#and i don’t really have anyone to talk to about it either | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

inkdrinkerworld · 2 days

Note

hello!! could you write about spencer catching sunshine reader during a sad time? like perhaps reader has very rarely shown spencer what she gets like when shes sad, so when he catches her, she is stubborn at first and doesn't want to open up, but eventually eases into it? thank you :))

Cw: mentions of parents venting to their kids, being sad

Wc: 1.4k

You’re not sure what you'd done to deserve a day like today exactly, only that you’d woken up and from the very first moment you’d had a hard time of it.

Your planned outfit had a stain, you forgot to make extra dinner to have for lunch, you cut your ankle shaving and then your mom called.

Calls with her have a habit of being fifty fifty. It can either be a good call, or it can be a call where she uses you as a sounding board for all her negative thoughts, worries and despite the many times you’ve told her to stop, she hasn’t.

It’s safe to say by the time you walk into work you don’t even have the energy to smile- you’re using it all not to cry.

Not even your back up outfit is working it's magic- a green top with brown pants, your favourite outfit to feel like a hobbit.

Emily calls you into the round table room as soon as you walk in, giving you a little more reason to avoid Spencer’s curious gaze.

Spencer doesn’t really take into account just how bad your mood is till you volunteer to stay in Quantico with Penelope rather than go out in the field.

“Y/n?” He touches your elbow gently as the rest of the team go for their bags. It’s just you and him in the round table room and your hands shake from holding back tears.

Spencer hasn’t ever seen you this upset, sure during a case you’re mad at the things you guys read and uncover, but this is a different type of upset and Spencer doesn’t really know what to do with it.

He just knows he wants to make it better.

“Yeah Spence?” You try to keep your voice even, knowing he’ll only worry more and the case needs his worry more than you do.

“What’s going on? You haven’t looked up at me once and you keep scrunching your nose. You also haven’t smiled since you got here.” He’s a profiler to his core, but this is just you and him, of course he’d notice everything.

You shrug, scrunching your nose again. “The case isn’t exactly something to be happy about, is it?”

Spencer knows what you’re trying to do, but you don’t get the tone right for anger- you just sound defeated.

“Either way, you and Penelope have a knack for smiling through it and you haven’t even tried once.” Ever soft, ever tender are the words that escape him.

He bends his knees a little, chasing your eyes. “What is it?” Spencer’s thumb strokes the inside of your wrist, wanting nothing more than to help.

“Spencer, can we talk about it when the case is over?” You can feel the pressure of the tears behind your eyes and you don’t want to cry here.

Not where anyone can see.

You’d much rather do it at home, where you can curl up under your blanket and sob until you lose your voice.

“Alright, but we will talk; yeah?” You nod and Spencer squeezes your forearm, a firm and soothing pressure on your skin.

The case takes a day and a half to wrap up, and you’re barely holding it together- Penelope lent you her favourite unicorn desk pal for the entire case and also her fluffy pen.

“I’m sorry, babe. You’ll feel better once this is over and you can have a good cry.” She says, your head on her shoulder as you wait for your team to come back.

You nod, “How badly do you think Spencer will react if I start crying now?” Your throat is tight with emotion- honestly you’re not sure if it’s just from your previous day or also the exhaustion of working into the next evening.

“Oh, pretty bad,” she says and you chuckle, a few tears rolling freely down your face. “But I think he’ll be more worried.”

Before you can say anything, there’s a knock on Penelope’s door and you already know who it is- only Spencer knocks. You wipe away the tears hoping that will be enough to hide them from Spencer- it likely won’t be.

“See you tomorrow Pen,” you say, gathering your things and opening the door.

Spencer looks more tired than you expected and you have to assume you don’t look so rested either.

“You’re back,” he nods, taking your satchel bag from you and reaching for your hand.

“What’s wrong?” He murmurs, leading you to a secluded spot in the hall. Spencer doesn’t say it, but your eyes bare all your emotions even if your face is neutral. They’re red and they’ve got a sad look about them, just completely and utterly exhausted. Spencer wants to help any way he can.

You debate how you should start, if you should just tell him about your bad day from beginning to end or if you should just tell him about your weird relationship with your mother and let him fill in the blanks from there.

You decide it wouldn’t be fair to Spencer because he never had you guessing when he’s sharing things so you won’t do it to him.

“Um,” you can already feel the pressure building behind your eyes again. “Yesterday was off to a terrible start, nothing was going quite right from the moment my feet hit the floor.”

Spencer nods, listening quietly as you wring your hands tightly. He takes them easily, holding them in his own and stroking the skin on the back of your hand.

“Then my mom called which could really go either way, and I had to listen to her complain about my dad and every other thing in her life and it gives me a lot of anxiety hearing some of the things and she just wouldn’t stop.”

Your tears are rolling freely now and Spencer pulls you to his chest, fear of germs be damned.

He quiets his own feelings about you crying and about the way you sound recounting your day.

“She just says these things like I’m supposed to be the one to fix them and I can’t and she’s mad that I can’t and it just messes with me sometimes.”

Spencer can deduce what you’re too kind to say- it isn’t your fault or your problem and you shouldn’t be made to feel like it’s your responsibility to make it right.

Your hands shake against Spencer’s back and he sighs, squeezing you just a bit tighter.

“I’m sorry,” his hands coast up and down your back, massaging at the nape of your neck when he reaches there. “I’m sorry she puts it on you, and I know that you’re aware it isn’t your problem to solve but you can’t help that either. Maybe over time she’ll come to realise that you can’t solve all of the things she tells you.”

You nod, trying to stop hiccuping against him. “M’sorry about your shirt Spence.” He laughs, nose in your hair as he holds you.

“It’s okay,” you sniffle harshly trying to clear your sinus. “Want to come over and watch Lord of The Rings?” This wouldn’t be the first time you’ve been there- you’ve spent nights there after drinks with the team and movie nights just the two of you.

All the same it’s a shocking proposal from Spencer right after a case, you know he likes to decompress in his own way.

You gasp, leaning back from his arms a little. It’s hard to miss the care displayed so clearly in his gaze. It’s harder to fight the urge to kiss him. “The extended versions?” Spencer notes that you’ve a little more spark in your tone, a little more life in your eyes.

“Yeah, I think we can make it through the entire trilogy if we hurry.” There’s a grin on his lips as he says it.

“Spencer, don’t play with me here. We’re talking serious business.” He laughs, hiking your bag higher on his shoulder as he watches you wipe your tears.

“I’m not playing. Is your go-bag full or do you want to stop by your place on the way to mine?” He hopes secretly that you don’t have your own sleep clothes, it’s a selfish want to see you in one of his shirts or even a cardigan.

“I have clothes, we can go straight there. And you’re driving, you have all the maps in your head with the shortest routes.”

Spencer nods, like he was ever going to make you drive. “Plus you’re a hazard on the road, absolute chaos behind a wheel.”

Spencer feels his chest lighten when your laugh explodes from you, loud and so like yourself as you wait for the elevator to open.

#spencerreid #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid drabble #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid headcanon #spencer reid angst #spencer reid blurb #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid fic #spencer reid x black reader #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x sunshine!reader #spencer reid x you #spencer reid x yn #spencer reid x y/n #dr spencer reid

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kika-writes · 2 days

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flip it back - l.n

Warnings: Angst, Fluff!

Pairing: Lando Norris x fem!reader

Summary: Y/N panics and makes a BIG mistake

A/N - Little project I did with @maxiemclaren, she’s doing the alternate with Oscar and I’m doing it with Lando, check hers out too xx

“Hey Y/N,” Oscar smiled at you, sitting beside you in his drivers room as you smiled at him. “Hey, how was media?” you asked, putting your phone down. “More rumours about us dating,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Again? Do they ever get tired?” you snorted, you did like Oscar, just not as a boyfriend, simply a friend. “Do you even like anyone?” he laughed, turning to you as your cheeks filled with colour.

In truth, you had the biggest, stupidest crush on his teammate, Lando. Not that you’d ever even think Lando would want anything to do with you. “I-I do,” you said, Oscar could probably tell from your reaction to the question anyways. “Wait, really?” he said, eyes wide, “who?”. You opened your mouth, no sound coming out. “Promise you won’t snitch,” you pleaded as he firmly nodded. “Lando,” you said quietly, only to frown at Oscar’s smirk.

“Knew it,” he smirked, seeing your shock. “I’ve seen the way y’all talk. He definitely likes you back,” the Aussie said as you scoffed, “yeah right, have you seen him?”. You and Lando had a fairly decent friendship, you got on well and talked a lot. He messaged you a few times a day, if it was to send you reels, memes or just to chat. You didn’t mind, but he was surely just a celebrity crush.

“Hey Y/N,” a voice said, behind you, making you look up, seeing Lando. “Oscar, media need you again,” the Brit said, watching his team mate groan. “Sorry dude, it’s about the race,” he grimaced at Oscar. “Media making up shit with you and Oscar again,” Lando said, sitting down after Oscar left. “Yeah, they never get tired of it,” you rolled your eyes. “They’re pretty darn annoying,” Lando laughed, making you chuckle.

“D’you like Oscar?” he asked, turning to you. “As a friend,” you confirmed. “More than that? D’you like anyone, Y/N?” he asked, hands clasped together. Immediately, you flushed. You couldn’t tell him the truth, you’d die of embarrassment. “I…yeah, I, um, I like Oscar,” you said hurriedly, making him nod slowly. “Oh, right,” he nodded simply, “I see,”. You gulped. You’d just lied. “I’ll be off, Y/N,”.

Lando had changed. He no longer messaged you during the day, only sending simple things such as: ‘busy, practise’ or ‘busy, gym’. Why had he changed? Did he not like Oscar? You felt horrible for lying. But of course, the only way to remedy a lie was to tell the truth. You’d made a plan. You would bring Oscar and Lando to one place, and you’d tell them the truth.

And then you’d leave and probably never talk to Lando again. Rather that than him living and thinking you liked Oscar. So you texted them. Oscar, as usual, with his usual ‘alright y/n, I’ll see you then <3’ message. Lando - a simple acknowledgment in the form of a thumbs up emoji. “Hey you guys,” you smiled awkwardly at the pair of them. “Hey Y/N,” Oscar said brightly, much opposing to Lando’s, “hi,”.

You still didn’t realise why he sounded so…downbeat ever since the ordeal. But anyways, you had a matter at hand, and you intended to deal with it. Maybe savour it slightly, this was going to be the last moment you saw Lando and got to speak to him without dying of embarrassment. “So, I told you guys who I like,” you began. “Mhm, you told Oscar about your little crush on him?” Lando snorted. “Mate, what? What the hell you on about?” Oscar rolled his eyes.

“Dude, don’t give me that crap. She told me she liked you,” Lando raised an eyebrow. “Wait, listen,” you said, before Oscar could retaliate. “What?” Lando asked, frowning at Oscar, before turning to you. “I told Oscar I liked you,” you said quietly, not making eye contact with either of them as Lando’s jaw dropped. “You told my team mate you liked me, and told me you liked him?” Lando said, trying to wrap his mind round it.

