#I GOT VERY FRUSTRATED FOR LORELAI

[class-of-classic-blog]

MY HEADCANON FOR PARENTS NAMES:

Snow White: Bianca White ( Bianca means "white" and Whites are probably one of the most obsessed families with their story, every single Snow White had a name with meaning relative to the fairy tails,)

Evil Queen: Eris Queen (I can't remember did I read a fic where she was called Eris but I think that the name of the goddess of discord really suits her)

Sleeping Beauty: Rosalin Beauty (pretty standard name)

Cinderella: Ophelia Ella ( a sweet name for a sweet girl)

Red Riding Hood: Scarlett Hood (one more standard name)

Big Bad Wolf: Aiden Wolf (close friends call him Andy :) )

Dark Fairy: Darcy Thorn ( oh the irony of being the dark fairy with dark name and yet cover yourself in light)

Candy Witch: Cinnamon Witch (I also didn't come up with this name myself. I saw someone use it for her a really long time ago but I can't remember who. If the person who came up with this name sees this, you deserve a reward, the name is perfect. But I hc that she goes by her nickname: Candy. Why? Because it's such a cute nickname)

Pinocchio: Oak Wood (I think that every family name has something to do with trees or wood. Oak sounds like a perfect name for someone sweet, young and cheerful and later as an adult calm and wise)

Goldilocks: Dolly Locks ( I just think that its a cute name and she kinda remind me of Dolly)

Huntsman: Archer Huntsman (Okay, so, Huntsmans are bad at naming their kids, like REALLY BAD. Hunter we are counting on you to break that cycle)

King Charming: Dashing Charming (I read one fanfic were he is named Dashing and i think that name suits him, i myself couldn't come up with the more fitting name)

Queen Charming: Grace Charming (I also read that one in a fanfic and i think it fits her, somehow whenever i think of Charmings Dashing and Grace are the first name that come to my mind)

Rapunzel: Cressida O'Hair (I first just like the name but then i found out the Cressida means "golden" so it goes well with Rapunzel story)

Pied Piper: Devin Piper ( It means "bard" or "poet", the perfect name for a musician. Also, Piper is really a cool name, too bad it is already his last name)

Mad Hatter: Maddox Hatter (I just like silly names for Wonderlandians, especially Mad Hatter)

Queen of Hearts: Victoria Hearts ( okeey, it's not a very Wonderlandian name but neither is Elizabeth and Vicy is a cute nikename)

Cheshire Cat: Lorelai Cheshire (I didn't want to go for the obvious one Chatrine, like, I get it, she's a cat, She literally named her daughter Kitty, or maybe Katrine Kitty for short, BUT THEN I REMEMBER THAT TOLERAI EXISTED which is literally the same name just different first latter and I already gotten attached to Lorelai, so, umm if you all could just do me the favour and pretend that these are TOTALLY different names I would be very thankful)

Alice Wonderland: Amilia Wonderland ( Also would her last name be Wonderland or Liddell? Bonus cute nickname Amy)

White Rabbit: Castor Blanc ( At first i just liked the name but don't you think that "dutiful" is a perfect for White Rabbit)

White Swan: Elenor Swan ( It means "shining light" and to be honest with that destiny she's going to need some light in her life)

Black Swan: Callisto VonBart (What would be the last name of The Black Swan? VonBart?BlackSwan? I put VonBart because I found an OC of Odille on Pinterest and her last name was VonBart. I don't know)

Frog Prince: Hanry Croakington ( i reafuse to belive that he named his son after himself. Nuh-uh. He named Hopper after his father or maybe his grandfather)

Robin Hood: Wren Hood ( Listen, Listen, maybe they just have a thing with the birds?)

Maid Marian: Pandora Charming ( I don't think that there is a destiny stricly for Maid Marian. I think thats just a princess from Charming family or from nobel family, that's why i gave her last name Chaming. Last name changed after the wedding)

Beauty: Primrose Beauty ( Ah, Beauties and their roses)

Beast: Damian Beast (like it)

Fairy Godmother: Beatrice Goodfairy ("blessed one" mmm... too bad you can't bless yourself)

Jack Beanstalk: Jasper Beanstalk (nice)

Snow Queen: Isolde Winter (perfect for ice queen)

Snow King: Nikolai Winter (took his wife's last name, couldn't think of his own that's not arleady taken)

BONUS: PRINCES CHARMING

The Good King: David Charming (i think that only the main Charming follow that logic with names where all siblings have names with the same first latter)

Cinderella's prince Charming: Louis Charming (he's a nice boy)

Snow White's prince Charming: Cassian Charming (I just like it)

Sleeping Beauty's prince Charing: Liam Charming (don't ask)

[iwritefandomimagines]

MISTLETOE — JESS MARIANO

masterlist

pairing: jess mariano x reader

description: when lorelai gilmore insists on hosting a christmas party, you might just catch yourself under the mistletoe with the boy you, like, totally don’t have a crush on or anything.

warnings: swearing as usual. fluff & a tiny bit of angst. jess smoking and u having a tiny smoke.

author’s note: u asked for more festive jess, and i am hear to answer ur cries! jess mariano i adore you !!!

“Y/N! You’re here!”

Lorelai Gilmore had never looked quite so pleased to see you, her eyes twinkling as they scanned over the Christmas jumper you were (rather reluctantly) wearing.

“Hi, Lorelai,” you smiled, handing her the bottle of champagne you’d been given to bring as a party favour, to which she grinned, “Thanks sweetie, come on in.”

You followed her down the hall and were embarrassingly pleased when your eyes caught those of a miserable looking Jess Mariano.

The moment he saw you he seemed to perk up, and you couldn’t help but notice Lorelai’s smirk as she watched you immediately beeline for him.

“Hey Y/L/N,” he almost smiled, picking at a piece of bread he’d been toying with eating for a while, “You got roped into coming too then?”

You scoffed, “Like Lorelai was going to let anyone get out of the biggest event of the festive season?”

“Don’t let Taylor hear you say that, his 300 different pointless events will be crushed,” Jess laughed, and you couldn’t help but revel in the sound.

You couldn’t quite pinpoint when the joy at finding a friend with whom you had so much in common had become something more, but you didn’t like the way butterflies consumed your stomach when you were around him.

He was your friend, nothing more, and so — how cliche — you wouldn’t even really admit to yourself that you really liked him.

“Nice jumper,” he smirked, and suddenly you regretted adhering to Lorelai’s supposedly strict rule of no entry without a Christmas jumper, “Very festive.”

He was stifling a laugh, and you shook your head as your cheeks burned crimson under his intense gaze.

“Oh fuck off,” you looked down at where Rudolph and Santa were emblazoned on your chest, “I didn’t think I’d get away with no jumper and I didn’t have one, so it’s my mum’s.”

He chuckled now because he already knew that, having already seen your mother wearing the jumper the previous week, accompanied by the fact it was adorably oversized on you and he found it cute that it swamped your frame.

You’d tried tucking it into your jeans to minimise the bagginess, but to no avail.

“It’s cute,” he teased, swiping his tongue over his lips as you looked away, “But it looks warm. Like, crazy warm.”

“Oh, it is. I’m dying here. Anyway I didn’t think you’d actually come,” you shrugged, “If I’d known I wouldn’t have worn the jumper. One, there was no chance you were going to actually listen to Lorelai, and two, I could do without the teasing!”

Jess raised his eyebrows, “Hey, I’m not teasing,” he raised his hands up as if in defeat, “But you think I’d miss all this?”

The sarcasm in his tone as his eyes scanned the room made you giggle, “Of course. Nothing says Christmas like Taylor arguing with everyone and Lorelai running around being the fun enforcer.”

You both watched as Taylor seemed to be enthusiastically explaining something to a frustrated looking Sookie, and saw Lorelai still flitting around the room trying to ensure that everyone was having an at least somewhat pleasant time.

“I could do with some fresh air,” Jess’ eyes almost challenged you, because you knew he was going out to smoke and that Lorelai was inevitably going to have an issue with that, “Wanna join?”

You were well aware that it was in your best interest to not follow him around wherever he went, but you were so drawn to Jess that it was impossible not to.

“Yeah, sure,” you shrugged, gesturing for him to lead the way, “But you better not expect me to cover for you when Lorelai’s like a sniffer dog and finds you smoking.”

Jess just rolled his eyes, “Sure, officer.”

“Woah, woah, woah, where are you two going?” Lorelai asked, eyes immediately catching you both quickly exiting the room and widening in dismay.

“Y/N is wearing the clothing equivalent of a sauna over here, she just needs fresh air,” Jess crossed his arms over his chest as Lorelai’s eyes narrowed.

You smiled sheepishly, “We won’t be gone long, I promise.”

Lorelai didn’t appear convinced, but her expression suddenly lit up when she noticed where you were currently stood between rooms — directly under a doorframe adorned with mistletoe.

“Well, well, well,” Jess smirked, leaning an elbow on the doorframe as he watched you grow shy under his watchful eye, “Pucker up, princess.”

You shoved him slightly, and he almost toppled straight over, “Right, yeah. Like I’d kiss you.”

“Ouch,” Jess pouted, “You wound me.”

“I think your ego can take the hit, Jess,” you bit your lip, overwhelmed both by embarrassment at him joking about kissing you in front of the whole room and the urge to just say “fuck it!” and kiss him.

For a moment he looked genuinely hurt, but he soon resumed his usual nonchalant expression and continue his pursuit outside for a cigarette.

You followed him quickly, scurrying along behind him as he pulled a cigarette from its box and lit it without a moment’s thought once he’d passed the decking.

“Dude—slow down,” you huffed, “You invited me outside and then ran off like you didn’t want me here. What gives?”

Jess rolled his eyes, “Oh please, if you’re going to just question me then do me a favour and go back inside.”

“Woah,” you warned, taken aback by his sudden rude tone when he’d been joking around just minutes prior, “What the fuck is going on here? What have I done in the last 30 seconds that’s pissed you off this badly?”

Jess’ face seemed to drop, like he’d realised he shouldn’t be snapping at you like he was, “It doesn’t matter, Y/N. Just— just go back inside, alright? I’m sorry.”

You weren’t for even a moment going to accept that dismissal, instead sauntering to his side and snatching the cigarette from his fingers to take one single drag.

You didn’t smoke, made abundantly clear by the coughing that followed, so you weren’t sure why you’d so frantically taken it from him.

You shoved it back towards him and he accepted it with a laugh.

“Now you’re laughing? What is up with you?”

Jess rolled his eyes yet again, “I just don’t understand you, Y/L/N.”

You gulped, finally overcoming your coughing fit as your face was lit with confusion, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You came straight over to me when you got here. You giggled and you blushed and you smiled and,” he paused, like he was regretting opening his mouth, before he caved and continued, “And then when everyone’s watching you laugh at the idea of kissing me.”

You scoffed at that, “Says you Mr. ‘Pucker up princess’? Since when did you care if I want to kiss you under the stupid mistletoe or not?”

“Oh, uh, I don’t know… Since the countless fuckin’ weeks I’ve been flirting with you?” he was gesticulating wildly as he spoke, as though what he was saying had been obvious the whole time.

“You tease me, Jess, you don’t flirt with me,” you shrugged, breathing ragged as you pondered what it was he was really saying, “We’re friends and you know I—you just tease me about little things to wind me up. You’ve never ever made any suggestion that you like me.”

