#curious to see how much material part 2 would add to this

[therosefrontier]

TWST Five-Man Band

Something I was thinking about with @pencilofawesomeness a while back, partially inspired by Idia in book 6 giving the overblotters MMO classes, imagining what their roles in the classic Five-Man Band trope might be, if the overblot kiddos from the first five books were an adventuring team or something like that. Like, an AU in which for some reason, they’re together and they’re off on some fantasy quest or being vigilantes or doing a heist or living just another day as part of the local adventurer’s/mage’s guild. Something of the sort.

In my delineation of these roles, I am largely inspired by Overly Sarcastic Productions’ videos on the topic (link is to the first video in the series). I absolutely love their channel, and so, naturally, they are who I think about with stuff like this. So, without further ado...

LEADER: Vil 

—so naturally, this is a bit of a tough call since four out of the five members of this theoretical team are acting as leaders in canon, and one might as well be, and since it is a bit of a vague definition to begin with, but I feel that Vil may be the one who gravitates towards this role the most. He has a vested interest in the advancement, well-being, and excellence of the people under him, whether they want his interest or not (see Epel, and also all the NRC Tribe fun times). He just naturally acts as something between an instructor, an agent, and a parent, seeing to it that no one lags behind.

—He is the one who cares the most about image. He is the face of the team, the diplomatic one, the one who has it all together, more or less. Especially in the case of some vigilante or DnD party kind of action, he will actively try to paint their public image to be a positive one, so everyone sees them as the “heroes.” Of course, given his track record in canon, ten guesses as to how well that turns out. He blames Leona.

—Naturally, he’s going to get on the nerves of pretty much everybody on this team except maybe Riddle with his excessive standards he likes to subject everyone to, so he’s going to have to dial it down pretty early into this adventure to keep this ship from falling apart. At least, canonically, he is not completely allergic to apologizing. 

—However, he also is good at keeping a level head, most of the time. He’d be the one consistently giving orders to the rest of the team, keeping his own stress levels at bay. Which is great, as long as he doesn’t go, say, repressing his feelings into a box until one day he inevitably explodes. Sure that won’t happen :) 

—Also, he’s got a versatile skillset, probably, which tends to fit well into this role. He’s a skill type with a knack for potions, but he also can judo-flip a man no sweat. He fills the role of whatever part he has to play to get the job done.

LANCER: Leona

—by definition, a lancer acts as a foil to the leader, and I’d say Leona would be pretty much exactly that for Vil. Where Vil sees an emphasis on keeping up appearances, Leona simply does not care. Where Vil focuses on proper form, Leona focuses on practicality. He’s not the type to just roll with a plan that’s inefficient, or which ties their hands in some way. And he’s not about to put as much effort as Vil in his physical appearance, either. He focuses on getting the job done, which is, in a way, a lot like Vil! (Also, according to Idia, they’re both tanks, sooo...dual leadering?) But they will absolutely argue until the end of time on how they should go about it.

—like many a lancer, Leona actively pretends that he does not care about anyone here. He comes across as lazy, which is certainly not wrong, but he also will look out for everyone in subtle ways. Also, foes will be very ill-advised to underestimate him based on his deposition. He is very much a powerhouse, and he will not hesitate to step up to the plate when things go down. Plus, he has very keen senses and is mindful of his surroundings, besides also having good reflexes, which he will definitely use to protect his teammates when danger comes knocking (see, shielding Ruggie in a heartbeat from falling shattered glass, among other things). 

—on certain occasions, he could step up as leader for the team. He just usually chooses not to. Again, he acts like a loner. He wins the ‘most likely to up and leave the team one day because he got in a fight with someone’ (probably Vil) award. Classic lancer.

—people-smart in, naturally, the most aggravating of ways. He’ll be the one who, less than midway through some job, figures out that their client is actually some bad character who is definitely going to betray them later, so he will propose with a tired groan turning a whole 180 on their entire plan in spite of all the time and resources they already put into this and in spite of the fact that they probably need the money from this job. Cue more arguing with Vil, and also Azul.

POWERHOUSE: Jamil

(or as per the classic trope, the “big guy” role of the team, kind of, but “powerhouse” runs by a slightly different definition which I think fits him better. Leona and Vil are already the tanks; they got that covered)

—He’s the reliable one, or rather, the one that everyone relies on. He’s keeping this ship afloat by sheer stubborn will, against his better judgment that says he should have walked away from this circus act long ago. He keeps track of all of the little things and makes sure that everybody is fed and not doing anything dumb, while also being the one who ends up at the crux of every operation, trusted to keep a level head and not diverge from the plan on a whim or do anything too risky. And when things do go wrong, he steps in and fixes things like a pro. 

—On that note, he is also, indeed, quite strong. He has a ton of power with raw skill to back it up (also in game being the only one of these five to make us fight him in OB form twice since he yeeted us into next tomorrow the first time), even though he tends to be low-key about it. He’s this particular brand of powerhouse that gets habitually overlooked, in part by his own design. He doesn’t have the same commanding presence as Vil or Leona, or so he thinks. 

—so yeah, definitely going to be a problem later: he gets underappreciated. People just expect him to do things, and he does them. Doing things is in his instincts, born from his background of probably still being attached to the Asims in this AU. Whatever’s up with that. So yes, could absolutely snap one day. Maybe he’ll join Leona in running off and having a solo arc somewhere else before he inevitably crosses paths with everyone again and maybe bails them out of some situation in the process. Or maybe it would be more thematically impactful if he’s the one getting rescued for once... 

—However, all that aside, he probably would low-key enjoy the adventuring. He gets to actually go out and travel, and get a bit of the freedom that comes with being a rogue (which is what I’ve decided these guys are, at this point, much to Vil’s chagrin. They are absolutely operating on ‘rogue’ vibes, whatever they’re doing). He’s just...not exactly on vacation because he’s dealing with an increasingly high pile of problems along the way. He should have a vacation, though. He deserves it.

SMART GUY / THE BRAIN: Azul

—he takes on the smart guy role of being planner *supreme*. He involves himself the least in open fights out of the five, instead relying more on his wits to get through situations as if his life were a heavy Euro board game actually. He’s all about collecting as much data as possible to formulate strategies, and tricking making deals with people to get them to do things and cough up information. He has few qualms about using whatever means necessary to get what he wants. Also, he’s the one to actually pay attention to things like finances and the sustainable logistics of what they’re doing, probably alongside Jamil.

—that said, the theoretical team he belongs to here is actually quite adept at scheming overall, so it wouldn’t all fall to him to strategize. I’m imagining that his role here would be the gatherer of information as well as the manager of the playing board during whatever mission they’re on, seeing to it that everything and everyone is in place and that all of their foes and neutral characters alike are right where they need them to be. He’s the people-hacker. Did the randos trust him? Probably not. But he works with it anyways.

—so with that, he would definitely be prone to way too much stress if things don’t go as planned, which with these guys, is probably often. As much skill as they collectively have, I cannot imagine life treating these guys so kindly. Things will absolutely go wrong. And Azul is going to have to learn to roll with that. He’s also going to have to learn to stop trying to scam his own teammates.

—if the team needs to do reconnaissance work, I think that Azul and probably also Jamil would be the go-to ones for the job. The two of them argue a lot in general, but the two of them work way better together than either would care to admit.

—And lastly, Azul could fall into that sometimes smart-guy trope of being very much underestimated in a fight. Since he stays in the background, people assume that he is weak, and that is true to an extent, as he is certainly not athletic, but he is very strong, actually. He’ll crush your wrist with the grip strength of an octopus. Do not try him.

THE HEART: Riddle

—because his name is Rosehearts no, really, he’d be the heart, by the definition that he is the emotional center of the team. It’s because he’s the passionate one. Whatever he’s doing, he does it for its own sake, not necessarily for some specific self-serving goal. He has the determination to see things through to the end, because that’s the thing to do, regardless of whether or not the act is actually in his best interest. In this way, I think he’d be the least pragmatic of the team. Especially in the heat of the moment, he’s not out there running cost-benefit analyses on whether he should or shouldn’t. If he gets hit by a high-voltage paralyzing energy beam, he gets back up again and sets the whole field on fire like a maniac, before they strike him down yet again. He is absolutely the reckless one out of the five, which will certainly give some of the others grief, but also, in the sense of team dynamics, he balances them out, as the heart does. Sometimes, they need a little bit of reckless.

—But at the core of it, he sticks to his principles and has a strong moral code (the ‘moral compass’ brand of heart rather than one of the peacekeeping varieties, for sure). The heart is the emotional center because they have a strong conviction in why they’re doing what they’re doing, and that conviction spreads to those around them, becoming the reason why they’re choosing to stick together at all. In this case, it would definitely be more subtle, with perhaps no one, Riddle included, realizing that he has that kind of effect at all, but he’s just...very steadily always there. He’s consistent, in his resolve and in his quirks alike. However annoying those quirks may sometimes be, they all know what to expect from him, and that kind of stability could be very good for the team, again with balancing out the others.

—So, I said he’d do what he does for its own sake ultimately, but also, I could absolutely see him having some strong overarching personal mission driving him to be here at all. Maybe he has some task given to him by someone else to complete, like searching out an important artifact or getting a very important sword from point A to point B, or maybe something earth-shaking happened to him to get him to go rogue. Maybe in this AU, he was actually friends with the other four Heartslabyul peoples first, but something happened to them, and now he’s out on a mission to ‘get his card soldiers back’ because that’s the rules he cares about them. (Sorry this is just where my brain goes haha). There are many possibilities!

—On that end, there really could be so much conflict in that scenario. He abides by the rules religiously, but if he goes rogue, then he’s kind of...well...not doing that. He’ll try hard to stick to a very specific standard, even if it doesn’t make practical sense actually, and when that doesn’t work out for him or when other people don’t have interest in the same rules that he does, he goes into a rage. Maybe he gets to have some character development before the onset of this team-up so things don’t completely fall apart on day one, but still, issues to work through.

—And....all of that aside, he fits nicely into this role because the heart is traditionally often the ‘mage’ class type, or in other words, the glass cannon! Riddle has high power but a very poor constitution, naturally making him very reliant on his teammates, although he often does not particularly see it that way. When he gets his sights set on something, he’ll do it with or without them, and to an extent, he can handle himself, but he really is best off in a group.

++++++++++++++

Anyways that turned into a long post but saying all that to say, these five would absolutely be a disaster of a team, but I think they would also have the potentially to be pretty dang cool as a squad. I want to see them do a heist now. Which, maybe I will...? I’m writing this literally right before the release of book 6 part two on the English server, and I have a feeling that we’re about to actually see these guys work together maybe, so I’d be curious to see how well the headcanons hold up. So yeah, what do y’all think? Would you assign their roles differently? 

[loveephia]

some of the HQ boys with a girlfriend who has fluffy cheeks. (kuroo, atsumu, kenma, oikawa, akaashi, sakusa.)

content: (🦷) tooth-rotting fluff, reader getting called some petnames, reader is annoyed by atsumu, you get compared to cute animals a bit.

⚠ warning/s: none.

part 1 | part 2

KUROO TETSURŌ

now kuroo's seen a lotta things

but your cheeks have got to be the most bizarre sight he's ever witnessed.

(in a good way, of course)

HE LOVES PINCHING THEM. HARD.

and whenever you ask him why he does it, he goes on a lengthy explanation about how cuteness aggression works

"kitten, it's because in response to positive experiences, some people express their feelings in a dimorphous manner, meaning they—"

gosh, you love this nerd

but pls shut him up with a little peck. he'll continue to ramble until the subject is about softshelled turtles or something.

ATSUMU MIYA

honestly, he never understood why people would gush over their s/o back then

it was always: "waaah! _____ is so cool!" or "_____ is the most beautiful girl ever.."

then, he got into a relationship with you

"your cheeks're so cute, darlin'." atsumu pokes one while you hiss at his statement. you can't stand people who comment about your cheeks!

oh, but atsumu thinks you're just like an angry little kitten

so with a childish smile, here he is stretching your cheeks like they're daifuku.

"hands off, miya."

"ouch, why are we on a last name basis now?!"

KENMA KOZUME

here is a visual representation of kenma when he finds out how fluffy your cheeks are:

thank you for coming to my ted talk.

i can imagine kenma's fingers being sore for playing video games hours on end, so a bit of pillow-like material your cheeks can help with the aching!

so here you are, looking at kenma with a dumbfounded smile, as he's still massaging your cheeks round and round in circles

"ken? what's this all about?"

fuee.. fuee..

"..nothing." he mumbles

okay, kenma. whatever makes you happy, i guess.

TŌRU OIKAWA

this man loves pda, so expect a lot of cheek kisses from him

he's all shameless about it too

which irritates you cuz you get shy very easily.

and he knows. HE KNOWS HIS EFFECT ON YOU.

oikawa could be talking to the other third years, and every now and then, he'd kiss your cheek

LIKE STOP STOPS TOP STOp sSFOPSpstop

"t- tōru.. can you not?" you stuttered out, a blush creeping up your neck

"but princess, you're just so cute!" he whines

oikawa has a lot of fans, but the only person he'll ever be a fan of, is you :D

KEIJI AKAASHI

honestly, he doesn't really care that much

but he thinks they're the cutest feature you have.. (♥︎ . .)

when your cheeks are full from eating, akaashi thinks that you look just like a little hamster

y'know how a hamster stores food in their cheeks and they puff up a ton?

yeah, that's how akaashi sees you.

"keiji, s'there sumthin' wrong?" you manage to say from your mouthful of food

"please don't talk while you eat, angel." he reminds you, wiping off a small speck of rice from your chin

akaashi makes a mental note to add a hamster emoji at the end of your contact name later

"my y/n 🐹"

SAKUSA KIYOOMI

he doesn't like pda, nor does he like physical contact in general

though he can't help but be a little bit curious as to how your round cheeks feel against his pointer finger

after all, the boy's only human 😔

so he does the inevitable and pokes one

you stopped breathing for a good sixteen seconds.

"..sakusa?" you turn to him, all mortified

"soft.." he thought

sakusa doesn't like kissing out in the open, but he'll settle for your innocent little cheek-to-cheek kisses

because he gets to feel the plush of your cheek against his

his face is so red pls someone save him 😭😭😭

© lowercase intended | loveephia

[gxilgramore]

Jubilee is a lot!

Yes i know the quality of the photo is bad, i couldn't find an high quality version of the OG cover.

First listen of Jubilee, and i assume you already know why i gave it a chance, because the episode Dalek from series 1 with Eccleston is an adaptation, and of course being a Eccleston fan i was interested in how the story would work with a completely different Doctor and Companion.

Basic stuff first, Evelyn is delightful, ok, she is not a standout for me, she feels like other companions to some extent, but make no mistake i still love her and the relationship with the Doctor, their dialogue feels kind of Donna, kind of Sarah Jane, even kind of Charlie Pollard but she still feels like her own character because of her aspirations and objectives, you can also say that she feels like Rose, but I don't see it besides the compassion for the seemly good Dalek and the confrontation of the Doctor's own internal hatred, i think she is pretty good and I don't know if other stories showcase her in a different light but im curious, if you have any recs for other Evelyn stories id love to listen.

