#also! for slight context w/ their mom

[doctorjulie]

"I want you to tell me about forgiveness, growing up in your family. When did forgiveness come, and what did that look like coming from your parents?"

They'd talked about it some before, but this time the therapist was sensing a pattern emerge. She sat in calm attentiveness as her client began to launch into her explanation.

"-Well my parents, they were great. I mean really, I got so lucky with them. Whenever I did something bad and got in trouble," Not a very rare occasion for the strong-willed and emotional kid she'd been, "You know, I'd be sent away to my room to calm down and think about it. " She continued. "And then, my mom or my dad would come in to.. sit down explain to me, made sure I understood why what I did was wrong." A pause. "It was good, I mean. They're great parents. They, were always right." A slight shrug. "And then the conversation would be over, and I was always forgiven."

The former dentist's brow creases at the unreadable expression on her therapist's face, the scribbling of her pen. Julia folded her hands in her lap.

"Was that forgiveness, or was that righteousness?"

"Was it w-" Julia shakes her head like the question doesn't compute the unexpected question. "..I'm sorry?" She asked, needing clarification.

Patiently, the psychologist gives Julia a smile before reiterating the question. "Was the punishment of being separated, and the routine conversation where you come out accepting their explanation of why they were right and you were wrong, a routine that taught you about forgiving.. or that your parents were always right?"

Julia's fingers lock and interlock, shifting where she sat. Uncomfortable as she didn't appreciate the critique of her very loving parents' parenting.

righteousness. like high-horse, rang sorely familiar. Was it really righteousness if you were right?

UhHh..

Where were they getting with this? "--It was never a malicious thing, I mean it was really.. loving and patient and, respectful. Especially compared to what I've heard their parents would do, I mean they really made a deliberate effort with us to.

And, really, they did always end up being right."

"Of course. Julia, you have a beautiful relationship with your parents. I'm not-- calling that into question." A calming hand in the air to slow the woman's roll, a routine she had gotten well used to. "We all build on what we know. And it sounds like your parents did plenty of building. Now here we are, you're the adult and it's your turn."

Julia chewed her fingernail, before remembering the habit and promptly dropping it. She listened as the therapist continued,

"-A person acts up, behaves hurtfully. Does anybody do this without a reason, just to do bad?"

"Narcissists maybe."

"-Okay. The vast majority of people, including you, who are not narcissists, cause the harms that they do without the intent or even the knowledge of what those are. We act from our emotions, needs, situations-- however rationally or irrationally we choose to act. We have a context. Fair enough?"

Julia nodded. Yeah, fair.

"Was there any space devoted in that conversation before or after you were punished, that your parents would listen to your context? Where that emotion, or need or situation you were in, got focused on being understood, looked after?"

A long moment of wracking her memory, but she felt the answer to the question already, and is certain its the same one she's being steered toward. A breath out, a conceding shake of her head. "No, I guess not."

"Julia, I don't think your parents were malicious. I fully believe that this practice from them was done in the spirit of love, and far more respect than their generation was often shown- to offer an explanation. I think they were trying to be very loving, to give you the space and a chance to understand, and come away forgiven.

I also think you're trying to be loving when you do the same thing to Josh."

Julia froze. What- wait, but. no? it wasn't her who put the distance, it was just- too soon, how could she be sure he understood- what he'd done, to hurt her-- they could fix this if they took their time and space, and she wanted very much to forgive him and-

oh, no. oh no no no..

"Your parents did their very best when you were a child. But does it sound like the relationship of equals, if forgiveness is given out when and only when one person appreciates that the other is right?"

Oh god. Julia's eyes widened, and she shook her head no. That wasn't at all the relationship of equals that was, one person putting themselves high on a horse above the other.. "no, it's.. not. it's not equal at all."

"Is it forgiveness?"

"no." oh god, josh. he'd been right.. it was a punishment. remorse twisted in her stomach to think of it, and that she hadn't listened- only decided he hadn't understood her properly enough to see. "it's being right." righteousness it was.

oh josh, i'm sorry.

[patchedupartist]

It’s crossover time!

This time its Soul Eater and Project Sekai! Here we have Mafuyu as Crona. I mean they both have mentally a*usive moms with witch motifs, fear their moms and disappointing them, somewhere on the trans/nb spectrum (or at least as I and many others HC Mafuyu to be lol, you can disagree w this ofc, no hate).

Anyway I already have a lot of ideas for this already so I’ll put them here as well!

Kanade takes Maka’s role (as in both SE and PJSK they try to save Crona/Mafuyu) and Honami is her weapon, she can transform into a double axe! Honami volunteered to become her weapon as she noticed Kanade was pushing herself far to hard on her own and Honami wanted to make sure she kept safe and healthy (Also HonaKana is my comfort ship, but this set up allows for both HonaKana and KanaMafu to exist lol). That’s the main beef of it, here’s the rest of the cast!

Meister Emu - Hammer Tsukasa* Meister Rui - some type of gun Nene (lol) Meister Mafuyu (demon weapon/ black blood/ bow and arrow) Meister Kanade - double axe Honami Meister Akito - sword Toya Meister An - Brass Knuckles/ gauntlet Kohane Meister Ena - Whip Mizuki (no dirty thoughts, even if Mizuki likes to make jokes) Meister Saki - Throwing lance/ spear Shiho and Armored shield ichika Meister Airi - crossbow shizuku Haruka - death scythe (can project soul wavelengths) who is training Minor to be a proper Meister  Loids as Profs and Miku as Lord Death herself uwu

*sorry for those who wanted a RuiKasa partnership but I imagine if they try to partner up their soul wavelengths would clash like when Black Star and Soul tried to pair up. For context -> https://youtu.be/BrcTG4Za_zY (slight blood warning, but it’s all comical)

[nobodysuspectsthebutterfly]

I only ever heard the term "Robellion" in the context of that old LJ kink meme, so that's a new one on me. But I guess the name had to come from somewhere first, lol.

Anyway, not to slight that dude for his great work in putting that FAQ together (especially the Jon's parentage section), I know a good amount of those plot points/theories were actually common fandom discussion at the time. Like Aegon's possible survival, you can see that in westeros.org's circa 2005 FAQ, for example. Fandom - especially ASOIAF fandom - has always been a collective activity.

And speaking of which, that old worg page says they're building upon the work of a previous FAQ at "King's Landing", a site that had recently disappeared... took me a bit to find that one, but here we go, here's an ASOIAF fandom FAQ from 2001! That too is pre-AFFC, and covers the usual Jon's mom question (they too are pro R+L=J), as well as many such pressing questions as who is Azor Ahai, where is Rickon (they don't know), what happened to Theon, what do the HOTU visions mean, whose side is Varys on, and who are the ultimate good guys and bad guys of the series (Dany and the Others, of course). And also hilariously (well it's hilarious to me), a question I got asked just the other day, did Petyr actually sleep with Catelyn or what? This fandom never changes.

BTW, if anybody ever feels like engaging in a bit of ASOIAF fandom archaeology, GRRM's site always had a nice link list of fan sites (which is how I found that King's Landing site, via wayback). You can see such a fansite link list from 2001 here. Going through that page through the years shows interesting growth with non-English sites being added (2004), even more sites plus all sorts of other links (2007), until we get to what that page looked like when I stopped avoiding ASOIAF fandom and joined tumblr (2011). It's only when GRRM's site got revamped in 2013 to something relatively modern-looking that that link page disappears (noooo), but even then he still does have a fan sites directory! Mind you, I don't think that page has been updated since 2013, but surprisingly nearly every site listed is still going. Again, this fandom never changes. Never ever ever. 😅

It's kind of hilarious that GRRM occasionally blames social media for everyone figuring out the answer to certain theories before the books actually reveal it. George, it's been a thing since day 1, on usenet and web 1.0! Though I guess he does have a point about the sheer growth of the internet being for everyone rather than just the obscure hiding places of nerds... But at least, I think, GRRM's got a very good way of dealing with it:

I have certain things that I’m laying clues for that there’ll be revelations later on. Some people had put together those clues even as early as 1998 or adding things together. I said, ‘What do I do with that? These people have guessed the secret that I’m going to reveal in book six, people have already guessed that here, and book two is just out!’ You can ignore it and proceed with your plan, despite the fact that some people know where you’re going. Or you can get all panicky and say, ‘Oh my god, they figured it out! I can’t let that be. I’ll have to change it, I’ll have to go in a different direction.’ And I think some writers do that and I think that’s always a mistake. You know, if you’ve planned your book that the butler did it, and then you read on the internet someone has figure out that the butler did it, and you suddenly change it midstream and it was the chambermaid who did it, then you screw up the whole book. Because you get this foreshadowing early on and you’ve got these little clues you planted, now they’re dead ends and you have to introduce other clues and you’re retconning – it’s a mess.

I decided as early as Dragonstone’s heyday—and I think that site had gone away by 2000 or so—that I would stay off the fan sites and let those be for the fans, let those be for the readers. Let them argue their theories, whether they’re right, whether they’re wrong. But I don’t need to know about that.

Hello Butterfly! Sorry for a weird ask, but i could have sword that i've seen somewhere on your blog a link to an old writeup of r+l=j theory. the info there was the usual, careful combing thru Ned's POV chapters for proof, but i remember it *looking* old, like the most barebones of a webpage, just text on a white background, no header, no footer, barely any margins on the text. not a part of an old forum or anything either, but like someone just made that one page of theory and hosted it themselves. now i'm looking around for it and i simply can't find it :( if you know what im talking about, could you link it? if not, nvm, i know this is a crazy long shot. thank you!!

Not at all a weird ask, believe me! You're asking about the really ancient ASOIAF FAQ I found once, don't worry, I still remember it. This is the FAQ, it was made before AFFC, and was last updated in 2003. (It's hosted on Angelfire, which often amazes me that it's still going, but hey, good luck for us. You can even still make your own Web 1.0-style site there!) And this is the page on the question of Jon's parentage, which concludes that R+L=J is the most logical answer. It's still one of the best resources on that question, lacking only the primary evidence developments in AFFC (the Gilly's baby switcheroo) and ADWD (Bran's vision of Lyanna stick-swordfighting and of Ned praying that Jon and Robb become "close as brothers"). Hope that helps!

[the-eldritch-it-gay]

moss?

I’ve never given much backstory about Ghi’la’nas’len and I figured since they were the first chara I thought of it would be a good excuse to write about them óvò

It had worried their parents when they first told them about the shapes and lights in the woods. In retrospect, they understood why, but at the time the look of worry on their parents' face when Ghi’la’nas’len had tried to explain what they saw. 

“The forest is alive, mae, its lights sing in the shadows,” They had told their mother eagerly over dinner.

She had laughed at first, smiling warmly in a way that pulled on the scars covering her face.

“The fireflies, da’len? They surprised me at first too,” 

They shook their head, “No, not the fireflies, the wisps that blur and glow, the echoes and songs they are,”

Their mother’s smiling face quickly faded into one of concern. It didn’t make sense her concern, her confusion, her worry. They didn’t realize she couldn’t see what they did. After they went to bed, they lay awake and listen to their parents talking in hushed whispers. Their mother’s tone remained worried, almost afraid. Was she afraid of them? Of the forest? Silently, Nas’len crept out out bed and closer to their parents, ear pressed against the solid wood wall.

“You needn’t worry, Ségolène, Nas’len is safe,” Their father assured, “I know old habits are hard to break, but just know you needn’t worry,”

“I know, I’m sorry, I-,” They heard their mother sigh, “I don’t want anything to happen to him. The other erelan, they didn’t present like this. Did you see their eyes?”

“Magic presents in different ways, we can talk with the Keeper tomorrow,”

After a few moments of silence, Nas’len crept back to bed, but their mother’s words kept them awake for hours. Did you see their eyes?.

The next morning, their parents encouraged them to go off and play. It wasn’t unusual, but Nas’len knew it was because they wanted to talk to the Keeper in private. While their parents were easy enough to eavesdrop on, Keeper I've'avenirema, on the other hand, was not. So Nas’len wandered off into the forest again, idly chasing blurring, faintly glowing trails that wove between the trees, that hummed with a faint life. They ended up at a pond, and while they sat on its shore they look at their reflection in the rippling water.

For the rest of the day they would try to remember what color their eyes had been before, struggling to find any memory of the color of their eyes. They tried to remember if their eyes were always 2 different colors, if one had always been the same iridescent pale blue-green of The Beyond, if the other had always been a rich speckled burgundy.

One of the stories their father used to tell them about was himem’lin. The Changed Children, elves that changed suddenly when they were young, acted oddly, like some strange being had touched their mind, left its mark on them. 

Maybe that is why their father had seemed worried--no, not worried, curious, intriged--when they had come out of the forest that day to tell their mother about the things they saw.