“God you’re so oblivious, man,” Jess shook his head, extinguishing his cigarette and tossing it out of sight to step closer to you.

Normally you’d hate the lingering smoke smell, but on Jess it was almost a comfort — though it did nothing to calm your racing heart in this moment.

“I’m hardly good with like, feelings, am I?” he leaned forward, so close you could feel his breath on your face, “I thought I was doing a good enough job at, like, I dunno— I mean I called you princess, for fucks sake. You think I’d do that if I didn’t like you?”

You sighed, “I just assumed you were joking around, trying to make me flustered to get a laugh out of it… I mean, princess? Really? That’s an awful choice and— I just don’t believe for a second that you like me.”

“And why not?”

“I—, well—,”

He didn’t let you fumble over your words any longer, dipping his head to press his lips firmly to yours and pulling you closer to his chest.

“I really do like you Y/N,” he exhaled as he pulled away, his voice quiet and low, “I should’ve made that clearer, and I just got annoyed that the mistletoe could’ve been my chance to kiss you and you blew it off like it was a hilarious idea.”

“Only because you joked like it was!”

“To protect my ego as you so kindly put it,” he quirked his brow, no longer mad and instead still giddy from the kiss, “But I got my kiss in the end, eh?”

You chuckled, “Don’t push your luck, sunshine.”

“You haven’t even told me you actually like me back yet, either,” Jess huffed, and you could detect the faintest pout on his lips as he paused, “This is going to be hard fucking work, isn’t it?”

You leaned in to peck the corner of his lips gently, a small smirk playing on your face, “Mhm. Get used to it, Mariano. ‘Cause I like you too. A whole fucking lot, in fact.”

“Good, now do you fancy going back in there and giving the mistletoe another try? I’m sure it’d spice the party right up.”

You shook your head, eyes rolling at the teasing look on his face, “Let’s just stay out here for now, huh Romeo?”

You were silent for a moment until he kissed you again, hands wrapping around your waist as yours found the back of his neck.

“Sounds good to me, princess.”

———

thanks for reading guys !!! this was a lil ooc but fun to write so i hope you enjoyed. please let me know what you think ! <3

here is my masterlist for more of my works :-)

[paingoes]

Destroyer - Birthday I

(Masterlist)

you guys have NO idea how excited i am to get to this section. this is a two-parter. enjoy :D

(Content: discussions of captivity, slavery, imperialism, illness, and colonialism. alcohol. some very slight dubcon.)

===================

He’d come back to Thales. They’d warned him it was tempting fate, but lightning never strikes the same place twice. And it was about time they did something with the castle. In winter, the frost shone delicately against the outer walls. It reflected the starlight out across the lawn, its colors glistening as if made of moonstone. 

It was Paris’s birthday. They would celebrate here. There was enough notice given to the staff for them to restore the castle to a fraction of its former glory, then almost enough time to manage the actual preparations. Nobody could say that he did not understand showmanship. The inside of Castle Thales was ethereal and ancient. All the ghosts were out tonight.

He didn’t get anything out of it, not really. He smoked alone in the garden, the icy remnants of the summer flowers crushed down by his boots. He watched the procession of guests through the doors without much enthusiasm. He had no use for them socially, no interest in business tonight. He was already ready for it to be over.

He tossed the cigarette butt out onto the frozen grass, turning to go back inside.

“Paris!” Her voice carried across the field. She almost knocked him over, arms flying around his neck. He stumbled before he caught her. 

“I’m so sorry, I meant to see you sooner,” Her head was fully in his chest, pressing up against the wound, “I saw the footage. Paris, I couldn’t believe it.”

She laughed a little as she withdrew, “Why would you ever have the party here?”

Paris smiled at her, some of the sullenness melting away. Her hair was done in tight curls, but her dress was modern and hung loosely off her body. It made her look more boyish than usual. The diamonds on her face reflected the light shining off the castle.

“Going for symmetry,” Paris’s eyes glanced out to the treeline, a sliver of fearful expectancy still obvious in his voice. “I didn’t think you’d come.”

“Of course I came,” Lorelai said softly. He had smelled faintly of antiseptic.

He offered her the last cigarette in the pack. 

“You just got a new lung! Why do you even have that!” She protested, reaching for it anyway. He lit it up for her. Her lipstick stained the filter.

===================

Delta was exhausted. He’d been given too much to heal from lately. Sierra had spent all afternoon with him, getting more and more frustrated as she found more bruises. His shade was so specific, it took hours to cover up properly. She’d been on the verge of tears before she even got around to working on the others. It was too large a festival for one day. Delta felt for her, but the stress didn’t make her particularly nice to be around. He blinked some of the paint out of his eyes, still feeling the sting of the brushes. 

A thick chain connected his collar to the base of the throne. He was very familiar with this specific position. The court had not so long ago belonged to the Emperor. In most ways, it still did. He’d been made to kneel here ever since he had first been acquired. In his memories, the throne had been larger. The space felt too small for him now. 

He straightened up, noticing his own slouching. Little jolts ran through his body, one of the best ways he had to wake himself up. These things tended to run long. He raised his head up slightly to look out at the ballroom. It really did look beautiful tonight, but there was something uncanny about it. Something in how the light played. He’d lost track of Paris a while ago, which would’ve been fine, had he not been so anxious about his return. He found himself subconsciously scanning the room for any signs. This time, he caught one.

Paris was hanging by the southern entrance to the hall. A girl - Lorelai? - was standing close to him. Delta recognized the soft copper of her hair, but couldn’t see her face from her position. She turned around suddenly. He jumped a little, realizing she was looking straight at him. He could read Paris’s body language well enough to know they were arguing. Delta quickly bowed his head back down. He wanted nothing to do with it.

He didn’t look back up again until he heard her footsteps approaching – and even then, he tried to avoid it. She was wearing the same boots she had on the first time they met.

“What about you?” She said, leaning down, “Do you wanna dance?”

The diamonds of her face were so striking. They lit up like a kaleidoscope – almost too hard to see past. Paris was standing a few paces behind her, glaring daggers. Delta froze. 

She whipped her head around, catching Paris’s sour expression. “Knock it off.”

He laughed. It wasn’t kind. She whirled on him entirely, the ends of her dress spinning behind her. Her fists were clenched. He said something low, through grit teeth. Delta couldn’t make it out, nor could he make out her response. It went on like that for a few turns before Paris threw his hands up.

“You know what? Fine,” He marched over to Delta, grabbing the collar harshly. He flinched. Paris released the lock, letting the chain clatter to the floor.

“Fuck both of you.” 

Paris stormed out. Lorelai put her hands to her head, clutching her own hair in frustration. 

“God, he’s such a baby sometimes.” She groaned. 

She turned to look at Delta again. He was visibly grimacing, staring out in the direction Paris had left. He rubbed at his neck absently, a bit sore from where the chain had been yanked. 

Lorelai extended her hand, “You can hang out with me if you want. Forget him.”

Delta eyed her warily. Her expression was warm — not mocking, as he feared she meant to be. It wasn’t a good idea. Yet he knew on some level the damage was already done. He had nothing better to do with his night. He gingerly took her hand. It was much softer than he had expected. 

===================

Delta walked behind her with the quiet resignation of someone who was dragged everywhere, all the time. He didn’t have a problem with shadowing her, but it made him a little nervous to navigate the crowd this way. Seeming to sense this, she pushed out through a side door, into a more deserted corridor. The castle was labyrinthine to the two of them.

“It’s eerie that they decorated every room. Aren’t these supposed to be off-limits?” Lorelai mused, “I can’t tell what the theme is. Time?”

Delta was silent. She released his hand, tilting her head at him. 

“You don’t like parties, I bet.”

“No, miss.” He blushed a little, rolling his shoulder back. She frowned.

“Want to get some air?” 

“Yes, miss.” 

She led him out onto the third floor balcony, which was also supposed to be off-limits. There were chairs up there, but she sat up on the stone railing. Delta lingered in the doorway. The stars were tinted with purple. The twin moons of Thales hung in different quadrants of the sky.

“You know, my folks didn’t want me to come to this,” Lorelai smiled a little, “Not after last time. You were there, weren’t you?”

Delta hesitated, “…For the assassination?”

She nodded. “What was it like?”

Again, he paused. He wasn’t used to open-ended questions. They made him a bit suspicious. He tried to feel out if a trap had been laid. 

“Abrupt,” he said finally, “It only took a second. Miss.” 

She felt her own chest, her manicured hands making small circles in her sternum.

“I can’t imagine. I really can’t.” She shook her head. “I could never go military, I’m too scared of pain. I used to cry like a baby whenever I had to get a shot.”

Delta’s bruises were invisible beneath the makeup. No question had been posed to him. He didn’t speak. 

===================

He couldn’t deal with whiskey again. The smell alone made him nauseous, spurred the migraine forth for as long as he was around it. Lorelai accepted this condition gracefully. She had disappeared at the bar for a little while, re-emerging with two pink glasses.

“Try it, it tastes like juice,” She looked at him with huge eyes, pushing it into his hands.

“Thank you,” he whispered. She looped her arm in his, slipping back out from the crowded hall. The cold night wind bit into them as soon as the side door opened. 

Delta could feel it coming on, but he couldn’t stop it. He loosened up too much when he was drunk. He forgot everything he was trying to safeguard. But Lorelai was so nice. He didn’t feel afraid to talk, the way he had been all the time recently. She giggled when she noticed she was getting real answers out of him. It wasn’t mean. 

“My mom said if I take a year off, I’ll never go back. They keep threatening to cut me off and I don’t have the heart to tell them I really don’t care. I never wanted their money. I mean, I was glad to have it when I did, but I’m an adult now. I have dreams! I don’t wanna be their baby anymore.” She bumped into him, spilling a bit of her drink, “So what do you do?”

“Murders and executions, mostly.”

“Oh. Right.” She seemed embarrassed to have asked. “Come look at this.”

She trotted over to the steel fence surrounding the castle grounds. Delta strolled along a few steps behind her. 

“You’ve been here before?” His voice was so soft, the wind almost carried it away.

“Few times. Not recently. I hope they’re still here,” She jogged the last steps to the flowerbed, then did a running slide onto her knees into the dirt.

“Ah! Cold!” She cried out, “Don’t do that!”

He hadn’t planned to. He bent down beside her to examine the bed. It was a little frosted over, but there were still white flowers visible this late in the season. Lorelai cupped one between her hands like she wanted to pick it, then stopped herself.

“Noella-nas. It’s a good story. You heard it?”

“No, miss.”

“During the settling of Swanni in the late medieval period, all of King Cataline’s court came down with this mysterious pox. It came for his wife and children first, then spread throughout the court. Eventually all of the pilgrims had contracted it. They called it Whicap. It would start inside their bones and eat its way out. It took off their arms and legs one at a time. King Cataline was sure they all would be killed if the plague carried on. So he went out into the wilderness to speak with the native people. They had seen Whicap before. They showed him the place where Noella-nas grows. He cut it out of the ground and brought it back to his court alchemist. The petals of Noella-nas were the cure for their illness. That’s how the pilgrims at Swanni survived their first decade. That’s why their children still live there today.”

She plucked a single petal off and rolled it between her fingers. 

“They’re extinct in the wild. The forests they grew in were leveled and turned into farmland. Thales keeps growing them as a heritage project. Nobody really gets Whicap anymore, anyway.”

