#and two! criticals to call. and you get a call back that says ummm sorry that they’re ignoring you if they ignore you another 30 minutes

[ladybugsimblr]

Rolling Stone - Fall Bailey Kay, One of One

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Shoutout to @soulsimmin for the other musical artists noted on the cover and general Team BK shenanigans. Somebody cut the check.

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Category: Baaad Bitch

10.59pm The initials BK pop on the screen indicating Bailey Kay has joined the Soom call. The camera flashes on and my heart skips a beat. I hear her soft but firm voice say “Kiss” and another face appears in the view. Bailey’s husband Quinton leans in for a kiss as requested. The two quickly exchange “Love you’s” and adoring looks and then he’s gone as fast as he appeared. Bailey Kay turns to me and I now have her undivided attention. She flashes that gorgeous smile and my heart skips a beat again.

“Sorry. Hi! Thank you for agreeing to meet with me this late. I hope you’re a night owl too.” Absolutely not. I’m normally in bed by 10pm, but who says no to the Queen B when she agrees at the last possible second to her first interview in ages. I awkwardly reply “I am tonight!” and she laughs, exclaiming “I like you!” Phew! Any remaining tension and nerves are gone. Let’s get into this.

Channeling my glitteriest of kitties I jump right in and ask “Where are the visuals? We the butterflies are begging for the music videos and performances.” Honestly I expected a glare or an eye roll in return, but I get a sly smirk instead. “You are the visual”

I instinctively look at the small image of myself on the screen thinking I did too much with my look for this call. Bailey must have sensed my confusion and continues: “Butterfly is about celebrating life, love, and freedom, overcoming struggles and transforming into your best, highest self. I didn’t want to dictate how anyone experienced those things with the typical visuals. But I did want to get the party started so I gave you the first step- the music.”

“So you dropped the album and bounced to let us party and figure it out for ourselves?”

“You are funny! But yes, kinda. And look what happened! You all started your own challenge and created the visuals, and all I had to do was sit back and watch. Also I really didn’t leave y’all empty handed. I thought we killed it with the pics in the Butterfly Box. But I can’t forget the hive is the hardest to please and I love that. Keeps me on my toes.”

“Ok, I see the vision, but why literally leave the country and go on vacation during an album rollout? That’s unheard of!”

“Ok two reasons. The first is that was what I needed to do. That was my way of celebrating. I told my baby girl that putting out an album was like graduating. I fought hard to overcome my own issues and dark places and now that the project was out to the world, I needed to release and just be with my family, my babies.”

“And the second?”

“Because I can. I’m THAT girl! Deadass!” Again with a smile and a laugh. BK might be the nicest bad bitch I’ve ever met.

“What do you say to the critics who say the album is going to fail? There are rules to the game if you want to succeed.”

“I say check the streaming numbers and sales.” That eye twinkle and smile return one more time. “Rules are meant to be broken. Sometimes. Note to self: Redact that line before my terrors read this. But seriously if we did the same thing, the same way, every time, art, music, life would all be extremely boring. Tackling the unheard of and never been done before is my shit. I live for that. As far as succeeding… I’ve been lucky enough to have more success in my entertainment career than I ever dreamed of. Whatever I do from here on is the extra sauce and will not be measured by industry standards.”

“Speaking of the future, what more can we expect for Butterfly? Please say tour.”

“Ha! Ummm performances are coming. It’s time for me to party with the butterflies.”

“Ok, will they be on multiple stages in cities near all of us?”

“I can't with you! But I can say I’ll perform songs from Butterfly and the rest of the catalogue, on stage, soon. Stay ready.”

And ready we will stay. Ready for the Queen BK. One of One. Number One. The Only One.

[eldrichfuck666]

OLYAAAAA, HIII!!! 72% for Ansel and Herr Mannelig pwease 👉🏻👈🏻

Hello, Evan T^T It's always such a pleasure to see you in my inbox and I appreciate you & your interest in my OCs so much! You made my whole day! Also, I'm sorry for not answering this right when I got your ask - I'm a very slow person :'D I hope your day is going great 🥺💖 Or, if you're sleeping - I hope you're having the sweetest dreams 💓 Pleeease don't forget to rest, okay? :') Love you so muuuch!

72%. If your character could go back and speak to a younger version of themself, what would they say?

Ansel. There are two ways it could go — and I know that the question did not assume this, however, I always break the rules, so... In both versions, he would be apologizing to his younger version on his knees and wailing the same words, hardly able to speak because of tears and a mental storm and heaviest emotions taking control of him. His words would depend on many factors: for example, the circumstances of their meeting, the age of his younger version and what led to it. However, in one case of events, he would beg his young version to end everything before his story gets the same development — he would apologize to himself, with his glazed eyes, that are still so full of fear and misunderstanding — misunderstanding why fate brought him here, why fate is so... cruel. He would have begged younger Ansel to commit suicide, because it would be the only way he wouldn't face subsequent events, wouldn't experience the same endless nightmare, wouldn't also be tormented — but this is only if this meeting could change something according to the laws of the universe. Yes, Ansel is relatively happy at the moment, but he would sacrifice everything just to have another version of him (perhaps from a parallel universe?) didn't go through the same thing. Because death is much better than what he had to deal with — it's such a hopeless situation that there's no other answer. What about another variant of what he might have said — he would say nothing other than apologizing million times. But he'd definitely hug his yonger self — in the way you hug someone knowing that you'll never see them again, and knowing that they'd have to face something so horrible that you're not even capable of comprehending. He knows that there was no way to prevent it from happening. That would be one of the most painful things he'd ever experience - to meet his younger self. It wasn't in the question (again), but I'd say it regardless — there will be so much consequences to this and it would be a truly terrifying situation for Ansel.

Herr Mannelig. «You should have been a bit more cruel, my dear — do you see where your own distrust of yourself has led you? You could have changed everything, but you... You didn't, you didn't take the risk. You can only blame yourself. You weren't foolish — you understood everything perfectly. That was your mistake — to act like you didn't.» Now, some context! She is, perhaps, one of my favorite OCs of all time (I LOVE THEM ALL I JUST- SHE IS- I'M IN LOVE WITH HER OKAY??), and definitely one of the most interesting. She's a.. umm.. quite unusual knight. She's someone you may call a witcher - her role is to keep that creatures out of the town, but it's not about extermination— it's about protecting people on the territory that the mountain Goddess gave them. She must eliminate dangerous monsters that will try to enter her territory and harm her people. However.. It hasn't always been like this. I won't speak about it right now as it's a HUGE spoiler and I want to visualize it, but... There's WILL be that critical moment in the story where she'd meet her younger self — it will happen because of the enchanted cave where she'd find herself wandering in search of her lost lover. She'd have to not only speak, but not become possessed by something that calls themselves "her younger version" but in fact, is not. That's, ummm... a spoiler, so that's all I have to say! 👀

[supercorpkid]

Walking in someone else’s shoes.

Supercorp, Kara Danvers x Daughter!Reader, Lena Luthor x Daughter!Reader.

Word Count: 2865.

Home.

“Baby? Time to get up.” You open your eyes and see your own head hovering above you. Your first reaction is obviously getting freaked out about it. Did you die? Is your body detached from your soul? How the hell are you experiencing yourself as an outsider right now?

“What?” You hear your voice and then it hits you. Right. You and Lena have body swapped. Because that is a normal thing in your life, apparently. “Oh, right. That.”

“Yeah. It was weird at first to me too, but then Kara and I flew to Ireland and picked up scones, and I think this is going to be the best day of my life.” Lena says excitedly, and you roll to the side.

“I woke up a minute ago and I can already tell that this won’t be the best day of my life.” You growl, a little too annoyed by her excitement first thing in the morning. “Plus, I thought you said no flying to other countries to pick up food all the time.”

“Well, it was the first time for me, so I still have credit.” She smiles, turning your face to her side. “Let’s go, you have to be at work at 8.”

“What’s the point of being a CEO if you can’t sleep until late?” You mumble under your breath, forgetting she has your super hearing.

“The point is-I-I’ll tell you what the point is-” Lena says, and you stare at her waiting for the point. “I’ll tell you later. Right now, we really have to go.”

“Ugh, fine.” You get up and look at her outfit. “You’re not wearing that to school.”

“Why not? Jamie was wearing something very similar the last time she was here, so I thought-”

“No, trust me. You can’t wear that outfit. It will get unnecessary attention.” You go to your closet and pick up a plain and boring outfit. She looks outraged that she has to wear something so lifeless but doesn’t fight you on it.

“Your outfit is on my bed.” She points in the direction of her bedroom, and you agree with your head.

“I’ve figured it out.” It was pretty obvious that Lena wouldn’t let you choose what to wear. And if you’re being honest, you rather not make this decision anyway.

You get dressed in your mom’s clothes and look at yourself in the mirror. Wow. You can get used to the feeling of looking this good in a suit. Or in anything, really. You’ve always wanted to look like Lena, and now you are Lena. Maybe this day won’t be so bad after all.

“Hey, love.” Kara says when you walk in the kitchen. “What’s wrong with your shoes?”

“I can’t walk in these.” You look at Lena currently jumping up and down on the kitchen.

“I never get tired!” She just says, like it’s a good explanation on why she’s being so weird. “And I’m never not hungry. It’s a crazy feeling.”

You exchange a sympathetic look with Kara. “Insane.” You look back at Lena. “Can I wear sneakers instead of heels?”

“Only if you want them to think I died and was replaced.”

“Whatever.” You roll your eyes. “Little ride to work, honey? Since I can’t really drive, and I can’t walk in these things.”

“Oh, oh, can I fly to school?” Lena asks excitedly, and you look at your own face and smile. How is it so easy for her to say no to you all the time? You’re finding it very hard right now.

“Be careful.” You slowly walk towards her, trying hard not to fall. “Listen, don’t call unnecessary attention to yourself, ok? Stick with Jamie. Don’t kiss my girlfriend. And oh, right-” You give her a bitchy smile. “Don’t break anything.”

“HA HA.” She fakes a laugh and kisses your forehead. “Just ask Jess to cancel all meetings today and tell her you have something important in the lab, and then have fun.”

“Sounds easy.” You agree with your head, and she makes her way to the backyard door. “Who’s Jess?”

“Sounds really easy.” Kara jokes behind you.

“You’ll figure it out. See you later!” You watch your body flying out the house and you look back at Kara with a smile.

“How weird are our lives, right?”

“I’m still mad you swapped bodies with your mom and not with me.” Kara says, looking anything but mad. “I would be so much better pretending to be you.”

“It’s a bet, momma. What’s the point of swapping bodies with you just for the fun of it?”

“The fun of it! Well, come on Mrs. Luthor, you have a company to run.”

L Corp.

It’s within your first few steps with these terribly uncomfortable shoes that you find yourself being followed by a short little guy with a recorder in hand, shoving it at your face.

“Mrs. Luthor, can I get a quote about the new device L Corp is launching in a few days?”

You search your mind for anything your mom might have told you about a new device, but you have nothing.

“Please get in contact with my secretary for an approved quote about it. If you excuse me.” You make your way inside L Corp with a smile on your face. You know what? You’re a pretty convincing Lena Luthor. “Aly!”

“Mrs. Luthor! Hi-Good-Good morning?” Aly shuffles a little uncomfortable in her chair. Ok, so apparently your mom doesn’t speak so excitedly to the receptionist. Noted.

“Good morning!” You walk to her front desk. “Did I ever get you that raise my daughter told me about?”

“You-you did not, Mrs. Luthor.”

“Oh, sorry about that. I’ll get right to it! Thank you for your services and for being so nice with my kid.”

“Of course! She is an awesome kid.” Aly says and you smile from ear to ear. She IS nice.

“Very well! Good day to you.” You tap on her table and make your way inside the building. You can do this!

“Hey-” You look at your mom��s assistant and smile. “Jess?”

“Good morning Mrs. Luthor. Your meeting with the CFO is confirmed at eight thirty and your meeting with the tech team is-”

“Sorry Jess, if you would be so kind as to cancel all my meetings today. I have some important work to do in the lab.” You say making your way inside Lena’s office thinking this will be the end of it, but Jess follows you closely behind.

“I’m sorry Mrs. Luthor, but these meetings are urgent, and Mr. Larson said it’s critical that this meeting still happens this morning in order to…” Blah-blah-blah. Is what you hear after. Who the hell is Mr. Larson anyway?

“Ok, ok. Keep the two meetings, but that’s it. My work in the lab today is also critical. Send Mr. Larson in when he arrives. That’s all, Jess. Thank you.”

As soon as she leaves the office, you grab your phone to text your mom.

You: Who is Mr. Larson? What’s so urgent about this meeting? HELP!

You wait for her answer, but it doesn’t come, so you just breathe deep and hope you don’t have to say anything in this meeting. Men love to talk anyway.

National City High School.

“Hey weirdo!” Lena looks behind herself to see Jamie running after her.

“Oh, hi Jamie.”

“Hi? What’s wrong? You’re weird today.” Jamie says making Lena freeze. Really? All it took was a ‘hi’ and she already knows? “Nah, just kidding, you’re always weird.”

“Yeah? So are you. Anyway, what’s my first class today again?”

“Physics?” Jamie furrows her brows at Lena.

“Great! I’m good at that!” Lena smiles from ear to ear and Jamie lets out a confused sigh. She doesn’t have time to ask any questions because soon Maya is coming at her direction.

“Hey babe! Hey Jamie!” Maya plucks her lips together and comes a little closer, so Lena knows what’s coming right after.

“Oh, babe!” Lena hugs her tight, staying like that for longer than usual. “Wow, you smell so good.”

“Thank you!” They step away from each other and Lena gives her a big smile. Maya smiles back looking a little confused, but she lets it slide. “You cool?”

“Yeah! Great! Awesome! Amazing! Tubular!” Tubular? Stop talking Lena. Stop talking. “Let’s get to class! We’re here to learn!”

“Ok?” Maya says looking at Lena getting inside the wrong classroom. “Maybe we could go to our class, instead?”

“Yeah.” Lena comes back to where they are. “That would be neat.”

“What the fuck.” It’s Jamie’s reaction. Come on, Lena! Get it together!

L Corp.

“So what we need is more funding for not so high-tech products, but companies have a tendency to not want to invest in them.” Mr. Larson, who has been speaking for at least half an hour non-stop, says to you. “Do you have any different process you would like us to use whilst approaching this situation?”

“Me?” You ask and he nods the slightest to you. “Oh. Ummm. Not-Not yet. We must consider different, ummm, approaches. So this situation has to be studied further.”

“Ok. Now onto the paycheck of our employees-” Great. Is this going to last forever? This is even worse than most of your classes. How do you make him stop talking?

“About paycheck. Let’s give a raise to Aly. I don’t know her last name, she’s at the front desk.”

“Mrs. Luthor, I’m here to tell you we can’t give anyone raises any time soon. The tribute over the-”

“I’m sorry Mr. Larson, I don’t think I’ve made myself clear enough.” You put your hands under the table, so he doesn’t see how much you’re shaking while saying this. You hope he can’t hear it in your voice too. “I say let’s give Aly a raise, you as the CFO must find a way to do so.” You give your best Lena Luthor eyebrow raise with a long stare. “If that’s all, I must ask you to excuse me because I have another meeting.”

“Oh no, Mrs. Luthor, you have to sign these documents and look over the-” He says, but you are already up and leaving. Palms sweating and heart racing.

“I will take a look at them later and send my assistant over when it is signed. Thank you, Mr. Larson. You can see yourself out.” You’re almost sprinting out the door, but you breathe deep and try to look like you belong there. “Jess, I’ll be at my lab. I mean, my daughter’s lab. Let me know when I’m needed in the other meeting. Thank you.”

You don’t wait for her answer. You make your way down to your lab and as soon as the door closes behind you, you let out a breath. This is horrible, you don’t want to be Lena ever again.

You hate Lena’s life.

National City High School.

It’s just the second class of the day. Jamie and Lena are making their way to their other classroom, when Lena stops out of the blue, while covering her ears.

“I can’t stay here. Everything is so loud!” Lena looks at Jamie who just shrugs, unbothered. She doesn’t have super hearing, so it doesn’t make much sense. “I’m leaving.”

“What? What the hell little Danvers.” She holds Lena’s arm before she flies away. “You can’t just take off like that. One of your moms needs to pick you up.”

“Fine. I’ll call Lena.” The scoff that leaves Jamie’s mouth is very offensive to Lena.

“Really? You’re going to call Lena and ask her to pick you up because school is too loud?” Jamie looks at Lena like she is nuts. “Are you high on something?”

“What, no! Lena is very reasonable.” Now that maniac laughter that leaves Jamie’s mouth is even more offensive. Great. “Ok, whatever. I’ll call Kara, then!”

Lena turns around all of a sudden, knocking her head over the trophy case. The glass shatters falling on the floor loudly and half of the trophies hit the ground as well.

“MISS LUTHOR-DANVERS AND OLSEN-DANVERS! My office, now!”

“It looks like Mrs. Goodwin will be doing the calling now.” Jamie half smiles, half grunts and Lena rolls her eyes at herself. Damn you, powers!

“Don’t worry, I’ll tell her you had nothing to do with it.” Lena says quickly while they follow the principal to her office.

“Like that ever worked before.” Jamie shrugs it off and Lena thinks about it for a second. How many times Jamie was in trouble because you accidentally turned something simple into a bigger thing because of your powers?