Nas’len wasn’t surprised when they ended up being taken on as the Keeper’s apprentice. There were a few other apprentices, none quite their age--they knew they were young for an apprentice. U’lealen was a few years older than them, his magic having presented not that long ago. Ta’vunni was the next oldest, and xe was 8 years older than they were, nearly twice their age. Briefly, Nas’len had hoped that now at least they would have friends that understood them. But he watched U’lealen and Ta’vunni casting simple spells, conjuring light or flame, coaxing life into wilted plants, making small showers of sparks. But no matter how much Nas’len tried, they couldn’t do anything like that and when they got too close to the others they hurt.

They had tried to tell the Keeper that she was wrong, that their parents were mistaken. Tried to explain that they couldn’t do magic, all they could do was see things. The trails and echoes and songs and blurs of life, of souls and i've'an’lin. She had simply told them it takes time, that they would be able to cast eventually.

Never did she mention that she understood what they were seeing, nor did she say she could see it too.

She was right, though, about Nas’len being able to cast eventually. It was an accident really, they had snuck away from camp with Athdhea and were playing in the forest. Climbing trees, jumping in rivers, and wading up creeks. They had been trying to tell her about what they saw, and she kept asking them to point it out. In the daylight, though, it was harder to see, and even when they did catch a glimpse of it Athdhea couldn’t see what they pointed at. 

She had been half up a small tree when Nas’len tried again to point out to her the wisps on the horizon. In turning and craning her neck to look, she had lost her footing. Panic immediately set in, before she even hit the ground, before she started sobbing and clutching her arm. They didn’t know what to do, how they would explain her injury when they got back to camp. Carefully, they had touched her arm, as much as to comfort as to check the damage. And suddenly, that pain they felt when the other apprentices would cast was back, stronger, and they almost jerked back. Athdhea stopped crying, though, looking down in wonder at her arm. 

It was healed.

But Nas’len had a migraine.

The migraines worsened with their studies and initially, the Master Healer had simply told them they were suffering from mana’vi'ssan'alla. Not unheard of, though unfortunate to acquire when young. He had told them it was possible they would fade with time, but for most, the condition lasted a lifetime.

It was when they were 12 that Keeper I've'avenirema told them otherwise. I’ve'an'aria seithe, she had called it. Veil Skin. A sensitivity to the Veil, the Beyond, and its inhabitants. Being able to feel it all like it was their own skin.

She didn’t say if it was why they could see what they could.

It was in the same conversation she had tried to urge them to continue onto the path of being her Apprentice. They would make a fine Keeper, she said, that they were good at healing, and they were a good mage. The pounding of their skull told them otherwise.

When they chose their path--what their apprenticeship--would be the next year, they chose hunting. However reluctant, the Keeper let them.

Maybe if they had become Second, they would have learned more, better understood why they could see what they saw. But the reasoning hardly mattered. They didn’t need to know why or how or what happened to them, they were fine as they were.

There was a beauty to what they saw that didn’t need an explanation. And being a Hunter let them spend their days in the forests. Often they would take their journal, custom made with inky-black pages, out with them in the forests. Following the wisps, the weaving echoes and blurs of souls and spirits, it was easy to find quiet places, mossy ruins, strange clearings, circles of mushrooms. There were so many hidden places they could sit, lay back on a bed of soft moss and watch the meandering dance of everything, of animals, of ghosts and souls, of the Veil, of the Beyond and the i've'an’lin. With white chalk, they could draw on the black pages the beauty of it all, though no one could fully understand.

The Keeper occasionally asked them if they would be interested in rejoining their studies, in following Vir’Amelan. She would always mention I’ve'an'aria seithe, how it was rare and destined them to be a great Keeper. They always declined.

Their name Ghi’la’nas’len came from Ghi’la’nas, the guiding soul--fate, destiny, luck. But it also came from himelan--changer.

Maybe that was why she never seemed surprised.

[chryblossomjjk]

bts fic recommendations | 01.31.23

→ hi friends! this is a little segment i do every tuesday (reviewsday get it, aren’t i funny, pls tell me how funny i am) where i read and review two-three fics. as a content creator, i know how big of a role other creators play in your growth, therefore, i want to do my part in making sure everyone gets the recognition they deserve! so with that being said, please check out the amazing fics listed below. make sure to like, reblog, and leave feedback! ♡ #reviewsday #kikirecs

busted (pt 1 + pt 2) - @btsgotjams27 (jjk x reader | married au, parents au, smut)

summary: your husband comes home with a new gift and you’re not happy with it.

oh.... this is wholesome

im usually partial to girl dad koo but i've been looking at his bby pictures lately and he was so cute ugh :'( picturing two lil kooks is killing me (also i see where u got the inspo teehee v cute jess)

also he's such a lil shit pls like he knows what he's doing being such a slut and avoiding the conversation !!! we love him for it !!!

this is my fav style of writing by the way. like when the reader is just dropped into a slice of the character's lives and you figure them out based on the context clues. like the fact that kook's mom died is such a small detail here but it adds so much to the world. you did so well with seamlessly dropping tidbits and making it natural, not an easy thing to do!!! but you did it so so so well in this!!

him licking his fingers clean after wearing her pussy like a ring had me

dad jk putting it the fuck downnnnnn on that bathroom counter SHEESH IM SWEATING!!! also the baby interrupting right before the nut is peak wholesome content lmao!! and the way you incorporated the title TWICE PLS A GENIUS AND THIS WAS SO INCREDIBLY HOT and i would love to see more of this lil family :') <3

i want to be with you - @oddinary4bts (pjm x reader | idol au, s2l, f2l, fluff, slight angst, smut)

summary: moving to seoul has always seemed like a good idea, until the bubble bursts when you realize your new neighbor is park jimin, and he's not the sweet angel you've always imagined him to be. will the reality of park jimin forever be a nightmare, or will he turn into a sweet dream?

first of all this is just what i needed um what is fanfic if not a vehicle to live out your daydreams anywho... something about moving to a big city and finding love is so fairytale-ish and magical and uGh. the more of these i do the more im starting to think we're all the same bc I RELATE SOME MUCH TO OC GTFO!! and that introduction made me so attached to her because there almost this childlike nature about her?? maybe childlike is the wrong wording but she has so much excitement and ambition, looks to the future with so much hope despite everything that she's been through. yeah. love her dearly will protect at all costs. and the way you contrasted this intro with the intro to the present day to show how now its not a daydream anymore n shes actually dealing w the reality of starting n moving somewhere new *chefs kiss*

"Sometimes, you wondered if faith existed. If there was a bigger plan to the universe, something written for you already that you couldn’t really escape from. It was the thought that crossed your mind as the doors finished moving, and a dark-haired boy – man – stared at you as you just stood there, mouth falling open."

god if theres one thing my communications major literature minor loves its this !!!! foreshadowing !!! like idk this paragraph just tickled my brain in the right way. it really is so beautiful. one of those that you look back on on a second read and smile because it means so much more and aged even better. truly stellar writing.

ALSO BRO THIS OC IS LEGIT MEEEE LIKE HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO LIVE OUT MY CLUELESS Y/N WHO HAS NO IDEA WHO BTS IS AND IS MYSTERIOUS AND NON-INTERESTED WHEN I HAVE A WHOLE TATTOO DEDICATED TO PARK JIMIN LMAO THE CHIMMY KEYCHAIN TOOK ME OUT BYE!!

"You expected his features to have that same disgusted scowl he always reserved for you, but his brows fell, as if he was ashamed, or perhaps sad."

"It was so human you found you had to look away."

and then just the pull towards eachother like this connection was legit fated was so fucking good. them taking care of eachother when they're drunk. hangover fucking soup :'). and then after everything with collin and jimin's spiraling they really needed eachother. like the stars aligned to set this pair up and its so comforting to read. BUT LIKE THE SLOWBURN MADE IT FEEL SO SO EARNED. AND THE WAY YOU ENDED IT WITH THE TITLE I COULD FUCKING SCREAM!!! so so so good. thank you for taking the time to write and share this masterpiece on the platform, you've made it sm better with this beautiful addition :') friends do not walk, RUN to read this.

[axigailxo]

— teacher’s pet q&a —

hi luvs! welcome to the new tp q&a! i will be updating this post whenever new questions arrive (feel free to ask via ask box or replies!)

**some slight spoilers below !! just brief explanations of some later parts of the plot :)

—

How old is JK?

30 turning 31, bday is in september like in real life hehe

How old is OC?

22 turning 23 soon

How many chapters will there be?

i have 12 chapters planned in total, although that number varies as i still might add more or less. there will also be drabbles that tell what the characters are up to after the story is over :)

Will there be drama?

yes!! chapter 6 is the start of it all and it’s all a rollercoaster from there

Will Dahlia’s mom make an appearance?

yes! we’ll be seeing her for a moment in chapter 6 & 6.5 and oc will actually talk to her in later chapters

How old is Dahlia?

she’s four :)

Where does this story take place?

wherever u want it to!! i try not to describe settings (like cities/countries, house setup, or etc) as much bc i want it to be as personal to the reader as possible. it is a reader x jk fic after all hehe :)

Will OC and JK get caught? (bc of their student-teacher relationship)

…🤐 I will say tho that they make it to graduation with no issues regarding that, as for after you’ll just have to wait and seeee

The full series summary says his ex wife isn’t so much of an ex after all, so is he cheating on OC with her?

if you look a little further down from that summary (at the bottom of the series masterlist) you will see a note saying that no, he’s not cheating on oc and he just has some unresolved drama w his ex wife. his situation with his ex will be explained/unfold in later chapters (starting at 6.5)

Will we be seeing a jealous JK?

there will be a scene in a later chapter where jk gets jealous over the college boys looking at oc🤭

Is it going to be a happy ending?

ultimately, yes! there will be a bigger angst/conflict appearing in future chapters but despite that, there will definitely be a happy ending and solution to the conflict :)

Was Jk’s past marriage an arranged marriage or love marriage?

surprisingly it was a love marriage that just didn’t work out !!

Are we gonna have some flashbacks of how their relationship started and what took it to divorce?

i’m still unsure of whether i’m gonna write it as flashbacks or just have jk explain it to oc but either way, yes there will be context on his past marriage and why it didn’t work out!

-

if you have any questions that are still unanswered, don’t hesitate to ask!! <3

Series Masterlist

[station-118]

I’ve always gone by S1 & S2 happens in the same year.

With the pilot being very early January because we don’t see any mention of Christmas in the first three episodes at all. Chimney comes back to work after the rebar the day before Valentine’s Day (which is S1E6, only 2 episode after the episode he was injured) and he was said to be out for at least a month putting the third episode solidly very early January!

Which also means Abby’s mom’s birthday is not in December since it happens in S1E4 the episode Chimney gets injured.

In the second episode Buck says he’s been on the job for like 4ish months. And last season they mention how Buck’s been a firefighter for 7 years (the amount of time the shows been running for)

They’re really bad at telling us how much time passes within each episode and between episodes. We get a little context when we see the characters on shift one scene, then next scene they’re off shift at home w/ family, and then the scene after they’re back on shift (suggesting at least a day or more has passed within the episode). But they never tell us how much time passes between those scenes. So I’m not sure when exactly the last episode of S1 takes place. It could have been sometime in March/April, or it could have been sometime in June or July.

We also have the fact that several episodes in S1 all take place immediately after the other. E3 takes place immediately after E2 with May’s suicide attempt being show at the end of 2 and her being taken to the hospital at the beginning of E3. And E5 happening almost immediately after E4’s events with E4 ending with Abby’s mom disappearing late at night/early in the morning (while it was still dark outside) and E5 showing Buck helping Abby look for her during the day after he gets off shift. And E8 happens pretty closely (maybe a few days to a week or so later) after E7 since Hen cheated in E7 and speaks to Athena about it in E8 and E8 is also when Karen finds out from Ava sending them custody papers.

I also wanna say S1E7 the full moon episode happens in March. Mostly because I googled when there was full moons in 2018 and got, January 2, January 31, March 2, March 31, April 30 and so on. Given we know E6 takes place on Valentine’s Day that would suggest (if we go with when the full moon happened in the real world) E7 happened on March 2!

In S2E1 they mention a heat wave suggesting it’s still summer (whether that’s middle or late summer is up in the air). But they do mention it’s been a couple months (and only months, they do not say it’s been a year or more, just a couple months) since Abby left (end of the last episode of S1) I’ve usually just said it was sometime late August maybe early September or even potentially late September going into October given my next point,

S2E7 is the Halloween episode which would be the end of October. With the first 3 episodes of S2 taking place all (save for the beginning of the first episode which takes place over at least three separate shifts {Eddie’s first shift, the next shift where Buck and Eddie bond over a grenade, and the last shift shown when the Earthquake happens}) within the same day. With E2-3 being the 2 part Earthquake episode. So we only have 3 episodes of time between the events of the first 3 episodes of the season and the Halloween special. Which is not a lot of time.

Also slight side note. Chim runs into Tatiana again in S2E4 (so late September early October ish) and she’s heavily pregnant. Given this timeline (with their breakup being early January) the baby def wouldn’t have been able to be Chim’s unless she was several weeks or more past due. Which also on a bit of a sad note for Chim means that she met, dated, and got pregnant by her husband only a month or so after leaving Chim given how heavily pregnant she appeared. (Honestly they could have def had her look a little less heavily pregnant. Like just enough to make it obvious she was pregnant but not very far along so as to give more time between leaving a him and finding someone new and getting pregnant and married)

Then we have the Christmas episode in S2 where Bobby and Athena get engaged.

