#channels his boys over flowers era

[polaris-thehunter]

read somewhere that damian is heavily inspired by domyouji tsukasa of hana yori dango / boys over flowers and i'm loving this reference!! domyouji, gu junpyo and dao ming si all had their own version of "if an apology was good enough, we wouldn't need the police"

enter damian and his version:

[aaronafgash]

10 NEW SONGS - 2/23/24

Pretty bad week again for the new tunes, but that’s why I’m here, trying to find the diamonds in the rough. And boy, was this rough. A dishonorable mention to the new corny-ass Justin Timberlake song. Where were you when he lost all rizz? Fascinating what happens when he isn't backed by Pharrell and Timbaland. Anyways, enjoy!

1. Test It - Erika de Casier

There’s something about Erika de Casier’s music that feels mysteriously nostalgic - familiar for reasons I can’t quite pinpoint. It’s almost like I’m discovering an artist from the ‘90s that went under the radar back in the day. That being said - this song rocks. Sultry and lowkey, Erika sings in an almost-whisper, discussing how she and a potential partner need to “test” things out before fully committing. Her album was hit or miss, but this song is a clear hit. (Sidenote - worth listening to "ice" if you want to hear an all-time Andre 3000 impersonation.)

2. I Don’t Love You - Charlotte Day Wilson

Charlotte Day Wilson - who I’ll be referring to as CDW for the remainder of this blurb to avoid writing her long-ass name out again - sings with her soul. “I Don’t Love You” is a classic breakup ballad, but there are some fascinating things happening texturally on the backing production, including synth pads and sped-up samples. “It's more peaceful being heartbroken” is a devastating (but effective) lyric in the first verse. Knowing that shit is going to hurt but accepting that it’s the right thing for yourself? Damn, CDW. Bars.

3. Illusions - Jalen Ngonda

Talk about an old soul. Jalen Ngonda burst onto the R&B scene last year with his debut album Come Around and Love Me, a warm, beautiful soul album that makes you want to dance in the kitchen with your partner. He keeps the vibe going here with “Illusions”, his first release since then. The production is perfect, channeling ‘60s Motown, but his voice is the reason you want to keep listening - this dude would have been a star in any era. Whereas artists like Bruno Mars pick a decade and base an entire album / era on that, what Jalen’s doing here feels much more authentic and grounded - more reminiscent of someone like Leon Bridges.

4. High Value (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) - RJMrLA

I know literally nothing about RJMrLA, but I cannot stress enough how nice it is to hear Ty Dolla $ign collaborate with someone who isn’t a Nazi. Good West-coast beat, solid verses, and a great hook. (We’re only on the fourth song and I’m already starting to struggle. Bear with me.)

5. Britpop - A. G. Cook

A.G. Cook has been one of Charli XCX’s main collaborators for a while now. I tend to have a harder time getting into his solo work, but this is catchy, and you can definitely hear Charli over this kind of beat. We love mindless electronic music!

((Update - after some light reading, I discovered that Charli's voice is the one we hear on this song. Sick!))

6. Karma (feat. Isaiah Rashad) - SiR

TDE-labelmates SiR and Isaiah Rashad link up here for a laid back track. SiR’s recent single “No Evil” hit much harder for me, but I’m not mad at this. 

7. Flowers - Real Estate

Real Estate’s 2014 album Atlas is one of my favorite front to back records of all time, conjuring up nostalgic memories of the spring before graduating high school. Their new album, Daniel, does not live up to that billing! But “Flowers” specifically strikes me as a proper return to form for the indie rock mainstays - a breezy, chill track that just feels like summer.

8. Mine (feat. Shakka) - Ghetts

I mentioned Ghetts’ single with Sampha a few weeks ago - he dropped his full album, On Purpose, With Purpose, today, and this song was a standout. Over an uptempo, soul-sampled beat, Ghetts flows effortlessly while maintaining tactile precision with his words and cadence. Shakka provides a lovely little hook, and we even get a small backing choir supporting him.

9. NO SLACK (feat. Healy) - DLG.

Cool beat / production. Chill. I’m a Healy fan, so that’s why this popped up on my Spotify. I don’t know shit about DLG. so I have little to add here, but it’s worth a listen.

10. Fear - Logic

Cannot emphasize enough how little I want to be associated with Logic fandom, but damn, "Fear" is so good. Released a few weeks ago, I will fully admit that I slept on this. Over a funky guitar riff and a four-on-the-floor house beat, Logic sounds better than expected singing the simple “I can’t let you hold me back” hook. His nimble, brisk raps pair perfectly with the song. My only critique lies in the second half, where we get a full two minutes of a jazzy, slow motion, fully-sung outro. It’s cool! But I would have loved it if they treated it more like a brief interlude, instead of letting it consume what ends up being a majority of the track. Regardless, good job Logic!

[rainbowsalt0412]

Osamu Dazai And The Dark Era - Epilogue

The conflict came to an end, and the city returned to normal. On the surface, the city was no different from before. The economy was good, people woke up and went to sleep, and the bustling days and violent nights continued on. Society and its underbelly appeared unchanged.

***

A light propeller aircraft glided through the skies over the coastline. There were only a few people on board.

"We'll be arriving at our destination for the next mission in about an hour," a young man in a suit said from the passenger seat.

"All right."

In the reclining chair by the window sat a man with round glasses. In his hands were a few pieces of paper that he was diligently staring at.

"...Agent Sakaguchi, is that a picture of the next target?" the young man in the suit asked.

Ango, the man with round glasses, stuffed the picture away in his jacket pocket in a fluster so that his colleague wouldn't see.

"No, it's nothing. Just a personal photo of mine."

After putting the picture away, Ango turned his gaze to the world outside the window, wistfully looking down at the city below.

***

Several shadows sprinted through the Yokohama Settlement's underground aqueduct. Three Mimic stragglers had escaped to the dark channels. They survived because they had not been on the front lines during the battle at the Western-style building.

A dark cloth stretched out like a blade from behind and sliced one of the soldiers in half. The other two turned around and unloaded their submachine guns. Gunfire lit up the aqueduct, cutting through the darkness.

"...That won't work against me."

A boy in an overcoat appeared behind them. His black coat danced through the narrow passageway as if it were alive, tearing up the remaining soldiers one after another.

"I need to get stronger—I must reach greater heights! Until he recognizes me, I will lose to neither military soldiers, nor guns, nor even skill users! I will lose to no one! So take a good look! Behold!" Akutagawa shouted as he sped up the dance of death. His woeful screams were absorbed into the Yokohama night.

***

In the middle of a verdant mountain trail atop a hill overlooking Yokohama was a cemetery with a view of the ocean. There were many new graves lined up—among them a small white burial marker without a name.

Dazai stood before the burial marker, dressed in black mourning clothes and holding a bouquet of white flowers.

"......"

He squinted as the strong sea breeze suddenly gusted past. The white flowers fluttered in the wind.

"I'll leave this photo here."

He took out a picture and placed it before the burial marker. Frozen in time were the smiles of those three men.

"I really wish you could've tried that hard tofu I made..."

Dazai closed his eyes, then stood absolutely still, rooted to the spot.

***

The blue Mafia headquarters building towered over the center of Yokohama's most prime real estate. On the top floor of the building was an office. Ougai sat at his desk, resting his chin on his hand.

"'Nihil admirari—help the man mentioned above without hesitation in the face of any and all trials'... Hmph."

Numerous documents were scattered over his desk—loss reports of Mafia-ruled territory. On top of the clutter was the Silver Oracle that Ougai had once written. It had been recovered from the Western-style building after the conflict had ceased.

He listlessly picked up the document and stared at it. The subordinate standing to his side spoke up.

"Boss, it has already been two weeks since our executive Dazai went missing. We should probably gather all the executives for a meeting to decide his successor..."

"Yes... I suppose so," Ougai replied indifferently while creasing the document in his hands. "We won't have a meeting. I'm going to leave Dazai's spot open."

Ougai stared at the scattered reports on his desk. The organization had received an item of great value, something that more than made up for the total pecuniary damage and loss of talented subordinates. That included Dazai's disappearance as well. Logically speaking, the results couldn't have been better. Everything was going according to plan.

Ougai folded the document into a misshapen paper airplane. Then, with his chin still resting on his hand, he threw it. The deformed plane almost immediately crashed into the floor.

"Things sure are going to get boring around here..."

***

Colorful electric signs lighted the streets of Yokohama's entertainment district. The area was always bustling with people even through the dead of night.

Inside a certain pub that had an orange lantern hanging out front, there sat a large man with white hair, completely alone.

It was a popular pub for cheap drinks. The man drank out of a sake cup with a sour expression.

"I can't believe the top dog from the Home Affairs Ministry is drinking alone at a cheap pub like this... Must be lonely, Chief Taneda."

Taneda looked up in surprise to find a young man sitting across from him.

"You're—"

"Allow me to pour you a drink."

The cheerful gentleman, Dazai, tilted the sake bottle and poured the chief some alcohol. After knocking it back in one gulp, Taneda shot Dazai a sharp glance.

"I've seen your face in our reports more times than I can count. You're a regular on the blacklist... So how'd you know I was here?"

"I can figure out most things if I look into them." Dazai beamed with a shrug.

"You're supposed to be missing... What brings you here?"

"I'm looking for a new job. Do you have any recommendations?"

Chief Taneda stared at Dazai in shock, but Dazai just innocently grinned.

"I find that hard to believe. There's a long list of things I'd like to ask you..." Taneda scratched his chin with a finger. "Are you interested in the Special Division for Unusual Powers? If that's the case—"

"You'd lose your job if I did that." Dazai wryly smirked. "I don't like places with lots of rules."

"Then what kind of job are you looking for?"

"One where I can help people," Dazai replied without a moment's delay. Chief Taneda crossed his arms and stared at Dazai in silence.

"Your record is too filthy. You'd need to lie low underground for a good two years to clean up. But, well...first, how about you answer a few questions? I've got an idea that could work."

"I'm listening."

"It's an armed agency made up of skill users. It's kind of a legal gray area, but they take on and solve troublesome tasks that the military and city police can't. Their president is a sensible guy. It might be just what you're looking for."

Dazai nodded before closing his eyes as if he was contemplating something important. He opened his eyes again, full of determination, and asked:

"What's the name of the organization?"

"Their name? The company's name is..."

***

[seoul-bros]

Jimin's Birthday minus 6 - 2017 Celebrations

In October 2017, BTS were in the middle of promoting Love Yourself: Her. In September and October they appeared on the main South Korean Music Shows with performances of DNA, Mic Drop and Go Go. They were breaking records with their DNA MV.

Jimin's birthday surprise was filmed on the evening of 12th October a few hours before his actual birthday. It was the beginning of the Serendipity era and the boys reference Jimin's solo song several times. Jin and Jungkook were again in charge of preparing the cake.

Jimin's dad continued his tradition of sending flowers and Hobi made sure Jimin thanked him on camera. JHope in this video is so attentive. I love their friendship.

Compared to 2016, Jimin is much less effusive but perhaps that isn't that surprising given their gruelling schedule and the fact that the next day, they were travelling to Japan to continue the Wings tour.

He did a Vlive on his birthday from his room in Japan. He thanked ARMY for their birthday displays. He talked about the huge venue they would perform at the next day. Venues were getting bigger and bigger and he wondered whether they would be able to reach the whole audience. Well the answer to that is a resounding yes.

Jimin published a Tweet thanking everyone for their birthday wishes.

And there were some interesting messages from the members. JHope posted a video which looks like it comes from the filming of the DNA MV.

V posted two photos. One of Jimin and one of himself in a park at night. Was Taehyung referencing 4 o'clock, a song reportedly written about Jimin and performed at Festa that year?

Finally, Jungkook posted the now iconic photo and message "#HBD Jiminie. It's not over yet" referencing the trip he had arranged for them to Tokyo later in the month.

I have not doubt that that trip and the resulting GCF video made for an unforgettable birthday for Jimin in 2017.

Post Date: 07/10/2022

[gameofdrarry]

Wizards Hearts Recs: Coffeeshop

Wizards Hearts was a four-month-long Drarry reading fest. Players were given a playing deck of 52 tropes, and were asked to find 52 different fics to read and comment on to fill their decks. To prevent the same few fics from being read, fics were restricted to only being used for the game three times before being considered ineligible for further points. The tropes and submissions list can be found here.

Check out the masterlist of fics for this trope below the cut!

