#the difference of course is in Persona it’s due in part to mind control

[re-reclass]

I’m in the final stretch of my first playthrough of Persona 5 Strikers and it feels even more resonant in 2023 than it probably was when it first came out a few years ago. The way NPCs talk about the EMMA AI is exactly the kind of language I hear all over about ChatGPT and OpenAI.

[lovdlydaz]

❝ TOUCH ME WHERE YOU NEED TO, I CAN GIVE YOU MORE. ❞

loser!choi soobin x black!afab!reader

poor soobin, always been tortured and bullied at school just for being different and caring about his grades. but, need not worry, as you, his lovely best friend, show him things he would only ever dream about.

warnings: virgin!soobin, pervy!soobin, switch!reader, subby soobie, p in v, unprotected sex, m!masturbation, butt loads of praise, little tidbits of degradation, pet names, mommy kink, big dick soobin, js soobin being a little wimp enjoy

a/n: sorry for being so absent y'all, a lot has happened over these past months and i've been on and off in this community. i will try my hardest to get back in full swing since it is summer for me, but it isn't a promised guarantee. however, i will be writing more content for both k-pop and anime, since both are very prevalent in my headspace rn. but subby stupid loser soobin has been rotting in my mind for so long i just had to write about it, so please enjoy this as much as i most definitely did. love y'all, enjoy!!

it was never a quiet day in soobin's life, having to deal with all sorts of things from his work being shoved off his desk to food being thrown at him during lunch hours. this was his senior year of college and, by now, these childish adults should be over this phase right? but, sadly, since he had told people that he thought were his friends that he hadn't been laid ever in his life, they told the entire school and now every person that he comes in contact with either tries to seduce him or make fun of him because of this fact.

but not you, you were different.

soobin had always taken a liking to you, being his roommate and the one person that he could be himself with. he didn't have to make up a persona or have to be this way in order to be accepted, no, you liked and had in common some stuff that he liked, like anime and DnD. he was more than grateful that you didn't torment him like half of the school did, and that you were a pure soul that could do no wrong.

he followed you like a puppy ever since you two met, which you didn't mind but it sort of gave you scary dog privileges. every time you went to the store, he was right besides you with his headphones around his neck and hands in his pockets. no guys would try to mess with you since your 6'1 guy best friend looked like he could kill someone, but he would never.

he would wander off in parts of the store and come back with different manga/funko pops he would find of his favorite anime characters, begging you to buy them for him since he didn't have a stable job nor stable money. you were kind enough to buy it for him and watch him add it to his collection of funko pops on his shelf filled with manga and figurines and all sorts of other things. you watched as he happily organized his collection, giggling like a little girl as he stacked jujutsu kaisen volumes together like a jenga puzzle.

everything he did, you found adorable and innocent. however, he was far from it.

while you were asleep, he would crawl into your room and go through your dirty laundry, grabbing your freshly used underwear and crawling back to his room with them. he would hold them until his nose as he jerked off, moaning your name as he orgasmed right on them. of course he would wash them and put them back in your drawer without you noticing, but you never seemed to wake up despite all of that.

soobin never felt guilty about it either, since that was the closest thing to sex that he would ever get, that he thought of.

one day, you two were walking to the mall, your hair bouncing with your steps due to your letting your curls out in a controlled afro. he watched your smaller form move with your little pink skirt with your pink clothes and nice pink accessories. you had a bit of a bimbo aesthetic, not really so but you dressed in girly colors and girly clothes, never giving a care in the world what others had to say.

you were going to the store to go to a store that soobin specifically wanted to go to. it was a clothing store that also had some mangas in the back of them, but this time he didn't go for the mangas. instead, he wanted to go to the men's section to see what clothes he could get, since he had been wearing the same 5 hoodies ever since his freshman year. you went over with him of course, since you had fashion sense that he had no clue of what that even meant.

he looked at a shirt that had some cool little cartoon designs on it, along with some baggy jeans that had stars on them. he turned to you and held them out, your eyes lighting up and nodding at him for approval. "yes soobie! that fit is so hard," you giggled, soobin smiling at your excitement but he was heading to the changing room. you followed behind him, watching him as he went into the men's room.

he came out in the outfit and it looked so good on him, a little too good in fact. it had your eyes raise in shock and you biting your lip, his whole aesthetic was coming together nicely and it had you feeling things you thought you wouldn't feel for a while. especially for your best friend since freshman year, which was probably why and how these feelings developed overtime.

you chewed your lip as he walked up to you, holding his arms out and looking down at you. "you really do like it?" he asked, pushing his hair out of his face so he could see your face better. "y... yes! yes i do like it choi. it looks really good on you," you softly spoke, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion but he didn't think much of it. he just shrugged and went back to the changing room, getting his regular clothes on and taking the store clothes off.

after that, the whole day was filled with soobin using pinterest as his inspiration to find the coolest outfits that fit his aesthetic. you were happy he was finally starting to gain some confidence in his clothes, the outfits getting from baggy to tight to baggier to tighter. he had a good body so each outfit fit him perfectly, and you enjoyed the tighter outfits better than the baggy ones.

it was starting to get dark outside, so that was when you decided it was time to leave. you grabbed all of your shopping bags (you and soobin's), before the taller man stopped you. "oh y/n, you don't have to carry all the bags. let me do it," and he did. he grabbed all the bags out of your hands with no struggle, walking them to your car and putting them in the back. you smiled and followed after him, loving how kind he was towards you.

it was a nice drive home and you were enjoying his company, even though he was yapping to you about the newest episode of mha that had just came out that day. he had watched it before you two had left and it was plaguing his mind the whole time. he was so excited about it, even though he had the entire manga on his bookshelf that he read about 10 times in the span of 2 years. you didn't mind it however, since he was so cute when he was excited.

once you two got back to the dorms he took all the bags up the stairs and into your shared rooms, you right behind him and opening the door for him since his hands were very full. he walked in and dropped the bags down on the couch, turning around to see you closing the door behind him and locking it. he smiled as he made his way over to the kitchen, immediately going to the fridge since he was a bit hungry from all the escapades you both had went on.

you had decided to cook for the evening, letting him have time to grab all the bags and put them in your respective rooms. he realized how much you really spent on him and yourself, and he was just wondering how in the hell you had so much money. but, then he remembered that you did have a super rich family, and you were very smart so the school was paying you on a full academic scholarship. he was more than grateful though, so he would do something in order to make it up to you.

he would just have to think about it.

even though soobin was a loser and unemployed, he promised that he would still try to get you something special. just because you were his best friend didn't mean that he couldn't treat you nicely. so, he went to a store that you absolutely loved, a makeup store at that, and bought an item that you had wanted but it was out of stock when you both had went the other day. he also purchased a little bag with some stuffing paper, making it a nice little gift with a card inside.

he set it down on your bed when you were at class, since he didn't have class today. and since he didn't have class, he was going to cook for when you got home.

it took a lot of trials and tribulations in order to make a meal that he assumed would remind you of your home back in america, so it was a standard american meal. chicken tenders with fries and some fruit punch on the side. he made the chicken tenders from scratch and used some seasonings that you had brought from your home back there to use in the food. he knew that you were going to love this, and he was all the way right.

as soon as you got home your nose was hit with the wonderful scent of very good food in the kitchen, a smile on your face as you walked over to where the scent was originating from. you were pleasantly surprised to see choi soobin in the kitchen, wearing a tank top and shorts while cooking some more fries. you couldn't hold back your gratitude, going up to him and hugging him tightly.

"thanks soobie! you're the greatest person in the entire world," you beamed, making him 1. blush, 2. stutter over his words and 3. involuntarily gain a massive boner from the hug. he was very thankful for the baggy shorts however, and how he had tucked his cock in his pants to where it was barely noticeable. you did notice though, but you didn't speak about it.

the dinner was filled with laughter and gossip, you telling him about your girl drama while he ranted to you about his gaming prowess. it was a great dinner, and you were both very tuckered out by the time the sun fell.

going to your room you went to grab some clothes, putting your freshly done braids in your bonnet before going to the bathroom and closing the door. that gave soobin the advantage of going into your room and laying on your pillow. he could smell every bit of you, every single scent that lingered on you today was on the pillow and god did it make him hard as a rock.

he palmed himself through his shorts, groaning soft chants of your name and getting so caught up in it that he hadn't realized the shower had cut off, and you were now watching him with a towel wrapped around your body.

his glasses were fallen off his face at this point, tilted as he softly whimpered praise about how you smelled and how pretty you looked. he was so desperate for you that he couldn't stop himself from imagining how your pussy felt, how it smelled, how it tasted, everything about it. he wanted you so badly but he was too much of a pussy to ask you out, and too scared to lose the friendship that he had worked so hard to maintain.

you were his only friend, he couldn't lose one of the only people that understood how he was and why he was this way. he couldn't lose you, so that's why he only fantasized about you.

so, when he finally came back from his imagination his eyes traveled everywhere until they were met with yours. he jumped so hard he tumbled off the bed, quickly getting up and going to leave before you stopped him, despite you being much shorter and weaker than he was. he still let you stop him by standing in his way, giving him a fake disgusted expression even though you were dripping on your thighs right now.

"soobin, what the fuck?" you spat, making the pale boy look down in shame and fear. he knew that he was going to fuck this up, so small tears came into his eyes as the realization of what he had done and the punishment for it finally crawled into his mind. "y/n i— i'm so sorry... i'll leave if you want i... i'm sorry." he mumbled softly, trying to push past you but you didn't let him.

your hand traveled to his chin and you tilted it up, forcing him to look down at you, but in the eyes this time. you didn't say anything, but you just wiped his tears away and smiled sweetly at him. "soobie... don't cry. i'm not mad or disgusted at all, i'm just a little shocked is all," you admitted sincerely, making him raise an eyebrow in confusion. "why are you shocked?" he asked, making you chew on your lip and remove your hands from his face.

"well... i mean, this is one of the first times i've had a guy come into my room and sniff my pillows while moaning my name. so who wouldn't be a little shocked in this situation?" you giggled, making him loosen up a little bit. "yeah... you're right. so... you're not mad at all?" he softly questioned, making you shake your head. "no choi, i'm not mad at all," you reiterated, making him smile brightly at that.

however, you were pretty desperate as well, soaking between your legs and you were still very much naked underneath the towel. soobin also noticed how your voluptuous breasts were starting to poke through the towel, making them a lot more perky than he would normally see them. he could feel his cock throb at that, him gulping a little to keep the saliva from crawling out of his mouth. "though..." you trailed off, making him snap back to reality and realize that he was basically staring dead at your chest.

"it was pretty hot seeing you like that honestly... i know you've never had sex or a girlfriend before, so... i want to ask something of you," you got closer to him, standing on your tippy toes to try to be even with the man's face. "can i be your first?" you asked, not making a move until he said something. he lost his breath as soon as you asked that, mouth dry and heart threatening to pump straight out of his chest because of that revelation.

he needed a second to come down from cloud nine in order to answer you, so you let him. after a second though he nodded his head, you leaning forward and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. his eyes widened in shock, he had never kissed a girl before, and this was like heaven on earth. he was so happy to be tasting your lips as his first time, and... you would be his first time for everything.

despite his avid use of the orange and black website that most pre-teens to bitchless adults go to for entertainment, he didn't have a fucking clue of what the hell he was doing. he just knew that you weren't letting go of the kiss, so he wouldn't either. that was until you did pull away, which had him chasing your lips desperately because he didn't want to let them go. he just wanted to be near you and be all over you, which he would in a while.

you giggled and got off your tippy toes, grabbing his hand and pulling him to the bed. you put yourself on the bed and laid down, beckoning him to come over to you. he did so in an instant, he was so obedient and it was turning you on even more. you grabbed his face and started to kiss him deeper, having him on top of you made this even better since you could feel all of him all over your body and feel the way he squirmed under your touch.

you could tell that he was very nervous, the way he couldn't even touch your body and how stiff he was in the kiss was a tell-tale sign of it all. so, you pulled away (much to his dismay) and placed a hand on his chubby bunny cheeks. "soobie, you don't have to be so tense with me. i know this is your first time being intimate with someone, but you have to trust me, okay baby?" you spoke in a compassionate tone, the pet name just slipping out. he obviously didn't object to that but it seriously caught him off guard, which made his cheeks redden with a small nod.

you smiled softly at him before sitting up, gently pushing him down so now his head was at the edge of your bed. you took the towel and sat up on your knees, slowly removing it and exposing your naked beautiful body. well, he saw it as beautiful, even though you had some chub around your hips and thighs, but he didn't mind that. in fact, it seemed to turn him on more. he saw every aspect of you as a goddess in his mind, a person who could do absolutely no wrong. he was so in love with you, and he was very happy that he was able to get his virginity taken by someone like you.

once the towel was off you threw it to the ground, crawling towards soobin and straddling his hips. you leaned down and started to softly kiss his neck, causing him to let out a shocked noise at the sudden feeling of your plump lips on his sensitive neck. quite frankly, everywhere on him was sensitive, despite how many sessions him and his right hand had late at night. maybe because it was you, he wasn't quite sure. he just wanted this feeling to continue.

you trailed your lips down to his covered chest, looking at him and basically asking with your eyes if you could take off his tank top. "can i?" which was followed by an immediate "yes mommy," which had you a little taken aback. once he realized what he had just said he sat up quick, knocking you back a little and forcing your ass straight onto his clothes cock. he bit back a groan as small tears gathered in his eyes, covering his face and hiding it with his large ass hands.

" 'm sorry y/n— i-i didn't mean to say that it just— it just slipped out," he was basically pleading with you not to leave, he wanted to lose his virginity to you, he wanted you to take him however you wanted him to. he was about to cry when you just chuckled and kissed his cheek, making him flush harder. "choi, it's okay. you don't have to be so scared to try things with me. if i don't like it, i'll tell you. if i do like it, then i'll also tell you. and i quite frankly love that name. you can keep calling me that if you're comfortable with it, because i sure am," you told him, making him nod his head and softly smile at you. "okay... mommy."

now that that was out of the way, you went to go remove his top and he let you, holding his arms up and the top coming straight off. he then decided to slip off his shorts and boxers, leaving you both completely naked under each other's gaze. he was so beautiful, sleeper-ish build with silky smooth skin that you wanted to ruin. he was so perfect... god he would be the perfect man.

your lips connected again and this time soobin immediately melted into it, relaxing himself as you went back to straddle his lap. your ass was right on his cock, softly rubbing against just to see how his face scrunched up with pleasure in the kiss, swallowing up all his sounds. he loved this, this was everything he could've ever dreamed of. he was about the fuck the girl of his dreams, the reality hitting him like a pleasant surprise. he couldn't hold back the dripping of pre-cum that was all over your ass by now, making him even more embarrassed than he was before. however, you thought it was hot, and you wanted him to cum deep inside you.

this time, he was the one to pull away, panting softly as he looked at you with those bright eyes of his. "please... m-mommy just— just use me, i need it so bad," he begged you with such a whiny voice, god it had you throbbing so hard. you both were needy for each other and it showed with every action you two made towards each other. so, you didn't keep him waiting for long.

