#now even protagonist is turning into scum again the rest of the show is so good but at this point

[something-about-sunflowers]

The thing is, though... Izzy is meant to irredeemable and unlikable. He was written with zero sympathy for him in text, he was written as an asshole who is malicious, disloyal, and cruel. He is ABUSIVE. He is emotionally manipulative, he gaslights, he makes verbal threats and physical assaults. He deliberately and strategically isolates Ed from his crew. He deliberately disobeys a direct order (an act of mutiny) against Ed when he doesn't stand down and duels Stede. He turns around and betrays Ed when he doesn't get what he wants. VIco is an abuse apologist Izzy stan just like you. And they, just like the rest of the cast, know that you disgusting cultists only care about Izzy. You don't give a shit about Ed, or Stede, or anyone else. You literally just flick your clits to Izzy being unpleasant and abusive. He has no redeeming qualities that weren't stolen from other characters or completely made up by fandom. He's not a good person. He's not a nice guy. His motives are selfish and cruel. He's lazy and he's racist. So you can like him. Because you're a piece of shit abuse apologist. And you and all the other Izzy cultists can hold your breath until you turn blue about how he's not the character he is. But he is. Izzy is not secretly the third protagonist. He's not going to turn around and save the day. He doesn't have a decent, self-sacrificing, genuinely good bone in his body. If there is a Jim/Izzy kiss, then you are hoping for the dissolution of Jim/Oluwande (I guess an ample-bodied, dark-skinned black man isn't good enough for you? But then again, all Izzy stans are ultimately shallow and stupid), and you are disgusting. You would rather Jim be with a man who is racist and cruel than a man who adores them. And you know what, you stupid cunt? Even if it does happen, it WOULDN'T automatically mean good things for Izzy. If Jim kisses him to distract him while other people escape, he's still a piece of shit abuser. But he'll be that regardless. Because he abusive. And he is the villain. There is no redeeming him. The show has made that perfectly fucking clear. He betrayed Ed. He threatened to kill Ed if Ed didn't do what he wanted. He is the thing Ed will have to overcome to truly be happy.

And you're disgusting.

Ok, first of all: Big fan! I've heard so much about you Anon! Second: this made me laugh so fucking hard. I needed a good laugh so thanks Anon! ❤

(Read-more for the sake of my followers dashes, I'm writing essays again lmfao.)

So like. You must hate Mary then too, yeah? Since she's meant to be Izzy's parallel? What do you think of David Jenkins telling us that 'Izzy is the one to watch on a re-watch'? Do you think he's worried we missed him being 'irredeemable'? See, cause I took that as 'see that there's nuance to his character and he's got pretty reasonable motivations if you pay attention' but now, well, I'm just not sure, Anon 😰.

Tell me, where is he malicious outside of, like, regular piracy business? When someone else instigates? Yeah, sounds about right, so cruel of him to not worship at a rich man's feet when said rich man acts like he's the scum of the earth before knowing a single thing about him. How malicious of him to not be buddy-buddy with people his boss has taken prisoner, who are actively antagonizing him. How disloyal of him to *checks notes* uh. Hm. Well. There's just- there's nothing here? Oh! Oh do you mean the thing he did to get to Stede? The thing that Calico Jack (hi, I also love him, does that make me extra problématique?) and Spanish Jackie helped him do? The thing he did because he believed it was in Ed's best interest, since he was acting wildly out of character and incredibly irrationally considering their dangerous profession/lifestyle? That must be on a different list, I don't have that listed under 'disloyal', strange.

Izzy can't even manipulate his own emotions lmfao. Gaslighting? Anon, you must be misremembering, gosh you're so silly. Can't keep anything straight in that head of yours can you? He lies sometimes, I'll give you that, at least by omission, but that's not gaslighting. I'm sure you'll not like this but Ed's actions with regards to Izzy are closer to gaslighting than anything Izzy does to Ed. Or the crew, which I'm assuming you're including in this since you mention 'physical assault' and Izzy's never laid a hand on Ed?

The same crew that he, as far as he was aware (because Ed was *gasp* manipulating him by withholding information), was to treat as prisoners who, upon completing their task of 'repair the ship so we can take it from you, since we're pirates' would be given 'the uzsh' treatment of execution? The crew that he doesn't lay a hand on at all afterwards? Ooh, or do you mean when he grabbed Fang's beard? When Fang was openly questioning his captain's orders? Something that, if unchecked, can lead to a mutiny?

Funny thing about 'he disobeys a direct order' is that, well, Ed doesn't give him a direct order? 'We're not doing this' does not equal 'stand down'. He also doesn't try to stop it. Like, at all. He doesn't even tell Stede to stand down. He may not have wanted it to happen but he didn't do anything to actually prevent it when he's literally the only person on the ship with the power to prevent it. 'Izzy I no longer want him dead', all he needed to say since Izzy was operating on 'Izzy I want him dead but I can't do it myself because I'm conflicted about killing and especially killing things I'm attached to'. If Izzy had ignored that, then we could talk about 'disobeying direct orders'.

Also, he's first mate, its his job to push back on questionable orders from the captain. That's not mutiny that's how you prevent a mutiny.

'When he doesn't get what he wants', being. . . What? What he thought Ed wanted because he didn't communicate otherwise? What he thought was in Ed's best interest, because he's acting irrationally and out of character (which is confirmed by Fang and Ivan, by the way)? He's wrong* about what Ed's best interests are but that doesn't change the fact that he was trying to help rather than harm.

*Arguably. Ed indulging Stede was dangerous. Even without the threat of the navy on their backs (Stede's fault), there was no coasting on Blackbeard's reputation on the Revenge. They'd have to deal with every threat instead of just the one's who'd go after Blackbeard anyway.

So, wait, is Vico one of us or nah? Cause, like, I'll gladly join a cult if Vico is there. What do you think about David Jenkins though? Since his favorite character seems to be Izzy as well? Anyway I'll grant that Stede isn't my favorite character but that hardly means I don't give a shit about him. As for Ed. I love him so much, Anon. I love him so much that I don't infantilize him for the sake of demonizing another character so that I can use that to justify sending anon hate to people with differing opinions to me. I love Ed because he's unpleasant and- *ahem* well.

Some nice misogyny there, by the way. Gonna go out on a limb and say a bit transphobic as well, since I know you're presuming we're all women, some of us are men, some of us are neither or both. Has some notes of sexual harassment too. No, I'm not kidding. You're fantasizing about a group of people, sexually, and sending them messages about it. That's like, textbook sexual harassment. Not cool Anon.

Anon. They're pirates. None of them are good people. None of them are nice guys. All of their motivations are selfish and cruel.

Ed 'loves a good maim'. He's Blackbeard. He's not Robin Hood. He doesn't have secret (or explicit) good motivations for piracy and torture and murder. Stede is a deadbeat dad who chose piracy. Which includes stealing from people, even the poor (do we forget the plant so easily?), despite him. Y'know. Being rich? And like, selfish and cruel are Stede and Ed's middle names, Anon. Turtle vs crab? Setting a ship on fire with everyone still inside? Doesn't matter if the fire was the one who killed them if you're the one who set the fire, Anon. Swede losing teeth/fingernails? But I wanna go on a treasure hunt! And let's not even bring up Mary and the kids.

'Lazy and racist', where? I am legitimately asking, Anon, where? Is it where he makes the crew do their actual jobs? That's his job. Oh, how about where, instead of getting captured by the native people for being a colonizer, he does business with them? (You know, the people who explicitly call out Stede and Pete for being racist?) How about working under and with BIPOC? You think Blackbeard would keep him around if he was being racist? You think Jackie would have given him the time of day if he was racist? You don't think Fang and Ivan would have had some comment about it during the mutiny/planning scene?

I'll do you a solid, you don't have to point to any particular scene that doesn't exist. The writers themselves have said that they're not trying to tackle racism in the show the way that having Izzy be anything but 'white person who is, by virtue of being white, some level of racist' would be. If you don't want to call literally every other sympathetic white character on the show racist, you shouldn't be saying it of Izzy either. Izzy isn't the one who owns a fucking plantation.

Anon, I'm so glad you're giving me permission to keep liking Izzy! Thank you so much! I'm so grateful the fandom has you here to delegate what people are allowed to like and do! What would we do without you?

Nobody thinks Izzy is 'secretly the third protagonist'. Not anymore than people think that of Jim or Oluwande or Frenchie, since they all have side-plots going on as well. As for whether or not he's going to turn around and save the day? We'll see. Obviously he's not going to do everything because he's not the protagonist(s), but he has the potential to try and help just as much as everybody else on either crew. You're certainly entitled to your opinion/interpretation of his character but I can just as well say 'I think you're wrong', especially when you come into my house and throw a fit about it.

Did you forget that Jim and Lucius kissed as well? Are you forgetting 'we don't own each other'? Hell, Anon, I specifically said 'I don't ship Jim and Izzy', but well. Something something 'people on this website piss on the poor' etc. (Anon, you can just say 'fat', its not a bad word. I'm fat, Oluwande is fat, I fucking love that he's fat. I'm also not the best suited to speak on BIPOC representation but I'm also super happy that they're not shying away from including dark-skinned actors like Samson and Leslie. But that doesn't fit into your narrative so 🤷‍♂️.) You can call me all the sweet things you like but it doesn't change the fact that the show has, pretty explicitly, said 'yay polyamory' and Jim (and Oluwande) has two hands. Leave alone the fact that Jim can kiss Lucius and just be friends with him, same as they could with Izzy.

Gosh, Anon, you're really hurting my feelings here. You really think I'm a stupid cunt? That hurts. Genuinely, I'm gutted. I don't think I'll ever recover.

Given that you're literally talking hypotheticals, as we all are, since we don't know what is going to happen in season 2, I'm not going to argue if it would 'mean good things for Izzy' if Jim kissed him. Though I will say, if Jim needed him distracted for people to escape (I'm assuming you mean escaping him, rather than Ed who is the proper threat to anyone in need of escaping right now) they could find easier ways to do it than kissing him?

And the sky is green. And cats are witches. And women have crystals in their bodies. I can say stuff too, Anon. I think you fundamentally misunderstand what redemption means, if we're being entirely honest here. Redemption has less to do with your previous actions and more to do with what you choose to do going forward. Clearly we disagree on his capacity for doing better going forward, and that's fine, its alright to be wrong Anon I won't judge you for that, but him having done bad in the past* has no bearing on his redemption if he chooses to do good in the future.

*'Bad' here being used both generously and ungenerously. Generously towards your definition of bad and ungenerously in the face of his rationale. He had perfectly valid reasons for doing the things he did, regardless of whether or not he should have done them.

I love you too Anon! I hope you have a good day at school tomorrow- er. On Monday, sorry, adult schedules don't always follow the 'weekends off' rules that kid's schedules do, I forget sometimes. Bye bye!

#the dork is being a dork #the dork answers #izzy hands #i'll be honest anon i was starting to feel left out that you hadn't sent me anything like you do to other izzy fans #but now i see you were just saving up all that stupid juuuuust for me #i legit needed a good rant tho #so like genuinely thank you for giving me the opportunity #and i did spend like 10 minutes laughing at this for the record #especially at 'vico is an abuse apologist too' lmfao #WILD

[theintoccabile]

Uhhh why are basically all the men in Court Lady pieces of shit?

#exceptions mainly include far off side characters and the dead lol #now even protagonist is turning into scum again the rest of the show is so good but at this point?? #court lady #really biggest notable exception I can think of is protagonist's (this time meaning lead lady's) brother #main guy your jealousy is ugly af

[xhisokas-harleyx]

Your Hisoka headcanons were so good😭 and i completely agree with all of them- I wanted request something, u can ignore if u want. 🏃

I am just thinking of a scenario where Hisoka got hurt, by someone who 'cheated' in the fight maybe, and his first instinct was to go to his 'friend's place. And Reader helps him without hesitation, they're even worried and stuff. And he is just like "are they just so naive or dumb? Kind? What do they get from this? And tf is this feeling in my chest? A poison maybe-" Maybe hcs? Or an oneshot? Whatever you like to do. Have a good day or night!:)💛 damn i wrote too much lol sorry

This warms my heart. Thank you SO MUCH for your support!!! And no, you did not write too much! I love having my ego stroked ;) 😂 seriously tho I love hearing from you guys!

I love this prompt. I hope that I was able to bring this to life for you, please feel free to request more!

To be honest, I’m not really happy with how this turned out, but I haven’t written in a long time and feel really rusty. I may rewrite it at some point, because I thought of a different way this could also go! At any rate, I hope you enjoy it.

Word Count: 2880 (yeh, it’s a long one :o)

A little song inspiration I had:

As The World Caves In: Matt Maltese

Hisoka x Reader One-Shot: The Man Beneath the Monster

...

Well... this wasn't supposed to happen.

Currently, the jester of everyone's nightmares lay on the ground, golden eyes staring up at the dull night sky while shrapnel and debris etched patterns into his back, remnants of the attack he'd just barely survived. Hisoka didn't normally have much of a problem mowing through his opponents- but then again, they usually didn't possess the ability to play with their enemy's mind. It was insanely unfair, the way he'd been attacked, and while it had been an interesting battle to say the least, Hisoka had barely pulled through.

Admittedly, he was invigorated by the feeling of almost being beaten- save for the searing pain that inched its way through every nerve in his body. Hisoka wasn't usually so affected by pain in general- in fact, more often than not, it gave him a certain indescribable gratification. He tended to brush off the feeling of most wounds he obtained during battle, distracting himself with shuffling his cards or fantasizing about the next battle he'd be facing. Only this time, if he didn't get help, he wasn’t sure there would BE another battle.

Hisoka strained himself to sit up, and looked down at his body, analyzing just how much damage he'd sustained. A deep gash opened up his chest, revealing glimpses of the muscular content underneath, and it was oozing a lot of blood. His arms and legs were burned, and some of the skin was a little charred, which smelled just lovely against the night breeze.

This is going to be difficult to cover with Texture Surprise... he thought, forcing himself a bit angrily to his feet, when he heard the cracking of the joints in his left ankle, indications of a break. He needed medical attention, badly. His gash wasn't going to heal itself, and he would bleed to death within hours if it didn’t get bandaged.

But where could he go? Hospitals wouldn't dare take him- even though he was a hunter, most people wouldn't be caught within miles of him, let alone would provide him any remedy. In fact, most people thought the world would be better off if he were dead anyway.

Maybe they were right.

He chuckled a little at the thought, but as he tried to brush those creeping inner fears off, he soon realized that his normal detached approach wasn't going to work this time. Already, his legs were getting weaker, and his vision was getting a little darker by the second. In that moment of weakness, when he felt the most vulnerable, the magician was puzzled by the singular thought that came to his mind.