Also the Daleks here, my previous experiences with them in BF were the first 8th Doctor/Lucie Miller story that i forgot the name, i as you all know i think this story is mediocre at best, and i thought most Dalek stories from this era would be like that and I'm so happy of being wrong, the Daleks here are not only full of the threat that made me love them in Victory of the Doctor but also more thematic relevance than ever, because of how much they add to the whole "humans can also be bad if fed by propaganda" thing, also the "good" dalek has an personality so unique by how much Briggs (i think its Briggs) put these inflections and manical laughter to him, it really makes him feel so alien even in the other parts of the storie where he should have felt like a normal Dalek.

And speaking of the TV episode that adapted this story, yeah i can see where the similarities come, but it also feel like the TV episode reconstructs from the ground up the story to feel to the 9th Doctor character, Dalek is (at this moment, i need to rewatch series 1) my favorite episode of that season, so seeing an episode that expands on those themes is pretty amazing, im not complaining of course that Dalek is a watered down version of Jubillee, those stories care the same themes but Dalek adds his own spin on it with discussions of PTSD and the framing of the Doctor as a being that can villain due to his traumas instead of the humans so they compliment and expand on each other instead of the TV episode feeding on it's source material.

And another thing is the build up, in my Chimes of Midnight mini review i made clear that the way Sherman builds a mystery is so anxiety inducing and i want to know more because what the actual fuck is going on and Jubilee also carries exactly that, this fucked up world that it builds is so weird that it feels off-putting even to think about it but you really want to know why these people are this way, how that happened, the mystery of the TARDIS, the Doctor's visions, the second legless Doctor, it feels wicked, dark, disturbing, also because it's kind of gruesome, yeah i know, its the wilderness years, Doctor who was like that, but i was not expecting a beheading, the "Doctor" dying like a maniac, it feels really tense and the cliffhangers, god they are so good, i literally gasped at 2 of them because of how tense they are, Sherman is really climbing to be my favorite who writer, him, moffat and Davies are my big 3.

Thematically is where things get... Complicated, because yeah the point of the story is fair and the way it explores it is intense and hammer the point home a lot, i still feel a bit weird about the entire conclusion tho. Don't get me wrong i felt more rewarded in that conclusion than in Chimes, it's not about the narrative rather than the themes being portrayed, thats why Jubilee is a lot, because it is so many themes, from propaganda, the relativation of fascism (even a kind of meta joke on the Dalekmania, somehow), the hypocrisy of the way governments deal with the rise of fascism in the modern era, it's so many themes packed into a 2 hour audio drama that it gets really dificult to discuss right after listening to it, requires some listens and thinking to grasp to totality of its political themes, and im too tired to think and with too much adhd to relisten, thanks college for both of these.

Jubilee is good. 9/10

[unblinded-by-nostalgia-blog]

Part 1 (Episodes 1-6)

The Story

The story is about a world where humans form a revolution to take over their vampire rulers.

The story overall is great, but the problem that this anime has is that it follows the manga word for word and it doesn't change or add anything new to make it stand out from its original source material. So if you have read the manga recently, you may want to wait a while before you watch this anime because you will practically see what you have just already seen.

The Characters

The characters are still great, but I want to see more of the vampires side of the story. Because of what I have seen from the humans seem a lot worse than what the vampires are doing.

The Animation/Special Effects

The animation is great, especially with the fighting scenes. But the watercolour backgrounds don't suit the character designs. Don't get me wrong, I like the backgrounds and how colourful and grim they can be, but with the character design style, it doesn't look as great.

Final Thoughts

Overall, while this adaptation is great so far, it doesn't take any risks like changing some of the scenes, and thus, this series is pretty much literally the manga in anime form.

Hopefully, as the series goes on, it will make changes from the original manga.

The Story 4/5 The Characters 4/5 The Animation/Special Effects 4/5 The Dub 2/5

Overall 4/5

Part 2 (Episodes 7-12)

The Story

The second half of the anime has the opposite problem from the first half, it wanders too far away from the source material.

I don't mind an anime trailing off from the original manga's path as long as it is done well. But here, it adds filler and typical anime tropes that were just shoehorned into the anime. It feels like some corporate business man came across this anime and said "it isn't tropey enough. Let's add a pointless romance, a shower-yuri scene and cheaper animation!"

The Characters

Some of the characters have been turned into tropes, especially the blond pig-tailed girl. My God, she is the most ANNOYING tsundere I have ever seen! She just yells at the main character and has a love rivalry with the purple haired leader (I will NOT refer them to their names because they are NOTHING like the original characters that we fell in love with in the manga!)

It's such a shame that these characters have become shadows of their former selves.

The Animation/Special Effects

The Animation takes a DIVE in quality. They use every cheap tactic in the book like those "rush lines", characters mouths getting conveniently covered, CGI and many more that you know and HATE!

The Dub

I decide to wait on commenting on the Dub until now because it is exactly the same. Basically everyone sounds too old! The demon that the main character possesses sounds like she is in her 30s instead of sounding more youthful. The main cast sound too old, the vampire sound WAY to flamboyant and Guren cannot emote to save his life!

The only good voice actor here is the lady who voices the pinked hair vampire, she just suits the role PERFECTLY! Now only if the rest of the cast wasn't shit...

Final Thoughts

Overall, this is just a train wreck. It isn't the worst downfall I've seen, but it is still pretty bad!

The Story 2/5 The Characters 1.5/5 The Animation/Special Effects 2/5 The Dub 2/5

Overall 2/5

Overall Thoughts

Overall, this anime had potential. And a LOT of it too. I honestly thought it would take over Attack on Titan and become the next big anime in the community. But it got ignored for the most part, and now I can see why.

The anime took the original charm of the manga and just DESTROYED it!

The first half is great (even though it follows the manga too closely), but the second half just destroys the potential it had and its hopes of being a success.

I might Review the second season, but don't count on it.

If you are curious, give it a rent, but just go read the manga. Leave this anime to rot!

Part 1 4/5 Part 2 2/5

Overall 3/5

[pants-magic-pants]

heyy, hope you doing good! and sorry to keep bothering you lol

so you got me really curious

idk if this is something you would share, and it’s totally fine if not, but i was wondering how much went into the costume? both time and money -wise

Hello! I'm... surviving! I hope you are as well.

I am also curious about this question, as I certainly didn't keep track of it. Initially, I did save some receipts, but this project was so long-term that work on it became scattered. Scattered in terms of when I was able to find the right materials, when I was well enough (mentally, physically) to work on it, when progress was actually being made vs. me searching and bumbling around unsuccessfully...

When there was any sort of momentum, it was almost like a part time job, where substantial amounts of hours were put in on all or most of my days off (which I have three). I spent many days hyperfixating on it all day with just a few breaks, so maybe 12 hours in a day, for 2-3 days in a week, so 24-36hrs in a week. But not all my weeks were like that. I went a couple months not working on it at all because it was stealing my soul.

If we were to say that on average there was just one day a week from September 2022 when I began the project, until November 2023, that I worked on it all day, it'd be one day (12hrs) x 4 weeks in a month x 15 months... That means a minimum of 720hrs went into it.

As for the costs? I was very scared to tally this up, but it's not terrible?... If you consider what some cosplays cost? Some of it is ridiculous, like the fact that I probably spent $100 on beads.

I had to look up what some things cost roughly, and sort of guess, but here's my tally:

MATERIALS -- $143 $90 in various beads $10 sea glass $9 aquamarine crystals $9 blue/mirror crystals $10 hot glue sticks packs x 2 $3 black acrylic paint $6 button bases x 2 $6 blue cabochons for buttons

FABRIC -- $146 $65 velvet x 4yds (but mine was free) $13 cuff lace x 1yrd $13 upper coat lining x 1yrd $13 lower coat lining x 1yrd $5 interfacing x 1yrd $12 thread x 4 $20 swatches x 3 $5 felt for padding

TOOLS -- $80 $8 french curve and other curved rulers $15 rotary blades x 3 $30 rotary cutting board (not even a big one) $23 pattern paper $4 microtex needles (Not included $20 walking foot that was useless) (Not included I had to get a whole goddamn new sewing machine, $500)

A few notes about the spending and amounts:

As you can see! The materials COST AS MUCH AS the fabric. hahahahahahahaahahaa It adds up, it seriously adds up. You keep needing more and more, and honestly I bought it all at such spread out intervals that I wasn't aware it was adding up. It could have also been less because there were a few sales at the craft store. hahaha

I did not have to pay for the velvet because of the issues the company had in getting it to me. Overall, you may notice that regardless of that my yardage is pretty low. It won't be the same for everyone. This was what was needed to produce a garment that is roughly a children's size large, or a women's XXS. It's one way that being a miniscule, little pipsqueak is an advantage... for one's wallet. Not much else good to say about it.

Anyway, tools. Tools is an important category. The fabric needed for this project was finicky and troublesome, and it required not only study on how to handle it, but the right tools and a worthy machine to handle it. I literally could not finish the coat without getting a new machine which was actually gifted to me... as I could not afford it in a million years... There is also no way to cut velvet without a sharp rotary blade and board, and you'll go through several blades in very short time.

So I guess that comes to about $370...

Not terrible... right? And it was free velvet. And I was gifted a machine, and I also had a couple patrons who donated over a hundred dollars, bless them. On the other hand, this was only the cost of the coat, and NOT the cost including the dress shirt, cummerbund, wig, etc.

Needless to say, I am dirt poor this year. No sort of spending like this will be occurring any time soon for further work (to make the pants, to get new boots, to go to events, take pictures) unless I'm able to pick up freelance work or earn more patrons. Yeah.

[that-sweet-jester]

HELLO :D I have a few questions regarding your art-

First off- how do you render? Specifically when choosing the differences in material lighting? There’s just a sort of dramatic lighting that your art has that always makes it look extremely epic

Second off- What’s your method for anatomy? Like, Do you use a much of ovals/rectangles, wing it like a madman, or etc? And how do you define each part of the body? (Or separate hair segments?)

And Thirdly- how do you add volume and consistency to your work? Every design that I see of yours just looks like it jumped straight from a 3D movie screen, and really curious as to how you do all that!

Also- holy cow I freaking love your art so much- like I just found out you drew like half of my favourite art pieces out there. And I just love looking at it. It’s kind of like a golden caramel apple, if that makes any sense!!

And thank you for your time!!!

Thank you so much :DDD <333

Hoo boy where do I begin :'D

The first statement I need to make is that my main method is 'fuck around and find out'. Literally. Also sorry if some of the explanations don't make any sense, English is not my first language.

Here's kinda step by step of how my drawing process looks like.

Sketch, then rough cleaning and adding monochrome colors, it's totally unnecessary, but I like to do it just to see how the drawing would look later with dynamic lightning. Then move onto lineart, used to draw it on another layer on top of the sketch, but I switched to just correcting the lines and eareasing what I don't want from the sketch. It's kinda more fun and takes less time. Then come the base colors and adding shadows. What I most often do is add shading on the color layers and then on top of all of them draw a full shadow.

Like this, then multiply and fuck around with opacity. This makes the characters pop out even more and adds depth to them. Then add lightning, and sometimes effects from saved pngs. For example, I often use this site for material textures: https://www.transparenttextures.com/

2. When it comes to anatomy, I most often use existing pose references, not fully copying them but like putting them together like a collage. A head here, hands there, I have full boards on Pinterest dedicated solely to different body parts. In the past I was heavily using whole sketches and body pose references, but over the time I was able to somehow figure out the anatomy on my own. To some degree. I still have no idea how to properly draw hands. What I'm saying is that it's good to base your art on existing references (NOT COPY THEM) but use as a guide, until you get a hang of it.

3. Lately to do something more stylistic and to bring out the volume I started doing this notion in the shadows:

(also a sneak peak of next piece ;3)

I have no idea how to call it, but it makes things pop out.

Anddd I finally got around doing more dynamic poses and dramatic positioning. Bringing parts of the drawing forward, and leaning some further, going wild with blur filter and using black as guides and contrast.

So that might be why it looks more like screenshot of some movie, which is such a big compliment to me imma cry.

So, yeah that's kinda how I work :') Hope it helped and made sense to some degree.

[darkwood-sleddog]

I'm looking at the Säker harness system and, other than price, I like what the base model has to offer but was curious to see your thoughts on the packs. It's hard to find good pictures on the site as it appears they are still in the preorder stage but I am still curious on your thoughts!

Frankly I think the price is ridiculous for what it is. You can get excellent quality gear for much less money.

I also have a couple of gripes. They claim they couldn't find anything tough enough for their dog. I feel like this means they were not looking into actual hiking, tracking, sport dog, outdoor dog gear brands because I have personally never had a durability issue with any of my gear from Howling Dog Alaska, Non-stop, Alpine Outfitters, Hurtta, Ruffwear, or Wolfpacks, amongst others. Many actual working dogs, not weekend warrior dogs use these brands with success.

From a design standpoint I personally would not put this harness on my dogs. It has a very wide chest plate which means there is a higher likelihood of rub occurring. The chest plate also comes up very high on the neck, rather than sitting on the breastbone like most correctly fitted y-front harnesses. Again, this means that any extra pull on the harness the dog would have the neck of the chest plate in their trachea. I also do not like that this type of design includes a front clip, this will encourage users to use this harness as a no-pull and it is not ergonomically set up to work this way. Not a fan.

Hate the packs. Hate them. High quality packs, such as the Wolfpacks ones I use, are made of Cordura which is incredibly tough. Ruffwear and Non-stop's materials are similarly tough, 420 denier nylon ripstop for Ruffwear, Ripstop as well for Non-stop, and the packs from these brands fit appropriately. the Saker Ascension pack uses a coated 840D Oxford weave nylon. While it's denier is higher (which is a toughness level), its lack of ripstop gives me huge pause as packs are often rubbing against underbrush, twigs etc. I would much prefer to see a ripstop and especially cordura used for the paniers of a pack vs oxford nylon which, despite its higher denier, will likely tear more easily. Let's break down why I don't like the pack from a placement standpoint:

1.) The chest plate sucks (describe in above paragraphs). I don't care if it's a crash tested harness. Sometimes the purpose of gear (like being a crash tested car harness) is not the best design across all disciplines and this is the case here.

2.) Paniers (the bag part) has awful placement from a packing perspective. Firs the straps that attach the pack to the harness and make it modular hold the harness far too low on the dog's body (or perhaps this model was not fitted appropriately? Red flag from any dog gear brand is website photos with shitty fit imo). Secondly the bag is not far enough forward. The pack should be sitting as close to the front of the dog as possible, which would be possible if this was a free pack, or a modular pack such as the Ruffwear Palisades that is a pack first and harness second. Please see the photo below from the Ruffwear website of the Palisades. Packs fit appropriately on the models AND the pack is designed for actually carrying weight correctly on the dog.

You can also see in the below photo of the newest version of the Palisades (above picture is of the older version). How the pack can be modular, but doesn't rely on clips and straps to keep the pack correctly leveled. The vest like design of the Palisades is what keeps it from sitting too low and being unbalanced on the dog:

I'll also add that if you have a pack that does not have a built in harness you can easily take the pack off your dog at any time (Packs like these would be, for example, the ones from Wolfpacks or Non-stop).

