#I called the main character Ven

[kafkaesquebird]

*Long post ahead*

Okay, I’m going to go out on a limb here and just say that Byler will happen--if not in volume 2, then most definitely in season 5. I’ve been lurking in this tag for some time, specifically ever since volume one dropped, and I have seen the endless essays of pessimism and doubt that’s been bogging people down. While I share your guys’ doubts to an extent, I can’t fully bring myself to accept that Byler won’t come to fruition this season or the next. I hope my little tangent will provide you with at least some reassurance, because to be honest I’m searching for as much as I can before our hopes are either fulfilled or brutally crushed in t-minus 23 days. I’d like to preface this with saying that character/ship analysis posts are not my area of expertise, but I’ll give it the good old college try. 

Alright-y. So. Season 4. There’s a lot to cover character-wise, but let’s just go right ahead and jump into the meat and potatoes of it, starting off with the dichotomy that is Mike Wheeler. According to Finn, Mike is trying to figure himself out this season, and, as we the audience know, he’s very kind of oblivious when it comes to his and other people’s feelings, and Finn also said Mike was a bit clueless. Up until this point, it seems that Mike’s character arc (vis-à-vis his relationship to El) has been flat and banal. They’re in a precarious place in their relationship right now; a fragile place. Having Mike and El repeat the same break-up-and-make-up storyline from last season is bland, and I don’t exactly see the Duffer brothers going in that direction again because it’s cheap and quite frankly a let down. This is where Byler comes into the mix. Despite the potential backlash it might face--having two main characters in a gay relationship in such a massive franchise--I do believe that it is in no way contrived, regardless of what some vociferous shippers might claim. In fact, it’s quite the opposite. The foundation for Byler has been laid since the very beginning, and if you rewatch the previous seasons you can see the evidence if you make a conscious effort to. Especially on Will’s side. And if you take into consideration the sudden wave of Byler content being churned out by Netflix social media accounts and the actors themselves (looking at you, Noah Schnapp), it becomes increasingly apparent that they are trying to warm the general audience up to the idea of Byler. Hell, I’m convinced Noah and Finn have had barely any press together because they’d be giggling and twirling their hair if the ship was so much as mentioned. Either this is some elaborate queer-baiting scheme (during pride month, too), or we’re genuinely getting Byler. But I digress. What I find particularly interesting, and what really has me convinced of the ship happening, is the amount of heart-to-hearts Byler share this season. The bedroom talk, the talk on top of the car, (and the leaked talk in Hopper’s cabin). Those talks feel emotional. Special. It feels like the dynamic of their relationship is beginning to shift, and what that entails has yet to be clarified until volume two comes out (get it? ha). It feels like it’s all building up to something, like a big reveal. But we’ll see when we get there. For now, I’ll just let the open closets next to Mike Wheeler speak for themselves. 

Before going any further into my excessively long post, let’s touch more on Mil*ven. A wedge has been intentionally driven between Mike and El for the second time. It’s undeniable to shippers on both sides, although the explanations for why begin to differ from there. Mil*ven’s relationship has been somewhat tenuous this season, and arguably it was tenuous in season 3 as well. It’s a dying flame that both Mike and El are trying to rekindle, with El seemingly putting forth more effort into salvaging it than Mike. Calling into question the integrity of Mil*ven for a second time seems odd to me, unless it’s going somewhere we least expect it. Now I’ve seen speculations floating around about how Mike can’t say ‘I love you’ back because of his parents’ inability to properly show love to one another, and while I sort of buy into that I think that there’s a deeper, less-superficial spin to his reluctance to say those three words, let alone write them to his girlfriend. Throughout this season, Mike has felt suspiciously off-kilter. Odd. Sure, he’s lovey-dovey with El when they reunite at the airport, and a little bit during their time at the rollerskating rink--but then the fiasco with Angela goes down, and this is where it takes a sharp nose-dive south. Mike makes an insensitive comment during dinner about the ordeal, which hurts El who abruptly leaves the room. Later on they have their argument, and El brings up the elephant in the room: Mike’s refusal to say ‘I love you.’ Rather than say it back to her, he gives her empty answer after empty answer. Answers she doesn’t believe. He even calls her ridiculous for raising valid concerns she has, and he gets defensive. Comparing this scene and the scene with Will and Mike in the bedroom, you can see the difference in Mike’s body language and his delivery clear as day. But where did his refusal to say/write ‘I love you’ come from? This passive, aloof attitude toward their relationship? If I had to wager a guess, it’s Mike unknowingly facing identity issues. He’s conflicted, and he’s confused. His awkward exchange with Will at the airport--a far cry from their farewell hug just a few months prior. His insistence that Will and him are just friends. Friends. His curiosity and reaction to Will’s painting. Mike loves El, there is absolutely no doubt about it. Whether it is romantic or platonic is the million dollar question, and I’m leaning towards the latter. Let me say that platonic relationships are in no way beneath romantic relationships, and a lot of times they are even stronger and run viscerally deeper. For Mike and El, they started dating at a young age before they could really, truly discover themselves and what they want. They dove into it head-first; two kids head over heels for each other--the girl with superpowers and the boy who saved her. They were perfect for each other; they’ve been through hell and back together, and share a trauma bond. But as time goes on, Mike starts to slowly realize that his feelings for El have been misconstrued all along. Being Mike, he’s too damn dense to reflect on himself and continues acting as if everything is fine when in reality it’s far from it. This sounds an awful lot like someone who is struggling with newfound feelings and trying to push them down to maintain a semblance of normalcy in a life that’s been extremely hectic and traumatic.

Point of the matter is, there is a method to the Duffer brothers’ madness. Everything they do in this show is tastefully methodical and so well thought-out to the minutest detail. They planned this story since the very beginning. I seriously doubt they will pursue such a pivotal plot point only to later discard it, especially since it could benefit all three characters’ arcs in a unique way. I think they’re definitely building up to Will’s confessing to Mike, and I have a book of theories centered around that that I will keep to myself for brevity’s sake. In short: have a little more faith in this ship. You’re not delusional, and you’re not over-analyzing. You’re observing things that are supposed to be observed, and drawing conclusions that need to be drawn. I will gladly eat crow if I’m wrong, but something tells me I’m far from it.

[utapri-translations-uuuu]

7th Stage Special Interview - Terashima Takuma (Translation)

"Please give us your voices and smiles so that we can fill this large space with positive feelings. Let's have fun!"

No reposting or retranslating without permission.

Click read more for the full interview.

What did you think about the shooting for this pamphlet? 

The shooting for the Uta☆Pri pamphlet is already fun just because of the concept, and the bright atmosphere in the studio always makes me excited.  Also, personally, I changed the star-shaped earrings I've been using from white to gold, since I feel like ST☆RISH has evolved once again.

How did you feel when you first heard about the 7th STAGE?

I was happy.  “7” is an important number for ST☆RISH, which has become complete with 7 members, so there is a special feeling in the simple joy of being allowed to perform live again.

Please tell us your impression of "Uta no☆Prince-sama! Maji LOVE Kingdom" after having watched the completed film.

While I was amazed by the performances of QUARTET NIGHT and HE★VENS, I also thought in relation to ST☆RISH that "We've come this far!".

This sense of security isn’t something that has been achieved without hard work. But that's why I have a hunch that we might be able to do something greater/riskier in the future.

Also, I think that the successful realization of the difficult task of doing a “live” in a movie has led to the confidence of the work “Uta☆Pri”.

I was invited to speak at the “Anime Expo 2019” screening with Mamo-chan (Miyano Mamoru), and we were told beforehand that there might not be many people there because it was the first time. But as it turned out, it was packed full, and I was really moved to be able to experience the love for Uta☆Pri around the world starting from people in the United States.

What were your thoughts on the special unit song "Up-Down-Up!" that Otoya participated in?

No matter who he works with, he is always influenced by them, and his ability to stay true to his "Otoya" character at the same time is what makes him so wonderful. Especially this time, working with the two extremes, the strict Ai-senpai and the cheerful Van, was definitely a good experience. In the drama part, it was refreshing to see how Otoya, who is so straightforward and passionate in everything he does, could "skip work" with Van.

The song was dance-focused, which is typical of "idol" music, and it felt more like a "live viewing" than a movie, which I believe was perfect for the first performance of the special units. I also like the costumes, which boldly used camouflage patterns that had never been seen before in "Uta☆Pri".

The costumes of the other units are also pretty distinct, right?

Personally, I think "Feather in the hand" is miraculously beautiful in every way, from the costumes to the performance to the chemistry between the members. The end result is just heavenly.

It was ST☆RISH's "Fantasic☆Prelude" that marked the beginning of the live. The start with a countdown was reminiscent of their origin, don’t you think?

I could see how much Uematsu (Uematsu Noriyasu) and his team cherish everything they have done so far. At the same time, I could feel that it is because of the presence of the fans that the seven of them can keep going without being overwhelmed by the weight of their history. The countdown and name-calling are also "official fanchants", so if we sing this song at the live, I would like you to please join.

Is there anything else you felt about the group's performance?

I thought it was amazing how "Ultrablast" managed to capture the feel of a real "live" by using the most realistic special effects at the climax of the performance. Moreover, we have also used flames when singing at the fan meetings, so I could see how their performance was full of spirit. The wish to show how much they’ve worked and their "offensive" stance/position combined lit up flames.

Also, when they were going to the main stage, he waved his hands to the audience without worrying about the camera, which I thought was very Otoya-like, and my favorite part was when Tokiya drew a heart mark toward the camera as if saying “I love you”. I'm impressed by Tokiya's humility and boldness, performing such fan service off-mic. That said, it just seemed that way to me, and I'm not sure if it's true or not.

I think the fact that they added the detail of the shoulder movements when they were catching their breath at the end of the song. There are parts that overlap with the live performances that we have done, and I thought that it was a movie that really consolidated the years, including our (the actors) own experiences.

The first song sung by all 18 members “Maji LOVE Kingdom” is also deeply moving.

I was happy to be able to feel like we were friends who were creating a live performance together, when the groups did each other’s hand signs, for example. In the end, Otoya stood in the middle of the three groups, which made me proud as a partner who has walked together with him for a long time.

