Not like I haven’t been drawing other casual ship art for other stuff I’m into but pegoryu really took a hold on me because of how easy it was to run with since Ryuji’s SOOO “if I’m not casually touching my best bro ILL DIE”

22 or 23 please

I am so sorry it took me so long to answer this my inspiration fluctuates between things like a ping pong ball! Despite it being about the blorbo of all time 😭

22 is gonna be answered in another post!

23. Unpopular character you love?

MERLIN

And that should be very obvious. 🤣

Listen. I love him. I do. But… I have a few problems with his character now, and that’s because of the writers.

He’s pretty inconsistent sometimes.

For one, his powers. (Or supposed lack thereof?)

He’s described as the most powerful wizard to have ever lived, but he doesn’t… really do anything to show it.

He banished Morgana himself according to Trollhunters, ended the Eternal Night, fought the Arcane Order for a millenia, (all offscreen), was implied to have banished their Titans himself, and was briefly able to put Bellroc and Skrael in chains. That’s… pretty much it.

The discrepancy in his magic is really obvious between Trollhunters and Wizards if you take the time to think about it. For one example, in Trollhunters, he flies when he ends the Eternal Night; in Wizards, he levitates himself on a chest to get himself up to his ship?

For another example, I’ve seen so many people talk about how “weak” he is because he couldn’t make the Amulet or banish Morgana without Douxie’s help. But in Trollhunters, he builds it alone, with Moppet!Douxie only handing him the parts he needed, and he could have used his telekinesis for that. He also banishes Morgana himself, and he thought his magic was gone because of that, not because of Morgana keeping him asleep and stealing it for nine hundred years.

In Wizards, Douxie does most of the work building the Amulet, and he’s the one who banished Morgana because Merlin “couldn’t”.

But those are retcons. There’s literally art of the cave painting where he banishes Morgana in the artbook!

He got nerfed!

He also has powers that seem to only be there for one plot reason, and they’re never mentioned again, as if he, the wizard who is supposed to be the most powerful one of time according to the writers before he showed up onscreen, would forget about them. I can think of at least two: teleportation and freezing time. Teleportation was only used once. Once, a barely noticeable time when he did it in A House Divided to leave Jim alone to think. Not when Galahad’s sacrificing himself, not when Arthur is jumping right towards him, and not when Arthur has him in a chokehold. Freezing time was also only used once! It wasn’t used in literally any situation where it would have been a lifesaver. (Possibly literally.) It wasn’t used when again, Galahad was sacrificing himself, when Jim was slamming the shard in his heart to become, unbeknownst to him, a beast under the Order’s control, when Beast!Jim was holding his son hostage, and when Arthur was, again, jumping right towards him. But it’s used in the next episode after he dies to save Douxie, who I have complicated feelings about. But he’s going to be in another post.

That’s just his powers. Now onto his trauma and how that isn’t shown at all!

He’s already so interesting but he could have been so much MORE.

To sum it up, his apprentice betrays him and indirectly murders his Trollhunters and gloats about it. A very old friend sacrifices himself to buy him time while he’s dealing with his worst enemies being back.

No you know what? I’m pissed about this actually. This, right here, could have been a great thing. This could have been a scene where Merlin quietly admits it, or Nimue, midway through attacking him, realizes his desire/remembers it from him getting Excalibur. And she softens, and he explains why he did it, and he sets her free. It would have shown his motivations a lot more and would have given him a way to shine as the deurotagonist, but no. This quirky asshole who we’ve seen for all of five minutes slams a pillar into her and knocks one of her teeth out when he couldn’t even properly chase down a Mephit! This little bitch empathizes with her and sets her free even after he did that. What does Merlin get? He gets eaten. This badass gets reduced to being comic relief with Steve when instead that could have happened. Just one of the many ways canon in general does him dirty!

For one thing, they made this stupid boy with an accent the protagonist of Wizards, when it would have made far more sense to have Merlin, an already major character, the protagonist. It would have also been more interesting imo but I’m kind of biased. He was also supposed to be the deurotagonist, but that’s more of an informed thing than anything. Grace was surprised when she looked it up on the ToA wiki. He could have so many moments, and this is just one of them.

Then he fucking dies. Arthur gets murdered by one of Merlin’s worst enemies and then they resurrect him as a lackey for who knows how long because the canon timeline sucks And in Wizards, he stabs Merlin in the gut, right through his armor and throws him out a window. He ends dying like a minute later. And just. God. Someone asked the writer I’ve been talking about how that happened, and he was like “Merlin’s armor doesn’t hold up against dark magic that well.” Which doesn’t make any sense. 🙃 HIS ENTIRE TOMB IN TROLLHUNTERS IS ANTI-MAGIC, AND HE LITERALLY ALREADY A VENDETTA AGAINST DARK MAGIC EVEN BEFORE MORGANA BETRAYED HIM. And it’s so annoying when Merlin is portrayed as a weak wizard because he’s the most powerful wizard ever! Canon unfortunately doesn’t really show it BUT HE IS He was the one who defeated the Arcane Order and banished their Titans for a thousand years. He was the one who sealed Nimue in a cave, and he was the creator of the Daylight Amulet. He was the one who fought Morgana and banished her. He was the one who ended the Eternal Night. And in Episode One of Wizards, when he astral projected to that guy, all the streetlights on that street were broken before he even showed himself. But thinking about that made me realize he’s really only powerful when the plot demands it. If the Arcane Order could kill him, they would have when he was fighting them for a millennium. They wouldn’t have killed him by proxy, with a lackey. Especially Skrael, who seems to have a higher vendetta against him than his sibling. And since he can teleport, he should have been to grab Galahad like he will in EE, and he could have teleported out of Arthur’s grip. I also don’t know why his armor isn’t anti-magic when his entire tomb is.

Also HE'S LITERALLY ABLE TO FREEZE TIME IN THE NEXT DAMN EPISODE AND YET HE'S NEVER SHOWN USING IT BEFORE THAT DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE'S A TIME WIZARD AND HIS CENTER OF MAGIC IS SUPPOSED TO BE TIME IT'S JUST STUPID TO ME NOW

I'VE RANTED ABOUT THIS BEFORE BUT HE'S LITERALLY ABLE TO FREEZE TIME IN THE NEXT EPISODE

AND YET HE'S NEVER SHOWN USING IT BEFORE THAT DESPITE THE FACT THAT HE'S A *TIME WIZARD*

IT'S JUST NARM TO ME NOW

ALSO MERLIN IS A THOUSANDS YEAR OLD WARRIOR AND THE ONLY FIGHT HE ACTUALLY WON WAS AGAINST A FUCKING SIXTEEN YEAR OLD

Granted a very skilled sixteen year old but it still!!! Doesn't make sense!!!

So basically Merlin’s death was literally just to give him angst, and if anyone could kill him, he would have died YEARS AGO.

Oh, and canon and fanon can’t decide on Merlin either! Canon says Merlin is the most powerful wizard of all time, but he never gets to show it, and it seems more of an informed thing than anything. And the fact that’s he’s the fucking deurotagonist of Wizards is an informed thing too. And there would been more of his backstory, and more characterization, but it got fucking cut

His exact quote? He said “Leave them alone, Morgana.” He said them. He wasn’t referring to just AAARRRGGHH!!! If he had, he would’ve said “Leave him alone, Morgana.” HE. SAID. THEM.

He can TELEPORT

LOOK AT HIM.

He got done dirty. So dirty.

my ramble about just the canon angst he went through

He breathes FIRE and look at him in this one. HE TAKES DOWN MORGANA WHILE HE’S INJURED AND SLAMS HER INTO THE GROUND.

LOOK AT HIM.

Important characterization scenes for him are cut

MERLIN WAS SUPPOSED TO HAVE A COUPLE OF EPISODES ABOUT HIS BACKSTORY BUT IT GOT CUT OF COURSE

I don't know why the writers did that. Maybe it was supposed an Aesop about how

"Expectations don't live up to reality." Or something.

But if he's really like that, how did he survive fighting the Arcane Order for a literal millennia? Why did Morgana want his magic so much that she kept him asleep for nine hundred years just to get it?

Canon flip-flops on him constantly, and he's only as powerful as the plot needs him to be.

He could have teleported out of Arthur's grasp, or he could have frozen time before that even happened and gotten them all out of there.

He made the Cradlestone to free the babies, and ended the Eternal Night, but they weren't really dwelled on, making him seem more like a living Deus Ex Machina if anything. In Wizards, he needed another master wizard to help him complete the Amulet.

He can teleport!! He was gone. He breathes fire in some storyboards. l'm not joking.

Before he appeared onscreen, he seemed like a revered figure. He's described as a "wizard that has power" in the art book. in EPISODE ONE.

Trollhunters actually makes him seem more badass compared to Wizards where he got more screen time.

He actually is badass, but he doesn't get to show it except for when the plot needs him to.

He was nerfed and I will not accept otherwise.

It was just to give Douxie angst.

me shaking the writers YOU DO NOT HAVE AN EXCUSE

Okay I’m mainly talking about his characterization, but he was done dirty by this too!

Look at him!

He looks amazing.

Then canon downgraded him into just an old man!

I’m sorry, but I can’t take his design seriously when he looks like that compared to his concept art.

There’s also the fandom. I originally thought that I would put it under the cut so people wouldn’t have to see my opinions, but you know what? This needs to be said, and I’m leaving it out in the open.

Five episodes. Five. And that was enough to inspire a whole tag around hating him, people who whispered a word about even liking him were harassed off the site,

And even hated for being traumatized *cough* **Merlin** *cough*

y z

I didn’t specify that it was Merlin in the first rant, but you could probably guess from even that.

*Merlin stomped on Douxie’s self-esteem as soon as he adopted him*!

“*Merlin doesn’t understand emotions! He has the emotional density of a turnip*!”

Another canon to fanon ToA thing is **MERLIN’S WHOLE PERSONALITY!!!**

He’s constantly made into the worst person ever. A bad dad. An emotionally abusive manipulator. A fucking pedophile.

“Quotes”, “meta”, and “evidence” that he’s a bad person are pulled from thin air. I know I’ve said this before, but I really feel like people are just coming up with reasons to hate him, or they’re purposely making him worse than canon so they can hate him. One time, I saw a fic author ADMIT they were writing Merlin worse than canon on purpose.

It fucking sucks to see him be changed so much. I’m know I’m going to do him justice. I know that I’m writing him in character. I have meta from Aaron, actual, honest to God **quotes**, screencaps, etc. But it still fucking sucks. I put the tag Good Merlin on Emerald Embers, but I’m still nervous that someone in the comments or somewhere else will say he’s out of character.

I am so sick of people demonizing him when Morgana is RIGHT THERE!

And yet those five episodes were enough to cause a whole tag called the Merlin hate train, people wishing violent death upon him or giving him ones, and people who gave even one hint that they liked him harassed off the site.

And most of the reason was because Merlin “manipulated Jim into becoming a half-troll!”

But he didn’t. He sat Jim down and laid out his options: 1. take the potion and win against Gunmar and whoever else he would have to fight, or 2. don’t take the potion and die a brutal, painful death.

Also, kind of off subject, but when Jim turned back to human, there was controversy over whether he should have stayed troll or not!

MAKE UP YOUR DAMN MINDS FANDOM

And the voice acting I showed you? Is from that scene. Merlin is a very, very emotionally constipated person because of all the shit and trauma he’s been through over the course of millenia, and him saying that is essentially baring his soul to a child that he barely even knows.

Does the fandom give a shit about that? No!

Does the fandom give a shit when he said “Leave them alone, Morgana.” referring to both AAARRRGGHH!!! and Angor? The latter of whom was a slave at the time? No!

Does the fandom give a shit when he grieved over his Trollhunters’ deaths? Most of them murders? No!

Does the fandom give a shit when he grieved over Galahad’s death? No!

Does the fandom give a shit when it’s implied that he sealed Nimue away to seal her away from Arthur’s massacre of magic kind? No!

Does the fandom give a shit about him being surprised when Jim gives him an affectionate nickname in Wizards? No!

DOES EVERYONE FORGET MERLIN HOLDING DOUXIE’S HANDS AND HIM HOLDING RIGHT BACK?! DOES EVERYONE FORGET MERLIN CUPPING HIS FACE? DOES EVERYONE FORGET HIM CALLING HIM HIS SON? DOES EVERYONE FORGET THEIR HUG IN EPISODE TEN?

YES

And many more things!

They were making tons of aus with Merlin as the villain, *of course*, and they were giving him death threats and saying they would kill him, throw him out of a window, and do a ton of other shit.

I hated seeing it, and sometimes I could literally feel my body getting distressed because of it.

But the worst part of seeing this?

They were wishing death on him because of their own fanon versions.

And even if he is written as a good person? He always only cares about Douxie.

His trauma, his sarcasm, his empathy, all go poof. Reddie is one of the few people who knows that he’s a good person, but even she acts like he doesn’t have any empathy at all. Hopefully I’ve demonstrated that he is a very high empath with the above.☝️ Hardly anyone in the fandom™️ appreciates his complexities at all!

No matter what, whether he’s characterized as a good person and/or good dad, or bad person and/or bad dad, all of his complexities are erased. No matter what.

Actually a lot of them.

Anyways,

and he’s mine now.

Thank you so much for the ask!

Hi everyone! So this was my first time taking part in the @osemanversebigbang but I had so much fun!! I can't wait to read everyone's entries! 💜

Title: Angel Rahimi And The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Lunch Break

Characters: Angel, Juliet, Rowan, Jimmy, Lister, Bliss, two of Angel’s future uni friends (OCs).

Spoilers? Minor spoilers of important events in “I Was Born For This”.

Word Count: 3.6k

Ships: Bicci, one joke about Juliet/Rowan.

~Joan of Arc (Probably)

“I am so fucking tired”

“Right, time’s up, put your pens down.” The exam officer says from the front of the room. I scribble one last sentence before my hand gives out, and I all but throw my pen onto the desk, sighing as dramatically as I can. This week is a fucking nightmare. Exams and assignments are the piss. Fuck uni, I’m ready to drop out. Or drop dead. Either works, honestly.

As I leave the exam hall, I walk past some people from the students’ union. They’re handing out flyers for the Christmas ball next week. My housemates are all planning on going, but my friends and I planned our present swap for that night, so we’re going to spend it eating a fuck ton of snacks and watching the cheesiest Christmas films we can find. I can’t wait, I bought them each a bag of their favourite sweets from the American candy shop, it's going to be so much fun!

But that’s next week. Right now, all I want is to sit at a table that doesn’t have an exam paper on it, and eat something very greasy and very unhealthy. There’s a pizza place just on the edge of campus, run by some of the culinary arts students, and they make the best sauce ever. It’s pretty cheap too, which makes it a favourite for most people, especially at the end of a semester, when everyone’s bank accounts are running low.

I have about an hour until I need to be back in the exam hall, so I take full advantage of the outdoor seating and collapse into a chair after ordering. My pizza is brought out to me not long after, and I breathe in the smell. Nothing has smelt more gorgeous than the slices sitting in front of me. It’s a surprisingly warm day, for December at least, and for a moment, everything feels calm. I can hear a bird singing in a tree somewhere, other students are hanging around campus, most with their noses in their phones or in textbooks, and I actually let myself relax for a bit. I’ve done all the revision I can for this next exam, and I’m in desperate need of a break. I deserve this.

I pick up my first slice of pizza, and bring it up to my mouth. As I’m about to take a bite, however, my phone rings. I put the pizza down with a sigh and answer the phone without looking at who’s calling. Mum probably sensed I wasn’t doing any work, and is calling to check up on me.

“Hello?” I say tiredly.

“Angel, hi! Is this a good time??” I grin at the sound of Juliet’s voice.

“Hell yeah, it’s a perfect time! What’s up?”

“Wait, you don’t know why I’m calling?” Juliet says hesitantly. Shit. What have I forgotten now? I know it’s not her birthday. Wait, is it mine?? I swear exams rot your brain, have I actually forgotten my own birthday?

“No…?” I ask after internally monologuing for way too long.

“Oh my god, you don’t know??” Juliet screeches in my ear, “Angel go look at your phone, it’s urgent!”

Now very concerned, I put Juliet on speaker and, for the first time all morning, actually read the notifications filling my lock screen. I open the Twitter news one, and my mouth drops open in shock.

“Holy shit.”

On my screen is a news article with a headline that reads, “THE ARK’S JIMMY KAGA-RICCI AND LISTER BIRD’S SECRET RELATIONSHIP EXPOSED”, and just below it sits a large photo of Jimmy and Lister, standing outside a pub, kissing. I don’t believe it.

“Holy fu- Hold on a second. Mate, isn’t that the pub by Piero’s house?!” I say, bringing my phone as close to my face as I can, as if that’ll help me see better. There’s a loud shuffling noise on the other end of the line, and then I hear a gasp.

“Oh my god, you’re right!” Juliet says. “Rowan said they were going on holiday, but I thought he meant abroad or something.” I smile at that. Ever since our little jaunt to Kent last summer, Juliet and I have kept in touch with the boys. We even have a group chat now; us and them and even Bliss is in it. I’m so glad we stayed friends.

At first, Rowan was really quiet, and if he did speak he and Juliet would almost always end up arguing, but they’ve been getting along quite well lately. I’m not saying I ship it or anything, I’ve learnt my lesson there, but I have to say, fangirl-to enemies-to lovers would make a wicked fanfiction trope.

“Did you see any of this coming?” Juliet continues. “Surely Jimmy would have said something to you?”

“He said he was dating someone, but didn’t want to give details because they were taking things slow. Well, that and that celebrity phone hacking scandal freaked him right the fuck out, remember?” I say.

"That's

right, he stopped talking on the group chat for like two weeks, didn’t he?” Juliet giggles back. “Well, nevertheless, I’m happy for them. They’re cute together.”

“Yeah, they are.” I grin again. “Oh my god, poor Rowan though! I’d hate to live with a couple, especially a new one! It’d be nauseating.”

“Oh I know, right? And imagine what’ll happen when they have their first fight!” Juliet gasps again. I shudder at the thought.

“I’m muting the group chat when that happens.” I joke.

“Not a bad idea.” Juliet laughs back, then pauses. “Oh, Angel, I’m sorry I’ve got the get going, but do you want to skype later?”

“Yeah, no problem! I’ve got a revision session at 6, but I should be free by 9ish?”

“Sounds perfect! See you then!” Juliet says, and with that, she’s gone, and I’m back to sitting alone with my pizza.

Jimmy and Lister. Holy shit. I don’t think anyone in the fandom saw this coming. Everything has been about Jowan, since the fandom started growing it’s the only ship that ever existed. No one bothered writing fics about any other pairings. The only Jimmy/Lister fics I ever came across were platonic ones, and even they made sure to mention Jimmy’s boyfriend Rowan.

Oh god, I hope they’re okay. The fans got so crazy when Bliss and Rowan’s relationship was exposed. Jimmy/Lister is the final nail in the Jowan coffin. Jimmy must be having the panic attack of his life! I’ve got to-

My phone rings again.

I look down at the screen, and see Jimmy’s name. I take a deep breath, and answer.

“Jimmy, hi! How are-”

“Have you seen it??”

“Yes.”

“Oh god. This isn’t how we wanted to tell you guys.”

“You sure? Because getting caught by the national press worked so well for you last time.” I tease. Silence. Oops, probably not the best thing to remind him of right now.

“Jimmy, you still there?” I say carefully. There’s a slight rustle on his end, which means he probably just nodded. “Everything is going to be fine, I promise. The fans will move on. They already did with Jowan, right?”

“But what if something happens again? Something like-”

“It won’t. You guys have better security now, and you’re doing less public events. You’re going to be fine.” I hope and pray that I’m saying the right things. Jimmy and I have gotten close lately, but I’m nowhere near as good at helping him deal with his anxiety as Rowan and Lister are. There’s more silence, until finally, Jimmy speaks again.

“Okay. Yeah. Yeah I think you’re right. Thanks, Angel.”

“Course I’m right! If there’s one thing I know, it’s fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs, and I grin back. “And don’t forget, you’re not alone in this. This is happening to Lister too, and no doubt Rowan and Bliss will be there to help you. Just talk to them.”

“Thank you Angel, I’ll go do that now.”

“Perfect! Love you Jim, I’ll text you later.” I say, and the call ends.

He’ll be okay. He’s got too many people who love him not to be. I take another breath and put my phone down on the table. As soon as I do, however, it buzzes again, and I see Jimmy is trying to facetime me. Now very concerned, I answer it and hold the phone up so he can see my face properly.

“Jimmy, are you okay, what’s happened??” I ask anxiously, but he looks fine. He looks at me with a confused expression.

“Nothing, I’m just talking to the others, like you said.” He says. It’s only me and him on the call. I stare at him in silence for a moment.

“Jimmy, mate… I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m not any of them” I say slowly, and to my surprise, Jimmy laughs.

“Yeah I know, but I was kind of hoping to have you here, too, if that’s okay?” He says sheepishly. “It’s okay if you’re busy, it’s just that… I don’t know, you’re good with this stuff and you make me feel calm? Sorry, I know that’s a lot to just dump on you.” Jimmy doesn’t look at me directly, and I start to feel tears in my eyes.

“Well damn, Jim, I guess if you truly love me that much, I can stick around for a bit.” I laugh, and quickly glance at the time. “My lunch break is only halfway over, anyway, so I have plenty of time to hang out while you talk to the others.”

Jimmy seems to let out a breath, like he’d been holding it, and grins.

Just as I’m about to start talking again, I hear a ping, and Lister’s face appears on screen, followed by Rowan and Bliss.

“Hey Jimjam, you okay?” Rowan asks, looking as calm as ever. “Oh hey Angel.” He adds. I give him an awkward smile.

“Wait, Angel's here?” Bliss interrupts before Jimmy can answer. “Nice, how’s the week from hell going? Didn’t think we’d hear from you until you’d made it through.”

“Yeah it’s rough, but I’m getting there. This is a welcome distraction though.” I grin at her.

“So you’ve seen the pictures then. They look good, right?” Lister chimes in, before correcting himself. “I mean, it’s horrible they found us, fucking pricks, but you’ve got to admit we look good.”

“You can be so self-centred sometimes.” Bliss laughs.

“Come on Lister, this isn’t a joke.” Rowan chides him.

“Well, I guess he isn’t wrong..” Jimmy mumbles nervously and I see him smile a bit.

“See, Jimmy agrees with me!” Lister argues back at Rowan, who rolls his eyes.

“It’s still not something to laugh about.” Rowan says firmly. “Cecily’s already on damage control, cancelling some events, beefing up the security at others, and giving the tabloids hell. She’s also let your grandad know, Jimmy.”

“Wait, aren’t you guys all down there already?” I ask, confused.

“Nah we got back last night. That picture was taken when we went out for lunch the other day. Took their time printing it.” Lister says.

“Probably needed time to pad out their articles. Seriously, how can they write so many pages about two people dating?” Bliss adds.

“Probably whining about how Jowan is now well and truly dead.” Rowan rolls his eyes again. “Although I have to say, I’m pretty happy about that part.” I cringe slightly as he says that. I will never not regret being one of the Jowan fangirls.

“So Cecily’s already got a plan? That’s good, that’s a bit of a relief.” Jimmy speaks up, looking visibly more relaxed than he had sounded over the phone earlier.

“Yeah she’s got it sorted, so we can start planning our Christmas party!” Lister says, making the others groan.

“Lister what the hell makes you think we should be throwing a massive fucking party right now?!” Rowan says, his voice growing louder. Lister goes quiet, looking like he wants to shrink into his seat, before eventually speaking up again.

“Look, it doesn’t have to be anything big, I just mean… Angel, you’re gonna be in London with Juliet, right? Come over, drag Bliss with you, Jimmy can invite his grandad, Rowan you can bring Jade, and there you go, that’s our party!”

“That’s...actually a good idea.” Rowan says, surprised.

“Yeah, that sounds like fun!” Jimmy adds.

“I’m up for it, Angel, do you think Juliet will wanna come?” Bliss says.

“Hell yeah she would, let’s do it!” I reply with a massive smile on my face. Partying with Bliss and the boys sounds like the best way to spend my Christmas London trip. I’ll make sure to tell Juliet about it when I talk to her later. As I start planning all the food I’m going to bring over, and wondering what the boys’ flat will look like at Christmas, the conversation starts up again.

“You sure you’re doing alright, Jimmy? I can come back home if you need me to.” Rowan says, focusing things on the issue at hand again.

“No no, don’t worry, stay with your family. They’d kill me if I made you miss out on spending time with them.” Jimmy jokes. “I’ve got Lister here, and Cecily’s number if I need it. My head isn’t giving me too much grief right now, anyway.”

“Wait, Lister, you’re there with him?” Bliss asks.

“Yeah, check it out!” Lister says, before picking up his phone and moving. He takes us out of what I think was his room, through a hallway and comes out into a large living room, where we can see Jimmy on a sofa looking at his phone. “Say hi to the chat, Jim!”

Everyone laughs as Jimmy gives an awkward wave to Lister’s phone. Lister then hangs up and launches himself into view of Jimmy’s screen, and the two shuffle about until they’re practically sitting on top of each other, faces

squished together so the tiny phone camera captures them both. I hate how cute they look together.

“Alright, if you’re sure, Jimmy,” Rowan says, smiling for probably the first time this whole call.

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Jimmy smiles back. “This whole situation is terrifying, and I’m more than ready to hide in my room and not see another mad fangirl for the rest of my life, but... if I did that we’d never get to hang out with Angel again.” He finishes, biting his lip as if unsure of whether or not the joke will hit.

“Uh..ouch!” I clap my hand on top of my heart dramatically and laugh, while the others join in. “I’ll have you know I’ve abandoned my fangirl ways. Mostly. Sort of. Okay, not completely but I’m not shipping real people anymore, so that’s something, right?!”

Lister is giving Jimmy a look of what I can only assume is pride for making a decent joke during a time of peak anxiety, Rowan has his head in his hands, probably contemplating his life choices now that Lister seems to be rubbing off on Jimmy, and Bliss still looks shocked that such a joke came out of Jimmy’s mouth, not Lister’s. When things calm down again, I check the time and speak up again.

“Well this has been fun Jim, but I’m afraid I have mad fangirl duties to be getting back to. Shrines to build, fanfiction to write, you know how it is.” I say sarcastically.

“Thanks again, Angel, for being here, and listening. And you’d better be right about that fandom drama.” Jimmy laughs again, although this time I see his smile falter a bit.

“Hey, look at me,” I say, moving as close to the screen as I can without squishing my face on it. “Things will settle down before you know it, in the meantime, we’re all here for you. You’re not alone in this.” Rowan and Bliss nod in agreement, and I see Lister hug Jimmy closer. Jimmy takes a breath and nods as well.

“Thanks Angel. And good luck with your exam. We’ll see you over the holidays.” He smiles.

“Yeah you got this Angel, go smash it!” Bliss chimes in, giving me a thumbs up and a grin. I say one last goodbye to them all, and hang up.

I look back down at my pizza, still uneaten. I need to stop letting myself get distracted during phone calls. I can eat and talk to my friends at the same time. I’m usually a master at it.

“Fereshteh!” I look up again. Either I’m going loony, or someone just said-

“FERESHTEH!” I turn around and see Mollie and Christina barrelling towards me, with the most excitement I’ve ever seen on a students’ face during exam season. They crash into my table and both start talking at once.

“Have you seen??”

“Did you know??”

“How long have they been together?!”

“Oh my god is this why you won’t tell us about what happened in Kent?!”

“Woah, easy on the interrogation! Seriously, you guys need to work on your interview skills.” I put my hands up in surrender and laugh. Mollie rolls her eyes at me.

“So? Did they tell you or what?” She asks again. I roll my eyes back at her.

“You know I don’t want to tell you guys anything about the boys. They trust me, and I’m not going to fuck that up because of some shit a tabloid prints.”

