#u can see how much the concept changed direction!!

[kamil-a]

feature on the all new seraphimagent 8 operating system, december 2056

wips:

[ruegarding]

hi, quick question, how did you feel about Beryl Grace's character and how she was written?

hi! overall, beryl is another character that falls into the "interesting concept, not elaborated on in canon" category. in pjo, she's not particularly developed bc of her distance to the main character and narrative. in hoo, where she's directly related to a main character, she's flat, zeus is flat, hera is flat, thalia is barely relevant, and jason's entire character suffers from hoo being inconsistent and poorly written, which means anything that, arguably, should be done well doesn't hold up.

in pjo, beryl’s character isn’t very fleshed out, but she’s a side character to a side character, so it's understandable. she's also dead, but when she was introduced the majority of parents we knew abt were alive, so it wasn't too big a deal (this changes drastically w hoo, where there are more dead parents than living ones).

her existence answers a few questions: why doesn't every mortal parents know who their child's godly parent is? bc some of them cannot handle it. why did thalia run away? bc her mother coped w her mental instability by turning to alcoholism. why does thalia want to join the hunters? bc she wants stability. why can't thalia return home? bc her mother's dead. a lazy way out, maybe, but, again, beryl is a side character to a side character. the implied depth of beryl's character, that thalia cared enough to not only check on beryl's well-being after being revived but also feels enough guilt abt leaving that it's used against her soh, does a lot of the heavy lifting.

in hoo, we learn very little abt beryl's character, despite the fact that she is now connected to a main character. in fact, beryl's inclusion in hoo doesn't do much.

is beryl given depth now that she's closer to the narrative? not really. thalia had to raise jason bc beryl was always self-absorbed, so she and jason don't really have a relationship, therefore nothing to explore. and also the implied depth from pjo is removed bc actually thalia stayed bc of jason and doesn't care abt beryl. so, if zeus went back to beryl, had two children w beryl, that would imply that he loves her, right? no. bc why would we take this opportunity to imply that zeus cares abt other ppl and make him a multi-dimensional character. what does it mean that beryl unites two pantheons by having a greek child and a roman child? don't know. rick never explores it. why was jason sold to one direction? bc hera sucks and beryl's self-absorbed. how was jason able to recognize thalia's face despite last seeing her when he was two (or three??)? did hera tell jason abt thalia as he was growing up? was it all part of hera's big plan? don't know. probably. is jason and thalia's relationship an important focus of the series? no. do we explore the ramifications of beryl being a celebrity w children? no. where does jason's idea of what a mother should be ("caring, loving, selflessly protective") come from? not established. probably thalia...? was it necessary that jason's mother was beryl and not literally any other absent parent? no. was jason and hera's relationship explored in hoo, at least? if u settle for "kinda."

i can not overstate how little beryl shows up in hoo.

there's also a separate issue in how her disabilities are handled. like i say often, this is a series abt disability and therefore these things matter. she explicitly has an addiction and is coded w bpd and she and zeus are villainized for both of these things.

compare it w may. may can't give luke what he needs bc of her disability and it's approached w empathy and portrayed as a tragedy. similarly, hermes loves her and helps her how he thinks is best. and despite this, the audience can still empathize w luke's anger bc none of this changes the fact that he did not get what he needed as a child. that's how u write a complex relationship fitting for a main character of a series abt disability.

instead, beryl is written as incredibly shallow and repeatedly described as "unstable." she likes zeus bc he's powerful and he gives her attention. she caught his attention for shallow reasons and she wanted to keep it for shallow reasons. zeus is written like the villain for leaving, bc obviously he's also shallow and only there bc she gives him attention. this entire situation would be a tragedy if it were written w a modicum of care. it was a no-win scenario. he could have stayed forever, he could have made her immortal, and she would still be unstable, be unsatisfied. she put her entire well-being in his hands, and there is no way he can make her happy forever. it's sad! the love could've been there and it wouldn't've fixed anything!

boo sort of tries to add depth to her character and relationship w jason, but, again, it doesn't hold up bc jason doesn't have a relationship w her. for the two (or three??) years he lived w her, she doesn't even raise him. thalia does. jason doesn't see multiple sides of beryl. almost everything he (and the audience) knows abt beryl, he learned from thalia's crash course on why their mother sucked. the only exception is this promise beryl made, that she'd come back for him, except jason's already come to terms w the fact it's a broken promise, that beryl was never coming back for him, before the story begins. rick never establishes any redeeming quality of beryl's, or beryl's influence on jason, so jason's rejection of her doesn't pack any emotional punch bc...what exactly is there to reject? to let go of? why would the audience be attached to her? why would jason be afraid of becoming like her when there's nothing in the narrative to suggest they're similar?

it's not tragic. it's not triumphant. it's lackluster.

[wheresmymilliondollarman]

Hiii! I've discovered your account recently and you can definitely count me as one of your fans! Also I've never saw someone write for book bfs before so that's cool of you to do it ! I really don't know if you take requests but if u don't it's ok! but if you do can I have an Kenjix reader where she's a trained spy with no powers and Aaron send her on a mission with Kenji where she hates him at first but then she gets to know him and fall for him ? (Maybe w/o spoilers for books after ignite me)

how you get the girl

kenji kishimoto x fem!reader

you were never fond of the newest recruit, but after being assigned on a mission with him, your perspective might just change.

a/n: ty for the request!! been wanting to write for kenji, but struggled with a concept, so this is a great idea !! this is more an au thing, not based on a certain timeline in the series, so it should be spoiler free !! there also a hunger games reference in this bc i can't help myself. extra note: thank you for being so patient i had to go on n unexpected hiatus because i got sick then a bunch of stuff in my life is happening right now, so it was hard to write. but i have finally have time again somewhat and i want to get inspo to write <3

word count: 6.8k

warnings: really bad corny pick-up lines, kinda bad description of action LOL, mentions of injuries and blood, take a shot every time reader rolls her eyes

your home lied within the reestablishment for as long as you could remember. your father had stood behind the idea since it first became conceived. 

before the reestablishment came along, your family lived in the trenches of poverty. living in a one-bedroom apartment in the unsafest part of the city. most lived the same since the world was slowly deteriorating — counties went hungry, climate change affected natural resources, and the grasp of government control slipped away. it seemed like the end of the world for some, but you were too young to say for sure. 

your mother came down with an illness when you were around three. it was unsure of what it was, but it damaged her greatly and fatally. your father attempted to gather the money to see a doctor, pawning items, stealing money, and even asking the government for assistance, but it all became futile. your mother ended up passing a few months later. 

your father’s grief and rage at society drove him toward the direction of the reestablishment. they had already been around quite some time, but no one ever took it seriously - another political group with empty promises, they called it. but your father had faith in their potential, he had to, now that he wanted to ensure a better future for yourself. so, he offered his undying loyalty to the group, and they took an interest in that and offered him a low level job. 

within years, he worked his way up in power, helped enhance the reestablishment’s control over the world, and soon they were the sole government. many resisted, but the majority resided their fate to them because how much worse could the world get? 

overtime, the distant memories of the old world faded and were forgotten by many, including yourself. all you knew and lived was reestablishment life. books, movies, devices, or anything pertaining to before reestablishment life was discarded. you were too young to even remember most of those things. so, unlike others, you never felt like you missed out on anything. 

you were trained to be a soldier since practically diapers. the rebellion against the reestablishment was prominent during its early years, so your father ensured you could defend yourself properly if the worse were to come. with your agility and stealth, you were recruited to be a spy for them, infiltrating other bases and spying on the rebellion. 

your father now works closely with supreme commander anderson at the capital, but you’ve designated yourself to sector 45, along with warner. he recognized your talent the moment he met you and employed you to his sector. that was how it became your current home. 

your father was more than thrilled you impressed the commander’s son, telling you it was important to have their favor. ever since, he’d push the idea of you two, repeating that if you played your cards right, you could become the future supreme commander’s wife. 

you felt nauseous at the idea. you would never want to be a second in command helping run a country, much less marry the person who does. 

“hey! warner’s calling you into his office.” a voice called out to you. 

you snapped out of your daydream, remembering your current location. you stood in the training room, gloves on, practicing your punches onto one of the many punching bags. you tended to zone as as you got more into your workout. 

you turned around to face the soldier who had come in for the purpose of recalling a message, “thank you, tell him i will be there immediately.”  he gave a curt nod and headed out. 

you sighed, you were sure you were about to be sent on another mission to gather data. and normally, you would’ve been up for it, dying to put your skills to use. but lately, it seems the passion has disappeared. it was getting too repetitive for your liking, and you feared the rest of your life would play out the same.  

you gathered your belongings, stuffing your water bottle and gloves back into your gym bag, and replaced your sweaty black shirt with a plain gray one. 

you procrastinated as much as possible on the way to warner’s office. you are in no rush to head back out into the field or hear warners endless instructions on the mission. for once, you envied the low ranked soldiers. warner never expected much of them, so they were often overlooked and free to do as (possibly) pleased. you were expected to be no less than perfect. 

you took a deep breath before knocking on the office door. once warner granted permission, you entered the room, and the first thing you noticed was another person was already there — one you recognized to be one of warner's many men, kenji kishimoto.  

‘this is already off to a bad start,’ you told yourself. kenji was fairly new to the unit, joining a bit over a year ago. you never saw him much because of how busy you are, but due to his poor performance, warner had assigned you to train him for a week. 

it hadn’t been your first time training a soldier, so you were prepared to follow a routine and help him get the hang of basics. but you quickly learned kenji was going to be a pain in your ass.  

first, he was half an hour late to your training, wasting time you could’ve used for your own personal agenda. then, when he showed up, he acted nonchalantly about it. you decided to brush it off and just get the training over with than argue and waste more time. but as training commenced, he started acting condescending towards you. asking if you were sure what you were doing and whether you were the most qualified person to be instructing him. again, you ignored him and remained professional — trying your best to just finish off the lesson without any hassle.

the final straw for you came when you asked him to throw a punch to examine his form and offer critiques. to this responded, “are you sure about that? wouldn’t want to hurt you, sweetheart.” he said haughtily. you just about had it by then. 

in a quick movement, you threw a punch to his face, twisted his arm, and flipped him onto the mats. “sorry, did i hurt you sweetheart?” you asked in a condescendingly sweet tone. all kenji does is groan in response. 

after, you just stormed off and informed warner he would no longer be in charge of his training. you offered him no explanation and simply walked out of his office. if you hadn’t been so upset, you would’ve slapped yourself for being so careless in front of the commander's son. but fortunate to you, warner had no objections and simply tasked someone else to teach kenji.

however, that wasn’t even the end of your meeting. despite you bruising his face, kenji started to follow you like a puppy. you suddenly would run into him at least once a day. you swore he had to be somehow following you, and pretending it was a coincidence the two of you ran into each other. despite your expertise in the art of spying, you were never able to catch him in the act. you could sometimes feel a pair of eyes on you, but when you turned around, there was no one there. 

you told him many times to leave you alone, but that only seemed to intrigue him more. he went from condescending to flirting with you. you weren’t sure which one was worse. you were starting to think the latter because of his awful pickup lines.  