📜 Espresso Patronum by tasteofshapes Rated:  Teen Words:  15,060 Tags:  Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Light Angst, Pining, Coffeeshop Summary:  When Draco reappears five years after the war and opens a wildly popular coffee shop, Harry’s pretty sure that Draco’s Up to Something. He just has to prove it. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Black Coffee by Candamira Rated:  Explicit Words:  17,055 Tags:  Coffeeshop AU, Wandlore, Self Harm, Hurt/Comfort, Magical Tattoos, Patronus, Getting Together Summary:  Something is very wrong with Draco's wand. No matter the spell, it won't respond with anything but a silver stag Patronus. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Blond Brew by MicheleBlack Rated:  Explicit Words:  30511 Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Coffee Shops, Alternate Universe, H/D Wireless 2020, Romance, Slow Build, Slash, Barebacking, Modern Era, Dating, Falling In Love, Alternate Universe - Non-Magical Summary:  A blond roast with soy milk makes Draco's morning, but a pair of green eyes makes his week. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Six Bloody Months by JET_Playin Rated:  Explicit Words:  14695 Tags: Fluff, Angst, Misunderstandings, Cats, Post Hogwarts AU, POV Alternating, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Tall Harry Potter, Smutty, Florist Harry Potter, Cafe Owner Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy Has Long Hair, Oblivious Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy Flirts, Pining Harry Potter, Oblivious Draco Malfoy, Dorks in Love, Pining Draco Malfoy, H/D Career Fair 2017, HP: EWE, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Falling In Love, Flowers, Coffee, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Flower Shop Summary:  They were friends with business benefits, that's all... ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Full Four Seasons by ravenclawsquill Rated:  Explicit Words:  49133 Tags: POV First Person, Slow Burn, Friends to Lovers, Pining, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Angst, Humor, Fluff, so many feelings, Bickering, Infidelity, Impotence, Coffee Shops, Flying, Flirting, Christmas, Internalized Homophobia, Kissing, Stripping, Frottage, Anal Fingering, Rimming, First Time, Topping, Top Draco Malfoy, Bottom Harry, Community: hd_erised, Coming Out, Courage Summary:  Draco Malfoy just wants a quiet life. He has a successful business, a lovely wife, and a delightfully horrible circle of friends. He’s fine. Or, he was fine until Harry Potter thundered into his life with all the subtlety of a blast-ended skrewt and turned everything on its head. Now he’s beginning to wonder if ‘fine’ is enough, after all. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 ORDER TO GO. by slyther_sins Rated:  Mature Words:  17724 Tags: butterbeer eclairs, Anal Fingering, Blow Jobs, Hand Jobs, Alternate Universe - Bakery, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Shop Owner Draco Malfoy, Baker Draco Malfoy, Diagon Alley, Coffee Shop Owner Harry Potter, Harry Potter Has a Thing for Draco Malfoy's Long... Fingers, Light Slow Burn, Things Get Heated in the Pantry, H/D Food Fair 2018, Pining Harry Potter, Post-Hogwarts, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE Summary:  Draco Malfoy opens a new pâtisserie in Diagon Alley, his pastries and desserts are to die for. Harry is the coffee shop owner next door who wants to take Draco home for dessert. Ron is just there for the bread. - in which harry has a sweet tooth, but it isn't for anything on the menu. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 With Great Yawns and Stretchings by sugar_screw Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  22087 Tags: Romance, Fluff, Angst, Alcohol, Drunkenness, Cat Cafés, Coffee Shops, H/D Pet Fair 2016, Post-Hogwarts, Grimmauld Place, Cats, Kneazles, Auror Harry Potter, Barista Draco Malfoy, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Pining Harry Potter, Pining Draco Malfoy, pet death Summary:  The coffee is very good. Really. And the cats are so cute. That's why Harry goes so often. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 he Coffee House by Corina (CorinaLannister) Rated:  General Words:  1826 Tags: Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Distrust, Trust, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés Summary:  Draco is a struggling Barista and Harry is struggling with his fame. They start to trust each other over time when Harry visits the coffee shop Draco works in. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 A Second Chance by Rei382 Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  1639 Tags: coffee shop AU, Angst Summary:  Life circumstances brought Draco to work at a coffee shop to make a living. Life circumstances brought Harry to walk into that coffee shop and offer a new start. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Lost Bet by DragonGirl87 Rated:  Explicit Words:  60864 Tags: Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Barista!Draco Malfoy, Redeemed Draco Malfoy, Divorced Draco Malfoy, Snarky Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter Leaves the Wizarding World, Writer!Harry Potter, Divorced Harry Potter & Ginny Weasley, Famous Harry Potter, Coffee Shops, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffee, Older Harry Potter, Older Draco Malfoy, POV Draco Malfoy, POV Harry Potter, London, Godric's Hollow, Making a Bet, losing a bet, Draco Malfoy & Pansy Parkinson Friendship, Pansy Parkinson is a Good Friend, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Slow Burn, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Single Parent Draco Malfoy, Single Parent Harry Potter, Stay-At-Home Parent Harry Potter, Firewhiskey (Harry Potter), Drunken Confessions, Hangover, Flirting, Friendship, Teasing, Banter, Kissing, Snogging, Groping, Frottage, Sassy Harry Potter, Sassy Draco Malfoy, Top Draco Malfoy, Bottom Harry Potter, Surprise Ending, Hogwarts, Gryffindor vs. Slytherin Rivalry, Gryffindor, Slytherin, Slytherins Being Slytherins, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Happy Ending, Inappropriate Use of Last Names Summary:  It is 2019 and Harry Potter, Ex-Auror turned full-time dad and writer of magical children's books, finds himself making a startling discovery about none other than his former school rival Draco Malfoy. Just where will this relationship, rekindled over several cups of exquisite coffee, lead those two men? ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 The Usual by aibidil Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  9649 Tags: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffee, Coffee Shops, Post-Hogwarts, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Suspicious Harry, Cursebreaker Draco, Auror Harry Potter, Gringotts Wizarding Bank, Humor, Fluff and Humor, Getting Together, Boys Kissing, Health food, Harry Potter Thinks Draco Malfoy is Up to Something Summary:  Harry finally tries the new magical coffee shop on Diagon Alley. A story in which Draco is Up To Something™ and Harry is going to get to the bottom of it, and to the bottom of that sixteen ounce to-go cup. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Knead by Anonymous Rated:  Explicit Words:  83103 Tags: Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, Post-Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Bakery and Coffee Shop, Coffee Shops, Alternate Universe - Farm/Ranch, Slice of Life, Portland Oregon, Ex-Auror Harry Potter, Baker Draco Malfoy, Muggle Life, Getting Together, Unusual Career, Banter, Friendship, Pining, Bisexuality, Sexuality Discovery, First Time, Dirty Talk, Switching, Rimming, Bars and Pubs, Drinking, Beer, Drunk Sex, Food Porn, Road Trips, Fluff and Angst, Magical Creatures, Quidditch, Number Twelve Grimmauld Place, Minor Luna Lovegood/Ginny Weasley, Minor Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, Minor Sirius Black/Remus Lupin, H/D Erised 2020, Coffee Shop Owner Draco Malfoy, Draco Malfoy in the Muggle World, Past Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley Summary:  This is not a story about Harry renovating Grimmauld Place. This is a story about coffee shops and brewpubs, about Ginny and Luna on a farm with creatures, about magical Oregon, coastal road trips, flying, friendship, and Draco Malfoy's lean arms. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Rosie Lea (have a cuppa tea) by OrdinaryRealities Rated:  Teen and Up Words:  26801 Tags: Post-Canon, Coffee Shop AU-ish, A fair amount of working through the trauma of canon, Harry's Saving People Thing, Harry is stubborn, Muggle OC's, Panic Attacks Summary:  After the war Harry buys Florian Fortescue's ice cream parlor and opens a tea shop. Because of this he somehow ends up trying to rescue Slytherin's reputation and accidentally finds himself friends with half of Slytherin. He doesn't understand how it happened. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 When It Alteration Finds by momatu Rated:  Explicit Words:  55597 Tags: HP: EWE, Slash, Romance, Drama, Some Humor, Hurt/Comfort Summary:  After the war, Harry left most of the Wizarding world behind and built a new life for himself in the Channel Islands. He opened a bakery and is happy with his life. Draco is a fiction author who writes under a penname, and he's currently suffering from writer's block. His agent suggests he try writing in a new environment and rents a cottage in the Channel Islands for him. ❤️ Read on AO3

📜 Some Like It Hot by GoldenTruth813 Rated:  General Words:  2497 Tags: Muggle AU, Starbucks AU, Barista!Harry Summary:  Harry works at a coffee shop and is perfectly content to do his job and mind his own business until Draco Malfoy comes in. ❤️ Read on AO3

[inukag-week]

Acceptance

Submitted by: @shupadoop

It’s not the smoothest writing, but I’d be damned if I’d missed day 1 of my first Inukag week because of lack of editing time. Warning: smut ahead (near the end). Length: approx 6 pages. Sorry I’m Posting a day late. I didn’t realize I still don’t show in search results :’( 

Can I really never go back? A full week passed since Kagome was forcibly removed from the time that she had long called home. Every day that week she checked on the well twice; once before school and once right after. And sometimes when she thought she heard Inuyasha’s voice on the wind, but it was always her imagination.Another week passed and the faux-assured smile she always wore was starting to fade.

“Kagome, this is the most days in a row we’ve seen you all year! We’re so glad you’re feeling better. But is something bothering you?”

“I just can’t believe I’m able to be at school so much now. It’s kind of a shock coming back.”A third week and her perfectly practiced smile was gone completely.“Kagome, why do you look so sad? Did something happen with your delinquent boyfriend?”

“Did he secretly like that you were sick and needed him and now he can’t handle your independence?”

“Did he see you flirting with Hojo and got so jealous he bolted?”

“He’s gone far away and I can’t see him anymore.”

“He went to a foreign school? That’s too bad, but I bet it will be really exciting when you can finally visit him!”At that Kagome started to sob.————————————————————————————————

“Miss Higurashi, we don’t normally make exceptions, but given how sick you’ve been, we want to make sure you have every chance of getting into a good high school. We’d hate to hold you back for something beyond your control. We are happy to reschedule some of your tests so you have extra time to study and we can arrange for you to have some one-on-one time with some of your teachers. Please, just let us know how we can help. We’re relieved to see you back at school.

”I can’t say no to that. Even if I could go back-She broke her thought to avoid further crying.

“… Thank you. That’s very kind. I’ll work my very hardest.”

————————————————————————————————

It was true that throughout her time in the Feudal era, (lack of) studying made her panic, but it was also a welcome relief from the tension of being in constant life and death situations. Now that it was all she had to do, it felt so pointless.

I could be helping orphaned children, or cultivating medicinal plants, or…

But she couldn’t. Once again she was just a school girl.

As she studied more and more, Kagome went to the well less and less, only occasionally stopping by when she could no longer bury her grief beneath her studies.

“Hey, sis. I thought you’d given up checking on the well.”

“Of course I haven’t, how could you say that?”

“So you really think Inuyasha will be able to make it back here some day?”

“Of course he will!”

Won’t he?

She turned back to the house for dinner when her mother called to her.

“Hey, Kagome, Mrs. Hojo gave me this plant. She said it’s been used for hundreds of years to treat inflammation. Have you seen it?”

“Yeah, Kaede taught me about it. I used to prepare it all the time for Inuyasha, even though he insisted he didn’t need it. You grind the leaves and use it topically.”

“We have a patch of dirt in the back that is mostly full of weeds now. I thought it could go there. Maybe you’d like to tend to it?”

“… Yeah. … I guess I would. Thanks, mom.”

————————————————————————————————

Even when her heart wasn’t in it, Kagome was always true to her word. She studied  as if her life depended on it. She got excellent marks, even in math, and started high school with her friends.

“We are finally in high school! This is so exciting! I heard they have great sport programs here!”

“You should try out for Basketball, Yumi; you tower over everyone else since that growth spurt.”

“I’m going to try swimming.”“How about you, Kagome?”

“Huh? Oh, uh, I don’t know. I’m not really good at sports.”

“What do you mean? You were always on the winning team when we played in class. And you looked so healthy every time you came to school even after you’d been off sick for so long. That must indicate you have a strong physique.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

They were walking together to the first day’s assembly when Kagome caught something in the corner of her eye that made her freeze, causing a pile-up of new students behind her.

Kikyo!?

She ran to the window overlooking the courtyard for a better view.

No. Not Kikyo. Just an upper year with their hair tied low… holding a bow?

“Maybe I’ll join the archery team.”

“Really? That would be great, Kagome. I’ve heard archery is really hard and this school has one of the best teams in the country.”

“That’s it. I’ll try out for archery.”

As you might expect, Kagome easily beat out the competition. Firing at a still target was nothing after purifying tiny jewel shards embedded in wriggling demons. She became the youngest competing member on the team, and shortly after, the youngest team captain.

“We’re so proud of you, Kagome!” said her mother, after hearing the good news. “You must be enjoying high school then.”

“… Yeah,” still a touch of longing in her voice.

“What subjects do you think you’ll focus on?”

“I really don’t know. It all felt so far away before, and now the decision is right in front of me. I have no idea.”

“Why not history?” suggested Souta. “You could study the feudal era. You’d have a big advantage over everybody else. None of you classmates have lived it.”

“Yeah… I guess that’s true.”

The following morning after breakfast, Kagome grabbed her bag, and her bow and arrow set, and left for class, glancing at the well that she no longer visited, but was still present in the back of her mind.

History. Why not? It’s not the same as living it, but maybe it could bring me some peace now that I’m cut off from that world. Maybe I’ll finally learn why demons no longer live in Japan.

“Help, stop him! My puppy is in that bag he stole!”

Kagome ran the rest of the way down the steps to see the urgent scene ahead. Instinctively she grabbed one of her heavy, rubber-tipped practice arrows and shot the thief straight in the neck. She did a running slide toward him, catching the terrified puppy. Unaware of what she was doing, she started to rub its pointy ears.

“Miss, thank you! That was incredible!”

“Oh, you’re welcome. Don’t mention it. Happy to help.”

When did I get so capable?

In fact she was always capable. She thought back to one of her earliest adventures with Inuyasha when she helped an angry spirit find Nirvana. Inuyasha told her he knew nothing of spirits and she’d have to figure it out on her own. And she did. When did she become so reliant on others?————————————————————————————————

Throughout high school she become more and more self-assured. She rivalled Hojo for the title of Most Likely to Have a Home Remedy on Hand. She led her archery team to victory in nearly every match. She settled on history and biology as her focal subjects - I might as well make use of all Kaede taught me about plants, right? - and her time in the past started to feel less like reality and more like a wonderful dream she always knew she would have to wake up from eventually.“

Kagome, do you know which university you want to go to? I was thinking of this place,” she thrust a brochure into Kagome’s hands. “It’s far, though. I hope I know someone else going. Then we could be roommates.”

“Yeah, I was thinking about going there too. They have a really good horticulture program, and a great history department. Let’s be roommates!”After a few late nights, and just a couple tears, Kagome graduated high school with excellent exam results to start university. She immediately joined the archery team, and created a spin-off team where she worked with kids in difficult situations teaching them to channel their anger into the bow instead of a more dangerous vice. Her and Yumi’s apartment became known across campus as the breathing room. Flowers and herbs climbed the walls, and Kagome gladly shared her knowledge with anybody who asked.

“Everybody should know. There is so much basic first aid you can do at home with these plants. You wouldn’t have to worry about emergency runs to the drug store.”

From the outside Kagome’s life looked perfect. From the inside, she couldn’t complain, but there was still a loneliness she couldn’t overcome. She tried to date a bit throughout high school, but the boys around her were so boring. In the past it annoyed her to no end that Inuyasha couldn’t put the thought of Kikyo to rest, but at least his story was a real tragedy that would be difficult for anybody to overcome. She just found herself with loser hung up on their exes.

“Come on, Kagome, they weren’t all so bad. What about Mizore’s brother? He was sweet. And didn’t you say he was a good kisser.”

“Yeah, but… I just didn’t feel anything in the end.”

She didn’t feel anything because she didn’t want to feel anything. But she knew this couldn’t last. She wouldn’t be truly happy in her present until she could fully let go of the past she knew she’d never see again.

At this rate I’ll die an old maid. Do I really want to be celibate the rest of my life? I’m sure even jealous Inuyasha wouldn’t wish that on me.

————————————————————————————————

“Kagome, are you sure you don’t want to come to the party? There will be lots of cute gu-uys.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Thanks, though.”

“Come on, I thought you wanted to meet a nice guy. You have to get out there eventually.”

“I know, but my shoulder really hurts after archery. I’m just not up for it tonight. But invite me next time, I promise, I’ll put the effort in.”

