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north-noire · 1 month

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My Michael Afton throughout the years! ft. his own little doodles. I'll try to be brief about the timeline and how my Michael was without saying too much since it'll be explored in the Hidden Hands AU fic's chapters anyway so I won't say all the details. Feel free to read if you guys like! I have a lot to say about him.

1983 (FNAF 4) - Michael was 12 or 13-ish when the Bite happened. Very reckless yet adventurous kid. Didn't really hate Evan (William, as much as he had a soft spot for Evan, still loved Michael all the same), just had really bad friends and influence (his friends were mostly bullies) - and didn't really like that he's being told to parent a little brother he had no idea how to take care of. It didn't help that Evan tended to be a tattle-tail sometimes about the trouble he was getting into. Michael also, deep down, got scared of what the bullies would do to him if he dared stand up for his brother or spoke out against them, so he ends up going along with what they did for his own sake. After the Bite, Michael was still deeply guilty about what he did to Evan, and it haunts him every night, knowing he had no good excuse but irresponsibility for what he did to his brother, because after all, it wasn't like William wasn't giving him enough attention. Michael just knew that he deserved anything unfortunate coming to him, but is genuinely surprised that his father kept telling him he loved him all the same. From this point on, he becomes easily troubled, tends to stay close to his dad. Makes sure he follows the rules and doesn't do trouble. Just wants to do a complete personality shift, and is deeply ashamed of who he was before. 1985 (Charlie's death, Fredbear's Family Diner shuts down) - Michael was 15 here. Over the years, he slowly isolated himself from most of the people in his life since he gets worried about his past scars coming back to haunt him. Mostly a recluse and reserved. He's not handling things well after Charlie's death and a family divorce - not to mention the non-existent social life he had. Just prefers to be left alone, but he's nice if you get to know him. Doesn't really have a good relationship with Elizabeth, but is actually pretty close with William. Feels extremely guilty and hates himself/blames himself for Charlie's death. He gets paranoid easily, as he thinks whoever took Charlie is now after him, but his father tells him to not worry too much about it. 1987 (FNAF 2) - (17) Slowly having a good relationship with Elizabeth. Starts to get into stuff like the supernatural and becomes superstitious to a degree over the years. In public, he's mostly polite and nice, but his actual personality shows through whenever he's with his father or Elizabeth - he's sarcastic, and has quite a dark sense of humor, can be a bit of a rebel, he's just more subtle about it. A bit of an over-thinker - he gets lost in his imagination/head easily. Has a (surprisingly) good relationship with his dad, as he's not really afraid to be himself around him - sometimes gifts him funny things or something he knows his dad would love/would use (he gifts William a rabbit's foot - for good luck, he says). He also helped William build the Fun-Times with blueprints and other technicalities (He's not really aware of the questionable features they had, unfortunately). He couldn't really come with his father and Elizabeth on Circus Baby's Pizza World opening due to things he had to catch up with his home-schooling, he had been skipping classes to work on the Fun-Times, but he really wanted to graduate highschool with a bang, so he's giving everything his all, here. Then Elizabeth suddenly goes missing all of a sudden, and, well... I would say more, but my fic sort of takes a canon-divergence route around FNAF 2/SL-FNAF 1 so that would spoil half of the stuff I've been working/writing about! Reference-sheet wise, I just wanted to show how he progresses from a rebellious, happy and adventurous kid into a more reclused, anxious and soft-spoken adult. Sorry for the long post! I've just been wanting to talk about him for some time now. There's a looot more that I've left out but yeah that's because there will be more in the fic!

#yeah in this au my michael and william actually have a decent father-son relationship even after the bite. even after all that will's done.#michael just... isn't aware of what his dad did yet for the meantime.#ik william isn't a great father at ALL in canon but let me WRITE my AU the way i want okay?#hidden hands au #fnaf au #five nights at freddy's #fnaf #fnaf fanart #michael afton #mike afton #fnaf michael afton #fnaf mike afton #long post #my art

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male-reader-haven · 1 year

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❚█═Bulking Up, Eh?═█❚

Y/N pays his best friend a visit after working abroad for 6 months.

Tags: Bangchan x male reader, wholesome

Warnings: Suggestive content

Suggested by @dimensionaldrifter , thank you for the adorable concept, I absolutely loved writing this! <3

You take a deep breath as you step out from the plane into the familiar atmosphere.

It's good to be home.

You had previously been involved with a hefty internship at a producing company where you were learning skills and being taught under professional and popular producers and just finished the course with flying colors. It didn't seem like a long time while you were working, since you kept yourself busy with projects and taking better care of yourself, but once the plane touched down it all sunk in; six months of hard work finally paid off! You continue walking to pickup your luggage and make your way back to your apartment, eager to unpack and settle in.

Your apartment is just as neat as you left it, which surprises you slightly since you had left a key with Christopher Chan (you called him Chan), your long time friend, so that he could come and check up on things every once in a while. Back when you were in high school together, you being a senior and Chan being a junior, you remember Chan being forgetful and messy, so you feel warm thinking that he put in extra effort to keep it nice and clean for you.

Ah, I forgot to text him that I landed safely...

You pull out your phone and are met with a new text.

Chan: Hey man! Let me know when you get here, we gotta catch up if you're not too jetlagged!

You smile. Chan always checks in with you, even if you are his hyung, and you find it heartwarming how much he cares. You type a response.

Me: Just got to the apartment. Honestly surprised at how nice it is, I half expected it to be a pigsty 😂

Chan: You gotta give me more credit!! I've gotten better since you've last seen me

Me: So should we meet at your place then?

Chan: No! No, its far too messy lol

Me: Lol ok, lets meet at the cafe in an hour then

Chan: KK

You chuckle to yourself and finish unpacking. Sure, you enjoyed your time abroad, but you miss Chan and your hometown more than anything, and you can't wait to catch up.

After waiting only a few minutes at "The Crick" cafe, you notice a figure walk in wearing a black hoodie and joggers and a casual beanie. You immediately recognize him by his curly brown hair and adorable pronounced nose.

"Chan, over here!" You wave your arm to signal him. His eyes light up when he sees you and he rushes over. You practically jump out of your seat and Chan grabs you into a bear hug.

"Wow man, I feel like you've been gone forever!!!!" He is grinning ear to ear.

"Haha, yeah, I missed you too bud." You laugh and hug him back. You both sit down, grinning ear to ear. You genuinely missed this goofball.

"Gosh, you gotta fill me in on what went down. Don't think I didn't notice your gorgeous biceps. You been hitting the gym?" Chan jokingly winks at you. You laugh.

"Yea actually! I've been trying to be healthier mentally and physically, especially since I've been busy at the internship. I'm pretty proud of my progress." As you talk, Chan sits back and takes it all in, still smiling. He looks you up and down. Conscious of his gaze, you find yourself blushing slightly.

"You should be proud. Dude, you're doing it! You're living your dream and doing what you want to do. You lost weight and started taking care of yourself better. I know how much effort and motivation that takes." He leans forward and puts a hand on your forearm. "I am so proud of you, Y/N!"

You are slightly taken aback by the sudden praise and chuckle nervously. He always finds a way to make you flustered, even if you are older than him. His shining excited eyes remind you of a golden retriever.

"Why don't you come over for a few drinks and hang out? I could use the company. Plus, I owe you for keeping my place up." You take a sip of your coffee. "I can show you some of my routine." You wink and flex at him jokingly.

"Haha, of course I'm down." Chan laughs and glances down for a second, avoiding your gaze. You aren't certain, but you think you spot him blushing.

A few hours later and a few drinks in, you both find yourselves laughing heartily and catching up at your apartment and reminiscing on old times and stories.

"Dude, I will NEVER forget when you got into a fight with that Woojin guy, that was intense." You flick Chan's shoulder as he makes his way to a chair, handing you another drink.

"Yeah well, he deserved it. He was being way too rough with Felix. I swear, I knew that guy was a dick from the start." He grimaces and shakes his head at the memory.

"I think it was really cool of you actually, to step up like that. You're protective. It's endearing." You smile, trying to make him smile again. It works, and Chan turns to you with a soft expression.

"I really fucking missed you."

Something about the way he looked you in the eyes with that soft smile and warm expression made your face go red. You can feel his eyes raking over you.

"Y-yeah. Me too." For a moment you just stare at each other, slightly inebriated from the alcohol, but also just because you were drawn to him. Chan coughs, breaking the tension.

"Be right back, gotta take a leak."

"No worries."

You stand up and take your glasses to the sink while Chan gets up to go to the bathroom. Your heart is beating faster than usual and you feel butterflies in your stomach. Something about Chan is just so adorable, and something so obvious is happening that you are just a little bit too afraid to accept.

"Think fast!" Chan bursts out from the bathroom door to throw a roll of toilet paper at you. It bumps off your back and you turn to face him.

"Oh, it's on!" You grab the roll and throw it back at him, engaging in battle. He catches it and attempts to run smuggling it away, but you run up to him and grab him in a bear hug from behind, turning it into a wrestling match. You both laugh and horseplay for a second, you trying to pry the paper roll from Chan who is holding onto it for dear life. You manage to pry it out of his hands and victoriously push him to against your wall.

