#but its a pretty useless talent anyway

[hazard-symbols-that-fuck-hard]

Okay time for the PBS Kids essay

Read it under the cut!

:readmore:

In 1968, before there was PBS Kids proper, there was Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. While it came several decades before the children’s block, it laid the foundation for the themes and values present in every facet of the network’s history.

Mr. Roger famously hated children’s programming at the time. To him, it all was droll and useless. But he didn’t dissuade the medium entirely— he saw potential. Potential that led to a few smaller television jobs, and eventually the creation of Mr. Roger’s neighborhood.

Rogers didn’t invent educational TV for children, but he did perfect it. He poured real heart and soul into probably the most sincere, heartfelt program in history.

Honestly, he could have his own essay. The more things you learn about the real man of Mr. Rogers, the more you’ll like him.

Anyway, the biggest thing that makes PBS different is the fact that it earns money through grants, fundraisers, and private donors— not through sponsorships and merchandise sales. This way, PBS Kids can push programming that it feels is important, rather than programming that merely sells well.

This also means PBS is less afraid of pushing social boundaries. Money doesn’t go away when their shows become subjects of debate— and Mr. Rogers took full advantage of this.

For context, this was 1969. The Jim Crow era had just barely, barely ended. Pool segregation was still very much legal.

Mr. Rogers sharing a pool and a towel with the Black Mr. Clemmons was a pretty big deal at the time— especially on a show made for children.

Rogers was far from the untouchable sacred cow of today. When he was alive, he had a large number of detractors. Let’s just say that scene didn’t fly nicely by everyone.

Just one year after the debut of Mr. Roger’s came Sesame Street.

While Mr. Roger’s was made for all children, Sesame Street had the explicit goal of supplementing the education of underserved communities— especially inner-city Black (and later Latino) children.

While it was made to be accessible to children of all races and income levels, they definitely went the extra mile to make it something special for inner-city Black and Brown kids. (Why do you think it it’s “Sesame Street” and not “Sesame Cul-de-Sac”?)

At the time, a wholesome, sweet show set in a brownstone street was practically unheard of.

Jon Stone, the casting director, deliberately sought to make the cast as rich with color as he possibly could, bringing on a huge amount of Black talent such as Loretta Long, Matt Robinson, and Kevin Clash, as well as featuring Black celebrities as guest stars. Later, the show would expand its horizons, bringing on actors from Latino, Asian, Native American, and many more backgrounds.

White actors were and still are a minority on show.

In addition to letters and numbers, the purpose of Sesame Street is clear: make kids of color know that they’re smart, beautiful, and loved.

It doesn’t get more explicit than this.

I want to point out this comment because it’s funny

You’re telling me this bitch isn’t Hispanic???

Anyway, these two were followed up by Reading Rainbow in 1983. And guess what?

That’s right. Non-white focus.

These three shows, (along with other, lesser-known programs like Lamb-Chops Play Along, Newton’s Apple, and Shining Times Station (who featured Ringo Starr himself?? seriously how did that happen and why does no one talk about it) and some other nostalgic favorites like Bill Nye the Science guy, The Magic Schoolbus, Arthur, and Thomas the Tank Engine) aired on the new PTV block, which evolved into PBS Kids in 1999, bringing along Between the Lions, Dragon Tales, and many more.

Arthur is another stand-out that I’d like to talk about— it doesn’t have the same racial focus of Sesame Street, but it does focus on different income levels. The characters have various housing situations, from apartments to mansions to no home at all.

It also takes cues from Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s in regards to talking about tough topics, though as Arthur has a slightly older target audience, it discusses things through stories rather than talking directly to the audience.

Cancer, religion, workplace discrimination, along with current (at the time) events such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina are all discussed on the show.

Another big focus on Arthur is disability. For once, they don’t stick a character in a wheelchair and then pretend he’s not in a wheelchair. A striking number of major characters either develop or get diagnosed with physical disabilities and/or neurodivergences, such as asthma, severe food allergies, and dyslexia, and they deal with them in very realistic ways.

A handful of minor characters have more obvious disabilities, and THANK GOD they go beyond the trite messaging of “disabled people can do everything abled people can do! everyone clap now!”

One episode in particular has the awesome message of “holy shit stop trying to help me all the time— it’s patronizing as fuck. I can get around just fine without you stepping on eggshells and trying to be the hero all the fucking time”

There are sooo many other shows I could talk about, but I can’t write about them all. I’m definitely gonna point out some more standout ones, though.

Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat

Created by Chinese-American woman Amy Tang

Dragonfly TV

Features a multitude of female and non-white scientists to foster an interest in science with kids in those groups

Maya & Miguel

One of the network’s first Hispanic-led shows

SciGirls

I shouldn’t have to explain what the goal of this one was.

Molly of Denali

When was the last time you saw a show that treated Native Americans as people? Much less a children’s show? 90% of the cast is Athabascan, and the show revolves around Athabascan culture, not shying away from topics like boarding schools and modern-day racism. Most of the writers are also Athabascan, and the show even has an official Gwich’in dub!

It’s this commitment to real, authentic social justice that makes PBS Kids so much different from its competitors. Could you imagine the Paw Patrol dog looking at the camera and earnestly discussing what happened to George Floyd? I don’t think so— but Arthur talked specifically about it, Sesame Street did an hour long special about race in general, and the network itself made a 30 minute special.

Disney Jr. could never. (Other than trying to teach colorblindness, of course.)

I’m gonna have to cut this into two parts, since I just hit the image limit

[voids-colourful-creations]

Break it Apart, Tear it Down! - A Pearl Houzuki Fic

[Read on Ao3!]

Rated: T Relationships: N/A Splatoon 2, Pre Canon, Pre OTH Content Warnings: Emotional Distress, Self Destructive Behaviour, Mild Coarse Language, Breakdown, No Happy Ending Words: 1.7k

Summary: Pearl’s band kicked her to the curb after yet another venue was destroyed. At the end of the night, the only thing left to return to is the same empty house.

--

It’s well past “late at night” when Pearl storms into the house, verging more on early morning. Stage attire still plastered against her skin, thick dark makeup smeared far down her face; Pearl slams the door shut and stomps in, heavy boots and all.

Too tired and mad to really think straight, Pearl heads inside. She paces inwards with no particular intent. The day’s been long, effort otherwise exhausting, but she’s too wired to sit still. There’s a buzz in her chest, the residual high from the crowd mixed with the vibrating sting of anger.

Who did they think they were?! Kicking her out of her own band? Please! They were nothing without her. Setting off without her? She’d like to see them try! No one else would ever come anything close to her voice, her sound, her power.

(That was part of the problem, they’d said, another club destroyed and Pearl could only shrug it off. Tired expressions met Pearl’s eyes, shaded by the dim emergency lights, the only lights left in the venue. What was she supposed to say? They’d known she was like this when they’d started.)

Pearl wouldn’t fare much better on her own, either, and she knew it. The acknowledgement only stokes the flames in her chest, in her hair, lighting up with energy. An acapella career was out of the question. She needed a band, and they needed her! Or had, anyway. She was a damn good vocalist and a pretty stellar lyricist, but that was where her talents stopped, despite her best efforts.

Pearl gave the grand piano a pointed glare as she stalked past it.

Useless thing, at least in her hands, no matter how many lessons her parents had her take growing up. She just couldn’t hack it, and the more time she’d spent fruitlessly practising the same scales and bland tunes, the more she grew to hate it. 

As she passes, Pearl kicks her leg out, catching her ankle on the piano bench and flinging it across the wide open room. The bench clatters to the ground, a nice slam of a sound as it hits the hardwood.

For a moment, Pearl feels a bit better, if only slightly.

She catches a glance of herself. In the reflection of the house’s giant windows, her pale frame stands out vividly against the darkness. All clouds tonight, no stars, no moon.

It’s really just her face sticking out, her tentacles and fingertips. Her hair crackles like a flame, begging for release. Black clothes blend into the night, only the vague impression of trees somewhere in the yard where Pearl’s body should be. The dark makeup blends too, ringing holes in Pearl’s face instead of eyes.

Pearl glares at nothing, and turns away towards the kitchen. No windows in there.

The distance between rooms feels long and oppressive. Pearl’s never been a fan of just how white the house is, how much glass lined its walls, but certainly not now. There was an ever present feeling of being exposed, no matter how remote this place was. Always being stared at, peered in on, yet all that was inside was sterile, white. Nothing to be seen.

Pearl reaches the kitchen, but it isn’t much of an improvement. If anything, it’s worse.

All of it, the fridge, the cabinets, everything is unbearably ivory, and so shiny she could see her own reflection in it. Nothing but a black and pink stain, all features erased. 

She tracks dirt on the tiles— white of course— as she walks between the two kitchen islands and towards the fridge. Pearl throws open the door.

Inside are a few energy drinks, a jar of mayonnaise, and a mostly eaten pizza slice. That’s all. But why would there be anything else? She never eats here, there’s never anyone here to cook for. The band had only ever practised at studios out in the city, a trek all the way out here never worth the effort. Like everything else in this house, the kitchen was mainly just for show.

Pearl slams the fridge door shut, grinding her teeth.

