#{i've written about fifteen books in my life and all but two of them were medieval fantasy}

[linkspooky]

ON MADELYNE PRYOR

Shout out to all the comic book stans who follow my blog.

So X-Men 97 inspired me to do a re-read of X-Men from the beginning. My previous read of X-Men jumped all over the place, it was basically X-Men up to Dark Phoenix and then I jumped all the way to the 2000s to 2010s. In my current read I just got to Inferno and holy fuck mom, I never thought I'd like an X-Men arc more than Dark Phoenix but here we are.

This is an entirely personal opinion which I'm not as good at expressing because I prefer over-intellectualizing my feelings, but Inferno is the only other comic book arc to make me feel the way that Judas Cotract did in how tightly and perfectly written as a tragedy it is especially for the female at its center.

Are there any women in all of fiction more doomed by the narrative than Terra Markov and Madelyne Pryor?

I mean I've written about Judas Contract before but what makes that arc so special to me is how it's about a character, a victim, a girl named Terra who by all rights should have been saved by the heroes, but not only fails every step of the way but at every point in her life really. Terra is someone how manifests her victimhood in completely unsympathetic ways but the fact that she basically had no chance in life makes her sympathetic nonetheless.

This comes from the decision that Perez and Wolfram made right from the start to kill her off and never offer her any redemption, which while incredibly callous on the author's part just makes the tragedy even stronger. That's what tragedy is, it's meat to reflect the cruelty and unfairness of life, it's kind of like reality bleeding into fiction.

George’s strength was he also understood the characters 100 percent as I did so there was never any question. He knew. We had talked enough about the characters to know we were exactly on the same page with them. So I said, “Everyone keeps complaining that we’re like the X-Men” and the X-Men had just gotten Kitty Pryde. I said, “Why don’t we really screw around with them completely?” — this is the fans — “…and make them think we’re stealing Kitty Pryde only she’s gonna be bad from Day One.” You always had characters pop up, certainly at Marvel, who were bad that get redeemed. But this character would never get redeemed. She was insane. In fact, she was the catalyst for everything. She wasn’t working for Deathstroke. He was working for her in many ways and she was leading him because she’s crazy. She’s a total psychopath… and she’d be 15. 

Terra's a total psychopath and she's fifteen and that's the tragedy. Was there really any other way that Terra could have turned out? A girl who has been abandoned, who was given incredible powers but no love, support, or nurturing and clearly doesn't have a home or any stability in her life if she's working as a mercenary at that young. A girl who thinks herself a villain and a player in the game but is clearly being manipulated by a fifty plus year old man who is smarter, more mature, and a serial user and abuser of people.

Terra's not just the villain, she's the protagonist of the tragedy walking through the play unknowing that her every single decision will lead to her inevitable end.

Judas Cotract and Inferno are two arcs that most evoke the feel of the Tower in Tarot to me. The Tower is just, ruin and destruction, a complete loss of control, the realization that everything you thought was wrong and in fact the world doesn't care much about what you think. It's a reminder that life isn't even cruel, it's nothing, it's random.

However, first you have to build up the tower before you start pulling the jenga blocks out one by one. Terra spends several arcs with the Teen Titans showing disturbing unchildlike behavior, but one of the so-called Heroes even notice that there's something wrong. When she does get close to blowing her cover, a violent incident where she nearly badly hurts Beast Boy after he comes onto her way too hard which is an understandable reaction as a victim of SA that gets brushed under the rug too.

It makes the heroes look worse as well. If they were heroes dedicated to saving people at all costs shouldn't they have noticed the trouble of someone right next to them? Yet, they all kind of collectively remain oblivious the same way that most victims in real life especially of Terra's kind of trauma are left to suffer in silence. Not to say the Teen Titans are bad, they are kids, and therefore it makes sense they don't have the emotional maturity to notice - it just makes them look more human.

So to summarize my point above what makes Judas Contract is a good tragedy and why Inferno makes me feel the same way narrows down to two reasons.

Madelyne and Terra are both doomed by the narrative, there was no saving them right from the beginning.

However, the fact that the heroes failed to save them reflects poorly on them.

Finally, Madelyne Pryor.

Oh Madelyne the world did you so dirty. I'm partially to blame because I skipped right to the 2000s in my first read, but before this point I'd known nothing about Madelyne other than that she was a clone of Jean Grey who died.

My first impressions of her when she was introduced shortly after Dark Phoenix weren't all that great either. Chris Claremont writes good female characters, that's not really a hot take. I'm sure you've heard of Storm, Rogue, Mystique, Kitty Pryde, Emma Frost etc.

However, I've noticed there are like two tiers of female characters he tends to write. There are the first stringers which are your storms, your rogues, these are characters who are meant to be independent and have arcs. Then there are the second stringers who are just meat to serve a role in the story. This isn't a criticism on the way Claremont writes women, I mean all stories have major and minor characters.

Madelyne Pryor was never meant to be a main character. There wasn't anything about her character that I disliked per se, she is independent, she seemed to have a life outside of Cyclops, she tries really hard to separate herself from the image of Jean Grey. However, she was clearly written to give Cyclops a wife and child in the aftermath of Jean's death and a reason to retire.

While the editorial mandate that made Claremont pull Cyclops out of his happy ending so he could rejoin a team with the original five x-men for the sake of nostalgia sucks, it is also the best thing to happen to Madelyne's character.

Madelyne before that point was a perfectly functional character for her role but she wasn't all that dynamic, she liked planes, she didn't like Jean's ghost hanging over her, she's pretty spunky and headstrong but she was at most a good supporting character but that's all she was. Claremont just decided to double down on that, Scott actually treats his wife like she exists to do nothing but support him and his emotional issues. Madelyne gives all the support that she can give and then Scott just up and leaves anyway. The woman who only existed to be a love interest to give Scott a happy ending, now has no other reason to exist without the man she's supposed to love and her happy ending turns to ash in her mouth.

This is the same feeling I was talking about with Terra, this is a person who was basically failed at every step of the way. A person who has no family. no support, it's almost worse in this case because Madelyne thought she did only for that person to toss her aside.

There's no saving Madelyne, and the fact that Scott didn't save her, that he didn't both trying until he was too late makes him the villain.

If anything Inferno is better than Judas Contract at dragging the heroes down to their lowest points, because The Teen Titans failing to save Terra is understandable because of how young they are but there's no excusing Scott's actions. Madelyne may run around in a skimpy outfit calling herself the goblin queen but the villain of this story is named Scott Summers. He had a responsibility and obligation towards Madelyne to save her and he failed, and it makes him a bad hero and an even worse person.

One of the key components of a tragedy is also agency. Agency is basically the freedom a character has to choose and how much their choices matter in the grand scheme of things and impact their narratives.

Tragedies are often defined by how little agency the characters are shown to have, and how limited their range of choices are. One of the biggest themes of tragedy is fate and inevitability at all. For example one of my favorite tragedies antigone is about a girl with very little power in the ancient greek city of Thebes who still makes a choice to give her brother a proper burial even though she knows she'll be executed for it.

Dark Phoenix is all about agency. Jean Grey is dealing with three different forces trying to take her mind, her agency. There's the corrupting influence of Phoenix, there's the Hellfire Club who wants to make her into a puppet, and then there's Charles Xavier who wants to put a lid on her tremendous powers. Everyone trying to take agency away from Jean eventually leads her to snap and try to take all of that agency back by embracing godhood because who has more agency, more control than a god? Even Jean's act of killing herself at the end was reclaiming her agency, it's her choice to die as a human rather than be executed, or to lose herself to the phoenix.

What breaks Madelyne is not Scott leaving her. Which made me like her character a lot, like the moment Scott left Madelyne was shown just how stubborn and determined she was. Madelyne stood out as the only normal human amongst the x-men who still held her own like Moira did (i guess Moira is a mutant now but I'm still in the 80s so w/e).

What breaks her is the revelation that she never had any agency in her life to begin with. Scott was always meant to fall in love with her, he was always meant to leave her, because she was nothing more than a womb for Sinister's breeding project. Once again it's masterful how Scott looks equally as villainous as Sinister in this scenario in how neither of them regards Madelyne as a person, just an object to project their desires upon.

(Honestly Jean Grey doesn't come out looking all that great either considering how little sympathy she has for Madelyne because she just sees her as an obstacle to getting back together with Scott. If anyone Jean should sympathize with Madelyne the most because they've both been toyed with cosmic forces out of their control, but I guess it goes to show how selfish and destructive Jean and Scott's love for each can be).

Is there any sequence more tragic in all of comics than this series of panels?

The symbolism in these panels too and how it relates to the themes of agency with Madelyne's character. Madelyne was a free and self-driven woman (or at least she thought she was) living out her dream of being a pilot which to her the ability to fly her wings represents her freedom and indepedence. The only thing she thought that could make her happier was Scott, but in the end not only did Scott take her wings away, he took away her everything and gave it to someone else.

"Time to lose those wings, Maddie. You can't really fly, anyway. You're not special like us."

If there's any words to express the inherent tragedy of Maddie's character is this, she's a person who thought she was free to fly, that she was real, that her life mattered only to have all that taken away from her. Maddie like Terra thinks she has agency that she's making decisions but she had no real choices from the beginning.

That's also a good way to express what makes tragedies hit as hard as they do. Tragedies slap you with the realization that you're not special. The hero is not a hero, they don't have plot armor, they're not immune to consequences, they're human and just like all humans they fail.

Even the act that Madelyne thinks is reclaiming her agency by gaining power as the Goblin Queen is in fact, not her choice. She doesn't choose to sell her soul, she's tricked into doing it by a rebellious demon that wants to kick Illyana out and reclaim limbo for himself. In Madelyne's one act of trying to steal back her power and freedom she is still just a pawn in another person's scheme.

There's also Madelyne going through literal hell itself to reclaim her son, only to make the decision to sacrifice him along with several other infants which seems to make her usympathetic but ironically makes her more sympathetic to me.

There's the obvious reference to Medea there. If all the parallels aren't obvious enough already, Jason and the Argonauts gets namedropped during the arc.

One of my favorite things about Medea the tragedy by Euripedes is that Medea is not just a girlboss who gets revenge on Jason and then walks away. Straightforward revenge narratives are bad because revenge is... bad actually. The decision to inflict more pain and suffering in the world doesn't break the chain of suffering.

Medea kills her children to show that Jason is not entirely in the wrong, and Medea is not entirely in the right. They are two human beings who's relationship is blowing up in the worst way possible. I mean Jason himself does have some points in the play, he's making a political marriage to save both of them, the only reason he's exiling Medea is because Medea made loud death threats at Jason's new bride. It's not just the heartbreak of being abandoned that drives Medea, it's her pride, the whole play started because Medea didn't want to settle for being a side chick.

Medea wants revenge against Jason but she doesn't take her revenge on Jason, she takes revenge on everyone around him for the purpose of making him feel as alone and lost as he did her. She'll kill her own children, even if it kills her to do so, just to spite him a little more.

Which leads to one of my favorite scenes in all of fiction, Medea holding the knife over her own child's throat, bargaining with herself trying to convince herself to do something she objectively knows is wrong.

MEDEA I’ve made up my mind, my friends. I’ll do it—kill my children now, without delay, and flee this land. I must not hesitate. That would hand them over to someone else to be slaughtered by a hand less loving.                                      No matter what, the children have to die. Since that’s the case, then I, who gave them life,                                will kill them. Arm yourself for this, my heart. Why do I put off doing this dreadful act, since it must be done? Come, pick up the sword, wretched hand of mine. Pick up the sword, move to where your life of misery begins. Don’t play the coward. Don’t remember now how much you love them, how you gave them life. For this short day forget they are your children                          and mourn them later. Although you kill them, still you loved them. As a woman, I’m so sad.     

Why would Madelyne after going through all that trouble to find her son, instead choose to give him to the fire? It's because for a person who was given so little choice over her own life, the choice to self-destruct is still a choice. The choice to destroy something with your own hands rather than let it be destroyed for someone else is still a choice.

That would hand them over to someone else to be slaughtered by a hand less loving.                                      No matter what, the children have to die. Since that’s the case, then I, who gave them life,                                will kill them.

I think I may like Madelyne more than Jean at this point?

The same way I like Terra more than Raven. They're very similiar characters, but it takes possession by Trigon to get Raven to attack the titans. Terra just tries to kill them by her own free will. She's willing to bury herself if it gives her one last chance at burying the titans to too. Madelyne on the other hand is willing to walk barefoot into hell, if it means she can drag Scott and the X-Men with her. Jean does things under the influence of the Phoenix, but she chose to die as a human being at the end of Dark Phoenix. Madelyne however made the opposite choice, throwing all her humanity away she gave herself wholly and unreservedly to the fire.

Also damn, x-men 97 did this arc so dirty by speedrunning through it in one episode. This is also one of the most well set-up arcs in the X-Men comics with so many threads like X-Factor, X-Men and New Mutants all coming together. It really deserved its own season not like 2 episodes, and then Madelyne dying halfway through this season.

[rosesradio]

may i ask why ppl hate caleo so much? I'm reading ToA rn so idk if it's based on stuff that happens there, but in HoO I didn't really catch anything that would make it this "don't touch with a ten foot pole" ship, yk?

/gen

Hi !! Thanks for sending this in. I feel like I and others have kinda gone through some things in the anti-caleo tag, but I'm gonna go through some of the reasons with as much textual evidence and objectivity as possible. (minus my inevitable unorganized rambles, they're contextually relevant, stop looking at me--)

That being said, this is completely a matter of opinion, as all shipping is. I don't mean to say that you are "allowed" to ship or that you're "stupid" for shipping xyz, I couldn't care less what you ship--let's all just be nice to each other.

That being said, let's start with the two most common reasons why most people dislike caleo:

1.) the age gap

2.) their "bickering to lovers" dynamic is not written well/they seem to dislike each other/etc

The easier one to start with would be the age gap. Now (warnings for rent-lowering gunshots around my blog), I meant what I said when I said I don't care about ships. Most of my beloved mutuals ship the nastiest shit imaginable, and I am very anti-censorship (but that's several other posts). I generally have preferences for healthy ships when it comes to a Fluffy Endgame (dark fics with toxic ships are different to me).

That being said, I don't typically enjoy ships with a large age gap, and most other people find them unappealing as well. I could be persuaded with some (nipollo and rachel/apollo, i'm looking at you), but caleo just kinda grosses me out in this regard, probably due to other aspects of their relationship.

(Some people say she's "mentally fifteen", but I don't really buy that--if she were like a faerie or something, maybe, but I see her more as Edward in Twilight--looks young but has wisdom beyond her years. There's no definitive answer on this so it's not something I would like to debate (none of this is lol) but I thought I would mention it anyways.)

