#they’re brillaint

[docholligay]

And Junna SWEATS. I know what Junna decides at the end of it, that she gets up and wants to fight despite it all, that she comes to see that Nana is right NOT about WHAT she’s doing but about WHY she’s doing it--our motivations in life do matter, whatever the internet tells you.

But in this moment, I always wonder about the mental math. Does Junna think that Nana has a point here, for one dark moment? Does she consider it, the easy out? We don’t really get time for an answer here, because Nana slices through Junna’s military hat, though I have no REAL idea what they’re supposed to be. Nana looks like some kinda WW2-mid 60s era Army officer situation, and Junna maybe Navy? But I’ll be honest, that’s based on my rich knowledge of films that contain uniforms more than anything else and I wouldn’t swear to it.

She slices through the hat, and the tomato comes bursting out because we can’t actually have blood in this film.

We’re allowed for a moment, as the audience, to imagine that Junna just let her do it. I mean, you know and I know that isn’t going to happen, and I appreciate that they don’t linger too long on a possibility they have no intention of indulging, but Nana, in her confident stride, certainly THINKS she’s managed it.

And I want to point out that I think this is more than the breaking apart to live of Kaoruko and Futaba, or the whatever the fuck was going on with Mahiru and Hikari, I GENUINELY think Nana thinks she’s doing Junna a favor. I think she perceives of this as a mercy kill. Her brillaint shining Junna is trying anymore, and Nana will not let her slowly bleed out the gut, she’s going to behead her. Nana is very kind and warm, but that doesn't always mean she’s SOFT. She did in fact trap everyone in a circular hellscape for anywhere from 2 to 200 years or something, and she thought that was a kindness, too.

[readingforsanity]

The Children on the Hill | Jennifer McMahon | Published 2022 | *SPOILERS*

A genre-defying novel, inspired by Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankestein, which brilliantly explores the eerie mysteries of childhood and the evils perpetrated by the monsters among us. 

1978: at her renowned treatment center in picturesque Vermont, the brillaint psychistrist, Dr. Helen Hildreth, is acclaimed for her compassionate work with the mentally ill. But when she’s home with her cherished grandchildren, Vi and Eric, she’s just Gran - teaching them how to take care of their pets, preparing them home-cooked meals, providing them with care and attention and love. 

Then one day Gran brings home a child to stay with the faily. Iris - silent, hollow-eyed, skittish, and feral - does not behave like a normal girl. 

Still, Violet is thrilled to have a new playmate. She and Eric invite iris to join their Monster Club, where they catalogue all kinds of monsters and dream up ways to defeat them. Before long, Iris begins to come out of her shell. She and Vi and Eric do everything together: ride their bicycles, go to the drive-in, meet at their clubhouse in secret to hunt monsters. Because, as Vi explains, monsters are everywhere 

2019: Lizzy Shelley, the host of the popular podcast Monsters Among Us, is traveling to Vermont, where a young girl has been abducted, and a monster sighting has the town in an uproar. She’s determined to hunt it down, because Lizzy knows better than anyone that monsters are real - and one of them is her very own sister. 

The Children on the Hill takes us on a breathless journey to face the primal fears that lurk within us all. 

In Children on the Hill, we’re given an in-depth look into the lives of three children: Eric and Violet Hildreth, the grandchildren of renowned doctor Helen Hildreth, and Irish Whose Last Name We Don’t Know. Violet and Eric came to live with their Gran after a car accident took the lives of their parents. With Gran’s busy schedule, they are home-schooled, left to their own devices in their learning, with the ability to research whatever they’d like based on the assignments she gives to them each evening. 

At the beginning of the story, Violet, simply known as Vi, helps her brother rescue an injured baby rabbit, shot by the groundskeeper of the Inn, a psychiatric facility where they live in the Director’s Quarters on the property. Though Old Mac wants to put the animal out of its misery, and for eating the vegetables from the garden that patients have planted, Vi and Eric distract him long enough in order to save the rabbit, which Eric, a lover of animals, keeps in his bedroom along with several other animals. 

Vi and Eric are, for all intents and purposes, normal children who live a strange childhood. One day, Gran brings home a girl roughly the same age as Vi, who is 13. Her name is Iris. While the Inn doesn’t treat children under the age of 18, Iris was, according to Gran, a special circumstance. When Iris comes to them, she is mute, though indicates that she knows what they’re saying. She often wears her clothes inside out, and wears a raggedy orange hat on her head. It isn’t until a mishap occurs that the hat comes off, and Vi sees the ugly and fresh scar on her head indicating that something terrible had happened to her. Iris opens up to Vi, trusting her and quickly begins speaking again. She has no recollection of who she is or where she came from and Vi is hellbent on finding out the information of her past, if not for her sake then Iris’s. 

In the present, or 2019 at least, we see Lizzy Shelley. We assume that this person is Vi with a new name. Vi, Eric and Iris as children had a “monster club”, an obsession with hunting monsters and even writing a Book of Monsters. Lizzy, now a 51-year-old woman, has continued this obsession into her adult life. As a career, she hunts monsters for a living. She travels across the country searching for the folklore that she often hears so often about: stories of Big Foot, vampies, werewolves, and the like. Lizzy keeps in contact with Eric, who now goes by Charlie, and he lives with a wife and two children, though their relationship is strained due to Lizzy’s strange choice of career. 

Lizzy gets an email from someone known as MNSTRGRL, sharing an article about a young 13 year old girl who has gone missing from Vermont. Since an incident occured several years ago, Lizzy has returned to Vermont ever. But, she feels compelled to now. Several girls, 4 to date, have gone missing after claiming to see a monster of some kind. In this instance, Lauren, the girl who has gone missing, claims to have seen Chickering Island’s very own Rattling Jane, and then shortly after disappeared. 

Lizzy arrives in Vermont, feeling some sort of strange coming home event happening. She knows that it is HER monster, the one she’s been chasing for years, her sister. We assume that this person is Iris, the young mute girl who had come to live with Vi, Eric and Gran in the late 70s. 

Lizzy meets some of the locals, and gather what they know on the folklore that is Rattling Jane. She begins investigating into the past of Lauren. According to some of her friends on the island, Lauren was a troubled girl, smoking cigarettes and weed, and often getting into arguments with her parents, and at this rate, they assume that she simply ran away from an abusive home and nothing bad had happened to her. Lizzy feels otherwise. She stays at a campground in her Ford Transit van that has been reequipped with various monster hunting tools. 