“Okay. I’m going to hold you to that.”

I know I have to make an effort. But I can make the effort next week, right? I’ve waited this long.

After Yumi left Kagome’s phone rang.

“Hello?”

“Hi, Kagome. Will you be home tonight.”

“Hi, Souta. Yeah. I’m not going anywhere. Why?

”“I have a surprise for you. Expect the doorbell to ring in 10 minutes.”

“10 minutes? How can you get here so quickly?”

“You’ll see.”

She swore she heard a giggle as Souta hung up the phone.

She went to the kitchen to make some tea. 10 minutes passed and she heard a knock. She walked across the apartment to open the front door, “Souta?” but nobody was there. Maybe someone else tried the wrong door? When she turned around she nearly screamed. Perched on her window ledge was Inuyasha. She rushed to let him in.

“I can’t believe you’re here. I thought I’d never see you again! I checked the well all the time for months, but it seemed so hopeless.”

“I thought I’d have to give up too. But Sango and Miroku had their third child yesterday and I couldn’t help but think of the life I’d hoped you and I would live. I had to try one more time.”

“I’m so glad you did.

”They started to lean in, but the tension of years apart made them hesitate.“Kagome, you aren’t seeing anybody else, are you?”

“No. Are you?”

Inuyasha just laughed. With that, Kagome threw her arms around his neck and kissed him like nobody else ever had. And nobody else ever would. A kiss that made his head spin and his blood run hot. With her nails she traced lines down the sides of his face, past his neck and onto his chest. She started to pull apart the fabric of his iconic red outfit. He stared at her in disbelief.

“Don’t you want to?” she asked. “After all this time?”

“I - uh… I-“

“I do.”

His look of confusion turned to panic. He didn’t know what to expect of Kagome after more than 3 years, but he definitely didn’t expect this. She was no longer the girl who blushed at the thought of boys and shielded her face from any hint of nudity. She was a confident woman who went after what she wanted.

“Didn’t you once tell Miroku it’s only a fool who refuses a woman who offers herself?”

“Did I?” panic turned to horror.

“Well?”

She smiled at him, and his expression eased. He allowed himself to be guided to her bedroom.She locked the door and resumed where she had stopped. She slipped her hands beneath the fabric that covered him and exposed his chest and shoulders. Then she undid the ties of his hakama and let everything fall to the floor. She stared hungrily at his naked body.

“Are you afraid to undress me?” He was. “I won’t stop you.”

Slowly Inuyasha undid her buttons and pulled the shirt down her arms and to the floor. Then he ran his hands down her back to undo her bra clasps and skirt.Finally she removed her panties and sat at the end of her bed, waiting to see what he would do next.

He sat down beside her, clearly afraid of making a wrong move. She hopped into his lap and locked him into a deep kiss. She was so wet and dripping onto his erection that grew bigger with each passing second. She rubbed herself up and down his length and he thought he might burst on the spot.

“Not what you expected to find, huh?”

“No.”

“Better?”

“Yeah.”She motioned for Inuyasha to move further up the bed. “Let me get a condom. You’re in luck, the nurse’s office was handing them out this week.”

“What’s a condom?”

“It’s so that I won’t get pregnant.”

“… Don’t you want to?”

Kagome laughed. “Eventually. Not right now. It would be too hard with school”

“School? It’s been 3 years, didn’t you already have school?”

Kagome laughed again. “I’ll explain later. For now, we need a condom.”

They slithered up the bed so she could pull one out of her bedside table. Inuyasha moaned as she slipped it on him, and then slipped him into her. She ground herself into his lap, steadily rocking back and forth, her hands tangled in his beautiful silver hair. He raked his claws gently over the soft skin of her thighs and she thought he might end her then and there. An explosion went off somewhere inside of her and she began to bounce on him, pushing her clit into the base of his shaft with every movement. She squealed and arched her back while Inuyasha squeezed her breasts and kissed her neck. When her breathing calmed back down he flipped her over and thrust against her most excitable spots. She screamed and dug her fingers into his back.

“Do I need to slow down?”

“NO!”

He started to moan while she screamed from the wonderful pressure he created inside her.

“I love you, Inuyasha.”

At that he came undone.

When he finally caught his breath he said “I love you too.”

For a moment they basked in the warm after-glow, but soon the sticky reality got the better of them.

“Leaves you really dirty, doesn’t it? Why don’t we take a bath.”

She drew a bath and motioned Inuyasha to get in first, so she could lean into his embrace.

“Say, Kagome, “ Inuyasha sounded nervous. “When will you come back with me to my time?”

“Well, things are different now, Inuyasha. I have a life here, and I can’t just abandon it.”

“So… what are you saying?” there was audible fear in his voice now.

“I spent so much time in your world. Maybe it’s time for you to spend some time in mine.” She smiled at him.

“Everything is so strange here. You think I can live with you in this world?”

“Well, maybe we’ll do things half and half.”

Now he smiled back.

“Half and half.”

[accio-spideypool]

if lightning era characters had YouTube

Pansy:

lookbooks and outfit ideas

queen of winged eyeliner and dramatic eyeshadows

occasionally does singing videos

“The only straight I am is a straight up bitch”

also gr8 at rapping

the best comebacks at haters

Hermione:

Book recommendations !

study tips & tricks

has a cozy and homey feeling in all her videos

vlogs a lot

answers all her comments

baking videos

collabs with pansy often

Ron:

pranking videos

goofy overall happy videos

story times

clickbaits ?

food everywhere

tries to interact with his subscribers but often forget too

a meme

Blaise:

style videos

makeovers !!

daily vlogs

“lol that's gay”

make up !

also singing vids? mostly with pansy

work out stuff

Harry:

posting scheme is WHACK

does tags and trends

vlogs,,

they almost always consist of him and ron eating or doing weird stuff tho

never answers comments

“mY bOyFrIeNd..”

does covers because the boy who lived can sing??

clickbaits,, but it's always somehow true??

Draco:

Has the most aesthetic channel eVEr

“HaRrY noOOOOooo”

3 am vlogs

does tags with harry

acts like a bitch

quotes vines

Neville:

plants !!!

tries teas from all over the world

also book tips

soft and happy vibes

animals everywhere,,

stORY TIMES!!

Luna:

soft soft soft

ASMR

conspiracy theories !!

tutorials and diys

always does trends before it's trending?

hair styling!!!

flowers everywhere

Ginny:

workouts w blaise

story times

sometimes makeup videos

travels vlogs with her quidditch squad

dancing

“babe”

montages of all the dogs she sees

Dean & Seamus:

has a joint channel

gaming vids !!

tags

a total of 129 min of seaus setting things on fire

ordering the most riDIcuLOUS starbucks drinks and trying them

kissing in front of homophobes

dean sometimes does drawing videos,,

and seamus can play the guitar??

The twins:

p r a n k s

this vs that

stunts

giveaways w stuff from their shop

challenges

like really really good editing??

a black labrador pup as mascot?

his name is padfoot the second

[nfly5]

N.FLYING'S 'ROOFTOP' WAS K-POP'S SLEEPER HIT OF 2019

HOW AN ONLINE FORUM, AN ANONYMOUS POST, AND WORD OF MOUTH GAVE THIS KOREAN BAND THE HIT THEY’D BEEN WAITING FOR

When did N.Flying feel the success of their sleeper hit, “Rooftop?” “Just now,” main vocalist Hwe Seung says, pointing down at the ground.

Their newfound acclaim brought them halfway around the world to play KCON LA, where Seung Hyub, JaeHyun, Cha Hun, and Hwe Seung are huddled in a makeshift dressing room at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Our interview competes with a chorus of cheers for rookie boy band ATEEZ, who cook kimbap at the #KCONFoodie station a few feet away. Over the booming of the fandemonium, the N.Flying members loudly enunciate their words.

“We just had a meet and greet with our fans right now,” he continues. “Right when ‘Rooftop’ started coming on, the fans started all singing along. And I felt like, ‘Oh, we are receiving so much love right now.’”

It was a long time coming for one of K-pop’s few idol bands — and it all started on SoundCloud.

Back in August 2018, the four-piece’s leader Seung Hyub unwittingly uploaded a sketch called “Rooftop Room” to his profile under the name JDON. The DIY upload was a relatively lo-fi collaboration with Hwe Seung, constructed around trappy percussion and blaring bass. It was well-received by their fandom, N.Fia (a portmanteau of their name and “Utopia”), so the group decided to create an N.Flying version.

The band released “Rooftop” to relatively modest excitement on January 2, 2019. The track did better than usual, reaching No. 643 on Melon’s daily chart before wrapping up music show promotions on February 8. But then something unprecedented happened.

A week later, an anonymous user posted their track to a popular Korean forum. Suddenly, their song took off, entering at No. 97 on Melon’s real-time Top 100. It continued to climb the charts, eventually taking over the local Gaon rankings for a few weeks. They even returned to televised music shows for an encore run.

N.Flying went four years without a music show win, a career-making milestone for K-pop artists. (For context, BTS’s first win in 2015 is seen as the turning point in their record-breaking career.) But it finally happened for the group at The Show on March 5.

The high-flying foursome was up against some of the industry’s biggest contenders: monster rookies (G)I-DLE and former Wanna One member Ha Sung Woon. When the band’s name was announced, Hwe Seung smiled brightly, and Seung Hyub choked up while giving a speech. Cha Hun maintained his cat-like cool, reaching over to console his members. But it was resident goofball JaeHyun who fully let his emotions flow.

Or as he put it: “I was really ugly crying.” (When I tell him I saw the video, he covered his face and jokingly let out a melodramatic “Noooooo!”)

This was a dramatic reversal of fortunes. A mere week before their comeback, their bassist Kwon Kwang Jin — who had been with the group since their Japanese debut in 2013 — abruptly left the lineup amid accusations that he sexually harassed fans. "We ... confirmed the fact of him dating a fan, so we have made the final decision for Kwon Kwang Jin to leave the team,” their company, FNC Entertainment, said in a statement last December, while also denying claims of sexual harassment.

Kwang Jin's departure was yet another setback for the band. N.Flying made their formal debut in Korea in 2015 as a quartet after nearly two years of delays. Initially, leader Seung Hyub was the sole frontman, defining his performance by his fluid transitions between singing and rapping. Cha Hun and Kwang Jin handled backing vocals, with JaeHyun on the drums.

Meanwhile, Hwe Seung almost went down the alluring flower boy path of a traditional idol, competing on the second season of Produce 101 in 2017. Let’s just say his high notes were fodder for instant replays. He didn’t make it to the final lineup that formed the now-defunct Wanna One. But it’s fitting that he wound up in a band the week after the show ended in June — his upper register is capable of a rough intensity that even a rockist could love.

The new maknae’s (youngest member) 2017 entry into the group didn’t only change the dynamics of their sound — it also marked their return from a lengthy hiatus. On a March 2019 episode of the Korean music program Yoo Hee Yeol’s Sketchbook, Seung Hyub revealed that they had taken a break to find their identity as a group. “But we are still not quite sure what our color is now,” he said at the time.

Now, N.Flying has a bit more breathing room to explore their sound on their own terms. A company-created track couldn’t break them into the Korean market, so it's poetic that the newly minted hitmakers’ breakthrough was their first-ever self-composed song. Seung Hyub's own vision brought them here, and it’s a cycle that will continue: He just produced the group’s latest album, YAHO.

Released as part of the Fly High Project #2, “Rooftop” is anchored by a relaxed dembow beat. The reggae-infused track presented a softer take on their rap-rock sound, while the lyrics painted a vivid vignette centered on star-crossed lovers — which resonated with Korea’s general public.

The group traverses an aural expanse of genre classifications that are in the process of breaking down. K-pop’s genre agnosticism is well-documented; it’s common for idol groups to cycle through a flurry of “concepts.” In that sense, N.Flying is true to the industry.

“I don’t think our approach is any different from any other artist in K-pop,” says guitarist Cha Hun, who cites Slash from Guns N' Roses and Creed as his favorite artists. “The only thing that really sets us apart is that our weapon of choice is that we’re a band. We try to think about, ‘How can we as a band reach our fans in the appropriate way?’”

But their ability to play instruments has drastically widened the spectrum of genres at their disposal, and their versatility is underscored by the deep cuts. The opening riff on “Just One Day” closely resembles The Smashing Pumpkins’ ’90s-alt anthem “Today” — until the track abruptly veers into a pastiche of 2000s-era pop-punk. “Lupin” is a much harder-hitting blend of J-pop and metal, refracted through dubstep wubs. Then songs like “Let Me Show You” take after The Lumineers’ style of stomp-rock with a poppified blues twist.

Still, their particular blend of rap and rock feels organic to them. Seung Hyub clarifies that the band doesn’t exactly discuss how they approach their mishmash of genres. “We basically think about what can we do as a group,” he tells MTV News. “It just comes naturally when we form those kinds of mixes.”

But genre fusions aren’t the only type of hybridization that’s defined their career. Their status as a rock band complicates their relationship to the typical idol formula.

In a visual-oriented music industry that revolves around intense choreography, N.Flying’s relatively static blocking makes them stand out. Granted, there are idol-worthy elements to their stage presence. Just watch a stage mix of “Rooftop,” and you can tell the members have clearly rehearsed that A Night at the Roxburyrealness. Not only that, but they put their own twist on K-pop fandom norms. Thanks to “Hot Potato,” you could say N.Fia find light sticks a-peeling, bringing actual potatoes (on sticks) to the band's promotions. Their status as a rock band reshapes the standards of an idol.

While the Jonas Brothers were breaking the barrier for boy band classification in the aughts, Korea simultaneously forged its own take on the idol band. N.Flying’s successful senior labelmate FTISLAND is billed as the first of their kind: a hybrid of gorgeous, flower-boy imagery and rock-leaning tracks that added a new layer to the K-pop landscape in 2007. CNBLUE carried that torch in 2010, achieving commercial success right out the gate with their Korean debut, “I’m a Loner.”

Which brings us to the latest set of bands on the K-pop scene, fronted by the likes of N.Flying and DAY6. While the latter has a more complicated relationship with boy band status, N.Flying openly embraces the idol label. “We feel like we’re an idol band,” Seung Hyub says. “We feel like we are [singers who can be role models] to everyone, whether it’s as an idol or as a band.”

When they took to the KCON LA stage, a sea of wrist-lights beamed a blue glow back at them. A gaggle of N.Fia were caught on camera holding up potatoes-on-sticks and N.Flying signs — including two posters shouting out 2Idiots, JaeHyun and Cha Hun’s YouTube channel. ("It was a platform where we could shorten the distance between us and our fans," the drummer says.) As Seung Hyub played a keyboard prelude to their career-making anthem, the 22,000-seat arena erupted in cheers.

