#[ which is something he happens to have in common with sonia ]

[more-than-a-princess]

The very audible 'thump' distracted Sonia from the gripping conversation with Bacchus. He was a good-natured fellow, and it spoke well to Eira's own judge of character to hire him. But nevertheless, Eira found it fit to remind them both exactly whose condo they were in. "Oh, it's vodka then?" She beamed at both Eira and the bottle. "But Eira-san, if we are to both celebrate your successes and the life of our dead mouse friend, would it perhaps be more prudent to open a bottle of champagne? I can send Henri out for some, as Bacchus is here and my family would entrust me into his care if necessary."

If only due to the fact that what King Alexandre and Queen Valentina thought of Eira Kestrova, popular idol with a strict schedule and diet she adhered to, was that they hoped she would rub off on Sonia. Maybe encourage her to adopt some normal hobbies and cull some of her spontaneity with common sense and rational discipline. Instead, Sonia chose to take Eira to haunted motels and give dead rodents found in her apartment a proper funeral. Or at least, she'd have to entrust the latter to Bacchus.

In any case, she hoped she'd bring over multiple glasses. Drinking alone was for when one was suffering, not when one had company over. "I suppose if you wait another year it is not so bad, to put your career first," Sonia conceded, giving her a small frown. "But Eira-san, do you want to find a partner? It is, of course, not a requirement in life to so. Unless you are me, I suppose: that is a duty I am bound to."

But not one she wanted to dwell over, not in the presence of friends and a small animal life to honor. And comments regarding biting. Bacchus joked, but Sonia gave a sage, understanding nod in return.

"I think there are two kinds of people in the world, mostly," She began, as if she were giving the most valuable wisdom she could ever possibly pass on. "Those who like to bite, and those who enjoy being bitten." A pause, and a smirk towards Eira. "Well, now I know which one you fall into. There is nothing wrong about being feisty where men are concerned: it shows you shall never settle for someone who does not make you feel completely at ease, safe, and happy."

Something she hadn't felt in a relationship in ages, but that wasn't a factor in this conversation. Sonia raised an eyebrow to the suggestion of pebble throwing. "But what if they accidentally scratch, or worse, break a window? Especially if the glass paneling is decades, if not over a century old," She remarked, of actual problems she had to worry about back in her own country. The most modern building her family owned in Novoselic was the ski chalet, and that was nearly fifty years old as it was.

"It really should be me if a vampire is going to have an infatuation with one of us, though," Sonia pretended to pout, "But if happens as such that you have one completely in love with you, do ask if he has a brother that I may meet." Another thoughtful pause, and a smile. "Or a sister. I would be quite interested in either."

The rhythmic whine that leaves Eira follows such a chord progression it could be the opening of another single. Not a hit. But certainly characteristic and capturing her feelings. Frustration. Helplessness. It's a feeble lilting whine as she does a half spin in the kitchen. The maneuver leaves her at the refrigerator, which she pulls open to extract from it a bottle of vodka.

It makes less noise than desired when she thumps it onto the counter. Her grip lingering on the stem of the glass bottle as she leers over at her employed guardian and her best friend. Having quite the giggle (and Bacchus was giving a sort of giggle) at her expense.

"This is getting used tonight. And what comes of me as a result has only you two to blame. I hope you understand that. Mmmnnnn!!!" Another whine. "There's no boys or men or anything else in my life. I happen to be fond of my contracts and any of those pursuits can certainly wait another year for me to graduate."

Eira pouts, now going through an internal debate on whether to grab small glasses or to simply take the bottle to up the dramatics of this.. gesture. Bacchus seems unconcerned, so long as she was staying at home she wouldn't get up to too much trouble. And besides, with Sonia around surely it wouldn't go too wild.

The man smiles, finally (finally) picking up the box with the mouse, checking the lid and unabashedly snorting at the inoffensive corpse before tucking it under his shoulder.

"Yes mm yes. But unlike vampire I think it will be miss Eira doing any biting! She's always been so feisty about the boys, but it's less trouble for me. Less reason to check windows. Her fans are not great climbers, either."

The idol scoffs, her arms crossed indignantly.

"Anyone climbing up to my window is getting shoved out the way they came. Such an invasion of privacy. Throwing pebbles or something, isn't that the way they do it in those old movies to get attention? I'll take that kind of middle ground." She grumbles, having one of those 'in the moment' realizations that maybe it could be enjoyable. "Ugh. But that's not quite as feasible when we're this many floors up, so it really would be a damn vampire to appear." She pauses.

"OF WHICH THERE IS NONE! I'M NOT DATING AN UNDEAD! OR ANYONE!"

[causalitylinked]

𝐀 𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆, 𝐀 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐈𝐄𝐑 𝐎𝐑 𝐀 𝐏𝐎𝐄𝐓

            THE KING.

"There will come a ruler Whose brow is laid in thorn Smeared with oil like David's boy" Duty. Strength. Resignation. You were told to do things and you did them. The world is something that was put into your hands and that you must deal with - so you will. You have a rigid back and steady hands, either metaphorically or physically. Is it nature or nurture ? You don't know. You are tired of being steady. You dream of feeling alive. Not that you aren't, but, sometimes, it's hard to remember that there is a heart between your ribs. Your love is where you breathe. ( Come on, breathe. In. Out. It starts now. )

TAGGED BY: @maplewtch​​ ( thank you very much for tagging me! <3333 )

TAGGING: @paenseo​ / @hyggeligte​​, @dis--parity​​, @reevateiru​​, @cantillat​​, and whoever else might like to do this!

[hyrule-in-a-pokeball]

A BIG OL' GANONDORF THEORY (TOTK)

This gonna be a long one, kids

I've just got a bunch of thoughts on Ganondorf. I'll categorize them or something

GANONDORF CAUSED HYRULE'S UNIFICATION A great war of some kind has been mentioned a few times in Zelda canon. most notably in OoT. 9 years before the events of OoT kick off, a great war comes to an end, but not before orphaning a baby who gets adopted by a tree. 9 years after this war, the leaders of the Gorons and Zoras consider the King of Hyrule to be a close friend, with the leader of the Gorons even considering him an honorary brother. With OoT being erased, why is this important? Because the legend that is OoT is based on the historical fact shown in TotK. Real events that were embellished and re contextualized over time. Well, here's what the legend tells us about history... At one point in time, Hyrule was divided. Each race seemed to be a different kingdom, but there didn't seem to be any tension among them. But then something happened that forced them to unite. Or rather...

Someone Ganondorf has always been bent on ruling Hyrule, but I think his invasions weren't targeted solely on the land of the Zonai/Hylians, but also the lands of the Gorons, Zora, and Rito. Basically all the lands that aren't a barren wasteland. He probably planned to take over each region and unite it all under one glorious Gerudo banner. Alone, they may have all had trouble fending off the Gerudo army. I believe that with a common and very powerful enemy in the form of the Ganondorf-lead Gerudo, King Rauru was able to convince the Gorons, Rito, and Zora to unite with him under a single Hyrulean banner, thus creating the unified kingdom of Hyrule and forming a solid, united opposition to the Gerudo invasion.

GANONDORF'S STONE ENHANCED FORM

We skip forward in time a little. The war has ended and Ganondorf is swearing fealty to King Rauru, but thats just so he can get in and move about freely without suspicion even though he's the world's most suspicious looking man. It works though. He kills Queen Sonia and steals her sacred stone, the power awakened from which causes him to transform

The sacred stones, as explained, do not give powers to their holders, but instead greatly amplify powers that were already present. But what they ALSO don't do, is cause a physical transformation in their users. None of the other stone holders were shown to change form when using the power of their stones. And its not like his stone was extra special. It was literally the same stone Sonia was using. So why did Ganondorf change form when he came into possession of one?

Because his power is not his own.

While Zelda inherited her powers from her ancestors through blood, Ganondorf inherited his as a result of being the product of Demise's cheeky curse. While Demise is dead and gone, his power lives on in Ganondorf, and so it was Demise's demonic powers that were amplified by the stone. As a result, Ganondorf's form changed to reflect those demonic powers.

But that might not be all that changed. You see, after his demonic powers awakened, his goal changed a bit. While he was still hell bent on ruling Hyrule, he now also wanted to wipe out every living person within the kingdom, supposedly to replace them with the monsters he summoned, and "Cast the world into eternal night" He even turned on his own people, the Gerudo, as in the scene in which Rauru grants the soon-to-be-sages their sacred stones, Ruto states "We just received word that the last free village in the Gerudo desert has fallen..." So the demon king's armies were attacking everyone indiscriminately on his command. I think he truly became a demon, and possibly something in his psyche changed as a result.

THE 8TH SAGE

Those who hold Sacred stones were deemed sages. Zelda and Sonia were the sages of time. Rauru, reflecting his roll in OoT, was the sage of light. Nabooru was changed from the sage of spirit to the sage of lightning. Darunia was the sage of fire, Ruto; the sage of water, and Mineru was the sage of spirit. Saria and "forest" being completely replaced by a nameless Rito and the element of Wind. Sonia dies, so the sage count is 7.

