#and her kids and clan (but especially her kids) were being put in active danger

[tea-cat-arts]

"Madam Yu would be a Karen/ treat minimum wage employees like shit-" literally the only servant she's shown abusing is Wei Wuxian (and that's because he's the victim of a proxy war between her and Jiang Fengmian around the idea of him being adopted into the family, not because of his class). Madam Yu's two handmaid's love and respect her, and Madam Yu actually defends them when Wang Lingjiao tries being a Karen to them. She also tells Wang Lingjiao to fuck off when she demands the Jiang servants bring her tea.

Also, Karens are unpleasant women, but not all unpleasant women are Karens. That term is about entitlement and being unreasonable (and often times, racist). Madam Yu is mean and unpleasant to talk to, but she keeps most of her interactions brief and probably doesn't have the time or mental energy to be a Karen or hold a grudge that long. If you want an actual example of a Karen in mdzs, Wang Lingjiao is right there

[rowantheshittydogowo]

SO TRUE BRO SO TRUE—

I have a lot of opinions on the "Mapleshade killed her kids" take because it's just so atrociously wrong. It's actually insane, especially because they put all of the blame on Maple for crossing the river. By their same logic, the innocent baby Frecklewish would literally be equally responsible as Maple because she put her in that situation where she had to make that choice by advocating for her AND her children's (the ones that Freckle cared about "oh so much") exile!!!!

Mapleshade was quite literally panicking because she was put in a position where she was just assaulted. Again, people forget that she was injured and battered alongside panicking. Now, she and her children have no home because of something she thought would secure their safety there. The bridge that everybody loves to use to give Mapleshade 100% responsibility while everyone else is innocent somehow (which, even if she was at fault for their deaths specifically, that doesn’t mean everyone else is suddenly let off the hook who contributed to the situation that caused it) was already across the river, not on ThunderClan's side if you look at the map from her novella. So she would have had to cross to get to it anyway. The only reason she uses it later on is that she was already across the river.

The other one was literally the Thunderpath, and you're going to sit here and tell me that she should have gone there instead? I've seen people argue that she would have known it better, but it's still literally a slippery road in the middle of a storm. The Twoleg place wasn't a cat safety heaven either; the kits could have died along the way from several different things like predators or hypothermia because they were young when they were exiled, and it was storming. Not to mention, it was noted that kittypets were pretty hostile back then.

It’s not like she could’ve waited either. What was she supposed to do? Sit there on ThunderClan land after she just got threatened if she stayed??After her and her children were being actively followed out and stalked???? Oh yeah, it’s all Mapleshade's fault, but Frecklewish is perfectly fine for just sitting there and watching after actively getting them into that situation and just assuming they would be perfectly fine, not even bothering to wait for the outcome. That doesn’t mean jumping in the river and killing herself; she had options, anyways. Bushes don’t hide your scent.

So it does make sense why she chose the river because, in her panicked state of mind, she thought it would be the fastest route to RiverClan and that they could just get to Appledusk. She knew it was dangerous because of the high water, but she assumed they’d be okay if they just swam across fast enough, it’s not like she took them into a storming flood with several waves. It was a random flash flood while they were halfway across that killed them. Maple actively risked her own life trying to save them. They throw the word misogyny around at any frecklwish criticism, then completely blame Mapleshade for her beloved children’s deaths, making her out to be purely evil from the start and a narcissistic bitch instead of, I don’t know, blaming the dude who ruled the clan and exiled her kids????☠️☠️☠️

People have such a double standard when it comes to mapleshade and literally anyone else in the fucking series.

I don’t see you guys saying leafpool deserves to be exiled for lying about the true parents of her children even though it hurt people just like Maple lying about her kids dad. They did it for a similar reason too— they simply wanted their kids to have a safe and happy life, hell, mapleshade was even planning on coming forward with the truth when it was safe to do so. Frecklewish assumed and lowkey pushed and Mapleshade rolled with it for the sake of her children. Was it the right thing to do? No, but understandabe. Leafpool was also pushed into giving her kits up and lying essentially and it did end up hurting people in the end (hollyleaf) yet I don’t see Leafpool getting the same amount of shit for it??? Like yes the situations aren’t completely the same but it’s not like mapleshade was a malicious monster who lied to a grieving woman “just because for funsies LOL grrrr she really likes seeing the pain in frecklebabies eyes🥺” she was legit just trying to secure the safety of her babies.

Don’t even get me started on Appledusk— that’s for another ranting post however I am going to say a piece here.

Appledusk quite literally has no character, he has 10 lines at most, and he only exist to drive the plot along by being a dickhead. I genuinely cannot understand where people get the conclusion that he secretly deep and abused by evil maple and actually had every right to cheat on her (reed is also ignored in this because we don’t care how she feels about being cheated on, or even worse, make her like some savior for her cheating husband, like okay the fuck????) or that he didn’t cheat at all despite the book literally saying it in text. And no— maple being an “unreliable narrator” doesn’t mean that everyone else else is a secret good guy and that she is the evil one twisting everything from the start.

Also all the stupid “Appledusk is a good daddy!” or even the nerve to go “Appledusk was a better dad/loved his kids more” because he was nice to them once and was shocked that they died. Let me ask you this, if he cared so much about them and such a good dad then why didn’t he ask for their names? Asking their names wouldn’t suddenly make him exiled for having the audacity so don’t even try it. he literally goes on without knowing their names or caring. He interacted with them nicely once, once. He literally calls them AND maple (not only maple) mistakes right in front of the corpses. 

[static-fanatic-1]

If I can May I ask for hcs of the main four separately family hcs of them with they and their darlings family? Like how many kids, what they like as a father,how quickly in the relationship did darling get pregnant,fav activities to do with the family,etc. Thxs so much!

Gon:

• Gon would probably want one, maybe two kids. I can easily see him wanting to have kids but not wanting too many. He might get overwhelmed with too many kids because he is a bit of a kid himself by nature.

• Gon as a father would be a best friend type. He would train his kids to be strong and treat them as he would Killua. He will put them through grueling tasks with a smile and make fun of them very lightly.

• The sweet Yandere would wait until you were ready to start having kids, he wouldn't really care too much when just as long as it isn't when they are in their thirties. When you guys reach that point he will start asking for the two of you can try. Still he wouldn't force the idea of kids on you.

• Since Gon is a relatively tame Yandere I can see his darling being much more open and okay with having kids with him. So after a few years of everything settling down I can see darling getting pregnant. Gon probably brought having a family up somewhere down the line. That sparked a conversation about having a family and the question of do we want to try for one.

• Gon would love the kids so much, he would constantly dote on them and tell them how strong they are/can be.

• Nature things would be Gon's thing. Fishing, hiking, hunting, literally any outdoor activity he will do with his kids, he will do. He would also train with them to teach them everything he knows. His father left him when he was a kid and he'll make sure they know. He will also make sure they know not to leave the person they love behind no matter what. It seems normal but there is some hidden insanity.

• Your kids will grow up thinking Gon's relationship with you is normal and healthy, so they will have his Yandere tendencies when they grow up. They will protect you with their life's just because they love you as much as their father.

• You guys would probably live on Whale Island, it would be remote area and he wouldn't have to worry too much about you leaving. Especially with three people who could easily track you down and stop you.

Killua:

• Like father like son, Killua doesn't care how many kids he has, he just wants to have quiet a few. Probably three to five kids if he can. Since he lived in a large household he would probably want one too.

• Killua as a father would be a tough love kind of guy. I can see him being a lighter version of Silva in the sense he would train them to be proficient assassins. Still he would actually spend time with your kids and tell them how much he loves you. He says he would die if you left him or died.

• Killua would convince your kids he needs you to live, he would convince them they need you to live as well. He would train them to be strong but do what his family didn't and make sure they actually care about their family. I can easily see one or two having white hair and blue eyes reflecting the genetics of a Zoldyck.

• Killua would be a bit patient when it comes to having kids, but he wants some before you turn twenty-five. If by that point you won't want kids he will tell you what he'll do to you and then proceed to do it. You will have at least one kid before twenty-five.

• He would train his kids and probably play board games or video games every once in a while to bond again. He would let his kids by whatever they want, some things they will have to earn or get themselves, but other than that they will be spoiled.

• Killua knows that his old family will hunt him and his family down, which is the main reason he wants a lot of kids. He wants strong kids to be able to fight back against anyone who tries to take you away from him, even his own family. He wants to be the new generation of Zoldyck's and erase the last one forever.

• He would probably have Alluka be in his family, making sure to help him keep it. She wouldn't mind too much, she gets to play board games and hang out with her favorite sister in law!

Kurapika:

• We all know Kurapika wants as many kids as possible as soon as possible. He would be conscious about what you want but in the end he won't care. He wants kids by the time you are twenty-one, so very soon.

• He will rebuild his clan one way or another but it will be with you. His kids will grow up to be strong Kurta's with flaming red eyes and a burning passion to keep you safe. Their twisted ideology will rub off from their father. It will be ingrained in their minds that keeping you safe and away from any danger is too priority, to the point where conditions with nen would be an easy way to do so.

• As a father he would be manipulative, training his children to love you just as much as he does. He wouldn't care as much for them as he does you, in fact he might even see them as a tool to keep you with him. Kurapika would convince them he cares through small acts of affection but when it comes down to it he will choose you.

• He will train his children to hate the Phantom Troupe and see them as a threat. If they can kill them, they'll make a plan to finally take them all out.

• Kurapika will mostly train his children, giving them rewards for good behavior and shunning them for bad behavior. He will use tough love to make them into killing machines. He, everyone once in a while would read to them or tell them stories of fighters and princesses, things that will fuel their desire to keep you safe. Kurapika would love family dinners, it would be a time where everyone gathers around to bask in each others presence.

• I do think he cares for his kids, very, very deeply, but in the end it you who he wants to keep safe. And if there has to be some sacrifices then so be it.

Leorio:

• He would probably be the most family man out of them all. Like Gon he would care for his children except more like a father would.

• He would want two to three kids to guide. He would want you to have kids at around twenty-five but he is willing to wait until you are ready.

• I don't think he would force himself on you but he will be more touchy when he wants to get down and dirty. So when you are twenty-five with no kids, he would be very touchy.

•He would teach his children nen and spoil them, after all he loves them dearly.

• He would always play anything with them, trips, games, books, literally anything he would be happy to give.

• I can see him being the type to ask for help from the others if something were to happen, probably from Gon first. He will explain what happened and whoever helps him will tear everything apart.

• So Leorio would be Yandere best dad.

[kykyonthemoon]

The Dreamweaver

Name: KyKy

Nicknames: Ky, Moon Moon (by Chime)

Rank: S

Class: Soul Dancer

Age: 20 (in most fic)

Gender: Female

D.O.B: Oct, 18

Star sign: Libra

Blood type: AB

Ethnicity: Asian 

Affiliations: Cassell College, Lionheart

Colors: gold, white

Appearance: a short, slim girl with dark hair and dreamy amethyst eyes that change into golden while using EX Skills. Her appearance may give people the impression of harmless, innocent girl, though she’s actually a powerful S-rank hybrid.

Traits: Peacemaker - Spirited - Righteous Ally

KyKy is a dreamer. She’s very creative and daydreams a lot. That’s why she enjoys reading and writing fictions. She’s curious and often gets lost in her own thoughts. She’s a romantic - the type that always makes up a perfect love story in her mind; and an idealistic who sees the world in bright colors.

She might be quiet and distant at first, but she’s actually very sweet. She cares a lot about her friends and loved ones. She’s also sensitive, compassionate and kind. She hopes to use her healing power to help everyone in need. 

She gets shy easily and be speechless. Her friends find that expression cute and often tease her a lot, especially when it comes to her love interest. She can be very clumsy and forgetfull too.

However, KyKy is not always a bright sunflower. She’s very insecure and can be over-dramatic at times. When she’s in a bad mood, she might close herself off to everyone. She doubts herself a lot.

Hobbies:

Reading and writing stories - She wants to become a writer one day

Dancing

Cooking (though she often leaves a mess in the kitchen)

Stargazing

Fears: Darkness, nightmares, being left behind and being forgotten

Skills:

-She has soul dancer’s skills and talents. -Her power is related to the Moon, therefore, she gets extremely weak on moonless nights, and most powerful during full moon.

-She can enter and alter a person’s dreams (for example: turning a nightmare into a good dream) by touching them or finding them in the dreamworld. -KyKy’s Special EX Skills:

Lullaby: Soothes one’s mind and puts the target to sleep.

Dreamweaver’s Dance: Performs a dance with the gemini and turns the illusions in her dream into reality for a short amount of time. Costs a large amount of Vitality. Cannot be used without The Golden Thread of Dreams. (This skill is like a summoning ritual. She uses it to call upon mythical creatures that aid her in battle.)

Sleepwalk: The Golden Thread creates a portal, connecting dreams and let her travel to a chosen destination. This is a very hard-to-master skill that costs an enormous amount of Vitality. It is not recommended to use without supervision (from Cassell). Without high concentration, the she might be lost between realms and erased from existence.

-Gemini: Gemini might not take the exact image of the soul dancer, but it can be the image of what the soul dancer loves, or deeply connected to. KyKy’s gemini is a spirit came from the dreamworld. It connects to her soul and guides her. The gemini has two forms: one is astral (a mirror image of the soul dancer - as seen in game); and one is physical (the gemini becomes a living creature - other people, beside the soul dancer, can interact with it too). KyKy’s gemini is called Midnight, and it often stays in the physical shape of a cat.

-The Golden Thread of Dreams: Like most soul dancers, KyKy doesn’t use a weapon. But she has a small golden thread tied on her wrist. The thread is endless and made of countless tiny threads, each of them represents a beautiful dream she has encountered (could be her dreams or others’.) The thread is believed to have a connection to her heart and soul. It is also the soul link of a soul dancer. KyKy ties the thread to the one she wants to share a soul link with (and gives them buffs in battle~) The thread can be used as a weapon, or to perform special EX Skills. It cannot be cut by most weapons, and if cut, it will take time to regain power from dreams.

Background:

Her bloodline from her mother’s side was very pure, but the clan could not maintain their bloodline, and the later generations have lost their powers. KyKy’s mother was an S-ranked soul dancer. She wanted a normal life, so she changed her name and married KyKy’s father - who is only C-ranked. She lost their unborn child and blamed herself for not being able to save it with her healing power. She never uses her power again.

KyKy inherited her mother’s bloodline. Feared that her daughter would have a tough life of an S-rank, or met the tragedies like her before, she faked her blood test report and found away to suppress KyKy’s power. This caused her power to be unstable.

Brought up in a small town as a normal girl, KyKy was not aware of her powers. When she was in middle school, she started seeing illusions from her dreams becoming real, walking into other places she had never been to. Her wounds from daily activities seemed to heal very quickly too. Yet her mother refused to tell her the truth.

After graduating high school, her powers got out of control. Cassell College found her and offered a special scholarship for the S-ranked. She confronted her mother again and was told the truth. Her parents prevented her from going to Cassell, and warned her about the harsh life, the dangerous missions that they might put her through. KyKy managed to put her parents to sleep, using her new-found special power. She left a letter for them to apologize and ask for their understanding. Eventually, she was able to talk things out with her parents and they let her stay in Cassell.

Relationships:

-Good friends:

Cery (@4-komacery’s MC): roommate - best friend. They met on the train to Cassell and Cery signed up for KyKy to join Lionheart with her (while KyKy had no idea about it.) The two are at the same age. Their traits are different, but they share a lot in common; like arts, creativity, food, fashion,... KyKy often forgets her stuffs, and Cery always has to remind her. She loves to tease KyKy about her crush too. They know almost all of each other’s secrets.

Johann: senior - book buddy. Johann often gives KyKy books to read, although most of them are non-fiction and completely not her cup of tea (she never tells him that.) KyKy knows how crazy her friend Cery is over Johann, and she’s very supportive of their realtionship. KyKy hangs out with him more after he becomes Cery’s boyfriend.

Chisei Gen: beach buddy. They share an undying love for the beach and sunshines. At first, KyKy was mad at Chisei for leaving her team at the bottom of the sea, and what he did to Chime. But as she gets to know him more, she thinks he’s a good friend. She literally goes out of her way to help the brothers reconcile.

NoNo: senior - fashion guru. 

Caesar: senior - sometimes like a big brother to her.

Finger: senior - cooking buddy.

Luminous: seniors - anime friend.

Erii Uesegi: shopping/gaming buddy.

EVA & Adam: KyKy greets them every day in the office. She actually likes talking to them.

Vinya: book buddy. KyKy likes to spend time in the library. She also helps Vinya with tidying up the place, sorting books and cleaning the telescopes.

-Soulmate:

Chime Gen: KyKy met Chime when they were kids in the dreamworld. She thought he was just her imagination (x) and promised to find him if he’s real. They parted when Chime became a devil (Ruri Kazama) and stabbed by Chisei. She has been looking for him ever since, without remembering his name. She doesn’t know he’s Ruri Kazama until later.

Ruri Kazama: On her mission to Japan, KyKy meets Ruri. She always has a feeling that he’s someone she knew before. Later, she finds out that he’s the one she’s been looking for. But she’s confused and hurt because Ruri doesn’t seem to remember Chime’s dreams with her in the past. 

Dragon Lord Ruri Kazama: KyKy is frightened of this form of him. But she still believes he can regain control and break away from Osho’s grip. She uses her power to help him even though she might get hurt. Eventually, she succeeds and he’s able to remember the past dreams with her.

They might seem to be opposite, but they have a very deep connection, like dark and light intertwining. Her cheerfulness and healing power calm him and get him through darkness, while he protects her like the night sky embracing the moon (hence they call each other “night sky” and “moon moon” - silly, I know!) They’re both crazy about the other, but they don’t know that yet. 

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

Masterlist: x

[chicagocityofclans]

Nick Hamelin→ David Giuntoli → Rat Animal Shifter 

→ Basic Information 

Age: 551

Gender: Male

Sexuality: Straight

Born or Made: Born 

Birthday: August 18th

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Religion: Deism

→ His Personality Nick possesses a keen sense to profile people quickly. Aside from his ability of prospection, he has a good amount of self-confidence that never crosses over into arrogance. This along with his ability to stay calm and rational in difficult situations gives him an edge in coping with his position as leader of the Rat Pack. Nick's sheer bravery is incredible. Multiple times he's leapt into dangerous situations to save his pack, and even when faced with opponents who are his equal, he refuses to back down. He is a loving and devoted husband, and a loyal friend. Nick has gotten more ruthless, and is now less worried about killing opponents, but only if they are a serious threat to him or his pack. Nick's temper has also increased, and he has become more prone to expressing and listening to his rage as well. Nick is a highly capable liar, able to make up believable stories on the spot to cover his BOND activities. He is comfortable with bending or outright breaking the law when he needs to do pack business. 

