#uhhh i don't think i agree with all the points i made and i also used some very crap example

[fallingdownhell]

Could I request reader getting mad and giving a scathing "the reason you suck" speech at someone who's discrediting her man with Diluc, Kaeya, Al-Haitham, Zhongli and Childe?

Uhhh, someone likes to be feisty.. I see how it is. Sometimes you just gotta let all that pent up anger out, preferably at someone who deserves it. I got you <3

Characters Included: Diluc; Kaeya; Alhaitham; Zhongli

Content: gender neutral reader; cursing; cussing out people; nothing else, I think

Word count: 2,6k words

Thank you for your request!<3

Diluc

Diluc sighed as he put away the last dried glass onto the shelve behind him, finally being able to breath properly.. or at least that's what he had hoped for, but a particular customer was being really roudy today.

The man in question was a travelling bard, originating from Fontaine, who recently came to Mondstadt. He begged Diluc to let him perform at Angel's Share, hoping to make some money to continue his travels.

Diluc agreed after some time, yet immediately regretted it once the man started "singing". It was so out of tone, just horrible to listen to. Worst part was that, after getting paid, the bard instantly burned all of his earned money on drinks.

He got drunk rather quickly, now being loud and rude to the other customers who were starting to clear up the place since it was close to closing time.

You had been sitting on one of the tables on the lower level, a little bit further away from the crowd, but as things started to clear up, you went and sat on the bar, waiting for Diluc to finish up so you could both go home together.

After a few more minutes, it was only you and Diluc, plus the drunk man left in the tavern. Diluc tried to get him to leave kindly at first, but the man didn't respond too well to his request.

"The fuck do you want from me, you fucking asshole? Get the fuck out my sight and get me another drink!", he hiccuped in between his sentences.

When Diluc refused to serve him any more, he got even more agitated. "The fuck's that supposed to mean? Do you talk to all your customers like that you dick? 'm surprised you still got patrons, the booze isn't even that great here!"

You've had enough of it at this point. You listened to his shit far too long today, and you kept your mouth shut. But when it comes to him insulting and downplaying your boyfriend, that was were you drew a line.

So, without a word, you got up and stepped in front of Diluc, getting between the two men. As the drunkard was staring at you, confused on what you wanted from him, you took a deep breath in.

"The only asshole I see around here, is you! You ruined everyones evening today! Your so called "singing" sucked ass, and you reek of alcohol. No wonder no one wants to interact with you with how aggressive you're getting. Now, you better hurry the fuck out before I go completely insane on you calling my boyfriend such things, you coward!"

The two man looked at you, one with surprise but also some sense of pride, while the other became scared. He shrinked more and more with every word that left your mouth and by the end of your speech, he was hurrying to get out of his seat and left the tavern as quickly as his shaky feet would let him.

You sighed and turned around, facing Diluc now. "I'm sorry. I know you could have handled that yourself, but it just pissed me off how he was talking to you."

Diluc just smiled down at you, pulling you in for a quick, passionate kiss. "Don't apologize. I quite enjoyed seeing this feisty side of you. Just don't let it become a habit."

You blushed but nodded at him, which only made him chuckle. After that, you helped him finish to clean up, then went home with him. It may have been just your imagination, but you thought that he was holding you a bit closer to him this night...

Kaeya

You have been growing more and more irritated throughout the entire day as you witnessed your boyfriend Kaeya running through the city.

That was already an odd enough thing for him to do, since he was normally locked in his office the entire day. You didn't know what was going on, but still kept an eye on him whenever you saw him running by.

He didn't seem stressed or agitated, so you didn't mind too much, so long as he wasn't going to do any more overtime.

But then later, you noticed another man approaching Kaeya every so often, especially as he got closer to the end of his work day. It wasn't a knight or other shop keeper, as Kaeya had been talking to almost only those people the entire day for whatever mission he was currently on.

The man was just a normal civilian, walking up and talking to Kaeya. At first, it seemed like a normal conversation, but every time he walked up to your boyfriend again, he got progressively louder and angrier each time.

You weren't exactly happy with the situation, but you also knew that your boyfriend could handle it on his own, which was the only reason why didn't walk up to them to give that guy a piece of your own mind.

That, however, changed when you stumbled into them again. The two of them were currently standing just outside the main city gates, the two guards who keep watch looking between each other, not knowing what to do, as that guy was now full on screaming at Kaeya.

Seeing that, you wouldn't take that. If Kaeya wasn't about to tell off that man for his blatant disrespect, then you would.

You had no idea why the guy was being that way in the first place, but you also didn't care.

As you got closer to the group, his shouts became clearer to you, now understanding what he was saying.

"... damn knight of Favonius! What are you even good for, except exploiting us citizens? And you! You're the worst of them all!"

"Now, now. How about we all calm down first, and then-!", Kaeya tried to calm the man down, but he wasn't having any of it.

"No, I'm not gonna calm down! I am rightfully upset and you can't tell me what to do, Mister Knight!", the guy said in a mocking tone, it was clear he was looking down at all of them.

This was also the moment you arrived at the scene, as well. Walking straight past the two guards and Kaeya. You could feel their confused looks on your back, but you ignored them as you came to a hold in front of that guy, your face looking furious. Before he could take a breath to start another one of his monologues, you cut in.

"You shut up right now! I don't know what your fucking problem is, but I've had enough of you following around and bothering my boyfriend, yelling and insulting him." You pointed a finger to his face as you leaned more towards him, making the man back up a little, to try and get away from you.

"Is your life so miserable and boring that you have to take your frustrations out on other people? Do you have nothing else to do? Are you just that pathetic?"

You looked at him, eyes stone cold as you expectantly waited for him to answer. The guy looked from you, to Kaeya, then back to you, before he turned and ran away from the situation.

"Hmpf. That's what I thought..", you mumbled under your breath, turning around and walking into the city again, but not before grabbing Kaeya's hand and pulling him along with you.

He let you do so, having the biggest of smirks on his face as he witnessed the scene unfold before him. He made a mental note to applaud and thank you later, when you two were in the privacy of your home again..

Alhaitham

He wasn't cut out for the role of Acting Grande Sage..

Not only did he himself say that all of the time, complaining about the increase in work he had to accomodate. But all the other sages were saying the same thing, complaining to others about how Alhaitham wasn't doing enough, how he had to commit himself to the Act more.

Your boyfriend, however, paid no mind to those people, even less their complaints about him. He has already resigned from the Role of Acting Grande Sage and was only waiting for a new candidate to be chosen so he could finally step down and return to his work as the Scribe of the Academiya.

Currently, you were walking down the hallways of the Academiya, going for the elevator that would take you to the upper levels, where Alhaitham's temporary office was situated. Since he got his promotion, you always went to fetch him after the work day was done so you two could walk home together.

As you were riding the elevator upwards, you started hearing voices, getting louder and louder the closer you got to your destination. You were confused about the meaning of this, but you were bound to find out very soon.

As you arrived, you realized that Alhaitham seemed to be currently in a very heated argument with two other, older scholars. Well, more like the two of them were aggressively talking to him, while he remained silent.

Alhaitham was the only one to notice your arrival, seeing as the other two were too absorbed into their own little world, telling off your boyfriend.

You started approaching his desk, Alhaithams eyes following you as you walked up the stairs.

One of the scholars then noticed his attention wasn't on them anymore, which only served as fuel to his already bad mood and his manors.

"What, so the Acting Grande Sage now thinks he's better than us, so he doesn' have to pay attention to the "simple" people? You better turn your attention back to us because we are far from done here. I don't care if it's gonna take all night, but you have to do your work just as much as everyone else here. Just because you helped our Archon does not make you better than anyone else!"

His outburst ticked you off as you come to a sudden hold behind those two scholars, who still haven't noticed your arrival at the scene. It was silent for a few seconds as noone said another word after this.

Originally, you planned to ignore those scholars, simply walk around them to greet your boyfriend and take him home with you. But after that, it didn't feel right not to say anything.

Alhaitham noticed your change in demeanor as well. He leaned back with a slight grin on his lips, planning to enjoy what was going to follow.

"And what do you think gives you the right to talk to other people like this?", you said, tone noticeably pissed off. The scholars turned around, surprised by your sudden presence. Yet, you didn't give them a chance to answer, you just continued on.

"He is better than you, in one aspect, at least. He can hold his temper and treat other people with respect. Unlike you, he doesn't go around insulting and blaming other people for apparently not doing their work. Which isn't even true, what do you think he's doing here all day? Now, if you have nothing smart to say, please excuse us."

Upon ending your tirade, you look over to your boyfriend pointedly. He got the hint, got up and walked over to you. You took his hand as you led him towards the elevator, leaving those two scholars behind, who looked dumbfounded at you still.

You paid them no mind, however, as you tried to focus on your breathing, trying to calm down on the ride to the lower levels. After a few moments, you felt Alhaithams arm wrap around your waist.

You knew he wasn't the biggest fan of PDA, but in this situation, it seemed he could make an exception. You smiled at him, leaning against his side a bit more, but you still failed to notice the grin that was still plastered on his face from witnessing this scene...

Zhongli

Seeing as your boyfriend is the Ex-Geo Archon of the nation of Liyue, he naturally had a very expanded knowledge accumulated over the years he's been alive.

Nowadays, after giving away his gnosis, he likes to subtly share that knowledge with other people and scholars when he's not busy at his place of work.

Often times, when meeting with other scholars to discuss some topics he asked you if you wanted to accompany him. He accepts whichever answer you give him, not expecting anything from you, but he does enjoy your presence at his side.

Today, he had been invited onto the Pearl Galley to discuss some topics on ancient Liyue history with some scholars from Sumeru, and he asked for your company again.

Since you had nothing else planned for the day, you agreed to his invitation, setting off so you wouldn't miss the event shortly after.

Usually, during those meetings, you always set beside him, respectful of the people around you and the fact that you were out in public. However, somewhere along the way, you always ended up sitting in Zhongli's lap. Wether it was because you were growing uncomfortable on your chair, or simply because Zhongli wanted you closer to him, didn't matter. It just happened..

And so it did today as well. At some point, you were getting a bit bored, having heard the storys of the current topic from your boyfriend a few times already, so you decided to climb onto his lap and doze off a bit.

Zhongli didn't bat an eye to it, having already expected something like this to happen. Other people threw some weird glances at the two of you, but didn't say anything else, deciding to just turn back to the conversation at hand.

You dozed in and out while Zhongli held you, listening to the conversation only with one ear. That was, until one man decided to spring up from his table, slamming his fist down, hard. The sudden sound startled you, opening your eyes again to locate to source.

The man was standing, his head red as a tomato as he seemed furious about something. Confused, you looked at him, then around at the table. Zhongli remained utterly calm as he continued to stare at the guy, while the other scholars remained seated but tried to calm down their companion.

"No! Fuck off! Where do you think you're taking the right to just state your theories like they are proven facts? I know you're old as fuck but that doesn't give you the right to disregard our hard work and own theories like that, you bastard!"

The guy yelled, grabbing the attention of the entire ship. People around you started to whisper, now totally engaged within the situation. You were baffled at his words, turning to look at your boyfriend who seemed to be unbothered by it. He didn't seem like he was going to say anything..

But you just couldn't let that stand..

"The only bastard I see around here, is you! What, just because someone doesn't share your opinion and challenges you, you freak out and start to insult them? That's pathetic behaviour, if you ask me. Go and cry about it to your mommy and daddy, since they obviously handle everything for you."

At your words, the guy grew even more furious, but he was also rendered speechless. Before the situation could escalate any more, his other friends dragged the guy away, leaving only you and Zhongli back at the table.

People around you looked for a while more until they started to settle back, turning to their own business again.

You were still sitting in your boyfriends lap, mumbling under your breath, when he leaned down to you and pressed a soft kiss to your forehead.

"Thank you, Darling. You didn't have to do that, but I appreciate you defending me all the same."

[arinzu]

How about Rin x female reader x Sae?

This is so damn rare to see, I thought itoshi bro's x reader died😭

🍂Who would you choose?🍂

This might not me accurate💕

Summary :

Little did you know... football isn't the only thing the brothers fight about. If you dont wanna read the whole story go to U20 JAPAN VS BL11 MATCH or CONFESSION or just the endings!

4 alternative endings, Itoshi brother x you, fluff, Angst ofc, weird asf, random, fem! Reader, long story, manga spoilers, curses i think!

You still remember when You and Sae first met, it was in your young elementary school days... Sae was known to be a bitch and overall is the opposite of a nice person.

......

You were playing with your toys by yourself, until you spotted a lone boy playing alone with a ball.

As you start paying more attention to him, your mother notices and smiles softly "that's Sae Itoshi"

"He's really pretty" you replied to your mom, "Can I befriend him?" You questioned.

"Are you sure? He is quite mean to people he doesn't know" She ask but after you confirm she walks away to go do her own business.

"Be careful (reader) don't get sad and try, okay?"

"I won't disappoint myself and mama!"You promised as you held your pinky finger to them, in which they agree and hold their own pinky with yours... completing the pinky promise.

You start walking towards sae, you start having second thoughts It's not your scared... You're just nervous to approach another person you don't know that well.

Oh well it's far too late since sae just noticed you approaching at a high rate.

"Uhm... Hello? My name's (last name) (reader) and I want to be your friend!" You smiled as you held out your hand expecting a handshake.

"Go away, I bet you don't even know" any football stars" sae replied stepping on the ball, you were shocked this is what a child reply to you?

"Excuse me? I do know a lot of football stars!" That took sae by surprise but still stayed firm on his word of you not knowing any players.

"Name one player, and Noel Noah doesn't count"

"Hmm it's hard..."

"Finally giving up? Just leav-" you quickly interrupted then midway.

"hey! I was talking about how hard it is to select a player out of all the amazing players out there, but anyways Chris Prince"

"Good choice? You earned my respect I suppose..."