All of this meaning all these events happened within the same year.

So really Buck and Abby only dated for a few months before she left him. Which honestly makes it much worse!

So I'm rewatching 9-1-1 and I've been obsessing about Buck-Abby relationship because while it isn't downright toxic, it doesn't feel very balanced to me.

They were dating since Valentine's day, so about a year... and yet she doesn't even discuss with him her plans to leave? If youre planning to be with somebody longterm, this should be something that is discussed. Doesn't have to ask his permission, but should ask his opinion. Not just... I'm leaving.

Abby doesn't seem to treat Buck as an equal in the relationship.

And I did the math, Abby's mom was 75 when she died, meaning she had her birthday in December 2017. Abby leaves in the season finale, which is tbe next episode.

There's usually a a few weeks between episodes, so even if we're very generous and say that she leaves in February, Buck decides to leave Abby's appartment during the Halloween episode. This means that more than 6 months have passed since she left (without discussing it with him before hand). She hasn't been in contact with him much as he says to Maddie.

Now, we are never told if she actually tells him not to wait for her at any point but from his actions next episodes it doesn't seem so.

Honestly, I think the relationship was good for Buck in the long run, but I still think that he should discuss Abby in his councelling.

[autocann1bal]

part two of playlist analysis!!

pt 1 <;-

lets get right back into it!!

moving in place - shauna dean cokeland hc that lockwood was pretty fucking reckless after jess dies-before george showed up and did. very dangerous things.

summertime sadness - lana del rey just before lucy left, at the door, lockwood trying to get her not to leave.

star shopping - lil peep (for more context, i have a slight obsession with the stars and the stars mean more than the world to me) SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS SHES LOCKWOODS STARS WAILS SOBS SCREAMS SHOUTS ARFURFSDFJGK

scott pilgrim vs my gpa - mom jeans ...am i allowed ot say lockwoodcore again.

cherry wine - hozier GOT ANOTHER HOZIER SONG BOYS. its so soft. theyre sitting in bed at night after a particularly bad panic attack and lucy is stroking his hair as cherry wine plays. 

brian is the most beautiful - memo boy sleepy trance-ish vibe sort of thing dont ask idk it just. vibes

over population at the end of everything is less of a worry, haha ('a letter to you' from mother 3') - no love in the house of gold idk sad vibes you do with this what you want.

wasteland, baby - hozier OMOMWOMWOWOMOWOMOMWM beloved theyre so cute and in love shes brushing his hair as they get ready in the morning they are in love.

cdbaby <3 - chloe moriondo i had too. lockwood bumping ts the first night lucy is there and george is telling him to stfu bc hes to loud and its 10 pm.

el manana - gorillaz more lockwood being sad bc lucy is gone :(

november has come - gorillaz tbh this one should be in a george playlist i just feel like hed like this song

i really wanna stay at your house - rosa walton, hallie coggins locklyle reminds me so much of lucy and david (cyberpunk edgerunners) so they get the lucy/david song <3

luna moth - maya hawke lucy feels like shes ruined the group dynamic after she joined the company :(

tongues & teeth - the cranewives oh lordy lord lord i have many words to say and none of them will be coherent. EORROUFUFH this is such a lockwood song you dont understand hes so afraid of being close to people. hes horrible afraid of letting lucy in because hes afraid kipps is right and she'll leave. hes so afriad i love him dearly hes so me (im projecting) 

tv - billie eilish god lucy feels so useless and worthless. she ruined the teams dynamic as soon as she showed up. the repetition of 'maybe im the problem' at the end is her talking to herself in the shower

something in the orange - zach bryan god theyre so stupid and sad i love them i miss them dearly thats all u get thank u  genesis - grimes they are walking around at night. they should not be. genesis ensues. great - mccafferty uh oh mccafferty time be prepared (i do not support nick!!) god this song is so lockwood hes so insecure and sad. he thinks hes alone. PLOT TWIST lucy is outside his door also crying because she can hear his cries. throat - mccafferty mmm what if i just [hands lockwood (slight) substance abuse problems] kill me for this if youd like but i just. i think he. gasoline. - mccafferty song told from lucy's pov, why you ask? 'when your sister died/that changed everything' HRMST unforgiveable curse #3 - mccafferty 'im useless without her/i hope that i dissolve' LOCKWOOD YOU SILLY MOTHER FUCKER YOU ARE VALUED BY MORE PEOPLE THAN JUST LUCY FOR THE LOVE OF GOD cotton candy - mccafferty 'im so lovely/at making destructive decisions' the entirety of l&co ^ graveyard - mccafferty idk why just. lucy after the teams death vibes (the team being the team in her home town w norrie and thems. witchcraft - mccafferty ok ik the song. is not fluffy vibes but idk idk it just gives me fluffy locklyle cuddle vibes dont ask why because i am unable to answer. lights are on - tom rosenthal oh my god just imagine lucy walking past portland row after she left, staring into lockwoods window. hes there too. its to dark for her to see him but they make eyecontact before she briskly turns and walks in the other direction and lockwood just starts crying. cocaine jesus - rainbow kitten surprise same thing as lights are on maybe a slightly different font maybe its george who knows [shrug] sweet tooth - maya hawke bfs, even gfs if you will (yes im talking about a technically het couple, what about it?) mike walton - basement version - adjust the sails hrmrhrhff lockwood sitting in the basement pretending to be filing things WRONG hes crying :) romantic homicide - d4vd LITERALLY JUST THE FIRST LINE IS SO LOCKWOOD 'im scared/feels like you dont care' LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD LOCKWOOD thats all u get ty call it fate, call it karma - the strokes 'can i waste your time here on the sidewalk?' KIPPS THAT YOU??? nah this song is lockwood watching kipps and lucy talk on the sidewalk and is just like ??????????WHAT bathtub - the front bottoms YOU WILL NOT tell me this isnt anthony lockwood. you cant. i will go more in depth of this anyone asks. i mean anyone a single person can be slightly interested and i will do it. car lights - james marriott oh how fittes at 50 ball of them. i will not elaborate jim bogart - the front bottoms 'i would sleep better on your floor than i would ever in my bed' alright lockwood PACK IT UP YOU PATHETIC SIMP stupid for you - waterparks this time its LUCY being a simp PLOT TWIST lockwood may be a pathetic man but lucy is a pathetic woman they are so cute together my little squishy scrungles dark beach - pastel ghost hes sleeping on her chest and shes calmly braiding his hair fight me theyre so cute i love them riptide - vance joy yea i added riptide what about it. theyre so in love i love them theyre so cute sobs hes so in love shes so in love theyre so <33333 kids - mgmt GUESS WHAT ITS ANOTHER SONG ABOUT THEM BEING CHILDREN IN A TERRIBLE WORKPLACE tire swing - kimya dawson cozy breakfast vibes. lucy is singing lockwood and george are whistling. george is also cooking because lockwood isnt trusted near an oven after the careless whisper incident the 30th - billie eilish yall. yall remember when lockwood got shot. yea that. no surprises - radiohead is this self explanatory. orbitron - duster guess whos having a breakdown? ITS LUCY THIS TIME MF MWAHAHHAHAH. she is breaking down in the shower. oopsie. part 3 coming shortly :)

[afni-fics]

In Hindsight: Chapter 5: In the Present... At Face Value

In Hindsight: Chapter 5: In the Present... At Face Value by C_R_Scott

Rating: Teen And Up Audiences

Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply

Relationships: Tim Drake/Tam Fox, Jack Drake/Janet Drake, Janet Drake & Tim Drake, Jack Drake & Tim Drake, Lucius Fox/Tanya Fox, Tim Drake & Tam Fox

Characters: Tim Drake, Tam Fox, Janet Drake, Jack Drake, Lucius Fox, Bruce Wayne

Additional Tags: Tim Drake-centric, Family Drama, Family Secrets, Family Feels, Childhood Friends, Childhood Trauma, Childhood Memories, Childhood Sweethearts, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Good Parent Janet Drake, Bad Parent Jack Drake, no beta we die like robins, Bruce Wayne Tries to Be a Good Parent

Previous Chapter | Masterlist | Next Chapter

Story Summary: What if Tim Drake was originally raised by his maternal grandmother for the first eight years of his life due to "circumstances" involving his biological parents? What if Tim's grandmother was also the next door neighbor and occasional sitter for Lucius Fox's family?

Chapter Summary: When Tim was a child, his father Jack had told him and his mother that his beloved grandmother had passed away while she was in the hospital due to pneumonia. But eight years later, a trusted family friend is telling him something very different.

"Is that what Jack told you and your mother? He told you both your Nana was dead?"

Out of all of Bruce's Robins, past and present, Tim was proud of having the distinction of being known as the best detective out of all of them. His mind was as nimble as Nightwing was agile. He had figured out Batman's true identity at age nine. He discovered his father was lost in time when everyone else thought he was dead. He successfully routed Ra's al Ghul and prevented him from stealing Wayne Enterprises out from under the family.

Unfortunately, having such a nimble mind meant that the moment Lucius Fox's words left his mouth, Tim was already more than halfway to formulating a theory based on the statement he heard and the context of the conversation that immediately preceded it.  However, it was the horrified tone of Lucius's voice, the appalled expression he saw on the elder man's face, and something deeper in his subconscious that slammed the brakes on his thought processes and caused his brain to short circuit before it could reach the conclusion they had been barreling towards.

Tim froze. He felt his heart stutter in his chest. Outwardly, he clamped down on his composure before daring to add his voice to the air.  He took a deep breath and released it slowly. 

"I'm fine," he thought to himself. "This is all just a misunderstanding."

Everything Jack told him that awful day was burned into his memory. It was the very first death of a loved one in his life and his first experience with grief. However, it endured it. He accepted it. He moved on.

"Everything is fine."

"Of course he did," Tim said matter-of-factly with a slight tilt of his head. "Nana was sick. She passed away in the hospital. Dad told us the day he got the call."

However, Tim felt a churning start low in his stomach as he observed Lucius's reaction to his words. The sensation was faint at first, but grew slowly in intensity as he watched the man on the other side of the desk. Lucius's expression was stricken as he shook his head.  "No. Timber..." he started tentatively, as if trying to speak to a spooked animal. "That's not... Your grandmother isn't--"

"She had pneumonia," Tim interrupted with a shake of his head as he turned away from his old family friend, from the man who had been like an uncle to him once upon a time. "And she never got better." He closed his eyes as he clung to his faded memories from that horrible time so many years ago. "Mom was so depressed because we couldn't go to the funeral. She and Dad had a job in Cairo the same--"

"Timothy--"

He felt Lucius's hand settle on his shoulder. It should have been a comforting gesture, along with the elder man's gentle but firm expression of his full name. Instead, it caused of army of goosebumps to race across his skin and seemed to disconnect his brain from his voice box. Lucius waited until Tim hesitantly turned to meet and hold his gaze before continuing.

"--There was no funeral." 

The muscles beneath Lucius's hand tensed immediately. 

"It took a few months, but she recovered. She went home. She's alive."

Tim shook his head again before finally finding his voice. When he spoke, his tone was strained and brittle. 

"No. That can't be right," he said. "Dad said... He told us she died. Why would he tell us that if it wasn't true?" 

"I'm sorry Tim, but Jack lied to you and your mother."

The faded memories in Tim's mind began to crack. The aborted theory his brain had been processing earlier suddenly re-asserted itself and reached its logical conclusion. However, it was not a conclusion that Tim was in any frame of mind to accept.

Not in that moment.

"I'm sorry Lucius. I... I need to go."

Before Lucius could say anything more, Tim shrugged himself out from under the older man's hand and slipped out of the office, shutting the door quickly behind him.

As soon as he was in the relative privacy and safety of the elevator, he used his security clearance to make sure it would go straight to the garage where his car was parked without stopping on any other floor. As the elevator descended, Tim backed himself into the corner and buried his face in his hand while his mind ran a mile a minute. 

"Nana can't be alive. Dad said she died...

"But Lucius would never say something like this if it wasn't true...

"But it can't be true...

"If Nana's alive, then that mean...

"No! That makes no sense... 

"Dad wouldn't have lied to me about Nana...

"He wouldn't have lied to Mom...

"He couldn't have...

"He didn't...

Tim lifted his head from his hand and stared at hand, which was trembling slightly.

"Did he?"

   It was a little nearly ten in the morning when Bruce's cell phone started ringing, the light from the screen illuminating the nightstand that rested next to his bed in the otherwise pitch black room. A weary arm snaked its way out from beneath the thick comforter on the bed. It took several tries, but finally the hand landed on the phone and pulled it toward the head still lying on the pillow.

Bleary eyes squinted as they peered at name on the too-bright screen before reluctantly pressing the "Accept" button. 

