess.” Your words emit a cloud of vapor in the frigid air.  “I’m sorry I didn’t notice it sooner, I’ve been a real shut-in especially with the deadline and–”

“You don’t need to apologize for that, Y/N.” He cuts you off; he’s well aware of your tendency to apologize for things that you didn’t need to be sorry for in the first place. It was one of the only things he wished he could change about you, wanting you to give yourself more credit for the love you poured into everything you did. “I just wanted to make your life easier, I guess. Thanks for giving me the chance to do that tonight.” 

“I should really be the one thanking you. You’ve been nothing short of helpful ever since you joined our team,” Thinking back on the past couple days, Sanghyeok never once shied away from doing things to ease your burdens, even going out of his way so you could focus all your attention onto what mattered most to you. “It’s like you were some sort of holiday miracle sent to me.” 

Unwrapping the scarf from his neck, Sanghyeok carefully loops it around the back of your head, securing it snugly at the front of your jacket. “It’s freezing… You should really be layering up more.” He’s glad the lighting on the trees is too dim for you to see the blush creeping up his neck after seeing you in his clothes. He’d probably blame it on the frosty air if you called him out on it. “Ah, it’s snowing!” 

The gaze you were previously sharing is broken as you look up, crystal white snowflakes slowly sinking from the sky. It was surreal to be standing in the middle of the park, ambient light illuminating the way the snow ended their descent atop your heads, your shared laughter harmonizing at the sight.

And despite the cold weather, you felt warm standing next to him.

© lionhanie 2025 ; all rights reserved!

[cripplecharacters]

Do you have any advice on what i should take into consideration to not accidentally fall into ableism when writing about a character dealing with the trauma of causing someone a disability (? My main struggle is to not pass off character's personal bias (that they fall into in their psychological struggle with guilt) as some sort of narrative truth and statements about disabilitily. But also I feel like there must be other nuances I should take into consideration. The character who got disabled is very important to the story and is an active character and not just a plot device, but since the story isn't really written from their perspective, i feel that i should be extra careful in how i treat the whole situation

Hi asker,

I think something to take into consideration is: How did they cause the disability? By which I mean, if for example, they injured someone else, was it something semi-purposeful (like a fight), completely accidental that they could not have prevented (like tripping and falling while holding something that, upon breaking, caused a disabling injury), or accidental but preventable (like giving them the wrong medication)? Or something else?

All of those can be traumatic, but perhaps for different reasons. Scenario A can lead to a lot of guilt but maybe justification; "I didn't mean to do it but I was doing what I otherwise felt I needed to do." Scenario B can lead to a lot of survivor's guilt, and scenario C can lead to different types of guilt depending on if and how they take responsibility for it.

It also depends on the kind of disability. Causing someone a terminal disability is going to feel pretty different than causing someone a disability that, while disabling, allows them to still keep living their life. Causing a more severe disability will also probably feel worse than causing them a milder one, because the impact will feel more obvious to the person who caused it and the change in the newly-disabled person's life will be more drastic. Which can be a huge part of the grieving process in becoming disabled, just the fact that it is a large change in a person's life, especially if it's completely unexpected.

My main struggle is to not pass off character's personal bias (that they fall into in their psychological struggle with guilt) as some sort of narrative truth and statements about disabilitily.

Maybe for this, you could present a view on disability by other characters that contradicts the main character's view. Perhaps they share their thoughts with another character, and she says something like "Man, I don't know. That's a weird thing to say. Not everyone who [is disabled / has specific disability the newly disabled character has] is going to feel that way." Or maybe they meet someone else with that same or a similar disability. Or they end up actually talking to the character who they disabled at some point.

Anything that poses an opposing view to the way the main character views it, and is treated by the narrative as being something worth hearing out, will help.

It's completely understandable that the character will feel guilty and worried and upset and even traumatized. But I think the fact that you are concerned about the nuances involved is a good sign.

Hope this helps,

mod sparrow

[ravinoforre]

So I saw an opinion on a character that I, respectfully, don't agree with at all, and it isn't the first time I've come across this particular take either. I don't like nor want fandom discourse, making counter points to arguments in general make me nervous, but as someone particularly attached to them and their related characters, I have a lot of thoughts I want to get out there in the hopes that maybe they can be seen from a more positive perspective. So um, here they are. Get comfortable, this is gonna be a long one. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In Defense of Lily (Pokémon XD).