This time he finally shake your hand, you felt a sign of relief wash over your body as you smiled at him.

"I'm Itoshi Sae, and I also apologize for my behavior earlier" he shakes your hand as he returns the smile back to you.

You noticed the ball once again, it looked rather familiar up close... Your eyes start to sparkle when you remember what type of ball it was.

"Omg it that the limited edition Football!? Signed by the one and only" you exclaimed as you start shaking the young sae, the poor boy didn't know what to do since your grip on his shoulder was to tight.

He confirmed your suspicion and you started jumping like a kangaroo from pure excitement, sae looked at you like you are a mad lady... I mean the way you're acting is uhhh....

He once again tried to ignore how you were acting, "So... How did you know the player?" He asked which made you stop what you were doing "Easy I watch football matches with my father!" You replied.

That was not what he was talking about but whatever...

You started to ramble on all of the great things you and your father did when he's in the country, in which he just listens carefully surprisingly.

After a while you had to go home you said your good bye's and left just like that.

Sae itoshi

That was a good memory to keep..

She was somewhat weird the first time we met, i suppose... her understanding of football was the one intrigue me in to her.

It compelled me to the point we started to habg out often if i wasn't busy. The more time we spent, the more of this weird sensation i have, it was like love...

I didn't understand at first but one small click in the internet had me understanding that i fell for her.

That's all you remember as you see him outside the gate waiting for you, "Itoshi Itoshi! over here" sae turns in your direction, Holding a football he starts going to you.

"You know that you can call me Sae right?" You smile softly in return to his question and start nodding.

"I know! But your fan girls might kill me" sae raised an eyebrow, he was just 12 not many people will fall in love with a 12 year old right?

"Whatever just call me Sae, (reader) we've known eachother since fourth grade"

You simply nodded as you both, "Wanna hang out at my place, sae?" Sae turned to you, he didn't know why it feels so good when you actually say his name out loud.

He hides his now covered bright pink ears from you and nodded, as you saw his happening you got curious and started nagging him why did he cover his ears from you.

"hey sae, why are you covering your ears?" You ask as you start tugging on his uniform, he wanted to say but his pride is not letting him.

'Oh sorry my ears became a bright pink as you my crush said my name out loud'

No no...

Not happening in a million years

"Ah well I heard a mosquito..." That was a Lukewarm excuse to give, but did he care absolutely not.

You start dragging him again accepting his reason like all the other times you and him hang out at your place.

"Also did you hear, Kourtney And Abigail stop being besties?" You questioned, sae just furrowed his eyebrows.

He never cared about any drama in the school, it's lukewarm and not deserving of his time. But just for you he nodded which you scream with excitement.

"Omg you finally started learning some drama, It's been so long since you actually learned some drama~!"

You continue babbling your nonsense and start adding some more gossip in the school, sae just ignored it and kept on walking with you.

You kept on talking even as you both reached your destination, sae being quite annoyed softly (maybe not so) hit your head with his fist.

"Hey what the hell sae!?, I was just getting to the good part-" sae immediately cut you off

"We're here already... And stop babbling on such Lukewarm things" sae replied his hand far gone covering his ears, which turned to it's normal color.

You got an idea ...you lean closer as you give the most cheeky smile ever,sae immediately blush.

"Hey... Sae-chan~?" You have flap your eyelashes at him.

"Y-Yeah?" Sae replied trying to hide his blushing face. Sae just screams internally as he watches you lean a centimeter closer

Oh how pathetic...

Why did I say that? It's lm a damn idiot.

Omg what if she notices my face?

Oh fuck...

"You're so lukewarm (reader)..." sae mumble which you definitely heard.

"Huh, why sae-chan?" You inch a bit closer to him.

Sae turned more red from both you and what he just said to you. He's a complete mess and your still that close to him.

Oh fuck... What have I done!?

This is so damn embarrassing.

I wanna dig a hole and jump...

And if he couldn't be blushing enough by you, he heard a small compliment it wasn't a unique one he heard it multiple times in the media, but coming from your tongue... It felt magical, sae had butterflies in his stomach.

'Sae you know, your very handsome and especially with those underlashes' he recalls what you just said, that earned him to be another blushing mess.

As he finally made himself calm down, he scanned the room to find you once he didn't see you in the room. He figured you left to go to your room, which he was grateful for...

Calming himself by inhaling and exhaling, he soon followed it to go to your bedroom after he had stopped being a mess.

As the day goes by you and him had lots of fun chatting about Life... And sae's football career and what you two will do in the future.

You reveal your dream to him and he was quite surprise by it but nonetheless wish you luck on your own journey to success.

It's been a year now, your standing at the airport seeing sae leave for spain to play in real mandrid. And most importantly you're very comfortable using sae's first name.

"Sae, please text me everyday! And reply to my calls" you not so nicely reminded.

"Yes... I know (reader) I'll do it" sae sighs as he hugs you tightly. "I'm going to miss you" you smile and return the hug "I'll miss you too its been great having you around"

"Wait sae where is your family, I never got to see them all these years? Of friendship" Sae just pointed to the side, which in return have you looking embarrass of not noticing them.

You let out a long 'ooh' as you and him approach them, once you are standing infront of his parents. You left out a bow and introduced yourself, which amazed them and patted your head.

"Good day Mr. and Mrs. Itoshi i am (last name) (reader) sae's friend"

"Woah Sae never told us your friend was such a well mannered lady!" Mrs. Itoshi remark which soon followed by Mr. Itoshi to praise you.

As soon as Mrs. And Mr. Itoshi stop admiring your good manners, you scan around to find sae, once you identify where he was and start to proceeds towards his location.

As you draw closer and closer you make-out a younger version of sae but with dark green hair.

"Hey! Sae who's that with you?" You question which sae answered truthfully.

"That's my younger brother (reader)"

"Ooo! I never knew you had a brother" you start pinching the younger brother as start complimenting his adorable appearance, rin in response annoyingly stick his tongue out.

Meanwhile sae starts glaring at Rin unconsciously, is this the last thing he sees before heading to Spain? His first crush, his love, his number 2...

(I'm sorry it's cannon that he'll choose football over you)

He snapped out of his death glare to Rin when you suddenly ask a question.

"What's his name, sae?" You asked as you finally stopped giving the younger one attention.

Sae gave a force smile and introduced him to you "That's Itoshi Rin he's 11" you thanked him and started completing rin again.

That ticked Sae off deeply as he glared at Rin to make him realize to stop hogging all of the attention.

Rin seeing his older brother sulk start walking towards him and hugging him tightly.

Rin thought it was because of him leaving the country...(It wasn't obviously)

"It's okay Nii-chan, we will give lots of gifts!" That made sae quite confused, yet seeing you again gushing of Rin endearing attempt, Sae start acting like a good older brother just for you.

"I know Rin ill be sure to be the best striker in the world, promise" Rin smile having sparkle in his eyes, having you finally turn you attention to Sae.

"Sae remember to know that I'm your number 1. fan" you jokingly reminded, rin angrily replied with "No! im his no. 1 fan, plus your a girl you dont know anything about football"

You smile internally Rin was just like Sae, yet you still was pissed at his fabricate lie. But as you were about to scold him Sae already doing the job for you.

"Rin thats rude, we dont do that anymore."

"But..." sae again glared and signal to him to apologize to you.

Once Rin finally muttered an apology for his rude behavior, you gladly accepted and told him you were more than knowledgeable in the world of football.

Rin beamed with excitement after getting confirmation from sae that it was indeed correct.

"Can you play football...?" you nodded your head that seems to make rin eye's sparkle.

As the conversation continued, Sae was called by his parents, that briefly stopped the chattering between the three people.

Its time for sae to leave the country...

You stand there feeling a mixed of sorrow and cheerfulness for you friend. You never felt this mixed of emotions at the same time, your first friend leaving you to pursue his football career.

You wave sae goodbye... having a smile of your faceyou stop him midway and hugged him "I will really miss you sae... please don't forget about me"

"I wont (reader)... dont replace me with anyone, okay?" you nodded your head and then tried to joke abit to lighten up the tension in the air. "I promise to protect rin and be his guardian for you"

Sae laughed and then made joke "Make sure he isn't a brat when i come back" you laughed and promise.

its time for the family to say their goodbye's

"Take care of your health!" Mr. itoshi said

"Good luck, sae!" said the wife waving her hand as she continued smiling

"Nii-chan, have a safe trip!" said rin and having an expression of joy

sae responded by smiling " See ya." he pause "Im off to be the best in the world" you and rin smiled and wave to sae.

you see him carrying him luggage and phone as he smiles finnaly entering the plane to spain.

Its been a couple of years, you kept the promise you made to sae to be the guardian of rin for all the years when sae was in spain. You still kept contact with sae by vc or just texting.

Itoshi family treated you as their own, and rin finally stop being rude to you as more time passed. You and rin occasionally hang out at the beach to get his mind of things with sae.

You were there for rin in every match he had, even practice.

this is one of your best interaction with rin...

...

"Hey Rinnie, do you wanna play a match with me?" you questioned which rin just nodded his head in approval. Tossing the football towards you giving you a slight advantage over him.

"Once i get the ball i win if you score you win, deal?" you nodded at the rule

You kick the ball to the left giving it a slight curve and started running, if you calculated correctly the ball will come back to your feet. But it's not that easy it's far more complicated than that...

And you know that, Afterall you saw his performance in the real matches, you know that he will catch up eventually and defeat you. But you wont make it that easy...

You hear heavy footsteps right behind you, rin was already catching up but just in time... The ball manage to came back. but as you were about to do something, rin interfered and got the ball before you got to do anything.

"(reader) you lost the game" rin said having a stoic expression. "good job rin, you were better than last time!" you smiled and gave a high five.

Rin returned the smile and high five you, you then added "Im sure sae will be impress by your growth!"

"You think so?" asked rin which you reply with "Im know so!" rin smiled from ear to ear

"Omg rin your just as cute when the first time i met you" you jokingly remark seeing his joyous expression.

"Hey I'm not cute!" rin bite back

you playfully rolled your eyes, "Whatever makes you sleep at night, i guess"

"Im literally taller now than before even taller than you!"

"So...? it doesnt mean taller people cant be cute"

"Hm. whatever you lukewarm girl" rin responded

"Oh come one have some originality will you?" you insulted in a friendly manner

"You forgot the comma" insulted back jokingly

"Oh shut up fancy pants" your eyes rolled back.

You both laugh at the weird interaction, then you suddenly suggested to buy some popsicle since it was still early.

Rin immediately screamed a yes, that caught you by surprise by his excitement. He started to drag you in a not so nearby ice cream shop.

"You'll pay right?" you nodded in agreement, as rin saw this his eyes light up and grab a quite cheap popsicle.

"I'll have this one!" you gave a nod and got your ice cream from the freezer near the entrance of the shop. you pay the money and surprisingly it was much cheaper than you expected it to be.

As yo both were eating away the ice cream rin suddenly tap your shoulder "(Reader) i won, look" you let out a smile and congratulated him.

"i got to practice again... i have to be the best after nii-chan!" rin added, you note that he is revolving around sae a bit too often, but that seems quite adorable to you.

"Okay then, i have to go back home, i have to help my mother by preparing a gift" now that statement got rin curious.

"Who's gift?" rin asked throwing away the popsicle

"My father, why do you ask?" you answered adding another question.

"Just got curious, wait father-?" rin asked once again.

"Yes for my father, what the hell are you on abo-?"

"i thought you were fatherless...." he admitted sheepishly.

He thought you would be angry, but then saw you laughing your ass your by hearing his confession.

"Wait really...?" rin nodded confirming what he just said, but seeing you laugh even more make him chuckle and blush from embracement.

You noticed it and smile still laughing uncontrollably, "i never knew the itoshi brothers could laugh"

"Oh come on! we still have emotions we just don't show it" rin snarled back having a slight cocky grin plastered on his face. meanwhile you just stared at him weirdly.

You swear you heard the same thing somewhere, after a few moments thinking where and who you chuckle a bit

"Gosh your just like sae" you sigh before continuing "He told me the same thing when he was still here"

"Wait are you serious?" you nodded and and he smiled dumbly.

"But be sure to not be an actual copy of sae, k?" rin gave a thumbs up "You are your own person and not sae itoshi's little brother"

"Oh stop, your not my mom" you smiled sticking out your tongue,, "but i am your guardian, i only want the best for you"

"Anyways i have to go for real now" you wave your hand and start smiling "dont miss me too much rinrin"

"I won't (reader)" he said ticking his tongue out.

...

From day that onwards you and him had one of the best relationship, he started being more kind to you and sometimes you guys flirted just for fun.

His teammates always ships you two together when your at his practice, which is always or every single time. Hell even his parents believe this. And that somehow ends up to you laughing it off while rin becomes a blushing mess

Rin itoshi

Have i fallen for her...?

A weird feeling, it was innocent at first but then the thought of her kept me awake at night, the way she smiled at me... the way how i felt safe around her.

She always told me to be me, and not the 'little brother of sae itoshi' she was the first to say that. How she somehow makes me chuckle at the worst joke, before i knew it i had already fallen for her.

this crap is boring you can skip it since i was trying to describe what happened in the manga.

4 years have passed since sae left to play in real mandrid, rin and his team was playing a match against a team called RIXIL . You were there supporting the team by cheering at the sideline.

The last few moments of the game rin had the ball while being press by a few defenders, dribbling pass them he runs forward towards the goal. Since you were quite knowledgeable in the world of football, you easily understand what will rin do in his situation.

His team screaming him to pass the ball with his coach, passing the ball to his teammate for that person to pass to another teammate near him to finally to finally pass to rin.

He scored the winning goal, screams of joy filled the area you quickly congratulate him on his win after the match.