→ His Personal Facts

Occupation: Leader of Rat Shifters and BOND

Scars: Yes

Tattoos: None

Two Likes: German Cuisine and Grimm Brothers

Two Dislikes: Castles and Traffic Laws

Two Fears: Losing His Family and Death

Two Hobbies: Antiquing and Collecting/Reading Old Supernatural Books

Three Positive Traits: Reliable, Self-Confident, Unflinching

Three Negative Traits: Vengeful, Possessive, Ill-Natured

→ His Connections

Parent Names:

Flynn Hamelin (Father): Flynn is still alive and well in Hamelin, Germany. The Germany pack usually remain in their rat forms and run missions for their government. The Hamelin pack only takes on their human forms in dire situations, much like when Nick and Ray were kids. The lines were blurry between being a leader and being a father for Flynn when it came to Nick and Ray. Nick cannot remember the last time Flynn or Lina visited, probably for his wedding. Nick and Flynn rarely talk on the phone but Nick understands that Flynn remains in rat form and will often lose track of time, like most undercover rats. In the past few years, Flynn has been making hints towards possibly retiring and wanting Nick and Ray to return home. Nick has not given Flynn a solid answer and is unsure how he feels about the old clan way of living. 

Lina Hamelin (Mother): Lina is still alive and well in Hamelin, Germany. Nick was born Nikolaos Hamelin in Germany in 1468. He was born into a pure line of rat animal shifters in a secluded area where there were only rat animal shifters. Nick didn’t learn about his human form until he was turning 4 or 5 years old and that was around the time his little brother Ray was born. Nick has never had a good look at his mother's face and the first real picture he has had of her was taken at his wedding with Jo. The bond between a rat mother and her baby is one of the strongest bonds Nick knows, and the same could be said about Lina. She shifts every now and again to contact both Nick and Ray. Nick does not blame her for being more comfortable in her rat form and tries to reassure her whenever he can. Lina has mentioned Nick and Ray’s return multiple times which Nick quickly deflects by mentioning Jo has walked into the room and handing off the phone to her. 

Sibling Names:

Rayner ‘Ray’ Hamelin (Brother): Ray and Nick share a bond that goes beyond brotherhood. Saying that Nick would kill for Ray and vice versa barely scratches the surface. They might not seem close to those on the outside looking in but Nick and Ray are constantly talking or texting. Deep down Nick loses his sanity when Ray goes past his check in times and would hound other members for updates on his whereabouts. Nick is sure their bond is unhealthy, especially after Ben and Jim got him to admit that he could not see his world without Ray and would rather follow him in death, leaving behind Jo and their pack. Ray being overseas had made Nick a little more irritable than usual but Nick has calmed down since Ray has been home.

Children Names:

None

Romantic Connections:

Josephine ‘Jo’ Floyd Hamelin (Wife/Mate): Nick was not looking for a relationship or a mate when his clan went on a rescue mission. Nick has always been more focused on expanding his knowledge, pack and resources to date seriously. It wasn’t until Jo was done with her training and she seemed comfortable after her ordeal, did Nick make his move. They have been together for 38 years and married for 27 years. Jo is the love of his life and they have a healthy relationship that Nick can see lasting as long as his own parents.  

Platonic Connections:

James ‘Jim’ Montgomery (Best Friend): Nick and Ray found Jim and offered him the bite centuries ago. He has been a loyal and trustworthy friend to them both ever since. While Ray, Jim and Jalissa are not officially part of the standard alpha, second and third leading system for Clans, their opinions are as heavily weighed by Nick as if they were from Mills (2nd) and Conrad (3rd).

Ben Ehrlich (Best Friend): While Nick could never consider anyone else as close as his relationship with Ray, Ben was like a 3rd brother to them. With Ray, Jim, Mills and Ben behind him, Nick felt invincible. Ben was a casualty from the Underground tragedy. Being unable to recover Ben’s body has been another unthinkable hit towards Nick’s clan dealt by the vampire.

Shelton Mills (Good Friend): Nick used to buy miniature furniture from Mills when he was still human. Mills had been one of the only humans Nick had ever met who built usable miniatures, including dollhouses. Nick would place orders regularly for his pack regular since they remained in rat form and lived under one roof. Mills miniatures made life easier in many ways and initially because of that, when Mills became ill, Nick offered him the bite. Mills has been a valued member of their clan and has become more than just the miniatures guy. Nick considers Mills a friend and thinks he is fitting the position as 2nd after Ben’s death well.

Jalissa Toll (Good Friend): Jalissa is an old friend of Nick’s that has been a part of their clan for nearly two centuries. Jalissa is married with three kids and the head of BALL. When Nick, Ray, Mills and Jim found Jalissa she was shifted and unable to change back because she had mistakenly consumed Omnes Interficere. When Jelissa was able to change back to her human form, she flocked to Ray but her relationship with Nick took time to develop. Over the years Jalissa has been an asset to their clan and a trusted friend to Nick.

Jaxson Idris (Pseudo Son): Jaxson is a young and inspiring born rat shifter, that Nick and Jo have raised as their own. Jaxson came into their possession when he was 5 years old as a runaway. It did not take long to find out where Jaxson was from, but the reports were disturbing enough for Nick and his personal council to decide on keeping Jaxson. Nick cannot deny that Jaxson had already arrived with multiple irreversible traits and habits. It took years of training and leniency from Nick to repair most of the damage done to Jaxson as a child. Jaxson had a lot of misplaced potential that Nick did not know how to tap into back then. Nick has seen a difference in Jaxson’s behavior and attitude lately, especially after the RED massacre and Conrad being promoted. Jaxson was not ready for another titled position and expected Nick to hand it to him. Nick is fatherly when it comes to Jaxson and there is no denying it, however, Nick would never put Jaxson over himself, Jo, Ray, or their clan. Nick would rather put a bullet in Jaxson’s skull than have everything he worked for burnt to the ground. That can also be said about anyone; pseudo son or not. Nick tries not to dwell on Jaxson's personal life too much and lets Jaxson figure his own way out of his messes. One mess that Nick is unsure he will be able to help Jaxson out of is his obsession over Samantha Whitney. Nick does not believe Jaxson has a true future with Sam since their paths lead into different directions but it is a learning experience that Nick is willing to let them both learn for themselves. It has only been a year since the massacre and Nick has seen a lot of growth. Jaxson, much like Ray, does not have the drive to become the leader of his own pack but given time Nick is sure Jaxson and any clan he runs would make formidable adversaries.  

Maxine Vanes (Friend/Packmate): Nick made a lot of mistakes over the centuries, most of them were completely his fault for making the wrong decision, however, Nick could have never foreseen his situation with Max. Max has been a part of their clan since the age of 12 and has been a force to be reckoned with. Max took to guilting Nick in her early years of being changed and Nick had to go to the extremes to get her to back off and stop being destructive to their clan. Nick went as far as taking Max out to the middle of nowhere and threatening to leave her there with no resources or clothes, if she did not stop with the bullshit when she was 15. Nick had to take the same drive when Max was 17 but only this time Nick threatened to kill her after she tried to raise her hand and voice at him. Nick knows that Max has never forgiven him and will always continue to push his buttons but they have worked out somewhat of an understanding and friendship over the years. What Nick does not understand is why Max and Henry are keeping their relationship from him and their clan. Nick has been entertaining them and allowing them to continue their games, but he is unimpressed. 

Mary Lang (Possible Niece/Packmate): Mary is the only child and daughter of Doria Lang. Nick performed a DNA test behind Mary’s back to find out if Ben, Ray, or Jim was her supposed father. The results were not surprising, but Nick knows it is not his place to tell anyone. Nick does have precautions set in place just in case something was to happen to himself or Mary’s biological father (Ben, Ray, or Jim) and she tries to take over or pull rank using their name. Nick believes Mary would never pull something of the sort but there is nothing wrong with being prepared. Nick has no interest in Mary and would rather not have her close. Updated: Ben has died and Mary has chosen not to get a DNA test, unknowingly forfeiting a few items and money from Ben’s last living will and testament.

Samantha Whitney (Packmate): Nick’s clan is made up of a small majority of runaways or abandon members from other packs. Sam was born in Ohio, she ran away after finding out that she was getting sold by her father, Sean Whitney to win favor from their leader. Nick made sure to put the fear of God in both of Sam’s parents and ex-leader when her story was confirmed. Sam seemed to struggle at first but after befriending Jaxson and Conrad, she excelled in nearly everything that Nick and Ray put her against. Nick and Ray saw potential in Sam as she ran missions with Jaxson. Nick and Jim pushed Jaxson more towards SKIN, giving Sam time to grow out of her shell and mild dependency that Nick noticed was possibly forming. Nick left the final decision to Ray, but someone needed to train as his replacement overseas eventually and Sam seemed like a likely candidate. Ray and other members of BOND have kept him updated on her progression. She has kept her cool over the past year without proper supervision enough for Nick, Mills and Ray to think she can play a key role in finding information about the influx of rats and helping keep an eye on them.

Conrad Kale (Packmate): Conrad is the son of Elias and Johanna Kale. The Kale family was not originally a part of the German clan, but Nick and Ray found Conrad’s great x7 grandfather in passing and offered him the bite. The Kale family is now spread across the world, usually on BOND or the most dangerous teams in their area. Conrad has stood out among his peers since childhood. The massacre of RED came as a shock to Nick and Conrad, they lost over 200 valued members and had over 2,000 injuries. The decision to give Conrad the position as third came to Nick as he watched Conrad spiral down a lengthy never-ending hole. Conrad is the youngest member to ever hold the third position but has not let Nick down. Conrad is also the second youngest to being the head of his own team, after Helo. Nick took Helo and Conrad as star examples and started placing new fresh young faces as head of teams. 

Henry Dean (Packmate): Nick clan is majorly made up of loyal members that they have converted from other packs. Henry is a born rat shifter from Cincinnati who works as a BOND weapons specialist for the Chicago rat clan after his own was overtaken by Nick. Nick would rather have Henry out in the field but after an ordeal with Carl Anderson, Henry was burned among a small group of hunters, making it impossible for Henry to leave Chicago and complete missions safely. Much like Micah and other converted packmates, Henry has earned his trust, but Nick still keeps close tabs on them all. 

Achilles Idris (Packmate): The entire situation with Achilles and Cadmus still makes Nick’s head hurt. From the moment Achilles walked into their lives, Nick's intuitions were screaming something was off about him, which Nick initially thought was Achilles being in the closet. It took 9 months to find out who he was. Finding out Achilles was Jaxson’s older brother and that he was trying to take Jaxson away sent Nick into a downward spiral, but things worked themselves out. Honestly, when Nick invited Achilles to stay, Nick had been planning to ‘drive Achilles to the bus station’ in which he would never return or be heard from again. Jaxson had already begged Nick to let Achilles stay and Mills mentioned not having enough justification but Nick wanted to set an example of what happens when someone tries to drive a wedge between him and his clan members. It was Cadmus that changed his mind. Cadmus had kicked his own renowned oldest living son out of his pack for being gay. He dragged the kid down in front of Nick and assumed that Nick would do the same, not because Achilles lied about being Jaxson's half brother and spied on them for Cadmus but simply because of Achilles sexual orientation. There was no way Nick was sending Achilles out into the world filled with people who thought like Cadmus. It has been a few years and Achilles can look Nick in the eyes without averting his gaze, which is a big step in progress. Nick has tried not to show favoritism towards Jaxson, Conrad and now Achilles but Nick is extra harsh on those who offend Achilles or try to bring up his past. 

Neaera Jayweed (Packmate): Nick heard about Neaera in reports from another BOND member before Ray mentioned her. Following protocol, Nick had her entire background dug up and brought forward to him before giving any go ahead for her and her little brother, Kris to join their pack. The last thing Nick needed was another headstrong born female rat that could take down a small majority of his men on her own if she put her mind to it. Nick has thought about ways to break her but has taken BOND reports about Neaera into consideration and would rather not have his bed lit on fire in the middle of the night. 

Kris Jayweed (Packmate): Kris seems like a promising young man that was injured his senior year of high school and lost all his college scholarships. Nick had noticed in Kris’s file that he had all the grades to go to an Ivy league college but instead started making a name for himself in England’s IMPALER (equals to Chicago’s RED). Nick has suggested Conrad takes Kris on and believes they would make a good pair and get their clan the information they need. Nick is impressed with what they have accomplished so far. 

Kylo ‘Nada’ Rajui (Business): The hyenas were one of Nick's most anticipated groups to join the local animals shifters and the Chicago alliance. Nick was one of the first leaders to greet Venus, the hyena leader and Nada, her second, when they arrived in Chicago in the early 1900s. Venus, Nada and Nick became friends and began to side with each other on Council decisions. Over the years, they have built a rare comfort and friendliness between their packs. LMAO and the hyenas are as close to one another as they are with Clan Nimble. Update: Venus was killed while running in her animal form causing chaos within the hyena clan. A large majority of hyenas have left Chicago and Nick has a few BOND members following some of the high interest hyenas. Theo and Nick have been working together with Nada to help them solve their reckless changing problem.

Clarisse ‘Clara’ Fields (Business): Clara is a black bear shifter that is a part of the Animal Shifter Council. Clara has not been on Nick’s radar as of lately. He and POOH understands what she is trying to do for her endangered species and has been staying out of her hair lately. Although POOH last report coincided with RED that Clara and her top members have been disappearing Underground. Nick plans on sending BOND in for more information and keeping the two other teams separate instead of starting joint missions. In the beginning, Nick and Clara’s professional relationship was anything but sweet. Clara had pulled him aside and they were able to hash out their differences. That does not mean that Nick isn’t vicious or short-tempered when she does step on his bad side. 

Chris Bialar (Business): Chris is a born lion shifter that is a part of the Animal Shifter Council. He is a widower with one son, leader of the Chicago cat shifters and the principal at Panthera Academy. Nick and BALL have not been able to get a rat to keep up with Chris and his clan when they visit Africa, but BALL has confirmed that there is an extended clan which belongs to Chris’s father. BALL has an understanding with the local cats for the most part, but they are still considered one of the dangerous clans to be assigned to. Chris and Nick are not exactly friends or enemies, but their liaisons can communicate well enough for them. 

Ellis Watts (Business): Ellis is approximately 100 years old and had inherited his clan from his father in 1941. Ellis and Nick are on good terms. ANUBIS and the Jackal clan have come to an understanding that ANUBIS does not invade any areas of the government that could cause problems and in return the Jackals do not keep information from them. Nick and Ellis are fine with members of their pack hanging out together in their human-form, same as with clan nimble. 

Percy McCormick III (Business): Percy is 228 years old, married without kids and is one of Nick’s closest allies. Nick has been around for a while and was friends with Percy’s father. This made things a little easier when it was Percy’s time to take over. Nick and Percy clan often work together to gather information. Percy’s people teach the rats reporting and/or journalistic investigating skills in exchanging for information and leads. Nick still allows NERVOUS to gather information on the nimble but they mostly focus on learning from them. 

Isaac Baker (Business): Isaac is a made wolf shifter that is a part of the Animal Shifter Council. Isaac is the leader of the Chicago and surrounding area wolves. Micah and Nick found it surprising that Isaac spent a year at MIT before dropping out and suspect that Isaac must have been changed around that time. Nick and his inner circle are aware of Isaac’s deal with Ronan Cleirigh pertaining to Duke Thornton and have been trying to keep it from the rest of the pack; especially Hanna who has taken over for Micah as SCOOBY’s head. 

Ronan Cleirigh (Associate): Ronan may be one of the oldest warlock males in Chicago at the moment but it has yet to be confirmed. He is feared among his peers and GOLD seems to think that he is Death or plays a dangerous role with necromancy. Nick is neutral about Ronan but wants Louis and his team in Ronan’s house or one of his establishments by the end of the year or Nick is going to take over GOLD until it happens. 

Minsky Edison (Associate): Minsky is approximately a 1,200 years old male witch with great taste in music, who also practices Tai Chi and has one of the nicest houses in Chicago. Minsky has always been kind and pleasant to deal with during the major quinquennial Council meetings. GOLD has mentioned that Minsky has been placing milk out for them but has kept to their strict orders not to drink or eat anything while out on the job. 

Hostile Connections:

Kudzai Rinker (Loathe): Nick would not dare call himself respectful or chivalrous nor is Nick someone who would ‘curse someone out’ but Kudzai has pushed Nick beyond all reasonable thought. Kudzai has been nothing but disrespectful towards Nick and his pack from the day they met. Nick has tried to open up an olive branch but for some reason Kudzai seems terrified of him. He’s unsure if they crossed paths in the past or if she is familiar with Nick’s father, Flynn but it does not excuse the way she treats his people or the disrespect Nick is constantly dealt.

Ryan Cleirigh (Contempt): Ray and Helo seem to entertain the young warlock more than Nick is willing to. Ryan has a podcast that caters to the supernatural community. Nick doesn’t mind if his pack uses the information from Ryan’s supernatural podcast but he only asked that it is double and triple checked before being recorded as fact. Nick believes it is a huge security breach and would rather not depend on magic to keep said podcast from falling into the wrong hands.

Scorpius Getta (Hate): Getta has ignited a hatred in Nick strong enough for Nick to have considered moving his clan to Germany and blowing up the Underground and Chicago along with it to get rid of Getta and his entire seethe. Nick is barely a step away from foaming out of the mouth whenever Getta comes up and wants nothing more than to take something Getta loves from him. RED has found out that Getta has children that are physically his that he changed into vampires long ago. Nick is waiting on names or any hints that could point to them before sending BOND and possibly the entire German Hamelin pack after them. 

Sirius Cobic (Despise): The local police are corrupt. Nick was upset back in the mid 1800s when the witches, warlocks, vampires and other animal shifters thought that they needed mediators. The human shifters acted as such when they first arrived. Taking payments to privately help solve supernatural on supernatural crimes, street robbery, murder, petty thievery, prostitution, rapes, missing children and poaching. Nick did not mind at first but quickly changed his tune when the human shifters became their local police. Over the years, hundreds of rats have either been killed, maimed or gone missing from SKIN missions. Human shifters have accounted for the highest amount of deaths overall within their clan. Nick, Ray, Mills, and Jim have tried multiple times to get with Sirius to talk about arrangements or meeting one on one but it has always failed or they were attacked in plain daylight instead.

Pets:

None

[ibijau]

it’s Bad timeline time, y’all! Although we’re getting to the people who actually see their fate improve a bit, yay!

He's just a boy, Huaisang thought, staring from a distance.

Of course, he'd always known that Xue Yang was young. He'd heard he wasn't more than sixteen or seventeen at the time of the massacre of the Yueyang Chang Clan, and that would have been years in the future.

As it was, the Sunshot Campaign had just finally ended. It had taken half a year more than it had last time, it had cost many more lives too, but it was over at last. 

The next part of Huaisang's plan was to make sure no conflict could erupt between the Nie sect and the Jin one and... that was going well so far. Most of the problem had come from the Yiling Patriarch's legacy, and Wei Wuxian was too busy running a sect with his sister turned wife to ever think of demonic cultivation, nor would he need to. Jin Guangshan was still capable of creating problems, but Huaisang was getting ready to take care of that too. He had the means, he just needed the occasion.

Without his father's influence, Jin Guangyao would be much less of a threat, so that would be killing two birds with one stone.

Still, while he prepared for his second murder in cold blood, Nie Huaisang had found himself wondering about the person who, in a few years, would have become the catalyst for the divide between Nie Mingjue and Jing Guangyao: Xue Yang.

