#which is a shame because she's pretty neat actually

[if-loki-was-a-fox]

have I mentioned how much I love Lilo & Stitch. Because. I love Lilo & Stitch.

[silantryoo]

BONUS [ LIKEALOOK ] — normal girl.

l/n y/n, first year high school.

WARNINGS ; misogyny, classism, multiple one-sided relationships, mentions of death threats, mentions of toxic fandoms, hints of imposter syndrome, sexual innuendos, sexualization, objectification, incel behaviour, slut shaming (5.4k)

l/n y/n was born a pretty baby.

her family members - cousins, aunties, uncles, grandparents - gathered around her medical crib hours after she was born, basking in her beauty.

to the l/n's, y/n was a sight to behold. her small smile and her soft cooing ignited a fire within them, one that urged them to pamper the newborn with as much love they could muster.

it was safe to say that y/n was always surrounded with love, a plethora of it.

there wasn't a single time in her childhood that she didn't feel love.

y/n loved her parents, just as much, if not more, than they love her.

they did everything that they could to make her happy and healthy, enrolling her in whatever she wanted at the time. whether that be her attending hanlim (which they could barely afford) or a simple latte at the nearest café, the l/n's first priority was their daughter.

y/n knew that she wasn't as well off as the other kids in her school. her parents were decently well off but not enough to put them in the upper tax bracket that many of seoul seemed to be in, or at least pretended to. she had nice clothes, not designer, but just enough to not be bullied by her peers. her house was a fair bit away from the more booming areas of the city; a cozy, two bedroom house an hour away from gangnam.

she was content, making sure to never take her things for granted, always making sure her clothes were neat, her shoes were clean, and helping out with the chores as much as she could.

y/n didn't need much. she didn't want much, actually. as long as her parents were there with her, she was happy.

y/n just wanted to be happy.

she knew she was pretty.

being pampered all her life does a few things to her ego, but even then, it was only her family members telling her. there was only so much you hear from your family until it started sounding like each compliment was because you were family. y/n had a slight ego, sure, but didn't have a big head. she knew she didn't hold the attention of the general public that her parents were so sure she held.

at least, she didn't think so.

"i've liked you for so long!"

y/n stared at the note in his hands, the upperclassman's hands trembling. she couldn't understand why he was so nervous. they had hung out a few times beforehand, surely he wasn't actually in love with her.

y/n was only thirteen, and this guy - han hyeongjun - had spoken to her less than ten times her entire life.

as his hands continued to shake, y/n gently pushed his arms down, giving a soft smile.

he was in no means ugly. a lot of girls would die for a chance with him, both older and younger that y/n herself. hyeongjun was nice, even funny at times when y/n had spoken to him.

y/n simply didn't know him enough, and currently, her priorities weren't dating.

"i'm sorry..." y/n watched as his face fell apart, hyeongjun's eyes wide with hurt and shock. "i'm not looking for a boyfriend right now."

"i'll wait!" his voice tore through her eardrums, a desperateness lying underneath his shaky breath. hyeongjun swallowed back what seemed to be tears. "please... give me a chance."

y/n frowned. was she hurting someone? she never wanted to hurt anyone.

"hyeongjun-oppa, i'm really not interested." she could feel herself wavering, her guilt slowly starting to outweigh her stance. "i'm sorry..."

hyeongjun crumpled the love letter in his hand, tears streaming down his face. he would never want to force the girl he liked into a relationship with him, even though he so desperately wanted to, even though it tore through him like a pain his fourteen year old self could barely comprehend.

"i understand." his tears poured violently, hyeongjun's head pounding from holding back sobs. "i just... really like you."

y/n knew she was pretty, but she didn't think she was pretty enough to cause someone pain, especially someone she barely met.

"i'm sor-"

he left without a word, bumping into the younger girl's shoulder, his face tear-stained and etched with pain.

why did it hurt y/n too?

it was a one off thing, y/n decided.

han hyeongjun was a sweet, soft hearted boy. it was most likely a crush that he had, and not the emotions he claimed them to be. even if it was, there was no way it could actually happen again.

especially not in hanlim, where idols and future actors wandered the halls, all wearing some kind of designer shoes and expensive makeup.

here, y/n was just another face, just like she always was, despite her parents' preaching.

"what's your name?"

y/n's head shot up, her eyes wide. the girl that stood before her was tall and pretty, her loafers polished as if it was spit shined. her hair was dark, her skin pale in comparison, and y/n could see the faint twinkling of her necklace.

she suddenly felt so out of place.

"me?"

"yeah, you." the girl sat beside her, a scoff threatening to escape from her pink stained lips. "i don't think i've seen you before. what's your last name?"

it was an odd question to ask, at least for y/n. she knew last names held a significance, but only the adults in her life bothered to ask, never people her age.

the girl's eyes bore into hers, as if anticipating her question, ready to jump at the chance to compare herself with y/n.

"it's l/n."

"l/n?" she rested her chin on her palm, gazing at the girl with a predatory gaze. y/n couldn't place what it was, but it felt familiar enough to make her feel uncomfortable. "i don't think i know any l/n's. are you from gangnam? seocho?"

y/n could feel her eyes bug out. gangnam? seocho? there was no way her parents could ever afford an apartment, much less rent in those areas.

"uh, no." y/n didn't know why, but she felt so cold all of a sudden. "i live in nowon."

the girl sat up, her interest piqued. there was something about her eyes that shifted.

"oh." she twirled her blonde hair (probably an idol trainee, y/n thought) in between her fingers, eyeing y/n with a curiosity that seemed less than innocent. "i see..."

she could feel her intentions, how her puppy-like eyes held more than innocence. y/n felt like a zoo animal, being observed from a close distance, and this girl, although outwardly sweet, had ravenous intentions.

the girl smiled kindly, throwing y/n off guard. "what do your parents do for a living?"

y/n blinked. maybe she was wrong.

"um..." y/n's parents made a good amount, more than the rest of her relatives. even her high school friends said that she was rich, at least in comparison to them. "my dad's an electrician and my mom's a factory worker."

there was a pause in the air, heavy and suffocating. y/n was sure she said something wrong, but she wasn't sure.

"well..." the girl leaned back, deciding not to attack the poor girl in front of her (for now), and y/n sighed a breath of fresh air. "at least you're pretty."

"oh." y/n was pretty sure it wasn't a complement, but she'd take what she can get, especially since she was the black sheep in a class full of freshly groomed ones. "thank you..."

the girl smiled, resting her hand on her chin, her long, expensive looking acrylic nails slightly digging into her cheek. y/n glances her nails, dull and plain.

"my name's shim hyewon, daughter of shim sin. y'know, the politician?"

"oh." y/n had no idea about the world of politics, much less their names. all she knew was that the girl in front of her must've been rich. "i'm l/n y/n..."

just l/n y/n.

shim hyewon led a life that y/n hadn't been used to.

her parents were busy people, working as much as they could to provide for y/n, and she couldn't be more grateful for them. she rarely saw them in the mornings, her dad having an early start to his day, and her mom usually coming home an hour after she already left for school.

her commute wasn't bad, longer than it was during high school, but that was a given. her place horribly far from hanlim. her ten minute walked turned into an hour commute (give or take a couple minutes it takes to actually walk to the station).

it was a pain, honestly, but this was what she wished for. y/n wasn't gonna let an inconvenience like this get in the way of dreams, not when her parents poured blood, sweat and tears into it.

still, y/n couldn't help but envy hyewon.

the girl had been nice to her these past couple months, and though y/n felt uncomfortable with her constant classist remarks, hyewon was sweet.

she'd wait for y/n at the entrance of the school, scrolling through the latest model of her phone (the case differing week to week, sometimes day to day), barely fatigued from the twenty minute drive with her chauffer.

she shouldn't feel jealous at the wealth, y/n was already rich with the love and support from her parents. she genuinely couldn't ask for more, but perhaps if she had just a little bit of that money...

"took you long enough."

y/n fiddled with her black blazer, shifting around. hyewon's eyes dropped to her legs for a brief moment, and once again, y/n felt like a prize to be won.

she didn't dwell on it longer, as hyewon's face shifted into an expression y/n was used to; amusement.

y/n cleared her throat, rubbing her knuckles. at times, standing face to face with her friend felt more like a job interview than two peers talking about class.

"how long were you waiting for?"

"five minutes." hyewon shrugged, standing up from her leaning position. "i thought you weren't gonna show today."

y/n woke up late, too busy studying for their history exam to sleep. she needed high grades, and there was no time to study, especially since she managed to book some auditions a week before the test.

luckily, she caught the train, but the trek up on the way to school was slower due to her drowsiness.

"i always show up to class."

the two began to walk to class, finally entering school grounds. y/n could already feel eyes on them, more specifically on her.

it was a common occurrence after her first month in school, and she found a lot of the students (mostly boys, but a girl here and there) stealing glances, some of which even handing her confession letters.

maybe they weren't used to people like her walking around, someone who was slightly less well off, and not acclimated to their tightknit social circles.

it didn't make her feel any better though.

"you shouldn't." hyewon sighed, taking in the shorter girl's side profile. "this place is boring."

hanlim wasn't boring, not to y/n. school was school, and although it was tough and monotonous, she was on the path of doing something she loved.

y/n loved the spotlight like it loved her, but sometimes, she wished that people saw her less like a trophy and more like a human being.

hyewon glanced at her as they entered the building, her eyes raking over her with an untold emotion.

she was never a patient person, and her father always scolded her for it. perhaps now was a good time to practice it. hyewon could already tell that y/n was going to be tough to crack.

reaching the room, y/n could feel the cold air on her sweat soaked back, and she couldn't wait to finally sit down. the train was packed earlier, and y/n's legs ached from standing up the entire ride. she needed a breather, sooner than later.

"hey."

oh.

