#WITH BOTH POVs INCLUDED!

[royalarchivist]

Richarlyson: [Throws Pac some roses and says "Follow me."]

Pac: "Follow me?" Ok.

Richarlyson: [Leads him straight to Fit]

Pac:

[ Full Transcript ↓ ]

[Richarlyson throws Pac some roses, which Pac picks up]

Pac: A flower? A rose bush.

Richarlyson: Follow me.

Pac: "Follow me"? Ok.

[Richarlyson leads him to the other side of the Favela, where Fit is. Pac gets embarrassed and hits his desk as he realizes Richarlyson set him up.]

Fit: Oi! Oi!

Pac: [Sounding nervous] Oi, Fit. Oi Fit, hi, how- how are you doing, Fit? How you doing?

Fit: [Hesitantly] I'm- I'm good. How are you?

Pac: Oh yeah, I- I'm fine, oh so, uh... [Laughs]

Fit: Are you o-

Pac: I brought you these! I brought you this! I brought you this for you.

Fit: [Startled laugh] Oh, roses?

Pac: Yeah, yeah I just got them from the Favela, you know? We were cleaning up the things, I was showing Richarlyson around, right? And I got this! Yeah.

[Richarlyson bounces in the background happily as they speak]

Fit: Oh, wow. Pac, thank you. This is- this is really thoughtful.

Pac: Yeah, no, yeah yeah yeah!

Fit: No, this- I-

Pac: I'm glad you like it.

Fit: I know the perfect spot for these actually, yeah. I'm gonna-

Pac: Really?

Fit: I'm gonna put these on my rooftop garden, yeah. They're gonna look great.

Pac: Oh, that's awesome! Yeah, I'm gonna build a garden too, 'cuz like, every time I see Tallulah, he- she always give me some roses, and I'm collecting them as well. Yeah, it's-

Fit: Oh nice.

Pac: It's a good- good gift, right?

Fit: No, I- I- I- this is awesome, thank you Pac. I appreciate it.

[Richarlyson nods vigorously]

[buttercupshands]

so... official lyrics for "Flower Bud" ending came out

made a quick thing to tie the lyrics with the moments when they play in the ending itself

[bookshelf-in-progress]

No matter how many times it happens, I'm always shocked by how reliably all my problems with any given story are solved by making it shorter. If I go into a story with the idea that it'll be long, that I should use as much detail as I want to craft a full-length and fully-fleshed-out story instead of a short one, it always turns into this rambling, meandering, soulless thing that's no fun to read, and I get tangled up in so many flimsy, sprawling layers of character and worldbuilding that the plot becomes unworkable.

The minute I tell myself, "Let's make this as short as possible," the problems fall away, I find the heart of the story again, the pacing is brisk, scenes get multiple purposes, the world feels deeper because I'm implying things that spark the reader's imagination rather than trying to put every threadbare, boring detail on the page. Every time. You'd think I'd have learned by now.

[kimbapisnotsushi]

just imagine like. you're seventeen and desperate and angry and hurting for the truth. you're largely underground and unheard of and you have no power other than slapping on a mask and telling the truth over and over again, hoping that someone will hear. and you will NEVER, not in a MILLION YEARS, guess who DID hear! because the next day superman—not THE superman, it's his really cute son who you met literally a few days ago when he saved you from being shot, and you still have his fake hair—shows up in metropolis lugging a boat full of refugees that you thought would die out in the ocean because no country would dare go looking for them. and he burns the handcuffs off of them, and demands that they be treated with kindness and compassion, and doesn't seem to give a damn about how many international laws he just fucked up. like, wow.

and then you go to talk to him and tell him who you are and oh my god you're FLIRTING with superman. over his fake hair. and when you call him to protect a protest he comes right away, and he stands at the front, eyes blazing, and tells the police to ARREST HIM TOO? so THEN you go to bail him out and meet his dad (actual superman, but whatever) who invites you to dinner. and you get to meet LOIS FUCKING LANE. YOUR HERO. you then embarrass yourself in front of lois lane. the house explodes. superman ( jon, not clark) flies off to confront the guy who almost killed his entire family, and who also happens to be the evil president that overtook your country. superman comes back different. you watch through dimly-lit screens as he runs himself ragged all over the earth trying to save people. burning out like a dying star. he's got the weight of the world on his shoulders, you think. so you have him brought back to your dark apartment, a space just for you and now him, but not "him" as in "superman", it's "him" as in "jon kent"—because you're the one person he never has to worry about, and you want him to know that. he doesn't have to be superman with you. he can just be jon, and jon is beautiful and bright and everything you dreamed of.

