#but the distribution of territories and who gets to live in them and who is the boss of how a territory is managed is SUPER strict

[keydekyie]

How does one become an elder in a Kanai community? Is it an actually position, or is it just the oldest among a community that make decisions?

It's just a matter of the most senior, most well-respected community members coming together to make decisions and lead gatherings. Elders emerge organically from the group, they aren't usually voted on or anything formal like that. Kanai communities are small and everyone knows everyone else. Not everyone wants to be considered an "elder" in the leadership sense as they get older, but it's commonly expected that the more outgoing, responsible, and sociable individuals will become elders as they age.

[bonefall]

Is there a list of all the jobs the cats can have?

I gotta make a whole thingie on this but here's a short list of the new job expansions, as a quick summary before I get around to it;

All heads of the patrol expansions report to the deputy. Patrol expansions also have apprentice chores that need to be carried out-- like dishwashing for Kitchen Patrol.

Official Jobs: Tasks that a cat can volunteer for or be assigned to for the day.

Kitchen Patrol Tasked with preparing meals. This includes processing prey from carcass to meat, making all the cats feel as full as possible on the food they have on-paw, and general preservation. NEW Position: Head of Kitchen. Oversees these operations, ensures fair ration distribution, decides the communal meal for the day, works directly with the other two heads to provide building materials (leather, bones) and discuss hunting quarries.

Hunting Patrol Very similar to canon; tasked with catching prey or patrolling the border. NEW Position: Head of Hunting. Tasked with managing prey populations and overseeing the types of animals that are being brought home. Has the freedom to levy "limits" on species and organize big game hunts. Is also expected to keep tabs on the territories and populations of other predators, especially vixens and how many cubs they're having in a season.

Construction Patrol An expansion of canon's unofficial builder roles. Tasked not only with building itself, but weatherproofing based on the season, comfort of the dens, and collecting materials. NEW Position: Head of Construction. Oversees projects and manages safety. Works intimately with the Head of Kitchen especially, responsible for taking the skinned pelts and processing them into proper leather, and cleaning spare long bones (especially of rabbits) for use as beams and supports. In ThunderClan, they are also responsible for maintaining the spears.

Educator A cat in charge of giving all kittens all their basic skills and a simple introduction to history, before their mentor and the elders eventually take over. Teaches kits how to understand glyphs, the names of certain animals, the leaders of their Clan, etc.

Unofficial Jobs: Tasks that a cat chooses to do, sometimes also asking permission to do it professionally or permanently.

Chaperone The "perma-queen" position. Helps out in the nursery and attends the needs of the queens. Doesn't typically do a lot with the kittens themselves, between their Mi, the Educator, any Bas or family they have, and the elders. Raising kittens is communal, so the Chaperone focuses more on the parents themselves. (Chaperones are generally rare, as they are redundant if you write the clan as a proper social unit, imo...)

Trader A cat who brings things to the border or to gatherings in order to swap them for other goods. Becoming more popular as peace between the Clans grows. Not a "position" but more of a hobby, or a talent. The Clans are currently running on bartering, between borders.

Crafting Weaving, tanning, toymaking, instrument creation, etc. Not so much a singular position rather than a blanket of various hobbies Clan cats can do in their off-time, now. While Construction Patrol often has to do these as chores, they can be done just for fun or personal gain.

In addition, the Leaders, Deputies, and Clerics have significant expansions as well.

Leaders are now given 9 lives to USE, and are expected to function as "the ideal warrior." They are at the head of dangerous missions, patrols, and are brave responders to natural disasters. They are blessed by StarClan itself, carrying a piece of a star to display their holy rank.

The Deputy is now expected to be the one who handles the "busywork" in the Clan so the leader is free to lead by example. The final decision always goes to the leader, but the deputy has MASSIVE influence over the day-to-day functions of the Clan now.

And the Cleric is the healer and spiritual authority of the entire Clan, only outdone by the Leader itself. Only a Cleric is allowed to interpret signs and omens, with Clan Culture now having the concepts of blasphemy, dark magic, and demonic influence.

[mistercrowbar]

Hey I saw you talk about Death Stranding and I was just wondering what do you think the gang would be like in a DS au?

oooooo very interesting my brain had fun with this. I will put the full thing under the cut but the tl;dr:

Aldiirn - Head of Distro with Bridges

Astarion - Prepper

Gale - Prepper

Karlach - soulless porter

Lae'zel - MULE

Shadowheart - terrorist

Wyll - freelancer

Aldiirn was part of the Bridges I expedition, a dedicated porter who did a lot of the legwork to get preppers to join the UCA and work side by side with Fragile Express. Things soured after the bombings, and with so many preppers turning away from unifying, Aldiirn left field work. His morale was low for a year or so but maintaining connections (and sorting boxes) helped him get his head back in gear. He took to management, becoming Head of Distribution for the Distribution Centre South of Lake Knot City. Aldiirn is delighted when Bridges II rolls through and brings familiar faces, plus new ones, back to the network, and South Distro is as bustling as the Knot Cities.

Astarion is trapped in a prepper bunker with Cazador who keeps the whole "family" safe underground. DOOMS sensitivity gives Cazador an advantage over the others who can't risk leaving without running into BTs, and of course Cazador keeps them fighting each other anyway. Every porter who made a delivery was a porter who ignored the situation and let Cazador keep prolonging the abuse. It isn't until Bridges II that Cazador's repeated refusal to join the network and a note in an outgoing delivery spark suspicions. A quest cumulates in a brawl and a trip to the incinerator. Most of the siblings leave for the Knot Cities, but Astarion ("The Decadent") and a couple others stay as the new owners of the bunker.

Gale is a prepper, "The Librarian," who focuses on preserving pre-stranding texts, scouring for ancient records about the Beach that could shed light on easing the stranding. He talks A LOT whenever porters drop off deliveries. I don't even have to give him anything special orb-related here because in Death Stranding, -everyone- is Gale and will explode the entire map if left dead for 48 hours.

Karlach was a porter working for Higgs and Fragile Express and was utterly betrayed by him when he bombed the cities and tured terrorist. She was enraged enough to try and fight him head on, but he tore her ka from her ha and left her broken and soulless. On meeting Bridges II, they try to find her ka, there's no way to reunite it with her ha. With the time her body has left Karlach offers all the aid she can to Bridges II to help kick Higgs' ass.

Lae'zel is from a MULE camp led by Vlaakith, who raid and plunder bunkers and even the distros. Her dreams of ascending and driving a big rig packed with cargo are torn asunder when she learns of Orpheus, the true progenitor of the camp who taught that the meaning of life is not in the cargo, but the act of delivery and connections.

Shadowheart is part of a terrorist camp deep in BT territory that refuses all connection to the living. She has a high level of DOOMS that frequently causes her anguish. She can make a choice to stay with her camp and attain a level of DOOMS that gives her powers rivaling Higgs, or connect with the outside and the prepper family she was stolen from.

Wyll was part of Bridges I and settled in Lake Knot City to work deliveries in the surrounding area. Unfortunately, he was caught up in the bombing plot and forced out of Bridges. He works as a freelance porter and keeps at it even when the Chiral Network allows enough data to be put together to prove his innocence.

[bestworstcase]

So, I was gathering reference for a map making project and when looking at the Vale World of Remnant video got reminded of this map and was curious if you had any thoughts on things:

This was its follow up:

i think about those red settlements all the time. (i have another post about this somewhere but it’s lost in the tumblr abyss. rip.) now, first thing, the placement of these settlements is clearly vibes-based—we know there are no settlements in the menagerian interior and there’s no green markers where the city of vale should be, etc—so their distribution is probably meant to give more of a general sense of where people tend to be in a world populated mainly by grimm, rather than the exact location of specific settlements. in any case, what’s up with quadling country those settlements on the “uninhabited” continent where salem lives?

third data point, from the great war spot:

which implies that battles were fought across the southern peninsula of the “uninhabited” continent during the great war; this does not make sense to me unless there were people there, so my thinking is that these red settlements must have existed at the time and their obliteration occurred during the course of the great war, which tracks with qrow noting many settlements were permanently lost due to the fighting and the grimm.

but that leaves the questions of 1. who were these people, and 2. why hasn’t anyone ever mentioned them?—because if this was an entire kingdom that got annihilated during the great war, you’d think that would merit at least a footnote in the great war episode. the two explanations that i can think of are:

#1, the red settlements represent a now-defunct faunus kingdom that is receiving the same treatment in history books that menagerie receives politically in the present—namely, the “four kingdoms… (and menagerie)” thing where the faunus kingdom is not only completely marginalized on the international stage but humans barely even acknowledge that it exists.

this would also make menagerie a much harder kick in the face, if the faunus already had a kingdom—a much larger one, even!—that was razed to the ground, ended up impossible to reclaim from the grimm, and got unceremoniously erased by human historians while the human kingdoms were like “stop complaining, we gave you an island!” about it.

however, i’d think this would be a bit of history blake knew, and there’s an obvious place in V4 for her to have brought it up because she talks about the history of the great war in relation to menagerie!

or,

#2, the red settlements were founded by vacuans displaced by the conquest and occupation of vacuo. this conveniently explains why they’ve never really been explained, if they were separate from vacuo by virtue of not being under mistrali occupation but also still, in a way, considered ‘part’ of vacuo because the people living their were vacuan—the settlements were destroyed or abandoned after the war, sure, but in the end the vacuans who lived there got to go home and have their own kingdom back. i think this is also more in keeping with the decolonial project of the vytal accords, with imperial territories being liberated and so forth. and you still get the whitewashing-history vibe of well, sure these vacuans lost their homes but they got a kingdom in the end so…

<- this would make the vacuo arc the natural place for it to come up in the story proper, because the vacuans would remember even if the rest of the world didn’t.

either way, the fact that the settlements are 1. located on the continent where salem presumably lives, and 2. color-coded red definitely implies some connection between her and them—whether that’s a legitimate connection or just ozma making an assumption that people living in her proximity must secretly be under her thumb remains to be seen, but it’s interesting. i do think it’s quite unlikely that salem herself is the one solely responsible for their obliteration, because the great war episode does show that there was fighting in that region; if she did attack them she did so under the cover of a level of destructive warfare that would have wiped them off the map anyway.

i’m also very interested in the menagerian-lime settlements on anima—it’s always been my assumption that that’s where the WF is headquartered and the idea of faunus-majority settlements in southern anima, protected by menagerie, compels me.

[casualsnickers]

Rat

Elod is a Pikachu variation and he’s part of my PMD project (second generation). I’ve written some stuff about what makes his variation a little unique. Keep reading below if you’d like to learn more about him.

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

Riakan Pikachus are elusive creatures; they can be encountered but instead of foraging around in the tall grass until you find one, they’ll almost always jump out at you. Especially if you’re alone. They’re known as The Snatching Pokémon as they’re attracted to numerous, beautiful things. Some Pikachus are attracted to gemstones. Others, to music. Others still to old or rare items. It depends.