“do you have a name, or can i just call you mine?”

“oh god, i’m gonna throw up.”

“i’m going for a walk, would you mind holding my hand?”

“if you get your hand near me, it’s getting cut off.”

“i love it when you talk dirty to me.”

“do you travel through time? because i’ve pictured you in my future.”

“you’re not going to have a future, if you utter another word.”

“let me be the flynn rider to your rapunzel.”

“one, shut up. two, who are they?”

“what! you don’t know the amazing film that is tangled?”

“never mind, forget, i asked..”

no matter your reply, he never seems to get the hint. no, scratch that, he definitely got the hint he just simply did not care. this guy could be hit with a tank, and you were convinced he’d still have some stupid line to say to you. 

back to your current predicament, you were unsure why warner would call for kenji as well. you were hoping they were just finishing up a conversation, and you happened to be a bit early. which you kinda doubted because you had taken as long as you possibly could to get to this room.

you walked up to warner’s desk, “you called for me sir?” you questioned. the sooner you got your task, the sooner you can get away from the man next to you. 

kenji turns his attention toward you, unfortunately for you, “hey gorgeous, funny seeing you around here.” he says with a stupid smirk accompanying. 

“not really.” you spoke bluntly. 

before he can speak any more, dumb words, warner clears his throat indicating he is about to speak. “yes i did, and as you can see, i also called kishimoto here because I wanted to speak to the both of you.” 

oh no. you weren’t liking where this was going so far, especially since this is an issue needing both of your presence in the room. you prayed he wasn’t about to assign you to train with kenji again. you lucked out last time, but there is no way you would be able to again decline in a way that wouldn’t defy warner. you remained stoic and nod to his words, waiting in suspense for his instructions.  

“oh please go on, i’m intrigued.” kenji inquires. warner pays no mind him, nice to see you’re not the only one who does that. 

“the reason for that is, i am in need of both of you for a mission in favor of the reestablishment.” he explains, folding his hands together neatly on his wooden desk.  

technically, your prayer was granted; you didn’t need to train kenji. no, instead you had to go & work with him on a mission. ‘that’s why they say be careful what you wish for.’

you couldn’t protest and say absolutely not, or you just look like a child throwing a tantrum. it took a good portion of your self-control to keep that apathetic look on your face. but even then, your left eye reflexively twitched in irritation. 

“no disrespect to your order sir, but why is kishimoto needed? i can handle myself quite well if you didn’t already know.” you try to reason. 

“are you that nervous to be with me?” kenji interrupts smugly. you can’t help but stomp on his foot, even if it is a bit childish, your face neutral, not even sparring a look his way. 

kenji yelps in pain, but still remarks, “nice to see your love language has switched from verbal threats to physical violence.” 

warner, unbothered by your actions, replies, “i’m well aware of your capabilities l/n. but this task is a bit more dire than your usual requests. i’d prefer if you had a helping hand. plus, kishimoto still needs practice in the field and there’s no better example to follow than you.”

“thank you sir, for the compliment, but-“ 

“is that an objection to an order, l/n?” warner challenged you, raising a brow. you knew that was the end of it. as much as you didn’t like kenji, it wasn’t an issue worth being on warner’s bad side for. 

“no,” you stated defensively, “of course not, sir, i am ready to serve the reestablishment as needed,” you restate your loyalty, but these days it felt like empty words. 

“i, for one, have no issue with this request sir. i’m more than willingly to go along with y/n on this secret mission.” kenji proclaims with a gleeful smile. 

“great, because the both of you will be departing tomorrow morning.” warner informed, leaning back into his seat. “that will be all,” he dismissed with a wave of a hand. 

kenji and you both respectively nodded and turned your backs to walk away and exit his office. once you’re in the hall, your cool demeanor vanquishes and is replaced with a distasteful look. you simply couldn’t believe this was happening. you got partnered with the guy who you heard already had 19 demerits. surely, the world was punishing you.

opposite to you, kenji stood there with a sneaky smile, obviously enjoying how today’s events played out. it only annoyed you further. 

“well, well, well,” he begins, “i guess we’ll be spending quite a bit of time with each other. you never know how long these missions take perhaps will be stuck teach with each other for a whole month. wouldn’t that just be exciting?” kenji teases, draping an arm over your tense shoulders. 

you rolled your eyes and roughly pushed his arm off of you, “this operation is solely for professional purposes, kishimoto. we’ll be in and out then come back and relay information. then i go back to ignoring you.” you don’t bother to wait for a reply and start the walk to your living, quarters to prepare for your departure.

“i’ll grow on you eventually y/n!” he hollers at you as you venture further down the hall. 

-

you dreaded the events to come the moment you opened your eyes to woke up.

a part of you had hoped your talk with warner yesterday had been a nightmare, but as soon as you saw your packed bag on your dresser, you knew it was your reality. 

you hopped in the shower for a quick wash, braided your hair, and suited up in all black attire. you slip your bag over your shoulder and reluctantly walk out your room. from there, you made your way to the weaponry.

at the weaponry, you didn’t see kenji’s face; you had hope there was still a possibility he would not end up going along with you, and he would either be replaced, or you be left to your own devices. you started supplying weapons into your bags and filling the holsters strapped on your body. 

“can’t believe you already started without me, angel.” you hear a voice announce from behind you. 

you groaned, apparently, it was too much to ask to wish him away. he reminded you of a small insect that just refused to die no matter how many times you stepped on it with your foot. 

he doesn’t miss a beat, moving to the spot next to you, “don’t sound too excited, or else i’d start to think you like me,” kenji playfully remarks. 

you scoff, “only in your wildest dreams.”

“right you are.” you grimace at his reply. 

“can you just hurry up? the sooner we set off the better.” you urge him. 

he doesn’t deter from his smugness at your fierce attitude, “if you were so eager to be alone with me, you should’ve just told me, would’ve saved us a lot of trouble.” 

you groaned, already sick of being around him. how were you supposed to do this for a day, or even more? “you have five minutes or swear to god i’m leaving without you.” you promised on your way out. 

-

you made good of your word, and waited by the plane for approximately five minutes (you even counted down the seconds in your head). warner assigned a plane for the both of you, with its own pilot, to take you to your destination. 

you wait until the last second before you board the small plane to inform the pilot to prepare for take off. not even a minute later, you hear the movement of footsteps rushing towards the vehicle. you try to conceal your look of disappointment when you see it, kenji coming toward you.

you step down the plane to coldly greet him, “you’re lucky you made it, i was prepared to about to leave without you,” you tell kenji seriously. “i suppose i can always just push you off the plane one we take off to rid of you,” you nonchalantly suggest. 

he just laughs in response, thinking there’s no way you would actually take off without him, his laughter silences down when you offer no humor in your tone, nor your face. “you are just kidding right?”

you remain silent, and turn your back to board the plane. 

“..right?” he calls at you, a hint of worry in his tone. the corner of your lip tugs up in amusement as you walk off.

-

“wow, this spy stuff is quite boring.” kenji complains aloud. “how are you ever entertained doing this on your own? thank goodness you have me around now. perhaps we can even be some sort of duo, we can even have a cool name - the terrific two? nah. the dangerous duo? eh. oh wait, i’ve got it! mr. and mrs. smith-“

“will you shut up!” you turn your head away to snap at him. you were ready to lose your mind with his absurd commentary for the past hour.

the two of you stationed yourselves on top of a tall building’s rooftop hiding from plain view & your target’s sight. your current target was a supreme commander of another country, one that had indirectly expressed his indifference toward warner, but remained loyal to reestablishment principles. warner believes it’s possible he may have a hidden agenda concerning the reestablishment, and just to be sure, he tasked you to report his activity. 

your mission wasn’t anything complicated, the majority of it consisted of keeping vigilant watch and reporting anything of utter importance. the two of you used your binoculars to spy on the commander and his men from above. but you understood why warner had wanted someone to accompany you. there were almost 3 times as many men than what you were used to on your operations. but you weren’t going to admit this to the person next to you.

kenji nods, “you’re right we should skip the mindless comments and instead get to know each other. after all, i’d be real awkward if i didn’t even know fun facts about my future girlfriend,” he makes a hand gesture toward you at the end of his words.  

“first off, never going to be your girlfriend. second, this isn’t a date; we’re on a stakeout collecting information.” you reiterate. 

“come on,” kenji complains, “these guys have done nothing for the past 2 hours. the only criminal thing that is worth mentioning is that the commander does not pull off purple .” 

you scoffed, annoyed, but you couldn’t say he was completely lying. it has been kind of a slow night. the commander stood by his post, watching the soldiers pack shipments meant for other countries & sectors, including sector 45. whenever the supreme commander would leave, either kenji or you would tail him, but it was also a dead end. he either needed to use the bathroom or go to his office to retrieve something. a part of you was starting to wonder why warner would think of this man as suspicious when he seemed as bland as the color beige. it was quite offensive to your spy expertise to be sent on such a mundane mission.

you sigh in defeat, “fine,” you turn to face kenji, “if it gets you to shut up. what do you wanna know?”

kenji places his hand over his chest, making a face of disbelief. “wow, i’ve finally done it, i’ve cracked you. it’s only a matter of time now before you actually start enjoying my presence like most of the female population.” 

“i’m this close to pushing you off the ledge right now.” you exclaim, pinching your index and thumb very close as a demonstration. 

“well, if we’re gonna be working together,” 

he starts, ignoring your threat, “we’ve got to learn more about eachother - you know ,like the deep stuff.” 

“the deep stuff?” you repeat suspiciously. 

“yeah, like, what’s your favorite color?” 

you turn away dramatically, “well, now you’ve just crossed the line,” you say in a light tone. 

he shakes his head, “seriously, what’s your favorite color?”

“hm,” you ponder on it for a second before answering, “i like yellow.” 

“yellow?” he repeats, unsure of whether to believe you. “you’re telling me, the spy who is always seen in all black’s favorite color is yellow?” he speaks as if the concept is foreign to him.

you roll your eyes for the millionth time tonight, “i wear all black because i’m working, not by personal choice. my wardrobe is actually full of colorful choices.” you admit. 

kenji smirks, “so, what color are you wearing underne-“

“anyway,” your speak over him, cutting him off. “what’s your favorite color?” you ask to change focus. 

