#but it was the only thing i could think of for this quote otl

[darqx]

It’s late and i cant think of a title OTL

❗️For commonly asked qs please see my BTD FAQ

FFFFT IF ONLY MY IRL SELF WAS AS PRODUCTIVE AS YOUR DREAM VERSION OF ME, DEAR GOD XDDD

Oh he has a number of Royal duties and that’s mainly running the equivalent of a country lol. So a lot of politicking, making decisions for his sector and that no one but him is fucking with the trade route, getting rid of rabble rousers if needed, fighting any Battle Royale challenges (not often nowadays). That’s not his daily routine obvs but any given day would have something particularly related to the politicking.

I cannot say if Rire would take someone as a Royal Consort but he could. Other Royals have spouses so it’s not like it’s unheard of lol.

My personal opinion is that Rire is like a master to demon!Strade (cos he DID give Rire his soul in this outcome) but also he’s not tugging on his leash all the time because he finds it infinitely more entertaining to let him loose and see what happens.

I have answered before how Rire would be as a father! It’s in this answer dump. To quote here:

Aristocrat dad, when he is around simultaneously kind of strict (has expectations of child) but also school of hard knocks and doesnt care unless you are annoying him so not overbearing. Teaches child essential things like ballroom dancing, manners and how to destroy people.

Also will not hesitate to kill child if they conspire against him so there’s that.

I’ve had a few of these recently and whilst I’ve answered them directly I figured one being placed here might be helpful.

With Rire (and only Rire for me lol) because he's mostly known through BTD - me and Gato decided that as long as people were using their OWN art, then they could sell fan products of our main BTD characs. So, a) as long as someone is only using their own BTD artwork and b) saying where the characters are from/not claiming the characters as their own, then it is ok.

(though, this is just for me and Gato's characs I think - Gato might want to clarify her stance if anything has changed. I don't know what EP's stance on this is)

Hello! To answer your qs, yes Rire is quite partial to that style (not entirely too sure about the age itself per say but some of the aesthetics and culture, which was already a bit similar to his own) :D

I think there are no real “rules” to having oc insert interaction, unless you are trying to be very true to the source material lol. After all, oc insert is mainly to have fun with an existing concept right? :) With BTD, since the “au” was already like a smash bros kind of thing with characs from different universes (ie Rire from my BP au, Strade from Gato’s TINR au, Sano from whatever EP was working on), there’s kind of almost...nothing that can’t be shoved in XD. This is because whatever rules that apply for our individual aus don’t apply to the BTD one. So if you wanted to have fun with your god/deity oc then you can if you really want ✌🏻

Rire’s reaction to one would really depend on the power level of said god/deity. If he calculates that he has a very low chance of say beating them in a fight, then he would probably make sure their paths do not cross often. If they are of around equal power or he is more powerful, then his actions wouldn’t change much from what we have seen from him already. He is always making sure he gets the best outcomes from things.

(A realm for souls huh? That might be interesting for Rire considering he is a soul stealer/soul eater demon haha!)

I do not, sorry ~

[maria-ruta]

💐🎵 for veronica?

link to questions meme

💐 BOUQUET - create a bouqet for them! what do those flowers mean? are any of the flowers their particular favourite?

I'm not a flower expert and don't know too much about the flower meanings but,,,

I guess you could always go with Rose/s for Veronica! since she is a toreador and it's their clan symbol

she is pretty much like rose - pretty but has sharp torns and all that

BUT you could also give her Queen of the Night, because wouldn't THAT be such a flattery hoho

also fun fact

Gregory, a man who used to be a dragon (fairy chimera in the shape of red dragon, to be exact) who Veronica and Charlie had a duel with, came to Rene's house after the duel to have negotiation with and also to meet Veronica and give her a gift - an extremely poisonos flower, trapped in a glass ball. Very extravagant and expensive gift...

He said something about the flower being as beautiful as dnagerous, just like Veronica (i dont remember the exact quote lol). Because during the battle at the duel Veronica was able to notice his weak spot on his neck and was attacking him furiously there, so he probably thought of her as a dangerous oponent (he didnt know she was almost out of blood points and probably wouldnt last long unless Charlie hasn't unleashed the demon from the sword he had but shhh)

Veronica wasn't fan of him or his gift and didn't want to see his face at all but she accepted a gift anyway, because if this man was to become Rene's new buisness partner, she didn't want to make things worse

🎵 MUSIC NOTE - what is their playlist like? their favourite artists? do you associate a particular song with them?

im also not an expert on music eitherrr fdhgfjgfjgfjfd

UNLIKE VERONICA!!!! whos very much into music! actually her toreador weakness is that she can become hypnotized/zoned out by good music! (which lead to unexpected conclusion that she either would be hypnotized by her own singing... or she doesn't consider her singing good.... so there is a little angsty note(lol) to that - Veronica never thinks her singing is good enough... because she never became a singer, how she dreamed... even tho her singing IS very good... she doesnt feel it :') )

I think Veronica likes lots of different music genres, from opera singing to rock and pop etc

i cant be specific bc im dum dum when it comes to music, singers, and music history OTL unlike Veronica! typical case of "my character is smarter than me" kind of shit hahaha

NOW TO THE SONGS THAT REMIND ME OF VERONICA HAHA YAY (ill put under read more so i dont take too much of your dash)

the curse - as the vampirism and beast and bloodthirst and such

love profusion - Veronica's relationship with her sire (she got them under her skin... quite literally haha). Especially fits well with the begining of it - when she was embrased and there is no resurection :')

bye bye baby - Veronica leaves her sire and joins anarchs

teach me to fight - her anarch years basically (also the closest of what i imagine her voice be.. i never was good at imagining character's voices alas U_U )

shut up and drive - perfect vibes for Veronica's driving (and not only) hahaha

cold souls - that's actually song not so much for Veronica but for her sire when he found her dying and had impulsive desision to embrace her. I wrote more about it here

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR QUESTION!!!! FINALLY I GOT TO SHARE VERONICAS SNGS WITH YOUUUU <3

[terris-mayweather]

Echo VN update #5;

(I’m in tears and crying because I wrote this entire thing and was getting ready to post it, just looking over and seeing if I had any additional thoughts, but my cat jumped on my desktop, turning off the computer, and I lost everything I said and now it seems like wayyyy too much work to repost it. I want to die. I had written so much! T_T OTL)

Wow... it has been a while... Honestly thought I did another of these, but I guess I got swept away in the story. ANYWAY (this one is going to be all spoilers, and a close approximation of what I said previously that was lost to the cyber planescape of the internet, so apologies if it isn’t as deep as I usually wanted it);

I finished Carl’s route! And wow, what a journey THAT was. First, the nightmare dimension was so interesting and strange! It was like a weird, older reflection of Echo! But not like that much older? I suspect it was an echo (hah!) of the town in the 1900s somewhere. Probably post John hanging... Oof. I’m curious why Echo has this dimension/mirrored reality though. I keep getting more and more questions.

Second, I thought it was a very cool aspect that due to being descendants of James Hendricks and John Begay, Carl and Jenna actually got possessed (kinda’)! However the fact it actually happened is horrible and I hate it entirely. John was particularly stabby though. In fact I actually “lost” my first playthrough and chose to grab Jenna instead of pushing her (I was TERRIFIED pushing her would cause her to stab herself). I get so freaking sad when my authentic choices lead to my demise, because then I’m like: ‘Welp! Guess I’m doomed to fail or die in a situation like this!’ *sigh* anyway!

Third, this hysteria/entity thing itself. I don’t think it’s a hysteria at all and is absolutely supernatural in some way, but I am very curious about the expansion of this, and I want to know what happened in the mines, and why this place has a mirrored reality that you can just snap out of! How does this work?! I also wonder if it worsens the negative traits of all the residents here!

Fourth, I actually started Leo’s route now! I’m like 5 hours into it, Thursday, I think. And WOW. This wolf, while wonderful, is absolutely concerning. I’m worried what we’re going to discover about him as the days go by and worsen! =( To quote a fantastic creator: “His fur is red because of all the red flags!” My man’s got some serious issues hinted at, and I’m anxious since he does seem like a good person at the end of things... But things only get worse as we saw from Carl’s route and I’m morbidly curious how this will translate with Leo. But also, WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH CARL NOW THAT WE’RE NOT WITH HIM?!  Like the birthday party didn’t even happen this time! At least, not in the same way AT ALL!!! Like Carl got freaking lost! But at least we found out he was okay... enough... We know what else happens and I’m curious of the results when we’re not there!! Also oh my god, FLYNN warning us about Leo? And not being a complete asshole about it for all of three seconds as if he was serious? Like my dude... what is up with Leo? I’m fearing the worst at this point, which sucks because it feels like he and Chase could have a caring and legitimate relationship! I gotta’ say, the character writing in this is fucking legendary. But besides that it is super fun. I’ve also enjoyed meeting Mr. Raccoon man himself, Kudzu! He seems like one those dudes that keep themselves locked in a steel cage to keep other people from getting in, and I’m curious what his story is all about. I’m liking him though, since he seems like one of the only other positive influences around Leo besides Chase and maybe Leo’s family? We haven’t gotten much on that end... Either way, I like mystery raccoon!

Fifth, and also all other assorted thoughts! So one thing I noticed quite substantially is that it feels like the other characters are around a lot more with Leo’s route! I really am enjoying that and the little character moments we’re getting. Like the soccer game with Chase, Kudzu, Tj, and Leo, was so fun and genuinely enjoyable to read through! Those moments of happiness really give me much needed life since it offers insights into what COULD be, if all of these people weren’t so fucked up. OH and then also Clint and Duke. These guys are pretty interesting to the story itself! Meeting Duke was a trip since apparently there’s an otter apparition haunting Leo, which wouldn’t be too surprising except then we find out Duke is also seeing this probable Chase ghost thing! Now THAT is super interesting. Shows there’s some intention behind all of this shit. It’s especially interesting considering this is the same Duke that was sober and pointing at us back in Carl’s route! And that ended with his fucking face being blown off! And Clint is absolutely the worst, but it seems like Leo might be actively trying to hurt and make him feel worse, which makes me wonder a lot more about Leo! But I think that concludes the majority of my thoughts for now! There is so many things falling into places, but yet more questions coming up too!!! Echo truly is a delight and I can’t wait to get into the nitty gritty of everyone! 

[incorrectreviewaversequotes]

Vyce: I want that planet to /die/. Make that happen.

Linksano: No!

Vyce: Are you questioning my authority?

Linksano: I'm questioning your objectivity!...my lord.

Vyce: You are out of line.

Linksano: I-I just think--!

Vyce: I'm not interested in the puny thoughts of a scientist. You have disrespected my time with your presence, and you would do well to--

Linksano: But--!