The more items a Riakan Pikachu accumulates, the bigger they grow with the largest ever documented standing at around 4 ft tall (not including the ears). They come in a variety of fur patterns, but most are brown to blend in with the forest. They are much fluffier than their Kantonian counterpart and are often likened to hares with their long ears and hunched-over statures. Make no mistake, they’re rats. Though they do not live in packs, if one Pikachu is disturbed, they will call upon others of their kind and viciously attack (and sometimes hex) those who disturb them.

 Riakan Pikachus have a tendency to steal things… valuable things. Sometimes irreplaceable things. In the past, this species was sometimes responsible for missing infants and children. If they find a human particularly interesting, they will try to ensnare their victim with its charm and lure them deeper into the woods only to never let them leave. There are some tales about the species being able to turn humans into pokémon or even into still-sentient, wearable items. Tales that are, unfortunately, true.

Trainers who find and successfully manage to tame a Riakan Pikachu will often find themselves with a zealous, easily provoked companion. Riakan Pikachus are very territorial creatures and will go to great lengths to protect what they consider to be their property, going so far as to “terminate” potential threats by transfiguring them into useless items or muddying their senses with hallucinations. They’re also known to pickpocket and sway other people into giving them things. As such, even if you were to tame a Riakan Pikachu, you can’t take them into cities.

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

As for Elod specifically, he’s a bit on the shorter side. While he’s an electric-type, he can’t wear pretty much any necessary explorer gear like a bag, a money pouch, or a map; they interfere with the distribution of his electricity. As such, Elod has found ways of getting around the issue by either magnetizing his items or dropping all non-conductive items when it comes time to battle. Due to these issues, he’s affectionately referred to as Watts (as he doesn’t produce a lot).

Elod doesn’t like to battle; he just wants to collect shiny trinkets and glittering gemstones which is what inspired him to become an explorer. He’s more of a follower than a leader and if he thinks it necessary, he’ll flee dangerous situations. It doesn’t mean that he’s weak, though. His electrical attacks- when unhindered- are incredibly potent and his persuasion checks almost always succeed meaning that he can almost always outsmart, outspeed, or overpower an opponent. He did get tossed around like a football when he was just starting out, though.

[justapoet]

a key on the chain (take it with you and run)

“Annabeth Chase,” the man repeated, as if it meant something more than just a random name. “Isn’t that why you chose this house?” “Why, on Earth, would I pick a house based on whether or not this Annabeth Chase was my neighbour?” Percy asked. “To catch the cat!” the man explained, and Percy sincerely laughed. “What cat?” Percy asked, now wondering if he had drunk something that tasted bad or a bit out of the ordinary. He must have been sleeping, having those weird dreams some people claim have meanings but, in the end, were just a bunch of thoughts squeezed together in a juice jar. “The one with the key." OR, Percy wants a new beginning back where he came from. He moves to New Rome, a quaint neighbourhood in New York, where every single man seems to make a life out of chasing a yellow cat with a key around its neck. Whoever catches it, apparently, won't be denied the prize they all seek: Annabeth Chase's — the most beautiful woman around — hand in marriage. Percy doesn't get it, and much less wants to engage with such activities or with the mysterious woman. But it's a bit harder when she lives just next doors, and the yellow cat becomes a faithful companion of his.

Read it on Ao3

It was ironic, honestly, that he was standing at the door of his new house in New Rome, a quaint neighborhood in New York, New York, after he had decided to sell his house and get the hell out of the simple neighborhood he lived in Rome, Italy, for so many years. Ironic, to say the least, because Percy hadn’t even registered how the place was called before he had set foot back in the United States, his life all packed up in a bunch of luggage and Ms. O’Leary, his loyal companion, by his side.

And he should have registered it, probably, because it would be a responsible thing to do. But in the hurry he found himself in, and the crisis that was the catalyst for the sudden, brutal change of life and routine and choices, Percy didn’t think of much before buying the house and getting on a plane to sign the papers and get his keys.

Now, there he stood — in front of a small, dainty house, with brick walls and a wooden front double door and a large windowsill that gave it all a sweet, home-like air. It was the perfect definition of cozy, the front lawn mowed, and some flower bushes making it look even more graceful than he had first thought it’d be. The place seemed to come from a picture, those beautiful illustrations on books about fairies and magic and hope, and Percy wondered it that would be enough to settle his unsteady heart and calm his troubled mind.

Because the place was beautiful, and yet he couldn’t see or feel the hope of new beginnings that so many people had told him it would bring; he was standing in front of what now was his house, the boxes and furniture already inside for him to organize and distribute as he would like, and Percy could only feel tired. Not from his travels, not from having to put everything to a place — but he was tired, overall, and the weight of his choices and the paths he’d walked seemed to rest over his shoulder.

He was back in New York, and there was nothing really there for him. Not anymore, because he had decided to travel the world so many years before and, at some point, he had stopped keeping in touch with everyone he left behind. His mother, father, stepfather, stepmother, half-siblings and friends — he hadn’t talked to them in years. Long, long years that seemed to now taint his past and shadow his face and cloud his memories of what it was like to be with them, to be there.

And maybe being back should be inspiring. Perhaps being again in north American territory should give him the hopes and the energy to reach out and try to find them as soon as possible; but all he felt was dread. Dread, and dreadful fear that he had lost that part of his life — the one that made him who he was — forever, and because of his terrible choices and the terrible feelings that had settled in his chest so long before.

He was staring at his house, and Percy wondered how long it could take for him to feel at home.

Because it once was home to be in New York, and he had forgotten how it felt. It once was home to never belong anywhere, traveling around and meeting new people and meeting new cultures and faces and languages, until the moment there was nothing but emptiness and the everlasting feeling of missing someone, something, somewhere.

His family, and everything they meant. He feared their anger, despite knowing that was what he deserved, after all. After so long, after so much pain he was sure he had caused them through the years he never even gave a sign of life.

New beginnings should be scary, yes, and ultimately exciting.

Percy was simply terrified.

Ms. O’Leary, on the other hand, seemed thrilled about having new places to discover. Her tail hadn’t stopped moving from the moment they got out of the taxi — who charged him an absurd amount of money upon seeing the dog, but that was quite alright at that point — and Percy had opened the gate that matched the fence circling the property. She had barked and set off to run around, and Percy couldn’t help but chuckle.

At least one of them was excited enough for both.

Percy sighed, taking the key to his front door so he could finally come in and see the mess he’d have to face and make more of soon enough until he could properly relax and rethink every single step of his life. Ms. O’Leary had already made her way to the backyard, somehow, and he could hear her barking at something — probably nothing at all —, chuckling a bit more at his best friend’s happiness on stretching her legs.

He shook his head, rolling his eyes fondly at the mental image of Ms. O’Leary simply running in circles around the area he was yet to see. Then, he looked up again at the doors, and inhaled deeply.

And his dramatic entrance to an empty house as a metaphor for his empty life was rudely interrupted before he could even fit the key in the door.

“So, you’re the lucky one?” someone spoke behind him, and Percy snapped his head in the voice’s direction, turning his body around as well, key still in hand. A man stood behind his fence, a heavy terracotta coat hanging from his shoulders, a suit underneath it and a black Panama hat tucked to his head a bit too much. His face wasn’t sympathetic, and instead he stared at Percy as if he was a bug the man desperately wanted to step on.

Weird. To say the very least.

“Uh— Hello?” Percy greeted, unsure of what to make of the situation. “I beg your pardon; ‘the lucky one’?” he frowned, and the man seemed to snap out of whatever it was that crossed his mind.

“My apologies. Welcome to New Rome,” the man spoke again, now taking a few steps to walk past the open gate and offer his hand in greeting. When he was close enough, Percy, still incredibly confused, shook the man’s hand.

“Percy Jackson,” he offered. “Thank you.”

For the welcome. Not for whatever it was that had happened before.

“Luke Castellan,” the man replied in earnest, his handshake firm before Percy let go of it. “First time in New York?” he asked, and Percy couldn’t quite pin down what it was that seemed so off about the sympathy in his tone.

“In a couple of years, yes,” Percy limited himself to say. Then, his curiosity got the best of him. “What did you say about me being ‘the lucky one’, may I ask?”

Luke’s smile seemed to tighten. Percy decided that it was best to be careful.

“The house,” Luke said. Percy frowned.

“Why? Is it better than the others?” he asked, looking back at the house behind him. When he looked at Luke again, the guy had an eyebrow raised.

“It’s beside Annabeth Chase’s house,” he spoke again, his tone implying that the fact was somehow obvious. Percy was sincerely beginning to think the conversation couldn’t possibly get weirder.

Rookie mistake.

“Who?” Percy could only ask, tilting his head to the side.

Luke frowned, then. Now, he seemed genuinely confused. Percy wanted to say that he had no right to — what, on Earth, was that man talking about?

“Annabeth Chase,” Luke repeated, as if it meant something more than just a random name.  “Isn’t that why you chose this house?”

Percy’s face was probably odd to look at, now that he was sure it was completely contorted with his bewilderment. His mouth was slight open and twisted, and he couldn’t narrow his eyes more before completely closing them.

“I chose the house my realtor offered me,” Percy said. “Why, on Earth, would I pick a house based on whether or not this Annabeth Chase was my neighbor?”

“To catch the cat!” Luke explained, and Percy sincerely laughed.

“What cat?” Percy asked, now wondering if he had drunk something that tasted bad or a bit out of the ordinary. He must have been sleeping, having those weird dreams some people claim have meanings but, in the end, were just a bunch of thoughts squeezed together in a juice jar.

“The one with the key,” Luke spoke again, and Percy could really wake up right then. He moved his arms and hands in exasperation, completely lost, and shook his head, eyes wide as he tried to understand what the man could possibly be talking about.

“Do you seriously not know?” Luke asked, and he seemed truly surprised. Percy would need an analgesic for the building headache on his temples.

Percy shook his head in disbelief yet again.

“Man, I just got back from another continent. I do not have the most single idea of who the hell Annabeth Chase is, what a cat and a key mean or how the house I now own has to do with it.”

Luke stared at Percy, who just stared right back as he tried to get his point across. After the better part of a minute, the brunette man seemed to have accepted that the newcomer really didn’t know what the hell he was talking about, and his gaze turned apologetic.

“Okay, then. I’m sorry, man,” Luke spoke, putting his hands in the pockets of his coat. “It’s just an ongoing competition for Annabeth’s cat and their key.”

Percy frowned again.

“Competition?” he asked. Luke nodded.

“It’s a thing we have around here,” he began, and Percy tilted his head. “The house beside yours belongs to Annabeth Chase, the most beautiful woman in the neighborhood. Dare I say, and any other person, the most beautiful woman in New York,” he explained, and something in his tone, again, seemed to put Percy on edge. Luke looked at the house he was talking about, the glint in his eyes with something much more distorted than what someone might mistake for affection. “Every single young man in the neighborhood had offered her their hand in marriage, and desperately wanted to wed her,” he told him, and Percy visibly winced. Luke didn’t notice.

Marrying someone for looks? Asking for their hand in marriage because they look pretty?

The discontentment was clear over Percy’s face. He was definitely going insane.

