#we don't see them interact a lot in the movie but i feel like they'd get along so so well

[kookooluvr]

Teach Me How To Love - Part 2

pairing: professor!jungkook x (fem) professor!reader, fwb to lovers

genre: fluff, angst, smut, fwb au, economicsprofessor!jungkook, politicalscienceprofessor!reader, slow burn, some emotional constipation, some sappy moments, lots of sexy moments.

rating: 18+ MINORS DO NOT INTERACT !

warnings: we meet jk's friends and tae makes his first appearance (we'll be seeing a lot more of him in future), oc is sick with a cold, jk is a simp and drops everything to make her feel better, lots of fluff, nothing explicit in this one, we find out some more of oc's rules, SATC mentioned, some marvel talk, talk of jk having a nice ass, mostly just lots of soft feels in this one <3

word count: 2.7k

summary: jeon jungkook, a fellow professor at yonsei university, is your friend, co-worker, and secret bed buddy. you have rules set in place to make sure there are no misunderstandings in your little arrangement. the #1 rule is as clear as day; no catching feelings. simple, right? wrong. let's see how un-simple it gets when a certain economics professor falls for an emotionally unavailable political science professor.

author's note: i'm so happy to see the amount of love part 1 got !!! part 2 is a bit shorter, but i think it's important to see their dynamic outside of the whole fwb thing. i'm aiming for the upcoming parts to be longer, i promise. i hope you enjoy all the feels in this one, and don't be shy to send me your feedback 🫶🏻

find tmhtl masterlist here

Jungkook sits at a table in a rather fancy restaurant, half-listening to his friends as they joke about something over dinner. They've been meaning to get together for a while but they've all been so busy with work and their personal lives that it just never worked out until tonight. Well, it worked out tonight because Taehyung practically forced everyone to come.

"Yo, earth to Jungkook."

He looks over at Jimin with raised eyebrows, realizing he was caught staring at his phone in his lap. He knows he should be paying attention to the conversation happening around him, and he knows that it's rude to be on his phone while he's in company, but he hasn't heard from you all day and usually you would've exchanged words (or funny memes) by now.

It's not that he MUST speak to you all day, every day to survive, but it just happens. If he sees a funny video of a cat on TikTok, he sends it to you. If you forgot how to do something on Excel, you text him and he replies within two minutes to explain how to do it. Sometimes he even goes through the trouble of doing it himself, screen recording it and sending it to you to give you a step-by-step guide. That's just how it goes with the two of you.

"Huh? Sorry, what were you saying?"

"I was just asking if there's a special someone in your life," Jimin says with a little grin, resting his chin in the palm of his hand.

"Actually, what he asked was if you're still on track to die alone," Namjoon quips, Jimin waving him off with a little "eh, same thing".

Jungkook rolls his eyes, flatly denying any romantic relations. It's not like he's lying. He just can't say that he might have started developing feelings for the woman he's casually sleeping with, so he just settles on, "Naah, I'm too busy with work." It's easier.

They know their friend is a terrible liar, but they also know that he would tell them if he really wanted to, so they don't pry. They've heard your name once or twice in passing, a little comment here and there like 'y/n likes that movie' or 'y/n uses this perfume'. As far as they know, you're his work friend. That's it. Even Taehyung doesn't know much about you, and he works at the same university as an English Literature lecturer, which brings us to rule #2.

Rule #2: It stays between us. It's just less complicated if less people know, and Jungkook knows that if his friends knew about it, they'd be pestering him about you all night and he doesn't need that right now, especially when his eyes drift back down to his phone and there's still no text from you.

You're in bed, surrounded by snotty tissues and a sleeping Miso, who really couldn't care less that you just underwent a violent coughing fit. You're about to doze off, when your phone buzzes on the nightstand. You check the notification, and when you see who it's from, you swear you feel your heart rate rise, but maybe it's just from all the coughing.

prof jeon |7:50pm]: hey, you. prof jeon 17:50pm]: haven't heard from you all day... prof jeon [7:51pm]: are you mad at me bc i said sex in the city was boring??? 👀😭😭

You [7:51pm]: first of all, it's sex AND the city 💀 You [7:52pm]: and it's not boring, you're just a nerd who can't watch anything other than marvel

He laughs, knowing he should've expected that response. Your next message comes through shortly after.

You [7:53pm]: sorry for the radio silence You [7:53pm]: i have a nasty cold 😵‍💫 You [7:53pm]: feel like i was hit by a bus You [7:53pm]: took some cough drops and slept for most of the day

He really shouldn't feel the need to immediately rush to your aid, but he does.

prof jeon [7:53pm]: want me to come over?

You [7:54pm]: you don't have to do that, kook You [7:54pm]: i don't wanna get my germs all over you 😕

prof jeon [7:54pm]: don't be silly   prof jeon [7:54pm]: i’ve had your bodily fluids on me before, who cares about a little snot 😂😂😂   prof jeon [7:55pm]: i can be there in a little bit 

You [7:56pm]: you're gross 🙄 You [7:56pm]: and really nice

prof jeon [7:56pm]: see you in a bit x

He excuses himself from dinner with the excuse of a family emergency and promises his friends to hang out again soon. He grabs his coat and heads out to his car, making a stop at your favourite Thai restaurant for some pho before driving over to your place.

You unlocked the door to your apartment and dragged yourself back to bed as soon as he texted you to let you know he's on his way up. You hear the door open and in walks Jungkook, looking very handsome you might add.

"You're dressed awfully fancy to take care of my cold," you tease with a little smile, your eyes drifting down to the plastic bag in his hand, a bag you know all too well due to countless trips to that specific Thai restaurant. "And you brought food?"

He smiles as he removes his coat and walks over to the side of your bed, placing the pho on your nightstand before sitting down on the edge of the bed, clearly not bothered by the array of tissues scattered around the duvet. Miso sees him and gets up from her spot on the bed, sauntering off to the living room, almost as if she knows her mom is about to get folded like a pretzel again. But Jungkook's not here for that tonight.

"I was actually out at dinner with some friends when I texted you. And I thought you might've been too lazy to get up and actually eat dinner, so I brought soup."

The thought of him dropping his plans with his friends just to come over and take care of you fills you with a warm, fuzzy feeling. Maybe it's just your high temperature. Maybe it's the fact that he's just so kind to you. Whatever the reason may be, you're too sick and weak to fight the soft smile tugging at your lips.

"Thank you, Jungkook."

"Don't thank me. I just didn't want you to drown in your own mucus."

Your laugh makes his heart feel funny, even if it barely managed to escape your sore throat.

He opens the lid of the steaming hot pho and holds a spoonful to your lips. If you were your usual healthy self, you would've told him that you're fully capable of feeding yourself, but you're sick and vulnerable and he has that soft look in his eyes, so you let him feed you the soup. It's warm and a little spicy, and it instantly makes you feel better as it slides down your throat. It's just that good. That, and the fact that he bought it for you and drove all this way to feed it to you.

He makes sure you take any necessary medication and even helps you flip over to lay on your stomach so that he can rub some VapoRub on your back, his hands giving you the comfort you didn't know you so desperately needed.

You aren't used to being taken care of by such a gentle man. He blows on your soup for you so that you don't burn your tongue. He wets a cloth with cold water and lays it on your forehead to bring down your temperature. He touches you like you're some delicate porcelain that could break at any moment. When he lays down with you and runs his fingers through your hair, you don't fight it. When he presses a soft kiss to your cheek, you don't protest like you normally would because rule #3 is no kissing outside of sex but you don't even care right now. You let him take care of you when you normally wouldn't. You allow yourself to be taken care of because it feels too good to overthink.

Jungkook feels a bit selfish for relishing in your current state because it allows him to care for you in your time of need. He would do it for any of his friends because that's the type of person he is, but this is different. This is you, and he would drive for hours and hours to get to you if you ever needed him. He would put everything on hold to be there for you. Hell, he would run into a burning building if you were in there. Because it's you.

He props his head up on his elbow and looks down at you, taking in your fevery flushed cheeks, your heavy-lidded eyes, your stuffy nose, and he thinks that no other woman will ever be as beautiful to him as you. He's not Taehyung. He doesn't teach literature and he doesn't have the best way with words, but he could spend hours writing poetry about the sound of your laugh or how animated you get when you're really passionate about something. He could sit and watch paint dry all day if you sat by his side and did it with him.

Jungkook takes the tv remote from the nightstand to turn on Sex and The City, clicking on a random episode from season 6 and getting comfortable next to you.

"What happened to Sex and The City being boring, hm?" you chuckle, giving him a teasingly pointed look.

"What, you want me to turn it off?"

"No, I just thought you didn't like it."

"But you like it."

You turn your attention back to the tv as a smile threatens to break out on your face, your head turned so that he doesn't see how much that simple response affected you.

He barely remembers the characters' names or much of the plot, but you enjoy the show, so he watches it with you, making comments here and there and even asking questions just so he can listen to your voice as you explain why Carrie Bradshaw does what she does. He mentally pats himself on the back for getting through a good handful of episodes before inevitably getting bored.

When you get up to go to the bathroom, he just can't help himself and turns on one of the Avengers movies, offering you a sheepish grin when you come back and see what's on your tv.

You roll your eyes and get back in bed, watching Iron Man perform a monologue for the millionth time. "Captain America's better."

He gives you a look like you just killed his dog or something, and you already know what's coming.

"Are you insane?! Iron Man is so obviously the best Avenger, y/n."

"He doesn't look like Captain America, though."

"He doesn't have to," he scoffs, looking back at the tv. "He's got that whole rich CEO thing going for him. Plus, he's like, a genius."