"of course baby," you cooed, biting your lip before starting to get yourself situated. you put your hands on his shoulders and stood up on your knees, guiding yourself to be right above his aching cock. he gulped as you started to sink down on his ridiculously big cock. seriously, how in the hell did he keep such a monster like this in his pants? you struggled a little as you tried to sink down, realizing that you would need soobin's help in order to fully go down.

though, when you looked to ask him for help the man was so far good, eyes in a daze and mouth open and panting heavily. he looked hot as shit but you needed his assistance in trying to get yourself fully around his cock, so you put a hand on his cheek even with your trembling hand. "binnie... c—can you please help me? you're... way too big—" you strained out, feeling the pain starting to kick in despite your wetness. this man was fucking huge and he didn't even know it, but he would help you at any means necessary.

so, he grabbed your hips and, with a little jerk of his arms, slammed you right onto his cock. this motion caused you and him to both moan out in pleasure, you arching your back and soobin's eyes rolling to the back of his head. after you both came down you started to slowly move your hips, your wetness covering his area so sloppily it was exactly like a porn video. he was mesmerized by your body and how fluidly you could move, he was in a trance by your hips. so much so that he involuntarily thrusted his hips upwards, causing you to moan out in pleasure but causing him to quickly stop your hips, confusing you.

"w— what's wrong bin?" you asked, trying to keep your voice steady but you were already close to your orgasm. "that didn't hurt? what i just did?" he asked, which just made you softly giggle. "no soobin, it didn't hurt at all. please do it again," you pleaded, making something in the man switch by your begging.

he grabbed you and slammed you onto the bed, pulling your hips forward and ramming deep inside you. meanwhile he had no clue what the hell he was doing, he was just trying to follow what porn had taught him. although, he could tell that you were enjoying it by the way your noises increased in volume, how more fidgety you were because of the immense amount of pleasure he was giving you. so, he continued with his unorganized pace, still moaning alongside you as he did so.

"b-bin— fuck baby 'm's'close—" you whined, making him speed up a little as well. "f-fuck... me too mommy, m-me too—" he whimpered alongside you, you pulling him down for a steamy wet kiss. this instantly had the man's hips stuttering, shoving himself as deep as he could right into your g-spot, his cum flowing against it which had you clenching around him as well. your noises were equally swallowed by each other, this being the most intense orgasm both of you have had in your lives.

after a few minutes you both came down from your highs, you looking at the man above you who was a wreck. his glasses were basically off of his face now, lips red and swollen from your kissing, pupils blown and dazed with a red face to top it all off. he was so sexy, but he was on the verge of passing out. so were you, since that orgasm took a lot out of you. so, you both decided it would be nice to just lay next to each other, but not before deciding something.

"u-uhm... y/n?" choi chirped, making you turn your head in his direction. "hm?" "what... are we now?" he sheepishly pondered, you reaching a hand out and massaging his face. "boyfriend and girlfriend silly," you smiled softly, while he grinned brightly. "really?" "mhm. now goodnight baby, see you in the morning." your drowsy voice stated before he held you in his arms, you easily falling asleep. however, he couldn't sleep, because his mind was racing with so many things that sleep didn't come until the early morning.

which wasn't a problem, since you both slept until 1pm that day.

© gg 2023. dividers were made by me. do not steal, use, or repost my work without my consent. reblogging/interaction is welcomed.

[professoruber]

Thoughts and speculation regarding Meridian before Birds of Prey (2023-) #5 drops!

Spoilers for Birds of Prey (2023-)

Please also keep in mind I am a novice when it comes to comics and their lore. I am also tired and writing this in my iPad, so please let me know if I am misremembering or overlooked any details.

Maps Mizoguchi! Or rather, Meridian! A very surprising addition to the latest Birds of Prey series. As someone who is a fan of Gotham Academy, even sometime before I started really becoming interested in comics like I have been recently, this definitely caught my attention and has led me to following this series in interest.

However… currently I have a number of thoughts of Meridian which I would like to get off my chest now before #5 releases and either gives us more questions or (hopefully) more answers.

I suppose my big question thus far is… why Maps in particular? Especially given the fact that her constant departures due to the apparent limitations of her time travel tech means she subsequently has limited ‘screen time’ to justify her involvement. Why was it a time travelling future Maps who kicked off events and not anything else?

I like Maps, but I still have begin to find her role somewhat odd; perhaps in large part due to a simple question it raises….

Is Meridian Maps’ destined future hero persona (instead of Robin)?

Maps wants to be Robin, it’s been a thing since Gotham Academy, and it’s a goal which has been given both some focus and some credit via both the main Batman run and also the non-canon Batman Black and White.

The goal of becoming Robin is one which she was shown to be still determined towards even after experiencing the dangers which would come with the job.

So with this in mind, it seems kinda odd how they’ve also introduced the Meridian persona for Maps. While I do like the name well enough, the fact that it’s a geography term being a neat nod to her nickname, I can’t also help but notice that Meridian… doesn’t really seem to display any of the typical Robin or Bat-related skillsets?

She teleports around and shoots people with lighting, and I’m pretty sure that’s about it. She doesn’t appear to be notably tactical, nor does she display any martial arts (she just points her fist and shoots), which is honestly a tad disappointing. Maybe that’s just me, but I guess it just feels a bit odd.

Cresting such advanced technology also wasn’t exactly something I’d expect from Maps; but tbh she would’ve had plenty of time to learn science as she grew up so… hm.

Does this mean Maps is not going to become Meridian? Maybe?

Possibilities

A very interesting observation and suggest by @transpanda-1 was that Meridian was not in fact Maps Mizoguchi, but rather Katherine Karlo (the blonde girl picture with Maps in the comic snippet a little higher up); the daughter of Clayface. This is based both on uncharacteristic behaviour from Maps herself as well as her departure being described as looking like she is “made of dirt”, a very specific and odd way of describing what would otherwise be assumed by readers to be her disappearing in a flurry of static or energy.

Of course; any oddities, as well as any differences in the behaviours and skillsets of Maps vs Meridian, could be easily justified by the fact Meridian apparently comes from a post apocalyptic future, plus the general effects of aging.

But even still, I do really like this theory and think it makes a decent amount of sense. Especially given the whole “dirt” descriptor.

Katherine Karlo has displayed the ability to be at multiple places at once in the past, seemingly controlling multiple bodies with the same consciousness. She has also impersonated Maps in the past.

However, Katherine appears to be inspired by Annie, a character from BTAS who iirc was a ‘daughter’ Clayface who was created when part of him got separated from his main body and so developed a distinctive identity seperate from the main consciousness. I don’t think Katherine’s backstory has been delved into (correct me if I’m wrong) but I assume it was something similar. Therefore, if she is Meridian then perhaps the reason Meridian keeps disappearing is because maintaining control of a part of her so far away takes a significant amount of effort? Or maybe it is a time travelling Katherine instead?

Hard to say for sure. And also probably doesn’t exactly explain the lighting powers. But tbh I kinda would also kind of prefer this?

Would give Maps more of an opening/hope to still become Robin one day.

Motivations and Answers

This is the final bit of this rather long-ish post which may or may not get totally disproved by #5 tomorrow. But I’ve gotten this far so might as well cap off my thoughts.

If I remember correctly; Meridian is the reason for the general secrecy of this mission, not only from Diana and the other Amazons, but also from Barbara. I feel that big secrets from close allies, especially given Babs’ importance to the Birds of Prey, require big reasons. But from what I can recall we have yet to get any actual look into her reasons… or how she convinced Dinah for that matter (it’s not as if Maps Mizoguchi is some close confidant of hers, I doubt they’ve met before this).

If Meridian is a time traveler then perhaps she’s already attempted this mission via other methods which have failed, hence the reason for specific exclusions this time around?

Or maybe this is an evil future/alternate self kind of deal. I don’t think Meridian has acted overly suspicious apart from this secrecy but it’s still possible. At the very least, she may not have been entirely upfront with all her plans/motive/knowledge.

For all we know, maybe Barbara is involved and pulling the strings for whatever reason? Maybe not, but still.

I guess the reason I’m thinking on this is I feel excluding Barbara and causing a “hero vs hero” conflict seems like the kinds of things which require a very good reason for. And Dinah presumably found said reasoning quite convincing since she went along with it.

If Meridian isn’t from the future, then that just adds further mystery since it means for some reason Katherine Karlo (or someone pulling her strings) has posed as a future version of Maps to direct the Birds of Prey in a mission to rescue Sin. Why all this deception would be needed is another question (assuming she’s not from the future, anyway).

Conclusions

Let’s start wrapping things up. Despite my confusion/semi-complaints, I’ve generally enjoyed Birds of Prey so far and am looking forward to seeing how the story continues. I also am a fan of Maps and am curious at what kind of role she will have as this fort continues, and I also hope she gets her overall dream of becoming Robin one day.

Maps would make an awesome Robin.

For now I guess we shall see whether #5 provides any answers, and if it does then we’ll see if my random speculation and thoughts were off the mark or not,

[paper--moons]

CG!Kurogiri Headcanons

(with multiple regressors)

After the war, there were many, many things that needed to be fixed and sorted. Societal structures concerning crime, justice, and people. Once the dust settles from the second war that already near-insurmountable list of things somehow only managed to increase. And Kurogiri—Oboro?—just so happened to be one of those things that needed sorting out. All of the villains fall onto the list technically, but he's...a special case. A special case that is infinitely complicated thanks to the fact that Oboro has finally been "reawakened", leading to the two personas within him to begin to merge into something new. Not only is the change metaphysical, but it is becomes exceedingly apparent that it's a physical one as well—the omnipresent smoke surrounding his body finally begins to recede, at first only in patches but soon enough there is no denying who is under all that mist once it becomes more controllable. Which is exactly where the issue comes in in regards to his innocence, and more specifically what should be done about him. Or with any of the villains for that matter. Locking them away in Tartarus obviously didn't work (not that the place is even remotely functional anymore), and the people demand a system reform, so what does that leave? Why, a shiny new villain rehabilitation program! A program that Kurogiri qualifies for no problem, and a program that really allows him to try and figure out who he is now. Bridging the gap between Kurogiri and Oboro is both harder and easier than he expects, but finding common ground helps. One of the strongest things that seems to be a constant between the two? His ability and desire to care for others! That caregiving instinct wasn't something that AFO and the doctor could drive out of him, and instead actively used once it became apparent that it wasn't going away. So once he reaches a certain milestone in his rehabilitation program and is cleared for it, he starts acting as a cg again!

The decision isn't one without its own challenges, no matter how eager he is to regain some sense of agency over his interpersonal relationships. Primarily because that caregiving instinct is pulling him in a couple different directions. But as Tomura is still undergoing rehabilitation (and medical treatment, due to what his body went through during the war), one direction starts to pull more strongly given that it is both more readily available and encouraged by several outside sources (namely his therapists and the newly restructured Hero Commission). That direction of course being Shouta. And it isn't as if he hasn't been spending time with him; he's been by his side for all of this, even before he started remembering things. There's a lot of discussion beforehand that sees to Shouta middlespacing by the end of it, but it's decided that they both would like to try sharing that space with one another again and that it would be beneficial for both of them. In the safety and seclusion of Shouta and Hizashi's apartment, it's all too easy to slip back into habits thought long forgotten. And as Shouta clings to him, he can't help but feel he's regained another part of himself as he strokes a hand through coarse black curls. During this Hizashi acts as a mediator of sorts just to keep everybody safe and happy, but it doesn't take Oboro more than a moment to piece together that he must have stepped in to fulfill that cg role for Shouta after his "accident". Something is a little off though, something he can't quite place yet, about the way Hizashi can so easily get on Shouta's level in a way that he himself cannot. But it's sweet to watch how easily Hizashi can take his hand and lead him towards the kitchen with an excited if not somewhat conspiratorial whisper that earns him a soft giggle and a nod, and so Oboro doesn't question it too hard (nor does he mind giving them a headstart on whatever trouble they're up to).

It takes far longer than he would like, but after several months Kurogiri is finally given the opportunity to reconnect with Tomura. He has received updates on his recovery, sure, but Tomura wasn't allowed contact with anyone other than his doctors. After everything AFO has put him through mentally and physically, the poor boy is left feeling raw and wrung-out. These feelings in turn lend to Tomura spending a lot of time regressed more often than not, occupying a sleepy babyspace. And the only thing he really wants now that everything is all said and done is his papa. It's more than enough to tug at Kurogiri's heartstrings, and it's also more than enough to spurn him into asking for something out of pure self interest. Because he wants to help. Making such requests is still something he is trying to be more proactive about as part of his own ongoing recovery, and he wants more than anything to be a part of Tomura's recovery too. And once all the legal red tape is out of the way, he's approved for visiting hours! Much like how one might go visit a kitten at a shelter that they are planning to adopt once it is old enough, Kurogiri gets to visit Tomura periodically until he can be cleared to come home—because with help from Hizashi and Shouta, Kurogiri has been working on making a space that Tomura can call home. And every time he visits he makes sure to bring Tomura a small treat, taking note of anything that the boy seems to really like and cross-referencing it with the small list he used to keep when it was his purpose to mind after him, not his choice. He finds there are things he's adding to that list now that it is his choice, things that were filtered out before for being "unnecessary"—things like stuffies when he notices how Tomura tends to hug onto a throw pillow, or pacis when he sees that he still sucks on his sleeve when he's nervous. Which he seems to be doing a lot of, though understandably. His papa looks a bit different than he remembers, after all! Is more open with his emotions, too. But Kurogiri is sure to reassure him that while some things have changed, the fact that he cares deeply for him is something that has not and never will change.

To continue with the kitten analogy, once Tomura does get to come home there are some challenges. Challenges that primarily take the form of "let the kittens sniff each other through the door so they can get used to each other". Even Oboro knows it won't go perfectly smoothly, though that recovered optimism of his is hopeful. And it isn't as if Shouta hadn't had time to get used to the idea—he and Hizashi both had went with Kurogiri to visit Tomura a couple of times even!—but it's different once it's happening. They both know that Tomura wouldn't do anything to hurt them now. But suddenly he feels like maybe it's asking too much of Kurogiri, and he thinks him and Zashi have been fine on their own for a really long time now and, and... And it only takes the one occurrence of him and Tomura being regressed at the same time for any worries like that to be forgotten. Oboro doesn't play favorites and makes that abundantly clear from the start. If one gets something, then so does the other. It helps that both boys seem to fall within the same regression range as well. Their first "sniffing each other through the door" regression session consisting of getting them both comfortable on a cozy blanket pallet in front of the TV and putting on some baby sensory videos for them to doze off to, bottles of chocolate milk and vanilla milk given to the correct baby (because Oboro has his little ones' personal preferences down pat!). Hizashi even helps make sure things go well, which means the world to Oboro. He brings Tomura his stuffed bunny before settling down next to Shouta, sitting criss-cross applesauce as he hands him his Chococat and pulls him into his lap for a hug—an act that Oboro finds endearing of not a little overprotective.