"Rinrin that was an amazing goal you made!" rin blush and replied "I'll be the best in the world with nii-chan afterall!"

"You surely will, be the best with sae" you paused "What do you want for winning the match?" rin grinned at this, "Your hand in marriage, (reader)"

"If you be the world best with your brother" you smirked back.

"Oh you might as well marry me now" he stick his tongue out.

"Oh don't be so cocky with me" you feel your phone ring inside your pocket "excuse me rinrin i have to take this call"

Rin gave a thumbs up going to a bench to cool down before taking a shower, you took awhile chatting with the person on the other line.

After you ended the call you turned to rin "your mother hosted a family dinner to celebrate your win, rinrin" You gave a soft smile as you start preparing to leave.

"Where you going?" rin asked as he drink his water bottle "to help Mrs for dinner, anyways imma go now!" rin watches you leave then left out a sigh of relief

Why the hell did i say that?

That lukewarm shit was so risky...

Thank gosh she didn't notice it was real...

...

He watches his two teammates leave as it turned to a late afternoon, he note that it would probably be turning evening very soon. But he still wanted to train his skill..

He kicks a ball towards the goal, as it hit the net he think to himself how it wasn't in the spot he wanted. 'Ah. its snowing..' he thought to himself and heard a voice in the distance.

"Wasn't that shot a bit shoddy?" he looks a bit closer, it was sae his eyes lit up with joy after seeing him after all these years and blurted the word 'nii-chan'.

They both exchange pleasantries with one another, rin noticed sae wasn't feeling himself he looks... sad, unfulfilled? an emotion he never saw his brother have.

...

the clock hit (I have no idea) you started becoming worried, rin usually be home by now... thinking the worst you thought he was kidnapped, in this time many kids have been reported missing.

The more you think about it, the more you start being uneasy. note to yourself to check outside just in case rin was just running late, and if not you'll go to the football field.

You checked outside using a peephole and thankfully rin was just walking towards the door, relief washed over you and you opened the door.

"Rinrin! welcome back dinners almost ready" you smiled from ear to ear but rin just walked passed you, you didn't even bat an eye you guessed it was he got tired by practicing for so long.

You went back in the kitchen after the Mrs. of the house called your name, you helped with the last remaining dishes and prepared the table with her.

Everything has been prepared, "(reader) dear, may you please call rin down?" you smiled and nodded "Yes Mrs. i will" and there you go, going to rin's room.

As you were approaching the bedroom you hear a loud crash. Feeling fearful of what might be happening you run towards the room, you opened the door as soon you were infront of it. "Rin what happened!?" you screamed out of instinct.

"Get the fuck out of my room" yelled back rin

That startled you you never saw him this mad looking around the room you saw all of sae's awards, a few moment of silent rin gave a small sorry.

"Sorry (reader) i just had a bad day" you smiled and patted his head, "Dinners ready rinrin" you said and exited the door. You got awfully curious what happened.

As soon you sat down rin came and sat beside you, "Since everyone's here lets all pray first" said Mrs. itoshi

"Mrs?" you called out to rin's mother "May i take a picture to send to sae?" she nodded as she signal for everyone to hold hands to pray.

After praying you took out your phone and as intended "Say cheese everyone!" as you held your phone up high for everyone to see. You soon took the photo

" いただきます" (its Itadakimasu its said before eating) said the group

"Woah this is delicious!" said mr. itoshi "who made this?" Mrs. Itoshi replied with your name.

"You would make a wonderful housewife!" said Mr. itoshi

"Im flattered by your kind words Mr. itoshi!" you replied

"So are you planning to marry one of our sons, (reader)?" you nodded your head chuckling slightly

"I might marry one of them, or even both of them!" the parents laughed and you also joined in laughing

Rin blushed he had a chance getting with you? and even marrying you? that would be a dream come true, he just to make sure sae hadn't have any feeling for you.

After you finish eating your meal, you thank Mrs. Itoshi for inviting you as a guest.

You returned home safely, but as you were about to fall asleep you remembered the photo you took with the family. You opened the app and send the photo with the caption.

"celebrating rin's amazing goal!" and "wish you were here with us"

And then drifted to sleep... the next day you check you Messager app to see sae's respond to your text. It was the normal response but something caught your eye, the last message.

"I'm changing my dream i wanna be the world best midfielder" being the good friend you are you supported his decision with open arms.

It's been a few months almost a year by now, your relationship with him wasn't the same ever since that day. Rin was cold to you, not starting a conversation. he wasn't particularly rude just silent.

He was different as you kept noticing this you felt uneasy. You did try to ask him what happened yet he didn't answer, whenever you mention sae he just glared at you until you drop it.

That continued on... until he went to a facility called "blue lock" to be the best striker in Japan.

You couldn't able to contact him, you brush it off as he was probably busy. Being quite lonely you tried to reach sae but that ended in failure.

JAPAN U20 VS BLUE LOCK 11

"(Reader) quick your going to be late!" said your mother as she got the keys of the car to tossed it to you.

You catch the keys "Ma, don't worry" you quickly replied getting your purse.

"Gosh (reader) you got the front seats by the itoshi family hurry up!"

"I know ma! I'm very excited" you responded as you exit the house and got in the car.

"Make sure to give me and your father some gifts!" you agreed and quickly drive to the location.

You arrived just in time to be able to buy some merch, looking around the area you find the perfect thing, a rin plushie and a sae jersey its was hella expensive, if you didn't get a discount you would have been on the headline being the poorest person in Japan.

wait what time is it...?

Oh I'm actually going to be late.

Wtf i sound so calm!?

You start walking faster and by pure luck manage to get to your seat in time (barely...), you look around to find the couple that bought the seats.

Fuck where are they?

What in the actual ass!?

As you were silently in the seat thinking they cancelled the purchase, you felt a beep inside your bag. You took your phone to check what's up with it

"Sorry (reader), we both had an emergency and have to tend to it, your own your own" text by Mrs. Itoshi

Well that's a relief...

I was about to dig a hole and burry myself

Time to enjoy the game!

Getting comfortable in your seat you remembered the jersey you bought, 'Might as well wear it' you slid inside the jersey as you waited for the match to start

You watch eagerly at the entrance of the field where the players will appear, As you see both teams emerge from the shadows. The crowd screams 'itoshi sae' as soon you he appeared. even some screaming a popular defender name 'Aiku'

Joining in the screaming you loudly yelled sae's name.

"Sae, don't disappoint me, give me a good match to watch!" repeating sae's name like a chant while smiling from ear to ear. You remembered to cheer for rin also.

Gathering all the air in your lungs to scream the hardest you can you wave your hand franticly, closing your eyes you gave your all in that scream.

"RINNIE-SANNNN WIN THE MATCH, DONT DISSAPOINT!!!" you thought you were about to pass out from how loud you cheer, but that was worth it since rin looked to your direction, you gave the biggest smile as you were still waving.

Little did you know rin was stabbing daggers at what you were wearing.

Sportscaster and football commentator start talking you fell back to your seat feeling tired. Paying your attention to the field.

(if you wanted me to explain the whole match i aint doing it but check the manga if you are interested)

The second half was over it was so intense you were dancing with excitement on how good the match was, sae's first goal to seishiro goal then the last goal of the fist half made by rin himself.

It was truly amazing first half, the blue lockers having a one point advantage against the the U20, as bought a soda from the soda boy cooling down before looking at the field, there's rin looking at you.

"Rinrin! congrats on that amazing goal you made!" you yelled giving a heart shape pose while sticking your tounge out.

Rin flip you off. that was unexpected...

"WHAT THE FUCK RIN!?" you yelled almost causing a commotion but thankfully you control your temper, you didn't wanna just do nothing so you double flip him.

He just stick his tongue out in response.

You calm yourself down and got your phone out to text sae, you pretty sure that it was allowed.

(Second half has ended)

Amazing those blue lockers won against the U20

the final score was 3-4 first goal was sae, then seishiro, then rin, next two goals were the pink demon the zesty one called shidou, finnaly was barou and the last goal was isagi. Screams of joy filled the stadium both with the winning players and the audience.

And there was Isagi's speech!

Overall if you had to rate the match it would be (your decision), you quickly got off your seat to meet with sae just he had planned.

Waiting outside the main gate you stayed there until sae arrived.

"Sae! over here" you called as sae start approaching you

"Ah hello (reader)-" "Wait is that my jersey?"

"Oh fuck i completely forgot that i was still wearing this..."

"you look adorable..."

"what was that"

"Nothing..."

"Wait can you sign this jersey"

"Sure" sae's ears start becoming pink

"Thank you, ilysm!"

"i love you too..."

"anyways bye! get some rest sae!" he nodded as you walk away.

That conversation you had with him was much more... something. But that was fine, he is probably tired from the match.

You went home since rin wasn't able to go home just yet and it was getting late, you arrived home and went to your feeling exhausted.

CONFESSION

Its been a while just a week since the match, you have scheduled to meet in a private beach with rin and sae.

You manage to convince rin with some hesitation from his side surprisingly.

Meanwhile sae agreed with any hesitation now that really surprise you to the point you thought he was a doubleganger.

You awaited for their arrival but then you saw your reflection in the sea, your hair was very messy. So being a sane person you pull out your comb and brush your hair.

As you were about to finish the comb broke in two...

Sae came first with a bouquet of flowers and stand their Infront of you.

"(Reader) i love you, be mine" he said in the most deadpan tone you ever heard, you look closely at his expression you saw a faint blush.

What the actual fuck?

Is this a dream?

I need to wake the fuck up.

"WHAT THE FUCK!?" you thought that was you but you notice that you didn't say anything.

You see rin approaching no... running towards your direction holding a teddy bear in his left hand and a heart shape container.

Before you knew it rin punched sae in his guts, that scene looks like it came from a romance movie.

Then sae punched back which you assume was for self-defense, the more they fought the more you panic trying to de-escalate the situation.

In a last ditch effort you screamed

"Stop it you guys, y'all are fighting like animals!" if they ignore this you might as well enjoy the drama, eat some popcorn and and sit down.

Rin came to his senses first and stop, apologizing to you. Sae glared at him, and was about to throw another punch. As you were about to get some popcorn to eat sae stop mid-punch.

"Okay what the actual fuck is going on with all of you!?" you yelled.

"because that idiot gave you a lukewarm confession when i was suppose to confess to you!" said rin

"The only lukewarm thing here was your goal and existence, annoying pest"

"Wait rin you were going to confess?"

"Yes (reader) are you going deaf from his confession already?"

"Can i hear it?" you asked

"Not infront of him!" yelled rin

"just damn do it rin" you responded

he paused blushing from embarrassment, lowering his head an holding his arms out with the gifts he brought.

"(reader) be at my side and watch me be the no 1. striker"

"Woah that was extremely lukewarm, rin"

"Oh shut the fuck up"

"So who do you choose?"

HALF FOR EACH OF US

Gore, jjk reference, kidnapping, but don't worry you didn't die hopefully.

Ending :1/4 you reject them both

"I'm sorry guys but I'm not choosing any of you..." you saw the hurt in their eyes, you watch how their heart was broken, but when you tried to apologize again they scream.

"Fucking get away (reader)" rin yelled

"You'll regret this" you felt the air tense up once sae told you this so you left the scene.

You live your life with the guilt of knowing you broke their hearts.

You entered a coffee shop to meet up with a old buddy you knew, before you knew it there was a sharp pain at your forehead then you passed out.

As you opened your eyes you felt a wet liquid dripping down, as you tried to wipe it you notice you couldn't move your hand freely.

"Whoops your already awake" you heard a voice speak up "I'll inform them"

"What the-"

You saw a few people entered as your vision start becoming clearer, the only people you recognize was the itoshis.

"I'll take the bottom part"

"We know, you ass lover"

'What are they talking about?'

"Oh (reader) only if you just accepted one of us" you saw him gave a cocky grin but instead of laughing you felt uneasy.

"Shut up, rin" Rin rolled his eyes at sae reponse.

"Don't worry (reader) the operation won't hurt" sae added

"Operation?" you asked still feeling the sharp pain.

"We're cutting you in half, ill have the upper part and that ass lover be having your bottom" rin answered putting his hand on his hip

"The actual hell?"

They ignored you and signal the other people to take you to a room, there in the room they made you drink a liquid and you soon passed

yes i was being lazy i want to be done

Fleeing Japan to go to Spain

Childhood friends to lovers, Popular x Normal.

Ending 2/4 : You choose sae over rin.

"I choose you sae... I'm sorry rin"

"See rin you shouldn't have even tried, she always would choose me"

"I'm really sorry rin"

"Don't. be. (reader). i. fucking. hate. you. for. this."

You tried to apologize again but this time rin glared at you and you stop mid-way, "(reader) i have to go now." rin said as you throwed away the gifts he had in his hand to the trash.

You tried to get the gifts out of the trash but sae stop you, "(reader) those are dirty don't pick it up"

as you were about to argue with him that it's not that dirty anymore, you look at sae's eyes it was like the eyes of someone hopelessly inlove.

"I really do love (reader) im very grateful that you choose me... i will the best lover you'll ever have" you laugh at this and cup this face "Lets see Mr. prodigy~" you saw sae's face turned bright red and chuckle, sae hugged you .

"I wanna let you know a secret i always loved you from the start" you didn't know how to respond so you blush. "I love you" you nodded "I love you too Mr. Prodigy"

The moment you turned eighteen sae gave you the offer of flying to spain so you could both could live together at this luxurious penthouse. You gladly accepted because of the con's and since sae also offered to pay for your collage so you could achieve your dreams.

Be the no 1. lover

Brother's childhood friend, opposites attract.

Ending 3/4 : you choose rin over sae

"...I choose you rin" you replied pointing at rin direction, rin quickly jumped towards you and hugged you tightly

"I promise to give you the VIP seats when i become the best in the world" rin replied almost suffocating you.

