#will post a few more since i hit image limit

[13ag21k]

The majority of my ships are:

OBLIVIOUS BISEXUAL OBVIOUSLY GAY

#what a coincidence #shipping trope #merthur #drarry #wangxian #heartstopper #johnlock #casmund #batjokes #chyan #kylux #newtmas #I HAD MANY MORE LOL #will post a few more since i hit image limit #lol #otp #shipping #lgbtqiia+ #Merlin bbc #maze runner #sherlock #harry potter #mdzs #star wars #narnia

[cupcakeslushie]

Do you have any tips on for people starting a comic and wanting to post to tumblr? Like pacing ect. Or well any experience you’ve had with your comics? Love your content as well ❤️

If it’s simply for fun, and you’re just trying to gain experience, my biggest advice would be to just START. Don’t worry about it looking perfect. Don’t worry about comparing it to other’s comics. Just try something, and if you find it’s not working, you can always change things up. I have gone through several styles and page layouts since starting. Do I wish those first pages of EW looked just like what I’m doing now? Yes, but if I’d waited around for perfection I would have never started. And I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun creating it! If people like it, that’s great, but your art is for you. If you’re growing and learning and having fun, then you’ve accomplished something!

Now for some less preachy advice 😂…

—If your comic is gonna be hosted on Tumblr specifically, I would say, make sure you keep the 10 image limit in the back of your mind when you’re pacing things. That can definitely cause some headaches down the line. If you don’t plan ahead, and end up hitting it, you’ll have a sudden cut in your flow. This last update I knew it was gonna be long, so while I did plan, but I could’ve planned better.

—Variety is key!!!!!

Composition changes keep your viewers from getting bored. Sometimes I’ll find myself falling back into the bad habit of just doing the simple back and forth with two characters talking straight on, but changing the camera angle, making establishing shots when you change locations, and over the shoulder shots, etc etc…All these will make for a more interesting viewing. You may think a character needs to be in every single panel to make it interesting, but if you have a lot of dialogue, a simple plain shot—either in top of a solid background, or just over something boring, like a glance at the set, etc—this will let people focus on the words rather than splitting their focus.

Variety applies to shading as well—whether you’re using color or black/white. Variety in values are SO important for comics. You’re shoving a ton of information in a limited space, so try to keep your values different for items that are close together….it can make things very confusing and turn your line work into indistinguishable blobs if you shade without this in mind.

(Using this panel as an example….)

The top two panels have a variety of darker values and a halftone background—so the next two with Venus, I kept rather simple. I could’ve colored the buildings behind her, but then, she might’ve gotten lost amidst all the grey. There’s not really any trick or solid rule to this, but once you develop your creative eye, you’ll make these choices without even thinking about it.

A few links to helpful tools (they’re all procreate centered I’m afraid 😅)

Outline brush — a free tutorial for Procreate users. This brush kinda mimics the CPS feature that lets you create panels with a nice black outline. I used this brush very often, and it really gives your panels a professional look. Fair warning, it can be glitchy, but it’s free…

Manero Comic Bubbles and sfx — These brushes are not free, so I would recommend maybe getting in your groove before you try them out. They’re by no means necessary, but I’ve just started using them, and they save me so much time. There’s a HUGE selection of shapes, and they go on with a solid white background, so you don’t have to worry about coloring around your dialogue balloons.

#rottmnt #ask slushie #slushie rambles #I could probably think of more stuff but my brain is fried I’m just really putting the rambling in that slushie rambles tag

[wipbigbang]

An Explanation Of The Submission Process

I figured I would explain this a little bit just in case there's still confusion about it. We're going to possibly make changes next round, but for now we're keeping things as usual since it's so close to the actual submissions process.

1 - WHAT SNIPPETS ARE: Basically, what the submission are are three sections of your fics, between 500 and 1500 words (please make sure you hit the minimum, and if you go a little over the maximum that's fine) each that best represent sections you would like to have made into art. This is just in case your artist can't read your whole fic.

2 - WHAT WILL BE INCLUDED ON THE FORM: The snippets are only part of the form. Each fic will have a header that will be posted for the artists to choose from (we couldn't include snippets in the posts because Dreamwidth has post word limits and I'd need to make, like, ten posts to host all the pieces and the snippets; we had 227 responses to check in #2 so I'm pretty sure I'll have to make multiple posts this round for all the art, and the fewer I have to make the less confusing it is for artists). It will have the title, the rating, AO3 content warnings, a space for other warnings (both serious and fun), a summary and any authors notes you include for the artists to be aware of.

3 - HOW ART CLAIMS WORK EXACTLY: When I post the list of headers, they're listed first alphabetically by fandom (numbers first, then A - Z, then symbols), and then in each fandom alphabetically by title. Each header is given a number that the artists will submit in a form as their choice in fic.

Normally it's done with 1 choice in round 1, 2 choices in round 2, 3 choices in round 3 and as many more as an artist can handle in round 4, with each round lasting a week. We may switch it up a little this round because we're looking at having twice as many works as last year, so artists could conceivably pick 2 choices in round 1, 3 in round 2, and as many as they can handle in a two week long round 3.

Once an artist has chosen their fic(s), I double check that it's still available (fics are claimed on a first come, first served basis) and send an email to the author with the artist's name and email address, and I also send an email to the artist with the author's name, email address and the snippets.

If an artist reads the snippets and decides they can't do the story, I but the fic back into claims and send the author an email letting them know. This happens very rarely during art claims; usually it's between claiming and posting when artists let us know they're unable to complete the work. In that case, I will make a cover and a wallpaper for the fic.

Any fics left unclaimed at the end of claim rounds is offered a digital fic cover and wallpaper from Mod Ragna, no matter the fandom or rating (please note that I will try to fins someone else who can do non-con/dubcon fics, as they are triggering to me...I had an instance a few rounds back where it wasn't warned for and let's just say I had a bad week after I read the fic). I may bring back my form that users fill out with favorite colors, patterns, images they want used, etc. as I'm expecting quite a few more fics to make art for this round.

Hopefully that helps explain the process a little more. If you have any other questions, ask in the "mod questions" channel in Discord, send an ask on Tumblr or send the mods an email.

#submission #!admin #!faq #!2023

[divorcingjimmatthews]

Long Day's Journey Into The Night - Pilot Screenplay vs Final Episode! (Part I)

So, as some of you may remember, last year I found this screenplay for the pilot episode of the show and shared some tidbits concerning Jade as it was pretty shocking to learn his character was seemingly completely reworked last minute ("Jade Herrera" is an 18 year old girl in the screenplay while everything else in the episode stays largely the same!). I thought I could delve deeper this time and read the screenplay as I re-watch the final version of the episode, highlighting any interesting bits for y'all along the way. Long post ahead.

I know basically nothing about how TV shows are made so if I say something stupid please forgive me I'm trying my best.

The Logo

The logo from the the screenplay uses a rather generic modern font, but it's pretty interesting that it's sliced down the middle. I wonder why they'd choose that gimmick of all things to represent the show? The font used in the final version definitely fits the vibes of the town (that "don't open - dead inside" warning comes to mind), but it gives nothing away beyond that.

Boyd & The Town

The opening scene regarding Boyd and the town stays largely the same, except for the mention of Boyd wearing an uniform rather than his staple outfit that we've come to know and love. Also, there is no mention of the bell.

The Diner

Notably, the owner of the diner is referred to as a "he", and Sara is not shown during the show's opening sequence at all. In the final version, as we know, we meet Sara (and we are also introduced to the talismans) right after we meet Boyd.

Kenny, Kristi & The Clinic

The scene with Kenny's dad is largely the same, but Kenny and his dad are Vietnamese instead of Chinese and Chinese-American in the screenplay.

I thought I'd also highlight this cute description of this moment since we're at it!

Colony House

Largely the same. I love Boyd checking on Ellis and Fatima with his binoculars. LMAO, my mom would.

The Night Falls

I actually love the little detail with the cattle growing restless as the night falls! It's missing from the final version. Also... Boyd used to have his own house.

Lauren & Meagan

I kind of love how this bit is described. Tap, tap, tap. Reading "soothing whispers fill the air" feels a lot creepier to me than actually hearing the "sweet" old lady in the final version of the scene, but it might just be a matter of taste.

Also, there was a mention of a monster hand banging loudly on the window by the front door. (I hit the image limit so you'll just have to believe me.)

The Matthews Family

A lot was cut from the Matthews' introduction! In this earlier version of the story, they were travelling on a regular van and staying in motels, while in the final version as we know they summed it all up neatly into an RV, saving on quite a few transition scenes.

Also, we were robbed of some Norman and Harold lines. Enjoy Julie's director cut below.

Personally I believe there is some meaning to the puppet story because, well, I've watched shows and movies before and it's normally significant when they do a show-within-a-show. But we've also got the Cromenockle in FROM so... I don't know. Ethan mentions that he "saw the lake of tears" while he was unconscious after the crash, so I do have to wonder if we will ever get to see it and if we will also see these "fairies" there.

The Matthews intro scene actually drags on for quite a long while in the screenplay and has a lot more lines. This line by Tabitha about just rewriting what happened felt significant. In the end, though, the conclusion is the same. She finds the "loophole" through which Norman can't be dead because monsters aren't real and the scene finally ends there.

Also, this bit comes later on (after they've already asked for directions and been sent back on the road) but look at that. No divorce plot, and Jim putting the blame on himself. In the final version of the episode, it's actually Jim who starts reminiscing about the past with a hopeful look in his eyes only for Tabitha to cut him off with a cold "don't do that".

Father Khatri

The lines and general character stay the same, but... we get Father Kelly instead. I'm guessing the ethnicity and name changes were all decided with the final casting choices. I really can't imagine a different cast, it's so weird to think about! Reading the script really made me appreciate the final version we got even more.