Those of you who've played this might already know what I'm referring to, so I'm just going to rip off the proverbial band-aid. Right at the start of the game, as you, the player, are being introduced to her, one of the first things she says is;

...and ok yeah, I admit. This is kind of a weird thing for her to say (in front of her son too, oops). This is usually one of two instances that people latch onto to prove she's an awful mother, but there is, at least in my opinion, some hidden context to her words. First of all, she's not wrong; the whole lab does in fact constantly sing their praises and fawn over both these kids (which is adorable tbh). Secondly, it's not unreasonable for her to believe that lots of inflated praise on a child, no matter how well meaning, may have negative consequences on their development. A kid receiving a constant stream of "you're so cool/special/talented" may end up with an inflated ego and become depressed, or even lash out in anger, if that praise either stops or something comes along to disprove it (like failing a test or making a mistake).

(Side note, I came across some partially related studies (x), (x) and an article from a parental psychologist (x) that go into different types of praise given to children; person, or ability praise ("you're so clever") vs process, or effort praise ("you worked really hard"), their effect on self esteem, personal growth, and performance, and how ability praise actually negatively effects a child's sense of worth compared to effort praise or even no praise at all. It's a lot to go through right now and this post is already going to be super long, but I mention them here because I'll go into something later that you may find rather interesting. I know I do. They're fascinating reads, too, I would recommend!)

Now listen up! Lily, contrary to the belief that she's a cold-hearted mother who shuns her offspring, actually does praise and engage with her children! Throughout the story, she'll talk to Michael and say some interesting and wonderful things as his adventure continues! The problem is that unfortunately, a lot of this proof is hidden throughout each story beat in a section of the lab that is no longer required to enter to progress (and most people won't bother to go back and speak to their own mother who apparently "hates" them). Off to find Jovi:

🥹 baby... Before saving Phenac City:

🥺😭euuhhbbebeh father mentioned During the Phenac City hostage situation:

After the Phenac stuff:

"I'm proud of you." You literally cannot get a more explicit form of praise than I'm proud of you. Hell, I can't even recall a time my own mother told me that. Fucking hell. Also. Pampered?! You hear that? She's practically contradicting those accursed two lines! By her own admission, the kids are pampered babies! Her concern isn't that people will spoil them—because they're already spoiled!

(Jovi is a pampered baby princess). I think Lily's worry in her comment is that may roll too far; it's like she says—spoiled rotten.

Ok one more example for this section:

(disclaimer: these screenshots are from the romhack XG which is why her name isn't in all caps; trust me, this same line is in base XD too) Remember the types of praise I mentioned earlier? Ability (person) praise and effort (process) praise? And how the former could be damaging to a child's self esteem? Do you notice anything particular about the way she speaks to Michael and praises him? "You've become an outstanding trainer in your own right." Not "You're so strong." "You're doing so much for the good of others." "Your courage will save the Shadow Pokémon." Not "You're so brave." "You did it all by yourself without anyone's help." She's praising his actionable efforts! She's applying process praise! (Pleeease read those studies and article, at least the first study I linked, it's genuinely insightful and fascinating, and it's even more amazing that an example of it is featured in a video game by a character most people won't interact with beyond necessity! I love this game! So! Fuckinhg!! Much!!!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-

Ahem. She's also not saying that people shouldn't praise her kids either; only that she wishes it wasn't gushing praise all the time. Too much of a good thing could be harmful, after all. Let's see...

Sounds reasonable so far, right?

...Galactic peace?! My brother in Arceus, all he did was beat you in a friendly Pokémon battle—a battle that Michael's already been led to believe he'd win anyway thanks to that previous comment from his coach (those screen caps are in chronological order)! Even without the fact that by this point he's midway through a dangerous fight against a criminal organization, it's probably not a good idea to give a developing young teen a literal God complex; what if he gets so full of himself he genuinely believes he's unbeatable... and then loses? That child's mental state is going to plummet. So even if you don't agree with Lily's praise comments, you might at least better understand where her concerns are coming from if this is potentially the kind of thing that's being told to her kids regularly.

Moving on, try putting yourself in her shoes a moment. She's a working, grieving, single mother of two who, according to an NPC in the lab "has an exceptionally high sense of responsibility".