"Nerds defending nerds, I guess," you tease with a faint smile.

He grins, a hint of smugness in his expression. "Are you saying I'm like Iron Man? Because if you are, that's a huge compliment."

"Iron Man's a bit more of a bad boy," you chuckle, narrowing your eyes at him as you try to think of who he resembles in the Avengers. "You're more...boy next door, kinda like Spider Man."

"Wha- excuse me, I can be a bad boy too if I want," he quips, trying to sound offended, but when you mention Spider Man it kinda makes up for it. "I guess I'll take Spider Man. I do have a nice ass."

You laugh, giving him a puzzled look. "Who said anything about Spider Man's ass?"

"He's like, known for having a great ass. Have you seen him in his suit?"

"So, that's it? That's why you'd make a good superhero? Because you have a nice ass?"

"Well...not just my ass. I'd make a great superhero because...y'know...great power, great responsibility and all that other stuff."

You scoff, shrugging like you can't argue with that.

He's quiet for a while, a full-blown fight scene playing out on the tv, his mind starting to wander a bit.

"You'd be Black Widow. You've got that badass, independent woman vibe," he murmurs, looking over at you with a soft smile.

"You think so?"

"Oh yeah. You're smart, confident, you don't take crap from anyone. Plus, you'd look really hot in the tight outfit." He just can't help himself.

You roll your eyes, softly swatting his bicep. "Of course that's what you think of."

He chuckles, shrugging his shoulders, feigning innocence. "Hey, what can I say? I'm a man, I like what I like."

And I like you. He can't say it out loud, but acknowledging it is enough for now, and when the cough syrup starts taking effect and your eyes slowly start to droop, he feels content with just having your head on his chest.

His phone buzzes and he pulls it out of his pocket to see a text from Taehyung, and your eyes are barely open when they land on the screen. You didn't even mean to look, it was kinda just an instinctive thing, but you're not interested in his private texts from his friends. What catches your eye is the photo on his lock screen. It's a photo of the two of you from a year ago, both of you making silly faces at the camera. It's a cute photo. If anyone else were to see it, they'd think you're a couple.

“I didn't know that’s your lock screen,” you mumble, your voice a lot sleepier than it was an hour ago.

“Are you snooping?” he teases with a little scoff.

“I didn't mean to look, your phone is kinda in my face from this angle,” you murmur through a soft chuckle, looking down at the photo.

“I like this photo of us.” He smiles when you tap the screen after it goes black, wanting to get another look.

“Coulda used one that I actually look pretty in,” you murmur jokingly, and as the cough syrup drains the last of your consciousness, the last thing you hear is a soft, “But you’re always pretty, y/n.”

The next morning, you wake up feeling a little bit disorientated after taking all that cold medicine, blinking a few times to clear your vision. You slowly sit up in bed and check your phone, seeing that it's 10am. You almost think you overslept for work, but you realize it's Sunday. You think back to the night before, the way Jungkook came over and fed you soup, the way he gently put VapoRub on your back and made sure you were well taken care of. You turn your head to find Miso in the spot that Jungkook was in last night, and you would feel disappointed that he’s not there anymore if Miso weren't so damn cute. It's not like you expected him to still be here this morning. After all, staying the night is another boundary you don't cross, and he respects that, which explains why he left a little while after you fell asleep.

You feel that fuzzy feeling in your chest again when you take a better look at what's on your nightstand. Your water bottle stands tall, which Jungkook filled before he left last night, along with a little note from one of the notebooks on your desk.

The note says, 'Hope you're feeling a bit better. Get lots of rest and drink your fluids. Don't worry about falling asleep, Miso made sure I saw myself out. Hope to see you at work tomorrow xx'

You read the note again, and then again. It's simple but thoughtful. He didn't have to write a note. He didn't have to come over last night to tend to your illness, but he did, and you aren't surprised because he's him. That's just what he does.

You think about last night until you have to consciously stop yourself from smiling so much because your cheeks feel a bit stiff. You grab your phone from the nightstand and scroll to his contact, your fingers quickly sliding across the keyboard.

You [10:23am]: thank you for coming over last night, kook You [10:23am]: i owe you fr

prof jeon [10:25am]: you really don't 🙄 prof jeon [10:25am]: i just wanted to be there for you prof jeon [10:26am]: it's what spider man would've done 👀

You [10:26am]: 👁️👄👁️ You [10:26am]: nerd

[perksofbeingpoet]

pittsie rolls out the dough so precisely that you could think he was about to get out measuring tape, protesting loudly when knox steals some of it and eats it just like that. charlie laughs and nudges pittsie in the side- chill out, bro- before messily cutting out stars with the cookie cutters. cameron chides him for making them look all wonky, and neil laughs, yeah charlie, try again. todd smiles up at him. his stars are shaped perfectly, and neil presses a kiss to the top of his head as todd focuses so hard on every cookie. pittsie rolls his eyes and mimes throwing up into the bowl with the icing, making meeks laugh where he is sitting on the kitchen counter, legs swinging. knox puts too many sprinkles on the cookies and cameron tells a story they all know, but they still laugh. meeks sets the oven temperature too high and blames charlie for distracting him by throwing out random numbers. knox feeds pittsie some of the icing, pittsie pretends to swoon and acts as coy as possible. todd laughs, and charlie grins at him, finally got you out your shell, have we? the kitchen smells sweet.

[t-u-i-t-c]

↑them↑

[theamityelf]

For the naejunko soulmate vision share au how would the first face to face meeting would go would makoto try to play it cool and what would junko do would she make it very well known makoto is her soulmate or not plus during the killing game with makoto seeing the control room

Ohhh boy, great questions all around! Thanks so much for asking!

For their first face-to-face meeting, Makoto doesn't play it entirely cool, but he approaches the situation similarly to how he approached Sakura being the traitor: He treats it as something that should be discussed privately before it can be made public.

First of all, he arrives at school before Junko does, so he introduces himself to a few people before she arrives.

When everyone has showed up and the official introductions begin, I'm thinking he approaches Mukuro first, says a friendly "Hi," to her, because he's seen Junko bully her and he's felt really bad for her for a while now. (Mukuro doesn't say hi back; she looks to Junko, almost like she's asking permission to interact.)

Then Makoto turns to Junko, and he says "Hi," to her too. It's a noticeably heavier "hi". But not expressly hostile. It's basically a "We both know that I know what you've done, and we need to talk about it."

But he barely gets that syllable out before Junko is squealing, "Soulmate!" and just crushing him in a big hug. "Aww, you're even tinier in person! I could just shove you in my purse and sneak you into a movie theater like a cheap snack!"

"That would be dishonest," Taka protests. "The movie theater sets the price of concessions for a reason!"

"You two are soulmates?" Aoi says. Everyone is looking between Makoto and Junko with curiosity and interest.

"I was so, so excited when I saw your Hope's Peak letter!" Junko continues, ignoring her audience despite clearly performing for them. "I brought you a present. Close your eyes."

"Uh, Junko..." Despite the resolve he had before, now he's blushing. "This is really public. Can we talk privately?"

"Oh. Do I embarrass you?" Suddenly, Junko looks like a kicked puppy. "I'm sorry. I was just really excited!"

"It's fine. I actually got you something, too. But I don't really want our first time talking to be in front of our entire class, so maybe we could meet up at lunch or after school?"

She is going to keep trying to create an atmosphere of...absurdist romance, I guess? You know those deeply uncomfortable videos of failed public marriage proposals? That's kind of what she's aiming for. Being so high-romance that Makoto has to shut her down publicly and everyone feels not-great about it. He manages to dodge a lot of her traps by just being normal and communicating.

Likewise, Junko's every attempt to treat him like a pet or accessory fails because he isn't as easily cowed as she was expecting.

Basically, she can't quite get him to make himself "the bad guy" in front of everyone, and she also can't get him to just let himself be stepped on.

They have a weird vibe. When their morals aren't coming into conflict, they have good chemistry; he works as the straight-man to her quirky persona(s), and their soulmate seeing-through-each-other's-eyes thing means Makoto is often running to stop her from doing things and she's often popping up to back up her soulmate in his mild interpersonal incidents. (Like Yasuhiro asking to sell Makoto's organs, or Mondo getting in his face, or any kind of trouble with the faculty.) Half the people he interacts with are subjected to some kind of blackmail from Junko.

(Lowkey, one of these days I need to actually write this scenario, because it's hard to describe exactly how weird their vibes toward each other would be and how misinterpreted they'd be by most of their classmates.)

As for the killing game, he'd have to be given the full amnesia treatment, like Kyoko. Otherwise, it would take him very little time to take "I know my soulmate is Junko Enoshima" and "I occasionally see through the eyes of someone who seems to be running this killing game" and reach the conclusion that Junko is the mastermind. Especially since he's seen Mukuro's face through Junko's eyes.

With the full memory wipe, all he knows it that he sometimes sees through the eyes of someone who seems to be running the killing game. It seems to mean that the mastermind is his soulmate. That's all the information he has. (Also, he would readily admit that he doesn't remember anything, whereas Kyoko would play that closer to the chest.)

Makoto occasionally seeing inside the data center and the Monokuma Control Room and feeling confused and dismayed by the implications.

Makoto getting weirdly affectionate treatment from Monokuma.

Kyoko knows that she and Makoto both have full amnesia, but not why. Kyoko studying Makoto for any signs of duplicity.

He hasn't told anyone that the mastermind is his soulmate.