“Wait, you get grounded because of her? I mean, me. Because of me?”

“No, I get detention because of you. It’s not like my moms think I can burn down an entire gym or freeze an entire pool, so they obviously don’t ground me for it. Besides, you know mami doesn’t believe in grounding. That’s Lena’s thing.”

“It’s not Lena’s-”

“Oh please, who’s gonna ground you, then? Kara? As if!” Another offensive scoff. “What’s up with you today, little-Danvers?”

“Just a little off.” Lena waves her off, while thinking about how ‘grounding’ suddenly became her thing.

“You don’t say.”

“Come in, both of you. I already have Mrs. Danvers and Mrs. Olsen on my speed dial, it shouldn’t take so long.”

“Great!” Jamie sits in one of the chairs, picks up a lollipop on top of the principal’s desk and smiles at her. “How’s Mr. Goodwin? Did he figure out how to kill the salmon he fished?”

“He’s getting good at it!” Mrs. Goodwin answers and looks at Lena standing at the door. “Oh, sit down, dear. I know your mom is fast, but she’s not The Flash!” She laughs it off and Jamie makes a number.

“She is certainly not!” Lena lets out a forced chuckle and finally sits. “Actually, can you call Lena today, Mrs. Goodwin? I think Kara is rather busy.”

“Rather busy.” She mocks. “Of course she is busy, Miss Luthor-Danvers. But this isn’t bad enough for me to distress Mrs. Luthor. You know how this works. Minor infractions we call Mrs. Danvers. So just sit back and wait. Oh! Mrs. Danvers!” Mrs. Goodwin says on the phone. “Yeah, she destroyed the trophy case! I swear your kid has the strongest head I’ve ever seen! Yes! You should take her to check for a concussion. Poor thing wanted me to call Mrs. Luthor instead! I know, she knocked her head hard!”

Ok, that’s messed up. Lena can’t believe what she’s hearing about her in this school.

“Mrs. Danvers will be here in five minutes. She’s in the neighborhood. Now onto Mrs. Olsen.”

Lena hates your life.

Home.

“Hey, mom.” You walk in a lot earlier than Lena usually does, and you see your/Lena’s head peeking out of the couch. “I brought the ‘empathizer’ so we can get this over with.”

“Why?” You hear coming from the living room, while you kick her shoes to the side and let her hair down. You have a headache from tying your hair so high in your head.

“Because I quit. Your life is horrible. You win.” You make your way to the living room slowly. You can’t believe you’re backing down from a bet, but you can’t spend another day in Lena’s shoes anymore. Literally. But also, figuratively.

“A-HÁ! I knew it!” She smiles excitedly and you roll your eyes. You see Kara coming from upstairs and she gives you a symptomatic smile.

“Long day?”

“The longest of my life and it’s not even night yet.” You complain, earning a smile from Kara.

“Good thing that you’ve won the bet then!” Kara shows you her hand for you to high-five and you furrow your brows.

“No, I quit.”

“Yeah, well. Lena actually quit-”

“KARA!”

“Like an hour ago.”

“KARA!”

“Or maybe even before.”

“Why don’t you stop talking when I’m yelling your name?” Lena growl upset.

“What?” You make your way to the couch and watch Lena laying down in it with your super suit looking destroyed. You just raise an eyebrow at her.

“There was a fire.” She explains with a sheepish smile. “I made it out alive!”

“My suit hasn’t.”

“She also destroyed school property and I had to go pick her up and it wasn’t even ten yet.” Kara says again, making Lena grunt in frustration.

“You’re grounded, young lady.” You cross your arms looking at her and she sits up immediately. You look at her hair, your hair, half burnt and completely messy and shake your head at it.

“I thought you wanted to switch back!” She looks desperate at the thought of staying in your body longer.

“Not today, because you’re grounded.” You smile victorious. “Maybe tomorrow morning, if you behave well.”

You leave it at that and make your way to Lena’s bedroom for a long bath. She doesn’t need to know that you gave a raise even when there was no money to do so, and that you shut off all of the tech team ideas. She’ll deal with this mess tomorrow, because no way in hell you’re staying in Lena’s body for another day.

[razorblade180]

Interdimensional Moms pt4

Part 3 here! <-

The tales had be interesting. The tales had even been emotionally gripping, yet all of them so far didn’t seem to register at the moment as Ruby’s teammates looked at her with the same excitement she used to give her own mother during story time. Ruby couldn’t help but give a little smile.

Ruby:I take it you’re ready for my turn? You do know it’s not exactly a sunshine and rainbows story, right?

Weiss:We figured as much, but....

Yang:You’re so different! From the moment you showed up I could just feel it in my gut. You have this...presence about you. Not to mention intsene confidence.

Blake:Yang is right. You said you beat your Salem when your seventeen. That’s...scary if I’m being honest. Such a drastic departure from any of our worlds.

Ruby:*red* Hehehe ummm I guess I’m just awesome? Really I don’t think it’s the most outstanding feat. At least by my worlds standards I suppose. I mean sure, I’m consider cream of the crop there too but there’s talented people and challenges all over that would put me through my paces still. I’m just...me.

Weiss:Sigh...honestly, I suppose that means our own skills must pale in comparison to our counterparts.

Ruby:Mmmm I wouldn’t say that for sure. My Yang would kill me if she heard this but there’s something about the one right here that has spark I dig.

Yang:Really?

Ruby:Uh huh. Can’t put my finger on it but I think you take her if you want it bad enough. As for Weiss....couldn’t tell ya. Haha, I know better than anybody to not underestimate the power of mother, and you pumped twins out.

Weiss:Not sure if those are pity points or real ones but thanks either way.

Blake:You don’t even have to tell me I’d lose. Just gave an entire story about me an my condition.

Ruby:Don’t feel too bad about it. I can’t imagine much reason for you two to fight for any reason. You’re both too reasonable to not reason with yourself.

Blake:Aw I’m touched.

Yang and Weiss:We aren’t....

Ruby:Hahaha I’m just saying! So, I guess I take things from the top like you all? From what I learned from all of you our Beacon experiences really are more or less the same, not counting certain interactions between a bookworm faunus and an adorkable blonde knight. Enrolled early, blew up the entrance, Weiss was rude, Yang ditched me, all the same beats.

Yang:There’s no super badass change like you beating Cinder the night of dance and making our entire lives easier?

Ruby:Ha! I wish I was that legit. No, I was very much the young girl tripping in heels that night. Vytal festival came around and was attacked, then Beacon fell. Pyrrha was lost and so was Penny. Difference being that was my last time seeing her, unlike Weiss’s story apparently.

Weiss:Yeah that...that’s a little bit of shock to be frank. Sorry.

Ruby:No worries. Not like you did anything and it was decades ago for me now. After that day is when I started to get a bit more serious I think. I had always taken being a huntress seriously and never slacked of in trying to live my dream. However, my perspective may have honed in on just how do or die life his when you’re the one choosing to walk into unknown danger. Team RNJR’s first and only mission, save the world!

Yang:Sub mission: Flirt with Jaune Arc.

Ruby:*blushing* We do not choose who we fall in love with it. But yes, that may have been a personal pseudo mission for me. He’s my first friend at Beacon for crying out loud and I you know.....thought he was cute then too.

WBY:Yeah that checks out.

Ruby:What does that mean!?

Weiss:Ruby, even my Ruby admits to finding Jaune attractive and having a crush on him back in the day.

Blake:Same.

Yang:I already went into enough detail on how my little sister feels about Jaune. Your just the reality where you pounced on the opportunity and never let go. Struck when the iron was hot and none of us were around; sly fox.

Ruby:Gee you make it sound underhanded. It isn’t like I intended to actively pursue him. Everyone was really sad and stressed traveling to Anima. There was a tension in the air. One that really strained us. I did my best to keep focus, but a leader is only as put together as team. Ren and Nora confided one another as usual and I tried being there for Jaune because seeing him emotionally shut down was rough; so I did my best to be there for him. Then...he ended up being there for me and I was the one who needed comfort. All the airing out and late nights just...led to....*red*

Blake: “Breaking the tension?”

Ruby:I guess that’s one way of putting it. We were lonely. I hid my feelings best I could under the veil of comfort in the moment. Not that needed to. He made it pretty clear that he wanted me in the same way I wanted him. I just the two of us were too scared to ask for promises we weren’t sure we could keep so we loved in the moments we could, so to speak.

Weiss:If it wasn’t under dire situations, all that sounds oddly romantic.

Ruby:Right!? Looking back at it makes the entire thing seem romantic but I definitely wouldn’t wish a similar experience on anybody! I guess it’s what I wished for when I fantasized huntress life huh? Things obviously got better along the way. Our relationship got a bit more serious right before we got to Haven. Then Tyrian and other crazy stuff happened that threw all of us into panic mode again before slowly getting better again by a lot.

Yang:We showed up?

Ruby:Bingo! You and Weiss, met Oscar, and then eventually Blake came back. Things were on the up and up.

Weiss:Uh, Haven attack?

Ruby:We lived, up and up. Yeah you got stabbed but you know...that’s not new I’m sure.

Weiss:Yeah I have the scar and I’m still little pissed.

Ruby:Valid. Anyways, so my Atlas experience was different as hell. There was no formation of Remnants armies like Weiss spoke of or even between two kingdoms like Blake. Yang, what happened yours again exactly?

Yang:Nonsense. Cinder showed up with lackeies but not Salem’s lackies. Those people showed up separately, then Adam came back from wherever the hell he- a lot! A lot of people showed up for different reasons but also the same reason and to be frank, we all almost got shot by the military for being in bases that quote unquote, “didn’t exist.”

Ruby:Man I wish we traded. That at least sounds crazy enough to be fun. Just a rollercoaster in the dark basically. My experience was probably as hectic, but also way more streamlined. We showed up, and then all hell broke loose. Specially a mass grimm invasion lead by Cinder and her annoying associates. We were there for about three weeks updating General Ironwood and getting our barrings together when it happened. I wanna call it a hit and run tactic but it was clearly planned in advanced. Mechs were hacked again, traitors in the military, grimm lying in wait before hand; it was chaos! All for the relic.

Blake:Who was the maiden?

Ruby:Never met her. By the time we got there, Ironwood was panicking because she had vanished, taken right from under his nose. It was some young girl apparently, really young. The attack on Beacon looked like child’s play to this. Mantle got attacked, grimm were on the chains, they tried dropping Atlas to the ground; all a diversion for a relic. We all should’ve died, and yet, we didn’t. Winter and Weiss weeded out traitors, huntsman and military held the line, Yang bested Hazel with Nora, Qrow and I cut down Tyrian! Ren, Blake and Jaune helped the kingdoms while Ironwood struck down Watts. Nobody was in the mood to die that day. There wasn’t gonna be another Beacon. By all means, we were pissed. Even Raven showed up of all people.

Yang:What!?

Ruby:You can’t attack a kingdom without the world knowing. Especially when traitors leak info. Honestly she came for you though, or she never left to begin with. Couldn’t tell ya. Thanks to Maria I had a bit more handling with my eyes. That helped a lot. Without them and Os-

She stopped herself, choking on the words. The zest and excitement of recalling the heroic feats of her friends dimmed slightly with her smile. Her joyful smile became bittersweet like the memory.

Ruby:Then there was Oscar, the real warrior on that flamed filled night. That battle had to have been three days at least. We were so driven, and so tired. I was tired, but Cinder, Neo, and the others with her at the time weren’t; always showing up at the worst time. I managed to push Cinder back in a fight but grimm and others still swarmed. We were at a point that grimm very well might’ve did us in and the villains didn’t have to push any harder. But Oscar changed that. Hehe, what’s it about country folk that makes people like him and I not hesitate to grit our teeth? That dork looked at me, gave me the biggest smile on the the steps to Atlas, and then he left. His hair went white as he twirled the cane and then he left, forever. Oz came out, and he left nothing to the imagination. “Limited magic” my butt. He obliterated grimm and made a barrier aroma Atlas while everyone else cleared Mantle long enough for the world to send reinforcements. Salem didn’t get the relic, but she got the maiden and thousands of casualties. Oscar being one of them. Also, Whitley....he was in critical condition for a very long time.

Weiss:What do you mean...critical condition?

Ruby:Everything happened so fast Weiss. Panic was high, buildings fell....a piece on him. I wasn’t there but when I eventually found you, you were nearly hysterical and banged up. By some miracle he lived even though we could not reach him and he did not get aid for awhile. We thought him dead. It was only after everything we learned somebody got him. Being rich never paid off more than with medical bills. Thanks to youth and medicine he can still walk, but he can only do so much before being tired. He also left Atlas. The cold hurts.

Weiss:So, I run the company because he can’t?

Ruby:I wouldn’t put it that way, but it was one of dozens of reasons that made that goal stronger for you. Relax though, both of you get plenty of time to be witty siblings like I told you earlier.

Weiss:I know. It’s just, I guess it’s hard imagining Whitley hurt like that. I don’t think I could handle it.

Ruby:You definitely teetered in the moment. Knowing that happened though probably gave you anger and grit to fight the entire battle. You were a beast. Scarier than Winter. Anyways, that hollow victory was a real wake up call for the world. They didn’t know about Salem and we never told society in earnest. Cinder and other conspirators were enough to make Remnant work together to boost defense. Relief went to places that needed it and I, became the face of hope. Haven, Argus, Atlas, even people from Vale got to chattering of a particular group of people who always seemed to answer the call for help. Then the towns in between chattered. Yours truly had been carving a name in the history books and was only gain popularity the moment I stepped into Vacou, alone.

Blake:Alone!?

Weiss:What!?

Yang:Where were we!!!!!?

Ruby looked at surprised faces around the table, smiling tenderly. She looked down her dress and pulled out the cross she wore around her neck. Her thumb traced its edges as her mind began wandering down an old path paved with emotions raw to the core.

Ruby:I’ve always felt different. Not just because of my eyes but that there was just...a certain spark that never stopped going off for as long as I remember. There are plenty of people who can’t bare to watch others suffer, but there are fewer people I believe that truly feel the agony of other people’s pain. Beacon, Haven, Atlas, Argus; there was no place I went that I didn’t see the faces of others lamenting, and I didn’t make me want to grieve. Atlas took so much out of all of you and I just felt so....driven to stop that ache. For everyone’s sake, but mine as well. I wanted the world to finally get to the happy ending. Enough trauma had be sowed for a hundred lifetimes, so I went on ahead of everyone. I never doubted you all would follow but I wanted to get ahead of the curve and take on as much of the suffering I could do others wouldn’t. If the world wouldn’t give me a miracle than I’d be it myself for everyone else.

Yang:That’s suicidal! Salem wanted you specifically!

Ruby:It’s not like I went marching up to her door and said “1v1 bitch, I’m here” no, I just chose to move forward quicker than what we were all doing. Believe me, all of you were upset when you caught up, after I had already saved Vacou. *smiles* I really like that place. I told the people it was the next target and all they did was double down on pushing back. I managed to pin down the Summer maiden before the villains and thanks with the city on alert, there wasn’t a shift in the sand that didn’t go unnoticed. I got the jump on Mercury and Emerald, personally paying them back. Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it. It didn’t take long before they realized how screwed they were with them being outed like this and Cinder having the nerve to retreat before hand. Both of them threw in the total, outing the plan against Vacou. A wipeout of a win. Not to mention they told me the location Salem’s little hiding hole.

Weiss:We missed all of that?

Ruby:That’s what happens when I leave in the dead of night and running on adrenaline. Like I said before, people were tired. As much as all of you wanted to hoof it, other’s were relying on you. Atlas almost dropped for gods sake. Eventually when you all caught up it was at a good time. Soloing was rewarding but difficult. Fortunately Sun, Neptune, Ilia, and a few other familiar faces were close by if I needed an extra set of hands. My little stunt earned the anger of everyone for awhile.

WBY:Yeah no shit...the leader left.

Ruby:Yang was the most upset, followed by Uncle Qrow, and you Weiss. I was ready for the blowback. Jaune and Nora saw me though and bursted into tears. Hehe, wasn’t ready for that. Felt terrible and cried back. To prevent that stunt again, my Yang convinced Raven to link me. A couple days of apologizing and rest smoothed things over. It also gave time for just a few close friends and colleagues to get together for an assault on Salem’s castle. A few were apprehensive about it at first but at the end of the day I was going. That attitude was infectious apparently. You guys, actually everybody, they started getting this hunger to end it all. Maybe it was the high of victory? Regardless, it sent me racing to the end with those that I loved most.

Yang:You’re a real “my way or the highway” kind of Ruby. I don’t get how that explains what made you so...elite.

Ruby:I’m not sure what to say. A fight needed to to fought so I fought it. A cry for help was heard so I ran to it. A grimm needed slaying so I slayed it. People needed me to win so I didn’t dare think of losing. Dying was never option, even when it stared me right into my eyes. I had things I wanted to do and people I wanted see for years to come. I guess...I am strong because of the fact I want things my way. A moment I’m not giving it 110% is a moment wasted. After all, a huntress is all I ever wanted to be.