“Yeah, I guess,” you shrugged, cheeks flushed. “Wait, so he thinks you like me?” Lando blinked, “yes,”. He paused. “And I think you like him,” he continued, “yes,”. He paused again. “Oh shut up, dude,” Oscar shoved his team mate lightly as he interrupted his third question. “Better question, which one of us do you actually like?” Oscar asked, squirting. “I mean, I-,” you started, not sure how you were gonna say it.

“I don’t wanna say it,” you said, hugging your body and looking down. “You gonna make us pull it out of you?” Lando asked, blinking down at you again. “I dunno,” you shrugged, cheeks red. “Oh Y/N,” Oscar shook his head, “we really have to interrogate it out of you?”. You didn’t like this, it made you uncomfortable, and soon you’d have to drop the bomb. “Is it actually either of us?” Lando asked, tapping his chin.

“Yes,” you nodded, looking up at him as he continued to think. “Does he have brown hair- ow!” Lando gasped as Oscar elbowed him. “I dunno, mate, I think he has blonde hair,” the Aussie said sarcastically, making you laugh. “That was a purposeful question, I wanted her to laugh,” Lando rubbed his ribs as you raised an eyebrow, he definitely wasn’t intending for you to laugh. “Is he ugly?” Lando continued. “What?” you gasped, neither of them were ugly.

“If it’s a yes, sheesh, good luck with Oscar, girl,” Lando said, narrowly dodging another jab in the ribs. “C’mon Y/N, be straight with it,” the Aussie said. “It’s not me, I know that,” Oscar scoffed. “It’s Lando, and you want to say it, I can tell,” he said, pulling your hands from your face. “Wait, what?” Lando asked, eyes wide, “you like me?”. You turned to him, “yes, I know, it’s embarrassing you’re probably horrified and I-,” he cut you off.

“No fucking way. Y/N, you like me?” he repeated, he was so gonna laugh at you. “I…yes?” you shrugged. “You’re having a laugh. Nuh uh, you’re having a giggle,” he backed away, this was worse than you had pictured. “Y/N Y/L/N, you like me back?!” he said, his lips forming into a smile as your eyes widened. “Back? You like me too?” you asked, a smile on your lips too.

“Fuck yeah, have you seen you?” his hand covered his mouth as Oscar snorted. “Right, well whilst you two flirt the fuck out of each other,” Oscar said, “I’m gonna mentally prepare myself for this,”. Lando raised an eyebrow at you, then Lando. “For what?” he blinked. “Lando, if you may follow me for the ‘if you hurt my best friend’ talk…” the Aussie trailed off, gripping Lando’s shoulder as he gulped. “So long Y/N,” Lando grimaced as you burst into laughter.

#lando norris #lando norris x reader #lando norris x you #lando norris imagine #lando x reader #lando norris smut #f1 #oscar piastri

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foldingfittedsheets · 2 days

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I made my first pride flag set in 2017, the cute little dragons. At the time there wasn’t an agreed upon lesbian flag going around. The movement around the current one started gaining traction in 2018 (at least on tumblr), which is when the trouble started for me.

The first time I heard there was a lesbian flag I did get a little excited. But when I saw it I was immediately turned off. It was so… pink. That didn’t look how I felt. It felt like society’s cute idea of lesbian colors, still being forced into cute pink skirts like I had been all my life. I would later learn it was pioneered as the Lipstick Lesbian Flag. The rainbow felt more like me.

While I was still mulling how I felt about it, the doxxing started. Despite the flags youth it had some rather extreme proponents. I’d get tagged and harassed for not having a lesbian flag. Bigger blogs would deride me as being lesbophobic, pushing me further from the label I’d liked best. I didn’t want to be a lesbian if it meant being associated with those people.

Many of the blogs targeting me were TERFs, linking the pinkness to an exclusion of men. That’s when it really started to bother me. Trans folk all share the same flag, regardless of gender despite very different experiences. Every other sexuality shared! Why were lesbians booting gay men out the door? Why wasn’t the movement for a homo flag?

Then I started finding other creators talking about it. The harassment and rabid fury if they didn’t carry lesbian flag merch. The lesbian flags didn’t sell but woe betide anyone for not offering them. Gay men have never swarmed my inbox demanding a flag. Gay men don’t mind sharing a rainbow- and I don’t either.

For a long time the lesbian flag became a trigger. I’d scan my notes and my heart would start pounding when someone would mention it. I was on edge waiting for more harassment and attacks. I’d tense up seeing it on profile pics, wary of who was using it.

It’s become ubiquitous over the past several years. It will never be my flag, but I accept that it’s around. Regardless of meanings assigned arbitrarily to the colors later, it’s just not for me. I love the rainbow, I love sharing it with everyone. I’m pretty certain I’ll never offer a lesbian flag in my shop. But I’ll always have a rainbow.

#ramblies #lesbian pride flag #lesbian flag #lgbtq #planning to link to think in my FAQ in case anyone’s wondering why I’m writing this up

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angel5ofp0rn · 3 days

Text

Young!Price x f!younger!reader

where u and ExHusband!Price first meet 🤭

TW (?) age gap. legal (21&30-something), but still an age gap

got a lil lazy at the end; just a dash of secks

“Jus’ one more.” You giggle to your friends, making your way through the crowd and over to the bar.

Another one more.

The bartender shakes his head when you approach.

For the fourth time.

“What’ll it be this time, kid?”

“Dunno,” You shrug animatedly. You giggle again, your cheeks warm from the alcohol. “How about…”

You turn to one of the men sitting at the bar.

“What’re you drinking?” You point a manicured finger at a tall, balaclava-wearing man with dark eyes.

He glances towards you for just a moment before looking straight ahead again, mumbling a “whiskey” under his breath.

“Eww.” You scrunch your nose. “No, not that.”

You lean over a bit, hands on the bar, looking past the scary masked man and to the man next to him.

The… gorgeous, blue eyed, clean shaven man next to him.

“What’re- whoa.” Your eyes widen for a moment. “You’re, like… whoa.”

The man exhales a small, slightly amused chortle.

“Would you, like, ‘scuse us?” You ask the scarier man.

He stares you down for a moment.

You blink, waiting for him to move.

“F’r fuck’s sake…” The big guy grumbles, standing up from the barstool and disappearing somewhere in the bar.

You happily hop onto the stool once he’s gone.

You extend your arm to the gorgeous man, your tipsiness making you more fearless than usual.

“Hi. It’s m’birthday.”

“Is it, now?” His smooth, English voice drawls out as he shakes your hand.

“Mhm!” You nod, your grin growing.

The man nods, seemingly amused with your young, drunk self.

“Are you, like, an army guy or something?” You ask, glancing up and down at him in his fatigues.

He snorts.

“I am an army guy or something.” He confirms. “John Price.”

“John Price…” You tilt your head to the side, your long hair falling over your exposed shoulder in that tiny going out top you decided to wear.

“Price is cute. Y/N Price sounds good, right?” You ask aloud, not really to anyone in particular.

“Already planning on taking my last name, are you?” He raises his eyebrows at you, entertained by all of this.

Women come up to him all the time. Can’t really go anywhere without a few flirting with him, batting their eyelashes, playing coy about how badly they want to fuck a man in uniform.

But they’re never this bold.

Usually not this young, either.

You’re a good ten years younger than him, at least; the hell do you want with him?

“Y’know,” You continue, ignoring his question. “You have the prettiest blue eyes I’ve ever seen.”

He smirks.

“Y/N!” Your girl friend calls out, waving you over to her from across the room. “Let’s go dance!”

“Oh!” You grab John’s bicep. “I love dancing. Come dance with us!”

John shakes his head, dismissing the idea.

“Don’t dance.” He takes a swig of his beer. “But, eh… Kyle here-“ He pats the shoulder of another, younger, man on the right side of him. “-Kyle likes to dance. Don’t ya, Gaz?”

“I don’ wanna dance with him.” You shake your head with a frown.

“He’s a handsome young lad.” John continues talking up his buddy as if he’s a car salesman trying to sell you the Buick. “Why don’t you-“

You cut him off, rolling your eyes as if that was the dumbest suggestion you’ve ever heard.

“What’f I dance with Kyle and he r’lly likes me?” You slur a bit.

Kyle grins.

John snorts.

“Then he likes ya.”

“No!” You groan.

Drunken you really resembles a fussy toddler.

“I don’ want Kyle’s babies, I want your babies.”

John laughs.

Kyle chokes on his drink.

“You wanna have my babies, eh?”

“Uh-huh.” You nod confidently. “I wan’ a hundred blue-eyed babies tha’ look Just. Like. You.” You poke his chest in synch with the last three words.

John raises his eyebrow at that, taking another sip of his beer.

Your friends pull you to the dance floor by your arm.

You stumble off with them, looking back at John Price and what’s-his-name.

The men don't even glance back at you once you're gone.

They just laugh it off and continue chatting.

But you? You're not giving up that easily.

You let yourself be distracted for a while; dancing, shots, bathroom selfies, whatever.

But when you see John standing up from the bar, slapping some cash down for the bartender and heading towards the exit; you follow.

"John!" You grin, arms outstretched for a hug once you meet him in the parking lot.

"Christ, you're persistent, aren't ya?" John rubs his hand over his jaw.

Your arms hook around his neck, stumbling into him. He places his hands on your waist, steadying you so you don't completely fall.

“Can’t help it,” you sigh. “I go after what I want.”

You tilt your head back to see those crystal blues that made you talk to him in the first place.

John takes a step back, gently disentangling himself from your embrace. His expression is a mix of amusement and something else…

Perhaps a hint of concern.

That’s fair; you’ve just drunkenly followed a strange man outside at night.

"You're a bit too young for me, sweetheart," he says softly. "I think you should go back inside and enjoy the rest of your birthday with your friends."

"But I like you," you protest, your arms crossing over your chest.

He sighs, a faint smile playing at the corners of his lips. "I appreciate the sentiment, love, but it's best if you forget about me. I'm not the right guy for ya."

Your lower lip juts out. A proper pout.

“Ah, c’mon. Don’t give me that.” John chortles, crossing his own arms over his chest now. “Look, this isn’t what you want. Tomorrow mornin’… you’re gonna wake up without a single thought of me in your pretty li’l head.”

“You think I’m pretty?” You ask, missing the point completely.

John looks as if he could laugh, but he doesn’t.

“I do.” John nods curtly. “I think you’re fuckin’ beautiful… but you’ve had too much to drink, haven’t you? Why don’t you let me get you an Uber, at least. Make sure ya get some safe ‘n sound.”

You reluctantly accept his offer, standing by his side as the two of you wait for your rides.

Ride.

Because you might as well share one, right?

And once you get to your place, he might as well walk you up.

You’d just be plain rude if you didn’t invite him in; he’d be a jerk if he didn’t accept the invitation.

Sure, he’ll help you remove your heels, but then he really should get going.

But then your hand touches his face when his head is near your knees.

He looks up. You rub your thumb over his jaw.

“Look-“

“‘m jus’ looking at you.”

He really, really should get going.

“Stay with me.” You beg.

“I can’t stay with you, love. I’ve gotta go now.”