(Some of the others in class have soulmates who they suddenly don't feel a bond with, because those people died at some point in the interim. Another reason for Junko to either kill or imprison their loved ones; if they could see the world outside, they'd know about the apocalypse too early.)

Makoto slowly recovers memories of his life and his soulmate. Junko didn't become famous until after they'd been soulmates for years, so initially he remembers seeing through the eyes of a girl his age who happens to be really smart. When he sees Mukuro get impaled, he recovers a memory of his soulmate playing a game with her sister, and he feels twice as bad, but he isn't sure how those things are connected.

He and Kyoko (and to a lesser extent, he and Sayaka) get close in most of the same ways as in canon, and Junko is ruthlessly jealous.

[performativezippers]

When writing romance, what causes the relationships to feel like they lack a 'spark'? like, chemistry? I got these two characters who are opposites, they have a lot of things in common, potential for conflict and/or love, but despite that, it still feels like there's Nothing Fun happening there. They have more chemistry with the villain than with their love interest, and... i have no idea why! XD what could be missing?

ooh this is a great question! I have no idea what's going wrong in your piece specifically (although if you want to send me a page or so of them interacting i'd be happy to look at it and let you know what i see) but in general, here's what comes to mind first.

on-page chemistry is hard to write. it's hard! this is why actors are required to do chemistry reads, right, because if it could be guaranteed on the page, it wouldn't matter if the actors were limp socks. movies and TV shows have so much more to work with: not just actors, but camera angles and cuts, framing them in one shot together, lingering glances, MUSIC, lighting. fiction writers just have...words!

so those words need to try to fill in all of those gaps.

you've said your characters are opposites with a lot in common and potential for conflict or love. my first thought is where is the tension between them? are they attracted to each other? are they in competition with each other? what is keeping them apart and why is it integral to your story? if it's enemies to lovers, why are they enemies and why can't they just make up and get along? if they're friends to lovers, why can't they just start being lovers? if there's an external obstacle, like they'd both be kicked out of the dragon riders for fraternizing, why don't they just do that? and once you have that why, is it infusing every scene they have together? because it should be!

Not that you want every scene between them to be, "Sam, I wish we could kiss but we would be kicked out the dragon riders if we did," "I know Jamie, I do too," that would be repetitive and boring and annoying as fuck for the reader, right, of course. But every romantic interaction could be tinged with regret, with want, with yearning for a different situation. What if when Sam looks at Jamie before a big battle, they see an alternate reality in Jamie's eyes, a world in which everything were different--no war, no riders, no command--just the two of them with a cabin and a woodstove and a warm quilt Jamie's made on their bed, a world in which nothing would come between them, where Sam would never have to see Jamie saddle up to fight in the sky, would never have to wonder if Jamie would ever come home, would never have to wonder what Jamie's lips would feel like against her own?

in that example, there is want (we want to live happily together) but there's tension (we can't be together and also there's war that might kill us) which rubs against the want and creates sparks.

so I'd say think about your piece and your characters, and look at if their desire is sharp enough, and the tension keeping them apart is jagged enough, to rub up against each other and send up sparks that will eventually devour everything in flames.

because you've said they have more chemistry with the villain, i think you're close, because usually villain/hero chemistry comes from exactly this. the hero wants something (win the war for my side, save my dragon and my friend) and the villain wants something else (win the war for the other side), those wants are in direct contradiction (aka in tension), and that tension is taut enough to shoot up sparks. so you can do it! you're already doing it! just try to add that tension and this-is-what-is-keeping-us-apart to everything between the two romantic leads and see where that takes you.

in terms of the writing on the line level, make sure you're giving enough non-dialogue narration for the reader to understand the impact of the dialogue or actions. we've all read "flirting" that falls flat, which is usually because the words are flying back-to-back without any non-dialogue ("narration" or "inner life") to give it weight. i'm known for using lots of body examples (how does it feel in her body, does her heart clench, her teeth grind, her speen rise) but there are a ton of ways to do it! what does it remind her of, how does it feel in emotions, how does it feel in her body, what is she thinking, what is she imagining, what else is she noticing, what does she wish would be happening instead? those are all questions that might get you to some real, raw richness inside your POV narrator. here's a little example I made up:

instead of

"you look great up there," sam flirts as jamie vaults into her saddle. "you too," jamie blushes. "stay safe." "fight strong," sam intones. "see you after."

try adding in depth via narration, like

Jamie vaults into her saddle, and Sam's heart clenches. "You look great up there," she says. It comes out more flirtatious than sad, just what she wanted. She feels so weighed down by her feelings for Jamie, but she wants Jamie to fly unburdened, light and creative and free, the way she fights best. Jamie blushes, and Sam blinks back tears. God, what if this were all different. What if Jamie was safe, what if it were five hundred years ago and the dragons were merely pets and modes of transportation, not war machines. What if she could make Jamie blush out of memory of how they'd spent the morning tangled up together in their furs, instead of this--this bleak, unspoken, never-to-be-consumated, possibly unrequited thing between them. "You too," Jamie says, just as softly. And then, somehow even more tender, "Stay safe." Sam knows there are other rider saddling up around them, that command is always watching. She says what she's supposed to in return, hoping the words have magic to them. "Fight strong," she says, hearing others around the paddock saying the same incantation to each other but not meaning it the way she does. "See you after."

I hope that's helpful! Let me know your thoughts, everyone!

[re-colligere]

Joyness

goddddd what COULDN'T I say about these two really. They're so incredibly fitting for each other. I legitimately think their friendship is truly the most important ship to come out of these movies.

Under the cut because holy shit this got long LOL

It can't be said enough: I absolutely adore how their relationship has progressed from the 1st to the 2nd. Even if there wasn't a Lot of scenes with them in it, the scenes that DO have them interacting makes me want to sob on the floor. Joy invites Sadness to the Belief System, she lets Sadness drive the console when it's needed, she sends Sadness back to HQ because she values Sadness's smarts. It speaks a lot to Joy's character development, really. Sadness is such an important actor in Joy's growth and Sadness just had to be herself. It's awesum. And in turn, I feel like Joy's encouragements gave Sadness some of that growth as well. I think Sadness feels a lot more confident in herself and what she can do (even if she is a little shy/meek about it lol, but I love how active she was in the 2nd movie).

There's definitely a tinge of angst with how their relationship developed, especially in the 11 years they've been together before the events of the 1st movie. All that time Sadness has been pushed in the sidelines because team leader Joy just didn't understand her purpose. And despite that, I don't think Sadness has ever shown any malice towards Joy--in Driven by Emotions, the first movie's novelization, Sadness mentions she didn't want to disappoint Joy, and despite them butting heads a lot, Sadness seemed to be motivated to do what she feels was right rather than to disobey Joy on principle. Sadness also seemed to be aware that Joy doesn't understand people need to be sad, so Sadness at least has a grasp of her purpose. Hell, she understands everyone else's purpose, especially Joy, because Sadness even expresses that Joy must get back to HQ for Riley to be happy.

...Though I can't help but feel like all that mistreatment and misunderstanding weighed a lot in Sadness's mind. She could have cried about it a few times when we couldn't see it. That must've been a rough few years. Which to me makes Joy's growth a whole lot more satisfying??? Like come OONNNN she actively searches for Sadness and she gives her the okay to drive the console even if the rest thought Joy should drive it!! Joy learns the importance of everyone, not just herself...but especially Sadness, because ofc that was the main idea of the first movie.

With so much experience between them I feel like they'd have such a close and unbreakable bond...That is, after Joy profusely apologizes to Sadness with how she treated her. Sadness wasn't even expecting an apology, but in the following year or two I think Joy really shows that she's changed. Sadness knows Joy the most out of everyone else, and Joy...........well, Joy's learning to know Sadness quickly outside of their time when they got lost. Despite their differences, conversation flows really smoothly between them methinks. And of course, I've gotta mention they complement each other really well, seemingly filling all of each other's weaknesses. It's joy and sadness man they're the ogs.... They're Most Likely the first two emotions people would mention if they were asked to list them. Most commonly seen to be "on opposite ends", but it's just. so perfect that they work best when they work together.

I don't know if I have much more to say about how they synergize their emotions considering the 1st movie shows that in a LOT of ways. I love their chemistry and I love how they balance each other out. Sadness helps Joy when she needs a break, Joy helps Sadness when she's stuck in her thoughts. Together they bring such a wonderful sense of relief after expressing their problems and feelings. It's great. I love them.

[yuseirra]

I really love your kamiai comics. The warm stories about their communication and interaction completely make up for my regret of not being able to see how they get along in the original work. btw, your analysis is also very good. I like it very much.Can't wait for your next update!❤️

(A small something before I start typing)

Thank you so, so much dear anon!! This really lifts my spirits up so much, you're very kind to expend your time to send me positivity. I appreciate it because I'm the shy type. I know how hard it can be to muster up the courage to talk to someone sometimes. So when I receive messages like this, I get really happy... it'd be nice if the people who were able to send me some kindness felt it was paid back :) I may not be able to reply fast but I try to get back so please be patient with me 'v')9!

HHngh thanks! I'm rereading your ask every word and savoring it! These two don't get that much screen time but what's been shown is really significant, they did have their moments! I'm so glad you feel the way you do after reading my comics and interpretations of them, that's the best reaction I could ever want from someone!! There are still things that are left ambiguous and are yet to be unfolded(I hope it does get explained more) so I'm worried as I draw them out sometimes... but reading this makes me feel empowered!! I feel like I've been doing pretty well, that's what your comment does for me. I'll do my best to think up something good to share with you, thanks for sharing your feelings with me!