When the stone bonded to its holder, stylized Japanese kanji would appear on it. This is most visible with Nabooru/Riju's stone

Its up-side down and partially wrapped around the stone itself, but that is the Kanji "Kaminari" meaning "Lightning"

When Ganondorf steals Sonia's stone, the kanji for time "Toki" disappears and is replaced with this

Its side ways and partially obstructed by his hand, but when he uses his power, we see the symbol flash in its proper orientation

Yami. Darkness. (funnily enough it also means "Gloom")

If holding a secret stone makes one a sage, then Ganondorf is the sage of Darkness, a being in direct opposition to Rauru; the sage of light

[head---ache]

Edit: Added Spades + Some links.

Character charts!!

This is kind of a long post btw.

I kind of want to add a bit of information about the kids that didn't seem relevant enough to add to their charts but I still would like you all to know, and I prefer to have all that information in one place.

Emmie: She's now officially the one and only Tube Baby of the group!!! I imagine Tails will later use the big fucking tube in his lab, just not for any of the kids in this group (here's a bit of context for how this happened) (Another short explanation here).

Just to quickly mention it, her full name is Emily, however, everyone in her life just calls her Emmie, because, according to her, 'it goes with her vibe' (first talked about here).

She has Black Arms DNA, and although it's uncertain how it affects her, they (Emmie and her dads) know she has green Black Arms blood (shown here) and has access to the hivemind, which as a baby she used to communicate with Shadow (here), but as she grew older she stopped using it, and now finds it harder to access to it.

She also, of course, has Chaos Energy. She can perform Chaos Control (in this one) and turn Super (that second thing they don't know until she's a teenager, shown in this comic). She also has all the abilities Sonic and Shadow share (such as spindash).

Sparks: Like I've said before, Sparks is a Belly Baby, Blaze carried (here's context)

Sparks has fire powers, similar to Blaze's, though they find it a bit harder to control. They get Blaze and Espio's help to learn to use said powers, since they require a lot of concentration. Also, again, like Blaze, they can turn into Burning Sparks (here), but that form is more unstable and drains their energy pretty fast.

I am also taking this space to clarify this about the entire family (including Tulip). Since Blaze is a princess, Amy, Sparks and Tulip do acquire royalty related titles, however, they're very informal and don't hold that much power, since Blaze didn't want them to have any responsability simply because they're related to her. So they're royalty just by name.

Lash: Another Belly Baby, your local surprise baby representation.

Like is said in her chart, her main ability is acrobatics. She also has some sort of super speed but she doesn't rely much on it.

It's not said in her chart but she has both mommy and daddy issues and is often at Aim's house. The first time she stepped into that home and Tangle and Whisper welcomed she immediately felt glued to that family (here).

Aim: I finally decided that he's also a Belly Baby, mostly because the timing didn't add up, since him and Emmie are the same age and there's only one Baby Making Tube.

Like it says in their chart, he does archery, which is his main fighting technique, however, during battle they also use their tail to move around faster (otherwise he just keeps it under his cloak) and teams up with Whisper's wisps in very rare occasions.

He does not speak, unlike Whisper who simply speaks quietly. Aim doesn't speak at all, but everyone around him eventually just finds a way to understand him (because I think it's funny). He very usually is the braincell carrier of the group.

Bria: Bria's a Belly Baby as well, it just felt like something Sonia would want.

They don't have any special ability, but they did learn martial arts as a way of self defense, consdering the group of people she often is surrounded by.

Even though Bria's hard of hearing, his biggest passion is music (over being a hero). She plays piano and guitar.

He's also the extrovert of the group. The loudest and friendliest there is. (Should I also add they're Emmie's cousin?)

Tulip: I was a bit more indecisive with him, but in the end I decided to also make him a Belly Baby, because otherwise it felt weird for that to be the one thing he has in common with Emmie. (In-universe explanation here!)

He hasn't shown any special ability yet -he's the youngest of the group though, being only ten years old-, so he isn't allowed to be around the other kids when there's danger, however, he's very sneaky and often gets things to work in his favor anyways. He does have an interest in tarot though, thanks to Amy, and he also shows to have an impressive intuition.

When he's not around Sparks he is often found next to Big, probably complaining to him about something.

Destiny: One and only Code Baby!! She's basically made from the same programming as Nicole, but more advanced and sophisticated.

Being an AI herself, she can hack robots and similar things, which helps during battle. They can also get into anyone's computer if they want to (they rarely do).

She usually takes the leader role very naturally, immediately making a plan on the spot and guiding the rest of the group. However, she's quite shy (even while being an extrovert. This forms a bit of a problem for her, wanting to be around people but being too shy to do it). Her more confident side mainly showing when assuming the role of the leader.

Spades: She's a belly baby just because of the timeline, there simply wasn't a way without changing her age to make it make sense for her to be a Tube Baby -and I like her being 16-. Unfortunately I backed myself into a corner here JSKDJSKFJWKFKS I don't have many details on how she came to be because, guess what!! There's no real way for her to be the way she is the way I want it to happen:]]] So let's just use our imagination and say that it's possible for two guys to have a kid who's biologically related to both of them because this is a world where magic color changing hedgehogs are a thing so this isn't super crazy, okay? Okay.

Like I said in this post, Spades has trajectory manipulation, so basically she will never miss her target, and can move away whatever is thrown at her, al that's pretty handy:] She also trains with Espio, so she has a lot of his abilities -which is why in her chart it says 'ninja but not really'. She doesn't really want to be a ninja but has many of the skills.

She's the mom of the group!!! And the braincell carrier. She is very sweet and caring, but also quiet and calculating. Her strategy is the best, and her stoic appareance makes her look a bit threatening, but she's actually a total sweetheart!!

Also about swimming!! She really likes it because she fines it relaxing. You can't hear anything underwater so she likes to close her eyes and just swim around.

She gets along with everyone in the group, but is usually hanging out with Aim and Lash:)

And that's it for the individual kids!!

Here's some other links of interest:

-1. Character reference sheets for all the fankids, including a height chart.

-2. A bit about Emmie's inhibitor rings.

-3. A bit more about how Emmie came to be.

-4. Voice claims!!!

[real-fire-emblem-takes]

Alright Mod Goldmary. You said you'd be fine with this, so here I am, super indulgent AUs in hand: The main one I've been procrastinating working on for years now is The Rose of Belhalla, a Sleeping Beauty AU for FE4 Gen 1. The premise is that Cigyun confided how Victor was abusing her to Kurth, leading to a series of events ending in Victor offing himself (like in canon) and Kurth marrying Cigyun. Cigyun ends up dying in childbirth (sorry). In this Jugdral, it's common to invite the family's patron dragon to bless the first holy blooded child, so Kurth and Azmur throw a grand party and invite Naga. Just as she's about to bestow her blessing on Deirdre, Manfroy shows up and gives her a curse from Loptous himself: She's to die after pricking her finger on a rose's thorn. Naga then modifies the curse so that Deirdre will fall asleep instead of die, and her true love (I wonder who that could be) will wake her with a kiss. Deirdre is sent to live with her grandmother for protection. When she's about twelve or thirteen, she starts having dreams in which she meets another kid named Sigurd. Years later, they make a chance meeting, and after an attack from Sandima, Deirdre learns she is a princess and is taken back to Belhalla.

I actually meant to update the fic, uh, well, three years ago. But between getting a part time job and a bachelors degree as well as ADHD and stress has basically combined into a procrastination smoothie for me. I also realized that the original plot I had was super convoluted. I'm still trying to work that part out. But Deirdre is going to get to explore what it means to be a princess, as well as make friends with Edain, Lex, Tailitu, and Azelle. Arvis gets to scheme but still be genuine to his new sister. Sigurd gets to be Sigurd. And everyone gets to go to a ball at the end that definitely won't end up almost being a death trap. Once it's over, there's still a few loose ends. There's the Crisis in Agustria, Quan's severely needed vibe check, and Edain finding Brigid. I'd like to do some follow ups for those someday, but I don't know if they'll happen.

I've got some more ideas for AUs I wanna write. One of them would be an Eliwood/Ninian retelling of the Little Mermaid. Ninian and Nils would be half mer instead of half dragon, and they'd know Nergal was their father since they're with him. Ninian would save Eliwood while he and his crew are escaping from the Dread Isle. She knows he and his friends are her father's targets, so she makes a deal with Sonia. In exchange for her voice, she gets legs-- but only until the end of the summer. Sonia must sense Ninian has a crush because she adds a caveat: If she can make Eliwood fall in love with her by the deadline, she gets the ability to go back and forth between mer and human. Now, I don't know why Sonia would go behind Nergal's back like that, but that's a problem for later. Maybe he's in on it? I dunno.