It’s a live show where the staff in charge of the camera did a good job, wouldn’t you agree?

That’s right! I can see how the staff members watched the documentaries (dramas) of the idols and wondered what they could do behind the scenes to convey the appeal of the idols. I know that this is actually what we, the actors, are thinking about as well. I wonder how we can make their character/personality shine through in our performances and singing...

Do you think that the release of your solo best album has helped you gain a renewed understanding and appreciation of your idol?

Yes, the new songs were especially powerful. The fact that there are things that can be noticed through the music is what makes "Uta☆Pri" what it is. "I am Here” reminded me of some of the things I said in my greeting at the live performance. I realized once again that if I can help them grow in this way, I want to work even harder myself.

When I asked Broccoli-san if Otoya himself had written the lyrics of "Ai to Yoberu ki no Shita de," they immediately pulled out an interview of Otoya that served as the basis for the question and answered "Yes!”, I was shocked to hear that answer.

I realized how much his creators love him, and that even though I thought I was the closest person to him, there were people who I had overlooked or carelessly forgotten about.

The reason why I added a breath at the beginning of the song is because I wanted to make a song where you can really feel Otoya's "life".

Please tell us about some of the most memorable moments from past live performances.

All the unit songs from the "Theater Shining'' series performed at the 5th STAGE left a lasting impression on me. For example, I remember the three members of "Polaris'' wearing very tight-fitting costumes (laughs). I rode on a trolley for "Pirates of the Frontier'', and it was fun to share the waiting time with the audience who noticed me nearby. Also, I’m always impressed by the lengths Shimono (Hiro)-san is willing to go! He overcomes his own limits to be able to do what only Syo can do. As for me, I believe that there is a balance that connects Otoya and me on stage. There are times when I've gone overboard and regretted it, but it's fun to think about what to do each time. 

Then, what do you want to say right now to the idol who will be your partner in the live performance?

I want to ask him what he wants me to do. Among those things, I want to do what I can and also try my best with the things I’m not good at.

Finally, a message to "Uta☆Pri" fans who purchased this pamphlet!

Please give us your voices and smiles so that we can fill this large space with positive feelings. Let’s have fun together!

[bardic-tales]

Hello. I hope everyone is well! I want to thank everyone for reading my work and entertaining me with theirs. It was a pleasure to read everything I was tagged in this year.

In the summer, I decided to join writeblr. This was to give myself a push to focus on my WIPS and to simply have fun. I made some friends in Writeblr, but I disappeared in November.

I also created a Discord that celebrates all types of creatives. I will announce this sometime next year. It has channels for pomodoro and sprints, as well as writing prompts, qotds, etc. I'm excited to share it with everyone when it is ready.

Flight of the Dragon added 14 new characters to the Planes of Existence Universe. This is also the novel that fleshes out my world's dragons.

A new god and goddess joined the pantheon -- Nyxa and Noxxus. Noxxus oversees boundaries, funerals, mummification, mysteries, poisons, precious metals, travel, and wealth. While his wife oversees, darkness, decay, famine, ghosts, magic, night, nightmares, sleep, and winter. Nyxa also is called the Queen of the Death Plane, as she oversees it

The Wraith and the Shadow Blades worship Nyxa and Noxxos, while their leader worships Vittore.

I decided to convert an old WIP I was working on about King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table and set it in my Planes of Existence universe. At the time, this was my main WIP.

Flight of the Dragon always featured the male protagonist as a draconic being. Before it was set upon Cirel, Brennan was King Arthur. The story was almost the same, but there was a glaring difference: the child of prophecy introduction.

Shortly after, I decided to work on Cold as Ice. This has been my passion project since 2009ish. In 2021, I lost most of the data in a glitch. Needless to say, this killed my drive to work on anything related to the Planes of Existence. I would have to rebuild it from the ground up.

I think the biggest change this year was I finally named my planet. The world is called Cirel and resides in the Life Plane. It features two moons: Andrea and Amés. These are named after the chief god and goddess.

The magic system was overhauled once more. I never really gave a specific name to the magic system. This year I decided on calling it Manipulation.

I created four categories for each of the magick types: body manipulation, elemental manipulation, mind maniplatuion, and magic associated with the children of prophecy. This was further broken down into specific types of manipulation.

For example: for body manipulation, they can manipulate air, earth, and ven while someone who is versed in body manipulation could manipulate blood, bone, eye, hair, as well as heal themselves and each other.

During this time period, I made many people who I admire: @starryeyes2000 @blind-the-winds, @perasperaadastrawriting, @arrthurpendragon, @writingpotato07and @athena-anna-rose, to name a few. Their works and support leave me in awe.

This is difficult for me as I tend to shy away from interactions, as I've been diagnosis with AvPD. I don't know what this will mean for my writing career, but I'll try my best.

There were not many new characters that I introduced during this time, but that did not mean I wasn't working on them behind the scenes.

I fleshed out all the characters of Pale Fire, mainly those in the secret society that is found in that book. One of the characters I named Rosette, an homage to one of the first OCs I've ever created.

November came around, and I decided to work on NaNoWri. This work created the Dullahan named Kian. Heart of the Horseman was based upon a WIP idea I had a year and a half ago. He only had a placename until then.

I decided to see if I could salvage a WIP, Heart of the Horseman, for NaNoWri. HotH was to take place during the 18th century and in Ireland.

HotH always featured Donn, a Celtic proto-god of Death who would serve as an antagonist. It was during this time that I decided Donn would be gender-fluid.

cw: death

This wasn't meant to be. At the end of October, I had a sudden death in the family. She was the only fatality in the car accident. She was only a year older than my daughter, a brilliant young woman whose life was snuffed out much too soon.

In the immediate aftermath, I found it difficult to focus on this Tumblr, much less writing. It was hard to write about death. I don't think I will ever be comfortable writing about it again.

cw: illness

In the middle of November, I had to take a blood test for my doctor. I have high blood pressure and high cholesterol, so I am on medication to lessen my symptoms.

The results didn't come back as normal. I have an elevated liver enzymes count, as well as my AC-1 came back as horrible as well. I'm 2 points away from Diabetes. I'm prediabetic.

After an aggressive lifestyle change -- plant-based diet, as well as moderate exercise-- I finally feel well again. Well enough to write, at least.

FanFiction

I decided to transfer my fanfiction to this account. As a writer, I want to embrace all forms of writing. This includes both fanfiction and original writing.

I am focusing upon two fandoms: the Elder Scrolls and Star Wars.

During this time, most of my worldbuilding focused on Heart of the Horseman.

In October, I decided to complete a worldbuilding in 30 days worksheet. This included figuring out the magic system that would allow Donn to reanimate Kian, as well as the powers that the Morrigan possessed.

As it was set in Ireland, I wanted the magic to be nature based. I feel like this kept it grounded in reality somewhat.

My upcoming plans is to take a break from writing for the holiday season. I should have announced this at the beginning of the month. I will be ready to be back writing full-time around January 12th.

Why am I taking a break? The ending of 2022 was tragic. While I am ready to move forward, I still need time to process it and spend time with my family. My daughter is on winter break until Jan. 2nd. December 31st will be my 16th wedding anniversary. I'll be spending that day with my husband.

I will focus on Cold as Ice as my main WIP. This is my dark epic fantasy filled with political intrigue. My side projects -- Flight of the Dragon and Pale Fire -- will be worked on when I have some spare time.

Also, I will continue to share my fanfiction. I have some exciting things planned for Darth Noktis, and of course, Mirne Stedhans. I look forward to sharing them with everyone.

My follows can expect worldbuilding posts, drabbles, and standalone work. I will not be sharing many snippets. This is because I don't want to overshare.

Writing is a passion for me, and I'm excited to see what 2023 will bring.

[gierosajie]

Random nicknames I find myself calling some Genshin characters because I don't want to do my painting homework at the moment

Aether – My man, my dude

Albedo – Albreado, Shortie (if my brother is using him)

Barbara – Barbs

Diluc – Y o u

Eula – fellow Evil Twin

Itto – Nny's blorbo, [to Nny] your Guy™

Kaeya – My Main Man

Kazuha – Kazuha my son

Lumine – Lumi

Ningguang – Ning, Ningning

Qiqi – my daughter

Hu Tao – Hu Tao my beloved, my daughter

Razor – Moops' Boy™, The Son

Sayu – Sayu my girl, my daughter

Tartaglia – Tart Man, Tart™ (inside joke)

Thoma – Mr. Kuya ng Bayan

Xinyan – my girl Xinyan

Venti – my good sir, Barbie, Ven

Xiao – The Guy (during commissions)

Yanfei – my girl!!!

Yoimiya – Yoi!!!, Yoims

Zhongli – Bamboo guy

[agusart2blue]

Dibujé a la empresa Disney versión humano

I drew the Disney company human version

Disney: smile

Disney como ya saben es la empresa más famosa y al mismo tiempo odiada por muchos, hacen muy buenas películas con pixar también. Este ha comprado varias empresas para recibir dinero 💰, más de lo que merece una empresa bastante avariciosa y que solo acepta personajes secundarios LGBT y no a principales y los querrán cancelar con la excusa de que no concuerda con la marca de la empresa, mientras que dicen que apoyan a esa gente hasta haciendo cortos sobre eso.

Como sabemos hasta Mickey mouse es odiado por ser se esa empresa malvada, hasta lo ven de forma negativa y parodiando al ratón ambicioso de poder y dinero y explotando empresas, así es como lo parodian.

Pero si nos pusiéramos en los zapatos de Mickey, sabemos que el fue creado bueno, alegre, generoso y amable y siempre lo será, y sinceramente muchos ficticiamente imaginamos a Mickey siendo el jefe de la compañía, para mí es el títere principal de Disney obligándo al ratón a sonreír.

Aun quiero a Disney por haberme dado momentos de magia en mi infancia hasta me da inspiración de ser futura animadora, pero no puedo negar su lado oscuro y decir lo medio decepcionada que estoy, no se mucho de lo que hicieron y no quisiera saber más.