"ew." hyewon scrunched up her nose before playing innocent. she looked up at the older guy, smiling with her teeth. "oops! sorry, sunbaenim. it slipped out before i realized."

jay chang.

two years y/n's senior, and son of some popular american singer that y/n couldn't remember the name of. all she knew was that girls quite literally fell for him with a simple smile, and that jay was nothing but persistant.

"it's a good thing i wasn't talking to you, then." his smile was charming, and y/n was nearly fooled by it the first time they spoke. "you look nice today, y/n."

she nodded slightly, not wanting to give him too much. "thank you, sunbaenim."

"still a no?"

hyewon rolled her eyes. "kinda obvious, don't you think?"

"what?" he smirked, dusting his shoulder. "eventually, she'll need someone like me to take care of her."

y/n didn't think she'd ever need anyone, especially someone as big headed as jay chang.

what she needed was her desk, and her seat cushion... and a cold glass of water.

"i can take care of her just fine."

"whatever." jay frowned. hyewon always seemed to get what she wanted, despite probably being the youngest in the school. everyone treated her like royalty, and it pissed him off, knowing how she truly was deep down. "besides, y/n can't expect me to hold back when she looks like that everyday."

she was no better than him.

"that's all for me, i'm guessing?"

y/n felt a firm grip around her midsection, hyewon's arm anchoring her body against hers. it felt as if she was being claimed in broad daylight, and y/n did everything in her power to push down the discomfort threatening to make itself known.

"yeah." hyewon looked up at jay. "we're leaving."

"it's just a joke!" jay put his hands up, smiling as if he did nothing wrong. "unless you wanna make it a reality, y/n-ah."

y/n shook her head, the unsettling feeling getting worse as jay continued to hover over them.

"c'mon, don't be like that." he teased softly, a hint of frustration underneath. "at the very least, go on a date with your oppa."

hyewon pushed him aside, slamming the classroom door in his face. everyday, it was the same thing; the boy showing up in front of the classroom, loud and annoying, only there to harass y/n.

it was funny, honestly, and hyewon didn't mind that it helped y/n get closer to her.

"you okay, y/n?"

"yeah." y/n pulled away from her, hyewon's arms falling from her side. the younger girl clenched her jaw. "are all the guys here like that?"

"no." she hummed as the two made their way to the lockers. hyewon glanced at y/n once more. "almost everyone here is like that."

y/n couldn't get the icky feeling off her.

she felt an item for auction.

"it makes me feel gross." y/n confided softly, the feeling never leaving her, even when it was just her and her friend talking.

hyewon paused, and y/n felt the air shift into a thick cloud, filled with something similar to smugness.

"do i make you feel gross, y/n?"

she didn't want to upset her only friend.

"no."

but that was the exact answer hyewon was looking for.

"good."

the seasons passed, and so did y/n history exam.

getting her score back wasn't the nerve wracking part.

her grades were what she expected, and although it wasn't enough to be the top of her class (because y/n wasn't gonna slave over a one hundred and go to night school and cram school), she was satisfied.

it was the auditions she was worried about, her very first (and if it went wrong, her very last). she had managed to get a callback a week ago, and like before, it all went smoothly.

until she got to the HYBE building, of course.

"mom?" y/n's feet hit the cold floor, the air conditioning blasting. both her parents must've been home. "dad?"

she wandered into the kitchen, some dishes piled up, and the table freshly wiped. on the stove was a pot of kimchi stew, her mom's favorite meal and her dad's go-to dish.

she trudged to the living room, excited at the signs of her parents finally being home. y/n knew it wasn't normal for a fifteen year old to want to hang out with her parents, but she didn't care.

y/n loved her parents.

she heard the tv and walked faster, stopping as she stood in front of her parents' view, laptop in hand.

"need something, baby?" her mom, l/n eunji, pulled away from her dad's arms, causing him to pout slightly. he was always so clingy. it was cute. "come here."

y/n raced to sit in between them, rushing to open her email.

"can i tell you something?"

"what is it?" her dad, l/n junsang, leaned over her shoulder, snooping like he usually did. "you have a boyfriend? girlfriend?"

y/n glanced at junsang, shaking her head at his over enthusiasm to her getting a girlfriend or boyfriend (which she knew deep down he detested the though of).

"what?" he shrugged. "when i was your age, girls were throwing themselves at me. boys, too."

eunji rolled her eyes. her husband never changed. "girls were running away from you, actually."

y/n, not minding their usual antics, sifted through her open tabs, closing at least eight of them (for her paper due next month).

"but you ran towards me." junsang scrunched his nose, the mole dead center wrinkling along with his skin.

eunji shook her head. after twenty years together, she assumed her husband's ego would deflate just a tad bit. somehow, it worsened when y/n was born, their young daughter resembling him in both her smile and her beauty marks.

"you were the only one who caught my attention, though." he confessed like he always did, declaring his love on a random afternoon. "i could never say no to you and your pretty eyes."

y/n could gag, but it was nice to see her parents in love, even if it made her cringe.

"um..." she shifted the attention to her, hovering over the sketchy email she got. "are you guys done flirting?"

"sorry, baby." eunji looked at her daughter, her cat-like eyes gleaming. "what's up?"

"so..." the email in front of y/n made her heart beat out of her chest. "i had a callback, right?"

"yeah...?"

"i just got the email." y/n whispered. she knew it was her first audition, and there were much prettier and more talented girls that were at the audition, but she couldn't help but hope. "i was hoping to open it with you?"

junsang smiled. he was always so grateful that his daughter was open to sharing her achievements with him and his wife. being so involved in her life, regardless of its gravity, made him happy.

all he ever wanted, ever since he was young, was to watch his kid blossom.

the two older l/n's leaned closer, watching as their daughter opened the message.

y/n's eyes widened, reading the words over and over again, but she could only focus on one thing.

We look forward to working with you in the next coming weeks.

she got it? her first audition, and she got it?

y/n didn't know how to feel, a mix of gratitude and guilt coursing through her. it didn't seem fair to the others, the ones who strived for months, years.

"i knew it." junsang puffed out his chest. "no way can they deny our baby's pretty face."

her pretty face.

was that the only reason she got in? did they chose her for her face, just like everyone did in hanlim? her hardwork was glazed over, the spotlight on her features instead of her feats.

eunji flicked her husband's ear, her head lowering to meet her daughter's gaze.

"obviously, it's not just your face, y/n." her daughter was talented, and sometimes, she needed a reminder, just like everyone in her position would. "your dad and i know how talented you are. he just likes to say your face is pretty because people say you look like him."

"what?" junsang frowned. "am i not pretty?"

"junsang."

"you're very talented." he smiled, ruffling y/n's hair. "and smart too. all of which you got from m-"

"junsang."

"anyway," he waved his wife off, looking at his daughter. "you deserve it. you've worked so hard for it, and we're so proud of you. not only do we have a good daughter, but a talented one."

her parents were always her anchor, but sometimes she wished that she had the friend groups in the shows she had watched.

y/n wanted to belong both in her home and in society, where people saw passed her face.

"thank you." she whispered, earning a kiss on her temple from her mom. "i love you both."

"we love you too." eunji rubbed her back. "and don't listen to your dad about the boyfriend thing. i was the one that was getting hit on."

junsang paused, a frown suddenly on his face.

"you were?" his eyes landed on his wife, y/n deciding that now was a good time to hop off the couch and let her father and mother sort this one out. "wait, why didn't i know about this?"

eunji shrugged, standing up.

"i never told you."

eunji followed her daughter, not to her room, but to the end of the hall, her and her husband's door wide open.

"wait, what?" junsang heard y/n's door click shut, rushing to his feet to chase after his wife. "eunji, what?"

y/n met bts.

no, she worked with them, staring in multiple of their music videos, more than she expected to feature in (all at the cost of privating her social media accounts for a while. her success came with death threats, as expected).

it did wonders to her popularity in the industry, and she was amazed at how much more her peers both avoided and fawned over her. y/n always thought that it couldn't get much worse, but it did.

hyewon seemed to hover over her, watching as her locker was filled with threats from some of the older girls in hanlim. mixed into the pile were confessions, a few of which came from different schools. how they got in her locker, y/n would never know.

all she knew was that the attention was immense.

somehow, she avoided it today, waiting a couple minutes after the class president left to get cleaning supplies. there were a fair amount of students still in the class, but y/n knew they were all respectful enough to not but her.

she dusted herself off, walking outside the room and down the staircase. hyewon was somewhere nearby, either the roof where she usually sat (smelling like smoke) or in the girl's washroom close to the entrance.

"so..." jay? he never stayed after school, even if clubs were going on. "you can do a video with some older men but not go on a date with me?"

y/n's blood ran cold.

"sunbaenim." trying to not show her nerves, she lowered her head slightly, hoping that the sign of respect was enough for him to cool down.

it wasn't.

"do you like older men?" his arms crossed, his usually ironed blazer now wrinkling in his grip. "am i not old enough for you?"

y/n didn't like older men, she didn't even consider older anyone at all. she didn't wanna focus on that stuff, her sights on her dream university unwavering.

"i just don't want a boyfriend." her voice, soft and soothing, was strong with honesty.

"why not?" jay shot up, his dark eyes hard against y/n's features. "all girls want a boyfriend. you know i'll be good to you. i won't even force you to do anything."

y/n was sure his words meant to be reassuring, but it made her feel worse if anything, now knowing that jay saw her more like a toy than a human.

"i'm really not interested." she felt her voice go weaker, her legs frozen.

she wanted to leave, yet her legs stayed glued to the floor. there was a deep, unsettling feeling like her chest had been weighed down by something and she wasn't sure what.

"i don't believe you." the sinking feeling in y/n's chest was overwhelming. "don't tell me one of those bts oppas got to you first."

the staircase turned quiet, the soft whirling of the cooling units pushing through the vents. the green grass reflected the now setting sun through the window, birds chirping in the distance.

it should've been a beautiful day.

y/n felt a sense of shame she didn't understand. dirty and used, yet not even having her first kiss yet. she hadn't even held hands with anyone, yet somehow, everyone saw her as more.

she just wanted connection, love in both friendship and relationship.

jay was annoying, uncomfortable at times, but he wasn't cruel. she must've heard wrong. she had to have heard wrong.

y/n's voice came out in a soft squeak.