"Im sorry sae" you apologize to sae and he started approaching you handing the bouquet of flowers, "I'm done with Japan, i only stayed for this long so i could confess to you"

He told you as he started walking away with his hands in his pocket, you felt bad for rejecting him but you still have rin with you.

"I love you so much (reader) thank you for choosing me and not him" said rin as he kiss your forehead. "I love you for eternity" as he approach your lips. and gave you a kiss.

That surprise you and rin notices "Im sorry (reader) im just so happy" you smiled at this and gave him a small kiss at his cheek, that ended up with him blushing uncontrollably.

"I love you (reader)"

"Me too rin"

You both smiled dumbly and went to get some popsicle. Once the blue lock project started, you just watch him at the bllk tv and texting him or calling him daily he made sure that you felt loved. He was sure the best lover you had.

Why not have the best of two worlds?

Two lovers, harem? i have no idea what is this

Ending 4/4 : you choose them both...

"uhm... i choose you both" they both stared at you in confusion, rin was the first to confirm what you just said, to his astonishment you didn't make a mistake of choosing.

"Well i call dibs on Sunday to Wednesday" said sae as rin glared at him, "I call dibs at the rest then." rin replied handing you the gifts he had bought to you.

"Your coming with me (reader) since it's Tuesday" sae said as he start dragging you to the local mall.

"Hey, that's not fair!" you heard rin yelled to sae but he didn't stop but just continued to drag you away from the beach.

And that's how your relationship with both itoshi brothers started, of course you manage to make a better way of dating each of them. But overall rin and sae were pretty much cool with eachother, no arguing, no drama, it was peaceful most of the time.

You will surely tell your future children how you met their fathers... You never felt neglected by them or make them feel neglected when you all were dating, even now you still look back in the past and wondered what will happen if you choose only one.

But you didn't think that deeply since you have two wonderful lovers by your side.

Did i lose motivation every single day and wish to have a proper sleep schedule? yes i did. Did i wanted to delete the whole fanfic since i thought it was cringe? i was going too but i made too much progress ANYWAYSSS TYSM FOR READING THIS PIECE OF CRAP <3 AND STAY TUNED FOR THE HEADCANNOS The whole fic was uncannon and cannon randomly since i kept getting distracted by the manga! My sleep schedule is ass :D

[lalune9x]

SCTIR Translation - Chapter 468: Even A Good Person (4)

Note: This chapter contains major spoilers for the China kidnapping arc. Additionally, understanding one of Yoojin's comments to Sung Hyunje in this chapter involves a fairly big spoiler for the Christmas Dungeon, which I've explained under the cut.

I think this chapter is very much worth reading, but those wary of spoilers may want to avoid it for now.

"Because I wanted to tell only Han Yoojin-gun." "…That you want us to part ways? That you’re leaving?" I asked. "You think too negatively."

Story context and chapter translation under the cut.

Story context: In the Christmas Dungeon based on the pre-regression world, Yoojin allowed himself to get possessed by the Crescent Moon. Using her power, he fought the others, including Sung Hyunje. Hyunje was really uhhh excited by that Yoojin and the prospect of having Yoojin seriously fight him, but that didn't exactly occur for reasons I won't spoil. Anyway, that's what Yoojin references in this chapter.

Also, I did my best to interpret the Chinese characters' names into authentically Chinese-sounding ones based on common CN to KR transliteration rules. So 황림 (Hwang Rim) = Huang Lin, and 초화운 (Cho Hwaun) = Chu Huoyun. I don't speak Chinese though, so please let me know if these names don't seem right.

---

Chapter 468: Even A Good Person (4)

"First of all…"

I swallowed dryly. The wind brushing against my back suddenly felt colder. It was already November, and the nights were getting quite chilly. When I had regressed, it had been the beginning of summer. 

"How much do you know... and since when?"

Moon Hyuna was nowhere to be seen. There were no signs that she would appear either. She wasn’t the type to leave me behind for no reason, which meant that something must have happened to hold her up.

"…Damn it, were you enjoying yourself?"

The fact that they’d even prepared to keep Moon Hyuna away meant that, in the end…

"You must have made contact before today’s banquet, at minimum. So, you were just watching? Did you just want to see me get rejected?"

"I’ll say that I didn’t see anything," Sung Hyunje said, his gaze softening slightly. "I went up to the rooftop as planned, confirmed Han Yoojin-gun’s presence, then parted ways with Moon Hyuna and came down here. So I neither saw nor heard anything from that point onward. You didn’t agree to date, by any chance, did you?"

"…No."

I had expected to get rejected anyway, but I’d been thoroughly kicked to the curb.[1]

"More importantly, you deliberately came outside and took your eyes off me. Did you trust Chloe-ssi that much?"

Even though the distance from the rooftop was quite far, if something had gone wrong, he could have attacked Chloe immediately. But to casually walk inside and take the elevator down? No way. No matter how capable Sung Hyunje was, he didn’t have x-ray vision.

"I trusted Han Yoojin-gun."

"You kept your mouth shut before, but now you’re spewing a load of bullshit. Sorry, Gyeol. Let’s cover your ears for a moment."

When I tried to cover Gyeol's perked-up ears with my hands, he shook his head. I whispered, "Just for a second," and he pouted but reluctantly used his own front paws to cover his ear tips. The sight was so cute that some of the frustration inside me eased a little.

"I knew you were shameless," I said. "So yeah, fine, I guess I was an idiot for never doubting you despite knowing that. You handed over that information really damn fast—was it since then? Did you two meet that same day?"

It was possible. Sung Hyunje had no reason to report to me about meeting Chloe or anyone else. Even now, he hadn’t actually deceived me; he simply hadn’t told me. Maybe I should be grateful that he even came forward like this instead of keeping me completely in the dark.

And yet, I didn’t just feel disappointed—I was actually angry. Sung Hyunje had been really considerate towards me lately. Maybe that was why. It seemed I had fallen under the delusion that he would help me readily and share everything with me. Even though there was no reason for him to do so.

"Well, whatever." I exhaled a long breath. "I think I was too comfortable with you, Sung Hyunje-ssi. Getting this cold shower has sobered me up a bit."

Sung Hyunje only raised his eyebrows slightly without saying anything.

"If this was a decision you made out of necessity, I can understand. So please just tell me."

If the other side had offered him a way to completely break free from the Crescent Moon, I could understand why he went along with it. Honestly, if they said they could help me get my brother back and keep all my loved ones safe, I’d be tempted too.

"I thought you would catch me," Sung Hyunje said.

"What? Are you serious? And I only said I’d understand, not that I’d let it slide. If you get in my way, do you think I’d overlook it just because it’s you? I treat you well now because we’re on the same side. But if you were on the opposite side, I’d crush you first."

I wouldn’t be able to sleep soundly until I dealt with him. Really. Not only because of his abilities but because of how much he knew. Just thinking about it sent a chill down my spine.

Two S-ranks. Grace was on my ankle, and that damn Sung Hyunje knew that fact too. The distance to the lounge was quite far, but they’d all rush over immediately if I just set off a single bomb. Was Jason also on Chloe’s side? If I excluded Moon Hyuna, there were three or four of them.

I could share the double attack buff. Sung Hyunje knew that, too. Noah’s skill wasn’t usable yet. The cooldown period was long, given how potent it was. If we could use it, our victory would be practically guaranteed, but...

"Sung Hyunje-ssi," I started.

In order for me to catch him properly... fortunately, it happened to be nighttime, and the moon was hanging over us.

"Back then, I was quite lenient with you," I said.

"If you talk like that, how can I not get excited?"

"So come clean to me. What are your real intentions?"

"I did receive a proposal," Sung Hyunje admitted.

He pulled out a letter from his inventory. Both the stationary and envelope seemed to be dungeon byproducts.

"Before the banquet started. To be precise, just before Han Yoojin-gun came down."

The tension in my body slightly eased. If it happened around that time, I could understand why he didn’t tell me. There wasn’t much time, and rather than changing plans on the spot, it made sense to confirm Chloe’s intentions first. It might be easier to make a clear judgment if I probed Chloe without knowing anything beforehand.

"Then what about Hyuna-ssi?" I asked.

"Hunter Miller doesn’t know much about the situation either. She just had no reason to refuse," Sung Hyunje said. "She doesn't accept my requests if she doesn't feel like it," he added.

Because she was an S-rank Hunter too, even though he was her Guild Leader. It was the same with Yerim; even though she was a Haeyeon Guild member, Yoohyun couldn't order her around as he pleased.

Anyway, it seemed Evelyn had been the one tasked with keeping Moon Hyuna away.

"What do you mean she didn’t have a reason to refuse? She didn’t even know the situation," I said.

"Because if there was an incident, I’d be the one to take the blame as Guild Leader. Unfortunately, it seems they didn’t clash too violently. Or perhaps they moved to another location?"

So... he set the stage for Evelyn-ssi to freely provoke a fight with Moon Hyuna? I thought Hyuna-ssi disliked Evelyn-ssi one-sidedly, but maybe Evelyn was wary of Hyuna too? And what was that "unfortunately" about? Was he fanning the flames for them to fight?

"I’m not asking how you held Hyuna-ssi back. I’m asking why."

If he’d kept her away just to show me the letter, then I’d gladly welcome it. Show it to me. But instead of handing it over, Sung Hyunje put the letter back into his inventory. And then—

"….!"

Suddenly, my wrist was grabbed. The speed was too fast for my eyes to follow. He pulled and spun me half a turn as if we were dancing, moving me from the railing to the glass door. The little fairy dragon growled softly and Sung Hyunje released my wrist. The lamps set up on the railing shone from behind him, casting a long shadow that obscured his face.

"Because I wanted to tell only Han Yoojin-gun."

"…That you want us to part ways? That you’re leaving?" I asked.[2]

"You think too negatively."

"Then why don’t you act properly? Suddenly doing something like this without saying a word, what am I supposed to think? Tell me clearly, exactly what you want from me."

"Act selfishly," Sung Hyunje said in a voice without any inflection.

"…What?"

"Or how about wiping your mind clean?"

"…What the hell are you saying?"

Chloe, who had been standing a little distance away from us, frowned. If she had a similar personality to Director Song’s, then even if she disliked me, she wouldn’t stand by and let an F-rank be threatened by an S-rank. Ironically, she might protect me even from Sung Hyunje.

"I'm saying there are those kinds of urges.[3] It’s been a while since we returned from China," Sung Hyunje said. The corners of his mouth lifted in a smile that looked like it had been drawn on. "I’ve been waiting all this time, you see. Waiting for something big to happen."

"I really have no idea what you mean."

"If I said it first, there’d be no meaning in it," he replied.

"…I genuinely don’t know what you want. Are you saying you’re waiting for me to do something?"

"Exactly."

The look in Sung Hyunje's eyes as he gazed down at me felt momentarily chilling. At the same time, I felt the urge to grab him by the collar and demand what the hell he wanted from me. Damn it, did he think he was some kind of ancient god? Dropping vague hints and waiting to see if I walked the path he wanted, praising me if I got it right?

"Why should I do what you want?"

"It’s not just me." Now his voice turned infuriatingly gentle. "It's what many people want."

"…I really want to hit you right now."

"I thought playing the role of the villain might not be a bad idea, if it was for that purpose. It might even be fun," Sung Hyunje said playfully, his attitude shifting completely from how it had been a moment before.

"Ah, you insane bastard."

I thought he’d changed, but no, he was still the same. Unpredictable, inscrutable, impossible to pin down. What did he want me to do in the first place, seriously? Did I annoy him in some way? I knew I had many shortcomings, but I’d worked hard. If he thought that wasn’t enough, despite all the hardship I went through, then damn it, just rip me open already.

"I may not understand the conversation, but please don't commit evil acts lightly," Chloe interjected with a serious expression. "Especially considering your position as the Sesung Guild Leader. The fallout would be far too great."

…To say something like that, was she really not with Park Hayul after all?

"By the way, Chloe-ssi. Do you know anything about my abduction to China?" I threw the question out vaguely. I didn’t expect her to give much of an answer.

"I am deeply sorry about that matter," Chloe said.

"…Excuse me?"

"Now this is unexpected," Sung Hyunje remarked, slightly taken aback, turning to look at Chloe.

She continued speaking calmly, as if she had never intended to hide anything in the first place.

"Officially, I came to deliver a letter to the Sesung Guild Leader. But personally, I also wanted to check on Director Han Yoojin’s condition."

"But you said you didn’t like me?"

"Personal feelings aside, Director Han Yoojin was still a victim."

"Are you admitting you had some connection to the kidnappers? Can I record this?" I asked.

"I wasn’t involved, but I didn’t put a stop to it either."

It seemed she felt guilty for knowing about it but doing nothing.

"I agreed that it was the solution with the least amount of harm. With Director Han Yoojin’s abduction, the military’s threat could be neutralized."

"…I’d like to hear more details," I said.

"Huang Lin made contact first."

…What? Well, I’d somewhat suspected it, but he really wasn’t on the military’s side.

"He warned that if the military gained full control over the Dokkaebi King, the standoff with the Murim Alliance would collapse completely. He said that would create issues. He also mentioned the potential for long-range portals to be used for invasions of other countries."

Thinking about it, it was terrifying. If undead Hunters were unleashed through long-range portals… Not to mention, there were many high-rank Hunters in China that were unknown to the public, so other countries wouldn’t even know where these high-rank undead were coming from.

"So they kidnapped me to draw in the Korean Hunters? Couldn’t they have just requested our cooperation?"

"That would have sparked an international conflict."

She wasn’t wrong. Since I’d been kidnapped, the Korean Hunters had been able to raise hell in China while everyone else turned a blind eye.

"Also, Director Han Yoojin's abduction was necessary to provide a plausible reason for the approach to Nosan Island. It would have been possible to carry out the plan to capture the Korean Hunters there."