Vyce: Shut your mouth! You have failed at every stage of this mission, and your only chance to redeem yourself is to /obey/ this simple order! You are to leave the Entity to grow! It will tear apart the Earth, and I will take /immense/ satisfaction in erasing that hideous rock off of our star maps! Is that clear?!

Linksano: I won't do it! I can tell you with certainty that there are things on this planet worth protecting!

Vyce: What do you know about the Earth?!

Linksano: Apparently, more than you, you CLOD!

[arrozaurus]

So like, I know Rose is your fav character and all (same tbh), but what do you think of Jasper as a character? I’m only asking cuz I was thinking about how some Jasper fans take offense to Rebecca Sugar’s handling of Jasper or how they don’t like being told that they “need help” if they really, REALLY relate to Jasper. Personally I like her, I thinks she’s interesting, but I don’t relate to her; so seeing fans react so hard to this feels like deja vu to me, cuz this is exactly how people reacted to Rebecca calling Spinel a “toxic person” (like she tried to destroy everyone, literally, all cuz she was hurting over a bad relationship that wasn’t her fault). I don’t see why people get offended over a flawed character, isn’t that what makes them interesting? (Sorry for the chattiness, I just like discussing topics I find interesting. OTL)

to people that don’t know, this is the actual quote jasper fans took offense to btw:

I knew about Cartoon Network's Stop Bullying: Speak Up campaign and began to ask if there was any way I could get in touch with whoever they were working with to craft their messaging. I wanted to speak to the psychologists. Part of this had to do with how much fighting there was among the fan base, which was really distressing for me; I did not know what to do. People would be fighting over characters or stories that, because of the delay in making animation, we would have written, in some cases, several years earlier. We would have boarded these episodes a year before and finished them months before, so I couldn't do anything. When people would say, "I identify with Jasper, so nothing bad can happen to her or else I'm going to think that I'm a worthless person," I didn't know what to do. I wasn't sure how to stop this infighting so I contacted the expert through some of the executives. I said, "I really care about navigating issues responsibly within the show. This is a real problem; cyberbullying is a real problem, and I want to know how to address this."

They put me in touch with Bradley Snyder, Cartoon Network's resident specialist in child well-being and bullying prevention. I learned a lot from him that informed the rest of the show. I had been living in fear, unsure what I should or shouldn't show, wondering, "Is it harmful to be depicting conflict? What's setting a bad example?" And what I learned is that the difference between bullying and interpersonal conflict is that a bully actually actively enjoys hurting someone. And all of a sudden everything became clearer, especially what I was witnessing in the fan base, because I could finally spot the difference between arguments about the story and statements that were meant to cause harm.

i think that jasper fans taking rebecca caring and worrying about doing the right thing and giving fans something they can use to recognize and fight bullying with (someone reaching to help), and turning it into a hateful message alienating them and treating them like sick people (perceiving care as a personal attack or insult, and rejecting it) is THE MOST jasper thing i've ever seen them doing ngl. to some extent it is funny, but it also offers a window to the panorama of insecurity that dominates their mindscape.

jasper is really interesting in the sense that it gives a peak to the profile not of a person that internalizes a singularity of self-contempt and turns it into admiration for others like rose, but one that explodes with an extremely acidic outer critic.

The critic can have two aspects: inner critic and outer critic. The inner critic is the part of your mind that views you as flawed and unworthy. The outer critic is the part that views everyone else as flawed and unworthy. When the outer critic is running your mind, people appear to be too awful and too dangerous to trust.

—From Surviving to Thriving

she is abrasive, judgemental, defensive, unreachable, bitter. she doesn't let herself be helped because she never learned that intimacy and trust can soothe her own loneliness, guilt and shame. her perfectionism irradiates, judging everyone with the same light that she judges herself. this impossible standard she has—white's standard, that is, the total rejection and disgust towards the concept of personhood and the belief that everyone has to fit like a cog in an inhuman supermachine called capitalism—, will always make her feel let down by everyone... and alienated from everyone.

as funny and loveable as i think she genuinely is as a character

i think she is a tremendously well painted and researched picture of a fight-type hybrid from what i know about the topic. fight-types are always hard to deal with and get through... since they tend to scapegoat other people as emotional release and reward. they believe they are right with passion. but its undoubtedly possible for her to break through that bad habit. and it's okay if you need help! you are not incapable or weak for accepting it, jasper!

she is learning.

[feminaexlux]

A Day or 3 in the Life Of...

It was @bloody-no-kissu‘s birthday a week ago (oTL) and I made a Body Swap AU fic for her! Happy (belated) Birthday Bloody! Btw this is Part 1 of 2 🧡

Rated T for a little bit of language I guess

∴

"Hey."

Marinette was still asleep sprawled out over her bed, sheets pushed off.

"Hey, wake up." She felt someone jab her in the side, so Marinette grumbled and turned away from the annoyance. Oddly enough, that other voice sounded like Juleka. "Are you still Marinette?"

Wh-what? Oh no, that's right. Marinette slowly opened her eyes and looked around. She was in Luka's room. In his bed.

In his body. Still.

Which meant that the akuma she defeated yesterday (in Luka's body, that was a surreal experience) wasn't the origin of this problem. She bolted upright, startling Juleka. "Wh-what time is it?!"

"Still Mar, then," Juleka sighed. "It's so weird seeing Lu all… like you, I guess," she mumbled, shaking her head. "Time for class."

"Which class?" Marinette groaned, covering Luka's face with Luka's hands. "Oh god I… I probably… ugh." She needed to… take a shower? Why was Luka's face so itchy? Did Luka need to shave?

Why was Luka's crotch so itchy? Oh no. How did he deal with this every day?

She got a ping on her phone from Luka. They had swapped phones just in case.

Next class is ____, I'll send you directions

Because Luka was in Marinette's body.

This was a very surreal sort of nightmare, but… on one hand Luka seemed very… respectful of the situation. If it had to be anyone, and if it had to be any boy in particular, Marinette had begrudgingly accepted that Luka was the best choice.

Neither Marinette nor Luka answered any calls but they kept sending out texts as needed. For the most part everyone around them didn't find things too strange about either of them. No one but Juleka and Luka's best friend figured it out for Marinette. Surprisingly, Alya immediately picked it up for Luka, but Alya never said a word to anyone else. Alya had followed enough akumas and spoke to enough victims to know that sometimes people were affected in deeply private ways.

But most people didn't notice the switch, which was a relief. Except it was almost heartbreaking that Adrien didn't seem to notice a change.

"Okay, Marinette, you can do this," she said, Luka's voice coming back instead of her own. She still needed to get used to how different his voice sounded when she was in his body.

thanks Luka. Here's my schedule…

how are you doing?

Fine, are you okay?

He seemed to be managing things for her well enough. Marinette wasn't sure if she should be upset or not, but he'd made and sold the excuse that Marinette had caught a cold and was feeling under the weather. That's why "Marinette" had been so… "chillax", as Alya called it.

as ok as we'll be

The only bad thing was he hadn't been nearly as concerned with dressing the part of a Fashion Designer (still in university) as Marinette had hoped for. He had just kinda thrown on whatever seemed comfortable and left her tiny dormitory room. Maybe he might have a better idea today? Marinette wasn't sure. Then again it didn't feel right to expect that from Luka, except for what happened yesterday.

Chloe Bourgouis had stopped him in the afternoon and tried to ridicule him in front of the whole campus. Marinette was there to watch it unfold (mostly because Luka didn't have anything scheduled at the time and Marinette was a natural busybody). Luka stood there calmly listening to Chloe provide a bulleted list of everything that had been such an atrocious fashion faux pas about lame Marinette Dupain-Cheng's choice in clothing.

Luka had looked thoughtful while Marinette was fuming. Chloe couldn't talk to Luka that way! Especially not when he was piloting her body!

Luka (as Marinette) had spoken up after thinking for a few seconds. "Interesting points. I'll consider that. But next time you don't have to be such a bitch about it." He had adjusted the backpack and continued walking off, leaving Chloe and Sabrina (and everyone really) in a relatively stunned silence.

Well, okay, Marinette supposed that was handled… alright. Marinette probably would have sputtered and squawked and made herself look worse but Luka seemed just… observant more than anything.

Now she was just overthinking. She shook her head to refocus on what to do next. Take a shower, get dressed, I should get some breakfast maybe? Head to Luka's class and maybe try to talk with Tikki after to figure out how the heck to break this… curse thing. If it wasn't the akuma yesterday… could it have been another akuma?

Empress was a trickier Butterfly user than Hawkmoth ever was, so maybe Empress had sent out a secondary akuma to wreak havoc more passively while the flashier one took Ladybug (or rather, Red Beetle for Luka's body) and Chat Noir's attention.

God, as if it wasn't hard enough trying to get through university. Now she and Chat Noir had to deal with a villain that was smart enough to use diversionary tactics. She got into Luka's class and sat at the back with Dingo, Luka's best friend. "Hey Dingo," Marinette sighed.

Dingo raised his heart-shaped sunglasses to his forehead and squinted at her. At Marinette in Luka's body. "Hey babes," he said casually. "Still a lil' scrambled, ain'tcha?" Marinette just nodded sadly. "Aww, come on baby girl don't worry. I'm sure Ladybub and Cat Nerd will figure it out!"

"God, I hope so," she said, leaning forward on the desk and dropping Luka's head in his arms. Luka would look like he'd passed out to anyone else but at least Marinette been recording the lessons on her phone for Luka so he'd be able to catch up. That had been what they agreed to when they first found out after waking up that they'd been swapped yesterday morning.

Now that was such a painfully awkward memory. Thankfully Luka was cool enough to accept her pathetic and inane attempt at an excuse to swap earrings. "They're a family heirloom," Marinette had pleaded. "I mean, they mean a whole lot to me! The me me, you know? I… I need to be the one to wear them?"

Marinette ended up being more thankful than anything that it had been Luka that fate had bound her to. He had just nodded and gently took the black studs off, handing it over to her without complaint.

She wasn't going to assume it meant anything more than his taking her word for it. If he knew she'd been Ladybug all this time, that'd… that'd be something, and that something wasn't good. Probably.

Dingo leaned in and whispered "How's Lulu?"

Marinette rolled her eyes. "I thought you and Luka text each other all the time."

"Pfft, like he'd say anything," Dingo snorted. He hid a smile from Marinette. "But you got a way with him, yanno? Maybe that feminine wiles of yours."

"Yeah, like I have any of that right now," Marinette rolled her eyes again. "It's just so awkward though. He's doing so much better than I am and I'm… I just hope I'm not messing anything up for him." She sighed and sat up only to slump down low in the chair.

"You're alright, Mari. Well. Probably. Imma say that maybe this whole body swap thing hopefully won't be permanent or anything you know? Me and Lulu have a gig coming up in a few weeks. You see I'm thinking maybe you didn't pay attention much to his 'guitar lessons'," Dingo had said with air quotes. "Not sure Luka was really teaching you at his best either," he snickered.