"i don't understand..."

she didn't, honestly.

she knew the industry came with it's consequences, but everything started even before then. it amplified, but it had always been like this in one way or another. she was always seen as something to get, something to possess, but never to connect with.

y/n was a want, but she was never a need.

"c'mon, y/n. quit playing dumb." jay was up to his wits end, and y/n could feel it in the air, a heavy smog filling her lungs. "there's another guy, isn't it?"

everyone assumed it was someone else, but it never was.

it was just her.

"are you playing hard to get or something?" his voice got louder, drowning out the birds and replacing it with a shroud of rage that concentrated around y/n. "you know how many girls would kill to have me tripping over them? and you're just here rejecting me over and over again?"

over the past few months, y/n learned to steel herself from the influx of confessions, always slightly in pain at the thought of breaking someone's heart.

it felt real, their 'love' for her.

but she knew this wasn't real, yet it hurt by the tenfold.

"it hurts, y'know." jay didn't seem hurt, and y/n was glad that his major was applied music and not broadcasting and entertainment. "you're not even giving me a chance. is it cause of the rumors you heard? are you that shallow? or are you just trying to hurt me?"

y/n didn't want to hurt anyone. she'd rather hurt herself.

"i didn't mean to-"

"but you did!" jay was fed up, nothing ever going his way. "do you like the attention or something? acting like a fucking tease all the time."

she could feel anger bursting through her chest, sick and tired of the names everyone threw her way. a thin veil frustration started to well up in her eyes, and behind, a seed of disappointment in others and in herself.

calming herself down, y/n spoke. "i don't understand why you keep calling me that."

"because you are!" jay whined, his eyebrows furrowing. y/n could basically see him stomping his foot. "you walk around with that face and expect me not to do anything."

a shiver ran through her spine.

"it's just my face..."

y/n didn't want to be seen as a trophy if it meant attracting attention like this.

did anyone even see her as human at this point?

"just shut up!" jay pushed his hair slick back, his voice echoing through the stairwell. "just fucking leave."

as if by his instructions, y/n's legs finally moved, her frame a blur as she rushed down to the main floor. she could feel her chest heaving, her eyes trained onto her feet. they carried her to the washroom, and she opened the door with a loud bang.

hyewon.

she was safe. her friend was here.

"woah," hyewon hummed, looking at y/n through the mirror. "you look crazy as fuck."

she felt crazy, her mind racing. she couldn't fathom how people saw her in that light, as if she was a medal incased in a collection of glory, plastered for the world to see.

"hyewon."

y/n rushed to her friend. she needed comfort, solace in the storm that happened mere minutes ago.

today should've been a good day.

"oh shit." hyewon pulled y/n in, her hands resting on her lower back. "hey... it's okay."

she could confide here, in between the porcelain walls, where she stood in the arms of someone she trusted. for once, she had someone to lean on, someone her age (or close to it) that listened.

y/n just wanted someone to listen.

"i don't understand why everyone thinks i want them or something." the emotions in her chest whirled with fervor, yet her voice was meek.

"i don't understand either." hyewon pull her closer, rubbing her back. "people here are fucked in the head."

y/n didn't want to believe that. she knew somewhere out there, there had to be people who were pure hearted, with pure intentions. somewhere, there were people who were just like her and her parents.

y/n wouldn't find them until after high school.

"i just wanted to make friends." she didn't mean to whine, but she was tired. "even the girls here think that i'm trying to do something. i can't even go near them without them thinking i'm trying to sabotage them."

hyewon pulled back slightly, looking at the shorter girl with vague intent. "i know you aren't, y/n."

"did i do something?" y/n was careful, never crossing the line of friendship (and most times, acquaintanceship) with anyone. she never wanted her words to be twisted, her actions perceived with an underlying meaning. "do i seem like the people they assume i am?"

she wanted to be seen for her, not for their ideals.

"no." hyewon brushed the tears off her cheek. "no, you're perfect."

"i just want people to understand." y/n was worried she'll never find anyone who cared enough about her. "i need someone to understand, or at least try. is that so much to ask for? for someone to actually care about me?"

"i know, baby." the taller girl whispered, y/n suddenly aware of how her breath hit her face. "i know."

y/n's first kiss happened on a beautiful day, in a porcelain school bathroom, the soft hum of the school's ac whirling through the vents, the sun setting through the windows.

(she always wished her first kiss happened with wonyoung, but wonyoung didn't need to know about this. y/n would rather die.)

she pulled back, bile threatening to release in her throat.

"i'm sorry"

"hey..." hyewon reached for her arm, and the predatory gaze was back. "it's okay."

it wasn't.

y/n rushed out, her legs carrying her as far from that school as they could. her lungs burned, her ears rang, and the humid air clung to her skin, refusing to release her.

sweat dripped down her back, tears poured from her eyes and betrayal suffocated her.

it hurt. everything hurt. the way jay's words stuck onto her like cheap perfume, and the actions of hyewon - of someone she knew she shouldn't have trusted - clawed into her.

she was battered, ripped to shreds, and never had she so desperately yearned for someone to hold her, to tell her that everything would be okay.

y/n wanted the comfort of a close friend, one she trusted with her gut. she wanted to hear the soothing words, the advice they'd give her. y/n longed for someone in her corner.

y/n just wanted to hear that it wasn't her fault.

(it wasn't, and it never was, and it never will be.)

(and two weeks later, y/n sported a new yellow blazer, assigned to a new seat and her commute lengthened to an extra thirty minutes.)

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[walnut-thecat]

Aroace rep in the Hellaverse

I saw someone say recently that Alastor’s aroace-ness is queer baiting and it made me want to talk about ace rep in the Hellaverse as a whole.

There are 3 confirmed asexual characters across the two series, 1 in Hazbin: Alastor (who I’m pretty sure is aroace), and 2 in Helluva: Mammon and Octavia (both were confirmed via a pride month post).

First, let’s talk about Alastor: l hate to be an Alastor defender, but I don’t think he’s queer bait. In the show he’s never depicted as being interested in any type of romantic/sexual relationship ( only business relationships). He’s also the only one out of the three who’s identity is explicitly referenced in the actual show so far (even if it is a throwaway line). And the “radioapple merch” stuff is just isn’t true, people say that Alastor and Lucifer have “matching keychains” in the valentines merch which is false. They both got stand alone keychains, with Lucifer’s referencing Lilith and Alastor’s referencing himself. I feel like if you see too single people depicted next to a bunch of couples on Valentine’s Day and your first thought is that they must be involved with each other then that’s a you thing. And about that jacket or whatever it was, it was referencing a popular scene from a popular episode, it’s not teasing radioapple any more than the episode is. You know, the episode about them hating each other? Anyways as an aroace I think it would be nice to see more merch of Alastor with his actual friends (Rosie, Mimzy, Niffty, and maybe Husk), and some more explicitly aroace merch though the keychain is pretty neat (if you like Alastor). Now about shipping: in the pilot era, which is when Alastor’s aroace-ness began (before that he was depicted as infatuated with Mimzy), Viv said she doesn’t mind him getting shipped, which I’m pretty sure she said to keep her name out of shipping arguments, because there’s nothing anyone can do to stop shipping anyone with everyone. But I’m not trying to defend Vivzie here, there are still things wrong here. 1. Her most relevant asexual character is a heartless murderer and cannibal 2. (This one’s personal) I really hate Alastor and I don’t want to be associated with him just because I’m aroace, and I’m sure I’m not alone

Now let’s talk about Helluva boss’s asexual characters. Like I said both of these characters’ identities got revealed by a pride month post on social media and neither’s identities got referenced in the show (yet). Which is disappointing. But what’s more disappointing is that one of these characters is another heartless irredeemable villain in the form of Mammon sin of greed, and I wouldn’t have a problem with that if aro/ace identities weren’t given to heartless villains so much (both in canon and fanon stuff), 2/3 ace characters being horrible villains (even if they are loved by fans) isn’t a good look. Now, Mammon makes multiple references to sex and seems to be interested in Leviathan which is great to see, a lot of asexuals can relate to that (I might not one of them, but it’s still important and I’m happy to see it). It’s a shame that his asexuality is never actually mentioned. And finally Octavia. I have a lot of hope for this girl. Her sexuality is also never mentioned in the show, she is surrounded by purple a lot but she does have a galaxy theme. Unfortunately she does fall into a common stereotype for both aros and aces, which is that she is “broken”. But out of the three I have the most hope for her to be the best ace rep in the hellaverse (AKA she’s the only one out of the three who I wouldn’t be embarrassed to be associated with based on sexuality alone)

Edit: I did not know today was international asexuality day, but I guess this came out at the perfect time

[fraudulent-cheese]

Tossing you another character: Eva

How i feel about this character:

I like Eva quite a bit! Bit of a shame i don't post that much about her, i like her and i find her anger relatable. I too want to bite people sometimes. She serves her role pretty well in the limited screen time she's been given!

The people i ship romantically with this character:

Im actually a bit more open than usual with shipping with Eva! Heatheva's my favorite, i like how they contrast and they would have crazy beef fr, but i do like evzy! it was the first Eva ship i liked and while i like it less now it's still one i find neat :p

My Non-Romantic OTP for this character:

TEAM ESCOPE. DUH. im including Owen in Team Escope in this context btw. Generally just think Eva and Noah would get along well, i've already explained why Eva and Izzy friendship is great and honestly just think Eva and Owen would be good friends as well. They'd play hockey together and be a nice presence in eachother's lives.