Although your question is about ToA, I'm only going to cover HoH through the first ToA book, because I'm still reading through the ToA books (though I know the big spoilers). I know caleo takes on a bigger role in the second book so i might come back and do a part two to uh...complain about their dynamic more? lol

so, without further ado--

The House of Hades

So, this is the first impression we get of Calypso from Leo's perspective--the highlights to keep this from being 1 million years long (it still will be lol)--

"She looked maybe fifteen, about Leo's age, and, sure, she was pretty; but with that angry expression on herface she reminded Leo of every popular girl in every school he'd ever attended—the ones who made fun of him, gossiped a lot, thought they were so superior, and basically did everything they could tomake his life miserable.Leo disliked her instantly.

---

The girl clenched her fists. Leo was pretty sure she was going to march down the crater and punch him in the face.

---

"Show yourself!" the girl yelled at the sky, completely ignoring Leo. "It's not bad enough I am exiled? It's not bad enough you take away the few good heroes I'm allowed to meet? You think it's funny to send me this—this charbroiled runt of a boy to ruin my tranquility? This is NOT FUNNY! Take him back!""

--pg 213 of The House of Hades pdf.

Now, keeping in mind that I read this for the first time at 13 and he was my book boyfriend (Or Whatever), I was not a fan of this, but even now that I've grown out of that, this still rings unfavorable to me.

He compares her to his bullies, the ones who made fun of him and created insecurities within him. And, making no effort to clear her name from this association, what is one of the first things she does? Screams at the gods for sending someone so conventionally unattractive. One of Leo's biggest insecurities in the books is not being as conventionally attractive or built as the other guys in the seven. One of his other insecurities is not having a girlfriend when everyone else is coupled up. So the solution is not to have him learn self-love and/or the love of friends, but to instead give him a girlfriend--the build-up time of which is short and intense. Not only that, but his love interest insults one of his biggest insecurities.

We're off to a great start.

Of course, I can't really blame Calypso for being pissed about the wreckage and about being sent another hero instead of being freed from the island. I would be pretty pissed, too, but she still treats him pretty badly, seemingly because he's not the "right" hero.

(For this next bit I am going through their time together in House of Hades and just noting anything that rings as a red flag to me--which is not a stretch as it's pretty much every other line lol. The brackets [] add context for dialogue, the parentheses () is my commentary, though most of these speak for themselves imo)

""Oh-gee-gee-ah." The girl pronounced it slowly, as if Leo were five years old.

---

She looked like she was about to answer but stopped herself. "It doesn't matter. You'll be gone soon. You're obviously a mistake."

That was harsh, Leo thought.He'd spent enough time thinking he was a mistake—as a demigod, on this quest, in life in general. He didn't need a random crazy goddess reinforcing the idea

---

"What am I supposed to do, then? Sit in the sand dunes until I die?" [Leo asked]

"That would be fine...." The girl threw down her trowel and cursed at the sky. "Except I suppose he can't die here, can he? Zeus! This is not funny!"

---

She looked the same age as him, but he wondered how old she really was. (age gap thing, delicious!)

---

"Would you be sweet," [Calypso said], "if they laughed at you by sending another hero, but a hero who looked like—like you?"

---

"Three thousand." Leo's mouth felt tingly, like he'd just eaten Pop Rocks. "Uh, you look good for three thousand."

---

"And now...the worst insult of all. The gods mock me by sending you." [Calypso said]

Anger bubbled in Leo's stomach.Yeah, typical. If Jason were here, Calypso would fall all over him. She'd beg him to stay, but he'd be all noble about returning to his duties, and he'd leave Calypso brokenhearted. That magic raft would totally arrive for him. (heartbreaking to hear about leo's insecurities but also...he is so gay for jason jdskjfs--)

But Leo? He was the annoying guest she couldn't get rid of. She'd never fall for him, because she was totally out of his league.

---

Despite the gifts, Calypso obviously didn't want to see him. One time he poked his head inside the cave and she freaked out, yelling and throwing pots at his head. (how to treat an abuse survivor 101)

Yeah, she was definitely on Team Leo. (this honestly just reminds me of the Echo scene and, honestly, I'd ship him with Echo Big Time over calypso)

He ended up pitching a more permanent camp near the footpath, where the beach met the hills.That way he was close enough to pick up his meals, but Calypso didn't have to see him and go into a pot-throwing rage.

---

"They are completely fireproof," Calypso promised. "They'll stay clean and expand to fit you,should you ever become less scrawny." (the prev part about her repairing the clothes was actually sweet in a platonic way...could have gone without the body-shaming !)

---

Then he remembered that this annoying fifteen-year-old girl was actually the immortal daughter of a Titan."

--pages 214-227 of The House of Hades pdf

Now, at this point I'll say that their relationship actually becomes quite sweet once they get past the frankly horrible section of time where they want each other to die. They're both lonely, they come to some understanding...I suppose this is a matter of opinion, but the romance aspect does feel forced. Time is different in Ogygia so it's hard to say how long Leo was there, if I were to estimate I'd say 3 weeks, but given that it's like 19 pages (and the text is larger on the pdf copy lol), it does feel rushed. Man do I wish they went for the platonic angle, but Richard could never.

The Blood of Olympus

Everyone's favorite book! lmao.

Now that our lovebirds are in Lovebird Territory (i guess), the amount of toxicity dwindles, but let's bite:

"'Sit tight, Sunshine,' he told Calypso's picture. 'I'll get back to you, just like I promised.'

Leo could imagine her response: 'I am not waiting for you, Leo Valdez. I am not in love with you.And I certainly don't believe your foolish promises!' The thought made him smile. (I guess this is supposed to be sarcastic, but way to reintroduce the concept of her really not liking him?)"

--pg 64 of The Blood of Olympus pdf

So, most of this book has mentions of Calypso from Leo's pov, and I gotta say (forgetting entirely that this doc is supposed to at least try to be subjective)...they neutered my boy. I often don't reread past MoA because of the caleo content, though what glimpses I've seen shows that his pov has experienced a massive shift. I think having so little page time and such an intense relationship buildup causes some readers to dislike how fundamentally she alters Leo's pov.

Additionally, I've seen some posts about Leo's suicide ideation. That is not something I want to go in depth about on this post, but I did want to draw attention to this excerpt I caught:

"Now the Argo II was approaching the end of its voyage. Leo's whole life – his childhood with Tía Callida; his mother's death in that warehouse fire; his years as a foster kid; his months at Camp Half-Blood with Jason and Piper – all of it would culminate tomorrow morning in one final battle.

He opened the access panel. Festus's voice creaked over the intercom.

'Yeah, buddy,' Leo agreed. 'It's time.'

More creaking.

'I know,' Leo said. 'Together till the end?'

Festus squeaked affirmatively.

Leo checked the ancient bronze astrolabe, which was now fitted with the crystal from Ogygia. Leo could only hope it would work.

'I will get back to you, Calypso,' he muttered. 'I promised on the River Styx.'

He flipped a switch and brought the navigation device online. He set the timer for twenty-four hours.

Finally he opened the engine's ventilator line and pushed inside the vial of the physician's cure. It disappeared into the veins of the ship with a decisive thunk.

'Too late to turn back now,' Leo said.

He curled on the floor and closed his eyes, determined to enjoy the familiar hum of the engine for one last night."

--pg 224 of The Blood of Olympus pdf

I'm not going to draw any definitive conclusions on the subtext of this or his plan with the physician's cure, but I will say Leo definitely needs therapy and the support of his friends over his want of a girlfriend. (And I'd say this regardless of ships--even if it were my beloved valdangelo. If Leo's mental health isn't addressed, it just makes it seem like a lazy fix-all)

I'm not going to pretend to be the best writer or understand character arcs better than our good friend Richard, but I think one of the reasons why Leo's character arc failed in this final installment is that Leo got what he wanted instead of what he needed. The best character arcs will display what a character wants, but by the end of the journey, a character will realize what they really need.

For example, in Gravity Falls (great show btw), towards the end of the series, Mabel wants to stay in a magical bubble created as a trick by Bill Cipher so she can stay in Gravity Falls forever. In the end, however, she realizes that what she really needs is to go back home to California with her brother, where they can get through high school with the support of each other.

If Leo had undergone an arc in which he really wants a girlfriend, but later realizes he needs to love himself first, that would have been really great and nice for kids to see that they don't need a significant other to make them whole.

Additionally--surprisingly--there were no glaring red flags for the rest of this book. They have a general vibe of "she doesn't really like him and he's a silly little guy" that I feel like is just rick pulling a "can I copy your homework?" with percabeth but it came out Wrong, but that's a matter of opinion.

ToA: The Hidden Oracle

""Here you go." Leo handed her a glass of lemonade. His expression seemed darker and more anxious, as if...Ah, of course. Leo had rescued Calypso from her prison island. In doing so, Calypso had lost her powers. Leo felt responsible."

--pg 239 of The Hidden Oracle pdf

This seems like something they'd have to work through, which is possible, but also a very intense thing to put on a relationship between an already traumatized 16 year old (and his over 3000 year old girlfriend, etc.) I suppose if this was written through in a thoughtful way I'd understand, but it's kind of one of those things that makes me look at them and go...realistically, at best I see them lasting 6 months to a year.

(tbh a lot of the ships outside of percabeth don't seem to have that...well, percabeth longevity--i mean just look at how jiper broke up. not that Richard would break caleo up atp, of course...unless...)

Final Thoughts (unless I return after finishing ToA but no promises)

And so, we conclude. I think I learned some stuff by revisiting canon instead of just remaining amongst online fandom & my memory of canon. Honestly, I can see why people would like this ship--I still hate it the most out of any pjo ship, but I gotta admit it had its sweet moments. Just as I pointed out red flags and had opinions stated as subjective, other people could point out what they consider green flags and why they think the ship is great.

To conclude (my English teachers quaking in their boots rn), myself and other caleo haters dislike the ship due to the age difference, the rushed nature, and the enemies to lovers dynamic being written in a way that ultimately gives the energy that our love birds do not like each other. I hope this dive into the foundation of their relationship clarifies some of these things for you, and thanks for the ask!

[kota-corner]

Midnight is already so uncomfortable and I'm not even halfway through yet.

Firstly, Brambleclaw and Squirrelpaw MAY be related- they are possibly second cousins. Sandstorm is Squirrelflight’s mother, and Sandstorm’s father is generally assumed to be Redtail(and her mother is assumed to be Brindleface). Redtail’s sibling is Leopardfoot, who’s son is Tigerstar, who gave birth to Brambleclaw. In other words, if Redtail is truly Sandstorm's father, that means that she and Tigerstar are first cousins, which could make their kids second cousins. It has not been confirmed in the books or by the writers, so honestly it could just be a common interpretation that isn't actually canon.

I personally like to believe that Sandstorm's parents were two completely unrelated cats that died tragically when she was very young, and that's why she doesn't seem to talk much about family. This alone wouldn't be too bad since again, it's all speculation currently and Warriors has some issues with continuity and keeping things consistent, so I'd take this on its own with a grain of salt until the writers or books themselves directly state it. However, combined with all the other stuff that is toxic about this pairing, even the mere thought of having these two be closely blood related on TOP of it all is disturbing!

Scientifically, you share nearly none of your ancestors DNA after about eight generations and it is not classified as inc*st, which is far from where Squirrel and Bramble would be as second cousins. I understand they are cats, and in reality, they do inbreed at high rates. However, the difference between that and having it happen in Warriors is that real life cats do not have the cognitive or emotional capacity to differentiate between a blood relative and a potential mate. They act on purely biological instincts and they don't have any concept of inc*st, meaning that they are completely blind to it. Meanwhile, Warriors is a FICTIONAL story. The cats are strongly personified, they have intellectual thoughts and conversations, they can recognize their family members, they can fall in love and develop relationships outside of just mating to produce kits, etc. You can't apply the argument that "it isn't inc*st they're cats" when they are written to behave like us in many ways. Giving an animal human qualities means that a lot of human morals have to apply to them.

Also, Brambleclaw is ALREADY SHOWN TO BE LOWKEY SHITTY TO SQUIRRELPAW AND THE TWO ARE NOT EVEN TOGETHER YET. One of the first remarks Bramble makes about her to himself is that he'd claw her ear if she gave him an "attitude".

The age gap itself is not that bad- it's about sixteen months according to my calculations, and cats mature differently than humans, and often rapidly, so Brambleclaw is the equivalent of around fifteen, and Squirrelpaw is about the equivalent of eleven or twelve, which would be a very concerning age gap for humans, but again these are cats and their age process is different since they have shorter lifespans.

The problem is more the emotional power he holds over her, treating her as beneath him because she's still an apprentice, which makes for a very troubling beginning for the two of them when you consider that they are going to be a canonical couple not too far out from now.

I do already love Squirrelpaw, but I do not like the direction Brambleclaw's character is going in. I really liked him in TPB, but now he seems more like a mini Tigerstar. If his whole journey is about not judging others based on who their parents are, why are we making him act like this? And from what I've heard, he only gets worse.

Anyways, Squirrelpaw/Squirrelflight should allowed to be a lesbian and leave the toxic males in her life because she deserves a loving girlfriend thanks for coming to my TedTalk.

(Me, slapping Tigerstar for being awful to multiple of my favorite characters/j)

[cordycepsfem]

Pageboy Readthrough, Part Eleven

All the previous parts can be found here.

Previously

EP goes to Oregon and learns about Permaculture

EP is extremely closeted

EP gets shingles while making Inception

that's it

Now

Chapter Fifteen

EP dates a woman who is very closeted

they have a wonderful, very closeted relationship

eventually they realize it's not going to work out

later EP sees her at a party with a man

the chapter ends with the line Someone will break your heart but you will break one too.

Chapter Sixteen

we jump back to EP's childhood; she asks to be allowed to play soccer with the coed league one extra year, which is granted

"not precisely meaning it" but telling the truth all the same

EP talks abut moving into puberty and hating periods, needing a bra, etc., which I'm sure literally only affected her and has nothing to do with how almost every other teenage girl on the planet feels

two things here: 1) "other boys" sure EP; 2) "euphoria" - using "euphoria" to describe oneself or one's gender did not start when EP was a kid and even so, kids don't think that way about themselves, as "euphoric"... that's a very adult, usually trans, way of looking at things and it's pretentious. Ask me when I've ever felt "euphoric" about my body and I'll probably say playing roller derby or swimming, or maybe running pushing my sister in a 5K, and even then "euphoric" seems far too grand and, again, pretentious, for what I felt. I felt confident, I felt powerful, I felt happy, and those were the words I'd use.

a third thing, I guess - it's distressing to learn that one's body no longer fits clothes one enjoyed, but life sometimes is like that, and one learns that boys and girls can wear shorts, pants, T-shirts, etc. This period of time didn't mean needing to give up wearing certain clothes or to start wearing other clothes. It just meant EP would have to purchase them from the dreaded "girls" section

EP talks about going to a friend's house and being permitted to wear swim trunks as a kid, which she describes in a tone nearly orgasmic

... y'know girls and women can wear swim trunks too, EP? I swim in them.

this regressive "gender is clothes" gets me every time I read this and for some reason I always forget how dumb it is

EP meets a gay man:

you recognized yourself in a gay man? the kind of gay man who's on TV, so a collection of stereotypes? EP, even now you don't act like that, so what were you recognizing in this man?