"you've got the world," you say. "i've got you."

and hoLY SHIT YOU'RE KISSING HIM. YOU'RE KISSING JON KENT. AND HE LOOKS REALLY, REALLY HAPPY ABOUT IT. HOLY SHIT. you know, at this moment, that you trust this boy with your life. you're going to take on president bendix together and you're going to save your people. and so you make a whole plan that even ROBIN gets involved in (and holy shit you meet robin!! robin almost DECKED you!! and seems to like you? and approves of your relationship with jon?) and set sail for home. jon carries you into the sky. he doesn't want to drop you; you can see it on his face. it's cute. superman is used to catching people, after all, so you smile and let yourself fall. you'll see him on the other side. you believe in him. you have hope, for once in your life. you know he's right by your side. you know he'll be there when you call.

you love him.

and suddenly the battle is over, it's done with, bendix is gone and your people are free and you get to introduce jon to your mother! it's the best day of your life. but when you look around, you see that everyone is watching you. the whole world is, probably. they'll know who you are. they'll know who jay nakamura is.

you don't care. the truth doesn't have to hide anymore. and what is the truth, after all this time? what does jay nakamura have to tell the world?

jon takes your hand. you kiss him, and the truth is that you never want to stop.

[inke-ri]

So I couldn't help but browse the THG tag bc those books own my whole heart. I actually check it now and again, and it's been interesting see how opinions have changed over the years, especially in regards to Gale and Peeta. Going through the evolution of them as just potential love interests to being far more complex than I could have expected has been a wild ride. Crazy how this reads different than from when I was a preteen.

That said, I wanted to give my unsolicited two cents on my boys, because though I have been enjoying the discussion on Peeta and Gale and what they mean to the story, I also feel like reducing them to Peeta = peace and Gale = war is far too simplistic... and oftentimes unfair to one or both of them.

See, I don't think Peeta and Gale are peace and war/destruction. They're compassion and indignation.

Peeta worries about the other tributes, or their families, or how to repay people like Rue and Thresh for what they did.

Gale is indignation at how the Capitol treats its citizens, it's anger at the injustice of inequality and brutality.

Both are needed in a story like THG. You can't have people like even Peeta not say something like "maybe we're wrong about keeping things quiet in the districts", you can't have him not drop the baby bomb, you can't start a revolution without Gale's indignation at the status quo. At deserving a better life but being denied it, at having your kids be mercilessly killed for literal sport.

However, if you start a rebellion and loose sight of your compassion, you end up no better than the people you're fighting against. Gale wasn't a bad person, imo. His heart was in the right place. He was flawed, yes, but so is everyone in this series. Gale, most importantly, lost sight of the line between fighting for the people he cared about and fighting against the people who hurt him.

Reducing Gale's indignation to just revenge and hatred ignores so much of what he stands for. Who hasn't seen laws passed that dehumanize people, who hasn't been angry and furious when someone is elected who fundamentally hates everything you are, who doesn't think some people need to pay for the atrocities they committed? There's a little bit of Gale in every single one of us - and it's important that it's there, because that's what gives us strength to challenge the status quo and make life better for the future generations.

But. You can't let it take over. You can't loose sight of your compassion or your empathy.

That's where Peeta comes in. Peeta is the voice in your head that worries about how many good lives will be lost when they give themselves up for this cause. Peeta is the worry about the people caught in the crossfire. Peeta is rebuilding when it's over and believing that the next generation will have a better life than your own. Peeta is being kind, even to people who may not deserve it.

