zheng yi sao saying 'i've dated my fair share of guys on wanted posters. they're hot but it always ends in a massacre' girl you ARE the hot guy on wanted posters what do you think that could spell for olu and his crew

on the appeal of Chilchuck Tims

short spoilery rambles on why i zero-ed in on this old man instantly and how i realized the patterns he gets to people.

subversion of the trope: oh they just look like a child while actually they are XXXX years old and--- yes. he's older than he looks, with a good 10 years and it's a boyman design now instead of a loli girl.

BUT wait there's more!

he's older than he looks and he has the experience of his actual age: that man is a father. of 3. the story he's in is his midlife crisis. he's planning on retiring from dungeering after this, he asked for payment UPFRONT (and got it) he has insane (for other characters, but really he's just normal, tries to be normal) work ethics - he got paid, he does the job, he's good at the job, he knows his own worth, strength and limits.

This Man Is Self Aware. He knows his weakness, the job's weakness (how adventure parties slip up and why) he knows he's seen as a bit closed up and he's OKAY WITH THIS.

what he's not okay with? not knowing if a party member is a cannibal or not when they are on this insane survival trip and he's the cook. what does he do?

he knows how to communicate and how much to disclose. Rare one, i know. With the party having an average gossip queen, an autistic foodie, and mysterious chef he knows when to take the lead so they can still function.

so to round it up:

Subversion of the 'looks young actually old', closed up and grumpy rouge who's motto is 'never trust those who don't ask for payment' and has the 'it's called personal life for a reason' philosophy rooted into their blood. Good? good.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE

because he knows he and all halffoots look young to others he actually started up a guild so they can re-enforce their rights as adults and independent people, so they are taken seriously and they can work against bad stereotypes and all.

we see his struggle through volumes, how hard it is for others to finally understand that a short live-spam people is actually just as old and mature as a long live-spam would be, it's mostly the numbers that are different.

we can learn with the other character to take him seriously, to accept the differences.

so he has good work ethic, looks out for his people, has plans for his and other's future, CARES for the future in general and ACTS so it will be a reality- rather sooner than later.

so he's charismatic and lovable while still being the usual tsundere setup for any joke.

BUT WAIT

THERE'S MORE

we first learned that he's actually is an adult (middle aged in half-foot culture)

is an estranged husband

who was left by his wife

cause he cheated-

BUT WAIT ACTUALLY NO

HE LIES ABOUT THE CHEATING!

cause he wants to keep his work persona intact, and it fits more if he says he cheated, cause then people won't BOTHER him with further details

BUT HE DIDN'T

he just went home one day and the wife was gone, with a note

and we learn ALL of this through a subversion of a UNICORN BICORN TALE - a feckin roll up of the whole pure maiden true virtue stuff - and we find out cause the feckin monster SNEERS AT HIM for lying then bites him.

so he's really soft with all the hidden 'better keep to yourself' and don't jump to conclusions cause that only fuels drama, which will hinder your work. but he was clearly hurt by this.

so the subversion here? we are Marcille. the whole fandom is Marcille. we are just as nosy and gossipy as her and it's a tiny little metanarrative joke and i love it, it's wonderful writing and it keeps you wanting more and more, you want this grumpy middle aged father to finally tell you his life story, the mundane little things, to see him brag about his children and all cause he's so goshdarn professional about everything.

but is it subversion at all?

wait...

there's more.

while we get actual introduction to his daughters we truly never seen anything about his wife.

it reaches the hights of Mrs. Columbo level of secrecy and i love it.

but! we know:

they were childhood friends

married when Chilchuck was 13 (almost full grown adult for their culture) and had the twins(?)

left their village at 14

3rd daughter at 15

he started adventuring at age 24 and formed the guild.

wife left when he was 25

Chilchuck started to work with Laios at 26.

he's now almost 29.

they were childhood friends and married for a good 10 year. he was there when he was needed to be a good dad (he's clearly proud of his daughters) and their fallout only started when he started adventuring.

let me say it again.

they. were. childhood. friends.

as much as we see the unfolding of young love in media, with all the teen dramas finding true and forever love in highschool and live happily with the white picket fence for 50+ years we see less of the loves that fizzle out, but were and probably will be friends.

love this. love this little detail cause there's so much in it. The confusion, the still remaining anger, the fustration. they probably would be able to talk it out. they've known each other for most of their life, but his logic and compromises for work (clear communication and a clear head) does not work here.

we don't know how exactly he feels and i love that, but we know he struggles to be open about 'mushy' feelings, grand gestures and all.

he knows his limits. His wife probably knows it too. That's why she's with the middle daughter. The assumed-ly closest to her rather than the oldest (locksmith) or the youngest (conartist?freelancer?life-artist???)

if we learned anything from Dungeon Mushi, it's that Kui Ryoko is a master of diverse characters visually and personality wise as well.

you can reverse engineer the wife if you want to from the girls but i love the joke and the actual comfort this whole Mrs. Columbo it gives.

cause Chilchuck has Columbo vibes. He's competent in his work, knows his limits, knows how to help others and when, knows when to quit and when to move on. and this tiny flaw of his, this domestic mystery we assume is his background (and ground of his disarming normality) is just enough to keep you thinking and re-think and re-think and just grow to love and appreciate the little details and love that was poured into this character of many in this wonderful story.

BUT WAIT

THERE'S MORE

yes he's a father

the dad jokes. oh my good the hidden dad jokes all through-out the series.

the 'i don't want a pet' ---- 'proceeds to be unseparable from said pet' meme with Izutsumi

the actual care and attention he can give when someone is distressed

the TALK with Senshi. that moment.

he's a proud father

but he's above all - practical

well that's all the mad rambling i had in me for now

if you read through this thank you

and do share your thoughts and finds - and ideas about the wife.

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Coming out as a fictionkin and new start

Hi Iam have not been active on here for ages and so I decided to make this post as way share awareness and hopefully find other people who are as one and as new start for me on here. What say may sound crazy to some people and please don’t bully for who Iam and if you do I will block you.

Here a bit at me.

I go by the name Fyra but I also go by my current shift name please(I explained more later the post and I put my current shift’s name as my username )

I am transgender girl who has ADHD and autism.

My pronouns are she/her/them/they

I am fictionkin.

I have been part of the otherkin and fictionkin community for about just over 3 years.

I have strong believe in the supernatural and I believe I reincarnated several times in many different realities.

I am also psychic I can sense supernatural beings,entires and Interdimensional beings.

I also can sense someone personality before they even talk me and I can see peoples aura.

I am very creative person I love drawing, love cosplaying

I am love anime and manga and I very like video games.

When I was little I always felt different and I never truly felt human.

When I diagnosed with Autism I thought that possibly part of the reason I few that.

But I then hear about otherkins about for a interview with otherkins video I few years got me thinking.

That I could be otherkin but I don’t think more about after that.

About around the middle of 2020 I decided to start looking into otherkins and I then discovered fictionkins. Then I realised I was fictionkin as I started awakening my first kin Alissa and it when on for their.

I then decided join a few different otherkin and fictionkin Animos originally out curiosity and to see if I could find anyone who could help me discover if who I was and then over time I awaken more kins.

As I learned more and discovered that I am fictionkin.

I as started awakening my kins and more find about myself.

I started feeling more complicated and happy.

I hope to meet more people who have similar beliefs and possible even kin for the same canon as me.

I hope make some freinds and discover more myself.

I made this post as way of make awareness of otherkin and fictionkins and please feel to ask any questions even in comments or in pms.

I am planning making more posts about my experiences and memories I have of pastlifes.

Anyway I am going on.

Here my My kin list

Sarvente from FNF mod Sarvente’s mid-fight masses

The Girlfriend from Friday night Funkin(possibly the version from Hipno’s lullaby mob)

Alissa (my true self)

Bela Dmittrescu from Resident evil village

Alternate version Lady Dmittrescu from Resident evil village

Donna Beneviento and Angie from Resident evil village

The creepypasa Clockwork

Queen Juno from Grand summoners epic event Story called Knights of Blood: zero.

Ryuko Matoi and Nui Harime from kill la kill

Raphtalia and Filo from rise of the shield hero

dragon kin link to miss kobayashi's dragon maid

Kumoko from I am an spider so what?

Albedo, Shalltear Bloodfallen and Entoma Vasilissa Zeta () from overlord

The Hooked Doll from spooky’s jumpscare Mansion DLC Spookys Dollhouse

18 Reaper nurse from Dark deception chapter 4 Torment therapy

Poppy,Mommy long Legs(aka Experiment 1222/Marie Payne and not canon version similar to version of her show in the gametoons animations),Catbee from Poppy’s playtime

2B,A2 and Simone from NeiR: Automata

Alia the Explorer that live an in reality similar to the world of minecraft and who infected by sculk

Demon that is member of the Superd tribe from mushoku tensei jobless reincarnation

Someone possibly kitsune or angel from supernatural (or just a kitsune in General)

The darkness/Amara from supernatural (not 100% confirmed her as a kin yet but I more confident I do)

Yuira the dullahan

Roxanne Wolf(my soul possessed her Endoskeleton and I was child called Emelia)from Five nights at Freddy’s security beach

Glamrock Mangle from fnaf sb

All the witches of sin(Satella the witch of Envy, Daphne the witch of Gluttony, Minerva the witch of wrath, Echidna the witch of greed, Typhon the witch of pride, Sekment the witch of sloth and Camilla the witch of Lust) and Rem from Re:zero

Fio from NieR:Reincarnation(not 100% sure I kin or possibly Lavania but I feel the connection to him taken her form)

Zero, One, Two, Three, Four and Five from Drakengraud 3(Not fully confirmed One,Two,Three,Four and Five as kins yet but I confident I kin them all not 100% yet)

Kainè from NieR

Paimon , Amber , Sandrone as known as The Puppet and Greater Lord Rukkhadevata(just confirmed her for an unexpected way) and Nilou(basically me to almost to a T) from Genshin Impact

Dust from Re ZombieGirl S sisters(very confusing shifts)

Clara Maria and Esther Winchester(not 100% confirmed as kin yet) from Cuphead(just confirm her as kin)

Sally from Nightmare before Christmas

Emily from Tim Burton The Corpse Bride

Twisted Alice/Alice Angel/Suise Campbell from Bendy and the ink machine/Bendy and the ink machine dark revival. Audrey Drew from Bendy and the Dark Revival (newest conformed kin and I have not 100% confirmed her yet.)

Nikusa from FNF:entity mod and meet Nikusa mod

The Mourning Flowers Witch Natasha from Memento Moir

Monika and Natsuki from Doki Doki Literature Club I have not yet fully confirmed them as kins still kinsinding them as kins)

I will make a post for each of my kins and the experiences and memories I had related to them.

Well see you all in my next post bye for now.

(sorry if this post seems all over the place I edited this post for my Fictionkin Animo bio and I did rush it a bit.)

OUAT VERSE WRITE UP

remember: all references to canon characters, i am PURELY referring to an NPC version OR my own version, available at @familiarache, i would NEVER force ANYTHING written here on your muse. if u wanna play around w that, lmk, otherwise, i'm not basing anything off what have listed here that may mention my char w yours. thx.

There's THREE sections here. to make it easier on everyone, this is the BULLET POINT version, aka main information necessary for plot purposes, not the full write up of everything upon everything that happens.

Feel free to jump to whatever sector you want. The three forms are WONDERLAND, MISTHAVEN, and STORYBROOKE.

I do not follow the wonderland shown in the spin off show. I do not know everything about everything involving ouat (I've seen like half seasons at a time, all of s1, all of Jefferson's episodes, and like, half of s2 beyond jefferson. This is primarily been pre plotted info with my bestie Tinker, who has watched this show in its entirety, she's not on tumbs rn but anyways. I know it's canon divergent to a lot of pre est canon in concerns to wonderland. That's like, a lot of the point lol.) (this is also like the one verse where cassie was actually raised by her parents and that clearly did not help her in any way.)

I do also do base versions with zero backstory for ppl if they want, okay, i care more about your comfort than mine. pls dont hate me.

WONDERLAND

Princess of Spades, Cheshire Cat. Her twin brother is the Dormouse. The actual Hatter is Thomas Madigan, the father of Maddox, Jefferson, and Reve (as well as a daughter i havent settled on a name yet, bc she's a crossover in the plot w tinker, but for rp reasons i have to actually make her a character lol). A man obsessed with time, has perfectly timed all of his childrens births so they're separated by exactly 3 years (give or take a few months obvi.) (Also important to note; my jefferson at least, again, found on my sideblog, was parentified. technically thomas tried to make maddox parent his brothers, but maddox was too self possessed to do that. jefferson raised reve. also yes im saying jefferson is the middle child he radiates middle child energy.)

her mother is the queen of spades, and her 'father' is the red king. he is not her biological father, and he is aware of that. it was his idea. she is unaware. her biological father is the white knight, vas moraj. he was responsible for the first destruction that put the Reds in power in the first place, as he's the Jabberwock. He's also one of the last of the Wonderland Fae, which follow a different set of rules to the misthaven fae. bc logically why would creatures of entirely separate realms all follow the same guidelines i just want to have a talk w them but lbr they couldnt maintain characterization between episodes so

wonderland is a matriarchal society. Aleksander was the only born son of the Red Queen. They had to find another female royal to take over, and Feina agreed to marry him so he could at least maintain his home. she had no interest. he was only ever able to produce one child with her, and it was a boy, Lucien. Men cannot inherit in Wonderland, and since he couldn't produce another heir, he suggested Vas.

vas is the white knight, and in charge of the court. and was clearly overly protective of the twins when they were born, but cassandra more so. he had his own internal reasoning for agreeing. he's not great either but he's better than some people.

whilst royals in wonderland are known to have a lot more free will than other lands (the land is considered upside-down to others), feina never let cassandra leave the castle. feina's own ulterior motives required completely breaking down cassandras psyche, but whilst she never taught cassandra transfiguration, the fae alignment led her to learn she could turn into a cat, thus she started sneaking out.

her 'friend' is the duchess, who would let her hide away in her home as her 'pet cat'. cassandra would oft sneak into the woods for fun.

maddox was in the process of getting knighted. he became obsessed with the idea of being the next knight, as well as marrying the princess, an idea thomas put into his head. jefferson thought it was hilarious.

when their sister tasked jefferson with help to sneak off during a ball, jefferson saw cassandra for the first time, and was naturally curious abt why tf his brother was obsessed w her.

around the time he knew his sister would return, he saw his sister, cassandra, and duchess returning. he saw a cat climb up the tower, and a girl enter it.

jefferson, being extra as shit and a massive red flag, used one of his old enchanted hats to sneak up into her window and meet her. cassie, who decided in that moment that flag was her favorite shade of red, thought it was cute. someone help her.

they became friends. he'd sneak in to visit her constantly.

at some point, her mother finds out she's been sneaking out, and her her guard, illosovic stayne, essentially uhhh break her body to bits for it. that's what causes the scar on her eye, which is the main wound that vas wasn't able to fix. he noticed something amiss with aleksander, and found her tied up, stayne essentially trying to kill her, and he brought her away while aleksander had stayne arrested.