Then there's the Phantom of the Opera FE4 AU, which is pretty self explanatory, as well as maybe a Seliph/Tine Cinderella AU that takes place years after the Sleeping Beauty AU. Though that would mean something has to happen to Azelle and Tailitu, so I don't know if I want to! Recently I got ideas for crossovers between games as well: Lucina and the kids time traveling too far back and ending up in the second holy war, and the First Gen of FE4 somehow ending up in Fodlan for those awesome Arvis and Edie interactions. If I ever get to writing my original story, these might not happen. I'm not sure what the legal stance on published authors publishing fanfics is, but who knows. Anyways, if you want any more updates, follow my writing blog @talesfromthespiritforest. I made it since my main is a big ol' untagged mess. It doesn't get updated often, though. Any feedback or suggestions are appreciated! :)

👀

[sunshinereddie]

ok so i watched another hallmark movie last night. it was ‘one royal holiday’ and. OBVIOUSLY NOW I HAVE A REDDIE HC BASED ON IT. 

au where eddie is a prince, and he and his mother, the queen, are visiting derry, a small town in maine for business. except before they can get back home, a huge snowstorm traps them in the city and they’re unable to get home. they’re panicking, trying to figure out what to do, how to get home, where to stay... when a helpful citizen overhears their panicked conversation, and offers to help.

richie tozier’s always had trouble minding his own business and keeping his mouth shut, and while usually that lands him in trouble, this time he suspects that maybe it can help. but technically, this time it’s kind of not his fault, considering how loudly the woman in the coffee shop is complaining about their flight home getting cancelled and having nowhere to stay. the young man with her (who richie presumes to be her son), tries to reassure her that it will be fine, that they’ll come up with something, but the worried look on his face leads richie to think that the man believes otherwise. 

so richie steps up, interrupts their conversation, and offers a solution. he tells them that his parents run an inn in town, only five minutes away from the coffee shop, that it’s a wonderful place to stay, and that his family would be more than happy to welcome them while they figure out their travel arrangements. 

the queen does not like this one bit. after all, they’re royalty, she and her son certainly cannot be spending time in an inn, which would be riddled with commoners and absolutely not up to royal standards. she’s about to firmly reject richie’s offer... but her son speaks up before she can. 

“that would be wonderful,” eddie says, his smile wide as he looks at richie, a smile that the young prince does not often wear. 

richie smiles back, completely unaware that he’s currently talking to royalty, and tells them to follow him down to the inn, that he’ll personally help them get settled in. 

cue eddie and sonia staying in the tozier family inn, and while the queen spends most of her time up in her suite, as far away from these “normal people” as possible, eddie finds himself spending as much time as he can with richie, who makes him laugh, who treats him like a regular person (even after finding out who he really is), and who makes eddie feel a way that he’s never felt towards another person before... a feeling that eddie cannot get enough of. 

richie knows that falling in love with a fucking prince is a terrible idea. he knows that he should have stopped things the second he started to get that sweaty palms, weak in the knees, butterflies in the stomach feeling whenever he looked at eddie. he knows that he’s setting himself up for nothing but heartbreak. but...

when eddie looks at him, with a smile that makes richie forget about every single bad thing in the world, and when eddie laughs at his unfunny jokes like it’s the most hilarious thing he’s ever heard, and when eddie chooses to sit next to him at dinner, and when eddie looks into richie’s eyes after eds slips on some ice and richie catches him... well, richie can’t stop his heart from falling. 

eddie’s just as aware that what they’re doing is dangerous. that something like this could never work out, that his mother would never approve, but... he’s never met anyone like richie before. he’s never felt this way before. he’s never felt... this happy before. he knows that he and his mother will only be here until the snowstorm clears up, that the moment it’s safe to fly again they’ll be on their private jet back home, and that he’ll probably never see richie again. 

but for now, as richie bakes cookies and makes hot chocolate for eddie and tells eddie stories that make him laugh and takes his hand every time they step outside to “make sure the royal prince doesn’t fall and hurt himself!”, eddie tries not to think of what will happen when the snow clears. he’s perfectly happy right now. 

[uneasedregrets]

On the Specter of Korok Forest

The following are records of a phenomenon reported over the millennia in the northern reaches of Hyrule, specifically surrounding the Great Hyrule Forest. Reports seem to indicate that a ghostly figure wearing ancient armor often appears within the confines of the forest, appearing but rarely interacting with the living. Some stories speak of the specter protecting those who get lost in the woods from monsters, but these are outliers. Some folklorists connect this specter to another folktale, that of the Golden Wolf of the Great Forest.

It should also be noted that both the specter's and the wolf's appearances line up fairly close with the recovered journals of the Hero of Twilight and the reigning queen during the Twilight Crisis, some millennia ago. Skeptics have used this point of similarity to dismiss it as the common folk desiring to see something unique and interesting, so they make themselves believe a broken branch in the distance was the Hero's Shade.

The first record of their being a shade within the Great Hyrule Forest emerges during the second founding of Hyrule by the zonai king Rauru. There were multiple reports from the common folk that there was some type of ghostly demon that walked through the forest; reports that Rauru and his Hylian queen, Sonia, took very seriously. They entered the forest no fewer than five times and, while they did find demons to seal within shrines of light, the reports of the ghost kept coming back every few years.

Strangely, it was before Hyrule's second founding that the sightings of the golden wolf took place, though these stories state the wolf could be seen anywhere from Zora's Domain to Koholit Island. Much like the Specter of Korok Forest, the wolf was never caught on camera and those who attempted to approach caused the wolf to disappear. Some folktales from around this time (which survive to this day thanks in large part to the Gerudo folklorist Ouranu) speak of how those with pure hearts, such as children, could approach these beings and be led to some treasure or another, though the details of what one must do to be rewarded with this treasure vary wildly from story to story.

In times of conflict, it is said that the Specter will emerge from the depths of the Great Hyrule Forest and fight against the forces of evil. There are several eyewitness accounts of this happening, though photographic evidence is spotty at best. During the Second Imprisoning War against Ganondorf, it is said that the Specter singlehandedly protected an entire fort filled with civilians and wounded soldiers. When the battle was over, it disappeared before anyone could approach. During the Second Great Calamity, it was reported as taking down several dozen guardians so people could safely escape. Those two accounts are the most solid evidence we have that the Specter is not a mere folktale, though many questions still remain. Who was the Specter in life? Why does it persist after death? Can anything be done to allow its tortured soul to pass on?

The most intriguing part (to this researcher, at least) is the unparalleled swordsmanship the Specter is supposed to have. In the folktales it is common that those who can impress the Specter will be given special training that takes their ability with their weapon of choice to a level unseen before. In the accounts of it fighting monsters, the specter is able to hold off an entire army with only a few weapons: a goron sized sword, a bow, bombs, and strange bombs that move in a jagged line for several feet or until touching something with its rodent-like nose, upon which it explodes.

This furthers the connection to the mythical Hero's Shade from the Era of Twilight. It was he that taught the chosen hero from that time his numerous combat techniques. According to legend, the Hero's Shade would appear to that hero as a golden wolf to guide him to special areas where he could be taught the sword techniques that would go on to kill the mythical Ganondorf- something that even the mythical Hero of Time could not achieve.

There are rumors that our hero, Link, was trained by the Specter of Korok Forest. His impeccable swordsmanship must have come from somewhere, and everyone knows of the hero's connection to the Korok Forest; the same forest that lends itself to the Specter.

[the-ultimate-muses]

@hopes-memorial cont. from (X)

It wasn't often Gundham allowed himself to relax in such a way, near three sheets to the wind like he was. What had started as a small group of students hanging around the far end of the courtyard had quickly grown into a party of sorts, more than likely thanks to Ibuki with Kazuichi no doubt strung along to carry and set up the means for music. Like a puppy, that one was.

Gundham was only there because Sonia had wanted to check it out, though he knew it was more for his benefit than her desire to party. She did wish to party of course, as any teenage girl would, but it was previous concern about his 'whack-ass social life' that he suspected got him roped in along with her.

He had only intended to stay for short time, enough for Sonia to be inevitably swept away by a few classmates of theirs, thus allowing him the chance to slip away.

And then Ibuki had brought him a bottle of cinnamon whiskey, like she knew his plan, and well...it would be rude to turn down such a kind gesture...

Just over half a bottle later, he found himself in the dorms commons, a handful of students deciding drunk Mario Kart was a good idea, and Gundham had simply trailed along behind them. Talk about being a puppy.

How long it had been, he didn't know, Gundham's attention having been on his Devas for some time now as they used him like a jungle gym where he sat on the floor off to the side. At the voice, he turned with a smile, of which grew into a grin upon seeing it was Amai. "Jum-p! He fell asleep in my hand...." Something that happened literally every day. "He is so small, so precious...have you seen him?" Literally everyone has, hamsters upon someone's shoulders while out and about hard to ignore.

[thelediz]

Sonic Underground episode 35: The Big Melt

I’m watching Sonic Underground in search of inspiration to finish a fic I’ve been writing forever. It’s a sad state of affairs. See the recap of the first three episodes here, if you're interested!

The Plot (for want of a better word): Robotnik’s forces are trying to melt the Polar Ice Caps to cover Mobius in water! Can the Sonic Underground save the world, or will Sonic drown under the pressure?

