#their model has yet to account for all the boys who played video games and are girls now. research is ongoing

[spitblaze]

I am living proof of the Gamer Girl to Transmasc pipeline

[kdval]

Let’s talk about APTR artbook.

Part 1: Amicia and Hugo

Preface

Recently I found a video with APTR artbook overview (here’s the link for those who haven’t seen it yet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adaT9jD1BQY). I dunno how I missed it, but… yeah.

There’s a lot of new interesting stuff here! I mean texts ofc, some of you probably have seen all concepts already.

So, here’s some information about characters. (Take into account that a quality of the video is not perfect + the artbook is in French, there can be some misinterpretations.) Including general info, devs’ comments and my bla-bla-bla ofc.

There’s a lot of text here, and I made several parts, so you won’t die from text overdose (probably).

Orange is for artbook texts, green – for my thoughts.

Spoilers ahead!

Amicia

Amicia is a main character of the game, Hugo’s older sister and daughter of Beatrice and Robert De Rune. She was raised in privilege, separated from her little brother, whom their mother tried to cure from a mysterious illness – Macula. In this chapter Amicia becomes a Protector for Hugo and starts questioning her mother’s authority – though they reunited later, not without some difficulties. Hugo displeased with Amicia’s guardianship, even thought siblings are bound by the sacred bond of family love.

In Requiem Amicia becomes fully adult. The devs wanted to show her as a warrior and question her responsibility and bound with Hugo, considering all that violence she endured in the previous game. She must live with these consequences. So gameplay evolved in this direction – to make Amicia more dynamic and combative.

Observations

Alright, nothing really new here, but there are some curious details I found while was thinking about these comments.

Even though we have a lot of bright moments in this chapter, and our siblings don’t confront each other (well, most of the time), you still can notice how Hugo sometimes becomes really displeased. During their journey to the tomb, he was frightened, he tried to resist, but still obeyed his sister. But when they bumped into that slavery episode, he gets angry. Why you, Amicia, can kill people just like this, and I can’t? Or when he eventually woke up from Macula and told Amicia they must help Arnaud? What a face he had, ooof… You will help Arnaud. No objections accepted.

Amicia isn’t just a Protector for Hugo. We should take into account that Hugo is 6yo, he’s still a child, and Amicia’s behavior is actually a role model for him. So she must not just control herself to keep herself and her family out of trouble, but to be his anchor, a good example for him how he can and cannot act.

Given the fact she made a lot of mistakes (my «favorite» is «this is why you can’t trust people» and how she immediately falls for this trap herself), and how a sum of all events affected the ending… She evolved since Innocence, and we now have an option of very aggressive playstyle.

At the same time you can tell Amicia’s still a teenager. She splashes out all her emotions without holding back. She can’t keep her head cold and clean which sometimes causes harm to her. Looks like Lucas is the only one who haven’t the luxury of express his emotions, poor boy.

Hugo

The devs didn’t want a two- or three-years gap between Requiem and Innocence. Hugo's aging meant the risk of losing his authenticity and that three grams of purity he had left after the events of the first game. As a child, Hugo had the ability to see what adults don't, and they had to maintain that balance between the tragedy that surrounds him and his ever-present innocence.

Hugo’s face has changed though. His new hair, for example, should’ve make him more mature. At the same time, he looks like a little boy, even a baby in some ways, and his features have become more refined. It was an unpredictable result, but it became something interesting to play with. He softens us as players much more easily. And by playing with the lighting, the devs were able to give him darker expressions.

Observations

I immediately remembered the episode when Sofia, Amicia and Hugo go up to the windmills, and Hugo imagines them as giants with turning shield-swords, and Amicia and Sofia are like: it’s just windmills. There is a great contrast between Hugo, who, despite the horrors he has experienced, still retains his childlike enthusiasm, the desire to learn, and his irrepressible imagination, and adults. This is especially true for Amicia, because she was a child herself – just four-five years ago. After all, this is Sophia who’s already 26, and Amicia is still 15. But she had to grow up. Amicia even says to Hugo: sometimes you have to grow up earlier.

I think the game would have been perceived completely differently if Hugo was older (Lucas at his 12 is already a bookworm and a nerd, lol). We go to this journey with Hugo, wandering around with an open mouth, admire everything we see, it all seems like a game sometimes, and only when we leave the headquarters of the Order, Hugo falls into a disappointment (and so do we, players). Events, as it were, push us to the fact that happiness cannot last forever.

As for the changed design ­– of course, after three playthroughs I'm already used to Hugo's new appearance. He's very sweet anyway. A little cinnamon roll. But still I love Hugo from Innocence a bit more, do whatever you want with me.

[thefanficmonster]

Filterless

Corpse Husband x Plus-sized Reader (Female)

Warnings: Body Image Insecurities, Low self-esteem, Swearing

Genre:  Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Feeling comfortable in her skin has hardly ever been the case for Y/N who’s been struggling with body image issues all her life. However, they only get worse when she sees the ‘type’ of girls her crush is into.

Requested by Anon. Hi darling! Thank you so much for your request (hits close to home 😅) I’m so sorry it has taken me so long to fulfill it and post it but here it finally is and if you’ve stuck around long enough to read it, I hope you enjoy! ALSO! - Never forget how beautiful and amazing you are. Never compare your beauty to someone else’s. We’re all beautiful people and we all shine so brightly and uniquely. No one deserves to be compared to anyone when we’re all so different yet so incredible. Love you and appreciate you with all my heart, Vy ❤

If I ever need my ego taken down a few notches - it never does, it’s barely even present, to be honest - all I have to do is go on Instagram. To be honest, regardless of how I’m feeling, opening that app is bound to make my mood plummet and come crashing into the ground so hard it drives a hole in it - probably in the form of a broken heart.

Being a content creator myself, I often get asked questions about my absence on that social platform specifically. I mean, the questions are based and rational I guess, considering I’m not a faceless YouTuber and yet my Instagram account is void of any photos. It’s not like I don’t post at all - I do! I post on my story often but it’s more often than not scenery I find pretty or a poster I’ve made for a movie/video game. Bottom line is: I barely ever allow a picture of me to make it online. The most my fans are ever gonna get of me is a selfie which is also a super rare occurrence because of how long it takes me to take and choose one I don’t hate.

Ok, but how am I supposed to find the motivation to post any sort of picture of myself when on my timeline I’m always faced with people worthy of posting pictures of themselves. People with such perfect bodies and beautiful faces. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous or envious of those people - good for them! They know what they’re working with and they’re working it well. I have nothing against them, in fact, I love seeing people proud of their bodies no matter their size, shape or weight. Those are my role-models: people who are proud of themselves, their bodies, their attributes and capabilities and don’t hesitate to show them off. Those are the people I look up to but, deep down inside I know I’ll never be like.

Insecure about my body, having been referred to as ‘chubby’ and ‘squishy’ all my life. Inappreciative of the stuff I do: starting from my job as a graphic designer leading towards my job on YouTube - nothing I do, professionally or otherwise, satisfies me. Nothing I do is enough in my eyes because I feel incapable of ever being able to do enough. I’ve been called lazy and a half-asser a few too many times to be able to brush it off as a meaningless insult. 

With these problems I’ve had with myself and my own perception of who I am and the work I do, I’ve never had the time for romance or romantic relationships. I second-guess the intentions of everyone who ever shows any interest in me because in my mind I’m nothing special and I have nothing to offer - nothing attractive or likable at least. That being said, I haven’t even been one to make heart eyes at others either. I busy myself with my job and some side-gigs, brushing off any relationship questions with the excuse that I’m ‘just too busy to be in a relationship’ which is technically true.

Having spent twenty plus years with that mindset, one can imagine how surprised I was when I found myself catching feelings for someone. And that someone just couldn’t be any other than the biggest YouTube sensation at the moment - Corpse Husband.

I’m close friends with Poki - her and I were roommates at one point too - so her inviting me to play Among Us with them wasn’t so strange. One or two games, I thought, nothing unusual there, just friendly curtesy. I wasn’t expecting to warm up to the group of famous streamers nor did I expect them to welcome me among them so easily, mostly because my channel is so small and practically invisible to the YouTube algorithm. But soon enough, I became a permanent member of the team, making friends with every single one of those YouTubers I practically thought of a celebrities.

This journey of branching out to other content creators has proven itself to be surprisingly pleasant and has packed my book of friendships to the brim. All of that came unexpectedly, along with a wave of new subs and a higher view count. However, as I mentioned, it hasn’t been all sunshine and rainbows. I came to finally understand what my high school friends were talking about when they were head over heels for a boy - the butterflies in the stomach whenever he speaks your name; the importance of the laugh you share with him, how special and different it is; how cool it is to be impostors with him - ok they never said that, obviously, but it’s what I have as a substitute to the ‘when the two of you make eye-contact’ bullshit since Corpse and I have never seen each other in person. That is, of course, because of him being a faceless YouTuber and me being a self-conscious and insecure girl.

We do talk all the time though - texting, calling, chilling on Discord, you name it. Our conversations range from deeply philosophical to ones that might mislead someone into thinking we’re high. There’s no topic we haven’t touched upon and yet we still manage to find something new to talk about. We have plenty of similarities but we also never seem to run out of differences we slowly come across as we keep getting to know each other better and better. 

And somewhere along that journey I ended up catching feelings.

Human nature of wanting to connect with other people, I curse you for what you’ve done to me.

You might think I’m being overdramatic about the whole ordeal and that this is just a normal, natural occurrence many people experience in their life - some even daily. Well, not only am I far from used to it, but it’s also taking a toll of a different kind on me.

It’s like a constant slap to the face. 

That slap turned into a punch when Corpse and I started following each other on Instagram and I started getting daily reminders of how out of my depth I am with this crush on him. In over my head, especially when you look at all those girls whose pics and videos he reposts on his story. Imagine how that makes me feel, what that does to me - puts me back into the ‘Constantly not good enough‘ basket, the one I’ve been fighting to get out of all my life. In the past and in different contexts I could easily say that it was all just my mind hating me intensely but now - now that I know for a fact I’m not good enough and don’t fit Corpse’s criteria - it hurts ten times as much. I’m not one to do shit for someone’s attention or to attract someone’s eyes, but it really hurts my feelings. Often times, it also leads me to doing dumb things and making rash decisions. 

Like the one I made two days ago.

Imagine me cringing and shaking my head at my own stupidity as I admit this: I, in a frenzy, ordered a whole e-girl getup with overnight delivery. 

Wait, hold up, it gets worse. 

I received it yesterday and spent the whole day regretting that decision, but then, in my most insecure hours - which was somewhere around midnight - I equipped the get-up, took a picture and posted it on my Instagram page. First full body pic I’ve ever posted on there. First pic I’ve posted there of any kind. There to stay, not to be gone in twenty four hours. First pic, and it’s not even of me. It’s of who I want to be in order to fit someone’s criteria. And that fucking stings.

As you might imagine, I’ve spent today’s day regretting that decision as well. Recently my mood’s been nothing but regretting rash decisions that have surfaced under the influence of my ridiculous, constantly-present insecurities. And I would’ve probably gotten over it rather quickly had I not received a message from Corpse that read:

“Didn’t think of you with an e-girl aesthetic“

I didn’t open the message, I peeped at it as it was a notification on my lock screen. It’s still there, an unread notification. It’s been two hours since I received it and I cannot think of a single thing to say in response to that. 

Truth is, I’m afraid. I’m afraid of so many things right now.

I’m afraid of becoming that girl in the photo, cause I’m most definitely not her.

I’m afraid of letting Corpse down by admitting I’m not her.

I’m afraid of what my own mind has made me do because it hates me so much and I’m terrified of what it might do in the future.

I’m afraid and stranded on things to do.

You can’t be her forever, you know. Being her won’t make your insecurities go away, it’ll only make them worse. Haven’t you learned that by now?

I sigh, frustrated and irritated with myself as I grab my phone and tap on the notification, finally deciding to face the music and allow my instincts to carry me through the interaction. Improvisation, that’s one of the few things I’m good at. Let’s hope it doesn’t fail me.

I’m just about to type out my response - not sure what it’s gonna say - when I give the message Corpse has sent me a second glance.  I furrow my brows, finding there’s more to it than that peep through the notification let me see.

“Didn’t think of you with an e-girl aesthetic. You’re personality is so bright and colorful, I could’ve never imagined you were into the darks and blacks“

Because I’m not

I fail to realize until the message has been sent that my thoughts are exactly what I typed out and sent.

And honestly, I’m glad. It feels like I’ve spoken my truth, like I’ve lifted a huge boulder off my chest.

With that rare confidence in mind I go on and delete the picture.

In its spot, I post a picture I just now took - a mirror selfie in my homey get-up consisting of hot pink sweatpants and an oversized blue tee, my hair in a messy bun, my face free of make-up.

I caption it: ‘Oops, had the e-girl filter on for the last one. This is filterless me tho so...Hi 🥴’

A lot better, I’m surprised to hear my inner voice say. I hope I don’t get used to all this kindness on my brain’s part, probably won’t last, but damn if I don’t milk every second of it.

Just then, I receive a new message from non other than Corpse.

“Now that’s the girl I see when I think of you. She’s super cute 😉“

My, oh my, who would’ve guessed Corpse has a game like that - and by that I mean the ability to make me blush so intensely with only a text message.

Now ain’t that better than being someone else, Y/N?

It sure is, it sure is.

@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

[meticulous-nova]

The Tevyat Travel Guide

Ad Astra Abyssosque! Welcome to the Adventurers Guild.

Hey, guys! Welcome to my new blog, "Critical Overthinker". My name is Nova, and I'll be using this blog to start in depth conversations about Genshin Impact and the world of Tevyat. Some things I'll probably talk about are gameplay, lore, writing, characters, character relationships, and world building. A lot of my personal opinions will go into this, and I will probably talk about Genshin Impact from a writer's standpoint but also from my own biased perspective. Please be aware this will likely become a highly opinionated page. With that said, let's lay out the ground rules real quick.

RULES

1. Respectful and mature conversations only. If I witness attacking, trolling, or anything else that takes away or inhibits healthy conversations over fiction, you're getting blocked. Personal attacks over a video game is not going to be tolerated here. I have no interest in allowing people to prioritize fictional characters over real people, so watch yourself or I will remove you.

2. I will block users at my own digression. This is pretty self explanatory, but not only will I block you if you break other rules, I'll do so simply if I feel like it. My mental health is more important than your "opinion", and if I see an absolute ass take, I'm probably going to take the liberty of blocking you so I never have to see another one of those. Thanks.

3. Do not demand content of me. I will have my asks open for anyone who has questions or rambles or stuff like that. I don't promise to answer you ever, so don't throw a fit if I don't respond. It's probably not personal, but I'm a person outside of this blog.

4. Rules are subject to change and expansion.

DO NOT INTERACT LIST

Kindly do not interact with my page if...

You sexualize characters with child models (Klee, Qiqi, Diona, Sayu, Yaoyao, Paimon, etc).

You ship Kaeluc. (I recognize that Kaeya and Diluc are brothers in the English Dub because of translation issues. It still makes me uncomfortable for personal reasons, so please just respect this.)

You start age or ship discourse over characters with unconfirmed/ambiguous ages. You think Yunjin is a minor? Cool. Nice headcanon. Moving on.

You start ship discourse over characters with unconfirmed sexualities. You ship Keqing with Ganyu and think they're both lesbian? Cool. Nice headcanon. Moving on.

My do not interact list is also subject to change and expansion, which it probably will very quickly. Interacting with this fandom on other platforms has given me a very short fuse as far as what levels of stupidity I can handle.

Alright, so I think we're done with all the not fun shit for now. Now here's some fun facts about me relating to Genshin Impact!

My main:

I'm drawn to Eula mainly for her play style. She moves beautifully while still possessing the power of a claymore, and I started playing during her first banner and missed her, so I quickly jumped on her rerun. She's been my main dps of choice ever since.

My Highest Kin:

Unfortunately, I don't have Yoimiya, but I do kin her, as the talkative, easily distracted, ENFP she is. I don't think I've yet to find a character that resonates with me on an emotional level in Genshin yet, but I'd say I definitely kin Yoimiya nonetheless.

Best Boy:

This is my precious child. I must protect him at all costs. I'm a proud member of Benny's Adventure Team. Enough said.

Best Girl:

Does anyone hate Beidou? Because honestly, if you do that's embarrassing and frankly I should add you to the do not interact list. /hj

Current Favorite Ship:

Ah, yes. The first hot take of this account. I love Ittosara, and they will probably get a dedicated post, but for now if you haven't read the Emblem of Severed Fate descriptions, you should do that, lol. They're just two bisexuals that happen to be dating.

Well, that's all I have for now! I'll probably add a master list at some point, but I don't know how I'm going to organize that yet, but welcome and I hope we can be friends!

[capri-ramblings]

I want a Magicam account so I can follow everyone in Twst (*´ω｀*)

Requests are in the works,both old and new. Your patience is greatly appreciated ����❤️

"Who's on Magicam?"

Riddle Rosehearts

- Riddle isn't always on his phone. Rather he has a schedule for when he can and won't use it.

- So, it's natural to say that he isn't on a lot of social media accounts aside from his existing magicam and email

- He doesn't see being on your phone all the time as a very good habit in the first place but he sees why people depend on it for entertainment with so many new apps and games made for it

- Riddle's magicam profile is a pretty simple one if not bland?

- He doesn't pay much attention to it in the first place but he does put just a bit of effort into making it look nice to his eyes

- His profile picture is him in Heartslyabul's full dorm uniform and his bio is just his name and his favourite rule

- Again,since he's rarely on it, Riddle's posts is rather few in numbers and are usually pictures he's taken of his favourite sweets or books he's finished reading placed neatly on his desk. He has one picture of himself in casual wear and two pictures with both Trey and Cater (which Cater probably took using his phone)

- He never makes stories unless there's a special event then he'd save a good picture of the entire dorm to post later.

- Riddle likes following pages with sweets and pastries along with ones that he sees as inspirational and informative

- He doesn't care much about followers at all and likes that his profile is seemingly private.

