#I really thought this was going to be a quick recap but then I started taking fictional kids' show battle tactics too seriously

[cave-monkey]

Monkey King 2009 Episode 10

A lot happened, but not a lot happened, you know? Sort of nice compared to the absolutely packed episodes we've been having recently.

No idea how these kids were surfing a log the wrong way up a river and still somehow unable to stop before crashing into the waterfall (did notice Stone Monkey infusing the log with his energy though, it looked like? Pretty cool), but unlike the LAST time we got faked out when Stone Monkey careened toward certain waterfall death, this time we actually found Water Curtain Cave!

I actually really liked how they did it. At first it was kinda, you know, literally just a big cave with a tiny little bridge and I figured Water Curtain Cave was just going to be like that in this series. A bit of a letdown, but hey, a good homemaking subplot in the works, I guess.

BUT NO

They really went hard with making Water Curtain Cave a paradise-within-a-paradise in this one. It's gorgeous. I especially love the swirling carvings on the second hidden entrance, and the way everything is just slightly overgrown. Stone Monkey's blink-and-you-miss-it moment of not really recognizing what the hell the stone bowl was, also pretty fun.

Love this area so much. I love the large, dark cave that leads to this bright, magical door that opens to this absolutely gorgeous hidden grove. It's a 2009 animation series, but they did such a good job. I think it's one of my favorite iterations of Water Curtain Cave.

Also Ginseng Fruit is now calling Stone Monkey "Ge". Relationship development!

Old Monkey King taking this particular assault from the Demon King's army so seriously startled me a bit! He's never been this take charge. I kind of wonder what changed, but I'm personally taking it as a serious loss of faith in the four generals until proven otherwise. He's been mostly hands-off with them, and last episode that led to one of the kids - and it being Stone Monkey in particular - straight up fleeing the troop. Makes sense to me if he's shortened the leash. The defenses were definitely much tighter than they usually are, making me think Old Monkey King was there making sure his plans were meticulously executed, but at the same time the monkeys were way less flexible and aggressive than they've been in the past, and it ended up biting them. Part of that has to be because of plot demands, of course (they needed the monkeys to fail this time so that Stone Monkey had a reason to come running back) but I really like to Watsonian in-universe reasons as much as possible, so speculation is going to happen!

One possibility is that Old Monkey King being directly involved actually backfired because no one wanted to deviate even a little from the strategy - it's the Monkey King's strategy! - leading to the panic and collapse as soon as things went even a little wrong. They over-relied on his defenses and didn't take advantage of the openings presented to properly break down the opposing force when they had opportunities. They had the Demon King's forces separated, confused, and discouraged in record time in this episode, and then...allowed them to re-group. This was ultimately their downfall.

In previous encounters the monkeys still used traps to weaken enemy lines and force them to expend resources, but didn't rely on them so much. These traps also weren't really ever enough to properly disrupt enemy forward progress. The monkeys were much better about taking advantage of ambush opportunities and did not pass up opportunities to pursue. This did a very good job of keeping the enemy forces scattered and focused on flight instead of on counter-attacking or re-establishing communications with each other. This often led to total routes. Once the monkeys managed to break apart the Demon King's forces, they stayed broken. The main problem was getting those opportunities since their traps weren't ever really good enough to make them. They had to rely on luck, and then hope they were able to move their forces fast enough to take advantage of a bad placement or over-extension. This while also playing keep-away with their own forces - keeping them close enough to maneuver while not close enough to be caught outside those ideal circumstances since the four generals strongly suspected a straight fight would not go in their favor (they go over the difference in weapons technology a couple episodes ago, and I think they're right)). It generally worked out okay up until this point, but it was also pretty sloppy and had a high possibility of failure. Too much relied on chance.

Ideally, this episode would have had the best of both worlds. Their defenses were tight. The Demon King's weakness as a field commander is he always defaults to a straight frontal charge and is very slow to change his tactics. They took very good advantage of that and had his army essentially dusted almost as soon as they arrived. They've never had a better opportunity to divide and conquer, as discussed above. The issue was follow-through. As I said, they allowed them to re-group. I'm...really not sure who's at fault for this, honestly. We'd need to have seen the meetings prior to this confrontation. Either Old Monkey King's own orders limited his commanders to the point they weren't able to take advantage of that break (as in, he ordered them not to or otherwise refused to allow them the command authority to make those decisions without his input) or the commanders failed on their own accord to take initiative, either from misplaced confidence in Old Monkey King's presence on the field, a lack of confidence in their own authority with Old Monkey King being right there, or some weird cowardice (to be fair, I'm not thinking it was the latter, though the badly timed retreat order wasn't looking good).

The fact the defense fell apart the second things went a little wrong was not...good. Like at all. Every leader on the field at the time was to blame for that, honestly. The line should not have broken the second the Demon King got the ball for the first time. That retreat order was premature and might have cost more lives than it saved, considering the organization of an attempted rally might have given them the opportunity for a more organized and better defended withdrawal at the very least. The went from zero casualties to hoards of wounded limping with little guidance in random directions in a very short amount of time. Old Monkey King was right to sigh when the order was given to retreat the second things went a little sideways, but he was wrong to have frozen up himself the second he realized his enemy had an actual brain. He was doing a lot of watching and judging this battle, not a lot of taking charge. If his commanders weren't doing it, it was his responsibility to step up.

(Though not countering his Marshal's retreat orders might have been a good decision to keep from confusing his own forces in a very dangerous situation, it's still worth noting that retreating in this instance means his people are left wandering scattered and wounded with no safe place to retreat to. This isn't their first line of defense, it's their first and last. Attempting to rally the monkeys into a counterattack might have been worth it, if only to force some breathing room.)

(All of this to say that I'm not too impressed with the Old Monkey King's performance as a military leader here, either. This was a major example of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory. Sitting in contemplative judgement is all well and good, but sometimes you gotta take charge. This defeat that should not have happened was on him as much as it was the four generals. More, actually. He's got ultimate responsibility.)

(...Figuring out how this might have happened in-universe is pretty fun, actually.)

OKAY DONE. It's safe to come back out now!

Okay, so Jade Rabbit running to Stone Monkey about the Demon King's attack and Stone Monkey's answer being (paraphrased, obviously) "I don't know why! I just...I know I have to go! I need to go."

Immediate thought from me: An unexplainable but driving urge, huh? Is Six Ears about to be captured or almost killed again?

Answer: Yes.

Good to see that whole thing still going strong lol.

(Yes, this was meant to showcase Stone Monkey's remaining attachment and loyalty to the people who took him in, who he owes at least a little, showcasing his better nature and strong morals even toward those who didn't treat him entirely right. Him having a spidey sense but only for Six Ears's impending peril is way funnier though.)

Not gonna lie though, the show does a good job making me feel actual dread sometimes. Six Ears being trapped at the bottom of the pit while the demons one-by-one slowly gathered around the lip, all armed and laughing, with Six Ears helpless at the bottom? All I could think was how badly they could hurt him with Six Ears unable to do anything about it, and it gave me some chills.

The second time was the Demon King ordering them to cut off a set of his ears. Like.

Jesus.

And Six Ears sitting there with his eyes squeezed shut, terrified but trying to pretend he's not because he can't stop them? Surrounded by people who think his pain will be funny, who call him by dehumanizing (you know what I mean) insults instead of by name, about to lose parts of himself, and there's nothing he can do except try not to show them that he's afraid?

Christ.

Stone Monkey's swooping in to stop them with a goofy face was actually really good. Like. I just talked about this, what, two episodes ago, about how it must seem to Six Ears when he's in these situations and Stone Monkey comes in like it's nothing? It felt so jarring to have him sticking his tongue out and mocking them when Six Ears was inches away from having parts of his body cut off. I almost felt a little irritated with him for it, but of course Stone Monkey cares. We couldn't see his face when it was covered by a mask and the camera wasn't focused on him for once, but we know how seriously he takes these kinds of things. We know how quickly he flips from furious to pretending to be careless and unconcerned the second his enemies can see him. We watched it happen real-time in Episode 8, and they're just not showing the lead-up this time. It's pretty cool visual storytelling. Giving you a piece of the puzzle and then taking it away again, leaving you to simultaneously have to remember it on your own and showing you what the picture looks like without it. This is the part of the rescue Six Ears gets to see, and how it must feel to him...pretty interesting.

Now kidnap him back to Water Curtain Cave, Stone Monkey. Get that boy safe behind your magic waterfall. He needs it.

(Stone Monkey seeing a whole hoard of wounded monkeys and jumping straight to "WHERE'S SIX EARS" also caught my attention lol. Nothing to really say about it, but I sure noticed it. Also him hearing they don't know where to go and not immediately offering up Water Curtain Cave.)

(We know he's going offer up Water Curtain Cave, but I mean. I liked that he wasn't immediately on board with letting these guys into his home right off the bat. He's got limits.)

That's about all I got. Good episode! Six Ears with a fire arrow, absolutely awesome. Also liked seeing him using his ears for...maybe the first real time since Episode 1? Right before he almost loses them? LOVELY.

#mhw09 personal #torture tw #doesn't actually happen to any characters but it's threatened and I go over it a bit #I really thought this was going to be a quick recap but then I started taking fictional kids' show battle tactics too seriously #Also also. Old White Deer. I do not like this budding obsession that seems to be happening there. #He was creepy enough last episode we don't need MORE creepy #stop luring kids into your home to drug them! how about that! #and then being mad when they set it on fire! you have to admit you had that one coming!

[bellabrady]

Why many people dislike Tommy Kinard

Listen, I don't like to try and dictate what characters others can like. However, I do find it concerning how quick so many people are to forgive a bigot who didn't even get a proper redemption. So, especially for those who simply don't really remember Tommy, here's a quick recap of him:

Let's start with Chimney Begins. Tommy is one of the firefighters at the 118 when Chimney becomes part of the team. The first thing Tommy says when Chim arrives is 'Hey Eli, did you forget to tip the delivery guy?' On its own, this isn't really bad, because it could very much just be a harmless joke. But in combination with Tommy's behavior throughout the rest of the episode, one could argue the comment has racist undertones. But this one's up to interpretation so let's move on.

Although not explicitly stated, it's very obvious the 118 captain is racist which is reflected in the way he treats him: he only lets him do annoying chores, is a jerk towards him, actively isolates him, and so on.

The rest of the team, including Tommy, does nothing to try and change this. In fact, they actively take part in isolating him too, for example by letting him sit by himself at a tiny table instead of the group table while they eat. Even when Chimney attempts to talk to them, everyone but Eli (the paramedic who ends up training Chim) blatantly ignores him.

One time, Chim and Tommy are alone in the locker room and Chim says: "Hey man, let's build a bridge here." Tommy doesn't even react. Chim keeps making suggestions of things they could talk about, like movies or sports, to which Tommy still doesn't react except by rolling his eyes. Chim then asks: "You just really don't like me much, do you?" and Tommy responds: "If I thought about you at all, honestly, I probably wouldn't."

Mind you, he doesn't even know Chimney and yet he's pretty sure he wouldn't like him. What exactly is he basing that on? Race, perhaps? (Tommy is very close to some other guys on the team by the way.)

Eli tells Chim that the treatment isn't personal and that the reason everyone is so distant is because in this job, friends die and that the team isn't just gonna give Chim their friendship until they earn his respect. "You don't name a puppy until you know it's gonna pull through."

In my opinion this is absolute bullshit though. You cannot tell me every single probie at the 118 has been treated this way for weeks (maybe months? I don't remember exactly). Also, keeping someone at a distance doesn't mean you have to treat them like literal dirt. It's also worth mentioning that once the captain, Tommy and his best friend leave the 118, no probie seems to ever be treated this way again. So if it's about the nature of the job, why wasn't it like this for everyone? So, despite what Eli said, I think Chim's treatment was definitely caused by racism.

Eventually, Chimney is finally allowed out on calls and risks his life to save Tommy's, which basically makes Tommy go: "Oh hey! Maybe I could treat this guy like a human being?" He thanks him for saving his life and from this point on they're friends. I don't know about you guys, but personally I think someone who doesn't see it fit to treat you like a person until you save their life doesn't seem like a very great guy.

Let's move on to Hen Begins. The 118 is still under the same captain, who is also a misogynist. Unlike the racism, this isn't only implied but confirmed.

I've seen people argue that Tommy can't be blamed for not standing up to his captain because that's his boss. And yet, when the captain says "This is our new diversity hire" about Hen, Chimney says, "You know, Cap, there's another way to say that," which immediately proves that Tommy could stand up to him as well, and simply doesn't have the guts.

They treat Hen similarly to the way they treated Chim. Tommy, along with everyone else but Chim, for example throws some gear on the ground before Hen's feet so she takes care of it, not saying so much as a single word to her in the process.

Chim tries to make conversation with Hen and says "I would've bet money that you were from the east coast, you just kinda have that vibe." Hen laughs and says "Thank you for the compliment?" to which Tommy replies: "New York bitchiness is a compliment?"

He doesn't even know Hen and she's done nothing that could be seen as 'bitchy.' Just some good ol' fashioned misogyny. Chim also recognizes that comment for what it is immediately because he goes "woah, woah, nobody said anything like that, come on." Tommy only huffs in annoyance as a response.

The captain then goes on a rant about how training female firefighters is a waste of money and Chim once again stands up for Hen, unlike everybody else, including Tommy, who just lets the misogyny stand.

It isn't until Hen rescues someone on a call that Tommy and his friend admit they wouldn't have found in time, that they finally treat her like a person. You'd think they'd have learned from Chimney that maybe people shouldn't need to prove themselves to you in order for you to treat them like a human being, but apparently not.

Ultimately, the team submits complaints against the captain and supports Hen but if you ask me, this should've happened a lot sooner and not only after they deemed her worthy.

And that's pretty much all we see of Tommy, except for some short scenes in Bobby Begins Again in which he just interacts with his team until he leaves for a different station at the end of the episode. There's no redemption, no proper apology and, if you ask me, considering the fact that he treated Hen the same as Chim, there's also no development.

And yet there are people who will defend this man with their lives as if 90% of his screentime wasn't him being a bigot or at best a coward without the guts to stand up to his bigoted captain.

So yes, personally I think liking Tommy Kinard is weird.

#anti tommy kinard #evan buckley #911 fox #buddie #9-1-1 #abc #henrietta wilson #howard howie chimney han #bobby nash

[pavaal]

Persona 4: Kiri no Amnesia (Summary)

I said I would do it, so here it is! I bought the Persona 4 spinoff light novel a couple of days ago, ran through it, and decided to write a summary since I don't feel confident enough to translate the whole thing page by page. For those who don't know, Kiri no Amnesia is a light novel set shortly after Yukiko's dungeon, covering an accidental trip into the TV World with just Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko. It was written in order to expand on the Shadows of the first two victims, Mayumi Yamano and Saki Konishi. It's not not canon, considering how it resolves in the end, but at worst I think it's some good insight for people who wanted to see more of Saki, like me.

There are no major spoilers for people who have played at least the first couple hours of Persona 4.

With that in mind...

The first part of the book is pretty slow and uninteresting. It basically functions as a recap of things up to this point, with the main trio (for this book: Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko) doing some training after school without Yu. This was before any supplementary material named him, so he's just referred to as "the transfer student" or "leader" in the narrative, and he's also absent for pretty much the entire novel due to certain developments.

Yosuke angsts about Saki a bit, but he tries to keep it to himself and puts on a bright smile so as to not worry the others. I found this part, and other parts like it pretty sweet, because Chie is really attentive to him when he gets in these moods. Being novelized means that a lot of the wacky anime hijinks are toned down, and so there's a surprising amount of very sincere bonding between the trio that we don't get to see in other P4 media.

When they leave for the day, Yukiko and Chie are the first to go, while Yosuke hangs back. Reflecting on a discussion about how they need to use the same TV to enter the same place, Yosuke gets lost in thought about how Saki must have been lost and afraid when she was thrown in. He's shaken out of his reverie by the sound of someone crying from one of the other TVs, but although he's curious about it, he stops himself before doing anything stupid.