Speaking of which, I have another analysis!! I'd like to share it with you here, I'd been writing it up earlier and it's not entirely unrelated to the hikaai situation:

I think it might have been Nino who's sent Ryosuke to Ai. Based on the behavioral patterns, Nino is the type who'd impulsively do something extreme in a fit of anger and later regret it. Even Nino might not have anticipated things would unfold this way, however. The phrase, "I only meant to scare them, I never thought they'd actually die," seems more like how Nino would feel about the situation, rather than Kamiki to be honest? That's a very absurd thing to say, but considering Nino's relationship with Ai, Nino might have been in a blinded, irrational state because she almost worships Ai. So, it's possible that she genuinely didn't think it would turn out this way somehow... she's a teenage girl with a lot of mood swings.

There’s a common scenario in horror movies where a second-place person, driven by jealousy, does something reckless, thinking, "If only the top person were gone, I could..." but not truly realizing the consequences. (It happens a lot as an east-asian trope) Jealousy has the power to paralyze rational thinking. Nino not only hated Ai, but she likely had a twisted affection for her as well. When Ai disappeared, she probably fell apart.

It's hard to imagine Kamiki acting this way, right? He wouldn’t have been unaware of the danger of sending someone like Ryosuke to his girlfriend. If this character did something like that, it would have to be out of serious malice or murderous intent, but Kamiki doesn't seem like the type to harbor such cruel emotions toward Ai. (Or just anyone at all, actually; we never really see him lashing out towards people. Even when he brings Ryosuke, or Airi up... he.. actually talks in a pretty soft sense despite they're absolutely horrible individuals. Even adds a -san and -kun to their names; I was surprised.) In Nino's case, on the other hand, it might have been something done without much thought, as her actions suggest she has that kind of streak. She’s the type who can say, "I wish you'd just die!" to someone but then cry if it actually happens. Her emotions fluctuate a lot.

We also have to note that Hikaru is just as good of a liar as Ai is. He's really used to lying, and that's what's brought him and Ai to relate to each other, bring them together and a crucial characteristic that's had Ai deem "he's the same as her". When he says he's the one who sent Ryosuke as he mentions "he wanted Ai to feel the same despair he's felt", we don't see his face and we only see him from the back. This is similar to the panel where Ai says "I can't love you", which was a well-meant but a really hurtful lie. Hikaru believed Ai and Aqua wants revenge on him. I think he may have tried to save Aqua of feeling even a slight sense of pity towards him as a person, making sure he really isn't worth feeling that way about. In fact, we don't see his expressions at all in that entire sequence, and what he says feels so off and ridiculous for a person with common sense to say. I feel like a lot of it could be a lie. AND I feel like he was putting on a facade for most of the scenes he's been in before the final arc- before he came to meet the twins. He's probably always been pretending to be okay with a smile on his face but he probably was pretty despairing and dead inside (his eyes turn black when he's in despair, you know)

At least so far in the story, Kamiki has never shown much interest in Ai's idol activities in the scenes he's been in. Instead, it was Ai who learned something from Kamiki. The fact that Ai is an idol, a star who attracts attention, was never portrayed as particularly important to Kamiki during their relationship. Ryosuke is a big fan of Ai as an idol, but there’s no clear reason why Kamiki would connect with someone related to Ai in that way. To Kamiki, Ai was like a light—a single, unique person he deeply depended on and loved, as if he could live with just her by his side, yeah, but it's a little different from viewing her as a idol. He probably depended on her a lot, but it seems he loved her not because she was an idol or someone shiny and valuable, but because she was someone who could understand and care for him. He doesn’t have the mentality of "I can't forgive an imperfect Ai." That kind of anger, resentment, or desire to make Ai suffer seems more likely to come from Nino. Kamiki even seems to think it’s natural that Ai wouldn’t like him back. He’s too accustomed to that feeling.

Kamiki’s actions suggest a certain helplessness. He seems to accept everything without resistance, always at a loss for words. This has been consistent from the moment he was introduced. When he asked Ai, "You love me, right? You won’t leave me, right?" and her response was something like, "I don’t know," he ended up going outside and crying in the rain. When he was gaslit by Airi in an absurd way, he despaired and stood there, frozen in panic. Even when Ai said something harsh and broke up with him, he couldn’t say anything back. Even 15 years later, he watches a video and is rendered speechless, reaches out to Ai, and curls up. This sort of behavior is so consistent that I realize this character doesn’t have any self-defense. He just accepts everything as his fault and internalizes it. It’s like he’s been so used to terrible things happening to him from a very young age that he doesn’t even think "I hate this" but rather, "People like it when I do this, so this must be right." With that kind of mentality, he gets pushed around. He seems to accept every negative judgment about himself and engages in self-destructive behavior.

The likelihood of this character doing something aggressive like sending Ryosuke to Ai is, in my opinion, less than 2%. Suddenly lashing out four whole years after the breakup? He probably went to cry after he got the phone call. Didn't he just reach his drinking age? Maybe he went to drink for the first time because he was so distressed after receiving the call… and somehow, in that state, he met Ryosuke and accidentally let the address slip, which led to Ai’s death, and now he feels like he has to save her with all he's got. Ai's the one who saved him, and it's kind of natural for him to feel like "Now I should save her in return, I don't care what happens to me!" That would make sense, right? The lyrics, the character’s personality—it all fits if you take it this way. And his personality doesn’t seem to have changed all so much actually. While reading the manga, I thought, "What’s with his way of speaking? He has such low self-esteem." Now, reading it again, it feels like he’s deeply immersed in self-blame.

The song Fatal starts with the lyrics being:

Waking up from another dream, I open my wet eyelids I curse my helplessness from those far days which dreadfully remain Will this despair that burns my body feed me someday? I keep burning myself from it as I crave adoration

This is totally how Kamiki would feel after he learns about Ai's death, if that's not what he's ever expected to happen. He'd be in utter despair and feel so helpless about not having been able to do anything as the only love of his life die like that. That's why he's so desperate in the entire song,

Without you, I cannot live anymore I would sacrifice anything for you I can’t get enough of your love What should I use to fill in what’s missing?

These sets of lyric's too intense for it to be Aqua's, but it fits his dad's mentality perfectly. Kamiki's life's been so miserable.

Ai is an exceptionally well-crafted character. When you consider the details, like the story of her trauma from the glass shards in her white rice (which broke my heart when I read it), you can see how much thought the author put into crafting her psychology.

Why write a story where she asks a favor to her own dear children to help out the person who's the very cause of her death? How could that character be portrayed as if they truly, desperately loved Ai? Isn’t that incredibly cruel to Ai, the victim? If it were me, I wouldn’t write the story that way. I don't think the writer would have either. I really feel that Hikaru isn’t the type of character who would do something like that. And since Ai’s affection for that character aligns with that sort of interpretation, with it being really consistent, I think… it's a lie and a misunderstanding.

I think that, unable to forgive himself for unintentionally leaking the address and thus contributing to Ai’s death, Hikaru wanted to be punished and ended up telling Aqua a ridiculous lie. If someone could open Ai’s heart to that extent, it could only mean that this person was genuinely beloved by her. For someone as wounded as Ai, finding a person she wanted to love that deeply isn’t easy. But if that character had committed such a terrible act, what would it mean? It would feel so unsettling. It would conclude that Ai failed to find someone to love, that she trusted the wrong person, and that the protagonists’ father was someone who harmed their mother. When you consider what the manga is ultimately trying to say, the less responsible the character Ai loved is for her death, and the more genuine their feelings for Ai, the greater the impact would be. It would also make sense in the context of Ai, who wanted to give love, finally finding someone deserving of it.

I couldn’t form a solid opinion until Chapter 154 and Fatal came out. I wasn’t sure how things would turn out and just watched. But after those chapters, I felt that this interpretation was correct. When you interpret it this way, it aligns with the psychological depictions throughout the story. It’s not that I deliberately interpreted it favorably because I liked this couple, but rather that as I analyzed it, this interpretation made sense, which made me more favorable towards them. There's certainly a difference between the two.

I was really happy when I received your message and a few other ones saying that my interpretation was warm, persuasive, and made you appreciate this ship ;v;.. Oh, I really want to get this right too... thanks guys, I very appreciate your kind words, sorry if what I say turns out to be wrong but I am trying my best!!

I take psychology very seriously, so if this turns out to be right, I’d be thrilled! This is what makes the most sense for me at this point, so I'll hold onto it until things clear up~

Again, super long reply! I hope you're okay with it, anon! Lots of love, thanks for the cheers and kind words!!

[satureja13]

Summer Solstice - Part 2 It starts -> here

After Jack and Sai returned from their walk, they all gathered around the fire and Jack, Jeb and Ji Ho played a few songs. No Siren's Songs this time to influence the feelings of his friends so they are able spend time together - despite their quarrels.

Jeb sang 'Fast Car' (for Saiwa obviously)

'So, I remember when we were driving, driving in your car Speed so fast, I felt like I was drunk City lights lay out before us And your arm felt nice wrapped around my shoulder And I, I, I had a feeling that I belonged I, I, I had a feeling I could be someone, be someone, be someone'

Ji Ho feels they will have a great evening without the Siren's Songs and it's too dangerous anyway until they find out how to protect themselves, should the Council and Ji Ho's grandfather try something. It's better they do without them. They'll have to learn to live all together again anyway. Jack sang 'Ring of Fire' (links leads to the version from Blondie (from one of my favourite movies of all time, Roadie)) He would never admit that he sings it for Kiyoshi so we don't dive any deeper in that ö.ö

'The chase of love is sweet, when hearts like ours meet I felt for you like a child, oh my heart went wild

I fell into a burning ring of fire I went down down down the flames they went higher and it burns burns burns that ring of fire, that ring of fire, that ring of fire'

The cute birds are back again too! That's such a sweet interaction <3

And Ji Ho sang 'Livin' on a Prayer' for Vlad. They're almost there.