Back in the 70s, Vi is doing everything she can to learn about Iris’s past. She hears of a strange wing inside of the Inn, something that has never been discussed in front of her or has even been seen, known as B West. The B stands for basement, where Vi learns it is found. In order to find out the information she needs on Iris’s past, she steals the key ring from her grandmother’s purse, and heads into the basement. She finds three separate rooms with various equipment, and Vi understands then that her grandmother is not who she claims to be. Gran claims to use holistic approaches to treat her patients, but the basement wing states otherwise with various electroshock equipment, hydrotherapy equipment and other strange items. 

In the office, Vi finds a file on Patient S, assumed to be Iris. It is stated that Patient S is her greatest success. Patient S was a child of a family known as the Templeton’s, though their name had been changed for their protection. They are a long line of criminals, imbecils and the like. Iris was saved as she showed potential to Gran that she was different than the others in her family and that she could be saved. She was brought to the Inn to have experiments performed on her, experiments that she took too well enough to brought out of the basement and to live with Vi and Eric. 

Vi, who promised Iris she’d find out the truth, eventually shows her the file she saved and for an hour, Iris reads the information about her. Inside, she learns that her parents and an older sister, were murdered, by her hand after she set a fire in which they died. Iris does not take to this information lightly, and Vi helps her overcome, though Iris begins regressing a bit after she reads the file. 

But, together, they determine that they need to find out the rest of the information. Vi makes copies of the keys she needs and intends to go back into the basement, and Iris says she wants to come. The two of them return, and Iris has recollections of being in the basement. They return to the office and read through more files, and it is here that we learn that it is was not Iris that was Patient S, but it is Vi. Vi was taken from the Templeton family after she had killed her parents, had the experiments performed on her, essentially was killed and then brought back to life. The experiments served as a way to erase her memory, and she then came back with recollections of a life she had actually never lived. Eric isn’t her real brother, but was told as such in order to keep her from learning the truth. Eric confesses as much to Vi. 

Vi absolutely loses it, and injures Iris and sets the building on fire, killing Dr. Hildreth in the process. Though Vi is coming down from her adrenaline rush, she knows that she must escape otherwise more terrible things will happen to her. She does so, going missing without a trace until 2019 when Iris, now Lizzy, actually finds her. 

Lizzy and Skink, a local fan boy of hers, go back to the Inn. Though much of the property is in disarray, the Inn is still intact. They enter the basement where they find Vi and Lauren in the middle of a haircut. Lizzy has Skink take Lauren from the room so she and Vi can talk. Vi shows her that she isn’t a monster of the kind that Lizzy has been hunting for years. She shows her photos of the missing girls, both at the time they went missing and in the present. She shares that she has helped the girls out of abusive situations, given them new life and essentially new identities in order for them to have a new life, a new beginning. She is funded by many people, she shares, and that she wants to continue this purpose and that Lizzy should stop hunting her, and that she’ll know it’s her when the time comes. 

A little bit in the future, Lizzy and Skink still keep in touch, and she is in the Wisconsin woods searching for a Wendigo that was reported to be in the area. Skink shares that the police found evidence that Lauren was really being abused, and that she was planning to come forward with it all and now the police believe that her father had done something to her as he went missing without a trace himself. But, what was concerning to Skink is that the father went missing the day BEFORE the diary had been found, leaving everything behind. He requests that Lizzy reach out to Vi by email, because they know that it involves her somehow. 

We go back to Vi’s perspective, where she and Lauren have her father tied up. Vi explains that Lauren’s transformation into a monster is complete, showing that what she told Lizzy was a lie, and that she was helping these girls murder the people who have wronged them before actually going back into the real world with their new identities. 

This book had me hooked from the second part of the book on. The beginning was a bit boring, and fillers were used quite a bit along with a lot of repetition, such as the fact that Lizzy carried a .38 Special Smith and Wesson gun. When authors do this, it’s almost like they think we forgot what kind of gun we carry. 

However, the book was great, and a definite psychological thriller more so than a supernatural thriller. There wasn’t anything supernatural about the book whatsoever except for the fact that Lizzy was a professional monster hunter, though she never actually saw any monsters except for her own sister. 

4/5 Stars. 

[our-flag-means-death-ao3feed]

Matelotages

by bhlue

"Matelotage (French for "seamanship") was an agreement amongst pairs of European sailors, in particular buccaneers, in the 17th and early 18th century. As part of this economic partnership, "matelots" would agree to share their incomes, and inherit their partner's property in the case of their death. In addition, they would pledge to protect and fight alongside each other in battle and otherwise act in the other's interest... Though most often interpreted as a platonic form of mutual insurance, a few historians believe that matelotage would be more accurately comparable to same-sex marriage or domestic partnership."

Stede Bonnet runs into a Captain and his First Mate who seem to treat each other with such clear adoration. When he asks what their realtionships, he gets the response that they're matelotages. After finding out what that means from Lucius he has a brillaint idea. Why doesn't he post an ad about his elgibility as a bachelor all over the Republic of Pirates promising a handsome dowry.

His first marriage wasn't pleasent and so, he hopes this unofficial union wil be.

Words: 3691, Chapters: 1/?, Language: English

Fandoms: Our Flag Means Death (TV)

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Categories: Gen, M/M

Characters: Blackbeard | Edward Teach, Stede Bonnet, Jim Jimenez, Oluwande Boodhari, Buttons (Our Flag Means Death), Frenchie (Our Flag Means Death), Israel Hands, Black Pete (Our Flag Means Death), Wee John, Nigel Badminton, Roach (Our Flag Means Death), Original Male Character(s)

Relationships: Blackbeard | Edward Teach/Stede Bonnet, Stede Bonnet & Lucius Spriggs, Stede Bonnet & Everyone, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Black Pete/Lucius Spriggs, Oluwande Boodhari/Jim Jimenez

Additional Tags: Alternate Universe - Different First Meeting, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Not Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Loves Stede Bonnet, Morosexual, Matelotages, LGBTQ Character, One-Sided Attraction, Stede Bonnet Being an Idiot, Stede Bonnet is Trying His Best, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Has Abandonment Issues, Blackbeard | Edward Teach Deserves Nice Things, Stede Is A Hot New Bachelor, Lucius is tired, Lucius Spriggs is a Little Shit, dowry

source https://archiveofourown.org/works/42477078

[e-of-west-glendia]

when I say I IMMEDIATELY thought of you-

https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMe2H4nnq

(yes I am sending you every single one of these that I see)

HAHAHAHAHAHA LMFAO I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. I COULD @ LIKE 20 PEOPLE WHO’D TOTALLY AGREE WITH YOU AJEJRJJRR

(Please do omg,, they’re the pinnacle of entertainment. Gives me another thing to cackle manically about.)

