#especially since the main characters mocked the person in drag the most

[troublesomeknight]

Oookay. This is going to be a bit of a long post then.

First the lore behind this group: These guys don't actually live on Alternia, but are instead members of a rogue colony of trolls that rebelled and successfully fled the empire centuries ago around the same time the Summoner's Rebellion was happening. The leaders of this group back then are the Ancestors of my Zodiac Trolls, a group of 12 trolls called The 12 Beasts. The Rat of the 12 Beasts was a genius who invented powerful shielding technology that allowed them to escape without having worry about the Vast Glub, and also made it so they no longer need sopper slime, which is now a banned substance on their world. The Horse, being a jade blood, was able to steal a matriorb for them too. The leader and person who orchestrated the entire escape though was the Monkey. I'm still kind of working on the greater lore of the 12 Beasts, but that's not too important. The only other important thing is that they and the trolls that fled with them were followers of the Signless. (In keeping with the Pseudo-Judeo-Christian imagery surrounding the Signless, it's kind of supposed to be like the story of Moses lol)

The planet their Ancestors fled to is called Assurnia, though I may come up with a better name later to keep with the theming of Alternia and Beforus. There's a very heavy East Asian cultural influence to Assurnian Troll culture, mostly Jidaigeki but probably a few other non-Japanese cultures mixed in. It's a warrior culture in a far more restrained and organized way than Alternia, the adult trolls are obviously still on the planet and there are no Lusi so adult trolls adopt troll grubs and raise them as their Patrons who apprentice them to follow them into the same or a similar career path they currently have. But troll children are also trained together in 12 person units with one of them becoming the leader based on if they showed the best leadership capabilities at a certain point into their training (Assurnia is mostly a meritocracy). Naturally our Zodiac Trolls are all part of the same unit.

Their session is kind of a bit unusual in that it's a hacked session orchestrated by a rogue First Guardian who may have also manipulated events behind the scenes to help the exodus happen to begin with. Her intention is to have them eventually come into contact with the canon cast and derail Doc Scratch and Lord English's (and Calliope's) own plans for her own ends, though it's unclear what those are.

And this is what I have so far for the trolls themselves (Note that I haven't managed to think up everything for all these characters, some of them don't have last names yet among other things. For some of them I don't really have anything aside from names and what blood color they are and maybe a possible idea for their classpect):

The Monkey Zodiac troll, who is the group's leader, is Harisha Joshi, he's honestly the one I've thought about the most. He's a lime blooded troll (Assurnia has the only remaining population of lime blooded trolls since the exodus happened before the lime bloods were genocided), and has an interest in anthropology as a hobby, with his aim pre-Sgrub being to become a diplomat, like his patron. He's partly based on Son Wukong, but isn't anything like him personality wise, being a calm, cool leader and strategist. The main influence from Wukong is that his Strife Specibus is a Staff. His other hobby is watching bad horror movies to mock the bad special affects. He also has very little interest in romance, especially the black quadrant, but he's surprisingly good at giving love advice to others even if he acts annoyed at being dragged into other people's drama. His Classpect is Prince of Doom. (He;s kind of intended to be the polar opposite of Karkat really).

Inuga Ookamimura is the Dog Zodiac, as if that name didn't make it obvious, and he's a blue blooded troll, who is very much the hot blooded, short tempered, fight happy dumbass with a heart of gold of the group. He has way better control of his strength than Equius but sometimes still breaks things accidentally when over excited. He has a one-sided rivalry with Harisha where he really wants to be his kismessis but Harisha is naturally uninterested and while he's fine dueling him on the training grounds, he otherwise avoids engaging with Inuga whenever it comes up. Inuga's strife specibus is an axe. Pre-sgrub he wanted to join the Assurnia Planetary Defense Force and become a Guard Captain like his Patron. His hobbies are mainly training and reading manga. His Classpect is Knight of Breath.

Komako Miyajima is the Horse Zodiac and she's a jade blood. She's a gentle, kind, Yamato Nadeshiko type who's a bit of an airhead sometimes and a little clumsy, but she also really likes to make dolls. She's the one who's dream self is already awake (Prospit Dreamer) before their session starts. This has allowed her to see visions of the Beta kids and trolls, which she has made dolls of that she keeps in her room. I haven't really decided what her strife specibus is yet, but I also think she's one of the less combat oriented members of the group. Her only real career aspirations pre-sgrub was to become a doctor. Naturally she's her unit's medic. She's Seer of Space.

Toto Inaba is the Rabbit Zodiac and she's an albino and a rust blood. She usually lives on an outpost located on Assurnia's moon, meaning she lives further away from the rest of her unit than anyone else, but she still manages to make it planet side regularly to interact with her unit anyway. She's Harshia's second in command and likes to act all cool and mysterious, but in the grand tradition of Homestuck Coolkids, she's actually a dork. She's really just larping as her favorite anime character (which is loosely based on The Rabbit of the 12 Beasts). Her strife specibus is a pair of twin daggers and as Rogue of Time her main time travel device is a pocket watch.

Nezuma (I haven't thought of a last name for him yet), is the Rat Zodiac and a yellow blood. He's a genius with tech like his Ancestor and he enjoys tinkering and inventing things as his hobby. He's a borderline mad scientist though and his inventions don't always work as intended. He wanted to join Assurnia's science corps pre-Sgrub and he is naturally the one who helped make his world's copy of Sgrub. His strife specibus is a wrench. He's Mage of Mind.

Ushio (no last name yet) is the Ox Zodiac and is a bronze blood. I kind of feel like I shouldn't make my Bronze the Ox considering Tavros is the Tauros troll, but then my time player is a rust blood like Aradia, and my Mage player is a yellow blood like Sollux, so meh. Ushio is a talented cook and cooks as a hobby and he often goes hunting for the meat himself, cooking all kinds of dishes based on the creatures he catches. He of course wanted to become a chef pre-Sgrub. I haven't figured out his Classpect yet lol.

Naga Kaur is the Snake Zodiac and is a Cerulean blood. In the grand tradition of Ceruleans she is very shady and probably ends up doing a lot of things behind the others' backs during their session. She doesn't have the mind control abilities that Vriska and Aranea have though, so mostly she has to use her own guile to manipulate others. That said, she's ultimately a better person than either of them and a lot of the things she does are ultimately to help and protect her friends. She's Witch of Void.

Tora (no last name yet) is the Tiger Zodiac troll (of course) and she's a teal blood. She's another hot blooded fighter, though she's not as competitive as Inuga, except with her Kismeses Ryohei of course. She's also generally less loud and boisterous than Inuga, and acts like a sterotypical tsundere (again especially towards Ryohei). I haven't really come up with her strife specibus yet, but tentatively she's Heir of Rage.

Ryohei (again no last name yet), is naturally the Dragon Zodiac. He is a fuchsia blood and therefore a sea dweller (again, naturally, given that China associates dragons with royalty and eastern dragons are also heavily associated with water, the Dragon Zodiac couldn't have been anything else). Aside from his kismessitude with Tora, I haven't come up with much for him yet, though it is noted how unusual it is for a fuchsia blood to be male. His ancestor, the Dragon of the 12 Beasts, was also a male fuchsia blood. I also haven't figured out his Classpect yet.

Mikumi is the Sheep Zodiac and is the violet blooded troll and another sea dweller. This is another one I haven't had a real chance to think about yet, unfortunately.

Dau is the Rooster Zodiac troll and is an indigo blood. Another one I haven't thought of much yet.

And finally Hoi, Pig Zodiac and olive blood, who I also haven't thought of anything for yet.

And that's everything I have so far lol. As you can see, I still need to flesh some things out, but since you asked, and I haven't really had a chance to talk about this much at all yet, I got out as much as I could. Some of the names of the less flashed out trolls may not be final considering I'm having a hard time coming up with good names for everyone in the first place. I should probably note further that due to the nature of their session, their ancestors have almost nothing at all to do with Sgrub/Sburb and are their actual ancestors as was described when the concept of troll ancestors were introduced in Homestuck with no ecto-biology or Scratch involved.

If you wanna talk Eastern fantrolls, I made an entire Chinese Zodiac themed group of them, based on Anime archetypes rather than eastern stereotypes though. Never really ended up doing anything with them, but I've been toying around with them again recently.

Oh! I would love to hear about them if you have the time.

[stargazer-balladeer]

Jealousy [Genshin Impact]

Characters Included: Kaeya Alberich, Diluc Ragnvindr, Venti & Razor

Notes: Heyo! I was inspired to do this while playing Genshin Impact. Sorry if some may seem OOC, especially Razor’s. Hope ya’ll enjoy this and have a lovely day. 

Reader’s Gender: Neutral

Warnings: None

Kaeya Alberich

— I can see him as someone whose jealous not that often. Like he’s actually more amuse at the fact that someone is flirting with you when its obvious you’re dating the cryo-wielder knight.

— This guy is so chill (pun not intended) ngl. He leaves you be because he knows you can defend yourself from them. Though he will tease you afterwards.

— It just shows how much trusts he has in you. He loves to initiate affectionate things like hugging or kissing or picking you up bridal style. So pretty much everyone in Mondstadt knows you two are together by this.

— But if he sees that someone is clearly making you uncomfortable, its time for him to intervene. He will smoothly slide to your side, with a hand on your waist pressing you to his side, while smiling (or smirking) at the person. He will act his cheery self until that person takes a hint and go away.

— If you started hanging out with Diluc more often, he wouldn’t get jealous at all. In fact, he encourages you two to hang out. He loves the idea of his (adopted) brother and partner getting along. Though if you start hanging out with the pyro-weilder more often, Kaeya will surely drag you away to make you notice him. Leaving an bemused Diluc behind.

— Overall, Kaeya isn’t gonna be jealous, even if you tried.

Diluc Ragnvindr

— I can see him being more of a jealous-type than Kaeya but not too much. Like he trusts you to not leave for another.

— If you start to hang out with opposite gender, Diluc would leave it be. He lets you have the freedom you want. But if he sees that you’ve been hanging out with them a bit too much, then he’ll get jealous.

— How is he when he’s jealous? He grumbles while glaring at the person from afar. You can also see a pout on his face as he stares (reads: glares) down at the person. This usually leads to someone (ie: Kaeya) to tease him, much to Diluc’s dismay.

— Diluc wouldn’t say anything about it, since we all know he’s not much of a talker. He usually do something to attract your attention to get his daily dose of affection from you (like tugging on the back of your shirt, twirling a strand of your hair, or just standing in front of you). But unlike before, when he’s jealous, he’s much more affectionate. Like he’ll initiate a hug or kiss (or maybe sex) with you. But expect him to be blushing while doing it.

— You can instantly know when he’s jealous. Please don’t tease him though lol

— He is not a person who easily meddle with other people, especially your’s, affairs. But when he sees that someone is clearly making you uncomfortable, he wouldn’t hesitate to stand in front of you and stare at the person. No matter who it is, they’ll take a hint and run away (well, except for people like Kaeya or Lisa).

— The person he’s jealous of is none other than Kaeya. He is instantly a bad mood when he sees his adopted brothed talking to his significant other. He likes the idea yes, but he prefers with distance and not THAT close! He would definitely push Kaeya back, pick you up and bring you somewhere (preferrably at his house) while leaving a laughing Kaeya.

— Overall, it’s easy to make him jealous.

Venti

— He’s an easily-jealous guy, even though he’s a God 😐. Out of all the guys here, he’s the one whose easily jealous. (Let’s hope that this wouldn’t turn into a Yandere one 😐)

— Venti spends the last 500 years all by himself, so of course he wants your undivided attention. But he knows that its important in the human cycle to gain and lose people, so whenever you hang out with other people, he’ll pout and sulk but he understands.

— But he usually just join you and the person you’re hanging out with, it goes two ways. One, the other person being uncomfortable in Venti’s presence or, two, a trio hang out :)

— Venti is jealous of most people since he knows the sad truth that you’ll someday leave him to find another of your kin or die. Venti is scared of these possibilities. And that resulted in him being so insecure.

— He might comes off as clingy but please don’t leave him 🥺 He just doesn’t want you to leave him just yet.

— Believe it or not, he’s actually jealous of the Traveler, Aether (the male protagonist). For some reason, whenever he sees you two together, it sets a horrible feeling in his stomach. He hates it.

— Venti loves affection, just like Kaeya, but much more extreme. So expect him suddenly kissing you out of nowhere and hugging you unexpectedly. If you’re shorter than him, expect him to wrap his arms around your waist with his head on top of yours and sway you left and right. I can’t help but gush at how cute it all seems.