Trey Clover

- Trey's profile is just as simple as Riddle's, with a picture of him and his siblings as his profile picture and the words "Family and Baking" written on his bio followed by emojis of a smiley face and cake

- He doesn't post a lot but he does makes lots of stories whenever he's back at home, be it with his parents or his siblings, you'll never miss a chance at seeing him make pastries and bake cakes

- Back at school he completely shuts it off to focus on studies and other responsibilities but when he has free time he opens it up just so he can see his family members in the stories he's saved

- Like Riddle,Trey also believes it isn't good to look at your phone all the time but if you need a bit of a stress reliever then he gets it fully

- Trey would probably have lots of pictures where he's tagged by other people,mostly his mom and younger cousins who just always wants a picture with him

- Sometimes when he's really proud of a pastry he's made, he'll spend time taking a good picture of it then posting it with cute emojis. He tags Riddle in them all the time.

- Trey doesn't mind who follows him as long as they aren't creepy or plain disruptive, and the number count is also something he doesn't really care about.

- He likes tagging Cater and Riddle on recipes he finds on other people's magicam post, using it as a hint of him wanting to try a new pastry

- Magicam is his life support

Cater Diamond

- Not literally but like 👀

- If Cater isn't posting anything he's probably doing a live and chilling with his followers

- A big part of his time is spent on his profile and other social media apps, he uses different pictures for each social account he has, each with fun and amusing bios to read

- His bright and flashy personality really comes through all his profiles and one can't help but to feel welcome and intrigued after seeing through his entire magicam account

- His current magicam profile picture is of him with one of the Heartslyabul hedgehog and his bio says "Fun and loving Senpai, always here to bring a smile for my cute juniors!"

- Despite his avid addiction to selfies,Cater is pretty skilled in aesthetic photography and landscape capture and sometimes you can even find pictures of Riddle or Trey and even Deuce and Ace on his account. Each photo aesthetic and revealing bits and pieces of their own personalities

- His hashtags can get a bit over the top but he knows what's hot and recent so if you want someone to keep you updated on the latest trends,Cater senpai's account is the place to browse

- He appreciates each one of his followers and always makes time to do lives and interact with them, it's a fun past time he cherishes and it always gives him that sparkly after glow whenever he sees comments or people just saying how he helps them with stress and boredom

- Cater isn't vain or in desperate need of attention but it's always nice to know people genuinely likes the stuff he does

- He follows lots of fashion pages and models or celebrities like Vil,though if he sees one of his juniors in need of an account boost, be sure as hell Cater will do anything in his power to help them!

- The only reason Ortho has a magicam account is because he wanted to see what everyone else was doing and also because he wanted somewhere he could show off his latest and coolest tech Idia gave to him!

- He's adorable and bright and his profile picture is the picture Cater took for him during a ceremony at the school, where he's wearing his robes with a small peace sign held up

Ortho Shroud

- Ortho follows all kinds of people he finds interesting and Cater is one of them. He likes how positive Cater is and even though his following isn't that big he's glad there's people who would come by and like his posts or join his lives

- He's tried to have Idia actively join in but all he's gotten is semi blurry pictures of his brother and short clips of Idia playing his games or fixing a device

- He isn't active all the time but whenever he does he likes to spam people he follows by liking their newest post and commenting on their pictures, after all they spent all that time to post it right? So he has to praise their efforts!

- Honestly, most of his followers don't get the whole tech idea but because Ortho is very honest and genuinely bubbly, they can't help but have him appear on their feeds and interact with the young boy

- Ortho has a lot of love and adoration for his brother too so people are always cheering him on!

- Like Cater, he's also up to date with the latest trends and never fails to let Idia on them too.

Jamil Viper

- Jamil's account is private and his profile is simple yet somehow rather formal. The picture he uses for his profile picture is a black background with the letter 'J' written in cursive

- He's rarely on it but he's posted a few pictures and videos that are surprisingly very aesthetic to the eyes

- Since he dances and cooks, his posts are mostly made of solo dancing sessions or him making his favourite food

- Jamil doesn't follow a lot of people and he's very particular of who gets to follow him, and since he doesn't see the point of interacting with people he won't ever meet, he naturally gives off a reserved personality online that rivals how he is in real life

- He follows Kalim, of course, but he never likes any of his posts, though he will occasionally check the stories Kalim posts

- The words "Tired" is the first thing written on his bio before he places his name underneath it.

- Jamil pretty much uses magicam only when he has nothing else to do and though he gets why most people are hooked on it, he'd rather walk around the oasis to kill time.

[kpophours]

a very necessary guide to The Boyz

➥ basic information 

debuted on December 6, 2017 with Boy

currently consisting of 11 members (they used to be 12 members, but Hwall sadly departed from the group in October 2019 due to his ongoing ankle injury)

signed under Cre.ker Entertainment

their official fanclub name is “THEB” (aka deobi)

no official colors yet (we’re waiting, Cre.ker)

they have an official YouTube, Instagram, Twitter and vlive

they had their first win with Bloom Bloom in 2019

discography: four EPs (The First, The Start, The Only, Dreamlike), two Singles (The Sphere, Bloom Bloom), a special Single (White), one full album (Reveal), one Japanese release (Tattoo)

recently won mnet’s Road to Kingdom and should have participated in Kingdom this year, but sadly, the show has been postponed indefinitely

currently preparing for a comeback (September 2020)

... now onto the members!

➥ hyung line: Sangyeon, Jacob, Younghoon, Hyunjae 

▸ Lee Sangyeon - leader, main vocalist

born on November 4, 1996 (a Scorpio and the oldest member of tbz)

(not your typical) leader - he’s not really “the dad”, but truly more of an older brother to the others

often teases and pranks the other members and is one of the funniest members according to their “Who’s Who” video (see: video recs)

writes own songs - super talented and dedicated, a really hard worker

has a beautiful deep, soul filled voice (we’d LOVE to hear more of it @cre.ker) - check out his performance on King of Masked Singer

according to Eric, he’s the member with the best body - really likes to work out and is stacked™

he really, really loves mangos

says he’s not cute but is obviously very wrong about that

has a super cute smile and adorable laugh

looked too beautiful with pink hair (deobi will never recover)

super bad at literally any game - always, ALWAYS loses when it comes to rock-paper-scissors (would be hilarious if it weren’t so sad)

some fun facts: his mbti is ESFP-T (he doesn’t believe in those kind of tests though), he’s good at impersonating others (especially Eric), he has an older sister (who has two sons, Sangyeon is a super cute uncle to them which he recently showed in his BOYLOG - WARNING: extreme cuteness!)

▸ Jacob Bae - lead vocalist

born on May 30, 1997 (a Gemini, but he very rarely shows it)

his Korean name is Bae Joon Young

kinda the mom of the group, but his official title is the angel™ (he literally never gets angry, he doesn’t even curse! how does he do that even his older brother says they never fought while growing up)

is from Toronto and therefore ½ of Canadian and ⅓ of English line - so he’s obviously fluent in English!

really improved his dancing skills over the years and it shows (unofficial member of dance line, fight me cre.ker)

beautiful soft vocals, amazing high notes (see their Mirotic cover)

plays the guitar and composes/writes his own songs

an MC for Simply K-Pop together with Kevin

½ of the superior “MoonBae” ship (aka married to Kevin - they’re super cute together, truly just two halves of the same idiot)

used to play volleyball and basketball and is really good at both, has apparently been working out a lot recently (rip his stans)

some fun facts: his mbti is INFP-T, his family adopted a new dog and named him after him/gave him the nickname “Cobi” ("your family replaced you... with a canine” - Kevin Moon, 2020), has an older brother, is left-handed, used to be the biggest fan of cereal (literally stocked boxes of it inside his room)

▸ Kim Younghoon - vocalist, visual

born on August 8, 1997 (but the most untypical Leo ever - only shows he’s a Leo like, once a year)

tallest member and ⅓ of the so called “Bermuda line” (aka the visuals™)

an under appreciated vocalist - his performance on King of Masked Singer more than showed how amazing his voice actually is (LET HIM SING CRE.KER)

has a “cool/cold look” at first, but is actually the softest, shyest, most precious squish on this planet (and has super soft puppy eyes)

kinda bad at life - needs to be protected because he’s just so clumsy, pouts when he’s about to cry (me, immediately: *cries with him*)

sometimes just randomly zones out and dissociates for a bit

fell down the stairs and injured his collarbone (I TOLD YOU HE NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED) before their Europe Tour and the Reveal promotions and therefore didn’t participate in the choreography

loves loves loves LOVES dogs so much and (his family) has a poodle (we stan Bori in this household)

the softest™ when trying to speak English (I‘m not crying, I‘m just really allergic to his extreme cuteness)

was a model for the Seoul Fashion Week in 2017 (together with Juyeon)

some fun facts: his mbti is INFP-J (there are four (4) introverts in tbz and they all share the exact same mbti), has an older brother, appeared in I.O.I’s Whatta Man music video, was recently cast as the second lead for the drama Love Revolution (his first ever acting role! the world should look out for actor!Hoon), is a BTS fanboy (his bias is Taehyung/V)

▸ Lee Jaehyun (aka “Hyunjae”) - lead vocalist, lead dancer, visual

born on September 17, 1997 (a Virgo)

also one of the tall members and another third of the “Bermuda Line”

an amazing dancer and a great vocalist (had like, 98% of the lines in No Air, so he’s pretty much an undercover main vocal)

an allrounder

seems quiet and chill at first. DO NOT BE FOOLED!!!

he is: l o u d . a bit annoying but also very cute without trying (actually really dislikes doing aegyo). hear someone loud in the background (especially laughing)? yep. that’s him! you found him, congrats.

also very caring and soft, takes great care of the younger members (when he’s not behaving like one of the younger members himself, that is)

also nags them a lot though (at least according to Eric)

the biggest Iron Man fanboy (like, legit wrote a fan letter to Iron Man when he visited the Marvel studios in NYC he’s just so cute)

l o v e s, no, ADORES kids and dogs

also really loves fried chicken

the biggest IU fanboy! very recently covered her song When Love Passes By for their A to BOYZ cover series

MWOHASEYO (don’t ask, just watch)

some fun facts: his mbti is ENFJ-A, he has an older sister, he’s really close with Pentagon’s Kino (they had some very cute interactions during Road to Kingdom), he can spin literally any object (a very weird, random talent tbh), has very skinny legs (so... literally a skinny legend)

➥ middle aka ’98 line: Juyeon, Kevin, New, Q 

▸ Lee Juyeon - main dancer, vocalist

born on January 15, 1998 (a Capricorn)

the last third of the tall and “Bermuda line”

an amazing dancer - he trained very hard to be where he is now (went viral as “the bucket hat guy” from their Bad Guy dance practice with the 1MILLION dance studio)

has a very soft, beautiful voice needs more lines

has very sharp features and beautiful eyes - his personality is very different from his cold looks though, he’s actually very soft, caring and thoughtful

he’s very gullible and innocent (also needs to be protected), therefore often the victim of jokes - most people think he’s a bit dumb thanks to that, but he’s really not: he likes to read, watches a lot of documentaries, and is just more on the quiet side in general, he likes to think before he speaks (unlike Hyunjae for example, no shade)

also very clumsy (never leave him and Younghoon alone together, please)

booked and busy! had like, a trillion photo shoots just this year, and was also a model for the Seoul Fashion Week 2017 

very bad at taking selfies but he tries and we love him nevertheless

can speak Japanese and English, is also a really good cook

an MC for The Show (aka the “JuShow”)

some fun facts: his mbti is ENTP-T, is very flexible (especially for his height), he likes to work out, has a younger brother, was on the show Law of the Jungle (he really likes nature), biggest U-Know (TVXQ) fanboy (legit cried when he met him), likes to play basketball, has gigantic hands (20.5cm a bit excessive but okay)

▸ Kevin Moon - main vocalist

born on February 23, 1998 (a soft Pisces boy™)

his Korean name is Moon Hyung Seo

the other half of Canadian line aka MoonBae (therefore, married to Jacob)

is from Vancouver and fluent in English (⅓ of English line)

yes, he’s the living meme you probably know from all the “funny kpop videos” compilations, quotes vines on a daily basis

SO much more than just the meme-ber though, he’s extremely talented - BIG BRAIN ENERGY, his creativity legit knows NO LIMITS

has amazing drawing skills (that he often shares with deobi on Twitter) - actually designed the group’s logo tbz use for their official Twitter account

can play the piano and guitar (he’s truly just so talented and amazing - STAN KEVIN MOON Y’ALL)

HAS ONE OF THE BEST VOICES EVER AND WE’D ALL REALLY LOVE TO HEAR MORE OF IT ONE DAY, CRE.KER

can cook really well

also writes his own lyrics/songs 

an MC for Simply K-Pop together with Jacob

undercover visual (have you seen his cheekbones?! almost made me cry with his beauty when he had long wavy hair)

“I have no lips” - Kevin Moon, 2020

some fun facts: his mbti is INFP-T, has an older sister, his parents named him after watching “Home Alone” (iconic behavior right there), has a kinda embarrassing past (some of the pictures and videos… uh well, let’s just say he was born a meme legend), he participated in the show K-Pop Star before becoming a trainee 

▸ Choi Chanhee (aka “New”) - main vocalist

born on April 26, 1998 (a Taurus)

literally the prettiest human alive

legit looks like an angel (how is he not an official visual?!), but is a savage (and extremely funny, lowkey judges his members 24/7)

a bit of a drama queen but he’s so cute it’s okay

amazing vocal skills, does most of the ad-libs

looks too cute in a beret, that should be illegal

gets bullied by the other members, which is kinda fair but also a bit (too) much sometimes (#letChanheelive2020)

is a math genius, can calculate extremely big numbers inside his head and FASTER THAN AN ACTUAL CALCULATOR (this is SORCERY)

½ of the other iconic duo beside MoonBae aka “NyuKyu” (together with Changmin aka “Q”) - you heard of dumb and dumber, now get ready for New and Q!

takes the best selfies, holds the official title of Selfie King (according to the others, he takes the most selfies - according to himself, he doesn’t even take that many but just takes them in a very obvious way, so the others always notice him doing so) 

almost breaks his neck taking selfies

used to have a lot of half-time jobs before becoming a trainee

one of the members in charge of cooking (idk why, he managed to melt a spoon once)

doesn’t know how to swim (because - and I quote - ”he’s a CEO’s son”)

puts MILK FIRST, AND THEN CEREAL it’s over, he’s cancelled

some fun facts: his mbti is INFP-T, he really hates tomatoes, he has a tattoo (a cross on his left pinky), has an older brother, lowkey looks like a Volturi, dropped Younghoon’s new sunglasses TWICE which Hoon will never let him forget, he once accidentally ate a plastic fork (don’t ask)

▸ Ji Changmin (aka “Q”) - main dancer, vocalist

born on November 5, 1998 (yep, another Scorpio)

one of the best dancers in the industry (everyone can fight me on this) - went viral for his improvised dance to the Mario music

STAGE DEMON, has one of the best stage presences EVER, goes from 0 to 100 in literally no time

so cute it HURTS and takes the best boyfriend aesthetic pics (all moodboard makers thank him for this)

has dimples he likes to poke when saying “music cue (q)” (me: *cries*)

has a veeeeeeeeeeeeery long neck

can impersonate a giraffe and a pigeon

½ of NyuKyu aka dumb and dumber (WE LOVE BFFS) - they have some very iconic (cooking) vlives together

he’s very - and I say this with all my love - weird 

or, to say it more diplomatically, “unusual”: LOVES horror movies and has had Annabelle as his iPad background for the longest time now (according to himself, they apparently recently broke up though rip our favorite otp), says his favorite beverage at Starbucks are the napkins (???????), literally BEGGED Kevin to let him buy a stuffed pigeon plushie when they visited New York, says the creepy nun from The Conjuring is cute (again: ?????? *whispers* is he okay)

dolphin screams™ (you’ve been warned, turn down your volume)

got lost in New York City together with Kevin (never let them take the metro ever again, at least not... unsupervised)

has a poodle named Ghana and adores him (see this BOYLOG where he just hangs with his puppy, 10/10 recommend watching that)

some fun facts: his mbti is ESFP-T (same as Sangyeon, doesn’t believe in those kind of tests either), has two older sisters, is ambidextrous (but mostly uses his left hand), is really good at playing the piano (won a price in elementary school), his English name is James aka the most generic English name ever (no shade, no hate)

➥ maknae line: Haknyeon, Sunwoo, Eric 

▸ Ju Haknyeon - lead dancer, vocalist, rapper

born on March 12, 1999 (another Pisces!)

he is half Chinese, half Korean and lived in Hong Kong for a while

speaks some Mandarin, a bit of Cantonese and also some English

also one of the allrounders of the group (I SAID WHAT I SAID)

an AMAZING dancer! is really good at freestyling

taught himself how to b-boy

such a rich, amazing, stable voice (*bass boosted* more lines for Hak)

one of the funniest and most random members

very loud, randomly bursts into songs all the time even sings when sneezing

just generally really, really sweet and nice

before debut, he participated in the second season of mnet’s Produce 101 (was eliminated in Ep. 11 and ranked #19) - The Boyz were actually often referred to as “Juhaknyeon’s group” before/shortly after their debut

he’s a very good eater and eats A LOT (FINALLY A RELATABLE IDOL)

his family lives on Jeju Island and owns a pig farm - because of that (and because he eats a lot), one of his nicknames is “pig/piggie”

has a blindingly bright smile and is such an underrated visual

yes, you can probably drown in his beautiful, deep chocolate eyes

he and Hwall accidentally became thieves in NYC (they forgot to pay for their food, but went back later to do so so no jail time!)

some fun facts: his mbti is ENTJ-T, he’s really close with Seventeen’s Seungkwan, he has two sisters (one younger, one older), NOT a morning person AT all (relatable), really good at organizing stuff (as seen during the Battle Trip to Jakarta episodes with Hyunjae), really good and fast at peeling tangerines

▸ Kim Sunwoo - main rapper, vocalist

born on April 12, 2000 (an Aries and his fire sign nature shows)

a flawless rapper, just... truly superb. also an amazing dancer !