“How dare you appeal to our morality and ethics, we want gossip dammit!” Christina giggles, lightly banging her fist down on the table.

“Then stick to the Twitter pages.” I stick my tongue out at her. Mollie and Christina are two of my housemates, and are part of the Ark fandom. I never planned on telling them about Kent, but they figured out who I was thanks to the pictures of me and Jimmy on the train. I didn’t think you could tell it was me, but fangirls are like master detectives. They figured it out in less than a week. They haven’t told anyone though, they’re good mates.

“So how are you feeling about all of this? Whether you knew or not, having it out in the press like this is a lot to handle, especially after last time.” Mollie says, now in serious mode.

“It is a lot, definitely, but they’ll be fine. They’ve had this happen before and they know what to expect from the fans. I just wish I could be there for them.” I say, sitting back in my chair.

“I get

that, it must suck that you guys are so far apart now.” Christina chimes in.

“I mean it’s not like we ever lived close to each other before. The only reason we even crossed paths over the summer was because I was staying with a friend. But yeah, being away from them all is kind of hard sometimes.” I sigh dramatically, making Mollie and Christina grin.

“Are you going to visit them over Christmas?” Christina asks.

“I’m definitely going to visit my friend in London again, for a day or two, but I don’t know if we’ll be able to see the boys.” I quickly lie. “They cut back on public events but they’re still really busy most of the time. And this,” I gesture to my phone “definitely won’t help.”

“We’ll keep an eye on fandom updates for you, and try to shut any mentions of Jowan down,” Mollie says, reaching across the table and giving my hand a gentle squeeze. I squeeze hers back and give her a grateful smile. I mostly stopped interacting with the fandom after meeting the boys, reading fanfiction, and discussing theories with other fans just feels weird and creepy to do when the people you’re talking about are your friends. So it’s nice that I have Mollie and Christina looking out for them, and doing what I can’t. Christina has a pretty big following on Tumblr, and Mollie’s a Twitter ace, so I trust them to hold their ground with the fandom.

“Okay, you don’t have to give us any details, but genuinely, what do you think of Lister and Jimmy as a couple? Because I don’t think the fandom could handle a breakup.” Christina says after a while, making me laugh.

“Pfft, yeah I don’t think the boys could handle a breakup, either.” I smile. “But honestly? I think they’ll be good for each other. Lister is good at helping Jimmy relax and step out of his anxiety bubble, and Jimmy can help reign in Lister’s chaotic energy. Plus they’re freaking cute together, I mean just look at this picture!” I finish, gesturing dramatically to my phone again.

“They are so cute!” Mollie nods in agreement. “I’m actually shocked no one thought to ship them together before.”

“That’s the Jowan storm, for you,” Christina adds. “Can’t believe we ever shipped that.”

“So gross.” I shudder at the thought. Suddenly the alarm I’d set this morning went off, making us all jump.

“What’s that?” Mollie asks. I check the screen and practically leap out of my seat.

“Oh shit, my exam starts in 10 minutes!” I say, gathering my stuff up as quickly as I can. I say my goodbyes to Mollie and Christina and start running back across campus to the exam hall.

I make it just in time, much to the invigilator’s chagrin, check my bag in at the desk at the back of the hall, and collapse into my assigned seat. The exam starts, and it’s only when it does that my stomach reminds me that I never actually ate lunch. Shit.

I start to silently scold myself for being so stupid, when my mind starts drifting to the video chat with Jimmy and the others. He and Lister looked so comfortable with each other. Makes sense, they've known each other for so long. But even still, Jimmy looked so much happier once Lister sat down with him, and Lister himself practically seemed at home with Jimmy’s arms wrapped around him. I smile at my exam paper.

I’m so happy for them.

Ash and Dust Part 7- Opportunities

18+ Dabi x fem!reader

Summary: You first meet Dabi on the worst night of your life after unwittingly walking into the very bar the League of Villains made infamous. That should probably be the end of the story. You stumble on the remnants of one of the most infamous terrorist groups in the history of Japan, get viciously murdered or call the cops and get them arrested, the end. Except that’s not the end of the story. It’s only the beginning.

Masterlist Help Lulu (Kofi)

Waking up the morning after reclaiming your bedroom (at least in part) is jarring for two reasons.

The first is that you’re waking up next to Dabi.

For some reason you thought he might wake up before you, even though he’s pretty routinely demonstrated that he’s not an early riser. Perhaps you expected the knowledge that he was sleeping in the same bed as you to perturb him enough to get him up early. Instead your eyelashes had fluttered open to find him still deeply asleep with his face only a few inches from yours.

You fully intended on simply rolling over to either fall back asleep or get on with your day but you’d found yourself enthralled with his sleeping face instead. You know Dabi’s smirks, sneers, and scowls like the back of your hand after a little over a month of living with him. His resting face, however, is entirely foreign to you. You’ve never had a moment alone with him where he wasn’t antagonizing you and it’s odd to see him so peaceful. Your eyes trace over his face, taking in the extent of the scarring on his jaw and beneath his eyes, but also appreciating the unmarred expanses of skin as well. It strikes you that Dabi is pretty. It shouldn’t be surprising considering what you’ve seen of the youngest Todoroki in the press but even still. In another world where he’d never become the wanted criminal he is today, you wonder if he’d be a heartbreaker or a sweet, gentle type. Would he be as quiet and polite as his brother seems to be or would he still get a thrill from bantering with someone who isn’t afraid to banter right back? Would he be in the tabloids with a different girl every week or settle down early with his high school sweetheart? You’re fascinated by the idea of what the scarred man before you would be without the tragedy and the trauma. You might’ve sat there just taking him in until he woke up if not for the second reason waking up that morning was so jarring.

Your phone has been pinging literally non-stop.

You’ve never resented your notification sound more as its shrill tone continues to echo in your room, putting the fragile peace at risk. Even before you found yourself as alone as you are now your phone was never this busy. As much as you try to ignore it and wait for the tidal wave of what you assume are spam notifications to end, the sound finally drives you to turn over and grab it. Your eyes widen as you take in the sheer amount of Twitter notifications you have. As you unlock your phone and navigate over to the app your mentions are literally flooded with Deku fans screaming about your talent and how lucky you are. It’s a confusing litany of fangirling that you try to weed through until you get to one mention in particular that makes your breath catch in your throat.

You got a mention from the rising hero himself.

Holy shit.

You’ve never clicked a tweet so quickly in your entire life. Not only are you stunned to find he’s seen and loved your work but he also mentions wanting to talk if you’re interested. Sure enough, when you navigate over to the messages section of the app, a feature you’ve never bothered to use, you notice a message request from Midoriya ‘Deku’ Izuku waiting for you. It takes everything in you not to scream as you read the message there over and over before finally hopping out of bed and moving to the kitchen to call the number he’d left you. It’s a little endearing that he’d been so quick to hand out his number to a complete stranger on the internet but you also can’t help but wonder how someone so naive could be the same man drawing headlines over his heroics and combat skill. You’re not exactly a Deku fangirl but it’s still wild to be dialing a celebrity’s number as you punch in the numbers and then wait for it to ring.

On literally the second ring the phone is answered. “Pro Hero Deku at your service! Who’s calling?” the young man answers chirpily. “Uhh, this is (y/l/n)? You messaged me on twitter?” “Oh! Right! Yes! Hello! One second!”

You can hear Deku excusing himself from whatever room he’s in, a disgruntled voice mumbling something you can’t hear, causing Deku to reply with a hushed “Sorry Kacchan! I’ll be right back!” before there’s more shuffling and finally the sound of a heavy door closing.

“Ok I’m back! Thanks for reaching out to me so quickly!” he finally says now that he’s, apparently, in a better place to talk.

“Yea, of course I guess I’m just shocked you liked my art so much and really appreciate you drawing so much attention to it,” you explain, feeling short of breath at how surreal the situation is.

“Of course! You’re really talented! Your work deserves to get attention!”

“Thank you but, uh, why exactly did you want me to call you?”

“Right! It’s about your artwork.”

“Ok?”

“I want to sell it!”

“What?”

“Wait well no not sell it. Or not sell that particular piece although it is a nice piece and if you wanted to theoretically you could probably sell it although I guess it’s available for free online already so maybe people wouldn’t want to pay for it. Although it’s a painting right? And people buy or pay to go see paintings you can see online all the time so maybe it wouldn’t be too bad but if it’s for your own enjoyment you may not want to give it up which would be totally understandable and also how would that work logistically? If the painting is rather large it may be unwieldy to try and ship it to whoever purchases it, in which case would you have to meet up to try and give it to them by hand? But then that necessitates meeting up with a complete stranger on the internet and what if the person who buys it doesn’t live near you or, since it is the internet, doesn’t even live in Japan? Then you have to contend with international shipping and-”

“Uhh, Deku?” you ask cautiously, barely able to process the mumbling of the young man on the phone.

“Ah! Sorry! I can kinda end up on tangents sometimes... What I mean to say is that I’m not trying to sell the painting you posted or anything but I think you’re really talented as an artist and one of my friends is looking for someone to design a new merch collection.”

One of his friends? Your mind instantly starts running through his impressive list of ex classmates. Your first thought is Dynamight and immediately you shudder at the idea. He may be years younger than you but the aggressive pro hero still scares the shit out of you. Uravity could be an interesting hero to work with although you’re not quite sure you vibe with her aesthetic. Or maybe he’s talking about the new Ingenium?

“You’re real fucking loud in the mornings, you know that Doll?” Dabi asks with a groan as he comes walking into the room with a stretch.

You hurry to shush him, not wanting to lose the opportunity being presented to you, which earns you a curious look. Before you can react Dabi is snatching your phone out of your hand and putting it on speaker. You don’t dare protest verbally and risk alerting Deku of the situation so you have to settle for glaring at Dabi as he smirks at you.

“Yea so, anyway, Shouto really needs new merch but wanted something a little more sophisticated on the designs and I feel like you’d be perfect for that you know? Making all his stuff mini works of art. So what do you say?” Deku asks, his voice still brimming with that same enthusiasm while your blood runs cold. You’re genuinely scared to look up at Dabi’s face to see what he thinks about the idea of you working with his little brother. You hold your breath, Deku’s chipper voice going nervous as he asks “Hello? You still there?”

To your immense surprise, when you finally have the courage to bring your eyes up to meet Dabi’s, he’s got an almost feral grin. “You better take the fucking job,” he hisses delightedly, sending a chill down your spine as you stutter out a response to Deku, your eyes never leaving Dabi’s.

“Yea, sorry just processing. I’d, uh, I’d be happy to help out.”

“Great! I’ll pass your number on to Shouto and you two can meet up and figure out details!”

“Ok.”

“Cool, thanks (y/l/n)! Hopefully I’ll see you around!”

You hum noncommittally before hanging up the phone, still waiting for the other shoe to drop as you practically watch the gears turning in Dabi’s head.

“You’re…. Not mad I’m going to be working with your brother?” you ask cautiously.

“Oh no, I’m fucking delighted Doll. You know why?”

“Why?”

“Because you’re gonna help me have a little fun.”

A/N: We are finally starting to get to the meat of the story omg. I’m sorry this fic has been so slow going, especially compared to my others, but if you stick with I’m pretty sure it’ll be worth it. I appreciate each and every one of y’all that’s been reading this fic because main motivation to write it has been hard

Taglist: @thechroniclesofawriter @simpsfortodoroki @ahtsuwu @oliviasslut @larkspyrr @oikawaandkuroostan @tina-98 @vibesdontlie @clubfairy

Press: Elizabeth Olsen’s 20/21 Vision

The Marvel star takes us inside her transformation to a new kind of hero

GALLERY LINKS

Studio Photoshoots > 2021 > Session 002

Magazine Scans > 2021 > Grazia

  GRAZIA: Elizabeth Olsen is a trooper. We are in a field in Surrey on the outskirts of the Marvel studios; it’s a biting minus one and she is standing in a Chanel broderie anglaise sundress and increasingly soggy UGG boots. Her feline cheekbones face skywards, but Olsen is slowly sinking into the mud, trilling out high notes to keep herself warm (possibly distracted) and of course with spirits high. “It was the wind I think, that was worse than the sideways rain,” she jokes as we trundle back to the soundstage hangar that we are using as a studio. It’s the kind of moment that could go viral on Instagram, that is, if Olsen were on social media. Yet one of the biggest stars of our current cultural moment is completely offline – and that surprising fact might just be the least interesting thing about her. If anything, it is a sign of how Olsen has come into her own as a confident, decisive star with the power to create her own universe.

On the cusp of her 32nd birthday, Olsen is fastidious and professional, yes, but also bright, engaging, creative, and collaborative. Born and raised in the California sunshine, she is surprisingly at ease in the blustery conditions that deluge the English countryside in late January – or, it’s that she’s very good at acting. “It was one of the ugliest days of this winter – just hilarious – but I knew we wanted the shot,” the 31-year-old actress says.

Since October, Olsen’s been living in the leafy British countryside with her “man-guy-partner,” musician Robbie Arnett, just a short drive to the Surrey compound where Doctor Strange is being filmed. It’s a closed set, masked in secrecy as much as the socially distanced masked crew dotted all over the 200-acre studio. “It feels right being in a small city right now,” she says.

Indeed, Olsen is a modern-day Renaissance woman. Learned and dedicated to her craft, she studied at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, with a semester at the Moscow Art Theatre School studying Stanislavski. (Surely, no matter how much of a genius the Russian theatre master was, he never could have conceived of the Marvel universe.)

Approached with the concept of WandaVision, “I thought it was perfect for television, and a very original idea that made me excited,” Olsen says. Also, she was happy she would get to work with Bettany again: “He’s very precise, like me.”

In many ways, WandaVision is a love letter to the first American television heyday. Olsen, who stayed up late watching Nick at Nite reruns as a child, says it’s a bit of a homecoming in that way. “I was a very hammy, performative child,” she explains. “So, I do think I got to live out some sort of childhood dream doing the show.”

“The highlight was really getting to tell a story about these superhero individuals told in different decades of American sitcoms, trying to match the tone of those sitcoms in order to help orate the story,” she says. “But keep it playful and fun.” Little did she know just how much we’d need that.

Half-filmed pre-pandemic in Atlanta and half post-pandemic in LA – with a six-month hiatus in-between “until all the unions figured out to work safely” – WandaVision was released almost a year into the pandemic. In many ways, it is an artifact of its time: centered upon a yearning for the simplicity of earlier days, yet shot through with the creeping realization that such days may never return, and perhaps never existed to begin with.

Indeed, the weekly story of suburban superheroes Wanda and Vision has played out like a parable of our times: Wanda living in her chosen bubble, her trauma resonating in the world we find ourselves in today. Olsen appreciates a good metaphor, but feels people may be projecting a bit much. “I see Wanda as a victim of extreme trauma, who does not understand how to process it,” she explains. “She has been a human experiment.” (Not to belabor the point, but haven’t we all?)

Being summoned by Marvel is like being called to a parallel universe for an actor: thrilling, yes, but not without a tinge of terror and a dash of the unknown. Six years in, though, it’s become like family in some ways. As a member of two dynasties – Olsen and Marvel – family is key to Olsen. She checks in on her mom (who still lives in California) and, like many American daughters, is researching which vaccine mom should get.

The performative gene runs strong through her family, of course – and no, we don’t mean her sisters. Olsen’s mom was a ballerina. Still, when she first started auditioning, Olsen took special care to carve her own path – one far from Full House. “Nepotism is a thing and I’m very aware of it,” she says. “And of course, I’ve always wanted to do it alone.” She did just that, her acting credentials consistently rising as her sister’s cemented their fashion kudos. Olsen bears a noticeable resemblance to her fashion-designer older sisters and her sartorial DNA is similarly low-key. She loves The Row (of course) and NYC label Khaite’s denim and cashmere.

For Olsen, her day job is like playing dress-up. This time around, she walked away from WandaVision with the girdle worn underneath her 50s wedding dress, laughing, “I mean, to have a custom undergarment like that, I felt like it was necessary!” Her WandaVision co-star, Kathryn Hahn, also became her shopping cohort when filming.

“She’s dangerous!” Olsen says. “She has the most exquisite, minimal but expensive taste.” It was Hahn who led Olsen to the independent boutique where she found the belted Julia Jentzsch trench that she wore to our shoot.

At the rail of samples compiled by the stylist, Olsen gravitates towards a spacious linen boilersuit and longline cashmere cardigan. Has she always been a tomboy, I ask? “I think I felt uncomfortable being a child being told they were pretty,” she says of her early auditions at age 10, adding that her love of ballet and musical theater could leave her “feeling exposed” at a young age.

Speaking of over-exposure, Olsen is distinctly offline in a time when so many are defined by their social media presence. Among celebrities and regular digital citizens, the perfect balance of online and off is up for debate, but Olsen is clear: social media saturation is a choice for all of us, and everyone needs to draw their own boundaries.

“It has to be a personal decision, right?” she begins. “So, my opinion has nothing to do with what anyone else does or doesn’t do with it.” Her own journey began when she momentarily dabbled with Instagram (since deleted), while filming Ingrid Goes West, director Matt Spicer’s frightening and funny debut feature about a social stalker, co-starring Aubrey Plaza.

Up until that time, she says, “I had never touched it before. I thought, ‘This is an interesting social experiment for myself, to see if it is a good source to talk about charities or a good source to talk about small projects, or to share something goofier about myself.’ But I think at the end of the day, what I discovered was one, I’m really bad at creating a perceived identity!”

“I didn’t find it very organic to who I am as a person,” she continues. “I found some joy in putting up silly videos, but I think the main reason I stopped – not I think, I know the main reason why I stopped – was because of the organization in my brain.”

“Lots of horrible things happen all the time. Or, lots of great things happen all the time. Whether it’s something terrifying, like a natural disaster or a school shooting or a death, there are so many things that happen, and I love processing information. I love reading articles. I love listening to podcasts. I love communicating about things that are happening in the world to people around me. And what I don’t love is that my brain organization was saying, ‘Should I post about this?’ That seemed very unhealthy ….”

“And to then contribute to these platitudes that I don’t really love, you have to subscribe to two different ways of thinking,” she says. “So, I didn’t like that, and there was a lot of it that was just bothering me for my own sake of what value systems I have.”

That’s not to say that there’s any inherent value system – pro or con – in using Instagram. Olsen is clear that like any other method of expression, it’s up to the individual to use it as they see fit. “I do see a use of it and how you can use it well for work,” she says. “But I don’t think that I would like to use that tool to promote myself.”

She’s private for a millennial yes, but not prim. On the photoshoot, lockdown experiences were shared, and Olsen recounted her (hilarious) first at-home bikini wax: banishing her husband upstairs “for an extended chat with his therapist,” her trusted waxer on speed dial, and microwave set to ping! (Yes, Olsen is a trooper, as I mentioned.)

We catch up over Zoom a week later, her hair once again pulled up in a casual topknot, her cashmere turtleneck simmering in a dark claret, and her entire being suffused with covetable understatement. She chats buoyantly against an unexpected backdrop of pirate ship wallpaper in the playroom of a house she shares with Arnett, who proposed with an emerald and diamond ring in 2019.

“We first started to try to make it the gym, but it was so cramped,” she says of the jolly space. The home gym was instead awarded a larger room, where Olsen loves to maintain a varied fitness regime – running, yoga, dancing, more – though after all the intense Marvel filming, she jokes, “maybe it’s time to give up on my body?!” Being comic book fit does sound grueling or “time-consuming fun” as she anoints the “strenuous physical demands.”

Like most of us, she is longing for the spring, but she still takes a regular constitutional walk in a nearby Richmond park, whatever the weather. “The deer are incredible; every time I see them I feel alive,” she says. “We have been lucky to have nature around us in lockdown.” It’s a marked difference from her paparazzi-populated home in the Hills. “They know our walks, where we get coffee, work-out…,” she trails off.

Her haven in Los Angeles is her backyard, complete with a mid-century swimming pool and an edible garden. “It’s crazy the blackberries grow like weeds! I love watching a kid’s first reaction to an edible garden,” she gushes That has been the part of the pandemic travel restrictions she’s found hardest: missing her friend’s children growing up, and others who have been born this past year that she’s yet to meet. They will no doubt all be treated to her homemade blackberry sorbet on her return stateside.

Yet, her time on British soil will likely be prolonged, with a prospective indie commencing filming here when Doctor Strange wraps. Prompted for more detail, her firm charm kicks in. “I can’t jinx it!” she insists. Still, she will share that she’s heavily involved in the creative, and that funding smaller productions in the current climate has been a challenge.

Through it all, Olsen has remained determined and calm. “I feel patience is my superpower. But my weakness also,” she says. “I feel like it gets tested more than others who don’t have a lot of patience. If someone learns you’re easygoing or that you’re relaxed, sometimes it gets taken advantage of.” While she waits for the green light on that film, she is busy producing a new children’s cartoon with Arnett, “about loving and caring for our world,” and has also written a children’s book about to be published by Random House, all while the demands of Marvel life continue to surround her.

Indeed, Olsen is a superhero for the modern age: Multi-hyphenate, but fiercely devoted to the craft that she loves; instantly recognizable, yet thoughtfully protective of her private life; a woman with style, substance, success, and deep rewarding relationships with those around her; focused on a vision of a better world for us all.

Press: Elizabeth Olsen’s 20/21 Vision was originally published on Elizabeth Olsen Source • Your source for everything Elizabeth Olsen

i know you like them both so yunichika and oda/aoki for the ship ask

thank you for giving me a chance to gush about these kids!!! they’re precious.... this got pretty long so imma put it under a cut

YuniChika, the main boys of 2.43:

• when or if I started shipping it:

tbh i didn’t really ship them when i read the first book... they’re the kind of pairing that i can see people shipping and i think it’s cute, but i’m not super invested in them as a romantic pairing. I think i was more sold about them as a ship in the second book, but i can’t quite remember if there was a specific moment that made me change my mind, or if it was a gradual process

• my thoughts:

i think the anime definitely played up the tension between them (allll the blushes lol), but i’m glad people are enjoying the YuniChika content XD they’re pretty cute!

also, i think they balance each other well and spur each other to become better—Yuni and Chika are both self-centered(?) in very different ways: Yuni lacks drive because he mostly wanted to please people so they’ll like him, while Chika has the opposite problem in that he acts like he doesn’t care what people think of him. 

but now Yuni is able to take a stand for his interest in volleyball and for Chika, and while Chika doesn’t really soften and still has a problem with not realizing how harsh he could be, he’s more willing to communicate his thoughts.

• what makes me happy about them:

boys reuniting! relearning how to have a relationship with one another! learning from past mistakes and trying to be better people together! HELL YEAH

• what makes me sad about them:

boys, please use your words to communicate with each other...

also, from Yuni’s perspective, it’s kinda sad when someone you used to know really well comes back into your life, but they’ve changed so much that they are essentially a different person... but of course they have a new opportunity to become closer now 😉 so i’m not that sad about it

• things done in art/fic that annoys me:

... there are fanworks for them????????? 

(on a more serious note, erasing their flaws to make them more likable... please don’t make Chika ‘secretly nice’ or whatever, the kid is blunt as hell, and not realizing how his words affect others is his biggest flaw. on the other hand, Yuni can still be a little spineless at times, and sometimes his priorities are. questionable.)

• things I look for in art/fic:

hm, i’d like a future fic about them as professional players! i think their inclination is to stick together (they’re a package deal!) but it’d be super interesting to read something where they’re on rival teams years down the line

EDIT: haha Chika actually transferred to Keisei High School after their first Spring Tournament, so he and Yuni have faced each other as rivals since then (2.43 next 4years). they’re go to the same university and are on the same team now though!

• who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other:

uh i don’t really have specific people for this, but Chika would probably have to be with someone who understands his love of volleyball (like Oda, but if Oda wasn’t their team captain and thus too much of a dad friend to qualify as a romantic interest), and someone who can inspire Yuni would be good for him

also, i know who i’d NOT be comfy about: the first book (and anime i guess) had this weird tension between Itoko and Yuni, COUSINS who BASICALLY GREW UP TOGETHER. i think(?) their weird whatever was mostly dropped in the 2nd book and wasn’t really made explicit, but like. what the hell. (i have no idea what happens beyond the 2nd book.)

• my happily ever after for them:

the YuniChika in college arc is being serialized rn, so in a way that’s already fulfilled? (i have NO idea what’s going on tho) 

in general i just hope they can play volleyball together until one or both decide not to, for whatever reason, and that they stay in each other’s lives and support each other even after they’ve retired from competitive volleyball. i think with Yuni’s personality he could be a good coach after getting more experience, and Chika... he’s really valuable as a strategist, but I think he’d always be a little brusque, so he’s respected but hard to bond with if he does take on coaching?

• what is their favorite non-sexual activity?

bold of you to assume Chika even cares about sex

anyway, they don’t go to movies for a romantic date night, they go watch volleyball matches. sometimes this backfires when Chika gets too frustrated at bad plays tho

and of course i will never pass up an opportunity to talk about Oda/Aoki, the main guys of my heart (my OTP for this series tbh):

• when or if I started shipping it:

they pinged on my radar when they were bickering in Ibara’s chapter, but i wasn’t super duper invested... and then I got to The Dog’s Perspective and the Giraffe’s Perspective (specifically The Kick™) and oh god i’ve never fallen so fast

• my thoughts: 

GOD WOW Aoki really loves Oda... even though objectively Oda’s height prevents him from being a super ace, he is the coolest, strongest super ace to Aoki. i think it’s beautiful that someone can see you as your best self even when you’re feeling shitty about yourself. Aoki knows that objectively Oda faces a lot of obstacles, and wants to support him as best as he can—not out of pity (pity would’ve burned out long ago), but because he really respects Oda’s passion and drive.

also, these two have unaddressed issues that they should talk about! Oda, i know you feel inferior but you are so much better than you think you are. please accept that Aoki really does respect you, and that you are worthy of it (or like, you don’t have to be ‘’’worthy’’’’ or ‘’’’’’deserving’’’’’’’’’’ of it, because it is Aoki’s choice to support you and play volleyball with you!!! it’s not something you gotta earn, it’s something freely and happily given to you)

(ahhhhhh i die when i think of them)

• what makes me happy about them: 

gosh i love their dynamic SO MUCH! Oda is exactly my type of character (passionate, determined, knowing that he can never be the best at what he’s passionate about due to factors he cannot control, trying to be kind and gracious but struggling with feelings of inferiority and jealousy, thinks of himself as a selfish person, a supporting character...) and Aoki’s devotion is really touching. 

again: even when you feel like crap about yourself, there’s someone out there who thinks you’re the best thing that happened to them.

there’s also the fact that Oda thinks the world of Aoki as well (to the point of feeling inferior, which is like... c’mon Oda :/ you are better than you think you are!) he trusts Aoki a lot, despite knowing his willingness to engage in, uh, underhanded methods

• what makes me sad about them: 

it’s their last year together, and they’d be approaching a new phase of their lives in different places... although Aoki offered to lower his rankings so they’d go to the same university, realistically they’ll go to different colleges, and most likely end up in different prefectures. (like, not only do i think it’s a Terrible Idea to give up your dream school so that you could stay with someone else, there is no way Oda would accept the offer without being crushed by guilt. something like that would actually ruin their relationship, which i think Aoki knows as well.)

there’s also a lot left unsaid between them at this point and i just want them to lay everything out between them and move forward together

• things done in art/fic that annoys me: 

the fact that there’s NONE >:[ what does a gal have to do to get some content for them???????

• things I look for in art/fic: 

at this point anything is fine.... it’s a desert out there and i’m dying

more specifically i’m Extremely Down for a get together fic; i personally only see them getting together after high school, at least several months (or even longer) studying in different prefectures and no longer able to see each other every day. (i mean... absence makes the heart grow fonder right?)

i’d also love to see Oda using Aoki’s first name, considering Aoki calls him “Shin” and all. Oda managing to surprise/fluster Aoki would be nice too.