"The thing that’s most visible is we have a lot more fans," the leader says. "There are so many more, so when we perform, we receive a lot more energy, and we’re able to give back a lot more as well."

[ayyy-imma-ninja]

JSE EGO HEADCANONS (4/7)

Jameson Jackson

of course, JJ comes from the early 20th century, pulled from his time into the present

he is straight

He has a lot of vests with him, various colors and patterns, but he normally wears his traditional blue one. 

JJ is skilled at wiggling his mustache. 

The pocket watch he carries originally belonged to his father, who died of pneumonia when JJ was young.

He’s had seasonal allergies ever since he was a small boy. Which is a shame because he always loved picking flowers for his mother. Even as an adult, he still loves picking flowers and wandering through gardens and parks, as much as his body and the others urge him not to.

He loves small things, such as trinkets, puppies, kittens, friendly bugs, miniatures, etc. He gets so giddy and the others find it adorable.

He often frequents antique stores to decorate his room with. His looks more like it belongs in the Victorian era, but if it makes him more comfortable, who are the others to stop him?

Even though he originates from the silent movie era, I headcanon JJ as being selectively mute. He was drafted as a boy during World War I, and the things he saw shocked and traumatized him so greatly, he stopped talking. Since then, he never spoke a word, afraid to speak of what he witnessed or of people trying to talk to him about his experiences in the war. He also suffered violent nightmares. 

JJ suffers from seasickness, as he discovered on his voyage to America after the war. 

He got a career through acting in silent movies, which also helped him cope with his trauma as a way of expressing himself. One of the actresses, Helen, who he grew very fond of, taught him sign language over the months they were together.

JJ was brought to the present unintentionally by one of Marvin’s spells. He was so spooked by it that he fainted. Every time he woke up, he’d crawl for something to hide under. 

Eventually Jack coaxed him out of hiding and introduced himself. It was then they both discovered one of the effects of Marvin’s spell had on JJ. He simply thought of what to say (in sign language), and suddenly the message appeared before them both on what resembled a text slide card. It took JJ a while to control it. While he knew sign language very well, the others didn’t, so using the slide cards was easier for them to understand him. 

The closest anyone has ever gotten to hear JJ’s voice is when he coughs, sneezes, cries, or is startled and he yelps.

He became homesick rather quickly, as the gravity of the situation sank in. In this time, the friends he had were no longer there. Helen was no longer there. He spent a lot of time in bathrooms or in closets just to cry.

The second effect of the spell was done on the pocket watch. Every time JJ opens it, he becomes black and white, and every sound he makes is silenced, as if he was in a silent film. And he remains this way until the pocket watch is closed. 

During his first 6 months in the present, Jameson got sick a lot and seemed to be allergic to everything, aside from his already existing allergies. The other egos helped him get through it so he could adjust to their time quickly. This was how he started to bond with the other egos, particularly Chase and Henrik. 

He of course learned a lot about the present, and events from the past that he skipped over. But talking of the past caused him to have a panic attack. Since then, the others are careful of what they discuss when JJ is around. 

He grew very fond of today’s cuisine. His favorite dish, though, would have to be spaghetti. 

He was first introduced on the channel in a Halloween video with Jack and Anti. He got to perform like he was in a silent film, and he loved it. While he was a bit unnerved to be around the glitchy, sporadic ego, he did his part well.

that’s all I have for now. Same as usual; I come up with anything else, I’ll reblog this and add more. 

[theonyxpath]

Yes, the Contagion Chronicle continues to open up like a flower with each new section revealed to backers during this Kickstarter. We’re loving hearing from folks as they get excited by the way the Contagion manifests in city and region after city and region.

Is this the way you’ll include the Contagion in your ongoing Chronicle? Or is this manifestation so perfect for your group that you’ll just use it as-is for an all new Chronicle?

It works either way!

Plus, with the Stretch Goals to both expand on the Contagion, and to go crunchier into crossover rules, backers are going to have a fantastic spectrum of options to pick from.

Check out the link below in The Blurbs! section!

Geist 2e art by Avery Butterworth

Speaking of The Blurbs!, I want to point out our whole Onyx Path Media section, and in particular, the weekly Onyx Path News vid that Matthew has been doing for, what?, ten weeks now.

Each week, he’ll give you a fast recap of the week that was, the fantastic projects we’ve put on sale, where things are with our Kickstarters – you name it!

Here’s this week’s link: https://youtu.be/WvO-lsim_Kk

One other thing I’d like to point out that I noticed just this week in the Onyx Pathcast: Whoo-boy do those three Pathcasters let loose a lot of teasers and info for upcoming projects! I’ve maintained a very strong hands-off policy in terms of the content for the Pathcast, and really have let the gang do their thing, but after listening to all the bits of spoilers they revealed in the first part of last Friday’s look at Emotions in Gaming…maybe I should reconsider….

Here’s the link again, if you want to hear insider info about Trinity Continuum: Aberrant, and a whole bunch of upcoming projects: https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

Geist 2e art by Vince Locke

Finally, here’s an update on the Scion errata issue I touched on last week. Neall, the Scion 2e lead developer, continues to review the PDFs and compare them to his errata notes. We can tell already that not all of the errata fixes he input reverted after he fixed them, which is very good news.

We’re not looking at anywhere near the number or severity of fixes that we had feared.

Unfortunately, it would actually be easier to figure out what broke in the errata input process if they all reverted or if there was a pattern to the ones that reverted, but we have still not discovered why these two books had issues after over a dozen before them using the same process did not.

Since we don’t have that solution, but we still have books coming up we want to go through the errata process, we’ve already made some changes so that we don’t get hit with this problem again. I mentioned last week that our in-house developers will be the ones to actually input the errata changes, with guidance from the book dev, from here on in.

Now, we have worked out a new method for our backers and our community to provide us with the errata they find in the first place: a Google Form survey that we will provide links to, which will replace our usual “forum thread” method. We think this will provide a cleaner method for our devs to evaluate the errata we’re provided by the community. Not all errata is actually something that the devs think needs fixing, and this survey should make the ones we really want changed stand out.

You’ll be able to see that in action very soon with an upcoming PDF release!

Thanks everyone for your patience as we go back down the river to discover what went wrong. We should be able to move on some action items with this by this time next week.

Geist 2e Vengeful Symbol by Ron Thompson

As always, we’re dedicated to finding the best ways to bring you into our:

Many Worlds, One Path!

BLURBS!

KICKSTARTER:

The Contagion continues to spread, passing 1200 backers and infecting all in its path with more and more Stretch Goals! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/200664283/contagion-chronicle-a-chronicles-of-darkness-cross

Matthew Dawkins has also started running the Contagion Chronicle for some of the members of his Discord, via Google Hangouts! Follow along to get some sneak peeks of the content coming up in the Contagion Chronicle Kickstarter: https://youtu.be/dFMjit-YTwQ

He also asks for your Contagion Chronicle-related questions here: https://youtu.be/axvrFeQOvEg

ONYX PATH MEDIA

Illustration by Charles Bates

On this Friday’s Onyx Pathcast, our team interview Monica Speca, one of our fantastic new up-and-coming developers and who’s working on the Scion Jumpstart! https://onyxpathcast.podbean.com/

And Here’s More Media About Our Worlds:

Matthew Dawkins is back with another episode of the Onyx Path News for you fine folks: https://youtu.be/WvO-lsim_Kk

Matthew’s actual play of The Contagion Chronicle continues into its fourth episode, as the motley band of a Beast, a changeling, a Promethean, and a werewolf stumble into a scene where infection might have taken hold of a victim: https://youtu.be/7TB9aEMj-84

If YOU have a podcast, YouTube or Twitch channel, or talk about games on a blog or other website, and want to perform actual plays or make reviews of our games, please reach out to the Gentleman Gamer on the Onyx Path forum. From there we’ll share emails and get you started, so when you do start producing content we’ll be able to promote it on our blog and YouTube channel!

The good folks at the Gamers Table have played AND reviewed They Came from Beneath the Sea! They’ve even created some props for their game, and their website can be found here: http://gamerstable.com/cheesy-sci-fi-horror/

Cheesy Sci-Fi/Horror

Here’s the wonderful Occultists Anonymous with their Mage: The Awakening chronicle reaching episode six: https://youtu.be/FH-XCHN_s_I

Blades and Blasters just completed a lengthy one-shot of Scion 2E on their YouTube channel and it’s excellent! Check it out: https://youtu.be/gpmseeSqp7o

The always fantastic Caffeinated Conquests returns with the Gauntlet of Spiragos for Scarred Lands! Please give them your support and love: https://youtu.be/8lVL40fkPX8

Meanwhile, Roll the Role have their actual play of Dystopia Rising: Evolution available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vvFtWq6Ys7g

In other excellent news, Mage: The Podcast has been covering all things Mage: The Ascension weekly, and we really recommend you give them a listen for all things purple and magickal: https://magethepodcast.com/

And the Dramatic Failure crew are deeply embedded in a Napoleonic Wars era chronicle of Geist: The Sin-Eaters on their channel: https://dramaticfailure.podbean.com

Please check any of these out and let us know if you find or produce any actual plays of our games!

ELECTRONIC GAMING:

As we find ways to enable our community to more easily play our games, the Onyx Dice Rolling App is now live! Our dev team has been doing updates since we launched based on the excellent use-case comments by our community, and this thing is both rolling and rocking!

Here’s an update from the App devs:

Onyx Dice!  We’ve recently released the Changeling: The Lost, Trinity Continuum: Aeon dice, and now the Geist dice.  Next up on our radar is: Demon: The Fallen,  Mummy: The Resurrection,  Kindred of the East, Vampire Dark Ages, and Mummy: The Curse.

We have a serious issue on the Pixel and Motorola phones that prevent the user from using the app correctly.  A fix is coming shortly.  A temporary workaround is to minimize the app without shutting it down, and then restore it.

ON AMAZON AND BARNES & NOBLE:

You can now read our fiction from the comfort and convenience of your Kindle (from Amazon) and Nook (from Barnes & Noble).

If you enjoy these or any other of our books, please help us by writing reviews on the site of the sales venue you bought it from. Reviews really, really help us with getting folks interested in our amazing fiction!

Our selection includes these fiction books:

OUR SALES PARTNERS:

We’re working with Studio2 to get Pugmire out into stores, as well as to individuals through their online store. You can pick up the traditionally printed main book, the Screen, and the official Pugmire dice through our friends there! https://studio2publishing.com/search?q=pugmire

We’ve added Prince’s Gambit to our Studio2 catalog: https://studio2publishing.com/products/prince-s-gambit-card-game

Now, we’ve added Changeling: The Lost 2nd Edition products to Studio2‘s store! See them here: https://studio2publishing.com/collections/all-products/changeling-the-lost

Looking for our Deluxe or Prestige Edition books? Try this link! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/Onyx-Path-Publishing/

And you can now order Pugmire, Monarchies of Mau, Cavaliers of Mars, and Changeling: The Lost 2e! http://www.indiepressrevolution.com/xcart/manufacturers.php?manufacturerid=296

And available this week! Deluxe Changeling: The Dreaming and Deluxe Beckett’s Jyhad Diary! The additional books we have after the Kickstarter ship-outs are done are now at IPR!

DRIVETHRURPG.COM:

Running until the 22nd, all WoD 20th Anniversary Edition PDFs are on sale!

75% off all core 20th Anniversary Edition PDFs and 25% off every other 20th Anniversary Edition PDFs

PLUS!

If you are looking for physical Deluxe WoD 20th Anniversary books, IPR has them on sale for 25% off too!

On Sale This Week!

Not Final Design

This Wednesday, we’ll be presenting Dragon-Blooded Journals for sale on our RedBubble store!

CONVENTIONS

UK Games Expo: May 31st – June 2nd From the US comes Eddy Webb, Matt McElroy, and Rich Thomas to join with Matthew Dawkins, Steffie de Vann, John Burke, Chris Allen, and Klara Herbol! Gen Con: August 1st – August 4th Save Against Fear: Oct 12-14 GameHoleCon: October 31st – November 3rd We’ll also be back at PAX Unplugged later this year.

And now, the new project status updates!

DEVELOPMENT STATUS FROM FAST EDDY WEBB (projects in bold have changed status since last week):

First Draft (The first phase of a project that is about the work being done by writers, not dev prep)

M20 Victorian Mage (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

City of the Towered Tombs (Cavaliers of Mars)

Geist2e Fiction Anthology (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

Across the Eight Directions (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Exalted Essay Collection (Exalted)

Kith and Kin (Changeling: The Lost 2e)

Scion: Demigod (Scion 2nd Edition)

Trinity Continuum Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum Core)

TC: Aeon Jumpstart (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Tales of Aquatic Terror (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Masks of the Mythos (Scion 2nd Edition)

Scion: Dragon (Scion 2nd Edition)

Wraith20 Fiction Anthology (Wraith: The Oblivion 20th Anniversary Edition)

DR:E Jumpstart (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

DR:E Threat Guide (Dystopia Rising: Evolution)

One Foot in the Grave Jumpstart (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2e)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #2 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Redlines

Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition core rulebook (Mummy: The Curse 2nd Edition)

Legendlore core book (Legendlore)

TC: Aeon Ready Made Characters (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Heroic Land Dwellers (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Monsters of the Deep (They Came From Beneath the Sea!)

Blood Sea: Crimson Abyss for 5e (Scarred Lands)

Second Draft

Tales of Good Dogs – Pugmire Fiction Anthology (Pugmire)

Deviant: The Renegades (Deviant: The Renegades)

Let The Streets Run Red (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Dragon-Blooded Novella #1 (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Chicago Folio/Dossier (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Cults of the Blood Gods (Vampire: The Masquerade 5th Edition)

Development

Hunter: the Vigil 2e core (Hunter: the Vigil 2nd Edition)

Lunars: Fangs at the Gate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

WoD Ghost Hunters (World of Darkness)

Oak, Ash, and Thorn: Changeling: The Lost 2nd Companion (Changeling: The Lost 2nd)

Night Horrors: Nameless and Accursed (Mage: the Awakening Second Edition)

Memento Mori: the GtSE 2e Companion (Geist: The Sin-Eaters 2nd Edition)

M20 The Technocracy Reloaded (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

Creatures of the World Bestiary (Scion 2nd Edition)

Heirs to the Shogunate (Exalted 3rd Edition)

Scion Companion: Mysteries of the World (Scion 2nd Edition)

Manuscript Approval:

Trinity Continuum: Aberrant core (Trinity Continuum: Aberrant)

Scion Ready Made Characters (Scion 2nd Edition)

Pirates of Pugmire (Realms of Pugmire)

Distant Worlds (Trinity Continuum: Aeon)

Editing:

Spilled Blood (Vampire: The Requiem 2nd Edition)

CofD Dark Eras 2 (Chronicles of Darkness)

Post-Editing Development:

C20 Novel: Cup of Dreams (Changeling: the Dreaming 20th Anniversary Edition)

M20 Book of the Fallen (Mage: the Ascension 20th Anniversary Edition)

V5 Chicago By Night (Vampire: The Masquerade)

V5 Chicago By Night Screen (Vampire: The Masquerade)

CofD Contagion Chronicle (Chronicles of Darkness)

Witch-Queen of the Shadowed Citadel (Cavaliers of Mars)

Indexing:

Trinity Core

Trinity Aeon

ART DIRECTION FROM MIRTHFUL MIKE:

In Art Direction

Ex3 Monthly Stuff  

Chicago By Night – Art coming in slowly but surely.