The one item from Saker I appreciate is the Rescue Sling, because this is an important piece of equipment, however I have issues with this design as well (especially the fact that it is built to be modular with the harness like???). While the Airlift by Fido Pro is more expensive, i like that it 1.) has bright colors which is preferable in an emergency situation and 2.) supports the dog's entire body and torso in the sling itself (as do literally any other rescue harness I've seen aside from Saker...) The one from Saker does not do this and relies on their harness design to keep the dog lifted which in an emergency situation just. Nope.

What this company comes down to for me is somebody THINKS there is a gap in a market where there is not a gap and person also does not realize that despite their claim that "this will soon be the Arc'teryx and Patagonia for dogs" that that gear? Already exists and it doesn't NEED to be modular to be the top tier of its product. The Wolfpacks dog packs are not a modular piece, but are generally, amongst packing folks in North America, considered the best equipment you can purchase for packing and they've been doing the same excellent pack designs since the 1980s.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

No because the character design >>>> I also LOVE KIJA SHSHSJSHS man I miss yotd….

Also OMG CHERRY TREE PT 2 commentary after I finish replying

OOOOH omg a long series for bllk…(we all chant KARASU TABITO in the background…) but omg yeah I can only imagine the amount of research needed for hollyhock’s setting shsgshsb

Omg waittt zantetsu switch up?? Ok but I mean if you still want to write for Karasu…I’m always ready for a brainstorming thought dump session….only if you want though LOL

HOLELDHDS SHIT THE BAROU ONE??? Ok im ngl the chokehold that edits to that song have on me….idk why something about the beat and “melody” ushsjshsj also LMAOO THE WOMANIZER ONE classic Otoya edit…ok but the nagi ones are fire and I can also see why you were converted by that rin one…

Ok but if you have any especially fire Karasu ones don’t be shy…I almost never see edits of him it’s so sad

LMAOOO if you ever write that you NEED to add that line in there it’s so perfect (Karasu and Yukimiya trying to protect the girl at first is so real and so cute I can only imagine the rollercoaster ride of mishaps that would happen in this story LMAO)

LMAOOO BAROUISM SO REAL THOUGH?? Yes fortunately he’s basically locked in for the rest of the series!! Excited to see him again soon after the PxG match!! Also curious by what role he’ll play in the current epinagi match too! But omg wait nagi Barou and Karasu all together epinagi said welcome to the miraverse

Ok COMMENTARY: RAGAHHDH THAT WAS SO GOOD lowk you do a really good job of like developing stories and plots that when I read it I didn’t even feel like it was “short” or shorter than fwtkac…like just perfectly paced *chefs kiss*

Also 1) SEABIRD Y/N MENTION LMAOOOOOOO 2) omg stalker Rin was lowk so funny he really said “yeah idk what to say so I’ll just follow you silently like a creep” DHHSSHSH I also love how the roles kinda flip and Rin now has to wait for y/n…also the trees THE TREES >>>>> tree imagery and hidden messages my fav I also love awk but mature Rin like it’s still clumsy soccer nerd Rin but the development is there!!!

Another Mira banger excited for whatever’s next!!

- Karasu anon

i wouldn’t say kija is a top fav (shinah and hak are my beloveds) but i’ve seen some GORG fanart of him so i def see the vision there ☝🏻

cherry tree part two 🥹 i wanted it to be a surprise because i never mentioned working on it but LMAOO it was so funny i saw that rin edit WHILE WRITING WILLOW TREE so it was like a double whammy dose of itoshi broism that made it even worse 😭

tbh as much as there’s so many characters i want to write a long fic for it’s only the ones i DON’T like as much that i get ideas for 😭 like i got the idea for hollyhock while trying to come up with something for NAGI so we’ll see what happens and who ends up inspiring me but it’ll definitely be a surprise…honestly i think i need to pick the au first and THEN decide which character feels natural in it instead of vice versa if that makes sense

LMAO i will hold off for now but if that changes i will let you know!! i’m sure i’ll come up w something because i lowkey have no zantetsu ideas sooo…dumb characters as much as i love them are not my favs to write as love interests because i would simply never fall for a dumb guy irl so it breaks my immersion while writing somehow 😭

THE BAROU ONEEEEE it fits him so well too somehow!! hehe nagi edits are always so good because he has so many scenes in season one plus soooo many fire manga panels that editors have a LOT of material to work with!! and otoya LMAOAO he’s so goofy i love him (surprisingly not aiku though…idk why i can get behind eita but not aiku even though both are cheaters?? like looks aside ofc 😭 maybe it’s because we actively see aiku being weird in the manga whereas it’s only referenced in the egoist bible for otoya so it doesn’t feel as in your face)

OKAYYY tbh there’s not a lot of variety in karasu/otoya edits because they don’t really have any anime scenes yet but here are some i have saved!! fair warning you might’ve already seen these because like you said there’s not much out there for them…

karasu + otoya

karasu

karasu + barou 🤩🤤

you didn’t ask for him but YUKIMIYA

otoya edit using his 0.02 seconds of anime screentime

EASILY the most famous barou edit it has over one million likes and almost twelve million views so you’ve almost definitely seen it but i’m including it anyways because barou…lowkey flash warning though LOL

NO BECAUSE IT’S SO GOOD like the worst man she’s met (oliver aiku) taking her under his wing and teaching her how to be a player meanwhile karasu and yukimiya are yelling at otoya to leave this poor innocent girl alone and otoya is just like “wow…y/n has beautiful eyes…” too chaotic fr

BAROUISM FOR LIFE i’ve liked him since i first watched the show but he was typically overshadowed by me loving nagi and then later karasu so it’s only fair he gets his chance in the spotlight 🤩 omg but also the way nagi is the only hair gel free man in the miraverse top three LMAOAOA he’s holding down the fort fr 😩🙏🏻 needs to impart some wisdom to karasu and barou af

OMG YAYYY I WAS WORRIED IT WOULD BE TOO SHORT although tbh i don’t worry too much abt word count with sequels because like the main story is long enough…okay lowkey secret fact i hope i don’t keep getting a ton of pt2 requests because i love leaving stories open ended and doing a pt2 takes away from that 😩 like that’s why i don’t want to write a pt2 for white butterfly even though multiple people have hinted at wanting one LMAOAAO i just think it ended in a place where expanding it would feel like i was mansplaining to my readers almost 😭 i def think that’s a personal preference too a bit because i personally love reading open endings like they’re so good at making you think and leaving the story on your mind…tbh the impact of an open ending is UNMATCHED it doesn’t have the same vibe when the ending is like fully written out idk if that makes sense ANYWAYS rant over back to commentary!!

LMAOOOO SEABIRD Y/N MENTION FR sae finally put a ring on it ‼️ yk that was the most chaotic proposal ever too 😭 i just thought it would be funny to connect the two stories since there’s nothing rlly saying they CAN’T be connected plus since bllk did kinda vaguely and probably exist in cherry tree (y/n doesn’t go to japan until her freshman year of college so like 18 years old?? and rin would’ve just turned 19 because september birthday so it’s three years after bllk began which is why he isn’t on lockdown) it’s hilarious to imagine like rin being all emo and needing to destroy sae or he’ll die and giving these long ass dramatic monologues abt how sae is his ultimate goal meanwhile sae is just eating sandwiches on the beach with his gf

STALKER RIN MY KING i wanted to show that no matter how much more mature he is it’s still the same awkward fumbling soccer loser rin we all know and many love 😭 like bro has no clue what he’s doing he left his country with a university name, nagi’s sweatshirts, and a dream 😩🙏🏻 and somehow it worked out for him but like imagine y/n transferred or graduated early or smth HAHAA he would’ve been cooked 😰

i’m glad you liked it 😄 hehe i had fun writing it this was def one where i didn’t mind the part two it was very cutesy and enjoyable to do 😫 i have nine requests on my list that i need to finish up so it’ll be something from there ig!! not sure which req i’m going to do first 🤔 there’s a couple that are the same vibe as the isagi ones where i could def finish them in 1-2k words so i might try to get those out of the way first just so they’re out there and i feel productive!!

[writingwithcolor]

What Does Our "Motivations” PSA Mean?

@luminalalumini said:

I've been on your blog a lot and it has a lot of really insightful information, but I notice a theme with some of your answers where you ask the writer reaching out what their 'motivation for making a character a certain [race/religion/ethnicity/nationality] is' and it's discouraging to see, because it seems like you're automatically assigning the writer some sort of ulterior motive that must be sniffed out and identified before the writer can get any tips or guidance for their question. Can't the 'motive' simply be having/wanting to have diversity in one's work? Must there be an 'ulterior motive'? I can understand that there's a lot of stigma and stereotypes and bad influence that might lead to someone trynna add marginalized groups into their stories for wrong reasons, but people that have those bad intentions certainly won't be asking for advice on how to write good representation in the first place. Idk its just been something that seemed really discouraging to me to reach out myself, knowing i'll automatically be assigned ulterior motives that i don't have and will probably have to justify why i want to add diversity to my story as if i'm comitting some sort of crime. I don't expect you guys to change your blog or respond to this or even care all that much, I'm probably just ranting into a void. I'm just curious if theres any reason to this that I haven't realized exists I suppose. I don't want y'all to take this the wrong way because I do actually love and enjoy your blog's advice in spite of my dumb griping. Cheers :))

We assume this is in reference to the following PSA:

PSA to all of our users - Motivation Matters: This lack of clarity w/r to intent has been a general issue with many recent questions. Please remember that if you don’t explain your motivations and what you intend to communicate to your audience with your plot choices, character attributes, world-building etc., we cannot effectively advise you beyond the information you provide. We Are Not Mind Readers. If, when drafting these questions, you realize you can’t explain your motivations, that is likely a hint that you need to think more on the rationales for your narrative decisions. My recommendation is to read our archives and articles on similar topics for inspiration while you think. I will be attaching this PSA to all asks with similar issues until the volume of such questions declines. 

We have answered this in three parts.

1. Of Paved Roads and Good Intentions

Allow me to give you a personal story, in solidarity towards your feelings:

When I began writing in South Asia as an outsider, specifically in the Kashmir and Lahore areas, I was doing it out of respect for the cultures I had grown up around. I did kathak dance, I grew up on immigrant-cooked North Indian food, my babysitters were Indian. I loved Mughal society, and every detail of learning about it just made me want more. The minute you told me fantasy could be outside of Europe, I hopped into the Mughal world with two feet. I was 13. I am now 28.

And had you asked me, as a teenager, what my motives were in giving my characters’ love interests blue or green eyes, one of them blond hair, my MC having red-tinted brown hair that was very emphasized, and a whole bunch of paler skinned people, I would have told you my motives were “to represent the diversity of the region.” 

I’m sure readers of the blog will spot the really, really toxic and colourist tropes present in my choices. If you’re new here, then the summary is: giving brown people “unique” coloured eyes and hair that lines up with Eurocentric beauty standards is an orientalist trope that needs to be interrogated in your writing. And favouring pale skinned people is colourist, full stop.

Did that make me a bad person with super sneaky ulterior motives who wanted to write bad representation? No.

It made me an ignorant kid from the mostly-white suburbs who grew up with media that said brown people had to “look unique” (read: look as European as possible) to be considered valuable.

And this is where it is important to remember that motives can be pure as you want, but you were still taught all of the terrible stuff that is present in society. Which means you’re going to perpetuate it unless you stop and actually question what is under your conscious motive, and work to unlearn it. Work that will never be complete.

I know it sounds scary and judgemental (and it’s one of the reasons we allow people to ask to be anonymous, for people who are afraid). Honestly, I would’ve reacted much the same as a younger writer, had you told me I was perpetuating bad things. I was trying to do good and my motives were pure, after all! But after a few years, I realized that I had fallen short, and I had a lot more to learn in order for my motives to match my impact. Part of our job at WWC is to attempt to close that gap.

We aren’t giving judgement, when we ask questions about why you want to do certain things. We are asking you to look at the structural underpinnings of your mind and question why those traits felt natural together, and, more specifically, why those traits felt natural to give to a protagonist or other major character.

I still have blond, blue-eyed characters with sandy coloured skin. I still have green-eyed characters. Because teenage me was right, that is part of the region. But by interrogating my motive, I was able to devalue those traits within the narrative, and I stopped making those traits shorthand for “this is the person you should root for.” 

It opened up room for me to be messier with my characters of colour, even the ones who my teenage self would have deemed “extra special.” Because the European-associated traits (pale hair, not-brown-eyes) stopped being special. After years of questioning, they started lining up with my motive of just being part of the diversity of the region.

Motive is important, both in the conscious and the subconscious. It’s not a judgement and it’s not assumed to be evil. It’s simply assumed to be unquestioned, so we ask that you question it and really examine your own biases.

~Mod Lesya

2. Motivations Aren't Always "Ulterior"

You can have a positive motivation or a neutral one or a negative one. Just wanting to have diversity only means your characters aren't all white and straight and cis and able-bodied -- it doesn't explain why you decided to make this specific character specifically bi and specifically Jewish (it me). Yes, sometimes it might be completely random! But it also might be "well, my crush is Costa Rican, so I gave the love interest the same background", or "I set it in X City where the predominant marginalized ethnicity is Y, so they are Y". Neither of these count as ulterior motives. But let's say for a second that you did accidentally catch yourself doing an "ulterior." Isn't that the point of the blog, to help you find those spots and clean them up?

Try thinking of it as “finding things that need adjusting” rather than “things that are bad” and it might get less scary to realize that we all do them, subconsciously. Representation that could use some work is often the product of subconscious bias, not deliberate misrepresentation, so there's every possibility that someone who wants to improve and do better didn't do it perfectly the first time. 

--Shira

3. Dress-Making as a Metaphor

I want to echo Lesya’s sentiments here but also provide a more logistical perspective. If you check the rubber stamp guide here and the “Motivation matters” PSA above, you’ll notice that concerns with respect to asker motivation are for the purposes of providing the most relevant answer possible.

It is a lot like if someone walks into a dressmaker’s shop and asks for a blue dress/ suit (Back when getting custom-made clothes was more of a thing) . The seamstress/ tailor is likely to ask a wide variety of questions:

What material do you want the outfit to be made of?

Where do you plan to wear it?

What do you want to highlight?

How do you want to feel when you wear it?

Let’s say our theoretical customer is in England during the 1920s. A tartan walking dress/ flannel suit for the winter is not the same as a periwinkle, beaded, organza ensemble/ navy pinstripe for formal dress in the summer. When we ask for motivations, we are often asking for exactly that: the specific reasons for your inquiry so we may pinpoint the most pertinent information.

The consistent problem for many of the askers who receive the PSA is they haven’t even done the level of research necessary to know what they want to ask of us. It would be like if our English customer in the 1920s responded, “IDK, some kind of blue thing.” Even worse,  WWC doesn’t have the luxury of the back-and-forth between a dressmaker and their clientele. If our asker doesn’t communicate all the information they need in mind at the time of submission, we can only say, “Well, I’m not sure if this is right, but here’s something. I hope it works, but if you had told us more, we could have done a more thorough job.”

Answering questions without context is hard, and asking for motivations, by which I mean the narratives, themes, character arcs and other literary devices that you are looking to incorporate, is the best way for us to help you, while also helping you to determine if your understanding of the problem will benefit from outside input. Because these asks are published with the goal of helping individuals with similar questions, the PSA also serves to prompt other users.