EDIT: they’re both in the Kansai region (2.43 next 4years prologue). Oda’s revealed to be studying in Osaka, and assuming Aoki got into KyoDai, they should be around 2 hours away from each other by train? so visiting each other over short breaks would be cute! also, apparently Oda took a gap year before going to Osaka (2.43 next 4years Ch 1.2), so something set during that time would also be awesome :V

• who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: 

hm... if i had to imagine people well-suited to them, i’d say Aoki’s type is people who are straightforwardly passionate about their interests (Oda hooked him with his unbridled love of volleyball way back in their first year of high school after all), and I think Oda probably needs someone who is willing to indulge him a little (like Chika he can be pretty dang determined about what he wants, though without the single-minded intensity at the expense of everything else)

... this is just a roundabout way of saying i think they’re ideal for each other, especially if they resolve the problem of hiding things from the other

• my happily ever after for them: 

they get careers/hobbies they enjoy, and get a place together as boyfriends/husbands. no i will not hear any criticism of this idea

i can see Aoki working in the private sector (this guy is fine with ‘joking’ about blackmail after all!) after getting his law degree. this is super self-indulgent, but given his penchant of rooting for passionate but objectively disadvantaged entities, i think it’d be pretty awesome if he works for a smaller company that truly believes in their work, instead of working at a big firm pulling in big bucks.

while I’m not sure what Oda is canonically studying, I can see him going into sports education or sports therapy—i think he’d be really good at nurturing the talents of other athletes, and he’s good at rallying the team (Aoki pretty much says he’s the heart of the team in the epilogue of the first book, though Aoki’s kiiinda biased lol). i think it’d be really cute if Oda coaches a grade school team!

neither plays volleyball competitively after high school, but sometimes they watch matches for fun (esp if their ex-teammates are playing). Oda also makes Aoki come to his students’ matches if he doesn’t have work

EDIT: apparently Oda continues competing as a wing spiker in college, playing in Kaisai’s 2nd Collegiate Division (2.43 next 4years Ch 1.2)—Aoki probably watches his matches, even when he’s busy (and Oda probably chides him for neglecting his work, but they both know Aoki can manage his workload).

• what is their favorite non-sexual activity?

hm... idk, i think they’re the kind of couple who are cool with just chilling with each other doing their own work. like, Oda planning strategies for the kids he’s coaching while Aoki reads next to him, occasionally glancing over to make comments, stuff like that

also since Oda says they mostly talked about volleyball during high school, I can kinda see them finding something new they both enjoy after they get together? Maybe shounen manga, for something fun

Great Albums is back for a third time! This week, we discuss Dazzle Ships, the avant-garde masterpiece that was so infamously weird, it almost “sank” the pop career of Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark. Or did it? As usual, you can find a full transcript of the video under the break, if you’d like to read it instead.

Welcome to Passionate Reply, and welcome to Great Albums. Today, I’ll be talking about an album that many would consider OMD’s best, and many would consider the last great album they ever made: 1983’s Dazzle Ships, their fourth studio LP. It has a reputation that precedes it, as a strange, experimental, and avant-garde album. And I can’t argue with that too much, when it has tracks that sound like "ABC Auto-Industry."

The most obvious thing one can say about Dazzle Ships is that it’s dense and rich with samples. You’ll hear found sounds ranging from a “Speak and Spell” toy to a radio broadcast from Czechoslovakia. It’s a magpie’s nest constructed of garbage and baubles, collage-like and conscientiously artificial. And OMD’s Paul Humphreys and Andy McCluskey managed to make it before sampling became easier and hence more widespread later in the 1980s, thanks to advancements in digital technology. In its own day, it was, famously, a huge flop, baffling even the critics, which makes it tempting to argue that the world simply wasn’t ready for it. Popular legend says that Humphreys and McCluskey were essentially forced to make increasingly soft, pop-oriented music for years afterward, usually at the hands of their label’s higher-ups.

Is that story really true? Well, I don’t know, and I’m not sure if anybody really does. But I think it’s important that we entertain some doubt. Regardless of its actual veracity, this legend is offering us a simplistic narrative of art and capital butting heads, and one that we see repeated all too often in music journalism. It’s a story that expects us to believe that experimental music is good by default, and the natural goal of music and all the people who make it--and, conversely, that accessible music is bad, and anyone who writes a song you can dance to is always after profit, never craft.

Ultimately, though, the most important reason why I’m asking you to leave this question at the gate is that it’s simply a less interesting way to think about art. What I think is truly ingenious about OMD is their ability to combine a pop sensibility with that bleeding-edge experimentation, and vice versa. I don’t think of Dazzle Ships as just an inscrutable, esoteric musical ready-made, but rather something capable of animating and enriching a bunch of otherwise mundane sounds. A word I might use for it is "challenging," because it isn't simply off-putting--it has a certain charm that invites you to stick around and work through it, and you don't feel like it's a waste of your time. I think the underlying pop DNA offered by Dazzle Ships is a big part of that.

In “Genetic Engineering,” the samples from that Speak & Spell are contrasted with a more traditional chorus, which rises above the chaos, stirring and anthemic. It’s a song full of friction, not only between these musical ideas, but in ideas about technology and our future. Like many great works of electronic music, especially earlier in its history, Dazzle Ships is deeply concerned with science and technology, and the ways they’ve structured our world. These guys wrote “Enola Gay” a few years earlier, sure, but there’s much more than Luddite, dystopian thinking here! Dazzle Ships walks a tightrope between romantic adoration of the promise of a better tomorrow, and the tempered uncertainty we’re forced to develop, when we witness the devastation our most horrifying inventions have wrought already. Something that helps sell the former is the motif of childhood: in addition to the Speak & Spell, “Genetic Engineering” also features a children’s toy piano, and prominently references “children” in its lyrics. And “Telegraph,” the album’s other single, sees fit to reference “Daddy.”

Touches like these, and the centering of not-so-new technologies like telegraphy and radio, carry us backward in time. Dazzle Ships has a sense of nostalgia for the technological explosion of the Midcentury, when household technologies were improving in ways that saved time and labour, and faith in “better living through science” was high. It’s not a wistful or introspective nostalgia, but rather one that taps into the bustling excitement of living through that era. That retro styling helps us situate ourselves in a childlike mindset: optimistic, but somewhat naive. Children are highly imaginative, and become enthralled with possibility, but don’t always understand every implication their actions have.

But, as I said, “Telegraph” and “Genetic Engineering” were the album’s singles; the typical track on *Dazzle Ships* sounds more like “ABC Auto-Industry.” The track listing is structured such that these more conventional songs are surrounded by briefer, and more abrasive, intrusions. They become signals in the noise, as though we’re listening to them on the radio--or ships, rising above some stormy seas. Several tracks, such as “International,” also feature a more dissonant intro, on top of that, crowding their main melodies inward.

Over the years, many critics have been quick to contrast Dazzle Ships with OMD’s other albums, but I actually think it has a lot in common with their preceding LP, 1981’s Architecture & Morality, and seems to me to flow naturally from the direction the band had already been going in. Architecture & Morality is a lively mix, with moody instrumentals like “Sealand,” guitar-driven numbers like “The New Stone Age,” and catchy, intuitive pop songs like “Souvenir.” Architecture and Morality proved to be their most successful album, when its title track sounds like this. I fail to see how it’s tremendously different than the title track of Dazzle Ships, which leads us on a harrowing sea chase, with radar pings quickly closing in.

That nautical theme is a great segue to discuss the album’s visual motif. Like all of OMD's first five albums, its sleeve was designed by Peter Saville, most famous for his stunning work for New Order. The cover and title were inspired by a painting Saville had seen, Edward Wadsworth’s *Dazzle Ships in Drydock at Liverpool,* which portrays WWI warships painted in striking, zebra-like geometric patterns. These sharply contrasting “razzle dazzle” designs weren’t “camouflage,” but rather served to confuse enemy forces’ attempts to track them, and predict their motions. Dazzle ships were killing machines that fought dirty...and they were also beautiful. It’s a potent, complex symbol, and it’s a natural fit for an album that’s also capricious, perplexing, and captivating in its uniquely modern terror. Saville’s sleeve design features both a die-cut design as well as a gatefold; peeking through the cover’s “portholes” reveals the interior, where we find a map of the world, divided by time zones. It’s yet another reminder of how technology has reshaped the planet, connecting the human race while also creating divisions.

Earlier, I argued that Dazzle Ships isn’t that different from OMD’s preceding LP, and I’d also suggest that their follow-ups to it aren’t all that different, either. It’s easy to see the influence of Dazzle Ships on their most recent work, made after reforming the group in the late 00s, and informed by the critical re-evaluation and cult acclaim of their alleged masterpiece. But even in the 80s, they basically continued the pattern of layering easy to love, “obvious single choice” tracks alongside more experimental, sample-heavy ones. Compare the title track of their sixth LP, 1985's *Crush.*

Even the greatest of pop hitmakers can't maintain a streak in the charts forever--it's not the nature of mainstream pop charts. Not even in the 1980s, when you could get away with quite a lot of electronic weirdness...at least for a while. Looking back and listening to "Maid of Orleans," it's almost hard to believe it was one of OMD's biggest hits. Is it really less weird than something like "Telegraph"? Perhaps they had simply reached the end of their imperial phase...whether they really had that stern talking-to or not.

It's not so much that Dazzle Ships isn't weird, so much as it is foreseeable that a nerdy, left-of-center band like OMD would have come up with it. Dazzle Ships IS excellent--it’s a Great Album! But it's good enough that I think it deserves to be heard and valued on its own terms. The album is too goddamn good--too compelling, too spell-binding--to be reduced to "that one album the plebs were too dumb to really get." I'm not clearing the air because I think this album is overrated, but because I think it deserves better, deeper discourse than it gets. A truly great album is great whether it sells or it doesn't, right? My advice is to never let art intimidate you, no matter how obtuse people say it is. Send your ship on that plunge into the dark waters of the unknown--you might find something beautiful.

That said...my favourite track overall is “Radio Waves,” an irresistibly fun cut that could easily have become a third single. Since “Genetic Engineering” and “Telegraph” live on side one of the record, “Radio Waves” is really the only “reprieve” we get on side two, smack in its middle. It really stands out, in context--almost like the opposite of how a more conventional album might have one out-there track that catches you off guard. Aside from all of that, though, the song also stands perfectly well alone. I have a real soft spot for music about music, how it’s made and transmitted, and “Radio Waves” is simply one hell of a ride.

Thanks for reading!

"Let Me Patch You Up" A MatchaBlossom Kid Fic

Hi everyone! So this is one of my favorite newer things that I have gotten interested in. I love writing as most of you know and one of my newer favorite fandoms is Sk8 The Infinity! MatchaBlossom is one of my favorite ships in the last few months, they're such a good and unique ship. I got super into the show and eventually made my own fan-kids for the ship. I love making OCs and they make me really happy. So welcome to my newest fic, with Sakura and Haru. I have art of them as well if anybody wants to see what they look like! (By the way, they are twins, both are biologically female and Haru became trans. Kaoru and Kojiro had them through a surgate.)

“Sakura, get up. Your brother is gone, we don’t know where he is.” I jolted upright at the sound of my mom’s strict take no for an answer tone and the sudden brightness in my bedroom from him turning on the lights.

“Sorry flower, I tried to stop him I really did.” My dad quickly followed behind him and I rubbed the tiredness from my reddish brown eyes.

“Do you know where Haru went sweetheart?” He asked me sitting at the foot of my pastel bed taking one of my pillows and handing it to my mom so that he could have something to calm him down with.

“I have really no idea where he could have gone. He told me that he was practicing tonight but that he’d be back before curfew so I haven’t texted him. I’m sorry…” I apologized and my mom just sighed a little bit at me.

“No it is not your fault Sakura you shouldn’t have been left home alone today. He’s still transitioning so I’m even more paranoid about what could happen to him.” My dad put his strong arm around my mom’s shoulders and I watched the familiar tension sort of melt away at the love and affection.

“Do you know where he could have gone flower?” My dad tried his damndest to keep my mom calm and collected but even I could tell that he was just as stressed out as my mom was.

“I mean I thought that it was a joke…” I thought back to earlier that day when I had thought he had jokingly challenged Ichigo to a beef. Ichigo was one of the techies for the drama department that had been talking to me that I really liked who was a fellow skateboarder.

“What was a joke Sakura?” I sighed a little bit crossing my ankles together and playing with the ends of my long pink hair.

“I thought that it was a joke when he challenged Ichi to a beef for a date with me…” My mom took a deep inhale of breath and I could tell that he was visibly holding back the yell of rage.

“What?” His voice took on the deep and ominous tone that I had only heard a handful of times in my life when I had done something that was absolutely unseemly. It used to terrify me to my core when I was little kid and even now it still sent a shiver down my spine and made me fear for my own life.

“Hasn’t that boy asked you out on his own yet?” I shook my head a little bit plucking at the ends of my sheets sighing a little bit.

“No he hasn’t. I think that he’s waiting for me to ask him and make the first move. I was getting really close to doing it too. I really thought that there was no way they would actually agree to a beef. It just seemed ridiculous. Sometimes I wish I knew what in the world went through his head when he joked about it.” My dad put his arm around my shoulders bringing me closer to him and drawing a comforting circle there somehow calming both me and my mom down in one fell swoop.

“Well I think that if he doesn’t get murdered by your mother by the end of this then it’ll be worth it to go out on a date with that boy. I happen to like him. It reminds me a lot of how your mom and I were at your age.” My mom rolled his golden eyes with a small smile. I yawned a little bit rubbing the water from my eyes. I had only gotten to sleep a few hours ago having been doing homework for most of the night before.

“I know that you had just barely went to sleep Sakura. I’m really sorry but I had a mother panic attack when I went to go and make sure that Haru fell asleep.” I smiled softly at him since he had always been the doting parent it didn’t surprise me that he still regularly checked on my brother to make sure that he was getting enough sleep.

“It’s fine mom. I understand why you did come and get me instantly. I probably would have done the same thing in your case. Let me just try and text him or try and track his cell phone.” I went onto the find my family app clicking on my brother and it led me directly down the hall to his bedroom.

“Oh my god that stupid, idiotic, dumbass, moronic, he forgot his phone!” I ranted and my mom sighed muttering a string of curses underneath his breath.

“Of course he did, he’s the son of an idiotic gorilla. I am not at all surprised that he left his phone at home. Then again if he did go to a beef it was actually a smart decision for a kid who worships his phone it could have gotten broken. He should be lucky he forgot his phone. It’ll take longer for me to find and lecture him.” I laughed a little bit at his nearly stunned stupidity. I wasn’t at all surprised that my brother would leave the house without his phone. He was the forgetful type, one of the few things that he hadn’t picked up from mom was his sharp analysis and he usually followed our dad’s himbo logic of just GO.

“I’m going to try Ai and see if he has seen him at all…” I turned on my own phone sending out a rapid text to my brother’s best friend. He was basically our cousin as the son of Reki and Langa so we had grown up together. If anybody were to be at a beef that my brother was skating at it was Ai.

Me: AI, is my brother wherever you are?! My mom woke me up, he’s not at home and I have no idea what is going on. I thought that he was joking about the beef earlier with Ichi! My phone instantly pinged with a text from Ai of my brother doing a rail slide with Ichigo right behind him.

“Oh he is so dead when I get my hands on him…” My mom threatened and I already saw the marks of injuries.

“Idiot, he hasn’t practiced enough professionally recently, not since he started doing basketball.” I muttered and my dad leaned into my space to see what Ai had said.

“He bailed pretty early on and got some bad scrapes but he’s been giving Ichigo a run for his money. The beef is that if Ichigo wins he has to finally ask you on a date and if Haru wins then Ichigo has to give up on you. That’ll be bad if he loses. That’s not a fair bet too you can’t bet things like that. It’s usually for little things, the date thing is fine but he has no right to tell Ichigo that he has to give up on you.” I scowled feeling the burning rage inside of me building into an inferno.

“Mom if you don’t kill him can I and turn him into a dessert?” My dad laughed a little bit at me putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Sorry my loves neither of you can kill Haru. Both of you are going to have to just lecture him and Kaoru you can ground him.” My mom sighed before resigning himself to his fate that if he couldn’t kill his son he could at the very least ground him until the end of time.

“Sakura, I hope that you know that this is not your fault. You did not know that your brother would go for the beef and thus his injuries are not yours to blame.” My mom reminded me and I sighed heavily going back to that picture and feeling my eyes well up with tears.

“But I should have done something, I could have stopped them if I didn’t know that they were being totally serious…” My dad lightly shushed me bringing me into a tight and warm hug. My dad always gave the best hugs in the entire world, they were warm and everything good. I felt my mom being pulled into the hug as well and felt the small smile on his face rub against my hairline.

“Whelp, we might as well go and rescue our kid. Grab your boards people!!” My dad encouraged me and I went to go and grab the longboard that Reki had made specifically for me when I was eight so that I could learn to skate.

“The first person to find where he is on the course will get to pick the movie tomorrow.” My mom told me and I was already internally plotting how to get them to watch another Disney movie.

“That is so not fair Cherry you already know that she is going to do everything that she can to beat us in finding her brother so she can pick some kiddie movie.” I heard the whine of my dad and my mom just smirked a little bit.

“That’s why I made that bargain so that she would consider it an incentive to find her brother. Which one are you thinking about princess?” I hummed in thought spinning my wheels on my board in my hands, looking at the beautiful enchanted rose that Reki had carefully painted on the bottom of it.

“Well gee I fucking wonder what she’s going to pick.” I heard the soft oof that meant mom had once against elbowed him too hard in the ribs.

“Watch your language you worthless gorilla. I am trying to raise our daughter to not be a potty mouth.” I heard the muttered this coming from the cursing king.

“He has a good point mom, I think I heard words I’m not even familiar with when you stubbed your toe last week on the dinner table when you got up too fast.” I taunted lightly and he ran a hand through his long but slowly graying pink hair.

“You got me there Sakura, alright to the car.” He put his arm around my shoulders and I snuggled a little bit farther into his arms. I held back the yawn that was threatening to erupt from my mouth.

“You can just stay in the car sweetie in case that you fall asleep on your board.” I shook my head with a small smile on my face. I had not skated for fun in a few weeks and I had missed the feeling of the wind in my hair as I went zooming by on my board.

“Not going to happen dad, I’ve got my eyes on the prize. That being another shot at torturing you and Haru. I’m thinking maybe Beauty And The Beast.” I heard the groan that I knew was coming but saw my dad’s loving smile on his face.

“I would expect nothing less from my little girl. Are you sure that you want to go in your pajamas though?” He snarked lightly and I blushed a bright pink hearing the lecturing Kojiro followed by my dad’s argument, somebody had to tell her. I grabbed my sunset graphic tee and a pair of black skinny jeans tying a pair of converse around my feet. I grabbed my bright pink hoodie and carefully zipped it pulling my hair into a loose bun on the bottom of my head.

“That’s better sweetheart, now I can’t lose you with that hoodie on either.” I lightly stuck my tongue out at my dad and went down the stairs to the restaurant seeing the scary lack of people on the streets.

“It’s kinda creepy out there at night…” My thoughts drifted and my mom put an arm around my shoulders comfortingly.

“This will be a quick grab your idiot brother and get out situation most likely. Then we patch him up, keep from school tomorrow, and yell at him once I get done with this big project.” I laughed a little bit at my mom and his thoughts on the matter.

“Here kiddo, I got these too just incase it’s loud where we go.” My dad handed me my over the ear headphones that I had to use sometimes when I went on school trips.

“Thanks dad… I swear Haru better appreciate this. I am dragging him back to the car by his freaking ear if I catch him first.” I threatened and they knew that I meant business too. My mom just lightly kissed my forehead pushing the hair out of my eyes.

“There’s my beautiful girl.” I preened a little bit at the praise but looked out the window at the pitch blackness of night.

“Ai texted again, he sent me the coordinates to where the beef is being held.” I plugged the information into my phone and handed it off to my dad who was whirling his car keys around.

“Don’t drop them gorilla.” My mom taunted lightly and I couldn’t help but smile at their familiar bickering. That was their love language and it was something so uniquely them even if it did sometimes cause me to get dragged into the harder debates.

“I might be stupid but I’m not that stupid.” I smiled softly shaking my head at the two of them tapping my shoes on the ground.

“Doesn’t your brother have a crush on your costar for Hairspray?” I nodded my head with a small sigh rolling my eyes.

“Yes he does so he doesn’t have a leg to stand on right now. I wish that I could tell you what he was thinking but I don’t know. Usually he’s a pretty easy person for me to read and get a handle on but not today.” My dad just lightly ruffled up my hair and I pouted at him. I clutched my longboard to my chest and felt the cold of the outside go through my bones. Haru had better be grateful by the time that all of this is over he’s going to owe me big time.

“You two are growing up, your not little kids anymore where you would be able to finish each others sentences. Part of me misses that as a parent since I never got to be around during the day very often to see that.” I squeezed my mom’s hand since I knew that he had a lot of regrets about how often he worked. I never really minded that much, it just made the moments when he could be around all the more special.

“Mom I know that you feel like this is your fault too. It’s not anybody’s fault. I feel like that Haru would have done this anyways. He’s always trying to prove himself to anybody. He probably challenged Ichigo to a beef to try and prove that he could protect me or something along those lines.” I sighed a little bit buckling my seatbelt and my mom sat in the back of the car with me.

“I want to be next to my little girl right now Kojiro.” He told my dad and I saw the small pout but knew that my dad wouldn’t fight him on this.

“I guess I’ll just have to sit up here all by my lonesome then.” My mom muttered just drive you stupid primate and I couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit at the two of them.

“I’ve missed you lately anyways mom, it seems that you’ve been more busy than normal.” He sighed a little bit nodding his head.

“More and more orders have been coming in, I envy your brother for wanting to work on tattoos instead of going my route. Have you ever thought about getting ink done?” I nodded my head with a small smile on my face.

“I already told him that once he gets his own shop together that I would be his first customer. I’ll always support him no matter what he wants to do. It’s what siblings do even though sometimes we fight about trivial things.” I shrugged my shoulders and my mom chuckled softly at me as I leaned my head against his side tiredly.

“Did you have a lot of homework?” I nodded my head through my yawn. That was always my problem was that I had too much homework and it took me forever if I wanted to get things done the right way. It left me with minimal free time with my brother or just to myself at all.

“I’ll talk to your principal tomorrow this is getting ridiculous Sakura. You can’t be pulling these all nights. Your still just 15 and this is not what you should be doing as a young teenager. You should be out having fun with your friends, spending time with your brother, working with the drama club instead of worrying about the test tomorrow.” My mom tied his hair up into a tighter ponytail so that it wouldn’t get in his face once he was on his board.

“Mom you don’t have to call anybody it’s fine really. Everybody else has to do the same amount of work. It’s my fault for being so slow at getting things done. Haru doesn’t need to stay up this late in order to get his work done. I’m just stupid…” He squeezed my hand lightly running his thumb along the knuckle of my hands.

“You are not stupid Sakura. You are extremely smart it just takes time for you to learn how to do things the right way and that is not your fault that the teachers aren’t doing their job properly. Don’t think that I haven’t heard the videos that you watch in your room that explain the concepts to you.” I blushed a bright pink now feeling even more stupid than I did a few minutes ago.

“Needing help in school, it’s not a bad thing flower. You don’t have to be perfect at every little thing in fact I prefer you when you aren’t. You’re my little girl and you can bake me out of my own restaurant. So what if it takes you longer to do homework than everybody else? That doesn’t make you dumb or anything, it just means that you put in more effort instead of just wiping it out for the sake of doing something else.” My dad reasoned as he pulled out of the restaurant’s driveway. All the lights in the homes being off and people’s establishments being closed in this neighborhood that usually was lit up felt almost unnatural to me.

“I am calling the school because this can’t go on any longer. It’s bad enough that you have to do late rehearsals but staying up until three in the morning to do homework right it’s ridiculous. You’re just a kid you shouldn’t have bags underneath your eyes.” Something about my mom’s tone told me that I had already lost this argument.

“Okay mom just go easy on them. I don’t need my teachers suddenly getting more on my case because I have a demanding parent.” I tried to joke but his gold eyes told me that I had just talked myself into an even deeper hole than I had originally started off with.

“Do they give you extra work because of us?” I sputtered because the notion of that just seemed so utterly ridiculous.

“Mom no they aren’t homophobic everybody is really nice at my high school. I mean they accept Haru just fine so everybody is great just trust me. I love my friends and my drama club mates there. It’s just that I have a lot of homework that has nothing to do with either of you. My teachers warned me that they would give out several hours of homework per class when I started high school.” I reminded him and my mom just sighed running a hand through his fringe.

“It just doesn’t seem right that your brother gets done with his homework in no time at all while you seem to take all day and night. I haven’t seen much of you lately because of all the homework that your getting. I like seeing my little girl’s smiling face when I come home and not seeing her buried in homework.” I sighed a little bit. Now I felt guilty for always having to do my schoolwork and pushing out family time. I hadn’t meant to withdraw since it wasn’t my choice in general. I wished that I didn’t have so much homework so that I could spend more time with my parents.

“If you’re trying to get your mom to back down trust me it won’t work sweetheart. He never backs down from anything believe me I know. I haven’t been able to get him off my ass since we were seven years old.” My mom kicked my dad’s backseat muttering insatiable gorilla under his breath that caused me to laugh at the two of them.

“I know I give up, you can call the school. You’ll probably need to for Haru anyways. He’ll be out for a little while if the injuries in the picture that Ai sent me are anything to go by. He’s going to hate not being able to play basketball. Of course, it’s his own fault for being such an idiot.” My dad just laughed at the two of us interacting off each other.

“He’ll be lucky to be a benchwarmer for the rest of the season if I have anything to say about it. Consider it his ultimate punishment. I won’t ground him for too long but I still want him to learn his lesson about how his actions have consequences.” I could see the look of cold dead seriousness in his eyes and I knew that my mom meant business. There was no way in anything that Haruki was getting out of this scot-free.

“Am I in trouble too? If I had just asked Ichi out in the first place then we wouldn’t be here…” He stopped his tirade making a gentle shushing sound putting his arm around my shoulders.

“Never, this is not your fault Sakura okay? You didn’t want to ruin your friendship that you have with that boy and this is not your fault for being scared. I remember I was terrified to my core about asking your dad out on our first date.” My dad smiled at me through his mirror at the front of the car. I hugged my mom tightly and he just thumbed at my cheeks.

“It was not your fault. This would have happened at some point anyways because your brother is competitive. He gets it from your dad.” My dad laughed brightly and I felt a big hand ruffle my hair lightly.

“Hands on the wheel you stupid primate, you do not want to get on my bad side right now.” My mom threatened and I laughed a little bit at how fast my dad pulled his hand away from my hair. I sighed at the messed up hair that he had given me as I retied it this time slightly tighter than the last so it wouldn’t come undone as easily.

“Sorry Kao just trying to give her some affection. I don’t blame you either flower you’re just doing your best Saki and quite frankly I’m proud of you for getting such good grades even if it’s been taking a lot of your free time away from the things that are really important. Your mom just wants to spend more time with you and I don’t blame him. You’ve been working crazy hard and we’ve all missed you.” I sighed a little bit. In trying to not let everybody down I had done just the opposite and let them down in a different way.

“I’m sorry that I haven’t been as attentive as I could be. I learned my lesson though and I know better for next time. Hard work is important but so is spending time with the people that you love more than anything.” My mom put his arm comfortingly around my shoulders pulling me closer into his side while avoiding me getting pulled out of my seatbelt.