Now if you would excuse me,, I’m off to go angst an OC into a hole—

[shijas]

leaning all of my weight on a closed door labelled mha #310 and jjk #147: so... nami and usopp this week?

[orchid3a]

old man + clingy and adorable gf

tw: petnames, takeomi called old man, pet names (princess, sweetcheeks, little kid), mention of pregnancy, mention of breeding, suggestive themes, age gap (reader is 18+)

wc: 788 words

tagging: @etheralyonn​

note: this is a self-ship post, so it’s basically how i would behave with takeomi, like a total shameless idiot <3, some spoilers (?) of “my brillaint friend” 

happy valentine’s day <3 <3

no proofreading

Takeomi sometimes wonders how he could pull someone like you, someone so warm.

He’s a grumpy old man, while you’re a nice young girl.

He sighs for the nth time, still lost in his thoughts, in fact he doesn’t notice your voice calling him a few times.

“-mi, Omi? Omi are you listening?”

“Sorry princess, I wasn’t listening. What were you saying?” 

You pout a little, but quickly return to your little monologue about the latest book you read.

“As I was saying, I can’t believe Lenù still believes that Nino Sarratore can love her, it’s absurd! That man is terrible, I want to punch him!!”

He hums and sometimes says his opinion when you ask him, but for the most part you’re talking.

You two are heading hand in hand towards the library, since you wanted to spend money on new mangas and books.

Your smaller hand is interviewed with his bigger one. He likes your hands, they’re so soft and warm, unlike his that are full of scars and calloused.

“Omi what are you thinking? You’re not paying attention to your adorable, clingy girlfriend, aka me” you says puffing your cheeks

He laughs and pats your head, you stick your tongue at him and finally arrive at the library.

You leave Takeomi’s hand and rush to the classic books section, trying to find something from your wishlist.

Takeomi observes how you try on your tiptoes to get a book that is on a high shelf. After a few failed attempts you turn your attention to him, giving him your best puppy eyes, he sighs before helping you out. 

“My brilliant friend? Is that book from that series you were talking about before?”

“Right Omi!! You should read it, it’s a beautiful book. The story and characters feel so real and I really like the author’s style.”

“I will princess” 

Then you return to your original task, while Takeomi follows you, with his arms gradually becoming full of books and manga.

“Sweetcheeks, aren’t you buying too much?” 

“You think Omi? This is only half of my list” 

Takeomi could already hear his black card screaming pity and he sighs, before praying to God that your list isn't that long.

Three hours later and some curses from Takeomi, you two finally exit and continue your date.

“Omi let’s go and eat something from a special Valentine’s day menu” 

“Sure why not”

And that’s how Akashi Takeomi, 37 years old, Bonten’s advisor, found himself in a cat cafè surrounded by cute and fluffy kittens.

“Omi smile a little please, I want a cute photo for my lockscreen”

“(y/n)”

“Omi pretty please”

He can’t say no and can only surrender to your wish, even if he has to lose his dignity for you.

“Sending this to Haru-chan”

“(y/n) don’t you dare”

You smugly show him that you already sent it, and to Takeomi’s displeasure his brother sent an audio of two and half minutes in which he laughs loudly. 

The scarred man will make sure his brother will pay, oh if Haruchiyo will pay.

You look around and notice a couple, a boy and a girl, they seem quite lovely and they’re feeding each other. Then you look closely, the girl is pregnant, she is caressing her belly and the guy has a soft expression.

You turn to your boyfriend and with a straight look on your face, you say to him.

“Omi breed me”

Takeomi chokes on his black coffee, his cheeks are red and he can’t help but wonder how can you be so shameless.

“Omi please breed me, use your big-” he muffles you while trying to not blush more.

“Princess stop”

You pout and he removes his hands from your mouth.

“You should stop seeing the Haitanis and Sanzu, for a while”

“Bu-”

“No buts, princess” you puff your cheeks and cross your arms.

“Omi I love you”

“You love me only when I give you piggy rides, little kid”

“Liar”

He ignores you and continues to walk, with you on his back humming a song. He can’t help but smile, he loves you more than anything.

Your childlike personality, your little quirks, your shameless behaviour, all this makes his life more beautiful, and he will always thank you for bringing happiness and energy in his dull life.

“(y/n) I love you. You make my life more beautiful, you bring colour in my life and I love you for this. Thank you for bringing happiness to this old man”

“Omi I love you too. You are my favourite old man, that can’t say no to his precious little girl”

Quickly you kiss his cheeks and nuzzle against his cheek, and Takeomi smiles happily.

[girl4music]

Early in Willow and Tara's relationship, (before it became romantic I mean), Willow asks Tara to conjure the goddess Thespia with her to locate demonic energy in the area. And I feel as if Tara didn't want to do it but she didn't want to say no to Willow having just met her and wanting the friendship between them to continue. To have the chance to possibly become something more than friendship. She didn't want Willow to think she was uncool. It was pere pressure but in such a way where Willow wasn't aware of it. And because of the more advanced magic Willow wanted to do, Tara was constantly on edge with her. But again, she knew she liked her as more than a friend and wanted whatever it was between them to keep going. So she said yes every time even if she didn't want to do it.

Later on, when they're in a fully committed romantic relationship, Tara started saying no to Willow with messing with spells and magic that was dangerous and could potentially hurt someone, if not them. She gained a sense of confidence and security when she realized that Willow didn't want to be without her. And for me, despite this being a very well written relationship, it does feel sort of dependent in some ways, and therefore unhealthy. Which is in stark contrast to Willow and Kennedy, who just didn't have any chemistry whatsoever. There was no need for each other in that way.

Willow gained confidence and security in herself, sure. But she was always dependent on someone or something else to fill the void. Whether it be a lover or just a friend. Or the vice of the Magicks. She was never quite... well... fulfilled on her own or satisfied without something much more powerful to keep her interest. Whereas Tara - Tara gained confidence and security and grew to be her own person with which she could seperate herself from Willow and not lose that confidence or security. In which she could have power without being reliant on it. And it's funny how Tara is depicted as the shy and weak one in the relationship when it's Willow that needs someone else's approval all the damn time and is weak without it. I think Joss Whedon initially wanted Tara to be like the "new Willow" in the sense that Willow would bring her out of her shell the same way Buffy, Oz and the all the Scoobies brought Willow out of her shell. But it backfired as far as I'm concerned because while Tara was brought out of her shell by Willow and the Scooby Gang, the underlying issue was that Willow was too dependent on her and eventually on witchcraft too. So it happened to be that Tara became the stronger and more self-sufficient one of the couple and not Willow. Willow only APPEARED that secure. But it was just an act.