The next day, the group meets up again to train, but Yu is late and sends a text saying to wait up. Then there's some filler about them hanging out, eating, bonding, etc, but Yu texts again saying he's later than he thought and to go on without him. Initially, they don't want to, but they do go over to the TVs where Yosuke once again hears the weird voice—which he doesn't mention to Chie or Yukiko, but he's distracted enough that they comment on it. He then asks them to cover him while he just checks inside, but of course he can't see anything without the glasses. He starts to get back out of the TV, but of course at that very moment, a wayward child shoves him in and Yukiko and Chie naturally follow.

They end up in what we will term Magatsu-Inaba, but to them it's just Inaba inside the TV. Shadow Inaba? Whatever. Everyone gets mad at Yosuke for being stupid, he apologizes, but he figures that they can just walk back to the entrance since they all know how to navigate Inaba. (Teddie can't reach them through the fog.) The problem is that they quickly discover the landscape is covered in black holes, blocking the easiest path back. They decide to take a detour to a nearby park, which Yosuke says he didn't know about, but there's someone already there when they arrive. Sitting on the swings alone is... Saki Konishi. (!!!!)

Yosuke understandably freaks out, and his first reaction is a mixture of shock and anger, since his initial assumption is that this is the Shadow that killed Saki. However, when he confronts her, she doesn't know anything, and I mean anything. She doesn't know who or what she is, and she doesn't even know what Shadows are. Yosuke has trouble being angry with her after that, and the trio has a quick meeting to acknowledge that she probably is a Shadow, and Saki's Shadow for that matter, but things are different because she doesn't seem malicious. Up to now, the human-like Shadows they've encountered have known TOO well what they are, but this girl doesn't know anything.

Putting two and two together, they come to the conclusion that there are holes in the landscape because "Saki" doesn't remember anything, and if they can get her to remember, then they'll probably be able to get back. This means traveling with her, which everyone makes their peace with. (Yosuke in particular says that he can't ignore someone who looks like Saki, despite everything.)The first roadblock they run into is that Yosuke can't call her Saki because she may nevertheless be the Shadow that killed her. Considering her condition, they decide to call her Amnesia.

They do some traveling, a Shadow shows up but it's way too strong and they bolt. When they find a place to rest, they sit for a little while and try to jog Amnesia's memory. Yosuke is clearly struggling with Amnesia's existence when she looks so much like Saki, so Chie intervenes and they have a little back and forth where Yosuke says something mildly funny and Yukiko explodes in laughter. Yosuke apologizes to Amnesia for Yukiko interrupting their important conversation, but she wistfully says it's okay, and she's jealous of people who can laugh. Yosuke is conflicted: he wants to help "Saki," but this is likely "Saki's Shadow."

He muses on his friendship with Chie and Yukiko for a little while, quietly grateful for them because they were the first people to welcome him and make him feel actually wanted in Inaba, and then Yukiko finally calms down. They decide to take a snack break with some supplies they had from the real world, so the trio+Amnesia split Yosuke's several Dr. Salt NEOs. After some discussion about how weird the flavor is, Amnesia mentions... she can't taste it! The trio calls an emergency secret meeting about how weird it is that someone can't taste Dr. Salt NEO, so Amnesia is absolutely a Shadow, but they can't do anything about it right now.

Incidentally, when Yosuke opens his, he accidentally sprays it all over Chie and Yukiko. Although they try to use their Personas to clean up, this will be important later.

Some other stuff happens, and Yosuke muses on the differences between Amnesia and Saki. Amnesia is much more self-deprecating and pessimistic than Saki he knows, and Yosuke knows from Saki's brother that she was a "good sister," so Amnesia just seems particularly sad. He tells her that she might not be the Shadow that killed Saki after all...

Amnesia's eyes suddenly glow bright yellow, and she starts muttering "I... killed... I killed... I..." over and over to herself. Although the trio prepares for a fight, Amnesia suddenly snaps out of it and seems to have forgotten what even happened. Weird!

They try to keep moving forward after that, but Chie and Yukiko complain about being sticky and they decide to reroute to Amagi Inn, since they're not making any progress with Amnesia anyway. Chie and Yukiko are excited, Yosuke cannot believe they're actually going to go to the hot springs in the TV World, and Amnesia is just trying not to be a nuisance.

The girls all take a bath while Yosuke stands guard, and shockingly, there's nothing particularly perverted about this scene. Amnesia and Yosuke have a little moment where, after Yosuke insists that Amnesia take a bath too so she can relax and try to recall something, she calls him kind and he gets flustered. After she, too, joins Chie and Yukiko, Yosuke worries that he's starting to see Amnesia and Saki as one in the same. He wonders what the difference is between a human and a Shadow with no malice, but he decides that's not a question he can answer.

In the meantime, Chie has a moment where it says she's gazing at Amnesia "with the gleam of an old man in her eyes" and comments to Yukiko how pretty Saki/Amnesia is, so she understands why Yosuke was in love with her. She fills Yukiko in on Yosuke's crush on Saki and really brings the mood down, but it's a nice moment where they acknowledge that Yosuke is really in pain and he's working harder than any of them to solve the case. Chie also raises the hopeful possibility that Amnesia is the real Saki, and the body they found was her Shadow.

After a bit, they move on to lighthearted girl talk and Yosuke tries not to pop a boner outside from listening to them (Yukiko asks Chie to "open her body") while waiting for them to finish.

Amnesia leaves first, and in a thoughtful mood, Yosuke asks what Amnesia would do if she could leave the TV World. She says she wouldn't leave. Although she doesn't remember anything, she feels like being here is a punishment she must serve for a sin she doesn't recall. Yosuke says she's strong for carrying that burden, but she says it's the opposite—she feels like she's probably running away from something.

Yosuke is about to hit her with the ultra smooth line of "if you have to run, run to me," but then he's suddenly interrupted by a Teddie Transmission warning them of a huge Shadow in the area. Yosuke panics because Chie and Yukiko are still in the bath and Amnesia can't fight, but he says he'll buy time while Chie and Yukiko get informed and dressed.

The Shadow speaks to him from a black hole that has appeared, and he notes that the voice is familiar, but he can't place it immediately. It asks him if Amnesia is important to him, and although he hesitates, he ultimately answers yes—to which the Shadow cheerfully promises that she'll kill Amnesia and drop her to the depths of hell.

Yosuke says he's not going to lose "her" again, and the Shadow gets angry, telling him that he's stupid for placing anyone else above himself. "You use whatever you can, you take whoever you can, even if that means you have to have an affair! Are you stupid?!" The Shadow is particularly hostile to the girls once they all rejoin, saying that she'll let Yosuke run away while she kills the others.

The Shadow is obviously super overpowered, and honestly there was a lot of fighting description here that I didn't care about so I skimmed it, but the critical part of this whole fight scene is that the Shadow is about to get a KO on Yosuke—but he suddenly hears Amnesia call "Hana-chan!" and feels a chain wrap around his arm to pull him out of the way in time. They manage to escape with some effort, but in the process, the Shadow destroys the Amagi Inn, to which Yukiko vows revenge.

Yosuke later compliments Amnesia on her chain moves, and Amnesia suddenly hears a voice within her saying that she prayed to forget this power. Her mind goes blank, and she can no longer remember what they were talking about. She's shocked to hear that she apparently did something in that fight.

There's a little bit of a drag here where they boringly make it to Shadow Junes and boringly hang out, but suddenly Yukiko and Chie feel incredibly faint. Yosuke summons Jiraiya to Dia them, but it doesn't seem to have any affect. Amnesia gets the feeling that she can do something, and so she folds her hands and, unbeknownst to her, casts Posumudi... because the Shadow onsen poisoned them! Duh!!

But the same thing happens again where she forgets what she just did, which by now, is something very bizarre that none of them are sure how to handle. They're afraid to push it after her short-circuiting earlier, and the trio acknowledges that trying to force her to remember might result in her going crazy... you know, like a Shadow. Yosuke once again privately muses on the nature of a Shadow, thinking, “If she looks like Senpai, talks like Senpai, and acts like Senpai, who cares if she’s a Shadow? …is a crazy thing to think, isn’t it? But I…”

At this point, to him, "Saki" and "Amnesia" are the same person.

Anywho, a little more of this and the Shadow from before shows up with yet another hole, and this time they recognize it as Mayumi Yamano's Shadow, and realize the holes are from her and not a result of Amnesia's memory loss. She transforms into Iwanaga(-hime), and in what may be a series first, Yukiko actually recognizes the legend. She says that after she got Konohanasakuya, she did some research, and Iwanaga came up as part of the story. She gives them a quick rundown, which is that Iwanaga and Konohanasakuya were sisters who were offered to a man for marriage, but Iwanaga was rejected because of her appearance. Chie comments on how rude it is to judge people on appearances and glares at Yosuke, who gets defensive.

I once again skimmed over the battle stuff because it truly is boring to read, but if you really need to know, Iwanaga is made of stone. Her schtick is that she feels like she's the most important person in the world and she doesn't care who she has to hurt to get what she wants. She loathes Misuzu Hiiragi and feels as if she was unjustly punished, since she doesn't see what's so bad about falling in love with a married man. Although even her Shadow seems to have truly loved Namatame, she really hates women and constantly refers to the girls as dumb brats. She calls Yosuke "little boy."

Anyway, things are looking bad. Yosuke tries to reason with her, saying that although she/Mayumi Yamano is guilty, she doesn't have to live her life full of this resentment. This does not work, despite Yosuke's best efforts, and she really starts to beat the hell out of Yosuke. More things happen, everyone does some cool moves, so on and so forth. Yosuke knocks Amnesia out of the way of an attack, but in doing so, he falls into one of the holes. Although he manages to catch himself on the edge, he's slipping and there's too much space for anyone to come save him. I liked this part, so I directly translated it.

“So this is it, huh?” An image of his “partner” appeared in his mind—the boy who helped them all awaken the power of Persona. “Sorry… I guess I’ll have to leave the rest to you.” Yosuke’s eyes naturally fell to Amnesia, who was gazing at him in horror. He gave her a smile as if to say “don’t worry.” “Satonaka and Amagi will keep you safe. They’re good people, so you’ll be fine.” His smile conveyed all this without words. —“He’s going to disappear.” Amnesia heard a voice from within her. “Will you taste the same regret you did when you killed me?” It was her voice. It was the voice of Saki Konishi. Amnesia was the embodiment of Saki’s latent desires—a Shadow. Saki’s desires had been calm, so Amnesia was not full of the same anger that characterized so many other Shadows. But a Shadow was a Shadow. Destruction was their nature. When the fog clears, that destruction manifests. And on such a day, Amnesia had killed Saki. Unable to bear this sin, Amnesia had erased her own memories. Every Shadow has a unique power from its individual identity. And the power given to Amnesia, borne of Saki Konishi, was called “Oblivion.” Saki Konishi had wanted to run away from everything that was keeping her trapped, to forget all her pain.

So, obviously, Amnesia is able to call on her powers after this, and she uses her chains to save Yosuke from the hole. Now that she's "awake," she's able to help in the fight, and she tells Yosuke that she can erase memories. They come up with a plan to erase Iwanaga's memories so that they can defeat her and/or get away, whichever comes first, but Amnesia needs to be able to touch her. Everyone comes together for their epic battle, and once again, a part I liked.

Yosuke was full of confidence [as he prepared to face Iwanaga]. Saki’s voice observed this from within. “Hana-chan always had this unreliable air about him… but I guess boys grow up fast when you’re not looking.”

Although Amnesia manages to touch Iwanaga and unsettle her, her power isn't strong enough and she just sends Iwanaga into a mindless berserk state. Amnesia realizes that there's only one thing left to do, and although she didn't want to show anyone this form, she realizes there's no choice.

Her body is consumed by black flames, and once again, here's a little translation.

Her body grew twice as large, and a black lace shawl covered her face. She wore a long, jet-black dress with lace gloves up to her elbow: clothes that one would wear to mourn the dead. The skin that was visible between sections of black was as pale as snow, and the chains that had previously only extended from her arms wrapped around her body several times, as if binding herself. She had the appearance of a human, but she was not: she was a Shadow, and her golden eyes gleamed from beneath the lace shawl.

Seeing this, Yosuke is briefly pained by the undeniable realization that this is the Shadow that killed Saki, but if Saki had just known about Personas, if she had known to accept her true self, then she wouldn't have died.

With Amnesia's magnified power, they all manage to defeat Iwanaga, and with her death, the holes clear from the landscape and Teddie is finally able to properly contact them. Amnesia changes back to her "human" form, ashamed, but the trio is openly supportive and grateful to her for helping them. Knowing that they'll be headed home soon, everyone encourages Amnesia to come with them. Amnesia thinks that she shouldn't, but in Yosuke's mind "a Shadow that could become a Persona" is no different from a human.

She agrees to walk with them, at least, and as Yosuke glances back at her conflicted expression, he thinks, "I hope you can smile someday, even if it's not for me."

Moving on to the final chapter, everyone reunites with Teddie, and they come up with the great idea for Amnesia to stay with Teddie. That way, they'll be able to keep each other company, and Teddie will be able to teach Amnesia about being a Shadow-but-not so that she can understand herself better. Feeling optimistic, everyone happily says their goodbyes. Yosuke waves to her and grins, telling her "See you tomorrow, Senpai!" before going back to the other side.

In the TV World, Teddie and Amnesia discuss the less positive reality. Amnesia is going to disappear, since the person she came from is dead. It's possible for her to live a little longer if she doesn't use her powers, but ultimately, no matter what she does, she doesn't have long left. Amnesia says that it's not a problem... because she's going to use her oblivion powers to erase herself. She saw how heartbroken Yosuke was about Saki's death, and she doesn't want to do that to him again. So, she considers it the kindest thing she can do for the people who were so kind to her to quietly and secretly disappear. Teddie protests, of course, but as he's tearfully insisting for her to stay... he suddenly stops, and wonders what he was just talking to himself about. He feels sad for some reason, but maybe he's just lonely because Sensei and the others haven't visited yet?

He hopes they come back soon.

On the other side, Yosuke and the others are actually at the moment just before Yosuke falls in, and everything is fine. Yu contacts them telling them he's on his way, so they go to the roof. Yosuke realizes, however, that he feels strangely sad, and his chest hurts like he's lost something. Chie asks why he looks like he's about to cry, to which Yosuke actually does start to cry. Yu arrives at the same moment, and Yosuke hurriedly turns away so Yu can't see him shedding any tears.

Yu apologizes for being so late, and explains that he lost track of time helping a sick cat near his house. Yosuke, still sniffling, demands what's more important—them or a cat?! But when Yu turns thoughtful, Yosuke realizes that that's the type of person Yu is. He helps anyone, no matter who they are. He turns back to Yu and tells him that it's okay, because he wouldn't be Yosuke's partner if he didn't stop to help a cat, and then Chie and Yukiko make fun of him for having a runny nose.

Yosuke thinks to himself he's so glad that he has these people as his friends, but he can't help but feel he forgot something important as they leave. From the TV, he thinks he hears someone whisper "yes, you did, but please don't try to remember," but he writes it off as his imagination.

The End.

Despite this being a way longer summary than I set out to write, I did leave out a lot of small, non-plot-important details. If you love P4 and you can read Japanese, it's probably worth it! Yukiko and Chie are especially good in it and have lots of great friendship moments with each other and with Yosuke as well. I was really surprised by Yosuke and Yukiko's friendship, in fact, since I feel like the game and especially the spinoffs have kind of given the impression that Yukiko doesn't like him very much? But she respects his conviction here, and they're a great team. It was really cool to see how the three of them interact without Yu, and it gave a lot of insight into what their friendship might have looked like before he showed up.

Overall, I was really satisfied with this and I kind of regret that there weren't more novels like this. I thought Saki's Shadow was cool, and it was really interesting to see Mayumi manifest with such viciousness. Chie even comments that it's hard to feel bad for her!

Like I said, there is some other minor stuff I left out for ease of reading, so if you have any questions about stuff, feel free to ask!