Y/N.

She was a girl he’d encountered more than a few times in his travels; not by accident, but through carefully orchestrated meetings he initiated himself. She was strong in his eyes, which was not a compliment that he offered freely, especially to someone who didn’t regularly seek out altercations to smash their enemies. She was strong in a different way- not because of her nen or battle tactics- but because of her resolve. He found it intriguing that she didn’t run at the sight of him (even when he popped up behind her in the park), and he liked that she wasn't afraid to tell him exactly where he could shove his cards, if warranted. Y/N was appealing to him in an indescribable way that made him continue to think up excuses to meet her ‘randomly’- but he could never put his finger on what it was that made her unique. However, through brief conversations and what he considered to be highlights of his travels, he’d gotten to know her only a little, but he hardly had enough contact with her to call her a ‘friend’.

It wasn't like she had any special sort of healing nen. She probably couldn't help him anyway. But if he did bleed out, and his last thought had to be of something...l it might as well be of her.

The pink-haired clown looked to the city up ahead in the distance- he was close to her house already. It didn't take him long to get there; Y/N lived on the outskirts of town in a small place away from most other homes.

It was a place he knew well, although he'd never been inside. He'd spent more than a few long nights watching the residence from the rooftop of a distant neighboring home as he denied his human emotions. He often watched her pack groceries, or try to figure out why her porch light wasn't working (which he certainly had nothing to do with), or watch TV on the couch all alone.

Hisoka quite liked those stupid romantic comedies that played late at night on the local channel. His only opportunity to watch them was through her window- and in his mind, he was sure that she left the subtitles on because she can somehow sense his presence. She usually fell asleep watching those, and missed the part where the hero gets the girl. He always watched that part with particular interest, but he can't figure out what makes the protagonists so special to each other. If there was a feeling that caused them to sacrifice so much for one another… he sure didn’t know what it could be.

But he's not a hero, so why would he know what that feels like?

As Hisoka reached her door and lifted his hand to the doorknob, not bothering to knock, a pang of what could only be anxiety ripped through him. It was well past 2 AM, and he knew she had things to do early in the morning. Their previous encounters had been abnormal, to say the least, complete with him teasing her and being a douchebag. He's been nothing but an annoyance to Y/N, so why would she help him?

As soon as he was about to pull his hand away, the door swung open, revealing a disheveled looking y/n in its place. Hisoka was bent over in pain, holding his chest, but as she startled him a little, he straightened up and put on his mask, acting complacent and confident. He wanted to say something smart and witty like he always does- that always helped to bat the pain away. But his lips wouldn't move- his tongue wouldn't function as he stared at her, unable to reach out in a way that normal humans seem to find so easy.

He felt frozen in that moment. He was normally so deliberately irreverent, but seeing the look on her face made his blood run cold.

Don’t let her see this weakness. It was a plea to himself.

But Hisoka had no choice. He was broken, and he needed her to fix him. He wasn’t used to depending on someone else to save his life, but now his life rested in the hands of someone who most likely despised him.

"...Hisoka." Y/N breathed, her eyes widening as she placed a hand over her open mouth. Only seconds passed before her delicate hands were pulling him inside the door without hesitation. She didn't bother to ask what happened, what kind of trouble he'd gotten into, or whether she would also be in danger. Instead, she sat him down on the couch, laying a pillow under his head for comfort, which he annoyingly refused to use until he absolutely couldn’t hold his head up any longer.

Hisoka was a bit dazed from the loss of blood, and the crimson river was flowing all over y/n's lightly colored couch. He was puzzled by the swiftness of her reaction, and he watched tepidly as she shuffled frantically through the drawers in the bathroom for something to heal him. Though he was on the brink of death, his default deflection of emotions still shone through, a reflex that he didn’t even mean to activate.

“I don’t need your help, you know.” He said with an impudent grin, watching as she began to work on his wounds. “It’s just a scratch. But I can see how badly you want to touch me…” Why was he like this? Here she was, giving up everything to help him (a criminal and the scum of the Earth),yet he can’t so much as even show her an iota of gratitude. He knows, but will never admit that it comes from his inner vulnerability; that fear of getting hurt by these things called emotions. She could just as easily let him bleed to death in front of her; he knows she has the capability to be stone cold. But she won’t… why?

Why?

Y/N could have easily let Hisoka’s false complacency hurt her. But she knows that what he cannot express in his words, his heart cannot truly hide. It was the way he was built, she told herself, and she pushed on through his antics because she wanted to see him safe again. Through the laceration in his tough exterior, she could not only see the flesh beneath, but a glimpse of the man he tried to hide using the monster that he assumed everyone saw.

But she was different.

The jester was confused by her silence. Normally, she would have retorted at his smugness, but right now, she didn’t even seem concerned with it as she began to fumble with cleaning his wounds. The alcohol seared his flesh just as the emotions boiling within him burned his heart. Why would she ever care to help him when he’s been nothing but rude and degrading to her? Could it be that she really can see through the detached front and overbearing persona? Impossible, he’s spent years building that reputation!

Suddenly, he became enthralled with the way Y/N’s eyes focused on threading the needle to sew up his gash. The way that those fingertips danced over his pale skin made him jolt unexpectedly at her touch, exhibiting a softness that Hisoka has never known before. In fact, he can’t even fathom someone wanting to touch him without the intention to hurt him in some way.

The details slowly became a blur in his depressed mental state- but he still analyzed every motion Y/N made.

Oddly, the promised sting of death had never scared Hisoka before; he did as he pleased, without care for his own life nor anyone else’s. But as his vision faded, and he watched her through the gaze of someone nearing death, he realized that he did not want to leave this world yet. He wanted to live- and maybe he wanted to discover and experience what he’d been missing in those movies he’d watched through her window.

With that, Hisoka’s heart began to beat faster.

Blood loss. That’s what it is… Hisoka thought; but he wasn’t stupid; only unwilling to admit that he was beginning to exhibit the same qualities he saw in the protagonists of those hopeless romantic flicks. He was unable to accept that the tightening in his chest was not just because of her stitches pulling his lacerated skin together.

“Are they dead? Did you kill them?” Her voice brought him out of the trance-like state he was in, and his golden eyes focused on her face. Her hands were covered in his blood (which in itself made him feel delightfully feverish), but his gash had been mended, the bleeding stopped for now. Once again, he didn’t say anything. It was unusual for the smug magician to keep his mouth shut.

“Because if you didn’t kill them, I’m going to.” A protective tone dripped into her voice, bewildering Hisoka again. That quality in her voice was both threatening and comforting, and the duality sent a chill up his spine. It inspired him to use his voice, though it had lost some of its signature modulation.

“You have that little faith in me…” A cough escaped his lips before he could smile as if nothing was bothering him at all. “Of course I killed them, my dear.” Somehow, calling her ‘dear’ no longer felt right; that was typically a placeholder, a default name to use for someone he had no connection with, and she seemed to be worthy of more than that now.

As Y/N suddenly dipped to her knees, Hisoka refrained from any lewd thoughts that he normally might have had in such a situation. That sensation in his chest was too distracting to allow this memory to be defiled with something he often indulged in fantasies of. She began to slide the high-heeled shoe off of his swollen foot to wrap it. She began to struggle with ripping the fabric she’d gathered to act as a cast for the bone.

Surely, she knows who I am. Why would she bother to help someone like me? What is she gaining? She knows that with the flip of a card, I could end her life. She’s not even protecting herself in any way. She’s leaving her guard down right in front of me.

Perhaps it was his dark desire to set fear into everyone he came across, or his distorted need to drive away anyone who might care for him, but his body suddenly acted on its own. By instinct, almost as if it were a test of her intention, a card spawned between his middle and index finger, which was right against her neck. With just a slight movement of his knuckles, he could spill her blood. His golden eyes analyzed the way she froze for a moment, and he believed that to be the end of this fragile trust between them. That was until she lifted the fabric she was holding, sliding it along the edge of the card, and cutting it to the perfect length.

“Thanks.” She spoke, beginning to wrap and set the ankle in place.

At that small motion, Hisoka’s discretionary eyes widened, and his lips fell open in surprise. Rather than interpreting his advance as an attack, she’d innocently taken it as an offer of his help. Was this a joke? Was she stupid enough to trust him, or was she bold enough to outsmart his games? Was Y/N this confident that he wouldn’t just kill her? This naive girl at his feet seemed to be the only person in this convoluted world who didn’t see him as a disgusting, heartless monster… and that warmed his icy heart.

“I’m surprised this hasn’t happened before. I know you’re graceful, but high heels are always a recipe for a broken ankle.” She offset the pain of wrapping those bones by talking to him all through the procedure, and it worked wonders. He scoffed, but by that time, Hisoka’s snide comments and emotion-killing thoughts had been expended. Somehow, she’d broken through the barrier that he’d spent so long building around himself.

Unable to ignore his whims anymore, Hisoka reached out to touch Y/N’s hair, the soft delicate strands pleasing his senses. It’s the only movement he can make now, his body weakened from the loss of blood. His gilded eyes were barely open, but they looked directly into hers with an unfamiliar realization. His hand travelled weakly down her face, caressing her cheek with the most delicate touch he could muster, and held her head in his large hand as she froze there. He wondered for a moment if she was afraid, or if something deeper that he cannot see calms her.

A small, genuine smile is all he could muster for her before his hand dropped to the side of the couch, the same couch he watched her curl up on most nights. For once, it’s not a smirk, and it’s not a smug smile- but something she has never seen before- a true smile with good intention behind it. His eyes closed, with uncertainty that they would open in the morning.

After she’d finished her work, she stood up, and looked down at him. The only remaining light in the room was the silent flicker of the television set in the background, which illuminated both of their faces.

“I need you to be alright, Hisoka,” She cooed, unable to know if he could still hear her. He didn’t know if she even realized how much he wanted to kill her right now, because the way her kindness was attacking his heart while his chest was already sliced open was something he should not excuse.

As Y/N’s final healing gesture, she bent over his body gracefully. He was taken off guard when he felt the feathery soft sensation of her lips on his forehead, the kiss of an angel on his clammy skin. As she went to pull away, however, she was startled by the lunge of Hisoka’s hand initiating a death grip on her wrist. He used the last bit of his strength to pull her lips into his, causing her to lose balance and be forced to brace on either side of the couch cushion below him. His lips were cold, but Y/N graciously returned the sensation, and boldly moved to embrace both sides of his face with her mending hands. Before she pulled away, and he passed out, she felt that same smile against her lips.

And in that moment, before he fades away, Hisoka realizes what he’s been missing.

Y/N.

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

Hmm... part two? I KNOW, it’s super freakin’ sappy. I could have taken a lighthearted approach to this (and maybe I will later), but I wanted to kind of challenge myself to write a more depth-driven version of Hisoka. Maybe I bit off a little more than I can chew :0.

Anyway, let me know what you think, and once again thanks to anon for the request! Hope you all enjoyed!

Mac

#hisoka morow #hisoka x reader #x reader #reader insert #hxh #hunterxhunter #feeling sappy #love #lovelorn #ooc? probably #hxh 2011 #hisoka

[sarahjtv]

BNHA Chapter 311 Quick Spoiler Analysis: Searching For Answers

The new chapter is out after waiting 2 weeks!  I hope Horikoshi and every other mangaka had a good Golden Week!  Anyway, there was a lot of dialogue in this chapter and it was primarily focused on the Top 3 Heroes: Endeavor, Hawks, and Best Jeanist.  The last few pages had All Might and Deku in it and 2 surprise guests!  I don’t think I have too much to comment on, so this might be a short one:

The chapter starts off with Endeavor taking out a couple of villains who broke out of prison with Detnarat support items on them.  Endeavor quickly takes them out with a new Super Move called Ignited Arrow.  Well, I say new, but I think we’ve seen this move before back in the Stain Arc.  It was that fire spear that Endeavor threw at the winged Nomu.  I think that it was only in the anime and it didn’t have a name then.  Well, it does now.

Anyway, the Top 3 are trying to capture as many villains as they can in hopes they can trace back to Muscular and ultimately Shigaraki and AFO.  No luck so far though.  It’s not like finding AFO is going to be THAT easy, c’mon...     

But, of course, there are people who have lost their faith in Heroes and are now actively protesting against them picket signs and all.  The Top 3 tried to convince them that they’re still Heroes during their big press conference, but it’s clear that wasn’t enough for some people so they just leave in the Jeanistmobile.  The ironic thing is that none of these 3 are “False Heroes”  Even Endeavor, while he was still a shitty dad, was a great Hero in his own right.  Right now, the Top 3 are the last people who should be getting yelled at by the public.  

It’s a short detail, but Hawks makes sure that Edgeshot is still looking into the Liberation Front.  I’m glad to know that it’s confirmed that Edgeshot is still doing Hero work by gaining intel from the enemy.  I don’t think we knew about Edgeshot’s status before.

Another small detail: During this long talk, Hawks calls Izuku “Midoriya” and Endeavor calls him “Deku”.  They’re both treating Deku like the kid he is, but it’s interesting that they address him differently.  I think that Endeavor is trying to see him as a hero just as much as a child.  He did mentor him after all.    

The Top 3 have agreed that they should still keep their distance from Deku since they don’t want Deku to be caught with the mass media.  Endeavor comments that Deku shouldn’t be burdened anymore than he already is.  Even if all this is his idea, Deku shouldn’t have to do this in the first place.  I remember reading a comment somewhere that basically said that it was refreshing to see adult characters remind us and our Shonen protagonist that, at the end of the day, they’re just kids.  Characters like Reigan from Mob Psycho 100 and Nanami from Jujutsu Kaisen are good example of this.  I’m kind of glad to put Endeavor into this category now too.  Big improvement from the beginning when he straight up tried to intimate Deku during the Sports Fest.

As Endeavor’s talking, there’s this one panel that shows Deku presumedly when he told his idea to the Top 3.  Ngl, this panel makes me sad.  Deku just looks so serious and detached in a way.  The light in his eyes is still gone.  Someone here on Tumblr pointed out that the light in Deku’s eyes have basically been gone since he went off on his own.  I quickly went back to the last 5-6 chapters and yeah...  That light is just gone.  I honestly can’t even tell if that light was there when he woke up back in Chapter 309.  Deku’s been through too fucking much.  I don’t know if my heart can take it anymore 💔😢

*sniffle* Anyway, the Top 3 are taking about their plan in all this, the status of Shigaraki and AFO, and why they’re after OFA.  It’s basically things we already know, including why AFO needs Shigaraki, how much power Shigaraki actually needs and why (they call it “Hatred”), and how they can lure AFO and Shigaraki out.  These 3 are just putting all the pieces together into this one massive puzzle that we’ve all been trying to figure out.  There’s an interesting focus on Endeavor at one point when he figures out that Shigaraki has a “Lack of Heart” which is probably what’s fueling that Hatred to begin with.