“purple. and not like the purple that supreme commander looks horrendous in,” you hold back a smile at the insult, “more like the shade of purple rapunzel’s dress is.”

you tilt your head, “who’s rapunzel, is she a friend of yours?” 

his eyes narrow at you, “a friend of min- she’s only one of the greatest heroines in the disney film history!” he exclaims. 

“what about your knee?”

“you can’t be serious-“

that was when you heard it, voices speaking in rushed and commanding tones, getting louder and louder to the point you were able to make out the words without your listening equipment. you recognized one of them - the supreme commander.

“shoot them!” he shouted at the soldiers. 

you’d been spotted. and now they were going to start firing. 

“kenji get down!” 

“what-“

you didn’t wait for him to understand and instinctively jumped onto kenji’s body to bring him down to the ground and avoid him from getting shot.

due to your heroic act, you were unfortunately caught by a bullet and shot in your left arm. you’ve been shot before, but it didn’t suck any less. luckily, the adrenaline coursing through you helped subdue the pain for now, but you know it’s only a matter of time before you were withering in discomfort. 

“shit!” kenji cursed in reaction to the many gunshots shooting at you both. you both are currently protected by the small four feet ledge from the building you were grounded on.

“how did they even spot us?“ kenji hollers so you could him him over the flux of bullets. 

“i don’t know, but there’s no time for explanations. this ledge won’t protect us for long we have to find a way out of here without being noticed.“ 

you had a lurking suspicion the commander was given a heads-up on the arrival of two spies. however, it wasn’t a time to investigate that. 

 kenji began to move from beneath you so he could somewhat sit himself up, still avoiding being hit. his movement caused you to unintentionally hiss in pain when he rubbed against your injured arm; that is when kenji took notice of your wound. 

he gently grabbed it for further inspection, blood oozing from the hole of the bullet plunged into your arm. returns his gaze to you. his eyes showing worry, “you’re injured. why didn’t you say anything?” he questions you gently. 

he then swiftly untucked his long sleeve shirt for machines and ripped a piece of it from the bottom. then he began to wrap it around your injury and tie it to give it pressure to lessen the bleeding. 

“didn’t think there was time, you know, with hundreds of bullets coming our way.”

kenji rolls his eyes. you speak up again before he has a chance to counter, “ok, we seriously need to focus on our plan of action right now. we are way too outnumbered to strike back.” 

kenjis nods and looks down in concentration of convincing a plan, and you do the same. you both could maneuver your way down towards the way you came in, but no doubt the commander's men have already begun to circle around the entire establishment. you both could sprint quick enough and jump onto the neighboring building, but it would require some climbing. and with your current left arm in bad shape, could be almost impossible for you to climb a building with one arm, no matter the skill acquired in your training. 

do you have to make a decision quick, so you went with the most logical one. “kenji,” you call his attention, and he looks up from his spot, “i have a plan. but..you’re going to have to go without me.” 

kenji’s face shifted from concern to confusion.  “i don’t understand..” 

you briefly explained the small plan you concocted, “with my with my injury , it’s clear i can’t do it. so, it’s better that you go on and-“

kenji doesn’t let you finish. “no. no. that’s not an option.” he protests. 

“you have t-“

his hand is covering your mouth in a second, “it’s out of the question. don’t go saying that stupid shit again, got it?“ he sternly tells you, looking you in the eye intensely. 

you’ve never had someone be so adamant about leaving you behind. if it had been anyone else with you, they would’ve up and left the moment you suggested it. a warm feeling tingled in your stomach at the thought to kenji caring about you so much. 

you’re quite stunned at his assertiveness, so you nod quietly - which is highly out of character for you.

once he knows you understand, he removes his hand from your face, sighing as he does so. “i have a way for us to get out of here unnoticed and safely,” kenji admits. you pique up, intrigued by how he has a better solution, and motion for him to continue. “but you’re really going to have to trust me for this to work, ok?” he says more like a statement than a question.

“ok.” you agree. 

while you may not have known kenji too long or even liked him much before tonight, he wasn’t incompetent, mostly, you had enough faith in him to believe he wouldn’t intentionally put you both in harm's way. 

kenji takes a deep breath in, and you can tell to ease his nerves. it bubbles up your curiosity more. it must be something quite grand for him to be nervous to do. but then again, it had to be something quite out of the box if it weren’t a plan you could’ve conceived.

“i’m going to grab your hand, and then i’m gonna need you to do your best to not freak out.” kenji instructs carefully to you. 

now you were getting anxious; what could possibly make you freak out? generally weren’t the type to scare easily, and you’re sure kenji knew this. but you truly had no other option unless you wanted to be stranded here. the sound of gunfire served over to reminder of your limited time. 

you nod in confirmation and hold out your right hand in permission for him to grab. kenji takes a second before he latches his hand into yours. 

for a moment, you’re confused. nothing seems to be happening. part of you thought he was going to continue with your plan, but forcibly drag you along with him. you turn your attention toward the other side to check if you were supposed to see something. but again, saw nothing of significance. 

you begin to scowl, “kenji is this a joke-“

but when you turn to see kenji, no one is there. right away, you assume he left you and did everything prior as some twisted joke. you were ready to get angry, but then you felt the pressure on your palm. you were still holding his hand. 

you looked around again and saw no sign of kenji besides his hand in yours. your confusion was deepening at this point, and you were beginning to think you passed out after being shot and were currently dreaming. you looked down at your interlocked hands, but you didn’t see your hands either. your eyes then moved over to your own body, but again - nothing.

you gasp, “what the hell?”

you instantly panic, not understanding what is happening. you move your body in the hope it would make it visible again, but failed. you try to free your hand from kenji’s, but he firmly keeps it gripped. 

“hey, it’s alright, i’m here. calm down.” you hear kenji finally speak from next to you. you feel his thumb rub over the top of your hand in an attempt to soothe you. 

you ignore him and attempt to make a list of possible nonsense that would explain the situation. “are we dead?” 

“no! just invisible.” he states calmly as if the whole situation were normal. he stands up, forcing you to do the same. he begins to build up a run toward the side of the building. you can’t see either of your bodies, so you do your best to keep up without tripping. 

“invisible?” you repeat, “how are we invisible?” it sounded ridiculous saying it aloud, but it was the only “reasonable” explanation for what was happening. 

“uh, let’s just say i have a certain skill set.” he says in a rushed tone. you couldn’t tell if it was because he wanted to avoid answering or focus on the task at hand. maybe both. 

“that doesn’t explain anything!” you say, waving your other arm around, although you both are unable to see it. 

now having reached the side of the building you entered from, you see the ladder that led you both up. kenji wastes no time on stepping down first. you can’t see his movement but can feel yourself being tugged and the sound of his boots hitting the metal. 

you follow, continuing to hold his hand as he leads you both down the ladder of the building. “as you mentioned over and over before, there’s no time for explanations. you just focus on getting down this ladder.” 

you did as he said (for once) and continued stepping down, with one hand on the rail, in silence. for once in your life, you were speechless.

you both successfully evaded the commander and his soldiers. the invisibility had proven to be true because you walked past them like it was nothing, as they still shot to where they assumed the two of you were still positioned. 

there were no words exchanged on the way back to the plane. kenji took the initiative to inform the pilot of your coordinates, so the two of you could be picked up. you felt foolish for being so unprofessional, but you finally evading the danger, your state of shock was brought back. 

when the plane finally landed down, kenji had finally returned both of your visible states and then released your hand. you could feel the sweat on it from holding on so long, but you were still reeling in from events to notice or care.

both of you moved to board the plane. 

if you hadn’t faced some blood loss and felt incredible fatigue, you would’ve hounded kenji for answers on your way back to sector 47. but as soon as you sat down on a seat, you were out like a light. 

-

the next time you open your eyes, all you could see was white. the ceiling lights temporarily blinded you, making it hard to see your surroundings at first. 

you groaned from disorientation and the blinding light. you turn to the sense of touch and understand you are lying on a bed. your vision settled, and you were able to vaguely recognize your surrounding. the long windows, medical supplies, other white-sheeted beds neighboring, faint smell of disinfectant — you were in the medical wing in sector 45.

you knew it was the infirmary from your sector because of the large indentation on the wall from a mishap of yours a few years prior, one of the few times you actually went to a trained nurse instead of mending to yourself. long story short, the nurses really should have de-weaponized you before attempting to wake you up after you’d passed out. 

now knowing you were in a dangerous environment, you slowly began to sit up. you used one hand to stable yourself since the other was put into a cast. the aching you were trying to put off the whole mission came in full force. 

you looked down at your attire; your first layers of clothes covered in grime and blood were removed. now you were only left in your black shorts and tank top. 

not even a moment later, you hear the sounding of the your door opening. 

“well finally you’re awake!” a voice says, “thought i’d need to wake you up with true love’s kiss.” 

kenji walks up to your bedside, his sly smile never faltering until he takes a glance at your injured arm. 

he peers down at your face. he takes a hand and moves a strand of hair behind your ear. your stomach warms at the feeling of his faint touch on the side of your face.  

“i thought i’d lost you for a second there, sleeping beauty.” kenji says in a gentle tone. 

another reference of his you didn’t understand, but you chose to focus on his other words instead.

you tilt your sore neck, which you regret,  in confusion, “what do you mean?”

“you were asleep the whole flight, and when we landed, i tried to wake you, but you wouldn’t stir. i knew something was wrong. my assumption was proven correct because when i examined your arm, your blood loss was almost severe. after that, i just rushed to get here.” kenji explains, his tone a bit somber. you fight the urge to hold his hold and comfort him, then chide yourself for thinking so something so intimate involving kenji. 

guess you probably should’ve checked your arm when you boarded the plane. somehow, your bloody arm had gone from the first to the last thing on your mind during the operation. 

“and now your facing my dashingly handsome face.” he cockily adds in. 

there it is. you don’t even snarkily counter back. for once, you just smile in response. you give in to your urges and grab onto his hand, giving it a soft squeeze, “thank you kenji. seriously, i know we started on the wrong foot, but i’m very grateful to you.” you say sincerely. 

kenji squeezes your hand in return, “to be fair, you’re the one who’s made your distaste toward me very clear while all i did was confess my undying love to you.” he corrects with a pout. he places a hand over his heart in fake pain. 

your mouth gapes, “what? you’re the one who not only showed up late, but acted like a total douche the first time we met.” 

kenji laughs at this sheepishly, “yeah, about that..” he goes to rubs his hand on the side of his neck. 