Although this brings us to the fact that there is one little piece of the puzzle that Kurogiri really, really should have connected sooner. And that is that he doesn't have two babies on his hands, but three. As it turns out, Hizashi was filling a cg role for Shouta like he had thought—on occasion, that is, when Nemuri wasn't available. Other times however, he was filling the role of playmate! While Oboro is a bit hurt that Hizashi would keep that from him for as long as he did, he can understand why. Regressing wasn't something Hizashi did before, and it was something he was trying to do less of after they lost Nemuri (at his own detriment). Plus it wasn't as if he was hiding it totally! In hindsight he realizes Hizashi had been middlespacing a lot as if to test the waters. He was good at getting on Shouta's level (and later Tomura's) because he was close to it himself! Oboro can see now that he's been playing the part of his little helper more than that of his fellow cg. Though Hizashi is the master of maintaining a persona, even he can't always hide those little slips. Everything clicks into place during one such little slip when they are having playtime that he notices the blonde's fidgety fingers, the longing look he is giving to the blocks the other two are playing with, the way he chews at his bottom lip as if to distract himself from wanting more than he thinks he deserves. And Kurogiri can relate to that feeling of wanting more but needing permission. Tentatively he finds himself ruffling Hizashi's hair, afraid he might be making a mistake with the way he tenses up but pushing forward regardless. Low voice quietly telling him Go on, why don't you play too? I think they would like that. It's okay, you know. Those words being all the encouragement Hizashi truly needed to let go, to go somewhere decidedly smaller. And Oboro takes in all the subtle and not-so-subtle changes, like the way his words run together and the way he bounces in place. Falling in that toddlerspace range means he's a lot more high energy than Tomura or Shouta, but Kurogiri knows he can handle it.

Three babies spells trouble for poor, poor Oboro however. Not that they always regress at the same time (though it turns out it's rare that Hizashi and Shouta don't regress at the same time), but when they do? Trouble. So much trouble. It's the Hizashi factor. Because Tomura and Shouta? Sleepy babies 85% of the time, no troublemaking there. It's when Hizashi gets thrown into the mix that great incidents of baby mischief occur. Shouta is always eager to follow his lead, and it's only too easy to get Tomura swept up in their infectious chaos. Really, it's hard for Oboro not to get caught up too...until he remembers that he's the adult here and that they probably really shouldn't be cramming Hizashi full of crayons. Kurogiri can only watch in a horror-filled fascination for several seconds while Hizashi devours the crayons paper wrapper and all as he gives his review of the flavor (much to the amusement of the other two) before his brain catches back up to him, but the short timespan is enough for several more crayons to disappear. Razzle Dazzle Rose and Screamin' Green being the latest two additions to Hizashi's stomach, the former apparently being "way more nummy". Tomura is already handing him another to try (Robin Egg Blue, this time) and Shouta is shoving the box of 120 (more like 100) crayons under his shirt by the time Kurogiri is crouched beside them with a handkerchief and the gentle instruction to spit it out, please. All that earns him is a stubborn little boy shaking his head no, his attempts to convince him only causing him to chew faster and swallow the colorful wax anyways. He is (rightfully) appalled when he then proceeds to stick his tongue out and scramble away with a laugh. It takes little convincing to get Shouta to give him the box so he can count just how many crayons are missing, as the four fingers Tomura held up at his question seem unlikely. Given that he counts a remaining 89 crayons, the resulting belly ache is no surprise, nor is the rainbow barf that colors the living room floor. The day ends with a trip to Recovery Girl's office that no one is particularly proud of, but mistakes are only human (and no longer a punishable offense for poor Kurogiri).

While there may be more bumps in the road that may or may not involve eating crayons, returning to caregiving and finding his footing there only leads to Oboro putting more of his life back together and moving forward the best he can. He is still navigating the harsh reality of what happened to him while building those vital relationships that remind him why everything will be okay, that he isn't alone in the dark any longer. Nor does he ever have to be again, the gentle warmth of living seeping into the spaces all around him in his new life. Taking the form of the delicate scents that waft up while he folds Tomura's softest onesies that smell like the Dreft they were washed in. Or of the way Shouta's cat knows just when to rub up against his leg with a purr when he needs a bit of grounding in reality. Or of the Legos that Hizashi has left scattered across the coffee table that cover up some paperwork for his radio show. All of these things makes his life feel comfortably lived in for the first time in a long time, rather than the constant, cold distance and apathy he was forced to maintain. His heart can finally breathe again and seek the connections that bring him so much comfort. Though he has lost much he has also gained plenty, and while it isn't easy he wouldn't change his circumstances. There are still a lot of things Kurogiri is working on of course, but at least he can say he is working on them with those that he cares about most in this world.

[probably-ace-ok]

Unusual or Unique Crossovers

A small collection of fanfictions that either crossover pieces of media that are completely different, or does so in an interesting and unique way. Many are unfinished or seemingly abandoned, but I think they’re worth checking out anyway.

stand in the ashes (ask the ghosts)

My Hero Academia/Mass Effect

Izuku transported to Mass Effect universe before meeting All Might, gets adopted by Shepard. In progress.

Ghost's space adventures.

Hollow Knight/Mass Effect

Ghost gets sent to the Mass Effect universe and is pretty OP. Complete.

Diamond in the Rough

Steven Universe/Worm

Post-Future Steven gets transported to the grimdark superpower setting of Worm. In progress.

Child of the Sun (or, The Return of the Avatar)

Star Wars/Avatar: The Last Airbender

The Force stops working normally, and everyone who uses it becomes a bender instead. The Jedi Council does not approve. In progress.

Tilly Death Do Us Part

Double Life SMP/Attack on Titan

Minecraft players get accidentally sent into Attack on Titan… but can still use the Minecraft mechanics. In progress.

A Tale of Spirits

Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles/Avatar: The Last Airbender

The turtles get send into the AtLA world and are mistaken for spirits due to their appearances and abilities. In progress.

see you in the dark

The Disastrous Life of Saiki K./Worm

Saiki gets sent to Brockton Bay and complains about not being in a comedy show anymore. In progress but hasn’t updated since 2021.

Stacked Deck (Or, Colin Wallis vs. Single Parenting)

Persona 4/Worm

Armsmaster has to deal with his brothers wife’s nephew being suddenly dumped on him. Yu has to deal with his uncle being a humanoid cactus. Also superpowers. In progress but hasn’t been updated since 2018.

Pray For the Children You Lost Along the Way

Miraculous Ladybug/Silent Hill

I actually haven’t read this one, although it got into my bookmarks at some point, but I’m putting it on the list for that crossover alone. In progress but hasn’t been updated since 2019.

Magic, not materia

Final Fantasy VII/Harry Potter

Was a bit hesitant about adding a HP fic to this list, but from what I remember, this fic respects HP about as much as I do — that is to say, not at all. Cloud shows up and stabs the Basilisk during Chamber of Secrets. In progress, last updated in 2021.

Once Again

Naruto/Gravity Falls

Mabel is reincarnated as Sasuke Uchiha, and that’s really all you need to know. In progress, hasn’t updated since 2019.

The Addams Family Thief

Persona 5/The Addams Family

Akechi gets adopted by the Addams family and fits in quite well. Complete.

All That Glitters Must Be A Rock

Kingdom Hearts/Steven Universe

Only a crossover in the loosest sense of the word, this fic is set in a world where people from the Destiny Islands are similar to Gems. Effectively complete.

More Than One Hero

My Hero Academia/The Legend of Zelda

Bakugou is a Link, and that changes everything. In progress, hasn’t been updated since 2018.

it's dangerous to go alone

Majora’s Mask/Undertale

Link falls into the Underground and meets Chara. Oneshot.

in the shadows of history (is where we roam)

Little Nightmares/Pokémon: Legends Arceus

Six is going to kill Arceus — and possibly eat what’s left. In progress, last updated in late 2022.

Revival

Batman/Attack on Titan

Eren Yeager in Gotham, what will he do? Adopt a child and befriend the local murderous vigilante apparently. In progress.

The Wheatley Parable

Portal 2/The Stanley Parable

Wheatley feels bad about what happened with Chell, but then he gets a second chance. Things go wrong immediately. In progress, hasn’t updated since late 2022.

Teen Titans: Morph

Teen Titans (2003)/Animorphs

Earth has been invaded by mind-controlling aliens, and the Teen Titans are some of the few heroes who know about it — along with the original Animorphs of course. Also, Starfire has a secret friend. Technically unfinished but satisfying to read anyway, hasn’t updated since 2014.

The Odd Duo of Blue and Pink

Persona 5/Kirby

Kirby and Meta Knight are reincarnated as humans in the Tokyo of Persona 5. In progress, hasn’t updated since 2019.

[thomazzr]

///LightSwitch!Zane

(inspired by a load of other AU's I've seen but main one is by spinchips ao3 fic with zane having two diff personalities)

Zane and my boy Zayne! I mostly named ice emperor that because calling him IE just seems either too long or too short but onward to lore.

Lore

Timeline: Post-never realm when the ninjas came back to ninjago.

After zane got fixed up from 6 decades worth of damage and leftover ice that was stuck on his body, PIXAL asked if she could scan him, it was reasonable for him to be scanned and zane agreed since of course. Anything could've been on his mind, and maybe get rid of any rust here and there. But upon checking she found some old persona in him. Soon as she saw it she went to check the switch on zane.

(the same switch zane used after nya becoming the sea)

And the switch was absolutely demolished, as it was close to where Zayne mainly added ice on, meaning that along with his other internal machines and the switch are very broken, PIXAL attempted to fix everything along with Jay and nya but the switch, was unfortunately unable to be fixed as it looked like to be the one part of zane that Zayne kept playing around with out of curiosity and the discovery of flipping it made him far less emotional. To the point it was to no use anymore due to decades of on and off and so forth. Giving zane a constant serious and Unserious and different persona's at all time.

The switch was vitle, and without it could make zane unfixable. So to take it off was just a lose lose situation. And therefore dear ice emperor Zayne became a second persona of zane. Though less hostile after seeing they aren't any harm to him and are in fact his friends, tho still very bitter lloyd technically defeated him by mere words and also Kai for his fire ability which opposed his.

Due to this, every ninja in the temple got used to zaynes sudden appearance even when they were talking to zane, both weren't so far from each other since zane and Zayne are passive, adaptable, hard to beat emotionally, and way too intelligent for robots. Though unlike before, Zayne still has the same voice since voicebox isn't connected to the switch and why his voice was so deep before when he was an emperor was because his voicebox was rusting. They would know if they switched, zayne = a little ruder than zane and zane = less quieter than zayne.

Personality

Zayne: he's far wiser than any of the ninjas, second to master wu due to him existing for 6 decades, and so technically he's older than zane.

His way of speech is different and due to speaking the language of the never realm so much, he has an accent. I don't even know if the never realm/ninjago is supposed to be Chinese or Japanese but I like to think Zayne would Have a slight old Japanese accent similar to master wu.

Knowing the ninjas are his friends, he's not as hostile but still is, talks unnecessarily rude to them when he feels like it, and his pride grows 10 times a day since he always shows up when it's sparring time, beating one by one since his knowledge at fighting is further than any of them, usually being alot more fierce when sparring with Kai, though being slightly careful with lloyd as lloyd always seems to back off if Zayne asked for a spar. So he'll be more gentle at beating lloyd compared to everyone.

When zane and the others have a conversation, sometimes the person they're talking to don't realize it's no longer zane they're talking with but none other than Zayne. Zayne and zane share a mind and are just as intelligent or more so in zaynes perspective but either way it's sometimes hard to distinguish them if Zayne isnt showing the normal differences with zane and as long as he controls his accent abit.

Zane: he isn't much different to Canon other than being more timid but due to also experiencing being the ice emperor too, he unconsciously talks alot more, and his morals are a little more cuckoo than before.

Whenever it is his turn to switch. He's alot more indecisive as he had vex for so many years and when he switches, hes always be greeted by zayne. his feelings for Zayne is complicated, he resents Zayne and he really doesn't like him but he can't blame Zayne much at all, because Zayne is him. They were still the same person before the switch broke, and if it wasn't, its his fault.

Hes usually in the kitchen, with PIXAL or with master wu. It's now uncommon for him to be with the other ninjas, and most of the time he is with them, he's very timid, he loves making plans with them but the fact he hurted them back in the never realm always came to haunt him, and sparring with them was even worse especially with lloyd, so he usually gave the job to Zayne with the condition he doesn't injure them too badly.

Though he's less social, he talks like a king, which is funny for the other ninjas, mostly because he uses alot of high honorifics on himself, sometimes accidentally calling himself emperor, by this point he doesn't even know how to stop it.

(also before closing, his appearance is different, and as much as it just looks like a mix between zane and zaynes style, it's just Zayne feeling uncomfortable wearing the things zane wears regularly and asked if zane could at least give harder protection even if he does know he and zane aren't human and aren't physically weak since they have tough bodies, by the end of the day zane was forced to ask master wu for some)

I'm sure soon enough I'll be making more of these two and how they interact. Feel free to give me questions.

(also if you're someone who's seen my Dual emperor AU, I'm sure I'll talk about it later on)

Too-da-loo!!

[thebibliomancer]

Earth X #7

Hulk’s the strongest of the verse, you know him well

He’s finally back to kick some tail!

Iiiiii still don’t know why the Hulk is a gorilla now.

The opening two-page spreads that recap people on Hulk stuff tries to explain it as the Celestial seed in Bruce absorbing so much gamma radiation that it wanted to be independent.

But that doesn’t really work when Bruce needs Hulk to see and Hulk seems to do anything Bruce wants. The two are more dependent than they were in one body.

The opening Hulk explanation also debunks the idea that Hulk’s different personas were any kind of Disassociate Identity Disorder thing. Nope, Bruce’s mental health has nothing to do with it according to Earth X. It’s always just been a result of Hulk absorbing more and more gamma over time.

Let’s just say that’s one ball from Earth X the main verse won’t pick up and run with.

Earth X! It’s Bad Future! There’s a mind control squid and a mind control kid causing a fuss! Humanity has mutated due to reasons unknown but probably not Reed Richard’s fault! The Avengers are dead, the Fantastic Four is disbanded, and the X-Men are all circus performers! Iron Man hides from the world! Thor has been rule 63’d by Loki! Peter Parker is retired but his daughter is Venom! Hulk and Bruce went to see Sorcerer Supreme Clea to visit Mar-Vell in the Realm of Death to ask why Bruce keeps dreaming about him!

There’s a lot going on! Much of it is a mess!

Also, last issue blind Uatu the Watcher bullied Aaron Stack Machine Man into erasing his own brain.

This causes some trouble because Aaron was one of the comic’s narrators and now he has zero interest in anything going on and has to be cajoled by Uatu to still work as his seeing eye robot.

After the six preceding issues where Aaron always had an opinion on things, it’s chilling to have narration that’s now just matter of fact strict recitation of the facts.

You’re a dick, Uatu.

I’m going to get the appendix stuff out of the way now. The stuff that explains in brief what several not-appearing characters are up to.

Doc Sampson: he was the Skull’s therapist when the kid was just a normal kid. Unfortunately, therapy made the Skull’s powers manifest, unleashing the psychic pulse that took out every other psychic in the world. And when his power let him take control of Sampson, the Skull forced him to turn himself inside out, for laughs. That’s not really a survivable process.