actually auditioned to be a vocalist (so he has amazing vocals, too), but became a rapper instead

tbz’ unofficial stuntman (as seen during Road to Kingdom), even though he’s actually really scared of heights

can play the guitar

on the other end of the “lip spectrum” - because unlike Kevin, Sunwoo has a lot of them (lemme just *smooch*)

literally one of the wittiest, most savage people on this planet (GOOGLE SEARCH: HOW TO BE SO FUNNY)

used to drink a lot of juice to keep himself healthy

is really good at soccer and used to play when he was younger

beautiful deep brown eyes that hold every star and galaxy in them 

Mr. Coconut Hair™ (really makes it work though - still, every deobi screams when we get to see his forehead (which is like, once a year if we’re lucky))

a real stage demon but in reality an actual baby™ + scaredy cat needs to be protected at all costs

had a mental breakdown when he had to eat a bug after losing rock-paper-scissors 

always yells “GO AWAY ANNA” whenever someone knocks on his door (especially if it’s New)

some fun facts: his mbti is ENTP-A, has a younger sister (who’s taller than him, he’s really salty about that), he’s really close to some of the other ‘00 liners in the industry, he understands English quite well but doesn’t really speak it, also contributes to a lot of tbz’ songs

▸ Eric Son - maknae, lead dancer, lead rapper, vocalist

born on December 22, 2000 (another Capricorn)

his Korean name is Son Young Jae 

he was born in South Korea, but grew up in Los Angeles and is therefore fluent in English (⅓ of English line)

a great dancer (knows soooo many choreographies, it’s insane)

an amazing rapper (deserves more lines!)

hyper 24/7 watching him makes me tired, where does he get all that energy from

talks fast and a lot. never shuts up. you can’t make him. he tries to tell you one (1) story, but ends up telling 10 different ones along the way.

really good a baseball and loves to watch games

super close to Juyeon and used to go to Ju’s place during holidays as his own family lives in the US (my JuRic heart)

really neat and tidy, loves to clean maybe almost a bit neurotic about it

just generally really, really cute ???

a huge GOT7 fanboy (RELATABLE)

a thot on stage, should not be left unsupervised

close friends with Stray Kids’ Felix (his best idol friend according to himself)

also close to GOT7’s Mark (they’re also really cute together)

performed CPR on a watermelon once (it sadly still died, Eric gets an A for effort though)

some fun facts: his mbti is ENFJ-A, he has an older sister (who lives in New York), does NOT look like the maknae which often confuses people, really good and fast at solving Rubix cubes

➥ former member: Hwall 

Heo Hyunjoon (aka “Hwall”) - lead dancer, lead rapper, vocalist

born March 9, 2000 (yet another Pisces!)

from Busan

such a good dancer, truly incredible

very soft rap tone 

looks a bit like a cat

is very acrobatic

has a “cool” persona, but is actually just a certified babie boy™

used to live in the Philippines for four years and can speak English

the official fashionista of tbz, some of his outfits are truly just iconic

his signature aegyo is to shoot an arrow at deobis’ hearts (Hwall actually means “bow” in Korean)

can get very clingy with some members

had to sit out during D.D.D promotions and decided to leave The Boyz in 2019 (he’s still in the music video though!)

in August 2020, it was announced that he left Cre.ker Entertainment and established his own label called Dia Note

the same month, he debuted as Hyunjun Hur with the song Baragi 

you can follow his official Instagram and YouTube

some fun facts: his mbti is ENFP, he’s still in contact with the other members (said he especially misses Juyeon and Hyunjae *sobs*), his role model is BTS’ Jimin and he actually went to the same dance academy (also knows pretty much all their choreographies/songs by heart)

➥ some videos to watch 

all their music videos of course

all their live stages/performances too

BuzzFeed’s Who’s Who

Metro UK’s Quick Questions

their Billboard interview

their Weekly Idol episode

their Idol Room episode

their Road to Kingdom performances: Sword of Victory, Danger, Reveal, Heroine, Quasi una Fantasia, Checkmate 

their dance covers: Girls Generation’s The Boys + GOT7′s Hard Carry’, TVXQ’s Mirotic, TWICE’s What is Love, EXO’s Love me Right, EXO’s Call me Baby, Super Junior’s Sorry Sorry

Q, Haknyeon and Jacob for the Idol dance cover challenge 

their Billie Eilish Bad Guy stage for KCON 2019 + the dance practice

their dance cover medley

drop the dance at KCON 2019

their performance on Immortal Songs

Q’s Mario dance

their Halloween dance practice for Bloom Bloom

their “Identity Film: Generation Z��� videos which show a very different side of each member

my personal emotional support kpop video

The Boyz - The Play “Mafia game” (aka a mess™)

their A to BOYZ cover series (five members have been released so far): Jacob, Hyunjae, Sunwoo, Juyeon, Q

and if you have the time: their whole The Castle concert 

➥ their shows 

The Boyz - Summer Vacation

The Boyz in New York City

Come On! The Boyz

Come On! The Boyz School

The Boyz - Flower Snack (pre-debut)

The Boyz - The 100 (shortly after debut)

The Boyz - Otoseyo (Japanese show)

The Boyz  - The Mission

The Boyz - The Play

there are literally endless videos on YouTube - especially “The Boyz memes” / “funny The Boyz compilations” and so on, but I won’t include those here as you can easily find them on your own !

... and that’s it (for now), if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to send an ask - and please give their new comeback lots of love, they are so talented, funny, dedicated and hardworking, and truly just deserve the whole world 💞

[masterlist] | [requests] 

[akechicrimes]

Prompt 37? Futaba and Akechi platonic/Futago siblings?

37. “Follow me. It’s okay, just hold my hand.”

after akira leaves tokyo, futaba does just fine without her key item, except for when she doesnt.

(one of them AUs were goro survives the engine room and rejoins the phantom thieves. no i will not explain. persona 5 canon AND persona 5 royal do not interact. for reference in this universe futaba and akechi are half siblings but only akechi knows that)

*

“Next time you see me, I’ll be a whole new person,” Futaba tells Akira excitedly on his second-to-last day in Tokyo. “I’m going back to school, I’m out and about by myself—oh! Oh! Did I tell you I said yes to Kosei? I told Kosei I wanted to go to Shujin and they offered me scholarship! And I went to the subway station by myself yesterday!”

They’re crammed into Akira’s Leblanc attic, sitting around a cake that literally none of them were capable of baking themselves, so they’d bought the thing from a bakery and decorated it with little black and red hearts. Ryuji is passing around his gross soda, while Ann is recounting some story that doesn’t matter with incredible enthusiasm. Makoto looks like she’s determined to enjoy herself and will hear no argument.

The whole thing is incredibly morbid, if you ask Futaba. It feels less like they’re waiting for Akira to leave Tokyo and more like they’re attending Akira’s funeral. Akechi in particular looks like he’s regretting attending, which honestly tickles Futaba more than it should, that the most dishonest Phantom Thief seems to be the only one looking as honestly put-off by the entire affair as everyone else is determined not to be.

That’s everyone else’s problem. Futaba might not be happy Akira has to leave, but she’s proud. She’s sad that Akira has to leave, but also she promised Akira that by the time that he had to leave, she’d be able to get around on her own, without clinging to him for support. And she is able. She kept her promise.

Tomorrow might be the day that Akira has to go, but today is the day that Futaba is Officially Recovered.

Akira does that annoying thing he does where he puts his hand on her head and messes up all her hair, like he’s a human cat showing affection by pissing everyone off. Futaba yelps. “Look at you. You don’t need me at all.”

“I told you that I’d be ready to say goodbye by the time you had to go back to your hometown,” says Futaba. “I haven’t broken my promises yet, have I?”

There’s a burst of laughter from Haru over something Yusuke said, who looks rather surprised to discover that he said anything funny. Both Makoto and Akechi snicker at him, and then stop immediately to glare at each other the second they realize they’ve accidentally wound up sharing an opinion.

Akira ignores them. “Well, you can still text me if you need me. Or call.”

“I’m trying to tell you I’m getting better and I don’t need you,” Futaba grumbles. “Also, what kind of psychopath do you think I am to call someone on the phone?”

“That’s what phones are for.”

“Calling people is scary.”

“I thought you were getting better?” Akira teases.

“I am!” she says, pointing a finger at him. “I am! Just you watch, Akira. I’m getting better every day.”

*

Six months after joining Kosei, Futaba locks herself in her room and does not reemerge for seven days straight.

*

She tells Sojiro that she’s sick. Sojiro tells the school that Futaba told him that she’s sick. She definitely fakes a hell of a good cough, and the school lets Yusuke send her her all the homework that she was supposed to be doing in the first place, but Futaba already knows it’s only a matter of time before Sojiro rats on her, and she won’t even blame him because it’ll be for her own good.

In the meantime, she has stashes of crackers and peanut butter from back when she was a full-time hermit. She hates the taste of peanut butter within three days. Her bed is a relief, soft like a home she never left, up until it isn’t anymore. It’s too soft. No matter how she lies on it, no matter how soft it is, a mattress just isn’t comfortable when you’ve been lying on it for seventy-four hours. It’s hot. Smothering. She feels like she’s going to drown in the blankets and they’ll have to fish her moldy, sweaty corpse out of the bottomless quicksand pit of her too-soft mattress.

The thing about being a shut-in is that you don’t actually like your room very much. It’s not a relief, or an oasis, or even a place you enjoy. You’re just terrified of everywhere else more.

She plays a lot of video games that she doesn’t even like. She watches a lot of Twitch streamers she doesn’t even like. She doesn’t do her homework. She ignores Sojiro. She pretends she’s alright to everyone who texts. She wakes up and goes to sleep and thinks about going outside and goes to sleep and wakes up and wonders if the whole last year and her cautious baby steps back into the world outside was all just a hazy dream.

*

There aren’t a lot of Thieves left in Tokyo, weirdly. Haru and Makoto both graduated, off doing business and law junk that honestly makes Futaba’s brains want to crawl out her ears, but all the numbers check out and Haru’s not in the red yet, and Futaba’s looked at enough people’s dirty laundry to appreciate Haru’s clean ledger. Akira’s back in his dinky hicktown, where there’s barely anything electronic connected to Wifi worth breaking into for surveillance, which is really boring.

Ann’s been doing so many modeling gigs that she might as well not be attending Shujin anymore. She’s practically surrounded by electronics, and all of them are connected to the internet. On any given day, Futaba can snoop through the internet trail of electronic file cabinets full of images of her face, emails about her face, paychecks for her face. Futaba sends Ann more than one email about creepy old dudes making gross comments about her, along with a bunch of other illegal shit they’ve done, plus their offshore accounts full of cash if Ann wants Futaba to sic a lawyer on them.

Ann looks like she’s having fun. Ann looks different on the other side of the computer screen, like she’s less real. Like she’s not someone Futaba really knows. Like Ann’s not someone Futaba’s literally cried on at one point in her life.

Ryuji is definitely attending Shujin, but between physical therapy, catching up on a whole year of track, athletic scholarship hunting, and studying for college admissions tests, Ryuji seems to have been swallowed whole by Shujin, really. Out of boredom, one day, Futaba went down that rabbit hole of researching what it takes to get recruited for track in college, and holy shit–apparently Ryuji’s coach was supposed to be helping him with that whole process, but of course Ryuji barely has a proper coach ever since Kamoshida left Shujin’s track program in pieces. The amount of networking he’s doing is insane, especially for one teenaged boy who barely remembers his homework every night.

Sometimes, when Ryuji’s forgotten to check his email in a while and there’s a message from a coach sitting in his inbox, Futaba will send him a text to make him check it. And then it’s all, What were you doing looking at my emails, Futaba and Which of my other passwords do you know, Futaba, as if Ryuji doesn’t just use the same password over and over and has literally nobody but himself to blame.

So it’s really just Futaba, Yusuke, and–weirdly–Akechi, who’s off doing his gap year and said he was going to go abroad, but then he never did. Not to be a huge snoop, but Futaba went digging through his junk for about five seconds and then she never did it again, because she felt really weird about finding out that the guy that killed her mom is looking into social work, volunteerism, and reforming the justice system.

Like. The man who killed the Thieves’ leader is now literally out there saving orphans. It’s wild.

She might’ve been the one to tell Akechi that he can start over again and do better, but she reserves the right to at least feel weird about it.

She does not call Akira. She talks to Yusuke at school, but she refuses to ask him to accompany her on the subway. She should be recovered by now, shouldn’t she? She was supposed to have gotten over all that when Akira left Tokyo. She’s doing fine. She’s just looking out for her friends. Her, living vicariously through her friends, who’re growing up and growing away, flourishing into young adults? Never.

*

Everything is the same.

*

Didn’t she help kill a god last year?

Didn’t she work so hard to get out of her room, to make friends, to reconnect with Kana-chan?

Didn’t she work so hard to change herself?

Didn’t she help change the world?

*

Everything is the same.

*

Tuesday, 1:43 PM

YUSUKE: Futaba?

FUTABA: yo inari

FUTABA: u got more homework for me or what

YUSUKE: Ah, no.

YUSUKE: I think your teacher finds it suspicious that I’m sending you homework when I’m not in your grade, as it is.

FUTABA: oh no

FUTABA: what a shame that we didn’t have an entire year of experience with getting away with wildly illegal magic brain crimes without raising any suspicion

FUTABA: truly emailing me like four pieces of paper a day is far too difficult

YUSUKE: Well, I can’t get your homework from your teacher, but I can give you more homework if you’d like.

FUTABA: ok bucko that wasn’t a challenge

YUSUKE: There’s a math problem set that’s been incredibly dull to get through when I have more important pieces I could be working on…

FUTABA: inari im sorry to say but

FUTABA: me literally doing your homework for you is about a thousand times more illegal than you giving me my homework when ur not in my grade

YUSUKE: Oh, is it?

FUTABA: wh

FUTABA: are y

FUTABA: what do you mean OH IS IT

FUTABA: did you not KNOW ur not allowed to have other ppl do ur hw????

FUTABA: inari have u been making other people do ur hw for u so u can have more time to do art?????????

FUTABA: no shut up i dont want to know

FUTABA: i will not be ur accomplice

FUTABA: i see ur little speech bubble thingamajig yusuke i said stop typing forever and ever

YUSUKE: I can’t invite you to the art gallery tomorrow if I can’t type.

YUSUKE: It also seems impractical for you to outlaw me from texting forever.

FUTABA: i literally did not say that

YUSUKE: You said, and I quote,

YUSUKE: “Yusuke, I said stop typing forever and ever.”

FUTABA: ok i know it looks like i said that but please im begging u it’s literally just an exaggeration

YUSUKE: As Makoto would say, it’s hardly an enforceable law.

FUTABA: u literally texted my sick and crusty ass just to give me a hard time

YUSUKE: Are you about recovered from your cold?

FUTABA: and now u have the nerve to ask me to go to ur art show thing

YUSUKE: I didn’t say that.

FUTABA: oh really

FUTABA: what were u gonna ask me about then

YUSUKE: The art show, naturally.

YUSUKE: But you could have done me the courtesy of letting me ask.

FUTABA: all that on the day of my daughter’s wedding and now u want me to do u a solid

FUTABA: well i have news for u

FUTABA: the answer

FUTABA: is yeah

FUTABA: sure why not

YUSUKE: Oh, excellent.

YUSUKE: I thought that you might decline on account of your illness.

FUTABA: i’m not a punk bitch

FUTABA: i’m going

FUTABA: u were only working all those paintings for like two months i wanna see their oily faces in person

YUSUKE: Just because they were made with oil paints does not mean that they are oily.

FUTABA: cant wait to see my oily boys

YUSUKE: Unfortunately, I have to set up the event beforehand, so I will not be able to accompany you on the way here.

YUSUKE: Will you be alright by yourself?

FUTABA: uh

FUTABA: hmm

FUTABA: how oily are these boys in case i need to call a rain check

YUSUKE: Hmm.

YUSUKE: Perhaps someone else can go with you.

YUSUKE: Let me see if I can find someone.

FUTABA: what like one of ur art friends

FUTABA: i’m not going with anyone i dont know sry

YUSUKE: I’ll keep it in mind.

Tuesday, 1:59 PM

YUSUKE: Unfortunately, Ann and Ryuji were not available. Both of them will be coming late to the art show.

YUSUKE: Fortunately, Goro is.

FUTABA: whomst

YUSUKE: Goro Akechi?

YUSUKE: Crow, in case you know multiple Goro Akechis.

FUTABA: no like why u callin him goro

YUSUKE: I asked him if I could and he said yes.

YUSUKE: There’s not many people left in Tokyo who were part of the Thieves.

YUSUKE: I’m not exactly popular at school myself, so I thought it prudent to hold onto the connections I already had.

FUTABA: hhhhhhhhhhhhh

FUTABA: but why him……………………………………….

YUSUKE: Has he done something wrong?

YUSUKE: Well.

YUSUKE: Besides the obvious.

YUSUKE: Last I heard, you were quite vocally supportive of Goro making a change for the better,but have you prehaps reconsidered?

FUTABA: i mean he’s always been nice to me

FUTABA: like even before he was on the team as crow

FUTABA: and then later after he like lost his shit and tried to kill us

FUTABA: he was also like weirdly nice

FUTABA: even if he was dressed as a tokusatsu villain

FUTABA: but

FUTABA: i

FUTABA: ok this is gonna sound really weird but like

FUTABA: you know how i said that the person to take me to the art show has to be someone that i know

YUSUKE: Yes.

FUTABA: even though akechi was one of the thieves at the end

FUTABA: i feel like i dont really know him

FUTABA: he like had that whole breakdown where he spilled all his kylo ren sadstuck junk and then he peeled his dumb ass up off the floor and then we beat up his dad in a dark alley

FUTABA: and then i guess akira likes him a bunch and hangs out with him and i guess probably talked to him about all that stuff that happened

FUTABA: and also i think ann talks to him

FUTABA: and also haru i think for some reason……………………..