En fin amo y odio a Disney

La canción que puse se llama Happy face, convina sobre el tema del control de Disney a Mickey, los que hablan inglés entenderán, pero para los que no saben busquen la canción con subtitulos

Disney, as you know, is the most famous company and at the same time hated by many, they make very good movies with Pixar as well. He has bought several companies to receive money 💰, more than a fairly greedy company deserves and that only accepts secondary LGBT characters and not main characters and they will want to cancel them with the excuse that it does not fit with the company's brand, while They say they support those people, even making short films about it.

As we know even Mickey Mouse is hated for being that evil company, they even see him in a negative way and parodying the ambitious mouse of power and money and exploiting companies, that's how they parody him.

But if we put ourselves in Mickey's shoes, we know that he was created good, cheerful, generous and kind and always will be, and honestly many of us fictionally imagine Mickey being the head of the company, for me he is the main puppet of Disney forcing the mouse to smile.

I still love Disney for having given me moments of magic in my childhood, it even gives me inspiration to be a future animator, but I can't deny their dark side and say how disappointed I am, I don't know much about what they did and I don't want to know more.

I really love and hate Disney.

The song I put on is called Happy face, it combines the theme of Disney's control of Mickey, those who speak English will understand, but for those who don't know, look for the song with subtitles

[thezestyone]

An Introduction: From The Ghetto (IkeSen Various! X Reader) (18+)

Author’s Note: MDNI, this series will cover adult themes.

This idea to do a sort of fusion of many different things concerning IkeSen came to me, and it stuck for a few weeks, so why not share the introductory results of this peculiar storyline idea with the rest of you?

NOTICE: The reader’s name is “Princess” due to me not wanting to use MC or (Y/n) throughout, I feel those descriptors break the story immersion, so yeah… and technically, we ALL are princesses, so it’s not inaccurate, lol

Additional Notice: As of writing this, the main pairing will be Hideyoshi and reader, but, like a Soap Opera, this is subject to change. Think I will stick with this, though…

Without further ado, welcome to this peculiar soap opera-esqe storyline’s intro… hope you like it!~

——————————————————————————————————

——————————————————————————————————

Greetings, welcome to the ghetto.

Now, make sure to keep an eye on your group and on your items,

Because you must prepare yourself,

What happens here, is its own experience-

From rags to riches, from riches to rags, and everything in between, this land was an economic hellscape. From exclusive families living like high rollers, to a man barely being able to feed himself for the week, this land from the outside may seem all peachy keen, but it was anything but from the inside...

Let us go back in time, where it all began for a specific group... how their lives became connected, and how their tales all speak of both fortune and misfortune. How love can conquer all, and how it can in the same breath be used to break down bonds thought to last a lifetime. 

This is the tale... of the people from the ghetto.

Saturday night, the perfect time to party for those that lived in the neighborhood. Every alcoholic drink imaginable was passed around amongst the group of inebriated individuals, their clothes worn passed their prime, and stained to the high heavens with old dirt, dust, and grass stains. Here in the neighborhood, everyone had to work themselves to the bone to be able to provide themselves and their families with the basic necessities. After their grueling work, why not liven it up with drinks to ease their aching bodies? Most of the people of the neighborhood were farmers, car mechanics, taxi drivers... any job they can find that makes money that does not need a degree, they were on it. Very few from a poor economic background were able to leave the ghetto, they couldn't afford the higher education, so many turned to the streets in a bid to become educated with other matters the best way that they can, such as learning the ways of the streets, defending your neighborhood, and so on.

Though it was a hard life, that did not mean they could not find joy in other aspects, such as in their friends and family. If someone did not have family, like many did in this particular neighborhood, they would forge their own sorts of bonds with each other since childhood... and this behavior was not exclusive to just the neighborhood, but our characters of this area would not know that fact until much later...

"Princessa! Ven aqui!" A woman called out to another who was currently busy sewing a dress, who sighed at being called.

"Voy!" She called back, putting the dress down, and going to leave her home to see her dear friend, Esperanza, who was sitting outside with the rest of the residents of the neighborhood, blaring some music and having a good time together.

"What is it, Esperanza? You know I have to finish up my dress!" The dressmaker whined, clearly not in the partying mood for tonight, though she seems to rarely be up for it, ever... She is usually too exhausted to do anything else but work, clean, and cook...

"I know, but look who is finally coming back from the farms... Hide-yoshi!~" Her densely-curly haired friend giggled, which caused the woman, Princess, to immediately blush as she looked around, her heart skipping a beat at spotting him.

Toyotomi Hideyoshi... How could one explain him simply? When their group was growing up, he always had such a sharp edge to him... he came across as abrasive as the other side of a sponge but could be as sweet as sugar when it was important.

So maybe the princessa had a big crush on him. So what? It never amounted into much of anything, and it probably never will...

...She wanted out of the ghetto, and it seemed like Hideyoshi had no interest in improving himself. He seemed almost content with this sort of living, struggling to scrape by, fearing for your safety if a particular individual became a bit too hostile... barely having any electricity... She loved her family and friends dearly, but she had to get out of there. It is why she took so many types of jobs that may have more prominent clientele, in a bid to get a job that could help her move to a better area, to be able to live a better life.

Yet, covered in muck, Hideyoshi always managed to shine bright like the sun without trying... and just like a planet with the sun, she felt drawn to him.

"Hideyoshi... welcome back..." She bowed her head politely, as he walked up to her with a big grin.

"Thank you. Did you manage to finish your dress?" He asked in turn, as Esperanza grinned mischievously at the two.

"I think I will dance a little and drink some sake... talk to you two later!~" Esperanza waved, before quickly leaving, as Princess internally cursed her for leaving the two alone.

They have dated off and on, but it never got serious. She liked Hideyoshi a lot, but trying to catch him was like trying to catch the wind, and she was so tired of trying.

"Princess... I got a bonus today for harvesting more grains of rice... Perhaps I can take you to that teahouse at the edge of town that you really like," He suggested with a soft smile, as Princess grinned gently at the gesture. His generosity... another lovely trait about Hideyoshi, but he was not in the position to be so generous... he should be saving up and looking to improve his circumstances, like she was.

"I would love that, but Hideyoshi... you barely eat as is, you need to save your money," She suggested softly, as his usually serene golden eyes took on a more dull sheen. "I get by just fine, Princess... I just need to work harder. Then, I can provide us both a good life, I promise."

"I am sorry, Hideyoshi, but we just can't do this right now... We barely see each other as is..." Princess frowned softly, as he sighed.

"...I know, but I promise, one day, I will be the man you would want to be with forever... I just need time..."

...That was what he told her all their lives. Even when they were together, things remained stagnant. As much as she adored him, she didn't want them to be stagnant. She wanted them to move forward, together... but she would not press him. It was his life, and he was going to live it however he saw fit, no matter how much she may disagree. Yes, he was a hard worker, but he didn't branch out to other jobs like she has, and how was a farmer in their area going to really drastically move up the economic ladder? If they ever got together for real, how would they be able to provide for their own family? They would be struggling even more than they were now.

"You should freshen up, Hideyoshi... You had a long day. Jump in the shower, I will get you a fresh pair of clothes and wash these," She motioned to his clothes, changing gears, as he nodded with a smile, looking at her fondly for a few seconds, before the two headed to his home... which had to be the most humble home on the block. Made out of worn wooden planks with a rusted tin roof, the two came inside, leaving their shoes near the entrance which were also equally worn to bits. 

Princess immediately headed to Hideyoshi's bedroom while Hideyoshi headed to the bathroom, starting up the shower as he stripped out of his clothes, his sweaty body finding relief in the ice cold water pouring gently down on him, as he immediately started to wash his face.

After finding a change of clothes for him, she then met him in the bathroom, trying not to stare at his muscular frame much. Since they knew each other their whole lives, they were quite comfortable with each other, which meant this was not the first time she saw him in the nude. No matter how many times she saw him, however, she felt her heart race every time.

"I am going to put them on the counter here. You know, Hideyoshi... it would be no problem at all if I sewed new clothes for you... yours has more holes in it than some cheeses I've seen!" Princess told him as she looked in awe at his tattered work clothes, full of tiny holes and loose seams.

Hideyoshi, with no bashfulness at all, turned to look at her as he scrubbed his hair. "No, Princess, I couldn't afford to pay for your rightful skills... save that for those rich clients of yours, fashion designer.~" He grinned brightly at her, as she giggled in turn.

"With a smile like that, I feel as if I have already been paid off!" She chuckled, the both of them laughing softly together at her words.

"Need any help with scrubbing your back, or are you good?" She asked next, as he shook his head. "I will be fine. Luckily today, I haven't been bit by any annoying pests, so I don't itch..." He continued to smile, before grabbing a bar of soap and scrubbing his finely toned arms. 

"I will be washing these in the meantime, then. Make sure to eat a little something, okay?" Princess told him, as he in turn pouted. "Oi, I am the one who is supposed to be looking out for you, not the other way around!" He huffed with a displeased frown, as she merely laughed in turn. With her, he was always so gentle hearted.

He loved her, so very much... if only their circumstances changed for the better, if only they were in a better off area... maybe they could finally be together forever...

...Maybe not...

[our-happygirl500-fan]

Who is the surviving Classmate of Xehanort & Eraqus?

In a flash forward cut scene in Dark Road we see four graves heavily implied to be Eraqus & Xehanort’s classmates but we know that Eraqus & Xehanort’s class had seven students which means that Eraqus & Xehanort aren’t the only ones in their class to survive the events of Darkroad if those graves really do belong to their classmates there is one other survivor.

There are two options on who I think survives:

1. Baldr

Baldr doesn’t go on the mission with the others so he’s in a ‘safer position’ than them possibly, he’s also been excluded from the rest of the class for plot reasons which puts him in the odd one out.

Another thing that makes him different from his classmates is that he doesn’t have a Recusant's Sigil on his chest like all the other keyblade apprentices we’ve seen, rather it’s on his waist.

Also Baldr is named after the Norse god of light & we know how Kingdom Hearts loves light. Of course since the game is called Dark Road maybe being named after a God of Light goes against Baldr instead of for him.

2. Urd

I think it’s possible for Urd to survive because most trios in Kingdom Hearts have two boys & one girl: Sora Riku Kairi, Axel Roxas Xion, Terra Ven Aqua, Hayner Pence Ollette ect so if Xehanort’s class had a surviving trio it would make sense for one of the female class mates to complete the trio since Xehanort & Eraqus are both boys.