“She refused one by one, and yet they came back to ask her again. Expensive gifts, poems, songs; they tried to convince her with everything, anything they could buy and hand her,” the man continued, and Percy felt a pang of sympathy for whoever the woman was. What a tragic thing, to be seen as one more object those men could be handed and pay for. “One day, though, Miss Chase grew tired of all men knocking on her door and proposing ridiculous things. So, she made a challenge — whoever caught her cat and the key on the cat’s neck, would not be denied her hand in marriage. Since then, there’s been a whole thing trying to catch the animal: cages, traps, the most unhinged plans seen. No one could ever catch it.”

A wave of satisfaction rolled in his ears, and Percy made his very best not to let it trespass to his expression. He sympathized with the woman, and somehow was intrigued by her presence and the plan she had made — it was odd how she knew that the cat wouldn’t be caught, and yet a high risk to take if she didn’t want any of those men by her side.

Something, Percy thought, that no one could possibly blame her for. One needs to be pathetically vain to try and win someone’s heart as a prize, and not ever think about treasuring it as it should happen. And agreeing to go after a cat instead of just, perhaps, asking this Annabeth out and trying their luck by being normal people? Percy didn’t think that he would like a single soul in the neighborhood.

“They stopped coming to her house,” Luke carried on, taking Percy back from his thoughts and judgements. “And, to this day, everyone tries to catch the yellow cat with a hanging key and earn her love,” he concluded, and looked at Percy again, who was trying his best not to roll his eyes in front of his new neighbor. Those men could be trying to earn anything, but not her love. “We were all curious, then, as for who had taken the house closest to hers.”

Percy blinked, shaking his head.

“I have nothing to do with chasing cats and hanging keys, man, I can tell you that much,” he said. “I just got the house.”

“We all see it,” he said.

“And I would much rather the accusation stopped, Mr. Castellan, for I have no intention to add ‘trapping a cat’ to my routine,” Percy spoke, a little more serious. “I have nothing to do with this odd contest of yours, and I intend to keep it that way,” he explained.

Luke seemed a bit convinced. And a bit too smug for Percy’s liking.

“You’re a first, then,” the man said, and Percy arched an eyebrow. Luke sighed. “My apologies for the accusations, Mr. Jackson. The subject just tends to get on our nerves.”

“I figured,” Percy said. “If you’ll excuse me, Mr. Castellan; I’ve had a long day.”

The man nodded.

“Of course. Have a good afternoon,” he complied to Percy’s farewell, touching his hat and then turning around to leave the property. Percy watched him go for a few seconds, and then decided that it was too much to process standing at his doorstep.

He was intrigued, to say the least, about the whole scenario he had just been presented to. A woman with whom he couldn’t help but sympathize, being chased and wanted like some sort of prize for someone’s ego and pride. A cat that seemed to outsmart a whole neighborhood — though, after the whole story, Percy couldn’t believe it was that hard to do it —, and a bunch of grown adults who didn’t have anything better to do but to watch every person’s moves and doubt their smallest intentions.

Amazing. And he thought he’d find some peace by being back at his childhood town.

Read the rest on Ao3!

[windblume-wishes]

Happy National Cat Day! In honour of today being a day to appreciate our feline friends here’s something sweet featuring Grim who was given to us by the TWST Cat Distribution System! He chose us as our human so consider yourself lucky to have been chosen!

Join the TWST Discord Server for more shenanigans

𝕃𝕖𝕥’𝕤 𝕤𝕖𝕖 𝕟𝕠𝕨, 𝕀 𝕓𝕖𝕝𝕚𝕖𝕧𝕖 ��𝕙𝕖 𝕥𝕒𝕝𝕖 𝕘𝕠𝕖𝕤 𝕒 𝕝𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕝𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕞𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘 𝕝𝕚��𝕖…

Grim - Furry Friend (Head Canons)

Despite not wanting to be called a cat, Grim does act like a cat in more ways than one.

Meows at you in the middle of the night for tuna, he doesn’t care if you are asleep- he wants tuna right meow and he will get it.

Chases the disappearing red dot (laser pointer) and will vow to catch it! Spoiler alert he can’t catch it.

Brings you his k1ll- even if it is just a toy mouse. To Grim you are a lousy hunter and you need his help, be lucky he is so kind to even bring you his k1ll!

Gravity tests random objects on the table- nothing is safe from his paws.

He has randomly cleaned his behind in the middle of class because he was bored and didn’t want to listen.

Grim has fallen victim to the toe beans squishing- you see kitty paws and you squish them lovingly. He just doesn’t care anymore.

Grim is surprisingly good with children, during the Halloween festivities at Night Raven he would soak in all the attention from the children who pet him and gave him scratches behind the ears and on the chin. He became a purr box.

Purrs for you when you’ve had a rough day, he wants to make sure his (henchman) human is going to be okay and will purr for you. He will even offer your face a spot in his warm belly so you can have kitty belly time.

Scratches trees to mark his territory.

Hides in empty boxes and claims them as his.

Likes to have his back scratched, like right where his tail is. If scratched there he will purr, smile, and raise his bum in the air while curling his tail happily.

Hisses and growls over bath time.

Overly dramatic with nail clipping day.

Grim gets the 2am zoomies, he sounds like an elephant running through the hallways.

He fought his own reflection once…

Scared of cucumbers, do NOT put them behind him unless you wish to have a surprise hairball in your shoe.

He has brought you live prey and has left live prey in Crewel’s classroom just to mess with him.

You have nearly been late for class because feline law states that you are forbidden to move unless the fur ball moves first and allows you to leave.

Biscuits and purrs 100%-

You know how cats do those chirp sounds when they are watching birds from the window? Grim does that too.

Sunbathes and gets that wonderful warm kitty smell. Cat people know what I’m talking about-

[spiderfreedom]

I find radical feminism interesting and enlightening as a philosophy, like of all the branches of feminism I've read, it's the only that touches on topics that have bothered me for a very long time:

Why are women in the west expected to wear clothes that are more form fitting and show more skin than their male counterparts? Noticeable at almost every level of professionalism - even women who wear suits tend to wear scoop neck blouses to show collarbone and upper chest. Or they wear a skirt suit, which shows the legs.

Why is asking this question contentious? I get serious pushback from other women when I wonder about this, as if I were judging them. (I'm not - I'm curious about this gendered clothing system we live in.)

Why is the subjugation of women so common across the world? Why is it so similar across cultures and epochs?

How did the subjugation of women happen? What are the situations that lead to female subjugation?

How have women won back territory? What are the situations that lead to female liberation? How can we organize to take advantage of these opportunities?

To what extent is the female body the source of female oppression? Are we actually doomed by sexual dimorphism, or is this just pessimism? What is and is not true of the female body?

Are there genuine differences between females and males when it comes to psychology? If so, to what extent are these differences useful, or to be encouraged in women?

Radical feminism, of all the branches of feminism I've read about, is the one that comes closest to answering these questions. Liberal feminism is quite incurious about the origin of female oppression, and lacks a global thrust. Cultural feminism takes too much for granted that what we've been told is "feminine" is real and valuable. Ecofeminism often seems to delve straight into woo. Radical and Marxist feminists are the ones who seem to get the most that feminism is, at its core, a movement about female power and male power.

My problem with radical feminism is that while there's a tremendous amount of reading about feminist theory, there's spotty coverage of other issues. Radical feminism has a cautious relationship with science - understandable, since science has a dirty history of being used to justify the superiority of {$insert group using it here}, but sometimes veering into denialism. Like in Germaine Greer's Female Eunuch, she disputes the now accepted claim that women tend to have more fat than men, and says this was made up by sexist scientists. I've seen radical feminists unsceptically quote that Cordelia Fine book where she talks about 'priming' without even mentioning the replication crisis related to priming or trying to tease apart which studies still hold and which ones don't. This may seem like nitpicking, but living in reality matters. If we base our activism on the basis of a false claim ("there is no sexual dimorphism in fat distribution!") or a weak/contentious claim ("priming is a real thing that explains poorer female performance in certain areas"), then we end up following the wrong path and chasing leads that don't matter.

That being said, nobody else has done a better job, in my opinion, of dealing with the issues that go to the core of female subjugation, and the weak points can still be improved. Moreover, nobody else argues the urgency of female liberation with as much breadth as radical feminists have. Reading Dworkin and Firestone felt like someone had ripped open my diary, found the questions I had, and answered them with electrifying clarity.

[windkissfr]

I've been eating up the infection au's on tumblr, so here's one for flight rising about all the flights & how it developed!

Shade Virus: Upon awakening the Shade, the Arcanist realizes that something has gone terribly wrong. The dragons he rules have been getting...sick. The diseased dragons cough up black mucous and rapidly starve, rejecting food and water. He has yet to understand what the Shade has done to his dragons, but he's running out of time.

Arcane: Since the progression of the virus, Arcane is in ruins. There are very few survivors left as they try to navigate a Shade stricken land. The Arcanist was the first deity to die.

Wind: A temporary safe haven for homeless dragons (as long as they are not ill). Windsinger has banned all travel, so Wind Flight is grounded. Infected dragons are herded or thrown into the Twisting Crescendo.

Plague: Plaguebringer is endlessly amused. All infected are killed upon sight for being weak and succumbing to disease. Ironically this makes it the safest area... if you are strong enough to survive.

Ice: Complete Lockdown, no contact with other tribes. No one allowed in, no one allowed out. Any infected are placed into jail. There's talk of guards threatening dragons for money... those who can't cough it up are thrown in as a meal.

Fire: The naturally high temperature of fire discourages incubation. They are currently working with Lightning to discover a vaccine. Dragons here believe there is no hope of a cure.

Lightning: Dragons are overworked and overtired, which makes them very susceptible to the Shade Virus. Power and engineering is no longer a priority, just survival.

Light: Suspiciously quiet. No one has heard anything since the virus began to spread across Sornieth. A scout sent from Shadow discovered that he couldn't cross into light territory. Some kind of force field he said. All he could see were... uninfected dead dragons. Reports of rotting smell, but no signs of life.

Shadow: All shadow primal killed, upon suspicion of being involved with the shade. Those who escaped Her wrath may be immune. Shadow dragons are currently shunned by other flights due to an irrational fear that they may be carrying the disease.

Earth: Since their territory touches Arcane, they had very early infection. Dragons here wear heavy armor to prevent bites from infected & masks to prevent transmission. They are currently trying to distribute knowledge about preventative measures, but there are too few members.

Nature: Dragons living in the Gladeveins currently suspect that the disease can spread through unsanitary water, as well as bites and airborne particles from infected dragons. Discovered first case of Shade infected plants, currently running out of food...

Water: Reports of a wingless dragon the 'Shade Queen' purposefully infecting dragons. It seems in the Tidelord's absence things have descended into anarchy. Avoid water at all costs, you will be dragged under if you approach.