And Gale... Gale looses sight of his compassion, and he doesn't realize it until it smacks him in the face when the bombs go off and Prim is gone and he's too far gone. Meanwhile, Peeta advocates for the end of the war even though it means the status quo remains - and regardless of what he believes himself, I don't think Suzanne chose him to say those lines by chance. It means both mindsets have their flaws: too kind and things that shouldn't remain will never be challenged and changed, too angry and you may loose sight of what you're fighting for.

And that's just how Suzanne uses her characters, both of them, all of them. Just look at who is with Katniss depending on the situation:

- Katniss chooses to "rebel" after Gale is brutally whipped. She kisses him.

- Katniss realizes that in order for D12 to rebel, everyone would need to be in on it, and she realizes most of them are not like her, that they're scared and she understands, emphasises with them. Peeta walks by her side.

- Katniss finally does it though, shoots the arrow at the force field, and Peeta is taken from her, it's now Gale by her side.

(You can't start a rebellion without indignation, and sometimes you HAVE to do it or things will never change, regardless of the inevitable pain that will come along.)

- Katniss is righteously angry at the Capitol bombing a hospital full of innocents to make a point. Gale remains there.

- Coin twists people's compassion into an army to fight for her own personal gain. Peeta is hijacked and looses his sense of self.

- Katniss and Gale go to District 2 and even though she tries to be like Peeta, she's still shot- reinforcing Gale's views, the person who was with her during that sequence.

- Katniss is angry at Snow, Katniss goes to the Capitol to kill him. Gale is there.

- Katniss gets in way over her head and realizes she is responsible for the death of most of her squad. She shares the lamb stew with Peeta, and later cleans his wounds.

- Finnick dies and she's at her lowest up until that point and all she wants to do is give up and give in to the anger. She kisses Peeta and begs him to stay with her.

... Claiming that Gale is destruction ignores the fact that he's with Katniss through her own moments of strength. Her desire to change things, to fight back, is as important as her compassion. Mockingjay just brutally shows you what war does to your indignation, to your compassion. How easy it is to cross a line between righteous anger and revenge, or how your sense of empathy and compassion can be manipulated into something monstrous by others, or by all the terrible, brutal, painful things you see.

How easy it is to loose yourself- and that goes for both of them.

Peeta and Gale aren't static characters, they go from representations of sentiments regarding an injust government to what happens to those feelings when an extreme situation such as war breaks out. All of that, by the way, while dealing with this duality themselves, because they are still characters who think and feel and struggle and have flaws of their own- and while I love what they stand for, I've seen too many comments that pin everything into what they mean, that they forget that Peeta and Gale are still people, they aren't perfect metaphors. They're human.

Ultimately, Katniss doesn't really choose peace. She wants peace, yes. But what she chooses is compassion. empathy. hope. There's a time and place for anger at injustice. There's a time when fighting back is the right thing to do. There are even times when you wanna give in to your despair and lash out. But if you want peace, then you have to choose Peeta, because Peeta represents what you need to focus on to achieve that peace. You have to let go of the anger or you won't ever rest. So Gale leaves, and does not come back... And yet, Katniss still has her moments of indignation, of making a stand, even as he goes - she still casts her vote at that meeting, she still shoots Coin. Katniss does not abandon that part of who she is. It's just not her main drive anymore.

So then she goes on to make the choice, every single day, to be compassionate to others. To have hope. To rebuild. Of course she chooses Peeta.

... Idk, man. These boys are so much more than what I see them so often reduced to. They're in all of us. There will be times to stand and fight, and times to show mercy and be kind. We just need to find that balance, as Katniss eventually did.

[bumblingbabooshka]

[Tuvok & Janeway: Control, Distance, Duty & Connection.] Sources: St Voyager Transcripts / Mitski 'First Love Late Spring' / Disco Elysium

[rpfofficial]

dead poets society (1989), dir. peter weir

[seleneprince]

(Inspired by @chaoticdelinqueerwithglitter drabble about Bonten and Senju's possible impact in it. Check her blog if you want to see more about the Akashi siblings)

In the Bonten timeline, Senju was shot dead with three bullets, during the Three Deities Fight. In one she was attacked by desesperate Rokuhara members who couldn't handle their defeat, in another the bullets were aimed at Takemichi and so she shielded him with her own body, sacrificing her life.