Of course this also makes Vor a candidate for survival as well but I honestly think Urd has a higher chance of survival than Vor primarily because of her name. 

Urd is named after a Norse Norn similarly to another character named after a Norse Norn Skuld (who is named after the Norn associated with the future). Since Skuld was one of the main characters in KHUX & we think Skuld’s going to be pretty important in the future because of the Subject X theory I feel like it would be a waste for Skuld not to meet the only other character named after a Norn.

So Urd or Baldr are the character who I think have the highest chance of surviving Dark Road out of Xehanort’s classmates if those graves are actually for his friends 

[captainhysunstuff]

hey hey, in celebration of kingdom hearts’s anniversary, you should talk more about your version of birth by sleep with death note characters :D

Oh noooooo *covers face in nerd shame while laughing hysterically*.

Had to draw my favorite Birth By Sleep exchange.  Misa’s always seen as so young, and it annoys her.  She’s such a little sister~.  I honestly never thought about what their outfits would be, so I came up with something on the fly, though Light’s just in Terra’s as a placeholder.  It’s harder since they’re supposed to look like an older more traditional fashion (though Ventus still seems to wear whatever the heck he wants, just with a muted color palette~).  Oh, and sidenote, everything is completely platonic.  I actually don’t ship anything in the Kingdom Hearts series.  I support all the ships that exist though, canon and not~.  ^__^  I do intend to draw more scenes with these three in these roles when I have time.  Maybe I should draw more actual KH fanart.  *snort*

Ha~!  I honestly don’t know what else to say about it aside from what I’ve already said in this post [link].  All I can really say is that I didn’t mean to do it~.  I really try to accept things the way they are, but as I kept coming back to BBS’s story, the Death Note part of my brain did its thing.  *shrug*  I still love Aqua, Terra, and Ven just as much on their own, though.  ^__^

I just love this family dynamic between Terra, Aqua, and Ventus, and seeing it with Light, L, and Misa is freakin’ adorable.  And their story is tragic, perfect for Death Note characters who just want happiness and fulfillment, but are firmly denied it and are sent through hell just to reach a better conclusion.  The BBS trio are put though so much.  *cries*

L being sent to keep an eye on Light, who seems to have strayed onto a dangerous path, fits.  Light being confused and upset that he’s mistrusted fits with his memoryless Yotsuba Arc self; friendlier but no less focused.  Misa wanting to be more included but keeps getting left behind fits.  Her being spiritually cleaved in half works due to her life span getting added to and chopped up, starting out involuntary, but then willingly sacrificing herself (though in Death Note, it’s done selfishly while Ventus does it to protect everyone; chalk it up to her darkness still being firmly in place~).

The story’s basically the same, aside from my selfish recasts.  They’re the only three I’ve recast and Vanitas is re-gendered to be female while still looking like Dark!Sora (though I think Xion does this, too, so it’s not that farfetched).  It’s all an excuse to see the Death Note trio in sweet situations (going to Disney Town and winning custom ice cream and being disappointed the other two aren’t there, treasuring the wayfinders L made for all of them), kick lots of ass, be emotionally and physically tortured as far as a kids game can go (heart cleaved and put to sleep and having to watch everything Sora goes through [good and bad], manipulated and bodysnatched, being forced to wander a dark monster-infested world for 10 years and slowly succumbing while your guilt and longing torment you) and finally earn an amazing reunion ending where they cry in each others’ arms because they never stopped thinking of each other that whole time~.

Also, I can really see the main cast of Death Note being keyblade wielders (they all have strong hearts and stand by their beliefs and goals, regardless of what that entails).  One day, I want to draw each with their own unique keyblades and Dive to the Heart stained glass pillars, but in the context of Death Note’s canon story.  *looks them up*  Apparently they’re called “Stations?”  That’s an ambitious goal for the future.

Henh, this isn’t nearly as in depth as you probably wanted.  It’s more like a wordy mess I spewed with a doodle~.  :P  But thanks for the ask and showing interest~.  :D

[corishadowfang]

Dark Road spoilers below the cut!  (Mostly I’m just like...rambling about my thoughts and stuff, haha.)

I was surprised by how much I ended up really liking the main DR kids and their interactions?  They had a lot of really nice moments--especially in the Disney worlds.  (The scene with the magic carpet in Agrabah made me laugh, it was so silly, haha.)  And like--I really liked how they handled the Disney worlds in general!  They were really well integrated; I’d absolutely love to play through all of them in a console game.  (Or at least, with updated graphics.)

Also congrats to Hades for being one of the few characters in the series to actually acknowledge that these characters died.  Like, when everyone was saying the upperclassmen ‘disappeared,’ I figured they were just going to use euphemisms the whole time, but NOPE.  It stands out a lot in a series that’s normally pretty shy about actually using the term.

ALSO.  LORE.  Xehanort being able to feel other people’s emotions and take people’s hearts in and stuff was just--!!  It’s cool!!  It’s cool that it makes him even more of a foil to Sora!  And it’s neat that it’s implied there are others out there like that!  And then VEN, who was implied that Xehanort thought he was like...the ACTUAL chosen one.  (Please, Nomura...please can we have a Ven focused game...there is so much lore surrounding him, PLEASE.)  The stuff with Vanitas was also really interesting and actually somewhat encouraging?  Because the way he was written made him seem like he was...questioning things.  Like maybe Xehanort wasn’t entirely correct about him not being Ven’s darkness--either that, or that Vanitas was changing in some way.  It actually makes me somewhat hopeful we’ll get a Vanitas redemption!  (Though...I’m going to be careful about getting my hopes up too high, just in case.)

I said this already, but the after credits scene made me cry.  I am sad that Playernort is no longer a thing, because there were so many cool things that could’ve been done with that, but that absolutely didn’t stop me from getting emotional over the Player and the Union Leaders at the end.  (”They all seemed like they liked each other a lot”--YEAH.  YEAH, THEY DID, XEHANORT.)  Actually pretty happy we DID at least get confirmation that Xehanort and Ephemer are related, though.  What I’m worried about is what Xehanort said about Skuld reminding him of his mom.  Which, you know, could be a red herring, like Brain’s virus speech in UX, but STILL.  Narratively speaking, there’s nothing technically wrong with the choice to have Skuld stay behind and make, say, Ava Subject X, but from a personal standpoint...I’d be very sad.  I want Skuld to still be alive, please.  ...That said, I’ve also learned not to trust Nomura as far as I can throw him, so until we officially see Skuld again, I will be clinging to the ‘Skuld is Subject X’ theory for dear life.

Interesting that we didn’t officially see what happened to Scala, though the implications seem to be that it really was just...there weren’t enough Keyblade wielders left, and so they just...moved to a different world.  That was honestly not something I expected to be a correct prediction; I really thought we were going to watch Scala get destroyed.

BUT SPEAKING OF PREDICATIONS--I CALLED BRAGI BEING LUXU THE MOMENT WE GOT HIS NAME.  Luxu, we need to talk about why all of the people you’ve possess have VERY SIMILAR names.  Like...are you going for a theme?  Are you renaming your vessels and just don’t feel very creative so you’ve been making up things that are similar to ‘Brain’?  This doesn’t seem like it would work very well if you wanted to stay hidden.

The actual ending parts did end up feeling kind of rushed, though.  Which is fair, considering writing this stuff takes a lot of time, and then you also have to animate everything and--yeah.  I wish a lot of stuff around the ending could’ve been built up more, but I understand why it probably ended up the way it did.  On that note--it also feels like it didn’t entirely tie everything off...?  Maybe that’s just me, but while the middle section felt pretty tight, the ending was definitely a bit...looser.  But, ah, again--probably a lot of that was the time constraints.  It probably would’ve helped to have a couple of more passes to focus around tightening up the ending stuff, but they probably just didn’t have the time for it.

Still largely a nice update!  There was some good stuff, and it was nice to get some more KH content...even if I feel like Nomura’s going to kill me with the lack of knowledge of what happened to Skuld.

[azalea-in-wonderland]

Carla vs. Someone's Baby

I wrote this as a quick character study to see whether I could take Carla from bratty to sweet/adorable to drama queen all in the course of one short scene, ha. I'll probably stick it into a future fic. -Azy

Whipping a plastic apron off of the teen girl currently at her station, Carla proclaims “All done!” as she shakes the hair off onto the floor.

“Thanks,” the girl mutters, not looking up from her phone.

Carla glances at the clock as she heads toward the back to grab her purse. Her lunch break was supposed to start five minutes ago. The place is so busy today that she feels guilty leaving at all, but she’s meeting two of her sisters for lunch, and she’s already late.

Daniela is the only one currently in the back, switching a pile of wet and soiled towels for clean ones. Usually when they find themselves alone in this area together, they can’t resist stealing a quick kiss. Or sometimes not so quick, depending on how busy the salon is. But today, it’s hopping -- chaotic and filled to capacity. They’re overbooked, and there have been more walk-ins than usual. Daniela looks frazzled and distracted, but she pauses long enough to brush her lips against Carla’s cheek as she passes by with a stack of towels, telling her hastily, “Querida, there’s a baby back here, he crawled under the counter. Get him out, puedes?” These last words are accompanied by an encouraging pat on the butt. She doesn’t give Carla time to protest, she’s already hurrying toward the front. On days like this, it’s as if she’s moving at double-speed.

Looking sulky, Carla wants to say that this is a salon, not a daycare, and that maybe people should watch their own kids, but she’d be saying it to an empty room, so she doesn’t bother. Reluctantly, she bends down and peers under the low shelf-like counter that runs along the back wall. There are boxes piled up next to half of it, forming a dim, cave-like area underneath. As her eyes adjust to the low lighting, she can see the baby, probably about a year old, sitting at the very back of the space and watching her curiously.

“Hi! Are you ready to come out of there?” she coaxes. No answer. She tries calling him, making her voice enthusiastic and excited. “Here, baby. Here, boy. C’mon!’ She whistles a little, pats her knees like you would for a dog. How do you call a baby, anyway? She has no idea. She tries en español. “¡Ven a mi, chiquito! ¡Venga!”