General Ross: his crusade against the Hulk eventually escalated to the point where he wiped out a town, wrongly believing the Hulk was hiding there. He was court martialed, because yeah, and killed himself.

The Leader: he was psychic. The Skull’s awakening killed him.

Abomination: he irradiated Betty Ross until she died of it. Instead of killing him back, Bruce somehow cured him of being the Abomination.

Uatu figures that Bruce must have accidentally removed the Celestial seed from Blonsky, meaning there was nothing to allow gamma mutation to take place. And he seems glad Bruce never figured out how he did it because that could really derail the Celestials’ plan.

Nighthawk: apparently at some point he got prophecy eyes from Mephisto and he’s been driven insane by upcoming events.

Gargoyle: Lives with Nighthawk and writes down his insane ramblings. Including a bit that says Captain America’s attempt to gather an army to fight the Skull is doomed to failure. Thanks for the spoiler, jerk.

One last interesting tidbit that Uatu mentions is that though the Skull is an important part of the Celestials’ plans, the mass empowering event happened two hundred years early and Uatu has no idea if things are off the rails or if he just lost the plot.

Anyway.

Last issue, Reed Richards retrieved a Cerebro from the abandoned X-Mansion.

He teleports to New York and is reunited with Ben after all this time.

That’s nice.

Of course, Reed being Reed, he’s not here to reconnect with his best pal. He’s on a mission and he needs some notes he left with Ben.

Reed has a Cerebro but you need to be a little psychic to use Cerebro, some of the times. Reed isn’t psychic but at some point he took extensive notes on Charles Xavier’s brain.

So with the notes, Reed can just

Stretch his mind. To use Cerebro.

(I don’t know for sure but I think Earth X is the first to explicitly say that Xavier’s mutation was a physical change in his brain. So Earth X gets a tally for things that inspire the 616 because Red Skull later grafts Xavier’s brain to his own to get psychic powers.)

Meanwhile, over at the Sanctum Sanctorum, Thor has joined this side of the plot between issues with no explanation.

And Clea creates a portal to the Realm of Death which Bruce sends Hulk through.

In the past times I’ve seen Death’s Realm, it’s been a rather generic wasteland. In Earth X, it’s a ruined looking New York and the inhabitants are in inverted colors and horizontally flipped?

They act out what they were doing before death and seem unaware they’re dead.

Aside from the people we already knew were dead, there’s also She-Hulk. Meaning there’s nothing left to save from the Hydra. That’s sad.

Also, Phoenix is here but Jean is alive? Odd.

Hulk doesn’t find Mar-Vell but he does find Dr Strange’s dead astral form.

He tells Hulk/Bruce not to say anything. Then he reads the letter Hulk is carrying and tells Bruce that Mar-Vell is on his way to see him.

But that Bruce is in danger! Because the one that betrayed and killed him was Clea!

Dangit, Clea!

Although that does explain why she tried to get Hulk to turn back when he was getting close to Strange.

Thor rushes into the portal to retrieve Hulk when Clea warns that he may get trapped in Death’s Realm forever. And Bruce accidentally lets Clea know he knows when he begs Thor not to leave him alone with Clea.

Surprise, Clea and Loki are in cahoots. Kissing cahoots.

I have no idea how this ties into the mass empowering event, the Celestial plan, the impending destruction of Earth, the Inhumans looking for their missing prince, the Skull, or Hydra.

We now just have a Loki plot on top of all that.

And weirdly, ghost Strange suggests that Loki’s scheming may save Earth despite himself.

What a tangled web of plot and subplot.

Elsewhere, the Skull’s army arrives outside New York… oh, I’m sorry, New New York.

I don’t remember if a previous issue called the city New New York. And this issue came out a couple months after Futurama’s debut.

There’s a slim but non-zero chance that Earth X copied Futurama.

Wild.

And seven issues in, plotlines converge as Captain America and the circus X-Men Cyclops was training all arrive at Ben Grimm’s place.

I have to wonder what Cap’s plan is. He came up with one between issues and sent the circus performers to Cyclops for training and then booked it back to New New York.

How do you beat a kid that can mind control tens of thousands without any real effort? Reed could probably make a doodad. If he has Xavier’s brain on file, maybe he has Magneto’s helmet schematics?

Cap, please talk to Reed while you’re here.

[mayfay]

As much as I love tying everything back to the commission this probably falls to society viewing hero’s as the epitome of what it means to be a person, while also having the majority of their idea of a “hero” being tied to All Might, someone not exactly great at self care. Add some Commission wanting flashy battles for publicity and sprinkle in potential history of self sacrifice, and a hint of ties to patriotism (the self for the country/people) and you got a potential basis for this (as well as a whole host of other reasons and history we (and by we I mean me) don’t know about or aren’t shown.

Worth mentioning as well that hero’s have access to some top notch resources, including healing quirks, the remove some sense of danger. Adding to that the competitive nature and overabundance of hero’s means stiff competition that requires some level of risk to end up on people’s minds (and an injury, or risking one for a flashier battle, is a great way to do that). And as that happens more often it becomes not just a tactic, but a standard. If you’re Not taking risks for publicity you’ll fall behind, and with hero’s needing to pay for property damage (seen in a one off bit with Mount Lady) on top of higher expenses for basics like necessities and precieved needed luxuries, falling off before you gather yourself a fan base is a great way to end up starving or doing secondary work. That’s part of why so many hero’s are sidekicks first, on top of experience it gives them a paycheck and publicity until they can get ground to work off of.

Added to all that are quirks themselves. So much of mha society is tied to strong quirks and their “morality” that it becomes the center point of almost every career (eletric quirks have advantages in the job market according to Jiro, flashy quirks can get away with abuse, and hero’s are well known for tying their entire persona to their quirk). And how do quirks get stronger? Practice. Kinda. I have a whole post about it elsewhere explaining my reasoning but know that quirks get stronger in 4 ways: the body growing and naturally strengthening, basic practice and training, mini awakenings, and full awakenings. Body growth is the main way most quirks grow but for hero’s and jobs centered around quirks training usually suffices. For the extreme though mini-awakenings (or training bordering one) are a common practice. Take Iidas mini-awakening that gave him recipio-burst, that was aparently something he learned from his family, a legacy one at that. And they’re supposed to be one of the most upright and moral hero’s in the show! And looking at the training camp arc shows causing enough pain/stress to rival a mini-awakening is apparently done often enough and on a large enough scale they have semi-dedicated methods and trainers for it.

And of course it gets So Much worse when you consider what too much quirk power can do to the body (namely health complications and obsessive behaviors seen in the overall young age and behaviors of those with powerful quirks vs the calmer weaker quirks we see across a wider variety of ages, on top of other stuff I’ve gone into elsewhere but would require So Much time to go through its not worth poking at). These people are training nonstop and encouraged to damage their body and minds to save people and garner fame, while there’s plenty of other hero’s around that could pick up the slack. But of course due to pay reasons that’s not acceptable since pay is split, leaving almost everyone solo and competing.

Of course underground heroics are a whole nother ball game, but they’re likely a remnant of the old vigilante circles hero’s were born out of, rather than “proper” limelight heros. So different rules and likely a different pay system. Not to mention that since they aren’t in the public eye (and likely avoid the Commission like the plague considering most seem to join to avoid fame or focus on work, while the commission is obsessed with control) they get to avoid the hero rankings that influence every aspect of limelight hero’s and their training. Still influenced of course, Aizawa is a prime example of that, but it’s lessened (as seen in Sir Nighteye)

Got more but I gotta eat dinner, love to hear what you think!

the glorification of self harm and suicidal ideation in mha really ticks me off and you may be saying but but! there's no such thing as super cops in real life so it doesn't really matter! bzzzt wrong. the first thing you learn in crisis management, first aid, or emergency services (all real heroics) is to save yourself first or to be the safest you can possibly be before running into a disaster. firefighters don't just not suit up because the fire is "too bad" or they "don't have enough time" that's just suicide.

professional athletes (the guys who run around in colorful outfits for brand deals & such) are so conscious and some can be borderline obsessive of their physical conditioning because that's the basis of their livelihood! they know that sometime in their 40s their body will start breaking down to the point they can't do their job anymore so they do everything in their power to prevent or at least not help that along. that includes being very careful to avoid breaking all your bones multiple times in a row.

the way mha rewards the characters for jumping into dangerous situations without a plan knowing that they'll permanently injure themselves and then never mentions those permanent disabilities again is wild! and that's before we start touching on the ideation that your personal self worth has to hinge on how much you can do for other people. like the thesis of mha heroics is if you can't save everyone you might as well die trying. insanity!

[justanisabelakinnie]

Theory Time!

Isabela is closer to the warm-colored family! 

Don’t believe me? Well, to start, she is the only cool-colored family member(aside from Mirabel, of course) to sing in We Don’t Talk About Bruno, a song sung otherwise entirely by the warm-colored family. 

She also is shown to be very close to Pepa, much moreso than to her own mother(I’ll get back to that later.), multiple times in the movie: 

Of course, it makes sense for her to be close to Pepa: water and rain nourishes plants and makes them grow! But it’s worth noticing that aside from background dialogue, Pepa doesn’t talk to Dolores even once, while Mirabel is at least shown talking to both Julieta and Pepa. Isabela also doesn’t talk to Julieta at all throughout the movie as far as I’m concerned. 

And of course, during the lunch scene in which Alma discusses Isabela’s engagement to Mariano, who does she sit with? 

The warm-colored siblings, right between Dolores and Camilo(with Antonio being on the other side of Dolores, though it’s not shown in the gif, so technically she is sitting on the side of the Afrolatine kids, whereas Mirabel would be sitting next to Luisa if Alma hadn’t forced her to move)! Even interacting with them the way siblings would, with both of them playing pranks on her and her responding to the latter in kind. 

But the question is...why? Why does Isabela appear to be so much closer to Pepa’s side of the family than to her own? I have a few hypothetical reasons for this. 

The first is that, due to her pressure to be a perfect, graceful flower(in Mariano’s words), and the older sister of the only Madrigal who didn’t get a gift, her parents didn’t take as much time and energy in looking after her and seeing if she was all right than they did Mirabel. They were more concerned about making Mirabel feel better about not having a gift than they were Isa being perfect because from their point of view, perfect doesn’t need fixing. Isa didn’t have any problems from their point of view and they figured she had everything under control. So she gravitated towards the warm side of the family since they actually paid attention to her outside of being perfect. 

The second(and this partly ties into the first) is that the warm-colored family is the side that actually sees who she is beyond her perfect persona. We know already that Isabela and Dolores are primas-hermanas, and were joined at the hip since they were kids. Who’s to say that Dolores wasn’t the only one that Isa could confide in about the pressure to be perfect, and that she was the only one Isa could be herself around for a while? As for Pepa, they most likely spend a lot of time together, seeing as how they dance together, she hands Pepa the flowers, and they even do the same dance at different points in the movie! Most likely it was Pepa who taught Isabela how to dance as a form of tia-sobrina bonding. As for Camilo, he pesters her like a little brother would an older sister, something he never does to Dolores and probably couldn’t because of her sensitive ears. It’s likely that he does this because he sees past Isabela’s perfect facade, and also because he can’t play those pranks on Dolores so he does it to Isabela instead. 

(They also both race for the candle together and look at each other worriedly when they fail, neither of them paying Mirabel any mind, it’s as if they were looking out for each other the way a brother and sister would:) 

Remember when I said that she is sitting with the warm-colored siblings at the lunch table? At the dinner table, when she is about to be proposed to and thus must keep up her perfection facade, she’s not sitting next to them at all. She is sitting with Mirabel and Agustin, who are on the cool-colored side of the family: 

Gifts may also be a part of this. Notably, unlike her mother and sister, Isabela has a gift that would fit in better amongst the warm-colored family, one that relates to nature in some way: her gift involves growing plants and flowers, Pepa’s gift is controlling the weather with her emotions, and Antonio talks to animals, which is a part of nature. The three are like a natural cycle. Pepa’s rain could make Isabela’s flowers grow and Isa could use those plants to feed Antonio’s herbivore friends. It’s possible that she gets along with Antonio too the way she does Pepa and Dolores, and sees him somewhat like a little brother rather than a cousin. 

All of this is just my opinion, of course, but it’s not too off the mark. I don’t think it’s too far of a stretch to imagine that Isabela feels closer to the warm-colored family than to her own side, as tragic as that might be. Lots of scenes show her interacting with Pepa or relating to Pepa the way a mother and daughter do, and she is shown interacting with Dolores and Camilo the way siblings would. So perhaps she does feel a stronger connection to the warm-colored family after all. 

But that’s just a theory...AN ISABELA THEORY!!! 

Let me know what you think in the comments below! 

[zuluc]

summary: how the genshin boys give hugs

characters: childe, diluc, kaeya, razor, venti, xiao, xingqiu, zhongli

style & genre: bulleted & written; fluff

warnings: none

notes: a self-indulgent fic for my birthday yay, i hope you guys enjoy this I just really want a hug but it’s hard to see friends right now 🤧🤧

Childe

sometimes a side hug or quick embrace; sometimes not because there are days he never wants to let you go

his outward persona is lost because he trusts you

once his arms come around you, you feel like the life is being squeezed out of you, in a good way of course

there are still traces of his past he has yet to share but he wants you to know how much you mean to him

Paimon had stayed behind to finish that chop suey Su Er'niang offered you both. You finished your share, giving some to your companion, and you left to sight-see around Liyue. 

It’s different from Mondstadt and there were quite a bit of things to get done here for your journey. Your feet take you to the stairs leading up to the Wanwen Bookstore and you hope no one has bought out the book you wanted to finish.

Before you could take a step upwards, someone grabs your wrist and pulls you into a small alley. You hand comes up to summon your sword but then your vision is obscured by a head of copper hair. You gasp when his arms tighten around your torso while he heaves a sigh beside your ear. He lets go after a few seconds and you can see the smile on his face.

“Just a recharge,” Childe winks and turns around to get back to what he was doing.

Diluc

he gives the type of hugs that hold so much emotion that he hides from the public

his body runs warm and appreciates when you snuggle further into him when he has you

his hugs are never quick and he likes to take his time, his hold tight enough to make you feel safe but loose enough to allow you to leave if you so wish

rarely initiates them but will take full control when you’re in private

You could tell when the work he had was becoming too much for the night. The annoyance tainted his handsome features and you just wanted to take it all away. Diluc worked hard, everyone knew that, but he was only human. 

You give him the letter Jean wrote out and proceed towards the door to get back to your own duties. Your name rolls off his lips and when you turn around to look at him he’s gesturing for you to get closer. When you’re mere inches from his desk he stands up and places one hand on your back and the other on the back of your head, burying his face into your neck.

The temperature outside was chilly and his naturally warm body contrasts to how you felt prior. You can feel him frown against you when he feels how cold your skin is.

“Will you be coming back tonight?”