He pulls the covers over you, brushes the hair away from your face, he has you text your friends to let them know you’re okay, and he’s gone…

…until the next morning, when he knocks on your door bright and early because, wouldn’t you know it, he accidentally took your phone home and he’s here to return it.

(He totally didn’t pocket it so he’d have an excuse to see you again.)

Since you’re both awake and have no plans, you might as well go to breakfast, right?

“I’m not going anywhere.” You groan, rubbing your puffy eyes.

“Go on. Get showered.” He sits on your sofa, hands folded behind his head. “I’ll wait.”

You didn’t even make it to breakfast.

Ended up having him pull over behind some trees along the way, straddling him in the driver’s seat, bouncing on his thick cock while he murmured praises about how well you’re taking him.

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anonymousewrites · 2 days

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A Not-So-Disastrous Romance (Book 1) Chapter Thirteen

Kusuo Saiki x Reader

Chapter Thirteen: Punk Transfer

Summary: A new student comes to PK Academy. How much trouble will this one be?

“We’ve got another transfer student,” said (Y/N), leaning on their desk.

“It’s all people have been talking about,” said Saiki. “And thinking about.”

“As long as they’re not another Toritsuka, they can’t be that bad, right?” said (Y/N).

“Don’t tempt fate. God hates me enough,” said Saiki.

“Okay, everyone, please be seated,” said their teacher, walking in. “I’ll introduce you to the transfer student.”

Everyone sat still, expectant.

“Okay, come in,” said their teacher.

A boy with purple hair and rectangular glasses stepped inside.

Immediately, all boys lost interest, and, apparently, he wasn’t good enough for the girls either.

“I’m not sure,” whispered the boys.

“He seems gloomy,” murmured the girls.

“Well, then, please introduce yourself,” said the teacher.

The boy turned around and began writing on the board. However, for some reason, he wrote “Aren Kuboyasu wuz here!!” instead of just his name.

“I’m Aren Kuboyasu. I moved here from Ibaraki Prefecture,” said Kuboyasu.

So polite and yet… thought (Y/N), sweat-dropping as they looked at the message on the board.

“ ‘Wuz here?’ ” read the students.

Kuboyasu freaked out and erased the last two words. “Ah! Sorry, old habit! Wait, no! Just forget I did that!”

And it seemed that everyone did since the students all smiled widely. “Nice to meet you, Kuboyasu!”

“What’s that?” Kuboyasu looked at them awkwardly. “Ah… ‘Sup homies!”

“ ‘Sup homies?’ ” Several people laughed, thinking he was people silly. “You’re funny.”

“He seems pretty interesting,” said Kaidou.

(Y/N) looked at Saiki and whispered before class began. “What do you think, Kusuo?”

“I need to keep an eye on him in case he proves troublesome,” said Saiki.

(Y/N) nodded. “I’ll help out.”

Saiki glanced at them. “It’ll be a bother.”

“Yeah, but just because you’re the one who can…do everything doesn’t mean you should do it alone,” said (Y/N), smiling.

Saiki liked the idea of working with them way too much.

“So?” said (Y/N) during the lunch break. “What is up with Kuboyasu?”

“He was a punk, and he says he’s trying to go ‘straight,’ ” said Saiki.

“And you aren’t sure he really will?” said (Y/N).

“He decided to ‘beat up anyone who tries to stop him,’ ” said Saiki.

“Well, hopefully he’s just…weird.” (Y/N) laughed. “Like us and our friends.”

Saiki wasn’t quite sure he liked that idea.

“So, are we following him?” said (Y/N).

“We need to see how he handles ‘going straight,’ ” said Saiki, peaking around the corner.

“Got it,” said (Y/N).

Oh, that’s the transfer student! thought a boy, walking past Kuboyasu.

“What? What’re you staring at?!” said Kuboyasu, glaring at the boy. A moment later, he realized he was in the wrong and backed off. “Ah! I’m sorry. My eyesight is bad, so I just…” he trailed off awkwardly.

“Looks like it’s going to be tough for him to be a regular person,” said Saiki.

“Yeah, but he did realize he was in the wrong,” said (Y/N), shrugging.

In Kuboyasu’s next test, Takahashi bumped into him accidentally.

“Oh, sorry,” said Takahashi.

Behind him, Kuboyasu grabbed a fire extinguisher and lifted it angrily. The moment before he swung at Takahashi, Kuboyasu’s eyes widened. He realized he was making a mistake. Quickly, he set the extinguisher down and walked on.

“Not even delinquents usually hit people from behind with fire extinguishers,” said Saiki.

“Maybe not, but he didn’t actually do it,” pointed out (Y/N).

Kuboyasu’s next challenge was meeting Nendou, who looked like a punk himself.

Who-Who the hell is he?! thought Kuboyasu. He’s a punk! On top of that, he’s pretty fired up!

“Why is Nendou acting like he wants to fight?” said (Y/N).

“Script convenience,” said Saiki.

Kuboyasu opened his jacket and took off his glasses. He was ready to go up against Nendou.

Then, again, he thought better of it, zipped his jacket up, and put on his glasses.

“No, I ain’t gonna fight!” he declared, walking away quickly.

“Oh, you’re not gonna take that off?” Nendou just looked like an idiot again. “Don’t tell me your scared!”

“Wow, he is really getting tested,” said (Y/N).

“Very convenient,” said Saiki.

“What?!” said Kuboyasu angrily.

“I guess that’s natural, huh? I may not look it, but I’m a punk, so…” Nendou looked proud of himself.

“If you looked like that and weren’t a punk, you’d be an idiot,” murmured Kuboyasu under his breath.

“That’s what Nendou is,” said (Y/N), frowning. Saiki nodded in agreement.

It wasn’t even a mean statement. It was just a fact.

“I’ve mellowed out now, but I used to do some pretty crazy stuff,” said Nendou conversationally to Kuboyasu.

War stories, huh? Lay ‘em on me, thought Kuboyasu. “Oh, like what?”

“The meanest thing I did was chase mosquitos around with a mosquito coil,” said Nendou. “I also ate a whole watermelon by myself. I was seriously crazy.”

Kuboyasu had a blank, almost shocked look.

“I think he understands Nendou now,” said (Y/N).

“Nendou can’t make it any more obvious that he’s an idiot,” agreed Saiki.

“I feel like we should feel bad for saying that, but it just feels like a statement…” said (Y/N).

Nendou patted Kuboyasu’s shoulder. “Hang in there, kid.”

Kuboyasu managed to just walk off, but his anger had peaked. Still, he had gone through another convenient test without acting out.

“So, what do you think?” said (Y/N), crossing their arms and considering Kuboyasu. “I think he seems weird but nice in the end.”

No sooner did they speak did Kuboyasu round a corner, spot a boy bullying a younger classmate, and grab a locker.

“Don’t act like trash in front of me, you scum!”

He threw the locker on the bully.

“I spoke too soon,” said (Y/N).

“I think we can overlook this incident,” said Saiki.

“So, we approve of our new transfer student?” said (Y/N).

“We’ll tolerate him,” said Saiki.

(Y/N) laughed. “Just wait. He’s going to end up our friend.”

Saiki wanted to say they were wrong, but they probably weren’t. And who was he to take their laugh away?

In the following week, Kuboyasu had, unfortunately, not made any friends. He wasn’t experienced in approaching people in a “goody-goody” way. In normal terms, that just meant he couldn’t fight people to bond. For Kuboyasu, that left him with no idea of what to do.

So, in a daring move, Kuboyasu decided to try going up to someone. First, he had to decide.

He looked at Nendou. He couldn’t go around with him since he was a punk himself. Takahashi was also off the list since his face was too punchable to Kuboyasu.

His eyes landed on the pink-haired boy in front of him. He decided to try with him.

Wrong choice, try someone else.

Oh, that person seems nice, too. And kind of pretty. That could help me seem more goody-goody, thought Kuboyasu, almost changing direction towards (Y/N).

Worse choice, leave them alone. Saiki didn’t need someone thinking (Y/N) was pretty like that, even if it was true.

No, they’re already talking to people. I should just try one person for now, decided Kuboyasu.

Saiki had to remind himself that he’d prefer to deal with Kuboyasu while he was still learning to be a “goody-goody” instead of (Y/N) as the boy came over.

“Hey, I’m Kuboyasu.” He smiled in a friendly manner. Great, now I just start bonding.

Notice my boredom and walk away, thought Saiki furiously.

Instead, Kuboyasu launched into a series of stories from movies he’d seen. He didn’t notice Saiki’s noninterest at all and just kept going, no matter how nonsensical and incomprehensible his summary was.

“So this guy shot this other guy, breaking the pledge of brotherhood between them,” said Kuboyasu.

Good grief…Even though I’ve been ignoring him, he just goes on and on about some yakuza movie I don’t care about, thought Saiki. And the way he tells a story is beyond terrible. Just how many guys are there? He sighed inwardly. This is too much. I really didn’t want to use this technique, but this calls for…my annoyed face. Saiki turned his infamous “annoyed face” on Kuboyasu.

He flinched back and stared, wide-eyed.

See? You don’t need psychic powers to drive people away.

“W-Well, then, later,” said Kuboyasu, turning away hastily. I can’t believe that goody-goody gave me such an annoyed face! At least I learned one thing: I have nothing in common with them.

“Hey, newbie.” Kaidou walked up confidently. “My name is the Jet Black Wings.”

Kuboyasu stared at him in surprise.

“This is a boring world. It’s a cage for sheep just awaiting death’s embrace,” monologued Kaidou.

This is hopeless! Kuboyasu’s mind spun from Kaidou’s rambling. I can’t understand what regular people say at all!

Be careful. That guy isn’t a regular person.

“The awakening of Dark Reunion draws near,” continued Kaidou. “We have to complete the ‘Grand Cross’ soon and house the engraved seal of Cross!”

“Grand Cross?” Kuboyasu perked up. I’ve heard of that! “That’s right, they’re legends!” Legendary biker gang!

“What?! You know about it?!” Kaidou grew excited. No one ever got into his stories with him.

They’re not the same thing.

However, since Saiki had no interest in correcting their misunderstanding because he was using his telepathy, didn’t want his powers revealed, and, quite frankly, didn’t care, the pair continued to jump back-and-forth with identical (misunderstood) ideas.

“Yeah! They annihilated ‘Samantha’ and ‘Paramount!’ ” exclaimed Kuboyasu.

“Whoa, to think you even know about ‘Samantha’ and ‘Paramount,’ ” said Kaidou happily.

Saiki ignored the rest of their conversation to preserve his own sanity.

On the next lunch break, Kuboyasu went for a walk in the halls to stretch his legs. Almost immediately, he bumped into someone.

“Oh, sorry about that!” said (Y/N).

Remembering his previous experiences, Kuboyasu nodded and attempted to react correctly. “It’s…no problem.”

“I should’ve been looking where I was going,” said (Y/N). They chuckled. “I have my head in the clouds.” They brightened. “Oh, sorry, I should introduce myself. I’m (Y/N) (L/N). You’re Kuboyasu, right? The transfer student. I hope you’re liking PK Academy.”