(also, does this man know you wrote about him this way? I'd hate to find myself written about in this manner by someone I barely knew - "She was the kind of lesbian they showed on TV sometimes. The way she dressed comfortably, the way she didn't shave her legs, the way she talked about flea markets, the way she listened to Julien Baker, the way she moved... a lesbian person, you know, like a normal human woman." Jesus Christ. I'd want the book burned.)

EP goes to a water park with a friend:

EP I swear to all that is good and holy I need you to stop referring to other people as "queers" without their permission. Don't ask me how I know, but I know this person would not want to be referred to as "a queer" in your book. Why the fuck would you do this? And you weren't "a queer" at age nine, you were a girl with short hair.

And yes, once again, women can wear swim trunks and in certain places go around with their chests out. I wear swim trunks and rash guards to swim. Once again, gender is just clothes.

EP goes into how euphoric she is to not have to wear a shirt and how she can wear swim trunks and swim and feel the sun on her body or whatever.

be careful with your scars, sunburns will fuck them up

I will admit here that this part, while so weirdly enraging and confusing like the rest of the book, made me feel unhappy and jealous for a couple of reasons. First is that my own BDD and dysphoria have made it hard to want to look at my own body or feel neutral, let alone euphoric, about it. When I'm swimming I don't care, because my body's in the water and it's doing things, but in general I hate everything around it - getting dressed in the Y locker room, peeling off my heavy, stuck swim clothes afterwards, etc. I am deeply jealous of someone who feels so comfortable in their own skin that way.

Second I'm unhappy because I wonder how things would have turned out if I'd been born just a few years later. I'm too old for a school-age diagnosis of autism, too old for knowing what "lesbian" meant in elementary school, too old for discussions about gender amongst my friends. I don't like to think that I would have been pushed in the direction of "trans'ing my gender" if I was among the youths now, but I don't know who I'd be, either.

I am glad that no matter how much I hate my own body from time to time, I know that no matter how much I change it, I'll still always be me. I'll still always be female. My body is more than the nebulous, unnecessary concept of "gender" - it allows me to do the things I want, to love the people I care about, to show up for work - my body is me. I have time to learn how to love my body for what it is.

This book makes me fucking maudlin.

[markcampbells]

As ever, I am both nosy and greedy, so: 💫🌿🕯️🎀

Em, I'm so sorry, I saw you of all people sent me asks for this and my brain shorted out like my Playstation in a recent thunderstorm. 😂 (The Playstation is fine! My brain is debatable.)

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

I really, really appreciate when people call out specific lines or moments they liked! It helps me understand what it is about the stuff I write that resonates with people, and it's just always nice to know what people liked about something I created. I also appreciate the comments I get occasionally where people tell me I helped them view a character differently or consider something they hadn't before! It always feels funny and gratifying to get people thinking differently about something we both know really well.

🌿how does creating make you feel?

Is there any other answer than "like a merciless god?" No, in all sincerity, great. Writing has been my main creative hobby (reading book buying is probably my main hobby in general) since I was ten years old, and nothing has really come close to it in terms of me having an outlet and a way to do something that's, by and large, for myself. I do work with partners, I go in and out of writing fanfiction (we are in an "in" phase at the moment), but I have my own original stuff that I pretty much write for myself because I don't aim to publish, and it feels nice to be able to do what I want and write what I want to see in the world. I've sometimes considered writing something longer I would submit to an independent press or something (I usually get this urge each year after the Brooklyn Book Festival, aka The Day Trai's Wallet Cries, because you spend the day talking to all these folks from indie presses and seeing authors like "yeah! I want to do that!!!"), but for right now, I'm happy making my own little worlds and characters who owe their existence to me.

🕯️was there a fic that was really hard on you to write, or took you to a place you didn't think it would take you?

pack up the life that's left is probably the hardest thing I've written for McKirk, and in some ways, in general. My dad died when I was young, and in a few ways, that's why McKirk resonates for me so strongly as a character dynamic--AOS Jim's entire life is shaped by his father's death, and even if TOS McCoy's loss of his own father was sort of a last-minute retcon of his character in some ways, it's so wrenchingly acted by DeForest Kelly (and, I think rightfully, called one of the best Trek scenes ever by people who know what they're talking about) that you can't help but accept it as the major moment it is, so when you combine those two characterizations together into one ship where these characters can share those emotions with each other... it's a lot. And it's a kind of relationship I have personal experience with, because my high school best friend lost his father when we were teens, and we've been each other's confidants and consolation in that regard for at least fifteen years. Jim never knew his dad, while I knew mine to a certain extent, but the thing we have in common is that grieving as an adult hits somewhat differently. For myself, I had a period of a few years in my late twenties where I kind of had to reprocess all my grief and think, fuck, I'm a whole person my dad never got to know. And in a lot of ways, I'll never really know my dad beyond what my family and his friends can tell me. I wanted to explore some of those same feelings for Jim--what would it make him feel to learn that his mother had kept a tangible connection to his father from him? And once he's processed that new connection, what will he do with it? While I don't personally observe any faith, my parents had an interfaith marriage, and I grew up most connected to my father's Jewish family. My mom, after his passing, made sure to observe certain customs, including marking my dad and his parents' passing with a yahrzeit candle each year. Because I work with the fanon that Jim is Jewish, with my personal spin on that being that Jim feels somewhat alienated from his faith on the whole post-Frank but is trying to regain it, I knew I wanted to include that in the fic, and so did the best I could to represent that tradition. I have to admit that the most gratifying and touching thing about getting this fic out into the world was the people who took the time to comment by sharing their own stories about loss, and what it meant to them to see a Jewish mourning custom reflected in fic. I really was not expecting that kind of response and it made the effort it took to pull the story together so worth it.

🎀 give yourself a compliment about your own writing

I try as hard as I possibly can to get the emotional side of my work right, and sometimes that gets really difficult when I'm writing about something I haven't personally experienced. I think, in that regard, the thing I'm proudest of is the second chapter of your hands can heal.... I have, honestly, been deeply fortunate to never experience severe mental illness or emotional abuse, and both things figure heavily in Bones' background in that chapter, conveyed to my readers by some fairly sparse flashbacks. I knew I had done my best to write the work in a way that felt true to me, but I wasn't really going to be sure if I had gotten it right until I heard from readers, and the comments I've gotten in response over the years about getting those aspects right have meant more to me than practically any other feedback I've ever gotten.

[itstimeforstarwars]

how'd you get into star wars?

Technically, the first movie I remember watching in theaters is Revenge of the Sith. We only had Star Wars (a new hope, but the vhs was so old that when it came out there was only one Star Wars) at home, so my dad rented the other five from Blockbuster so we could understand what we were about to go see. This didn't make much of an impression on me, except I really liked Episode One, and my sister and I would sometimes pretend to be Jar Jar and Padme or Qui-Gon and Anakin. But there were other shows we liked more, and so Star Wars did not have much impact on my life when I was a kid.

Then Episode Seven came out, and I was enthralled. There was gonna be a stormtrooper Jedi! How cool was that?? Finn and Rey were awesome, and they shared a lightsaber, and they kicked ass!

And then Episode Eight came out, and I hated it so much I swore off Star Wars forever. The prequels haters were right, I thought. Star Wars is stupid as fuck, and they never should have made any after the first one. I still haven't watched episode nine.

But then quarantine happened, and my roommate mentioned that she'd never seen star wars. She barely knew about it. The only thing she knew was Darth Vader. She didn't even know who Luke Skywalker was.

But the Mandalorian looked cool. And we were bored, trapped inside, and we'd already done our single grocery shopping trip of the month, so we had literally nothing to look forward to or fear. I had just graduated, and I had just been laid off because of covid. She had online school, and she'd had the vast majority of her work shifts cut for the same reason.

So since the Mandalorian was a star wars show, we decided to watch the first seven movies.

And I loved them.

I hadn't watched any but episodes 4 and 7 since 2005, and I had almost completely forgotten them. But the movies were so fun, and watching them with my roommate made them more fun. And then, once we'd watched the movies, we got into the Mandalorian, and the first season was so good, so I got to looking at gifsets on tumblr, and then that somehow led me to Projie and Soft Wars---which was my introduction to tcw, because I thought that Soft Wars was based on Episode Two, and I spent approximately fifteen fics being extremely confused but enjoying myself nevertheless. Who is Rex? What is this...Wolffe? Why does everyone have a really stupid name?

And three years later, I've written about a hundred works for this fandom. It's wild. I got through half of tcw08, all of tcw03, all of Rebels and Andor, and way more comics and books than I ever thought I would. And I'm still having fun!

But tl;dr: it's mostly quarantine and baby yoda that got me into it.

Thanks for the ask!

[kavrillia]

Titles. Ugh.

I've always hated coming up with titles. The first story arc I wrote in the Kavrilliaverse was originally called "Legacy," and the second arc "Heritage." They definitely fit the themes but weren't exciting or original.

After I added a third arc that took place before the other two and kind of mushed it all together into a single novel, I started referring to the whole thing as "Heritage" and gave each part its own title. (Part "zero" became "Passing of the Peacemaker," Legacy became "Vincaran Vendetta," and the original second arc became "Abandonment and Betrayal," "The Battle is Joined," and "Borrowed Birthright." I'm not crazy about the "The Battle is Joined" and may change it someday.)

After awhile I figured I needed a more distinctive title, so I started calling it "Heritage in the Stars." It hinted at the forces of destiny at work (being "written in the stars",) but all it really meant was that the story was in a planet-hopping sci-fi-themed setting. (It's always had a more fantasy feel, but it was originally inspired by War of the Worlds, so space travel was baked into the setting.) Back when I had a personal website with a section for the Kavrilliaverse, I saw that most of the hits I got were from people searching for conspiracy theories about life on Earth being seeded by ancient aliens. Okay then! Not what I meant at all!

Since then I've revised the entire setting drastically, and now everything takes place on the planet Kavrillia. What used to be star systems are now islands and archipelagos. Although the technology level includes high speed rail and videoconferencing, flight has never been invented. Thus the "in the Stars" part is even less relevant than ever.

In my mind I alternate between calling it "Heritage" and "Kavrillia," but the latter term doesn't mean anything to anyone so it wouldn't make a good book title.

This summer I've been mulling over "Heritage of Empire." It abbreviates to H.O.E., which is unfortunate, but I kind of like it otherwise. (Maybe "The Heritage of Empire," for T.H.O.E.?) The existence and history of the Lanarian Empire drives a lot of the conflict in the story.

See, when I was fifteen and first brainstormed all this, I had only the vaguest idea of how problematic real life empires can be. I'm an American of northern European ancestry living in a predominantly white Midwestern community. Imperialism and colonialism were just words from history class. "Empire" and "Empress" sounded cooler and more mature to my ears than "Kingdom" and "Queen." When you're that age, the Rule of Cool is basically all that matters in your writing.

Even then I knew the Lanarian Empire having first contact with a different culture that was at a slight technological disadvantage and then subjugating them was Very Bad, of course, but I handled it clumsily and only on a surface level. (At the time I was more interested in the rift between the rich and poor, which is still a strong theme.)

In the years since I've realized the implications of all this, albeit still through an unavoidable lens of white privilege, and I've adjusted my writing accordingly. The Vincaran culture is a hundred times more fleshed out than it was to begin with, in some ways even more than the Lanarian culture (which, let's face it, is pretty Western with a veneer of fantasy over the top). I have Vincaran POV characters who (gasp!) aren't antagonists. I've also written Empress Vazali to be more self-aware of the fact that she's the figurehead of a political entity that has done some pretty horrible things in the past, and continues to benefit from it. Just as in real life, there are no easy answers, and I don't pretend to have anything profound to say about imperialism, but at least now I acknowledge the issues.

The fact that the Lanarian Empire is, well, an empire is a factor behind almost all the main plot threads:

The main character is the empress, and the power struggle with her brother is a major plot point. What makes a good, responsible ruler? (Hint: It's not strutting around in fancy outfits and ordering people to bring you snacks.) Vazali's arc is also about duty vs personal desires, and the difficulty of being an empathetic, compassionate person in a world that, well, isn't. Ruling an empire with a problematic past doesn't make that balance any easier to find.

Delzeena's early life of poverty isn't exactly due to the empire's existence, but the fact that a sizable chunk of the capital city's population is experiencing homelessness doesn't reflect well on the government.

Xorax's plot arc is a direct result of the empire's oppression. His people are scattered and downtrodden thanks for colonialism, and the fight for independence cost his grandfather his life, sparking the vendetta that controls Xorax's destiny. Sicara's arc, which is closely tied to his, is at least in part about preserving and celebrating their cultural and religious heritage.

Zadie and Abarok's story is tied to the empire's just because she's a military leader and he's a diplomat, but the conflict in their arc is over their relationship, his asexuality, and societal expectations vs. what works for them.

Zalani's is a more minor plot arc, but she's trying to navigate between the two cultures, as she sees good and bad in both. Should she try to bring the good (i.e. feminism) from Lanarian culture into her own, or abandon Vincaran culture to assimilate into the one who has oppressed her people but not her sex?

Still, the shadow of what the Lanarian Empire is and what it has done, for good or ill, looms over the entire story, so "Heritage of Empire" isn't a bad title. I'm not ready to make the switch officially, but it's something I've been mulling over.

[Edited 27 Aug 2023 to add: "Heritage and Empire" is another option. "HAE, how you doin'?"]

[fasterthanmydemons]

{out of breath} I am like in the complete wrong mindset to write Pietro tonight. Nothing bad, just... my inspiration is in a totally different place right now. I’m going to try to force some things out because he only gets one day a week and I know people are waiting for replies, but it may be a light night.

[thoughts-of-a-trying-tree]

whispers

word count: 908

warning(s): references to fics i've never written, lil bit of cursing, lockdown/pandemic/quarantine, extreme Self-Indulgence and Projection™ in a bogo deal!

-----------------------------------------------

The best day of Harley Keener's college life wasn't when he finally perfected the Iron Lad suit to maneuver smoothly, allowing him to tiptoe silently with a hundred pounds of metal around him.

It wasn't during the lockdown when Peter put in his retainer and his cheeks puffed out, and it wasn't that night, when he took full advantage of how adorable he looked.

It wasn't near the end of lockdown, when they discovered that the song Something Stupid reminded them of each other.

It wasn't a few months later, when Peter, drunk and tired, told him that it would be the song they should play at their wedding.

It wasn't even the next morning, when he didn't take it back.

It was after they went back to college in person, after they had settled into classes, after they had figured out that they distracted each other too much and sat on opposite sides of the rooms, after they mapped the best routes to their classes so they could see each other as often as possible, because obviously they were that couple.

It was in class, Harley with a Spiderman mask and Peter with an Iron Lad one, when the professor pulled his mask down to cough for the third time.

When Harley, done with this shit, muttered low, "God, just fuck yourself, if you want to die so bad go for it, but don't bring us down with you," so quiet even he couldn't hear it, and he knew no one could see his mouth moving. When Peter, on the other side of the room, snorted. And turned around to look at him.

Well. Tomorrow, the games would begin.