"Ha! I win." You hover over him, grinning while holding his hands up to the wall. Chan giggles with his squinted eyes and wide grin that make you feel soft inside, and you stand there for a moment.

"Okay, I may have underestimated just how strong you got. I mean look at you." Chan runs his hand across your arm that is pinning him to the wall, feeling your biceps. You aren't sure if its the alcohol kicking in or your imagination, but you could have sworn that your faces were not this close 10 seconds ago. Chan's smile falls into a longer look, tilting his head slightly and eyes on your lips. Before you even realize what is happening, you find yourself in Chan's arms and his lips on yours.

Fireworks.

You bring your hand to his face and kiss him back. You can feel his arms running down your sides and pulling you closer, and you are locked in a passionate embrace. His lips carry the faint taste of the rice wine you were drinking earlier and you can smell his faded cologne. The feeling of his hands feeling your stomach and abs send a rush to your head as you take it all in. Only when he separates to breathe do you open your eyes.

"F-fuck..." You say under your breath, still recovering from what just happened. You look at Chan, whose eyes show passion and a hint of fear.

"Fuck... good?" He cocks his head slightly and smiles awkwardly, awaiting your response.

"I don't know, do you?" You smirk as Chan blushes deeply. He chuckles and looks down, grinning. You lift his chin to make him look back up at you. "Shut up and kiss me, Christopher Bang." He doesn't need to be told twice. He leans in to kiss you again, this time needier. He turns you around and pushes you to the wall this time, trading places, and hastily you both take each other's shirts off. He holds your arms up on the wall and looks you up and down for the nth time that night.

"God you are one sexy motherfucker."

Chan never fails to make you blush.

Send me suggestions on what to write next! ~ <3

--Masterlist--

#christopher bang #bangchan #chan #bang chan x male reader #chan x male reader #stray kids #skz #stray kids x male reader #skz x male reader #stray kids smut #bang chan smut #chan x reader #bang chan x reader

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natasha-in-space · 3 months

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Hello Mia, if this is not too much to ask, I would like to request something from you... Maybe a comfort fic from GE Saeran? I've been chasing the deadlines for my countless assignments and presentations all month to the point of overworking myself to the ground. I know I can be such an overachiever but I also know that I really have to work on this tendency of not knowing when to stop and rest.

I actually collapsed two weeks ago since I had to do presentation everyday so... I suppose my body kinda give in to the extreme fatigue. It was partly my fault for trying to stay up all night and not taking care of myself properly for the past days :')) Although, I was a bit upset and anxious since I lost 10% of my overall grade because I had to skip the last presentation of that week (the same day I collapsed and sleep the whole day to recover).

I suppose Saeran would understand and relate completely to my situation. Or maybe even scold me gently for doing that to myself when we both know that I wouldn't allow him (or Ray) to do that. Anyways, I hope you take your time and been doing well so far! Much love ❤️

"My love... I thought we agreed that you would take it easy today."

Saeran's voice is gentle and sweet, like honey, even as he lets out a small disapproving sigh at the sight of you hunched over your desk, your eyes glued onto your monitor screen. Closing the door behind him, he places a tray of freshly prepared mid-afternoon snacks at your bedside table. The room is quickly filled with the enticing aroma of still warm baked pastries and peach tea.

The rumbling coming from your stomach quickly reminds you that you haven't eaten a thing since early morning.

You feel like a child that just got caught in the act of stealing from the cookie jar. Of course you knew that you should be resting... The fact that you collapsed from exhaustion the day earlier was more than enough proof of your desperate need to let your body relax and recover. Yet, while your body was utterly worn out, your mind was far too restless for you to remain still in your bed like you were supposed to. It was far too eager to push you to make sure that you were perfect. That you didn't miss out on any progress in your wasted time of sleep. Even though, rationally, you understood that sleep was anything but wasteful.

You feel a warm hand resting itself on top of your head, starting to gently caress your hair in a way that is so relaxing, you almost want to close your eyes and fall asleep right then and there. Saeran's touch was always too soothing for your own good. It was far too easy to just forget about everything in the world and melt into his warmth. You tried to hold back on that, though, shaking your head and rubbing your tired eyes with a somewhat sleepy groan.

Wouldn't want to pass out again.

"I know, I know... I'm taking it easy, I promise. I just got to read through this part one more time to make sure it's perfect. I already lost so much time yesterday, and-"

"Y/N."

Saeran's voice becomes more determined, growing firmer, like a loving parent disciplining their child for playing outside in the cold for too long. He doesn't even need to say anything more for you to lower your head and sigh in defeat. You knew he was right, after all. What you were doing wasn't good for you. Of course, he was worried. If your roles were reversed, you would have done the same for him. In fact, that exact scenario happened more than you could count.

"...I'm being stupid, aren't I?"

Saeran hums softly, his hands now gently resting on your shoulders as he slowly and carefully starts to massage your aching muscles, easing the tension out of your tired body. His hands are so comforting that you can't help but sigh in content, leaning back into his touch. He leans down to murmur into your ear, his voice as soft as ever: "You are not being stupid, flower. You know how much I admire your hard work and dedication. There is nothing stupid about you putting your all into something. It makes me love you even more."

Gosh, does he have to praise you even now...? You almost feel like crying.

You are wondering if he will ever become truly angry or frustrated with you. Your hands are rubbing together as you gaze drifts between your work and your shaky fingers. You knew this shakiness was probably yet another proof of your body needing rest instead of even more work you were forcing yourself to go through. You tilt your head slightly in Saeran's direction, feeling his hair tickle your cheek. He smelled sweetly of peach, probably a result of him brewing that tea for you. "But...?"

"-But you also need to rest and take care if yourself for you to truly give it your all. I love seeing your eyes light up with joy when you get the results you wished for... And I love that determined and focused look on your face when you are working on something you want to do good at. I love hearing you talk to me about everything you are working on. I love seeing you enjoy yourself." He leans in to kiss your nose, which inadvertently makes you smile and giggle, even through your fatigue. He returns your smile with one of his own, before he continues, brushing a lock of hair behind your ear. "But I don't love seeing you tired, anxious and upset. I was so worried for you... I wouldn't want anything like that to happen to you ever again."

Ah... He was worried, wasn't he?

You purse your lips together, feeling a small dull ache in your chest, making you quickly raise a hand to his cheek. With a slight shaky sigh, he immediately leans into your touch. He was so patient and caring with you throughout this whole ordeal... You didn’t even think that it must have scared or stressed him out to see you collapse like that. In a way, it looks like you both kept some things bottled up. It's almost funny, in a way.

But, mostly ironic.

"I'm sorry I worried you, Saeran... I should've been more careful. It must have been scary for you to see me like that..."

Saeran chuckles slightly and shakes his head. He seems both amused and touched by your apology, his eyes twinkling as he looks down at you. "This isn't about me, love. But, I'll take your words to heart. Thank you."

He takes hold of your hand that was resting on his cheek, nuzzling it, and placing a few light kisses down the side of your wrist. A display of affection that causes your heart to flutter with fondness for him.

He was far too sweet sometimes...

"I know what it's like to want to be perfect... How heavy it can feel to carry the weight of all these expectations on your shoulders. But, you're the one who taught me that I don't need to be perfect to be loved and worthy, my love. You taught me, that I am deserving of love simply for being born into this world. Nothing more. You freed me from those shackles of self-doubt I put myself in because of what I've been told my whole life. And I want to do the same for you. Whenever you feel like it's all too much, whenever it feels like you are about to be crushed under all the pressure and expectations that were put on you... Take a small moment to look up at the sky, and think of me. Think of how I'll love you in any form you take. Remember that I am always cheering for you, however far away from you I am. And that my heart is always there with you, wanting to envelop you in my tender love and care. So, treat yourself kindly. Like I would treat you."

#mystic messenger #mysmes #mysme #mm #saeran choi #choi saeran #ge saeran #saeran x reader #ge saeran x reader #i missed writing for this cutie patootie #unironically i needed this as well

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deusexlachina · 4 months

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This game took fifteen hours to play and upset me! (good)

In Stars and Time probably wins for most upsetting video game I've played. It makes other games about depression feel like the fun roller coaster version of depression in comparison. Even Start Again, the game it's an extension of, looks extremely tame in comparison.

There's a number of things I've seen that are Trapped In A Time Loop. I don't think I've seen one this dark since Russian Doll. ISAT isn't as gritty as that, but it's as least as dark. It really puts the "trapped" in Trapped In A Time Loop, while still being fun. For me, not for the protagonist, Siffrin. He is not having fun.

One of the things that makes it work so well is that the characters (and to a lesser extent, the settings) are really lovingly made. I like Siffrin's party. If they were in a straight fantasy story, they'd work. That's what's missing most in a lot of Edgy Depression Games and cartoons - the sadness is real, but the joy is not. So it feels more hollow than sad. A good example is with magical girl shows: Madoka is a guilty pleasure and all the ripoffs are just execrable - you can feel them wanting to go straight to the torture, so they make characters just to be tortured, ensuring that not even the writer is invested in the cast.

ISAT, in contrast, showed me a cute, engaging adventure with terrific characters, and then forced me to watch as it all got stale and stagnant and twisted. With plenty of new parts scattered around, reminding you of what it's like to be curious and excited. At a certain point, I was skipping through dialogue less because I'd memorized it and more because it was painful to go through these tender scenes again, knowing they lost their impact on Siffrin long ago.