'We've gotta hold on to what we've got It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not We've got each other and that's a lot for love We'll give it a shot

Whoa, we're half way there Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer Take my hand, we'll make it I swear Whoa oh, livin' on a prayer Livin' on a prayer'

Aouwww

Ji Ho was right, they managed to have a nice evening together without his spells. They were grilling and telling stories and having a good time. Somehow their therapies seem to work. There'd been no great aha effects, but they already prospered a lot. (I think that's important too, not to expect too much too early from a therapy/healing. It needs time and it goes slowly. Healing and prospering needs time. But when you look back from a distance, you'll notice the little steps you've made and you'll see the difference.) And time also heals. Saiwa is relieved. He'd feared much worse because he'd been so upset about Jeb and Kiyoshi - and his own stupidity that he agreed to have a fake relationship to bring Kiyoshi fully back after he'd spent decades into that tree. Over the last months they'd been apart from each other, Saiwa not only calmed down but also came to the conclusion that it had been not really anyones fault. And each of them would do exactly the same again to help each other. There are no excuses to be made and there's no real reason to be angry or jealous. But he still is. He's jealous that Jeb and Kiyoshi live together now even tough he rejected to move in with Jeb when he asked him. And angry at the universe that they have to go through all these crazy madnesses all the time! And what Saiwa just still doesn't know: Is it possible to have a relationship under these circumstances? Will he ever be able to be the leader of the Boys and a worthy partner for Jeb? How will they deal with it when such things happen again? Even though they live in solitude in the Otherworld now, there is still so much going on. Jack even died during his Therapy Game! One day, they will have to return to the Muggle World and then they'll have the Council at their heels again...

Here, Kumo told Bunny the story how Kiyoshi became a diety and how Kiri, Little Goat and him watched over Kiyoshi all the decades he'd spend in the tree. Bunny listened with big eyes Ö.Ö Little Goat was already sleeping, he'd heard this story a million times before ^^'

They soon all got tired and went to their tents. Ji Ho and Vlad first, since teleporting the TukTuk around is draining them. But not as much as last time when they had to port two times to Tartosa and back plus Noxee and Greg to Tomarang and back home to Moonwood Mill.

It's so cute with all the wildlife around, even the birds stayed after their songs ended 🐦

Early next morning, Jeb dragged Vlad and Kiyoshi out to go for a run. Jeb goes jogging almost every morning and he even kept on doing this all the months while Ji Ho, Saiwa and Jack left to live at the Beach House after Saiwa's breakdown. Despite his heartache. It helped him to stay sane. Just running without thinking and worrying too much.

The little ones were already awake too and chatting with the Bunnies. Henford gossip holds a lot of new ideas and inspiration for their stories and the game! ^^'

True story! (I found out about the following last November when Lavina asked Francine's (Jeb's grandmother's) boyfriend out for a date 'casual friend time' and never posted it lol) Who said life in the countryside is boring?

Such a wonderful morning!

Before they return back to the campsite, they took a short break. Henford is just so beautiful. Jeb to Vlad: "You noticed too that Kiyoshi feels so much better since Jack is back, did you?" Vlad sighed. Yes, he noticed it. Kiyoshi is still far from his old self and doesn't talk much because he's absent and far away in his divine/demonic/whatever spheres his mind roams, but there is a significant improvement. There is a deeper connection between Jack and Kiyoshi, even though Jack declines it - and never felt it. But what are they supposed to do? Jack and Kiyoshi tried to be together but it just didn't work out and Jack almost died (twice) because he worked himself up during their (secret) relationship. They'd all promised to not keep any secrets from each other anymore. So they'll have to talk to Saiwa about this. Which will make him angry again because he's worried about Jack and he still hasn't fully recovered from his own breakdown... Jeb and Vlad sighed from the depths of their souls.

to be continued...

The Therapy Game Master Post with the sessions and places so far is -> here

From the Beginning  ~  Underwater Love ~  Latest Current Chapter: 'Who killed Jack?' from the beginning ▶️ here Last Chapter: 🕹️ 'The One' from the beginning ▶️ here 📚 Previous Chapters: Chapters: 1-6 ~ 7-12 ~ 13-16 ~ 17-22 ~ 23-28

[fizzingwizard]

I was genuinely looking forward to Lupin vs Holmes in part 6, but what a disappointment it was. Actually, disappointment is too weak a word. In my opinion, it was pretty much a disaster.

There were so many reasons to be hyped for that crossover. You've got Holmes, the greatest detective of his time, and Lupin, the greatest thief of his. They're both canny, eccentric, and always a step ahead of everyone else. They're also both independent and live by their own set of morals. Holmes picks which cases he'll take without concern for money, and lets people go even if they're guilty if his own convictions say they don't deserve punishment. Lupin always does what he wants, doesn't let himself get pushed around, and enjoys wreaking havoc among inhumane criminals just as much as he enjoys flouting the law.

They're even perfectly matched in the ways they're different. I was open to them either liking or disliking each other (though I feel convinced they'd definitely have respect for each other), because I can see either take making sense. Holmes is calculations with a pinch of chaos, Lupin is chaos with a measured dash of calculation. Holmes eschews relationships aside from a very few - Lupin enjoys social interaction (but prioritizes just a few). Holmes is functionally asexual. Lupin is never not horny.

Even the supporting cast was so promising! To tell the truth, from watching previous seasons I didn't really think the rest of the Lupin gang or Watson would have much to do. But I hoped they would because there was so much potential.

I mean Jigen and Watson are both war veterans in their own way. It's not the best comparison (Watson was a doctor, and got shot almost immediately... but he is also a "man of action" and does have a lot of fight and pluck, even if he's not going to be a match for Jigen in terms of marksmanship). And they're the right hand men of two pretty difficult geniuses... couldn't they spend a moment commiserating lmao.

It could have been awesome to see Fujiko interact with Holmes because her usual tricks wouldn't work on him. I admit it isn't unlikely the show would have been like "Ahh, but this time they do work on him, just like Irene Adler!" and totally ignored that book!Irene impressed Holmes with her wiliness and not her sexiness... But I'm talking about my fantasy here. And in my fantasy, Holmes would have had a similar reaction to Fujiko's manipulation and acting skills similar to how he did with Irene. It would have been pretty cool to see Fujiko interact with a man who was NOT into her, but was just as smart and brave and perhaps wiser than Lupin.

Even Goemon would have had something to do. He could have had a super cool kenjutsu vs baritsu ("what even is that?") battle with Holmes. Extra points if Goemon walks away saying "I respect the skill of that fellow warrior, even if he can't spell his own martial art correctly."

And of course Lestrade and Zenigata's shenanigans at Scotland Yard are a nobrainer. But serious bonus points if they both pine away with equal envy and admiration for their respective smart ass thorns in the side hahahahahahaha.

I mean. There was SO MUCH there. How, HOW do you mess that up???

(Answer: By knowing absolutely nothing about Sherlock Holmes to begin with and basing everything on your memories of inaccurate movies from fifty years ago x'D)

So instead we got: perpetually sad, somber Sherlock Holmes, who isn't working the job that he literally loves anymore in favor of looking miserable a lot and raising a child. And the child is Watson's kid, who Watson can't raise because he's fucking DEAD, and mom can't raise because SHE'S dead (just say Holmes is her mom. Come on. We're in the future. Just say it). Also Watson is dead because Lestrade killed him like WHAT. Of all the twists they could have gone one, they definitely surprised me with that one. Was it a fun surprise though? ... No, no it wasn't.

Add to that the extremely dull characterizations of everyone, the heavy reliance on the danger to a little girl who isn't even a canonical character but is very cute, and the slow, slow pace of the episodes... What a mess. It was memorable, sure, but for the wrong reasons.

Like the only thing I can think of that I didn't hate about the whole arc was Lily taking her first steps as Holmes's assistant at the very end. Fine, that's adorable, and makes me feel ever so slightly better about Watson being dead. And I'm desperate for something to like here so let's go with it.

("It's not really Sherlock Holmes anyway because of the generational difference, it's his great grandson who has his exact same name and job! Same with Watson and Lestrade and sexy Mrs Hudson and and and-" I'm gonna stop you right there we all know it's Holmes. Whatever excuses they make, no matter how they have to bend time and physics to make it happen, it is Holmes Prime in every way that matters lol.)

A melancholy sigh for the Coolest Crossover Ever That Wasn't. As a Lupin fan and a Sherlock Holmes fan, I'll regret it till the day I die.

[otakween]

Digimon Data Squad (Savers) - Episode 20

Woohoo! I've reached the 20 episode mark :D only 28 to go. This is actually one of the shorter seasons which I can definitely get behind.

This episode was pretty emotional with a lot of pretty complex feelings for a kid's show tbh. I really appreciated that they didn't just make it a happy reunion, there's too much trauma on both sides. We even got a cliff hanger ending...

Notes:

I'm onto you Digimon Savers character designer. First you made Masaru's mom all young and pretty (and have Tohma have a crush on her) and now you draw Ikuto's mom...like that. 😏

I rest my case.