"Yes Lucius?" Bruce mumbled, his deep voice weighed down by the bone-deep fatigue trying to drag him back into slumber.

"Is Tim at the manor?"

Bruce's brow furrowed. There was an edge of distress in his old friend's voice that managed to shove some of the lethargy out of his mind with a small spike of adrenaline. He pushed himself up into a seated position. "He shouldn't be? Last I saw him was around five am in the Cave before I went to bed. Did he not make it to the office?"

"He did," Lucius confirmed as Bruce put on his bluetooth headset so he could pull on his housecoat. "But something happened in the office that upset him, and now he won't answer my calls and the tracker in his work cell has been shut off."

It didn't take long for Bruce to leave his bedroom and go a few doors down the hall to Tim's bedroom. As he expected, the room was empty. The bed itself was still perfectly made with Alfred's usual attention to detail, but his closet door was open and there was a notable gap where one of his spare business suits was missing. His bathroom door was also ajar. Tim may not have slept at the manor, but he did shower and change there before heading to work. 

"What happened at the office?" Bruce asked as he left Tim's room and made his way downstairs to the kitchen. 

It took longer than it should have for Lucius to answer. "It's complicated."

Bruce frowned. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. "One moment Lucius." He'd just entered the kitchen and zeroed in on Alfred, who was sitting at the breakfast nook sipping a cup of tea. 

The old butler was startled at the sight of the Wayne patriarch awake and out of bed before noon. "Master Bruce? What on earth--" 

"Has Tim come back from the office this morning?"

Alfred shook his head. "No. I haven't seen him since he left the manor around eight am." He set down his teacup and immediately got to his feet.

"Can you check the Cave and make sure he didn't return when no one was looking? Also, if he's not there, can you activate the tracker in his personal cell and find out where he is right now?"

"Of course sir." With a crisp nod, Alfred went to the library where the entrance to the Cave was hidden.

Finally, Bruce turned his attention back to Lucius. "I'm back, so explain. What happened at the office?"

"It actually started last night when Tim got hit with Crane's new fear toxin..." Lucius told Bruce about the encounter Tim had with Tam after crashing into her apartment, and quickly explained how Bruce's adopted son was actually the same boy who used to live next door to him for several years as he was raised by his grandmother.

Bruce absorbed the new information with confusion. "Ok... That's definitely surprising, but doesn't sound bad at all. Why would that upset Tim?"

On the other end of the phone, Bruce could hear Lucius groan in frustration. "When Tim was eight, his grandmother got sick and ended up hospitalized so he had to go back to living with his parents. Then Jack told him and his mom that his Nana had died."

"I remember. Before I adopted Tim, he told me all his grandparents had passed away, and he had no other living relatives."

"Jack lied."

Bruce's blood ran ice cold in his veins. "What?"

"Tim's grandmother never died. Her name is Susan Klein and she still lives next door to my family. I tried to tell Tim his Nana was alive, and that's when he ran off. I think he's in denial."

Bruce had to sit down as he processed this information. For years, he'd cared for Tim while his parents were out of the country, and then after his mother died and his father was in a coma. And then when Jack died, he adopted the boy he'd grown to love as his own son... But it was all under the assumption that Tim had no one else in his life. Tim had believed he had no one else.

And it was all a lie?

"Why?" Bruce asked, confused. "Why would Jack lie about that?"

Before Lucius could offer any explanation, Bruce saw Alfred emerge from the library. "Timothy is not in the Cave, but I did track his phone. Right now he's stationary in his new house in Gotham. He's logged into his workstation in the Nest." The old man's brow furrowed. "I've tried reaching out to him both by phone and computer, but he's not responding to anything."

Bruce got to his feet. "We can talk more about this later, Lucius. Tim's at his new place in the city, so I'm going to check on him now."

"I'll have Tam meet you there."

"That's not necess--"

"Do either you or Alfred have a key to the front door, and have your biometrics been programed into the house security system yet?"

Bruce and Alfred shared a glance, but said nothing, much to both of their mutual surprises.

Lucius apparently took their joint silence as a negative. "Tam was present while the theater renovations were in their early planning stages, and her biometrics were preinstalled into the security matrix while Tim was programming it. She can get you in without the Nest locking itself down." Bruce could hear the sound of Lucius's computer shutting down as well as the rustling of an overcoat being pulled on. "I'll call Tam on my way home."

"You're leaving the office?" Bruce asked as he went to his bedroom so he could change out of his nightclothes.

"This is a family emergency, and Susan has been like a grandmother to my own kids for nearly twenty-five years now. She needs to know her grandson is alive and well."

Bruce had just gotten back to his room, though he paused at the door. That feeling of ice in his veins had reasserted itself. "Did she think Tim was dead?"

In the background, Bruce could hear the sound of Lucius taking the elevator. "Honestly... we didn't know what had happened to him," Lucius admitted in a low tone. "We weren't sure exactly what Jack was capable of back then."

Once inside his bedroom, Bruce immediately began to quickly gather his clothes to change. "Please Lucius. I want to help my son, but I need more information. Tell me what you know about Tim's parents and grandmother."

Author's Notes:

At first, I was going to make this a much longer chapter. However, midway through writing it, I decided to split this chapter into two parts, with another chapter taking place in the past splitting the differences. I really hope everyone is enjoying this tale so far. If anyone has any questions or comments, please feel free to post them. I'll do my best to answer them.

#tim drake#tam fox#tim/tam#red robin#fanfiction#wip#rr: in hindsight#batfam#batfamily#lucius fox#bruce wayne

[sticktailwcdesigns]

tadpole concepts! design thoughts under cut

definitely something i wanna tweak a bit more before i finalize my design, and may even change more drastically once i’ve designed sasha?

a lot of this was working out my color concept for a leopardfoot design since i wanted to show family resemblance between him and his grandma (which is how i landed on green eyes since pine and leopard both had them- i was toying w amber/yellow like tigerclaw or blue like sasha but green is more froggy hehe)

but any we have

0. general build; i kinda see tadpole being a bit tubby but long legged like a froggy? he takes more after his mom sasha and has a rounded head but there are a few tells linking him to tigerstar like a bit of fluff in the tail and the big paws w long claws 

1. just sweet and simple black cat no fuss or frills. definately would be fine in context but maybe a bit too simple for a stand alone drawing of him

2. bottom left corner, i color picked from my tawnypelt design but the brown is MUCH lighter without tortoiseshell patches so he looks a bit like a chocolate point cat? might work if i just ignore he is a black cat and/or make hawkfrost notably lighter but i move onto darker shades

3. top middle just a darkening of 2, i left the tail brown though to give him a bit of a tadpole look

4. bottom middle more complex version of 3, also added extra shade to head and kinda liked it so it stuck. aslo freckly because frog and leopardy pattern i will likely use for leopardfoot. this one i think i would like for illustration

5. top right, went back to simple black but gave him markings to take after sasha a bit more (and also lilypad eyebrow coz frog) fond of this one and probably reads best as tadpole but i know my personal bias leans more to freckles agslkgjs

6. slight simplification of 4 and minor adjustment to paw markings

i think i will lean towards 3 or 6 for the final design il have to sleep on it though and may change depedning on how i draw sasha and hawkfrost in future!

[bittybattybunny]

I am curious, how did the reunion between jelly belly murder au Ru and his parents go? Like, did they think their son was dead for tree years, only for Ru to suddenly contact them once he regained his memories?

I ACTUALLY DO HAVE THIS FULLY WRITTEN SOOO YOU GET FICLET :’3c

It is a little long but

it actually went really well.

They did think he was dead but they were also told ‘there was an accident so you can’t see him.’ they held a slight hope maybe it was a government conspiracy and their son would return

And Eclipse/Amaris was the one to contact them cuz he was too nervous!

“Ready?” She asked as she squeezed his hand tightly.

He took a deep breath and nodded. He began to fret, “W-what if they are mad?! What if they reject me?!” He panicked and flinched as his wife poked his nose.

“Arulius. Calm down.” She chuckled, “If they do so what. We’re trying to mend things.”

He groaned and ruffled his chestnut hair tipped in dark violet. “B-But Amaris! As far as they know I’m dead! Three years! Actually almost 4 years!” he chittered a bit and hung his head, “Now I’m some weird Alien mix. I didn’t even KNOW I was an alien mix!” he trilled sadly and leaned on her with a sigh, “I’m scared.”

“I’m right here.” she smiled as she nuzzled against him, “Weird alien or not you’re their son somewhat still. If anything I bet they’ll be happy to see you!”

“I don’t know. My stomachs are all flipping,” he mumbled as they headed towards the door.

Amaris stared, “Fancy.” she whistled. 

“Yeah, I um.. Come from a well off family.” he chuckled and nervously reached for the doorbell. He held his breath and gripped his wife tightly as his hearts beat erratically.

The door opened to an older woman in a wheelchair whose eyes grew wide as she looked up.

“Uh… Um... Hi… mom….” Arulius sheepishly spoke first. He couldn’t make eye contact but gasped as she moved closer and hugged him.

His eyes watered and he knelt down hugging her tightly. 

“I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I’m sorry.” he mumbled as he held onto her and she silently brushed his hair.

Amaris gave a soft smile and frowned only a moment seeing a stern-looking man appear behind the door. She waved, “Hello.” she smiled sweetly.

“Arulius.”

“Y-Yes?!” he shot straight up, standing firmly. He looked at the man waiting, face pale. He gasped as the man pulled him into a hug.

“H-Hi dad…” he mumbled, hugging him back.

Amaris smiled happily, hands folded behind her back, “I told you it’d work out you silly goose.”

“You must be Amaris.” The woman finally spoke in a soft tone. “Thank you for your call.”

“Of course~!” She sang happily, “He was pacing for over a week once his memories came back. I had to physically drag him from the car.” She giggled.

“A-Ammy.” Arulius frowned as his father finally let go. He flinched as his arm was punched. He rubbed the sore spot, “Hey…”

“Why are you so nervous about seeing your parents?! We thought you were DEAD!” His father scolded, “Honestly that was the best news we’ve had!”

“Well just… I um… Ammy… did you… mention... Um… my ‘condition’ to them?” he made air quotes as he spoke, “Or just… I was alive.” he gulped trying to not chitter.

“I figured that was something for you to tell them.” She admitted as they were led inside, “I’m just your wife for moral support.”

“WIFE?!” His father choked a bit, “W-what happened to Vanessa?! I knew a friend had emailed us but?! WIFE?!”

“Oh had I not mentioned that dear?” Arulius’s mother chuckled, “I thought I had. They even have children. Which I’m dying to meet.”

“W-well hold that thought, mom..” Arulius sighed, “Andy um… Isn’t normal. They inherited my… condition.” He looked at them as he held his hands up, “P-Please don’t freak out. I-It’s easier to show than trying to explain.”

“Arulius what is with you I don’t think I’ve ever seen you this timid since you decided to head to space.” His father sighed, “Alena can I smack our son?”

“Regis calm down. Ru sweetie you know we love you.” Alena sighed, hand on her cheek.

“I hope you... Keep that…” he sighed and looked at his wife who gave him a thumbs up. He let his features slide into his typical half human half alien look with glowing eyes and purple skin, “I um.. Accidently got… merged with an alien parasite…” he rubbed his neck ashamed, “It’s why I forgot I WAS Arulius law and not just… some body snatcher….” he sighed and held his face in his hands, “I know. This is wrong. I’m sorry I’m so sorr---” he flinched as his parents both moved to hug him. Yellow tears bubbled and dripped down his cheeks as he hugged them tightly.

When they let go Alena smiled, “So! When do I get to meet my grandbabies!” She grinned.

“Tomorrow if you like!” Amaris laughed, “We live over in New Horizon City, on the outskirts, big farm house so Ru can.. Um…” she frowned, “Relax?” she scrunched her nose, “this is not his uh… actually at this point I have no idea what counts as the “real” and not.”

“They all are. I guess that’s my… Subcontanian form?” he scowled thinking about it, “I uh turn into a really large monster snake… worm?? Ammy what the heck am I anyway? We’ve never really had to explain this.”

“Snake I think with a grub.” She snickered, “it’s quite interesting but he does great work when we’re in space. We’ve even been able to figure out new systems to prevent more cases.”

“Mmhm…” he fretted. He gave a heavy sigh as he rubbed his neck, “So yeah… I’m not dead but.. I’m not the same person as when I left and...Vanessa… she’s dead. For real. I… Pushed her out an airlock??”

“Ru context.” Amaris giggled, “Vanessa had the same thing occur but she was trying to murder everyone on the ship while he was preventing it.”

“Well, she was weirdly clingy so good riddance.” Regis sighed, “You two hungry? I have burgers and dogs on the grill.”

Arulius perked up, “Oh yes please!” he grinned revealing his sharp teeth.

“Ugh. Son go see a dentist.” His father laughed.

He covered his mouth and started to laugh with him. He smiled at his parents and at his wife. He pulled her close and kissed her cheek, “Thank You Amaris.”

“Mmhm.” she grinned, “Any time my love.” she kissed him back.