There's a few mechanics that didn't work for me. Having to fight monsters to loop forwards in time didn't feel necessary. Looping around is already monotonous; this mechanic doesn't add anything. As the game progresses, you end up looping forwards quite a bit, long after combat has ceased to be a challenge. Not being able to completely skip seen conversations - instead having to fast-forward through them - is also tedious but feels much more necessary to the story being told. The little animation you get of Siffrin nodding blankly as they metaphorically and literally mash through a conversation remained funny for me even to the end. Be sure to have dialogue speed set to instant and running set to always (why indie RPGs ever have a "walking" setting continues to confuse me).

Anyway, if you're looking for a game with great characters that's very sad without relying on a shitty ending, this is definitely worth checking out. Really not kidding about the heavy stuff, though. Caveat emptor, fuckers.

#in stars and time #start again: a prologue

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convenientalias · 1 month

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Please Watch Circle: Two Worlds Connected (Another Manifesto)

After convincing some ppl to watch White Christmas, I am filled with hubris and thus have returned to try to convince y'all to watch another kdrama thriller. This times it's Circle: Two Worlds Connected (2017). It's sci-fi, it's whumpy, it's got a dual timeline going on, and it's got a great cast. It's also one of the first kdramas I ever watched--I started it back in 2017, lost access to the site I was streaming it from, and 3 years later, when I became actually competent at finding kdramas, I remembered to go find it again! I've now watched it... four times? five times? anyway it's a good show so let's dive in.

The Premise

Every episode of Circle has two parts to it.

The first part: In 2017, a college student named Kim Woo-jin is having family problems. His paranoid twin brother is convinced aliens exist and are killing ppl. Woo-jin met an alien once when he was a kid, but he's been repressing this and ignoring the implications ever since bc of related trauma. Then Woo-jin's twin goes missing, and Woo-jin goes haywire trying to track him down.

The second part: In 2037, society has become a little dystopian, particularly in a closed-off island city called "Smart Earth". "Smart Earth" is supposed to be a place without crime, but when a murder takes place, Detective Kim Joon-hyuk, an outsider, worms his way in to investigate. Secretly he's more interested in investigating Smart Earth itself... and trying to find his long lost brother.

HM I WONDER IF THERE'S A REASON THESE CHARACTERS BOTH HAVE KIM AS A SURNAME. PROBABLY JUST A COINCIDENCE I WOULDNT KNOW. IM SURE THESE TWO MYSTERIES HAVE NO RELATION TO EACH OTHER AT ALL.

The Characters

Kim Woo-jin:

Yes that is Yeo Jin-goo (I feel like most of my followers have watched Beyond Evil, but if you haven't, maybe you know him from Hotel del Luna or The Crowned Clown, idk, he's great). And yes, he is incredibly stressed and will be for pretty much the entire show.

I feel like the main selling point of the first half of this show, apart from the mystery itself, really is just "do you want to see Yeo Jin-goo be so, so tired and act in progressively more insane and risky ways over the course of twelve episodes".

He is a very good brother. He also is in a dynamic duo with a girl who may or may not be an alien. More on that below.

Kim Bum-gyun

He's paranoid and he's not always the best brother. But he's trying to be better and also. He may be (at least partly) right.

Han Jung-yeon

"Hey look at me I'm a normal college student and definitely not an alien. Despite the fact that I do kind of look identical to that alien you met like fifteen years ago."

"Regardless that was not me bc I am normal. Let's become a detective duo!"

Kim Joon-hyuk

Played by Kim Kang-woo! I feel like he's a bit less known than Yeo Jin-goo but I still love him. Very versatile actor. In this he's being your typical unruly cop but with Many Secrets. Going into much more detail than that would unfortunately give spoilers but I like seeing him piss Lee Ho-soo off.

Lee Ho-soo

Nicknamed "Pierrot" by Kim Joon-hyuk for the way he's ~always smiling~, Lee Ho-soo is Smart Earth's ideal peacekeeping employee. He thoroughly believes in their dystopian mood regulating technology and closed off society and no, he does not want to learn any deep dark secrets, thank you very much!!! Leave him alone!!!! (Yeah, he's going to go through all kinds of emotional breakdowns lols.) My favorite character on my first watch-through; later I began to stan Woo-jin more but it's a close thing.

So, so, so...

Is It Shippy?

Honestly, kind of depends on what you're looking for. The most obvious ships would be Kim Woo-jin/Han Jung-yeon, a ship that is very teased but never becomes canon, and Lee Ho-soo/Kim Joon-hyuk, a classic bickering-but-gradually-coming-to-understand-each-other type of duo. There are other shippy routes you could take... my friend for example ships two of Woo-jin's professors. I personally think certain reveals could lend themself to a [REDACTED] [REDACTED] shipping dynamic, which is all too rare, but since I redacted that part you will never know what I mean by that.

Is there shippy fanfic out there? NO BECAUSE THERE ARE A TOTAL OF FOUR FANFICS FOR THIS SHOW ON AO3 AND I CANT FIND ANY ELSEWHERE EITHER. yes three of those are shippy. YES I WANT MORE PLEASE.

More General Thoughts

Circle is a little melodramatic and messy, but it is also very clever. Even after the basic worldbuilding becomes clear, you probably won't be able to guess all the answers to the mysteries until mm. Episode eleven of twelve? I mean I'm sure there are people out there much better at guessing than me but. I didn't.

I also think it's more fun to watch this show (at least the first time) with a bunch of different theories in your mind as to what happened during the time skip. I had at least three running concurrently. No, none of them were correct. I never said I was good at guessing I only said I had fun.

Not EVERY loose thread gets tied up by the end. But things do get mostly resolved. And there's a lot of angst and suspense along the way!

Here are a few more pictures to convey the vibe:

I can also offer you a minimal number (two) of goofy gifsets.

Closing thoughts:

If you've watched Circle, pls come talk to me sometime. If you haven't watched Circle, I recommend giving it a try! I can tell you that anecdotally ppl who I've forced to watch White Christmas and Circle both like Circle better (except me, I like White Christmas better but also I am to be fair obsessed with both).

And for now, I have successfully exorcised my Circle feels for the day. Probably. I hope. (I may be back.)

#circle two worlds connected #kdramas

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a-lil-bi-furious · 9 months

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what’s your favourite thing about Scott McCall? 🥰

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to gush about my boy! This is honestly such a difficult question because there are so many things I love about Scott McCall. He's witty and Intelligent, devoted and kind, strong and gentle. He's inspiring. He's the funniest lil shit around. He's soft with animals and wants to be a healer. I love his little mole and the sound of his voice and the way his face scrunches up with that bright sunshine smile. I love his rare bursts of anger and the struggle with it he buries. I love the complexity of his emotions and how he bears the weight of the world and still finds a way to keep going.

If I have to choose, though, my favorite thing about Scott is the depth of his empathy and how that shapes his actions. We see time and again throughout the show that Scott already seems to have a lot of empathy for others naturally, even to the point of hints at him being an empath (see: Scott feeling Erica's seizure from another room over). But what is perhaps most impressive is his intentional practice of empathy in cases where it may be difficult/he may not immediately feel it.

It's Scott telling Allison "You could be crying for you. You lost someone." when she's struggling with missing Kate, a mass-murderer who tried to kill Scott, but was still Allison's family. It's him responding "I get that" when Chris points a gun at him and says: "I guess there's a part of me that still wants to shoot you" even though, really, Scott has done nothing to Chris. It's "No, I mean you. I don't want you to get hurt" when Isaac is still his enemy. It's Scott following Jackson to Derek's to protect him, even though he and Jackson are far from friends.

He has an extraordinary gift for putting himself in other people's shoes. Scott is kind and caring toward his friends and family, he does what he can to protect and soothe strangers, but most incredible is the way he actively practices empathizing with people who, arguably, do not deserve it from him.

It's the way he still has faith that Peter has good in him, even after Peter tried to kill him months before. The way he trusts Theo to help them with the ghost riders and then the hunters, even though he's clearly terrified and, to use his own words, wants to tear Theo apart. How when Matt--who had just shot Scott, harmed his friends, and murdered multiple people--tells Scott his story, Scott looks genuinely horrified and sympathetic when he realizes Matt drowned.

I also find Scott's struggle to empathize with himself compelling. As the show progresses, we watch Scott shoulder more and more responsibility for everyone and everything around him. In the pilot we watch as his autonomy is violated and he's changed against his will; we watch him hurt again and again, make mistakes, save the day. And still, regarding himself, Scott arrives at blame rather than understanding. Frayed/Motel California are a great example of this, with Scott blaming himself for Derek's supposed death and concluding "What if doing this (dying) is the best thing I can do for everyone else?" Compare this to what he says about Liam being dragged into the supernatural and struggling later on, that he's "just a kid". It's an interesting difference between how he views himself and his own mistakes/bad things that happen versus others in his position.

I've already rambled too long, but I suppose my point is that Scott's empathy shapes so much of who he is as a person. It motivates his goals, particularly those relating to other people and giving people chances to be their best selves. It builds strong relationships with others, even without always meaning to (see: long line of strays who become incredibly loyal to Scott). It is simultaneously a strength and, at times, a fatal flaw. And it largely motivates Scott's practice of kindness, gentility, and hope--none of which are easy, especially in his circumstances. I think he's wonderful for it.