“It’s a lesson that I am still struggling to learn and I’m an adult. You get your lack of knowing when to actually quit working from me as well as your stubbornness.” I heard my dad mutter at least he finally admits it as my mom once again kicked his backseat.

“I don’t believe that I asked the opinions of an oafish meathead. I’m trying to be sincere.” I laughed at the two of them mentally logging oafish meathead for my next argument with Haru.

“I know you were mom and thank you for that. I needed to hear that. I’m going to stop working so hard, besides it seems like the harder I work the more tired I am to actually focus during classes. I could probably start doing a little bit of the work at lunch…” My mom shook his head at my getting out his phone.

“Carla, leave a note for me.” He told his AI and I looked at the machine as I always did in sheer awe. Haru was always better at science then me so this kind of thing always amazed me.

“What note would you like for me leave master?” I saw my dad lightly mutter he could have just told me and I just mimed a lip zip. I didn’t want to get him even angrier because the angrier my mom got the more likely one or both of us would get caught in the crossfire.

“Don’t make me hurt you up there you primate. I want you to remind me once Sakura’s rehearsal starts tomorrow to call her school and lecture her principal. I also want to see if I can organize a meeting with her teachers.” I felt my eyes well up with tears at the fact that he really was serious about taking this all the way to the top.

“Done master, it is in your calendar. Do you need anything else for me at this time?” My mom sighed resting his cheek against my head.

“Can you also see if there is an opening with Haru’s doctor tomorrow?” I saw the buffering signals and saw three options appear in front of my mom.

“There are three openings for Dr. Fujiwara tomorrow, would you like for me to pick the earliest one master?” My mom hummed in thought before picking the second option and a checkmark appeared in front of him.

“The first one was too early wasn’t it beautiful? It’s already late, should we just call both of our kids in sick tomorrow? I can have my help run the restaurant tomorrow if you want me to go with you to the doctor.” My heart warmed at the typical sweetness that my dad exuded. Even though they fought and bickered more often than not there was always these sweet soft moments that reminded me they loved each other more than anything.

“If you can do that I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you. I love you.” I saw the smile that my dad had and it outshined even the sun on it’s brightest days.

“Love you too baby. How are you hanging in there flower? You doing okay? You can sleep in tomorrow. I’ll make pancakes.” He promised and I cheered lightly for my dad’s breakfasts. It was rare that we had breakfast as a family on the weekends. Dinner time was designated family time when we all had to hang out together even I had been avoiding that for the last little while.

“I’m alright dad, thanks for checking in. I’m a little bit more tired then I would like but I’ll probably have an adrenaline rush once I get to skating and then be up all morning.” My mom sighed a little bit looking out the window.

“I’d like for you to get some sleep as soon as we get your brother in the car. I would also like for you take it easy if you stay home from school tomorrow like I want for you to. No doing anything strenuous. You never take downtime for yourself.” My mom mentioned to me and I nodded my head. I knew that I would have to follow his orders because once he got like this his word was law and needed to be followed.

“I agree with your mom flower. I won’t be there all day to make sure that your not doing anything too crazy so I’m just going to have to trust you. Can you take one day and just do nothing? Please? For me?” I nodded my head resigning myself to my fate. My fate of sitting on the couch and watching cartoons with my brother tomorrow. It didn’t sound like too bad of a day. Plus, tomorrow was Friday so getting a three day weekend was just what the doctor ordered.

“But then can I go out with Ichi this weekend?” My mom playfully hummed in thought and I heard the screech of the car as my dad came to a stop too fast.

“Kojiro.” The low hiss of his voice just screamed that bad things were to come if he did that again. I partially blamed myself for the bad driving.

“Sorry dad! It was a legitimate question, I didn’t know that you were going to go and do that.” I waved my hand and my mom sighed a little bit getting back to his original position.

“I don’t see why not Sakura, you will not interrogate the poor boy Koji. He probably has to go through enough with Haru at school constantly telling him that our daughter deserves better.” I sighed not forgetting about that. I would have to sit my brother down and have a nice long talk with him.

“Flower, I know that you’re growing up. I did everything that I could to stop you from getting a boyfriend but I guess I didn’t try hard enough at scaring them all off. Either that or Ichigo is just super persistent. I think it’s both because from what I’ve seen of him he worships the ground you walk on anyway. I won’t interrogate the kid just yet, I’ll wait until he’s your official boyfriend.” My dad waited for the light to turn green again and I felt my eyes well up with tears. It was far too early to have nearly cried this many times and I tried to suck back the tears.

“She’s growing up Koji, we always knew that we’d have to let her date at some point and I think you’ve pushed it out long enough. I remember when you used to chase the neighborhood boys out of the restaurant for just wanting to spend time with her.” I laughed a little bit at the memory of my dad chasing after six year olds with ladles yelling at them to not ever come back.

“Hey I’ll have you know that all of those kids were punks and they didn’t deserve my angel of a daughter hanging out with them.” I tentatively raised my hand from the backseat wanting to interject into this conversation.

“Umm dad, one time you did that with Ai and another time with Klaus…” I reminded him not wanting to turn this into a heated debate. My mom just laughed at the memory.

“I still remember the look on their faces! It was so funny, they have been terrified of coming into the restaurant ever since then.” My dad rolled his eyes at his husband’s over dramatic nature but even I knew that he was making a good point. My dad had the tendency to take the term overprotective and make it into a whole new thing.

“Okay maybe I have gone a little bit overkill in the past. I think that you should at least go on one date with the boy and see if he’s everything that you’ve been building towards in your head.” I smiled softly at the encouragement from both of my parents. I could always count on them to bring their own unique personalities that so often clashed with each other to each problem that I had.

“I have a feeling that boy would treat you right otherwise I wouldn’t be encouraging this at all. I spent a long time looking at the two of you together whenever he would come home from school with you. I know that he makes you really truly happy and that’s all I’ve wanted for either of my kids.” My mom gently kissed my forehead and I found myself in this warm bubble of happiness.

“So the beef looks like it’s on the other side of town, near the caves.” My dad mentioned as he began to head in that direction and I yawned a little bit too obviously.

“Do you want to get some sleep Sakura?” I shook my head animatedly. If I fell asleep I would miss this time that I spent with both of my parents together and those were rare occurrences.

“How are rehearsals going flower? Your mom and I are really excited for the show that you put on!!” I smiled softly at my dad. Both of my parents had been encouraging of my hobbies to the point where they had started going to every show, even the awful ones back in elementary school when I was bit by the theater bug.

“The rehearsals are going really well! Everything is starting to come together, I was fitted for my final costume for Penny today so I’m really excited to start performing. I’m kind of glad that I didn’t get Tracy since that would be even more work for me, plus I don’t really have her physique.” I smiled at the idea of my friend Kanade who was going to absolutely own the role once our shows actually started. At first when I got the role I had been a little bit angry that I got such a simple character but I had grown to love Penny.

“I’m just glad that you are happy with how everything turned out. I know that you were frustrated with your casted role but I’m proud of you for making something unique out of it.” My mom reminded me of how hard he knew I was working to get everything perfect for opening night.

“Our flower working so hard to make the best product possible. It’s when she’s rehearsing that she reminds me the most of you Ru. She’s always so into her roles and it reminds me of watching you do calligraphy.” I saw my mom blush a light pink before I heard one of my favorite sounds, his laugh, come from him.

“Alright you idiot I forgive you for that earlier screeching stop. You don’t have to woo me with false flattery.” I heard my dad protest to the fact that it was entirely true as I slipped my headphones around my neck.

“He’s right mom he was being entirely genuine right there as sickeningly sweet as it was. Props to you though dad that was really cute. Is that true?” I rarely ever acted like my mom. Most of the time I was a carbon copy of my dad’s passions and his general personality and Haru acted like mom.

“It is true, trust me I’ve watched Ru do his work for years and you look the exact same whenever you get really into a character.” I smiled softly at my mom waiting for his approval as well. He just smiled at me nuzzling his nose against mine.

“I never thought that I actually looked like that but people other than the oaf like gorilla have told me that I do get a certain sparkle in my eye when I’m working. I mostly see it in you when you’re performing or when your brother shoots a three point basket during a game.” He talked about how he thought that I looked and I smiled softly through my laugh.

“I’ve definitely seen the look on Haru’s face before! I love when he gets happy like that. It’s something that I usually see when he makes a hard basket or a dunk. I really hope one day he decides that he wants to go pro with it but I don’t know if that will happen.” I sighed a little bit. I knew that was secretly Haru’s dream, more than opening his own tattoo parlor but that being trans would be a major problem for him.

“I think that if anybody will find a way to do the impossible it would be our Haru. The first trans national basketball player has a nice ring to it.” My dad smiled a little bit and I could tell that he would do whatever it took to support him in his endeavors.

“Haru will find a way to achieve whatever dreams he so desires. It is not our place to tell him what he should or should not do oaf. I would support my son no matter what he wanted to do.” My mom blew his hair out of his face and I could tell in his golden eyes that he loved both of us equally no matter how often his work forced him to be away from us.

“We’ll have a family day tomorrow flower, it’ll be fun!! You deserve it you’ve been working really hard. I’ll let you make all the snacks.” My dad promised and I felt my eyes light up at the idea of cooking. I had resigned myself to being the future owner of my dad’s restaurant once he decided to retire and it was something that I was actually really looking forward to. I loved cooking about as much as I loved musical theater.

“I’ll make the freshly made popcorn, that’s how you’ve got to do it. I’ll also make the hot chocolate recipe for Haru. Something tells me the poor thing is going to need it.” I sighed a little bit wondering what in the world my idiot brother had been thinking.

“From now on I want you to keep an extra eye on your brother whenever you can. When you can’t send Ai to look out for him. Just in case. I know I’m probably just being overly protective and you can tell me if I am Koji.” My dad smiled softly at his husband squeezing his hand lightly with a small smile on his face.

“I wouldn’t consider that overprotective baby you care about your kids and the way that our son is acting right now I’d say that somebody needs to look out for him.” My dad tried to joke but I just smiled softly at him gazing out the window at the world around us.

“I’ll try my best but I won’t promise that he’ll actually listen to me.” I joked humming under my breath as I saw the entrance to the beef or what looked like it.

“Your both stubborn but I’m proud of you sweetheart. Just go out there and find him. Please.” I gave my mom a thumbs up and grabbed my board.

“We’ll be right behind you flower!!” My dad told me and I looked around the audience seeing Ai. I quickly walked over to him.

“How far ahead is he?” I asked my old friend and he just sighed a little bit showing me another picture with even more injuries.

“It’s obvious that he hasn’t been skating professionally very often. He’s a long ways ahead by now, the way that he’s going he might actually beat Ichigo if you don’t get to him first. This is his exact location.” He told me showing me on the map and I nodded my head virtually filing that information away as I set up my longboard. I plugged in my headphones to my phone and went speeding down the hill hoping that I would find my brother. I went around the corner with practiced ease. I really hoped that my brother wouldn’t be too banged up by the time that I got to him. It had been so long that I skated for something that was fun. Usually it was just a mode of transportation to get me to and from school when my parents were too busy to drive me. As I rounded another corner and went up a ramp I found myself going up it and doing a familiar rail slide. I looked ahead of me seeing that I still had a long way to go. I saw a familiar head of black hair that told me Ichigo wasn’t too far ahead of me.

“Hey Ichi!” I called out to him and watched his sea green eyes turn around worriedly as if trying to placate me and tell me that this wasn’t what it looked like.

“It wasn’t my idea I swear, he challenged me after school. He told me that I needed to prove that I was worthy of your heart and if I didn’t do it then I was a coward.” I sighed pinching the bridge of my nose tightly.

“Can you direct me in the general direction of my local idiot?” He laughed at me directing his board just ever so slightly in front of me.

“Will you go out on a date with me on Saturday?” I blurted not able to keep these feelings to myself anymore and heard the shocked laugh from my friend.

“Only if I get to plan the next one kay? I can’t believe that you actually beat me to the punch. I guess it took us long enough. I’m sorry that I made you wait so long that apparently your own brother had to challenge me to a beef in order to get this far ahead.” I rolled my eyes at the mention of my moronic younger brother.

“I wouldn’t pay much attention to him. He sometimes says things without thinking. Not that he has many brain cells to begin with.” I heard Ichigo’s laugh as he led me down the pathway and I turned my longboard around the corner.

“I’m catching up to you flower!!” I cursed under my breath at the sound of my dad’s voice since he was only a few feet behind me.

“Is that your dad?” Ichigo asked me whipping his head around clearly terrified. Not that I could blame him, my dad basically put the fear of God into all of my male friends which most of them were.

“My mom is here too, he’s the one who woke me up a while back. I am so tired but I just want to make sure that my brother is okay. I might bicker and insult him a lot but I can’t help it. It’s the environment that we grew up in. My parents lovingly bicker almost 24/7 so I guess that just passed onto me and Haru.” My friend just smiled softly as I talked about my parents. Ichigo rounded the corner doing a flip on his board and I saw the bright laugh that left him. I couldn’t help but think that he was the most attractive and amazing person that I had ever seen. He was constantly surprising me with what he could do on his board since I couldn’t do a whole lot of tricks on my longboard other than a rail slide.

“Haru!” I yelled out to my brother seeing a familiar mop of green curly hair that was sticking out awkwardly outside of his helmet.

“Sakura, what are you doing here?!” He asked me exasperatedly and I jerked a thumb back at our parents who were lovingly bickering.

“Mom woke me up because he went into your bedroom and saw that you were gone. He promptly freaked out and woke me up panicking because he thought that you were kidnapped or something. You know how he gets. So anyways, he woke me up and now I’m here to talk some sense into your stupid head.” I caught up to him gasping at the wounds that he had that were staring me in the face. I would have to patch him up once we got back home. After mom had finished yelling at him for being reckless.

“Come on moron, let’s go home. I already asked Ichigo out on a date this weekend anyways so you challenging him to a beef was virtually pointless.” I told him stopping his board and grabbing his arms to stop him from falling.

“Why can’t I ever just do one thing for myself? It seems that you get all the free will and I’m left with jackshit. I always get busted.” He kicked a rock sitting down on his board. I looked at my brother with wide eyes.

“Is that really what you think babe? Because that’s not true, I have just as much freewill as you do. Which is to say not a lot with mom around and dad scaring off every guy that’s ever come into contact with me. I just dealt with it because that’s the hand that was given to me. I love mom and dad more than anything in the entire world even if their bickering is exhausting. They love us too otherwise they wouldn’t have worried about you so much. I get busted sometimes too incase you’ve forgotten.” I kicked his foot lightly with mine putting my arm carefully around his shoulders.

“Let’s just go home yeah? We can talk about what you were thinking tomorrow after I patch you up and you go the doctor for any mandatory stitches.” I told him and he rested his cheek against my shoulder. Even though it was bloody and getting blood on my hoodie I couldn’t care less. My brother was physically okay and to me that was everything that really mattered. Even if he got on my nerves more often then not he was still my younger brother.

“I’m sorry that you had to be woken up for my stupid ass shit…” He told me and I couldn’t help but laugh at him.

“Let me go out with Ichigo and we’ll call it even okay? Not that you could ever physically stop me from doing something that I wanted to do. I don’t need your permission to do anything. I’m not happy that you made that decision for me ass.” I yanked on his piercing that was in his ear harshly and he winced in pain. I could see the remorse in his usually bright and sparkling yellow eyes.

“I was just trying to do something right by you for once. I thought that it would make you happy. We fight so much that I just wanted to see you smile…” I lightly nudged my brother’s side with a small sad smile on my face.

“I fight with you because I worry about you and the life decisions that you make sometimes. It’s hard for me to see your side of things and I promise that I’m not that mad at you.” I reminded him that I could always be more angry with him and I had been in the past over things that were way stupider than this.

“I know I owe you big time for this one. I really messed this up and mom is probably so pissed at me right now.” I laughed a little bit at my brother’s thoughts because yeah, that was the understatement of the century.

“You’ve got that right Haru. I am very angry with you for sneaking out.” I could hear the cold tone of my mom’s voice and I just patted Haru’s back in good luck. I did not want to be around when this ice storm started. I grabbed my board and my dad just put his arm around my shoulders.

“I’m proud of you kiddo. You didn’t get mad at your brother when you easily could have. That alone means that your growing and I’m proud of you for that flower.” He encouraged me and I smiled softly at my dad.

“I asked Ichigo out for a date on Saturday. He said yes but that he gets to ask me out on the next one.” I couldn’t help the happy skip in my step at the idea that I had something to look forward to this weekend.

“I’m glad sweetheart, not that he would’ve ever said no. I’ve seen the way that boy has always looked at you.” I blushed a light pink at the idea with a small laugh of not being able to hide anything from my dad. Ichigo had been one of those people that I had grown up with since a young age because our parents knew one another despite the fact that Miya was so much younger. It had taken him a while apparently to settle down with somebody and have Ichigo.

“He’s the only guy that you haven’t managed to have running for the hills so far dad. I hope that for your sake it stays that way because I don’t think I’m ever going to find another guy quite like him. I know that I’m young and everything but he’s special to me.” My dad just softly nuzzled his cheek against mine wincing when he felt the wet squish of blood.

“Sorry! That’s Haru’s he was leaning against that side, I have to patch him up when we get back home.” I slipped my headphones around my neck and my dad just sighed a little bit. “

This has been quite the eventful evening and not at all was expecting when I eventually went to bed this morning.” I laughed at my dad totally understanding where he was coming from. I bounced on the heels of my shoes with a small smile on my face.

“I’m just glad that Haru is okay. I know that mom probably has the lecture of the century planned out for him but in reality just the fact that he isn’t gravely injured is enough for me.” I reminded him looking back at my brother who looked absolutely terrified of our mom.

“He could have been hurt a lot worse if we hadn’t gotten here so quickly. They were barely even halfway down the course. How did Ichigo look?” I blushed a bright pink remembering the moves that he could do on his skateboard.

“He wasn’t injured at all. Then again, he still boards professionally for the most part. He only took the techie job so that he could look after me. For some reason he took that job upon himself.” I looked at my dad with a raised eyebrow.

“Well gee, I wonder who put that idea into his head. It certainly wasn’t me I can tell you that right now.” My dad was never the type that could lie or look conspicuous easily. My mom always lightly teased him that he couldn’t lie to save his own ass.

“You look stupid dad, I know it was you so you don’t need to cover it up like that. Why did you say something like that to him?” My dad sighed a little bit keeping his arm around my shoulders supportively. For as much as he knew that I could handle myself sometimes I wondered if he didn’t trust me at all.

“I just want to make sure that your properly looked after. I’ve always liked Ichigo. Ever since you two were kids and he first came into your brother and yours lives. He makes you happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for you was to be able to be happy. Also to not have to pine for decades after one person because you were too stubborn. I knew that he was going to be different from the other boys that hung around you when you were younger. He was the persistent type. So I told him to look after you as much as he could. That’s why he became a tech crew member.” I looked over at Ichigo who was in his own little world with his headphones on. I could already tell what he was listening to just by his feet movements. For as much as he prided himself on being a badass skater boi he was deep down a huge nerd.

“I am happy dad, even if I didn’t have Ichi I would still be happy. I have a great family, an amazing brother, and I get to do musical theater for fun something that I’ve always wanted to do.” I shrugged it off and my dad just smiled softly at me.

“I know your happy flower but you’ve always been happier when your with that boy doing your own thing. Besides, without him you wouldn’t be nearly as confident as you are right now and I’m happy for that.” I laughed a little bit at my dad shaking my head. I knew that there was no way that I was going to win this argument and I was far too bone deep exhausted to carry on with it.

“Twenty thousand yen says that you can’t guess what he’s listening to.” He told me and I couldn’t help but laugh because this was the easiest bet that I would ever win.

“Lost In Paradise. He does the foot movements for the ending song all the time whenever he listens to it. I’d recognize it anywhere. Want me to go and fact check for you?” My dad laughed openly at me and let go of my shoulder.

“Go work your magic kiddo. I’ll handle your mom when he eventually catches up to me.” I smiled softly at my dad catching up with my best friend and lightly tapping him on the shoulder. I saw his startled jump and him clutch at his hoodie.

“Were you listening to Lost In Paradise?” I asked him and he just smiled a little bit sheepishly at me showing me his phone and that I was one hundred percent right.

“I was right dad!” I smirked a little bit when he sighed. Ichigo just laughed at the familiar bickering with my dad and me.

“You just know me way too well. Are you-umm are you sure that you want to go on a date with me?” He played with his index fingers and I nodded my head.

“My brother doesn’t make decisions for me. I do. I’ve liked you for a really, really long time. Probably about four years now Ichi. I was just too worried about ruining our friendship to say anything.” I took his hand with a small smile on my face.

“You could’ve just told me that you liked me. I knew that you were hiding something from me because you suck at lying it’s one of the few things that makes you like your dad. If you had just told me then we could have started dating in middle school. I’ve pretty much had a massive crush on you since I met you Sakura. I mean how could I not?” I blushed a bright pink cursing my stupid anxiety for getting me this far ahead.

“Well I’m just me there isn’t really anything that special about me. Unless you like your girls with a temper.” I tried to joke even though it sort of fell flat due to how tired I was right now. Ichigo just blinked at me.

“I don’t think that you have a temper it just means that you care about people. I don’t know many people that would get up at three in the morning after only getting two hours of sleep to rescue their younger brother with her parents. You love your family, it’s something that I’ve always known. Even though you pick fights with them it’s so clear that you care about who they are as people. You love your mom and your dad even though they exhaust you. I don’t think that anybody else could put up with all the bickering the way that you do.” I sighed a little bit with a small smile on my face picking up a rock on the ground and thumbing the edge of it.

“They do exhaust me but at the same time I wouldn’t want them any other way. They’re loud, crazy, bicker constantly, most of their nicknames are low key insults, but they’re my parents. They’ve done everything within their power to make sure that I’m okay at school and at home. Even if that meant that my dad scared off every guy other than you from his restaurant. And you only came back because you were persistent.” Ichigo just laughed a little bit at the memory of him being smaller and my dad towering over him.

“I thought that your dad was super admirable because of how often he was there for you. Everyone knows that mine was off and on not that I have any room to complain. He taught me everything that I know about skating and I still am trying to get on his level.” I smiled softly at my best friend walking up the slope next to him.

“You’ll get there one of these days. If anything, I get your feeling. The idea of taking over dad’s restaurant terrifies me. There are all sorts of what if’s that run through my head on a daily basis. Mainly the idea that I’ll let him down. That bugs me constantly.” I didn’t usually mention the amount of pressure that I felt dealing with the looming dread of inheriting one of the most popular restaurants in all of Okinawa.

“Your dad gave you the restaurant because he knows that you can handle it Sakura. It’s a lot of pressure but you don’t need to do everything by yourself. I doubt that he did too. He had your mom on his side even if it was with leering sarcasm a lot of the time.” I laughed a little bit wondering if he would do the same for me, even if this didn’t work out in the long run.

“I know I don’t but asking for help is easier said than done. I say that I can handle it myself but even he can’t do that and has people that help him out. I love cooking and baking. I always will even if it’s a lot of pressure for me to be perfect consistently.” Ichigo leaned against my side causing me to flush a bright pink. It was a miracle that he hadn’t figured out my feelings so much earlier than he actually did because he was a super tactical type.

“I’ll be there to support you, no matter what happens got that? You were my best friend first for our entire lives pretty much so even if dating doesn’t work I’ll always be in your corner. You will run yourself into the ground if you keep going like this though. Is your mom going to do something about all the extra homework that you get?” I gulped a little bit hearing the familiar footsteps coming up behind me. I knew that this wasn’t going to end well.

“Extra. Homework. Ichigo. Explanation. Now.” My mom said, his voice an ominous dark thing that had me cowering behind my best friend.

“Well they always give her extra homework because she isn’t the best in a lot of subjects. She manages to get straight B’s but to her that’s not good enough. So she begs them for extra homework to maintain her straight A track record.” Thanks Ichigo, you know what I take everything that I just said back. I hate you. You suck.

“Sakura, is this true?” I nodded my head faintly and the hug that I got I wasn’t really expecting. My mom had never been much for affection in public preferring to be doting in private.

“You do not need to be perfect all the time. I know that this is something that you’ve struggled with for longer than you would like to admit. This is not okay though. We will work on your self worth. You are worth so much more than you know my darling. It is not worth all this staying up all night just so that you can feel more accomplished. It’s exhausting you and that is not something that I will put up with willingly.” My mom reprimanded lightly and I sighed a little bit into the hug that I was receiving. Ichigo just smiled softly at me.

“There was that so hard? I told you to just talk about what you were going through but as usual you never listen to me.” Ichigo mocked slightly and I glared half heartedly at my best friend for throwing me underneath the metaphorical bus.

“I just wanted you to be proud of me mom. That’s all I’ve ever wanted. I know it probably sounds selfish but I thought that if I worked hard enough I would be smart like Haru…” My mom cradled my face in his hands resting his forehead against mine.

“Both your brother and you have different strengths and weaknesses. I have never known you to be the academic type, you’ve always been more practical. Your head is full of recipes rather than algebra, your dad was the same way when we were in school. It’s not about who gets the best grades at the end of the day. It’s about how hard you work. I know that you work hard and you do your best. That’s all I’ve ever wanted from you my darling. You didn’t need to beg for extra homework just to maintain the same grade point average that your brother does.” He comforted me lightly even though I could tell that what I had said bothered him.

“I will always be proud of you Sakura. You work hard. That alone amounts to how amazing you can be. You baked your first cake all by yourself for your dad’s birthday when you were five. That is not something that the average person can do. For that I will always be so proud of you. You and your brother are naturally different people, much like your dad and I. I wouldn’t trade you for anything in the world my darling. I know how hard you worked even before all this extra homework and I was always proud of you.” He doted on me putting his arm comfortingly around me in a tight hug. I clung to my mom trying to rein in my tears.

“It’s okay to cry Sakura, it’s perfectly natural. I’m sorry that you had to hear it from me Kaoru. I think that it was about time that you knew about the true meaning behind the extra homework.” Ichigo rubbed the back of his neck his dark hair sticking up at odd angels.

“Thank you for telling me Ichigo. It appears that both of my children have forgotten what it is like to be a member of this family.” I felt the sweat drip down my neck and pool at the base of my spine knowing that this conversation was far from over.

“I will proceed with this talk on Sunday. Be prepared for it.” He warned me and I nodded my head stoically grateful that he was giving me at least two days to myself.

“At least he’s letting you off easy right now? Before he would’ve demanded that you talk about it right now. I guess he was really worried about Haru?” I nodded my head with a small sigh. I actually felt a lot better getting that off my chest. I knew that my mom had been worried about me for a long time coming but actually admiring to the reasoning behind all the excess homework made my chest feel a whole lot lighter.

“Are you skipping school tomorrow?” I nodded my head rubbing at my eyes with a big yawn almost tripping.

“Here, lean against me Sakura.” Ichigo told me putting his arm around my shoulders to make sure that I wouldn’t trip and fall flat on my face.

“Sorry that you have to do this for me…” I apologized but my best friend just laughed a little bit at me resting his cheek against my pink hair.

“It’s no big deal really, you’ve had a really emotional night and I know that you haven’t had the easiest time right now. I’m glad that you feel better after talking to your mom and telling her the truth.” I smiled softly at the never ending love and support from my childhood friend.

“I’m actually not dreading the lecture coming because I know that I’ll feel better once I get it done. Though his angry voice just now did terrify me.” I laughed a little bit at my friend as I felt him shutter against me.

“Nothing is scarier than your dad’s interrogations if I’m being entirely honest. It used to scare the absolute crap out of me when I was little. The only reason that I kept coming back was because you were there and you made me happy. I got to teach you skateboarding and we got to have fun together.” I smiled softly since he was the one that got me my first longboard and taught me the basics. I just happened to pick it up super fast and finally had the ability to say that I could ride a skateboard. True, it was a longboard but I finally felt like I fit in amongst my family.