“That isn’t weird?” Regis chuckled.

“I’ve only ever known him like this so.” she grinned, “Ru is Ru. Oh right, our youngest is similar, Andy is a hybrid, so they have some weird bits. Harriet is my daughter from a previous… encounter.”

“I don’t regret killing him.” Arulius huffed. “I love Hattie so much. I’d do it again,” he growled, a loud chittering in his throat.

His mother stared with wide eyes, “Is that normal?”

“Ah!” he stopped looking away, “yeah. Sorry I’m… really weird now.” he laughed and scratched his cheek returning to his human look, “I even ate a damn pumpkin like an apple!” he grimaced, “what’s worse is I liked it. Or the turkey. The coffee beans. Ammy honestly why have you never stopped me?!”

She giggled, “Well how was I supposed to know you had a human life. I just thought you were a weird alien who looked humanish.” she snickered.

He rolled his eyes, “yeah I’m not living the pumpkins down. Gods. I am dreading when we speak to Sena next… Plus.. we need to talk about Craft and Marcus…”

“Hrm.. Maybe not. For now.” she put her fingers to her lips, “let’s just have a nice lunch and worry about the body-snatching later.” she grinned.

He sighed and pulled her close, kissing her forehead, “Fine.”

“So what do you do? Clearly you met up in space--” Regis chuckled heading to the back door to the yard. 

“I’m a biomechanical engineer!” Amaris smiled, “I fix medical equipment. But I also have a doctorate in biology. I got it while I was raising Hattie, my brother’s a geologist so he was part of the Horizon Program before I joined and that’s how I met Ru on my second space mission!”

“Mmhm.” he chuckled, “I never even used my degree in space. But then again I forgot I had one.” he laughed loudly.

He looked at his parents who smiled and grinned, “Just wait until you meet the kids!” he held his hands out as he began to talk about them.

Amaris smiled and pulled her phone snapping a photo of them laughing and texted it to Harriet with a big grin, want to meet your grandparents tomorrow? Or tonight if you can get Unca Sena to drive you.

She giggled as her husband waved her over and moved to join, holding his hand tightly.

[anarcho-mom-unist]

A survey of my ‘spotify wrapped’ from 2020

So, I listen to music between a lot of platforms, I hate how spotify operates as a company (and like in a way that’s pretty comparable to my loathing of the publishing/distribution sides of creative industries,) and I fucking refuse to ever pay for spotify askjdhd

However based on the aggregate of my 100 most-listened-to songs from a year of mostly hitting shuffle on an artist, album, or playlist on mobile, I do have some reflections and highlights. From that I made something of a survey of that list which includes my #1 and #100 song in addition to 1 song from each set of ten, for a total of 12 songs. These represent artists and genres I really got into this year, as well as longtime favorites that are worth talking about:

1. “Bad Trip” - Bad Trip (single) - Xena Elshazlii & Fady Haroun: "Bad Trip” is probably my favorite 2020 release, like if I had to pick one. The track has incredible energy, from the soft piano and vocalization intro to the verse with it’s sparse drums, subtle bass line, and slight strings to an absolute banger of a chorus with punchy staccato synths, reinforcement of the drum groove, and addition of an electric guitar. Elshazlii & Haroun pack a lot into 2-and-a-half minutes of music, and the variations in texture, mix, & music in each iteration of the song’s discrete sections are *chef’s kiss* ---verse 1 and chorus 1 are not identical to verse 2 and chorus 2, to say nothing of the short instrumental transition b/n the first chorus and second verse. Whenever I listen to “Bad Trip” I’m compelled to hit ‘repeat’ ---which is not a normal occurrence for me---and experience the builds and releases that this track brings once again. I don’t know much Arabic beyond the slang terms and exclamations that peppered my grandparents’ & parents’ speech when they spoke to each other in Armenian, but I’d be a liar if I didn’t tell y’all that “Bad Trip” is among the songs that make me want to learn the language so I can better sing along w/ them.

3. “City Lights” - Sailorwave II - Macross 82-99 ft. Kamei:  "City Lights” is the opener to Macross 82-99′s 2018 EP Sailorwave II, and it does that job immaculately. While I recommend the entire EP and an exploration of the Future Funk genre as a whole, you can’t go wrong with getting a taste of either through “City Lights.” The track bursts to life w/ synth brass chords and fast drums, quickly finding its way into punchy up-tempo horn line w/ light rhythm guitar and an active & bouncy bass line joining the mix. “City Lights” more or less goes from A to B to C and after the instrumental opening, the track shifts to a more under-voice horn line offering a countermelody to a mid-to-low register vocal line which is soon after joined by high voices punctuating the beginning of each phrase. The horns, guitars, and singers are cut from the track as the song enters its final section, a rap verse from featured artist Kamei accompanied with a slower-moving bass and light synth chords & wash in the middle register. Taken all together, “City Lights” ---like “Bad Trip” before it---packs a lot of music into a short duration & leaves me wanting more, which I especially long for when listening to the track outside of the context of the EP (which is what I usually do.)

12. “Turn to Hate” - Pony - Orville Peck: There’s a lot I could have done better in 2019, and “check out Orville Peck” is pretty high up there. “Turn to Hate” is a song that is at once heartrending, sincere, & catchy as all get out. Peck does one of my favorite possible things a musician can do on this track, and that’s make me Feel Things at a quick tempo. The vulnerable lyrics sung in outlaw country bass are supported by a fairly simple chord progression that acts as a solid foundation for a lot of texture ---moving guitar lines in the accompaniment part and middle-ground lines that move in and out of the melodic foreground. My moment of pure delight on the track is Peck’s laconic “yeehaw” that leads into a guitar solo that does so much work w/ its relative simplicity. “Turn to Hate” is an excellent song to get you into Orville Peck’s music if you aren’t already, if any of this piques your interest then I strongly recommend exploring his output of classic country meets 2010s indie meets camp gay sensibilities meets emotional realness. (This is as good a place as any to advise you to check out Yola and her album Walk Through Fire.)

27. “Water No Get Enemy” - Expensive Shit - Fela Kuti & Africa 70: I’m a newcomer to Afrobeat which is a fuckin’ shame because it contains a lot of the things I love most in music: rhythmic density and variety, jazz and “folk” idioms working together, a sense joy in the music-making with righteous anger at injustice in the music’s purpose, and a kick-ass horn section. "Water No Get Enemy” by Fela Kuti & Africa 70 is as good an intro as any to Afrobeat as it’s a delightful & excellent piece of music by the genre’s pioneer. It’s worth mentioning that in addition to its musical quality, Afrobeat is also deeply connected with Pan-Africanism and the resistance to the presence of European colonizers in Sub-Saharan Africa. To be frank, whatever I write can’t really do justice to this song or the musical movement from which it comes, go listen to it... a jam you can dance to while hating the British!? Immaculate. 

31. “Vardavar” - EP No. 1 - Tigran Hamasyan: The first of two songs from Armenian Jazz-fusion pianist/keyboardist and composer, Tigran Hamasyan, is a fast moving rhythmically dense piece of music named after the Armenian holiday of the same name ---Vardavar is a holiday of pre-Christian origin that Armenians celebrate in July in observance of the transfiguration of Christ, it involves throwing buckets of water on each other! Appropriate to its namesake, the running piano line through much of the track and the melodic lines are both exceptionally fluid and reminiscent of water. The rhythm of the tune follows a highly irregular subdivision of the bar that it’s best to feel along w/ as a listener ---seriously, unless you’re transcribing the tune or practicing/rehearsing it, don’t worry about counting---and get lost in with the flow of the music. Notable features of the track are the dense layering of instrumental/vocal lines on the melodic and countermelodic material, breakdowns & entire sections where the music takes to longer notes, “slower” feel & division of the bar, and a slower harmonic rhythm, unexpected unisons b/n instruments, and the transformation of Armenian folk melodies & texts between vocalized material and statements of the original material. There is no living musician whose work I love more than Tigran’s and if you’re not familiar with it “Vardavar” is an excellent place to start.

46. “Boyish” - Tropical Jinx - Little Big League:  "Boyish” is better known as one of the singles from Japanese Breakfast’s sophomore album Soft Sounds from Another Planet where Michelle Zauner presents the tune at a slow tempo with an unassuming instrumental accompaniment, wash of synths in the chorus, and low-register closing guitar solo which leaves the audience with a sense of melancholy & vulnerability. The original version from the 2014 LP of Zauner’s former band, Little Big League, offers a different take on the text: noisy guitars, driving rhythm, aggressive drumming on a rock groove, and a vocal delivery offering more of the rage of heartbreak than its sadness. Zauner refers to “Boyish” as an ‘ugly girl anthem’ and that intention is very apparent on this version of the track ---whereas the Japanese Breakfast take on it gave me a sense of being in the gender hinterlands b/n acceptable presentations of masculine and feminine. Both versions of the song are really worth seeking out for different reasons, and I chose to highlight Little Big League on this list because they’re a solid guitar-driven emo band that deserves appreciation in its own right.

50. “Dreaming” - Eat to the Beat - Blondie: What do I need to say about Blondie!? A CBGB act from the late-70′s that straddled the worlds of Punk and New Wave at their peak with a mix of an exceptional rhythm section (that bass!) diverse and compelling guitar work, and the captivating and ever-iconic vocals and presence of Debbie Harry. “Dreaming” might be my favorite song from Blondie and has had a special place in my heart since I first listened to them with my mom. It’s one of those songs that I’m tempted to call a perfect pop song: a joyful performance, lyrics that are at once simple and relatable ---whom amongst is unfamiliar with longing!?---music full of hooks & containing the kind of energy that just goes and takes you with it!

65. “Holy” - Shadow Theater - Tigran Hamasyan: The second entry from Tigran Hamasyan comes from his 2013 album Shadow Theater ---an excellent work as a whole---and is one of the slower, more spacious, and simpler tracks from it. “Holy” is a setting of the Armenian liturgical piece “Soorp Soorp” which is frequently used in the celebration of the Eucharist (even in the Armenian Protestant church I grew up in) and it’s achingly beautiful. There’s always something to be said about a musician capable of complex and virtuosic feats on their instrument doing something very simply and very well, and that’s what the entire ensemble brings ---including frequent collaborator Areni Agbabian who provides the vocals. Even as the texture thickens in the middle of the song, the middle ground & harmonic support coming from strings and bassoon (Ben Wendel) is simple, under-voice, and reverent. “Holy” is the kind of piece of music that offers an encounter with God ---even if one would never otherwise believe in something beyond the material; even just for a moment.

77. “The Day the World Turn Day-Glo” - Germ Free Adolescents - X-Ray Spex: X-Ray Spex is one of those bands I’ve listened to before on a recommendation I received ages ago but never really followed up on beyond the one song sent my way. “...Day-Glo” is a fuckin’ banger of song that just bursts with this wonderful energy from the jump & showcases the best qualities of X-Ray Spex’s sound: driving guitars, wild saxophone lines, and chaotically charismatic lead vocals from singer Poly Styrene. X-Ray Spex have an output that is wild and fun as hell to explore, and “...Day-Glo” is an excellent place to start ---you’d also do well to check out their more notable song “Oh Bondage, Up Yours!” 

84. “Marquee Moon” - Marquee Moon - Television: Listen, you don’t need to read some internet lesbian with a music degree go off about Television ---one of the most musically interesting acts to come out of CBGB and one of many definitive proofs that Punk is not a label that people should fucking fight about having a true definition of. Clear 11 minutes in your day, find a pair of headphones so you can experience the use of stereo in the recording and enjoy each element of the song, especially with regards to Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd’s interlocking guitar lines.

96. “Leylum” - Kokorec - Collectif Medz Bazaar & Sevana Tchak: Armenian folk music, baby!! Collectif Medz Bazaar offer a lively and joyful rendition of the classic folk song “Leylum” which has been burned in my mind from church and community gatherings ---the fun ones with music and all of your aunties dancing in a circle and such. Listen to this song and DM me if you aren’t dancing along of joining in on the response parts as best you can. I think this particular recording offers a nice entry point into an exploration of Armenian music, the instrumentation hits a lot of the staples of Armenian folk ensembles ---duduks, dohl, dumbek, clarinet, shvi, etc.---and the song itself is an up tempo dance tune which I find to be easier to start with than ballads or liturgical music.