We transition back to All Might who’s keeping track of Deku’s GPS in his own car.  All Might comments that Deku’s not getting a lot a of sleep lately.  He thinks of what Sir Nighteye said to him back in the day, that All Might should get some rest.  For one, Deku needs to get some rest.  Sleepless nights aren’t going to help this kid at all.  Second, I’m worried that Deku’s going down the same path that All Might went.  Being broken down, but still hanging on to that heroic spirit enough to keep fighting even when he probably shouldn’t.  Third, I wonder why All Might was thinking of Sir Nighteye specifically here.  I feel like All Might still has some regrets about how he didn’t listen to Sir Nighteye before he died.  I do wonder why now though?

Suddenly, Deku’s GPS signal is gone and All Might is ambushed with an explosive!  Horikoshi please don’t let this be how All Might dies!  I highly doubt he’s dead, but god I’d be mad if this is how All Might goes out.  He deserves a more ceremonial goodbye when that happens.  I’m hoping the car he’s driving his has some sort of extra shield on it like Nick Fury’s did in Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

Finally, we go back to Deku who’s nearly shot at by a mysterious assassin.  That assassin being the mysterious women in Tartarus who freed Overhaul!  She has a sniper rifle oozing out of her elbow and she has new gear on.  It’s also stated that she was sent by AFO himself, so Deku’s plan is actually working so far.  I wonder if her Quirk is similar to Momo’s Creation but with only weapons as opposed to almost everything under the sun.  We all thought she had an electric-type Quirk earlier, but maybe she made a taser of some sort.  IDK, I’m spitballing here.

Speaking of Overhaul, HE’S RIGHT NEXT TO HER TOO!  I wasn’t sure with the early leaks because I could only see his head and hair, but the cleaner leaks are out and that’s definitely him.  He’s sitting on the roof flappy sleeves and all.  I can’t tell if he’s conscious or not, but it’s interesting that the Assassin woman brought him with her.  I wonder what his role is going to be?  He’s not doing anything at the moment.  The Ultra Analysis book said that Overhaul’s Quirk developed somehow without his arms, so I wonder how he uses his Quirk now?  With his feet maybe?  Also, how’s Deku going to react to this?  Will he kick Overhaul’s ass again?  Will he try to turn Overhaul to a better path away from the Yakuza and villainy?  He wasn’t able to do it last time, so this might be Overhaul’s second chance.  Though I’m not sure given that he’s probably one of the biggest pieces of scum in the series.  I mean, what he did to Eri especially is straight up unforgivable.  I don’t know how Deku’s going to try to redeem Overhaul if he tries.  But, I wouldn’t put it past him if he doesn’t.        

Yeah, that’s the chapter!  It’s good to be back!  No sign of Bakugo or Shoto though😭.  I want my kids, Horikoshi!  But, I’m glad to see that we’ll get to know who this mysterious Tartarus women is.  It’s time to simp again, my dudes.  I need to know if All Might is ok and I need to know what Overhaul is going to do too.  I need to know what Deku’s going to do now too.  Things have gotten a lot more interesting now that it seems like Deku’s definitely going to encounter former Villains from the past.  

Me rooting for our Heroes and admiring our new villain 💙:  

#My Hero Academia Spoilers #Boku No Hero Academia Spoilers #MHA Spoilers #BNHA Spoilers #BNHA 311 #MHA 311 #Endeavor #Hawks #Best Jeanist #All Might #Izuku Midoriya #Deku #Sir Nighteye #Overhaul #this is getting interesting #Deku needs sleep tho #and All Might better be alive #Spoiler Thoughts #spoilers #my post #my writing

[happybinghe]

Shen Jiu Character Analysis:

The Misunderstandings Regarding Shen Jiu and Why I Feel Sorry for Him

Shen Jiu is a very misunderstood character, and although he may not be all smiles and sunshine, his attitude is very realistic considering all that he's been through. While I don't approve of his behavior towards Bingge, when you think about it, you can understand that he's applying the way he was treated by Qiu Jianluo who always beat him up, to Luo Bingge who, backed up by his protagonist halo, somehow manages to get things right despite Shen Jiu's attempts to sabotage his efforts. To him, Bingge's strength and spiritual prowess which seems to come easy to him, is something Shen Jiu struggled to achieve while Binghe, no matter what Shen Jiu tries to do, always succeeds in the end.

Shen Jiu has subtle anger buried in deep, but treats it apathetically. The world has done so much to him, and it seems no one is ever there to help, still constantly blaming him on everything instead.

In the extra chapters of Airplane's Adventures, Shang Qinghua/Airplane accompanies Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge on a mission. After Shen Jiu and Liu Qingge fought with each other again, where Liu Qingge believed Shen Jiu was trying to harm him instead of the demons, Liu Qingge left. Airplane, who is the writer of the original novel and creator of the characters, who knows about his characters more than anyone, thinks to himself, as written in the novel:

Ah right, he had gone to all the trouble to do a good thing, but the result didn’t meet expectations. If it didn’t meet expectations just go out and tell Liu Qingge, “I only wanted to help you out just then”, but he wasn’t willing to do it. If you’re not willing, just let me help you explain, but he couldn’t tear down his face━maybe he was embarrassed. This person really was full of twists and turns, always tormenting himself.

As we can see, Airplane knows Shen Jiu originally meant well and actually helped Liu Qingge when he was being attacked by a demon from behind, but no one would know that as the story is filtered in a way to show Shen Jiu being purely scum. There's a lot hidden under the surface, but the only way we get to see true intentions is when we see the story from Airplane's point of view, since he wrote it and knows how he intended for these characters to be.

Airplane then proceeds to advise Shen Jiu, telling him:

“If, in the future, you see someone going into qi deviation, do not panic, and do not rashly go up thinking you can save them. You must stay calm and go call for help, do not make a move yourself. Or else, you will definitely be more of a hindrance than a help, poke a big hole in the basket, and abandon yourself to despair from then on, unable to free yourself for the rest of your life. Not even jumping into the Yellow River could wash you clean!”

So originally, Airplane wrote Shen Jiu with him having in mind believing himself that he could help Liu Qingge when he had a qi deviation, not having any intention of killing him. But him being written as the villain clearly gives Shen Jiu a hand that can only destroy, even if that wasn't his intention. Shen Jiu, as well as Luo Bingge, are prisoners to the system and to a force stronger than them in which no matter what they want or intend, there are simply things they have no control over, no matter how much deep down they wish they did. I'll keep that topic for a different post.

Shen Jiu is too prideful to state his good intentions. Since they believe him to be scum no matter what he does, then let them. He doesn't care what anyone thinks, even if he doesn't want to harm them, if they believe he does, then he doesn't care enough to change their opinion about him. Shen Jiu is a self-hating person. And he won't defend himself if someone accuses him of something. The sort of attitude he has will hide his good intentions. He's the type of person to carry himself with a cold aura and look on his face, do good in secret, and never let anyone know about it.

However, sometimes when you're constantly accused of anything and everything, and to people you're considered a scummy person, then at some point, you may just throw everything to the wind, with the thought of if that's what they think, then so be it. You want me to be the villain, I'll be the villain. And that's possibly where throwing his frustration comes, towards Bingge, the boy who can clearly bear everything and not complain about it, in his perspective. Everything has led up to that, originally he had good intentions, but now, he simply doesn't care.

When he is later faced with so many accusations at the same time, in his mind, no matter what he says, it simply won't help. The people will simply only hear their own voices and believe what they want to believe.

I believe that despite if Shen Jiu has good intentions, it's covered up by the fact that he's written as a villain, with details of his past and personal view originally unknown and covered up considering Airplane Bro left out alot in his original drafts and didn't include alot of details concerning Shen Jiu's life since he wanted to mainly write what his fans wanted even if it originally wasn't what he had planned. So just as Luo Bingge has a protagonist halo that will basically bend the story to protect him from death and help him to succeed, Shen Jiu has a villain halo that no matter what good he does, in the eyes of others, he will seem guilty no matter what he does to try and fix things. Also, think about Liu Qingge and how he treats his disciples. He barely shows up, Bai Zhan Peak is always destroying things and fighting everyone, including Luo Bingge. But the story doesn't focus on that and it's considered a normal occurence, because it's filtered in a way where even if the characters all treat their disciples roughly for example, Shen Jiu is the targeted and chosen villain, so every little thing he does will become emphasized and make it seem like he's the worst person in the world, even if everyone else does the same or worse. There are a lot of people with bad attitudes, but they're not called a villain. Because there's no focus on the cruelty of others, only focusing on Shen Jiu's actions and emphasizing them, no matter how many actual villains there really are, it won't seem as terrible as Shen Jiu because he's put in the spotlight, on stage, where everyone points out and focuses solely on his flaws.

When someone is treated like a villain and constantly hated without any care, kindness, or love ever being directed towards them, it's only natural for them to become a cold, distant, and self-loathing person, shutting themselves out from the world, as Shen Jiu originally did when he was rarely at the peak as he never really felt welcomed there by anyone. No one ever shows him any genuine care, other than Yue Qingyuan, but Shen Jiu feels betrayed by him for leaving him and never coming back to rescue him when they were young, never knowing the truth of what really happened even up to his death, which I think is really sad and tragic. Also, Yue Qingyuan is a great person and all, but it kind of bothers me that he still calls him Xiao Jiu even though it bothers Shen Jiu, who prefers the name Shen Qingqiu since the other name brings back memories of a life he would really love to forget and not think of. It's like constantly reminding your best friend of their ex who they really want nothing to do with anymore. He wants to fix what happened but he's really constantly struggling to. Anyway, I just feel that it's a bit disrespectful to call someone something they don't like and they're trying to forget. (I'm using the name Shen Jiu here so you don't get confused) Shen Jiu needs for others to show their good intentions before he does. So far he hasn't seen that from people, and so he believes that everyone is intentionally against him and doesn't like him. Like when he was fighting with Liu Qingge, he later mentioned to Yue Qingyuan and asked him why Liu Qingge doesn't show him kindness and mercy first, and why does he always have to be the one to do so. Shen Jiu is like a cat, if you want him to approach you kindly, you need to approach him kindly first, even if it takes a while.

According to a psychology fact I read, it takes 7 positive compliments to make up for 1 negative comment. So if he is constantly faced with negativity and barely anything positive, how is he supposed to function properly without bitterness taking over him? He's only human. He too has feelings. The negativity targeted towards him outweighs the positive. Watching Shen Jiu's actions, he's generally trying to find a place for himself to belong, and no one ever accepts him. All of that turns into subtle and low-key hatred and anger. It hurts deep down to be hated by everyone and not having anyone you can even trust. Of the very few who were nice to him was Qiu Haitang, sister to her abusive brother who always beat up Shen Jiu, without her ever knowing. He was going to marry her, but it's pretty normal that someone written as a villain isn't allowed to be happy, and so life happens. He's always had a difficult life, constantly hated, never loved, being rejected and seemingly betrayed. He's never fit in anywhere, and I see him to be a very lonely person who wants somewhere to belong and has a human need to be loved, even if he'd never admit it.

[enigmari]

Oh my GOD Please infodump abt hatoful.... ive repeatedly tried to get into it but have no idea how/how to connect any of the lore. Thanos !

I SAW THE TYPO TOO LATE IT WAS SUPPOSED TO END WITH “THANKS”,

SKDFSKJSLKDFJ no worries anon, it happens to the best of us. Anyways, how should I start this…

So, if you’re totally new here, Hatoful Boyfriend is a visual novel dating sim whose basic premise is “what if cliched boyfriend archetypes… but birds?” And it takes this premise completely wholeheartedly, while still maintaining a comedic tone. You pick classes and club activities each in-game day to increase your skill points, and depending on your levels (and a few dialogue options) you’ll either successfully romance your birdie of choice or get a Bad End. Most of the birds make their interests/level requirements obvious from the start, and you have a bunch of save slots to work with if you wanna go the scum route. Pretty simple and straightforward.

(Actually, that’s a lie, it gets much more complicated later. Don’t worry about that right now.)

Most of HBF is framed through the perspective of the protagonist (I’m gonna use her canon name for convenience) Hiyoko, and she is… not the brightest bulb in the box. Especially in the first game, when events in one character’s route will be foreshadowed in other routes, she will rarely call them out or make note of them. Naturally, this also means some reveals will be spoiled depending on which order you do the routes in. You also unlock documents in the Archive section after completing each route, which adds another level of puzzle piecing to the mix. 

(No, this is not the complicated part I was talking about earlier. Sorry.)

In this next bit, I’m going to briefly run through the routes of the first game from least to most complex in terms of lore, as well as what things are foreshadowed when. I’ll also toss in the archive documents when I feel they’re most relevant to the information you have. We ready?

Okosan’s routes: Mostly joke endings, unless there is some greater plot significance to pudding that I’ve missed for all these years.

Ryouta’s route: Mostly about character building, the only real hint you get is that his mother is sickly and it’s implied he inherited this from her.

Azami’s routes: You could get here with the same stats as Ryouta’s route, but then you fuck it up by taking this job opportunity away from him. How rude, Hiyoko.

Sakuya’s first route: He opens up to you about his abusive and bigoted dad, and with some encouragement you encourage him to run away and become a musician like he always wanted. Mr. Le Bel is very important to multiple other characters in this game.

Sakuya’s second route (needs perfect stats/dialogue choices): Same conversation about his dad, but he chooses to live with you instead. Your big hint is at the end, when Yuuya sends you a letter saying there’s “something he’s wanted to tell [Sakuya] for a long time. Something important.” 

Yuuya’s route: You don’t actually get to find out what the "important thing" is, whoops. You do find out that Yuuya’s a spy for the Dove Party, Shuu is one for the Hawk Party, and the school has been increasingly influenced by the Hawk Party as of late. 

BAD END: You may have gotten it earlier, but now you have context as to who’s killing you when you fail a route- it’s the Hawk Party. The reason why is still unclear.

[CW for gore, child death, medical abuse, suicide, and attempted genocide from here on! This game is a trip!]

Shuu’s first route: Absolutely not a romance route and if you ship Shuu/Hiyoko please block me and tab out immediately thank you very much. You learn that Shuu has been killing students for medical experimentation, confirming Yuuya’s suspicions about the quills in the student store and the food in the cafeteria.

Shuu’s second route (needs perfect stats/dialogue choices): Same ending where Hiyoko dies, but he’s attached enough to her that he takes her head in a jar when he goes on the run. You do learn that Shuu doesn’t care about the Hawk Party’s politics, just that they can enable his personal experiments.