"Oh, oh God, I hope it's not permanent! Oh God Dingo why did you have to go and even suggest that?" Marinette groaned, putting Luka's head in Luka's hands. "This is already pretty stressful! Ugh, I wish I knew how to deal with it like Luka does."

Dingo snorted. "Trust me, he's 100% as freaked out as you are."

"No way."

"Yeah? Next time you see him, you take a good look at his hands."

∴

Okay, Marinette wanted to meet up so they could swap notes for the day. This was fine, this was perfectly reasonable. She had wanted to do that yesterday and that went fine, just fine. Everything was just fine.

Luka wasn't going to mention that maybe he spent maybe an hour staring at… himself? Well, okay, at Marinette. He hadn't been sure it'd be comfortable going to bed with her hair still up in pigtails. When he pulled off the hairbands as gently as he could and her hair came undone like it did, it caught his eye and he looked up at the mirror and saw that Marinette was…

Gorgeous, that was the word.

He'd lost his ability to think for a while. She'd never let her hair loose in front of anyone and he had no idea why. He knew she was already pretty and cute and adorable but… something about the loose hair took it up a couple of notches.

So yeah, he wouldn't mention that little detail to her. He'd be seen as kind of a hypocrite after he told her he didn't… didn't really think about her that way. God, why did he say that? "Bodies are bodies, Marinette," he had told her, when she had freaked out about him having to… do anything in the bathroom.

He'd meant it at the time. He'd treat her body like a temple. He did. He really tried to anyway. He just also… appreciated like any good tourist would, maybe? Oh God that was creepy, stop thinking about it Couffaine.

Okay, she was going to get here in a few minutes.

He wasn't going to mention anything about her hair. He wasn't sure how to get it back into the pigtails again but he tied it back in low ponytail. Hopefully she'd be okay with that? He wanted to keep things fairly consistent for her, and he'd never seen her not have her hair tied so he managed a ponytail.

He also tried dressing up, sort of. It hadn't been at all what he intended but he got more attention yesterday trying to dress casually rather than less. That… Bourgeois lady had tried to bitch at him for wearing track pants or something. Along with a hoodie. Luka was honestly baffled at how seriously Chloe took everything about Marinette's clothes. He had heard from Juleka that Chloe was a major pain in the ass, but having to deal with it in person was… an experience. And it was over clothes? Did Chloe Bourgeois have nothing better to do?

He knew Marinette had a little drama and spitfire in her too, but the way Marinette used her force of personality was to help everyone.

Luka loved her for that. Still.

But she wasn't supposed to know that. He did his best to let her know it back 5 years ago when he was 16 and a bit less reserved with his stupid music puns, but she wasn't into him. That was fine, that was totally fine.

Except maybe it wasn't entirely. And this? This body swap thing? Probably pure karma for him just… being an idiot or something. Or being a complete and utter… coward. Now Hawkmoth or Empress or Karma or whatever spiteful Divine Entity had punished him by putting his mind in her body.

The really unfair bit was that she was in his. Marinette didn't deserve any of this crap. Still, it wasn't like he was Ladybug and could fix everything with a Lucky Charm. God he had no idea how to fix this, and it hadn't been the akuma yesterday!

"Hey?" It was something like his voice coming from nearby. Luka looked up and saw… himself, looking somewhat amused. "Did you wait long?"

"Not really. What's up?"

Marinette, in his body, sat down and pulled out her phone. "Just wanted to send over the class notes before I forgot. Also I wanted to check in and um, I guess, see how it was going with you?"

"It's fine." It was fine. It was all just fine. He finally noticed she was staring at his hands, and he looked down and saw that he'd been tapping the little café table with her pen. Apparently hard enough that he made a slight indentation to the wood top. Whoops. "Oh." He stopped and put the pen back in Marinette's bag. "Sorry about that."

"Hey, Luka, you know it's… Are you sure you're okay?"

He stared up… into his own face. God that was going to take some getting used to… then again he really didn't want to get used to having a literal out-of-body experience. Somehow even though Luka was a generally expressive guy, Marinette being the pilot meant that the facial expressions on him were slightly… more? Maybe not exaggerated but definitely more obvious. He actually thought he looked kinda goofy and winced. "Uh, just… it's still weird. That's all."

"Yeah. I'm really hoping it's something Ladybug and Chat Noir can fix. And soon."

"Oh, did something come up?" Luka asked.

"Er, um. Well, no?" Marinette stumbled. "I just meant I'd… not that your body's like bad or anything but I'd love to be back in my own body! I'm sure you hate being in me." Marinette choked. "I-I-I mean… oh god." She facepalmed. "A-anyway, ahem. Yeah." She pushed her phone out toward him. "Here, uh, just so you're not missing anything relevant!" She laughed nervously.

"Do you think it's actually an akuma?" Luka asked, suddenly hit with a suspicion. "I'm wondering why the Ladybugs didn't… fix this. Do you know anyone else that's going through this?"

Marinette blinked, then frowned, putting a finger to her chin. His chin. Whatever. "No, actually. Not even the LadyBlog mentioned anything like this. But what else could it be?"

"I don't know. I'm throwing it out there just in case it's not the obvious answer. I don't have a suggestion on what it could be though."

"Ugh," Marinette groaned, resting his head on the table. "Why is this happening…" She raised his head back up. "Oh, good choice in clothes, by the way."

He stifled a laugh. "Thanks. Didn't want to get you in trouble with Chloe again."

"Pfft, ignore her. She's just petty."

"Did you have to deal with that before?" Luka asked, feeling slightly guilty that he'd unintentionally made Marinette an easy target.

"For the past 10 years or so, yeah. Don't worry, she's always been kind of a bi--bothersome." Marinette had caught herself in time before uttering anything untoward. "Where'd you find that jacket? I thought I lost it a while back," Marinette giggled.

Oh crap. He probably should have thought about what to say about all this but he had… he really had gone through her closet and dresser trying to find something that he thought Marinette would wear. He wasn't a designer in any sense of the word, but he kind of remembered Juleka talking about some of the clothes and the styles she'd modeled when she got steady gigs from a punk design house.

He also figured that Marinette would look good in red and black.

It'd been a somewhat self-indulgent early morning of him trying out a few different outfits Marinette had, and trying to figure out what she looked best in. He had grabbed a red half-jacket and a slim, short black dress and almost tried wearing heels but went for the practical ballet flats Marinette usually wore. He wanted to be stylish, not accident-prone.

"Hey?" Marinette waved a hand in front of him.

"Sorry, was trying to remember where," he smiled. "But I can't. I'm just glad you approve," he said. Oh, that… that was another thing. "And… a couple of other people approved as well." This was going to hurt. "Adrien said you looked lovely in this." She did, but it felt kind of wrong to say that while he was inhabiting her body.

"O-oh really?" Marinette had blushed and tried to cover it up by coughing. "That's nice!"

This was really going to hurt. "Yeah. He asked you out, by the way, but I said you… you'd think about it. He says he's good next weekend for dinner and a movie."

Marinette looked pale. Which was pretty odd in his skin tone. "We have a problem," Marinette groaned. She took her phone back from in front of Luka and scrolled to her messages.

Hi Marinette, it turns out that I didn't have next weekend free. Let's meet up tomorrow!

"I didn't know what Adrien was talking about until you just explained it," Marinette said anxiously.

"Maybe you should tell him no?" Luka half-asked, already knowing that she'd never shoot down Adrien. He knew it was the one chance she had to finally have Adrien notice her as more than just-a-friend. Only Luka was the one that looked like Marinette right now.

"I-I think… I mean we could… we could wake up back to normal tomorrow?" she laughed, brushing hair away from her… his face in a nervous gesture. She stopped, staring down at something. He looked at the same place and noticed she was staring at his… her hand.

Luka had been unconsciously tightening Marinette's hands into fists so hard they had white knuckles.

"You're… right. I should say no, I'll go ahead and say no." Marinette said simply. "If we're still in… this mess tomorrow it's… not fair to you." She smiled down sadly at Luka, reaching out with his hands to unclench and massage hers. It felt… intimate. And… it felt like he was asking Marinette to keep silently suffering like she'd been all these years. He knew how much that sucked.

"I'll do it," Luka said impulsively. "If we're still… like this tomorrow, I'll go ahead and… make it work."

"Luka, you don't need to…" Marinette trailed off, their hands still intertwined.

He tried to smile. "Hey, I think it's time, right? Finally Adrien's noticed. You gotta take this chance."

Marinette looked back down at their hands. "Adrien noticed… the outfit," she muttered to herself. "And he noticed you…"

"Mar--"

"But… if you're willing to help me out, I… I think this is a good opportunity. I've always wanted to see what would happen, and… maybe this is a blessing. You won't be a wreck like I'd be, anyway!"

Luka had his doubts.

∴

Marinette had a plan. She had almost decided on an outfit for Luka to wear except… well that wasn't what Adrien had noticed. She had asked if Luka wanted to style himself again, but… his reply was oddly sweet. Luka had just said "This is your date. I want you to feel comfortable and be happy with it. That includes wearing whatever you want me to."

It wasn't as if she hadn't already planned out the whole date thing in her head about 25 million times and 25 million variations. She knew exactly how she wanted it to go: what to wear, which movie to see, where to go for dinner that encompassed both convenience and privacy. She'd tried to be considerate of Adrien Agreste, semi-permanent bachelor supermodel (and how it might look to other people). She had checked the weather and the sunset time and if certain places were open for the day and if everything was walkable. She just had to adjust for the fact that it was Luka that would actually be on the date and not her.

Actually, if she thought about it, it was a lot better this way for multiple reasons. She'd be free to go out and do her Ladybug duties if the need arose, and Luka was a mirror-surface lake compared to her turbulent white water nerves.

Marinette and Luka had agreed on a somewhat discreet earpiece if there was something that had to be communicated immediately. Marinette didn't want to admit it to herself, but… there was something about this whole situation where she felt… her future was safe in Luka's capable hands. She owed him big time.

Which was why when the date ended, she was so, so thankful that she'd been in Luka's body instead of her own.

∴

"Hey, that was fun!" Adrien said cheerfully. "Next time we should bring Alya and Nino with us."

That sounded… wrong. At least, that sounded like it didn't belong in a romantic date. "… What do you mean?" Luka asked. He'd been doing everything Marinette had asked and it still lead to this? Did Luka really ruin this somehow?

"It was great to hang out, just the two of us, but I think the more the merrier right?"

Luka was confused. "… Hang out? This wasn't a date?"

"Yeah, like a friend-date, right? You'd been so down recently that Nino said I should take you out to cheer you up!"

Oh jeez. "Are… are you kidding me, Agreste? You invite a girl out to dinner and a movie and you say it's not a date?" Luka asked, an edge of acidity in his voice. "How could you lead a girl on like that?"