[johaerys-writes]

4, 9, 18, & 19 for any of your fics you wish to answer with <3

Thank you so much for these questions!! I'll be answering most of these for High-Flying Birds 😁

4. If the fic required it, what did you research in order to write it?

I research my fics a lot, and a lot of the time it’s random little things like what a specific place looks like or if a specific type of plant is native to the region (especially for my patchilles fics, even though they take place in Greece and I AM Greek, you'd be surprised how many plants have been brought over from Northern european or Asian settlers or from the Americas, to the point where I wonder what even was there for the ancient Greeks other than like olive trees and grapevines LOL), but for High-Flying Birds specifically I've done soooo much research on so many different kinds of things. I honestly feel like it's one of my most heavily researched fics (maybe that's why it takes me so long to update.... among other reasons 😩). For the Aulis arc I've mentioned before how I went into a deep dive of Euripides' version of the Iphigenia myth, but I also researched the origins of the myth itself, the many different versions that exist and how it sort of morphed and changed as time went by, and how the context of the times shaped it. I loved reading about its evolution and all the tasty little nuances re: Achilles' and Odysseus' role in it, as well as how Iphigenia and Clytemnestra changed from being mostly passive to gaining more agency from retelling to retelling, and how other themes in the myth such as the destructive power of nationalism and populism gained momentum in later iterations. Like the elements are there in the original myth, but it's crazy how a slight change in the dialogue here and there can shift the tone of the play as a whole.

For the Troy chapters, I also researched a lot about the Trojans and the Troad in general both in myth and history, how the Greeks imagined them through Homer's works and all those other myths that sort of converged to create the Iliad, but also what actual, factual records exist about that region of Anatolia and how Bronze Age Greeks interacted with the people who lived there. It’s really fascinating to read and think about, especially since so many details about the Trojan culture that we know from the Iliad, which is a work of fiction, actually correspond to things we know to be true about them in real life, like the fact that they had a long tradition in textiles and weaving, or that they were renowned for their horse breeding, as well as the incredibly accurate description of the Troad and the surrounding islands. I researched a lot about the Hittite culture (Troy was a vassal state of the much bigger Hittite empire), what other settlements have been discovered around that area, what languages were spoken, what kind of things were produced there and what are thought to have been imported from other parts of Asia or Greece, etc etc. I also gave a lot of thought to how the raids would have worked and how the wealth was distributed in the first part of the war, and how that might have shifted once we get into Iliad timeline territory. In short, a lot more of my time is spent researching this fic rather than writing it I think 🤣 but that's just half the fun!

9. Did you get stuck at any point? How did you get past that?

I'm actually stuck right now 🫠 I haven't figured out how to fix it yet, but most of the time what I do to get unstuck is to read both the fic and the source material from the beginning, and usually by the time I reach the point where I'm stuck I sort of figure it out. It's what happened both when I was stuck after the end of the Skyros arc, and also the end of the Aulis arc (transitions are the worst....) But I've been too apprehensive to do it this time idk why LOL and it's driving me crazy. Like TSOA is my fave book ever, and the Iliad is my fave work ever, and here's lil old me trying to sort of fumble along and fill in those gaps and it's like... what if I make a complete mess of it all and it doesn't make sense and nobody likes it lmao ykwim??? I guess I'm a little intimidated by the scope of it, and we're also getting close to important character development moments in the story and I wonder if I can do it justice..... which is dumb and I hate it but what can you do!!! Brains just don't brain the way you want them sometimes

18. Talk about your editing and revision process

It really depends on the fic tbh, sometimes even by the chapter. Sometimes I can "see" the scene or chapter very clearly, so I just write it and then go back and give it a couple reads, tweak some sentences here and there and that's it. Others are much harder, and I need to push myself through absolutely frightful first drafts, then edit line by line or re-arrange paragraphs etc, and that takes a lot more time. I write everything in order so there isn't a lot of rearranging entire scenes, but I often have to like word-vomit my way through a particular troublesome scene so that means there's a lot more clean up involved during the editing process. Sometimes I hate editing and others I don't mind it, it really depends on my mood lol.

19. While editing, did you kill any darlings? What were they?

I honestly don't think I've ever had to kill a darling, maybe at the very beginning when I was writing HFB I had to delete some small scenes for pacing's sake, but when I revisited them some time later I absolutely hated what I was reading so it's good that I ended up killing them after all 😂 I've grown to be really ruthless when it comes to editing stuff out tbh, when something needs to go I just know it and I don't feel any sort of attachment to it. If there's a particular turn of phrase that I like that doesn't fit the current chapter or work, I just jot it down and use it for something else where it does fit, but that's about it.

fic writer asks

[daggerzine]

Film Review: Rubika Shah’s White Riot: The untold story of how a motley crew of punks stood up against racism (2019- review by Dina Hornreich)

White supremacy is unfortunately not a new thing in the history of humankind. The Ku Klux Klan has been lurking around America’s states since approximately 1865. In Britain, a similarly racist minded group called The National Front formed around 1965 which was about 30 years after Hitler’s rise in Europe. Their particularly verbose leader at the time, Enoch Powell, gained appalling notoriety for perpetuating the variety of racist/fascist notions for “sending the blacks back” and similarly deporting “those immigrant invaders.” It’s the same old story: greedy vs. needy. I guess when vital resources seem threatened (like food, clothing, shelter, etc.); we tend to see the worst of humanity as a result. Competition versus cooperation, I guess?

How do we decide if someone (or certain “peoples”) should “stay or go” – and why? It’s a revolting proposition at its outset; yet it is not uncommon whatsoever for families, neighborhoods, communities, cities, states, commonwealths, republics, countries… I guess some people wanna play god? (Or maybe it really just is good to be the king?)

By associating needs for employment, housing, healthcare, etc. with those most affected, white supremacists dismiss issues like poverty (and other kinds of suffering) by blaming those who make those inequitable disparities most uncomfortably apparent. Anti-racist responses should open us up to considering numerous possibilities for challenging the various forms of oppression that impact everyone – not just the most disenfranchised. The false impression that anything is “for us by us” (or otherwise limited, exclusionary, inaccessible, etc.) makes it clear that the simple necessities for living are just matters of basic human decency. I guess it’s easier to blame the victims, relegate the deprivation of human needs as particular to the specific experiences of the “other,” and continue to rationalize their dehumanization in order to distance one’s self from some commonly painful experiences (rather than owning privilege). Differences are not deficits -- unless we truly want them to be.

Rubika Shah’s film, “White Riot,” reminds us that we always have options to rally together as citizens against tyrannical leaders; and it further reinforces the substantial power that music, punk, and DIY has always had in prioritizing social welfare issues. Taking its name from an easily misunderstood Clash song (“White riot, I wanna riot. White riot, a riot of my own”) their approach affirms how the issues that most visibly affect people of color are the exact same issues affecting all people.

This film depicts the particularly compelling story of the “Rock Against Racism” (RAR) cultural movement which took place in response to the surprising support that The National Front’s Enoch Powell had received from artists like Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart; a public response that clearly disgusted many of their fans who rightfully had no patience for colonialist kinds of territorial nonsense. (i.e. Eric Clapton will never be the one who “shot the sheriff”!!)

But please don’t get me wrong, either: it’s no secret that that swastika emblazoned kinds of garbage was also surfacing in punk circles, too. However, RAR activists were making a concerted effort to harness its raw energy into something decisively more socially responsible; and this film demonstrates how impressively successful they were in accomplishing their goals by distributing their own publication (“TempoRARy hoarding”), arranging gigs, and otherwise providing outlets for rallying together against bullying and prejudice.

RAR’s anti-racist political efforts for justice-focused, community organizing endeavors finally culminated into a big rallying “carnival” that took place in Victoria Park. It featured The Clash, Steel Pulse, Tom Robinson, Poly Styrene, Sham 69, and Alien Kulture. And they pulled it off with great style! If you’re somewhat familiar with Julie Burchill and Tony Parsons’ book The Boy Looked at Johnny: A Rock and Roll Obituary (Pluto Press) <https://www.thevinyldistrict.com/storefront/graded-on-a-curve-the-boy-looked-at-johnny-the-obituary-of-rock-and-roll/>?) then you too might consider this film’s content even more endearing as a result – but that’s more of a recommendation than a requirement. 

[ashadowofburnedoutstardust]

Do you think the real reason that Russia is so pissed is because Israel are the ones that blew up that pipeline of theirs at the behest of the United States, and they framed the Ukrainians for it?

I mean if we're going to see a mirror image here then that means that someone is probably going to blow up that pipeline that supplies the USA with supplies right? I mean I know Biden already killed the damn thing, but why bother to leave the infrastructure in place

I'm guessing there's definitely at least one group angry enough to blow up that pipeline in revenge, and it's not who you think it might be......

Especially when it's such a tasty target to ensure martial law, which lets face it is what the Israel lobby is wanting in order to maintain their control before they attempt to impeach Trump

Can you imagine just how badly things are going to get cut off from the US because of this tariff pause? The only reason the tariff pause exists is to give Mexico and Canada as well as every other country in the world the ability to find alternate markets, the tariffs will still go ahead as the rest of the world is no longer interested in funding the Israel lobby

See now most of those companies that fund the Israel lobby are the ones that actively chose to comply with the removal of DEI policies, and of Americans actively choose to target one company at a time instead of all of them allowing them to continue then their lives will only continue to get worse and worse until they are able to bankrupt these companies and therefore the Israel lobby

So I highly recommend not fucking around and picking one brand at a time because you simply do not have the time for a campaign any longer, keep the list with you and double check all of your labels and ensure that you are either buying foreign or not from any company that is not DEI compliant

In the next what was it 30 days, well 28 now, that pipeline goes boom boom, they start rolling out troops in order to maintain a literal dictatorship, which could also require foreign countries to have US military bases within their territories evacuated so that they are unable to attack them in their own country, I mean heck these soldiers might even just straight up get arrested by the country that they're residing in solely as a security measure

Nobody in the world wants to risk their product going into the United States because it's just such an unstable economy so they lose at least 90% of their foreign suppliers

There's literally SFA in terms of food production in the US besides corn and potatoes, I mean it's like you are going to be living in a post Stalin communist USSR, which is highly ironic in the circumstances

I mean let's face it the US military doesn't have enough personnel to be able to take on the entire world and they currently don't have any public allies

Now in order for the rest of the world to maintain their own status quo, because let's face it they have to look after their own best interests they will of course seek to start supplying somewhere else in other markets

The US however is going to have to rely on foreign donations to top up on a lot of products, which would mean the supervision of the UN in order to distribute any form of aid, and if that's not allowed then unfortunately does us companies may have to buy that age from the UN in order to distribute it within its supermarkets

The current US government has no friends, and the thing is even if the republican party get replaced with the democrats you still don't have any friends because they have as well being complicit in a genocide, so even swapping parties without swapping out the candidates that were compliant with Israel's actions, the United States economy will not be recovering, especially with international trade dropping their currency

Either you all get in line with the rest of the world's values or you will suffer the consequences

I don't mean to sound harsh when I say that but I have to be absolutely straight with you about this because there is no sugar coating it

[bradsmindbrain]

Lizalfos Headcanons

● They’re native to the Lanaryu region, but like many other species of monster, they’ve spread to other areas of Hyrule, taking a particular liking to Faron.

● Their large distribution comes at least in part due to the fact that despite being reptiles, they’re able to manually regulate their body temperature, allowing them to thrive in areas where most other reptiles can’t.

● They’re one of the most intelligent monsters aside from Wizzrobes and Lynels. Along with Lynels, they’re the only monster species that’s mastered metalworking.