Either way, the fact remains that, in any universe where Bonten exists, Senju Kawaragi is dead in it.

In the first version, it was her long-lost brother Haruchiyo who rushes to her side as soon as she falls, ignoring the fight and Mikey and everything else around him. He's the one that holds her on her final moments, who cries as she apologies to him and says that she never stopped loving him. He screams, rages, sobs, but he doesn't let go of Senju's body one second. When Takeomi cries in front of him, murmuring how it's his fault and how it should've been him, Haruchiyo feels a murderous rage boil in his heart and replies "You're right".

In the second version, it's Takemichi who holds Senju when she dies. She speaks of the promise she made to protect him and how she fulfilled it to the end. She bleeds out in his arms and Takemichi feels how the world becomes darker after she leaves. She's already dead when Haruchiyo reaches her, shoving the other boy away to hold her. Her skin is growing cold and her eyes are closed and Haruchiyo knows that he's going to be stuck in this moment for the rest of his life. He calls for her, shakes her, desesperately wanting to see some reaction, something that indicates there's still hope. Nothing happens. Everything else happens the same, except now Haruchiyo's eternal resentment its focused on two people and not just one.

South is killed, beaten to death by Mikey, who refuses to look at Senju's body. Haruchiyo hunts all Rokuhara members one by one, ensuring the ones that killed Senju have a very slow and painful demise. Brahman is disbanded and those who aren't too traumatized by their former leader's death join Kanto Manji's lines, and eventually Bonten. Benkei and Wakasa leave the world of gangs for good, unable to look past Senju's memory now.

In Bonten, Sanzu doesn't hide his hatred for Takeomi. He never forgave him for how he treated him in his youth, but now he has a much bigger reason to resent him. They don't talk, and when they do, it's all insults and threats. Takeomi avoids Sanzu like the plague, not because he's scared, but because looking at him feels like looking at a ghost. The same pink hair, the same long eyelashes, even the same eye color. It's all too much for Takeomi.

With Sanzu it depends. Sometimes he can't even look at his reflection, the too familiar features always sending him into a spiral of grief and mad pain. Sometimes he can stare into a mirror for hours, because painful as it is, at least he can pretend the one looking back at him it's someone else. How twisted that all that remains of her it's in his own face.

Takeomi can't bring himself to sell their childhood house, even if no one lives there anymore. Being there became too painful after Senju's death so of course he moved, but losing this house will also mean losing all the memories that remain in there. Senju's former room it's the only one untouched since she left. Everything else has been fixed for other uses, like stocking supplies for Bonten, but everyone knows that particular room with sakura flowers painted in the door must be ignored. Sanzu once caught one of their newest additions trying to get a look inside and ripped his eyes off, before shooting him dead. All of it after he dragged the poor fool out of the house first, of course.

Sanzu can't stand the sounds of gunshots anymore, unless it's him who's shooting the bullets. He also hates the rain and can't even set a foot in the streets when it happens. He visits Senju's grave when he can, preferably on a sunny day, and talks to her about his day. He makes sure his visits don't overlap with Takeomi, but if they accidentally do, it's the only time the two brothers coexist in silence.

Senju's ghost never leaves them. Sanzu can only hope that, whatever awaits for him in death, he at least gets to see her once again.

[fideidefenswhore]

 the tudors (2007-2010) / the concubine, by christopher rae / the six queens of henry viii (2016) / zombie (2018), cover by bad wolves / the white princess (2017) / hunting the falcon, by john guy & julia fox / viii, by hm castor / the white queen (2013) / henry viii, by lucy wooding / firebrand (2023)

[good-beanswrites]

0306 ship fic? 👉👈

So. I usually don't like writing sappy ship things because 1. my aroace ass isn't great at it and I'd rather leave that to the more skilled fanbase, and 2. I like exploring elements of a developing relationship other than physical moments. However. However. I was hit with Fluff Beam while writing this, so first kiss with Mappi fic be upon ye :')

“Won’t you kiss me, Fuuta-kun?”