Adrien looked taken aback. "We've been friends forever, Marinette. You've been feeling down. I thought friends did things like this to cheer you up?" Adrien started looking panicked. "Oh no, did… did you think this was a date? I-I thought Kagami was just being weird when I said you wouldn't think of me like that! I should have listened--"

"What the hell does Kagami have to do with all of this?"

"I'm dating Kagami, Marinette! I've been with Kagami ever since you got us together! That's why I didn't think you'd mistake this for a date!"

"Luka…" he heard Marinette sigh shakily over the earpiece. But no, this was… this was bad. And Luka was angry.

"For a man who's a freaking model and supposed to be meticulously worried about your image, can't you pull your head out of your ass for one second and take a good look at what's happening? You do not take a girl out to dinner alone, especially a girl that's been in love with you for ages, and say that it's not a date after it's done."

"'In love'?! Wh-what? Marinette, I'm… I'm sorry that it happened this way but… I don't understand. I'm with Kagami!"

The Couffaine Chaos energy nearly overtook Luka and he realized he had drawn back Marinette's arm and fist in preparation for decking the ignorant blond. But… this wasn't going to help. Luka lowered her arm and started breathing to calm himself down, realizing a little after the fact that Marinette was yelling at him over the earpiece. "Okay. Fine. If you wanna play it this way, Adrien, fine. I have to tell you, though. I hope you treat Kagami better than this." Luka got Marinette's jacket back from Adrien and threw her evening bag over his… her shoulder. "I'm out. I'll make my way back home."

"Marinette, I'm really sorry!" Adrien yelled after her, trying to grab her arm.

Luka spun back around, batting Adrien's reaching arm away and said "Shut it if you know what's good for you, Agreste. Don't touch me."

∴

Marinette slumped down in her chair outside the theater. Well, that could have gone worse, maybe? she thought at herself. She shook her head and jumped up, running after Luka, who was more or less stomping away in her body. If she'd been able to see clearly she might have commented to herself that basically everyone in Luka's path dove out of the way of his murder walk. But she had… some problems seeing that had nothing to do with the nighttime or Luka's vision and more to do with the fact that she'd been crying.

Because she made Luka have to go through that.

Because she felt more relief than anything, after the fact.

Not because of the final nail in her Agreste Infatuation coffin sinking in and closing off forever her already long-dead feelings over Adrien.

"Luka!" She yelled at him. With his voice. "Luka, wait."

He spun and looked back at Marinette. At himself. He was… he was both angry and extremely worried. "Marinette, I am so sorry," he said to her. "I… I'm sorry. I messed this up for you. God I am so--"

Marinette started laughing. She wasn't sure what had come over her, but Luka was actually acting like she would have and it looked… comical. Because he did nothing wrong. She brushed the tears from Luka's face and sighed. "No, don't be sorry, Luka. You didn't mess anything up. I… I think we were set up!" Marinette laughed again. "God, I'm glad that's over," she breathed out.

"Are… you alright?" Luka asked, as still and as quiet as a mouse. He tightened his grip on her bag and she knew he'd been trying to hide his discomfort.

"I'm… I'll be fine," Marinette giggled, a spillover of the increasingly bizarre reaction of hers. "I'm just… I gotta take a few to um… process this," she continued giggling.

Luka continued holding her bag in a death grip. "Alright. I'm… we should head home."

"No, wait," Marinette said, reaching for… her own hand. "Wait." She gently unfurled Luka's grip and straightened out the fingers, massaging the hand again. "We should talk. Let's… let's get a drink. Like a smoothie or something, not like at a bar. I'm not sad, really."

Luka looked skeptical and Marinette had to laugh. The less exaggerated doubt on her own face was somehow more effective than the overly dramatic disbelief she usually had. "Sure," he said, still doubtful. "But… Juleka's probably at Rose's right now. Let's head back to my place and we'll talk there."

"Better yet," Marinette said, her giggling finally under control. "Let's go back to my place." She didn't have to worry about roommates, at least.

"Hey. I really am sorry about the whole thing," Luka said quietly.

Marinette smiled at him. "Luka, you're…" She pulled him into a hug. "You're wonderful, I hope you know that. You did exactly what I asked for. None of this is your fault." God she was so tiny in his arms. "Thank you. For everything."

"Right," he said slowly. "Okay. Let's go get some smoothies."

∴

End pt 1

[justapeskyninja]

i don't know why you don't like Lucrecia? Yeah, she did make some bad choices but I don't see why she gets that much hate than Hojo.

Gonna assume this is references to a pretty old post I made maybe last year? Can tell you my muse doesn't care for her, but me? I absolutely LOATHE her.

And these are pretty much based on canon related facts in FF7 and DoC.

Her series of bad choices just created a domino affect that would effect other people. Hojo is definitely a egotistical bastard who lacks empathy with all the shit he's done and the people he's experimented on all for the sake of science, but he's pretty much up front about all of it. Her? I can make a bullet power point (do people still use power point) essay on why she's just an over all terrible character. Yep, characters do have their flaws, but I struggle to find anything redeeming about her. If there was all of her flaws and poor choices outweighs it.

She made conscience decisions in hurting her own unborn child and Vincent as well. She couldn't even bother to tell Vincent she had worked with his father after finding out she did. And when he inquired about it? He got the cold shoulder and told him point blank it was none of his business. It's his dad who he had a strained relationship with due to his work and you say it's none of his business? WUT???

The whole romance was pretty one sided in which Vincent was more infatuated with her than anything. Showed concern for her well-being and a child not even his and she still jilted him.

Oh she saved him? If she was smart (which she's not) or had any semblance of empathy herself the man was probably better off dying. He won't age like any normal human being and he'll more than likely outlive his friends as well, having to watch them pass as he does not. What kind of life is that? OTL

I feel for Vincent because he'll just be suffering for so long due to her and all the while feeling guilty because of the shit SHE done, but he blames himself like he could have done more when it was all doomed from the start. Lucrecia literally ignored every red flag and rational thinking to the point of being ignorant. ALL for the sake of science much like Hojo's line of thinking in taking whatever risks needed because of their positions.

Only thing that can sum it is this quote:

'Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should.' -Ian Malcom

Everything came too little too late and DoC really tried to make the player sympathize with her. But I didn't buy into it. There's usually very few characters I really dislike in FF7, but she's just on the top of the sh!t list.

Lucrecia literally exists for the sake of plot.

[fishylife]

Spoilers for Death’s End, up to Bunker Era, Year 68 (part way through the chapter again lol)

- The chapter name is The Two-Dimensional Solar System but I realized that would be a spoiler...Actually Bunker era might also be a spoiler OTL

- Anyway, I read up to the part where the Solar System is starting to flatten out and Cheng Xin and AA are gathering artifacts with Luo Ji onto their Halo ship. I don’t totally understand why they’re tasked with taking some of the artifacts since I don’t think the Halo spaceship can reach light speed, so they wouldn’t be able to escape the 2d space anyway? Or are they just expecting Halo to go as far as fast as possible? They’re still chilling on Pluto right now though so I don’t know. Anyway, I’m just going with the assumption that Cheng Xin and AA have been tasked with trying to save the artifacts but people know that it may be in vain.

- Okay, I wanted to write about Luo Ji. If anyone read my review of the Dark Forest, you will know that I did not like Luo Ji. Thought he was kind of a hack. He had the smarts but he had no motivation, and it was so frustrating reading about him and his selfish ways and how they made problems for him later on.

- But Luo Ji in Death’s End is totally different. When we first met him, he was at the end of his stint as Swordholder. Apparently he was super focused and super quiet, and after he ended his stint as Swordholder, he was escorted away and arrested for mundicide. So this Luo Ji is a different from the Luo Ji from the last book. He has definitely seen some things and done some things.

- Then, we don’t see Luo Ji again until Cheng Xin and AA arrive on Pluto. He’s a much more talkative man, and he tells the ladies that he’s always been like this. Having read the Dark Forest, we know that there’s some truth in that. He’s always been carefree, but at some point in his life the gravity of his responsibility hit him and that’s how he carried out his role as Swordholder.

- Anyway, the real reason I wanted to make a post was when Luo Ji found the Mona Lisa. His exact quote was “I didn’t know you were here. Otherwise I could have come to see you often.“ Listen. I think I want to cry.

- In Dark Forest, I could not stop talking about how much I hated Luo Ji’s romance with his wife Zhuang Yan. I thought it was superficial because Luo Ji had basically tricked his wife into staying with him at the house. One of the first things that Luo Ji did with Zhuang Yan was see the Mona Lisa at the Louvre, so the painting definitely made Luo Ji think of Zhuang Yan. But ugh, that line. No matter whether Zhuang Yan truly loved Luo Ji, Luo Ji loved her before he even knew her. Remember, Luo Ji fell in love with that imaginary girl in his mind. Zhuang Yan is probably dead in this timeline (Luo Ji is already 200 years old). But Luo Ji will always be blissfully in love with Zhuang Yan because the memory of her is evocative enough. I don’t know what exactly about that line makes me so emotional. Maybe it’s because the Mona Lisa at this point is the ONLY physical object that represents his love. Zhuang Yan and Xiaxia are probably long dead. Earth is dying. If only he’d known that the Mona Lisa was on Pluto this whole time, he would’ve spent his dying days reminiscing and thinking of Zhuang Yan. God, the romance in this book is really heart-wrenching huh. It’s when the world is ending that love feels the purest, hits the strongest.

- I think the 2d space is the most frightening thing in this trilogy so far. I didn’t really find the Trisolarans as freaky because they are still a sentient race. They may be uber logical and smart, but a long time ago, they were perhaps like us. And the idea of an explosion isn’t really as scary because I can picture what an explosion would look like. But this 2d space is not sentient. It has no feelings. It takes no prisoners. And I cannot begin to imagine what collapsing into a 2d space with no depth would look like. It is so absolutely chilling.

- As the Revelation was being sucked into the 2d space, Bai Ice said that he was thinking about Yun Tianming’s fairy tale of Needle Eye painting the royal family into the picture. The fact that the metaphor is so freaking obvious is chilling, isn’t it? The idea of being flattened is so scary. I did wonder for a moment why the Trisolarans wouldn’t catch that metaphor since it was so obvious, but perhaps it was because it was so common and usual to the Trisolarans that they didn’t think it would be a surprise to the humans. Like, it was something that always happened, and they thought that it wouldn’t be some big deal to the humans.

- After Earth got flattened, all of the water in the world froze into huge snowflakes, which is very interesting. I wonder what Cheng Xin, AA, and Luo Ji are going to do with that information.

- Anyway, Cheng Xin and AA wept because their home was finally destroyed. Honestly, I would too. Earth was always there, but now, they actually have nothing to return to. Humanity truly has no option but to move on ahead. It’s scary, it really is.