I'd ask if you guys want a part 2 but you know damn well I'm gonna start writing it as soon as I hit post (I could barely even get to Sara and Jade before hitting image limit and they're the ones I want to talk about the most!!)

#epix from #from epix #from 2022 #from mgm #from mgm+ #long post #theories #pilot screenplay

[mariyekos]

As Azure Fades Analysis, Part 1

Azure Dragoons: Aging and the Impact of the Eyes

@scrollsfromarebornrealm made an EXCELLENT analysis post about the newest short story from the official FFXIV sidestory website, and in my attempt to respond to it I ended up with something so long it probably won't fit in a single post. So, I decided to split it up before i hit the image/text limit.

And yeah, in case you didn't know there's a new official FFXIV short story out relating to Estinien and Haldrath. Go check it out, because it is AMAZING.

First things first, as is typical of me: I will be discussing both canon and headcanon here. I will do my best to make it very clear when I am discussing something explicitly stated or heavily implied in canon, and when I am discussing headcanon. Some of this will come from the new short story, but I will also make references to the whole game, so get ready for sources galore!

Introductory Sources:

(Above: from the new story)

(Above: from the quest Heart of Ice)

(Above: from the sidequest Thar be Dragons)

Hraesvelgr's Line, and the Lifespan of Elezen

Alright with my sources out of the way, I actually interpreted the new story and Hraesvelgr lines differently! First, when I read Hraesvelgr's line, I took it as him saying that Estinien would be old and unable to effectively fight by age 50, rather than that Estinien would be dead by then.

Elezen live to be 100-120, but Edmont and Charlemald use old face models by age 56 I believe, so it's not like they stay spring chickens forever. I'm taking the fact that Haldrath and Aureniquart have young faces as the devs wanting them to be recognizable, or maybe aging a little more gracefully. It's been 20 years, so I would put them at mid 40s, maaaaybe mid 50s since Estinien and Aymeric are 32 in HW, which means 32 is a perfectly good age to still be fighting. If elezen live to 100-120, then 45-55 could definitely fit for "a brawny man well into his middle years."

In canon, it is heavily implied if not outright confirmed that transformed heretics can live for centuries (see: Thar be Dragons). In my long-established headcanon, Estinien ends up aging slower because of Nidhogg's power. In that HC, Hraesvelgr doesn't necessarily know of the impact that Nidhogg's Eye had on Haldrath, since Hraesvelgr basically peaced out after handing Nidhogg his own Eye. This new story is making me re-evaluate that HC... In Canon, the actual Eyes of Nidhogg are gone at this point, but Estinien spent some time a few days according to Lucia, but it's months/patch time in my HC again possessed by Nidhogg with the Eyes in his flesh, and there's no denying there have been lasting effects. Going purely on canon, Estinien can do the clone thing now, and is a huge powerhouse. The dragons recognize the bit of Nidhogg that resides within him too. Stuff like scales is pure HC that I happily accept but acknowledge isn't canon as far as anything we've seen. But imo that could partly the modelers being lazy since that would require excess effort .

(Above: Estinien making clones, à la Nidstinien. Source, with video)

Haldrath, Estinien, and How They Age

Now, Estinien's lifespan might not be impacted at all by what happened with Nidhogg. But since heretics can live centuries, and we know Estinien has been impacted somewhat...I think it's possible Hraesvelgr's assessment about Estinien being spent by 50 was wrong. Especially if we go with the idea that in his isolation he didn't know what happened to Haldrath beyond just that Haldrath had the Eyes (general had, no knowledge of the merge). Plus, his "spent" assessment came before Estinien ended up melding with the Eyes. If we go with the assumption that Hraesvelgr does know about what the Eye did to Haldrath, it could also be that Hraesvelgr told Estinien he would be old and infirm by 50 because he assumed Estinien would get rid of the Eye before it had any lasting effects on him, like all the other Azure Dragoons. By getting rid of it, he'd get old too.

(Above: from the new story).

Haldrath was still able to slay dragons during his middle years, after all. He collapsed because of Nidhogg's growing influence. Which admittedly could've been better-able to get him because maybe in aging he was growing weaker, but I think you could say it was more prolonged exposure to Nidhogg making him vulnerable than aging-induced-weakness.

(Above: Thordan upon revealing Haldrath in the quest Heavensward)

In the new story, Estinien mentions Haldrath's aging corpse. In the quest Heavensward, Archbishop Thordan VII makes reference to the body's lack of decay. This preservation is why I HC that maybe Estinien would end up aging slower- maybe the aether would be enough to maintain him as he is, just as Haldrath was. Now we didn't take of Haldrath's armor so who knows what lies beneath, but what I find interesting is that his corpse apparently did not change. He most definitely didn't turn into a full-on dragon. He's still an elezen (albeit with an eye in his chest, which is notably smaller than the Eyes bound to Estinien! I really wonder if there is meant to be a lore reason, like the Eyes tunneling deeper into the flesh over time, or if that was just a visual thing to make possessed!Estinien seem creepier). It could be that Haldrath neither decayed nor transformed because Nidhogg's power could only transform living beings, not dead ones. Haldrath's body never rose on its own to return to Nidhogg, after all.

Dragon Eyes and Consciousness/Control

Which brings into question how much consciousness is afforded to the Eyes... Vrtra can operate Varshahn and his true body separately, but given the scene when he freezes as Varshahn while he calls to Azdaja with his true body, maybe Dragons can only instill consciousness in one Eye-containing vessel at once. Haldrath kept both Eyes, even if only one merged to him (and why only one...? just to make sure the story could happen, or maybe because Nidhogg was weakened by the attack and only one could...?). Estinien had both Eyes when possessed too. When Nidhogg speaks through the Eye to Estinien in the lv50 DRG quest, we don't see his true body (with Hraesvelgr's Eye) and whatever that's doing. Maybe Nidhogg can only keep his consciousness in one place/with one Eye (so it's rendered moot when both Eyes are together).

Maybe dragons can only use their Eyes operate living beings (Varshahn is made by alchemists, so he's special). Maybe there was some sort of seal on Haldrath's dead body that kept Nidhogg from making it rise and deliver the other Eye unto him, even after Berteline/the next Azure Dragoon(s) held the Left one. Maybe he just didn't feel like going through the trouble to reclaim it because he could wage his war perfectly well with Hraesvelgr's Eye and wasn't going for extermination/didn't need full power until HW. Maybe the writers just needed an Eye in Haldrath's body and let the reason for Nidhogg not reclaiming it slide to make an awesome story moment.

(Above: comparison of Eye sizes. Also Estinien's Eyes move)

Summary on Aging, HC and Canon

In any case! Back to canon: 1) Transformed heretics can live for centuries. 2) Haldrath's body ceased to age and did not decay after the Eye merged to him. 3) The Eye was able to remain in Haldrath's body for a thousand years and was still functional when it merged to Estinien (it wiggles in the CSs).

HCs from this: maybe Estinien will age slower and be able to maintain his form. Maybe he will gradually be transformed into a dragon or more draconic being over time. Even a drop of dragon's blood- supposedly- is enough to transform an Ishgardian, and Estinien got fully blasted with Dragon Essence upon possession. We even see a middle form during the Nidstinien fight! Nidhogg's shade (dragon form) might just be an aetheric projection rather than flesh. But back to HC, I interpret that as Nidhogg attempting to actually warp flesh, before going to his Shade and then returning to the form that his body- Estinien's body- recognizes best as its own.

...All of this is a really long way to say that I don't think Estinien would necessarily be dead by 50. Well. Unless we take it with the idea that Nidhogg would have taken full control of him, and that the "youthful vigor" he would lose would be his ability to reject Nidhogg's influence before being lost as Haldrath was. For some reason that did not occur to me until this very moment, over an hour into writing this, despite the fact that that was probably what scrollsfromarebornrealm was implying... And/or that scrollsfromarebornrealm just meant that Estinien would probably get himself killed by 50 because yeahhhh, that man did NOT seem to care about himself enough to be safe and survive that long. Especially if aging meant he grew weak and then said weakness had him fall in battle (rather than Nidhogg's corruption straight up killing him by 50. Which is also an intriguing possibility).

"Becoming the Azure Dragoon is a death sentence."

The quote above comes directly from @scrollsfromarebornrealm's post. While I'm not looking at it as dragoons being too old/weak to fight by 50, I do wholeheartedly agree with the idea that (nearly) all Azure Dragoons die young. Partially because of the dangers of their job, partially because of the risk of Nidhogg's influence.

First, Alberic. Alberic retired 20 years ago and he's fine! But two things: 1) Alberic was 24 when he retired (don't feel like taking a picture, but in my Encyclopedia Eorzea it says he's 44, and it's been 20 years). 2) Alberic is a hyur. Haldrath held onto BOTH eyes of Nidhogg for 20 years before he could no longer handle it, and drank of Ratatoskr's aether. Most Azure Dragoons were probably Elezen given the racial distribution of Ishgard. Alberic, a hyur, does not bear elezen/dragon blood (as long as he's purely hyur, which I am assuming he is). In addition, he probably only had the Eye for a handful of years at most, since he was only 24 when he rejected it. It makes sense that he would walk away from Nidhogg with relatively few impacts. He didn't die in battle and he firmly rejected the Eye when it threatened to take control of him. I think retirement for an Azure Dragoon (followed by at least two decades of survival) is EXTREMELY uncommon in Ishgard's history.

(Above: from the new story)

A few things here. I'll start with the point I was trying to make: "While the Eye lent him strength, in harboring Nidhogg's undying malice, it was also slowly corrupting his being. Ere long it would finally consume him..." In other words, the Eye is most definitely a death sentence. It will kill Haldrath eventually. Possessing an Eye long term- at least as a part of one's own flesh, though since it seems possessing it long term binds it to the Azure Dragoon's flesh you could just shorten that to "long term" only- will corrupt the Azure Dragoon to the point of no return. The only options left at that point seem to be Getting Consumed And Becoming Nidhogg's Puppet (Estinien) or Being Killed As To Not Become A Puppet (Haldrath). It was too late to reject the Eye, which is what Alberic did to make his escape.