Her dress was dirty. Her knees had been scraped up and the soil of the courtyard was sticking in the wound. She popped the petal into her mouth, letting it melt there. It tasted like marshmallow root.

“Is it alright if I ask where you’re from?” She turned her head to look at him. Her eyes were bleary.

“I was born in captivity. I’m not from anywhere,” He answered. Despite the cold weather, he was strangely warm. Lorelai put her hand to her mouth, tracing her own lips as if to self-soothe.

“Oh. I thought you might be from one of the outer colonies. I can count on one hand the number of people I’ve met who were born outside Empire. It’s so scary. It’s too big. Did you just say you were born in captivity?”

He was starting to understand Paris better. He now knew what it was like to be physically incapable of shutting up.

“Yeah. Or I was surrendered to the Institute while I was still really young. I don’t have any memories of ever living outside of it.” He paused. “It’s probably easier that way. We would sometimes get kids who’d been surrendered at age seven or so. They never lasted long. They just couldn’t adjust to it.”

Lorelai fully covered her face now. “I don’t know how you can forgive us. I don’t know how anyone ever could.”

The air around them sparked. Delta, embarrassed, tried desperately to ground himself. Little arcs of electricity were coming off of him in a way he couldn’t control. Lorelai kept her face buried in her hands and would not get up until Delta asked her to come back where it was warm.

===================

They went into the basement. Delta had asked nicely. He got the strange sense he might never have another chance to see it. The door was locked, but the lock was not strong. It wasn’t the same one they’d had when Delta was kept there. Lorelai kicked like a mule. It burst open. 

Delta got a little woozy at the sight of the stairs. They were ivory and covered by a finely woven rug. Its wine red shade had faded mostly to brown. The two of them descended.

The floor came into view first. It was warm marble tiling, inlaid with gold. It spread out in their vision as they neared the bottom. It spread — and there was very little else.

“Oh,” Delta realized, “They got rid of it.”

The expensive and well-insulated material that had made up the walls of his room were torn down. All that was left were the support structures. Thin beams of rebar descended from the ceiling and down into the tile. They marked out the perimeter where the room had once ended. Standing alone, they looked a lot like the bars of a cage.

Lorelai slipped in between them. The light sound of her boots clicking on the tile suddenly changed as it came into contact with the old floor. It was well insulated, meant for grounding. Her steps sounded heavier. They made a dull echo throughout the room.

She spun around, running her fingers along the bars.

“It’s so small,” she said. 

“I was younger when they built it,” Delta said weakly. He didn’t know why he was defending them. He didn’t even want to get close. He glanced around again. The outer walls of the basement were decorated with simple paintings and tapestries. Besides that, there was nothing else down there.

“I think they took the rest of my stuff,” he concluded, a small note of bitterness creeping into his voice. When he’d first gotten aboard the Thorn, Simon had packed him two suitcases. One was all clothes. The other was mostly books. Everything else he’d owned had been lost for a long time. Some small part of him hoped he might find it here.

Maybe it was for the best though. Had the room still been intact, he doubted he could’ve brought himself to enter it. Just the idea of it made him nauseous.

Lorelai slipped out from between the bars. She leaned her hip against the one of them and hooked her arm around another as if to steady herself. The rust of the rebar stained her skin. She didn’t seem to notice.

“That’s…really scary,” she says slowly, “I’m sorry.”

Delta brushes a strand of hair from his face.

“I’m sorry that happened to you,” Lorelai continued, “Do you want to go back up?”

He nods.

===================

“I mean, I guess I’m sorry it’s still happening,” she said.

“What?” Delta asked. They were on the balcony again. She’d gotten them more drinks. It was starting to be an unwise amount. She sipped at her mojito pensively. The silly straw did nothing to alleviate her grief.

“With you. I’m sorry you have to live like this.” Lorelai braced herself against the stone railing, looking straight down into the garden.

Delta didn’t answer. 

“I like Paris, you know. He’s my friend. But he’s a lot sometimes. I don’t know.” She paused:

“...Is he good to you?”

She turned her head slightly to see if his expression changed. He was gazing out into the surrounding woods. The top of the ship was just barely visible over the treetops. The question hung in the air. Delta rubbed at his neck.

“I don’t think he wants to be this way.” He said finally. “He just…gets himself so worked up.”

She nodded like she understood. The sky was clouding up; her cup was empty again. When she moved to stand, her gait was wobbly. The glass toppled over. Delta caught her before she could fall too.

“Are you okay, miss?” Delta asked, a muted note of concern in his voice. He was used to the drunken two-step by now. At least with her, it didn’t hold the threat of sudden violence.

“I’m tired,” she murmured, “I’m…really tired.”

Delta led her back down the stairs to the ballroom. He flagged down her friends, who seemed to recognize the danger. They gathered to come collect her. Before he could pass her off, she leaned over and quickly pecked him on the cheek. 

Delta blushed as her friends led her away. The party was over, anyway. She cast a last glance over her shoulder. Her expression was unreadable.