Aeon Aexpansion

They Came From Beneath the Sea!

EX3 Lunars

Hunter: The Vigil 2

Contagion Chronicle – KS.

VtR Spilled Blood – Hiring artists.

M20 Book of the Fallen – Contracted.

Dark Eras 2 – Getting artnotes in from devs.

CoM – Witch Queen of the Shadowed Citadel – Contracted.

Pirates of Pugmire – KS art contracted, sketches and finals coming in.

Marketing Stuff

In Layout

Dystopia Rising: Evolution – With Josh.

Signs of Sorcery

Shunned By the Moon

Scion Jumpstart

Trinity Core and Aeon Screens – Need to assemble.

Proofing

Adventures for Curious Cats – Maps being reviewed.

C20 Player’s Guide – At WW for approval.

The Realm

Book of Oblivion – Inputting first round of corrections.

Tales of Excellent Cats

Scarred Lands Spell Cards

Dragon-Blooded Screen – At WW for approval.

At Press

Scion Hero – At Studio2.

Scion Origin – At Studio2.

Scion Dice – At Studio2.

Scion Screen – At Studio2.

Fetch Quest – Shipped to backers.

In Media Res – Getting Backer PDF out to backers.

Geist 2e – Going to backers for Backer PDF.

TODAY���S REASON TO CELEBRATE: 

Today we lost an amazing and unique talent in science fiction and fantasy writing: Gene Wolfe. The master of archaic words – Severian in The Shadow of the Torturer wears a fuligin cloak, the color darker than black – and unreliable narrators, has passed away at the age of 87. Scion fans in particular should look for his “Soldier of the Mist”, the story of Latro, a soldier whose head injury during a Greco-Persian War skirmish allows him to see the gods, but also to forget everything as he sleeps – so the novel is compiled from the notes he writes to himself each night to be his memories in the morning.

[nomanwalksalone]

BOOK REVIEW: BILL CUNNINGHAM’S FASHION CLIMBING

by Réginald-Jérôme de Mans

The late fashion snapper Bill Cunningham left nothing if not good will with his passing. Long before his death, the originator of street style photography was already a wraith in a blue work coat, haunting a few preferred corners of Manhattan to touch, through his camera lens, the favored of his eyes, elevating them as if he really was some supernatural being to the pages of The New York Times. His spritely or sprightly touch seemed even more magical in that his eye and philosophy – contrary to those of the many who followed him – were waspishly anti-commercial.  He favored those who dressed for themselves, following their own tastes and spending their own money.  

Fashion Climbing, Cunningham’s posthumously published memoir, shows that Cunningham had crafted that philosophy and honed his sharp views many decades before becoming the sunny, silent sprite of the NYT.  In fact, a reader expecting to learn more about Cunningham’s experience as the camera-toting street style photographer will be left wondering and waiting as the pages turn all the way to the end.  Instead, Fashion Climbing is the origin story of Cunningham the groundbreaking style photojournalist, setting out the traumas, deeply rooted motivations, unusually helpful character traits and formative influences – both mentors and early nemeses – that formed the Cunningham today’s pop culture remembers and informed his eye and pen. While this origin story, in its way, is as eventful as today’s portentous cinematic comic book adaptations, I hope Zach Snyder won’t be directing.

Fashion Climbing opens with a vividly described formative cataclysm that, like those in comic book movies, involves the explosive combination of all those elements. Young Bill’s first memory, wearing his sister’s dress because he was driven to find something of beauty and flamboyant splendor, followed by his mother’s violent punishment for such a transgressive act in a post-World War II middle-class Boston Catholic household, each last word a brutal conformist clobber.  What follows are young Bill’s continued transgressions against norms of gender conformity, of drabness, of class ambition: childhood jobs whose earnings he channels into buying clothes for his mother and sister, the only ways to introduce beauty, even glamor, into the house. Jobs at Boston department store Jordan Marsh and New York interloper Bonwit Teller, where he thrived so much that Bonwit’s actually gave him a scholarship to Harvard University (imagine the days when an employer would pay for an employee’s Ivy League liberal arts degree…).  

Dropping out of Harvard, Cunningham made his way to New York, where he did not yet become the flitting photographer the reader is expecting to see emerge at any moment from these pages, but instead devoted himself to… millinery.  The word is Cunningham’s, not mine; its meaning, women’s hatmaking, as forgotten as that craft itself.  His creative talents, his inspirations, nay, urges for glamor and theatricality flowered, festooned, cascaded in sculptural, even architectural headgear madness, rendered out of found items, remainder cloth, and other often humble materials.  Madcap adventures, no pun intended, followed the young designer that do indeed recall the parties and tenants of the building in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, as Hilton Als notes in his introduction to this book.  Cunningham encounters a New York demimonde of chancers and pretenders, of shameless clothing industry pirates who would place small orders simply to steal all his ideas, and of hidden, uninhibited splendors and debauchery behind doors closed to all but an entitled upper class... and to a resourceful Boston boy and his beautiful (platonic?) “girlfriends” who would crash them, not for sordid sex, but for the opportunity to dress up in the most outlandish costumes and to observe the small number of people who shopped and dressed only for themselves…

An observer almost like a thief, Cunningham reminisces that he knew dozens of illicit ways into certain elegant venues he’d never entered through the front door, all for the sake of viewing others in their outfits, often, in his words, from behind a curtain.  Drafted during the Korean War, he somehow finds himself assigned to the French backwoods, where the same resourceful pluck he used to finagle his way into New York venues serves to organize tours all over Europe with his fellow GIs, including and especially to Paris. Paris was the center of couture, in Cunningham’s view because it alone among London, New York or Los Angeles had the craftspeople who could devote time and skill to the many, many individual tasks and trades involved in haute couture.  

Today, as I've learned and written, that may still be the case in Paris, but it’s certainly not easy to find.  The old customers who maintained the enormously complicated, enormously expensive craft industry of haute couture are gone, as are the customers who had kept millinery barely going along in Cunningham’s era.  He notes he saw the business die by 1960.  That step, too, still does not bring us Cunningham the iconic photographer.  Instead, Fashion Climbing describes Bill’s recruitment to fashion writer for Women’s Wear Daily, among others, and provides several of his contemporary writeups from the couture shows of Chanel, Molyneux, Balenciaga, Galanos and others. Cunningham punctuates each with what is ferocious, career-threatening anti-commerciality for the fashion press: he refuses to follow the accepted conventional wisdom about the reigning couturiers du jour, threatening his publications’ access to those designers’ shows and the lucrative advertising buys those labels and their backers and associates were responsible for.  Going further, he criticizes acidly the airs of the fashion press itself, the folk who dictate to the rest of the world what to wear in every situation while horribly dressed and horribly unprepared themselves.  

Fashion Climbing ends without Bill ever shouldering his famous bleu de travail to haunt Fifth Avenue.  However, like the best origin stories, it shows us the organic and natural assembly of the qualities and conditions that create an icon: the love of beauty for its own sake, not for what it supposedly signals about power, wealth, or sex; the stubborn sincerity to pursue the expression of that beauty and criticize its absence; the remarkable persistence even in the face of starvation (and the resourcefulness to survive those deprivations); the unique eye for the exotic and the whimsical that make beauty personal; and perhaps most amazingly, a sunniness that never seemed to fade or set. 

[mononoke-no-ko]

Emperor x Lelouch, Comparing Objects

Requested by https://gelinepot.tumblr.com. This is a short story from “Talkin’ Rebellion” novel that was featured in The Complete (2008) guidebook with C.C. narrating her brief interaction with Charles and then with Lelouch at separate times. Translation below.

In a wide corridor at the deepest part of Britannia court, I was leaning against the marble wall doing nothing, as I heard footsteps began to echo from far away. The owner of the footsteps is a combination of a large build in full apparel. He stopped before me, so I decided to say some words to him. "Oi, Charles." "You... it's been awhile. How did you come in here?" "'How'? Foolish question. I'm C.C. you know." "I see." "I've had enough of admiring flowers and butterflies in Aries Villa. Once in awhile I want to amuse myself by looking at your stiff face." "Well, it's natural to quickly get tired of beautiful things." (TN: the word he used can also refer to "beautiful maiden") He's the common example of emperor's bad habit. Because we're talking about women, I decided to ask. "By the way, I heard you’ve taken another new royal consort. What an amorous guy." "Just some lower class people willingly offer their woman... Well, it's a flow of nature for female to cling on to powerful male." "And so you shrewdly accepted the offering, was it not for your own convenience?" "Peasants conceived the wrong idea just like a peasant they are. When did I ever agree to accept their deal?" "...impressive, Charles. Good for you. Did you get a good woman?" "There's no good or bad for a woman whose face or name I don't know." Huh? What is this? "Oi, it's your own wife right?" "There are too many of them, I can't visit every one of them." "...Charles, how many spouses do you have?" "Hmm... still not up to one hundred yet." ... What a remarkable thing to happen. One hundred wives you say? "...good grief, not even those from medieval era would go that far." "Exactly. There’s no modernity in the heart of this country. Just like primitive organism, it simply grows excessively from eating other nutrients." "It's your country, right? Is Britannia Empire a slime mold?" "Yes it is." Stated matter of factly huh. To my amazement, as if he just suddenly remembered something, Charles said, "....Did Marianne say something?" "Curious?" "I'm not. That person is a woman who will come to me directly if there's something she wants to say." "She laughed heartily. 'Lechery is a hobby for heroes, as expected from Emperor, the scale is enormous' she said. Good for you, your royal consort has a big heart." "C.C., do you also want to join my beloved harem?" All of a sudden, Charles said some really dreadful thing.  "What a joke. My body is not for the likes of you to touch." "Well, I thought you were waiting here for that purpose." "To think so conveniently for yourself, you must have lived an enjoyable life." "Is that how it looks?" "That’s how it looks. Though what you're thinking inside that huge skull of yours, I'm not interested to know that far." Really, Marianne. What's so good about a stiff man like this? Only her taste in men I could never understand.  As for me... right, I like them to be a bit cuter and more refreshing to look at.

***

...after seeing a dream from distant past, I open my eyes. Turning over my body to look around, I'm in my room in Ikaruga. Just a little while ago I lived together with Lelouch, but now that person is in Tokyo doing this and that work. Talking about Lelouch, I was asked by him to look for the whereabout of Geass cult. Although the cult's general position had been narrowed down, the exact location couldn't be identified yet.  Sigh, he will probably nag and complain, but it couldn't be helped. Let's give a report to Lelouch for once. Ah, working this diligently, I'm really something. I get up slowly and stand in front of the video communication terminal. I get connected to Ashford's communication channel, right when there's only Lelouch on the other side. He's in panic while talking to someone on the phone. He told me to "wait and be quiet for a moment" with a gesture. For some reason his face looks deeply troubled. "...As I said, on Cupid's Day with Shirley... No, even if you said you can't give up... I'm already... That's why, it’s no use, that's the rule after all... No, it's not just because of the rule... hmmh... (piip)" Ah, he ran out of patience and ended the call one-sidedly! Piririri piririri. Lelouch's phone rang again. "Yes... Oh, it's you... eh? As I've said, at that event with Shirley... No, even if you said I'm lying... Even if you said it doesn’t matter..." Haha.  Somewhat, I understand the situation. Oi, Marianne. What's with your kid? Or rather, this must be running in the blood. As I listen, I catch an urge to do some mischief. With a shrilly voice, I look at the other side of the monitor to make sure my voice could reach the mic of Lelouch's phone, and try to say this following line. If it's just acting, I can say this kind of line without much trouble. "Mm geez Lelou~ch who are you calli~ng? When you're alone with me, if you don't make sure to look at only me, I hate☆it☆" At the moment Lelouch showed a ‘good’ expression, I wanted to keep it as a picture. He immediately pulled the phone away from his ear. From his phone's speaker, a deafening hysterical voice of some girl could be heard even from here. Hahahaha. Trapped in a quagmire. (TN: I used the Chinese translation for this, since I don’t know how to translate “死沼だなー”) Lelouch tossed his phone into the safe and securely covered its lid. He squared his shoulders and came in front of me on the monitor. "...what did you mean by that, C.C.?" "'Look at the person's eyes when you talk to someone', I was talking about very basic common sense, you know?" "That's NOT the tone you used!" "As always, looking closely, you seem to be leading an interesting life." "...is that how it looks?" "That's how it looks." "For me it's not interesting at all!" Hoho. "Lelouch, let me tell you something good." "When you put that kind of pretense, there's no way it could be anything decent." "Lelouch, lechery is a hobby for heroes, isn't it?" As soon as I said that, Lelouch regained his composure and sneered. "Hmph, as expected from immortal witch, even the things you said are ancient." ....hoho, pleased to hear that, Lelouch. What an uncute boy. Just now that was quite expensive you know~ Well well, I wonder how I will make you pay for that.  Look forward to it, Lelouch~  

Fin.

[hollowgroverp]

             JOSLYN BLACKWELL

(age.) 1000+ (species.) original vampire (occupation.) magazine editor (residency.) on and off the last 30 years (mirror.) alexandra park

❝  a pavement of the past

The fourth and final child born in the Blackwell line, Joslyn came as a surprise not even 10 months after her brother Lukas. Most children come into the world screaming, noisy from the very first breath they take, and it’s considered an expected behavior. When Joslyn was born an eerie silence filled the room and for a moment the Blackwell’s feared they might have lost another child. Big doe eyes and a head of dark hair, Joslyn was a beautiful baby, and even in those early moments of her life, you could tell there was a great deal to the youngest child of the Blackwell family. As a child she was quiet and observant of the world around her, she had a way of moving that made her hard to detect. They joked often that Joslyn was always the best at hide seek, her siblings spending hours upon hours looking for the little girl. During the early years of her life, her parents worried she may be mute when she did not develop any speaking habits early on like most children her age. Joslyn didn’t speak her first words until almost eight years old when she’d promptly described to her sister Margaret the field of wild flowers that were growing north of their village. From that moment on they could barely get the young girl to shut up.