Back into HC territory, I now want to pick up an old fic of mine about a previous Azure Dragoon basically having to be put down upon being too far gone due to Nidhogg's Corruption. Not to the level that the Eye melded to their flesh as it did Haldrath and Estinien, but mental corruption, and maybe attacks like the one Haldrath has. Ishgard would be wary of another Azure Dragoon being claimed by the Eye not only because they don't want Nidhogg to have a new pawn, but also because they can't afford to lose the second Eye with the first still bound to Haldrath. They also probably wouldn't want news of the Azure Dragoon's corruption leaking to the public, since the Azure Dragoon is supposed to be a hero and that would be Not Good for the Azure Dragoon's image. So maybe Ishgard kills Azure Dragoons who are too far gone (whether they're actually too far or whether the people in power are paranoid about it).

A different HC I'm not sold on but thought of is that the stress of being Azure Dragoon could lead to an early grave. Yes Dragon blood does extend the lives of transformed heretic, but it could be that without the transformation, the stress of it all causes damage to the insides of Azure Dragoons in a way that prematurely ages them and/or just causes them to die young. Alberic at 44 has some white hair. Which 44 year old men can definitely have without anything bad happening, don't get me wrong! But that could be a fun HC interpretation of that.

So yeah. I HC that Azure Dragoons die young as based on 1) them potentially needing to be killed to avoid falling to Nidhogg, 2) their jobs being so dangerous they're killed in battle (and the Eye retrieved) or die from wounds, 3) the stress of the Eye causing irreparable damage that leads them to die young even after relinquishing the Eye. Plus, as @scrollsfromarebornrealm points out, Valeroyant died 2 years after fending off Nidhogg. We don't have many named Azure Dragoons so even one early death is suspect!

Haldrath and the Two Eyes

(Above: from the new story)

Yes, one of these is a repeat of the one above. But I really want to empahsize something in this because my eyes (haha) are SO wide at this. Haldrath refers to an Eye, singular, being what is corrupting him. Not the Eyes plural. And only one of the eyes has fused to his body, which matches what we know. At first I thought that maybe he only had one or something. Yet he tells Berteline that he will "entrust [Nidhogg's] eyes" plural to her.

So this is odd. Haldrath only mentions drawing on a singular Eye, and only a singular Eye has fused to his body. But he entrusts both to Berteline. My thought here is that maybe he stopped drawing on the power of the second one once the first fused to him, unwilling to give up the strength afforded by the first, but wary of drawing on the second lest it fuse to him too. I do wonder if he thought Bertiline would be able to pry Nidhogg's Right Eye from his corpse (in addition to presumably taking the Left Eye from him, which is the one Estinien has), or if when he said he was entrusting the eye to her he meant he was entrusting his dead body (containing the Eye) to her to...keep away from Nidhogg, or something. In the Echo Flashback to Haldrath following the events of The Aery, we can see Haldrath holding both Eyes and then storing them. It's heavily implied (if not outright stated) that Haldrath never met with any of the Knights Twelve again, save Aureniquart on his deathbed, so I assume Haldrath would've also had the Left Eye on him at his death even if only the Right had fused to him.

But yeah. Haldrath says he's been corrupted by One Singular Eye. It could be that the second just isn't mentioned here because it hasn't fused to him, and maybe I'm reading too far into this (see: me going feral over Estinien saying "Then you and Alphinaud threw my eyes off a bridge, and I’ve never known peace since."). Yet he must possess two to entrust both to Bertiline. Interesting.

I do wonder if anyone ever attempted to pry the Eye from Haldrath's body. It is possible they thought he was a Holy Object and didn't want to disturb him so never tried. It's possible that those who knew of him were worried they might also be corrupted if they touched the Eye, so they didn't want to try. It's possible they tried and failed. Who knows. But it seems like the Eye remained undisturbed within Haldrath's ageless corpse until Thordan used Primal Powers to fuel his ascendance to a God-King.

End Note

I honestly don't know what to say anymore other than Wow.

This one short story has blasted my mind open. I'm not sure how many words this giant essay is, but it's been about 3 hours so I think i should stop for now, despite the fact that I've hardly even begun to talk about some of the most intriguing parts of the short story! (See: Estinien being able to see Haldrath's memories and attributing it to Nidhogg, a more in-depth analysis of corruption, being able to hear Nidhogg and him sounding like the wind (hey remember that dragoon helmets are designed to make the sound of the wind going through it seem like a dragon scream, thank you levequest), whatever the hell was in that drink (I think it would be fascinating to explore it being an intentional flashback on the part of the Alchemists, using the blood they took from him...maybe fic worthy hmmmm), the parallels between Haldrath and Estinien losing their burning passion to fight, Aureniquart and the pain of being told to kill your liege-lord plus potential backstory there and some lines about loyalty...needless to say there's a lot more to talk about!)

So for now I am going to stop here. There's a lot to think about. Haldrath did not die in battle as I'd assumed, but due to the Eye's corruption. He entrusted the Eye to a successor, as Nidhogg had already begun to call out to others. He asked to be killed. This has big repercussions.

If you've read this whole thing, thank you! I hope my rambling was somewhat interesting. If you want to discuss anything here, reblog or reply and I would love to talk xD. I don't have every lore piece memorized, and I've definitely forgotten some things, so if I'm missing some crucial information I would be happy to know!!

#FFXIV #Estinien Wyrmblood #Estinien Varlineau #Nidhogg #Nidhogg FFXIV #Nidhogg (FFXIV) #ERURANDOMNESS #eruplays xiv #meta #lore #ffxiv lore #what tags do i even use jeez #ffxiv endwalker #ffxiv hw #bc it's hw related but does spoil more but hw is my personal tag for dragon stuff #ffxiv dragons

[sy-on-boy]

Eden Academy — the Random Classmates

I’ve been rereading for a bit and I can see that Endo takes great care into making sure he uses the same classmates for the Eden scenes. Lots of them also have recognisable designs, and in a lot of crowd scenes, characteristics of each kid are carefully drawn. You can legitimately chart a lot of the nameless kids throughout the chapters. On the Eden Academy page on the wiki, there are even pics of recurring nameless kids.

Even a lot of the kids appear, the majority have no known personality or dialogue. So now I’ll try to chart the few that actually appear more than the others.

First, we have the Mean Boy Trio / Mean Girl Trio.

These kids have consistently appeared since Ch9, each of them bearing recognisable designs. Outside of Damian and co, they’re are the classmates who are most likely to make fun of / undermine Anya. Sometimes they get individual panels, making them the most “commonly seen” nameless kids. The boys are usually shown together and same for the girls.

We don’t know any of their names, so for convenience’s sake I’ll try to assign them something lol. From left to right we have: Bald Boy, Slicked Hair, Curly Hair. Then Headband Girl, Forehead Ponytail, and Bob Cut. Curly Hair doesn’t appear as much as the other five though.

We see Becky and Anya isolated, Damian and co in the upper left corner. Below them is the Mean Girl Trio. Note that Mean Girl Trio often sits close to Damian Trio, Damian Trio tends to sit at the back of class, Becky and Anya at the front of the class. Even from this tiny pic, we can note that most of these kids have designs. For example, the Long Rectangle Hair boy at the upper right corner is one of the kids living in Damian’s dorm. Directly below him, Braids Glasses Girl is featured in the Arts and Crafts chapter. To the left of Becky in the lower left corner is half of Long Hair Glasses Girl, another one in the Arts and Crafts chapter.

Anyway, Mean Girl Trio sits next to Damian probably because they want to suck up to him (esp Headband Girl).

Here we see the Mean Girl Trio laughing at Anya. And then they seem flustered when Damain doesn’t agree with them.

Then we see some of the mean boys. The boy with fluffy curly hair and exposed forehead seems to be a new recurring character (in both the Stellar Star Ch and when Anya returns to school post-cruise). We see Mean Girl Trio and a girl with a hair clip laughing at Anya in the Stellar Star Ch. In the other chapter, we see Bald Boy and Slicked Hair in a panel with actual dialogue. Fluffy Forehead Guy also has dialogue. The kid with parted hair is also seen next to him in both chapters.

The Arts and Crafts chapter shows close ups of some characters, most notably some girls. I especially took note of this cute Black Buns Girl who actually verbally defends Anya. Someone who isn’t Becky or Damian being nice to Anya?? Hmm?? This has potential! The girl next to her, the one with Long Hair Glasses (as I mentioned earlier), also seems concerned about Anya.

Both girls also didn’t like it when Damian stole their paper, again with Black Buns Girl speaking to protest (even if it’s just a word).

Becky sits next to Braids Glasses Girl and she’s shocked by Becky’s Loid figure lmao.

Back to the Anya returns to School Ch. As we know, everyone thinks Anya’s story is ridiculous and chooses to get excited over Becky.

Black Buns Girl is back, shown to be excited about Becky’s adventures. Hair Clip Girl, who previously called Anya a “psycho-girl” in the Stellar Star Ch, asks Becky to spill all that gossip. Long Hair Glasses is briefly shown as well. More notably, 2/3 of the Mean Girl Trio is here. Headband Girl and Forehead Ponytail are eagerly approaching Becky. This is interesting because if you scroll up, you can see that Headband Girl says “that other girl (Becky) must be in her (Anya’s) gang” in Ch9, showing she had an initial unpleasant impression of Becky.

… And I’ve hit the image limit. Well, I guess that’s all I have for today. It’s interesting to track the little movements of these characters and how you if you squint, you can see a tiny bit of personality.

Another interesting note is that George doesn’t appear a lot of ensemble scenes. Rip to his presence I guess haha

Anyways, still thinking about Black Buns Girl who’s one of the few who’s nice to Anya… 🥺

#spy x family #sxf analysis #eden academy #im tempted to tag some of the kids to appear in the tags lol #becky blackbell #anya forger #damian desmond

[wookofwallst]

(Article) Starfield Steam reviews are sliding fast.