Kuboyasu stared at them as they rambled. “I, uh, yeah.”

“I know it can take a while to settle in,” said (Y/N). “If you need anything, just let me know.”

“But we don’t know each other,” said Kuboyasu. We’re not even friends… He didn’t dislike being approached, but he was confused.

“Yeah, but no one knows each other when they first meet. And that doesn’t change that I’m always up to help someone,” said (Y/N) cheerfully. They knew he was struggling but doing his best, so they were going to give him the benefit of the doubt and try to help his transfer be as smooth as possible. “Seriously.” Without another word, they brushed by him. “Bye, Kuboyasu!”

He stared at them. Is everyone in this school weird?

As he learned in the next five minutes, they were. Toritsuka was girl-crazy, and Hairo was exercise-crazy. Kuboyasu didn’t understand Toristuka’s taste, and he couldn’t figure out why Hairo was so popular. He also met Teruhashi, but no one thought she was weird, just a perfect pretty girl.

Still, he returned to class with his head spinning with all the vibrant (colorful, strange, and odd were also appropriate adjectives) personalities at PK Academy.

And then, Kuboyasu was faced with something strange. Everyone he’d met, whether he’d liked them (Teruhashi, Kaidou, (Y/N), Hairo) or thought they were weird (Nendou, Toritsuka), was gathered around a single desk.

“Hey, pal!” Nendou called out.

Pal? In other words, a man who’s at the same level as a guy that Hairo admits that he can’t defeat?! thought Kuboyasu, alarmed. He looked over, and his eyes widened.

Saiki sat silently at his desk.

Him?! I went full circle and back to him! Kuboyasu was shocked. Well, even if we shouldn’t judge people by their appearances, this can’t be right!

“How is Plan Alpha coming along, Saiki?” asked Kaidou.

“Hello, Saiki!” said Toritsuka.

“How’re you doing, Saiki?” said Teruhashi sweetly.

“Hi, Saiki!” said Hairo.

“Hey, Kusuo,” said (Y/N), beaming.

What’s going on?! Everyone’s gathering around that goody, thought Kuboyasu, thoroughly confused. Could it be that…he’s the one pulling the strings?!

Yare yare. I’m never using my annoyed face again.

Taglist:

@elaemae

@painstakingly-juno

@characterreaderwriter

@melovepurple

@sleep-7372

@w0mank1sser

@geminigengar

@noodleryworld

@leonardo-dabitchy

@janezee12751275

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@h-i-g-h-w-a-y-t-o-h-e-l-l-l

@drowningfishy

#a not so disastrous romance #x reader #gn reader #nb reader #x nb reader #x gn reader #the disaster of psi kusuo saiki #saiki kusou no psi nan #kusuo saiki #saiki x reader #saiki #saiki k #saiki no psi nan #saiki kusuo #kusuo x reader #saiki kusuo x reader #the disastrous life of saiki k #the disastrous life of saiki k.#tdlosk

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zimthandmade · 1 day

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I hope you have a good day, friend.

Thank you for your art, you absolute sunshine! Your creative energy is unmatched. Keep doing what you're doing. I want to get lost in this wonderful world of your creation.

You have a talent for making characters come to life and feel real. I aspire to make art with this same level of conceptual realism. (Can I, in theory, ask for art advice if I ever muster up the courage?)

Can we see more art with L, please? 👉👈

( What does his room look like? Do you think he has other interests besides detective work? What's his sexuality? Will his lower back ever not hurt? Is he lonely? Does he have empathy? Does he feel like a horrible person or a failure deep down? What is his favourite food (non-sweet)? Do you think he's autistic? Deontology vs utilitarianism: L's opinion? His thoughts on Mello and Near? What advice would he give to Wammy kids if he was completely honest?)

Sorry for this insane amount of questions about your headcanons, feel free to answer all, some, or none of them in art or text. 🙇‍♂️

Thank you!

- obsessed with your vision, T. R.

[English is my second language, sorry for possible mistakes.]

Okay wow, thank you for taking the time to write this all out! :D Sure, have some Wammy's teen L & Watari concept art!

To your questions:

What does his room look like? You mean his room at Wammy’s? Or where he lives as an adult? I’m gonna answer either way. ROOM 217 L was one of the few exceptions at Wammy’s, being an actual orphan and living there permanently, so he got his own room and didn’t have to share it with a roommate. He got a corner room, so two sides with windows. And it was A. MESS. The floor was so severly littered with all kind of shit, there was a shape on the floor where the door scraped the stuff out of the way upon opening. I can imagine he rarely pulled the curtains open and rarely opened the windows, so the air in there was thick af. L’S RESIDENCE I headcanon Watari offered L a secluded mansion or something similar at some countryside in scotland or something. Watari is rich after all and I’m sure he owns property. L set his space up in the attic and doesn’t really uses any of the rest of the house. He has staff that regularly comes to keep the property clean and neat but the staff never met L and doesn’t really know who they’re working for. Maybe the mansion is even urban legend talk in the surrounding area. They saw a creepy figure staring out of the attic windows and the kids try to break in every now and then because everybody thinks it’s unoccupied. Maybe someone from the staff threw a party there once because “pff come on, nobody lives there, it’s an empty house, nobody will know” and L heard activities downstairs. Maybe he crept downstairs and mingled with the guests pretending to be a friend. The residence has a server room, maybe in the cellar.

Do you think he has other interests besides detective work? Oh yeah definitely. I think there are very little things L is not interested in. That’s one of his big perks. He researches virtually anything and can pretty much get into anything. That's why he can easily seem like he’s an expert in any topic because he probably read into it already. He was wondering one night about “how DO helicopters work though…?” and then he spent the next 7 hours watching helicopter videos, reading wikipedia articles about that stuff and a few years later he can get in a helicopter with Light any fly the thing.

What's his sexuality? I’m hesitant about answering this because everybody seems to have strong opinions about it and I don’t want to step on anyones feet. But since you’re asking for my opinion and not everybody elses: L feels straight to me.

Will his lower back ever not hurt? No.

Is he lonely? Absolutely. But he pretends he’s not. He pretends he doesn’t need anybody and permanently finds excuses for how he doesn’t even like people and he chooses to be alone. He fills the loneliness with hyperfixations and productive distractions.

Do you think he's autistic?I headcanon him having aspergers, so yes.

Thanks again for the ask <3

----- My other socials Commission Info Let's drink some Ko-Fi! 🍵

#I know I know Watari looks like a mix between Hayao Miyazaki and Hannibal #death note #fanart #watari #quillsh wammy #wammys house #wammy boys #wammy kids #wammy's house #l #l lawliet #lawliet #ask #my art #dn au 2.0

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beebopboom · 2 days

Text

Background Shenanigans

*squints* yall seein this shit?

We were shown and told that the s2 title sequence was a direct continuation of s1’s

and yes that is true - it lines up pretty nicely

but is it? Is there not some timeline fuckery happening? Of course there is! This is Good Omens we are talking about.

and before we start here’s the obligatory reminder that this is just for fun (I understand that these things try to stay on a theme and that means some similar elements are going to show up) and to not ask Neil!! mwah.

So obviously we’ve been pretty focused on the s2 title sequence scouring it for clues about s3 but I decided to take a gander through the s1 one as well.

I’ve speculated before about a timeline switch being shown in the s2 TS* but what if there were hints of it happening back in the s1 TS?

The first thing that caught my notice was this,

No, not the Ark or the giant version of Hell’s Usher but rather the buildings. Oh no not the houses either, those broken rundown buildings holding up the Ark - yeah them. Those have a familiar aesthetic no?

and it’s not the only time those type of buildings show up either

Interesting that they are all pretty far in the background. Only getting closer once they go up another pretty familiar thing - the walkway (see the first image of the previous three)

but what’s so important about these rundown buildings? Well they are only everywhere in the s2 title sequence,

Just now we are walking among them, even going inside some.

Most prominently in the 1941 section. Where after we leave there it shows Aziraphale and Crowley doing the body swap while a timeline swap happens in the background*

So what’s happening?

Well even before we get to Noah’s Ark in s1’s TS. we see this,

the people are walking in that far background where later those run down buildings will be (with some very familiar birds anyone? I feel a sudden rainstorm coming). Now for the most part we see the walking people front and center in both TS’s but this shows that they are able to walk in the back - walk in another timeline perhaps?

In the s1 TS they are marching towards Armageddon. That fails. But hey here is this really close plan that has been going on in the background, why don’t we bring that forward and continue on that path? A march towards the Second Coming begins!

(while we throw the other one in the trash)

Both of these plans have been working towards the same goal - one from Hell and one from Heaven.

Two timelines running side by side and intersecting at certain points. hmmm.

my point - my point is that there were hints of s2’s TS theme in the s1 TS. Yeah that’s about it.

————————————————————————

At what point do I tell myself to stop watching these title sequences lol. Is there ever going to be a point really? They are just so good.

Hope all the timeline fuckery people enjoyed this one - it’s not only in the show but the title sequence as well. Isn’t that neat.

*these two things were just connected. In case anyone was confused on what I was referencing.

#good omens #good omens 2 #aziraphale #crowley #good omens title sequence #good omens meta #good omens theory #good omens speculation #good omens analysis #timeline shenanigans

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wickjump · 17 hours

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soz about ranting in ur ask box a little but i want ur opinion on underverse and i want to share my opinion of underverse to the world

im gonna start with,, does anyone else find underverse to be more and more boring?? i mean, shouldn’t really be saying that because the only reason i got into underverse was because classic was the mc and i really only liked classic back in 2018,,, but.

like, idk. i really feel like its lost that spark, and i feel like it fell off after it strayed away from classic actually BEING the mc. the last two episodes were really only introducing more characters and then oh no they fight with little content being about the ACTUAL main plot

i feel like it goes to show that some utmv fans only care about exciting and interesting content instead of good storytelling + plot that actually comes with it. all i got from the latest episode was,, well. “fatal error shows up oh no then ink + cross fight them and cross dies but revives” AND THAT WAS ALL PEOPLE TALKED ABOUTTTUHH. nothing about ink encountering classic again at the end, just the fight sequence. 🤦‍♀️🤦‍♀️ same with 0.4 i feel like its only there for the fight sequences. like,, wheres classic my stinkabutt!!!!!!!

sigh i sort of feel like im just being sort of petty about this??? but genuinely i think its fallen off and im really only waiting for the next episode just for classic.