"It was a success, but if it had failed, wouldn’t we have been the only ones sacrificed?"

"The Korean Hunters were stronger than anticipated. Originally, Huang Lin and some of his faction had planned to assist, but it turned out they weren’t needed."

…Is that why Huang Lin had just grabbed Chu Huoyun and left back then? Once the dokkaebis escaped and Yoon Yoon went berserk, his job was done?

"And you’re just telling me all this?"

"I was planning to inform you before I left the country, assuming your condition was okay. I also have a letter from Huang Lin. Would you like to receive it?" Chloe carefully watched my expression as she said this.

With a small sigh, I held out my hand. Honestly, Chloe telling me she disliked me had shocked me more than anything involving Huang Lin. Huang Lin was just a distant memory by now. Chloe pulled the letter from her inventory and handed it to me. I wondered what nonsense he had written, but put it in my inventory for the time being.

"So the conclusion is, kidnapping me was done with good intentions. Is that it?" I said.

"Of course, it was wrong," Chloe firmly stated. So then…

"Does that mean you’ve parted ways with Park Hayul’s mysterious noonim, whose name I still don’t know?"

"No."

…What? Seriously?

"I can't tell you any more details than this. If you want revenge, I understand. But I will resist." She bowed her head slightly, apologizing for the offense, and then turned to Sung Hyunje. "I will ask for your reply before I leave the country."

With that, Chloe turned, opened the glass door, and left. I felt even stranger than when the system message had appeared. Hearing that someone acted with good intentions but used twisted methods grated at my heart. It would have been easier if she had just been a bad person.

"If I may offer a piece of advice," Sung Hyunje said, turning his gaze to me. "Even good people can become enemies at any time."

"…I know. Even among those who cursed at me, I’m sure there were many good and kind people."

"And anyone trying to harm Han Yoojin-gun is an enemy, regardless of their intentions."

Was he really saying this right after he said he’d play the villain? I swallowed my question of whether that meant Sung Hyunje could be one of those people too.

---

Footnotes:

[1] The Korean word for "get rejected" (차이다) also means "to get dumped/broken up with". So yes, the ambiguity of whom Yoojin is so broken-hearted about is even stronger in Korean.

[2] "갈라서다 (to part ways)" is also used in the context of "to break up/divorce".

[3] It also sounds like he is saying "I mean that I also have that kind/those kinds of urge(s)." ("그런 충동도 있다는 거라네.")

[bi-hanslefttittie]

KHAOS REIGNS

Okay so I just finished playing the whole thing and finished the three towers for Sektor, Cyrax and Bi-Han (justice 4 him).

Spoilers Below:

My Thoughts (And prayers).

I'll confess that I cannot completely process what happened in the gameplay, my mind is still processing the fact that they killed Bi-Han and the fade to black. Uhhh so this will be mostly scattered points. I didnt feel like replaying for more screenshots but i will do my best with i could screencap.

OKAY FIRST I WAS JUMPSCARED BY HAVIK AS SOON AS I OPENED THE GAME AND THE INTRO PLAYED, WHICH IS PRETTY COOL ACTUALLY. I liked the change of pace we had and the overview is beutiful. The menu is pretty and the incorporation of the towers of Time was great. The new roster obviously is something I like. Also I really liked getting so many skins when I finished playing and the fact that there's new brutalities makes me very happy.

Kharacters.

Cyrax:

Apart from her design being gorgeous, I have a mostly positive opinion on her jugability. Her character was easy to pick up and play with, which made her very enjoyable. She is a noble person with determination and a personality. She is reluctant to follow orders she doesn't agree with and apologizes when she makes a mistake. I think her ending was nice. Her selflessness makes her very endearing and while I felt a bit awkward seeing her scenes with Kuai Liang, the rest was fine.

I came to realize that my issue with her scenes with Kuai Liang weren't so much about her, but the way Kuai Liang was behaving towards her and his brother. Weirdly unforgiving Kuai Liang made me cringe slightly when the scenes became corny and elongated. I think Cyrax as a character has a lot more potential and strength. Not only is she extremely talented and she was deemed honorable of an armor, but she's a confident woman that can throw shade when neccesary. I like that she never bites down an answer and speaks her mind. She has a kind nature but I PLEASE HOPE PEOPLE DON'T UWUfy her.

Another thing I would like to Pin point is how Cyrax prevented Harumi's death. Which I think is curious because Bi-Han was ALMOST responsible for her death. ALMOST.

the fact that she is so willing to die because of what happened is crazy. She's truly remarkable.

I just remembered the I am a human scene and it kinda tugged at my heartstrings considering the history of the character and I really hope she lives a long happy live as a human being... pretty please?

Also can I say how pretty she is????? Like she's gorgeous.

Her tower ending was nice, I like to see her accomodating to the Shirai Ryu and that it wasn't easy for her but Cyrax earned their respect in the end. Good for her!

im afraid of bugs so I can't say much of her Animality...

HER FATALITY IS KINDA CUTE NGL

SEKTOR:

Man, I said it once and I'll say it again. I really don't care if she's good, bad, neutral, i would die for this woman. The sentiment hasnt really changed for me, and I actually grew more endeared to this cocky confident warrior. She is very proud of her heritage and what her family has built. I'm sad we didn't see Madame Bo in this one though, I feel bringing up that Bo is her mom and then not making it important is a bit of a waste? But, yeah, the story wasn't really about her so...

For the most part I really liked her personality, the way her convictions don't waver although she is willing to relent if it is for the greater good (according to her). Sektor comes to me as a bit hypocritical but then again I realize that she saw more to the story than we as an audience do and we don't really know the nature of her relationship with Kuai Liang was before this whole ordeal. Like we know Cyrax and Kuai Liang liked each other once (platonically or romantically I don't really care. But I would love to see a bit of the dynamic before all of this happened).

She is a mentor and is dedicated to keep her promises. I feel that the fact that she wants Cyrax to be the best version of herself (according to Sektor's vision) has a lot to say about her as a character. Specially considering her mom is a mentor too, although in a different way and in a different manner. Bo's training of Raiden and Kung Lao might differ from Sektor's training of Cyrax, but I think she is as dedicated to her craft and her students as Madame Bo. Which is why it pisses her off so much that Cyrax can't fulfill her objectives.

... Yeah I'm living for her making Bi-Han smile. CALLED IT. He is happy around her and she knows it.

I wish I could see more of Khameleon and her though,

Her moments with Empress Tanya were nice, I liked their little banter I wish I could have seen more but then again these characters were sorta... IDK. I mean ignoring the main roster and reintroducing variants from the other universe is kinda awkward.

She is slightly less easy to play than Cyrax on my perspective, but she's fun to use and you can build pretty good kombos with her. Khameleon as a kameo really helped me with her actually.

Her design is really pretty. (im sad that my hc design doesnt match her completely though 😭😭) As for her tower ending I should probably make it a separate posed tied to Bi-Han's ending.

It is a big missed opportunity on making her take charge and not depending on Bi-Han (sure, I love them together, but like, girl) Like it was the perfect chance to get her to advance with the cyber innitiative and take route to what makes her character. She truly has a lot of vision and MK writers have sinned by only telling us about it and not showing us. I WANT TO SEE A SEKTOR WITH GREASE ON HER FACE, MOTOR OIL ON HER CLOTHES, EYEBAGS AND MELTING METAL, WORKING WIRES AND GETTING EXCITED WHEN SOMETHING WORKS.

NOOB SAIBOT:

Man, i want to say a lot about him and at the same time i don't want to say anything at all. I'm conflicted on this dude. Should I separate him from Sub Zero to analyze him or should I simply treat it as a unit?

Well, let's start on the fact that this dude was built, both metaphorically and literally on character assasination. That's it. That's my take on him. Baby I love you and everything but they really said "We have to bring Noob Saibot back somehow -cuz money- so let's make Sub-Zero cartoonishly villanous and let's make him LOSE TO CYRAX, then he will jump into a closing portal where a Titan and his crew are thriving". I literally cackled when he faced Havik and his goons because is like that latino meme "yo contra todos ustedes" (Translation: me vs all of you. Derived from the situation in which a small child decides to have a soccer match agaisnt all the big kids on his own) Yeah, im not amused by a Grandmaster being beat by his subordinate, nothing against Cyrax but this has happened literally more than once. Your character is either a powerful warrior or he isn't. And I'm saddened to say that Bi-Han, both in history mode and playability hasn't been up to the task. (Look at me critique a character I'm so attached to)

As a positive thing. I like that he smiles more in the DLC. I dont think we ever saw him smiling on the base game outside his tower ending which BTW was when Sektor was mentioned which makes me happy. I like that at least we don't have him completely dettached of humanity and see friendship, allyship and a shared vision. (I CAN WORK WITH THIS, ACTUALLY. people often wondered how supportive Bi-Han is of their s/o on fanfics. Y'all got ur answers)

ughhhhhh. Alright I know this is the "Die like my father" dude, but the way Kuai Liang and him speak about the late Grandmaster is weird. AND I WISHED THAT TOMAS WAS MORE INVOLVED IN THIS. LIKE, IT WAS HIS FATHER TOO. We may not share blood but we're still brothers left... where???? Like, at least bring him into the mission instead of introducing comic-relief Johnny Cage (I love him, he is adorable. I smiled every time he appeared onscreen. I don't find him useful at all)

Again im so weirded out by Kuai's attitude but at the same time I get it. Like, on the end pf the story you could really tell these are brothers fighting and part of it is their weakness. which is cute.

Props to the voice actor, he delivers his lines excellenty, and his screams really made me stop laughing and wince. Like, man. What a terrible way to go.

UHHHHHHH onto Noob. I really thought he wouldnt get uncorrupted, like, I saw the way he spoke to Scorpion and said, ah well, this is how it's gonna play out from now on. I'm kinda glad it isn't. I'm not a fan of Noob being Havik's creation... also again. Tomas is needed here. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE A NOOB SMOKE DUO.

Again he lost and uhhh... idk. the whole Liu Kang restoring his mind thing and expecting that the man that was presumably violently tortured to death would act cool headed was kinda stupid to me, but whatever. That's Liu Kang for you.

As for him Killing every person he crosses (good for him!!!) and making it about his ego is funny to me because we are side to side with someone who's rightfully angry because his brother let his dad pass away (And we are supposed to sympathize. Which I do, to some extent), and someone who, again, just got killed in a horrible way and his BODY was used to craft a henchman of chaos and is pissed off because of it (and we are supposed to deem this as wrong because... he is making it about himself?)

Thats the thing for me, actually. The fact that Kuai Liang essentially made it about him throughout the journey (while obeying orders, he still refused to collaborate when it came to Bi-Han, and mentioned A LOT of times about what Bi-Han did, which, fair but it takes from the argument that Bi-Han is wrong for being angry for personal motives)

This IS his fight. Because they did him wrong and for once he wants to escape all expectations and do things on his own terms. Specially considering the level of helplessness he could have felt when yet again someone used him for their cause. This time more literally.

Liu Kang is becoming kinda insufferable to me, tbh but thats only on me I don't have objective grounds for this (Still i find the Invasion's season kinda ironic considering his emphasis on control and the power he holds over individuals to the point of ethem, keeping them dormant)

WHICH BRINGS ME TOOOO

His tower ending. Fuck. Uhhh

Good for him I guess??? I'm glad you found your life's purpose boo, but like it kinda contradicts some of the points i've been making and my argument is now crumbling. Like, if it was so horrible...

also this truly makes me wonder how much does Bi-Han values his own body and if it isnt over the Lin Kuei, if he would perharps considering replacing his body with something more resourceful...

like Machinery.

I kinda like this concept, maybe seeing him mix up ice powers and shadows soon??? As long as they don't fuck it up (They will)

His design is ok. Not a fan but it isn't terrible. It will take me a few more rounds to get accostumed to him as a character.

Havik:

UHHHHHHHHHHHH. I liked the theatrics. He's very dramatic and I love that. His design is gorgeous I really loved the color palettes

He kinda looks like Drahmin ngl. He's a funny character, made me laugh a lot. Which prompted to me making a cock joke in the middle of his monologue to Bi-Han before killing him.

I thought for a moment we was getting Meat back. But one can only dream about things.

I'm sad we didn't get a chapter to play him. I would have gotten more attached.

Yeah, that's it about him. He started imposing but my mind sorta went elsewhere midway through and I think that might be a pacing issue??

OVERALL:

Uh. Yeah, it was a DLC alright. It had a smaller cast of characters, more emotionally charged although clumsier. Didn't have test your mights on it which I kinda missed, I was hoping for something more dynamic like a survive challenge on it or something.

I think it was awkwardly placed and some jokes didn't land correctly, or they did land on the wrong time making the scene lose their intended tension and adding nothing to the story (Looking at you, JC Red Wedding joke)

the animation was gorgeous and some Scenes were beutifully composed like Empress Tanya facing a dragon which, was simply stunning.

Speaking of Tanya. Marrying her to Rain was a choice. Not that I didn't appreciate their dynamic but, you know... Mileena. And stuff.

ALSO TEASING US WITH EMPRESS MILEENA AND GIVING US LIKE TWO SCENES IS A ROBBERY. We need to see said changes in Edenia, like, okay so Shao and Reiko are up to some busines and there's revolts. That sounds interesting, why am I not watching this instead? Idk the continuity on the tower endings concerns me because of it. I hope all those endings finally get a continuation on MK2. PLEASE. There's so much interesting shit there. Including ONAGA.

It was a cute ending. Although I wasn't very satisfied with the resolution of it all. It was fine I guess.