[luxusnoname]

Quotations

Summary: Aeleus faces the challenge of recommending a book to Dilan based on his personality. But how can he do so without giving his own feelings away? A late submission for @apprenticeweek’s Day 3 prompt: Quotes.

Characters/Pairings: Dilan/Aeleus

Rating: G; real fluff hours here folks

Word Count: 1.4k

~~~

Quotations

It wasn’t often that the shift schedule at the castle aligned perfectly to give Aeleus and Dilan the same afternoon off. The only other senior guard was Braig, who was trusted with the duty of overseeing the lower ranked guards only in the absence of the other two. Dilan had grumbled and said there was good reason for it, but Aeleus wasn’t about to complain. 

And so as they often shared their patrols, they shared their afternoon together in the library. Dilan had selected a tome on horticulture, his brow furrowed as though proper soil acidity and cross-pollination techniques were the most stimulating topics in the world. Aeleus settled in beside him with some light fiction.

The best people possess a feeling for beauty, the courage to take risks, the discipline to tell the truth, the capacity for sacrifice. Ironically, their virtues make them vulnerable; they are often wounded, sometimes destroyed.

Aeleus dog-eared the page, making a mental note to write it down in his notebook later before continuing on with his reading. Beside him, Dilan’s eyes flickered to the book.

“Found another one, have you?” He asked impassively, feigning disinterest even as he leaned over to peer at the page himself. ��Let’s see it then.”

Aeleus helpfully tapped at the page with his forefinger. Dilan chuckled to himself. “An apt quote. Your heart is far too soft, my friend. Many would take advantage of that.”

“Better to open it for others than close it off from the world,” he rumbled, a small smile softening the jab.

But Dilan was used to the teasing from his oldest friend. A huff was his only response before changing the topic.

“You must have a quote for every person and situation at this rate,” he muttered as he turned a page, no longer actually reading his own book. “I bet you even have quotes for me.”

“I don’t believe I do.” Aeleus hummed. “But if I find any, I’ll pass them along. Or, better yet, I’ll lend you the book.”

“Oh you know how I do so enjoy fiction and poetry,” Dilan deadpanned. “Though I suppose if you recommend it, I’ll suffer through for your sake.”

Aeleus smiled. His companion didn’t share his love of reading for enjoyment, so the offer itself was rare. Dilan’s choices always served a purpose, academic or otherwise. That wasn’t to say Aeleus only indulged in light reading, but he was the only Apprentice that did so frequently. It could do the lancer some good, he thought. Something to soften the tough exterior.

Aeleus peered at his friend, who was thoroughly engrossed in horticulture once more. It was just about as peaceful as he’d ever seen Dilan. He smiled, warmth radiating from his chest and making its way throughout his body before he turned back to his own reading for the remainder of the afternoon.

~

A week later, Aeleus had read a few books, but struggled to find the perfect quote for Dilan. Well, that was actually a lie. There was one that made him think of his fellow guard, but it turned out to be more of a reflection of his own feelings toward the man. And it was much more forward than he was capable of being.

But I, being poor, have only my dreams;

I have spread my dreams under your feet;

Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.

The verse encapsulated feelings that he’d spent years trying to make sense of, feelings he wished he could one day verbalize to his friend. He had little to offer but would give it all in a heartbeat. But Dilan was slow to let others in, and hard to win over with pretty words. And Aeleus, of course, wasn’t great with words to begin with. Perhaps he could work up to it.

After a few more days - and many skimmed books - he found a line that was perfect for the stoic guard. It was a romance novel, of all things. He would probably hate it. But the quote was so perfectly Dilan that as soon as he happened upon it, he knew it had to be the one.

He was still too young to know that the heart’s memory eliminates the bad and magnifies the good, and that thanks to this artifice we manage to endure the burden of the past.

It was a gentle reassurance that no matter what trials the heart has suffered, love would prevail with time. After all, it was with time that the man opened up to him as much as he had. If it was time he needed, then Aeleus would give it to him. Secretly, it served as a promise as well. If the time came that Dilan was willing to open his heart… Well, then Aeleus would be there for that as well.

After some hesitation, he bookmarked the page with the quote and handed the book off to Dilan the next day. The lancer accepted it with only a small grumble, promising to read it soon.

By the next week, he still hadn’t reported back to Aeleus with his thoughts. It worried him that the guard hadn’t said anything at all, positive or negative. Perhaps he had come on too strong after all, and he’d been too forward. Dilan’s heart could be a delicate topic, no matter how hard he tried to convince the world otherwise. Hopefully the man had just forgotten and the book sat on a nightstand gathering dust, its bookmarked page blissfully undisturbed.

But one night as Aeleus retired to his quarters after a shift, there was a peculiar book-shaped package at his doorstep. He picked it up and unwrapped it once he was inside. It was another romance novel. One he was familiar with, actually. He’d read it some years ago in his youth. Turning it in his hands to inspect it, he noticed the corner of a page was folded in.

He smiled. It had to be from Dilan. But what prompted it? His friend had said nothing to him about the other book, but clearly he’d read it seeing as how they were exchanging literature now.

Since he had read it before, he felt only a little guilt in skipping to the marked page. As he flipped through the pages, however, a slip of paper flew out and fluttered to the ground. It was a note. He picked it up, holding it under a lamp to read.

I appreciated and enjoyed the recommendation, my friend. But next time, I’d appreciate your honesty first and foremost. Braig brought me one of your other books and told me it was your first choice. Consider this a response to that one.

~ Dil

Wait, when had Braig been in his quarters? Aeleus rubbed his forehead. What book had the nosey guardsman delivered on his behalf? He performed a quick inventory of his bookshelf. The only one that seemed to be missing was… Ah, of course. The confession. But how could he have known it was meant for Dilan?

With a sigh, he concluded that there were many things Braig shouldn’t know but did anyway. His heart leapt into his throat, dreading his friend’s response now that he knew what had happened. He returned to the delivered book and began reading through the earmarked page, searching for the quote.

But Dilan wasn’t a man to bother with subtlety. He had underlined it.

I had not intended to love him; the reader knows I had wrought hard to extirpate from my soul the germs of love there detected; and now, at the first renewed view of him, they spontaneously revived, great and strong! He made me love him without looking at me.

A gentle smile broke out as he sat down, reading it one more time for good measure. It would appear that he should’ve been more forward in the first place. He never would have thought that his own feelings were reciprocated. Moreover, he never would have thought that Dilan would read a classic romance novel of his own free will. He studied the book once more; the spine was slightly cracked and worn, and the pages fanned out with ease. The lancer continued to surprise.

Now, with the difficult part sorted out, Aeleus began to think about his response. He could invite Dilan over for tea that weekend. Or perhaps they could discuss it as they patrolled the castle grounds. But of course, the answer was obvious.

He tucked the book into an empty spot on his bookshelf, thumb brushing over it with a soft smile, and began searching his shelves once more.

~~~

Author’s Note: First time writing Dilan/Aeleus \o/ I hc Ael as a bit of a classic lit nerd; mostly adventures and epics, but with a definite soft spot for romance and poetry. Also I’m a terrible reader OTL I just spent a few hours searching for quotes that stuck out to me. In order they are: Ernest Hemingway (no source so probably just something he said but we’ll pretend he wrote it), Aedh Wishes for the Cloths of Heaven by W.B. Yeats, Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Márquez, and finally the big one: Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë. Maybe Aeleus isn’t the only one with a soft spot after all 👀

[chibimyumi]

Please 🙏 1.What is your favourite,that you haven't expressed yet, Yuta story? 2.Is the one about Dai-chan tricking Yuta into going to the dentist by telling him they were going to the park, true?

Hi～　(*´ω｀*)ノ)))

1.What is your favourite,that you haven’t expressed yet, Yuta story?

Erm… I have said so many things that I love about Furukawa already, I have trouble remembering which I have and have not said yet.

I guess I have never posted anything about Furukawa’s amazingly INNOCENT gay-jokes other than this video?

‘Romeo & Juliette’ 2017

In the musical ‘Romeo & Juliette’ by TOHO, the scene wherein Romeo tells Father Lawrence about having fallen in love is always an open script.

During the February 24, 2017 performance, Romeo walked into Lawrence’s monastery, trying to break the news to his uncle figure. (Disclaimer: I don’t remember every single line by heart.)

Furumeo: “Fatheeeeerrrr, I have something to tell you about romance, and I’m quite embarrassed (≽△≼)”

Lawrence: “Oh, did you FINALLY settle down with a girl after all these years? You have dated so many girls until now, but none of these relationships worked out for you right?”

Furumeo: “They were just not the right ones, and I realised it’s because I was not looking for what I actually wanted.”

Lawrence: “Oh no… *starts whispering*, could it be… that you, erm… look, don’t get me wrong. I personally understand completely.As you know, I also never managed to find the right woman…” OTL

Furumeo: “Father! (��AÒ) Oh no… how terrible that I never knew that about you! But don’t worry, I am your ally, I am fully accepting!” (*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)

Lawrence: “Eh, no, no, not THAT. What I mean is that you don’t need to feel embarrassed about finding love only now.“ (Ó///Ò)

Furumeo: “Ohoho, and I know JUST the answer for you.” (●´ิ∀´ิ●)ﾄﾞﾔｧ 

Laurence: Eh?? (ÓvÒ)

Furumeo: “I know some of my palls who are also looking for ‘someone’. I will introduce my bros to you!!! What’s your type?”

Lawrence: “Hush!!! (# ﾟДﾟ)つ That’s not what I meant, it’s a misunderstanding. Won’t you speak softer? What if people think this is a gay church?”

Furumeo: “Oh, right yes, of course. You’re clearly not out yet. I will bring my bros here at night then.” (*ゝ3・*)ﾉ～～💋

‘Romeo & Juliette’ 2019

In 2019, Furumeo continued in the scene where he gets tricked into giving Benvolio a mouth-to-mouth by having him play dead, and tell Romeo that the only thing that can save him is CPR.

Furumeo however, “kisses by the book” (Quote from Shakespeare), and Benvolio is scared shitless, and drops the act before their lips (read: teeth) clash.

Furumeo was incredibly relieved that his friend was not really dead, and scolds everyone:

“Why must you pull this prank on me?ヽ(#`Д´)ﾉ I’d kiss Benvolio any time without this prank (*UwU*)“

(Okay, technically speaking, as this involves Romeo himself, this would be a bi/pan-joke, as him falling in love with Juliette is kinda a thing. But shh.)

‘Romeo & Romeo’ 2019

Furukawa and his double-cast colleague Ono Takuro have been very close, to the point that the actresses of Juliette said that they are SemeRomeo (Furukawa) and UkeRomeo (Ono).

And the other Juliette, Ikuta, confirmed, sending everyone into an explosion of laughter.