// also unrelated but ur so right for handplates being one of ur fav aus its so good

TY I NEED MORE HANDPLATES APPRECIATION ZARLA DID SO GOOD WITH EXPLORIJG HOW TRAUMA CAN AFFECT PEOPLE UGH

anyway warning for me talking about a lot of stuff concerning writing because i’m a neerddddd. pls read all of it tho 🥺 i prommy i’m not preachy i just speak a lot

anyhow, honestly that opinion is so valid. i believe though that the next episode of underverse is getting back into the plot, and i trust jakei to finish it in a tasteful way. it’s a lot of buildup right now, and as a story writer i’m aware that ‘filler’ can be beneficial and either used to make plot points seem less rushed or back-to-back, introduce concepts and characters that will be important later, all of that.

while it has its flaws, jakei is the sole animator and it can be hard to animate all of that on your own and come up with good storylines as the sole writer as well. even with help doing this is difficult and i respect her for it—especially considering how much other stuff she’s doing on top of that. i have some of my own gripes with it of course, but it’s really well in terms of animation quality and one of the things that keeps the fandom going, which i can also respect. the utmv fandom has always had terrible literacy so i don’t blame jakei for that part.

shows, and stories in general, have genres, and underverse’s genre can fit under action given the fact it, at its earliest, had a fight scene. it’s nothing new for it, just maybe longer as the episodes have gotten longer. this is valid to dislike though, or to find too much of, it’s why it was difficult for me to get through epictale’s comic; it was so action-heavy it felt like i had no time to breathe, and i can understand underverse giving you the same feeling. i believe the episodes featuring more fighting than not serve as build-up, the same way plenty of other series do, getting you prepared for a big scene featuring characters or concepts shown in previous fight scenes or winding you up. or it could serve as a pretense for an episode featuring minimal fighting scenes, sort of as a ‘here’s the action quota, time for less of that’.

underverse losing its spark is something i can definitely understand as well, though it has taken place over 8 years and the story and jakei herself have changed a lot over that time. the original intent of the series has definitely been strayed from, and cross as the focus rather than classic as he was in earlier episodes was something i wasn’t exactly hyped about (i love classic sm too,,,,, why is he never the focus of anything,,,).

my theory for why it’s lost it’s spark to you (and many others, myself included, though i’m still a huge fan of the series) is that our primary antagonist hasn’t been seen in a while, instead having mini antagonists filling his place while he works in the background. which would work in a longer series, but underverse isn’t that. it’s a series of mini movies with ten total episodes ever being released, in such a short time build up is hard to make and there are times where it feels it’s taking too long and that we’re running out of time.

originally in underverse, ink was our antagonist before it switched to xgaster. but ink doesn’t act as an antagonist anymore (and doesn’t exactly have consequences for his actions), and xgaster isn’t seen nearly as often. neither is xchara, who’s my favorite character and was a huge appeal early on, working dynamically with cross and providing more interesting plot points. our placeholder antagonists are nightmare (who i’m convinced will have a much higher role later on), killer, and fatal error, and the latter doesn’t have any connection to the story yet, so it feels he was thrown in there for the sake of action.

this i admit isn’t my favorite thing, but i hope it changes later on. i believe it’s around the time where things are ‘all coming together’ in the series, where stray plot points will reveal why they’re tied into everything else, though only time can tell for that. also swap and fell dying was frustrating because i loved them and i feel they could’ve been much more useful characters in the series if they weren’t killed off.

the atmosphere of the au also changed, expanding from ‘au to au’ to the multiverse as a whole, which can also serve as a reason for why you feel it’s changed a lot. the art style change couldve also influenced this, lineart from thick to thin is something that actually alters how people view a piece of media a lot more than people think!! it’s such a far cry from what it started out as, and while i’m super proud of jakei for being able to do all of this, i’m personally not too fond of change. characters relationships have altered, dream and ink (previously shown has friends) have scarcely interacted since, ink hasn’t reaped (rept???) what he sowed, and plenty of plot points were made and presumably just won’t show up again.

but ultimately, writing a story is a complicated process and jakei is only one person, so it’s flaws aren’t something i blame her for. it’s a lot of work and i admire her for being able to do all of this, it’s something i could never dream of doing. it’s easy to criticize a story but so hard to make one. plus, it’s been like, what, 8 years now since it all started? so i doubt jakei has had the same plan for underverse in mind all that time, for beginning to end.

tldr i agree but there’s a lot of nuance with storytelling and jakei is the sole writer AND animator of the whole series so she can’t be expected to be perfect with it all

#TELL ME IF I WAS WRONG BTW #AT ANY POINT DURING THIS #IM NOT SMART #AND ITS ALSO 1AM #underverse #analysis #underverse analysis #utmv analysis #utmv #undertale #sans #cross sans #xchara #xgaster #ink sans

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lovelyjasmari · 1 day

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Pomefiore Endnote - Perfectionism, Apathy and the True Tragedy of Book 5

Warning: Long post and pic heavy.

So…this is something of a continuation of my last twst reaction post, where I analyzed the Absolutely Beautiful dance video. I ended the post by saying that the true tragedy was not that NRC Tribe lost but that Vil could be convinced he was an inferior performer compared to Neige. Now I’m going to expand on that…in excruciating detail. XD

In all seriousness, though, I'm not really sure if I'd call this an analysis in the traditional sense. Maybe more like a long-winded rant based on canon observations. But all the same, I’ve been grappling with this for the last year and a half since when Book 6 first dropped in EN. I’ve wanted to share my thoughts for a long time but decided against it because I acknowledge how contentious this topic is in the fandom and I prefer to keep my online space as drama-free as possible. I also didn’t want anyone to get the idea I’m attacking others when at most, I’m just being critical.

But with the new story update imminent and it looking like it will be Pomefiore-centric, I’ve come to the realization that if I don’t share this soon, I never will. My timing is admittedly ass but I think it would be worse if I share this AFTER the update and you’re about to understand why.

So before we dive in, disclaimer. This is going to cover the end of Book 5 and the first few chapters of Book 6 and my in-depth opinions on both. There will be mentions of trauma/mental illness and some very blunt (but honest) Rook criticism. But please keep in mind, that while I have my own interpretation of the twst characters and their respective arcs, I am not Yana and ultimately, my opinions are just that. Opinions. Everything I say is subjective at best but a lot of what’s coming up is based on a blend of canon observations as well as my own specific, personal experiences as someone with very similar life experiences as Vil and has been dancing for most of her life.

Still, these are just opinions and I have no intention to offend anyone. But if you don’t like reading negative things about Rook or take issue with this general way of thinking, I HIGHLY advise you to ignore this and respectfully (or quietly) agree that we disagree.

When I wrote the greater bulk of this, it was around when Book 6 dropped in EN. A year has passed since then and I’ve had time to think more about my opinions here and, to a greater extent, how I feel about Book 5. This may sound strange but I feel that Book 5 is both the best and worst part of twst’s main story to date. I really like how it touched upon something that isn’t really isn’t talked about much; how we as a society both admire beauty but also vilify it. Vil’s primary dilemma is how he is wrongfully villainized for his beauty, wealth, and harsh personality, despite subverting expectations of cruelty at every turn. Ironically, when the fandom mischaracterizes him as vain, cruel, classist, racist and the like, they are falling into that same literary trap. Proving the point of his arc.

And as much as I hated the ending from an emotional point of view, I actually love it as well, ironically for reasons that might not have been intentional. What I hated, mostly, was the fandom’s response. There was a great opportunity here for some deep discussion regarding society’s views on beauty, how constant trauma causes us to internalize false perceptions of ourselves, and the rather fascinating/dangerous dynamic Vil has with his vice dorm leader. Instead, any interesting discourse has been lost in all the misinterpretations of Vil. To the point I wonder if we all actually read the same story. I’m disappointed in the fandom, but somehow not surprised either.

But regardless, Rook’s actions were extremely disquieting but not for the reasons you might think. There was nothing wrong with his decision but the way he went about it and how he (and Vil) tried to justify it really left such a nasty taste in my mouth and I gotta talk about it to get it out.

First I just want to commend Vil for his level of maturity and rationality regarding his overblot. Even when it was happening, not once has he tried to justify his actions and in fact it was his own guilt at his potential wrongdoing that ultimately caused it. His fear that in a brief, desperate attempt to be seen as not a monster, he became exactly that. Throughout Book 5, it is implied that Vil already sees himself as a villainous person and internalizes that image of himself almost with pride. But despite this false perception, his actions have always proven the opposite and it’s clear that Vil has always valued being altruistic, determined and just. And his guilt when he failed to meet his own standards was beyond compare.

I feel that this guilt sets Vil apart from the other overblots thus far. Most importantly, he apologized of his own volition and wasn’t forced to. That alone makes him stand out among the overblot characters and, to my mind, makes him the most compelling of them all. If I’m being completely honest, out of all those who have overblotted thus far, Vil has been the LEAST problematic even before his overblot. And the one instance where Vil displayed any “cruelty” beforehand is EXTREMELY subjective. (his treatment of Epel) But the fact that Vil has been the least problematic overblot student so far also makes him the most tragic. And makes what’s about to happen next all the more disturbing.

Interestingly enough, Jamil is correct about this but for the wrong reason and here comes the first point. There was no indication that the audience was anything but enthralled with NRC Tribe. And if Vil or any of the others made significant mistakes, because of Vil’s fame, I’m certain they would have been pointed out by magicam netizens. With the recent release of the Absolutely Beautiful mv over on twst jp, we now also have a visual to go off from.

I talk about this more in a previous post but basically, yes, NRC Tribe’s performance wasn’t perfect, but based on what I saw, I would have expected A LOT worse considering the circumstances. The fact is all evidence points to the NRC boys giving a wonderful performance made all the more remarkable by the fact they were still able to perform after dealing with Vil’s OB not too long before. And the audience clearly thought so too if they were only one vote away from victory.

To add to this point, when the other characters comment on the NRC Tribe’s performance, they make no mention of any noticeable errors. And when Crowley laments their defeat later, again, there’s no mention of any errors. Considering that Ambrose was pretty pretentious about RSA winning, I'm sure he’d mention that, too.

Even further, one thing you learn from being on stage is that your audience rarely notices mistakes unless they are extremely obvious. You, as the performer, might notice, but you quickly learn not to draw attention to your errors and keep it moving. Now of course, the NRC characters could be biased because they want to defeat RSA. But considering the nature of a lot of them, I doubt they would lie so flagrantly. Especially Jack who is pretty no-nonsense even with the people he likes. And Malleus who seems pretty difficult to impress. So if their commentaries are to be believed, this shows that any errors made by the NRC Tribe were not noticeable.

That Vil would think otherwise speaks to something far deeper and far more insidious. Stick a pin in that; we’ll come back to it soon enough.

Vil then goes on to explain to the boys that Neige and his friends worked just as hard and had their own struggles. That Neige grew up in an improvised environment and had to juggle acting obligations with household chores and helping out the dwarves. Again, it is extremely commendable that Vil is able to acknowledge this about this rival. It shows that his contempt for Neige was never as simple as “boo hoo people think he’s more beautiful than me” and he at least respects Neige’s efforts even if this explanation once again falls flat.

Firstly, narratively speaking it doesn’t make sense that Vil is just finding out about Neige’s backstory now (likely from Rook) because I feel like he should already be aware. In fact, all through Book 5, I thought that he did know but didn’t care. Honestly, Neige’s backstory shouldn’t matter to Vil anyway and surprisingly, it’s Ace of all people who explains why.

Neige’s struggles might matter to his fans but at the end of the day if Neige cannot perform better than Vil, then that’s his own fault. There are many artists out there who have to deal with similar struggles but come out as phenomenal performers and yet Neige’s “best” basically consists of the twst equivalent of this meme. Precious, but cannot compare to all the sweat and tears Vil and his team were put through.