Well, it's been a month now since Starfield has released, and players have really let loose on the internet about how they feel. Good and bad reviews have popped up on Steam, Metacritic, and the Xbox store.

My main focus here is going to be on Steam for a few reasons . It's easier to sort by play time and alot easier to find other reviews rather than just "Xbox Exclusive Bad".

Underlying numbers kind of shows the 75%. Alot of people want to talk about review bombing but what about review lifting? Review inflation? Whatever you want to call it, the first day of reviews should probably be disqualified based merit. If you don't like that idea, then you're telling me more than 20 thousand people played the game enough to give a thoughtful review? I doubt it.

The reviews that I put in here will be from people who have put in over 100 hours. For a game this size and with how much there is to do I think that would be best.

After a pretty lengthy review and 170 hours played, one user said:

"I regret taking the time to bond with my companions, talking with every NPC, flying & running around scanning the planets, and lockpicking every door or chest I encountered. Overall, I regret completing the main story. I can't believe I'm saying this, but IGN was right about the 7/10."

It's hard to disagree with what he said. There was alot of hype in NG+, even the CEO of Xbox said "The game doesn't start until you beat the game" and what happens after? You get a new ship that can fast travel anywhere in the galaxy and all of the loot, weapons, and everything you had is all gone. The ship cannot be expanded upon, and you're given a new space suit.

149 hours played and multiple paragraphs. Another user said:

"The writing in this game is AWFUL. Image if you will, you are a new corpo grunt, your first day as an intern and boom you find out the CEO is selling company secrets. So you confront them, kill them and everyone loves you for it from this one piece of 'evidence' and gives you a promotion. This is Starfield in a nut shell."

"I have 1000+ hour in Fallout 4 for example. I will never hit that in Starfield. It's just not that interesting.

No vehicles

No atmospheric flight

No groundbreaking features

No taming

ZERO Aliens..."

It's hard for me to disagree with anything this reviewer said. I can even expand upon it. 90% of the "aliens" in this are gigantic insects with no intelligence at all. I understand that space might not have a lot of aliens in our neck of the woods, but this is a video game. Put some aliens in it! Outposts are stupid, copy pasted time wasters.

Final one 114 hours played. This is the full review:

I was expecting a game i could play for 100s or thousands of hours but after just 100 hours i can say i have beat the entire game and done everything. It is bland and nothing like the interesting games we were previously given... Biggest disappointment of 2023 worst rpg i have ever played... all bland procedural content that is the same on every planet. Their is no interesting characters or unique items to chase after. It is literally 6 quest lines and a main quest line that take a 100 hours to complete then their is nothing but small meaning less quest that are all similar with the same places and dialogue in different planets.

Bland, meaningless content that's procedurally generated. And that's the common theme. It's Kwibblekop AI bad, dull, and void of any emotion.

So yeah, looking at actual negative reviews of the game with valid criticism is reinforcing the score I gave it. 6.5.

Did you like Starfield? Do you think reviews that are posted should have a time limit? Do you believe in review inflation? Anything new you're playing? Let me know! Thanks for reading!

You can catch me live on Twitch every weekday from 8pm-12am. Link is below!

[acaplaya-musings]

Voiceplay Visuals: Frozen 2 Medley

I really love Frozen 2 (i like it more than the original actually), the animation is great, and the soundtrack is 10/10 awesome, and Voiceplay's medley video for it is just as good! This video features Adriana Arellano, not just in her first appearance in a Voiceplay video, but her first video performance ever? And she was only 15 when this was released?? Man

This video was actually a Christmas Day upload for Voiceplay (for my timezone anyway) back in 2019, and it's a rare case of having 6 vocalists in a video instead of the average 5 (but it you're gonna do a Frozen Medley, you're almost definitely gonna need a female singer). But anyway, let's get into this!

So obviously Adriana is taking dual roles of both Anna and Elsa (in white pants and a cute periwinkle(?) top), Eli is "Disneybounding" as Olaf, Layne is being just a little bit Extra with his Sven outfit, and Earl, J, and Geoff are sharing the role of Kristoff (also Geoff in a scarf again, which he also wears in Baby Its Cold Outside, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, and his cover of White Christmas (different scarves though))

Also neat background! I'm guessing this was filmed at Pattycake Productions, but the description doesn't say

"Yes the wind blows a little bit colder, and we're all getting older!" "hey!"

Geoff (and Layne): "Okay Rude"

(Layne would've turned 39 in December that year, with Geoff having turned 39 a few months beforehand in August)

Geoff's hair by this point has reached the length/style that it's by and large stayed in since (though Wicked Game has me questioning if it's grown and subtly changed a little bit again)

Geoff: "Maybe you should leave all the romantic stuff to meeeeeee"

Adriana: "Oh brother"

"Some things stay the same, like how reindeer are easier!"

(cool necklace by the way, J!)

"what was that?"

"da da dum"

(Also there's a video on Youtube featuring vocal ranges of different bass singers or something like that, featuring Avi Kaplan and Tim Foust and others I believe as well as Geoff, and the thumbnail has got pictures of them all from like performances and stuff, but for Geoff they used pretty much this picture 😂 Like damn why you gotta do him like that 🤣)

At first I was only pausing to see what Geoff was doing with his hands (air bass again? or some other air-instrument?) but uhh there's a lot going on in this picture 😂

Layne back at it again with the carrots! (Seriously him chopping and peeling carrots and using it as actual percussion/foley is honestly iconic and will never not be the funniest thing to me)

Making this post and looking for screencaps has really elevated the hilarity of this video for me honestly XD

Geoff has some lovely smiles in this video 💜 (I feel like I'm taking a lot of screencaps for this video already though, so you can go (re)watch the video yourself if you wanna see what I mean)

"Being watched by something with a creepy, creepy face!'

^ The "creepy creepy face" 😂

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

pfft 😝

Oh my god I literally only just noticed the carrot necklace!!! Layne I love you

Pretty Boy time!

(Don't just get yourself a man who can do both, get yourself a man who can do EVERYTHING)

THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WERE DOING

I just realized Layne is doing air-drums and using carrots as drumsticks? (He does the same thing in the Butter video)

(Also love the lighting changes, both in light levels and colour! Shoutout to Eli!)

Adriana doing the phone-light thing is iconic and kind of hilarious honestly

<3

Also just noticed Adriana's cool chain-bracelet-ring accessory on her left hand! (Won't post a pic of it though because I'm worried about hitting the maximum image limit)

And that's all I have to say for this video! Man, what a freaking awesome medley. Really well done on all levels, and the enjoyment that Adriana and the guys had in making this is absolutely palpable (Also Geoff was very pretty in this video okay)

#voiceplay #acapella #frozen 2 #frozen 2 medley #geoff castellucci #eli jacobson #layne stein #j none #earl elkins jr #earl elkins #adriana arellano #acaplaya analysis #voiceplay visuals

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

So how are you gonna start the next arc like this?

//I knew I was going to get upset about it when the change was implemented, and as you can see by my toxic af messages previously, I was right.

//I've taken some time to think about it since then, and I need to just make a couple of statements.

//The ask box will remain open, but this will probably be the last you hear of me for a while until the day I announced I would start posting the next chapter of the story.

//As for what's going on, in the face of this new editor with it's 30 image limit completely fucking over my typical style and sequence of posts (for asks it's not a big deal, but for story posts and especially long answers, it's a problem to my entire setup, and as you can imagine, I am not ok with that) I have taken some time to come up with a plan going forward.

//First and foremost, I'm not going to stop writing just because the designers of this website lost 90 braincells as well as the nerves in their eyes and ears. As stupid as these changes are, I'm fully aware that there's nothing I can do about them, and I'm not going to stop this blog's progression, or stop answering asks just because of these difficulties.

//In the past, when these changes happened, I overreacted and complained like a child. I apologize for those instances, and I've worked towards bettering myself. That doesn't mean I can't still take issues with these changes, because they are stupid, but don't let my misdirections as a human being affect your enjoyment of my writing. I will keep this blog going.

//Right now, I have come to a few solutions. Initially, I said I would move the story posts at least, to a different website. However, I retract that statement, because doing so would require my readers to sign up and create new accounts on totally different websites that they might not use for anything else.

//The CURRENT plan is that there are a variety of mods available on the internet that allows you to use the old Tumblr editor. If I can find one that bypasses the limit, I'll be golden.

//Failing that, as much as it sucks to think about, my only remaining option is to suck it up and use the new editor. As for the image limit, it may result in me having to split the story up into multiple different posts a day to get the full chapter done.

//The reason why I wished to avoid it is because with Tumblr's horrible navigation system, made WORSE by the current changes, is that it'll be hard to order all the posts together. I could repost my own posts to continue, but that also clutters the blog with meaningless posts, so I'm hoping to avoid it. Plus, it's only a matter of time before reblogs get hit with the "SHIT CHANGE" laser, so it's not a long-lasting solution.

//To make it a bit easier, if I do resort to this, I will be posting the link to the next part of each chapter in links at the bottom of each post. I will also be adding a #story tag on these posts to make them easier to find. I should have incorporated this a long time ago, but my slow dumb ass didn't think it was necessary.

//With all that said, if anyone has links to any useful mods, or any alternative solutions I could use, I am more than open to suggestions. So if you could leave those in either DM's or in the ask box, I would appreciate it. Assuming they work, you would LITERALLY be saving my life.

//And potentially the lives of other blogs like this one who are suffering because of this bullshit. I'll definitely be sure to share your advice to whoever may need it, like Aliza or Bubbles.

//Ultimately, there's no great solution to this, but this is the unfortunate position that Tumblr has put us in. And as much as I hate it, all I can do is take my licks and keep going.