Nothing. The baby doesn’t move, only gazes out at her with wide, uncomprehending eyes.

Clearly this isn’t working. There’s only one way to get him out.

Carla sighs heavily and drops down onto the floor, moaning a bit in self-pity as she crawls underneath the counter. It’s disgusting under here. Whoever has been mopping this part of the salon is not doing a good job, at all. (Then she remembers that it’s her -- she’s supposed to mop this part.)

Cautiously, praying that he won’t freak out and start crying, she hooks the baby under the armpits and drags him out carefully with her, shuffling backwards. Sniffing him, she makes a face; she can smell that he needs a diaper change, but that’s not her problem.

Reaching the edge of the counter, she starts to rise and bumps her head on the underside of it. “Coño,” she hisses, not caring whether the baby understands it or not.

Finally, she struggles to her feet and sets him down on top of the counter for a second so she can brush the dust and hair and possibly dead bugs off of her pants. “Why did you make me do that, huh?” She tries to brush the filth off of the baby too, and maybe he’s ticklish, because now a crooked smile breaks over his face. “Aww, you’re cute,” she beams down at him. “Okay, I forgive you. Eres demasiado lindo to be mad at. Hi!” she chirps, picking him up. “Hi, lil chacho!” She balances him on her hip and carries him into the main area of the salon. His attention seems to be caught by the ceiling fans as he stares straight up. “Ooooh, see the fans? They spin so fast,” she coos at him with exaggerated wonder, bouncing him on her hip. “Wowwww. Gufiao, huh?” He seems to like the bouncing, because his smile turns into a burbling chuckle, so she bounces him a little higher, laughing.

“Whoa, Carla,” Cuca grins as she passes by, scanning her with a gleeful once-over. “Hope you got some other clothes here.”

She glances down where Cuca is indicating and realizes that with the bouncing, the baby’s loaded diaper has exploded all over her shirt.

“Uhhhhh!” Carla wails, her face contorted and tragic, immediately stretching her arms to their furthest span as she holds the baby out away from her.

Cuca practically doubles over laughing. “Oh, damn,” she crows. “It’s the runny kind, too.”

“Excuse me!” Carla calls over the salon noise, the baby dangling from her outstretched hands. “Alguien puede llevarse a este bebé, por favor?” No one seems to be paying attention. She raises her voice above the hum of conversation and the roar of hairdryers. “WHO OWNS THIS BABY?”

[amalagam]

complaining incoming but bro how come it’s authors i otherwise like and have given five stars who write my least favorite sq retellings.

i finished n3ttle & b0ne and now i can say i like t. k1ngfisher’s writing quite a bit, but i read the r@ven and the re1ndeer first years ago, and it hits so many of my peeves when it comes to sq retellings, esp in assuming that the original gerda-kay relationship was a romance and then deconstructing it from that angle. if you know me at all, you know that i feel that “romance” is a fundamental misreading of that relationship. so i simply cannot enjoy this retelling! which sucks so bad bc it has gerda/robbergirl which i otherwise love AND i now know that i love k1ngfisher’s writing and plots and characterization and magic. i want to like it. but i don’t.

and i just found out that theod0ra g0ss (who wrote the str4nge case of the 4lchemist’s daughter, which i enjoyed) wrote “a country called winter” aka a short story urban fantasy retelling that i strongly disliked bc it villainizes gerda in a shallow and lazy way while transforming her into a “romantic rival” character. it had its good points (esp in exploring the queen character’s relationship to the kingdom she never knew she was heir to) but ultimately that fucked up the whole experience for me. i enjoy it when the queen character is sympathetic but at what cost.

idk maybe i’m just picky with my sq retellings bc i have brainrot for it but could i PLEASE have an sq retelling that does not misunderstand the original story as a primarily romantic thing OR villainize one of the besties. why am i cursed with caring so much about the main two’s friendship and very rarely seeing it done well in retellings

[violethowler]

False Start: Analyzing Kairi’s Arc After Melody of Memory

In October 2019, I did an analysis of Kairi’s character arc as of the end of Kingdom Hearts 3 and what I felt was being set up for her going forward.

My major point was that Kairi's fear of change was holding her back from reaching her full potential and catching up to Sora and Riku, but that by the end of Kingdom Hearts III she had overcome that fear and was ready to move forward. 

In hindsight, I jumped the gun in assuming that the end of KH3 marked the definitive point where she got over her change and could truly move forward. While she had some good moments in Re:Mind, Limit Cut promptly put her to sleep for an entire year, trying to search the memories in her heart for a clue to Sora's whereabouts. 

But then Melody of Memory happened. 

When Kairi faces the memory of Xehanort, she says in the original Japanese version that Sora and the others being hurt was the result of her strength not being enough. I'll save the rant about how the English localization consistently removes Kairi's moments of self-reflection throughout the series for another day, but my main point is that this sets the groundwork for her decision to remain behind while Riku goes to Quadratum. When she chose to increase her training under Aqua, I was thrilled because finally this was the sign I was looking for that Kairi was really, truly, ready to move forward. 

A lot of people were disappointed by this decision because they felt like Kairi needing more training was the whole point of her being brought to the Mysterious Tower at the end of Dream Drop Distance. But there are a few things that set this moment apart and explain why her training in Kingdom Hearts 3 did not amount to as much as fans were hoping. 

First, it's that this time Kairi is exerting her own agency and making the choice herself. Her training in Kingdom Hearts 3 was never something we saw her actively choose. So Kairi making that choice on-screen has more weight than Riku bringing her to the Mysterious Tower for training on Yen Sid's orders. 

Second, while the memory of Xehanort notes that she did improve in the brief time she was training, the way she was being trained wasn't suited to her style. The description we get of her training in Kingdom Hearts 3 mostly seems to amount to her and Lea sparring each other repeatedly - which is exactly how Sora and Riku developed their sword fighting skills growing up. And when you look at her battle stance and the way she holds her Keyblade in Kingdom Hearts 3 compared to how she held it in previous games, her stance is an exact copy of Sora's. It's no wonder then why she changed into Sora during the final boss fight in Melody of Memory then when she was clearly trying to imitate him. 

In the 2006 Characters Report Vol. 1 book, Tetsuya Nomura's comments about Kairi in the early games identify the fear of growing apart from Sora and Riku as a major source of anxiety for her. The fact that her training and combat stance in Kingdom Hearts 3 imitate Sora so heavily indicates that Kairi is trying to catch up to Sora and Riku by trying to be exactly like them in that area as much as possible. With how much the series has focused on personal identity with regards to Roxas and Xion being their own people, it makes sense why Kairi doing that failed her in Kingdom Hearts 3. Because Sora and Riku's style isn't suited for her. 

Because she isn't them. 

For Kairi to achieve her goal of catching up to Sora and Riku's level, she needs to step out of their shadow and figure out how to be herself instead of trying to be Sora. And the best way for her to understand herself will be to understand her past. 

The Xehanort that Kairi faces in Melody of Memory is explicitly identified as a construct of her heart. He tells her that the answers she seeks "lie in memories that are long gone," and tells her that there is nothing for her to find in her heart. However, that isn't really true with what previous games have established about how memories work in this universe. Chain of Memories establishes that memories are stored in the heart, and that while the connections between them can be rearranged, they are never gone for good. 

So while Kairi may not consciously remember her childhood before arriving on Destiny Islands, the memories are still there deep in her heart. All she needs is something or someone to help her restore the connections between them. To rebuild the links in her Chain of Memories, so to speak. Kingdom Hearts 3 and Melody of Memory both specifically call attention to Kairi's first meeting with Aqua in Birth by Sleep, as well as the fact that Kairi doesn't remember it. From a narrative standpoint, the series has set up that remembering that first meeting will help Kairi regain the rest of her memories from Radiant Garden. 

But remembering her past is not the only arc the story has set up to help Kairi understand herself better. Training with Aqua also puts her in a position to interact with another teen who has a heart of pure light.

Who was also in a coma for a time while his heart rested in Sora's body. 

It's not a coincidence that Union X first revealed the existence of the entity known as Darkness just a few months after KH3 revealed that being a Princess of Heart was a mantle that could be passed on rather than a permanent state of being. Then Re:Mind revealed that Darkness is still hiding within Ventus' heart in the present day. And following the release of Melody of Memory, the next Union X update revealed that Darkness had killed Streliztia because it saw her death as the best way to grant Ven's desire for strength. The ability for Princesses of Heart to pass on their powers serves as set up for Kairi to do the same, opening herself up to struggling with darkness in her heart for the very first time. 

Kairi wants to become stronger in order to stand alongside Sora and Riku. But she has not struggled with her negative emotions the way that Riku has or that the narrative framework sets up Sora will be in the near future. But her decision to train alongside Aqua puts her in a position that has the potential to force her to go through that struggle herself should Darkness try to grant her desire for strength in ways that she doesn't want. 

I know that I was wrong before about Kairi getting over her fear of change. But this time, I'm confident that Kairi's character arc is finally picking up momentum. What Melody of Memory has that previous games didn't is a clear sense of narrative direction. All Dream Drop Distance did was vaguely establish that she was going to start training. Kingdom Hearts 3 didn't give enough information to form concrete theories about the trajectory of her arc. 

But all the Kingdom Hearts content released in 2020 has set up foreshadowing for a very specific plotline in regards to Kairi's character growth. And not only that, Xehanort's monologue in the flashback to her childhood where he says "if you arrive in a world that is neither light nor darkness, but somewhere on the other side, your task will be far from easy" adds a significant connection between Kairi rediscovering her past and the mysteries of "unreality." Especially because Xehanort acting like it was actually possible for her to end up there instead of Destiny Islands raises the question of whether she truly went straight to Destiny Islands after Xehanort sent her off. 

Kairi's connection to "unreality" makes her the lynchpin of all the major story arcs being set up for the other characters while Sora and Riku are in Quadratum. The parallels between them foreshadow Ventus regaining his memories of the Age of Fairy Tales just as Kairi is set up to regain her memories of Radiant Garden. Ventus regaining his memories of the past logically connects the Birth by Sleep trio to Lauriam and Elrena through his role in Strelitzia's death, as well as to the Twilight Town crew considering that Subject X is heavily implied to be Skuld. Then of course there's Luxu, who is directly responsible for Subject X's disappearance, and the Foretellers, who are still with Luxu last we saw them.  