There’s actually an interesting analysis floating around this hellsite about how Neige’s childish performance was actually an incredibly manipulative tactic and could have been intentional if he were a different character. I’m not gonna link it cause I don’t want to bring any heat to the op. But I will say that while I don’t think Neige intended to manipulate the audience with his cuteness, in the end, it did indeed work in his favor. And the fact that Vil thought to train Epel to weaponize his cuteness to defeat Neige indicates that he’s already no stranger to seeing such underhanded tactics in the industry he works in. In his beansday vignette, Vil mentions an actor he initially admired destroying one of his stage outfits. If Neige weren’t presented as so naive and twisted from a traditionally “good” character, his choice regarding his performance could be regarded as deliberate. Which is why Vil lamented that he and his team had been “outplayed”.

Back on topic, what I took away from this was that, once again, Vil’s hard work and determination count for nothing because of things he cannot control. Because he was born to wealth, because he didn’t have the same hardships, he doesn’t deserve the same consideration or sympathy as Neige. And his wealth and beauty once again put him in the position of villain to Neige’s hero. It’s a textbook case very common in media, like Sharpay opposing Gabriella in High School Musical. But what’s worse is that from all that we’ve seen of Vil, he could coast on his wealth, beauty and father's fame if he wanted to.

Instead, he chooses to work hard and have his accomplishments come from his own merit. When anyone else in his situation could easily choose the opposite. And just from a personal standpoint, if I practiced day and night for a dance competition and ended up losing to someone under my level simply because they were cute and disenfranchised, I would feel extremely insulted. At the end of the day, Ace is correct and whatever struggles Neige and his team had, they were still inferior performers.

And to add to this point, I believe that at some point Vil KNEW this even AFTER his OB. Despite his earlier anguish at never being able to perform innocent cuteness like his rival, once his mind was clearer, he was able to see that NRC Tribe’s performance was still technically better. He was able to see how the audience responded to Neige and still believed in himself as a better performer. I say this based on another scene earlier in book 5.

Vil was undoubtedly in a very emotionally vulnerable place right after his overblot. He went to great lengths to conceal the aftereffects before going on stage to the point he collapsed as soon as he was alone. After going so long trying to hide them, his darkest, ugliest emotions were laid bare to his teammates and to himself. Manifesting in the worst way possible. And as a professional performer, if any errors were made, he would have been painfully aware of them.

And yet, despite having just dealt with the darkest moment of his life, Vil was still able to stand upon the stage until the very end and give the best performance he could. Against all odds, before a world that has wrongfully perceived him as evil and hideous for most of his life.

And despite knowing that Neige possesses all that he never can, it is strongly implied that Vil still chooses to vote for his own team. Meaning he saw the appeal in Neige’s performance and STILL knew that he did better. And I’d like to believe that even if Vil was aware of Neige’s backstory, he would have still made the same decision. It’s easy to be beautiful when everything is right and perfect in your world. But being able to smile even when you’re struggling and your heart is breaking is even more beautiful still.

Sadly, Vil isn’t likely to realize this anytime soon and will continue to see his own mental struggles as not as valid or “ugly.” Now back to that original pin of thought, Vil will likely continue to believe that he didn’t deserve to win the VDC despite all evidence to the contrary. He’s likely to continue internalizing the false villainous image of himself as well. And for that we now must get to the crux of this matter.

At first glance, this statement doesn’t seem like much but when you look deeper, and look back at some of Rook’s own actions, this comes off as incredibly hypocritical and cruel. As we have seen from Vil’s backstory, he has dealt with untold hardships as well. But Vil’s anguish is more internalized than Neige’s and it’s very unlikely that he has ever really been open about how dehumanizing and hurtful his treatment has been.

And from an outsider’s perspective, his problems aren’t as dire anyway. It’s just like Vil said, his life has been quite different from Neige’s. But mental trauma doesn’t know demographics and can affect anyone. The fact is what Vil has gone through is extremely traumatizing and comes from nothing beyond people wrongfully vilifying him for his beauty. Projecting their insecurities onto him from a very young age. It’s clear that what Vil has dealt with has fundamentally altered how he sees himself.

But at the same time, what do you think would happen if Vil WAS more open about his frustrations? The dehumanizing effect and the bullying? The typecasting and prejudice thrown his way? And the feeling that nothing he does will ever be enough to break free from his villainous mold? What would happen if Vil were to be open about ANY of that? He would be mocked and shamed and perceived as shallow, petty and crying about nothing. Lowkey how many in the fandom already see Vil anyway. We as a society sadly don’t take mental illness as seriously as we should but when celebrities deal with it? It quickly becomes meme fodder and nowhere is this more obvious than on stan twitter. We are all guilty of feeding into it, whether we’re honest about it or not.

Ironically, Vil’s mental struggles is one of the things that would make him more “relatable.” But the truth is that people would never accept that because society has a long history of trivializing the mental issues of celebrities because they seem so far removed from normal people. And then being surprised pikachu faced when they do something drastic to themselves. So Vil internalizes all of it because he knows he can’t be open about it.

A person like him simply can’t be open about his hardships but HERE is the kicker: neither can Neige. He also has an image of perfection to uphold so it is likely he is also internalizing mental struggles of his own. Living and caring for seven others can’t be easy in addition to trying to grow his career. And if his deeper origins are anything like his Disney counterpart, how he came to live with the dwarves must have been traumatic as well.

But here’s the difference: from Rook’s perspective, he is “better” at internalizing those ugly emotions than Vil is. After all, Neige is able to overcome all his struggles and still smile and not give hints to them, but when Vil finally buckled under all of his own trauma, we see what happened.

There’s also the fact that since Rook and Neige attend different schools, Rook doesn’t have as close a seat to any of Neige’s more personal troubles. So it’s likely easier for Rook to project his own ideas of beauty onto Neige because from his perspective, he is perfect. He is beautiful. He is pure. Like the legendary singing princess Rook so reveres. He isn’t plagued with any of the ugly emotions that caused Vil to overblot. And if Neige DOES have ugly feelings or ugly trauma responses, Rook isn’t privy to them, so they clearly must not exist.

I genuinely believe that THIS is what Rook meant when he stated Vil’s performance wasn’t as beautiful as Neige’s. I know he mentions another reason at the end of book 5 but in my mind, they are both one and the same. Whatever technical difficulties NRC Tribe had, they were still polished enough to garner enough votes that it was only Rook’s flawed ideology that sealed their fate. And throughout book 5, Rook is hinted at being aware of Vil’s internal struggles and yet still chose to stay silent. He frequently saw that Vil was struggling but tried to justify his silence by saying it wasn’t his place to interfere.

But that is also untrue because we’ve seen time and again Rook is more than willing to stick his nose in Vil’s businesses. His labwear vignette is the most obvious example but there are plenty of others. In Book 6 Rook admits that his decision to go to the Isle of Woe was fully a selfish one. Leaving Pomefiore without leadership and potentially falling into chaos (the only dorm to have no clear leadership at all during the crisis) simply because he wanted to give Vil skin products that he really didn’t need. A few days without them wouldn’t do that much harm and Rook essentially placed Epel, Yuu and himself in great danger for a reason far more shallow than anything Vil has done in the name of beauty.

He also admits that he would have been willing to drink the poisoned juice Vil gave to Neige for again, a pretty shallow (and extremely twisted) reason. If he’s willing to do that, he is more than capable of intervening in other matters on Vil’s behalf. And later in book 6, it’s revealed that Rook was originally a Savannaclaw student but made the very unprecedented decision to transfer to Pomefiore in part due to his fascination with Vil and desire to further study beauty under him. So Rook had EVERY opportunity to step in regarding his overblot. Even if Rook couldn’t be his “savior”, the fact that Vil would see that he at least had support could have gone a long way.

But Rook’s silence is rather in keeping with his character and his own ideas about beauty. I find this quote very ironic based on how he and Vil are frequently misconstrued. The Pomefiore dorm leaders' views on beauty appear to be the opposite of each other.

Vil can be extremely strict, harsh and can come off as critical at times, but he is never harder on someone than he is himself. He has shown time and again that he sees beautiful potential in anyone. And Vil is more than willing to share the spotlight with his NRC Tribe; build them up from scratch and give each of them the chance to show off their potential. Likely because he knows all too well what it means to be in the shadow of someone else.

Even further, when we look at the dichotomy of a villain versus a hero, the main difference is how they respond to their personal pain. A villain takes their pain and says “the world hurt me so I’m gonna hurt the world”. While a hero says “the world hurt me and I’m not going to let it hurt others”. Up until his overblot, Vil has been the latter of these examples. He wants the best for those around them and while his methods might be difficult to understand, they always bear results. Vil can honestly see beauty in anything, even if he has to coax it out in his own way.

Rook’s views on beauty however, all seem to be based upon the superficial and the evidence can be found in his Halloween vignette. There, he explains further how he grew to adore Neige and based on what he said, it sounded more like obsession than actual reverence. There’s also hints to this in his most recent birthday vignette as well. His ideas seem to be very fantastical, far removed from reality and so obsessive to the point that it actually affects his ability to be a good person. Such an obsession can sometimes make people oblivious to the world and in Rook’s case, often cause him to act out in ways that border on problematic.

In his fixation, he stalks Leona and Jade, says some weirdly otherist shit to Malleus, harasses and assaults Ruggie, and places ridiculously high standards on both Vil AND Neige that rob them of their humanity. Rook saw firsthand how deeply Vil’s insecurities ran. He heard Vil cry and scream out how ugly he felt. He saw Vil’s anguish and despair firsthand and seeing all that, still chose to punish him because Vil’s lack of confidence made him unable to respond to his trauma in a beautiful way. Or at least in a way he could deem as beautiful based on his vapid description of the word.

Rook will likely never be privy to any ugliness Neige has displayed so for him, the fantasy remains intact. And in chasing that fantasy, he betrays not just Vil, but his other teammates as well. Then has the audacity to try to justify it with bullshit ideology and sadly, because of Vil’s low opinion of himself, Rook succeeds. Vil holds Rook’s opinion so highly that he is able to take advantage of that and compel him (and the others) to see his point of view. And believe it or not, in chasing that fantasy, the NRC Tribe members were not the only ones Rook hurt.

Neige might have been happy to have won but he was essentially rewarded for an inferior performance and robbed of an important lesson. One far more valuable than any “lesson” Vil had to learn. As mentioned before, even with all of his hardships, if what we saw in book 5 was the best Neige could do, that still means he is not as good a performer as Vil. If cuteness, nostalgia and warm fuzzy feels are the only thing Neige can offer, he could easily find himself struggling to remain in the entertainment industry as he ages. Not unlike many other former child stars in real life.

Losing the VDC could have been a major wake-up call to Neige that if he wants to continue acting, he has to do better. People might not take him seriously when he’s still doing the cutesy bullshit ten years from now. But because he won, this will likely never cross his mind. Neige will learn nothing.

Now before anyone begins writing up their comments about how Vil verbally stated that Rook was right, I’d like to bring up one final point: Vil agreeing with Rook was another trauma response. Internalizing Rook’s response because it is so in keeping with all he has been made to believe about himself, about Neige, and how it has all now been “confirmed” by his overblot. From his point of view, Rook has no reason to lie to him.