So that's a very interesting dynamic. Different. I'm not sure it was intended but it worked to tell a greater story of Willow's addiction to witchcraft. The fact of the matter is Willow always needed someone or something to rely on to make up for their extreme insecurities and all the internalized trauma of their past. Willow was actually the wallflower that was wilting with every episode. You just don't see it that way. You see the opposite because the character wants you to see the opposite. And for all the confidence they gain in themselves... you just get a vibe of something really seriously wrong with this character. You don't see it but you feel it. There's something not quite right with her and you get that vibe as early on as season 3 when they're just starting to experiment with the Magicks and how that slowly spirals into something much more serious and sinister. It's an incredible shows-long arc. One you don't really notice until you need to.

And I think Tara represented something much more important than a romantic relationship for Willow. They were the moral compass for her. At least they were when they were able to say no and not enable Willow's addiction. When it's written well, a romantic relationship between two characters can provide so much more than just love. And that's the type of romance I look for in art/entertainment. Because I'm wanting something deeper than dependency on love. So many TV shows get it fucking wrong. It only ever shows the characters confident, strong and secure because of each other. As if the only reason they evolve/devolve is because of the relationship they are in or break up from. When there's always something more going on with the characters individually.

Basic scenario for the typical TV romance: "This person is a better/worse person because they fell in/out of love with this person."

That's not realistic. Not even in the slightest. This is why I don't care for much romance art/entertainment. Because it is that fucking shallow 99% of the time. And all I'm saying is that there is a lot of dependency in Willow and Tara's romantic relationship. But it's written so well as to make it clear enough that it's NOT JUST BECAUSE they are in a romantic relationship. There's a lot more going on. And yeah, at first, it's subtle, it's subtextual, it's subliminal. But you get this vibe very early on with the character Willow that they were never going to be in a completely healthy romantic relationship because of their underlying issues and insecurities. And it's written so cleverly to make it seem as if they're growing, becoming more confident and secure in who they are, stepping into their authenticity with each episode. But that's absolutely not the truth of the matter at all. If anything - they get worse with that. And in the end, it just goes to show you how fucking well depression and mental illness can be hidden. Because you don't see it. You only see what the character wants you to see. However, you can feel it if you pay enough attention intuitively to the character's development. It truly ends up being that Tara is the one that is much more confident, secure, self-sufficient and independent. And it's brillaint how all of that is written. With foreshadowing and deja vu and all that wonderful synchroncity shit. It requires very very good writers as well as very very good actors that know their characters extremely well. Most people think acting is just about conveying what's there. But it's also about conveying what's not there too. It's what's missing that tells you so much more about a character and who they really are underneath all that isn't.

And once again - I have to say it.

90's shows just got it spot on.

It ended up being that because there was so much more to the characters individually, there was also so much more to the characters as a couple too. And romance or friendship isn't so shallow or empty when they first deal with the individual storylines. Yes, characters do evolve/devolve because of the relationships they are in. That's a given. It's just not the ONLY reason why they do. And that's what's wrong with so much of it in TV today. It lacks chemistry depth because it lacks individual character development. That's why Willow and Kennedy failed.

[dogin8]

Callahan and fundy gogogogo

AYO (ask game)

Callahan: How did you get into the dsmp

So I vaguely knew of it before all this but honestly it was a mix of two things: firstly, all the clickbait videos of "Schlatt got banned from Dream SMP" and the associated drama got reccomended to me and cause the only POVs of that were Tommy and Tubbo (I hadn't seen a tubbo stream before and I genuinely instantly loved his vibe just from that) I went to find full vods and ended up getting reccomended more dsmp stuff as a result SPECIFICALLY Tommy reacting to Sad-Ist's original dsmp war animatic and watching that was the moment when i was like "Oh my god... this is like... actually something"

So basically: Schlatt getting banned and Sad-Ist's animatic

Fundy: Favourite bit of lore

So I'm actually gonna say two things cause I'm indecisive, the first of which is:

Fundy's Nightmares, that first nightmares stream is genuinely living in my head rent free all the time, the atmosphere, the acting, the little call backs and hints to other plot points were all IMMACULATE, I swear to god Fundy sold his soul for that stream, nothing from the dsmp has genuinely impacted me as seriously as that stream which left me unable to sleep that night, like... I would give a lot to be able to recapture the emotions I was feeling when Fundy was being chased up those stairs screaming

-

And secondly, November 16th, Schlatt's death, I will forever go off about how PERFECT everything was in this scene, the confusion when Dream surrendered just like that, the suspicion in everyones mind about who the traitor was that only got worse when Wilbur went off to talk to him alone, like... they wanted the audience to be all over the place and they succeeded, then when we see Schlatt as this weak pathetic and lonely old man, we THINK we understand what's going on, we say to ourselves "oh Dream's surrender makes sense now, he has nobody to fight for anymore", and then after an hours worth of some of my favourite lines on the server crammed into like 2 minutes ("You could have had it all Schlatt" "Don't kill me, I'm afraid of death") Schlatt just... dies

weeks of lead up, an entire war, Wilbur's whole downward spiral and it was all for nothing, the perfect anticlimax, Even the characters find themselves saying "this doesn't feel like a win" and that's because it WASN'T. And is there anything a writer could wish for more than being able to convey an emotion perfectly enough that the audience don't even realise that they're supposed to be feeling it, it's the same effect as watching a movie, seeing all the characters are happy after winning a big war and then realising there's still an hour of the movie left. Schlatt's death wasn't a victory and everyone knew that but they didn't know they knew it "Schlatt's a smart man, he knows that if we kill him, he's won" - Wilbur "If I die... this country goes down with me" - Schlatt

In the arc that was so blatantly reinforcing the idea of the Chekhov's Gun... We KNEW there had to be a pay off, and for a second we were able to trick ourself into thinking this was it, but it was never a pay off

Schlatt's death wasn't an ending, it wasn't a beginning either (you see everything that was to happen was already in motion), it merely served as the perfect middle point between the two

Okay I actually convinced myself here and I'm going to leave the Fundy bit up there but sadly it has fallen into second place, there's just something so brillaint and intricate about Schlatt's death and how it fits into everything else

[goddess-of-silvers]

Stony x MLB AU.