Kaeya

he gives you many hugs, anywhere and at anytime

there isn’t a day where you never receive one and if that every happens, the next day will include even more

will almost always lift you off your feet and/or catch you off guard; he likes to keep you on your toes

even when you’re just standing around waiting for another mission or watching the sun set he’ll hold you close against his side

He’s late. Again. 

You finished off the last of the slimes around Starfell Lake with little to no damage to yourself, luckily, but someone was supposed to assist you to get the job done faster. You look around for any more enemies before kneeling down and dipping your hand into the water. It was cool against your skin, relaxing you after the day’s work. But it might have been just a bit too peaceful.

A force pushes you forward and you close your eyes to brace for the inevitable impact into the water. You wait a few seconds before realizing that you are still very much dry, but there’s something blocking you from lifting your arms. Kaeya chuckles behind you as you lightly hit his arm, hugging you tight.

“I got you,” he says with a smile.

Razor

he’s an awkward hugger, mostly because he doesn’t know how these things work as well as that he doesn’t want to hurt you

he doesn’t know where to put his hands and they usually end up against his sides before he realizes that he makes you think he doesn’t like them

when he gets more comfortable, his hugs are gentle and soft

he grew up with the wolves and these types of things just didn’t happen, but you make his heart soar

He’s taking a casual walk in Wolvendom to reflect on what Lupus Boreas had told him only days ago. He wasn’t a wolf, he was human, but he couldn’t accept it so quickly. His mind wanders and he doesn’t hear the steps, or rather running, behind him. It’s only until you jump on his back that he realizes.

You knew that he was thinking about what happened and you wanted to return as fast as you could to check on him. You slide off his back and he gives you a forced grin. Razor avoids your gaze but you place your hands on his shoulders to square them towards you.

He appreciates your presence and he wants nothing more than comfort, hands twitching at his sides. You’re aware of his little signals and smile when you hug him tightly. He closes his eyes and breaths in your calming scent while hugging you back with care.

“Thank you.”

Venti

there’s a sense of happiness once he hugs you because it just makes you feel lighter and free

there seems to always be a slight breeze about him and you can feel it brush your face when you rest your head on his shoulder

he comes and goes but never forgets to hug you before and after he returns to see you

his hold can range from very loose to holding on just a bit tighter

Venti left a month ago and you knew that’s just how his way of life was. He was never one to stay place for too long, much like the wind you would say. You yourself were someone who likes to travel around, but everything always brought you back to Mondstadt. 

You stand overlooking the city at “your usual place,” as he liked to call it, for some peace of mind. You sit on the edge of the statue’s outstretched hands and lean back on your hands to take in the view. A soft breeze passes by you and your ears pick up a quiet sound behind you. You smile and stand up, immediately wrapping your arms around him. 

His own naturally fall in place behind your back and a light laugh escapes his lips. It was nice to see you again, as always.

“Missed me?”

Xiao

he used to be so stiff when he first started hugging you as he never had physical contact with anyone

being you, he warms up and learns how to properly hug someone

will have a hand behind your head because he wants to make sure that every part you of is against him

he’s very protective of you in general and it gives him a peace of mind knowing he can keep an eye on you in this way

You’re sleeping, sitting in his lap with your head resting against his chest as he sits on the balcony of Wangshu Inn. You came to him only a few moments ago and it was clear that you took the time to clear out nearby hilichurl camps due to the small scratches and bruises you had on you.

Xiao narrows his eyes at more of the culprits across the water on the little islands, making a note to do something with them later. You mumble in your sleep and he looks down to see your brows furrowed. He cups your face gently and smooths his thumb over your cheek which causes your face to return to it’s peaceful state and you move closer to him. 

It was surprising that he fell for someone. You made your way into his life so unexpectedly and now he just wanted to take care of you. And he wouldn’t change a thing.

“Rest well.”

Xingqiu

very proper hugs because they are reciprocated in with the same energy, or even more, than the ones you may give him

he has no problem in giving you hugs away from prying eyes

he would usually whisk you away onto adventures with him with a promise of them

will get flustered when you hug him while saying just how much you appreciate him

You’re amused at the way he presents himself to others and talks to them as expected of him. Xingqiu was known to be mild- and well-mannered as his mischievous side was hidden from those not so close to him.

You both manage to escape the party, standing beside each other as you look up into the night sky. He feels less restricted with you and he takes this opportunity to lace his fingers through yours. You give him a fond smile and return to staring at the stars.

An idea pops into your head and you let go of his hand, him giving you a questioning look before he is brought into a hug. Xingqiu blushes at the suddenness of your actions but returns it nonetheless. His eyes keep diverting to the house so you have to reassure him that no one can see the both of you. 

“Let’s get out of here.”

Zhongli

he enjoys hugging, contrary to what most might think

he likes the intimate feeling and being close to someone he loves in such a sweet way that can be done anywhere

he will never deny you of the affection and if you initiate it he will go through with it no matter what

he’s always looking at you paired with a soft smile on his face whenever he has you in his arms

Zhongli’s voice pierces the quiet as you both take a stroll outside of Liyue. He’s telling you of its history and old traditions that have disappeared throughout the years, but you’re becoming tired due to the sound of his voice.

When you’re out of sight from the guards at the front gates you give a slight tug to the end of his coat sleeve. He stops in the middle of his story and sees that your eyes are growing weary. You keep your hold on his sleeve until you pull yourself to rest your head on his chest, closing your eyes and content with the sound of the night as you’re against him. 

He holds you close, making sure that you’re not actually asleep as it would make for a very interesting walk back. You tell him that you’re just resting your eyes for a few moments and that he can keep talking. That you love the sound of his voice. Zhongli places a kiss to your forehead as he continues, adoration for you clear in his eyes.

“Now, where was I...”

[theempresstrash]

Sculpting a Digital Identity

A crucial part of being a digital artist is forming a digital identity. I’m not going to say this is how become a successful artist, everyone’s road to success is different but from my observations the most successful artists I've encountered present a finely tuned digital identity.

Marketing gurus, business minded type and influencers will tell you this a brand. However, many artists hiss violently at this as if it were sunlight on a vampire and run screaming from this word. Why? Brand = commodity. At the core, all artists know we are more than a commodity. We are a living, breathing, feeling human with a lot of soul put in our work, even digitally.

Brand has a sense of rigidity. It’s set color pallets and fonts, it’s the same logo over and over. Digital Identity on the other hand gives a sense of personal ownership and life to the individual. Identity as a human and artist is ever changing and growing as we move through this life.

As an artist, it takes trial and error and loads of experimentation to uncover and then actualize this identity. Another word for it could be persona, depending on how the artist wants to approach it. Either way it is distinctly different than a brand in that it not a template and one size fits all process.

I think this is why a lot of us crypto artists (not all) shy away from fully diving into a 10k PFP culture and identity because it’s someone elses work. Even for me taking on a DOS punk, I still had to remix it to make it my own. Until I did that, it didn’t feel like me. I could write an entire article why 10k collections are successful but that's not my focus. I’m here to write about being an independent artist.

I personally experimented a lot over the course of the last year and a half as a crypto artist with my identity. Previous to that I experimented for years - decades - in and out of school and navigating underground art communities in Oakland/Bay Area and online here in Tumblr, Insta and FB to form Empress Trash.

No one can really tell you the right or wrong way to do this process. In fact, a large portion of the process is learning to stop listening to others and start listening to yourself. What is important is to have a safe space to explore and create without the influence of people who maybe don't have an artists best interest in mind.

This doesn’t mean don’t have people who inspire you and guide you as friends, mentors, teachers, heroes and inspiration ~ more so don’t listen to people trying to control your creative energy for their own gain only (ie exploit you). For some this is easy, for others due to trauma or poor conditions to self actualize, it’s a harder road. I can say my road was a pretty tough one.

It’s important to keep going though. Not for anyone but you and your souls need to express itself. Something drove you to create in the first place; it’s always there waiting for it’s moment to come out. Don’t let the world take that precious flame away from you.

Keep experimenting, finding who you are and building space around you to foster the formation of that persona. Make multiple digital identities even, kill some of them for fun. In the end, though there has to be a main one to focus growth on depending on your goals, ambitions or dreams.

Even once you land on an identity keep experimenting. One thing I’ve noticed is some artists grow stale after they hit it. This is because even though they have gotten to a level of success they were striving for they lose the flame of play, having fun and trying new things. They fear too much they will lose what they got with a mistake or wrong turn so keep trying to do the same thing over and over that happened when success hit.

It’s like they are stuck on repeat and some eventually sink.

They don’t seem to remember the success came from them taking risks, helping others and building bridges. Always keep that no matter how success comes your way.

To some of you who barely make sales right now, the thought of even being successful is almost laughable. I get there myself, daily. It’s important to break that thought. We will manifest what we focus on ~ good or bad.

Take some time daily no matter how hard it seems to focus on what you truly want and dream. Your identity is your sculpture to make. No one else can do this for you.

My soul sees yours and I believe in you. 🖤

[thefanficmonster]

Infatuation

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: Swearing

Genre: FLUFF, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: It’s not a secret that Corpse prefers taking care of his hair himself rather than going to a hair salon to get it trimmed and/or tampered. However, he only has so much knowledge of how to properly do it without having to obliterate his budget. Luckily, his girlfriend comes to his rescue.

Requested by Anon. Hi lovely! Thank you so much for the incredibly fluffy request! I’ve been very pumped to write it and now here it finally is - so sorry it’s taken me so long to complete and post it but I still hope you come across it and give it a read! Love, Vy ❤

“Um, what are you doing?“

I just walked into Corpse’s apartment to find him barricaded in the bathroom, giving himself a hair appointment. We were supposed to have a chill night in watching movies, but it seems to me like those plans will either have to be delayed or canceled, given the chaotic state both Corpse and his bathroom are in. I mean, how dumb was I to expect he was actually doing his hair justice when he told me he styled it himself? Why didn’t that immediately raise an army of red flags in my head and lead me to question his methods?

I’m honestly quite jealous of Corpse’s hair. It’s always so soft and silky and no matter how much or how little effort he’s put in it, it always looks good: either evidently carefully styled or boyishly messy, it leaves me with heart-eyes regardless. But to see him massacre it like this, it makes me wish I could report it as a crime.

“Ain’t obvious?“ He sounds rather frustrated and I feel at least slightly better due to this fact. He deserves to be as frustrated as I am by the sight of the crap he’s doing. “Sorry, you’re gonna have to wait for me for...a little while. I just need to get this under control and, um, clean the mess. Sorry for ruining your night like this, babe. I-I really wasn’t planning on it to take this long but I forgot to buy one of the products and I thought I could wing it without it but...I very clearly can’t so...“

“Please, stop talking. I don’t need to know what sins you’ve committed - if I do I’ll probably have to give you the silent treatment for like a week or so.“ I call out to him as I quickly skip over to the kitchen to leave the food I bought on my way over before returning to the bathroom and carefully taking a step inside, mindful of where there are hair strands on the tiles. Even severed, his hair is beautiful and I have a ton of respect for it - ok fine, I adore it. Corpse definitely doesn’t appreciate it properly. I walk over to the shower, reaching out to the two shelves inside which are lined with different types of hair products. “Oh fuck...“ I let out the whisper without even realizing it because I’m so stunned by the brands I see on those shelves. “Corpse, um, what the actual fuck?”

He turns to me, eyes wide and terrified because of my menacing tone. “What? What is it?” His gaze searches the spot where mine was just pointed at, looking for anything that could’ve provoked such a reaction from me. Seeing nothing but the hair products, he meets my deadly glare yet again, “What’s wrong?”

Alright, this man-child needs some serious help

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong.“ I say, stomping towards the exit of the bathroom, “You’re gonna stay here and wait for me to come back and don’t you DARE, even touch your hair, let alone bring a pair of scissors or any chemical near it. Copy?“

“Copied and pasted, ma’am.“ He salutes me, knowing better than to ask questions when I enter my commander role. There are quite a few things that set me off into this bossy-ass persona, and hair mistreatment is most definitely one of them. Thing is, Corpse doesn’t know that. Well, he didn’t know that, pretty sure he’s guessed it by now.

Feeling myself soften at his obedience and trust, I give him a smile and a wink over my shoulder as I go to grab my bag and leave the apartment to complete my mission, “Good boy.”

                                                              *  *  *

“Isn’t that a lot better?“ I ask, gently running my fingers through Corpse’s freshly cut, washed and dried hair. I’ve spent a good five minutes just smoothing through it with my fingers. I bet he’s expecting me to say ‘my precious‘ at any moment now, and trust me it’s tempting, but I still don’t, I won’t give him the pleasure of predicting my actions. Wow, we’ve really reached that level of being familiar with one another that I predict that he’s predicting what I’m gonna do next. While I’m a guessing game for him, I tend to think of myself as more of an open book. You just gotta be fluent in the language it’s written in to understand it.

I’ve gone off-topic, my bad.

“Yeah, you’re a lot less scary now.“ He tells me, his hand finding mine in his hair and taking it to his lips to place a kiss on my knuckles.

We’re positioned so that we’re in front of the bathroom mirror with Corpse seated in a chair in front of me and I’m for once in my life towering over him from behind. Our height difference was threatening to be a hinderance in my work on his hair, but we easily figured it out.

I can’t help but laugh, “You know what I meant.“ I curl one of his already curly strands around the pointer finger of the hand that’s still wandering around the soft dark curls while the other remains in his gentle hold, resting on his shoulder.

“And you know what I meant.“ He shifts in his seat to look at me directly, not via the mirror, “Since when do you have a hair infatuation?“

I roll my eyes and retract my hands, defensively folding my arms over my chest, “It’s not an infatuation with hair, dummy. It’s an infatuation with your hair.” I correct him, doing quick work of styling the stray strands that fall over his forehead and eyes. “I really like your hair, you already know that. I can’t handle the thought you’re doing such a shitty job taking care of it.”

He shrugs, furrowing his brows, “Hey, I was buying top-shelf products, cost me a fortune every month, my hair was being treated like royalty.”

I roll my eyes once again, “High price doesn’t always equal high quality, Corpse. Did you ever stop to read what was in those products?” I don’t let him answer, I don’t need him to confirm what I already know. “Even if you did - which you didn’t - you wouldn’t know what each of those ingredients do to your hair. You see, taking care of hair, especially hair like yours, takes patience and knowledge. It’s practically an art form. It’s not like you can just buy any product that has ‘suitable for curly hair’ on it. There’s a lot more to that.”

It’s only after I finish my monologue that I realize he’s looking at me with amazed amusement in his gaze, almost like a parent listening to their kid talk about their wish of becoming an astronaut. “Since when do you know so much about hair? You’ve been using the same shampoo and conditioner since I know you and now you wanna lecture me on hair care?”

I raise an eyebrow at him, exasperated by his stubbornness on the matter, “Who said being consistent with your hair products is a bad thing? You know, frequent changing of brands has the potential of being damaging as much as aiding.” I explain with the most amount of patience I can muster, now taking over the parent role myself, “And as for your previous question, I know so much because my mother is a hairdresser.”

His eyes widen in surprise. I can practically see the gears in his brain turning as he tries to recall if I’ve ever told him this before.