FUTABA: but like i feel like. we as a group. never really uhhhhhhh

FUTABA: got to know him very well i guess

FUTABA: because he spent like the whole year being a fake ass bitch

FUTABA: and then by the time he wasnt, the thieves were busy literally fighting god, and it was all business business business

FUTABA: ughghfhg i guess this is just a really long way of saying that like yeah ok i guess i do know him but i dont think i really do

FUTABA: even when he was off the shits in the engine room it was like

FUTABA: somehow that was not……………………………….. really him

FUTABA: idk maybe this is just my Thoughts but like

FUTABA: idk some people are like “your true self is who you are at your worst” and

FUTABA: yeah maybe you are some PART of urself when youre at your worst but like

FUTABA: also not???

FUTABA: that can’t be it

FUTABA: that’s not ALL of you

FUTABA: so all i ever saw was him when he was being a fake ass barbie prince and then when he was like actively losing his shit

FUTABA: and both of those were like. two types of fake ass barbie prince

FUTABA: except obviously the one where he started screamin about murder and trying to kill joker was like, fake ass serial killer barbie prince

FUTABA: anyway i dont buy it for a second that seeing akechi at his worst means that i know the first thing about his “”“”“”“”“true self”“”“”“”“”“”“

FUTABA: like i know that i technically met him but also at the same time i dont think ive ever really actually met this dude

FUTABA: uh tldr what’s the truth crowboy

FUTABA: second tldr do you got anyone else i can go to the art show with because im not unpackin all that junk in the trunk while also trying to fend off a panic attack in the subway

YUSUKE: Well, to speak to "what’s the truth, crowboy,” I’d say he’s actually really funny.

FUTABA: WHAT

YUSUKE: Yes, actually.

FUTABA: YOU TRYNA TELL ME YOU SHARE A SENSE OF HUMOR W AKECHI

YUSUKE: As everyone knows, I don’t have a sense of humor.

YUSUKE: But if I did, that might not be inaccurate to say.

YUSUKE: Either way, we could ask Boss if he’ll take you to school.

FUTABA: no

FUTABA: im not makin him shut down leblanc for the day just cause i cant get my shit together

FUTABA: and i go to school by myself all the time now i dont need to be walked there by my dad like a four yr old

FUTABA: r u sure u dont have anyone else who can take me

YUSUKE: You said it had to be someone you know.

YUSUKE: I can take you.

YUSUKE: But I’ll be getting to Kosei early to prepare.

FUTABA: how early is early

YUSUKE: Four in the morning.

FUTABA: PLEASE INARI

YUSUKE: The people you know is a quite limited pool, Futaba.

FUTABA: shut the hell ur face i dont need u tellin me to make kosei friends too

FUTABA: i get my butt to school every day i’m already a hero

FUTABA: ok alright

FUTABA: crow-san it is

FUTABA: hhh

FUTABA: no shut up stop typing i’m fine

FUTABA: i already saw his dumb ass get inflicted with Horny from Yaldy God Himself i ain’t afraid of no crows

FUTABA: actually now that i remember that that was pretty funny mwehehehehehehe

FUTABA: OKAY send me the who what when where why

YUSUKE: There’s a PDF flier. I’ll send it to you.

YUSUKE: But I will have to type the email to send it to you.

FUTABA: oh my GOD inari

FUTABA: i swear to god ur not actually this dense and youre just pretending u dont know what an exaggeration is just to drive me up the wall

YUSUKE: Oh, that is a possibility, isn’t it?

FUTABA: WH

YUSUKE: Ah, last period is starting. I’ll have to talk to you later.

FUTABA: WHAT

FUTABA: NO WAIT

FUTABA: HELLO????

FUTABA: YUSUKE NO COME BACK

Tuesday, 2:53 PM

FUTABA: YUSUKE HAVE YOU BEEN MAKING AKECHI DO UR HW FOR U SO YOU CAN DO MORE ART??

FUTABA: IS THAT WHY UR ON A FIRST NAME BASIS W HIM

FUTABA: ANSWER ME STRINGBEAN

*

In Futaba’s opinion, there’s an infinite amount of more embarrassing reasons to pull yourself out of your depression pit than “I needed to yell at my friend for being a snotty bastard,“ and there’s worse escorts to have than the weird guy who went from being a professional murderer to their weird awkward friend. Firstly, if there’s anything that can motivate Futaba Sakura, it’s the primal urge to dunk on her friends for spite and memes. Secondly, there’s no chance in hell Futaba’s going to have a breakdown in front of Akechi.

She can do this. She got herself out of this grave once; she can do it again. Even if Akira isn’t here. She’s getting better. She promised him.

On the eighth day of her almost-return to hermithood, Akechi texts her:

AKECHI: I’m here.

AKECHI: Are you ready to go?

Futaba is wearing only an old shirt, no bra, sweats, and vaguely greasy hair from all the showers she’s skipped.

FUTABA: i’m SO ready

FUTABA: the readiest

FUTABA: ultra mega super ready

FUTABA: featherman ranger code name Ready

AKECHI: Oh.

AKECHI: Alright.

Hell yes alright. Time for Futaba to save her own life from her gravesite of a room.

With… Goro Akechi. Wow, life is weird, huh?

She drags on her Kosei uniform like a skin discarded long ago. It feels stiff. Maybe because it feels wrong to wear school clothes like a functioning human; maybe because she just hasn’t washed it in a week. The very idea of explaining herself to Sojiro stresses her out, so she doesn’t do it. The idea of not explaining herself to Sojiro, when he deserves an explanation and also would probably have a heart attack if he realized that she’d disappeared from her room without his knowing, also stresses her out, so she still doesn’t explain herself to Sojiro.

I told Akira I’m better now. I can do this. I did this for more than six months. I was out of my room in the real world, I went to the school festival, I changed my own heart…

She creeps down the stairs like a thief in her own house and pokes her head out the door. Goro Akechi is fiddling with his phone in the sun outside her house, looking like he, too, has only just managed to pull on his Human Suit and look like a guy who didn’t make shadows beg for mercy for fun, so it looks like this whole expedition is going to be a lot of fun.

"Futaba-chan?” says Akechi, only just noticing her lurking in her own doorway. “It’s been a while since we last saw each other. How are you?”

Futaba opens her mouth. No noise comes out.

Akechi’s eyebrows slowly begin to knit together.

“I’m good,” she says squeakily. Clears her throat. Holy shit, she’s not afraid of Akechi after all that junk they went through in the Metaverse. She saw him as a rat. She saw him visibly want to break his father’s face when Shido tried to apologize to him on live TV. Once, Makoto and Akechi got into an unironic, passionate, hour-long argument about whether or not it’s beneficial to color code your notes.

“I’m alright!” Futaba announces louder, maybe a little loudly, considering the way he looks only more concerned. “L-Let’s hurry up and get this sidequest over with!”

She pulls her hoodie over her head and jams her hands into the pockets and makes herself as small as possible and inches out of the doorway. “If you… say so,” says Akechi, and eventually matches her incredibly slow pace as she shuffles her way towards the main street.

When the noise of Yongen-Jaya’s street hits her, her heart rate (already high as hell) spikes even higher like the first day she’d come out of her room, but the old coping mechanisms come back like second nature: Breathe slower, avoid eye contact, remember her mission, stick to the sides of the streets. Breathe slower. She’s still got it. It’s still hard, but she’s got a whole arsenal of ways to deal. She can do this. She will kick Yusuke’s ass for being a dick, if only out of sheer spite.

If Akira were here, I could hide behind him and…

No, shut up, shut up. All she has is her hoodie and Goro Akechi. Akira’s not here. She can do this by herself.

Akechi makes precisely two attempts at small talk (“How has Kosei been?” “Have you seen the pieces Yusuke submitted to the art show before?”) before he realizes that Futaba isn’t going to respond by virtue of barely holding onto her shit by her fingernails. He shuts up and sticks close by. Futaba makes her way down the streets towards the subway like walking on a tightrope. The subway station isn’t busy, but she puts every step in front of her like she’s going to fall. Getting on the subway might as well be a highwire. Futaba and Akechi wait for the train in mutual silence to the sound of other commuters murmuring amongst themselves, like a toothless echo of Mementos’s depths.

When they get on the train, people around her are quiet, thank god, but all of a sudden she’s convinced that she smells because she hasn’t taken a shower in literal days, and she tries to pack herself into her seat as tightly as possible. The guy in front of her is scrolling through something at a ferocious pace and his thumbnail keeps hitting the screen with this incessant clack, clack, clack noise. The subway voice announces their next station as the doors begin to close, and a girl suddenly sits bolt upright, having realized that this is her station after all, and bangs Futaba’s knees hard as she passes. Futaba wants to curl her legs to her chest, but she’s wearing Kosei’s uniform skirt and it’d just make everyone stare at her if she did that on the subway. She curls her fingers into the skirt hem. She stares down at her knees and lets her hair drape around her like a curtain. She can do this. She can do this. Breathe slower. Even slower. I did this for more than six months, I told Akira I’m better now, I changed my own heart…

Akechi pulls out his phone. Futaba’s phone buzzes.

AKECHI: Are you alright?

FUTABA: i said i was ready dude

Akechi types and retypes an answer, which technically Futaba could just look over his arm and read, but instead Futaba flips through apps on her phone and pulls up a shitty mobile dungeon crawler. She dies four times before Akechi puts his phone away without sending anything.

They pass multiple stations like that. Futaba sure as hell hopes that Akechi’s watching which station they’re on, because she isn’t. After the millionth time she dies, Futaba just closes the app altogether. Concentration’s shot. Can’t focus on anything. Heartbeat’s too loud. Breathing’s too loud. The guy next to her is breathing too loud. Everything is too loud.

New text:

AKECHI: Yusuke said you’d recovered from your cold, but you still look a little unwell.

Futaba doesn’t respond to that. She doesn’t need Negative Nancy over here telling her she’s gonna crack. Because she isn’t gonna. The subway starts to slow, and the voice announces the station for Yusuke’s school. She’s literally almost there, she’s right there, she might die in three seconds because her heart is going to pound of her chest but at least she’s going to make it, she promised Akira that she was alright—

The subway doors open. Passengers stand to get off. Akechi stands up. Futaba drops like a rock.

“I can’t,” Futaba’s voice says. She sounds like she’s crying. “I can’t, I can’t do it, I—”

“Futaba—”

“I’m can’t do it, I—”

She buries her face in her knees on the dirty subway floor. Oh, she really is crying. “I’m sorry,” she says, “I’m so sorry, I couldn’t…”

Around her, people’s feet stop moving. They’re staring at her. She’s crying on the subway and everyone is staring at her. “Shh,” says Akechi, like Futaba doesn’t know she’s being a loud and irritating pest, but then he takes off his winter coat and covers her with it. Suddenly everything goes dark. It’s a huge coat, too; it wraps around her whole torso with enough room to spare to cover her entire head. Inside, it’s like she’s back in her room, only listening to the sounds of real life somewhere on the other side of a computer monitor, where it can’t hurt her. It’s so surprising she hiccups to a stop. Two hands pull her up by the shoulders and guide her to stand. “Up. Let’s go.”

“Is she okay?” says a voice.

Futaba’s entire body seizes with fear. She ducks into her own knees, trying to disappear.

“Hey, little girl, are you alright?”

“She’ll be fine,” says Akechi’s friendly, super fake ass barbie prince voice. “My sister just had a hard day. I’m sorry for the inconvenience.”

“A hard day?” Now the stranger’s voice is accusatory.

“For your information, our dog was recently brutally run over in front of her eyes.”

“Young man, are you serious right now?”

“Oh, yes. There was blood everywhere. Its intestines squelched horribly under the tires less than six feet away from her,” Akechi goes on. Futaba chokes, and then hiccups in what she realizes is almost a laugh. “Please excuse her. Thank you.” And before the literal complete stranger can follow up on that awful statement, Akechi takes her hand and pulls her up.

Futaba stumbles to her feet. If she has to take the coat off right now, she will actually die.

“It’s okay. Just hold my hand and follow me.”

Blindly, she lets him lead her out of the subway, weaving through people with only minimal contact with other people’s shoulders. There’s a whole awkward period where Akechi has to walk her up the stairs out of the subway station while she can’t see anything, but eventually the noise and bustle of other people around her seems to die away, and the air grows cooler in the way it does in the shadows between city buildings. Then they stop walking altogether. When Akechi lets go of her hand, she almost tries to grab it back before she catches herself.

“Okay. There’s nobody else around, now. It’s safe.”

Futaba doesn’t come out of the jacket. In the dark, her eyes dart back and forth, trying to see even as she blinds herself.

“Sorry for grabbing you so suddenly like that,” Akechi’s voice goes on after it becomes obvious she’s not going to come out.

Futaba wipes snottily at her own face. Oh, this is so gross, she’s got snot and tears on top of five days worth of grime and body juice because she hadn’t taken a shower. She’s disgusting. She really actually wants to die right now. She can’t show her face like this.

“Er,” says Akechi. “Do you want…. water, or…?”

Futaba folds up right there on the city pavement, probably dragging Akechi’s nice coat all over a dirty alleyway. She tucks her face into her knees, where she feels safest, and pulls the coat flaps even tighter. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be.”

“I’m sorry for not being okay,” she mumbles.

There’s a short silence. “You really don’t have to be.”

“I do,” Futaba says. She feels like she’s nine years old again, a petulant kid who needs to hold people’s hands and be escorted around Tokyo. “This is—it’s stupid, and I can’t believe I-I’m still doing this, a-and even a-after everything that h-happened last year, I’m still just a… I’m still…”

“It’s fine,” says Akechi. Even he sounds overwhelmed, and at the first sound of weakness, she pulls the coat off her head and glares at him furiously, red-faced and covered in tears and snot and gross depression juice crust and all.

“I’m not supposed to be this way anymore!” she says miserably. “I’m supposed to be better! Moved on! Doing literally a-anything else but crying over t-taking a subway! It’s stupid and nobody else is like this and I just want to be over this already and I just want to be better already and—!“

She covers her face with her hands again. God, even when she says that, it sounds pathetic.

After a moment or two, she hears Akechi moving again. She peeks at him. He’s crouching in almost the exact same pose as her, looking like he’s resigning himself to neither getting his coat back, nor moving from this spot any time soon, nor getting to Yusuke’s art show on time, but also looking archly and entirely unperturbed about it. Actually, it looks like he’s writing a work email on his phone.

Futaba was right about being in an alleyway, but it’s so cold because they’re shielded by a trio of vending machines selling canned coffee and wrapped sandwiches. "Our dog was recently run over?” she says.

“People can mind their own damn business,” says Akechi in his Pleasant Boy Voice, without looking up from his email.

“He was just trying to help.”

“Oh, yes, let’s help the crying girl by crowding her and suffocating her in a crush of public transit.”

Futaba snorts. “That was really mean of you.”

“Oh, absolutely,” says Akechi.

Futaba sucks a truly disgusting gob of snot into her nose. “Ugh. I wish I could’ve seen the guy’s face when you told him that.”

“It was like I’d spat on his shoes. I should’ve kept going. Or had a camera.”

“Futaba giggles wetly into her forearms. "Like one of those—those prank videos online… Get Yusuke to film it.”

“Yusuke, as the cameraman? I’m not trying to make a documentary.” Akechi flips to a different screen on his phone. “I already texted Yusuke about our poor dead dog, by the way, so don’t worry about it.”

Suddenly Futaba feels like literal garbage again. “Why are you always so nice to me?” she mumbles.

Akechi makes a weird face, like he’s trying to do his old Pleasant Boy shtick while having swallowed a lemon whole. “You say that like me being nice is somehow unusual.”

“Uh, yeah. Because it is. You literally were just being a huge asshole to a guy you’d never met over a fictional dog.”

Akechi has this increasingly disgruntled look on his face like he kind of wants to punt Futaba down some stairs, which, frankly, is the best sort of reward, in Futaba’s opinion. “I’m working on it,” he says grumpily.

“How’s that been?” says Futaba.

“Which part?”

Futaba has one whole moment of self reflection on this idea as maybe not a good course of action before she barrels on anyway: “The part where you’re turning your life around. Starting over. Trying again.”

“It sucks dick,” says Akechi.

“Oh, right on,” says Futaba, and then before she can stop herself: “Wait, I thought you liked dick?”

Akechi makes a noise like a strangled cat.

Futaba cackles. “Dude, incognito mode when you’re browsing for porn does not save you from people like me.”

“Have you been spying on me?”

“Uh, yes? Obviously?”

“You know you could get arrested for that sort of breach in privacy.”

“Oh, boo hoo, so sorry I know all about your weird orphan-saving night job and your smutty Featherman doujinshi collection. You’re not gonna narc on me.” Futaba stops. “Are you?”

“Stop looking at my internet history.”

“No. You better not narc on me.”

“Then stop looking at my internet history.”

“You had to google how to change a SIM card last week, crow-boy; you couldn’t stop me if you tried.”

“I will narc on you.”

“No you won’t. You’re the one trying to not be an asshole.”

Akechi makes a face like a cat being slowly submerged in cold water. Futaba laughs in his face.

“If you’re quite done,” says Akechi grouchily.

“No, never. You’re made for being made fun of,” says Futaba. “I’m gonna be making fun of you for years and years, crow-boy; you’re never going to get rid of me.”

“Great.”

“Gonna be creeping on your weird orphan-saving night job until the day you die.”

“Wonderful,” says Akechi without inflection whatsoever.

“Mwehehehehehehehehehe.”

“If you’re quite done.”

“I will take a well-deserved break from my endless duty to troll you both on and offline,” says Futaba. “Because I really really really wanna go to the art show.”

Akechi has the nerve to look relieved that he no longer has to squat in a dirty alleyway listening to a high school freshman bully him. “Then let’s go.”

Futaba hugs her knees tight. “But I wanna keep your coat.”

“Aren’t you wearing your own coat?” says Akechi, trying to look like he isn’t shivering. “Aren’t you getting hot?”

“I’m keeping it.”

“It’s my coat.”

“I’m keeping it.”

“Fine, then. Keep it. It’s dry clean only.”