As each year passed, Joslyn grew wilder, truly the baby of the family she knew she could always depend on her siblings to keep her from too much trouble. With each year she grew more into her looks, quickly becoming the most desired match for many of the young men in the village. By the age of 16 years old, she had three requests for her hands, each had presented her father a very generous endowment for her hand. Three lucrative offers that would make the family a great deal of fortune. Then, of course, came an older boy, the son of her father’s friend and fellow blacksmith, Lysander. Joslyn had been smitten with the boy since she was just a child and suddenly he was showing interest in her. So instead of being the dutiful daughter Joslyn threw herself at Lysander. It would, in fact, result in her getting pregnant and to keep the family from shame the two would be married quickly and not long after the birth of their first child would come 8 months later. Thankfully no one questioned if the baby was a bastard or not. Joslyn would bear five more children after that before her world would turn so drastically upside down. When Maggie’s true family came for her there was a feeling of betrayal, disbelief that their parents could lie to them in a such a way but she knew in her heart she loved her sister and not even blood lineage would change that. When Maggie chose to stay with them Joslyn was relieved.

What came next none of them would be prepared for, a curse that turned them into children of the night. Something broke inside of Joslyn that night, a part of humanity burned away, never to be restored. Savage beasts, each of the Blackwell children took to vampirism causing destruction and chaos in their wake. Joslyn would realize just how far she’d fallen from her humanity when she came home in her crazed state. Murdering her newborn baby before turning on the rest of her family, not a single ounce of remorse was felt. A sobering realization, it was not enough for her humanity to ring through completely. Instead, through gritted teeth, she gave Lysander a warning, slapped a bag of gold into his hand and told him to run and never turn back. She expected that she would never see him or their children ever again. Ten days later he returned to her. Lysander’s family would prove their loyalty ten fold to the Blackwells. Lysander had placed the children in safe homes far from them and had returned to Joslyn drawn to the darkness and the allure of power. Side by side the ravaged the country side for a century.

Then came the werewolves, a road block in her plans, they were nothing more than a nuisance to her fun. Then, of course, came the day that Daralis Greyson ripped the heart clean from Lysander’s chest before her eyes. That was the day that Joslyn Blackwell vowed to be a thorn in their side for the rest of eternity and the day ignited a spark in her that would never be quelled. Focusing her energy on destroying all werewolves, Joslyn created an elite group of vampire known as the Death Dealers. Their sole purpose was the destruction of werewolves, hunting them down, and promptly kill them. Joslyn revealed in the hunt about as much as she enjoyed integrating herself into various moments of history. Whispering in the ears of world leaders, causing the rise and fall of empires. Seducing men and women a like into doing her bidding Joslyn became well versed in the art of manipulation. She’d wage war through means of destroying a man from the inside out. It was often times more efficient than war. Something she and her brother Lukas took great pride in. She, of course, did not let that stand in her way of going toe to toe with the middle Greyson child. Never forgetting that Daralis Greyson had taken the only thing she really loved in both her human life and her vampire life. It was a grudge that she would never let go.

As the years continue, Joslyn grew her death dealers, forever interested in the new technology that came with new era’s and the ways that she could use that to her advantage. Soon a new war would be at their door step. She’d never really given humans any real regard. After all, they were simply a food supply to her, toys to be used and manipulated and thrown away when she was done with them. The Third World War would ultimately come as a shock to her. Erik Black a former lover of hers and a man she’d turned several centuries back, she’d let him slip through the cracks. Joslyn Blackwell did not care to be played as a fool and she took great pleasure in serving Erik his sentence when all was said and done. Then, of course, came ‘peace’. It was a joke to Joslyn really, laughable at best. She’d respect Maggie’s wishes, her wants for the safety of their kind and so she’d played nice for 30 years. With the peace treaty came the retirement of her death dealers, Joslyn took a position with the family company that would allow her to properly channel her aggression. As the editor of the Blackwell Media fashion magazine, Joslyn had an excuse to come and go from the town that gave more grievance than peace. Running the magazine meant barking orders at helpless interns, burning in those who worked for her a healthy dose of fear. Milan, Paris, New York, she moved about the world enjoy her life in the shadows while she ran the magazine with ease. It was the perfect cover and allowed her to work from the New York office a majority of the time, not too far from Hollow Grove at any given time.

When the news came that the Clave had returned Joslyn was enraged that once more they had been played for fools. Her own protege long dead 30 years now but she needed to know what tangled the web still lurked from the surface so she’s returned to Hollow Grove to be a more permanent fixture as they try to uncover just how deep it all ran. Then her two children showed up with a letter from her belated husband that revealed that they’d been alive all this time and Joslyn learned quickly that she had a lot more to lose then ever before. With the threat of the treaty falling apart under the attacks of the clave. Joslyn went back to New York to coordinate restarting her death dealers in secret. 

❝  the nature of the beast

Joslyn is spirited, to say the least, always bordering more on the wild side of life she does things on her own terms with little regards for the rules and structure that are often times placed upon her. A master of manipulation, Joslyn takes very little pity on those she’s used and turned. Passionate, she enjoys having a good time and anyone be damned who tries to stand in her way. Sarcastic and rather biting when it comes to most she has no issue placing fear in those around her. With over a thousand years under the belt, Joslyn has seen a great deal, the good and the bad and it has shaped her into an original vampire with a thirst for living.

[hopebokki]

Hey I am relatively new to the Big Bang fandom (called VIPs right?) and I have a weakness for Daesung as well (although all 5 of them are precious and amazing). I just wanted to let you know I really enjoy your blog and that your art is really good! Do you have any tips for this newbie for what I should check out about BB?

 Hey there, welcome to the VIP fandom (yeah, you got that right!)!! I’m happy to hear you like BB and have a weakness for Daesung too aha, he is just so lovable, isn’t he ;v;

When I first got into BB around 2 years ago (I’m a relatively new VIP as well!), I spent nights watching all videos I could possibly find of them on YouTube (though there is still plenty to watch for me..).

Okay, sooo..  tried to remember everything I watched and included as many links as possible (edit: it got out of hand lol):

First of all, BBsZUTTER is a really nice YT channel with lots of shorter translated videos of them. I think I watched all of them aha.

Here on tumblr you can check out bbvipchannel, they translate most of BB’s stuff!

A must watch is their 2006 BIGBANG documentary, it’s the survival show where the group was formed. You get a really good insight into their individual motivations to becoming a singer and joining the company. It is quite heartbreaking at times :/

Idol World is also nice if you want to know more about them in their early years, as well as Intimate Note (where they tried to work on DaeRi’s awkwardness lol), and [Big Show 2010] - 1 Night 2 Days.

Their drama parodies are hilarious, and you don’t even have to know the original to enjoy them:

Boys Over Flowers (my favorite for obvious reasons lol)

Secret Garden

Virus

Coffee Prince

and a G-dragon parody lol (for his first concert I think?)

Daesung was on Family Outing season 1 from 2008 to 2010, you can find various translated videos on YT (I haven’t watched all of it tbh, leaving it for the blank period..).

Daesung was also a host on the show Night after Night in 2011, sadly not all episodes are fully translated (i would just watch them for Dae tbh..), BUT the (hilarious!) episode where GD&TOP appeared as guests you can find here.

GD and Daesung both appeared on the show Healing Camp and talked about the accident and drug scandal. It Is a kinda hard watch, the second half of it is more lighthearted though, when the others members join them. It isn’t a must watch, as the whole concept of the show is rather questionable imo, but the accident and scandal are events in BB’s history that can’t be ignored, they were unfortunate, but also explain the impact and importance of their 2012 comeback with ‘Alive’.

My fav live performances of that time is YG on Air.

Other tv appearances from that era:

Running Man ep. 84/85

Go Show

Now more recent stuff from 2015 - 2017:

BB on Happy Together

Running Man ep. 250

all their MADE tour reports

GDYB on Infinity Challenge & Please Take Care Of My Refrigerator

BB on Yu Huiyeol’s Sketchbook

BIGBANG MADE The Movie

Their MAMA 2015 performance holy shit

Weekly Idol ep. 284/285

MBC Radio Star ep. ep.506/507 (you have to play the ‘Server VIP’, the others don’t seem to work..but these are really good episodes!!)

BB 2017 Welcoming Collection Talk

Run, BIGBANG, Scout! This is definitely a must-watch!

Daesung on Fantastic Duo

Taeyang on I Live Alone

Speaking of Daesung his Winter & Summer in Hokkaido are great - I still haven’t watched all of it, saving it up for later ;v; Also pls watch this performance of the song ‘This Is The Moment’ that he sang in the drama ‘What’s Up’ (which you can also find online!). Also his ‘Safe Returning Home Service’ is the sweetest thing ever. It is part of a series that BB did on VLIVE.↳  BB’s VLIVE has lots of content you don’t have to pay for. The VLIVE+ content you have to purchase is worth the money, but you can also find it somewhere lese, as Daesung’s episode for example.

Okay, this is all I could think of for now.. hope you find something you didn’t already watch aha.I didn’t include most of their amazing live performances, but that would be a list of itself.. I can totally recommend everything from their Dome Tour X in Japan though!!

[humanityinahandbag]

The Cool Parent

How Miguel missed the signs that Héctor had absolutely, definitely, 100% once been a parent, he’d never know. But they’d been all there; out in the open for him to see. 

AKA: Miguel had definitely expected Héctor to be a cool parent. 

He was absolutely wrong. 

(a little fanfic i write about how Héctor adores Miguel and definitely falls back into parenting with this kid.) 

“So the contest is across town?” The guitar had been too heavy for Miguel to hold, and Héctor had taken it from the struggling boy, and how had it in his hand, tuning it, brow lowered in concentration. “Isn’t that too far…”

“Nah- we’ll take the trolly. Contest doesn’t start for at least another hour- oye did this man ever tune his guitar…” He fiddled with the strings.

Miguel snorted, running ahead to kick at a can a few times, jumping up and off the sidewalk. The night had fallen to its darkest, but the light pollution was still too piercing to see any stars. If there were any. Miguel wasn’t really sure how this place worked yet.

He jumped off the sidewalk again, managing a good enough kick at a stray rock to send it flying against a trashcan. “GOAL!” 

Héctor snorts. “You always this loco?”

“Yeah,” Miguel circled back. “I used to run a whole lot slower though. Like this,” he demonstrated, jogging in place while Héctor watched with a brow raised. “And now I’m more like this!” And he picked up the pace. “Abuelita says I’m going to break my neck on the calle one day, and then I won’t go fast anymore.”

“That’s graphic.”

Miguel shrugged, running ahead again. There’s a call from behind him; “Just stay where I can see you!”

He doesn’t think much about it, turning round to run backwards and flash a single-dimpled smile and a thumbs up.

It took a good thirty minutes to even reach the station. The twisted roads they’d taken led to the back where a tall flight of rickety steps sat that Héctor pulled him away from. “The stations right up there,” he said, pointing up to a platform made concrete and metal. Long wires stretched out east and west, and they rumbled and trembled with far off movement. There was light spilling over the edge, and Miguel could hear the sounds of people milling around, waiting for their train.

“Can’t we just take these?” He pointed at the steps. There were a few skeletons climbing them. Héctor seemed to consider it a minute. 

“… No… No lo sé. The last time I did, one of them broke off. Mira.” Miguel followed his finger. There was a gap he could see right in the middle. A skeleton climbing up hopped over onto the next one, and even that creaked and groaned underfoot. That seems to be the deciding factor. “Come on. There’s another set around the block. It’s not far. And hey! If we hurry, we’ll catch the next one! Andale!”

There was a long set of concrete steps up to the elevated platform illuminated by streetlights, but it was a good ten-minute walk away. And Miguel watched, intrigued, as some of the other skeletons instead chose to climb the rickety, steeper wooden ones just to their left. Héctor continued to walk on, not noticing Miguel moving off to the side, following the small procession of travelers.

“I’ll have to show you what my old guitar looked like, chamaco. I don’t play much anymore. But oh, I took care of that one. Not like this old thing-“

Miguel watched a couple holding hands walk up the first, second, third step. It seemed to hold their weight fine. He poked his own arm -all fat and muscle- and wondered if he’d weight more or less. Probably less!

So there was no problem if he just…

“-and anyway, my old guitar- oh you should have seen it, Chamaco. Era tan hermoso. Todo blanco y- ¡Espere! Chamaco, where’d you-“

“Come on, Héctor!” Miguel was already five steps up, and gesturing to the skeleton. The wooden steps creaked under him, and he gave them an experimental lean. When nothing happened and he was satisfied with his lack of plummeting, he climbed up another two. “We can beat the crowd if we go now!”

He expected Héctor, the boisterous skeleton he was, to follow along, jovially recounting old stories as he’d been doing while they traveled. 

He didn’t expect said skeleton to rush over, putting the guitar down, just to reach up and try to grab Miguel. His hand just brushed Miguel’s ankle. “Hey! Get down from there!”

“Hey- stop! I’m just trying to go up! No seas un bebé.” Miguel stepped back out of his reach. He looked up. The staircase was long, and a little less than secure, sure. But he could hear the trolly rolling by, just over the top past his line of vision. “Come on, it’s faster-“

“It’s dangerous.”

“It’s fine. They’re all doing it.”

Hêctor lowered his voice to a harsh whisper. “They’re skeletons, Chamaco. Which you, if you remember, are not.”

“So?” He went another step up, ready to bound his way to the top and tell his guide see? Told you it was fine!

He wouldn’t get the chance.

“Miguel!”

His name was not said with any sort of friendly worry. A loud irate bark, not unlike the way his own father often demanded attention from the perpetually troublesome boy. “¡Miguel, ya basta!”

“it’s fine!”

“Miguel.”

Miguel froze. Swallowed. “I’m fine…” he said, hesitating. He cast a defiant look down. Héctor, from below, followed quickly into the same. He nearly took another step up.

That seemed to be the last straw. 

“Miguel,” Héctor said again. Slower. Darker. “Baja. Ahora.”

And it was that command that had Miguel slowly making his way back down to the skeleton who, hands on his hips, eyes and mouth gone sour, looked far less approachable then he had just minutes before.

“I told you to stop,” Héctor snaps. “Why don’t you listen.”