“How come I don’t know that?“ He asks finally after a long moment of silence. “Why haven’t you told me?”

“You ask that as though I just tell you things like that on the regular. Did you also want me to drop the info that my dad’s a mechanic in passing conversation about video games? Cause that’s a little hard to shoehorn in....“ He cuts off my sarcastic rambling with a brief peck to the lips. He’s the only person allowed to shut me up, and only like that. Anything else will earn him either an earful or a silent treatment. 

Just kidding....unless...

“So, does that mean you’re continuing the family business?“ he asks when he pulls away, “I mean, you’re technically my personal hairdresser now.“

I furrow my brows playfully, “Wait, what? Since when?”

“Since I hired you approximately an hour ago.“ He beams up at me, satisfied that I’ve fallen in his trap.

“And what about my payment?“ I ask, narrowing my eyes at him.

He looks to be contemplating for a second before he stands up from the chair, taking my hand in his leading me out of the bathroom, “Well, each appointment you’ll give me a different price, Miss Y/L/N. But, considering today was your first day, I choose to pay you with dinner.“ He sends a wink my way, laughing when he’s met with an unamused expression on my part as I stop in my tracks, causing him to halt his movements as well.

“You really plan on paying me with the dinner I bought?“ I raise an eyebrow at him, freeing my hand from his so I can put both my hands on my hips for the complete 'I’m far from impressed’ look.

“Yeah...? Problem?“ He asks, faking nervousness and guilt as he closes the distance between us, once again returning to the default of towering over me instead of it being the other way around.

“Several actually. First of all...“ I raise my finger in the air accusingly, ready to go off but the arm that wraps around my waist and lifts me off the ground causes my words to die down, evaporating in a frightened squeal, “Corpse no!! Put me down!“

Of course, he ignores me, carrying me into the living room while I don’t know whether to thrash or stay as still as possible. 

Tsk, so much for gratitude

@maat-the-prescriptive  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @itsminniekat  @hacker-ghost  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze  @divine-artemis  @waterlilypat  @idontknowwhatthisisfam  @evi-ka  @classyandfabulous00  @redperson58  @lilysdaydreams @solowheein  @mythicalamphitrite  @axen-gers  @luckygirl144  @nj01  @buddyemily   @the-albino-lioness  @stardream14  @gdhdkfnn  @nomadicgypsyy  @preciousskye  @fluffysuicideunicornsworld  @o-kaelin  @manacharlotte  @awkward-youtube-trash  @lolalee24  @bonky-beerns  @meme-lord-and-savior-sebastian  @strawbrinkofdeath  @teenloves  @tams0527  @browneyespinkhair  @starstruckllamapuppy  @daisychains012  @y0ulooked  @tinytacosuitcaseflap @supernatural-is-my-only-life  @jula-pauline  @melodykitty  @just-that-bi-girl  @crazybutconfidentaf  @lowellshade @alphakees  @bellero  @weallneednamjesus  @starryhanji  @boiled-onionrings  @husherstan  @fockingwhore  @melaningoddessthings  @prettypastelpetals  @haleypearce  @godwhyamiawkward  @y-napotat  @daisychainyoonmin  @little-miss-rebel3  @free-wheelin-bi-sexual  @redmoon261 @darkacademic2  @wiseflamingoqueen  @into-the-end  @namikhai-i  @nastiablr  @thelittleplantlover  @mirktuan  @dont-hyuck @jjk-bunny  @vintagegothlover  @easygoingtheatre  @itsrandombooklover  @miiaivi  @emmybaybee  @befourgolden  @jjk-is-my-shit  @eternalteaaars  @spacebadgerx  @princesslunalight  @acequinn14  @samm48  @misselsbells06 @simp-lykawa  @fo-love  @marishimomura-blog  @therealglenncoco  @cinnamonbun332  @killtherandomness  @sanshinexxxsan  @fee-btheweeb  @press-lay  @cathleenpotgieter16  @jazzydoesstuff  @moonlxghtbay  @forestrain2000  @hyunjinhugs  @blood-of-fandoms  @lovellylies  @ukiyolixx  @simpforhpcharacters  @chrisdylan17  @parkerjisung  @pedernille  @theodonyous  @wineandionysus  @malfoystilinskii05  @morbid-x  @coryisagee  @jessewa26  @scoobydooluver97 @mindintheskies365  @raeanneinwonderland  @indecisive-empanada  @gluttonypalace  @loriane2503  @btsiguess-kpop  @khaoticbunny  @lucidlycactus  @smiithys  @rottenroyalebooks  @kpopgirlbtssvt  @fangirl-tc27  @fr0z3n-1  @notmesimpingfortechno  @shotarosleftpinky  @kunoi-chan  @idk-whats-wrong-with-me  @yikeroonie  @goldenstarofthunderclan  @poetry-and-tea  @ama-do-writing-stuff  @wishbonewolf  @emeraldxhope  @t0xick1tty  @kusuinko  @speakyourselfloveyourself  @sophia902103  @lo-manburg  @classsykittykat  @dmgama  @depressedpuppythatneedscoffee  @btsiguess-kpop  @akaashi-baby  @gun-jong-simp  @geschichtenfee  @yerapotato-wp  @browneyedgirl365  @thysagclub  @sparklycloudnight  @helloatomicshadow  @queentorresstuff @vtte @val-gal  @lucy-bunny17  @aaliyahh0  @katluckybear  @boyleanti  @straybids  @franchesca-791  @cosmicstorm19  @averyisbackinthetrashcan  @aomi-nabi  @xlanawriter  @allensimpsforcorpse

[vintagegeekculture]

The Chinese Cultural Inspirations for Dragon Ball Z and Super

Journey to the West was only the beginning. 

A lot of people are vaguely aware that Dragon Ball was inspired by Chinese culture and Hong Kong Kung Fu movies and novels, but are unaware of how deep and long lasting it goes. The Japanese spent the 1980s fascinated by China, which opened up from being a closed society for decades in 1978; the most famous human being in Japan in the 80s was either Michael Jackson or Jackie Chan. 

In fact, a lot of people commonly believe that the Chinese action movie and Kung Fu novel cultural and media influence on Dragon Ball ended very early on. This is untrue. Sure, we started to see qipaos and cheongsams less frequently when they headed to West City, but it absolutely did not finish, because there’s tons of influence to see even as impossibly late as Dragon Ball Super. Interestingly, I don’t think any of these point of inspirations have been pointed out before, mainly because a lot of Chinese adventure novels are simply not available in English. 

 The Piccolo/Gohan plot was inspired by the Chinese action novel “Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre.”

Okay, tell me if you’ve heard this story before: a truly demonic, weird looking monster villain is defeated by a martial arts hero, but by circumstance, is forced into training his greatest enemy’s young son. The villain trains the young boy, the son of his enemy, in martial arts and over time, becomes like a second father or uncle to him and his family, putting the boy in his “evil” sect, and thanks to his love of his rival’s son, this baddie turns over a new leaf and goes from evil to just…grumpy, and becomes a loyal, though gruff, ally of the boy.

Of course, the events of Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre are a bit different from Dragon Ball in details. The Lion King becomes Wuji’s teacher because they are both stranded together on an island after a shipwreck, for instance, and he is blinded and made vulnerable. Also, the Lion King wasn’t so much evil so much as he was misunderstood by the orthodox martial world. However, in broad outlines, this trajectory for a face turn (becomes friends with his greatest enemy’s son, and becomes like a second father to him as he trains him, causing the villain to become a gruff good guy and ally) is essentially from one of the most famous Chinese novels ever written in the 1960s. 

Oh, and while we’re at it, Gohan is likewise inspired by another character from a Louis Cha novel: the Prince of Dali Duan Yu in the Kung Fu novel Demigods and Semi-Devils. The Prince in that novel is a naïve, pacifistic scholar who prefers books to fighting, and who was raised to be timid and avoid combat, absolutely out of step with his family, all of whom are martial artists and warriors. In fact, the beginning of the story is the prince gets incredibly lost in the wilderness, where the hopelessly naïve prince is utterly out of his depth, with all the robbers and scary beasts, and needs to be saved by real martial artists that protect him like fairy godparents. He spends the first part of the story running away from everything, scared as hell. However, by circumstance, he has naturally high power he cannot fully initially control, and eventually realizes that even scholars and others who hate fighting have to sometimes become fighters to protect those they love.

The Duan Yu part of Demigods and Semi-Devils was made into a film, the Battle Wizard, which was reviewed by PewDiePie. The Dragonball similarities went over his head because, honestly, PewDiePie does not strike me as a perceptive person. 

 Hit was based on the screen persona of Chow Yun Fat.

Chow Yun Fat was a Hong Kong cinema superstar who was to director John Woo what Robert de Niro was to Martin Scorsese. There are three giveaways that Hit was based on Chow Yun Fat. One, he’s an assassin, same as Chow Yun Fat’s character in the Killer, and is even given a sequence that’s a John Woo homage with an assassination in an office building with guns pulled on an empty elevator in an act of misdirection. Second, he’s wearing the single piece of clothing Chow Yun Fat is associated with, a black trenchcoat (fun fact: in Hong Kong today, trenchcoats are called Brother Mark Coats, after Chow Yun Fat’s character in John Woo’s A Better Tomorrow). Third, his power is essentially bullet time, a visual technique refined by John Woo in Hong Kong in the 80s and 90s in his gunplay triad movies starring Chow Yun Fat (what, you think the Wachowskis invented it?).

 The Goku/Vegeta relationship is from “Legend of the Condor Heroes.”

Here’s a story you might have heard before. It’s about two rivals, but by circumstance, one is raised in the wilderness beyond civilization, where he becomes an honest and goodhearted, though overly naive bumpkin, martial arts prodigy. The other is raised a wealthy prince by a conquering enemy, who grows up to also become an armor wearing martial arts expert, but also a cunning, arrogant, emotionally distant sociopath.

The similarities go into their love lives, too. The unsophisticated bumpkin hero is betrothed to a daughter of a powerful bearded barbarian king against his will, while the one hint of vulnerability and loss of emotional detachment in the otherwise sociopathic prince, the crack in his smirky arrogance, is that he loves a girl he otherwise pretends to hate, and even fathers a child with her who becomes a main character later.

This is Guo Jing and Yang Kang from Legend of the Condor Heroes. The most fascinating similarity, and proof that female psychology is the same all over the world, is that the fangirls love the emotionally distant, arrogant, and sexy/evil prince (remember when Rhonda Rousey said her first crush was Vegeta?). Girls everywhere love bad boys and sexy villains, and oh boy, do they love Prince Yang Kang. I think you can probably guess who all the fan art is about for Legend of the Condor Heroes, and what ship is the most popular.

I have to emphasize that Legend of the Condor Heroes, which came out in the 1950s-60s, is possibly the most widely read novel by the most widely read novelist on earth - the sales on that dwarf Twilight and Harry Potter. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say nearly every Chinese person, even if they never read it, knows who these characters are. In fact, Yang Kang and Guo Jing from Condor Heroes are basically repeated over and over in Asian, Chinese, and Japanese culture. Does the unsophisticated but gifted martial arts prodigy bumpkin hero, and the glib, arrogant wealthy prince rival remind you of….another duo of rivals?

Gohan/Videl comes from Little Dragon Maiden

One of the most important and influential Martial Arts novels of all time is “Return of the Condor Heroes.” A sequel to Condor Heroes, this time, the main character is the teenage son of one of the main characters from the first novel. It gets even more familiar from there.

“Return of the Condor Heroes” was about a martial arts couple who are also master and student, the same age but vastly different in experience and skill so one somehow seems “older,” and they fall in love because the circumstances of training together requires they spend lots of time together and become intimate. The training story and the love story are exactly the same in “Return of the Condor Heroes.” The dead giveaway one story inspired the other is that in both, the most significant training sequence is one where the master teaches the student how to fly (though Return used a chamber of sparrows for lightness Kung Fu).

There are some differences of course – obviously in Return of the Condor Heroes, the genders of teacher and student are flipped from Gohan and Videl (it’s the Little Dragon Maiden who is a powerful teacher, and the boy who is the student). It was the girl (Videl) who was a rebellious delinquent in Dragon Ball Z, when it was the opposite in the novel, true. But it was obvious this story was in the back of the creator’s mind as a way to combine Kung Fu with the love story, by making teacher and student lovers.

Addendum: hey, remember that awesome movie Kung Fu Hustle, the one Hong Kong movies normies have seen? Well, remember the landlord and landlady? The landlady was named Xiao Lung Nu, or Little Dragon Maiden, and her husband was named Yang Guo – the same as the main characters in Return of the Condor Heroes. It was a joke that went over the heads of Westerners, by giving these names of attractive and naïve young people in love with each other to a surly, bitter, arguing and chain smoking middle aged couple who don’t give a damn.

 Going Super Saiyan comes from “Reincarnated” aka “Bastard Swordsman.”

Stop me if this sounds familiar: a terrifying warlord tyrant prone to killing underlings who displease him has achieved a level of skill and cultivation so tremendous nobody can stop him. But there is one, and only one, thing he fears and that can defeat him: a long-lost legendary skill that nobody has achieved in recent memory, that includes a supernatural combat power transformation that turns the hair light to indicate it worked.

This is “Silkworm Skill” from Reincarnated aka Bastard Swordsman, a novel and TV series from Hong Kong in the early 1980s. Of course, there are differences. To get the power boost and new hair color, the hero has to jump in a cocoon he weaves himself. In fact, the scene is so well known that they actually have it on the poster.

(To those saying “Super Saiyan turns your hair blonde, not white” my response is that it turns hair white, or uncolored, in the comic book.)

The idea of your hair turning white to indicate a new supernatural combat transformation or martial state wasn’t created by Bastard Swordsman, though – though it is the best example and probably the one most familiar to a 1980s audience due to the hugely popular books and TV series. For an older example, a famous Chinese movie based on a folktale is “Bride With the White Hair,” about a bride who’s hair turns white when she is betrayed, in her anger, she becomes less a woman and more a supernatural creature of vengeance (interesting that anger should be the means to unlock it).

[lazywriters-blog]

Worse case scenario

Yandere tartaglia/childe [reader insert]

Warning: Mentions of kidnapping, slight development of stockholm syndrome, sensitive reader, unhealthy behaviour, isolation, forced marriage, mild NSFW, poor reader is confused.. kinda like a part 2 to home sweet home.

Sorry for any errors present in advance!

Summary: After recovering from a bad fever, you're starting to feel a little unhinged, but isolation surely can't be that bad right? Since you've never gone outside for 5 months. It's like you are not affected by it.

You wonder if it's okay to feel this way.

There's this overwhelming.. feeling that no matter how much you attempt to dominate it, it just remains, lingering, trying to control your every thought and speech. Having a strong sense of emotions can both be beneficial and disadvantageous, it makes you feel things.. on a larger scale, guess that's what makes you so sensitive. Maybe that's why you were avoided due to your frequent overreaction. It's not your fault, it's just how you were made, and you are not ashamed for it, even though you've been made to feel bad about it, from time to time.