Without the support of the Jins, Xue Yang wasn't much of a threat. And without the need for demonic cultivators, the Jins would never lower themselves to take in a street rat like him. Still, Huaisang felt slightly guilty that by his fault, a monster like that one remained at large. He knew what Xue Yang was capable of. He'd heard what had happened to the Chang Sect. He'd seen what he had done to Song Lan and Xiao Xingchen. He's witnessed the games he'd played in Yi City.

Huaisang's soul had been blackened this much already. A third murder wouldn't be much. Since he had not learned cultivation yet, it would be easy to kill Xue Yang.

He had arrived in Kuizhou a few days earlier, and set down to work to track the monster. It had been surprisingly easy. A disturbingly smiling youth with a missing finger? There were not many of those, and Xue Yang had never been known for subtlety. Huaisang had had no trouble finding which parts of town he was most active in.

So there he was now, sitting inside a sub-par tavern, staring through a window toward a group of teenagers. Xue Yang was easily the youngest of the group, but already he was rather tall. How old could he be? Twelve, thirteen at most? Perhaps younger, it was hard to say with a face like his. And yet there could be no doubt that this group of older boys was under his thrall. Young, but already good at manipulating people.

Nie Huaisang tore his eyes from the teenagers and took a sip of tea.

He knew he had caused the death of children already. There had been a war, and that war had dragged on longer than necessary. To make it worse, it was only too well known to him how many Wens had died, were dying, would die in the Jin work camps, many of them no more than toddlers. He knew because he'd been there in secret once or twice to try and see if he could find Lan Sizhui, but he'd never discovered the right group of Wens. Too much had changed, Wen Qing's people had been taken to a different place. More deaths to weigh him down.

But none of these children had been directly killed by him. He had killed adults, yes (it was a war, and in fairness they would have killed him too given the chance) and he had murdered Jiang Cheng who had still been so young but... but never a child, never an actual child. He hadn't fallen that low yet. Even a monster had things he wasn't willing to do, especially when he couldn't be sure what Xue Yang would become in the future.

A criminal, certainly, as he already was one and he had no one to put him on a better path. But how dangerous would he be? And who could say he wouldn't make a fateful encounter than would change his ways, leading him to become a good man. He was impossibly clever after all, nearly on the same level as Wei Wuxian. With the right training, the right mindset, Xue Yang could perhaps revolutionise the cultivation world in all the ways Wei Wuxian wouldn't get the chance to.

That train of thought was broken when someone pulled on the chair on the other side of Huaisang's table and sat down across from him.

The boy smiled so widely it revealed an unsettling smile with an empty slot where one canine was still growing.

“I hear you've been asking about me?” Xue Yang asked in a voice that had not yet broken. “I've got to wonder what I've done that they'd send a cultivator after me this time.”

Huaisang maintained a neutral expression, but already he was impressed. He had his sabre with him of course, but aside from that he'd made sure to dress up like an merchant to avoid bringing attention to himself. For most people, changing his clothes and hair was enough. Xue Yang, no matter how young, wasn't most people.

“Are you very used to be chased, then?” Huaisang asked.

He already knew the answer of course. Part of what made it so startling to see Xue Yang was that his reputation was already impressive, and he had always escaped being captured by authorities. He wouldn't be caught by anyone in his life, not until a righteous cultivator dedicated himself to the task, never knowing how much it would cost him.

“I'm used to a lot of things,” Xue Yang replied dismissively, grabbing Huaisang's tea and shamelessly drinking it. He inspected the adult a little longer, and grinned too wickedly for someone who didn't have all his real teeth yet. “You don't look like someone that's going to cause me trouble. So I guess what's happening is you want me to cause trouble for you. Can be arranged. I ask to be paid first though.”

How terrible for a child to already know to make that demand.

“Why do you think I'm a cultivator?” Huaisang inquired.

“Saw your sword when you walked in the street. Normal people don't have one like that. Also, you stopped a moment in front of that old house, the one that's haunted. Most folks just walk faster, but you stopped and you frowned and I bet if you hadn't been more interest in me, you'd have done something about it.”

“You are a very observant boy,” Huaisang noted.

He'd known that about Xue Yang already, of course. He had known a lot about Xue Yang, but it was different from experiencing it. He also took note of the pride that flashed on the boy's face at being complimented, even if Xue Yang tried to hide it. No matter how clever or wicked, any child liked to be acknowledged.

“So, what d'you want me for?” Xue Yang asked, his grin turning greedy. “I can do anything, or I can have it done by someone else. It's easy.”

“Have you ever thought of joining a sect?”

The question startled Xue Yang enough that, for a brief moment, he looked like nothing more than an innocent child. In fairness, Huaisang too felt surprised. This wasn't part of the plan. He was supposed to kill Xue Yang or leave him alone, not... do whatever it was that he was now thinking of.

But of course, plans changed.

“Sects don't take people like me,” Xue Yang protested, nearly pouting in a way that could have been adorable if Huaisang hadn't known what that boy was. “And I'm too old.”

“That's not a no. And some sects take older disciples, as well as people who don't come from cultivating families.”

“Does yours?”

Huaisang hesitated. Qinghe Nie took in anyone as long as they were tough enough. With their founder a butcher, it would have been hypocritical to turn away people because of their birth.

At the same time, he did not want Xue Yang in his sect. First of all, Mingjue would hate that boy so much, as had been proven in their other life. Secondly, the thought of someone like Xue Yang anywhere near Lan Xichen made Huaisang sick to the core. He'd seen and heard what had happened to Xiao Xingchen who like Lan Xichen trusted too easily. He could not take that risk.

What Xue Yang needed was a place that could canalise his wild temperament without stifling it so much he'd run away, and people who could teach him that, actually, human lives other than his own did matter.

Ah.

Well, he'd ruined their lives this much already, what was a little more?

“My sect is not recruiting at the moment,” Huaisang explained with a hand wave. “But I have some friends who are in dire need of disciples. You've heard of the Sunshot Campaign?”

Xue Yang scoffed, as if that weren't even worth answering.

“You might have heard of the Yunmeng Jiang sect too, then.”

From the way his eyes widened, it was obvious Xue Yang had heard of them.

“Listen old man, you're pushing the lie too far!” he protested. “Even kids know that the Jiang sect is this big! What are you going to say next, that you're friend with its leader?”

Huaisang couldn't help a smile. A very clever boy indeed.

“Friend might be pushing it, but I know Jiang Yanli and her husband. I'm from the Nie sect myself.”

Xue Yang's face turned to a mocking grimace.

“You're lying too big again. You don't look anything like a Nie.”

That stung a little more than Huaisang would have expected. He was used to hearing that sort of things, it had been thrown to his face often enough... though mostly in his other life. Since he had fought in the war this time, people were a little more respectful of him. He'd proven his worth as a cultivator, and he was a little less scrawny than he had been when he avoided his sabre... but of course, Xue Yang was right: he'd never look like he belonged in his sect.

“And you're overconfident if you think you can school me,” Huaisang scolded lightly. “Believe me or not, I don't care.”

He rose from his chair. He had seen what he had to see, heard what he needed to hear. Xue Yang was already on his way to becoming the monster he had grown into, in another life, but it might still be stopped. The only question was how to get Wei Wuxian to come in this part of Kuizhou... though for once, trickery might not be the way. He knew Jiang Yanli and Wei Wuxian. If he told them he had met an orphan who showed promises for cultivation, they'd be interested. They were that sort of people.

He ignored Xue Yang as he made his way out of the tavern, but the boy wasn't done with him. Xue Yang actually ran after him, shouting and grabbing his robe to catch his attention.

“Hey, master Nie, you forgot that,” he announced, showing off a small box. “How much will you give to have it back?”

Huaisang glared, not at the boy but at the box. It had been stupid, a mistake on his end. An old habit that was difficult to shake off.

He always used to buy souvenirs for Xichen when he travelled but... Lan Xichen didn't even live with them yet, wouldn't for some more years, and even when he finally did, he wouldn't want gifts from Huaisang.

“It's just candies,” Huaisang snapped, pulling his robe away from Xue Yang's hand “You can keep them for all I care.”

He started walking again and to his relief, Xue Yang did not try to follow. When Huaisang turned around after a moment, he spotted the boy exactly in the spot where he had left him, greedily digging into the pretty box, gorging himself on the delicate candies. He'd get a stomach ache if he didn't slow down but... that was not Huaisang's concern. Xue Yang could choke on those candies and die, it would be a blessing for the world.

Still, Huaisang was determined that he would try to speak to Wei Wuxian.

He knew about being a boy too clever in a world too cruel. Perhaps, with the right people to guide him, Xue Yang might turn out less monstrous than Huaisang had.

[electronicgrowth]

Guardian Angel: Chapter 4

This chapter features a version of Ransom that we are more familiar with. In other words, Ransom is an ass and Leah deals with the Thrombey clan.

Warnings: mentions of smut, fights, Thrombey’s are assholes

WC: 1816

We never talked about that night. But it reoccured. Often. Anytime one of us needed extra comfort we fell back into bed with each other. Every time we fucked he begged me to tell him that I loved him. But he never said it back. 

I started a job at Blood Like Wine publishing. But I kept living with Ransom, the extra drive into the city was worth not having to pay rent. This continued for months. 

Ransom had convinced me to attend Linda’s birthday party at Harlan’s house with him. I didn’t understand what this family’s preoccupation with birthdays was. Why did they always feel the need to have a big party? Especially since Linda and Harlan’s birthdays had only about five weeks between them.

We were getting ready that Sunday afternoon. I had opted to wear a dress and sweater with booties. Ransom mentioned that it was going to be held outside on the patio. 

“You almost ready?” He asked from the doorway.

“Yep. Nearly,” I answered. 

“Where’s your necklace?” He asked with a quirked eyebrow. 

“Oh, I wasn’t going to wear it. I figured it would broker too many questions from your family. I mean, they can spot Tiffany’s a mile away right?” I said awkwardly, barely making eye contact, he came up to me. Our faces just inches from one another. 

“Put it on, Leah,” he said in a low voice, “You don’t want to make me angry, babygirl.” He sounded more dangerous than I had heard him before. 

I quickly turned around and found the necklace box. Anytime I took the necklace off, which happened very rarely, I placed it back in the box. I put it on with shaky hands. 

The drive to Harlan’s was quiet. I knew Ransom was mad at me. We pulled up to Harlan’s, and I couldn’t stand the awkward silence. 

“I’m sorry, Ran,” I said, “I just figured that you wouldn’t want your family to know that you spent so much money on me.”

“Why should I give a shit about if they know?” He asked. 

“I don’t want them to think something is going on between us,” I stumbled over my words.

“But something is going on between us,” he countered.

“Yeah, but I didn’t think that you wanted anyone to know. But I guess we haven’t talked about it,” I murmured. 

“You’re my girl. My best friend in the whole world. What goes on between us at home isn’t any of their business,” he responded sternly, getting out of the car. I quickly followed. He had the present for Linda in one hand, and my hand in the other. 

We walked through to the back of the house, where the party was being held. Everyone else was already there. It was pretty warm for the fact that it was October. The sun was shining bright and warm. 

“Leah,” Linda sighed as she came over to hug me. 

“Happy Birthday Linda,” I said returning her hug, the hug was brief and awkward. A show of false affection.  

“Would you look at her Richard,” Linda exclaimed, “She’s all grown up.”

“Yeah,” he responded, eyes trained on me, “A beautiful young women.” 

Ransom wrapped his arm around me and pulled me back against his chest. He passed Linda the gift he had been carrying, “Happy Birthday, mom.”

“Thank you Ransom,” she said kissing his cheek. Ransom pulled me over to get some food. 

“Here,” he said handing me some champagne, “Not too strong. But it’s alcohol.”

“Thanks,” I giggled. 

I could feel eyes on me. I peered around and met Joni’s eyes, she was looking at me skeptically. Was she trying to find fault in me? Did she suspect that I was sleeping with the oldest Thrombey grandchild? Either way, it made me very nervous. 

“How many drinks deep do you think Donna is right now?” Ransom whispered in my ear.

I laughed. Things continued the way all Thrombey get together’s did, it was tense. It felt as if a blowout was just around the corner. 

Everyone talked and mingled, eventually Joni found her way to Ransom and I.

“Ransom, dear,” she sighed with a mischievous smile, “Bringing a girl to these things seems to make you more agreeable.” 

Ransom scowled at her, “Screw you, Joni.”

Joni didn’t even react to Ransom. I began to toy with my necklace nervously. 

“That’s a beautiful necklace, Leah,” Joni said. This grabbed Donna’s attention. 

“Oh my god. Is that a necklace from Tiffany’s?” She gasped. My eyes went as wide as saucers. 

Joni leaned forward, “Oh god,” she said, “It totally is.”

“Where did you get that? It looks like a newer piece,” Donna questioned. 

Every member of the family was now staring at me and Ransom. 

I kept opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water. I didn’t know how to answer the questions being thrown at me. 

“It is newer,” Jacob piped up, “in fact it’s almost $1,500.” He passed his phone to Donna and Walt for them to look at. 

“I bought it for her actually,” Ransom said throwing an arm protectively around me, kissing the side of my head. 

“Are you sleeping with her?” Linda asked aghast by the very prospect. 

“Mother,” Ransom scoffed,” Of course I am,” The entire family started into an uproar at the same time.

There were varying shouts, but the gist was clear. The family thought I was a gold digger, some whore who was using Ransom for the family’s money.

“We’re a couple. We live together. Why wouldn’t we be sleeping together?” He yelled over the rest of the family. 

I was humiliated. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. It probably would be less painful and uncomfortable than what was going on around me. 

“She’s a baby,” Richard said, “How can you be sleeping with her?”

Ransom didn’t say anything, just looked at his family with a shit-eating grin on his face. 

Was my ass sweating? My face must have been beat red. This was unbelievable. I had told Ransom that this would happen. 

“Well,” Ransom said, “You all better get used to Leah being around.”

“What is that supposed to mean?” Walt questioned angrily. 

“Leah is here to stay,” Ransom said.

“What does that mean?” Donna asked shrilly, “Are you two getting married?”

“If we were, it would be our decision,” Ransom responded with growl in his voice, “You know what? Leah and I are going to head out. Happy Birthday mother.”

As Ransom dragged me away, Walt called across the patio, “Don’t expect your piece of ass to still have a job at Blood Like Wine.”

Ransom quickly tugged me through the house. Stopping just briefly at Harlan’s office. 

“We’re leaving Granddad,” Ransom said. Marta shot me a sympathetic look. Ransom proceeded to pull me out of the house and to the car. He yanked the door open and pushed me inside. Slamming the door as soon as I pulled my leg into the car. He rounded the car and slammed his own door and started the car. He peeled out of the driveway. His grip on the steering wheel was turning his knuckles white. He was driving far too fast, but I wasn’t about to tell him that.

I kept stealing glances at him, while pressing myself close to the door. We pulled up to his house and he immediately got out of his car. Slamming his car door and the front door of the house. I took a deep breath and opened my own car door. I let myself into the house. Ransom was in the kitchen already, drinking from a fifth of scotch. My heels clicked on the tile floor and he turned around to look at me. 

“Ransom,” I said, “I’m sorry.” 

He turned around to look at me. 

“Stop.” He said. 

“Why did you say that we were a couple?” I pressed.

“We are a couple, Bunny,” he said, still not meeting my eyes.

“Are we?” I questioned, “Have you ever taken me out on a date? Or done anything romantic?” 

“How about the fact that I’ve done everything for you for years? I was with you constantly with you in New York. Charlie was always working. I took care of you!” He yelled, “And when Charlie died, I got you out of bed everyday. Made sure you showered and fed you. How about after the accident? I have done everything for you, Leah! You are my whole world.” I started to back away from him.

“Ransom, you’re scaring me,” I said.

“Scaring you? I’m scaring you?” He screamed, “I have done everything for you, Leah! I have never asked for anything in return. All I want is to be with you.”

“Then be with me!” I yelled back, “Tell me what you want! You always make me tell you that I love you, but you don’t say it back. You insist that we’re together. So, you tell me Ransom what is going on between us?”

“You’re my girl. You’ve been my girl for a long time, Leah,” he said, then he leaned down and placed a kiss on my lips. 

“Stop! Ransom, I can’t do this,” I cried, “I want all that stuff that I know you don’t. I want to get married and have kids. Decorate the Christmas tree, carve pumpkins. Stupid family shit that I never got to do. I know you don’t want that. And I got fired today because your family thinks I’m some kind of whore. Maybe we need some space. Ethan has this new girlfriend and he’s been begging to go visit him in San Francisco.” 

If looks could kill, I would be dead. Ransom stared at me with such venom. 

“Then go, Leah,” he growled at me before brushing past me to go back out to his car. 

He was gone for hours and I was worried sick. I called and texted. No answer. 

Finally I saw the headlights from the Beamer. Ransom stumbled from his car with a pretty brunette girl on his arm. When they got inside she saw me sitting in the living room.

“Who’s that?” She slurred. 

“Oh just my best friend’s kid sister,” he responded. He pulled her to his room. I quickly heard the sounds of their amorous activities. She moaned so loudly, I would have thought she was totally faking if I had never slept with Ransom. Hearing them fucking broke my heart in two. I realized that despite all the weird shit between Ransom and I, I was totally in love with him. I cried myself to sleep that night, and the next morning I jumped a flight to San Francisco for an extended stay with Ethan, I left the necklace on the kitchen counter with a note telling him where I was going and asking him not to call.

[menphinasbow]

yvaine; neverending survey

BASICS.

FULL NAME: Yvaine Aradia (birth name Yvaine Mhenravi)

NICKNAME: I don’t know if Khit’li has any nicknames for her actually

AGE: I don’t keep track  should be around 22-23

BIRTHDAY: 15th Sun of the 4th Astral Moon

ETHNIC GROUP: Miqo’te Keeper of the Moon

NATIONALITY: Gridanian

LANGUAGE/S: Common Eorzean

SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Heterosexual

ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Demiromantic

RELATIONSHIP STATUS:  Married 

HOME TOWN / AREA: all over Eorzea

CURRENT HOME: Mist, La Noscea

PROFESSION: Bard, Warrior of Light, Slayer of Primals, Moogle Collector

PHYSICAL.

HAIR: Long wavy turquoise with streaks of green

EYES: Emerald green

FACE: Oval

LIPS: Small, red

COMPLEXION: Pale as the moon

BLEMISHES:  None

SCARS:  Multiple battle scars, nothing permanent except one on her lower back from when she was little - one of her adopted siblings pushed her to the ground because they lost an archery duel with her and she hit a sharp rock

TATTOOS: None

HEIGHT:  5′

WEIGHT: 120 ponze

BUILD:  Petite

FEATURES:  Three grey clan marks on her cheek

ALLERGIES:  None

USUAL HAIR STYLE:  Always wore down or on a ponytail, and later on side ponytails

USUAL FACE LOOK:  Confused or concerned

USUAL CLOTHING:  Practical but chic adventuring gear. Leathers and armor in earthy tones and shades of green or blue. When not working, can be found wearing dresses that are more on the casual side rather than extravagant styles, making sure movement is always unimpeded.

