#that i otherwise don't get the chance or time to do

[gallusrostromegalus]

I was thinking the other day about snakes (textures, behaviors, general vibes) and the kind of fascinating array of snake perceptions I've seen in others, so for TPOFATGIF or AEIWAM, so how do the cast respond if someone offers to let them hold a snake?

For the purposes of this ask, I am assuming that this is a reasonably large, but nonvenomous and very human-acclimated snake being offered by an educational outreach docent at a zoo or suchlike.

Screaming, Crying, Throwing Up: Keigo, Izuru Hiyori, Shunsui, Urahara, Rukia, Isshin, Joey, Duke (the others are weenies, he's been bitten by an adder)

No, thank you. : Mizuiro, Sasakibe, Mayuri, Rose, Nanao, Seto, Mai Valentine

Takes Snake Because They Don't Want To Look Like A Weenie, But Is Obviously Freaking Out That The Snake Will Get Them: Uryuu, Aizen (this is a performance to throw everyone off guard, internally, he's monolouging), Shinji (the fear is VERY REAL), Tetsuzaemon,

Takes Snake Because They Don't Want To Look Like A Weenie, But Is Obviously Freaking Out That They Will Drop Or Otherwise Accidentally Harm The Snake: Ichigo,

Has Held Snakes Before, But Since They're Familiar, Will Give Everyone Else A Chance First: Yamamoto, Komamura, Solomon, Tristan, Ishizu

(picking up snake specifically to get their friends to chill out) Bro It's A Snake It's No Big deal??: Yoruichi, Momo, Renji, Shuuhei, Yachiru, Yumichika, Ikkaku, Ishizu, Yugi

Has Never Held One Before, And Are Curious: Byakuya, TOUSEN, Mokuba, Weevil

Takes Snake Joyfully And Happily Communes With Nature: Chad, Tatsuki, Don Kanonji, Soi Fon, Nemu, Unohana, Ukitake, Atem, Tea, Serenity

Has Gone Out Of Their Way To Hold A Snake: Orihime, Rangiku, Bakura, Marik, Rex, TKB

Attempts to Abscond With The Snake: Hanataro, Odion

Snake Refuses To Be Held Because Their Hands Are Cold (emotionally devastating): Gin, Isane, Hitsugaya, The Parasite

Is Not Allowed To Hold The Snake Because He Talked About How Delicious They Are A Few Too Many Times: Zaraki

[let-me-iiiiiiiin]

I feel like he'd be like "what?? Bingge is looking for me? Bingge is tracking me down?" But his brain cells turn back on and he'd instead think, "oh, it's not bingge obviously— Luo Binghe isn't real. That must mean that airplane is tracking me down? Is he telling me that he can easily doxx me? There are way easier methods to do that than write an entire saga of an arc about my favourite protagonist hunting me down!!"

I don't think he would take action against "airplane" tbh— if he does, proud immortal demon way will be discontinued, and that'd mean no binghe, for the rest of his life. But he can avoid him! (Such as, you know, moving away, getting some internet safety tools, avoiding the routes that are detailed in the chapters...)

Weird thing is, that doesn't stop "airplane". The chapters mention that he's changed locations, but the new location doesn't take much to discover at all, not for bingge. Shen Yuan starts feeling scared at this point, but he tells himself he isn't. Airplane is just some messy, absentminded, just-for-lolz kinda guy who couldn't even write a single decent novel. If he actually appears before him, Shen Yuan wouldn't be scared, he'd simply beat that guy up until he begged for mercy!! So really, do your best, great master airplane! See what you get for all this bullshit, you freak author!!

Until the last chapter, which he reads while on the bus on his way back home. In the chapter, Bingge has finally settled down into his new life and waited long enough to have some history in the world, and now he's making his move. Around this hour (which is exactly now, Shen Yuan notes) he heads to Shen Yuan's apartment, climbing the stairs, picking his lock, and familiarizing himself with the place. Shen Yuan feels goosebumps rise on his skin— the descriptions are exactly right. Everything written there is completely accurate to real life. Which meant that... Airplane must have broken in?

When he's in the building, he hears footsteps from the staircase leading up, and runs to use the elevator to avoid whoever is coming down. He goes up, comes to the door, finds nothing out of place, and suddenly wonders if he's actually wrong, but another look at the chapter on his phone convinces him otherwise. There was really no way this Shen Yuan written by Airplane could be an imagined character at all.

So he goes in, and finds a plate of food on the table, still steaming, and a note beside it. He picks it up and reads.

'Apologies for my intrusion, I had intended to greet you. Next time, I hope Yuan-ge and I can have a talk over dinner. For now, please enjoy this meager offering.'

Shen Yuan debates over eating or not eating it, and finally, tired of all the stress, takes a bite, and suddenly thinks, "you know, maybe Luo Binghe is actually real, because there is no way a normal person could cook this well"

After that point Shen Yuan starts becoming a little delusional (according to himself, and also objectively, a little bit) but slowly as clues add up, he starts to actually believe that Luo binghe is the one communicating with him. At some point he even starts wondering if airplane was actually Luo Binghe all along (ladies and gentlemen he's losing it). Like, yeah, he's right, but tonewise his inner monologues should have a kinda mentally ill vibe you know?? He's so down bad for binghe ough

Bingge communicates through the notes for a while— mostly cause Shen Yuan, even though he starts believing that it's binghe himself, keeps avoiding meeting him face to face for fear that there's still a chance that he could be wrong, and he just wants to pretend that this is all real— but at some point he figures out that Shen Yuan is avoiding him way too well for somebody who isn't informed about his patterns, and figures out what's happening. He gets pidw to stop posting momentarily and while Shen Yuan is going through the motions, bereft of the pidw update, bingge finally catches him 💖💖💖 and Shen Yuan is forced to face the protagonist and his massive obsession

Imagine being Shen Yuan, faithful hate reader of Proud Immortal Demon Way, the 30 million world "hit classic" trashfire, ever imitated, hot blood ed stallion novel.... That finished like a wet fart!!!

After a week reeling, you pick yourself up, get on with your life (reading every PiDW fanfic you can get your grubby hands on, and leaving back handed comments like "this was shitty from start to finish, but still managed to be better than anything airplane ever wrote") until one day, Airplane publishes some extras?

And it's WEIRD AS HELL! Alternate universes?? Bing-ge fighting, what, bingmei??? Who is this weak willed protagonist?!?!?! And what's with bing-ge doing.... THAT, with... With SHEN QINGQIU!!!! He's a hot blooded STRAIGHT lover of women!!! Stop describing Shen Qingqiu's eyes like that bing-ge he's not good for you?

But, it doesn't stop at one extra?? Every day a new chapter comes out, following Luo Binghe as he tries to find that "kind" version of his Shizun... Why is this universe hopping romance thriller so fascinating??? The comments are full of hate, airplane's rep is in the trash, nearly EVERYONE is hate reading now...

Eventually Bing-ge begins the believe that SQQ has been possessed in some way, and comes up with a clever way to discover the true name of that Shen Qingqiu!

Anyway, that's your name, Shen Yuan, right there on the screen??? What the fuck.

What the fuck "great master" airplane!!! Bro!!

It was just some salty comments okay no need to take things so seriously 💀💀💀💀

This weird doxx doesn't seem to go anywhere? So you just keep reading! Okay airplane, point taken, no more nasty comments! Peerless Cucumber will keep things quiet from now on!! Luo Binghe begins a search for "Shen Yuan", finding... Finding his way to the real world, with Xin Mo? Okay...

Every day another chapter comes out, and every day it gets weirder? That's - that's your city?? That Binghe is familiarising himself with? You read about him usurping violent gangs, unrest and danger leaking out into the daylight world, murders and mayhem, and every siren you hear outside seems more and more -

- your parents call? Apparently there is something dangerous happening in your city? Don't be ridiculous...

Every word... Your street... Your apartment block? Binghe! You live on the twelfth floor just take the elevator, not the stairs!!

Maybe you should, um, go out for tea?

Just as the elevator doors are closing, you hear the door to the stair well creaking open, footsteps that are neither slow nor fast, quiet not loud, reaching the landing of your floor... Through the thinnest crack you see...

[writinginatree]

Jealous Little Puppy

Relationship(s): Xaden Riorson & sibling!reader, Bodhi Durran & Riorson!reader, background Xaden Riorson/Violet Sorrengail

Summary: You feel neglected because your brother spends every free minute with Violet and has no time left for you.

Warnings: Jealousy, low self-worth, abandonment issues, implied depression. Set in Aretia during Iron Flame.

Anonymous requested: I want to ask something for Xaden where the reader is jealous and feels like she's in second place to Violet? Maybe because Violet and Xaden's dragons are mate, and they spend a lot of time together, the reader is jealous, but she gets all grumpy, glaring at Xaden, refusing his touch... but deep down she's a little lost puppy who just wants to be loved and protected🥹🤍

You sit on the bottom stair in the foyer of Riorson House, watching your brother across the room. The physical distance is nothing compared to how far away he's felt emotionally ever since you saw him again after entering the Riders Quadrant a few months ago. You were hoping he would have a few minutes to come to the gym and help you with a move you have trouble mastering, but, as usual, he's otherwise occupied.

He and Violet are locked in one of their silent conversations. You don't understand how, but you've been watching them enough to be sure they have some strange way of communicating without anyone else being any the wiser. It has to be part of the whole mated dragons thing somehow, you suppose. Maybe because of it, they can talk the same way riders and dragons talk. However it works, you hate when they do that. It always makes you paranoid, wondering if you did something wrong, if they're talking about you. Of course they aren't; you're not so self-important to truly believe they are. Nonetheless, that prickle of anxiety never fades. Maybe you did do something wrong and that's why Xaden's been so closed off from you?

He never has time for you these days. You'd thought maybe that would change now that you're back home in Aretia, but honestly, you should have known better. Every free second he has is dedicated to Violet, regardless of where you are and how often he's there.