Surely isolating yourself from social interactions wouldn't be so bad, since you barely even talk, just a pretty doll that can follow you around, and speak when needed. You wonder, if this ordeal your in could be detrimental to your mental state, confined, in a attractive room with everything you might need, it's basically just how you lived before your inevitable capture, nothing's really changed except for the new environment and rather frightening group of malicious people, who were ordered to stay watch just so you don't try to escape, by none other than their lovesick leader.

At the start of it, you got sick from all the stressful events, and forced to swallow down a dozens of pills just because you refused to take any, for a good reason, and even so, after you've somewhat calmed down, you're beginning to think this is no different than your usual line of living, or you are starting to adjust to your environment, perhaps worse developing a Stockholm syndrome. Even though, this should affect you brutally, nothing's changed, you've gotten used to not talking at all, given this was how you were even before your kidnap. Is something wrong with you? Are you taking all this in a wrong way? You just can't know for sure, are you starting to lose your sense of rationality, or are you just too confused to understand.. anything.

Reading books was never a problem, nowadays books are what keep you company, other than the usually check ups by ordered maids, you've never really developed a friendship with anyone, fearing you might involve them in a dangerous position, this guy who calls himself 'childe' seems like a troublesome person, troubled mind and manipulative tactics, from what you've witnessed so far, he's not easy to fool or deceive, but does seem like a guy who would get irrational in moments of desperation, or thrill. You are uncertain whether his innocent loving, and teasing persona is true or not, you can understand and relate to his tactics in a way, ignorance is bliss they say, and feigning ignorance might be the best course of action, if you want your sanity to be reserved. This man has seen things you would never want to witness, he's been through things you could never imagine. How else can he be so ruthless?

You wonder if he can read your face, you don't wanna look into his eyes, or even look at his face, he frightens you, and you don't know why. Pretending a neutral facade is your speciality, unless things go south real quick it breaks, but you can be good at keeping your emotions bound. Bottling it up to be specific. He chuckles, his fingers climbing on top of yours, caressing the ring that circles your finger, you can hear his breath, drawing nearer steadily, this moment is heart pounding, not in a good way. "I like it when you're so vulnerable around me." He speaks, fondness soaking into his eyes, "this way, we have nothing to hide." He grins, squeezing your hand. You take a deep breath mentally, finally gathering the courage to look up, and still you just can't bring yourself to look into his eyes for more than a second, "I didn't know you were so shy, love.."

"How was your trip?" You asked, eager to change the topic. "Oh.. the same old, nothing new. Forget about me, I wanna know what you did without me around. Surely you didn't try anything naughty, right?"

"No. I didn't do anything other than reading books and waiting." You replied. "Oh! Waiting for me? That's so.. cute, you're finally coming around!" He smiles wide, his face inches apart from you. His eyes now closer than you'd like, this is making you anxious. "Yeah.." you gave a weak smile.

"Nobody's troubling you, right?" You quickly shake your head, looking down at your laps, uncomfortably. Hoping he wouldn't take note of your nervous mannerisms. "Good." He said. He settles his hand on your cheeks, softly caressing your soft skin. "You've been taking care of yourself- that's great." He mumbled. For a moment, it's quiet, eerily quiet. You can hear your heartbeat at this rate.

Hearing him shuffle forces you to look up, just in time to feel his lips grab a hold of yours, pushing your faces closer, you feel him hungrily rub his lips, and you can't help but feel disgusted, before it could escalate, you push him away, words already coming out of your mouth unfiltered. "No. I told you we won't do anything intimate until we're married, didn't I?" You retorted, feeling somewhat violated.

"Sorry! I just couldn't help myself!" He laughs, that playfully glint in his eyes says otherwise. He's testing you.. how easily can you be swayed by sexual desires? He sure likes to toy with people, and you are no exception. You hate this about him, you wish to get outside, away from this pscoypath but don't know how, there's no way you could escape with this level of security and craze. You'd like to think you can, but.. you don't think he's going to let up even after that. He's dangerously interested in you, you can see that, how unhinged and overbearing he becomes when you come into view. He likes you, a lot. But not the good kind.

"Geez relax! I promise I won't do anything. Really! So then... when should we hold the marriage hm? How about tomorrow?" He smiles, and it doesn't seem like he's joking. "Tomorrow..?" You mutter.

"Yeah, we could! The sooner the better right?"

"But.. how is that even possible, preparations will at least take a couple of days-" childe grins, pressing his finger on your lips to silence you. "Shh Shh- you needn't worry. It's not impossible! Besides I always like pushing pass my limits."

Dread is all you can feel, it's too much to think about, your mind just abandoned you, and you can't think of another comeback to save your skin.

"Well then, shall we get started?"

[celestial-ringleader]

Random Remy LeBeau Headcanons:

Idk what possessed me to want to make this, but it’s almost midnight and I’m having Many Thoughts about Remy (that and I wanted to make a headcanon post like this for a while so here we go-)

When it comes to looks, Remy is very attractive of course, but he has a lot of imperfections in his appearance:

Remy’s smile is naturally crooked, mostly due to the fact that he had no access to proper dental treatment as a child so his jaw is slightly off-set, and when he is genuinely smiling part of his lip quirks upwards (which also reveals his slightly mis-aligned teeth).

His nose is also crooked from being hit so often on the face and he also has a snaggle tooth also from the amount of times he’s been punched in the teeth.

Despite all of the above, he embraces how he looks because he knows it doesn’t take away from the fact that he still feels pretty and that’s all that matters to him. And people dig the confidence. SPEAKING OF-

In my mind, I see Remy as being less of the handsome man and more of the pretty/beautiful type of man. Like his last name literally means “beautiful” so of course he’s gotta be.

He has beauty marks along the hollow of his hip and on the inside of his thigh.

Remy is sound in his gender and sexuality, of course he played around a lot with it when he was much younger but now he knows for certain who he is and what he likes. As such, he doesn’t mind occasionally looking in a more gender-nonconforming way when the mood strikes.

So of course when Jubilee needs help practicing with make-up he offers right away. Anything for his pseudo-sister.

On the topic of siblings, Remy feels protective over those he cares about (which this isn’t new information) but when it comes to people like Laura and Jubilee, he’s especially more protective. This mostly comes from his experience of being neglected and he doesn’t want his loved ones ever feeling that because of him.

On a more angsty note: Remy tends to hide it whenever he’s hurting, [physically and/or emotionally]. If he feels sick, he still pushes through it just to make sure no one worries about him if he turns up absent even if it takes all his energy just to stay awake. Of course this usually ends with him being forced to take a fucking break while given a slight scolding for not telling anyone.

I know marvel will never address this, but Remy has a lot of built up trauma from all the years of him being hurt to the point of death, abandoned, betrayed, used, etc. and while he never shows it, all that really puts a heavy weight on him at all times. But he’ll never let it on to anyone. Instead he forces a smile and hopes that he can at least make someone’s day go better if his day isn’t.

Contrary to popular belief, Remy is amazing with children. He grew up with a large family, and was the eldest child on top of that, so of course he had to babysit his younger cousins a lot. Of course with infants that’s a different story, but kids just,,like him for some reason?

(Because this couldn’t be avoided) He has a very complex relationship with catholicism as a whole. On one hand he feels attached to it because he was basically raised catholic, but on the other it’s the same group that demonizes him over things he can’t control. He’s more passive with his religion and only really practices it on special occasions (like the holidays, for example).

“Gambit” is the name/persona he associates with all the bad shit he does. He only ever introduces himself as such when he’s either working with the X-Men or facing off against an enemy. “Remy” is saved for those he cares about and keeps the two separated as much as he can.

Remy was (and kinda still is) a habitual smoker, he picked up the habit at a young age and has a hard time letting go of his vice. Of course now it’s not nearly as bad, but when times get tough he’ll reach for his pack of cigs.

It’s not super obvious, but he’s kind of a huge nerd. His room isn’t decorated head-to-toe in merch, but occasionally he’ll find a rare collector’s item for Star Trek and he just has to get his hands on it. Also he definitely played dungeons and dragons and has a whole dice hoard hidden in his room.

He talks with his hands a lot, in fact he just moves around and fidgets often when he’s in a situation where he feels under-stimulated, whether that’s messing with his cards, humming to himself, or tapping on his leg/desk. However when he feels overwhelmed/anxious, his soothing gestures get to the point of hurting him. Like biting the inside of his cheek, picking at his nails, scratching, etc.

He doesn’t show it sometimes, but Remy will have days where he just doesn’t want to look at his reflection. Either because he doesn’t want to see his eyes, but sometimes he just feels alienated from his own body thanks to a lack of agency in the past.

OKAY NSFW BELOW THE CUT: (big warning for mentions of coercion and assault)

He aims to please his partners in the bedroom, so he changes things up as they see fit. So long as it’s enjoyable for everyone, he’s down for whatever.

Remy likes it when his partner messes with his hair, whether it’s just aimlessly petting it, running their fingers through it, pulling on it. He just loves the feeling so much.

His sex drive is kinda crazy sometimes, which is sort of a side-effect of all the energy he has pent up in his body constantly. Although it’s partially an effect of how hedonistic he is (which was a result of trauma and his need to escape it) and how often he feels like he needs to please everyone. Nowadays he has more control over himself, but when he was younger he was borderline hypersexual.

Not gonna get into specifics here, but Remy used to have a hard time saying “no” to people. Sometimes he’d land himself in situations where he wanted to say it but felt like he couldn’t, mostly to keep his reputation in tact but to also make sure that the other person is pleased even if he isn’t all in it.

Okay less angsty shit now. He enjoys being praised and given sweet talk. Of course he won’t say no to a bit of rough handling here and there, but it also feels nice when he’s cherished and told he’s doing good. But also outside of the bedroom praise takes him off guard and half the time he feels like he doesn’t deserve it, there’s far better people than him. And every single time he’s told he absolutely does deserve it.

Okay that’s all I can think of for now but I might add more to this as I come up with more akjdbvkj this isn’t for anything in particular, just wanted to share my random thoughts about him.

[shihalyfie]

The Kaiser wasn’t very good at being a villain (and that’s the point, actually)

Ken’s journey of redemption is generally well-documented overall, and it was explicit enough in the series that there’s only so much you really need to explain it, but due to the blurred boundary of what was supernatural influence from the Dark Seed and what was Ken’s own emotional problems wreaking havoc, it’s somewhat more difficult to bridge that gap between the Kaiser and Ken, and how they can be the same person.

The easiest way to understand it comes from both directions. One is that Ken, even in his normal element, is much more assertive than he’s often given credit for -- it’s just that the Kaiser is a (fragile) manifestation of that very carefully cultivated to channel that in all of the wrong directions. The other has to do with the fact that the Kaiser is actually really terrible at being a villain, and the persona itself is very fragile and difficult for him to maintain.

Rewatching the first half of 02 shows multiple indications that, for all he seemed to be the stereotype “evil genius”, Ken was forcing himself into the mold. He was never cut out for it from day one. Even from the beginning, Ken’s actual nature as a lonely and inherently kind eleven-year-old child was tearing apart at the Kaiser persona, and the fateful episode 21 was not so much a single turning point for him as much as it was the last straw in a series of things tumbling down for him.

Before we continue: While all of the meta on this blog is only possible thanks to support and input from a handful of friends (whose names will not be disclosed on account of privacy requests), this one in particular arose from a long and extensive discussion with said friends that I am extremely grateful for. As always, I hope I was able to convey your points well.

Well, firstly, it’s important to understand that, much like nearly any other character in this series, Ken’s surface demeanor is a bit deceptive. The Crest of Kindness has the original Japanese name of yasashisa (優しさ), which has a secondary meaning of “gentleness” (lost in translation, but still apparent with the bubble metaphor in 02 episode 23). That also ties into the secondary meaning of “kind” -- it’s not just about being naturally “soft”, but actively choosing to be gentle with others even when you’re theoretically capable of not doing so. (For those of you who have seen Appmon, the entire point of that series was about what it means to consciously and deliberately choose to be kind, and, in fact, quite a few parallels could be made between Ken and Haru...)

The contrast between Daisuke and Ken goes far beyond just the surface. Daisuke’s surface demeanor is abrasive, but he’s not actually very good at being assertive until push comes to shove, and he otherwise tends to bend easily to others or get overwhelmed; in contrast, Ken has a more polite demeanor and for the most part seems non-confrontational, but has much stronger control of his emotions and is more easily able to be assertive than Daisuke is. (Of course, both of them share the common point of being like-minded when it’s something that really matters, but Ken is much better at imposing his will and getting what he wants done before Daisuke ever gets to that point, which is what fuels the whole punchline of Daisuke and Ken’s Shopping Carol.)

So, the point is: Daisuke is kind out of instinct and just “naturally” being so, but Ken is kind because he consciously believes in treating others well and not causing conflict, and not causing pain to others.

That’s not to say that Ken’s behavior is out of suppression or anything! It’s not a case like Takeru, who’s trying to push complicated emotions down while pretending they’re not boiling under the surface, nor is he like Hikari, who’s compulsively pressing her emotions down out of a desire not to burden others. Rather, even as early as 02 episode 26, he’s very straightforward about what his issue is and what he thinks about it. Ken’s “shyness” during the latter half of 02 is largely due to shame and hesitation from not knowing the other 02 kids well, but as the series goes on and as we go into post-02 material, he indicates that he’s perfectly wiling to be vocal about what he thinks without necessarily fighting any compulsion to suppress it. For someone who claims he doesn’t know much about his own heart, he arguably seems to have the best grip on understanding himself compared to a lot of this cast!

So in essence, the main take-home here is that Ken is theoretically capable of being strong-willed and assertive, and is very good at choosing when he wants to be assertive and when he wants to hold back. And he likes seeing people get along, and he wants everyone to be happy, and he doesn’t like seeing people be hurt or hurting others, and under normal circumstances, Ken has very good control of his emotions for the most part and quite a lot of self-awareness. That’s why Ken is the one to get the unique designation of this Crest; everyone in this cast can be said to be generous and supportive of others in some form, but there’s a difference between being a “natural” doormat who defers to others by default (Daisuke being a very good indicator of how this kind of mentality has a flip side of lack of self-esteem and high insecurity, and Tamers’s Takato being a good indication of how “being deferential” doesn’t necessarily preclude you from having tendencies towards selfishness or cowardice), versus choosing to be kind by understanding everything and still being gentle out of a belief that it’s the right thing to do (again: see Shinkai Haru). And it’s why Wormmon says in the 02 episode 23 flashback that Ken’s kindness can be used against him; being “kind” in this way requires a lot of mental fortitude, strength, and guts, all of which are things that could easily be very bad things when applied in the wrong direction.

This means that all the Dark Seed really needed to do in order to turn him into the Kaiser...was make him lose grip on that self-control.

Actually, Ken says it himself in less-than-subtle words in Spring 2003:

…It was revenge. But who was this revenge against? Did I want to triumph over the ones who made fun of me? The ones who looked down on me and used me? But… In the end, it was revenge against myself. I couldn’t do anything but deny the kind of human being that I was.