I note that asking questions is a skill, and we all start by asking the most basic questions (Not stupid questions, because to quote a dear professor, “There are no stupid questions.”). Unfortunately, WWC is not suited for the most basic questions. To this effect, we have a very helpful FAQ and archive as a starting point. Once you have used our website to answer the more basic questions, you are more ready to approach writing with diversity and decide when we can actually be of service. This is why we are so adamant that people read the FAQ. Yes, it helps us, but it also is there to save you time and spare you the ambiguity of not even knowing where to start.

The anxiety in your ask conveys to me a fear of being judged for asking questions. That fear is not something we can help you with, other than to wholeheartedly reassure you that we do not spend our unpaid, free time answering these questions in order to assume motives we can’t confirm or sit in judgment of our users who, as you say, are just trying to do better.

Yes, I am often frustrated when an asker’s question makes it clear they haven’t read the FAQ or archives. I’ve also been upset when uncivil commenters have indicated that my efforts and contributions are not worth their consideration. However, even the most tactless question has never made me think, “Ooh this person is such a naughty racist. Let me laugh at them for being a naughty racist. Let me shame them for being a naughty racist. Mwahaha.”

What kind of sad person has time for that?*

Racism is structural. It takes time to unlearn, especially if you’re in an environment that doesn’t facilitate that process to begin with. Our first priority is to help while also preserving our own boundaries and well-being. Though I am well aware of the levels of toxic gas-lighting and virtue signaling that can be found in various corners of online writing communities in the name of “progressivism*”, WWC is not that kind of space. This space is for discussions held in good faith: for us to understand each other better, rather than for one of us to “win” and another to “lose.”

Just as we have good faith that you are doing your best, we ask that you have faith that we are trying to do our best by you and the BIPOC communities we represent.

- Marika.

*If you are in any writing or social media circles that feed these anxieties or demonstrate these behaviors, I advise you to curtail your time with them and focus on your own growth. You will find, over time, that it is easier to think clearly when you are worrying less about trying to appease people who set the bar of approval so high just for the enjoyment of watching you jump. “Internet hygiene”, as I like to call it, begins with you and the boundaries you set with those you interact with online.

[random-person10]

Bridgerton

Ok so i’m rewatching it now out of pure boredom and i’ve realized somethings and one of them is that Eloise is a fucking idiot.

Don’t get me wrong, she is one of my favourite characters but for someone who reads so much and counts as more curious than others she is absolutely oblivious to things that are impossible to be oblivious about.

First of all, the thing about her not knowing how babies are born. I get it, her mother didn’t explain squat, that’s fair, but Eloise reads... there are poems, books, and many many scripts that mention that shit. Now yes, that is fault of the show writers fine, but still I found it so dumb that they tried to make a gag out of it when it just wasn’t consistent.

Second thing, the number of times that Penelope has slipped and almost revealed herself in season 2. Eloise was able to find the same fucking paper material as whistledown’s but could not figure out that Penelope’s speech about being an observer of gossip was ample evidence. 

Another thing that bugs me is how little the show writers show her writing talent. If Eloise is so keen on becoming a writer, why aren’t we shown any of it? We get to see benedict’s art and his adventures at it but never get a glimpse at her writing or her love for it other than that she reads. Yes, benedict is a man and gets to peruse his passion, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t get a glimpse at her own life in a single episode. All I see from Eloise is her remarks on sexism and how shitty stereotypes are, which I love to see, but I would also like to see her talent, it just feels like they wanted to add a feminist character for the lines and attitude. 

I know Eloise isn’t meant to be some sort of genius, but rather someone who is able to recognize the silliness in the world around them, it’s just that her curiosity and consumption of knowledge doesn’t match some of the things she does. 

However, I do love many other things she does, like when she states to her mother how her beliefs and actions are not just some act of rebellion for others to admire. I love that scene and wished they could’ve explored that part of her more. Because that’s what it’s truly about. 

Another is how she wants to look for Lady Whistledown in order to discuss ideas and shit woman-to-woman, it’s very wholesome and I liked her detective attitude towards it.

Also, Colin is not a character. He has less personality and presence than fucking gregory, but alas, I always thought this and just wanted to mention it. I know a lot of people love him and I get it I guess but like all he has is being Penelope’s love interest and even that is flavourless and feels half-assed. I just wish that the writers put a little more effort into the siblings. 

I hate how they queer baited people with Benedict just to make him the straightest person in season 2. Heart eyes for both men and women, looking at both the naked figure of men and women, literally admiring Henry Graville, not his life, but him, and then throwing it all in the trash is so fucked up. I still hope they at least make him canonically bi. 

I loved how they showed Anthony’s growth, in season 1. He showed that he could learn from the mistakes he did with his sister and mother and actually changed his ways, it was so refreshing. 

Daphne’s trick/rape with Simon was horrible I lack the words for it,I know the book had it, but the show could’ve literally avoided adding it, its triggering and totally evil I don’t even know what to say. I don’t know whether to hate Daphne or the writers because her character was totally amazing up until that episode. 

I used to hate the Featheringtons a lot on my first watch but actually enjoyed watching them this time around idk it just felt different. I guess I had a little more morality the first time and just don’t care this time but yeah no I love them, especially Lady Featherington, she fucking rules bro, she’s a little evil but she’s what Eloise wished she was. Lmfao jk but yeah Lady Featheringtons a boss. 

love mama bridgerton, she deserves better, (should teach her kids about sex coz wtf) shes my love. 

love lady danbury, she also deserves better.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Hi! I stumbled across ur blog recently from the “Impact Disney has on TW”, and I agree w a lot of what u said in that post. I feel that maybe it’s bc Disney was a huge part of my childhood that I’m so drawn to these characters and world, and while I do love the game to bits, I have to admit that, when I take off the rose tinted glasses, there r flaws in the story that could have defo been improved. Like u said in the post, the existing Disney lore used in the game kinda restricts it from doing more and it’s kinda sad bc there is a lot of potential. Tho, personally, I will say that one thing twst did good on was making most of their characters interesting w diverse personalities, and even if they aren’t, there’s still opportunities in the future for the character to shine. Like I defo want to see more of Leona cause aside from being hot, he’s made up to be a pretty interesting character, especially w his intelligence, like in the endless Halloween where he understood Ace’s plan to avoid Floyd, and even respected Ace for being witty enough to pull off something like that.

Also, if it’s okay w u, I rly like talking about these kinds of things, like discussing the weak points of a well-made media, so is there another platform where I could talk to u more about or would Tumblr be ideal?

[Referencing this post!]

dbjsvshsvsjejej It was the opposite situation for me 😂 I feel like part of the reason I can critique TWST as much as I do is because I’m not a Disney kid and therefore I don’t have as much nostalgia for The Mouse (TM) and all the properties that his light touches.

I’d like to clarify that I don’t think the use of Disney lore in Twisted Wonderland is an issue; I think it actually adds a lot of creative flavor text and lore into TWST’s own locations, customs, cultures, characters, etc. When I start to see problems arise is when the main story tries to stringently follow the events of Disney movies. Lore ≠ Events, basically! (Using Disney lore to enrich the TWST world and its characters? Good, great!! Trying to perfectly recreate the events of the movie at the risk of creating plot holes and making TWST characters look bland or unintelligent? Er, not so good 😔)

I do think that TWST did an excellent job at taking inspiration from Disney characters but still made every character in its cast unique from their Disney counterparts. Even the dorm leaders, who so closely resemble and embody their respective Great Seven counterpart (to the point where people outside of the fandom mistake the dorm leaders as “children of Disney villains”) stand out as their own individuals, wholly unique from their inspirations. For example, Malleus is like Maleficent in regal composure and coolness, but he also has a lonely, curious, and childish side. Each one has their own interests and hobbies, strengths and weaknesses, vices and virtues. They’re all imperfect idiots in their own ways, and we love them for that, even if we may not have a connection to the original source material (like wow how did Yana make the generic evil hencheels so hot and yet so different from anyone else in the cast INCLUDING their own twin brother????).

Leona really got shafted with chapter 2 😔 I don’t even like the (cat) man that much and I still feel sorry for the entire chapter revolving around him being so poorly constructed. It does him such a massive disservice, which is sad because outside of chapter 2 he is pretty alright and actually quite interesting. Literally anything other than chapter 2 will show you how observant and sharp he is. In his Halloween vignettes, he instantly understands that Jade’s kindness is fake and that Jade wants something out of him in exchange for offering a drink. He can also tell that Jamil is suspicious and looks like he could “kill Kalim in his sleep” despite Jamil putting up a front. Leona guides his underclassmen in Vargas Camp to help them find magical gems more efficiently (because going by what is stated in a textbook is tedious). Even in chapters AFTER 2, we can see Leona offering his scheming wisdom to help himself (chapter 3) while also looking after his dorm when he knows he’ll be absent (chapter 6). OTL Man, compared to all of THAT, chapter 2 really does him dirty...

It’s great that you’re fired up to continue the discussion! ^^ Unfortunately, I wouldn’t recommend using Tumblr asks for prolonged conversations, as it could unintentionally lead to spam or it could take me a long time to respond (sometimes I queue up asks from months ago to go up now 💦). I do have a blog Discord server if you’re interested though! You can probably find me there.

[ariesjupiter]

Mitski Birth Chart Reading

This is just my interpretation based on Mitski’s birth chart and what I know of her music. Let me know if you have any suggestions of someone I should make a post on next! If you’re interested, I offer natal chart readings, just check my pinned post!

Libra sun: In terms of basic personality and ego, Mitski is focused on creating balanced, harmonic relationships. Intimate, one-on-one relationships are a major part of her identity. Libra is ruled by venus which represents love and beauty. After all, she is known for her lyrics relating to her romantic relationships. The lyric “I love everybody because I love you” is so profoundly Libra to me. She is friendly and charming. She sees herself reflected and other people and people see themselves reflected in her (for better or worse). Venus also rules the arts and Mitski is a natural artist in every sense of the word. Her music sonically is very unique, inventive, and creative as she experiments with mixing different genres. This is influenced by her sun in the 11th house. Sun in the 11th house also indicates an emphasis on friendships and memberships of certain groups and communities. It also indicates an importance of her hopes and dreams. Her sun in 3° explains why she is such a talented writer, communicator, and lyricist. Peak libra sun culture: “Young adult romance is the shit” (a real quote from the queen herself). And let’s not forget her iconic quote from 2016: “I’m a libra so my sexuality is essentially “you can really be any gender as long as you treat me like a princes.” Truer words have never been spoken.

Capricorn moon: Despite how personal her music is, Mitski is a rather private and reserved person, particularly when it comes to expressing her emotions. Also, Capricorn is associated with the father and she has been known to be especially private regarding her dad’s career. She is serious and intense with emotions but can sometimes get detached. The emphasis is on having control over her feelings. She is ambitious and a practical person. Her emotions are connected to her career. Those who do not know her well may see her as cold. In temperament she tends to be melancholic. Emotionally mature and wise beyond her years. Straightforward and honest with her expression. She is dependable, loyal, hard working, & realistic. Emotional fulfillment is often tied to achievement and success. Her moon in the 2nd house and 2° suggests material comforts make her feel safe. With the 2nd house being associated with venus, she is able to express her emotions in an artistic way. Could be protective over material objects. Sentimental. Music has a big impact on her emotions and mood. Peak capricorn moon culture: “I didn’t really feel anything. I’ve stopped feeling things for a long time” - Mitski, The Fader Interview, 2017. In all seriousness, I hope my capricorn moons are doing good.

Virgo mercury: Mitski is practical and detail oriented when it comes to communication and matters of learning. She takes the time to choose the right words to convey her thoughts. She is clear and concise. Mercury is in its sign of rulership here. Her mercury in the 10th house suggests that she will be known for her communication style. Has a lot of thoughts but is also organized. Analytical. Mitski likes making lists. Loves to give advice. Mercury is in 16° (cancer degree) and she has a soft spoken voice. Talks about the past and her roots (cancerian themes).

Virgo venus: In love, Mitski will assume a caretaking role and will gladly help her partner finish mundane tasks and chores. A devoted and faithful lover. Love is about the mundane and routine details of life. Love is about service. Acts of service tend to be virgo venus’ main love language. She wants to help improve her partner’s life. She is patient and observant. Values love that is simple and authentic. Appreciates a partner with whom she can have intellectual conversations. May have a tendency to be too critical on herself when it comes to love. Venus rules aesthetics & style and she tends to have a modest fashion sense. Mitski has voiced her interest in astrology and how she has asked people she’s interested for their birth times lmao. Her venus is in the 11th house, she treats a lover like she would treat a friend. In fact, romantic love probably equates to platonic love in her book. She has her venus in 24° which is a pisces degree, which explains this natural interest in astrology.

Gemini mars: Could be impatient because she moves quickly. Efficient. Has a lot of goals and likes to keep busy. She thrives when she talks to others and exchanged ideas. Likes to multitask. Very versatile. Probably has a flirty, bubbly energy when she’s attracted to someone. Attracted to intellect. Desire to see things from multiple perspectives. Gemini rules the hands so she’s skilled with playing instruments and writing. Likes to try new things. Witty and humorous. Could have nervous energy or fidget often.

Leo jupiter: The planet of luck and expansion in Leo is a big indicator of fame. Her jupiter is also in the 9th house and in 7°. Jupiter in the 9th indicates being born in a different country from where you reside now. Mitski is biracial and has lived in multiple countries growing up. She loves to learn, particularly about other cultures and ways of life. She is open minded, philosophical and values freedom and being independent. She attracts good fortune when she travels (touring!) and also when she focuses on partnerships/intimate relationships (7°). Combining this energy, Mitski attracts luck when she acts dramatically, demonstrates/teaches her knowledge, expresses herself artistically, shows her warm hearted and sometimes stubborn side, & takes chances, shows her bravery, and takes the lead. Be the Cowboy is big leo energy 🤠

Capricorn saturn: Mitski is responsible, practical, goal-oriented, and cautious. With saturn in the 3rd house, she probably had to grow up quickly and become mature at a young age. Capricorn saturn people tend to be very successful people. Strong willed. Tendency to be quiet and is a good listener. Could also be outspoken. With saturn in 18° (virgo degree), she’s very hard working but she may need to learn how to take a break and let herself rest and recharge.

Capricorn uranus: This placement also indicates that she goes after her goals and is efficient and practical in achieving them. Uranus being in the 2nd house shows that she could make money from being unique and groundbreaking. 2nd house also rules the voice! Her values are unique and she could be resistant to change them. Her self esteem could be in a constant state of flux and be tied to money. Her income could rapidly change, like maybe she did not get paid much but then suddenly she starts making a lot of money. Uranus is in 5° which is a fame degree. She’s famous for being authentically herself and very much an individual in the industry that can’t be compared.

Capricorn neptune: Capricorn neptunes are most likely realists. She is skilled at going after her dreams. Her dreams are practical and connected to themes of wealth, power, and control. Neptune in 3rd house shows a dreamy, poetic way of communicating. A very creative placement. Dreamy vibes. Could be elusive in communication, open for interpretation. Neptune is in 11° so this gives aquarian energy. Idealistic with friends and always searching for ways to achieve her dreams.

