#but not gonna last since its them re-uniting!!!

[kyuubinosennin]

return to the mists

It had been three years since Uzumaki Naruto left for training with Jiraiya. Three years had passed since the power of the villages had begun to shift. There were a series of events over three years that occurred following Naruto's appearance before Konohagakure's Hokage and his former teammates. One of the events was the public outing of Uzumaki Naruto by some unknown source. Now the world knew that the Kyuubi Jinchuriki still lived and that he was the son of a village's heroes. The ripple effects of that left Konoha side-eyed and regarded warily, but it also alerted others that the Uzumaki Clan was not as dead as it was thought to be. Another was the start to attacks on the jinchuriki. A nearly fatal assault on Sunagakure left its jinchuriki, Gaara, wounded and in hiding while he recovered. This assault had been stopped by a timely intervention from two fellow jinchuriki - Roshi and Han of Iwagakure. Yet, it introduced the world to a rising threat: The group called the Akatsuki. A band of mercenaries with a darker plan that had yet to be figured out. Yet another event was more tragic than anything. Miraomoi Akawarai had died in his sleep to old age and his waning health. A death that put Kiri in mourning for a while. Akawarai had been a pillar of the village and had moved mountains to better the village. He had inspired others and thus his loss was felt. Yet, he had set up things to continue on past his death - including the reborn Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. It was now time for the son of the seas to return home. Kiri was experiencing a quiet transition into the evening - the moon starting to lurch into the sky. Stars filled the vast sky above while the light mist settled down across the village. It was as the evening began that the Mizukage, Mei, would be tipped off to a very powerful presence now entering her village. A familiar presence of chakra that was now at Kiri's cemetery.

There, standing before the grave of Akawarai, was a familiar head of curly red hair. A "crown" of flames that befit a prince like he was. The young man with whisker marks on his face and his patterned scars. His body was covered by a tattered red cloak - tattered and "styled" to look like nine red and black tails. Two sheathed swords peeked out from his cloak. The scabbards looked to be simple in design - a dark brown leather holding for the swords. His head tilts when he feels her approaching. "I was going to come surprise you, but I suppose I should have suppressed my chakra first." remarked Naruto with a small smile crossing his face. He turned to face Mei - having done what he came to do by the time she arrived. A bouquet of flowers laid on Akawarai's grave.

[not-goldy]

Hey Goldy,

Just re-read your post on bts ships and ITS, and I was wondering if you had any thoughts about why Hybe allowed or thought it was a good idea for Jikook to do the travel show? I’m thinking in the round because they haven’t really promoted it on their channels, sold it to Disney and left it, so what was in it for them? How do you think Jikook approached them with it?

Thanks

Oh I should have linked my other post that predicted jikook was likely gonna get their own reality show after BTS was done!

Someone like it so I can find it and link it🥴

I think even if Jikook hadn't approached them with it they would have approached Jikook with it. The chemistry they have is highly and easily marketable and Disney housing them only means more money and autonomy for them.

And guys please watch the shit out of it so Disney knows there's an audience for such content.

You see think of this again as a business, and Jikook are the product. The usual strategy of such businesses is to invest in the product and sell it not to keep the product for ya self and or keep investing in it forever. The eng game is to sell and generate revenue from it.

If jikook are able to pull this off it only means more investors more brand deals and an evergreen content that's gonna make more and more money

Hybe will either use the money from investors they attract to reinvest in it's business and with little costs cos cost of production of the content would have been paid for.

There's so many places in the world they can visit. Which means they need someone to pay for flights accommodations health insurance traveling insurance and so on.

It's a business.

All they need is for jikook to keep jikooking and like Jungkook said for them to learn to be better entertainers and make sure the content they put out is engaging

And I think on that Jimin can make a lot of input. He knows what sells and he knows how to work an audience.

And if they are out of ideas I have plenty of ideas to last them a life time and yall trust me right??? Tsk I gatchall😌

About promoting it, a you have to consider the co nflirt of interest their platform is a competitor you know??? The whole idea is to have people run to Disney and watch Disney. If they showing it in their platform that would defeat the purpose

Two since it's Disney's platform they trying to promote, Disney would have to pay hybe to promote the content on hybe's platform 🥴

The least they can do is to agree to post say highlights every now and then and make a post about it every week

You get that people get paid to post stuff on their own platforms rights??? Hybe is no different. They've amassed a lot of following and traction and they have monetized that traction. If Disney wants them to promote Disney hard they gotta make it rain on them

It's why they "accidentally" post other artists to Army on weverse. It's not an accident they trying to make money off their platform.

These artists join weverse because they hope to tap into Hybe's huge user base.

There's plenty in it for hybe. If jikook is a success they would have to replicate that success or find a way to monetize the other members through units or solo shows like what Jin is doing.

Sope could come up with an idea for a show for example. In such a situation even if they fund the show by themselves and search for investors by themselves or sell the show to disney by themselves, hybe still earns a commission on their earnings as their agent. As their agent hybe earns a commission on allllllllll their earnings regardless of where that earnings come from.

But if hybe also provide the money for their show or find investors for them, (this is extra work done or extra investment) so when all is done hybe can either enter a partnership agreement with Sope to air the show on hybes independent platform like weverse but sope would have to pay hybe for airing it on such platform and also split revenue with them because they are the investors and on top of that hybe still earns a commission as their agency in charge of managing their career.

Or sope can choose to go with a third party platform like Disney instead of weverse and if Disney buys the show sope gets paid and then they have to pay back hybe for that initial investment in their show on top of paying them a commission on their earnings as they are their agent.

Or Sope can get bought out by Netflix or any other such platforms and it would be the same process.

Jikook are not doing this for free and neither are hybe or Disney or Netflix. They have a business relationship between them and everyone gets to take home something

Edit

Though I must add that it's not always the case that their shows will be bought by third party platforms. Sometimes they can enter an agreement that benefits both sides or even pay Disney themselves if they want to tap into the audience of Disney rather than Disney tapping theirs.

[alterdaes]

"I'm gonna start doing my reading wrap-ups on the last day of the month!" I said on April 30th, and then proceeded to forget to do this last night 😂 Anyways, May was a pretty good reading month for me! I read five books, and DNF'd one. I participated in withcindy's 2024 Asian Readathon challenge over on Storygraph, and was able to cover all five of the prompts with the books I finished!

Anyways, thoughts below the cut

Iron Widow - 4/5. Originally I gave it a 3.75 but after sitting with it for a while I decided I'll probably re-read it at some point in the future, so it deserves at least a 4. Loved the MC Zetian, and really fascinated by the world Xiran is built there. That ending certainly left me wanting more. I did find the middle of the book to be a bit slow, and I'm not 100% sold on the M/M portion of the polycule yet. I'd like to be, but I'm not. Hoping the next book will give all three of them more moments together

Dungeon Meshi Volume 8 - 5/5. I'm very slowly picking my way through this. I'm not really in a rush since the anime's going to be wrapping up its first season soon and I'm keenly aware that the manga will be all I have for a while after that lol anyways, that said, I loved this volume. The Canaries are great, and the changeling mushroom plotline was probably one of my favorites so far.

The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches - 4.25/5. I've been wanting a lighthearted contemporary romance for a while, and this one hit just right! The characters were loveable, the plot was fast-paced but didn't sacrifice character development, time was spent to flesh out this world that was just slightly alternate of our own, and there was even a twist I didn't see coming. All in all, a very enjoyable read that I'd definitely pick up again.

The Hundred Years' War on Palestine - 5/5. All I can say is a recommend checking out this book. Rashid Khalidi is a Palestinian historian and covers this topic extremely thoroughly in this book, in a way that I found easy to digest. Considering my track record with paying attention to history textbooks, that's saying something. I definitely believe its important to understand the full historical context behind this conflict, including and especially the United States involvement in it, as it has put so much of the current administration's current actions into a horrifying perspective.

The Moon Represents My Heart - DNF'd. I have a confession - I like time-travel stories in theory, but I have yet to read a book that features it that I like. I'd also like to find a literary book I like, and a book about a time traveling family seemed like the perfect character-focused book. Sadly this fell short for me in that department as well. I just could not connect to any of the characters, and I found myself pulling up the table of contents often to see how much more I had to go. Finally at 33% of the way through I decided to stop torturing myself. Maybe one day I'll return to this but...not any time soon.

An Artificial Night - 5/5. well I finished my re-read of this like I'd hoped, but it took the entire damn month with every thing else I was reading! 😆 It remains one of my favorite Toby Daye books. The second half of the book, and the repercussions of Toby being successful in her mission, is what stood out to my most this time around. That could just be because I adore how Seanan tied in so many aspects of faerie lore into this; I think her take on the Ballad of Tam Lin was especially genius. Anyways, Toby is still my favorite failgirl, I still adore her and Tybalt together, Conner still bothers the hell out of me, and the Luidaeg remains my favorite side character in the series. Also, I wish we got to see more of Acacia in the series.

Right now I'm reading A Tempest of Tea by Hafsah Faizal because my hold came in at the library and I'd been really looking forward to this one. I've also said before on my main that I've got quite a few queer books lined up for this month, and I do hope to get through the next Toby book, Late Eclipses, this month as well.

[ccrisntok]

Heathers au part 2 💀

Okay, off the bat, this one is worse. this post is much sadder than the first one.

TW// Blood, Death, Corpses, Suicidal thoughts/actions, Guns, Homophobia, Violence, Eating Disorders (Again, basically anything that happens in Heathers: The Musical.)

Also, spoilers for Heathers, and DRDT!!!

As I said, this post is a bit more serious than the first one. You need to read the first part to really understand this one btw. sorry. I'm too lazy to explain things again hdafkjlds

This post will have the sad parts of the au, since it's basically a story run-down, but imma still try and keep it a little silly at least.

But there will be a part 3, since I literally can't post all of the images (I have over 30.) And part three will be a lot more light-hearted (just fun doodles, and some cut images from this post), so if this ones too intense, just wait for that one <3 or. dont. thats cool too. Btw I'm gonna re-use a few drawings from the last post for story progression <3

Again, credit to @another-danganronpa-fan for the original au concept!