Archive Note 11: Someone (Shuu) knew that Yuuya was a Dove Party agent from the start. He also notes that some of the students are “fascinating”, which you know from his route means they’re good experiment fodder. You learn that he has reason to believe his victims won’t oppose the experimentation, but not the details.

Archive Note 10: Shuu makes notes about human “adaptability measures.” Given that Hiyoko is the only human at the school, you can guess that this will involve her in some way.

Archive Note 06: Notes about the Spanish Flu, how deadly it was to humans, and the connection to an “Avian Influenza.”

Archive Note 04: Notes about a “Goodwill Ambassador” for humanity, who needs a strong natural immunity to Avian Influenza. Hiyoko’s stats show that she has a base level of 800 Vitality, so you can guess that she’s the ambassador. This is why she dies when you fail a route- the Hawk Party saw she didn’t build a good enough connection to the birds, so they take her as a lost cause.

Archive Note 07: Shuu makes notes about “carrier capacity” in the student body, inducing it in some way in a “normal” individual. You can guess this is the details of his medical experimentation, but not who the victim is. You can also guess that the disease to be carried is Avian Influenza.

Anghel’s route: It’s not actually that complicated, but I think you need to complete Shuu’s route before the “mad love of a fallen angel” option is available. (EDIT: you actually just need to complete one playthrough to unlock this option. Even the Azami solo ending will unlock it.)  This ending seemingly undermines all the things we learned about Shuu right before, but this is just Hiyoko’s perspective.

Archive Note 01: A certain student (Anghel) has hallucinogenic properties that can affect bystanders, putting them in a trance-like state. This explains why everything went totally off the rails in his route.

Kazuaki’s route: Again not a romance route (no matter what he says about “waiting”, ew) because the whole point is that Kazuaki is afraid to open himself up to love of any kind. You learn he had someone he cared deeply about in the past but lost, and now he’s been soured from the experience. You also learn that he smells like bleach.

Nageki’s route: You learn that he’s a ghost, that he killed himself in the school some years ago, and that he doesn’t have all his memories. He disappears before you learn anything more, but he’s happy so it’s okay and why am I crying agai-

Archive Note 02: Someone (Nageki) writes about how they are trapped, and can’t remember what happened to them.

Archive Note 05: Nageki remembers he made a promise to someone very important, but he can’t remember who or what it was.

Archive Note 03: Nageki once woke up in a place that wasn’t the library- somewhere with bright lights and a white ceiling. He’s not as trapped as he first thought.

Archive Note 14: Nageki notes that he can move between floors, going from the library to the chemistry lab below. You can guess that the place with the bright lights is somewhere below these two rooms. This also reveals that Nageki knew the layout of the school when he was alive.

Archive Note 12: Nageki notes that after meeting Hiyoko, he feels fulfilled “just as he did back then.” He still can’t remember everything, though.

Archive Note 08: Notes about an underground facility, a fire, and a Subject 00 whose remains are in storage. You can guess that the facility is the place with the bright lights, and Nageki is Subject 00. You can also guess that Nageki set the fire, since he said that he killed himself.

Archive Note 09: Notes about Subject 00′s relative, whose remains are also in storage. You can guess that this is the “important person” that Nageki made a promise to a long time ago.

At this point, the only documents left are Note 13, which is about a terrorist incident at the Heartful House orphanage in which only two birds survived, and Note 15, which is about another terrorist incident some years ago in which the Ave’s High City building was bombed. Nothing in the main routes hints at these notes, so it’s a good time to move to…

Bad Boys Love route: This route is literally the length of the rest of the routes combined, so we’re doin’ more sections, baby!

Kazuaki’s lost loved one and Nageki’s important person turn out to be each other. They were the survivors of the Heartful House incident, and Kazuaki (real name Hitori) took care of his little brother by himself. Nageki was sickly, so he volunteered himself for a medical experiment at the school that could potentially cure him to take the burden off of Hitori. 

Unbeknownst to them, the Hawk Party was already in control of the school and their real motive was to investigate the disease Nageki was carrying- Avian Influenza. Shuu was specifically the lead for this project, and he also witnessed the Heartful House incident when it happened. At the time, he went by the name Isa Souma and was a medical researcher. He worked with Ryuuji Kawara, Ryouta’s dad, until Ryuuji’s death from disease.

Ryouta and Hiyoko were also there, because her parents were former human ambassadors too. Unfortunately, they became some of the casualties, which left the two kids heartbroken. Shuu, seeing them and recognizing Ryouta, offered to grant them a wish. They both wished for a world where humans and birds would never fight anymore, which Shuu took to mean “kill all the remaining humans so they can’t fight the birds” because… he’s like that. 

Shuu decided that the easiest way to kill all the humans would be to spread the Avian Influenza, and this is why he sought out Nageki. Nageki was forced to kill humans as part of the experiments, and this traumatized him so much that he set the lab on fire to stop it, trapping himself inside. Hitori witnessed this too, and swore to get revenge despite Nageki asking him to destroy his remains and live a happy life. He bleached his feathers and swapped identities with another bird to fake his death, and applied to the school as a teacher under his new name. 

Nageki’s plan didn’t entirely work, and the Hawk Party was able to store some of his remains for future experiments with Avian Influenza. This brings us to the timeline of the main routes, where Shuu took advantage of Ryouta’s sickly constitution to make him a new carrier for Avian Influenza. Yuuya tried to interfere on behalf of the Dove Party, but Shuu blackmailed him with the knowledge that he killed his real half-brother because he hated Mr. Le Bel and wanted Sakuya to live instead. 

The new strain of Avian Influenza that Ryouta carried was enough to make Hiyoko sick and kill her. The death of the Human Ambassador kickstarts the beginning of this route, and Shuu planned for the humans who would retaliate to also be infected. It doesn’t go as he planned, of course, but that’s laid out pretty well in the rest of the route so I won’t re-summarize it here. 

Aaaand that’s about everything for the first Hatoful Boyfriend game! I’ll gladly do infodumps/lore summaries for Holiday Star or the other side materials if anyone wants, but this took almost three hours to write as is so I’m going to give myself a break.

#anonymous #ask me #mari.txt #hatoful boyfriend #EDIT: THIS IS VERY SPOILERY. I HOPED IT WAS OBVIOUS FROM THE LORE REQUEST BUT YEAH. #i don't think it'll spoil your enjoyment of the game bc i didn't go into that many details (also experiencing =/= reading) but yeah.

[evoniusreilupeli]

Hello and Happy New Year,  @nyankocatnyan ! Here’s your gift for the Scum Villain Gift Exchange. I’m sorry for being late with it, but I hope you’ll like it! ;w;/

Pairing: Luo Binghe/Shen Qingqiu

Summary: Luo Binghe combs Shen Qingqiu’s hair and pines for him.

Word count: 1686

Genre: Fluff

Rating: T

It was a peaceful and beautiful summer morning. Sunlight had crept its way through the light curtains on the windows, dazzling Shen Qingqiu’s eyes behind his closed eyelids, waking him up from his meditation.

He heard Luo Binghe, his disciple, already finishing his daily morning housework.

Since everything had been good and peaceful at Qing Jing Peak, Shen Qingqiu had allowed himself a much-needed day-off to relax and take everything easy for once, between teaching his disciples and stressing about advancing the plot and the points and what-not. Even the System had left him alone for a good while, which he was extremely grateful for.

But there was one thing that could maybe be a threat to his relaxation.

The thing was that while cleaning, Luo Binghe had been stealing glances at him the whole morning. Which wasn’t that strange in itself, but he appeared as though he wanted to speak about something, but didn’t quite dare to. The tension in the air was barely noticeable, but still enough for Shen Qingqiu to be mildly annoyed by it. He decided to get straight to the point and opened his folded fan before addressing his most adorable disciple.

”Binghe, you look like you have something on your mind. Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Hearing his name, Luo Binghe tensed, but turned around to face Shen Qingqiu. He took a couple of shaky breaths.

”Shizun…” Luo Binghe was faintly fidgeting, but Shen Qingqiu pretended not to notice.

”Yes?”

Some more nervous fidgeting.

”Shizun, I have already cleaned the rooms and I’ve been doing my studies diligently every day… so…”

Shen Qingqiu quietly nodded and waited for his disciple to finish.

”W-would it be alright to make a request?” he stammered and his gaze shifted slightly to the direction of the floor.

Shen Qingqiu was honestly surprised and a little bit worried. What could Luo Binghe possibly want? Shen Qingqiu’s mind drew a blank, and suddenly he was dying to know what his cute disciple was having in mind. Of course Shen Qingqiu waited patiently on the outside but internally he was screaming. What is it!? Hurry up and tell me!

”What is it?”

A pink tint rose to Luo Binghe’s cheeks.

”Can- can I - this disciple wants to, Shizun’s…”

Please! Shen Qingqiu already thought exasperatedly. Out with it already! Stop being so bashful, too much is simply too much!

Not letting his curiosity show through, Shen Qingqiu controlled his voice and gently urged his disciple to continue.

”Yes?”

Luo Binghe took a deep breath closing his eyes, and when he opened them Shen Qingqiu could see a sudden determination in his eyes.

”I want to comb Shizun’s hair!”

That Shen Qingqiu didn’t know to expect. At all. Part of him was left positively dumbfounded and the other part of him wanted to yell. So that’s why you have been antsy this whole morning?! And who do you think you are, my mother?!

While Shen Qinqiu was quietly ruminating over this unforeseeable twist, his disciple was already ready to give up on his request, looking embarrassed having even thought he could comb Shizun’s hair.

Shen Qingqiu opened his fan to hide his face as he briefly thought over the situation. Where was the harm, seriously speaking? Maybe it was a bit embarrassing, but wasn’t it best to make some happy memories for the protagonist to later look back to? Maybe this particular scene would be the reason for Luo Binghe to show him some mercy later. Wasn’t this actually a win-win situation?

To hell with it, let’s do this!

Shen Qingqiu sighed before saying, ”Go ahead, then”.

Luo Binghe’s eyes immediately lit up, and he nearly scrambled to get the combs from a side table. Shen Qingqiu was torn between rolling his eyes and smiling gently at his disciple’s antics. Was he really that excited from simply been granted permission to comb his hair? Was it really that big of a deal?

To Luo Binghe, it truly seemed to be.

In Shen Qingqiu’s previous life his mother had been the only one who had combed his hair, besides himself of course, so he couldn’t exactly see what was so special about it.

But Luo Binghe had been a bit weird after having moved to the shed next to the bamboo house, so it was nothing new, really.

Luo Binghe found two beautifully ornate wooden combs, one fine-toothed, and the other wide-toothed. He slowly stepped behind Shen Qingqiu, who was already sitting by the table. Shen Qingqiu closed his eyes and waited for his disciple to start with his hair. But nothing happened for a while. In the quiet room, Shen Qingqiu could hear Luo Binghe’s uneven breath. Shen Qingqiu briefly considered turning around to see what Luo Binghe was waiting for, but decided against it, and instead said,

”Binghe, you may begin”.

He could hear a small gasp and a sigh behind him.

”Y-yes! Thank you, Shizun.”

Luo Binghe gently grabbed Shen Qingqiu’s hair and started to carefully untangle the hair with the fewer-toothed comb, starting from the tips, and gradually continuing from further up.

Shen Qingqiu felt quite relaxed. Having fingers occasionally brush through his hair and massaging his scalp, he really could feel the tension melting away from his muscles. If having someone combing his hair felt this good… Shen Qingqiu thought he could definitely get used to it.

 Luo Binghe, on the other hand, was having the time of his life, in both good and bad.

He desperately tried to force his breathing steady, and stop his hands from trembling so much. Shizun didn’t seem to notice though, so it was probably alright.

Probably.

But at the same time Luo Binghe was so happy he thought he was going to pass out any moment now.

I’m touching Shizun’s hair, I’m touching Shizun’s hair and combing it, I can die happily now!

Luo Binghe heart sang in joy and he almost missed a small tangle. Shizun’s hair felt smooth under Luo Binghe’s fingers, and the dark hair contrasted beautifully the light skin. Of his neck. That Luo Binghe tried not to think of touching, or maybe (maybe!) even… kissing!? But Shizun would definitely kill him for that! Strike him down at once!

Mulling over the situation, Luo Binghe got careless, and his hand slipped and he combed down rather hard. Poor Luo Binghe felt like his heart had stopped cold, and he was ready to apologize one hundred times, but Shizun didn’t say anything at all.

So Luo Binghe continued his work, this time even more carefully, as he really didn’t want to risk hurting Shizun in any way.

Luo Binghe checked Shen Qingqiu’s hair for any hiding knots and tangled clumps of hair one last time before swapping the wide toothed comb for the finer one. He once again started to comb from the tips and then from the top of the head, every stroke making Shen Qingqiu’s black hair truly shine in the shimmery sunlight.

Luo Binghe didn’t want this very special moment with Shizun’s hair to ever end, so he slowed down, savoring every stroke. He felt brave enough to to just appreciatively run his fingers through Shen Qingqiu’s softly combed hair and just enjoying the feeling on his fingertips. Shizun’s hair feels so soft!

He decided to push his luck, and lightly grazed his pinky against the behind of Shizun’s earlobe.

Luo Binghe held his breath and waited for Shizun’s reaction, his heart beating anxiously. But nothing happened?! He combed couple of slow strokes before trying again. This time he took a part of the earlobe between his thumb and index finger, and gave it a light tug. Still nothing.

”Shizun?” Luo Binghe tried.

Said man didn’t answer, only breathed evenly in silence. Luo Binghe felt a little baffled about this turn of events. Shizun had… fallen asleep?!

Upon understanding the situation at hand, Luo Binghe almost died from happiness that swelled in his heart. Having the great, unattainable Shen Qingqiu just casually falling asleep before him, what a day!

What an opportunity, some would say.

Luo Binghe’s heart was racing like crazy as he set the comb in his hand aside. Now he could get a good look at his Shizun’s face. Binghe admired his beautiful features for a while, before deciding to comb the rest of his dear teacher’s hair before he would wake up and see his disciple slacking off.

One last stroke from the top of Shizun’s hair and he was finally ready! Once more did Luo Binghe run his fingers through the hair, which was as smooth as it could ever be. The cascading hair ran easily between his fingers, Luo Binghe didn’t ever want to stop! Then he dared to come up with another idea.

In the heat of the moment Luo Binghe took a couple of strands in his hand and after making sure they really were alone, he lightly pressed his lips against them. Shizun smelled warm and sweet and the fragrance made Luo Binghe’s head spin. He wondered if he could ever be this close to Shizun again. Probably not, he somberly thought. He wanted to be by his Shizun’s side forever and ever, he didn’t want them ever to separate. Luo Binghe’s young heart ached, and he yearned to hug Shen Qingqiu.