Sorry. Had to do it.

Quick note. This episode has some serious dubbing issues, and whoever was on the localisation animation apparently spent the entire time writing ‘Queen Sauna’ and none on actually fixing the rest of the episode for English. This is the only episode I have noticed this on, but it’s very, very obvious that this was originally a French cartoon.

It’s a bit of an unusual start to this one, which implies it’s A Dramatic Episode (it’s really not). We open with some unknown Resistance Members watching Sleet and Dingo from afar, before cutting to Aleena’s monologue over the triplets relaxing on a beach, and immediately throwing THE SONG in to get it out of the way.

The Song: Fun in the Sun. Beach Boys with the serial numbers barely filed off and no bothers given.

IF YOU WANTED you could see an homage to the Sonic OVA, with Sonic watching over his sunglasses as Manic rides the waves on his hoverboard.

But then Sonia appears in a panic to report the what the Resistance saw. The boys complain (to the point of a proper tantrum from Sonic…), because Sonia is the driving force of the Sonic Underground once again. But of course she easily guilts them into it with a scowl and they head off, and we accept that sure was a five minute character spot before the plot can properly kick off.

This sets a theme for this episode.

Robotnik reveals his plot is to melt the ice caps so Mobius floods, specifically to annoy Sonic. And I mean… sure, Robotnik, you do you, but there’s short sighted and there’s SHORT SIGHTED. There is a reason I quietly headcanon him as going crazy from chaos radiation when he’s on Mobius.

Sonic’s whining about the cold is very annoying, and Sonia rightfully calls him out on it. She also mentions that it’s warmer than you would expect the ice caps to be (-20 Celsius, which is not really that uncommon for the Antarctic coast, which can get up to positive 10 degrees in the summer, but that’s a random trivia fact I just happen to know and honestly, self...). Manic, in another of his rare shows of insight, suggests that Robotnik is trying to melt the ice caps, and is promptly disregarded. This insight is not commented on later.

There’s a big long action scene where Sonia is split up from the boys, both carried away by melting ice on boiling waves. The boys are taken off into the ocean (egh, I’m sure they’ll be fine and this won’t feed Sonic’s aquaphobia at all, don’t even worry about it) while Sonia ends up stumbling across the Resistance hideout (and some Three Stooges knock offs that immediately recognise Sonia as royalty), and we can get this plot on the road. Kind of.

The penguins think Sonia is the reincarnation of their past Queen Sauna (-side look-) who is prophesised to return and make the Polar Ice Caps into a warm paradise. This will never be explained.

It’s that kind of an episode.

Meanwhile, Sonic and Manic are rescued from drowning in boiling water by Robotnik’s submarine surfacing underneath them, so they can learn what’s going on and get in trouble. But thankfully Sonic gets them out of it just as easy. And now he’s got enough momentum to run across water or something because he’ll be find moving around from here on out super easy. So that sure was a scene.

Now, the penguins are upset because ‘their queen’ is melting their city, but Sonia points out she’s going to need her brothers to stop the melt. She calls them with music (this is the third time this has worked in this series. I feel like it should have been a bit more of a common theme, but we take what we get) and after Manic points it out, they report for duty, and the penguins realise Sonia’s not their queen. Apparently their prophecy never mentioned siblings. -vague shrug-

Seriously. This episode has SUCH a weird rhythm. There are all these tiny scenes, almost like someone was storyboarding cool visuals and then added the script afterward. The weirdly elongated action scene earlier was one, and then they have this random three second scene of the triplets and penguins sliding down into the Resistance base, and then this joke about Sonic drilling twenty-something holes through walls to find Robotnik’s machine (the joke is him insisting his sense of direction is perfect, which… one could make something of that, and how it shouldn’t be a joke because this is a guy who can and has jogged around the world in hours and rarely seems to get lost)(but one will not, because one has better things to make too much of)(why one is speaking like this, one does not know), and then they have a scene where Sonic comes back, reports many lasers so they can wonder what they’re going to do, only for him to immediately pop back in and take out the lasers. I mean… it’s just… Did you not have enough script for the episode or something?? Throw a few more scenes of Sonia getting pampered, or explain why the penguins have a statue of her lookalike, something! I feel like I can't settle into any of these scenes!

They end the conflict with an equally weirdly timed thing, Sonic advising Sleet and Dingo they should run while Sonia and Manic set explosives, and then there’s a montage as they escape and tell Robotnik and… it’s really, really weird.

Like, not even the usual weird, it’s just… weirdly artistic for this series? It's odd.

This episode is ODD.

But everyone gets out, and now Sonia, Manic, and the penguins are relaxing in the warm water, and they end the episode by teasing Sonic about his aquaphobia.

Cool. Cool, cool, cool.

You guys did such a good job of dealing with it before, but cool…

So… so, sometimes, shows do something odd, and you’re like… there was definitely something going on behind the scenes here that caused this to be created. Sometimes it’s a poorly disguised pilot, sometimes it’s one of the actors trying their hand at directing or writing or arthouse theatre. Sometimes you wonder if maybe this episode was never supposed to be released in English but they needed an extra episode for some reason…

Not sure if that’s what was going on here, but WOW am I certain SOMETHING was going on with this episode and I do not care enough to find out what.

Onto the next.

[more-than-a-princess]

Something between a snort and a huff was her response to Mikey's assessment of women. On one hand, it was almost a marvel that a man could come to that realization on his own. On the other, girls simply "having it tough" barely scratched the surface of what women endured, some more than others depending on their circumstances. Subjugating themselves to men, well, that likely often came from both of their walks of life: crime, organized and unorganized. It was why the Borghese Family was an oddity in the black market: an organization where women, and only women, held spots of power and authority were pretty much unheard of.

"We women do have it 'pretty tough,'" She assured him, once she was able to wipe the smirk off her face. He was looking to find common ground with her, someone who for all intents and purposes led the Japanese outfit of the Family and had been directly responsible for the death of his friend. It didn't suit either of them for her to take offense or sarcasm in his words.

And besides: he had a sister, and one he cared for at that. Perhaps that helped him look upon women fondly, or at least more so than most men would. Sonia wondered what Mikey would want his sister to do, in the imaginary situation he now placed Sonia herself in. She had a feeling it would be different than her own answer. "If a man attempted to assault me, he would not be alive for very long," She muttered. Even if they were on the way to a ride that thrived on creeps and haunts, it wasn't the sort of conversation one had at an amusement park. Or most places, unless one wanted to present a very clear ultimatum. She didn't take pleasure in such things, not the way her mother did. "That is the rule in my family. Assault towards women is already frowned upon heavily, but against the heir? That is basically declaring war, and that's not a decision most are comfortable making."

One she hoped Mikey could agree with, even if they couldn't agree on an appropriate nickname. Sonia pouted as they passed the giant fictional castle, home to a young woman who wore ballgowns and fell in love and had happily ever afters. Things that she likely wouldn't be allowed to experience, so why give her the Princess nickname anyway? Big dresses and big loves took away from power, from making the decisions no one else could. It also gave someone else the ability to control you, or so her mother had impressed upon her: always be the one who loves less, and never show the full depth of your heart to anyone. Sonia's heart had always been deemed too soft, too gentle, despite the fact it had been that heart and those hands that had saved her mother's life when no one else could.

"Well, I still do not like it, the Princess name," She huffed in response, "Would you prefer it if I called you 'Gang Leader' all the time? Or would you prefer Sano-san, or Mikey-san, instead? I rather prefer calling you the latter, myself." There was common ground they shared, of course, but perhaps the most precious was how little they were seemingly allowed to be themselves, responsibilities and titles aside. She smiled at his assessment of her preferences, and chuckled at his distaste for the fake gravestones. Expressions she couldn't often wear in front of members of The Family.

"They may be bad jokes, but if you smile, then I think they have done their job," Sonia said, before nodding with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. "And yes! There are many haunted homes where I am from in Europe, many of which are abandoned and therefore can be bought for cheap or simply take over. They make decent safehouses and storage areas, once outfitted with proper security precautions, but I simply like the atmosphere the most. So many ghosts, so many stories!"

She knew there were some haunted locations in Japan, but it wasn't quite the same as Europe: different belief systems and opinions of what happened after one died. Just like there were different opinions on necessary protection, though Sonia shook her head at his assessment. "With a firearm, maybe," She whispered as they entered a large room, the first attraction of the ride. "Or negotiations. I think you have me rather beat where hand-to-hand combat is concerned. Just as well, we all have our strengths."

But the portraits stretched, the lights turned off, recorded screams echoed and when Sonia looked up, an apparent corpse hung from the tallest rafters of the ceiling. She grinned, perhaps far too amused by faux-murder that had taken place. And the dark hallways with dingy furnishings and upholstery. And the fleet of black ride cars, as they were ushered into one for their tour of the Haunted Mansion. "Look, a library of levitating books! And a piano played by spirits!" She exclaimed as their car moved through the various scenes. Guests trapped behind doors, a candelabra that floated in the distance, a broken grandfather clock that turned backwards. Sonia sat up, even more intrigued by the fortune teller whose head was immersed in her crystal ball.