Tony Stark is CatNoir. Steve Rogers is MisterBug. They’re New York’s superheroes, two teenagers who go to a high school in downtown Manhattan. Tony Stark is the son of eccentric billionare and weapons tycoon Howard Stark who is also HawkMoth and wants the miraculous to bring his coma tosed wife back. Thor and Bucky are Steve’s best friends, while Natasha and Bruce are Tony’s. Buckynat and ThorBruce are heavily seen in the background while the ridiculous love square of Tony and Steve plays out. Steve has always had a giant crush on the science wizard and model Tony Stark who is too caught up in love with Misterbug Steve to realize how obvious Steve is. Catnoir Tony constantly flirting with serious Misterbug who drops their act alot and flirts back. Misterbug Steve rejecting Catnoir by saying he’s in love with this guy back in civilian life he’s pretty sure doesn’t know he exists. Catnoir Tony, being sad but understanding but happy he at least has him as a best friend. And fuck its 3am and this is fucking brillaint, has anyone written this yet???

this is so niche christ.

[imaginingmanyfandoms]

“They’re brillaint! So brilliant.”

[hamliet]

Who are your top 10 female villains? And your top ten male villains? Thank you!

Oooooh. Well, in this list I am including antagonists (people I see as conflicted/not committed to like, the bad side, if there even is a bad side, but basically oppose the protagonist at some point). Also, they are in no particular order:

Female Villains:

Cersei Lannister (A Song of Ice and Fire)

She's sympathetic enough so that we understand how she came to be the way she is, yet terrifying and depraved enough that we fear for the characters around her. I don't think that's an easy balance to strike for a character: if you make them likable it's hard to keep audiences from rooting for them, but the balance is struck perfectly with Cersei.

Azula (Avatar: The Last Airbender)

As @aspoonofsugar wrote recently on Azula, I think she is a fantastic female villain. I think she is sympathetic despite her actions, and I wish the story had explored her redemption, which was clearly hinted.

Claudia (The Dragon Prince)

The first three seasons have kind of been Claudia's fall. While as a whole I don't think TDP is very well-written, I do think that Claudia, Viren, and Soren's family dynamic is a polished gem of writing that literally carries the story. I fully expect to see redemption for Claudia down the line, but not until she spirals further and further. At the end of season 3, Claudia resorts to killing someone to save her father's life when she has nothing and no one else left, and she makes this choice after her brother Soren (now redeemed himself) chooses to kill their father in front of Claudia, devastating her. Their choices are clear parallels and both are somewhat negative, somewhat sympathetic. Soren can't kill his past: he has to live with it, and Claudia can't cling to the past: she has to let it go.

Delores Umbridge (Harry Potter)

She is awful and I hate her, but you're also supposed to hate her. Her comeuppance is hilarious ad perfect, and just--I think she's a fantastic villain because she reminds every single one of us of an albeit exaggerated version of a teacher we all know.

Karren von Rosewald (Tokyo Ghoul:re)

Karren is TG:re's best written character in my opinion. Her tragic arc takes place throughout the first three arcs, which imo is also the highest point in the series. Karren just wanted to be loved, and if she had to die, at least she got to die as herself. 

Nora (Noragami)

Nora! The reason I read Noragami is pretty much for Nora and her redemption arc. The fandom hates her for... reasons, but she's always been primed for redemption. Her name is in the title (which yes also refers to Yato, etc.) She's important. I wrote a few metas on Nora, notably here.

Enoshima Junko (Danganronpa)

Despair. It's fun to find a character who is, well, just plain fun, but who is also bored, despairing, cruel, and terrifying. She's unique and a brillaint character.

Toga Himiko (Boku no Hero Academia)

I'm not the first one to say that Toga is BNHA's best written female character, but I do agree that she is. She, like Junko, is fun and interesting, and she has an arc that is compelling. Her actions directly move the plot; she’s bloodthirsty and yet uniquely empathetic and compassionate. 

Yoshimura Eto (Tokyo Ghoul)

Eto's backstory and her motivations were fascinating. She was one of the most complex characters in the entire story, and despite the fact that you understood why her father gave her up, you also understood her pain and justified anger at his doing so. She perfectly illustrated the divide between human and ghoul.

Male Villains:

Shigaraki Tomura (Boku no Hero Academia)

BNHA's best-written male character, imo. His backstory and the current chapters that focus on him are extremely well-done, thematic and full of character development, and detailed artistically. He gets so much focus that I can tell he's important to Horikoshi, and I'm excited to see where he goes.

Dabi (Boku no Hero Academia)

I'll admit there's a lot missing here. Namely, we don't know his identity for certain, but it seems basically certain that he's Todoroki Touya; however, we still don't have his backstory. Still, his fury at the presumed father who destroyed his family and yet has the audacity to be a "symbol of hope" is fascinating to me, and I'm excited to see how he develops as well. (Both Shigaraki and Dabi seem primed for some kind of redemption).

Adult Trio: Illumi Zoldyck, Hisoka Morow, Chrollo Lucilfer (Hunter x Hunter)

Am I counting these three as one so that I can get extra characters? Of course I am. In all honesty I really think all three of these antagonists are really well done, sympathetic and/or likable. They're the shadows of the three MCs they foil: for Illumi, Killua, for Hisoka, Gon, and for Chrollo, Kurapika. They represent the traits the three protagonists (sorry Leorio) don't want to acknowledge in themselves, and therefore their encounters with their shadows are particularly thematic and powerful. Also, one doesn't usually kill their shadow, but instead integrates with it, so I highly doubt the three of them will be killed by their respective protagonist.

Meruem (Hunter x Hunter)

Yes, again, HxH. It has great antagonists. But Meruem's development is literally one of the most powerful I've ever read about. I don't know anyone who starts his story not loathing him, hoping he dies, and then by the end of it, ebfore you've even realized it's happening, you're crying for him and Komugi. His arc explores human nature at its finest, most horrific, and ultimately most beautiful.

Furuta Nimura (Tokyo Ghoul:re)

Furuta's a fantastic villain whom I wish got a better ending (not even redeemed really, but just... something more). He was so damaged by the system of an unfair world that he made it his life goal to become the villain and burn the system down, destroy it no matter what it took--and also hoped to destroy himself in the process, as he was born knowing he would die young and longed for it. I wish he had been forced to live.

Mori Ougai (Bungo Stray Dogs)

Mori's utilitarianism is chilling. He's not exactly unlikable, despite being absolutely morally repugnant, and the Beast AU from Asagiri himself shows us that Mori is certainly capable of a positive life and positive change; however, within the canonical story, I don't see that for him. He's been set up IMO as the final boss of the series, and his habit of targeting the most vulnerable (especially children) to control people is almost certainly going to bite Dazai in the ass eventually.