A single dream she wanted since birth. The never ending desire to be the hero in stories told to her many nights ago. That’s all it ever was. That’s all it’s ever been. Even in meadow of beautiful red roses, one would be the rose that captured the eyes of many, that bloomed stronger than the rest. As simple as it was, that had to be the answer here. Weiss, Yang, and Blake were in front of that flower. The Ruby Rose that simply bloomed stronger than the rest. The one that clung to her dream as if letting go meant dying itself. The devotion was inspiring, yet also overwhelming. If this was Ruby they had lead them that day in the Emerald Forest, could they have kept up? Could she be the leader they followed? No, they couldn’t have. Something deep down inside them gave them that answer. No matter how she looked and how much she loved, this Ruby Rose was cut from a cloth they simply weren’t off. The same as others, but oh so different.

Weiss:You’re....kinda a monster, you know that right?

Yang:Seriously, I’m so...floored. It’s intimidating.

Blake:Not to mention humbling. I used to think I gave it all I had. Now I’m not so sure.

Ruby:Oh don’t be like that you three! You’re all living proof there was more than way to go about life, this war! Everything you gave was enough because you’re done with it! Nobody failed. Besides, I...am far from ideal. The assault was challenging. Getting around hoards of grimm and making it to Salem was hell made real. Neo tried taking another shot at me but Yang held her off with help. Everyone pushed the obstacles in front of me out of the way as I went to Salem herself. Cinder had been abandoned by her and stripped of a lot of her powers. Angry and desperate, she tried killing me again as a way to prove worth. I beat her. However, I let her walk away.

Yang:What!? Why would-

Ruby:Naive, I was...naive okay? She was all spent and though I hated her, I just couldn’t. Not when I looked into her eyes and saw that same hunger I had to claw and scream at my dream until it was in my hands die inside her. We both knew from this point on there was absolutely nothing she could do where this ends her way. All she worked for turned burned to ash. So I gave her the choice to not burn up with it. Cinder swallow her pride and then fled. A part of me couldn’t help but rationalize killing her didn’t solve or justify any of my beliefs or desires. It would’ve done it because I hated her like she hated me. That was the dumb logic of a seventeen year old who never quite learned to take things slow.

Blake:....I don’t think it’s dumb. Naive for sure, but maybe that’s good? Even my Ruby, she never wanted to act on hate. She didn’t. Salem lives.

Weiss:Mine sent her soul to be at piece instead of passing a cruel judgment.

Yang:As a person who’s seen what you looked like with nothing but vengeance inside, I can say it doesn’t fit you. Before that day you had a warmth inside you to even foes that were somewhat admirable. You chose to leave Cinder’s fate up to those who had that hate and Salem was undone by her own doing at the very end. That’s what really makes you special Ruby. That’s why you’re called an honest soul. Good will is your nature.

Ruby:....Hmm, you sure know how to butter me up. *scratches head* I guess that part of me is uni-I mean multiversal. Strangely, that makes me feel better, to a degree.

Weiss:Do we even have to ask what happened to Salem at this point? I doubt the story ends with you loosing and having to retreat.

Ruby:Who’s to say it doesn’t? I could’ve been beaten to death before the gods themselves descended down to revive me with awesome power.

Yang:....Did you?

Ruby:Wh-No! Haha, I made her an immortal statue.

Blake:I-It was that easy?

Ruby:Well I wouldn’t call rushing into hell’s castle easy, or Salem. I lit her up at least a dozen times. My head pounded from each use, I was tossed around a bunch, magic is annoying, and not to mention running out of ammo. I left nothing to the imagination in that fight. If it were easy then I wouldn’t be rooting my horn and my age doing it. I was so tired I blacked out afterwards. I woke days later with a sore body and the title of “Remnant’s Savior.” Apparently beating Salem had weakened the grimm everywhere and all of you made sure who was to be thanked for it. That’s the tale of how I saved the world with my friends. Love, trust, elbow grease, and a lot of bullets. Before the final battle, Ozpin had struck a deal with everyone involved. In return for saving the world, he’d cut ties with us.

Yang:Seriously? What brought that about!?

Ruby:Good or not, he lied and was a schemer. Sure I was gonna try to save the world regardless of his interference but there wasn’t a person alive that didn’t to finally take a step towards the future after all this. All of us finally had time chase dreams and help the world the way we wanted to before all of this. Blake begin mending hate, Weiss took back her company, if Yang wasn’t with Blake then she was seeking more answers to Raven on wild adventures.

Yang:You mean Raven still left after all that!?

Ruby:In her defense, both of you made everything fucking awkward when she was around. It’s like you both wanted to talk about something but knew any subject was a land mine so you all you ever did was...stare, like weirdos. Glad that’s in the past. She just lives with dad now and you two now to hold a conversation. I dare not ask for more. I’d be a granny by the time I did.

Yang:Sigh...I don’t know what I expected. Shit it the fan several times and children were born before mom and I found solidarity and understanding. What did you do afterwards? Your goal was already met.

Ruby:Like hell it was! I started busting my butt traveling around the world, visiting every place to help in anyways I could. Ren and Nora tagged along for awhile before going off to make an orphanage in Anima near Ren’s old village. That left Jaune and I to do our hero thing.

Yang:As well as other things....

Ruby:Hey, what can I say? We were young and going up in the world. By the time I was nineteen, I was now a married to my partner and best friend.

Weiss:Uhhhh-

Ruby:He’s my partner on RNJR and you’re my BFF, gosh did I really need to explain that hehe?

Weiss:I just had to make sure. Crazier twists could happen.

Blake:Wow you married young. Not that there’s a problem but I’m surprised. Then again you also dated earlier than my Ruby. Hehe, weapons were on her brain for a long time.

Weiss:No kidding. When I learned about you crushing on my brother I was shocked to find out you liked anybody in general. Especially a person who isn’t a weapon nut in the slightest.

Ruby:*shrugs* All you’re telling me is I’m clearly the most impatient or impulsive Ruby you all know. Don’t know how that happened. Maybe I was dropped as a baby or had one too many coffees growing up?

Weiss:I’m willing to bet it’s both.

Ruby:Ruuuuude. So yeah, that’s...the story of how I saved the world and married Jaune. We even built a home just outside Vacou, overlooking the kingdom and neighboring town in the distance where Maria grew up. Yeah, that’s me....more or less. All the triumphant parts anyways. Anything later on is......

.......

Blake:R...Ruby? You okay?

Ruby:Nope, not really. *clenches cross*

Yang:......You know, I never really got religion, especially after learning the truth. It just seemed completely hollow when you learn of the real gods, ya know? However, I changed my tune a bit after being a parent and then some more when uncle Qrow died. It was never really about the truth behind if those other gods were real-

Ruby:It’s the piece of mind in believing in a better place for loved ones and having people watch over you. It’s truly based on blind faith in every sense but that’s okay as long as it gives peace of mind, to stay strong. Yeah....that’s why I wear this.

Yang:If that’s the “why” then I guess the unavoidable question is what happened?

The reaper leaned back in his chair, letting out a long sigh. Ruby brushed her hair out of her face while her face went pale. Then, Ruby’s eyes, her teammates watched a pair of stunning silver eyes dim, becoming akin to a clouded mirror.

Ruby:Being a huntress was all I wanted. The plan of having a family and settling down never appealed to me much. I feel, I felt like being in the field was where I was meant to be. It’s where I was most myself in a way. So the day I learned that I was pregnant was more than a little upsetting and terrifying, until dad and time itself filled me with the most genuine joy I may have ever experienced. Dustin Arc Rose, my first born son. He opened a door to a world and life I never knew I wanted to be apart of. Then...that door was shut minutes after, when Cinder and Neo stole him right from my arms. I couldn’t do a single thing about it other than blackout. That single act of good will I showed, it did nothing but kill me inside. The same way I did to her.

WB:.....

Yang:Ru-Ruby....your eyes.

Ruby:Hmm? Are they clouded? Funny, I would’ve thought your Ruby would’ve had a similar change. Maybe that’s a world exclusive thing, or a testament to the will you Ruby has to endure. Clouded eyes on a silver eyed warrior means the person has lost the desire or rather the mindset of persevering life. Be it their own life or wanting to end another’s life out of resentment, strife. My entire world fell apart when I woke up and learned nobody was able to retrieve Dustin. I was in pieces, Jaune was broken, nobody was the same. There wasn’t a soul we didn’t know that hadn’t tried to find a lead, but we never did. He was just...gone; and I couldn’t cope at all.

Weiss:I don’t think any mother could. Ruby, I’m so sorry that happened to you.

Ruby:I’m sorry too. I lashed out in anger, and shut people out. My eyes clouded and I dove into my work for a little over a year doing nothing but searching aimlessly as I took and every job back to back. The more time went by meant the more people eventually had to go back to their own, and it drove me up a wall inside. No one could reach me. I didn’t want anybody to. Not even Jaune. I....*teary eyed* I left him alone in house. There was no part of me that could even attempt to understand his pain because I was drowning in mine. I was told he tried his best to catch them at the hospital. I never hated him for not succeeding but I...he... I just, I can’t. I don’t know what I thought. All o knew was I didn’t even want him to touch me. How cruel is that? *hugging herself* I made him drown in despair in the same way I was. I wasn’t home so often that I never realized he eventually left it abandoned to live with dad. Yang and Blake I didn’t even show up to your wedding. Jaune did that much. Hell, Raven attended. Ruby Rose as a person didn’t exist any more. I was only a wandering huntress looking for answers or the challenge that might’ve ended me.

Blake:What changed?

Ruby:Oz, he did what nobody else dared to do. He fought me. I don’t think he thought twice about it. He was prepared to accept all the anger I kept inside until I eventually broke down into tears like I’m trying not to do right now. Thinking about that time is still, extremely difficult. Oz let me lament, encouraging me afterwards to finally except the fact Dustin was gone and that I needed to process it properly. First I went to you Yang, in order to have a my big sis to lean on. Can you guess how that went?

Yang:With me holding you tighter than I ever had before.

Ruby:*smiles gently* I don’t deserve you. You and Blake then came to patch with me where everyone else waited for me and helped me face Jaune. That may have been the hardest thing I’ve done. Grieving or not, the fact that I left him in such a state. I know what that does to people firsthand and yet I left. For the first time in over a year we embraced and finally grieved together. The next two years were spent trying to heal and cope. During my time away the world had fully acknowledged me. I even got a proper nickname, but it all felt hollow. Imagine that, achieving your dream but not caring? If that’s not salt in a wound then I don’t know what is.

Weiss:What’s your title?

Ruby:I am the person people want to see when evil comes to cut their story short. I am a symbol that their tale still has more to tell. Remnant has named me The Storyteller. Curtsey of Maria, who spread the name around. Healing was slow and most nights I felt a pain in my heart, but then everything changed. One moment made me dare to try again to open that shut door in my life. *looks at Yang* I held your son in my arms. Sweet little Kovu.

Blake:*smiles* Kovu? Now I wonder who named him?

Yang:*red* Huh...how about that? Hehehe, wish I could meet him. I know he isn’t technically mine but I can’t help but feel all warm now. Also I can’t believe I named him that!

Weiss:I can. Veronica’s middle name is Nala.

Yang:Okay, maybe not marrying Blake was a win? Clearly I can’t be trusted to not name my children after other cats.

Blake:The wrong kind of cat too. I’m a panther faunus, not a lion. Even if they’re blonde that’s still false advertising of what they are.

Ruby:Well Yang was the one giving birth so you lost a majority of the option to complain.

Blake:That is fair.

Weiss:You gave birth to Vee, so I think that solves who picked her first name.

Ruby rested her head in her propped up hands that rested on the table. She felt exhausted reliving that chapter of her life mentally. Still she managed to smile, then smile bigger. Her eyes unclouded and a warm feeling filling her again. What Ruby said earlier about what made her different may have reign true, but her friends could since that there was now more to it. Ruby had spiraled into an unimaginable tragedy, yet was able to bounce back thanks to loved ones. To smile as she does, it was truly a strong sight to see. Even if she wasn’t fully aware of that.

Ruby:Carmine Arc Rose, my second born and the first child to call me mommy. Followed many years later by itty bitty Garnet. He’s my little man, five years old while is big sis is seventeen now.

Yang:Damn! That’s a gap. Oh, also congratulations. Almost forgot that part. I’m glad you got to be the super awesome mom that-

Ruby:I am easily C-teir.

Yang:Oh come on! What!?

Ruby:Listen, I know I got on you all for calling yourselves bad parents, but I will hear no debate about me understand!? I flop a lot of times.

Weiss:That doesn’t make you a C-teir. That makes you a new mom, silly.

Ruby:*grumbling* I agree to disagree but thank you. It’s just a lot okay. Too much to dive into honestly.

Blake:Summarize. Give us an abbreviated version.

Ruby:Ummm so Carmine is real special kid. The absolute love I have for her is unbreakable but gods damnit if she isn’t the most... “me” I could be! In a way similar yet different from myself, Carmine has always had this sense of urgency in her and a love for the world around her. She recognizes that it’s a fragile piece we have and just how hard I’ve worked with everyone to make it. I could tell that from her when she was five. I’d sound crazy, but the fact she used her eyes at the age proves I’m not.

Yang:She has silver eyes!? Why didn’t you bring that up?

Ruby:I thought that was obvious. All of my kids were born with then. Unlike her baby brother though, Carmine was a weird little kid. She didn’t socialize well. Still doesn’t, she’s kinda comes off rude and cold because of her bluntness. She doesn’t really express all her feelings or understand others fully. One might call her a little cold but the passion she had to protect life itself is a testament to how much she cares. Carmine is also a genius fighter. To put in perspective, people use the same nickname for her that they used for Pyrrha.

WBY:Oh....

Ruby:Yeah! It’s not hyperbolic to say ever since Carmine is far beyond any skill I was at her age since she turned thirteen. You called me a monster earlier but no, I merely gave birth to a beast. I mean she could pass the huntsman exam at fifteen if I didn’t make her wait. I can’t call her arrogant, she talks with confidence because she has that right by all means. Still, besides her face, that’s where the similarities start separating; besides terrible grades in general stuff. We’ve never been in step completely. To put simply in her own words, “What I am is a hero, while she is a huntress.” That good will and mercy I try to give everyone isn’t how she rolls. It drives a real wedge that has resulted in us not going on missions together.

Blake:Is she...killing?

Ruby:She has before, and it had valid reasons entirely, but I also know for a fact she is more than capable of bringing down people without taking that step. Not all cases are that intense thank goodness. Her overall aggressiveness is the root of the problem. You don’t have to put you back into it when handling thugs. They aren’t Hazel.

Yang:Ooo okay, yeah I’m seeing what you mean now. It’s like that one comic you always read!

Ruby:Sigh...yeah she channels a bit of Batman energy and I need her to not do that all the time. I suppose being an honest soul isn’t particularly hereditary. It always feels like we aren’t enjoying each other’s company these days. I can’t blame her though. So....you know how all of you have had one serious problem that has both destabilized yourself as well as the kids and their relationship to you? *clouded eyes*

Weiss:Wait...you loosing a child wasn’t that?

Ruby:Oh it was. It just so happened that it never ended. It grew day by day. Night by night. Jaune and I were cautious with Carmine. Going as far to give her contacts and giving birth to her off the record and not at a hospital. Just in case Cinder came back. Well, Cinder and Neo came back, with my Dustin.

Nobody said anything. What do you even say to that!? All they did was let out a stifled breath and tried to gauge Ruby’s look of guilt.

Ruby:Yet again we had gotten too comfortable. It happened when Carmine was thirteen. I don’t think Garnet was even one yet. That’s when the cruelest realization hit me. My son had been alive and hearing about how his so called mother being a person who saves everyone, yet she never came for him. She had moved on, letting his eyes become clouded with such seething hate for the world she did save; the children she had after. It’s been four years since the day he attacked Carmine and helped grimm try to invade Vacou. To this day it’s been a life of staying on gaurd, searching for them as they popped up countless places to tear Remna- to tear me down and I can’t decide what part hurts the most. The amount of anger that prevents me from killing Cinder in a blink of an eye, or looking at my daughter who has told me herself that she is going to kill her older brother because I’m too weak to do so. That I’m in no way as good as the world believes me to be. *puts hood up* Like I said, C-teir mom, at best.

Blake:That’s- you can’t- there’s no way for you to reach him? Maybe if you-

Ruby:He looks at me the same way Neo and Cinder do, Blake. They raised him to hate me. Besides, he hurt Carmine. She’s just not gonna let that slide and frankly I shouldn’t either. Carmine acts tough and for the most part is, but gets terrified like everyone else. In many ways she’s still just a young girl that I wish had never chosen to become a huntress. If I had it my way she’d just be a normal girl with normal knees; but her mother’s weakness and inexperience wrapped her up in yet another war. It’s ironic. I barely remember mom and yet I ended up putting my family in very similar situation as if she lead instruction. Happy endings, I’m not sure if I get-

Yang:You’re better than mom....

Ruby:......

Yang:Yeah I said. Look I love Summer Rose but at the end of the day she wasn’t around, not that she didn’t want to be, but it’s the truth. Several years of pleasant childhood memories and a lifetime of grief is what she left me, and all you got were tales you should’ve experienced first hand. Ruby you have spent seventeen years loving your daughter unconditionally and being there for her no matter if it’s for better or worse. Yeah you might not being doing it perfectly and I have no idea how to even fathom your predicament, but at least you are there trying. Take it from me, that’s all a daughter ever wants from their mother. It’s also what makes a pretty kick ass dad. *smiles* Chin up, hero. Your story isn’t over yet after all.