100. “Electrastar” - Paradize - Indochine: Back in the hazy past of 2017, one of my friends from undergrad and I were hanging out and playing music for each other. In a departure from his usual library of French Baroque music, he played a song by French New Wave band, Indochine. That song was “Electrastar” which is a consistent favorite of mine, my favorite song from its album ---Paradize, which is already a solid record---and a great entry point into the musical output of a band which has been active for about 40 years. "Electrastar” features driving rhythm guitar, pulsing synth under the texture, eminently catchy chorus and post-chorus, and a very care-full and effective approach to the mix. Also, not for nothing but that album cover is 👀

Survey of 2020 Listening

[tfw-no-tennis]

mtmte liveblog issues 4&5

its delphi time babey

I'm sorry but drift & co look like such fuckin nerds on their scooter things on the cover lmaooo

oh god. seeing the first page just reminded me of how horribly confused i was for this whole little arc the first time i read it. i was like ok, who are all these new characters, and also why does everyone look so similar

anyways now i now what's going on. i love first aid

love the running continuity of rung being the literal only psychologist on cybertron (except for fr*id but that's later). no wonder everyone's fucked up they all have to share a single therapist 

ok i find it extremely funny that first aid was demoted from doctor to nurse, as if that's a thing that happens EVER - I mean it'd be one thing if first aid was a nurse practitioner (which i doubt is a position that exists here), at least that demotion would make sense, but like...the doctors i work with don't know how to do most nurse stuff (like BP, cathing, vaccinations, hell even using some of the thermometers - that's all stuff nurses/etc do), so demoting one to a nurse would be a disaster (just like promoting a really good nurse to a doctor would be a bad idea). anyways i know I'm being pedantic but it Be like that when you work in the medical field and read something that has medicine-related stuff in it

i love swerve giving ratchet the tiniest free drink ever lmaooo

is that skids being a rowdy drunk in the bg lmaoooo

unironically i love medical statistics. keep it comin

i love magnus’s giant sternal chestpiece thing. its like a bird’s sternum but without the massive pec muscles attached 

i love magnus and rodimus’s dynamic so much

oh pipes....im so sorry but this fun space adventure is going to be not so much fun for you

ratchets ideologies are certainly interesting, and i liked seeing how they changed over the course of the story

drift: why would i be SCARED of the DJD, I've got a SWORD, two swords even,

hvbhajkhfbsdjkf pipes really said ‘oi, you two - what's this, then?’ that's the most british fucking thing, that's literally something i say when I'm doing an overexaggerated british accent, oh my god,

PIPES IS SUCH A TINY DUMBASS. ILY SIR BUT WHAT ARE YOU DOING

aaaand now you're covered in dead bodies, pipes. look at your life, look at your choices

drift epic sword moments

drift confirmed for the kinda weird guy who has katanas that he uses to like, cut up fruit and water bottles in his backyard while rodimus films him

‘i thought i heard...bickering’ lmaooooo

ah, so its covid

this arc is how i feel working in healthcare lmaooo especially now that i probably have covid 

so rewind condensed the entire war into an 11 second long cringe compilation. nice

seeing the mechanical stuff past tailgate’s visor is so cool

poor tailgate, this guy is getting slammed with history from multiple sides. and like, bias is inevitable in ANY sort of recounting of events, especially controversial historical events, so poor tg just kinda has to take it all in and decide who to listen to 

that’s...not really how immunity works, guys. also, you shouldn't be exposed to so much disease with proper ppe usage

is there even such thing as ppe in the transformers universe?? there are fluid- and contact-transmitted illnesses, so there SHOULD be

is there even OSHA in this universe??????? unbelievable 

first aid, holding a giant fucking claw clamp: we haven't tried EVERYTHING............

first aid read a human wikihow article on how to jumpstart a car and took notes 

i love tailgate’s ‘mom says its my turn on the xbox’ pose 

tailgate has a point - he’s from pre-war times, where things weren't as grey so of course he would try to divide the two sides into ‘good guys’ and ‘bad guys’

CYCLONUS BE NICE DONT HIT UR FUTURE HUSBAND

go get some character development and then maybe you'll feel better

seeing the word quarantine is making me twitchy w/my possible month-long complete isolation quarantine on the horizon

drift pulling his swords on pipes and ratchet pushing down drift’s arms...lmao

poor pipes...even tho this is completely his fault, its still rough

also jesus, pharma and ratchet look so goddamn similar, reading this was so confusing the first time around 

drifts idea of subduing pipes involves turning into a cool car and also posing with his sword

also. never gonna be over drift’s massive thighs. jesus man

ooof now drift has the rona. ouch 

poor drift, his covid realization is getting overshadowed by pharma being flung around

first aid bustin thru w/the epic medical nipple clamps and some Big Boi Backup

ok that's an epic pre-beatdown speech from fort max right there, daym 

im just gonna continue on w/issue 5 now for continuity’s sake. yay!

the cover of tailgate in magnus’s autobot school is so cute

and we open with an incredible shot of fort max str8 up ripping a guy in half. i mean, to be fair, he DID just give an epic speech about how much he was gonna do that, and he certainly followed thru

yeahhhhh, fort max is not doing so well atm

when he puts that dudes head in his chest vent thing and then snaps it shut....man 

also i fucking LOVE when their faces are shaded all in black w/only the eyes/mouth fully drawn...fantastic stuff

ratchet: phew i am not equipped to deal w/this level of Fucked Up Mental Trauma. u good m8?

ratchet is already writing up a referral to rung for fort max as this is happening

drift is just laying on the ground dying like, oh hey yeahh I'm still here too 

i fucking love when punctuation is drawn in story - like here where first aid has a little ? over his head....fav

ratchet holding drifts hand ;_; 

ok tbh ambulon having switched sides 10 yrs ago is wild bc like, 10 years is barely any time for these guys, especially in a war that lasted 4 million years. that would be like a human switching sides in a war like, 3 months before it ends. probably. i sense some math bs, I'm just extrapolating here

all that mexican standoff shit is going down and first aid is just like But That's None Of My Business

ah so ambulon is an asymptomatic carrier 

and there's first aid with the save! iconic

pharma calling ratchet ‘buddy’ hbvakjdsbfhkasdf

ooooh i love that they figured it out - and i love that twist, that transforming is what triggers the start of symptoms. remember when drift turned into a cool car? yep

s/o to Ambulon Transformers for helping me in my medical terminology courses, bc now ill always remember: Leg(tm)

also this explanation makes a ton more sense (in universe, at least) than the whole ‘i guess we as medical staff have been exposed to enough Germz that we’re more immune to this or something’ theory 

ah, i love the meaningless (to me) alien robot medical jargon 

drift and ratchet hhhhhhhhh

‘I'm too wide’ fort max L O R G E

also once again drift is forgotten in favor of a bunch of other dramatic stuff happening vbhjksdfbjhskdf

godddd i love tailgates little flashbacks where we see how Important and Special he is, complete with his ‘bomb disposal’ arm label...augh its so good! 

and tailgate’s autopedia page even reflects his lies! like, did tailgate go edit that first thing upon waking up??? seriously, I'm fascinated by tailgate’s meticulous dedication to his fake life

also the fact that ultra magnus believes everything he read on autopedia is amazing lmao

ultra magnus: you think somebody would just go on the internet and tell lies? 

fuckgin love magnus’s long ass name/title placard 

tailgate hvbahjkdfbjhaskf i mean, he’s gotten the abridged version of everything else, of course he would assume that’d be the case here too...but not on magnus’s watch

magnus cant even say ‘fun’ hvukdasdbjfkjsadf i love my uptight law dad

love rung implying that upon questioning, he would easily divulge a patient’s name and maybe even information about said patient’s treatment while under him....love the disregard for patient confidentiality and hipaa in general 

not that hipaa seems to exist here, at least not in a fully realized form 

also i mean the above genuinely, i think rung’s tendency towards at least slight malpractice is very interesting 

poor red alert....super bad luck that HE was the guy to get roped up in that overlord business 

I'm glad that, at the very least, red alert was able to prove that he was Actually hearing something to rung, rather than get brushed off completely 

god magnus and tailgate’s interactions are golden 

also tg is much more sarcastic/quippy than anyone gives him credit for tbh

‘thought warfare,’ ultra magnus says with complete seriousness. god i fucking love this comic

now i can tell pharma apart from ratchet bc pharma has let his true Petty Bitch nature emerge and you can see it in his expressions

the whole ‘tarn is addicted to transforming’ thing didn't really go anywhere, right? i feel like i noticed that on my second readthru as well 

also pharma is such an interesting character given the context of him like, trying to strike a bargain w/the djd to keep them from destroying delphi, but that arrangement inevitably kinda making him lose it as the situation escalates. he’s also just really entertaining bc i feel like he kins the joker or st and probably gets into really heated arguments w/people on twitter about just abt anything

‘sound bomb’ i love this comic

another important facet of pharma’s character becomes clear around this time as well - how he’s really into ratchet. i also choose to read them as awful exes tbh, it makes their dynamic even more entertaining

‘killmaster, with the wand’ is one of my favorite running remarks lmao

also, was killmaster even a character before mtmte? or, if he was, was he an important one? it would crack me up the most if he literally didn't exist at all, but any way you spin it is still funny 

ratchet’s tiny humansona facing off against pharma is wild

‘I'm miles from anyone i truly care about’ brutal, ratchet, drift is dying like 2 floors away (im p sure)

SUDDENLY DRIFT IS HERE, ACTUALLY 

oh don't worry first aid, that sure isn't the last we’ll be seeing of pharma 

so like, did first aid save everyone by posting that data log to his wreckers fan blog or something? lmao love it 

i love the pretty fucked up reveal of ratchet having stolen pharma’s hands. like, damn dude. 

and that wraps up the delphi arc! our first true ‘arc’ of mtmte, and a fantastic one at that. short and snappy and fresh, with some very clever writing and cool new characters, and a lot of great plot threads to be picked up later. plus, we got to see the beginnings of drift and ratchet’s whole thing (and ratchet and pharmas whole thing). and the lost light gets some much needed extra medical staff, so everyone wins! 

well, we’ll see how fort max feels about this all pretty soon.....

[laulink]

hello again! i sent that last ask, and i think you just wrote a story! i liked how everything worked out and the roles that the characters continue to play in each other's lives. it got me thinking of more questions that mainly involve the romance itself. when did they start dating, who made the first move, who proposed, how did Ghira and Kali react to meeting Weiss, how many kids do they have, and anything else you can think of. i hope this isn't too much trouble!

Not at all ! Honestly, I’ve been spending waaayyyyy too much time thinking about all this so it’s nice to see that someone is interested in hearing more x)

(putting my answer under a read more though because it’s HUGE)

For when they start dating, it kinda depends if I want to stay really canon compliant or if I want to have Weiss and Blake start dating earlier. I can stay canon compliant by having Blake and Yang grow apart at the end of the war, each pursuing different goals while Blake and Weiss start spending more and more time together because of the SDC and the WF. Blake and Yang would end up agreeing that the war changed them, a lot, but now that it’s over and they’re healing, they realise that they’re better off as friends rather than lovers and have an amicable break up. Pretty soon after, Blake starts to notice more things about Weiss, like how she plays with her hair when she’s thinking, how she bites her lower lip when something is bothering her, how her eyes sparkle when she sees or hears something funny, etc... and slowly she falls in love. Weiss has had a crush on Blake for years now, since their time in Beacon, but she never told anyone because she knew Blake had feelings for Yang and she just wanted her to be happy, even if it hurt her to see her with someone else. But now that Blake and Yang have broken up and Blake spends so much time with Weiss, our dear heiress’ feelings come back full force and she can’t help but hope that her feelings might be reciprocated...

One evening after a party in Vacuo both of them attended for political reasons, Blake accompanies Weiss back to her hotel room. They both had a couple drinks during the evening and are under a slight buzz, laughing more easily than usual. When they finally arrive at Weiss’ room, they stand in front of the door a moment too long, not wanting to part just yet. No one knows who leaned in first, but they soon found themselves kissing, softly at first, then more and more passionnately. They decided to stop, however, aware that it wouldn’t do them any good to go too fast, and agreed to meet in the morning for breakfast, then parted ways with one last kiss. Both of them had very pleasant dreams that night~

After that, they decided to start dating and see where it would lead them.

If I decide to be less canon compliant, I think I’d have Blake and Weiss start dating during V6 or 7, support each other through Adam’s death and all the Atlas and Schnee family bullshit going on right now. It wouldn’t change a lot of things for the story and, at the end of the war, they’d start working on rebuilding their world together, with the SDC and the WF.

Whatever the way and moment they get together though doesn’t have much influence on the rest of their story together. For example, in both cases, Kali and Ghira were delighted to know that Blake had started dating Weiss. They met her briefly at Haven and considered her a delight to talk to, very kind, respectful and polite, but with a sharp tongue when needed. Ghira is particularly fond of her since Weiss is hard to intimidate, knows what she wants and can be very determined, but also open to discussion and adjusting her stance on a multitude of matters. Kali likes to act like a mom around her (though she’s the same with Ruby and Yang too, so nothing really special there).

Winter, if Weiss and Blake started dating in Atlas, would be a bit suspicious of Blake at first. She respects her sister’s decisions and wouldn’t dare interfere in her love life, but she still has a bit of a tendency to see Weiss as her baby sister, so she’d give Blake a bit of a hard time at first, using every opportunity she gets to interrogate her on her intentions toward Weiss, why she wanted to date Weiss and all that stuff. Yang finds it hilarious but can also relate and supports Winter as a protective big sister x) If Weiss and Blake start dating after the war though, it would be a context where Winter had had time to get to learn to know Blake and saw Blake’s and Weiss’ growing feelings for each other, so she’d be a lot more supportive of the new relationship and only threaten Blake’s life if she broke Weiss’ heart as a joke (or is it ? =P).