“I…” Miguel rubbed his arm and kicked at a rock. He’d gone to the land of the dead to find his idol, not to be scolded. If he’d wanted that, he could have just as well stayed home. Or with Mamá Imelda. “… sorry…”

Who Héctor was beginning to channel to a terrifying degree.

“Oy… chamaco. You’re going to be the end of me.”

“I was fine…” Miguel sulked, while Héctor gave another look to freeze water.

The older of the two sighed and pinched the bridge of his former nose. “Listen to me next time, kid, alright? I’m actually trying to keep you from staying here permanently.” Miguel flushed. Hector sighed. “Lo siento. I didn’t mean to yell. But listen to me next time.”

“Nothing happened.”

“But something could have. Ay, do you want to kill me. again?” 

Miguel remembered things his mother and father had said.

We don’t mean to scare you. We just care about you. You’re our-

“Come on.” Héctor was starting to perk up again, but his hand fell a little too securely on Miguel’s shoulder to be friendly. “We’ve got to move.” 

Miguel follows without question.

(He somehow didn’t notice then, either. And he’ll definitely scold himself for it, later.)

They’re on a deadline, and Miguel definitely shouldn’t be staring at the tamal torta lined in the metal basin at the little street cart off to the side of the stage. The vendor kept mixing the huge pot, and plumes of aromatic steam fell and bloomed out. A few skeletons mulled around, paying, and walking away with wax paper wrapped buns stuffed with cerdo and menonita.

He hadn’t had dinner- too busy being half dead to grab a snack.

Then again, he hadn’t had lunch either, had he?

Héctor was going on about some idea he’d once had to cross the flower bridge (something about a mini van) and how, when his picture was on the other side, he wouldn’t need such convoluted schemes, when he noticed Miguel. “Oye, you good?” He elbowed the kid. Miguel fell out of his daze and quickly fell into an apology.

“What were you saying? A mini van?”

“You hungry, gordito?”

“Ah, no… I’m good.” Miguel waved it off. “So- I was thinking I could sing-“

“You sure?” Héctor looked over at the cart. Then back at Miguel. “Ach, Dios, when was the last time you ate!”

Miguel shrugged. “Sometime yesterday?”

“Yester- oh, we can’t have that.” He handed the guitar to Miguel. “Hold this.”

“No, I’m fine!” But Héctor was already digging in the little side pouch he carried round his waist, pulling out measly bits of copper and counting them carefully, eyes narrowed. He gave them a shake in his open palm, counting them again. 

He beamed. “¡Perfecto! ¡Mira, sólo lo suficiente!” He showed Miguel the coins, giving them a rattle. “What kind you want?” 

Miguel felt a pulling at this stomach. He’d seen where Héctor lived. He'd seen the mearger living- the desperate lack of everything. 

And the way he was shuffling through them with all the care and consideration that could be given to little bits of metal. To little bits of metal that were some of your last and only and oh no-

Héctor’s snapping fingers drew him out of his haze. “No! Don’t tell me- I know which one! Cerdo was my favorite when I was alive, you know!” 

“No, Héctor, I’m fine!” He gave the skeleton’s arm a tug. ”Let’s just go.” 

Héctor hissed at him, pushing him away. “Calm down, gordito. I don’t mind- eso, wait until you try these! Pablo makes the best tamal- ¡Ey, Pablo! ¡Uno de tus mejores!”

The vendor looked up with a heavy frown. Apparently, they knew each other enough where the. vidictive glare was warranted. “Héctor, you know I don’t give these away-“

“Mi amigo! You wound me!” They chatted for a minute, too quietly for Miguel to hear, while Héctor dropped coins into the man’s skeletal hand, and the vendor began grabbing things up with tongs and forks.

And then he was trotting back, with a steaming tamale in hand, pushing it into Miguel’s hand before leading him to a stack of boxes behind the stage to sit down. Miguel turned round to see the vendor pocket the little array of coins.

Miguel felt his throat tighten. He tried to push back the feeling by taking a huge bite. 

If Héctor survived the night, if they got his photo up (if if if) he'd have to remember to leave exact change on the ofrenda.

He’d leave enough to buy him a million talmales, if that’s what it took. 

“Don’t eat fast, you’ll make yourself sick,” he said kicking Miguel’s foot once the two had chosen a couple of low electric boxes to sit on. “And you owe me a bite!”

Miguel was happy enough to hand the tamale over for Héctor, who handed it back, chewing while he continued to toy with the guitar. Miguel ate slowly, watching the deft hands work. “Thanks…” he said between a mouthful of food. His stomach was both placated and knotted.

“I used to get these all the time. The little park near us, it had all the best tamal. I used to go with my family. My wife loved the green mole. And my…” He stops, and his face shifts into something sad. Tragedy mists off him. “Ah. Well. No time for memories, eh?”

Miguel doesn’t ask. The sore spot is too much of an angry wound to prod, and he knows his limits. So instead he takes another huge bite and asks “why do you guys even eat? Where does the food go?”

Héctor just looked up and snorted. “Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” he said, the command coming easily, like he’d once been the guest at many a child’s dinner table.

Miguel follows the familiar direction and rambles between swallows.

Héctor continued to work on the few sticky strings, testing them out with practiced fingers. "Now, let me show you, here’s the trick- I'm telling you, I used to sit and teach Ernesto how to do this! He was never very good though. Never could catch on-"

"No manches!"

"Mouth closed, gordito."

It’s only after Miguel finds out that Héctor was, in fact, a father and did, in fact, have a daughter and a wife that everything sort of makes sense.

He thinks that, once Héctor explained, and once he knew who Miguel was, and that they needed to hurry in order to save everyone (and geez this deadline thing was going to be tight) he’d stop it with the whole I’m Héctor and My Child is Grown Up So You’re Her Substitute thing and just sort of fall back into the plan.

Miguel was a fool for even hoping. 

Because though Imelda’s seemingly endless hatred for Héctor lived on, and though Héctor had long lost his daughter to his own death and her age, the two of them were apparently not so grown apart that they couldn’t parent the hell out of the pre-teen boy they had in their midst.

“Miguel,” Mamá Imelda snaps when Miguel tries to climb on top of a stack of rot worn boxes to reach a shelf to get one of the costumes that Cece was so graciously letting them borrow. “Get down from there!”

“Oye! Miguel!” And then Héctor is right beside her, tugging Miguel down off the boxes and reaching the costumes, handing them off to Imelda, who thanked him briskly. “What did I tell you about climbing these things! Ach, first the stairs-“

“He tried to climb the trolly stairs!” Apparently, she knew about those too. Miguel wanted to find a nice patch of why-me and hide forever.

“Yes!” Héctor crossed his arms, glaring down at Miguel. “And he seems to not be able to listen to directions.”

Imelda groaned, “Miguel, no seas tonto!”

“… I was trying to help…” Miguel mumbled. She pointed a long finger at him.

“Te voy a dar una gallet,” she warned easily, and he flinched and nodded. “Keep watching him,” she says to Héctor, who doesn’t look like he’s intending on doing that, moving to lean over to Imelda to say something quietly, and she said something back in agreement.

They move in sync when it comes to Miguel it would seem.

It’ll be only moments later that he’ll see it again. Fitting himself into a costume, trying to zip up the back, Héctor is there kneeling in back of him. “Here,” says the skeleton, smiling playfully and flicking his back. “Suck in, gordito.”

“A ver.” Imelda kneels in front of him, tilting up his chin and fixing his unibrow, adjusting his shirt.  

They don’t speak. But they surround Miguel for just enough time to get him ready, deft fingers working fast and gently, before spearing and ushering him along, still side by side.

“This way, Miguel,” says Héctor at the same time as Imelda’s “Don’t wander.”

It’s a complicated parental dance, Miguel thinks. There’s no disagreement in their methods. No push or pull. There’s only what they know, and what they know works well enough that in these moments they’re a unit who falls back into the familiar of family.

How Miguel didn’t notice he’d never figure out. But he tells Héctor that later after he’d found a way to hack the system under the cover of nightfall, weeks after the fateful Día de los Muertes. He had plucked Tío Oscar’s prized ball of waxed nylon thread from the ofrenda and gave it a pull, and just like that, he was opening his eyes to the bureaucracy of the Land of the Dead and all its paperwork inducing headaches. Héctor and Imelda were called, and the pair arrives, hand in hand, looking more than a bit perturbed at the child who stands in front of the clerk’s desk with the stolen ball of thread in his hands.

“I got lonely,” was his excuse when he runs to embrace Héctor, who pulls him in tightly and doesn’t seem too willing to let go. Miguel is crying, even though he wishes he wasn’t. But it’s fine. When he looks up, Héctor is wiping at his eyes with the heel of his hand. “And I was worried,” Miguel said. 

“Me, too, chamaco.” Héctor pressed his face against the boy’s wild hair, lips leaving a trace of a boney kiss on his forehead, and Miguel buried himself against the man’s ribcage. 

It would be. a good minute before Héctor was pushing him back to give him a look. Over his shoulder, Mamá Imelda casts him one of the same but loses it quickly once he’s throwing his arms around her next, Héctor’s hand still on his back.

“Ay, Miguel...” she says, and he knows it’s the best he’ll get. 

“But you’re not hurt, right?” Héctor reached down to hold his face in his hands while Imelda checked the boy over for any dissipating skin.

“I’m fine!”

“Don’t yank my chain, chamaco-“

“I’m telling you. I just wanted to say hi.” Both their eyes softened, and they put off the apparent scolding in favor of each taking a hand and dragging him along, the clerks behind them yelling about unfinished paperwork.

On their way to the home, Miguel runs between and in front of the pair, rambling on about work at school and races he won, and how his new baby sister isn’t the worst thing ever. Héctor manages to chase him at one point, and Imelda crosses her arms and fondly watches, but by the time they’re closer to the Rivera house, the two adults have reconnected, hands still together, watching Miguel try to find more pebbles to kick.

“Stay where I can see you!” Héctor calls out.

“And please try to stay clean, Miguelito, your mother just washed those pants!”

Soon enough, they’re in the Rivera kitchen, and Miguel is nursing a cup of hot atole, and Héctor is idly strumming his guitar while Imelda and Rosita work over the stove. Mamá Coco didn’t miss a chance to sweep the boy into a hug, and amidst many tears -almost all Miguel’s- managed to push her fingers through his hair and tell him how happy she was he got to meet her Papá while said Papá cast a loving glance up at the two family members lit by the sepia glow of a well-used kitchen.

Oscar cradles the ball of thread lovingly. “Oh how I missed this,” he said with a sigh. “They don’t make them like this anymore-“

“Get over it,” Felipe snorts, moving to help the two women with dinner.

Miguel, sitting next to Papá Héctor at dinner, watches the way he sits beside his wife. They’re lined up like that. Miguel, and then Héctor (who Miguel had insisted he sit next to and Héctor had dragged him along like a proud grandfather or a boy who’d just found a puppy) and then Imelda. Mamá Coco, across from Miguel, seemed intent on watching them too, smile playing idly at her lips.

They were a pair if ever there was one. Hands held under the table and kisses shared when no one was watching.

Apparently, though, their secret, gentle love was always cut short when Miguel did something he wasn’t supposed to. Like try to talk to Mamá Coco with his mouth full.

“Mouth closed, Miguel,” Imelda snapped from where she’d just moments ago been whispering softly to her husband.

“Oye, Miguel, when will you learn,” Héctor teases (though the tease holds a note of a command that says enough to the young child).

Miguel groans. “Why are you two like that.”

“Like what!” Héctor stabs the edge of his tamale with his fork.

Imelda leans over to ask the same question, looks at Miguel’s plate, and says “you’ve barely touched your food!”

Miguel gawks. “Like that. Even when I first got here, you were all don’t do this, Miguel and don’t touch that, Miguel.” He scoffs, looking over at Coco, who was busy trying to hide her smile. “I thought Papá Héctor was at least supposed to be the cool one!”

That was apparently enough to break the dam, and the table was suddenly filled with the roarings of laughter. Even Victoria ma aged a smile to her lap, and Rosita trilled.

Imelda looked less than amused. “You think I’m the strict one!” she squawked.

But that was not the fixation as Papá Héctor banged a fist on his knee, snorting. “You hear that Coco! He thinks I was supposed to be the cool one!”

“Supposed to be,” mumbled Miguel.

Coco wiped at her eyes. “My Papá used to have to be bargained with just to let me out of his sight.”

Imelda, despite her current grousing, let up enough to say “you should have seen us leave the house the first time. Left Coco with her abuelita. Héctor nearly left a books worth of instructions behind.”

“Remember the first time he let Coco braid her own hair!” Felipe crowed. “Oh, the man nearly cried himself a new river!" 

"He used to check on her every hour,” Rosita chimed in. “Poor Imelda nearly chained the man to bed each night!”

The family passed around stories, all of them attesting to the utter lack of coolness that the great-great grandfather was still chuckling about, and all of them more wild than the next. Héctor nodding and bobbing his head to them all, poking fun at the child beside him for even assuming that it could have been true. 

“You seemed cool when I first met you!” Miguel says, by way of a barb. He crosses his arms. “A little creepy, but cool.”

“Just because I had a guitar, doesn’t make me cool, gordito.”

Coco agreed, pouring more wine. “If anything, it made him worse. Remember, Papá, when you wrote that song about how rules were fun to follow.”

“Even though she rarely did…” Imelda said, voice sour. 

“My little Coco was such a helion,” he agreed. 

“I got it from you, Papá.”

“Yes, and no amount of songs could take that away from you. A true shame, eh?” Though the playful, proud spark in his eye said the opposite. Miguel slumped. Apparently, only his rulebreaking frenzies were to be condemned. 

Héctor laughed again, loud and long, and ruffled Miguel’s hair. The boy ducked away but not before he was pulled into a side hug by his great-great-grandfather. “You’ll get used to me, Chamaco. Especially if you plan on stealing more from your ofrenda.”

Imelda crosses her arms, leaning back in her chair. “And we’ll be talking about that soon- don’t you worry.”

“Ah, leave the boy alone, Imelda. He just got here!” And then, when Miguel was sure he was out in the clear, content to once more begin his senseless rambles, Héctor lands a hefty hand on his shoulder and proclaims “but yes. We’ll definitely be talking about that.”

Coco, from across the table, hides another grin.