//I want to take this moment to thank you guys for being such a supportive and kind audience. People like you are a dime a dozen, and I hope to continue to get your support for the foreseeable future.

//This story isn't finished yet.

-Mod

#mod #important notice #tumblr

[ninjakk]

I don’t know your opinion on bottom lwj (maybe you like it or have no problem with it) I personally hate it with a burning passion, not even from fetishized point of view. But because it literally goes against how the character is in canon. Regardless, I usually just block that tag in ao3, but now i come back to tumblr after not logging in like almost a year and one of the first things i see is a freaking fan art of JC supposedly doing LWJ (is not shown explicitly) and WWX looking and being supportive and i just wanted to throw up. Literally felt like someone hit me with a pokemon psychic attack, i of course blocked the account and the bottom lwj tag here (something I didn’t even think i had to do) but i still can’t erase that image out of my brain so i had to rant to someone. Since you seem like someone really nice and you’re always amazing when answering asks here i am. If this ask makes you uncomfortable please feel completely free to delete it and forget it.

Hello Anon!

Aww, well thank you 😙 that's very sweet of you to say.

So firstly, before I tell you my opinion - I actually know the image you are referring to and I did the exact same thing when the post assaulted my eyes. I mean, everyone has their ships but come on! WX and JC?! No thanks.

As for your question, I have no majorly strong opinion on bottomji. I have read a few fanfics that have worked out alright. Mostly YLLZ era WWX meets extremely horny and willing 'self-sacrificing' virgin LWJ 'taking one for the team' - which were quite funny. But overall I do find it a little strange, because by making LWJ 'bottomji' people tend to make WX somewhat out of character one way or the other.

The reason I do not have a particularly strong opinion on LWJ being the bottom, is because it's kind of implied in the extras that they may well have done such things during their very active and passionate sex life already.

Seeing that he’d nearly hit his limit, Wei Wuxian laughed heartily and kissed his lips. “Er-gege, what haven’t we done? Why are you still so shy?”

7S translations - From Dawn Till Dusk extra

To me, the above certainly implies they've done a lot more than we have witnessed and switching would certainly come into that.

Also, I actually think LWJ would do anything for WWX, if he should ask. Including switching things up every now and then if his dear husband wished.

Overall, I don't think LWJ switching positions on occasion is necessarily out of character, if done properly and the fanfic authors stay true to how the characters actually are and would react during such acts. For example, LWJ still being the more dominant one out of the pair. Just because he's bottoming doesn't mean he's suddenly going to be submissive.

That being said, the image you and I saw is of course just completely out of character! JC is homophobic for a start! It just wouldn't happen. Ever. Even if JC was interested in some strange alternative universe. WX just wouldn't! I'm also convinced that WX would not want to, nor be willing to engage in sex with anyone else, even a threesome or some voyeuristic partner swap - or whatever the hell that image was?!

Wangxian are too wrapped up in each other, too completely obsessed with each other for anything else. Not to mention LWJ would drink so much vinegar he would pickle! And I don't think WWX would fare much better, LWJ is his and I don't think he'd be willing to share either!

I can understand why you might find it a bit odd seeing the roles switched around, but I do think it's something that could possibly be an occasional occurrence in canon because of the lines I mentioned above. Though I do love their dynamic in the novel and that is definitely what I prefer. Overall, we all have different preferences and opinions I guess ☺️

Finally, my dear anon...please go and read your favourite fanfic or browse through some gorgeous Wangxian art to cleanse yourself of the image which assaulted your senses. It's what I did and I feel much better now lol!

Hope you have a lovely day 🥰

#mdzs #mo dao zu shi #wangxian #wei wuxian #lan wangji #mdzs novel #anon ask #answered ask #wangxian switching it up every now and then #there's only one person who could top LWJ... and that's his husband #same goes for WWX of course!

[msm-tsotmw]

6/9/20XX

(also there’s angst and mentions of death, trauma and stuff under the cut, so be careful!)

Sprigg again. Sorry for not being able to post the other day; Mauna had to keep the device in her bag so that Bister wouldn’t go on it and then save so fucking many images of Critters onto it that it would fucking implode. Anyways, Bister is busy chatting with Moperetta while we’re still walking in a somehow illuminated part of the cave, so they’re not able to- HEY!

BISTER-

BISTER, STOP.

teeheehee, make me!!

UGH-

wait… huh? it’s not letting me add any more pictures…

Well, thank Galvana there’s an image limit.

man!! >:c

What is going on back there ?

Bister was spamming images of the Cold Island Critter on the post I’m making, and, they hit the fucking limit.

Ah , Bister !

i was having fuuuuuuunnnnnnnnnn <:(((

I understand , but please try not to do things like that next time .

sprigg was being mean to me though!! :(

I wasn’t-

(Mauna stops and gives both Sprigg and Bister looks of disappointment. She takes a deep breath.)

Bister , I understand that you may have been offended by Sprigg , but please do not steal the device to spam images again .

And as for you , Sprigg , maybe try to be a bit nicer to others when speaking .

I— *sigh* how am I supposed to do that?

Maybe try to be more gentle ? And use words such as “please” and “thank you”.

…

I DO try to do that.

You do ?

…Yeah, but then I always get pissed at the other Monster mid-sentence.

I don’t know why, I just do.

Ah . Sorry , I did not know that …

It’s fine.

It’s probably because of the shitty way I was brought up.

Hm ?

…Nothing.

Nonono , you can tell me ! I do not mean to pressure you .

what is going on ?

…Well, first things first, I was getting mad at Bister and then Mauna tried to help. Then it evolved into me talking to her about how I get pissed at others for no apparent reason, and I was thinking; it’s probably because of the shitty way I grew up.

“shitty” ? if you do not mind explaining , how did you grow up “shitty” ?

…

Would you guys mind me dumping about my entire fucking childhood?

No , not at all ! You can tell us .

uh, nope! you can tell us!

feel free to do so .

Alright. Ahem.

(okaaaaaaaaayyyy here we go!!! Sprigg’s backstory is under the cut but is also kinda angsty n shit so um)

It started from when my entire fucking family, uh, fucking… died. Something I couldn’t see somehow attacked my parents and siblings, and while I was running away, it got my leg. Mind you, I was fucking SIX YEARS OLD. So there I was, all freezing cold while it was raining at midnight on Plant Island, and it was SHITTY. I spent the next few years of my life without a family or a home, and I couldn’t really trust anyone back then since I didn’t know who killed my family. It made me extremely aggressive towards others—like a feral Stogg—until I met Rossiter the Bowgart and Crawford the Toe Jammer when I was, uh, eleven. I bonded with them for a little while and we somehow became really good friends, which made me a little less harsh. Well, I did a LOT less biting and attacking other Monsters, but the aggressive speaking part still stuck with me for some reason.

I trust other Monsters a lot more now than I did back when I was younger, but I still get aggressive while I talk to others. I hope you don’t really mind me giving a whole-ass soliloquy in the middle of a cave…

We do not mind you speaking at all . I feel bad for you , having to go through that at such a young age and being so affected by it to the point that you got extremely violent towards others …

…Yeah.

do you need a hug? what you went through seems pretty harsh.

bister , from what mauna told me , sprigg does not like physical conta-

I guess it wouldn’t hurt.

oh, okay!!

ah . would it be okay if we all hugged you ?

…Ma-

(Everyone throws their arms around the armless—and legless—Sprigg. Mauna is a Fire Elemental, so that means more warmth and comfort.)

…This… this is surprisingly comfortable?? Nobody aside from Ross, Craw, Toorie, or Mondo has ever hugged me before…

well, you should add us to your “monsters who have hugged me” list!

I don’t keep a list of the Monsters who have hugged me.

a hypothetical one .

…Alright. Fair.

Anyways , should we take a stop here ? All this exploring is kind of tiring , haha .

sure!!

Guess it wouldn’t hurt.