"Sano-san!" She whispered eagerly, "Listen, she is summoning spirits to join us! Is that not wonderful?" Maybe it wasn't truly haunted, but she was happy to play along as the car turned again to look down over a spiderweb-covered ballroom: a ghost blew out the candles on a birthday cake, two more appeared in front of their portraits with pistols to duel, one sat at an organ playing a melancholy tune, and several more pairs, in evening dress, twirled and waltzed around the dance floor, disappearing and reappearing into thin air. "Oh, this is so beautiful," Sonia sighed, a bit dreamily and uncharacteristic of the future leader of an organized crime family. She couldn't afford to dream or wish for much, not when real life asked so much of her already. But a ghost ball...she wanted to attend one, one day.

"My Grandpa taught me. I've lived with him for most of my life in his dojo. He taught me martial arts, along with his students, but I kinda surpassed them really fast..." He couldn't quite explain it himself, whether it was genes, or he was simply a prodigy. He'd started training from a young age, but he quickly outshone everyone else in the class. Soon enough, boys twice his age had cowered away from being his sparring partner in matches.

Being at the top could be lonely, when there was no one around that came close to matching his power. He learned this fact at a young age, and it eventually shaped him into the leader of Toman, one who stood atop and kept a good distance from a lot of his men, yet one who possessed the strength to protect them, always. At least.. he thought he had that force, until he'd lost Baji, and then Satori.

"I see... that's shitty. Never really thought about it before. Girls sure have it tough don't they?" That's not to say that men couldn't be abused in those types of way, but Manjiro had never felt that type of fear that many women felt on the daily. He knew it was much more likely for a woman to get raped or assaulted, and he did worry about his sister a lot. "Something tells me if a guy tried something with you, they wouldn't have a certain body part for very long."

The leader of Toman gazed thoughtfully at the Beauty and the Beast castle floating dauntingly above the pathway. "It bothers you that much? Hmm... guess I could try and think of something else. But until then, it's still gonna be 'princess'." He didn't think she would prefer to be called heiress, but what else could he called a badass, female mafia boss, next in line to take it all?

He laughed softly as he stood from his bow. "You've got good taste then. It can go a lot faster than this slow ass chariot too." It seemed that Sonia would not be distracted, and before he knew it, they had already made it to the back of the queue. "I'm not sure if I'd go so far as to call this funny. They're just bad Dad jokes if you ask me." He hung out over the railing, looking across the graveyard, trying his best to ignore the clowns staring at them.

"You've been to 'real' haunted houses? I can't say I believe in ghosts and stuff like that. But I do think it would be fun to experience at least once. Guess we'll both be experiencing this kind of haunted house for the first time together at least." It made him feel a little better, to know he wasn't the only one trying this kind of ride for the first time. He didn't want her to find him anymore immature than she likely already did.

"I don't need a girl to protect me." He immediately retorted, even though after he said it, he looked a little guilty. "Though.. I'm sure you could, since you do seem really strong and cool." The blonde looked away, suddenly feeling awkward. "I feel like this is something I need to face head on though. They're.. just clowns." It half sounded like he was trying to convince himself, but he continued to move forward in the line. Being scared of anything didn't sit well with him, so it was high time he conquered this phobia of his once and for...

His inner thoughts were cut off abruptly, along with the lights. He stiffened, his mind going on high alert, as he looked around, his senses keen. The portraits were... stretching, but the room was thankfully devoid of clowns. An animatronic skeleton ushered them into a cart of sorts. "Looks like it is the start." He agreed, taking a seat next to her.

They were off, going through various rooms with different scenery. It appeared that the walls were moving in the hallway, and there were many faces staring at them. The cart moved into the kitchen, where there were pots of suspicious looking goop cooking, as well as some type of furry chefs that were cutting up some very suspicious looking meat. So far, it didn't seem like there was anything too scary or crazy.

[a-room-of-my-own]

A while before the latest hoo-ha about Judith Butler, I had just been reading her again. Though she claims her critics have not read her, this simply isn’t the case. I read Gender Trouble when it first came out and it was important at the time . That time was long,long ago. She was just one of the many ‘post-structuralist’ thinkers I was into. I would trip off to see  Luce Irigaray or Derrida whenever they appeared.

I got an interview  with Baudrillard and tried to sell it to The Guardian but they  didn’t know who he was so its fair to say I was fairly immersed in that world of theory.  For a while, I had a part time lecturing job so I had to keep on top of it. Though Butler’s idea of gender as performance was not new , it was interesting.  RuPaul said it so much more clearly in a  quote nicked from  someone else “Honey ,we are born naked, the rest is drag”

What I was looking for again , I guess is not any clarity – her writing is famously and deliberately difficult-  but whether there was ever any sense of the material body. She wrote herself in 2004 “I confess however I am not a very good materialist. Every time I try to write about the body, the writing ends up being about language” . 

Butler from on high ,cannot really think about the body at all which is why they (Butler’s chosen pronoun) are now the high priestess of a particular kind of trans ideology.  The men who worship Butler are not versed in high theory. The fox botherer had a “brain swoon” at some very ordinary things Butler said. Mr Right Side of history nodded along in an interview. Clearly neither of these men are versed in any of this philosophy and would be better off sticking to tax law and the decline of the Labour Party. Butler is simply a totem for them.

Butler said in the Guardian interview for instance  “Gender is an assignment that does not just happen once: it is ongoing. We are assigned a sex at birth and then a slew of expectations follow which continue to “assign” gender to us.”

So yeah? That’s a fairly basic view of the social construction of gender though I take issue with the assigned at birth thing ,which I will come back to and why I started reading her again in the first place.

This phrase “Assigned sex at birth” is now common parlance but simply does not make sense  to me. I am living with someone who is pregnant. I have given birth three times and been a birthing  partner. I know where babies come from. There is a deep disconnect here between language and reality which no amount of academic jargon can obliterate. 

Babies  come from bodies. Not any bodies but bodies that have a uterus. They grew inside a woman’s body until they  get pushed out or dragged out into the world. 

The facts of life that we are now to be liberated from in the form of denial. Only one sex can have babies but we must now somehow not say that. The pregnant “people” of Texas will now be forced into giving birth to children they don’t want because they are simply “host bodies”. The language of patriarchal supremacy and that of some of the trans ideologues is remarkably close, as is their biological ignorance.

There is no foetal heatbeat at six weeks for instance. When a baby is born , doctors and midwives do not randomly assign a sex, they observe it and they do it though genitalia. 

There is a question over a tiny percentage of babies ,less that one percent with DSDs but even then they are sexed with doctors having  difficult conversations with parents about what may happen later.

Somehow, though when I read the way in which this is now all discussed it is clear to me that the people talking have never been pregnant, never had a foetal scan, never been near a birth , never miscarried, do not understand that even with a still birth babies are still sexed and often named. 

If you want to know the sex of your baby you can pay privately and know at 7 weeks ((*49-56 days from the first day of the mother’s last menstrual cycle). A 12 week scan will show it. That is why so many female foetuses are aborted . I have reported on this. 

Talking to paediatricians about this is interesting because they do indeed have to think through these things that we are being told are not real eg. that sex is just a by-product of colonialism for instance.  Sometimes pre-conception , geneticists will be looking at chromosomes because certain diseases are more likely in men or women. Males have a higher risk of haemophilia for instance.  

One doctor told me “When babies are premature, the survival advantage of females over males is well known throughout neonatology. This is sometimes something we talk about with parents when there is threatened premature labour around 23 weeks' gestation and options to discuss about resuscitation and medical interventions. In fertility treatment (or counselling around fertility in the context of medical treatments) it is pretty inherent to know whether we need to plan around sperm, or ova + pregnancy.”

She also said that if she involved in a birth that “assigning” isn’t the word she world use. “Observed genitals a highly reliable observation, just like measuring weight or head circumference which is also done at this time. “ Another doctor said that anyone involved with a trans man giving birth  would be doing the best for the patient in front  of them. 

Sex then is biological fact. A female baby will have all the eggs she will ever have when she is first born which is kind of amazing. It is not bio-essentialist to say that our sexed bodies are different nor is it transphobic to recognise it.

Except of course in my old newspaper ,The Guardian who are now so hamstrung by their  own ideology they have got their knickers in such a twist they can barely walk.  They completely misreported the WiSpa incident , basically ignored the Sonia  Appleby  judgement at the Tavistock. Appleby was a whistle blower ,a respected professional concerned with safe guarding. She won her case. The cherry on the cake this week was an interview with Butler, themselves (?) in which they went on about Terfs being fascists and needing to extend the category of women.

Does anyone EVER stop to think that most gender critical women are of the left, supporters of gay rights, often lesbian and that this is not America? We are not in bed with the far right. This is bollocks. Just another way to dismiss us.  