'*'*'*'

Harley had planned to spout random passages from books they'd both read, mimic Tony, and he'd memorized a good chunk of dad jokes he found funny that night, but all those thoughts left his mind when he woke up to Peter leaving their apartment for a class they had together.

Harley threw his arm over his eyes after he left, silently grumbling that Peter didn't have to go so early when what he'd seen actually hit him.

Peter. Leaving the apartment. A red sweatshirt. Block letters on the back. His last name.

His last name.

Had Harley ever gotten up so quickly?

'*'*'*'

He speed-walked out of the apartment about half an hour later and barely remembered driving to campus. He ran in fifteen minutes before class, trying to look inconspicuous as he stared at Peter from across the room, laughing and joking with his friends. Peter, in Harley's Rose Hill Swim sweatshirt with KEENER emblazoned on the back.

Harley's plans fell out of the window faster than he could catch his breath. Peter turned to him, cheeks raising under his mask, and Harley could see the devil-sly smile in his mind. Two can play at that game. Peter could be a little shit, but Harley could match him too.

Change of plans.

'*'*'*'

Less than ten minutes after the professor had begun the lecture, Harley decided he couldn't wait any longer. He tilted his head towards Peter ever so slightly and waited until Peter stopped typing his notes.

"You look so beautiful in my clothes." Harley whispered. Peter stiffened slightly, ran a hand through his hair, and went back to typing.

Harley waited.

The next time Peter paused, "Scratch that." He stilled. "You look gorgeous all the time." Peter turned towards Harley ever so slowly and froze. He shook his head and pulled at his ear, then returned to his notes.

Pause. "I guess it's because you look like something I should own." This time Peter turned around completely and his eyes latched onto Harley's. A red blush crept up his face and Harley grinned. How long would it take until the red of his face matched the red of Harley's sweater? "Mine. With my last name on your clothes like the whole world should know." Peter whipped back to face forward again, typing at his notes, though Harley could tell from here that he wasn't typing anything comprehensive.

Pause. "Personally, I think the whole world should know. You'd feel me with you even when I'm not there and who would even come close?" At this point, it was a struggle for Harley to keep his voice low. It felt odd to speak so quietly and still see Peter reacting to him and he certainly wasn't learning anything the professor was saying.

Peter didn't go back to typing. His hands were frozen arcs over the keyboard and his chest moved with deliberate breaths. "Wow, darlin'. Didn't know I had such an effect on you." He twitched. Harley couldn't help himself anymore and broke.

"I love you. I love you. I love you."

'*'*'*'

By the time they both got back home, Harley was almost vibrating to see Peter alone. He had only just tossed his bag down when his back hit the wall. Peter's eyes were dark as sin and looking into his own.

"Did you really think you could get away with the stunt you pulled this morning?" Harley surged forward and pressed his lips to Peter's, feeling him fall pliant against him.

Pulling away, he laughed breathlessly, leaning his forehead onto Peter's. "Lost your fire so quickly?" Peter hummed by way of reply.

"Killed me, not being able to say it back all day."

"Say what, darlin'?" Harley whispered into the space between them.

"I love you too."

[bubblysunwoosworld]

Loathed Love - (Part 1)

Summary:

- The life of royalty isn't as ideal as the story books depict it, and you were prepared to take on anything if it was for the greater good of your people. So what will happen if you get arranged to marry someone you don't love, but rather... someone you loathe?

Genre:

- enemies to lovers

Notes:

- This part was written by the amazing @justanothercamilofan !! They wrote the first three chapters and I will be writing chapters 4 and up! Hope you enjoy!

Warnings:

-cursing

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | to be continued...

Days like these made you dream about how life would be if you were just an average townsperson. As the eldest child and the next heir to the throne of Corona, countless duties and responsibilities awaited you. The role of a monarch requires rigorous preparations. Which is why at the young age of fifteen, your mother, the queen, has taken you under her guidance.

Now at the age of 25, it was no surprise that you had more royal duties to fulfill. It was rather hectic— perhaps even tedious at some point— but you were well-aware of its purpose; The greater good of the people. You wondered how people found it in themselves to think that a life of royalty was ideal. Monarchy is a form of government, your family was basically the head of your nation. Does undergoing constitutional and representational duties sound like something to look forward to? The thought of it was enough to make you feel as if your hairs were graying.

The life you and your family lived was more than just wearing fancy outfits, being graceful with you every move and dancing in a ballroom. This was the reality behind all those stories you'd read in children's books.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"It's Marielle, your highness." The person behind the door replies.

"Oh, you can come in!"

And so she does, the woman enters the room quietly. Marielle stands next to the wooden door, hands placed neatly in front of her, a warm smile gracing her features. "Your father has sent me here to tell you that he wishes to speak with you." Her tone was timid as she spoke, you nod your head in response. "I see. Thank you for making your way here to tell me this."

"It's no problem. The king's in the dining room. I shall be taking my leave, thank you for your time." Marielle bows politely before exiting your room, closing the door on her way out.

After that, you take your time fixing yourself up; Neatly combing your hair, putting on a simple yet elegant outfit and spraying on a bit of perfume/cologne. The way you present yourself is important, even if it's just to a family.

Just like Marielle stated, your father was waiting for you in the dining room, but it wasn't just him there. Your mother was too, and an old lady dressed in maroon. Alongside her, two people wearing all yellow. One was a dark skinned man with black hair, the other was a woman with fair skin and auburn hair.

Upon noticing you, your mother speaks. "Ah, there you are, (name). We've got something important to discuss with you, come take a seat." She beckons you over, gesturing to a vacant chair next to her. You approach them, making yourself comfortable on your seat. "I'm sure you're wondering why we called you here, yes?" Your father begins. "They are the Madrigals, rulers of the Kingdom, Encanto."

No fucking way. Did you hear that right? If this is all just a dream, then the world is so cruel for that. You harshly pinch yourself from under the table, forcing yourself to keep a straight face when it pained you.

"This is our eldest child, (Name) (Last Name)."

A pleased smile appears on the old woman's face. "Wonderful, they're very good-looking. My name is Alma Madrigal, this one of my daughters," She gestures to the lady in yellow. "Pepa Madrigal. And her husband, Felix Madrigal."

You greet the three of them with a kind smile.

"Now that introductions are out of the way, it's time we talk business." Alma spoke. "I've decided to invite your family over for dinner. If we want to join forces together, it'd be a good opportunity for the rest of our families to be on good terms with each other."

You bite back a sigh. This was going to be a long day. As they converse with each other, you try your hardest to keep track of what they're talking about. Forming a union... Getting to know each other... blah, blah, blah... Arranging a marriage... bl— Arranging a what? It all clicks in your head. Dread fills your gut as you realize what they called you here for.

"(Name), in order to strengthen our kingdom... We have decided that you will get married to the eldest grandson of the Madrigal Family."

And... there it is. Wow, truly shocking. You expected this to happen, but it still didn't make you feel any less nervous. Remember your purpose, (name), for the greater good of the people. You thought to yourself.

With a forced smile, you spoke: "Is that so? Well, I look forward to meeting him." The couple dressed in yellow shared a look towards each other, would you still be able to say that after meeting him? They hoped you would.

After a long 10 minutes of talking, the Madrigals finally take their leave. "I will see you all in a few days, thank you for granting us the opportunity to talk to you." Alma says. "Oh, if anything, it should be us thanking you. Have a safe trip!" Your parents wave goodbye to them as they leave.

Afterwards, you make your way back to your bedroom. In two days, you'll be meeting with the Madrigals again, with your family. What if this guy's a total weirdo? You could only hope that he wasn't a total mess. As you drag your feet up the stairs, a voice calls out to you.

"Hey, (name)!"

You didn't have the energy for this. "What is it, Eduardo?"

"Don't look so down! I heard you were getting married, isn't that a good thing? I seriously can't

believe someone would want to marry you." Your younger brother jokes, grinning widely at you.

"Not if you don't even know the person." You reply, sighing.

Eduardo's grin falters at that. He places an arm around you, "Sorry, I thought the joke would cheer you up. I... don't really know what to say to this. I'm aware that we both can't do anything about this, but if he ever hurts you, I'll punch him."

A chuckle escapes you. "Thank you, but I don't think that'll be necessary. I'll... give whoever this guy is, a shot. We are going to be stuck together for life, after all."

---

Two days pass by rather quickly.

You were in your room, gazing at yourself in the mirror. Was this outfit good enough? How long have you been worrying about this? An hour. You even called in one of your maids to judge your outfits.

"How does this look?"

"It looks wonderful on you, your majesty. The color really matches your eyes." She complimented. Was she just saying that because of your status or was it genuine?

"Sorry for bothering you with this, I just really need to look at my best for tonight." You mumble, and the maid nods in understanding. "Perhaps you could lose the gloves then? It looks good, please don't get me wrong, but it's better without it." She said. You take her suggestion and gasp. Holy shit, she was right.

"Thank you, I really appreciate it." You flash her a kind smile and she happily returns it with one of her own.

A knock on the door. "Sorry to interrupt, your highness, but your parents are waiting for you."

"Ah, of course!" You smoothen out your clothes before turning to the maid. "Wish me luck, huh?" She only smiles wider, holding the door open for you.

Once you arrive downstairs, you see your parents and Eduardo there. "There you are! We better get going, it wouldn't be good if we arrived late." Your mother says. All four of you head outside and a carriage is there, waiting for you. The trip all the way to Encanto took a few hours, but thankfully, you managed to arrive early.

"Welcome, (Last Name)'s! It is an honor to have you here!" Alma greeted, a polite smile on her face. Behind her was the rest of her family. You quietly gasp in awe at the interior of their castle, it was beautiful and full of color.

"Hola." A voice spoke, it makes you jump. "Woah, hey, it's just me." You turn to the person who greeted you, it was a boy dressed in yellow. He had curly brown hair and green eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

An awkward chuckle leaves him. "Prince Camilo Madrigal." He extends a hand towards you. You introduce yourself, happily shaking his hand. What you didn't expect was for Camilo to bring your hand up to his lips and place a kiss to the back of it. Warmth floods your cheeks, and you avert your gaze from him.

"It's a pleasure meeting you. I have a feeling we'll get along well." The prince smiles at you. "I have to get going now, please enjoy your stay here." With that, he leaves. Was that the guy you were marrying? He looked like he was around your age, the other grandson you saw looked way younger. Who else could it be? You needed to tell Eduardo about this, that guy was handsome too.

As you explore the halls of the castle, you observe every painting and furniture they have. Everything about this place was beautiful and so much more different than your place, not that you were complaining. Being too awestruck with your surroundings, you fail to realize that someone was walking your way. The only time you acknowledge their presence is when you bump into them.

"Ay!" "Ow!"

You look up at whoever it was you collided with, ready to apologize.

"Are you blind?" The other person speaks. Huh? What the hell? You take a moment to study his features. Curly, dark brown hair with bangs covering one of his eyes, he looked similar to Camilo. He scoffs, "What? Are you deaf too? Stop staring at me, that's fucking rude, you know?"

What is it with this guy? He's a total jerk! "I'm rude? You're the one who called me blind AND deaf! What's your deal anyway?"

With a roll of his eyes, he replies: "I should be asking you that. What are you doing here? The dining room's the other way, stupid."

"Is it really necessary to be so mean? I was just about to apologize when you started to be an ass!" You said, glaring at him.

"Oh, boo-hoo, are you going to cry? Shut the hell up, keep your voice down." The boy shoves his hands in his pocket, he seems to be enjoying your reactions.

You've only just met this guy, but you can already tell you two wouldn't get along at all. Who the hell has the guts to be this much of a meanie to someone he just met?

"Are you just going to stand there like a weirdo or are you heading into the dining area?" He asks, raising a brow. "I'm not a weirdo." You grumble, walking away from him.

---

As you take a seat in the dining area, Eduardo taps your shoulder. "Are you going to be okay?"

He asks, worry evident in his tone. "Yes, I'll be fine. I think I have an idea on who it might be."

You whisper to him, he lights up at that. "Great! Goodluck, (name), don't embarrass yourself like you always do." Chuckling, you pinch his sides. "Okay! Sorry!" He whisper-yells.

"Family! And the (Last Names)'s!" Alma spoke, her voice loud and clear that it gets everyone's attention. "I've gathered all of you here today for a very special announcement." She glances at you, and you smile kindly at her.

"In order to keep our kingdom strong... I, along with King Hernando (Last Name), have spoken about his eldest child, (Name)'s marriage to one of the Madrigals."

The anticipation is slowly killing you. Is there any way she could just hurry up and spit out the name of who you'll be marrying?

"They will be married in five months. We've both come to an agreement on this, isn't that right?"

Your father nods happily, clearly excited about this.

"And I've decided that the best partner for our lovely (name) is..."

Here it comes.

"Carlos Madrigal!"

Oh. The asshole from earlier— who you now know as Carlos— slams his fists on the table.

"What?! No!" He angrily yells out. "Don't yell at your Abuela!" Pepa scolds him. "You're joking, right? I am NOT marrying... that!"

You sent him an offended gaze and he only glared at you.

"The decision has been made, Carlo—"

"No, I don't care. I won't do it." Without another word, he stomps out of the room. A few moments of silence pass by before Alma speaks.

"My apologies, everybody. That boy has always been so difficult... (Name), could you please go talk to him? Perhaps you could get some sense into Carlos."

Considering your earlier interaction, you highly doubted that. Still, you agreed to do it.

--

"Uh... Carlos?" You call out to him. "Hi, um, your Abuela sent me he—"

"Go away." He harshly spoke. "I don't want to listen to what you have to say."

"I know we... got off on the wrong foot, but I've got no choice either, y'know?" You slowly approach him.

Carlos suddenly bursts into laughter. He changes the pitch of his voice in an attempt to mock you, "'I know we got off on the wrong foot!'"

"What the hell is your problem? Don't you care about the greater good of your people?" You place a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back to face you.

"Oh, cariño... Aren't you such a sweetheart? Like hell I do." He spat out, disgusted that you'd even ask him that.

You could feel your blood starting to boil, why was he being so difficult? You didn't want this either, but he needs to realize that none of you have a say in this and that the wedding will happen, regardless of whether they want it or not.

"I don't want this either, Carlos." You began. "Stop making this so much more difficult than it already is. You think I want to get married to some bastard like you? I have standards, and I'm being forced to lower them for the sake of my kingdom!"

Carlos looks... taken aback by your sudden outburst. He falls silent, possibly planning on what he should do next. Shit, did you go too far? Was that too mean? You opened your mouth to speak, but he cut you off before you could begin.

"... Fine. You're... Ri—" He fake gags. "Right..."

Your eye twitches in annoyance. This is absolute hell.