#thank u anon <3 #I love him more than anything #precious boy #scott mccall #teen wolf #at least I’m p sure Scott says that abt Liam at one point 🤔 or maybe about multiple ppl #didn’t know where in transcript to confirm. but point still stands!

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iamlittlelostsoul · 2 years

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Are asks open? If so, can you write a fluffy epilogue of twst boys x reader x yan ver of them set in 6 months from now to give the reader some time to adjust

OMG HELLOO!!

THANK YOUU this is my first time getting requests and I really appreciate it!!

I hope this reaches your expectations although I don't think that I've made it that fluffy but I hope all is good!:D

Just so everyone knows my asks are always open and I'll do my best in answering it all!☺

oh and if you wanna check it out here's my masterlist! ><

Enjoy!

Mending Hearts

Part 1 Part 2

Part 3 of which is which...

Twst boys x reader x yan!twst boys

It's been 6 months...6 months since the incident. And they barely made much progress...

6 months since the love of their life came back but is in a terrible state and despised and feared them so so much.

3 months since they found a spell to see Mc's memories to find the truth and is horribly haunted by it.

They were so lost...

They wanted to help...but how?

How can they help someone that used to love them so much but now despised them so much that they would rather drop dead than have them close...

If only they could find a way to turn back time to avoid such things happening maybe their life would remain as it was? or become official lovers and all...?

...

But this won't stop them from trying...

It is a challenge but if it is to get them to trust and befriend them once again or at least...have them not look at them with eyes filled with fear, uncertainty, and so much hate.

it has only been 6 months so it's ok! Even if it would take them years and so to help them. It's ok even if...it means having to return them back to their own world...

So it is not the time for them to dilly dally and lose hope. It's time to pay them back for everything they've given to every single one of them.

In those 6 months, they started with itty-bitty steps...by allowing them to adjust at their own pace and also 'finally' getting a therapist and a counselor for the school.

They've also sought advices and to do's and not to do from people with a wide knowledge of such cases.

They did their best to not to trigger traumatic flashbacks by avoiding sending too many presents, less contact, and trying to be as calm and patient as they could whenever they are nearby to not overwhelm and pressure them.

Instead of forcefully conversing with them in person instead they try by giving encouraging notes/messages or simply encouraging them to let out everything they feel and etc. Or sending them flowers and little trinkets.

"Hello Mc! This is Riddle...I can't really say to you to stop worrying or everything is alright so...instead, I wish you to get better soon! If you are still not comfortable with our presence it's ok take your time! I know you might be thinking I'm doing this to control you and all but all of us are being sincere in proving we are better than our alters.

you should open the little box by your bed. It's ok the queen of hearts never really gave a rule about doing such things...so I hope it could comfort you in some way. P.s it's a hedgehog btw...just so you know." -Riddle Roseheart

" Ace and Deuce hereee. Get better soon!! We don't really know what to tell you but we hope you start healing well. We really missed you...we made you something...it's the same tart we made on our first birthday party...so we would be really happy if you eat but it's fine if not just...just try to not throw it out the window or... just get well soon." -ADeuce

"Hiii! This is Cheka uncle Leona's nepew!! Remeber me? I heard from uncle Leona that you wernt feeling good :( I'm sorwy jus t so u know uncle and I relly like you mama papa tool! Get well sooon! Uncle tld me I canot relly sea yu know witch made me sad but its okay! I maid you this drawing of you and me plus uncle and mama and papa eating cake in the guarden! I hope this comes tru! Get well soon big sister/brother!!!" -Love Cheka!💗

"Human it is I Sebek! Eat your meals, get some rest, stop hurting yourself and love yourself...You deserve to do so, I'm not asking on behalf of my young master, everyone and for myself but for you. I will not force you to do anything you dislike but at least take great care of one's self. Hate us if you wish just care for you so take this Tamagotchi the diasomania dorm bought for you ." -Sebek

They couldn't blame them to start crying and panicking when they were nearby or when receiving their gifts and letters...so it's ok. But of course, they also seek professional help to also avoid another overblot.

Because of it all slowly they start having improvements like them not having panic attacks when passing by and on some occasions, they would even text back.

It was very little but for them it is everything.

It motivates them to do more but notes not to overdo it, to go forward because little by little they are slowly but surely putting down their walls.

They even had the chance to sometimes be able to chat with them in person but behind doors/walls.

Grim could even visit them occasionally in person!

And some of the trinkets and presents they gave them weren't always thrown or burnt.

it was a great improvement which made them so so glad!

although they still try to commit suicide and inflicts self harm it was less worst than before.

So they continue to do as they did and would only do things when they feel comfortable in doing so.

It has already been 2 years already and...

"Hey Mc, Let's sit here!" Ace shouted as he sat at an empty table.

"Mmh...kay" they answered.

"Myehehehe! Look Mc! I passed the test!" Grim proudly said.

"That's nice!" They said with a soft smile as they petted the cat monster's head.

Although their reply tends to be rather dry and empty at times it is fine. They are happy to study, hangout, and spend time alongside them.

The graduates would also often visit them when they have time they too notices the differences but are satisfied to how it is now.

"Ace! Deuce!"

"Shit...heyya Riddle-senpai! Long time no see!" Ace said as he nervously rubs the back of his head.

"Oh you to are wanna be the end of me!!! Just because I'm not always in school means the two of you could just go and break the queen's rules!!!! Hah I shouldn't have entrusted the dorm to the both of you..." Riddle said as he massages the bridge of his nose.

"Ahahhaah....sorry dorm leader." Deuce said sincerely apologetic for the trouble he's been causing.

"JNJAKWJDJDJJDJDJSJDNJDDHSJS-"

"Hello-I Riddle calm down...I've brought some newly baked tarts everyone." Trey said upon arrival.

"Epel Flemier!"

"Oh no....Good afternoon Vil-senpai!" Epel said with a 'sweet' smile. "why is he here. He already graduated! JAJSJSJDJ I thought I finally escaped him." He whispered.

"I've heard that! Have you been doing your skin care? Why is your skin so dry and your hair! AJJDDJJDDJC"

"hello Mc and everyone! Seems like everyone's having fun lemme join too!!"

"Kalim-hah there's no stopping him."

"Good day all."

"WAKA-SAMA! THANK YOUAND IT'S AN HONOR FOR SUCH AS YOU TO VISITING US."

Soon all of them are finally present in the cafeteria causing a lot of the 2nd to 1st year's to admire them although with such childish displays from each and everyone of them Mc can't help but chuckle and feel more at ease.

Hearing Mc laugh at their antics made their hearts swell with pride and joy. They've did well. Although they wouldn't be like the person they were before it makes them so happy to see them feel more comfortable than before since the incident.

Although it was quite a shame they couldn't take their friendship to another level yet...it was still fine. They can't really put all their efforts to waste when they've already reached this far! They just need to be more patient and understanding.

Besides if it weren't for their new found 2nd and 1st year's friends they couldn't have done better.

"Heyya Mc, Acey, and Juice-senpai's!” Kroner a nice and goofy 1st year although he is quite dumb but he makes great food and and...talks to squirrels...

"It's Deuce not Juice, Kroner!!!"

"Oh, Sorry Bruce-senpai"

"DEUCE! DE U C E"

"Doesn't he remind me so much of you deuce" ace said teasingly.

"Shut it Ace!"

"Ohhh~! There you are Kroner! Hello senpai's" Yza a very power hungry 2nd year (just like Azul lol) that stick to them like an annoying leech! He has the face of a dinosaur and totally shameless!

"Hey there Yza!” Kroner cheerfully said after all he is his henchman.

"Hey there Kroner!" Yza said with the most fakes and plastic smile.

'Plastic annoying dino' is what most of them thought.

'Today isn't so bad. Everyone is having tons of fun and the air felt light and comfy.' Mc thought as they watched them with a very fond smile.

It has been really hard for them to trust, love, and smile once again. Without their friends, they would have long been 6 feet under. It was a really traumatic experience and they truly wish these kinds of moments stays forever and that they would NEVER meet their alters once again.

Their heart may have shattered and was beyond repair, but their friends still gave their all in sharing theirs slowly while slowly but surely building up their broken heart, although the cracks remain they built a foundation to make be like how it used to be yet warmer and filled.

'I really am lucky to have such people by my side. Soon I will be finally spending these moments with less worry and pain.' They thought as they join in the fun.

Fin<3

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fallenclan · 7 months

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FC I'M GOING TO BLOW UP EXPLODE ABOUT THIS . GOD. GOD!!! CYCLES!!!!!

Otterslip was Insecure as an apprentice, then Ambitious as a warrior, mentored by Maplethorn, the current deputy. Adopted son of the former leader Scorchstar and respected deputy Nettlestem. By all accounts, a good mentor.

Stormsight was Lonesome as an apprentice, then Righteous once they got their name, mentored by Silverbelly. Son of Toro, second of the two litters that redeemed the medicine cat Sunwish in her own eyes.

Interestingly, Silverbelly had that same trait progression - lonesome, then righteous. Which on one paw is really cute to consider that they both dropped the lonesome trait at the end of their apprenticeship, as if to signify they have more support than they first did, or at least first thought, but it *also* means this.