PSYCHOLOGY.

FEAR/S: Failure, loss, being lonely or left behind, rejection

ASPIRATION/S:  To be a mother and have a happy family of her own

POSITIVE TRAITS: Dedicated, loyal, responsible, brave, honest, friendly, helpful, optimistic

NEGATIVE TRAITS: Naive, gullible, politically inept, inflexible when it comes to right and wrong, keeps putting others’ needs before hers, map illiterate

TEMPERAMENT:  Phlegmatic

SOUL TYPE/S:  Server

ANIMALS:  She’s basically a puppy

VICE HABIT/S: Doing something obviously dangerous without thinking when the fate of the world hangs in the balance

FAITH: Nymeia, Hydaelyn

GHOSTS?: Those who have died in her name

AFTERLIFE?: She knows where dead people go

REINCARNATION?: She likes to think so

POLITICAL ALIGNMENT: Hates politics

EDUCATION LEVEL:  Self taught and a smattering of short term schoolings

FAMILY.

FATHER: Ihko’to Rhisfu (deceased)

MOTHER:  Nihva Mhenravi

SIBLINGS: Only tons of foster siblings

EXTENDED FAMILY: Unknown

NAME MEANING/S: None in particular

HISTORICAL CONNECTION?: None

FAVORITES.

BOOK:  Romance and fantasy

DEITY: Nymeia

HOLIDAY:  Starlight

MONTH: April

SEASON:  Spring

PLACE: The ocean

WEATHER: Sunny but not too hot

SOUND / S: The waves of the ocean, the strumming of harp strings, birds singing, Moogle noises, Khit’li’s voice

SCENT / S:  Sea salt, the smell of spring, flowers, delicious food

TASTE / S:  Sweets, cakes, chocolate, oranges

FEEL / S:  The wind on her face, water lapping on her feet, the sure string of her bow and the strength of her arrows, cuddling against the warmth of her husband’s body, and lately the baby moving inside her

ANIMAL / S:  Bunnies, cats, butterflies, nutkins, all small woodland animals

NUMBER: None

COLORS: Green, blue, white

EXTRA.

TALENTS: Archery, string instruments, singing, attracting cute animals

BAD AT: Negotiating, determining people’s true intentions, having common sense when it comes to her own safety, reading maps, using magic of any kind, close range/bare handed fighting

TURN ONS: Loyalty, humor, sincerity, steadfastness, dependability, kindness

TURN OFFS: Cruelty, injustice, arrogance, rudeness, selfishness

HOBBIES: Singing, swimming, making music, weaving, helping people, collecting as many Moogles as possible

TROPES: It Sucks to Be the Chosen One,  Heartwarming Orphan,  Evil Parents Want Good Kids,  Skilled, but Naïve

QUOTES : “you know you were never meant for carrying this world                              your legs tremble beneath the weight                                   yet, you take another step                                   no, you were never meant for this                             but, that will not stop you from trying.”

MUN QUESTIONS.

Q1 : If you could write your character your way in their own movie,  what would it be called, what style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about?          

A1 :  I don’t know what it’d be called, but I know the style will be epic fantasy ala Narnia or LotR to showcase all the out of this world aspect of it and what else would it be about? Yvaine’s Warrior of Light journey of course.

Q2 :  What would their soundtrack/score sound like?          

A2 :  Same kind of epic fantasy feel. Lots of choral music and string instruments.

Q3 :  Why did you start writing this character?        

A3 : Because I like to treat every character I play in a video game as a fully fleshed out character with their own story. That’s why I could never use my own name in video games (while my husband always does, lol). And I already had a ready-made RP partner in @keeperprinceling​ which totally helped. Also the FFXIV story is too good to not play around in to be honest.

Q4 :   What first attracted you to this character?          

A4 : How she survived in this world when she started out having nothing. Pushing her on this adventure and seeing her discovering things and reacting to them for the first time was interesting to me, made me want to write more about her story and connect all the dots from her past that brought her here, being who she is today.

Q5 :  Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.

A5 : I struggle with making her interesting enough for other people to be interested in her. I feel like she’s just this cookie cutter do-gooder who is your cliché Warrior of Light type of character sometimes, but I also don’t want to betray the character to make her “edgier” or more interesting in ways most people probably look for. I like her the way she is, even if she leans toward the boring/bland side.

Q6 :  What do you have in common with your muse?        

A6 :   We both love cute animals. That’s about it, lol. In a lot of ways, Yvaine is the polar opposite of me in that she’s wildly optimistic and extroverted, like she actively seeks out new people while I run and hide every time I hear the doorbell rings and aggressively hiss at the world in general.

Q7 :   How does your muse feel about you?          

A7 :   She probably just wants me to stop putting her through all these never-ending quests and let her have that family already.

Q8 :  What characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ?      

A8 :   Characters that are complicated and are not black and white brings the most interesting interactions out of her, because Yvaine herself is very simple in her thoughts about good vs. evil. But when she comes across people like Iceheart and Nero and any Garlean defector (especially when forced to work with them) her inner conflict and her inability to understand where they stand gives me life.

Q9 :  What gives you inspiration to write your muse ?        

A9 : The game itself and its story. Sometimes silly things like finding a house side by side with her husband (which spawned our Neighbors AU) and the Scion outfit which looked like school uniforms made me think of a high school AU. But I’m usually triggered to write by events that happened in the MSQ itself.

Q10 : How long did this take you to complete ?          

A10 : I filled everything in up to this last set then I let it sat in the Drafts for like a week because I kept forgetting it’s there.

tagged by: @alannah-corvaine​ ♥

tagging: this is long, so do it if you feel like it!

[rising-generations]

[wereverse] intertwined. fuyupeko. babyfic

NOTES: this is rated mature because there are upcoming childbirth scenes, not because there's anything sexual. This is not erotic. I just marked it so that it can be avoided if that bothers people. Please heed the warnings! Fuyuhiko and Peko are both trans here.

Fuyuhiko and Peko's lives become intertwined through the birth of their cubs. Wereverse, AKA everyone's an immortal shapeshifter. Don't like? Don't read!

- Fuyuhiko is a cat shapeshifter, specifically a Singapura. Peko is a wolf. - Kids are generally referred to as "cubs" until their species becomes apparent. - I did my research + I'm trans myself, but if anything seems off let me know! - Shapeshifters are mostly immortal. They won't die of old age, but can die from extreme illness, being killed by another shifter, or specific rituals done by humans.

and so it begins. chapter one.

These days, there is peace in the Kuzuryuu household. Peko makes sure of that. Fuyuhiko does an amazing job at pissing himself off and stressing by himself, he doesn’t need anyone else to help him, or do it for him. That’s the reasoning she gives, anyway. In reality, Peko has her own fears about the upcoming birth of their cubs, and Fuyuhiko’s well aware of this. That’s partially why he lets it happen, going so far as to help her kick Natsumi out and make her go stay with her girlfriend, Sana Sato’s, family for a while.

Fuyuhiko’s… more than a little scared, too. The expectation has always been that, one day, he’ll deliver an heir. Preferably more than one, if it can be helped. The Clan doesn’t want to take chances, wants Fuyuhiko to have a healthy boy even if it takes decades, even if it takes too many litters. But Fuyuhiko has no intention of being a Togami. He says the firstborn of his first litter will be the heir no matter what, dammit. Even if they aren’t a boy.

It’s not like it should matter, Fuyuhiko and Peko both agree. After all, they assumed Fuyuhiko a girl when he was born, and Peko a boy, only for both assumptions to be switched when they got a little older. Foolish assumptions, really. Fuyuhiko has never been and will never be a woman. Peko has never been and will never be a man.

Even so, these are things Fuyuhiko has to remind himself as his belly grows with the lives he’s made with himself and Peko.

At first, the fear is simply for his safety. They’ve only just graduated from Hope’s Peak when they find out. Fuyuhiko very vividly remembers screaming and throwing the pregnancy test across the room when his suspicions were confirmed nearly nine months ago. His talent and occupation already puts him in enough danger, even with Peko’s constant supervision and the help of some of his other men (though he prefers Peko, especially when it gets to the point where the curve of his belly is too big to hide even with a jacket). Being the shapeshifter head of the largest criminal syndicate in Japan isn’t a safe life.

And then there’s the fact of his size. Fuyuhiko will still slaughter anyone who insists he’s small, or baby-faced, or child-like, but the possible strain of a litter on his body isn’t something that can be ignored or denied. Peko isn’t that big comparatively, and shifter babies tend to be smaller on average anyway, but the risk of damage from possibly carrying six cubs weighs heavy on everyone’s mind until the first ultrasound.

Fuyuhiko and Peko are both glad for Mikan. She’s never been one to judge, after all, and she does her duty without asking too many questions. She’s able to explain through her stuttering exactly what’s going to happen during the process, how Fuyuhiko’s body is likely to change, what might happen after nine months of going off testosterone and what the future might hold.

He scoffs when she talks about how he might get more emotional, but that doesn’t stop tears from welling in his eyes when he sees the ultrasound, hears his babies’ heartbeats for the first time.

There’s only two, thank all the gods, and both are healthy. There’s no complications through the whole pregnancy, but there is one issue, at least for other members of the Kuzuryuu family: Fuyuhiko doesn’t want to know the sexes of the cubs until they’re born, and this drives everyone (especially Natsumi) save for Peko quite crazy. The reasoning behind his decision is clear: should both of his cubs be girls, he doesn’t want to be pressured into planning for another litter right away. Normally, the endless lifespan of a shifter would mean he’d have plenty of time for future litters should he want them, but being yakuza means one never knows when their life will come to an unexpected end. Should he fail in producing a male heir, they’ll want him to keep trying.

But Fuyuhiko stands firm in his choice. He isn’t a tool, and neither is Peko. He makes sure to emphasize that emphatically and clearly.

Besides… pregnancy doesn’t treat Fuyuhiko well. Between the intense nausea and cravings, mood swings, weight gain and near-constant back pain, he’s not quite sure this is something he’d like to experience more than once. Having Peko there helps, yes, and he’d do just about anything for her, but she’s going to have to beg to get him to go through this again.

At least for now, he supposes, he can relax. Fuyuhiko rests on his side in the grand nest he’s built, head in Peko’s lap as she strokes his hair. He’s not as restless as many are before the births of their cubs; rather, he’s been quite relaxed the past few days, which surprises everyone. Up until then, he was stressing and worrying and snapping at almost anyone who got too close. But now, he looks very much like a tame beast while Peko pets him gently.

After a few moments, he twitches an ear and flicks the tip of his tail, half-opening one eye blearily. Peko notices, because of course she does, and she looks down at him with worry reflected in her ruby eyes.

“‘s okay,” Fuyuhiko says before she can worry herself anymore than she already has. “They’re moving, that’s all.” He shifts a little to rest more comfortably in Peko’s lap, to get some of the pressure off his back from where the cubs are sitting. At least one of them is moving, though they aren’t as rowdy as usual. Possibly just a reaction from being woken from their nap.

Tenderly, Peko rests a hand on his side, runs her thumb along the curve of his belly, and he lets her. He purrs softly, a rumbling sound from deep within his chest as she does. He’s completely content right now, could probably stay there for hours until he goes back to sleep.

That is, until he gives a soft grunt and sucks a breath in sharply through his teeth. He stiffens only a little, but it’s enough for Peko to notice. “Contraction?” She asks softly.

“Yeah. A little stronger.” Fuyuhiko nods and shifts to push himself up, bracing his weight on his arms as he pushes himself up into a sitting position. “Came just a little faster, too.”

“Do we need to call Mikan?” Peko’s voice is still soft, but her growing anxiety is noticeable.

Fuyuhiko shakes his head. “Well -- let her know, but she doesn’t need to be here yet.” I don’t want anyone to see me vulnerable for longer than they need to goes completely unsaid, but not unheard. It’s not like he’s in active labor just yet. He’s been having small contractions for days, and it’s likely that he has at least a few more hours before things start to get serious.

When Peko leaves the room for just a moment to call Mikan, Fuyuhiko looks down at his stomach and gives a heavy sigh. “Don’t be in a rush to come out now, okay? I need another nap.” His tone is mostly joking, but he does get a few kicks in “response” to his words. “Yeah, yeah. I hear you.”

He leans back, rests his head against one of the many pillows in the nest and sighs. He’s definitely ready to meet his children, ready for them to come out of him. He’s just not entirely sure he’s ready for everything that comes after that.

[lightsandlostbells]

Druck season 2, episode 4 reaction

I want to thank turtleneck boy because I truly miss the fandom running wild with every detail and coming up with theories, I mean that sincerely. God bless you, sweater man.

Episode 4

Clip 1 - Motto selection 

We have the graduating class looking at mottos. Amira and Leonie are leading the meeting. Leonie sure likes to lead school activities. We also have Mia, Hanna, Jonas, and Matteo in attendance. I really like seeing more school activities, especially since the hero party thing wrapped up last season, and this seems like a particularly German tradition from what I can tell, so it’s a cool thing to include.

Jonas is wearing a fedora today and like, he’s rocking it and twirling it around and stuff, but baby, you gotta be aware of the implications.

They’re picking out a motto, but as Leonie emphasizes with finger quotes, these are “the best” and Amira says none of them are great. “Photoshop-Philipp” put together some examples of the logos. His name is Markus. He’s the theater kid from the first season, with his hair tied back and I never would have recognized him if fandom hadn’t pointed him out.

That dude in the black turtleneck sent us all into conspiracy mode. Initially he was giving me German Even vibes, too. Was this their version of kosegruppa? He smiles when Matteo starts laughing at Photoshop Philipp, and his body language is angled toward Matteo, kinda, could that be a clue??? Why would they give us a random close-up of that guy when Jonas starts talking about CannABIs, when he doesn’t have a line at that moment or anything? Why was he tying his shoe for so long? Surely Druck is trying to tell us something!

Yet apparently it has been confirmed that he is not German Even, but is some random extra who’s been popping up in school scenes. That was a fun few days of speculation, though.

When the cannabis-themed logo pops up, Jonas says that there are some students in this school who are critical of the dangers of smoking weed, and he’s definitely directing that toward Hanna (he looks at her at the end, and Hanna looks over her shoulders and rolls her eyes). Nice bit of passive-aggressiveness there.

Another one is a parody of the alt-right Germany party (AFD) logo. Jonas likes that direction. Some random girl doesn’t like it and doesn’t want to give more attention to the party, but Amira and Mia think it’s funny. You know, kinda cool that these random students are getting a voice this season - like in the classroom debate, or the discussion here. It’s not just the main characters having all the dialogue in these scenes, it makes it feel a little more like an actual school, if that makes sense. (ETA: @randomfinny and @hyperfictional pointed out that she’s actually German Sara. Lol, I never would have recognized her, so thank you!)

I laughed at Jonas and Matteo being lazy in the back of the class. and them both putting their heads down. They’re in sync!

Suddenly there’s Axel walking in! Good thing Kiki isn’t part of this meeting. Did he join just to hang out with Mia? 

I will say this, I am not complimentary toward Alex, but we’ve seen more of a personality from him thus far than with William, imo. He’s been shown to have some political opinions, and this shows a little bit of creativity/initiative on his part. He seems pretty pleased with his design/logo. He thinks it’s pretty gangster.

His logo is Abi Chaker Clan 2019, which is a reference to a family in Berlin with ties to organized crime? It doesn’t mean much to me as a non-German, but I’m going to take that it’s clever. Most of the group seems to like it. Jonas and Matteo approve. Markus doesn’t understand it. He’s like the only one other than Mia who’s not on board, lol. They take a vote, everyone puts their hands up except Mia. Hanna tells her that it’s better than others, so Mia reluctantly raises her hand. Even when she does so, she’s pointedly looking away from Alex.

As they leave, Jonas sticks his fedora on Matteo’s head. Be still my heart.

They’re going to have another meeting on Friday, Alex offers his place. Mia isn’t gonna be happy about that!

I will say this, this is what I wanted for Noorhelm remakes - give them something to work on that isn’t them dating, like a school project or whatever. Although now I’m like … they could have started with this stuff, the graduation committee, and not gotten into the whole renewed Kiki/Alex angle which makes this all messier and more complicated and harder to be on team Alex or team Winterberg. And I get that’s probably what they were going for, throwing more obstacles into the story so Mia still has doubts about being with Alex, but it also means I need that I need certain aspects addressed before I can fully get on board with this ship, and I’m afraid they won’t do that. Or I’m afraid that Mia’s flaws will be addressed but Alex’s will be excused.

That being said, I’m on team Amira with the decision to let Alex into the group. Sometimes you have to put personal feelings aside, and Alex’s involvement will benefit everyone else in the class by making the yearbooks cheaper. And tbh I don’t think it’s right to exclude someone from participating in a school group like this unless they’re actively disrupting the group itself, regardless of how much that person may have wronged me or my friends romantically.

When Mia starts to argue, Amira says that she knows the cost isn’t a big deal to Mia and some others, but other students came to her and said they couldn’t afford it. I wonder if Kiki was one of them… she probably wouldn’t tell that to Amira, though. Not in those words.

This isn’t Amira’s big secret, though, is it? Like Pawel isn’t some dude at the printing company, and she was just trying to keep it under wraps so Mia didn’t find out? I feel like her secret has to be bigger and more personal than that.

The question is, did Alex do this to get on Mia’s good side or to hang out with her? Or is he trying to engage and do something nice without expectations? Because I respect that second one more, obviously.

Amira is so lovely, I truly hope we get her season.

Clip 2 - Alex is hyped for Game of Thrones to return

Mia runs into Alex. She says they need to talk. He smirks and says, “Winter is coming,” and GOD FUCKING DAMMIT that made me laugh out loud. It’s so obvious but I laughed. 

You know, Mia looks a tiny bit like Daenerys Targaryen. 

There’s a shot of them walking down the path thing with the divider in the middle, oooo, ~symbolic. They meet at the end.

Mia tells him to stop grinning, and he says yes, sergeant Winter, and salutes. FUCK OFF that’s the second time I’ve laughed in this clip at this dude. I hate myself. 

She chews him out for becoming a “committing patron” and he’s all “??? I wanted to help??” And I will give this to him, he did actually help out the group regardless of intentions, so maybe let that one slide, Mia, in the spirit of utilitarianism. Then she mentions NYE and the midnight voice message, which he does deserve to be chewed out for.

SOMEONE IS WATCHING THEM. It’s Sam??? Oh shit, she saw them talking! Hopefully she assumes Mia is just yelling at Alex. But she’s going to know Mia and Alex are in cahoots. Will she end up using this against Mia, or will she go to Mia and offer her support when Mia feels like she can’t tell anyone what’s happening?

Clip 3 - Ironing soothes the soul

Mia checks her phone and sees a bunch of messages from people praising Alex’s motto and hyping him up as the man. She gets off the bed, puts on a Chopin record and we are treated to a slow-montage scene of Mia ironing her clothes, including stuff like pajamas and socks, things that do not really need to be ironed if you asked me.