#persona 4 #yosuke hanamura #yukiko amagi #chie satonaka #saki konishi #mayumi yamano #kiri no amnesia

[honeyhotteoks]

hi everyone ♡ a little about where i've been and why i'm not posting....

so... it's no secret that i fell off the face of the earth when it comes to writing, and for that i just want to apologize. i know a lot of you have been waiting for the next chapter of tnt, further aurora updates, or just looking forward to some smutty kinktober one-shots...... but to be completely honest i haven't written in a little while.

i've been trying to but i keep coming up short, and i've been avoiding this blog ever since because i just feel bad for not being able to give you guys the stories you're waiting for. for that reason, i essentially took a creative break and decided not to respond to any messages about writing. i know that kind of sucks, but i know myself and i didn't want to promise "soon" when i knew that wasn't true.

i'm starting slowly to work on things again, and i really hope i'll be able to share some of that work with you soon, but genuinely i just needed space from working on fic and to be honest..... from the fandom. i love being an atiny, but there was a swell of negativity on twitter for a while and i've been feeling a little uninspired with the past year of content and endless touring and it all combined into me putting things off.

i'm also................................ much more of a multi now.... which i really never thought would happen but here we are. i have no idea if i'll actually start writing for any of those groups, but if i do, i hope some of you also enjoy those groups and you stick with me. a little blurb about my new biases and the groups i'm now following, etc. is at the bottom of this post.

as far as what's going on with my ateez work? here's a quick recap:

this night together: still in progress, i have ~4 chapters finished, but chap ten and some of the time skips have me a little stuck. once i iron that out and finish out the last 2-3 chapters after the arc that's written, i'll get back to posting. at this point i'd like to have it done so i can release it confidently and as a complete story. into the aurora: i have about half of book one edited, which will include some new scenes / cleaned up scenes, but nothing crazy. i'd like to start updating old chapters once everything is finalized. book two is.... slow going. i'm hoping a breath of fresh air will help, but it's still my goal to come back to these characters. one-shots: i have about 4-5 ateez one-shots that are half written. my plan is to finish these and release them as inspiration strikes to wrap them up.

thank you all for your patience, and all of your kind messages. so many people have checked in on me both anon and not, and even if i haven't responded it's meant so much as i work on coming back to writing. i may not be able to respond to all the messages since so many of them are in my inbox, but slowly i may chip away at them

i'll see you all very soon~

(so chai multi era.... in a whirlwind of discovering other kpop groups..... i've ended up a carat, a stay, a moa, and a hidden kard. again, no idea if i'll ever write for any of these groups, but.... my biases are below so who knows)

seventeen - s.coups (regularly wrecked by hip hop line + dino) stray kids - lee know + hyunjin txt - soobin (are we surprised tho) kard - bm + jiwoo (but also like basically ot4 let's be real here)

♡

#honeyhotteoks updates #i love you all i hope i can get my ish together soon #also if you see me start to reblog non ateez fic recs...... #we're in the chai multi era #surprise???????

[thebisexualdogdad]

Earth 2-Barry Allen x Male!reader headcanons

*I'm currently doing a rewatch of the arrowverse and got to the earth 2 episodes and earth 2 Barry was so adorable I just had to write something for him. Anyways here's a quick recap for earth 2 for anyone who's forgotten because I surely did; Barry is still a forensic scientist, Iris is a detective, Joe is a lounge singer, Caitlin, Ronnie and Cisco are all evil metas and I brought Eddie back just for fun since Barry is with reader

● you're a new detective who fell for the adorable nerdy forensic scientist Barry Allen of earth 2

● when you originally asked him out on a date he thought you were just messing with him cause everyone at the station knew he liked you

● but why would the handsome detective (who was also his best friend Iris' partner) want to go out with him?

● Iris assured him that you really did like him and that date eventually led to you guys getting married 3 years later

● every morning before work you make breakfast while he makes the coffee

● it's a nice peaceful moment to start your day and spend quality time with Barry

● you also help him pick out a bowtie that matches whatever sweater and vest he's wearing that day

● double dates out with Iris and Eddie to see Joe sing at Jitterbugs

● as well as having dinner once a week with his parents

● you hear the "so when are we getting grandkids" question all the time

● "soon mom, soon"

● he's so pure and never swears

● he only says "what the heck" or "dang it" or "fudge"

● it makes you laugh at how sweet it is

● watching sci fi shows with Barry and not knowing anything that's going on

● he tries to explain to you all the sciency stuff behind it which still doesn't make any sense but he gets so excited and is so cute doing so you happily listen to him

● being impressed by your husband every time he creates new tech to help in your hunt for Killer Frost, Deathstorm, Reverb and other metas

● Barry keeps tracks of every meta you have put away and all of your other achievements to brag about how great of a detective you are

● one time you and Iris faced off against Killer Frost and Deathstorm and she nearly froze you to death

● Barry never left your bedside in the months you were recovering

● "Barry stop worrying I'm okay"

● "you're the love of my life Y/N I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you"

● "well it's a good thing you don't have to find out"

● when you get approved to go back to work Barry and Iris throw you a big welcome back party

● Barry is super romantic

● he plans something big for every anniversary from the anniversary of the day you met to your first date/first kiss and even the day you proposed

● you don't know how but he manages to get reservations at the most exclusive restaurants in Central city

● Iris "so what did you and Barry get up to over the weekend?"

● "Barry surprised me with dinner at that fancy French place downtown"

● "how?? Eddie and I have been trying to get a reservation there for months but they are booked until next year"

● even though you've been together for years Barry is still so nervous in the bedroom like it's the first time

● he's clumsy and always knocking things over, you've had to replace so many lamps in your home

● he gets embarrassed by how his body reacts to you and still apologizes for moaning too loudly or bucking his hips uncontrollably

● which you always have to reassure him that it's okay for him to enjoy what's happening and that you love how turned on he gets

● especially when you are role-playing and pretending to arrest him

● or when he sees you in your gym clothes after a work out

● he really can't help staring at your biceps it's his weakness

● when earth 1 Barry shows up to fight zoom he is shocked to find out you two are married (as you are Joe's partner on his earth that he's been crushing on) after you take him to an empty hallway at the station to make out when he was pretending to be your Barry

● your Barry finds out and is not happy about it, "he got frisky with my husband?? I have to find this guy and give him a piece of my mind"

● "you're so cute when you're jealous"

● Cisco "I've been trying to get my Barry to ask you out Y/N for so long now I have proof that you guys would be adorable together"

● Barry "maybe we are just meant to be on every earth"

#the flash imagine #barry allen imagine #barry allen x reader #earth 2 barry allen imagine #x male reader #headcanons

[princeasimdiya12]

Return to Nyan Nyaight Love-A Happy Ending in Sight?

Before I begin my analysis for Episode 9's NNL segment, I would like to thank everyone who reblogged my previous post and left kind and wholesome compliments about my analysis. It really warms my heart that so many of you guys enjoyed my thoughts on these segments. Especially if they helped provide a clearer understanding of what thematic purpose they serve in the Bucchigiri series. I'm more than happy to help and I appreciate the compliments.

Secondly, I'd like to thank @saph-yells-into-the-void for providing a majority of screenshots for me to use. Even though you didn't mind not being credited, you still deserve it for these great screenshots!

So just as a quick recap, the NNL segments serve as a Greek Chorus as they parallel the main story of Bucchigiri by using the customer's relationship with Jasmine to symbolize various relations and plot events. This time, their relationship parallels the main relationship of the series: Arajin and Matakara.

Episode 9: A Heartfelt Reunion

The segment starts with the customer being nervous as usual about whether he should go in, only to hurry inside as to avoid being spotted by Arajin who's on his way to the bathhouse. The customer is greeted by the receptionist who is still uneasy with him avoiding Jasmine. And even the customer himself looks less indecisive and more somber when he's asking for Pu'er instead of Jasmine.

As I mentioned in the Episode 1 segment, the customer is meant to symbolize Arajin while the catboy receptionist represents the colorful delinquents that Arajin encounters. And even though the first episode had Jasmine stand in for Mahoro, this time she stands in for Matakara.

The receptionist describes Jasmine as being strong-willed, clingy, and too much at times. Many of which are traits that are associated with Matakara.

-While Episode 9 shows him slowly succumbing to Ichiya's twisted therapy sessions, it's worth noting that it's been several days since when he first merged with the Blue Genie til then. So it's worth noting that Matakara lasted a good while before succumbing to Ichiya's will. And even before that, it was his strong will that helped him become stronger and find a place among Minato Kai while also evading the shadows that constantly haunted him. His determination in becoming stronger helped him to evade those shadows; maybe not vanquish them but not to succumb to them either.

-The clingy and too much at times qualities seem to go hand in hand as most of Matakara's screentime has been spent trying to reconnect with Arajin while holding him on a pedestal. Even as Arajin kept pushing him away, Matakara still clinged on to his idealized version of his best friend. One who constantly inspired him to be a Honki person and do the impossible. The too much at times part also works since Mataraka just wouldn't stop gushing over Arajin to his other friends or tries to force Mahoro to talk with him about Arajin and his involvement in Siguma Squad. While is very much a sunshine puppy boy, he can be quite overbearing when it comes to his old friend.

As of the last episode, Arajin made his true feelings for Matakara painfully clear and how he wants to avoid him at all costs. Only now the rest of the cast have taken notice and how much it's effecting Matakara given his refusal to talk to his other friends Zabu and Sakigake mixed with him running away from home. It's become a serious problem and they're all worried about him.

Something peculiar about the receptionist's behavior, and the whole scene overall, is how it's played for dramedy.

The receptionist treats the customer abandoning Jasmine as something tragic and how badly it's effecting her. There's soft music at play as the receptionist speaks his heart out about the cat's distress and how only the customer can help her.

But at the same time, it's just so ridiculous. Utterly ridiculous! There's no reason that the receptionist should need to be so invested in the customer's preferences in cats. They haven't actually bonded with each other apart from letting the customer in so he can spend time with the cats and spend Lord knows how much money. This is his job so it shouldn't matter which cat some random, pathetic everyman chooses to play with since he's still getting paid rather handsomely at the end of the day.

But it does matter to him.

Maybe (as far as we know) the receptionist doesn't know the customer very well but he (supposedly) knows that Jasmine truly misses him and is miserable without him. The receptionist could try to make Jasmine feel better herself given that he sees her more often and knows more about her. But he knows that she holds the customer in his heart and implores him to go back to her.

And while the Minato Kai boys don't care much for Arajin or flat out tell Arajin to patch things up with Matakara, they do make it clear that their friend isn't doing so well after their falling out. He's in need of help and they unfortunately can't do anything about it given how they were brushed aside. And even Mahoro, who also happens to be a colorful character that Arajin met when he entered the Ichizu gang life, has also picked up on Mataraka's despair and wants him to feel better. She clearly doesn't care for Arajin but she knows how much he means to Matakara, someone who understands her when it comes to valuing an older brother figure. She even flat out orders Arajin to go see how he's doing.

Something to consider is that while the Minato Kai boys and Mahoro have their respective but serious scenes with Arajin, they still have their quirky (questionable in Mahoro's case) personalities at play. Such as Sakigake singing his heart out in the bathhouse with Arajin while in his birthday suit to Mahoro having a tea party with a blow up doll of her big brother before learning about Matakara's brother. They're still weird and silly but they show how much heart they have and how they can empathize with someone who's at their lowest. And while they might not be the best person to help out, they know that Arajin is the best person to help them out.

Just like how the customer is the best person to help out the upset cat. And what does he choose when he's asked a second time?

He loses his mopiness for just a moment, becomes slightly more confident and chooses his precious Jasmine. Much to the receptionist's jubilation.

I'm gonna be leaning on the optimistic side and say that this will foreshadow Arajin reconciling with Matakara.

As much as I find Arajin to be a detestable and disappointing human being, I will admit that he is capable of growth. Particularly with bonding with his old childhood friend.

Right after defeating Akutaro, we see Arajin help out a grievously wounded Matakara while mildly complaining about it. We see them being on speaking terms during the Pro Wrestling Episode and Arajin even took the time to teach him how to make gyoza. Not to mention that Arajin was also willing to stick around for Mitsukuni's Welcome Party. The guy is not a good person (ESPECIALLY towards women) but he is capable of becoming better. Maybe at a snail's pace, but it's possible.

And we see those glimpses of growth in Episode 9 with him secretly admitting that there was one person (Matakara) who actually would like his rock for a gift.

So I want to be an optimist and say that Arajin will be able to save Matakara from his despair and they'll reconcile. Maybe accepting that he took Matakra's feelings for granted and how he should have treated his former friend better. How he was acting like a dunderhead and how he doesn't expect to be forgiven after treating him like yesterday's trash. I don't know if the puppy boy will forgive and accept Arajin again so quickly after everything that's happened (it actually would make for an impressive writing choice if Matakara chose not to accept him right away but with their being hope that they'll be friends in the future) but their relationship status will be a hopeful one.

Random Thoughts

When the receptionist brought up how the customer has seen other cats, I had two thoughts in mind. The first is from the Group Date til now, the customer has seen other cats at NNL apart from Pu'er.

The second is that this could be an implied parallel to Ichiya. I don't have enough information since we don't know much about Honki People and the Pasts of the Two Genies, but it's possible that Ichiya has encountered other masters in the thousands of years from when he was human to the present. The other cats could have been masters that Ichiya encountered and tried to possess to take revenge against Senya. But as the receptionist claims, Jasmine kept waiting for the customer. In this case, Jasmine was Senya. Ichiya's oldest friend who still longs to see and reunite with him after so many years of separation and regret.

Another thing I want to bring up is how conclusive this segment feels. It feels like it was wrapping up the plotline between the customer and Jasmine. I find this odd since this happened in Episode 9 and we supposedly have three more episodes before Bucchigiri is officially over. Does that mean we won't get more NNL segments in the final 3? Or will we still get them but in different formats? Like an epilogue of the customer bonding with Jasmine (along with getting an official reveal of who she is) or maybe we get a new customer who's set up to meet another cat potentially foreshadowing a final plot point in the series.

And those would be my thoughts on this segment. No lie, I did not expect this to be this long. But given how conclusive this NNL segment was, I felt there was alot to say about this. And what did you guys think of this segment? As before, feel free to reblog this if you agree with what I wrote, disagree or have another interpretation for this scene. So if you think of something, please say that you know.

"Do you know? Do you know? Do you know what this means?"

#bucchigiri?! #bucchigiri #arajin tomoshibi #matakara asamine #mahoro jin #zabu kakeru #komao sakigake #ichiya #senya #greek chorus #character analysis #anime #eddy's posts #Nyan nyaight love #the receptionist #the customer

[torialefay]

☀️ Everyday Idol 🌙 (Chapter 3)

✨ head on over to my masterlist if you haven’t read chapters 1 & 2!

✨possible bangchan x reader (f), possible jungkook x reader (f)

✨wc: 4.3k

✨ friends to lovers? possible love triangle? future angst and smut??? definitely fluff.

✨ summary: JYP Entertainment launches a new show and y/n somehow gets recruited. Even though she doesn’t particularly care about the outcome of the show, she does particularly care about one of the artists she met: Chris from Stray Kids. Does Chris feel the same or will a potential relationship with one of his friends overcome what y/n feels for him?

✨ author’s notes: pls pls pls let me know if you’d prefer shorter, more frequent chapters like this one, OR longer chapters posted about once per week. i’m heavily debating lol

✨ warnings: cursing from time to time.

Previous Chapter Recap:

Dang, another instagram notification. Maybe Jungkook WAS really into you. You tapped to open the chat again.

gnabnahc: Hey! I know this is random, but if you have any time tomorrow, could you meet me in my studio? I’ll be around in the morning and at lunch after hair & makeup. If you have time of course, I understand if not. I just wanted to talk to you about something.

‘Good fucking God,’ your heart dropped. “Anna… I need you. NOW!” you screamed.

——————————————————————————————————

Y/n’s POV:

Anna quickly bolted into the bathroom, thinking you’d accidentally cut yourself shaving or something. She was determined not to let you bleed out. Med student to the rescue!

When she arrived, she was surprised to see you totally fine, but also totally naked, sitting on the lid of the toilet.