Also? Gwen and Eva friendship. Would be neat. Eva was on Gwen's side for all of Island's finale and they interact in a nearly lost media promotional clip where Gwen's the one with no chill instead of Eva. Which implies that Eva's a good sport she just gets frustrated easily

My unpopular opinion about this character:

Actually like her role in the World Tour Aftermaths quite a bit? I think her being a reporter is funny because this feels so out of place for her (she seems to struggle with fame in Celebrity Manhunt, has little patience, it's Eva) and so much like an executive placement for ratings, im glad they gave her something to do because her actually being on the show would've fucked her writing up so bad

One thing i wish happened with this character in canon:

Outside of the obvious "Eva should've competed more!" and "Eva should've been on to World Tour!", i think Eva should've also gotten weirdly involved in the show's staff. She should've been security for the Aftermaths or something. Something to complete the Assistant Noah and Spider Izzy trio

[gio-cosmo]

Hi here’s me rambling endlessly abt strega and how they were handled in reload for a bit ⬇️ (heavy spoilers)

Strega is a trio of antagonists that I often see overlooked completely, frequently described as “forgettable” and “non-threatening”. You’d think that an antagonistic group responsible for one of the main characters deaths would hold more weight, right? I think the main reason that this is such a common mindset is because of Strega’s critical lack of screen-time, and also the fact that their backstories / reasoning behind their actions are explained in a very rushed manner. Despite this, I think Strega is an incredibly interesting group of characters, and I think it’s a shame Atlus didn’t bother to flesh them out more.

Main issue: Lack of screen-time. Why the rush?

Atlus made a point to act as if Reload would give Strega a plethora of new content, but in reality, we barely got anything extra at all. Is it a step up from Portable/FES? Absolutely, and I’m very grateful for that. But even still, this was a golden opportunity to really show off Strega’s intricacies, and to throw away such a perfect chance was a pretty lousy move, in my opinion. There was so many opportunities to show Strega’s viewpoints and have it flow well with the story, but these chances were rarely taken — because of this, their presence in the story is weakened substantially.

Lack of group interaction - when having an antagonist group, it’s important to have them be…well, you know. A group. We barely get to see them interact together, and when we do, it’s either for very quick moments, or it’s when their talking to someone else (in which, it’s usually just Takaya talking on behalf of all of them)

This falls along with how their lack of screen-time is the biggest issues — there’s no chances to see them interact with each other if their barely given the chance to be on screen to begin with.

Lack of individual interaction - where the hell is my Jin hangout event? :(

If they can figure out how to give Takaya one-on-one conversations with the MC to let the player get to know his character more, they could’ve certainly figured out how to do so with Jin and Chidori as well. They could’ve had you talk with Jin through the assassination request site and Chidori by finding her at the bench she’s always at when she talks with Junpei. See how that took me approximately five seconds to think up? You’re telling me nobody in the development room was like “hey guys maybe we should actually give ALL of our main antagonists some one-on-one interactions so we can see how they function when away from each other. Oh, I guess we don’t really show them interacting as a group that much either so we should throw that in as well lmfaoo whoops” Like guys come on. I’m sighing so heavily right now and also shaking my head in dismay.

(You could argue that we already get to see Chidori interact solo with Junpei so it wouldn’t be necessary to see her interact solo with the MC, but I still think it would be a neat addition. All I know is that there is absolutely NO reason that Jin shouldn’t have gotten some sort of hangout event :(

Missed opportunities - “let’s all be able to shift and not tell Chidori!”

We don’t get a single trio fight in the entire game. This is so ridiculous to me that I get irritated every time I think about it. “Let’s have a antag trio and not let them fight together haha” yeah real funny man I’m having such a good laugh over here 😐 it doesn’t even make any sense either. Chidori’s solo fight genuinely should’ve just been a trio fight. “She told us to wait inside lol” damn she’s not even letting you spectate??? 😭 developers wanted them off-screen so bad they LITERALLY had them wait outside the door standing there doing nothing. Atlus. Come on now man.

Common misconceptions — “Strega doesn’t care about Chidori.”

WRONG INCORRECT BUZZER 🚨🚨🚨 They do, actually, they just have roundabout ways of showing it because of the whole “caring about people is a weakness” mindset that they so desperately latch onto. I’ve seen lots a people say that they believe Takaya truly does not care for his teammates at all, and while I guess in technicality it’s all up to personal interpretation, I do strongly disagree with this standpoint. The last thing Takaya is saying while watching Nyx approach is that he wishes Jin was with him, and gets visibly and vocally distressed when Jin falls in battle before him. In the Persona 3 manga, what stops Takaya from killing Junpei is the sight of Chidori’s spirit. If he truly didn’t care about Chidori, why would that stop him in his tracks? I think it’s clear that Takaya is stuck in a mindset that formed when he was an angry and mistreated child, and because of this he’s convinced himself he is incapable of feeling attachment towards anyone, and voices this constantly while seeing it as a weakness. Despite this, I do think he cares about his teammates deep down, but refuses to admit it. This extremely ingrained hypocrisy is something I wish was more expanded on.

Misconceptions continued - “the fact that the members of Strega aren’t ridiculously overpowered makes them bad villains.”

…No! For Strega, using their Persona’s is a very taxing endeavor — it wouldn’t make canonical sense for them to be extremely powerful. You might be thinking, “well, the fact that their battles aren’t immensely difficult is why they aren’t payed much mind as antagonists.” I disagree. The reason is the criminal lack of screen time. Now, I don’t think it’s bad to want more difficult fights, to each their own and all, I just think it’s a bit silly when people use that as their main core reason for hating them, considering it really wouldn’t make *sense* for them to be super powerful. Anyways. Moving on.

Things that would’ve strengthened Strega as characters:

- More scenes

- A more fleshed out work-together event (teaming up with Takaya was cool, but also a bit random? Should’ve been expanded upon more)

- Backstory flashbacks (this could also have been used as foreshadowing for Ikutsuki’s betrayal instead of making it seem so abrupt)

- DLC (being able to play AS them for a bit would be awesome)

Frankly, I think that The Answer should’ve been included in base-game, and Strega should’ve gotten a DLC. They would really benefit one, and they could make it really informative and interesting, explaining more about how they were experimented on as kids & how it affects them, etc.

I also think it would’ve been beneficial to make Strega have more influence outside of the Dark Hour. In the later parts of the game, they do gain popularity when the cult starts up, but it’s all incredibly abrupt and there’s barely any lead up to it. It would’ve been interesting to see a gradual lead up to it all, slowly seeing their influence spread as the game continues, and having tension rise as they ensnare more people into believing their set of ideals. Having them suddenly gain influence so rapidly seemed just..generally unrealistic, I guess.

There’s for real even more I could go on about but this is already so long that I’ll go ahead and cut myself off here. Anyways. I love Strega <3

[prettycottonmouthlamia]

There's an interesting bit of ludonarrative I've been noticing with the Rainbow Six Siege operators in Arknights. Something that gets pretty consistently brought up, and really emphasized in places like Frost's Module, is that while Team Rainbow are very skilled and much more technologically advanced than Terrans are, they make a trade-off: they're a lot physically weaker. Frost's Welcome Mat, for instance, is criticized for its lack of force by the Engineering Department operator who examines it, remarking that even they could easily get out of it, and when Frost asks for a hunting bow to use, they give her a Sarkaz hunting bow, which she struggles to draw the string of.

Outside of...the six stars...you can actually see this in the kits that they have. Several R6S operators are very good at attacking rapidly (Tachanka, Blitz, Iana, Fuze, Doc, Ash) because they're well trained and are proficient in using weapons that are pretty rare on Terra. You can see this in the absolutely crazy numbers they're allowed to have: Blitz and Iana are allowed the truly fucked up ASPD buffs of +200 and +300 respectively, with Fuze coming in with a more modest +90 APSD; Tachanka, Doc, and Ash can significantly reduce their attack interval more than other operators, with Tachanka and Ash reducing their attack intervals by 85% and 90%, and Doc reducing his by a flat 0.7 seconds.

They lack good ATK buffs though. In general, for physical operators, clearly DEF thresholds is really important, and this is something that all of the R6S operators except Ela struggle with. They either have to try to attack from a different angle (Tachanka's S1), ignore some DEF (Tachanka S1 again and Doc's talent), rely on limited-use explosives (Ash and Fuze), or exploit some conditional damage (Ash and Blitz). Even Ela, who is the most useful even if she can't do her thing, still works best on enemies affected by her mines.

They all tend to struggle against high DEF enemies as a result. Ash, and especially Ela, tend to struggle the least, but its pretty consistent. It doesn't do wonders for their gameplay, I have avoided talking about Frost for quite some time because she seems to not have any way of getting around high DEF enemies at all, but it's neat. They've given Team Rainbow an actually interesting mechanical identity in this way and I really enjoy it.

It's a shame we get so little of them. Even just reading through their new Operator Records revealed stuff I genuinely want to know more about.

[allaboutthedrama]

I know that I'm pretty late to the conversation, but I've just reread all of Vampire Academy and Bloodlines (possibly for The Untitled Jill Project) and it's the first time I've reread the VA series in years.

I'm just thinking about how, in my opinion, the quality of the VA series improved as we got into the last few books, and with Bloodlines, I think the reverse sort of happened. Spoilers for both series ahead. (Yeah, the last book came out nine years ago, but you never know.)

I think I hadn't realized how cohesive the ending of Last Sacrifice was. Details from as far back as the first book came up and were very relevant. The political plotline came together in a really tight way, Sonya Karp turned out the be Chekov's spirit user, we got more world-building details, the antagonists had complex and convoluted motivations, and even when there were plot threads left dangling, those actually served a purpose. I loved the part where Adrian pointed out to Rose that her actions had consequences and even though she had gotten what she wanted, not everything else was resolved, so people like Eddie and Sydney and Jill were left in bad situations, and she was partly responsible. It created a little more moral ambiguity, which I really enjoyed, especially since YA tends to like the very neat endings where everything winds up happily ever after.

The Vampire Academy books improved the deeper into the series you got. And, although I love Bloodlines, I do think that the first three books are much stronger than the last three. Which is a shame, because the series has so much potential.