“what?” you question. “don’t leave me hanging.”

kenji laughs, “that first meeting, i wasn’t actually late.” he starts. 

you shake your head, “yes you were. i waited there for almost half an hour.” 

“i was there fifteen minutes early, waiting by the door. but then i saw you walk past me, not even sparing a glance, and go into the training room.” kenji confesses. 

“then why were you so late?” you interrupt impatiently. you don’t remember seeing him there at all, and if he had been there, why didn’t he just go in straight after you instead of wasting your time. 

“i’m getting there, angel.” kenji taps his index finger on the tip of your nose. you swat his hand and wait for him to go on. 

“after you went in, i was stunned. truly. you were the most gorgeous being i’d ever seen, and you walked around like you didn’t even know it.” 

you smack his arm at his dramatic flattery, “shut up, quit playing around and get to the point.” 

“am i one to lie?” he asks rhetorically. 

you give him a look. “alright, maybe, but it doesn’t make what i said any less true. you are beautiful, and anyone who hasn’t told you that is an idiot.” 

you scoff, turning your head away from kenji. you rather him not see the rising redness on your cheeks. 

luckily kenji continues without comment, “anyway, after i got a hold of myself, i thought, ‘how was a guy supposed to walk in and face this goddess of a person supposed to be his trainer.’ he can’t, so he does the classic guy move, ‘act indifferent to make yourself seem cooler in front of a girl.”

“so you acted like an asshole….on purpose….because you wanted to be cool in front of me?” you repeat slowly, making sure you understood his stupid plan. 

“ok, i get it; it's not my best moment. trust me when i say i realized my mistake as soon as you started kicking my ass like it was nothing. but it actually made me like you more and even turned me on a bit-“

“ok, i think i got it!” you weren’t one to be so easily flushed, but it was hard not to when he was so blunt about affection toward you. even if it was vulgar. 

“after that horrible first meeting, i had to get you to like me.” kenji explains, “so i did my best to use my attractiveness and charming persona to seduce you. but, damn, you wouldn’t even bat an eye at my attempts. that only made me wanna do it more.” 

you cross your arms over your chest, “so what, you like me because i’m pretty and a challenge for you?” you ask with an aloof tone.

“maybe at the start, but now, everything about you has me captivated. your strength and resilience. the way people undermine you, but you don’t let it stop you from proving them wrong. how to most, you’re uptight and cold, but you actually care more than you’d want to admit. i admire that you want to be the best, but not for warner, for yourself.” your eyes begin to soften at kenji as he describes you so passionately. you didn’t realize observant of you he was. 

kenji continues, “hell, even your stubbornness. though, you break my heart a little every time you reject one of my very well thought out pick up lin-“

you don’t wait to hear anymore. abruptly, you sit up and yank him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him down to your eye level. you’re moving automatically as if in a trance, and your sturdy hand reaches the right side of his face. “shut up.” you say in a rushed whisper. 

then you kiss him. you actually, willingly, lean in and collide your lips with kenji kishimoto. you like it very much too. and there is no better feeling than the way his lips on yours make your heart race and body buzz with warmth and exhilaration. 

everything happened so quick, kenji was frozen in his spot for a good moment - his eyes so wide they could’ve popped out. then, he smoothly regained composure. his face relaxed, now having a giddy grin into the kiss,  and slid a hand to the back of your neck, under your hair, to hold you closer. 

even though the kiss was a heat-of-the-moment decision, the kiss itself wasn’t heated nor rushed. no, it was almost the exact opposite. your lips were tenderly pressed together, heads titled opposite directions so you fit together in sync. 

you move your touch to his covered chest, gripping his plain fitted shirt for dear life, a way to remind yourself that this was all very real. 

you’re the first to pull away; part of you already longing for his touch as you did. you felt dizzy, not in a loss of blood way, but in a weightless feeling way. you couldn’t stop the silly smile etched on your face, nor the flushed look that was likely written all over your face. you couldn’t even find yourself caring about it. 

kenji’s appearance isn’t much different from yours, but his smile is crooked and screams more of satisfaction and a bit of cockiness. “told you i’d eventually win you over.” 

you chuckle and lightly punch kenji’s bicep, shaking your head, “tell anyone, and i’ll deny it.” you threaten in jest. 

you tap your lips with your index finger and look up in mock contemplation, “hm. maybe if you explain how you turned us invisible back there i’ll think about a date.” you remind him. you were still owed a great explanation. 

kenji grins, “is that all it takes? well, then, i’ve got a hell of a story for you.” 

special thank you to @butterflyreads for being so patient and liking my works, hope you enjoy this one <3

[starrylayle]

Marauders Fandom > "There is no canon !!" and other rhetorics

Guess who's back in their marauders phase after 2-3 years of being dormant lmao?? ((spoiler its me lol)). Anyways, a lot has changed since 2021 in this fandom so I just wanted to talk about the direction i think it's going.

I remember in 2020-21 the fandom started to boom in popularity on tiktok --> esp with the rise wolfstar + atyd. I remember people were so suprised with remus' characterization as 'rougher around the edges' instead of the 'soft boi' thing, and how that influenced the new wolfstar dynamic. [Just want to add that the atyd characterisation is much more complex than this and its one of my fave fics --> I'm more talking about the fandom at large's reaction to this)

And since fandom is incapable of having two nuanced and characters who are not stark opposites,, their roles were basically reversed and now Remus is the toxic dom alpha male and sirius is the cute girlyboy twink --- which um,,, the oc-ification is so real its embarrassing but whatever (omg don't even get me started on jegulus 💀)). I just assumed these would stay as headcanons. But now we have people saying, that 'we barely know anything abt the marauders in canon' or 'isn't the whole point of fandom to make shit up?' which i have sO many issues with so let me just try and compile my thoughts into dot points for the sake of coherency.

'we barely know anything abt the marauders in canon' ---> First of all, Remus, Sirius and Severus are fully fleshed out characters in the og series -- why do you think people would care enough to create an entire fandom based on their backstories if they were 2d flat characters in canon?? Like bffr. I saw a post on here (forgot who it was by, let me know if u know!) that said, 'I didn't cry over sirius' death in OotP just for ppl to say that we know nothing abt him in canon'. Like, its just mind-boggling to me lol.

'isn't the whole point of fandom to make shit up?' --> Ok y'all. For a fandom to work, there have to be some guidelines, some kind of source material, some point of reference so people can build upon it and make content. I think we can all agree on that. One reason why HP is such a popular place for fandom is the world-building and potential plots/storylines. I see some people argue that jk rowling was a shit writer anyways so might as well contradict everything she says. Now, I don't disagree with that point in particular, Jo is a pretty mediocre writer and a terrible person. HOWEVERrr, I'd argue that it is a lot more fascinating when people expand or work on the concepts in HP. JK Rowling has a lot of great ideas but executes them terribly -- I love when fic writes do this, which prolly explain why I love atyd as it is still very much canon compliant but executes themes on class, disability and queerness that jkr could barely do in subtext. This doesn''t mean I only think canon compliant fics are valid. That's not the case! I think as long as the charcterization is consistent to the character and the particular circumstances/world they're in, its fine! In fact, I love seeing how the same character would function if in a different place! I also love seeing explorations of the magic and magic systems in aus or fix it fics (or even canon compliant ones) that still fit in with the canonnical system that we know.

I guess what I'm trying to say I wish the marauders fandom explored the world and charcterizations more deeply instead of creating shallow oc-fied version of the characters that fit into whatever's trending -- like just write your own book or smth lol -- booktok will eat it up i promise.

Also, kinda related kinda not but um,,, why are we romanticising fascists -- like babe no evan rosier is not your babygirl he canonnoically tortured multiple ppl and became a death eater soo... not saying that I wouldn't want an exploration of his character or even a relationship with barty -- (who's not some cool dairk-haired edgelord but a actually a cowardly fascist murderer with blond hair -- yes the blond hair is important) -- I'd just want them to be portrayed as the not morally good people they are. Like,, if u want to oc-ify a character like pick someone whos not a death eater or has little info on them like dirk cresswell or frank longbottom,,, or ya know,, one of the MANY female characters in the fandom ((This fandom also has a problem with women and sapphic ships in general but that's a whole other issue lol).

I know this 'babygirlification' of death eaters doesn't mean to do this, but it also ends up watering down the themes of oppression, bigotry, etc and leaves us with not nearly as complex characters. Also one of the issues I had with the og HP world is that JK will introduce concepts like wizard racism and slavery and then just like,, not really do anything about it or just have half-arsed redemption arcs whilst not ever actually exploring the root of the issue. And now i feel like the fandom is following in those footsteps unfortunately.

Anyways, i've been rambling for too long so I'll just leave it here. Sorry if this came off as mean spirited in anyway,, I just have a lot of thoughts™ and my family is sick of hearing them lol. These opinions are not set in stone however so I'd love to hear your thoughts on this subject! At the end of the day this is fandom and we're supposed to have fun -- so yeah !! thanks for reading if you made it this far!

[sleepyficss]

hiiiiiii same taco loving girly girl as before. previous request was my first time sending a request to a blog like this and i do really like the post!!!!!!! super cute :3 romantic headcanons for taco regarding each of the five love languages? same concept for reader as before. please and thank you ueeeehhhhhhh

love languages.

taco x reader

authors note:

aghh i love writing about love languages, there's so much i could ramble about here. ty ty for another request !!! i'm glad you liked the other one – keep the good ideas coming!! /lh

words of affirmation

- this ones' first up!! i feel is very important to her.

- some days, she gets in stuck in her own head, and starts to convince herself that you aren't going to stick around forever. she gets scared that you'll decide that, no, you don't forgive her for her past actions; and that she'll lose you like mic, and pickle –

- taco definitely needs to hear your reassurance, reminding her that you wouldn't leave her willingly for any reason.

- let her know that you don't hold anything against her for her past actions, and nothing will change your current relationship with her <3

- taco also understands how other peoples' words/opinions may affect you.

- as previously mentioned, she knows how it feels to be scared of possible abandonment – she isn't afraid to talk you through it, and to let you know how much she loves you.

- reminds you constantly that she couldn't imagine being with anyone else, not that she'd want to be, either.

quality time

- taco has stated before, that she thinks better when she has another person to talk to.

- so, please PLS just sit down next to her, while she's working on a project, or even just playing a game like sudoku (she's such a nerd, did u see her calculating her fall into the water in s1?? & i mean that with pure affection LOL).

- it may even help her figure things out along the way if you ask her what she's making/planning/how to play, so she can explain it.

- you may end up sitting there having no clue what half the words she's saying are, but its the thought that counts!! just nod and smile, she's too buried in her own work to notice that you're completely lost.