[yinyuedijun]

hi maomi just wanted to drop by and say that your jjk takes are very sexy and correct, not that i expected any less of you. i agree w you so hard on gojo’s death and it lowkey drives me insane how many people literally don’t get the entire point of his character. and the pacing is super wack, esp how the ending is playing out, but the decisions being made make sense. very interested in seeing your reaction to the ending once it happens!!! i am not ready!!!

ps. i personally like noritoshis new look but it is uhhh drastic

hi anon my darling!!! aw thanks I'm glad you enjoy my rambling! unfortunately I always wanna yap about it when I'm consuming media so ofc I had to say something about gojo lol. I think gojo is a very well-loved character so people were understandably upset by seeing him die, but the death made sense narratively and I liked its execution. (as an aside, I really liked nanami's death but I think it also suffered from similar problems lol - I don't know the fandom well enough to know how people feel about it these days though.)

also you're right the pacing is SOOOO ABSURD LOL I think gege had a very solid plan for jjk, but that plan involved a series that was literally double the current number of chapters and then he got burned out 😭 because if you look at the major plot and character beats they feel sensible! but the execution just suffers horrifically from the pacing overall and also the nonlinear storytelling around the battles. the lost potential is disappointing, but it is what it is - weekly serialization is a brutal format for an author to deliver and disorienting for the reader to experience. neither party can be sure what the complete work will be until they arrive at it together, and that's just something I've come to accept as a manga reader lol. anyway it looks like he's going for a very lighthearted ending chapter, which I'm excited for after all of that because WHHLSHFLWDJD I JUST TOOK SO MUCH EMOTIONAL DAMAGE IN THE LAST 24 HOURS

my toxic trait is that I actually kind of miss the long hair on kamo, I wish he had just tied his hair back or something 😔 the short hair has grown on me though !!!!!

[arach-tinilith]

fashionably late but for as many of your ocs as you want: 1, 5, 10, 11, 17, 19, 20, 26, 30, 40, 42, 43, 56, 61, 69, 72, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 104, 105

1.What is their backstory and why did you choose it?

Noble! She's First Priestess of house Duskryn so it made sense. I really liked the idea of playing a disgraced noble and especially from the drow perspective 

5. Does your Tav have any family members and are they close?

She has her mother Prae'anelle Duskryn, (pleaseee don't ask me her birth father i am NOT SURE) she has an older brother, Arzeni and like a lot of cousins lol. Her family framed her for the death of her consort and want her DEAD they're uhm not close

10. What was your Tav like as a child?

Naadja was the model drow citizen as a child. So she was a conniving little shit. She'd spread rumours, steal from nobles who were visiting her home, she'd purposely hurt herself then blame it on her brother so he'd get punished. Mummy's little princess.

11. What goes through your Tavs head when they wake up on the Nautiloid? Are they scared?

She's honestly in so much shock she can't really do anything but move forward. Oh, a Gith? Alrighty then guess that's fine. Pod that turns people into tentacle monsters instantly? Neat. 

17. Does your Tavs starting armour reflect them? If not, what would they wear instead

NO she's coming from the Aevendrow so she'd have a wool cloak probably lined with fur and I wanna think it has arm sleeves so she's free to cast or draw her sword LIKE THIS

19. What's your Tavs personality like at the start of the game? Does it change towards the end?

She's suuuuper paranoid, also conflicted. She hides her nobility from the group because she's honestly ashamed of it. But she feels an injustice has been done to her so she wants vindication in the form of blood and she isn't really sure if these people will understand 

20. Finally, what does your Tav feel as the Nautiloid crashes? Are they scared? Are they trying to survive?

A bit of acceptance honestly. Like she almost thinks she deserves death…. And then she lives 😈

26. What does your Tav think of Raphael?

Cannot trust a WORD outta this guy's mouth. (She has a fetish for infernal beings btw noooo comment)

30. Who does your Tav think of when they go to sleep at the Tiefling party? Or do they get lucky and get to spend the night with the person they want?

She's spent like, a good couple decades punishing herself for her past. She's just trying to have a fun time. Astarion promises her FUN … it was super awkward 

40. Did your Tav agree to kill the guardian or did they go talk to them instead?

They talk! She doesn't do shit for goddesses 

42. How does your Tav react to the shadow curse? Are they scared of the dark?

It's super uncomfortable for her. She's not scared of the dark it just makes her feel ill in the cursed lands

43. What does your tav think of Jaheira and the Harpers?

She was unimpressed at first but after talking to Jaheira she lovedddd her

56. What did your Tav think of the mindflayer colony?

Yeah that was the turning point for her really. Up until then it was just about removing the tadpole but this is when she started realizing she had serious responsibilities. (Also when she saw what was done to Minthara…)

61. How does your Tav feel about Baldur's Gate? Is it their home? Is it their first time in the city?

She hates it to be honest. The people are so loud and obnoxious, the weather is horrible. Its her first time there she does NOT get the hype

69. Does your Tav run into Orin? If so, what's their first opinion?

She fell for the love test trick. She was pretty intimidated ngl immediately got paranoid and started asking around camp

72. How does your Tav enter the city?

She uhhh killed all the deep gnomes. So she had to sneak around the side hehe

87. Did your Tav side with Gortash or did they agree to kill him for Orin?

She did the alliance up until letting Karlach rip him to shreds. She was not sharing the city with that guy lol

88. Did your Tav successfully resist the netherbrain?

NOPE i got tired of savescumming

89. Did your Tav side with the Emperor or do they free Orpheus? Do they become Illithid or does one of their companions do it? Do they give the nether stones to the Emperor/Orpheus?

ALL MY HOMIES HATE THE EMPEROR she freed Orpheus (mainly because there's no WAY we got that hammer for nuthin) and Orpheus used the netherstones teehee

90. Do they betray the Emperor/Orpheus/their companion to become the Absolute?

Nope! She's got bigger plans😏

91. Does your Tav get a happily ever after?

Kinda! She's doing what she wanted. It's maybe not the “nice” ended but its my favourite ending

92. Where does your Tav end up after defeating/siding with the Netherbrain?

In the Underdark! And I have lore about this of course😭

93. What do you think happens to the party afterwards? Do they go for drinks? Part ways

I HOPE a bath tbh but drinks is nice too

94. Years after the game, what do you think your Tav is up to?

Probably waging war against the noble houses of the Underdark with Minthara, Zafyna, and Astarion (and the spawn army) :3

95. What do you think of your Tavs development throughout the game? If you compared them to the start, what would be different?

A LOT more confident, less deceptive as a defense mechanism. I think she realizes how capable she actually is, and stops needing reassurance 

104. Who did your Tav romance? How did this romance develop throughout the game? What happened at the end?

She romanced Astarion lol she really did not trust him at ALL but the more he enabled her to be like, herself the more comfortable she was. Also in my awesome mind palace (bc i didn't have poly mod) she romanced Minthara later game. Which, the Minthaadja romance goes insane to me but i could go on about that😭

105. Anything you want to say about your Tav! Give a random headcanon, answer a random question, say whatever you want!

Okay my girl suuuuucks at basic life skills 😭 she's used to being doted on ngl she can burn water and has like poor hygiene because she always had handmaidens. No fault of her own! But like eventually the team catches on bc she's….stinky…. and offers to teach her and she's like “ugh fine😒😒😒 i guess I'll do it the surface way” LIKE NICE SAVE 👍

[box-architecture]

"So Dream's date went well I see." Hannah noted idly as she began to take samples.

Sam's stormy expression further soured. "No personal-life discussion at work."

"That's not what you were saying yesterday." Hannah smiled, a thin veneer of benevolence. "Mr. 'Dream, where did you meet him? Where are you going out, Dream? What time will you be back? Is it just dinner?'"

"All good questions to ask your roommate." Sam defended, moving away from the computer to start examining the body's flesh. Hannah's facade fell away to reveal something far more puckish.

"Of course. I'm sure it was incredibly important to know what dessert they would having. Wouldn't want the date to roofie his ice cream."

"They weren't having ice cream." Sam snapped. His face was flushed teal. "They probably just went to his house and- had sex."

"Ooh, that look like it hurt to say. You want to take five?"

"I'll tell security you shut off the basement cameras." He pointed a finger at her threateningly. Hannah looked amused. "You can't keep using the sarcophagus room to-"

"To what, Sam?"

With a jerk, he spun around to face Tina. She had an eyebrow raised, labcoat folded over her arm. Briefly, he tried to point his finger at her, before flushing further and dropping his hand.

"You know." He said, albeit mildly strangled. She leaned in and smiled sweetly.

"No, I don't. Tell me about what Hannah does in the sarcophagus room."

After a moment of sputtering, Sam deflated like a balloon. It wasn't really surprising. The man had always been all bark, no bite. It made him kind of funny; kind of annoying, too, but these things had their gives and takes. Hannah patted him on the back.

"Oh, Dream's here!" Tina's exclaimed joyfully, and Sam's wilted demeanor vanished instantly.

"Dream!" He brushed past Hannah and descended down the platform, hurrying over to meet a disheveled blonde man who was shimmying on his lab coat with one hand, leaning on his cane with the other.

"And there he goes." Hannah sighed. She bundled up her samples and set them on her moving tray. Tina hummed, still watching the men.

"Do you think he knows?" She asked. Hannah snorted.

"That he's in love? Sam would have brought out champagne and roses Day One if he did."

"No, Dream." Tina insisted. Hannah paused, looking up to squint at the pair.

Sam tied Dream's coat for him, brushing off the nonexistent dirt and likely rambling. Dream, slowly, reached out to cup Sam's face with a tenderness that Hannah had only ever seen him give to the dead. There was a moment of surprise, and then Sam melted, leaning into a hug. It allowed him to completely miss the forlorn, obvious yearning that flitted over his roommates face.

"No," Hannah decided. "He's an idiot. He would have done something stupid by now to force himself to 'get over it.'"

"You're right. He would have flown to Paris or something." Tina agreed. She plucked the sample tray from its cart and leaned in to whisper in Hannah's ear. "I'll put these in your office. Meet me in the sarcophagus room?"

Hannah smothered a giggle and nodded.

--

Uhhh notes:

you are not immune to Forensic Anthropologist Awesamdream AU

Dream and Sam are roommates, who tend to spend time together by watching marathons and eating ice cream on the couch together. Sam and Dream notably don't eat ice cream with other people, unless the ice cream is handed to them or it's a required thing. Sam considers it Their Thing That's Theirs Only For Them and Dream, quietly, also thinks of it like that

Hannah and Tina have sex in the sarcophagus room. Notably they turn off the security camera to do this, or go in the blind spots. This is illegal probably.

Dream grew up with Sapnap and George, but for Reasons they are no longer friends. Dream met Sam in school and Sam had the biggest crush on him, but they ended up separating at some point and going in different directions. When Sam transferred to this branch of forensics and met Dream again, Dream was notably covered in scars, walking with a cane, and a lot colder.

Dream tends to be distant with his coworkers and warms up over time, but Sam is Immediately allowed in his space and can be as touchy as he wants.

[n3hmof1sh]

Hey!!

I think you misinterpreted some of the aspects of the game. I totally agree with you on most points because, holy shit, hanging Mari was the thing that got me mostly. Like why did Basil think that was okay??? Why did he even know how tie a noose?

The only thing is that they didn't confess when things got dire. Their gift was the final "hurdle" to get the truth out. Also, Hero raised those two since they were little so its also coming from a "I lost my girlfriend and then found out my other really close friends that raised caused her death the almost died".

It's tough with all the emotions attached to it. It's just that saying they only did that because the situation works and will be downplaying the whole theme of grieving and its struggle with the mental health aspect. Did that make sense..? This wasn't a dig at your choose just more insight of the game

Ahhhh okayyy!! ^^ thank you for the infoo!! I'm going to be able to actually play the game in around 1 or 2 weeks so I'll definitely be able to grab a better aspect of the game and it's messages soon!! Tbh when I was typing that, I did think I was being a bit uhhh idk the word but you get it!! I still stick with my point of not forgiving them but yeah!! I did kinda understand that they didn't just confess bc of the bad situation (I hope I'm understanding your point pls dumbas brain don't fail me-) as I said at the bottom of little rant, I haven't played OMORI. I haven't seen gameplay either bc I don't wanna spoil the actual storyline for myself but I do know what happens in the game mostly. Yeah, it mostly made sense!! Kinda got a bit lost at the last few sentences but I think that's just the wording?? But yeah!! Thanks for the clear up, anon!! ^^

Btw as for the Hero thing, I was just referencing the memes people make of Hero and Sunny post Good Ending. I do believe Hero would be upset or angry or maybe just depressed after the good ending, but that is just my opinion!! ^^

[doomalade]

Man, I have so many ideas of what Hazbin Hotel could do but because, I'm a fan, they're probably not going to do it. Like what they could of done with Alastor instead of serial killer cannibal that practices Voodoo. Keep the voodoo based powers, take out the cannibal part because that's a bad view for voodooism, and make the serial killer thing more of a one time mass murder. He died in early 1900's so, let's say a lynch mob murdered someone he cared about and he made a deal with Lilith or some other demon to "Kill them all with all of the power the rings of hell had to offer." Which would explain why Alastor is the way he is and why he's so powerful. It would still work too because Voodooism has some ties to catholicism, more commonly in Lousiana though, which is where Alastor is from so it wouldn't be too much off an issue. It would also make him more of a morally grey character that we can understand. Making him fit perfectly with the Voodoo culture, because while Voodooism isn't sacrificing babies and cannibalism. There are still people that use Voodoo for things like hexing and not so great stuff. Just like any other culture. It would also provide good reasons as to why he thinks he's untouchable in hell, even when it comes to Lucifer!

Lucifer becoming like a therapist or counselor for the Hazbin Hotel. I don't go to therapy, but even I know this is such a missed opportunity here. He knows what it's like to fall from grace to literally rock bottom so, wouldn't it make more sense if for him to tend to his subjects, unlike how his Dad, and help them achieve something he could never have? I mean, I like the whole "confiding your feelings into your local Bartender" thing Husk has, and that can still be a thing with Lucifier still helping out in the way I mentioned. Not only would it boost his confidence in realizing he can actually make impact on people if he was given a chance, but it would also show Charlie the lengths of which her Dad actually does cares.