He traced the skin where she had kissed him. It had been right on top of the bruise.

~~~

Tags: @catnykit @indigoviolet311 @snakebites-and-ink @vivulapom @scoundrelwithboba @whatwhump @pumpkin-spice-whump @deluxewhump @fuckcapitalismasshole @defire @micechomper

[okminer07]

Slave to the Light Pt1

A Baldur's Gate Fanfiction

Keep moving forward, just keep moving forward. Over and over, she repeated that same phrase over and over in her head. She couldn't stop, she wouldn't stop. No, she didn't want to think what would happen if she stopped now, or worse, if she turned back. So, Lorelai kept moving forward, tripping over roots, kicking up pebbles, and weaving through the long shoots of grass.

Her throat felt like it was coated with sand, every breath was beginning to hurt. She could feel her feet aching, having become numb to the cold and the constant abuse they were being put through as she made her way bare foot through the forest.

Just... just keep moving she pleaded to her body.

Just a little further... just

She sucked in a great breath of air, cool and crisp. It felt so good, so good to breath fresh air. So much of her wanted to stop, to breath it again and again, to enjoy the feeling.

No, just keep going she berated herself.

Don't stop... don't... don't....

She stopped. Not because her body wanted her to, she had already won that argument several times. No, she all but froze when up ahead she spotted light. Her fingers twitched anxiously as she slowly moved a few inches closer. With the little faith that she had, she pleaded with the gods that it wasn't what she thought it was, that it wasn't-

"Hey! give that back asshole!" bellowed a voice.

Lorelai jumped, clamping a hand over her mouth. Her feet began to inch away as the voice continued to argue loudly.

"And why should I?"

Damnit! damn it all! why, of all things why did she have to stumble across a big folk camp. She let a small whimper of frustration, running her hands through her tangled raven hair.

What was she supposed to do now? both options laid in front of her filled her with dread.

"You don't even need it!"

Lorelai groaned, staying put wasn't an option either. Sooner or later, an animal would come across her bloodied scent, and she shivered at the thought of what would happen then.

Begrudgingly, she could only think of one way forward: to go around the camp and get some distance between her and it quickly. Though she wasn't sure she would be able to do anything fast in her current state.

She inched forward, peering around the towering trees, trying to gauge where to go. This would have been so much easier if she could just make herself invisible, then her only worry would be to stay silent. As she slowly got closer, the arguing voices got louder.

"What? so I can't simply indulge myself?"

"But that's the last one! and I'm starving!"

Maybe this was a blessing. the two seemed very preoccupied so maybe this was a sign that this was her opening to sneak past. She began to quicken her pace, keeping her path heading northwest. Through the tree line, she caught glimpses of the big folk's camp. It was a rather large one, she could make out the outline of several tents and a large campfire. She shook her head. Stop, who cared what it looked like? what mattered was leaving it behind.

"Just hand it over Astarion. We all know you only want it because she wants it".

Great, another voice, and this one was trying to deescalate the argument that had been acting as a distraction. She began to move a bit faster, still taking great lengths to be as silent as possible.

There was a loud scoff, "Fine, now why don't you all leave me alone while I go look for a proper meal."

Lorelai slowed as the camp went silent. She ever so meticulous maneuvered her way over and around roots and twigs when something happened that nearly made her heart stop.

The ground beneath her feet quivered and she could hear a great deal of rustling. She began to back away. The quaking continued, only getting more violent and louder by the second. Someone was coming. One of the big folks was making its way closer to her.

Panic now seeping back into her, she whipped her head around feverishly, every second the footsteps getting closer and louder. She let out a low whimper as she desperately looked for somewhere, anywhere that would conceal her.

Just when the being could only be a few feet away, Lorelai's eyes fell upon the roots of the nearest tree. They were decorated with webs and decaying moss, but she didn't care. She sprinted towards them, moving quickly to bury herself deeply within them. The approaching footsteps caused little bits of dirt to fall from above her and pepper her hair and face. Then, they stopped.

She dared to poke her head out from behind a root, the sight of two huge dark leather boots making her instantly duck back into hiding.

Please, oh please, please go away she pleaded.

Whoever stood mere feet away from her began to sniff the air, like some sort of animal.

Lorelai clasped a hand over her mouth as she heard a satisfied exhale. Her heart began to pound loudly in her ears, her body trembled with anticipation.

go away, just go away!

There was a thud that made Lorelai pounce where she sat. She wanted to let out a yelp, but she knew that would instantly reveal her.

For what felt like an eternity, there was an unnerving silence. She couldn't even hear any breathing other than her own.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw it.

Long, pale fingers, maybe even paler than her own, began to snake their way closer. She sucked in a breath and pressed herself against the dirt and root wall, pleading that she would sink right into it and away from the approaching hand.

When one touched her ankle, she couldn't help but scream as the rest quickly ensnared around her legs and began dragging her out into the open.

She kicked and clawed at both the fingers and the ground, trying to get away, but to no avail.

"I knew I smelled something peculiar".

Lorelai froze at the ice laced voice. Before she could stop herself, she turned her head upwards.

She felt a scream lodge itself in her throat as her eyes met two huge red ones. She had only heard tales and stories about humanoids who had red eyes, scary stories meant to keep children well behaved, but she never thought that such a creature was real. She believed vampires to be nothing more than a scary story.

It seemed she was wrong.

The creature that used to haunt her nightmares as a child now had her pinned against the ground and was staring at her with a hungry glint in its eyes.

She watched as its lips parted to reveal two fangs and it began to speak once again.

"Although, you look a bit odd for a pixie. if that is what you are".

Lorelai began to struggle beneath the pressure of the fingers holding her down, releasing desperate whimpers.

"Suppose it doesn't matter, I'm sure you'll taste just as such".

Her eyes became so wide she feared they would tumble out of her skull. Her heart threatened to burst right out of her rest as the fingers grasped around her legs once again and began to lift her off the ground at an almost purposeful slowness.

No, no,no,no,no.no No! As she dangled upside down, she felt all hope leaving her. She watched as the ground began to shrink away and began begging for it all to hurry up and be over.

She felt something slide within her pocket and something reignited itself within her. She wasn't going to die, not today, not if she could help it.

Lorelai plunged her hand into her pocket and withdrew a small but sharp shard of glass. Without a second thought, she heaved herself upwards, towards the log-like fingers, and plunged the point as deep into the vampire's icy flesh as she could.

[yansimstorythatiwillnotworkon]

#14

Thursday

__

Ayano winced as her back collided with the wall, a dull thud coming from the collision. Lorelai’s hand was pressed firmly into her chest, restricting her movement, although she didn’t quite think that she could fight back anyway. Just a few minutes after Ayano had entered the school grounds, Lori had grabbed her and shoved her into a nearby storage closet.

“What the hell did you do?” Lori fumed, balling up her shirt into his fist as he pulled her forward and slammed her back against the wall again. “Why am I no longer getting my pay? What did you say to them?”

“I-” Ayano grunts at the second collision, but continues, “-I said I was going to speak to them. To get you to stop harassing Frankie. I told you that.” She explains quickly, hoping to get her words to him quickly before he actually beat her up.

Unfortunately, Lorelai didn’t seem to like that answer, and shoved her aside with a frustrated groan. Ayano, unfortunately unable to catch herself, fell into a couple boxes, although Lori wasn’t very phased by that. “How would you even–” He grits his teeth, balling his fist as he struggles to get his own words out. “--you’ve ruined everything! Who are you to even get in my way?! You have no right to screw up all of my efforts!!”

Before Ayano could retort and before Lorelai could decide if he wanted to punch Ayano, the storage closet door opened, revealing a familiar figure in a lab coat. Lori glares back at Yaku, who looks back with a shocked emoticon displayed on his visor. He looked to Ayano, and then Lori, and then Ayano again.

“Um.. am I…” Yaku paused, assuming the worst and subtly shifting over to put his body between Ayano and Lori. “..is everything okay, Ayano?” He asks, looking back at her with an anxious-looking emoji on his visor.

Rather than allowing any of the attention to return back to himself, Lorelai stormed out of the room, sending one last seething glare to Ayano before he left. Immediately, Yaku helped Ayano up and held onto her hands with worry clear in what showed on his face. “I– Are you okay? What was she so mad about?” He asks, “Did she knock you down?”

Ayano paused in thought, before taking her hands away to brush off her clothes. “Uh, well, I tripped. She… She’s just upset about something between her and Frankie. I got involved and she got mad at me, is all.” She explains briefly and as vaguely as she could without seeming like she was directly attempting to hide something from Yaku.

“Oh… If you say so.” Yaku folds his arms with a concerned look. “Just.. don’t let her push you around, okay? I get that you got involved but that’s never a reason for violence. You know that, don’t you?”

“Yes.” Ayano nods, slowly making her way past the still worried Yaku. Seeing this, she smiled at him and gave him a thumbs up, which only seemed to further fluster the boy. Still, Yaku gave a quick thumbs up, his face red, and turned back to grab whatever supplies he needed. __

Yan-Chan: Were you aware that I knew Mr. Y?

Info-Chan: How would I know that? :)

Yan-Chan: How could you have known something that happened years ago?

Info-Chan: Good question.

Yan-Chan: How long have you been watching me exactly?

Yan-Chan: And if not that, did you do some sort of background check on me?

Yan-Chan: Did you look into my mother and her connections with Mr. Y?

Yan-Chan: And what exactly is Mr. Y’s occupation?

Info-Chan: Aw, you’re curious! <3

Info-Chan: I’ve never heard you ask so many non-Taro related questions in a row! Congratulations :D

Yan-Chan: Info.

Yan-Chan: I need answers.

Info-Chan: You do, don’t you?

Info-Chan: Well I need favors ^^

Yan-Chan: I need to do favors for information about myself?

Info-Chan: Yes indeed.

Info-Chan: Shoo, now.

Info-Chan: Frankie wants to speak with you.

Info-Chan: And right after that I’ll have a special task for you.

Yan-Chan: Fine.

Ayano glared at her phone, but didn’t have enough time to seeth about Info-Chan’s vagueness before a voice called out to her. “Ayano?” Frankie reaches over and pats Ayano’s shoulder. As soon as Ayano turned around, Frankie said. “Before I say anything else, I want to say thank you for doing… whatever you did to get Lori to leave me alone. …somewhat.”

“Somewhat.” Ayano repeats, folding her arms.

Frankie nods. “Yeah. Um… well, in the end, I get that he should stop nagging me now..”

“..that’s an understatement.” Ayano mutters, although this is overlooked as Frankie continues.

“It’s just- he looks worse off than before.” Frankie says, frowning sympathetically. “I only asked you to get him to leave me alone. And I’m not going to ask you to give him a pat on the back and tell him ‘everything’s going to be okay’ or anything, but..”

Pulling a hand up to her lips with a nervous frown, Frankie continues quietly. “...my goal has always been to help him.” She sighs, allowing her arms to rest at her sides. “Ayano, could you tell me what exactly you did to make him stop?” She asks, twisting the end of her skirt between her fingers nervously.

Ayano pauses for a long couple of seconds, completely silent for a while. She couldn’t tell Frankie that Lori and herself were involved with whatever gang Mr. Y was in. That would definitely deter her reputation, which Ayano couldn’t afford.

After another second, Ayano slowly says. “...someone gave Lori money in order to attack you every week. I convinced them not to.”

“I-” Frankie pauses, her mouth agape before she looks away, clearly confused and shocked. “..but… I’m- Wh-What could I have even done to deserve..?” She sighs loudly, putting her face in her hands. “...okay. Ayano, you… wouldn’t happen to know who this person is, would you?”

Ayano shook her head. “No. I came across them by chance in Buraza. It’s best if you ask Lori himself about it.” She claims, folding her hands behind her back with a sheepish expression.

Frankie sighs again. “Alright. Well, thank you again, Ayano.” She pulls a hand up to one of her curled locks and frowns, “I’m going to go bother Lorelai about whatever… this was. If you see me getting my ass handed to me, I deserve it.”

“Duly noted.” Ayano responds dryly.

“Right, then.” Frankie nods to her and walks past her to go downstairs. “See you.”

Ayano nodded back, and as expected, her phone immediately dinged.

Info-Chan: Yay, good for you :)

Info-Chan: Now Lorelai will know you as the girl who convinced a mafia boss to stop paying him

Info-Chan: And Frankie will know you as the girl who convinced Lorelai to stop jumping her every day! :D

Yan-Chan: Mafia Boss?

Info-Chan: Whoopsie.

Info-Chan: I still can’t tell you anything until you get this last special task done <3

Yan-Chan: What.

Info-Chan: I promise it benefits you greatly as well.

Info-Chan: It has to do with Musume Ronshaku…

__

“Oh, it’s you.” Musume, subtly hid part of her cigarette beneath her hand, debating if she cared if Ayano saw her with it. “Yan-Chan, right? What’s up?” She asked. Her voice was low, but she lilted it just a bit, as if trying to stay in character.

Musume was on the rooftop, leaning on the railing. What Ayano didn’t expect to see was Scilla sitting next to her, although he himself didn’t join in on her illegal acts.