that was her first tryst with human blood, btw, great healant for fae, fixes almost everything, she already had heterochromia but her right eye was now a silvery icy blue instead of just a completely different shade of blue.

vas had a thing and the madigans were invited. he had cassie 'make an example' out of stayne, and she was wearing a dress jefferson made for her. cassie took staynes eyeball, which she preserved and turned into a necklace, bc she's not normal, but she didn't kill him. she debated it, as vas left it up to her, but she decided living in exile would be worse for him. vas named maddox as stayne's replacement.

feina was NOT happy to be undermined mind you.

jefferson, at some point, bc a lot of the normal plot i made w tinker i'm not putting into the rp verse, for 'theres a lot of ship stuff' reasons, and even tho its my own version of jeffy i wanna leave openings yknow-- anyways, he leaves wonderland. cassie ofc is heartbroken cause since that thing, her friends wont talk to her, they're a little bit scared of her.

she also started training bc vas did not want her to be at risk of harm again.

maddox obsessions became worse. he took full advantage of her sadness re jefferson leaving (without her, because he said he'd take her with him, then didn't, because of Maddox) to get her interested in him. but the more obsessive he got over her, the more she started to push him away because it freaked her out.

jack, who i am keeping this bit here bc i can, is regina's half-brother, and came to wonderland. as far as either is aware he's her full brother but that boy is white, that aint your full brother regina. he, in some way, knew that this is where his mother would end up eventually. he looked enough like the original prince of hearts that he killed him and took his place.

he met maddox, actually before jefferson left that was a thing, saw an opportunity, and wrecked maddox's mental state further to make him his spy. he also had maddox murder his own father (and, seemingly, younger brother) which maddox doesnt even remember doing for the most part until he tries to sleep at night and the visions haunt him. that's pmuch what makes jefferson leave btw

eventually, seemingly the entirety of the kingdom was slaughtered. maddox 'gets cassie out', and she sees what she thinks are the real bodies of her family members as she's taken out to the tulgey wood. maddox questions her about something, and she's too busy freaking out to actually know what he's saying or respond to him in any coherent way. she starts panicking and fighting back when he grabs her and starts dragging her off, and when she pushes him away he asks her if she loves him. she does NOT have an answer for that, and Jack appears, talking to her, and with one command, Maddox's resolve breaks and he cuts her neck open.

Jack has already made a deal with Feina, he knows she wont stay dead. Jack has her locked in a room in the castle, and keeps her prisoner there with the intention of marrying her to further secure his position in the court. The Hearts had been taken over, and Cora was now the Queen of Hearts. She did NOT get jack's obsession, but didn't really question it either. It kept him busy and out of her way.

Jefferson came back to wonderland, now as a portal jumper, to steal something from her mom. he found out what happened, and promised to get her out.

this time he actually followed through on that, good job, jeffy.

MISTHAVEN

jack had these iron cuffs on her that kept her powers at bay and made her extremely weak, so yeah first things first was jefferson bringing her to rumple to get those off, bc enchanted. he couldnt pick a lock. there was no lock.

i.................... hated jeffersons prequel comic, tbh, you can't convince me that man knows what renting is i'm sorry. that cottage of his has always been his. he did bring cassie to live with him, tho.

and she was n o t in good shape at all, so when graham would walk past that cottage on the daily and occasionally see her staring out the window, like he thought the worst. rightfully so. sorry jeffy.

eventually she did start leaving the cottage, and actually did meet and talk to graham from then on. he thought she was weird, but her weirdness was endearing.

f r i e n d s

he brought her to The Vale Tavern in town, where she met Lavinia, local witch, and Luke, a werewolf from the den Graham was raised in, who also left. Lavinia's magic is what kept his transformations at bay.

Further proof that cassie is surprisingly endearing, bc they both got attached to her too.

also jefferson was not and never was happy that she befriended graham, but that's because jeffy is jeffy. you just have to feel bad for the ppl he annoys a lot. like rumple probably had to listen to so much complaining everytime he hired him to collect shit. smh

lavinia and luke plotted together to get cassie away from jefferson, bc funnily enough not a lot of people actually like him. lavinia figured out the faerie genes and decided to teach cassie how to use witch glamour, in hopes cassie would figure out fae glamour. she did.. mostly, and the vale tavern's owner essentially gave the business to her.

jefferson did agree and encourage her to move into the apartment above the tavern, and she didn't understand why he would say that. jealousy, mostly, he was still mad about graham, and they were literally just friends like boy calm down the world doesn't revolve around you.

jefferson met (tinkers) alice. grace was 100% an accident. also important to note, cassie was massively in love with alice, and she was not happy. like she's in love w jeffy too dont get me wrong, but she was p i s s e d when he started going out w alice.

(Again, this is is all my versions of these characters, i'm not forcing anything on yall, if you like it tho, lmk)

she was way too hurt by jeffy/alice, but also knew jeffersons a littleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee reckless. so she put lavinia in charge of the tavern, stole his hat, and took over the portal jumping-- on account of all money earned going to... alice, technically. lol.

also, she was a lot worse during this time. girlie did not care at ALL. got really good at murder, actually. kinda hot, ngl

one of the hits, they had iron weapons, and conveniently (someone sent him) jefferson got there and brought her home. he knew human blood would heal her, but when he tried to feed her his blood, it didn't work. alice took over and gave her hers.

jefferson got cassie out of her deal, and she wasn't happy about it.

jefferson was running out of money quickly since he wasnt portal jumping anymore, and got the brilliant idea to go steal a magical artifact from wonderland. because knowing the land was ravaged by a murderous queen and your older brother is a great reason to go back to it.

obviously, that idiot got himself kidnapped by his brother, and locked in the 'eternal teaparty'

alice noticed he wasnt back, and had cassie watch baby grace when she went to go find him.

alice gets jefferson out-- and maddox stabs her in the abdomen for it. cassie was taking care of grace at the time (with graham, in some versions) and suddenly collapsed at the same time, her own blood spilling in the same area alice's was. Alice shoved Jefferson into the portal so he could get back to Grace.

yeah jeffersons mental state wasnt great after that. cassie was NOT letting him take care of grace for awhile. It did drive a wedge between her and graham, especially, because he was trying to help her and she was getting too bitey over it. kind of how graham ends up leaving the area altogether. thanks jefferson.

grace gets older, jefferson delves headfirst into being best dad, thank GOD, cassie keeps helping him out w funds and stuff. and grace. mostly grace.

bs w regina happens finally, jefferson gets trapped in wonderland. again.

cassie came to the cottage to find grace wasnt there, found her with the neighbors and took her. when grace told her everything, cassie was instantly suspicious.

all that time passed. the wiki claims it was two years, i tried to figure out the whole timeline of season ones antics and i did not get two years, but the wiki is more official than i am, so. idk how thats two years, but grace did not age by two years in that time i dont think abc knows how quickly kids age. anyways, however fucking long passes, and cassie only didnt go looking for him bc grace would freak out abt being left again.

cassie finally convinced grace to go stay w the neighbors again, and she'd figure it out. she wouldn't abandon her, and if she didn't come back quickly, she still would always come back.

this is like, just before regina essentially lets charming and snow win, fyi

cassie got a meeting w regina, still was sus about it all, and got the BRIGHT idea to threaten her. When she went to leave, she saw graham.

she snuck back in later after being kicked out in 'warning'. she found graham, tried to figure out wtf happened, and promised she'd get him out. he tells her about his heart, and she decides to go looking for it.

she DOES find it, again, conveniently. for a reason.

she hands it to graham, telling him they need to get out. she'd have time to find jefferson, she was running out of time to help him, and right now, he was first.

got ambushed. she did stun and/or kill most of the guards trying to stop them, mostly killed the ones trying to kill graham, to be fair.

one 'guard' did get her, in the same spot as alice. with an iron blade. yes, it was maddox. jack came in with regina, delighted at the turn of events.

jack took cassie, reminding regina of the deal they made when she did cast her curse, and took cassie with him. she was kept locked up well until the curse hit.

STORYBROOKE

yeah that entire 28 years emma wasn't there, she was in the 'lower hospital' area. maddox is regina's personal guard, and jack is.. i think councilman is the right term, idk, i'll check later. i have it in my doc for this verse lol.

jefferson, ofc, is free now. has everything but his family. he honestly didn't know where cassie was at first until he started sneaking around the town, trying to figure out if anyone else had both lives stuck in their head.

also i feel like they missed an opportunity for him to be plotting with rumple but thats not for this blog that'd be for the sideblog where jefferson actually is.

anyways, he did discover cassie was down there. he also discovered pretty quickly, upon watching all the tapes jack had made of her 'therapy sessions', that she remembered everything, too.

she didn't talk for years. She had a complete shut down while in there. Jack would see her constantly to taunt her. she just shut down.

despite everything, graham, while in his cursed head, still visited her every single week. though he believed she was his high school friend, Chelsea Contarini, who got put in the hospital after her parents died when she was 17.

when Emma made time start moving again, and actually right around the time graham almost died (bc i circumvent his death for my graham, u did enough to him abc) jefferson decided that was the BEST time to just... let cassie out.

which, ofc, didn't turn out well, and Graham had to arrest her, bc great job jefferson just let her out and tell her where to go that'll get her sO FAR.

this means graham had to convince emma to help him get cassie out of the hospital, meaning collecting all of the documents that were created for this world.

one Emma paid especial mind to was that the hospital paperwork claimed, after her parents died at 17, Jack was supposed to marry her, she tried to kill him, and they put her in there. And that she'd been in there for ten years. Jack was NOT aware that that was the age Regina had put down. But as far as Emma saw it, Graham's friend had been locked up since she was in high school, he had barely graduated a few years earlier, and evil wicked regina had an evil wicked brother who also stole the youth of another girl. cassie didn't understand jack shit of what was happening, but later on when graham explained it to her, she did decide regina also must hate jack to do that to him.

she wasn't entirely wrong tbf, regina chose violence in that instance, she knew jack would have betrayed her if given the chance, he's allergic to loyalty

also the fact cassie is a fuck lot older than that (wonderlander lol) like she didnt get the age thing at all. but she wasn't sure if she could lie since all the magic was gone in that world, and didn't want to risk it, so she just kept quiet.

also that file claimed the eye injury was a fight in high school, and her neck injury was from surgery. like jacks a piece of garbage.

graham had to go find jefferson and bring him to her in order to get her to start talking again, bc she was not talking when emma tried to talk to her, or anyone, really. she did NOT want that used against her. Jefferson had to give her pointers on how she could talk and what to say to twist the truth just enough to get out.

after the trial and everything, cassie gets out. she goes off to live with jefferson, because of course she went w the guy who did almost nothing. but she hands around graham a lot. much to jeffersons chagrin.

also she refuses to go by chelsea, but the only way she was able to go by anything else was to say "C.C.' because it technically could be her storybrooke intials, but it's also the initials of 'cheshire cat'.

{Ikerev} How many kids would they have? {Headcanon}

I’m kind of creating this post to organize my thoughts, because I want to write more about this in another post where I’ll write about how they are with their children and how I imagine their personalities. Please be aware that I imagine a different MC for each suitor, so the kids exist in the same universe lol

🖤 Black Army 🖤 

Ray Blackwell

One boy.

He was adopted by Ray and MC at age of 3. His father was one of Ray’s soldier who unfortunately passed away in duty. Since he had no mother or relatives that could take care of them, MC and Ray took him in. 

He prefers MC over Ray, but admires his dad very much!

Sirius Oswald

oh boy

This man and MC had 5 children! :) 

I kind of enjoy the thought of Sirius retiring because he wants to spend as much time as he can with his family. 

They have three girls and two boys. The order goes like this: Girl ---> Twins (boy and girl) ---> Boy ---> Girl. 

Would name his kids after flowers. 

The kids get along very well! They are really protective of each other and of their parents.

Luka Clemence

One boy as well. 

His kid is really sweet! He’s really friendly and everybody loves him at school. 

Is kind of a younger brother to Jonah’s girls. 

Talking about Jonah, he’s the best uncle ever. Always brings gifts and gives advices about anything that is troubling the boy. 

He’s doesn’t have a favorite parent. He’s close to both!

Fenrir Gospeed

Had two kids, a son and a daughterl. 

The firstborn is the boy, and the girl is six years younger. 

To his and MC’s surprise, the boy is a magic user! They discovered it when MC was bathing her baby when suddenly he started floating and giggling around. Imagine Fenrir and MC screaming and jumping around, trying to reach their son, who is having the time of his life. 

The girl is not a magic user, so she causes less trouble than her brother. She’s friends with Ray’s son.

Seth Hyde

One girl.

She has Seth’s hair and MC’s eyes, and likes to dress cute clothes and to play with her teddy bear. 

She’s reeeeaaaally shy. :< 

She probably prefers Seth over MC, but she doesn’t make it obvious. Of course, she likes her mother very much as well. But Seth’s hugs are something else. :> 

❤️ Red Army ❤️ 

Lancelot Kingsley

The next King of Hearts is a girl! 

She looks mostly like Lancelot, but her hair shape resembles MC’s. 

She’s really carismatic and smart, which means that she can hold a conversation with an adult without difficulties. 

She’s a friendly and curious little girl, always asking about how and why things work the way they do. 

As a magic user, she’s really interested in Harr’s work and gets along well with his daughter. 

Loves her dad! She looks up to him a lot and is not embarassed of asking him for advices and hugs.

Jonah Clemence

Our queen has two daughters. 

They are only 2 years apart, so they get along very well with each other. 

Honestly, they have Jonah completely wrapped around their little fingers. This man would go to the fucking moon if they wanted something from there. 

Despite being spoiled rotten, the girls are really gentle and caring with those around them. thank u so much mc

Because the younger sister is shyer, Jonah teaches his firstborn from a young age that she should always be nice and take care of her younger sister. 

They love baking! Imagine the MC and her two daughter baking cookies on the kitchen to present the man of their lives later. ;A; so cute

Edgar Bright

Edgar has one girl and one boy. 

Due to her fragile health, his daughter, the firstborn, won’t be able to become the next Jack of Hearts. She always smiles and says that it doesn’t bother her, but she gets self concious when hearing adults commenting about it. She also feels bad for passing the burden of being the heir to her younger brother. 

The boy is calm and serious, which is kind of weird bc his face looks way too much with MC’s. He’s really protective of his parents and his sister. Loves animals, just like his dad! He’s smart and strong, but is really aloof. MC and Edgar are always worried about him bc he doesn’t seem to want friends. 

The girl is bffs with Lancelot’s daughter and Kyle’s son.

Zero

One daughter! 

She has MC’s hair and his eyes. She’s really pretty! 

She’s friendly and is always smiling. Since she’s younger than the other kids of the Red Army (Kyle’s second son is actually the youngest, but he is still a baby lol), they kind of treat her as a young sister, always hugging and patting her head. 

She’s really curious around everything. Actually, her personality resembles Lancelot’s daughter’s a lot. 