[hotgirlscoups]

nonfiction book recs pls?

of course !!! here are some of my faves :)))

eggshell skull by bri lee (a memoir by a survivor of sexual assault, and this book takes a very fascinating look at the australian legal system from bri, who actually worked as a legal assistant and oversaw hundreds of assault cases herself. an absolute five star book imo)

how to be a dictator: the cult of personality in the twentieth century by frank dikotter (this one's more for the history nerds, but it's a super interesting book that analyses eight dictators and the circumstances that allowed them to rise to power. a very englightening and accessible read)

the shortest history of china by linda jaivin (once again for the history nerds but this book!!!!! it's pretty short but still packed with so much information, and i really enjoyed taking my time to absorb the contents)

in the dream house by carmen maria machado (one of the most clever books i've read in my entire life. this memoir is written about a woman who was in an abusive relationship with another woman, which is a style of abuse that is rarely talked about, but she still manages to pack in so much stunning prose that at times, you forget everything she's saying is real. machado plays with form and structure in the most brilliant way i've ever seen, and this book truly showcases her talent)

what my mother and i don't talk about: fifteen writers break the silence by michele filgate (if you have mommy issues read this book rn i promise you will cry. filgate literally brought the fifteen most talented writers in the world and asked them to rip my heart open on a page fr)

forensics: what bugs, burns, prints, dna and more tell us about crime by val mcdermid (i'm just gonna copy and paste my review for this from goodreads bc it outlines everything i need to say - this was brilliant !! i know absolutely nothing about forensic science outside of what i've seen on tv but mcdermid has written this book in a simple, concise way that captured the most fascinating parts of criminology and kept me hooked. maybe this is just the law student in me jumping out but it's a truly worthwhile read, as long as you can stomach quite a few graphic descriptions of violent crime)

see what you made me do: power, control and domestic violence by jess hill (an absolutely englightening look at domestic violence and abuse in all of their nuances and the different forms they takes. highly highly recommend that you read this book at least once in your lifetime)

know my name by chanel miller (i felt sick within the first twenty pages. a harrowing memoir from chanel miller, the survivor of the famous contemporary sexual assault case involving brock turner, who ended up getting only 3 months in jail for raping her behind a dumpster while she was unconscious. i can't emphasise enough that this is not, by ANY means, an easy one to get through, so please only read it if you're 100% sure you'll be alright)

what white people can do next: from allyship to coalition by emma dabiri (an absolutely fascinating look at racial allyship that i had never even considered - there were one or two parts that i'm not fully certain i agree with, but all in all it's an interesting piece of political theory, as well as being very short and quite accessible too)

[asimpfor2dcharacter]

Note: In this chapter there will mention two of my oc ( original character) their physical appearance will be present in the future chapters.

When you see this sign -- it means a flashback started/ended

Previous chapter Masterlist

Chapter 2: Cafè and tea

In the morning the rain was strumming against the window of her room and  she was preparing herself to go into the living room. She decided to wear a light pigiama suited for the weather and thought that it was unnecessary to wear the golden ring she usually uses because no one was going to see it anyway beside her parents. It has already been several days since she came back to Japan and she mostly spent her time with her parents: cooking with her mother, training with her father and beating him in a game of chess. Mundane actions that people usually do with their parents but she can't, due to the fact that she lives far from them.

She decided to join his father in the kitchen who was busy cooking breakfast.

Aizawa noticed the presence of his daughter when she entered the room, 

"Goodmorning Y/n, your mom already left this early in the morning to work".

"Morning Dad, are those pancakes?," she asked, setting the table.

"Yes your favourite, you can already eat the one on the table while it's still hot ," he said, pointing at the table where there were several pancakes on a plate.

"Thanks Dad," she glanced outside the window and there was still a drizzling rain, " the weather forecasts show that around lunch time there will be sun for the rest of the day, so me and Yuga  planned to meet each other in a cafè nearby,".

"That sounds great," he flipped the last pancakes on the pan and he put it on his plate and then he took a chair beside her daughter.

"Well dad thank you for the breakfast,".

While cutting his food, he asked her, "Y/n in a few days I have the final appointment at the tailor shop for my wedding suit. I wanted to ask you if you can come with me?,".

"Are you asking  me that because you genuinely want me to be there or you  just don't want to be alone with uncle Mic?," she said while spreading the Nutella on her pancake.

"A mix of both, so are you coming?,".

"Of course I will, it's not everyday to see you in such a formal outfit," he rolled his eyes at her daughter's comment, making her tease her father more, knowing his preference over more comfortable clothes rather than elaborate one's.

"But Dad, one week before I came here in Japan you told me that Nezu offered you the position of UA principal, have you already made a decision?,".

Once he heard the question, he wiped his mouth with a napkin and slowly he put the fork on the table. "Honestly no". 

"Why?".

"I thought about it and Y/n I know it's a great honour to be the UA principal but," crossing his arm he continued, " I'm getting older and I don't if I can continue to be a hero for more years let alone be the UA principal," he said touching his left leg. She knew what exactly he meant with those words. "Beside," he added, " working as a principal, sure does take off your free time and I prefer spending my free time with your mom rather than working on paperworks,".

"You really love mom," she said.

"Well yeah, that's why I'm marrying her," he admitted with a smile on his face.

"That's it I'm going to tell mom when she comes back home,".

"Please don't, she will tease me about it for the whole week,". 

Both of them almost finished  eating their food when her father asked, "Y/n I know you told us you took this vacation for health reasons but it might also be because of those articles about you?". 

She immediately stopped eating, her eyes were avoiding his father's gaze, almost ashamed to meet them,"So you saw it".

"Yes I saw them, I read those negative reviews about your latest book so does your mom but don't get down on yourself. I know how negative opinions of others can bring you down but don't forget that you will always have me and your mom support you for everything. Me and your mom just want you to communicate with us when something is wrong," and now it was his turn to avoid her gaze, not wanting her to see his eyes tearing up, "we just don't want to repeat what happened to you six years ago,".

She listened attentively at his words, she knows how both of her parents suffered for the events of that day and she promised to herself that it will never happen again, "I know dad I'm working on it and I promise you, you will never see me again in that situation".

"Your mom and I just what the best for you," he said, patting gently on your head.

"I know dad I know," she admitted, giving her father a reassuring smile.

"Oh wait, you said your meeting Aoyama right," he pulled out from his pocket his wallet and gave her 13,000 yen  (99 in euro, 117 in dollars), "here take it,".

"Dad, I'm twenty-six years old, I can pay for my stuff,".

"Just take it ok," He replied while sipping a cup of coffee pretending not to hear the protest coming from his daughter.

 

After the deep conversation she had with Aizawa this morning, she was now preparing to meet Aoyama. Once  choosing her outfit, she decided to wear the golden ring on the fourth finger of her left hand to complete the look. Fortunately the weather forecast was right and it was a sunny day outside and her best friend informed her that they will meet in a cafe. He told her how excited he was to try their famous cheesecake and the way he described the pastry makes her want to try.

It took only twenty minutes by walking from her house to arrive at the cafè shop Aoyama told her. From the outside the wall of the shop  was black and it was ornated with several climbing plants, there was also a big wooden door as the entrance and inside the place it was rather a cozy atmosphere.

 She was searching for her best friend who was in disguise to avoid fans attention towards him and he told her to be able to recognise him, he was wearing a green merchandise t-shirt of Deku with a pair of dark sunglasses and a dark blue bucket hat. After searching for a couple of minutes she finally saw her friend in the most isolated part of the shop and near him there was a TV attached to the wall. He was sitting in a chair using his phone but she noticed something different from her best friend. 

"I can't believe he really did that," she thought.

"Yuga I thought you were joking when you said to me you were going to dye your hair," admiringing his new hair color now similar to the shade of blonde of Lucius Malfoy.

After some years of not seeing her in person, he immediately gave her a warm hug, "Y/n!!! It's so nice to see you again". 

"Yuga, you don't know how much I missed you," she said, returning back the hug, "it's been two years since  we saw each other and the last time was when you visited me in New York".

"And what were you saying about my hair, for your information," flipping his hair with a hand in a too dramatic way, " these are amazing," he said, not caring too much about him blowing up his disguise.

"Whatever you say Lucius Malfoy. So how is my favourite hero?," she asked once they took their seats.

He confesses to her the struggle of being the number fifteen hero, how the paparazzi each day that pass are becoming more determined to invade his private life and his agency already gave five restriction orders to five paparazzi only this  last three months. He can't imagine how difficult it is for higher ranking heroes to maintain  their privacy, he admitted, but on a positive note he and his team are working hard to climb higher in the hero rankings this year and they are also trying to sign better sponsorships with other companies' brands.

"So yeah, this is basically what I've been doing in the last months," he picked the menu card, " and you, my favourite writer, keep me updated on what is happening in your life," he asked, flipping the menu card.

"Well first I'm sorry for what happened to you with the paparazzi, at least your agencies manage the whole situation well but don't worry I don't have any doubts that you will achieve the top ten hero podium. So you wanted to know my personal life or my work life?,".

"All of it," He admitted with a devilish smile painted on his face.

"You jerk, so where do I start," taking a deep breath, "let's talk first about work, even though I told my parents it was my own decision to be on holiday, actually, it is more like my agency imposed me to take this vacation, because of the critiques. Although my recent book was a success to the public, the critiques were, well, quite harsh. 

I have been working in this industry for a long time to develop a thick skin towards harsh criticisms but my agency didn't take it well, they told me, I should take time off from working before publishing a new book. They don't want to see again what they read about me in those articles written by literary critics, phrases like 'The book is so predictable, 'Has Adrianne lost her spark of writing?', 'The book is not on the same level as the other that she wrote', 'I will not even read to meet pets'.

He put down the menu card in his hands, "Y/n, I'm sorry for what happened to you but don't let those critics let you down. I know your worth as an writer and looks like also my colleagues know it, the way they were down knowing you took half year off from writing, you should have seen their reaction when they red what those literary critics wrote about you they were furious to them and every time they talk about your stories and theories about it, their face are engulfed of joy" he said taking both of your hands in his and slightly squeeze it. "Y/n if you can only see the happiness of my co-workers imagines the joy you bring to others millions of people that read your stories around the globe," he expressed with a smile on his face, after all the years that you know him that smile always brings you comfort. "Y/n remember you are the one who brought that medium company to become one of the biggest and most important company in New York with your amazing works, you are their big fish. Even if those literary critics didn't like your books, what can your company do against you? Fire you? Please they are nothing without you," he added.

Trying to not laugh at his last statement, she dried the tears forming in her eyes for the words of support from her friend, she said, "Ohhh Yuga chan, you really know how to make a woman cry".

He winked at her, "What can I say, it's the charm of being a hero".

"Ok let's stop with these tear-jerking moments and let's order." Playfully slapping his arm and picking up the menu card to choose what to order. "I honestly don't know what to pick besides their cheesecake, there are so many to choose from".

"Well I also recommend you to check their drinks,".

Flipping through the pages of the menu card, she decided what to choose, " I know what to order and you?," He nodded indicating to her, he was also ready to order.

A waitress came towards them after she called her, "Hi, are you ready to take an order?".

Y/n spoke for both of them, " Yeah, we both chose the cheesecake and for the drinks a black tea and a bottle of water".

"I'm sorry to say this but there is only one cheesecake left," the waitress informed them both.

"It's ok Y/n you can take it-"

"You are more excited than me to try their cheesecake, so I will pick the tiramisù instead of the cheesecake," she said to the waitresses.

Once the waitress was gone Aoyama told her best friend, " I still can't believe it, our friendship basically started thanks to cheese".

She laughed at what he said because it was basically the truth, she remembered the day she met him.

--

Her mother gave birth to her in Musutafu, Japan, but at the age of five her mother decided to move to London. When the young girl asked the reason why they needed to reside in another country, her mother's eyebrow frowned at the question but there was an evident sadness in her eyes and a wounded look  she tried to hide under a smile. Her mom lowered herself to approach the same height of her child and with her hand she gently patted the hair of her daughter and with hesitation she answered "It's for the best".

So the single mother and her daughter lived their life in tranquillity, trying to fit in a new community and culture with her mother working as a nurse in a big hospital in London and her going to school and living most of her childhood in England.

Y/n didn't make a lot of friends considering her timid nature until one day she discovered a blog that contains: information, fun facts and new discovery about cheeses. A lot of kids around her age didn't like the smell of it and they always say it because the smell of it reminds them of sticky feet. So when she met on this blog a person around her same age that also has the same passion as her they immediately became friends and this boy's name was Yuga Aoyama. 

The young girl and her online friend almost spent their time together, talking about what they wanna be in the future. 

"Y/n chan when I grow up I want to be a hero just like All Might," the young boy announced, showing to her the All Might plushie.

"I don't really know what I want to be when I grow up, maybe just like my mama?. I just want one day to meet you in person Yuga,". 

Unbeknownst to the ten years old girl, her wish will become reality when her mother informs her that they will go back to live again in Musutafu ,Japan. Her mom receives an offer to work as an assistant for Recovery Girl and to her mother's surprise her daughter was more than happy to go back to Japan because this means that she will have the opportunity to meet her online friend in person. 

After five years living in England they are finally back in Japan. Her mother was euphoric for the fact that both of them are finally back in their home country and after a few weeks of fixing their apartment Y/n didn't lose time to meet her online friend in person and they decided to meet near the UA school.

After meeting in person the two became closer to each other and their friendship solidified over the years until they both went to the UA high school with Aoyama achieving his dream to go to the hero course and her simply frequenting the general department. 

The first year of UA recently started and Aoyama and her were walking in the hallway of the school to go to the cafeteria during lunch break, their peaceful conversation was interrupted when they heard loud noises coming from their back.

There was a boy with blond hair and a black lightning symbol on his hair that just passed them running from something or rather from someone, "You see that boy his name is Kaminari, one of my classmates but I don't know why he's running this fast".

She was going to tell her best friend something until she heard another loud sound of explosion coming from  behind her. When she turned around to see what was the cause of the tumult the girl notice another blond boy running towards them with a furios remark on his face, the boy was clearly using his quirk in the school hallway, even if he wasn't allowed to, a blast of explosion appearing on his hands to be able to run faster and Y/n seeing all of this was already ready to ignore it until she heard.

"SHINE!".

After hearing those words coming from the blond boy, Y/n was astonished by what she realised and she didn't even register that she basically screamed to the boy, "What it's you".

Bakugo was searching for Kaminari trying to teach him a lesson for a stupid prank that him and Mineta played on him. After giving a lesson to Mineta it was Kaminari turns now, he was running to find him until he lost sight of him, the only evidence where to find him was hearing his scream of terror trying to escape from Bakugo. The angry blond male immediately knew where the noise was coming from and it was from the hallway near the cafeteria and of course Bakugo didn't lose time and he instantly used his quirk to run faster towards the hallway where the scream of Kaminari was coming from.

Out of frustration he let out a curse but he didn't know that screaming that word  can change his life forever.

In the hallway he saw his classmate Aoyama and a girl near him, he was going to ignore them until the unknown girl screamed at him.

Bakugo was continuously running but eventually lose his balance and control of his quirk when the girl in front of him screamed at him, his pupil become more dilated and suddenly his breath grow shorter until he was a few steps from the unknown  girl and at that moment he completely lose track of his footstep making him fell on the ground with the girl under him.