Silence filled the air and Ruby’s throat ran dry. Ruby pulled out her scroll to go to her pictures and displayed one of her favorite photos for everyone to see. It was Carmine’s fifteenth birthday. Ruby didn’t lie about the resemblance. the girl had short blonde hair that stopped halfway down her neck in the back and was longer in the front, reaching shoulders. Like her mother, the tips of her hair transitioned to red. The beautiful young woman tried to her hide her smile but her gleeful silver eyes were practically twinkling with joy as Ruby hugged her tightly from behind and a tall, more solid version of Jaune was smushing one of Carmine’s cheeks with an overly dramatic kiss to it. A tiny child no older than three at most was in his big sister’s arms. Garnet had his mother’s hair and eyes but something about the chubby face definitely showed Jaune’s features. The child had red frosting on his face and was reaching eagerly for more cake somewhere out of frame.

Yang noticed the girl took page from her father and wore some regular cargo shorts, but clearly didn’t lack flair by wearing a red crop top that showed off a fresh tattoo of the Arc crest on her toroso. Knowing her sister, that tattoo was most likely practical. The family looked happy, proud; and the mother of it currently sat across the table crying with her head face down in her hands cwhile Weiss and Blake hugged her from each side. Roses may have thorns, anyone who knew roses knew a simple truth. They’re still fragile flowers.

Yang:(Carmine Arc Rose. For you and your mother’s sake, I hope things go well)

xxxx

Though Carmine seemed cold by nature, people were quick learn the opposite. The most recent learner of this was a scared little girl that held on for dear life. It was nighttime, nothing but the sound of pouring rain and the distant glow of red and the warmth of Carmine holding the girl against her body while she sprinted through a mud ridden forest. The little payed no attention to the pain in her side, but the glow of roses, eyes, and flames through her tear filled eyes.

Beowulves chased frantically but then severed immediately by something the girl couldn’t understand, but it looked like the person carrying her. The dead beasts brought no comfort. Not when more followed close behind.

Girl:I-I’m sc...scared!

Carmine:Don’t look at them sweetie, it’ll be fine. Just keep being a brave little girl.

Girl:M...Mommy was back there.

Carmine:.....I know, she’ll be just fine. Your village, there are plenty of people there that will be just fine! Huff..... You got a name?

Mary:Mary.....

Carmine:Oh that’s a beautiful name, Mary. You know I was almost a Mary? Yeah my grandma was a really amazing person and I almost got named something similar to her. Mary is a very strong name!

Mary:You’re a liar! I’m sad, not strong. I want my mommy! Everything his dark and hurts and I want her!

The girl began painfully crying as Carmine followed her trail of roses to avoid getting lost. Things were getting worse. The storm raged and she could feel this girl burning in her arms. Not to mention the unsettling warmth the mixed with the cold rain against her body and dripped to puddles below. Any grimm near by could only be dealt with by many copies of her nearby, but that would only go so far when fear was out full force. Carmine’s boots felt like cement, but she still ran.

Carmine:Mary, you know what do when I miss my mommy? I sing! Yeah, my mom sings the best lullabies that made me feel super strong when I was little! It’s a magic song that makes everyone strong. How about I sing it you and they can sing it your mommy later okay!? But you have to close your eyes to really focus on the words!

Mary:*sniffling* Okay....

Baby deathstalkers swarmed the path made ahead as small Nevermores dove at her. Out of options, Carmine broke from the path, trying to rely on memory to go towards the safe zone while also singing lyrics to her favorite song.

Dream of anything; I'll make it all come true.

Everything you need is all I'll have for you~

Carmine never wavered. No matter how badly her lungs her or nearly slipped, she kept singing all the way to her destination where several other clones were seen racing towards with more civilians to injured or young to go themselves. An orphanage where Nora and Ren stood outside rushing people in while Jaune was keeping the grimm at bay. The sight brought a little ease.

Don't worry, I've got you; nothing will ever harm you.

I'm close by, I'll stay here; through all things, I will be near~

Carmine finally reached Nora and passed off the girl who’s grip weakened overtime. A few lyrics in and Carmine knew she was singing mainly for herself.

Carmine:Get her medical attention! I’m gonna go and find more! There’s still-

Jaune:Wait, it’s too dangerous!

Carmine:I know! That’s why I have to go! That fire is spreading and there’s stragglers pinned down! Dad.....I’m pinned down!

Jaune tensed up and looked at Carmine. No scraps on her and her clothes only soiled by others. It didn’t take long to realize. The man resisted the urge to run out to the ruined town and stood firmly.

Jaune:Carmine...end it. We’ll worry about the consequences later.

Carmine:....Okay.

Across the woods amongst the flames the real Carmine stood bleeding and bruised in front of two Beringel that charged over the vanishing corpses of their fallen with more grimm, her sword stabbed into the ground supporting her weight. Behind all living people that remained finally managed to flee. All except for a woman trapped by house debris. The woman watched this young huntsman stand proudly again. She wasn’t sure what happened next. All she heard was one sentence.

“Close your eyes...” before everything went white. Next thing she knew, Carmine was lifting debris off her as rain and wind washed away any evidence. A relief she didn’t care about in the slightest. She neither had the strength, or the time too. Much like Carmine, who began to pant and teeter. It was clear to the woman that whatever just happened didn’t come without cost as she watched the girl fall to her knees. Though she tried moving, Carmine was spent.

Carmine:Don’t worry...we’re safe....let’s-

Woman:Go...

Carmine:Huh?

Woman:I...my legs. Everything...I can’t move. Just go. I d-don’t think I’d las-

Carmine:Don’t talk like that! The hard parts over! I can-

Woman:Barely walk. *smiles* It’s okay. I don’t blame you. You fought hard.

Carmine:.....I...I’m sorry. *teary eyed*

Woman:Say, I know that face anywhere. Your Lady Rose’s kid. Funny, I thought your eyes were red? My daughter, Mary, she loves your mother. Makes me kinda jealous hehe, but hey I love her too. *crying* Do you know if Mary made it? She was wearing-

Carmine:A black dress, pink ribbons in her hair...

Woman:Yes! Is she safe? I saw you- one of you carry her off.

Carmine:...She’s just fine.

Woman:Good. That’s all....that.....

The woman never finished her sentence. Carmine’s body fell limp on the ground, facing the rain. Even with the cold downpour she could feel the warmth of her own tears, containing her emotions best she could as she looked through her clones eyes to watch Nora take Mary away from the survivors and out of sight to not stir further panic.

Carmine wasn’t sure how long she layed there, but it was long enough for Jaune to find her. The man didn’t say a word. The town was in shambles. Grimm were still fading and his daughter looked tired, but not in serious condition. Unlike the those who didn’t make it. Jaune put Carmine in his arms, carrying her away to safety.

Carmine:......Does mom ever save them all?

Jaune:No, but that never stops her from trying; or mourning.

She clenched her father’s shirt and let herself be fragile, to be a Rose.

Carmine:Next time. Mom and I, we’ll both get it right next time. A happy ending for all!

Jaune:Yeah, I know you will. Together....

[doctor-plagueis]

Nora's Knightly Love

Trigger Warning: mentions of noncon and rape you have been warned.

Nora had some troubles, well actually it was a lot of troubles.

From night terrors, to night terrors and night... ok so, Nora has nightmares because of...a lot. Nora lived in the North where if you aren't strong, you die,and she almost did, repeatedly from Beowulfs to Ursas to...people...

Gods...if it wasn't for mother she wouldn't be a virgin today...

That's not a memory she relishes, watching her mother be used as a toy for men like she's nothing but a hole to fuck...Nora was five years old and they were gonna do that to her...fuck, she's crying and shaking again.

Damnit fuck fuck fuck why can't she forget that night daMNIT!

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

Nora's crying again...he should do something...

"Hey Nora, you ok?" he asked meekly

"Huh!" she nearly jumped from her bed at that "Um, um, ye 'm fine..."

"You're not very good at lying" he said while getting up...he's not wearing his pijamas.

"When’d you start sleeping shirtless Fearless Leader? Also are those shorts?" she was curious...and also deflecting.

He moved closer she could see him better now...when'd he get so buff? When he sat down at her bed she realized something...Pyrrha and Rennie were out on their date...

"Started when Yang decided to steal it, apparently she feels comfy in it...weird huh?"

"Yea..."

Awkward silence, more awkward silence even more awkward silence...

“C’mon Nora you can talk to me I'm your leader...and hopefully your friend?" wait, was he unsure of that?

“‘F’course you're my friend Jauney, why, did you think weren't?" Huh weird she's calmer, maybe it has something to do with talking to Fearless Leader? He does have a pretty reassuring presence.

"Well, maybe there's some culture shock with you being a Northerner and me being Arcadian, but in Arcadia when a friend is feeling down we talk about it and sort it out together, would you like that? Would you like to talk?" He was trying to be reassuring… his sisters were always better at it than him.

"...ok" Nora sounds so meek, this is weird.

"You sure? We don't have to y'know" He was calming to her, talking with him made her less scared...maybe this is what she needs?

"Growing up in the North is difficult Jaune-" whoa she called him Jaune not Fearless Leader or Jauney...this is serious "-You either fight back against the world and it's dangers or you die...or worse..." at that Nora saw Jaune recoil slightly not noticeable if they weren't this close…huh…

"My mom and I lived with dad until he was taken by the cold...my only memory of him is lighting his pyre with mum..." she took a breath...this is harder than she predicted. Damnit...

"Then me and mum decided to head south, to warmer lands, away from the shithole that is the North-" wait...is Jaune ok, he looks weird...she'll keep talking with a closer eye now..."-But before we got to the seas...we...we were attacked by raider..."

Jaune was now visibly sweating and breathing heavy, memories were flooding back...bad, bad memories...

"Nothing happened to me but...mum let herself be...used by them she, she was raped Jaune, just so I wouldn't, and then they took her away like some trophy of conquest...that's how I became an orphan...Jaune?" uh oh he's freaking out.

"Jaune, JAUNE!"

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

Jaune awoke today was a special day, today would be the day his dad finally train him, actually, really train him, with Crocea Mors! This was going to be the start his glory, his heroism would begin today! Hahah oh that’s corny heheh…But he really couldn’t wait…

…So Jaune had taken Crocea Mors to train alone in the woods, so what? He was already gonna train with dad anyway!

(CRACK)

“Huh? What was that?” oookkk so Jaune was suddenly a little worried.

“Well, well, well ain’t you a pretty lil’ thang” came a hoarse voice from the trees.

“Who? Who’s there!? I-I have a sword!” Shit shit shit; Jaune wasn’t ready for this sorta stuff! Fighting some Creeps or young Beowulfs is one thing but fighting someone is different!

“Ohohoho, looks like this blond cutie has sum fight in’im…good, more fun this way…” that’s really, really creepy and concerning.

“Where are you!? Show yourself!” Jaune tried being intimidated.

“Oh don’tchu worry, ya won’t have time to anyways”

“wha-”

“you’ll be more worried about breathin’ with a cock in yer throat hahahaha!”

At that Jaune chose to make the smart move: run like hell!

Except he didn’t get away…

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

“JAUNE!” Nora screamed.

“Huh, wha!?”

“Are you okay!? No, don’t answer that you, clearly aren’t!”

“I-I uh…”

Jaune was silent now, which for Nora was a bad sign…

…Maybe it’s time for Nora to act less like a Northerner and start acting more like an Arcadian…

“Jauney…yo-um-ya-crap, ok, Jaune” she said searching for words and getting his attention.

“Jaune look at me” he did.

“Did did-um did I bring some bad things up? I mean obviously I did but-um” ugh this is difficult how do Arcadians do it?

“Did I bring anything bad for you?”

“Ye-yea, I um…you just reminded me how I lost my…”

“Virginity?” she really hopes he says no, please for Brothers sake say no!

“Yea…”

“Oh Jaune I-I’m sorry I didn’t mean to I-” She made him remember such a horrible thing…

“Don’t, you couldn’t have known” she shouldn’thave known…

Nora got up stood in front of Jaune and held her arms open…Nora isn’t good at this but at least she knows hugs are good comfort…

...Jaune accepted the hug.

“You can cry Jaune …please cry it’s good for you…”

“(Hick) I’m not goin’ to cry (hick)”

“Stop forcing yourself to be strong…isn’t that what you made me do? I’m here…”

At that Jaune broke down like a faulty dam, and he didn’t stop crying for a long, long time.

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

That was a week ago.

Jauney and I have been spending more time together we’re supporting each other as best we can…

…My nightmares are going away, well, not really, but with Jauney's help they’re…manageable…I’ve found myself talking less with Rennie, and I don’t really mind it weirdly, oh well, Rennie does need to spend more time with his girlfriend after all…

…Hope Pyrrha's taking care of him well.

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

Nora and I have been talking about our…pasts a lot lately, its helping.

Nora and I also have been having these weird silences, not awkward but comforting, is this what friends feel all the time? Pyrrha and I don’t have these silences, neither do any of the other girls, huh, kinda feels special for some reason…

…I like the silence.

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

Almost a month now, me and Jauney have been talking for a month, and I feel like we’ve bonded so much over so little time, maybe we’ve bonded even faster than Rennie and I did...I like it Jaune and I’s bond, feels good, really good…

…I think I like him, like, like-him-like-him. I’m okay with it, more than okay actually…

…Does he feel the same?... Why am I even worrying he doesn’t?...

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

I really like Nora, oh who’s believing that blatant lie?

I Love Nora. As more than a friend, I love Nora romantically…

…Maybe she feels the same? Oh, who am I kidding? she’d never love someone like me, not after… (sigh)

Maybe I should just ask her out she’ll reject me and we can go back to talking like friends.

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

Alright perfect Ren and Pyrrha are away I can ask Him/Her

“Hey Nora/Jaune” they said simultaneously

“Oh, go ahead Nora” always the gentleman, one of his many charms.

“Nu-uh Fearless leader you first!” she said playfully

“yeahokayIcandothis” Jaune said under his breath

“Nora” “Yeah?” “Would you go get some dinner with me?”

“Ooh like dinner pancakes? Sure Jauney, you’re the best!” she was so excited (sigh) she’s amazing…

“N-No more like a-ummm”

“A what Jauney?”

“Wouldyougooutonadatewithme?” Oh great, he messed it up.

“…” her silence is so deafening, I really fucked up huh?

“…YES!!!” wait wut?

“Ohyoudon’tknowhowmanyweeksI’vewaitedforeitherofustoaskthatIwasgonna askyououtmyselfbecauseIcouldn’twaitand-”

“Nora! Nora calm down and speak in a way I can understand”

“I, yea, sorry, got too excited, started talking Nora mode, anyways-” she was…still talking really fast, but at least he could understand now! “-The answer is yes, also fuck yes and also gods I’ve waited too long to do: this!”

Suddenly Nora lunged forward and stabbed Jaune…Nah she just kissed him…WAIT A DAMN MINUTE!

“mhnph!” “Mmm~oh yeah, always knew you’d taste good Jauney~” “…izzat a yes?”

“What do you think?” “I think I’m dreaming that’s what” Nora giggled at that, fuck, even her laugh is adorable

“Well you’re wide awake, and, you got yourself a date! Isn’t that a confidence boost~” Fucking hell Nora knows how to be seductive.

“I’m the luckiest guy in beacon right now!” he said with his signature goofy grin

“Well” she wrapped her arms around his “where’s our date going to be?”

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

[Notes]

[Pyrrha and Ren are indeed dating.]

[Yes the Booty Tier List will affect this check it out]

[Again this is going to be my first smut story so I'd apreciate the criticism]

Here ya go this is the first part of this two-shot.

Nest one will be smut I promise.

Part 1 / Part2

[babu-haitani]

Ummm... not to tell you how to write your fic. About the mirage fic. Can you make it more realistic or have some realism and not so depressing and angsty? Not that i criticize you or sending this as a threat or sending you hate or anything negative like that.

It just that most fic that i read about isekai or reborn to your favorite anime is that the MC (mostly girl) is always somehow so depressing (with lots of trauma), doesn't have a single good thing happened in their life until they got isekaied or reborn, somehow so OP with lots of 'saviour complex' to the point they do not fear death or have an amazing pain tolerance. And they also so selfless to the point they can be called 'the saintess but also a teenage who is badass and sassy' also the fact that the characters somehow manage to 'fall in love at first sight' kinda trope or 'MC do this and i wholeheartedly fall in love with you'. There is also the fact that even though they never fight in their life, the MC somehow got so badass they can rival the protagonist.

MC also somehow can get a good life with no money, parents, any certificate to prove they exist. Can get a job easily or got into school very easily or even got an apartment to live alone without money. I mean how can that be possible? These isekaied MC also somehow got adjusted to these worlds very easily, without shock, questions or anything like that. Easily abandoning their previous life and worlds. Not even a question about why they are there and for what purpose.

I just feel a little bored with these type of MC since you can easily guess of what would happen. If you make this tokrev fic, are you going to make it more canon compliant? Because i doubt there will be any internet connection at that time, at least as easily as nowadays. Don't forget they use flip phone back then. I just reminding you about the technology back then. You can take this as an input from someone who read a lot of isekai fanfic. Please don't take this negatively.

I am sorry for annoying you with this weird ask. So please, i am really not trying to attack you or anything. Excuse me.