— Anyway, if he sees someone making you uncomfortable, he will appear next to you, smiling innocently, as he begans to talk with that person. I don’t think anyone would take him seriously so whoever that person is would ignore him. Venti would probably get annoyed at that, so you might need to drag him away before he could give that person a “piece of his mind”.

— If he sees you hanging out with Aether, he will definitely sulk or whine about it. If he sees someone else, let’s say Diluc, he would pout but wouldn’t whine. He grew to respect Master Diluc ever since the Dvalin’s incident. Besides, free drink :D

— Overall, he’s easily jealous and it wouldn’t be hard to make him jealous.

Razor

— I recently got him and just got his mission (bc I just finished the Dvalin’s Prologue thing), so yeah. Sorry if he’s a bit OOC.

— He doesn’t understand the emotions very well, since you know, he was raised by wolves. But I feel like he’ll be easily jealous, he just doesn’t understand what that feeling is.

— So if you start to hanging out with other people, he would feel lonely and (actually) envious. He will pout but wouldn’t call your attention, instead, just watches you from the shadows.

— Razor can’t talk fluently and actually doesn’t like to talk since it’s hard for him. So he prefers just doing the action, albeit similar to Diluc in a way. Though you might need to teach him how to do some things about being a couple.

— He’s jealous of everyone, not even the same gender is out of his list. He’s jealous because of how fun you seem to be having with them than with him, and how you look so animated while talking.

— Razor’s an insecure wolf boi, so he might copy what other people are doing with you. Like intertwining your hands, hugging you from behind and other things. He might also start giving you things like meat, flowers, etc.

— You might need to reassure him that you wouldn’t leave him all because of his “unique” traits.

— If he sees someone making you uncomfortable, he would raise a brow while frowning, clearly not knowing what’s happening. Yet despite this, he decided to go near you and ask if you need help. The other person might mock him because of his “language” and appearance. This time, it’ll be him trying to drag you away.

— If he sees you hanging out with someone else, he would follow you and that person around. He’s actually quite sneaky when following you, with a few close-calls. Though you might catch on once you notice a strand of light blue hair sticking out of a rock.

— Please just ask him to join :)

— Overall, he’s a jealous-envious kind of person.

[x] Main Page || [x] Mondstadt Page

[violettelueur]

ITADORI YUJI + FUSHIGURO MEGUMI + KUGISAKI NOBARA || YOUR FRIENDSHIPS WITH THEM

| featuring : itadori yuji + fushiguro megumi + kugisaki nobara from jujutsu kaisen

| warnings : grammar errors, but other than that n/a

| form : headcanons

| published : 19 november 

| request : hey hey! i really like your blog's aesthetics and especially your writing! can i order some friendship moments (or an incident, anything!) between first year reader and the main trio?

| barista’s note : hi hi! barista violettelueur is alive and well ＼ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ／sorry i haven’t been as active today i was completeing my chemistry mock exam and completing a few study session that i had set up for myself today ʕ – ᴥ – ʔ i’ll try my best to post some pieces today since i can’t leave you guys without your cups of coffee! other than that, i hope the person who requested this enjoys their cup of classic black coffee (jujutsu kaisen request)

ITADORI YUJI (FEATURING SUKUNA A TINY BIT):

I can’t lie to you, there would probably be a lot of idiotic moments that you have together, that you most likely have to be the sensible one when it is needed.

You know when you hang out with someone, you become dumb like them. Yeah that’s you and Itadori without a single doubt in my mind - but you would still have some common sense lingering in your mind (hopefully)

The both of you will have a lot of movie nights together with the table filled with snacks and fizzy drinks to satisfy your palettes - you both probably plan to have a movie night every Friday.

You would also comment and have full-on discussions on your favourite parts once the movie has ended and probably debate on your favourite characters together.

Manga. You both would always recommend different mangas to each other and that’s the only time you and Itadori have ever allowed someone to borrow a manga book from you.

Yes, both of you would have a lot of trust in each other with your manga books.

And just like with movies, you and Itadori would have deep discussions about your favourite parts, favourite characters and once again have debates here and there.

Sukuna would definitely ask you how and why you are friends with a ‘brat’ like him. Every. Single. Day.

When you and Itadori are training together, expect him to ask a lot of questions during your training session.

Like just random ones on the whim from him wondering what’s he is gonna eat for dinner tonight to seriously asking you how you use your curse energy to do different techniques.

“Y/N what should I eat for tonight? Instant ramen or rice?”

To “How do you use your curse energy to strengthen your legs like that?”

This is also the best time he and you would learn how to fight and cooperate with each other - leading to you and Itadori to drag Gojo-sensei into these sessions from time to time.

There would be times where you and him would fight each other to see what the both of you were lacking - you obviously were lacking in pure strength, like Itadori is just on a different level to that.

There would be times where you have to put him in his place, aka smacking his head or his face to make him wake up or break up his food arguments with Kugisaki.

Overall, expect a lot of chaotic moments with the boy as the mixture with you and him is just pure stupidity and funny moments - he makes you act stupid.

FUSHIGURO MEGUMI:

You and Fushiguro are probably the most sensible out of the first years since Itadori and Kugisaki were already on the chaotic side - if you were not hanging out with Itadori alone.

If you arrived at the school at the same time as him, you would probably be the closest to him as there would always be a feeling of serenity around you.

However, if you can later/the same time around as Kugisaki and Itadori, he would still put his faith and trust in you knowing that both you and him would always have each other’s backs

You and Fushiguro can be in the same room together and not say a single word to each other for hours upon hours - that’s how comfortable you are with each other.

On the other hand, there are times when the both of you would have some deep conversations with each other, talking about anything from his family to your issues - wow you two really trust each other with this type of information.

By the way, his shikigami’s love you - well….expect the one if you know what I mean - as in his divine dogs would act like babies when they’re with you - always brushing up against your leg

Sometimes Fushiguro asks himself if they were really his shikigami’s at this point.

“Focus on the mission Y/N”

“Well I can’t if your dog keeps nudging my hand for me to pet it”

This kind of pointless to do training sessions with you since when he does summon his shikigami, they would just take one look at you and just come up to you for pets and cuddles - yes even the frogs.

So hand to hand combat it is then!

If Fushiguro feels like it’s okay to bring his guard down, he would rest his head on your shoulder to relax or calm himself down after a mission when Ijichi is driving you back to the school.

If both of you had an off day, you and him would most likely go to a nearby coffee shop/cafe (my cafe obviously) and just eat and talk about the most aimless things like Itadori’s love life or what you guys would be doing next after this little meal.

“Why don’t you think Itadori can get a girlfriend?”

“There are posters on his wall that no girl would really like their boyfriend having Y/N”

You and Fushiguro are basically the calm presences within the group, keeping the balance within the first years but to have him as a friend is something that shouldn’t be taken for granted.

KUGISAKI NOBARA:

You and Kugisaki are basically the definition of gossip girls.

Yes, you and Fushiguro do gossip here and there but you and Kugisaki do it to another level.

You and Kugisaki will talk about what you think Gojo-sensei’s type of s/o would be to Kugisaki’s dislike of Mai Zenin.

Expect for a shopping trip every week, from getting new clothes that will probably somehow not be worn until you find it 2 years later or just to admire Tokyo since Kugisaki is from the countryside.

Sometimes you drag both Itadori and Fushiguro to carry your bags or better create some outfits for them - just to spice up their wardrobe a bit.

The two of you would definitely go to every bakery you see, admiring the sweets and treats before sharing a slice of cake together - saving money is essential guys.

Bubble tea!

You both would get bubble tea every time you guys go out together - it’s a tradition at this point.

And you and Kugisaki won’t go to the same shop every time, you guys will explore to find new stores and try out their different flavours

If you and Kugisaki are feeling nice that day, you probably buy bubble tea in bulk and share it with the other guys, begging them to try your new favourite flavours.

“Fushiguro, Itadori, I promise this coffee bubble tea is better than the other one”

“Better than the other one you gave me just yesterday?”

“Aye don’t judge Y/N’s taste, I love it as well!”

When it comes to training sessions, girl….it’s a whole competition between the both of you

This sometimes scares the boys because it seems like none of you are giving up until you break the tie.

Spoiler alert: the tie has never been broken as you guys will be dead tired after the last fight leading to no one gaining a single point lead on your tally so far.

You and Kugisaki will have inside jokes with each other causing both of you to laugh out loud sometimes, scaring the boys once again as from their perspective it seems like you and her just randomly started laughing 

“You guys won’t understand” the both of you would say before continuing to laugh.

Overall, you and Kugisaki are two peas in a pod, both funny and competitive with each other as you and her have full respect for each other - yes Maki is both your role model.

[comehomeducklings]

Past [Part 2] (Obsession)

A/N: Some chapters will be named with either “Past,” “Present,” or “Future,” then their numbered part coming right after it. This is to confuse you less when flashbacks or anything happens. As you have probably noticed, it says “Past” for Part 2. This is going back near when Tom and her just met. Thank you for reading! <3

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

Tom Riddle's Moodboard

Main Character's Moodboard

~////////////////𓆙////////////////~

1940 - 3rd year

“Potions is not that bad, I swear. You just have to be good at measuring.”

At the table, my friends and I are discussing our classes this year. Potions being one of my favorite topics. Devyn absolutely loathes that certain class. We have to drag her there to make sure she doesn’t skip. Poor girl tries her best to not mess up but the cauldron always ends up blowing up. I even watched her do every step once, never missing a beat. The potion still ended up failing, even though she did everything correctly. She gave up after a while, who wouldn’t. I help her do extra assignments for extra credit to keep her grade up. She also studies with me to make sure she can memorize everything and pass her tests. Amelia is pretty good at the class, she’s luckily paired with Devyn most of the time. Carrying the potion to success, with a little bit of my secret help. It’s not cheating, it’s using your resources.

I’m resources.

“Potions is not that bad,” Devyn mocks me. “If it weren’t for you two I would have gone insane in that stupid class.”

Amelia just laughs at her while eating her hash browns on the plate. She reaches her hand out to take some more eggs.

“You were able to do it before. Not the way you were supposed to, but it worked,” Amelia says.

“Exactly, just start doing it your way at this point. I don’t think Slughorn will care how it’s done, just how it comes out.”

Devyn nods her head and points at me with a fork. Her mouth full of food so she settles for that response. My plate doesn’t have much other than some bacon and fruit. I’m not usually a breakfast eater. I get my appetite at lunch and dinner time. It’s just too early for a bunch of food smells, the smells make me kind of nauseous. I’ll eat though, enough to hold me off till lunch.

The chatter in the lunchroom rises by the minute. Everyone refilling themselves before their busy day. All energy levels rising while everyone wakes up from their groggy morning mood. While my friends finish eating we continue to talk about our classes and share the schedules for this year. Most classes we had were the same except for our electives. I tried taking as many electives as possible. My family back home never really did magic. I actually came a year and a half late since my family wanted me to have a normal school experience. I learned to do everything without the use of magic, the only thing my mom taught me was the floo network, creatures, and plants. I would often accompany her to Diagon Alley when she shops. I got an Owl for my 10th birthday. A cat would have been amazing if I wasn’t allergic to it. My owl is a brown and white-furred barn owl. Don’t ask me why I named it Bartholomew. I was ten okay, give me a break. Speaking of the floo network, my mom had to chase me through it quite often because I kept teleporting everywhere. I once ran into the Ministry of Magic’s building and got lost. They had to take me home to my parents. Their faces told me everything I needed to know about the punishment waiting for me.

Halfway through the second year is when I came to Hogwarts, a second letter coming that year asking my parents to let me learn more there. So when they finally let me attend, everything was pretty new to me. My mother was the magic one in the family. Her grandmother, my great-grandmother, before her had the magic gene. Going to school was the same experience as going from a muggle-borns perspective. The difference is, I knew more about its existence. I would look at yearbooks my mom had from when she went here. She earned a lot of titles, all the achievements being recorded down. I always wondered why she never wanted me to come here. Did something happen to me, to her? I’m guessing she just wanted a normal life with dad. He has always supported her through everything. A love, a bond like that is hard to come by. He would also learn about magic right next to me. At least, the stuff my mom allowed to let us know.