Starting the quadrant, you'd been thrilled to learn that Xaden would be returning to Basgiath every two weeks due to his dragon being mated to that of a second-year, thinking you would get to see him on those occasions. And yes, the first time he'd visited, he had used the chance to check on you. Briefly. After that, nothing. You didn't get to talk to him again until after he showed up to save Violet and you all defected. According to Bodhi, it had been because you were safer that way. As if people weren't perfectly aware of who you are regardless of whether or not your brother payed any attention to you.

And while you do get to see a little more of him now, he never actually spends time with you. It hurts more than you care to admit. After lonely years stuck in a foster home, counting the days until you'd get to see your family again, it now feels a lot like your family doesn't want you anymore. You've been spending time with Bodhi whenever possible, but he doesn't have much time for you either, and, as much as you love your cousin, he simply can't make up for your brother's unavailability.

What little free time Xaden has, he spends with Violet. It's been going on like this for months. You try not to be jealous of all the attention Xaden gives her, but it's hard. They're so close, blind to anything except each other.

At first, it was nice to see them so obviously in love. Gods know Xaden deserves to finally have some happiness in his life. Things have been rough for all of you since the apostasy, but for him especially. And you're glad he has Violet to take care of him now, you really are.

It's just that most of these days, it feels as though you've turned invisible.

You know you're being unreasonable. You're an adult and should be fine on your own. But after having your mother abandon you, and your father die for a failed rebellion and leaving you behind, being constantly ignored by your brother in favor of his girlfriend is simply too much. It's like there's no space left for you in Xaden's life now that he has her.

The worst part is that you actually like Violet. It would be easier if you could hate her for stealing your brother from you, but you admire her. You're even friends — or as close to being friends as a measly first-year like you can get with a powerful second-year like her.

She never has time for you, either. You can't blame her. She's busy — as is Xaden, you know that. But that's different. Violet has no obligation to waste her time on you, but Xaden is your damned brother. He could at least say hi when he's home, ask how you're doing once in a while.

Instead, he only pays attention to you when you're in trouble, like is the case a few days later.

It wasn't even your fault this time. Your squadmate had gotten into a fight with one of the fliers; all you had done was try to make peace between them. Things escalated into a fist fight despite your efforts, and when the professors broke it up, no one asked who'd started it or gave you a chance to explain. After a whole fifteen minutes of Ulices yelling at the lot of you, you were sentenced to breakfast duty along with those who'd actually been involved in the fight.

And of course some asshole immediately informed Xaden about it when he returned from a long patrol later that afternoon, so now you're stuck getting another lecture, this time from your brother dearest.

"I hear you got into a fight with the fliers," he starts, glaring at you like you're the biggest disappointment he's ever seen.

All hopes that he might listen to your side of the incident evaporate, but you try anyway. "I—"

"I didn't think I had to tell you this," he goes on, "but you're supposed to be a good example for the others. We cannot have fliers and riders turn on each other, or everything will fall apart."

"It wasn't—"

"I expect you to be on your best behavior from now on. If I hear about any more incidents like this, the punishment your professors come up with will be the least of your worries. Is that clear?"

It's an effort to swallow your anger and the bitter feeling of betrayal. You've never felt so unwelcome in your own home. Somehow, you manage to keep your voice steady and void of emotion when you answer. "Yes, sir."

Bodhi finds you crying in your room that night.

"Hey, what's wrong? If it's because of that fight you got into—"

You can't take it anymore. "I didn't!" you shout, shooting to your feet. "I was just in the middle of it because I tried to make them stop, but no one ever fucking listens to anything I say!"

Bodhi raises his hands in a placating gesture. "Okay, okay. Sorry. I can take it up with leadership for you. I'm sure they'll exclude you from the punishment if I explain that you—"

"Nevermind. I don't care about breakfast duty."

"But?"

You sit back down on the edge of your bed, wipe the tears from your face and shake your head. You don't look at him. "Nothing. It's nothing."

He wouldn't understand. He's never been needy for attention like you, is happy to do his duty without expecting thanks or acknowledgement. Oh, he would be sympathetic if you told him. Would let you pour your heart out about how unimportant you feel, how lonely you are because Violet is Xaden's number one priority and no one has time for you. Would hold you and stroke your hair, give you all the attention you so desperately crave. He'd sit with you and dry your tears until you fell peacefully asleep instead of crying yourself to sleep like you'd done so often lately.

But he would not understand. And once you were soundly asleep, he would tell Xaden.

And while Bodhi would certainly be doing so for your own good, you would rather let your dragon bite your arm off than talk to your brother about this. At best, Xaden would think you're being annoying, clingy, and childish. At worst... well, you're not sure. It doesn't matter. Talking about it would not improve the situation, that much you're sure of.

Therefore, you keep your mouth shut and your eyes glued to the floor until Bodhi finally decides to leave you be. He has homework and section leader stuff to do, after all. As soon as you're certain he's gone, you let the calm facade crack again and flop down on the bed, sobbing into your pillow.

Almost two weeks pass before Xaden deigns to talk to you again. You see him in the hall a few times, but he doesn't pay you any mind. Maybe he just doesn't notice you, or maybe he's doing it on purpose to punish you for your perceived misbehaviour. You don't know and it doesn't matter. Of course you could always greet him first, but you're tired of begging for his attention, so you convince yourself you don't want or need it anymore.

You're sitting at lunch when Xaden walks past behind you, reaching out to muss up your hair in passing as he's done thousands of times before, though not in a while. For the first time in your life, you swat his hand away.

He freezes, and you can practically feel his bewildered gaze boring into the back of your head. You continue eating like he isn't there.

For a moment he just stands there, trying to figure you out. When he speaks, his voice has an annoyed edge to it, but beneath that, there's a hint of what almost sounds like worry. "You're not still mad because I believed that you were involved in that brawl with the fliers, are you? Bodhi told me it wasn't your fault you got dragged into—"

"No," you cut him off, sparing him a glance over your shoulder after all. "No, everything is fine."

"Right..."

Though he clearly doesn't believe you, he leaves it be, walking off to find his own lunch. You knew he would. You don't matter enough for him to make a scene in front of your squad.

To your surprise, Xaden intercepts you outside your room that evening. Maybe Violet is still busy in the library; he sure as hell wouldn't be bothering with you if she had time for him.

"Okay, what's wrong?" he demands without preamble. "And don't you dare say it's nothing. You're skulking around like an abandoned puppy."

You bite your tongue to keep from retorting that that's exactly how you feel. Like he put you in a crate and left you in some dark alley because you're not worth taking care of anymore, and so far, no passerbys have bothered to stop and take you in. Unloved and unwanted, just like you felt when your mother left all those years ago. Maybe that's how it's supposed to feel, growing up. You've always been a little behind, so you wouldn't know.

Xaden nudges you, a reminder that he's still waiting for an answer.

You decide to give him a half-truth. "It just feels weird to be home after so long. Wherever I look there's something bringing back old memories." You let your eyes flick to his for a second. "I miss Dad."

"Me too," he quietly admits, which is the closest thing to vulnerability he's allowed himself in your presence since the execution. "But that's not all, is it?"

You shrug, opening your door in hopes he'll drop the matter, but he follows into your room. Fine. If you really can't avoid talking about it, you'd rather do it here than in the hall where gods know who might listen in.

Standing at the window, you look out over Aretia, all too aware of Xaden's presence at your back.

"Come on, kid. Talk to me."

You scoff. You can't help it. For months you've wanted to talk to him, to spend just a little bit of time with him, but he couldn't be bothered. And now that you've all but given it up he comes and demands you pay attention to him. Gods beware you have the audacity to turn things around and ignore him for a few minutes. Maybe you should have slammed the door in his face and refused the conversation altogether, given him a taste of his own medicine.

You don't have the energy to fight with him, though, so you do the next best thing and feign ignorance. "Talk about what?"

"About whatever is bothering you."

"Nothing is bothering me," you claim. "Like I said, it's just strange to be back—"

"Bullshit. You really think I can't tell you're mad at me? Because I absolutely can. I just can't figure out why."

"That's not— I'm not mad at you!"

It's the truth. You're jealous, lonely, feeling neglected, maybe even a little disappointed in him, but not mad. There's no point; being angry with him wouldn't change a thing. It's true you've been acting moody lately, pulling away from everyone and Xaden especially, deciding that if you are that unimportant to him, you won't bother him anymore. It was an act of acceptance, rather than anger. You didn't think he would notice.

"What is it, then?"

"I'm just..." You shake your head. "I don't know. It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does."

You sigh. Why does he care all of the sudden? Part of you wishes he'd just leave you alone, even as the rest of you longs for the comfort his company used to bring. You're so fucking tired of this.

"You're away all the time. And when you are here you never have time for me." You didn't mean for it to come out like an accusation, but it does. And since there's no taking it back now you add, "It's like I don't even matter anymore. If I disappeared, you probably wouldn't even notice."

When he doesn't answer, you chance a look at your brother's face. He looks stricken, shock mixing with the guilt of the realization of how distant he's been.

"I didn't realize," he says finally, startling you with the uncharacteristically soft tone he uses. "I know I haven't really had time for you, but I didn't realize it made you feel so..."

"Neglected?"

"Yeah."

You shrug. "It's fine. I'm not a little kid you need to dote on anymore. You've got other priorities. I get it."

Xaden shakes his head. "That's not the point. I don't ever want you to doubt how important you are to me. All I did, the deal to let us into the quadrant, continuing what Dad started, it was all for you. All I wanted was to keep you safe, for you to have a better life. And just because Violet is my biggest priority now doesn't mean you're not important too. You and Bodhi are the only family I have. You'll always matter, you hear me? You matter so fucking much."

He takes you by the shoulders like he wants to shake you to make sure the words sink in, but refrains from actually doing it.

"I'm sorry," he adds, which feels even more surreal than everything else he's said so far. "I promised Dad I'd take good care of you, but I guess I fucked it up. I was so focused on just keeping us alive that I forgot about actually being there for you. And I know I've been... cold, but that has nothing to do with you. I just... kind of forgot how to do feelings, I guess. Not that I was ever much good at that stuff. But I still care. I promise I do, and I'm so fucking sorry for making you feel like I don't."