As we watch Afghanistan and Texas ,to say Butler’s words were tone deaf is to say the least. But they didn’t even have the guts to keep the most offensive stuff in the piece and overnight edited it out without really explaining why : the bits where Butler described gender critical people as fascist. Perhaps because the person their “reporters” had  defended against  transphobia at WiSpa turned out to be a known sex offender,  perhaps because someone pointed out that Butler was throwing around the word fascist rather like Rik Mayall used to do in the Young Ones. 

All of this is rather desperate and readers deserve better. When I left that newspaper I said that I thought and expected editors to stand up for their writers in public. Instead they go into some catatonic paralysis. I may have not liked this interview but it should never have been cut. Stand by what you publish or your credibility is shot.

But this is about more than Judith Butler and their refusal to support women . Butler is not really any kind of feminist at all. What this is about is the large edifice of trans ideology  crumbling when any real analysis is applied. Yes, I have read Shon Faye’s book and there are some interesting points in it and I totally agree that the lives of trans people should be easier and health care better . I have never said anything but that.

What Faye does in the book is say that there can be no trans liberation under capitalism so there will be a bit of a wait I suspect. 

Yet surely it is the other way round and what we are seeing is that trans ideology (not trans people – I am making a distinction here ) represent the apex of capitalism .

For it means that the individual decides their own gendered essence and then spends a fortune on surgery and a lifetime on medication to achieve the appearance of it. Of course lots of people spend a lifetime  on medication but not out of choice.  Marx understood very well that the abolition of our system of production would free up women.

Now it is all about freeing up men. Who say they are women. Quelle surprise.  

 Nussbaum’s famous take down of Butler is premised exactly on the sense of individual versus collective struggle “ The great tragedy in the new feminist theory in America is the loss of a sense of public commitment. In this sense, Butler’s self-involved feminism is extremely American, and it is not surprising that it has caught on here, where successful middle-class people prefer to focus on cultivating the self rather than thinking in a way that helps the material condition of others. “

Such thinking now dominates academia. There is simply an unquestioning  rehearsal of something most of know not to be true thus Amia Srinivasan writes in The Right to Sex  “At birth, bodies are sorted as ‘male’ or ‘female’, though many bodies must be mutilated to fit one category or the other, and many bodies will later protest against the decision that was made. This originary division determines what social purpose a body will be assigned.”

What does ‘sorted’ mean here? A tiny number of intersex babies are born. A tiny number of people are trans and decide to change their bodies. The feminist demand to challenge gender norms without mutilating any one’s body no longer matters. What matters now is this retrograde return  to some gendered soul. This is not something any decent Marxist would have any truck with . Of course one may change over a lifetime and of course gender is never ‘settled.’ We are complex people who inhabit bodies that often don’t work or appear as we want them to.

But not only is there a denial of basic Marxism going on here , what becomes ever more apparent is  that there is a denial of motherhood. Butler said “Yet gender is also what is made along the way – we can take over the power of assignment, make it into self-assignment, which can include sex reassignment at a legal and medical level.”

Self-assignment is key . One may birth oneself. No longer of woman born but self -made. This is a theoretical leap but it also one that has profound implications for women as a sex class. We are really then, just the  host bodies to a new breed of people who self-assign.

Maybe that is the future although look around the word and there isn’t a lot of self-assignment going on. There are simply women shot and beaten in the street, choked to death or having  their rights taken  away. There is no identifying out of this , there is no fluidity here . This is not discourse. It is brutality and do we not have some responsibility to other women to confront male violence ?

Instead the hatred is aided and abetted by so called philosophers describing  other women as Terfs. It is utterly depressing.

The sexed body. The pregnant body. The dying body. The body is in trouble when we can’t talk about it . I thought of Margaret Mary O’Hara’s  beautiful and  strange lyrics and what they might mean. I await my child’s return from the hospital as hers is a difficult pregnancy and thank god they are on the case. The sex of the child she carries does not matter to me at all .

It simply exists. Not in language but within a body. 

Why is that so difficult to acknowledge? 

[3vwritesthings]

Despair Camp [Nagito X Reader]

Please- I wrote this when I was like 13 😭🤚💀 Help-

[Warnings: None] [Genre: x Reader] (Slightly proofread?) (Reader is gn)

Cringe below the cut --> 

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It was a bright and sunny day. You and Nagito were talking, sitting on the sandy beach.

“I believe getting bad luck for me leaves all of the good luck to all of you guys!” he smiled.

“Is it ever rough dealing with the bad luck though?” you questioned him.

“I suppose most times yes. But the more bad stuff that happens to me, the better stuff happens to all of you!”

Suddenly, the monitor next to you lit up.

“Ladies and Gents, please make your way over to Jabberwok Park! The first one here will get a prize!”

The monitor turned off.

“I wonder what the prize is,” you wondered.

You and Nagito headed off to Jabberwok park, sun shining as you ran across the bridge.

Akane was already there, mouth drooling.

“What’s the prize?! Is it food?”

Shortly after, everyone was present.

“First off, the prize is a little Monokuma plushie!” Monokuma said proudly.

“Ew, who’d want that?” Akane said, disappointed it wasn’t food.

“Second, all you kiddos are going CAMPING!”

“Why?” Asked Mahiru.

“BECAUSE I SAID SO! IT’S A PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR ANOTHER MURDER!” he yelled.

“Jeez, what a letdown! And here I thought we were here for something important,” smirked Hiyoko.

We all received a map to get to the campsite.

“I expect you all to meet up here and I will give further directions!”

And with that, Monokuma disappeared.

Everyone started walking to the campsite.

“I wonder what there is to do!” Sonia excitedly jumped up and down.

“Me too! Man, we got so much in common,” smiled Kazuichi, attempting to impress Sonia.

Around 30 minutes later we all had made it.

“Congratulations! Now then, everyone will have a buddy with which you will share a tent! 2 people per tent,” said Monokuma.

“Hey, Sonia wanna be buddies?” you asked.

“I am sorry, but I am already buddies with Chiaki,” she headed off to talk with Chiaki.

“Peko?”

“I’m sorry, I am with Fuyuhiko.”

“I guess that makes sense since you guys are close,” you sighed. “Ibuki, do you have a buddy yet?”

“Yep! I’m with Mikan!” she shouted.

“Mahiru?”

“Nuh-Uh, Mahiru’s with me!” Said Hiyoko, holding onto Mahiru’s arm.

“Akane?”

“Sorry, I’m with coach Nekomaru.”

“Looks like I have to ask the boys,” you thought. However, the only boy left without a partner was Nagito. “Hey Nagito, aren’t you tent buddies with Hajime or something?”

“I don’t think Hajime wants to see me right now,” he sighed but smiled all the same. “He says I make things difficult for him.”

“I can understand. The way you hide information at class trials and all.”

“I do it to see everyone shine! To see all you ultimates do their best!”

“Seeing as I’m the only one left without a partner I guess we’re tent buddies now. I suppose it’s bad luck for you but for me, I’m lucky to be with you,” he chuckled amusingly.

“It’s fine, I don’t really mind. I thought Hajime was with you so I didn’t ask,” you slightly grinned.

“I don’t deserve this kindness you’re giving me. Such trash isn’t worthy of it,” he sighed, laughing a little.

“Well, why don’t we see where our tent is?” you asked.

“Sure,” he replied, trailing behind you as you made your way to the line of tents.

“It looks like this one isn’t occupied,” you said, pointing to one of the tents in the middle.

You both headed in. It was a fairly large tent with a table, chair, portable battery-powered lamp, and hygiene supplies like toothpaste, toothbrushes, a brush, and towels. But what caught your eye was the one small mattress in the middle of the tent. The mattress had a bedsheet and blanket on it; pillows sitting on top of them.

“Well this is awkward-” Nagito said.

“We can focus on that later.

“Let’s finish settling in first.”

It was around evening when you had finally finished unpacking and settling in. You sat on the bed.

“While we’re here, let’s see what there is to do,” you pulled out the map Monokuma had given you before leaving to the camping grounds.

“Ok,” he sat down next to you on the bed.

[causalitylinked]

REASONS OTHER PEOPLE MIGHT FALL FOR KOBATO.

He actually cares. Sure, Kobato might not always do the right thing, but he does worry about others and is the sort of friend who would find you and drive you home should you get lost. He’ll also offer to buy you food, especially if you happen to be younger/an underclassman of his or a cute girl.

Will whisper sweet nothings to you and unlike most Japanese men, has no trouble saying ‘I love you’. Of course, this only applies to female aligned muses, because again, he’s very obnoxiously hetero, even in The Caligula Effect 2.

Doesn’t discriminate. Seriously, Kobato doesn’t give a shit if someone is a man or a woman, because if they’re an asshole, they’re an asshole. Honestly, he would even hit a girl should they... like, not back off or are causing real, actual harm to someone he is friends with.

Not a guy who subscribes to toxic masculinity, even if he does like to tease Ryuto for liking sweets so much despite being very mature for his age. Why, he doesn’t actually repress his emotions and will even cry/let himself be vulnerable around you, which happens to be rare, because it’s actually quite common for Japanese men to be more emotionally inhibited and find discomfort in expressing their emotions through words.