She reaches up to the cabinet doors, the lower sets only barely within her reach. As her fingers curl around the silver handles, Pearl yanks them open as if she’ll find something new inside.

It’s the same as always. Dozens upon dozens of plates, dishes and glassware. All of it entirely unused, as new as the day her mother had given them to her.

Housewarming gifts, she said, like the house itself hadn’t been a “gift”. For the guests, she said.

Guests, she’d said, with that pinched little smile of hers. The same way she smiled when she’d shown off that fucking piano, the house, even. 

When Pearl made it clear she was heading out on her own to pursue her music, her mother had given her this house. Something befitting of the family. Massive windows taking up more space than walls. Shades of white on everything, blindingly pristine. A grand piano, sitting in the centre, and Pearl wonders if maybe her mother was trying to tell her something. Never outright, no, but in the ways that lingered, syllables resting idly behind platitudes. 

If she’s saying something, then Pearl’s electing to ignore it. 

She braces her arms against the counter top, digging her boot into the handle of a lower drawer. With one fluid motion, Pearl heaves herself up onto the counter, knee scraping uncomfortably against the edge of the marble.

Better vantage point of the upper cupboards this way, much too tall for her to reach on her own. She yanks one open, revealing light to a series of glass serving bowls that’d seen only darkness since the day she moved in.

On auto pilot Pearl pulls the largest one out from its shelf. The lip of it ripples like waves, pristine embellishments in the shapes of tiny squids swimming through the edges. She holds it tightly for a moment, feeling the weight of the object in her hand. It sits heavily, large enough to serve a full dozen people, if not more. 

Then, with no fanfare, Pearl lets her palms go slack, and watches as the bowl tumbles helplessly out of her grasp. It makes contact with the floor in an instant, spraying shards of glass in every direction across the formerly pristine tile.

And Pearl feels satisfied, for a moment. She always hated that bowl anyway.

Everything hits like a rush, and suddenly she’s reaching for the next bowl. Smaller now, some sort of floral pattern etched into it. She’d never taken the time to really admire it before. When would she have had the chance?

Pearl takes a breath and then screams. Loud and violent, she can feel her throat burning as the sound waves reverberate. 

Now there’s nothing but a pile of shards in her hand.

Again, she’s thinking, and now she’s grabbing with intent.

Cuz’ none of this junk matters!

It’s all useless. It doesn’t matter what she tries to drag in of herself, it’s all drowned out by monochrome. It doesn’t matter how many windows she shatters, inevitably everything is reinforced to hell and back. Nothing breaks anymore, not unless Pearl breaks it herself.

And breaks it again. She’ll break the pieces into pieces and the shards into dust. Because it doesn’t matter. This might be her house but no one lives here. No one will miss any of this.

Pearl feels good, snapping the delicate base off a trifle bowl. Now she’s controlling it, she’s not some child who doesn’t know her own strength. She knows it well, intimately by now. How every molecule of her vibrates just wrong, abrasively loud and violent and destructive no matter what she did.

She’s on a roll, the cabinet of fancy bowls is thoroughly destroyed. Onto the next then! The next club, the next band, the next act until something changes.

Pearl smashes every plate she owns. One by one, throwing them to the ground, or against the wall, or snapping them, or just screaming loud and rough and hard, until they crumble in her hand. She screams the most.

Like it’s her fault she looks best in the spotlight.

(A porcelain gravy boat embraces the floor quickly and violently.)

Like she wanted to blow out another club’s speakers. 

(Champagne flutes shatter against each other, stems turned to jagged spikes.)

Didn’t they get it? Weren’t they supposed to be the few people who understood?

(The antique teapot is unrecognizable, once painted with ancient jellyfish, now only pieces without a purpose.)

Even with all those people staring at her, hearing her scream and sing.

(There’s so much glass and porcelain on the floor it’s nearly a beach, sand made of shards.)

There’s not one of them who’s really looking at her. Not one.

Pearl hops down off the counter, crushing what little fragments survived with the weight of her boots.

Her band sings behind her— sang, now— but she might as well have always been alone. And no matter what, she swears, Pearl doesn’t care. It’s all the same anyway. A bunch of posers who just wanted to coast off her voice but couldn’t handle the real kick.

They didn’t deserve her to begin with!

...It’s hard for Pearl to believe that, no matter how much she wants to, when she’s practically ankle deep in the shards she’s made. 

There is not one piece of unbroken dishware left in the house. The cabinets are entirely empty. Pearl feels worse than ever. Looking down at the shattered remains of plates and bowls, she nudges the broken handle of a teacup with the tip of her boot. Faintly, it clatters against the other pieces. Pearl surveys the carnage, a fortune’s worth of wealth and years lying in wait to be used properly, and she had destroyed all of it in less than an hour.

Finally, with all the weight of her chest, Pearl wails.

Long and hard. Messy and painful and unbearably loud. The windows rattle, and the fridge shakes, and the pieces of glass and porcelain vibrate against each other. But that’s all, no one hears, nothing else breaks. There’s nothing left to break. As her voice gives out, the crackle of her hair dims, and the spark is gone. That’s it.

Just Pearl, the mess she’s made, and a painfully colourless house.

Pearl sighs, scrubbing the smudged make up off her face with the back of her sleeve. 

Time to find a broom.

[Ending]

[pillowspace]

Hi! Hey! Hello! I just finished chapter 7 of Celestial Sundown and oh my! It was fenomenal!

I love that CSDy/n is getting more and more comfy in relationship with sun! They are getting bolder and trust each other more! Sun getting into their room is showing the big progress and trust on both parts! I don't know how CSDy/n but for me to tolerate someone in my room is a big thing. I see it was caused by his anxiety but still its the barrier they crossed one way or the other. It was so lovely and well written, what CSDy/n went through was traumatic and painful but while reading I couldn't stop think about the horrors Sun went through this entire time. If everything is okay with him the prayer should get to him and, correct me if I'm wrong, from what I understood the exact words won't come through It but the feelings and some basic meaning will be send to the God.

Therefore he could easily understood something went terribly wrong, not only that but the prayer suddenly stopped, He is far away, and from what I get without his crown he cannot teleport or manifest in different places. What happened? Are they scared? Hurt? Or maybe it was false alarm! They got scared prayed for him, and then they realised there is no danger so they stopped! But then the other call was sent and I bet If the first didn't, this one send him running. Not only that, the time has passed so he wasn't sure what state they are in, if all this time they were in danger,  but the urgency of the prayer expanded. Did something happened in the house? Was it the woman he showed himself to? Why he can't go any faster? I'm sure at this time he would curse himself out... For needing to see this mural. For not waiting for the morning so they can go with him. For being so weak. If he had his crown he could do something, and now he was useless, couldn't even get to this damn forest as fast as he wanted. He is so slow. Are they hurt? Are they dead? Did the thing that attacked him came back to finish the job and found them instead? He knew them, they wouldn't panic like that over something small. They wouldn't call  him for something small. The terrified calls of their heart  would be fuel for him to keep going. And what would he find getting back? The empty house, with the doors left wide open. He knew something bad happened but for them to leave their beloved belongings exposed like that it was worse then he hoped. And if your shredded blanket covered with human blood, nearby was telling anything it wasn't getting better. They helped him so much, they still are trying to get him home. And he wasn't there. He should have been there. He just had to be emotional again hadn't he? What to do now? Where to go? Their prayers stopped. Is he alone again? He can't locate them. Are they alive? Mortals are fragile, and there is blood nearby but no human, no. The blood of one of his kind, a big puddle. He had to do something, he searched this forest for so long with them, he had to manage! Had to find his friend. And the trail of blood left on trees and ground was the perfect start.

Ajshshs, I'm sorry I just love it so much! Can't wait to see what happens next. The emotions your fic gives me are not from this world, you are so talented and inspiring! I can't get enough of your content. And also you created my hyperfixation of sea slugs! I didn't even know something so pretty existed and in so many forms! Keep up the good work and being amazing! Get yourself a blanket and hot tea you deserved it after blessing us with such a brilliant chapter and so soon!

Sun comfortably being able to enter Y/N's room was something I thought about, but didn't really expect anyone to notice, so I love that you did

I. I. OH MY GODDDDDDD, I JUST READ THE REST OF THE ASK. STARING AT YOU WITH THE WIDEST OF EYES RN. I DRINK YOUR ASK LIKE SOUP !? WOW

Yayyyyy sea slug liker!! YEAH, there is something so wondrous in learning what sea slugs look like. It's like learning magic's real, for me anyway

THANK YOU SO MUCHHHH

[kaylinalexanderbooks]

Get to Know Me tag

Ultimate Addition

Been tagged with multiple versions of this. Will do this all in one.

And maybe this will be the definitive version.

Thanks to: @herrmannhalsteadproduction here, @sleepywriter00 here, @mk-writes-stuff here and here, @dyrewrites here, @infinnative here, @buffythevampirelover here, and @mysticstarlightduck here.