"It's okay," you say, and this time, you really mean it. He hasn't forgotten about you. He's trying. You're not abandoned after all, merely temporarily left behind. "You've done so much for all of us. It's not your fault I'm so sensitive."

"No, but I know damn well how easily you let things like this get to you. I should have noticed sooner. Next time you convince yourself you don't matter just do us both a favor and say something, okay?"

"Okay. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Now, are we okay again?"

"Yeah."

"Good. And I'll try to have more time for you," Xaden promises, ruffling your hair. This time, you let him. "I can't help how busy I am, but I'll try to include you more when I'm here. I'll see if I have a moment to join you in the gym tomorrow, how does that sound?"

"Perfect."

[kfan04]

What do you think is going on with Kaito and Romeo?

I've posted this on Reddit and now I'm posting it here so I more people see it and talk to me!

Particularly I'm interested in why Romeo seems to be so clingy with Kaito. I know that there are already some explanations — Kaito's debt and Kaito's pendant — but don't you think Romeo is putting too much effort into this?

Regarding debt: does Romeo chase around everyone with debt on the regular basis? Also, the academy is clearly full on well-off students, it would make much more sense to concentrate on them. Kaito doesn't have money and he won't somehow get them out of nowhere (Luca is another discussion).

Regarding pendant: have you noticed that Romeo is trying to convince Kaito to give him the pendant, instead of taking it away by force? Throughout the chapters he hasn't really tried to take the pendant away, although I think Romeo's more than capable of it. He is stronger than Kaito and the latter didn't have any protectors before Luca (Tohma and Jin are also not shown to be close enough to Kaito to defend him in the past). Otherwise, there must have been tons of opportunities for Romeo to hurt or kill Kaito and take away the pendant, everyone dies left and right, even when they were on the mission — little accident, minus one ghoul, nobody would've probably suspected anything. Why hasn't Romeo taken the pendant away already?

Who would go that far for the indebted guy? Or even for a pendant? It's more like Romeo's interested in Kaito being constantly around, but also, why?

Regarding Romeo's time and effort: despite being the busy man Romeo claims he is, he still finds time to regularly look around for Kaito, calling his name, and with a gun. He asks MC for Kaito's schedule — twice. He spams Kaito with messages. He locks Kaito in the cage in his private office very few people know about — this is just another level, because why. He also takes Kaito on a mission with him, when being told that was his chance to assemble the best possible team — notably, he goes for Kaito before contacting his actual friends, and also has to threaten Kaito to go with him in first place. On the mission, it's Romeo's decision to split, and both times he takes Kaito with him, also physically dragging him and just casually intimidating him along the way.

Regarding Romeo's attitude: he's the mix of tenderness and frustration when it comes to Kaito. The phrase he use to call him is Doko itta no, dete oide? which translates kinda like "Where have you gone? Come on, come out!" and is often used to talk to animals and kids. He also uses Fuji-kun, emphasising on either Kaito being his kouhai, or being on friendly terms with him. He's very touchy when it comes to Kaito — grabbing his hand, his collar, his ear, shaking his shoulders, clamping a hand over his mouth. It's not necessarily tender, but it seems that Romeo finds it absolutely natural to act towards Kaito in such way. Romeo's also often implying Kaito acts unreasonable towards him when not willing to comply, like when Kaito is hiding or running away from him, or when he doesn't want to go on the mission. One time he says something along the lines "there's more on the map than that, so just shut up and do as I say", implying it's in Kaito's interest to listen to him.

Why does Romeo seem to be convinced that Kaito should be doing as he says without asking questions?

Regarding Kaito's attitude: Kaito isn't shown to be super intimidated by Romeo. Yes, he runs away away from him, and in one voiceline he mentions he started getting chills when someone calls his name because of Romeo — so it's not like Kaito doesn't recognise Romeo as a threat. However, Kaito is constantly talking back and resisting. When talking to Romeo, Kaito openly questions his decisions, mocks him, swears at him, uses omae, simply disagrees and Romeo has to put a lot of effort to actually get Kaito to do something — and half of the time, Kaito doesn't do what is expected of him anyway. He talks to Romeo almost freely, definitely less scared than with Jin or with Tohma, or even with Ren or Jiro. Interestingly, Kaito uses Romeo-san, instead of -senpai, like with Tohma and Jin. Kaito also doesn't seem to have a clue about why Romeo is following him, but he's not interesting in figuring it out either, just "weird guy, ugh how annoying, does he ever stop".

Unlike Romeo who perceives his own actions as natural, justified as "Well I'm just collecting debt", Kaito openly talks about how strange Romeo acts towards him. Locked in the cage, he says "shut up, kidnapping creep" and "do you even realise how unhinged you sound" when Romeo says no one would save him from there... When MC says "he has certainly taken a liking to you", Kaito corrects "liking, more like stalking".

For now, no one except Luca and to some degree MC hasn't commented on Romeo's and Kaito's connection — do they know? Or do they don't care? Or both.

Regarding timeline: Kaito mentions Romeo has been on his tail for half of the year. Before that, he wasn't even in the gambling den. This lines up with the estimated time of the Clash. Does Romeo's interested in Kaito has something to do with the Clash? Did it just happen in the same time? Kaito says he has somehow avoided the Clash — he himself doesn't connect the Clash with Romeo's interest in him. Kaito doesn't seem to connect Romeo's interest with anything, implying it was sudden. It could be that the determining point of the Romeo's interest was the moment Romeo was looking at Kaito from a distance, if Kaito cannot remember any special confrontation. What doesn't line up is the warding card of Romeo standing above Kaito and looking at his pendant — judging by his expression, for the first time. Who wouldn't have remembered this situation? Another thing, Kaito mentions that he hasn't seen Romeo much before, and he wasn't even in the gambling den. So although Romeo justifies his hobby by collecting debt, he possibly wasn't that interested in collecting this debt initially, before that special point six month ago.

Regarding paperwork: Luca repays Kaito's debt in the prologue, another simple solution to Kaito repaying his debt and Romeo not having to go after him ever again. Yet Romeo claims "he still owes rate of interest, so it's not enough to buy his freedom". To which Luca replies "I'd like to see the paperwork then", and Romeo's muttering he "hates men with brain". Other than Kaito commenting on how he didn't know about the rate of interest (which could be written off as ignorance, and not necessarily as Romeo deceiving him), Romeo's comment suggests there might be something unclear with the documentation. Another important paper is the one Romeo threatens to show the MC when telling Kaito to join him on the mission. It is not the debt-related issue — MC already knows about it. It is something that Kaito feels to be embarrassed about, and something that allows Romeo to say "you really think you can say no?". In the prologue, when Romeo demands pendant, Kaito also replies with "this is one thing you will never get from me" — one thing? Does that mean Kaito agrees in some way Romeo can demand anything else? The paper which Romeo threatens to show the MC — which conditions are written there?

Let's assume that Kaito does owe Romeo more than money. What exactly is Romeo gaining in this situation? Why would he need specifically Kaito's compliance in the first place? Why Kaito of all people, of all ghouls. Okay, maybe Romeo thinks it's handy to get a guy who he can threaten to do anything. Why would he put so much energy into keeping Kaito close to him — especially on the occasions that could've used more catered to the situations ghouls, like the mission. Judging by how he addresses Kaito as "plebeian", he doesn't think Kaito's pendant connects him with the powerful family, plus he comments how Kaito doesn't know its true value. So Romeo is not after Kaito's potential prestige.

What is notable, is that Romeo is deliberately keeping Kaito close and monitors his actions.

Romeo's behaviour doesn't make sense. It especially doesn't make sense considering he is acting rationally when it comes to missions, or his income, or dealing with others, which means there is an explanation for how he acts with Kaito — my guess, it directly or indirectly includes money, or another physical value.

What are your thoughts? Have I missed something? I'd die to discuss, really. I see all these signs, but I can't really understand what it means. I know we are quite early in the story, but for the 13 chapters the story has been very consistent with the relationship between Romeo and Kaito, and Kaito's pendant. I'm super interested to know what others think!

[jjjjeonww]

vernon chwe - how do lesbians make out like?

!!in which, you're a lesbian and vernon is always finding ways to make you become bisexual or straight so he can have a chance with you. and... his first step was too ask "how do lesbians make out?" late bday fic for hansol <3

vernon had been infatuated with you for as long as he could remember. he knew you were a lesbian, but he refused to accept that he didn't stand a chance with you. determined to change your sexual orientation, he decided to start by asking about your intimate experiences with other women, hoping to gain insight and find a way to make you question your preferences.

one day, as you both sat together in the park, vernon turned to you with a curious expression. "hey y/n, I've always wondered... how do lesbians make out? i mean, i know it's probably not the same as how straight people do it, right?"

you raised an eyebrow, surprised by the personal question. you sighed, knowing Vernon had an ulterior motive. "vern, that's a bit of a private and intimate topic. but i'll tell you this - it's not that different from how anyone kisses. it's about connection, intimacy, and expressing affection for the person you're with."

vernon nodded, trying to hide his disappointment at not getting more specific information. "i see... but don't you ever miss... you know... the feeling of a man's touch? The way a man can be more dominant and take charge?" he leaned in closer, his voice lowering conspiratorially.

you leaned back slightly, creating some distance between both of you. "no vernon. i don't. i find intimacy and passion with women in a different way, but it's no less meaningful or satisfying. my attractions and desires are for women, not men."

vernon persisted, "but y/n, don't you think you could learn to enjoy the touch of a man? i mean, i could show you how good it could be, if you just gave it a chance..." he reached out to caress your arm.

you quickly removed his hand, your expression turning serious. "hansol, stop. I appreciate you as a friend, but i'm not interested in changing my sexual orientation for anyone, not even you. i'm happy and content being a lesbian. please respect that and don't try to pressure or persuade me otherwise."

oof. not the 'hansol' card.