But I like the purpose of this scene! Mia feels out of control and frustrated and helpless with Alex’s inclusion in the group and everybody praising him and talking him up, and on top of it she doesn’t feel in control of her own feelings, so she has this ritual where she puts on music and makes her clothes neat and orderly. She uses order as a coping mechanism. Even the way this is shot makes it feel very precise and serene, the way she goes about this ritual so calmly, the way she smooths down her ironed items, the way the camera moves upward at the end, like all Mia’s anxieties are just floating away. You can just sink into this moment and realize how Mia clears her head.

Also that it’s classical music - something that also feels very orderly. And as we learn later in the episode, Mia can play piano including classical pieces so perhaps she has a strong history with it.

This was something indicated with Noora - for example, she was throwing out and getting rid of stuff once William had left her, and tidying up her room before she was supposed to meet with William prior to him going to London. She was thrown out of balance when Eskild ate her fish cakes. So I like that they’re going into it with Mia, and as others have mentioned it might be another sign of Mia’s ED. (Perfectionism is a common trait in people with eating disorders, and excessive tidiness/need for order is a sign of perfectionism).

Ironing complete, Mia searches for Alexander Hardenberg online. She considers following Alex on IG - too far, girl, he’s gonna take that as a marriage proposal.

Mia’s phone background includes Hans, awww.

She finds various links including one talking about his sister Sophie, who was two years older than he was. There are theories that Sophie will take over the Niko role, but I don’t buy that. For one, Alexander got very defensive over people talking about his “sister” in the classroom debate, and I don’t think he’d care if his sister was a creep. Second, it would be in EXTREMELY poor taste to have the biggest wlw rep on this show be a woman preying on and assaulting another woman, especially as a counter to Mia and Alex’s heterosexual relationship that’s probably going to be True Love. Just. The worst. I wrote this speculation post, but I think Sophie’s probably dead or something bad happened to her. Björn is some dude who was involved in what happened to her.

I don’t know what song this is as Mia is falling into the Alex Hardenberg rabbit hole, but it sounds like classical to me, and it’s like her coping mechanism/mental safe space is getting conflated with this guy.

Hans bursts into the room saying the Mia needs to look at his dick, because he thinks he has an STD, specifically tripper (gonorrhea) and he needs her to compare with some picture online. OK, I have to say, I have never ever heard that term for gonorrhea before. I’ve only heard it called the clap. Did Druck just teach me something? Yes, it did.

I have to praise Milena’s reactions here, they are restrained but suitably horrified.

Hans exposes his junk to Mia and she notes that yeah, it looks similar to the picture. He storms out and yells his fury to the heavens. When Mia asks if she should go to the pharmacy for him, he says he needs a chamomile tea first. LMAO. I feel like it was implied Mia would make the tea, right?

Clip 4 - Dingalings

Matteo’s just hanging with the girls as they talk about Hans’ clap, I guess. This child is not in a good state. He doesn’t seem very engaged in this conversation, but then again … would you want to hear about someone’s gonorrhea? 

The girls are like HERE LOOK AT THESE GONORRHEA PICS and Matteo is just sitting there shooting them looks of WTF.

Sam calls it a “dingaling”. It’s nice to know she uses the same euphemism as my mom. She wants to know what a “gay penis” looks like, compared to a straight penis, I guess. Babe, you can go onto the Internet and find that out with a few clicks.

I laughed again at Matteo giving this side-eye to the girls while he looks at something on his phone. Or him nervously looking at them while they talk about what gay penis looks like.

Matteo picks up a banana as Sam asks about his dingaling. Druck going for that subtle symbolism, I see.

Sam asks Matteo how he measures dingalings, and he’s like, “...what?” There’s a nice moment where Hanna and Mia react and Mia tries to change the subject and divert attention from Matteo, in case this gets into uncomfortable territory for him. I liked that! Different from Eva and Noora having a fun time with Isak’s mysterious sexuality.

However, Sam really wants to know. Matteo mumbles that you do it with a ruler and Sam immediately gets out that ruler like she’s prepared to put this into practice. Not at the table, darling. Matteo isn’t even looking at them as he explains the rest.

Sam writes down “only when it’s hard” and underlines it, like she’s taking notes and this will be on the final exam for Dingalings 101.

Matteo sees Jonas walk in, and Matteo waves him over, probably thinking OH GOD SAVE ME, but Jonas just backtracks out of the room. NOOOOOO. I saw people think he was mad at Matteo, but I thought he was trying to avoid Hanna, which was confirmed in a text. If he and Matteo had a tiff, Matteo probably wouldn’t be waving him over so chill, unless he didn’t know Jonas was mad at him.

Matteo is not even looking at Hanna when she asks if Jonas has someone, just at his phone. What is he so engrossed with on his phone? Is it something specific or just generic sad teenage disengagement? Is it just him being one of The Youths?

Matteo waited until Sam left to tell Hanna that Jonas waits for her to post stuff on IG, IDK if there was a reason he waited. And there wasn’t any real reason Sam had to get up and leave during this scene, so is it at all important? Unless they just wanted the three sadsacks at the table together for the end of this clip, and Sam is not sufficiently angsty about her love life right now.

But Matteo tells Hanna that Jonas doesn’t have a new girl, he waits around for her to post new IG stories. Hanna is confused why, and Matteo is like, why does someone spend an entire evening stalking someone? Ohhh, damn. Mia is gonna feel that comment resonate uncomfortably.

Also, nice of Matteo to help out Hanna and Jonas’ relationship instead of snaking on her. As far as we know. (I think he’s being nice, not a snake this time.)

In case we didn’t get the connection, Axel texts Mia if she prefers wine or beer, for the yearbook meeting tomorrow, I guess. Checking in to see what she likes, her preferences. 

We see Mia, Matteo, and Hanna at the table, all of them a little out of sorts. Mia thinking about Axel, Hanna thinking about Jonas, Matteo thinking about … something ... or someone … dude is very busy on his phone.

Clip 5 - After party at Axel’s

Mia brushes her teeth before going over to Alex’s - I guess that’s supposed to be her showing interest in him? A sign that she wants to be at her best? Or, you know, a sign that she practices good oral hygiene. 

Hanna texts her and hopes she’s coming soon, because Hanna doesn’t want to be there alone because of Jonas. Damn, kids, you’re really tearing my heart out about this. Get back together already!

Axel texts Mia that she doesn’t need to bring a toothbrush because he has a new one ready for her. Well, that’s rather presumptuous. Mia seems a little amused, though.

She locks herself out of the apartment and texts Hans about it. Hans will be back at midnight to let Mia in. Also the tripper situation is still causing him pain and he stole money from his sick aunt to pay for medicine? Hans is so much more of a mess than Eskild was, like he’s going to have to evolve fast if he’s going to adopt Matteo.

This next part is beautiful, as we cut between Mia getting on the bus and traveling to Alex’s house, and shots of the characters looking into the camera as someone reads the comments about them. Isn’t this kinda like those character descriptions from pre-season? That promo stuff? So maybe it wasn’t just for promo, but an overall theme of the season, about the labels we stick on people or the shallow ways we perceive them.

Hanna - Gets bitch, red devil, arrogant. Who called Hanna a bitch?? Red devil?? Get the fuck out. Ex-BFF is from Leonie. Someone calls Hanna the “best decision of my life” and I think that was probably Jonas, please take that dagger out of my heart, oh my God.

Amira - Gets “hijab” like 8 times. So sad that this is all people know about her or think about her. They see the hijab and think that’s the sum total of who she is, rather than part of it. And it’s also othering, because the hijab stands out, it’s different from everyone else. I feel like Amira is used to it, too, like she probably expected that response. She also gets called ISIS. Man, fuck that edgy piece of shit person who wrote that. At least she gets some other comments like how she’s cool, like the people who actually know her and don’t stereotype her or judge her think she’s the best.

Matteo - Basically he’s a chill bro and fades into the background, although one person thinks he’s a good kisser. Hmmm, has he been going around smooching girls like Isak did?

Alex - gets almost all negative comments about how arrogant or jerkish he is, or his car compensating for his lack of dong size, except for some comments about how he’s hot. Look, if you want me to feel sorry about that, how people are just judging him unfairly, you’ve gotta show me more proof that he hasn’t been a major asshole throughout his high school career and this isn’t an accurate assessment of how he’s treated people or behaved this whole time, even if he’s supposed to be a nice guy underneath.

Mia - gets lots of comments on how hot she is, with some about her feminism or being boring. Habibi comes from Amira. Lesbian? Final one is “prettiest woman on earth” which probably was from Alex, honestly, and she seems kinda OK hearing him read that one out loud. (Although my kingdom for those “lesbian?” and “prettiest woman on earth” comments to have both come from like, Kiki.)

Matteo is once again lying on the couch on his phone, checked out. Someone send that kid an Even to bring him to life.

They talk about whether everyone should be able to cross out comments and that they don’t have time to chase everyone down, but I agree with Mia that everyone should be able to censor theirs, not just the committee. Alex agrees with Mia and gives a sensible option, that people have two weeks to contact the staff if they want to censor their comments. He says he doesn’t want to censor his comments because in twenty years he wants to remember what an arrogant ass he was, and everyone laughs, and you can take that as a sign of character growth that he wants to evolve past being an ass, or him thinking it was a fun time rather than something he regrets.

There’s turtleneck boy again. Who isn’t Even, but maybe could be German Julian Dahl. 

Alex ordered pizza and beer, and the meeting gets more like a party. Hanna and Matteo throw pizza at each other and Hanna gives him the finger, cute! Alex arm wrestles Markus the theater photoshop kid. All throughout the evening, Mia seems attuned to Alex’s presence and keeps looking his way. I know that kind of feeling, I’ve been to parties where I was Mia and someone’s presence was like a magnet.

Hanna and Matteo talk in the kitchen about Jonas. Hanna asks where Jonas is, seeing as he’s not at the meeting, and Matteo says he doesn’t know, Jonas wanted to come. Which is a lie seeing as Jonas told Matteo he wasn’t going in a text message that we saw. At least Matteo is trying to spare Hanna’s feelings.

Mia is in Alex’s bathroom, looking at the stuff on the counter. I guess she’s just inspecting his stuff? She opens a jar and it’s overflowing with condoms, lol. I guess Alex got over his “latex allergy” at some point or learned his lesson about not wrapping it up. Maybe he had his own adventure with tripper. (I’m imagining him in his own version of the scene with Hans, wailing and opening his robe to a befuddled Toilet Sam.)

Hans texts her that now he won’t be home until 1. When Mia comes out of the bathroom, everyone else is leaving. Now Mia’s first option is that she could totally leave with her friends and chill with them, and if she’s locked out, she could crash at Hanna’s. But Amira has to study, Leonie has a date, and Hanna is going to the cinema with her dad. (What if Hanna was going to Jonas’ instead ... no, I won’t get entertain that happy delusion.) Anyway, Hanna suggests that Mia just kill time at Alex’s until she can go home.

Mia and Alex look at each other across the room. There is some nice nonverbal tension. The toilet flushes and Markus comes out of the bathroom. Now there are three of them, I like this shot of them in a triangle. Lol, Markus is so drunk he doesn’t know if he puked on himself. He doesn’t know how he broke up the Mia/Alex staring contest.

Alex and Mia look at each other and laugh after Markus leaves, which is a genuinely nice moment. Mia explains her situation and says she’ll go to the cinema or hang out in the park until then. Alex says she could stay and he’ll drive her home later. There’s a funny bit where Mia says he’s not allowed to drive, and Alex says he’ll call his chauffeur, and then does an imitation of Mia’s inner monologue - “Is he that rich? No … or maybe he is?” I do like that they’ve given Alex so much more of a sense of humor.

Lmao, Alex jumping on the random skateboard and gliding across the floor, I have to say if I lived in a big empty place like that, I’d be doing shit like that a lot. Speaking of, that is one big, spacious apartment, like there’s some art on the walls and stuff but it still gives off that cold lonely rich kid vibe.

I like Mia walking around examining the place as he makes her rosehip tea. Alex mentions that his sister used to live here - again, we don’t get more details than that, like whether she moved or died, what happened to her. It seems like he might have cut off that line of inquiry when he asks Mia if she wants honey in her tea - either a coincidence or a deliberate attempt to change the subject.

However, that does throw into context Björn’s appearance in the next clip, because Björn was showing up to the sister’s old apartment. Why was he messing around in there? I think that dude might be the sister’s boyfriend or ex.

There’s a piano. In that same room are a lot of moving boxes; either because Alex was moving in, or because the sister was moving out. Or maybe they were packing up Sophie’s things because she died?

Mia asks him whether he plays or whether it’s there to impress girls. Alex says no, so I’m betting it was the sister’s piano. He also asked whether they should go sit in the other room to drink the tea, I think that he didn’t want to answer questions about the piano or be near it, like it probably reminds him of whatever happened to the sister.

Gold star to Mia for not playing without payment and for not negotiating. I love her.

Was that the theme music from Titanic she was playing and acting like she was really into?? Lmao.

Finally, she plays something legit, “Montagues and Capulets” (or “Dance of the Knights”) from the ballet Romeo and Juliet by Prokofiev. HMMM could there be any connection to star-crossed lovers with this subject matter? Hey, it’s subtler than a banana.

At first I was wondering why her playing seemed out of sync and was like ... did they get a body double to play for her or something? Because I think Milena can really play. But then we see that it’s intentionally out of sync, as we see them eating and talking over the music. Perhaps to symbolize things being out of sorts; earlier this clip we had Mia using classical music as a way to restore order in her life, and here that order is rapidly dissolving, so the music isn’t really soothing, and the images aren’t neatly in line with it. 

When Alex asks what song that was, Mia says it’s Drake. L M A O I adore her.

Hans texts Mia that he’s not coming home tonight as he’s met some other dude with gonorrhea and they’re going to hook up. Er, have fun with that, Mr. Currently Peeing Shards of Glass. Anyway, he asks if she can stay at Hanna’s. Alex says Mia can just stay there, she can take the bed and he’ll take the sleeping mat. Mia asks why doesn’t he just sleep on the couch and he says the fridge is too loud. We are treated to the sounds of the thunderous fridge. Actually, it is pretty loud for a fridge, if you’re sensitive to that kind of thing I can see it being a problem.

He says she can rent his bed for the night, like in a hotel. Which is what seems to convince her, him framing it not like a benevolent gesture but a transaction. So Alexander sets up the bed for Mia. He gives the new toothbrush that he had mentioned, and she pays him back what he gave her.

Mia climbs into bed and smells the fresh linen. She checks her phone and Hans says that Emilio finished fast so he’s coming home, and Hanna says Mia can come over. But Mia pulls an Isak, telling Hanna that Hans is home and Hans that she’s with Hanna. Wow, there is no chance of that backfiring, not with these two people who appear to be on friendly terms.

They don’t share a bed as Noorhelm did; true to his word, Alex sleeps on the floor, and she gets the bed. I think that’s indicative of where they’re at with each other right now; they still have distance between them, but they’ve developed a state of comfort and can let down their guard to a degree.

They wish each other good night, and she calls him Axel. That makes him smile. And then he asks that that wasn’t really Drake, was it? Which makes her smile. Let him go to his grave thinking it was Drake, Mia.

Social Media/General Comments

I’ll say this, Chris Veres is doing well as Alex, performance-wise. Previously he was my least favorite William, and I thought he was very flat in S1, which I guess was intentional, since I heard he tried to play Alex as very cold and unfeeling. Now we’ve seen him showing more personality and especially glimpses of humor and levity. So regardless on my thoughts of the character overall, I think the actor is doing a fine job. 

A lot of people seem to have hopped on board with Alex after this episode, even people who hated William, and I think that largely has to do with the performance. I’m not sure I would say I’m completely on board with Alex as a character - he still has a lot of stuff to account for, and there are things that I really need Druck to redeem about him in order for me to like him. I especially need apologies - or at least some sense of regret and humility over his specific mistakes, rather than him trying to defend himself and Mia falling for it. But I get why fandom is starting to like him, he’s showing more charisma here. There are things I certainly like about him compared to William, for instance that he seems to have more interests and opinions on things that don’t have to do with his love interest. He had some genuinely funny lines in this episode. 

Also, I’ve said it before, but I wasn’t sold on Mia entirely in S1, but Milena Tscharntke is really winning me over this season. Mia feels like her own character, certainly one with traits in common as Noora, but also not a Noora clone. 

Kiki was totally absent this episode, and I wonder if that was to lull us into forgetting the Kiki/Alex drama so we, like Mia, could start to fall for him. In putting Kiki aside for an episode, it’s kind of like we don’t have this reminder of what Alex and Mia have done to her, something that I’m sure will come crashing back and causing conflict in the next episode. It also makes you wonder what Kiki has been doing since we last saw her. How is she coping? Breaking more hearts?

The music needs to be used more sparingly. This episode had some good selections but basically it’s falling into a pattern that’s plagued some of the remakes, where the music always gets used the same way: a song at the start of the clip, a song at the end of it, so that it starts to lessen the impact of the music because we can predict when it will appear. I think it happens in some remakes, like Skam France or Druck, because they run some previews/production credits at the end, and they want music to go over it instead of silence. But last season I think they did have some clips that ended with silence over the credits, or things like Hanna sighing, or random banter, and that didn’t bother me, that helped to retain the atmosphere of the clip. 

There’s a theory that S3 and/or S4 have been running in the background of this season, and while I can see evidence for that, I really hope it’s not the case. Especially after this last clip - I thought it was great, the pacing worked and there were some inspired directing choices, so imagine what we could get with Matteo or Amira’s seasons with that kind of style. It would work so well with one of the long Evak or Yousana clips, something like Mekke øl or The Best of Islam.

Mia is like, “Won’t we get in copyright trouble for this?” as a feeble attempt in the committee chat not to pick Alex’s motto, lol. Give her credit for fighting a losing battle to the end.

Hans had like three text messages about his clap. First he accuses a dude of infecting him with the clap, while the dude is like, nah, just went to the doctor yesterday, I’m good, and Hans is like … oops … embarrassing. Then he goes after the next dude he banged, who reciprocates his electronic shouting match. Finally messages Michi, who’s like, thank God, I thought you were breaking up with me again. Dude. Hans. I know you find Michi a bore, I guess, but some dude whose reaction to hearing he has the clap is “at least you didn’t break up with me” to the dude who gave it to him, is someone you might wanna hang on to. And not in a boomerang way, in a “this is a keeper” way.

Matteo and Jonas text and apparently Jonas planned to skip the yearbook meeting/party because of Hanna. So that’s probably why he ran away in the dingaling clip, because he saw Hanna there. I’m wondering if they’re going to get back together this season or if they’ll string us along for a few more.

According to Matteo’s IG stories, that was the first time Photoshop Philipp/Markus got drunk, and Matteo made sure to document the highs, followed by the inevitable lows.

I’m not German, so feel free to correct me if I missed anything.

If you got this far, thank you for reading!