But before he could decide whether it would be too insolent towards his master, Shen Qingqiu sighed and stirred in his sleep. Luo Binghe could only put his hair to his usual hairstyle before retreating quietly into the kitchen. The sun was already high. They had surely taken their time.

It was a while before Shen Qingqiu’s eyes opened slowly and soon he was completely woken up by the delicious smell coming from the kitchen. It seems he fell asleep, how embarrassing! But he didn’t lament that for long, for he felt rejuvenated and unusually relaxed. Luo Binghe appeared by the room’s door and called,

”Shizun! Food is almost ready!”

Shen Qingqiu smiled, feeling content and quite happy.

”Shall we ask the others to join us too?”

#SVGift2018 #scum villain #nyankocatnyan #LBH/SQQ #fanfiction

[beneaththetangles]

Welcome to the Gift of Condescension

We’re proud to present a guest post today by blogger and Yale Divinity School student James, who has written series of articles for us in past about Planetarian and Steins;gate. Note: this essay is based solely on the anime adaptation of Welcome to the N.H.K. rather than the light novel or manga, whose stories differ in some respects. All quoted dialogue is from ADV’s English dub.

=====

Humans bristle when they suspect someone is being condescending toward them. Either pride impels them to reject a condescending person’s claim to superiority, or their own sense of inferiority drives them to isolate themselves, anything to escape the critical gaze of others.

Sato, the protagonist of Welcome to the N.H.K., falls into the second category. Whenever he goes out in public he is convinced everyone is looking down on him. As a result, at the start of the series he is a hikikomori, a college drop-out with no job who lives on his parents’ money and has barely left his apartment over the past four years.

However, he meets a girl named Misaki who is going door-to-door with her aunt passing out religious tracts on the growing social epidemic of hikikomori. She later summons him to a local park and announces her intention to “rescue” him. Her motivation? “I’m just a sweet little girl who wants to help you out.”

Coming from a perfect stranger, this would be odd even if Sato’s only flaws were his social ineptitude and crippling paranoia. But given that after only a few episodes the audience—and, to some extent, Misaki—can see he’s a porn-addled pervert, her persistence becomes downright uncanny: “It’s all right. I still just want to help you get better, you know?” Sato is understandably dumbfounded: “What’s up with that girl?! What the hell’s going on?!” On further reflection he wonders, “What if she’s like some guardian angel sent here to rescue me or something?”

Sato’s turn to a divine explanation for Misaki’s inexplicable behavior might seem fantastical to some, but it is actually quite natural. While the condescension humans have for one another is contemptuous, there is also such a thing as divine condescension, an attitude of mercy and grace that is devoid of cruelty or self-interest. The Bible teaches that God shows humanity such divine condescension, for example in Psalm 113:6–7, “He stoops to look down on heaven and on earth. He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.” Small wonder, then, that Sato begins to see Misaki as an angelic figure and accepts her help.

But this image of Misaki soon begins to crack when she suggests he deal with the insecurity born of his own personal failings by looking down on others—i.e., by practicing the human condescension Sato suspects everyone of showing toward him: “If you find it too difficult to elevate yourself, you just have to put everyone else below you. Just look down on them. That way, even if they do think you’re stupid, at least you’re even.” Misaki then blithely admits she does this herself when dealing with Sato, which naturally angers him. She tries to placate him, but her facade has already fractured.

Eventually Sato begins to question Misaki’s motives: “I don’t know who she is! I don’t know why she’s helping me or if she’s helping me! I’m completely in the dark.” He even wonders if she intends to keep him a hikikomori forever.

Sato’s suspicions are later shown to be justified when he is on the verge of committing suicide and she attempts to talk him down:

Sato, you’re not a rock on the side of the road! You’re a human being! That’s right! You’re a flesh-and-blood failure of a human being! You’re special! You’re the only one! More useless and an even bigger waste of flesh than I am! A hikikomori like you is even lower than a stray dog! I need you, Sato! I can’t live without you! So please…Sato…you just can’t die now, you can’t!

In short, Misaki’s apparent display of divine condescension toward Sato is really a display of human, all too human condescension. Far from rescuing him, her purpose is to enable his hikikomori lifestyle so she can continue to feel better by comparison. All human relationships are defined by this sort of callous self-justification, or so an old classmate of Sato’s named Megumi subsequently tells him:

I know you’re not stupid, Sato. By now I’m sure you’ve realized that this world is looking down on you. That they think you’re scum. Don’t you understand, Sato? They’re using you for their own selfish needs. Society wants hikikomori like you to exist. It makes them secure. It gives them someone to look down on. Even if their lives are falling apart they can always say, “At least I’m better off than that guy.” Don’t you see? This world’s dog-eat-dog! It’s a zero-sum game! If you don’t look down on others then they’re going to look down on you!

As to how Sato and Misaki’s relationship ends up, that is not our concern here. Rather let us ask, what are we to make of Sato’s search for grace? I would say his instinct in associating disinterested mercy with the divine is sound. Still, he was mistaken in trying to find such mercy in a mere human, for as Megumi rightly observes, people always seek to justify themselves. So too in Luke 18:11 the Pharisee prays, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector.”

The question thus becomes, is there any divinity in which we can find merciful condescension? Misaki, for her part, is convinced that “if there’s a God, then he’s evil for sure” because so much of life is spent in suffering: “Logically there’s no way a God who created such a horrible, unfair world can be a good person. So God is evil without any doubt. It’s the obvious truth.”

This objection to God is prevalent in anime (and, of course, among religious skeptics in general). I will not address the charge here, as others wiser than I have already responded. Nevertheless, I will say this: humans desire above all else to be known and loved despite their repulsiveness, and more than that, to become truly better people, to overcome their sins and failings. In these respects Sato is representative and gives us an opportunity to look hard at ourselves, if we can stand it. Welcome to the N.H.K. illustrates that we cannot hope to find such mercy and aid in mere humans, whether friends or lovers, but it stumbles in suggesting that God is, if anything, the problem rather than the solution.

Misaki insists that God made the world full of suffering as a divine conspiracy of sorts, but it is the first humans, Adam and Eve, who chose to sin and thereby brought suffering upon themselves and all who came after. Similarly, Sato’s old senpai Hitomi claims “there’s no such thing as a bad person,” but in reality the world is full of nothing but bad people. In our sorry state we grasp hungrily for understanding and absolution, but the only one who says to us, “I know you completely, yet I love you” is none other than Jesus the Christ, God in the flesh. He does not simply love us as we are and leave it at that, though – he cancels all our sins, past and future, and changes who we are, if we will trust, believe in, and follow him.

Thus, Christians believe divine condescension is real, that such condescension can be found in the person of Christ, and that in following him we are not only forgiven but also perfected. As it is written in Philippians 2:6–8, Christ,

Being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Even after confessing faith in Christ our lives will be riddled with regressions, just as Sato resolves to leave behind his hikikomori ways multiple times and just as many times falls back into them. But God, despite our many failures, will grant us forgiveness if we turn again toward him and seek it, as it is written in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” In this truly divine condescension toward our persistent weakness lies the perfect sweetness, rest, and comfort we are all too liable to look for in fallen humans.

O God, no man or creature can help or comfort me, so great is my misery; for my ailment is not physical or temporal. Therefore You, being God, and the One always able to help me, have mercy on me. For without Your mercy all things are terrifying and averse to me.

But I beseech You of Your kindness to have mercy on me—not the lesser mercy which you show temporarily for physical distress, but Your greater mercy which You show for the distress of the soul. Have mercy on me, and forgive me my sin. Amen. –Martin Luther

=====

James is student at Yale Divinity School who loves thinking about theology and how it factors into his favorite stories. His writings on theology, philosophy, and other topics can be found on Wordpress, and you can also find him on Twitter.

#Anime #Christianity #Welcome to the N.H.K. #N.H.K ni Youkoso! #NHK ni Youkoso! #Welcome to the NHK #Grace #Mercy #Guest Posts #Articles #Author: James Clark

[neoblogcrying]

“Let’s Play a Game” pt.5

Here is the next part! This will be up on AO3 as well very soon! There is a poll this time!

By now, Shen Yuan should be better, don’t you think?

Who is to say? Maybe his system moderator decided to troll him for a while longer. 

Oh—that guy’s pretty sadistic, huh? The way he subtracts points… he’s a demon.

Stop that, hurry and start the next segment. The System-Temp is waiting.

Sorry~! Let’s get this show on the road!

As usual, the system moderators were conversing with each other before they resumed the gameplay. The System temp was always at their mercy to wait for the game to continue to see what would come of the story after their choice (if they made one).

Beep!

“You’re showing improvement.” Shen Jiu commented offhandedly.

“Of course, I’ve been rigorously taught after all...” Shen Yuan sighed, recalling the times Shen Jiu would task him to fixing his hair and being scolded over how he wasn’t ‘doing it right’. It wasn’t as though Shen Jiu and Shen Yuan would always be there for each other, especially when one was playing the Shen Qingqiu role, so it was imperative to be able to fix their appearance on their own should anything happen.

Shen Jiu was much more particular about his appearance than Shen Yuan was, so he was perfectly able to fix his appearance at any time it was needed. Shen Yuan, however… was not that as skilled. In fact, most of the times, Shen Jiu would style his hair for him.

The reason being that Shen Yuan would argue that Shen Jiu did it best, and he wasn’t good at it. Why don’t you show your younger brother how to do it properly? What a wonderful and caring older brother, you are! So talented!

The elder of the two twins was no idiot, so he knew what Shen Yuan was planning, but he still gave into the praise when he was in a good mood. This was not the case for when he was in a bad mood, as was the case for today.

Shen Jiu was in a foul mood this morning, so he forced Shen Yuan to style his own hair, and he was tasked to style Shen Jiu’s hair as well.

With one fluid movement, Shen Jiu reproachfully smacked Shen Yuan’s hand. “Is that a complaint? You should be able to do this on your own if you truly wish to play the part as Shen Qingqiu. If you refuse, then stay here like a sheltered Princess.”

It didn’t hurt, but Shen Yuan did reel his hand backwards, mentally pouting. He’d upset his brother who was only looking out for him, with his small remark. He understood that his brother was very sensitive to certain things, especially anything that may connote that he was an ill-intended person.

While Shen Yuan couldn’t say that Shen Jiu was a ‘kind person’ by the strictest of terms, he wouldn’t say that he’s scum either. He was a very complex individual who was likely to lash out due to his heavy emotional baggage.

“No complaints here, brother. Why don’t you check my work?” Shen Yuan stepped aside and sat next to his brother, smoothing out the wrinkles that appeared on his clothing as he sat down.

His hair was in order, his clothes were neat, and his facial expression was unmoving. He was the definition of an immortal cultivator.

He waited anxiously as his brother beside him moved. He rested his fan on his lap before he reached for his hair, gently feeling for any disorder. Shen Yuan had done a good job, it seemed. It felt exactly as it should, as though he’d styled his hair himself.

Most of his hair, aside from a few strands that framed his face, was pulled back into a half-ponytail, that was then adorned with an ornate hair crown. The hair that would otherwise get in his face was pulled up, while the rest was allowed to flow freely.

“You did good.” He offered only 3 words of praise for Shen Yuan, but that was more than enough for the younger man. Shen Jiu felt a slight tug on the corner of his sleeve. A quick glance out his peripheral vision revealed Shen Yuan breaking out of character to gaze at him expectantly.

He couldn’t understand it, but Shen Yuan seemed to crave attention, and he practically idolized Shen Jiu. What reason was there to idolize a trash-like human whose potential was stifled, he didn’t know. Perhaps this is what it was like to be an elder sibling.

Lightly, he pat Shen Yuan’s shoulder twice before he retracted his hand towards himself.

Shen Yuan’s facial expression lit up with joy as his brother understood his body language. Praise him in another way other than with words!

Yes, it was great to be praised by your brother, but more so than that… he was conditioning his brother! Get used to praising people! Maybe you’ll slip and praise Luo Binghe by accident! Get yourself some points, bro!

The fate of their future rests on your ability to treat the protagonist better!

He seemed to puff out his chest with pride, “I’ve secretly been practicing on my own. Haven’t I done well? Don’t you think I can do my hair properly?” Meaning, they no longer need to practice together like this in the morning, right?

These bonding moments between brothers were nice and all, but it was really  nerve-wrecking to have Shen Jiu staring at him like a hawk, waiting to strike with his fan should he make a mistake!

“Prove to me you can do it yourself 9 more times.”

Spartan, he’s a Spartan!

Of course, there was no way that Shen Jiu would let him off so easily. This was the reputation of Shen Qingqiu they were talking about after all.

“I’ll be sure to make you proud, brother.” No matter what adversities he faced, Shen Qingqiu never jumped off the ride otherwise known as ‘life.’ You could say he was as tenacious as a weed. He was ambitious, working hard to better himself, much different from how Shen Yuan was on Earth.

Maybe it was pity, but Shen Yuan truly wanted to support Shen Jiu. He had a new found appreciation for Shen Jiu because he happened to witness some of his past, and this appreciation soon turned into respect.

If you asked him, he’d say that he truly respected Shen Jiu and looked up to him. There was something about an underdog that made Shen Yuan want to support them and look up to their tenacity.

While he didn’t agree with how malicious Shen Jiu could be, it wasn’t as though he couldn’t understand. The most he could do is try to do damage control for his brother, and to help him learn better social skills.

If forcing himself to act a certain way to promote positive growth, he’ll do just that. He’s a pro at acting at this point, so what’s wrong with doing a little bit more? Though things were different, he still thought of everyone in the world as simple characters in a book.

All because the time was reversed, his thought process reversed as well in this regard.

“You’ll be late.” Shen Jiu reminded his brother.

It never ceased to amaze him how Shen Yuan could be so expressive, but the moment he had to step out as ‘Shen Qingqiu,’ he’d wipe every emotion off his face. His kind personality would be replaced by one that is standoffish.

With a flick of the wrist, ‘Shen Qingqiu’ covered the bottom half of his face with his fan. It was easier to look as though you were looking down on the rest of the world by utilizing a fan to cover your facial expressions.

He slid the door open and stepped out, leaving his brother behind. Shen Jiu could rest and study to his heart’s content.

“Shizun, good morning!” Disciples would greet him as he passed them by. He walked down the hallway without responding to them, as that’s what Shen Qingqiu would do. “Shizun~ Good morning!”

“Good morning.” Of course, he’d respond if one of the female disciples greeted him. It was well known to all that Shen Qingqiu had a soft spot to the female disciples.