vernon looked deflated but not defeated. he would have to find another way to make you see that you could be attracted to him. little did he know, his persistence would only serve to annoy and push you away. but in the end, you gave him a 'little' gift. ..... as the weeks passed, vernon couldn't shake the feeling that he still had a chance with you. he decided to try a different approach, being more supportive and understanding of your identity while still subtly hinting at his feelings.

one evening, vernon found you studying alone in the library. he approached your table, carrying two cups of coffee. "hey y/n, i brought you a latte. i know you like it with extra whip and a shot of caramel." he smiled warmly at you, a genuine smile this time, not the usual mischievous grin.

you looked up, surprised. "thank you, vern. that's really thoughtful of you." you accepted the coffee, taking a sip. it was exactly how you liked it.

vernon sat down across from you, his expression sincere. "y/n, i want you to know that i've been thinking about what you said. about respecting your choices and your identity. you're right, and i'm sorry for being so pushy before. i value our friendship, and i want you to know that i support you, no matter what."

you were somewhat touched by his words. maybe there was still a chance for you to be friends after all. "thank you, vern. that means a lot to me. i'm really glad you understand now."

feeling a sudden boldness, vernon leaned in a bit closer. "y/n, i was wondering... could i maybe give you a small kiss on the cheek? hust as a friendly gesture, of course. no pressure or hidden meanings, i promise." He looked at you with hopeful eyes.

y/n hesitated for a moment, then nodded. "okay, vern. one friendly kiss, that's all." you turned your face slightly, presenting your cheek to him.

he leaned in slowly, his heart racing. he pressed his lips softly against your cheek, lingering for a moment longer than he should. to his surprise, you didn't pull away. emboldened, he let his hand gently caress your cheek as he pulled back.

you couldn't deny that you felt a strange flutter in your stomach at his touch. you hadn't expected to feel anything, but there was a spark, a tingle you couldn't deny. curiosity got the best of you, and before vernon could say anything, you pressed your lips to his. his eyes widened in surprise as your lips met his. for a moment, he was frozen, hardly daring to believe this was happening. then, hesitantly, he began to return the kiss, his heart pounding wildly in his chest.

the kiss deepened slowly, vernon growing more confident as you made no move to pull away. his hand slid from your cheek to the back of your neck, gently tangling in your hair as he angled your head to deepen the kiss further.

you felt a rush of unfamiliar sensations, a heat building low in your belly. vernon's lips were soft and insistent, his kiss filled with a longing and passion you had never experienced before. part of you knew this was wrong, that you shouldn't be doing this, but another part of you was intrigued, curious to see where this new path might lead.

after a long, intense moment, you gently pulled back, breaking the kiss. you looked up at vernon with a mix of surprise and confusion replicated in his eyes. "wow... that was... unexpected," ˙he murmured softly, with a soft smile.

[midnight-mourning]

Sharing Isn't Caring

💘💘Midnight's DCA Valentine's Day 13💘💘

Hello! Finally finishing these up, bit of a busy weekend and this one in particular got VERY long lol, that being said hope you enjoy!

Prompt: i really liked that one promptober you made about the reader having robophobia ( cause sun killed a few workers and has been avoiding him ever since, scary ass animatronic) is it possible to have a prompt where yn is doing better, has work besties. Aside from the constant threat of being brutally murdered by a friendly animatronic, theyre work life is chill. Its around valintines day where y/n has made friends with the cute new girl. Both have platonic feelings for each other while also being flirty (satire, gotta kiss the homies goodnight) with each other, kissing cheeks, hold hands, other friendly touches. However this does not go unnoticed by our favorite daycare attendants. They too try to be playfully flirty and touches yn any chance they get. However envy gets the better of them when they want to be yn's valentine...

Word Count: 3475

Content warning: non-graphic mentions of death, dying, violence, etc.

Read here if you prefer ao3!

💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌

"Good morning!" A voice greets as you walk into the break room. 

You look up from your phone, small, tired smile on your features. "Ah, morning Jaz."

"You sleep alright?" She asks, taking a sip of her coffee. "You look exhausted."

You wince, a reminder of your nightmare last night coming forth. 

Running, running, running, tripping, falling. Claws sinking in, a scream ripped from your throat, cruel laughter ringing in your mind as it happens and being able to do nothing to stop it—

You shake your head. It was just a dream. They hadn't figured you out. At this point, you don't know if they ever would. Lucky, you'd been so, very lucky so far that they were solely focused on being your friend. Not a bit of suspicion in either of them as to what you knew. 

You hoped to god it'd stay that way, too.

Several months have passed, and you haven't beared witness to anything quite so terrifying since. Though, you'd made sure you wouldn't. You never let yourself get caught up in the evening hours, and you never let yourself be alone with either Sun or Moon. 

Save for the few times they'd managed to make such a scenario happen themselves, however.

Sun had meant it when he said he'd cure your 'robophobia'. They were sure trying their hardest, at least. 

Chatting with you every time you came to drop off a delivery or supplies, dragging you along to partake in some on days they were—suspiciously—lacking a helper. Sun particularly like to play hide and seek or house, whereas Moon wouldn't let you leave until you took a nap. 

Both made it their mission to be as up close and personal as they could too. Touches lingering just a tad too long, cornering you in one way or another, tones playful, cheeky. To an outsider it would seem like harmless fun, but to you, all it did was make you keep your guard up more. Which in turn, only made them try that much harder. 

It was a vicious cycle, but after the incident that occurred a little or a month ago, you could at least say—for now—that your chances of dying were significantly lower than you'd have thought otherwise. 

You'd forgotten your keys. Or maybe lost them, you still weren't entirely sure. You'd gone through every inch of the Plex where you'd been working that day, without a sign of them. There was only one place you hadn't checked, and it scared you to your core. 

You had debated whether to knock on the doors or not. Ultimately deciding that you'd rather take your chances slipping in and out unnoticed then actively invite the devil to your doorstep. Or you to the devil's, you realize there's little point to figuring it out much further. 

The speakers play the usual tune, the space is empty as can be as you peek inside. 

A quick glance around and you spy your keys on the desk. It takes everything in you to not make a beeline for them, instead walking calmly over and picking them up. You're about to turn back around when—

*Thump!*

Directly. Behind you. 

"Hello Sunshine! What brings you here so late? Did you stop by just to see little ol' me?" Again, that cheeky voice that perhaps only you can hear the sinister undertones of.

You suppress the scream and the shiver you want to let out. Instead, you turn around with a small, forced, smile. "H-hi Sun! I was just um, looking for my keys. And what do you know, they were in here all along!" You lift them up, making yourself laugh to keep your nerves in check. "I'll get out of your hair now."

"Silly, silly, I don't have any hair! And besides,"—a hand to your wrist, tone dropping just a tad—"You just got here. Would be a shame to leave so soon, hm?"

You start to falter. "I—"

"So come on then! You look ready to fall apart at the seams, and I can't have that happening to my favorite little assistant!" Sun shifts his grip to your hand, pulling you further along into the Daycare. "Don't you worry, I have just the thing to ease that tension."

He pulls you over a set of beanbags, he guides you to sit down in one, while he does in the other. Before you can blink, there's a coloring book and crayons in your lap. 

"Coloring is always soothing for the soul!" He states, finger pointing up in an affirming manner, then gets to work on his own book. 

There's only one thought in your head at that moment; you're going to die here. 

But, you're not quick enough to make a break for the door, so you have no choice but to accept your fate. Shaky hands gripping crayons in an attempt to distract yourself from your impending doom. 

As you go along, Sun pesters you constantly with conversation and questions. It confuses you, does he just like playing with his food or what? 

You answer best you can, but all the air leaves your lungs when he pops a question you were more than simply fearing. 

"—since we're such good friends, right?"

You freeze, and curse yourself for it, mouth feeling like glue as you tumble out a stuttered response. "Y-yeah. We're friends."

"Best friends?" Sun presses, leaning in close, you're waiting for him to take hold of you and slam your face into the mats just like—

"A-ah. Um, I don't know, I-I guess so? Sorry, I've um, not really had a best friend before..."

You were so screwed. 

Yet, Sun doesn't miss a beat, words a light as ever as he pouts. "Oh, well that won't do. I'll just have to keep trying until you feel completely confident in the notion that we are!"

And you were still standing the next morning. You don't know if it was a fluke, or what, but it certainly didn't seem that way. You'd take what you could get, though, and double, triple checked that you had all your belongings in their proper places from then on. 

Jaz clears her throat. Right. Back to the present. 

She'd been a nice change of pace over the last month or so. A fresh face to help you with things or pass in the hall. You were the same age, and related to each other a lot. It was… nice. To have someone to talk to, even if she couldn't know even the beginning of what you'd witnessed. 

But, you could tell her little things, insignificant, things that nobody could pick up on. 

"I had a nightmare, is all. I'll be alright." You sit down in the chair beside her, sighing. 

She tsks. "You seem to have a lot of those."

"It's not a willing participation, I assure you." You're rubbing your eyes when you spy a steaming mug being held in front of you. "Oh, you didn't have to do that."

A shrug. "Wanted to. Now drink up, I heard from Gary that we've got a lot of inventory to move today."

"Going to be a great morning then." You mutter into your cup as she snickers. 

Work had in general been a lot easier with the additional help, and just in general because of your new friend. She made you laugh, cheered you up on your rougher days, and was just in general a light in your life as of late. Not to mention, she'd inadvertently managed to help you overcome your fear of being touched you'd developed from witnessing the Attendants' actions. 

It was simple things, like touches to your shoulder and arm. Holding your hand and dancing around at the end of the work day, jokingly flirting and cheek kisses and the likes. No double meaning or the likes either, Jaz was just like that with everyone, you'd soon found. It eased you in a way you couldn't describe. You could relax around her and it felt like you'd gotten a bit of normalcy back into your day to day. 

Not to mention, through getting to know Jazz you'd gotten a bit more confidence in talking to others at work, and now had several coworkers you'd consider friends both in and outside of work. Things were… weird beyond that, but at least for the moment they were going alright. 

"So then I finally just told him, 'boy if you don't get your act together, she's going to leave you' and do you know what he said?" 

You snicker, adjusting the boxes in your arms. "What?"