I think Mead is at her best when she's writing something of a mystery. Last Sacrifice obviously comes to mind (they're solving a murder mystery, after all). Bloodlines had that, with the tattoos, Lee, and Keith being shady all building up to a really exciting climax. The Golden Lily wasn't quite as much of one, but the clues leading up to the reveal of the Warriors were well-placed. Indigo Spell went straight back into mystery territory, trying to find Jackie's sister. And then The Fiery Heart is where, in my opinion, things start to falter. There's a lot of interesting worldbuilding information introduced, with the new details about spirit and magic coming up, and it was fun to get into Adrian's head, but it definitely felt like this supernatural romance was shifting to become a lot more romance and a lot less concerned with the supernatural. But that's not such a big deal. It's the middle of the series, we're building tension, Re-Education has been a threat hanging over Sydney since page one of Bloodlines and we're finally seeing that fear pay off.

But then we get to Silver Shadows, and while I guess figuring out where Sydney is could be a mystery, it doesn't really resonate the way 'who killed the queen' does, in my opinion. Sydney's arc in Re-Education is great, and I do like the way the books deal with Adrian's mental health issues, but some of Adrian's chapters felt more like filler. And a bigger issue, imo, was that this was when we really started to lose the side characters. Some of my favorite parts of the first few books were characters like Jill, Eddie, Trey, and Angeline, and then the ensemble atmosphere was largely gone, because Sydney was in Re-Education and Adrian left Palm Springs. The final fight and flight sequence was really good, though, so I had high hopes going into The Ruby Circle.

The Ruby Circle is probably my least favorite of the books between both of the series, and I think that's a shame, since it's the finale. We'd just had a 'kidnapped character' arc, so I think there was less emphasis on describing everyone's reactions. We saw the biggest reaction from Eddie, but as a result, he got kind of flattened out from the really well-rounded character he'd been from the back half of the VA books and the first part of Bloodlines.

The Ruby Circle could have been a really good mystery, with lots of twists that tied up a lot of the lingering questions from the series. Except that a lot of threads from the rest of the series were dropped and didn't resurface. They never caught whoever was behind the assassination attempt on Jill. I don't think we even got an official resolution on whether Lissa managed to change the quorum law. The political plots that were integral to VA weren't significant in Bloodlines, despite it all starting because of a politically motivated assassination. We also never got a resolution on the rogue spirit user who turned Lee back from being Strigoi, or the spirit users who had been sent to the psychiatric facility in Tarasov (the prison from Spirit Bound). We never found Robert Duro. The bond itself was somewhat discarded, too, whenever it wasn't immediately useful for a plot point. Instead, we just got a scavenger hunt across the country, a few fight scenes where the protagonists were pretty much guaranteed to win, and a final showdown with a magic barrier that, as we learn after, would have dropped down on its own in a few hours for them to bring Jill food, anyways.

I obviously still like the series, since I'm rereading it and talking about it nine years after the fact. But I think that there were a lot of opportunities to continue plots from VA that were lost, even when they should have been brought back into the story.

If anyone has made it this far, I suppose I should throw in a pitch for The Untitled Jill Project, which will be my attempt to rewrite the Bloodlines series from Jill's perspective, because I think there's still a lot more story to be told. I haven't got it all mapped out, but I intend to at least tie up some of the narrative loose ends I mentioned that bothered me about the series in that story. I might write up another post here soon about how Jill's characterization also suffered as Bloodlines went on, if anyone's interested.

Anyways, if anyone has any strong opinions on what I said (agreeing or disagreeing) please let me know! I'd love to talk about the series with people, since no one in my real life has read it, and I'm curious to know what the rest of the fandom thinks about how the narrative progressed in Bloodlines.

[samobservessonic]

This issue is fancy enough that the title card doesn’t appear until the second page. It’s also fancy in that we get what I believe is the only Sally cameo in a Kitching story? Here she is, in her newscaster role that people associate with StC Sally, and in what might also be her last appearance if I remember rightly. I love this design, it’s so cute, so it's a bit of a shame we don’t get to see it more

Amy is busy watching the news, which I’m sure is in equal parts because she likes to keep up with current affairs and because she’s a massive lesbian who thinks Sally is very pretty

But the boys aren’t as keen to listen to this recap about Robotnik’s disappearance

They’d much rather listen to what Amy assumes is a fairy-story about the Floating Island. I love Amy, but I’m not sure why the story decided to put her as the one who’d think that’s ridiculous when she got kidnapped and taken to a floating little planet only a few issues ago

It seems that Sonic also thought it was just a legend, but he's actually found it. And this is one of those times where I’m just tossing in the whole page, because it really sets the scene. So glad they got Elson on the art duties for this story, because the Sonic 3 arc is every bit worth bringing out the big guns for

Okay, teasing Amy is kinda mean, but also, Porker looks so happy. He doesn’t get many chances to look this happy before his breakdown

Sonic & Tails land to explore the island and are immediately thrown into familiar levels from Sonic 3. I’ve been looking forward to this, because given how much mileage StC gets out of Sonic 2 locations, I’m sure that Elson will be able to make these levels look great as well. To me, the fact that they want to show these characters interacting with levels from the games themselves is part of what pushed StC ahead in being so good. You can feel that these were made by people who played these games and knew how cool the kids playing them would find getting to see stuff from them in a comic

After a few pages of exploring, our duo come across their first Sonic 3 badnik, which is not just a neat nod to the games, but also shows that their assumption that Robotnik’s on this island is correct

They’re also dropping in that Sonic has a force field. But I think this is just a game mechanic nod, because I can’t remember it being too important to StC. Unless it comes up move prior to when I started reading

After this, they briefly wonder what they’re going to do when they find Robotnik, but before they can come up with an answer, the man himself appears. And with him comes…

…Knuckles! He’s here! He’s pink! And we’re going to be getting a proper introduction to him in the next issue!

[ninjagirlstar5]

Kiyoka 🤝 SDRA2!Teruya

Having a cowboy aesthetic

Yeah, for Kiyoka, I decided to push the cowboy vibes with her cause I think it's neat that she has a cowboy hat but is never seen with it in her sprite work so I went, "Haha, cowboy go brrr." Considering Kiyoka is a natural professional at any sort of range weapon without even trying, I think this aesthetic suits her a bit more than anything related to the military cause 1.) there's no indication she's related to the military, unlike Haru who's interests include the military and 2.) she never asked for her talent, it just fuckin' happened. It makes me wonder how she even became the Ultimate Sniper. Did she just enter competitions on a whim, decimated her opponents, and Hope's Peak just went, "Yep, that one. That one right there." Either way, since Kiyoka has a cowboy hat, I decided to go with that aesthetic since it feels more casual and cause she'd probably find it cool! So I gave her sprite her cowboy hat with a bit of more details, and changed her shoes to boots. Kiyoka is interesting cause she's clearly pretty feminine in how she talks about makeup and fashion magazines, while she's wearing pants, sneakers, and has a sweater tied around her waist in her OG sprite. Which makes me think that she leans more towards feminine but prefers pants and such. So I kept that vibe for her as I changed her design, keeping her pants but shortening the length to her knees. The top part of her design was changed the most as the shirt had been tied into a knot and I shortened her sleeves. But of course, I added a black tank top with stripes to reference her outfit in her concept art underneath her tied shirt as I didn't want to show off too much skin since, again, she's a teenager. But I do feel like Kiyoka would be the type of person to like showing off a bit of skin and have the confidence to do it. I also think she'd go out and get herself a tan hence why her skin is darker here than her canon sprite, and I gave her makeup. I kept her hair length, but change it's style into a ponytail and have it a drill-style like her bang(s). Since in the IF illustration Kiyoka cut her hair and lacks her drills, she probably styles her hair this way on purpose. Probably because she saw the style and liked it. (Even if this is true, I think it's a shame that she doesn't have them anymore as I think it helps her stand out a bit more.) I actually wasn't sure how to do her ponytail at first cause making it clear that there's a ponytail in a front-facing sprite like this can be kinda hard and I didn't want to make it a top ponytail cause that styles gives a more professional vibe that Kiyoka just does not have (unlike Akane who takes her job seriously), and a low ponytail can get lost in the design because it's hidden by most of the body (just like Sora's regular sprite or even my redesign of S.O.R.A. for my Protag Teruya AU). But after looking through some references on Google, I was struck with inspiration when I saw the ponytail-over-the-shoulder style and knew what I wanted to do. It allowed me to show off her drill-style hair more while keeping it loose cause that's who Kiyoka is: a casual girl that wants to be normal and have fun. I gave her scrunchies, and with that said and done, I changed her necklace cause having a gear necklace didn't? Make much sense?? For her character? Like, there's no significance and it's kinda just there. So I made it into a regular bead necklace instead since I felt like that was more up her alley. I also changed her jacket into a button-up with a plaid pattern and gave her black tights underneath her pants and boots to match her tank top. And that's it!

Now, that's fifteen people done! All that's left is...is...oh no.