Eren Jaeger (Shingeki no Kyojin)

I can't believe I'm writing this. I don't know what to call Eren: he's the protagonist, and he's sunk to becoming the final boss. While it's possible he, like Furuta and like Lelouch of Code Geass, is playing the villain, I really hope not, as I think the themes are much more powerful if Eren sincerely believes what he proclaims to believe. He's a kid who has always wanted to fight for freedom and for the people around him, and now we're seeing the dark side of those traits, wherein he's destroying the world via genocide to save the people close to him. He's driven by fear and by anger at the cruelty and unfairness of the world, and he's forgotten the beauty of it. I hope Mikasa can  remind him before the end.

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Bungo Stray Dogs)

MY BOY. Look if a character is named after my very favorite real-life author, I must stan. But actually I do think Fyodor is well written and a master manipulator. He's modeled after my favorite character in all of fiction, Dostoyesvky's Demons' Alexei Kirillov. He really seems to want human connection, to live, and has forgotten that empathy is an important and necessary part of both of those. I hope--and think it is likely given BSD's prolific redemption arcs--that he will remember eventually.

Lee Yut-Lung (Banana Fish)

Again,, he's less a villain than an antagonist. Like Ash, the main character, he is a teenage boy betrayed by the people who were supposed to protect him and abused his whole entire life. He's driven by a desperate need to be loved and jealousy that Ash is loved while he is not. His ending, when Sing finally tells him he will in fact be staying by Yut-Lung's side and will help Yut-Lung redeem himself, "because you're in pain... your soul's bleeding, even now" is literally the perfect ending for him.

Jin Guangyao (Mo Dao Zu Shi)

I've written a lot on Jin Guangyao, but he's a walking tragedy. He ties with Wei Wuxian, the protagonist, as my favorite, and the reason is because they are two sides of the same coin--in fact, they're the same side of the same coin. They're not very different, and the fact that he finally at least got empathy in the end and was able to push the person he loved most to safety because of that--well. Brb time to cry.

[acrosstimeandspace]

ok so i never really thought of like, how itaru and tsumugi would confess to micah but now i have and i think it’s so brillaint!

so like, it’s around the white day event and itaru and tsumugi wanna confess to micah & the other that they’re in love with them and once they get the prince rolls at the park they’re both like “yes, perfect, what could be more romantic than confessing to both of them as a prince?”

so they end up doing the confession to micah and the other at the same time, and like what could go wrong? it’s clear that it’s directed to two people! but yeah, micah’s denser than a bag of bricks so of course it backfires. and like, it causes a whole chain of events which leads to tasuku butting in and telling micah “hey dumbass, they meant you too.” and that’s how they start dating!

[wayward-wren]

My goodness. That episode was far more stressful than I thought it was going to be. I Did Not expect that much time line changing so soon. 

I liked Deke shooting Maleck. Not sure if it was a good thing or not yet, but from a story telling perspective I love it. 

And Daniel!! HHhh my boy! He’s out of his depth and missing home. “I just wish I got to say some goodbyes” be still my beating HEART. and the way he said “peggy carter” when talking about the targets of project insight. Gah I love it. Also him and the phone was adorable I need more of Daniel Sousa interacting with modern technology. Somewhat disappointed his limp is practically gone now but hey, I guess 9ish years will get you used to missing a leg. I do hope it’s brought up at some point

Also i’m still waiting on answers about Jack Thompson. don’t let me down SHIELD writers you never have

My theories for who the chrinocoms had as leverage ranged from Peggy to a Fitz they had managed to find, I didn’t even consider someone’s parents but it was brillaint. 

Jemma is a LMD theory is back on the table, significant amount of time could be anywhere from a year to 100 now. I also really enjoyed her and Deke’s little moment, it made me MISS FITZ SO MUCH, and I love the Fitzsimmons family. 

AND WHITEHALL. WHITEHALL OH BOY OH BOY. (Also I know Nathaniel is probably going to want to get Daisy’s powers for himself but a small part of me was like ‘Sousa with quake powers’ when I saw the stinger.) 

MAN I have no idea where this is going to go. They’ve messed up the timeline already, I’m interested to see where they’re going after all this is over. My brain is hurting because of time travel, because the SHIELD time travel is bad enough, but then you thrown in Endgame and OH BOY I’m never going to make sense of it. 

Still think they’re going to somehow end up in 2012 and have to kill Coulson tho. And still going to be super disappointed if we don’t see Ward. (plot twist all the time shenanigans means Ward isn’t a Hydra agent and is actually a good guy by the time they get to that point in time.)

(actually that’s a thought worth thinking what if all these time shenanigans result in not much actually being changed by the time they reach 2012/2013 except Ward is a good guy wouldn’t that be wild) 

[belladoesmakeup]

Hey guys,

Like I said yesterday I wanted to show you guys a few palettes I was very lucky to get for Christmas. Today I wanted to show you the two palettes I got from my mum from Revolution and Revolution Pro.

First up we have the Revolution Maxi Reloaded palette. This whole collection is based on their £4 reloaded palettes but much bigger size with bigger colour variation. I’m obsessed with this colour story because it has a real mixture of nudes, warm tones and deep tones which I’m loving. It also has a mixture of matte, shimmer and foil eyeshadows which is brillaint for something this size to give you a real selection to play with.

The second palette is called Rock and Royal by Revolution Pro and is a small collection of palettes they came out with mid last year. This palette was something I had my eye on for a long time because the formula of the eyeshadows is really different to what I’m used previously, it’s hard to describe but feels like a totally different texture. Again I adore the colour story it has the perfect mixture of deep and bright colours and I’m obsessed with the plum and purple tones in this palette.

I’m so grateful for all the Revolution makeup I got this Christmas because as we’ve seen it’s a large collection. Thanks mum for these palettes they’re gorgeous and can’t wait to use them. If you’re interested they are sold through www.revolutionbeauty.com

Tomorrow I will be showing you the last palette I got for Christmas from Morphe !!!

Lots of love

Bella x x

[broadwayfangirl222]

My Top 10 Western Animated Shows of the Decade (not a strict order, super basic ranking) and a brief reason why

1.) Bojack Horseman

This show has some of the best writing I’ve seen in a long time and tackles very serious issues in incredibly respectful and nuanced ways. It just feels so real and honest when it comes to that, not to mention the satire, commentary & puns are amazing! Plus, explicitly asexual characters!! This honestly should be how more adult animated shows should be: using their lack of censorship for something beyond just cussing and sex jokes. 