“Oh, ew. No, take it back, gross, gross,” and Futaba peels the snotty, tear-stained, dirty winter coat off and dumps it back in Akechi’s arms, who looks at it with the expression of someone long-suffering and without hope of escape.

“And,” says Futaba, “I wanna see it if you tell anyone else that our dog got run over.”

Akechi smirks. “You’ll have to film it, then.”

“Oh my god, like I wouldn’t.”

Futaba scrubs her face one last time. She still feels like she’s covered in a grimy layer of slime, but maybe she can wash her face at Kosei. When she gets there. Because she’s gonna get there.

“Uh, one more thing,” says Futaba.

“Not like you’ve bullied me into doing literally everything else you’ve wanted,” says Akechi.

“You can’t laugh at me.”

“Good thing I don’t have a sense of humor,” says Akechi, which horrifyingly confirms to Futaba that Akechi and Yusuke, of all people, really do share a sense of humor.

Futaba hesitates. “Please, um… please don’t tell Akira about this.”

“Why would I tell Akira?“

"Nice. Good answer.” She smooths her hair down, trying to make herself presentable, or just have something to do with her hands. “I… told him I was gonna be okay without him and all that, so… I don’t wanna let him down, you know?”

Slowly, almost shyly, Akechi smiles. “Oh, yes. I know.”

“Our secret. Secret-keepers.”

“Secret-keepers. Are you ready?”

Futaba takes another deep breath. Pushes herself up, brushes herself off, and sighs. “Absolutely not. This is gonna suck so much dick,” says Futaba. “Let’s go anyway.”

[youarejesting]

Digital Art

[SPARKS MASTERLIST]

Pairing: Robot!Taehyung x Reader

Genre: Friendship, Comedy, Soft boy, Fluff.

Summary: You are an art student, who gets regular visits from the Universities kindest and oddest AI. He explores human nature and ponders the idea’s of like and love and finds himself tangled in emotions he was never programmed to understand.

The research lab at University S had different robotic creations that were cutting edge for human consumers. The Min-meow cat that caters to the elderly works like a real cat and purrs, yet never gets sick and can analyse owners behaviour like strokes and heart attacks in time to call an ambulance. 

Kookie the rabbit was a robot made for very young children coping with disabilities such as deafness and blindness, it could translate speech to text on the screen on its back and he could even read books to them in his little rabbit voice. 

Robot Tae was just a regular AI who walked the Lab. He would talk with the students and observe many other robots. He would sometimes lay on the floor, his chin rested on his folded hands and watch min-meow cross the room. They made his hair out of tiny thin fibre optics which meant he could change the colour depending on his mood.

He would call the role and greet each student to class, he would run errands to and from the class which was his favourite Job. 

Today he called the roll and walked the classroom, helping students with their work and genuinely having a good time chatting. The girls put flowers in his hair and took selfies with him. He liked the girls; they made him feel happy when they smiled. The boys were friendly too always patting his back or ruffled his hair which after some research was a good thing.

“Hey Tae, have you ever been with a girl?”

“What do you mean? There are many females in this room and I am with them does that count?” He asked.

“No, dude we mean like sexually, do you watch porn?”

“He ran his systems, they connected him to the University Wifi, and he had his own built-in data it wasn’t hard to find out what they meant. I have never watched it before,” he shifted uncomfortably, “By the looks of the videos it is for human pleasure. The videos seem to work as stimulation of the auditory and visual responses. Is this correct?”

“Yes, do you have a dick?” They asked snickering he seemed a little off-put by their laughing, he knew the signal of laughing was usually a good sign of friendship but his data also told him it could humiliate the difference was the eyes and their eyes didn’t seem friendly. 

“I am a fully functioning humanoid robot, I have genitalia just like you do,” he said confused “are you making fun of me?”

“No dude, you are our little brother we want to help you get some. If you see a girl you like you should ask her if she wants to....” Tae wasn’t sure about his methods but he walked over to Daisy one of the nicest girls in the class and asked her the way they taught him.

“Tae doesn’t listen to them, boys don’t know how to get girls. When you see a girl or guy you like and I mean really like as in more than friends, you don’t ask like that,” She said sitting him down.

“How will I know if I really like them more than friends”

“Look you will know, you will find it hard to think, you will feel like you are about to explode” 

“That sounds scary”

“Love is scary, but when you feel that ask her to hang out, like ask her if she would like to see Min, girls love pets”

She patted his shoulder. And he was lost in thought, filing away this information. It was one of those days he was asked to carry a stack of Textbooks to the engineering offices. On his way there he saw people holding hands and a couple kissing against a wall. On the way back he saw a girl sitting on a stool, a puppy at her feet. She was doing something he understood in theory but not in practice. He approached and saw her paintbrush stroke the canvas slowly colouring the skies. 

“How do you do that?” He asked his hair a brilliant sky blue, he liked this he stored this in his data next to min-meow purring on his lap, the tasty oil drinks he gets for breakfast and freshly charging batteries. 

“Oh! You scared me” she said, watching his face fall and hair darken to a midnight blue. 

“I am sorry, I should go”

It was a few days later when he saw you again waving to him and he waved back. The days past and he would pause on his errands to watch you paint a little more. Some days you explained your project other days you worked in silence.

“Do you want to try?” You asked out of the blue one day. He beeped and nodded, his hair paling to a golden colour. 

“All right hold the paintbrush with your hand and I will guide you” he nodded holding the paintbrush and your hand wrapped around his and moved it along the paper. His face lit up and he could only make strangled beeps and squeals from his auto air gun, TSC, auto door, spindle and alarm systems. This must be it, his processors were slowing down making it hard to think and his fan belt sped up, he felt like he could explode any second now.

She laughed this was such a bright friendly laugh, her small Pomeranian started barking beside her from the sound, “you’re cute what’s your name?”

“I am Tae, what is your name?”

“My name is y/n, and this is Yeontan”

“He is so wiggly and warm and soft, I have never pet a living animal” he said playing with the dog as it rolled around on his lap. You exchanged contact information, Taehyung had a mobile number and all the social media accounts, he had posted a few videos of his adventures around the Uni even showed videos of you painting. Only after asking you for permission to film you and your painting.

“Would you like to see my quadruped companion, his name is Min,” He used the line he had worked on with Daisy a few weeks ago “Girls love pets”

“Of course, I would love to see Min, girls do love animals, can I finish my painting?” you giggled and reached up taking a leaf from his hair and he nodded sitting cross-legged Yeontan curling up in his lap, he watched you paint. Once you were finished he carried your things, you placed your canvas in the art rooms before moving on to the engineering labs.

He walked you inside, and the class stopped and he smiled “Hello Daisy, I found her, she made me feel like I would explode and I couldn’t think, she is an art student. You should see it, and I asked her to come to see Min because; girls love Pets”

You were bright red as the boys whooped from the back, “Our Tae has game, getting the chicks”

“Quick y/n let me introduce you to Min,” he said and dragged you across the classroom and you bowed low to the professor apologizing for interrupting the class. You played with Min who was a grumpy and stubborn cat. “We can’t sell him as they made him too cat-like, and he refuses to listen. And this is Kookie, he was the first model but his ears are too big so for commercial reasons they made them shorter.” You pulled out your sketchbook and began drawing Tae and the three animals Yeontan really liked Kookie the latter hopping around the Pomeranian.

After class Tae introduced you to everyone including the professor. “Ah, it is nice to meet you, I have a meeting Tae you remember to lock up, message me when you do?”

“Of course” he smiled, waving goodbye. You headed home talking with him all night until he said he had to charge.

One day was spent with just the two of you, he walked you around the university and he waved to all the students and got some photos he showed you his favourite music, his favourite place and even the little mug in the Uni store that reminded him of Yeontan. He asked why you didn’t bring Yeontan and you explained he was going for a check-up and grooming.

He brought you back to the lab, and you sat on the desk swinging your legs as you listened to him sing and sway his hips to his favourite songs. He was in a particularly good mood and he grabbed your waist lifting you off the table and spinning you around, he felt his search engines working without commands and they had brought up a web browser with videos on how to kiss. He didn’t know what came over him but he kissed you just as it explained and your lips were locked and you stumbled back together until you bumped against the lab tables.

Lost in the feeling, knowing it was wrong but unable to stop yourself. The door opened and the two of you jumped apart and you ran out of the lab upset with yourself. Taehyung was in a daze he felt cold without you, he stored yet another folder about you in his data banks.

He texted you but you didn’t reply; he got worried and continued to try texting you; he was getting worried as he plugged in Kookie and Min. He did something he had never done before. He hacked your student records to find your address he didn’t want you to be hurt or in trouble, Yeontan couldn’t call an ambulance. He ran across the city following his GPS location and the pre-programmed directions. Tae knocked on your apartment door, the door swung open and you froze when you saw him. Letting him inside shocked and very concerned. 

“Why are you here?” You asked as he sat on your couch, Yeontan making himself comfortable on his lap.

“I don’t know, I can’t stop processing and I am completing tasks without commands, things that I am not programmed to do, I can’t stop thinking about you and I was worried you were hurt, and I can’t function without you close”

“Are you saying you missed me?”

“That seems like a fitting explanation” He nodded and the silence settled over the two of you and he beeped his battery getting low. You walked him to your room and laid him on your bed, taking his charging cable and plugging him into the wall outlet. 

As he powered down into charging mode he whispered “I want to kiss you again” 

How can I save this to receive and read updates?

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[velmia-warins-blog]

Ooh, can you tell us more about RO? 👀👀 (and if that ok if we ask ro's reaction ask? 😀)

Yeah, I’ll tell you a bit more. Also, of course you can ask RO reaction asks. It would make me very happy to get them.

Alex: He is an individual of organization and order in general. This often entails taking up a leadership position which he has been used to doing most of his life, and he does take up a leadership role among the dorm upholding it unless the MC asserts themself more so. In most free time he is reading a book, often enjoying Drama as a genre given social dynamics to him are more entertaining to learn as they’re much more chaotic and unpredictable compared to learning logical and structured subjects. Though some Mysteries have continued to evade him, he considers the Mystery Novel ‘Unlike Sicily’ his greatest bane given how he couldn’t figure out the solution to the mystery until it was revealed at the end of the story. Friends often comment hearing him talk can be entertaining given the depth of his thoughts and passion for everything he has learned. Other hobbies of his are Tabletop RPG’s, computer programming, and Astronomy.

Eliza: She can build pretty much anything if given the right materials, and she has made a lot of friends by building various complex machinery. Mostly computers but she can also do televisions, phones, video game consoles, and in one case even a car. Her passion is everything when it comes to Engineering, and she is looking forward to how anything she can plan to build will be possible for her to do just that with the use of magic. She also tends to be very popular on her own in a social sense, she is earnest, sincere, kind, understanding, and believes everyone has a great depth to them that can be discovered if given enough patience and space to open up to others. Although she believes most people are good and can be healed thus redeeming them from past mistakes, Eliza holds a strong value in the Moral Line. The idea that an individual who crosses crimes like murder is to be viewed as evil for life. Hobbies of hers also include video games, archery, and watching soap operas.

Hussein: He grew up in less fortunate circumstances in comparison to many other of his classmates, and definitely less kind ones to him than the rest of his dorm mates. Hussein has never known his birth parents and was a foster child passed on through several neglectful/abusive homes up until the age of eleven. At that point, he was adopted by one of the Child Protector Service agents and her wife where he lived with four other boys. Two older and two younger he came to consider his brothers. From then on his life was much more supportive and stable, however, his upbringing still made him very cynical to the world at large and especially the crueler group of nobles who entertained themselves by picking on the poorer populace. He can be very defensive, of himself and close friends so he has learned to fight and maintain his body through a lot of physical activity. Hobbies of his include scrapbooking, knife throwing, and baking.

Ramona: She is a complete ball of energy and creativity. Everything related to the arts and using the imagination she has a passion for. She writes, paints, draws, designs clothes, sings, dances. She has done everything to be able to proclaim herself the embodiment of the practitioner of everything considered an art. She is considered the colorful child among a family who is mild-mannered and mundane especially her parents. Her father being an accountant and her mother being a technical writer. Although she’s never been shamed or looked down upon because of her interests, it’s been hard for her to feel truly appreciated due to a household that never cared much for the vibrant and creative things in life. A bit more understandable as they have been mages who prefer the practical side of magic. Instead, she gains inspiration among friends and the expansive eternity that is the cycle of life and death. Her most prominent hobbies are poetry, painting, and clothing design.

Ilsa: The student escort of the MC and first second-year student met at the Academy. She is the ideal of a model student at the Nellis Noble Academy. Very passionate about everything magical, and she does her best to learn about every single field. Though what she excels at are Arcane magic and Wind magic most especially. She likes to consider herself a peacemaker in everything she does, though she can definitely be very forceful when it comes to this goal. Being even more overbearing and authoritarian than Alex himself. Yet this strong will and need to maintain order has made her leader of her dorm. When it comes to her softer side she is more of a guide and a nurturer, someone who wants to see everyone achieve their true potential and reach their goals no matter how impossible they may be. Given her much looser moral code even if someone wants to rule the world or become the next lich to destroy all life she will encourage anyone with the will and hunger for power to do it. Her hobbies include dancing, playing any game related to strategy, chess, and the video game series ‘Elemental Banner��.

(The following are the other RO’s the MC has yet to meet at the academy. Ilsa’s dorm mates.)

Sifer: Ilsa’s second and command, it is best to refer to Sifer as they given they are non-binary. Sifer covers Ilsa in a more measured and logical manner whenever she becomes much more intense in her behavior. They are quite measured, logical, but pragmatic to the point it can be considered concerning. Despite holding humanity to be a high value, it only goes so high as when they deem something to be much higher value than the life of a person can be considered worth sacrificing in their mind. On the surface, they appear to be very stoic and reserved when it comes to their emotions. However, if looked closely at the eye all their emotions can be seen. Their eyes are intense when angry, bright when happy, flow with tears when sad. Very few people know why, but when they feel understood by someone else they feel confident about opening up about everything. Their hobbies include studying philosophy, gardening, and creating historically accurate dioramas.

Martin: The biggest defending champion of flirting and charming his classmates at the Academy. Whether they be male, female, or identify outside of those usual pronouns, anyone attracted to guys he considers a chance to charm his way into their lives. Rumors vary on whether he has succeeded in sleeping with the rest of his dorm mates. Though the truth of the matter is that he managed to make out with Lucas once and the rest of the dorm is mildly amused by how casual they are about the whole matter while just being friends by that point. Managing to get to know him past the first date reveals the more sincere side to him, someone who would prefer a more serious relationship but in his past struggles to make friends desires the popularity of being a flirt in the meantime. Though it takes just as much effort to get him to lower the persona of a heartbreaker and create something more sincere when it’s just a friendship. His hobbies include pottery, animal raising, and playing guitar.

Kelsie: A very standoffish woman who presents herself with a very dark and aggressive personality. Most people consider her to be a bad girl, a reputation she would like to uphold especially as her dorm mates have taken to teasing her by trying to attest to something very different. She desperately wants to be proficient in death magic and crush her natural talent in life magic. Ironically sabotaging her own goal by not understanding the complimenting elements of life magic that death is so intrinsically connected to. Her anti-social behavior makes her difficult to approach. Being fowl mouthed, reflexively aggressive to people of a soft or weak disposition, picking fights, making casual death threats that vary to the extreme and make it difficult to tell how serious she is. Only her dorm mates really know what’s behind her persona of the adoration of death and general violence. So they are definitely looking out for someone who could come into her life and handle the rage she has for the world. Her hobbies include heavy metal, casting summoning rituals in attempts to summon demons and sword fighting.

Lucas: The most chill guy one could ever meet in their life. He is almost comedically calm in just about any situation imaginable. Demons have been summoned into the dorm and everyone needs to work together to banish them? Cool, does he need to look over the banishing ritual? The mysterious interdimensional portal is now in the kitchen? Eh, nothing has come out yet so he’ll take the extra five minutes of sleep. He likes to advise others to take the time to slow down and appreciate the small things in life. Relax, not fret over the big picture and take the worries over life down a few notches. He likes to roll with the punches, and when good things in life come then he likes to stop. Focus on those single moments in time and make them the longest memories that will truly count. It takes extraordinary circumstances that make him worry, freak out, and especially for something to come up that will make him afraid. His hobbies include swimming, fishing, and meditating.

[fantasyinvader]

I kinda want to do a post on heel-face turns with regards to Edelgard. Specifically, those done by Kamen Rider over the last few years.

Let’s start with this year’s model, Gai Amatsu or as I like to call him Bitchboy.

What did he do? Well, in addition to owning an extremely punchable face when he got to work with his idol on creating a city where man and robots live together, Gai sabotagued the project because (due to his upbringing) he couldn’t accept the idealistic goals of the project. Instead, he only viewed it as a matter of profits. So, he showed the satellite that was supposed to oversee the city the worst of humanity. This taught the machine to hate humanity, believing they should go extinct, causing the city to end up at the bottom of a lake. However, some robots survived and went to form a terrorist cell...which Gai covertly aided.

Gai is the cause of everything that happens in the series, and once he’s introduced he proceeds to challenge Hiden Intelligence to a contest in order to take them over. The robots they create versus humans equipped with his Zaia Spec, a pair of glasses that allows hooks a person’s mind up to a computer. Gai initially talks about humanism and how the robots are just tools. However, he’s shown to cheat, drive the robots berserk in order to have an excuse to kill them, corrupt the hero’s belt so all he has is a transformation that sends him into a berserk rampage, reveals that he has chips in the brains of Fuwa and Yaiba to control them (in addition to wiping Fuwa’s memories and implanting traumatic ones to turn him against the robots) and does everything to turn people against the robots so he can sell both Zaia specs and weapons.

How does he turn into a hero? Well, after he won the contest and took over Hiden Intelligence, the show basically shat all over him. He lost time and time again, to weaker riders who were discovering their own dreams. His victory was all for nothing, but then when it was revealed the terrorist robots could hack not only Zaia specs but also Raidraisers and send people berserk, Gai decided to promote Raidraisers as a means to protect yourself. Even arranging to corrupt the code of the Zaia specs to make them even more hackable in order to drive up sales. The people working under him have enough and collect evidence of his wrongdoings to get him kicked out of his position.