That’s why I want to learn as much as I can, of what’s available. Why learn math in the muggle world when I could be learning divination. Spells of all types, potions for everything of inconvenience. My chores could be completed with just a flick of my wand. I’ve lately been learning wandless magic, on my own. Albus has helped by providing me with material to study that type of magic. The only thing I’ve managed so far is a spark coming from the tips of my fingertips. Sparking hope that I could actually, maybe, achieve that level. Now I won't get my hopes up, but that can lead me to a certain advantage in dueling. That being one of my weakest skills. Always panicking, saying any spells that pop up in my mind, and making random movements coming from my wand. Often confusing who I’m up against, although they recover from that confusion fairly quickly.

Riddle, met him once. One too many if you would ask me. I dissuade ever wanting to speak to him. Arrogance and pride flow through his tongue like second nature. I do take pride in succeeding above him in 3 classes. He is 2 classes above me but, that’s not the point. I do admit, he’s attractive. Only a little though, how else would he charm his way through the professors and students.

“Alright, I’m ready to go. You guys done?”

“Yeah,” I say. Devyn and I start leaving our seats and heading towards the huge doors.

Amelia hurried from her seat, a few steps behind since she took some fruit with her to eat on the way. More and more students also started making their way towards the first period. Not wanting to be blamed for the loss of house points. This system causes so many fights, everyone’s competitive side getting the best of their common sense. I would be lying if I said it didn’t get the best of me before. Amelia being her usual bubbly self skips backward while chatting with us. Before we could warn her to stop, she pushes someone ahead of her. Both falling down, hitting the floor. She spins her head extremely quickly, her hair sticking in her mouth from the force of the wind.

“I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention,” she explains. Quickly trying to digest her situation. I make my way towards her and pull her up. I fix her robe and dust off any dirt on the cloth from the floor.

“Clearly idiot, can you not use those bug eyes of yours to see?”

Devyn and I make eye contact. We understand that there are witnesses here, and one of them is bound to snitch on us if we fight. A huge scene would probably make Amelia feel even more embarrassed as well. Instead, I guided Amelia by her back. We continue on to class while I comfort her. Devyn is staying back to “talk” to the guy. Lestrange is in for it now, any poor soul would be when in the fiery path of her anger.

Devyn’s loud yells could still be slightly heard when entering the potions classroom. First class of the year, and day. On Slughorn’s table, I can see a vial with the wideye potion contained inside. I set Devyn’s textbook on her station, turning to the page that contains information on the potion. Hoping to save her confusion and time.

“Welcome, welcome! Nice to see some old faces, and new ones,” he says with the biggest grin on his face. “Today we’ll be learning about the Wideye potion. Can anyone tell me what this potion does?”

I quickly raise my hand, rather eager. I did some reading about a lot of potions during the summer. Trying to get a headstart on my studies. This potion being one of them. Only 3 students raised their hand, one of them being me. The other, well, Riddle.

“Yes, go ahead and answer,” the professor looks my way.

I smile, “The wideye potion prevents the person consuming the liquid the ability to fall asleep. Which is often used in the medical field to wake someone from a sleep caused by a blunt force or drug.”

“Precisely! 10 points.”

I look back rather smugly at Riddle, rather happy I got chosen instead of him. I know, he could have easily answered that too. I’ll let myself bask in the small achievement for now. 30 minutes of class is just spent writing down notes, preparing us for the potion we will make. Note-taking is my favorite, especially the little doodles I get to make. We use a feather instead of the regular pen. I found it rather amusing and liked the certain feeling of writing with it. The dipping noise that the point of the feather makes when hitting the liquid ink is a very profound sound. No real writer’s bump forming on my fingers.

“That’s enough writing, I need you all to prepare your cauldron, gather the materials you need, and start your potion. If done correctly, tomorrow when we add the finishing touches and check on it the potion should be a blue/green color,” Slughorn comments. “You have 10 minutes to study your notes, then the rest of the class to make your potion. No looking back at your notes after those ten minutes.”

After scanning my notes, I stand up and walk towards the ingredients on the shelves. If I remember correctly my potion requires snake fangs, standard ingredient, and wolfsbane. I gather all that in my hand and set it down near my cauldron. Before I start, I take a moment. I’m missing something, I’m sure there was another ingredient.

Wolfsbane, check.

Snake fangs, six of them.

I have the measures of Standard ingredient.

There’s one more, I try to look around the room. Then I remember that we get an automatic failing grade if caught cheating. There’s no way I’ll let my grade drop like that. Over something so small and inconvenient too. Making my way to the shelves, I scan over the ingredients over and over again. Trying to see if any of the names pop out to me.

No.

Definitely not.

That’s an ingredient?

I don’t even want to know how that one was obtained.

This one, of course it’s this one. I even remember putting a star next to the name in my notebook. Dried Billwig stings, I believe six of them were needed. All that time wasted. Hurrying to my seat I get to work. The time goes by quickly, all that could be heard was the sizzling and whooshing of our potions. I almost knocked down my vials a couple of times. Someone actually did, their time spent on cleaning the glass off the floor. After heating the first three ingredients, I crush them together in the mortar. Then stir clockwise from what I recall, three times specifically. Finally, I wave my wand over then leave it to brew.

Just in time from the looks of it. I glance at Devyn to see how it went for her, and she looks pretty proud of herself. I take that as a blessing that it didn’t blow up this time of round. I’m guessing she took our advice and did it her own way.

A student raises his hand, “May we leave?”

“Oh yes yes, go ahead. No assignments for the first day, only the potion you made in class.”

Before I leave the classroom I examine Riddle’s station. He already left the room. His potion looks similar to how mine turned out, his workspace thoroughly cleaned. Everything used properly placed back to where it should be. Perfectly spotless, not a single speck of dust in sight. All done without magic too, surprising for someone born into the wizarding world. When I mentioned that I met him once, it wasn’t much of anything. The only way I know how he really acts is through other people. Much admire his intelligence and strong will. Others are jealous of the potential he holds for the future.

Girls are already trying to slip love potions into his drinks. I would feel bad if he wasn’t so rude to them. Only just before touching the disrespectful line. He almost drank one of their attempts before. Wouldn’t want to imagine how that turned out. Tom riddle, in love. That man probably doesn’t know the feeling of happiness, let alone love. I feel bad for his future girlfriend, she’s going to have to deal with a handful of baggage.

~////////////////𓆙////////////////~

“How much do you want to bet Nott will demolish him?” A Gryffindor girl to my left whispers.

Nott, part of Riddle’s group from what I’ve seen. They all eat lunch together and talk to one another so it’s a reasonable guess. Very talented duellist, one of the bests here.

“I hate to admit it, but he’ll definitely win this. I’ll still have hope for the other guy though,” I whisper back trying not to sound mean.

Nott and the other Slytherin boy are up right now. It’s a courtesy for the audience to stay quiet until someone casts the first attack or defense. From then on all you will hear is shouting of encouragement and the opposite. Nott’s eyes are focused, zoning in on the opponent before him. His wand is steady, mouth slightly parted to breathe through better. Whole-body alert and tense waiting for something. From what I'm getting, I believe he’s waiting for the Slytherin boy to go first. Nott casts spells quickly and thinks them through decently. Sometimes you're not able to create a counter-spell quick enough to defend yourself against him.

Riddle’s group and himself are near the corner of the platform. All seemingly analyzing every breath he inhales and exhales. I finally hear the whoosh of a wand and a whiz of light fly past the platform. The glow from the spell lighting our faces for a millisecond. Nott quickly counters that spell and moves to cast his own. Magic flies across the platform, all of our eyes going back and forth like a ping-pong match. The Slytherin boy starts breaking a sweat. He’s only been able to get a couple of offensive spells in there, most of his plays spent throwing off Nott’s. If he doesn’t turn the battle soon, the outcome will become very clear.

It is a little less exciting since we only know a handful of spells. So whatever you know from your own studies you use in these duels. When we move up the years the class will become more serious and dangerous. Right now it’s just to teach us how to counter and cast quickly. The proper etiquette and movement. You use spells that you know, they aren’t supposed to harm someone. Either stun them, make them fly back, or disarm. Most of those spells require a little of a higher level, most of us not even knowing of its existence yet. So what’s mostly cast between competitors is a basic spell to exert force. That force should be aimed for the legs, or the wand to disarm that way. The way someone can win here is to make their knees or hands touch the floor, or disarm their wand. As I mentioned, it will get more intense as time goes by. We're only just starting 3rd year right now, a lot more charms will be learned later on.

I shake my head to get rid of any lingering thoughts. My attention goes right back to the duel taking place in front of me. Nott quickly aims a spell at the knees and manages to bring the other boy to his knees.

“Mr. Nott wins this duel! Please step off the platform, we will evaluate your performance.”

During the practice duels today, you watch it, think of ways to help the person improve, and point out things they might have done wrong. At the end, the professor picks people raising their hands to allow them to give their feedback. Participating is part of the grade you get in here. I personally prefer giving feedback then dueling. I’m not the best at casting, I do give out good defense spells though. That should mean something, I hope.

“Let’s start with Nott, does anyone have feedback for him?”

A couple of people spread apart raised their hands. One by one they all ask questions and give feedback. They mention his feet and posture when he stands. Arms fully stretched out where it would have been more flexible to bend it slightly. When he casts he shouldn’t be walking backward. They shortly switch to the other boy’s questions and feedback. The way he never gave himself the opening to cast an offensive spell often. He would move around his area a lot. Almost slipping off the stage during one of those movements. Tom and his group privately discussed with one another. They’re probably giving Nott their own feedback and suggestions privately.

“Now, Riddle I want you to come up and…,” he scans the room for another student. After some time he points his finger at me. “You.”

I could have had a smooth sailing class. I was so close to not having to go up there. My hands start sweating a bit, my anxiety jumbling my thoughts together. Riddle’s already up there and soon to be on his side of the platform. Taking his wand out and wandering his fingers over the design. I gulp, a big toad stuck in my throat. I wipe my hands on my robe and start up the stairs. Riddle seems as unbothered as ever. We bow, turn, then walk ten paces back. During this time I try predicting who will cast first. I don’t know him very well, I’ve also never seen him duel.

I take my dueling stance and wait for the signal to start. Hoping, praying, that I don’t embarrass myself. Slipping up is not allowed, not when going against him.

~////////////////𓆙////////////////~

Taglist:

@empath-bunny

[absoluteindulgence]

HC: Hot Girl Summer with the Boys

A/N: Hey y’all, I’m back... Let’s party. This is a magical world where the Rona has not taken over the world and summertime was filled with nothing but fun and bad choices ✌🏿. Sorry that it’s long, I had a lot of thoughts lmao. I hope you guys like this~ Characters are aged up⬆🆙

☀ 🌞Mirio🌞☀

Staying home reading a book... just fucking kidding

Mirio couldn't keep his ass still even if you told him to

This man is taking you all over the world, every amusement park to every ride.

Ever looked fear in the face? Well, being in front of every rollercoaster multiple times means you have.

His true daredevil nature comes out as you both try to see who will last longer going down the roller coaster

You've wanted to throw in the towel many times, but persevered, beating Mirio by a landslide. 

Due to all the crowded lines and the fact that you're heroes, everyone lets you skip. You try being modest, but it doesn't work as the other patrons say, "Not only are you my favorite heroes but my favorite couple. You deserve to have fun!"

The willingness of everyone approving of your vacation time is gratifying, to say the least.

After spending time doing all the extreme rides, You guys enjoy all the other stalls.

Ironic enough, Mirio comes across the win-a-prize games and swears to get you one.

You try to tell him not to worry, but that fires him up more. I guess in his blonde brain, he thinks you don't want one, so he wants to prove your cute ass wrong.

And oh boy, did he.

He had accurate precision: Throwing the ball in the cup, throwing the hoop onto the bottle, shooting the paper plate off entirely.

Mirio the Assassin confirmed

After managing to win 4 STUFFED ANIMALS, 3 are for you while 1 goes to Eri.

The feels right in the kokoro~

With enough wins under his belt, Mirio treats you to bubble tea and taiyaki. With no shame, you stuff your face happy to finally enjoy food that won't come up.

"Wow, this taiyaki sure is great! But nothing is as sweet as you, baby."

Heart: ABLAZE

This goofball can't even let you enjoy your food in silence. But his honest smile compliments the moment as your flushed cheeks puff from drinking your favorite thirst quencher.

The day ends with you walking around the amusement park, arms full of toys, and finding a unique spot to watch the marvel of the sunset.

As you hold hands, a glance is shared as you two share a passionate kiss.

❄Shouto🔥

You guys are spending a lot of time reading manga and going to cafes.