- leaning against her on the couch while you watch television, or read a book, or literally anything!! just relax by chilling around with her.

physical touch

- you're looking at the most touch-starved object in existence here (mephones a close second, i won't lie).

- especially after s1, where she was alone for so long before making a series of even worse decisions, barely anyone even bothered to LOOK in her direction, much less interact with her.

- the first time you hold her hand, she's almost forgotten what it was like to feel the touch of someone that actually cared for her.

- taco is surprised by your touch, and you almost go to retract your hand out of fear that she isn't comfortable with it – she's quick to reach back for it though, quietly asking you to not let go.

- (now she won't ever let go of you, good luck! she's super glued your hands together.)

- jk jk. but she's so shy about any affection for a while, that you almost think she won't ever get used to it.

- but OH BOY. when she does get more comfortable with initiating it? taco becomes quite the flirtacious menace.

- she's learnt of the affect she has on you, originally with just her voice (don't lie, she could say 'hello' to me, and i'd swoon), but now her touch? she loves seeing you flustered.

acts of service

- one of taco's greatest skills is her problem solving abilities, so she won't hold back when trying to come up with solutions to any of the issues you confide in her.

- especially after all you've done for her, trusting her, staying with her, and loving her, despite everything she's done?

- will do anything just to see a smile on your face (if not because she loves you, then to make herself feel more confident in believing that you do love her, but she won't admit that to you – she knows you'll scold her for it).

- she does really appreciate if you try to do the same to her, whether its trying to help her with an issue she's having, or if its just making a cup of tea for her.

- taco isn't used to it, as she doesn't usually get any sort of help from others unless they're getting something out of it. she almost expects you to want something in return, but is happily surprised when she is told otherwise.

gift-giving

- she already finds joy in inventing things, so its even better when she's able to to make something for you!!

- always tries to make it something you'll find useful, like... ..

- if you get overwhelmed by sounds easily? she's made you a pair of noise cancelling earbuds that can be easily hidden from view!

- or, she'll take apart and analyse the bowtie she took from test tubes lab, just to make a second one for you to match with her! except, depending on your style, it may be a hair accessory, jewellery, etc. instead!

- (i can imagine you convincing her to pull harmless pranks on the others with the invisibility ability – it reminds her of how silly she used to act in s1... and how much fun she used to have with pickle.)

- in turn, taco cherishes literally ANYTHING you give to her. whether its an expensive item you bought, or a hand-made gift.

- she totally keeps all of it too, including holiday cards, somewhere safe, and she likes to pull them out and look through everything if she's ever missing you :(

- but she would be so devastated if any of it ever got lost or ruined, depending on how much it matters to her, she may even end up crying.

- in general, i think taco's main love languages are for sure words of affirmation & acts of service.

- she's not quite used to showing her love to others, but she'll do anything she can to make sure you know how she feels about you <3

[kurukufute]

Au idea

What if Macaque was raised by a wind spirit never met wukong till he was on the jttw.

Macaque was traveling with his father to human villages selling charms, niknaks joules, poshens and other remedies(Mac's wearing glamorous & a mask to cover his face pops gave his scarf btw). Then they were returning home to their very magical forest with very magical inhabitants. Then they bump into the jttw gang wail in the same village heading the same direction so they join together and they go on for a while then monk-man and pops get kidnapped by some random demon. Mac out smarts them and gets his pops & tripitaka with out really hurting the demons and tripitaka is like "Why can't u handle it like that" and wukong is all pouty like "I handle things just fine". Mac just checking his pops is okey. Not giving a shit about wukong's side-eye glear. Then wukong realizes there's something off this Sierma guy. He tells tripitaka that night and the next day tripitaka pulls pops aside and tells him his son might not be human and pops says "i know he's a demon still does not change the fact he's my son " and goes back to camp to pack up (Tripitaka is left there flabbergasted) after a solid 2 minutes he dose the same. They make it to the forest and are told that can stay the night just they aren't allowed to hurt any of the crichers Mac'll take care of the misbehaving ones.

At this point none of the jttw gang have seen macaque's face so they don't know what type of demon he is, not even Wukong. Mac stays relatively close to his pops not talking much. Wukong is trying to get on Macs nerves pops stepping in between them and being an over protective of his son.

Then they get to what see what Mac looks like most of the gang was flabbergasted and Ao Lei is all "u pretty :D" simple friendly compliment. Wukong is smitten (he has been for a while) like

(●//▽//●).

The gang leaves, after the journey they come visit some times especially Wukong. Pops is a little not happy that his son and the monkey king have a thing for each other (all protective dad like (ง’̀-‘́)ง).

But ya that the little au i have not much developed in how it'll work but I have fun with the concept. If u have questions go ahead and ask. I may make a design for pops & macaque later. Much love 💘

[archivedjuice]

Hi! :D I’m avoiding course work and I’m just genuinely curious.

Now it’s been a while since I’ve been into comics/superheroes but when I first followed you I remember you enjoyed the Netflix Defenders series, more specifically DD. Can I ask why u don’t as much anymore?

that's so real of you

the more i got into the comics the more i realised how very much sucks the route they took in the dd show upheld a lot of ableist, racist and white christian (the distinction of them using catholicism over any other branch of christianity is important to my establishing of the choice's explicit whiteness (but specifically in correlation to the concept of white supremacy)) beliefs which kind of acted in direct opposition to matt murdock's original characterisation. there's also a fundamental misunderstanding of the comics in general and how each run related to each other and what they meant for the title as a whole and this misunderstanding definitely negatively affected the show's plot and how it went about establishing and developing relationships. then, the fanbase is even worse; it not only upholds but also adds onto and perpetuates the heteronormative and ableist aspects of the tv show by infantalising and dehumanising matt murdock but at the same time, carnally desiring the seeing man that plays him while willingly ignoring what the racism and changing of many aspects of matt's core beliefs to be directly aligned with catholicism means about the messages the writers and directors wanted the show to portray. at first, it's just petty annoyances here and there but looking at the root causes of fandom discourses is kind of stomach turning; these fandom discourses worsen because when you think about it, putting ableist and heteronormative people who are fixated on a catholic character in one, very small and echo-y space breeds the worst fandom habits i've ever experienced -- who would have guessed? there's a very specific kind of ego attributed to the fanbase that's akin to that of mcu twitter bros in which they refuse to read the source material and when you look for any kind of reasoning for this, it jumps right out at you: reading the comics in which matt murdock's personality isn't propped on these harmful, very christian and white societal ideals means explicitly confronting their own morals, especially when it comes to humanising disabled people (which they can never do because in the end, they were attracted to charlie cox and not matt murdock specifically) and even perhaps entirely discarding the idea of enjoying/understanding a character they're either not attracted to or one they are, but they feel they shouldn't be attracted to.

also i'm just very hyperfixated on mike murdock and have been for almost two years straight.

[bonetrousled]

please please please please gawd tell me more about ur pap being the knight theory OR if u would so pls direct me to where u talked abt it before. u have truly GRIPPED me w this

OH GOD I HAVE SO SO MUCH OK. so i DO have the papyrus powerpoint HERE which has a section on that a little more in-depth and i will say i am not the first to come up w this idea but personally it's the only option that makes Complete sense w no holes to me. this is all going off the concept that papyrus is likely younger here bc sans asks kris to hang out w him. my ramblings under a cut bc im about to go fucking CRAZY

the knight, by people that have seen him already, is always referred to w he/it pronouns. papyrus and sans are the only characters that fit the he/it bill (both of them are referred to with it/its in the lost soul fight, nobody else is referred to this way)

there is NO way that kris OR susie could have made the dark worlds in chapter 1 and chapter 2. the dark world had to have been opened AFTER noelle and berdly got to the library (since their books and stuff are open) but BEFORE kris and susie arrived, crossing all of them off potential dark world opener lists. also up until this point kris didn't even Know how to open a dark world

there's the closet in the library that states that "a very large person could easily fit inside". papyrus could have potentially been hiding in there and waiting for others to come to open the fountain. additionally in ut he says that there's no skeletons in his closet- except him sometimes

but then the question of motive comes up. Why would he do that?

so far from what we've seen in deltarune, papyrus is an asocial shut-in. given that the main core of other characters hasn't really been altered, we can also assume what he wants MOST is to feel important and be liked, like in undertale. combining these two aspects leads us to someone who can't bring himself to socialize with others in the real world, but DESPERATELY wants to feel necessary and admired.

the whole deal w the dark world is wish fulfillment, at least as i see it. susie gets a cool outfit with spikes and makes friends, she has her own room with her own style, etc. berdly gets a cool, nerdy sci-fi outfit and is put in charge, and even gets to have a heroic moment towards the end of chapter 2. noelle gets to tell her true feelings to a mother figure and gets to spend time with susie. so if you get what you want most in the dark world, it would make COMPLETE sense for papyrus to not only be spending time in them, but opening more fountains to spend as much time in them as possible.

plus, what have we seen the first two chapters thus far? EVERYONE important and in-charge LOVES the knight. all they do is talk abt him and how awesome he is. double tying in this aspect of wish fulfillment to the weird, perfect nature of hometown- people who didn't really get a chance at life are still alive, everyone is happy, that sort of thing. papyrus is the ONLY main character out of all of undertale that NEVER gets what he wants. every other character gets some sort of completion to their arc, some sort of resolution and closure, they meet their goals, they achieve something. by the end of true pacifist, papyrus doesn't get ANYTHING. his friend count is still stagnant, he never proves himself, or gets any sort of important role (he only becomes the ambassador if you DON'T want to). putting two and two together here, it would make perfect sense for papyrus to finally get his moment- by his own hands.

plus, and this is just a little obvious here, but if you become what you want the most in the dark world, and papyrus wanted to be in the guard- what would you call a member of a royal guard? a knight.

alongside the weird, vague hints that papyrus must have had SOMETHING happen to him in his past and that he wasn't always a great guy (very adamant about how people can change, the "I'M A PRETTY BRUTAL KIND OF GUY" line, the way he admits to you in aborted no mercy that he was going to blast you to smithereens) and we NEVER get resolution/explanation for that (or any of the other weird shit he says [see powerpoint]) i feel like there's just too much setup here for any other option to make sense to me. papyrus is also just very obviously toby's favorite character from ut, he's the only one he ever commissioned art for just to have and he clearly really enjoys writing him and doing stuff w him. anyway ummm im insane :) *grins*

[baqisnotdead]

have u ever seen the music video for "Ocean Avenue" by Yellowcard?