“Okay… WHY?” She looked down at you, eyebrows raised.

“Just come here,” you motioned for her with your arm. You extended your phone out for her to grab it.

“This is some Hollywood movie shit,” she laughed, handing the phone back to you.

“This isn’t funny!” you exclaimed. “What in the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Well do you want to see him?”

“Duh.”

“Then you’re going to find a way to see him. Just tell him you can’t in the morning and that you can late into lunch.”

“Yeah, only one problem. I’m supposed to be meeting Jungkook for lunch,” you rolled your eyes, now wondering if she had paid attention at all to your prior conversation.

“Okay, so tell Jungkook beforehand that you don’t have much time because of your schedule, and then go meet Chan. Who says you can’t have it all?” she grinned, raising one eyebrow.

‘Okay, good plan. Solid plan,’ you thought. ‘Unless…’

“Okay but I don’t know how close Chan & JK are. What if JK is telling him that we’re getting lunch together? Then I just look like a two-timing bitch.”

“Alright, and how do you know that JK hasn’t already told him and Chan is going behind his back?” ‘Ain’t no way he’d do that,’ you thought. “I’m just saying, in all of your time with Chan, he never once mentioned JK. In all of our time with Changbin and Felix, they never brought him up either. I honestly don’t think they’re that close. Both of their fandoms would have figured it out by now if they are.”

‘Alright, let’s look,’ you thought, pulling your phone in front of your face again. You went to “X” (you still couldn’t get used to calling it that instead of Twitter) and typed in “jungkook bangchan”. Surely the detectives on here would know a thing or two. You scrolled and scrolled. A few tweets about the same thing- the 97 liners grabbing dinner together, but it was more than just the two of them. Not a single picture of them together otherwise. Not a story about seeing them together either. Maybe Anna had a point.

“Fuck it, I’m gonna do it,” you said, not knowing where your newfound confidence came from. Anna started giggling and took a quick seat beside you on the edge of the hotel’s bathtub.

Your fingers began to type quickly, not allowing yourself time to think. Or rather, overthink.

Hey Chris! I could stop by late after lunch? I’m not sure of a specific time yet, but I can text you later when I find out?

Send.

“Okay, it’s done,” you breathed out… You sat there for a moment, absorbing all of the feelings and trying to get the nerves out.

“Pinch me,” you said to Anna with a huff coming out from your bottom lip.

She reached over, laughing, nipping you in the arm. “I’m so happy for you I could cry,” she continued, keeping that same big smile on her face. “Butttt,” she leaned in closer and began to whisper, “whoever you don’t take, just remember I’m single.” She winked and you started to laugh, pushing her away.

“Whatever,” you said jokingly. “BUT I have to shower. Now I have two guys to impress.”

——————————————

Chan’s POV:

‘It’s alright Chris, don’t be nervous,’ he thought to himself, still planted in his studio chair. ‘The worst she can say is no. Well I guess she could laugh at it and tell all of her friends that you’re whipped. In which case, you’re fucked. But she wouldn’t do that, right?’

Chan’s mind got the best of him and he decided to start pacing. He needed to get his mind on something else… but what? His new song! Yes, his new song. He had been working on a hook and just couldn’t figure out where he wanted to go with it. ‘I need Jisung,’ he thought. He sent a quick text his way to see if he was busy. He couldn’t help but to re-read the message he had sent you. He clicked on your profile to view all of the pictures. Your dogs, your friends, your birthday party. He pictured what he would look like included in each photo. He let his mind wonder, looking at one photo in particular. You had been at the beach. He didn’t stick to that photo because of anything you were wearing. You were fully clothed. There was just something about it. The way your smile was lit up like you had not a worry in the world. The way the sun cast a golden color all over your beautiful face. The fact that the beach was Chan’s favorite. He thought about what it would be like to be there with you. Walking along the shore, getting to know you better. What was your family like? How did you like your eggs cooked? Where was your favorite place in the world? He let himself get lost in the scenario.

*BUZZ*

Your instagram username flashed across the top of his screen. He clicked as soon as he possibly could.

Y/n’s Instagram username:

Hey Chris! I could stop by late after lunch? I’m not sure of a specific time yet, but I can text you later when I find out?

‘Yes Chris, Yes! See, it was just a rumor. A dumb rumor. I mean JK would have told you since you were the reason they had met. He couldn’t possibly be that into her after meeting her for 2 minutes. You worried for no reason.’ He was elated. Ecstatic even. He looked down to his phone, stupid grin on his face.

‘Felix, you’re fucking dead for giving me a heart attack like that,’ he thought.

The little shit quit responding. ‘He’s got about 4 hours to text back before I get home and jump him.’ Chan thought. He sunk down into his chair. All of his excitement was now replaced with confusion. This was gonna be a longggg night in the studio.

——————————————————————

Felix’s POV:

“SUCK ON THAT!” Felix screamed sarcastically. He had spent the last 2 hours plopped on the couch next to Changbin. They made it a point to get together once a week, no matter how busy, to play a few video games together. Today’s choice: League. Felix lowkey kinda sucked, and he knew that. But he didn’t care because Binnie sucked even more.

“No, you suck on this,” Changbin yelled back, putting Felix in a headlock and giving him a noogie.

“Ah! Ah! Ahhhhh!” Felix screamed for help, trying not to die laughing. “Someone help me!” he yelled, while grabbing at Changbin’s arms to rip him off. It was no use. No matter how much Felix flailed his body and thrashed left and right, Changbin’s hold was even tighter. Eventually, he ran out of energy and decided to just lie there. Changbin released him right after.

“So you admit defeat,” Changbin raised his eyebrow. Felix had a dazed look on his face, hair fluffed up from Bin’s relentless hand movements. He was just grappling for his breath back at this point.

“I’ll take that as a yes! Yay, next round!” Changbin said enthusiastically, turning back around to the tv.

‘Brain need oxygen. Can’t form word,’ Felix thought to himself. ‘Lol I can’t believe I just thought that. Felix you so silly.’ He smiled and focused his attention on the tv now too. Well, for a split second. Until Chan came barging in.

“Felix!” he called, like he was a tornado coming through the front door. He walked a few paces before setting foot into the living room. Felix just looked up with a puzzled expression on his face.

“Mate! Why did you do that?!” He walked over and snatched Felix’s controller from his hand.

“Damn, if you wanted to play, you just had to ask!” Felix said back seriously. You could see the annoyance growing louder on Chan’s face.

“Oh my gosh Felix. Your text, cunt!”

“My… OHHH my text,” he smirked while (horribly) trying to look inconspicuous.

“You better tell me what you know right now,” Chan threw his fist down. He was trying to “act” mad, but honestly he was really bad at acting. He actually was mad.

“I don’t know anything,” Felix smirked again. “I swearrrr. Don’t you trust me?” He smiled, squinting his eyes up at Chan with a suggestive look on his face.

“No I don’t, you little shit! Now tell me what you know!”

“Never!” Felix pouted.

“Tell me!”

“NO!”

“Tell me!”

“NOOO!”

“I will break this controller, don’t try me!”

“No you won’t.”

“Yes I will.”

“No you won’ttttt.”

“Yes I will.”

“Bet, do it then.”

Chan lifted the controller in the air and huffed out... “You’re right, I won’t.” He reached it back down to Felix.

Felix, now satisfied, took the controller and happily bobbed his head from side to side. “Thanks Channie-hyung!” he teased.

“Fuck off,” Chan retorted. ‘I hate being a father,’ Chan thought as he turned around to storm out. Once he was out the door, Changbin turned his body around to Felix.

“What don’t you know anything about?” Chanbin laughed.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Felix said with a flirty smile. “All I’m saying is it involved your mentee. That’s all, can’t talk about it anymore! New game, let’s go!” Felix avoided Changbin’s stares at all cost, fixating on the tv. Eventually Bin turned around to face it too, continuing on like nothing ever happened.

‘Fuck, that was close. Felix baby, you’ve gotta stop being so messy… Lmao who am I kidding, I love this shit.’

———————————————————————————————

Y/n’s POV: The next day

You arrived to the JYP building 10 minutes early to your professionalism training. You knew you would be able to see the finalized schedule first thing when you got there. All you knew so far was professionalism training at 9, hair and makeup, lunch, and begin shooting intros for the show. You had no clue how long each would take though.

You ran up in front of the big bulletin board posted outside of the conference room. You saw the agenda:

• 9:00 AM- Professionalism Training; Level 5 conference room

• 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM- Hair and Makeup; Level 7 shooting room; See list below for names and scheduled times

• 11:00 AM - 2:00 PM- Lunch break

• 2:00 PM- Shooting program material with mentors; Level 10 shooting rooms #1-5

• 8:00 PM- Dinner and drinks at Nine Mile Restaurant (see email for location and directions)

You quickly scrolled through the list of names below to see when you’d be scheduled for hair & makeup:

• Y/l/n, y/f/n: 11:00 AM

‘Fuck yeah,’ you thought. ‘Getting hair and makeup done first. It shouldn’t take over an hour, right? Surely not. They have new people scheduled for 12 and 1, so yeah, you’re good. No more than an hour.’ You quickly took your phone out to send a message to the 2 boys waiting to hear back from you.

To: abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz

Hey, I should be good to go around noon today. Do you still want to meet me outside the JYP building?

SEND.

To: gnabnahc

I could meet you around 1-1:30 today? Does that work for you?

You let out a hot breath and headed into the conference room. There, you found Anna who had already walked in while you told her you’d check for both your names on the bulletin board. You saw a couple of other girls you had met as well through the night with Stray Kids. They were Seungmin and Han’s mentees. You had all instantly connected that night and you were excited to spend more time with them.

Once you were settled in, you gave into the gossip that everyone was discussing.

“Yeah, I heard her dad works for JYPE high up in marketing and that’s how she got in,” Sunnie whispered to the group.

“OMG I heard that too!” Anna bounced up and down. “I’m not even sure where I heard it from.”

“Literally same. I also heard that one of the new cast members was,” Kara leaned down low, “hooking up with Jungkook,” she giggled. You had to physically stop yourself from your jaw dropping on the floor. You were not SLEEPING with Jungkook. You hadn’t even had fucking lunch with him yet!

“OMG who?!” Sunnie questioned.

“I don’t know, it’s just what I heard some of the other girls saying. I don’t think anyone knows,” Kara added. “Which meanssss, we’re gonna have to keep an eye out for Jeon Jungkook ladies. See who the culprit is,” she laughed.

You and Anna looked at each other, trying to fake a laugh right along with them. You were sure she could see the panic in your eyes.

Suddenly, you heard a voice come over the speakers and the lights began to dim. ‘Let’s get this training over with.’

———— 3 hours later ————

Abcdefghi__lmnopqrstuvwxyz: Out front waiting on you :) I’ve got on a black mask and baseball cap in case you don’t recognize me. That’s kind of the point haha

y/n: On my way down!

Your nerves were starting to get to you, but you tied them down. This was just two people getting lunch after all. That’s literally it. Plus, why would you be nervous anyway? You were the one that made a great first impression anyway. He was the one who had something to prove.

Plus, not to brag, but you looked damn good. The hair and and makeup department definitely knows what they’re doing.

*DING*

You arrived at the ground floor and quickly made your way out of the main exit. You scanned your head first to the right, looking for a black cap, then to the left. The problem was… There were like 10 of them.

‘Fucking hell, why does everyone have to dress the same?’ you thought. You wondered off to the left, seeing if you could get a better look. Suddenly, a black figure appeared next to you. You turned to see a bright-eyed Jungkook, mask covering the lower half of his face, stood straight and proud with the most beautiful bouquet you’d ever seen. Pinks, purples, blues, greens. All of your favorite colors incorporated into one. Was this a sign?

“Y/n! Hi! I brought these for you,” you couldn’t see his mouth, but by how scrunched up his eyes got, you assumed he was smiling.

“Oh my goodness, they’re beautiful! You didn’t have to do that!” You smiled up at him and went in for a side hug. Surprisingly, it wasn’t even awkward. Jungkook just gave off such a charming, confident vibe.

“I wanted to. I saw them and automatically thought of you.” You blushed down into the bouquet you were now holding.

“You’re too sweet,” you flashed the biggest grin. ‘Okay, so maybe he’s better than I thought.’ “Where do you want to go?”

“How do you feel about bibimbap?”

“I love it!” You’d only had it once, but you assumed you’d still love it. “But just so you know, I really don’t have that much time today. I need to try to be back in an hour or so.”

“I completely understand. I’m just happy you could pencil some time in for me,” his hand grazed the side of yours, sending a shock up your arm. “I was gonna say that my favorite bibimbap place is right around the corner and I’d love to take you there.”

“Sounds good to me! Let’s go!”

He had a smile painted across his face looking down at you with the pretty flowers in your hand. You were just as beautiful as he remembered. “Follow me. And hold on to me if you need to. Wouldn’t want you getting lost in this crowd,” he chuckled, giving you a wink.

Your heart fluttered. Why was it fluttering?

Jungkook turned to lead you around the street. It was pretty packed, but what else would you expect in the middle of Seoul at lunch time. You could tell that JK was looking down slightly, making sure he didn’t get recognized. You ended up actually reaching to hold onto the back of his coat to make sure you didn’t get separated. You weren’t about to fight your way through the crowd to get a view of every Korean man currently wearing a black coat, hat, and mask. It would take all day.

You both made your way down the busy street, finally able to squeeze next to each other and talk about how your day was going so far. You know, all the basic boring stuff that you had to get out of the way. You soon reached a set of narrow, tall stairs almost hidden away.

“This way,” Jungkook said, taking the first step up. You looked down to see how tall the stairs were and mannnn you thought you were going to have to catapult yourself up.

Jungkook saw the hesitancy in your eyes and quickly leaned the upper half of his body down, holding one hand out for you to grab onto. You graciously took it, as he slowly ascended, making sure you followed him every step of the way. Once you reached the top, you finally jumped up onto the platform of the restaurant, now pressed right up to JK. He still had your hand in his.

“Nice job for a first timer,” he joked, squeezing your hand before he gently put it down and let it go. It was one of the most tender things you’d ever felt. He was handling you with such care.

You followed him as he walked a few steps to the door. He opened it for you and let you step inside first. Your eyes took a moment to focus as you acclimated to the new atmosphere. ‘It’s dark…’ you thought to yourself, eyes now tuning in. ‘And damn, it’s NICE.’ You looked around the the swanky bar to the left, wall topped off with liquors you kne you’d never afford in your lifetime- even on a doctor’s salary. Black tablecloths covered each table, with booths being tucked away into walls. Candles were the main source of the lighting and made for a seductive atmosphere.

“Hello, I had a reservation for Jeon Jungkook,” JK told the host at the stand on the right. She was beautiful, in formal all black attire and long, black hair.

“Of course. Right this way,” she stepped out from behind her podium and led you both to a booth at the far back of the restaurant. It was tucked out of the way, no other tables reaching beyond it. No one would have a reason to walk this way unless delivering food to the table directly.

“Will this do?” she looked to Jungkook.

“It’s perfect, thank you,” he smiled as she left.

“Here, let me help you,” he reached out to you, gently taking your flowers and setting them on the far side of one of the booth’s benches. He walked behind you to grab onto one arm of your coat, allowing you to slip out easily. He held onto the coat and placed it next to the flowers.

“Watch out, it’s a step up,” he said, reaching for your hand. What is up with all these steps?

You looked into his eyes, silently thanking him for the thoughtfulness, while taking his hand. He led you over the two steps to the table and held tightly as you took the step up and over. Once you were settled in, he looked satisfied and took his place on the opposite side.

The rest of the meal was a whirlwind. You learned so many things about him. First, that he is an absolute devourer of bibimbap. Second, that he was actually really funny and down to earth… Charming too, but were you really going to admit that? Third, he actually had a super cute, bunny-like smile that popped up every time he caught you staring at him for too long.

You actually got along very well. ‘What a pleasant surprise,’ you thought. Conversation was just so easy with him. Maybe you didn’t get into the deep stuff with him like you did with Chan, but so what? This was only lunch. What did you expect him to do, give you his entire life story? He oozed confidence and playfulness, something you were envious of. Maybe, after more time with him, you thought you could learn to have those qualities as well.