Loves watching her father training with the soldiers! At the end of every session, she goes running towards him demanding hugs.

Kyle Ash

Two boys. They have an age gap of 12 years.

His firstborn had a really fragile health as a child, to the point of having to take constant shots and Kyle having to perform different treatments on his child. Seeing their child suffer was really difficult for Kyle and MC, and at some point they even thought that he wouldn’t survive childhood. However, aroung age 8, the signs of this disease started decreasing and he got better. 

Kyle is still worried about his son, so he always keeps a close watch on him to see if those symptons will come back someday. 

Because they were always busy taking care of their older son, MC and Kyle decided to not have other children. So it was a big surprise when they discovered MC’s second pregnancy. 

Surprisingly, their second son has no health problems. As a baby, he’s really serious and likes to nap a lot. 

Both boys look a lot like Kyle. The older one looks the most, while the younger has MC’s eyes. 

Mousse Atlas

Has one son. 

The boy is a MC’s appearence copy with Mousse’s personalit copy. 

Just like his dad, loves napping. 

Naps everywhere. 

Everywhere. 

Once, when dusting some shelves, Luka found him sleeping in the Black Army’s library. 

How in the hell did this kid get here? 

He always goes missing. Like, at one moment he’s standing right next do MC and in the next second he disappears. Dude??? 

Actually, he’s a magic user, which explains him disappearing all the time and reaching things that are in a place way higher than him. However, he doesn’t tell it to his parent until he’s sixteen bc he’s afraid of disappointing them (bc he heard from some idiot that magic users are way too dangerous).

💚 Neutral 💚 

Harr Silver

He has one daughter. 

She has his hair and MC’s eyes. 

Since she’s a magic user, she and Harr are always excitingly talking about magic books and researchs. He also teaches her about spells and skills unrelated to magic, such as cooking and fishing. 

She’s really shy, and because kids used to bully her at school and adults ignored the situation, she has a really hard time socializing with people that are not her family.

Loves cats! As a toddler, Loki gave her a cat plushie and she is really attached to it. 

Gets along with Sirius’s oldest daughter and Lancelot’s, but I’ll talk more about this in another post. 

Likes to sleep with her parents. It’s hard to get up in the morning bc she is pratically glued to the one she is hugging.

Loki Genetta

One son. He’s the youngest among the 17 suitors (bc Loki is fucking 19 years old in canon universe, duh). 

The boy is always stealing MC’s attention, always glaring at Loki. Loki glares back because he’s a man-child. 

Actually, they get along very well when the issue is not MC, and the boy trusts Loki a lot, sharing secrets and asking for help when in need of assistance. 

His looks and personality are a carbon copy of Loki’s. 

Always follows Ray’s son and Fenrir’s daughter around. 

Oliver Knight

One daughter, and Oliver loves her so much!

She looks a lot like MC, both in looks and personality. 

Being a bit naive, she’s always getting in trouble. Thank god her friends are always ready to rescue her! Is bffs with Sirius’s second daughter. 

Boys love her. Girls too. As a teenager, she’s always having to turn down confessions. She tries to be gentle, but some people are just too bold for her to deal with. That’s when Sirius’s daughter and son (the twins!) enter and deal with whoever is bothering her. 

She kind of has a crush on Sirius’s oldest son, but is too embarassed to admit. 

Oliver knows, but doesn’t want her to know that he knows. It’s kind of tough to hide, bc when the boy shows up at his house he’s always fumming with jealousy. 

Blanc Lapin

Mister Blanc has one son.

He’s calm and smart. 

Loves tea parties! Dad’s carrot cake is the best.

Loves his mom. Loves his dad. Loves his friends. 

He’s a sunshine. Everybody loves him. 

Dean Tweedle

Has only one daughter. 

Her looks and personality are a perfect mix of her parents’. 

Sleeps only if her dad reads to her. Otherwise, she stays the whole night staring at ceiling with a bored expression. 

Is really smart and responsable. She’s the perfect “senpai” at school. 

Is bffs with Sirius’ oldest daughter. 

She and Dalim’s son look really alike, so people are always mistaking them as siblings. Dalim and Dean always get annoyed at this.

Dalim Tweedle/Dum

Has one son.

Just like Dean’s daughter, his looks are a mix of his parent’s, but his personality is a bit different. Despite being really curious, he’s really quiet and hesitant of asking questions aloud. 

Is a magic user. 

Sees Dean’s daughter as a big sister. Is always attached to her hand when they meet and follows her around like a shadow. 

Probably prefers his mom over Dalim. 

1, 3, 7, 14, 19 + asoiaf 👀 (go off queen 🔥)

1. What OTPs in your fandom do you just not get?

oh boi where to begin 😭

ok i really don't understand what's up w shipping your absolute fave w someone you don't like or straight up hate. bonus points if canonically these characters are not just indifferent to each other but hate the type like the other / is very dismissive towards the other. so you can't even get the love/hate spice from there lmfao, it's literally so bland and sad 😭 also the amount of twisting both characters need to endure to make this at least seem to work out!! what's the point even if in the end of such “ship” you get basically ocs w the names of canon characters?

and what's the point in such “shipping” if you only use the other one (literally the half of said pairing) to prop up your fave? does it really bring ppl joy to turn the whole fucking well-written character into someone else's accessory? relationship goals?? especially in cases when you just know they just have an agenda and want to hide another case of mischaracterizing of certain character.

literally who these ppl are lying to 😭 the funniest shit is that i can get the aggressive hetero shippers more than the ones who hide behind their faux activism shield. the first ones are at least not as hypocritical lmao

there also are some personal pet peeves of mine like smth from the kind of torturer x victim. tho funnily enough enjoyers of such problematic stuff more oft than not are actually very aware of this and are very chill. so while i don't ship this myself i am very cool w their shippers and don't feel any need to wage a holy war on them or smth lol. the same can't be said abt the certain crackshippers who feel the need to drag through dirt any possible “rival” to their *cough*very crack and very straight*cough* otp to “prove” the ~canonicity~ of the said ship. so in the end of the day i think the attitude of real ppl towards other real ppl matter more. i might not ship many things in this fandom and not get maybe as many but i am honestly so okay w them until they are self-aware and stay in their lane.

3. Have you ever unfollowed someone over a fandom opinion?

in the fandom like this one? jfc of course 😭💀 it was mostly in the beginning though, now i know better and just don't hit follow button until i'm really, like 100% sure it's worth it lol. this fandom is the best in giving the trust issues i'm afraid

7. Is there anything you used to like but can't stand now?

i used to be a total stark stan and then a martell stan lmao 💀 yes, i confess my sins. back in these dark days when i was young and delusional i enjoyed stark/martell supremacy iirc. what i think of this now? embarrassing 😭 i mean i still have enough warm feelings for canon starks and martells, i've just become extremely allergic to the ~northern independence~ and ~revenge power fantasies~ and all this stuff. bless their unhinged fanbases for scaring me off so fast w their anti dany sentiments (whom i've always dearly loved) and f&b for turning me into complete targ stan lol

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom?

the distinction between two sides is truly hilarious. there are many different subfandoms ofc but generally it boils down to having certain opinions abt certain characters, the main ones and the ones fandom made more relevant than they canonically are. and these opinions are really so, SO opposite that's it's just killing me 😭 how can two ppl look at the same page and see two completely opposite things? when one person is like 97% right and the other is SO TOTALLY WRONG ZERO READING COMPREHENSION DETECTED LMFAO

imho, meta culture has done unrepairable damage there. you realize this when you see some random ppl using quotes from mf fanfiction as canon proof in a discussion abt canon having NO IDEA it's literally non-existent in the books. yeah, bc they had read somewhere on quora or reddit or tumblr some “analysis” and never once fact checked. you also realize this when you see some total, like absolutely ridiculous crack posted as serious (or in some really lost causes “almost canon”) “theory” and taken as such by other ppl simply bc it looked like a serious essay. ppl buy into this confident tone and quotes in between (but still don't check these quotes even if they don't remember them in canon since they're so blissfully naive abt the certain parts of the fandom that absolutely and shamelessly can change canon quotes just to spread their agenda lol), ppl see bnfs blogs getting asks abt even tiniest details and these bnfs answering oh so confident as if they were grrm himself abt smth that can't even be taken as analysis simply bc of the lack of canon material on the issue. they step on the territory of pure fanon and headcanons but never change the tone and some ppl take this bullshit for granted without blinking.

so yeah my unpopular opinion. for such serious, interesting and complex book series, asoiaf fandom is fucking dumb and deranged and, unfortunately, many really smart ppl have left leaving us w this lot that refuses to use their own brains and that prefers to read some biased “metas” online than actual books and the hypocrites who boost their egos in this dead fandom, freaking out every time anyone tries to challenge them.

special cry out for those who still make this fandom bearable aka content creators whose gifs, edits, arts, metas (i mean real honest metas, not whatever bullshit clown colleges are eager to reblog lmao). despite being paid dust from local pretentious bitches, who forget who is the real customer there all the time, you are still w us and thank you so much for keeping this fandom alive!!! once you leave we will have only satansas' hallucinations posed as smth canon related and unfunny lame jokes 😭

19. What is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

hypocrisy and double standards. they're literally everywhere lmfao, can't even count. also some really weird shit like harassing real life pocs over headcanons abt fanon pocs lolol, but that's a whole another conversation lmao. but most of all i hate the lack of basic human decency. some ppl there can doxx, gaslight, lie, go running like cockroaches caught in 4k doing this all but never once apologize to the ppl they harassed and lied abt and still be cool for some fandom places while others will be automatically cancelled for shipping the wrong ship or stanning the wrong character. bc apparently for asoiaf fandom opinions on fiction matter more than the treatment of very fucking real human beings 🤡 how glad am i for seeing which ppl have their priorities straight istg

play with me in the salty ask game!

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ice queen, one.

toji fushiguro x f!reader

summary: figure skater!y/n once found solace in the scratching of her blade against the ice, the aches and pains of her body proof of her dedication. after breaking world records and reaching the top she so desperately climbed her way to, she’s at a loss. a meeting by chance, broken promises and guarded walls, y/n gets more than she bargained for by one introspective man.

word count: 500+

warnings: mentions of self harm, panic attacks, toxic parents, neglect, poor mental/physical health, angst, mentions of weight loss.

A/N: apologies for the lack of toji in this first part, i’m trying to set the scene. enjoy <3

series masterlist -> current -> two

“Enough. You’ve been at it for 12 hours, Y/N. That was your tenth landed jump in a row. I think you’ll be fine.”

Your good friend Shoko called from one of the many empty seats she occupied. You were pushing yourself, the winter olympics would begin in less than two weeks and being nervous was an understatement.

Truthfully? You were terrified, especially since you hadn’t told anyone your grand plan. This was a fail safe because if you landed it then great! But if you failed or chickened out, no one would be none the wiser.

Sweat trickled down your forehead, the tendons in your leg screaming at you to stop. You relished that feeling, to the point where your coach scolded you, believing it was a form of self harm.

He actually had no idea you were practicing today, having been at it all day yesterday he insisted you have a day off. If he saw you now, he’d drag you back home and probably lock you in the house. He meant well but you were stubborn.

How else would you silence those thoughts?

You oddly adored the feeling of pushing yourself to the limit, basking in the comfort it gave you. Sometimes you’d find yourself panicking, at 24, you gave almost 20 years of your life to skating and the hard pill to swallow was you had no other skills - never bothering to pay attention. So when your muscles were groaning in pain and your heart rate so fast you felt like dying, you soothed the many anxieties whirring around your brain. You weren’t useless. You were committed to the one thing that you were extremely talented in.

As you skated towards the entrance to the rink, you debated landing one more triple axel then decided against it. You didn’t need more of Shoko’s lectures.

“You should really take better care of your body.”

It was almost as if she read your mind, suddenly appearing in front of you as you were lost in your thoughts.

“It’s fine, it’s how I’ve done things for years, Shoko I really don’t need a lecture right now.” Exasperated, you reached for your water bottle, allowing the cool water to slide down your throat. You looked at her from the corner of your eye as you gulped as much as possible and she had the same disapproving look on her face.

She was here for moral support, having flown in from Seoul. The 2022 Winter Olympics were being hosted in Tokyo, perfect for you as it meant zero travelling. You were grateful she was here, having been part of the handful of people who actually cared about your skating.

“Yeah I’m all too aware of that! It goes in one ear and out the other…I mean which one of us is the doctor, hmm?” She questioned, eyes settling on the way you limped to the nearest chair. You peeled off your skates,

“You, seeing as its all you ever talk about.”

Shoko threw your face towel that you placed beside you.

“God, you’re so difficult, but I love you and I really think you should rest until the competiton.”

“Gross don’t ever throw a sweaty towel at me again.” You massaged your bruised toes through your tights, you had strategically placed plasters and then thick socks on top to help with the many blisters you had acquired but it did nothing.

“Don’t change the subject.” Shoko sighed and kneeled down in front of you, preventing you from avoiding her questions.

“Look, I know you like the back of my hand. I know what this is about. Your parents do not deserve you, okay? You don’t have to prove-“

You cut her off immediately and stood up, hiding a wince at the sudden heaviness in your legs. It was like someone strapped 100kg weights to them and you couldn’t wait to soak in a warm bath.

You were tired, physically and emotionally and the last thing you wanted to talk about were your parents.

“Can we not.” You tried your very best not to snap, “I’m tired and hungry, let’s just go get some food please and not mention my parents.”

Picking up the piece of equipment you lived and breathed, you walked - or rather limped - towards the changing room where you wanted nothing more than to wash the stress off your back. Your neglectful parents, your perfect brother Akira who in their eyes never did anything wrong, your friends who continued to break their promises and now the impending sense of doom from this much anticipated event resulted in a migraine coming on. Your heart palpitations worsened and you could feel the beginnings of a panic attack.

You sped up, fumbling with the door of the lock so Shoko wouldn’t have more to worry about and tried to calm down your breathing. Okay, what can I see, smell, taste, hear and…what was the last one? A stupid trick you remembered from your old therapist but now all you could zone in on was your pulse quickening and the constricting of your chest. It felt like you were dying and as you went down on all fours, one hand clutching your chest you could feel the warm, salty tears slither down your cheek and fall onto the floor.

Your eyes were glued to how it made a perfect circle and you imagined it becoming a huge puddle. So big, people could see their reflections in it. They all gathered around the weird lady who cried so much it caused river banks to overflow. They marvelled at her talent, deliberately making her cry as a form of entertainment. Soon, the stupid story you made in your head naturally distracted your body.

That became your focal point. Five excruciating minutes later you stopped hyperventilating and could control the air going to your lungs.

Once you showered and got changed into much more comfortable clothes, you walked towards the mirror to dry and brush your hair. The woman who stared back was gaunt, eye bags prominent and intrusive paired with lifeless eyes that told your secrets. Your skin remained clear, the one aspect of your life you could actually be bothered with but your hair was knotted. You spent the next twenty minutes making it look presentable before realising you should get back to Shoko before she started a search party.