“Baby brother uke” ᕦ(ÓwÒ)ᕤ

They really love each other very much.

(Sorry, this is FC exclusive material, hence the censor…)

2.Is the one about Dai-chan tricking Yuta into going to the dentist by telling him they were going to the park, true? 

To the best of my knowledge it is merely a joke made by @dailypicsofyuta

As to the origin on which this story may or may not have been based, I fear I don’t have the answer to that (^^;;) Seems unlikely to me though, Furukawa takes his own dental care very seriously.

[triptych-schift]

Life update i suppose.

Can’t remember the last time I updated...

My mind feels glitchy for lack of ways to articulate what I’m feeling precisely. I’ve been on and off medication for periods of time. I’m conflicted with having to take meds because of the stigma of dependency on drugs, although I do feel better when taking it. When the effects wear off, the shitty thoughts and feelings come back. But how much of it is in my head? How much of this am I imagining? What if it’s just a placebo effect? Idk...the same could be said of my depression. Am I imagining it? Is this real or am I just actually awful and it something that can’t be fixed? Or even worse, can be fixed without meds and I’m just too crooked to see/do it?

I have been running low on my meds and have been skipping doses in case I do feel particularly horrible. I just don’t know if I should keep taking it. Is it bad in the long term? I’d have to schedule yet another appointment and that’s another day off work. There’s been a period of time I haven’t been taking it and I feel like it’s coming back. It makes me sick. At some point I had like a mini episode and just stopped functioning. I sat on my bed and could get myself to move and place cleaned sheets back on it. It was such a simple task but I couldn’t do it. I’m worried of reverting back and potentially losing whatever progress the medication has helped with. But does that mean I’d have to keep taking it for as long as I live?! I don’t even know why I’m like this???

Idk man... in terms of identity and self discovery, pride month is always something. It’s very inspiring to see others overcome their personal struggle and their development. I can relate in different ways. Sure I may not have some sob story, maybe I wasn’t bullied or experienced violence for those same reasons or even to the same degree, but the overbearing fear is too relatable. There have been quite a few things I’ve come to realize. I don’t really have something I’d call a “family”. There’s the people you were born from like blood relatives and there’s a family you choose like the ones you trust and are close to regardless. By nature I keep things to myself, I push people away, I’m so severely closeted, I live in constant fear of losing what little “happiness” and normalcy I have. I realize I feel alone. The environment I’ve subjected myself to and created is not helping me. I saw a quote not too long ago saying something along the lines of “you cannot heal in the same place that hurt you”. I’ve been in the same place this whole goddamn time thinking I could fix myself, desperately trying to make things work but honestly I’m starting to realize I’m running out of options? The reality of possibly losing everything is very real, and that I’ve been saving money and planning for when that does happen. But its either that happens and I am living truthfully or continue living a lie and struggling to please everyone at my own expense.

For a long time and even now I don’t know 100% what I am...but I’m slowly discovering things that add up. I don’t have much opportunity to talk about things like this. (Yet the only way I do express myself is anonymously though the internet to strangers that may not even be reading LOL) The number of people that know my situation I can count on one hand. But I am so very very grateful for each one of you (you probably know who you are). I probably take this for granted and don’t seem appreciative but I really am grateful. It’s a small amount of relief that there are people I can be open to. But it’s very difficult to balance that with people who don’t know. And there are very rare occasions I can be comfortable. I’m constantly harangued by a name I don’t want. Hearing it kinda pisses me off tbh but I’m constantly worried that by trying to correct this it will unintentionally out me. It feels pathetic that coworkers and strangers refer to me more properly than my own blood.

But I am so so grateful to have people who respect these small nuances. I’ve been feeling low, possibly because I’ve been refraining from medication or due to dysphoria... idk. But recently I noticed a good friend of mine had taken the effort to idk "lead by example?” around their child, just by referring to me by my name and pronouns in their presence. I don’t think I pass normally, but its hard not to notice small things like this especially when most everyone doesn’t use my preferred pronouns, again for fear of being outed. At some point that day I think this child realized people kept switching pronouns and directly asked me for clarification. To be honest, when I heard that question get dropped I felt everything sink and get quiet. Again for fear of being outed in a space I wasn’t comfortable with I had to stupidly play it off. “I’m whichever. It doesn’t matter. I’m an ‘it’.” A joke. Laugh it off. But this child decides “hmm I’ll call you him.” Its a small thing. Words don’t normally bear much meaning for me. Nonetheless words from a child. Not really something that could be considered powerful or life changing. But as someone who couldn’t speak for myself in that situation it made a load of a difference. Validation for someone who is invisible is a sentimental thing. A small bit of happiness and a step towards a future where we don’t need to hide.

....well this has been sitting in my drafts for a while but I’ve finally refilled my prescription. I’ve been obscenely tired and could probably do well with some time off. And I’ve inquired about transitioning. Idk when that will happen but I hope soon. There are a few hurdles to go over before that. But having to choose between work and going to an appointment has made me realize how low I prioritize myself over other things :/. Like I struggle to decide whether to cancel a blood work appointment or tell my coworkers I can’t make it to some meeting that day. And guess which one I ended up doing OTL... now I gotta schedule another appointment like 3 weeks out just for blood work TvT.

[nocvil]

*            ‐            ․            ↺            𝙄𝙉𝙏𝙍𝙊𝘿𝙐𝘾𝙄𝙉𝙂 . . .  ｓｏｏ ｂｏｇｕｍ . hitman        .        caretaker        .        the heel        .        a masked hell        .

❝   my love     ,     my love     ,     my love     ,     won't you stay a while     ?   ❞

possible tw’s below: parental death mention, illness mentions, murder for hire mentions, and uh m,,, i think that’s it rlly. just warning ok.

GENERAL INFO

full name: soo bogum ( 수 보검 ). nickname(s): bo, sweetie pie to his mother (: gender & pronouns: cismale, he/him. sexual & romantic orientation: aromantic, demisexual. age & dob: twenty-five, november 8th, 19-- birthplace/hometown: seoul, sk. parents/siblings: only child, deceased father, living mother. pet(s): absolutely not LOL. astrological sign: scorpio. >:-) dominant hand: both! handwriting style: mostly writes in very slanted cursive. i feel like when you see things like royal documents signed or very important letters written back in the day with that vintage cursive ... that would be bogum. language(s) known/spoken: spanish, english, korean. religion: LOL. ok. current living arrangements: a two-bedroom, two bath apartment complex with his older, npc mother. it is pretty spacious given they both have their own room, a kitchen, dining space, their own bathrooms, and a patio. bo has the money if you kno what i mean ... (: occupation/major: hitman.

PHYSICAL

picture reference: uhh... this? this look rlly gives off bogum vibes so (: blood type: type O. nationality: korean. skin tone/color: lighter tanned. birthmarks & scars: heheh wouldn’t u like to kno ??? height: five-foot ten inches. 5′10″. build: pretty average, more on the lean/athletic side though. hair color: red. hair length: uhm ,, look at reference photo? eye color: brown. diet: uhm ... bo has a pretty average diet probably. he would eat just about anything, not very picky. i think he probably has his favorites when it comes to chips and candy but he doesn’t have a special diet. exercise & level of fitness: LOOOL. let me not make a bad joke here ): how’s their posture ( or lack thereof )?: bogum probably has really good posture! i think standing tall with a straight back probably adds to his uh... authoritative look?  typical style of dress: ( from his stats page ) dresses a bit old school, vintage?, almost plain. likes wearing tucked in and cuffed shirts, rolled up pants, boots, baseball caps, at least three rings on one hand, gold bracelets. the following outfits aren’t specific to him but they are probably kinda similar. it’s hard to rlly find exact examples ): (  1  /  2  /  3  /  4  ) body modifications: none, surprisingly. probably pierced ears that he never puts earrings in. that’s really it though. he would prob like a tattoos but wouldn’t do it for the sake of his career ( because tattoos are distinguishing features ).

MANNERISMS

how does your muse walk?: def with a bit of power in his step. very protective when he is with his mother. mostly, he would walk like he calculates every single step he takes. how does your muse talk?: HAHA i just talked about this with myungok’s mun ,, he would talk very plain and probably without a lot of emotion. this would make things that are usually out of pocket probably sound kinda weird.  what accent/dialect does your muse talk with?: he is from seoul and according to google, they speak with a gyeonggi dialect there (: how would you describe the tone of their voice? are they loud or quiet?: QUIET... shh... if you speak too loud you won’t hear bogum speaking with such monotoned you could probably fall asleep. bogum asmr when?  what does their laugh sound like?: bogum? LAUGHING? i feel like bogum chuckles. so he would have like a short, quiet laugh. how does your muse typically smell?: either like smoke from a cigarette or like his mom’s perfume. what kind of air do they carry?: well jinae’s mun said he would have a dark and heavy presence and honestly that rlly fits the bill. do they have a(ny) catchphrase(s)?: time to die. what are their nervous ticks?: um.. not sure. probably knuckle cracking and finger tapping.

PSYCHOLOGY

what makes your muse happiest?: his mommy! seeing his mom thrive and gain her confidence back, even momentarily, makes him so happy. what upsets them the most?: ugh. listen. i talked abt this with some of y’all but the thought that if he ever got exposed or arrested ... how everyone in his life, including his mother, would just abandon him ... CRIES. was this supposed to be a general question? does your muse have any quirks?: i think his tendency to just be way too lax in certain situations would be his infamous quirk. what are their hobbies? how frequent do/can they do them?: bogum is definitely a simple man. he would totally like puzzles, word searches, watching the news, scrapbooking ( YES, SCRAPBOOKING ), taking walks, shopping with his mom, writing, idk, he doesn’t do anything OD or over the top. shrug. do they have any guilty pleasures?: is your muse an extrovert or an introvert? neither?: 10000% introverted otl. do they have high or low self-esteem? what about confidence?: uhm... bogum probably has an average amount of confidence/self-esteem. he’s a realist, definitely. if he look ugly he look ugly. if he look good he look good. ‘nuff said. are they easily stressed and how do they normally respond to it?: stressed? bogum could be in the midst of a bank robbery and be sitting there like ok, y’all done yet? what is your muses worst fear?: his mother finding out about his job. what is your muses biggest dream?: to either escape his job for good or to be able to heal his mother of all her injuries and illnesses. but of course, neither of those will ever happen! is your muse a morning person or a night dragon?: a night dragon? ok. anyway he is probably both. i can see bogum getting like four hours of sleep and waking up like (: let’s fuckin go! how intelligent is your muse? do they acknowledge it?: OH BOGUM has street smarts but definitely probably not book smarts. at least, not a great amount of book smarts. how can he be a hitman if he’s DUMM?! describe their sense of humor: LMAO. the real question is how can someone as funny as ME play someone as BORING as bogum?