He tipped his head back with a drawn-out noise of exasperation. This wasn’t a new or surprising question by any means. He always hated when it came up, though. He waved the mixing spoon in the air.

“Don’t you ever get tired of all that sappy romance stuff? You’ve asked me enough times…” And each time, I have to endure the pain of lying to you. “Can’t you see I’m busy? Helping you, for that matter!”

He used the spoon to gesture to the baking supplies cluttering the prison’s tiny kitchen, flinging some strawberry filling in the process. Mahiru had started a batch of cupcakes in celebration that her arm had come out of its sling, only for it to start hurting halfway through from the overuse. If Fuuta had known that yanking the bowl away from her would volunteer him to finish the whole project, he would have thought twice about it. He still would have done it, of course, but he’d at least have thought twice.

Fortunately, Mahiru was a good teacher who hovered over his shoulder to explain each step in great detail without ever sounding patronizing. Unfortunately, it became more difficult to deny her request when she leaned so close, continuing to pry.

“Isn’t that the best reason? You’re being so kind, Mahiru should return the favor.”

“No, you shouldn’t have to 'return' anything! I’m doing this because I…” he swallowed. “Because I think you’re an idiot for going and getting yourself hurt again!”

“Oh, don’t say that, Fuuta-kun!” She giggled, not sounding hurt at all. She never did.

“It’s true!” She was indeed an idiot, the way she kept pestering him for something more. As usual, her mind had flown somewhere far outside of reality. Whatever she was picturing between her and Fuuta was nothing but one-sided romance. She was the one that warmed the room when she came in. She was the one who created butterflies in stomachs and blushes in cheeks. She was the one that made any of this feel like anything.

Fuuta, on the other hand, knew he brought nothing to the table. If she thought he was kind, it was all in her head. If she viewed him as attractive, it was definitely nothing but her fantasy. And now, if she anticipated him being a good kisser, it was just another delusion she’d lost herself in. As usual, she needed someone to save her from such delusions. That, at least, was the one good thing he could do for her.

“Just forget it, will ya? It’s not gonna happen.”

Behind him, Mahiru said nothing. He finished stirring in the final ingredient. He turned to ask her what came next, only to discover the most heartbroken expression he’d ever seen on her. She sniffled.

“Mappi!”

“I-I’m sorry. I was too much again, wasn’t I? I understand. I know… I know anyone would be afraid to kiss me.”

“Afraid? I’m not afraid!”

“Well, I mean,” she lowered her head, strands of hair falling over her eyes. “Given my record with boyfriends, it really wouldn’t be smart to fall in love with me, hm?”

“You callin’ me stupid?” The question came tumbling out before Fuuta realized the confession embedded within them. Mahiru’s head snapped up, the prior mist in her eyes made them shine with excitement, now.

She opened her mouth to point out the obvious. Fuuta shoved a spoonful of strawberry filling between her lips, panicking.

“Tell me if that needs anything else!” He turned on his heel, slamming the bowl down on the counter.

He took a measured inhale. Then an exhale. He squeezed his eyes shut. “I’m not scared, you know? I… I would really want to. T-to kiss you, I mean. But if I did, it’ll only prove to you that you don’t really want this.” He turned. “It’ll only make you more upset, and I’m not the – agk!”

Mahiru cupped his cheeks and brought him down to her lips. He made a little strangled sound as he was pressed back into the counter. At that moment, Fuuta had a total of three trains of thought before his brain fried like an overheating computer and went blank.

The first: Holy shit!

Second: I’ve never done this before. God, am I doing this right? What am I supposed to do with my hands? Or my mouth? Should I keep holding my breath? I’m definitely not doing this right.

And third: Holy shiiiiiiiit!

When she pulled away, rosy-cheeked and smiling wide, Fuuta’s arm instinctively reached up to hide his face. He was painfully aware of the burning across his skin, surely turning him a mortifying shade of red.