Your phone buzzed faintly from your locker and you ignored it. It continued as you placed your fingers on your eye bags and tutted. You just had to get through the Olympics, secure a gold medal and if your grand plan went through…of course you’d be happy.

You scoffed, you would 100% be content once it was over, despite the voice nagging at you that you said this if you came 1st in the Japanese national competitions last year - which you did. Shaking your head, you smoothed your t shirt down over your baggy jeans and reached for your snow boots. No, this time would be different.

They had to notice you. Once you see the proud smile on their faces at their daughter exceeding expectations it would all be worth it. All the crying, breakdowns, panic attacks, injuries and lack of social life would mean something.

Maybe then your slowly dying passion for skating would ignite, a fact you had pushed to the back of your long line of issues for the past two years. You would love skating again exactly like how you did when you were 16.

Yes.

“Finally, I was ready to break down the door.” Shoko remarked, rising from her seat as she watched you emerge round the corner thirty minutes later. She stretched and pocketed her phone,

“My ass is numb.”

Shoko noted the redness around your eyes and how much smaller you looked in your oversized shirt. You had lost weight. Too much. Shoko took the bag from your shoulder and walked on ahead to your confusion, but you said nothing and looked down at the phone in your hand.

One missed call from your brother, followed by a text.

Akira: Hey, I’m gonna catch a flight with Kou for your competition in a few days!! I know you wanted Mom and Dad but I asked and I think they have a lot on their plate. Missin you, I’ll see you soon okay? xx

Your eyes stung at the message. Akira probably sugar coated it as best as he could. You chewed your lip, doubting them actually having anything on their plate. Akira ran most of it. But there he was, gently telling you that your parents wouldn’t come and see their daughter compete in the Olympics. It was laughable.

Of course, you couldn’t hate your brother, it wasn’t his fault your parents treated him like the best thing that had ever happened to them. He was 11 months older than you, your mother had already told you countless times that you weren’t planned. He never bragged or made you feel crap. Sure he was dense sometimes, very childish and carefree - clearly not able to understand the weight on your shoulders and how desperately you craved your parents approval but he tried his best and was a good person.

He was business savvy, maybe explaining why your parents loved him for joining the humble family business and turning it into a multi-billion dollar corporation.

That was a lie. Akira could probably cause a war to happen and somehow your parents would blame you.

You pinched the bridge of your nose. The last thing you wanted was your intrusive thoughts to cause a rift with the only family member who cared for you. Over the years you tried your hardest not to let your parents treatment affect your relationship with your brother. You refused to give them the satisfaction of taking it out on him. Akira was always there for you as far as you could remember, when you fell and hit your knee a few weeks after you started skating, he comforted you. When you were left shivering in the snow for hours, your mother having forgotten to pick you up when you were 11, Akira made excuses and took your mind off it.

You needed to stop thinking about it before you dug up every awful occasion with your parents.

You finally focused on the next part of the message. Kou too? That cheered you up a little bit, you’d see your brother and the best friend you both shared. Kou was so calming to be around he’d do wonders for you on the day. Like Shoko, he was a doctor, but specialised in paediatrics. You missed his warm smile and infectious laugh. His hugs were the best too. Okay, you decided to stop moping. Honestly, you had a dream a few nights ago that no one attended and the crowd laughed and laughed and laughed.

At least that wouldn’t happen.

“Earth to Y/N!”

You looked up, Shoko looking at you with both concern and annoyance.

“I was calling you like fifty times, are you okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine.”

The usual question by Shoko and the usual answer by you. This back and forth had gone on as far as you could remember.

“You wanna drive to yours and we order in, or shall we go out?” Shoko inquired, coming closer and looping her arm through yours.

“It’s freezing, let’s order in and watch some trash horror movie.” You brightened up at the concept of Shoko clinging to you in terror, only to be met with her glare.

Nonetheless, she assessed you were feeling a bit better now and had actually smiled, something you rarely did nowadays.

“Ugh, fine. For putting me through that trauma, desserts on you.”

“Deal.”

************************

“Shit. I can’t seem to land my jumps lately.” Mai tangled her fingers in her hair, frustrated. She had come to sit on the bench next to her twin sister Maki to rest and complain, instead being met with judgemental eyes.

“That’s because you’ve abandoned your technique. It’s so obvious who you’re copying Mai just do your own thing.”

Maki adjusted her glasses and continued, surprised that her usually quick to comeback sister had remained silent.

“You’ve come this far, at 17, you’re one of the youngest skaters to have this many wins. Why do you think? Because you’re talented. Don’t then ruin it all trying to model yourself after a completely different person.”

Mai groaned as her sister drummed her fingers on the table. The pressure was on, the Winter Olympics creeping closer and closer.

“But she’s amazing.” Mai pouted and began unlacing her skates, “I wanna be her.”

“No. You’ll be you. You’ll do exactly what she’s accomplished but even better.”

“I fucking hope so, Y/N L/N will be the death of me. That’s all who Mom talks about. How I have to beat her and then Dad joins in banging on about her technique. You know he told Coach to make me watch these long ass analysis videos of Y/N in slow motion.”

“Oof.” Maki stifled a laugh, if their Dad was anything it was driven.

“It gets worse. The videos were in Russian.”

Maki burst out laughing, setting off her sister as well as they both started sliding off the chair. Two minutes later they were still in fits of laughter, now on the floor and unsure what was so funny. They could never stop once something made them laugh, and had now begun to bring up every funny thing that happened in the last week.

The man in charge of locking up the rink glanced at the two identical girls giggling on the floor and couldn’t help but smile. He was one of the few people who could easily tell them apart when they were younger, earning his respect. He technically had no choice, they both practically lived here. Now it was easier, Mai having ear length hair and Maki deciding to keep it long.

“Girls, it’s 9pm this rink was supposed to be shut two hours ago.”

“Hayama-san, we’re so sorry.”

“No you’re not.” He replied simply and pursed his lips.

“Okay we’re not and we can’t promise we won’t do it again but we shall leave immediately!” Mai beamed at him and tugged Maki’s arm, assisting her in rising from the floor.

Maki bowed and said her apologies, albeit more sincere than her sister and they both walked off towards the changing room. Although both sisters knew how to skate, Maki was always less serious than her twin, seeing it more as a leisure activity than a serious sport. Her passion was in science, one day hoping to study astronomy.

Mai on the other hand insisted on being an Olympic gold medalist at the age of four. It excited their mother who then assumed Maki felt the same way, imagining both daughters becoming professional skaters. The dream was shattered when Maki became less interested around the age of 13, which her mother (with time) came to accept. Both her parents now poured all their dreams and aspirations into Mai which is why Maki ensured that she’d always stay by her sisters side, knowing her sensitive personality.

Not only was this Mai’s first time competing in the Olympics but she was up against her idol. Due to their age difference, Y/N and Mai never really interacted during national competitions, due to its separation of 18- (junior) and and 18+. (senior). But this time it was different. Maki was stressed, this was all the Zenin family raved about, so she couldn’t imagine what her sister was feeling.

Although having been observing her sister for the past few days, she could see Mai couldn’t contain her excitement.

While Maki perused over these thoughts, awaiting her sister who took years to get ready, her mind wandered again to Y/N L/N. She was a beautiful skater, Maki thought, renowned for her agility and ballerina-like moves. At only 24, she was pretty much iconic in the skating world, winner of tons of competitions in which most people either resented her or worshipped her. She set trends, her music and outfit choices as well as hairstyles in her programs were usually plastered over social media the next day. She must’ve been the pride and joy of her family. Maki imagined her as cocky at first but she once caught a glimpse of her at a competition (that Mai is jealous of to this day) and somehow she looked smaller and less intimidating than the countless videos she’d seen. Maki still recalls how dejected her eyes looked, heavily contrasting the beam on her face as a medal was placed around her neck.

She never wanted Mai to have those eyes.

“Okay I’m done. Megumi texted. Toji bought way too much food again so he said feel free to come over. Let’s go!” Mai squealed in delight, she was tired and starving and the best place to recover was their cousins mansion.

Maki nodded, sending a quick text to their mother that they would probably spend the night and they set off, wind whipping their faces. Mai chatted away as Maki drove, mind elsewhere.

BY REQUEST #11 CUSPS

What's the deal with cusps?

Logistics only: it means you were born on or near the transition from one sign to the next.

Seasons change, signs change. Yes, on the 22nd of September it’s nominally Fall, not Summer; around September 24th, we’re out of Virgo and into Libra. But it doesn’t feel like it’s Summer one day and suddenly Fall the next day, and it doesn’t feel like it’s Virgo one day and most definitely Libra the next day. These dates aren’t meant to be rigid, black-and-white boundaries - they all come with a period of transition where you’re getting a little taste of both. Summer is ending and Fall is beginning: the spiders come out, the leave start to change, the days get shorter, but gardens are still growing, the sun is still shining, and activity is still peaking. It’s a transitional period. The same shit goes for the signs - every sign has different dimensions, every degree has a distinct flavor. Cusps are just one of those dimensions - it’s when you’re coming up on a change, and anyone who’s ever experienced a change of any kind knows that shit is a process.

Now: your nature is your nature. If you’re a cusp baby, there’re going to be other things in your chart that support the same information the cusp placement is dishing out. The Sun represents your fuel - it keeps you motivated, it keeps your lights on, it keeps you on your shit, it keeps all this biz pushing. All a Cusp Sun placement means is that you’re getting that sweet sweet jolt of motivation from two places, instead of getting a concentrated dose from one place. Can other planets be on a cusp? Of course.

Listen: being on a cusp is not better than being in the middle of a sign - being in the middle of a sign is not better than being on a cusp. They’re just different. Everyone has different needs, everyone has different placements. Wherever your shit falls, it’s there for a reason and that reason is good, so stop being jealous and relax.

Which degrees are cusp degrees? How close to the edge do I have to be to fulfill my dream of being a cusp baby? Honestly, I don’t know, and I don’t care. Within 3 degrees, within 5 degrees, within 7 degrees? Whatever. You know what you feel to be true about you. It’s different for everyone, roll with it.

Go for Sun, go for Moon, go for any other planet or degree. These are qualities, they don’t change.

PISCES / ARIES The bitch is starting over - you’re not going to find a more intuitive, inner-activity placement than a Pisces / Aries cusp. You add all the “I gotta deal with myself” of Pisces with the “I gotta make a change” of Aries and you get someone who’s ready to tear apart the cycle like it’s scrap paper. Or you’re so self-centered that you can’t get a grip on reality - cycle on, sister.

ARIES / TAURUS The bitch is making it happen - intensity meets practicality in explosive combo of getting shit done. You’re pulling from Aries dank intuition bank and you’re matching it with Taurus’s desire to establish itself and you’re cooking up some seriously self-guided action. Or you’re so scared to fail that you’re living in a basement somewhere - I don’t know, man, it’s your call.

TAURUS / GEMINI The bitch is deconstructing - the transition from Taurus to Gemini has everything to do with understanding your conditioning - knowing your history and figuring out how it’s shaped your character. What’s gotta go, what’s gonna stay, and what’s really you. The potential to understand yourself and effectively utilize your skills is huge. Or you’re justifying some ruthless-ass behavior like it’s your full-time job - crushed it (and also crushed any chance of having healthy relationships).

GEMINI / CANCER The bitch is dealing with her feelings - you have Gemini’s untouchable perspective and Cancer’s self-understanding. Good luck finding a feeling or an experience that you can’t process, not gonna happen. Your identity is deeply felt and flexible - full-on camouflage, espionage, garage (overflowing with old personas). Or you’re acting superficial as shit and the most unaccountable - maybe change that ugly attitude instead?

CANCER / LEO The bitch is a fucking force - dripping energy like a perpetually broken faucet. There’s no turning these babies off, they’re meant to find a way to take their feelings and channel them into productive avenues. Ridiculous creative power. Or you’re just an emotionally underdeveloped hot mess - watch where you step, everyone.

LEO / VIRGO The bitch is also a fucking force but she’s not in your face about it until she is - take Leo’s intensity, cut it with Virgo’s repressed feelings, get an artistic soul. So many feelings, so little ability to communicate them. A never-ending story of ever-improving self-expression. Or you stuff that shit so far down geyser gazers flock from all over to watch you explode on the masses - better find a way to let it out.

VIRGO / LIBRA The bitch is ch-ch-ch-changing - this is an extremely emotional placement. There’s a lot of hidden shit and emotional activity going on here (thanks, Virgo). Better buy some Benadryl because these sweet babies are ready to shed - beliefs, values, identities, whatever - they’re here to nail down the best approach to life (thanks, Libra), and they’re ready to wipe out to figure it out. Or they’re victimizing themselves into a crusty shell of endless confusion and superficiality - nice.

LIBRA / SCORPIO The bitch is seeing how it’s all connected - Relational Queens, Scorpio is seeing the invisible strings that connect us with emotional x-ray vision and Libra is keeping those findings relevant and relatable. There’s no better placement for social and emotional understanding. Or they’re sipping on a crazy, almost disturbing mix of manipulation meets emotional doormat - just say it and stop fucking acting.

SCORPIO / SAG The bitch is looking to mind-meld - no one wants to share more than a bitch on the Scorpio / Sag cusp. Scorpio feelings with Sag sensibilities? Please - all they want is to get wrapped up in that blanket of acceptance so tight they can’t see themselves. Deep feeling, deep thinking, refreshing the missed connections page. Or they’re passive to the point of no return, turned side-stepping responsibility into an Olympic sport - hot.

SAG / CAPRICORN The bitch is dying to make it real - you take Sag’s ideologies and you throw in Capricorn’s reality hard on, and you get someone who is ready to lock that philosophy in and live it. Whatever goals they’ve decided to set, they’re achieving them. Showing you how it’s done every day of the week. Or they chose a whack-ass set of values and they’re locking in some shit ideals, shit relationships, a shit self-image - maybe reflect before you fire up the kiln and burn us all to death?

CAPRICORN / AQUARIUS The bitch is influencing you - socially minded collective guides. With Capricorn’s unadulterated power and Aquarius’s brilliance, these bitches are leading the trends, they’re that perfect blend of real and strange, endearing and influential. They got the goods, literally. Or they’re cynical, hateful-ass bitches with zero awareness of how their presence effects others - get over your inferiority complex and just run this shit.

AQUARIUS / PISCES The bitch is a true visionary - Critical, conceptual thinking meets technical skills meets collective needs meets subjective feeling and understanding. They’re dreaming up effective, creative solutions to societal problems. Or they’re saying, “Critical thinking? Reality? Effectiveness? Hm. Nah, let’s cut that bit completely aaand yes we’re a go for living in a conspiracy theory terror dream” - relax, nobody asked for all that.

Happy charting, you cuspy-ass bitches.