(First off, a better rendition of the Heathers + Xander. I didn't make any other full body refs because I got lazy. Anyway, I wanted to talk about these guys a lil more in this post. Character relationships and whatever.)

I feel like the Heathers as a unit all fucking hate each other. David guilt trips Arei into staying and threatens to reveal that shes queer if she argues with him, Arei makes fun of him for having severe mental health issues, and Arturo belittles both Arei and David, constantly commenting on their appearances, which he considers "Barely acceptable", basically its a cesspool of toxicity.

Xander, your average, emotional totally not British boy, doesn't really see any of this and thinks the Heathers have it so easy, and even idolizes them a little, especially David. Or rather, whatever persona David gives off to others.

This leads to him being recruited, in combo with his forgery skills, and his British accent. Cuz, yk, British accents are hot to some people.

So Xandy gets to be an honorary Heather. This is fine for like, 5 minutes before he is immediately asked to humiliate the shit out of Eden, which he does, begrudgingly. He does this by forging a note to Eden from her crush, Arei, inviting her to a party Ace was hosting that night. Arei doesn't know about this plan until it happens.

at some point between this and the party, Xander sees Teruko beat the ever-loving shit out of Levi and Ace, and he's like "oh wow 😳", which is the first time he ever notices her.

As the party starts, Xander starts getting drunk as hell, and during so, makes some kind of jab at Ace in relation to his ED (I couldn't really find a way to incorporate Heather Duke's bulimia into David, so, sorry Ace.) This leads to Ace fucking hating him with a passion.

this does not end well btw

Xander parties rlly hard, and that ends up escalating to him accidentally publically outing Eden at the party (while wasted & high), which leads to Eden being humiliated by the partygoers. Arei, who does actually like Eden as well, obviously doesn't out herself and helps in Eden's humiliation for the sake of self-preservation.

Eden's like "wha" bc she still thinks the note was real, and is super confused and hurt by Arei's reaction.

I don't believe the two would be childhood friends, like cannon Heathers, I feel like they would just. Like each other. Steal glances occasionally, wave, and smile. Stuff like that from someone like Arei would mean something, at least to Eden. And seeing what she thought was so clear shatter would hurt her a lot.

After this, Xander fucks off because him and the Heathers get in a huge fight, and he finds Teruko like. In the bathroom or something hiding from the party. I didn't really want to make him break into her house so. I didn't :) they uh. hold hands or something, and then they fall in love wooooahhhh whoda guessed

So Xander vents about his imminent death bc Art's mad at him, and Terukos like, "yeah... lets go apologize....." (she does not want to apologize). so they pull up and Xander's like "I'm sowwy Art i wont do it again" or something and then uh.

(why is the family guy death pose so hard to draw) Art drinks some Kool-aid or something that Teruko mixed with drain cleaner and dies.

Xanders like, "NOOOO WAHT THE FUCK" and Teruko, who obviously wanted him to die, is like "oh. we need to cover this up as a suicide". They do just that, and in the wake of his death, Arturo is seen as even more of an icon than he was in life, since the fake note portrayed him as an actually kind, tortured soul.

Arturo's ghost haunts Xander from this point on, basically just calling him stupid the whole time.

so after this, David and Arei are like, "Aye uh. Art's dead. You wanna hang out in the woods with us and Levi and Ace?" And Xander, desperately trying to not seem suspicious, says yes. Arei didn't really want to do this, but David forced her, and brought tons of alcohol with the intention of getting Levi and Ace drunk so they would fight and it'd be funny. He hasn't taken up Art's spot yet, so he's still kinda chill.

they. do fight, and Xander's kinda like "oop", but David's hoping it gets violent, for funnies.

it gets kinda personal..

Then it gets REALLY personal 💀

And Levi ends up beating the shit out of Ace.

Now, not unlike canon, I don't know what circumstances got Levi disowned by his parents. I feel like in this au, he probably moved in with Ace and his folks, which would give him another reason to put up with Ace's shit. Out of literal necessity. And like, they are probably friends to an extent.

Anyway, after this, rumors spread that Xander was actually the one who beat the fuck out of Ace, unprovoked. Since Ace is like 3'2 or some shit, people think Xander just beat him up bc he was an easy target without Levi around or something.

This happens because of a combo of Ace not really remembering what happened, his spite towards Xander, Levi lying about it, and David agreeing with the story (again, for his own amusement.) Arei doesn't really care enough to speak out, and Xander's reputation goes from already dead, to decomposed.

He vents to Teruko about this, cuz that went soo well last time, who makes up a plan. She tells him to tell Ace and Levi that he really wanted to fight them, and she would bring a "fake" gun to scare them with. (btw shirtless levi just to warn you) (and a dead body. and blood.) (prob shoulda put those first)

This goes about how you would expect (can you tell I gave a bit more of a shit about these guy's deaths than I did Art's....sorry homie). Instead of doing what Kurt cannonically does (hauling ass in the opposite direction), Levi actually tries to help Ace, with no luck.

I made a longer version of this but Im trynna stay in the image limit so. Anyway, Teruko is like "look what you diiidd Levi he trusted what you said and now he's dead! Ok bye" and then shoots Levi too.

Xander is losing his fucking mind, and really upset, obviously. But Teruko is like "I did it because I love you...." and manipulates him into really believing they did somewhat the right thing, because Ace and Levi were bullies, and ruining ppls lives.

They frame Levi and Ace's deaths as a double suicide. Teruko convinces Xander to portray Levi and Ace as gay lovers who, "killed themselves to escape an unaccepting world", since they contributed to Eden's harassment over her sexuality.

This leads to Ms. Hu publicly speaking up in support of queerness, which leads to the harassment following Eden, and the fear holding Arei back to subside a little, as the student body is moved by Levi and Ace's super real emotional romance.

Ace and Levi's ghosts join Arturo in haunting Xandy, and Xander regrets like. Every choice he's ever made.

Xander and Teruko's relationship is kinda deteriorating, and David decides to take officially take the mantle in the aftermath of Arturo, Levi, and Ace's deaths.

He gets kinda goofy, and starts harassing Arei more severely. This takes a head at an assembly Ms. Hu throws for teenage mental health, where she encourages the kids to vent their frustrations and grievances, which would "set them free."

Arei finally takes the opportunity, and confesses about her turbulent home life, David and Arturo's harassment, and that she struggles with suicidal thoughts. David takes this as a personal attack on his reputation since she mentioned him, and berates her, until she decides to try and end her own life in the school bathroom.

Xander stops her, and tells David to fuck off.

This ends with Arei and Xander becoming better friends, and they start to bond over their shared care for Eden. This reminds Xander how bad he fucked up with his best friend, and reminds Arei that she really does care a lot about Eden, even if she wishes she didn't.

Speaking of Eden, after everything that had happened, the deaths, the harassment, and what she thinks is the loss of the two most important people in her life (Xander and Arei), she also decides to take her own life, Ace and Levi's suicides nailing it into her head that she didn't belong. She wanted to escape to a world that wouldn't judge her, like Martha, and death was the only way she felt she could do that.

She jumps off of a bridge, but ends up surviving.

Xander, obviously fucking horrified, rushes to her side. After seeing how hurt she was, he kinda realizes how serious death is.

He killed people, all because Teruko felt they needed to. He realizes his relationship is toxic (only took a kill count of 3), and decides he can't do it anymore.

He ends things with Teruko, and goes home. He figures this is the end of it, but the ghosts haunting him tell him that Teruko was coming back, and she was mad. Oh no!

After Teruko breaks into his house, Xander locks himself in his closet and listens to her mad ramblings.

She says she's going to bomb the school, killing everyone inside, and she wants to do it with him. The whole school was basically in the building for a pep-rally, and she wanted to frame it as a school-wide suicide pact, with a signed "suicide note", a fake petition she'd passed around the school during the mental health assembly.

Xander, out of options, ties himself to the ceiling and pretends as if he has hung himself, which he hopes will stop Teruko's rampage.

Instead, Teruko decides even if Xander was dead, she was going to kill everyone anyway.

After Teruko leaves, Xander chases after her, grabbing a kitchen knife as protection, with the intention of killing Teruko, and probably himself, for the sake of the school.

After realizing Xander is alive, Teruko doesn't stop her plan. She's even more dedicated to it, and Xander is dedicated to stopping her.

The two physically fight for the bomb, and in the scuffle, Xander ends up stabbing Teruko in the stomach. He takes the bomb, and begins to leave with it, with the intention of using his body as a shield so that the school wouldn't be damaged if he ran out of time.

Teruko stops him, and in one more act of weird, toxic, love takes the bomb from him, and says she will blow up herself, and only herself.

Xander lets her take the bomb, and Teruko walks out to the front of the school. Xander watches as she lets it go off, killing her instantly, and tells her to say hello to God, having faith that maybe her death could grant her forgiveness, if there was a higher power out there to forgive her at all.

........

annnnndddddd I'll draw the aftermath in part three!

Holy fucking shit, I HAVE BEEN TYPING THIS UP FOR LIKE 5 HOURSS AAHH

I'm proud of it, though! There are quite a few images I had to cut, since Tumblr has an image limit and I made way too much, but that's what part three is for, in combo with a little of the aftermath! I just didn't want to split up the story into two parts, since I wanted it to flow well. I hope I managed to do just that.

Hope you enjoyed this fucking roller coaster, and I hope to see you back again for the DRDT Heathers finale! Which... wont be that epic, or anything, but hopefully fun!

[emblemxeno]

Finished both Birthright and Conquest again.I played hard-classic for the majority of both until chapter 25 of CQ (the spy shuriken ninjas were getting on my nerves) and chapter 26 of BR (it was getting super boring to play so I thought I might as well speed through to the end).

I also made tier lists of both routes' maps. I made them separately to judge within the context of each game since I think CQ's maps are better as a whole.