2.) Gravity Falls

This show not only had an amazing mystery plot with great build-up & a super satisfying conclusion, but it has a lot of heart & fun too. All the hidden clues/codes/easter eggs and active encouragement to analyze and look under the surface was right up my alley. That interactive element just made it more fun. Also the themes of growing up but not giving up childish things and simply letting yourself be weird & goofy really resonated with me especially with the last few episodes airing not that long after my graduation. This one just struck a personal chord with me along with amazing writing and hilarious jokes. 

3.) Steven Universe

In my opinion, while there are some issues with pacing and certain arcs ending weird, this show is just a gem (pun intended). For every misstep, there are tons of times the show’s writing gets things very, very right. Even though the themes and topics didn’t strike me personally as much as Gravity Falls did, it still did resonate with me a lot. Amethyst is literally the most I related to/identified with a character. Not to mention the animation and songs are just absolutely gorgeous. Steven Universe, as does Gravity Falls, really earned their spot as a titan of the 2010s cartoon renaissance. 

4.) Over the Garden Wall

Dante’s Inferno for Kids and classic fairy tale style of storytelling, how could I not love this series? The music, just like Steven Universe, is gorgeous and fun and dripping with heart and add so much to the setting. This series actually low key gave me an existential crisis, and I mean that as a huge compliment to this series & the writers/animators. I also adore the darker color pallets and the atmosphere is top notch. You really feel the environments, the way the characters are drawn when they’re stuck in the snow or rain, you feel that chill. The whole thing just felt like a classic fairy tale being created in the modern era. Tbh I feel like this should be brought up more when the topic of the 2010s cartoon rennaissance comes up

5.) Tuca and Bertie

If I had to describe this show, I’d say it’s Bojack’s more optimistic little sister who’s also dealing with her own issues. Again this show is how more adult animation should be. It’s fun and any serious topics they tackle it’s done with respect and nuance. This really could’ve been something truly special if they got more than one season. I’m so livid that this show got canceled. 

6.) Infinity Train

The best way to describe this series, and OTGW a bit, is “You are going to get therapy in these fantasy/sci-fi settings or you’re gonna be stuck here forever and/or die” and I just love it. The settings, characters & concepts were so unique and amazing! The bits that stick out the most to me the most with this series is the mental health part of it and the characters. The whole idea with the numbers and different carts help give a perfect analogy to this whole idea of mental health and personal growth. The tape episode alone was such a brillaint way to talk about false memories and denial. As for the characters: they’re so fun and really well written, also Attitcus is adorable!!!!! 

7.) Supermansion

Amazing superhero parody. It honestly doesn’t go how you expect with a parody like this: Superman in this isn’t a dumb jock, he’s a crochety old man who tries to keep the team in line and their Batman tries to act edgelord-y with a tagic past but he’s low key a man-child who’s been mooching off of his parent’s wealth. It really takes advantage of the fact it’s a superhero parody and is just all around hilarious. This show needs more attention imo. 

8.) Bob’s Burgers

This show is just pleasant and fun, and how often can you really say that about an adult animated show? It never really falls into typical annoying family sitcom tropes and how nice is it to see a show like this where the parents, & family as a whole, genuinely seem to love eachother? 

9.) DC Super Hero Girls

I was kind of planning on putting aggretsuko here but I couldn’t since it’s an anime (this is a western animated list but I can make an anime one if anyone wants though) plus, I have a huge bias for superheroes/comics. This series is not only cute but has put some really interesting spins on these classic characters, tbh this series came up with my favorite interpretations for some of these characters (Supergirl especially) and it was just cute and fun. I personally just love a more personal/domestic side of superheroes. Also we just need more depictions of these female heroes where they’re not sexualized.

10.) Green Eggs and Ham

Tbh this is mainly due to the fact how absolutely stunning the animation is and how these writers actually managed to make this short kid’s story into a 13 episode series with a pretty great story. Like it’s shocking how well this series came out. It seemed like it had a lot against it and it still managed to succed. Also: cute, well written romance between Guy & Michellee. 

[proheromidoriyashouto]

Insoucicant

another tododeku soulmate au, angst

A shared pain, and soulmark au. Soulmates can share physical or emotional pain or both depending on the people and their exact bond. For some its only emotional, others physical, rarely both. Guess which the boys have.

The first time you touch your soulmate a tattoo begins to appear on your skin. The design is indicative of what they think/feel about their soulmate up until that moment, and most don't begin to darken enough to see until a few hours have passed. Because designs can differ, the way to know is if the art style is the same, as though drawn by the same hand. Colors are indicative of whether your other half rejects you or not, with colorful spreads signifying acceptance and black-and-sepia/faded tones signifying rejection.

All their lives, Shouto and Izuku shared both emotions and physical pain. Shouto tried to filter the emotional part because he did think of it as a weakness until the sports fest and thus failed to pick up a lot of what Izuku was feeling, so he doesn't comprehend why he's rejected at first. He isn’t getting too much pain comparatively so shutting that end of their bond doesn’t occur to him.

(In these aus its usually Shouto who rejects his soulmate and Izuku who wants them, but the reverse is true here.)

Izuku thought a soulmate wasn't supposed to hurt you, but all they do is send him pain and sadness and an underlying thread of anger-hate that he can't shake no matter how much optimism and abstract-love he tries to send them. The bullying and constant abuse he faces from peers and teachers in his day-to-day coupled with nothing but pain from his soulmate on both levels is too much and he tries to push the bond away for some respite. He's always had more physical pain tolerance, and closing that side of their bond from his end is difficult but manageable even if they keep it open, and with them shutting him out he just has to ignore the emotions that are strong enough to flow through on occassion.

Shouto was already being beaten black and blue by Endeavor on the day of the practical exam and when the pain of three limbs- flesh and bone alike- breaking came, he lost consciousness. Breaking his finger during the ball throw is pretty low on the Izuku-pain thresh-hold and with a steading breath manages to shut the physical bond enough that all Shouto gets is a cramp in his own finger.

At the USJ, adrenaline and shock from both and Shouto’s ice, dull the sensation of broken legs and fingers.

During their match in the sports festival, they both try to shield their soulmate from the incredible physical pain, and coupled with the adrenaline it almost completely works. By the nature of their fight though they both wince too much to think anything of it. What does hurt is ceded to the fact that their opponent is strong, the ice is numbing, there's a war to be won.