“We did have a lot of fun together as kids. I’m grateful that you were one of the few that stuck around Ichi. I know that he couldn’t have made it easy. He promised me that he wouldn’t interrogate you again unless you became my boyfriend.” I saw the colors flush across my best friend’s cheeks at the idea of him dating me. It was a pretty amazing thought, it wasn’t like he needed to work that hard to make me fall for him when I was already in love with him.

“Then I’ll just have to prepare a thick set of armer for when that happens. For I shall not let milady fight alone.” He joked. I laughed a little bit with a bright pink blush on my cheeks. When I was younger Haru, Ichigo, Ai, and Klaus had been my himbo knights of the round table and we had acted out different stories that we made up as we went along. Even as a young kid I still had the same best friends that I did now. They were the greatest things that had ever happened to me.

“I love you Ichi…” I told him tiredly and he flushed a bright pink with a small stumble but I could tell that he was still happy, ridiculously happy.

“I love you too, I’ll tell you so much that you’ll get sick of it.” He promised me and my heart melted at the sheer idea of having somebody that loved me. True, I had my parents but part of me felt that they were contractually obligated to love me. Ichigo loved me by choice.

“Me too. I can’t promise that my sharp tongue will be tamed or that I won’t bicker with you because it’s basically in my blood at this point. It’s how I show love thanks mom.” I mocked jokingly and my best friend? Boyfriend? Just laughed at at me all the same.

“I wouldn’t trade your sharp tongue for anything in the world. It’s just another thing that I loved about you from a young age. You were the only person that could shut down any jerks on the playground and I just followed you around like a lost puppy dog.” I smiled fondly at the memory. I missed those days when I felt like I could be queen of the playground and tell off bullies instead of being too scared to do it like I was now. As a kid, I didn’t fear anything. I just said whatever was on my mind no matter how rude or unseemly it was.

“I’ll cover you for you in theater tomorrow. God knows that you need a break. I don’t want you doing anything strenuous tomorrow. Not if you can help it.” He advised me and my heart warmed at the idea that he was trying to protect me.

“Don’t worry, my whole family is taking a vacation day and we’re all relaxing. Nobody is doing a damn thing other than taking Haru to the doctor. To which I’ll probably still be asleep. I have a lot of sleep that I want to catch up on.” Ichigo leaned his head against mine with a small loving smile on his face. I couldn’t help but smile along with him, it was such an adorable boyish smile.

“It’s been a while since you’ve had a family day. Seems like it to me anyways, I used to hate them when I was younger because I would be super bored. Hanging out with Ai and Klaus without you just wasn’t the same.” I smiled softly poking his pink cheek with a small laugh. I couldn’t help but do all the things that I had always wanted to do flustered Ichigo. A big part of it was sleep deprivation I needed to get more sleep at night.

“Aww Ichi, I didn’t know that you cared about younger me so much.” I teased lightly and he just rolled his sea green eyes at me.

“You totally knew you can’t lie to me Sakura. You had to have known that I was smitten with you all these years. My dad pretty much never let it go telling me how gross it was thinking about how basically his parents would one day be his future in-laws.” I blushed hotly at the idea of my uncle being the way that he was. Some things would never change and Miya was the youngest out of all the group that came before us. He retained a lot of that childish love of pranks and messing with other people.

“I know that I’m a rotten liar. It’s amazing that I was able to lie to my mom for this long about the extra homework. I’ll just be grateful when I don’t have to beg for it anymore.” I sighed heavily the idea of all that work finally going away not fully sunken in yet.

“I don’t think that your rotten at it really. It’s just that your too pure to be lying to people like that. You were always way more open than most of the other people that we hung around with growing up. I miss that.” I smiled softly at my best friend seeing my family’s car in front of me thankfully done with that walk back up the hill.

“Hey Sakura!” I heard Ai call to me from his spot where he was seated on the ground next to the television screen that was hooked up.

“I see that you found your wayward brother, your mom did not look happy when he got here. Did something happen on his way back up the hill?” I sighed a little bit running my hand through my fringe at the ends of my pink hair.

“He might have found out the reasoning behind all the extra homework and needless to say I am not his favorite person right now. I probably won’t be for quite sometime. But it’s okay, I know that he loves me no matter what. It’s just that I wouldn’t be happy with me right now either.” I told Ai and he just laughed a little bit at me.

“Well better you then me I’d say, is he at least giving you some time before he reins hell upon you?” I nodded my head taking off my helmet and setting down my skateboard.

“I should really get going home, do either of you want a ride back?” I asked my two best friends and they both shook their heads.

“We’ll ride our boards back. My dad already knew that I was going out tonight he told me to do my best to win your heart.” I blushed a bright pink hearing Ai’s laughter at the antics of our favorite crazy uncle. I had no idea how long that my uncle had been shipping us but I had a feeling that it was a long time.

“Flower, time to go!!” I heard my dad call from where he had parked the car and I smiled softly at my family.

“I’ll text you both, preferably when I’ve had a bit more sleep than I’ve been getting.” I waved to my two best friend’s as I walked through the crowds to get to the car. I got into the passenger side since my mom already had my brother cuddled up next to him.

“Did your friends want a ride home?” I shook my head buckling up my seatbelt carefully and put my skateboard onto the floor of car.

“They said that they would both ride their boards home and that Miya already knew that Ichigo had gone out tonight.” I smiled softly feeling my eyes droop a little bit. Everything had turned out alright in the end just as it always did. In this family of chaos where something was always happening it was sometimes hard to catch my breath.

“Sweetheart, get some sleep. I’ll wake you back up again when we arrive back at home.” I melted into into the seat and felt my eyes finally fall shut. I hadn’t even realized that I was so exhausted before I had sat down officially in the car. My dad kissed my forehead with a small smile on his face. He put one arm around my shoulder ignoring my mom’s protest and pulled me into his side.

“Just let me have this Ru, she’s tired and she’s been working so much lately.” I melted into the warmth and drifted off into a small catnap on the way back home.

“Flower, we’re back home.” My dad lightly shook me and I rubbed my eyes yawning openly. I looked back and saw my brother snuggled against my mom.

“I do need to patch him up as best I can before his meeting with the doctor tomorrow.” I told my mom and he just smiled softly at his son.

“Haru, Haru get up darling…” I smiled softly at my brother as he rubbed at his golden eyes. I thumbed my dad’s knuckle and I stretched my hands over my head.

“Come on idiot, I need to fix you up as best I can.” I reminded him and he glared lightly at me for calling him an idiot.

“Don’t call me an idiot…” He whined a little bit and I laughed at him and I got out of the car putting my arm around his shoulders.

“I love you Haru, I’m sorry that I’m teasing you I just want you to take better care of yourself.” I reminded him lightly and he leaned his head against my shoulder.

“I love you too Sakura, I’m sorry that you had to get up so early to come after my stupid ass.” I laughed a little bit at my best friend as he clung to my shoulder. I opened the door to the restaurant and he hobbled a little bit up the stairs.

“Did you twist your uncle you moron?” I asked him and he shook his head a little bit against my shoulder. I looped my arm around his waist and helped carry my best friend back up the stairs.

“No I’m just tired. I did something really stupid and I know that mom is really pissed at me.” I sighed a little bit turning my brother around. I led him through the bathroom and he hopped up onto the counter as I got out the first aid kit so that I could heal him.

“This is going to hurt at first as you already know. I’ll be as gentle as I can. I want to make sure that you’re okay.” He hissed a little bit as I dabbed the antiseptic over his varying wounds to her my brother. I carefully bandaged up all his different injuries.

“Okay that was the last one sweetheart. I know that you’ve been going through a lot right now. Do you want to stay by yourself or with me?” He shook his head at the first question and I helped him off of the countertop with a small smile.

“With you if you don’t think that’s weird. I know we used to do it a lot as children but we haven’t done it in a. Really long time.” I smiled softly at my brother putting my arm around his shoulders and laughing a little bit.

“I can’t judge you sweetheart, come on. You can change into your pajamas! I need to get back into mine as well.” I put my clothes back on and my brother crawled in next to me. My mom came in checking on me and making sure that I had done a good job patching up my brother. My brother snuggled next to me and my mom kissed our foreheads.

“Good night my darlings…” He turned the lights off and left the two of us alone so that we could relax and just get some sleep. I was super sleepy and it looked like my brother was at this point too as he snuggled against me. The next day would bring him lots of chaos and new fun things to do with my family.

I ask you a question. You answer a question. Repeat.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Although lemons are sour and I'm sweet

What are three shows in your watchlist that you’ve been meaning to get to?

Surprisingly none! I stick with my favorites, well, I am catching up on The Good Doctor right now.

Describe your favorite pair of socks

Thick fuzzy ones, they're gray knit with soft fluffy insides and have polar bear faces sewed onto the front.

Do you like smoothies?

Mhm! I make a banana/strawberry/blueberry/spinach one everyday.

What do you wear when you have to dress nicely?

I have some nice pants + shirt/vest duo as well as a nice navy lace dress, just depends on what I want to wear.

How do you like your eggs?

Scrambled, fried, and hard boiled in that order.

What do you use to keep your place when you’re reading a book?

I fold the corner. Blasphemy I know.

What color dominates your closet?

Black or blue.

Do you collect anything? If so, what?

Hmm I used to collect funko pop's but I only collected the ones I liked and now I have them. I guess I don't collect much, sometimes shells from beaches and stuff.

What sounds or scents calm you down?

There's a specific frog audio that my mom played for me when I was very young that helped me sleep, it's turned into a comfort sound for me now. Lavender or the perfume my mom uses is also comforting.

What’s your favorite kind of uquiz question? (Lyric, color, aesthetic, etc)

I like aesthetic with pictures. I can't read to save my life.

Do you wear glasses or contacts?

Nope, although I have a feeling I might need some.

What’s something about your best friend that you love?

Even if we're hours apart I still get to spend more time with them than anyone else. They take the time to talk to me and I'm always eager to relax and hang out with them. They're so smart and even helped me with a subject I struggle in.

Do you prefer to write in pen or pencil?

Pen, if I'm writing in pencil I have to be using a mechanical one.

What are some places where you feel most at home?

My bed and room, anywhere soft and cozy. The beach too.

Do you have any houseplants? Do any of them have names?

I only have one and it's an aloe plant I keep in my room. It doesn't have a name.

Describe your favorite hoodie. How long have you had it? What makes it unique?

AH okay my favorite one currently! It's a light blue hoodie from Tilly's that says "Stay away please and thank you" and I absolutely live in it. Had it for a few months now.

What’s the last thing you ordered online?

Skyward Sword HD!

What’s one historical event that you would have liked to have witnessed?

Bit morbid but either the Salem Witch Trials, Black Plague, or the disappearing of one of the British Colonies.

What’s your favorite Halloween costume from when you were a kid?

I dressed as Ariel a lot, I want to say I dressed as Merida in elementary as well.

What kind of math are you best at?

Angles and Shapes.

What’s your favorite period in art history, your favorite famous work and/or your favorite style of art? If you don’t know any that’s ok!

Well, I don't know the period of art but anything that has to do with water color I adore.

Iced or hot drinks?

Hmm Iced.

Which songs do you like to sing in the shower?

Um not many sadly. Was teased for doing that so I quit years ago.

Are you a good driver?

LMAO NO, I'm learning soon but I have run over a tree on a golf cart among many other things.

Do you have any piercings or tattoos? Are there any that you want?

Only one lobe pierced, my right one. There's a handful of tattoo's I want if I wasn't a pussy, as well as piercings. Lip and tongue definitely, nipples, more on my ears, I don't like anything too drastic I'd probably just keep studs or small hoops.

Can you cook or bake? If so, what are some of your specialties?

Mhm! I bake super good brownies and my favorite thing to cook is either meat rice balls or omelets.

Do you have any keychains on your home or car keys? Describe them!

Oh I have MANY. I keep a green rupee chain on my key, I have a Legend snack keychain, a Four Sword, Minish Cap Link, and Vaati on my backpack. Purse has Midna and Wild as well as Toon Zelda.

Can you swim very well? Do you like swimming?

I can swim, not gracefully, but I certainly won't drown. I do like to swim!

Did you play with Legos as a kid? What was your favorite set?

HELL YEAH I DID! Ninjago my beloved! My favorite set I owned is probably, well it ties between, The Monastery and the Destiny's Bounty, and my original first season sets are Cole's Earth Drill from Season 2 and my Ratla Bike from Season 1!

Is your closet organized? If so, how?

At one house absolutely not. At the other I have my dresser in one half, shirts hung on other, folded sheets on the closet floor + a bin for old stuffed animals.

What’s the last music video you watched?

Umm I think Bottom of the Deep Blue by MISSIO? I'm not one for music videos but it was in a playlist.

If you could dye your hair any color, regardless of how you think it would look, what color would you choose?

Oh man I've done this so many times. I'd go for a purple again or a deep ocean blue.

Headphones or earbuds?

HEADPHONES, hands down, 100%

Can you read analog clocks?

Yup! Surprisingly I was one of two people who could read one in a class so I was dubbed the time keeper.

Describe your favorite stuffed animal, either now or from when you were a kid.

I have two. One is a sesame street character I've had for years. His fur is matted down and he has been patched up so many times. I also have a newer Toothless plush I love.

What’s an arcade or table game (air hockey, ping pong, etc) that you’re really good at?

Air Hockey, I kick ASS at that!

Do you mind if others are in the kitchen when you’re cooking or baking?

Not at all! So long as I don't accidentally bump them all will go smooth.

What’s one show you watch or musician you listen to that your friends know nothing about?

Hmm probably music by John Powell or Rozen.

What was the best part of your day today?

Getting to hang out with my favorite Toad, hands down. They bring so much joy!

What’s your favorite kind of tree?

Birch or Weeping Willow. Basic bitch I know.

What scent is your deodorant?

Fucking uhh pomegranate or something?

Do you have any games on your phone? If so, which one(s) is/are your favorite?

I do yup! I like Axalochi and Bubble Pop

Do you shower with the lights on or off?

ON?? PEOPLE SHOWER WITH LIGHTS OFF?? It could be broad daylight and I still turn the light on.

What do you do with spare change?

Save it in jars. I kid you not.

Do you have good handwriting?

Ehhh it's not the best but it's not the worst.

What’s the last thing a friend recommended to you that you looked into and actually liked?

Heheh, Zelda/Zelda ships. So fucking good.

Do you like to go on walks?

Yes! Depending on who I'm with I love to.

Do you have a favorite plate or bowl?

Hmm no I don't think so. I do have favorite silverware though.

What’s your favorite thing to do when it’s raining?

Stay inside, open a window to listen, and chat with my friends or draw.

Describe your perfect sleeping conditions

Cold, bundled in blankets, hood pulled up and sock on, cuddled up to a pillow or someone I love. Cat resting on my chest or curled up against my tummy if I'm laying on my side.

Tag Game: 10 Favorite Female Characters

Tagged by @juurensha!

Rules: List your 10 favorite female characters, one per fandom, then tag 10 people.

Thanks for actually making me post on tumblr for once! These characters are in no particular order since I am incredibly indecisive and like a lot of characters.

1. )  Riko Aida (KnB)

I love sports anime, but most of them have a conspicuous lack of female characters. Riko is the coach of our heroes’ team, and I admire her ability to keep cool even in the most insane of basketball matches. (I personally would’ve gone crazy dealing with Kuroko and Kagami alone, let alone face the entire Generation of Miracles.)

2.) Anonymous/Somebody (Our Dreams At Dusk/Shimanami Tasogare)

For those who haven’t read Our Dreams At Dusk, it’s a great slice of life, coming of age manga that’s only 4 volumes long about a gay teenage boy learning to just exist as himself after stumbling across a discussion lounge with other queer folk run by a mysterious woman known only as Somebody/Anonymous (she’s Somebody in the official translations and Anonymous in the scans). Somebody’s a rare example of an aro-ace character in manga and an extremely perceptive person who helps many of the characters live their best lives by asking the important questions.

3.) Jolyne Kujo (JJBA Pt 6, Stone Ocean)

Jolyne is a freakin’ badass who doesn’t take no for an answer and is all around awesome. Enough said. 

Plus, she and Hermes are the best ship of Stone Ocean. Best battle lesbian power couple right there.

4.) The Black-Haired Girl (The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl)

My profile picture! I am an unabashed Masaaki Yuasa fangirl and am always looking for other people to convert since his works need more love (my personal favorite of his works is Ping Pong, but, again, there aren’t many female characters). I really like the nameless protagonist of The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl because she doesn’t take anything too seriously and just has a lot of fun taking even the most craziest things in stride. She doesn’t blink an eye when random gods show up in Ponto-cho, Kyoto, and she slows down other people’s perception of time during the long night because she has this way of bringing people into the present.

The movie’s surreal and fun, and if you’re interested, I’d recommend watching its spiritual predecessor, The Tatami Galaxy first. 

5.) Haruhi Fujioka (Ouran)

I liked the manga a lot better than the anime, but Haruhi is headstrong and speaks her mind. She takes no shit from the rest of the Host Club and is super freaking cool.

6.) Sansa Stark (ASOIAF/Game of Thrones)

I strongly disliked Sansa at the beginning of A Game of Thrones because she was so naive, but by the end of A Feast for Crows I was totally converted. She’s become a schemer in her own right, and I can’t wait to see where GRRM takes her in the last two books of ASOIAF.

7.) Hermione Granger (HP)

Like every nerdy kid, I wanted to be just like Hermione when reading the Harry Potter books for the first time. Yeah, she has her flaws, but she’s cool and really damn smart. Plus, Emma Watson plays her in the movies :)

8.) Morgiana (Magi)

Morgiana is another badass with a tragic backstory, having been a slave. She’s the sanest one between her, Aladdin, and Alibaba and has awesome fight scenes. I love Magi’s worldbuilding and think it needs way more love. It’s way overdue for another anime season.  

9.) Eleanor Young (Crazy Rich Asians)

Okay, Eleanor is 100% the villain of Crazy Rich Asians. Still, I admire her tenacity a lot and the way she doesn’t let anything stop at her goals. Michelle Yeoh did an incredible job playing her in the movie version, and I can’t wait to see the movie for China Rich Girlfriend.

10.) Sayaka Kanamori (Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken!)

‘That Tall Girl’ in the Eizouken. She’s no-nonsense, practical, to the point, and very funny. Keep Your Hands Off Eizouken! is another Masaaki Yuasa anime, and you can feel how much he and the folks at Science Saru had making this show from the very first few minutes of Episode 1. 

Honorable Mention: 

Mutsu (Gintama)

The mysterious, badass #2 of the Kaientai and a former space pirate. I like how she took her agency in her own hands and ended up joining Sakamoto. It’s too bad you can only include 1 character per fandom, because there are so many good characters in Gintama—Kagura, Kyuubei Yagyuu, Tsukuyo, and I know I’m only scratching the tip of the iceberg. Gintama will always have a special place in my heart because at its core, it’s a story about how to live a good life.

Whew, we’re done! I am a tumblr cryptid who rarely uses this site for things other than to reblog pretty art and sometimes talk about fic, so I guess I’ll just tag @soysaucemachine and @ultra-uh-oh-spaghetti-os. Have fun, friends :))))))

Kord Center Mall: Rose Takes Bart to a Rave

Rating: Explicit (there’s smut, and drug use, and lots of swearing)

Fandom(s): Mass Effect, DC Comics

Ship: JayRose (Jason Todd/Rose Wilson)

AO3 Link: Here

Summary: Even the best-made plans go sideways, sometimes.In which Rose plans to have a good time with her NOT boyfriend, but ends up watching over the most annoying and most adorable kid working at Kord Center Mall.

Note: This is a cross over, mall-verse AU concocted by @scifi-ginger and myself. You’ve been warned.

-*-*-

Rose Wilson has three stops she makes on her hour-long lunch break. How she managed to get an hour instead of 30 minutes like most part-timers, no one seems to know. Her desk partner, Cassandra Sandsmark--regular employee of the month and all-around wonder girl, has definitely noticed, and she protests every time Rose leaves. Their manager likes Rose, so he never says anything. Or maybe he’s terrified of her dad like everyone else. Getting into his scheduling software is easy enough, especially since he has the password on a sticky note behind his monitor. It’s not Rose’s fault if he doesn’t bother to memorize it.

First she goes to Joey’s counter at MAC. For someone who’d rather sign than talk, Joey sure sells a lot of beauty products. It’s probably the way he smiles at his customers, giving them bedroom eyes regardless of their gender. When Rose spots him, he’s chatting up some twink who has trouble standing still. Joey lays a steadying hand on his shoulder, applying the liquid eye liner like he’s still in art school. He waves at Rose when he’s done with the makeover, walking the guy over to the counter to what’s surely going to be a big sale. When the customer signs his receipt, he also jots down his number. Taking the receipt, Joey nods at the guy, then at Rose.

“Oh! Sorry. Didn’t realize you’d been waiting.” The twink stumbles out of the store, leaving Joey and Rose alone at the counter.

Joey punches the guy’s number into his phone and Rose rolls her eyes. Her brother sets his phone down, and his hands flurry into signs. “What? Was it something I said?”

Rose leans across the counter, so his co-worker can’t hear her talk. “Really? Are you going to seduce every single person who comes in here?”

Waving his hand dismissively, Joey snorts. “He was cute.”

“You say that about everyone, Joey. And I won’t let you tarnish my reputation as the skankiest Wilson.”

Leaning back towards her with a wicked gleam in his eye, Joey slaps his hand on the counter. “I’m pretty sure Pop has us both beat there.”

“Gross.” Rose starts to walk out, but her phone pings. 

I still want Vega’s number.

Rose turns back to face him, grinning widely as she moonwalks out the store. “Fucking a personal trainer won’t get you a free membership!” She calls out.

Joey’s hands move so big Rose is convinced the department store across the hall can see. “But it will get me some exercise!”

 Shaking her head, Rose moves on to the crystal shop three doors down. Rachel, or Raven, as most call her, is busy ringing someone up, so Rose peruses the tea selection. She isn’t really sure what to make of the supernatural or the paranormal, to be honest, but she humors her friend--getting palm and tarot readings from her so Raven can practice. Every so often she’ll even join her meditation sessions, though Rose has the worst time sitting still. Her latest mantra is “I’d rather be punching a bag” over and over until Raven shoves her away.

Ignoring the names of the teas, Rose takes her time sniffing each jar for the one’s that’ll taste best. She picks one up that smells like almost nothing. What’s the fucking poi--

“I don’t think you need anything for erectile dysfunction.” Raven drawls from behind her. “If you do, we really need to talk.”

“Jesus.” Rose jumps a little, slamming the lid back down. “You’ve got to stop doing that.”

“Are you actually going to buy something, or are you just here to fuck off?” Raven folds her arms, eyeing Rose with a smirk. 

“What’s a good compliment to some dank weed?” Rose leans back against the shelves, jostling several jars in her wake.

Raven scoffs, but digs out a couple jars, pushing Rose out of the way. “What does Joey think about you partying with the mall’s resident bad boys?”

“And girl.” Rose holds up a finger like a kindergarten teacher. “Don’t forget the girl.” As if anyone could forget Jack Nought. With her mohawk and tats, she looks like she walked off the set of Mad Max. Maybe she did. Jack can do whatever the fuck she wants. “And Joey trusts me to take care of myself.” She pokes Raven in the nose. “Unlike some people.”

“Har har.” Raven waves her off like a fly. “And your dad?” Her voice lightens, and her eyebrows knit together, all airs of indifference falling away. She moves behind the counter, measuring and weighing the ounces of tea, only to toss the generous amounts in the bags anyway. Samara lets Raven do what she wants, too. They should start a club.

“He can go fuck himself.” 

“You know, I have an extra room available if you--”

“Don’t.” Rose eyes the register to see what total Raven rang up, and slams extra down on the counter.

“Fine.” Raven starts to count out her change. Rose leaves before she can put it in her hands. Good thing she was already on her way to the punk store.

Jack is chewing and blowing bubblegum when Rose walks in. “Hey fucker,” she calls out affectionately.

“Fuck you too, Jack.” Rose circles the counter, squeezing Jack’s butt in her usual greeting--her eyes searching the merchandise.

“Looking for Jason?” Jack slaps her ass in reply. He’s running inventory in the back.”

“No, your other boy toy.” Rose quips as she heads towards the backdoor. She’s not allowed back there, but she’s on good terms with the management team.

Jason is waist deep in open boxes when she finds him. “Hey asshole,” she says to his back as he studies his clipboard. 

“Jesus.” Jason slips and falls back against one stack of merchandise. His clipboard goes flying. Peanuts rain down on their heads. “Hey bastard.”

Rose picks the peanuts from her hair, squishing one between her fingers. “Excuse me? You’re the one who’s adopted.”

Jason pulls her down with him. “You’re the one who disowned her dad.” 

Plastic bags squeak underneath their feet as she settles down next to him. “He deserved it.” Next to Jason isn’t close enough. Rose crawls into his lap.

“Rose, I’m a little--”

“Busy?” Her breath ghosts across his lips. “Not busy enough.” His body always feels so warm beneath her hands.

Jason’s lips part, and his hand wanders back and forth across the top of her shoulder, like he can’t decide between pushing her away and pulling her closer. “Jack will kill us if she finds us goofing off.”

“Since when do you care about the rules?” She kisses him once, long and slow, one hand scratching the back of his neck. “And she won’t kill me. I’m on break.” 

Jason swears. “I’m already behind today.”

“Does that mean yes?”

“You asked?” He kisses her this time, pulling her tight against him. They fit together like puzzle pieces. 

Rose trails her other hand down his side, sliding it between them. She drinks in his groan, sliding her tongue into his mouth, and her hand into his hoodie pocket. 

Jason seizes her wrist, pulling away from her mouth. His breath comes out ragged. “Really?”

Sitting back, she pouts. “Empty? Nothing? Nada? Zilch?”

“I’m working.”

“Not even one joint? You disappoint me, Todd.”

“I’m not going to get arrested at work, Wilson.”

“At least tell me there’s a party this weekend.” Rose traces the lines of Jason’s jaw. She could do it all day. It’s not her fault he’s so easy on the eyes. 

Jason leans back against the boxes, pulling Rose with him. “Mm. I think there’s a rave.”

Grinning slowly, Rose braces her hands on either side of his head, letting her hair drape around their faces. “Please tell me we’re going.”

“Oh, I’m sure we’ll get a group together.” He slides her hoodie’s zipper down. “Get a couple cars going.” His eyebrows scrunch together as he grins up at her. “Shouldn’t you be thinking about right now?”

“Depends.” Her hand slides underneath his hoodie and his shirt, shivering at the way his skin jumps. It should be illegal for someone to be this perfect. “Is it going to be more fun than this weekend?”

Jason rolls them over, pushing her shirt up. “Depends.” He lavishes her middle with kisses. “On.” A breath. “Where your head's at.”

If anything, Rose doesn’t like where her thoughts are headed. It’s all too easy to imagine dinner dates and long walks on the beach, or whatever it is couples do. So, she plays with the hair on the back of Jason’s head as he makes his way lower and lower. No matter what happens, no one can take this moment from them--from her. Maybe Jason’s right. 

“Rose?” Jason’s hands let go of her jeans, and he’s watching her. Shit.  

Shaking it off, Rose pulls him back to her. “C’mere.” Her lips crash into his, biting his bottom lip until he hisses into her mouth. “You’re short on time, right?” She slides her hand down, unbuttoning his jeans.

It’s a bold face lie and they both know it. “Yeah.” Jason gulps, sliding his hand inside her jeans. He pauses at what he finds or doesn’t find there. “Rose?”

“Shhh.” She shoves her jeans down, guiding his fingers. “It won’t take long, I promise.”  Rose grins against his lips. “Especially with you.” 