XO BULLSHIT FREE ASTROLOGY

(Sorry if I spell something wrongly lol) Idk, This is my opinion? Gryffindor, Jungkook. Hufflepuff, Taehyung & Yoongi. Ravenclaw, Namjoon & Jin. Slytherin, Jimin & Hobi??? I literally just searched the meaning of each house and just picked one based on the personality shown. Also, If you don't think this matches them, Sorry ;-;

[Don't worry, sweetie ^^. You don't have to apologise! 💕🍑]

Hoseok is a lot more two faced than I actually tend to show. The way he presents himself is mostly a mask. While he seems mostly calm on the outside, he's actually quite the opposite on the inside. Out of all the boys it'd be easiest for him to manipulate/influence Y/n (@bangtans-apollo Tae is quacking-) and he's aware of that. That's one of the reasons why they started the club 1. To protect Y/n, 2. The club concept came because it'd be easier to meet up and they would automatically get a clubroom and 3. Hoseok threatened to tell on them if they don't join, he'd make Y/n despise each one of them.

He is a strong leader (one of the Slytherin traits), I try to make him resourceful (but I am not myself so that might not shine through too much), he is definitely cunning. The whole ordeal with wanting to be with Y/n no matter what is pretty ambitious, I'd say. And lastly the traditionalism trait, he is very into tradition and has to keep his domestic fantasies with Y/n a secret. His parents raised him very traditional, he would hate it if (female) Y/n would ask him out first or would propose first and would at first frown upon his attention to (male or non binary) Y/n.

All in all Slytherin seems very accurate.

Now concerning Jimin; similar to Hoseok he too can be a two faced snake. He doesn't hide his true thoughts from Y/n or the boys, if anything he overshares sometimes (one time he started talking to Taehyung about some... rather inappropriate things concerning Y/n. That got his Y/n privilege taken away for a whole month). And despite practically pleading to be the "dumb bimbo" stereotype, he is surprisingly clever and intelligent. Before Highschool, before he made his first experiences with popular boys, he was a straight A's and B's student. Yet once he had his first boyfriend, he discovered that the people surrounding him typically preferred the dumb blondes. (He actually broke up with the captain of the football team for Y/n.)

He also sometimes displays ambitious, just in a whiney sort of way. Self preservation is definitely something. Unlike Taehyung, Yoongi, Namjoon or Jeongguk, he wouldn't let himself be killed for Y/n's sake. If Y/n were to be killed he would end up deluding himself into thinking a person who looks similar to them is them and would force Y/n's personality and style on them. Cunningness is 100% accurate. He's fake. He pretends to be a silly sweetheart who loves everyone but will spread rumours about you, blame things on you etc. and everyone believes him. His cunningness concerning Y/n is more whiney than anything.

So I do think Jimin fits Slytherin.

Namjoon was raised by strict parents who forbade him a tremendous amount of things and painted his world for him. It was engraved in his head, he was going to be the CEO of their company one day. Yet despite everything he still had a head of his own. Maye it was because if his high IQ that he understood that his parents weren't the only opinion in his life. Don't get me wrong, they still left him scarred (sadly literally, as his father once hit him bloody) and traumatised but not without a mind of his own. Ever since he was small creativity and originality was something he admired and loved. It was partly reason of why he fell for Y/n, their individuality, their mind, their heart, their soul.

We will not need to discuss intelligence, it's a trait he undoubtedly has. He is always willing to learn and showed interest in many different things before Y/n captured his focus. He is most likely one of the wisest members as he is aware of how twisted his love for them truly is (once again something I tend to fail at portraying) and tried to stop it when it started. But somehow that only made everything worse and by now he doesn't care anymore at all. When he was a child he used to be more openly curious than nowadays (as it caused him many punishments from his parents).

I feel that Namjoon would fit Ravenclaw.

Seokjin was spoiled all his life. His parents adored him, other kids adored him, everyone adored him. While he might've acted oblivious he knew that it's because of his money. Similar to Jimin, Seokjin changed when he entered high school. While he always was a pretty intelligent and well behaved student (still very arrogant though) he then became less concerned with studies and once made a teacher cry (that was before he met Y/n). He loves standing out as an individual, that includes making anyone change who crosses his path with the same outfit (not in school as they wear a school uniform. But outside, yes, he has that much power. Everyone knows Kim Seokjin).

As said before, Seokjin is far from stupid. He is a very intelligent individual but doesn't show the extent of his nolage. Instead aiming for a cool "Queen B" persona. He is witty with his comebacks (something I cannot write because I do not possess that superpower), he's quick with his words. He holds respect for people who are 60+ years old as he believes they've been through a lot in life already. These people have wisdom he could only gain by experience and that he respects (there is one very sweet lady that lives alone in a very big mansion a few streets away from his penthouse. He always visits her because he loves her genuine kindness. When he met Y/n she recently passed away and he saw a part of her in them).

Seokjin could qualify for a Ravenclaw.

Taehyung was raised by a very Christian family that he still cherishes very much. Because of their intense belief he was raised to worship. He never fell in love, so when Y/n crossed paths with his, he started showing love how he's used to it (Out of all the boys Taehyung is straight up insane. Something in his brain might be wired wrong, there is no explanation on why he likes them, on why he believed that's what love is because his parents treated him with normal, familiar love. So he is simply sick, there is no "saving" him. He's better of in a mental hospital). But he was always a very kind boy. Giving instead of taking, never wanting anything in return. Out of everyone, Taehyung was the one who welcomed new students and made tons of friends. But he grew out of it as his focus turned to art. He aimed to make his parents proud so he didn't have time for friends.

His loyalty is unlike any other. You could torture him half dead and he'd still forgive you, stay loyal to you, serve you. He is Y/n's servant. He works hard on improving his artistic abilities and also to maintain fairly good grades. For Y/n any labour he'd have to be put through would seem like a blessing. Another trait for Hufflepuff would be fairness and he surely is fair. As one of the least jealous members of the club he really only cares if Y/n's okay with what's happening or could get hurt (he always kets the other members have more privileges than he has because he believes it'd be not only greedy but prideful to want Y/n to hinself. He avoids any sin when it comes to Y/n, envy, wrath, pride, sloth, nothing will ever come near his modern day Jesus).

Taehyung definitely is a Hufflepuff.

If the boy who works two parttime jobs, to pay for rent, bills and food, cleans the shabby apartment by himself because his alcoholic mother is busy messing it up again, yet still treats his mother with kindness, only to be treated like trash by seven more powerful and successful guys in his school who all like the same person he does and still manages to maintain the position as intern and honour roll student at a prestigious school for roch people, isn't in Hufflepuff then I don't know what. This poor soul is incredibly sensitive and kind. He isn't judgemental (as he himself is used to people judging him). All round very sweet.

I think it's very clear that he's very diligent and hard working. He holds great passion for music and enjoys writing poetry, a very sensitive soul. Yoongi isn't someone to complain about something being unfair (cough cough Jimin cough cough) or try and steal Y/n away from them. His day dreams consist of imagining Y/n liking him back, but he is certain that would never happen (according to you guys, it seems a lot of you would pick Yoongi if you'd get to decide). Not only is Yoongi kind but loyal as well, he'd never imagine leaving anyone behind even his useless mother.

Yoongi is 1000% a Hufflepuff.

Jeongguk tends to be hot tempered, he goes from zero to a hundred in a matter of seconds. Everything in life seems like a challenge to prove he's better than others think (his father was a notorious serial killer who killed twenty one people yet got away with a ten year prison sentence and got released after six, ten months later Jeongguk was born). In truth he did not care for anyone else, only Y/n. So all tge chivalry he could muster was directed at them.

He is one brave guy who doesn't get easily scared (I guess living with as well as being a serial killer at sixteen years old desensitised him). Jeongguk is courageous just not in/for a positive way/purpose. He deluted himself into thinking that Y/n needs protection, HIS protection. He once attacked a teacher because they were helping Y/n with a question, that's very daring (more like stupid) just not in a good way. A (still not) more positive example of his daringness is when he wants to impress Y/n. He hung from a skyscraper for five minutes doing pullups, just to inpress them. One time he also jumped across his luxurious pool at home (and almost slipped, almost bashing his head in) just to prove that he can jump further than someone they talked about.

I could very much picture him as a Griffendor.

If you enjoyed reading my work, please consider reblogging it. Thank you for reading

interdimensional Dads 4

Jaune:Who’s Next?

Jaune:Pick a number from one to a thousand.

Jaune:Since you married Yang it’s either 69

Jaune:Or 420, but because it you I’m gonna with 7

Jaune:Purple gets to go.

Jaune:....Oh did you- oh I see. That’s stupid. I like how he got the answer but it’s stupid.

Jaune:Hate to break it to you all but I can already tell that I’m probably the least interesting here. My Remnant doesn’t have anything crazy going on.

Jaune: Lucky you. We just wanna relax.

Jaune:Hehe, anyways I started dating Blake when we were at Beacon. Well I guess technically we didn’t date but we went on a lot of dates because we liked similar things. Music, tea, some books.

Jaune:Filth!

Jaune:*red* It’s been called that, yes. It’s something nice to bond over.

Jaune:Bond over, or bind over?

Jaune:I’m surprised you didn’t say bondage over.

Jaune:So scandalous. How grown of you.

Jaune:What would your dear parents think? Oh the shock!

Jaune:Why am I the one getting picked on!? You guys would literally find a similar interest in it!

Jaune:We know, it’s just funny seeing you red. Please continue.

Jaune:I can’t imagine the trip around the world was dramatically different. Reuniting with Blake was super comforting. We finally started officially dating after she scared me half to death at Argus. After beating Salem I decided to go with her back home after visiting my folks. Her parents were stunned to see yet another blonde-

Jaune:Sun or Yang?

Jaune:Both...you see, they new Sun for obvious reasons. Yang was a little more....how to put it?

Jaune:....She was in love with her too, wasn’t she?

A strange feeling of guilt and sadness filled the air.

Jaune:Yang and Blake were always pretty close, more so than with me in certain aspects. They were partners so of course it would be like amd with all the stuff that happened between them since Beacon, Yang falling in love with her was so easy to see. It wasn’t like it was one sided either, but those aspects, the knitty gritty hardships they shared? Sometimes sharing all that history makes it hard to have a normal relationship. So Yang took it pretty rough when we officially got together.

Jaune:That must’ve been a rough pill to swallow.

Jaune:It definitely was awkward at first l and a little bit of animosity. But eventually overtime it got better, until it didn’t... Blake and I had a kid. Our quiet little Lucas. Yang never out right said anything but having him and seeing us, me have a life with Blake brought sadness along with whatever happiness she did have for us. So she barely visits; she’s still kind when does though but it’s hard not to see that she would rather be somewhere else.

Jaune:Damn that’s....that’s rough. I couldn’t imagine my life without Yang. She’s practically my best friend at this point; always there to pick me up.

Jaune:Yeah she’s been a real life saver for me too.

Jaune:She’s my wife so it goes without saying that a world where she doesn’t want to be around me or Blake for that matter is pretty crazy. Do you at least have Ruby, Weiss, Ren and Nora?

Jaune:Yeah they’re around doing their own thing and we take turns visiting. Ruby tried to act like a bridge between us and Yang and it works for the most part. It’s rough but not as rough as it sounds. But any who, I guess I should talk about Lucas now.

Jaune:Before that, I couldn’t help but notice that you sound a little more...proper than the rest of us.

Jaune:*red* I’m always running into some important faunus that meets with Blake about equal rights stuff. It’s very weird being the only human around sometimes so I try extra hard not to say anything dumb. Don’t you have to meet with wealthy people a bunch?

Jaune:Yeah. They no better than to give me a hard time, or Weiss will kill them. They are very aware of the name ice queen.

Jaune:Ah.....Weiss. *smiles*

Jaune:So joe is your kid? I bet he’s as driven as his mother!

Jaune:*puts head on table* That boy has zero motivation! If you don’t bother him then he’ll lay around all day and sleep like a....well like a cat!

Jaune:Yikes...

Jaune:To be fair, I understand why. His semblance shows him various glimpses of the future that he’s never been able to complete control. Sometimes it activates without warning so it’s not uncommon for him to know something coming up. Poor guy can’t even finish a book sometimes without seeing his future self reading the ending.

Jaune:No wonder he has not motivation. The spice of life is being spoiled for him!

Jaune:Lucas is such a bright kid, a little bit awkward at times but he’s kind too. It’s a real bummer to see him in this constant slump. It’s not small things that get spot either. There are times he’s seen accidents happen and could do nothing to stop it, or the vision was so vague he didn’t know what was going on until it was too late. The world becomes pretty anxiety inducing if all you see is potential accidents.

Jaune:Potential?

Jaune:Yeah, it’s possible to avoid his visions. They aren’t set in stone by any means. He’s seen me beat him up in sparring and then didn’t show up. He’s walked out into the ocean before out of nowhere and speared a barracuda that he says “would’ve been bothersome later.” A family went swimming later on in that area. Still wish he went outside just to smell the roses though.

Jaune:Sounds frustrating, I feel for him. I don’t think my mind could function.

Jaune: I don’t think his is if he’s becoming a shut in. Maybe therapy or something? What does Blake think about all of this?

Jaune:Blake can convince him more than I can to move around more consistently. She’s always checking in out of nowhere and making sure both of us are doing well. This girl video chatted one time just to see if anything done anything fun, then forced us to find something fun to do if we haven’t. She knows if we’re left alone then we start stewing in our own thoughts way too much.

Jaune:That’s actually really sweet.

Jaune:I know! I can’t believe that’s my wife! We call her to make sure she takes a break from work or else she’ll work through lunch. We are basically tripping and picking each other up, it’s such a weird mess hehehe. That’s family though. It gets a little tense but nothing we can’t handle. Especially Lucas, I got a feeling his slump is about to turn into a rollercoaster.

Jaune:What makes you say that?

Jaune:Well....

xxxx

On a sunny day in menagerie a beautiful young girl looks up at the sky with complete serenity and wonder. It’s so blue, so simple, yet so fulfilling.

“You ever look at the sky and just wish you could touch it?” Her gaze drops to in front of her to see a very unamused Lucas.

“No, no I don’t.”

“That’s too bad. Are you more of a deep blue see guy or...”

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to know my bodyguard.”

“Still not your bodyguard.” He groaned. “Can you focus on not moving. I have three shots at this.”

“I bet you’ll get it right first try, no pressure.”

Lucas’s eye twitched as the girl gave him a big smile in her frayed harness, fifty feet from the ground. The boy angled his feet on the unsecured steel beam just enough to distribute his weight evenly.

“You and I have very different viewpoints on tense situations...” He slowly leaned forward with his hands stretched out. “Grab my hands at the same time.”

“Is it bad I wanna know what happens if I don’t?”

Her question was meant with stressful silence and anxious looks that only made her smile. “Just kidding, I can’t grab your hands at the same time when they’re trembling. Lighten up a little.”

“You do know this is your life right now?”

“Yeah I know. Hey, you single?”

That came out of nowhere. He folded his ears, flustered and confused. “What does that have to do with-”

The girl suddenly grabbed his hands. “Boom, you stopped trembling. That’s what I call team-” the harness snapped. The feeling of complete weightlessness took her for a moment before gravity came to pull her down. It was in that second Lucas yanked her close, her body in his arms.