Shouto lives to see you get dressed up as you let your hair flow in the wind (no matter how long or short, he knows you like the cool air on your scalp. The smile that spreads across your face is contagious as he stares at you with a similar grin)

Your beauty leaves all the other pedestrians gawking as Shouto, nonchalant but proud holds your hand.

Some fans come up to take selfies with you guys and damn do the photos look good. 

Going to various cafes through Japan has been a bucket list that you've shared since your first date. Rating each and creating a rating system. When all other plans fail, the top-rated are the ones you'll go back to.

The day is mellow, leaving you to stay inside because you feel like it. Cuddling with Shouto has proved to be an all-time favorite.

His light snores turn into light conversations. He has a hard time opening his eyes since he feels secure in having you by his side.

When you finally wake up, you cook together, his fave ofc, Cold-ass Soba. (One time you pranked him by boiling the noodles in strawberry milk, and he retaliated by putting pepper in your tea. On that day, you learned not to come between a man and his soba)

When yearning for a little excitement, you drag Shouto to a karaoke bar

He tries not to get too involved, but then you play one of his favorite angsty songs, and he's singing like one of the greats

You can't tell me that Shouto wouldn't vibe to Linkin Park, 3 Days Grace or The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus (Especially when he hated Endeavor to his core)

Shouto would give an excellent performance to Breaking The Habit, Home, and Face Down. I FEEL IT IN MY SPIRIT!!!

The only way you feel like you'll win…. Is if you rap Monster (Nicki's Verse ofc) or sing My Heart Will Go On lmao

Shouto thinks you're cheating tho because those are your trump cards when all else fails lmaooo

After the scream-singing match is done, you guys go home and drink a bunch of tea, hoping your voices aren't gone by the morning

💥Bakugou💥

If you're going to an amusement park, y'all going straight to the "horror" houses.

You guys usually go in to laugh at the horrible attempts to make you scared. Until there's that one jump scare that makes your heart leap out your chest.

You're breathless with the mocking laugh caught in your throat as you grip close to Katsuki's side.

This fiery bastard laugh gets even louder seeing you cower in embarrassment. Once he's done making fun of you, he kisses your forehead.

"About damn time, you move in close."

Now say you're not at an amusement park? You guys are going to the spa.

Not because you're tense but because it's always funny seeing Katsuki tense up when they try to butter him with complimentary things (thanks to being top heroes).

He hates going to public spaces and getting stuff for free. He wants to pay for the experience so that no one can say he takes advantage of his status.

Although it creates funny scenarios, you respect how committed he is.

His reasoning is that he's a citizen paying another citizen for their service.

Granted, if the service is excellent, the worker is guaranteed a tip (depending on the country since he likes to follow customs).

The funniest thing is him coming from Massage therapy, he's a big ol’ softie.

The cuddles are intense, and his face never changes from the color pink, and his smile is curved too high.

Onlookers seeing him smile are terrified, and yet you are smushing his face between your hands kissing him all over.

"You look so relaxed, Boomer, let's take a bath together~."

Coming back to his senses, he'll grit his teeth a little and retort, "I'm not a damn Boomer!"

He's not mad that you called him that he's just mad you said it in public LMFAO

🌋Kirishima🌋

You guys are spending most of your time at the beach, soaking in the sun and enjoying his thick ass hands rubbing sunscreen all over your body

Don't let him see you enjoying it, he might have to pull you away from the public and give you that good ole sea cucumber

But when he can't get your sweetness right away, he'll have to push his energy into something else

And ofc, Kiri has an active personality, and when you mix that with demolishing opponents while playing volleyball, you too get into your competitive mode.

Anyone playing against you guys will catch HELL. Some cried from the impact of the ball, hitting them. Some deserving for the shit-talking...

Others getting sincere apologies and an autograph or picture lmao

Everyone on the beach knows you two as the power couple, and you win the nicknames, Otters of the Sand.

After kicking so much ass, you guys enter an eating contest as a team. Everyone's surprised to see how many bowls you've cleared. The appetite is already built up, so you guys are willing to stuff your faces until you're waddling back to the hotel.

And with the stamina you've gained at UA, you made it happen. In Second place to Kiri. He basks in his crown, winning first place, and you guys happily waddle back to your hotel room, taking a shower together then cuddling.

Imagine you guys decide to stay lax the whole summer, video, and card games are the vibe.

You try hard to kick his ass in Smash and end up losing... No matter who you main. You even try random (3 times) and still lose.

"Wow, Babe, you're doing well for a sore loser. You almost got a 3 stock victory!"

His laugh ticks you off even though he's just teasing you, and you wanna switch the game. Even in the back of your head, you deem it pointless, but he still obliges you.

No tlk angy frm l0sng😡💢

When you've played your last game, you accept your defeat only to tickle him into submission.

He apologizes and wraps you into a bear hug smothering you in kisses.

[tsuisou-no-despair]

Higurashi TEN (Role Swap AU) - 34 Random Facts

Well, I'm slightly stuck with the question arcs, so instead I'm just going to write up and throw out a whole bundle of random facts about the world, its characters, and things that have or could happen. Hopefully this will lead to something clicking into place for me, and hopefully you'll like it, too.

Kei, Reina, and Mion still use a bat, nata, and taser, respectively, as their main weapons, though Mion's been forbidden from using the taser by Oryou. Hanyuu uses the ritual hoe and swords in about equal measure. Miyoko uses whatever's on hand to frightening effect.

Shion thrives at St. Lucia; however, she is pulled out of the school by her family after Oryou decides that Mion's twin would be better utilized if she was right on hand...

Miyoko does the Joseph Joestar "your next line is..." thing, which almost always works like a charm. (It doesn't work on Satoko or Bernkastel, but the former plays along when she's not in the black outfit)

Hanyuu's horns aren't initially broken, but by the end of the series, they have their signature crack.

Tomitake is a much more common sight in Hinamizawa than he was in the original universe, being a resident of Okinomiya who frequently visits. He's also quite well-liked, mostly because he's there to fix just about anything that breaks.

Rumiko was the original user of Rena's signature nata, as well as the person who first converted the van in the dump into a hiding place.

Satoko finds the contents of the Saiguiden fascinating but ultimately disappointing; she expected something more directly tied to Hinamizawa Syndrome's origins.

Irie almost always manages to get clear of Hinamizawa before Emergency Procedure #3105 is executed; however, he's usually dead in under 24 hours due to his escape catching Tokyo's attention.

Both Ooishi and Akasaka are hated by the Sonozaki family but the former much more so, to the point where Ooishi schedules his visits to Okinomiya when the Sonozakis will be looking elsewhere, such as on festival nights.

Rina targets Kei's dad in the loops where she doesn't die. Kei's mom does not take it well - to the point where she goes L5, in some cases.

Mion's "feelings" for Satoshi are primarily a result of Satoshi being just that nice and caring and good-hearted. It helps that she's enamored with a saintly image of him that's only grown more pure since his absence.

When Miyoko bothers to start telling people about how she's lost in time loops, their reactions are mostly in the vein of "oh, that explains so much".

Bernkastel can be heard by people who are deep in the throes of Hinamizawa Syndrome; naturally, she uses this to fuck with people for kicks.

Okonogi takes the role of the clinic's head after Satoko dies/disappears. He's regarded exclusively with suspicion - if he wasn't only filling the role until the GHD triggers, he'd probably get run out of town within a month.

Rumiko regularly made Miyoko curry after learning that Teppei and Tamae were denying her food; this led to Rumiko taking her curry very seriously because it represented the only "acceptable" way for her to help Miyoko.

Officially, Tatsuyoshi Sonozaki and his wife (Naeko) are Mion and Shion's parents. In reality, Akane is their mother, and whether or not Tatsuyoshi is the father is strictly a matter between him and Akane.

All of the locations from the original universe are present and more or less unchanged, along with a few new "sets" such as Akasaka's apartment.

Satoko has an alternate version of her "Tokyo" outfit that includes a mask that resembles an inverted Eye of Providence. She wears this when acting in Hinamizawa after her death, claiming that she needs to hide her identity due to being known in the village. (Okonogi thinks that doesn't matter in the slightest and that Satoko is trying too hard to be "cool", and he isn't wrong... except that it's managed to keep Miyoko from realizing who it is throughout the loops)

Beyond mahjong, Akasaka, Satoshi, Irie and Tomitake were fast friends. Their name for the quartet is the "Soul Brothers" - thankfully, it's a more serious (and infinitely less horny-focused) group than in arcs like (ugh) Batsukowashi-hen. (Kei still becomes an honorary Soul Brother in some arcs, though)

While she's reasonably familiar with a gun and a bow, Shion's real weapon is her contacts: her stay at St. Lucia (and Rika-in-Gou levels of popularity while there) means she has a slew of St. Lucia-ites (with powerful fathers) who would bend over backward for her.

Akane and Satoko are the two most skilled individual fighters in Higurashi TEN - who wins in a fight between the two is generally decided by who screws up first, but this is usually Akane getting blindsided by a trap unless she's warned. (They fight in more fragments than you'd expect - Akane Kasai is the most dangerous person in Hinamizawa and Satoko knows it.)

Miyoko starts her loops at the same point every time - the morning after the festival in 1982. This is mostly to dodge the abuse from Tamae - the fact that people assume her changed personality is because she's escaped an abusive home is icing on the cake.

The official reason for the Clinic "studying" Hanyuu was that they were researching the effects of her horns' growth pressing on her brain and monitoring the brain tumor-like symptoms (hearing voices, delusions of being Oyashiro-sama reborn, etc.) that it caused; this was all a fabrication hiding the research done on Hanyuu as Queen Carrier. Satoshi was disgusted by this facade and eventually told the Furudes that Hanyuu's brain was fine, leading to them pulling Hanyuu out (and Satoko murdering them as a result).

Irie occasionally mediates the Games Club's punishment games, sometimes getting dragged into it himself. He's a stalwart protector defender of the young club members' honor, making whatever sacrifices he has to in order to make sure that they're not forced into perverted situations or outfits.

Rumiko may or may not have had feelings for Mion, which Mion subconsciously returned; Mion's quietly put two and two together in the months following her disappearance, and it's had a palpable effect on her relationship with Reina.

Ooishi lives in Kakiuchi City and is a part of its police department, and he's not the only former Hinamizawa resident on its force - there's a bright young detective named Natsumi Kimiyoshi who I've heard interesting stories about, though I don't know much about her...

While he's still capable of being the "Magician of Words", Kei's charisma is heavily tempered by the restrained, somewhat cold wall he's put up around his emotions for "everyone's own good".

After all that looping, Miyoko's trauma response to Teppei moving back in and forcing himself to be her caretaker is anger moreso than shutting down. More than a few loops have ended with Teppei killing her after she was too insolent (or too creepy) for him to put up with.

Yukie was a reporter who was extremely critical of the anti-dam protests, especially after the kidnapping occurred. At least some of the antipathy towards Akasaka is due to being Yukie's husband.

When the seeds of distrust aren't sown, Reina's empathy is one of her most powerful tools, making her able to stand up to just about anyone in Hinamizawa and reach out a hand to them. (Sometimes this leads to getting a baseball bat to the head, but hey, she tried.)

Hanyuu can hear Bernkastel at lower levels of Hinamizawa Syndrome than anyone else in the village, and seems to be cognizant of her presence even when she's at L1/L2. The exact details of Hanyuu and Bern's rapport are known only to them.

Miyoko and Hanyuu are closer to each other than they are to anyone else, but there's still a big ugly wall between them due to Hanyuu's quasi-divinity butting up against Miyoko's hatred of any and all gods. Tearing that wall down is an important part of Miyoko's character development.

Irie had (has?) Satoshi's blessing to try and win Satoko's heart; according to Satoshi, Satoko's not entirely against the idea of a relationship. Satoshi also made sure that Irie didn't cross any lines when going after her; after Satoshi disappeared, Irie ceased his attempts until Satoko herself encouraged him.

Everyone is wearing different outfits - the new ones are more or less the same pieces of clothing as the original "position" but with the color palette and general feel of the character filling the slot. For example, Reina's casual outfit starts as Keiichi's - a vest, undershirt, and shorts (and no hat) - but then is adjusted to fit Rena's style and is given a white, light blue, and purple palette. My attempts at mocking up Reina and Mion's designs are below.

[citrusityy]

Pride & Prejudice Chapter 17 - Speak of the Bingley, and He Doth Appear

Hello all, and welcome back to the internet. The eagle-eyed among you may notice that there hasn’t been anything from me in a little while. In short, I fell out of the writing habit thanks to deadlines and whatnot.