As a scientist with the necessary expertise, she has the heavy task of helping realise a sensitive project—sensitive not just in terms of urgency (as Krane predicts Cipher is going to be a threat again), but also in terms of emotional weight; this project was something her late [husband] poured everything into until his death, so both her and Krane continued on with it; by the time the game starts, they're agonisingly close to completion. And time is of the essence. Quick tangent: watch the cut scene post Krane kidnap again. The camera rests on Lily an awfully long time. The father of her children died before this project was finished, and now Krane, a close friend of both of theirs, has been taken away by force. Both her children have witnessed something traumatic. Her daughter is sobbing. She's literally being told the situation is "hopeless" by a colleague. Imagine the sheer anguish this woman must be going through before having to push through all of it and take complete charge for the sake of finishing the project. For the morale of the entire lab staff. For the sake of keeping her kids calm. For the fate of the region itself. Anyway, because of this project, and how close they are to finishing, she isn't able to afford much, if any, time off to spend with her kids "this instant". It's probably why the lab staff have pitched in to help look after them (which must make her feel pretty damn guilty with that high sense of responsibility of hers). It's why she asks her son to go find his little sister in her stead.

And this brings me to point number two that I've seen used countless times to slander her:

She just lets Jovi run off on her own, and doesn't care what her kids are up to.

Which... no, sorry, hang on here. Lily isn't letting Jovi run off on her own. For starters, both her and Krane believe she's in or somewhere outside the lab grounds, playing hide and seek with the caretaker, Adon.

A game of hide and seek (particularly if they're taking turns hiding) is likely why nobody's seen her since lunch, by the way, and not Lily not giving a damn about the whereabouts of her child. And when she's found and brought home again, Lily says this;

This implies she's spoken to her daughter about running off on her own before, and we do later get to know that Jovi has a habit of running off ahead; she runs off down the steps in Gateon ahead of her brother, she rushes off to deliver the machine part by herself to the chamber, and even though Michael is the one asked, she runs off to go see Datan—despite Lily telling her she doesn't need to do that. This means if Jovi gets invested in something, it's apparently hard to stop her. Visiting Kaminko's is a recent fixation of hers, and if Adon is already aware of where else she might have gone off to if she's nowhere on lab grounds, it might mean she's been there before (that, or Adon was the one who caved and told Jovi where to find the place). I might even speculate and say Lily has specifically told Jovi before about not running off to the manor. Anyway, check out what she says when you find the little runaway but come back empty handed.

The heart-sinking realisation and disappointment in that "...Oh" alone....

So no, Lily isn't letting her young child run off on her own—Jovi is disobeying her mother. She's either used the game of hide and seek as an excuse to dip (and then forgot about Adon entirely), or she got bored midway through and decided to head to her new place of interest despite any of her mother's previous objections. (And before anyone says anything, no, that doesn't mean Jovi is a bad kid, either. She's, what, around 7 yrs old? She is doing typical little kid things, emulating her older brother, and discovering and pushing her boundaries as she grows up. I have seen some putrid, abysmal hate for her over the years too. She is a child, leave her alone.) Onto the second half of the above statement; she doesn't care what her kids are doing. As in, Michael is on a treacherous journey against a dangerous group of people and she's totally ok with letting her kid do that (as if that isn't the case with practically every mainline entry protag mother but alright, I'll bite).

Introducing one of my favourite exchanges with her in the game. During this time, the purify chamber still isn't complete, and they'll need to use an alternate way of purifying Shadow Pokémon until then—the Relic Stone in Agate Village.

oh it worries her, does it? You know what happens when No is selected?

And then she drops the conversation. There's no endless loop to get him to go, which would have been the more convenient thing for the devs to implement. But this was a very deliberate choice that tells me more about a character than I've seen done in a video game before. She's respecting her son's decision to stay home. She is not forcing him to do something he isn't comfortable with. Of course, as a video game, the purpose is to progress to the next story beat. So he has to go. Better talk to her again.

I don't even think I need to add any extra commentary, this should really speak for itself at this point.

I've also reached the image limit on this post so it's probably time I wrapped this up, so in conclusion; is Lily a bad mother, as I've seen people claim? No, and I believe I've showcased plenty to prove she isn't. She's not perfect, no parent is, but she's a damn sight more involved in her children's lives than the mainline moms, who are often nothing more than out of the way Pokémon Centers that don't acknowledge their child's journey in any meaningful way. So then, was she in the right for saying what she did at the start of the game, right after Krane praises her son, who is in earshot of this conversation? Well... also no. She could have picked a better time and place to bring it up, honestly. But God forbid a woman make a mistake or voice a concern, lest her be mischaracterized and demonized forever by two unfortunately worded lines of dialogue.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ "Michael, you're finally going off to the ultimate battle, aren't you? You've really grown in stature. As your mother, it makes me feel conflicted. I'm happy and proud on one hand, but I'm also a little sad. Go and get rid of Cipher, and make it quick! And come home safely."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you've managed to reach the end of my ramblings, I'd like to say thank you. Hopefully I've given you some food for thought. Maybe I've even changed your mind about her. And even if I haven't, I appreciate you taking the time to read this regardless.