“I just wanted to know if you needed anything. You’ve seemed a bit, uh… dull, as of recently. No offense.” Ayano replied, smiling sheepishly and folding her hands behind her back. She, of course, made that up, but figured that since Musume was already a drama queen, she’d naturally use Ayano’s “concern” as a way to get something done for herself.

Musume raises an eyebrow suspiciously as she looks at Ayano. She hums, pulling the cigarette back up to her mouth in thought. “Well, I guess I won’t refuse a favor.” She lightly kicks Scilla, who seemed to be cutting something out of a sheet of paper with his pair of scissors. “What should I ask her to do for me, Scil?”

Scilla frowned at his piece of paper as Musume’s kick seemed to have messed up what he was cutting. Silently, he crumpled up the paper and tossed it over the railing. “Pulling a prank might be fun.”

“Gosh, Scil, what a scandalous idea. A prank would be all in good fun, though, wouldn’t it?” Musume asks in faux curiosity, smiling down at him and nudging him again with her foot. “I do wonder what kind of prank Ayano should pull. And on whom?”

Looking up to Musume, Scilla says. “Maybe a light scare? Like..” He mumbles something, causing Musume to kick him once again, silently telling him to speak up. “...red paint would be funny.”

“With what, Scil?” Musume continues, folding her arms with a mischievous grin. Scilla gave her a confused look, glancing back at Ayano every once in a while nervously.

After a second of opening and closing his mouth nervously, Scilla mumbles. “...glass?”

Scilla immediately flinches as Musume lets out a sharp, dramatic gasp. “How violent, Scilla! Not glass!” She huffed, before allowing her facade to fall immediately. “Maybe plastic, though.”

“...so, what prank do you want me to do?” Ayano asks, folding her arms with a raised eyebrow. Part of her was worried that she seemed too lax and willing, but another part of her was tired of whatever discreet banter was going on between Scilla and Musume.

“I think what Scilla is saying is…” Musume thinks for a moment, looking anywhere but towards Ayano to appear hesitant. “It would be funny if you filled a bucket with red paint and cut up plastic and set it above the door where Horuda Puresu usually hangs out. So that it could hypothetically fall on her and she thinks that she’s bleeding and covered in glass. You know. As a prank.”

“That seems a bit…” Ayano starts, showing a hesitant expression.

Musume seems to fall for the expression and rolls her eyes. “What, you’re not a wuss, are you? You really can’t do a simple prank? Come ooon, Yan-Chan, it’s a prank! Like, scientifically, every teenager does at least one prank in their whole life!” She claims, although even Scilla gave her a doubtful look at that statement.

“...I guess I could.” Ayano mumbles, looking away from Musume and twirling a piece of hair around her finger.

“You totally could! The art club has tons of crafty stuff, right? I mean, the school’s basically giving you permission. Just…” Musume pauses her excitement to give Ayano a somehow very unfriendly smile. “..if you get caught don’t say that I told you to. Scilla came up with it. Right, Scilla?”

Another nudge makes Scilla jump a bit, and he nods. “Yeah. I deserve the credit.” He says, although throughout this entire conversation his replies have been very listless.

“..right. I’ll do that now, then.” Ayano says quietly, nodding her head briefly and turning to walk to the Art Club.

__

Ayano had thought of a pretty decent excuse for her actions should she get caught. She wanted to try her best to make everything look like a coincidence, so she asked Amise to do a quick favor for her for the second time this week.

Since Ayano would be busy carrying paint to a less suspicious part of the school, she wanted there to be a reason for her to do so outside of pulling a prank. She knows she’d be looked down on for that.

The favor Amise had done was simply attaching a note to the shelves in the art room. One that asked for someone to move a few canisters of paint into the art room for future use when they get the time. Ayano’s story would simply be fulfilling that wish.

At the moment the art club was empty, but anyone could walk in at any time. Ayano told Amise to write down a few colors of paint, just red, pink and lavender. As expected, the club had all of those available. Ayano quietly stacked the three of them into her arms, but found it difficult to move with all of the weight. Were there any smaller cans available?

As Ayano looked around, the door behind her slid open. Surprisingly, rather than an art club member, it was Horo, who seemed to be looking for something before noticing Ayano’s presence. “Oh, Ayano. What brings you here?” He asks, glancing around the room once more briefly before seeming to accept that what he was looking for wasn’t there.

“Running an errand.” Ayano replies briefly, attempting to walk with the three buckets in her arms. Unfortunately, one of them began to tip and almost fell, had Horo not caught it for her.

He rests the bucket comfortably in his right arm. “Be careful, Ayano. Being in the Science Club has helped me realize that cleaning up messes really is no fun.” He says, before chuckling and muttering. “Wish Maka understood that.”

“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind.” Ayano bows her head to him gratefully. Any other student would likely make conversation now, so Ayano tried her hand at it. “Are you looking for Maka?”

Horo nods, holding a hand up to his hair and brushing some off of his shoulder. He averts his gaze, muttering. “She left all of her equipment in the science club, and my clubmates are waiting for her to get it out of the way.” He sighs, rolling his eyes. “If I didn’t know any better I’d say that she was hiding until the problem fixes itself. And by that I mean until I fix the problem.”

Shaking his head, Horo sighs. “Well, anyway, where do you need this?” He asks, lifting an arm to motion to the bucket of paint in his other arm.

“The art room upstairs. Thanks.” Ayano says as Horo laxly walks over and grabs the second bucket in her arms, carrying both the pink and lavender buckets of paint now. Horo brushes off Ayano’s thanks with a brief shake of his head and the two begin their short walk up the stairs.

After a couple seconds of silence, Horo speaks up. “So, are you thinking of joining the art club, or are you just testing some things out?” He asks, turning his head slightly to look at her. “I heard that you’re pretty good friends with Efude and Enpitsu.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s something like that..” Ayano mutters in a quiet tone. She only saw Efude as a fangirl, albeit a talented artist. The same with Enpitsu, but he was a more regular occurrence. Something he didn’t seem to quite enjoy. “As for the paint, I’m just bringing it up there as per a request of another student.” She explains, shrugging briefly afterwards.

“What student?” Horo faces forward again, subtly reaching into his pocket as his phone vibrates.

Ayano makes a content frown, looking forward to the art room, which was only a couple rooms away. “Whoever it is that left that note in the art room.” She replies. “I saw a note on the shelf that said to bring these up there, so I… did.” Ayano shrugs.

Raising an eyebrow at the girl, Horo puts his phone back into his pocket after replying to whatever message he’d received. “So, you don’t know who put the note there? They just… asked whoever saw the note to run the errand for them?”

“Yes.” Ayano replies bluntly. “They could have been busy. I just wanted something to do.” She claims, shrugging once again.

Horo lets out a huff of a laugh. “If you’re really bored enough to run errands you should stop by the science club. Everyone needs something that happens to be on the opposite side of the school.” He claimed as he and Ayano entered the art room.

They both put the paint on the table, and Ayano bows her head briefly to Horo. “Thanks again. I’ll remember that I’m not as strong as I’d like to be.” She said in her best form of sarcasm.

Horo seemed to catch the joke and nodded with a light smile. “You can be. You just have to put in the effort.” He fixes his lab coat briefly before heading towards the door. “I’d like to say ‘call me anytime for help’, but realistically I don’t have much time like that to spare. So instead I’ll say ‘call Budo or Fureddo anytime for help’. I’m sure they don’t mind.”

“Got it.” Ayano says, feigning a light smile at his joke as he leaves. She already had a bucket prepared, supplied from the nearest bathroom. And this room in particular had plenty of different pieces of “artistic goodies” like varied kinds of paper, clay mixes, and most importantly- plastic.

Everything was prepared. All she had to do now was lock the doors, close the curtains and hope that she finished this quick enough so that no one happened to see her. The plan itself was relatively simple in its own right. Fill the bucket with paint, toss in cut up pieces of plastic, and maneuver around the school to the rooftop, where Horuda usually hangs out. All without being caught or suspected of anything.

Thanks to the simplicity of the task, Ayano was nearly done with it in the span of about ten minutes. Not much of a mess was made because not much of a mess was needed. The problem arose when Ayano heard someone attempt to open the door.

Ayano could make out a mumbled “What..?” before footsteps walked to the other door. After trying that door a sigh could be made out before a voice called. “If you are unaware, students are not allowed to lock the doors without permission. I, however, have a key, so if you could open the door and explain why it was locked in the first place, that would be very much appreciated.” Kuroko called.

Ayano froze for a moment, looking at the door with wide eyes. Kuroko wasn’t cruel or violent but she was obedient. If she sees Ayano making a suspicious mess, she’ll surely put two and two together. Ayano took a hesitant step back, not knowing how she would explain herself out of this. Her foot hit one of the buckets of paint that she and Horo brought, and her gaze immediately goes up to one of the blank canvases.

Without thinking, Ayano takes off the lid to the bucket and splashes a wave of pink paint onto the canvas. “One second!” She called. Despite her eventual response, Kuroko still took out her key to open the door. Right before the door opened, Ayano managed to kick the bucket full of her ‘prank’ behind the table, hopefully out of Kuroko’s sight.

Kuroko’s eyes narrow as she sees the mess Ayano made. “I…” She folds her arms, giving Ayano a suspicious look. “..I take it there is an explanation as to why you’ve made this… mess?”

“Sorry.” Ayano apologizes immediately, putting the bucket of paint down. She sheepishly looks to the canvas and mumbles. “Um- I… I just… I got upset.” She claims quietly, shaking her head with a guilty look in her eyes.

Crossing her arms, Kuroko gave a doubtful look. “You just got upset, threw paint at a canvas, and locked the doors?” She asks, pointing out Ayano’s lack of context without actually saying so.

“...um..” Ayano knows that she’ll have to put a series of events together, and sighs quietly. “I’m… I’ve been trying to get more into a… hobby? Just- something to do at all. Enpitsu recently said that I had no personality, so I’ve been trying to… make… one?”

“Make one.” Kuroko repeats, the suspicion from her expression faltering.

Ayano nods. “I’ve tried doing club activities and… talking to people, but none of it is…” She looks down shamefully, raising a hand up to the canvas. “..nothing’s been working.” Since Kuroko seemed to be thinking of what exactly to say, Ayano decided to actually explain the faux series of events. “I got frustrated at how the… stupid painting came out, so I tossed the paint at it. It… looks better that way.”

Quickly, Ayano bows her head and says. “I’m sorry for the mess. I shouldn’t have gotten so emotional. Painting just isn’t for me.” She shakes her head, and picks up the bucket of pink paint, putting the lid back on.

“..I see.” Kuroko responds, struggling to keep her voice as clear and serious as usual. She pauses for a moment, before clearing her throat and straightening her back again. “Well, accidents happen. If this becomes a habit, I suggest setting up for the mess you may make.” She says.

“I will. Sorry.” With another brief bow, Ayano watches as Kuroko leaves with a regretful look on her face. Once she leaves, she looks down to the mess, realizing that cleaning up this mess will be more time-consuming than needed. Regardless, what has to be done has to be done- no matter how much Ayano dislikes it.

__

Amise’s second favor for the day would be texting Horuda to come see her somewhere downstairs. Setting up the bucket on top of the door was likely the hardest part. She wasn’t exactly tall enough to put it up there easily, and she had to be as quiet as possible so that Horuda didn’t hear any strange noises.

Once she did, though, she walked out of the other available door and over to the railing of the rooftop. Ayano pretended to take pictures of something outside like the sky or the trees or Buraza in the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Horuda pick up her phone, before packing the few items she had out and putting them in her bag.

Horuda thankfully kept her head as low as usual, her gaze to her phone as she was likely about to reply to Amise. Ayano wasn’t sure if Horuda’s day was already bad, but it certainly didn’t get any better as the bucket landed perfectly onto her head. With a quiet yelp in shock, Horuda dropped her phone and bag. She even lost her footing and fell to the ground, the bucket still on her head.

Ayano quickly pulled up her camera and quietly snapped a few pictures. As she did, Hoshiko seemed to notice the commotion and pulled up with her phone as well. Musume already wanted a picture, but now, thanks to Hoshiko, she’ll likely have multiple angles of the incident. Good for her.

“Ow..” Horuda hisses quietly, lifting the bucket off of her head and raising a shaky hand up. Unfortunately for her, she had stabbed herself on a piece of cut plastic thanks to her falling.

From a distance, Tsubaki gasped loudly, looking at the scene with a horrified expression. “O-Oh my goodness!” She exclaimed, looking pale at the sight. Ayano was sure that some part of Tsubaki knew that it wasn’t actual blood, but the sight was still likely very concerning. She dropped her watering can and paced in several directions in panic, before eventually turning around and running downstairs, likely to get a teacher.

Horuda shakily stood up as well, before sniffing sadly and slowly walking downstairs as well. As she leaves, Hoshiko quietly follows her, her phone in hand, likely recording her. Ayano pulls out her own phone and sends Musume the pictures she sent.

Yan-Chan: *Sent a photo*

Musume: Hooooly shit, I’m SO posting this!

Musume: You can literally IMAGINE how her face looks from beneath that bucket, oh my GOD!!

Musume: I can think of several hilarious names based on that picture, Ayano.

Musume: You’re totally the best!!!!!

Musume: Literally, hit me up if you want something.