of course !

~~~~~~~~~~~

GOD I procrastinated so hard on this-

anyways uhhh yeah!! some angst and a backstory reveal for Sprigg :’)

-Mod Jimmy 🗣️

#death mention #trauma mention #msm #my singing monsters #msm au #my singing monsters au #furcorn #furcorn msm #kayna #kayna msm #fluoress #fluoress msm #whiz-bang #whiz-bang msm

[wanderinginksplot]

Clone Trooper Rambles

Short, kinda silly Ramble today! Rambles are a pseudo-diary of everyday life embellished by the presence of imaginary clone troopers.

Warnings: a hostile coworker and some mild embarrassment.

---

Evil Librarian

"Hey! I've never seen you wear glasses before."

I smiled at one of my favorite coworkers, a woman named Jenna. "Yeah, I don't wear them very often, but I wanted something new." 

That was the easiest explanation I could give. Besides, the blue light filters really were helping control my migraines now that I was back at work. 

"They look great!" 

"Thanks!" 

Another coworker snorted and I fought against a grimace. Rick was the problem coworker, the one who always had rude things to say about everyone. “You look like an evil librarian.”

I smiled despite myself. “Specifically an evil librarian?”

“Yeah, you know, the kind that are always shushing people.”

“I think those are just librarians,” I pointed out.

“Well, I think you look great,” Jenna insisted. “Ignore him.”

“Ignore me?” Rick snorted. “Good luck with that.” 

Jenna and I made eye contact and I fought another smile. Rick was hard to ignore, but not for the reasons he thought. I had never thought anyone was universally hated before I had met him. I felt sorry for him at first, but then I realized that he brought the vast majority of his problems on himself by being hostile to everyone else.

“Di’kut,” Fives muttered. “No one asked his opinion.”

“That’s never stopped him in the past,” I reminded silently. 

“Someone needs to show him that his input isn’t wanted,” Echo said, folding his arms over his chest. “I can think of a few ways that would get through.”

For a moment, I lost my concentration and spaced out as I imagined one of the troopers hitting Rick in the face. It was an amusing image and I reluctantly pulled away from it as Jenna changed the subject. 

“I’ve been thinking about how we could start working on the next-”

“Do you ever take a break?” Rick demanded. “You take on more projects than anyone I’ve ever met.”

It wasn’t an incorrect point, unfortunately. Jenna was good at her job - good enough that she was always looking for something else to make it a bit more of a challenge. As a result, she was always juggling about six major projects at a time. I liked to help her out where I could, though there was a limit to it.

“I just like to stay busy,” Jenna explained with a shrug. 

“Well, you should take it easy sometime,” Rick snapped. “The rest of us have to pick up your slack while you run around working on a thousand things that don’t really need to be done. It’s ridiculous, and I don’t know why the managers let you get away-”

“Isn’t there something you want to say?” Echo asked lowly, nodding toward my ranting coworker.

“Hey Rick!” I called, drawing his attention. When his eyes met mine, I lifted a finger to my lips. “Shhh! C’mon, this is a library.”

Just then, one of the managers stepped through a nearby doorway, throwing a bewildered look in my direction. Jenna had dissolved into giggles before the manager turned away, shaking his head as he walked down the hall. I followed her example soon afterward, my cheeks burning with embarrassment even as I chuckled.

But the biggest surprise of all was from Rick, who let out a loud laugh and went back to what he had been working on before. As soon as he was out of earshot, Jenna leaned in with a furious whisper. “What was that? I’ve never heard him laugh before, not unless it was at somebody!”

“To be fair, he may have been laughing at me,” I reminded her. “I did just make an idiot of myself in front of our boss.”

“Nah, I’ve done worse,” Jenna consoled me. 

“And so have you,” Fives pointed out helpfully. 

I groaned in answer and walked away before my boss could come back to ask when this had become a library.

---

Author's Note - Like I said, short and silly! Life has been a little crazy these last few months, and I just realized how long it had been since I posted a Ramble.

Previous | Next | Masterlist

Taglist: @rexs-wife @sugarpuffsstuff @just-some-girl-92 @kimageddon @ladysongmaster @carodealmeida @nomercyforthewarrior @bitchylittleredhead @lackofhonor @buddee @salaminus @hikime @808tsuika @ladykatakuri @shawtyitsyou @bikerlorian @torchbearerkyle @frietiemeloen @justanothersadperson93 @leotatombs @rain-on-kamino @itsagrimm @dancingwiththeplanets @theclonesdeservebetter @murder-of-crows-1 @rosmariner @staycalmandhugaclone @marennial @eyecandyeoz @fordo-kixed-rex @lucyysthings @quietplaceinthestars @dinsverdika

#Clone Trooper Rambles #clone trooper rambles #clone trooper fives #clone trooper echo #arc fives #arc trooper echo #fives #echo #not crazy just creative #clone troopers deserve better #more to come

[kteabug]

you and I, printed in ink

Summary: CEO Bakugo Katsuki stumbles upon a series called My Hero by Deku by chance, but soon he is completely engulfed by the series though the events start hitting a bit too close to home. With the author soon retiring, having more questions than answers about the series, he finds himself at a book signing event. What he wasn't expecting was to find his ex-boyfriend Midoriya Izuku sitting behind the author's table.

Pairings: Bakugo x Midoriya (past tense) | Bakugo x Setsuna

Word Count: 2820

Warnings: Mentions of cheating, unplanned pregnancy, and angst

AN: Based on the Twitter prompt by @/subbbyprincesss ( Link )

To say Bakugo’s irritated would be an understatement. Ever since the announcement of his marriage and fiancee’s pregnancy, work seems to refuse to settle down, mostly due to Setsuna’s declaration that he had been in a relationship when they met. Several of the companies they have contracts with are talking about pulling out, citing his indiscretion doesn't match their image and goes against their policies.

On one hand he can understand where they’re coming from, but on the other hand he couldn’t especially since the prior relationship Setsuna referenced had never been publicly announced. For all they knew, he could’ve simply been seeing someone else casually, but bad press is bad press either way and he gets that.

** “See if we can move my 2 o’clock to a dinner meeting, maybe a few drinks will keep Yagi Enterprises from pulling their contract and call Setsuna’s agent to confirm the time for her next appointment. She wants me there and it’ll look good with the press.”

Bakugo waits several seconds before annoyingly looking up, curious as to why his secretary hasn’t responded to him. He’s a bit shocked to see the blonde woman engulfed in her phone, repeatedly swiping down on her screen, attention clearly far from her boss.

The blonde clears his throat, “I didn’t realize I was interrupting whatever is so important you didn’t hear me.”

The woman pales, words tripping over each other as she rushes to apologize, seemingly forgetting the need to breathe.

Bakugo holds up a hand, not wanting to deal with the clean up if his secretary passed out in his office. “Well, what were you doing?”

Camie awkwardly rubs the back of her neck, embarrassment creeping up her body. “Uhm, well – my favorite author announced his retirement and his final book will have a limited release. I didn’t wanna miss it.”

Bakugo leans back in his chair, unsure of how to feel about what he’s just learned. Part of him had honestly thought she’d say she was messaging a lover or something, not trying to get some special book. Though now thinking about it, when was the last time he had bothered to read something other than corporate jargon, contracts and business emails? Maybe he should check it out since it was good enough to have his usually completely obedient secretary distracted.

** Izuku’s retirement announcement causes his previously published book to quickly run out of stock and get posted on various sites for astronomically high prices. Neither deter the blonde from getting the entire series and fortunately calling in a favor from Yaoyorozu Publishing got him two copies of the final book. He’ll chalk it up as his secretary’s end of the year bonus.

He didn’t have any expectations going in, though Camie did fill him in on the basic premise. My Hero by Deku: a queer series following two boys who grew up childhood best friends turned lovers and the ups and down that came with life and relationships.

He glances down at his watch, he has an hour before his lunch with Setsuna, figuring he’ll read a few chapters and easily put it down in time to leave. He’s completely wrong. At first the dedication page captures his attention.

‘To my image of victory, K.’

Something about it catches him off-guard, though he can’t really explain why. Then as he reads the pages, watches as each character grows individually and then together, there’s just something so raw, so familiar about it all. It isn’t until a furious Setsuna marches into his office that he realizes he’s been reading for over two hours, almost finishing the first book entirely.

Begrudgingly he put the book down, taking an early day to help quell Setsuna’s rage as he promises to take her to her favorite jewelry store. Once she falls asleep, he slowly climbs out of bed and heads to his study where he had the book series dropped off by his secretary. He rereads the dedication, still unable to figure out what about it left his skin feeling prickly, before jumping into where he left off.

He picks up the second book as soon as he closes the first one and that continues through each volume of the series. He hasn’t been this taken by a series since the All-Might comics from his childhood, something he realizes he shared with the main characters of the series. Just like the first, each dedication page makes something inside of him churn and the more it happens, the more frustrated he gets.

‘I’m glad I finally caught up to you, K.’

‘For the love of my life, K.’

Who is ‘K’? Who had helped give birth to this emotional rollercoaster of a series? Then he remembers Camie told him the author is retiring and he can’t help but wonder if this mysterious ‘K’ is the reason behind that. He tries looking it up online, but the social media accounts he finds for Deku are only about his books. The most recent post announcing that he’s planning to have a farewell book signing in a few locations.

** His driver looks back at him, not that he noticed with his nose stuck in the last volume of the series. He has read it three times already, trying to put pieces together that he isn’t entirely sure are there to begin with. That damn dedication has once again got to him, this time however leaving a breath caught in his throat and his mind full of more questions than any of the others had.

‘I guess we reached the end of our journey, Kacchan. I thought I could write our ending as well as I wrote our beginning, but I should have known – the deepest heartbreak can’t be put into words. I’ll  always love you, Kacchan.’

He tries to think his way out of the reality that’s starting to build around him. Tries to think of some other reason for why everything that was written feels so gripping, why each word and each event described felt so familiar. Surely somewhere there’s another ‘Kacchan’ because he couldn’t let himself believe it’s him, that he’s the ‘K’ that is so deeply entangled within the series.

Which is why he was heading to the Tokyo book signing event – to actually see that the author isn’t the freckled-faced man he knew. To allow himself to get off the hook for being the reason for such heartache because the thought makes him sick. But life is cruel, at least that’s what Bakugo thinks when he walks into the bookstore and sees those green curls that filled all of his childhood memories.

“Excuse me?” The voice from behind him is annoyed. “Are you in line?”

“Oh, uhm,” he doesn’t know what to do, “go ahead.”

So this had been what Izuku was typing away at on his laptop any chance he got. He remembers once finding him curled on the couch, frantically hitting each key as if his life depended on it and how Izuku had practically slammed it shut when Bakugo came up behind him.

The dedication once again crosses his mind – we reached the end of our journey – and for the first time he lets himself realize how shitty he treated Izuku the last time they spoke, roughly a year ago. ** They had just gotten back to their apartment, emerald eyes shone as he chatted away about their upcoming trip, making mental lists of everything they needed to pack. He only stopped when the blonde grabbed his wrist, pulling him backwards.