Thanks to everyone who’s been patient these last few weeks, but I’m doing my best to get back in the rhythm now and alongside P&P, I’m planning to share some of my better recent pieces on games. I know you’re all here for Literature, but any feedback would be welcome.

Now, without any further ado:

Each Tuesday, Catherine picks apart Pride & Prejudice chapter by chapter, with a healthy helping of humour to keep her going. One day, she will finish it. Today : Chapter 17, the aftermath of last chapter’s party.

"Society has claims on us all; and I profess myself one of those who consider intervals of recreation and amusement as desirable for every body."

Previously, William Collins, the man who will inherit Longbourne House when Mr Bennet dies, paid a visit to the Bennet so he could marry one of them and share the house. Why he doesn’t just waive his right to the house away if he’s such a pious fellow, I don’t know,

With Ms Jane Bennet being out of the picture thanks to her interest in Charles Bingley, new arrival to the area, Collins has set his sights on the other four, especially main character Lizzy.

In other news, Lizzy was (somewhat) shocked to learn that the aloof Mr Darcy - a good friend to Bingley and no one else - cheated his father’s godson, Mr Wickham, out of his promised inheritance.

Dying to share this scandalous story, the chapter opens with Lizzy confiding in Jane, to rather little avail. Despite her shock, Jane is eager to “defend the conduct of each” man. Darcy had every right to rob Wickham of house and home, she appears to argue, because both of them were “deceived”.

Now, although it is entirely possible that Wickham was stretching the truth a bit considering he’s our only source of information beyond Mr Darcy’s look of utter horror when bumping into him in Chapter 15, I’m inclined to think that the son of the lord who reportedly denied anything to the boy his father promised to care for might just be in the wrong.

Lizzy agrees with me, and is all too happy to mock Jane for trying to avoid forming any opinion whatsoever on the issue, but fails to get her to reconsider her (lack of) stance. This makes me doubt my earlier theory that Jane was essentially a self-insert for Austen, what with them sharing the same name and all, since she’s happy to skewer her with Lizzy here.

All that the two can agree on is that if all that Wickham shared was true, then Mr Bingley is liable to suffer the most when his friend’s old affairs become public. Maybe we’ll see some blackmailing later in the story?

No sooner do they discuss Bingley than he appears at their door, his sisters in tow. There to personally invite the family to Netherfield’s ball on Tuesday, the sisters opt to fawn over their good friend Jane and drag their brother away from the other Bennets instead. As a result, each of the Bennet women fantasise about the ball in their own way, unfettered by any details from their host.

Mrs Bennet is flattered that Bingley would hold an entire ball just for her darling Jane; Jane looks forward to talking to the Bingley sisters; and the rest dream of dancing in Mr Wickham’s arms. Lizzy also wants to study Mr Darcy to see how much he looks like the type to do what Wickham accused him of.

When Lizzy checks if Collins is going out of formality, she’s horrified to learn that not only does he plan to go, but that he wants to do some of it with her. Far too polite to turn him down and far too overcome with elation to even feign disinterest in the idea of dancing, she goes along with it. At this point, it’s clear to her that Collins has her in his cross-hairs. Whether she actually takes him up on it or not, I guess we’ll find out next week.

Footnotes

Did Bingley make the trip from Netherfield on foot? Because if not, then he made several of his servants go out of their way to deliver a message that a letter could far more efficiently.

Not much else to say on such a short chapter, but I might split the next one into two parts.

Any thoughts? Feel free to comment below with compliments and anything you think I missed. Tune in next week for Chapter 18 : The Bingley Ball.

[fayesdiary]

For SoV ask: 2, 3, 12, 26, and one of your choice!

Sure thing, and sorry for being so late! To compensate, the answer is really, really long! i know you said I could choose one but question 33 is kind of a joke question so whatevs. Also no keep reading sorry but Tumblr formatting is being a butthole 2) Who’s your favorite character from Alm’s side? Faye! Yes I know, you're all shocked. But honestly, she's the kind of character who absolutely deserved better (and imo she's the one who got shafted the most alongside Rinea), but it's so fun to flesh her out from the few things we know about her! Also, her fanbase is very small but so talented?? Besides the great fanart, especially on AO3 there are a lot of wonderful stories, my favourite being this one about her travelling with Celica! 3) Who’s your favorite character from Celica’s side? Previous answers: Celica Hoo boy, answering this question again is kinda hard, since I really like all of Celica's party besides Deen, Nomah and Jesse. But since Sonya T-Posed over Jedah's corpse today, I think I'm gonna go with her for this! She's an interesting personality (her confidence is honestly great and I like that while aloof at first she slowly warms up to the party), most of what she says reveals something about her or her past and she's connected with Echoes' main villain! Also, she has the only optional boss conversation in the entire game. Honestly Sonya to me is the perfect example of a mysterious character because every interaction with her is important to learn something about her and makes you keep wanting more, but you never get the whole picture, which means there's also room to speculate. For example, how did she end up working for Grieth? When did her sisters become witches? Should her endcard be taken literally or is it a rumor she just spread herself? 12) Of all the antagonists, which one is your favorite? Berkut! He's such an interesting villain and one I constantly have the time of my life mocking, but at the same time someone you can't help but feel sorry for the more you learn about him. He steals the spotlight every scene he's in, doubly impressive since he wasn't even in Gaiden to begin with and he has an incredible presentation, between the design, Ian Sinclair overkilling it and his overly grandiose themes! Rudolf gets a dishonorable mention, because while I absolutely hate him, dragging him through the mud every chance I get is so much fun. And honestly, that alone makes him "better" than a boring villain.

17) What’s the flavor text quote that made you laugh the most?

This one:

This playthrough was the first I had Celica visit Ram Village (i didn't even know it was possible the first time I play, gods I love this game), so seeing her roasting Tobin with Ragnarok Omega without even knowing just sent me Also if you check a Library in Desaix's fortress Alm will start looking for comics, which means there are comics in Valentia, and that's a whooole rabbit hole waiting to be explored. How much do you bet Gray pranked Tobin with the loss comic once

26) Talk a bit about the game’s themes!

It's intriguing and kinda suprising for FE standards the relative nuance with each theme, and I really like it! For the class struggle while you do get the message that your station shouldn't impact your opportunities and the hint that class won't matter nearly as much in the age of mankind, you still have things like Clive openly believing in the systems of monarchy and nobility (see: his support with Python that is one of my faves), and while he wants to fight for the common people and making life better for them, he has to face the fact he knows very little about their struggles, not to mention a lot of bias he still has to overcome (see: the whole situation with Delthea). Heck, the whole thing about Alm being secretly royalty makes the whole thing even more muddled, because while the game argues for meritocracy we also see how Alm has been able to do things the average person can't because of his bloodline. So, in this fantasy world, nobility would matter, right? While obviously there need to be more equal rights and less privilage, at the same time you wonder if Berkut was right after all about nobility being meant to rule, even besides the whole prophecy nonsense. Zofia and Rigel are a teeny bit more nuanced than the usual good country-bad country of Fire Emblem standards, same with Mila and Duma, so it's really interesting to discuss them, even if I wish we could have seen a bit more of both at their best (same for the gods' philosophies), instead of the decayed mess we see ingame. Rudolf (at least in theory) is the usual conqueror, but instead of being a puppet or just working for the main villain he's actually doing the opposite, preparing the hero to be the one to save Valentia never mind that he likely did more damage to Valentia than the freaking Faithful ever did Jedah, while being the usual evil sorcerer, he's also extremely devoted to Duma, with his motivations being that Duma must maintain his position for Valentia to survive, so he does whatever he can to tend to him and further his power (outright not caring if this will end up in an age of tyranny), and while this absolutely does NOT justify his action even a little, it's so intriguing and more interesting than the usual evil sorcerer doing evil things because they're evil (Gharnef) or even because of a tragic backstory! (Not to shit on characters like Manfroy, his manga backstory fits him perfectly and fleshes out a theme about persecution that was barely mentioned in og FE4, I really hope they make it canon in the eventual remake)

33) How many cats do you think Alm and Celica adopted after Duma’s fall?

Let's just say that if someone allergic to cats even approches Zofia Castle they just die.😼

Echoes ask game

[curiousconch]

Exit

Chapter 6 of Ricochet (An Open Heart AU)

Catch up here: Series Masterlist

Chapter Synopsis: Heather is taken hostage, but by whom? And she isn't alone. Rafael and Bryce set tries to find the missing link.

Pairing: Rafael Aveiro x MC (Dr. Heather Song) | Bryce Lahela x MC (Dr. Heather Song)

Words: 1.4k+ | Genre: Crime, Suspense/Thriller, Romance

Rating/Warnings: Mature (16+) / violence, language

Author's Notes: Thank you so much for taking time to read this series. Please let me know if you want me to include/remove you in the tags list. Also, disclaimer: Majority of the characters are owned by Pixelberry, except the main character Heather Song and an OC Jordan Anderson.

Heather was due for another week in Johns Hopkins. So even though she didn't feel up to it after last night's fiasco, she forced herself to pack her clothes from the washer and clean out her temporary room.

She snuck glances to Bryce's bedroom door, trying to muster up the courage to face him and apologize. She was drunk last night. Drunk people make the lousiest mistakes, especially when that person is an emotional wreck. Long kept secrets of the heart creep up to the surface, often loaded with regrets like ticking time bombs inevitably blowing up the next morning.

In the end, she decided not to tell him her impassioned speech about nothing good ever happens after 2am, a reference from their shared favorite sitcom. Instead, she washed and cleaned and packed, and when the time came, left without a single word. She thought it was best to leave him be, giving them both space to process what they've just revealed. They'll just deal with it after she's done with her commitments in Maryland.

So she booked a car. And with one silent goodbye, she stepped out into the empty hallways. Her steps felt heavy against the carpeted floors, feeling more and more rueful with each. She was about to turn to the elevator bay when the fire exit flew open behind her.

Before she could turn around to see, an arm grabbed her by the waist while a piece of cloth covered her mouth and nose, muffling her shouts for help. Her head began spinning almost immediately. It wasn't long before she completely blacked out.

***

When Heather came to, she only saw darkness. Her immediate reaction was to scream, only to whimper after realizing she was gagged. Panic rose within her chest, as she struggled to think straight. She tried to blink to no avail. She was living in a nightmare, and she badly wanted to wake up. So she had two choices - either be a victim or be a survivor.

She chose the latter.

With that, she began to assess her surroundings, using her limited capabilities. She could tell that her eyes were covered, and by the tingling pain in her wrists behind her, she knew she was tied up. Strangely, her ankles were free. While most of her senses were restrained, those that weren't became magnified.

Her back felt the hard floor, she banged her head against it, confirming her theory.

Concrete? Uneven. Unfinished?

She tried to stand up, her legs felt weak, almost like jelly. She tried another time, and succeeded on kneeling. She balanced herself and used her legs to stand up, one after another.

She heard the sound of plastic rustling in the wind, and the cold night air brushing against her face.

Seems like I'm somewhere cold. Is that wind coming from large windows?

All of a sudden, she heard voices. The sounds were inaudible, but she observed intense shifts in the faint conversation.

Two voices, another room? Are they arguing?

She tried to direct herself towards the voices, taking caution not to make a noise. The volume gradually increased, aiding her to understand the conversation clearly enough.

"You're one hour late and you didn't bring enough."

"Such a whiney brat. Did you get that from juvy?"

"It's a mystery why someone haven't punched you and your perfect teeth."

"Some guy already did. But you? I bet ten grand you wouldn't. You're just a piece of shit without my funding."

"Right, without your pockets lined with cash, what are you?"

"Uh, free man with lots of connections?"

The words didn't make sense to her, but the voices that threw them around sounded familiar. She strained to get closer, trying to think who they could possibly be. Before she could hear more, she stumbled, her body making a noisy thud as it quickly planted on the ground. She felt something hard scrape against her cheek, a warm liquid trickled after, then pain.

Blood.

She shifted her head sideways, her legs dangling over something she couldn't quite figure out from the thick fabric of her jeans. Then it moved.

She gasped and retrieved her legs, her mind racing.

Who is it? Bryce? Rafael?

Her anxiety rose as she struggled with the mere possibility that she wasn't the only one kidnapped. The danger of the situation suddenly becoming more grave.

Then the body elicited a groan, a sound similar with her failed attempt to scream earlier. She heard it grumble once more, and then again. It was in the third time that Heather finally figured out who the voice might belong to.

Senator Ed Farrugia's.