Scorpio pluto: Her power lies in her ability to analayze human interactions and be introspective with herself since it’s in the 1st house. She is very self aware. Mitski understands that life is about going through changes and she welcomes the ability to grow and rebuild. She has intense, deep emotions but has control over them and how she expresses them. Pluto in 16° adds a cancerian energy. Her strength lies in her ability to nurture and be empathetic.

Scorpio rising: First impressions of Mitski can be that she’s mysterious and secretive. A powerful and intimidating presence. This explains to me why she loves dressing in black. She probably has a strong dislike for anything superficial. She likes to get to know people on a deeper level and connect with them. She likes honesty and is probably very perceptive and intuitive. Privacy is so important to her! She has a lot of layers and wants people to unpack them, but it may take her a while to open up. She is powerful and has endurance. Her presence leaves an impact on people. Loyalty and intimacy is important. She’s not afraid to talk about taboo topics or scary, heavier emotions. Passionate and even a tendency to get fixed on or obsessed with something or someone. Her rising is in 15° (gemini degree) so she’s clever, curious, and thinks quickly. a little more flexible than a regular Scorpio rising would be.

Leo midheaven: People might see her as dramatic or arrogant. In the public eye, she was meant to be a performer. At her concerts she’s known for putting on a good show & includes interpretive dance and choreography. She becomes herself more when she’s on stage. The stage is where she shines. Has a lot of pride connected to her career. Reputation for creatively expressing herself and being brave and taking risks. Wants to be admired, especially regarding her career. Her purpose is to become a leader. Mc in 22° (capricorn degree) shows that she is a very hard worker when it comes to her career. She won’t let anyone stop her when it comes to achievement and success in her field. Another indicator of being at the top of her career and being publicly recognized for it!

TLDR: Mitski is a natural born singer, performer and artist. She is unique, talented, and an introspective writer. Being earth and water dominant, she balances practicality & stability with sentimentality & raw emotion. With all of her Capricorn placements, she is grounded and doesn’t let fame get to her head. Her chart ruler is Scorpio pluto in the 1st which means that major transformations will be a big theme in her life, especially regarding herself & her identity. She is always reflecting and looking at herself on a deep level.

[seiijohhh]

the slow demise [2/?]

summary: He’d found you coated in blood, surrounded by death, and decided then and there, you were perfect. pairing: megumi fushiguro x f!gojo!reader a/n: this has been reposted from my original account @justauthoring - so, if you recognize it, that’s why. im also tagging those who originally requested to be tagged in it, so they know where to find future parts. tags: @thatprofessionalfangirl - @sugarandsoft - @honeyy-honeyy-sweets - @strawberryflavoredjeans - @flowersbloominthedark - @juliajempire​ - @princess-bumblebee - @sageandberries-png - @yue-caelum - @a–nonymousse - @aryksworld - @godsentkita​ - @kat-su-ki

part one - part two - part three - part four

“How is there only four first years? Isn’t that too few?”

“Well, have you ever met anyone who can see curses before?”

Pausing in thought, the tip of Itadori’s popsicle remains in his mouth, before he tips it towards Fushiguro; “nope.”

“That just proves how small a minority jujutsu sorcerers are.”

Leaning against the railing beside Itadori, you glance away from him and Megumi, taking a moment to gather your surroundings. Gojo has left waiting here for quite a while, and honestly, you were getting bored.

“Also,” Itadori speaks up, pulling your attention back on him. “Didn’t you say I was the fourth?”

“Their entry was decided a while ago.” Fushiguro explains, nonchalant as ever, “you know what our school is like. Everyone has unique circumstances.”

Leaning towards Itadori with a mischievous grin, you hold your hand up to give the impression of telling a secret but don’t bother to lower your voice. “They were trying to find a replacement for me,” you grin, bright eyed at the dull look Fushiguro sends you.

“You were the one who said you’d never been apart of our school in the first place,” he quirks a brow, “how could we replace you, then?”

Blinking at his quip, you’re mainly surprised he’s able to come up with one.

“Moo,” you pout, crossing your arms over your chest. “No fun.”

“Sorry for the wait.”

Blinking at the new voice, your straighten out at the sight of Gojo waving at the three of you. He makes his way steadily over, before pausing, head tilting in curiosity, lips parting; “oh? Your uniforms made it in time, I see.” Then, his eyes drift to you, meeting your gaze. “Though, I’ve had yours waiting in my closet for a while.”

Glancing down at your uniform, you pull at the jacket, eyeing it curiously. The outfit was the same colour as Gojo’s and Fushiguro’s, as expected, a deep, dark purple. Yours was slightly different then your male counterparts however, and you’d found a pair of tight fitting dress pants, a white button up, and a cropped jacket with a high collar at your door this morning.

“Yeah,” Itadori grins, sending him a thumbs up. “It’s a perfect fit. Though it’s slightly different from Fushiguro’s,” he pulls at the material, “it has a hood, for one.”

“That’s because the uniforms can be customized upon request.”

“Huh? But I never put in any requests.”

With a sigh, you cross your arms over your chest, nudging Itadori lightly; “that’s because he did.” And when he turns to look at you, you shrug. “I didn’t put in a request for mine either. Though, I’m pleasantly surprised that mine came with pants.”

Utterly and entirely too proud of himself, Gojo grins at you brightly, sending you a thumbs up; “I thought you’d appreciate not having a skirt.”

And honestly, you can’t argue with that.

“Whatever, I guess,” Itadori shrugs.

“Be careful,” Fushiguro calls out, “Gojo-sensei has a tendency to do things like that.”

“More importantly,” you speak up, raising your head as you poke your head out. “Why are we meeting up in Harajuku?” Just as you finish speaking, Itadori moves to a stand beside you, pulling your eyes on him briefly before blinking back over at Gojo.

“Because it’s what she asked for.”

“Hey!” Jumping at the sudden pike of excitement in Itadori’s voice, you turn to him as he grins excitedly at you. “Popcorn! I want some!” Without any real warning, he grabs you by the wrist, grip gentle but firm, and pulls you along, whilst you stutter in surprise.

“H-Hey! I never said I wanted some–!”

–

“Um… P-Pardon me?”

It takes you half a second to realize that the older man stood in front of you, is talking to you. His lips are curved into a hopeful, somewhat hesitant smile, eyes crinkling at the corners as he regards you. “Are you on the clock right now?”

Your lips part, surprised flooding your features. You take a glance back at Itadori, Fushiguro and embarrassingly enough, Gojo, stood a little ways back from you as they watch on with varying expressions of interests. Itadori just looks curious, maybe even a little lost (and honestly, it’s a little endearing), Fushiguro seems rather annoyed and Gojo? Well, you have no idea.

Despite knowing the man for so many years now, you still can’t really gauge what half of his mischievous looks are about.

“Uh, no, I’m not,” you answer, turning back to the man, before raising your hand with a soft shake of your head. “But I’m not–”

“You see,” he cuts in, plainly ignoring what you’d had to say. So much for being hesitant. “I’m looking for potential models.” You take a quick glance at yourself – what about you currently screams model right now? “This is who I am,” he continues, thrusting a card in your face. “Would you be interested?”

You miss the pair of keen and careful eyes that watch you.

“Sorry,” you bow gently, feeling suddenly incredibly uncomfortable. “I’m not really interested–”

“Oh! Just hear me out–!”

“Hey, you.”

A new voice calls, and your eyes land on a hand that’s latched itself to the man’s shoulders before glancing upwards. You’re surprised to see a girl, your age, in a similar school uniform to your own, instead hers consists of a pencil skirt.

The man turns to her with a startle.

“What about me?”

You blink at her boldness, unable to stop the grin that grows on your face.

“For the modeling gig, dug,” she continues, crossing her arms over her chest. “I’m asking what you think about me.”

“Oh, um! I’m in a hurry at the moment!” He offers a small smile, a nod your way, before moving to walk off.

She doesn’t let him off that easily.

Tugging him back by the collar of his jacket, she growls; “don’t run from me! Come out and say it!”

“Please, I’m sorry!”

“Um,” stepping forward, you try to placate the girl in letting the man go, offering a nervous smile. “Maybe you should–”

“Hey!”

Sighing in relief at Gojo’s voice, you move to rush over to him and the boys, falling next to Itadori, and spinning to face the girl with a grin.

-

“Okay, once again.”

Gojo gestures to the new student, and with ease, she moves to introduce herself. “Kugisaki Nobara,” she introduces herself, hand on her hip. “Be happy, boys. There’s now two girls in your group.”

Head tilting, you let out a laugh at the expressions on Itadori’s and Fushiguro’s faces.

A moment of silence passes, Nobara simply just stares at the three of you, though you notice her eyes are solely on Itadori and Fushiguro.

“I’m Itadori Yuji,” Itadori grins, leaning forward as he gestures to himself. “I’m from Sendai.”

“Fushiguro Megumi.”

She stares. Then, huffing: “I always get stuck with unfortunate circumstances.”

“She took one look and sighed,” Itadori deadpans.

“Well,” moving so you’re slightly in front of Itadori, you grin brightly at Nobara. You don’t have many friends, and even less of them are female, so you’re hoping that she won’t have the same reaction towards you. Especially with what happened earlier. “I’m Y/N Gojo, yes, as in Gojo-sensei,” you thumb at Gojo, “but we’re not related by blood, I only took his name–”

“–Hey, how come you didn’t tell me that right away!”

Sticking your hand out, you meet her eyes; “it’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She stares, and you feel your chest tighten in worry. But then, her eyes are brightening and the brightest (and maybe only) smile you’ve seen on the girl since meeting her curls onto her lips as she eagerly takes your hand. “I’m relieved to not be the only girl!”

And it’s like a weight of your shoulder.

“Hey!” Itadori calls, pouting, “how come you don’t like me!”

“Are we going somewhere?” Fushiguro cuts in, clearly tired of the conversation.

Gojo lets out a mischievous laugh; “we do have all four of you together.” He nods to himself. “Not to mention, two of you are from the countryside. So, of course we’re going on a tour of Tokyo!”

Almost immediately, as if on cue, Nobara, Itadori and Gojo all jump together, bright grins and sparkling eyes as they chant; “Tokyo! Tokyo! Tokyo!” Before, Nobara and Itadori move to stand beside each other, hands clasped with sparkling delight. “We love Tokyo.”

Shoving your hands into your pockets, you watch on with a tilt of your head.

“TDL!” Nobara cries, Itadori latching onto Gojo; “I want to go to TDL!”

“Idiot!” Itadori turns to her, “TDL’s in Chiba! Let’s go to Chinatown, Sensei!”

“Chinatown’s in Yokohama!”

“Yokohama’s part of Tokyo! Don’t you know that? Look at a map!”

Nudging Fushiguro lightly, you turn to whisper to him; “he’s not taking them on a tour, right?”

“Oh, yeah,” Fushiguro nods, watching the two with disdain on his face. “Without a doubt.”

“I will now announce our destination,” Gojo calls, silencing Itadori and Nobara almost instantly.

“Roppongi!”

Turning to each other, you swear you actually see stars in their eyes; “Roppongi?!”

“I almost feel bad,” you mumble, unable to tear your eyes away.

“Don’t,” Fushiguro mumbles, “they’re idiots.”

-

Staring you at the building that looks quite frankly haunted, you bite your lips.

“There’s a curse here.”

“You liar!”

“You were toying with us country folk!”

With an everlasting grin on his face, Gojo adds; “there’s a bit cemetery nearby. The double whammy of that and an abandoned building brought out a curse.”

With a pat on the back of sympathy for Nobara, who continues to grovel in disappointment, clearly pissed off, you listen in as Itadori speaks up – surprisingly, he doesn’t seem all that upset about the whole lying thing anymore.

“So they really do pop up more often around graves?”

“The issues isn’t the cemetery itself,” Fushiguro explains, “it’s the fact that people associate cemeteries with fear.”

“Oh,” his eyes brighten in understanding. “It was the same for schools, too, wasn’t it?”

“Hold up!” Nobara calls, finally straightening out, “he didn’t even know that yet?”

Scratching at your chin, you let out a nervous laugh; “well…”

“He swallowed a special-grade cursed object?!” She all but screeches as you explain, instantly creating a distance between her and Itadori, disgust clear on her facial expression. “Gross! Unbelievable! That’s so unsanitary and disgusting! No way, no way, no way!”

“What?”

“I agree with her.” Fushiguro cuts in.

“Y/L/N!”

You bite your lips as his eyes fall on you, clasping your hands behind your back while you rock on the heels of your feet nervously. “Um…” You start, voice drifting, “it was kinda disgusting.”

“What?!”

“I want to know what all of you are capable of,” Gojo cuts in, hands in his pockets as he regards the abandoned building. “Just think of this as a field test. Nobara, Yuji, you two go exorcise the curse inside that building.”

Brows furrowing, you turn to Gojo. Why was he..?

“Huh?” Itadori mumbles, “but I thought only curses could exorcise curses, right? I can’t use any jujutsu yet.”

Gojo turns to Itadori; “you’re basically half a curse already,” he reminds. “There’s cursed energy flowing throughout your body. Though controlling that energy isn’t something you can learn overnight, so use this.” Your eyes widen at the familiar looking weapon, if you remembered correctly that belonged to a second year. “It’s the cursed tool, Slaughter Demon. It’s a weapon imbued with cursed energy. It’ll work on curses, too.”

Pulling the cover off the weapon, Itadori eyes it gleaning eyes.

“Lame,” Nobara scoffs, pulling your attention on her as she moves towards the building, pulling a pouncing around the belt hoops of her skirt.

Itadori moves to follow her.

“Oh, one more thing,” Gojo calls, “don’t let Sukuna out. If you use him, you’ll get rid of all the curses nearby in a flash, but you’ll also drag everyone around into it.”

“Got it!” Itadori grins, sending Gojo a thumbs up, “I won’t let Sukuna out.”

“Hurry up now!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Go on, now!”

-

“Man, I finally join the school like you’ve always wanted me to, and you kick me out of my first official mission.”

Letting out a laugh, Gojo sits down beside Fushiguro as you frown down at him. Leaning back, he glances up at you; “sorry,” he grins.

“I still think I should go, though,” you mumble, glancing back in the direction of the building, eyeing it with worry. Biting your lip, you frown; “I mean, Itadori’s still new and everything. And Nobara’s never been in the city…”

There’s an echo of silence, before Fushiguro adds; “I think I’ll go too.”

“Don’t push yourself,” Gojo calls, “either of you. You’re still recovering.”

Huffing, you nudge Fushiguro’s foot lightly, signaling him to scoot over which he does without complain. Falling into seat beside him, your shoulder lightly touches his own, an action that completely misses you, but Fushiguro however does not. And fighting back the faint blush that threatens to grow on his cheeks, Fushiguro distracts himself by turning back to Gojo.

“Y/N’s right,” he mumbles, “someone should keep an eye on them, especially Itadori.”

“True,” Gojo nods, “but the one we’re testing this time is Nobara.”

Complying, you let out a sigh, leaning back on the palms of your hands, tilting your head up to glance at the curse practically oozing from the building.

As you do, you miss the way Fushiguro keeps eyeing you.