^one of the most useless questions on tumblr dot com

ok anyway i was compelled tonight to rewatch this song's music video not only cuz it slaps, but i remember watching it with my sister some years ago and us being baffled about what this music video means

source:

re-familiarize yourself with this barely-sensical emo pop rock cinematic classic and you'll understand my confusion. so...it's a time loop concept. big deal. maybe it doesn't have to make sense and it's just interesting enough on its own to provide a lossely-cohesive storyline carried along by concept rather than by narrative?

and yes that could very much be it, but i was struck with some revelatory thoughts upon my own viewing of it tonight. i won't clog your dash but if you wanna dive in with me, i too have nothing better to do this tuesday night <3

so we all know the art of The Music Video is a pendulum that swings wildly in dozens of directions across several decades -- a music vid making little to no sense isn't the end of the world. sometimes the lyrics don't match what's on the screen at all and life goes on. however, i think i was wrong to assume that of this song and its video. now i don't mean i expected the song's lyrics to be literal; about "green cars" and "women running me over" and "goddamn sidewalk nuns again" but i think that all has a purpose for being in the video, regardless

just as lyrics can contain abstract meaning, music videos can help convey that visually as well. i think this time loop "gag" and the accompanying microgags within them in perpetuity is plenty entertaining, and that's clearly one angle in all of this, and that's great! the worst thing a music video can do is bore you. but i think the implied goofiness or high-concept-ness of it all can lead a viewer to not look as closely into the implied themes of it all. yes, it's great to follow in the storyline-not-storyline kinda way, but drawing critical thematic statements from a man parkouring over a shopping kart full of garbage? that's too fuckin far

except it's not! because like i said: it's all in there for a purpose. just breaking down what we see sequentially, all of it feels disjointed until the time loop clicks after the first chorus. only then, over a third of the way into the song, are we able to start piecing things together. with this, the theme of "cycles/something cyclical" is established. what's this cycle of? what's the intended outcome and how do we get there?

once a loop is established in any story, what's most interesting about it is what changes, and not what actually "loops." upon first run, barreling through Sidewalk Nunz, ragdolling over a shopping kart of trash, we see him pitifully miss the goal: a green muscle car of mysterious rock n roll origin. we loop and we're back on our feet. this time: side spin around the nuns, PARKOUR over the homeless -- that'll show them!! -- and we're a bit ahead of the curve as our hero is mowed down in his emo prime (electric violin continues)

but then it's bridge time! and that means: story development! inside what looks to be the nicest apartment in Newark NJ, a brief case and glasses fit for an eye surgery patient are seen. an attractively lesbionage agent takes them both and attempts to leave. the chase ensues once more, and the nuns are skillfully woven through, the vagabond is High Fived TM respectfully, and the hero successfully intercepts and boards the green muscle car, end of song

so...what's it all mean? well here's my take: it's all about the cyclical nature of self-improvement within the context of partnership. first off, this is supported at least somewhat by the lyrics. everything is very hypothetical and expressing desire for things like nostalgia, a better future, etc. "If I could find you now, things would get better" it's a bittersweet theme that desires for the past and the future, but not the present. typically, times of change or adjustment are what these desires and emotions manifest from. an unsteady or unpleasant "now" could be/would be/should be made better by remembering a better past, or wanting a better future. sadly, one of those things we can never get back, and the other only comes when work is done and change is made.

that's when i was reminded of what changes, literally, within the music video! as we know, time loops exist to be solved and escaped -- see "Groundhogs Day" or "Palm Springs" -- which is the thematic metaphor for what feels like an endless cycle of uncertainty during significant life changes and relationships. within a romantic/relationship context, i view our hero's cyclical journey as a test, some trials he has to figure out the best way to navigate to get to his intended goal. what ways work, which ways don’t? i think this says a lot about the deeper themes being discussed

in a basic sense, the street nuns and the shopping kart are problems or obstacles the hero is facing. since they're metaphorical and intended to have meaning to many viewers, what they are literally is up to you! one obstacle could be handling commitment, it could be with addiction (which can be cyclical as well), the list goes on. but what matters is not what the problems "are," but how the hero gets through them. we know the first attempt was messy and with complete disregard. trying to mosh pit through the nuns only slowed him down, and body slamming the kart looked ineffective at best. clearly, we are being told "You cannot strong arm your way through your problems."

Take 2: my guy jukes out the nuns and gets major air over the kart. while we're meant to think it's effective, clearly all was for nought. the lesson here: "You cannot simply avoid or completely skip over the problems like they don't need to be dealt with." the result of this path being the hero getting what he thought he wanted, only to be hoisted by his own green muscle car about to run him over.

as the final attempt begins, we're given important context that is the driving motivation for our hero. while the woman and the briefcase could be ambiguous in literal meaning as well, they represent loss/the threat of losing something or someone important if our hero can't break the cycle. this happens all too often to real people caught in cycles or constantly-shifting times in life, so the hero's desperation makes sense. but then, after artfully weaving peacefully through the nuns and scoring some Good Person Clout, the hero achieves his goal

the final lesson clearly being: work through the hard stuff. don't brute force it, don't dodge it. make mistakes and learn. learn that it's ok to have hope and want better things for yourself in the future. you might be afraid of losing something important to you along the way, but you can still get better and get things right as long as you keep moving through them.

and i dunno...i think that was a really cool and uplifting message to this song and this music video that i have no idea is there or not intentionally on the part of Yellowcard, but we all know that's not the point of art and music lmao. i found this cool meaning in this cool song/video and i hope you did too! k that's all go to bed

[unpluggedfinancial]

How I Force-Fed the Orange Pill and Sent a Friend $50 in Bitcoin

Sometimes, the best way to help a friend is by giving them a push in the right direction—especially when it comes to understanding Bitcoin. Yesterday, I did just that. I crammed the orange pill down a friend's throat (figuratively, of course), made him download Coinbase, and sent him $50 in Bitcoin. Here's how it all went down and why I believe this is the start of something bigger for them.

The Backstory

My friend has always been skeptical of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. Like many, they've heard about Bitcoin, but the concept seemed too complex, risky, or downright unnecessary. Every time I tried to bring it up, I was met with the same response: "I just don't get it" or "Isn't that just a fad?" But I knew that with a little nudge, they could see the bigger picture.

The Orange Pill Moment

So, I decided to take matters into my own hands. Instead of trying to explain Bitcoin for the hundredth time, I made the decision to give them a taste of the real thing. I told them, "Download Coinbase, and I'll send you $50 in Bitcoin right now." It took a bit of convincing, but eventually, they relented. The key was making it easy for them to take the first step.

Sending the $50 in Bitcoin

Once they had Coinbase set up, I sent over $50 worth of Bitcoin. It wasn’t just about the money—it was about showing them the power of digital assets. That $50 was a tangible representation of the digital revolution happening before our eyes. It was a way to cut through the noise and give them something they could hold (digitally) and watch grow.

Why I Did It

Bitcoin isn't just another investment; it's a fundamental shift in how we think about money, value, and freedom. By giving my friend that $50 in Bitcoin, I wasn’t just sharing an asset—I was sharing a belief in a decentralized future where people have more control over their finances. I wanted them to experience the feeling of owning Bitcoin, even if just a small amount, and to see how it could change their perspective on money.

What Happens Next?

Will this friend dive deep into the Bitcoin rabbit hole? Only time will tell. But now, they have a stake in the game. They'll watch that $50 fluctuate, and with any luck, they'll start asking more questions, doing their own research, and eventually, they'll come to see what I and millions of others see in Bitcoin.

Conclusion

Sometimes, the best way to help someone understand Bitcoin is by showing them rather than telling them. By force-feeding my friend the orange pill and giving them a small amount of Bitcoin, I’ve planted a seed. Whether it grows into a full-fledged understanding of the Bitcoin revolution is up to them—but at least now, they’re on the path.

If you’ve got friends who are on the fence about Bitcoin, consider giving them a little push. After all, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step—or in this case, a single transaction.

Call to Action

Have you orange-pilled a friend? Share your experiences in the comments, or better yet, send them a little Bitcoin and see where it takes them. Let’s keep spreading the word and helping others see the light of financial freedom.

Take Action Towards Financial Independence

If this article has sparked your interest in the transformative potential of Bitcoin, there's so much more to explore! Dive deeper into the world of financial independence and revolutionize your understanding of money by following my blog and subscribing to my YouTube channel.

🌐 Blog: Unplugged Financial Blog Stay updated with insightful articles, detailed analyses, and practical advice on navigating the evolving financial landscape. Learn about the history of money, the flaws in our current financial systems, and how Bitcoin can offer a path to a more secure and independent financial future.

📺 YouTube Channel: Unplugged Financial Subscribe to our YouTube channel for engaging video content that breaks down complex financial topics into easy-to-understand segments. From in-depth discussions on monetary policies to the latest trends in cryptocurrency, our videos will equip you with the knowledge you need to make informed financial decisions.

👍 Like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell to stay updated with our latest content. Whether you're a seasoned investor, a curious newcomer, or someone concerned about the future of your financial health, our community is here to support you on your journey to financial independence.

[kimmkitsuragi]

The Fame (2008) by Lady Gaga - my commentary edition

because i truly am insufferable like this and want to talk about her music (also one mutual said i should do it so ❤ if u see this, this one's thanks to u bestie)

i will probably do this for her other albums as well ✌

general comments: first of all this album is THAT GIRL. every song is still so relevant, both in terms of sound and lyrics. you would think okay ive listened to [a song from this album] 9283755 times it was way overplayed. and yeah but umm actually no! no matter how many times, it will still be slaying. pop perfection in the literal sense. and she did all that with her DEBUT ALBUM. legend energy. and!! it's insane that this album had SO MANY literal hits like so many of these songs were so popular and all over the radio. it was at the time where they didnt really understand gaga but they were still all over her. energy. (i dont think the general public ever understood her to this day but u get what i mean)

JUST DANCE - a classic!!!! the redone tagline that started it all... makes me think i really want these two working together again. anyway, having this as your studio debut is actually insane if u ask me. no matter how many times i will listen, don't think i will get bored. the bridge is too good actually, can we bring back actual bridges in pop songs???? please and thank u

LOVEGAME - oh man how to even begin this one. i can't believe this one was playing everywhere for years!! "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" is actually one of the most iconic lines in late 2000s music lmao. truly a signature sound for this era btw.

PAPARAZZI - that girl forever and ever. this will have to be considered together with its vma performance, because it just HAS to. the song itself is crazy, the celebrity worship and the downsides of fame. love that concept love the execution. but then she had to go ahead and have that performance too!!!! truly game changing and life changing as well. the way NO ONE was prepared for it. no one even understood in that room. she was one step ahead even from such an early time in her career. this one truly makes u understand that she's not just another popstar thank u very much.