Yan-Chan: Like what?

Musume: I dunno

Musume: Cigs?

Musume: Money?

Musume: Rides?

Musume: Boyfriends?

Yan-Chan: I’ll think of something, I’m sure.

Yan-Chan: I’m glad to have helped, though.

Musume: I’m sure the girls would LOVE it if you did favors for them, too, y’know? ;D

Musume: It’d be totes cool of you if you did ;DDDDD

Yan-Chan: I’ll consider it.

Musume: Thanks, bestie!!! <333

Ayano sighs, exiting after the chatroom and moving to Info-Chan’s app. For some reason, listening to people like Musume and Info-Chan, even just over text, was draining for her. Unfortunately for Ayano, she now had to switch from one to the other.

Yan-Chan: Why did I need to do a task for Musume anyway?

Info-Chan: To gain her trust, of course.

Info-Chan: Since she mentioned doing tasks for the other girls, though…

Yan-Chan: You didn’t say that I would have to go through all of that effort.

Yan-Chan: You said “do this task and you’ll get your answers”.

Info-Chan: I know.

Info-Chan: But that was only the first step :D

Info-Chan: Good things come to those who wait, Aishi :3

Info-Chan: I guess you could always do the other gyaru’s tasks tomorrow.

Info-Chan: But that’s only the start, anyway.

Yan-Chan: What would the next step be?

Info-Chan: Learning more about Kokona!!

Yan-Chan: Why would I do that.

Info-Chan: Learn more about Riku, Kizana and Saki, and then you’ll have completed that part of the task!

Yan-Chan: Info.

Info-Chan: Since Saki is missing, you may have to talk to Daku instead, though…

Info-Chan: Regardless. Good luck! ;D

Info-Chan force-closed her app, signaling to Ayano not only that she was done with the conversation, but also that she wasn’t going to elaborate on any of the ‘why’s.

Sighing, and put up with yet another task, Ayano looks at the time. It was about time for class. Whatever happened with Horuda was no longer Ayano’s problem- and as far as she knew, no evidence was left behind that she was involved. Hopefully, these tasks flew by quickly so that she could return her attention to Taro for the rest of the day.

__

“Ayano! I was hoping to talk to you.” Riku smiles at her as she approaches him. He seemed to have finished his lunch and was heading back to his classroom.

Ayano tilts her head to the side. “Really? About what?”

Riku pauses for a second, looking just a bit hesitant before clearing out his throat. “I was hoping to speak with you about Kokona. I know she’s been going through a lot lately, but…” He pauses again, furrowing his eyebrows. “..I don’t mean to sound like I don’t trust her, but I worry that she’s not telling me much. Or just, enough because she’ll feel guilty if I help.”

“Kokona has said that she sees you as a great friend. I know that it’s not entirely your place to tell me what goes on in her life, but if you’re concerned at all about her well being, I would appreciate it if you told me.” Riku insisted, folding his arms with a concerned expression on his face.

All Ayano knows about Kokona and Riku is that she hasn’t told Riku about the dates for money. Of course, Ayano wasn’t planning on telling Riku unless it benefited her, regardless of how worried he was. “Yes, she’s told me some things, but nothing to really be concerned about.” She claimed, shrugging lightly. “All of it, really, are things that I think she’ll tell you. But it’s still not my place to say.”

Riku nods understandingly. “Right. I understand.” He smiles. “That makes me feel a bit better.”

“Is there anything in particular that made you doubt her?” Ayano asks, folding her arms behind her back. Although never interested, getting any information on anyone she can could be useful. Especially considering how vulnerable Kokona is right now.

“Well…” Riku lifts a hand to his chin in thought. “..outside of her father’s issues, I’ve seen her on her phone a lot. I saw the name “Miyu”, so I assumed that she was looking through her and Saki’s texts, but she was actively getting replies.” He shakes his head with a sad look. “She looked upset during each conversation, so I assumed there was something wrong.”

Ayano lifts her eyebrows. “Oh, right.. I’d forgotten about that.” She hums in thought, and Riku gives her a hopeful and expectant look. “She’s been in contact with Saki’s mother. Constantly asking her for updates on Saki, and trying to give her updates as well. However…” With another thoughtful hum, Ayano continues. “..I suppose I could blame grief, but Saki’s mother hasn’t been much outside of cruel to Kokona. Even blaming her whenever she gets the chance. To my knowledge, she’d actually blocked Kokona. But I guess she changed her mind?”

“Oh, no..” Riku’s face fills with remorse and worry as he holds a hand up to her mouth. “...that’s… that explains a lot. Grief or no, it’s cruel to blame Kokona for something like that.”

After thinking for a moment, Riku shakes his head with a heavy sigh. “You know, I’ve always wanted to spend as much time with Kokona as possible, whenever I can. Whenever she wasn’t with me or at home, she was with Saki.” He smiles a bit fondly. “As best friends should, they spent plenty of time together. Sometimes I’d be disappointed when Kokona told me that she had plans with Saki, but…” His smile falls as he looks down a bit. “..right now, seeing how depressed Kokona is, I’d do a lot to bring Saki back. From wherever she may be right now.”

Buried beneath the food being grown in the Gardening Club.

For some reason, Ayano wanted to blurt that out. That would definitely give away that she knew that Saki was buried there, but that would lead to her eventual doom as the authorities put the pieces together. Maybe she just wanted to get it off of her chest? Maybe she wanted to see the reaction of someone who was innocent in the situation, not just Info-Chan. Truly, she couldn’t place what the strange feeling in her chest was.

“I understand. To my knowledge, Kokona trusted Saki a lot, and told her secrets she likely hasn’t told anyone else. You included.” Ayano pointed out, folding her arms.

“That’s right. It makes sense. Even if we were officially dating, they’ve known each other since middle school.” Riku gives a sad smile. “Even if she never told me, I think I would be content if she had Saki to talk to. But since she’s not here now, I’m just… more concerned than usual.”

Riku shakes his head, a sad expression on his face. He sighs, trying his best to lift his frown back into a smile. “I’m glad she has you right now, Ayano.” He claims, looking at the very least content. “I’m going to head to class now. Is there anything else you needed?”

“No, I think I’ll head to class as well.” Ayano bows her head briefly as she and Riku part ways.

As soon as she enters her classroom, her phone dings.

Info-Chan: Yay! Your next step is completed :D

Info-Chan: I’ll give you a break for today, but be ready for tomorrow. You have a lot of work to do!

Yan-Chan: Lovely.

Info-Chan: In order to prepare, I suggest doing a bit more studying on Biology for today. Just to remind yourself of some information you’ll need for later.

Yan-Chan: Right. Noted.

Frankly, Ayano was tired of asking Info-Chan questions just to be met with the reminder of how much power Info-Chan holds over her. None of her excuses were satisfactory, but since Info-Chan was technically her “boss” in this situation, there wasn’t much she could do about it. At least she had the rest of the day to herself.

[wonderlandleighleigh]

would LOVE to see some midge/lenny convos with miss patty or Babette/morey! Think it would be so funny. LOVE love love your writing!

(Thank you!!)

"So Taylor starts to talk about ordinances and town bi-laws and Midge looks at him and says 'Taylor, if you say one more word about boring town council rules, I'm going to flash this whole room, and the scars on my tit make me look like Frankenstein, so it won't be nearly as enjoyable for everyone here as it was for the crowd at the Gaslight in '58."

The group all laugh loudly, even though four out of the five of them were there.

Lenny grins proudly and wraps an arm around his wife, rubbing her arm. "You miss one town meeting around here."

"Welcome back," Morey grins, lifting his glass. "I know it was only two days, but we missed you."

"How was the book signing?" Babette asks. "Ya get any sexy ladies wanting you to sign their bits?"

"Not this time," Lenny chuckles as he sips his own drink. "The wedding ring scares them off more often than it doesn't."

"God love a good wedding ring," Patty muses. "Wedding rings have gotten me out of more trouble than I care to admit."

Midge smirks. "And gotten you in just as much."

Everyone laughs, and Patty nods. "You said it, Sister."

"So?" Lenny asks. "What else have I missed?"

"Emily Gilmore blew through town," Midge informs him. "She stormed right into the diner and yelled at Luke because she thought he and Lorelai hadn't gotten back together."

"Wait, didn't they?" Lenny asks, frowning.

"They did," Babette confirms. "But she didn't tell her mother."

Lenny flinches. "That is a very rough relationship they have."

"It's sad," Morey comments softly. "They just can't seem to understand each other."

"That's the way things go sometimes," Midge frowns. "My son and his father never got along. Til the day Joel died, they had a strained relationship. They were constantly frustrated with each other, and Ethan is sad he didn't have a better relationship with him, but they just...couldn't figure it out."

"Kit and her mother are that way," Lenny adds. "There's a disconnect."

Patty sighs heavily. "It's really too bad. Mr. Gilmore is quite the hunk of man."

"Lord love a tall man," Babette agrees, resting her head on Morey's arm.

Midge giggles and kisses Lenny's cheek. "Damn right."

[thecryptidbard]

Top 5....Gilmore Girls seasons >:) Rank them for me (You have permission to include whichever one is 6th, though that's also inferable from being left out I guess lol)

Ahdkahdkshfh PIGEON!!!! A thousand thanks for finally giving me a chance to put the ungodly amount of time I spend thinking about this show to use!! Gonna start with number one this time despite being anticlimactic simply because I have so much more to say about my very favorite ones lol:

#1: Season 1. It HAS to be first on the list. Admittedly, partly because I’ve watched this season more than any other. Partly also because season one is what sets up this whole crazy show—already we have Luke, we have Christopher, we have Rory-making-poor-romantic-choices, we have the absolute institution that is Paris Geller, and so on. But most of all, this season is number one for me because from the very beginning every single dynamic that will become so crucial to the show is all already in play here. The episode “Rory’s Birthdays”comes a mere six episodes into this show and it is a microcosm of the themes that are gonna be in play for all seven seasons to come with a beautiful and heartrending cyclicality. It sets up the premise that will become the trademark of this show at its best, of having 35-40 minutes or so of hilarity and the most over-the-top ridiculous family dynamics and unreasonable situations, followed by about 5 minutes that completely shatter your entire soul with how real and heartbreaking and horribly unsolvable they are. It is an absolute episode of television of all time for me and its just one of so many hits we got this season (the dynamics/parallels at play between Rory’s Dance and Christopher Returns are another favorite worthy of mention). Truly my only complaint with this season is that it took them so long to figure out what they were doing with Kirk’s character lmao.

#2: Season 4. It would have been so, SO easy for the show to go off the rails or completely change all its dynamics and lose what made it special when Rory went off to college BUT IT DIDN’T!!! “The Lorelais’ First Day at Yale” remains a favorite episode of mine, it’s so perfectly *them*, and I think it’s the kind of great writing we get all season that expands the realm of the show without losing its heart. That alone probably makes it deserving of the #2 slot lol, but it also earns it because of 1) some wonderful Richard and Emily moments and development 2) an episode filmed in my hometown and 3) Lane’s arc. Lane my beloved. This is HER SEASON, it’s such a good arc of her hitting a breaking point and then starting to build a life for herself that is actually *hers*, the scene where she and the band move into their own apartment and it’s gross and horrible and the guys are fighting about shelf space only to reveal so casually and matter of factly that the *reason* there’s no space is because they set a whole shelf aside so she can display her CDs is the single moment in all of television that I truly cannot watch without crying.

#3: Season 6. Admittedly, I’ve only seen some of the episodes in this season once or twice, so it’s possible I did have some issues with this season and have just forgotten them. I think this season had a *lot* of curveballs but they by and large worked really well? I think especially so much of the Rory and Lorelai fight was so well done and in character, as was a lot of the Luke and Lorelai angst; even when I was immensely frustrated with one or both of them for making terrible choices and fully yelling at the tv about it, it also felt like those terrible choices were…ones they would very likely make, for the most part. And this is the season that gave us the beautiful Paul Anka the dog!! I am also so nostalgic for this season simply because up until the revival this was the last Sherman-Palladino writing we got and oh man does it show in so many of the Season 7 plots 😭

#4: Season 2. This was by far the hardest one for me to rank. I considered making it #5 in this list, but I also had it as #3 for a LONG time, that’s how torn I was and how much I went back and forth on it. It is SO strong, it has so many really great episodes and perfect humor, and it’s one that I’ve rewatched many parts of just as much as I’ve rewatched season 1. There was a whole period of time where I genuinely styled my hair after Dean’s in this season, that’s how influential season 2 is to me. There really is just so, so much I love about this season.

However. In contrast to seemingly every other fan. I. Fucking. Hate. Jess. I HAAAATTTTTEE him, so much that his mere presence is enough to move this otherwise stellar season to fourth place (you will notice that season 3 does not appear on this list at all—that choice too is once again heavily influenced by Jess). If his character could exist in a vacuum, this season would for sure be ranked higher, but the fact is I don’t just dislike him, I dislike so much about the plotlines and arcs caused by his presence and interactions with the rest of the show. Absolutely no disrespect to his actor either, he is portrayed wonderfully he is just. So terrible to me. Jess my utterly beloathed.