Don't worry! I'm not taking this as an attack☺️💓💓💓💓

I was actually torn whether to reply to this or not since this comment kinda contains some spoilers but all I can say is...I already have a plot for the Mirage Fic and I made it as realistic as possible since we are talking about Y/N (which actually refers to you, readers) who magically transported to tok rev.

And i get what you mean, this is why I don't actually watch isekai anime (except konosuba cause that was the only half realistic isekai anime that I've watched) I kinda hate it when plots get boring...as much as possible I love making twists and turns.

And don't feel bad about sending me this type of stuff, this are called "OPINIONS"...HATE and OPINIONS are two different things. Opinions can help grow as a writer by giving me advices and pointing out what I did wrong and I feel at ease whenever someone points it out and corrects me, cause as much as possible...I want to learn💓

So...Anon...Thank you for sending me this!! I will definitely take you advice!! 💓💓💓💓💓💓💓

[thetypedwriter]

Lore Book Review

Lore Book Review by Alexandra Bracken 

Lore by Alexandra Bracken was one of 2021’s most anticipated YA novels and it's easy to see why. The plot summary itself is enough to pull you in with the intriguing concoction of calling it the combination of The Hunger Games and the Percy Jackson series. 

What’s not to love when you fuse the illicit danger of Katniss Everdeen with the mythological enchantment of Rick Riordan’s masterpiece?

Turns out, quite a lot unfortunately. 

Before I get into why this book didn’t live up to the insurmountable hype it built up, I’ll attempt to give a basic summary. The key word being attempt as a good portion of this novel’s plot was a mind boggling and convoluted mess. 

The book takes place in modern day New York which Bracken likes to remind you every other paragraph with small snippets about how the city that never sleeps smells like sewage and is yet still the best place on earth apparently. 

Don’t get me wrong, I love New York as much as the next person, but the pandering to the Big Apple got annoying after awhile. 

Within the cantankerous city lives a girl named Lore which we are introduced to by means of her kicking ass in an underground Chinese restaurant’s fighting ring. 

Pretty strong start. 

Lore’s world (and the reader’s frankly) is tipped upside down when Lore’s long lost childhood friend, Castor, reappears to warn her that he is looking for her. Terrified, Lore is then at first unwillingly thrust back into the world in which she was born-a world dominated by violence, bloodlines, and the Greek gods who are very much alive and out for vengeful retribution. 

In a very exposition-dump heavy conversation, we learn that Lore is the last of Perseous’ line with the rest of her family having been horrifically murdered, that a week long event called the Agon occurs every seven years in which the original nine Greek gods or their reincarnated selves become mortal for seven days, and that a series of killing often happen because if you kill a Greek god you then become that Greek god as well as inhabit their powers, abilities, and immortality. 

Well, until the next Agon that is. 

The currently reincarnated God by the name of Wrath is attempting to end the Agon by killing all the other Gods, but in order to do it he needs to wield a special weapon called the Aegis. 

Unfortunately, only the Perseides can wield this shield (for some reason) and thus, Wrath is out to get his hold on Lore as the last of her line so that he can bring this eons old competition to an end with himself as the sole victor and only remaining God. 

Confused?

I’d be surprised if you weren’t. 

Now, I love Greek mythology. I’ve read the classics and would say I’m fairly up to date on the stories, the legends, the gods, and the stories they represent. I’m not an expert, but I would say I’m  knowledgeable on who the major figures are and what they stood for. 

I genuinely think this book would have been miserable for anyone that didn’t know anything about Greek mythology.

 Bracken does a terrible job of explaining what the hell is happening at any given point, and she often throws out allusions and references to Greek mythology without bothering to explain a single shred of information about it. 

In addition, after this laughably and poorly explained world and plot at the beginning, it is almost never explained again. It’s brought up, as are names and titles and weapons and relationships, but it’s never explained in a way that’s feasibly understandable. 

At the beginning of the novel Bracken lists who all the important characters are, their bloodlines, and their titles.

 I soon figured out why, as every other sentence a name like Wrath or Reveler or Tidebringer or whoever was brought up, and it was impossible to keep track of so I didn’t even bother. 

Even Lore brings up that the names are ridiculous, which I appreciate, but the meta moment of clarity doesn't make it any better. 

Also, what Lore and her friends get up to over 90% of the novel is a muddled mass of bewilderment. 

Why do Lore and Castor and the others need to find Artemis? I don’t know, but sure, whatever, sounds good. Why was Lore the last of her line again? Oh yeah, right, okay, I guess. Wait, Castor died? Oh, he didn’t? Why not? Oh, we’re not going to explain it. Sure, sure. 

Throughout this entire novel, what the characters are doing and what is happening is almost impossible to follow with the way it's presented and the way Bracken developed her world. I think this was a really cool idea that had very poor execution. 

Points for the originality and the inclusion of Greek mythology, but all of the positives were taken away when that originality was flushed down the drain with a lack of explanation and logic. 

Lore very much reminded me of a shoot-em up, bang-em up action movie. Almost every other chapter was some sort of super intense, super climactic fight scene, chase, theft, break-in, etc. 

Now. I do think action scenes are hard to write and I think Bracken actually did an incredible job of writing action in a way that was entertaining and thrilling. 

However, when the action takes place every ten pages it gets really old, really quick. Towards the end, I downright started skimming the fight scenes, because they lacked so little depth and stakes and we had read so much action at the end point that it had lost all vigor and vitality. 

Continuing with the action movie metaphor, most action movies focus solely on the bright explosions and the crazy fight scenes as their selling point of the whole movie, often to the detriment of the characters, plot, and development. 

Now, some people like this. I am not these people. 

I find action movies boring as most of my enjoyment from consuming media comes from the characters and the developments they undergo. 

My biggest criticism with Lore, other than the astonishing storytelling, is by far the characters. I just...didn’t care. About any of them. 

Bracken tried to make Lore come across as a strong, opinionated, fierce, angry female character and while sometimes she succeeded, more often than not I found Lore temperamental, aggravating, impulsive, selfish, and shallow. 

Bracken very much invoked the tell-not-show strategy that makes any book hard to get through. While there were some decent moments of showing instead of just stating, more often than not, Bracken would tell us that Lore was strong by having other people say it or others calling her weak. 

I appreciated Bracken’s feminist agenda and how strongly Lore felt about gender inequality, even if it was a bit heavy-handed at times. Still, I did appreciate this inclusion of civil rights on this front, even if some of the circumstances to incite it were ridiculous or over the top. 

In addition, I hated that there was all this backstory that we were just told but not shown. Like in my last review of Wilder Girls, Lore suffers from an intrinsic failure of getting me onboard with these characters and their relationships by telling me how I should feel about them instead of exposing them through action. 

I was told:

Lore and Castor haven't seen each other for seven years, but my gosh, Castor is just the best and is so beautiful. Ensue obligatory YA romance. 

Lore has a best friend! Yeah. Her name is Iro. Here she is! Um. Okay. Why was this necessary?

Miles is just the coolest best friend ever. Like, look how cool and chill he is. How funny is it that he has no idea what’s happening? Really not funny at all. He was a useless character used to build empty stakes. 

  The list goes on and on, but Bracken will throw out some sort of fact or relationship and just expect the reader to go “Okay!” Which. I didn’t. On any of those occurrences. 

Often Bracken would do this in the use of flashbacks at the most inopportune times (during a fight scene, after someone was injured, right before a huge revelation, etc). These flashbacks were the worst. I do not care for adolescent Lore and child Lore was somehow even worse. 

The romance in this book, much like an action movie, is off to the side and really only there to fulfill the trope of having a romance. 

Lore and Castor are boring. I don’t know what else to say. Castor is too perfect to be likable and Lore is the opposite. Nothing about their romance was unique or well-crafted. 

The kiss between Van and Miles I also saw coming a hundred miles away. I also thought it was pointless as Van and Miles had known each for six days and had had maybe two conversations. So. No. I didn’t care at all about the romances. 

It actually made me laugh and scoff simultaneously at the end when Lore is looking at Van, Castor, Iro and Miles and smiles because she realizes that these people are her family. 

Ummm. Sorry?

Castor disappeared for seven years and you’ve been reunited for seven days. You’ve hated Van your whole life until this week. You also haven’t seen Iro in seven years and she tried to kill you at least twice in this book. Miles is...fine, but again useless. I don’t even know why Bracken included him except to make Lore worry about him which she only did about half of the time. 

Phew. 

I know this review has come across largely negative, so this might be surprising, but I didn’t hate it. It lacks substance and depth, but it was entertaining. 

Just like an action movie.

 If you want some hyped fights and a plot that really doesn't matter and characters that won’t stick with you, but a fast-paced narrative that keeps you on your toes nonetheless, then you would probably enjoy this. 

It’s like the equivalent of watching a James Bond movie or one of the millions of the Fast and Furious. Bracken tries to develop the characters, but at the end of the day, most of the story is made up of cool fights, magic, and weapons. If that’s your speed then you would probably really love Lore. 

Recommendation: Action, action, action. If you want some high intensity, get-your-blood-pumping enterprise then this is your novel. The writing is fluid, the adrenaline-inducing scenes are non-stop, and everything else falls to the backdrop of external fights and villainous monologues. If action is not your preferred genre, then your best left to get your Greek mythology needs from Percy Jackson or the Song of Achilles instead.  

Score: 6/10

[calpalsworld]

Not "autistic anon," but also autistic, (being called maybe ableist made me want to put this out there before go to bed) i thought Zane was depicted that way purposefully by the writers. He has stereotypical traits like taking things literally, and has an actual humor switch. The writers have done things with Zane before like have him lose bodily autonomy (during that one Wu's teas short) and did something with his voice be it making him unable to be understood or talking too loud and the forced pirate voice by Jay. (what you're doing isn't too different from that, right?) I thought it was just a little iffy to distort his body and memory bc that could be interpreted as something not that I'm sure what exactly, it's some kind of disability. I dunno. I'm not good with putting this to words. I hope this makes sense.

Sorry I went to bed but now I’m awake 😭

Also I ended up totally spilling all my thoughts here rather than only specifically replying to you please forgive me context: my scary zane concept design, & my ninjago rewrite i refer to a lot 

Im a little confused but I think I get what you're saying? You're saying the Ninjago writers absolutely DON'T write Zane well (you listed examples of this) and you don't want me to fall into the same trap?

I had the opposite logic earlier. I thought: If Ninjago writers made Zane have stereotypical autisitic traits while also being a dehumanized robot, I may as well embrace it, say he is autistic blatantly, while also making him do funny/cool non-human robot things, so its clear as possible the two aspects of his character are literal and separate and not a metaphor for each other. But you're right! I do have a choice and I dont have to embrace things! :)

Like there were a couple ways I was gonna reject the original, for example, I never wanted Zane to have a funny switch, and I hated how other characters could fuck with Zane and he didn't even care 😬. I want to change that stuff. So youre right, if I am changing shit like that, it would be counterproductive for ME to GIVE him MORE traits along that theme. 😬😬😬 I should try to feel less obligated to portray Zane like he originally is. I still like the concept of "scary zane" (for reasons i explain below the cut) but I might tone it down a bit like with the claws and weird proportions and shit. I’d def make him look more skeletal and undead. That was my original intention, but i didnt execute it as good as I could have.... idk if anyone could tell thats what he was supposed to be like...my bad! But rn I dont wanna redesign him I wanna draw other stuff like normal alive Zane. Sorry LMAO 😳. Like I said in some earlier asks I think, I think Im gonna focus rn on how I should portray season 1 normal not dead Zane so thank you and feel free to share any other Zane thoughts ^_^ SOME OTHER THOUGHTS:

Also I Wanna Argue Some Stuff But I Understand its a Weak Argument Since All of This Context was Just In My Brain (so don't take this as an argument, just as me rambling): I don't want messed up things to happen to Zane and for it to just be ignored. I think if Zane is going to have fucked up things happen to him, as all characters must, its best for it to happen during a season where he actually addresses his feelings about being a robot (learning to accept that he will always be himself, regardless if hes "human" or the "original" or whatever. (thats how I always interpreted his emotions)). But I wouldn't have the other Ninja be very phased by Zane's looks because the whole point is they already love who he is (seasons 1-3 were about getting to know Zane) and now Zane himself just has to learn the physical, robot part of him is okay. Its about person-hood rather than humanity. Because the season focuses around Zane's soul, and because he lost his original body, I feel like I could mess around with his current, temporary body and have fun and make it scary. Because that body should be irrelevant. I understand it possibly being upsetting for an autistic character to be designed like this, but other people I talked to see it the opposite way. They find it comforting for him to look so different but still be himself and be so loved. SO IM ABSOLUTELY NOT saying its wrong to be bothered or to hate it or to feel any way. Just that I personally think it would be cool for Zane to be portrayed with a little spice lol, so thats why I like scary Zane for season 4.

Another Thing I Wannna Say But Is REALLY Hypocritical: (this isnt directed at anyone I just REALLY want to say this) I know I say "this is Zane but scary, he looks like fnaf" so he's obviously dehumanized, but I always felt like "scary" is more of an objective fact. Its an instinct. But what's "not human" is subjective. I think there is a problem with saying anything different from "average" human is dehumanized because that could extend to real people. Lol I know its bad for me to compare FNAF-ass Zane to real people, but I mean he could be real. People can have exposed teeth, and people can be shaped weird. And when someone first sees a person who looks like that they'll probably think "woah those features are scary" by instinct. And that surprise doesn't make someone ableist obviously. But bring that person’s humanity into question is NOT an instinct, and is fucked to shit. This is kinda a bad point for me to make since its about the fictional FNAF Zane I drew, and I am NOT implying ANYONE was thinking like this. [especially not the original asker anon who I am totally forgetting about at this point OOPS]. But I just thought it was an opinion of mine I couldn't go without mentioning when talking about dehumanization and disabilities.

^^^ I think you (anon) understand what I mean and might’ve said the exact same thing as me if you were writing a long ass response? I think this because you started to bring physical disabilities up and you said it was "a little iffy." ^_^ So we agree, but I don't see Zane's relation to real life disabilities as "a little iffy" I see it more like "complicated"? IF THAT DIFFERENCE EVEN MAKES ANY SENSE?????? I feel like a lot of things about Zane are really just complicated and need the right context, rather than the concepts necessarily being wrong -- NOW THAT I THINK ABOUT IT! THATS THE WHOLE REASON I DO THIS STUPID REWRITE! XD thats why a lot of my rewrite SO FAR has been the same concepts and plot beats, but different dialogue n specifics and such. I like a lot of concepts in Ninjago but I dont think they were presented correctly.....! :( So I guess all we can do is wait and see if I make Zane offensive or not....???

Also something about the memory part - yeah i agree i was surprised no one thought that was weird to make jokes out of his memory issues..... BUT I am like 100% firm on making his memory take longer to come back because I think its stupid how quick Zane was able to recover from literally dying. Like its just dumb to me. Hate it. (also bc memory & soul mechanics is ummm kinda important in my rewrite.... for reasons). Another memory thing btw, I was going to make his original amnesia come from hitting his head in an attack against the Skulkin when they stole his dads corpse, rather than his dad fucking choosing to make him forget. (its a sweet & iconic scene, but Um, WHY?!!!?!?!?!?) He has to follow data recovery instructions he finds in his dads diary. I think in that context it makes moments of memory loss somewhat different for Zane's character? Instead of loss of autonomy associated with disability, its a literal violent loss of autonomy associated with being traumatized by physical force. Idk how to phrase it exactly but I think that makes some vibes different?

Sorry, I think I got really distracted, and I don't know if I responded well to your points. Because uhhhh I think I agree with your stance actually? If I understand correctly? Fuck Ninjago writers for making the robot lose autonomy (a stereotypical robot theme) while also making him seem clearly autistic (NOT A HAPPY THEME FOR AUTISTIC PEOPLE) and not addressing it. And also auuugh Zane with a weird body is a difficult topic - kinda sussy pretty iffy.

Lol anyway idk if this made any sense and I REALLY rambled on you. but this was nice 👉👈 more Zane criticism pls love you and i love zane. i hope u dont feel mad at me because then it would be weird that im saying that lol. if you do feel mad at me tho you can send another ask (ILL TRY TO JUST LISTEN NOT RAMBLE NEXT TIME) but assuming ur chill rn, love you thnx

Take this page, don’t mind cole’s ass.

[romanceimp]

Protection

Naruto is def the kinda guy who would support and protect you, but what about doing it for him in an unexpected way? (Almost titled this ‘Punching Sakura’ but anyways) (PS gets a lil saucy towards the end... *teehee*)

It was a gorgeous day, and you haven’t seen the sun in hours. You were walking back from a medical ninjutsu studying session, brain fried and taking a short break before getting back to it. The scrolls in your hands felt heavier than they should have. You were a perfectly capable combat ninja but after losing a friend on a mission and due to your own incompetence with healing, you decided to go back to school for medical ninjutsu. You were about a month into the work  and learning quickly, so quickly that you were ahead of where most were during their first month. Tsunade had said that you were almost as fast a learner as she was. 