Tagging @illarian-rambling @gottestod-writes @cowboybrunch @blind-the-winds @uninspired-platypuss @little-peril-stories @loopyhoopywrites @its-on-site @aalinaaaaaa @randomlettrrsqqssfxwcvhxnqbwriro @thepeculiarbird + anyone else

(y'all don't have to do all of these - pick one. Honestly you can do all of them but like...only if you really want to)

Version 1

Last Song - Driving the Last Spike (Genesis)

Currently Watching - Star Trek Voyager in my trek marathon, still have a little bit of Phineas and Ferb to rewatch, MythBusters, Whose Line is it Anyway, The Bad Batch as it comes out, and I keep forgetting the last bit of Hamster and Gretel is on D+ rip

Three Ships - uhhh the least controversial I feel will be Robin/Starfire (Teen Titans), Kirk/Spock (Star Trek), and Dakota/Cavendish (Milo Murphy's Law)

Favorite color - T E A L 🩵💚 it slaps. Btw this: 🩵 is not teal but it's the emoji that pops up when I type teal wtf teal is GREENER that's like cyan which also has the same emoji I'm sick of people calling light blue teal

Currently reading - beta reading Whispers by @magic-is-something-we-create and making my way through Purple Hyacinth on Webtoon

Currently consuming - uh just woke up will have my coffee in a bit

Place of birth - Earth

Currently location - pretty sure it's Earth

Last movie - True Lies (first time watching)

Version 2

Are you named after anyone? No my mom was sick of the family name she was given so revolted against peer pressure.

When was the last time you cried? Uhh couple days ago got caught in traffic due to an accident and went a separate way only to find myself on the feeder road with more traffic from another accident so I had to pull into a Jaguar parking lot before I got full a panic attack

Do you have kids? No please dear God. Future students are my kids.

What sport do you/have you played? Soccer when I was like in kindergarten.

Do you sarcasm? See next answer

What's the first thing you notice about someone? That they exist

Eye color? Brown

Scary movie or happy ending? These aren't opposites?? Scary movies have happy endings! So happy endings.

Any talents? Uh, writing, I guess. Media analysis. I can read fast. I'm Gen Z and can write in cursive. I kick ass at the puzzle match mini game on Wii Party.

Where were you born? *Double checks* yeah still Earth

Hobbies? Writing, reading, watching TV, scrolling through Tumblr, media analysis, watching YouTube, daydreaming, listening to music, useless data analysis

Any pets? Two cats

Height? 5'4

Favorite subject? ELAR (reading/writing) that's why I want to teach it

Dream job? See above

Version 3

Currently reading - answered this above

Last song - I'm doing this on a different day (sorry) and now it's Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen)

Currently watching - said above

Current fic - uh I'm just reading the stuff I already said

Current hyperfixation - brain recently has been toggling between Phineas and Ferb, Teen Titans (2003), Avatar The Last Airbender, Megamind, and my WIP The Secret Portal so uh pick one

Favorite color - T E A L

Sweet/spicy/savory - I guess savory but yeah depends on mood

Relationship status - happily dating ❤️

Last thing I Googled - Ming-Na Wen (wanted to know her age. She's 60)

Song stuck in my head - currently Somebody To Love (Queen - was listening to the greatest hits)

Favorite food - my dad's food, specifically his Cincinnati chili and his cake

Dream trip - New Zealand or Tokyo

Version 4

(highlight what describes you)

APPEARANCE

Dark hair* // I prefer loose clothing to tight clothing // I have one or more piercings // I have at least one tattoo // I have dyed or highlighted my hair // I have gotten plastic surgery // I have or had braces // I sunburn easily // I have freckles // I paint my nails // I typically wear makeup // I don't often smile// I am pleased with how I look // I prefer Nike to Adidas // I wear baseball hats backwards

*up for debate

ACTIVITIES/INTERESTS

I play a sport // I can play an instrument // I am artistic // I know more than one language // I have won a trophy in some sort of competition // I can cook or bake without a recipe // I know how to swim // I enjoy writing // I can do origami* // I prefer movies to tv shows // I can execute a perfect somersault // I enjoy singing // I could survive in the wild on my own // I have read a new book series this year // I enjoy spending time with friends // I travel during work or school breaks // I can do a handstand

*with instructions and not well

RELATIONSHIPS

I am in a relationship // I have been single for over a year// I have a crush* // I have a friend I've known for ten years // my parents are together // I have dated my best friend+ // I am adopted // My crush has confessed to me // I have a long distance relationship^ // I am an only child // I give advice to my friends // I have made an online friend // I met up with someone I have met online

*does my gf count as a crush? I still act like it lol

+am dating

^i think this is referring to romance but I do have other friends in other states

SEASONS

I have heard the ocean in a conch shell // I have watched the sunrise* // I enjoy rainy days // I have slept under the stars // I meditate outside // the sound of chirping calms me // I enjoy the smell of the beach // I know what snow tastes like // I listen to music to fall asleep // I enjoy thunderstorms // I enjoy cloud watching // I have attended a bonfire // I pay close attention to colours // I find mystery in the ocean // I enjoy hiking on nature paths // autumn is my favourite season

*I think once could be making that up

Take your bets if I'm an outdoorsy person (nope)

MISCELLANEOUS

I can fall asleep in a moving vehicle // I am the mom friend // I live by a certain quote // I like the smell of Sharpies // I am involved in extracurricular activities // I enjoy Mexican food // I can drive a stick shift // I believe in true love // I make up scenarios to fall asleep // I sing in the shower* // I wish I lived in a video game // I have a canopy above my bed+ // I am multiracial // I am a redhead // I own at least 3 dogs

*quietly

+used to

EDIT: I've decided to add onto this post whenever I get a new get to know me tag, so from here on out this was not in the original post

Version 5

I'm over 5'5 / I wear glasses or contacts (glasses) / I have blonde hair / I often wear sweatshirts (I think some of them count?) / I prefer loose clothing over tight clothes / I have one or two piercings / i have at least one tattoo / i have blue eyes / i have dyed or highlighted my hair / i have or have had braces / i have freckles / i paint my nails / I typically wear makeup / i don't often smile / resting boss face / i play sports (was in soccer in kindergarten haha) / I play an instrument (used to, violin) / i know more than one language (I know some ASL but I've forgotten most of it... ) / I can cook or bake / i like writing / i like to read / i can multitask / I have never dated anyone / I have a best friend that I have known for over five years (Cado, how has it been seven years almost????) / I am an only child

Version 6

Last song: as of answering this, technically I watched Psych so the theme song!

Favorite color: you should know this at this point in the post

Currently watching: Psych like I said, also Star Trek Voyager and a few on the side still (see above)

Sweet/spicy/savory: see Version 3

Current obsession: ...Psych but also my WIPs :)

Last thing I googled: thesaurus because I was doing the @sipofsnips and didn't have the word this morning

Favorite season: they all suck but I'll go with fall

Skill I'd like to learn: I want to draw good

Best advice: "thinking about it counts as working on it" because it's changed my outlook on how much I get done in a day, "progress is progress" for similar reasons but more general, and generally that if you burn yourself out trying to do everything nothing gets done

Woo! This was a LOT holy shit. Hope you know more about me!

Version 7

A scent you love: ooh cookies baking smells wonderful

Something you're looking forward to this week: finals finished yesterday which means more free time for me! I get to catch up on reading and writing!!

Currently reading: beta for Whispers by @magic-is-something-we-create WHICH I CAN FINALLY GET BACK TO WOOOO

Currently playing: not a video game person sorry - but I've been occasionally picking at mobile games like Animal Restaurant

Most recent movie: uh... When did I last watch a movie?? I think it was True Lies?? First time watching. Wasn't expecting it to be as chaotic as it was.

Current show: Star Trek Voyager and Psych! Partially rewatch/first time watching every episode and total rewatch respectively! I've not seen either since middle school so this is super exciting

Favorite season: autumn because it's starting to get cooler and pollen isn't everywhere

Recently learned: took a life in the universe class this semester and learned a lot about life in the universe (obviously) and while I have mixed feelings about the class MAN the content was fascinating

Water intake: currently drinking water like always :) । have to pee

[affectionatelyrs]

WIP Wednesday

Thank you so much for all the tags today @kiwiana-writes @leaves-of-laurelin @xthelastknownsurvivorx @littlemisskittentoes @firenati0n @hgejfmw-hgejhsf @anincompletelist @adreamareads @happiness-of-the-pursuit @rockyroadkylers and @read-and-write- - I might be very late to this but that just means I get to feel honored for getting tagged in all of y'alls posts (there's so much talent)

Here's another snippet from Gonna Give You Something (So You Know What's on My Mind) because part one is getting posted TOMORROW! :) I'M SO EXCITED - and part two, the continuation (and where this snippet is from) will likely be posted on Saturday

“Oh, what, these things?” Alex says airily as if donning lingerie is just something he does on any ordinary Saturday night. “They’re quite pretty, if I must say so myself.” Henry agrees—because obviously he does. It’s an indisputable fact, Alex’s blatant gorgeousness. He lights up every room that he walks into, and Henry is forced to constantly bask in his glow, what with the way he flings open their front door every day and has a habit of barging into Henry’s room unprovoked in the dead of night. It’s hard, trying to go to sleep, when his blackout curtains are rendered useless by Alex’s unrestrained brightness. Rather than admit any of this, Henry attempts to redirect the topic into safer, more neutral territory. It isn’t as though he’s unused to Alex’s intemperate banter, but sometimes, he makes it rather difficult to keep his surreptitious feelings kept under lock and key. There’s something about Alex’s eager eyes, his springy curls and pouty mouth, that make Henry want to hand over said key easily, proffered between his splayed-open palms. But he doesn’t. Because he can’t be certain what Alex would do with the key. Would he use it to unlock its contents? If so, would he handle them with the care and reverence he so desires, or would he neglect them, scrunch up his nose in contempt and discard the key as if its implications had burned him?