He slowly slid backwards onto sturdy ground and then felt a strong breeze that was more than enough to sever the beam from the rest. The girl gasped.

“The workers!”

“Don’t worry.” He looked over the edge to see all of them far away and the beam falling right into their massive pile of dirt he told them to put down. Lucas let out a long sigh before looking at the girl.

She raised her eyebrow. “You haven’t answered my question yet.”

He groaned again. Go for a walk they said. It would do you some good they said. Now I’m dealing with this.

“I’m single.”

“Cool, I’m not.” She giggled.

“.....” He slowly nodded. “I should drop you.”

“But you won’t.”

“Sadly....”

Part 3

Top 10 Kpop Debuts of 2020, According to Me

This originally was a list of 15, but Tumblr has a word limit for some fucking reason, or something so I had to delete 11-15 from this. However, you can find the lists here on Spotify (1-15), or here on YouTube (15-1).

10. "SO BAD" - STAYC (November 12)

This was a very solid debut, but it felt too polished. Everything about it was great and engaging, but there was no true "Wow!" moment. I feel like the music video could have done with looking a little cheaper, as to be true to what the song itself invokes. Negatives aside, I really enjoyed it and have nothing but praise for their talent. I love the girl with the deep voice. It was a fine addition to the retro revival trend in Kpop.

9. "BOSS" - KIARA (January 20)

I might be biased, because I'm kind of in love with her, but for a nugu soloist, her debut was very well executed. All of her vibes are perfect, and her comeback "TOMBOY" was honestly even better. It's such a good example of doing the best with what you have and if you don't look too closely, this song and music video could have been dropped by any major Kpop artist.

8. "Nun Nu Nan Na" - cignature (February 3)

Mark my words, cignature are going to become a force to be reckoned with in the future. I honestly think they outdo ITZY in terms of chaos. This group is insanely talented, and carry more energy than a puppy overdosed on caffeine. Their songs feel like pure insanity. I could totally see them becoming one of my ult groups in future.

7. "Black Mamba" - aespa (November 17)

Oh my god, this was good. The quality is immaculate, the song is so catchy and powerful, the choreography is memorable and they're such talented dancers. I'm pointedly ignoring their AI concept and hope it makes even less of an appearance in future. I do feel like there's something missing, but I couldn't tell you what and I still believe this is definitely one of the finer debuts of the year.

6. "DDALALALA" - XUM (September 13)

What the hell is this music video? It's so addicting and has no right being in this quality. It's everything I love about nugu girl group music videos, except with a unusually high budget. Dayeon stole the show. I couldn't place this any lower if I tried. It deserves to be lower and higher at the same time; what the fuck.

5. "OH YA YA YA" - LUNARSOLAR (September 2)

No because this really is so good. It's super addicting and catchy and super well produced, I really hope this group lasts. Minus points for white people in the music video, but otherwise I'm totally in love with the whole thing.

4. "BOY" - TREASURE (August 7)

I had zero expectations for this debut after how meh most boy groups were this year, but that was my own fault. This was flawless and feels so unique. I'm absolutely bewitched by both beat drops; this was so up my alley.

3. "ICE AGE" - MCND (February 27)

I really forgot how damn good this was. Definitely the best boy group debut, and also the best choreography. Super catchy, super fun, super powerful, super talented. The only downside is the hair styling. They remind me of Block B a lot.

2. "@Me (Tag Me)" - Weeekly (June 30)

I'm still obsessed with this. It has no business being this good and Weeekly are the new queens of cute concepts. It's one of the most creative choreographies I've seen in a while. If you didn't know anything about them, you'd think they'd been out here for years.

1. "NUMNUM" - DAYDREAM (February 23)

First and foremost, this song hasn't aged a minute and I've been playing it all year. As for the music video, they knew what they were working with and they absolutely owned it. Like, the video editor and director and whoever else did NOT need to go that hard on a $3 budget. They didn't try to be something they weren't and it's deliciously self aware. RIP DAYDREAM, shortlived though you were, you own me with this song. I can't wait to see what comes of Alim, Sorin and Chaeha's (who now goes by Xindy and is set to redebut in ZeroSix next year!) future projects!

Ch. 3

Characters: Aster, Jonah Clemence, Edgar Bright

Tagging: @thetwinkims​ @starry-starry-night24​ @youreawizardharr​

A/N: More Aster for your enjoyment!

Where do you think you're going?

It's time for training.

Sneaking out won't work here.

Aster flopped face down onto her mattress, exhausted and frustrated. If she'd been aware of how much work it'd be to become a spy for the Red Army, the teenager wished she'd chosen to be locked away. At least there she was more likely to escape. "This is torture."

They were all so overbearing.

Edgar thwarted every attempt of hers to sneak away from headquarters.

Jonah was much too strict during her utterly boring lessons of learning to read and write.

Lancelot took time from his busy schedule to go over a map of Black Headquarters. His mere presence unsettled her. Not to mention he held the power to lock her into a dark dungeon forever.

Her only safe haven was the infirmary, where she'd taken up residence beneath Kyle's desk for a reprieve from all the training and working. It had taken an entire week for him to remember to check for her. More than once had his boot connected with her thin body, causing bruising and the occasional nosebleed.

Good thing I'm a doctor, huh?

Zero had been tasked with teaching her a bit of self-defense and although he was the nicest, it still stung each time she ended up on the hard ground.

"If you'd apply yourself a little more, I'm confident that you'll succeed," Jonah said, flipping the textbook page to the next chapter on his agenda. He listened to her daily complaints without chastising, even though he wanted to. She got bored easily, tried to cheat, or to get out of lessons altogether. All of which frustrated the Queen, but...

Somehow, he couldn’t find the words to reprimand her on this.

Jonah fully agreed with King Lancelot’s decision to infiltrate Black Headquarters. It would aid their cause, pushing the Red Army to victory and bringing peace to Cradle. He didn’t have any qualms in using the little thief to achieve that.

She had the potential to change the entire war.

Aster was talented at sneaking around undetected, lifting items while engaged in conversation, and simply disappearing without a trace. He admired the way she could control an entire room and be utterly a ghost at the same time.

If she applied half the effort into her lessons, Jonah was sure the results would be nothing short of incredible. Of course, also because he was the teacher.

But she was a teenager with zero discipline and her life was void of any proper role models. She disregarded rules, spoke without restraint, and endlessly liked teasing her elders.

“Proper motivation is required, I suppose.” Jonah noted her gaze flickering over to him, her interest piqued. It was almost amusing. “If you complete today’s lesson to the best of your ability, I’ll arrange for a visit to a nearby hot spring for the weekend.”

The girl sprung up, folding her legs to sit crisscross. It wasn’t fair that Jonah talked like that, strictly teaching but never wavering in confidence that she’d excel. “Really?” Aster asked, already knowing that he wasn’t joking. One thing she’d learned quickly was that Jonah was always serious. “I thought I wasn’t allowed out.”

No going out during daylight hours. No going past the big walls surrounding the building. No getting caught by soldiers outside of the Chosen Thirteen. No leaving the confines of her room unless given permission. So many restrictions that Aster started going stir crazy.

But rules that she continuously attempted to break.

“There’s a spring in the mountains that is owned by a trusted family friend. It’s secluded and not even staff will be there, so it’s been cleared for you to go. That is, if you’re interested-”

“Yes! Of course, I’m interested!” Aster refrained from teasing him about the way he’d spoken. It was clear that Jonah didn’t mean his words the way they sounded, and she desperately wanted to get out of these stuffy headquarters.

Hot Springs, cool weather, relaxation. Things that she’d only dreamed of.

Jonah tapped his finger on the paper. “Only after you’d completed your lessons.” The excitement in her crimson eyes relieved him. Even though she was moody and temperamental, like a cat, she was also distant, good at avoiding. It made him frustrated.

In exchange for doing this mission for them, the army had promised to care for her. Most of their end of the deal rested on her completing hers. She’d be working towards her reward, as she was required to remain a secret, to remain untraceable. A promise was something a Clemence always kept, and this trip was one small thing that he could do to assure her that they would keep their word.

It was necessary to use her.

That’s what he continued to tell himself.

                                                    << << <<

Aster was thrilled to get out of the carriage, slightly motion sick from the trip. She hadn’t much experience with them, and it made her nervous. Each time the carriage lurched from hitting a rock, her heart leaped in her chest. But it was worth enduring every excruciating second to arrive at the hot springs. 

It was chilly. The wind carried in a breeze that brought goosebumps to her pale skin. Absolutely perfect weather for a soak in the hot, steamy water. Aster moved with a skip in her step, elated that she’d finally earned a break, all the way to the front door.

Where everything came crashing down.

“You lied to me,” Aster whined, throwing a glare back at Jonah. The very sight of the grinning Jack of Hearts waiting just beyond the door made her sulky. This was a set up. She’d gotten too comfortable, forgotten that trust didn’t exist. That she was alone.

They were using her, and she them.

“Aw, you’re hurting my feelings. I thought we were friends, Aster,” Edgar cooed, patting his gloved hand against her head. He was the orchestrater, and ready to take the blame. There were few opportunities to test her in an unknown location, as she’d memorized Red Headquarters, every patrol pattern, every soldier's footsteps. “Don’t be too upset. We’ve only a few weeks to finish preparing. Once you’ve successfully passed this test, you’ll be free for the rest of the weekend.”

More tugging on her strings. Little promises. Only once more.

Aster pulled away when Jonah reached for her shoulder, attempting to explain. “Yeah, I get it.” This was temporary. Best to remain to herself. She’d allowed herself to like them, to start becoming attached. Aster had to protect herself, first. She only half listened to Edgar’s explanation of the test.

All she really needed was a map and location. Everything else was irrelevant. First, the information could be faulty. Taking Edgar at his word could lead to failure. Besides, too much thinking and too many hints made the hunt less fun, and when the hunt became boring, she tended to be lazy.

But she’d exceed in this one, if only to release some of her pent up anger. Maybe some of that training will come in handy. Aster was stronger than she’d been before, more lithe and able to avoid capture. Although she hated physical training, it was useful.

Because even a ghost couldn’t always avoid human contact.

Writing meme question: 2, 7, and 9. (If it isn't too much) :D

Nope, not at all too much :D

2. Is there a trope you’ve yet to try your hand at, but really want to?

...hmmmmmmmmmm...that is a good question, lol. Uh, I’m not necessarily coming up with anything specific? Although I guess there is some stuff that I mostly do in either RP contexts or very private self-indulgent nonsense that it might be nice to treat Properly, so to speak. Things like self-indulgent crossovers and/or AU concepts, random things like wingfic/bonded creatures/etc. (though only in certain contexts and usually fitting those into an otherwise-canon universe), certain H/C tropes...also, not really tropes, but there’s a couple of rarepairs that I’d love to see more of (for which I’d pretty much have to write it myself lol) but either because I’m not sure I have a handle on the character voices involved or just because...pairing-focused stuff is not really where my fic brain lives for the most part, lol.

7. Share a snippet from one of your favorite pieces of prose you’ve written and explain why you’re proud of it.

Oooooh, this is a hard one. Uh. Let’s go with this, from a short story set in one of my original worlds, The Farglass Cycle (previously known as Feredar):

The Audience Hall, at least, seemed to be mirrored rather than clear, other than the dais ahead of her. It gave the impression that Queen Kesshare was floating, rather than sitting, when the light hit her right. As if chairs and floors were for mere mortals, like her consort beside her, not for the iron-hard desert Queen with her dark hawk's eyes and deceptively simple and soft-looking silver gown. She looked like a bronze-gilt statue of a harsh Goddess of the Dead, and Sheminne didn't have to be a performer to know that every aspect of the Queen's clothing, posture, Hall, down to her husband slightly behind her, in shadow, on a more-solid throne, the fact that the cavernous room, with its graceful columns and shimmering floor was entirely empty save for the three of them and a handful of silent bodyguards... It was calculated for exactly that impression of ultimate power and doom.

There are some things I would edit here--I know that my Main Writing Flaw is run-on sentences/overuse and abuse of commas, semicolons, emdashes, ellipses...you name it, I love it. [Hi, we’re the Neverending Sentences, and we’ll be here all night]

...anyway, I’m aware of that weakness of mine, and I think I’d do some more editing here (I wrote this...yeesh, nearly ten years ago; and it sticks out as particularly run-on).

But what I like about this is that...I’m also not super good at description? (Like, for example, the fact that I have yet to describe Dr. Naar in Precipice is not only because I still haven’t made up my mind as to whether he’s Human or Besalisk; it’s also at least partly because fitting in descriptions like that is Awkward and I Don’t Like Doing It, lol).

This is, I think, one of my better efforts at description. It tells you pretty much everything you need to know about Kesshare (who, fun fact, is Not actually the villain in this story; but if other events abroad hadn’t upstaged her, she would absolutely be the villain of another story). And it gives you at least a little bit about the nation she rules (the Kingdom of the City of Glass; usually just referred to as Glass or the City of Glass), and something of its wealth/power/relationship with other nations.

Also, see here for a picture I commissioned of Kesshare awhile ago, mostly using the above passage as a reference, lol. (Kesshare is the top picture; the bottom is Taz, another character from the same story).

((Honorable mention, because they’ve been in my head lately either because characters or topic: a bunch of stuff from our faces like a mirror; both in terms of a few key moments that made Bo-Katan into who and what she became when we the audience meet her in TCW, as well as some things about her relationship with Satine and their respective philosophies; a couple snippets of miscellaneous AU bits (like this one, lol)...but I like this one, and it’s nice to draw attention to some of my original stuff sometimes, y’know?))

9. Which fic has been the hardest to write?

Oooooh, good question. Uh. Different things are hard for different reasons? I don’t think any fic has ever been Super Easy (except actually maybe The Devoted; that one flowed pretty smooth once I really got going). So, I guess...I’ll cycle through some of my other SW longfic projects and quick answer because Why Not:

Precipice has its ups and downs, depending on topic and focus. Arc Six was I think the hardest (despite the fact that Arc Seven has taken For Ever to get out, lol), between I’m not good at Sustained Fluff and Saw is a pain in the butt even if I wasn’t using his POV. (I swear, the next/final chapter Will Be Out Soon; I have...like...3-4 hours of work left on it which I swear I’m not using this meme to procrastinate <.< ...of course, then I have all the sequel/interquel stuff planned lol I’m sure I’ll have more Ups And Downs to complain about in the future)

our faces like a mirror, which I mentioned in the last answer, I’ve been working on on and off for, like, three years; it’s hard to balance Bo and Satine’s points of view without vilifying either; also because there is like zero canon definition of the period I’m writing about, there’s a lot of whitespace to fill in. It’s almost closer to writing original fiction in that way--I mean, I don’t have to do the heavy lifting of worldbuilding, and I am focusing on fleshing out something we have a hint of in canon that drew my attention (i.e., how did these two end up where they were/with such diametrically opposite beliefs/what is/was their relationship as sisters; how did bo-katan survive the mandalorian civil war since she pretty clearly was not with satine and the jedi; how much do their separate experiences during that time affect them/inform their future behavior (spoiler: A LOT)); but a lot of the specific events/storyline and even some of the characterization of these two women is pretty much built from scratch.