[solaciummeae]

Muse Interview Meme

Lent to by: @down-in-dixie

1. WHAT IS YOUR NAME? "That would be Ryan Timothy Theirin.”

2. WHAT IS YOUR REAL NAME? “No really-- that is my name.”

3. DO YOU KNOW WHY YOU WERE CALLED THAT? “Negatory.”

4. ARE YOU SINGLE OR TAKEN? “Now you see, that’s a complicated question-- there is-- someone...and it’s uh-- going places...but we haven’t exactly put a definition to things...so I suppose I’m not single, but not technically taken...”

5. HAVE ANY ABILITIES OR POWERS? “Well now that all depends on when you catch me.”

6. STOP BEING A MARY SUE/GARY STU. “Isn’t that like-- when someone’s too perfect to be real? Have you met me? I’m in no terms, under no circumstances perfect. But I appreciate the implication.”

7. WHAT’S YOUR EYE COLOR? “A very greyish blue.”

8. HOW ABOUT YOUR HAIR COLOR? “That would be brown.”

9. HAVE YOU ANY FAMILY MEMBERS? “Yes, a mother Beth, a father Elliott-- and my best friend Raven, who I’ve known since childhood that I’m very close to who is family and her little sister Angelina, who is more of a daughter really-- complicated situation, but that little girl also happens to be like my daughter as well.”

10. OH? WHAT ABOUT PETS? “No unfortunately, I’ve been thinking about adopting one though. I’ve kinda got a sort of joint custody with Raven’s cat. He’s a black tabby named Tiger Baby.”

11. THAT’S COOL I GUESS, NOW TELL ME ABOUT SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE. “Uhhh...--oh, well I definitely don’t like the sheer amount of years I spent trying to pretend I was straight.”

12. DO YOU HAVE ANY HOBBIES/ACTIVITIES YOU LIKE DOING? “Sure-- I like water a lot, so I lifeguard and also play water polo and swim a fair amount. I also like helping other people a lot and try to do that as much as possible. I’m an avid journaler. I like to record my life in a handwritten book and keep track of my memories that way. And uh-- I love photography too. I’m constantly taking pictures. Guess it’s another way of recording life.”

13. EVER HURT ANYONE BEFORE? “Unfortunately yes. Never by intent, but I’d say I’ve hurt just about any woman I’ve ever been with by trying to be someone I wasn’t. I never intended to hurt anyone, it was more an inability or lack of courage to be true to myself.”

14. EVER….KILLED ANYONE BEFORE? “I’m actually a doctor-- so I’m more in the business of saving lives than taking them.”

15. WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL ARE YOU? “Mmm...good question. I like to think I’m a wolf spirit. Beautiful creatures.”

16. NAME YOUR WORST HABITS. “Sticking my whole foot into my mouth. It’s a talent really. I seem to have a knack for saying the wrong thing. Sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. And uh, I have a nasty habit of pushing myself too hard, trying to pour from an empty cup as it were. I’m so used to taking care of other people I forget how to let myself be taken care of. Ask the aforementioned-- someone I’ve been seeing.”

17. DO YOU LOOK UP TO ANYONE AT ALL? “Probably Raven more than anyone. She got dealt a really horrible hand and somehow never let it stop her. She’s been an adult since the age of 14, and never once complained about the enormous pressure she was put under in raising a child that her own mother wasn’t capable of taking care of before said mother ran out on them. She’s the strongest, most loving, deeply empathetic woman I know. And she’s braver than the rest. Whenever I’m feeling weak, I think about her and all we’ve been through together. She reminds me that no matter how bad it gets, it can always get better.”

18. GAY, STRAIGHT, OR BISEXUAL? “Once upon a time, I was straight. In fact, I was a bit of a lady’s man-- ironically. But that was before I realized I was living in a lie. One I couldn’t bear anymore. So I’m actually quite gay.”

19. DO YOU GO TO SCHOOL? “I did. More than most. Medical school is absolutely no joke.”

20. DO YOU EVER WANT TO MARRY AND HAVE KIDS ONE DAY? “Absolutely. I think my idea of what that looks like has changed quite a bit. And I do already have a kid-- just because Raven and I didn’t end up together doesn’t mean Angel is any less mine. But I would love to have more if I found the right partner. Fingers crossed I’m on the way to that.”

21. DO YOU HAVE ANY FANBOYS/FANGIRLS? “Not that I’m aware of...as I’ve said, I used to date a lot. Used to see a lotta women. Some more serious than others. But thank god those days are behind me and I’m hoping that I’ll be as successful finding someone of the right gender. Oddly enough-- though I dated plenty, I’m more of a serious relationship kinda guy.”

22. WHAT ARE YOU MOST AFRAID OF? “Something happening to Raven and/or Angel has always been one of my greatest fears after the life we’ve shared together. They’ve been through a lot and I with them. But along with that-- I think I’ve been afraid of coming out for a long time now. Being who I really am. Disappointing all of the people who thought I was straight. The backlash that comes with being out of the closet.”

23. WHAT DO YOU USUALLY WEAR? “When I’m not at work? I’m pretty casual. I like a good pair of dark blue jeans, a white v-neck, maybe a plaid flannel over it, leather jackets. Or if I’m feeling my age a knit sweater.”

24. DO YOU LOVE SOMEONE? “Absolutely. I’ve got a very wide circle of friends and family and I love each and every one of them. As for being in love-- that’s a loaded question. I might be. I-- I think I’m falling in love with someone. But I’m worried he doesn’t feel the same way.”

25. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU WET YOURSELF? “What-- what kinda question is that? I’m-- not sure honestly-- too long ago to remember...”

26. WHAT CLASS ARE YOU? (HIGH CLASS, MIDDLE CLASS, LOW CLASS) “Are we talking about the kind of person I am? Or my financial status? Because depending on which you’d probably get a different answer. I’d like to think I’m a middle class kinda person, but I’m in the upper middle class bracket financially.”

27. HOW MANY FRIENDS DO YOU HAVE? “Well there’s really a whole clan of us-- we weren’t always so big in numbers but we all kinda gravitated toward each other and one family knew another who knew someone else and it was kinda this great merging of several cliques who all live in this city. So I’m blessed with many.”

28. WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON PIE? “Okay, who doesn’t like pie? Why was this question even a thing? I think if you don’t like pie there might be something wrong with you. That’s like people who don’t like sweet things. How can you not want something sweet every once in a while. Pie is a yes for me.”

29. FAVOURITE DRINK? “Green tea with sugar, not honey. Hot or iced. Either is good. In fact, just about any sweet tea is good. If we’re talking something stronger. I tend to prefer whiskey.”

30. WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE PLACE? “This is tough. I like getting out and exploring. Going places I’ve never been. But I like used book stores. Especially if they’ve got a rare selection. Plus I love that bookstore cats are a thing. I’ve made friends with many.”

31. ARE YOU INTERESTED IN SOMEONE? “Yeah-- see questions 4 and 24. Not really sure how interested in me he is. But uh-- I think it’s safe to say I’ve officially left the interested zone and tumbled headfirst into the dangerous place of falling or fallen for.”

32. WHAT’S YOUR BRA CUP SIZE AND/OR HOW BIG IS YOUR WILLY? “Who’s asking?”

33. WOULD YOU RATHER SWIM IN THE LAKE OR THE OCEAN? “Either/Or. Like I said. I love water. Despite being a fire sign.” 34. WHAT’S YOUR TYPE? “Ya know we were actually just talking about this the other night. Apparently I like ‘em short, with dark hair and dark eyes. Strong personality. Takes no shit. Can ‘wipe the fuckin’ floor with me’ despite being 5′4...”

35. ANY FETISHES? “None that I’d like to share at present.”

36. SEME OR UKE? TOP OR BOTTOM? DOMINANT OR SUBMISSIVE? -laughs- “I had to actually look up the meaning of the first-- I thought we weren’t talking about this? Ah well-- guess at least it isn’t quite as specific as kinks. It’s interesting because the answers to these questions used to be quite different-- use to be seme/top/dominant all the way-- but uh-- you caught me, I’m now more of a uke/bottom/submissive type a guy.”

37. CAMPING OR INDOORS? “Both. I like being indoors well enough but I’ll never turn down an adventure-- and camping-- is always an adventure.”

38. ARE YOU WANTING THE QUIZ TO END? “I’m indifferent I suppose. It’s nice to talk about the things that have changed in my life. Let people get to know me a little better.”

@cranberrybutter

[chrissydeath]

OC Interview Meme

tagged by: noone, got in the mood for :D And maybe s.o. is curious enough to read about my Inquizzy boi? _____ [shortly after Trespasser, but still with his marked hand. And headconon is Bi!Solas.]

1. What is your name?

“Sam’ael, from the dalish clan Lavellan. But most just know me as wrong Herold of Andraste, Inquisitor, wild freaking elf who saved the world’s ass?“

2. What is your real name?

He raises an eybrow ...

3. Do you know why you were called that?

“As I know, my parents picked a mythological name up from the shems and simply transfered them into our culture.”

4. Are you single or taken?

He utters a brief laugher, “Well... it is sth... complicated.”, and he swiftly pets the jawbone hanging around his neck, “And no. No futher comment for.” His right hand rises to hush the person infront of him.

5. Have any abilities or powers?

“Well, I used to close the holes in the sky with that glowy magical thing on my hand but now it is more like a huge pain in the ass...”, in a stern honest he glares to his left hand. *I am quite good with the bow?”, he looks up while Sera giggles out laud in the brackground and he turned his head slightly around to her, smiling. “Yes, I am and you know it!” Sera snorts and giggles louder.

6. Stop being a Mary Sue.

”By the dread -”, he begins and stopps immediatly, “...fuck it.”, just a whisper is to hear, “A what?”, Sam’ael looks confused to the others around him. ”What is that supposed to mean?” 7. What’s your eye color?

He bend over and stares straight to the interviewer...

“As you can see?”, and smirks.

8. How about your hair color?

“You’re kidding....” and an arkward break happens . “Ehm, well. Brown-reddish.”

9. Have you any family members?

“My whole clan, actually. And my companions, on who I grew, too. It is not just blood, like anyone want it to be.”

10. Oh? What about pets?

“Pets.”, he repeated, “How odd.” Now the interviewer looks confused. “I like the company of animals, yes. Except of huge spiders...”, Sam’ael wispers to himself. “But completly free as they like. Not that I own them.”

11. That’s cool I guess, now tell me about something you don’t like.

“You know exactly how dangerous ANY answer of this can be for me and or the former ppl of the Inquisition.”, and a huge smirk appears on his lips.

“So, let’s keep it simple. Cities. Loud, crowdy cities. How can you manage to live there? To ever get used to that?”, he ask desperately. “Oh, come on, ‘Quiz-- I mean, Sam’i. Don’t do that elfy thing, will ya?!”, Sera rolls with the eyes. “Oh, come on! Don’t do that non-elfy thing, will ya?”, he echoes her tone grinning.

12. Do you have any hobbies/activities you like doing?

“Find places to hide, take a lot of books and arty things with me. And escape in a forgotten or commonly unknown world? Playing some lute? Drinking in taverns? Maybe mocking some nobles? Training my aiming with the bow? “Fucking some elfy-elf and thinking no one is around? ... Ewgh.”, a girl-voice adds. “SERA.”, he turns back, eyes wided and got another idea. “Ah! Sitting in huge spas and having some cheese weels on my eyes! That was great!”

13. Ever hurt anyone before?

“Sure.”

14. Ever… killed anyone before?

“Indeed. But not that’s sth. I quite like to do..”

15. What kind of animal are you?

“I guess sth. like an eagle or a hawk.” He looks far away while thinking of some animals.

16. Name your worst habits.

“Too much thinking, too much caring. Maybe low self-care.? And a bit too flirty. The more drinking before, the worst it gets.”, he winks.

17. Do you look up to anyone at all?

“Yes. In our ranks workes an really talented mages with much of knowledge for those who want to listen. Such ppl are rare and I enjoyed hi--”, again he gets interrupted. “Oh yea, he REALLY enjoyed this special freaky.” And while Sera finishes laughing, she gets dragged out of the room by Sam’ael. “By Elganan. Too much information she knows. Thanks Varric.”, he snorts.

18. Gay, straight, or bisexual?

“Many hints were already given, so it is no langer a neccessary secret. I am pansexual. Preference to a fascinating character of someone.”

“Generally.” he adds, and get reminded of some flirty and spontaniously activities with a quite fascinating qunari warrior.

19. Do you go to school?

“I got sth like that in my clan, yes. Unfortunatly not that intense education like a keeper’s first - I have no magical abilities - but I was quite motivated to be as good as them I could manage.”

20. Do you ever want to marry and have kids one day?

“Who knows.”, he waves aside the question.

21. Do you have any fanboys/fangirls?

He snorts while laughing.

22. What are you most afraid of?

“Being left alone. Made responsible for any little failure I could have made. Especially while running the Inquisition, you know. The preasure and weight on your shoulders. You can easily break, if you try to keep all by yourself.” Sam’ael clears his throat, “But someone was needed and... I already got quite deep in that mess with this mark on my hand...”, he shruggs.

23. What do you usually wear?

“That quite fancy pyjama, I currently wear?”, he smiles. “I really love it

24. Do you love someone?

He only nods sadly.

25. When was the last time you wet yourself?

“Oh shitty boy, did you EVER fight against 2 blighted orks and one powerful emissary?! In the deepest fucking caves you ever was?!”, he  fursiously gestures while speaking. “You can be lucky if you just wet yourself, man!”

26. Well, it’s not over yet!

“It’s about time I need a drink, I guess.”, he crossed his legs again and rests his head on his fist.

27. What class are you? (High class, middle class, low class)

“For the most of Thedas the lowest. And you know it yourself quite well, right.”

28. How many friends do you have?

“A few, but quite good!”, he smiles while thinking of really knowing ppl behind his back.

29. What are your thoughts on pie?

“Give me some of these filly little cakes of Orlaise and I am aaaaall yours.”, he winks confidently.

30. Favorite drink?

“Rum. Especially our home made one. Your shem’s is... drinkable.”, Sam’ael admits coy.

31. What’s your favorite place?

“The emerald graves are fascinating. And so peaceful and calming.”, he dreamly replies. “Except for the giants - better keep distance.” , he adds. “But in contrary, the Fallow mire with its dark and mysterious secrets and tragedy is hella exciting, too.”

32. Are you interested in someone?

“In someone, yes.”

33. What’s your bra cup size and/or how big is your willy?

“Who is asking?“, a brow is rising slowly by this strange question.

34. Would you rather swim in the lake or the ocean?

“Both, I guess.”

35. What’s your type?

“Have character. With all your good and also odd habits.”

36. Any fetishes?

“Oh, yes. Maybe The Iron Bull will tell you more about, if you ask nicely?”

37. Seme or uke? Top or Bottom? Dominant or Submissive?

“Isn’t it boring to be put in just one role?”, he asks opently and tilts his head.

38. Camping or indoors?

“I am used to camping, but Fuck. After sleeping in such huge bed it is quite easy to choose indoors.”

39. Are you wanting the interview to end?

“For fucks sake, please. I really need a drink right now.”

40. Now it’s over! Tag 3 people

“Thank you!”, and immedialy, after a short bow, he steps aside Bull taking his drink.

tagging: @loohconrado @morganeskylar & whomever wants to do it.

[akaluan]

If Uryu weren't a Quincy (a world with no supernatural powers), what do you think his life would be like? What would he go into professionally after high school?

Oh lord, okay. So, taking out all the supernatural powers from Bleach leaves us with… a bunch of Awkward and Vaguely Traumatized Via Life teenagers. =l

So as I’ve mentioned a few times, Uryuu’s actions depend upon his past. So without /powers/…

(cut for length and because this gets SUPER DARK IN SPOTS)

His grandfather still teaches him archery and that it’s his duty to uphold the Quincy creed; they’re still the Quincy, still have a Legacy to uphold, but it’s a mundane legacy that not many people respect these days – they hold some relation to Important Historical Figures, can trace their ancestry back a couple hundred years, and still have a Clan structure that no one reeeaaaally pays much attention to. The lesser members of the Clan pay lipservice to the main branch, but not much else. And really, there isn’t many of the Clan left, side or main.

The creed is generally about protecting the Clan and destroying aggressors, and child!Uryuu practically worships the ground his grandfather walks on, for all the stories of daring deeds and past battles the Quincy were once part of. His grandfather is much cooler than his father, who’s rarely home.

Uryuu still watches his grandfather die in front of him, this time to human attackers; not even actively malicious people, just… teenaged punks that were being teenaged punks, and took offense at his grandfather telling them no. So they pushed him around a bit, looking to rough him up, convince him to leave them alone… except Uryuu’s grandfather is an /old man/, and this isn’t a world with powers. He falls, and gets hurt, and the teenagers don’t really REALIZE what’s happened until it’s too late, and Uryuu is left behind with the results, scuffed and bruised from trying to get teenagers to just STOP IT when he’s just a scrawny kid.

His mother dies as well. She slipped into a coma and never woke up. A brain tumor took her life.

His father is still in a frenzy to discover happened. It isn’t quite the gruesome 3 day autopsy that canon is, but Ryuuken puts his wife’s body through a large number of tests, trying to figure out where and why. (There weren’t many signs. Persistent headaches, a bit of minor memory loss, but… nothing that caught his attention. Nothing that stood out.)

This version of Ryuuken scrutinizes Uryuu a lot. Asks about headaches, lightheadedness, gaps in his memory… Uryuu moves out as soon as he can. He can’t handle the clinical /hovering/.

(They don’t have an amiable relationship. Uryuu assumes Ryuuken’s just waiting for him to show the same flaw that his mother had.)

Uryuu wants nothing to do with medicine. He /knows/ a lot /about/ medicine, and about all the gruesome, painful ways a human can die – especially from cancer – but… he wants nothing to do with it. With any of the reminders of paramedics coming too late to help, or doctors scrambling to discover a cause. With Ryuuken who never came home, never cared, until suddenly he was either /always hovering/ or /never around/.

He joins the archery team in high school, to honor his grandfather who taught him and his mother who always smiled whenever he showed her some trick his grandfather had taught him. He gets into fights at lot, snarling and snapping, hating basically all teenagers and lumping them under the same header as the teens that cost him his grandfather.

(Yeah, he kinda hates himself too. He’s got enough self-awareness to realize the hypocrisy, but not enough will or any reason to STOP.)

This is how Ichigo and Chad find him. Chad… he’s basically the same as in canon. He’s been where Uryuu is, and he… doesn’t want to see Uryuu continue down that path. (He’s completely at a loss for how to help. He doesn’t have the connection to Uryuu that his Abuelo had to him. He doesn’t have his Abuelo’s wisdom, either. How do you reach out to another, when you’ve only just started to find yourself?)

Ichigo is still stubborn. Still fights punks that try to pick on people they shouldn’t. His mom died saving him from a river in flood, when his eye was caught by something interesting in the water and he didn’t realize the danger until far too late. He still thinks his father is useless, still takes care of his little sisters, still frowns and glowers and fights like walking away is a sin.

Chad wants to help Uryuu. Ichigo… well, he goes along with it.

So they just… keep showing up. Keep helping Uryuu out.