At whatever time the girls start dating, Willow and Whitley would be rather supportive. If it’s in V7 already, they wouldn’t know right away and would only learn about the relationship after they started fixing their relationships with Weiss, so they’d be surprised, but would see how happy Blake makes Weiss, so they’d wish them the best. If it’s after the war, it would be at a point in time where Willow and Whitley are rather close to Weiss and have good relationships with her, so they’d be even more supportive and encourage her to pursue Blake in their own ways (Whitley may or may not try to play matchmaker =3)

The proposal would occur a few years after the end of the war, probably around 3 years after Weiss and Blake started dating. Remnant is getting back on its feet, the SDC is getting ever closer to the point of equality between human and Faunus Weiss wants it to reach and the Kingdoms are more and more open to listening to the White Fang and giving Faunus citizens more rights. Blake and Weiss both figure it would be the best time to get married. They had already talked about it a year or so earlier, but both agreed it would be best to wait until things settled down a bit more for both of them before they decided to throw themselves into organising a wedding. So when the time finally seems to be right, it is all a matter of who will propose first. They are both sort of expecting the other to propose sooner or later, but Weiss is still enchanted and overwhelmed by emotion when Blake goes down on one knee after a romantic date in a quiet park in Vale, near New Beacon. The wedding is held in Atlas because most of their friends and family live their or near the Kingdom and it’s easier to reach than Menagerie, but the girls make sure to incorporate elements of both traditional Atlesian and Mistralian weddings (since I headcanon that Blake, with the name Belladonna and her Japanese aesthetics, is of Mistralian descent and would follow their traditions for ceremonies like weddings). It is not a quiet or private affair since Weiss and Blake are such important public figures and their wedding is one more ray of hope toward the end of the centuries old war between humans and Faunus, but they still manage to have their dream day without having to mix too much politics into it (Ghira, Kali, Willow, Winter and Whitley make sure of that).

Their first child is born about a year after the wedding and is named Winry Belladonna-Schnee. Weiss liked the idea of continuing the tradition of names starting with a W, at least for her first child, and Blake had no objection, especially after Weiss told her that Winry was the name of her grandmother, Willow’s mother and the reason the tradition even existed. Winry is a very smart child, well-behaved when she has to be, but also mischievous at times, especially when she is with her cousin Yue or her younger sister Keyla. She looks like a carbon copy of Blake, but with Weiss’ white, straight hair and blue eyes. She has a patch of black hair cutting through the white and falling over her forehead as well as two cat ears like Blake. She’s always preferred to sport chin-length hair and mostly white clothing.

Yue, born two months before Winry, is Winter and Yang’s daughter. She looks like Yang, but with white hair and blue eyes. Most of her personality comes from Yang, though her expressions are very reminiscent of Winter’s. She grows up alongside Winry, more like sisters than cousins since they live together and are so close in age, which makes them very close friends.

Both Yue and Winry want to become Huntresses, but while Yue wants to be free and travel through the world like Yang, therefore deciding to attend New Beacon, Winry prefers to enter Atlas Academy and aim to become the next General after her Aunt Winter retires.

Keyla, born three years after Winry, has long and slightly curly black hair like Blake with two black cat ears atop her head, but her eyes are heterochromatic : right eye a warm amber and left eye a soft blue. If she wears a colored lens over her left eye, one could believe she is a younger version of Blake. She is calm and quiet most of the time, but can also be quite passionnate and eloquent when defending something that matters to her. She has always been interested in politics and hesitates between joining the White Fang or trying to become part of the Atlesian politic circle. She knows how to fight and built herself a weapon in case she ever needs to defend herself, but she doesn’t want to become a Huntress (a shame, according to all the Huntsmen and Huntresses who saw her fight). Since she was a child, she has always been close to Summer, Ruby and Penny’s daughter, but only after her twelth birthday did she realise that her feelings might go beyond friendship. Summer and her start dating around the age of 15, to the delight of everyone around them who were growing tired of their obliviousness and awkwardness.

Finally, Tanya, Weiss and Blake’s third and last child, was born four years after Keyla. She is a bright and energetic girl with long, white, slightly curly hair and blue eyes with a set of white cat ears atop her head. Much like Summer, she is sort of a “mad scientist”, a genius in her own right, though her calling rests with Dust rather than machines and programs like for Summer. When she first discovers, at age 10, the wonders of the researches on Dust, Tanya becomes passionnate and studies everything she can on the matter. She dreams of joining the BSDC’s reasearch and development team thanks to her own merit rather than her family name. 

Nuts and Dolts bonus (because I mentioned their kid in all this and I think she deserves some more details) : Summer Rose, daughter of Ruby Rose and Penny Polendina, born six months after Keyla. She has long, dark-red hair, nearly black near the roots and a lighter shade of red at the tips. She wears a black bow behind her head, like her Ma (Penny) and adopted her Mom’s belief that combat skirts are the best (though she is not a fighter herself and only wears one for the style). She is a little genius when it comes to everything mechanic and is quite good at programming as well. At age 10, she is her grandfather’s best ever apprentice and at 15 years old, she starts her formal studies at Atlas Tech and Mech Academy (name is totally made up, but that’s basically where Atlas teaches all of its future scientists, no matter the discipline). At the same time, she starts dating her friend Keyla who she has always been close to, more so than to anyone else her age. Summer is a very lively girl, so much so that she’s often hard to keep up with, especially when she is very excited and uses her semblance, Teleportation, while she talks or works. It is basically in-between Ruby’s and Raven’s own semblances : Summer can’t teleport as far as Raven can, but she isn’t bound to one or multiple people, instead being able to teleport anywhere in a 2km radius. On the downside, she can’t take a lot of people with her, the best she has ever managed being five, and anything or anyone that touches her and is not the thing she is standing on will be teleported with her. Summer loves her semblance and often uses it more or less unconsciously when she’s excited, teleporting a couple of meters away when she’s switching ideas or emphasizing a point, etc. She has a lot of energy, but usually manages it quite well when she is not working, in which case she can easily get caught up in her own head and become hyper-focused on the task at hand and/or her theories and experiments. Keyla and her make for a sweet pair and get along well, even when Summer gets engrossed in her work. Keyla is usually the only one who can get Summer to rest or eat something when she’s working on something.

Elderburn bonus : I already stated that Winter and Yang had a daughter named Yue, around the same age as Winry, but they also have a son, Tai, who is also very close in age to one of his cousins, Tanya. He’s a very sweet boy, has blond hair, blue eyes and the most beautiful smile you will ever see~ He chose his name at 7 years old when he told his mothers he felt like being a boy. Both Yang and Winter were very supportive of him and offered to help him decide on a name, but he didn’t need their help to choose Tai, saying that it only makes sense for him to be called that since his grandfather was Taiyang and his mother is Yang : someone had the pick the “Tai” part of the name. (Yang laughed a lot at the way he said that, but agreed it was a good name and Tai never regretted his choice) He takes some time to figure out what he wants to do with his life because he isn’t interested in being a Huntsman, but also doesn’t have a passion like Summer or Tanya, nor an innate talent like Keyla. After he helped tutor one of his classmates in high school though, he realises he loves teaching and since he already knew he loved biology, he decided he would become a biology teacher. His students love him because his classes are lively and easy to follow and understand and he’s always really sweet.

Weapons bonus : none of the canon cast’s weapons change, but I had some ideas for the children’s weapons. Winry fights with a chokuto or a katana and her fighting style is very similar to Adam’s and Raven’s. Raven is actually the one to teach her how to best fight with her weapon, since Blake, Weiss and Winter could only teach her the basics on that matter. Yue usually fights with two gauntlets similar to Ember Celica, but she also has two sabers at her sides and is a terribly dangerous opponent when she takes them out. They are not her favoured weapon though because she prefers fighting with her fists and appreaciates that there’s less of a risk of accidentally cutting someone’s limb off with her fists rather than a blade. For those of you who played FE3H, Keyla’s weapon is very similar to the sword of the Creator : it is a sword divided in a lot of small segments that can separate themselves from each other to extend and bend the weapon, turning it into a sort of sharp, thick whip. Keyla can wrap it around limbs or pieces of furnitures and such or just extend it to hit opponents while staying out of their range. Summer fights with a halberd and, although she’s not interested in being a Huntress, she’s terribly good with it. Unlike her two sisters and eldest cousin, Tanya has no interest in fighting, therefore she only learns the basics of sword fight, adopting a rapier much like her Mother’s own weapon, with a Dust filled barrel. She also had her Mother unlock her aura and teach her how to use her Glyphs in case she needed to protect herself, but she’s not a particularly good fighter, especially compared to her sisters. Tanya doesn’t care though, seeing as she doesn’t think she’ll ever need to fight in her line of work and she’s happy with studying her Dust even if she’s not the best at using it in battle. Finally, Tai is a similar case as Tanya : he doesn’t care about fighting, actually dislikes the idea of hurting others, but learned to defend himself from Grimm and potential human attackers. Yang taught him martial arts and Tai always carries a pair of bracelets Summer designed for him that can turn into gauntlets. They don’t fire bullets like Ember Celica, but they make his hits hurt that much more and blades can sprout from between his fingers if he wants to.

In terms of Semblances, all of the kids (except Summer, of course) have the Schnee family semblance. All of them unlocked their aura and learned to use their Glyphs, including the Summoning. Winry and Yue, thanks to their training, are the best Glyph users when it comes to “basic” Glyphs and how to use them in battle, but Keyla also has a very creative way of using her wind Glyphs to direct her sword once it’s in “whip mode” and is the best at Summoning.

...

Wow, that was a lot. Huuummm... Hope you liked the read ? ^^’

[surejo]

( victoria pedretti, cis woman ) hey ! have you seen JOSEPHINE “JO” CORMAC around ? SHE works at the HOT COCOA STAND at big bear resort, but they must be off their shift by now. well, if you do see them can you let me know ? they’re 24 years old & they’ve been working here for TWO YEARS. they tend to be +OPTIMISTIC & +EMPATHETIC, but can also be -IMPRACTICAL & -PASSIVE. the other employees have labeled them THE IDEALIST. thanks a lot ! ( the few nights the stars can be seen, books worn down by dog-ears and marks left throughout the years, the first crisp breeze of autumn, the duality… of t.s. eliot ) 

OK. a few notes before i get started:

1) i hope everyone loves how i literally j copied my ivan stuff. url format? ‘sure jan’ lives on. theme? too lazy to find a different one that’s easy to work with. luv that for me. 2) speaking of this theme i forget if i addressed this on ivan’s blog but tabbed bullets don’t appear tabbed.... so if anything seems like it doesn’t make total sense.... it is supposed to be tabbed™. 3) get ready for drama!!!!! you may ask yourself “but the app looks so tame! there will be no drama!” but you are wrong........ because she loves cats. the t.s. eliot book......... the musical........ even the movie.

ok jo,, is also a resurrected character,,, hence how i already kno,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, that she loves cats. anyway ! let’s begin ! (listen,,,, the intro format will at least be a little different from ivan’s ok im evolving)

QUICK FACTS:

full name: josephine “jo” rose cormac

date of birth: march 6, 1995

*does not perfectly reflect the below big three zodiac chart because that’s too much math

zodiac big three: pisces sun, gemini moon, cancer rising

gender & pronouns: cis woman & she/her

sexual orientation: bisexual ( preference for women bc we luv that for her but we also luv leaving things open to chemistry )

education: bachelor in english - literature that she is doing nothing with

enneagram: 2w1

mbti: infp

various inspirations: eleanor crain ( the haunting of hill house ), dolores price *as a child and towards the end of the book ( she’s come undone ), fox 8 ( fox 8: a story ), “why try to change me now?” - fiona apple (cover), “be still” - the killers

BACKGROUND INFO:

triggers: verbal/mental/emotional abuse/gaslighting, very slight implication of spousal abuse, brief mention of car accident/death & drowning

( ivan and jo’s breakout pop-punk single: “fuck happy backstories!” stream it on spotify ! )

jo......... was born into the wrong family, let’s get that out of the way.

it was pretty clear she was a ploy to save the marriage of her parents ( who have names: lucy and benjamin, luv that for them ). it didn’t seem like they’d ever picked up a parenting book, gone to a parenting class, rly prepped for being a parent at all...... in their entire lives.

that being said, her mom was actually decent at parenting. her major flaw, though? ok, so you know how kids usually have that one bedtime story that they love and want it to be read to them over and over? well lucy complied ! but y’all wanna know what that book was ?

t.s. eliot’s “old possum’s book of practical cats” whfeiuldjkn

anyway ! when jo was seven, after many failed attempts and simple threats, her mom was finally divorcing benjamin for realz. due to his volatile nature, it was becoming very clear that she was the more fit parent and she almost got sole custody ( the only reason benjamin was motivated for it in the first place was the power so?? )! how exciting!

but the keyword is ‘almost’!

alexa, play ‘my heart will go on’ but the off-tune flute version

just as the proceedings were going through, jo’s mother was hit by a drunk driver on new year’s eve. the car skidded onto some ice, minimal damage done... then the ice broke.

jo and benjamin both devolved after that. jo withdrew more into herself and pretty much coped by..... just reading old possum’s a LOT (hate that for her). all mopey, benjamin became much less outwardly violent. the keyword is ‘outwardly.’

ya, instead of j bein like “i will just chill” he was like “i will just make my rage more subtle because in this house, we love intimidation, manipulation, hostility, the blame game, and gaslighting! uwu” managed to convince jo that her mother’s death was somehow her fault, that he was the only person she could trust, that she will never be able to live without someone else, etc., etc.

a few years in and a cycle of many impromptu sleepovers began. luv that for her. hate that for her, but luv that for her. 

there is a lot i cld talk abt here, but it all seems like it cld j be tl;dr’d as: “basically became the surrogate daughter of a bunch of other people”

as for things that r not tragique™, jo was v much a drifter when it came to friends. managed to make a fair amount bc she does not seem like she will put a tadpole in ur hand like ivan. also j a people-pleaser but that’s starting to get into her personality which is another section.

did go to college. luv that for her. has NO CLUE what she’s going to do with her degree, but she can make some really sick niche william faulkner jokes. 

began seasonally working at big bear during the winter break of her last year in college because bitch needed some money!! wound up loving it and was like “i think,,,, i will continue to do this,,,, the people here,,,, r cul,,,,”

still visits benjamin every once in a while. not a way to say that uwu you should forgive ur abusive parent(s) uwu rather that jo.... still has slight belief in him. just to end on something emo.