● They’ve actually waged full-on wars with the Zora due to territory disputes in the past, and their intelligence actually allowed them to do incredibly well.

● Outside the influence of Gloom or Malice, they tend to live in clans of 15-20 individuals, living in camps that are more out of the way of roads than Bokoblins and Moblins are. Clans are generally led by the largest and strongest Lizalfos.

● Even when not being influenced by Ganon, they’re known to work with Bokoblins and Moblins on occasion. It’s a beneficial arrangement all around, the Bokoblins and Moblins get allies who are more adept at a range than they are, and the Lizalfos gain allies that can help get food.

● Lizalfos are purely carnivorous, but are known to snack on bugs. They’re very adept hunters, with clans regularly sending out hunting parties of around five led by the clan leader. They prefer ambushes using their camouflage, sometimes waiting days at a time for prey.

● No one really knows how their armor is able to change color with the rest of their bodies, though some believe it’s some mild form of innate magic.

● They prefer to fight at a distance, be it with their tongues, mildly acidic saliva, or with their own weapons. Due to this preference, their weapons are all ones that can be used at a range, be it with barbed spears with jagged metal tips, bows constructed out of shells and metal, or uniquely-shaped blades that can be thrown like boomerangs. Like many other monsters, their weapons were also damaged by The Upheaval, though a few quickly forged new boomerangs.

● They’re one of the few monsters that seem to have their own belief system. When not being influenced, they hold some form of reverence for Dinraal, Naydra, and Farosh. They believe that the Dragons were the creators of the world, with Dinraal creating the land, Naydra creating the ocean, and Farosh creating the sky.

● Unlike most monsters larger than Keese and Chuchus, they have elemental forms in specific regions, though they’re rarely born.

● These Lizalfos are incredibly valued in their societies, as they’re seen to be blessings from the Dragons themselves. Elemental Lizalfos generally hold high ranks within their clan, such as shamans, advisors to the clan leader, or the clan leader itself.

● They naturally come in a variety of colors with different horn shapes, but The Malice and Gloom strengthened certain ones more than others.

● While they prefer ranged combat, if they absolutely must resort to melee combat they generally employ tactics that will help increase their chances at survival, particularly hit-and-run tactics and moving towards targets in a zigzagging path to reduce the odds of being hit by an arrow.

● Their tails are very prehensile, allowing them to hang from trees or hold additional weapons with them.

● Outside of Lanaryu, they tend to fight close to sources of water, as it makes them much harder to reach and allows them to chip away at targets that don’t have ranged options with their acidic saliva.

● In Lanaryu their tactics are the opposite, generally trying to keep away from water to deprave Zora of their home field advantage.

● They have an odd fondness for Courser Bees, particularly their hives. They generally pick off Courser Bees with their tongue before taking the hive itself. They use the hives to slather their meat in honey, but the ones in Hebra and Tabantha are particularly interesting. Lizalfos in Hebra and Tabantha mix cane sugar with honey to attract insects, which become trapped in the honey. They then put the honey into molds and allow it to crystallize, creating odd candy-like confections with bugs in them.

● They tend to avoid living in caves, as they seem to be easily annoyed by the antics and incessant noises of the Horriblins living inside them.

● The Zora have recently tried to approach the Lizalfos in a more diplomatic way. Only time will tell if this will put their centuries long feud to rest, and possibly pave the way for more peaceful interactions between monsters and the peoples of Hyrule.

[julietasgf]

I know little about the war in the USA (war IN USA ITSELF), but I can say a couple of things:

The capitol is a symbol. Its complete destruction would have been ineffective because we are talking about war. Taking the Capitol was a necessary and powerful movement.

It is implied that there were many open francs, which is tiring for both sides, and can eat up all your resources, especially if you are winning, you had to have the financing to continue winning.

The differences in technology could have been something significant. The Capitol was able to launch muttos, that is, fucking biological mutants. The districts do not. Who knows what they could have been using to protect the Capitol from direct invasion.

We do not know how united the districts were with each other, I can see some following D13 but without trusting their districts "allies" and vice versa, districts allied with each other but totally distrusting D13 (which can translate to certain districts producing food, or producing weapons and making an unequal distribution to the rebels in the front), not to mention the possible differences between the districts themselves and their people.

There is a very good fic, which I can give you the link if you want it, in which in Two, during the war, baby Sejanus and Ma Plinth have to go out to the street with a white pañuelo? An offer of peace for their lives, a mark that they are different. In the fic people who supported the capitol lived in certain areas and the rebel sympathizers avoided them like if they had leprosy. Always there is going to be division in the cities, in your own territory depending of which side you choice.

So about Strabo, he mentions doing business with the capitol before the war. My personal hc is that he actually played for both sides for a while as soon as the war began, it's not something crazy. I can see him having this idea of "I don't give a shit who uses this as long as it gives me money to take care of my family", and selling to both; the capitol and the rebels themselves. What could possible happen is that as the tensions get higher, he ends up betting on the stronger seller. The capitol would let their people die in order to buy more weapons, as a desperate measure to stop the rebels from really entering inside and Strabo selling them more and more.

He for sure was making people angry in D2 but not enough. Obviously, there would be people who considered him a traitor already and I'm sure that Ma and Sejanus baby were already being judged on the street by all their neighbors, but he was too helping the rebelds in certain way... Besides, I don't know if I overthink it too much but there is something in the phrase Strabo took the side of the president… as I believe the decision to support just the president could be a possibility, nothing like this very black and white vision of the capitol and districts already Its only once that D13 fell, that Strabo need to make a quick decision, knowing that the rebels had lost their strongest ally (which was in fact financing the war to a large extent…) and yet I personally don't think The Plinths' name will be completely stained until the end of the war and their actions after it. Ma's family, and others may have understood that Strabo did what was necessary to survive, but what the hell was that once defeated, you continue to support our oppressors? D13 falls, and the capitol's weapons industry moves to fucking district 2, what a great coincidence Strabo, no one noticed. Oh, and when your son turns 8 you move to the fucking Capitol? Yes, at that moment the Plinths are dead for everyone in Two. BUT WHATEVER.

I AGREE WITH EVERYTHING YOU SAY ABOUT MA and I agreed, her trauma is so underestimated, OH BUDDIE I AM CONSIDERING MAKING AN EXCLUSIVE POST TALKING ABOUT THE PARALLELS BETWEEN MA AND MRS. EVERDEEN BECAUSE I BELIEVE IT IS A TOPIC THAT CAN BE SO MUCH ANALYZED, I HAD MORE TO SAY I SWEAR (and let dig more into the Sejanus /Katniss hehehehe)

PD: Panem is one country but you are not wrong for say that even moving from district to district could be a giant trauma.This is particular talking about Mexico but for example, our states are so different, and there were people who spoke Nahuatl (or other languages) forced to learn Spanish to survive in the fucking capital, forced to change their clothing and traditions. Bc yes even within your own country that type of trauma is very possible.

The Plinth cousin in the first Quarter Quell was an idea that I considered leaving in my box of crazy concepts that I have in my notepad (I have many more, stop me, thank you) but you have really inspired me to want to dust it off. Regarding what you and Anon were saying about how the Plinths got involved in the games, can I go against the grain and say that it was actually Ma who took that initiative?

Look. I think Strabo was able to get involved in that business because Coriolanus established the connection between Gaul's laboratory and the Plinths producing weapons, and said YES this would be convenient. So logically, Strabo began to get more involved in the games in a certain way but there is something about Tigris becoming a stylist in the games, this idea, of her being for years a passive agent, an accomplice in them while perhaps helping in them believing that she was doing good, that she was helping in the only way she could and well Tigris and Ma know each other (the only good thing that happen after the Snow-Plinth adoption disaster) and I think it would be fascinating if Ma is the one who ends up pushing funding and support for Two in the games.

She with a new deep and cruel connection to them. Much of the last days she spent with her son were during the 10th games, and perhaps she sees in D2's tributes to Marcus, the boy her son loved, to Sejanus himself. Vesta can't stop the games, she doesn't have the power, but maybe she can tell Strabo that the Plinths can finance the tributes, send them food, and something else. When the shows start, she can give Tigris suggestions when it is her turn to dress them, and details of that style. She is the woman who makes special food for the Avox so they can eat, she could have done something like that. Strange ideas that I had.

I'm writing down the Mitski songs that you mentioned about Sejarcus and I'll definitely be waiting to that playlist. AND YES, I'M GLAD YOU SEE THE VISION ON ROOTLESS, IT'S SUCH A PERFECT SONG FOR THE PLINTHs (by the way as you can see I love Marina, YOU KNOW EMOTIONAL MACHINE? BC BUDDIE I CAN TALK HOURS ABOUT THAT ONE AND CORIOLANUS AND LGB AND SEJANUS-) also Mamas Boy Sejanus bonded in trauma with his MOM, CANON I'm preparing my notes for the rant about Clemensia, Lysistrata, Festus, and the movie is Snow propaganda to make him look better, but I have things to say about the Lation au and a myth that reminds me of Ma Plinth, so they will continue flying in the air, although I can tell you how Clemensia was Snow's first victim, his first big breakdown and not portraying it well almost destroyed his character? (not him being actively evil but choosing his own survival over the people he cares about, showing Gaul the potential to be that "cold-blooded", his becoming aware of the Capitol and the way it oppresses him, there is so much to say…) Azul is now Vesta's song, my god, I'm crying, but it's so canon, I swear, but you know what other song and myth reminds me of Ma Plinth? LA LLORONA!

Not me saying that I would not forced the mexicanization of the Plinths meanwhile also me saying this mexican song is so her

Although in my defense, my friend Wikipedia says that it is a legend spread throughout Latin America and Puerto Rico have their version (a reddit of dubious origin confirmed it to me as well). You in Brazil surely have your version, we all have versions. So it's all good, but the important thing is that, regardless of the version, is there something about the idea of a woman who has lost her children and mourns them loss every night? A woman whose heart is so broken that she can't do nothing more but cry and look for them in the streets?

CAN YOU SEE THE VISION? (In addition, there is something about some versions saying that the father killed the children, Strabo killing Sejanus in live with his actios... others where she murder them, let's be metaphorical and talk about Ma wondering if she caused Sejanus' death by not fighting, by not saying something, by not getting divorced, for not hugging him enough, etc?) I offer you the version of Lila Downs, or the one of Eugenia Leon (ignore Coco and their cut version, I implore you), I believe even Natalia one day sing it, also I offer you: Caifanes -La llorona, although this is not a version of the best-known song related, it is still related to the myth, and it is from my favorite group Caifanes, you should know, how good they are by now kssjhsjhdjhd

In happier things, Sejanus would undoubtedly complain about how stupid it is that he can't vote, Colombian Lucy Gray is here to stay, her paisa accent is dangerous but it's also incredible, so she deserves to have that super power, and yes please Tigris taking embarrassing photos of Baby Coryo and even videos, SHE STOP HIM TO BE EVIL JUST FOR BLACKMAIL HIM WITH THESE PHOTOS I SWEAR LMAO

SEJANUS WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BABY WHO SLEEPED IN TWO CHAIRS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PARTY JSBSJJDBJKFGHGF ALSO IM SURE VESTA MUST BE THE BEST DANCER??? SHE CAN DO EVERYTHING, one day Coryo found she can even do tango, also the other day in the great discord I'm in, they talked about the fact that Coryo wears humble clothes in his house in the book? But do you see that sometimes political parties usually give out shirts when they are campaigning? And that is a classic pajama in LATAM? Please imagine Snow wearing shorts and an ugly shirt from a political party that they gave him. I propose that they find photos of Piolin in Coriolanus's phone, because ofc lunatic has a fucking secret account where he argues with old ladies about the end of the telenovelas, and instead of telling him something, they go to Tigris to ask about the matter and so on. that's how they end up with THE PHOTOS.