#5: Season 5. I am quickly running out of steam on this lol so not as much to say for this choice, it’s just a truly solid season that I also struggled to place because it has so many strengths but ultimately not as many of the extremely memorable standout moments as some others (although it does have one of my very favorite cold opens, the one with the roomba), so it ended up being lower on the list despite still being one I really, really enjoy. It also, admittedly, might be the one I’ve watched least aside from 7 but we don’t talk about 7.

Much love to anyone who actually read all of this madness, and thanks again Pigeon for the ask!!! 💜💜

Ask me my top 5 anything

[roeyliteratiforever]

It's so frustrating how people want to blame everything on Rory. Everything that went wrong in her relationships people want to fully blame on Rory.

I have literally been seeing people say things like "When Rory said no to Logan I was done with her after that" or when Dean was yelling at Rory in front of Paris saying "She deserved it" and I saw someone blaming Rory for everything that went wrong in her relationship with Dean and how "horrible" she treated him. I've even seen a lot of people say "I hate Rory for saying no to Jess" or will say "Rory actually cheated on Logan and she hurt Jess"

First of all Rory is not obligated to say yes to Logan if she wasn't ready to get married that is perfectly okay and Understandable. She also wasn't obligated to be with Jess I love that boy but he really hurt her and she had every right to say no to to wanting to run away with him. They both needed time to grow and that absolutely was not the right time.

Dean had no right to yell at Rory. He wouldn't even let her explain herself, Dean was always yelling at Rory and never let her explain herself anytime. He completely ignored her wanting space and to have a night to herself and the reason she lied was clearly because she was terrified to make him mad because she was so used to him blowing up on her all the time. That was her literally walking on egg shells around him not because she was trying to cheat on him. I don't care what Rory did his actions were not okay. Y'all Rory anti's let your hatred of her cloud your judgement.

People will say how terrible Rory treated Dean because "she was stringing him along and cheated on him with Jess" if anything she tried to force herself not to have feelings for Jess and when she kissed him it was an impulse she didn't mean to do it have you never been young before and been in a relationship and got feelings for someone else? Like that's totally a normal teenager thing that most teenagers experience. She didn't know how to get out of her first relationship which is so very real for a lot of people, and not to mention how much Lorelai loved Dean. Rory never had any intentions of cheating on Dean but his actions pushed her away with being possessive and explosive all the time!

Don't even get me started on the people that try to say Rory cheated on Logan please he literally slept with an entire bridal party and invalidated her feelings and gaslit her over the whole thing I don't want to hear a word about how she kissed Jess when Logan hooked up with a bunch of girls behind Rory's back and completely disregard how she felt! Rory didn't mean to hurt Jess either she cares so much for him but she also still has feelings for Logan and at least she felt bad about it, Logan didn't even feel bad about what he did or care that he hurt her!

It feels like people put Rory into this box and when she doesn't act in a way that they want her too they get mad and instantly hate her like she's not aloud to make mistakes otherwise she's horrible but if she didn't make mistakes and did everything perfectly people would say she was boring and unrealistic. I don't get it yes Rory made mistakes like all of the characters but she does not deserve the hate she gets from the fandom and I stand by that! I'm so over to Rory hate!

[pinkestsorbet]

Just finished listening/reading Epithet Erased Prison of Plastic ♫

spoilers + ramblings below!

It was good :D The character interactions were sweet and definitely felt like the original series. The change in format I didn't mind all that much aside from a few minor nit-picks but the story was pretty fun and emotional!

I read alongside listening to the audiobook. The music and voice acting were really well done and the illustrations were really pretty, the last two in particular were very cool and cute respectively. The character interactions, like the series, are what make this book shine in my opinion!

I do miss the characters narrating their own actions like they did in the series but! it is completely understandable why this was changed for the audiobook; it separates the characters actions and dialogue and it'd get confusing if the narrator kept changing every paragraph or so.

The Blyndeff sisters in particular really got me emotional; Lorelai is a bratty older sister who deep down misses playing with her little sister and blames herself for the tragic death of their mother, Molly is a tired younger sister who had to grow up far too quickly to pick up the pieces and do everything her father and sister won't.

I do like that Molly got surprise adopted in the ending and finally gets to be a little kid! Freed from the overwhelming pressure of taxes and running the store. Giovanni's evil team is peak found family.

There isn't really an apology from Lori in the end though, no emotional talk between the sisters as they finally let out their frustrations and annoyances, Molly did get a cathartic rant or two directed at her but otherwise... nothing really

It kinda makes sense? Hare-idan couldn't be reasoned with any time Molly tried to; her words going through one bunny ear and out the other. Lori takes after the Blyndeff father in that her world is centred around her and her own wants and as long as someone is there to clean up the mess left behind... so what?

Molly leaving the store behind should hopefully be the wake-up call the two need.

Hopefully in future instalments the two will reunite, Molly gets the apology she deserves (if Bear Trap rejects that apology I understand completely), and the two finally get a bit of closure everything that happened over the years.

[jakeperalta]

yes luke and rory in general is such a fascinating dynamic!! I love how the show makes it very clear that luke continues to care for rory even when he’s fighting with lorelai, often to juxtapose christopher who only really shows a genuine interest in parenting rory when he’s trying to impress lorelai. i love the scene in season 2 after rory and jess get into the car accident and lorelai and luke aren’t talking. the entire town treats rory like a doe-eyed idiot who got taken advantage of by jess. and rory is so frustrated that everyone is removing her agency from the situation until finally luke validates her by telling her he knows the accident wasn’t jess’ fault. it’s just a small sweet moment between the two of them. some gg fans say that rory doesn’t see luke as a father figure. I disagree but personally I blame the lack of luke and rory scenes without lorelai in the show and also rory’s daddy issues that make her awkward around older men lol.

yes!! luke's love and care for rory really has little to do with his relationship with lorelai (if anything, he's in that father figure role a while before he and lorelai are a couple) and the luke and rory dynamic is the best thing about the whole car accident plot for me, I also love when luke says "I care about rory more than I do myself" because we don't often get something so direct from him about his feelings 🥺 I think rory totally views luke as a father figure, even if at the same time she's understandbly a bit wary of doing so due to her relationship with christopher and the worry that him being that for her is contingent on his (generally pretty rocky) relationship with lorelai and could therefore be taken away

[scienter]

Until the very end of s7, Caroline and Stefan were still not technically together.So everytime Plec brings up the bathroom scene and talks about them being her long game,I laugh because the story could have absolutely gone in any direction especially after the s7 fiasco.In fact, she could have easily ended the show in that season and had both the brothers die with Nina/Elena making a green-screen appearance and give Stelena an implied endgame/afterlife endgame or whatever with Stefan and Elena declaring their undying love for each other and then had Caroline crossover to The Originals after a time jump.She was engaged to Ric and had two kids at the time.She was willing to leave everything behind anyway.Plec had already killed Cami on TO to clear her path for KC fantasy.She Chose NOT to.She has said somewhere she wanted to honour caroline and stefan's marriage.Didn't she kill Stefan 2 seconds after the vows and came out & said them leaving each other behind was the responsible outcome of a responsible relationship?Is this how you honour someone's marriage?In what world is that acceptable?Each and everything she did/did not do on her show was HER CHOICE.She can blame Candice for getting pregnant and Nina for quitting as much as she wants to.If she truly wanted to do right by SE and SC, she would have done it on the show instead of pandering at conventions and social media.

Until the very end of s7, Caroline and Stefan were still not technically together.

Stefan and Caroline were together at the beginning of season 7. Yes, they broke up in the middle of the season and then got back together at the end. But the writers weren't still doing the will-they-or-won't-they storyline before Caroline gave birth. Stefan and Caroline were solidly a couple. It's a formulaic relationship arc, which is why I found their separation so frustrating (e.g., Luke & Lorelai in season 5 & Dean & Rory in season 1 of Gilmore Girls; Ross & Rachel in season 3 and Phoebe & Mike in season 9 of Friends). I've seen it done way too many times on television, and I think writers should retire it.

Didn't she kill Stefan 2 seconds after the vows and came out & said them leaving each other behind was the responsible outcome of a responsible relationship? Is this how you honour someone's marriage? In what world is that acceptable?

Did JP say that!? Huh, I don't remember. That's an awful way to look at it though.😒 Anyway, it's a horrid ending. Not just for the ship - but for Stefan's character. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: nothing is satisfying with a suicidal character seemingly overcoming their issues only to choose death at the end of the story.

Each and everything she did/did not do on her show was HER CHOICE. She can blame Candice for getting pregnant and Nina for quitting as much as she wants to. If she truly wanted to do right by SE and SC, she would have done it on the show instead of pandering at conventions and social media.

Writers shouldn't have to explain, defend, or justify narrative choices. The plot should make enough sense that it can stand on its own. If it can't then it's a sign that something in the story went wrong. Whether it's JJ Abrams/Rian Johnson having to defend the SW sequels, Chris Carter having to explain the myth arc in the latter seasons of TXF, or JP and KW having to explain the frustrating TVD plotlines - writers having to defend plot twists or narrative decisions is a sign that something isn't working.

I think TV and film writers should consider Kurt Vonnegut's 8 rules for creative writing when drafting their screenplays -- particularly rules #1 and #8:

"Use the time of a total strangers in such a way that he or she will not feel the time was wasted"

"Give your readers as much information as possible as soon as possible. To heck with suspense. Readers should have such a complete understanding of what is going on, where and why, that they could finish the story themselves, should cockroaches eat the last few pages."

Vonnegut's advice is meant for short stories, but I think screenwriters would piss off fewer people if they applied it. Enough with plot twists and surprising the audience. Just don't write stories that confuse the audience or make them feel that the story was pointless.

While the pandering to various shippers within the fandom is annoying, I understand why JP does it: she was to keep the competing factions engaged with the material. (Of course, they wouldn't have so many competing factions if they didn't write so many love triangles . . .) And regardless of what's said or implied in interviews, on Twitter, or conventions the story on screen doesn't change. It is what it is.

[uncloseted]

hey! rory gilmore anon here. i really appreciate you reading all my thoughts and after reading yours, i definitely agree with you. it would have been interesting to see her privileges be taken away from her, as we could have witnessed rory being forced to grow as a character... it makes me think of how paris in s6(?) loses all her family's wealth and was still able to be paris and stay driven to succeed. where rory, maybe not so much. but you're right, we never get to see anything like that.

i think i'm also partly in denial about the revival. i understand to a point that amy sherman palladino didn't write season 7 and thus used the revival to write what she originally wanted to happen her way (why else would luke and lorelai wait that long to get married? and apparently not have given it a single thought until the revival?), and that there were budget cuts, but i'm really confused why she made rory's character so stagnant and still making the same mistakes. the last episode of the revival sets her up to finally being in a place to make different choices (at least i hope), but then we don't get to see any of it. it's just... bleh.

weirdly, the ending felt like a setup for more episodes, even though it was a struggle as is to make the revival work (from what i've read about the rushed production). i've seen some fans theorize that amy sherman palladino doesn't even like rory that much and that's why her character seems to continuously fail so much without something being made of it. and now that you've pointed out how not great that it is from a watcher's standpoint, i remember another creator mentioning that as well when talking about how amy doesn't let us see rory succeed/change for long. which is perplexing to me, but oh well. as i get farther and farther away from how young i was when i first watched the show, the more my opinion on the show and its characters evolves.

from an audience standpoint i wish the show had made more out of her mistakes. if they absolutely had to show rory being the same person in her 30s, i wish it had made more sense than simply coming across as if all the characters had been frozen in time. i badly want to root for all the characters (excluding chris) and rory, damn it lol