Birthright was actually pretty fun in the pre-Ryoma maps, and even after I got him there's some hits. But many maps are either full of one unit type or are just extremely big and/or require you to rout the enemy, both things I find exceedingly boring after a while. Tbh the only reason chapters 11 and 15 are in B is because the former has a neat dragon vein mechanic and the latter has terrain that isn't completely barren and wide open. As a whole, Birthright is fine, but not something I'm keen to come back to when I'm in the mood to replay Fates again.

Conquest was even better than I remember! Again, I did lower the difficulty when I got to the Ryoma map (stacking the health draining skills along with shit like lunge kinda made me bitter), but as a whole it's still top tier in the gameplay experience. Chapter 10 was always peak (I somehow had more fun than I last played it years ago), but what was unexpected is how much I loved chapters 20 and 24. Dragon Veins are so fucking cool to use in those maps. As a whole, very enjoyable experience. Definitely will be my go to route when replaying Fates again in the future.

As for other Fates replay notes, this kinda just re-established what I already thought of story things.

Birthright is a good story kneecapped by a localization that muddies the characterization of its main protagonist and REALLY LOVES CAPS LOCK WHEN CORRIN IS ANGRY!!! Conquest meanwhile is a great story that thankfully isn't as hampered by localization script issues (the way of speaking that Corrin uses between the two routes is vastly different, you'd have to see it to believe it) aside from some of Xander's lines. Something I noticed though is that Conquest utilized a lot more creative in-game cinematography for its scenes and that really elevated some of the story sequences. Very nice.

Anyway, I'm gonna be taking a break before playing Revelation, since that route is when I'm planning on doing as much content as I can get out of it (and uni work is a priority at the moment).

[broken-clover]

Solaxl Week- Day 3

Ooookay so apparently I completely forgot to put up day 3...woops. Suppose I should have double checked. At least it means I can post back to back!

Not much in the way of notes on this one, I'm just very certain that in addition to their musical nostalgia Sol and Axl are also annoyingly fond of 80's movies and think there hasn't been anything better since. Also slightly poking fun at myself for the fact that I always confuse Footloose and Dirty Dancing for each other

3. Pirate AU, Domestic, Movies

-

Axl had quite literally dropped in, as he was prone to do. One minute, Sol is content with his evening plans of drinking beer and doing fuck-all, the next he’s playing host. How things play out depends on his mood at the time. Axl’s gotten good at pacifying his bad moods, but not perfect. One wrong step has him getting thrown out to bother someone else.

To compensate, he’s gotten pretty good at bringing the party favors.

“Chiiiiiief~” Sol could hear the smile on his face, even if it was hidden. There was an armful of something burying the lower half of his head. “Lookit what I gooooot!”

A mix of intrigue and pity had the man lighten his uninvited guest’s load. Stacks of something hard and plastic, rattling when shaken. Just unfamiliar enough after a long stretch of time that Sol wasn’t certain he was looking at what was right in front of him.

“Are these…DVD’s?”

Axl’s grin was even bigger after he wasn’t drowning in video cases. “Hit the bargain bin while I got stuck in Nevada! Classics ‘re classics, but you can get ‘em cheap. I know yer a softie for old music, how’s about old movies?”

Well, he supposed it beat drinking alone. Again.

But of course, they couldn’t just immediately jump into it. Accidental or not, Axl had made one of his better choices crashing into Sol’s emporium of tech garbage. Buying up a heap of cheap movies was all fine and good in the turn of the millennium, not a century later. Heck, they would have been pushing it even if it had only been twenty years after the fact. Re-releasing barely-changed tech every other year that only worked with specific hardware for the sake of selling more units, that fun little facet of capitalism was still fucking them over even a century and a half later. The two of them were stuck spending the better part of an hour sifting through parts.

“Does this bit go to a CD or a DVD player…? Bleedin’ hell, how’m I supposed to tell the damn things apart??”

“Mph. I got the wrong kind of connector. Lemme see if I got something upstairs…”

Even if he wasn’t the most enthused at first, having to go to all the trouble just to watch it made movie night feel like much more of a reward. Sol turned over the cases individually, trying to determine what to watch first.

“Gah, you’re takin’ too long! Y’know we can watch ‘em all, right?”

“Yeah, yeah…” Sol replied. “Fine, let’s start with ‘Back to the Future’...uh, that ain’t gonna hit too close to home, will it?”

Axl found a spot on the nearest comfy seat. “Aw, pish. If anything, it makes me feel seen, y’know?”

He did not, but he chose not to pursue that conversation further. That sort of thing could easily turn into an hours-long ramble. Instead, Sol settled for putting the disc in their newly assembled reader. After a few thumps on its side, the machine began to hum.

“Damn, honestly impressed, here.” Axl watched as his companion found another spot to sit close by. “Wasn’t sure we’d be able to pull it off. Gah, this is awesome! Can’t think of a better way to spend an evening with ya-”

Sol picked up the remote and spiked the volume. “At this rate, I’m not even gonna be able to hear any of this. You’d better not talk over the whole damn thing.”

Despite that, once the plot had started rolling, Sol found himself more amenable to conversation. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a movie night. Couldn’t remember the last time he’d done something so mundane with friends. The memory was so close yet so distant.

Axl had made himself more than comfy in his chair. While his legs draped over one armrest, he propped himself on the other with both arms tucked under his ribs. Were Sol to try and describe it in words, the first thing that came to mind was ‘a very smug cat-mermaid.’ Yeesh, the guy had awful posture. Maybe Sol shouldn't have passed judgement on other people’s habits, but other people didn’t have Gear cells to make up for their shitty spinal health.

“Man…” Axl half-muttered, untucking one arm to balance his chin on his palm. “The eighties had some good flicks.”

“Guess you made a good call after all. Are all of these from then?” Asked Sol.

“Eh, most of ‘em.” Replied Axl. “Figures that’s prolly what you grew up on, thought I’d get nostalgic- ‘n yeah, before you ask, I did get ‘Flash Gordon’ too. Knew you’d like the Queen songs”

The Gear made a noise of approval. “Not bad, Low. Guess I owe you one for that. Been listening to the same recording for decades, might be cool hearing a different one, even if it’s the same song. Kids these days dunno what they’re missing.”

The two went quiet as the Delorean slowly drove out of the truck and into full view for the first time. Axl whistled. “Still love that bit. I dunno, though, chief. I mean, not like we didn’t have some shit movies, too, y’know?”

“How’s that?” Sol said, taking his eyes off of the screen for the first time in a while. “Guess there was some schlock, the real cheap stuff-”

“Not even the cheap stuff! Like, ‘Dirty Dancing.’”

“...what?”

Axl shrugged. “‘Dirty Dancing’ was trash. Sorry, chief, but I gotta be honest-”

“Shut up. Are you kidding me?” The movie playing was well and truly out of his thoughts as he gawked. “I figured even if you thought the plot was crap, you’d think Jennifer Grey was hot enough that the story didn’t matter.”

“Which was she, was she the lead? Eh, doesn’t matter. Like, look, I can excuse some real corny shit, but like…’ohhh, we’re gonna ban fuckin’ dancing because it’s too sinful, that’s just dumb. I got limits, too.”

Sol was continuing his staring, but a new emotion had joined it. ”...Are you sure you’re thinking of the right one?”

“Yeah, remember? That’s why it was called ‘Dirty Dancing.’ The reply came with gestures for emphasis.

“No, it was called that because they were a bunch of scruffy-looking jackasses. Pretty sure the one you’re thinking of’s ‘Footloose.’”

“No way, chief! Footloose was the one with Costner, wasn’t it?”

“No, that was ‘Dances With Wolves.’”

“For real? Nah, you’ve gotta be fucking with me. You’re fucking with me, right? Great, and I didn’t get ‘em, so it’s not like I can check-”

A noise made both men turn to the neglected screen. Marty was stumbling out of the crashed van in the barn, undisturbed by the audience’s squabble.

“Ugh, damn it, we missed one of the best parts.” Sol picked up the remote and put the film in reverse. “Can’t remember where we were, haven’t seen this movie in too long. Gonna just skip back to the bit with Einstein.”

Axl readjusted himself in his seat, blowing a strand of hair out of his eyes. “Why were there so many eighties movies about dancing?”

[princeescaluswords]

Re: the unreliable narrator theory in your post about Scott/Allison, I hadn’t come across it before in this fandom, so I did a little digging and wow! Curious what you think about fandom fights borne out of writing devices (Scott/Derek framing you mentioned), cliches/tropes (Scott/Stiles’ many communication mishaps), and errors (timeline mistakes, the infamous 6x20 line). Wild how much energy is wasted arguing about things that are more about the writing process than the characters themselves.

Not to be too contrary, but I don't think the energy is wasted at all. I think these particular arguments are well worth having as many times as necessary. To me, the only logical and functional response when being confronted by toxic culture is to take a stand against it. I'm not trying to imply that everyone should do what I'm doing. Far from it, but I have the background, I have the interest, I have the time, and I have something to say. There's no reason for me not to argue against these particular fandom behaviors.

And, let me be perfectly clear, there are few clearer examples of toxic fandom culture than the "Scott McCall is an Unreliable Narrator" meta. In the great sweep of the United States cultural experience, it's not particularly significant, but it is real. It embodies the privilege, shallowness and dissipation of an all-devouring consumerism.

That sounds pretty grandiose, so I owe an explanation. Art, music, and literature, which contains and is contained by media, is about the experience of change. Even the simplest Tin-Pan Alley song had the purpose of eliciting a shift in its listener's emotional state. It made the audience happy or it made the audience sad. From this we get phrases like "it moved me," which requires us to be the subject. In contrast, consumerism rests all power in the audience; the audience is entitled pick apart media for only what they desire, avoid art that makes them feel uncomfortable, or narrow their music to one or two particular artists or genres. They control the act of experiencing media to the point where it no longer changes them; they are empowered to change it.