[watermelonrindsstuff]

Sometimes I forget that TV series are a form of art created by countless artists coming together to materialize their vision. Binge-watching a Netflix show with coffee and chips in the evening, only to forget about it entirely after a few days, has been my usual experience. But some shows stick around; they make me think, speculate, and reflect. They make it harder to move on, forcing me to question something dormant within me. They slap you in the face, give a middle finger to the status quo, and take you on a ride that’s unpredictable, uncomfortable, fun, and gut-wrenchingly painful.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of those rare shows. It demands you fall out of everything else and be present wholeheartedly. You have to let the beauty and terror of the show consume you. And maybe, if you’re lucky and introspective enough, you might come out of it a whole new person.

Even though it’s a show about mystical creatures like demons, vampires, and witches, it’s fascinating how it remains so grounded, unearthing real-life issues and addressing them with remarkable humanity. The characters aren’t flawless heroes or unrelatable paragons of virtue; they’re messy, flawed, and, at times, unapologetically jerks. Not the passive, harmless kind, but the kind of jerks we encounter in real life; the ones whose actions mirror the complexity of human relationships.

Out of the sprawling cast, you can barely count two or three who haven’t made a complete 180 at some point. And isn’t that true of life itself?

People you once trusted might turn their backs on you when you need them most.

Siblings, feeling unseen or isolated, act out in ways you don’t expect.

Parents misunderstand your calling, your passion.

Friends, the ones you’d have done anything for, out of jealousy and incompetence isolated you.

Then there’s loss; the death of someone you love, followed by the suffocating silence and disconnection it leaves in its wake.

People try their best to support you in all the wrong ways.

Unexpected moments of compassion and support from the unlikeliest sources.

The numbness of depression.

The yearning to do better for the ones you love.

The inappropriate silliness in the face of mortal danger,

The punning as if a joke could stop the world from ending.

I’ve felt all of this. I’ve lived it. And I know everyone, in their own way, has too. What makes this show the greatest of all time isn’t just the supernatural battles or the apocalyptic stakes. It’s the way it takes the raw, messy beauty of life and weaves it into something profound. It’s the creativity, the honesty, and the soul poured into presenting these truths that make it unforgettable.

Despite all its brilliance, the show isn’t without its flaws, many of which stem from its creator: a bona fide egotist. There’s the whitewashing of problematic actions, some of which were disturbingly endorsed. The underlying tone of misogyny often contradicts the show’s branding as a pro-feminist narrative. Add to that the mishandling of perfectly developed characters out of personal grudges and the abrupt departures of main leads, and it’s clear that the creator’s ego left its mark in ways that tarnish what could have been a near-perfect legacy.

However, given the immense contributions of the other writers, directors, cast, and crew who poured their hearts and souls into bringing this show to life. The producers and writers and their audacity to try out extremely crazy ideas and visions and sewing it as flawlessly as possible. The stellar performance of the casts. I can’t help but proclaim it as one of the best show ever! Their dedication and talent shine through every moment, elevating it beyond the flaws of its creator.

[purplegori]

malevolent is wild because the two main characters are literally Everything all at once. they're a queerplatonic relationship. they're romantically married. they've been thrice divorced. they're constantly learning about each other. they barely know each other at all. they argue every fucking minute. they have an undying loyalty to each other. like i'm SAYING man it just never ends

[vaguely-concerned]

behold... my vision

[averlym]

fairest of the fair

[fite-club]

it’s still so sad when trans guys are like “transandrophobia is real, i lost my support systems when i started taking T” like i’m sorry baby but that’s just transphobia. they don’t particularly care that it’s a man you’re transing into, it’s the transing at all that makes those people stop being around you. losing friends/etc after transition is not a transmasc-specific experience, it’s a trans-specific experience. i’m not downplaying anyone’s struggles when i say this i’m literally pointing out the systematic oppression you experienced and calling it the correct name

[skunkes]

might sound weird to say as a person with a couple ocs who have Big Horrible Event(s) in their backstories or as a person who has like 3 ocs total bc he sucks at writing and as a person who hopes their ocs arent too Boring with [the thing im about to mention] but the thing about writing [characters] and [people] is that like.

any little thing a person experiences can take up their whole existence... its actually something "fun" to experience as i meet new ppl and do more things. My friend had something happen that she'll be talking about forever. I had several things happen last year that ill never stop talking about, some of which other ppl think werent that bad actually. In the same way I'll forever remember about the way my sister accidentally insulted me almost 10 years ago, it's really interesting and Fun to find and assign smaller things like that to characters...its really Real. some people's dealbreakers are other people's solvable problems etc etc

[bumblingbabooshka]

Janeway in 'Nothing Human' vs Tuvok in 'Resolutions' There's something here I know there is I can almost wrap my teeth around it.