Will be transparent with you and will tell you things exactly how it is. Like, while the rest of the Go-Home Club members had been hesitant to tell Marie about what they found out about her, Kobato had no qualms telling her she was actually a paraplegic in real life and that if she ever returned back to reality, she will have a shorter life expectancy compared to the average person and will live out the rest of her life, confined to a hospital bed, because she can’t move a single muscle and Redo, the world they were all stuck in, was basically supposed to be her safe haven from all that. But yeah, even if it’s painful, he won’t bother withholding information from you, especially should it concern you in particular.

In his Post-TCE2 verse, he’s really trying his best to be a function-able adult despite having apathy and just lacking passion when it comes to a lot of things. Honestly, driving might be something that he doesn’t find annoying (like manual labour), but it’s nothing he’s particularly passionate about to the point where he would be devastated he can no longer do it anymore, so he won’t be able to relate to, say... Sonia Nevermind’s love for the occult. Like, he doesn’t mind driving and is even used to doing it, but I feel as if ‘enjoy’ would be too strong a word, due to the fact his apathy prevents him from feeling much happiness/interest in things that don’t revolve around the opposite sex. Why, Kobato doesn’t even choose his clothes or appearance based on his own personal aesthetic anymore but what he thinks girls actually like, so despite being someone who is unable to derive meaning from living for himself rather than for others, he still chooses to cling onto life, no matter how empty he feels on the inside... so for as pathetic as he is, he still chooses to move on and exist rather than continue to mope about things he can no longer control.

When it comes to any interests other girls might have, he can be open-minded. Like, if you’re into, say... a video game, he would probably start playing it, because he wants to be able to relate to you and get closer to you. Granted, it’s not like Kobato wouldn’t have ulterior motives by doing so, but he really does try his best to the kind of guy any girl would like.

[awesomeuchuu]

Somewhere within his misery and self-loathing, Eichi managed a smile at Sonia’s enthusiasm at the room service. He could understand how she would get joy from that; he remembered school trips when there hadn’t been a need for catering or when every little thing about their visits had been prepared in advance down to any and all minuscule little detail. Because he was the Tenshouin heir and he needed the best of the best in all aspects of life, even something as common as school trips. Then he too could act like a mischievous, carefree teenager, just like anyone else, and simply order whatever he felt like ordering. (Then there was the added trouble of him not being well versed in ‘common folk’s food’, but during those times he usually had friends around him and they’d chime in with their wants and what they were craving, so it usually worked out anyway, and as an added bonus, Eichi got to taste something new and exciting.)

“Champagne isn’t something I’d ever frown at,” Eichi smiled tiredly and then he paused for a moment. Had he heard her correctly? Had she ordered a cheeseburger? Burgers were such an exotic food item; he had only had it once in his entire life before that time when him and Sonia got together for their fast food feast. It almost made it their food, didn’t it? Eichi found himself flabbergasted at the fondness that thought conjured up within him. Was this what it meant when you created memories together with friends? Did it leave you feeling invigorated like this?

Was that why memories of friends lost – he rarely spoke with Tsumugi Aoba nowadays, while they had been spending so much time together during years past – felt so absolutely draining? Maybe he shouldn’t think about Tsumugi right now, not when he was already feeling beyond distressed. Things really hadn’t ended on good terms for them after all.

Maybe he could tell Sonia about that at some point. It wasn’t that he wanted her to look at him in a different light, that he wanted her to be disappointed with him, but… He also didn’t want to hide the more unsavory parts of his personality. Not to her.

He knew full well that the reason he allowed his thoughts to wander like this was because he couldn’t face his current problem head on. Not right away. The thought that what he and Wataru had together was something bad, something foul… It was enough to make him sick to his stomach. And then there was the matter with his father. He would have to confront the man sooner or later, and it wouldn’t be pretty. Not at all. The frightening thing was that this situation was so new, which meant that he had no way of actually knowing just how his father would react. That in and itself was terrifying.

Eichi sighed, leaning forward a little, and he shook his head. “I haven’t told Wataru about what happened, but I doubt I need to. He’ll find out on his own. He’s awfully perceptive and if he doesn’t know what’s going on, then I’m sure that Rei Sakuma does and he will inform him. …But I haven’t told him where I am either, and that’s something I doubt even Sakuma-kun can figure out just like that. Pretty sure there’s a limit on things even he can find out on his own. …Maybe. Probably.”

“Is it… Is it presumptuous of me to ask you for a hug? I… Feel like I need one. Silly, isn’t it…”

He lowered his head, a faint blush on his cheeks. “Would if we could actually live in a better world… Instead we’re here, having to form our own utopia while banging our heads against all the walls the rest of the world put up… It’s tiring.”

It had been the first thing she could think of: get him safe, take care of his basic needs, and figure it out from there. Neither of them were much in the mood to handle anything terribly exciting where food was concerned, anyway. "I understand. I'll order some things and you choose what you would like to eat from those," She suggested, before picking up the telephone and pressing the number for room service. With only a glance at the menu, Sonia had ordered a serving of cacio e pepe, a cheeseburger with fries, a vegetable tempura appetizer, a pot of tea, several sodas, a bottle of champagne, a thick slice of cake, and a plate of cookies. Sighing, with a small smile of satisfaction, she put down the receiver.

"I have always wanted to do such a thing," She admitted as she settled in beside him on the plush sofa in the suite. "Order food with all the self control of a child. I know this is not a celebratory situation, but I figured, as it is us...champagne is for the best and worst of times."

"You mentioned him to me, yes," She nodded, though her expression turned from cheerful to sympathetic. "I saw the photo in the paper, Eichi-san. Of you and Wataru-san. Someone would have to be completely blind not to see that you are in love with him. It should be cause for celebration: in a better world, it would be."

Better, or just different. She'd said the word with a certain tone to her voice, one she reserved for discussing the social class she and Eichi both belonged to. Different families, different businesses, but the same responsibilities: follow traditions, lead, marry well, have children, and steer clear of scandal. And the romance aspect always referred to a member of the opposite sex from a respectable family, a considerable amount of money or power, or in most situations, both. Sonia exhaled deeply as she patted his arm in support. She'd never been in a relationship with a girl, at least not yet, though the way she found some of them beautiful went far past a platonic bond of friendship. If she'd carried on with a girl, the way Eichi had with his Wataru, how would her parents take it? How would the Royal Council, or the country itself have responded?

She shivered: homosexuality was all well and good in Novoselic when you weren't an aristocrat, and especially when you weren't the Princess of Novoselic, heir to the throne. The only child of King Alexandre and Queen Valentina with the responsibility to birth the next heir to take over after her own reign, the future Queen Sonia of Novoselic. It went well beyond prejudice, it was a matter of need. A need for an heir, something two women in possession of the feminine reproductive organs could not produce. Not on their own, at least.

There were some, she knew, who lived in secret. Or only made their true love known after they'd done what was expected and produced children to carry on the family name and titles. Sometimes their married spouse was aware the entire time, in other instances it was a complete surprise. But no matter what, it didn't seem honest to her. But it wasn't her place to say, she thought, as she gave Eichi an encouraging smile. Unless he asked for her opinion on the subject.

"What else can I do?" She asked, reaching for the bottle of imported spring water and refilling Eichi's glass, and then her own. "Have you told Wataru-san about what has happened and where you are? I would imagine, even if it must be kept very secret, he would want to know you are safe and being taken care of."

[tired-gay-wreck9]

since my last post about Danganronpa trauma stuff did so well, here we are again

its Kazuichi time

There are two people in the fandom: people who kin Kazuichi, and people that hate him. But both of these people, I feel, severely mischaracterize him.

The people who hate him for how he acted in game see him as nothing but a simp, and for good reason. He acted horribly to Sonia in the game and anime, and to his classmates. With those people, he's often characterized as a gross simp gamer boy, who can do no right. But these people often diminish his trauma.

However, the people who kin him see him as the exact opposite. He's a traumatized uwu soft boy who can do no wrong. They blame Sonia for how he acted in game, and act like he has no flaws. Yes, Sonia could've been more forward. That doesn't mean that she's responsible for how other people act.

Kazuichi's actions toward Sonia in the game, I believe, may be a coping mechanism for the stress of the game. His actions toward her progressively get worse as the end of the game nears, aka as more people die, and the stakes get higher. So, he pretends to like a girl so he doesn't have to come to terms with the tragedy he's experiencing.

Another hot topic in the fandom is whether he was abused or not. Most of the people who argue that he wasn't abused seem to have a few common arguments. The first is that it was an overexaggeration when he said that his dad "beat the shit out of him". If he was doing that, then he would probably have a bigger emotional reaction that putting his hands behind his head and smiling. Keep in mind, he was about thirteen at the time that this supposedly happened, so that puts spanking out of the picture. Another argument is that Kodaka doesn't see that behavior as abuse. But, in the game Ultra Despair Girls, Masaru Daimon talks about his physical abuse, which seemed to be on par with Kazuichi's.