You’d stopped hanging out with friends and cut yourself off socially, blaming the work load, and there was truth to that. But you were overworking yourself, determined to return to the field with healing powers. You were consumed with guilt. You should have tried harder to save your comrade. Now every time you heard of another loss, you were blaming yourself. If you knew medical ninjutsu, you could be assigned to teams, no one would lose their father or mother or sibling or friend.  Most days you were motivated by this but today you felt like you were dragging. That’s why when Naruto ran smack into you from behind, it was all the more shocking.

You and the scrolls spilled to the ground face first. “Oh man! I’m so so sorry, are you okay?” Naruto extended his hand to help you up off the ground. He had been gone on a mission for the last 3 weeks, you’d hardly noticed being so wrapped up in your work. As he stared down at you, that goofy grin on his face, you’d realized how much you missed him. “I-I’m okay,” you assured him as you took his hand. He pulled you up rather quickly and you tripped slightly against his pull. “I was in such a rush I didn’t even see ya until you were an inch away from  my face,” he laughed loudly, “shoulda looked where I was going I guess.” He laughed and scratched the back of his neck as his face turned red in embarrassment. “Oh no, don’t worry about it; accidents happen,” you smiled before bending down to collect your scrolls. “Oh, here-” Naruto interjected and helped you pick them up. “Aren’t you in a rush?” you asked. He stood holding the majority of your scrolls for you. This shining man who’d saved the village so many times, was such a dork, and you had such a thing for him. “Yeah, but it’s alright, we’re going the same way so lemme carry these for ya! Ya know, as an I’m sorry for knocking ya over... heh” 

You accepted his offer and started to walk towards your apartment building. “So hows the medical training going? It’s so cool you decided to do that ya know,” he beamed at you. “It’s hard work but going okay I guess,” you responded. “Ya know, you haven’t seemed yourself... and I just want you to know... about what happened... your comrade... that it wasn’t your fault okay?” Your eyes started to tear up, you’d been blaming yourself for so long. He reached for your shoulder and dropped two of the scrolls, he looked down at them for a split second but looked back to you. There was an urgency to his gaze. “Listen, I’ve blamed myself for the death of my comrades too, but I had to learn that blaming myself wasn’t going to help me save anyone else... and you’re working to be able to save so many people.” He brushed his free hand through his hair awkwardly, “I’m not sure if that helps, it’s just hard to watch you beat yourself up and I-” You wrapped your arms around him and laid your head against his chest. You were choking back tears, “thank you Naruto... I-I really needed to hear that.” His free arm encircled you and he affirmed, “it’s hard right now but it will get better...” While you couldn’t see him, your face buried in his shirt, you could hear the smile in his voice, “and you’re a good person.” 

His words made your heart race and your skin tingle... this dopey hero thought you were a good person. You pulled away and wiped the tears that had started to spill. “Means a lot,” you managed and looked into his shining blue eyes.  He blushed and stretched his arm behind his head, “I mean- I’m just sayin the truth heh heh.” A silence fell between the two of you, but it was welcome. You were taking in the kindness he was giving and he was watching the light return to your eyes. He seemed relieved, and it was comforting to know that someone cared for you. “So hey, after you study, would you maybe... I dunno, uh wanna go for some ramen?” He grinned up at you and you smiled back, you opened your mouth to say something but you were interrupted.

“NARUTOOO!!!!!!” you looked to your left just in time to see the hook. Sakura clocked Naruto, knocking him to the ground. The rest of the scrolls that were still in his grip, spilled and rolled around where he lay in the dirt. “We were supposed to report to Lord Kakashi twenty minutes ago!” He collected himself, brushing the dust from his clothes, a small cut now visible on his cheek. “I know, I was just-” “I don’t care! Your duty is to your team and your Hokage! ...” Sakura continued spewing her insults and criticisms as Naruto began to pick up your scrolls once more. Something came over you then, you’d never liked how Sakura treated Naruto... she was so mean to him. Always yelling and hitting him, and he was nothing but sweet and caring to everyone that crossed his path. You weren’t proud of it... well maybe a little, but in that moment watching him just take the hit, you’d had enough. “HEY!” you yelled, right before you punched Sakura. Your fist made contact with the soft of her cheek and she yelped in surprise before she stumbled backwards. You hadn’t hit her nearly as hard as you wanted to, it was a warning punch more than anything. “Ohmygod,” Naruto breathed before turning to you with worry on his face, “what’d you hit Sakura for?” You turned to him, anger burning in your eyes. “Because she hit you!” 

Naruto still seemed puzzled but now you had an angry Sakura to deal with. “Why you-” you caught her first fist, then blocked the second, holding onto her arm. “Listen, I probably shouldn’t have decked you one, two wrongs don’t make a right, but I think you owe Naruto an apology for doing it to him LITERALLY ALL THE TIME!” you let go of her arms as they softened with the realization. “He was just helping me carry these back to my apartment, jeez,” you gestured to the scrolls that Naruto was holding once again, upright but looking a little disheveled. Sakura muttered some sort of apology then explained she would go to Kakashi herself. She ran off in an embarrassed huff. You looked to Naruto, “you didn’t have to do that,” he said. He seemed upset... or even disappointed in you. “All I know is that if you saw one of my “friends” treating me that way, you probably would have done the same.”  He didn’t say anything, for the second time that day, he had no arguments. 

Naruto followed you to your apartment and dropped the scrolls on your kitchen table. “So... uh-” he started but the clotting blood on his cheek was distracting. “Hang on, sit down,” you gestured to the chair he was standing in front of. “Oh, uh alright, heh” he laughed awkwardly and took a seat. “Let me fix that for you hmm?” You placed your hand over the cut and practiced what you’d been studying so hard for. “Hey, uh, thanks for standing up for me... not many people have done that.” You smiled as he tilted his head into your hand, “of course I’ll stand up for you,” you assured. The cut slowly began to heal and the bruise began to fade. A moment passed and he seemed to be healed. You brushed your finger tips along the new, smooth skin. “Does that hurt?” “No,” he murmured and brought his hand up over your own, pressing it against his face. You cupped his chin and brushed your thumb over his lip. He kissed your thumb softly, testing the waters. You leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips. He pulled you into his lap, carefully situating you where he had a good grip on your waist and the back of your neck. He deepened the kiss, teasing the entrance of your mouth with his tongue. You parted your lips, giving him access to explore. He pulled you closer, enveloping you in his warmth. He kissed you as if it were going to be the last kiss he’d ever experience. There was urgency and passion but such a gentleness. For a dope, he was a very good kisser. He pulled away, and tenderly placed one more kiss to your lips. You sat back, still snug on his lap. You brushed your hand over his cheek where the cut had been. Then looked in his eyes and sighed with contentment.  

He blushed and laughed nervously, “heh heh, ummm, whattya starin’ at?” You brushed your hand down his face, down his neck, and rested it sweetly on his shoulder. “Do you want to get ramen now?” you asked gently. His face lit up, “yeah sure! I- umm can we call this a date then?” he asked. You looked at his sparkling blue eyes and smiled, “of course we can.” 

[bigskydreaming]

Whenever Batman refers to criminals as street scum or anything similar, I shall emerge from the shadows so I can go "Have you thought about the seriously classist and/or racial implications of that word? Especially coming from a blue blood like yourself?"

Mooooooooooooooood.

And the thing is, as critical as I am of Bruce, I don’t actually find that to be in character, and even the times in canon when he’s expressed something like that, I simply make the sign of the cross to ward off the Frank Miller fanboy who probably wrote that.

Like, erm, no. When writers pull that I’m like nah that’s a you thing. Its like how I am when people write Jason calling Dick ‘Dickhead’ and making fun of the original Robin costume (like he didn’t also wear it himself). I’m just like, nope, that’s just you using Jason as your mouthpiece for your particular sense of humor or whatever, cuz I don’t buy that literally homeless and lived on the street Jason Todd mocks other people for the non-physical reminders they keep of past loved ones because they didn’t actually get to hold on to any physical ones. 

He knows what that’s like, and it makes him a total unsympathetic hypocrite to pretend otherwise just to take cheap shots at Dick, especially when he’d likely be shooting someone at least in the kneecap for ever daring to make fun of him for some tradition he keeps to in honor of Catherine.

And not at all incidentally, I always wanna point out that nowhere in the comic books does Jason ever refer to Dick by names like Dickhead or Dickwad. In fact, he usually just calls Dick “Grayson” the same as Damian does. Again, not an obsession with canon that makes me point this out, lol, but rather just to emphasize the fact that this widespread-as-hell trend was 100% fully and completely made up entirely by fandom. It doesn’t exist anywhere else BUT fandom, its not in any of the adaptations. People treat this as commonplace and without a second thought given to it in-story, but they didn’t get it from anywhere else, it was fans who created this trend.

And that’s why Im critical of fanon, because its not like I don’t bitch endlessly about canon, lmfao, so I’m always bewildered when people are like “why do you care so much about fanon, look at what canon’s doing” - its like, umm, I can do both, I can even pat my head and rub my stomach at the same time. What, like its hard?

But when there are tropes that there’s legitimate criticism of - like the fact that Dick has huge self-esteem issues, and your story is missing a huge piece of the picture when you have all his closest friends and family ONLY ever addressing him by ‘name’ in the form of constant sexualized insults that make a mockery of his right to be sentimental and hold onto things that remind him of his parents....and you like, don’t treat this in-story (not out of story, I don’t care what jokes people make about his name then, he’s fictional, he’s not hurt, its just IN STORY that its a big deal), but like, when you have this huge constant trope that casual mockery, disdain and dismissiveness is embraced by EVERYONE in his life, and you don’t at any point connect any dots between this and....his many self-esteem issues, its like.....ummm....so we’re just....supposed to not view this as a problem and just ignore the very obvious ways the former plays into the latter here? Is that how that logic goes? 

LOL no, I’m not going to ignore when Cause A is directly relevant to Effect B, in your own damn stories, just because fans invented the trope instead of canon, sorry not sorry. That’s so weird to me that people take it for granted that we should? Its like the frequent textbook abuse apologism. Its like....so when you’re writing a story about abuse....and you’re still falling back on literal real world excuses used by abusers to obscure their own wrongdoing....we’re just not supposed to mention ‘hey you’re writing about abuse but that thing you patted Jason on the back for doing was also literally abuse so wth dude” because it was a fanon derived view of the situation and not a canon-based one?

....no, that’s not how logic works, that’s not a thing people get to hide behind. Criticism is not the same as critique. If I’m saying I have a problem with the view of abuse your story validated or perpetuated here, it has nothing to do with me feeling entitled and offering up unwanted suggestions or improvements to the story-telling of a fan who just came out to have a good time and doesn’t want constructive criticism. 

Its just....me saying I have a problem with the view of abuse your story validated or perpetuated here, literally the exact same as I would object to you expressing the exact same phrasing or idea out loud if we were just two people having a real-world-specific conversation about abuse out loud, without any connection to fiction whatsoever.

Ideas don’t just magically become disconnected from the choices we make based on internalizing various ideas, like, just because we entered the realm of fandom where nothing people say or do has ANY connection whatsoever to....actual internalized views on extremely complicated topics. Its not a one to one correlation, its not like everything we express in fandom mirrors exactly what we do or act like outside of fandom, but there’s the flip side of that where it IS like the things we do or say or act on in fandom do still have to come from SOMEWHERE and that somewhere is still something internalized inside of us to some degree, it didn’t just magically appear on the page. 

There’s not a clear and easily defined connection or correlation always, but there’s not like this impassable chasm between Fandom Us and Real World Us like so many people pretend at. We don’t magically become totally different people with completely different viewpoints and perspectives the second we take off our fandom hat for the day and go back to interacting with people in the real world.

I swear, sometimes fans sound like kids chanting “i’m not touching you, can’t get mad” while waving their hands around in someone else’s face. “I said it in fandom so it doesn’t count as a real opinion, you can’t get mad.”

.....uh....no?

[mymoonjin1]

Chris Chibnall ruined Doctor Who

Doctor Who sucks now. I’m sorry for starting this off with such a blatant statement, but we all know it’s true. And this angers me so, so much, because it used to be one of my all-time favorite shows, and now with a female lead it had so much potential, lost in shitty writing. Here we go.

I have to admit, I used to be one of the people against changing the Doctor’s gender. I thought it would be weird, that they were only doing it for PC reasons, etc. I changed my mind since then, but needless to say, I remained disappointed. I think that a female Doctor would have been a refreshing take on the character, it would have shut up people (like me at the time) and it would have made a lot more people take interest in Doctor Who. Jodie’s era could have been amazing, magical and revolutionary. But alas, here we are.

Jodie Whittaker’s first episode was watched by a little over 14 million people if I recall correctly. But why did the show fail in keeping that number? Simple: the writing sucks. Chris Chibnall is not a good showrunner. He took elements he knew of Doctor Who and tried to copy them, without understanding what made them special.

Let’s start with character development. The Doctor. There was a moment in Spyfall when Yaz says: “what would the Doctor do?”, and for the longest moment I thought… “what would this Doctor do?”, which is NOT something I should be thinking this far in Jodie’s run as the Doctor. It’s all been oh’s, wow’s, unnecessary exposition and not a single truly emotional moment, one that makes me feel like I know or relate to this Doctor. I feel like they tried to make a sort of female Eleven without everything that made him special. Jodie said multiple times “yeah, I can play an alien”, and of course, she could have. But the problem it’s not just about playing an alien. The Doctor is an extremely complex character, with extremely complex emotions. Emotions we are yet to see from her. And I am not saying she isn’t a great actress. I absolutely loved her in Broadchurch, a show that was also run by Chibnall. She is capable of showing emotional range. So why hasn’t she? Shitty writing. My guess? Chibnall is scared of criticism saying that this Doctor (a woman) is too emotional, criticism that wouldn’t have existed in previous Doctors' incarnations. Which is bullshit, and also leads me to my next point: the companions.

Having three companions may have sounded good in paper, but the reality is that none of them has had enough screen time to properly develop as characters. My guess? In the eyes of Chibnall (and probably the BBC, I don’t know), a team would lessen the controversy around the new Doctor. But they didn’t bother with them.

If someone asked you to describe Yaz or Ryan’s personality, what would you say? …Exactly. The only one worth watching is Graham, and even he hasn’t had a proper storyline. They tried to show more of their struggles in Can You Hear Me?, but here’s the thing. It is far too late in their arcs for this. At this point, it just felt way too forced. As someone with depression, It would have been great to see more of Yaz’s struggles with it, but just one episode is not nearly enough. Also, she connected with a police officer who we are never going to see again! Don’t you think it would’ve been better to see this development in her relationship with the Doctor? NONE of them have a strong friendship with her. They just say she’s amazing because she takes them places and shit. Not because they actually want to spend time with her. What are Yaz’s reasons to be there? She wanted to be more than just a cop that gave tickets, she wanted to help people, yet she just…left? And she has mentioned being a cop like, once since then. How does this make any sense?

Ryan was supposed to have dyspraxia, which hasn’t been mentioned since the bike thing, I think. It would have been great to see this being an actual part of his character and seeing him coping with it whilst traveling around in space and having dangerous adventures. But nope, they completely forgot about it, as well as his Youtube channel. Also, what are his motivations, his ambitions? Why is he there? In Can You Hear Me? we learn about his friend’s struggles with mental health, but again, shouldn’t it have had more impact coming from Ryan? A character we are supposed to care about at this point?

As for Graham, like I said, he’s the one with a more formed personality. He’s a goofball, he worries about the “kids” of the group, he’s a father figure. Great. But the problem is they presented him as wanting to travel with the Doctor to get over his grief, but they hardly show any of it. And there wasn’t any hint throughout the first season of him having any sort of thirst for revenge, so him wanting to kill Tim Shaw just came out of nowhere. But my biggest problem this season, was when he was opening up with the Doctor about his fear of his cancer returning and she just… said: “I’m sorry, I’m still socially awkward”???? WHAT THE ACTUAL HELL? There’s been plenty of times that we’ve seen this awkwardness. It is ALL we’ve ever seen from this Doctor. This was NOT the time to say this. This could have been a beautiful way for them to connect, to show more of the Doctor’s emotional side, yet what we got was a “suffer in silence bro, I’m so awkward lol”. REALLY? The Doctor has always shown compassion. Even if they don’t understand what their companions are going through, they are always there for them. Why would the writers think this was a good idea? It’s infuriating. 

I’ve been watching a LOT of Youtube videos talking about why Chibnall’s run has been a disaster. I really liked one called “Is the Doctor a hypocrite?”, by B-WHERE. In the video, they essentially say that this Doctor’s moral compass is a mess. In Arachnids in the UK, for example, she somehow thinks locking up all of the spiders and letting the queen die suffocating is more humane than just killing them quickly, which is what the villain does in the end. Ummm? Okay? Listen, the Doctor has always faced difficult moral decisions, even scary ones, like in the Family of Blood two-parter. But as the video says, they’ve never claimed to have moral superiority. And maybe this could have been a more distinctive flaw in the character, a flaw that maybe her companions saw and disagreed with. Like Ten’s wake up call at the end of Waters of Mars. But no. Again, it’s just plain shitty writing.

Ok. Now... The Timeless Children. Jesus Christ. There are so, so many reasons this was the worst thing to ever happen to Doctor Who, but y’all are probably wishing for this rant to be over, so I’ll just mention two.