“That Yuji…he’s missing a few up here,” he taps his head for emphasis. “He has no hesitation when it comes to killing these things that take the form of living creatures, albeit bizarre-looking ones, to try to kill him. And it’s not like he’s been familiar with curses for a long time, like the both of you.”

You glance at Gojo, meeting his already awaiting gaze.

“They won’t leave me alone!”

“Yes, darling, but… but you’re scaring me… you’re scaring us!”

Shaking your head, a wave of heat rolls off of you, almost pulsating, and it causes those around you to flinch in fear, pushing away from you. You don’t understand, no one will listen to you – they don’t understand. They won’t understand…

You’re not trying to scare them.

“Mama, please, just–”

She holds a hand to you, stopping you from approaching – it feels like your heart might just break.

“Papa,” you turn, swiftly, desperately, but he looks at you with those same eyes. Those same fearful, disgusted eyes and you can feel the tears welling, your sight blurring. “P-Please…” You cry.

“You have to stay away, Y/N. It’s not safe for us.”

“I’m not safe!”

The words leave your voice in a screech, and you hate the way everyone backs away. This is your family, your mother and father, and your older brother and they’re all avoiding you because they’re afraid of you. They won’t listen to reason. It’s not your fault, you’re not trying to scare them – you’re scared…

You’re terrified.

But they don’t care.

“They won’t leave me! They just follow me! I’m not… please, listen to me! Mama, papa, onii-chan!”

It’s useless. They won’t listen.

They’re too scared.

You feel your heart swelling, anger flooding your senses, and the only thing in your head is; they need to understand.

In a second there’s screams. Your eyes snap open to find red, just… red. There’s so much of it, the smell of it floods your senses and makes you feel sick. The monsters that haunt your dreams, that never leave you no matter how hard you try to make them, fly past you in blurs; the red coats them.

The screams never leave your mind.

They never will.

And in the sea of red, amidst your own sobbing, you see a glow of white, and it shines so brightly you think;

that must be my saviour.

The one you’ve been waiting for.

“Yo!”

He pulls his blindfold back, and the sea of blue you see is just so beautiful, your young heart soars.

“So little to be covered in so much blood.”

“–This is a boy who used to live a normal high school life.”

Blinking at the sound of Gojo’s voice, you’re pulled from your thoughts with a startle. Ignoring the pang in your chest and the way it sits uncomfortably heavy, you ignore the sidewise glance Fushiguro sends you, placing your focus back on what Gojo has to say.

“You’ve both seen plenty of jujutsu sorcerers, even those with talent, give up in frustration because they couldn’t conquer their fear or disgust, haven’t you?”

You glance at Fushiguro, and the answer is obvious.

“So today I want to confirm how crazy she is.”

“But Kugisaki has experience, right? Little late for that now, isn’t it?”

“Curses are born from human minds,” Gojo reminds, “so their strength and numbers grow in proportion to the population. Meaning…”

“Is Nobara aware that curses in Tokyo are on a different level than those in the countryside,” you finish with a nod, leaning forward to eye Gojo. Honestly, despite being an annoyance most of the time, Gojo was good at bringing the best out of his students – so you shouldn’t be all that surprised by his tendency to search for the best either.

Still, it shocks you.

“And when I say ‘level’, I don’t just mean the amount of cursed energy they have,” Gojo continues, “it’s their cunning. Monsters that have gained wisdom often force cruel choices upon you…–”

“It’s just a kid… right?”

“–with the weight of human lives in the balance.”

Gojo’s words hang in the air, and, with a frown, you glance over at Fushiguro, only for his eyes to already be on your own.

Without having to ask, you already know why.

“Megumi–”

You’re cut off by the sound of glass breaking, your eyes snapping up towards the building, only for your eyes to widen at the sight of a curse.

Fushiguro shifts beside you; “I’ll exorcise it.”

“Hold on.” Gojo halts,

And Fushiguro almost looks appalled, stood, waiting, a second later you feel the same – only for spikes to appear through the curses body, it’s eyes bulging, and in the next second for it to simply dissolve.

“Nice,” Gojo grins, and honestly, you have to agree. That was impressive.

“She’s crazy, all right.”

-

“I live over there! Thanks again!”

You watch the kid Itadori and Nobara had rescued for a moment longer, even as Fushiguro and Gojo move to walk off. Peeking your head around the corner, a fond, soft smile curls onto your lips at the mother who opens the door. Obviously relieved that he sons okay, she doesn’t waste another second quickly wrapping the small boy up in her arms and practically pulling him off his feet.

You can’t remember the last time you’d felt a mother’s love.

“Y/N?”

Blinking at the sound of Fushiguro’s voice, you turn around, eyes wide at having gotten lost in your own thoughts.

“You coming?” Shoving a hand in his pocket, he tilts his head curiously at you.

“Yup!” You call, popping the ‘p’ as you push back your thoughts. Running to catch up to him, you fall in step with him, bumping his shoulder lightly with a grin to which he turns away, a light dust coating his cheeks, causing you to giggle. He was too easy to tease.

“Good Joseph!” Gojo calls to Itadori and Nobara, who decided to wait on some steps. “We made sure the kid got home.”

Almost instantly, the two stand.

“Now, shall we go grab some food?”

“Steak!” Itadori cries.

“Sushi!” Noabara follows.

With two thumbs up, Gojo grins; “leave it all to me! And, you two?”

You glance over at Fushiguro, rolling your eyes when you notice he’s on his phone, not paying attention. Shrugging, you decide to join in on the fun, pumping your first in the air; “you can’t forget about desert!”

“Of course not!”

“Y/N!” Itadori leans towards you, and you blink at the tears in his eyes.

“You finally understand!” Your eyes widen when Nobara follows him, leaning towards you with an almost proud look.

Tilting your head, your lips part; “huh?”

“Last call, Megumi!”

He continues to ignore Gojo.

“He’s just cranky he didn’t get to do anything today,” you whisper to Itadori and Nobara, giggling when he sends you a glare.

“Well,” Gojo says, voice sickly sweet, “let’s go.” And he simply tugs the three of you along, ignoring Fushiguro, who almost immediately perks up when he notices he’s being left behind.

You let out a laugh as he rushes to join.

“Oh,” Nobara calls, “I forgot about my biggest haul today. You,” she sharply points at Itadori, “go fetch my things.”

“Huh? Why should I do it? I thought we were even.”

“We won thanks to my cursed energy. Got a problem with that?”

“What about my raw strength?”

“Your monstrous power from eating weird shit?”

“It’s not just that,” Itadori cries, “right, Fushiguro, Y/N?”

“Oh, yeah, definitely,” you snort.

He just pouts. “Fushiguro?”

There’s no response.

“Huh? What’s the matter, Fushiguro?”

“Nothing–”

“Y/N said it right,” Gojo laughs, “he’s pouting because he didn’t get to join in.”

Letting out a laugh, you nod; “totally is!”

“Puh, puh,” Nobara giggles, a hand to her mouth, “what a child.”

Megumi lets out a grunt, hiding his face behind his collar as the rest of you collectively let out a laugh. And as you share in the moment, glancing around, you’re starting to forget why you were so adamant on spending life alone.

[drabsyo]

Drabs, I know that you usually draw Fleur with slightly darker blonde hair than Narcissa. Was it a choice so that it’s easier to distinguish them from each other or was your Fleur maybe slightly influenced by the actress from the movie who had darker hair?

In the books Fleur didn’t seem to have much description other than having long silvery hair (waist length?) and having this glow around her. So like with Narcissa, what works have influenced your design of Fleur?

It’s fascinating sometimes to read the artist’s perspective and your previous reply to the anon about Narcissa has been very interesting.

Thank you!!! 🥺

I was actually pretty embarrassed over how enthusiastic I got over the whole hair thing, but I'm glad it made some sense at least 😂 And now that I've been given even more reason to talk about it... (Let's face it, I shouldn't even be allowed on this website to begin with, ya'll have been way too nice to me.)

Only click on keep reading if you want to read Some Nonsense.

I did consider Fleur's actress when I thought about her hair color. Though I pictured it to be something of a mix between movie Fleur and Elsa’s (from Frozen) hair. But the way I drew Fleur's hair, the way it falls across her shoulders, that was more of... well, I imagined Fleur to have effortlessly perfect hair, like she doesn't seem to need to style it so much because it's already whimsical as it is, what with her being part-Veela. There were a lot of fanfictions that helped me to sort of see a better image of Fleur in my head so really, I owe it to all the talented writers out there!

It's also the same with Narcissa's case. Though I decided to give her paler hair, compared to Fleur's, because I wanted to emphasize that air of vulnerability Narcissa has—this image she conjures, like she's this fragile thing made of glass, which typically in fanfiction is what Narcissa uses so that Voldemort would overlook her a lot, hence why she wasn't given any "missions" or "tasks" while Voldemort was in Malfoy Manor. Slytherin preservation. This "fragile" image was something Narcissa capitalized on and maintained perfectly, but in post-war Cissamione fanfictions, she no longer has to put on that façade—she starts living for herself, but the quiet sadness about her never really goes away.

I really did struggle at first, I had to find a way where I could draw them without confusing people and myself.

So, again, I sifted through a lot of canon and non canon material about these two characters which funnily enough made me see some kind of parallel going on between them. I know. Fleur Delacour and Narcissa Black. Parallels?! It's nuts. But again, this is only within Fleurmione and Cissamione fanfiction, and it really helped me to draw them better. (At least in a way that made them distinguishable from one other at first glance, I’d like to think.)

These 'hair scenes' are mostly the bits where Hermione "first" sees Fleur. Hermione is entranced, a little curious, sometimes she feels indifferent, but the general theme is Hermione immediately finds Fleur beautiful—which probably explains why Hermione in fanfiction sometimes thinks Narcissa could be part-Veela like Fleur. And as you can imagine, that's where my struggle began.

You'll see what I mean in a minute. And just like last time, remember that this part comes with spoilers.

🔹 In Fighting is our form of Flirting by InsomniacAndBi in Chapter 2 Hermione sees Fleur for the first time. This is the first Fleurmione fanfiction I've ever read, and also the first time I've encountered Fleur's character. Tall, bright blonde hair, won the genetic lottery, aristocratic features, face held in a scowl, floats into the room with effortless poise, immediately starts demanding things out of people... Sounds vaguely familiar, doesn't it. Like some other blonde we know.

"Non!" A voice from the doorway said. "This is not what was agreed."

For a moment, Hermione thought about ignoring it but turned to glance over there if only to quell her curiosity. A girl stepped into the room and Hermione's phone call was forgotten in a moment. She knew that it wasn't nice to stare but Hermione couldn't help but do it because, in all honesty, this was the prettiest girl she had ever seen. She was definitely taller than Hermione was, with bright blonde hair and...clearly she had won the genetic lottery.

Her skin practically glowed and it looked so smooth and soft. It made Hermione wonder if she used those fancy beautification charms or had a very lengthy skincare routine. Or maybe, just maybe, this is what being rich did to people's faces. There was no doubt in Hermione's mind that this girl was rich - like extremely rich, like even rich people thought she was rich. That kind of rich. That was the type of rich that this girl was.

Also, only super rich people curled up their lip like this girl was doing.

She breezed into the room like she was floating and Hermione hastily ended her phone call and promised to call back later.

"This is not what was agreed," The girl said again and Hermione felt incredibly small sitting in front of her. Not to mention, the girl's clothes screamed 'I'm rich and I know it' and Hermione's screamed 'I'm so out of place that I might as well be a bull in a China shop'.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Hermione managed to get out when it became apparent that the girl was waiting for her response.

"You are English." The girl looked shock for a moment at Hermione's accent before shaking her head angrily. "This is not what was agreed."

🔹 In Oath of Silver by i_shall_wear_midnight immediately in the first chapter, when Witcher Hermione first meets Fleur, it's something Hermione quickly notices. Vivid sapphire eyes. Silvery blonde hair that shimmered in the torchlight. And once again, right off the bat, Fleur is pushy. She wants things done her way. It’s just so cute how she doesn’t even let the fact that Hermione is a Witcher, an extremely dangerous outcast in society, get in the way of that.

(I'm sorry for this but I just have to gush about Oath of Silver. Hermione as a witcher is just so fitting for her character; she possesses that natural eye for detail that remarkable witchers have, witchers like Geralt and Vesimir (a skill that gets even more honed through the Witcher Trials). Hermione even has Geralt's dry sense of humor, a bit rough around the edges, brilliant, snippy without really meaning to (because she asks a lot of questions and would rather get to the point), but has a good heart.)

The witcher figured that would be the end of her human interactions for the evening, but only a few minutes later, the stunning newcomer from before appeared before her. Upon closer inspection, Hermione couldn’t imagine she wouldn’t be conspicuous in any group of people she happened to find herself immersed in. The woman was looking back at her with vivid sapphire eyes, and silvery blonde hair that shimmered even in torchlight. Her attire was travel-ready, but elegant.

“Bonsoir. You are a witcher, oui? Or perhaps a ‘witcheress’ is more accurate? I am not familiar with all the terms…” She watched the beautiful stranger patiently while she fumbled through Hermione’s professional title. As if the distinctive, amber colored cat-eyes hadn’t given her away, the brunette mused wryly. Eventually, the blonde gave up and sat herself down at Hermione’s table, her medallion twitching faintly as the stranger got settled. Hermione filed that away for later. Her new dinner buddy seemed to be oblivious to the curious and concerned looks now being thrown her way at boldly taking a seat at a mutant’s table.

“I came from Ellander,” she began in a non sequitur. “The temple, and spoke to the priestess Nenneke, who told me about you.” Hermione continued eating her second serving of stew and waited for her to get to the point. “I would like to hire you as an escort as I travel back to Toussaint.” The witcher finally put her spoon down.

“Sounds like you ought to be asking some mercenaries to be your bodyguards,” she responded, eyeing the bow the woman was carrying on her pack meaningfully.

“A pair seems doable, and I’d prefer you.”

“I’m not a bodyguard.”

“Yes, technically, I am aware,” she replied, beginning to show signs of impatience.

“Then why are you soliciting a monster-slayer?”

🔹 Witnessed here in Time and Blood by whistle.the.silver is probably the most interesting one because it uses the concept of Veela hair as a wand core brilliantly. Again, this comes with huge 🛑spoilers🛑. Read the italicized words at your own risk. I can't add the entire clip here, as the topic of Fleur's hair is littered throughout several other chapters. But this story shows us a Fleur who is willing to do anything in order to protect Hermione during the course of the war.

My memory is a bit foggy, I haven't read this story in months, but here's what I remember:

This takes place during the time of Shell Cottage, where Fleur is married to Bill and takes care of Hermione. Fleur didn't expect to fall in love with the young brunette and, as the Golden Trio's time in Shell Cottage comes to an end, she worries over Hermione's safety. Fleur, using magic only known to the Veela tribes, does her best to offer Hermione protection in any way that she can--even going as far as to study what Lily Potter did so Harry could live. At one point, Fleur cuts her own hair with a length now roughly above her shoulders to give Hermione a new wand. But this isn't the only bridge Fleur is willing to cross to make sure Hermione survives the incoming battle. Fleur's grandmother, Ron, and even Bill himself, is a little sceptic over the propriety of Fleur's actions, but Fleur is determined to do whatever it takes to make sure Hermione makes it out of the war safe and alive.