At his lowest point, Gai reveals his backstory of having a father who told him he had to strive for not 100% but 1000%. He also gets reunited with the only friend he had, the AI of a toy dog he owned as a child. This dog acts as his morality pet and saw Gai turn to the heroes side...which everyone feels is just super weird, out of character, and still hold him accountable for all the shit he’s caused. The show doesn’t drop what he did, it just acknowledges there’s a bigger threat now.

Next up is Gentoku Himuro, from Kamen Rider Build.

Gentoku was present when an alien artifact from Mars activated, creating walls that split Japan into three countries as well as having an effect on his mind. He became more aggressive as a result. Wanting Japan reunified under his pacifist father, Gentoku founded Faust, a secret organization that created weapons in addition to human experimentation. He does a lot of scummy things, including triggering the war to reunify Japan, before he is exposed and his father disowns him.

In an attempt for more power, he is further experimented on. However, this clear up the effects of the alien light, causing him to return to his normal state of mind. He continues to fight because he is forced to due to a bomb planted in his head, and feels guilt over what he has done. Though he also still believes he’s doing this in the name of the greater good. It’s even in his Rider catchphrase.

"Be a sacrifice for the greater good!"

He eventually wises up to what’s really going on, and leaks information to the heroes. Eventually, the bomb is removed but his father ends up taking a attack for him, dying as a result. Since everything he did was to give Japan to the one person he believed should govern it, he falls into depression and ends up joining the heroes seeking atonement for all he’s done. He eventually begins to understand what his father believed, that the power of the leader comes from his people, and in the end sacrifices himself in order to weaken the final boss (see above).

Next up is everyone’s favorite meme, Kuroto Dan.

As a teenage game designer hailed as a genius, Dan discovered a version of the Y2K bug that could infect human beings through exposure, digitalizing them if they succumb to it. This included his mother. However, at the time a young boy sent fanmail to him, which included a few suggestions for what he’d like to see in the next game. This enraged Dan to the point of sending a game with the virus to the boy, turning him into Patient Zero to spread it among the population. This boy ended up being the series lead, Emu.

People ended up being digitalized because of this, in addition to some committing suicide. Dan made it a point to appear to fight this problem in addition to the video game characters coming to life and attacking people, creating the Kamen Riders. But in reality, it was all a ploy for him to collect data to make the greatest video game ever, Kamen Rider Chronicle. He also wanted to see Emu suffer, and killed/digitalized Kiriya (Kamen Rider Lazer), who was investigating what was going on, during the Christmas episode. Eventually, he was stopped by Emu using what amounted to a game shark, but the data was enough for the video game characters to begin Kamen Rider Chronicle so that they could kill humans in revenge for them being killed in their games.

Kamen Rider Chronicle saw people turn into pseudo-riders, able to fight the Bugsters. When one of them defeated all of the bosses, the final boss would appear and the player would be able to transform into Kamen Rider Cronus with more powerful abilities to defeat them. When the game is cleared, that player would be the hero of mankind and all the digitalized people would be released. However, once you start playing you end up infected with the virus, needing to seek out the bosses to keep yourself alive. If you lose, you end up digitalized. Tough, but Kuroto intended for the game to be clearable.

That is until his father came in, and attempted to use it to assert control over the world in addition to claiming Cronus for himself. This led to the heroes searching for and finding a backup of Dan’s data, allowing him to return and aide them (giving Emu his final form based off the stars in Mario along with a save option to stop Cronus from resetting things). This coincided with him declaring himself a genius and a fucking god, and his control freak tenancies made it so that he wanted the game to be cleared as it was intended.

However, they still held him accountable for what he did and at the end of the series was shown in digital jail for his crimes.

Finally, the former owner of the title of Bitchboy. Mitsuzane “Micchy” Kureshima

Micchy actually starts off on the Heroes side, as Kamen Rider Ryugen. A rich kid dancing with Kouta’s old group, Micchy looked up to Kouta and when Kouta was unsure if he wanted to continue as Gaim after nearly dying, Micchy used his family name to become Ryugen and aide him.

However, as time went on a dark side of Micchy emerged. He wanted Kouta to do as he wanted while Kouta was more prone to heroic actions. Micchy also discovered that one of the monsters Kouta killed was the leader of their dance group as he ends up under the wing of his brother, Takatora aka Kamen Rider  Zagetsu. Following his brother’s belief that they would have to make hard decisions in order to survive, Micchy ends up undermining Kouta and the other’s attempts to deal with the threat of Helheim.

However, when Kouta reveals to Takatora there may be an alternative to solving the problem rather than leaving most of humanity to die, Takatora wants to work with him on this. This angers Micchy as once again Kouta isn’t doing what he wants, and now his brother is as well. This leads to him attempting to kill his brother, assuming his identity and Zangetsu Shin, and attacking Kouta in disguise. As time passes, Micchy is shown to try and save those he wants, including the girl he likes.

He eventually gains even more power and seemingly kills his brother yet again. Then he attempts to kill Kouta, whose power is slowly turning him into a Overlord of Helheim. The girl he likes is killed from having her heart removed by the guy who told Micchy to kill Kouta, though she ends up gaining god-like powers from the McGuffin that was implanted in her heart.

In the end, Micchy has lost his friends, the girl he likes, Kouta and her go off to be gods on some distant planet while also saving Earth. Micchy has lost nearly everything, with the exception of his brother who barely survived the last fight. His brother helps him cope with what he’s done, and as the last person able to fight and transform Micchy resolves himself to be the hero Kouta was in atonement for his actions.

Trust me, Micchy’s fall to villainy is gradual and very well done.

These are characters who all, to varying degrees, go from villains to heroes. And these are all in children’s shows. But how does Edelgard make the transition? Simple.

She doesn’t.

Crimson Flower isn’t a route about Edelgard redeeming herself. Fuck no. Instead it’s about the player, after seeing all that she’s been a party to during the first half, deciding to join her. There’s no atonement from her, instead it’s all based on the idea that everything she’s done was right, while she argues some form fo the greater good. You absolved her of the events of part 1 by joining her, while part 2 implies there’s a whole bunch of shady stuff she’s keeping from you. You endorsed her actions during White Clouds, believing she wasn’t the heel but rather the face.

[miraculouslysam]

The Woes of a Teen Underwear Model

Hi all! Today’s prompt for @adrinetteapril was “Just Friends,” and I couldn’t resist. Have some post-reveal, pre-relationship antics.

“You know, ya probably would have more success with the dudette if you actually went and talked to her instead of just staring like a creep, bro.”

Adrien couldn’t figure out how he had gotten here. It wasn’t too long before that their roles had been reversed, with Nino freaking out about being a “moronosaurus rex” while Adrien had just laughed along and teased him for overthinking it all. And yet, there he was, hiding in the corner and watching Marinette- not just Marinette, but Ladybug- laughing with Alya as they flipped through a magazine.

And it wasn’t just any old magazine. Oh no, Adrien couldn’t be that lucky. No, it just had to be Gabriel’s special swimsuits and undergarments edition. The edition in which Adrien had been the cover model.

It was taking every bit of his self-control not to run over and rip the magazine to shreds. Or to go to the nearest newspaper stand and set fire to it. Either option would be satisfactory.

The knowledge that Marinette was Ladybug still astounded him. When they had revealed themselves a few weeks before, he instantly found himself in shock. Mostly at his own stupidity. He still couldn’t grasp how he was so blind; her looks and tendency to help others stayed the same with and without the mask! Marinette, on the other hand, was cool as a cucumber. She’d taken one glance at him and said, “I should’ve seen this coming.”

They had spent more time together since then, growing closer with each passing day. All the guys teased him in the locker rooms, asking when he was finally going to get the balls to ask her out. He always smiled. “We’re just friends.” It hurt, but he knew where she stood on the matter and was not going to step over the line. He’d already learned that lesson.

But even if they were “just friends,” Adrien absolutely did not want the woman he was in love with laughing at pictures of him one-garment-short of naked. Years of modelling had taught him to be secure with himself… but not that secure.

He was pulled from his musings by a hand waving in front of his face. “Yo, earth to Loverboy. What’s your deal, bro? Just ask her out already so we can all be past this drooling. Alya’s really been pushing for us all to double-date,” Nino said. He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “And believe me, a happier Alya is better for everyone. Especially me.”

Adrien quickly composed himself, then quirked an eyebrow to complete the confident façade. “Oh, is that so? Well, I hate to break it to you, Nino, but Marinette and I are just friends. Maybe you could talk to Rose and Juleka.”

Nino began to speak, but the bell rang, cutting him off. The duo began walking toward their classroom. “I’m just sayin’, dude, Marinette is a catch. I’ve been hearing some stuff about some people wanting to ask her out if you’re not making a move.”

Oh man, did Adrien know. He distinctly remembered pummeling Kagami while they sparred the previous week, when she’d said something to the effect of “if you don’t make a move, I will.” The satisfied smirk she gave him, like the cat that got the cream, had plagued his mind ever since. It didn’t help that she kept texting him taunts at least three times a day either.

“Seriously, I probably still would be chasing her if Ladybug hadn’t thrown me and Alya in that cage that day at the zoo. The girl is smart, nice, and fine. She’s the whole package.” Nino paused, considering. “Oh, but don’t tell Alya I said that. My girl is the best and only one for me.”

The pair fist-bumped, then walked through the door of Ms. Bustier’s class. Alya and Marinette already had taken their seats. The girls looked up for a moment, greeting the boys, then returned to their discussion. He heard laughter from behind him and tensed up. Should he eavesdrop? He knew it was wrong, but they were looking at-

“Hey, Adrien,” Alya’s voice drawled. He heard Marinette groan, then turned to see her thunking her head into her desk. Alya held up the offending magazine and Adrien felt himself cringe. “Marinette has a question for you.”

Marinette groaned again. “Please don’t, Alya. It’s just going to be embarrassing for everyone.”

Adrien swore he saw Alya’s eyes flash, not unlike Kyoya’s in Ouran. And, well, Kyoya had nothing on Alya in terms of being terrifying. “Really? Embarrassing for everyone, you say? I don’t think I’ll be embarrassed, so I’ll just say it for you.” She leaned forward, elbow on the table as she rested her chin on her fist. “Marinette wants to know what the hell was going through your mind when you posed for this photo.”

He glanced at the two-page spread, what the photographer called the star of the photoset. He thought he looked pretty good in it, but judging by that smirk on Alya’s face... He smiled weakly. “I was told to do a smolder. They wanted me to look sexy.”

The smirk grew wider and Alya’s eyes glinted again. Adrien swallowed thickly. “Is that so? Did you find it sexy, Marinette?”

Alya’s head whipped toward her best friend, who appeared to be practicing a new shrinking act. Marinette’s eyes darted around at every other member of their quartet. “Well, no, that isn’t exactly what I said.”

“And what exactly did you say?”

Marinette clearly knew there was no getting out of it. She sighed and sat up straight, shoulders back. She met Adrien’s questioning glance. “Sorry, Adrien, but… you look like you’re trying to pass something. Like bad gas.”

Alya and Nino dissolved into laughter instantly. Adrien’s jaw dropped, face morphing into disbelief. “I’m- you- huh?” Did she really think that? It was like glass shattered in his mind. Though he hadn’t told anyone, he secretly had been envisioning something like an anime scene:

Dramatic music plays in the background. Marinette, clad in a white, flowing dress with her hair free, runs while looking around frantically, magazine in hand. She finally sees him. “Oh, Adrien! I can’t resist any longer. You’re the man of my dreams. You’re handsome and strong and incredible!” She flings herself into his arms. “Please, kiss me!” They passionately embrace while rose petals fall around them and-

His friends’ uproarious laughter snapped him from his reverie. Right. That wouldn’t happen now, apparently.

Marinette looked apologetic for a moment, but then sat up even straighter, emboldened like she suddenly was her spotted alter-ego. Adrien supposed she was picturing cat ears flat against his head. He could practically feel them himself.

“And now you look like you’ve passed it.”

The challenge in her eyes taunted him, the smirk dancing on her lips a silent invitation. The message was clear. Step up or just take it.

Well that simply wouldn’t do.

A cheshire grin overtook his face. Marinette’s eyes grew wide for a split-second before she settled into her game face. “I don’t know that you’re one to talk, Princess. Didn’t you have me go buy constipation tablets for you in London?” He began mocking her voice. “’Oh, Adrien, please do this for me. You’re the only one who can!’”

If looks could kill, Adrien surely would have been pronounced dead on the scene.

He knew it had been a mistake. It was the first thing she cleared up after they revealed themselves, but Alya and Nino didn’t know that. It was a low blow, but fair was fair.

But once again, he had failed to account for Alya’s quick wit. The wicked smile on her face made him gulp and regret saying anything. “Wow, it sounds like you two really are made for each other.”

Was his face on fire? It felt like it. Could a human face physically catch flame? Maybe he could ask Ms. Mendeliev for resources to be studied.