Like a bucket of ice, a bone-chilling realization came to her. If they went all this way to hostage the senator, what's gonna stop them from killing her?

Her panicked thoughts were invaded by the sound of steps approaching. In an instant, she felt that she was shoved upright in a sitting position. The same person grabbed her by the collar and dragged her body back to where she came from, making her bare feet blister and bleed against the rough surface. Her face touched edges of plastic as her body followed the steps of her attacker. She tried to swallow her screams in an attempt to preserve energy, but the hairs at the back of her neck gave her fear away. She was then banged against a wall, followed by silence.

A set of steps receded, probably of the person who just dragged her back to her original place. This was quickly replaced by another set of steps, producing a distinct tapping. Different shoes, different person. First one seems like running shoes, this one sounds like leather.

Without warning, her hair was pulled backwards, making her wail beneath the cloth in her mouth. She smelled the scent of cigarettes.

"You just won't go down without a fight, eh? Well good for you, doctor. This will be all the more enjoyable."

Finally giving in on her fears, she shivered. She knew that voice anywhere. It was a sound so despicable that she hated it ever since the first time she heard it. The one man who mocked her, brought her down since her intern year. Arrogant, ambitious and immoral. All the curse words in the world couldn't describe this person. It belonged to a man she never wanted to see, hear, nor be in the presence of ever.

It was the greatest scumbag of all time.

Declan Nash.

***

Rafael was in full blown recon mode for Senator Farrugia's disappearance when he learned that Heather was also missing. Elijah called in to check if she has contacted him for the last 12 hours, he wished she did, but he told him no. When he got off the phone, the conference room he was in suddenly felt crowded.

"Dr. Song is apparently missing too," he reported to the rest of the team working on the Farrugia case. "Let's find where and when she was last seen, and start from there. I have a hunch she's going to lead us to the senator." He called IT to extract Heather's phone logs and location pings before he stepped out for a moment to process this new information. He found himself slumping in the fire exit stairwell, feeling an urge to punch the wall.

When he was about to act on it, his phone rang. It was ADA Lahela.

"Have you heard?"

"Yes, I just got off the phone with Elijah."

"And Senator Ed?"

"Yes, we're trying to find leads for the past 3 hours since we were notified."

"Okay, have you checked her phone records?"

"IT is working on it now."

"Okay. She supposedly left the condo around 4am this morning. I heard her leave. That might be a good starting point."

Rafael made a mental note.

"I'm going to meet Perry. He's in the front and center of this thing. I'll let you know as soon as I come up with anything." Raf heard Bryce say, after which the line ended.

He felt like an idiot, a sinking feeling of regret drawing him in. But he couldn't wallow in it now. Not until they find her.

There's time for that later. Right now, Heather needs me.

Fired up with resolve, he went out of the desolate stairwell and worked. He immediately followed up on Heather’s phone logs and available electronic records. He also called up field agents to go down at Bryce's complex for a copy of CCTV footage for the past 24 hours.

Once the instructions were handed over, he focused on Travis Perry. He helped himself to a cup of black coffee, willing his mind to stay sharp. He pored over Perry's file, searching for anything they may have missed.

He sighed, pushing back his emotions to the back of his mind. It's quickly becoming one of the longest nights of his life.

Author’s Notes 2: When I wrote this, I thought of merging this with the next. I just felt that they're best read together. So instead of combining the two, I've decided to publish both chapters simultaneously. Both is packed, I know, even I got dizzy writing it. But I hope you'll enjoy the roller coaster ride as much as I did. Appreciate it if you could share your thoughts!

Taglist: @ramsey-lahela @eleanorbloom @choicesficwriterscreations

[popculturebuffet]

Darkwing Double Feature: The Quiverwing Quack and Paint Misbehavin (Paint Misbehavin Comissoned by WeirdKev27)

Greetings darkwings of the night! It’s time to return to our daring duck of mystery for a third double feature! This one’s been a longtime coming.. as in since around black friday when I did a comissions sale. As usual Kev was my only customer and he bought both Splatter Phoenix episodes... and I shamefully admit this one has sat in my queue for a while as I wanted to finish the justice ducks retrospective first, as I also wanted to cover Quiverwing Quack’s first appearance, on my own time, and I wanted to save doing any Negaduck till I got done with Justice Ducks.  And that’s where errors were made, as I PAUSED said retrospective forgetting I both had this review sitting in my queue, and that I really didnt have that much left to go on it. SO yeah this took WAY longer than I usually do for a commission, and I apologize for that and i’m happy to correct it, with this, along with the freebie I gave him at the time, coming out tommorow i’ll finally be caught up and promise this won’t happen again.  So with my needed apologizes out of the way, let’s talk about why this is a double feature. Simple: Paint Misbehavin is Quiverwing Quack, Gosalyn’s superhero alter ego’s, only other appearance on the show. It would appear in the comics.. in a fashion.. but we’ll get to that. So it dind’t feel quite right covering one without the other, especially since this version of gos is a fan faviorite of many. So does our  archer live up to the hype? Let’s get dangerous under the cut and find out. 

The Quiverwing Quack:

This.. may be the best Darkwing i’ve seen so far. There is some competition of course, but this one is easily the frontrunner. It’s hilarious, has a really great and intresting plot, few faults, and is just.. about as good as this show can get. I could end that here but I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t, so let’s get into why. 

The episode starts with a fairly typical day for Darkwing: Fighting Negaduck, hilariously as always, and mocking his arch enemy for only being Public Enemy #2 behind Dr. Slug, an oft mentioned but never seen in an actual episode villian that’s apparently one of DW’s deadliest foes. So already we have a great motive for Negaduck, who usually just has the motive of “destroy darkwing’ or do evil, though to the show’s credit, just looking at the summaries for his other eps alone, they NEVER ran out of ideas for the guy or forgot he was as clever as he was ax crazy. 

But just as he’s about to beat darkwing, Gosalyn arrives with an archery set Launchpad purchased for her and easily holds him down. And rather than be greatful Drake is mad at her and feels the arrows are too dangerous which.. fair those look to be real arrows but not the time or place.  Gosalyn however is angry her dad stopped her and is chafing both under his overprotectivness and feeling this is about ego, creates her own crime fighting alter ego Quiverwing Quack, dragging Honker along as her sidekick Arrow Boy. He dosen’t WANT to get into hero work, but he’s afraid she’ll pulverize him if he dosen’t. HA HA.. GET IT.. BECAUSE SHE’S A GIRL AND IT’S NOT LIKE GIRLS CAN ABUSE BOYS HAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAA

Yeah as you can tell that bit hasn’t aged well and is the one down note in an otherwise great episode. And I do mean great. Because this essential conflict works perfectly and is expertly built on what we’ve already seen of the characters. 

For starters Gosalyn forming her own hero identity feels like a natural evolution of her character. It genuinely feels that, given her love for adventure and of her dad being a superhero, that she’d take the next step in wanting to follow in her footsteps and put on her own costume eventually. Her making her OWN rather than something derivitative of darkwing also perfectly fits both her anger at her dad’s overprotectivness and her own individual nature. The costume itself is.. okay pretty simplistic, with an early green arrow style hat and some gloves and boots.. but while I didn’t like it at first It’s grown on me a bit, as I realized it feels like the kind of a costume a kid would throw together and given Gosalyn dosne’t have her dad’s backing, it makes sense the costume would be slapped together. Grante dit dosen’t explain her trick arrows, but given we’ve seen gosalyn is pretty talented and that she can easily acess Darkwing’s lair, it’s not a huge stretch to say she went into her dad’s lair while he was gone, took some suplies and made the arrows herself. 

And i’ll freely admit i’m a sucker for a good archer hero as Hawkeye is easily one of my faviroite superheroes. Which granted is a sentence I know will probably baffle anyone who hasn’t picked up a comic with clint, or has but it was written by brianmicheal bendis, as in the movies up to Endgame you could easily replace him with a block of wood with a purple h painted on it and no one would notice the difference. And other archer heroes like Arowette, Speedy, Kate Bishop, Arsenal and Green Arrow are also on the whole pretty fucking awesome, as is the Young Justice Cartoon version of Artemis and the JLU version of Green Arrow. So this was kind of a slam dunk for me and the fact Gos’ costume comes off as a combination of Hawkeye and Green Arrow, having Ollie’s hat but Clint’s purple color scheme and gloves with no sleeves aesthetic, just makes me all the more on board for this. 

What truly makes the episode though is Darkwing, whose internal conflict is masterful to watch. While his being overproective isn’t anything new to the show, this episode takes it in a more dramatic directon: While there’s still a few jokes the episode gives some very painful reasons why he’s like this: He dosen’t want to loose his baby girl, both figuratively in her growing up and becoming more self sufficent.. and literally in her dying. It’s a terror any parent faces and it makes him sympathetic: While he IS overreacting at times and would be better off training her and helping nurture her while still keeping her safe, so when she DOES run off to do her own thing she’ll be ready, you can’t blame him for not wanting that, for wanting her to just stay home, stay safe and stay ALIVE.  The comics, which i’ve read some of and will cover here at some point, make this hit HARDER as during the second arc, where we meet a bunch of Darkwing Ducks from other dimenisons.. and one of them is Quiverwing Duck. You can probably guess just by the name what happened to his Gosalyn after years and years of working together. 

So the risk .. is very real. Loosing her is VERY possible. Being a kid to teen superhero is a VERY dangerous line of work as with less experince and being a possible target if you have any mentors, and sometimes you genuinely DON’T make it. Cypher, Jason Todd Robin, Ultimate Peter Parker, Synch, Danny Chase, Kid Devil, Skin, Wallflower, Icarus, Genisis.. the list goes on, and on, and while MOST of them came back even then the ones that did didnt exactly lack in scars: Jason was never the same after the joker’s beating and Doug, Cypher, had severe trauma he never adressed. The danger Darkwing fears is VERY real.. but is a danger she faces ANYWAY by rushing in and acompanying him. The tragedy is traning her would at least give her a fighting chance as it’s clear from the above that Quiverwing Duck’s Gos died not because she wasn’t ready or because her dad din’t train her.. but because , like MOST of the heroes above.. she died a hero saving the world.  And the show recognizes this even if it doen’t mention the death because the show has to have limits and it was the early 90′s, wiht Darkwing’s fears also being that she’s growing up. He knows sh’es capable of this.. he’s just tearful she’s growing up.. and that she could be gone. It puts his overprotectiveness from other episodes in a much more understandable light, and makes it clear that while it comes from a good place it’s not really healthy: As the episode shows, Gosalyn thinks ALL he sees of her is a baby to be coddled and protected and not as her own person, and while he’s right to protect her.. he’s gone so far in it and in dismisisng her again, and again AND AGAIN, that he’s given the poor girl a complex. Leaping into danger alone isn’t the answer.. but when we get to the climax of the episode you can see why it’s gotten this bad. It’s suprisingly layred for what’s normally a pretty simple character conlficts. Here there’s no easy answer and even while by the end Darkwing’s accepted she’ll be a hero someday and both earnestly apologize, ther’es no real resolution. And sometimes.. that’s okay. It’s something they could’ve revisited had the series gone on and we did get at least one sequel episode at least and the comics do explore the issue of gosalyn being a kid hero and drake’s overprotectiness, with his issues there being why he retired and ended up badly straining his relationhip with gosalyn and ending , for a while, his friendship with launchpad and relationsihp with morgan as well as his costumed career. But obviously as I said we’ll get to that another day. But as an episode.. this one is truly excellent and one of the best the series put out, with plenty of humor but the more complicated dynamics at play BUILT on what we’ve seen before, including Gos rightfuly supsecting dakwing’s against her due to his own ego at points, are what elevate it to the series best. So how’d they follow it up?

Paint Misbehavin:

This one’s in an awkard middle place, where it’s FAR better than the previous splatter Phoenix Episode but not as good as “The Quiverwing Quack”. Still it’s a pretty fun episode all together.  So the main plot is that Darkwing and Gosalyn are at cross purposes because Darkwing is overshadowed by Gosalyn, in this case at the local comic con where Gosalyn, returning to her Quiverwing Quack guise, is the big new thing while Darkwing’s practically ignored. 