Distaff, I got stuck on ‘cause I borked my timeline and also haven’t 100% figured out how I wanted it to end.

The Phoenix; getting into Luke’s head was kind of hard; also the ending feels kind of rushed.

for we are a woven thread; find the strand; figuring out what to do with Obi-Wan’s thread was a little hard, also just...getting through the super downer beginning, lol.

SW2021 big bang: finding the actual Story buried in how the three focal characters connect and what that means for them/the rest of the galaxy. AKA lol what is the Plot.

...I’m not sure that actually answers the question, but it’s something in the neighborhood, at least?

Ask me a fic writer question! (Or, frankly, any question, I like to babble about writing to/at people. My writing discord is pretty quiet but I do that there sometimes XD)

Do all the numbers for the obligatory Tavronica

1) who can outdrink the other?

Onica. Even compared to the other Sifa, Onica handles her liquor really well and generally without being visibly drunk. Tavra on the other hand gets super flushed after a few drinks and starts acting much less reserved than she typically is.

2) who says “I love you” more? 

Onica. This is pretty much canon. She’s slipping ‘I love yous’ and little terms of endearment into her speech whenever she’s talking to Tavra. She’s verbally the far more affectionate partner, and she’s pretty comfortable showing her feelings that way. 

3) who has trouble sleeping alone? 

Tavra. I think that while she probably has no trouble falling asleep she does tend to wake up a lot and struggles with getting back to sleep. When she’s with Onica though, the comfort of another person in bed with her helps keep her relaxed through the night. Onica also knows what tas and incense to use to help Tavra feel calm and drowsy for a good night’s sleep.

4) who swears more?

Tavra! This is also pretty much canon. She’s not afraid to drop an ‘eel feathers’ when the situation calls for it. Even though she’s part of the royal family, she’s also a soldier. Though she’s careful about when and whose company she’s in before letting loose an expletive, she’s far more likely to swear than Onica who frankly doesn’t really swear much at all.

5) who does more of the housework?

Yeah this is 100% Tavra. I really see Tavra and Onica as having very different standards of a ‘clean home.’ Onica is a bit of a hoarder and her space can quickly feel cluttered. Between the herbs she hangs from the ceiling, the candles and incense she uses, and all the trinkets she’s collected through her travels, her space can be a real mess.

But Tavra? She’s used to very neat spaces - royal chambers that look elegant and minimalist, spartan barracks that are bare of everything but the necessities - and it’s pretty likely that she’s used to living out of a backpack or landstrider bag when she’s out doing paladin stuff.

As a result she’s the one tidying up, moving things to their ‘proper place’ and washing floors, windows, dusting, etc. They do respect each other’s habits though and have worked to find a good balance between messy and clean.

6) who forgets their anniversary? 

I’m not really sure that either of them would forget their anniversary. I’m also not sure that either of them would really care about an anniversary.

I think both of them treasure the day they met, though it also carries some sadness with it since that was the day Onica lost her wings. And I think that they treasure the days since when their relationship grew and eventually blossomed into what it is now, but I really don’t think an anniversary is as important to them as those first days of spring and fall when Onica returns to the coast.

7) who steals the duvet in their sleep?

Onica, but not because she’s cold. Tavra just runs so hot that sleeping with blankets and duvets is usually too warm for her. So in the middle of the night she pushes them off and onto Onica who just lays there and lets it happen. She’d much rather cuddle with Tavra though instead of being wrapped in her discarded blankets.

8) who keeps the other awake at night with their snoring?

Neither of them snore so this isn’t a problem.

9) who finds stray animals and begs the other to let them keep them?

Neither. They aren’t really pet people, but they do like animals.

10) who usually makes dinner?

Onica. Though she isn’t much for the cleaning side of domestic tasks she is an excellent cook! The Sifa have access to spices and foods from all over Thra, and their cuisine really reflects that. They are great cooks and Onica is no exception. She also really loves to cook especially for friends or for Tavra when they have the chance to share a meal together.

Tavra can cook too, but her go-to recipes tend to be very utilitarian - meant more to provide nutrients and energy as opposed to flavor, texture, and visual appeal.

11) who plays their music out loud? 

Because of the Dark Crystal’s setting ALL music is pretty much played aloud. However, I think Onica would be more likely to start singing or humming a tune, or even getting a musician to start up a song. We know she’s a phenomenal singer and The Sifa are known for their musicianship and celebratory character. I think Tavra’s a little too reserved for that kind of behavior though. I also think (based on nothing at all) she’s probably tone deaf and rarely sings because of it.

12) who hogs the bathroom? 

Onica. She takes ages in the bathroom. Salt water and ocean winds can be rough on your hair and skin so she spends a lot of time making sure she maintains her soft hair and complexion. She also really enjoys using various lotions and tonics. It’s an act of self care for her to take her time in the bathroom getting ready and feeling good about herself. It’s usually a total mess when she’s done too.

Tavra doesn’t really mind any of this though. It makes her happy that Onica is happy, and she can’t complain about how nice she always smells and how smooth and soft her skin can be. She just wishes that there was space in the bathroom for more than her single bar of soap.

13) who gives the most compliments? 

They both compliment each other quite a lot.

Onica’s pretty free with verbal affection, and complimenting Tavra is part of that. But when she gives a compliment it’s kind of clear that that’s what she meant to do.

Tavra on the other hand, isn’t nearly as verbose and she’s not really the kind to compliment anyone to their face unless it’s a particularly genuine and heartfelt remark. However, she ends up complimenting Onica way more than she actually realizes. She doesn’t realize that’s what she’s doing, because she doesn’t really recognize it as being an opinion. To her it’s kind an objective fact that Onica is an incredibly talented fardreamer, a skilled sailor, a brave person, and a smart, beautiful, wonderful woman. So, while not often, she does end up complimenting Onica in a really matter of fact way thinking that it’s more of a statement of the obvious than anything else.

14) who usually starts/causes arguments between them?

Onica starts waaaay more of their fights. I’ve talked about this elsewhere, but I really think that although Tavra is pretty reserved she is open about her feelings and what’s bothering her. A lifetime of living with Brea and Seladon has honed her ability to let shit go and generally resolve conflict before it gets out of hand.

Onica though? She bottles stuff up like crazy. I see her as being the type who not only feels a lot but struggles to open up about it, even with Tavra. So, she’ll hold on to stuff, and as it continues to simmer below the surface she’ll start getting passive aggressive and irritable. And if Tavra doesn’t pick up on it and force her to talk about it, Onica will eventually have a bit of a meltdown and they have to hash it out from there.

15) who isn’t afraid to embarrass the other in public? 

Oh man. Neither of them would really do this, because they have to be so careful about being seen together.

But actually, Onica. In both Tides and Flames she’s shown to have a bit of a teasing streak and has zero problem playfully (and sometimes not as playfully) embarrassing people. I think in the right setting she gets a real kick out of provoking Tavra and seeing how she’ll react.

16) who gives the other cringeworthy pet names?

Onica, but only when she’s doing the above.

17) who fusses over takes care of the other when they get sick?

Both.

Tavra’s more of a useless fusser. She freaks herself out when Onica is sick and tends to do way too much or pull back entirely as she internally panics. It’s not incredibly helpful either way.

Onica actually provides care and does things to help Tavra feel better.

18) who finds it impossible to stay angry at the other for long?

Tavra. She’s the queen of letting stuff go and keeping a calm head. She really wouldn’t have managed to stay sane living with Brea, Seladon, and their mother otherwise. 

When it comes to Onica she’s always aware that there are so many other things keeping them apart. So, she really isn’t willing to let a grudge, or a fight, or a lingering feeling of frustration/anger be another obstacle in their relationship.

19) who clings to the other for comfort when they’re sad or scared?

Both of them. Although they’re an action couple, unafraid of sailing into a storm or diving headfirst into one, they both have a lot of anxiety about the other one getting hurt. Tavra’s a little more likely to cling, just because she remembers pulling Onica from that storm and how limp and cold she was, how ragged her body looked as her back bled from where her wings had torn almost completely off. Onica also knows how reckless Tavra can be but is better composed (at least on the surface) when she is sad or scared.

Both of them though take great comfort in being able to touch the other, feel that they are safe, and reassure themselves that things are going to be alright.

20) who is more ‘physically passionate’? (hugs, kisses, or maybe more…)

They are both hugely physically affectionate. While Tavra is not the kind to show open affection around others unless she’s afraid (see above) when they’re alone together they are both initiating hugs, kisses, and more...

They’re definitely a good match intimately, and because they’ve been together for so long their physical relationship is probably well explored and continues to evolve.

NOTES FROM WATCHING THE FIRST EPISODE OF “RIVERDALE”

1. Riverdale is a bizarre town that seems cut off from everywhere else, temporally straddled between an eternal 1950’s—more accurately a 1950’s stuck in an endless repetitive loop. But it takes place in the late 2010’s. Even so, the decor in the town is vintage, and the characters recognize this. The activities of the kids are vintage. the internet and cell phones exists, millennials are named, but it doesn’t seem to matter. something is very weird here, as if all these people are ghosts. all the stock scenarios and characters are here, which is to be expected for a teen drama, but there’s an exactness, a literalism, that is too perfect to be unintentional. 2. what is this world? it seems to be a staging of a certain inertia in american culture, which changes in superficial ways—technology, new TV shows, music new taboos—but all if this somehow serves to reinforce, or justify a return to the “leave it to beaver” universe. 3. any reminder that these are modern kids—their frequent references to contemporary TV shows like Mad Men for instance—only serve to increase the spooky vibe. everyone in this town seems to be low key crazy, making the show feel like twin peaks but written by what’s left of your local shopping mall. 4. the show’s script is constantly making fun of itself to the point that we seem directed by it to avoid taking the drama seriously—it is perhaps a smoke screen, like the haze of the presumably northwestern woods that seem to surround the town (it is filmed in Vancouver). the gay best friend is named as the gay best friend, establishing him as a living archaism—i felt bad for him after this. 5. plot points are shown to be cliche—the fake lesbian kiss, once scandalous in the 2000’s, is brushed off as false and an erasure of real lesbians. the script fools us, indicating it means to aim for more intelligent territory. and yet, veronica’s confrontation with cheryl, her tough girl speech, where she reveals her vulnerability as a rich girl fallen from grace but also stands up for betty—this goes without an ironic comment, even thought it is also a cliche, but a more contemporary oneq—the “mic drop” moment. so we see how the naming of particular cliches, employed ironically, serves to hide others the show is earnestly employing. 6. veronica says she needs to be redeemed for her father’s crimes, how is that fair. 7. archie’s desire to make music seems like a stand-in for a recognition that he’s gay. they cover this up by making his character straight but i don’t buy it. because his music itself clearly doesn’t matter. this is similar to the dead poets society where the kid kills himself obviously because he’s gay and he’s afraid his dad will disown him. why? nobody kills themselves merely because their dad shames them for doing theater. the reason is simple: theater is already such a humiliating and abject thing to love that you have to be totally shameless to even start doing it. once you become a theater kid your dad has lost you. in the second episode, the gay friend of betty reveals that he agrees with me here. 8. archie is the decentered center of the show, not a particularly interesting character so much as a holding container for female desire/fantasy. he’s dumb, cute boy who’s kind of artistic and kind of jockish, but the complex psychology belongs to betty, veronica, cheryl so far—all plotting, calculating characters, whereas archie just wants to enjoy himself and be liked—and to be fair, these shallow needs get him in plenty of trouble, but they’re simple needs. but this is always what archie was, even as a comic book character. he’s kicked around like a football like a more jocular charlie brown. 9. archie’s problem is identiied as the problem of "all millenial men", who need to be told what they want—but this is really everyone’s problem. what makes the girls/women different is that they don’t care that they don’t know what they want—they just act on feelings, and try to make the world match up with the feelings. archie thinks he ought to know what he wants, and then do it. but the women, whose desires as women are not even encouraged from day one, are free from this tedious problem. this is why archie is the one who has to be the moral authority regarding his mutual witness to the murder with the hot teacher, while the hot teacher is only afraid people will find out she fucked a student. veronica brushes off archie’s identity crisis as a false dilemma, critiqueing the categories of “jock” and “artist” and insisting he can be both, and anyway who gives a fuck? but this whimsy and indifference toward boundaries can get devious with veronica, who is betty’s friend one second and hooking up with archie the next. 10. although women are still often denied full subjectivity in literature, in real life it’s always been the opposite—men tend to forego personality development in favor of power or the illusion of power, and end up more shallow, rigid and fragile, more prone to the whims of their entourage. they never really have to become anything in particular--masculinity functions like a hive mind. if male relationships superficially appear to have less friction, it is only because men are brutally conformist and end up with little personal to argue about, usually coalescing around some common interest and not prone to discussing their respective inner lives--except, occasionally to defensively deny their existence. so-called "sensitive" men only do this in more devious ways--it's obvious that jughead is the most devious character we've met so far. women, in contrast, are each a hive mind unto themselves, compelled to construct an array of selves, carefully deploying them to get by in a world structured by the male gaze and booby-trapped by the machinations of other women. this complexity is of course terrifying to men who either submit to it as a fetish or suppress it— and one way of accomplishing that suppression in literature is to create stories where the men are supposedly complex and the women supposedly shallow and dependent wholly on men--the typical gaslight job of the mediocre male writer. this is clearly a show that, whatever its other blindnesses, is not going to let that happen. 11. we are told through veronica that archie is more dangerous than he looks. why doesn’t the show want us to figure this out ourselves? this feels ironic on the writers' parts, another winking use of cliche. 12. everyone’s problem is a cliche—archie’s father pressures him to do sports to get into college, he wants to do something else. betty’s mom is controlling and betty is a people pleaser who already in the first episode explodes about how perfect she has to be all the time and can’t she just do something for herself for once? 13. the music is annoying and cloying but it also grounds the contemporary nature of the show, because of its peculiar sense of melodrama, which is endemic to this time period, and the neoliberal overvaluing of the self. 14. the video on this show seems filtered into oblivion, or photoshopped or otherwise conspicuously treated. just like the self-awareness of the script, it contributes to the sense of unreality. 15. more self-aware cliches: archie and betty grew up next door to each other—they’re stuck in a feedback loop of being the ____ next door. cheryl describes herself as the queen on stage at the dance. 16. classic literature is referenced oddly—betty loves toni morrison, even though by the end of the episode, we have been introduced to zero black main characters. is this self-aware critique of white fetishization of blackness? and there's also thornton wilder’s “our town”… veronica suggests that the high school is part of the lost epilogue from “our town”—wilder also presented a transparently fake and timeless town to stage his existentialist story in, one in which horrifyingly, dead people remain in a liminal space between death and life, vainly trying to communicate with the living they can still see. 17. every celebrity/media reference is bizarre. a thin veneer draped over an unchanging reality. "Riverdale" seems not so much about the dark underbelly of suburbia, but about the idea of suburbia is the dark underbelly itself. a murder has to happen because someone has to bring death here, lest everyone become paralyzed by their immortality. 18. archie’s “making a deal” with the hot teacher is way more erotic than anything he’ll do with b or v… why is this happening at the Dance lol, unless we are to read it this way? they have shared the most precious thing in this town, death... why does archie love the teacher and toy with his peers? because they can't give him death. clearly archie is blackmailing the hot teacher into continuing the relationship, but he does so seemingly unaware of his own motives. he lives in the age of youtube tutorials, he doesn't need music instruction. and here is another paradox of the modern gender binary--men think they don't know what they want, but unconsciously they know what they want--they receive their instructions from the Borg Queen of masculinity and pursue it ruthlessly, whereas women end up thinking they know exactly what they want, but unconsciously they don't, because it's fractured amongst their afformentioned hive of selves. This is why both traditonally-socialized genders are completely right in saying the other is full of shit. 19. “we have no past” goes the song josie sings—and maybe this is america’s problem—the past is empty, the past of ordinary suburbia, interrupted only occasionally by wars perhaps but untouched by cultural progress—and because we have no past we can have no present, only an empty recycling of the same void, the same problems, the same catharses—new episodes of the same show. we live forever at the cost of never changing. is riverdale a socially critical prestige drama LARPing in the ironic costume of a CW teen soap??? 20. all the characters are trapped in a carnival haunted house ride. the theme: adolescence. 21. cheryl’s party—brett kavanaugh could have been at this party 22. jughead is the narrator, and i like the idea that this is all in jughead’s head, which is why it’s so unstuck in time aesthetically, so stylized and knowing. and it's no wonder he's the most popular character, because he represents the writers themselves, and fandom is to have an illusion of a privileged relationship not so much with the characters, but with the property's creators--and to be hyperinvested and, if necessary, hypercritical of their choices. 23. the gay hookup is interrupted by the presence of a corpse—a classic trope in teen horror but it’s interesting to see it with a gay pair. it’s as if in the clash between the perpetual 1950’s aura and the contemporary references and morality, a gruesome surplus appears, the specter of homophobia. which, incidentally is a corpse of a man guilty of a sexual act that is still considered taboo—incest. a corpse symbolizes the death of innocence for a hetero couple, but for a queer couple it can’t just be that—it also must evoke the threat of actual murder. which makes this a very different moment. 24. jughead says riverdale has changed—but it has only been revealed to be what it always was—"full of shadows and secrets", as jughead puts it. he must be putting us on—this place is way creepier than Sunnydale, and that place had actual demons… but this is often what a change amounts to—not the addition of a new trait, but the acceptance of one that was already there. 25. jason blossom is a ginger like archie and he therefore seems tied to archie in a unique way. he dies on july 4th, given some fuel to my reading as a show with something to say about america’s self-image. 26. all the parents are single parents or in strained, unhappy marriages in this town. this us realistic, but that should tip us off: what in the show has been realistic so far? debuting in january 2017, "Riverdale" seems retrospectively shaped by the trump era-a teen drama not about the undead, as buffy was, but a teen drama which is itself undead, fitting for a president who also wished to raise the dead, and also what had never lived. riverdale’s preservation of the old “great” america is superficial—indoors, a very contemporary isolation and alienation reign, in contrast even to the desperation of actual 50’s suburbia. 27. is everyone dead already in this show? is riverdale purgatory? is that what explains its being unstuck in time and drenched in fog? but i’ve been to small towns in the northwest that look like riverdale—nothing has been updated since 1954. in order to seem fake, riverdale has to be even faker that real life, even more uncanny—and that’s a tall order.