But just because Vil states that Rook was correct, does not mean that it’s true. Despite being one of the more positive characters in the game and being twisted from a “good” character, Rook is just as morally grey as everyone else in the twst cast and just as capable of dubiousness. And this would not be the first time something like this has occurred between Vil and Rook. Once again, I bring up Vil’s labwear vignette. Particularly this exchange here:

Okay, so beyond the general tactlessness of telling Vil he’s gaining weight in spite of knowing how such a statement would affect him, what Rook is basically suggesting to him is that he cannot trust anyone but him. Not even his own senses. That for all of his perceptiveness, Vil is incapable of seeing himself accurately. Though he initially does not believe it, Vil eventually does accept Rook’s statement despite knowing it was bullshit twenty seconds before.

Later on, Vil mentions to Trey that Rook’s only crime is being too blunt and perceptive. It’s true that having another point of view is important at times, but the level of trust Vil has in Rook’s opinion can also be dangerous if he can convince Vil to doubt himself so easily. Theirs is an interesting dynamic but it also has potential to be extremely toxic and detrimental to Vil. At best, Rook gives him useful insight and pushes him to be the best he can be. But at worst, Rook contributes to Vil’s insecurities, enables his more toxic tendencies and his fawning of Neige feeds into his obsession to be the fairest one of all in the worst way possible. Rook can’t be completely oblivious to this. It would be such an easy thing for him to take advantage of Vil’s doubt in himself and value/dependency on his opinion.

Which is exactly what Rook does. As much flack Vil gets in this fandom for being critical and harsh to others, he never criticizes someone harder than he will criticize himself. This is a person who has grown up in the spotlight and has had to maintain an image of perfection for most of his life. A person who gave up one of his favorite condiments because of the damage it caused to his skin. A person who has so deeply internalized the villainous image people have projected on him that he wears it almost as a badge of honor. And because he holds himself to such a high standard and already internalizes a lot of toxic beliefs about himself, it makes perfect sense that Vil would agree with Rook. In his current way of thinking, Vil has no reason to disagree with Rook because from his point of view, Rook has always been honest to him and his overblot already proved he was unworthy of victory anyway.

Of course Vil must be gaining weight. How could he possibly be objective regarding himself? How vain he must be. And how could Vil possibly be objective regarding his VDC performance and still vote for himself after such an ugly trauma response? He can’t trust his judgment, he can’t even trust his own senses. How arrogant and pathetic Vil must be if he can still vote for himself in good conscience after witnessing the pure wholesomeness of Neige Leblanche. Someone who would never overblot. Thankfully, he has Rook to humble that arrogance and tell him what he needs to know. Even if he’s tactless about it.

I mean, Vil literally ran looking for a scale immediately after Rook’s comments on his weight. He probably added an extra hour to his daily workout routine the morning after eating the cake Trey gave him. I don’t believe that Rook is completely oblivious of Vil’s darker feelings, just as Vil has stated, he keeps too close an eye on him not to be oblivious. And he was astute enough to keep his infatuation with Neige a secret from Vil for nearly two years. This had to have been intentional. It honestly makes me wonder what Rook thinks of Vil on a more personal level.

But regardless, the fact is, Rook was always going to vote for Neige and his explanation at the end of Book 5 was always going to be his reasoning. Vil’s overblot just gave him a more “legitimate” reason to do so. For whatever reverence he holds for Vil, it was never going to trump his reverence for Neige. The fact he brought all of his Neige photos with him to the training camp further implies that he was never going to be objective in this situation. And seeing Vil almost poison Neige probably further convinced him that Vil was undeserving of victory.

That may make Rook seem duplicitous considering how positive and sincere he seems to be, but he’s still human. And truthfully, him voting for his bias is not an inherently bad thing. What makes him inconsiderate in this situation is openly telling Vil he prefers the catalyst for all his insecurities and overblot, while Vil was still grieving and in a very vulnerable place. Then justifying his decision as the correct one based on his own personal preferences, weaponizing that vulnerability to avoid being called out. Knowing that Vil wasn’t likely going to object.

Even if NRC Tribe did win, it’s very likely Rook would have still brought up his vote to Vil and still convinced him it was undeserved. I would even go so far as to argue that Rook’s remarks about Neige early on in book 5 as well as Vil’s labwear vignette foreshadow the ending of book 5/start of book 6 far more than the fact that the huntsman betrayed the evil queen in the original Snow White.

That coupled with a perfectionist like Vil looking back at their less-than-perfect performance is what compelled him to agree with Rook. If we take into account the idea that Vil still chose to vote for his own team afterwards, Rook’s actions and words probably further pushed him into believing in the idea of his inherent villainy and inferiority to Neige. After all, surely Neige Leblanche would never be reduced to such a hideous state. His heart is too pure, the fairest one of all and as different from Vil as night and day.

If left to his own devices without Rook to influence him, Vil might not be so hard on himself in this case and would resent his defeat more. As he has every right to. But instead, Vil agreed with what was easiest and what made most sense based on everything that has happened in his life and all that he has been made to believe about himself. Why should he continue protesting when no one else will?

Nevermind all the evidence we’ve seen of Vil’s tenacity, excellence and kindness. Why should he believe that he is the most beautiful one of all when Mira frequently tells him the opposite? Why should he believe in his own noble spirit when people openly say it’s not enough and that he’s not relatable enough to be a hero? Why shouldn’t he believe he is hideous when the entire world says it’s so? When even a large majority of this very fucking fandom mischaracterize him as such and agree with Rook anyway?

Why should Vil question any of this?

And Vil will sadly continue to be second to Neige and will likely never question it. He will continue to internalize the toxic dichotomy between him and Neige and again, why shouldn’t he? After all, Vil is the evil queen to Neige’s Snow White, the Sharpay to his Gabriella, the Odile to his Odette, the Madonna to his whore. Vil is not supposed to be the hero in this story and not even his trusted vice dorm leader has faith in him.

In discourse regarding the end of book 5, I’ve often heard it said that this was a “lesson” Vil had to learn in order to become a better person. I believe there was indeed a lesson to be learned from this, but not the one that many think. Since Vil knew from the beginning that trying to poison Neige was wrong, he didn’t need to learn how to play fair like Leona.

Despite being a harsh leader, Vil was generally always fair with his teammates and again, as a former dancer, the way Vil instructed the NRC Tribe members seemed tame compared to some of the dance teachers I’ve had in the past. So learning to be less tyrannical wasn’t the lesson to learn either, like with Riddle. And part of what led to his overblot was realizing that NRC Tribe had been “outplayed” by Neige’s cuteness. But he still had enough faith in his ability to vote for his own team, so learning not to be manipulative wasn’t really needed either, like with Azul.

No, the lesson for Vil here is that hard work is rarely ever rewarded fairly. And that his trauma is not valid because he was blessed in a way that Neige was not. He must always take second place to him because of his blessings while simultaneously ALWAYS being perfect. And because of his blessings, he can never express ugly emotions, he can never express anguish, and he must always, ALWAYS, take his mistreatment in stride. And God forbid if Vil DOES respond to his trauma in an ugly manner, he WILL be punished for it. He will ALWAYS be punished for it and by those closest to him no less.

If Vil doesn’t like how they’ve treated him in his darkest hour, tough titties. It’s all his fault for not hiding his trauma to begin with. And he doesn’t even have the right to a moment to himself to cry.

But that is where my analysis ends. Honestly this was kind of painful to write because it has made me fully realize just how much I’ve grown to disdain Rook after adoring him for so long. You all have no idea how hard I was hoping he would have some scrap of redemption in book 6. It’s really upsetting that so many people in this fandom look down on Vil or mischaracterize him but somehow don’t notice the glaring red flags in his dynamic with his vice dorm leader.

Honestly, when I think about it, the ending of Book 5 is actually kind of brilliant, even if it’s also emotionally sadistic and lacking in other aspects. I'm not sure if that was Yana’s intention, but the fact that so many in the fandom tend to see Rook as the kinder one compared to Vil is very telling.

Now I’m not saying that Vil is absolutely without flaws, Heaven knows he has many. As does every person in the twst cast. Vil is impulsive, domineering, harsh, difficult to please, overwhelming at times and extremely complex. But he is also helpful, perceptive, intelligent, genuinely kind and wants the best for those around him. Not for his own glory but for their own happiness and well-being. He is also clearly a deeply misunderstood and insecure young man, so I guess because of Vil’s faults, it’s “easier” to mischaracterize him.

As for me, I find Vil’s character all the more compelling in spite of his harshness because I can see in him a true understanding of beauty that is both profound and attainable by anyone. If we are brave enough to behold it.

#twisted wonderland #jas reads twst #long post #twst book 5 #twst book 6 #twst vil #vil schoenheit #pomefiore #shut up jas

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amberpriceenthusiast · 15 hours

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I don’t think Apple White is a bad person. I think she was a lot worse earlier on in the season, but I believe she grows. I know that this isn’t a new take on this show in anyway, but since I’m getting back into the fandom I just wanted to talk about my opinions on it.

I do think Apple was being selfish at times, but that was not her main motivation imo. She’s scared, for very valid reason too. We do not know what will happen if these destinies don’t get fulfilled, they could still disappear. I think that in Legacy day, Apple was thinking of mostly herself, but we see in other parts of the series she’s worried about what will happen to all of their stories. Her entire life she has been told that everyone must do their part, what else is she supposed to believe? She’s still a child. Of course you are allowed to not like Apple, but I just want to make this post to say that I don’t think she’s a bad person, she is just extremely misguided but she has time to grow, and we actually see that growth in the series. Even though she is misguided, we don’t see her treat the rebels with the hostility that others do, I truly believe that her words and actions come from a place of stress, concern, and fear.

All that being said, I don’t think Raven is a bad person either, obviously. Although, Ravens act of defiance was also an act of selfishness. At the time, Raven Queen did not know whether they would go poof or not due to her not signing. Raven did not consider the domino effect her rebellion could cause, it was possible all stories would disappear. Even though I believe her rebellion to be an act of selfishness as well, she never intended to hurt anyone. She doesn’t want to be forced to be evil, and she doesn’t want that for anyone else either. Raven does have good intentions and motivations.

I do not think that Apple or Raven should be seen as bad people, because they are not. They are simply children who are scared and concerned, and they are not only concerned for themselves. They both care deeply for the royals and rebels and want the best for them. There is too much expected of these two girls and it’s sad. They are children and they shouldn’t have to sign their fate at 15, and they most certainly shouldn’t be told they have to follow the same fate as their parents.

I really have so much to say but basically Apple and Raven should not be blamed for everything, the fault lies with those before them. It is not their fault they have been groomed into believing into this very corrupt system.

#I really wanna know what happens when the time to fulfill their legacy comes #will they go poof?#why do fairytale kids have to fulfill them?#the commoners of ever after deserve a chance #ever after high #eah #apple white #raven queen

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chaosclimber · 3 days

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Health Care Professional

“Auntie Death?”