In over fifty years, we’ve NEVER needed an origin story for The Doctor. The show is called “Doctor Who” for a reason, the question that should never be answered. And they just go and shit all over one of the most beloved sci-fi shows of the twentieth century in a single episode. Again, this is mentioned in several videos, but I thought the same thing right after watching the episode: making the Doctor another “chosen one” goes against everything the show represented. The Doctor was an ordinary alien who was not very good at the Academy, ran away with a stolen TARDIS because he disagreed with the Time Lords way, and couldn’t even control where the TARDIS would go at first. The Doctor is an idiot in a box. The Doctor helps because he wants to; because it’s decent and kind. ANYONE could be like the Doctor. And now, it turns out he’s always been special. The Doctor is the reason why Time Lords regenerate. The character is basically a god now. Why is this a bad thing? This changes EVERYTHING, and yet, it WILL CHANGE NOTHING going forward. Ruth’s Doctor says so herself, it doesn’t change who the Doctor is. Oh, but it does. It changes who the Doctor WAS. None of it matters now, none of their sacrifices, it meant nothing. That’s what makes this so heartbreaking. And I had so much faith in this season. I actually enjoyed a few episodes, like Nicola Tesla’s Night of Terror. I thought they were going down the right path. But Chris Chibnall has ruined my favorite show in just one episode. My only comfort is that there’s still plenty of Classic Who episodes I haven’t watched. Those will be the ones I’ll look forward to. 

(Also, that’s nOT HOW REGENERATION WORKS! IT DOESN’T BRING TIME LORDS BACK TO LIFE! IT HEALS/PREVENTS THEM FROM DYING WHEN THEY’RE IN PHYSICAL DANGER. GOD, CHRIS, WHY ARE YOU SO STUPID!) Okay, rant over, deep breaths. Thanks for reading!

[ciestessde]

NOT My Hero Academia: Part 1 – Ch.10

Iida and Uraraka had saved a seat for me, and I took it just as the next match began.

"THE WAIT IS OVER!! MOVING ON… THERE THEY ARE! THE CREAM OF THE CROP!! YET THIS GUY'S SOMEHOW STILL AS PLAIN AS THEY COME!" Todoroki's intense focus was a stark contrast to Sero's relaxed stretching. "HANTA SERO OF THE HERO COURSE! VERSUS… THE BEST OF THE BEST! THE STRONGEST OF THE STRONG! SHOTO TODOROKI, ALSO OF THE HERO COURSE!!" Sero continued to stretch, raising his arms above his head. "START!"

Suddenly, Sero's stretch became an attack -- as tape shot out of his elbows, trapping Todoroki. "HE'S TRYING TO PUSH HIM OUT WITH A SURPRISE ATTACK!! IT'S PROBABLY THE BEST STRATEGY FOR HIM! SERO'S GIVING IT HIS ALL!!" But even more suddenly, even while being flung close to the edge of the arena-

-half of the stadium was covered in ice!

There was a tense, shocked silence for a few moments, before cries of "Good try!" started coming from the stands. "SERO IS IMMOBILIZED!!" 'That's an understatement,' I thought. Then noticed something.

Watching Todoroki thaw Sero out of the ice with his left hand, I couldn't help it. 'Todoroki… seems sad. I wonder why?'

.

It took the staff a few minutes, but eventually… "WITH THE ARENA ALL THAWED OUT, IT'S TIME FOR THE NEXT MATCH!! THE SPARKLING, KILLING BOY FROM THE HERO COURSE! DENKI KAMINARI!!"

I jerked in sudden realization. 'Aw, no! I'M MISSING IT!' Scrambling, I pulled out my U.A. hero notebook. Number Fourteen.

"VERSUS… A PASSIONATE, MANLY FIGHTER AS HARD AS ROCK. ALSO FROM THE HERO COURSE, IT'S EIJIRO KIRISHIMA!" Notebook and pencil now in hand where they belonged, I watched the match intently -- while also trying to catch up with what I'd noticed from the previous match! "START!!"

Kirishima managed to dodge Kaminari's first attack by jumping. But the second one… "Kirishima is down! But…" Midnight announced from the arena, "Kaminari is out of bounds! The winner is Kirishima!"

Murmuring, my writing became frantic. "I thought Kaminari's quirk would be stronger, but Kirishima managed to endure long enough to push him out of the ring. I wonder, was it his hardening? Or was Kaminari holding back so he didn't lose his ability to think?" Uraraka leaned over, glancing at my notebook. "Your match just ended, but you're already thinking ahead, huh." "ACK!" I jumped, snapping out of my murmured analysis.

"Huh?! Nah, I'm just…! Well, you could call this a hobby of mine…" I tried to hide my blush with my hand. It wasn't working. "We finally have the chance to see everyone's quirks in action…" Then I remembered. "Oh! Right." I started flipping through the notebook. "I've got everything you'd need to know about Class A in here. Even your 'Zero Gravity,' Uraraka. And, well…"

Settling on a page, I held it out for her to look at. "You need a counter-strategy for Kacchan. One that works against his quirk. So I thought I'd offer-" "-Deku…" "..." Uraraka had on a polite smile. '…Why does that make my heart hurt?' "… I thought you were amazing since the day we met, but… this Sports Festival… has brought you to a whole other level." '...? What's she…?' "But…" There it was. Her smile was more genuine now, though, as she looked down at the arena. Filled with purpose -- and that fire from when they first announced the Festival. "Everyone here is fighting for their futures! Doesn't that make us all rivals?

"So… That's why I have to say… Thanks, Deku… But…" She turned back to me with a close-eyed smile. "That's okay. I'll see you in the finals!" "MOVING ON… WHO'S NEXT IN THE BATTLE FOR THE TOP?" Sitting next to each other -- after a conversation like that -- was… a little awkward. But… also somehow kinda nice, I thought. "THE FIRST ROUND'S JUST UNDER HALF OVER!! NEXT UP IS TENYA IIDA OF THE HERO COURSE! VERSUS… COVERED HEAD-TO-TOE IN SUPPORT ITEMS… MEI HATSUME OF THE SUPPORT COURSE!" '…! It's that goggles girl!'

There was some conflict over whether Iida using Mei's support items was against the rules or not, which allowed me to catch up with my notes. Eventually, Midnight decided that, since both parties were fine with it, it was okay. But I had to wonder, 'Would that goggles girl -- Mei? -- really share her equipment… to be fair? '…No. I think she's… '

"START!"

And I was right. The match ended up being a ten minute game of tag that doubled as a play-by-play sales pitch of each of Mei's support items. It ended when the jetpack Iida was wearing activated and, combined with the momentum of his running, launched him out-of-bounds. "Iida is out of the ring! And, since there's an uneven number of matchups… Hatsume moves immediately to the third round!!"

I had to admit, Mei's equipment was impressive. 'I should get in touch with her later. See what else she has… I almost wish I'd taken her offer!'

"Iida is just way too serious." Uraraka was on the verge of laughing. "It wasn't hard for her to get him to play her game…" "No kidding. She has a real mind for strategy, huh?" Uraraka got up, suddenly sober. "Right… I'd better get to the prep room." I looked up from my notes, then, to wish her good luck.

I watched her go, wondering what her strategy was against Kacchan. 'Well… there are two more matches before hers.' I turned back to my notes. 'And she's had plenty of time to think, before now. …Yeah. Uraraka can handle herself.'

Mina won her match by damaging Aoyama's belt with her acid (and punching him), and Tokoyami simply overpowered Momo, pushing her out of the ring. I felt only a little sorry for Momo. Tokoyami was an extremely strong opponent in a one-on-one match, admittedly. And he hadn't given Momo much time to use the objects she'd created. But seeing as those objects had, apparently, been a shield and staff…? I didn't like her chances, even if she had been given an opportunity to use them.

Finally… "FOR THE LAST MATCHUP OF THE FIRST ROUND… A CELEBRITY SINCE HIS MIDDLE SCHOOL DAYS, WITH A FACE ONLY A MOTHER COULD LOVE… IT'S KATSUKI BAKUGO OF THE HERO COURSE!! VERSUS… MY PERSONAL PICK!! OCHAKO URARAKA, ALSO OF THE HERO COURSE! START!"

Uraraka charged Kacchan. '...! She might just-' And he exploded a palm directly in her face, too fast for Uraraka to dodge. '... pull this off…'

As the match went on, I caught on to what Uraraka was doing. Using the rubble as a sort of bomb attack was super clever, but…! "... Uraraka," Midnight announced, " …is unable to continue." … Uraraka collapsed after only one attempt at the technique. "Bakugo moves on to the second round!"

Midnight crouched over the exhausted girl. "OH, POOR URARAKA… TAKEN DOWN BY BAKUGO IN THE FIRST ROUND." "If you're going to be an announcer, then do it right…" Aizawa criticized. Present Mic ignored him, "GET IT TOGETHER, EVERYONE." "You're making this way too personal…" "THE FIRST ROUND IS NOW OVER!! WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE SECOND AFTER A QUICK BREAK!"

'Such an extreme self-sacrificing strategy… Uraraka!!' I thought, making my way to the prep room for my second match, 'If only her weight capacity were higher… or… Yeah. She might've been able to corner him if…'

Kacchan came up one of the stairways as I was passing by. I elected to ignore him, but- "You helped her come up with it, didn't you. That freaking self-sacrificing scheme of hers." Kacchan stopped at the top of the stairs.

… I stopped walking and faced him. "You caused me a lot of trouble out there…"

"-No. I didn't. That was all Uraraka." I interrupted. "… If that was 'a lot of trouble' for you… then that was all Uraraka messing with you." Kacchan just stared at me. "... Congrats on your win," I turned my back to Kacchan, "See you-"

"-What's up with you?" "Hm?" I turned back. Kacchan growled, stomping up to me, "Ever since you got in to this place, you've been freaking weird. Weirder than usual…" He grabbed me by the collar. "So I'm askin' yah -- What's going on with you?"

We stood like that for a moment. The sound of the crowd cheering, my face unreadable. 'Shouldn't I be scared? That plant's effects are gone. But…' I glared at Kacchan. 'No. I'm not scared. Because…'

I grabbed Kacchan's arm- "Let go of me… Bakugo." -and twisted it. "Guh-" With a small grimace, Bakugo released me.

Without another word, without looking back, I continued walking to the prep room.

But not my prep room.

.

Uraraka, having changed out of her uniform, sat at a table. When she spotted me come in the doorway, she beamed at me like usual. "Guess I lost. I just got carried away at the end when I thought I could actually win…" I walked up to her, looking her over skeptically. " Uraraka… Are you hurt?" "I'm good! Well, I'm healing bit by bit, so my stamina doesn't get drained. Just these little scrapes left." Her expression did a 180. Her face scrunched up and she growled. "But darn it! I couldn't put a scratch on him. Guess I just gotta try harder next time!"

"... I-" I hesitated, not wanting to impose on her -- or waste my own prep time. "I need to go prep, but…" "Hm?" "I just… wanted to say -- I think you should focus on combat." Uraraka blinked at me. "What makes you say that…?" "Well -- it's just-" "-Oh!" She smiled brightly, "Does this have to do with that strategy you came up with for me?" "Uh… Kinda." I looked away from her. I could stand up to Kac- to Bakugo, but being close to Uraraka still made me blush. "If you had more hand-to-hand combat training, you might've been able to get close enough to Bakugo to touch him and make him float…"

Uraraka stared at me, her eyes slowly lighting up and becoming even brighter. "I-I-I ummm…" I was looking anywhere but at her. "I'll let you borrow my notebook later, but Ireallyneedtogettothepreproom,bye!!"

I all but ran to my prep room.

…

Before I knew it, it was time for what I knew would be my biggest challenge yet.

"BOTH OF THESE COMPETITORS HAVE WON TOP MARKS IN THIS FESTIVAL SO FAR!!" During the Cavalry Battle, I'd been able to just run away. Same with the race, in a way. But now… "BUT THERE'S ONLY ROOM FOR ONE OF THESE GREATS IN THE RING!" Now I'd have to fight him head-on.

"IT'S… MIDORIYA VERSUS TODOROKI!!"

'As soon as he says it -- I can't afford to hesitate…!' "START!!" Immediately, I leaped as far to my right -- Todoroki's left -- as possible, aimed-

-and used the new tool Master gave me for the first time in this competition.

The place where I was just standing was, predictably, now covered in a wall of ice. And I hadn't dodged completely. Despite my best efforts, and being completely prepared for it, my feet were frozen. I couldn't move…!

"WHOAAA!! WHAT JUST HAPPENED?! I DIDN'T SEE A THING. HAS THE MATCH BEEN DECIDED?" It took a few seconds for the mist to clear. When it did, Midnight looked at both contestants -- and walked up to Todoroki.

"Todoroki and Midoriya are both immobilized… But-" I was grinning. I knew. I could practically see a recording of the fight in my mind. Me jumping, Todoroki firing his ice, me firing a knockout-bullet in Todoroki's face -- and Todoroki collapsing before my feet froze. "-Todoroki was immobilized first… Midoriya… moves on to the third round!!"

"-Yes! … ehem." "WHAT HAPPENED TO 'DON'T MAKE IT PERSONAL'?" Present Mic jeered at Aizawa.

.

Waiting for my feet to be thawed, I listened to the audience. After their reaction to me winning against Shinso… "That Midoriya…" "He should've gotten straight up blown away!" "Did Todoroki not have a plan, or…?"

'So…' My heart sank.

'It's the same.'

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

All For One grinned.

"Did Todoroki even want to win? Or was he trying to lose?" "Either way, Todoroki sure has some impressive power…" "Midoriya's got moxie, for sure, but…" "Todoroki put up such a good show through the cavalry battle, c'mon!"

The "audience" seemed to be having the effect he'd hoped. That is, if the boy's expression was anything to go by. He turned away from the screen, "He actually made it past that prodigy… Well, then. Time to begin the next phase, Kurogiri."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[Beginning]

[Previous Chapter] - [Next Chapter]

Read my original book, Crossroad of Infinity for free right here on Tumblr, on my website, or on AO3!

[missfaber]

author interview

I was tagged by @orangeflavoryawp, thank you so much! 

I already know I’m going to enjoy this way too much, writing is such a lonely endeavor and I just love talking about it, sooo... I apologize in advance for rambling. 

name: Madeline/Maddie 

fandoms: this is complicated because there’s fandoms I very much consider myself a part of because they’re just a huge part of my life, even though I don’t contribute content to them, and then there’s fandoms I do create content for. So idk where the line is drawn! 

fandoms I contribute/ have contributed to: Avatar the Last Airbender, Game of Thrones, Merlin BBC, Once Upon a Time, Legend of Korra

fandoms I haven’t contributed to but are so dear to me: Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings (my two favorite things ironically lol), and lots more 

where you post: AO3, used to be ff.net and livejournal too

most popular one shot: by kudos, it’s as if death itself was undone (zutara, atla: katara wakes up to azula in their house and wants to find out a) why she is welcome b) why zuko is acting so weird) 

most popular multichapter: by kudos, it’s soldier, go bravely on (jonsa + gendrya, got, complete, rewrite of the last episode of got with sweetness and angst and action, and may i say some common sense?)

favorite story you wrote: fuck omg this is difficult lol! because I both criticize and love all my stories in equal measure, I honestly don’t write anything that i don’t love, that doesn’t give me butterflies / actual chest pain (from angst). I feel like I’m being asked to choose a favorite child lol. so I’ll try to justify these picks somehow... 

closest to my heart: soldier, go bravely on (also mentioned above). this is the fic that brought me back to writing fic, and to tumblr even! I was on hiatus (that I didn’t know was a hiatus because I had no intention of coming back) for six years before writing this fic. I wrote it so quickly after the got finale, it was such a passionate and fevered few days and it just sucked me back in to everything I used to love as a teenager. It was also a nice stretch out of my comfort zone, because of the dialogue (which was so tightly planned it’s ridiculous, I wrote the whole fic as a screenplay type thing first to make sure there wasn’t a single dialogue word not needed) and tv-episode style. It’s also such a wish-fulfillment fic that I can’t read certain parts without getting a bit teary. for all those reasons and more, this fic will always be so special to me. 

most proud of: wolf, circle north (jonsa, got, alternate season 7 & 8). this is the longest fic I’ve ever attempted and the number I’ve hours I’ve sunk into it is astounding and i should be ashamed.  It’s going to be obscenely long (my outline is 70+ chapters) and when I pull it off, best believe it’s going into a bound book so I can look at how thicc it is and be like, “I did that!” lol. The range of POVs is one of the most challenging but most rewarding part of this fic, and why I’m so proud of it. This is another wish-fulfillment fic for me, not just because it’s another fix-it fic but because I have been writing bits and pieces of this fic for about three years. I kept thinking of jonsa scenarios and little scenes I would have loved to see after season 6 and writing them in a little secret doc, just for me, as I never thought I’d write fic again. After writing “soldier” i had already broken my hiatus and I realized this fic was an actual possibility, so I put it out into the world. I couldn’t be more happy that I did that. Not only did it give me the chance to be in such an excellent, lovely fandom, but the feedback I get is so validating after having this be my secret little project for so long.  

most formative: Coffee & Cigarettes, (merthur, merlin bbc) I’m ashamed to list this and the merthurs reading this 100% want to kill me for having the audacity because it’s incomplete and hasn’t been updated since 2013 when there’s only one chapter left so what’s my excuse?  I call this the most formative for me because until I published this I didn’t really have a fic that people followed and liked, eagerly awaited updates for, and commented regularly on. I was writing a lot of one-shots and atla stuff on tumblr (I used to RP lmao I was like 15 ok?) This was the first time I experienced so many fic-life things, like being excited to get AO3 emails, etc. This was the first time I started to really focus on character which is so important to me now, my writing is completely character driven. Not to mention Merlin and Arthur’s dumbassery and sheer attraction and denial is just... *chef’s kiss* 

guiltiest pleasure: my recent foray into nedsei, who am I??? one more word and you won’t survive, just international hate sex

story you were most nervous to post: ummm idk I’m usually excited not nervous, since for me fic writing is just fun, I write things I’d enjoy reading and that I’m proud of. I read my own fics more than anyone else does, I guarantee it. am I a narcissist? who knows I guess I’ll say “soldier” again because I hadn’t posted fic in six years.

how you choose your titles: wow the hardest part of fic writing for me!!!!! thanks!!!!! lol. Okay so for my work titles, which are always terrible and I literally regret them immediately after posting, it’s usually just some words I play around with and string together that are somewhat thematic and related to the work... they’re always terrible lmao, I hate making titles. I mean, look at “soldier, go bravely on” and “wolf, circle north” for god’s sake, I hate them lmao. But I have to pick a title to post, so!!! For chapter titles and one-shots I’ll usually go with a song lyric, and especially for my chapter titles I spend so long seeking out the perfect one that reflects some thematic or emotional content of the chapter somehow. I’m very proud of my chapter titles for wolf, circle north. I have a doc on my scrivener just for chapter titles that I created in the very early stages of writing it, where I just dumped HUNDREDS of song lyrics that I thought I might use. Then by them I wrote some scenarios where they could work. here’s a screenshot:

It’s so helpful now. Sometimes posting an update will take an hour more than necessary because of me going through that doc, finding the perfect lyric. 

do you outline: OH, DO I OUTLINE... Hell Yeah, I outline. I couldn’t live without outlining. I love outlining. My outlines have outlines. I’m a planner centric, calendar centric, bullet-journal bitch so of course I love outlining. In all seriousness though: I write out of chronological order. I feel my writing is best when I write the scene I’m in the mood to write- unfortunately this scene could be ten chapters down the line from the chapter I’m gonna post next. This is the biggest reason outlining is necessary for me. If I didn’t have an outline, my story would be a non-post-able mess. 