Y/n didn't understand what just happened, her body was lying on the ground and she felt a weight of another person on top of her, when she opened her eyes she was greeted with a pair of carmine eyes observing  her movement attentively. 

" Fuck it's you then ," Bakugo said.

--

"Y/n ," he called her, "you were zoning out," he added.

"I'm sorry I was thinking of something," she created an excuse, mentally scolding herself to stop reminiscing about the past with rose tinted glasses.

He was going to say something until both of their attention was now focused on the tv near them.

There was a lady in her thirties announcing that one month from now there will be an annual hero gala and the woman was presenting which heroes will be present that night. The lady was showing pictures of various superheroes which some of them were familiar to Y/n from Aoyama and old UA students but what caught her attention was the remark that the woman said when she presented the pictures of Bakugo and her girlfriend.

Look at those two our national sweet couple, we all can't wait to see them and in a few months by now there will be their six years anniversary together .

Y/n and Yuga looked at each other's eyes and they cringed at that nickname that the host gave them.

"National sweet couple? Seriously?," she asked, trying to hold her laugh.

A hand in front of his mouth to suppress his laugh, he said, "Believe me there are worse nicknames that I heard about those two. But you know what is more interesting," he suddenly lowered his voice and asked her to come near him, "there are some rumours in the hero circle that say that Bakugo cheated multiple times on Yua".

At his last statement, she looked with sadness at the golden ring present on her fourth finger and thought  Well this isn't like the first time that happen.

" but you know,  what is the most interesting part of the 'cheating rumors' about Bakugo is that none of it comes out from the public's eyes," he added.

"Well this is strange considering this is the type of news paparazzi and the media will fight to know ".

Suddenly the conversation she was having with her friends was interrupted when a waitress served them their food.

"Y/n  let's stop talking about Bakugo love life, tell me about yours-".

"Not existent," she cut him short.

"Oh c'mon Y/n there will be someone who can make your heart beat again- ".

His complaints were interrupted with the ring of her phone.

"Who is it?," he asked.

She checked her phone and told him, " It's Aki".

"Speaking of the devil. You mean that Aki, the son of the president of the company you work for? The golden bachelor of your company and every female tried to seduce but failed eventually?," he said, drinking his tea.

"I'm sorry to interrupt your fantasies but he's only a good friend of mine, probably he only called just to talk about work knowing him," she admitted, answering the call.

"Hi Aki, ohh you're coming to Japan, when?,".

She heard her friend whispering to her, "Interesting," she rolled her eyes at her friend's comment.

"Ok bye Aki,".

"So what did you talk about,".

She told Aoyama what they talked about and it was mainly about work. Aki is the vice president of the company and in a few days he will come to Japan to take over an important project that was to build a new branch company located in Tokyo.

"And he also asked me if he can take me out to dinner when he will be here,".

"Well well well this sounds like a date to me. Do you ever think that he might have feelings for you?," he asked.

She defended herself, "We knew each other for a few years now, if he ever had feelings for me I should have noticed it by now".

" Y/n , I mean you didn't even notice when Bakugo had-".

She knew exactly where he was coming from and she didn't like it. She touched the ring in her finger with her other hand and with a firm voice  she said to him, " Aoyama, stop, I might have not noticed in the past  but now I will definitely know if someone has it".

Aoyama noticed her discomfort around that particular subject and he immediately tried to ask for forgiveness, "I'm sorry. I should've thought better before bringing it out that subject".

"It's ok Yuga. I shouldn't be angry with you about things that happened years ago," she comforted him, returning to her calm nature.

"No no no I'm on the wrong side this time and I want you to forgive me by going shopping and let me pay for your stuff," he informed her.

"Wait no you shouldn't do it-".

"I insist Y/n and I don't accept no for an answer," he announced, winking at her.

"I mean if you insist….". 

[terrm9]

Cieli di Toscana

Words count: 1 600

Author’s note: I love Italy and Italian language, I miss hearing it, I miss eating gelato and the sea and I like Bocelli. That’s it, that’s all you need to know to understand this fluffy useless piece. Also, I tried to translate that one line the best I can, but my Italian is mediocre at best, so if someone from Italy sees it - please, feel free to correct my translation and don’t hate me if I got it absolutely wrong.

Takes place some weeks after the OHSY Finale.

It was raining heavily as Chiara stepped into Ethan’s car, making her sigh. 

“This is absolutely terrible weather for a road trip,” she rolled her eyes dramatically, earning an honest chuckle from Ethan.

They weren’t going on a road trip. They were invited to attend a conference in New York and as much as Ethan hated those, the vision of three whole days with Chiara, out of reach of the chaos that’s been erupting in Boston ever since Edenbrook’s closing and its subsequent grand re-opening, was enough for him to make a decision to go.

The excruciating rate of their lives in those past few months has also been reason why Ethan decided to drive for four hours to New York. Four hours on their way back and another four on their way back, eight full hours of the two of them being next to each other without anyone else’s presence, with nothing better to do than to simply be together. Hell, even if Chiara decided to just sleep the whole time, those eight hours of her peaceful sleep would be worth the time spent in a car.

“Okay, if you don’t want to start with my playlist,” Chiara waved indefinitely with her phone in the hand, “you better have something else than an audio book to listen to.”

To be absolutely honest, Ethan wouldn’t mind listening to her playlist if that would serve her best, however he gestured towards the dashboard on Chiara’s side of a car.

“There should be some old CD’s in there.”

Opening a storage space of the dashboard, Chiara raised her eyebrow at him and exclaimed: “Some old what? Have you ever heard of the possibility of connecting your phone to the radio?”

Ethan resisted his urge to pinch the bridge of his nose as he was in the middle of overtaking a truck. He knew what was coming and that he didn’t dispose of any power that could stop it.

“I remember the times when the only way to listen to something of your choice in a car was to use a CD. I said they were old.”

Chiara rolled her eyes, not even trying to hide the smirk that found its way onto her face. Of course he would remember that.

“Remind me again, which dinosaur was your favorite? You know, since you were lucky enough to live among them.”

“This joke is getting old.”

He regretted the words the moment they left his mouth, knowing that they would backfire terribly.

“Yes, and so are you,” Chiara replied without missing a beat, her triumphant grin so wide Ethan was sure her cheeks hurt.

She grabbed the first CD, disapprovingly muttering under her breath.

“Vivaldi, Sinatra, Schoenberg, another Sinatra, Bocelli? I know this one,” she turned to him with Italian tenor’s album in her hand.

Ethan glanced at her quickly and nodded, encouraging her to develop her statement.

“My mom loves Bocelli, like really loves, loves. I remember when this particular album came out, I was maybe eight or nine at the time and my mom would listen to it on repeat, all day for two solid weeks,” she chuckled to herself at the memory and decided to put the CD into the radio, letting herself get lost in the memories of her childhood. “My dad was going crazy, always shutting himself in his study to listen to Queen or David Bowie. I would usually follow him and when I asked him why he didn’t tell her to turn it off, he’d just smile, shrug and say something about the music making my mom happy.”

Chiara listened to the first track, the melody all too familiar despite not hearing it for at least fifteen years. It sounded like her parents and home and love. The unconditional love her father always held for her mother, the one that grossed her out when she was a kid and caused her to have unfulfillable expectations from boys when she was a teenager.

She always dreamt of meeting a man that would love her that way, the man that would listen to the music he hated and she loved just because it would make her happy.

Shaking her head slightly to get herself out of the dangerous waters of her mind, the waters of nostalgy, the waters of infinite sadness she felt when thinking about her dad and her brother and how they would never get to decide if Ethan deserved their precious Chia, their light, she cleared her throat and read the title written on the plastic cover of the CD.

“Cieli di Toscana. Do you know what that means?” she turned to Ethan, thankful that the traffic kept him from noticing how lost she’s been for the last few minutes.  

"Skies of Tuscany," Ethan replied, not tearing his gaze of the road.

Chiara smiled to herself, her mind taking her back to all those documentaries she's seen about that part of Italy.

"They must be bewitching. Skies of Tuscany, I mean," she leaned further into her seat, the soft melody of second song making it easier to just imagine being there, far away from struggles Boston had in store for her. "Have you ever been to Tuscany?"

Ethan nodded, his sharp gaze melting slightly as his focus has been divided between driving and reminiscing his time in Europe.

"Once. I've been attending a conference with Naveen in Florence. I hardly had any spare time for sightseeing and yet the city managed to render me speechless as I walked its narrow streets."

Despite his efforts to find a better word for the city, all he could think about, back then in Florence, was how romantic its streets were. He could still remember how his whole body both loved and hated the atmosphere and how, when he surly muttered that it was city made for couples, Naveen would laugh and say: „If you are clever enough not to repeat my mistakes, you will come back with a woman of your life one day and belong to those scandalous couples.“

Another memory flashed in his mind, too bright and fresh for his liking. The one where, laying on the thick fabric of hazmat suit that protected his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks slowly, Chiara admitted that she regretted not travelling more while she could.

„I’ll take you there, when this chaos settles down and we’re allowed to take some time off. I’ll take you to Tuscany then,“ he said softly, quietly, pretending to concentrate on the road, which must have looked absolutely ridiculous as the highway was currently deserted. He hoped Chiara didn’t notice how flushed the back of his neck suddenly became.

She didn’t.

Chiara was biting her cheek, staring back and forth at Ethan and the road. Her own cheeks were colored in a bright pink color, the sincerity of Ethan’s words making her weak.

It wasn’t only the fact that he remembered about her dream of visiting Italy. It wasn’t even about the way he told her, that he would take her. It was the fact that planning his future with her came so naturally to him at this point, he didn’t even need to think about it.

Lost in her thoughts once again, Chiara didn’t notice how Ethan’s eyes widened few seconds into fourth song when the recognition hit him.

It was the song he liked the most, the song that he would listen quite often to back in the days when this album kept him company on the roads.

It was the song that, just like the city of Florence, used to make that small, almost negligible part of him wish that he had someone to share it with.

With the rain falling heavily on the windshield, Chiara couldn’t hear Ethan’s almost unaudible singing. She could’ve easily miss it, if she didn’t notice his lips moving.

„Are you singing?“ she asked, absoltutely shocked. She caught him humming various melodies sometimes, but never in her whole life would she believe to see Ethan Ramsey sing.

‚Scusi se mi innamorai in un istante di lei per

l'aria serena che ha.‘

„Absolutely not,“ he shook his head, the wave of heat on his neck becoming almost unbearable. „I am reciting the lyrics, at best.“

How cute, Chiara thought.

However, she didn’t want to ruin the moment and so instead of teasing him mercilessly, she asked: „What does it say? The part that you absolutely weren‘t singing.“

„Excuse me if I, in an instant, fall in love with her for the air of serenity she has. Very freely translated.“

„How do you know the lyrics so well?“

„I like the song.“

„Sure, liking the song is one thing, but knowing – and singing – the lyrics is another. Especially when the lyrics is as soft as this one. Is the song special to you?“

She tried to ask it as casually as she could, as if she was simply curious, when really, there was a hint of jealousy blooming in her chest.

Was the song special to him? Did he use to recite it to his first girlfriend trying to impress her?

The car stopped at the red light, giving Ethan a chance to finally look at the woman next to him fully.

„It is now,“ he nodded, smiling softly as he caressed her cheek with his thumb.

The expecting and so vulnerable green eyes staring back at him made his heart flutter. At this point, it was useless to pretened that he wasn’t utterly and terribly sappy when it came to her. Taking a deep breath, just before the red light turned to green, he whispered.

„The name of the song is Chiara.“

[amane-by-together]

Blue Hour || Amane Yugi pt. 3/5

(Amane Yugi x Fem! Reader)

genre: romance, drama and a bit of fantasy

summary: amane and [name] stopped communicating after the pen pal project

“When we lost each other.”

The quarter felt like a shooting star, it was fast in a blink of an eye. As the late night calls stopped and so as the letters.

Amane laid down on his bed, staring at the messages that he and [name] exchanged. Something was weird, it's been a week since they chatted after the pen pal project was over.

Though, he doesn't want to assume that he has been ghosted, yet the situation is the same. Not being able to receive messages from the person Amane likes, it's definitely ghosting.

Amane stayed up all night, not because of star gazing, his honey amber eyes had lost their shine and looked like a zombie with eyebags forming under his eyes.

She disappeared like a ghost.

“You disappeared for an instant, like a faint ghost, you disappeared.”

Amane felt his eyes brimming with tears, he didn't get used to it, it's like being alone again. He never met [name], yet why was he crying for her?

‘This is not supposed to happen right? You're not supposed to fall for your pen pal Amane.’ the voice inside his very own head told him.

‘She's just a pen pal, Amane. Nothing special, you shouldn't cry about her.'

'It's all gone'

‘Don't disappear now, I'm searching for you’

‘It felt like the summer was winter without you.’

‘It's all gone, now. It's over.’

“Now I just missed you...” Amane choked back a sob. His heart was clenching making it difficult to breathe. It felt like he was having an anxiety attack, he wanted to make the feeling disappear.

Now that [name] was gone.

He wanted to disappear as well.

Amane hugged his knees hunched over while lying down. His phone was the only source of light inside the room since the moon isn't there when he needed.

Just like he needed [name].

But the thing is,

She nowhere.

She's gone.

Amane doesn't know what to do.

It's all gone.

“Whoah Yugi, you okay bud?” Yamabuki sat next to the young boy who was staring into space, his eyes were sore from crying and his eyebags are turning darker. “You look wasted man.”

“Yeah, I'm okay.” Amane smiled, even though he was hurting and grieving inside. To everyone it looked like it was the brightest smile, but in reality it was fake.

“No you're not, Amane-kun.” Yashiro interrupted, crossing her arms in front of Amane. She placed a hand on his shoulder, looking at him reassuringly. “Do you want to talk about it?”

Truth to be told, Amane does need someone to talk with. He's been bottling up all his tears and suffering because of [name]'s sudden disappearance. His smile faltered, casting down to his desk and nodded gravely. Yashiro grabbed his hand before dragging him out to class.

“I thought you liked [name]?!” Yamabuki yelled out.

Yashiro stopped as the two of them arrived on the rooftop. Amane's shoulders slumped a little bit. “So tell me what's going on?” she asked.

Amane was silent for a while, he felt his eyes watering. Yashiro wrapped an arm around his shoulder, telling him to calm down before he can tell her.

And so he did, starting from the day he learned that [name] was his pen pal, to the epiphany of falling for [name]. Yashiro listened, nodding on every word he says. “Maybe it's a sign that you two should meet?”

“Huh?” Amane rubbed his eyes using his hands. “What do you mean?”

“I've read this somewhere in books!” Yashiro tells Amane with a smile on her face. “I always see this kind of plot, and it is time to apply it to the two of you!”

“The two of you are some sort of soulmates!”

Amane squinted his eyes in disbelief at Yashiro, a typical someone who doesn't believes in soulmates and then they meet in some point for plot purposes. After Yashiro had elaborated the term soulmate, she bids goodbye on Amane because she promised Aoi that they will go on a "date" together.