(Uryuu refuses to admit that they’re starting to change his mind, a little bit at a time. Every time Ichigo helps him finish a fight. Every time Chad helps patch the two of them up afterward. The way Ichigo treats other people when not fighting; grumpy but polite, kind, /nice/. Uryuu’s suspicious, waiting for the other shoe to fall, but it never does.)

(By the time they graduate high school, he’s lost the last of his wariness around Ichigo and Chad. They’re probably the only people he fully, one hundred percent trusts.)

Through Ichigo, Uryuu is introduced to Tatsuki and Orihime, and Keigo and [other teen who’s name I forget]. As Uryuu’s social group starts to expand a bit, he ends up…. losing some of his hatred and rage. He starts to realize how /exhausting/ it is to hold all of that close, all the time. His archery improves in leaps and bounds, now that he’s not constantly fixated.

Uryuu starts going to competitions. He starts branching out, into other styles of archery, especially mounted. Amused and a bit vindictive even still, he drags Ichigo and Chad with him to horseback lessons, and then horseback archery lessons. Ichigo is exasperated and SORE, Chad is amused, and happy, and putting up with being SORE because Uryuu’s actually starting to smile. He hasn’t gone looking for a fight in months. Anything is worth that, in Chad’s opinion.

Ryuuken is Not Happy. Uryuu’s spending so much time and effort on becoming competition-worthy in the various archery styles that his grades are Good But Not Great. They get into a shouting match when Uryuu comes back to Karakura, proud and excited and PLEASED. He won gold at his last competition. He’s DOING something. He’s like their ancestors, like the great heroes of old.

Ryuuken tells him he’s wasting his life on something that no one cares about anymore. He needs to focus, needs to prepare himself for the future. Ryuuken’s already signed Uryuu up for after school tutoring, so that Uryuu can make the grade requirements to get into a prestigious medical school.

The shouting match turns into a screaming match. Uryuu storms out and flees to Chad’s apartment.

(It’s Chad that Uryuu spills his story to, over the course of several nights. About his parents, and his grandfather, and his legacy. About everything, including Ryuuken’s expectations.)

(Chad lets Uryuu talk, offering a listening ear and anecdotes from his own life, whenever Uryuu begins to clam up again and act embarrassed at his own words.)

In the end… Ryuuken eventually cancels the tutoring, because Uryuu cuts all contact with him. Uryuu keeps in contact with Ichigo and Chad and Tatsuki and Orihime, and goes into archery professionally. When he makes it into the Olympics, his friends travel out to cheer him on, and when he wins his first bronze medal they celebrate for days.

(Uryuu keeps returning to the Olympics. He brings home medals almost every time, including a few golds at the height of his career.)

(He never speaks of his father during interviews, only his grandfather and his mother and his best friends. He and Ryuuken haven’t spoken more than a handful of words in the years that have passed, and Uryuu no longer lives in Karakura where Ryuuken still resides.)

On the side (and almost constantly, after he retires from the sport) Uryuu writes. Historical fantasy, mostly, taking the stories that his grandfather told him and spinning them into tales that others can enjoy. Ichigo helps him with these a lot, and they end up co-authoring a series together that’s more sci-fi than fantasy, but they both enjoy it and plan to write more in the same universe. Chad even writes filk music for the various books, and makes a bit of money from that.

(Chad is a counselor for troubled kids and teens. It’s hard, but he doesn’t mind. Being able to help even one person is something he enjoys.)

(Ichigo is an author like Uryuu, but he goes into it straight out of high school, writing and trying to get published while he goes to university. His degree is technically in the language department, but he ends up taking a lot of cross-department classes, wanting to know at least a little about a lot of different things.)

(Tatsuki and Orihime find their own goals, and leave Karakura too. Really, the friends keep in contact more over the internet than in person, but that’s okay.)

Aaand that’s basically it? Happy kids, wildly different goals than anyone expected, and no one is Parent V2.

(IDK where the writer bits came from? It just appeared. Oh well.)

[nekosayuri]

Family: Uchiha.

I recreated this family first, ages ago, pretty much when Konoha was still empty. <3 it’s probably no surprise if you know me even a little (I mean, I use them in my previews too nowadays xD that’s how much I love them.)

I first created Sasuke and Sayuri in Belladonna Cove for the heck of it, but then I got really attached, especially to their kids. Back then (2014ish), my ACOH story was also not all that developed past their 20s, but playing their sims inspired me a lot, and the kids they had became their kids in my story too (well, only the first three, cause come on, eight kids?!) I literally let their sims guide my writing. <3

Since I wrote little Sim/story profiles for them, I posted them separately first, but here’s the all at once post. :D

This is like the first time I ever do this, but I really wanted to try, so sorry if I’m confusing! 

Uchiha Sayuri, previously Amamiya, is first, cause why not? She’s one of the main OCs. Self insert originally, too, so I’m a little biased. :D

Sayuri never really fit into the Ninja world. Something about the occupation always rubbed her the wrong way. She knew she was born in a Ninja village to a Ninja family, but was that really all there was? Was her destiny really to fight and kill? She refused that. It took many years, and some friends in high places, but with effort and stubbornness, Sayuri got people to follow her dream and make it a reality: a village where kids could be kids, without the pressure of the Ninja world on their shoulders, where they have a choice and can make their own way. A place where she would want her own kids to grow up.

Nowadays, Sayuri is the head of the Diplomacy department of Konoha’s government. A skilled negotiator who is not afraid to get in the thick of it, she’s solved many situations that could have ended far worse. She gets personally involved, though, which takes its toll. But she can’t help it– this is how she is. She wouldn’t be so good at it otherwise.

Sayuri is a family sim with a pleasure secondary. Her zodiac is Cancer, with a personality of 5/4/5/5/6. She’s relatively in-the-middle there for someone as revolutionary as her, but despite being kinda shy, she’s also VERY stubborn and willing to fight for her dreams/goals/whatever.

Traits: Family oriented, nurturing, over-emotional, bookworm, and terrible cook.

Turn ons: black hair, logical (may have been influenced a little over the years she was married to Sasuke… xD). Turn offs: bad at cooking that should be a turn off, ugh! Right now, it’s robots, because there’s no such thing, yet! I can never find turn offs that actually make sense.

Sasuke is next, this is my attempt at explaining what he is like in my story?

Sasuke spent 10 years living a life that wasn’t his, pursuing a goal that was forced on him by his brother, Itachi. When he came out on the other side, he couldn’t recognise himself anymore– not the person he was before the whole thing started, not the person he had become over the years. He had nothing left but a hollowness inside that scared him. But he was wrong, and there were people who were there to show him that. As soon as he saw in himself something good that could become bigger, he grabbed it with both of his hands and never let go.

Nowadays, he’s the Head of Shield, a team of elite ninja, chosen only by him and the Hokage. They’re the very best for a reason. Each and every one of them are experts in their field and they normally go on the most dangerous missions, and come back alive. That must say something! Due to his position, Sasuke also has a seat on the council. Though he clearly cares about his position and the village itself, Sasuke would prefer to stay out of harm’s way most of the time… so he can come back home to his family at the end of the day.

Random facts: the name ‘Shield’ was chosen by the Hokage, Naruto, at the time. It’s inspired by a word he heard while visiting the Cloud village. Also, ‘dangerous’ isn’t the same as it used to be 10-20 years ago.

Sasuke is a family sim, too, with a knowledge secondary. His zodiac is Leo, with a personality of 7/4/8/3/5 (mostly head-canon, really). He’s a bit of a clean freak and his active personality is literally his core. 

Traits: Athletic, disciplined, brave (a condition for his job), social disaster, natural cook. 

Turn ons: fitness, creative. Turn offs: fat.

Kaito is the eldest and the only boy in the family besides Sasuke. I admit I was delighted their first kid was a boy. :D

Kaito is a genius. Everybody knows that. He’s “perfect” in every way (ask his fangirls), and so he should be, he’s an Uchiha after all. Kaito sees it a different way though, he just wants to be left alone, so he can read his books and do his ninja training and hang out with his friends and figure himself out. Everybody is in such a hurry to put him on a pedestal... 

Kaito is a teenager (15 story-time), so he has only one aspiration, knowledge. His zodiac is Aries, with a personality of 5/4/7/3/7. He was born in game and everything was copied over, although originally I had Sayuri encourage him to be nicer, so that was copied over as well. He’s hell of a lot like Sasuke, personality wise, but his attitude towards people is more like Sayuri’s. xD

Traits: Genius, brave (from Sasuke), terrible cook (from Sayuri). Teens in my game will have only three traits, get another one as YA, and last one as adults.

Turn ons: athletic, brown hair. Turn offs: jewellery.

Mikoto got her name from Sasuke’s mother, because she was born with her eyes (grey which is lighter than Sasuke’s.) It’s mostly not a thing to name your kids after your parents (with some clan exceptions), but meh. 

Right from the start, there was one thing that stood out about Mikoto: her unending care for others. Even as a young child, she would take care of her friends and her little sister, watching over them as if she were their mother. She got more into art as she grew, and she loves painting. She doesn’t really know what she wants to do with her life, you know? She’s only 13 after all! She still has two years before she has to decide whether to go to Ninja school or the Academic one, and she’s going to take her time figuring it out.

Mikoto is a child in the sims, despite being 13 story-time (I kinda figure Teen stage starts at 15), so her aspiration is still to grow up. Her zodiac is Aquarius, with a personality of 4/5/5/5/6. Again, born in game and everything was copied. She’s obviously a lot like Sayuri with the whole in-the-middle thing.

Traits: nurturing (from Sayuri), artistic.

Hikari was born in the middle of the night, when Sasuke and Sayuri caught a glimpse of a falling star just before Sayuri went into labor (that actually happened in my game, I’ll add a link to the picture when the archive actually works -_-). Anyway, I’m a bit of a cliche, so obviously she got her name from the stars lighting up the night sky. XD

Hikari is not like Kaito and Mikoto. She’s not unsure, she’s not confused. She knows exactly what she wants: to be a ninja, of course, so she can be as strong as her father, or even more! so what if she’s just 10 and has plenty of time to make up her mind? 

Hikari’s aspiration is to grow up in the sims, since she’s still a child. Her zodiac is Cancer, with a personality of 5/3/8/4/5. She got her active trait from Sasuke and her shyness from Sayuri. :D born in game, copied faithfully as always.

Traits: Shy, athletic (from Sasuke).

Bonus: The cats!

From right (sitting cat) to left: Kuro, Kurona and Ryoma. 

Sasuke found Kuro on a dark, rainy night when he was just a kitten. He never cared for animals all that much, but when their eyes met, he couldn’t just leave him be, either. Kuro had the kind of eyes that reminded him of his own, at the time-- aloof, independent, but also lonely and lost. So he took him in for the night. That was when he was 17. Needless to say, Kuro stayed. But Kuro came with his own dark past and his own troubles... he’s a ninja cat, after all!

Fun fact: Kuro means Black in Japanese. That’s how creative his name is! Sasuke’s idea.

It was again a dark, rainy night when… ok no, it was a sunny weekend day, when Sasuke and Sayuri were 21, that Kuro came running in frantically and begged (by meowing, a lot) for them to come with him. When they arrived at the destination, they found a pregnant white cat, but she seemed sick. They took her to the animal hospital, who decided to get her kittens out ASAP. Luckily, everybody survived. The kittens were given homes, and the pretty white cat, well… Kuro got attached to her, so Sasuke and Sayuri ended up taking her in, too. Need I mention she’s also a ninja cat?

Fun fact: Kurona was given her name because, well, there’s Kuro, so if we add na (supposedly, a short for nya, which is the sound cats make in Japanese), you get Kurona. It was Sasuke’s idea

Ryoma is their son. He was a part of a litter of four, but the other three were given away because there was just too much chaos at home and Sasuke couldn’t stand it. There was some whining and crying from the children, who were all old enough to understand what was happening, but what had to be done was done. For some odd reason, though, Sasuke decided to keep Ryoma... the hyper, wild kitten! 

Funny fact: He got his name from a character in Prince of Tennis. Yep. No story reason there. XD (the other kittens were named Ryoga, Nana, and Kana. Two males, two females. :D) 

A note on ninja cats for interested people: they’re not like normal cats. Their lifespan is much longer (closer to humans), even though their ability to breed is similar to normal cats– basically, they can breed as soon as normal cats, but they lose that ability the older they get (halfway through their life). As always, females sooner than males. Another thing is that they do understand the human language, and they can also talk! That said, both Kuro and Kurona escaped from their ninja village before they actually learned to talk, so neither of them can. They do understand the human language though, as they’re taught that sooner than to actually talk it. They can also read it, but not write.

[full-frontal-lotus]

The Prodigy: Chapter 2

Form! Team Gai!

I woke up two or so months later to a wonderful 4 AM alarm, unable to hold in my excitement any longer. Today was the big day. I had much to do before the Hokage arrived at his office that morning. I had to get dressed, eat, shower and get all my morning training in so that I would not miss a second of the glorious day.

Oh, there was so much to do and such little time to do it in! Once I had the names of my youthful little charges, I would have a mere three days to prepare myself mentally and physically for their special arrival. What little time! What precious little time!

I got all my morning activities done in record time, a feat I am proud of to this day. Three hundred laps, two hundred sit-ups, two hundred push-ups and a hundred reps with my weight set (an admittedly light work-out. I do not believe in straining oneself before breakfast). I was drenched in the youthful sweat of my achievement, but I could not think of anything else except my excitement. I just could not wait any longer! At 6:17, I decided to forgo my shower until I returned with my new team, grabbed a box of cereal and ran all the way up to the Hokage's office to wait for him.

When I arrived, I was still too early. I could not sit still, though. Energy was pulsing through my body. I ran the length of the building, up and down stairs, on my feet, on my hands, backwards and forwards. By 6:45, I was merely pacing in front of the Hokage's office, eating my cereal. It was in this time that I wondered what my new team would be like.

I certainly hoped that youthful Lee kid was one of them! I had met the little rascal about a year back and had been inspired to teach by his struggle for success. I had heard rumors that the kid had ended up dropping out of the Academy- through no lack of trying!- and I had put in a special request. I certainly believed it to have been quite convincing. I wanted to get to know this kid, to be there for him- when he needed me, when he failed and when he succeeded. I was sure the Hokage would never deny such a heartfelt request!

As for the others, I just hoped they would like me. I was by no means unlikeable and I definitely tried to be as kind and friendly as I could be, but I did not click with people right away and such a thing was important with children! While I had never heard of a teacher being completely incompatible with their students, there was certainly a first for everything and I did not want to be that teacher. The Hokage was famous for his ability to match students with the teacher best suited to each of their individual needs, but… I was a little harder than most to find 'compatible'. That was just how it was.

I heard the Hokage's footsteps and it brought me out of my thoughts immediately. Absolute joy rushed over me and I charged him, almost shoving him right back down the stairs. "Hokage-sama! They're ready, right?! The results? You're ready! Ca-!"

The Hokage just laughed lightly and waved me away, scooting his way around. "Yes, yes, Gai, they're ready. I knew you'd be here, so I have yours waiting on my desk. Have you been here all night?"

"Of course not. That'd be ridiculous!" I replied, watching anxiously as the Hokage fished the key to the door out of his robe. God, it took an eternity! It was as if time itself was against me as that key just dragged from his sleeve, slid slowly into the lock and just struggled to push the tumblers inside.

I heard the click and slammed the door open. I was giddy with excitement as I ran inside and starting going through the scrolls on his desk, looking for the one with my name on it. "Hokage-sama, tell me they're amazing! No, don't tell me! I want to read about them. No, I can't wait. Tell me! Tell me! No! I'll meet them! God, I want to meet them-!"

"You will, you will, Gai," The Hokage laughed, easing himself down into his chair. "I've never met a man so eager to teach."

"Of course! Getting to share the wisdom of my experience and fuel the fire of the new generation will be the exciting new chapter of my life! Now which one of these is it?!"

"Right here," The Hokage lifted a small scroll from his desk and handed it to me. "I think you'll be most plea-"

I grabbed the scroll and threw it open so quickly, half of it skidded across the floor. I read as quickly as I could, eager to find out which lucky students I had been blessed with.

Tenten, female, age 12. Skilled in accuracy, observance and taijutsu. Strong-willed and clever, with a laundry list of disciplinary reports. A wonderful and gorgeous young flower to add to my team!

My heart skipped a beat. Rock Lee! The Hokage had granted my request! How amazingly wonderful! My excitement overwhelmed me. There was no way my team could get any better! My youthfully diligent Lee, my clever and powerful little Tenten! Who could possibly be awesome enough to complete the three-man team that was Team 9-

Then my heard stopped all together.

My jaw dropped.

The final member of my team… was Neji Hyuuga.

"Gai? Is something wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I tried to say something, but nothing would come out. I was trembling. The scroll was shaking so badly in my hands that I could no longer read it. His name was dancing, almost coming off the page. I stuttered, shaking my head. "H-Hokage-sama! This-! This can't be right!"

The Hokage's eyebrows rose. "What do you mean? I thought you would be pleased. They're all focused on taijutsu and seem keen on honing their skills-"

"No, no! I am so pleased in that aspect, but…! I…! Why?! Why him?!"

The Hokage looked very surprised. "Him? Certainly you don't mean Rock Lee?"

"Of course not! I could not be happier! I mean why… why Neji?"

The Hokage stared at me for a moment, then his face grew soft with understanding. "I understand it is daunting to take on such a highly acclaimed child, but you'll be fine. There is no doubt in my mind that there is no one better to teach him."

I glanced at the paper and back up several times. Acclaimed was not the word I would have used. Feared would have been much closer. I shook my head. "Are you sure…?"

"Absolutely."

I could not handle this! This just could not be! "S-surely-?"

"My decision is final, Gai," The Hokage interrupted calmly.

"Hokage-sama… I don't know…"

"Gai," The Hokage leaned forward in his desk and set his folded hands on the table. "If I did not believe you fit for teaching, I would not have appointed you as a teacher. If I believed for a second that any of these children would not benefit and succeed under your care, I would never have placed them there. Trust me to know what I'm doing."

Being chastised by the Hokage was not easy and I wanted more than anything to believe him, but I already believed Kakashi and I could not believe both. I could not even speak. I just nodded as I rolled up the scroll and tucked it into my pocket. I bowed in silence and left the office.

I walked back home in a daze. In three days… I would be put face-to-face with a child that- before his twelfth birthday- had terrorized his chunin-level teachers, killed his classmates and struck fear into the hearts of the great Hyuuga clan. God knew what he would do to me, say to me. I did not even know my worst fear, my greatest weaknesses. I was not sure I could face them, especially from the mouth of a- of this… this… child!

Regardless, I did my best to suck it up and prepare to the best of my abilities. I arranged a permanent training grounds, where I could train my students every day from dawn to dusk if we so chose. I made several large purchases, including a variety of weapons numbering in the hundreds, three set of heavy ankle weights and several youth-sized versions of my own special, custom-ordered suit. Those three days went by in a whirlwind and the biggest day of my life came upon me like a pouncing lion.

I was hardly even ready for it. I walked to the Academy with the feelings of a man walking to his execution. I could not believe that I was so frightened of a child I had yet to meet, but Kakashi had done his best on me. My legs were shaking as I climbed the stairs, my hand trembled as it touched the door handle. I closed my eyes, bracing myself and just took a deep breath. I could do this! I had fought in a war, gone on many dangerous missions, stared into the eyes of death. These were children. This was a child. This was nothing.