With Sora and Riku off in Quadratum with Yozora and the Master of Masters, Kairi is narratively set to step up and take charge in dealing with the major unresolved plotlines from Union X and KH3 that need dealing with. By the time Sora and Riku finally make it back, she'll be a whole lot closer to their level.

TL;DR: I was too hasty in 2019 when I declared that Kairi had gotten over hear fear of change. I only had nebulous ideas of what would come next. But now I can pick out all the subtle foreshadowing that illuminates a concrete path forward, and I'm confident that now she's finally on the right track.

[r2wiiu]

For someone who doesn’t want Star Wars in KH (which I am thinking about bc of the Smash Bros. thing yes), I sure think about how it could work. Like... Disney would want to put the sequels in it. That’s bad throw that away. The only way Star Wars in KH works is if its done over two games and it about Anakin falling to the Dark Side 

Long post under the cut

1st Time

Sora, Donald, and Goofy meet and befriend at least Anakin, Ahsoka, and Obi-Wan, but also ideally Rex and Cody

Taking place during The Clone Wars lends itself to be animated like the show or going the live action route 

Main Boss can be like Dooku amped up on heartless juice or even have it be while Maul is back, I think his design would fit in with the heartless nicely. 

Clones are a must. I want Sora reacting like “Woah! That’s nuts!” only for Goofy to remind him Roxas and Ven are also identical  

Rex gets the weird stilted “Sora... Donald... Goofy” line (bc for some reason hearing him say it is the funniest thing to me) 

Sora finds a kyber crystal and it becomes the keychain of a lightsaber keyblade. 

Donald saying, “I’ve got a bad feeling about this” and Goofy going “It’s a trap!” 

Despite being set in the Clone Wars, it’s more of a wild ride type KH world (possibly called The Galaxy Far Far Away), like The Caribbean in KH3

2nd Time

Sora & Co come back and the Republic has fallen and Anakin is nowhere to be seen 

I’m imagining Ahsoka and or Obi-Wan being their returning friend(s) for most of this, though I’d like to see Rex reappear 

Revealing that Anakin and Vader are one in the same and Sora immediately trying to bring him back to the light

Though, Sora ultimately fails, he’s told that one day someone might be able to bring Anakin back to the light and we get a shot of Luke from behind and that’s the only shot of a non-prequel era character we get ever

Mostly the idea of this is inspired by how Sora reacts to Rinzler in the Tron Legacy world 

Sora gets to tell Anakin he still believes in him no matter what

Even then it’d be hard to execute right and it would still be so surreal to see Goofy next to Obi-Wan Kenobi. The only other thing I’d accept is something with The Bad Batch where Sora keeps roasting Crosshair about friendship. 

[bardic-tales]

Hello hello! :D Thanks so much for responding to the WIP Title Tag! Totally understandable, re, WIP folders, but that said, I do have to ask about Flight of the Dragon. :O

Hi, Jax. I hope you are having a wonderful evening or day. You're welcome, and thank you so much for responding, also.

Even without Scrivener, I tend, or really try as I drop in things that are unnamed too, to keep my folders really organized. lol

As for Flight of the Dragon, this is among my personal favorites. The title itself is a double entendre, but not the dirty or risqué kind. One of the main characters of FotD is a silver dragon. In the first chapter, he is forced to flee his castle (lair), but in that first chapter, he also loses most of his children (his flight).

Here's a snippet of the first chapter.

cw: disturbing imagery. talk about murder.

As he climbed the stairs to the cloister, Brennan heard an unnatural sound behind him that made him turn to see what the source could be. A shirtless woman, bald, black and crimson tattoos swirled over her skin, strode into the battle. Behind her, thralls were led in chains, batteries to fuel her wicked magic. This was a practitioner of blood magick, a vile and perverse corruption of the very ven itself. This might as well be a demon marching into battle. She could only be there for one reason: destruction of the prophecy. Such chaos would only feed her power.

He wanted nothing more than to defend his mate, his queen. Beatrix was the matriarch of the flight, and she was a fearless and capable leader. He would follow her into the death plane. He wanted to protect her, but she had sent him away. Was she going to sacrifice herself for this prophecy? Did she truly believe in it so much? Did she value it more than her own bloodline?

Brennan burst into the cloister to the sound of a newborn's cries. He called out for the midwife.

"Born with no maladies as far as I can reckon," she reported. "A healthy girl. The babe and mom are resting as we speak."

"There's no time for that," Brennan countered. "The enemy is through the wall. I have no doubt they will slaughter the mother and capture the child. Make them ready to travel. Do it quickly. Do it now."

"Moving them isn't wise right now, sire."

"Not moving them is less so. Do it!"

Short Writing Tag List

@asomeoneperson @jessica-writes22 @athenswrites @elijahrichardwrites @whimsyqueen @arrthurpendragon @blind-the-winds

If you would like to be on my tag list for notifications on any snippets, drabbles, or short stories I might post to my Tumblr, check out this post here. If you wish to be taken off this taglist, feel free to tell me!

Flight of the Dragon Tag List

@verba-writing

WIP LIST TAG GAME

[salomewithfeather]

MORSE-CODE

There's this cute little morse-code-tapping idea going around in 'incorrect-quotes-blogs' or 'writers-prompts-blogs' and I would just like to maybe make it easier for everyone to a) read the dashes and dots b) stop others from innocently propagating false information even if it's just via a cute little trope.

For the sake of brevity and maybe legibility and logic I'm going to talk about the most basic (Western) alphabet only - there are more advanced morse codes for numbers, abbreviations, asterisks and language-specific letters but I'm going to call them garnish to the main course that is the basic morse-alphabet (as I learned it).

Throughout this rant please remember that I am mostly talking of my subjective and personal experience. This is a hopefully helpful rant, not a scientific essay.

So...

Intro - How I learned Morse

The way I learned Morse-Code when I was young (10?) was by using cue-words for the alphabet's letters. The cue-word for the letter A would be "An-ton", for example. And we'd learn to break these words/phrases into their syllables.

I've learned that language-users break their syllables up in different ways sometimes, because other languages deal with silent vowels at the end of a word, or its beginning, where my mothertongue (German) has very few of these issues.

But there are some words I think you could loan, even from a language as difficult as German. I'll get to those later.

All Dots or All Dashes

There are at least seven letters of the alphabet you don't have to learn too hard for, seeing as they're relatively easy to discern because they're only dots or only dashes.

E, I, S, H are respectively one dot, two dots, three dots, four dots.

E . I . . S . . . H . . . .

On the other spectrum we have T, M and O which are respectively one dash, two dashes and three dashes.

T - M - - O - - -

Alternatively there is fourth all-dash character in the morse-alphabet, though the expression is not universal in all langauges. The two letters C and H coupled to make CH can be shortened from their respective two letters to a four-dash.

CH - - - -

It is possible that this morse-character is more useful in the context of the German language than the English one - I have had very little actual comparison.

When is it a dot or a dash

Here's the slightly disheartening thing.

In my research into the world of the international/ English morse-alphabet I was surprised to find that the use of cue-words or -phrases to remember the morse alphabet were as good as a non-issue.

I was more surprised to find that even in the context in which I learned the morse alphabet (as a fresh young girl scout) cue-words were still not a given rather than strict memorization of this letter is this blip-sound and this other letter is a combination of shorter and longer blip sounds. It makes it more difficult, I think, to remember and handle the morse alphabet.

As I stated above, when I learned MC, the letters of the alphabet would receive cue-words/phrases we'd break up into syllables. The number of syllables would indicate how many dots and-or dashes would comprise the letter.

Anton, for A, has two syllables - An-Ton - and is therefore made up of two blips.

But how would we know when to put a dot or a dash?

I don't know which genius made up the cue-words and -phrases for the German-speaking Scout Community, but they managed to twist it in such a way, that a cue-word-syllable containing the letter O would indicate a dash, whereas all other syllables without the letter O would indicate dots.

A for Anton would therefore be a dot and a dash.

A An-ton . -

Following this rule, we could make up all sorts of cue-words or phrases to the odd looking squiqqles (full Alphabet see below) - so long as we could break the cue up into syllables and ensure that every dash-syllable would contain the letter O.

Loan Words

Both because I mentioned them in the Intro as well as to illustrate my point, here are some cues for a handfull of letters that I think should translate well-enough even for English.

A An-ton (dot dash) . - C Co-ca-co-la (dash dot dash dot) - . - . I I-da (dot dot) . . M Mo-tor (dash dash) - - N Nor-den (dash dot) - . R Re-vol-ver . - . S Sa-bri-na . . . U U-ni-form . . - V Ven-ti-la-tor . . . -

The Entire Alphabet

A long list of dots and dashes, but without cues

A . - B - . . . C - . - . D - . . E . F . . - . G - - . H . . . . I . . J . - - - K - . - L . - . . M - - N - . O - - - R . - . S . . . T - U . . - V . . . - W . - - X - . . - Y - . - - Z - - . .

A few words to conclude

It may have come to your attention that some letters mirror each other - such as A and N, D and W, or K and R, and as someone who could never quite remember the cue-word for K it helped a lot to know that I simply had to invert the dots and dashes of the letter R to get there.

I'm sure there's a myriad of ways to actually remember the morse alphabet and the more I think about it, the more I believe that my research has been hasty. I don't believe that no one in the English-speaking community has come up with something like cue-words. So consider this more of a 'adding my own twist to it' rather than a 'this is how to'.

This is another way how to. One that ten-year-old me found much more easier to learn than dots and dashes.

I hope it might help you too.

[ravenclaw-questions-gone-writing]

Ven’s Idea Outline #1 (Maribat)

Remember that MariDamiJon fic that I mentioned I was going to do for the gift exchange? It’s still bouncing around in my head and Luka decided to join in so I’ve decided to at least make an outline in (assuredly vain) hopes that it will leave me alone for a bit.

Ao3

Part 1

Typical Daminette but Hanahaki style bc I can’t find any Maribat hanahaki fics and I need one and I can’t find any.