The problem, of course, is that this can lead to exploitation. It can lead to a numbing self-focus that prevents a member of the audience from a reaction they weren't already expecting. For example, how many times have you witnessed the audience's reaction to a new show or movie with "which two white guys can I imagine kissing each other?" Anything else that the media might want to express is ignored, or more damagingly, discarded.

And that brings us back to the meta. When the audience heard the line from The Wolves of War (6x20), "I'm gonna tell you a story. Maybe it'll sound familiar," they didn't feel the need to try to make it fit with everything else was they had watched on the screen. Instead, led by a corrupt and vapid BNF, they used it to support the same position that they had held since 2011 -- one that has never wavered -- that the show could not possibly have a Latino as a protagonist. It didn't matter that the line actually fits much more comfortably into the production's constant use of recursion (from the symbols for revenge, the pack symbols, the way that Derek was "a lot like Scott" and that Liam is also "a lot like Scott", that the Nogitsune's attack was "all this had happened before" that the Doctors "how many people died the first time they came here", etc., etc., etc.) because that would force them to look at the story in a way they weren't interested in. Instead, they twisted it into evidence for the conclusion they wanted in the first place.

Ever notice that so many people say that they love Eternal Sterek and they much prefer their fabricated fandom alternative than the actual show. "Eternal" is a good word, because it's the same thing again and again and again and again, violent white men being the ultimate focus of the story, in a bland repetition of the last ten television series they've watched. And because of consumer privilege, they never have to confront the flaws in their "Scott is an Unreliable Narrator" meta. And, oh boy, does it have flaws.

There's no payoff. If we're supposed to view the show through the lens that Scott's telling us these stories to make himself look better, where's the reveal? Where's our "Rosebud is a sled!" moment? There isn't any. Not in the series; not in the movie. It's not like the show got canceled out of the blue. It is only logical, only sane, that if the whole idea of the show was an unreliable narration, there would be a moment where the truth is confirmed. Unless you actually think that the production, the actors, the studio would spend millions of dollars and SEVEN YEARS and never ever pull the curtain aside. What an elaborate, expensive, and fundamentally unfunny practical joke that would be.

It destroys the themes of the show. As a bildungsroman, Teen Wolf tackled ideas about not allowing trauma to control your actions, the importance of knowledge, and the responsibility you have to your family and friends. It should be obvious to the casual observer because Scott's embodiment of compassion, resilience, and resistance to the corruption of others serve as the signifiers of these themes. If it was all unreliable narration, than nothing that happens really matters in terms of what growing up is like. It would be all delusion.

It's f*cking racist (and sexist). Have you ever noticed that the application of Unreliable Narrator Scott only works in certain specific directions? In these interpretations, Scott is always worse than what the narrative shows, but so is Deaton, Melissa, Rafael, Braeden, the Yukimuras, and Allison. Scott's twisted perception tends to make characters of color and female characters better than they truly are (according to the fandom). Conversely, the interpretation of Unreliable Narration always seems to say that the white male characters are better than what the production actually showed. Even though Narrator Scott has hope for Peter, he is always more noble and justified when freed from Scott's lens. Even though Narrator Scott tries to protect Derek, in the interpretations Scott denies Derek his true position by usurping him. Even though Narrator Scott loves the Stilinskis, Stiles is always capable of far more, and the deluded protagonist misses it. And yet, no matter how much hope, faith, and love the Unreliable Narrator Scott had for these white male character, there is never an interpretation where that hope, faith and love is misplaced. It's always, instead, inadequate.

The Unreliable Narrator Meta, no matter how you look it, is Invalid. It is inconsistently applied, illogical in its consequences, and completely in servitude to a gargantuan confirmation bias. And yet, fandom culture loves it, because it reinforces the consumerism that has hollowed out United States cultural practice.

[doubleddenden]

I have done the Worst Possible Pokemon Day prediction. I have done the NO Way in Hell Will it Ever be This Good prediction. Time for the "realistic" prediction.

Nostalgia bait video of game progression throughout the years or scene of everyone playing Pokémon

Pokemon Go is doing a thing I guess, probably BW2 Kyurem

Unite- they're adding Miraidon and have already told us, but they need to take up time.

Masters has a bunch of gems and events idk. Looks like someone is getting a Mega Tyranitar I guess

Cafe ReMix is gonna do a thing- did they already add Miraidon? I don't keep up with it tbh, looks boring

Pokemon Sleep has some kind of thing. Maybe more pokemon added?

Merch announced- its bland and over priced, but someone will buy it. The only thing I want are hats

Pokemon Concierge season 2 trailer?

Next Pokémon game- most likely ILCA Unova remakes (I'll argue this if I have to, but they're just short of a cowboy and large mole driving a car and honking a Driftveil inspired La Cucaracha carhorn through the streets of New York with the obvious hints they're dropping in games and in literal NYC right now lately).

Legends Unova or something in that vein announced for either December 2024 or January 2025. This will be the last Switch mainline game.

Music video, probably Hatsune Miku

Less likely to happen, but on the table

Gb, GBC, and GBA ports to eshop or NSO

New Pokémon movie announcement featuring the first mythical since Zarude- most likely the Horizons cast

Something about Horizons anime- Sprigatito evolves?

New anime mini series based on SV DLC? Maybe centered on Carmine, Kieran, the BBE4, and Ogerpon.

After that is where you start getting surprises, good or bad. Side games won't replace a mainline game release or dlc as proven by PMD DX, so they could do whatever from here.

Reasonable but random predictions, not all but maybe one or more could happen, most likely not

PMD Explorers Remake

PMD Mobile game with micro transactions and live service

Pokemon crosses over with something

tcg digital card game on Switch

Pokemon racer game

Will not Happen, imo:

SV dlc pack 2. They seem pretty done with it tbh, even with all the loose ends. Can't blame them for being tired of adding content to a broken game that's still not finished and is being held together with scotch tape and Elmer's glue

Johto re remakes YET: simply because I think those will be an early Switch 2 title to get as many people on board the next system akin to how LGPE drew in the Go, genwunner, and main crowd to the Switch, and they can't announce it because Nintendo hasn't officially revealed the Switch 2 yet. I'll say they'll announce that next year.

Kalos- yeah I see you there, you dumb bastard, still huffing that Kalos Copium 11 years later. Let it go, man. Let. It. Goooo. Southern Kalos is NOT happening dude. At least, not this gen. It didn't happen in Alola, not in Galar, and it's not happening in Paldea. They're not skipping gen 5 to get to you first.

Overall I expect a similar response to the 2021 Pokémon Day Presents. A mixture of under, over, and straight up whelmed. Thorough disappointment for everything but Legends Arceus, from what I remember. Maybe they'll make my day and surprise me with something amazing, but I feel that the ILCA Unova Remake will probably piss a lot of people off while the Legends game excites me and everyone else.

[moonlitramblings]

tag 9 people you want to get to know better. i was tagged by the lovely @gingerteaonthetardis - thanks!

currently reading: American Gods by Neil Gaiman - been meaning to read this for forever and finally started on vacation. stalled out a bit since back from vacation because i'm really busy but my plan is to finish it this month

last song: 'Maybe You Saved Me' by Bad Suns ft Pvris (been on a Pvris kick and legit listened to this on repeat while processing editor notes last night)

currently watching: random youtube videos for the most part (KarolinaZebrowska, MikeMGTV, and GabSmolders most recently) but officially The Sandman

current fic - reading: cut like diamonds on those edges by queenofthecon because i lost track of it and its complete and it was so good but time vanished so its just been sitting as an open tab haunting me (doctor who); too well tangled by wollfgang because its also done and i need to re-read and leave comments (lucifer) and favourable conditions by sunsafe because the vibes are perfect and i'm trying to stay in a similar historical romance mindset (warrior nun)

current fic - writing: fanfic that i'm working would b trying to figure out which doctor who fic i want to work (unit au or dreaming sharing fic) and lucifer i'm so close to the end of the first half of a big fic - but no posting until half done because i'm terrible at finishing WIPs if i dont (no one go to the AO3 linked with this blog); original fic is the edits for the novella i'm self-publishing soon and the next chapter in the novel i'm writing which is a historical fantasy supernatural rom com (i have 4 AO3s and 4 tumblrs to go with them, this is my main blog so if i like but never seem to reblog your posts its because it was a sideblog that rebloged)

next on my watchlist: warrior nun season 2; only murders in the building; but probably mostly more youtube vids lol

current obsession: my original fics have mostly taken over my brain but fandom-wise is probably lucifer and doctor who (because younger me has reasserted herself) as the top but sandman is pulling me in

i never know who to tag in these, just gonna randomly tag people based on who's on my feed right at this moment because i'm always interested in learning more about whoever i follow: @somethingunlikeanythingelse @chocolateal @mulderscully @absentlyabbie @electricpentacle @unicyclehippo @laternsinthenight @igotofetchthesun @astreamofwishfulthinking

(literally no pressure i just needed an arbitrary method to decide who to tag, feel free to ignore lol)

[mousieta]

Taeyang - Down to Earth

Initial Thoughts

Having given Taeyang’s latest release, Down to Earth, several release-day listens I want to jot down some of my thoughts. First, as a 10-year VIP I don’t think it can be overstated what this release means to the fandom as a whole. After the dark days of 2018/2019 and all the uncertainty that came with them it was never guaranteed that the fandom would ever have a comeback to celebrate at all, and while we did eventually get Still Life that single felt as much a goodbye as an ‘until we meet again’.

Still, there was the hope that the members would provide new music, individually if not as a re-united foursome. And finally, that long awaited day is here, five years since the last single before Still Life and six years since Taeyang’s last album White Night- a millennia in K-Pop years.

Because of that, it is no surprise that Down to Earth opens with collabs with two of the reigning titans of K-Pop’s third gen. Taeyang’s pre-release single collaboration with Jimin, Vibe, and Shoong! with BlackPink’s Lisa start off the album, giving the feel that they are attempting to pull in the newer generation of K-Pop fans, those who have tuned in after his last release. This is coupled with his presence on Tiktok over the last couple of months since the release of Vibe, an acknowledgment to the way the social media landscape of K-Pop has changed in the last five years.