POKER FACE - the first insanely popular hit. like yes the songs up until this one was Successful and popular. but this one?? honey there was no escape from this one. my first exposure to gaga as well <3 i was like 9 lmao. (it's also insane how it's going 4/4 in terms of the songs being actual hits lol) anyway did you know she says "fu fu fu fuck her face" in the chorus? now u know! sneaky and very strong gaga energy for this lmao. ALSO i love the live performances of this song because she makes it so fun all the time. mixing it up and all that. the dance is fun too! i dont know how to actually comment further because like what else can i say this is poker face.

EH, EH - this is the odd one out of the album right. it's so cute and bubblegum-ish compared to the rest of the album. and i like her!! a lot!! it's giving a little bit of retro too. when i think abt it this might be the odd one out of her whole career probably lmao. she's versatile, and keeps doing different things all the time. but this kinda cute-ish song is very rare for her. as i said i like it but now i wonder how the selection of this song went lol. this is also kinda reminding of her pre-debut stuff in some ways??? but it's been some time i might be wrong too. anyway, interesting and fun song imo

BEAUTIFUL DIRTY RICH - oh my it's so hard to pick my fave song from any album but like this may be IT. the cuntiness of this oneeee it's clear to me that this is kinda the direction that her music ended up turning after this album. in terms of the vibes and cheekiness and as i said, the cunt levels. there's also some jazz influence (? i may be using a wrong genre name here but U GET IT) even if it's minimal like cmon this song is SO GAGA. it's so her. it's so fun. this one deserved so much more popularity if u ask me. im eating up the delivery each time also

THE FAME - ooh baby the guitar in this she's a rock starrr <3 this is the most direct one in terms of the album's general theme and messages (i mean duh. the name lol). i like how the verses and chorus kinda have different vibes. verses being more guitar driven, and the chorus being more bubbly and poppy. it's fun, but nothing so mindblowing tbh but i still like it!

MONEY HONEY - okay cunt is back. we love it. the pre-chorus is SO delicious and then how it transforms to the chorus is even MORE delicious. this one would be so high in my ranking of the album you dont even know (if i could actually have a real final ranking lol). love how she's embracing the famous rich bitch vibe so much here. KI KI KISSES!!

STARSTRUCK - one of the more underrated tracks in my experience. honestly i love this one so much. feel like it's another lowkey unusual song from her, but she has the vibe down so well, the genre doesn't even matter. it feels so natural. the tasteful autotune sooo late 2000s man i feel that. the features work well too imo! this is all "jewels and drugs" wished it was tbh (we will get into it more in the artpop post tho, havent actually listened to that song in sooo long so i may be wrong once again lol)

BOYS BOYS BOYS - i always think "oh this one yeah ok whatever" but then im always having so much fun with it?? like i will have fun with it, but still not care a lot abt it tbh. it's a pretty straightforward pop track and doesnt really feel like a gaga-exclusive something to me. but i still enjoy it! love the little nod to just dance btw lol

PAPER GANGSTA - a piano hip hop influenced track <3 always love this vibe. still tho, kinda another unusual gaga song imo. out of all the hip hop influenced songs from her, this might be one of my faves. it's also more lowkey than the others. and that bar is not so high tbh lmao. so yeah i like it, nothing too special tho

BROWN EYES - okayyy believe it or not this is one of my most played songs from the album probably. i love gaga balladsssssss!!!! serve the VOCALS. give me everything. i love this one so much so much. also that guitar part in this like im listeningggg <3 this feels like some kind of a prequel to speechless, which is probably my fave gaga ballad ever. ough dont know what to say. this is the most vocals she showed in this album, and i know that this is Nothing compared to her full potential and talent. but!!! still so impressive for me. i just find her voice so (insert every positive adjective here) umm and also on top of that, comforting. so. yeah great great song imo

I LIKE IT ROUGH - futuristic vibes here we gooo i like this one a lot. this is also very signature gaga sound for her future career i feel like. especially the verses, but the chorus too to some extent. also one of the biggest earworms of the album for me

SUMMERBOY - okay this is also a somewhat cute-ish song but this one feels less cute for some reason. it feels more... naughty?? lol maybe that's why i dont find it too out of ordinary for her. but it kinda is when i think abt it! really reminiscent of her older stuff as i said (iirc) for "eh eh" too. but also love the rock influence too! maybe that's why i dont find it too out of the ordinary lmao. anyway this is really such a vibe it makes me so happy and silly i love it

DISCO HEAVEN - this one is probably the one i listen to the least from this album tbh. it's fun! but it doesnt feel that special for me. i love the instrumentals a lot now that i think abt it. but couldve used a stronger closer for the album maybe!! also never paid attention to how this album has so many spelling moments lmao truly 2000s vibes

[saturn-sends-hugs]

For the bad batch ask!!!

17, 24, 34, and/or 48

Feel free to answer only the ones you want to <3<3

oh bestie i am answering ALL OF THEM

17. What are some headcanons you have about Tech?

oooo ok i found a couple in my notes app:

When watching a movie, Tech can get bored pretty quickly and usually ends up finding the space wikipedia page on it and listing off random facts about its production as they watch. Him and Echo often get into debates about how the SFX was done.

Less of a headcanon and more of a “what if”, but if Anakin ever piloted the Marauder, Tech would reluctantly agree that objectively Anakin is a pretty good pilot, but he’d grumble the whole time about him “messing up his systems.”

Tech has tried time and time again to convince Echo to let him weaponize his cybernetics. The strategic benefit of hidden weaponry would give them a backup plan in the event that they were ever without their blasters, and Wrecker of course just wants to see it happen. Echo, however, remains adamant that no, he would prefer not to sleep with a functioning rocket launcher in his scomp arm, thank you very much.

Tech cannot tell directions. He constantly has maps pulled up on his HUD, so he never gets lost, and no one ever questions it. But if he’s ever without his helmet or something? Oh. Oh buddy, he is lost in two seconds. You spin him around once and he has no idea what direction he just came from. Crosshair is more than happy to tease him about it.

Tech cannot dance. While he knows how to dance in that he’s seen tutorials and memorized the motions, he’s just so incredibly stiff that it’s actually abysmal. (It takes Phee a long, long time before she manages to get him to loosen up lol)

aaaaaand that’s probably enough :D

24. Do you have any hot or controversial takes?

oh absolutely and about 70% of them are just my opinions on Hunter.

Fandom thinks he has a ten step skincare routine, tons of hair products, and spends forever getting ready? NOPE. The man uses 5-in-1 shampoo and washes his face with hand soap. He has no clue what the word “exfoliating” means. He dresses like a fisherman grandpa and thinks sunscreen is for fancy people.

Also, the fisherman thing is like my whole concept of Hunter lol. He sends this to Omega no context one day thinking it’s the funniest thing in the world (he is correct)

not really a hot take, but honestly you already said everything about the whole Fandom Drama™️ stuff so this is what I’ve got lol

34. Which Batcher would you like to kick in the shins?

Crosshair. Obviously. (also Echo for being incapable of self care but i feel like it would be hypocritical to get upset about the ways i’m actively choosing to write him bskhkdndndkd)

48. What’s something you wish you could say/tell to each Batcher?

Tech: don’t hold your datapad so close to your face, you’re gonna get a headache. also where have you been girlie i missed you in the last episodes for some reason, you should really hurry up and get back from the podraces!

Crosshair: go suck an egg. btw have you considered piercings because i gotta say i’m imagining you with a septum and some platform boots and it’s incredible.

Wrecker: HELLO SIR HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF A SLUSHY BECAUSE IM ABOUT TO CHANGE YOUR ENTIRE WORLD

Hunter: uh. hi.

Omega: you’re doing amazing sweetie and ur brothers won’t say it but they’re so proud of u mwah

Echo: (regarding slow down) SIT THE FUCK DOWN RIGHT NOW MISTER I SWEAR TO GOD. WTH ARE YOU DOING. WHO IS LETTING YOU CONTINUE TO BE THIS STUPID HOLY SH— (me. it’s me. i’m doing this to myself.) also stop ignoring rex u wet noodle.

[cetra]

Friend!!! I’d love to hear about your Tav and who your main companions are/who you romanced! 🩶🩶🩶

OUGHGH thank u very much for the ask...... I'm still kinda embarrassed to talk about him but here he is. His name is Malachy, Mal for short. he's a half-elf Rogue (Arcane Trickster). I went with Dark Urge as his origin, so his story is still shrouded in mystery at this point in the game but he's quite submissive to the Urge.

I would classify him as MAYBE Neutral Evil based on his non-Urge actions in the game so far but this is subject to change, and the needle has moved closer to Lawful at a few points in the game, depending on the person involved and the stakes at hand.

honestly.... he's a pretty terrible person with a disgusting attitude and I would probably hate him if he were real. He will kill without hesitation anyone who wrongs him and anyone he thinks as deserving. if he spares someone or rescues a soul, it's usually because he thinks it will benefit him later

I can't say much else on him bc i've just barely started Act 2, but he's been one of the most enjoyable characters i've played as in my time of RPGs. i really love roleplaying characters who are terrible people and Mal has been one of nastiest yet. he's so awful and he honestly scares me sometimes! I also kinda think he should die but at the same time i care about him..... DELICIOUS THANK YOU!!!! 🧡

I'm gonna put everything else under a cut..... 😭😭 i'm so sorry......

The main companions atm are Gale, Lae'zel and Astarion. Lae'zel admires him and has almost max approval with him (I just finished Act 1). Gale likes him but they've argued a few times already in the game, yet he still maintains good approval with him somehow. better approval than Astarion actually, who approves of nearly all of Mal's heinous deeds in-game but gives a lot of disapproval when Mal is mean to him, which is almost always! So despite sharing a hankering for violence and a lust for blood i don't think Astarion likes him much, which makes him the smartest person in this party

romance is kinda weird. He hooked up with Minthara after the raid, but Minthara's romance in this game is notoriously broken and i think it's going to stay broken on this save file since the "fixes" have been inconsistent for most players. So i sadly decided that would be a one-time thing for him 😭 but towards the end of Act 1 after some story developments featuring Lae'zel i realized that those two were unimaginably compatible together and so I think they're endgame. The gratitude she shows towards him, how much she respects him, how similar they are in a lot of capacities..... just really touches my soul and it feels like love to me, or at least the closest thing to love I can imagine these two characters feeling. So they slept together, at the VERY end of Act 1, and i'm waiting to see what direction that goes in. But i have a really good feeling about it honesty.....

there's also the question of Gale. Gale clashes with Mal a LOT in the game and there was even a scene between them where he quite literally damned him? but then later on after that we got a scene where Gale was clearly interested in him so it turns out Gale also has a crush on him i guess?? Don't really know if it's a bug but i'm kinda happy it developed that way bc honestly it's such a juicy concept HJDFBHKJBGK 😭😭 Mal's a Heterosexual Man though so he doesnt return the feelings and now Gale is stuck with a big fat unrequited crush on Mal that i never anticipated or intended to happen. Gale is my absolute favorite character in the game though so I've never wanted an OC to kill themselves so bad until i had Mal cut off that insanely really romantic moment with Gale DFJHBDKHJG I HATE HIM SO MUCH MAN........ MOST EVIL THING HE'S DONE IN THE GAME SO FAR!! GALE SHOULD KILL HIM.