RELATIONSHIP TENDENCIES

are they currently in any sexual or romantic relationships?: HELL NO. luuuul. what is their experience with relationships?: to really think about it, bo probably had feelings for people here and there and most likely dated short term in high school but after he moved and began doing that he kind of lost all his effort to pursue romance. how does your muse view the idea of friends with benefits? have they ever had one? would they ever?: another hell naw to that sis. how important is sex to your muse?: not important at all. bogum could care less. what are their biggest turn on and turn offs?: see above pls. does your muse find it easy to make friends?: i say yes, only because most of his friends are through his mother. how important is friendship to them?: veRY IMPORTANT if bogum didn’t have the friends he has today, he probably would be a lot more sad and maybe more than just a hitman ): quantity or quality of friends?: quality! how important is family?: VERY IMPORTANT AGAIN bogum would give his life for his mother and to have his father back. are they close to their family? why or why not ?: YES. obviously asdfasdf everyone probably knows why. although bogum is now the one who runs the house, he still really values his mother because she ultimately has nobody but him in the end if she gets worse. his parents were always really good to him and when his father died, he knew that he and his mother had to stick together through it. he also knew that that he had to step up to provide for his mother because of her injuries and dementia. she is his life, really.

FAVORITES

activity: haha. you really wanna kno?... he likes word searches a lot. animal: idk. probably like. idk.  beverage: mmmm some piping hot tea. book: - color: is red cliche to say? designer: - food:  flower:  water lilies, pansies, lilies, peonies, idk, he would love all kinds of flowers. gem: i googled these. if he had a favorite it would be garnet, smoked topaz, and morion. holiday: christmas! his mother’s favorite too, probably. mode of transportation: walking, usually. movie: -  musical artist: oh boy, uhm,, i bet bogum likes indie kpop. like dean, suran, hyukoh, but i dont rlly know a lot to give you more details. quote / saying: - scenery: hm. probably night time in the living room, mom is put to bed already, he’s watching a rerun episode of a crime drama on television and thinking about how it’s so unrealistic. he’s got a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other though he puts it out halfway through because he loses interest. (: scent: i think he’d like the smell of cleaning products, flower scents ( bc it would remind him of his mom ), and metal (: obviously. weather: cloudy or rainy weather. anything that let’s him stay inside for the day. vacation destination: UM. i bet bogum would like to travel out of country to places like europe.

ATTITUDES

greatest dream: to finally have a peaceful life with his mother by his side, healthy or not. he wants to stop being a hitman, really, but it’s kind of like an addiction, plus he’s good at it, and it brings in the bacon. greatest fear: being caught and leaving his mother by herself -- it would be like the ultimate let down since he doesn’t trust anyone with her. most at east when: pls see scenery in section above. least as ease when: out in public by himself. he doesn’t have his mom as his cover. worst possible thing that could happen: PLS SEE GREATEST FEAR. ajdfkjasdfskf biggest achievement: moving to seoul safely with his mom! biggest regret: falling back into the crime life. most embarrassing moment: idk i feel like bogum isn’t embarrassing. he’s too ,, plain. biggest secret: LMAO well ... i think we all know. top priorities: keeping his mom safe, alive, healthy, and her bills paid for. also keeping himself undercover for the most part and making sure neither him or his mother are overwhelmed.

EXTRA TIDBITS

001. bogum is an unhealthy smoker but a social drinker. he never smokes around his mother though.

002. whenever bogum’s mother is around, he is on his own best behavior. he always does his best to be nice and keep up an image of her sweet son although by himself he can be different.

003. so far the only person who knows about his job is sangwoo because he sort of saw him in the act during his first hit. the two joke about it but bogum would take him out in a heartbeat if he spills.

004. i think it’s funny because i always pictured bogum as that person would give the shirt off of his back for you if you were in trouble. but he also wouldn’t hesitate to threaten to make you disappear.

005. his mom doesn’t know how he gets the money to pay for everything but bogum has her believing he “has his ways” and to “just trust him” although she asks about it every now and then.

006. though he stays inside a lot, some of the places you might see bogum outside of his apartment, are grocery stores close to his place, bars around town, museums, little cafes picking up things for his mother, dawon’s flower shop, and very occasionally places where there are a lot of drug activity.

007. here is smth: bogum is a hitman because his father was killed in a hit!

008. despite his mom questioning where he earns his money, his family has always been pretty well off but that was because of his father. so now that his father isn’t alive, it’s kind of ... fishy.

009. lmao probably your very typical scorpio minus the s*xual stuff.

010. my brain stopped working.

AESTHETICS

a card hand full of royals. empty, dark hospital hallways. dirty hands under black leather gloves. an empty, lonely wheelchair. old black and white photographs. an ashtray full of half smoked cigarettes. ripped up diary pages. rolled up fifty dollar bills. two expensive rings on each finger. responding “k” to a paragraph long text message. tri-folded letters written in the upmost calligraphy. roman numeral clocks.

[starspatter]

Stephanie brown

favorite thing about them:Her determination to never give up and maintain a positive outlook even in the face of despair, spreading hope and cheer to those around her and bringing light to the Batcave. least favorite thing about them:The fact that she tends not to look before she leaps, often leading her to trouble (and tragedy in some cases OTL), and that in the beginning she didn’t seem to take “superheroing” very seriously, seeing it more as a way to get revenge on her dad/close to Robin.  Her transition to Batgirl shows tremendous growth in that regard, as the below quote(s) illustrate.favorite line:”Everything doesn’t have to be about fear.  There’s room in our line of work for hope, too.”and “You said I haven’t changed much… but I have.  For the first time in my life, I’m fighting this fight…  I don’t know… not even for me.  I’m doing this for all of them.“and“The only variable you can control is yourself.  You can forget who you are, or you can be who you want to be.  That’s why you stay.  You stay for a second chance. “brOTP: Cassandra Cain, although I also like her relationship with Damian in the “bratty little brother” kind of way.  (I also think she and Jason would get along/could at least relate to each other, if they interacted more.)OTP: (DCAU) TimSteph nOTP: DamiSteph kinda???  Again they’re cute in the “sibling rivalry” sense, but unless Damian really matures when he’s older I don’t see them working out romantically.random headcanon: Not so much a headcanon as a “wish” for Young Justice S3, but I really hope we get to see Steph bonding with Artemis over their jerk criminal dads (and being butt-kicking blondes together).  Plus now that Cass is soft-confirmed to appear this season too, add her into the mix of “traumatized kids who grew up to defy their abusive fathers’ bad guy backgrounds” and let them all be kick-ass girlfriends pls. =3=bunpopular opinion: Uh… Does me preferring to ship her with BTAS Tim/Timmy Todd count? *shot*song i associate with them: We’ll Be the Stars - Sabrina Carpenterfavorite picture of them:I’ve come across quite a few pretty pics of Steph, but these two are probably my favs:

https://twitter.com/SteelScarlet/status/1002216914339299329

Stephanie Brown, by 陌桑While the first features her current Rebirth design (which I’m not opposed to, I’m just not as familiar with that version of her), I love the visual detail and freedom of the image and the fact that it almost feels like a crossover with Kagepro, my other favorite fandom. *cough* The second one (which sadly depicts Steph as she’s leaving for Africa following her torture and supposed “death” at the hands of Black Mask ;() is also lovely, and I like the animé-esque inspired style since I’m still a weeb. =P The little robin is a nice touch too. ;~;

[blic-blockfinds]

1. who’s your celebrity crush?

Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hardy, Jason Mamoa, and dare I say Jeff Goldblum.

2. are you single or taken?

Single

3. rant. just do it

I want to but I can’t!!! 

4. do you think it’s ok to separate the artist from the art?

This is a tough question. I am an artist myself, and I know that often art is an expression of self. However, I do think that a piece of art on its own can have merit, despite the character of the creator.  

5. how many accounts do you have?

3! I have this one for CC finds, a sideblog for builds and interior inspiration, and my gameplay blog @blic-blocksims

6. how many pairs of shoes do you have?

Probably like 10. But I haven’t counted, and I only wear a couple pair of them lol

7. opinion on global warming

I believe it exists, I’ve seen its effects and it’s scary af. Unfortunately we as consumers can’t do much. I try not to think about it otl

8. how many accounts do you follow?

727

9. favorite brand of clothing?

Old Navy!! I love their color palettes and variety of sizes. 

10. name a dog

Floofus. 

11. what unusual talent do you have?

I can touch my nose with my tongue :P 

12. what’s the most interesting gossip you’ve ever heard?

I ain’t no snitch.

13. ever prank called a store?

no

14. what’s your coffee order?

I am a baby, so I like sweet coffee. My usual order is an iced cafe latte, made with only one short of espresso, soy milk, and 7 pumps of vanilla. In the winter I l like the same drink hot! 

15. what’s a question you constantly get asked?

Wtf are you doing?

16. if you had to get a tattoo right now, what would you get and where?

I’d love to get something geometric. Or water color style. I have no idea what. I have a low pain tolerance 😂

17. google the top song from the year you were born

The Sign by Ace of Base?

18. rant about your favorite musician

My favorite musicians are a band called Caravan Palace. They’re from France, and they play electro swing!! I went to their concert when they came here about 5 years ago and it was so much fucking fun omg

19. who’s your favorite teacher you’ve ever had?

My favorite teacher is probably my college professor, Mr. Chow. He doesn’t usually go by that, but I’d rather not put up his first name. He’s an old school storyboard artist, and one of the funniest people I know. He supported more than any other professor I had and I miss him a lot. 

20. describe your blog in 3-5 words

Sims 4 custom content blog

21. what’s a conspiracy you believe in?

Why is it when you’re doing these questionnaires your mind goes blank? 😂

22. if you could see any concert tonight what would you choose?

I’d love to see Ninja Sex Party and TWRP!! But if I could choose anyone in history, Queen. 

23. if you could break one of your bad habits which would you choose?

Probably sleeping late.

24. can you dance? sing?

I can sing and dance. The question is, should I? lol 

25. what’s something you can’t stop buying?

Socks! I love those cheap ankle socks with the cute patterns on them. 

26. crowds or small groups?

Small group please! 

27. how long before a trip do you pack?

Maybe a day or two before. But I don’t travel much lol

28. what celebrity would you rate a PERFECT 10?

Dan Avidan and Arin Hanson

29. what quote or inspirational setting do you think is bs?

Live, laugh, love.

30. if you had to dye your hair an unnatural color right now, what would you choose?

Pink or teal! 

31. you can change one thing about your life right now. what are you changing?

I want an internship with this studio I’ve been eyeing. They haven’t been answering my emails. >:I 

32. how old do you get mistaken for?

I would say like 20. But then again, people always assumed I was older when I was a teenager. 

33. what do you think about a lot

Dogs. <3

34. do you like your hogwarts house or do you wish you were a different one?

Hufflepuff is the best!!! 

35. what does home mean to you?

Whenever I am with people I love! 