Jason’s kiss is a little too tender, his touch a little too reassuring, so Rose goes in hard. Her lips crash into his and she bites his bottom lip. As he moans into her mouth, she yanks his jeans out of her way, feeling along his length. 

“Mm.” Rose tugs his ear lobe between her teeth, shivering at his sharp breath in her hair. “You are all I need right now. Just you.” 

“Fuck, Rose.” Jason rocks into her hand, gripping her shoulders hard. “I need you, too.” He just manages to get beneath her underwear again, snickering between moans. “That’s more like it.” 

“Nng.” Rose leans her head against Jason’s shoulder as his knuckle digs against her clit. It slips a little against her soaked skin. This is what she needs. “Just like that.” Panting, she bites his neck where it meets his shoulder. 

Jason shakes, shakes under her touch. “Rose--” Her name isn’t a question this time. It’s a plea. 

Rose snickers. “You want me?” Fuck, the way he whimpers as she shoves his underwear down. “You need me?”

“Rose, please.” Jason kisses her hungrily, fumbling as he pulls her underwear past her hips. 

Swallowing hard, Rose digs through his pockets until she finds what she’s looking for. There. She grins, holding up the condom where Jason can see. He nods, and she slides it on him. Together they slide him inside her, and together they are a mess of limbs and teeth. 

“Oh, fuck.” Rose whimpers, falling back against one of the stacks. It’s a little soon and a little rough, but it’s exactly what she needs right now. “Fuck, yes.”

“Y-yeah.” Jason drives into her, gripping her hips so tight she’ll have bruises later. He bites her neck, marking her in kind. Oh fuck, the boxes are going to fall over. 

Moaning into his ear, she slides her fingers beneath his shirt, skimming her nails down his back.

“Rose,” he gasps. Now it’s a statement. A warning.  

“Jason, I need--” Rose whimpers. She’s so close. 

“Shh.” He catches her lips, taking her hand and putting it between them. 

Rose circles her clit quickly, closing her eyes as Jason pulses inside her. His fingers slide over hers, and he pants into her neck as her world tilts on tilts on its axis. 

Seconds, minutes, hours? Later she turns her head and finds him lying next to her, and they snicker together. Rose pushes a sweaty lock of hair out of his eyes. 

“How the fuck am I supposed to work after that?” Jason traces her bottom lip with his finger. 

“There’s a Starbucks across the hall.” Ah fuck. There’s that feeling again. Rose kisses his finger once, then sits up, grabbing her clothes and throwing them on. “What time on Saturday?”

Jason blinks up at her, pushing himself off the floor. “....Eight, I guess? It’s out of town.”

Rose snatches one last kiss from his lips. “See you then, asshole.”

“Catch you later, bastard.”

_____________________

 Fuck him. Fuck Jason Todd. Fuck his entire fucking family. Rose stares down at her phone, the bass of the warehouse thumping even from across the field-turned parking lot. 

“What’s wrong?” Bart leans over her shoulder, reading Jason’s text message. 

Stuck at Bruce’s party. I’ll make it up to you later, I promise. 

Rose swats him away. “He fucking bailed.” 

Jack and Roy had already gone inside. They wouldn’t be able to find them til sunrise. And Jason wasn’t coming. That just left her and Bart “I can’t shut up” Allen. Two hours in the backseat doing her best to ignore him. Oo! What music are you listening to? Can I share? Lemme make you a playlist. Do you like Kesha? I LOVE KESHA. Rose didn’t even need to respond. He’d just keep talking. 

“Jason bailed? What happened? Was it one of those Wayne Manor parties? Maybe we should go there.”

“It’s two hours away and we’re not invited, dumbass.” Rose made her way to the door. “You got your ID?”

“Well. Oh! You mean that ID.” Bart waggled his eyebrows. “Yeah. Tim made me one.” He pulled it out, waving it in front of her face.

“Gimme that.” Rose eyed it. “No way you’re passing for thirty.” She shoved it in her pocket. 

“But how am I going to get inside?” He trailed after her.

“Lemme worry about that.” Rose spun around, and Bart ran into her. “But you need to let me do the talking. Kay?”

“Kay.”

“How’d you get invited, anyway?” Rose stomped toward the doors, doing her best to put on a winning smile. She needed something good, stat. 

“Oh! Tim invited me. But he had to go to Bruce’s party too.”

“So I get to babysit you instead. Fucking fantastic.”

“Hey! It’s not my fault Jason flaked.”

Rose stopped, glaring at him. “I was supposed to get high and laid tonight. But no. I get stuck with you.”

Bart flushed as red as his hair. “I mean. You still c-can. I won’t stop y-you.” 

“Wally would turn me into a statue and put me in a museum, so no. That’s not happening.” The Wayne boys owed her big time. 

“ID’s?” The bouncer shined a flash night near their faces, eyeing them. 

Rose pressed her ID into the guys hand, biting her grin. “Hey there.” 

The bouncer smirked. “Who’s the kid?”

“Oh, him? He’d just here to drive us home. Just got his license, right Bart?” Rose giggled. “Hey, you busy later, or--?” She swiped the sharpie from his pocket, scribbling a phone number on his arm. 

“Have fun. But keep him out of trouble.”

Rose threw him a mock salute, shoving Bart inside before the bouncer could change his mind. “Whew. Okay. Just promise me you won’t do anything--”

“Oo. What’s this?”

Turning around, Rose caught Bart popping a brightly colored pill into his mouth. “Bart, no!” Shit shit shit. She grabbed his wrist.

Bart’s throat bobbed as he swallowed. “Too late.”

“You don’t know what’s in that!” Fuck. Wally was going to kill her. 

“I’ll be fiiine. You worry too much. Let’s dance!” Bart tugs her to the middle of the room, oblivious to the strangers he’s running into. Yup. If Wally doesn’t kill her first, Bart is first on her shit list.

At least the music’s nice--loud and thrumming through her entire body. She would almost enjoy it, if it weren’t for the looming feeling of shit about to hit the fan. It’s one thing if Rose gets high and gets sick and wakes up in the ER--Bart’s just a kid.

 After a few songs, Rose starts to think maybe Bart just found some candy and is just messing around to piss her off. 

Then he steps inside her bubble. She can’t hear what he’s saying, so Bart yells in her ear. “You’re really pretty.”

Fucking fantastic. “And you’re high. Fuck off.”

Bart moves back, only to dive in closer, tripping over Rose’s feet. “This stuff is great. I can see why you wanted it. I can fly.” He scrunches his nose. “No. I could run. Run right across the ocean something.”

That’s a mental image that will haunt her later. “You’re not even close, kid.” It’s then Bart decides to grind up against some dude twice his age. It’s then Rose decides to steer him outside.

“Ro-ose.” 

“Shove it, Bart. We can still hear it out here.” 

“Oo. It’s so nice and cold out here. You’re right.” Rose has to peel herself out of his hug. He only hugs her again, spinning them around. “You’re the best.”

“And you’re still high.” How long does that shit last, anyway? Time drags on so much longer when she’s sober. 

“Noooo. I mean it.” Bart pokes her nose. “You’re watching out for me. You’re like my big sister.”

“Your big sister that will kill you if Wally doesn’t get to you first.”

Bart stares at her jacket, running his finger along stitching on her sleeve. 

“You okay?” Rose has no idea how it’s possible, but quiet Bart is worse than talkative Bart. 

“You got any gum?” Bart doesn’t wait for her answer, digging through her pockets until he finds some. He then unwraps the rest of her back before shoving it in his mouth.

“Yeah, sure. Have some gum.” It’s going to be a long night--Rose can tell.

“Got any water?” Bart fiddles with the zipper on her pocket. “I’m so thirsty. Do you get thirsty on this stuff?”

Rose groans, dragging him back inside. “Let’s find you some gatorade.”

------

Hours, maybe centuries later, Bart sits with Rose outside, snuggled up to her as close as he can get. Her tiny leather jacket doesn’t really work as a blanket for them both, but it’ll have to do. “Still cold?” She asks. 

Bart’s voice is muffled against her collarbone. “Yeah. But it’s better.” 

Rose rests her chin on top of his head, rubbing her head down his back. She’ll probably never know what having a little brother feels like, but this will do. Damnit. Bart might be the stupidest little fuck, but he’s her stupid little fuck and she will fucking murder anyone who hurts him. Her knuckles will have bruises by morning, but she’ll feel better than the creep with the freshy broken nose.

“Rose?” Bart sighs, and Rose feels him tremble.

“Yeah?”

“You ever like someone who didn’t like you back?”

Rose chews her lip, remembering Dick and his impossibly blue eyes, and his stupid grin. How she’d move the world for him and he’d still just pat her on the head like she was his kid sister. Bart didn’t need to know about that. “Yeah.” The whole world didn’t need to know it either.

“Why does it hurt so much?” Bart breathes in like there’s ice in his lungs. 

“Fuck, Bart. What did you take?” Rose tilts his chin up, studying his face, as if that will give her a good answer. It won’t.

“No. I mean. When you lo--like someone, and they think you’re best friends. Why does it have to hurt like this?” Bart sniffs. “How do you people deal with this all the time?”

Rose stares at him. Not once has she ever seen Bart cry. Bart isn’t the kind of kid who knows how to cry--not because he’s some bro-ner clutching his man card. Sadness and Bart just don’t go together. He has one mode, only one, and that is pure joy and smiles and energy that usually makes Rose want to hurl. What the hell happened to the kid who came with her to the rave? Only when her mouth feels dry does Rose realize that her jaw fell open. She snaps it back shut. “Do you need me to kill someone?”

“What? No. No. He’s perfect. He just doesn’t like me back.” Bart shakes, vibrating through his entire body. “Of all people I could finally fall for--why’d it have to be him?”

“Him, huh?” Rose smirks, handing him yet another tissue. “Do I know this him?”

A sniff. “Yeah. I think he parties with Roy and Jason sometimes.”

“That really narrows it down.” Rose rolls her eyes.

“He’s got this great tan, and he always smells like taco seasoning.”

“So romantic.”

“And when he speaks Spanish it’s like--” Bart laughs “my brain finally stops, you know?” He stares up at the sky as if the object of his affection can be found among the constellations. “I used to think he looked kind of funny, I mean, who spends that much time on their hair? But now? I can’t stop thinking about how I want to mess up that hair. Run my fingers through it, I mean.”

“Wait. Jaime? The kid who works at Taco Bell?”

“You’re the same age as him.”

“Yeah, but the way he kisses R--never mind.” Rose coughs. “Have you told him yet?”

“Told him what?”

“Told him how you feel?”

“Jaime? No. No. I can’t.” Bart jumps out of her arms, pacing back and forth so fast he almost seemed like a blur in the low light. 

Rose smirked. “You both speak English, you both work at the same mall. There is no reason you can’t tell him you want to jump his bones.”

“But what if he doesn’t like me back? He’s my best friend Rose! What if it gets weird??”

“Then find someone else to bang?”

“I can’t.” Bart stops, biting his lip so hard it turns white. “...This isn’t so easy for me.” He scratches his scalp, his skin turning as red as his hair. “The last time I dated a friend...he didn’t feel the same way. And now it’s weird.” Bart sniffs.

Oh no. Not again. “Bart--”

“I can’t lose Jaime like that.” And there he goes. “I don’t want to.”

“Oh Bart.” Rose hugs him, patting the back of his head. He’s probably going to outgrow her in a year. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“I hardly ever feel this way about anybody. I just--”

She pulls away enough to stare him in the face. “Bart. You work at Kord Square. Everyone there is queer. You have lots of friends.”

“But--”

“Bartholomew Henry Allen II, you will be fine. I promise. Let’s go hang out in the car, yeah?” Bart mutters an okay, rubbing his eyes, and Rose guides him back, a plan already forming in her mind. She can practically see the outcome. Those two love birds won’t know what hit them. 

Bookshelf Briefs 5/28/20

Dr. STONE, Vol. 11 | By Riichiro Inagaki and Boichi | Viz Media – Balloons! Yes, Dr. STONE is taking it upon itself to do something it does best, which is show off the gorgeous vistas of this not-really-that-explored future Japan it takes place in. And that means hot air balloons. It also means speedboats! But alas, just because Senku is a scientist does not mean he can cook. So they use some of the last remaining fluid to un-stone a butler-cum-chef-cum-everything, Francois, who is flamboyant and also a lot of fun. There’s actually some really good humor in this volume as well, be it the reporter getting her camera and its undercutting right afterwards, or Senku’s Einstein impersonation. This remains one of the essential Jump titles. – Sean Gaffney

Dungeon Builder: The Demon King’s Labyrinth Is a Modern City!, Vol. 2 | By Rui Tsukiyo and Hideaki Yoshikawa | Seven Seas – After wrapping up the cliffhanger from the first volume (he names his first monster girl, which gives her the power-up (and bust expansion) she needs to win), the cast gets down to the nitty-gritty of what he wants to do: build a city, not a dungeon, which feeds on positive emotions. Of course, there are a few problems. Location, labor costs, the neighboring demon lords, and of course Marcho’s impending death, which she seems to have accepted more than Procel has. This remains sort of mid-tier manga—not interesting enough to stand out, but the pages turn easily, and you could do worse. Also, brilliant pun for the back-cover blurb. – Sean Gaffney

Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart | By Various Artists | Yen Press – The second of the Éclair anthologies to come out over here, this one seems to focus more attention on love that is already in bloom when the story begins than love that we see the start of. There’s a nice mix of funny, heartwarming, sad, and generally melancholic. Some highlights are “Azalea Corner,” about a minion’s crush on the arrogant ojou she follows; “The Unemployed Woman and the High School Girl,” which should be awful but is by Canno so is cute instead; and “That Summer Won’t Come Again,” about a girl trapped in her sister’s past who bonds with a senpai and learns to swim again. There’s good and not-so-good here, but overall well worth buying. – Sean Gaffney

Éclair Blanche: A Girls’ Love Anthology That Resonates in Your Heart | By Various Artists | Yen Press – This is the second Éclair anthology, but aside from two continuations, all the stories here are new. The quality varies, and it seems the better stories are in the front. The first story, Fly’s “Flowers in a Storm,” sets the tone for bittersweet, ambiguous endings with the tale of a first kiss that comes too late. There are also several stories about unrequited love for a friend who loves someone else, be it another girl, an idol, or a guy. Kabocha’s “Though Summer Won’t Come Again” is a standout, about a girl who assumes the senpai she’s developed feelings for prefers her older sister, as everyone else seems to. Unfortunately, I found the stories toward the end of the volume to be less enjoyable, particularly the final one, which includes the most awkward teacher-student embrace I have ever seen. Still, I will read the next installment when it comes out! – Michelle Smith

I Didn’t Mean to Fall in Love | By Minta Suzumaru | Futekiya (digital only) – Yoshino Kiritani is a beautiful 30-year-old salaryman who happens to be both gay and a virgin. With no relationship prospects on the horizon and wanting to finally have sex, he goes to a gay bar, meets a charismatic college student named Rou, and sleeps with him. The back-and-forth that follows between these two guys is so well done. Rou is a notorious playboy with a hot-and-cold routine he has employed many times to manipulate his conquests into falling for him and confessing their feelings. He tries this on Yoshino, even though he’s actually serious about him, but it doesn’t work. Self-effacing Yoshino genuinely thinks Rou wants nothing more to do with him, forcing Rou to face the seriously scary prospect of rejection by declaring his feelings first. There are a few explicit scenes, but they serve the characters and story well. Highly recommended! – Michelle Smith

Love Me, Love Me Not, Vol. 2 | By Io Sakisaka | Viz Media – First of all, a word of advice to the author: don’t sink people’s ships in your author’s notes, OK? Secondly, this continues to have the strengths of Io Sakisaka titles—it gets teenage love in a good way, has characters who are likeable but clearly flawed, shows gradual character growth, and has clean, easy-to-follow art. She’s still trying to balance out the idealistic girl with the realistic girl, though it may be leaning towards the former. Sadly, it also contains what’s always been one of this author’s big weaknesses to me—I like her series but never love them. Each volume is fun to read and I’d call it good, but it’s never going to be tops in my favorite shoujo manga lists. It’s not life-changing the way a Yona of the Dawn is. – Sean Gaffney

Ping Pong, Vol. 1 | By Taiyo Matsumoto | Viz Media – Ever since Matsumoto was a guest at TCAF in 2013 and spoke in depth about the series, its development, and how it fit into his overall career, I’ve been desperately wanting to read Ping Pong in English. When the excellent anime adaptation came and went soon after and the original manga still hadn’t been licensed, I didn’t expect that we’d ever see it translated. But it is actually here! The first of two beautifully designed omnibus volumes. And I am absolutely in love with Matsumoto’s Ping Pong. Ostensibly a high school sports manga, Ping Pong spends very little time explaining the ins and outs of the game even though table tennis is essentially omnipresent; instead, the series devotes its attention almost entirely to the characters themselves. With strong psychological elements, in part the work’s themes explore talent, motivation, and self-determination, all supported by Matsumoto’s distinctive and spectacularly dynamic and expressive artwork. – Ash Brown

Prince Freya, Vol. 1 | By Keiko Ishihara | VIZ Media – The land of Tyr is threatened by Sigurd, the empire to the north. Our “wimpy and weak” heroine, Freya, happens to be the spitting image of Prince Edvard, who’s just been poisoned by Sigurd, and so takes on the role of impersonating him to protect her country. Alas, Freya’s performance as Edvard (and characterization in general) is inconsistent and in a way that doesn’t seem intentional on the mangaka’s part. Sometimes she boldly and capably takes action, sometimes she just cries. In my notes I wrote, “This ain’t no Basara,” prompted by a panel in which Freya is making an extremely insipid face because of something sappy her love interest has just said, but then something super dramatic and unexpected occurs and… well, now I’m cautiously on board. It may turn out to be fluffier than I would like, but I will at least give it a couple more volumes. – Michelle Smith

The Quintessential Quintuplets, Vol. 9 | By Negi Haruba | Kodansha Comics – There’s less swapping in this one, but the one time there is a swap it blows the reader out of the water. I suspect Ichika’s popularity took a nosedive after this volume, as her ideal of “all’s fair in love and war” is taken to a somewhat cruel conclusion. She’s not even the thirstiest of the quints, as both Nino and Miku are trying to make their feelings for Futaro as clear to him as possible. Meanwhile, Yotsuba is trying the opposite tactic, saying that she’ll support whichever sister that isn’t her he picks, showing off a core of self-deprecation that we’ve seen before, but never to this level. And then there’s Itsuki, who seems to have forgotten she was supposed to be first girl. Great harem antics. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 9 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – I missed reviewing the eighth volume of this, for some reason; I’m not sure why. It continues to be quietly sweet, with a heroine who perhaps leans a little too much towards “can save everyone by the sheer power of being really nice.” That said, nice can only go so far, and when she discovers a country that’s being blackmailed into slavery, nice becomes determined and fierce. There’s also some tortured romance at the start—the king’s chief bodyguard and the princess’s attendant clearly are headed towards each other, but there are a few steps back here before we can move forward once more. I admit that I’d likely enjoy this more without its central conceit of animal people, but oh well. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 7 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – I admit I was a bit more surprised than Shirayuki was at the identity of the leader of the Lions of the Mountain. That said, it does remind us that Shirayuki is another one of those great “shoujo heroines who underreacts to everything,” which can be quite amusing when done right. That said, this volume is when the series transitioned from the quarterly DX to the main LaLa magazine, and as such much of the middle part is taken up with introducing new readers to the main cast and the situation. This includes an amusing “personality reversal” chapter where Mitsuhide starts acting like a chivalrous knight. the book ends with the implication that their love is going public. How will that go? Great shoujo. – Sean Gaffney

Wandering Witch: The Journey of Elaina, Vol. 1 | By Jougi Shiraishi, Itsuki Nanao, and Azure | Square Enix – This is a manga adaptation of the first fourth or so of the light novel, and it’s a very good adaptation. I will admit that Elaina is a lot more expressive than I was expecting… her delivery in the novels is somewhat cool… but it makes sense given the manga’s visual medium, and she’s cute. This volume shows off what we’re going to get from now on: some cute fluffy stories, some melancholic stories with deaths, some stories of Elaina having to extricate herself from a situation, and some backstory showing how she came to be wandering. The final story was one of my favorites in the book, and it’s the best one here too. A nice adaptation. – Sean Gaffney

By: Ash Brown

November 13th-November 19th, 2019 Reader Favorites Archive

The archive for the Reader Favorites chat that occurred from November 13th, 2019 to November 19th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question: 

When reading a new webcomic for the first time, what qualities are more likely to turn you into a long-term fan?

carcarchu

Definitely creativeness and how unique the overall concept is. If i think i can pretty much guess how the story is going to play out I'm less inclined to stick around and tune in every week (though i might queue up a bunch of chapters and binge it if i still like it enough). If a story keeps me on my toes and there's cliffhangers every chapter it makes me want to come back every week to find out what's going to happen next and that consistency makes me want to stay until the very end. Also i tend to read mostly romances so if i really like the ship that the comic is pushing i'm much more likely to keep reading it

Cronaj

For me, it's character development. While the art style or plot concept might draw me to read a comic initially, it is the characters that make me stay. If I feel like the characters have realistic enough motives or emotional journeys, I start to see them as real people. I cry with them, laugh with them, and mourn with them.

Batichi

I need to get a good idea of the 'hook' in the first 20 or so pages. I really need to know if the comic itself knows what it wants to do before it's really started. It can be through set up or character intros or world building like Chirault http://chirault.sevensmith.net/, or even a good random encounter like in Ghost Junk http://ghostjunksickness.com/ to get me into the action really fast, or starting In Media Res like O Sarilho http://sarilho.net/en/ . I need to know the creator knows where the story is going in some capacity or I'm worried the comic will quickly stagger into a hiatus. Technical parts can still be a bit wonky as I know from experience most creators need some practice, but I still need an idea they're getting to (without having to read the about page)

Most comics I've read that kept me going always seem to have really well thought out starting points that continue all the way till the end.

keii4ii

I look at how the narrative treats lawful characters. I usually have a hard time relating to chaotics, regardless of how well they're written (I may come to care about a chaotic character, but I'm gonna need something else to keep me reading until that happens). If the narrative portrays lawfuls as interesting and worthy of attention, and gives them compelling arcs that let them shine, yeah, that's probably my jam! Related to above though not the same: I love it when slow, quiet moments are given importance and handled well. (Related since quiet and lawful overlap?) Not just downtime so people can catch their emotional breath before the next set of busy scenes... but important enough to be seen as the focus of their own, if not of the story! This should show quite clearly in my own comic if I'm doing my job right...

keii4ii

Sombulus (http://sombulus.com/) by @Delphina is a notable example of treating lawful characters with respect, even though the comic as a whole has this wacky chaotic fun vibe. When I was first making my way through the archive, I greatly enjoyed the first adventure with townspeople turning into literal walking fruits, bread, etc. But then the trio went to talk to Tenge, and I was relieved that the narrative didn't "side with" the chaotic, irresponsible (though still 100% lovable -- I love you too, Astyr!!) main character. The comic managed to portray Tenge as being uptight without feeling unfair to me, a lawful. That is SO rare to see! (Sombulus as a whole does a great job at treating characters from the entire lawful-chaotic spectrum with both fairness and fondness. It is one of my favorite things about the comic. )

Delphina

(I saw I got pinged so I scrolled up to see what the question was, but I went too far and I thought you were saying Tenge was your favorite magical boy and I was dyiinnnggg @keii4ii )

keii4ii

(Tenge is totally my favorite magical boy too, now that you put it that way )

Delphina

Thank you! And thanks for the compliment on the lawful/chaotic dichotomy. Balancing how those kinds of personalities work together and how they're both strong in their own ways is really fun for me, and I'm glad it's showing in Sombulus!

DanitheCarutor

What can keep me reading depends on the comic. The hook can either be character interaction, the character's themselves, the setting, or the plot. With characters, how the they handle themselves and one another, how they think, how they talk, how they walk, how they DaNCe, how TheY LOVE! Lmao! But nah, I'm really big into character details, which individualizing characters to the extent that I like is rare in comics so I settle for standard stuff. As long as I can distinguish them, and they're interesting, I'm chill. Setting? A super fun thing for me, I love it when creators go batshit with their setting lore and world building. Of course even when the setting just pure aesthetic, when it comes to it being the hook for me as long as it's weird and crazy, something a little fantastical or cosmic I'm digging it! Plot. This is the one I least care about... as weird as that sounds. The story can be an insane mess as long as it's a fun and enjoyable mess, but when story does hook me it is usually an interesting, super intriguing take on a preused concept either with the use of visuals or writing. (Which every concept has been used, originality is technically dead) Some examples are: The Prometheite https://tapas.io/series/Prometheite - A sad Frankenstein story about a woman losing her partner to a fatal illness. Hookteeth https://tapas.io/series/Hookteeth - A lovecraftian/cosmic horror romance with merfolk. (Not much to say about this one, Lovecraftian stories in themselves are weird and awesome imo.) SUPERPOSE https://tapas.io/series/SUPERPOSE - A sci-fi comic heavy on character interaction, and looks to be something other than the usual in space, on a different planet, or a story where the sci-fi is just a setting. (To be honestly, I'm mostly into how the story is presented visually. It feels very theatrical.)

Sometimes I stick with a comic purely for the aesthetics, I'm a sucker for eye candy. LIke Seluda https://tapas.io/series/seluda - A normal-ass high school story, but the visual presentation is SOmething else! Very 60's-70's drug trip, the style of speech used by the MC is very surreal, if not a little long winded at times. I would chalk my interest in this comic up to characters and art, but mostly art.

keii4ii

Related: Astyr supplying the non-sequitur lines to keep that one machine going was also a favorite moment of mine. This is probably just me but I found it genuinely heartwarming to see him able to contribute simply by being his chaotic self, even without his magic. @Delphina

FeatherNotes

Honestly character design and a memorable interaction are easy hooks for me. I do like a good investment in world building however, it really helps for easy immersion and definitely makes it more enjoyable to read! The moment I see a creator indulge in some good backgrounds and lore, I'm pretty much sold! Phantomarine and o sarilho are really good examples of all those things http://www.phantomarine.com/ https://sarilho.net/en/

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I read a really wide variety of comics. I’m not sure I can pinpoint exactly what trait it is that hooks me, besides just ‘good writing’. I like comics that have believable, relatable characters, well thought-out plots, and good character development. I’m immediately turned away by heavy reliance on tropes, stale, cookie-cutter characters, or achingly slow progression. If it’s well written and well-paced, there’s a good chance I’ll stick around and keep reading. Also, a bit opposite of what Keiii was saying above- I love a good rogue. The better the chaotic character, the more likely I am to be drawn in. I love stories that explore the moral grey area, that have villains with good redemption arcs, and have heroes that are deeply flawed but grow and learn. If the hero is always 100% on the good side and the villain is always 100% on the bad side, I’m more likely to lose interest.(edited)

FeatherNotes

Ohh yes agreed on that

keii4ii

@Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios) I believe we may be looking at two sides of the same coin! I wouldn't be interested in reading about the Honorable and Immaculate Lawful Heroes Against The Forever Evil Baddies, either. Greyness -- or to describe it differently, "stories not picking a side" -- is something I like seeing as well, just through a more lawful lens. Back to the Sombulus example, it's one thing to portray a noble lawful hero. But Tenge was portrayed as being uptight, without making it feel like a jab at lawful readers. He has room for growth, but so does everyone else in the story. Reading Sombulus I feel like he can learn to become a happier person without becoming someone else. Lawful doesn't mean perfect nor boring, and that's something I really appreciate seeing.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

That’s very true! I like when lawful characters aren’t perfect, though I gravitate more towards chaos, lol.

keii4ii

(Tienar may not be my tippy top favorite Ashes character (not yet sure who my fave is!) but I am definitely partial to him and his lawfulness. )

Pakky

i love chaotic lawful characters. one of my favorite characters was from a long dead webcomic called destress where the main character was lawful but also psycho. it was pretty fun to watch

sssfrs

I dont read a lot of comics but I love loveable rogue characters

FeatherNotes

Love me those chaotic stupid types too My comic's main char is one of them and it definitely makes for interesting interactions!

sssfrs

I like the dynamic my characters have. The leader of the group is smart and responsible, the second in command is smart and kind of lazy, and everyone else is completely chaotic, evil, or stupid

So the leader is herding cats

Glowbat (Aloe)

I think what really grabs my attention and chains it to the radiator usually is when there's a noticeable overarching thesis or themes to the comic that the creator is mulling over via the story. Usually as a result it really tightens up the whole story and seeing characters of all kinds representing different stances on the thesis and acting in ways directly reflecting that is neat.

keii4ii

^ Cohesiveness!!!!