Dick and Damian sent to scope out Paris for Hawkmoth related reasons

Jon goes with bc he’s Damian’s emotional support kryptonian but he might arrive later This idea has been removed but I like it so I will share it.

Damian is getting familiar with the new battlegrounds  taking a walk in the park when a girl falls from a tree and lands on top of him

The girl apologizes profusely before explaining that she’s really clumsy and she was just trying to help a kitten stuck in the tree

It’s not love at first sight but Damian appreciates an animal lover and is slightly less of an ass than he would usually be

Might mix this with my Blossom Soulmate AU that I never got around to finishing and posting, now that I think about it

Anyway, Damian helps her get the cat down from the tree

He latches onto this potential information source who is not as annoying as most other people and sticks with her

They become friends friendly acquaintances and he drops by her school to pick up her up after she agreed to show him around Paris.

Debating Lila salt...

Debating Class salt...

If yes: Damian walks into a scene where Marinette  and sweeps Marinette away without a word to the rest of her class

If no: Damian arrives and proceeds to wait for her outside by his motorcycle

Either way, his appearance makes waves in Dupont’s rumor mills

They do not know he’s Damian Wayne, just that there’s a dude who attractive enough to be model with a motorcycle waiting for the schools (tragic, if salt) sunshine fashion princess.

Robin and Nightwing meet up with Ladybug and Chat Noir to offer their help in figuring out who Hawkmoth is, as well as fighting and training.

Full Miraculous court meeting with Ryuko, Viperion, Queen Bee, Carapace, Rena Rouge, Pegasus, Bunnyx, and Monkey king. (Rena Rouge is removed if Class salt. Replaced with Fox!Nath or Fox!Julieka)

Ladybug and Robin get along

About two weeks in Adrien starts officially dating Kagami.

Another week passes and Damian finds out Marinette has been coughing flower petals and her unrequited love is her classmate Adrien Agreste.

She refuses to remove the hanahaki - this version is the standard they can’t fall in love ever again if they remove it.

This revelation makes him oddly uneasy, it isn’t until his own Hanahaki shows up later that night that realizes he understands why.

Damian does a pretty good job of hiding it.

Dick knows something is up but he’s trying to give Damian more space so he doesn’t look into it and trusts Damian would ask him if it’s life threatening

Ladybug notices his discomfort on patrol and they talk

He is surprised to learn Ladybug also has it and Robin comes up with the brilliant idea that they should fall in love with each other.

There is precedent that if you fall out of love with the person, the Hanahaki will go away. But falling out of love is difficult and not easily done. There must be no lingering romantic feelings at all.

Ladybug encourages Robin to chase his crush first, because he at least has a chance if the girl he likes also has it.

Cue the debates

If Ladybug wins: Enter Damian going all out in flirty assassin seduction techniques from his mother - Good Talia that kills rapists, none of that she raped Bruce bs, she actually had a good relationship with Bruce and a mutual breakup because of differing views on killing people - that he’s barely used since his lessons on it in the league and romantic advice from Dick.

He goes full on Bitch-sensei from assassination classroom.

He’s commissioned a shirt from Marinette. She gets to design it however she wants.

It is a long sleeved button up, specifically made to accentuate his muscles without being too revealing.

That’s the shirt he wears when he asks her out with flowers and a stuffed kitten holding a stuffed wood board that says “please date me” He has his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, top button undone. Collar and hair ruffled up for maximum sensuality. He’s got a lot of references between all the people he knows (Bruce, Talia, Selina, Dick, and really his whole family is full of objectively attractive, seductive people he can reference. Just as long as he avoids mimicking their failing romantic habits, he should be fine.)

He tries to be suave about it but is a little too nervous to completely pull it off. It doesn’t matter because Marinette finds it endearing.

On the date, he’s more confident and is able to pull off suave bastard much better but only at the end. He’s a gentleman until the very end, when he leaves her in the bakery

He goes in, and twirls her admittedly short hair around his finger, maintaining eye contact as he presses his lips against her hair - it’s admittedly harder than he expected given how short it is but being so close made it more intimate and the blush on her face was definitely worth it

He leaves in the bakery slightly dazed and counts the date as a success.

Marinette’s mind shut down bc damn that boy is fine and smooth af is flustered and confused as heck but she’s willing to give him a shot

Alternatively: Marinette’s not sure about dating Damian because she feels like she’s just using him to get rid of her hanahaki bc of the idea that Robin had proposed.

Dick is ecstatic that Damian was acting weird because he had a crush and loved helping his brother out with this date planning in the city of love

He doesn’t report it back to the batfam yet because they had a small argument about it and Damian pulled away with the small victory of Dick has to wait until after the first date to tell them.

Damian is glad he Marinette’s willing to give him a chance but he’s worried about Ladybug

he wonders if he should set her up with Tim or Duke, it’d be a shame to lose a friend and hero like her.

Robin brings up his success to Ladybug and asks if there’s anything he can do to help her.

She notes that a friend had actually confessed to her and she’s giving them a chance.

They accidentally compare notes on their dates and that’s their reveal.

If Robin wins: An awkward start that smooths into moonlit dates on the Eiffel tower, dancing on rooftops, an increase in flirting but only after battles, never before it bc they have a professional reputation to keep, increasingly physical training routines, stolen kisses but not on lips until they’re more comfortable with each other.

Fast tracked mutual slow burn which kinda defeats the purpose of a slow burn but whatever

I have realized these ideas are not mutually exclusive.

Maybe Ladybug wins first but Damian fails to seduce Marinette because she has the doubts so they go with plan B and date each other. Ladybug is more comfortable with the idea of dating Robin because they both have Hanahaki and are knowingly using each other to get rid of it?

There is no identity reveal in this version

Complaint Break time: I was writing this to get it out but it keeps growing, wtf.  This is so long and I haven’t even gotten to the main part.

It was supposed to be an established Daminette but I wanted to show how they got together, this was supposed to be like 5 bullet points, 10 tops.

At some point, I’m going to have to mention the rumor that people with Hanahaki are being kidnapped because the flowers that bloom after their death make great medicine but that cures most illnesses and are good potions ingredient whatever, something along those lines. It’s not the ones they cough up but the flowers that grow on the vines constricting their lungs after until they die and only blossom after death. Those flowers that spread the pollen into the air that makes the Hanahaki disease possible.

That’s why people keep it a secret unless they’re going to get the surgery as there’s not other way to treat it.

But that’s a plot point for part 2.

I feel like this is already longer than anything I’ve put out at this point in time.

Back to the story:

Even though they’re dating, the Hanahaki doesn’t go away immediately. It slows and becomes less frequent but there are times when they think of how their love doesn’t return their feelings and the flowers come back with a vengeance and they’re down for the day, possibly the entire week, hacking up flower petals and buds.

(Ladybug Wins version until otherwise stated) It’s during one of these fits that Dick finds out and is angry at this girl playing with his brother’s feelings.

Damian is too busy hacking up bloody flower petals to correct him

The entire batfam and subsequently Superfam now know the batfam’s youngest has hanahaki

Jon is called in and flies in to help keep an eye on his best friend

Bruce, Jason, Tim, and Duke are shocked but they pack up and are ready to go in guns blazing to have a talk with this girl bc the boys might not be on the best terms but that’s their baby brother. The girls stay behind to hold down the fort (because I need more time to get familiar with them before I can confidently write their characters. I’m not too confident about Duke either but I already mentioned him and it’s too late to back out now.)

So, Damian’s brothers and his father track her down to a different park in Paris where Marinette’s hanging out with her friends

They’re incised to find their brother’s girlfriend with another guy’s arm around her, leading her away from the main group of friends

It’s Luka, he’s helping her hide her hanahaki because she assures him that she has it under control and will go with him to the hospital if it becomes too much

They confront the couple

There’s a lot of intimidating posturing and accusations

Batfam is absolutely not prepared for the bloody flowers that spill from her lips - her hanahaki is even worse than Damian’s

Detective bats (correctly or incorrectly, depending on which version happens) put the pieces together and figure they’re dating to get rid of the hanahaki, that is something Damian would absolutely propose

and oh shit, this time it’s not just Bruce that’s adopting someone. They have a little sister now.

Luka explains what he knows about the situation and basically confirms what they’d deduced.

Welp, since they’re here, Hawkmoth has become top priority.

Hawkmoth takes one look at the Miraculous circle and the new set of bats and just- nopes out plus super boy and just nopes out.

Like, he tries but he has no expectation of winning and tries to run instead. It doesn’t work, they have all grounds covered.

I should probably make use of Mayura if I ever do write everything out but she didn’t really leave much of an impression on me tbh and I don’t have a lot of ideas. Maybe if I ever go back and watch it.

Celebratory, on-the-spot kiss between Robin and Ladybug where they do “oh“ and realize the pressure in their chest is finally gone and the Hanahaki is no more.

(Robin Wins) Dick is obliviously happy about little Robin leaving the nest and finding a mate until he finds out both the little heroes coughing up flower petals on their date

then he goes in and mother hens them both, before demanding answers

He’s also less happy about this whole dating thing

Dick can’t do much about Ladybug without revealing her identity but Damian isn’t getting out of it so easily

Dick figures out who Damian’s crushing on and goes to do a little investigating. He is very surprised to see it’s a bubbly, energetic designer girl and not someone... calmer. But then he thinks of Jon and it makes a little more sense

He talks to her, asks about what she thinks of Damian and is pleasantly surprised by her positive view of his brother. He asks if she would go out with him and she coughs up some petals

Now, Dick’s freaking out and why are there so many children with Hanahaki? This is the third one in two days!

fast forward because I’m finally out of ideas for this part

Ladybug knows she’s fallen for Robin, which was the entire point of them dating but she not sure he actually reciprocates or is still trying to forget that other girl.

Or if you went the other way, Robin’s still chasing Marinette but Ladybug now likes Robin and is aware that he’s trying to woo her. So, out of the frying pan and into another for her.

Robin is absolutely having regrets bc he is an emotional wreck and crushing on two girls and this was not supposed to happen, damnit.