Every single medicine cat since Sunwish, sans Eaglestripe(? from all I could find), has had the Righteous trait at some point. (Eaglestripe was Compassionate, now Loyal.) It shifts as it goes on, growing and changing as it's handed from each mentor to apprentice, but the knowledge is the same. The heart of it is the same. It's an unbroken line from Sunwish, all the way down.

The righteousness is a part of that, I think. At least for Silverbelly and Stormsight. Silver might've suspected, and Storm might've found out for sure - after all, he saw Nick in his apprenticeship. It's not unimaginable that he could see another Starclan cat more recently. That he could ask.

I wonder if he told Otter, too. If he thought he deserved to know, or if let it slip in an argument, or Otter saw or heard him and Silverbelly talking and suspected the worst - confirmed it, teeth bared in rage, near the edge of the cliff.

That's not the point of this ask, though - that cycles are. BECAUSE! I'M GOING INSANE ABOUT BOTH THE SIMILARITIES HERE AND WHERE THEY DIFFER.

Both Sunwish and Stormsight wanted to reach out to someone before their murders. Only Stormsight succeeded in this. Both were Righteous, and struck down by someone who grew to loathe them, possibly blaming them for the death of someone dear who couldn't be saved. Otterslip was trying to defend his mother's secret, too. Both were medicine cats struck down by their own clanmates. Sunwish didn't want to be. (Do they even remember that part of her story, anymore?) (God. Lays on the ground. I wonder if it was the opposite that sealed Stormsight's fate. His connection to Starclan gave him the chance to learn the truth, and it was for the truth Otterslip killed him.)

As much as Otterslip's hurt and fury at Grassroot's death (WHICH I AM. SO MOROSE ABOUT I'LL MISS HER… . God. Imagine Grassroot having to look down and see her dad doing this. Being exposed to this seasons-old anguish and having to reconcile her place in all of it. She didn't *ask* for this.) makes sense, it's not a solid defense. Grassroot was killed by a dog - there probably wouldn't be a chance she *could* be saved, even if she was alive when they found her, and still alive when a medicine cat could attend her with the herbs necessary. And besides that, Stormsight isn't the only current medicine cat! Silverbelly, Eaglestripe, both were equally bound to try and save Grassroot's life, and they couldn't. But Silver was here before him, he grew up beside her, and Eagle is still just a kid. And of course - even if Silver's not his favourite cat, he doesn't **hate** either of them like he does Stormsight.

So it has to be his fault.

god… I had to stop typing to handle something so I've kind of lost my train of thought but this is . SO. God.

Thinks about Silverbelly. JUST READ THE NEWEST JAGUARFIC. GOD. THINKS ABOUT SILVERBELLY X100. Ohhh unrelated to current tangent but Jaguar I really enjoy how you take care to use more cats than just the focuses, it makes the whole clan feel a little more alive, it's nice :3… BUT SERIOUSLY. Silver just lost one of her own kits a few moons ago, grandkits left behind, and Stormy - god. Stormsight was her little brother. Stormsight was her little brother, her apprentice, he was stubborn and passionate and he liked to make her laugh, she got to see him come into his own from the lonely kit he used to be, and he just. He never comes back. What did they even talk about last? After everything about Sunwish - did she wish him good luck, when he left? Did she remember to say I love you? What was the last thing he said to Eaglestripe, his apprentice, bound by blood and teaching, that kind-hearted cat who's grown so well herself? Did Eagle even know something was going on?

Does Stormsight weep angry tears for them, from his perch in the stars? Does he wish, desperately, to warn them? For someone to *know?* Does Sunwish sit beside him, bad with cats at the best of times but feeling the need to support him, this apprentice of her apprentice, this kit she saw as a newborn, struck down for trying to reveal her own fate? More than her - does he get his tearful embrace with Toro and Goosewing, do they sit vigil with him from the clouds? Is Scorchstar warned away with raised hackles, the wound still all too fresh?

Sorry. Sorry. I'm thinking all too much.

(- 🐈‍⬛)

i am so fucking unwell about this whole thing. but yeah Stormsight and Silverbelly were Best Fucking Friends. making me even sadder

#falls onto the ground and fucking dies forever.#fallenasks #black cat anon

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bluskye-27 · 2 years

Note

Hey Skye!!! Happy to hear that you are feeling good!! (I’m the anon who asked for Marco, Sabo, Zoro and Ace with a shy S/O) I just loved it so much!! Thank you so much again for doing it!!!

Sooooo…I have another request, if it’s possible could you please do headcannons on Zoro, Law and Sabo (as last time add someone you like if you want) on how they would react if one day s/o finds a childhood friend wile out with them on an island and they notice that this childhood friend has a crush on s/o, even after s/o presents them as the boyfriend, the childhood friend continues to flirt (but not enough for s/o to catch it but for the op boys to understand)??

Thank you so much!!

~✨

Zoro, Law, Sabo & Ace reacts to Fem! S/O's Flirty Childhood Friend

Summary: You and your boyfriend were on a date on a new island when you guys ran into your childhood friend, who's very flirty, I might add.

It was a nice day for new adventures. You and your crew recently docked at this beautiful island surrounded by different plants and flowers. It was called Flora Island, a Spring Island in the New World.

You and your boyfriend decided to go together to explore the island, holding hands as you excitedly pointed at the things that fascinate you while he smiles at you lovingly. Suddenly, a gasp made the both of you turned to the source.

"Y/N! IS THAT REALLY YOU???" The person laughed as they hugs you tightly, confusing you and your boyfriend. "It's been years! How are you??" And that's when it click, you let out gasp of your own, looking at the person excitedly.

"CF/N!!" You squealed as you hugged them back, not noticing the red blush spreading across their face. But your boyfriend did and he's definitely not happy when your childhood friend started flirting with the oblivious you.

Roronoa Zoro:

- He's chill at first when the two of you chatted happily. He's smiling slightly at your excited state but that quickly turned upside down when CF/N whispered something into your ear that makes you blush.

- Zoro's face progressively turning sour as your stupid friend kept flirting with you right in front of him, your boyfriend.

- The nerve

- But he kept his cool, not wanting to ruin your reunion with your long lost friend.

- "Say, Y/n. I've been meaning to tell you this when we were kids but I didn't had the chance to. Would you like to be mine?" CF/N whispered huskily, taking your hand to kiss on your knuckles.

- You just chuckled nervously and was about to reply but-

- "Roronoa Zoro, Y/n's boyfriend. Nice to meet you." Zoro smirked, pulling your hand away from your friend's hold before intertwining it with his.

- CF/N paled immediately once they heard his name, ranting out a quick excuse before dashing off.

- "Bye, CF/N!" You called out to them before turning to your smug boyfriend.

- "What?" He asked but you just shook your head at him, sighing.

- "Jealous much?" "I-I'M NOT!"

- Zoro would have his arm around your shoulder the whole time, not letting you out of his sight. Not when your stupid friend tried to take you away from him before :<!

Trafalgar Law:

- Law looked at you two blankly as you and your friend chat, laughing occasionally at any mentioned funny past memories.

- He relaxed, knowing that you're in safe hands. But his brow twitched once he saw your friend put their arm around your shoulder.

- "How about I treat you to a dinner, hm?" CF/N smirked and tried to whisk you away but a bush was switched with you instead. They gasped.

- "I would like you to keep your hands to yourself if you still wanted to keep them." Law smirked, keeping his arm securely around your shoulder.

- CF/N trembled in fear before running away, screaming his head off.

- "Was that really necessary, Law?" You sighed.

- Law chuckled as the two of you continued on your date.

- "Yes, yes it was."

- It's pretty rare to see Law jealous so you never missed this opportunity to tease him, giggling at his cute reactions.

Sabo the Revolutionary:

- You two were actually in a vacation when you ran into CF/N. Currently, you were laughing nervously when they flirted with you.

- You looked at Sabo for help, who was smiling at the two of you the whole time.

- Yeah, he's smiling but his right hand was preparing to Dragon Claw the fuck out of your friend's skull.

- "So, Y/n! Wanna go on a date with me?"

- You smiled at them nervously and went to answer but Sabo beat you into it.

- "Actually, me and Y/n were currently on a date. So, if you don't mind." Sabo then gracefully pulled you into his arms and carried you bridal style. "We'll take our leave now." And then sashayed away with you in his arms.

- "Oh my gosh, Sabo." You mumbled out behind your hands which are currently hiding your flustered face from the world.

- Sabo, the ever-smug gremlin, swooped down and kissed your forehead.

- "Love you too~"

- Yeah, Sabo will not let anyone take his precious princess from him, ever.

Portgas D. Ace:

- Like a puppy wanting attention, Ace would be pouting at the two of you the whole time.

- He even crossed his arms like a kid throwing a tantrum too! XD

- At first, he would whine loudly to get your attention but you just shushed him so you and your friend can continue chatting.

- Ace was now kicking away pebbles while waiting for you to finish your reunion. He was so focused on counting the pebbles he kicked when CF/N dropped the bomb.

- "Y/n, I like you ever since we were kids. Are you willing to be my girlfriend?" CF/N smiled at you.

- OH HELL NO! Ace's head turned towards the two of you in a neck breaking speed, his once pouty expression turning into a scowling, jealous face.