36. what do you think you’d be arrested for?

Probably accidental driving mishap. 

37. have you ever been called down to the principals office?

No, I was a nark lol

38. post a picture of the outfit you would choose if you could have any outfit you wanted

I couldn’t find one!!! T- T

39. describe your aesthetic

Bright, colorful, cute and a little edgy

40. answer with one of your inside jokes with no explanation

💩 🥧

[orangedodge]

Incoming tag game post, where I'm going to be very indecisive about half of my responses.

I was tagged by @eldritch-crone

Thank you for that, I don't get to do these often.

Rules – Answer 11 questions from the person who tagged you, then ask 11 questions of your own and tag users to answer them.

Sadly I must confess that I thought about what 11 questions I could ask, nonstop, for almost two days.

1. If you could get two characters in asoiaf to switch their narratives with each other, who all would it be? Arya and Sansa is probably the standard reply, but I think switching Arya and Sansa's locations, while keeping the overall trajectory of their characters the same, would be really interesting. By which, I mean Sansa's circumstances would be radically different than Arya's, since Sansa's gender presentation isn't going to allow her to fake being a Night's Watch recruit, but an earlier version of the Brotherhood arc would still work and they'd make a good contrast to the tourney knights she met in the first book. So we'd get Sansa in contact with the commoners and petty nobles of her mother's homeland, while traveling with a band of outlaws, and getting her eyes opened to how false the codes of knighthood and nobility are along the way, instead of via Joffrey and his band of thugs, which I think would be neat. While meanwhile Arya is off surrounded by Lannisters, sneaking in and out of the city via the secret passages that only Varys and his spies know about, in a tamer version of her Harrenhal and Braavos arc both, as she develops the skills needed to restore justice for the people of King's Landing and reuinite with her family. There's also a good chance that Syrio lives, if Arya just gets arrested right away, and that Varys starts employing Arya as a spy if she naturally begins developing that skill set anyway (as in OTL), so she could have a fun list of mentor figures.  

2. What is your endgame prediction for your favourite character? The prophesied betrayal “for love” is going to be Drogon, betraying Daenerys by disobeying her, in order to save her life. Prophesies like that always have to be the person their subject least expects and would most dread, so I feel like Drogon is the most satisfying option for Dany's final betrayer. And I like the idea of the betrayal for love being something meant genuinely as an act of love, that helps her.

3.  What’s the one food item from asoiaf that you’d like to taste? I can't really think of any foods in Westeros that stood out, that didn't sound incredibly bland, and the meat and lamprey dishes probably wouldn't appeal to me anyway. Oberyn's chef makes an egg and pepper dish for Tyrion and Sansa that sounds like menemen, but that's about it, and it's not really unique to asoiaf. I've never really been clear on what Martin is describing when he talks about lemon cakes, though, so I'd be happy to at least see one. I'd be willing to try the locusts if they came in a non-poisoned variety.

4. What’s your favourite song in Westeros, and why? Rains of Castamere. I just think it sounds nice, and its structure seems to have lent cover artists more success in turning it into a real song than with the others.

5. If you could bring back one character from dead, who would it be? Oberyn Martell. I've always thought his early death was a mistake in light of the importance his family plays over the next two books, and I believe his presence in the fourth book would have made the way Martin thrust us into the Dorne plot less jarring for a lot of readers.

We would have also been spared several weird attempts to replace him with off-brand knockoff versions.

6. Which house’s words is the most iconic? Why? In universe, I think House Targaryen's words are treated the same way as we, as fans, tend to treat House Stark's. Between what we see in the fourth novel's prologue, the Dorne arc, and Brienne's adventures in the Crownlands, I see the Targaryen house words having taken on an air of grim promise to one another in the hearts of the masses. We, as readers, might find vowing “fire and blood” a bit strange and off-putting, but it's not any more extra than “winter is coming”/“the North remembers,” and it represents the only hope of justice and liberation that 90% of the people in this setting have.

7. If you could bring one fashion/stylistic choice from Essos to Westeros, what would it be? I love the hats they have in Braavos.

But I also really like how most of Dany's faction shaved their heads between books, presumably because they noticed she didn't have any hair either. In the end I can't really see that catching on in Westeros though, so I have to go with my initial instinct for more nice hats.  

8. If you were a character in asoiaf, what do you think your occupation would be? There are some depressing similarities between jobs I've worked in the past, and what the assistant pyromancers are seen recounting of the hazardous chemicals their guild is always losing track of. Right down to some poor sub-auditor doing a routine inventory of a bunch of closets and storage cabinets, and incidentally finding misplaced explosives, pyrophoric liquids, and radioactive materials in strange and unexpected places. = /

9.  What’s the one ship in asoiaf, that you wish didn’t happen?

I could live without the Arya/Gendry hints in the books. I can enjoy the show version of Arya/Gendry for their chemistry, but I would definitely be happier without the books' hints that Arya is destined to be romantically involved with a man that she smiled at when she was nine.

10. What’s your favourite quote from asoiaf? That's a bit difficult, upon realizing that most of my favorite lines were actually show only. I enjoy Martin's style of writing, but part of how easy he is to read, I think, prevents many individual lines from really standing out to me as particularly memorable. I liked most of Varys and Ned's last meeting, Ned tried a swallow. “Dregs.” He felt as though he were about to bring the wine back up. “All men must swallow the sour with the sweet. High lords and eunuchs alike. Your hour has come, my lord.” [...] “For fifteen years I protected him from his enemies, but I could not protect him from his friends. What strange fit of madness led you to tell the queen that you had learned the truth of Joffrey’s birth?”

“The madness of mercy,” Ned admitted.

but there's no one line in there that I'd be able to take apart from the whole, and still recognize.

Jon has one line in the first book that stuck with me for how creepy it was, “You’ll be sewing all through winter. When the spring thaw comes, they will find your body with a needle still locked tight between your frozen fingers.”

but it's inseparable from the source material; it doesn't really work as a quote of its own. The show, on the other hand, had “What do we say to the god of death?” and “That's not a monster, that's just a baby,” which I find more quotable.  

11. If you could change one pre-asoiaf event, what would it be? Not a single event, but I would have Daenys the Dreamer be far more active, rather than being limited to a side character in her husband and father's stories, and then vanishing without a trace once she has children. It's really strange to me that a prophet-sorceress, who lives inside of a magic volcano, doesn't turn up in history more often; particularly since, unlike her husband and father, she's actually an important historical figure within the actual asoiaf narrative. Daenys seems to just get shuffled off to her room by the men in her life as soon as she finishes her prophesies, even though dragons were meant to be the great equalizer, among her people, that prevented that kind of thing from happening. The same should go for all of the pre-Dance women of House Targaryen, but given that Daenys played an important role in saving the world, I'd have really liked to have her be active in navigating the post-Doom of Valyria fallout.

My eleven questions:

1. Whose point-of-view do you think is most extraneous to the novels, or whose interiority is least necessary to the story?

2. If you could elevate a supporting character to a secondary point-of-view status, in what book would you have made this change?

3. Which coat of arms/achievement do you think is best designed?

4. Which is your favorite scenery/location description?

5. What would be your favorite city or town to visit?

6. Who is your favorite obscure character? (i.e. that doesn't appear in the show, or that most people would need the wiki to identify)

7. What is your favorite world-building element?

8. Show question: Is there any member of the cast that you'd cast as a different character?

9. Which minor house would you like to know more about?

10. How many books long do you think asoiaf should be in total?

11. What is your favorite religion?

Open to anyone who wants to participate, because I only know five other people who like asoiaf and I don't know if any of them like tag games!

[howtobeaconartist]

Vograce Acrylic Charm review

By @bunchabears. Originally posted on AANI and mirrored here with permission.

Customer Service

Using Alibaba, I contacted Vograce, whose manufacturing company is WanYiwu Weichuang E-Commerce. Their customer service and response time is very good and quick!! I sent a quote inquiry and recieved a response within the day. The only issue I can see is the time difference and possible miscommunication (located in China), but as far as I've experienced, there hasn't been any issue with language barriers.

They were very friendly and made sure to answer all my questions to the best of their abilities.

Pricing

I requested a quote for a quantity of 150 3-inch, double-sided acrylic charms.

The design itself was two charms, 1 in. and 2 in., connected in the middle, so I technically paid for two charms per unit.

1" charm (with a keyring provided) was 1.40 USD 2" charm (with connected rings provided) was 1.60 USD

In total, the unit price was 3.00 USD. With shipping, about 50 USD, the total came to 508 USD.

All I needed was to provide a PSD of back and front designs, with outlines and hole markings. Standard charm design procedure, I believe?

Turnaround Time

They sent me a proof for me to confirm, and once I did, they immediately began production. Production time was estimated at 3-5 business days. Shipping time was about 4-8 standard business days. So I sent payment on April 13th, and my charms arrived today, April 25th. So all things considered, 12 days for that amount of work is pretty impressive!!

Payment

Since Alibaba is used more as a communication service for a lot of these companies, they requested that I send payment through Paypal to their account. Seeing as how I was going to put down a pretty hefty sum to a foreign company, I was a little hesitant!!

They also requested proof of purchase (at least two screenshots of the transaction page and confirmation page on PayPal). I actually almost forgot to take a screenshot of the transaction, so don't forget to do that loll

All in all, I feel like the transaction went pretty well!!

Product Quality

I realize this is the biggest issue some people might have with using a cheaper service. As far as I'm concerned, I'd give the finished product a 4/5!!

The charms definitely aren't *Perfect*, but that's probably me being fussy. The charms are 1/8 inch thick clear acrylic, with solid cut edges.

The quality of the design print is pretty darn good!! I made sure to send the design at 350dpi because I'm a stickler for detail otl

The connecting rings are basic metal links. I did have to go through several with a pair of pliers to properly close the links, but I guess that's to be expected.

You're given a pretty huge selection of keyring designs to choose from (and I believe they're all about the same pricing), like rope straps, keyrings, clamps, and heart/star shaped rings.

Each charm comes with a protective film on every side to make sure they don't get scratched on their way to you. I prematurely panicked because I thought the scratches and bubbles on the protective film were permanent, but realized I could peel them off.

So all in all, the print job and cut are pretty darn good.

Overall Review

As stated above, I would give the service and product a 4/5!

There are definitely some risks with services that aren't well-established/big brand companies, but I think it was well worth it.

Pros

Quick and friendly customer service

fast production time/shipping

Very good pricing for what you get

Decent quality

Cons

the risk you run with your work possibly being stolen, the usual

Some VERY slight marks/scratches, but not hugely noticeable unless you're staring at it intensely

You definitely get what you pay for, but considering I'm only paying 3 dollars for what is essentially two double-sided charms of pretty good quality, I'd say it's well worth it if you plan on quick production and sales!! I will definitely be using their services again in the near future. :>