A meta gets akumatized and takes out half the miraculous court but turns out the meta’s psychic ability can help track Hawkmoth so its all cool, now that they know what Hawkmoth feels like

Ladybug, Chat Noir, Ryuko, and Robin vs Hawkmoth and Mayura

Nightwing stayed behind to watch the other heroes are no longer brain dead from the battle but boy are they out of it and he has to make sure they get home safe

that does not mean he’s not extremely put out and worried about it since he knows half the team has hanahaki and it may interfere with the fight

Even if the Ladybug suit lessens the hanahaki attacks, they still happen from time to time

For two people who don’t  show up to fight often Hawkmoth and Mayura put up a good fight

Ladybug has an hanahaki attack and Hawkmoth tried to take advantage of it, only to get knocked out by Chat Noir who’s still pissed at his dad for causing this whole thing

Chat Noir and Ryuko are pretty shocked Ladybug has hanahaki, even more her timer runs out and she choses to present it to Robin

Robin is shook

He gets it together and pulls her into a kiss that cures their hanahaki and makes their brains melt

Now Marinette’s kinda confused bc what the other girl

Damian, slightly shifting his mask so she can see who he is: That other girl was YOU

Now Marinette’s the one who’s shook

Note: Chat Noir and Ryuko have both de-transformed at this point and are watching with wide eyes but they do not see who is under that mask. Also, no cameras in this section of the manor bc that would be proof.

They have a lot to talk about but it works out in the end.

the outline above was written out of order bc I had to go back everytime a new idea hit and I cannot be bothered to go back and dodeca-check this thing again just to make sure everything makes sense.

Part 2 (that was supposed to be the main story- finally made it, the starting point. I cry.)

Ok, so, now that Daminette is established and the evil is defeated

Damian returns to Gotham with his girlfriend in tow to introduce her to the rest of his family, despite his better judgement

Jon is happy that Damian is in happy, loving relationship but he’s a bit sad that it’s not him and oop, sunshine kryptonian boy got hanahaki’d.

Same for Luka. (Yes, Jagged will be his dad and a Gothamite.)

Jagged and his kids join them in Gotham bc he has to be there to show his favorite designer niece around to all the best places of his hometown.

Luka finds out Jon has Hanahaki and they bond over the experience

They make a pact to cover each other and get the other to the hospital when it gets to that point

Pining/Simping meetings over their best friends that for some unknown reason seem to lessen the flower coughing over time even though these meetings probably make things worse but they also need vent before it increases again.

Luka and Jon beginning to fall for each other but they think the other is still in love with Marinette/Damian and it’s true that they still hold feelings for their best friends that aren’t diminishing in the sleightest and it’s all very confusing.

It’s even more confusing when we add the new hero in Gotham, Viperion who’s there to continue training with the bats since he’s visiting the area, rescues and lightly flirts with Jon who ended up developing a small crush and Jon realizes he has a type.

So, poor Jon’s now crushing on Damian, Luka, and Viperion

Viperion meets Superboy and the kryptonian doesn’t seem to like him?

Luka’s crushing on Marinette, Jon - still doesn’t know that Damian is Robin. And is kinda curious and a little hurt that the Robin’s oddly familiar kryptonian is actively and obviously avoiding him and that heart song is kind of familiar but different.

Viperion also gains a crush on Robin after watching him take down a thug in a very graceful way - the bird was showing off for his bug and decided to make it a little showier, he accidentally also caught a snake

Ladybug and Robin still flirt but the court - aside from Ryuko and Chat, depending on which version - think that’s just their dynamic, though they do pull Robin aside for a bit to tell him she has a boyfriend now. He assured them it’s fine and he knows, oddly amused at their attempt.

man, I am not original with this identity porn thing

It isn’t until Luka sees Jon again that he puts it together.

Marinette suspiciously notes Luka and Jon been hanging out an awful lot she’s making connections to the time she had hanahaki and Luka covered for her

The pains of befriending deductive genii.

Cue the panic and they accidentally claim they’re dating but it throws Marinette off for now, so it kinda worked?

Hanahaki fic with a fake dating AU. Oops.

Mari decides since she and Damian don’t know this, they must have been neglecting their best friends and double dates are the way to go.

Cue more panic

Unlike Marinette who is willing to trust their word, Damian’s a suspicious bastard who’s kind of dubious and a little salty that Jon didn’t tell him earlier if they’re telling the truth but Mari’s all gung ho about it so he lets it go for now

They go on the date and it is an emotional mess for everyone involved

It starts out fine

Jon and Luka act a bit weird because they have to cover for each other randomly coughing up petals, not to mention they’re on a date with their original crushes without actually dating their original crushes not even mentioning their new crushes and the secret identity reveal that Luka still hasn’t confronted Jon on and Jon’s guiltily thinking about Viperion half the time he thinks about Luka and shouldn’t it be the other way around?

Yeah, so they’re a mess

Damian’s watching them like he’s trying to figure them out and it is not helping but thank god Mari’s distracting him totally on accident

Marinette? She found a random lost kid in Gotham looking for their parents

So now the double date’s been temporarily derailed to help the lost kid

While Damian’s watching Marinette try pass the crying kid off to Jon for a  moment so she can make a phone call to report a lost child but the kid’s clinging onto Marinette, and they exchange looks so Jon calls in the lost kid instead and he’s just struck with the idea of a family with the three of them and some kids

Cue panic time (again)

Ignoring the thought of children, why was Jon in his fantasy?

Luka’s just watching a smitten boy go into panic mode over the trio and while doesn’t quite know what’s going on in Damian’s head, but that was really cute and oh not again

They find the kid’s parents, and the date moves on

Jon’s more comfortable, Marinette wasn’t really bothered in the first place. Luka and Damian are now having crises

Luka makes a joke under his breath in an attempt to calm down before his Hanahaki acts up

It did not help bc Damian overhears and gives a small amused snort that made his heart stutter but hey positive interaction!

Both Marinette and Jon but end up having feelings very similar to the one Damian had earlier when they look over at Damian and Luka’s little interaction - Damian’s giving Luka a small smirk and Luka is entirely embarassed at being heard when he wasn’t hadn’t meant to be.

But then Luka gives Jon a small sign before he excuses himself to the restroom so Luka can run off and cough up his flower petals

You remember that whole thing about the kidnapping people with hanahaki so they die and medicine and things can be collected from the flowers springing up from their corpse thing? Yeah, the kids are in Gotham and there is definitely a group there that has dealings with the trade and someone saw Luka hacking up flowers

but they mark him and pull back to plan instead of kidnapping him then and there bc drama and Jon followed him to the restroom to check on him

Date ends ok and everyone’s kind of an emotional wreck

Damian has surprisingly learned his lesson on miscommunication and guiltily confides his fantasy to her like a parishioner to his priest

Marinette basically goes same and confesses about the moment she and Jon saw his interaction with Luka.

“So, We’re together, and they’re together...and I might be in love with Jon, you think you might be in love with Luka... What now?“ Damian asked, trying to make sense of it all

“We could...” Marinette swallows, “um, all four of us? together?“ she offered meekly. Seeing that Damian seemed to like the idea, she continued. “Y’know, feel out how receptive they are to the idea and then just seduce them?”

Ok, so the temporary communication skills were nice.

Because instead of talking it out with their best friends, they decide to seduce them but to be fair, there’s at least one version of this where Damian got where he did because of seduction.

Between both Damian and Marinette’s phsyical attractiveness, their combined determination and stubbornness, Damian’s assassin seduction knowledge, and Marinette’s fashion ability and tactical knowledge of where to accentuate what, Jon and Luka have no chance of leaving pining hell for the foreseeable future.

Marinette doubles down on the “double dates” aka, seduction plans in action and group hang outs, aka much more softer, subtle seduction plans

Marinette and Damian do not do much seeing how receptive they are and really just jump right into the seduction, except they adjust the plans so Luka and Jon don’t catch on so Daminette couple thinks it’s ok to go all out.

Cue seduction and pining hijinks, and a whole lot of bloodly flowers and plenty of internal screaming

Damian learns that Luka might not be too bad in the group and Jon is panicking because oh shit he’s got another crush and it’s his best friend’s girlfriend.

the quartet’s love issues are really full circle... or whatever this shape is supposed to be. Because there’s still the whole Viperion/superboy thing and - i just... I’m not going to keep analyzing this.

Somewhere during this, Jon confesses his feelings this particular friend group to Con, leaving out the whole Hanahaki thing. Con tells Tim for advice on being a big brother and things happen but I’m not sure what. I just want TimCon and the Superboys bonding

So a couple weeks pass by the Hanahaki’s getting pretty bad and Luka suddenly goes missing

Ladybug and the bats are on it as soon as they realize he’s gone

Except they are missing one, very important piece of information

Luka’s hanahaki

So, for the next few days, they don’t get anywhere until Jon slips up and ends up coughing up a shitton of bloody flowers which leads to panic, confusion and explanation, bc wtf Jon, you’re supposed to be dating Luka and that’s definitely not unrequited

So everyone gets the full explanation, the final piece of the puzzle snaps into place and the bats are on it.

Marinette and Damian have to put aside that whole revelation in order to track and save Luka before he dies of Hanahaki

They both make sure to kiss Jon first so he doesn’t get handicapped by his hanahaki like Ladybug did but he and Luka will be on thin ice once they get Luka back

So it’s pretty much a race against time bc they don’t know how bad Luka’s hanahaki is

Tracking, beat up bad guys, possible magic related villain(s) searching for potion ingredients that may take harm Superboy more than than if they weren’t there

They rescue Luka or Luka and Ssass break out as Viperion and meet them halfway.

Hey, the identity reveals!

 Either way, at the end of it, Luka ends up with Ladybug and the unconscious and they have to wait until he wakes up to administer the kiss/cure bc it doesn’t work if one party is unconscious

which sparks an interesting idea of a sleeping beauty-cinderella style hanahaki fic where it would work if they’re unconscious, and the patient has to find go out to find who cured them and I’ll have to adjust some other rules of the hanahaki disease such as who can cure it but goddamn it

So while Luka’s out, Marinette and Damian confront the possibly injured but very much awake Jon

Once Luka wakes up and is brought up to speed, they take care of his hanahaki and work out the new boundaries of their new relationship

Part one is longer and I’m a bit put out by that. This made much more sense in my head but if you got this far, my rambling must have made some sort of sense.