I once again have no idea if y'all have already done this but... you get a tag anyway because I like seeing y'all's work @inexplicablymine @welcometololaland @whimsymanaged @everwitch-magiks @tintagel-or-cockleshells @orchidscript @leaves-of-laurelin @lizzie-bennetdarcy @daisymae-12 @cultofsappho @cricketnationrise @rmd-writes @nocoastposts @myheartalivewrites and @matherines

[fleursom]

hello ! bringing you my hot mess of a girl ZHONG LINA ( 22 ) who works as a gossip columnist @ the herald and abuses the hell out of her charm manipulation ( tldr she can effectively manipulate her own or the charisma of others to her liking. by doing so, she can either amplify her / their charm or do the exact opposite ). still have to add a few pages, but for now you'll find important stuff below the cut. a little red heart if you're looking to plot would be appreciated, thank you! x

image credits to moonaetics on tumblr.

I. SYNOPSIS

ZHONG LINA's story goes a little something like this ... she's born to a mother who's made herself quite the name in the dance industry. as someone so renowned, it's only a given that her daughters follow in her footsteps. yep, hers and not dad's because he's never been in the picture. anyway! both daughters learn dancing from as early as age three under the watchful eyes of their mother, though it quickly becomes apparent that lina's elder sister possesses an exceptional, possibly inert talent for the arts. lina wasn't terrible per se, but no matter how hard she worked, her mother would only sing praise to her sister (didn't help that she was scoring lead roles for stage plays left and right whereas lina was left with crumbs of supportive roles).

luck does have its own unpredictable ways though (re: mom is able to pull some strings), for lina's efforts land her a role that finally allows her to showcase the world her own talent. said role becomes crucial for her admission into sunhwa arts high school which pretty much marks the beginning of her demise. she moves countries, pushes herself way too hard all the damn time, practices day and night to keep up with her sister's seemingly natural talent, and somewhere along the path she discovers her powers: the ability to temporarily charm people.

she keeps her abilities to herself for obvious reasons, but you see — in an environment as competitive as her school, isn't it only natural for her to utilise her powers as best as she possibly can? so yes, of course she begins charming people around her. it serves her for a good while, helps her pass evaluations and lands her a dozen opportunities to advance her career. hell, she even receives a sprinkle of mommy's attention!

and then comes her downfall.

the worst possible thing happens: an injury that ruins not only her future but also forces her into a painfully long recovery phase. her sister stays thriving, lina is in shambles, and mother doesn't know what to do with a useless daughter. so there goes everything the poor girl has worked so hard for. she's young, and yet it feels as though she's wasted too many years on ballet to find something new ... start over. but dwelling over her misery isn't a choice either. so she ponders and ponders, stumbles upon the second chance collective and knows that it might be her only (second) chance at life ... as a gossip columnist (she swears she hasn't charmed her way into the position).

II. PERSONALITY

lina is ... cotton candy clouds on an orange tinted sky. she's the dainty glow across the horizon with a smile that's warm like spring's first sun rays and gentle like the caress of an afternoon breeze. she's laughter in twilight, sweet like honey drizzled over cinnamon toast. when you see her you think of delicate windchimes and sun catchers, of butterflies and golden clouds. lina is a walking ray of sunshine ... and fake as they come.

that's right — none of it is real. well, most of it isn't real. and why so? because 80% of the time she's charmed people enough to get away with things. she's a girl with expensive taste, and those expenses had to be paid if not gifted to her by somebody, no? not that her neighbours have ever questioned where all that money comes from. lina is an archangel a little damaged. growing up in a predominantly competitive environment has shaped her personality in complex ways. she's a perfectionist, pays way too much attention to detail and appearance, has a blunt communication style that can come off harsher than she intends to — but also grapples with vulnerability. she's very prone to second guessing other people's intentions and motives which makes socialising on a deeper level a little difficult for her ( how many genuine friends does she truly have ). and speaking of, the cunning minx knows how to hold grudges. now lina isn't terrible to have around per se! she can very much be fun and genuinely empathetic ... it just doesn't come as naturally to her as it should.

II. PLOTS

enemies? a neighbour she has yet to charm? a muse's beloved that she has exploited? co-workers who find her suspicious? a friend ... maybe two? meet uglies & meet cutes? maybe she does you a favour (charms someone for you)? somebody from her past? your muse witnesses lina in the act? honestly! would very much love to brainstorm a little something ( or perhaps take on a wanted connection of yours that may suit lina ) so if you're down, leave behind some love and i shall slide into those dms. little side note that it's busy szn for me so replies will be a tad slow. catch you around!

[lqfiles]

ANON WHO BROUGHT UP LUCAS THANK U I WAS ITCHING TO TALK AB HIM BUT I WAS SOOO SCARED BC i didn’t know if it was a safe space free of lumis or not…

my ig feels kinda curated to show me content of him there’s so much of his stans there compared to tiktok and the specific posts im getting is like “dreamies winning for smoothie!! …lucas in the back🥺💔” OR “dejun introducing lucas for his stage🥺🥺” SHUUTTT UPPPPP

it’s especially aggravating when there are situations in the industry that were far less impactful than his allegations the ones i’m thinking of specifically is soojin ex gidle as well as chuu have not promoted on music shows BUT WITHIN LIKE TWO MONTHS OF HIM COMING BACK HE GETS TO HAVE HIS SOLO DEBUT AND PERFORM??? and don’t even get me started on seunghan. what the fuck do you mean ot6 siren gtfo

i gave up on editing and was making shitposts on my tiktok praying for the downfall of sm ent because it seems they have a 7 member group curse DIEEE!!! (respectfully..! i lov u lee donghyuck i hope u can be free from the sm shackles in due time)

HSDJDKSKS don’t worry this is never a safe space for him and his fan i rlly do not like that guy and you’ll never catch me praising him.. anyways i got some stuff to say too but it will probably be the only time i’ll speak on it here because i don’t like giving that man attention 😶‍🌫️

bro i’m not surprised that you’re getting that stuff because when i tell you 99% of nctzens on insta are all lucas fans it actually shocked me 😭😭 i remember once commenting smth like “we don’t want him back” and i got sent death threats like OVER DOZEN???? MR CANT FIND THE BEAT?? 😭😭😭 tiktok is really 50/50 with a side that’s here for him and another side that doesn’t like him. the only platform i know where it’s mostly people disliking him is twitter but even then he got a pretty large following on there that is LOUD and ANNOYING

and you’re so right about that ITS SO CRAZY TO ME how SM just wouldn’t let go off him like they were so adamant on keeping him in the company for some reason and have been soft launching him for a good year trying to get the public to ease a bit, (the amount of concerts he’s attended to make his presence known.. you’re not slick SM) and i just don’t get what value he has to that company. he doesn’t bring the talent like he literally invented the term dozen because he dozen do anything right, he doesn’t bring the visuals, you can argue that he brings fans because he got a very huge SEA and latin (?) fan population that is veryyyy loud but even then the number of haters is much bigger, china literally hates him and korea barely tolerates him.

they didn’t hesitate to put seunghan on hiatus and are literally erasing him from the group in real time with the ot6 siren ver it’s crazyyy, all because he got his privacy invaded and did acceptable teen things? they kicked that SNSD member out for starting her own clothing brand and i’m sure they blacklisted her too, jaejoong got blacklisted too, soojin and chuu got kicked out, but the guy who has literal criminal allegations (that he basically admitted to himself) gets a whole pity sob documentary as well as rebranding as a soloist? chris lee is the biggest dick rider ever for this and it will never make sense to me😭

i honestly don’t like talking about him or mentioning him because 1. any type of publicity can be good publicity to him 2. arguing with his fans is useless and tiring because they will NOT change their mind 3. his face and existence annoys me so yeah i don’t like mentioning him because what’s the point hate-watching his content like that’s still publicity for him

but yeah if i find out any of his fans follow me i’ll literally block, even if you dont follow me and i find you’re his fan i block 💀 NOT A SAFE SPACE FOR LUMIS PLEASE LEAVE BEFORE I HAVE TO BLOCK U MYSELF 😭🙏🏽

[polaroid-angel]

I just got the biggest dot connection I've ever had. ANd it definitely had something to do with those visions ya got there buddy!!!!

Ok, so! Have you- Have you heard of the dude who owned the restaurant? RIght?! THis definitely ties in later. He's the same guy that was- well, he was- Anyways, like i mentioned before, involved in fire.

Uhh, something something were there any traces of the-that dude's death and did you- you go to the burnt site for any clues???

And uh uhhhh, that's all! Good night!

{Looks like the anon passed out. Whether it was from the sugar crash or lack of sleep, who knows.}

[theorist anon]

"...! OH-! Right!! That reminded me, thank you for mentioning the site...! I might be able to find clues on the cult there...!"

It seems he's finally remembered to check that place out! Good on you, anon!