You were both laughing over a story of how you accidentally cursed at someone in Korean on your second day here when all of a sudden, your phone lit up. 1:02 PM. Dang, it went by that fast?

“I think I’m running out of time,” you looked down with puppy dog eyes, motioning him to look at your phone.

“Awww, it’s alright. We better get you back on time though. The last thing I need is someone from JYP on my ass,” he laughed.

A small laugh left your mouth too as you both moved to exit the booth. He helped you put your coat back on and placed the flowers back into your hands. He grabbed 3 bills of 50,000 won out of his wallet, and placed it on top of the bill on the table. ‘Damn, this man’s a good tipper.’

“Here,” you scrambled to grab your own wallet out of your coat pocket. “At least let me pay half,” you started to take some money out.

“No, no y/n,” he grasped onto your forearm for a short moment. “Put your money up. Please. It’s on me.”

“Are you sure? I promise I don’t mind one bit to pay. Let me just-“ you stopped talking as you watched his eyebrows lift and his eyes get wide, small grin on his face as if saying “watch yourself now.” He was still holding tightly to your arm, not letting you lift it.

“Okay, okay,” you smiled, putting your wallet away. “But I owe you!”

He smiled at that. “Come on, let’s get you back.”

——————————————————

Chan’s POV:

He had been a nervous wreck thinking about seeing you. Thinking about what he should say in order for you to be interested in him. He knew through your messages to him that you’d be there closer to 1:15, so he made sure he’d get back in time.

He tried to calm his nerves by going out to grab an iced tea really quickly at a local shop. He couldn’t stomach any food- not right now. Once he finally got the chilly beverage in his hands, he walked his way back out into the cold. Only a couple minute walk from the company building.

‘Alright Chris, pull yourself together. Whatever you say, she’s gonna understand. She’s great, so of course she’s gonna understand. She may even be just as nervous as you, you never know.’ He let his mind wonder. He started to picture a scenario. One of you seated next to him in his studio. He had finally worked up the courage to ask you on a date- a proper date. Maybe he jumbled up the words a little bit, but you found it endearing. You nodded your head excitedly, saying how you’d love to go on a date with him. He would take you somewhere nice, somewhere you would get dressed up for him. You’d drink red wine and talk about anything and everything- what you loved and what your passions were. Your eyes would have a certain sparkle that only happened when you looked at him. By the end of the date, you’d be asking when you could see him again. He’d hold your hand, your warm little hand, as you left to say your goodbyes.

As wonderful as the daydream was, Chan suddenly snapped out of it. He froze, standing rigid, then almost tumbling back. There’s no way.

There you stood in front of him. With all the beauty that you were. But you were with someone. A man. Chan squinted to see what he could make out. Jungkook? Fuck, that was definitely Jungkook.

You were smiling up at him and clung onto him for a long hug. He gave in, leaning his head down to plant a small kiss on the top of your forehead. You giggled, waved goodbye, then ran inside the company building.

With that, Chan felt his heart shatter for the very first time.

Through the building’s glass walls, he watched as you made your way a little further, then stopped to bring your phone out. 10 seconds later, he felt a buzz from his phone

From: y/n’s instagram

Hey, I’m here :) Should I head on up to you?

He wanted to cry.

------------------------------------------------

✨ Continue to ➡️ Chapter 4

✨if you enjoyed, please consider liking, commenting, or re-blogging <3

#bang chan #bangchan fluff #bangchan imagines #bangchan scenarios #bangchan x female reader #bangchan x reader #bangchan x you #christopher bang #skz imagines #skz x reader #bangchan smut #bangchan #chris bang #bangtan #jungkook imagine #jeon jungkook #jungkook #bts fanfic #bts x reader #bts imagines #jungkook fanfic #jungkook x reader #stray kids x reader #skz fluff #skz fanfic #stray kids imagines #stray kids #stray kids angst #bangchan angst #bang chris

[theosconfessions]

with scarletts bc on the horizon..i thought i should do a recap of everything that happened in the 4 year time jump we just did to get here. :) theres a lot here so im putting it under a cut.

if youd like to read the stephens from the beginning you can over here:)

if youd like to read the stephens continued you can over here:)

theo had his 65th birthday and dustin is still young and hot. its just the life of a trophy husband.

the twins are now 6 years old. sweet babies. i shouldve put quotes around that. because theyre still kinda assholey. they do have theos genes running through them after all.

robin is in college and yes shes still living at home.

scarlett never went to college.choosing to chase her tiktok presence and now her bachelorette challenge instead. life of a try to be influencer.

as far as theos health..theres been some steps made towards the better.. which we will get into.

theo is your host for scarletts upcoming bachelorette challenge. how dusty feels about that isnt great. and theyve had it out in the time jump and will have it out long after it starts airing.

some wounds do not heal. and dusty is still HURT over theo cheating on him [literally he has that sentiment come up a lot. he cant get over it. makes me sad for him ]

blake and river are still together and still married. they were married before they even graduated highschool. HOWEVER... they did legally separate about one year into college. blaming the distance...but really..they married young and quick and got into something they werent quite ready for. river got back together with isla for a time and blake....well..... did some things that resulted in just a tremendous amount of guilt [even though they were split up ] and thus he got the river tattoo on his ribs. made him feel better? somehow? after a short time apart and never filing for a divorce or even an anullment the boys fell back together during their sophomore year of college. even though the distance was tough they made it through their college years. after river graduated he quickly moved back to tomarang where blake had his apartment since high school. BUT ALSO where he is now 3rd backup quarterback for the local team. yes. backup. we'll get into the strifes of that a little later ;)

THEO FOUND OUT HE HAS MORE CHILDREN. or should i say dustin found out theo has more children. jesus christ. adult children but children nonetheless.

jami took over the strip club entirely. and he is helping out just like he said he would be at dustin and theos.

jami and marlee. DO NOT HAVE ANYMORE KIDS. FOR NOW. yeah!

even though scarletts bc will be going on... the stephens continued will still be posted hand in hand with it .. so we will get into SO MUCH MORE as we move on.

welcome to four years later..and welcome to finding out how many ways love is embarrassing :)

#the stephens continued #theo kline #dustin stephens #robin stephens #scarlett kline #blake donovan #river stephens #cade stephens kline #eloise stephens kline #the sims 4 #ts4 gameplay #the sims #ts4 #sims 4 #simblr #ts4 simblr #the sims community #ts4 legacy #ts4 story

[frostycatblr-fandom-files]

A (Hair)Cut Above The Rest [Hunter x Fem!Reader]

Warnings and Information: Trying to brute force my motivation to write by writing this in the course of an hour or so, so blame any spelling/grammar/plot mistakes I didn't catch in the editing on the caffeine. Undescribed fem!reader. Hunter is not described completely accurately to how he's depicted in The Bad Batch show (meaning not whitewashed) and is having a little hair trouble. Reader helps him out. Mando'a pet names are used. Order 66? Don't know her.  [I got a haircut recently and I'm gonna have Hunter thoughts about it apparently.]

Word-count: 1,688

Through a turn of events that would take too long to recap, it has been you and the sergeant of Clone Force 99 aboard the Havoc Marauder for the past four days, and only you and the sergeant. You haven't minded traversing the stars, just the two of you, but you suspect he's beginning to become antsy for one reason or another the longer you and Hunter have been away on a supply run. 

Several times now you've caught grumbling and grimacing every occasion he has to adjust the crimson bandana for any reason.

He's being as discreet as he can be, but you just get this feeling that Hunter is growing so uncomfortable the longer you're away from his brothers. "How much longer until we get back to the rest of the squad on Saleucami?" When he asks you this question, it's through gritted teeth and measured breathing, like he's trying to reign in his temper or something. Stave off panic, perhaps. 

You look at the astronav and perform a quick mental estimate with a shrug. "Probably a day, or less. Why?" 

"I don't think I can wait that long…" Hunter swears bitterly under his breath as he rips the knot of his bandana apart, and lifts the thick, curled brown hair off the back of his neck. "It's my hair," he explains with a flushing face, "normally one of my brothers helps me with this when it gets too long, but it's just you and me right now, mesh'la. I really need your help. I don't think I can wait another day before I can get this extra weight off my head and neck. Please, Ka'ra…" 

He's near-desperately asking you for help in wrangling his hair, even buttering you up with pet names in Mando'a. Beautiful. Star. 

Before he can beg again, you agree to help. Maker help you for having such a tender heart; never one to turn away a friend in need. "I'm not exactly a cosmetology school graduate, but I'll see what I can do." You just have to grab some items like a few hair clips and something to cut his hair with from your shower kit that's stashed in your bunk first, and then you can meet him in the refresher that's just barely big enough for Wrecker to comfortably fit in to get a handle on Hunter's hair situation. 

"I don't need pretty, I just need it gone." Hunter insists, his breathing a little hitched. "There's just too much weight on my head, ka'ra." He's looking for a place to sit in the fresher, finally opting for the floor. It'll have to do. You have to kneel behind him as you make a quick assessment, and you promise you'll be gentle.

"If I'm pulling too much, you let me know, okay?" 

You start to make the first cut, hoping to whatever higher powers that be in the galaxy that you'll have feeling in your knees by the time you're done. It's not exactly pleasant to put all your weight on your knees for a long time in such a cramped space. 

Hunter comes just short of moaning in his relief as the weight eases off his tender scalp with every careful cut, and every slow pass of the comb through his hair to keep things tidy and mostly blended as you do your best to cut his hair in the tiny on-board 'fresher. You're going slow to start out with, doing your best to avoid sending him over the edge. You're no stranger to the rare instance that touch and taste and sound and smell becomes much too much for the Clone with half of a skull forever painted into the bronzed skin of his face. And you prove your attentiveness by how tenderly you hold the hair off the back of his neck, sensing he needs a break from all the tugging and brushing of his thick head of hair after ten minutes. 

"Thank you… thank you, ka'ra…" Hunter utters, grateful that you offer reprieve without being explicitly asked. He can allow his eyes to flutter closed for a moment and likely lose himself in the constant thrum of noise inside the attack shuttle. "Feeling a bit better already."

"Oh, good. If you want me to let go, or you're ready to start again, just say the word." 

"I appreciate you doing this…" he says again in a fervent utterance of thanks after some time passes by in silence, nodding decidedly when he's ready again. "...I just couldn't wait any longer. It was getting to be too much." 

You pick up the pair of scissors you had set down in order to hold his hair up, and get back into position behind him. "You're welcome, Hunter. Don't want you to be too uncomfortable, now do we?" You've heard his brothers say those words a hundred times over. (But his brothers aren't here with you now. You'll be back to them soon. Hopefully they've kept out of trouble while visiting the Lawquanes.)

Sometimes Crosshair, Echo, Wrecker and Tech say it in teasing, when Hunter's hesitant to go perusing a quaint summer market on Naboo because of the pressing crowds. Sometimes they say it while trying to force him into his bunk, knowing that the careful cocktail of muscle relaxers and pain relievers will knock him flat on his ass once they've kicked in after particularly long missions, and Hunter stubbornly believes he'll lay down in his bunk before they do. 

You've laughed yourself silly listening to Crosshair or Echo scolding him with a stern, mostly concerned "Get back in bed, Hunter!" like a child caught out of bed on more than one occasion as he's tried to stumble his way through the shuttle. "You don't need to take care of that right now, let one of us do it. You're. Drugged. Lay down so the medicine can do its job." 

As more and more hair is snipped free, you see the relief washing over him, the discomfort ebbing away at last. "Feeling better?" you ask, brushing through his ends one last time to make sure it looks mostly lined up. 

 "Much. Thank you, mesh'la…"

You could theoretically have all his hair cut at once, and you offer while you've still got the scissors and comb in your hands, but Hunter thinks he can wait on thinning out the rest when you get back to the Lawquanes with things they needed for the farm. It was just the weight of his hair on his neck that he was struggling with the most today. 

"Well, I'm glad I could help. Hopefully I didn't do too bad a job." you say with a gentle chuckle, brushing the loose hair from his shoulders and sweeping up the mess with the small dustpan set Hunter found somewhere else on the Marauder. He runs his hands through his hair experimentally, and then carefully ties it back with the red slip of fabric he tucked in his pocket. 

"Not too bad I'd say, mesh'la…" Hunter's warm, appreciative grin sends your stomach fluttering at the sincerity, the way his eyes crease ever so gently with the gesture is equally precious. "Certainly a cut above what I could've done on my own." 

"Who usually helps you cut your hair?" you wonder, fixing a curling lock of hair back into place previously trapped under the bandana. 

"Cross does, typically." 

"That's nice of him," you reply with a bright smile, "hopefully I didn't steal all his fun when we get back to Saleucami and he finishes the rest of the haircut." 

Nothing gets past the sharp-sighted sniper: when you disembark the Omicron-class shuttle, Hunter just a little behind you as you carefully tromp down the ramp, Cross stops mid-turn in a game of Sabacc up against Cut, Echo and Tech to voice himself. 

"I told you you should have let me cut your hair before you left, Hunter." 

"You did, yes." 

"And you didn't listen," Crosshair continues, shaking his head almost disapprovingly. Almost. He's slightly more worried than it would appear. "Had sensory troubles and had to cut it, didn't you?" Hunter bobs his head once, and sheds the bandana to allow Crosshair to perform an inspection, Sabacc now abandoned momentarily. "Hmm. Doesn't look half bad this time, Hunter." 

"Afraid I can't take the credit. I asked her to help me." Hunter explains, nodding once in your direction. Crosshair's tone of scrutiny changes, now that he understands it's not his brother's handiwork. 

To his memory, this is the first time you've offered to help Hunter deal with his hair like this. His brother takes good enough care of his hair on his own, save for cutting what he can't see or comfortably reach behind his head, and that's where Hunter usually turns to his brothers for help. 

Wrecker, who's just gotten back from exploring with Omega, Jek and Shaeeah since they saw the Marauder coming in for a landing near the farm not too long ago, sees that Crosshair is still passively fussing through Hunter's recently-cut hair and assumes he's missed the trimming. 

"Hey not bad, Cross! That was quick!"

"Can't take the credit," Cross chuckles softly, nodding in your direction, "but she can."

And there's a little cleaning up that he notices he'll need to do, but otherwise, you pretty much nailed it. "Not bad, doll." Crosshair offers at long last. "Not bad at all. Think you're gonna replace me if I'm not careful." After dinner, time and circumstances allowing, he'll coach you through on how he usually takes care of Hunter's hair when it reaches a certain length since Hunter trusted you enough to ask for help out of the blue, after Hunter recounts the ordeal to his brothers and sister.

"Always happy to help, Hunter." you promise him. 

Hunter returns your friendly smile as he ties his hair back for the time being, saying he'll help Cut gather everything from the shuttle and put it in the shed for the time being before everyone helps with getting things ready for dinner. 

"I'm certainly lucky that you are, mesh'la."

Don't have a fic taglist for the time being. For now, though, if you'd like to join a taglist for specific types of fics (for example: just TBB-centric or just TCW-centric (or both)) don't hesitate to ask. 🩷

[Masterlist] [Requests: OPEN]

#frostfics #A (Hair)Cut Above The Rest #star wars #tbb fanfiction #tbb fanfic #tbb fic #the bad batch x reader #x reader #female reader #the bad batch #tbb #tbb hunter #hunter tbb #tbb hunter x reader #hunter x fem!reader #tbb hunter x you #hunter x reader #tbb crosshair #crosshair tbb #tbb tech #tech tbb #tbb echo #echo tbb #tbb wrecker #wrecker tbb #tbb omega #omega tbb #clone force 99

[vodika-vibes]

Heyyyyy Vodikaaaaa!

I saw those first kiss prompts, and because I'm such a sap, I thought I'd mosey on over here and send in a request.

Can I have “worth the wait” with Fives?

You can take it wherever you want to (just no smut, please), or you could choose to ignore it. I will be happy with anything or nothing 😌

Please and thank you 💚

@the-bad-batch-baroness

Worth the Wait

Summary: You are eagerly waiting for your first date with Fives.