[quibbs126]

So I finished the last couple of episodes of Cyberverse this morning

If I’m being honest, while I really liked the Quintesson plot, the last few episodes after that were kind of eh. They were fine, but not the banger the first half was. Probably didn’t help that we moved back to the usual cast with Bumblebee, Grimlock, Optimus and sort of Windblade

It sort of makes the first half of the season feel like a weird detour, given it’s like the one time we have a completely new cast of lead characters. Which is also a shame because I really liked this plot and the characters that were a part of it

Clobber had sort of been in the background but she got upgraded to main character in this section and I thought she was great. My only real complaint about her that’s always been there is that her mouth looks weird. Maybe it’s because they felt the need to give her lips. But anyways, Dead End was fun too, I liked his whole tone and personality. So was Perceptor and Whirl (I’d go into more detail but I’m realizing I’d repeat myself because I don’t know how to specify my thoughts more), and at first I thought Soundwave would be a return back to the normal divide, but he grew on me too, and he and Hot Rod worked great together. Oh yeah, Hot Rod was fun too, it was neat seeing his angst and him having to take a proper leadership role in quite frankly a horrible situation. Still not sure how he survived the premiere though

But one of my favorite things was how when the Quintessons came in, it kind of didn’t matter the Autobot and Decepticon divide anymore, they had to work together or die, and every new character to join the group got a grasp of that pretty quickly. I think I’m grasping that I no longer care much for the Autobot and Decepticon divide and just want the two factions to come together. Maybe not every continuity needs that to happen, but this show keeps baiting me with that thought

I liked the Quintesson finale too, even if shit was just happening and I had to accept it. Like okay, Megatron’s seemingly been on a long multiverse adventure and has a Matrix. Alright. But like the conflict itself felt pretty climactic, like it could be the end of the show. Outside of maybe that final scene, saying how the Autobots and Decepticons were now to divide the planet in half for each faction. Like that’s just leading in to something else, even if I think things should have ended in complete integration of both sides (but whatever)

But yeah, then we get the last 10 or so episodes, which feel a lot different from the rest of the season and more like…I guess typical Cyberverse shenanigans? I don’t know if it’s the same or not, but to me it felt like a return to format when I liked this new direction

Like they weren’t bad, they were just sort of fine

And I don’t know, the end of the series didn’t really feel like a series end. It just has Windblade return and join her friends and that’s it, roll credits. It just doesn’t have that climactic oomph to it. I mean I guess I don’t know who would have been the villain afterwards, but still

I don’t think our Megatron was confirmed dead or not though, at least not in the show itself. We see him get his Matrix taken and fall from the other Megatron, but we also see and hear him groaning in pain, showing he isn’t actually dead yet, even if he is dying. And after Bumblebee steals the other Matrix, we don’t see him again. So it’s not clear his state of being. Though honestly characters have come back from worse, like in the premiere when Megatron was left to be eaten by scraplets but was fine next we saw him, so he’s probably still around and able to cause trouble if need be

I don’t know for sure, but I’m half convinced the writers weren’t sure whether they were getting another season or not. Like I said, the ending doesn’t feel to me like a series finale, the Quintesson finale would have fit a lot better in that regard, but I mean it could be fine as a season finale. Still a bit anti-climatic though

I also feel like it was hampered by the fact that the episodes are only 11 minutes long. The other Megatron really didn’t last long because of it. The other Season 3 specials I think got around this limitation with being multiple episodes long, but this and the Season 2 finale, along with other episodes, felt really hampered by this shorter run time, like the plot had to finish too quickly

I’m getting the notion now that Season 1 was the only season with a finale that actually felt like a proper season finale. The other two had one thing or the other that made it not feel so climactic, whether it be the unimportant plot that’s only real purpose is to introduce un-space, or the anticlimactic end of the third one

But yeah, Cyberverse was fun overall. I think it hit its stride in the first half of Season 3, which kind of put a damper on the second half but it was fine. I think the main thing hampering me was that I really wanted the two sides to just make up basically the entire time I was watching Seasons 2 and 3, but that’s probably just a personal thing and too much fanfiction

Also I have to say, I would love a Transformers game in the style of Cyberverse, it’d be really cool, at least to me

[soapdispensersalesman]

You (Netflix) Spoiler warning

I finished watching S5 of You, and the entire series with that and it was an interesting watch.

It's fascinating to see how the show started in a "millennial" (or maybe zillennial) era with Joe's digital footprint analysis skills as he stalked Instagram and even Facebook profiles while TikTok was still musical.ly (during production) to Joe being in his "I'm getting too old for this shit" era with Gen Z characters and culture who's true crime media consumption and armchair sleuthing aspirations got the best of Joe in the end.

Somehow, with the show feeling like this off-brand version of Dexter with a hint of Mr Robot at times, I was expecting a Dexter-esque ending, and in a way that final scene felt like it. I was expecting the "cycle" to continue with Henry showing hints of violence.

The way the show did end feels pretty fitting (with Joe's final line feeling meta), it just feels somewhat uncanny to witness it in such a gen Z coating.

The Louise/Bronte character was interesting, although I had trouble telling whether she was supposed to be a gen Z character at first, but I did like that she felt like she represented us, the audience; We know all this info about Joe and (for me at least) when I watched the first season, I absolutely detested him killing Beck, yet I continued to watch four more seasons of his behaviour, initially hoping some sort of justice for Beck happens but losing the script along the way. Somehow we were all enabling his behaviour as soon as you release he was also manipulating us when he spoke to us through his thoughts.

I've read other reviews about having trouble connecting with Louise because the how quick her dynamic with Joe grew and how briefly her appearance felt to be carrying such a role, but with the interpretation of her representing all of us, it does feel interesting on how we'd all approach Joe.

Speaking of shows that You reminds me of; Liv & Maddie joins the club, especially funny with one of the twins also being named Maddie which (based on my vague recollection of the only having seen the first season a decade ago) felt like she had similar characteristics like Maddie in the show.

Aome more thoughts before I forget:

Nava Mau playing a detective was a neat surprise, she seemed familiar before recognising her

It's a shame they couldn't get Ellie to return, I was speculating that it was poor writing or Jenna Ortega not returning just to find out they had actually planned for her to have a storyline but Jenna had too many scheduling conflicts for it to happen.

Whereas I've been wondering what happened to Ellie since season three, I've been wondering what the hell happened to that mf jar that Joe peed in back in season one, I always felt like that particular event would come back to haunt him as he casually left DNA evidence at some random location.

I liked the symbolism used in the finale, I love how Olivia Rodrigo's song Vampire came back to have a new meaning

Why is Gen Z... like that? It's funny how Louise felt more zillennial like gen Z and then there's actual gen Z characters and this instant vibe I'm starting to realise just isn't for me.

The message of the finale was interesting and makes total sense given the nature of Joe's character. I liked that ending scene were Joe was all alone, not even having his thoughts and monologues present, like the initial finale of Dexter where he's shown standing at his balcony of his condo, looking over the horizon as not a single thought crosses his mind, his demons were gone.

Joe is like Adachi from Persona 4 idk I was bummed out I hadn't made any Persona references yet.

[nedstarkfortnite]

Mikey reads ASOIAF: Catelyn VI AGOT

Short summary: The ragtag group reaches the Vale and Catelyn is summoned by her sister Lysa, taking the thrilling and dangerous road up the mountain to the Eyrie. 

Our group at last makes it to safety! Thank god there’s a 20 something dude to escort them during the final stretch. (Do you sense my 22 year old sarcasm). I’m being mean, I know, there’s a difference between me the female room dweller and the guy who has been obsessively training to be a knight for years on end. I still think Ser Donnel should be grateful Lysa is forbidding him to go deal with the clansmen though. Even if this is something that needs to be done I doubt he would be the one to do it. He's just baby.

God. Imagine the smell and looks of our gang. Just disheveled and covered in little battle cuts and then Roderick with his wound that definitely stinks by now. Poor dudes (and Catelyn). I’m surprised Tyrion doesn’t loathe her on the account of losing his access to hygiene as a noble.

Catelyn notices how Tyrion has befriended Bronn and I hate to do this, but; may I be nitpicky and say this is tell don’t show? Martin makes sure to go back to this and make it show, but I just wanted to note it here in case someone reading this feels insecure about their writing; Even GRRM sometimes has to rely on it, and that is actually fine as long as you don’t become dependent on telling the audience and you make sure to strengthen the scenes with scenes showing us character dynamics. I’m sure this has happened several times before and that I just haven’t felt an urgent need to comment on it. On a similar note, let's ignore my own style of writing and pretend it’s all good and totally not obvious that English is my second/third language teehee.

Tyrion robbing Marillion of the cloak is something I wish we could have been around for. Why does Martin hate me?

“Could I be wrong? Catelyn wondered, not for the first time. Could he be innocent after all, of Bran and Jon Arryn and all the rest? And if he was, what did that make her? Six men had died to bring him here.”

See, this is what I like about these books. They allow people to be openly flawed but also self critical when we’re in their heads. In a way Song can be analyzed as a book series investigating the vast difference between the things we say outwardly and the things we keep to ourselves, mainly out of shame or pride. Catelyn cannot reconcile with the guilt she has placed upon her own shoulders as a motivator, and so she is stuck ‘believing’ that Tyrion did murder Bran. I notice how she also adds him as a knowing participant in the other conspiracies, which might be to make the likelihood of her judgment being correct greater. She definitely has reasons to believe he isn’t responsible for Bran’s assassination attempt, and so she decides to condemn him as a Lannister who surely must have been in the know, even if he didn't do it himself.

To an extent she is correct; Tyrion knows about the incest and has chosen to stay quiet about it to protect Jaime, Myrcella and Tommen. He is one of the people actively undermining the current King, whether he is driven by good or bad intentions. 

This is so good. I am absolutely thrilled to be analyzing such great characters.

Brynden Tully or the Blackfish, Catelyn’s uncle, is introduced and he is allowed to have auburn hair like the rest of the family (though long gone because of old age). It always bothered me after reading the books to know how much of the visible family traits were chopped for the show. Oh well. He seems pretty sweet. Did the show ever include this detail about him being the adult they relied on? Hoster Tully was absent most of the time, so he was more available than their actual father. It’s cute. I also did smile a little (like last time when I read it) over the Blackfish tale. It’s a really neat and organic way of introducing individuality for these people who are so tied to their houses and shared ambitions. He’s a cool dude 10/10.

Also how much do we know about Catelyn’s mother? She’s only mentioned once here in reference to her often being “too ill” to engage with her children. Anyone know anything about that? Once again I have to mention My Little Thought Tree and his videos on these characters. He goes into Catelyn’s upbringing in a way that I couldn’t possibly hope to replicate, but it is certainly there at the back of my mind.

I do find it curious that Catelyn doesn’t seem to have visited the Vale before. She uses phrases like “Ned had told her” when visualizing the Eyrie for example. She has met Robyn before, but mentions only how young he was at the time, not how the land or the castle looked back then. Was there a King’s Landing road trip? 