- The freckled male would push you behind him as he stared down at CF/N intimidately.

- "Oi, who do you think you are?"

- CF/N scowled back at him for interrupting their confession. "Uh, Y/n's future lover?"

- Ace would laughed at them mockingly before giving them the deadliest glare he could ever make.

- "Listen here, punk. Not only you interrupted me and Y/n's date, and now you have the nerve to confess to my girlfriend right in front of my face? The fucking audacity."

- CF/N was now shaking in their shoes once they saw the 2nd Division Commander of WBP's infamous death glare. Who would have thought that the rumors about this was true?

- "I'M SO SORRY!" CF/N wailed as he ran off.

- Smiling triumphantly, Ace turned to you to hear your praise but he frowned once he saw the unamused stare you gave him.

- "Portgas D. Ace."

- Oh shit, he's screwed, Ace gulped.

Hello, Anon! Sorry for the late answer :(. Hope you like this one! I have fun with these HCs ngl ;).

Thank you so much for requesting!

#roronoa zoro #roronoa zoro x reader #one piece zoro x reader #trafalgar d water law #trafalgar law #trafalgar law x reader #one piece law x reader #sabo the revolutionary #sabo the revolutionary x reader #one piece sabo x reader #portgas d. ace #portgas d ace x reader #fire fist ace x reader #one piece ace x reader

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thefirstknife · 8 months

Note

If going by the Destiny 2 content creator reactions and their fans of Lightfall then the greatest enemy to all is the concept of a Cliffhanger.

There people wouldn't be able to handle any non bing able media. If they had to watch Breaking Bad, any mystery story or what have you before Netflix i imagine they'd throw a fit

Yeah, I'm feeling the same. I genuinely don't know what people expected from a penultimate expansion. Talked about it before in regards to how the marketing for Lightfall may have been a little weird and how people ended up feeling misled by it, which is a fair complaint to have. But if we go further than that, I still don't know why people expected "all answers immediately" from an expansion that's clearly not the final one. We knew right away that this is not the ending.

This is a good opportunity to talk a bit more about some extra stuff which will be below, because I'm choosing mercy for people on mobile:

Another thing that gets me as well is that this is simply how Destiny always does the story. Like, it's a live service game and has been for 10 years. Campaigns are on a frequent hit-or-miss scale and aren't really all that expansive on their own anyway; a 3 hour campaign is NOT and never has been the totality of Destiny's story. As a matter of fact, like 90% of Destiny's story is told in written format with lore and side quests and other stories, not in campaigns. Campaigns are generally just the initial setpieces that shift the narrative in a certain direction with a singular event, but the majority of the story happens as consequences of that, over the course of years.

There's been so much stuff that we've been waiting for years to be explained. I always figured this as something that the Destiny community loves and expects. I got here only in D2 and only got into lore properly in Shadowkeep, so everything I knew by reading about Destiny's past story and community reception was that the mystery and the players coming together to figure things out was one of the main draws of the game. That's how I perceived the game, its lore and its community when I joined. As something where we work together to pore through texts to understand where things are and where they are going.

Actually, recently one of the biggest complaints going from Beyond Light and onwards was that Destiny has lost its mystery component. It's been a frequent and overwhelming critique of the story and seasons. How seasons are here to just quickly sum everything up in neat and presentable infodumps given to us by characters and lore tabs that tell us everything directly without any need for deeper engagement. This obviously isn't even fully true (Beyond Light's deepest mystery remained undetected and misunderstood by the majority of the playerbase and still is to this day (that would be Savathun replacing Osiris)), but overall yeah, certain things were absolutely streamlined in comparison with how lore was done before.

Like, no contest: frequent seasonal story drops that give us dozens of lore books, item lore, quest lore, dialogues and so on over the year that are easy to acquire and are readable in the game, as well as stories that happen weekly and are more engaging than just playing a 2 hour campaign every six months or every year have all done A LOT for the lore to be more approachable and less "mysterious." I put that in quotes because people frequently also misinterpret what "mysterious" means or at least aren't talking about the same concept. I've noticed that there's quite a bit of backlash for stories being resolved and character arcs being finished. To a lot of people, that's the removal of "mystery." In a sense, a lot of people want an endless story that never resolves but that gives just enough easily consumable fandom-related details that aren't really progressing the story in a meaningful direction.

But yeah. To end this tangent here, people have been complaining a lot about the lack of mysteries and wonder in Destiny. Which is just weird to me because that's just how stories work. At some point, the story will start resolving the mysteries. And yet, then came Lightfall which brought completely new mysteries and some of the most fascinating ones I've ever experienced in the entire Destiny setting and people just kinda... Didn't care. I attribute a lot of this to people just not recognising that they're no longer into the story all that much. They no longer want to engage with a mystery, they just want to see the conclusion. They don't have the energy or the interest to pore through the texts anymore or engage with the fandom or, indeed, wait for information to be revealed, especially if this isn't the type of stuff they like.

For example, there's a lot of fans of the type of gothic horror mystery about the Hive and Lightfall simply does not fit that aesthetic. And mind you, Destiny is famous for genre switching all the time so this is something that should be expected. But Lightfall's futuristic high concept scifi story that's about virtual realities, mind uploading, human experimentation with nanotechnology, bizarre alien entities that play with the concepts of consciousness and the nature of reality, and so on is something that a lot of people have no interest in. And as much as I want to say "skill issue," it's a matter of taste. It's completely normal to me that there's people who aren't into this. However, a lot of those people just refused to engage and then proceeded to say that the story is objectively bad, "worst expansion ever" and so on. Absolutely insane to me. Like, genuinely baby behaviour in my mind. The "upset because we're not about me" type. Meanwhile I've seen a plethora of people who have quietly, almost ashamed, admitted that they like this stuff more than Witch Queen. No one should be ashamed or afraid to say that.

And most of all, there was disappointment that a "new mystery" was started "too late" when things were "supposed to be explained." And first of all, things ARE being explained. Again, this is a live service game. It's updating over the course of the year. We've received so many explanations and threads to follow and read about and engage with while we wait. That's the whole point; keep the content coming over time. Second, for people who claim that "Lightfall's campaign wasn't complete," yes it was. The Lightfall campaign was to save Neomuna and stop the Witness from destroying the Veil. We did both of those, except the Witness deceived us (as it is known to do) and it never wanted to destroy the Veil in the first place; it wanted us to get there with a Ghost. And it ends with us falling for that deception (out of necessity of course: our hands were kinda forced. Brilliant deception in that regard) and losing to the Witness as it hijacks our Ghost and opens the portal (but we do end up saving Neomuna and have the Veil at our disposal now to start researching it). This is known as a plot twist: a big "oh shit" moment in the climax of the story where we realise we've been duped and we've done exactly what the villain wanted all along.

Which leads me to the third point, perfectly summarised by your ask and by a single word: it's a cliffhanger. Lightfall is the penultimate expansion in a ten years long story. It's a cliffhanger before the end. It's supposed to keep us wondering what the fuck happened and how are we going to solve this until TFS drops. It's supposed to question our place in the universe, our understanding of it, the nature of everything we've learned so far, the extent to which we were right and wrong about the Light and Darkness, as we prepare for the finale of the saga. I genuinely don't know which answers people were expecting to be delivered in a 3 hour campaign that would immediately tell you everything you need to know and then you'd put the game down for a year OR you would keep playing and seasonal stories would just be meaningless side stories that don't progress the plot (yet ANOTHER complaint about seasons that's been going on for a very long time and an unsolvable problem: people want seasons to be meaningful stories that progress the plot but also not meaningful enough so that they can be freely skipped without missing important story bits. These are contradictory statements. Both cannot be true).

And of course, it's completely normal if this just didn't work for people. It's an important distinction to make here; "I understand what it tried to do, but it didn't work well for me" is a completely different statement from "this was a bad story and the worst expansion ever." I've never seen this distinction being made as pretty much everyone only ever spoke about it in the latter terms. How the state of the story is awful and "dangerous," how the writers "dropped the ball," how things are horrifically bad and nonsensical and so on. In worst cases, it was straight up "Bungie should fire these writers." There's also a lot of people who claim wholeheartedly that they've understood the story, but then can't tell you what the theme was or they start going on about how Nimbus was a bad character who "wasn't even sad for Rohan," which immediately tells me they haven't finished the story. So I'm afraid I don't believe those specific types when they say that they understood it, but didn't like it.

Most of all, this was a REALLY long-winded way to say that this ask basically says it as concisely as possible: Lightfall is a cliffhanger before the end. It's SO important to consume more than one media and learn some media literacy. This isn't even remotely a long wait as far as cliffhangers go in general. We need people to stop expecting the media to get churned out mindlessly in quick succession for instant gratification. Hell, some would absolutely classify Destiny as being churned out quickly. And meanwhile we have players here losing their minds and crying and throwing things because they have to wait 3 months for a new season. Absolutely bizarre to me. Try waiting for a book series to continue for longer than ten years.

#destiny 2 #lightfall #ask #long post #if you click read more

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creativebrainrot · 4 months

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Open Journal Entry - New Years (2023)

okay so i canNOT be coherent but fuck theres a lot on my mind right now.

this year was the worst fucking year of my life- it's atLEAST in the top 3.