I do agree with the critical side that Valentino should've been taken care of by now. Or at least, the planning for it to be. They even had the set up with Charlie finding out the extent of Angel's abuse. Hell, you can keep everything somewhat the same, but at the end. Have Charlie sneak back to the club and straight up kill him, showing off how much of a threat the daughter of hell can be. You've got the motive of Valentino was getting in the way of her plans/ Angel Dust's recovery, and that she's a good person, right there! Hell, it doesn't even have to be Charlie, Vaggie could've done it because of how much the plan means to Charlie or Charlie could've even sent Alastor to do it for her! I can even see Husk making a comment to Charlie about it. Not to mention, the drama of Angel finding out and causing a possible rift between Charlie and Angel, because Angel is well Angel.

And lastly, Charlie making a deal with Alastor. Even since it was mentioned in the pilot for her not to make a deal with Alastor, because of who he is. I just want to see what would happen, because they made it a big deal and I thought it could be a plot point. Some many possibilities, but I've made this long enough so, I'm just going to leave it here.

Okay woah this is a long one uhhh

Alright, starting first, I love the starting ideas for Alastor. I know that in his comic which I'm pretty damn certain is canon/official, it shows that it irks him like none other when "those of fairer means" are targetted and pushed around. Maybe someone who was like a little sister to him faces the injustices of 1920s racism, with him calling on Lilith, knowingly or unknowingly. Now his soul is forever bound to the will of Lilith, even in Hell. The reason for his unbound power comes from her. And that is why he only appears when Charlie announces the Hazbin Hotel. He plays it off as if he just wants to mess with sinners and watch them fail (which he kinda does want to cause his views of other people to be skewed forever after losing his lil sis figure person). And I know what you're thinking. This is fridging. Yes. Yes, it is. However, I do think that it is possible to bring back that character by having her in Heaven or something and give her a distinct character outside of Alastor. Just doing something to not be a classic Viv writing women moment lol. Anyway, the point is that Alastor truly is at the Hotel because of Lilith but slowly grows to find Charlie to remind him of the person he lost.

As for Lucifer being a therapist? Ehhhhhhhhhh. You gotta remember that he is the embodiment of pride so I do doubt that he would be much of a therapist. However, saying that, it would be interesting to see how his pride could not only just be for himself but his pride in Charlie. Maybe even combining the two. Wanting to take pride in Charlie and be a good father like he didn’t get but also wanting to still stick it to God by having Hell still be his domain of eternal punishment and the kingdom that he had built. Overall could have some extra depth with that.

I don’t really get the “Angel is Angel” comment tbh. I do think that more slowly setting up and properly exploring Val’s abuse of Angel across episodes and even seasons and have Charlie’s little moment of snapping as the peak/climax of it.

And the deal being made with Alastor is more so able to be explored with Husk than Charlie. Charlie was able to use her higher status to avoid a deal, Husk didn’t have that luxury. Would be a way to explore more class struggles in Hell.

I didn’t really get into as much detail as I wanted to but like, yeah

Idk

[osaumu]

knowing your partner well can potentially make writing together a lot easier. repost, do not reblog.

name. sage

pronouns. they/them

preference of communication. discord! always available for mutuals!

name of muse(s). most prominent at the moment are dazai + geto!

best experience. hmm, i've made a lot of friends through writing! starting off on twitter in like, 2012 i met my best friend of 8 years, moving onto this hellscape (affectionate) i've met similarly lifelong friends and my partner ♡ ! writing has always been something i enjoy and i majored (that's not really a thing in the uk but it was a focus of the degree i never finished lmao, but i did get a diploma!) in screenwriting, so the aspects of rp are similar to that in a way, i think of it less like writing a novel and more like writing a screenplay. in my writing i'm huuuge on scene-setting and meanings behind things and always have a huge focus on what characters are doing that i often forget they need to speak and not gaze at each other ...

rp community pet peeves/dealbreakers. someone said negative comparisons where duplicate muses are concerned and i agree, as someone who has always been duplicate friendly it's so sad when people pit themselves against others for the sake of a few harsh words. this has become slightly less common though! and as such i'm glad my little community that i've built here doesn't have anyone like that hanging around! i also don't like pressure, drama ... the usual stuff that tends to be annoying where any rpc community is concerned.

muse preferences. yikes uhhh ... the ones that are typically seen as one - sided? morally ambiguous or grey? typically seen to have that "all for one" attitude but really it's "one for all"? i tend to take on characters that represent melancholy more often than not and i'm not sure what that says about me as a person but ... mhhhm. biggest muse focuses for me are when i can really dig emotional wells within them and pick them and their stories apart. i like nuance, but i don't tend to write many villainous characters, at least not those that are evil to their cores. i commonly write those that have something to fight for i guess?

plots or prompts. both! i utilise prompts to turn them into threads unless i just want the opportunity to go offfff on some character introspection using the prompt as the basis.

long or short replies. i tend to match whatever anyone throws at me, but i also don't know when to stfu. sorry for who i am as a person.

best time to write. uhhhh ... all the time? that's maybe a lie considering i'm always posting about not writing but honestly whenever the inspiration hits BUUUUUTTT i'm always always always available to talk people's ears off.

are you like your muses? considering i pick the melancholy boy/girl failures, yeah?? but my moral compass points towards good so :p

[forcebookish]

I just have to say you are restoring my faith in humanity with all your Top and Mew opinions. People are so weird about them I just don't get it. Their dynamic to me is so exciting and I look forward to their scenes every week. What really strikes me about Top and what a lot of people don't want to see is that he truly wants someone to care for and look after. The way he so quickly took to taking care of Mew you can tell he really treasures him. I also just love how much of an enigma Mew is (in the best way), he always subverts expectations and I think he really needed someone like Top in his life, regardless of what's going to happen in the future.

thank you, anon 🙏

you put it perfectly, they "don't want to see" who he actually is, so caught up in their own narrative of what they want him and the drama to be - something neither of them are. like, why do they think top wanted to still be with mew after he thought that he wasn't a virgin, had lied to him about actually liking him, and might have been cheating on him with ray? just... 'cause? he told boston he still liked him even after all of that, after being so hurt that he slept with someone else. how many times does a guy have to say he likes someone before people believe him????

and you're so right about him taking care of mew!! i've been planning a post about this since ray asked, "is top the kind of boyfriend you want?" because uhhh, you mean a boyfriend who takes care of him? validates his feelings? worships his body? respects his boundaries? and like you said, treasures him.

on their first date, he buys him the sex book lol

on their second date, he puts on his laser tag light up thingie for him

he helps him at water skiing

(i mean lol that second one is obviously a move but still)

on their silent disco date, he puts on mew's headphones for him and gets him a drink

he assembles furniture for him

he gets his drinks for him at the party, he takes him home

(side-note: i've seen folks have a problem with this checklist line, as if he's "faking" at being a good boyfriend, but it's just a reference to mew saying he has his a checklist.....)

he's so concerned for mew when he gets hurt, he wants to go after biker, and "fixes" his glasses (an attempt was made ok😂)

like???? do they think he didn't take care of his exes??? he doesn't know what mew's "type" is, he's just acting like how he acts in relationships. and he was taking care of him even before mew said that!! (inb4 that line about him only caring about coming and making himself happy, he said specifically that he couldn't remember the last time he felt like that; that doesn't mean he never has, it just means that mew's the most serious boyfriend he's ever had. he's never been in love before, that doesn't mean he's not now.)

who goes that far just to "pretend" to care for someone?? and even if he did, don't you think that would lead to him actually caring about him? they really go, hmmm, he's a good boyfriend🤔🤔🤔 suspicious🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔 lmao

to your point about mew, he is an enigma! every week, i want to know more about him. i've never seen a character like mew before - even though i've known people like him in real life.

and i agree that top's actually been good for mew, even if it leads to (momentary?🥺 interim?🥺 please not permanent🥺🥺🥺) heartbreak, it's good that he's getting out of his shell. we haven't seen a lot of his backstory, but top keeps introducing him to new experiences outside of just reading, helping him live a life outside of studies. and, uh, (at least soon) help him realize how shitty his friends are😅

so pleased my silly little (ok, overly long) posts restore your faith in humanity, anon. it's asks like these that restore my faith in humanity. so glad i'm not alone in loving them <3

(and glad that you anons seem to like it when i make your asks into HUGE ASS POSTS COMPLETE WITH SCREENCAPS OMG I DON'T KNOW WHY ANYONE READS THESE BUT I'M GLAD Y'ALL DO)

[neopuff]

Little timeline I've been using in my GenRex fics. I know there's only supposed to be one year between Six finding Rex and Promises, Promises, but I don't like that it's such a short amount of time so I made it two years lol It's fine, I can ignore canon sometimes (slams my head thru drywall) I'm good at that it's fine

Rex is presumably 14 when Six finds him. They celebrate his 16th (or ?) birthday in Nov 2010, but when Caesar arrives they would learn Rex's real birthday (I picked April 'cause I wanted something earlier in the year) and so Rex would be 17 in S3

I also really want Rex to have had a blackout at some point while at Providence. I would've liked it to be earlier but the timeline really doesn't work out lol I mean it doesn't really work in timeline anyway but I don't caaaaaaare. Six says "You only remember the last 18 months" in Wasteland, which I assume is letting the audience know that 6 months have passed between Promises, Promises and Wasteland but I'm just shortening up that timeline. They can rebuild Providence HQ faster than that it's alright

Some notes:

One would've been an EVO for more than 5 years in Divide By Six but I figure it's okay to round down. 5 years sounds more dramatic than 5 and a half years

(Plus Caesar says he missed five years in Mixed Signals even though the Nanite Event was five years prior to The Day That Everything Changed, which means characters are doing a lot of rounding)

A Family Holiday would be Beverly's 18th birthday

This isn't referenced in the above image but I put Holiday at 33 and Six at 35 (start of series). Noah calling her 28 doesn't make her actually 28, he is a 16 year old boy he doesn't know how old women are

Holiday and Six got in less than a month of dating before Six Minus Six lol

And Six got about 2-3 weeks to get to know Rex before Lions and Lambs

Uhhh hmm. Anything else? Sorry I typed this all once and lost it all so I'm trying to remember what else I had.

OH YES a pre-Providence Rex timeline with a focus on his amnesia blackouts. Here we go:

Late 2004/Early 2005: Rex has an accident in Abysus. His family infuses him with nanites to help save his life. Rex has his first mini-blackout (not full amnesia, but he starts to have trouble remembering bits and pieces) due to the accident or the nanites it's hard to say. While his body adjusts to the nanites, he has a bunch of mini-blackouts and starts forgetting important things. He starts keeping a digital notebook around Feb/March 2005

April 2005: Nanite Event - Rex blacks out due to the shockwave/trauma/both. He turns into the Giant Robot EVO Thing and flies out of Europe. Heads in a random direction and ends up tired and without memory in Hong Kong. He still has his digital notebook and it's kind of the only thing that keeps him sane

Mid 2005 - Mid 2008: Rex in Hong Kong. He starts working for Quarry because he needs to make money/get food somehow. He also meets the Hong Kong Gang one-by-one and they become good friends, though Rex is secretive and anxious and paranoid. Incident with Scarecrow doesn't help.

Mid 2008: Rex knows he has family in Mexico thanks to an early entry in his digital notebook and decides he wants to find them. Quarry agrees to help Rex get to Mexico if he makes a deal with him. Rex hasn't blacked out in so long and is feeling confident about finding his family (Quarry told him he had a contact in Mexico City who would help Rex out) so he doesn't think he needs the notebook anymore. Quarry keeps it as collateral.

Nov 2008: Rex gets to Mexico but he is lost and scared and Quarry lied about having anyone there to help him out. Rex has another blackout (combination of stress and guilt) and turns into the Giant Robot EVO Thing again. Six finds him and brings him to Providence.

Aug 2009: Rex has another blackout while training with Six (something similar to what happened in Frostbite). Holiday and Six don't realize this is a Thing with him so they just start over from the beginning. Training is easier and faster now that they know how Rex's powers work and they're prepared for everything. Six gets Rex some goggles, Holiday gets Rex some gloves.

[starryalpacasstuff]

Thai QL Favorites Tag Game

Tagged by @telomeke, thankss <3

Credits: this game was created by @thatgirl4815 as Thai BL Favorites Tag Game.

Arghhh I just know this is going to be so hard, I'm gonna be an indecisive mess throughout.

Favorite Thai QL: Starting off strong with an impossible question to answer! I'll always have a spot for Bad Buddy in my heart, being the creative genius it is, and bonus points for being my first actual BL. But I have to also mention My School President, for the sheer joy, amazement and wonder that series sparked in me. I cried. My only 12% is forever going to remain in my heart, it hit close to home but I liked the pain. Probably the sweetest, most wholesome show ever. And, can't quite wrap this up without my newest favorite: Not Me!! Truly an amazing series that had pretty much all I could ask for.

Favorite Pairing: Dang it. I feaking love Gemini Fourth, they're genuinely such an amazing pair with amazing chemistry. But also, OffGun in NoT Me genuinely knocked the wind out of me. (Special mention to SantaEarth for being frickin adorable)

Most underrated actor: Joining @dribs-and-drabbles in the pitch for Harit, most well known for his role as Todd in Not Me. I REALLY want to see him as a lead, because I knew he'd be evil from the start and yet I was still so sad when the reveal came.