Glowbat (Aloe)

Yeah!

Cronaj

I think it's interesting how most of us are drawn in with character development, even if the specific types of characters we enjoy are different.

keii4ii

^ Yeah, I fully admit that just because a character is well written/believable, doesn't guarantee I'll be invested in that character. I definitely have my types, as well as a horribly narrow and specific taste range

Glowbat (Aloe)

also the other thing that really draws me in is if you put a hot character with pointy shark teeth in I will read the entire comic always

Cronaj

I think my taste range is pretty broad with the characters I like, narrow af in regards to art styles

It's a horrible affliction really

@Glowbat (Aloe) lol, do you read Castle Swimmer?

Glowbat (Aloe)

...maybe

Phin (Heirs of the Veil)

I think what hooks me, when I start reading new webcomics, is how diverse and interesting the cast is and I think I'm more likely to stay on a superficial level if not everyone is conventionally attrative. Other than that, strong character writing and strong motivations for the characters that are already there in the beginning.

Cronaj

Character development!

Deo101

Things that keep me around are like... If I can read it, honestly. Like if i can follow whats happening consistently then i can get into it. Also! Depending on how it treats women, lgbt people and disabled people really makes or breaks my overall enjoyment. I like character driven stories most but I can enjoy other things and get into them, its nit very consistent for me

All about clarity and respect

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Oh, yeah, the author respecting their characters and / or groups of people is a big must for me.

So I agree with Deo 100% on that

Deo101

Oh, and also how much they respect their readers and trust that i can follow things without holding my hand through it!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

^^^that too! I am not a fan of over-explaining(edited)

Cronaj

I will say, the way female characters are portrayed does affect my overall enjoyment as well. For example, if a woman is so boring and placeholder (i.e. just there to help a man or be a romantic interest), as I like to call, suffering from "girl" syndrome, I really hate it. This is why I can't watch a lot of anime, because often the female characters don't matter.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Also, @keii4ii I think you may be the first person ever to say you like Tienar!

keii4ii

omg noooo Tienar I WILL ROOT FOR YOU, MY EAGLE

It's not that I agree with him a lot. I just really appreciate that he's there

Cronaj

But yeah, if a comic can't pass the simple Bechdel Test....

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Hahaha, well, he’s definitely There

keii4ii

Re: the balance of clarity vs not over-explaining, that can be tricky!!

I too don't like over-explaining, but what I find to be just clear enough may be unclear to some, or too confusing,

Deo101

Yep :// so that one is really not on the author so much as just "if I dont know what's up or if I feel its dragging on i wont like it"

Jts not the kind of thing that you can do right for everyone

keii4ii

Agreed

Deo101

What my indicators for "is this respectful?" "Is this clear?" Etc are gonna be wayyyy different from other people's so its hard to say exactly what keep me reading

keii4ii

This is actually something I've been thinking about a lot. For Korean webcomics, the comment section generates a lot of engagement, and one result is that reading comprehension becomes a group activity. Particularly observant comments become highest voted, so even less observant readers can follow along by reading the comic and the highest voted comments. I feel that makes some stories more accessible than they would've been without that comment section culture.

Deo101

I wish that were commonplace lol

keii4ii

ME TOO

Their comment section is active enough that one time, a reader asked for toilet paper (they were stuck in a public restroom stall at Incheon airport, and only had like 20 minutes before their flight) and they actually got TP in time

But yeah, it's not just the activity level that I'm envious of. It's the group effort reading comprehension

I value it as a reader (I am not the most observant), and want it as a creator

Deo101

Yeah wow that sounds awesome and would also help me SO MUCH because I struggle a lot with following things...

keii4ii

OMFG

Before reading the sentence to the end

Deo101

Remembering, knowing what's going on or who is talking, picking up on subtle hints... Can't do that lol

keii4ii

I thought you were going to say "because I struggle a lot with public restrooms with no TP" sorrryyyyy

Cronaj

Hahahaha

Same

Deo101

Hahahahhaha

I usually just ask whoever is next to me if that happens

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I wish western audiences were that engaged. Usually the top voted comments I see are either puns (fair, because puns are awesome) or thirsty (less nice, but if it’s a thirsty pun I admit to laughing out loud sometimes)(edited)

Deo101

Yeah same lee :/

I've been getting like .1% of my readers commenting and ive been like. Is my writing just not conducive to an interactive environment? This convo should probably move out of reader favorites. Creator babble it is! Lemme go over there w it

keii4ii

There was this thriller webcomic in which the MC was trying to assassinate 4 corrupt politicians for personal grudges. He already got three of them. The last one receives a large, round-shaped flower pot as a gift from his supporters. 3-4 weeks later (IRL I mean), it is revealed that the third target/victim was cut up into pieces, but they couldn't find his head. One reader pointed out "THE FLOWER POT!!!!!!" and I would not have been able to make that connection without that comment. I mean the flower pot thing was revealed the next update anyway, but it was nice to have that comment, and another highest voted comment even specificed "go to [this specific update] for the scene in which he receives the pot"

(The head was in the pot)

Deo101

Thats so fun

Cronaj

Oh my God... It's brilliant

DanitheCarutor

@Pakky221 Distress by Blankd, right? I loved reading that comic back in the day! It's sad that the comic got discontinued, but I have to say I'm enjoying the WIP work for the stuff the creator is working on now. Regarding the conversation about characters, I think I'm the niche person in the crowd. Unless the character themselves or the situation they're in is an obvious mouthpiece thing for someone venting their racism, sexism, homophobia, whatever political views, etc. I don't reeeeally care how characters are treated or used? I've always seen them as tools, even in childhood I was disillusioned about seeing them as real people, so it's hard for me to get emotionally invested in how the author treats them. I don't even care about my own characters outside of portraying their problems, personalities, and situations decently. Probably not a good mindset to have, and it'll probably dox me some points on the "good creator" scale, but it's just my thing I guess. Lol

Bland characters are a pain, though! If you can legit replace your character with a rock, and it would have the same impact or be a livelier option, then... that's kinda sad. (Unless your character has some kind of legit issues relating to appearing bland, or they're sort of the butt of a joke.)

Pakky

@DanitheCarutor o: i don't have any way to follow the creator. the blankd tumblr has been inactive for so long but i agree. Bland characters are my least favorite. There's a lot of comics out there that have some pretty plain main characters that are realllllly hard to relate to.

DanitheCarutor

Aah! Blankd's Twitter is still active, they're working on a game right now, and they've done a few -ahem- adult comics since stopping Distress. https://twitter.com/blankd_ec

Yeah, with bland characters I'd like to think the author is trying to make that type of Sue that anyone can put themselves in? But it ends up turning into the opposite because they're so dead on arrival that no one can relate.(edited)

snuffysam

kind of related to the idea of "i should have an idea of where the story is going at the start", but one other thing that keeps me reading is "the story gets there". like if the comic opens with an old man telling a young knight that she has to travel across the land and slay a dragon, cool! if i continue reading the comic for six months and they're still in the same conversation, i'm probably dropping it! like i get that comics update at different rates, but if you have like one page every two weeks you should probably make sure something interesting happens in the first 20 pages. and the sorts of comics i absolutely love are when, like, the stories actually move forward. like, if i can re-read a comic and feel nostalgia for the earlier scenes, that's how i really turn into a superfan.

Capitania do Azar

The group effort in this chat already pointed some very important points: that not all characters are conventionally attractive (tho I like that, it's not something that would make me stop reading if it were absent), well developed women and LGBT+ characters, and characters with strong motivations that are apparent, make sense in the context of the story and are known to us from the begining. That said, if the comic consistently treats me, as a reader, as if I were not very smart (by constantly overexplaining things, pointing again and again at the obvious, making me go through walls of text because world is more important than character and you need to read a bible to get through chapter 1), I'll probably not engage for too long. I gotta say that the visual style is also a very important factor. I am willing to look through what I consider to be minor issues (like small inconsistencies in drawing/scenario or characters being offmodel) for as long as it doesn't interfere with my immersion in the story. However, some visual styles are a big no-no for me, and I discover that I can't look past those and enjoy a story

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

This chat is very good - also for a first-time webcomic creator. As a reader, I'm almost a little ashamed to say that I'm very picky. Not because I don't like comics, because I LOVE COMICS, but becase I'm so goddamn busy all the time. Everything is constantly competing for attention, and for a comic to be able to hold that attention, it needs to be something extra special. For me, that's an engaging and developed visual style, a plot that gets going quickly, and a sense that the story has been planned. I love that so many different comics exist, I just can't read all of them and also be a creator.

RebelVampire

As a reader, I'm almost a little ashamed to say that I'm very picky. Not because I don't like comics, because I LOVE COMICS, but because I'm so goddamn busy all the time.

I think that's an important sentiment all creators should remember. People are busy. And like, not even just comic creators. I'm talking about basically everyone. Which means good and bad things. Bad thing is that it makes creating a highly competitive market because people are going to be super picky just for lack of time to be un-picky. But the good thing is it means the people who do choose to read your comic are picking it out of all the other comics that they could read with their limited time. And that right there is pretty special.

Cronaj

@RebelVampire That really is a beautiful sentiment.

@Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS I am also very picky about comics, which is part of the reason I'm so picky about my own work. This is why if an artist doesn't seem professional enough for me, I don't want to waste my time reading the comic, because maybe the writing is unprofessional too. I know I'm missing out on a lot of good content, but as you said, I don't have the time to read a comic and be disappointed when I'm further into it.

keii4ii

I too am picky about stuff, and it's not even because of quality. My tastes are a far bigger factor. Just because I don't read something doesn't mean I think it's bad!!

Cronaj

That is also true

Tastes also play a huge role into why I read or don't read something, not just the "quality" of the art

kayotics

I don’t think I’ve answered the question yet but I’ve been lurking. The first thing to grab me that might turn me into a long term fan is the art style. I don’t think the art is the most important factor but I need to be able to follow along, and if it’s not a style I’m interested in I probably won’t start it. The second thing is the writing in general. I like characters the most, more than world building. So interesting interactions are where I get the most enjoyment. The story could go almost anywhere but if I don’t like the main character I really won’t like the story. So the thing that will keep me going the most is a likeable main cast. And I don’t mean flawless, because that gets boring, but characters that I enjoy seeing fail, and then pick themselves back up again.

DanitheCarutor

So I slept in it and realized when I was talking about plot for my answer, it was actually themes... because I didn't talk about anything relating to plot. Lol shows how professional I am. With pickiness, is it weird that I'm more picky now that I'm jobless than when I was working fulltime? When I was pulling 10-11 hour work days I was literally a drifter, so they never had anything for me to do. I would find anything I could get my hands on to make the time go by faster, so I read as many webcomics as I could. Now I have all day to catch up drawing pages, trying to find a new job, helping my mom with chores, and doing obligatory family bs. I also want to try making some kind of revenue off my drawings/comic, so I've been trying to get in the groove of doing more things. (Which is difficult because pages take almost all my drawing time.) It's hard to find the time to sit down and read a comic now since staying productive is mandatory. Uuuh Tl;dr: I can empathize with being picky due to lack of time.

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

THat's the creator struggle, right? In creating, so much time is spent creating, that it can be hard to find time to consume

Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS

Ooh, yay!

Deo101

I think also as creators, we tend to have a hard time -if not an impossible one- seperating our work from what we read. I Know I tend to look at other things as a learning experience in some way, either thinking "how would i do this different?" Or "what about this can i apply to my work?" Which makes reading a different, more tiring experience

We may tend to* this might just be me i will admit

DanitheCarutor

@Q @CecilieQMT making WAYFINDERS It is! Sometimes I get so focused on the creating aspect that I forget to do all the other important things like advertising, socializing, promoting other people. Like playing video games, reading comics is an absolute luxury time waster so I don't do it as often as I could anymore.

Aw man! I do that too, Deo! Although it's something I actually enjoy? Something about analyzing a piece of media, and applying what you would do with it is fun.

Deo101

Oh I absolutely do enjoy it! But it takes more time and is draining for me

Cronaj

Definitely makes it harder to enjoy what we're reading

DanitheCarutor

Aauh yeah, that's true. Analyzing does take a lot of brain power and energy.

Deo101

Yeah :/ so to find a story i can really get immersed in is incredibly rare now...

Cronaj

I do this with books I read too(edited)

It's an awful habit

DanitheCarutor

Over analyzing everything is something I've been doing literally since childhood, so I'm used to it. My brain never shuts off unless I'm drawing.

Cronaj

I find myself wanting to rewrite other people's stories

Don't be like me

Deo101

I do it too and i think its just kind of how you think about things when you're a writer

DanitheCarutor

Pff oh no, I've done that too. Not so much now, but in elementary school whenever I watched a show or movie I hated, I would rewrite it.

Deo101

When you pick apart what you dont like or analyze what you do iy lets you apply those things to yiur own work. Its a valuable skill to have and i think its kind of automatic

Cronaj

Even my favorite authors of all time... I end up going back on a reread and wanting to change things that didn't work out so well

DanitheCarutor

It's a really good skill that not enough people have... at least my coworkers are pretty lacking in the critical thinking department. They say it's healthy to question, analyze, and long to improve.

Deo101

Some people are, and that's okay! Those are the people I hope are reading millennium ;)

Jk lol

DanitheCarutor

Lmao! Yeah, it's okay to be a person of simplicity, as long as they don't tell me the hyper-realistic Lion King remake is better than the original.

Deo101

Ahhahahahaha

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I analyse every format of story I consume automatically . Comics, books, movies, etc. I find that it doesn’t take me away from immersion, but it DOES take away my emotional investment. I’m enjoying the story plenty, but I’m less likely to feel attached to a character or be sad when they die. It’s a very rare story these days that will actually give me feelings over the fate of the characters.

FeatherNotes

I can totally see that too though, esp with the crazy amount of works being produced, you def have to do some curating in a sense to see where you will make that emotional investment too

DanitheCarutor

Aaah I get that with horror movies! Lol But in seriousness, I'm the same way for the most part. My immersion is perfectly intact (unless something stupid happens), but my care investment in characters does waver. Usually it's easier when the characters are really weird, and catch my eye, like the corpse man in Swiss Army Man. I got super invested for some reason when he learned how to walk, then when he died again because his friend wouldn't fart in front of him. But normally, nah I don't feel much, especially for death but my views on that are kinda skewed to begin with.(edited)

So I realize I'm really into surreal comedy, if a character can actually make me laugh I'm more invested in their wellbeing.

keii4ii

Analytical reading is great. Though I rarely find myself wanting to fix other people's stories. I have creative tunnel vision and genuinely have no desire to work on anything other than the OTP (One True Project)

Same goes to my own ideas really? I get ideas but auto-filter them out, as I have 0 desire to work on them.

Cronaj

You are blessed lol

Every five minutes, I'm sitting there trying to convince myself to work on ONLY ONE PROJECT AT A TIME.

"Oooh! That's a cool idea! I should E x P l O r E that!

kayotics

I try to not analyze shows or comics unless I REALLY love them or I find them boring and want to be interested in them. For example: I’ll analyze the hell out of Full Metal Alchemist because I ADORE it, but the analysis stage came much later after finishing the comic. If I’m not engaged with a series then I’ll analyze what would make me more interested. I hardly ever try to rewrite other people’s stories

Deo101

Yeah i dony try to rewrite its more of a "what about this didn't i like and how can i avoid doing that in my own work?"

FeatherNotes

ohhh yes agreed Deo

kayotics

Oh yeah definitely. I will sometimes think about that, but usually it’s if something is really bugging me

Deo101

Yeah I partly do it because people sometimes just don't take "idk i didnt really like it" for an answer and I gotta explain. Also its kinda like a puzzle and I like puzzles

kayotics

Oh, on the topic of the question: one other thing that will hook me is whether or not the writing is exciting. For example, I mentioned being bored by some comics, but that doesn’t mean I’m looking for action all the time. What I’m looking for is for there to be something to latch on to. The most mundane story about laundry could be interesting to me if it’s written in a way that engages me.

A really good example of engaging writing in a mundane story is probably Sakana? https://www.sakana-comic.com/ The characters just. Work in a fish stall. But the story holds my interest even in the quiet moments because it’s crafted in a way that keeps developing the characters.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I can’t turn off my analysis mode. It just happens as I’m watching / reading in the background of my brain and there’s no control switch. Sometimes I wish there was so I don’t correctly predict the ending 1/4 of the way through and spoil it for myself. (I’m no longer allowed to make predictions along with my friends when we watch movies together).

Deo101

^^^^ SAME. BIG SAME.

My mom and sister are like that too so we all guess the ending and my dad gets lile >:( I Kno youre right and it's ruined now >:((

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

But agreeing with the above, I don’t want to fix another person’s story. I’m just always asking ‘What made this scene so effective?’ and ‘what made this part not so effective?’. I also map writing patterns, formulas, and file away ‘tells’ in my head as I go.

Me and my friends all like to talk during movies: making snarky comments or predictions. I’m just no longer allowed to do the latter because I will ruin the ending. XD

Deo101

Ahahahahahaha

Yeah I can't go to theaters I've been shushed so much. But its so hard not to talk for me

FeatherNotes

that's a very important skill to have with analysing things to the point of deconstructing them in your own work and making more effective narratives too! it's good to be aware of the content that you consume and really understand what made the work speak/effect you the way it did. Honestly these conversations are much more enjoyable to have than just 'my fave character is that bc they are funny' and it ends there (no shade on simply enjoying things here tho! I def do the same) but yea! being aware to that degree is a good skill for writing

sssfrs

@Glowbat (Aloe) You should read my comc

I’m sorry I’m like this I’m just so focused on what I’m working on its the only thing in my whole brain right now.

You said you like stories with themes and my mind was like themes? my story has themes

keii4ii

Calm down man! XD Though I can relate to brain being 100% focused on your OTP (One True Project)

sssfrs

I love analyzing media. I get bored of reading or watching things really quickly if I feel like I’m starting to understand the central message. Or maybe bored isnt the right word- more like satiated? If the work is really cohesive and Ive gotten the overall message I feel like ive fully enjoyed the media and had a good time

Like analyzing it is enough and then reading is just bomus

bonus

I’m so sorry

FeatherNotes

it's okay to be really into your own work haha! love that passion to keep you going--!

also the OTP acronym is rly cute omg

sssfrs

One True Project I just realized you saidb that that is really cute

Like I said I stop reading if I feel like I have the gist of something(edited)

I think its cool that a lot of us are saying we analyze things all the way and were also making our own stuff like does working on making your own thing cause you to view the details of the construction of the story in a different way?

DanitheCarutor

Like, does being analytical make us construct our stories differently than others? If so I wouldn't say it does for myself, but my visuals tend to get way overly detailed. To the point where important stuff tends to get drowned out, which is something I've been trying to work on. <_<'

keii4ii

It would definitely help with self-editing/ revisions, for one thing.

I don't think you need to be analytical every time you consume a story, but it helps to be able to turn analytical mode on?

Deo101

yeah for me its kind of always on unfortunately. if not when im watching then definitely after having finished

DanitheCarutor

Yeah, turning it off is near impossible. Ah thinking about it, I guess being overly-analytical kiiinda affects my story? (If that's what sssfrs meant) I remember some readers who've said they go back and forth to connect plot details, and the guy who does Webcomic Relief did a super small review where he went nuts analyzing everything. Even down to the reason behind my use of medium. Since I like analyzing I guess I subconsciously made a comic that can be analyzed, or something. Or maybe it's not actually that deep.

keii4ii

That makes sense, though. That we make comics that can be enjoyed the way we enjoy other stories.

I'm not much of a theorizer, so my comic isn't really optimized for theorizing. Though some people have still managed to come up with really cool theories!

DanitheCarutor

Pff I think every piece of media has those theorizers, it's just fun to do for some no matter if they're analyzing some deep piece or Blues Clues. I imagine those types of fans are fun to watch as a creator whether your work is geared for analysis or not.

Oh uh, I forgot to mention. Let me know if I'm getting a little out there, or getting off topic too much. Socializing properly is still something I'm trying to work on, along with the etiquette.

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

Yeah, I can’t turn off analysis mode either. It’s always running in the background.

sssfrs

I was saying more the other way around, like having experienced the process of creating a story, you think more about the work that goes into it and how the various pieces all come together in a different way than someone who's only ever consumed media linearly would be used to seeing it.

It could go the other way around too though that's interesting, then it's like "what drives people to make stories"?

RebelVampire

For me, there are three qualities that usually hook me in with a new comic. 1) An interesting premise. Not to say I think premises need to be unique, but it's more of a question is do I think it'll explore the premise in an interesting way. For an example, Maiden of the Machine https://maidenmachine.com/ It's not like steampunk is new or anything, but I really wound up liking the premise of it both being a romance and about high society politics with the steampunk setting. So, that drew me in a lot to keep reading. 2) A good balance of themes and story. I'm not a huge fan of comics that are more interested in exploring their themes over their story. I prefer stories where the narrative is the focus, and the theme feels like a natural consequence of the narrative. My example for this is actually the recent Week Long Bookclub comic Missing Pieces https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/missing-pieces/list?title_no=192867 I actually wasn't sure I was going to like it first, but I was super hooked once I started. There were lots of interesting themes to explore around death and revenge, but at the end, the story let me decide how to feel and focused on the narrative. 3) Theory-fodder stories. If there is lots of stuff to theorize about and that is easy to overanalyze based on the most miniscule of evidence, I'm pretty sold. This is the fact that really got me with Galebound http://www.galebound.com/ There were so many small hints and tidbits, both in the story and supplemental material, that I overread and overthought the heck out of this comic. I do wanna note, the things I look for and what hook me are arbitrary and based only on my personal preferences. There are a crap ton of objectively great webcomics out there that I have no interest in reading as a long term fan. Not cause they're bad, they just don't have things I'd personally enjoy reading in terms of being part of the comic's fandom.

Ryan Reacts to Kingdom Hearts 3

Okay, so this is a mix of live reactions and post-world reactions. Lot of live reactions in the beginning and end, more sporadic in between. You can probably guess what I’m reacting to most of the time from the sequence of events.