[sorikkung]

You did an intro to got7 a while ago could you maybe do one for A.C.E.??? They seem like a good group but I'm clueless atm so it would be v helpful!!!

lololol i did an intro to mark from got7 but not got7 as a whole, but yes ofc i will i love my talented bois and i love rambling about them heRE WE G O

an introduction to a.c.e, for dummies (jk ily choice is a great fandom pls join us)

also this is gonna get rlly long so im gonna put it under a cut

A.C.E is a 5-member boygroup under beat interactive!! which is a p small company atm so my boys dont exactly have the high quality living and practice areas and food that they deserve :(( THEYLL GET THERE THO IM SURE OF IT THEYRE LEGENDS

here’s their youtube channel with aaaaall sorts of goodies

i started stanning a.c.e predebut, bc they had a lot of content for a group that hadn’t debuted yet, and it was enough to snatch my attention real quick so you should check that shit out, they did a shitton of AMAZING covers and to get their name out there more, street buskings its a lot but i swear its worth your time theyre so talented!!

also they have matching tracksuits what more could you ask for tbh (as you can see from that vid, they’re literally so fucking extra)

a few of my favs are

this rlly long busking video w girl group songs and just a bit of everything tbh,

THIS amazing remix/cover of kard’s don’t recall by the rap line + this one cute girl,

only THE most iconic playing w fire cover, band version, (I WILL NEVER STOP SCREAMING ABOUT THAT VIDEO HONESTLY I COULD MAKE A POST ON THAT COVER ALONE ISTG) 

their flashlight cover that is enough to make a grown man cry omfuckigngOD it makes me feel things hjskskkh

that ONE TAKE dance cover they did of 3 of taeyangs songs, all focusing on a different member of the dance line

im gonna stop here before i link every damn cover they made

okay so now that thats covered (bad-um-tss) time for…DEBUT

THIs beauty right here is their debut song cactus, which has this really deep meaning to it. bc they came from a small company so they have to work extra hard to even be able to debut let alone be successful and they’re like a cactus bc cacti grow in the desert where there’s very little water but they still manage to stand strong even through the hardest of weather an environment conditions and eventually sprout beautiful flowers,, buuuuuut its also a meme for obvious reasons.

tbh debut era choice culture was just listening to cactus on repeat for days bc it was their only song at the time skjslaas not much has changed tbh LMAO but yes theyre a very edm loving group so their DANCE SKILLS ARE ON POINT SERIOUSLY IVE SEEN FEW GROUPS AS AMAZING AT DANCING AS ACE WOWOW

oh yeah did i mention that their fandom name is choice and that choice are literally the softest fandom my multifandom ass has e v e r been in?? theres literally no cringy or toxic side of the fandom its just so soft and welcoming and pure and everyone is so nice and sweet and friendly and just??? wow i love choice a lot hjkskjsshkhk choice are also SUPER talented too stan talent stan choice

speaking of cringe ace is that group that just like skipped the entire “rlly cringy boygroup debut phase” completely like no weird debut haircuts or outfits or weird lyrics about girls, well actually thats all kinda objective but like they made those outfits work ok and im a cactus isnt that weird of a lyric if you know the deep meaning behind it

aS yOu CaN sEe, cactus era was the era of the tHIGHS and the hot pants. it was literally so iconic it blew up and with great reason too, have you seen those thighs?? AND THEY KNOW IT TOO they even mentioned they chose the hot pants as their style concept and took better care of their legs than their faces. true kings. heres a video of a.c.e talking about the whole hot pants thing and just their legs in general its some quality shit. and heres a video where they decide to show off just how great their thighs are bc they like to kill choices like that, this video is important and iconic bc its where the wowson ship began and also when they declared who the king of thighs were amongst the kings of thighs. definitely a necessary watch for new choice imo. donghun lowkey grinds on the floor at 4:04, you’ve been warned. honestly that video just gets progressively gayer lmao i love it

also for us international choice they made an ENGLISH cover of cactus CAN YOU BELIEVE IT I LOVE THEM SM they didnt have to but they did and oml stan a group who stans you back this hard their english aint that great but theyre trying and i appreciate it so much theyre so amazing look

five months later they dropped their second single, callin’, and b o y was this a stressful comeback, beat had us FOOLEd,, i genuinely thought it was gonna be a flowerboy soft concept yknow with like some sweet lowkey ballad or soft pop song, but nOOooOOOooo, MORE HARDSTYLE EDM not that im complaining callin is a bop but i was TRICKED

LOOK AT THIS SHIT ITS ALL AESTHETIC AND THE CLIP OF THE SONG WAS ALL SOFT I WAS REALLY EXPECTING SMTH SOFT im sorry im still salty that beat tricked me but ITS FINE bc callin is a HELLA BOP like i honestly didnt expect them to top cactus so quickly bc like cactus was hella but they DID and its amazing and heres the link be blessed (warning, these gifs above make it look like a soft vid but there are LOTS of flashing colours and lights and its really intense on the eyes if youre not comfortable with that dont watch, just listen)

they also supplied multiple dance pracs you can find on their channel for callin bc ace feeds us well, although callin had a reaaaally short promotion period bc right after they got thrown onto survival shows for more publicity, but hey, its working!! choice is growing bigger every day and im so proud

donghun, wow and jason all went on yg’s show mixnine, and jun and chan went on the idol rebooting show, the unit. both teams are doing EXTREMELY well on their respective shows!! but ill talk more about that in their individual member profiles bc they havent been put on the same team for anything yet rip

edit: mixnine finished and donghun and jason made the cut for the final group, sehyoon didn’t :(( so dongson will be promoting with the mixnine group for a lil bit!! also chan made it to the unit debut group but jun didnt. im hoping for a sehyjun subunit pls

that was long af but now im gonna dive into the members individually!! so its probs gonna get twice as long sorrynotsorry i warned you

Jun (Park Junhee)

jun is the so-called fiery leader of ace (also lead dancer and lead vocal) but is honestly just a giant dork and a sweetheart. hes the type of guy who you scream at for being dumb and call him an idiot but thats your weird way of expressing your undying love for him?? ask literally any jun stan, they’ll say they hate him. hate him for being so PERFECT like a fucking DISNEY PRINCE he’s the designated prince of the group you know theres always that one member and hes just so LOVEABLE and stupid and skjdakhkjs he fuckign dropped his cake on his birthday when do your faves ever. dad of the group, probably lost the maknaes in the shopping mall about 3 times already. talks a lot, hates aegyo, his members might be planning on sacrificing him to satan? he does on idol class with chan every…i think its wednesday and fans vote who gets punishments n stuff and jun loses every damn time i think hes losing his faith in choice lmao. #saveleaderjun

he’s kinda married to donghun, they’re the parents of ace but donghun might try murder him in his sleep idk man, but now hes on the unit with chan and theyre all cute and you can literally ship everyone with everyone in this group

he has HELLA charisma on stage tho oh my gOd also he has one of the most unique singing voices ive ever heard so its really easy to single out, his face also is the first i learned to tell apart?? he has rlly high cheekbones and a wide but thin smile.

this is actually an ot5 video not just jun but jun’s reaction was by far the most iconic so i have to put it in his section, get you a fave who can FLY lmaooo

it would be CRIMINAL if i didnt solo out jun’s ringa linga cover, thE MOST ICONIC JUN COVER EVER HJFKDSJKFDSJK if i ever stop talking about this assume im dead bc IVE NEVER GOTTEN OVER IT jun in a leather jacket looking all rude and staring at the camera like that im WEAK, SO WEAK, AAAAAAAAHHHH

[ahem] MOVING ON

Donghun (Lee Donghun)

donghun, sometimes romanised as donghoon and often referred to by choice as hun or hoon, is the oldest member of the group and another total sweetheart, honestly ace is just a group of sweethearts, he cares for his members so damn much and is super soft?? but ALSO A s Av Age he’s on mixnine with sehyoon and jason and he SHOT DOWN YG, once again I C O N I C, yg was at a loss for words, heres more receipts of him being savage, i love my sassy boyfriend. BUT HES ALSO A SWEET NOODLE HJKSHJKS oH and did you know that before he joined a.c.e he had no experience in dancing whatsoever and in a year and a half, he caught up with the other four members that have been dancing since they were kids?? I STAN TALENT YALL you’d literally never be able to guess that bc all of them are like on an equal dance level its insane

also he used to have braces during cactus era and it was the softest shit

[cOUGHS] so like did someone say disrespect,,, bc he can do that too,,,,, aAAAAAAAH the duality of this man istg

he’s the main vocalist and has vO C AL S OF AN A N GEL, he has so much soul and emotion in his voice, and has adlibs for days oh my god, he also has the MOST BEAUTIFUL FALSETTO i’ve ever heard, fight me, actually come at me. his voice works REALLY well with chan so they pair him up with him for quite a handful of covers like the all of me one i linked (one of my favs omfg it makes me emo) cause like, his soulful voice plus chan’s higher, sweet voice just sounds so great together i love our main vocals wow.

sPEAKING OF WOW,

Wow (Kim Sehyoon)

his stage name is wow, but its hard to take seriously so the fandom just calls him sehyoon lmfao. it used to be seyoon but when he went on mixnine, he revealed sehyoon was the official romanization so here we are lmao. even if your bias isn’t sehyoon…it’s sehyoon. he’s just that guy ya feel me?? anyways sehyoon is a relatively quiet and reserved guy, but his members really pull out the dork in him, i love it so much?? he doesn’t talk much but when he does all of a.c.e directs their full attention to him to listen, its really sweet, hes pretty awkward with people but you can tell he just feels so safe and comfortable with ace it honestly warms my heart. he’s the main rapper and main dancer, but!! our multitalented man is also a vocalist. yes, you heard, me, the main rapper can sing, and really well at that. (if you scroll up back to the flashlight and dont recall covers, you can see more of his voice.)

gets the least lines, but not by much. although hearing his singing voice in their actual songs has happened like with 2 lines?? so idk man im just waiting for their ballad song that theyre apparently doing for their third song, god im so ready. i love his voice a lot, damn.

he’s also like reeeeeeeeeally gay for jason…the entire fandom ships it and they even ship it themselves. wowson, the otp of ace, they honestly just cant keep their hands off eachother??? i know a friend who struggled to tell apart jun and jason so she just looked at who sehyoon was standing next to and instantly knew it was jason. THEYRE SO CLINGY. i love my squishy boyfriends. 

OHHH BOY…i really could’ve used an even more disrespectful gif than this but that would ruin the surprise of watching it in the actual video!! as you can see, sehyoon is the K I N G of disrespect on stage, that shy lil fluffle bean you see offstage?? GONE. DISAPPEARED. VANISHED. this is why his stage name is wow, sehyoon disappears and you just go wow. choice has dubbed him king of bodyrolls with great reason, he makes every concept into a sexy concept, he just has that intimidatingly sexy aura to him, its incredible. 

now…are you ready….i bet youre not…who am i kidding NOBODY was ready for this shit. on mixnine, sehyoon was picked as leader for one of their stages (i think he was leader for ringa linga too??) and got to choreograph the routine. if you think its already rude 10 seconds in, its all over for you bitches when the lighting goes yellow. i feel the need to repeat, our boy CHOREOGRAPHED THIS. IT WAS ALL HIS IDEA. EVERY. SINGLE. PART. this is the same kid who everyone on the show knew as the shy, quiet, handsome boy. but then. 

but then he did this.

Jason (Kim Byeongkwan)

jason is his stage name that he chose for himself but his real name is byeongkwan, its another case of an idol having a stage name and nobody calling them by it?? i mean most new choice call him jason and i personally switch between the two but most choice seem to call him byeongkwan or bk if theyre extra lazy lmao. memers call him byonk sometimes.

jason is the weird child of the group and we all love him…he’s the second lil ball of sunshine and part ½ of the maknae line. he’s often found clinging to sehyoon or literally any of the members bc he’s an affectionate son who loves cuddles okay?? p r o t e c t   h i m.

he’s also the lead everything. yeah thats really not fair but jason is op ok?? singing, rapping, dancing, visual, like sehyoon he’s the full package, i can hardly call them the rap line they’re just the op line t b h. triple threats.

on their official twt jason likes to confirm wowson a lot, its p great lololol he’s the biggest wowson shipper of all time. want more wowson? i gotchu, here’s one of my absolute fav moments. (ft. junchan/chun)

he has some HELLA CHARISMA on stage like boy can u pls chill. they also love doing his eye makeup with that red makeup and it looks rlly good bc bk has such pretty eagle eyes and its his Look™ and that along with his onstage persona is a DEADLY COMBINATION HDSJKSKSLKJS 

i’m just gonna keep this short; even if your bias isnt byeongkwan, your bias is byeongkwan. he has that affect on everybody. number one bias wrecker out of the fandom t b h apart from sehyoon (he cant be my bias wrecker if he is my bias so im safe :^J)

Chan (Kang Yuchan)

INTRODUCING OUR CHANSHINE, MAIN VOCAL OF ACE, CUTIE MAKNAE CHAN!!!! he always introduces himself as a.c.e’s main vocal cutie maknae chan, its his iconic line and it suits him so well like LOOK AT HIM ISNT HE JUST A FUCKING RAY OF SUNSHINE WHAT A PURE CHILD I MUST PROTECC he’s literally the happy virus y’all AND ACE KNOWS IT TOO heres this one time where donghun even said that looking at chan cheers him up. certified sunshines only, everyone. also watch that whole video its long but its worth your time.

anyways our boy is a main vocal and as mentioned in donghun’s part they harmonize!!! so!! well!! i mean tbh all of ace can harmonize with eachother its the most beautfiul thing but these two are main vocal for a reason okay. if you didn’t already watch it in donghun’s part listen to THIS and have your ears be blessed i cry everytime oh my god skdfhd ALSO THIS IS SUPER IMPORTANT ITS LIKE ONE OF MY FAVOURITE VIDEOS ON THE INTERNET i want to cry i lvoe chans voice so much i love chan i love kang yuchan og hmylhdg sodf i was gonna say i swear im sehyoon biased but im not istg ace is bias wrecking me 24/7 its been the hardest group to pick a bias in ever im not kidding i cant even

also known as kang RUDE, chan was all innocent sunshine and daisies until out of the blue he decided to give the disrespect king sehyoon a run for his fucking money. NOBODY FUCKING SAW IT COMING WE ALL THOUGHT HE WAS SO PURE AND THEN HE SUDDENLY STARTED FLASHING HIS ABS EVERYWHERE AND GRINDING ON THE FLOOR AND DOING THAT AND WE JUST CANT HANDLE IT i dont know a kang yuchan please save me oh my lord

okay this already has an ungodly amount of links and honestly i could go on, but this should be a good enough kickstart for you!!

stan talent stan a.c.e everyone. welcome to the choice family. its literally the softest and sweetest fandom out there. we welcome you with open arms and lots of cacti!!!