"'But that's so much work'" She exaggerates the tone, with an extended groan and you let out a shocked laugh. "Like? Excuse me? You can't be serious right now."

You're still laughing hard as she pushes the roll cart through the Daycare doors. "That's insane. Does he just not care or is he stupid?"

"Between you and me,"—she leans in, voice low—"I think it's both. Fu-freakin' moron."

You giggle, about to give a quip in response when a loud voice interrupts.

"Good morning Starshine! Oh, and hello Jaz!" Sun stands just to your left, you don't know how you didn't hear him. "I didn't know you knew each other!"

Jaz lets go of the cart, arm wrapping around your shoulder. "Sure do! We're stuck being storage monkeys together. They've been a big help in showing me the ropes."

"As if you needed help, it's pretty straightforward." You set down the boxes in your arms finally. 

You glance over and see Jaz put her hand to her chest, feigning misery. "Oh, but if it weren't for you, i'd be completely and utterly lost! I don't know what I'd do without you, my best friend." She makes kissing noises at you as you laugh, gagging. 

"Knock it off." You swat at her lightly, then you look up to Sun. "If you just tell us where you want everything, we'll move it, Sun. Stop it!" You shove Jaz away as she pretends to try and kiss you cheek again. 

There's a snap then, drawing your attention to the attendant, you see the marker he'd been holding is broken in half, movements stiff as he glances down to look at it. 

"Oh. What a shame. Follow me, I'll show you exactly where to put everything." He turns, steps precise as he marches across the Daycare. 

While you pick up on the shift, Jaz doesn't seem to, simply taking hold of the cart again and following after him. You debate for a moment, and against your better judgement, swipe a wet wipe from the desk. The supply closet is tucked away in a hallway lacking light. So much so that it's Moon who finishes leading you. 

While Jaz starts to unload things in the closet, Moon waits at the doorway, attentive, unyielding in his gaze.

You clear your throat. "Um, need some help with that?"

His faceplate snaps to look at you and you swallow. It clicks to the side a few times as he examines you.

You nod to his hand, which you've no doubt is stained a deep purple by now. "I meant with the um, marker."

"Ah, thank you, Star." Moon snickers, opening his hand for you to wipe it off. 

You take his hand in both your own, wiping off where the marker has changed the color. It's a bit harder to do in this low light, but you manage. 

You don't expect Moon to speak up again. "Best friends?"

It takes a moment to click to you. "Ah. Yeah. We are."

Moon makes a noise then, grating, you can't make sense of it. So, you just ignore it and finish cleaning him up before going to help Jaz. Had you paid closer attention, you'd have noticed how tightly his hand grips the doorway, making it creak under the pressure. 

After that day, you notice that both Sun and Moon have somehow become more clingy. 

It wasn't just short conversations and little activities anymore. It was full blown discussions and non-stop things to do. Anytime you tried to protest that you were far too busy to spend so much time with them, they simply argued that nobody would say a thing. Which, they were right, your manager didn't seem to care in the slightest. 

Those touches from before were ramped up, in that there was more hand-holding, more hugs, more everything, that you'd let them get by with, that is. All of their previous efforts from before felt ramped up, and you had no idea as to why. Not to mention that they appeared to be more flirty as well.

And then came February. 

Right from the start of the month, something was different with them, you could tell instantly. And you soon found out what. 

When you came in to drop off supplies or such, there'd be little notes or doodles waiting for you. You'd find their comments going from less friendly to having a more flirtatious connotation. And all of it only got worse the closer you got to Valentine's Day. 

"Sunshine, come dance with me!" Sun would say, dragging you with him to spin through several songs. Hand on your hip and words soft as he gave you compliment after compliment.

Moon would do similar, asking you to sit with him and read the children stories at naptime, watching over your shoulder and softly singing your praises. Or even better, acting out the stories with you, especially enjoying the more romantic fairy tales in particular. 

And the thing was, much like their attempts at friendship, all this doting felt genuine. 

It confused you beyond belief, besides the fact that it concerned you deeply. You were already struggling enough with this 'friendship' you'd been cornered into with the murder robots, the fact that they were acting as if they were romantically interested was only making things worse. 

The morning of Valentine's you were a ball of nerves. You were hoping—praying, really—that they wouldn't try anything, though you knew the unlikelihood of that happening. At this point, your feelings were so confusing, twisted. You thought they'd approached you because they knew you knew what they'd done. And yet, countlessly time and time again you'd been—seemingly—proven wrong. 

"You alright over there, Sunshine?" 

You jolt at the nickname, sending a scowl Jaz's way. "Not cute."

"I think it suits you well." She snickers, checking her phone. "What's on the agenda for today, boss?"

You tsk. "Not your boss. And I have no idea, I haven't checked yet." You rub your face, pulling up your schedule, only to find it's blank. You sit up, muttering. "That can't be right..."

"Something wrong?"

You try refreshing the page, no luck. "Yeah, my schedule's empty. See if you can pull up yours."

After a moment, Jaz holds up her phone, her own schedule showing up without issue. 

You both share a confused look. 

"Dude, did you get fired?"

You feel flustered fear build up in you then. "Better not of. They have no reason to get rid of me."

It's then that you notice an email in your inbox. Clicking on it, you see it's from your manager, telling you to see him in his office about a 'change of location'.

"I don't remember you saying anything about wanting to transfer." Jaz comments as you stand up. 

You shake your head, grabbing your jacket. "I didn't."

On your way to your manager's office, passing by the Daycare, you hear a low whistle calling out to you. 

You turn, it's dark, the only light is glowing red eyes on the top of the wall. Knowing you don't have much a choice, you walk over. 

"Hi, Moon." You say, unsure. "How's um, naptime?"

He twists, hanging upside down from the wall. "Boring. No one to talk to."

"Well what about Jean—" You cut yourself off, words dying in your throat with realization. 

Moon doesn't catch it, instead snickering to himself. "Sick."

Something in your gut tells you that's not in the slightest bit the truth. 

"Ah. Gotcha. Well, I should get going now." You wave and turn around. "See you later."

*Thump!*

A hand resting on your shoulder, and the sudden up close and personal presence behind you startles you, to say the least. 

"Wait. Have something for you."

You swallow the urge to run away. "Oh?"

"Mmhmm." Moon hums, right beside your ear. "Close your eyes."

You do, it's not as if there's a scenario where you don't. 

A pause. You're half-expecting something terrible, be it something grotesque or even something as cruel as your own end—

"Open."

Flowers. It's flowers. 

Origami flowers, at that. You're impressed by the intricacy of the folding, they're delicate, precise. Something that would have taken even the most skilled of individuals genuine time and care to make. 

And you're being presented a massive bouquet of them.

"Wow..." You trail off, consumed with genuine awe. "I, for me?"

Moon snickers, faceplate spinning once. "Happy Valentine's, Little Star."

Right, Valentine's. You'd entirely forgotten for a moment. 

While you're in your daze, Moon plucks a flower from the bouquet and tucks it behind your ear. He then sets the bouquet into your arms with a gentle pat, then hops back up on the ledge. 

"See you later~" Another giggle, and he's gone, leaving you dumbfounded. 

Your boss hardly glances up at you when you step into his office. "Ah, finally. Sit down, let's make this quick."

You sit down, still not quite thinking clearly as a stack of papers is tossed in front of you. 

"Sign these, and then I'll switch you over to the Daycare in the system. Their liability and the likes since you're working one-on-one with the Attendant. Fionna will be in charge of you from now on, paychecks, etc. Think she lets the robot pick the schedules, for whatever reason. Any questions?" He finally looks at you then, raising a brow. "Quite the bouquet you got there. Do I need to get you a relationship form from HR too?"

You shake your head. "I, no. No, not at all. I, why am I being transferred?"

"Well, you asked." Your manager states plainly, then shrugs. "And you got a couple good recommendations so I figured 'eh, whatever'. You can start today once you're done here. Or take the day off, I don't care, not my problem."

You just sit there a moment, taking it all in. 

'You asked.'

You, asked.

You know a sign when you see it. And you know when an alarm bell is blaring in your head, it's best not to ignore it. 

But when you've got a gun to the back of your head, that's much harder to ignore. 

You pick up the pen, and sign. 

Your steps are heavy as you walk back to the Daycare. Jaz has texted you a couple times, your like a zombie as you type by brief responses. You don't know what to think. Should you be relieved, or counting your days? 

They wouldn't have put in this much effort if they weren't genuine. Surely they weren't running this long of a con. But then that meant they were genuine. The killer robots were infatuated with you. 

You don't know which is worse, you don't know which is worse, you don't know which is worse—

"Hello Sunbeam! I'm so happy to see you!" 

You look up, Sun stands before you, rays spinning gleefully. You didn't even realize you'd walked into the Daycare. 

He claps his hands. "Oh! We're going to have so much fun, fun, fun! We get to spend all day long together! Just you and me! And well, the children too. But still, isn't it great?"

"I, um sure. I guess so." You mumble out. 

The slight twitch to his rays doesn't go unnoticed by you. The slightest of shifts in his tone as he glares down at you.

"Come now, friend. Aren't you excited? After all,"—He suddenly bends to your height, leaving you face-to-face and inches apart—"Aren't we best. friends?"

You struggle to maintain eye contact, focusing slipping to the bundle in your arms as you try to think up a way to respond. 

A low chuckle interrupts your racing thoughts. "Ah, but maybe that's not enough for you either?"

"I, um." It is a miracle you've lasted this long with how you're fumbling over your words.

Sun's hands cup your cheeks, tone still a hum. "Love, all you had to do was say so. In fact, we wish you'd done so sooner." His smile presses to your forehead. "Not to worry, we're more than happy to make up for lost time."

You can only stare up at him with smothered horror as his thumb strokes your cheek.

"And now, there's nothing that's going to get in the way of that."

💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌💌

Thank you @pip-plz for the request!! As you can see I had a lot of fun brining these two back lol

My writing Masterpost

DCA Valentine's Masterpost

Tag list (if you would like added, simply say so!):

@machopeach @beemyhuneybee @fishm0ther @deviouscrackers @elsajoyagent8 @luckyyyduckyyy @zenkaiankoku @jogimote @local-shrub @milosmantis @robinette-green @everlightreader @sinister-sincerely @starredeclipse @dangerva @juukai @crystalmagpie447 @mothgutz236 @lizyxml @divinit3a @amarynthian-chronicles @crystalfay @that-one-unknown-artist @rosescarletful @buzzybee3

[stitchposts]

okay but can we SEE the project that makes experienced crafters lose their shit every time?! assuming you haven't posted it already and i somehow missed it

if you want obviously. love your blog! :)

lmao I haven't posted it on purpose. It's mostly the tote bag I referenced in another ask, along with the other totes I keep folded up inside of it because I live in a city and there's a bag ban at a lot of stores. I know I've posted my dragon vest on here and it's incredibly identifying, but my tote bags are also pretty distinctive and I don't really like the idea of being so easily identified in public.

The other thing that impresses other crafters is that they are my everyday carry bags - I use them for groceries, takeout, errands, etc. I set them down in the dirt or on the floor of public transit. So when someone notices them and the pieces fall into place, I can flip them inside out so that the guts can be seen, and my linework in particular is tidy on the back as well as the front. You need neat linework to pull this off too, otherwise the backs would snag on anything you set inside the totes.

My mentor hates that I do this and snarks about it every chance she gets. She understands my approach to it and that I love my stuff to be used, but that I spent tens of hours making them, made them look good, only to get them covered in pizza grease and crushed berries, makes her need to close her eyes and count to ten.

[nrc-asteryn-crew]

"...Sure. Go with that."

Yuuto responded in a flat, yet slightly amused tone, finding Yuna's attempt to relate in some way a little amusing, considering they definitely weren't on the same page at all.

"Well, at least Ramshackle was better than what I had. I'd be seriously concerned if it wasn't."

Not that he'd be concerned, more... incredulous, than anything, because well, at least a roof over his head was a step up, wasn't it? Where was Crowley gonna drop them off that was worse than that, since he was oh so gracious to even give them a place to stay. Stingy bastard.

Kiyuu put a hand to their chin, in a relaxed sort of fist, thinking for a moment before piping up.

"Mm. Yeah... It's definitely grown on me too- like- a ton since the beginning... Of course, It's definitely not like- the top place I've ever stayed in terms of- what- safety, sanitary concerns, functionality, etc etc. But... I feel like it has a sort of charm to it, now that we've fixed it up, y'know? Feels like it's mine... Ah- If- that makes any sense at all- ahaha..."

She commented. She didn't quite know the words to express it, but she'd grown... really quite fond of living in Ramshackle. Or well, maybe more accurately, living with Yuuto. And yet, whenever she'd have too long to sit in her thoughts, sitting in the dark of 'her room' early in the morning, she'd be reminded of the gaping hole in her heart, just knowing that she enjoyed her time to this extent in a world that, really, wasn't theirs, that she didn't belong in, a hole that she could only try desperately to ignore.

Yuuto glanced at Kiyuu, immediately noticing the small shift in her mood. Staring for another moment, he let out a small breath, thinking for a moment of something to say to lighten the distant sort of look in her eyes. Look, he wasn't that emotionally intelligent, but he could tell when Kiyuu needed something external to slap her out of her thoughts, at least.

"Ya'know, I still don't get it. I mean, surely after spending those last few months with me, you should've gotten used to all that stuff- but you were still so terrified of all the dust and dirt when we first got here-!"

He sneered, after vaguely remembering how squeamish she'd been at the beginning, the way she'd begged Yuuto (only because he'd waited to see how far she'd go for it) to do the cleaning for her in all of the particularly bad spots. Spoiled princess.

Honestly, Kiyuu's aversion to dirt and grime was sort of really funny to him, it especially had been during their first few days here, when Ramshackle was truly a wreck. The fact that they were complete opposites in that regard was something that always amused him.

Kiyuu immediatly stood straighter upon hearing Yuuto, jumping at a chance to defend herself, distracted from her inner spiralling.

"I was! And- I had every right to be, o-okay-?! But god- anything was gonna better than that- I honestly think I would have never settled in here properly otherwise- wow..."

[✨OPEN RP PROMPT POST-OB YAHOOO!!!!]

Yuna was... Exhausted, to say the least.

Her outburst had not lasted long, but then again, these sorts of things never did.

On top of that, she had no experience with magic whatsoever, and it was a wonder she wasn't outright dead, if not comatose.

She stared up aimlessly at the ceiling of the infirmary, left to reflect on her (admittedly humiliating) actions, wondering if there would be anyone who would grace her with their company, even if it were only to scold her for her recklessness and nothing more.

[muqingslover]

Hii!! Love your writing!!

I wanted to ask if you have any hc about the lads men as fathers? For example, my hc was that Xavier is a boy dad that makes sure his kid will not end up listening to those "alpha podcasts" because he sets the example of a gentle yet "i slayed over 70,000 wanderers", kind yet assertive man. HOWEVER, since the level 175 affinity interaction came out, I'm 100% hes a girl dad raising his daughter to be a strong and independent woman (like the MC he loves dearly). What do you think?

[ my first ask! yahooo! thank you, pookie! I'll give you my thoughts in general (a big mix of everything) but if anyone wants one of the boys in more detail then feel free to ask because I have more to share! ]

Xavier

Alright maybe this is a hot take but I don't think he wants children, like at all.

Xavier does NOT like sharing. He's literally jealous of himself for goodness sake and he really, reaaaally, does not want to share you, especially not with clingy children that would take almost if not all of your attention and also his sleep.

In-game he's also shown to not be super fond of children in general which I find hilarious.

He's lived a long life, sacrificed everything and everyone for you, and spent the rest of his years searching for you. He believes he has the right to be a bit selfish and keep you to himself. Let's be honest, he's earned it.

Zayne

He does want children, but he is the type to plan for it. And I mean *plan*.

Out of everyone, he understands the best what it means for both your body and mental health the changes pregnancy would bring (including the chance of postpartum depression and other complications) so there would be a looooong discussion before anything happened.

When putting together the nursery it's like he's preparing for the apocalypse and not a baby "We might need this" (you won't be needing it), "This was made with [chemical], it could be toxic for you or the baby." "Zayne, it's just a plastic spoon."

Absolutely not as cool as he leads you to believe. You have this man stressed™ but he is so, soooo patient.

He'd be very serious about follow-up appointments and he'll make time for the both of you no matter what.

GIRL DAD ! GIRL DAD ! GIRL DAD !

100% victim of waking up covered in silly drawings and bows in his hair but he says before him than his poor white walls.

You have your hands full monitoring these two that love to sneak around and stuff their cheeks full like hamsters with sweets.

Sylus

Now this man wants a whole LITTER if you'll let him.

Hear me out: TRIPLETS. Oooor, twins with a younger sibling right after. Maybe one more if you are really brave.

This was not planned at all, but when you tell him he's so happy he'd be in actual tears while hugging you.

Luke and Kieran are over the moon about it too. They'd be so cute with the children because they get to be big bros now and they take their role very seriously.

Sylus would pull out his phone or coat and it would be covered in cute stickers. He takes no action in getting rid of it though because he loves it.

Those children are S P O I L E D. You have to take the role of saying no otherwise he'd take over the world just because his baby asked to be queen of the world on a random Thursday.

Rafayel

I think he's on the same boat as Xavier but for different reasons.

I have some...perhaps...controversial takes on this little guy in general so I'll leave it open for your interpretation hehe

love him though<3

Caleb

I know I know everyone says he'd be the best girl dad but PLEASE pleaaaase give this man a little boy.

If you think women's baby fever are bad just wait until you see Caleb's

He would draw on your belly bump where he thinks the baby is and talk to him even while you're asleep

This guy is taking lessons about pregnancy, how to support you during birth and he is 100% in one of those moms group chat.

"Caleb we do not need another onesie—" "But look! Look how cute it is! Oh, and the little hat? C'mon angel, please?" (Ban him from shopping by himself because he comes back with WAY too many things you do not need)

He loves and I mean LOVES matching clothes. From silly costumes, to pajamas and outside outfits.

So. Many. Pictures. He takes pictures all the time to keep them as memories because if something were to happen where you or he lost their memories again then they'd forever be preserved :(

[ I have so much more to say about this but maybe I'll just make a separate post for each of them ]

[lets-try-some-writing]

I am GENUINELY gobsmacked that you 1. Reblogged that post about femininity being butchered in Transformers and 2. AGREED WITH A DECENT CHUNK OF IT???? That lady is a fucking tradcath, and her VERY misogynistic views are in blatant display? Like this line here?

Women naturally desire to be caretakers and mothers?? Are you KIDDING ME? This isn't even getting to her weird disgust at Arachnid looking "nonbinary" which is frankly a whole can of worms I don't want to get too into. But that does lead into my next point that the op of post is also a proud "pro anti-lgbt". they're catholic so like. Not surprised. And puts their comments on "looking nonbinary" in a different light

I'm frankly disappointed you would entertain this post at all, let alone reblog it and spread it.

I totally understand where you are coming from, but I think you are being excessively hostile. You can disagree and do this lovely thing called scrolling or blocking if you don't like what someone has to say. You define your online experience.

That said, I enjoy seeing different perspectives on things and looking into those views when I can. That doesn't mean I have to completely agree with what someone says to find value in the discussion they are trying to have. As I have previously stated, the OP's post was shared with me through messages. I read it and found there to be value in the analysis of Elita-One and Airachnid's changes in character over the years. That doesn’t mean I support the OP’s broader beliefs and ideas/statements. I reblogged the OP's analysis because I saw something of worth in the comparisons between G1, TFP, and TF1.

As a side note: if we refuse to consider ideas just because of who said them, we miss out on chances to learn or otherwise solidify our stances. Growth requires exposure to different perspectives, even uncomfortable ones.