Coriolanus would defend villains girls from telenovelas so much, I can see that Sejanus also knows a lot about the subject because his Ma (and STRABO EVEN THOUGH HE DENIES IT) always forced him to watch them, so they would have passionate debates on the subject, PLS SEJANUS DEFENDING MARIA LA DEL BARRIO OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT

btw: have you seen betty la fea?, because buddy, there is a scene that summarizes Sejanus's daddy issues Im stoping myself for now, but before I go: 1. YOU CAN DRAW?!, YOU ARE THE MOST TALENT I SWEAR 2. YOUR NEW FIC!?! AMAZING 3. The songs!!! The songs, what do you think about; Cursis melodias by natalia our dearest as a sejarcus song? and Stromae - Formidable about Strabo dad's?

HIII omg I'm so glad to see you on my inbox again <33

heavily agree on the capitol being a symbol, and the capitol being taken over is they actually being able to invade it was a strong move!! also, two of the most important things you mentioned: the technological imbalance and the alliance between the districts. there's a line in the movie that caught my attention (I don't remember if it was in the book too tho) where someone tells lucky flickerman that not everyone in the districts have television. it's a tiny detail, but we can assume that there is a big technology imbalance, even though the districts were able to bomb the capitol. and HEAVY on how united the districts were... specially the ones around the capitol, and I mean D2, D1, etc, etc. I can see some districts being closer to others, but how could D4 and D13 be close, for example, when they were in two opposite extremes? how did that communication work? some districts are very rural, like D7 and D12, but D8 and D6 are more city-like (if I'm not wrong, I read somewhere that D8 tributes have less chances because they are not used to the environment the capitol uses for the games). D13 may know how to use strategy in places closer to the capitol and the capitol itself, but what about these districts that are in environments so different? also, the rebels for sure had differences between them, even in one-party countries, there will always be opposition.

(the first rebellion raises so many interesting questions, about how things went, which districts were closer to each other, how the capitol strategized the conflict in places so different from the capitol itself... here I come begging suzanne collins again)

OH MY GOD SEND THE LINK PLEASE. and this makes so much sense!!! if I'm not wrong, in the third book, D2 was a loyalist district, but still some villages sided with the rebels, and not everyone was 100% on board with the capitol. so it just fits so well, I'm in love with this concept

I can perfectly see him doing this 😭 to me, strabo is very much capitalism in its purest form. he has no true ideals, nothing to fight for beyond his own survival, and what pretty much motivates him is money. him not caring about who the hell he's selling these guns to, or who the hell these guns are killing, what matters is the cash. and plus, the capitol are just better clients; they have more money, and as you said, they're desperate at this point. D13 (as I think that it was mostly D13 who made most of deals and stuff) wouldn't go as far as the capitol to buy guns, they are not as desperate. (also, the line of him support the president is a good point! specially if you think the president offered something in exchange for it)

I think D2 ppl were angry before D13 fell, but just like you said, after it... it's just fucked up. and the move to the capitol was the last straw. okay, they were selling guns, but for sure there were other loyalists in D2, for sure there were other people who made a lot of money with the war (and also post-war; with the capitol being reconstructed, D2 would for sure benefit a lot from it, with their main industry being masonry). but leaving D2 was the ultimate betrayal, something unforgivable.

there was no turning back after that point.

(ma plinth my love why didn't you divorce that man, why didn't you stay babe 😭)

DO ITTTTTT I WOULD LOVE IT AND READ EVERY SINGLE WORD (also, please, let's talk about more of these parallels, I'm a sucker for the sejanus and katniss parallels). also, yes!!!!! absolutely yes!!!! this is so real in big countries. I know the fandom talks a lot about sejanus' experiences being very alike to a child of immigrants (which is true! and considering the time the book was published, I don't think it's a coincidence, or an accident, I think suzanne collins knew what she was doing here), but also, assimilation inside of your own country is as hurtful and fucked up. there's a very specific and tiny thing that touched me when reading the book, and it's the fact that he called his mom ma, and other kids at the capitol mocked him. I'm from the northeast, and here we have an affectionate way of calling our moms, which is mainha, but it's a very regional stuff and it's not uncommon for people from the southeast and the south to mock it. so when I read coriolanus mocking sejanus calling his mom ma, I got pissed off, because atp I was having war flashbacks and taking it too personally ☠️

no, I won't stop you, please, bring it to life, I'm begging on my knees ☝️ I would LOVE to read it from you, it's such a cool concept (and the first quarter quell in general IS SUCH A COOL CONCEPT BY ITSELF).

OH MY GOD I LOVE THIS. comparing ma to tigris is such a good argument, because we all know tigris is a good person, why did she stand quiet as a stylist while letting it happen? I can see the same logic applying to ma. the 74th games are much more human than the 10th; of course the killing children part is brutal, but it's disguised with parades, with mentors who can send them stuff and weapons and more things to help them, with the children being able to say goodbye (something that as far as I remember, they weren't allowed to in the 10th games), with them being able to get on a fancy train and eat fancy food. it's almost mercy before they are sent to death, a chance to taste the best in life before inevitable pain. I can totally see her trying to talk with coriolanus, because she can't stand the idea that these kids got away from home without even being able to say goodbye (I think she would try to talk to him to end the games, maybe as a way to honor her boy, but coriolanus tries to convince her that the games are necessary, but she can give him some ideas to make the kids more comfortable). for example, some of the 74th stuff I can see coming from coriolanus: the spetacule, the parade, the chariots, the fancy clothing. but what about the other more human aspects? anyway. that's such a good idea 😭 (also, the idea of ma personally talking to tigris about ideas of how to dress the D2 kids, I'm not okay)

marina is SO GOOD, love her so much <3 searched up the lyrics of emotional machine (bc I didn't remember them well) and OH MY GODDD PLEASE TELL ME YOUR THOUGHTS because I can see the vision of the doomed trio so well

the movie did so much damage that I even forgot about poor festus oh my god, I really forgot he was also just a kid in the book 😭 BUT YESSSSS WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT CLEMENSIA AND HER BEING HIS FIRST VICTIM, LIKE, sometime ago, I saw a really good video analysis about tbosas and connecting the characters to different philosophers and philosophies. so, that person connected coriolanus to (if I'm not wrong) thomas hobbes, who pretty much said that human beings are naturally bad, naturally selfish; according to hobbes, a human being will choose theirselves always. of course, during the book, we see this is not true, we see people being kind and gentle and selfless even during the games (which are the worst possible situation to be in), but in that scene when coriolanus puts himself first, it's a step to this conclusion, and it's a conclusion gaul came to much before. anyway, it's such an important and symbolic scene, I really wish they didn't change it like that, specially to make it seem that CLEMENSIA was in the wrong 💔 she may not be my favorite character, but they did her SO WRONG

THE WAY MY JAW DROPPED BC I STOPPED TO THINK ABT IT AND!!!! IT JUST FITS SO WELL!!!! and I'm HEARTBROKEN.

(whatever you're doing, don't think about ma plinth being so heartbroken after sejanus' death that some days she forgets things in the oven because she sees something that reminds of him, and all she can do is cry; she's not able to go back to baking, the only thing she can do is stand there and cry; and don't think about her for the first time screaming at strabo, because if they never left D2, this wouldn't have happened, her baby would still be alive with her, but it's no use because it's now too late to stand up to him; and don't think about the plinths having to move to another place, a house and not an apartment anymore, because the neighbours were complaining about the loud sounds of crying during the night)

I listened to the lila downs version and got CHILLS. now I would really love a work inspired by it, focusing on the post-death of sejanus, because I particularly love to suffer reading and this would be just pure brutal pain.

sejanus would be so politically active, he would be that cousin who ruins christmas because he starts arguing with his father every single year 😭 if tigris got a way to take baby pics of sejanus in canon, I'm so sure she would blackmail him enough during teenage years, and then we wouldn't need to have him as a fascist president, we got robbed, it would've solved so many things 😔 VESTA BEING A GREAT DANCER, I KNOW THAT'S RIGHT!!! she knows EVERYTHING. salsa!!! cumbia!!! samba!!! bachata!!! name it, she'll do it. when sejanus was a baby she would put him on the chairs to sleep just to go to dance in family gatherings. her pulling coryo to dance tango with her and him being embarassed because he can't dance for life, but she's so happy and he's letting her guide it 😭 KSKSKSLSKSALSK I'M SCREAMINGGGGG now, one day lgb and sejanus deciding to make him a surprise (maybe on his birthday) and going to his house, and them seeing coriolanus in his pajamas and they'll bully him eternally now (lgb would probably get one of these shirts on the next campaign, give to him and be like "here's another one for your wardrobe 🫶" and the thing is he complains but he actually wears it lmao)

ofc they wouldn't ask coriolanus anything, that boy would straight up LIE, but thankfully tigris saves the day and now they can use it against him <3 bc the problem is not watching the telenovelas; even if you're not a fan, if you grew up in latam, you DID watch some telenovela, even if not by yourself but with some relative. but coriolanus is an arrogant prick, he would make fun of people who watch it and enjoy it and act like he's better for not watching it, but here he is fighting for his life with old ladies online about thalía. he deserves the bullying ☝️

BABY SEJANUS WATCHING TELENOVELAS WITH HIS MA AAAAAAAAAAA I'M SCREAMING, THIS IS SO CUTE 😭 imagine him wanting to watch cartoons, but his ma is watching tv, so he doesn't have much choice but sit down and watch along her (and also, strabo is also the kind of dad to be like "I'm not watching this", but then he stands on the kitchen with his hands on his hips watching it, and that's how he watches every single one of vesta's favorite telenovelas; she tried to offer him a seat at first, but he would go like "no, I'm already leaving to my room", but he's standing there until the end, and that's how him and coriolanus get along). sejanus would get into such heated arguments with coriolanus, specially bc coriolanus will ALWAYS defend the villains, sejanus being like "THEY MURDERED SOMEONE????" and coriolanus there "and they looked great while at it 💕"

(also, I present you with another concept: bby marcus going to sejanus' house every single day so they could watch the kids telenovelas with each other)

I watched it, but it have been such a loooong time, but SEND ME THE SCENE!!!! I love to talk about that boy's daddy issues

AAAAAA TYSM, THIS IS SO SWEET 😭 I draw sometimes, but I'm personally not a big fan of my own artstyle, so I do it much less than I write :)) TYSM, I'M SO GLAD YOU ENJOYED IT (and also, tysm for the comment <333)

about cursis melodías: OUCH. I'M HEARTBROKEN. I'M CRYING. I'M NOT DOING OKAY. oh my god, solo te pido una semana más, now, bby marcus at the time not understanding why sejanus had to leave, and being so angry and so hurt and so mad, because it didn't make sense, he was asking for just one week (I'm going to curl up in the corner of a room to cry). about formidable: it's SO on point about that man. literally him.