The sun was out, and a gentle breeze tickled the face. It was a lovely day to be out, and he couldn’t remember the last time he’d been out like this. Shen Qingqiu was in a good mood, even if his facial expression didn’t convey this.

With the premise that he was patrolling the area to see if anything was amiss, he walked around aimlessly around Qing Jing Peak.

It’s been so long since he’d been out, he wanted to get a good look at everything to familiarize himself with his surroundings again.

Every pebble that crunched into the ground when he stepped on it, the scent of fresh air surrounding him, and the sounds of the young disciples diligently training themselves… it felt so new to him.

Shen Qingqiu wondered how his brother was faring at this time, was he relaxing? Did he bury his face into books or scrolls as he studied?

It certainly felt weird playing the role of Shen Qingqiu after being cooped up in their room for so long, he’d almost felt like Rapunzel or something.

He’d walked a full lap around the premises to see that almost nothing was amiss. Everything was in good order, and the disciples were diligently working hard… but there was something missing.

Where was the protagonist of this story? No, a few other disciples were missing if his memory was anything to go by.

Feet stopped as a foreboding sense of uneased settled over his heart. There was a 90% chance that the disciples were bullying Luo Binghe at this very given moment. He wanted to save him, but—

[System: Warning, that thought is dangerous. Even if the disciples know there are two people playing the Shen Qingqiu role, you must stick to character. It’s imperative no one can tell the difference between the two Shen Brother’s playing their role. OOC function has not been lifted, so please continue to play your role.]

What would Shen Qingqiu do at this point in time? Would he ignore the fact that disciples are missing to do something else, or would he go to join in tormenting Luo Binghe?

Shen Qingqiu was leaning towards the ‘Brother wouldn’t even notice people are missing and he’d do something else.’ It was one thing if one of the female disciples were missing, but a male one? Why would he care for that?

If Luo Binghe was missing, he’d prefer that, so the appropriate answer here would be to ignore the fact he’s noticed some of the male disciples (including the protagonist) were missing.

Now that he thought about it, someone else was missing, wasn’t she? If Luo Binghe wasn’t around, there usually meant that a certain someone would be with him—causing him more troubles.

Ning Yingying, couldn’t you please learn to use your brain and NOT cause Luo Binghe to be hated even more than he already is by his elder disciple brothers? Shen Qingqiu couldn’t help but lament over how one of Luo Binghe’s wives had this special skill of causing him trouble.

“Shizun, come help!” A bright voice called out to him with a loud voice.

He knew exactly what was happening here, Luo Binghe was being bullied and Ning Yingying had ran off to retrieve Shen Qingqiu to alleviate the situation. What she didn’t know was that Shen Qingqiu would follow her, tell her to leave (to get bandages or something), and then bully Luo Binghe as well the moment she ran off.

Honestly? Shen Qingqiu felt so depressed by this matter. Why was it that one of Luo Binghe’s main wives was so… so… SO STUPID?

If anything, this was the perfect chance to use to see what Luo Binghe was up to. It’s been so long since he’d seen the protagonist, and he was curious to know how much he’d grown! Also, he really wanted to know just how much damage his brother had caused.

Don’t you think he needs to know what he’s dealing with if he plans on hugging the golden thighs of the protagonist?

“Lead the way.” He spoke with the uninterested and lofty tone that everyone was used to, and of course, Ning Yingying was none the wiser about the switch. She immediately started leading the way towards the bamboo forest.

For sure, the other disciples had to be bullying Luo Binghe by fussing with him and forcing all the errands onto him.

With every twist and turn on the path, he followed Ning Yingying at a leisurely pace, a bit too slow for her liking. “Shizun, hurry! A-Luo is in danger!” She tried to appeal to his concern for his disciples (did Shen Qingqiu have any?) to make him walk faster.

If not for the System blaring warnings at him, he would have overtaken Ning Yingying and came to Luo Binghe’s rescue already! Alas, he has to stick to his role and walk slowly with an uncaring attitude.

Ning Yingying truly had to be grateful to him that he was even taking the time to follow her into the bamboo forest. Who cared for that ‘brat,’ anyways? Such a detestable fellow!

Sorry.

Truly Sorry, Luo Binghe. He doesn’t mean it, honest! He’s spouting all these lies mentally because he has to get into the mindset of the incorrigible Shen Qingqiu! He wanted to cry with every insult he had to tack onto his favorite protagonist.

It was hard to notice for anyone that wasn’t Shen Qingqiu, but he did hasten his steps by another step, and he rebuffed the system by excusing his action by wanting to keep Ning Yingying’s good opinion of him.

If there was one thing that he knew, it was that Shen Qingqiu was lenient towards the female disciples, and he’d never want for them to have a negative opinion of him. He was very oddly vain about his image, especially when it came from a woman’s perspective.

“A-Luo! It’s going to be okay now! I’ve brought Shizun!”

There was a 100% chance that her words just shattered his heart. Shen Qingqiu was willing to bet on it. Stepping in next to Ning Yingying, he could see that the elder disciples were holding Luo Binghe down. A rusty axe laid on the ground, and another disciple froze mid-action, allowing the water from the bucket to slowly spill onto Luo Binghe’s head.

With the arrival of Shen Qingqiu, his imposing appearance caused all to stop and stare at him, with the exception of Luo Binghe, whose face was made to ‘eat dirt’ as they say. Even if he was free to look, he wouldn’t want to lock eyes with Shen Qingqiu’s chilly, reticent eyes.

Leave it to these canon fodders to not show any leniency. Shen Qingqiu mentally sighed at how they were splendidly signing themselves up to dying horrible deaths like they were given in the novel.

Even if there was a major change to the plot (the Shen Twins), everything else was following the novel’s progression to a T.

“Please, Shizun, make them stop!” Ning Yingying begged with tears in her eyes. Why do you look like you’re watching your lover standing at gunpoint? He won’t die, he’s the protagonist!

Still, now that he’s here, he has to do something, right?

DING!

You guessed right, it’s time for another plot changing question event! Surely you can guess what the subject matter of this question is going to be? What do you think Shen Qingqiu will do?

More like, what will you have him do? Just to let you know, the System Moderator in charge of overseeing Shen Qingqiu does not know that you are in charge of controlling Shen Qingqiu’s actions.

Yeah, that System Moderator is in a different department than us, so we haven’t let them know. Therefore, you need to be careful about what you choose, or things can get tricky!

Without a further ado… let’s get to the next question!

                           [What will Shen Qingqiu do in this situation?]

Walk away! Let them deal with it on their own!

Save the protagonist!

Be neutral and punish them all!

Tell Yingying to go away and unleash the ‘Shizun TM’

               [Previous Segment] [Table of Contents] [Next Segment] 

#Scum Villain #Neo Writes Drabbles #SVSSSLifeSimProject

[incarnateirony]

One more P5 post

I wanna know how much time the creators spent arguing with people on twitter, considering the comments on the Phan-Site polls. Will put behind a cut.

I mean, they hit all sides from auto-believers, internet trolls, people who are like ITS STILL ILLEGAL!!! and THIS IS THE POLICE JOB pics or it didn't happen, whatever. But my favorites are "IF UR SO JUST, SHOW UR FACE", "I bet they're crying LOL", "Shibuya's fucked", "Hang in there you guys ;w;", "WHAT A TIME TO BE ALIVE", "world-famous fail looool", "kill this stupid website" or whatever else. Or the timeless “so wait, who do we hate?”

QUESTION: Do you believe in the Phantom Thieves? This poll is adopted on 4/15.

0-10%

"'of hearts?' What tryhards"

"I've been waiting for this!" 

"Isn't it just a prank?"

"Never even heard of them"

"Who made this site? Ridic"

"even kids aren't that dumb"

"gtfo with that shit LOL"

"is this a cult?"

"my friend says they're real!"

"sauce plz"

"viral marketing...?"

10-20%

"It's just a coincidence..."

"Petty criminals? Pointless"

"This is getting good!"

"Too elaborate for a prank"

"Vigilante justice is wrong."

"What about the pupils?"

"What's gonna happen now?"

"What's he gonna be hit w/?"

"i just can't"

"pics or it didn't happen"

"ppl really believe this? lmao"

"ppl who buy this... -_-"

"they can't catch EVERYONE"

"they're just making threats"

"thieves are the bad ones"

"was it rly a phantom thief?"

"what a joke"

QUESTION: Are the Phantom Thieves just? This poll is adopted on 6/11.

10-20%

"Akechi-kun is right!"

"Isn't it a crime?"

"It's called the law..."

"NO! justice ain't that simple"

"NO. They piss me off."

"Steal dem corrupt hearts!"

"They seem full of it, so NO"

"They're still thieves..."

"They've always been fishy..."

"This is the police's job."

"better be arrested soon"

"don't even bother with this"

"get off your high horse"

"hmm seems interesting"

"i hate Akechi, so YES???"

"if ur so just, show ur face"

"they're allies of justice."

"they're up to something"

"this has to be fake, lol"

"this is so immature."

20-30%

"Isn't it a crime?"

"Probably at least somewhat"

"They seem full of it, so NO"

"They're cool, so HECKYEAH!"

"They're still thieves..."

"get off your high horse"

"i dont buy into that stuff."

"of course not. done"

"that "justice" stuff is ehh"

"this is so immature."

30-40%

"both are crossing the line"

"fukkin hypocrites"

"get rekt, scumbags lmao"

"Hang in there you guys! ;w;"

"I bet they're crying LOL"

"Neither are just"

"Shibuya's fucked"

"they're both shit."

"What cheapass justice, lol"

60-70%

"AGAIN, YAAAAAAS!"

"Such annoying marketing"

"Their word is final."

"better than the cops"

"i bet it's worldwide news"

"justice was w/ the thieves."

"what a time to be alive"

80-90%

"Calling card! YAAAAAAS!"

"Exterminate his family too!"

"Here comes the apology rofl"

"I've been waiting for this"

"Leave everything to them~"

"Make him beg!"

"No apology yet? :["

"Ooh, a calling card! kekeke"

"SO MANY COMMENTS OMG"

"Take him out. It's an order"

"The world needs to see this!"

"They better not screw it up"

"Yeah, get that greedy CEO!"

"an apology isn't enough."

"become prime minister plz!!"

"dat okumura stock drop lol"

"destroy all evil!"

"let's hear from the workers!"

"no more big bang burg, lmao"

"stop fucking around"

"we're with you, p.thieves!"

"❤❤❤ Phantom Thieves ❤❤❤"

On 10/12, the support rate drops from the 90s to the 70s due to the death of Kunikazu Okumura.

70-80%

"Is he really dead...?"

"Now, who's next? ;)"

"Well that was disturbing..."

"die capitalist pigs!!!"

"whoa wtf"

On 10/13, the support rate drops a bit again to the 60s.

60-70%

"Awww, what a waste"

"Evil has perished."

"Gotta break a few eggs"

"So, whodunnit?"

"Were we deceived?"

"do we know how they do it?"

"eh, good riddance"

"killing ppl's a no-no"

"omg, the comments hahaha"

"omg, they went overboard lol"

"they got carried away..."

"what about his daughter?"

Over the next week, the support rates drops to the 50s, 30s, and then 20s.

""justice" sounds hollow now"

"—DELETED BY ADMIN—"

"Are the calling cards fake?"

"Blame the politicians too."

"Bloodthirsty killers!!!"

"Enough is enough!!!"

"Even Akechi's lost it"

"False charges happen, but..."

"Hurry and arrest them"

"Hurry up and execute them!"

"I dare to support them."

"I kiiinda sympathize..."

"I reported this website."

"I told you so..."

"I'm scared to go outside..."

"Is the admin an accomplice?"

"No hate-slinging, please!" (a message from the admin, Mishima)

"Officer, look!"

"Oh how far they've fallen"

"Pls don't kill me ;_;"

"Police were negligent too."

"Shut this site down!!!"

"That was traumatizing..."

"They must be punished."

"They need to be executed"

"They were screwing with us."

"They're assassins."

"Ugh. We were fooled."

"We can't leave them be"

"What about the politicians?"

"awful, they betrayed us"

"bring on the breakdowns~!"

"cant say w/o evidence"

"cmon, just kill everyone!"

"didnt expect much anyway"

"got anything better to do?"

"he had it coming, amirite?"

"id bet money on the rest"

"its just coincidence, yep"

"just turn yourselves in pls"

"lel, regret backin em yet?"

"lol dont be fooled so easy"

"lol, ppl still like them?"

"low expectations, ho!"

"media's garbage as expected"

"overhyped imo"

"p quick to switch sides lol"

"support went to shit lmao"

"tbh i just wanna troll, lol"

"their fans are guilty too"

"they even steal LIVES???"

"they're just suspects..."

"throw em in the slammer!"

"trash talking feels risky..."

"typical bandwagon, gg"

"uhh, yea they're evil"

"waste of tax money imo"

"wat do they want, anyway?"

"world-famous fail loool"

QUESTION: Are the Phantom Thieves innocent? This poll is adopted on 10/29.

Around 20%

"—DELETED BY ADMIN—"

"30 million yen OMG XD"

"Akechi-kun, save us!"

"Enough is enough!!!"

"False charges happen, but..."

"Is the admin an accomplice?"

"Oh how far they've fallen"

"Record-breaking evil"

"They gotta be arrested now"

"can't know w/o a trial"

"id bet money on the arrest"

"if ur innocent, show yourself"

"lol this place went to shit"

"ppl still stand by them?"

"that freaked me out omg"

"they're def guilty"

"they're freaking out hahaha"

"they're running loose rn..."

"this site pisses me off"

"waste of tax money imo"

"what if they are LOL"

"who cares either way?"

After the protagonist fakes his death, and approval drops to 0.3%.

"Akechi got the last laugh!"

"AKECHI IS BAE!!!"

"A worthy end for a villain"

"c'mon, leak his name!"

"Evil is destined to perish."

"he went down easy"

"hope things are safer now"

"Justice with Akechi!"

"Just like Akechi-kun said!"

"kid had it coming, lol"

"So did he do it or not!?"

"so he HAS to be guilty"

"The truth's lost to the void"

"We'll finally have peace"

"we do need a new authority..."

QUESTION: Do you support the Phantom Thieves? This poll is adopted on 12/7.

Around 0.8%

"a lil too late tho"

"dat comeback looool"

"I'd never support them"

"I'm getting confused..."

"I can't believe anybody..."

"i don't really care"

"Is Shido gonna apologize?"

"It's happening again..."

"just typical slander imo"

"lol no way i'd support them"

"may just be election shit"

"moar like phantom GRIEF"

"Must be tough for Shido-san"

"My scandal sense's tingling!"