I feel that the reason that the Kazuichi haters argue that he wasn't abused because of the stereotype that abuse victims have to be good people, pitiable people. When the victims act in dishonorable ways, then their abuse is often discredited.

Back to my point earlier, about Kazuichi coping with the stress of the killing game with his "crush" on Sonia, you might argue that because of his behaviors in the anime, a supposedly un-stressful scenario, that it is not a coping mechanism, and that he's just like that. But, what if his time at Hope's Peak was stressful? If you look through his backstory, it seems that no one has ever treated him well. His father abused him, his mother seems absent, as anyone who treated him well would probably be something he would talk about. His only friend betrayed him, and he doesn't seem to fit in with the punk crowd. If he never had anyone treat him well, the same treatment that everyone get's at Hope's Peak, wouldn't this major change stress him out?

TLDR: Kazuichi is not a good person, but he is an abuse victim. His treatment of Sonia was a coping mechanism.

[rbbalmung]

Pokemon SwSh GPL AU: Get to know ______

Guys, it’s time for my favourite pokemon ship. Prepare for loads of fluff. 

Get to Know Gloria x Hop (Postwickshipping/Hpyu): 

1: Who spends almost all their money on the other? I headcannon that Gloria really likes pokemon plushies, so Hop is always unconsciously checking the stuffed animal section of stores to see if there’s any she doesn’t have. Gloria tries really hard to get him books that pertain to his research, but she really has no clue what he studies aside from the fact that it’s legendary pokemon (Legendary Pokemon are his focus). 

2: Who sleeps in the other’s lap? Gloria! They are the cuddliest couple ever. There’s about a foot size difference between them, so she fits perfectly in his lap. (Hop is def the little spoon, tho). 

3: Who walks around the house half-naked and who yells at them to put on some clothes? TBH, they would both walk around the house half naked. They’re comfort first babies, so you know Gloria’s bra is coming off and Hop is discarding his work clothes the second their door is closed. I think it’s kind of a casual thing for them, though. They’ve known each other long enough that this kind of thing doesn’t bother them. 

4: Which one tells the other not to stay up all night and which one stays up all night anyway? Gloria has to drag Hop’s ass to bed pretty much every night. They’re both busy people, but we all know that Hop would lose track of time while working on his thesis. It is a fact that if Gloria doesn’t come to get him, he will fall asleep on his desk. 

5: Which one tries to make food for the other but burns it all by accident and which one tells them that it’s okay and makes them both cookies? They’re actually both pretty good cooks (Gloria’s mama owns a restaurant in Wedgehurst and Hop’s mom is obsessed with cooking), but I think Hop would probably be the one to burn all the food. The only reason why is because he has a harder time focusing solely on cooking instead of trying to multitask. Now, baking is a whole other story. They’re both terrible at it. 

6: Which one reads OTP prompts and says “Oh that’s us!” and which one goes “Eh, not really”? Gloria would be the one to read the prompts and Hop would be the denier (he secretly thinks it’s really cute whenever she does it). 

7: Which one constantly wears the other’s clothes? Gloria. 100% Gloria. She is constantly cold and has a passion for stealing Hop’s hoodies. He thinks its adorable because they’re always really big on her. 

8: Which one spends all day running errands and which one says “You remembered [thing], right?” Hop would be the errand runner and Gloria would make sure he remembered everything. It goes back to Hop’s mind being a million places at once and Gloria hyper focusing on one thing at a time. 

9: Which one drives the car and which one gives them directions? Hop would drive and Gloria would give directions for similar reasons to the question above. 

10: Which one does the posing while the other one draws? Hop doodles Gloria sometimes to keep his hands busy. It’s kind of an absent minded thing for him to do while reading an article/book. Once Sonia caught him doing it, and when I say she teases him relentlessly, I mean it. Hop absolutely does not let Gloria see these doodles (they’re very cutesy and he’d die of embarrassment). 

11: If they were about to rob a museum, which one does backflips through lasers and which one is strolling behind with a bag of chips? Hop would be the backflipper and Gloria would be the follower. Think back to their GPL season: Hop was blazing ahead at all times without a care in the world. Gloria is the slowest traveler in the world because she likes talking to everyone and visiting all the stores.  

12: Which one of your OTP overdoes it on the alcohol and which one makes the other stop drinking? Neither of them can hold their alcohol, but Hop at least has more body mass than Gloria. They’re a pair of lightweights and nothing you can say will convince me otherwise. (Let’s be real: Bede has to be the one to make sure they get home). 

14: Which one keeps accidentally using the other’s last name instead of their own? Gloria. I actually believe that Gloria would keep her last name even after she and Hop get married because it belongs to her mama (after the divorce, they both changed their last names to match her mama’s maiden name). Hop is also a proud Hoffman, so he wouldn’t use the name Park. However, everyone else will mix it up. Gloria gets called “Mrs. Hoffman” all the time if she’s arriving for restaurant reservations or something of the like. Newer reporters/young children call Hop “Mr. Park” because they just assume Park was his last name. 

15: Which one screams about the spider and which one brings the spider outside? Neither of them are scared of bug pokemon. 

16: Which one gives the other their jacket? HOP. I mentioned it earlier, but Gloria is always cold. Bede asks why he doesn’t just make Gloria bring her own jacket and Hop replies that he likes it when she wears his jacket (they’re freaking sappy).  

17: Who keeps getting threatened by the other’s overprotective older sibling? Pft. Leon? Please. By this point, he’s become the big brother of Gloria as well. The League members are a completely different story. They all like Hop, but since Gloria is one of their younger members and the biggest sweetheart, they’re a protective bunch (Especially Melony and Gordie). 

18: Who’s the first one to admit they have feelings for the other? Gloria, but it didn’t go well. It was right before he was leaving to finish up high school studying abroad, and the timing wasn’t right (aka Hop turned her down because he hadn’t yet realised his feelings for her). Gloria tries her best to move on but never truly gets over him. Luckily, his feelings hit him like a bag of bricks to the stomach when they reunite a couple years later.  

19: How good would your OTP be at parenting? The best. They would definitely be the cool parents (I mean, come on. They’re the freaking heroes of Galar!). I think they’d also be super supportive of their child’s choices. 10/10. They’re made to be parents. (Hop would especially want to be a good dad. He’s initially nervous because he never knew his dad and thinks he might mess up, but Gloria reassures him that he’s doing a good job). 

20: Which one types with perfect grammar and which one types using numbers as letters? Hop would be Mr. Perfect Grammar. Gloria would use mostly good grammar, but her texts would be littered with emojis. 

21: Who gets attacked by a bully and who protects them? Hop is the more confrontational of the two. Gloria tends to believe that people are only mean to others if something bad is happening in their life, but Hop will jump from 0 to 100 if someone even looks at Gloria funny.  

22: Who makes the bad puns and who makes a pained smile every time the other makes a pun? Gloria likes Hop’s bad puns, so everyone else has to cringe in discomfort at the oblivious pair. 

23: Who comes home from work to see that the other one bought a puppy? Hop. Gloria likes catching pokemon and sending them on poke jobs, so there’s a new member to their family at least once a week. 

24: Which one gives the other a piggyback ride when they’re tired? Hop. He’s the only one she would show vulnerability to, and he makes sure not to make her feel ashamed of it. (also, Gloria absolutely could not carry Hop. He’s like, a foot taller than her).  

25: Which one competes in some sort of activity and which one does the overzealous cheering? Both! They’re very supportive of each other to help ease the other’s insecurities. Hop gets really invested in her pokemon matches and Gloria throws him a little celebration every time he finishes a project.  

26: Who takes a selfie when the other one falls asleep on their shoulder? Gloria. Since Hop never goes to sleep at night, it is very common for him to take 5 minute power naps without even realising it. Gloria definitely takes pictures when it happens as a reflex (They were long distance for the first 4 years of their relationship) because she wants to be able to look back at their memories together.  Like Gloria doesn’t know about Hop’s doodles of her, Hop doesn’t know about her phone album of him. 

27: Which one would give the other a makeover if they asked? Gloria? I think they both grow into their separate styles as the get older, but Gloria would push Hop to wear more colourful things. Sonia once told Hop that a man should never tell a woman what to wear because it’s rude. I don’t think Gloria would mind if he suggested something, but he is way too nervous to do it (Sonia scarred him).   

28: Which one owns a pet that the other is absolutely terrified of? Hop is very nervous around Urshifu and Calyrex. Urshifu because he’s terrifying, large, and very protective of Gloria. Calyrex because the pokemon will take over his body without warning to tell Gloria something.  

29: Which one holds the umbrella over both of them when it rains? Hop! If Gloria held it, Hop’s head would be in the umbrella. 

30: If your OTP went on vacation, where would they go and what would they do? Who would take the pictures? Oh my gosh, they’d go everywhere. I think that after Gloria steps down as champion, they travel to all the different regions for at least a couple of years. Gloria would be the one to take pictures and make a little scrapbook when they return home.