Vibe and Shoong! Are both serviceable tracks. Not bad, but also not groundbreaking or revolutionary in any way; solid entries in his discography and within their sound. I’ll likely not skip them if they come up on shuffle but I doubt I’d ever go searching for them. That’s fine, they serve their intended purpose.

Seed, however, feels like a song directly to VIPs. A companion piece to last year’s Still Life, it is the ‘hello again’ with the promise of more to come, a brighter future and very intentionally so with its imaery and references (as confirmed by Taeyang himself), the transition from black and white to full color. It’s lyrics acknowledge a rough past of unattainable dreams and its allusions to flowers and paths a referenced any VIP would recognize as an allusion to the Flower Road of 5 years ago. This is a song for the fans, a thank-you rendered in a solid ballad style that Taeyang always excels at. While it may not tread exciting ground musically, its message is what matters to the people it will matter to.

The second half of the album is pure Taeyang at his best, where he really shines. Reason feels like a successor to White Night, croony and musically interesting. In another world Inspiration would have been the pre-release track. Unfortunately Beenzino won’t give the click traffic that Jimin and Lisa will, so I get it. He rounds it all out with Nightfall, which is the standout song for me. It has joined Stay With Me as one of my all time top favs of his. It feels at home in the modern K-Pop soundscape but with a point of view that feels purely Taeyang. I’m gonna be coming back to these last two songs A Lot, I already know. I can only hope he may release an MV for either.

All in all this album is all I would want for as a VIP, an appeal to a new audience, a message to his longtime fans and a facet of Taeyang’s unique artistic voice.

[rexcaliburechoes]

I posted 912 times in 2022

63 posts created (7%)

849 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@spidersmiceandeverythingnice

@rexcaliburechoes

@tmae3114

@asylumdream

@overlord-surgeus

I tagged 911 of my posts in 2022

#touken ranbu - 163 posts

#fandom - 119 posts

#tumblr is a dumpster fire but it's our dumpster fire - 98 posts

#shokudaikiri mitsutada - 94 posts

#writing - 52 posts

#rex rambles - 48 posts

#fire emblem - 44 posts

#about me - 39 posts

#the dread persephone (my lady) - 38 posts

#heshikiri hasebe - 35 posts

Longest Tag: 140 characters

#this being said i have tension with her solely based on my trauma which is not reflective od how she should be treated (kindly with respect)

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

soon

18 notes - Posted May 16, 2022

#4

I'm gonna play stray again so I can have more educated thoughts on it, but the game, aside from its love of humanity being shown in the companions- how humanity thrives even in the darkest times- is answering the question of what is in a legacy.

okay, I know I know, Hamilton is so out of fashion. it has many issues re American history and how Black ppl are treated and I know all of its critiques but let me have this, please.

but like... who tells the stories of humans when they die off, who sows the seeds of a future without the humans? humans had made a mark on history, good and bad. the obvious choice here is "who lives, who dies, who tells your story", but the line that is seldom referred to that I'm thinking of is "what is a legacy? it's planting seeds in a garden you never get to see."

humans might not have been able to see how humanity thrived on. b12 comments that they are the last human consciousness, which then implies that the companions evolved their code after the humans had died.

that is a response to who sees the flowers after the gardener has died. the companions, arguably more human than the humans, that will tend to the plants, just as their forebears had before them.

21 notes - Posted August 6, 2022

#3

some miscellaneous osafune + chougi modern au headcanons

“but these six swords + chougs in a modern au” - me, to a friend in dms

i can’t get these seven out of my head. they’re just,,, good. i love them. (i’m not quite alive to write longform fics, but i hope this’ll get me thinking of it for when i’m not dying to classes TT)

koryuu’s hair is stupidly fluffy. you cannot blow dry it, or it will stick up and will become an untamable beast. shokudaikiri has already tried. daihannya has also already tried. fukushima has tried. no one has succeeded.

though, if it simply air-dries, there is no problem. no one knows why.

speaking of, daihannya has perfect hair. no knows, not snaggles, smooth and silky to the touch... split ends? what are those? he takes great pride in it and his low maintenance hair routine.

shokudaikiri, on the other hand, will hog the bathroom in order to look presentable. he may be banished to another bathroom to take his pretty prep time. no one knows if he gets bedhead except for fuku, but he’s been sworn to secrecy.

fuku’s hair used to be really frizzy before hannya, who was going into cosmetology, told him his hair is actually wavy, not straight like the rest of his brothers. now his hair looks fine, though hannya makes a show of messing with his hair.

kenshin and azuki have a tendency to get cowlicks if they sleep wrong on their pillows. it’s really cute (though kenshin protests because “it’s not grown up enough”).

fuku wishes for kenshin to stay as a kid for a while and not rush to grow up too fast. all of them do, but fuku most of all. seeing him approach things with an earnestness that kids have, that many adults do not... it’s endearing and a little bittersweet.

speaking of chougi: he’s something of a distant cousin, but koryuu sniffed him out and he’s now in all of their group chats. chougi doesn’t hate it, since he has a place of belonging now, even if he is a bit of a pompous brat sometimes.

god forbid there’s drama happening in the main family unit over a group call, though. chougi will be there, with a bag of crunchy snacks and a slurpy drink, on mute, but enjoying the chaos unfold. there is no way he’s gonna miss out on this. no way.

koryuu studies abroad during college. at first, fuku was a little hesitant, since it can be dangerous in a foreign country, but koryuu can handle himself.

azuki’s working to get his teaching certifications to help teach preschoolers. they’re cute, and he’s good with kids. it works in his favour.

kenshin hasn’t figured out what he wants to do yet. he’s only in grade school right now. no one puts pressure on him to pick.

22 notes - Posted March 8, 2022

#2

some more osafune modern au headcanons that i neglected to mention before // the osafune sitcom

i’d forgotten i had some other hcs that i wanted to add to that massive post from before, so here, have a few more headcanons. they aren’t as numerous as the first post, but they’re fun thoughts that’ve been kicking around in my brain.

these guys basically live in my brain as a sitcom at any given moment, so these aren’t all headcanons, but more funny thoughts i’ve thought of that would work with this large of a group.

don’t ask anyone about the hair spiders that are left behind in the drain. koryuu is the most forgetful, and also sheds the most, and hannya does try to pick them out, but it’s mostly left to the other four.

there is a jar labled “caused a horrible telephone game” sitting on one of the bookshelf that is filled with dollars and some coins. every so often, someone (usually fuku or mitsu) says something that someone else (usually koryuu or hannya) takes out of context, which gets passed around the group chat.

this usually ends in a massive group call to right the chaos, with the culprit of the misspoken words adding a few dollars to the “caused a horrible telephone game” jar. the feeling of the jar is more along the lines of those posts of dogs with cardboard “shaming” them for some naughty act they’ve done. it’s all in good fun, and if it’s actively distressing, the telephone game won’t actually be played.

when kenshin contributed to the jar, he was so darn proud of himself.

when the jar is too full, the brothers go out for dinner. it’s a fun treat afterwards.

koryuu is a fan of vocaloid. specfically, umetora. he knows all the songs by heart, and he isn’t afraid to show off his merch every so often.

don’t challenge him to a trivia fight. you will lose.

fuku likes sappy love songs. if you sneak around his garden enough, you’ll hear him humming them as he prunes his roses.

he also enjoys 80′s era rock.

24 notes - Posted March 10, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

i feel like spy x family, though technically a shounen, was made for or the ppl who grew up watching like early 2000s-2010s anime. think about it.

it hits the generation growing up with the idea of a “perfect family”. it’s the nostalgia of being a child with a stable home, perhaps unattainable in the circumstances we're in now, for a variety of reasons, but primarily "a lack of peace” in the world, internally, or externally. we have to wring this peace with our own two hands. it’s a hard, thankless, and tiring job, to have to do this day after day for a sense of “peace”.

it's through this show that allows the viewer to achieve that peace, if only temporarily though genuinely, just as how the flowers "that we didn't know could be so beautiful" which bloom in the spring are impermanent, and just how the forger’s family dynamic is just for safety. 

it is "until our missions, our killings, do we part."

111 notes - Posted April 24, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[lostacelonnie]

Now uh. I must apologize it's been about a hell of a month a lot happened at once & I was havin a not so great time. Oh shit really? How was Croatia whats it like there? I hope school is goin well for you. It sounds like you had a lot of fun with it & that's what matters I'm glad you enjoyed yourself with the festival. Oh! Its doin a lot better I need to make an appointment for detail finishing I almost forgot. It's like. A forest at night lit up with a rainbow aurora. Best way I got to describe it. Me yelling at the weather when it rained 2 days ago & is warmer again today. Hot & cloudy sucks that feels like betrayal. I need to call the doctor again & see if they have openings yet that reminds me. Need to get on meds myself. May you one day get seele & sparkle. I too am saving as much as possible for firefly & I hope I can grab ruan mei too. Which happy firefly release day! Im sad it's the last penacony patch from what ive heard. Right!? Hearing she is mei was so cool penacony story is 10/10. Wait did you get through domincus round 2? Ahh I didn't get robin but I got topaz on a lucky pull. So re run time for robin. Boothill is fun but maybe later. I hope they add more ice units that department feels lacking. Did you get pela & bailu done? I still haven't. I'm gonna get clara for my 300. Thanks I did manage to get arlecchino & clorinde too really quick. Gold & gears is great & now new su mode via screwllum too. Also! New march 7th form soon. So that's cool. Clockie event kept up the good stuff & legend of the galactic baseballer too. Somnium files is a mystery detective game that was. Kinda fun. Weird as hell mystery with a lot goin on. Sorry again my life turned to madness hopefully I'll keep up a bit better now