Catelyn is almost amusingly surprised that Marillion made it this far, and then has a little silent feud with Bronn over him being impolite and also buddies with Tyrion. I am reminded of the fact Bronn the sellsword inherited the title of Master of Coin by simply. Being there, and I choke on my own froth and die. Let’s move on.

“She had other messages to send as well; the commands that Ned had given her for his bannermen, to ready the defenses of the north.”

Not much to say about this, I just found it sweet that she is thinking about Ned’s situation and the things he tasked her with. They’re a loyal and determined couple.

Vale report: Things are tense and weird and no one likes Lysa’s son. Put her back in the incubator program and breed a better one.

See some of you are going to think I’m weird as hell for this but I don’t think Lysa is purely a villain. Deranged, sure, but you can still tell how her life has taken a toll on her. It's a bit like Cersei and how she is a victim coping in the worst possible ways and inflicting pain upon others, rather than deal with it. Lysa barely grew up, and then had to let an old man have his way with her whenever he wished and this was followed by an unfortunate string of miscarriages and stillbirths that must have been really tough on her. And finally, finally, when she gives birth to a living child, people still aren’t happy with her. Her true love doesn’t even like her 😭. It's just tragic. This is the world medieval patriarchy creates for women, one where they WILL be driven insane.

“She sounded so cocky that Catelyn had to smile. "Do you have a name, child?"

"Mya Stone, if it please you, my lady," the girl said.

It did not please her; it was an effort for Catelyn to keep the smile on her face. Stone was a bastard's name in the Vale, as Snow was in the north, and Flowers in Highgarden; in each of the Seven Kingdoms, custom had fashioned a surname for children born with no names of their own. Catelyn had nothing against this girl, but suddenly she could not help but think of Ned's bastard on the Wall, and the thought made her angry and guilty, both at once. She struggled to find words for a reply.”

Wow, the Jon business truly did affect her. I do think it’s a positive thing to see her be so self aware that she feels guilty. Catelyn really does struggle, and it’s a very human struggle where she knows what she ought to feel and still cannot quite convince herself to get to that point.

Mya is the bastard of Robert Baratheon, isn’t she? The firstborn child.

Mya and Catelyn ascend the mountain and it’s mostly descriptions of wind and darkness, so do forgive me if I skip over it altogether. We get a nice little moment of Catelyn losing courage at a particularly narrow pass and allowing herself to be helped, then swallowing her pride even further and going up to the Eyrie in the basket previously joked about. Not sure why people insist that she is really arrogant and prideful, because I don’t get the same impression of her. Determined, sure, but her stubbornness is often a mask she keeps on. Overall, when she has the wits about her and the world isn’t crashing down, she is quite sensible.

“It had been five years, in truth; five cruel years, for Lysa. They had taken their toll. Her sister was two years the younger, yet she looked older now. Shorter than Catelyn, Lysa had grown thick of body, pale and puffy of face. She had the blue eyes of the Tullys, but hers were pale and watery, never still. Her small mouth had turned petulant. As Catelyn held her, she remembered the slender, high-breasted girl who'd waited beside her that day in the sept at Riverrun. How lovely and full of hope she had been. All that remained of her sister's beauty was the great fall of thick auburn hair that cascaded to her waist.”

Wow damn okay Catelyn, way to be kind to your sister. Like Sansa I’m guessing she’s been fed her share of the internalized misogyny. It’s sad to see. Not that Lysa Arryn is particularly likeable (she isn’t) but it’s worth saying that her weight or appearance is not as urgent as the rest.

In regards to little Robert, What do we reckon the “shaking sickness” is supposed to be? I honestly don’t know much about children’s diseases beyond those itchy red marks you got as a kid.

We are shown how Lysa keeps coddling Robert and it’s also quite sad. Now he may also have a condition that does indeed make him more dependent on others, but it seems like he’s suffering from being kept in a state of toddlerhood that really cannot go on forever. I can see why Lysa might do this, but I also see what Catelyn means when she reminds her sister of the dangerous times ahead. If only Lysa knew how her own story would end…I do hope Sansa protects Robert from Littlefinger. It would be pretty upsetting if he was murdered for the sake of the game.

It’s cool to be introduced to a new part of Westeros so I did enjoy the descriptions of the Vale quite a fair bit. Still having a hard time piecing together the layout and how the mountains look, but it’s mountainy for sure.

[unhingedkinfessions]

(TQ USER IM NOT YELLING I JUST TYPE LIKR THIS I FORGOR I HAVE TO PUT A DISCLAIMER EVER TIME OR WHATEVER) HAI !! FIRST TIME SENDING AN ASK HERE LMAO. SO I TELL EVERYONE ABOUT THIS KINNIE DISCORD SERVER DRAMA I HAD SO I MIGHT AS WELL SUBMIT IT HERE.

SO IM A VRISKA SERKET KINNIE, UNFORTUNATELY. BUT BACK IN 2022, I BELIEVED I WAS DIRK STRIDER, DUE TO SHITTY IDENTITY ISSUES AND PROBABLY OTHER THINGS. I HAD RECENTLY GOTTEN MY KINNIE BOYFRIEND (NOW EX) INTO HOMESTUCK, AT THE TIME. WE’LL CALL HIM SODA. SO SODA HAD MET THIS GIRL ON TIKTOK, GOING BY THE NAME TRANSFEM TEREZI. SHE HAD A BUNCH OF FOLLOWERS AND WAS GENERALLY WELL KNOWN ON HOMESTUCK TIKTOK. SO THEY BECAME BESTIES, AND I THOUGHT SHE WAS NEAT SO I STARTED TALKING TO HER ON DISCORD. WE BECAME BESTIES AS WELL !!

SO WE ALL KINNED FROM HOMESTUCK, THEREFORE WE DECIDED TO MAKE A HOMESTUCK KINNIE SERVER. AFTER A FEW DAYS IT WAS DONE, AND TEREZI INVITED ALL OF HER FOLLOWERS. ALL OF US BEING DUMB AND HAVING NO MODERATION EXPERIENCE, WE MODDED RANDOM PEOPLE, WHICH WILL BE IMPORTANT L8TER.

THE SERVER WAS PRETTY ACTIVE AND EVERYONE WAS HAVING FUN. FOR LIKE 5 DAYS. ONE DAY, I WAS AT THE BEACH WITH MY FAMILY AND MY PHONE WAS IN THE CAR. ONCE WE WERE DONE, I CAME BACK TO CHECK IT. AND THERE IT WAS, 100+ NOTIFS. I WAS CONFUSED AND WENT ON DISCORD, ONLY TO SEE THE HORRORS:

TONS OF DMS FROM 6 DIFFERENT PEOPLE, 3 DIFFERENT NEW GROUP CHATS, 5 PEOPLE ASKING ME WHAT HAPPENED, AND SOME PEOPLE TELLING ME TO DIE. I WAS SO DAMN CONFUSED, SO I LOOKED TO SEE WHAT WAS GOING ON AND ASKED ABOUT IT.

APPARENTLY, A GUY NAMED BEEF NUTS JOINED THE SERVER AND STARTED SPAMMING SLURS AND SCAT JOKES, AMONG OTHER THINGS. REASONABLY, ONE OF THE MODS BANNED HIM. THIS TURNED OUT TO BE A HORRIBLE IDEA, AS ONCE HE WAS BANNED, THE OTHER MODS AND SOME MEMBERS GOT PISSED AND STARTED SPAMMING “JUSTICE FOR BEEF NUTS,” WHICH HAD CAUSED TEREZI TO JUST GET STRESSED AND FUCKING LEAVE THE SERVER WHILE IT ALL WENT DOWN??

SOON ENOUGH, THE SERVER WAS IN SHAMBLES. EVERYONE WAS CONFUSED AND THE OWNER HAD LEFT, PLUS CHANNELS WERE CLOGGED. EVENTUALLY, WE DID DAMAGE CONTROL, AND FIXED IT UP.

AFTER THAT, EVERYONE WAS FUCKIN PISSED AT TEREZI. WE DUG UP A BUNCH OF STUFF ABOUT HER AND JUST DECIDED TO H8 HER. WE CALLED HER ABLEIST AND RACIST AND TRANSPHOBIC, AND WENT TO HUNT HER DOWN AND HARASS HER, BECAUSE DUMB CHILDREN.

AFTER SHIT GOT REAAAL BAD, SHE DECIDED TO RESPOND TO THE ALLEGATIONS. HER RESPONSE WAS BASICALLY “IM A SYSTEM NOT A KINNIE NOW ACTUALLY. ONE OF MY ALTERS IS JUST AN ASSHOLE” AND EVERYONE BELIEVED HER I GUESS BECAUSE PPL STOPPED TALKING ABOUT IT.

MORE HAPPENED L8TER BUT IM SAVING THAT FOR ANOTHER ASK. REMEMBER ME AS VRISKA ANON. BAI :333

ok thats cool and all but all i asked is if you wanted fries with that not so happy meal. a bit weird that you're admitting to harassing some random maybe-system who got overwhelmed and prolly didnt deserve to get hated on like its such a funny story. from what youve said here in this drivethrough with the broken sign and cracked pavement it sounds like you guys were weird and in the wrong. "dumb children" 2022 was last year own up motherfucker

have a bit of shame and compassion in your heart girl we aint your friends. but what do i know im just a humble worker here at uhkfdonalds or some shit

[springagainafter]

New favorite final Lighthouse romance scene! Neve's is wonderful.

A minor thing I like is that Rook's in a different spot depending on the romance rather than all Rooks sitting on the couch/standing up staring at the fish.

I spent most of the first part of this scene going "Neve, the DOOR" but I like that she's so preoccupied that the door not shutting behind her just doesn't register.

(I have decided that Emmrich and Taash and Manfred are just. not in the building right then. It's a private conversation!)

Oh, Neve. :(

Awww.

All of the dialogue choices here are great!