So that was a lot to wade through, I know.

But if you've skipped all those parts for the sake of missing spoilers then let me go ahead and explain why the parallel between Fleur and Narcissa are there. Sure, it's plain to see that they have similar physical characteristics, but they're also similar in other ways.

In Witnessed here in Time and Blood, Fleur is willing to do whatever it takes to protect Hermione during the war: sacrifice the secrets of the Veela, make Hermione a wand, make her marriage and friendship with Bill suffer, be scrutinized by her Veela tribe, etc. And didn't Narcissa do the exact same thing during the war to make sure Draco made it out alive? They both chose to 'betray' everyone else for the sake of this one person. Not to mention, in Extinction by rubikanon Narcissa even makes Hermione a wand. (I’m telling you, there are so many parallels between these two ships and I can probably list more but I'd rather not make this post longer.)

Here, I’m just going to go ahead and say it—it’s almost like Fleur and Narcissa in fanfiction have the same love language.

A glaringly obvious difference between them is their upbringing, and we could argue that this why Fleur tends to be more open with her emotions while Narcissa tends to be more carefully guarded with hers. And I don't know if writers realize these parallels but as someone who's a huge fan of both characters and as someone who makes the occasional fanart of them, it's a pretty difficult detail to ignore. This crazy conspiracy all started because I had to find a way to make both characters look distinct from one another... It's just so interesting that writers from two different ships unknowingly make these parallels with two completely separate characters who are often at the opposite ends of the seesaw.

But again, let's take a look at Extinction by rubikanon. (I know. Extinction?! AGAIN?! Always.)

Spoiler warning!

🔹 Extinction by rubikanon has a marvelous take on this, as it turns out Fleur and Narcissa are actually good friends, and if I remember correctly, occasionally exchange letters (I’m unsure about this bit, I might have read it in a different story). They just get along remarkably well; I imagine they both share a kind of mutual respect for each other, a quiet understanding for the way the other woman carries herself: poised, meticulous, they pride themselves in their work, they both know how to handle an Ocean Of Secrets™, they're both accustomed to being under the spotlight of the public eye, and they’re both dedicated to their loved ones. Needless to say, Fleur and Narcissa are both giddy over the prospect of being with someone they love and adore, and end up meticulously planning numerous (I think it was hinted) double dates (Fleur with Bill, and Narcissa with Hermione) with the same kind of endearing enthusiasm that leave Hermione and Bill with no choice but to agree to the whims of their respective lovers.

(Scene seen in Chapter 23: Build Up Your Defense 2 of 2)

Narcissa and (Hermione) I were sitting together on one of the couches when Bill and Fleur arrived later. They showered Teddy with kisses on his little cheeks. He'd gotten past his clingy phase and adored us all, struggling to walk around the room by bracing himself on everyone's knees.

Suddenly Narcissa reached up and grabbed onto someone's wrist behind her head. "Don't even think about it," she said.

"That's just scary. How did you know I was there?" George stood up from behind the couch, a toy spider dangling from his hand. Teddy shrieked with laughter.

"She has eyes in the back of her head," Draco said.

"Mothers," George grumbled, sitting down close to Angelina. "Dump her, Hermione. I need you to date someone more prankable."

Fleur looked in surprise at the two of us on the couch. "Oh, la vache! How did I not know zees? You are lovers?"

"We're dating," I said mildly, though we really were lovers. In every sense. I glanced at Narcissa and bit my lip as heat spread through me. My imagination started planning a middle-of-the-night rendezvous.

"No wonder she (Narcissa) was so adamant about healing that curse," Bill said thoughtfully.

"Adorable! Simply adorable!" Fleur exclaimed, sitting down on Narcissa's other side. "We must go out for a double date next week, all four of us. We'll dine at L'Escargot!"

Narcissa's eyes lit up.

"Oh, no," I said.

"You won't have to eat snails," Narcissa said. "Please, mon amour?"

"French doesn't work on me."

"Please?" She kissed my cheek again and again. "Please? Please?"

Laughing now, I pulled her in for a kiss on the lips and said, "Yes, alright. But only because I have fond memories of trying new foods with you."

"As do I," she agreed.

Then we realized everyone was staring. Narcissa cleared her throat and straightened up, blushing. Draco made a face. Ginny looked a little more favorable. Harry held in laughter, and Andromeda hid her camera.

"Adorable!" Fleur declared again.

🔹 Also, I just have to add Sugar and Spice by waltzlikeits1698 because Chapter 4: Happy Birthday, Harry is absolutely hysterical. During Harry's birthday party, Hermione sulks in a corner because Fleur has apparently been avoiding her. Ginny decides to do something barking mad, something Hermione typically falls for.

“Ooh, someone’s grouchy,” Ginny teased, retracting her arm and facing Hermione fully. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing,” Hermione insisted, although even she could hear the pout in her voice.

“Sure seems like it,” she snarked, summoning two shots and offering one to Hermione with a waggle of her eyebrows. Hermione pulled a face and Ginny shrugged before downing both, one after the other. (...) “You know, I spotted a tall, blonde drink of water hanging around the stairs.”

“What!?” Hermione exclaimed, whirling around and leaning out of the room to look at the staircase. Sure enough, standing at the bottom and resting a slender hand on the bannister was a tall, blonde witch who made Hermione’s heart stop with her mere presence. She had started forward before she knew it, her heart taking up an even quicker beat as she crossed the few steps and reached out a hand to clasp her elbow. The woman turned, that beautiful blonde hair catching the candlelight as it moved in one long sheet.

Hermione retracted her hand in horror, her eyes widening. “Mrs Malfoy!?”

Narcissa Malfoy raised an eyebrow at the witch who had practically accosted her. “Miss Granger. Can I help?”

What was she even doing here?

“Uh,” Hermione said dumbly, “sorry, I just… need the loo. Can I-?”

She gestured lamely to the staircase. Both women stared at the perfectly reasonable gap that Hermione could easily pass through. The moment stretched on.

Slowly, Narcissa returned her inscrutable gaze to Hermione, who squirmed uncomfortably in response. She then took a small step to the side and gestured for Hermione to pass. She did so and, as she turned the corner of the staircase, sent a deadly glare at Ginny, who was practically pissing herself with laughter.

(...)

Fleur had arrived. Hermione couldn’t explain exactly how she could tell, considering she had been in the duplicated bathroom for the last ten minutes after humiliating herself in front of Narcissa, but she knew it like she knew that it was levi-O-sa.

(...) (Hermione) She tried to avoid eye contact with Narcissa on the way back down and was thoroughly unsuccessful: the witch had physically reached out and laid her own hand over Hermione’s on the bannister, forcing her to stop and look up. Then, with an intention behind her eyes that Hermione had neither the brain capacity nor the energy to delve into, she said “It’s Ms Black now.”

Then she had released Hermione’s hand and turned back to her conversation with Andromeda and two wizards Hermione didn’t recognise.

Come to think of it, there were a lot of people Hermione didn’t recognise.

Anyway, long story short, this is the result of reading both Fleurmione and Cissamione—

But RIGHT. At the end of the day, again, these are just some crazy little things I picked up on and I may or may not be right, no one has to agree with me, everyone can disagree with me. Actually, yes feel free to disagree with me. I need to get out of this damn site and you know, touch grass.

Okay. Well. I'm gonna stop here now. So. Bye. But thank you anon for this lovely ask!! I’m really touched that you wanted to know what inspired the way I drew Fleur 🥺💕💖 But still. So sorry for this massive word vomit!! 😂

[keerishima]

HELLO! I saw you were a new blog that needed requests and I was wondering if you could write head-canons for todoroki, bakugou, and kiri (separately) with a s/o that has a witchcraft quirk? TY

well hi! thank you for the request, it was so cool to write! now i’m assuming you mean like a quirk that works like potions and herbs/crystals and spirit summoning and spells which is the road i’m taking i hope that’s okay?

now this boy is

excited

when he first saw the mist swirling around your fingers as you fought the robots in the UA exam, a shock went through his body

what was that? 

okay he didn’t mean to stare- considering he was in the middle of an exam- but the way you moved and the glints of a crystals around your body was just so cool

time passed and he got closer to you, during the dorm competition your room was the only room he wanted to see and boy did he love it

the green ivy and plants in your room, the pots and white smoke curling from diffusers and shelves full of powder and inks organised in a neat row

your room felt like a whole new world- like magic

literally after everyone had left he was still in your room looking around like a meerkat assessing it’s surroundings

fast forward; you guys are dating and he was VERY curious as to how your quirk worked, and you explained how your spells and energy came from the crystals and jewels

each crystal gave you a different energy, which converted to your power!

kirishima literally watched in awe as you pointed at all the different coloured gems and jewels and the symbols on your walls

he even asked to touch some of them and asked where you got them

he also asked to see them in battle, and asked if you had any similar to his own quirk!

the both of you engaged in LOTS of different mock battles, which almost always ended up in a play fight rather than real training- just because he ends up enjoying watching you use your quirk too much to actually focus

once you two had engaged in a long, breathless make out session against one of the walls- what can I say? you wanted to see what it felt like to kiss kirishima in his red riot form and have him melt back to normal under your touch

yeahh...it was a bad idea to do that in the school gym, where half of class 1-B caught you two mushed together against a wall

back to the hc!

he asks SO many questions

sometimes just sits on your bed for ages and asks one after the other after the other, to the point where aizawa has to come and send him back to his side of the dorm

let me tell you now: if you are 1) planning to get anything or 2) NEED anything, don’t let him find out

you once let it slip that you were considering getting pouches to carry these crystals, and the sweet, sweet boy went out and bought BUCKETS of bags

yes buckets because he didn’t know if your crystals would be affected by material or size of the bag or- god forbid what if it did and he ruined your quirk in battle?! 

he’d never forgive himself.

ever.

like literally he’d be on his knees ready for punishment of how you saw fit because of his mistake

what can i say? the boys dramatic

but its endearing :,)

it ended up being the cutest date of you cuddled up on his bed wrapped in his blankets like you were drowning in them,

whilst he sat on the floor, presenting each little bag and pouch to you, all teleshopping style.

‘and THIS 🤩 gorgeous article comes with not just 1😱! not just 2 😱! but THREE 🤯🥵🥳🥳 buttons to clip close to ensure a tight, secure hold of your 😏 special package’

yeah he made a sleazy face

yeah you threw a plushy at him

all of them were bought with your costume in mind and how could you not keep some of the bags? with kirishima watching you with the biggest eyes and slightly-pouting-lips-but-he-would-never-admit-it there was no way you didn’t keep the most useful ones

you asked him to return the extra bags so he wouldn’t have wasted his money, whilst you repaid his kindness with lots and lots of kisses and cuddles

;) or more depending on how you want it

todoroki is uhh...

emotionally constipated

but thats not his fault

#fuckendeavour

sometimes it comes off that he’s not interested in your quirk in a general sense, but it’s only because he doesn’t know how to ask without seeming pushy

he gets shy (but doesn’t show it) but with time that decreases to a sort of dry affection

i’m not saying he’s a dry boyfriend but he definitely isn't as spritely as someone like Denki might be

the way you’d see that he wanted to know more was if he asked you to come and fight with him, train with him and study

this is where he asked about your quirk

he didn’t ask to the extent of kirishima, who said everything that came to mind, he asked precise questions that gave him all the information he was desperate to know because you are so cool it makes his heart burn needed

and he also knew you would add more information as you explained, which he loved because he loved hearing you talk so passionately

this time your quirk allowed you to control people to an extent, depending on different plants and herbs you used

the plants each had a special line, muttered as you dropped the herbs anywhere on your opponent for it to activate

best believe todoroki asked for one to knock endeavour out, literally out of nowhere💀

once, one night you had been laying on your bed, and todoroki had popped over to see you. it was still quite early on in your relationship so you weren’t expecting him to cuddle up beside you and tuck into your smaller body, chin hooked onto your shoulder whilst his eyes bore into yours from below todoroki loves eye contact

‘Do your plants have meanings?’

that’s it, that’s all he softly whispered in your ear

‘What do you mean?’ You whispered back

‘Like...like roses mean love...do your herbs have a meaning linked to what they do?’

okay now he was blushing, very gently because he didn’t want to annoy you, or ask you a question you’d never thought of and make you feel silly or insecure about his quirk

YOU on the other hand were smothering a dopey grin. you knew your boyfriend and his boundaries, and you knew that him asking you in such an intimate setting meant he was trying hard for you

you also knew that he’d just given you free reign to ramble however you saw fit

so you explained, how each herb did this, how if you mixed them they did that, if you made a liquid infused with them it helped with your application in battle and so much more

todoroki listened silently, but his eyes were gleaming

literally glowing in the darkness- I mean was that even possible? it had to have been considering how todoroki looked at you that night

after you were done, he replied with a similar thing about his own quirk, and both of you had a long long chat that went from quirks, to schooling, to life, to aliens and more

todoroki had the weirdest humour, he never knew he was being funny until your quiet giggles morphed into full blown laughter- and caused a knock from the next room over because you were being too loud

he would let out his own little chuckles and smirks, seeing you enjoy his company so much

it was a while after that day when something new happened

you’d sent him a message, whilst he was sitting right next to you, and your contact name flashed on his screen suddenly, catching your eye

‘my calendula’

you looked at todoroki

todoroki looked at you

you both blinked

‘calendula?’ you asked

‘yes’ todoroki replied

‘why calendula?’

‘because,’ todoroki blushed deeply, eyes flickering away from yours

‘because you said calendula means joy...you’re my joy. arent you?’

and god help anyone who tries to say you aren’t todoroki’s joy

because you would literally throw them to the ground

your heart soared at how todoroki loved you and your quirk so much

even though it wasn’t blatantly obvious, it was the little things he did for you 😍

he originally going to call you his basil until Bakugou came round behind him asking him if he was writing the dorms grocery list. safe to say that plan was aborted immediately :D

oho

sorry I just

*pfft*

bakugo amuses me, he really does he’s so entertaining

okay sorry back to the headcanon

I headcanon you’re REALLY strong

like STUPID strong

Remember bakugos reactions to all the students quirks and he was like ‘shit I cant beat them 😨’

And his reaction to todoroki? yeah he’d literally see you use your quirk and just

no I’m joking

but I feel like as your s/o he’d be super obsessed with your quirk

he’d always want to train with you, he’d see it as an amazing part of you that he wants to help hone so you can be the best of the best

not better than him obviously but the best anyway

not that he’d SHOW all of this awe and pride to you, it’s normally delivered in a bunch of bakugo sentences:

‘oi your form is shit. do this instead.’

that means he’s realised a new way you can throw this punch, with much more force

‘tch, go train. you need the training.’

he wants to train with you. again.