Favorite Character: God this is so hard to chooseee. Probably Tinn from MSP because my god the guy is so cute, and the greenest of flags to ever green flag. Also Black, from Not Me because I am here for the spiky on the outside but a little bit soft deep deep inside thing. And I can't forget about bestie Sam from GAP the series. Everything about her was just>>>

Favorite Side Character: Tiw from MSP for being the best wingman ever, and Ink for being the best just ever.

Favorite scene in a QL: Theres many, but two main ones come to mind here. The bar scene in episode 12 of Bad Buddy, when the gang is hanging out, drinking, and witnessing the stupidity of their younger selves through the eyes of an older generation. Second is the pride celebration scene in Not Me. I tell you, that scene made me sob.

Favorite line in a QL: I literally have a google docs filled with impressive lines from QLs!!!! I think I'd have to go with "All we can do is try. Even if its scary, we have to try it to find out" from the eighth sense, ep 10. "I will choose to remember only the good ones so there will only be the beauty of tomorrow" from uwma ep 10 comes a close second though.

Most Anticipated QL (& why): 23.5 I NEED high school lesbians. Also, GMMTV's first gl!!! I'm praving they don't f it up.

Healthiest relationship in a QL: Probably PatPran or TinnGun

Most toxic relationship in a QL: Agreeing with @telomeke on Tharntype here. Goddam they were messy. And toxic.

Guilty pleasure series: Uhhh Love in The Air.

Most underrated series: My Only 12% definitely, no doubt about it. This little series is so amazing and it needs so much more love. The story is simple but engaging. The characters have amazing dynamics and chemistry. It has a lot of little messages and meanings and lessons hidden in it.

Tagging:

@chordassinationtechnique @dimplesandfierceeyes @coffeelovesdramasalatte @snidgetwrites @ahxu-laowen @transpat @theyellowhue

And anyone I haven't tagged who wants to join as well, consider yourself tagged if you see this :)

[polyamorouspunk]

hi hello I hope you're day evening etc. is going alright. sending metaphysical pancakes or sth your way if you want them and if you're up to it maybe asking for. advice. in return. though I'm strongly assuming the only solution here is ✨communication✨ but unfortunately on occasion that is scary and hard to figure out

so. my partner wants to live with me. ideally for me to move in with them. which is great! I've been sorta dreaming about that for years! all good, right?

well. the thing is. we've been planning to live together in the past. repeatedly. repeatedly and not continuously because somehow the plans were always cancelled, and hate to say it but never from my side. I don't like pointing this out to them bc it sounds like I'm holding a grudge or sth, though they always had valid reason for backing out and obviously it's better anyway for both of us if they back out if they don't feel ready rather than having to deal with a difficult-to-reverse situation like sharing a living space. but nonetheless it has happened... 3? 4? times over the last... decade or so and I'm having a hard time trusting that this time it's not gonna suddenly pulled back again which would. y'know. hurt kinda.

additionally, we've both moved into our respective flats fairly recently (2 and 1 years aho respectively), and neither is really made for 2 people. theirs would work alright if needed but I'm fairly certain we'd want/need more space sooner rather than later, and I don't really want to move all the time since it's bloody exhausting. and like... we DO have pretty different idk styles of living? they're all about pretty places and a good level of tidiness, and I'm kind of a mess with stuff everywhere and mismatched furniture and decoration bc functionality trumps style and also I collect all the stuff that I like and display it regardless of whether it objectively looks "good". meaning, and in the past we'd always agreed on this, that it'd be good if we both did have separate spaces at our disposal, so the general living space can be nice and aesthetic and they can decorate their space how they like and I can contain my chaos in my own space without bothering anyone much. except now out of the blue they seem adamant to move in together asap and get really excited about it and I HAVE explained most of this but they seem insistent on making it work somehow which is. sweet, and I do love that apparently it's become so important to not be separated from me for long, but I have a hard time trusting that as well due to uhhh our relationship history idk.

it's just. it's sweet and I should be over the moon but I can't share their optimism regarding making it work (I don't want fighting to happen bc I left my stuff lying around too much) and I can't fully trust the whole thing so now it's just them being excited and me being sort of a buzzkill and I'm not really sure how to. address. all of it

sorry this got long haha please don't feel obliged to answer or anything, and take care!

I think your feeling are totally reasonable. I’ve had a partner who would always say they were going to come over and then something always came up so I just… stopped hoping. It’s soul-crushing! I think it’s a reasonable boundary to say “listen this has been an issue in the past and every time you say you wanna move in and then back out even if you have your reasons and they are valid it still hurts me, even if it doesn’t have anything to do with me”. I’m lucky that my ex and I both had similar living styles so the idea was when we moved in together like we would function well. We pretty much already lived together on weekends, so we knew we worked out well. I think having someone stay at your place/stay at someone’s place for a few days is a great test to see how you guys live together. But yeah, as someone who is poly, I’ve always been adamant about the fact I would want my own bedroom in a polycule situation. For a lot of reasons I need my own space in a shared living area. Things like that aren’t easy, and I’m not going to say “it’s just about communicating” because while it is yes it also seems like “maybe your partner needs to work on not getting your hopes up about things like that only to back track” (aka you establishing that boundary).

[masschase]

Some Troy and Casey cousins lore as promised the other day!

I'm basically back to saying this is part of my canon now. It's just in a very different form to the original vague hc I had for them.

Once again, yes, maybe there are AUs where they aren't related, and maybe there are AUs where they know they're related. In fact I kind of need there to be because I need to see a teenage Troy being made to babysit Casey as a baby/toddler; the results are gonna be precious and/or hilarious(I hc her being a pretty chill baby as long as she's fed frequently but like... toddlers in general... uhhh good luck Troy 🤣)!

But main universe, they don't really know. They never really know. Now I really like when aspects of my hc just kind of... fall into place? So here's some parts of Casey's backstory I created for entirely different reasons that link in with this really well.

Casey had limited contact with an uncle on her dad's side who taught her to shoot and fight not long before the events of SR1. The uncle was originally aiming to teach her sister Phoebe, who, presuming Casey was around 13, would have been 17 at the time, but she really wasn't that interested. Casey on the other hand was fascinated. It was her first time having a hobby that was more focused on channelling her feelings into a hobby rather than reading which was a lot more for the purposes of escapism.

Casey has some gratitude towards this uncle, but also some cynicism too. "Never checked we had food in the house but, you know, at least I could shoot a gun and punch out a guy twice my size." she points out. But eventually she does process that it was her mom who might have been keeping that side of the family away from her, and while I never confirmed it, I believe that is indeed what happened(her dad, however, is entirely responsible for his own absence).

I've never really got into why this uncle was particularly skilled at/decided to teach them this stuff, why Elizabetta allowed him contact with them when no-one else was allowed that, or why he was so interested on checking up on the kids. But I'm now suggesting that this man is Troy's dad and I think that in itself goes to some way to explaining it.

This uncle wasn't actually Casey and Phoebe's dad's brother as they were told, he just put it that way to simplify things for these two kids who didn't really know him. They obviously just accepted it because they didn't know their dad in that much detail. He was his brother-in-law. His wife was Casey's blood aunt, and Troy's mom, and she took her husband's surname of Bradshaw while, as I've mentioned in a previous post, her brother took his wife's name of Clark until their divorce.

I definitely hc Troy's dad being a cop. This explains would explain why he would have a reasonable amount of expertise in not just combat but teaching combat to a reasonable level. Troy's dad wanted contact with his nieces partially because he felt some duty of care to them, and also because his wife probably suggested they be subtly checked on. "Teaching them to fight because I've seen a lot of shit happen to young women" or something was a good way to frame it that would explain why it's worth travelling halfway across Michigan for.

The fact that he wasn't actually blood related to Stanisław made Elizabetta a little less concerned about letting her daughters see him. But really, her ongoing paranoia about social services involvement made her more inclined to agree with his request in a way she felt she could maintain control over. Because overall, her kids didn't come across as problem kids if seen outside the house.

It seemed to work in that respect. Phoebe seemed sociable and responsible with some typical teen disinterest, Cassandra was shy and intelligent but came out of her shell a lot as he began teaching her. Even if he did have minor concerns, his wife would probably tell him it was fine based on what he'd told her.

Troy's mom was not uncaring about her nieces, not at all. But with a house full of teenagers, pushing for contact with two small children was never her priority. Once her children were grown? Yeah, she may have had some concerns, but unless they were in actual danger, she wasn't going to get involved with a situation where she might end up taking responsibility for them. I hc her having had an OK relationship with her sister-in-law in the past, so less reason for concern. The relationship between her and Stanis I think could be a post in itself, but I think they weren't super close as siblings go, I think again the age gap factored into that.

What does Casey know about her cousins? Pretty much nothing. Her mom didn't allow it. She doesn't know their names. She's never seen a picture. She once asked her mom about them upon seeing a schoolfriend who was close with their cousin, only to be basically told "they're adults, they don't wanna come play with you", so she knows they're all older. By the time she's an adult and could reasonably go looking, she's so disaffected with her family she doesn't do so. Bear in mind that even when her grudge against her sister (who she loves very much) for leaving her with their mom was let go, she still doesn't visit often due to 'not wanting to be around her perfect family'. I make it pretty clear she has issues around stuff like that which she knows she just can't have due to her line of work. When you add in the fact she's secretly got some shades of social anxiety, going to see cousins in their 30s/40s who she's never met and potentially ending up sitting with their perfect little families is her idea of hell. So she never makes contact.

What does Troy know about his cousins? He knows their names. Phoebe, Cassandra. He saw a couple of photos of them that their mom allowed his mom to have before he left home, when they were still pretty young. He would assume they have their dad's second name, Kendziorski, just due to that being more common and knowing their parents were married (his mom making mention of an ex-sister-in-law). He has other young cousins; his uncle's even younger children/Casey's half siblings if he has interest in that sort of connection. But honestly I doubt he's that interested either.

Neither of them know the right things about the other to make the connection when they meet in SR1. Casey has nothing to go on, really, and she's not the type to jump to conclusions about that sort of thing. Troy has a face that's obviously nothing like the picture from when she was 5, a name that doesn't match, at first not even the right gender as both of his estranged cousins are girls and obviously Casey is mistaken for a boy for a while. Casey never talks about her past. Troy doesn't look much like Casey's dad and Casey doesn't look much like Troy's mom. With a closer friendship and more time together they absolutely would have figured it out. But for various reasons they don't have that.

I do think they met once prior to the game though. Casey was just way too young to remember it.

Stanis was miserable around the time of Casey's birth. Elizabetta's keeping up appearances nature would have prevented him feeling he could vent to most of their friends. So I think at some point when she was a few months old he went to his sister's house under the pretense of introducing the new baby to her aunt. He does, but he also really just needs to talk to someone detached enough from the situation; his sister. So baby Cassandra is placed in a little play ring in a corner of the room attempting to put everything within reach into her mouth. Troy is made to sit with her while his mom and uncle talk in hushed whispers on the other side of the room under the pretense of "watching her" when they really just don't want him eavesdropping.

If I wanted to say something poignant and beautiful and rather contrived I could write something about how even then Troy knew he had to protect this kid, even though he didn't know her yet. How their meeting 15 years later would perfectly mirror that one.

But come on! He's a thirteen year old boy! He's a thirteen year old Troy! His thoughts on the situation are "Why the hell am I the one stuck looking after this thing?".

But you know what? That's OK. Because that mirrors his views on their future situation pretty well too. 😉

[kokitschi]

u know, i do find kokichi saying "how could a game you're forced to play be fun?" rather than "[...] forced to kill be fun?" more interesting.

i don't have the specific quotes at hand, but i do remember a theme of kokichi valueing freedom. in ch 1, after the death road of despair fiasco, he says something about being denied the right to give up. in ch 2 he mocks the (silently) agreed upon ban on the k-word (and the reality of the situation) and then also defends ryoma saying his opinion. in ch 3 he's very much not a fan of angies cult and in the trials 3 and 4, when kaito tries to challenge his world view, kokichi says that they should agree to disagree since they come from different backgrounds and then (admittedly a lot more venomously) that "[kaitos] ideals should stay the same."

one of his quotes goes smth like "there's only one truth, but endless possibilities for lies!"

then there's ofc d.i.c.e, which is said to do petty crimes and generally just look like a motley crew of outlaw kids. oh, i guess his lockpicking also fits into this theme.

all of this is kinda juxtaposed by kokichis ..rather forceful methods. especially around his world view. (he's not forcing anyone to agree ig but he is shoving it down everyones throat constantly) though i guess one could say that he's not trying to make this fun for the others?

i interpret kokichi as someone who lies to himself a lot, then calls his own bullshit but still forces himself to "believe" the lie because that's how he copes, i guess.

so during the killing game, he copes by pretending it's all just a game. he's aware it's not. but by disconnecting himself he's able to make a lot more ruthless decisions. this reaches its boiling point in ch 4 ofc, he yells at his classmates and ask them if they're alright in the head bc why would they not play the game?

and then later... well, u know how the story goes.

anyway, my interpretation of the quote goes something like this;

1. i don't think he'd condones murder, even if they were in a consensual situation. he's generally not a violent person and i do think he is a pacifist at heart. however, he's in a high stress situation and he is a ends justify the means kind of person.

2. kokichi is someone who loves games, a lot. and he values freedom. the killing game does kind of desecrate the things he values.

3. he is a strategist and a person who's able to look at the bigger picture. so, put into this peculiar situation, he thinks about how to stop this. he comes to the conclusion that treating this like a game and emotionally disconnecting from the reality is gonna give him better results. (not necessarily in a conscious way)

4. put it all together and u get someone who's core values are abstracted by the language he's using. (in this case; still talking about the KG like it's just a game but this is a very common thing with kokichi. he says things in a way that are highly and at times difficult to interpret and depending on your personal opinion on him, ur gonna have a different opinion on what he really means.)

sooo uhhh hope this made sense? probably gonna revisit this at some point, just wanted to write down some thoughts.