Pairing: ARC Trooper Fives x Reader

Word Count: 1356

Warnings: None~

A/N: You know me, I love me some Fives fluff! Thank you for the request~

divider by saradika

You absently tap your marker on your kitchen counter as you scan the calendar that’s spread out in front of you. Each day is carefully crossed off with a red X as you count down the days until you can finally meet Fives face to face.

A smile crosses your face as you open your marker and cross off one more day. And then you move the marker to tap on the paper right next to the neatly printed words that marked today.

Resolute lands at 10 am,

And directly underneath it.

Date with Fives at Martha’s Tavern at 6 PM.

You feel a surge of excitement. You’ve been preparing for this date for weeks now. You have the perfect outfit, the perfect shoes, the perfect hairstyle-

You may have obsessed over this date. Just a little.

It’s fine. Probably.

You recap your marker and drop it in the cup on the counter, and then pick up the calendar and hang it back on the wall. You grab your comm, and open your reminders, absently scanning down the list for the day, making sure that all of the alarms are properly set, so you aren’t late.

You can’t be late. Not to this.

You and Fives have been friends for almost a year now. Though, admittedly, your friendship only started because you both regularly visit the same chat room. 

It started out with a couple of conversations about whatever topic was the topic of the day for the forum. He quickly proved himself to be smarter, and more clever, than many of the other people in the forum, and you found yourself sending him private messages about things that you read in the forum that sat wrong with you.

And in return, he did the same. Sending you messages at random times, linking to a comment or a forum, with a quip or a snarky comment.

And before you knew it, you were sending him your comm code, and he was sending you his, and you were getting messages throughout the day about random little things.

Honestly, you didn’t even know that he was a clone, or even his name, until five months after you started talking with each other.

He’d had a bad day. A really bad day. And you got a message at one am-

I know you’re probably asleep, but I could really use a friend right now-

And you, who had intentionally set the notifications from Fives to be loud enough to wake you, immediately commed him. If he needed a friend, then you would be that friend.

You spent all night talking…and you talked well into the morning. 

It changed something in your relationship, though you didn’t realize it until much later.

Fives took to comming you on a daily basis, usually early in the morning for you, or late at night, and while he always apologized for waking you, or preventing you from sleeping, you always made the same joke, “sleep it for the weak.”

Somehow, though, in spite of the fact that he regularly returns to Coruscant, your schedules never quite manage to sync up. Either you’re working or visiting family on the other side of the planet, or he’s working or deployed.

It is, in a word, infuriating.

Three months ago, Fives sent you a message before the Resolute entered hyperspace. Girlfriend?

It was, easily, the most unromantic way to be asked to be someone’s girlfriend, but-

Well.

How could you say no? It’s Fives.

You learned, real quick, that you have an innate inability to say no to Fives. Which would normally concern you, but he’s so kind and sweet, and all he really asks for are pictures and videos of you going about your daily life.

He admitted, only once, that the pictures and videos help him feel like he’s there with you, helping you go through your life.

If you’re going to be honest with yourself, and you always are, you can admit that you’ve fallen, and fallen hard, for Fives. And you haven’t even been on a single date with him.

Which is why, when he sent a message telling you when the Resolute will finally be docking, you immediately replied with an offer for a proper date at one of your favorite restaurants. 

And Fives…well, Fives teased you about being so eager, but was just as eager when he agreed.

You stare at the chrono on the wall, it’s almost time for you to head out the door, and you’ve been dressed and primped and ready for over an hour. You ended up getting ready early just to work out some of the excited/nervous energy.

Plus, time was moving so slowly, that you were beginning to fear that it was going to run backwards.

You tap your nails, impatiently, on the arm of your couch, your gaze locked on the chrono, and you heave out a sigh as the minute seems to last an hour.

It’s worse than being in school, honestly.

You heave out another deep sigh as the time finally changes, making in a minute later, and you jump to your feet. You’re done. You can go and wait out by the restaurant. It’s fine. It’s a pretty day.

And if you have to sit here and watch the chrono for another second you’re going to scream.

You’re going to be early. By, like, a lot. But that isn’t a bad thing. 

One fifteen minute taxi ride later, you find yourself outside the tavern. You settle yourself on a bench, and prepare yourself for the hour-long wait.

However, less than ten minutes later, someone sits next to you on the bench, “You’re really early, cyare.” You turn to look at the man who joined you, a smile crossing your face when you see Fives grinning at you.

“So are you,” You tease lightly.

“Yes, but if I had to spend one more minute listening to Echo tease me about this date, I was going to throw him off a rooftop.” Fives replies with a laugh, “Speaking of which…we’re being followed.” He drapes his arm over your shoulder and points to a small group of men on the opposite side of the street.

“Ah. Which brothers are they?” You ask, amusement coloring your voice.

“Echo, Jesse, Hardcase,” Fives points out each brother to you, “Oh, and Rex and Cody are just over there.”

“Aww, they love you!” You coo at him.

He laughs, “You really don’t mind?”

You wave at his brothers, and Hardcase and Jesse wave back, “I think it’s cute.”

“Oh, they’re going to love that.” Fives says with a grin.

You turn to look up at him, the nervous energy fading into something warm and comfortable now that you’re in his presence, “Anyway, our reservation isn’t for another hour-”

“Because you’re ridiculously early.”

You bump him with your elbow, “You’re here too!” You say defensively, and he just winks at you, “Anyway,” You continue with a small pout, “We can either just sit here and hang out, or you can introduce me to your brothers-”

“I have a better idea!” Fives interrupts.

“Okay, what is it?” You ask.

And then his lips are against yours. His lips are warm and soft and his hand moves to rest against the back of your neck, holding you against him. 

It was a much better kiss than you could have imagined…and you did imagine it. A lot.

He breaks the kiss and rests his forehead against yours, his eyes sparkling with mischief, and affection, “I’ve been wanting to do that for months, cyare.” He admits.

You press one of your hands against his chest, while allowing the fingers of your other hand to trail against his jaw, “And?” You ask, sounding slightly breathless, “How was it?”

He chuckles lowly, and tilts your head so his lips can hover just over yours, “Worth the wait, cyare.” And then his lips are against yours again, as if he can’t get enough of you.

And, as you lean into his touch, you find yourself completely agreeing with him, this is definitely worth the wait.

#star wars #tcw #arc trooper fives x reader #fives x reader #star wars fanfiction #x reader fanfiction

[load-theloading-artist]

Hello, hello, it is i, load!

With something that was a meant to be a response to a reblog chain i hadve with hypnoi...

But I decided to make my response into its own post instead…for I have a lot to say. (I tried to restrain myself but– )

(And in my experience reblog chains that have a lot of reblogs and/or are really long can cause lag. Idk if their device experiences it but just in case i didn't want them to deal with the lag ^^”.)

I also had thoughts about making this type of post before as well. So I additionally took this as an opportunity to finally make it. I hope that's alright.

And now, I just wanna say, I will be going into detail on all my thoughts about almost everything about My Inner Demons. The writing, the story, the worldbuilding, the characters, the scenes, about almost everything.

And additional heads up because despite this show meaning alot to me, and something that I've created related to it has helped me through so much and something I've poured blood, sweat and tears into.

There's going to be sections that may not be pretty. Where I can't hide my feelings when talking about some of these certain points.

Also that I'm not a professional, these are just my personal thoughts, feelings and opinions on Aphmaus show.

But finally getting into it;

My thoughts on Aphmaus’ My Inner Demons.

—- Let's start with a quick recap.

Within an alternate dimension, there is a world known as Daemos. Where a group of 5 individuals take it upon themselves to find a solution to their world's magic-crisis.

Said group consisting of their leader,

a Second-Born Prince known as Asch, Along with his 4 Loyal Knights, an ex-assassin named Leif, an ex-soldier/general of Rhal(the first-born prince)s army named Pierce, an individual who would've been executed just for being considered weak if Asch didn't ‘spare’ him named Noi, and a not very much is known about member named Rhys, who has a student/teacher relationship with Asch's Grandmother.

Said Grandmother helps the five to find a solution to their world's magic-crisis.

A magic-crisis where the source of all their magic, which comes from human souls, is running out. (A crisis caused by not very smart decisions leading to an extinction of humans) (And a Crisis not known to the general populace and other kingdoms. only the royal family and its council from the most powerful kingdom of them all, know of the crisis.)

(Through Lady Grandma) They learn of a possible solution, which leads them to take on a mission to kill the last remaining human for their soul. In order to use it to open up a portal to another world, which they called “ea-urth.”

Here within Ea-urth, is where they temporarily experience utter suffering, And where they meet a human girl named Ava who finds them, and panickedly asks if they need help. Which, they awkwardly stand silently and glare & stare in response instead. (Because Pierce said don't show weakness. *Because Daemos society doesn't allow you to.*)

However she finds Asch collapsed on the ground behind them, quickly realizes he's unaliven’t and performs cpr. Saving his life, and as a show of thanks(/jk) they immediately threaten her. Before then abandoning her by hanging her on a tree by her hood.

They then get traumatized by cosplayers, return to force her to help them. She passes out after Asch turns the tree she was hanging on into ashes, and finds that their horns are real. (he burned the tree down because she didn't believe they were from another world and this in a way pissed him off. :3)

And now with her strangely intelligent cat they mistake as an earth spirit that somehow got outside despite the door being locked. Leads them back to her apartment with them carrying her like a bag of potatoes. Burning said doorknob off because locked and COULDN'T GET IN. (Johnny how???)

And soon after she wakes up, and tries to escape but fails. they spend HOURS. Literal HOURS. Waiting for her to STOP. SCREAMING. (which damn ava you got some LUNGS in you!)

When they finally get her to stop. Conversation and LIEing happens. Both sides. And a police station is involved until Ava dips out on that idea because they start threatening a police officer.

And this leads to her finally accepting she'll teach them how to live on earth!

.

.

… (*deep sigh*) …

.

The show is then quickly mostly about (forcibly) romantically pairing the boys with Ava.

.

With the occasional beginning or ending scenes within occasional episodes that portrays what's happening back on Daemos.

Which is about Rhals fiance, Lady Bish, (which one must assume is the (temporary) lead Villain of the season) Who slowly figures out what Lady Grandma has been up to, what's she hiding. And repeated hints & clues to Asch's fated sacrifice with more and more description.

The first season.. the show unfinishedly ends with the boys forcefully being returned to Daemos along with Ava magically disguised as a Daemos.

Got all that? Good, now onto

— what I gathered from My Inner Demons… (pt 1)

The story seems to have wanted to be a Harem rom-com (romantic-comedy) with a serious underlying tone & story. And i think also wanted to be for a more mature audience, at least for teens and up. Due to its inclusion of sexual jokes, (somehow minimal or non-existent) cussing, and… I guess violence?

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (listen man i said “wanted”)

In my opinion, the show fails to succeed in what it wanted to be.

– Let's get into the romance first. Shall we?

The romance in this show is not done well. Not at all, To be honest.

The show forces romance onto the main cast whether it fits their character, their inner stories, or if they like it or not. When Ava finally thinks about possible romance, it's because she's being pressured into doing so because of the people in her life. Not just the boys. But adults that she's supposed to trust and be friends with.

And the boys? They don't love Ava. Even if the show tries telling us around the end of the series they do? Also that they suddenly gotten comfortable and adjusted somewhat to daily life on earth that they help do chores now? We didn't see that growth. We saw nothing. This is out of the blue!

If they were intending to be a shojo something jump type of story like ouran host club, this wasn't Previously established, nor does it fit the story (*cough* that could've been told. *cough*) additionally, even if the story was like this, they still needed to show that development!

And for most of the story, the boys only want to marry ava for power, because of a misunderstanding that she is princess of earth (*....Deep sigh…*). But suddenly they all are actually in love with or have a crush on her??

*sigh*

— onto about the comedy

I think, we can all agree… the comedy is atleast a hit or miss, and awkward and uncomfortable at most.

(I'm so sorry for mentioning these scenes 😭) Examples: Like… the bathroom scene with Rhys and Lady Grandma… plus every single… one of those jokes Ms.Oates and Lady Grandma has made.

I'll.. i'll talk about their jokes. Not right now, though.

Anywho,

I personally think the comedy aspect in general doesn't fit the story. Don't get me wrong, every story needs a bit of comedy. But with how serious the ‘underlying’ story is, the comedy is… yikes. Ofc, you could still do an overdramatic(/pos) comedy that ends up transitioning to a more serious tone at times, (Aka Romantic Killer on Netflix, which i think can count as a physiological horror/neu) but i don't think that style fits this story, or at least the story we got.

*deep breath*

– onto the serious tone/underlying story…

The serious underlying tone is overshadowed by the comedy. And the serious underlying story is not just overshadowed, but disconnected from most of the story.

Every. Single. Time. The show gives us what's going on on Daemos, and then goes back to what's going on on earth. Is almost whiplash. Due to the utter tone shift between earth and daemos. Idk how to describe it, but…

When we're on earth, it's a comedy. The way things happen on earth are dramatic, possibly one could even say theatrical and illogical, including the characters themselves. It tries to include serious moments, but again, they're overshadowed by the comedic atmosphere.

But on Daemos? It has a darker atmosphere, it's more serious. The characters on daemos are also taken (somewhat more) seriously. Though comedy tries to coexist within it... but it just feels out of place or doesnt work with what Daemos is described and supposed to be and feel like.

I wouldn't say the shifting of tone between worlds is inherently bad.. in fact it could be used quite cleverly!

In other stories. I personally don't think it works with this story in particular. I'll explain this further, later on.

Additional note; the boys were once treated with this seriousness. In the very first episode, they're in a more serious atmosphere, and treated more seriously! Like, Asch was kinda intimidating when he threatened to kill his loyal knights that respect him if they chose to stay! (... oh, we will talk about Asch.)

But the moment, we see them on earth? Say goodbye to them being treated seriously and as adults!

Oh yeah. Additionally, they are not treated as adults. What do you mean? They act like children! Which doesn't make sense for… their world and culture they're from. They wouldn't.. act like children, even if the show might imply that daemos are cruel and selfish, but if they TRULY were, this stroy wouldn't.. really work. (I'll explain, i promise)

AND that the boys seem to almost fit the group of misfits trope! They all would've been killed for being weak or being who they are because who they are is deemed weak if Asch didn't save them, spare them, or show mercy! They're alive because Asch took them in and his position as a second-born prince, right? (We will talk about Asch…)

--- This is Part 1 of a multi-part series of my thoughts on Aphmau's show because I have an abundance of thoughts, and there's a character limit on posts! 💜💜💜🫶

See you in the next part! (If you choose to, ofc!)

#my inner demons aphmau #aphmau my inner demons #my inner demons #my inner thoughts #loading thoughts... #part 2 is talking about the worldbuilding and characters!

[ms-scarletwings]

That Speculative Analysis About Irkens No One (Originally) Asked For: Part III

Hey! Huge thanks to everyone who took an interest in the first two parts of this fun I got into about Jhonen Vasquez’s funny green guys. I didn’t really expect to kind of rebound back into this old flame the way I have been lately and it’s actually a pleasant surprise that other fans have been getting something out of it and enabling my latest thinkworms.

Check out the part one of this extended analysis here, for broad tids and bits about Planet Irk and the mention of its inhabitants being basically cyborgs.

Part Two, takes on Irken physiology and focusing on their tissue differences from humans, here.

So alright, I’ve been holding this one in since the very start. Previously, I brushed the topic of the control brains, and I’ve sorta gestured acknowledgement toward the Irken obsession with height. Now, I’m really ready to get some thought goo flowing all over and in the crevices of the matter of Irk’s power structure, and, perhaps the one social W that this marauding pack of space imperialists get to claim.

Bearing no further ado, let’s talk about the Tallest. Can we talk about the Tallest? Please Mac, I’ve been dying to talk about the Tallest with you all day.

I’ve said once and now repeated twice that I think the canon implied that the homeworld of our favorite invaders is dummy thicc; consequentially, it’s left a lasting ripple on the evolution of their species as well.