‘....finally. took you long enough to learn that.’

you’ve just done something successfully and he’s trying so hard not to blush at how well you did it.

here your power is more destructive

you can create sigils using a your finger in the air and they create attack power

this with bakugos quirk makes a formidable duo, and if he doesn’t get partnered with you he will most likely throw a fit

but not a long fit more of a like ‘oi why is she over there we work better together’

but he realises as heroes you need to work well with anyone you meet, so he’s not too fussy

because of the fact that you draw the sigils, you have a habit of tracing out patterns and new symbols and any sort of designs subconsciously

this is done normally on any part of your skin, with a pen

bakugo being old man bakugo 🙄 got mad at you

he told you off for almost giving yourself ink poisoning and ruining your hand and making it all dirty drama queen

but throughout all of this bakugo had been clutching your hand, and best believe he wasn’t letting go

he used the hand he was holding to pull you along and sit comfortably, dropping his own palm into your lap and mumbling something that kind of, sort of, might have been along the lines of ‘use my arm dumbass’

now you had bakugos arm to scribble on to your hearts content.

you used this when you were stressed, worried that your nerves were causing you to forget things or simply because you wanted to hold bakugo close

in fact, bakugo himself had adopted this habit, and you’ll notice I said arm instead of hand

bakugo got nervous around you, and therefore sweaty, which therefore lead to tiny little explosions in his palms when you were near

but this habit had started to make him feel comfortable with his hands around you, it made him trust himself more

he knew his power was strong and he didn’t want to hurt you, your quirk was something that helped him with that

and he wouldn’t tell you that but he was grateful. VERY grateful

he once asked why you used pen, and not your finger on your skin considering the pen ink is toxic

you answered very quickly, by pulling out a sheet of people and sliding your finger across the surface in a sigil shape

promptly the paper burnt into a cinder :)

and bakugo never asked again

and that is the end! I hope you liked it and I did the idea of Witchcraft justice 😅 please do send some more requests!

god I loved this so much they’re all so cute :,) thank you for this request!!

[theartofdreaming1]

Slightly paraphrased, but Peeta talking about that moment he developed his crush on Katniss is just too sweet 😊

As usual, my thoughts regarding this week’s prompts and random thoughts on chapters 22-24 are below the cut (sprinkled in some psychology thoughts again).

heart

Honestly, I think the people in Panem would perceive the whole everlark storyline the same way we perceive and react to our ships on tv (desperately wanting to reach through the screen, shoving the characters forcefully together, screaming “And now, kiss!”); especially the Capitolites who barely recognize the tributes (or people in the districts, in general) as people. The people in the districts would definitely view the whole thing more under a “reality tv” kind of lens, questioning how much of the relationship is real or not (we know that Finnick certainly thought that the entire thing was just a spiel, until Peeta hit that forcefield). The time spent in the cave must have been pretty convincing, though.

mind

I think that Katniss is still torn here - On the one hand, she kind of wants to believe that Peeta is actually into her (remember the happiness she felt when Peeta told her how his crush on her began, and it all added up and seemed so real), but on the other hand she’s terrified of that possibility because A) lingering trauma from her mom’s depression in response the Mr. Everdeen’s death, B) Katniss never even considered falling in love, so that’s a sudden unexpected thing to deal with, and C) maybe it’s just for the sake of the Games; and wouldn’t that hurt, getting your hopes up only to learn it was only for show? (How about we ask Peeta about that?)

soul

Yeah, that quote about Peeta only eating stale bread also struck me as quite sad. It just further adds to his understanding how there should be more to life than just survival, though. (One day, I’ll make that post about Peeta, Katniss, and Maslow’s pyramid of needs, I swear! I’ve already gathered some research material)

Chapter 22

My mother’s hand strokes my cheek and I don’t push it away as I would in wakefulness, never wanting her to know how much I crave that gentle touch. How much I miss her even though I still don’t trust her. - Ugh, I can’t... Katniss misses her mom, misses being cared for😢 I’m so glad we’re going to see her patch up her relationship with her mom in CF... On a different note, Katniss craving that gentle touch just perfectly illustrates why she’s so drawn to Peeta, who is generally such a gentle soul (I mean, he’s literally the person stroking her cheek here 😊)

He [Peeta] doesn’t seem angry about my tricking him, drugging him, and running off to the feast. Maybe I’m just too beat-up and I’ll hear about it later when I’m stronger. But for the moment, he’s all gentleness. - As I was saying... 😉

“I’ll go hunting soon,” I say. “Not too soon, all right?” he says. “You just let me take care of you for a while.” - I love them so much😊🥰 And then Peeta makes sure she’s well-fed and hydrated, he rubs her cold feet and tucks her into the sleeping back... and she let’s him! 💗

“He [Thresh] let you go because he didn’t want to owe you anything?” asks Peeta in disbelief. “Yes. I don’t expect you to understand it. You’ve always had enough. But if you’d lived in the Seam, I wouldn’t have to explain,” I say. “And don’t try. Obviously I’m too dim to get it,” he says. - Oof. This exchange here is interesting in many ways: 1) it highlights their different experiences, tied to their different socioeconomic backgrounds, basically, and 2)  that Katniss is very much aware of this difference, but we also see hints of her own ignorance here - because Peeta didn’t have to starve in his childhood, she thinks that he can’t possibly understand this level of hardship; but there are other ways in which one can suffer/lack fundamental needs, which brings us to 3) Peeta’s response about being “obviously too dim to get it”; I think this is a clue to his mom being also verbally abusive towards him: she called him “stupid creature” when he burnt those loaves of bread for Katniss and when he’s losing it in the attic of the Justice Building in D11 in CF he is mad that Katniss and Haymitch keep things from him “like [he’s] too inconsequential or stupid or weak to handle them”, which - to me - sounds like he’s tired of being treated that way (i.e. the way his mother treats him)

“I want to go home, Peeta,” I say plaintively, like a a small child. - God, this is a teenager in a murder-arena who feels like wanting to go home is a childish notion instead of a totally legitimate wish for anyone in that situation, regardless of age 😢

It’s not that Peeta’s soft exactly, and he’s proved he’s not a coward. But there are things you don’t question too much, I guess, when your home always smells like baking bread, whereas Gale questions everything. What would Peeta think of the irreverent banter that passes between us as we break the law each day? Would it shock him? The things we say about Panem? Gale’s tirades against the Capitol? - Geez, Katniss, give Peeta some credit here! A) It’s not like Peeta can walk around District 12 talking publicly about the injustices happening there - she and Peeta hadn’t even talked with each other before the reaping, whereas Gale is her best friend who rants to her while they are outside the confines of D12 and B) Peeta is literally the one who introduced the whole “not a piece in their Games”-idea to her; why would he be clutching his pearls over Katniss and Gale’s irreverent banter?! Just because Peeta didn’t live on the brink of starvation (she again brings up how his house smells like bread and - at this point - still thinks that the family running the bakery actually gets to eat what they produce just like that), doesn’t mean he doesn’t see how shitty life in D12 is - he can still want better conditions for those who are worse off than him!

“I did do the right thing,” I say. “No! Just don’t, Katniss!” His grip tightens, hurting my hand, and there’s real anger in his voice. “Don’t die for me. You won’t be doing me any favors. All right?” - Well, we’ll see this song and dance again in CF...

And while I was talking, the idea of actually losing Peeta hit me again and I realized how much I don’t want him to die. [...] And it’s not about what will happen back home. And it’s not just that I don’t want to be alone. It’s him. I do not want to lose the boy with the bread.” - I wish CF Katniss would remember this moment when she is questioning her motives about saving Peeta’s life in the arena - You. Care. For. This. Boy! You. Value. Him. For. Who. He. Is!!!

This is the first kiss that we’re both fully aware of. [...] This is the first kiss where I actually feel stirring inside my chest. Warm and curious. This is the first kiss that makes me want another. - Whoo! Is it hot in here or is it just me? 😉

I’m struck by his immediacy now. As we settle in, he pulls my head down to use his arm as a pillow; the other rests protectively over me even when he goes to sleep. No one has held me like this in such a long time. Since my father died and I stopped trusting my mother, no one else’s arms have made me feel this safe. - He makes her feel safe in a murder-arena!!! 😭 This is the kind of stuff that makes everlark just a top tier romance, tbh

Peeta telling Katniss about his crush starting on their first day of school 🥰😭 - and her reaction to it... For a moment, I’m almost foolishly happy - yes, because you have a crush on him, too! - and then confusion sweeps over me. Because we’re supposed to be making up this stuff [...] So, if those details are true... could it all be true? - YESSSSSSSS!!!

“You have a... remarkable memory, “ I say haltingly. - as a severely socially awkward person... I felt that lame response in my bones 😅

“You don’t have much competition anywhere.” And this time, it’s me who leans in. - God, this would be such an amazing moment if it didn’t get tainted by that immediate sponsor gift, which just serves to muddle Katniss’s feelings with her sense of survival, further complicating her relationship with Peeta... *sigh* 

Chapter 23

“What was that you were saying just before the food arrived? Something about me... no competition... best thing that ever happened to you...” “I don’t remember that last part,” I say, hoping it’s too dim in here for the cameras to pick up my blush. “Oh, that’s right. That’s what I was thinking,” he says. - Peeta is the master of being a cheeky little shit and adorable flirt at the same time

“So, since we were five, you never even noticed any other girls?” I ask him. “No, I noticed just about every girl, but none of them made a lasting impression but you,” he says. - I appreciate that while Peeta has had a crush on Katniss forever, he clearly didn’t spend the entire time pining after her, oblivious to the rest of the world - he has a life outside of Katniss Everdeen, but ultimately, it all lead back to her

A disturbing thought hits me. “But then, our only neighbor will be Haymitch!” “Ah, that’ll be nice,” says Peeta, tightening his arms around me. “You and me and Haymitch. Very cozy. Picnics, birthdays, long winter nights around the fire retelling old Hunger Games tales.” “I told you, he hates me!” I say, but I can’t help laughing at the image of Haymitch becoming my new pal. - Laugh all you want, this is going to end up being your future anyway 😄

He [Haymitch]’s at something of a disadvantage because most mentors have a partner, another victor to help them whereas Haymitch has to bready to go into action at any moment. Kind of like me when I was alone in the arena. I wonder how he’s holding up, with the drinking, the attention, and the stress of tring to keep us alive. - Katniss is already worrying about her “new pal”, I see ;)

Maybe he [Haymitch] wasn’t always a drunk. Maybe, in the beginning, he tried to help the tributes. But then it got unbearable. It must be hell to mentor two kids and then watch them die. - Honestly, that sounds absolutely awful...

Poor, Katniss, when she learns of Thresh’s death :( - But no one will understand my sorrow at Thresh’s murder. - It’s horrible how compassion and basic human decency gets construed as ‘weakness’ in the world of Hunger Games (esp. the Capitol)

Then I escape into sleep, comforted by a full belly and the steady warmth of Peeta beside me. - Honestly, I think a word analysis of THG-series could be interesting; how often does Katniss mention “warmth”, “steady/steadiness” “safe/safety/security” in connection with “Peeta”?

“We make a goat cheese and apple tart at the bakery,” he says. “Bet that’s expensive,” I say. “Too expensive for my family to eat. Unless it’s gone very stale. Of course, practically everything we eat is stale,” says Peeta [...] Huh. I always assumed the shopkeepers live a soft life. And it’s true, Peeta has always had enough to eat. But there’s something kind of depressing about living your life on stale bread - Katniss is starting to realize that the lives of the merchants isn’t a cushy as she thought; also, in a way, we see a “prettier” version of how Panem treats the districts overall -> feeding the districts just enough that they can do their work (plus/minus a couple of people who’ll die of starvation, but at a small, for Capitolites insignificant margin), but not so much that they are in good shape to rebel; here, the merchants of D12 have just enough that they can live a “decent” life (they know it could be worse -> the Seam), but they don’t have enough to live a free, comfortable, self-determined life either. This also just further drives a wedge between the inhabitants of D12 (the merchants won’t want to rebel because they don’t want to get ‘demoted’ in their lifestyle, starving like the people from the Seam, and the Seam folk feel resentful towards the merchant people, while also not having the resources to rebel, due to their awful socioeconomic conditions)

What would be my life like on a daily basis? Most of it has been consumed with the acquisition of food. Take that away and I’m not really sure who I am, what my identity is. - It’s so sad who Katniss has been so consumed with ensuring that her most base needs are fulfilled that she barely has had the time to really figure out who she is and what she wants from life (If we’re talking Maslow’s pyramid of needs, Katniss would primarily be stuck on the lowest tier 😢)

At least, we’ll be friends, I think. Nothing will change the fact that we’ve saved each other’s lives in here. And beyond that, he will always be the boy with the bread. Good friends. - Honestly, Katniss counting on being good friends with Peeta after the Games is the highest honor she can bestow on him at that moment (she’s so into him, lol); of course, knowing that their relationship is going to be a bit rocky once they’ve come back makes this thought a little sad... but we also know they’ll make up (and out ;) in the future

Peeta licking his plate and blowing a kiss out to Effie is such an adorable goofball-moment 😊

I cover his mouth with my hand, but I’m laughing. “Stop! Cato could be right outside our cave.” He grabs my hand away. “What do I care? I’ve got you to protect me now,” says Peeta, pulling me to him. - This moment would be so cute (also, Peeta’s so confident in Katniss’s skills to protect him, which is adorable - toxic masculinity who?) but... Ugh, he’s just so giddy here, it kind of breaks my heart for when he learns later that (at least some) of Katniss’s reactions were just for show

“If we want food, we better head back up to my old hunting grounds,” I say. “Your call, Just tell me what you need me to do,” Peeta says. - Love how Peeta’s always ready to follow Katniss’s lead :)

Ideally, I’d dump Peeta now with some simple root-gathering chore and go hunt [...] “Katniss,” he says. “We need to split up. I know I’m chasing away the game.” [...] “Show me some plants to gather and that way we’ll both be useful.” - Teamwork! If it weren’t for Katniss worrying for Peeta’s safety, they’d be on the same page here

“What if you climbed up in a tree and acted as a lookout while I haunted?” I say, trying to make it sound like very important work. “What if you show me what’s edible around here and go get us some meat?” he says, mimicking my tone. - I really like how Peeta’s challenges Katniss here; he doesn’t just go along with everything she says, while still being quite reasonable

I feel like I’m eleven, again, tethered not to the safety of the fence but to Peeta, allowing myself twenty, maybe thirty yards of hunting space. [...] I allow myself to drift farther away, and soon have two rabbits and a fat squirrel to show for it. - I don’t know, but Katniss feeling tethered to Peeta makes me think of Mary Ainsworth’s attachment theory, according to which children with a secure attachment to their primary caregiver use  their “attachment figure as a safe base to explore the environment”... Of course, Ainsworth’s Strange Situation was conducted with young children, but attachment styles are supposed to influence the relationships we form with people in our later lives as well (including romantic relationships)... I dunno, just a random association that popped into my brain 😅

Chapter 24

Peeta’s a whiz with fires, coaxing a blaze out of the damp wood. - Heh, Peeta sure knows how to handle fire, huh, Katniss (or should I say: Girl on Fire?) 😏

I order him into the sleeping bag and set aside the rest of his food for him when he wakes. He drops off immediately. I pull the sleeping bag up to his chin and kiss his forehead, not for the audience, but for me. Because I’m so greateful that he’s still here, not dead by the stream as I’d thought.  - Aww, this is so sweet (and domestic)!

It’s funny. I feel almost as if it’s the first day of the Games again. That I’m in the same position. [...] But no, there’s the boy waiting beside me. I feel his arms wrap around me. - They are a team! Katniss doesn’t have to face the horrors of the Games alone anymore! It keeps boiling down to this.