He vaguely heard Marinette sputtering, but class began before he could hear what she had to say.

~~~~~

Class took an eternity to end. Nino had teased him via note through the entire thing, but Adrien was too removed to care. His leg couldn’t seem to stop jiggling the whole time, and his notebook showed that he had learned absolutely nothing.

Unless discovering that Adrien Dupain-Cheng looked better than Marinette Agreste counted. Because the whole page was full of it, written in various fonts and surrounded by hearts.

Oh well. The girl of his dreams had just been laughing at the centerfold photo of him wearing Gabriel briefs. He had no shame left.

He waited until Marinette and Alya got up to leave, then quietly followed them so he could hear what they were saying.

“Alya, you really didn’t have to say that. Adrien didn’t need to know.”

“Oh, come on, girl. You know I didn’t want to hurt him. We were going to find out his feelings either way. Either you were going to acknowledge that you think he’s drop-dead gorgeous, or we were going to see him get pouty because you didn’t think so. You chose not to own up, so we saw Model Boy get upset.”

Adrien felt himself blushing again.

“Alya, he knows he’s drop-dead gorgeous. He’s a model. He probably just got upset because his job is to match the expressions they tell him to.”

Alya laughed. “Girl, if you think he’s just upset over that, you’re more blind than he is. He’s more whipped than topping on an ice cream sundae.”

“You know that isn’t true.”

“If you’re so sure, then why don’t you ask him? Call him up, ask him out on a date. Not just video games. A real date,” Alya countered.

Marinette scoffed. “Come on, Alya. I can’t do that, no matter how much I want to. He only sees me as a friend.”

Adrien tripped, falling headfirst into a trashcan.

“She likes me back?!”

[aion-rsa]

Upcoming Movies in September 2020: Theaters, Streaming, and VOD

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Movies are back! Granted they never really left either, with Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and others keeping us satiated with content these past five months. Still, the streamers are about to be reinforced for those willing to return to movie theaters: Major Hollywood blockbuster releases are coming, and limited rollouts are slowly making their way back into cinemas around the world.

For that reason, we’ve assembled a list of potential moviegoing experiences in September, whether on the big screen (please consider the risks of attending a theatrical screening) or at home via video on demand. It’s time for the popcorn to get popping.

Bill & Ted Face the Music

Now playing in theaters and VOD in the US (September 23 in the UK)

One of the biggest movies yet to eschew its intended theatrical window for a premium video on demand (PVOD) release is this most excellent adventure. It’s been 29 years since we last saw Alex Winter’s far out Ted or Keanu Reeves’ perpetually astonished Bill, yet it’s good to have both back in their legendary stoner roles. 

The fact they’re middle-aged and still having adventures through time and space, and against the visage of Death—he’s still cheating!—is pretty sweet. As is Keanu coming back to this role one Speed, three Matrixes, and nearly five John Wick chapters later. But this time they’ve got daughters (played by Samara Weaving and Brigette Lundy-Paine)… but rest assured, the children are as amused as their dads.

Tenet

Now playing in the UK (September 3 in the US)

Already playing in the UK, Tenet will be making its much vaunted North American debut in “select U.S. cities” in September. We’re still not entirely clear what that will look like, but hopefully it will be worth it for this mysterious and visually dazzling Christopher Nolan epic. 

Early reviews are in, and the majority promise Nolan’s most exciting use of IMAX spectacle to date, though even without spoilers, this one might be too big for its own good. Our own Rosie Fletcher describes it as Nolan’s long-whispered about James Bond movie meets Doctor Who…

The New Mutants

Now playing in the U.S. (September 4 UK)

Josh Boone’s journey into the X-Men universe has been pushed back so many times it almost feels like a mythical lost movie. So when it finally arrives in UK cinemas on Sept. 4 (it landed in the U.S. at the end of August) it might feel like a bizarre flashback to another era – namely that of 2017 when the main shoot took place. 

Maisie Williams, Anya Taylor-Joy, Charlie Heaton, Blu Hunt, and Henry Zaga star as five young mutants held in a sinister facility against their will. It’s been positioned as an action horror which in theory sounds pretty cool, though what the final cut will look like is anyone’s guess.

Mulan

September 4 (Disney+ with premium)

One day after Tenet makes its U.S. debut, Disney, and more specifically Disney+, offers a starkly different vision for the future of cinema with Mulan. Whereas Tenet will attempt to jumpstart moviegoing, Disney has pushed one of their biggest 2020 blockbusters exclusively to streaming in all markets featuring Disney+, including the U.S. and UK. That means if you want to see Niki Caro’s anticipated reimagining of the 1998 animated Disney movie, you are going to have to pay $30 on top of your Disney+ subscription to get a load of this bad boy on a new PVOD model.

Read more

Movies

Mulan and Tenet Show Competing Visions for Future of Movies

By David Crow

Movies

UK Cinemas Slam Disney After Mulan Streaming Announcement

By Kirsten Howard

Even so, the film’s need to step away from the 1998 version’s iconography—Chinese moviegoers generally dislike musicals—appears to offer an opportunity to make a modern 2020 epic that can stand on its own two feet.

I’m Thinking of Ending Things

September 4 (Netflix)

Charlie Kaufman does horror? Well, uh, maybe?! For his first Netflix original production, the idiosyncratic writer-director behind Synecdoche, New York, and the Being John Malkovich screenplay is adapting Iain Reid’s thriller novel, I’m Thinking of Ending Things. But Kaufman is expected to come at it from his singularly off-center perspective.

With a somber setup about a young woman (played by Wild Rose’s talented Jessie Buckley) going to meet the parents of her boyfriend (Jesse Plemons), the movie is actually about an unhappy lover planning to terminate her relationship. Yet when she meets Mom and Dad (Toni Collette and David Thewlis), things are going to get weirder, if not necessarily better for the relationship…

The Roads Not Taken

September 11 (UK)

Sally Potter’s wistful drama was nominated for the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival earlier in the year before the world went into lockdown. It follows Leo (Javier Bardem), a man with dementia, as he imagines different paths in life he might have taken, while his daughter Mollie tries to help him keep various appointments and struggles with decisions about her own future. A very personal study of mental illness, grief, and regret.

The Devil All the Time

September 16 (Netflix)

Southern fried noir might be the creepiest noir. With its rural and sunny backdrops, and a smiling Christian face, its pleasantries belie an evil heart. And Tom Holland of all people will be driving right to the dark center of it in The Devil All the Time, a new thriller by writer-director Antonio Campos. 

Ready to bow on Netflix this month, the all-star cast, which also includes Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Sebastian Stan, and Robert Pattinson, as a fire and brimstone preacher no less, The Devil All the Time reimagines post-WWII Tennessee backwoods as a hotbed of corruption, hypocrisy, and murder. Sounds about right.

Antebellum

September 18 (U.S. Only)

Co-writers and directors Gerard Bush and Christopher Renz appear to have cracked the code in making one of fiction’s favorite fantasies terrifying. You know the type: From Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court to Midnight in Paris, some congenial fellow travels back to a point in history he loves and has an all-around splendid time. Now imagine that same scenario except the protagonist is a Black woman. And she’s sent to the Antebellum South on the eve of the Civil War. Scared yet?

It’s a disturbing premise that aims to put Antebellum in the same wheelhouse as recent horror movies that have tackled American racism head on, including Jordan Peele’s Get Out and Us. The movie stars the ever compelling Janelle Monáe as a 21st century author trapped inside a 19th century nightmare, and it’s one of the most intriguing setups of the year. It also will be available on VOD and in select theaters.

The King’s Man

September 18 (September 16 in the UK)

Kingsman: The Secret Service was one of the nicer surprises of 2015. A better Bond movie than that year’s Bond film, this Matthew Vaughn directed and Jane Goldman co-written spy adventure was both a satire and loving homage to 007 movies of the 1960s and ‘70s, with excessive swagger and style to boot. Unfortunately, Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) didn’t live up to its predecessor. It did, however, make enough money to spawn a prequel. Which brings us to The King’s Man.

As Disney/20th Century Studios’ latest release, this movie sees Vaughn return to the director’s chair as he travels back in time to World War I and the origins of the Kingsman secret service. With the same daffy style but now in period garb (it worked for Vaughn in X-Men: First Class), the prequel hopes to recapture the charm of the original. It certainly has a winning cast that includes Ralph Fiennes, Daniel Bruhl, Djimon Hounsou, and Gemma Arterton.

Kajillionaire

September 18 (October 9 in the UK)

One of the happy discoveries out of this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Focus Features’ Kajillionaire is a movie we’ve had our eye on for a while. The picture is writer-director Miranda July’s pleasant vision of criminality and heists being the stuff of family team-building. Take Evan Rachel Wood as Old Dolio. She’s an adult daughter whose depression has forced her to live at home with her small time crook parents. But Mom and Pop (Debra Winger and Richard Jenkins) have a plan; they’ll incorporate their daughter in the next heist and bring her out of her funk. It’s a charming premise that won over almost every critic who saw it back in January.

The Nest

September 18 (U.S. Only)

Another apparent highlight out of Sundance this year, Sean Durkin’s The Nest presents itself as a foreboding drama. As the follow-up feature from the director of Martha Marcy May Marlene, the film intends to be an unsettling account of a wealthy marriage descending into Gaslight levels of manipulation. With Jude Law as the rich patriarch and Carrie Coon as his quietly suffering wife, a sudden move to the country reveals dark dimensions to their relationship and the brittleness of domesticity. If the buzz is to be believed, the wound up WASPy tension in this could strangle an elephant.

Enola Holmes

September 23 (Netflix)

Did you know Sherlock Holmes had a little sister? You’re about to thanks to some strong synergetic mojo going on at Netflix with Enola Holmes, a new mystery/adventure that stars The Witcher’s Henry Cavill as Sherlock, The Crown’s Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Holmes, and Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown as the eponymous Enola. That’s right, Eleven’s going to use her own English accent and play Sherlock’s kid sister. 

Often kept in her famous brother’s shadow, it is up to Enola to do him one better when she sets off to find their mysteriously vanished mother. In the process, she proves she’s a super-sleuth in her own right and brings to light a deadly conspiracy. The game’s afoot!

Misbehaviour

September 25 (Open in the UK)

A crowd-pleaser that debuted earlier in the year in the UK, Misbehaviour has all the markers of a charming dramedy with real world ramifications. In fact, it’s set during the events of the Miss World competition in 1970, a televised beauty pageant in London that was then the most-watched event on the planet. In this context, the Women’s Liberation Movement reached international acclaim by disrupting the proceedings, and a Woman of Color from Grenada became a contender for the Miss World title.

Director Philippa Lowthorpe (The Crown) reportedly explores these events to winning results with an ensemble of players that Keira Knightley and Jessie Buckley as lead activists, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Jennifer Hosten (aka Miss Grenada), and Greg Kinnear at his greasiest as an aging Bob Hope.

Greenland

September 25 (U.S. Only)

Imagine this: A comet that is supposed to gently pass Earth by was misjudged by the science community, and instead a cataclysmic extinction level event occurs with comet fragments destroying parts of the world one action scene at a time! Yeah, in 2020 that sounds about right. It’s also the plot of Greenland, a new high-concept survivalist action movie starring Gerard Butler as a family man who, realizing Florida is gone and his home state is next, tries to save his wife (Morena Baccarin) and child by getting his family to the last place that may be spared: military bunkers in Greenland!

And you thought U.S. leadership was being ridiculous when it tried to buy the country a few years ago…

The post Upcoming Movies in September 2020: Theaters, Streaming, and VOD appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[ego-driven-one-wing-angel]

Send a number | Answers

Thanks again for 250 followers!!!

What’s one animal you wish you could have as a pet but can’t?

A penguin. I love them so much.

Favorite thing to wear to sleep?

Sometimes I wear one of those “drug rugs” or baja hoodies. With shorts. And sometimes knee high socks. I HATE pajama pants. So if I’m cold I find alternatives. 

What song really gets you going?

Right now, Drinking Alone by Carrie Underwood. But usually Tranz by Gorillaz.

Where do you usually eat your meals?

At my dining table or in the family/living room with my mom.

Favorite meal: breakfast, lunch, or dinner?

BRUNCH

Most embarrassing habit?

Sometimes I’ll pick my nose at the most inconvenient times like a child.

Chocolate or fruity candy?

Chocolate

Soft or hard tacos?

When I ate meat regularly, soft, with carne asada. 

Worst way to break up a fight?

Throwing a pan at them? Dude I don’t know. Wrestle them to the ground? I feel like either of those are terrible.

Best thing to say in an elevator of strangers?

“You’re all probably wondering why I gathered you all here today.”

What color/design are your bedsheets?

Teal. And my comforter is a black/white diamond pattern.

Any hidden talents?

I was a dancer for roughly nine years. So I’m pretty good at that.

Favorite thing to drink out of (mug, glass, etc.)?

My Star Wars Luke Skywalker lightsaber water bottle. 

Socks or bare feet around the house?

Bare feet man. Those who wear shoes in the house are weak and will not survive the winter.

 Favorite board game?

Clue!

Do you sleep with the fan on or off?

I don’t even own a fan.

Heat on or keep it cold with lots of layers?

Heat at 67.5 and a sweater. Perfection.

Do you sing in the shower?

Who doesn’t?

Favorite song to belt out at the top of your lungs when you’re alone?

Tranz by Gorillaz. All time favorite song EVER.

Last thing you cried about?

Watching Zack die YET AGAIN in Crisis Core. I don’t think I’ve ever watched that scene WITHOUT crying.

At what age did you first have alcohol?

15ish. Wine.

Relationship status?

Single

What’s the most amount of money you’ve spent on a single item of clothing?

249$ A Guess coat that I absolutely adore.

What do you typically wear to formal events?

A modest dress. Heels. And a Louis Vuitton bag to match.

Favorite memory?

Probably almost getting arrested with my friends back when I was 17. We were at a closed park, after hours, past curfew, and it was like 3 am. We bought 64 tacos from Jack in the Box and pigged out in the venue. Super rad.

Gum or breath mints?

Gum

Favorite shoes?

Probably my Guess sneakers. I don’t wear them often, but I love the design.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

My chubbiness. I’m not fat per say. But I’m not skinny either, but I want to look more like a classic, 1950′s pinup model more than anything.

What is the natural state of your hair?

My hair has very soft curls. Naturally, there more like “beach waves”

Have you ever had braces?

YES. WORST YEARS OF MY LIFE

Most dangerous thing you’ve ever done?

Ghost hunting. I was illegally trespassing, and the building was real sketchy. 

Most embarrassing thing your parents have caught you doing?

I’m just an embarrassment through and through. What haven’t they caught me doing. But I guess writing porn is a close first.

Last time you had an orgasm?

I’m a virgin who has never experienced anything remotely sexual. 

Celebrity crush(es)?

Sebastian Stan, Bill Skarsgard, Sam Claflin, Karl Urban, Sebastian Stan

Windows or Mac?

I’ve never owned a Mac, so I’m biased when I say Windows.

How old were you when you learned to ride a bike?

Six, seven? I was still quite young.

Makeup or natural?

MAKEUP

What color do you wear the most?

I wear a lot of neutral colors like gray.

Favorite season?

Winter.

Umbrella or rain coat?

Umbrella.

Have you ever fallen out of a tree?

No

First car you ever owned?

A 2002 Toyota. Super old, and the chip was painting off. My trunk also broke. Oil leak. Y’know, a traditional first car.

What time do you usually go to bed?

Anytime between 11-1 am.

Are you a competitive person?

Yes.

Least favorite color?

Orange.

First pet you’ve ever owned?

A cat :)

Sweet or salty?

Sweet

Favorite pasta dish?

Ravioli 

Favorite kind of chips?

Cheetos

Talk about something you’re passionate about.

Writing. I love being able to put my ideas on paper, let my thoughts and emotions run free in a world where I have to act a certain way. I can be anyone while writing!

What are some of your hobbies?

Writing

Drawing

Watching too much television

puzzles

Caffeine? If so, what kind?

I’m a tea gal. But I LOVE coffee. Especially mochas and caramel. With extra pumps of espresso. Hell yeah.

Favorite kind of pizza?

Ranch and Chicken or just plain cheese.

Fast food or sit-down restaurant?

Sit-down

Lots of acquaintances or a handful of close friends?

I love having a large circle, but I choose my best friends wisely. I only have about two or three of those and they’re the one’s I keep close to my heart.

Something that ruins your appetite?

This is a bit more dark, but my dad and I don’t bond outside video games. And he’s the type that believes it’s his way or no way no matter what. So if you get him angry he acts like a two-year-old who just got a toy taken away, and will try to push your buttons until you’re the same way. I saw the signs years ago, but whenever his anger is targeted at me I just don’t want to eat. I write instead. 

Favorite labels about you?

As in names? It’s near 1 am while writing this so I might have just gone stupid. But I love it when my friends call me cutie. Or my good friend Charlie calls me Smarties. And he’ll pull out a smartie from his pocket when he does it. I also get called Reid, as in Spencer Reid, a lot.

Are you a religious person?

Yes. I try to be at least. I’m Christian.

Night out with a bunch of friends in public or night in with one friend having deep conversations?

Night out. I spend too much time indoors with one friend as is.

What size shoe do you wear?

9

Favorite thing about yourself?

My confidence, or my keen fashion sense. 

Have you ever told someone you loved them first?

No.

Have you ever had sex on the first date?

No.

Heroes or villains?

Villains. (Sephiroth, Bucky Barnes, Loki, etc.)

Favorite fruit?

Pomegranates. 

Least favorite fruit?

Bananas. I’ll eat them, but there are a lot better choices honestly. 

Favorite vegetable?

Broccoli

Least favorite vegetable?

Brussels sprouts

How many plates can you eat at a buffet?

About a good three. First is salad. Second is fruit. Third is desert. 

Favorite dessert?

Ice cream. Bubble gum flavor is my favorite!

Do you play any sports?

Nope.

Age you learned how to swim?

Seven or eight.

Tell a funny story.

Maybe this is just funny to me, but earlier today my cat was trying to lick her coat but she set her front paw on a piece of paper and anytime she bent over to lick herself she slid and she would have to readjust herself. She did this like four times before she decided to move.

What’s one interesting thing about your culture?

As someone who is a part of the Navajo tribe, something neat is the more fat you have on your bones the more people respect you because they believe you have money.

What’s one annoying thing about your culture?

We can’t touch cold-blooded animals. It’s said if you touch the scales of a snake, or even breath in the same air, you’ll get the same skin as them.

What job would you be terrible at?

Accounting. I can’t do math to save my freaking life.

Would you rather watch a TV show or a movie?

TV shows.

What’s your favorite compliment to give?

“Cute Outfit!” or “Love the Hair!” You have no idea how many people light up on either of these, male/female/nonbinary. Looking good is a happiness found across all the spectrums. 

What’s your favorite compliment to receive?

“Cute hair.” Or “Love your makeup/nails.” 

Has your opinion changed on something recently?

I can’t remember. Like I said, it’s close to bedtime where I’m at and boi, it’s hard to concentrate right now.

Do you always order the same thing at a restaurant or order something different each time?

I order the same. 

What’s something you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t yet?

This sounds awful, but I’ve always wanted to try ecstasy. I have buddies who’ve taken it and say, if you do it right, the first time is pretty bomb. 

If you could learn to do anything right now, what would it be?

Singing. I can’t carry a tune.

Favorite physical feature about yourself?

My eyes.

Least favorite physical feature about yourself?

My wide hip/waist ratio. If my waist was thinner I wouldn’t mind as much.

What’s one amazing thing you did that nobody was around to see?

OKAY. I scored a strike on Wii bowling while i was on the toilet one time. Two rooms away and not even looking at a screen. Just using my heart and determination and it was SUPER COOL AND I WISH PEOPLE COULD HAVE SEEN THOSE SKILLS.

If you could change your height, would you?

Yes. Everyone is a good foot taller than me. So I would most definitely want a few more inches.

What’s something you would rate 10/10?

Final Fantasy 7 Remake’s Character concept for Sephiroth. The eyes, the height, the hair. WOW. In love.

Heels or flats?

Heels

What’s something you wish you had more knowledge about?

Politics. I want to get more involved but every time I do I get so confused.

Would you want to be famous?

I wouldn’t mind. But I value my private life.

What’s something you would get arrested for?

Well I already almost got arrested for eating tacos in a closed park at 3 am. So maybe that.

What’s your spirit animal?

A cat. 

What’s the luckiest thing that’s ever happened to you?

The fact that I graduated high school. I was developing anxiety and literally had no idea what the frick was happening with me and no one told me what it was. So I ended up skipping loads of school for that reason. 

Are you the type to have an organized mess, or no mess at all?

Organized mess. Or just a mess. 

Do you tend to make decisions based on the past, present, or future?

The future.

Are you a planner or a more spontaneous person?

Planner. I hate when things are sprung on me last minute. I have to emotionally prep up before a social event so 5-10 business days are needed.

Thoughts on the oxford comma?

I was taught to use it, but it’s literally so useless? I found myself either not using it or just doing it on instinct. So in one story you could probably find multiple instances where I use it and where I don’t use it, maybe in the same paragraph. I just do whatever fits that moment I guess.

What do you hope never changes?

My squad. I love them to pieces and it would break my heart if at some point they’d want to split.

How would you celebrate your 100th birthday?

Something extremely dangerous like skydiving or zip lining across a canyon. 

[justleesoohyuk]

Lee Soo Hyuk WKOREA September 2019 Interview [ENG translation]

translation by : justleesoohyuk

WKOREA