I wasn’t kidding when I said my outlines have outlines. For wolf, circle north I have, um, a few. Character/location centric outlines where I bullet every scene that needs to happen for that plot to happen cohesively (these were all more or less completed before I even started writing the fic), then a “loose” outline that I copy everything from the other outlines into for some semblance of chronological order, then a Polished Final Outline that I write from. I know that sounds psychotic. It’s how my brain works. Some photo evidence/explanation:

And here’s a screengrab of my Final Outline, this is pretty much how it is all the way down- The POV character is italicized in the front, I talk to myself a lot in there, let myself get carried away, will sometimes write out whole segments of the scene if they come to me while outlining. Spoilers for chapters 1-3 of w,cn I guess!!!

Then, because scrivener is awesome, I get to see this outline in the corkboard view (I input every scene as a card) and so I get to see every part of my outline as a Synopsis on the right hand side of the doc where I’m writing the scene:

The POV and status tags (which are completely customizable) on the lower right are helpful too. This post is just a scrivener ad. 

complete: 9 works 

in progress: 4 works

coming soon / not yet started: I have so many fics in the works, I’m an indulgent person so if an idea comes to me I usually go with it for a time. I’ve had a very not-serious Jonsa PLL AU I’ve been writing on and off since summer. I have three different fairytale AUs (also jonsas) I’ve been working on and one time travel AU for @sunbeamsandmoonrays. I can’t say when or if any of these will see the light of day, because my priority is my WIPs and my original writing. But the most prevalent are my Halloween fics (one jonsa, one gendrya, one merthur) which I really want to be able to put out this month, but only if I meet some other goals. I’m trying to rein in my indulgent ass, ya’ll. 

do you accept prompts: no. sorry! but I do workshop ideas with friends, for example the nedsei fic happened that way by talking with @flibbertigiblet. But I don’t take writing prompts in my inbox. 

upcoming story you are most excited to write: my halloween merthur fic. it’s witchy, sassy, and I’m so excited to get back into the heads of these characters.

Tagging! @uchihabat @anniebibananie @noqueenbutthequeeninthenorth @sailorshadzter @vivilove-jonsa and any other lovely writer soul who wants to do this!

[raiswriting]

dancing with your ghost

inspired by this song

warnings: symptoms that are similar to mental health issues like depression but never explicitly stated

genre: pure angst sorry

pairing: lucas/yukhei wong x reader

summary: ummm heartache???? basically the aftermath of a ‘hey let’s pretend to be dating bc i need someone to take to this wedding and you need someone to scare off your ex’ type of story

word count: 1582

a/n: lmao i am reposting this because it absolutely flopped the first time hehehe ALSO i made a playlist to go with this story. the first half or so is the same playlist that is mentioned in the story then the second half is more about the theme of it. i put way too much effort into it but i hope you enjoy it!! 

there was an emptiness that couldn’t be filled

an ache that couldn’t be soothed

a feeling of nostalgia for what never was

honestly you couldn’t be sure if this hole in your chest was a bad thing anymore. you’d grown so used to it that the thought of one day living with out it seemed so fantastical and out of reach. you found a sort of morbid comfort in the sorrow

time has slipped away as routine comfortably took its place. mondays became indistinguishable from wednesday or friday. the only thing separating saturday and sunday from the rest was the lack of work.

your thoughts drifted from the idea of getting up and taking a shower or even just washing your face to the cup of tea that’s been sitting on the coffee table and once more to your phone lying next to it. it lit up with yet another text message to which you would send yet another half-assed response of ‘id love to get together but work has been super busy lately and i need a me weekend.’ you wonder how many more ‘me weekends’ you’d be able to have before someone saw through it.

you just couldn’t have that face to face conversation with any of them. how do you explain that none of it was serious. or that all he needed was someone to take to family get-togethers for when his uncles would ask about his love life. or that you had grown so used to his hand in yours that the emptiness you felt when he wasn’t there scared you. or that you missed him. how could you look someone in the eyes and say that you had not only lost a love but also a best friend. how do you describe that hurt. how do you say that you feel unlovable. how.

you couldn’t say those thoughts aloud because as soon as you did they’d become real. he would really be gone. and happy. and in love. and you would have to admit that you were hurting. you’d have to admit that it was really over.

so instead you lay here on the sofa. and keep it all in. sometimes you can’t help but remember him. and how happy he’d been.

the knock on your door drew your attention from the sheet of cookies ready to go into the oven.

there he stood in the doorway with a smile so bright that it put the stars on the clearest of nights to shame.

‘hey y/n’ he pulled you into a warm embrace. the scent of his cologne was intoxicating. strong and inviting, the prefect reflection of his personality.

‘hey lucas. i wasn’t expecting to stop by today.’

‘yeah i just wanted to share some good news with you. like really good news. like i came here as fast as I could kind of news.’ he spoke so excitedly as he followed you back into the kitchen.

‘well spit it out,’ you reply while placing the sheet of cookies in the oven.

‘i found someone,’ his smile wider than ever.

you almost dropped the sheet of cookies as you took in what he said. you knew this day would come. the day he would find someone to actually love and care for. the day he no longer needed you. but still you hoped and prayed that maybe there was something there. maybe the secret touches shared between just the two of you actually meant something. that maybe he’d choose you.

he didn’t.

‘so get this. i was walking into the coffee shop on seventh street that me and you usually go to. and i bumped into this gorgeous girl and spilled her whole coffee so i offered to buy her a new one.’ he rubbed the back of his neck and looked to the floor. ‘so cheesy and cliché i know. but y/n this girl. we talked and talked and she made everything seem to….right. when I looked into her eyes i just felt…’ he sighed and leaned against the counter.

‘…like everything just seemed to make sense for once.’ you finished the sentence for him as you checked on the cookies.

‘yeah exactly’ he didn’t even try the hide his love struck expression. it was clear as day that he was really falling. ‘when i talked to her it was so easy. almost as if we knew each other for years.’

we did.

you looked him in the eyes for the first time since he broke the news and forced a smile to your face. you couldn’t even fathom the idea of ruining this for him.

‘lucas im ecstatic for you.’

‘really?’

‘of course. if there’s anyone who deserves true love and happiness in life, it’s you.’ and you meant that. it just hurts that he found it in someone else.

‘and hey. at least now you actually have someone to take to all your family functions.’

he chuckled lightly, ‘yeah you’re right. i don’t know if your cheeks could handle another one if aunt maya’s pinches.’

‘the pinches i could handle,’ you say as you forced a laugh out, ‘but I’d have to buy a gym membership if i had another dinner at your parents house.’

‘it’s not my fault mom loves insisting on third helpings’ this time he let out a full real laugh, remembering all the shared glances between the two of you at a dinner table. wondering how you could possibly eat another slice of meatloaf.

‘we can celebrate your new found love with some cookies, if you’d like. they should be done in a minute or two.’

the smile dropped slightly from his face. ‘oh y/n. i’d love to really but i promised angelina that i’d meet her again for coffee. i just stopped by the tell you the good news.’

‘of course, of course. you should get going then. a love like this comes around once in a life time.’ and who am i to stand in the way of someone living their lifetime.

lucas cast a sympathetic look before pushing himself off of the counter and embracing you once more.

‘thank you for everything y/n. seriously. you’ve helped me out so much. if you need anything let me know.’ his cologne was still so strong. and it hurt to know that someone else was going to experience it like this.

‘that’s what best friends are for lucas. you’ll be the first person i call when im sick and throwing up everywhere.’

you could feel him chuckle lightly before placing a kiss on the top of your head.

‘you got it y/n.’

the door shut, leaving you alone.

your hands shook as you took the cookies out of the oven and set the tray in the stove top. they shook as you turned it off. they shook as you took off the oven mits. they shook as you ran them down your face only to find them wet with tears. and they shook as you lowered yourself to the kitchen floor.

your hands were steady now and found their way to that playlist like muscle memory. you had long since deleted all the photos of you and him. but you just couldn’t find the strength to delete this. he had made it for you before the whole fiasco of pretending to be together had ever crossed either of your minds. he said that ‘these song remind me of us.’ and maybe you had gotten your own hopes up. maybe you had searched too deeply between the lines of lyrics. maybe you looked so hard that you had only found what you wanted to. because they were just songs. songs of bad timing and unrequited love. but at the end of the day still. just. songs.

as they played throughout the room. filling the stale silence as your body began to move, lifting you from the couch. your gaze landing on the sweater which rested on the arm of a chair. it was his. he had left it accidentally when spending the night here one time. you had meant to give it back for some time now but haven’t been able to. everytime you had gained the courage to call him and ask him over, he was busy. eventually you stopped calling. and he stopped texting. stopped checking in. so there the sweater sits. still smelling of him.

your body began to move once more reaching out for it and pulling it close to you. maybe if you breathed in enough of his scent, it’d feel like he was here with you again. of course it didn’t but it was as close you could get.

your hips swayed to the rhythm. as your feet worked their way around the living room. stepping over pillows and discarded take out. you danced for the first time in what felt like years. you felt the tears fall but paid them no mind. still clutching the article of clothing impossibly close to you, you sang along with the lyrics.

Yelling at the sky

Screaming at the world

Baby, why’d you go away?

I’m still your girl

Holding on too tight

Head up in the clouds

Heaven only knows

Where you are now

I stay up all night

Tell myself I’m alright

Baby, you’re just harder to see than most

I put the record on

Wait ‘til I hear our song

Every night I’m dancing with your ghost

Every night I’m dancing with your ghost

a/n: there it is. i was listening to this song today and got super inspired and just had to write. there’s also a reference to a hobo johnson song if you can find it ;) thanks for reading. let me know if you’d like a prequel to this when reader and lucas were together. i hope you enjoyed and pls feel free to leave constructive criticism. thanks, rai :)

[nochuuuenthusiast]

period necessities

sorry i haven’t posted much this week... as i said earlier, i was super super busy this past week but i’m back! so hopefully i’ll be able to upload a lot more next week

*please feel free to request in my inbox if you have any suggestions :)

*also... just to clarify things: the regular italicized words are Jungkook’s thoughts; the italicized words that are in the dotted spots are flashback memories.

plot: you ask him if he can buy you some pads because you ran out

genre: fluff fluff fluff

word count: 1077

Jungkook was at the closest convenience store near his apartment. You said you were craving some popcorn and ice cream and although it took you a few minutes of begging to get him to agree (he was playing his video games... as per usual), he was here to complete your request.

He walked down the small ice cream aisle and concentrated on each shelf to find your favorite ice cream flavor. He came across one of your least favorite ice cream flavor: plain vanilla.

I still can’t believe she doesn’t like vanilla... He shook his head and chuckled as he remembered the conversation you guys had had on your first date when he bought you ice cream.

“What do you want?” he asked you.

“Ummm... I don’t really care as long it’s not vanilla,” you said confidently as you looked at all the other ice cream flavors.

“Oh my gosh... you don’t like vanilla?” he said as he turned his head towards you, taken aback. “Everyone likes vanilla... everyone.”

“Well not me... I don’t know... it’s too plain and simple... it’s too... basic...”

He smiled at your cuteness... you took ice cream flavors so seriously... he’d never met someone like you before... it was astounding.

He smiled and was mischievously planning on buying that pint of vanilla ice cream just to make you mad, but he abandoned that plan when he could almost picture the glare that you would give him if he did that.... on purpose.

Jungkook browsed through the ice cream flavors again and instantly grabbed the pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream when he noticed it. The same memory came into mind....

“So what DO you like?” he asked you as he laughed at your response.

“Ahaha... well... my favoriteeee ice cream flavor has to be mint chocolate chip.... I know... I know... don’t judge me.... people always criticize me for it,” you said and looked up at him to see if he would respond well.

“Nonono... I like mint chocolate chip too! Ahaha that’s funny... people always criticize me for it too...especially Namjoon hyung...”

“Oh really? Then let’s get mint choco chip” you said, smiling at the coincidence.

Jungkook walked out of the aisle with the bag of butter popcorn in one hand, the ice cream under his arm, and his wallet in the other hand. He was next in the cashier line until...

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Jungkook struggled to take his phone out of the back pocket of his jeans. He looked down and stared at the bright screen.

(y/n)?

“Hello?”

“Oppa... I know why I was craving all that junk food...”

“Huh? Why?”

“My period’s back... and I don’t have any more pads... did you leave the store yet?”

“You called me just in time... I’ll get them for you,” he said as he stepped out of his place in the line.

“Ahhh thank you so much... hurry please~ and also can you get the gr---”

“The green pads that come in a 24 pack? Yeah... I got it,”

He heard you chuckling on the other line.

“How do you know?” you asked, amused and slightly shocked at the same time.

“I’m your boyfriend. We go shopping together. And I’m observant. Of course I know,” he said.

“All right... well come back quickly... bye!”

“Mmmm, I’ll be there soon,” he said as he ended the call.

Jungkook went through another aisle that was designated towards all the feminine products for women. He found the green pads that you always used and decided to get some painkillers as well... he had a feeling that you were going to get a cramp in the following days.

Aish... no wonder she looked like she was going to die if I didn’t buy her the popcorn and ice cream.

He smiled to himself and headed back to the line.

“(y/n)~ I’m back,” he called out to you as his puppy pounced towards him, excited to see that he had returned.

“Ooh~ finally...” you said as you rushed to get the plastic bag out of his hand.

“Wow, I don’t even get a ‘thank you’?” He smiled and watched you search through the bag for the pads.

“Thank you~ sorry... I’m kinda busy right now... my emergency pad isn’t gonna last for long,” you say. You found what you were looking for and walked to the bathroom as fast you as could.

Jungkook put the ice cream in the freezer and lifted his puppy to sit on the sofa in his living room. After a minute or two, you joined him in the living room and sat next to him with the ice cream and popcorn in your hands.

“Ahaha how did you know I’d want mint choco chip?” you questioned him while you put the bag of popcorn next to you and opened the pint of ice cream.

“Because I’m the best boyfriend in the world and I can read you like a book.”

You gave him your infamous glare and he laughed when he saw the striking look that you were directing towards him. He watched you as you grabbed a big spoonful of the ice cream.

“Can I have some?” he asked.

“No. This is mine,” you said rather defensively... you lifted you gaze to make sure that he wasn’t going to steal any of your ice cream.... you were always very protective and selfish when you were on your period and there wasn’t a good explanation of it besides: hormones.

Jungkook was teasing you since he knew that you didn’t like to share your junk food when you were on your period... it was a rule that he learned at an early stage of your relationship... the hard way.

“Oh yeah... I got you some painkillers too... just in case you get any cramps.” He was texting Jimin as he revealed the extra item that he had bought during his short shopping spree.

“I put it on top of the counter if you need it.”

“Awww... thank you Oppa... I love you~~~”

“If you loved me, you’d share your ice cream with me...” he said... his teasing was never-ending.

You glared at him again. “Ice cream is off bounds,” you said seriously.

He laughed at your adorableness again and turned his attention to his phone again. He was typing something:

“Jimin hyung~ what am I gonna do with myself??? (y/n) is too cute... I can’t handle it...”