[socially-awkward-chocobo]

Just a passing thought - but you know how Ayano has bad grades? And how it was so bad she was in summer school even though it was the start of her high school year?

How much of that was because she was genuinely having trouble with school and how much of it was because of Kano replacing her so nobody would notice? Kano - who to my knowledge, didn't go to school.

I could be wrong, but I don't remember Shintaro saying anything about her grades becoming bad in high school, it's safe to assume she was already struggling beforehand, but would she have been getting grades as low as 56 (a grade seen in Toumei Answer) if she were attending school regularly? Or would they at least be passing?

Just a stray thought that keeps bugging me.

[afterthelambs]

PLEASE spill the Makoto cop tea. I'm always down to hear people's thoughts on that

Thanks anon! I do my best to keep this blog positive-vibes only, but since you asked I will answer. Warning: DO NOT read this post if you do not want to see any criticisms about Makoto Nijima from P5 + discussions of police. This is not hate towards the character or her fans. It's just criticism for the writing choices and their implications for her.

Makoto Nijima does NOT want to reform the police. There's a mandela effect in the fandom where everyone seems to think she does, but rewatch her rank 10. Reform isn't mentioned at all. I'm so serious. What she actually says is this:

Within her confidant, the context is the host that was preying on her friend Eiko. Wanting to stop situations like that is good and makes sense 👍 The writers framed her decision to become a cop as a response to the most clean-cut black-and-white situation ever.

But here's the thing though: what happens when the lawless and the victims are the same people? Because in the real world, crime tends to concentrate among the poor and marginalized. The real world is not black and white. And I try to separate my personal experiences with the law from the media/art I engage with, but that doesn't work here because the game at large doesn't portray society as black and white.

There are a number of people in this game that do wrong because they have been hurt or are marginalized or did not receive proper help. A lot of mementos requests are about 'lawless' people and yet many are portrayed as 'due to systemic issues' or a lack of support or developing mental illness. It's also not a coincidence that Akechi is the most marginalized of all the phantom thieves and he was the one who did the most crime. There is deliberate social commentary here. People do not become lawless out of nowhere. They are shaped by their circumstances. And the game itself sympathizes with these people, focusing on changing/ helping them. The game's conclusion is that providing support and rehabilitation is the solution. Rehabilitative justice > Punitive justice.

Police wouldn't achieve that. Police in the game are framed as corrupt and incompetent at their core. Our protagonist is one of their biggest victims to demonstrate how they are weaponized against the weak. Even Sae Nijima at the end of the story has shifted to become a defense attorney rather than attempting to reform it (best character arc btw) because she recognized that the system is broken. And you can't even blame it just on Shido controlling the police because we see that the problems persist beyond him. By the end of the story they remain useless or outright harmful. The police do not help or rehabilitate, they only punish.

So no, this isn't me projecting my personal issues with cops onto the story because within the game's own story, law enforcement is not the solution. If it were a question of reform, we could debate about whether police reform is possible, but again: Makoto doesn't care about reform. It never comes up. According to the writers, she wants to be a cop because she thinks not enough lawless people are being punished. You can argue that her wanting to 'head an organization' means she wants to be in a position of power where she can reform them, but remember that police only enforce the law. They do not make the law. If reform was her goal she would be a politician. (I honestly thought that's what she was set up to be, since she was student council president and all but I digress)

Also a small detail, but notice how she mentions destroying the lawless before she mentions helping victims? It's super minor but I think it's indicative of the cop mentality. There's greater priority on punishing than helping.

I also dislike this conclusion to her arc because it's net zero character growth. You're telling me the character that was rebelling against corrupt adults' orders is now becoming a cop, the biggest bootlicking profession of them all? She started the story being a well-intentioned pushover, and she's ending her story being a well-intentioned pushover. And it doesn't matter whether she as an individual is a good person or not. All cops comply to be active participants in a system that is designed to hurt the weak and prop up the powerful.

TLDR: You do not help victims by punishing the 'lawless'. You help victims by helping victims. Period. Makoto becoming a cop is a contradiction of this and her own character arc. Either the writers did her dirty by not thinking this through or this is meant to be who she really is, and both those possibilities upset me.