Admittedly i do really like the idea of Mal, Lae'zel and Gale being in a really weird and twisted situationship where they often can't stand being around one another as a result of their strong personalities and insane moral compasses but are also kinda obsessed with each other and have a lot of unsaid feelings between the three of them. AND MAYBE THEY ALL KISS OR SOMETHING this is all totally in my head and relies exclusively on just. My imagination going wild as i perceive them in the game. they're the worsties ever and uhhh I hate them?/ I actually love them that just seemed like a funny thing to say.......

I uh didn't mean for this to go on so long especially since i mentioned being kinda embarrassed about it but I guess i didn't realize how much I had been keeping this in..... i hadn't really shared anything about him yet before on here, so THANK U FOR GIVING ME THE OPPORTUNITY!!!! now I'm gonna go hide in shame bc of how much i said okay BYEEEEE 🧡

[theninthdoor]

pls can u do a reading on txt next cb pls and how well they do this year?

about the comeback || nine of cups, ten of wands (the hanged man rx), four of swords (page of wands rx): It's going to be the sort of stuff fans love but that the member themselves might be quite tired of. There's something about the performance or concept that feels like a burden to them; they want to try something new, but they're not able to. I also see them being a little low on energy or motivation because this just doesn't excite them. Still, fans + the public will like it.

concept || temperance rx, ten of swords, page of pentacles rx: Messy & dramatic. Might touch on themes of excesses (such as alcohol/drugs/sex), being reckless/foolish, self-sabotage and emotional or personal/general-life instability.

how will they do this year || five of cups (queen of wands), two of wands, wheel of fortune: (Why did I see NewJeans while shuffling?? Are they being compared to them or something?) There's an issue with the creative direction of the group, for sure… They're not satisfied with the decisions that are being made, even though it is pretty much granted that it will be a success. I see something here about catering too much to the female audience OR using girl groups as a guide, and I believe that's the "issue" that keeps popping up and that they wish they didn't have to do. TXT just wants to do TXT, basically. Still, I feel like this shift that is coming (shift as in a change from what they wanted of expected for themselves) will open up a lot of new doors for them and bring in a wave of fantastic opportunities. This year is pivotal for them, in my opinion - whatever results they get this year will dictate the future of the group in the long run. The company has very high hopes for them!

(Disclaimer: All readings are alleged and for entertainment purposes only. Based on current energies.)

[ignitesthestxrs]

embarassment is cringe who's your bias

oh LOL dw dw i am not literally embarrassed! more just, mindful of audience u know? but also ur my audience now

i am not really a person who tends towards Biases, but here are some guys that i really love atm!

SHINee's Key - look i love all members of shinee, they probably are my ult group these days, but if you forced me at gun point to pick one it would be This Guy. key is kind of the embodiment of the tension of how faggy can you be in public without ever coming out and - well, coming out. i also have a deep respect for how much effort he puts into his solo career, and how interesting and innovative his album concepts have been esp since he got back from the military

Exo's Kai - ah my precious Nini who is here with us largely to vibe. i think he's such a great example of like, how you can be totally hands off in terms of the creative direction of your albums LOL and still be a great performer? this man lip synced his way through his own concert and looked great doing it, 10/10. but i also love just how much he clearly loves his job and meeting other idols and getting to go on tv shows and learn new things about people and the world LOL a giant puppy of a man

TXT's Soobin - speaking of giant puppy men, this is one of my Large Son's Whom I Adore. my fave thing about soobin is that he's like. never held more than a single thought in his head at one time, and everyone he has ever met adores him? like every 4th gen group has a member who is just completely enamoured with soobin, and soobin does not appear to have done anything in particular to have earned this other than being a big guy who likes anime and hedgehogs. i also enjoy how everyone in his group agreed that he needed to be the leader, especially the guys (yeonjun and taehyun) who might have preferred to be the leader themselves, specifically because they knew giving it to the guy who didn't want it the way that they did would probably be a better outcome for the group. amazing head empty man. he's so tall.

Zerobaseone's Hanbin - something is wrong with this man (positive) (fond). no uh, this is a man who has gone to great lengths to change both his physical appearance and personal affect in order to take one last shot at achieving his kpop dreams and something is wrong with ME for how feral this makes me. another guy in the 'legibly queer' column (as in, he was a competitive waacker and faggy as hell doing it lmfao like, sure i'm sure there are straight guys who waack but at a certain point you're allowed to start assuming Gay instead of defaulting Straight ok). he is a control freak. he said his favourite type of person is someone who is competent but pretends not to be so that he can do things instead. one time he was so horrified by his member wearing socks on the bed that he REMOVED THAT BOY'S SOCKS FOR HIM? ON CAMERA? HANBIN WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU

WayV's Kun - the dad to end all dads. i have endless leader feelings about this man, who is the leader of SM's final push to conquer the China market that was actually going really well until [redacted], and suddenly Kun is the leader of a group that has members in different countries, that cannot promote in China while the pandemic is going on and cannot promote in Chinese while in Korea. technically WayV is under the umbrella of the broader NCT group, but xenophobia will have stans staying 'they just don't vibe for some reason'. this man's group was shelved for over a year due to international geopolitics and he held it and them together admirably, and it's been SO good to see WayV employed in 2023 and gaining momentum again. also he can fly a plane ( a real one), somehow made PUBG hot by being very good at it, and one time he was live and you just heard from the background one of his members yelling from the shower KUN GE THERE'S NO HOT WATER, like, every man in this group just has it hard wired into their brain that if there is a problem, kun ge will fix it. and he does.

honestly i could probably go for longer, there are a lot of boys i have a lot of feelings about s o b.

[daja-the-hypnokitten]

Jukebox reviews part 49! For context, see my post “A Project” under  this same tag. If you want to see a full list of his EMCSA stories,  they can be found here, sorted alphabetically.And if you want to see some of his drabbles, check out his blog at @jukeboxemcsa

Middle of the Night

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1/4/2020                                       mc ff

Gillian is sneaky, and oh gosh that recording is impressive. Completely unethical, of course, but it's fiction so I'm going to ignore that more than this note. Seeing Bethany reflect on all the changes she's made to herself over the years, realizing that it's strengthing Gillian's control even more with ever realization is ... oh, that's hot. And the end result, seeing how easily she falls into mindlessly repeating Gillian's words, oh that's just satisfyingly hot. 9/10 spirals 

 That Song in My Head

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1/11/2020                                     mc mf ff md fd

That implant would *infuriate* me. Having the same song in my head over and over? Oh that's just CRUEL. It's not a story that speaks to me, particularly, with the control being tech and us seeing the effects more than the process, but it's well written. Even if I have more questions than answers, as per usual. 7/10 spirals 

 All 4 U

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1/18/2020                                     mc mf ff md fd

Ah, well, the ending isn't surprising. A little sad, because I'm a helpless romantic, but not really surprising. The plan Haley and Delia came up with is clever, and a solid end to the series, assuming this is truly the end of course, or at least for the arc we've been following. But much like the rest of this series, it's not really erotic for me. 9/10 spirals 

 Keys to My Heart

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1/25/2020                                     mc mf md

This is maybe a little meta, but in a fun way.  And it works so well, and in a way that doesn't even trip my suspension of disbelief. Though I can't help but think that if Mr Hong were a smart writer, he'd have a backlog of stories alraedy written so that in case of emergency he could just share those. But then he wouldn't be able to lure a lady into taking dictation for him, so I suppose he thinks he's made the right (write?) choice here. And the use of the glowy ball is  just a perfect touch. 9/10 spirals 

 You Can’t Look Away

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2/1/2020                                       mc mf fd

Awwww, this is cute and sweet. Also hot, but mostly sweet. These two are so precious, and I want to just smush them together and wish them all the happiness. Tommi's way of approaching this, the immediate "did you enjoy that" reaction she has afterwards, just all of it? It's lovely. Though Louis really needs to reevaluate what being hypnotized feels like, because he's very wrong. 10/10 spirals. 

 Goddamn Trigger

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2/8/2020                                       mc mf md

Oh, I love a brat meeting the joy that is futile resistance... or not being able to resist, which is its own kind of fun, as the case may be. And making "would you kindly" the trigger is just icing on the cake. Her sheer inner conflict on wanting to brat but it being so hot to find herself unable to do anything but mindlessly obey? It's a struggle I'm quite fond of being on the recieving end of myself. The tone of the story is spot-on too. 10/10 spirals 

 Hazy Daze

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2/15/2020                                     mc mf ff md fd

I, uh, somehow don't think that's how pamphlets work. Hypnosis, maybe, but not pamphlets. But ignoring that, the concept is a solid one, and I really like the sale set-up, and how she's been welcomed into the small community.  It feels very small town Midwestern in almost every way, except for the obvious way. But I enjoy the focus on the process here, and the amnesia is good fun. 9/10 spirals 

 Obsession Is Such an Ugly Word

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2/22/2020                                     mc mf md

This one, in contrast to the last few, isn't so much my style. While the direct abuse of authority and trust part that usually bothers me is less on display, the history is clear, and I've known too many folk who have been poorly treated in academia to be entirely comfortable with how this is set up. Add in a level of derison at an accurate summation of what's going on, the clear manipulation in play, and it just doesn't work for me. But if those are tropes you enjoy, give it a look? 6/10 spirals 

 Joy of a Toy

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2/29/2020                                     mc

This induction script isn't one that has any effect I'm interested in, but technically it's solid, as Jukebox's inductions always are. If you want to learn to enjoy being objectified more, though? It's a good script for that. 8/10 spirals 

 Like a Broken Record

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3/14/2020                                     mc mf md

Ok, loop suggestions are just fun, and I like this take on one. Seeing her thoughts as each loop plays out, effecting her more than the last time she said it is just fun. Also I relate very much to the "but do I have to be awake?" emotion at the start of the story. This is just good, fun, consensual hypnokinky shenanigans and I'm super here for it. 10/10 spirals