"no one wants you thieves"

"phantom thieves WIN PLX!!!"

"political attack, REALLY???"

"ppl still defend them? lmao"

"Shido, just take the win"

"Shouldn't Shido explain?"

"Show yourself, Akechi!"

"smear campaigns are gross"

"So he didn't die..."

"srsly, a tv hijack?"

"Stay strong, Shido-san!"

"stop makin such a big deal"

"talk about election drama"

"they're still criminals"

"they can't take a hint"

"this country is effed up"

"this is a murder warning..."

"This isn't debunked yet?"

"this site's still up? :o"

"TV hijacking is terrorism!"

"was it the others? :o"

"was that statement a lie?"

"what about the election?"

"what a comeback..."

"Why isn't this on the news?"

"wow, ppl are desperate..."

QUESTION: Do the Phantom Thieves really exist? This poll is adopted on 12/19.

Around 19%

"And then, there were none"

"can't someone just fix it?"

"cmon thieves, say something"

"Enjoy prison, Mr. Shido~"

"even shido... FAIL"

"everyone, just disappear"

"Everyone was shameless"

"—GAME OVER—"

"go ahead & celebrate, idiots"

"I feel like an empty husk"

"im just like... so what"

"In the end, who's to blame?"

"i shoulda known better..."

"ive lost my will to live..."

"just destroy this country"

"kill this stupid website"

"my support was a waste"

"Next person please!"

"nobody asked for this"

"no thanks to those thieves"

"nothing changed. boringggg"

"Someone do something!"

"soooo is shido alive?"

"so wait, who do we hate?"

"so what WERE they??"

"The election was a farce."

"the future's screwed LOL"

"they're harshin my mellow"

"They better settle things"

"thinking hurts my brain"

"this country's done for"

"This is a stain on history"

"this is fucked up..."

"this is going nowhere"

"useless scum"

"we need answers"

"What's with this question?"

"who cares abt the election?"

"why'd we even bother"

"why this. even now???"

Then the dramatic final cut where everybody believes in them and it’s like # OF FANS ---> FAN POWER LEVELS ---> FIGHT Q( ‘-’Q )

#not spn #persona

[missconduct]

As Strong as Darth Vader

<p>“Once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny.” (Yoda, 1980, The Empire Strikes Back). I usually don’t begin an essay with a quote but in this case I feel it’s important. My theory here is just a theory based on how I’ve viewed this story for 35 years. If you don’t agree it’s ok take it with a grain of salt, my friends in Star Wars fandom, because it’s not canon lol this is all in my head. I’m speculating how the story could go, and that’s part of the fun in this saga is speculation.<br>

  The first time I heard they were making a new trilogy I cringed as a lot of people did fearing the worst for a story I love so much. I didn’t read spoilers, or cruise YouTube looking for theory videos. I barely watched the trailer. In fact all I saw of the trailer was a few glimpses of Finn wielding the blue saber (only because I was already a huge fan of John’s because of his character in Attack the Block). I stepped into this new world not knowing anything. I didn’t even know who Adam Driver was. I didn’t even know there was a girl protagonist in the movie. My canvas of TFA was blank.

  As I watched the movie quite a few things caught me by surprise. I’ll quickly list them; Kylo as a villain, the interactions between Rey and Kylo (that’s a huge ass one), where the hell is Luke? The symbolism in the story as a whole, and my deepest one is Kylo’s obsession with his grandfather. As I watched the movie these things caught my attention because the rest of the story is (and I saw it admittedly) a re-play of the original trilogy (which I think was a strategy to play on the nostalgia of the original). It intrigued me intensely though because there were all these twists in it that were obviously not a copy cat of the original trilogy.

  As I sat in the theater watching it for the first time the scene when Kylo is speaking to Darth Vader’s helmet began. I watched this clearly conflicted, confused, lost villain pleading with a dead man’s helmet to, “show him again, the power of the darkness.” I literally said in a whisper under my breath, “this doesn’t make any sense to me??? Vader’s greatest moment of triumph, his greatest strength was his ability to turn back to the light side. He chose to be good again, to do the right thing, to save his son, his family, from the darkness. Why would this mask show him anything dark???” I didn’t like it at first. The scene made me feel so sad. It was as if Vader’s sacrifice meant nothing at the end of ROTJ. Like his greatest moment was forgotten in this new world.

   Then I saw this girl who I viewed as confused and lost as much as the villain was. Trying to come to grips with where her life was going. Should she stay and wait for her family? Should she finally accept whatever the truth was and move on? Then she hears a call. I thought it was interesting that the call was a little girls cries, almost as if her own loneliness were calling to her. She touches this long lost relic that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker, and her life takes a turn that is going to forever change her destiny.

  I’ve watched Rey’s force vision way too many times to count and the 2 things that are consistent in them that stood out to me were 1: Kylo Ren, and 2: various voices from the past echoing through the force. Now a lot of people think that these past voices are the individuals speaking directly to her, but I didn’t see it like that. Even though Obi-Wan says her name, it’s more like the force is speaking to her through the echo of past force users. This is important because I’ll bring it up again later.

  Through my journey with Rey, I saw her frightened and alone after the vision. I know Maz is trying to help her, but it might freak me out if someone had just made me come to the realization that my deepest fear was true. That I had to accept the people who were supposed to care about me and come back for me were never coming back. She’s afraid, she’s alone (Finn just abandoned her also. He’s leaving her to go to the outer rim territory.) She runs, and who does she run right into? Our strange lost Villain. At this point, I was really wanting to know who and what was under that mask. Remember spoiler free, didn’t even know who Adam Driver was.

  Then he sweeps her away “Bridal carry” style onto his ship, abducting her! That had me on the edge is my seat because that whole scene had me trying to figure out where this was going. Was he a man under that mask ? Or a monster? Was this an endgame romance or a creepy stalker crush?

  Then I witnessed the “interrogation scene.” This is the most important scene in the movie for me, and not for the reasons you might think. Yes, my jaw dropped and (despite my very good looking husband sitting right next to me ) I almost wet my pants when Kylo took off his mask. I turned to my daughter and whispered in an awestruck voice, “I think he’s the leading man. How about you?” My 13-year-old daughter’s reply, “omg mom, damn” and we laughed. Yes, there is a lot of incredibly hot, passionate, sexually charged shit going down in that scene! That’s not why it’s the most important scene for me. As I watched, this girl rise to the occasion and step up onto the equal ground with this boy, she said those famous words that helped me piece my headcanon puzzle together, “you, you’re afraid, that you’ll never be as strong as Darth Vader!”

  Now a lot of people don’t pay much attention to this line. They simply think it’s just her calling him out on being a Darth Vader fanboy. Maybe the writers were going that direction, but I don’t think so. When I first heard that line I whispered under my breath “oooooooo that was deep.” And in my head it made sense. That was a huge foreshadowing of Ben solos redemption, and the part this girl is going to play in it. This part of the movie is what drew me deep into the story.

  So I went back and saw the film 5 more times after that, in the theater. Then immediately pre- ordered my iTunes copy to be available for download as soon as it was available. I watched, and watched, and watched it again, and again. I could even watch it again today lol. It wasn’t enough. I kept wanting to know more. I started cruising and just looking through fan bases, but it looked like the things I wanted to talk about weren’t subjects that were well received, so I didn’t venture into joining or posting in any fan sites. Then I started cruising YouTube and came across this channel called Star Wars Connection and found a video titled, “Visual Storytelling in The Force Awakens.” Omg, these ladies understood me !!!! They understood everything I understood in the movie!!! And listening to them helped me develop my theory about Kylo’s redemption and the connection between Rey and Kylo-Ben.

  During the second part of this outstanding podcast, they briefly talked about Luke’s journey into the cave on Dagobah. In that scene, Luke is confronted by Vader when he cuts his head off, and the helmet explodes revealing Luke’s own face within the mask. It got me thinking about Luke’s greatest fear and how it related to Kylo. They are similar but different. Luke’s greatest fear was falling to the Dark side and becoming just like his father. Kylo’s greatest fear is the (I hope this is the correct term) subverted version of Luke’s, that he will never be as Strong as Darth Vader, that he will never be like him. Is it possible that part of what went down between Luke and Kylo has something to do with this fact? This is all speculation but it got me thinking that if there are similarities between Anakin and Kylo, then wouldn’t there be similarities between Luke and Kylo also? When Luke sees his face in the mask it scares him. Kylo wants to see his face in the mask.

  While thinking about Luke and Kylo it leads me to Rey. These three individuals are key to what this story really is about. It’s not about who Rey’s parents are or aren’t that is irrelevant. I’m sorry to all those anti-Reylo’s out there who are gunning for her to be a Skywalker or Solo but in my headcanon, she’s not. Her part in this story in my mind is clear. It was a passionately romantic love that started all this, and it will be a passionately romantic love that will end all of this. 

   Rey and Kylo have collided. I have seen a lot of speculation about whether or not they knew each other prior to their meeting on Takodana. Through all the speculation I’ve seen the only one that makes sense to me is that they have seen each other in dreams and visions. In the novelization, it even says that Rey knows this man from a dream or a nightmare. I believe she has had dreams of him her whole life. Which is why I think he smiles when he sees her image of an island. Anakin had dreams of people and future events, why can’t Rey. I believe Kylo has had dreams of her as well. In my headcanon dreams and visions are two different entities. A dream coming to you in your sleeping state, a vision coming to you through a waking moment through something else. Rey has visions of Kylo when she touches Anakin’s lightsaber in the castle. Is it possible that Kylo has had a similar vision of Rey? Someone speculated that maybe Kylo had Obi-Wan’s lightsaber somehow. (Thank you Rebel Scum Podcast for twisting my idea lol to present it as yours, but you got it all wrong) Kylo doesn’t need anyone’s light saber to have a vision of Rey. He has Anakin’s mask. Part of my speculation is that Vader/Anakin’s mask is Kylo’s transmitter for his force vision.

  Now I know a lot of people probably think of Vader’s mask as a Completely Dark side relic. I’m sorry though I don’t see it that way. Remember I told you that the first time I saw the movie while watching this scene I kept thinking that the mask was more a representation and symbol of Vader’s greatest strength and triumph. Think about Vader’s last moments while wearing the mask. The moment Luke told him he could feel the conflict in him, and he knew there was still good in him. His sadness feeling torn, watching the emperor torture his son, Padme’s son! almost to death. The pain he must have felt being torn apart between the dark and the light at that moment. Vader chucking the old guy over the railing into the abyss to save his family, to do the impossible, something that Yoda said couldn’t be done. He came back to the light. Even the walk with Luke carrying him to the shuttle. Still trying to save his father. Removing his mask peeling it off of his face so he could look at his son one last time with his own eyes. That mask in my opinion saw a lifetime of light before Vader/ Anakin passed away and became one with the force again. I view that mask as potentially being a grey instrument of the force. If the mask has given him visions both light and dark it would make sense that he would ask it to show him again the power of the darkness. A lot of people think that individual characters from the past are directly speaking to both characters, as I pointed out earlier. Could Kylo think that Vader speaks to him through the mask. Is it possible that this is just purely THE FORCE itself using voices of powerful Jedi of the past? The force is just using these voices as an echo to bring these two very powerful force, sensitive individuals, together. Why would the force will this?

  I try to clear my mind and recognize what Yoda says over and over numerous times in the saga. It is this entity that binds everything together. It has a will all its own. It calls those bound to it, it is a force sensitive beings choice if they will answer the call. If they will choose the light path or the dark. Perhaps there is a medium ground.

   No matter which religion it is there are light and dark sides to it. Without one the other cannot exist. In my theory the force is trying to bind Rey and Ben together, and yes I do believe it is trying to bind them together using a romantic passionate love. The evidence of this is clear in TFA. Kylo is already addicted to her presence. He can’t just hand her over to Stormtroopers like he did Poe, he has to carry her. He’s not trying to intimidate or frighten her. He takes off his mask for her. He speaks softly and calmly. I’m sorry but when I was growing up if my brother was interrogating me for any reason (Like where I hid the remote to keep him from changing the channel.) he was never nice, never calm, and it usually ended with blows aiming for the head or the gut, and furniture flying across the room, and the last person we wanted around was the other one. Kylo is not her brother or cousin. Sorry folks it’s not in the story. He wants her in his life! He pretty much begs her to let him teach her, he needs her in his life. Which is a big reason Otze’s essay about force bonds is now my favorite Star Wars Reylo essay. If they are related, I will still love it, because it’s Star Wars.The story can still be explored through different characters in a future trilogy, but I will be reading and writing tons of Reylo fan fiction to get over it lol!

  While I believe that Kylo will be redeemed through this love he has for Rey I do not know how it will end for him in my head. I do not think it’s going to end well for him. I see them both being bound together through the force and I think it’s very foretelling that each one has a connection to a relic that once belonged to Anakin Skywalker. The lightsaber was Anakin’s. He was the first to wield it. The mask also belonged to Anakin. Anakin is still being chosen by the force to achieve balance. Using relics of both sides of his life To bring these 2 people who share this connection in the force together. I think this could foreshadow one of them (probably Ben) making a self-sacrifice to save the other. I really don’t want that to happen though, I want Kylo to survive. Maybe going on a journey of penance, wandering the galaxy trying to help others to pay for his past. IDK if that will happen either but I’d love that, and it could spark an animated series. (lol)

  I believe it’s possible. As many have said in fandom his character still has a lot of growing up to do. I’m so on the edge of my seat to watch that unfold. I want to know if in the end, he will fulfill his ambition and his destiny and truly become “As Strong as Darth Vader!”

 I went on for a long while now and I hope my day dream about this awesome passionate story made people think, maybe even daydream a bit themselves. I’m sure I’m probably completely wrong about this whole headcanon of mine lol (@Scavengershoard ) Like Rachel and Kirsty are always saying though it’s always fun to speculate. Have a great rest of your weekend everyone and thanks for reading

Feel free to leave comments and let me know what you think(Please be kind though, do unto others right!) ❤️⭐️

#reylo #reylo trash #reylo meta

[artsyarchangel-blog]

Gunbreaker (Part 2)

4

HERMES: They started out as weapon manufacturers funded by their countries, nothing suspicious about them, only that they provided  the tools necessary for killing. And since humanity so loves to kill each other, to snuff the flames of life, they rose in power and wealth and eventually in influence. For if you bring the money, everyone will soon bow to your whims. They bribed politicians, other public figures to speak favorably of their weapon-businesses, to pass little bills, just to make the life of an arms dealer a little easier. We now believe that these were just tests, to see how far they could go without being detected or obstructed. At some point they awakened to a truth: that whoever holds the power to kill someone, anyone, would be destined to rule this world. Suddenly, people lost their lives, political figures advocating a demilitarization, suffering convenient accidents or turning to suicide. The general public is a simple beast, but the frequency of these incidents raised even the suspicion of your average person. So they changed tactics and turned back to bribes and threats. I know this is a lot to take in, I let you take a minute, Initiate. ANON: No, it's fine! Please continue!