Yes! Exactly. And I feel like I should say- I do really like Rory. I always have. I think she's very relatable and I just want to see her be her best self. But I think that's what's so frustrating about the show for viewers- a lot of them love her and just want to see her grow and learn and mature, but she never gets to even though the other characters do. For example, I think Lorelai gets a lot of character development. At the beginning of the show, she's someone who doesn't really know how to trust other people. She runs away from her feelings and she runs away from situations the minute they get difficult. She's scared of commitment and of what her family represents. But by the end of the show, she does trust people. She stays even when things are getting hard, and she's made a huge commitment (getting married to Luke). She's on much better terms with her family. It feels like we got some payoff with everything she went through. And that's much more satisfying as a viewer.

[monzabee]

Thankk youu💜 !! Like till 10th grade I was so sure I wanted to be a chef but after that idk what happened like now I’m interested in psychology and law but again I haven’t decided which one I want to pursue as a career . And you too like watching cooking shows with your mum then yes like you said ig it’s an universal experience and such a good one 💜!!! Andd yes ik what you mean a big part of my playlist is throwback stuff !!

yess i have 2 seasons more !! And I’m so so happy they got back together AND they’re going to get married !!! I 1000% agree their relationship is iust >>> 🥺❤️

Alsoo bestie omgg congrats on getting that internship🌟!!! I’m sure it’ll be a great experience for you 💜!!! What all will you be doing as an intern ?

-💖

i guess out interests change as we grow up and you found something you were interested in more, darling!💜🥹 i'll say this, the law is very interesting but most of the time nothing makes sense and everything has an exception and it's frustrating as hell😭 i just love how the older songs sound sometimes, the focus is more on the instruments themselves and not so much on the beat which i enjoy!

that's so fast, but i'm glad you enjoyed it honey!🩷🩷 i love lorelai and luke together, their banter is the best!! but now that you're close to being done, i have to ask you this: are you team dean, jess or logan??👀

thank you so much!! i just got done with my first day(-ish), and i actually found a mistake in one of the contracts which turned out to be an actual mistake so i'm happy with that😭 i'll mostly be handling document reviews about mergers and acquisition and legal tech and also work on some legal drafting, apparently!🥹

[scoopsgf]

I agree with you on that! I feel like a lot of people who hate that line and want to distort it into something manipulative are obviously just hateful of the fact that something that Jess said and did in front of Rory is what drove her to make a change in her life and go back to Yale. Imo that's sort of a recurring thing for them even in the revival: Jess comes back, and even for a small moment when meeting up he gets to the bottom of what's truly been bothering Rory and how she just lacks any drive and passion for where she's at, both professionally and personally. You don't get those kinds of scenes with Logan or even Dean. Even if you were to argue that Logan "supported" Rory in times of need, and so often it was very surface-level in the moments that he does offer support or vague encouragement, it doesn't have the significance that Jess's appearances have. And it's also kind of funny how it's at these moments that I've heard some fans say "well Rory should've been allowed to figure it out by herself", but lbr if Logan got the significance Jess did in these scenes they'd really just eat it up with no complaints.

oh you’re absolutely right. the thing about jess that’s so significant when it comes to his bond with rory is that he can read her so well. he’s always been able to actually. he can tell when she’s pissed off, when she’s upset, when something isn’t right in her life, when she’s in a fight with dean, etc etc. he’s just very very good at picking up on tiny cues and tells (which is a skill that a lot of abused children, myself included, tend to develop; the more you can read someone the easier it is to avoid setting them off and getting yourself into deep shit). neither dean nor logan have this ability. their perception of rory is completely warped by who they want her to be/who they believe she is. dean wants to “tame” her for lack of a better word, and subconsciously does things to get her to start second guessing herself and minimising her views, suppressing her emotions, brushing off her own feelings when they’re fighting in favor of his, etc. logan sees her as a privileged girl who’s too uptight and needs to loosen up, and his whole agenda is getting her to relax and have fun and be spontaneous, so of course he wouldn’t put up much of a fight when she dropped out of yale. jess, on the other hand, knows exactly how much yale meant to rory, and what it was doing to help her achieve her dreams, so naturally when he hears that she isn’t in school anymore his immediate reaction is gonna be confusion, concern, and even frustration. he knows who she is, he knows she’s better than a life of partying and yacht theft and whatever else she would’ve gotten into with logan. and like he said, it isn’t even about logan, it’s about rory. it’s about the fact that jess recognized her regression and knew she wasn’t okay after spending five minutes in her presence. bottom line: he gets her, they don’t. you could argue that when it comes to certain things he knows her even better than lorelai does, actually, because he sees her honestly and doesn’t have any desire to change her—he just wants her to be herself. and that more than anything is why, at the end of the day, he’s the best guy for her and always will be.

[lilacerull0]

So. I've been thinking about how often we talk about how young Rory and Jess were, as a... I don't know, plea for compassion and understanding of their mistakes, I guess, but I seem to struggle with offering the same patience to Dean, even though he's literally the same age. Why do you think that is, I wonder? Is it just because I don't like him and I don't WANT to? Am I just being unfairly judgemental and maintaining a double standard? Or are there actual reasons? It's funny, because I actually used to like Dean, when the first couple Seasons aired and I was young. But then I grew gradually more and more frustrated with him until I "disowned" him, I guess. Haha! Maybe part of why I'm so hard on him is because the narrative NEVER is? (For all people talk about Rory being "coddled," she actually gets blamed for a lot of things on the show). I don't know, and you're one of the only people I'd trust to be able to be impartial about this topic. 😆 Overanalyze this with me!

THANK! YOU! FOR! THIS! ASK!

So far @trashfordair has been the only person I've met around here that likes Dean and she even wrote me a beautiful fic that features his reflections on Rory/Jess which you can read here. Everybody say: Thank you, Nathalie.

More under the cut because things got out of hand:

As for my feelings about Dean? I don't feel like I'm allowed to hate him. Based on the source material, I don't think I'm even allowed to like him. See, this doesn't apply to the things that he does. And that is really how I function when it comes to him. He does something bad? I disapprove. He does something genuinely nice? I approve. He DID read Rory's favourite books! He is shown to be hardworking! He understood how important family was to Rory and he honoured that! (I do think Lorelai's opinions on Dean are a cause for discussion and are to be corrected even though I get where she comes from, but the truth is Dean truly was of help to the Gilmores and the little things he did for them regarding the household can surely be viewed as minor, but he didn't have to do any of that) He has just moved from his hometown at the beginning of the show! He's fifteen/sixteen at that point. His girlfriend is falling for someone else and he can see it happen, right in front of him. Those aren't exactly pleasent things to experience, not ever but especially not at that age. Was he wrong to break up with Rory publicly? Absolutely. Do I think that he would do it like that under different circumstances? No. I don't think his primary goal was to hurt her (Not excluding him wanting to cause her some kind of pain which is a very real possibility. Again! Not okay, but too many people act like they're above so many emotions, characteristically human emotions. It's okay to feel it as long as you don't actively and consciously act on it.) I just think that he was lashing out and suddenly feeling everything he tried to suppress for a very long time. I don't know about you, but in my experience, public spaces can intensify every unpleasant feeling you've ever felt. (Yes I know Dean has a habit of lashing out, but that's exactly my point. Dean didn't purposely want to embarrass Rory in front of everyone, he would have had the same reaction regardless of circumstance.) This is not unfamiliar reaction for a teenager. Note: I am NOT coming up with excuses, just humanising him. I think that's worth something and should be worth something to everybody who's made a mistake at least once. For my thoughts on s4 finale see this.

I find Dean's temper issues very, well not interesting because I don't have much to work with here, but definitely view them as something with potential. I think this could have been developed without opposing the Gilmore logic (in a way that is, as we known, shown with Jess) because it could have served as a nice counterpart to different shapes Jess and Rory's impulsivity takes. Dean is underwritten. And that is my main problem with him. You have to admit that, if you like Jess for more than just his good looks (Stella, I know you do, but I always take on this teaching tone when I ramble dhsjjddk), you probably wouldn't have liked him as much or understood him as profoundly (based on information canon offers us) as you do if 1) his relationship with Luke didn't exist or wasn't treated with that much heart and care 2) this might be just for me personally, but if it wasn't for season 4. Because if s3 ended and Jess didn't show up before 6x08, I would have characterised his development as fan service for sure. And THAT is what Dean needed. A little scene in which he talks about something other than Rory would do wonders. And so would all those nuances and layers Jess was able to showcase in a very few scenes he appeared in over the course of 22 episodes in season 4. Now, that wouldn't automatically make me like nor hate Dean. But it would help me get there. He has those scenes with Lindsay in s4, but they are also "tainted by" Dean's feelings for Rory and only make me angry on Lindsay's behalf and make me frustrated with society. I have to make a disclaimer though: I am so incredibly annoyed with this whole thing where the fanbase massively hates on the "nice guy" (which is such an unsatisfying and one-dimensional term to use for describing characters, but you get my point) and maybe I'm shying away from actively disliking Dean because of that. (can't wait for somebody to hold this over my head, but I had to bring it up to keep my conscience clear)

AND YES! RORY DOES GET BLAMED FOR A LOT OF THINGS ON THE SHOW!!!!!

[stellaluna33]

I just thought of another parallel in the Christopher/Logan vs. Luke/Jess dichotomy. And before I get into it, I want to preface that this is NOT a Good vs. Bad argument. BOTH of these tendencies can be either strengths or weaknesses depending on the situation. What I'm referring to is how the guys seem to deal with times of personal struggle, in that both Logan and Christopher tend to seek out comfort from others, whereas Luke and Jess tend to retreat into themselves and "go it alone." Again, in and of themselves, these are neutral personality traits. There's a cost/benefit to each approach, and both can be taken to an unhealthy extreme, but I think the parallels are fascinating and relevant, and effect the guys' relationships with the Gilmore Girls in interesting ways.

Christopher and Logan both seem to want "a companion in their sorrows," in that, when they're going through something, they seek out support, comfort, or companionship from others. When Sherri leaves Christopher with Gigi, he calls Lorelai and asks for her help. When his father dies, it makes him feel better to spend all night with Lorelai, drinking and reminiscing. When Logan is upset because of his father and wants to escape to New York for the weekend, he wants Rory to come with him. When he doesn't want to go to London, he wants Rory to tell him not to go, so he doesn't have to make that decision on his own. On the one hand, I think that willingness to let Lorelai and Rory share in what they're feeling is something the Girls really respond to. Despite what some people may say, they are both very nurturing and caring people whose first instinct is to WANT to help people feel better, especially the people they love. And the fact that both Christopher and Logan openly express that they need them makes them feel valued and fosters an emotional bond. The flip side of that, though, is that both of these guys have a tendency to become too dependent on the Girls for emotional support, to the extent that they believe themselves unable to overcome their difficulties without having someone to push them. And Lorelai and Rory both grew frustrated with Christopher or Logan's unwillingness to take responsibility for their own lives, that they believed themselves helpless to change their own circumstances unless they had their Favorite Cheerleader holding their hand every step of the way. (And even then, they might give up and then claim "I had no other choice.")

Luke and Jess, on the other hand, tend to be self-reliant to a fault. They're used to having to look out for themselves, and take responsibility for their own problems and occasionally those of others as well. They both have reputations (in adulthood, at least) as "fixers." However, they also tend not to ask for help even when it's needed, and may even refuse assistance if offered, seeking solitude when upset and pulling away from the people who love them. This has caused problems in their relationships. On Luke's "dark day," the anniversary of his Dad's death, he retreats into himself and doesn't wish to speak to anyone including Lorelai, and when she attempts to offer unsolicited sympathy and support, Luke snaps at her (and feels terrible about it afterwards), and when Luke finds out he has a daughter, he "doesn't want to bother Lorelai" about it and ends up shutting her out, with disastrous consequences. When Jess was struggling with school, he refused all of Rory's offers to help, insisting, "I've got it covered," and when he ended up NOT having it "covered" and flunked out, he wanted to be alone and ended up lashing out at Rory when she kept trying to get him to talk about it (and felt terrible about it immediately afterwards). This tendency to retreat both physically and emotionally sometimes left Lorelai and Rory feeling shut-out and neglected. Not good. Learning to temper this instinct, being more willing to let people in, and more graciously accept help when it's offered is a big part of the journey towards maturity for both of them.