We faced near-homelessness, awful food insecurity, the death of two beloved pets, the death of our abuser, of 20+ years, after he had only been out of our lives for two/three years at that point, and he did it to himself.

Our car broke down, our debt got worse, our abuser's family tried to take out home from us, they were such cunts. We had been trying to sell our house all year, we didn't succeed until a month ago.

I lost my first ever cat and it still hurts that she might be here right now if we had only had more money saved. She had a great life but I wasn't ready to let go of her, and I don't think losing BK will ever stop hurting. I miss her sweet little face so much. I miss her sweet little chirps and her silliness and just her presence so fucking much. it's agonizing. I miss her.

This year was one in four awful fucking years.

I don't know if 2023 was worse than 2022 for me. They feel like the same year. It was fucking awful.

But.

Last december, I forced myself to reach out. I made myself make a little "hey does this fandom have any guilds or discord servers for/by gw2blr?" post before I went to sleep for the night. I made myself reach out right before I had to sleep so that I couldn't panic and take it back.

It was one of the best decisions I've ever made for myself. I made my first ever friends from that decision. In fact the person (hi silv ily silv (/platonic)) who invited me to the gw2 server I hold so dear (hi slei ily slei and stuu ily stu /platonic kissy ur forehead) Is one of my closest friends now.

I have, a lot of issues. with trust and self-love and self-worth and I still struggle so much with thinking im not good enough and that everyone will find someone better etc etc I've made insanely good progress AND i have never before had people in my life that I feel like I know I can trust with myself. i am staring directly at my good friends Silvesi and Wynn/Straywyvern. shoutout to you to Specifically.

AND

im throwing affection directly at all of my friends. sorry im just like this not sorry receive affection for the new year CUNTS-

I absolutely love talking with Silv & Wynn & Del, you motherfuckers understand me on a very specific and unique autistic level ily and i love talking to you and infodumping to you and shitposting with you etc etc we need to be more insane with eachother more often beloved friends etc etc my besties <3

I've met so many people who while im not as close with them I love and am so fucking happy i met them and got to be friends with them regardless. lieflet, stu, slei, mabi, dot, lynx, fox oh my god theres so many of you.

youre so creative, kind, fun, chill, I feel safe with you and I love being stupid with you and im so glad I met the lot of you.

I've met so many fucking artists I admire so much through slei's gw2 server and that server is so relaxed and fun and chill I miss being able to hang out with you all in game. "your idols are your peers" lives in my head rent free as quote because its so true and I love. I Love.

im rlly hoping this next year my dad and I can fucking relax. for TWO minutes. oh my god.

I miss being able to relac. I miss feeling safe. I miss, so much. But not the last four years, and not that shit house I grew up in.

What I look forward to is pestering my besties more and more as I become more and more confident in myself and what others seem to see in me. I can't see it, but I'm gonna try and trust the words you say to me more and more.

Even if I end up being right, my worst fears come true, eventually. I'm gonna put in the effort like this is "forever" because we deserve to try the best for ourselves Right Now.

here's to the new year At The Very Least not getting WORSE.

#creativelyrottedmind #rotthoughts #theres some negative stuff in here and heavier mentions #pet death #abuse #theres so much on my mind and i cant wait for january because it can all reset for a second

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surely-galena · 6 months

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ToT Main Story 10 Thoughts/Commentary (Part 3)

[1] [2] [3] [4]

Whoa MC!! It's really easy to forget that she's got experience in drama/theater because it's mostly in the card stories (Artem's 1st birthday, SSR Por Una Cabeza), but she definitely hasn't lost her touch because she's still a good actress!

(Actually, more about acting later. That's why there are four parts to this HAHA.)

But in the moment, even in the stress, she's still able to believably act as if she's turning on Vyn, as if she doesn't know him, as if she is perfectly capable of killing him. Even if she was just in a near-death situation, she's really good at keeping her cool. MC/Rosa is definitely not to be underestimated.

Ah, the NSB is coming up again. I'm still not really sure how I feel about their involvement (I'm still suspicious), but I guess they're probably the best people for this sort of task.

Okay, this last line really struck me.

"Truths may not only be exposed in the light. Sometimes, the truths in the shadows will have greater value."

As the main story has progressed, we have slowly edged closer and closer into darker territory -- the shadows, if you will.

I always come back to main story 6 when I think about this because that was our first ever episode without a trial at the end. That was also the first one where MC was directly involved in a near-death experience with the main villain and one where it was difficult to truly bring the truth "in the light" because everything was just so messy. It was difficult to salvage the pieces of main story 6 and bring it to justice, because there wasn't anyone left to bring to justice at that stage.

So it makes sense that MC and the NXX Investigation Team are probably going to go into even darker areas, not necessarily for justice, because that's not quite the point here, but for truth. When they play it safe, it's harder to get the full story. Only when they step into the shadows can they really unravel everything that is going on.

Right, okay. I'm... kind of confused by Jerome's mixed signals. We know he's not to be trusted (especially with the scene near the end where he's reaching out to Brigid), but he also seems to be... dropping hints?

Does he want MC to figure out the truth? Is he deliberately setting a trap for the NXX by baiting them with information, like some kind of setup or long con? Jerome is still very much a mystery to me, but if there is one thing I can be certain of, it's that he's been gradually appearing more and more throughout the main story. I don't doubt we're going to be seeing more of him as the mystery continues to unravel.

It's been a while since I've seen her sprite, but Matthew bears a very strong resemblance to Jill/Reina Richter (I think it's Reina now, right?). It's cool seeing the artist incorporate common details between biologically-related characters (e.g. Marius & Giann & Austin, Artem & Kimberly).

Ohh. The Richters are getting involved? Okay, so maybe Vyn does have more stakes in the situation than the missing NXX members.

Truth and Heroism

A mini segment about some themes I've been mulling over (in relation to ToT).

I feel like a lot of the VNs I've been thinking about lately have been talking about truth and apparently ToT main story 10 is no exception to that. I think it's important that in MC's pursuit of the truth, she does stop and remind herself that truth can be cruel in the moment. There may be even more horrifying things in store for her and the NXX Investigation Team. But even as they edge closer and closer to painful answers, they have to see everything through to the end. Even if it hurts. Even if things turn out to be worse than they ever imagined.

And then this last bit struck me because in a way, the NXX Investigation Team are heroes. They're a little glorified because MC is part of that team and also all the guys are love interests, but with MC, they've been helping to bring justice to Stellis or learn more about the greater plot.

But Brad Gries is different, because he's just some guy who doesn't even have a sprite, who thought that something had to be done in order to avoid a worse thing happening. And he's dead, and it wasn't a pretty way to go, and that's apparently case closed on main story 10 (final scene aside). There's something tragic about that. Maybe, in a way, Brad is somewhat of a microcosm of the people of Stellis. People who are fighters -- people who hope for things to happen or not happen, people who MC tries so hard to help and bring justice to. People who aren't always saved. People who don't get to see justice in their lifetime.

#tears of themis #part 4 is going to be delayed since I'm super busy this weekend but it's more like a bonus so it won't disrupt the flow

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leatherbookmark · 6 months

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another thing is that like. s1 wasn't the most brilliant thing in the whole universe but it did have a slowly progressing community plot. in the first episode, the crew's plotting to kill stede off, in episode 3 jim says he's the worst captain ever, but by episode 9 they've all grown to like him at least a bit, and so they confirm that he absolutely is a real pirate, eligible to use the act of grace, and they even do the talk it through as a crew thing. very cute!

and then s2 just... kindasorta... does... nothing... with that? sure, the crews get separated, they earned some trauma, but it's a comedy series and surely they can get over it and be one crew together again, right? look, half of the crew stays with stede even though they could have just left him -- he has nothing to offer them, after all -- the other half misses the life on the old revenge, then everyone's working with stede to take the revenge back, they're coming back home! they unionize (lol) against stede in ep4 to banish ed because he makes them feel unsafe, then in ep5 to make stede get rid of that awful cursed suit! in ep6, they have a big fun party!

eeeeexcept the swede just leaves without a second thought, and after he's gone no one misses him. buttons gets roach going "did he really turn into a bird or did you kill him", but that's it, no one misses him either and no one really notices they've lost two crew members in a couple of days. when a character is absent because their actor is absent, no one really goes "hey, where's X?", no one really notices that, so we have not one but two annoying examples of "wow, i was doing X and i missed all this stuff!" (lucius+pete and fang). olu, jim and archie are totally up for leaving stede's crew to join zheng yi sao for... no reason whatsoever. i've seen meta that it's because they don't feel comfortable on the ship or don't trust ed anymore, or have enough of stede's 15 minutes of fame, but like, is it text that this is the reason why they're leaving, or just something you as a fan figured out because you actively tried to find an explanation? sure, the crew wasn't a big fan of ed's apology, but did anyone protest very much, aside from lucius? not really. no one tried to get him to leave, no one avoided him during the party, the animosity, if it was there, just wasn't shown.

and now, in episode 8, well. everyone knows what happened in episode 8.

i'm kinda laughing bitterly here, because i made a post about how what izzy's done to the crew wasn't that much worse than what the crew do to each other, and does it mean they're not a good crew and don't care about each other?, no!, it means we're in a workplace comedy and everyone's a bit of an asshole! except. except i was kind of right, because the crew just goes and falls apart and it's barely noticeable, like they weren't a crew in the first place. it's not even sad, it doesn't have a reason, they just scatter around -- whether it's an actor wanting out, or scheduling conflicts, or money issues, i don't know, or the writers needing something that would piss stede off enough to challenge zheng yi sao to a stupid duel. the reviews and reactions to ep 6 were all wow, so moving, so euphoric, a love letter to the queer community, and it's like, a what to what. where. i don't see anything.

i've no idea, maybe djenks really looked at this episode and thought oh yeah, this is a good save point before s3, if we get renewed we can work from here, if we don't it's still a nice ending, but it's literally not in both cases. if it's an ending, it sucks. if it's a middle point, i don't actually want a s3 because the community is not a thing, my favourite little guy was killed off in the stupidest way possible, and the mains got the ending that i thought would never happen since s1, because it's too easy, too utopian, and besides it was obvious that the inn thing was only ed's escapist fantasy and he needs to find himself and what he really wants just like stede. ha. haha. ha.

i don't really care about this show anymore in the form it is now is the thing.