Yeah no way around it this is a rehash of “Whiffle While You Work”, same basic conflict, just with suprheroing instead of a video game. So naturally at first it annoyed me especially since they had a debate over who was better, Darkwing’s old traditional hero or Gosalyn’s new very 90′s hero. This.. goes about nowhere and is just cringe inducing for me as a comics fan, whose not against 90′s characters but acknolsges the vast majority got better LATER under new writers, with the exception of some such as superboy, steel, kyle rayner and impulse, who were fresh out of the package.  Thankfully.. the episode pushes past this and it ends up being a better version of Whiffle While You Work, as Drake isn’t as overbearingly obnoxious as he was there: Here Gosalyn is just as egotsitical, at one point trying to lead him away from a crime scene, and it’s only when they finally work as a team that they become unstoppable. It does say something though that Darkwing has genuinely grown as his objection is pure ego instead of overprotectivness like last time and he willingly lets her tag along even if he’s trying to show her up. It’s not the BEST conflict, and it ends with egos clashing, but while this part of the episode is recycled.. at least it’s recycling an episode that genuinely wasted the idea and using it better. Darkwing being jealous here is FAR more understandable as he’s been a hero far longer and while his ego is way too big for his head, it’s understandble to be a big pissy, and agian he dosen’t go nearly as far in how he treats gosalyn. He just wants to show up his own daughter and he’s shown as fully wrong for this. Not great but far better than before.  What IS great and what makes this episode fun, is Splatter Phoenix, whose even better than last time. I attribute this to the change in voice actors. While Dani Staahl was excellent.. her replacment is far better and far more notable. It’s SCTV’s andrea martin... who i’m realizing most of you have probably never heard of. 

Or know what  SCTV is. It was before both our times trust me: it was an early 80′s sketch comedy show that had a unique premise as the sketches were all programs for a fictional tv station, and there’d often be wraparounds about what was going on at the station that oftne led to sketches or impacted them: From dealing with sponser issues brought on by the Moral Majority, aliens, the russians hyjacking their signal, and forging checks from Fred Willard’s account, yes that was a plot and yes he was indeed a guest star, there was no end to the number of shenanigans in and out of program. IT was really good stuff with an all star cast: John Candy, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, Cathrine O’Hara, Eugene Levy, Joe Flarhety, Martin Short, and of course Martin. Even Harold Ramis was on the show for it’s first season. It was just a damn good time and if you can find the dvd’s or clips on youtube I recommend it.  My point is Martin is vastly underated and really deserves better than she’s gotten, and this eps proves it as her energy really adds to Splatter’s astetic and really fits the show like a glove and it’s a shame the show ended shortly after this episode, as it would’ve been nice to see her return in the role. But for a one shot she’s UTTERLY awesome, and Splatter gets to do far more this time as her brush has now expanded to be able to create, so we get helicopter cats, pumpkin dogs, a pink gorilla with a toaster for a head and when told superheroes always win she creates her own, absract man, with a hand for a head and a weird body and I just want to see more of him. He even skips off with Launchpad’s faivorie hero, bascally mr rodgers as a weasel, after launchpad draws the guy in. I want to see this gay couple fight crime with love and existetaalism dammit!

But yeah she’s just fun, as is her vandalism of various art works including making the dogs playing poker into skeletons.. which I now want a picture of for my room because that is nice. SHe also brings back the art shitfts from before in little ways, transforming darkwing into abstract art and to blocky art at diffrent points with her brush. And that’s what puts this episode over the other: The creativity is still there but without the whole “Honker being gaslighted” plot that I still hate to this very second, it’s allowed to be fun and fancy free and with Splatter out in the open she’s allowed to get a LOT more ambitious and thus the writers and martin get to have a LOT more fun with the gimmick. 

So while I do feel the episode’s a bit crowded, as they try to cram in both splatter phoenix and this super feud between family into the same space and both episodes would’ve been better served seperatley, i’ts so fun with clever use of the magic brush by our heroes and what not I can’t help but love it. I don’t love the climax though as splatter gets turpentine spilled on her by gosalyny and .. melts for some reason. Because she’s made of paint now even though that was never a thing before? Not to mention the fact our heroes just killed a person...

So yeah the ending’s a bit wonky but it’s a fun episode with the return of a great villian, a decent of played out main conflict and some great gags and fights in it. All in all i’m glad I got comissioned for this one and finally tackled it. Good stuff.  So that does it for this. We’ll be back to darkwing next week just in time for valentine’s day.. and back with Negaduck too. Until then it’s been a pleasure. 

[aqvarius]

What are your top 5 worst voltage routes?

oh damn this is a tough one haha. i’ve definitely played routes that i find average/forgettable but it’s hard to think of 5 routes that i thought were actually bad. except for one which i’m sure anyone who has followed me for a few years knows about lmao

i was just gonna give brief reasons but then as i was typing this out i couldn’t stop my loudass brain from rambling so... sorry for all the commentary lol. i do want to preface this by saying that these are more critiques of the writing than the characters (except shinobu haha i despise him). i love many of these characters and have enjoyed their epilogues/sequels/substories. my main gripe with most of these is just underdeveloped, jarring or flimsy character and relationship development, which to me makes the process of falling in mutual love unconvincing. that’s why all of these are main stories because they are about the critical moments of falling in love (rather than future developments such as tackling conflicts together) which i think are the foundation to any further growth. so please don’t take any of this personally if any of the guys i’ve mentioned here are characters that you love!

5. main story: takane momochi - destind: mr almost right

so this is more a case of “love the guy, don’t love the route”. i have to admit that i really wasn’t big on takane at first and then i got to the end of the route and realised that i actually didn’t love the mc. i actually quite like the destind mc in rei and araya’s routes but omg takane’s route is weird. i have no problem with takane kind of being a jerk and i actually really like him but i have a couple of issues with this route. the first is that i don’t really understand nor buy into the reason that they keep seeing each other. the mc learns about takane’s true nature and finds him kind of despicable but then decides that she’s definitely gonna make him fall in love with her, which as a plot point on its own i’m fine with but the way thy go into that discussion is really weird because it arises from the mc being appalled that takane had an affair with some teacher when he was a teenager and somehow leads into that discussion. basically i don’t think that the whole “i’m gonna make you fall in love with me” vs “i’m gonna make you sleep with me” challenge is set up particularly organically. 

it also occurs about halfway through the route which i don’t really think works in term of the pacing because within the shape of the narrative i would call it the end of act 1. act 2 would be them genuinely getting closer and then act 3 would be the conflict that develops between them which results in their breakup. with the structure of takane’s route, acts 2 and 3 essentially become crammed into the remaining half of the chapters, which makes the conflict in act 3 feel confusing and abrupt. i think it would have been more effective if they had set up the personality reveal earlier on in the route and then spent more time developing the budding incompatibilities which lead to the breakup-inducing argument.

the second issue that i have with this route is the mc’s lack of development/not addressing the actual mistakes that she makes with regards to how she sees takane. the mc suffers from idolising syndrome because she’s built takane up into this perfect prince in her mind (i guess kind of like with hiroki from mlfk) even though he’s a regular old (substantially) flawed dude who struggles with the pressure of external expectations bc people don’t see the ~real him~. this is all well and good and is set up to allow the mc to accept his flaws and see him as a real human being but instead she’s just like “your flaws aren’t really flaws, they’re just another example of why you’re perfect bc you engage with them!” SIS. he’s not a character that needs validation in that way bc everyone already thinks he’s perfect. he needs someone who can see that he’s FAULTY and help him through it, not just pass off his flaws and the way he deals with them as another point of admiration. destind mc isn’t even like old school perma-optimistic voltage mcs either, she’s a little more prone to judgement so i wish she (and the writing) engaged a little more with takane’s flaws and accepting them rather than just jumping straight to YOU’RE MY HERO. 

as a character i actually prefer him to araya but the fact that i was more convinced to love araya aka mr possessive liar himself is saying something about the story. 

4. main story: genji higashiyama - in your arms tonight

i don’t have much to say in detail because it’s been like 6+ years since i played his route and frankly i don’t remember the details, but i just remember that he was kind of a jackass and i expected better. i love ex-boyfriend/hatsukoi love interests but just didn’t really like his route. 

to quote from an old comment i once made: 

“omg i thought genji had so much potential bc hot exboyf soccer player hellooooo but he was just such a jerk, he really p-ed me off :<” 

“i kind of don’t like genji because he is a bit of a doucheypants and like really arrogant and a bit of a bully :/”

i remember the mc slapped him once after they made out which i don’t remember the context for but he probably deserved it. i was extra sad because i actually really liked him in soji’s route but he’s the team B guy in that one so......... thanks voltage. also he was a dick to everyone’s sweetheart aiba. i actually like him way more after his ms lol? conceptually i love him but his main story made me sad. 

3. main story: satoru kamagiri - 10 days with my devil

i mean this one was bad but i’m weirdly fond of satoru? i have no issues with sadists and i kind of like him (after having read substories). but this route was weird and the pacing felt a bit off to me. basically i have no idea what made him fall in love with the mc?

because i guess he starts being nice to you when he has to nurse you when you get sick and he genuinely feels bad and cares about you but do you really expect me to believe he was already in love with you when he made a date with you but decided to go hang out with other women leaving you standing in the rain for 6 hours? nah fam.

i also don’t remember what the climax of the story even is because i’m still hung up on being left waiting for him in the rain for 6 hours while he goes other women so  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

2. main story: seiji goto - my sweet bodyguard

i’ve talked a lot about the issues i have with this route (including a couple thousand words of review here) but i’ll just summarise. this is definitely another case of love the guy, don’t love the route. in the GREE version, you meet him from the first time at the beginning of his route and gradually learn about his past, but in the standalone app version, you basically get thrown into the route with no exposition, meaning that you have to already have prior knowledge of goto and his backstory. i had known about it so it wasn’t as confusing as it could have been, but you really just get tossed into the mix expecting to already know about kazuki (goto’s dead ex). plus he’s already nice to you from the start because you’ve known each other for a while so there’s less of the actual seeing his behaviour change bit (which is my favourite part of all main stories - in case you couldn’t tell because all of my criticisms about routes are about lack of proper relationship development). kazuki and goto’s relationship is basically the thing that underpins the entire narrative of the route which is why i find it an issue that you don’t get much insight into it going into the route blind. 

it’s difficult to feel like goto and the mc are actually gradually getting closer in the route because it doesn’t feel like there’s one narrative line that’s building throughout the entire route as much as separate events, more or less. she just... looks after goto a lot? also basically goto is interested in you because you remind him of kazuki and when he starts to like you, it’s not actually very evident in his actions - you find this out because kurosawa basically tells you lmao. 

i actually wanted to leave him and date subaru because honestly subaru in goto’s route especially reads like a much healthier relationship option, but then goto runs in and interrupts a date with subaru and drags you straight off to kazuki’s tombstone and then... it’s a happy ending? his confession feels like it comes out of nowhere because his behaviour towards you doesn’t explicitly change but you just have to believe he likes you now as he confesses in front of his ex-gf’s grave and tells her he’ll see her soon. come on bruv you can do better than this lol. 

1. main story: shinobu narita - serendipity next door

this guy fucking sucks, dude. i can’t think of even one single redeeming quality he has. he’s the reason i stopped playing voltage games for like years and went on hiatus and more or less abandoned my blog until i discovered scm. i know there was a lot of controversy about whether or not he could be considered abusive and i threw that word around a lot back in the day when i liveblogged his route but DAMN at the very least he is just the WORST. the mc wakes up in his bed after getting wasted at a rooftop party and he convinces her that they had sex when she was drunk and then blackmails her into being his girlfriend by threatening to tell the entire apartment block that they slept together. he proceeds to snoop around in all her business, maliciously making fun of her and her work at every single chance he gets (he literally RIFLES THROUGH HER BAG to find her work and mock her about it) and then she looks at one document or picture of his and he gets all uppity about it because he’s a big ol hypocrite. basically he hates the mc because she’s so pure and he’s jaded because one time he confessed to someone and she ghosted him? so he deliberately acts nice to her sometimes so she’ll let her guard down and then follows it up with a common or action so malicious i wanted to choke him. all i’m saying is that there are a number of relationships that i never got closure on and it’s never made me want to blackmail a drunk person into dating me so i can mess them up emotionally  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

the thing is, i have played other guys who are a bag of suck at first and then get so much better because of character development. and this is what is totally lacking in shinobu’s route. the mc falls in love with him bc of stockholm syndrome... and basically bc omg he’s so sad and damaged and she wants to heal him i guess? it sucks. they literally have no bonding moments where they genuinely connect except for the times when he’s super mean and manipulative to her and and she’s like omg but he’s so saaaaaad uwu. throughout the route, there is absolutely no character development on shinobu’s part, he’s just the same sadistic bastard who enjoys seeing his mc being hurt the whole way through lol but SUDDENLY you guys are in love? but literally at the end the mc tries to escape from him by moving out and instead of letting her go because he’s the worst, he chases her moving truck down? also he’s weirdly possessive even by voltage standards. 

btw this isn’t even just sadists not being my type - you know i adore kaga and eduardo and even people who take ages to warm up (cough shinonome). and you know i love men who tease and manipulate you a bit (because they’re doing it out of a d o r a t i o n not spite) . i also have no problem with outright assholes as long as we see them change, develop and genuinely fall in love. my biggest issue with this route is that i don’t think pity is the same thing as love, or that someone with his personality can get his happy ending without genuinely changing and redeeming himself in some way. i’m not a fan of romanticising guys who are mean to you because they’re so dAmAgEd and want to take it out on you. (the reason i love people like hue is because even though they’re riddled with grief and trauma, they’re mature enough to handle their emotions and you don’t need to fix them!!!) i genuinely think voltage bombed it with this route lol. it almost makes me want to go back and replay it just to see if it was really as bad as i remember but (1) i never transferred it to love 365 (2) it was on my old iphone and i use android now (3) i don’t want to spend money repurchasing a route that i’m 85% sure i’ll feel is a waste of money (4) i spent £2.49 on the route back in the day when voltage was cheaper and i don’t want to spend almost double that now lol. 

also the last time i read his route i abandoned this blog and stopped playing all otome games for a really long time lmao so................................ 