HI HI HI!!! apologies for taking so goddamn long to respond, my already nonexistent sense of time is even WORSE during the vacations. damn i hope its better on ur side now!! i luckily have been Pretty Okay, with the school year ending and all. CROATIA WAS VERY FUN!! it was actually an academic trip for my mother so we did Marginally less exploring as usual but still! my moms colleague took us to a bunch of cool places. no sea trips tho since we were in zagreb which is quite a bit away from the coastline. but ohhh the mountains and the FOOD!! the food was SO good. theres this little [but very popular] place in zagreb called heritage with the best fucking food ive eaten in my LIFE. genuinely. school finally freed me from its grasp the last 2 weeks [altho i Did have to write some random short tests to get my red stripe] [oh wait you dont know what a red stripe is. basically the grading system in poland is from 1-6, with 1 being the worst. if your average grade at the end of the year is 4.75 or more, you get a little stripe of the polish flag on ur diploma, but we just call it the red stripe. im on a 100% streak since i even entered the education system!] so other than all that i just kind of fucked around with the entire 2 other people who even came to school. that is not an exaggeration like there were genuine 2 other people there. but i digress! the festival WAS a lot of fun. unfortunately the people from younger grades pretty often dont want to participate [i mean, i dont blame them, they just got here] so were pretty much Always short on manpower to the point we might not be able to organize one next year but thats just speculation that i hope doesnt come true ahsjfgh. OH AND THAT SOUNDS SO COOOOOOL......... and YEAH god its been a while since we started this topic and the weather STILL doesnt want to make up its mind. literally had one day ~27-30 celsius and the next around 15. annoying. and hey good luck with getting on your meds!! i got my stash covered for the next 2 months so im Chilling. god how good it is to be medicated. i feel like a deflated balloon when im not. and to think i lived most of my life like that...... AND YAYY THANK YOU!!! ALSO HOW DID YOUR PULLS GO?? i managed to get firefly and ruan meis lightcone hehehehe [50/50 won both times!]..... i was torn between rm's and firefly's but i decided i use rm in more teams AND shes like. My favorite character. so she got lightcone privileges this time. god im gonna miss penacony...... i mean were probably gonna come back here on some trailblaze continuance or whatever just like what happened with belobog and now the xianzhou but still. i Will miss it. such a well written arc. also actually im curious, whats ur fav sub-area of penacony? im a dreams edge girlie but i wonder if thats a common sentiment. the VIBE there is immaculate. AND GOD YEAHHH THAT REVEAL WAS SOOOOO GOOD. especially since it had so so many honkai references so it was basically tailored for me to like it hehehe. i DID eventually get through yeah! with slight pain but i Did. very fun bossfight although it was slightly annoying that we couldnt use our own team both times since it wouldve been much easier. CONGRATS ON THE TOPAZ!! and good luck getting robin in the future!!! i Have finally built pela and bailu (well, bailu is Still missing one good artifact but yknow she does her job even with what she has). now onto firefly and harmony tb.... god my relic AND planar ornament luck is terrible for both of them. pain and suffering but at least automated grinding is, as always, saving my sanity. ALSO WELT SINCE I FINALLY HIT 300 AND GOT HIM. IM FREE. JESUS. and WOO CONGRATS ON THE GENSHIN GIRLIES!!! i actually managed to get my laptop to cooperate with me so im also back to genshin. not playing too often since i also got into friday night funkin and its very fun But i will try to save for arle's rerun. about time i got a good elemental dps. THE NEW SU MODE IS SO FUNNNN I LOVE IT A LOT. and yeah new march looks very very cool!!! probs not gonna get her immediately but she will be mine Eventually.

wow i hit character-per-block limit. Coming Back. i Still havent played the clockie event since i heard it fixes acherons slash and i wanna keep it around a while longer..... but legend of the galactic baseballer Was fun i agree. and ooh that sounds cool!! also dont worry about it AT ALL like genuinely nbd. i personally might reply to your Next message slightly later than i already do (sorry...) bc im going on a summer camp for two weeks this sunday... pretty excited And the grass-touching is something i deeply need...

[incarnateirony]

So what were the reasons of CWs decline? Could there be a revival of sorts? What will happen to it's current programming if WB actually pulls the plug on the channel? Is there a precedent for a channel actually dying?

Gonna try to whisk out a reply to this in my last half hour of lunch so I'll do my best.

The precedent for channels dying shows in the CW, itself. At the time, UPN and WB were money sinks and merged together to become marginally profitable as a unit, as well as package into larger business plans of its parent companies by housing shows to get to market for postmarket selling, syndication etc. That's why CW had 22ish ep seasons, bc the syndication bar was generally 88 episodes, hence most shows making it to about season 4 at 22 episodes so it could be syndicated out to TNT or whatever.

Then they made their legendary netflix deal but about a year back CBS threw a hissy fit during negotiations that broke that deal, which is why WB shows started showing up on HBO instead of netflix and exclusivity for other shows dropped and started featuring on Amazon etc. But basically, that deal still had another year or two left on it before it was gonna age out beyond contract.

Netflix used to bulk purchase CW shows to host, which is why a bunch of CW shows showed as Netflix Originals internationally, among other details. But that also meant CBS could crank out their absolute garbage content and get it hosted in the bulk deal, then run away with 100% of the residual revenue, another form of postmarket. But now that deal's coming to an end and it's not gonna be re-signed, which forces shows to have to be individually peddled to streaming agencies which can decide if they're profitable or not.

CW discussions seem to be about selling a major shareholder stake, that is to say to basically merge like WB/UPN did but a third magical party in there as the actual majority stake. They may also just bail out entirely. So either it could be like CW by IDK Fox with minority WB and CW shares, or just someone buys it out entirely. If. If they want it.

Basically we're at a point where the residual revenue for digitals going through netflix and others not only just are harder for them to get (hence slapping Walker on HBO Max since Paramount was still young, they used their partnership for that), but like Walker, they're just... not profitable enough to offset the bankrolling that CBS gives CW to invest it, it is literally a money hole. Remember I said "it's a matter of how long the parent companies decide it's profitable before they talk about pulling the plug"? Yeah. They already know it's not profitable and it's not worth their investments.

WB Properties will go to HBO Max, end of story. CBS properties are up in the air but, depending on if CW goes full divorce or not on selling, either they could agree to continue to host CBS products on HBO Max like Walker is currently, or pull Walker and all CBS products to try to pad the content library of Paramount as an upcoming. But as for what they continue to still make releases for? That's gonna be based on. Yknow. Actual viewership and profit, as opposed to the model CBS has been pissing down CW's throat for years.

[marimoswords]

oh my god im really gonna update my gem au for the first time in years all because i just got some asks about it klsdjfskldjal IM A LITTLE EMBARRASSED TO POST THESE BECAUSE THEYRE SO OLD but i realized these backstory drawings for asl never saw the light of day lol and i guess i never really went into depth with my hcs for these gem’s “purpose” or whatever haha so theres that under cut that i surprisingly remember pretty well

for the sake of this gem au op-verse, gem colonies and humans kinda coexist with eachother as a sort of compromise for the aliens to occupy the world but they still have their own separate societies that a gem breaking away from would be significant (i.e sabo). anyway moving on.

sabo/labradorite were meant to go alongside sapphires’ to assist in their future vision since earth (or whatever the op planet is called) is very unpredictable. sapphires can see the all the possible events and timelines in detail but cannot dictate what is most likely to happen or what would be the more favorable decision to lead to a more favorable outcome. labradorites fill in this gap by having all of their powers focus solely on instinct/intuition. they cannot see the future or know why they are making their decisions but they and the power of a sapphire guarantees that they can make an intuitive but informed decision.

tl;dr in really simplified metaphorical terms: sapphires are the map that shows every possible branching path while labradorites are the compass telling you which way you should go.

similarly to su and op canon, both gems are high ranking in the social hierarchy with labradorites and sapphires often walking around with their arms linked like theyre one single unit. one thing leads to another and sabo grows to detest his noble standing and becomes unable to do his job properly (since the future feeling is based on intuition of whats “good” or “bad” for the gem, sabo’s prediction often wanted them to be pointed in the other noble’s gems demise).

fearing retaliation and no longer wanting to take part in this kind of society, sabo leaves and meets ace. its basically like op canon from here.

ace/fire agate is kinda similar to the whole rose quartz situation in su canon. roger was a gem that caused a massive uprising that caused every other fire agate to be bubbled..........and eventually shattered. ace survived because, as a favor, rouge was a human that basically harbored these gems as fugitives. in desperate measures, the others she was protecting were shattered and she poofed one last gem to save and pass hands to garp. blah blah blah its like op canon from here on.

fire agates are kinda similar to holly blue in su where they are both meant to be leaders that kept other gems in line by being stern and mean. ace’s initial attitude is similar to this until he mellows out beyond his preprogramming of his gem.

luffy...........is special. he is an accident formed from a kindergarten that split due to an earthquake. the leftover drippings from spinel, rubies, and a hint of jasper miraculously re-implanted itself into the ground in a way that could actually incubate a gem, making luffy. red coral, like its real life counterpart, is technically not a gemstone. its..................coral. whatever luffy is technically doesn’t exist so he was dubbed “red coral” since his hole was more lower down on the cliffside of the kindergarten in a sea cave and the leftover goop ended up becoming coral like crystal fixtures.

sabo and ace find luffy after sabo gets a super strong future feeling to go to the kindergarten.

btw, names in this au for the gems are a thing because gems who have defected from gem society often take on human qualities as an act of rebellion! so they often give themselves names or reform with scars as a type of decorative marking in ways as if they were human.