#shrimp thoughts #ofmd spoilers #and they started off so nicely! ah well. another proof you can't expect nice things from life lmao #ps if anyone doesn't disagree w/ me here they can counter it in their own separate post because for obvious reasons #i don't really feel like arguing now! sorry

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entering--hyperspace · 7 months

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Emperor and Págos dynamic rambling

I being a sort of "My Tav's core romance is with the emperor" vibe that Normal baldurs gate players really dont like

Anyway. I feel like i've gone through all stages of grief and have temporarily arrived at acceptance for this brief period of time, lets get it.

I'm going to ramble abt Págos individually. and their dynamic as that progresses.

Págos may not initially be aware that he's a dragon, but he sure does act like one. He cannot shake the core of who he is, personality shaped by being the truth of his origins.

He is Stubborn, he sees the world in hard rights and wrongs but not in the sense of morality but rather what he deems to make sense. And yet he carries with him the patience of a being that can live for centuries, a sort of stillness to conflict. Inherently intense but not negatively so. Half of who he is, half of what it took for when he became tired of war and conquest. And he is also alien to it, in his life he was always both the mighty and the meek, and with his lost memories in the present he can sense something missing about himself and his relations to others but isn't able to fully grasp it.

So. The dream visitor. Of course he does not trust him, why would he? It is obvious to him, he knows war, he knows tactics and manipulation, he knows when he is being lied to. And yet, the sincerity is what gives him pause, the half truths, the small slips of the mask.

Their conversations are tip toeing on ice, smiles even though they are both aware a game is being played. So after the initial first icebreaker conversations, they start treating each visit like a game of chess. Embrace the power of the tadpoles, the confidence it isn't needed, why follow the instructions when the person giving them is obviously wearing a mask.

I think the emperor initially found him frustrating, and vice versa, but there was a realization that they were equally matched and what was frustration became begrudging Admiration. Dare I say another shared trait was loneliness. As much as they both needed an ally, the dream visitor needed a friend though he would probably think he was above such sentiment. Págos was surrounded by people he was growing closer to, but at the same time no one was able to engage him quite like his mysterious ally could.

Págos got him to reveal more of his true feelings than he would like to admit. And then the climax of it all: the dream visitor a mindflayer. And more surprising: Págos did not care. I mean, he cared for an explanation, but he does not hold the same knowledge of mindflayers, its not above him of there being a possibility that in the evilness of their faction, one could be good. The same way chromatic dragons and their followers were infamous for their own "evil" ambitions, while he decided to break free of it.

I think their thin friendship grew into an actual one after more truths were revealed. Págos valued his opinion more than he did beforehand, and The Emperor was willing to briefly put aside his own arrogance for the one person who could actually challenge him. You need me, I need you.

It was only natural it would evolve into something further, I think it was only elevated by the way Págos treated him as an individual rather than a presumptuous idea of what a mindflayer is, not out of sympathy really, but more out of like, facts. I think the idea of them being equally matched in the "games" they play with each other is kinda attractive to him (the emperor). Someone who could match him move for move.

For Págos…

But what is more tempting to a dragon than gold and glory? Devotion to a cause. to a person, to a feeling.

I do want to clarify that Págos do grow to care deeply about him, I just meant like, to Págos it was much less complicated on his part. I feel like the emperor had a whole thing he had to process before he came to the conclusion he was growing fond of Págos, whereas Págos that's just simply what it was. There was no questioning it.

Anyway, Ough. The wyrm trials, the "there is no war in ba sing se" moment. Págos has almost always been able to tell when he was lying, and it became even more obvious after sharing their minds together that one night, he can read him so much easier. So of course he knew he was lying again

And so the reveal of Ansur, the reveal of his past life as Balduran, and Págos' memories flooding back about who HE is.

The only reason Págos and the emperor were not aware of the fact he's a dragon is because the emperor didn't Dig for his memories, he merely studied what was given and there in the moment.

When Ansur possesses him its stated in the game he quite literally Forces himself into your mind, he searches through every inch of it. And I think at first he is too distracted by Balduran's presence. It's not until he gets to the part where he calls Págos Balduran's "thrall" that he hesitates. He searches deeper, and it makes him Angrier.

Him digging deeper into Págos' mind causes Págos to remember. His mother, his clan in its entirety, his nature as a white dragon, But Págos doesn't get to swallow this until later. Ansur gets angrier. He accuses Balduran of replacing him with another Dragon, of making a dragon his thrall, it disgusts him further. And before anyone can get answers the fight begins as it does in game.

The afterwards conversation feels like more of a confrontation, pointed sharp questions. "Why did you keep this from me" "why did you never speak of him" "Why did you kill him" Págos' emotions slipping through due to the revelations about himself also. Ansur was his friend, and yet the emperor probably knew him better than he did. And yet there is that one inexplicable truth. Ansur inspired him to break free of the oath, and it was Ansur's oath that killed him. The cruel irony of it all.

The emperor answers this less defensive than he does in game. I feel like he is a little more sincere in this canon with the fact that he and Págos are...something.

And Págos cannot deny his logic. Its true he was an adventurer, ansur was never mentioned and he never asked, it's true Págos knows what survival can do to someone. He's seen it, he has lived it, he has been the hand that twisted back the knife many times. "You would have done the same." A statement the emperor knows is true. But it's the withholding of more information that angers Págos, rightfully of course. And then the final sting of, "Will you kill me too?" Because Págos cannot devote himself to something that will once again lead him to a cliff's edge, not again.

I think the emperor is more vulnerable there, he tells him how he still mourns his previous companions, he tells him how much he lost, and he tells him of course not, Págos is different, he Trusts him, it was for his own survival, a last resort. At the same time, he is trying to do and say anything that will keep Págos at his side, because just this once he found an ally,a partner that accepts him as he is (and is powerful at that) the idea of losing that…he would avoid it by any means necessary.

#págos #bg3 tav #bg3 emperor #thats all im tagging this as bc this is legit just shit abt my tav

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laceratedlamiaceae · 7 months

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Okay, I spent a few days offline, touched some grass, talked to people IRL, rewatched Everything Everywhere All At Once and some old Contrapoints videos to get some perspective, and I was able to emotionally distance myself from the show enough to rewatch it. Long rambly thoughts below:

I tried going in with the intention of feeling sympathetic for Ed. Needless to say that didn't happen, but I was able to watch his scenes without literally feeling like I was going to throw up, so that's progress I guess. I understand what they're going for with him, but I'm fundamentally uninterested in stories centering the feelings of abusive men over those of their victims. That was obviously how things were going to go, seeing as he's one of the two main characters, and I should have braced myself more for that going into it, but I didn't and as a result I kind of lost it.

I have some hope that they're not just going to have him be forgiven immediately (or at all, honestly) at the end of the season--that would be fine in another show, but not in this one after the direction they've already taken it--but to be honest I've completely lost all my respect for the writers of this show and the story they're trying to tell. In the abstract sense I can get the appeal of the message that even people at their lowest are capable of healing and are worthy of love and care, but the specifics of how it's being handled in this show don't work for me.

Taking a step back from the fandom has also helped me realize that engaging so much with it wasn't good for me; even with every possible variant of "edward teach" added to my filtered tags, I kept seeing posts sympathizing with him and I just don't want to see that--I think a lot of my over-the-top hatred is just a reaction to seeing so much over-the-top love for him; watching the show with some distance from all of that, I was able to just be vaguely annoyed and disinterested by Ed instead of, again, feeling literally sick (seriously. when I first watched the episodes I actually felt queasy at all the bits trying to cultivate sympathy for him). It was kind of a bummer to add "ofmd" to my filters, and I'm sure I've missed out on some cool posts, but overall it's been really good for me. I'm still going to be posting about Izzy and all the other characters I love, but I'm going to do my best to avoid other people's posts.

I think in general I just need to take a different perspective to this show. Instead of seeing it as a great show that I'm a fan of, even if there are some elements I dislike, I'm going to try looking at it like a set of dolls where I can play with the ones I like (which is most of them) and throw everything I don't like (Ed) in the trash. I'm also going to try not spending like 10 hours a day making gifs and scrolling through tumblr, I feel like that might help lol

#ofmd #rambling

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