“Kacchan?”

“Setsuna’s pregnant.”

“Oh.” Izuku walked into the kitchen, putting away the groceries they had just bought. He turned to look at his partner, a soft and innocent smile on his face and that nearly gutted the blonde, “do you have a backup model for that shoot?”

Of course Izuku thought it was about work, he never had a reason to think anything else of the comment and Bakugo was about to destroy him. He’d been waiting for weeks to tell him the truth, to confess about his late night excursions, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t stand to imagine those emerald-colored eyes looking at him with anything other than love.

“Setsuna’s pregnant.” He watched bright eyes dull as a jaw clenched, “with my child.”

Loose green curls start to shake from side to side, bottom lip pulled between his teeth. “No, no, because that would mean…”

Glossy eyes searched ruby red ones for some sign that he jumped to an awful conclusion, that his active imagination took hold of his thoughts, but he didn't find one. He couldn’t because the blonde looked away almost as quickly as his eyes met his, a glimpse of red colored guilt.

“Was it worth it?”

“Izu–”

“Answer me. Was it worth throwing us away? Throwing away years of friendship, of love? Worth ending a five year relationship over?” He ran his hands across his face, mind racing faster than usual.

“I don’t…I don’t know.”

“When did it start? Cause though it’s possible, I doubt it was just one time.”

“Back in March. We met for drinks to discuss her contra–” Bakugo stopped when Izuku glared at him, holding up a hand to stop him.

“So while I was away taking care of my sick mother, you were balls deep in some…some…UGH!” He stormed out of the kitchen, roughly dragging his fingers through his hair as he marched into their bedroom.

He had done everything for Katsuki. His whole life had been about him. From his childhood memories painted with youthful excitement over All-Might and playing pretend to their teenage years as he could only stand there watching the distance between them grow and finally to adulthood where they finally fell into each other’s arms.

His world, for 26 years, revolved around ash blonde hair and a bad attitude. Putting Katsuki before himself on several occasions because having him in his life was better than being without him. Izuku had even agreed to keep their relationship a secret, away from the cameras and spotlight so it didn’t interfere with how people perceived the blonde and his ability to perform his CEO duties. But what did that even matter now?

Tears blurred his vision as he grabbed whatever clothes he could from the various drawers he pulled out before he yanked clothes from the closet, stuffing them in a suitcase. He could hear Katsuki saying something but the blood that was rushing in his ears muffled most of it. Izuku didn’t care, how could it? Everything he ever did, all the choices that he made, none of it meant anything anymore.

“Izuku.”

Nothing. The greenette ignored him, maneuvering around the blonde to the bathroom and then the living room, snatching things to shove into the bag. Katsuki followed him around, frantically trying to get him to just stop and listen, increasingly growing more angry with each ignored plea.

“Izuku, fuck, just sto–” His sentence was cut off when the heavy black bag was shoved into his chest, confusion coating his face.

“Get out.” Izuku finally broke the silence.

“No, we need to talk.”

Izuku pointed at the door. “Get. Out.”

“Would you just fucking listen!?!” Katsuki was trying to remain calm, but he wasn’t being allowed to talk, to explain and it was chipping away at his patience.

“Will talking change the fact you slept with her? Will it change the fact that she’s pregnant?” He doesn’t wait for Katsuki’s response, “no, it won’t. We have nothing to talk about. Leave now.”

“No, dammit, talk to me!”

Izuku started to push Katsuki toward the door, repeatedly saying “just leave”.

Something snapped in the blonde. He had been trying to get Izuku to just listen, to hear him out because regardless of the pregnancy, he wanted to be with him but the greenette refused to just stop and give him a moment to explain. He couldn’t take it anymore, shoving Izuku backwards, his temper taking full control.

“Fine, fuck!” All he could see was red, ignoring the way Izuku was starting to finally crumble. Katsuki turned to open the door,but then stopped, barely bothering to glance over his shoulder. “It’s not like we could ever be more than this anyways.”

He pulled the door shut harder than he needed to, knowing that his partner, well ex-partner now, was finally letting himself fall apart. But what could he do? What he said wasn’t a lie. The lie had been the two of them pretending they could ever be more than what they were. That they could ever openly claim their relationship, ever start a family, or ever look like more than roommates to their friends. In some twisted way, Bakugo allowed himself to see his infidelity as a saving grace, something that in the long run would save him and Izuku from more pain down the road.  

** “The book signing will end in fifteen minutes. If you want to get in line, please do so now.” A man with two-toned hair announces before leaning down to whisper something to Deku.

Bakugo makes his way to the line, letting whoever gets behind him cut so that he can be the last in line. He really should’ve thought this plan out because now that he’s here, nothing he had planned on saying sounds good enough. For the first time in his life, he’s starting to second guess his decision on coming here.

He could slip out now, pretend that he had never stepped foot in the bookstore. He had been horrible to Izuku the last time they saw each other, even going as far as sending Kirishima to gather the rest of his things from their apartment. Izuku looks like he’s been doing fine, what right does he have to disturb that?

“Uhm, sir? Are you in line?”

He looks over and sees the same man who made the announcement looking at him with a curious expression. Bakugo now realizes that he’s just been standing there, roughly ten steps from the table and that he’s the only one left around them.

“Fuck, I mean, uh, yes I am.” He quickly closes the gap, sitting his copy of the final installment on the table in front of Izuku.

“Who do I make th…” Izuku freezes, finally looking up at the man on the other side of the table. He tries to swallow the panic that’s climbing up his throat but his mouth is too dry. Never in a million years would he have imagined this happening. How did he even know he had written the books? Why was he here? He had made his feelings clear months ago.

“I didn’t know you were the author until I walked into the bookstore and I’m here because…well I don’t know. I guess part of me figured it was vain to think these books were about us and wanted to prove myself wrong. And for the record, I was an ass months ago.”

Izuku curses his mumbling, picking the pen up as he opens to the title page of the book. “Would you like it addressed to Bakugo or Katsuki?”

“Are those my only options?”

Izuku bites the inside of his lip, trying to keep it from trembling. He just wants this interaction to end, to leave the bookstore and go back to his apartment. He hates this feeling that’s tightening in his chest as the blonde looks at him like a wounded animal. As if he had been the one that broke them apart. He starts to scribble a message, letting the words just flow from the tip of the pen.

“Thank you for purchasing my book. Have a lovely night.” There’s a forced smile on Izuku’s face as he recites the same line he told everyone after signing the book(s) they brought. For some reason it just sounds like nails on a chalkboard to Bakugo.

Without much thought, he reaches for Izuku’s wrist as he gets up to leave. Izuku quickly holds up a hand to the two-toned haired man who starts to intervene before emerald eyes look at him.

“Is there something else you wanted to say?”

There’s a lot he wants to say, but doubts any of it will hold the meaning he wants. He could say I’m sorry, but what’s that worth now? He could ask how he’s been, but he’s not privileged to that information anymore. He could even see if he’d want to get a coffee, but he doesn’t even know if he still drinks it.

“Deku, huh?” Bakugo lets go of his wrist, looking down at the cover of the book “you’re far from useless, Izuku.”

“It stands for ‘I can do it’. At first it meant I can write our story.” Green eyes lock onto red ones, a soft smile on his lips, “but now it’s for I can get over you.”

likes, comments, and reblogs are always appreciated! | m.list

#my hero academia #boko no hero academia #bakugou katsuki #midoriya izuku #bakudeku #bakugo x izuku #tw cheating #tw unplanned pregnancy #tw angst #bakudeku angst #bkdk #bkdk angst

[doxiedreg]

I still have so much school trauma to work through and come to terms with. In general I accept what happened happened and I can't change the past. But on the other hand I'm so fucking angry at the system that failed me and even neurotypical kids. The educational system as it is now is not good. It's just test after test, essay after essay, constant deadlines, constant homework it's just not healthy. Learning should be fun. I loved learning new things as a kid, I was a hard worker. But then school just overworks you, just keeps demanding more eventhough you are at your limit. Even though your mental health is already shit because you are bullied like hell and nobody does something about it. Already shit because you don't have any close friends because you don't even know what to do anymore together with other people your age because you aren't really interested in most teenager stuff. Already shit because you are constantly suffering sensory overload from out of control loud classes, crowded hallways, people invading your personal space and purposeful scaring you by popping lunchbags and drink cartons. Some teachers are just 0 fun to listen to and make the subject they are teaching the most boring thing ever. Dreading whenever it's someone's birthday because it means there will be balloons everywhere which you are terrified of. Having to explain to teachers over and over why you can't do certain assignments or why you need more time. Physical education being the most shitty thing ever as I can never keep up with the others and it makes me feel pathetic. Also the exercises are often not fun for me at all. Just.. school did so much damage to me.. they denied for a very long time just how stressed I was because I still had good grades and behaved in class. My parents kept telling them how stressed I appeared at home. That my hair was falling out, that I was trembling that I didn't want to eat that I was struggling. But they just shoved the concerns away. It wasn't until I had a panic attack in class at school that they assigned someone to me to help me. But it was too little too late. I started going home early because I was just too mentally unwell. They started to question this as me slacking off because I was lazy or something even though I was grossly overworked. In the end I became suicidal and extremely depressed and stressed and hit rock bottom and stayed home. At first this was meant to be temporary but in the end I just dropped out because I couldn't take it anymore. It was a very dark time..and it took a lot of therapy and time to crawl out of it...school had destroyed my self image. I thought of myself as stupid and lazy and not good enough, never good enough no matter how hard I tried. I wondered if my classmates missed me, it they even noticed I wasn't around anymore. I never got closure on that. But luckily I made a new support system for myself online. There were some toxic friends in there at first but it's been a few years now that I've kicked them all out and I feel loved and cared about and seen. In may this year it will also be a year that I've lived on my own, in my own studio apartment without housemates and it also did wonders for me. I mean it's also been tough and brought new stressful things to deal with but I like being in control over my environment..I hope to get a dog in the future to help me with emotional stability (I miss having a dog on my lap and petting them the most I'm so touch starved but I'm not fond of touching people) and getting out more but I'm not ready yet. For now I have my lil fish guys and snail guys to look after and that's already nice

Anyway.. sorry for rambling..I just had to let that all out, it was building up too much. Ever since the sun started shining I feel like my brain is processing so much stuff in the bg i guess the book post triggered some of it to come outward