THE REST IS HISTORY!!!!

TL;DR:

started life out as a saddie, not a baddie. still not a baddie, but no longer as much of a saddie. loves “cats” and there is no irony to that statement. can make good niche literary jokes, but that’s about it.

PERSONALITY/MISCELLANEOUS INFO:

a child. a literal child. a child to the point that she should have supervision when she goes on grocery trips because she falls for marketing ploys so easily. can’t believe she hasn’t fallen into a pyramid scheme yet.

an absolute dumbass. again, can make some great niche william faulkner jokes, but ask her the order of the planets? “...well mars is somewhere in there.”

unironically LOVES cats - both the musical and movie. thinks jennifer hudson’s grizabella is the best. will start sharing random facts about it or old possum’s book of practical cats if she runs out of things to talk about but feels pressured to keep talking. was broken when she first read a different t.s. eliot poem and realized he was actually super dark. the only thing that got her through it was a comparison to batman :\ bruce wayne is old possum’s, batman is everything else.

to take a brief break from fun personality facts, v down on herself bc benjamin’s words rly!! stuck with her!! convinced she is an absolute idiot and does not trust her own memory. v indecisive bc of this and always longs for someone to help her figure things out. tries to distance herself from memories of her mother because, again, benjamin got to her. her love of cats doesn’t help that, but... can you believe that’s her coping mechanism? makes up for it by giving all of her love 2 everyone else!! we love tragedy!! and needing to go to therapy!!

secretly knows her love of cats is weird and dumb. a part of her knows why it’s considered one of the worst musicals ever. but LISTEN. we luv rly weird coping mechanisms!

big dreamer. will develop the most impractical goals. she usually knows they are impractical, but still..... uwu

has decided everyone is good until proven bad! except for,,,, like,,, murderers and rapists,,,,

is #StraightEdge for the most part,,,, literally has a drink maybe three times per year

says “like” a whole lot for someone who majored in english with a concentration in literature and should therefore be more eloquent.

i am not great at these sections!! feel free 2 j refer to her zodiac, personality tests, and character influences!!

literally fox 8. i put the others there bc she’s similar but wow,,,, if u read fox 8 (it’s a short story i recommend it i luv george saunders u can find a pdf online),,,, she is fox 8. 

here u go here is a sample that doesnt need context: "Fox 4 woslike: No ofense, Fox 8? Your ideas are not super praktikal. Dreem, dreem, dreem, said Fox 11. Fox 41 woslike: Fox 8, does this honestly never get old for you?"

OH ALSO. she has a slet. a cat,,,,, named asparagus,,,, whom she calls “gus”,,,,, and y’all know WHY.

recent development: has downloaded tor so she can get on the dark web. why? because she thinks there will be more funny animal videos on there. is shockingly good at navigating it.

CONNECTION IDEAS:

close friends bc we luv that –– roman (nuanced), aylie (nuanced), hazel (nuanced), cleo (nuanced), vic (nuanced), marco (nuanced)

childhood friends whom she possibly had impromptu sleepovers with bc that is v soft and,,,,, y’all i left the city blank for a reason. –– hazel, marco, 

on that note, the person who was like “wait,,,,,,, u know that book was turned into a musical right,,,,,, like,,,,, a musical literally everyone knows” and shook jo’s world

good influence / bad influence –– cleo, vic, 

~*confidant*~

roommate

exes –– ian,

reciprocated pining

unreciprocated pining

someone..... who has accepted..... that she likes cats.... in a way that is not ironic. will see the movie with her. –– aylie, 

an enemy,,,,,, aka this person was like “cats is literally the worst thing in the entire world” and now they r on jo’s very short hit list –– riley

idk!!! im also obvs up for brainstorming!!! luv that!!!

** descriptive connections page is here ( only people who i’m messaging are on it, but i ?? would love to plot w everyone ?? so don’t make the short list make u think i’m trying 2 limit it 2 these ppl auhfoeidla )

LIKE THIS OR HMU TO PLOT !

[loucifieri]

ndrv3 HPA AU (Class ‘79) notes~

I’ve only ever been posting snippets of the their silly school life (without following a chronological timeline of events) so here’s some context of how I characterized the ndrv3 kids (essentially the same personalities but with some tweaks) and maybe some info on the relationships in my comics. Implied and outright spoilers, apparently. The rest under the cut.

NDRV3 Character design masterlist here Class 79A Character descriptions here Further characterizations here Family headcanons here Cover Art here Dorm designs here

Comic snippets so far: (most of these were from before I finalized their characterizations) Moms called out by trash child Kaito and Kokichi have “The Talk” How Kaede became the Class Rep A Lesson in Romantics Real Talk Sports Day

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/Draft/ Final characterizations here

Kaede Akamatsu: The ‘protagonist spotlight’ mostly falls on her. Personality-wise, she’ll still be the ever cheerful, charming and kind Kaede (with a toned down self-righteousness) but with a dash of her pre-game personality which is being mistrustful and to an extent, condescending. 

Angie Yonaga: Angie is still Angie, but with added eccentricities. Since she her character design kind of implies she’s from an island in the West (okay, Hawaii) which is part of America, she’s going to be referencing memes and western culture.

Kirumi Tojo: Her maid shtick is a conscious effort for her. She has selfish whims and insecurities deep down that calm, collected and altruistic persona that she tries to project. (in-game Tojo was just too one dimensional, ugh)

Tenko Chabashira: She mostly maintains her enthusiastic, down to earth, protective (of the girls) nature but she won’t be too vocal about her aversion towards the MENaces (it was so overdone in the game to the point of being annoying) and with a short temper. Will probably have a sad or comical (still can’t decide which lol) backstory about why she dislikes DEGENERATE MALES.

Himiko Yumeno: Mostly the same with her in-game personality but isn’t dismissive of human interaction. Apart from her “I’m a mage, not a magician” gag, she’s suspected to be always on drugs by most. Secretly stays up late a lot to watch k-drama.

Maki Harukawa: Still anti-social and uptight but it won’t be because of her talent (which is outright revealed to be Ultimate Assassin)… she just hates talking to people her age (lol). Also, her backstory won’t be the same in-game coz that seemed intentionally sad in context, but it’s strangely out of place in a peaceful AU like this. She’s still from an orphanage and serves as an elder sister figure. She was physically conditioned and trained to be an assassin but it turns out it was just a complicated plot to make her a Motion Capture stunt girl for an Assassin’s Creed game. So yeah, she hasn’t really killed anyone in real life but she physically (and mentally??) can, if desired.

Tsumugi Shirogane: She won’t think she’s a plain jane nor will she make an effort to remain a ‘wallflower.’ She’s into a lot of fandoms, naturally. She also stans Junko Enoshima (who isn’t a Despair junkie btw) and makes vague references about “being in a reality show,” (wink, wink)

Miu Iruma: Same ol’ Miu, but will try to make an effort to be likeable. Also has standards, so no she is not going to do lewd things with Teru Teru-sempai.

Shuichi Saihara: Since no one has to die for his character development, it’s going to take awhile for him to remove his hat. At first, he’s still meek and unconfident but not codependent on Kaede. Also adding a dash of his pre-game personality, him being an avid fanboy of all things detective (stans Kyoko Kirigiri, has a sizable collection of Nancy Drew Books and Detective Conan manga etc). Struggles with depression at times.

Kokichi Ouma: Compulsive lying is dumbed down and has his limits with his intentional assholery. His genuinely caring personality will also peek through a lot and he won’t vehemently deny it that much.

Rantaro Amami: Carefree, easygoing and fabulously gay big brother figure of the class. Makes vlogs in the style of Bear Grylls’ Man VS Wild. He also references the Danganronpa franchise plots (except V3) in his stories of his adventures.

Kaito Momota: Still quite sexist but it’s more because of upbringing rather than intentional. He doesn’t just suddenly develop an incurable, deadly disease but he has Tuberculosis (hence, coughs a lot). And, he’s very competitive (his pre-game personality repackaged).

Ryoma Hoshi: Mostly detached and stoic but not depressive and unfeeling. I’m tweaking his backstory a bit coz an ex-con that has served prison time going back to high school is a bit weird (and I don’t want the “HPA pulling shady shenanigans” shtick). His family has been murdered and all he has left is the family cat (that he gets to keep in the dorms) and he’s been pursuing leads about the mafia responsible for it. He’s basically a Sasuke Uchiha here. Anyway, he’s wise but vindictive. Fortunately, he doesn’t want to serve justice with his own hands.

Korekiyo Shinguji: Doesn’t have a sister complex and definitely not a compulsive serial killer here. He’s already got an interesting, creepy persona. Miyadera is alive, but still sickly and would visit him often to bring him home-cooked meals. Unsurprisingly has a fascination for see-saws.

Gonta Gokuhara: still the best boy best boy best boy raised in the mountains He won’t be too gullible here and would even join in roasting Kokichi.

Keebo Idabashi: He’s the Ultimate Robotics Engineer since he’s not a robot. Spent most of his life sheltered (even from the internet) so he’s shy and quite socially inept. Always gets very defensive of his talent.

And now, for the platonic and romantic ships~ I actually multiship but in this AU I’m going to stick to one ship for a particular person since I’m personally not keen on polyamory. (please don’t burn me on a stake)

Kaede||Shuichi: Saimatsu BROTP; in fact, they refer to each other by first name. I didn’t want this to be an “OTP” here since Saimatsu was mostly set up and situational in-game because of Shuichi’s codependency and Kaede’s desire to break him out of his shell, though undeniably they do have a really good chemistry together. Really, I love Saimatsu just-- let them explore their options. (I’m also just bitter I couldn’t flirt more using Kaede after Chapter 1 ;w;)

Kaede|Kirumi: I’m not inconspicuous about it actually lol idk I just see a good chemistry between them. Also, think of the mom jokes since they’re both the class moms. And while my comics tend to jump back and forth chronologically, if I was going to write a fic– their relationship is a slow burn with lots of pining

Shuichi|Kokichi: Their love hotel scene oh my god Kokichi really has it bad and that little liar is a good match for Sai, he facilitated his growth in a (twisted) way but this is an AU so yeah. Beforehand, Kokichi has a slight interest in Rantaro.

Maki|Kaito: This is a canon-ish ship that had a weird development too, but again, they have a nice chemistry too. I wanna explore that normal, potential development between them (also, I’m not sayin they’re both necessarily straight coz this is a straight ship lol).

Himiko|Tenko: There’s just… a lot of potential cuteness in them, even though they were kind of dysfunctional in canon. The fact that they’re polar opposites when it comes to physical activities gives me enough cannon fodder for their tandem. And Himiko being involved with Tenko can really help her a lot (like when the latter’s death in-game impacted her so much).

Kaito||Kokichi: Sort of a Oumota reference lol Chapter 5 gave me an inkling of their dynamics together and it was nice to see that Kaito gave Kokichi a leap of faith despite all his atrocities. So, I think they’d be good friends in the AU, just laced with a lot of badmouthing and insulting each other.

Rantaro||Tsumugi: Mastermind and Survivor solidarity~ They’re good friends in middle school before entering HPA.

Miu||Keebo: They’re both socially inept techie nerds sitting at the back of the class so finding friendship with each other isn’t far from happening. I lowkey shipped them in the game but I haven’t decided in this AU yet~

That’s all for now I guess :D I can try to make an actual comic with plot about them someday… but I can’t promise, even to myself. huhu