This is my blog. I'll look into and engage with posts that interest me and I don't need yours or anyone else's permission to do so. If you believe that interacting with and considering something from someone you disapprove of is inherently wrong, that can read a lot like you being pro-censorship. And even if I did agree with OP on certain things, that still wouldn’t affect whether or not the analysis itself had some merit. The idea that someone’s thoughts and opinions should be totally disregarded because of their personal beliefs is a very shallow way to engage with media.

I'm sure you meant all this in good faith, but I would encourage you to take time to rationalize before resorting to outrage. I see a thousand posts on here daily that I disagree with on a spiritual level. But I am not going after those who reblog them just because I personally find it to be wrong in some capacity. This is the internet. People will have things to say that you don't like and that's fine. It's part of the experience.

Still, I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective, and I hope you take care of yourself as well.

[jinxedshapeshifter]

It's really funny to me that most of Phoenix, Athena, and Apollo's cases are standalone, but then you play The Great Ace Attorney and none of the cases Ryunosuke handles are standalone (and even Adventure of the Blossoming Attorney is connected to everything else). Everything is interconnected. Like just to go through everything:

Jazaille Brett is an assassin who was sent to Japan specifically to kill John Wilson, which ends up being crucial information by the last case of the duology

The only reason Ryunosuke was able to become a lawyer in the first place was because Kazuma ended up with amnesia for months

McGilded was involved in trading government secrets, although this wouldn't be revealed until two months after his death

I was going to say Adventure of the Clouded Kokoro was the only filler case but even that becomes relevant to the overall plot after Memoirs of the Clouded Kokoro

A communications officer is the one who was selling the government secrets to McGilded, government secrets that are vitally important to the plot

Everything involving Jezaille Brett was covered up, leading to Menimemo taking matters into his own hands and killing her himself. Susato defended this trial, and by pure chance (because there's no guarantee she would've spoken to Soseki otherwise), got information about why she was called back to Japan

The collar found in Soseki's room at the Garrideb's ended up being vital to the overarching plot of The Great Ace Attorney duology (I think. I definitely comes up after Memoirs though)

Where do I even start with Return of the Great Departed Soul

and Twisted Karma and His Last Bow and The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo are both the climax I would say, since they're the same trial. This is where everything found out as far back as the first case of the first game is put together.

And all of this is without mentioning all the weird not-coincidences that happen in Ryunosuke's trials that I only remember happening similarly in Turnabout Corner.

Every single one of Ryunosuke's cases (and Ryutaro's case back in Japan) builds up to Twisted Karma and His Last Bow and The Resolve of Ryunosuke Naruhodo. The closest Phoenix gets to this (because none of the other defense attorneys get close to this, maybe none of the other protagonists but I don't really remember if AAI1 and AAI2 are interconnected or not) is in Spirit of Justice where he's watching a revolution happen in real time in Khura'in, and even then it happens over three cases (or I guess four, if the civil case is to be counted).

The only connections Phoenix's cases in the other games have are the first and last cases of games, and even then the first and last cases aren't usually connected (I think the best we get in the original trilogy is the connection between Turnabout, and Reunion and Bridge to the Turnabout). I don't remember if he has a "weird not-coincidences" case.

The only connections in Apollo's cases are Turnabout Trump and Turnabout Succession, and those are intricately connected because Turnabout Succession explains Kristoph's motives during Turnabout Trump. Turnabout Corner is Apollo's "weird not-coincidences" case.

The only connections in Athena's cases are Turnabout Countdown and The Cosmic Turnabout. Similarly to Phoenix, I don't remember if she gets a "weird not-coincidences" case.

Even with the similarities that are undeniable between Dual Destinies/Spirit of Justice and The Great Ace Attorney (enough that I vividly remember thinking and posting about how similar they were), Dual Destinies and Spirit of Justice's cases aren't nearly as universally interconnected to the climax as The Great Ace Attorney's are. 5-2 and 5-3 are essentially filler cases that allow us to get to know Athena better, with 5-4 leading into 5-5. 6-2 and 6-4 are just filler so we have some time playing as Apollo and Athena. You need to play every case in The Great Ace Attorney in order to understand everything. Everything is so heavily connected that it'd be impossible to understand if you don't know the plot of the rest of the duology.

The point being, it's incredibly funny to me that Ryunosuke is the only protagonist who, across both games he shows up in, has cases that are so intertwined that every case he's defended is crucial to solving the last one we see him defend. Even if we just consider the "weird not-coincidences" cases, every single one of Ryunosuke's cases is a "weird not-coincidence" case. He does not get a break from defending cases intertwined with every other case he has and will defend. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if this was completely purposeful on Stronghart and/or Sholmes's end. If Ryunosuke hadn't taken both of Soseki's cases, he wouldn't have had such heavily intertwined cases. If Stronghart hadn't had Ryunosuke defend Harebrayne, he wouldn't have even found out about the Professor case.

It's just funny to me that Ryunosuke and Susato get a series of inherently intertwined cases over the course of two games while every other defense attorney gets one game with some intertwined cases at best (as far as I remember, every case in AAI1 was connected to every other case in AAI1, as is the case with AAI2, but the games themselves aren't interconnected anything like TGAA1 and TGAA2 are. The interconnectivity between all the cases in both games while the games are basically completely separate is why I said defense attorneys instead of protagonists).

[the-far-bright-center]

I know I already commented in the notes, but, I swear, the things that Anidala haters will bring up as reasons to hate on them is just all over the place sometimes.

I saw a totally separate post that was complaining that Anakin and Padme should have just been 'dating' and that getting married was pointless.

And while this was not the same person making both statements, it still just struck me that in the haters' views, Anidala as a couple simply can't 'win'. They are apparently hated for being 'not married enough' due to war imposing a long-distance situation on them at times, OR they are 'too married' ????

The 1940s comparison is very legit because the Lucas saga is largely inspired by WWII and various Old Hollywood conventions. Yeah, Padme's supposed to be seen as a war-bride! This doesn't make their relationship any less real?

And likewise, people can hate on 'traditional' marriage all they want, but how would Anidala convey tragic space Romeo and Juliet otherwise? And not only is it supposed to be something that impulsive young people who are passionately in love do, but also it is hastened by the outbreak of war. They don't know if they will both live long enough to 'just date' and get married 'later'!

Additionally, both in- and out-of-story, their marriage is supposed to function as a sign of their mutual long-term committment to each other to show the audience that their relationship is one they are both 'all on board' with, and because *marriage* in particular is directly in conflict with Anakin being a member of the Jedi Order. In that sense, it also serves a pretty major plot purpose!

Likewise, Anakin and Padme establishing themselves as essentially a family unit is poignant because they don't actually get a chance to be the parents they wanted to be on-screen, so at least shows that they WANTED to be, eventually, someday. The Skywalker saga is a family saga, after all.

'anakin and padme didn't really know each other and didn't have a real marriage because they barely saw each other'

well damn guess that my great-grandparents also didn't have a real marriage for the first few years when he was deployed & when several children were born (for context they got married during WWII and he was a mechanic working in the RAF)

and that was in the 1940s! yes deployed men CAN have real marriages with their wives. and what do you think padme and anakin did in between his leaves? ignore each other? be so fr.

they talked. via comms. are you now trying to claim that all long distance relationships are not real? hm. that's problematic

[angelflms]

oh boy. guess i have something to say about CK after all. get ready. it's gonna be a fucking doozy because ima bout to piss off so many people.

yall cared wayyyy too much about robby (this is coming from a robby lover).

for a cheesy, straightforward show, some of y'all didn't understand its tropes at all. or at least what it was trying to tell you, especially when it comes to the roles miguel and robby are supposed to be in.

miguel has been and always will be the show's karate kid. he was supposed to be the daniel of the story, hell even GQ just said it in an article about the show recently. robby was always supposed to be a johnny-like foil to miguel. the thing is that the show tries to bamboozle you into thinking otherwise because of who's training them, how they're trained, and how they act because of the type of training they're initially recieved.

yes, miguel acts very similar to johnny in the show. yes most of the og TKK call backs they make with him are in relation to johnny, but he is the underdog character. you know how everyone expected johnny to win in TKK because he was a fucking champ and such. it's almost like how we as an audience for awhile assume that robby is gonna be the final end all champ of the series. but just like with johnny, we're proven wrong. it's just that the bullet was in a different gun this time. it's the one in the ck gi who won this time.

idk why people get so mad over miguel's victories when it was always supposed to be him that was gonna win. the show is called cobra kai for a reason, therefore, the final winner of the show is gonna be someone from that dojo. it only makes sense. and since the main karate kid that started off the show was a ck member originally, surprise! he's gonna be the final victor of the show.

---

now im seeing a lot of hatred towards johnny's character, again because of robby. now yes, johnny was a fucking horrible dad. and as a girl who's bio dad is a piece of shit like johnny was and has never been in my life (even started a business similar in the world as johnny's), i understand robby's dad pain a lot, even more so than miguel's.

but what you don't understand is that cobra kai is a show about generational pain. generational trauma. generational grief. generational hurt. the whole story revolves around pain that started 30 years prior (even further if you bring up kreese). the show also is about breaking the cycle once brought upon you to better the future for those who look up to you.

johnny is close to miguel because he was his second chance at being a better father figure to him. he didn't expect that he would get robby back in his life the way he did (robby literally told him to rightfully stay away) so he focused heavily on miguel and his family. now once he and robby reconciled, it was a huge breaking the circle moment because johnny lawrence is a victim of physical and verbal child abuse from both his step-dad, sid and his father figure, kreese. kreese was to johnny what he is to robby, but less abusive. and robby was to kenny what johnny was to him, but robby eventually broke the cycle, something that johnny was able to eventually do himself.

that emotional scene between johnny and kreese wasn't just emotional but kreese's final moment of realization that he was a horrible man and father figure to johnny. he hurt him so bad that he couldn't be a normal human being, which in turn caused him to be an absentee parent to robby. not saying that it's okay but it's understandable. not getting that johnny is a broken person just ruins the whole point of the show's point of generational pain, something the show is nearly spoon feeding the audience to.

yes johnny is horrible as a father, but damn it the man didn't have a father figure as a model. all of his figures were abusive, absentee drunks who never saw his potential. that was a norm for him.