“Yes, Orphy?”

He suppressed a wince at the childish nickname. It had never suited him, even when he was young. But now he was thirteen, growing up quickly (quicker than Robyn, even!), and it suited him even less. It wasn’t, however, irritating enough that he was going to let it get in the way of what he wanted to talk about. It was an important question, really. One he was giving a lot of thought to, recently. “...Why did you get into medicine?”

She paused, staring at him as if trying to figure him out. He dropped his own gaze to the floor, shifting his weight from foot to foot as he felt the weight of her gaze. “I wanted to help people. I was always good at science. It made sense for me.” She took a breath, smile fading from her face a bit. “I don’t believe it would make sense for you, though, Orpheus.”

“Why not? I’m very good at science, and I want to help people.” There was a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could see where she might be going with her objections. And it made him angrier than he ever remembered feeling. Who was she to say what his limitations were? Who was she to say an entire field was out of his reach simply because he was different?

“I’m not saying you wouldn’t be capable of it, Orpheus.” She furrowed her brow, reaching out and taking his hand, squeezing it. He wanted to jerk it away, but that wasn’t nice. “But you would be miserable the entire time. Hospitals are not a sensory friendly workplace, and the whole time you do actually have to take your patient's emotional needs into account—above and beyond your own.”

“...Well…there are other jobs in the medical field. Not everything is directly patient care–I can do research! Or work in the labs!” He knew she was looking out for him, but dammit he wanted to fight it.

“The sensory issues would still be a factor, but yeah. That would be more do-able for you. Still–you’re young. Give it time, and keep looking. You might find something that fits you so much better. Besides, last I heard you were one for the arts.”

“Really, Auntie? Everyone knows that getting into the arts is more about who you know than what you can do.”

“...And you’re already well placed for that. Your father didn’t get you just anyone for your vocal instructor. Or dance teacher. Or acting coach.” She pointed out, a bit more of her usual cheer showing through. “The real networking doesn’t start ‘til college, but you’re already ahead of most hopefuls, Orpheus.”

“...I guess I’m just frustrated with my instrument at the moment. I really wasn’t expecting to settle much lower than tenor, but it’s looking more and more like I might get Father’s voice.” He frowned as he pointed that out. It really was frustrating him–he straight up had to give up doing the school play this year because he couldn’t reliably sing in either extreme of his range. And he wasn’t about to be boring. That, above all, would be intolerable.

“I get that.” She smiled lightly. “C’mon. You’re still a kid, let’s go do something stupid. Like get ice cream for dinner.”

“....Ah, yes, you are, indeed, the consummate health care professional.”

“...And you’re no fun. Just like your dad~” She grinned and ruffled his hair.

@domaystic

crossposted on AO3

#dreamling #the sandman #orpheus #death of the endless #orpheus is autistic #orpheus is also on the path to figuring out he's nb #slice of life #domaystic2024 #house at pooh corner

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grapenehifics · 2 days

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Countdown to Chapter One!

My fellow Obikins: I am very, VERY excited to share my next fic with you. Some of you may remember a fic of mine called An Uncivil War, the first chapter of which I posted on AO3 almost exactly a year ago, in May of 2023, and wrapped up that July. At the time, I mentioned to a number of people in the comments that I was already partway through the sequel (An Uncivil War is listed as part one of a three-part series, Can't Stop the Suns), and that I hoped to have Part II ready to go by end of 2023.

Well, that obviously didn't happen. I started looking at February 2024. That didn't happen either. I pushed it to April. April has come and gone. May, though! May I am going to make happen! May 27th, 2024, to be exact. Chapter one of Pick Up the Pieces, a.k.a. part 2 of Can't Stop the Suns, a.k.a. the sequel to An Uncivil War, a.k.a. the thing I have been writing on and off for more than three years now, is going up on AO3. (Excerpt and way more ramblings below the cut.)

A) I wanted to make this announcement in advance because I'm just really excited to share this fic. Parts of it I've posted on Tumblr as WIP Wednesdays, but most of it I've tried to keep under wraps until it's ready and, frankly, I really want to talk about it!

B) @palfriendpatine66 specifically asked for a heads-up before I started posting, but I figured I'd share publicly in case anyone else has the same desire to read (or re-read) part one before starting part two. May 27th is the day!

I do want to say, though - prior knowledge of An Uncivil War is NOT required to understand or enjoy this fic. If you haven't read An Uncivil War, I would really love it if you did! I'm enormously proud of it and love, love, love talking about it. But I also don't want anyone to not give Pick Up the Pieces a try, assuming they were otherwise interested, because they're worried they won't understand what's going on. If you want to jump in, make sure you read the tags and the summary, and by the time you get to chapter three you should have a pretty good grounding in what happened previously. Obviously there are some little details here and there you'll miss but for the most part you should be okay. I did try to make it as accessible as possible.

C) Thirdly - mostly as a reward for reading this far - I thought it would be fun, over the next three Wednesdays, to give a sneak peek of one of the later chapters, because I've really missed doing regular WIP Wednesdays for this fic (for the aforementioned secrecy reasons).

The main part of the fic is set during what would have been the final year of the Clone Wars, except we take a departure from canon during the season 5 episode The Wrong Jedi and diverge off-course from there. Mixed in with that, though, are flashback chapters, covering some portion of Anakin's years as Obi-Wan's Padawan, which have just been a blast to write. They go in roughly chronological order, and this one in particular is set when Anakin is 17. I'll post a little bit today, the next part a week from today, the final section the week after that, and then you'll get the rest of it when chapter ten goes up in the actual fic :)

Chapter Ten preview starts below:

“Uh…” Anakin looked down at his cards and bit his lip. “Hit me?” he asked tentatively. The three other players around the table blinked slowly back at him. He reached out and flipped the top card of the table deck over, letting the rest of the players see it. “Damnit,” he hissed through his teeth.

“Tough luck, boy,” boomed the Besalisk on Anakin’s right, the one he was most worried about getting a peek at his cards. “That makes twenty-two.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Anakin snapped, frustrated. He tossed his cards face-down in front of him. “Don’t remind me.”

Anakin was losing, and quite badly at that. He really needed to slow down and stop the bleeding or Obi-Wan was going to catch him not only gambling, but totally out of credits, too, and he would not be happy about it.

“I’m going to take a break,” Anakin said suddenly, standing up so quickly his chair squeaked. “I’ll sit out this round. Be right back.” He scooped the (very meager) pile of credits he had left to his name into his hand and pocketed them before walking away. What he really wanted to do was take a quick minute to check the chronometer strapped to his wrist without any of them seeing him do it, but needing to take a walk was as good an excuse as any.

He didn’t leave the Castle (Takodana was a little too humid for Anakin’s liking), just took a slow lap around the edges of it, checking out the other gambling tables, the billiards games, the tourists, the regulars, the spacers, the spice runners, the spice addicts, the smugglers. The people who, if he hadn’t become a Jedi, probably would have been his friends and his enemies, his rivals, his contemporaries. His lovers, maybe.

The lower levels of Takodana Castle had once been an ancient Jedi temple, a fact Obi-Wan had mentioned rather a few more times than strictly necessary on their trip over from Coruscant. It had been built on the site of an even more ancient battleground, where Jedi and Sith had fought one another centuries – maybe a millennia – ago. The Jedi had won, that time, and built the original Takodana Temple as a kind of memorial. Anakin let the tips of his fingers trail over the wet, warm stone walls as he walked, feeling to see if he could catch any whispers of the old voices. Old hurts, old betrayals, old war wounds…

He had started doing this thing, about a year or so back. He had discovered, largely by accident (not that Jedi were supposed to believe in accidents, just The Will of the Force, and all that), that he could, rather paradoxically, up the ante on his meditation skills by upping the ante on his distractions. He’d been filling in for Obi-Wan, who was supposed to have been taking a turn sitting in with a group of the youngest Younglings but had been called away at the last minute (or so he had said, at least; Anakin still wasn’t totally sure he believed him). Anakin had tried to keep to the Younglings’ schedule, which included a quarter of an hour of daily mandated meditation time. Younglings not being particularly good at meditation (they were worse at it than Anakin was, which was really saying something), they’d lasted only about half that time before starting to get fidgety. It had started small – a few coughs here and there, a couple of giggles, wiggling on their mats – and then had progressed from there to full-blown chaos. Anakin was supposed to be setting an example, though, and was determined to sit still, keep his eyes closed, and ignore everything that wasn’t an outright cry for medical attention until the allotted time was up.

What he had found, though, was that it was actually one of his better meditation sessions. The noisier the room got, the more relaxed Anakin got. He’d eventually opened his eyes to find one Youngling on his lap, another chewing on his Padawan braid, and a third hanging from the ceiling rafters, but had felt…calm and at peace and a little floaty, but also grounded, connected to the Force, the air, even the children. He’d asked Obi-Wan about it later that night over dinner. Obi-Wan had suggested they meditate over it, which made Anakin roll his eyes because he already had meditated today, that was the whole thing he wanted to talk to Obi-Wan about, and how much meditation did a person need every day, really? But after they ate he’d dutifully sat down across from Obi-Wan and closed his eyes anyway. Obi-Wan had reached out and taken Anakin’s hands in his, which almost made up for the double meditation session. (Almost.)

And then, just as Anakin was starting to settle into something resembling regulating his breathing, something hard and poky had slammed into the side of his head.

“Ow!” he’d said, reflexively, and opened his eyes. Obi-Wan’s datapad was lying on the floor beside him. Obi-Wan himself was still sitting serenely, holding Anakin’s hands.

“What the kriff did you do that for?” Anakin demanded.

“I’m sorry,” Obi-Wan had said, without opening his eyes, “I thought you said you liked having distractions while you meditated.”

“Not painful ones!” Anakin shot back.

“Apologies.” The holopad, from the floor, flicked on and started replaying whatever the last thing either of them had watched on it, which happened to be a nature documentary about tee-muss. “Is that better?”

Anakin grumbled about it, but he had, sort of, asked for this, and admitting defeat now would be both embarrassing and would necessitate him letting go of Obi-Wan’s hands, so he closed his eyes and tried again.

Of course, the first thing he had to do was release the pain in his head into the Force, but once he’d done that, he found that, once again, sifting through his distractions was easier when he actually had distractions to sift through. He let the migratory patterns of wild tee-muss go, and felt Obi-Wan squeeze his hands. “Good, Anakin,” he murmured softly, so quietly Anakin almost couldn’t hear him over the documentary narrator. “That’s very good.” (Anakin had replayed the moment in his head, putting that voice of Obi-Wan’s into different and much more…naked contexts, so many times since then that he could get hard just thinking about it, now.)

So Anakin had started to experiment, on and off. He turned the holoprojector on in their rooms while he was meditating. He sat in the corner of the refectory and meditated during mealtimes. Once, he tried meditating during galactic history class, but his teacher had ratted him out to Obi-Wan and Obi-Wan had told him not to do that anymore. And, now, he wanted to see if he could do it while inside Takodana Castle on a bustling summer afternoon.

To be continued next Wednesday!

#obikin #wip wednesday #an uncivil war #pick up the pieces

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