To my friends: even if we don't talk much, I love you all so much and I'm so happy to have you all in my life. You make me feel loved, appreciated and supported. You make me feel seen. I am so grateful to have a loving support system, even if I'm a lil shy to reach out sometimes still.

Just you guys are all great, remember that

#lena talks #vent #tw suicidality mention #long post #school trauma #ramble #personal #autism struggles

[ghcstchild-a]

here goes the thing i've been putting off for a long time, the body image/sexual preferences meta (nsfw subjects under the cut, tw for canon non-con mentions) – this isn't too explicit, but just in case.

I will preface this by saying that most of this is going to be connected with this post I made ages ago, as WWX's upbringing shaped more than his general self-image. But there are a few things that have been on my mind since like... day one of writing him, so here are a few essential key points.

• upon his revival, he lives (forcedly so) in someone else's body. Someone he never even met looks at him from the other side of the mirror, and while he acts like he's fine with it, it's still a pretty wild concept to wrap his head around. It forces a distorted, new perception of himself as a) fragile (he's not that much smaller in height, but his power/energy/resilience is considerably more limited in this new body) and b) someone who's imposing or possessing this body that wasn't supposed to be his.

One of the most important parts of it is that his scars are gone, and with them some key moments of his life feel as if they've been erased (the Wen brand, the scar from the golden core transfer, the one JC left after their battle in Yiling). These events were so, so life-changing to him and he knows the reminders should be there but... they're not, and it often takes a moment to remember why, and causes a bit of dissociation in the process. Which goes away with time, but it's very prominent at first (remember that to WWX, those 13 years haven't passed; the trauma is still fresh, he's still mentally in his early twenties because he didn't exist throughout these years, while everyone else had the time to process things and maybe move on just a little bit he's just returned from it all).

It doesn't make him self-conscious in regards to his body (because it's not even his), but it kind of... complicates things nonetheless. And this is where I move on to the worst part of it.

• the r*pe kink. The first time I read the incense burner chapter it honestly... hit like a brick and I had some trouble processing wtf it even was, BUT, having read it again and seen some takes on it... it has every right to be there in that exact form. First of all, it's a shared kink, as it was LWJ's dream in the first place (and while I have some thoughts irt LWJ and the reasons behind it, I won't delve into it).

To WWX, being used is something familiar (see the post linked in the beginning of this rant). Being used sexually in a controlled environment by someone he trusts is, in a way, part of a dealing process. He likes that special kind of violence, when it's so rough it's borderline brutal, when the limits are pushed to the maximum. He can set up boundaries (which he does, e.g. the spanking thing), and naturally there's a healthy level of communication that goes into this so that it's about pleasure and not torture.

And yet a little part of him welcomes the violence because he still feels like he deserves it, for not being there, for screwing things up. It's yet another of his self-sacrificing habits, except controlled and experienced with someone who he knows would never knowingly abuse it. And it ties into the body thing as mentioned above because it's also a way to... chase some of that feeling of frailty and uselessness away, if that makes any sense? And the incessant talking (+ him being obnoxiously loud) is a way to say 'this is okay', it's him being quiet that is a sign that something's wrong.

That being said, he acts the way he does (his fake complaining about 'the abuse') because sometimes being loved so much feels overwhelming and frustrating due to the unfamiliarity of the feeling. He doesn't know what to do with it. With all those feelings he has, with all the adoration LWJ showers him with. What he does know (and also struggles to accept sometimes) is that he doesn't need to be a terrifying power not to be messed with for survival purposes anymore. He's safe. He's loved. He needs to experiment with being overpowered sometimes to feel more comfortable with not being so powerful anymore.

• since I tagged the whole thing as nsfw, might as well add a couple of things. WWX loves offering little acts of service in the bedroom and he absolutely adores messy, cathartic and emotional sex that isn't violent, and gentle love-making might drive him insane in all the different ways. Processing past trauma is difficult for both of them and sometimes intimacy is a good way to deal with it, to ground himself in reality through touching and melting into each other to the point where it's the only sensation there is and he remembers them and nothing else. He makes sure to worship every inch of his husband's body (kissing every damn scar is a must) to remind him how much he adores all of him, but sometimes he gets carried away and forgets about himself in it all.

Also not to get all freudian here but the man clearly has an oral fixation so do whatever you wish with that information. There's a good way to shut him up and LWJ knows it, and WWX knows it too.

#personals please don't interact #── * hc : a ghost behind the mask. #is this messy? yes #is this worth reading? probably not

[marshmallowprotection]

I wonder what would've happened if SE Saeran had shot rika instead of V....

That’s an interesting thought you have there. What if Unknown had shot Rika in the heat of the moment instead of V? Well, it's hard to say what would have happened. In this situation, it's difficult for us to look at the factors that could have played out in the way that the fandom looks at the Secret Ending and the way the game itself looks at it.

With Rika dying in this case, we can’t just think about what would’ve happened to Saeran’s journey after the bullet hit a target. It isn't just a character's death we have to think about. We have to think about all of the things that will come from that action. It's easy to think about what would happen, but it's more complicated than that. It isn’t just about what would happen to Saeran. We’d have to consider what happens to everyone when it’s revealed Rika’s dead. They already thought she died once, but now she’s dead for real, and that’s hard to process.

Jumin can’t lie through his teeth about this like he did about V. V isn’t in a state of sheer numbness like Rika was. He didn’t lose his ability to speak in a case of catatonic shock. I have no doubt in my mind that he would be going through a lot of emotions but I don't think he would be pushed to the point where he would be catatonic and unable to speak.

I do think it would be difficult for him to fess up to everything that he knows and everything that's been going on all this time.

But, it isn’t like how Rika couldn’t speak a single word to explain what happened. So, what do you think the RFA responds with? How is Rika’s death explained? Is the cult revealed? That’s not something I can limit to a single post because here is the simple truth. They lied their asses off in the Secret Ending to protect these truths. How much can people know? What becomes of Rika’s image? Is V put on trial? What happens there?

How much in this situation is going to be able to be revealed and how much are they going to be able to hide? The reason why so much of it is locked away in the original ending is that it is to protect the twins from death. Jumin lies about what happened there not only to protect Mint Eye victims but to protect the twins from Saejoong Choi.

He realizes that V was trying to keep them safe, even if he doesn’t have all the details, and he decides to keep helping them despite everything that happened. That's why he does everything within his power to protect them even if there are limits to what he can do. But, how does that change with V being alive? What are the secrets that can be revealed and what are the things that can be done with him still being alive? That changes a lot of the factors in this situation. It's hard to say where that would go. Jumin will protect the boys, no doubt, though.

On top of that, what do you do about Yoosung? Zen? They don’t originally know about Mint Eye. Do they know? Are they allowed to know? How do they handle that situation? How do they handle knowing that she became the person that she was in the end and pushed somebody so far down a rabbit hole that he became her undoing?

Do they blame Saeran? Do they forgive Saeran? How do they feel about Rika now? There are a lot of things to think about with that and none of them make it any easier to confront. I don't think they would be upset with Saeran… not fully since he wasn’t in the right state of mind when he held that gun in his hands.

He didn’t have an intended target that day. He was just swinging his gun around to make sure that people would not come near him in his fit of fear. His gun was his protection. The idea of protection. If you hold something that can kill, why in the world would anyone try to fight you? It was less of a real warning and more of an idea. Even when he uses his gun in a few Bad Endings, it’s only on him or his brother.

But, he still took a life. People have a lot of complicated feelings about that. Even in the case of his situation or in others like self-defense with Rika’s self-defense murder of Mother Choi. Taking a life is still taking a life and people... people feel how they feel about it. There’s no way to know how you feel until you’re put into that place.

I don’t think they blame Saeran in most regard, but Yoosung will be having the hardest time, all things considered. He might not be able to be around Saeran. Not Saeran’s fault, per se. It’s his complicated feelings about Rika that’ll get to him. So, that’s hard for him. Zen, on the other hand, might be upset that this is even happening to everyone. He wouldn’t be mad at Saeran. He could see why that happened and get it. He’s torn, but not angry. Torn that it happened, not that it could be wrong. He was in a gang. He knows the world is bleak sometimes.

Jaehee would handle this no differently than her original counterpart. With logic and facts, ignoring the burning reality in the name of trying to do the right thing for all the victims. She’s not wary of Saeran... but she’s wary of the people who put him in that position to begin with... just as everyone is. V is not going to be in a good place because of all this. I don’t even know where V will go since I’m not sure what they would do with Mint Eye and the Agency’s aftermath in this sort of situation. You’d think it’d be easy, but it’s not.

Saeyoung is no different, though. It doesn’t matter if it’s Rika or V. All he cares about is his brother and his brother’s safety. Frankly, given what we know about him, he would’ve killed V or Rika if prompted with the need to do so. So, he isn’t clean with his hands or thoughts. For him, the only real issue is the fact that V is alive and someone is going to need to stop Saeyoung from cornering him for all the answers... just as he did in V’s After Ending. Watch him closely. He never will hesitate for Saeran.

And Saeran, himself? Well... that’s tough. The catalyst to Saeran’s breakdown was her screaming: “I should have taken your brother! I never wanted you for any of this! I wanted Saeyoung!” When, we all know, she manipulated him for years on end with the notion that she took him because V and Saeyoung had abandoned them for dead and they were the only people who had each other. That lie broke him because Rika was the only shred left in this tiny world he’d been allowed.

It wasn’t like his bond with V. It was different. How does he handle knowing that she didn’t want him? How does it feel knowing he killed her? Worse yet, how is it going to be when V reveals Mother Choi was killed by Rika? Doesn’t matter that it was self-defense... the very idea that she took that life will do something to the twins that we can’t even unpack. We don’t even know how Saeyoung reacted to this information in the game proper. We only know how everyone else takes it in stride and says to you, “We’ll wait to share this with him.”

How would Saeran feel knowing he took Rika’s life just as she took his mother’s life? It might feel like a deadly cycle... and perhaps his hands feel too scarred to heal. Honestly, that part is the darkest to lean into aside whatever will come to be from Saeyoung speaking with V.

#ask #character analysis #mystic messenger #mm #mysme #mysticmessenger #saeran #saeran choi #choi saeran #se saeran #anon #mod kait