[theseerasures]

Re: that anon who asked about the shuffle step of the themes of sacrifice

I also found the ideological shift in the volume very interesting, and I think she most interesting bits are with Team RRAYNBOW. Like I think the dynamic between Yang and Ruby and their respective missions this volume is very interesting (if maybe a bit underdeveloped, atm at least). You said a little about it with Team JOYR in Chapter 7. Do you have anymore thoughts about the "shuffle step" in regards to that?

i’m gonna admit upfront that i find this question kind of perplexing, because i don’t know what “ideological shift” it could be alluding to when imo our heroes didn’t so much pivot (or shift, or shuffle step) ideologically so much as make a series of context-specific decisions according to what they felt in the moment they could live with, or would die for (don’t make me tap the sign, etc).

what i DO think might be helpful, though, is to lay out what was at stake in each of the weighty choices/discussions our heroes took part in, from the very beginning of the Long Night to the end of volume 8, to see what (if any) throughlines persist or change. so:

Cordially Invited (7.8) to Out in the Open (7.10): our heroes are all in accord. transparency (telling the truth to Robyn) and collaboration (working with/helping Mantle) are paramount, and Ruby specifically takes steps to remedy her own wavering in that earlier in the season, by letting Oscar tell the whole truth to Ironwood. what’s key about this run, though, is that our heroes aren’t calling the shots yet. they advocate for certain actions when advising Ironwood, but they still trust him to take charge of deciding Atlas/Mantle’s fate.

Gravity (7.11): the Big Shift in terms of status quo. our heroes (JNR more implicitly) remain in accord--abandoning Mantle is the line in the sand they refuse to cross. but what does RWBY advocate for, if not Ironwood’s plan? they all agree that the best thing to do is to stand their ground, but for what? Blake and Weiss are comparatively silent on that front, but Ruby and Yang are more explicit. Ruby makes her plea about Amity--that if they hold out long enough, they can do what they always planned, and unite the world, and get help. Yang’s argument is that Huntsmen and Huntresses don’t back down from a fight. (she’s also the first person to suss out that Amity isn’t ready for launch.) this difference is going to come up later.

The Enemy of Trust (7.13): Oscar makes his last individual plea to Ironwood. his reasoning, much like Blake’s (and presumably Weiss’), is simply that abandoning Mantle is a sacrifice of such magnitude that it becomes unconscionable. it’s wrong because it’s wrong, and Ironwood’s rebuttal that it’s pointless to argue about philosophy when Salem’s right on their doorstep, is dickish, but not incomprehensible. Oscar is still looking to retain the advisory capacity that Team Unwieldy Acronym has had for the entire season, and guide Ironwood to making the right call, but that bridge has already been burned. they have to decide the fate of Atlas/Mantle now if they want to save both.

Divide (8.1): The team is no longer in accord. Ruby and Yang recognize that though they agree about Ironwood, their reasons for not abandoning Mantle are different. Ruby’s looking at the big picture, both in terms of what they have to do for the world, and what the world can do for them. Amity looks to be the only obstacle to getting both and saving everyone. Yang thinks it’s pointless. Yang didn’t want to abandon Mantle because that’s just not what you do, but she has no expectation of fighting toward any good outcome. she’s gonna do what seems more readily achievable, which is saving whatever lives can be saved. Ren and Nora split along similar lines more acrimoniously, because Ren at this point is desperate for tangible success and Nora is...just as desperate for total consuming optimism. Blake throws her lot in with Ruby, Weiss abstains, remaining the most quiet on the fate of Atlas/Mantle despite being Atlesian. Jaune and Oscar, though they go with Yang, mostly go for pragmatic reasons.

Refuge (8.2) to Midnight (8.6), Yang’s Team: the plan to help with Mantle is almost immediately derailed when the Hound kidnaps Oscar. i’ve talked about JYR’s plea to Winter in War, but that of course is not the first time that team chooses the few over the many; they do that IMMEDIATELY after Oscar is kidnapped, when Fiona calls for their help and they--without even verbally consulting with each other--go for Oscar instead. in that moment the more proximal thing they can and need to achieve becomes rescuing their friend, whose captor was still in view. but crucially: as soon as they lose Oscar in Fault, and especially after they discover the Grimm River in Amity, JYR had been on their way back to Mantle, and presumably, back to the less impossible thing to do, the thing they promised the Happy Huntresses they’d help with. running into the AceOps and Salem’s invasion throws a monkey wrench into that plan. suddenly rescuing Oscar becomes possible (though not probable)...

War (8.7), Yang’s Team: but not if Ironwood blows up the Whale, whereupon the equation changes again because now doing nothing for Oscar means leaving Oscar to certain death. tbh the confrontation on the airship is about like fifteen different things at once, because the variables keep changing and everyone is having their own argument over whether to rescue Oscar, and why. Yang’s response once she hears about the bomb is mostly you can’t; it is once again just not what Huntresses do, with some personal stakes thrown in. for the AceOps it is about the weighing of lives, and how they can’t put the mission to save Atlas on hold for one life. Jaune is the one who thinks of an idea where they might be able to do one without delaying the other (the second time this season Jaune has suggested the “go for both” option), where they would be the only ones risking their lives, and no harm comes to the greater good. only then does Ren jump in and shift the argument to caring and friendship; that is to say, after the stakes have been lowered so it’s not Oscar vs. Atlas anymore. i don’t think it takes away from his big moment, though: we know from Fault that Ren has taken Yang’s challenge of “let’s do what we can do” and run with it, and come up with “and what we can do is nothing because we’re not ready and we get everything wrong,” so him vowing to do whatever we can here is important. the point is clear: Team Hero draws their strength from their friends, and they’re willing to die for each other...but the question of if they’d let the world burn for their friend is put off for now.

Strings (8.3) to War (8.7), Ruby’s Team: in contrast to Yang’s plan faceplanting at the first hurdle, Ruby’s plan...works. they accomplish their primary objective! but they had to pay a steep price, and the only immediate consequence of that victory was entirely negative. Nora threw so much of herself into Ruby’s optimistic gamble that she now has lasting scars, and if they had never gone to Atlas Command Penny would not have been hacked (so easily; she might have been regardless). Ruby successfully put the ball in the world’s court, but that the problem: the ball is in the world’s court, and the longer it stays there the less sure she is that help will come. and it IS just about the help they’ll receive by War; Salem batting away Atlas’ hard light shields has shifted the goalposts from “hope the other Kingdoms can prepare :/” to “BLAKE’S PARENTS CAN YOU PICK US UP???” the question of Atlas or Mantle rears its ugly head for the first time since Gravity, and this is the first time Weiss is the first one to advocate, and she says we can’t leave--which, not coincidentally, is also what RWBY said to Ironwood in Gravity. May’s argument, of course, is driven by far more compassion: the need in Mantle is greater, and having finished facilitating Ruby’s (and Robyn’s) plan she’s going to do what Yang decided to do, what Joanna wanted them to do, which is fight for every last life. there’s no longer any big wheels to turn, nor any big powers to convince; all they have to do is decide what they themselves will do, and who to fight for. and Weiss finally shows her hand here. she believes in not leaving Mantle behind, but when it comes to the faces she’d fight and die for, Weiss’ are still in Atlas. Blake and Ruby are the ones to abstain this time, and notably when Ruby tries to argue that they’re all in this together it’s much less effective, because...there’s nothing left for them to do together. Ruby is out of concrete solutions.

Witch (8.9): what goes easily missed here that in retrospect is very important is...Oscar kills Hazel. (which means that an Ozcarnation killed BOTH of the Rainart twins.) we all thought he doubled back to make a sacrifice play, and he did, but not for himself. he received Hazel’s verbal consent, and Hazel would have died regardless, but the point still stands. he had to kill Hazel to neutralize Salem, to buy them the time they desperately needed. an unsettling portent for what comes later, innit? it highlights what his own kidnapping, Nora’s injuries, and Penny’s hacking already illustrates, which is that they are now risking every inch of their body and souls in this fray, and it also illuminates the other part of that, which is that by continuing to throw themselves back into this conflict, they now control the fates of other people as well. Hazel trusted Oscar to make the right call, but Oscar had to make the call.

Risk (8.11): where we ultimately land with the splitting of teams is that: Yang’s team went out to achieve the easily graspable, and they ended up forging alliances they never anticipated and dealing a devastating blow to Salem. Ruby’s team went out to achieve what should have been much more difficult, and they did, but with little palpable impact beyond the negative. what comes out and blends exquisitely with their conversation about Summer is that yes, Ruby sent out the call to warn the world, because she believed in humanity and unity, but Ruby sent out the call because she wanted help. she wanted people--say, parental figures--to save her and tell her things would be okay, and she wanted back the innocence to believe them. Ruby didn’t ask to be the face of the war against Salem, and she most certainly does not want to be in charge of it; she has lived with the material consequences of her family being the centerpiece of that war for her entire life. the Hound reveal is the final twist in the knife of Ruby’s childhood, because now the figure on the highest pedestal in Ruby’s mind has been perverted to a malevolent specter, and if that’s the case there are no more adults. THEY have to be the adults now, and look what a terrible job she’s done with that. Yang’s response is that Ruby is not alone--either in her traumatic fall into adulthood, or in her choices not panning out as expected. all they can do is the best they can in the moment, and Yang’s probably going to keep defaulting to what feels more tangible to her, but that doesn’t mean she wants Ruby to stop going for pie-in-the-sky options, either. Summer is still Yang’s hero, which means Ruby is too. what matters most is that they remain responsive to the moment, and don’t get bowled over by despair when something inevitably go off the rails.

so given all these developments, what are we to make of the plan from Creation (8.12) to The Final Word (8.14)? we start with the archetypal Third Option, as championed by Ruby and Jaune: use the Staff to save Penny and Mantle, and Atlas along the way. but the priorities of the plan--civilians first, presumably even before the Relics or the Maiden powers (though the question of one of them or a Relic is really only answered by Winter, who does not speak for Team Hero)--have Yang all over them. we have to do this for Yang isn’t just because Yang’s gone, it’s because they know it’s what Yang would have wanted, and they will respect that. they made a Ruby n Jaune style Big Plan, but when that plan fell to pieces there was no time to think of a fourth, or fifth, or sixth option that would get everyone out, so they had to improvise and double down on what they all agreed was most important. the choice between their friends or the people could no longer be deferred, or augmented, so they chose. civilians, then the Relics and the Maiden powers, then each other. and when any of them wavered--Blake, Ruby, Jaune--someone else checked them, reminded them to trust and respect what they all committed to. they’re still drawing strength from each other, still dying for each other, but they acknowledge that they are not directing just their fates with their decisions anymore. they took a huge desperate gamble to save Atlas/Mantle, and it worked, but what they gambled with was their own lives. and they made themselves make peace with that--that they’d have to do what they can, everything they can, without hoping for salvation for themselves, even from friends or family.