"A-And the man... the owner—Vincent Charbonneau?"

Forcas rummaged through his bag. There were hoards and hoards of frustratingly useless items, but aside from those trinkets, he found a newspaper clipping.

"I... found an interview in an old paper..."

"When Chef Charbonneau opened his innovative restaurant at La Gueule de Saturne, it had grown to steady success among older, more classically refined patrons. However after 6 years of its opening it’s remained a modern dining location despite many initial concerns of its monthly rotation and strict menu growing stale as a form of contemporary dining. Despite the dining experience staying consistent, critics have recently noted a drastic shift in employee numbers"

"I asked him about these changes."

"'I’ve prided my location not only on what I can personally bring to the table, but on the talent and passion my workers can provide.'"—

Blegh, boring interview stuff.

"So that's Vincent Charbonneau. He's... he sounds pretty nice."

"Let's see if that will hold up. It's time I visited that burn site."

[creepywrites]

The next generation

Warnings: physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse.

Sam Woods

Parents: Jeff (dad) and Bailey (mum)

Species: human

Age: 14

Sexuality: bisexual, she/her

The 3 D's: bipolar, ADD

She was an accident child, a one night stand baby, and Jeff never knew of her existence.

Bailey did a dna test and after finding out he was now a wanted criminal, pretended he never existed and hoped she wouldn't ask about him.

Sam never asked and wasn't curious enough to ask, she's very close to Bailey.

Sam sees her more like a friend than a mum, they hang out all the time.

Bailey wanted the name Sam because she thought Sammy was a cute nickname.

Sam's favourite artists are Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift.

She loves softball, she tries to convince Bailey to play all the time and plays after school.

Her stims are jumping and flicking.

Sam's hyper-fixation are sharks.

She wears a lot of casual clothing.

She always has her hair short and hates having it long, she finds it hard to maintain otherwise.

Sam loves the rain and finds it very calming, when she loves to play in the rain and puddles.

She used to bring handfuls of bugs into the house and tried to make them her pets.

Sam was diagnosed with bipolar at 12.

Eventually it got out that they were Jeff’s family and were constantly harassed by the public.

She starts living with Liu in around the same year because Bailey thought she was safer there.

It took her a few months to adjust to everything.

She tried to understand Bailey’s reasoning, but felt betrayed and lonely, she never had as close a relationship with Liu like Bailey.

She’s fluent in English and has an American accent.

Kadanna Meyer

"Parents": Jason toymaker (creator)

Species: wax doll

Age: 15

Sexuality: aroace repulsed,  she/it's,

The 3 D's: none

She was made by Jason and was made to give him company, after so many kids betrayed him, he decided to craft his own, one that cares about him and doesn't take anything for granted.

It was made out of beeswax specifically for its durability and to protect her against heat.

She hates moths and butterflies, Kadanna hates insects in general, but the hatred and fear for moths and butterflies runs deep, the ones with eye patterns are worst.

She was created to look similar to Amelia, but he also wanted it to look like she could be his daughter, so it looks like a combination of Amelia and himself.

She's very polite and calm, kadanna knows not to be noisy or make messes.

She doesn't ask for much, but gets lots of toys and gifts anyway, she's very thankful to Jason.

She is very emotionally dependent on Jason, she doesn't like being too away from him, he's happy, she's over the moon, he's sad her world comes crashing down.

Kadanna loves watching him create things, she used to consider any new creation as family, and was horrified when he destroyed them, though Jason made sure it knew that the useless trinkets he was making were just that.

She does get pretty jealous when he makes a big, detailed project, though.

He gave her a small wooden doll because she was still attached to it.

Kadanna is a confident and shallow person.

She loves magicians, she finds them very talented and intriguing, Kadanna sometimes tries to replicate the tricks.

She likes loves nature play, she usually has to find ways to entertain herself without Jason as he's usually busy in the workshop or out finding another friend.

It doesn't have any friends, she only hangs around Jason.

She’s fluent in English and has a British accent.

Alex Richard-Vaughn

Parents: Jane the killer (adoptive mum) and Mary (adoptive mum)

Species: human

Age: 16

Sexuality: straight,  he/him

The 3 D's: panic disorder, depression and c-PTSD

His biological dad had a horrible temper and brought it out on Alex, he always had some sort of bruise or wound on him.

His arm was broken when he was 5, after he didn't do what he was told.

Alex's biological mum left during the night when Alex was 5 years old.

He was put into foster by the age of 7, his teacher noticed bruises on him and how he's often brought to school dirty, Alex innocently told him what was happening at home, and CPS was called.

CPS was called numerous times previously but nothing happened.

It took Alex two years to get fostered and another year to be adopted by Jane and Mary, not many people wanted an older kid.

Alex was scared at first and it took him a year to be more comfortable, when he was adopted his behaviour changed drastically and would get very upset over the tiniest things until he adjusted.

He's still skittish around them and is overly polite, they try and reassure him that this is his new home and things are different now, and he knows it, but it's grown into him.

Alex likes sports and running around, he always wants to go to the park and meet new people.

His favourite sport is soccer.

He's always dirty, he could barely be outside but still manages to get something on him.

Alex loves anything sour, he tries to put has much of it in his mouth without a reaction.

He loves going on Mary's shoulders when going for walks.

Alex likes helping in the kitchen with Mary, he loves cooking in general.

His favourite artist is Ed Sheeran.

His last name was changed after he was adopted.

Deathly afraid of spiders, especially ones that jump.

He's in therapy.

He’s fluent in English and has an American accent.

Elisabeth, Scott and Ariel

Parents: Killing Kate (mum) and Mark (dad) Nina the killer (stepmum)

Species: human

Age: 13, 13, 7

Sexuality: pansexual, she/her, gay, he/them, cupioromantic, straight, she/her,

The 3 D's: social anxiety, ADHD, haemolacria (Elisabeth) asthma, depression (Scott) fibromyalgia, autism, deaf (Ariel)

Elisabeth and Scott are the result of unprotected sex, they weren't planned at the time.

Kate hated being pregnant, if it's one thing she loves, it's her looks, and she did not like the look during and after pregnancy.

She worked out a lot to make herself look better.

Kate didn't know she was pregnant until after the first trimester, she freaked out not only because she was pregnant, but also because she had been drinking.

They adopted Ariel, she was curious about her biological parents, because it's a closed adoption they didn't have much to go off of.

The twins were raised solely by Kate in her early years as Mark passed shortly after their birth.

She were introduced to Nina at 6.

Elisabeth favourite artist is Girl in Red and Cavetown, Scott likes Radiohead and imagine dragons.

Elisabeth and Ariel never had many friends, and when they did they didn't last long because of how often they used to move.

Scott was more likely to keep in contact.

None of them are aware that Kate, Mark and Nina are assassins and they plan on keeping it that way.

Elisabeth is a very protective and hyper kid, but often has trouble talking to people.

She tries going outside and meet new people, she won't leave until she's talked to at least 2 people so she can improve talking to people.

Scott is a reserved person that gets loud and hyper when they're comfortable with people.

Ariel is very quiet and reserved.

Ariel is completely deaf in her right and has some hearing in her left.

She has hearing aids, she only wears them going outside, she's confident enough in her lip reading.

They're good with knives and guns, Kate and Nina taught them early on how to protect themselves.

Scott loves to read, he picked up the hobby after being alone a lot, he likes them better with pictures.

Elisabeth likes playing Roblox.

Ariel likes collecting bugs.

Her special interest is my little pony.

They’re all fluent in English and Spanish, with a slight Mexican accent.

Alice

Parents: Nina (adoptive mum), Killing Kate (step mum)

Species: human

Age: 16

Sexuality: straight,  she/her

The 3 D's: anxiety, PTSD, bipolar disorder

She was fostered by Nina at 10 and adopted a few months later.

She only had one other foster home before getting sent back.

They were strict and she couldn't keep up with all the rules and stressed out.

She was ultimately sent back because the current people couldn't handle her and the meltdowns.

She was introduced to Kate at 12.

Alice was on multiple different medications before finding the one that works for her.

She loves doing her hair and makeup, sometimes she'll get Nina to do something with it as she has more experience in doing bright experimental colours and styles.

She's more introverted and prefers to be by herself.

She likes collecting pins.

Alice has been practicing self defence but is struggling to understand.

She's closer to Nina than she is with Kate.

It took Alice awhile to even begin to talk to the others, and they aren't that close.

She’s fluent in English and has a slight Mexican accent.

Raji

Parents: Lulu

Species: ghost

Age: 16

Sexuality: aroace repulsed,  he/him

The 3 D's: severe depression, mute

He was killed by his mum and then herself on the day they were supposed to go to court for custody hearing over Raji.

His throat is constantly bleeding and can't move his head as much.

He met Lulu when she was out looking for her cabin again.

He trusted her almost straight away and helped her find the cabin and in return she let him stay and looked after him.

He gets bored in the cabin a lot and often goes wondering to keep himself occupied.

Raji is an active and extroverted kid, he loved playing sports with his friends, now he runs around with the nearby animals.

His powers are intangibility, super strength and possession.

He very rarely uses them.

He’s fluent Hindi and English, with an Indian accent.