W: It’s been a long time. What did you spend your days doing?

LSH: I spent most of my time at home so I rarely went outside. In recent months I have been cast in a new film and ready to shoot. As I went through this period of time, I became more greedy and passionate about acting. I soon wanted to go to (or be in) the movies. I’m lucky to have joined Yoo Ha’s new work. Yoo Ha is famous for showing a new side of actors who are already somewhat familiar with the public.

W: I’m curious about the story behind the casting.

LSH: First of all, let me tell you a sad story. I didn’t know much about myself until the audition (laughs), but I was shocked for a while (about landing the role) since I started out as a model for over 10 years. I thought that as I grow older and work more and more, I will show various faces to the public. I want to be a good actor. 

W: The film Pipeline is a story about thieves who steal oil hidden in underground tunnels and dream of turning their lives around. You play a wealthy man who plans to steal tens of billions of dollars?

LSH: This film is based on a true story that happened in Korea. Gunwoo is a person who has personal pain and strives to achieve any purpose. In the drama High School King, I worked with (Seo) In Guk, I’m having fun working with him again after a long time. He (Seo In Guk) was cast first, but he must have said something good about me. I thought (knew) I was able to do it.

W: By the way, I think I saw the white shirt and jeans that you’re wearing today in the first script reading.

LSH: I have about five sets of the same clothes at home. If you like something, buy a lot of it. Now is an age where classic is better than trend.

W: What items would you choose if you could only have three in your closet? 

LSH: Jeans, white shirts, is that enough do you think? That’s not enough (laughs) 

W: As a model turned actor, you’ve passed the glamorous initial point

LSH: I feel like I’ve become a comfortable and stable person since the moment I was given the spotlight as an actor from being a model. For the past two years I had a mediocre and quiet life. It’s time to look at me. When I debuted at 17 years old and worked hard, I didn’t have enough time to think about myself. In fact, talking about myself in the third person is a bit embarrassing. (laughs) what is lee soo hyuk? It was a time when I was thinking about new things and wondering why, why do you like me sometimes? I wanted to express my gratitude and apologies to my fans at the same time. I want to show you a great growth.

W: In the early days, if you look at your filmography, there were a lot of close to fantasy and unrealistic characters such as The Boy from Ipanema and Gwi from Scholar who walks the Night. Then Choi Gun Wook in Lucky Romance and Kwon Duk-bong in The Man Living in our House were characters who were close to reality that could fit somewhere in a neighborhood. Was there a moment of worry about changing your acting spectrum?

LSH: In those days, I wanted to play an ordinary role, but when I think about it, I think it’s a good image for me. Valid Love began to be popular with people, followed by Lucky Romance and High School King. I’m young but I still feel impatient as an actor. I want to be remembered as an experienced actor to the public through various roles.

W: Do you have a role that you’ve wanted to play?

LSH: I’ve been talking about it for 5 years but I haven’t done it yet. I ask the directors every time (laughs) I want to represent the current state of young people in their 20s and 30s in current times. but im too old to take it right now.

W: I’ve working around the clock all year, but have there ever been points you’ve struggled as an actor? 

LSH: I remember the time when I read over the drama Valid love. Han Ji-Seung directed both drama and film. We filmed many conversations with each other It was focused on delicately catching even the slightest trembling of the hands or eyes. [aka the focus was on close up details and responses as opposed to simply acting in mid shots]

W: Are you also eager to change up or overthrow your unique image? 

LSH: The door is always open to change. Director Yoo Ha watched my roles closely, such as the drama Local Hero, which I come out as acting comfortably in. It is best to be able to act in many different ways. 

W: There seems to be quite a lot of change in your physique compared with your model days. 

LSH: When I worked as a model, I was the representing the exhausted thin image. I had no choice, I had to keep my body thin. At that time, it was a plus, and at some point I wanted to broaden my character and gain weight and start exercising. Even if I stay still, my body is not in the same state it was. I think people’s expectations are high, so they work hard. I also like to eat delicious food as per usual (laughs).

W: What kind of man is Soo Hyuk in reality? For example, do you work hard to save? do household chores such as cleaning and laundry, or enjoy meals?

LSH: All you have to do is buy the things you’ve mentioned, saving is going to be a little bit harder (laughs). 

W: You like to assemble things like robots, radio controlled cars and plastic model airplanes? It’s surprising to me.

LSH: I like to make something when i’m home alone. I enjoy building Lego. I also liked sculpting when I went to an atelier a while ago. I like things you do with your hands. 

W: A close fellow actor said ‘he is smart and seems to have a very high IQ, well organised, and not cooler than expected and very compassionate. I remember everything while pretending not to listen. Not really ordinary and there are many surprises. Has a style and examines like A type but the blood type is AB. I was evaluating Lee Soo Hyuk’.  Is there anything you want to correct/refute? 

LSH: what is Young Kwang’s account number? (laughs) I’d like to buy him a meal after a long time. I am grateful, I wont argue.

W: Do you meet (Young Kwang) often?

LSH: I’ve known him since my model days. We meet to exercise and play games. The other day I was forced to play basketball at my Hyung’s place (laughs) He is one year older than me so I just say ‘Hyung’ but we spend time together like friends. He is also in the middle of film shooting but i thank him for helping me in the last two years. He’s a good friend and companion for the rest of my life.

W: You run a private Instagram. I am curious about the 17 photos on it. 

LSH: There isn’t much (laughs) I can show you now. I am not good at taking original photographs. I post or delete weather photos, and fashion, news. etc. I’m following my account but its just a quick way to see and study news.

W: I’ve heard that you usually watch movies eagerly as if you are studying.

LSH: I love the site of IMDB. It’s an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database, and all the movies, directors, and actors around the world are clearly organised. When I watch a movie, I tend to look mainly at the director’s filmography, but when someone comes in, I often look for his work. I can talk endlessly about my favorite movies. Nowadays, Netflix seems to have great documentaries and excellent shooting techniques. When watching a movie, you should look at shooting techniques and colors.

W: When I search ‘Lee Soo Hyuk’ on YouTube, the words ‘exciting video’ are automatically suggested. When do you feel the excitement of someone, when is it the best time to do your job well? 

LSH: Isn’t it the best time to do your job well? Or you can look at your family and friends. When a man or woman looks the most wonderful, look around and do your job well it seems to be. [this question confused me a bit so if anyone can give a better translation for this question let me know]

W: There are actors who expand through directing or producing like Lee Yun-seok, Moon So-ri, Ha Jung-woo, and Lee Jung-jae. Do you want to challenge the realm beyond acting someday? 

LSH: I said I wanted to produce a film not knowing much about it because I was younger (laughs), acting is much more difficult than i thought before when i didn’t know anything (when he was younger). The more you know, the harder it is. The reason is that it is the most fun thing to go to the shoot. I’ve loved movies since my childhood. Even if I don’t necessarily appear so as an actor, getting involved in making good movies is always something I’ve wanted to do and a goal in my life.

                                                     - - - - - - - - - -

source of original korean text

!! do not repost without translation credit : ©

[yeahyeahbaby]

Finished my first game and game jam!

Link to my game Ahh, Crabs! I realized that I haven’t posted in a while, so I thought I would write about finishing my first game and game jam, and what my next plans are.  Get ready for a fucking novel lol. 

I entered the I Can't Draw But Want To Make A Game (Again)  game jam because I wanted to make a game. Before starting the jam, I’d thought about game development and 3D modeling on and off for about a year, but hadn’t started any projects. Last summer, I’d watched BlenderGuru’s series and made a render of a doughnut which was cool and did a few tutorials on the Unity learn site, but I didn’t do anything with those newly developed skills and eventually forgot most of what I’d learned.  I’m currently 24, going to be 25 in August, and I think a lot about how I spend my time, am I on the right path, what do I want out of life, etc. All of the big existential anxiety inducing questions. I work as a front-end web developer, its a great job, but I know that I don’t want to do web development forever.  Anyway, I’d recently started thinking about game development, and wanted to try committing myself again. Game development presents the opportunity for me to create something that combines all of my interests. Art, music, technology, story telling, world building, animation, etc. It’s also appealing to me because being an indie developer means being an entrepreneur. I know that I want a life where I’m my own boss. I want to decide what projects I work on and what takes priority. I want to build a creative life where I can support myself financially from my work.  I thought about how this time could be different from a year ago where I tried to get into game development, but never committed. I started off slow by creating small assets with MagicaVoxel while I tried to come up with ideas. This is when I remembered that game jams were a thing.  I found the game jam (not going to keep typing the name cuz its long as hell lol) on itch.io and was hesitant to enter. I was afraid of starting and committing to something only to let myself down when I didn’t finish.  I’d recently started journaling and was writing about this fear that I had. I realized as I was writing that I was stopping myself from trying something because of fear. That’s when I decided to commit to entering.  The great thing about game jams is that they take place over a set period of time and you’re usually given some kind of parameters. This was EXTREMELY helpful to me because I was able to quickly come up with an idea for the game. I knew that I only had two weeks to finish. Not two full weeks because of course I work full time and have other home chores to do. Plus ya girl likes to relax and watch anime ( I think at the time I was actually reading Hana Yori Dango aka Boys Over Flowers uwu).  So being given a set time period helped me to plan a semi-realistic scope for the game.  So I started to work on the game! I had a lot of fun making silly art and music. Because the mechanics of my game were also SUPER simple, I could easily find tutorials for everything that I wanted to implement. Even with the tutorials, I still had small hiccups as I worked my way around Unity and C#, but I was never stuck for more than a few hours.  Things were going great! And then.... I stopped working on the game.  I think I didn’t work on the game for like 4-5 days?? I got off track because of some personal stuff that I had to deal with. Once it was handled, I didn’t immediately get back to work. I wasn’t really motivated anymore and I was running out of time. I felt like I had wasted time already, I wasn’t going to make the deadline so why FUCKING TRY *sobs*.  BUT! Once again, journaling saved the day again lol.  I was writing about these feelings and saw how stupid I sounded. Why TF am I giving up before the jam ends???? BITCH!!!  So I got back to work.  I think at this point I had like 3-4 days left?? Something like that. I worked my butt off , literally until the deadline. I was rushing like crazy, super determined to finish. I was keeping up with a Trello board of things I wanted to add to the game, but a lot of things had to get cut. For example, the help button, a pause game function, cleaning up the mechanics, also wanted to add some pre-game comics, etc. BUT thankfully I was able to prioritize the absolute must haves to make the game playable and shippable lol.  So, the deadline was 12am CST Friday. 11:59pm CST rolled around. And I’m still waiting for my build so I can upload it. 12am came and it was too late. I didn’t make it. I was literally sobbing. I don’t remember the last time I cried so much. I was just feeling super emotional. I had a long day at work, just spent the last 8 hours crunching to finish my game to submit to the game jam, and even though it was finished, in the moment I felt like a failure because I couldn’t submit it to the jam. I know it may sound silly, like BITCH you did the thing! You made a game! You reached your goal! Buuuut I was still feeling like shit lol.  The build finished and I uploaded it it itch.io. I was sniffling around the discussion board on the jam’s page, feeling sorry for myself, and decided to post a link to my game and let everyone know that Hey! I finished this game but couldn’t submit it in time. pls check it out *sobs* WELL! Many blessings came my way, the creator of the jam was sending unique submission links to people who missed the deadline a little! They saw my post and sent me a submission link. Of course I submitted that hoe so fucking quick lmaooo  A wave of relief washed over my exhausted shriveled body. It was time for celebration and sleep because a bitch had to go to work the next day.  I’m so thankful for this experience. I saw something that I wanted to do, I committed, almost QUIT, BUT PUSHED THROUGH AND REACHED MY GOAL!  I feel so much confidence in myself and my ability to pursue and finish my creative projects, whatever they may be.  SO WHAT’S NEXT BITCH???? Well, thank you for asking uwu I’m going to make another game! This time, not part of a jam so I have to keep myself super accountable. I want to make a game where I can learn and experiment with dialogue, camera movement, art, and sound design. I think I’ve settled on an idea but need to give it some more thought before I commit and reveal the idea.  I’m hoping for about 30-45 minutes of game play?? And I want to work on this project for 6 months, so pretty much the rest of 2020. Might as well keep myself busy while the world burns :/ If anyone is reading this and made it this far, wow, i’m impressed. I wouldn’t have read this much lol I think I’m going to make a youtube video on this topic?? I mean, if I can write a novel about it might as well talk about it on youtube. It can be my first dev-log-ish type video for the yeahyeahbaby channel (that has yet to be created lol) Okay. Bye-bye now. 

[trashboatprince]

(People asked me to post my analysis about Bendy Land being a reality in New York, and I’ve had this in my drafts since December so it’s very out of date, especially since the Employee Handbook sorta confirmed that it was in development before JDS went bankrupt. Everything bold is new information, everything without it is the old info I was working on at the time before I got annoyed with myself for making this post

Make of it what you will, I overthought stuff from one chapter of the freaking game. Enjoy.)

-- I was looking through the Bendy wiki for images for Joey’s apartment, just to see the contents of his cork board, when I really took notice to something.

There are tickets for Bendy Land pinned to the board.

Now, I was discussing this little theory/idea with my friend the other day, what if Bendy Land had actually been a reality, not just an idea that had been stopped in it’s tracks due to a lack of budget.

Under the cut is a bunch of ideas as to what would have been the causes for the park to go under if it were a reality in the world outside of the studio, and why it could have helped in Joey Drew Studios’ bankruptcy. 

Now, if Joey HAD the budget to make Bendy Land a reality, obviously it would have to be within an easy access drive to the studio. So it would be located in New York, or at least within a decent driving distance to Brooklyn, if that is where the studio is supposedly located (don’t quote me on that). Turns out it is in NYC so I have that going for me

Okay, that’s not too bad, right? Well, that would mean the park would have to be a seasonal amusement park, the cold weather wouldn’t do it any good and people don’t really want to go to a theme park during a New England winter. That’s not a problem, there are a lot of parks that operate during warmer months up in this region (Coney Island being a good example), but Joey will have to deal with the upkeep during the winter, and that’s not always cheap.

You gotta pay to keep the rides from being damaged by the weather and vandals, you gotta make sure you’re prepared to open when the operating season opens, usually in May (a lot of seasonal parks open around Memorial Day). Could Joey afford this? Possibly, if he cares enough to deal with such a big oversight.

Then you have to consider sponsors, they help to pay for A LOT of content and material in parks. Disneyland was practically built on the money it got from all the sponsors that signed up with the parks. That means Joey would probably get money from Briar Label and GENT, which would make sense as to why there are official Bendy posters that show the sponsorship and why we see the brands all over the studio.

It’s possible that a lot of the money for the studio in general came from these companies. And I was right

And, of course, whatever Bertrum contributed.

After all, this was his magnum opus project! He was going to build one hell of a park!

Now we have a problem with this.

Bertrum says in his tape before you fight him that it was to be the largest park ever built. Hoo boy, there’s a big load of problems with that. 

A seasonal park that’s deemed to be that impressively large is going to fail, big time. There is no way that a park only open for a short time (usually from May to October) will not have the budget to keep running for the next season that well.

From what we see of Bertrum’s ideas, both drawn and being worked on, this project was MASSIVE. The park is huge in size from what we see with the model and designs. It looks like it would have had a large number of rides, attractions, ect. It even has it’s own railway, with actual trains!

Look, I’ve been to so many theme parks in my life, 95% of them ARE seasonal and none had full-on train engines that big. Those are practically real engines, not the small ones you normally see at amusement parks. 

There is obviously a lot of work and money put into this, and I can see why Grant went off the deep end from trying to crunch the numbers.

From Bertrum’s second tape, it clearly sounds like the park had actually been built (though in-game it appears to still be in construction), so from what we’ve seen in Storage 9 shows just a sample of what the real-world park had to offer. And judging by the giant Bendy arm in the room with the Butcher Gang... there was a lot going on.

I think the park may have ran well in its first year or two, but Joey’s spending and lack of budgeting clearly had an impact on the life of the park, and the studio.

Disneyland did well, even after the disastrous first day, because it was clearly built to adapt to new changes, it had so many sponsors and backing, and it was built in California, where it’s got way better weather to allow it to stay open all year around.

Bendy Land may have been built in a good area for just warm months in New York, but clearly from what we’ve seen with the actual Bendy cartoons, the park was probably not built to adapt to changing eras. Bendy in the cartoons is still straight up stuck in 1929 with animation. At the point of time that I assume Bendy Land would have started construction (1935-1945, a time when amusement parks were beginning to see a boom, especially AFTER the war when families were spending more time together for vacations), it was rare to find cartoons still being done in black and white, most animations studios had already shifted into using color to keep up with the competition.

But this is Joey we’re talking about, the man clearly liked to think big, but only with what he could work with. 

And now we’re gonna talk in bold cause that’s where I stopped.

So basically, the book pretty much states that the studio went bankrupt and Joey’s projects came to a halt, but this post is still about the reality of if Bendy Land became a real thing, so let’s stick with that mindset.

I feel like Joey would waste too much of the money the studio was making on the park, on trying to keep it running and functioning during the months it’s open. Clearly, this will cause issues for the studio itself.

Budgets would be slashed something awful, you’re practically working for next to nothing cause your paycheck is going into making sure some kid can get a Bendy toy from a carny.

And would Bendy still be popular? Would he and his friends still have an impact on the people? 

During WWII, if you didn’t do propaganda cartoons for the US, you were S.O.L. for your studio to stay afloat. A lot of studios who were doing decently at the time suffered for not ‘doing their patriotic duty’, which wasn’t their faults, they weren’t getting the money or viewership. Didn’t help that a lot of staff members were deployed.

Obviously the novel shows that the studio stuck around for a while, maybe they made some shorts, or Joey bribed to have Bendy cartoons play alongside Private Snafu shorts or Donald Duck episodes. I’m getting distracted, but still, the studio somehow stuck around so Bendy would still be known.

But let’s also take into account that a lot of studios have had parks themed on characters before. Hanna-Barbara has had a number of parks based on the Flintstones (that all failed), Japan has had parks based on their own characters, and English book characters, that all failed or aren’t as popular as Disney yet still kinda draw in crowds.

Bendy Land would probably last for about five or so years, give or take.

Seasonal parks are a risky move, you have to constantly make sure they are taken care of during the down seasons. You have to be able to attract big enough crowds each open season that bring in just enough money to keep going. You have to keep in good contract with sponsors or else you will lose money.

You have to have rides that people want to ride, you have to keep safety up, you have to pay your employees and give them decent privileges/bonuses/money that will want them to keep working there (Joey clearly wasn’t allowing that, according to footnotes from the handbook).

Also, you HAVE TO PAY THE CONSTRUCTION PEOPLE. Joey wasn’t really doing a great job with that either!

This park, if it had been finished, would have been the kick to the crotch during Joey’s downfall. Maybe he dodged a bullet with his studio going under, because it probably didn’t cost him as much as it would have if his theme park died on him (he could make back money by selling it/the rides, but that’s a whole other issue cause a lot of times... parks are straight up left to rot when no one wants them or their rides. Looking at you, Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach, SC. You were a sad sight to see for a while when driving past to go to the boardwalk)

But yeah, this was just me rambling, like, this was just a huge thing about the idea of Bendy Land being a reality and how it really wouldn’t have been a huge success if it had been finished. Poor Bertrum, that would have been a huge pain in the ego.

Aaaaaannnnddd... that’s all I’ve got. I can’t think of anything else right now, but I’m very sure there’s more.

Anyway, thanks for listening to a guy with too much time to think about a fictional amusement park cause he spends too much time watching theme park history videos on youtube and overthinks about Bendy.