“Well?” She asked, seemingly oblivious to the state she’d reduced him to. “That was proof enough for Mahiru! What about Fuuta-kun?”

“I-I, well. You –" You tasted like strawberries. “You’re damned lucky no one was around, pulling a stunt like that!”

Mahiru waved the comment away with a fluttery hand gesture. “I meant, what did you think? That wasn’t so bad, was it?”

He scowled at her. “I… I don’t know!”

Mahiru considered the statement. Rather than realize that, for the first time in his life, Fuuta was rendered entirely speechless, she took it at face value. “Well, then, I suppose we’ll just have to try again~”

“Wait, wha–?”

[royalarchivist]

Forever: Wow so, the vanilla eh, don't have the- the Eggs with a glock?

Phil: Yeah they don't have Eggs with glocks, yeah.

Forever: Yeah yeah yeah, that should be a- a nice addition.

Phil: You know, I was thinking that, and I might pitch it, I might pitch it to Mojang. Hey Chayanne you can get out with this. There you go.

Forever: What do you think about, like a baby zombie with a glock?

Phil: [Sighing heavily into his microphone] I would hate that. I would hate that so much.

Forever: [laughs]

Phil: YOU KNOW I WOULD. You know I would! Stop mocking me! [laughs]

Forever: I don't know what you're talking about! What's your problem with baby zombies? They're so fun and cute.

[Phil cracks up and Forever cackles]

Phil: Chat, that was literally the equivalent of, "Haha you're so funny and sexy, haha."

[ssruis]

Ruikasa hater because every time sm1 writes tsukasa & ignores saki’s existence to make rui more important to him im like (extremely loud incorrect buzzer) u have already failed to understand tsukasa tenma.

[strlitetheatre]

would yall gaf if i posted my pete board n playlist..... would anyone even gaf.......

[not-poignant]

Hi, Pia! I am in love with FFS. Was there anything written from Arden’s point of view? I think it would be interesting to hear Arden’s perspective on some of the events. He is such an interesting character.

Hi anon!

Nothing has been written officially from Arden's POV yet (though I have started working on something small idk if I'll ever finish it).

That was actually fully intentional. It's always a conscious choice as to whether I split the POV between the two main characters (like in Underline the Black) or if I only have one POV in a story (like in Falling Falling Stars) and it's always because I believe the story will be stronger with or without that second POV.

In Falling Falling Stars, it was more important to Efnisien's story and his arc to have someone comforting and strong in his life, and that was part of the wish fulfillment of his arc.

But Arden is someone with quite severe ADHD as well as PTSD and his mind can be pretty intense. His POV itself I didn't think would feel very relaxing to read, and would detract from the core purpose of the story.

The thing that makes Arden so interesting and tantalising is partly that we never see things from his perspective. And I've noticed over the years this happens with a few characters I specifically chose not to share a POV of because it makes them more interesting not to share it (the Raven Prince, Arden, Ash, Raphael in Palmarosa, Hank in Eversion, even Temsen and other side characters).

In that sense often your imaginations are doing a much better job of what I'm doing, and sometimes that's...very deliberate in the sense that I made a choice that a character would be more hooky and interesting if we didn't see inside their head.

Now that a lot of time has gone by, I've considered Arden perspectives a bit more, in the same way that I've started writing Ash perspectives etc. in the original Fae Tales universe. But they aren't specifically perspectives on previous events.

I think I'll always leave that up to folks imaginations. I spend a lot of time before a story thinking which way is best - both or one POV, and I usually have a pretty lengthy pros/cons list that still leaves me on 'it's better to not see Arden's views on certain events!' That doesn't mean he's thinking bad things, but I always have to consider the function of the whole story aslkfjdsa and sometimes that means omitting things that would be interesting to read in favour of things that I think are more interesting and/or become more interesting because they're omitted. :D

[official-english-major]

Not really an artist (this is my first attempt at digital art) but I was not seeing nearly enough fanart of Odysseus on Calypso's island

[liquidstar]

a friend who'd wait :)