John and Haley

Parents: Vicky (adoptive mum)

Species: human

Age: 13 and 17

Sexuality: straight, he/him, bisexual, she/her

The 3 D's: ASPD, depression, (Johnny) BPD, bipolar, depression (Haley)

Vicky killed their parents and felt guilty just leaving them there.

A lot of the time they get looked after by Hannah and Jane too.

She used to leave them in the car as kids when she was killing.

John likes playing the guitar, he has an acoustic version but also wants an electric one.

Haley can't stand it whenever he plays because it's just noise to her.

Haley likes doing makeup and baking, she often practices on Vicky and Hannah.

They never had a proper education and sometimes were homeschooled.

John and Haley often clash because of how different they are.

Vicky tried to get them to at least be civil.

John is fluent in English and has an American accent.

Haley is fluent in English and French, she fakes a French accent but has an American accent.

Theodore, Chester and Nancy

Parents: Rosie (mum) Billy (dad) Hunter (stepdad)

Species: human

Age: 21, 20, and 17

Sexuality: straight, he/him, straight, he/him, straight, she/her

The 3 D's: depression and PTSD(Theodore) anxiety, PTSD and ADD (Chester) ADD (Nancy)

Theodore and Chester had to deal with Billy more than Nancy, who barely remembers him.

The two got in trouble a lot by him when Rosie wasn't around and was hurt on occasion too.

It caused problems for them when they grew up and struggle to stand up for themselves.

Nancy liked Hunter almost straight away while the two were hesitant about him.

Theodore and Nancy have had arguments over Billy and Hunter when she tries talking about them.

Theodore is in university majoring in business, Rosie still insists on making him lunches.

He finds her a bit overbearing but appreciates her.

Chester graduated high school and moved in with his friends.

Nancy wants to go to university and get a job in arts.

They think Chester is a bit weird because of his bug hobby, a lot of gifts for him are big related.

They are all fluent in English and have an English accent.

Nancy is also fluent in French and Spanish.

Caleb, Kimberly and Justin Woods

Parents: Liu (dad) and Susan (mum)

Species: human

Age: 14

Sexuality: straight, he/him, straight, demigirl, she/they, gay, he/him

The 3 D's: POTs, depression, ADD(Caleb) autism, depression (Kimberly) asthma (Justin)

They were with Susan for most of their childhood, they were told bits and pieces about Liu, they all had different opinions on him, Kimberly didn't, and still doesn't like him, none of them know the real reason why he wasn't around and she assumes it's out of necessity after Susan died.

Though he's grown on her she doesn't plan on keeping contact when they moves out.

Caleb was a mix of emotions but started liking him after he got to know him.

Justin assumed he had a good reason.

Kimberly lost some of their hearing in her left ear when she hit her head on the ice while ice skating.

She's always loved ice skating and likes bringing Justin.

Caleb is an ambulatory user and only uses his wheelchair on bad days, sometimes going days without it.

Justin likes playing tennis and makes Kimberly play with him.

He's alway enjoyed sports, though his asthma annoys him and made it very difficult before he had the hang of it.

Caleb likes painting, he usually paints surreal scenes.

Someone's always making sure Caleb drinks and eats plenty, as he often forgets and could go nearly the whole day without food.

Justin came out to them at 13, and Kimberly was questioning herself around that time.

They all miss Susan, Caleb and Kimberly are more open about it though.

Carmen Harrison

Parents: Randy, Lilith and Keith

Species: human

Age: 15

Sexuality: lesbian, she/her

The 3 D's: ADHD

She wasn’t planned, but Lilith didn’t like abortions. Randy had no idea until a few years after her birth.

He only found out after he was out of prison, he didn’t know how to feel about it but didn’t want to leave her.

Randy told Keith and they’ve been looking after her since.

She got her name when Isabella and Steven were looking after her.

She had a temporary name before they started looking after her.

She was very tomboyish growing up and hated anything girly, as she got older she started liking it more.

She also got more into colour coordination and instead of throwing whatever she finds first on.

She’s a big fan of Bluey, her favourite being Bingo.

She is very active and likes playing hockey and basketball the most.

Troy often babysits whenever they couldn’t bring Carmen with them.

She doesn’t have many friends and usually keeps to herself, she doesn’t care for school in general and just wants to graduate.

She picked up reading from Randy and took his unused books, she often has reread what she just read because she wasn’t paying attention or forgot what she read.

Her favourite genre is post apocalyptic and fantasy.

Her hyper fixation is zombies.

It started with plants vs zombies.

She hates socks because of the seam and wore them inside out before getting seamless ones.

She’s fluent in Spanish and English, she has a slight Spanish accent.

[justmybookthots]

Guild Codex: Demonized

4/5 stars

Hello to this series that has consumed my life the past couple of days. What is wild is that I almost did not read this series. I saw in the reviews that the demon was in a contract with the heroine in exchange for cookies, and I was like, that sounds overly comedic and I personally dislike it when comedy dominates fiction, so no.

But after reading the first two books in the Red Winter trilogy by the same author, I decided to give this one a try.

LUCKILY IT WASN’T ANYTHING LIKE THAT (the cookies were something the demon had no choice but to accept because they were both desperate for a contract at the time) AND THIS SERIES HAS ETCHED ITS PLACE AMONG MY FAVOURITE BOOKS. 

I just binged this entire series (all four books) from Sunday to Thursday, wtf. I started the first book on Sunday and finished it on Monday (I think??), then tried to take a break but ended up bingeing anyway. The first book was pretty much near perfection; there was almost nothing I could critique about it. Every scene with Zylas (ZYLAS!!!) hit the spot and while I feared their exchanges would become repetitive, each scene was chef’s kiss and had a purpose that led to a greater picture. The other three books weren’t as perfect, especially the last one, but they still had me in an iron-grip and had me zooming through all of them.

The last time I was this engrossed in a series, it was with Cruel Prince. I think it was my obsession with Zylas that really sucked me in. I haven’t loved a male lead like that in a while. At some point, I thought he even rivalled Cardan (now, maybe not? I don’t know). He was rude, cruel, even kind of sociopathic in the first book, which made sense because he was a demon. I was so worried he’d soften up right away and just end up behaving like a normal person (which so many books make the mistake of. Being arrogant but tortured does not make a male lead a demon, just a stereotypical hero, thank you very much) but he was always so unpredictable. I loved how he touched Robin’s hand - then grabbed her into the summoning circle and asked how her blood tasted. It was totally out of nowhere in an otherwise soft moment that had lulled me into a false sense of security. 

I also loved that he wasn't considered strong for a demon, and had to use his cunning to fight a lot of times. °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖° My heart almost broke, though, when Robin forced him to fight the demon from the First House and nearly got him killed. Gahhhhhhhhhhhhh. I don't know why, but I found that plot point soooo good.

Also, in the second book, him harassing Socks (the cat) was EVERYTHING:

I also really liked Robin - she wasn’t the badass, snarky heroine that I’ve read in so many fantasy books. She was timid, and combat-wise really useless. She had to struggle to make herself useful during battle, and was more book smart than street smart. AND I LOVED IT. It was such a refreshing change from what I was used to, and what I’d been looking for. I’d even asked Reddit for recommendations… I wonder why they didn’t recommend this to me? Or maybe they did, and I forgot.

But I digress. 

I think Annette Marie is really talented, and while the language is very straightforward and not very pretty or flowery or anything like that, the story is extremely well-written. My eyes started glazing over when the action got too intense, though, and I ended up skimming the fight scenes. I’ve never really cared about action in fiction, if I’m being honest. I always skim that, including in thrillers. 

The last thing I’d like to add is that after Robin and Zylas consummated their relationship in the last book, their tension kind of ebbed for me, and I wasn’t as invested in them anymore. I’m not sure why - was I so invested in their slow burn that I didn’t care afterwards? I also think the sex scene was meh, and could have been done with better foreplay and all that shit to make it more intense, because it felt - no pun intended - kind of anticlimactic. If the romance is slow-burn, so should the. Fucking. Sex!!!!!

(Also I would have liked Zylas to be more... in pursuit, lmao, but that's neither here nor there.)

Overall, it was so FANTASTIC, and I just loved, loved, loved their little makeshift family with Amalia (GO AMALIA!!! Loved how Robin and her formed a friendship that lasted all the books) and Socks. I was terrified of finishing the series too fast because I’d have a massive book hangover, so… yikes. Thankfully, I think I’m okay, because the last book wasn’t hitting as hard.

I hope I'm okay...

Also, some of my favourite quotes:

❤️❤️ (Can I also say I'm obsessed with his tail? FIRST CARDAN, NOW ZYLAS. WHY DO I KEEP FALLING FOR MEN WITH TAILS?)

- 20 July 2023

[littlethingwithfeathers]

I admit... I just love these...

1. Are you named after anyone?

Storytime.

So I was supposed to be named after both my grandmothers. But one of my grandmothers was like “Don’t name her after me! She’ll sound like an old lady and she’ll hate it!” So my mom said “FINE! If she’s born on your birthday, we won’t name her after you.”

That would put me at two weeks late...

I’m named after the Allman Brothers Song “Sweet Melissa.”

2. When was the last time you cried? Earlier this week. I cry when I get frustrated so it’s a pretty regular thing unfortunately. Big feelings, good or bad, come straight out of my eyeballs.