Planetary gravity has a ton of invisible effects on the skeletons of large fauna, to the point where it’s the main thing that you, filthy Earth creature, can shake your own fist at it for taking a huge slice of the blame behind the prevalence of back pain in upright hominins. All that downward tug can really wear a spine down good over the years. In fact, would you believe that astronauts actually grow a smidge taller in Zero-G environments? Legit. So… use your brain and consider what we could have ended up looking like with our same bone structure, but many times that compression.

You take that mental path, and suddenly, height outcomes may not seem like such an arbitrary measure of general survival fitness after all. Especially in the days before the Irkens represented an intergalactic super power. It may seem counterproductive in their modern intelligent society, but no doubt this aesthetic affinity is something that runs much deeper ingrained than practical programming. Respecting tallness is something Irk takes on dogmatic intuition- to the fault of barely being able to comprehend the notion of another species being both tall AND intellectually primitive.

Nevertheless, I pose that the connection may also be more than traditionalism, and not so vestigial after all. My reasoning suggests that The Almighty Tallest are in fact, not randomly born… they’re planned and made by the real overlords sitting atop the pyramid. And even so, they have existed in the species long, LONG before the PAK even did.

• Caste Polymorphism & Bug Stuff

The insectoid inspirations of Zim’s kin are something so obvious they really need no recapping, yet, I’m pining to make a more specific comparison. Some people like to go for wasps or bees, but if you ask me, the roving militarism of the armada is begging for the ant metaphor if anything.

And I got a hell of a species to whip out that you’ve probably never heard of.

A quick context breakdown- Polymorphism is another one of those long biology terms for a pretty simple concept: when one species has different distinct forms or types of forms that appear in its population. And it’s not talking about continuous spectrum differences like height alone. It’s talking about when animals/plants can have one gene with different possible phenotypical presentations. One good example (in humans no less) is the existence of different blood type groups. One of my absolute favorite cases, by the by, is in Side-Blotched Lizards. The females are samey and look pretty generic, but the males deadass come in 3 completely differentiated color variants, all of which are playing a perpetual game of rock paper scissors with the other two for breeding success.

And this kind of phenomenon of course gets way less subtle in the insect world. Everyone here probably knows the simplified version of what a colony critter’s caste system looks like, with sterile female workers, breeding done males, and one big fat queen at the top, pumping out replacements for the other two. This is the part where I tell you it’s a hell of a lot more complicated, weird, and varied than that, actually.

Consider army ants, as I see them, the most Irk-ish of real world animals. Some fun facts on the most notorious handful of species below:

+ Nomadic by nature, they do not build any form of permanent hill or nest, and instead make temporary pit stops inbetween periods where the entire colony swarms along the forest floor in search of resources.

+ Army ants are aggressively predatory and forage in the style of legion-like “raids” that overwhelm their prey with sheer numbers and speed.

+ These raids often take shape by way of linear traffic columns that guide the direction of the swarm. This is because the ants have poor vision, relying on following the paths of the scent trails of the workers that are spearheading the legion.

+ Eciton burchellii, in particular, demonstrates a stark example of polymorphism by way of a rigid caste hierarchy. I.e., The non-reproductive colony members are divided into 4 sized tiers of worker. From smallest to largest there are minors, medias, porters (sub-majors), and soldiers (majors).

And let me tell you… the difference between the Soldier (major) caste and the rest of that batch is a pretty surprising gap.

This is what ONE major-type ant looks like hanging out with colony mates from the lower worker castes.

Oh wait, getting ahead of myself. Ahem… sorry, I meant THIS is the image I was referring to:

Not only is that obviously the bossiest bitch of the bunch, but she has some pretty cool features unique to her status… The more spidery looking body shape and those absolutely wicked mandibles being a standout.

You know what drop I already had coming, so I’ll cut to the chase.

It’s clear that the Almighty Tallest are NOT the Irken equivalent of a hive queen. They are not drones, either. Besides the glaring fact that they are non-reproductive individuals, the role they serve in Irken society has very little if anything to do with running the day-to-day lives and functions of the larger population.

Instead, we have always seen them (and would have seen them more in the unmade episodes such as The Trial) involved more with the military front of the empire. Tallest Miyuki’s one known planned appearance would have featured her overseeing the military research happening on the Vortian base. Tallest Spork’s brief entrance (and exit) was planned to take place on Devastis, where he addressed those who were being evaluated to join the elite ranks of the armada. And our very own iconic duo have,

also,

never even once been seen on their home planet since their introduction. Their first appearance? Conventia. Ever since? Aboard the Massive, where they directly command and supervise the operations of the active invasions.

Why, the Almighty Tallest in all cases… these aren’t emperors at all, they’re generals! Sure, they have power, they have reverence, but even they must obey the final judgement of a Control brain at the end of the day. The same brains that grant them their status in the first place. Note, in real ants, the mechanics of how exactly any one egg is differentiated into its decided caste, from worker to queen, and all between, is… to say the very least, really fucking complicated. And all over the place. Broadly speaking, it’s a mix between genetic potential and nutrition during development. In some species this determination is near entirely up to the whims of DNA, and in others, it does come heavily down to how many protein shakes the colony decided to give their brood that day.

For the purposes of this hypothetical, I’m going to assume the people of Irk fall somewhere in between those two polar options. Now, being a futuristic network of coordinated supercomputers using cloning tech, the control brains have a more precise handle on the gene pool/diversity of their underlings than anything possible with natural breeding.

Let’s also assume they record and monitor the current population of each potential class of irken (they literally assign and code the PAKs’ occupational roles themselves). With each batch of smeets, they can predetermine certain percentages aside with the potential to fill whatever roles need replacing and expansion… keeping the genetic height markers attached for those downline to understand who should be looking down on who. Ergo, not ANY Irken can one day become the almighty tallest, but within each generation of smeets produced, there are potential candidates hidden among the upper ranks of would-be soldiers.

This way, the sudden death of the current armada commander would not disable current operations or throw the offensive lines into utter chaos for years on end. The Control brains need only select out the cream of the crop from their “proto-Tallest” and then cue their body (via diet or hormones) to switch the proper genes on, get a new growth spurt going, and complete the metamorphosis into their true potential.

As for why they seemed to break a historical precedent and jump for a two-for-one special in Zim’s generation… yeah, I’m not sure about that really. There could be a link between that and the very sudden death of the two previous tallests in a row, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯. It could just be a remarkable coincidence that Red and Purple were decided to be equally viable successors. Or, Operation Impending Doom could have been deemed an ambitious enough endeavor to warrant the appointing of two regents at once, given the scale of Irk’s expanded army for the purpose.

So, that’s it, then? The Irken species became so reliant of their technological advancement that they have casted aside and replaced every bit of their natural life cycle and order some

computer deemed inefficient? Substituted the seat of their leadership and even their ability to procreate with the soulless calculations of their AI programs?

:y Well, yes, but actually no.

• Long Live the Cyberocracy!

When I said in part one that Irk was on track to eventually make the jump from cyborg citizens to an entirely mechanical or digitized lifeform, I was doing a ponderous thinking thing. I was supposed to just be speculating, and then I find out the most mind blowing revelation while doing the research for this bad boy- those alien bastards already did it. The madlads/madlasses… So, living Irkens DO actually run the show around here, hiding in plain sight this whole time.

I am still desperately searching for confirmation of the rumors I heard that Vasquez himself has said what I’m about to share, and I deeply appreciate anyone who can give me that as well. Even if this turns out to only be fanon, I’m still in love with this interpretation anyway: Within the Control Brains are the preserved consciousness of Irkens who have achieved this evolutionary end stage. WHO are they exactly is… honestly anyone’s guess. The important part being that they no longer have need of their meat suits to survive any longer and now exist as these hulks of nerve and metal.

Be this what it looks like to me, and it would be certain that this is actually the most coveted and honorary fate of any single Irken- immortalized and given a status on par with deification over the most powerful imperium the cosmos has ever known. Perhaps this was the path of particularly accomplished Tallests of the past, who had their paks integrated into the core of a fledgeling new control interface. What better way to commemorate those who have fallen in the highest level of glory? A single “brain” could in fact even be the summation of multiple beings, making example of the greatest the species has to offer and what all should be striving for. Conversely, the greatest punishment of their kind is the opposite- to be forever deceased, forever forgotten, forever excluded from this collective transcendence:

Damnatio Memoriae.

(But like… in a kids’ show)

There’s no clear estimate on how many control brains exist in the franchise, there are at least four that we have seen on screen, one on Devastis and the others within Judgementia. Probs safe to assume there’s at least one permanently built into the infrastructure of any planet of key enough importance to the Empire. Interestingly, lost scripts and show canon make numerous references to them still having gendered pronouns and voices when addressed individually.

Though, now that I think of it, that’s also really interesting that the same is true for the worker castes, too.

• Putting the “Trans” in Transirkenism 👉😎👉

When a worldbuild goes so far as to explicitly confirm a completely sexless, alien race of neuter cyborgs, the existence of a human-like gender binary starts to beg for some kind of explanation. You can’t just “suspension of disbelief” it aside the same as you can the fact that English is the most popular first language across the Galaxy.

Oh, lookie, it’s one of my favorite things to think about when toying around with postbiological concepts/philosophy. I knew there were even more reasons transhumanism always seemed like such a cool sci-fi trope, from the endless possibilities in imagining the badass super powers, to the worlds of knowledge, and to the absolute social equalization that would all be unlocked in a cybernetic future. Well, that future is already comfortably in the hands of Irk, and whether intentionally or not, it has apparently brought them to the threshold of not just a postorganic, but also a post-gender society too.

A feminine and masculine variation does still exist in the form of small aesthetic differences- voice, antennae shape, pronoun usage, and eyelashes- but is now so far disconnected from the original associated sex roles that the distinction might as well be no more than a cosmetic preference. While “female” irkens are seen much, much more rarely than their counterparts, neither gender is treated differently from the other, and both have been spotted in occupations all the way up to invader elite and the Almighty Tallest.

This is a blending, of course, far beyond the insect-like caste system that itself did survive to the modern day, and that shows some truly impressive progress from what I imagine they were doing before.

Army ants, like all eusocial insects, are matriarchal; as in, where the females run the colony from top to bottom, while the males lead short runs of being mutilated by the workers, mating with the queen, and then dying shortly after.

In this headcannon narrative, it was almost certainly the male-associated gender Irkens who were liberated by the technological jump.

And that’s all sum purdy neat food for thought, huh ! ?

#iz headcanons #invader zim #irkens #xenobiology #iz analysis #iz #nicktoons #long post #new world army ants #cool bug facts #scarlet talks about things #more like becomes possessed by them #YOU WANT THE SCOOPSIES YOU GET POTATOES #we hyperfixating #lord help me #thanks for coming to this ted talk #you know for kids!

[t4llhum4n]

So. It's time to fulfill my promise about Porter lmao.

Theory (and spoilers for Vincent and Sam's playlists as well as Sam's bonus scene) will be below the cut.

Well, at least we know now that he isn't Hush's brother.

In all seriousness though, I had no idea how to approach a theory about this guy that hasn't already been shouted from the rooftops on tumblr. So, I started with the bonus scene, and upon relistening, I heard something that I found.. odd.

Why, and how, was Porter the one texting Sam?

Everyone that I've seen is talking about Vincent and Porter's history (which is something I ended up doing too whoops), so with this, I want to theorize about Sam and Porter's (potential) history. Bear with me, I kind of lost interest in the Solaire's storylines in light of things like the Balance and Carpe Deus, so I might mess some things up lmao.

I've seen, and agree with, the "Porter is Alexis' progeny" theory, at least at its basic level. I do think that Porter was potentially turned by Alexis, hence the "Solaire," but I'm wondering if his situation wasn't closer Sam's than we originally thought. Let me cook real quick.

We don't know how old Porter is. We don't know when Porter was turned. Hell, we don't even know if this guy was empowered or not (different can of worms, I'm putting that aside). All we have is that he uses the last name "Solaire" and that he has Sam's contact information. Admittedly, we don't know much about Alexis past her age, but for the sake of this theory, that's all we really need.

If Alexis has been a vampire for over fifty years, and Sam has been a vampire for under twenty, then that leaves a little over thirty years where Alexis' could've been fucking around and finding out. The thing that people (including myself) tend to forget when thinking about Sam's turning is that Alexis knew how to do it. Sure, it was done to her by William, but we know from the timeline that she was badly injured when she was turned, so she probably didn't learn it just from that first instance. Furthermore, considering that she has been described as "difficult" and "a hellion" along with the fact that she was apparently so awful that William swore he'd never turn another person again, I'm guessing that she didn't study up on vampires and how they work.

So, what else is there? Hands-on experience; the best teacher. Enter, Porter. I'm not going to give an estimate of his age beyond "older than Sam," because an exact number doesn't really matter for this. I am, however, going to do what I do best, and point out parallels that I've noticed. Namely, the parallels between Fred and "Bright Eyes'" turning, and Sam's own experience with turning.

Time for a quick run-down for those who aren't too familiar with the Fred/"Bright Eyes" storyline! Basically, Quinn leaves both Fred and "Bright" on the brink of death. Sam sees Fred, turns him to save his life, and then tells Fred how to turn other people so he can save "Bright," which he does. From there, Sam takes on both vampires as his own, seeing as Fred is too inexperienced with, well, everything, to be a proper Maker. He teaches them for a couple of years, and then lets them go off on their own once he thinks they're ready. And at the end of it all, Fred decides to take Sam's last name.

Cool, great recap, but why am I bringing it up? Well, let's look over to Sam's story real quick. He was turned, though against his will, by Alexis, someone who we can infer isn't responsible enough to be a proper Maker. We know that once William caught wind of the full situation, he took matters into his own hands, separated the two, and set Sam up in a cabin on his own, as per his request. Knowing William, he most likely offered more help, but knowing Sam, he probably declined, and opted to live alone comfortably on the edge of the territory. In both situations, we have someone who can't or isn't a good Maker, and said vampire's Maker taking responsibility for their progeny's progeny.

What if this isn't William's first rodeo with caring for one of Alexis' progeny? What if Porter was one of Alexis' first progeny, with circumstances being similar to that of Sam's turning, and William took him under his wing? The difference this time, though, is that Porter accepted William's offer of more help. Now, this could be because William heard about Porter's situation sooner after it happened, or that Porter was unempowered and had no clue about anything -- either way, this next claim stands. What if Porter took the name "Solaire" from William, not Alexis?

If this is true, it would explain two things; 1) why Porter has Sam's number, and 2) why Porter and Vincent were at odds. The first reason is kind of self-explanatory. If Porter heard about what happened with Sam and Alexis via someone else in the clan and he empathized with it, then he probably would've reached out to offer support. What became of him reaching out could be a number of things, but it ended with the two of them exchanging contact information, and that's why Porter has Sam's number.

Now, on to the rockier claim. Let's start with this: I'm going to say that Porter is older than Vincent. If we run with the assumption that what I said earlier about William and Porter's relationship is true, Porter would've seen William as his true Maker, despite William not being the one to turn him. So, when Vincent gets turned, and William starts devoting his time to him, we can assume that Porter might get a little jealous. And that jealousy grew over time, especially because Vincent kept refusing the help that William was offering. He had the privilege of actually having a good and competent Maker, and he was spitting in his face? If what I theorized about Porter's past is true, then it's natural that that would irk him.

He kept it under wraps, though, and it got easier to tolerate Vincent; especially when he put his pride away and stopped being so difficult. But part of him was always stewing with jealousy. Now, I'm not saying that jealousy is the only reason why Porter and Vincent got into a fight that almost resulted in their deaths. I think that there was something that initiated it. Maybe it was something one of them said or did to the other -- I'm not sure. That being said, whatever it was brought all that jealousy to a head, and that's why they fought.