Was surprised to see that Ikuto has a sister (makes sense they'd want to fill the void). I hope we get to see them officially meet/interact

I don't really know how to feel about how Masaru treats Ikuto. Ikuto identifies as a digimon because of his upbringing and saw Yukidarumon as his mom. Masaru's way of handling things is basically just to scream at Ikuto that he's a human with a human mom. I just feel like he could be more gentle and empathetic! Sure, Ikuto should probably accept he's human, but I feel like they're downplaying/invalidating his love for his digimon family/home a lot. DATS needs to hire a social worker/therapist lol (Falcomon probably had the better, gentler approach I guess).

Ikuto's dad's reaction to finding out his son is alive was interesting. It was more emotional than logical, but it felt real. Masaru's response was interesting too, calling him selfish even though he was trying to spare his wife's feelings. It's like...both perspectives are very understandable, but it's a damned if you do damned if you don't scenario which made for a raw scene.

Obscure connection only I would make (because I just watched this movie lol) but the monster generated from emotions and the robot motif were weirdly similar to the scifi film Forbidden Planet (1956). iykyk

In Yukidarumon's death scene I kinda wondered if they would just melt into a puddle lol. I know that would probably ruin the tragic tone.

I got excited to see Hagurumon. One of my faves <3 The fighting style it used (forming a big house-robot mecha) was new to me?

My Neighbor Yoshino

Ikuto begrudgingly saving his birth mom was a good choice writing-wise to bring them closer together.

Why did they act like SaberLeomon was some big reveal? I was like "yeah..and?" He did look cool though.

So I guess Merukimon isn't so bad after all? He didn't want to get involved in a war with the humans. Why were we even fighting with him again? lol (I guess they had to get past him to get to the gate)

[oh-shtars]

I saw your post, so I definitely have a few questions! 😁

What Disney films inspired "Reach For the Stars"?

How does Sueño feel about the other Starboys in the Wishverse? (I've only read a little a bit of info of this AU so far, but I'll catch up soon! 😅)

Does Asha help Suñeo realize that not all humans want the star power?

And lastly, its a funny one: I saw this one post you made about Valentino not liking Suñeo and its hilarious. Because I wrote something similar as a draft for Wish Granted after Star comes down:

WishGranted!Valentino can't stand Star in the beginning and keeps biting Star on the leg when he gets too close to Asha! 😂 WE HAVE THE SAME IDEA! Here's a draft of the interaction:

Star: *gets closer to Asha* Wow, my first human up close! *he grabs both of her hands and smiles as he looks at them* and I got lucky enough to get a beautiful one too! Hehe!

Asha: *eyes widened* W-wait, are you talking about....me?

(Star looks up, but before he can answer, an angry loud bleat interrupts)

"BAAAA! BAAAA! BAAAAA!"

(Both of them look down and see Valentino headbutting Star's leg a few times to make him go away. When that doesn't work, he starts growling as he biting on the star's leg)

Asha: VALENTINO! STOP THAT, RIGHT NOW! You don't where he's been!

Star:...Aw! He's giving me love bites! 😁

Valentino:

This was actually fun to share and ask, so I hope I came up with good stuff! And PLEASE, Take your time answering! I really enjoy reading your stuff! 🙏

RFTS!AU AskBox #2

Hello Rascal!! It’s a pleasure to read and get to know the stuff you come up with too! 💖💖 Thx so much for the asks and I hope you’re satisfied with the information I’m able to give :))

1. What Disney films inspired “Reach for the Stars?”

There’s Tangled, Princess and the Frog, Encanto, Beauty and the Beast, a little of Frozen, and The Owl House. (Ik the last one is not a film but shhhhhhh)

But for Non-Disney inspirations, there’s HTTYD, a bit of the movie Guardians of Ga’hoole, a book series called ‘Wings of Fire,’ and some Rise of the Guardians.

Mostly though, I take what I can get from the Wish Artbook and twist it into my own idea for it. Plus, some songs that I listen to. There might be other movies that inspired me, but these are the ones I could think of for now.

……….

2. How does Sueño feel about the other Starboys in the Wishverse?

Sueño considers Cielo as one of his closest friends and sees KOW!Aster as that very warm and reliable family member. These two are his main pals, since he warmed up to them first. Wish Granted!Star is a handful buuuut, he’s sweet. He reminds Sueño of his younger self and a bit of home. He misses the Astral Realm a lot :(

Haedus is a bit of a stranger to him for now but he's drawn to him. He'd like to open up and get to know him more. Bonding over some shared trust issues maybe? I think they'd make really good comfort buddies. :))

For Antares, Altan, TGATS!Aster, WRTS!Aster and Castor, Sueño hasn’t interacted with them much but he thinks they’re okay acquaintances he’d be fine interacting with. Just no sudden advances please. He gets all flinchy 😅

……..

3. Does Asha help Sueño realise that not all humans want his star power?

It’s one of his arcs to learn how not everyone is out to get him. There are some terrible people out there, sure, but don’t let them prevent you from seeing the kindness and light that exists in others :)

…………

4. Valentino and Starboy’s relationship.

I can see that RFTS! and Wish Granted!Valentino would agree on the same thing then. Headbutt that dumb star >:((

✨✨✨✨✨✨

@chillwildwave

I’m planning to keep the way Magnifico grants wishes that look animated by hand. Similar to how he granted that woman’s wish of being a dressmaker and the admittedly cool-looking scissors and fabric animation.

I’m also taking some inspiration from the song sequence “Almost There” from Princess and the Frog. Basically to explore the concept between dreams and reality. Similar to Tiana, I imagine it that whenever Asha daydreams of what could be, whether it be her own or other people’s desires, it’s in a 2D style animation. The wishes inside the bubbles are also in the 2D style, since it’s more of an abstract and “on-paper’ idea.

Meanwhile, when snapping back to what’s solid and real, it reverts back to 3D animation.

Just something neat that I think would’ve been cool that as more people act on making their dreams a reality by themselves, 3D sequences would become a lot more frequent than 2D ones.

Sueño’s stardust that he uses to make pictures and communicate would look 2D as well while the drawings in Asha’s book would have some small sketches and mini-page-flipping animations of references to past Disney movies. (Especially a reference to the famous ball bouncing practice animation. The basics~ ✨)

✨✨✨✨✨✨

@dangerousflowerpanda

Just to name one for each, it would be these. There’s plenty more but I don’t want to make the answer too long.

Asha:

Sueño:

Magnifico:

Amaya:

(The following questions under this also belong to @dangerousflowerpanda btw)

…………

2. What is the relationship between Magnifico and Amaya? Are they the typical passionate/evil couple or are they the more typical rich/empty couple?

I kind of don’t understand what you’re trying to ask here, sorry. But to answer it anyway, Amaya and Magnifico genuinely do love each other and find comfort in knowing that they’re not alone in how the world has left them bitter with their own crushed dreams.

However, while Amaya is more self-controlled and calmer, Magnifico is emotionally driven and tends to get carried away when it comes to vengeance. Such so that there are times where the couple don’t always see eye-to-eye and Amaya feeling like there’s a distance growing ever larger between them.

Think of Charity and PT Barnum from “The Greatest Showman” basically, but eviler.

…………

3. Does Sueño’s powers have any limits because of his younger age?

No, not really. It’s really more on how to control those powers and not have any accidental emotional outbursts. (I guess you can say, a bit similar to Elsa)

He also can’t permanently grant wishes but that’s more of a general star thing. Only Alpha Stars have the granted ability to do that when they earn it.

…………

4. What is your favorite food? And how would Sueño react when eating it for the first time?

I LOVE a Filipino cuisine that we call ‘Adobo.’ It’s marinated chicken in soy sauce :))

However, Sueño would probably freak at the thought of eating a poor animal. He’d go vegetarian. I think he would just settle for a nice scoop of ‘Cookies and Cream’ ice-cream from me instead. 😅

…………

5. We know that Sueño doesn’t like closed places and we know how he behaves in those situations. Would Magnifico use Sueño’s fear to manipulate him in some way or would he use another alternative?

Sounds like a very in-character thing for Magnifico to do sooooo, I approve this theory. But you know, if the star is too stubborn and refuses to cooperate even with this method, he could always just threaten the safety of a certain girl to force him to. :)

(Somebody save these poor people from Mag and from me-)

……..,

All of you are so creative with your questions, I can’t thank you guys enough 💖💖🥺

[mari-monsta]

I was ?? abt alyadrien until I read a cute fic abt them. What are ur hc abt how they realized they had feelings?? How'd you think they got together?? Thoughts on what their dates would look like!

OKAY SO SORRY FOR THIS RANT INCOMING

So my thing about alyadrien that I had to accept to really take them into consideration is that I don't think they would happen/are possible in canon verse. Just because of them meeting and happening to become close to nino and marinette when they did and in the ways they did first.

I don't think there are any mutual feelings between them in canon whatsoever and I don't think there is ever going to be. BUT. They do have something that is integral to a relationship that makes me so interested in them: chemistry. These two have LOADS of chemistry enough that other characters have actually acknowledged it in canon.

Adrien and Alya are both excitable and high energy people by nature, something that if Adrien let her, Alya could naturally bring out in Adrien a lot more. Due to this their interactions as civilians are restrained and limited at best. Where we really get to see them shine is their hero forms. Nino was not just seeing things. Alya (in whatever form she takes) and Chat Noir have palpable chemistry and get along with an ease not seen between a lot of other characters. They're both extremely playful, which they amplify in one another, and somehow seem to fall into accidentally flirting with each other whether they're conscious of it or not (hint: they're definitely not)

Because of this, and because of the way that Alya and Adrien individually approach relationships, speaks a lot to their potential in the right circumstances. Alya and Adrien, of the main characters, honestly approach romantic relationships in kind of a similar way. It has been remarked about Alya constantly through the series that Alya is the type of character who would not fall for someone who she doesn't truely know. Adrien on the other hand has been shown to be someone extremely steadfast and loyal in his feelings, and likes to nurture trust and intimacy with someone as he gets to know them. Alya had been able to develop feelings for Nino despite having previously not thought of him that way at all, while Adrien spent many seasons trying to glean the exact nature of his feelings for Marinette. For both of them, they had strong instances of platonic love come first for their current relationships. This to me means that if the opportunity presented itself, they might be able to see something there.