---

ive said many times that y'all talk wayyyyy too much shit about miguel for no reason. and the way this season ended and how much y'all are upset, im starting to look at a lot of you in a side-eyed way. like his character arc is poorly written but that's not his fault. the writers hate him i feel. look i love robby and i hated the way he went out but at the end of the day, you need to understand that he wasn't gonna be the final guy. maybe i think too much in terms of the nuances of shows but i'd like to think this was the most straightforward show about fighting out there. like there wasn't much of a hidden message as they told you what they were. maybe yall are too lost in the fact that y'all care so much about robby that you don't care. maybe im missing something as i have only been in the fandom for over a year. or maybe y'all just subconsciously racist atp because the hatred miguel and xolo get for no reason is beyond me.

but i will give everyone this: the show's writing sucks.

they didn't know how to write certain characters and i feel like it was due to wanting to please everyone because i remember the death threats this fandom threw towards so many people during the lockdown days. but the show genuinely can go past surface level shit and it sucks. i wrote a whole thing dedicated to how miguel's storyline should've went post-coma because honestly they fucked his character up BIG time. but at the end of the day, i do think, even with good writing, he deserved that ending. i just wished everyone else agreed.

[badedramay]

my issue with the fairytale fandom as someone who does personally enjoy the drama is that people try to extend it beyond the genre it’s emblematic of. there’s these constant complaints about how fairy tale isn’t taken as seriously nor is umeed as a heroine (in comparison to say umera ahmed heroines or more recently kuch ankahi’s heroine aaliya) and it’s like. obv there’s not going to be much of a comparison between the female lead of a realistic fiction drama and the female lead of a romcom drama lol. the stakes are starkly different and subsequently the depth and complexity of the conflicts tackled will be different as well. as nice as fairy tale is i’m not watching it to be anything beyond entertaining and cozy and that’s fine. it’s a sweet romance with easily resolved conflict and inoffensive humor and i understand why that appeals to people. nothing wrong with that. but i don’t get the need to constantly compete with dramas where the stakes are higher and the scope is broader. it’s not misogynist for people to be more invested in narratives where women are tackling real world problems rather than simply navigating a harmless romance with some silly drama. i feel like bc people are so used to seeing women suffer in dramas they’ve attached themselves to umeed as a reactionary measure (which, again, is totally understandable) and started to view any display of women struggling in narrative as regressive or uncomfortable to watch. and i get where that comes from but i also think it’s a bit shortsighted to act like people are misogynist if they don’t readily identify with a girl who doesn’t have to struggle much at all. we have a drama industry that has thrived on creating near insurmountable conflict for its characters. maybe that’s something we need to move away from to pursue somewhat healthier storytelling not held hostage to conservative religious and cultural notions but even in the most progressive world it’s not like women won’t have to deal with hard problems or have complicated responsibilities to navigate. and sometimes for people the struggle is appeal. as much as escapism is a comfort so can be the story that shows us we can survive the hardships we’re living. it’s fine to be tired of that and enjoy fairy tale as a respite from it. but it’s also fine to prefer the harder narratives and i don’t see why these defensive arguments that are clearly driven by an inability to respect genre preferences continue to persist. sometimes people just aren’t going to gel with a show bc they want more from it than the constraints of the genre would ever afford

Uffff...itna saccchhh!! fandom mein na bol dena haters ki line lag jayegi xD

there's one criticism I have of the larger PakDrama fandom is how the genre of the drama and more specifically the canon of the drama is disregarded completely when fans engage with it. yes yes I get it how fandom allows transformation of the media to better represent what they want the media to cover but shouldn't that be limited to fanfictions and fanart only though? when making meta analysis or criticism of the piece of media one cannot completely ignore the canon and proceed to then write essays which sound more wish fulfillment fantasies than providing any meaning to the media which is hidden. FT fandom does that.

I dropped FT completely as a show in the 4th episode when Umeed complained to her father that he didn't earn big money like his peers did. and when her father retorted that all his peers undertook illegal and unethical methods of making money, Umeed only rolled her eyes and defended their actions while criticizing her father of not doing the same. additionally, the written gareebi that Umeed lamented about all the time which 100% didn't make considering the visual ameeri of the show was enough to tell me that this show is not made to be a faithful representation of the reality I am more interested to see stories in. so, I bid the show adieu. it took me a quick binge of 4 episodes to realize what the genre and setting of the show was just by that knowledge I understood the directions the show was going to to (and I was completely right in my guesses) and all of that was not my cup of tea. so it continues to baffle me STILL how such a large fandom for the show still hasn't realized that this show is a wish fulfillment escapist fantasy with no real representation of any real life character neither empowered nor realistic. it's an idealistic world as all the worlds of romcoms are. there are no lessons to be learned of from here because of the very apparent contradiction of the world as the audience sees in the drama vs the world they are living in. you take this utterly harmless and inconsequential world away from the characters of FT and put them in a more faithful representation of the real world and they will not be able to survive a day. how then are these characters an embodiment of "empowerment"? surely, a truly empowered character will not be relying so heavily on the plot armor and the bubble-wrapped edges of the world.

FT is often called a "kdrama coded" show and I agree. the tropes and characters are similar to how most kdrama romcoms work. again, romcoms. South Korean entertainment industry has managed to present a utopian image of the society via its colorful cheery romcoms but it takes one simple google search to realize how under all that glitter just how deeply gloomy the actual society of the country is with its myriad of social, economical, and political problems. there's a reason why there are recurring instances of the "internet favorite kdrama of the year" being completely different than the "critics favorite kdrama of the year" because the former is judged by an audience that either willingly or by ignorance chooses to fully buy in the fantasy world of the drama and the latter is chosen by the people who actually live in the country and are more interested in seeing a more faithful representation of the bleakness they are surrounded with in the stories. Chaebols aren't busy falling head over heels with a ditzy intern working at their company; they are far too busy controlling the economy and misusing the law to get away with atrocious deeds. but you won't get that in A Business Proposal (a show I most absolutely adore)

it’s not misogynist for people to be more invested in narratives where women are tackling real world problems rather than simply navigating a harmless romance with some silly drama. i feel like bc people are so used to seeing women suffer in dramas they’ve attached themselves to umeed as a reactionary measure (which, again, is totally understandable) and started to view any display of women struggling in narrative as regressive or uncomfortable to watch. and i get where that comes from but i also think it’s a bit shortsighted to act like people are misogynist if they don’t readily identify with a girl who doesn’t have to struggle much at all.

struggle is etched on the very skin of women. there's simply no denying it. there's struggle big and small practically ruling our lives. sure, our narratives often exaggerate the struggles but the inflation happens of existing struggles. there's nothing to imagine here cuz the struggle is not an mythical dragon. it's our reality. heck, even Umeed isn't devoid of struggles. except her struggles are that she doesn't have a wardrobe full of new clothes that gets updated every month vs the struggle other FLs face in other dramas ranging from fighting for their agency or livelihood. as an audience I am more interested in realistic struggles that come with realistic solutions. I remember how bloody impressed I was by how Sabaat chose to show Anaya's struggle after her marriage with Hasan specifically when she and her mother are left to fend for themselves after her father's death. the very little plot point of Anaya with the help of her friends opening a home-bakery service to make ends meet till her delivery left me teary eyes because THAT'S what I want from dramas when I saw I want them to be socially responsible. not to preach lengthy monologues about social issues but to show actual, practical ways of bringing an improvement in one's lives. walk the walk. i don't know why Kashf Foundation didn't do it with Kuch Ankahi (or if they did i completely missed it as I didn't see it mention anywhere) but in their previous shows Udaari and Rehai they used the platform of the drama to also promote the services the foundation provides to needy women by teaching them life skills that would enable them to stand on their own two feet. that's empowerment. not getting a fat cheque of crores from a gameshow that the FL then proceeds to waste on frivolous things under the guise of "she's a realistically flawed character". child..that's a fool. a fool that was still spared the consequences cuz hey, there's a convenient young hot rich single billionaire to fall in love with her and spare her from any trouble.

having a respecting green flag ML is great and of course I want more of them but FT isn't the only drama to give us that. green flag characters have existed in dramas for years. but because those characters exist not in the romcom/sitcom genre they are allowed their moments of weaknesses and flaws cuz real world is not black&white. and that's okay. having frivolous materialistic FL is also fine. it's great if fans are enjoying and celebrating a FL that is not in the business of being miserable and has an assertive and devil may care attitude about the things she wants to achieve in her life. however, any person with any real life experience will know that such characteristics don't yield long term fruitful results in the real world that we live in except in rare rare rare RAREEEE cases if any at all cuz the real world is not like a fairytale. this isn't me being misogynistic. why would I want to wish misery on a character willingly? no no. but c'mon. Umeed is not me. Umeed is not any woman around me. Umeed is not any woman I know of close or distant. for me she's an alien and I don't find it smart to make an ideal of an alien. why am i getting hate for that?

[noirandchocolate]

Been getting an influx of obvious spam/porn bots and also blank blogs in my follows the past couple weeks so I guess this is a good time to state my policy on the latter again:

I don’t block blank blogs that follow me on sight if they have usernames that look like a person might’ve chosen them (ie not a random mash of letters and numbers). This is because it’s possible these blogs might be real users brand new to tumblr (or newly remaking etc).

However, I do go back and check and if after 1-2 weeks (whenever I remember to check) the blog still has not been customized with an icon etc and still has zero content, even likes? Blocked. If it has likes or other content but those seem…sus to me in very specific ways I won’t get into? Blocked. This is because I have decided that either the blog is a bot, is not intending to truly use tumblr anytime soon, or may be something more annoying or outright harmful specifically to me.

So if you’re new to tumblr and just followed me, hi! Please start using tumblr by reblogging and liking posts! I hope you’ll enjoy your time here. But…I’ll block you if you don’t actually use your blog. Sorry!

[blazingblorbos]

The last 20 seconds of this trailer have me in the strongest chokehold