After their fight, Shouto spots the beginnings of a shield over his whole torso, wrapping around his sides a bit, soft curls of leafy vines sprouting from the edges to twirl around his left arm and right leg. His soulmate wants to protect him! He hasn't ruined this! He grins for the second time that day and doesn't bother hiding his tears. Their emotions are a lot for him, but he realizes he should be less controlling of the bond- he really didn't realize how much he was behaving like Ende*vore in trying to avoid that very thing. He expects a tidal wave of... something, but it never comes like that.

When it does come, its a slow, tentative pour of emotion, like overflow from a glass rather than a river. He gets... hurt, an ache in his chest, frustration, and a kind of distant longing he doesn't understand properly. Is this how awful he made them feel in suppressing this half of the bond? He tries to send feelings of remorse and new-found hope, but if they notice they don't respond. Can't? He's pushed this aspect of them so far down... He goes to bed that night promising to be a better person for them, a better soulmate. (He doesn't want them to hate him, he doesn't.) He can't wait to see the colors he'll sport tomorrow. He kind of thinks that green would be nice, for his vines and leaves. Maybe a chromatic violet or glossy cobalt for the shield?

But his colors are black and amber. A shield for protection, black with rejection, and vines for tenderness, amber with resentment. They want him to be safe. They want him to stop hurting them. They don't hate him, but neither do they love him. They are kind but their compassion has its limits. Tears roll down his face a long time.

Izuku notices a figure appearing on his left foot, crawling up the back of his leg to the small of his back and reaching to the top side of his right arm, finally hooking around his now-crooked thumb.

It's mural-like, telling the story of a small humanoid creature running from claws of fire that dig pieces of it away to the small of his back where it curls up under a crystalline bluff to weep and howl only to continue its path up his arm as it's heart is frozen, edges burning and core leeched of warmth as it hides in his palm, leaping over his scars, finally safe.

He prays for black and white, rejection and disinterest, all night long tucked into his mother's side.

He awakens in nearly every color. Even now, a love that takes on its terms, and hurts unintentionally. A love from someone who doesn't know how to or doesn't care about his feelings. He never wanted a love like that. He’s dense but not an idiot- ice and fire, superior to him in every way. He heads to the beach and screams himself hoarse to but one witness, the sea.

Shouto is despondent, but tries to hold onto some hope even though he’s getting pretty negative emotions through their recovering emotional bond. His soulmate is in his class. Colors almost never change, but he has to try. Even if they don't want to be romantically involved, he always wanted them to be by his side and with his new outlook... he has to apologize and earn their forgiveness.

It has to be someone he touched, so that narrows it down to maybe six people. Iida, Kaminari, and Yaoyorozu during the cavalry game. Sero, Bakugou, and Midoriya during the finals. (he'd already touched Iida in the second round)

Bakugou doesn't have his soul tattoo yet- a relief- and neither do Kaminari, Sero, or Yaoyorozu. Iida and Midoriya do, and they change in the stalls.

He almost prays it's Iida and not Midoriya before realizing how unfair if not cruel the thought is. As much as he wants to change, there are things one must make conscious effort to unlearn. Both have strong emotions and he doesn't know them well. Who can say what they really feel about being left to shoulder their burdens alone. Not anymore, he thinks. I... I am here. Iida chose to side with Shouto over friendship in the second round. Midoriya gave so much of himself to get through to him at great cost. Either would be good soulmates.

Iida’s brother was attacked, and Midoriya’s been down since his loss- the confusing swirl of anger and sadness could be either of them. It isn’t until they’re recovering in the hospital that Shouto makes any headway.

Ochako comes to visit and she and Tenya press their foreheads together and talk in low voices. It’s Midoriya who notices his staring and reveals that they had realized it the day after Iida became class president. That means the only person left who could be his soulmate is... Shouto is tentatively pleased, but so worried and remorseful.

Midoriya is kind. And strong, and smart in ways Shouto isn’t. He doesn’t want to get carried away or just blurt out what he’s come to realize, so asks Midoriya how he feels about his soulmate- needs to know why his colors are black and amber, how someone as heroic as Midoriya could hate their other half, how Shouto can begin to make things right between them.

After a moment where it looks like he’ll refuse to speak about it, he ultimately tells Shouto why he doesn’t want them in his life. How someone meant to love him rejected his emotions- an integral part of him- but left their physical bond wide open for their pain to hurt him. He doesn’t remember a time without aches he doesn’t have, bruises that never heal, headaches and exhaustion he couldn’t escape. How with the quirkless-discrimination from his peers and teachers and own mother beat him down until he couldn’t take any more so he did the one thing he could and pushed his soulmate away. If they didn’t care how he felt then he couldn’t let them in.

They rejected me first, he says not looking at Shouto. A soulmate... when I was little I thought ‘someone who would love worthless, weak Deku and I wouldn’t be a Deku to them’... and then they decided that they didn’t like me without even knowing me... I know I’m not- not the strongest person emotionally but I... I wanted them to just, just to like me, even.

I guess that was asking too much. I don’t know what they think, but I... I had to force myself to- to stop caring, you know. It was. I was. I don’t think I would’ve survived clinging to them like that. I don’t think I hate them or anything but I know letting someone walk all over me like that isn’t healthy. I know the way Kacc- Bakugou and I are isn’t healthy it’s just force of habit... They probably have their own stuff to get over before they could ever love me, and I can’t blame them. He laughed depreciatingly, a harsh wet sound. I’m not really anyone’s ideal.

Shouto tries to comfort Midoriya but he hasn’t the words and his efforts are refuted as Midoriya’s body language becomes defensive and hostile in his vulnerability. He says he doesn’t judge him for his feelings given the circumstances, but can’t keep his composure much longer and has to excuse himself- leaves to cry into his knees in a bathroom stall.

He was short-sighted, equal parts naive and cruel, dismissing his soulmate’s heart for so long as he tore them down from within regardless. Brave, brillaint Midoriya of all people. The person who gave him his mother back, his reason for becoming his own hero back. And Midoriya doesn’t even know who Shouto is, his supposed significance to their shared being. He’s just- just an asshole who declared war on his soulmate in their first conversation, told him to eat shit because he would destroy everyone in his path to greatness- out of spite, not even true heroic spirit- just to spit in Endeavor’s face.

No wonder he hates his soulmate. Other half? Shouto had thought... thought soulmates were meant to love and be loved in return but... some are... the minority can be... More like his worst enemy.

This can’t stand. Shouto can’t be- can’t be his soulmate’s worst enemy. No. No. He’d already promised to change. Because of Midoriya. For Midoriya. He can’t keep giving up before he’s even started.

He has a new starting line, he just has to stick to it. Maybe he’ll be worthy of his soulmate then.