Alya clearly has been attracted to Adrien in the past, while that doesn't mean she has any feelings for him, if she didn't have significant reason not not having feelings for him as she does in the series, why not?

ANYWAY. I think Alyadrien is the type of couple who is just. SO casual. You would not know that they were dating unless they told you because they act like best friends more than anything, but at the same time they're always together and always sharing excitement about something. I think they'd like doing nerdy things together like playing DnD and seeing superhero movies. Adrien is definitely the romantic of the two and it makes Alya embarrassed.

[desceros]

i had thoughts about something that were inappropriate for the tags of someone else's art as i worried they'd feel combative (which is not my intent), so i'm going to put them in a separate post instead.

this may be me being fandom boomer on main, but... it feels odd? to me? that people see the end of a show (or game or movie or whatever) as the end of that thing's fandom life. the show is over, so now it's time to move onto the next thing and stop caring about this one.

like. we aren't getting season three of rise. it's not going to happen. ...but should that affect how we interact with it, creatively? i know there's a lot of hype around keeping the fandom alive "because it might come back if we just love it and support it enough!!!"

but... do you really need that hope in order to interact with it this way? if you didn't have that dream of it coming back... would you stop? why? are memories not enough for you? do you love something less if it's gone? why is the shared joy of people who love something like you do not enough?

"i'll never get it back and that makes me sad." maybe just. don't let it go in the first place?

[amethxxt]

Thoughts on Lonnie and family in general in Descendants?

I forgot how I like getting asks lol

About Lonnie, I adore her. I think the wig they gave her in the first movie was criminal, but that scene is also one of my favorite interactions in D1.

Mal asking why on earth would she even help Lonnie and Evie accepting it for her when Lonnie mentions paying for it - I love them.

One of the things I like about Lonnie is how they made her be feminine and also a badass. I think a lot the times media paints characters who are feminine and care about their appearance (hair, clothes, etc) in a bad light. I believe we could even use Audrey as an example.

With Lonnie, we have her worry about those things in D1, but that doesn't make her any less strong or badass. She's a very skilled with a sword, helps the Core Four win against the pirates and still wears pretty dresses whenever she pleases. Femininity doesn't make her weak.

Overall, I think Lonnie as a character has a lot of potential. From the beginning, she was one of the only AKs who were welcoming to the VKs. I also like how she was not afraid to expose how nasty some of Auradon Prep's students could be in School of Secrets.

To be fair, I don't remember much of her from the books (I really want to reread them and list some details that I like about every character) or Wicked World, so I can only speak about the movies.

I have been writing one fic (not posted yet) and I really liked exploring Lonnie and Ben's friendship. I think because both of them were so supportive of the VKs, they'd get along very well, and it makes me wish we had seen more of Ben with his friends from Auradon.

Imagine if we had this moments of the two of them just talking and trying to make sure the VKs feel welcome at Auradon Prep and then see Lonnie jumping at the opportunity to help save him when he gets kidnapped.

Lonnie in D2- I just love her. Questioning Chad's sexist remarks, being the very best a fencing, her friendship with Jay and, again, her not hesitating to invite herself to be a part of Ben's Rescue Team™.

Most of the time, I wish Descendants wasn't Disney so we could get deeper into the darkness of the plot. We have the "I just thought even villains loved their kids..." in D1, but I would also love to see Lonnie realize what the Isle truly is like when she goes there. For her to watch the children living under those conditions and become livid at how her parents and other "heroes" had been complicit for that to happen.

I would love to see her siding with Evie and the others in order to get more children out, and I really missed her in D3.

For me, it was really strange how Sarah wasn't a part of D2 but they still managed to include Audrey in Chad's plotline, but never did that with Lonnie in D3. I believe the reason they gave for her to absent was that she was busy being a part of the professional R.O.A.R. team in Northern Wei, so I think they could've at least mentioned her.

About her family, I don't have many thoughts besides my despise for her brother's name. Granted, Lonnie is far from good, but Li'l Shang... Oh my god, how I hate that. They did him so dirty.

I have been working on a story about Audrey and changed both of their names to my personal headcanons. Lonnie is Li Lanying and Li'l Shang is Li Shixiang. They may not be perfect but I think it's better than what Disney did lol

Maybe I'll talk more about the books once I reread them, but I really liked answering this ask.

If anyone wants to send one about a different character or couple, I'll try my best to give my thoughts and even headcanons if I have any!

[chloecherrysip]

Now that I've had a few hours of sleep and am marginally a human being again, let's talk about the mario movie some more! SPOILERS ALL THROUGHOUT THIS POST UNDER THE CUT (if you want to see my non-spoilery thoughts and the first part of my spoiler talk as well, here's that post from last night! Be warned that it's pretty all over the place because it was 4:30 in the morning and I was really tired lolol)

After thinking about it more, I truly do have some PROBLEMS with this movie (will talk more about some of that below and I covered a lot of the issues in my first post too) and I do wish it was better overall and not so painfully surface-level with all the character interactions - I can understand why some people REALLY don't like it while others love it! It's joyful and energetic and BEAUTIFUL but if you spent months and months theorizing and speculating about deep character interactions and a very emotional story, it does really sting to finally see how there is virtually NONE of that and the plot feels kinda empty as a result. :(

But! I'm definitely not upset or anything like that, and I'm still gonna see it two more times in theaters with a smile on my face! TRUTHFULLY (and if you've seen my blog before, you know this about me) what I cared about most in this movie was getting to see Mario and Luigi be adorable onscreen and have a good, healthy, loving relationship, and you do get that to some degree, even if it's nowhere near enough. I can make my peace (and write a lot of fanfic, LOL) regarding the rest. :)

Here is a list of moments between Mario & Luigi that made me happy:

FIRST OF ALL, SOMETHING THAT I'M NOT ACTUALLY SURE I LIKED BUT WAS CERTAINLY A CHOICE: Mario's nickname for Luigi is Lu????? He calls him that 3-4 times and at big moments, too. It started to be cute to me, even if I wish they'd gone with "Weegie" or something similar, but it's a little jarring at the beginning for sure.

In general, they are just very physically affectionate with each other! There are one or two quick hugs in the beginning scenes before we even get to the reunion. Also, I can't remember the specifics but the very last scene is them basically teasing/poking each other before running off into the day together and it's cute. :)

Mario is SO protective of Luigi in the Brooklyn scenes and let me tell you, as someone who cares DEEPLY about that, i was LIVING. He gets mad at Spike and tries to pick a fight only when he insults Luigi, and there is also a silly scene with an angry dog and Mario just instinctively puts his arm up in front of Luigi when things get a little scary/focuses on making sure he doesn't get hurt, and I was just having the BEST time. Honestly, I loved the Brooklyn stuff so much that I sincerely wanted the whole movie to just be about that, and things took a downhill turn for sure when the separation happened. :(

Someone definitely predicted this before the movie but Mario hates mushrooms as a food and Luigi likes them. During a dinner scene, Mario is slyly separating mushrooms from his food and putting them onto Luigi's plate in a way that suggests he's done that a LOT. Such a quick shot but I just liked the detail!

THE RUNNING THROUGH THE CONSTRUCTION SITE AND MARIO DOING RIDICULOUS PARKOUR BUT ALSO STOPPING TWICE TO MAKE SURE TO TURN BACK AND OPEN THE GATES SO LUIGI COULD COME THROUGH NORMALLY. There was just something SO funny and sweet about [crazy jumping and leaping] [quiet, thoughtful pause to open the gate] [MORE CRAZY JUMPING AND LEAPING, WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING, SIR] [another quiet, thoughtful pause to open the 2nd gate], I loveeeeee

Once again, just gotta be obnoxious about being right that the dialogue in the warp zone was "nothing can hurt us as long as we're together!" I HEARD THE LINE AS THIS IN THAT PREVIEW FOOTAGE AND EVERYONE CONVINCED ME IT WAS DIFFERENT BUT LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING NOW (i'm sorry, just let me have this win haha)

There is a sad moment where Mario and Luigi's dad clearly doesn't believe in their business and he even says to Mario something like "the worst part is that you're dragging your brother down with you" which is clearly upsetting to Mario so he leaves the dinner table - but then Luigi leaves the table too to come and sit with him and reassures him that he's not dragging him down and it's just a sweet, comfortable moment between them that I very much wish went on a little longer (the theme of the whole movie lol)

(Also, Mario and Luigi still live with their parents and share a room, they're clearly pretty young and are treated like the "babies" of the family. I wish we had seen more of their room other than a very extremely brief shots!!)