So in other words, the Kaiser persona was, effectively, a self-loathing eleven-year-old boy throwing a massive tantrum. A lot of the Kaiser’s actions in the first half of 02 are honestly rather petty -- he’s basically upset at the kids spoiling his holiday in 02 episode 6, he attempts torturing Daisuke out of a petty grudge over a soccer sliding tackle in 02 episode 8, and everything to do with expanding his territory and eventually (hopefully?) becoming ruler of the Digital World is frankly very sloppy. For all he’s said to be a genius, his genius only seems to extend to book smarts, and his “tactical planning abilities” never really expand beyond that of a soccer field sort of affair; his way of locking down control on other things is basically just “brainwash it harder” or “whip it harder” and applying harder brute force instead of doing something in the long-term like, say, trying to rule with charisma and recruiting allies.

(Again, bringing Appmon back into this, seeing Cloud in action will give you a much better example of a charismatic human villain who’s actually competent at his job. Or, heck, you can even look back at Savers’s Kurata, who at least was savvy enough to pull strings with people in powerful positions. Or even the Kaiser’s predecessor Saiba Neo from V-Tamer, who may have been openly sadistic but still had the sense to align himself with background power. Really, compared to all of these folks, the Kaiser is downright pathetic.)

Remembering that Ken fell into the Kaiser persona partially as a desperate attempt to become a “perfect person” like Osamu, Ken “imitated” Osamu’s cruelty to him because he felt that was how he could improve himself to become a “strong” person better than him. But the irony here is that Osamu’s “cruelty” was something that he himself never liked, and mainly came from lashing out at Ken due to feeling like he had a lack of control over his own life. So Osamu was never happy in that position, and Ken, who is indirectly pointed out via the bubble metaphor to be even more fundamentally inclined towards gentleness, is probably even more miserable.

Because everything Ken does as the Kaiser is “unfocused lashing out at everyone”, the Kaiser has less control over his emotions than Ken normally would. Takeru manages to emotionally pin him to a corner by confronting him with enough assertion in 02 episode 19 (this is before he punches him), and correctly points out that the Kaiser isn’t capable of winning with words (i.e. ideologically) and resorts to violence as the first thing he can think of. You’d think that if the Kaiser were actually someone with the self-confidence to consider the other Chosen Children beneath him, he wouldn’t even bother giving them the time of day, but Takeru just happening to be a little assertive is enough to make him lose his composure and start falling apart, and a lot of his shaken “insects!” yelling comes from him seeming pretty desperate to cling onto that rather than being all that confident about his natural superiority over anyone. 02 episode 20 establishes that he’s getting himself in over his head by tampering with the powers of darkness he can’t control, and while, on a plot level, it means that he’s misjudged his own capabilities, on a metaphorical level, it corresponds to the fact that even Ken himself is incapable of getting himself out of the emotional abyss he’s in.

And on the flip side, one of the biggest “tells” that Ken is still miserable during all of this is 02 episode 9, where he’s seen ruminating on the “glory” he’s getting in the real world despite having just decided to leave it all behind. The episode prior, after all, had been called “The Digimon Kaiser’s Loneliness”. The media is using him like some kind of “hot topic”, his parents’ affection (in his mind) is shallow and based only on his achievements, and he has no friends (how much of a role Akiyama Ryou played in his childhood is unclear, but either way, he’s no longer around now). With no emotional support coming from any direction in the real world, he’s resorting to at least trying to have some “fun” in what he perceives to be a “game”, and yet he’s still not having fun at all.

If you look carefully at a lot of the Kaiser’s actions during the first half of the series, one thing you’ll notice is that there are multiple indications that he’s not quite up to par to being as sadistic as you’d think he’d be. Recalling that we learn in 02 episodes 20-21 that the Kaiser is under the impression that the Digital World is like a game that he can “reset” and the Digimon in it not real living beings, it has interesting implications of the fact that he’s actually very hesitant to physically harm other human beings -- he certainly likes emotionally toying with them, but even when he’s trying to take petty revenge on Daisuke in 02 episode 8, he goes out of his way to set up a trap with Bakemon to torture him rather than, well, actually using the kids as hostages. That’s a hell of a lot of work to do, but he instead uses this extremely roundabout way to get them out of the picture in a somewhat less harmful way, risking having them escape (which is exactly what happens).

And in 02 episode 19, when Takeru confronts him and he ends up whipping him, you can hear a slight “...gh?” in the Japanese audio for a split second right after that, meaning that the Kaiser is, for some reason, having a hard time dealing with the fact that he just hit Takeru, and he does a very poor job defending himself against Takeru punching him out despite ostensibly being trained in judo. (Seriously, if you watch the animation of the scene, he’s just lying there while Takeru repeatedly punches the hell out of him, because he’s so out of it.) Regarding the Digimon, he’s convinced himself that they’re not living beings, but regarding the human Chosen Children, who undeniably are, no matter how much he might look down on them, he has a suspiciously hard time harming them as much as he could...

On top of that, one interesting question that might come up to one rewatching the first half of 02 is the strange “contradiction” of why the Kaiser ostensibly seems to hate Wormmon so much, calling him an unworthy idea of a partner in 02 episodes 10 and 19, and yet does remarkably little to get Wormmon away from him or off his case (he hates Wormmon calling him “Ken-chan”, yet doesn’t really try very hard to stop him). He could have easily locked Wormmon away in a cage or something if he really wanted to -- actually, there’s the question, why doesn’t he slap an Evil Ring on him? Because in the end, Wormmon is the only emotional support he’s really getting, and so it’s likely he unconsciously doesn’t want to lose that. Recalling that Digimon are fundamentally linked to the inner self, the Kaiser rejecting Wormmon for being “weak” is analogous to Ken rejecting his own self for being “weak” and “not perfect” -- which means that the fact he still keeps Wormmon around is analogous to the fact that Ken hasn’t really been able to bring himself to completely let his fundamental nature go. And, hence, it’s why he gets so initially incensed at Wormmon’s “betrayal” at 02 episode 10 (and yet still keeps him around despite that), and is ultimately emotionally destroyed by his death in 02 episode 21.

Although, actually, if you look carefully at 02 episode 21, it’s not quite Wormmon’s death that necessarily does it -- the turning point where he sheds the Kaiser persona is right before that (and in case you have any doubts, the animation puts highlights in his eyes for the first time in the series right at that point). Wormmon’s death is the first major consequence of his actions that he has to deal with, but what actually brought Ken back to his senses was his own realization that Digimon are living beings, that his actions have had permanent effects this whole time, and that he can’t take back anything he’d done.

Remember that 02 is a series that is largely about moving on and accepting that you can’t change the past, and that you have to move forward regardless of that. Ken’s fall into sadism was only possible by driving him into extremely deep-seated denial -- he was already starting to face the potential reality of Digimon being real, existing beings in the real world an episode prior. He says, outright, in 02 episode 21, that part of the reason he came to the Digital World to do all of this was escapism -- and, presumably, under the idea that any mistake he made could be rolled back and redone, unlike Osamu’s death. But the Digital World is not a place you can reset like a game, Ken will have to live with the consequences of his actions again, and moreover, every single one of the actions he’d been convincing himself were relatively meaningless had caused severe and permanent harm, and the entire thing overwhelms him.

It’s also important to point out that this was probably where the Dark Seed had to work a lot of magic to get Ken to embrace this kind of denial so easily -- after all, it’s established in the final quarter of the series that it does have a tangible impact on personality and puts a damper on one’s ability to feel empathy. In the flashback in 02 episode 23, regardless of whether Ken considered the Digital World to be a “game” or “able to be reversed” or not, he clearly still didn’t care and treated those around him with proper kindness (even if he did consider it to be all of that, it probably wouldn’t have been entirely unlike how a lot of us have a hard time picking rude choices in video games). It’s a very complicated chain reaction of events that allowed this to be even possible, and it was so against his fundamental nature that once the denial broke and Ken reached his limit, he wasn’t able to do it anymore. The Chosen Children’s main role in 02 episode 21 was really just cleaning up the massive mess he’d made in the form of Chimeramon, but as far as the whole thing about the Kaiser’s persona completely falling apart and Ken being forced to confront his own self goes, that was pretty much all Ken and Wormmon, in a series of dominoes that had already been collapsing for episodes on end.

The following episodes have Ken treat the 02 team with a certain amount of detachment, and this is often construed by a handful of people as being reflective of Ken being standoffish of some sort. The fact that Daisuke and Ken are often promoted in franchise materials as “rivals” mainly due to them being in the “protagonist and right-hand-man” position such characters are in might tempt you to think that way, but they are most definitely not!! (Considering that even saying that Taichi and Yamato fit that mold is a bit questionable, and neither Ruki nor Jian quite fulfill the expectations of the role in regards to the genre-subverting Tamers, Frontier, which is explicitly said to be deliberately written to be conventional, is probably the first proper execution of this trope in the form of Takuya and Kouji.) Ken’s detachment from the group at this time in the series is something he actually gives the reason for quite directly: he believes it’s his fault and doesn’t want to burden them with what he considers to be his job, and in the end Daisuke ultimately breaks through to him and they become completely normal friends who get along. “Rival” what?

Ken is, at worst, distant during this point of the series, but he’s actually very straightforward about what he wants and intends to do; it’s just that he’s being a bit blunt about it because he’s still drowning in his shame and not sure how to approach them. (Also, consider the fact he was rather lacking in friends or a support group before all of this; he doesn’t have a lot of experience in socializing, either.) So he keeps everyone at arm’s length, and the reason he comes off as so standoffish is because he’s so assertive! He directly and bluntly makes some very strong remarks about how he believes everyone else shouldn’t be getting involved! Again, when left to his own devices and not being manipulated into by a supernatural evil seed into multiple levels of denial, Ken is very in control of what he wants and thinks, and is even very open about speaking his mind.

That’s even when they’re not good decisions, mind you. Ken starts off the climax of 02 episode 26 being very firm about wanting to suicidally throw himself into the reactor in order to stop it, and 02 episode 30 has him consider himself a burden to the team after the fallout with Iori and try to stay out of it despite them very badly needing his presence, which Daisuke (of all people!) rightfully calls him out for being childish about. But he also listens to reason very quickly and acknowledges the others’ point very easily, with Daisuke reminding him in 02 episode 26 that his suicidal recklessness is actually pretty self-centered and short-sighted of him, since it’ll prevent him from doing anything else to take responsibility for his actions going forward, and Miyako, uh, slapping him in 02 episode 30. (But he comes quietly right away as if acknowledging his own idiocy, and never holds it against her thereafter.)

Nevertheless, the point is: you can see that this kind of assertiveness is the same kind of assertiveness he had as the Kaiser, just channeled in a different direction and for a different purpose. But as the Kaiser, he was angrily lashing out at anything and everything and stepping on anything he could just so he could have a show of power; once he comes back to his senses, he reserves that force for it being something he consciously believes is the right thing to do (regardless of whether it’s actually the right thing to do or not).

Because of the fact Ken spends a lot of the last quarter of 02 suffering and parsing a lot of trauma, a lot of people have tended to pin him as constantly sad and being a soft crybaby, but that couldn’t be further from the truth! Despite all the emotional pain he goes through, Ken has a hell of a ton of strength through all of this -- he even flings a well-aimed quip at Oikawa in 02 episode 44 despite being in a completely helpless situation, and in 02 episode 45 he himself is the one who volunteers to open the gate to the Dark Ocean, despite knowing exactly what it entails. That takes a lot of guts, and all things considered, his recovery from being the Kaiser spans only four months and is altogether incredibly fast given what he went through -- it did not take long for him to regain his bearings and get himself back on track. Again, it’s the same kind of “assertiveness” and capacity for action that fuels what the Kaiser did, just better controlled and in a direction Ken knows he actually wants.

This is also why I tend to object to insinuations that Ken would be overly touchy about or traumatized by the mere discussion of him being the Kaiser in the aftermath of 02, because the series itself, multiple times, portrayed him as being very able to talk about his experiences bluntly and honestly, at worst maybe considering it a bit of an awkward topic. He has no problems admitting that it was a thing that happened, especially if it involves discussing it as part of taking responsibility or preventing further damage -- it’s just that he of course doesn’t enjoy it either, and is equally as open about the shame he feels as a result. All of the times Ken loses his composure in the latter half of 02 involve either physical pain being inflicted on him, or a lot more actively vicious invocation of his memories and insecurities, and even then he gets himself back on his feet with a rather prompt amount of speed. Poorly timed of a statement as it may have been, Miyako is not incorrect when she says in 02 episode 31 that he has a certain amount of natural resilience that he carried from being the Kaiser.

All the way back in 02 episode 9, shortly after it was revealed to the group that Ken was the Kaiser, Iori, Hikari, and Takeru all label Ken as someone who doesn’t look like someone who could do something so horrible, and Hikari even says that his smile looks “gentle” (note that this is yasashisou, a word derived from the same root word used for his Crest). So in other words, even all three of them were able to catch on to his actual nature betraying himself even during that awful period of time. It’s still poking through, all things considered.

But we as the audience know he’s putting on that face for the camera, and his eyes are still as dead-eyed as they are for the first half of the series, and when Miyako accidentally makes him laugh during the Christmas party in 02 episode 38, it’s very much framed as probably the first time Ken has been this genuinely happy in a long while. He was never able to be this happy even when “satisfying” himself by stepping on others as the Kaiser.

And that’s why it’s so extremely unlikely that Ken will ever be able to lapse back into the Kaiser persona after the events of 02, even with the Dark Seed technically still inside his neck. He wasn’t enjoying it anyway; the Kaiser persona wasn’t a habit that he fell into out of emotional suppression or even catharsis, but rather him forcing himself into a role he was never comfortable in to begin with. He was never truly satisfied with anything he was getting out of it, and moreover, it took the combination of supernatural influence and a hell of a lot of denial to allow it to get that far in the first place, because of how far against his fundamental nature that was.  (Again, for those of you who have seen Appmon: think about what it would take to get Haru to embrace sadism.) Even Osamu wasn’t enjoying being cold; being kind and living your life with positivity is a lot more fulfilling and fun, anyway.

In 02 episode 48, Ken describes the influence of the Seed as “horrible” in retrospect; even if it didn’t involve physical pain and exhaustion the way it did for the Dark Seed children, the entire experience sucked even back then. And while Ken theorizes about the Dark Seed’s influence being countered by the power of love earlier in the episode, when you look at the whole of 02, it’s not just his family’s love -- Ken now has the emotional support of his family, and Wormmon, and his newfound friends, and that’s giving him all of the fulfillment he wanted that putting on a front of sadism wasn’t giving him, and he doesn’t really need anything else anymore.

02 itself is very much about the fact that it’s not a bad thing to rely on the support of others to be happy; the Ken and Kaiser are undoubtedly the same person, but the latter’s existence requires a very specific lineup of events and factors to happen, and one of the massive parts behind that was a severe lack of emotional support or anyone who properly understood him. And by the end of the series, Ken has more than enough strength of heart to accept everything that’s happened and move on, and to stop reaching out to denial and clinging onto the past, and he has emotional support and understanding from a whole new group of friends that thoroughly understand everything he did and went through, and wholeheartedly accept and love him anyway.

He is never going to have a gaping hole in his life like that again.