Sad gets you "I wasn't sure I would. That place....I was so lost" from Rook and "Me too" from Neve. I am throwing rocks at Solas.

My headcanon is that they already said this to each other earlier like thirty seconds after he got out of the Fade.

Nonchalant is a LOVELY parallel to the honest option (which I picked) in the pre-Tearstone talk, which went like this:

Rook: I'm not going anywhere. Neve, I.... Neve: People say a lot of things. They don't always see it through. Rook: I will. Neve: It's not that they don't want to. Not always-- Rook: I'll always try.

So nonchalant here results in:

Rook: Did you think I wouldn't come back for you? I'll always--I'll always try. Neve: I know.

So that was hard to pass up.

But in the end I had to go for the funny option (and then funny options for the rest of the scene) because it suited my Rook best.

So Daylen made a valiant attempt at matching Neve's look-what-I-know banter.

(There's an earlier flirt option with an "I'll always stick" paraphrase - in response to Neve going "somehow you stick around despite chasing Aelia and two gods" and the similarity makes me happy).

He sure is trying!

I do love how Rook is always just. not doing great during this particular scene (with my Warden gal she did a pretty good brave face during the first half and then was a little more upset during the second part; ended up being the opposite here).

Neve's response to the sad option is the saddest little "Me too;" with the nonchalant option she sobs a little after Rook's already up and moving.

And with this option she immediately sobs.

Which of course made Rook panic because OH NO he's made it worse and he immediately got up and went over to her.

Aw, chin lift.

Rook: Uh, wait. I'm sorry. I was hoping that was a good thing...

So anxious! (Also misreading Neve's response as "upset" rather than "generally overwhelmed and happy that she's got her guy back and that he's flirting with her.")

Neve: :)

Awwww. (The other two options result in "Kiss me so I know it's real" and no Trouble nickname.)

Awww, happy Neve.

This escalated pretty quickly into Neve walking him over to the couch and then pouncing on him (cue me sitting there going "NEVE, THE DOOR" as Rook's all :) about this) and then FINALLY shutting the door by throwing ice magic at it, which was pretty neat.

It is a shame that the final half of this scene while they're talking on the couch gets completely missed in a blighted Neve romance.

Neve: I could stay here longer than I should.

Classic Neve Gallus and her mind racing constantly and her being bad at relaxing; Daylen was extremely amused.

Rook: Who says you have to go?

Attaboy. (If it had been like. something urgent, he would have agreed with her but as it is, it's time to relax).

Neve: You know you're distracting. Rook: I do what I can.

:D

Neve: I thought you were gone.

:(

Neve: Minrathous is more lost than usual. Me too, if I'm honest. There's always something slipping through my fingers. Neve: All I know is, if I don't say I love you this time, I'll regret it.

Awww. Bet she's been thinking about that for weeks.

The nonchalant option here is really sweet (Rook: "I can know without you saying...."/Neve: "I know. But I want to"). Honest is just "I love you too."

The funny option has parallels! Whee!

Rook: You do?

I'm choosing to interpret this as "Rook is surprised that she actually said it out loud instead of expressing it some other way" and not "Rook is surprised that she loves him" because if it's meant to be the latter than Rook. uh. has not been picking up on a lot.

Neve: What? Rook: Nothing. You just...you surprise me, Neve Gallus. Neve: Good. Rook: And I love you. too. Neve: :)

(The "nothing" + surprise line is a parallel to a line in the wisp hunt scene!

Neve: Life's full of surprises. Rook: Can't argue with that. Neve: Good. You've got a habit of creating them. Rook: *beams at her* Neve, amused: What? Rook: Nothing. I just like surprising you.

Eeee. And he's referred to her as "Neve Gallus" affectionately a couple of times before too.)

Neve: Look, I still can't bet on "after." Not for sure. But I won't live like we're not getting one.

YESSSSSSSS THERE WE GO.

What a nice change from the pre-Tearstone talk with "I can't think about 'after' and you" and refusing to discuss the future.

There are a couple of options here and fortunately one of them continues the "Rook is an optimist" bit that's sort of run through the entire relationship.

Rook: I'll place the bet every time. Rook: I came back from the dead.

*snorts* That sure is a way to avoid actually bringing up the Fade prison while also expressing "if I survived that, I'll survive other things."

Neve, amused: You weren't dead.

XD

Rook went :) at that and then got serious again.

Rook: I'll always come back for you.

THAT'S MY BOY

Neve: You know optimism can rub off on a person. Rook: Oh? Neve: You're a bad influence. Rook: I try.

XD Rook has heard "You're a bad influence" from her before during the talk after catching Aelia.

Rook: Good things happen. You sure you can handle that? (Which is also a callback to Rook's "Good things happen, Neve" in the wisp hunt scene). Neve: I'll live. Rook: Really? That’s it? Neve: How about “I’ll enjoy it while it lasts”? Rook: Coming from you? That’s actual optimism. Neve: You’re a bad influence.

And then Neve stuck around anyway despite what she said earlier, aww.

[unma]

@notwowee requested: Mettaton

There is so much to say about this robot but let me start off with my initial thoughts on him.

For like, a good good while I wasn't sure what Mettaton's gender was? In all fairness I was raised in a hella conservative country and Undertale was the first piece of media I'd ever interacted with that even depicted queer people, so for a bit I assumed the pink meant he was probably female. That wasn't helped when I discovered that Mettaton was Blooky's cousin with the locked pink house.

Luckily for me he was discussed enough that I eventually realized my mistake before I ever had to admit it. That would have been emabrassing.

Anyway I absolutely adored this robot and his style, his quizzes were cool and he had the most charming attitude that made me smile whenever he was there (not to mention the quizzes were funny, too). Don't get me started on the musical. Or when he hits you with the puzzle you've almost certainly forgotten the rules for. Hotland is very well done, even if some people dislike having to deal with Alphys's messages there (personally I thought those were neat).

Despite all this I have to admit that I initially thought he was a lot more shallow than expected. I didn't realize he was the type of person to actually care about his love ones, and I probably would've believed anyone who told me he treated Alphys like shit (okay maybe I'd have been a little skeptical, but you get the point).

Nowadays, I'm honestly pretty fond of his relationship with Alphys, as he's probably the one person she relied on the most during her various fuck ups. Also, his... his worries about Alphys in the ending where he becomes king... ah, that still makes me tear up a little. You can tell he cares and regrets not being a better friend to her.

This is only partly related but I dislike Papyton. For no reason, really, I just don't like it, and I disliked having to see it so often (until I learnt filters existed, anyway). I couldn't tell you why; the ship's perfectly fine. Yet if I see a fic with it I click out. Oh well, maybe I'll get over it one day.

I could totally see a world in which I become as attached to Mettaton as I am to Cagliostro from GBF. I'm not trans by any stretch (perhaps I'm non-binary, given I don't actually care much about my own gender in the slightest, but for now I'll stick with cis+ until I actually feel like I should consider it more) but I do have admiration for characters like them who strive to be their best selves in terms of appearance and are absolutely confident in it. I suppose if I was born a girl, I'd be more attached to Mettaton than Cagliostro, but eh. Who knows.

Mettaton's importance (or rather, lack of) in the genocide run is saddening, though I have come to terms with it because in terms of the game's writing it's a pretty damn good decision. I do love that he got fangames giving him an actual battle though, it's lovely to see him actually get that chance to fight back.

I feel the need to restate once more that I adore his relationship with Alphys, and seeing works explore that relationship is always great. I think Mettaton is one of the least fan-explored of the game's main cast, so it'd be wonderful to see more works. It's a shame I'm too busy thinking about Sans, Frisk and Chara to do that myself, though.

One more thing: Until I wrote this post, I always wondered why Mettaton didn't just fight the human in his indestructible body instead, especially in the genocide route. I mean, it's obviously because his other forms are the ones actually designed for human eradication, of course, but I also like to think it's because he likes those forms a lot more than his box form, as he sees them as a proper expression of who he truly is. I just think that's neat. Sure, he's indestructible when stuck in the closet, hiding who he truly is, but it's restricting, and wouldn't you prefer to simply be you? Even if it could mean you could get hurt? I think that question is somewhat inseparable from Mettaton's character as a whole, as his overly confident and theatrical personality could perhaps be one answer to that. It's fine if you get hurt a little, because in the end you'll be much happier for it.

[sayakxmi]

[Magi reread] Night 78: Magicians

I'll just. Leave it without a comment. You know what I think about it.

Their faces do het me tho.

This is so cute, tho. Morgiana encouraging Aladdin. She's not sure what she's doing, but she's doing her best.

Aww, the trio <3 (I'm ignoring Pisti). I have a soft spot for all three of them getting together one day.

L O R E

Mhmmmm, and then they randomly attack a country, like bringing an entire army because.... reasons. I'll forever judge the anime for that one.

Y'know, I feel like it's kinda blink and you'll miss it, but Aladdin's reaction does suggest that he knows something.

I love that Alibaba's understandably emotional about it, but also can reign himself.

Man, Sinbad's really been looking rather compassionate in this arc. Love to see it.

Idk. Loving it.

Aibaba looks so disappointed in himself, when Sinbad tells him he's still too weak to help.

Which is an interesting contrast with Aladdin, who once again keeps the cool head.

Idk, reminded me a little about the Dungeon time, where Alibaba wanted to rush further into the Dungeon, while Aladdin stayed calm.

Dunno, makes me think a little, how Alibaba seems to be more driven by emotion, while Aladdin by logic.

She does look pretty, gotta admit

Aladdin no

Well-deserved. Shame he learns very little from it.

Also, I thiiink in the anime Alibaba actually gets Aladdin away? Not sure tho.

Alibaba, stop letting him do whatever he pleaes.

GOOD

Ohtaka, I fucking beg you

Oh, so NOW you're being respectful...

This does look neat

I do think it's pretty cool

Omggg, look at Alibaba... He's so happy Aladdin's happy....

!!!

Alibaba's so happy for him I just can't.