Amane saw her figure slowly going away from him, but he didn't try to call her back or even yell that he used to like Yashiro. Besides, the young boy already had fallen for [name] and was foolish for trusting his intuition that he wouldn't.

He gave a one last glance at the sky before going back inside to his respective classroom.

“Come on Minamoto-kun, beat Tsukasa-senpai up!” Mitsuba encouraged Kou who was randomly pressing the buttons of his controller whilst his electric blue eyes remain glued on screen. Tsukasa, his opponent, was concentrating really hard to win the video game.

Amane was sitting on his swivel chair, reading [name]'s last letter before the project's end. He was reading it for like...fifteen times already.

“Senpai, you've been staring at that letter for a while...” Kou worriedly pointed out. Tsukasa told him to leave him for a while since he was on a state of singularity.

Amane puts down the letter and sighed heavily. The three of them went over to the older twin to see what was going on. “Not gonna lie that pen pal is creative as hell.” Mitsuba remarked. “Anyways, may I see the letter?”

Amane nodded as he handed the pink haired boy the letter. Mitsuba carefully unfolded the letter and started to read. He grabbed the envelope and started to examine it. Mitsuba notices from the back of the envelope, a slightly peeled off paper. “Hey, Yugi-senpai,” he called. “I think there's a post card stuck on the back of the envelope.”

Kou scrunches his nose. “They probably didn't mean to stick the post card and paint it to camouflage it—”

“Okay who has long nails here?” Amane sighed as he looked at his cutted nails. “I recently cut mine.”

Mitsuba peeled off the postcard from the envelope with ease. He gave the post card faced down to Amane. As Amane receives the card, he flipped it up and saw something that made his stomach drop.

It was the ferris wheel that Amane saw in his dream along with the unfamiliar girl. The question is, what does the ferris wheel have to do with that? “A ferris wheel?” Tsukasa asked.

“This is the ferris wheel I saw in my dream last time—” Amane let out a shaky breath and pointed at the ferris wheel. “There was this girl who appears in my dream two times in different places. One with the carousel and the recent one is this ferris wheel on the post card.”

“Hm? I heard this one from an article that dreaming about a ferris wheel means that you don't want interruptions when you're excited.” Kou explained. “A carousel is a symbol of childish joy, which means that you don't want to forget in the past.”

“Then how about that unfamiliar girl?” Mitsuba asked.

“She could be someone from a past life?”

“If a carousel symbolizes as childhood happiness does that mean that girl was linked to you as a child?”

“I didn't even have a female childhood friend.” Amane crosses his legs. “Besides even if that girl was my childhood friend I wouldn't be able to recognize her.”

“Do you have any information about [name]-san, anyways?” Tsukasa asked.

“She goes to Sanaol Academy, which was far from here.” Amane answered monotonously. “It'll take a subway to go there.”

“How do you know then?” Kou asked.

“I researched her school online, and it was an all girls school.” Amane wetted his lips while brushing his hair back using his fingers. “It's a four hour ride—”

“Four hours?!” Tsukasa, Kou and Mitsuba yelled in disbelief. The three looked at each other and nodded as they knew what they're thinking. Amane raised a perfect brow at them, then looking at the post card on his hand. “That's just—”

“Hold up.” Amane raised his hand to stop them from talking. “The post card that Mitsuba peeled recently, there's something that was written on the back of the envelope.”

There are dots and dashes on the back of the envelope. It is some sort of morse code. Mitsuba thought it was kinda extra since they could've just say the actual letters instead of encoding the message for minutes.

The four of them spent hours to encode the morse, Amane leaned back to his swivel chair as he wiped a sweat from his forehead. “So what does it say?” Tsukasa asked.

Mitsuba and Kou looked over to Amane's shoulder to see the message along with Tsukasa.

“You and me in 5:53 at the ferris wheel...?” Amane says as if it was a question. He turned his head towards the four and gave them a lazy but determined smile. “How would you three like a bonding trip to find [name]?”

“I'm in!” Kou smiled whilst showing both of his canines and pointed at himself. “I'm totally in for some trip!”

“I guess I'll come too.” Mitsuba blew a raspberry and shrugged. “Only because I'm bored as hell.”

“If Amane's going then I'm going too!” Tsukasa wrapped his arms around his older twin causing the latter to elicit an 'oof' from his lips.

“Well that makes us four then. We'll go tomorrow.” Amane tells them.

“Tomorrow?” Mitsuba asked. “What time?”

“Since [name] said to meet at 5:53 pm by the ferris wheel, which wasn't specifically mentioned where and what, I guess we'll ride at dawn.” Amane looked at his laptop and started to peck the keyboard using his fingers. “When we arrive at Sanaol Academy, we'll ask for directions for the ferris wheel from the post card.”

“I have a theory though,” Kou tells him. “It could be a possibility that [name] is the person in your dreams.”

Then it clicked him into epiphany, why didn't he thought of that before? But again, Amane has no idea what [name] looked like anyways. He shouldn't be jumping in to conclusions that fast. Just because the girl who keeps appearing in his dreams doesn't mean it's already [name].

[name].

Amane lets out an exaggerated sigh from his lips and slouched against the swivel chair. He really did miss [name]'s company, even if it's just letters and texts.

Who knows, maybe tomorrow during their trip, they will meet. Amane makes sure of it, he wanted to see [name].

He wanted her to know how much he misses her after they lost each other. He can't go on.

Not without her.

[kdramalifee]

What are your most favorite/recommended dramas? I've honestly only have watched 4 cause never know where to start once I finish one. Thank you!! 💕

Sorry of the late reply ❤

Here’s a “few” dramas that I enjoyed. Some of them fall into more than one category so I’ve written what categories I feel they fall into for each one. I’m going to write the amount of episodes for each show, but I’ll only be counting by (approx.) hour, so if the drama has 32 episodes where each “episode” is half an hour, I’ll write it as 16 episodes. Also some of these have several names, so I’ve just used the one they use on mydramalist. I’ve bolded my favourites.

This list might seem a bit daunting (as it is quite long) but I recommend looking at the specific genres you know you enjoy and just pick one you think seems interesting (there’s no shame in dropping a drama if it doesn’t grip you). If you can’t decide which one to start first, send me a message with the ones you’re trying to choose between and I’ll help you decide ^^

Action/suspense/Crime:

Bad Guys: 11 episodes, Action, Thriller, Psychological. A police detective gathers a team of criminals to combat crime in exchange for reducing their sentence. Throughout the drama, secrets are revealed. 

Class of Lies: 16 episodes, Suspense, School, Mystery, Law. A highly successful lawyer falls from grace after the fallout from one of his cases. He fakes his identity to get the position as a teacher at the school connected to this case in an attempt to uncover the truth and save his reputation. 

Cross: 16 episodes, Medical, Suspense. To get revenge for the death of his father, Kang In Kyu becomes a (highly skilled) doctor/surgeon and gets a job at the prison where his father’s killer resides in order to kill him.

Doubtful Victory: 20 episodes, Mystery, Crime. A man who was wrongfully sentenced to death when he was younger escapes from prison and fakes his identity as a police officer to help prove his innocence.  (Just a heads up: I don’t think a lot of people liked this drama (it gets a bit draggy in the middle). I liked it, but I think that’s an unpopular opinion)  

Kill It: 12 episodes, Action, Thriller. Kim Soo Hyun is a veterinarian who is also a professional killer. One day he is hired in exchange for information about his past. At the same time a detective is trying to find Kim Soo Hyun. They both uncover a mystery regarding their shared past. 

Healer: 20 episodes, Romance, Action, Mystery.  "Healer” is a special kind of night courier, that gets his clients whatever they want, as long as it doesn't involve murder. He is hired by a famous reporter to collect information on a second-rate tabloid writer. He begins to uncover the mystery of his own shared past with the two reporters, thus putting them all in danger. (This is a very popular drama that a lot of people have seen, so if you haven’t seen it I would recommend it.)

Mad Dog: 16 episodes, Action, Investigation, Mystery. A group calling themselves “Mad Dog” fights against insurance scams. They start working with Kim Min Joon, the brother of the man who crashed a plane killing the child and wife of the leader of Mad Dog. They try to uncover the truth behind the plane crash.

Player: 14 episodes, Action, Investigation. A private investigation team consisting of a swindler, a fighter, an elite hacker, and a talented driver is asked to take back property hidden away by criminals.

Save Me: 16 episodes, Psychological, Suspense. Following the failure of her father's business, Sang Mi and her family move to Muji-gun where they have no friends or relatives. After a tragic event, the family is taken in by the “Spiritual Father” resulting in them being trapped in a cult. Four young men try to save her.  

Stranger: 16 episodes, Investigation, Mystery.  Hwang Shi Mok had brain surgery when he was a child, which caused him to lack emotion. Now, Hwang Shi Mok works as a prosecutor. He meets Police Lieutenant Han Yeo Jin at a murder crime scene and they work together to eradicate corruption at the prosecutor's office and solve a serial murder case.

The Guardians: 16 episodes, Action, Thriller.  After the murder of her daughter, Jo Soo Ji joins forces with a few other people to monitor criminals 24 hours a day and rescue potential victims before the crime is committed. Together with these people she fights to get justice for her daughter, who’s murderer is still free.

WATCHER: 16 episodes, Action, Suspense, Investigation. Kim Young Goon became a police officer after his father was imprisoned for the murder of his mother. The detective who imprisoned his father is the leader of the internal affairs investigation team and gets Young Goon to join in order to fight against corruption and uncover the truth behind the tragic incident.  

Fantasy/sci-fi: 

Angels Last Mission: Love: 16 episodes, Romance, Fantasy.  Lee Yeon Seo is the prima ballerina, but after an accident she has to give up her dream. After her parents' sudden death, she doesn’t trust anyone since there are a lot of people lurking around her and her inherited money. Kim Dan is an optimistic, carefree angel who is always getting into trouble. In order to return to heaven, he is tasked with a mission to find true love for the talented but emotionally distant ballerina

Are You Human Too?: 18 episodes, Romace, Sci-fi. After loosing her son to her father in law, a woman creates an android to replace him. Years later the android called Nam Shin III must pretend to be the son of the rich family when the real Nam Shin falls into a coma.

Chicago Typewriter: 16 episodes, Fantasy/Supernatural, Romance. The story of a popular writer suffering from writers block, a fan of said author and a literal GHOST writer who starts writing for the main character. In a past life, these three people were all members of the resistance wanting to free Korea from the Japanese occupation. The story is set in modern times and in the 1930′s. 

Circle: 12 episodes, Alien, Sci-fi, Mystery. This drama is set in both 2017 and the year 2037. In 2017 we follow the story of a college student working together with a woman that looks identical to a girl he knew as a child to investigate suicides that she insists are actually murders. In 2037 technology has advanced to the point where you can control human emotion (creating a city without crime). A detective enters this city in order to investigate a missing persons case from 2017. (The first half of each episode is set in 2017, the other half in 2037). 

Duel: 16 episodes, Sci-fi, Crime, Suspense. After his daughter gets kidnapped a detective tries all he can to get her back. Suddenly the culprit shows up without any memories, denying that he has anything to do with the case. They work together to find the detectives daughter and uncover secrets along the way. 

EXIT: 2 episodes (drama special), Sci-fi, Psychological.  Kang Soo is a loan shark that tries to get by day to day in his depressing reality. No matter how hard he tries, he can't escape the nightmare of his reality, and when he was about to give up on his life, he sees a flier asking, "Do you want to become happy?" He goes to the research center, however, he learns that happiness comes at a steep price of 300,000 dollars. He decides to steal the money.

Extraordinary You: 16 episodes, Romance, Fantasy, School.  Eun Dan Oh, a 17 year-old high-school student, experiences gaps in her memory and eventually comes to the realization that she’s living in a comic book. Not only that, but she is also a secondary character who’s supposed to die later on in the story due to a heart condition. She decides to change her fate and defy the writer to get a happy ending for herself. 

Go Back Couple: 12 episodes, Fantasy, Life, Romance.  Choi Ban Do and Ma Jin Joo are both 38-years-old and a married couple. Choi Ban Do has been burdened with being the breadwinner and Ma Jin Joo is a housewife with low self-esteem. Even though they loved each other when they married, they now hate each other. They both regret marrying at such a young age. The couple travels through time and finds themselves as 20-year-old university students when they met for the first time.

He is Psychometric: 16 episodes, Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Comedy. After losing his parents in a fire, Lee Ahn acquires the power of psychometry, the ability to read a person or an object's past through physical contact, and he decides to use it to take bad people down. While he does not know how to control his power yet, he meets Yoon Jae In who tries her best to hide her painful secrets. Together with his foster guardian, prosecutor Kang Sung Mo, and the latter's colleague, investigator Eun Ji Soo, they team up to solve an elusive case that has been haunting the lives of Ahn, Sung Mo, and Jae In.

Life on Mars: 16 episodes, Fantasy, Mystery, Suspense. As leader of a crime investigation team, Han Tae Joo has propelled his career and risen through the ranks by trusting data over all else. One day, while investigating a serial murder case, he has an accident. When he wakes up, he suddenly finds himself in the winter of 1988. He doesn't know why, but he's now a detective appointed to work at a police station in a small city. To get back to the present day, Han Tae Joo tries to solve the case.

Signal: 16 episodes, Mystery, Fantasy, Crime.  Fifteen years ago, a young girl was kidnapped on the way from school, and Park Hae Yeong, who was an elementary school student at that time, witnessed the crime. A few days later, the girl was found dead, and the police were not able to find the culprit. As time went by, Hae Yeong started distrusting the police. Fifteen years later, Hae Yeong is now a police officer and criminal profiler. One day, he finds a walkie-talkie that allows him to get in contact with Detective Lee Jae Han who is in the past. They then set out on a journey to solve cold cases.

Splash Splash Love: 2 episodes (Drama Special), Romance, Fantasy. Dan Bi is a high school senior who has given up on math. On the day she is about to take the KSAT for college, she is transported back into the past during a freak rain shower. She finds herself hundreds of years in the past at the height of the Joseon Kingdom, which is suffering from a severe drought. She encounters King Lee Do who yearns to learn advanced mathematics and falls in love with him.

Strong Woman Do Bong Soon: 16 episodes, Romance, Fantasy. Bong Soon is a woman with supernatural strenght who pines after a childhood crush who now works as a police officer. She is approached by the CEO of a gaming company who has a distrust for the police and she starts working as a bodyguard for him. (There are some problematic elements to this show, but the romance is really sweet) 

The Guest: 16 episodes, Supernatural, Horror, Mystery. It centers around three characters who had their lives ruined by a demon called “Son” (the guest) when they were kids. Yoon Hwa Pyung is a psychic that can see ghosts and who was once possessed by “Son” causing his mother and his grandmother to die and his father to try to kill him. Kang Gil Young is a detective whose mother was killed by the demon and Choi Yoon/ Mateo is a catholic priest that exorcises demons and whose brother was once possessed by “Son” causing him to kill his family. They band together to find and stop “Son”.