Luigi DOES immediately sell out Mario when Bowser goes for the serious mustache damage, LOL, but the way it's done is honestly so cute and once again, just reemphasizes how much Luigi loves Mario XD He's basically like "YES, I know him, he's my brother Mario and he's the best guy ever!" (And then Bowser, who is preoccupied with Mario = romantic rival for Peach's affections, is like "would a princess find him attractive???" and Luigi is like "if she has any common sense, she should!" (lol, that line could be TOTALLY wrong, I don't remember, but that's the gist of it, I promise) or something like that - just hyping Mario up when he's not even there, LOL

in Mario and DK's "darkest moment" scene where things seem hopeless and they're arguing, Mario says something like "well, at least your brother's not going to die because of you!" and noooo, bb, it's not your fault ;; (this scene could have been done SO MUCH BETTER with a few tweaks, btw, but I will get into that)

Luigi bringing coffee for Mario at the end of the movie in their respective cups :) :) :) So simple but I am a very simple person who just wanted to see little moments like this :) :) :)

I have GRIPES with the final battle scene but seeing Mario and Luigi work together and take care of Bowser as a duo was still good!!! Nothing can hurt them when they're together!!!

Also, already talked about this at length in my first post, but one more time: Mario saving Luigi from falling into the lava and their reunion hug is just my favorite moment of the movie, no contest, it goes by so fast and I wish it was longer but I can be happy with that alone and I can't wait for the screenshots/gifsets where I can see all the details of it more clearly and don't have to rely on my awful memory. Literally just going to think about that split-second of Mario holding Luigi's face with both hands in an unbearably sweet, gentle way forever. These brothers love each other very much, your honor ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

ALSO ALMOST FORGOT: FLASHBACK TO THEM BEING BABIES (AND THEY LOOK SO FAITHFUL TO THE ORIGINAL DESIGNS TOO!) AND MARIO PROTECTING LUIGI FROM A BULLY (lol I very much wish it was a longer and/or more creative flashback, but STILL sweet)

AND NOW THAT I AM DONE WITH BEING POSITIVE ABOUT MY FAVORITE BOYS, LET'S ~*~COMPLAIN~*~

First of all, still CANNOT BELIEVE that "I'm not afraid! I'll do anything for my brother" didn't make it into the movie, are you SERIOUS, it would have been perfect in SO MANY PARTS, they recorded it and everything, why???? IS THERE A DELETED SCENE??? ARE THERE SEVERAL DELETED SCENES??? I DEMAND JUSTICE FOR THAT PERFECT LINE, I WILL MOURN IT FOREVER

The editing in general is a little odd sometimes and it really DOES feel like a lot of scenes should be there that are missing. Another VERY weird cut is in the scene where Peach, Toad, and Mario are crossing the bridge with the Cheep-Cheeps and they just immediately cut the scene when one latches onto Mario's face and don't even include the cute stuff from the trailer with Peach trying to help him??? Like, WHY???? WHY DID THOSE FEW SECONDS NEED TO BE CUT??? I DON'T UNDERSTAND

I think one of the most painful things about this movie is that, as a writer/creative person, I can see SO many small opportunities throughout the movie where a couple of extra minutes and some tweaks in the writing would have made SO much difference. An unbelievable amount of difference! The overall structure of the story and the plot is good! The story of Mario wanting to reunite with his brother and Peach wanting to protect her kingdom (that took her in and cared for her when she was all alone in the world) is solid! But they never give the EMOTIONS surrounding these things ANY space to breathe beyond one line here or there, and that is SUCH a mistake and I can't believe no one thought to do something differently here.

FOR INSTANCE: The "darkest moment" scene with DK and Mario! It goes by so fast, but there is some good stuff there that, if the movie took a MOMENT and really let their pain/fear for their loved ones and their shared complex of unsupportive fathers BREATHE, would work SO MUCH BETTER. Like, I can easily imagine a rewritten version of that scene with very similar dialogue but just MORE of it (more pauses, more emotion, more reactions to one another's problems, more recognition of their similarities, etc) would have made it like a DAGGER in the heart. SUCH a missed opportunity. I am itching to rewrite it, LOL. (I am itching to rewrite a LOT of scenes!)

ALSO: Luigi is my LOVE and he is adorable throughout this, but I'm gonna be the first to admit that his scrap of an arc in this movie (if you can even call it that) is so lackluster and his heroic moment at the end genuinely doesn't feel that earned! AND ONCE AGAIN, WITH A LITTLE EXTRA WRITING/ROOM IN THE RUNTIME, IT'S A VERY SOLVABLE PROBLEM

And the solution is: build out the prison scenes and have Luigi actually talking to someone else who is locked up!!!!! Other than a couple of lines and jokes, the prisoners don't TALK TO EACH OTHER and Luigi just spends a lot of time looking sad. We don't get ANYTHING about his thought processes while he's captured other than he is thinking of Mario and hoping his brother comes to save him like he's always done.

WHEN CRANKY KONG AND THE OTHER KONGS SHOW UP, HAVE THEM SHARE INFO ABOUT MARIO'S APPARENT DEMISE WITH LUIGI!!! HAVE LUIGI TALK TO HIM (OR THE PENGUIN KING, OR SOMEONE) ABOUT HOW HIS BROTHER'S ALWAYS LOOKED OUT FOR HIM BUT MAYBE SOMETIMES, HIS BROTHER MIGHT NEED SOME SUPPORT TOO AND HE'S GOTTA BE STRONG FOR HIM TOO

It doesn't have to be a long or especially deep conversation, but some lines of dialogue like this would make that moment where Luigi realizes that Mario is right, nothing CAN hurt them if they're together and he's gotta be strong for his older brother too and he jumps in to protect him from Bowser hit SO much harder. That's all it would take!!!

I HAVE ACTUAL WORK TO DO TODAY AND CANNOT GO ON AND ON ABOUT THE MARIO MOVIE FOREVER BUT LAST THOUGHT FOR NOW: the more I think about the final battle, the more I'm conflicted, haha. The twist of everyone from the Mushroom Kingdom ending up in Brooklyn is definitely SHOCKING in the moment and pretty creative but I don't know, I had my heart set on a more classic version of Mario VS Bowser. It just doesn't hit as hard as it could in the end because of how silly the setting is. :( (But the Mario and Luigi teamup with the power star is great, and the music IS fire) (Also LOL at myself for thinking "Luigi won't fight at the end, that wouldn't make sense since Mario had to train" - he just knows how to fight, the movie goes with what's cool over what's logical and that's fair XD)

Also, the end of the movie is a tad confusing and has some pretty huge repercussions for this version of canon? ARE THE MUSHROOM KINGDOM AND THE REAL WORLD PERMANENTLY MERGED TOGETHER BECAUSE OF WHAT HAPPENED??? That's definitely what it seems to imply with Mario and Luigi waking up in their Brooklyn room and then walking out straight into the Mushroom Kingdom! It's pretty bizarre! (Honestly, what I was expecting was that the Bill would destroy the warp pipes and Mario and Luigi wouldn't be able to go home, which I might have preferred, as sad as that would be.)

That's all I got for now! I'm sure I will have more thoughts in the future, haha.

[mister-eames]

I hope you don't mind that I keep using you as a sounding board instead of making my own posts, but I always preferred talking about things with someone, especially when new to a fandom, and this feels more like a conversation. And I like to read your own opinions too <3

It's very interesting how Arthur and Eames are so prickly with each other at first, when they aren't really like this with anyone else (except maybe Eames with Cobb but we all agree he doesn't like him at all). And I think, in consideration of my headcanon about the first inception attempt, it's because there's so much unresolved baggage between them, the last vicious words they exchanged, Arthur's absolute radio silence while hopping around the world with Cobb (as well intentioned as it might have been), it made them both defensive around the other.

Also what happened with Mal shook them on a more personal level too and made them (or Arthur at least) rethink the merits of a relationship over the risk to end up like the Cobbs.

Though of course, as we see in the movie, the tension between them eases as time goes on and they remember how easy it is to work together, how bloody fucking competent they are and how in awe and love with the other they are. They naturally side with each other as shit hits the fan, and their mutual fondness starts to bleed through.

I like to believe they talked a bit, maybe during that week of waiting to wake up from the first level of the dream. Arthur was a mess of guilt since Cobb and Saito didn't wake up, and at some point Eames got tired of him beating himself up so much and tried to reach out. At first Arthur was reluctant to open up but eventually he allowed Eames to comfort him (there are some very good fics about this). And then they confessed they missed each other and apologized, and then they shared what happened on their levels and Eames was so in awe at how Arthur had been that he kissed him. And they agreed to talk more about 'them' once topside.

I do not mind at all, I love hearing your thoughts and analysis!! <3

It really is interesting how prickly their first interactions/mentions of each other are in contrast with their last scene together in the film, they'd really worked something out between those times -- and nothing like a little threat of limbo/scrambled eggs to put your priorities in order (flirting with your true love).

"They naturally side with each other once the shit hits the fan" - SO TRUE. I think, on a subconscious level, that's part of what makes Arthur/Eames hit so hard for me. Yes they've both been lied to and betrayed, but they're so in sync, they don't even think to suspect each other - they both know they would never sell the other out, they are the only person in that room that they can trust. It's never articulated, but it doesn't need to be -- despite their earlier bickering what doesn't need to be said is just how much the trust each other, this is evident in the movie - it's canon. That after all they've been through, after just being betrayed, I don't need to worry about trusting you. It's second nature. It's doesn't even warrant the question. It's us (and our apprentice and our fatally wounded employer) against the world, baybee.

And that week in the first level - I think it's such an interesting concept to explore, and one I admittedly tend to overlook. But I can absolutely see how that week and the end baggage carousel scene bridge together, if I think about it. I imagine there are a lot of games of dream poker with Ariadne and a lot of Arthur doing his fret-mother-hen routine -- your headcanon is absolutely lovely and I would read a fic of it in a heartbeat. Thank you so much for this, this was such a tasty and thought provoking read!!!