Really, I was glued to the screen as Hermes told his story.

HERMES: I see, as you wish. So in the end, these weapon manufacturers established a shadow government, with the acting prime minister as a mere puppet, needed to quell the suspicions of the people. That was the plan at least, but it never worked out, there were riots, there were rebels, people trying to convince the public of the truth, just as we do now. So they turned to extreme measures. Pumping out weapons, they supplied all the criminal scum they could get their hands on. Ruthless tribes, violent bands of mercenaries, the organized crime, all of them suddenly found themselves with a new stock of lead and were ready to wreak havoc. After it all became to terrible to bear, the citizens armed themselves and the world had an all-out war on their hands. Not struggle between nations, but simply between men. This massacre raged for years and now all that is left are the five cities, each ruled by a designated Warlord. ANON: This is insane. A war like that, someone has to know about it, an event like this can't simply be forgotten! HERMES: It is lost to time, simply because no one is alive to remember. Only the Warlords know about it, passed down through their lineage. We managed to obtain this information through great sacrifices.

They never told me how exactly they could get a hold of such vital intel, the real history of our world. It was groundbreaking, if it was true, but again, they showed me no proof, I just swallowed it all up. ANON: But what can we even do against an organization that plunged the whole world into chaos? HERMES: They needed a smaller population, to control them easily and indeed, the plan is sound. Our capabilities to strike back are basically nil. We don't even know the identities of these Warlords, only that they named themselves after animals. We are working on a breakthrough in that regard and you might be able to help us. We assume you are well-versed when it comes to hacking? Why else would you approach us, right? ANON: Of course, absolutely not a problem.

I lied without a moments hesitation.

HERMES: Good. Do not be alarmed, it is a simple matter. We need to gain access to the local warlords mainframe, but to do this, some of our members will stage a distraction. You just got to attack some official websites, keep their staff busy. We take care of the main task. Are you truly capable of that?

They must have felt that I was just bullshitting, they were pretty insistent and it felt really bad, when I repeated my lie.

ANON: I am willing and able to participate in this attack! HERMES: We will redirect you to another room, there you will meet the leader of your operation, but this can wait until tomorrow. Find some rest, digest everything we told you today and be ready. Your fight for liberation begins now.

I was stoked as I crawled out of my chair and into my bed. The monitor continued to shine its cold light into my room. I hardly ever turned it off. A million thoughts were running through my head, it was impossible to find any sleep that night, but I had my orders. Yes, starting with this night I saw myself as a soldier, a warrior for the network called Hermes, loyal and obedient. It's kinda scary how easy it is to manipulate some high-school-freshman. The problem remained however: I had no idea how to assist in this attack. Nothing, there was nothing I could contribute, all I had was a superiority-complex and a mouth too big for my own good. Well, surely, they would forgive me once they'd find out, right? We'd just laugh it off, what's the worst that could happen, it was just a game after all. Still, sleep would not find me. I entertained the thought to return to my computer-screen, play some games, but in reality, I was too excited to concentrate on anything. So Hermes tried to gather the identities of these so-called Warlords, that was their, our, goal at the moment, but it didn't go far enough. We had to truly and utterly erase all conflict on this planet. We had to get rid of the demon called “Weaponry”. This was my personal goal, but as I said, I was loyal, I wouldn't further my own interests when there were orders to fulfill. That is, until I started to warp the truth a little. I just assumed that my goal aligned with Hermes', that I acted in their interests and from here on out, it all comes tumbling down. Be assured though, no harm came to me. As I sit here, telling my story, reminiscing about my embarrassing childhood, I am still in possession of all my limbs and received no scars, be it physically or emotionally. Oh, and I am very much alive obviously, I won't pull a plot twist on you, someone else actually narrating the story, a close friend standing in front of the grave of the actual protagonist in the end. We will have none of that. But just because I say that, don't think that they are no stakes involved. No, terrible things happened, it's just that I am sturdier than the average person so none of these events ever really affected me. I am getting sidetracked here...So what I first intended, my first plan to erase all conflict was simply to tell everyone the truth. I was going to lay it all out, about the warlords, about the wasteland surrounding us, about our forged history, everyone needed to know. Screw the consequences, I had a narrative to share. The people deserved to know the truth. So when I finally fell asleep, I wasted no time, skipping school without even thinking about it and went online. I needed a new handle, a new identity and soon, all over the internet, a mysterious name popped up, educating the masses. The infamous GunBreaker. That's the title card right here.

5

So suddenly, the GunBreaker popped up everywhere, posting comments, writing long blog-posts, which seemed more like fictional writing, but the whole story was true! At least, I thought so, after all, I trusted my anonymous source, why wouldn't I? But as one can imagine, nobody believed me, instead they trolled me into oblivion. However, while I might have hated all these spiteful messages, the people who laughed about my crazy theories, I steadily gained some sort of twisted fame. People started to reference me, things like “A new conspiracy? Better get GunBreaker on the case.” or “not even GunBreaker would buy that shit.” Now, nobody took me serious and that was a problem, but it was still a weird feeling, seeing my new name popping up all over the sites I used to frequent, as a total nobody. They knew my name now and whenever I posted a comment, people were all over me, asking me questions, making fun of me. As I said, no one actually believed me or took me seriously, but also no one hated me. I was like the jester of the internet. Wait, that's something my teenager-self thought at the time, more realistically, they treated me like a retarded child. That's a little harsh, I know, but that doesn't make it any less true. And of course, how else could it be, I was happy about all this attention they threw at me. Eventually, I received another Invitation from Hermes, leading me into another room. Honestly, I almost forgot about the operation we were supposed to carry out, too caught up in my own hijinks. Yet as I saw the message, the memory returned, crystal-clear and I gulped audibly. I still had no idea how to “distract” the government, how to hack into any website. Damn, I was dumb, I had at least a little time, enough to understand the fundamentals at least. Here I was, completely clueless. So I entered the room, but this time, I changed my screen-name. GUNBREAKER: Hey, guys. Was all I typed and the response followed swiftly. DECOY: So it was you... I am the appointed leader of this operation, everyone else is already instructed.

Yet again, I found myself in a one-on-one chat-room, I guess to many participants would only complicate things, so it was fine by me.

GUNBREAKER: Nice to meet you. DECOY: I trust Hermes already told you? Our goal is to attack the official sites of some government institutions, like the high council, the ministry of finances,nothing to exciting. Every skript-kiddie would be capable of shutting these down for a few minutes, but that is exactly what we want them to think. While we strike at their main-frame, a treasure trove of information, the identities of the warlords will be the least shocking revelation if we actually manage this.

Man, this guy must have felt like some military commander instructing his troops right before they jump into a decisive battle. So embarrassing...

DECOY: We appoint the Ministry of city development to you, these sheeps will be surprised to find out that there is no information about the next construction area. Serves them right, being stuck in traffic for believing these lies.

Uh huh...

GUNBREAKER: I understand completely. When will we carry out the operation?

DECOY: At 2200, tomorrow, hit them at night, when their bosses sleep peacefully. We can deal with some bored IT-guys, no problem. It is imperative that you act on time. Shut down your designated homepage and keep them busy. Further instruction should be unnecessary, but do keep in mind that we operate on a tight schedule, every attack needs to happen, otherwise our professional team will miss the time to successfully break in and leave without any traces. Do you understand? Please confirm these mission directives.

GUNBREAKER: I understand my orders. Bring down the public website of the Ministry of City Development, I will not disappoint you.

DECOY: Understood, we meet at 2100, to coordinate the attack. Just be there, we will invite you again. Decoy out.

I was so fucked! Then again, why would a single attack matter? Who knows how many hackers and crackers were on the job, why should a single failure doom the entire mission? So the operation to liberate all of humanity was not at stake, what relief. However, I was still screwed, if the site of this ministry would not go down, if they noticed, then Hermes would know that I am at fault, that I didn't do my part. Surely, they would throw me out then. I couldn't let this happen! So naturally, I did what everyone would do in my situation. I sat down in front of my computer, brought up a search-engine and typed:”How to hack a website”

6

I actually found some interesting results! Judging by how heavily curated our network seemed to be earlier when I conducted my research, I expected absolutely nothing. Yet here I found multiple guidelines,  detailing how to easily bring down a webpage. There was just one problem, despite their claims, it wasn't easy at all! I couldn't wrap my head around it, what the hell? Maybe I could have, if only I had more time, but until tomorrow? There was no chance! I read about scripts, directory listings, source codes, saw some weird programming chains, remote files, none of it made any sense to me. Clutching my head, staring at the screen, I tried my darndest, but nothing would sink in. I was only a teenager, not even  particularly smart, no one could expect this shit of me. They would though, Hermes would expect this of me and  if I was unable to deliver, who knows what they would do to me. I seriously started to get a little scared, recalled the stories I heard about him, true or not. He seemed like a badass, I didn't want him to come after me... So I did my best, I spent all my time reading up on this hacker-business. Even an idiot like me could do this, I just needed to put in the effort. Some time later, I grasped some of the ideas. And I needed tools, these guides clearly stated I need some programs to actually start. Obviously, I looked for them...and found absolutely nothing. That was bullshit, the guide clearly stated that these tools were easily obtainable! There was absolutely nothing, no matter how hard I looked! Was that a joke, did the government intervene here? They leave the guidelines up, but then remove any possibility to actually follow through? Are they taunting me? Or worse tracking me as soon as I made my search query? What a scary thought, I just wanted to quit at this point. I simply was not allowed to, Hermes probably knew all about me already, if I just left now, there would be retribution. A new dawn rose, the sun annoyingly caressed my sleep-deprived face. Then, after a few hours of morning despair, I even went so far and visited some nearby bookstores, for the first time in my recent memory. Analogue reading is only done by losers after all, but I was running out of options here. “Programming for absolute Morons” caught my eye, but I didn't want to learn how to program, this was useless. “Even a skript-kiddie could do it”. Does this mean I'm  not even  on this level? What an embarrassment, how tragic! I seriously started to loose it, but there was nothing to be done. So at 9 pm I sat in front of my screen, clueless, utterly useless, but at least I was on time. As before, an invitation, it was second nature by now, I struggled to stay awake, being up for over 24 hours, as I entered the chat-room. This time it wasn't just me, multiple people were gathered, I counted eight including our operations-leader. Their names were such  typical products of a teenage mind: Iceglazier, Bloodedge, AcidicKiller, you get the idea. I vividly remember thinking how cool they all sounded, but I didn't need to hide. Gunbreaker was an awesome name, after all, nothing to laugh about. Well, I am laughing in embarrassment when I think back, especially since it only got worse over time. But wait a second, was eight even enough? Could we pull this off? I'm saying we, but obviously I couldn't really contribute. DECOY: So you all have gathered here, very well. Our role is just as important as the main groups work, without us, they can only fail. I just wanted to make this clear one more time.

Nobody replied here, this was Decoys show and he seemed to really enjoy himself. Or herself, hell if I ever found out.

DECOY: Everyone present here already received their orders and we got precisely 43 minutes until this mission commences. If there is everything still open, something that's not clear, now is the time to ask. There shouldn't be, though, we are professionals after all.

Yes, excuse me, but how do I exactly hack a website? I don't really get the bare-bone fundamentals. Like I'd ever ask something like that. But goddammit, what could I do instead? The truth was out of the question, my lie already to advanced to safely pull out now.

BLOODEDGE: How long will it take the main-team to fulfill their objective?

DECOY: We estimate around 15 minutes. Just clear your mission, that should give us enough time. Is there anything else?

No response. Maybe these guys actually were professionals. Or maybe it was just that nobody dared to ask a stupid question, just like myself. At this time in the past, I of course assumed the first point, no doubt about it.

DECOY: Then you are dismissed. Our mission is nothing less then the liberation of all humanity. Act accordingly and do not disappoint us. Don't let Hermes down! And do it for our future, do it for our children and do it for their children. And the past, can't forget the fallen warriors coming before us, the billions of lives lost in the great Wars that lead our planet into this cruel fate. Also, do it for Jenny, I'm gonna tell her my feelings after this!...yeah.

God, how did I ever get tricked by these losers?

DECOY: Afterwards, you will be invited again for a post-mission briefing, good luck!

Everyone left the room one after another and then there I was, slumped down in my comfy chair, staring blankly at the screen, while the clock was ticking. I had to act, I could not let them down. I opened the site for the ministry, just looking at it, expecting a clue to pop up, a gate leading me to a solution. Maybe I should have asked where the other ones got their tools from, but then I had to admit that I never done this before. Before I reached out to Hermes. Why, you might ask? Why was it such a big deal? This is so childish. The thing is: yes, exactly, I was a child after all, none of this shit really mattered if you think about it. But to a useless teenager, who had no talents, nothing he was really good at, this was very important, it was everything, a chance to finally be someone. Five minutes left until 10 pm. My head crashed on my desk in frustration, but more then a small bruise on my forehead was not achieved by this. Then I had to surrender, I had to finally admit, that there was nothing I could do, that I lost. I was lying to myself thinking I could achieve something, anything to change the world...with Hermes help! Indeed, I had to do this on my own, this was my conclusion out of this event. GunBreaker would go on a solo-mission, using his unflappable mind and his sharp rhetoric to open the eyes of the population. Hermes would become my rival, a friendly relationship, our goals aligned, yet our methods would be different and it would be very interesting to see who would come out on top. Just you wait, Hermes, you are not the only one who will free humanity of its shackles, breaking the walls of their cities. Curiosity, however got the better of me and I absolutely wanted to see if they could pull off their attack. It was 10 pm by now, so I just brought up the official site of our High Council and there it was. “This page is unavailable while we perform maintenance. Please refer to our social media-account for updates.” I kinda expected something more flashy, the Hermes logo all over the site, mocking words behind it, while the allegedly teenage hacker celebrated his victory over the stupid authority. Something like this, not some official statement, that might as well be a coincidence. I checked the city development page next and my eyes went wide. The same message? But I didn't do anything. That was very weird, really suspicious even! However, highschool-me just shrugged it off, like the moron that he was. Someone else must have taken my part as soon as they realized I wasn't participating, a simple answer to a rather complicated problem. They succeeded apparently, this was all I took from this, good for them. For my newfound rival, a worthy opponent. And for the following weeks, the net was haunted by the GunBreaker, more determined then ever before.

#creative writing #light novel #web novel #gunbreaker #chapter1 #part2 #writing practice