You Who Came From the Stars: 21 episodes, Romance, Fantasy. Do Min Joon is an alien who landed on Earth 400 years ago during the Joseon Dynasty period. He possesses a near perfect appearance and enhanced physical abilities involving his vision, hearing and speed. Later, he discovers that he has three months left on Earth. And that is when he meets Cheon Song Yi, the biggest Hallyu star in Korea.

Romance:

Come and Hug Me: 16 episodes, Suspense, Romance, Melodrama. When they were children, Yoon Na Moo and Gil Nak Won were each others first love. They are forced to break apart when Na Moo's father Yoon Hee Jae, a psychopath serial killer, murders Nak Won's parents. 12 years later, Jae Yi has become a popular actress and Do Jin is now an experienced detective trying to repent for his fathers sins. They meet again and start to develop a relationship.

Descendants of the Sun: 16 episodes, Romance, Medical, Action. Kang Mo Yeon works as a cardiothoracic surgeon and Yoo Shi Jin is the Captain and team leader of Alpha Team. They both get sent into an area of conflict, and start to devolop a relationship.

Hospital Ship: 20 episodes, Romance, Medical. This drama is about army doctors aboard a hospital ship, which is a floating hospital that serves people who live on remote islands. Eun Jae, a cold perfectionist surgeon whose fast-track career was derailed, starts working at the ship.

Just Between Lovers: 16 episodes, Romance, Melodrama. A shopping center collapses killing many people. When he was 15, Lee Gang Doo dreamed of playing for the Korean national soccer team, but a serious injury sustained as a result of the accident destroys those dreams. In the years after the accident, Gang Doo spends his days fighting through physical and emotional pain, struggling to support his sister and pay back a hefty debt, and working as a construction worker. When she was 15, Ha Moon Soo lived through the accident, and years later she is still plagued by nightmares. She lives above the women’s bath house that her mother runs and specializes in making architectural models that are an important safety element in any major building planning process. Years after the incident, a construction project is due to kick-off at the accident site, and they both get involved in the project, causing them to develop a relationship while struggling with the painful memories it brings back. 

Shopping King Louie: 16 episodes, Romance. The story of “Shopaholic Louie” revolves around a handsome shopaholic named Louie, who is the successor of a vast business empire but becomes homeless after suffering from amnesia. Meanwhile, Koh Bok Shil, a country girl who lives a life that is worlds apart from the rich and famous, encounters Louie in Seoul. They develop a relationship.

Thirty but Seventeen: 16 episodes, Romance. Woo Seo Ri, a violin prodigy at 17 who was about to study in Germany, got into a bus accident and fell into a coma waking up 13 years later. Mentally she is still only 17, while physically she is now 30. Due to a trauma he experienced 13 years before, Gong Woo Jin does not want to have a relationship with others. They get to know each other and try and open the door to the happiness that they once thought had been closed to them.

When the Camellia Blooms: 20 episodes, Romance, Thriller, Life. Dong Baek is a single mother living in the small town of Ongsan. She runs the bar-restaurant Camellia, while also taking care of her son Pil Gu. The people of Ongsan frequently gossip about Dong Baek. She grew up as an orphan, is a single mother and runs a bar where many of the men in Ongsan frequent. Regardless of what the locals may whisper about Dong Baek, local police officer Hwang Yong Shik is deeply in love with her. Meanwhile, Dong Baek's ex-boyfriend Kang Jong Ryeol suddenly reappears in her life. He is a famous baseball player, that hid their relationship when they dated. While Dong Baek tries to find happiness, something truly sinister lurks in the background. A serial killer roams Ongsan and Dong Baek may be a target.

Historical:

Kingdom: 6 episodes, Action, Historical, Zombie. The King falls ill to smallpox and rumors start to spread that he has actually died. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Lee Chang is labeled a traitor by the Haewon Cho Clan, the clan of the current pregnant Queen and her father, Chief State Councillor Cho Hak Joo. While trying to uncover the mystery of what happened to his father, the Crown Prince goes with his guard, Moo Young, to Dongnae to look for the physician that treated his father, only to be stuck with Assistant Physician Seo Bi and a mysterious man named Young Shin in a village plagued with a terrifying disease.

My Country: 16 episodes, Historical, Action, Romance, Tragedy. Two friends ends up on opposite sides in a conflict involving the fight for the crown. Confronted with betrayal the two of them have to learn how to fight against their best friend all while trying to stay good in a cruel world.  

The Tale of Nokdu: 16 episodes, Action, Romance, Comedy. One day, Nok Du’s father and older brother are attacked by a group of female assassins. Jeon Nok Du chases after one of the assassins to the capital. To find out why his family was attacked, Jeon Nok Du disguises himself as a woman and enters a widow village where the assassins are hiding. There, he meets Dong Dong Ju who is an apprentice to become a gisaeng.

Misc:

Age of Youth: 12 episodes, Friendship, Life.  Five girls in their twenties come to live together in a house called "Belle Epoque. As the girls feel a bond of sympathy and become closer, they also deal with their personal issues as they live out their eventful twenties. The drama follows their struggles and incidents dealing with relationships - within their circles, with dating, and with each other - and a variety of events they are experiencing including credits, part-time jobs, drinking, hopes and dreams. (This drama also has a second season)

Avengers Social Club: 12 episodes, Friendship, Life.  Features three women from different walks of life coming together for revenge: a fish store ajumma who envisioned a better life for herself, a housewife, and a chaebol’s daughter who was raised like a delicate greenhouse flower. They’re an unlikely trio who would never otherwise meet, but they join forces to carry out their individual revenges. Although they start out as co-conspirators, along the way they’ll build a strong friendship.

Chief Kim: 20 episodes, Business, Comedy. Kim Sung Ryong is a skilled accountant who works for gangsters. He makes his way into a company called TQ Group as a middle manager in the accounting department with the intention of embezzling money from the company. As he contends with hot-shot accountant Yoon Ha Kyung, financial prodigy Seo Yul and peppy intern Hong Ga Eun, Sung Ryong finds himself embroiled in office politics and notices other shenanigans by those in power that threaten to bring down the company. Sung Ryong slowly comes to realize that he’d rather fight against corporate corruption and fight for employees’ rights than complete the mission he originally came to do. 

Miss Hammurabi: 16 episodes, Law, Romance. Park Cha Oh Reum is a newly appointed judge who is assigned to the 44th Civil Affairs Department at the Seoul Central District. She is always on the lookout for injustice and is able to profoundly empathize with others. Compared to her, Im Ba Reun is a cool-headed man of principle with the creed of ‘Court that is equal to all’, and he is displeased with junior judge Park Cha Oh Reum who is overly sympathetic when it comes to cases. (There is one moment in the first episode (I believe) where something problematic occurs, but I think its only that one thing). 

Psychopath Diary: 16 episodes, Comedy, Mystery.  Yook Dong Sik is a 34-year-old office worker who is so weak and timid that he is used by everybody around him. After an incident, he becomes the scapegoat of his company, and so facing losing his job and his family turning their back on him, he decides to commit suicide. While doing so, he unexpectedly stumbles across a murder scene, but gets into an accident while running from the murderer. He wakes up with amnesia with the psychopath's diary in his possession. With no clues to his true nature other than the diary,and his fragmented memory lining up with the diary entry, he begins to believe that he is in fact a psychopath serial killer.

Happy watching! 

[pynkhues]

I love brio and I've read almost every fic on ao3. I've made little notes here and there of some fics that I would like to write, but I've never wrote anything like fan fiction. I can think up scenes in my head, but I just can't seem to get it out on paper. What are some tips you can give me to help? Because I would really love to write, i just dont even know where to start?

Hi, anon! And how cool! Welcome to the wonderful world of writing. :-) 

My advice on how to start – as wishy-washy as it sounds – is always just to start. Pick up a pen, or open a word document, and just start throwing words together. See what comes out, and try not to edit or self-police as you write, particularly when you’re just starting out. It’ll cripple you creatively – gosh, it still does sometimes for me, and I’ve been writing for over 15 years.

A good way to try this out is to set a timer for fifteen minutes or half an hour, and just free-write – so just write, and don’t let yourself re-read any of it until the timer bings. Give yourself the space to write words – some will be good, a lot probably terrible, but you can always make bad words better. 

You can’t make nothing better. 

And look, I’m going to maintain that that’s the most important piece of advice here, haha, but I get that that sort of advice can also be sometimes frustrating to people who are looking for more structure, so hey!

Here’s some more meat-and-potatoes advice too.

(Put behind a cut to not eat your feeds!)

Plotting a story in three questions

Building a plot really comes down to asking three questions: 

1. What does your character want? 

2. What’s standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want? 

3. How will they overcome this to get what they want? 

It might sound basic, but it forms really the backbone of every story. Take the Harry Potter series for instance, for which these questions are crucial. 

1. What does your character want? 

Harry wants a family.

2. What’s standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want? 

Voldemort is a direct threat to the new family Harry’s found. A threat he feels acutely because Voldemort murdered his original family.

3. How will they overcome this to get what they want? 

Harry will do anything to save this new, found family – the stakes of which escalates with every book. 

Of course, stories are more than this too – they’re themes and settings and arcs and dialogue, and character motivation tangles up in those things which means that the story world appears to expand well beyond those three questions I listed above. After all, Voldemort’s never just a threat to Harry’s family, he is for the whole world, right? But the thing is the threat to the world is never what drives Harry through the story, and therefore isn’t what drives the story overall. 

The plot is always the threat to Hogwarts and the life and family Harry’s found there.

Good Girls is exactly the same. 

1. What does your character want?

Beth, Ruby and Annie want to provide for their children. 

2. What’s standing in their way stopping them from getting what they want?

All three of them are in dire financial situations because Dean’s lost everything, Sara needs a transplant and expensive medication, and Annie can’t pay for her son’s needs. 

3. How will they overcome this to get what they want?

They’re going to get into crime and make enough money to save themselves and their children. 

The answers to these questions can change and evolve too – after all, the ‘what’ has certainly grown more complicated for Beth, Ruby and Annie across the show’s run, but those changes should evolve out of plot progression aka cause and effect. 

Beth’s original want was for financial stability for her children, and she still wants that, but she wants more than that now too – something that has been explored through the instability of her circumstances, and her growing attraction to power after having lived a powerless life.

So let’s talk about cause and effect a little more.

Cause and Effect

With those questions in mind, it’s important to remember that the way a story takes shape should be a sort of domino effect of cause and effect. Scenes aren’t placed together in a haphazard order. They’re not stacked on top of each other like three children in a trenchcoat! One scene should always cause the next, and that scene should lead onto the next, and so on, and so on. 

The enemy of good storytelling is ‘and then’. 

So when you write a scene, don’t think ‘now what happens?’

Look at what you’ve written and say ‘okay, what does what I’ve written here mean? What is the fallout of this? What is going to happen to these characters and this story now given what I’ve just written?’

This is also a good way to reverse engineer a story (and something I often do!) If you have a scene in your head, but you know it’s a middle scene, or an ending to something, ask yourself what happened that made that scene happen. 

In one of my most recent standalone fics, Drive You Mad (wear me out), I actually started with two scenes in my head – one where Beth and Rio were soaking wet for a mystery reason I didn’t know yet, haha, and the fact that it lead to them having sex in his car, and I had a vague idea that I wanted it to be  related to a crime job. 

Similarly with the pornstar!AU! I just wanted Beth and Rio to make a porno, haha, but I wanted it to feel like a genuine choice for these characters, so I needed to think of authentic reasons that would put them in that room, opposite each other, about to throw it all to the wind and bone on camera. 

I reverse engineered  both these stories by just asking myself ‘but why did this happen?’ What choices did these characters make to get them here? How did Beth and Rio end up soaking wet? Why would they have sex in that car? What would get somebody like Beth to shoot porn? What would make somebody like Beth connect emotionally with somebody like Rio in this AU (and y’know what? It was the exact same thing as in canon – a combination of parenthood and validation).

In other words, your story should never say this happened and then this happened, it should always say this happened and so this happened. 

Agency

Every character in your story should make choices. Good choices, bad choices, choices they think are not choices at all (because never forget - you always choose to do nothing. Nothing is never thrust upon you). 

Your characters are what drive your story forwards, and they drive your story forwards by making choices, not by standing still and waiting for the story to come to them. And look, it’s great if they make the right one, but it’s so much more fun (and opens up so many and so possibilities!) when they make the wrong one.

Grounding Your Story

Grounding stories in a place or a space is something I think a lot of new and emerging writers struggle with, and it was something I was really, really bad at when I started writing and worked really hard to get better at. Characters should never be interacting in vacuums. We don’t exist in them after all. 

Stories come alive when characters are engaging with spaces, or when those spaces are utilised effectively. Horror does this especially well, but a lot of other stories do too (again, Harry Potter is actually a great example of this!)

This is something Good Girls pretty consistently does fabulously too – think of any of their heists for starters, but particularly the one in 1.01. Settings can open up and close and add conflict and provide release. Use them! Think about them! I can guarantee you’ll become a better writer for it.

When I was really struggling with this area, I got some incredible advice that I still use to this day from Kim Wilkins, a gothic fantasy and horror author from my home town. She told me that when I start writing a new scene, go through the five senses - what can your character see, smell, taste, touch, hear. Write all of it. Then pick the best two descriptions, and dump the rest. 

Then think about the function of those descriptions. Okay, so the character’s in a park and can hear the metal whine of a rusty swingset. Does the chain link snap? Harming their child? Or maybe they can hear thunder in the distance while they’ve been trying to have a romantic anniversary picnic! Do they make it to the car in time? How does that affect their dynamic? Does it lead to a passionate make out in the rain? Or a furious fight in it? (Notice how this is all cause and effect too?)

These descriptions don’t always have to lead to a plot point – sometimes they can be reflective of an emotional state – an oncoming storm can foreshadow an oncoming fight between characters as much as it can lead to those characters getting caught in it after all – and sometimes it can just be for atmosphere too! 

All of this serves though to build your story into something evocative and grounded for the reader, plus it can be really fun to play around with. 

Love it or have fun! Try for both, but never have neither. 

Sometimes writing is a slog. 

Sometimes you sit down for a session and want to pluck your own eyelashes out because the story’s not working or the words aren’t flowing or you know your characterisation is falling flat, but there’s a difference between not enjoying a writing session, and not enjoying writing overall.

Writing can be really hard work sometimes, and when it is, you either need to love it, and love the story you’re trying to tell, or you need to move on to something else. 

That can be your silly, fun crack fic that evades all logic and you just straight up enjoy writing, or it can be something that isn’t writing at all. 

You’ve got to make it work for you – and if you don’t love it, and you aren’t having fun? It’s not worth it. 

You can take a break and come back to it, or you can take a break and never come back to it. Just do what’s right for you. 

Don’t get turned off by The Gap

Ira Glass describes this perfectly in this interview, and it’s something I always recommend to people starting out. Writing is, like practically everything else, a trade. It’s something you grow and develop and should never stop growing and developing and learning about. 

Writing though I think is also something that’s really easy to give up when you feel like you aren’t immediately good at it, and, well - - 

I think he says it better than I ever could:

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