3. Do you have kids? Nope. Not human ones anyway. Never had a desire to have kids, and I’ve always felt like that’s something you should do with your whole everything.

4. Do you use sarcasm a lot? More than I should.

5. What sports do you play/have played? I never did sports. I attended a basketball camp for about a day and a half before I decided that there was entirely too much yelling. My physical activity of choice was dance and marching band. And eventually hiking.

6. What's the first thing you notice about people? Usually their tone of voice.

7. What's your eye color? green

8. Scary movies or happy endings? Happy endings. of those two. As far as movies go, my preference is for things like spy flicks, heists, action movies, and sometimes a good spooky story (think Sixth Sense and not The Ring).

9. Any special talents? I’m a really good cook. Like not a chef or anything, but like... I can make soup out of anything. I can feed a crowd on a budget. And I’m pretty good at it. I’m also very good at being calm in an emergency. I think it’s actually an anxiety thing... I’m anxious all the time so I’m used to dealing with it and thinking through it.

10. Where were you born? Skipping, sorry.

11. What are your hobbies? Cooking, video games (usually things like Stardew Valley, Darkest Dungeon... more indie stuff than Triple A), crocheting, Magic the Gathering, gardening, and sometimes writing.

12. Do you have pets? I have two cats! Kaylee and Inara. They’re useless and adorable.

13. How tall are you? 5'9"

14. Favorite subject in school? It really depended on the teacher... But I guess it would be history or literature, but I had teachers that made it me hate it desperately. But if I was going to go back to college for a class of my choosing it would probably be philosop

15. Dream job? Honestly... I don’t know anymore. And I’m okay with that. I had a career in theatre for about ten years that I just recently left behind because the industry is acutely toxic locally. (it’s toxic everywhere... but the local scene has its own brand). Right now... honestly I’m enjoying being a homeowner. Like... that’s my job. I keep our house running. And... maybe I’ll get bored with that. And when I do I’ll find something else to do, but until then, I’ll enjoy my little garden and my kitchen and playing video games and doing laundry... honestly I enjoy laundry day more than I enjoyed my old job at the point I quit.  So... yeah. Dunno at this point. Cause I like my life.

I was tagged by @serenitynerd! Mwah, lovely! And I tag... whoever wants to do this. And @hawthorneox, who now must complete due to honor or some shit.

[mywifeleftme]

234: Black Star // Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star

Mos Def & Talib Kweli are Black Star Black Star 1998, Rawkus

Fair warning about the review ahead:

Remember dial-up modems? I croak as my dentures slide down my throat and prolapse my anus. I grew up in a pretty rural part of Ontario, so when I made a conscious effort to get into rap in the early ‘00s at age 17 or so, I was stuck downloading 72MB .rar folders off music blogs that would take 6 to 10 hours on our rickety 56k modem. We only had one phone line, so I would do the bulk of my downloading overnight, hoping that the connection wouldn’t blip out while I slept and leave me with a useless partially downloaded version of like, King of Rock or Straight Out the Jungle or whatever. Money for CDs was limited by my let’s call it principled abstention from getting a job, but when I could skip enough lunches to get a wad of cash together it went right to the music section at whatever big box store I could get a ride to. The first rock and metal CDs I bought in my early teens were predictably humiliating (e.g. Godsmack, the second Buckcherry record), but I was pretentious enough by the time I had my rap phase that my first picks were actually pretty tight: Public Enemy’s Fear of a Black Planet and Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star.

I had been trying to get a grasp on rap by downloading the canon in chronological order, but because I bought Black Star during this stretch I actually heard it at the same time I was listening to the golden age records it evokes—“Definition” and Boogie Down Productions, “A Children’s Story” and Slick Rick, De La and Tribe and Mos and Talib all in conversation. Nowadays, I tend to be skeptical of artists that pound their chests about being “old school” while aping well-worn trends, but everything comes together so well on Black Star: two emcees just old enough to be the little cousins of the first wave of true rap stars who want their own turn at making music in a style that had already moved on. With the confidence of prodigiously talented young men, they forced that closed door open just wide enough to create what might be the last masterpiece of its branch of the hip-hop family tree.

As of 2023, Mos (now Yasiin Bey) has now released more confusing press releases about his various retirements than great albums, and Talib Kweli is best known for sweatily harassing women who criticize him on Twitter, but Black Star catches each at the height of their abilities, rhyming like visionaries about real shit over tracks that turn the memory of classic beats into myths and ancient mating calls. Was any golden age track closer to the poetic soul than what Mos, Talib, and guest Common do with DJ Hi-Tek’s “Respiration”? Do any feel more true to the spirit of Toni Morrison or Amiri Baraka than the 88-keys-produced “Thieves in the Night”? As young people often do, the Black Star crew looked at a period not more than five to ten years past as though it were time out of mind—but something in the intensity of their nostalgia, the size of the legend they built up in their minds, gave them the space they needed to create a record the equal of their great forebears.

How it happened, I’m not quite sure: it seemed like there were a hundred emcees in the Rawkus orbit who could absolutely rap their asses off, and some talented producers to boot, but you can count on three fingers the number of truly essential LPs that came out of it (I’ll pause here for somebody to lose their shit over my downplaying Pharoahe Monch’s Internal Affairs). But, for a little while anyway, Mos Def could walk on water with a mic in his hand, and he softened Talib’s energy just enough that the uncontrollable torrent of the man’s flow was briefly channeled into a machine of balance and grace. I could listen to the way they pass it back and forth all my life, and I likely will.

234/365

[team7-headquarter]

Naruto got isolated and discriminated by an entire village after his parents DIED to save the place (his mother came from one of the main founding clans and he's dad was basically the president....) and he was used as a sacrifice to seal the moster who attacked them, with an law saying absolutely no one could tell him the truth about his nature or his parents, so what did Naruto do? He decided that everyone would fucking love and adore him in the future, which is impressive and creepy and king behavior coming from him 'cause he did it.

Sasuke got betrayed by the equivalent of a militar government that made his older brother kill their entire clan (in exchange Sasuke being the lonely survivor) and join a terrorist organization as a spy, (a fact no one knew because the government was shitty and corrupted as that); people proceeded then to tell him to get over it or pretended they knew who it felt, to which Sasuke answered by becoming a rogue ninja ready to make the entire shinobi system pay in blood for their failure to his clan, a plan that I find legendary on its own, but also terrifying and worrying (he deserves better).

Sakura got bullied when she was a child because she had a big forehead and it was bad enough for her to end up developing an alter ego that was perturbing to say the least, funny in occasions because what the actual hell that's a little girl, but the story just... never talked about it? She decided to train and become as strong and talented as she was pretty and smart, 'cause she was constantly told she was a burden or weak or not enough or useless, and one day the alter ego dissapeared??? But we never got an explanation??? Anyway.........

To this day I still think about how Sakura helped found a mental hospital for children, but never acknowledge that she had something... weird... going on in her head. 'Cause Sasuke and Naruto are fucked up and they have every reason to be like that, but I think only Ino knows about Inner...

[nameless-brand]

9

[[ 50 Random Character Questions ]]

9. Talk about the people you know at work. Do you like them? Do you hang out with them after work? 

That's going to be a very long list. Haha. I'll try to abbreviate it some.

Let's see here. I have my personal bodyguards which include Frank and Naveed. I see them almost every day on a rotating schedule. All of them are from the Nameless Cult of the past timeline, though they don't know it. It was Frank who gathered them to create a security service. After I found them, I told them I wanted their services exclusively, and I integrated them into the company to provide the muscle for work that requires discretion.

I have regional managers that report to me directly every two or three days, which includes Damien, Sasha's mentor. He's very very good at what he does - inspiring the workers, attention to logistics, and interpersonal matters, he's a master of it all. It makes sense because he was the one who brought the Nameless Cult to the modern era and set up many of its prior holdings without pressuring a single member. We talk daily. Usually he nags me about my eating habits. All I need is sugar in my system, coffee, and multivitamins. And milkshakes are just very fast and very convenient for me to consume while working. And there's a lot of flavors so it's not boring.

There's rotating housestaff also. I usually have one or two in whatever office residence I'm staying at; currently I'm in Gotham Heights - nice affluent area compared to the rest of the city. The rest of the staff are at my mansion back in NJ, which is more a retirement home now, I suppose. A lot of the elderly members of the Nameless Cult and their spouses are living there, all 15 of them. It took a bit of convincing and also showing up in person; they thought I was scamming them at first. My excuse was I'm repaying a debt of gratitude in the past - and had them sign a very simple contract that guarantees permanent housing to let them feel at ease. My public identity helped with the convincing too.

I do like them. Most of them are from the Nameless Cult of the prior timeline.

You know... A person dies their second death when they are finally forgotten. I'm grateful they didn't forget a useless person like me back then - still kept the Faith I'd return someday. Otherwise, pretty, talented me might not exist now. And that would be such a shame.

I'll find everyone eventually. I promised myself that.

As for hanging out, I'm usually the one too busy for that, and it'll just be a drag on the festivities: who wants their ultimate boss to come to their get-together? I know I wouldn't haha.

In any case, there's a lot of work to be done and only a lifetime to do it anyway.