in the end, what comes across just from doing a close reading of these moments is that RWBY’s views on sacrifice, logic vs. sentiment, the greater vs. the few, etc can’t really be plotted on a solid line. that’s why i can’t really think of what happened this volume as a palpable shift--because so many of these choices were context and character dependent. what i DO think happened with our heroes’ ethical beliefs (or “ideology” ig) is that they were tested across a sequence of stressful and traumatic situations, and as a result they had to compromise on a few things they hoped to never have to compromise in order to shore up defenses on what they were certain they could not live without, or would die for (or both! in the case of six of them). if they have to die like every other Huntsman in history so be it, but they refuse to be so cavalier with the lives of others. none of that is meant to be definitive, however: in-universe RWBY is far from over, and Team Hero is going to get to re-litigate and reexamine these questions from lots more angles, out-of-universe...RWBY is far from over, and the point of the show is not to provide an ethical rubric against which the audience can judge themselves and the characters. there are things--like y’know. genocide--that this show will always consider to be beyond the pale, but in terms of grayer complex questions it is content to simply feel out what is and is not allowable in each particular instance, without trying to resolve all options into One Correct Option.

because sometimes you do just have to sit with the discomfort of there not being one right choice or one golden rule, and sometimes you are awash in the consequences of not only your own actions but the actions of others. and then you have to keep going.

[talatomaz]

chased away by shadows | hailey upton x fem!reader

a/n: i didn’t include a love confession but i did reference it. after 8x11, we saw how hailey reacts to those words and honestly, i get it bc i’m kinda the same so i just changed it up a bit.

not a huge fan of this and there’s not as much hailey x r as i initially wanted but oh well, hope you still like it anon

(feedback/positive comments are appreciated)

requested by anon: “hi! can i please request a hailey upton x intelligence love interest reader please? it’s been a really rough case and reader is quite depressed and hailey comes over and reader ends up falling asleep safe and warm in hailey’s arms and in the morning there is a love confession maybe? hope that makes sense, thank you x ”

warnings: mentions of assault, death, murder. usual canon violence

word count: 1.6k

masterlist | navigation | request rules

i do not give you permission to repost or translate my fics on any platform - likes/reblogs are okay and are much appreciated

“Upton and I will take the front. Burgess, Atwater, secure the back.”

You ordered, whispering into your comms.

It had been a rough couple of days.

The Intelligence Unit had caught a rape and murder case with seemingly no witnesses or leads to the sick bastard who’d done this.

Like the rest of your team, you were damn near losing the end of your rag at the lack of leads and it didn’t help that this brought up some unwanted memories from your past.

You shrugged them off, not wanting to get emotional at work but it was difficult. Especially when you had no idea who you were looking for.

But you’d managed to catch a break as one of your CIs had contacted you, telling you that they had heard about some gang member who’d been boasting about “having fun with a chick before popping her off”.

After some further investigation, you’d managed to identify the man. He had a rap sheet about as long as your arm, including prior battery and assault charges.

It was only when Halstead had found out that he was holed up in a supposedly vacant property that you’d all geared up, armed to the nines because you knew the kind of heat this gang carried.

“On my mark.” Halstead said into your comms.

He waited a few moments for you all to get into position. You were standing behind Hailey, your hand on her arm, alert and ready to conduct your search.

“Be careful.”

“You too.” You replied softy to your girlfriend.

You’d been dating for the past 6 months, having fallen into bed one night after a evening out at Molly’s. You’d both agreed to keep it a secret as it was a one-time thing but what you both didn’t realise at the time was just how much you liked one another.

It had soon become a habit. The two of you sleeping together after everyone gathered for a social call at Molly’s until one evening, Hailey told you that she liked you and wanted the two of you to be more than just sex.

You were surprised to say the least because there was never any indication that she liked you. In fact, you thought she was out of your league considering how beautiful and smart she was. But you decided to take the leap and you were so glad you did because you loved being with her.

Not that you’d told her those words yet, mind you.

It was a tough thing to say, for you anyway, especially after your past alongside the lack of any emotional attachments with your parents. And you knew Hailey had her fair share of trauma too, the majority of which you learned after you and Ruzek overheard her telling a suspect they had in interrogation.

And although your relationship wasn’t without its flaws, it had pretty much been smooth sailing since the moment you’d got together. No unnecessary drama or bullshit.

That was the last thing the both of you needed in this type of job.

“Now.” Halstead ordered so you gave a quick nod to the blonde before yelling “Chicago PD!” as Hailey kicked the door down.

There were a few offenders in the house who tried to run when you’d entered and as Hailey and the rest of the team went to secure them, you made your way up the stairs to see if there was anyone else hiding out.

Your arm was extended, gun clutched carefully in your hand, finger just next to the trigger, ready for any indication of movement. Reaching the landing at the top of the stairs, you entered one of the bedrooms. As you stepped through the door, someone jumped out and hit you in the head with a bottle. It shattered upon contact with your skull and the force threw you as you groaned in pain.

You began fighting the male, who weighed at least 100 pounds more than you, so it was no small feat. You wrestled with the gun he’d aimed at you before kicking him in between his legs and throat punching him.

As he coughed to catch his breath, you grabbed your gun that had fallen out of your hands and aimed it at the man crumbled on the floor. Ignoring the way blood seeped from your wound and down your face, you yelled, “Chicago PD. Stay down or I will drop you.”

Staring down at him, you realised that it was the man you’d been looking for and when he looked up at you with a sinister smirk on his face, you wanted nothing more than to shoot him where he lay.

But you had more self control than that so, instead, you kept your gun trained on him and called downstairs for back-up.

In less than a minute, Hailey and Jay were right beside you. Jay handcuffed the suspect and you re holstered your gun.

“Baby, are you okay?” Hailey asked frantically, her hand gently cupping your face as she examined the cut on your forehead.

“Yeah, I’m okay.” You said, releasing the breath you didn’t realise you’d been holding.

“Are you sure? You’re bleeding pretty badly.”

You winced when Hailey touched the wound.

“Shit, sorry.”

“It’s fine. Come on, let’s go.”

                ✧── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

After apprehending the suspect, Hailey had forced you to be checked out by one of the paramedics who’d arrived to take care of one of the offenders that Kevin had shot. They’d cleaned and stitched the wound and told you to take some paracetamol for the pain.

Now you were currently watching Voight and Halstead take lead on interrogating the man who’d attacked you at the house.

The man was so vile that you had to force yourself to not jump through the two-way glass and smack him silly. He’d copped to the murder but wouldn’t admit to the rape, sitting there with a smirk on his face.

“She wanted it rough. She was a slut. I just gave her what she wanted.”

The words continued to ring in your ear as they were words that you, yourself, had once been told. Forcing the bile back down your throat, you watched as Voight moved to stand behind the man, his hands on his shoulders.

“I’d watch your mouth if I were you.” Voight said, the threat lingering behind his words.

Your hands clenched into fists as he continued to speak.

“I ain’t gonna apologise for banging that whore. She got what she wanted.”

You could feel your anger boiling until it threatened to consume you so you left the viewing room and briskly walked to your desk.

You grabbed your coat that was hung on the back of your chair and ran out of the precinct; ignoring how your girlfriend’s eyes bore in your body as you hurried out of the building.

She decided to let you go, knowing that you needed space for a few hours.

                ✧── ･ ｡ﾟ★: *.✦ .* :★. ───✧

When you got back to your apartment, you fell down onto your couch, picked up one of the throw pillows and screamed into it, your frustrations coming to a blow.

You went from screaming to crying out of anger and old pain until you felt a hand on your shoulder that startled you. You hadn’t even realised Hailey had used her key to enter your apartment.

“Oh, baby.” Hailey murmured when she saw how red your eyes were.

She placed a soft kiss on your cheek and went to your freezer to grab an ice pack. She wrapped it in a table cloth and gently rested it over your eyes, the coolness soothing your swollen eyes immediately.

You tried to take the ice pack away from her but she simply tsked at you; too tired to fight, you instead relished in her taking care of you.

“Sorry.” You mumbled, finally gathering the courage to speak.

“It’s been a rough couple of days, honey. No one blames you for your reaction.”

“That’s not why I’m so...so angry and why I’m like this.” Your voice barely louder than a whisper but Hailey still heard you.

“What do you mean?” The blonde asked, furrowing her brows in concern. But her eyes told you that she already knew what you meant and that made your heart hurt.

“I just-I. It was a long time ago, back in high school. I’m over it but cases like these just bring it all back up, you know?” You sighed, deciding to remain ambiguous whilst knowing full well she knew exactly what you were referring to.

“Oh, baby,” Hailey repeated as she wrapped her free arm around you and pulled you close.

“The guy ended up confessing not long after you left. Voight stuck him in the cage and he ended up having a change of heart.” Hailey told you as she placed soft kisses on your forehead.

Your derived snort was muffled as your head was buried in Hailey’s chest but she heard you and chuckled in response.

“You’re safe now, y/n. You’re safe with me.” Hailey whispered, breaking the peaceful silence that had filled the room.

Her words brought a sense of calm to you as you sighed contently in her arms.

Gently removing the ice pack from your eyes, she put it on the table before lifting your chin up with her finger, bringing you in for a deep, reassuring kiss.

“I-I’m glad you’re in my life, Hailey” You said, catching yourself before you said those three words. You weren’t ready to say them aloud just yet and you had a feeling that your girlfriend felt the same way.

The blonde smiled knowingly, kissing your lips once more before hugging you close to her as you both got comfortable on the large couch you were still on.

“I’m glad to have you in my life too.”