[lchufflepuffcorn]

I’m sorry…

Are people really buying fanfiction of copyrighted works because the covers are aesthetic?

Let’s take a look on the definition of copyright, since so many people seems to not be fucking aware of it :

“A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives the creator of an original work, or another right holder, the exclusive and legally secured right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, educational, or musical form. Copyright is intended to protect the original expression of an idea in the form of a creative work, but not the idea itself. A copyright is subject to limitations based on public interest considerations, such as the fair use doctrine in the United States.

Some jurisdictions require "fixing" copyrighted works in a tangible form. It is often shared among multiple authors, each of whom holds a set of rights to use or license the work, and who are commonly referred to as rights holders. These rights normally include reproduction, control over derivative works, distribution, public performance, and moral rights such as attribution.

Copyrights can be granted by public law and are in that case considered "territorial rights". This means that copyrights granted by the law of a certain state do not extend beyond the territory of that specific jurisdiction. Copyrights of this type vary by country; many countries, and sometimes a large group of countries, have made agreements with other countries on procedures applicable when works "cross" national borders or national rights are inconsistent.

Typically, the public law duration of a copyright expires 50 to 100 years after the creator dies, depending on the jurisdiction. Some countries require certain copyright formalities to establishing copyright, others recognize copyright in any completed work, without a formal registration. When the copyright of a work expires, it enters the public domain.”

-Wikipedia (29/02/2024).

(Link here)

So, again. Do NOT sell fanfiction anyFUCKINGwhere. And yes. The swearing is important, it doesn’t even BEGIN to express the pure bafflement I had when I started to have videos on my TikTok about this exact thing.

What are people thinking ?? There aren’t enough videos about bookbinding 101 to your taste? You HAVE money for an ILLEGAL copy of an “ILLEGAL” piece of writing, mostly socially accepted because people don’t charge for it? So, I’m guessing you have money to buy the products you need to book-fucking-bind YOURSELF!!

What. The. Fuck.

People are becoming way too comfortable with fanfiction, this is crazy. Have we learned nothing since the Anne Rice vs. Fanfiction ? Or, and despite her flaws, the J.K. Rowling vs. Dimitri Yemets lawsuit?

And I know, I know, that laws change depending on the country, the state, provinces, etc, but still, people. Have some restraint.

“In addition, fanfiction may be legal in the UK following passage into law of an exception to copyright for the purpose of caricature, parody, or pastiche.”

-Wikipedia 29/02/2024

(Link here)

‘But the author of the fanfic and/or the creator of the art gave me permission…’ I don’t fucking care! Hell, I don’t want to hear it. They should NOT by the ones giving you the rights to SELL materials that are not copyrighted TO THEM.

Maybe you have lawsuit money, doesn’t mean that the actual authors of the fanfiction that you are selling do! And it’s not actually you who you’re getting in trouble by selling things. Hell. It’s one of the laziest scam I’ve ever seen. Yes. Some of the covers might be really beautiful, but ultimately, they are making profit out of something that are not theirs to make profit about.

“But I really want to have one and don’t have the talent…” then either learn or make really good friends with someone who is talented for it enough for them to GIFT you a bookbinded copy.

This is not only making the lives of those fanfiction writers whose work you stole difficult, plus having the chance (negative connotation) of maybe being sued for the selling they most probably didn’t do themselves. But you’re also ruining the experience of thousands of reader all around the globe as writers are pulling their work out of the sites because of that.

Seriously, learn to think about the big picture and stop only thinking of only yourself. Self-care should stops when you’re starting to hurt others while doing it.

I’m leaving here various post to educate yourself further on the matter, or just to feed your curiosity, plus videos of Tiktoker that graced my FYpage all this week.

[darkroguescribe]

Hitsuhina Week 2023 - Day 1: Academy Days / Fireworks

Rating: K

Summary: Toshiro’s first day at the Shino Academy

AN: I wrote this initially as a sequel to my Field of Ice oneshot but it can be read as a standalone.

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

The start of a new term had the campus of the Shino Academy a buzz with friends reuniting after weeks apart. Momo weaved her way through the crowd, exchanging smiles and waves with friends as she searched for the familiar red hair that adorned Renji’s head. The tallest of her close friends, he’d be the easiest to spot in the masses. Momo smiled when she caught sight of him several yards away, talking animatedly with Izuru who was just listening calmly with a relaxed smile on his lips.

“Hey Momo!” Izuru waved her over, and she ran to join them. “How was it? Working in the Fifth Division?”

Momo smiled. Over the break she’d been among a small group of students selected for special apprenticeship program. The first of its kind, it gave high achieving students a glimpse into the real responsibilities that they would be entering upon graduating. “It was great!” She said, recounting to them the details of her days shadowing seated officers in their daily duties and even the handful of missions in the World of the Living she’d been permitted to go on. The two boys listened closely, taking in every thing they could and asking questions as they came.

She sighed as she recounted the day she got to train with the whole division and how Captain Aizen took the time to train everyone individually when he could. It had been absolutely wonderful and everything she had ever hoped for.

Renji rolled his eyes. Despite having seen Aizen’s skill years ago, he wasn’t nearly as impressed by him as she was. Not that she could blame him when he had his eye on Captain Kuchiki’s division. “Whatever,” He said as a way to end the talk about the break. “Hey, did you hear about the new guy?” He asked.

“Eh? New guy?”

“Yeah,” Izuru said. “He’s supposed to be some kind of genius. He only took the entrance exam and they’re already putting him in our class.”

“What?” The only person she’d heard of being able to do that, was Lieutenant Ichimaru. Momo never thought someone like that could show up twice in a matter of decades.

“I wouldn’t be too worried, Momo,” Renji said, smirking. “I bet he’s all talk and no skill. Probably some noble brat who talked their way in. He’s sure to get a rude awakening when I challenge him in zanjutsu class.”

Momo frowned. Renji might be one of the best swordsmen in their class, but he also was the one most likely to go overboard to prove a point. And she really didn’t like the idea of him trying to prove his dominance over someone who was probably nervous about their first day and having this ‘genius’ label attached to them.

The bell started to ring, and with mild apprehension, the three of them made their way to their first class. Geography was among the least interesting courses that they were required to complete every year. The class had already covered a range of topics from the general topography of the world of the living, population distributions, and the division of territory among all thirteen divisions. It would be an understatement to say everyone was more or less tired of the topic. Momo entered the class with her friends and they all found their preferred seats in the middle of the room. All around, Momo could hear their other classmates talking about the new student that was to join them.

Everyone had wild theories about him. Some said he was the youngest son of some noble family using their influence to push him through the academy quickly, others said he was some bandit from one of the far off districts to the west. None of the rumors were consistent and few of them sounded plausible.

“Alright class, settle down!” Master Onabara said as he walked in and stood in front of the class. Everyone took their seats, their interest piqued as they looked between him and the classroom door. “As I’m sure you are all aware by now, we will be joined by a new student this year,” He said, gesturing to someone outside the room. Momo’s jaw dropped as the new student entered. “Allow me to introduce—“

“—Shiro?!” Momo stood from her seat, staring in disbelief at the boy standing at the front of the class. Snickers could be heard at the nickname, and the boy hunched in on himself slightly, his eyes narrowing at her.

Master Onabara slammed his fist on his desk, “Settle!” He ordered. “As I was saying; This is Toshiro Hitsugaya. He scored the highest written and performance scores on the entrance exam this academy has seen in decades. Now, Hitsugaya, find a seat and we shall begin.”

Shiro bowed to Master Onabara and made his way to the back of the class, taking the seat close to the window.

Momo couldn’t help but keep looking back at him throughout class. She barely paid any attention, and her notes were unusually blank. Izuru nudged her a few times to ask what was the matter, but she just brushed him off for now. She was still sorting through it all herself.

“Hinamori!” Momo stood, as Master Onabara called on her. “Which island is Naruki City on?”

“Um,” She glanced down at her book, and flipped through the pages to figure out where exactly they were. “Naruki, it’s near the —er—”

“—Honshu.” Her head turned around sharply as the rest of the class turned to look at Shiro as well. He had that familiar bored expression on his face as he rested his chin in the palm of his hand while the other dexterously twirled his pen. “Naruki City is on Honshu in the Japanese Archipelago,” He continued. “It has a high concentration of hollow activity due to its proximity to a jureichi.” Momo glanced between Master Onabara and Shiro as she sank back down into her seat. Quiet murmurs from her classmates reached her ears, everyone a bit curious at the developing situation.

Master Onabara’s jaw clenched tightly as he looked disapprovingly at Shiro. “Yes, but I had directed the question at—“

“She wouldn’t have been able to answer,” Shiro said. Her stomach sank at the statement as her cheeks heated in embarassment. “No one would be able to answer it,” Shiro added. “We’re talking about the cities in Central Europe under the jurisdiction of the Thirteenth Division. Neither of which applies to Naruki City. So, unless they’ve read ahead eleven chapters, no one here would even know it exists.”

The tension was evident between Shiro and Master Onabara as the two stared at one another across the room. “Speak with me after class,” Master Onabara said, turning back to the board and continuing with the lecture. Momo glanced back at him, and for a moment, their eyes met. She smiled at him, but he rolled his eyes and shifted to look out the window instead. Izuru nudged her, and pointed at the page number they were on. Deciding it was best not to call attention to herself again, she turned back forward and started taking notes.

Nothing else of interest happened in class. As everyone filed out, Momo waited in the hall by the door for Shiro. Renji and Izuru waited with her, the former yawning loudly with his arms folded behind his head as he stretched. “Why exactly are we waiting for that guy?” He asked.

“I think because he helped Momo out of a tight spot, right?” Izuru asked.

Renji scoffed, “He didn’t do it to help. Arrogant prick like that, does that kind of stuff for the attention; believe me, I know the type.”

Momo was about to correct him, when she caught sight of Shiro leaving the room and walking right past them. “Shiro!” She smiled and ran after him, but he just kept walking. “Hey! Shiro!” Coming up along side him, she threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Why didn’t you tell me you were enrolling? How did you get into my class? How’s Granny doing? Was it —“

Shiro pulled away from her putting several feet between them as he straightened his uniform. “Quit it, will ya!” He said, “And stop with the ‘Shiro’. I thought you said you’d call me by my name if I went to this stupid school.”

“Oh right, I did promise that, didn’t I?” She laughed, “Alright, Toshiro. I’ll try. But it might take awhile to get used to.” He sighed and shook his head. “Oh! And you remember I told you about Izuru and Renji,” She turned and pointed to her friends standing behind her. Izuru smiled politely, and Renji waved his hand at him.

Toshiro looked up at them, seeming to take the measure of them more than having any real interest in knowing them. “Okay,” He said, turning and continuing on his way.