I twisted the handle and pushed the door open, stepping out onto the balcony. This was the first look I had of my youthful new team and it is something I will never forget.

"Gai-sensei!"

Ah, that was my precious Rock Lee! His face had lit up with radiant energy the moment I stepped through the door and it only seemed to brighten more the longer he basked in my presence. I could hardly help a smile. Such excitement and youthful wonder in the eyes of a child made my heart swell and I felt the tremors in my limbs cease. How he had grown in the past year!

My eyes moved on to the beautiful flower of my team- my little Tenten- just as her eyes shifted from Lee to me. She certainly did not look thrilled, but her brown eyes flickered over me as if she were assessing me as a target.

I could feel those eyes before I even met them and my heart quailed before I dared to shift my gaze over. Those deathly white eyes seized my own and locked. Those eyes did not flicker as Tenten's had, were not bright nor excited like Lee's. Even the haughty arrogance in his face did not extend into them. They were blank, fathomless, full of a deep something yet void of emotion. They narrowed suddenly, as if focusing down to a single thought within my brain and for a moment, I thought he was reading my mind. Then, they closed bitterly and I was freed. I tried to shake the feeling of dread the way it was shaking me, turning back to my team with a mask of confidence. "Alright! How are you all?"

I received an enthusiastic "Fantastic!" from Lee, a murmured "Alright." from Tenten and no response at all from Neji. I chuckled lightly. "Excellent. You know by now that my name is Maito Gai and I am going to be your sensei for the next few years."

Lee looked like the excitement would be too much for him, but the statement drew no strong feelings in the others.

I began to feel awkward in the face of these children who were expecting so much from me, but I kept pushing my fake confidence, hoping to get them to open up. "So, as your new teacher, I want to know about you guys. Name, fighting style, what you expect to learn and at least one thing you want me to know about you."

Lee's hand went up so fast he nearly fell off his seat. "Sensei!"

I chuckled lightly, waving towards him. "Yes?"

"Yes! My name is Rock Lee! My fighting style is strictly taijutsu! I expect to learn great things from you, sensei, like how to become a great ninja in the face of opposition! I want you to know that I am going to succeed in my goals no matter what, regardless of what I have to pay to achieve them!"

His determination did not surprise me, although the pride I felt for him was overwhelming. My face was nothing but a dumb grin when I replied, "Excellent, Lee! A wonderful and youthful example of the kind of enthusiasm I expect from you guys! Now…?"

Tenten raised her hand, arm fully extended. "Tenten. I use taijutsu, too. I expect to learn how to be a better shinobi. That's why I was put here, right? And I want you to know that I'm just as capable as these two and I want to be taught on the same level, despite the fact that I'm a girl."

Regardless of her hesitation, her expectations were quite clear and surprisingly enough, I was relieved. "Tenten, it is delightful and refreshing to see that the Academy can still graduate such strong girls!"

Tenten scoffed sarcastically, leaning down to rest her chin on her hand. "I'm one of a kind, sensei."

I laughed. Her sense of humor would be welcome. Confident in how things were going, I turned to my more stoic student and tentatively asked, "Neji…?"

The boy looked at me with an expression of absolute loathing. "Neji Hyuuga. Gentle Fist. I expect to learn nothing from you. That's all you should need to know."

My god, that voice. Never in a million years would I think a child could or should sound like that. It sent a cold shiver down my spine, one that I could hardly hide, and turned my insides to jelly. Worse, there was no doubt he believed what he said and that was daunting.

"What about you, sensei?"

I turned curiously, grateful to hear a more youthful voice.

Tenten tilted her head. "What's your style? What do we need to know?"

My little flower was so inquisitive! I placed my hands on my hips and grinned, shoving my nerves back down in favor of my favorite topics. "Luckily for you all, I excel in taijutsu! There are no substitutions. Real ninjitsu is based in the body and the heart, not in chakra and trickery! I expect to learn your goals and desires over the course of your time with me and make them realities. Know that I expect great things from you as well, and that my goal is to bring those great things out!"

I saw the spark of hope flash in Tenten's eyes. I knew I had said what she wanted to hear. My smile grew bigger. "But, that's my goal. I want to hear yours. What are your beliefs? What are your reasons for being shinobi?"

Tenten's hand was up first this time. "I want to be a great and powerful ninja so I can walk in the footsteps of the legendary kunoichi, Tsunade-sama, because I want to be an amazing female ninja, too!"

The way she beamed with pride made me teary-eyed. I put it in the back of my mind to research Tsunade in depth when the day was done, to better strive for Tenten's lofty goal. I looked over to see Lee's eyes shining in admiration. I turned to Neji and he looked disgusted with her. I frowned. "Neji?"

Those eyes narrowed and turned away. My frown deepened, but such a blatant disregard for personal goals inspired a youthful outburst from my precious Lee, whose hand shot up with an excited cry. "Gai-sensei! I want to show I can be a splendid ninja, as well! Even if I do not have ninjutsu or genjutsu! That means everything to me!"

I smiled, feeling the tears really start. Such fiery passion, such single-minded enthusiasm! How could I not aim for that understandable goal-!

Then I heard it.

A short, humorless laugh that sent ice cold shivers down my spine. Lee surged from his seat, rounding viciously on the source. "Just what is so funny!"

Those cold eyes slid over to Lee and Neji's lips were curled in a condescending smirk. "Your goals are laughable. A shinobi without ninjutsu is useless. You are destined to be a failure until the day you die," Those eyes narrowed and that smirk twitched mercilessly. "And you will reach that point faster than you can imagine."

His cold voice resonated with finality, as if these things were inevitable, as if he were cursing Lee personally. Lee sputtered, choking on righteous fury. While my heart ached for Lee's dreams, the bitterness between the two seemed… right.

I forced a laugh, slapping a hand on Lee's shoulder. "A healthy rivalry is good for the body, Lee! You two will be each others greatest assets, you'll see."

Those cold eyes narrowed viciously, as if Neji was both insulted and disgusted by the very idea. Starting such a strong rivalry- of pitting loser against genius- made my heart long for my days of youth. Such energy and extraordinary goals made my heart race and the blood rush in my ears. Even Neji's lack of respect and enthusiasm for me could not turn that familiar feeling away. I was eager to get my students out into the world, to start their training immediately. I was pumped! "Alright! Let's get out there and train!"

"Already?" Tenten inquired disbelievingly.

"What better time than the present, Tenten? No better way to get to know someone than by interacting!" I charged her, making her squeal and duck. I vaulted over the railing and landed neatly on the ground three stories down. I looked up and found my students glancing over the railing. I gestured them down.

Tenten sputtered. "S-sensei! I'm not jumping off a balcony!"

"Yosh!" Lee threw himself over the railing with abandon, landing gracelessly and tumbling a little to break his fall. He stood up, a little shaken, but completely alright. He grinned expectantly up at me.

I slapped him on the back and looked up at the other two. "Come on! No fear!"

"Sensei, you're ridiculous!" Tenten yelled. "You're going to get us ki-"

Neji jumped the railing. He stuck his landing with the grace of a cat. He did not look at me or Lee for approval. He did not even look up for Tenten. Tenten shrunk down and I could see her muttering to herself. She was shaking her head with a sigh when she stepped onto the railing. She closed her eyes and jumped. She landed on her feet, staggering forward and nearly falling on her face. Lee caught her and pushed her back onto her feet. She awkwardly thanked him, crossing her arms. She was shaking.

I slapped her enthusiastically on the back. "Atta girl! That's the spirit! Now come on! You're going to love our training grounds!"

"Our?"

"Our! I've reserved it permanently, so it'll be like a second home! Come on! I'll show you!" I grabbed her hand and made a fast beeline towards the training grounds, dragging my complaining little flower behind me the whole way. Lee struggled to keep up, but reveled in the challenge. I was unsure of where Neji was, but I trusted that he was following me as well.

We arrived at the gates of our training grounds and my team was breathless. While they caught their wind, I fished the three keys I had made out of my vest pocket. I presented each of my students with one, stating, "These are the keys to this training area and you three are the only ones- besides me, of course- that have them. Don't lose them! They'll allow you a place to train whenever you please, even when I'm away on missions!"

My team had various levels of respect for their new possessions. Lee looked as if he had received the key to heaven and held it in his hands like it was made of glass. Tenten closed her hand around it and peeked around me to try and see what she had access to. Neji had put the key in his pocket without a second glance.

Taking the initiative, I unlocked the gate and pushed it open. Tenten rushed around me, looking around curiously and excitedly at the expansive training field. I saw her finger her kunai holster eagerly, practically licking her lips. Lee took a more reverent approach, looking around in awe as if he had stepped into a church. Surely, he had never seen such a place, as I had easily outdone the Academy's taijutsu training facilities by far. He was not far behind Tenten in his enthusiasm, though. A quick glance at Neji showed he was simply not impressed.

But, my other students were ready to go and I had to cater to that youthful vigor. I jogged out into the training field and took up a quick stance. "Alright, team! Before we do anything, I wanna see what you've got! I want you to come at me like the enemy! I want you to give it your all!"

Tenten and Lee exchanged unsure glances. Neji cocked an eyebrow. I teasingly beckoned them forward. "Come on, guys! I want to see what I'm working with!"

The three stood there for a moment before Tenten carefully drew back to a comfortable distance and unhooked her kunai pouch. Her face grew hard and her eyes dared me to come at her. I grinned.

"Hah!" Emboldened, Lee rushed me in an obvious charge. I turned his fist away easily and knocked him off his feet. Tenten took the opening to throw three kunai with deadly precision. I drew my own and deflected them, just as Tenten came rushing in to try to nail me. I sent my kunai hurtling towards her, catching her pink shirt and tearing it at the shoulder. It scared her just enough to cause her to change her path. She skidded to a halt at a further distance, drawing more kunai and awaiting another chance. I followed her lead and took another knife in my hand, glancing over. Neji had not moved. He was just watching.

Lee surged at me again and I parried several decent strikes to my face and body. I opened my fist and hit him in the chest, tossing him away. I heard five shuriken and I blocked each of them, looking expectantly from their direction. However, I felt Tenten's presence behind me and turned just in time to catch her wrist and turn away the kunai aimed at my back. I flipped her, throwing her bodily over to where Lee was struggling to get up.

Then, there was a cold rush like a ghost had passed by me. I turned sharply, just in time to see the white eyes of a demon and the mere blur of a hand. It was like being electrocuted. I felt the chakra surge my system and a warm sensation in my throat. I staggered, trying to stay on my feet as my legs turned to jelly.

"Sensei? Sensei!" I could hear Lee's voice, but it was far away. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah! Of course!" I tasted something metallic, and I swallowed it. "I underestimated you guys! You're pretty good!"

"S-sensei?" Tenten's voice was filtering through increasing white noise. "Y-you're bleeding."

"What? Nonsense-" Then I saw the crimson dots hit the ground. I reached up to wipe my nose, but my hand didn't come up.

That could not be good.

"Not to worry. Sensei has seen worse! I just need some tissues. Maybe a quick visit to the doctor, get this all cleared up." My heart skipped a beat, and I swallowed. "Come on, kiddos! I think I run around the town will do us some good!"

Through blurry eyes, I could see Lee and Tenten exchange looks of concern. Through blurry eyes, I could see Neji's face.

He almost looked disappointed.

[jeffdominguez]

Then fall, Caesar...

The passing of political firebrand Robbie Waters is a massive loss for the Greenhaven/Pocket community he once lovingly led with an iron fist  Robbie Waters was not a man who summoned ambivalent emotions among those who knew him. It may not be a conventional observation to note in memoriam that those who counted themselves as a man’s friends were more or less in pretty close proportion to those who… did not, but this is true of Robbie. Generally, a person’s feelings about him were either black or white. Somehow, very few opinions were ever gray.

If he liked you, there was no better friend to have in this world. He would throw the full weight and considerable power of his standing in the community and in citywide government, including law enforcement, behind your cause, whatever it may be. And if you crossed him, he was not one to forget it. You could bet that he would not allow you to forget it, either. He loved his city, especially his district, and he devoted tireless effort throughout his life to the betterment of both. People seemed to understand that about him—it was definitely a virtue—and he won election, and re-election, to the Sacramento City Council, for four terms in total. For 16 years, 1994-2010, he found himself perched atop a mini dynasty that recalled those old Chicago political machines, all run from his nerve center, a small office in the back of the True Value hardware store he co-owned in the Promenade shopping center.

Robbie was a legit hometown boy. He was born here in Sacramento in 1936. He attended Kit Carson Junior High and Sacramento High School. He excelled at sports and grew to be a “big fish in a small pond.” And as the pond grew, so did he, in proportion, putting him in the rare category of “big fish in a big pond.” After graduation from Sac High in 1954, he enlisted in the United States Air Force, and, upon his return home in 1957, he joined the Sacramento Police Department (SPD), where several chapters of his considerable legend would be written.

He climbed the ranks within the SPD like the kid who free soloed El Capitan, ascending great heights at a remarkably brisk pace, employing an occasional death-defying maneuver to get from station to station along the route. He was in charge of the Detective Bureau, served as a Lieutenant in the Homicide Division, ran Internal Affairs. He arrested a Manson-clan member who attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in Capitol Park. In 1975, following a dramatic shooting incident at Neptune’s Table ­­­­in the South Hills  shopping center, he was awarded the Sacramento Police Department Silver Medal of Valor.

Somewhere in all of this, he managed to earn his bachelor’s degree in Criminology from Sacramento State University, and he graduated from the FBI National Academy in Advanced Criminology. People tend to think of Robbie as a man who’s been handed things in life, but the almost absolute inverse is the actual truth. He worked nonstop for every accomplishment he realized. His heart pumped ambition. He inhaled opportunity and exhaled achievement. “Doing” was in his DNA. In 1982, he ran for his first elective office, Sacramento County Sheriff. And guess what: he won. He remained Sheriff until 1987.

His personal life, like his professional life, is marked by significant milestone achievements. His first personal home run came in the form of the diminutive Judie Kent, a blond girl he met on a blind date specially arranged after they’d spotted one another at a pool party they’d attended the week before, each with other dates. Like everything else he’d ever achieved, Robbie did whatever it took to make Judie his, and after a year-long courtship, they married. “I was 20 years old, and I weighed 99 pounds,” says Judie. Over the course of their marriage, she would prove to be worth her weight in gold to Robbie.

 Robbie and Judie were blessed with three great children, each born with a brightness that threatened their father’s considerable wattage, Dee Dee, Darren, and Danny. The Greenhaven neighborhood was more bare land than homes when Robbie took on the gargantuan task of constructing his own home—“Greenhaven 70” was the name of the development. With the help of many friends and family members, the home was finished in 1969, and the Waters moved in. 

After they installed their pool, the Waters residence became a hub among the children in the neighborhood. Behind the scenes, Robbie and Judie did what they could to eke out for their kids a childhood that was as normal and idyllic as could be expected when your dad is an extremely visible public law enforcement figure, Sacramento’s answer to a Clint Eastwood character, right down to the conservative politics.

Anyone who was active in any community endeavor in the Greenhaven/Pocket area was bound to cross paths with Robbie at some point. To enumerate all of his awards and accomplishments and civic memberships would be tantamount to emptying a can of alphabet soup in front of a reader. Separately, these achievements are each impressive monuments that speak volumes for his willingness to support a worthwhile cause with deeds rather than just words, for his selfless and remarkable bravery in the face of great danger, for the stunning level of proven expertise he possessed in his avocation. Collectively, they become the proverbial forest that obscures trees, a phone book of feats that simply cannot be properly appreciated when compiled into list format.

I knew Robbie because he co-owned the hardware store with my great hometown friend, Jay Weathers. Robbie always had a kind word in passing, a friendly greeting. We became forever linked in 1996, when I hatched an idea for a multi-pronged 4th of July celebration for our community—a parade, a carnival, and, eventually, an aerial fireworks display at Garcia Bend Park. It would be fashioned after the homespun Independence Day celebrations I enjoyed growing up in the Delta. It seemed to me like a natural for the Greenhaven/Pocket neighborhood. The first thing I could think to do was to go to Robbie for help in getting my plan off the ground, so I drove over to the hardware store and found him in his “district office.” He liked the idea, but he was a little skeptical about the scale I had in mind for the event. He was, after all, a politician now, and he had his eye steadfastly on the big picture, on public perception, on votes. In the end, though, he ensured that I had everything I needed to pull it off.

When the event was delivered, it was extremely well received and overwhelmingly embraced by the community. He was pleased, and he wanted a larger say in related decisions. That was a source of great conflict between us. We probably disagreed on more than we agreed on, and we argued strenuously while holed up in that back office at the hardware store. But not many people ever knew that kind of tension ever existed. In public, we were all smiles, and when it really counted, he had my back, and I had his. Politically, we were opposites, but we had this common interest that bonded us and fostered a mutual respect that remains of a value to me that I can’t adequately convey with mere words. And that, for me, is saying something.

This is who Robbie… was. It hurts to refer to him in past tense now. He was constantly climbing. He was no stranger to power, and he liked it, and he was good at it. He wanted to hold onto it, and he always wanted a little more. The latter of these is an exceedingly common human quality, a great thing when it’s wielded by a man whose heart is in the right place. And it’s a disaster when it resides in less of a man. Fortunately for all of us, Robbie was more of a man.

Robbie seemed to be the author of the philosophy, it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission. In fact, he personally introduced me to that approach to getting things done in a bureaucracy. We need look no further than the local controversy that developed when he ordered “City of Trees” to be painted on the Freeport water tower for an example. That was classic Robbie. But whenever a problem in our neighborhood came up that needed to be addressed, Robbie proved himself to be indispensable. He was supremely responsive, and he followed up the issue like a dog on a bone.

In my favorite Shakespearean play, Julius Caesar, Caesar is shown to be an incredibly effective leader, and Rome thrives under his reign. He is roundly loved by all of his people, and he loves them deeply in return. His detractors, however, point to his constant desire to expand his own power. They refer to him as ambitious, an unforgivable failing for a leader in those days. The senate members do Caesar in and turn the people against him, until Mark Antony comes along and reminds everyone that Caesar’s actions were always for the good of the people. We see, in brilliant oratory, how there are always two sides to a story. Human beings—even leaders, it turns out—are made in three dimensions, not one, not two. When Rome’s citizens are shown all sides of Caesar’s humanity, he is universally mourned.

Robbie Waters was brutally tough. He was undeniably ambitious. He was a formidable opponent to his political enemies. He could be short, blunt, uncomfortably plainspoken. He carried a grudge. And he was unapologetic regarding all of the above. But he also loved his family with all of his heart. And he loved his city. He enforced the law, and he kept us safe. He was willing to work tirelessly on behalf of a good cause. Above all, he was a relentless advocate for our community.

I encourage everyone to consider Robbie in full 3-D when thinking about his life and his legacy. You may come to bury him, but I promise you’ll end up praising him.

Rest in peace, Robbie.