The Darkest Swordsman

Z: GAFJ have developed D4 from Barabas' horn, a dimension destroying weapon, and have ordered it's installation in King Joe STORAGE Custom, the installation overseen by Yuki Mai. The Maintenance team make clear from the start they are against this, and the main squad are clearly against it as well, and the Director makes clear he is against using D4 as well, but orders have come down, he's not well, and Celebro encounters him. When Kelbim arrives, drawn by the energy at the initial test site, it quickly heads to where the next D4 weapon is, and the Director brings down the orders from on high to use only King Joe STORAGE Custom and make use of D4, even as more Kelbim descend from the sky and hatch. It's pretty obvious what has happened to the Director, but it's not outright shown. In defiance of orders, Hebikura dispatched Haruki in Windom, but even as they take out one another spawns, and Z is forced to come out. As they continue more appear and Yuka detects the Mother Kelbim in space. Z Delta Rise Claw goes to face it, but even as it wins the numbers become to much and Yoko is forced, out of desperation, to use D4. The attack does take out the Kelbim, but the dimensional collapse keeps spreading, only being stopped by Z. Hebikura makes clear he is angry about all of this, and Yuki Mai seems to have ideas about Ultraman's power. But the big this this time is, as every single member of STORAGE, the entire maintenance team lead by Bako, Yuka, Yoko, Haruki and Hebikura defies GAFJ orders, and the entire unit is being dissolved.

Ultra 6 Brothers The Live: I laid actual money to watch this, since it seems to tie into The Absolute Conspiracy. After Nice warms the crowd up, the story introduces us to Baltan Seijin Baruru, a child alone on a world save for his robot friend. Baruru seems to remember his grandfather, but that's it. One day Red King, Hellberus, Astromons and Giestron rampage, and Man, Seven, Zoffy, Hikari and 80 arrive to stop them. Afterwards the brother discuss why the Kaiju are acting out before all but Ultraman leave. He meets Baruru and befriends him before leaving, asking the robot to look out for him, and after it's gone Baruru and the robot plan to plant a flower, when a gang of Valkie Seijin, Magma Seijin and Zarab Seijin arrive, and start beating up Baruru, calling Hellberus back to assist. The Robot, inspired by Ultraman's words, fights back and does a decent job until losing power, but as more Kaiju come the day is saved by the arrival of the Ultra 6 Brothers. Zoffy fights Zarab, Man fights Red King, Seven fights Valkie, Jack takes Giestron, Ace battles Hellberus, Taro deals with Magma. After the brothers win, they save the Robot and leave, Baruru and his companion continue their journey, but in the end Baruru walks away from the robot, which continues the other way with the flower. Absolute Tartarus appears, commenting on a power. After an intermission the plot moves forward, and to an earth in 2020, where Bemstar and Telesdon come down from the sky, and the narrator explains the Devil Splinters, this is followed by Z Alpha Edge's stock footage, the Rise accompanied with a new one for Zero. Zero and Z Alpha Edge face the two Kaiju, then discuss about the Devil Splinters when an effect devices the Kaiju. Zero defeats Bemstar only for Tartarus, who Zero is aware of, to appear and revive Bemstar, and reveal his servant, the adult Baruru, who created the system reviving the Kaiju. Zero and Z are overpowered until Ultraman and Seven arrive and help defeat them. Ultraman recognises Baruru, and Baruru remembers him, Tartarus arrives and explains their plans. Ultraman asks him to stop but he lashes out, and uses the system to revive Zetton and EX Zetton, which overpower the Ultras, before taking them aside and fusing their genes with himself to become a Zetton Baltan Seijin (variants previously appeared in Orb stages, one being a Dark Ring fusion), and join the Zettons in their battle. While the other Zettons take Seven and Zero offstage, Man and Z fight Baruru. Nice comes onstage to guide some audience interaction to power up the heroes here, which brings Seven and Zero back, and the rest of the Ultra 6 Brothers. After a moment where Man and Baruru wordlessly reflect on their past, Nice somehow finds himself faced with Tartarus, who trounces him before the Brothers minus Man pull him away, they then defeat the Zettons. Zero and Z face Tartarus until he decides to leave, but Z pursues. Ultraman and Baruru fight, although really it's just Man trying to remind Baruru of his true self, Baruru wakes up and returns to normal, but Zetton Baltan Seijin still exists on its own, now mindless and Ultraman is injured taking a hit. Zoffy, Ace and Seven take care if it long enough for Baruru to revive Man using his device, and he destroys Zetton Baltan Seijin. Tartarus murders Baruru and calls on Tyrant, which already mostly defeated Jack and Taro, and Man, Zero and Z struggle with, until Nice leads the audience again. Together the Brothers Zero and Z defeat Tyrant. The dying Baruru is shocked by the robots return. Ultraman informs him they're on earth. The robot uses the system to save Baruru, and presents the healthy plant. After sharing some parting words Baruru and his friend leave. The assembled Ultras thank the audience and leave some last words. All in all good, but about as important as those Ultraman Festival Stages or the Final Stages. Also this is pretty clearly pre-Z so I don't know why they didn't just have Z in his initial state.

The Absolute Conspiracy: The highly anticipated event begins. New Generation Heroes was a prequel to Taiga, and featured the first live action appearance of a character previously only seen in a Pachinko machine. Similarly, The Absolute Conspiracy is a prequel to Z and features several characters previously only seen in the Ultraman Festival Stages. There are differences too though. The central villain here is, to my knowledge, wholly original, and while New Generation Heroes was a a single narrative from start to finish, this is a story in 3 "parts", and while New Generation Heroes focused on only the New Generation Heroes, as well as the two most direct mentors to that group, and an Ultra who debuted in the era but is not considered part of the group, here we have quite a diverse group. So we start here in Part 1, starting Ultraman Ribut. In the M78 timeline this would appear to be set sometime in the 1000s of years gap between Mebius and Ultra Galaxy. Cool to see there's a proper OP this time, evidently going to switch up for each part. After our brief appearance by Absolute Tartarus our focus moves to young recruit Ribut, who is working alongside Civilisation Guard Max (original VA), who is one of a number of M78 Ultras who was originally believed to be from his series' universe version of the Land of Light, but since the Zero movies we now know them to be from the main M78 universe, and traveled from there to the timeline of his series. The planet is having it's energy drained by a Maga-Orochi egg, the existence of which is concerning due to the Maga-Orochi being sealed on Orb's earth....by a group of Ultras that included Zero....this might be later in the timeline than I thought. Hellberus might be an indicator Tregear is behind what's going on, he has interfered with several other New Generation Kaiju, but Sran Seijin is the only mastermind we have at the moment. Gudis Cells are infecting Max now, and I presume they want the Maga-Orochi to evolve into something more. We go to Planet Kanon. This is before the event of The Origin Saga, as the Tree of Life is still standing. The present War God, Queen Izana, is also part of the Galaxy Rescue Force, which seems to draw from an old idea from the 70s of a Galactic Federation that Tsuburaya's heroes were all part of, in this instance though the alliance is multiversal. Anyway here we have Sora, making her first appearance outside of stages, she started out as one of the generic Ultras, but now have that armour to stand out. She's accompanying Yullian (new VA) princess of the Land of Light, who is wearing a mantle here for the first time. Leucocyte attacks, which may further point to Tregear, and 80 (original actor) appears to help, until Leucocyte flees. The 80 sequence heavily reminds me of the Ace and Leo Brothers sequences in Ultra Fight Victory, giving the classic Ultra a strong showing before the newer hero takes centre stage. Ribut reports what happened to Zoffy, Taro and Hikari (all have their longstanding VAs) when the other 3 arrive with their own report, giving them a lot to deal with, and establishes the history of Ribut and Sora. They have to create an antibody to Gudis' cells in 3 days or Max is lost, and Ribut is sent to train on K76, where he meets for some intense training Great (New VA) and Powered (Kai's actor Kane Kosugi in English, Kai's dub VA in Japanese).

Saber: Tassel on the phone to somebody, interesting. I've gotten over my issue with Touma's memory from last time, knowing he was friends with Kento and finding Kento was in the memories that seemed to be dreams are different things. It's only natural that Kento is confused, and he decides getting Kamijo to tell him everything is the only option. Apparently the 6 swordsmen being present is reason for Legeiel to step up Megiddo plans using Goblins. Kento and Rintaro argue before the activity starts, Sophia gives Mei a key and heads out, leaving Northern Base to her. Kenzan goes to face one Megiddo, while Buster's mission to face another is interrupted by Desast. Rintaro and Kento argue about duty to Sword of Logos when Kento is called by Reika to where Sophia is confronting Caliber. Saber arrives at another Goblin. Sophia is trying to get explanations from Kamijo when Kento and Rintaro appears. Kento asks if the worst possible scenario is true before confronting Kamijo, Espada and Kamijo clash, Slash joins Saber and lends Bremen no Rock Band, when Zooous arrives to face Slash. Caliber claims he cut down Hayato for being a traitor, while calling himself a seeker of truth, Espada uses Golden Alangina and pushes Blades out the way. Kento gets a good hit in, and Caliber decides to use Jaou Dragon, becoming Caliber Jaou Dragon. While they fight Sophia suddenly vanishes. Mei uses the key an unlocks the screen, and Saber uses Dragon Bremen to defeat his Goblin as Kenzan does the same. Unfortunately, this is exactly what Legeiel, Zooous and Desast wanted, opening gates of Fire and Wind. Caliber overpowers Espada on the end, and tries to make the killing blow, but Blades takes it, and Rintaro is in critical condition. I think Kento's probably going to act less rashly now. Tassel has a guest, and I have an idea who. I might be wrong.

Kenshin Retsuden: This time we have an episode of Kenzan, listed as being "another side" of episode 9. Ogami and Ren are both looking for Caliber when Ogami realises Sophia is about to do something reckless. Desast, who is looking for Caliber to reclaim his book, confronts Ren and mocks him on the nature of ultimate power, Ren showing some serious might makes right thoughts, before leaving, thinking something about him afterwards about Ren's nature. Ogami saves Sophia as in the episode, but afterwards Sophia comments that Kento will be hurt regardless of who Caliber is, opening Ogami's eyes to the possibility of someone else behind the mask.

Kiramager: Whatever it is the guy wants to say to Sayo, he's clearly nervous. Sayo has gone into the dinner with certain expectations, but isn't sure how she feels quite yet. The team tries to let her keep the evening for her date. While the team is busy, she really wants to hear it at least. Garza's plan is to unleash multiple Jamenju, which Riddle Kamen is making plenty of energy for. As for Sayo, it's not like she doesn't like the dude, but she won't know until he says it, but I like how everyone is just desperate to know more. Sayo solves the riddle but doesn't tell the others what it is. Garza is bending Hakobu to his will. While it appears what Kusaka had in mind was something different, Sayo gets straight in to helping him. I am a little disappointed that we're having a marriage would mean quitting being a ranger plot for a female in fucking 2020, but that doesn't matter because turns out, surprise, Kusaka was working with Yodonna. Garza is off to eliminate Oradin. Sayo still protects him, but any chance of anything more is done for, but she still entrusts him with warning CARAT. To be fair about the marriage plot, Sayo herself had every intention of making it work, and there is the whole surgeon thing giving it more justification here than in other plots. I like how we have this goofy scene of Juru making Riddle Jamen answer a riddle of his own interspersed with the fairly serious drama of the Sayo plot. Garza has arrived in Atamald, the plant is sprouting, and 3 Jamenju arrive.