Momo watched him walk away, then ran after him again, “Hey! Wait!” She called, “This school is huge and it’s not like we don’t have the same morning classes. You can walk with us. You’re going to need friends—“

“—Just stop already,” Toshiro said, halting and only barely turning his head to look at her. “You mean well, but I’ve been just fine on my own these past few years. I don’t need to tag along with your friends.”

“But… you’re my friend too.”

Toshiro sighed, and looked around at the other students passing them by. She could hear them whispering about him, and she knew he heard them as well. “Yeah… we are friends… I gotta go,” He said, walking off, leaving her standing in the hall.

“What did I tell you? The little jerk!” Renji said, placing his hand on her shoulder. “Acting all high and mighty. Some friend!” He shouted down the hall, cupping his hand around his mouth to make sure his voice traveled. “I wouldn’t waste my time worrying about him, Momo.”

A knit formed in her brow as she watched Toshiro walk down the hall. He was clearly troubled by something. Was it all the chatter about him that was making him colder than usual? Or was it something else?

———

The rest of the morning classes went by with much less fanfare than geography. Toshiro sat in the back of every class, ignoring every and all the attempts she made to coax him to sit up closer by where she and her friends sat. It didn’t make any sense to Momo. In Junrinan, they had been inseparable; not even the worst insults jabbed at his expense had ever been enough to keep them from being around one another. Momo had told Renji and Izuru about her relationship with Toshiro and how he had been her first and best friend since arriving in the Soul Society. But, that had just left them confused about why he was acting so coldly towards her now.

“He doesn’t really sound like the Shiro you told us about,” Izuru said during their lunch break as they walked around looking for Toshiro. After their last class, he’d practically vanished. The first one out the door, and getting lost in the crowd; she’d barely seen a flash of his white hair before he was swallowed up in the chaos of the lunch break.

“You made him sound like such a nice little kid. I don’t see how that bastard would be okay with you dragging him around all over the place like you said you did.” Renji shook his head, eating from his bento box as they walked.

Momo shrugged, “Well, he was. And you should know, he doesn’t like being called a little kid… especially since he’s actually older than me.”

He choked on his rice ball, dropping half of it on the ground “You serious?” Renji cracked up laughing, “He’s so small! He looks like a little grade schooler!”

Izuru sighed, “But clearly, he’s not,” He said. “They put him in our class so he’s someone who shouldn’t be underestimated.”

“Izuru’s right,” She added. “He’s not easily intimidated and his determination can be a force to be reckoned with when he wants something bad enough.” He didn’t become to local spinning top champion in Junrinan by chance. Momo remembered how he’d test different wood, and string, test different surfaces and the angle of his tops to ensure the best possible result. At one point, he probably had fifty different tops in their bedroom, as he prepared for his last and most important match against this large kid that often poked fun at Toshiro. She smiled at the memory of that boy losing and how Toshiro had just walked away with a content smile on his face.

Renji shrugged, unfazed by the possible challenge Toshiro would pose as they came to a stop by one of the trees on the edge of the quad and sat down in the shade. They’d been walking around looking for him for a good fifteen minutes with no luck. It made sense that they’d get tired of looking for him. It wasn’t like he was their friend yet. Izuru pulled his lunch out of his pack, changing the topic of conversation to their next few classes which had been split into several different sections and electives that allowed them to focus more on their particular talents. Momo gently excused herself from the conversation, deciding to keep looking for Toshiro instead. There were so many other places he could have run off to, and she just had to try and talk to him while they had some free time.

Bidding her friends goodbye, she made her way to the large wooded grove on campus. The woods were a popular place for students to practice shunpo. With trees everywhere, and no discernible pattern to be found, one had to be careful and agile not to run into one of the large oaks or trip over the intricate root systems. As she kept walking, she began to wonder if maybe he would have picked a more secluded place to spend lunch. The woods was only one of many environments the campus had onsite. To the North, there were large rocky hills that featured several underground caves, there was also the lake to the West, he could even be in one of the empty classrooms in the many buildings that made up the academy. Momo frowned. Basically, he could be anywhere.

A cold breeze blew past her, stopping her in her tracks as she shivered and looked around. It didn’t feel like someone running past her, the sensation felt more like the winter breeze when snow is picked up from the ground and blown like a wave across the land. Momo shivered again, feeling it blow past her as she looked around herself. There was not a cloud in the sky, yet as she looked down, the grass looked wet, some blades even had the slight shine of frost on them. Turning about, she noticed that the frost got thicker in one direction more so than the others, so she decided to follow it. As she walked, the frost became ice, thickening the further she went. Weaving through about five trees, she caught sight of the blue color that adorned the boys uniforms behind a tree several yards away. “Hey,” Momo called, walking closer, and peering around to see who it was. The patch of ice he was sitting on encased the entirety of the tree roots and about three feet of the trunk he was leaning against but none of it seemed to affect him. “Hey,” She called again coming around from behind the tree. Her breath hitched, as she looked down and saw Toshiro, sound asleep, his pack resting against his thigh, and his head leaning against his asauchi. Momo crouched down beside him, shaking him lightly, “Shiro?”

He jolted awake, and looked around, nervously, his hand tightening around the sword. Momo gripped his shoulders, until he relaxed, and his eyes settled on her. She smiled at him, “You okay?” She asked.

Toshiro pinched the bridge of his nose, “I fell asleep,” He said, running his hand over his face and into his hair.

“I can see that,” She frowned. “Was… was this you?” She asked, looking at ice now melting around them.

He looked away from her, then moved to stand. She let him up, and he dusted himself off. “Yeah…” He said quietly.

She smiled brightly, “That’s amazing!” She said, barely noticing the confused look that crossed his face, “You must be really close to manifesting your zanpakuto then. Maybe we can train together! Could you imagine it? Us discovering them at the same time!”

Turning an asauchi into a zanpakuto was a long and complex process that normally took years of practice just to find the spirit that lived within. At this point in their training, there was maybe only two or three students who claimed to now know the name of their zanpakuto, yet none of them have yet to show their shikai. Momo felt like she was getting close to manifesting her own zanpakuto. Every time she meditated with it, she felt this warmth all around her like the heat from a campfire. It brought a smile to her face every time she thought about it, and it was only a matter of time before she brought it forth.

Toshiro stepped back away, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Eh? Why not?”

He closed in on himself, holding his sword close in front of him. “I was told it was best to train alone,” He said.

“Wha— but… the rules…” While highly unlikely, the manifestation skill wasn’t without risks. A handful or records showed that it is possible to dive too deep into ones inner world or even for the zanpakuto spirit to reject them as their master. If that were to happen, it opens the possibility for the wielder to be injured or even killed. By training with a second person, an anchor can be formed so that when there is trouble, the wielder can pull themselves out by following the reiryoku of the second person.

Toshiro shrugged, “Apparently, my connection to the spirit is… quite strong. They don’t want me to hurt anyone by mistake.”

“Wha— but you wouldn’t.”

“I could,” He said. “I can’t train with anyone. Not now anyway.” The silence dragged out between them as Momo took in how he kept himself more guarded than she’d seen him in a long time. His shoulders were closed, and his eyes were narrowed in a way that suggested he was wary of something. Toshiro sighed, “I should go,” He said, grabbing his pack from the ground and turning to walk back towards the quad.

“Hey,” She reached out and grabbed his arm, stopping him. Lunch wasn’t even halfway over yet. “Come eat with me and my friends.”

He looked down at her hand on his arm and shook his head, “I really shouldn’t—“

“—Why not?” She asked. “It’s just lunch.” He said nothing, but she could tell his answer wasn’t going to change. “Will you at least eat lunch with me?”

Toshiro thought about it for a moment and shrugged, “Sure.”

Momo smiled, and they sat down under the same tree he had been napping under and unpacked their lunches.

“Hey, I meant to thank you for what you did in geography for me,” She said, biting back a giggle as she looked at his lunch which consisted of onigiri and watermelon. And knowing him, he probably had a whole bag of amanatto in his pack for later.

“I wouldn’t have had to if you’d just paid attention instead of staring at me,” He shot back.

“Sorry. But you can’t blame it all on me. You never even told me you’d applied!”

Toshiro leaned back, and spit a watermelon seed high in the air, holding out his hand and catching it between his index and middle finger as it fell. “You didn’t come back at the end of term.”

She felt a tightening in her chest at the mention of the break. She’d promised time after time that she would be home for all her breaks. But the apprenticeship… how could she have possibly refused? The selection had been highly competitive and the things she’d learned would be invaluable for whatever division she ends up in after graduating.

He tossed the seed away, continuing. “You couldn’t even tell us in person. I know you found out about the thing two weeks before term ended. You could have come back on the weekend and told us then. Instead, we just got a letter explaining that you wouldn’t be coming back, but promising you’d visit after the start of the new year.” Toshiro shook his head.

He was clearly hurt by her absence and it tore at her to know she was the cause. Momo pulled at her fingers nervously. “I’m sorry…” It sounded so weak hearing the words leave her mouth. She needed to say something else, but try as she might, she couldn’t come up with anything.

He sighed, and reached for one of his watermelon slices and held it out towards her. “Don’t worry about it,” He said. “I’m not even mad about that anymore.”

Momo accepted the offered slice and smiled. It was so typical of her Shiro to forgive her so easily. She didn’t know how he did it, but he always found a way to move forward even when things got hard or painful. It was one of the things she admired about him. Biting into the juicy fruit, she dug around for one of the seeds, smiling broadly when she found one, and launched it from between her teeth at his head.

His eyes went wide when the black dot hit him right in the temple. Glaring at her, she smirked, and then instantly regretted it when he devoured the rest of his piece, and fired five seeds at her. Momo laughed, holding up her hand to block the onslaught. “Stop it, Shiro!”

“You’re supposed to call me by my name, Bed-wetter! And you started it!”

He picked up his last slice of melon, eating it in one large bite, and pelting her with four more seeds. “Okay! I’m sorry!” She said between laughs.

“You’re sorry?”

She sighed, “I’m sorry, Toshiro!”

Satisfied, he stopped, leaning back against the tree and wiping the watermelon from his chin. Momo smiled, leaning back as well, their shoulders brushing as they stared up at the canopy of trees above them. It was so different here than back in Junrinan but just as she had always suspected, it felt so much better with him there with her. It was also a bit strange too especially after he’d been so adamant that he’d never become a soul reaper. For him to be here was, in a way, him admitting he was wrong. And Toshiro hated being wrong. Even if he had suddenly changed his mind about wanting to be a soul reaper, he was the type of person who would still refuse to join out of spite.

Momo glanced at him out of the side of her eye, “Toshiro…?” His eyes were closed, but he cracked one to look at her, waiting for her to continue. “Why did you enroll?”

Both his eyes opened as his usual frown deepened. “I didn’t have a choice.” The sound of the bell’s toll cut off whatever else he was going to say as they both looked towards the campus. Toshiro sighed, his head banging back agains the tree trunk as he looked up in a clear debate with himself over something. He heaved another loud breath before standing and gathering his things. Momo did the same and as they stood there under the tree, he looked at her and said, “Find me after class. We’ll talk then.” Without waiting for a response, he began walking back towards the quad.