Mmm dat orchestral Don’t Think Twice Needed a minute on the menu. Finally seeing it say KH3 was A Lot. HOLY FUCK WHAT A COOL INTRO The speed is the same as 0.2, with that sprint that kicks in. Will take some getting used to. The stained glass looks gorgeous though Nice touch of KH1 Sora’s jump animation changing to KH2 Sora’s Making choices again like the original. Vitality is probably health, Wisdom is probably magic, and Balance is, well, balanced. I’ll go balanced. (I’m on Proud, btw) Guardian, Warrior, Mystic. Same as the weapons in KH1. In that case, I’ll make the same choice I do there: Guardian. SORA HAS AN IDLE ANIMATION OH MY GOD BLOCK AND DODGE FROM THE START! Also this sky place is new for a Dive to the Heart (AND THOSE HOOOORNS, LISTEN TO THEM) The water looks great A four-hit combo instead of the usual three? Huh Scan from the start too Nice detail of Sora’s head angling towards the locked on target All this music sounds SO GOOD I’MMA NEED THIS SOUNDTRACK ONCE I’M DONE Ahhh that little soft version of Sora’s theme WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS KINGDOM HEARTS II.9 SHIT These Instagram-style posts on loading screens are adorable Oh damn, we get a LOT of abilities from the start. And this is on Proud! Dodge Roll, Air Slide, Aerial Dodge (formerly a Master Form ability), plus all the Flowmotion stuff Wow, THREE shortcut menus! 12 total! Wow, and a LOT more control over how allies use items. That can be very useful! Sweet, synthesis materials are back! Water is an interesting new spell. And being able to reorder the Magic menu is nice (though I only use shortcuts). Kinda glad the item art has stayed the same. Also hey, Wellspring is from BBS. And first AP Boost of course goes into Sora, as will they all. WOW USING THOSE IS WAY FASTER NOW Yooo that Underworld music with the Titans’ appearance Take a shot every time someone says “Sora, Donald, Goofy” Sora, Donald, Goofy counter: 1 HERCULES HAS JOINED THE PARTY “Team Effort: Always start battles with a team attack command.” Damn, what are those that this ability is FIFTY AP?! (Are team attacks that move we saw Sora and Goofy do in a trailer? The throw?) I like that tutorials are playable at any time Also I was worried Save Points might not return with that auto save message at the start ALSO THIS IS NIGHT OF FATE PLAYING IN THE COMBAT TUTORIAL Ooh, Panacea art is nice. (Panacea has only appeared as a command in games like BBS and re:coded, so it hasn’t had art before) *reads Ability Ring* Damn, if 10 AP is a SMALL boost, I can’t imagine how expensive abilities are gonna get (well, Herc does have that one 50 AP ability) Ultima Weapon returns, looks like Synthesis recipes are based more on collector’s goals than finding them. Looks like there’s 60 synthesis materials, sounds about right. Ooh, synthesis item rarities, types: soothing and pulsing are from BBS, writhing, betwixt, sinister are new. Looks like everything goes in Shards, Stones, and Gems. Ooh that’s a lot of Heartless. Hey when is Jiminy gonna show up? Gonna need to complete that Journal again. Oooh battle music has bits of the old Coliseum battle music. Sora, Donald, Goofy counter: 2 Environmental fire damage followed by Sora’s butt on fire limiting my actions. Neat. Okay, these have been live reactions so far, but I’m gonna stop doing that because it’s slowing my progress. “What the heck is Rage Form?” “OH. OH THAT’S A THING.” I keep seeing hidden Mickeys, I bet those are gonna be a thing with the camera once I get it. Also damn are they giving me a lot of ingredients for the cooking minigame I can’t play yet. So the biggest thing I’ve noticed about the new combat is that because they give you so many really powerful abilities (grand magic at higher levels, formchanges, attractions, team attacks) that are all basically free (are you hitting things with your keyblade or magic? Can you hit this specific enemy once? Can you wait for your teammate to give you a prompt?), the number of enemies in each fight seems to have SIGNIFICANTLY increased from previous entries. KH2’s level design this is NOT. Lots more nooks and crannies to search. Me approaching the gates of Olympus: “Is this Anor Londo?” Yay nostalgic Coliseum music! And oooh little environmental puzzles are back! Like from KH1! I forged Goofy a new shield! Aaaand playable Riku. I have no idea why they were so dodgy about the second playable character. This is only the third time Riku’s been playable. Anyway, gotta fight the Demon Tower again. Damn, Riku is WAY stronger than Sora right now. Wish I could have read his abilities (and moved shortcuts). Nice emulation of the death screen. Also hot damn, is that Repliku talking??? I guess Riku’s “other me” really could be Repliku. Awwwww yeah, Lea’s getting new clothes too! YEAH JIMINY! “Dream Heartbinder” So Heartbinders must be this game’s summon gems, and this one lets me use Dream Eaters. SORA’S THEME IS THE RINGTONE!!! Ienzo’s here, with a bit of OrgXIII music from CoM. HOLY SHIT THE GUMMI SHIP IS THE BEST IT’S EVER BEEN UPGRADEABLE KEYBLADES?! I guess that makes sense, considering they all have different formchanges. They want all of them to stay viable throughout the game. OH MY GOD, DEMON TIDE HAS SO MUCH HEALTH I guess the bosses have to with all these powerful attacks I have Does Hayner have a new voice? Olette sounds different too. Checked the wiki, all three have different actors. Pence sounds closest to his original though. So judging by the Dusks and Snipers, no more enemy-specific reaction commands. The Ducklings sell Gummi blocks now?? Huh. Whoa wait, the road out of Twilight Town’s Tram Common leads back to the world map? Can I NOT go to the clock tower in this game?? Man, Twilight Town felt really small. Hope the remaining worlds don’t, though they’ve certainly seemed significantly larger than the two I’ve been to so far. Also, totally called the Lucky Emblems, though I’m gonna keep calling them hidden Mickeys. I think Tou Story is my favorite world. Granted, I’ve only been to three, but still. The Gigas are super fun, Woody and Buzz look amazing, and I can’t stop whistling/humming along! AHHH CREEPY DOLL Lol, the Verum Nox poster even has a Square Enix logo. First death, the Gigas battle in the video game. GOD DAMN! WOODY dropping an amazing “The Reason You Suck” speech to Xehanort! “Unless you’re in the ~real~ Organization too? Good for you!” Damn, Sora! Also love hearing that music from Chain of Memories every so often Glad flowmotion’s jump isn’t as level-breaking as it was in DDD. Same goes for the attacks. Wow, so Rapunzel permanently leaves the party. Was wondering they’d just give her a different moveset like with Mulan/“Ping”. This is the first time a character permanently leaves your party. And of course, Marluxia. Who I didn’t think could or would return. And Vexen who rejoined willingly, which is, man. Not something I’d have done. Both Norted of course. And was Saïx missing his scar? Maybe he’s just Isa now. I could tell it was Unversed, and Flood specifically, in that first Monstropolis cutscene just from the sound of them spawning. That’s how I know I’ve put a lot of hours into this series. Monstropolis feels the most linear so far. Arendelle’s ice labyrinth is awesome, the level design gives me some light Dark Souls vibes. I like how there’s zero explanation for Sora, Donald, and Goofy being able to breathe underwater in The Caribbean. And by that I mean I would have liked even just one line to explain it. The ship combat isn’t as good as AC3’s and AC4’s, but it’s still pretty good for a one-world mechanic! The ship is a LOT more responsive than the AC ones. And damn, is this world open. Okay, San Fransokyo is gonna be a pain to search for chests and Mickeys. PRESS TRIANGLE TO SORA IS THE BEST REACTION COMMAND I HAVE EVER SEEN Jiminy telling people about summaries on the gummiphone is Square Enix saying “IF YOU DIDN’T PLAY THE GAMES, READ THE FUCKING SUMMARIES” Giant battle at the start of Keyblade Graveyard was cool, but hurt the frames, especially on the fake shadows. And just as I was getting hyped at the possibility of having Riku and Aqua as party members. Oh hey, just realized Riku’s keyblade has a Mickey keychain now too. “And so, as legend foretold, darkness prevailed and light expired...” “Your hearts will be torn from your bodies” “To move through time, you must leave your body behind.” THE FINAL WORLD?! Wait, Sora’s been here MULTIPLE times?? Okay, so the star talking about the person who’d miss them, whose heart has been taken by another’s? Strelitzia? Talking about Lauriam? Love and hate? Going back for fight after fight? Hm. Cloud or Sephiroth maybe? (Longshot, but it doesn’t sound like a khux character, or anyone else) Identical pair? There’s no twins in this series. Like walking alongside a mirror... maybe it’s not an literal identical nature? Same clothes, same food, maybe Xion?? “Nothing left to teach you”? Damn, that’s not much to go on. Maybe Eraqus’ and Xehanort’s master?? “Just friends... stepped back” Skuld maybe? “I’m gone... they’ve added another member” Could that be Xion? Wait, no, how could Xion be here, she’s still within Sora’s heart. Are these actual named characters we’ve met before? Or not? The one who was defeated and supposed to fade... Repliku?? But he’s with Riku now... Someone searching for their Papa??? Most of the characters in this series don’t have parents at all, so my only guess here is Pinocchio?? No way a Disney character ends up here though. I don’t think all of these are characters we know. Someone holding onto a sliver of memory, and a servant?? Yeah, these could all just have been ordinary people. Naminé?! What happened to Kairi??? Okay, so the darkness split them. KAIRI IS KEEPING SORA FROM FADING AWAY OH MY HEART “GO TO HER” SHE SAYS "That's not the official thank-you!" Lol Damn, this area is fuckin huge, why is it so huge?? A PORTAL?! A DDD PORTAL HERE?! Well this place is rad. I better see that weird Darkside at some point here OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH OH IT ROTATES THAT'S FUCKIN SICK God damn, this game's got some of the best level design of the series! Is... is this OUR Chirithy? “He doesn’t remember the past”? Although I guess it could be Marluxia/Luxord/Demyx’s too. Or Ven’s. My bet is that it’s Ven’s. DID SORA JUST TIME JUMP BACK A FEW MINUTES??? Aaaand did nothing different. So now we’re world-hopping like we did back in End of the World. OH WHAT IS THIS DIVING INTO STATIONS TO PICK A WORLD?!?! YOOOOOOOO Just Kairi and Lea are left. Haven’t hit San Fransokyo or Twilight Town yet. Guess they must be in those two. Last one is San Fransokyo. Lea must be here. Kairi’s probably gonna be the last. “Traversing hearts to reach worlds” That must be what I’ve been doing here. Not jumping between worlds, jumping between HEARTS. Was Sora just considering telling her he loves her? He should have. Wait, am I back in time? This already happened... OH SHIT! THE LINGERING WILL IS HERE! EPHEMER! OHHHHHHH HO HO WOW! OHHHHHH FUCK! YOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Congrats to all the lucky people who got their names in the game! PRESS TRIANGLE TO UNION X GIANT SHADOW MASTER XEHANORT IS TERRIFYING I like how Axel is holding his keyblade by the guard instead of the handle OH SHIT MASTER YEN SID! YOOOOOO! Okay KH3, I want to fight thirteen bosses now, you hear me? DAMN that Ancient Light finisher on Starlight’s Second Form is STRONG YOOOOOOO THREE BOSSES AT ONCE??? (I really hope this is as tough as they were before, but seeing as Xemnas was harder in 1 than in 2, doubt it) Went to help Mickey first, so I’m taking on Marluxia, Luxord, and Larxene Oh come ooooon, I barely got to fight them! Luxord’s out, 12 to go OH SHIT THE OTHER TWO Larxene’s done, 11 to go. With XI conveniently up next. Marluxia’s defeated once again. 10 left. Hey whatever happened with that comment of their ancient keyblade legacy...? Xigbar... might be gone? So maybe 9 left. Dark Repliku is defeated, and light Repliku gave himself up so the Replica could be used for Namine. That’s sweet. 8 left. YO actual time of day change! I like the door switches. Nice having little environmental things like this. Hm, Kairi and Lea one way, Aqua and Ven the other. Well that’s no contest, gotta go back up my girl Kairi! Mysterious new hooded figure??? Oh. Oh no. I think it’s Xion. D: Yeah. It’s her. *Xion stops Xemnas “YEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYEYYE YEEEEEAAAAAAHHHHH” *Roxas shows up “OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHH FUCK” THE WHOLE GANG’S HERE YOOOOOOOOOOO Shout outs to Ienzo, Ansem, Vexen, and Demyx for helping Roxas return! WHY THE FUCK IS KAIRI GETTING KIDNAPPED A-FUCKING-GAIN, NOMURA WHY WAS SHE EVEN TRAINING, FUCK Okay, so Kairi and Lea/Axel are out, BUT ROXAS AND XION ARE IN OH HOLY SHIT, SORA SQUAD FORM UP!!!! I HAD TO STOP AND LISTEN TO THE MUSIC FOR A MINUTE It’s all three of their themes! (Plus a bit of Another Side) THIS IS THE HYPEST SHIT Aww, Saix’s death mirrors Xion’s. AND THE SEA-SALT TRIO REUNITE! Saix is out, 7 left. Xion turned, 6 left. Vanitas fades again, 5 left. I know some people had hoped for a heel-face turn, but I knew it wasn’t likely. WHAT TERRA’S HEART WAS IN ANSEM’S GUARDIAN THIS WHOLE TIME. THAT THEORY WAS RIGHT! Terra-nort’s back to just Terra. 4 left. Just wanna say, I love that it’s Sora who gets to turn the tides of all these fights. Who’s dull and ordinary NOW, huh?? AND he’s still going! Oh boy, time for a triple Xehanort fight! UMMM NINE KEYS (but why are they No Name and not the X-blade?) OOOOOOOHHHHHHH THIS BLEND OF ANSEM, XEMNAS, AND YOUNG XEHANORT'S THEMES Guardando Nel Buio, Darkness of the Unknown, and Impeto l’Oscurito 1V3 ME, I'LL TAKE YOU ALL ON Young Xehanort returns to his time. 3 left. I like how we all agree to pause the fight whenever someone falls. Xemnas fades. 2 left. Ansem as well. Just 1 darkness left. WHAT THE FUCK, KAIRI NOOOOOOOOOOOO AH SHIT HE’S GOT THE X-BLADE AH SHIT HE’S GOT KINGDOM HEARTS Oh hey, everyone’s caught up. Donald: “You can’t do anything without us, Sora.” Me: “Donald, shut the FUCK UP.” Xion: “Kairi will be alright.” Me: “OH THANK GOD” Scala ad Caelum. Stairway to Heaven. It looks like a proto-Land of Departure. But the music is Case of the Foretellers from X Back Cover. Could this place and Land of Departure once have been Daybreak Town? Damn, Dark Kingdom Hearts is over the ENTIRE Keyblade Graveyard now Spooky twelve figures are spooky Why do they have the Organization’s weapons?! I love this return of Destati though They all had a shared HP bar? Scala ad Caelum’s world icon is kinda shaped like a heart Oh wow, full Inception Weird hearing Rage Awakened without the Lingering Will here “There is one sky, one destiny!” “DEEEESTAAAATI!” Ohhhhh shit Shout out to the heart in the floor design though And the figure in the middle has 7 points Classic Xehanort pose from the KH2 secret ending Aaaaand now he’s got ANOTHER Kingdom Hearts! GREAT WHOA HE FORCED ME INTO RAGE FORM DESTATI IN FULL FORCE WHAT A RAD FINISHING BLOW! The canon death screen, the heartbeat, Donald and Goofy calling from my controller! ONE BIG BLAST! So Xehanort sees himself as some sort of white knight? A templar to guide the masses with an iron fist? Yeah, no dice dude. Sora’s right, not your choice to make, and destiny is beyond your control. So Eraqus really WAS with Terra all this time. MARK HAMILL IS BACK!!! Xehanort just hands it over, huh? Wow, closure between Eraqus and his apprentices after all these years Eraqus and Xehanort mimic Sora and Riku from KH2, and pass on. Go get her, Sora. HIKARI ORCHESTRAL Ven met his Chirithy! Lea’s finally wearing his new outfit. Aw, Xion looks good too! And Isa’s here! Naminé is back too! And I bet the Namine/Riku shippers are happy! AWWW They’re all hanging out at Destiny Islands! Look at them all being friends!!! THERE THEY ARE! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT

Epilogue: XIGBAR HAS BEEN LUXU THIS WHOLE TIME?! WHAT WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?! You know while watching Back Cover I was like “Man, the Master of Masters really talks like Xigbar for some reason.” BOY DOES THAT MAKE SENSE NOW So what was it about Ava’s role with the Dandelions that led to her absence here? AND WHAT’S IN THE GODDAMN BOX Is it a Book of Prophecies? Something else entirely? In any case, I doubt Maleficent and Pete would be able to get it away from them all. Secret Ending, “Yozora”: Ooh, “Another Side, Another Story” vibes right off the bat. SORA! And... Riku? Well this is just Japan. Wait, the guy from Verum Rex? And a black coat, who’s probably Xigbar/Luxu or the Master of Masters? After watching, a friend informed me that Riku is in Verum Rex. And Sora’s dead. Cause he’s in TWEWY’s version of Shibuya, since that one building said “104.” But which one is the black coat in? It could be the Master of Masters dead, in Sora’s world. Or Xigbar/Luxu, still watching things.

I have no idea what comes next. But I am excited.

Punk Goes Pop-Klance au

I’ve got a lot happening in the next few weeks, so I’ll try to get pt 9 up in the next day or so, so y’all have something in case I don’t have time to write. Enjoy!

First-Previous-Next-AO3

Pt 8

The rest of the day was spent playing video games and eating junk food, allowing Shiro to let loose and Keith to feel a bit of normalcy after his stressful weekend. It neared 9 when Shiro called it quits, so he could grade a few papers before bed. Keith powered down the X-box and retreated to his room to go to bed early, so he could maybe get a decent amount of sleep.

PJ-clad and ready for bed, Keith crawled under the covers and unlocked his phone to pull up a podcast to listen to. He remembered Hunk telling him about the new video from his “internet rival” and switched from his podcast app to Youtube to check it out quickly. He looked through the comments of his Rihanna video and sure enough there it was.

BlueTailor69: I warned you, Brogaynes <www.youtube.com/fakelink>

He snorted and clicked. The page redirected to the video and Keith shook his head when he saw the title, smiling at its ridiculousness, Bring Me To Life Evanescence Remix- also known as Brogaynes is a terrible person and I hate him.

The song opened with an instrumental bit, heavy with anticipation, the beat gradually growing through the first verse. After the first line of the chorus, it dropped hard into a stretch of classic dubstep. The song repeated that pattern, slow build with samples of the original song and heavy drop, one more time before ending on a synthetic trill.

If Keith didn’t have a predisposed hatred of all things dubstep, he would have liked the song. He clicked into the description expecting another snide comment like last time, but it was empty. He scrolled through the comments and saw nothing there either. He thought that was a bit odd and out of character, but dismissed it because they’d never interacted, so there was no reason for him to know anything about this person’s character or be concerned.

He switched back to his podcast app, pulling one up, and closed his eyes. Before he knew it, the hosts said their outro an hour later and Keith was still very awake. He groaned and rolled over to grab his phone. He debated playing another one, but he didn’t feel anywhere near falling asleep, so he opened Twitter with the hope that some mindless scrolling would do the trick.

The racing in his mind gradually slowed as he went through his feed. He passed a list of recommended users, quickly scrolling back up for a double take. No way, he thought, his mind fully alert again, and clicked on the user profile. Sure enough, there it was. BlueTailor69 had a twitter and it was exactly what could be expected. The profile picture was a black background with Fuck You, Brogaynes in white Comic Sans and the description read, I exist solely to spite Brogaynes. Besides, he started it.

Keith couldn’t fight the disbelieving laugh that bubbled up as he scrolled through his tweets.  They were pretty much all replies to Keith’s tweets, consisting mostly of various snips and jabs at the songs he covered. He looked again at the most recent tweet, linking to his Evanescence cover, his brows furrowing as he read the caption. Had a shitty weekend so cut me some slack. I can still hate you in any headspace though @BrogaynesMusic ;) That must have been why there was no sarcastic commentary on the video.

Before thinking it through, Keith hit the message button and typed out a quick You ok? Once it sent, he realized that that was probably a bad idea. This guy was likely some troll who just enjoyed fucking with people because he had nothing better to do with his life and wasn’t worth Keith’s time to be worried about. Before he could fully second-guess his decision, his phone pinged.

BlueTailor69: ???

Keith stared at the message bubble, just as confused as to why he was messaging this guy as he was.

BrogaynesMusic: You said you had a shitty weekend. Just asking if you were ok

You stalking me now brogaynes? Was ruining Beyoncé not enough for you?

No, you popped up in recommended and I was just trying to be nice. Sorry for caring. Keith huffed indignantly as he typed the message and sent it.

Dude im kidding lol

… oh

Sarcasm doesn’t translate well over messaging lol knew I should have used an emoji To answer your question, not really? I found out some stuff that upset me and then I was a dick about it Still need to apologize for that

I had a bad weekend too if that makes you feel better

You want me to revel in your sadness to cure mine?

No? just trying to sympathize

ik I was kidding again I really gotta use emojis with u dude

leave me alone

you messaged me broski

…fair sorry I shouldn’t have bugged you

Nah youre good man cant sleep anyway

same

we can talk to each other til we fall asleep, how romantic!! Rivals to lovers! They can make a movie about us! I totally ship it

why are you like this

I didn’t get enough attention as a child im sleep depraved and lucid I hate myself and veil my insecurities with humor take your pick

-_-

:D

(－‸ლ)

Oooooooo fancy how u do that??

skill, you scrub

rude

¯\_(ツ)_/¯

That’s it ive decided your emoji game is too fly for me not to be in love w/ you

k?

I just declared my love and all you have to say is k? K?

k?

you bastard to think I ever loved you

are you always this dramatic

I was an attention-starved middle child. I learned fast

Makes sense going to school for acting then? wait, you’re not some creepy 56 year old who preys on people on the internet right??

Lol im a sophomore in college, music production major actually and I bet you really insulted some lonely 56 year old who scours the internet for companionship to fill his empty soul

Just checking

wbu? You’re not some 56 year old who lures people in with his deceptively youthful voice are you?

Nope, college sophomore too

See! That can’t be a coincidence, we were meant to be together!

Youre weird

Thx I try what are you in for?

Performing arts

Imma take a stab and say singing?

Yep

Nice you could go far with that

I thought you hated my music

Subject matter, not quality you have a really good voice

Thx

Youre supposed to say, you too

Fishing much?

I have a fragile ego and no concept of self worth, I need constant validation

Relatable I hate dupstep, but you’re not terrible

That was painful for you to say wasn’t it

A little, not gonna lie

Well Ill take it anyway :) u tired yet

Keith stifled a yawn as he got the last message.

Yeah a little

Im that boring huh

Shut up, you asked

ik lol feel free to sign off if youre ready to sleep

nah im goodigeudjlflllllllll

you feel asleep in your phone didn’t u lol good night dude

I posted 1,870 times in 2021

94 posts created (5%)

1776 posts reblogged (95%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 18.9 posts.

I added 2,203 tags in 2021

#luck.txt - 699 posts

#luck.rb - 597 posts

#bsd - 292 posts

#save - 168 posts

#art - 109 posts

#luck.org - 81 posts

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#docs - 59 posts

Longest Tag: 89 characters

#its just chumming the terf water and then shooting the terfs who come and try saying smth

My Top Posts in 2021

#5

Fic thing: "I’ve done this song and dance before."

fic title: hopes & dreams & baby things

"I've done this song and dance before, many, many times. I know a look like that when I see one."

Chuuya purposefully turns his face away from Kouyou's eyes as she speaks her next words with purpose: "How long has it been since the two of you started seeing each other again?"

There's really no getting out of this one, is there? Well, at least she only knows half the story so far (he supposes that her reaction would be far less calm if she knew any more than that.)

send me an ask with the first sentence of a fanfic and i’ll write the next five **BONUS FOR ME:** if you send in the title of one i’ve already posted, i’ll write the next five sentences. let’s see if we can build a fic, shall we?

og post

19 notes • Posted 2021-09-11 12:22:14 GMT

#4

hey fellas

if i were to make a BSD fanfic-writer centric server, right. and it’d be a server where all confirmed members could have their own channel (if they wanted) to talk about their fics and share their work/excerpts/etc. and there’d be specific ping roles for specific content like ships/characters/genres, as well as specific user’s (within the server) content. and it was mainly focused on encouraging each other to create and giving feedback.

would anyone here be interested in joining it? or maybe even signal boosting it when/if it goes up? cause i’d love to make one! also it’d be for all fic writers, whether you do reader-insert/self-insert, ocs, canons, whatever!

22 notes • Posted 2021-10-07 05:56:58 GMT

#3

i am majorly inclined to believe that whenever a terf tries talking about how they’ve totally been harassed by just so many trans women/transfems/tras/etc, they are absolutely lying, or at the least, lying by omission, or deliberately misleading people by convincing them that something that was never present in the interaction totally was because um uh they said so, especially when they claim these interactions happened online and yet mysteriously offer absolutely NO viable proof of any kind of said interactions.

and this has nothing to do with like, not believing victims of abuse and such. i myself am a victim of horrific abuse, after all, a good bit of it being sexual in nature, and most of that abuse happening when i was a child (both before and after i came out as trans, btw, my csa had nothing to do with my trans identity bc the feelings i had prior to coming out AND EVEN prior to the csa have remained the same at their core, AKA “im really not a girl at all honestly”). i am even a victim of abuse at the hands of other trans people, only i have the critical thinking skills to realize they didn’t abuse me because they were trans, they abused me because at their core, they were cruel and abusive people with shit personalities, and that’s why they abused me, and also i have this cool thing called a brain which i use frequently enough to not decide to hate an entire diverse group of human beings because some of them hurt me (and i’ve been abused by both transmasc/trans men and transfem/trans women, actually more trans men/transmascs than trans women/transfems, but yknow, that really doesn’t matter, i’m just pointing out why the terf talking points are not gonna work on me lmao). notably, however, most of the major abusers in my life excluding my stepdad have actually been cis women/cis girls, and i see way more similarities between my abusers and terfs than i ever have between trans people of any alignment and my abusers.

the reason why i largely cannot take terfs at their word when they claim they’ve faced harassment by tras/trans women/transfems/trans folk, is simply because: the core of their group and their movement is complete and violent hatred against amab trans folk, and then hatred and violence towards afab trans folk usually in the form of attempted conversion therapy which is by definition literally always non-consensual in some way shape or form and also by definition includes abuse because you can’t do conversion therapy without abusing someone somehow. how the fuck do you expect me to believe someone who ALREADY hates us, who intentionally reads everything we do in bad faith, when they try to tell me that this harassment totally happened?

look at me in my eyes, do you think i am that gullible? do you think i am so naive as to do that? me? a fat disabled neurodivergent mentally ill black gay non-binary trans man living in the south, who has been subject to the testimonies and attacks from various hate groups for various reasons and knows how they operate? do you think i do not learn from my lived experiences what these people do? would you believe a known, loud and proud n/zi if they told you they were totally beat up by just, so many 100% real-not-fake-strawmen jewish people behind the local dennys for no reason at all? would you do that? i hope to whatever god, goddess, or deities you worship that you would not. because i HOPE you can see why that might not be a good idea. it is for the same reason i do this with terfs.

i came to this conclusion after many interactions with terfs against my will, as well as being subject to their posts about supposed “violence” they encountered which, when i did some investigating (when i was able to, or when i was mentally well enough to do so because simply seeing their bios is enough to exhaust me and make me almost physically ill), turned out to be complete and utter bullshit, and what was usually going on was either:

they were claiming that a post someone, trans or otherwise, made about hating/wishing violence on terfs specifically bc terfs are disgusting, was ACTUALLY based on the fact that they were a woman somehow and not because they were a terf, which is the REAL problem, but bc terfs love to pretend to be victims, they insidiously twist words bc they KNOW ppl who are reading stuff online usually don’t go and do deeper research and just accept it at face value, and then are like “omg i can’t believe this violent TRA hates women it’s because i’m a poor widdle uterus-vagina-having woman and totally not because i believe trans women/transfems should all be violently murdered and trans men/transmascs are just poor lost lesbians/gnc women who need literal conversion therapy to convince them they are women! it’s only because im a FEMALE”

they took a post or statement which was not aimed at anyone in particular and are now telling people (whether it be reporters writing these stupid shitty news articles, or via their own platforms like “educational” youtube videos n such) that it was totally directed towards them in particular when in reality it was not

they took a post which was sarcastic and/or meant to be a joke, sometimes even clearly stated to be a joke in its source, and deliberately and in bad faith told others that it was serious, interpreted it as such KNOWING it to be false, and then used it as an example as to why those “horrible violent tras” totally hate real women or whatever, and the rest of the bozos reading it went “omg so true!” because they don’t possess enough critical thinking skills to read something inane and realize “this is probably a joke or something”

they fell for a troll, like, the trolliest of most obvious trolls, because they hate trans people SO MUCH they’re willing to take ANYTHING they can use as a weapon against us and use it, and that and that alone should honestly prove to you why they are untrustworthy

like sorry not sorry. terfs are literally unable to see interactions with trans people as anything other than “violence” against them because that’s how fucking much they hate us. so why in the name of bast would you expect me to believe them at face value just ‘cause some trans people do bad shit? like i already know some trans people are garbage. but 99.9% of the time, that is simply because they suck AS PEOPLE and has zip doodle squat to do with their identity.

i am not a fool. terfs see trans people the same way white supremacists see black and brown folk like myself, the same way eugenicists see disabled/mentally ill/neurodivergent/fat people like myself, the same way n/zis see anyone who isn’t Well You Know like myself, the same way every hate group ever sees anyone who isn’t like them like myself. they’re all wearing the same brand of glasses, it’s just some of ‘em have different tints on the lense, and some people are even wearing more than one at the same time lmao. y’all are transparent as fuck and are terrified of more people seeing right through you just like i do.

keep crying about how TRAs totally definitely harassed and/or abused you cause youre a woman and not cause youre a nasty terf. sure. and when you’re done with that, i have some lovely beachfront property in idaho i’d like to sell you :)

23 notes • Posted 2021-11-07 08:25:47 GMT

#2

See the full post

30 notes • Posted 2021-08-20 21:43:12 GMT

#1

hi pls rb this!

so. this isnt an announcement i ever wanted to make and not something i wanted ppl to know but its gotten to the point where not saying it is only going to end up worse than saying it so! here we go. note, this has nothing to do with anyone aside from myself. its 100% my problem and my decision and nobody here or anywhere else is at fault.

to make an extremely long story short, i literally cannot physically survive in my current home anymore. period. and right now, there is nothing i can do to even *start* working to improve that. i need time away from the home to heal and like, *actually* work on fixing myself, getting help, etc. but the problem with that is i have no money. as well as no reliable source of income. so. one of two things is happening.

im giving myself a deadline. two weeks from today (nov 22), i either manage to get enough money to at least temporarily live somewhere else via donations, OR, i go put myself into inpatient somewhere. the bottom line is i cant keep living where i am, physically. its not an abuse situation dw, it's just. the actual physical conditions are unliveable for me. and i dont have anywhere else to go anymore.

if you can, you can donate to me. if you can't, don't worry about it, but please do at least consider spreading my social media posts im making about it (i'll link them under this when theyre up). i dont really know how to put into words how very serious this is but trust me when i say that it is. nobody *has* to do anything for me, ofc, nobody's obligated. but as my friends, family, n people i care about in general, i think you deserve to know that my limit has officially been reached.

outside of the financial situation im begging everyone to just be kind to me for now, extra kind even. i might be focused mostly on myself/my own creations and maybe a few other people's rn and its not a personal thing. im just trying to find everything and anything that makes me happy so i dont completely drown in the sinking ship that is my mental state. im not saying you *have* to engage with any of my content, but i do kindly ask that if you have the time/energy and see me posting about stuff that engaging with it makes me feel really good and helps me if only for a moment, yknow?

thats all. my cashapp is $kingoffankids and thats really the only way i can accept donations, i cant use paypal :') but. yeah. im sorry if ive disappointed any of you or let any of you down, but i gotta take care of myself, and sometimes that unfortunately means i'm an inconvenience for others. please just be patient and kind with me, and overall compassionate. thanks

if u cant donate im literally begging you to reblog lol. my goal is to try to get idk 1k USD before the 2 weeks are up. even if i get like a few hundred tho ill be happy at least i can get a hotel, i just have to find somewhere pet friendly so i can bring my cats

241 notes • Posted 2021-11-08 20:30:06 GMT

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