I don't know though! And I'm more than open to other interpretations. I have a few floater thoughts if we look at Porter in a more sinister light (e.g. Alexis and Porter are close and he got the number from her right before he sent the text), but I hadn't seen anyone make him out to be more sympathetic yet, so I decided to go that route! I hope you enjoyed this mess of a theory, and as always, if you notice any plotholes or have any evidence that contradicts this, please let me know :)

#i didn't promise this forever ago what do you meannn?? #at least i did it tho #redacted audio #redacted asmr #redactedverse #redacted theories #redacted sam #redacted vincent #redacted william #redacted alexis #redacted porter #gonna wait until the ea is public before i write my theory about all that #because sheesh #there is so much to unpack there

[lokiondisneyplus]

Potential spoilers below the cut, but a super interesting article.

Some non-spoiler pull quotes:

Tom is my producing partner in a true sense. Before we had any writers or directors, it was Tom and I for months building this story out. We had a 30-page document that was like, This is what the show is: TVA, He Who Remains — even Victor Timely was in that first document years ago. And it’s just carried through. -- This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography. The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. -- We were casting, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was playing in L.A. and in New York, but it hadn’t gone nationwide yet. I think it was going the very next week. We had gotten a call from our casting director who said, “Hey, I’m about to put together a list for OB — just initial thoughts. But before I do that, I really think you guys should meet Ke, and I think it should be Ke. I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he’s going to have a lot of offers for different things.”

Of the eight live-action TV shows that Marvel Studios has produced for Disney+ to date, only one has concluded with the explicit promise of a second season: That would be “Loki,” the outrageously entertaining series about Tom Hiddleston’s god of mischief and his metaphysical exploits in the Time Variance Authority.

It turns out, those plans were already in the works before a second of “Loki” had ever streamed. As executive producer Kevin Wright explains to Variety, he and Hiddleston began talking about Season 2 of the show while in production on the third episode of Season 1.

“As we were shooting the ‘Lamentis’ episode, Tom and I started having lots of conversations about how this world could build out, how we dive deeper into it,” he says. “A large part of what we wanted to do was not trying to repeat ourselves, and not try to play the hits.” At the same time, he adds, they also wanted to make sure didn’t start Season 2 by “fast-forwarding through the drama” of the Season 1 finale. 

And so much happened in that finale. To recap: Loki and his variant-turned-potential-soulmate Sylvie (Sophia Di Martino) arrive at the end of time, where they meet the creator of the TVA, He Who Remains (Jonathan Majors) — the variant of the supervillain Kang who won a massive multiversal war. To prevent future Kangs from emerging, He Who Remains has used the TVA to maintain a single, sacred timeline — pruning away trillions of potential lives in the process. He gives Sylvie and Loki an impossible choice: Replace him as the head of the TVA, or kill him and bring forth an infinite number of Kangs.

Loki wants the first option; Sylvie wants the second. She wins, kills He Who Remains, and boots Loki back to an alternate version of the TVA, where previous compatriots Mobius (Owen Wilson) and Hunter B-15 (Wunmi Mosaku) don’t remember ever meeting him.

Variety has screened the first four (of six) episodes of “Loki,” and without spoiling anything, Season 2 picks up pretty much exactly where the first season left off — before then charting its own storytelling path. The full cast has returned, including Gugu Mbatha-Raw as former TVA judge Ravonna Renslayer and Eugene Cordero as TVA functionary Casey. And Majors returns as well as He Who Remains, in addition to another Kang variant, a 19th century inventor named Victor Timely. They’re joined by new actors including Kate Dickie (“Game of Thrones”), Rafael Casal (“Blindspotting”) and recent Oscar-winner Ke Huy Quan as TVA technician Ouroboros, aka “OB.”

Behind the scenes, there have been some changes from Season 1. The series’ original director Kate Herron and head writer Michael Waldron both stepped back to focus on other projects. In their places, “Moon Knight’s” Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead have stepped in as lead directors, and Season 1 writer Eric Martin stepped up as head writer for Season 2.

To delve into the second season of “Loki,” Wright talked with Variety about casting Quan just before his performance in the multiverse spectacular “Everything Everywhere All at Once” changed the actor’s life forever; what the future of “Loki” the show and Loki the character might be following Season 2; and how Majors’ arrest in March for assault did (or did not) affect their plans for Season 2.

What were the discussions like about how to approach Season 2?

I think we had to just keep reminding ourselves that the TVA is a great world, let’s live in the drama of what we’re creating there. Which means not fast-forwarding through the drama that they just decided to stop pruning timelines, but also staying in the emotional turmoil that Loki and Sylvie are coming into this season with.

Also, there were certain things in Season 1 that felt like they were maybe a risk, and we didn’t know how the audience would respond. Once we realized that they embraced it, it felt like a lot of freedom to go further.

What did you feel was a risk?

In a very early draft of the script that Michael Waldron had written, that first Time Theater conversation between Mobius and Loki was maybe a couple of pages. And then a lot of other big Marvel-y action things happened afterwards, and we all went, “That’s not the interesting stuff. This Time Theater conversation is interesting. That’s what the show could be.” If we are really diving into the character-driven philosophy and introspection of self, that’s quite different than the last 10 years of Marvel movies. Would the audience follow us along on that? 

Tom Hiddleston famously held seminars on the character of Loki for Season 1. Did he do anything like that for Season 2?

No, because we tried to bring back as much crew as we could from Season 1. It was largely the same team. Obviously, we went from Atlanta to London [for production], but a lot of our department heads carried over, so there was an institutional knowledge that was built in. And Tom is my producing partner in a true sense. Before we had any writers or directors, it was Tom and I for months building this story out. We had a 30-page document that was like, This is what the show is: TVA, He Who Remains — even Victor Timely was in that first document years ago. And it’s just carried through.

So even as Kate Herron kind of handed the reins over at the end of Season 1, there is an institutional knowledge that comes with us being the glue between the seasons.

You mentioned He Who Remains and Victor Timely. You finished shooting Season 2 in 2022, but did Jonathan Majors’ arrest for assault in March resulted in any changes to the show? 

No. This is maybe — not maybe — this is the first Marvel series to never have any additional photography. The story that is on screen is the story we set out to make. We went out there with a very specific idea of what we wanted this to be, and we found a way to tell it in that production period. It’s very much what’s on screen on Disney+.

It’s clear that Majors plays an integral role this season, and you just alluded that Marvel usually does additional photography on all its titles. So was there any discussion about making changes to the show, given the uncertainty about what was happening with Majors?

No. And that mainly came from — I know as much as you do at the moment. It felt hasty to do anything without knowing how all of this plays out.

How early into the writing of Season 2 did you decide to cast Ke Huy Quan as OB?

We were in London, so I had at least some version of our scripts. The way the process works, they’re always being rewritten, but OB was in there, and his introduction scene was almost exactly as originally written. I would like to say it was in early spring, which was maybe just two months before we started shooting. We were casting, and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” was playing in L.A. and in New York, but it hadn’t gone nationwide yet. I think it was going the very next week. We had gotten a call from our casting director who said, “Hey, I’m about to put together a list for OB — just initial thoughts. But before I do that, I really think you guys should meet Ke, and I think it should be Ke. I think you guys should meet with him quick, because probably by Monday, he’s going to have a lot of offers for different things.”

So that that Friday, myself, Justin and Aaron, two of our directors, had gotten on a Zoom with Ke. We pitched him the show and this character. We shared that introduction scene with him and maybe the full script. And then we called in the big guns that Monday; Kevin Feige got on the phone with him and said, “Ke, I know you read the script. I know you talked to the guys. We really think you should do this. I really want you to join the Marvel family.” And he had already made up his mind over the weekend. It was like, “I’m there. I’ve been a huge fan of this for a long time.”

In Season 1, the show explored several time periods and locations outside the TVA, but in the first four episodes of this season, you stick to just 1880s Chicago, 1970s London and 1980s in the Midwest. How did you come to that decision to focus more on the TVA and building out its history?

Because that felt like where so much of our core character conflict was going to come from. There was so much intersectionality of our characters and what they think of the TVA. Sylvie wants to burn it down because the apple is rotten, as she says. Loki sees it as potentially the only form of defense against whatever else is coming in a war with Kang. Mobius and B-15, they’ve dedicated their whole life to it. They’re not quite ready to give it up. Renslayer feels like she’s been keeping it together, and you get a real understanding of why she thinks she should be the one to get this thing back on track.

We want everybody to be in the gray area — they’re neither good nor bad. They might make bad choices or heroic choices, but they are trying to figure out who they are. The TVA felt like the place where we could maximize that storytelling and learn more about those characters through that. But also stay tuned, because we are going to more places [in Episodes 5 and 6].

Do you think the TVA could start to appear in other titles in the MCU?

I would love that. Look, I’ve been siloed in on “Loki” for almost five years now, by the time this show finishes, and with every filmmaker who has put their hands on the show, we’ve all had the same conversations: It feels like the TVA could really be this exciting connective tool for all of this storytelling. And we’ve only seen a fraction of it. We’re dealing very specifically with this one smaller department with Mobius and B-15 and Renslayer, but you look out at those vistas — this place is infinite. The exciting thing to us is there certainly are more stories to be told there. We’ve carved out our own little corner of the sandbox and built something cool. We’re hoping that other people want to come and play with it.

One of the things I’ve most enjoyed about “Loki” is how it’s telling its own story, but have you considered bringing more of the MCU into it?

Yes, in both seasons of writers’ rooms. It always felt wrong to go too far outside of the box of things that would directly contribute to Loki’s character arc in these two seasons. So that’s why we get [Jaimie Alexander as] Sif in there [in Season 1], we play with the variants in the void and various levels of Asgard-specific storytelling. But while we’ve had nearly 12 hours of storytelling, it never feels like we have enough time. Eventually, just handling the stories of our ensemble and not shortchanging them has always been priority number one.

Now, Season 1 and 2 were always built to be two chapters of the same book. The hope would be going forward, there are more books that we can tell these stories with. I certainly think that we could start doing that.

Would there be a Season 3 of “Loki”? Is the future of the show finite or more open-ended?

I think it’s open-ended. We certainly did not develop this season going, “We have to tee up Season 3” — in the way that we did with Season 1, where there was a very specific, “Hey, we’re coming back.” But I also think that where this show goes, there certainly can be many, many, many more stories told with Loki in the “Loki” world, and in other worlds connected to Loki, the character.

Do you think Loki would ever rejoin the larger world of the MCU? 

That’s the hope. I don’t want to — yeah. I think the the sun shining on Loki and Thor once again has always been the priority of the story we’re telling. But for that meeting to really be fulfilling, we have to get Loki to a certain place emotionally. I think that’s been the goal of these two seasons.

This interview has been edited and condensed.

#loki #tom hiddleston #kevin wright #ke huy quan #season 2 #spoilers

[episims]

Household: Root

Back to Foxfire! And we're starting off with a household that definitely needs a proper recap.

During the last round, Judi gave birth to Casper, and later on, he grew up into a toddler.

Then Judi was informed that her mother had passed away and bequeathed a majority of their family's wealth to Judi and Jonas.

Jonas was quick to refuse his part of the inheritance. Judi on the other hand was willing to take the money but knew the arrangements were going to force her to travel.

So Judi asked Jonas to move together with her and look after Casper while she was away. Jonas agreed that it'd be the best for Casper but hesitated with the decision, as he wasn't sure if Judi's place was really where he wanted to move.

As for my own thoughts, I'm not thrilled to write about off-screen characters dying. This hood doesn't need any more drama! But, I felt like I didn't have much choice in this case. Would've been weird to keep insisting that Judi and Jonas come from a newly rich family but never acknowledge what happened to that fortune.

#ts2 #ts2 gameplay #the sims 2 #the sims 2 gameplay #sims 2 #sims 2 gameplay #foxfire forest #playing foxfire forest #foxfire forest summary #judith root #jonas root #casper root #i guess writing it in offered some sort of closure for jonas too #he deserves as much

[renardsarcastique]

The Concept of Forgiveness in the Bad

Let me start off that I don't usually make posts on Tumblr (more of a lurker), but this is an idea that I had in my head and that I thought was kind of interesting. This is quite a long post, so forgive me!

I finished watching Hazbin Hotel (a solid series; not 10/10, but I'd say a solid 8/10). The ending definitely felt way too rushed, but that's another post for another time. Let's talk about Charlie.

As we all know, Charlie is the Princess of Hell and heir to the throne. She is *literally* the kindest person in Hell. She wants to see the good in everyone and believes that everyone deserves a second chance. She is big on mercy.

*This might be a little spoilery if you haven't watched the last two episodes of HH, so read at your leisure*

When Vaggie and Lute fight, Vaggie eventually wins, but spares Lute, albeit talking to her more harshly than when Charlie tells Lucifer in their fight with Adam that he's had enough. Lucifer cockily says "How's mercy, bitch?"

In her own way, I think Charlie was still holding on to hope that Adam and Lute would come around in the future now that they had (hopefully) learned their lesson. Adam died (and a lot theorize he could go to Hell, but I'm 50/50 on that; it depends on that story arc), and Lute went back to Heaven.

So, to recap, Charlie, despite fighting with her friends by her side, was still apologetic during that fight and spared mercy to the one angel who had killed Sir Pentious and, at the time to Charlie, Alastor as well. But she showed Adam mercy.

From my own understanding and the few shows I watch, there are not a lot of characters where someone harbors this amount of kindness in them. And to me it's interesting because it really does beg the question: how far does this forgiveness and mercy go? But watching the last two episodes and reminiscing about the season as a whole, it made me think of an anime I used to watch in the early 2000s, specifically 2005. And that anime was Ginga Densetsu Weed (fully on YouTube, by the way).

Now, forgive me while I go on a bit of a tangent but make a connection here.

In the show, the main character is named Weed (given to him by a friend so he wouldn't feel alone), and his father is the protector of the lands and keeps the idea of Paradise, or that all dogs get along. That is until two certain (I think) Great Danes, who are brothers, start to terrorize and destroy any hope of Paradise for the dogs. One of the Great Danes, Hougen, kills a myriad of comrades and kidnaps Weed's father for the majority of the story. Throughout the season Weed encounters others working for Hougen who try to kill him. In one particular case this pair of Doberman brothers. Weed lets them go once after a quick scuffle, but one of Weed's confidants (Jerome) goes against Weed and kills them, saying they would have come back anyway. Filled with horror, Weed sends Jerome away. Others in the pack say Weed is too soft and that this is life and you need to fight to survive. Despite this, Jerome harbored no ill feelings towards Weed and instead worked from afar to keep Weed safe. Over time others from Hougen's pack try to attack Weed's group, but are shown mercy and actually do change.

In the final episode, it's the huge showdown between Weed and Hougen. Weed's father was found and recovered and watches. Weed almost kills Hougen, but he survives. Weed's father tells him to kill Hougen, but Weed can't when he sees Hougen struggling to even stand up. Weed's father says that he'll do it instead as justice for all that were killed. Weed however tells his dad no and shoves him aside. His group reminds Weed of all the evil Hougen has done, but Weed says that killing Hougen would make them just as bad as Hougen is. Eventually, the dude gets killed by a strike of lightning, but Weed says that kindness will definitely get to them (those with a hardened heart).

Okay, so why do I bring this up?

Both Charlie and Weed have this extreme kindness in them and want to spread that kindness to others.

Just like Charlie, who feels so bad for having simple troubled thoughts, says she's "just as bad as the worst overlord", Weed tells the group that killing Hougen, a dog who killed millions of other dogs and kidnapped his own father, would make them just as bad as him.

I feel that when Alastor inevitably betrays the group for his own agenda, things will go awry and there will of course be a huge fight in a case where Alastor is defeated, but Charlie will show him mercy and kindness and ask him to come back to the hotel because that's the kind of person she is. And truthfully, throughout the first season, Alastor did help Charlie along the way, whether genuine or not, so she does see that as a reason to show mercy (when that time comes).

Now I personally LOVE Alastor as a character. I love complex characters whose morals are grey and there's just so much to learn about them. So I hope when he does become the main villain he isn't killed, but that's just a personal gripe I would have.

That's my ramble for now. Maybe I'll make another post about my thoughts on Hazbin.

Thank you for coming to my TED Talk!

#hazbin hotel #hazbin alastor #hazbin charlie #ginga densetsu weed #alastor the radio demon #charlie morningstar #lucifer morningstar #lucifer hazbin hotel