[radio-ronpa]

Disneyronpa 2: The Cash Grab Sequel

Oh, we're doing this. I've got something to prove to myself now.

Same rules as V3 apply, with the added rules that I can't use any of the ones from the last batch, and the song has to have been written specifically for the film (no Elvis from Lilo and Stitch. However, I can go back to a movie if I used it in the V3 batch.

1. Akane Owari - Streets of Gold (Oliver and Company)

Akane might not be scrounging to feed her siblings anymore, but this song captures her attitude anyways

2. Byakuya T(w)ogami - Hi-Diddle-Dee-Dee (An Actor's Life For Me) (Pinocchio)

Thank goodness Twogami is considerably more altruistic than Honest John.

3. Chiaki Nanami - Goodbye May Seem Forever (The Fox and the Hound)

[Modvocado was unable to provide commentary because he was ugly crying too much.]

4. Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu - The Elegant Captain Hook (Peter Pan)

Sign up for the yaku-- I mean, a pirate crew! Come work for this fancy lad with anger issues! Golden Age of Piracy AU when?

5. Gundham Tanaka - The Headless Horseman (The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad)

That's right, we're going deep cuts on this bitch. Spooky and devilish, but still a good time.

6. Hajime Hinata - Part of Your World (The Little Mermaid)

I wanna be where the Ultimates are. Hajime's definitely a fish out of water. And as with Shuichi, our main protags get princess songs.

7. Hiyoko Sayonji - When I Am Older (Frozen 2)

Well, I couldn't give her I Know Things Now from Into the Woods, so please accept this as a substitute. Growing up is hard, and even more so when all your friends keep getting murdered.

8. Kazuichi Souda - Fixer Upper (Frozen)

Poor Kazuichi. He's trying his best, damn it.

9. Ibuki Mioda - Trashin' the Camp (Tarzan)

One, this song is pure joyful chaos, just like Ibuki. Two, I'm pretty sure she's made music with weirder techniques than smashing pottery.

10. Mahiru Koizumi - Almost There (The Princess and the Frog)

Like Tiana, Mahiru is hardworking, optimistic, and completely over the men surrounding her.

11. Mikan Tsumiki - Mother Knows Best (Tangled)

There may not be any actual moms around, but I'm pretty sure this is what Mikan hears in her brain at all times.

12. Nagito Komaeda - Waiting on a Miracle (Encanto)

Unlike Hajime in his separate world, Nagito is a part of the family, but his opinion of his 'useless talent' keeps him on the sidelines, trapped in adoration for the talented while fucked up about his own place.

13. Nekomaru Nidai - One Last Hope (Hercules)

Phil's methods might be a little different than Nekomaru's, but the love for their athletes is the same.

14. Peko Pekoyama - Let Me Be Good to You (The Great Mouse Detective)

Okay, Peko wouldn't be caught dead doing a burlesque number (not sober anyways), but it's also at its core a song about serving (in some capacity) an emotionally constipated criminal bad boy, and well, Fuyupeko for life.

15. Sonia Nevermind - With a Smile and a Song (Snow White and the Seven Dwarves)

The Ultimate Princess gets the original Disney Princess song. There's been many princesses since Snow White, but some things are just universal.

16. Teruteru Hanamura - Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)

I'm not going to lie, this was almost Les Poissons, but Be Our Guest won out in the end. Lumiere is definitely the kind of smooth Teruteru thinks himself as.

This one was definitely harder, but still super fun. I've already got ideas for Trigger Happy Havoc.

Disney I want songs for each V3 character, go!

I got this a few days ago and I've been ruminating on it. I think I've finally settled on them? Plus notes on why I picked that song.

Here's the rules: Has to be from an official Disney Animated Classic (no Pixar, live action, or straight to vid sequels). Must occur within the run time of animation (no songs that only appear in the credits, ala True to Your Heart from Mulan). Only one song can be used from a particular film.

Let's fucking goooooo.

1. Angie Yonaga - Give a Little Whistle (Pinocchio)

Have you ever seen Jiminy Cricket and Atua in the same place? Think about it.

2. Gonta Gokuhara - The Bare Necessities (The Jungle Book)

Optimistic, joyous, and appreciative of all of life's moments, even if they are very small.

3. Himiko Yumeno - The Next Right Thing (Frozen 2)

If there was a DRV3 stage musical, this would be the number she does at the end of Trial 3. It's literally perfect.

4. Kaede Akamatsu - Good Company (Oliver and Company)

The scene with this song in the movie is literally a piano lesson, and it's about being friends and having faith in that. How could I not?

5. Kaito Momota - Go the Distance (Hercules)

Oh, I want to be a hero because I feel like I don't belong anywhere and I want to be strong enough to give my friends good hugs? Herc and Kaito are both beautiful himbos.

6. Kiibo - Strangers Like Me (Tarzan)

I mean, Keebs is real Pinocchio sometimes, but I started crying imagining him to this song. He's so earnest and I love that for him.

7. Kirumi Tojo - Very Good Advice (Alice in Wonderland)

Classic, underappreciated, and sad as fuck.

8. Kokichi Ouma - The World's Greatest Criminal Mind (The Great Mouse Detective)

Look, this song is just fun and chaotic and delighted by its own mischief. There's so many ways you can go with Kokichi, but I had to pick this one for sheer giggles.

9. Korekiyo Shinguji - Never Smile at a Crocodile (Peter Pan)

JUST READ THE FUCKING LYRICS.

10. Maki Harukawa - Reflection (Mulan)

It's cliche. It's also true.

11. Miu Iruma - The Wonderful Thing About Tiggers (The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh)

Kind of unhinged and still somehow endearing. Miu Iruma is bounchy flouncy fun fun fun fun fun.

12. Rantaro Amami - Thomas O'Malley Cat (The Aristocats)

The fucking swagger. The worldliness. The feet that can't stop moving. (Of course Rantaro is my favorite character. I adored that cat.)

13. Ryoma Hoshi - Not in Nottingham (Robin Hood)

For the love of god, somebody hug that man.

14. Shuichi Saihara - This Wish (Wish)

If The Next Right Thing is Trial 3 of the DRV3 Disney musical, This Wish is the end of Trial 6. This is Shuichi standing up and telling the villain that they're not going to give in to despair, honoring Kaede's wish with his own. Plus, it's a princess song. I gotta give the main protag the princess song.

15. Tenko Chabashira - Surface Pressure (Encanto)

Tenko doesn't have a complex about being strong and defending people, what gave you that idea?

16. Tsumugi Shirogane - Mad Madam Mim (The Sword in the Stone)

Using your powers of shapeshifting to delight in causing despair and gloom? Can't relate.

This was a wild three hours of research and spreadsheets, and it was delightful fun to do.

Thanks, anon.

[psykulor]

Homebrewed Items #4

Skuhldan Crystal

This coarse black stone is always oozing a thick sludge. Break it to absorb draconic power, becoming a Skuhldan Drake for the rest of the session. Replace your own attributes with the Skuhldan Drake attributes below; add the listed skills and talents to your own, taking the higher value of any skills you already have.

Skuhldan Drake

BRW 5 AGI 4

INT 3 CUN 5

WIL 3 PRE 4

Wounds: 25

Strain: 25

Skills:

Athletics 2

Coordination 1

Ranged 3

Brawl 2

Spellcraft 1

Talents:

Stoneskin. Soak +1.

Winged Flight. Can fly any range from the ground, must spend 1 maneuver on movement each turn.

Natural Weapon: Foul Breath. Ranged, Dmg 6, Rg Med, Crit 4, Pierce 2, Blast 4, Disorient 3

Natural Weapon: Oilclaws. Brawl, Dmg 7, Crit 3, Pierce 3, Vicious 3

The first "real" dragons were Human warlords of the ancient artificer society, already powerful beyond measure, who captured the Deepwells to feed on their bottomless stores of magic. Their avarice and bloodlust warped them into the image of the beasts from their ancient folklore, and they slowly lost their minds and fled into the wastes of the world.

Though most of the dragons reverted to the behavior of beasts, a few kept their powers of speech and reason. While a few of these creatures turned from greed and achieved a sort of benevolence, many sought to return to the power and prestige they had once enjoyed, summoning cults of worship from the Human populace. The most prolific of these was the Skuhldan, whose highest supplicants fed on the dragons' blood to emulate their power. The Skuhldan crystals are remnants of this practice. The dragon-form brought on by the crystal is potent, fleeting, and painfully addictive.

I know there have been a million different canons on the origin of dragons, and probably mine has been done before, but the idea that present-day billionaires would react to the advent of magic by trying to monopolize it was just too good! So here we are. There is some room for "friendly" dragons as written, but I envision these as tragic figures instead of unproblematic guardian/mentor characters. No one gets to a draconic level of power without taking draconian measures.

Anyway, my idea for an item tie-in to all of this lore kludge is a powerful transformative - I didn't write its addictiveness into the mechanics because GMs might want to run it their own way or avoid it altogether. At any rate, the transformed statblock is pretty close to an endgame character, meaning it would be gamebreaking at lower XP levels and kind of useless when your character is at full build. I envision this as a last-ditch item, something you choose as an alternative to dying outright. The "foul" descriptors should bring home that this is not something people use for fun.