[bumblebwiii]

solicitude ;; yang jeongin

a very short story that i made a few months back starring yang jeongin of stray kids.

genre: highschool bully!au // angst, teen fiction, romance

short summary: a story of a girl who has a medical condition and a boy who constantly teases her.

warning: contains cursing, mention of atelophobia, panic/anxiety attacks of the main character

a/n: hi this is my first time publishing a story here so please bear with me if this sucks >_<

****

The school bell rang, signaling the students and other school personnel that it was break time--a time where most people anticipated for. Students fled from their classrooms down to the hallways and spread all over the school's cafeteria wherein they placed themselves on the seats of the tables and exchanged various conversations as they enjoyed their meals.

Break time was supposed to be fun and stress-free, but for Phoebe, it actually wasn't. She quietly stood in front of the large bulletin board in the grand lobby wherein the top students' names were displayed there. Exam week was over and she clearly was devastated because of her personal problems that were being topped off by numerous paper works and school stuff that she almost cannot handle.

School was stressful, of course, and it became more stressful for her because she didn't study well for the exams. But Phoebe did not give up and started to like studying because she saw the outcomes of her hard work and she was really determined to finish college and make it out into the real world, alive.

Unfortunately, a horrendous-looking creature named Ethan Yang, started messing up her life as she set foot into this particular institution, and she wished she'd never been born.

Speaking of the devil, the young boy suddenly popped beside her with a wide grin on his face. His eyes formed into lines and his baby blue braces became visible as he mockingly smiled, and he immediately fixed his composure, up for a talk. "So, we're here looking for our ranks, eh? Have you forgotten that only the top three will get a scholarship to study at JYP university? Eh, too bad, 'cause I'm number one, and you're rank four." Ethan mocked her, a sheepish grin plastered on his face, whilst an annoyed one on Phoebe's.

"Go away, Ethan Yang." Phoebe simply said and started to walk away from him. "Oh, that's so harsh, Phoebe-ssi. Why so rude? You're hurting my heart." Ethan said and made a small act in front of her, clutching his chest and acting hurt as if she broke her heart.

"Yeah, whatever. As if you have a heart, you mean creature." she stated and rolled her eyes as she picked up her pace, dashing into her classroom. Ethan was clearly offended by the looks of him being shocked at what the lass had said. He was also about to shout at the girl but he was suddenly cut by the school bell and his friends who came out of nowhere and started to play with him like a bunch of dorks.

***

Dismissals finally came and Phoebe was very relieved because she can finally go home after a long and stressful subject. Whilst packing her things, she heard a knock on the window so she looked up to see the boy who made her school life feel like hell. "What's your problem?" she mouthed to Ethan, while the boy was standing there like an innocent baby boy who lost his mom. Phoebe hurriedly packed her things and slung her backpack over her shoulder while making her way towards the door. She came face to face with Ethan and she thought that the young boy was really good looking. If only he was nicer, I would've liked him. She brushed off the thought and raised and eyebrow at him. "What's up with you?" she asked. "I've got something to tell you--"

"Phoebe-sshi!" a deep voice interrupted what Ethan was about to say and all of a sudden, she felt strong and muscular arms envelop her shoulders. "Felix!" she enthusiastically acknowledged his presence as Felix placed his head on her shoulder. Phoebe completely ignored Ethan and turned around to face her friend who has genuinely smiling from ear to ear. "Here's ya ramen." Felix stated with his cute Australian accent, as he handed her a bundle that was obviously filled with packs of ramen inside. "Thank you." she thanked him by kissing his cheek and linked their arms together. "You're welcome. Oh, I see you have company. Hello, Ethan-ssi!" Felix gave Ethan a friendly wave, and the latter just nodded in response. "Let's go home, Felix." Phoebe looked at the Australian boy with so much desperation but Felix did not want to leave Ethan just yet. "Hey, Ethan. Weren't you supposed to say something to Phoe--" and Felix was cut off by the hand of Phoebe that was placed on top of his mouth as she dragged him away from Ethan.

***

There wasn't a day wherein Ethan would suddenly be nice to Phoebe and help her with some difficulties she is facing. It always ended up in endless banters and with Phoebe landing her fist onto Ethan's arm as she got annoyed with him every minute. And things didn't turn out pretty well especially when they're paired to each other for some partner works.

It was lunch time and Phoebe decided to walk around the hallways, as she had finished her meal two minutes ago. She strolled down the hallways and unbeknownst to her, Phoebe's feet led her to the front of the music room. She didn't know why her feet brought her there, but she heard the calming tune of the piano inside, accompanied by a sweet voice that was associated to a lullaby.  "I remember years ago, someone told me I should take caution when it comes to love, I did." The voice was of a male, and it sounded precious--like an angel's. It was quite familiar though, but Phoebe did not pay attention to who it was and just quietly listened and appreciated the mixture of the voice and the organ playing.

"Impossible, impossible, impossible, impossible..." Phoebe couldn't help but make a round of applause as soon as the singer finished his piece and continuously cheered for him as she went inside; but she was shocked to see who was inside the music room, singing all along.

It was Ethan. Ethan Yang. She thought. He can sing well?

Phoebe was so overwhelmed of what she had just witnessed and she could not explain what she would feel but she felt her lips curve up to form a smile as she looked at Ethan who gulped at the sight of her and his lips formed into a thin line.

"Ethan, I didn't know you have a side like this. I didn't know that you could sing so well! Why don't you--" Phoebe wanted to say a lot to praise him but Ethan hurriedly packed his things and dashed out of the music room, leaving her behind with no words which made the lass confused.

Phoebe tried to follow him but he suddenly disappeared and he was nowhere to be found after that. So, she just went to stroll again at the hallways since there are still forty minutes 'til lunch ends. She went to the other building and looked around her surroundings, when she suddenly felt a pain in her chest and she was trembling and having a shortness of breath. She did not want the other students who are roaming around know what is happening to her, so she just went to a nearby, secluded place to hide--the janitor's closet.

She tried to suppress her breath inside there and did what the doctor told her to do when she is having an attack but unfortunately, it seemingly became worse because her spot was secluded and a pang of sudden overwhelming fear hit her that only made her situation become worse. She could feel that her knees were getting jelly-like and her breathing became difficult, when all of a sudden, the door swung open and it revealed the boy who had baby blue braces. Of course, it was none other than Ethan Yang. But it did not matter who it is anymore because Phoebe collapsed in Ethan's arms as she clutched her chest, trying to fight the pain as she trembled in fear.

"D-don't hurt me. Please," she begged and closed her eyes tight, and tears started to stream down her face. It was evident that she was having a hard time. So, in order to calm her down, Ethan sat down on the floor with Phoebe in his arms and he placed his arm over her shoulder and the other one on her torso, supporting her. "Shh. I won't hurt you." he calmed the lass and wiped her tears away, and made his fingers ran into her hair as she held her tight, making sure she is secure. Ethan tried to do his best and sang a sweet song for her, keeping her calm and lulling her to sleep.

The both of them stayed in that position for almost thirty minutes until Phoebe woke up and felt that she had regained her energy as she removed her head that was leaning on Ethan's chest. The both of them exchanged awkward glances and instantly became shy as they pulled away from each other. "You're the first person in this school who knew about this. Ugh, why does it have to be you?" Phoebe started to bring up a rude conversation, and she was trying to talk to Ethan like how she used to talk to him--tough and a little authoritative; but Ethan didn't budge. "And you're the first person in this school  who knew that I could sing." he uttered in a soft voice, one that was very different when he usually talked to Phoebe in their endless banters. "R-really?" Phoebe couldn't help but get confused at what the lad had said. "I'm the first? Hah, that's impossible. You're lying." she tried to make it a laughing matter, but judging from the look of Ethan's face, he was dead serious and she saw a hint of devastation in it.

He was about to say something else but was cut off by Phoebe again. "Just pretend this didn't happen, okay? I did not collapse, I did not ran out of breath, I did not have an anxiety attack, and I'm completely fine. Just do me a favor, and I will not spread your secret. Deal?" she explained to him and extended her hand out in which he only looked at.

"Okay, so, silence means yes. Go away, Ethan. We're done here."

***

Pit-a-pat. It was a Saturday morning and the continuous downpour of the rain through the windows accompanied by the roaring thunder, made Phoebe curl up into a ball and pull the comforter over her head. She heavily breathed in and out, fighting the tears that are pooling in her eyes and are threatening to come down. Its another episode of one of her anxiety attacks that had frequently been occurring lately. She grasped onto the fabric of her comforter tightly and let out an exasperated sigh as she tried to comfort herself through remembering the act of kindness Ethan did when he caught her attack. Soon, she felt a wave of relief and she composed herself.

She silently thanked Ethan and smiled at herself, as she did her morning routine and took a bath. She was going to go to her psychiatrist--on a rainy day--because her attacks were so continuous and she knew something had to be done with the help of her doctor.

After getting all fixed, she grabbed her jacket and her umbrella and immediately called a taxi so she can get there immediately. It was not long until she arrived, and Doctor Clarisse was patiently waiting for her in her office. "Good morning, Phoebe. It's good to see you again." the middle-aged lady greeted the young lass.

"Good morning, Doctor Clarisse. It's good to see you too." she replied with a smile. "Oh, have you seen my son? Bean worm, come here!" she called out for her son and she turned to look at her patient with a smile. "It has been a while since he stayed here to help and I want you to meet him. He's a really nice guy." Doctor Clarisse gave her an assuring wink and Phoebe just chuckled, waiting for the doctor's son whom she thinks she'll get along with.

"Do you need something, mommy?" a familiar voice asked and Phoebe's eyes shot up from her hands on her lap to the boy who was standing by the door and her mouth immediately formed an 'o'. "Oh, there you are, bean worm! Aigoo, you're playing video games again and your hair is a mess! Fix your hair and greet our lovely patient." Doctor Clarisse told Ethan and she helped him fix his hair. He immediately became shy after looking at Phoebe and placed his video game controller down and then bowed in front of her. "It's good to see you again, rank four." the lad greeted and sheepishly grinned, one factor that seemed to annoy the hell out of Phoebe.

"Oh," Doctor Clarisse butted in. "You two know each other?" she asked.

"No." / "Yes."

"It's a yes, mommy. She's my classmate." Ethan explained and Phoebe completely lost as she threw her hands in the air in defeat. "Okay, fine. We know each other and yes, he is my classmate, but in different subjects." she also explained so that Doctor Clarisse would understand.

"Okay, then. You could go back to your games now, Ethan. Phoebe and I still have a lot to discuss regarding her medical condition." Doctor Clarisse dismissed her son, but unknowingly, Ethan took a seat and stayed with them. "I want to listen and know." he said and his grin awhile ago disappeared and was replaced by a serious one. Doctor Clarisse just nodded and Phoebe had no choice but to just stick to it.

If Ethan is my psychiatrist's son, then I'll be stuck with him until I get better. And just having the thought of that makes me have a headache. She thought.

***

"I really thought I could stay away from you because of our deal, but it seems like fate is bringing us more closer and I hate it." Phoebe said to him. "Don't you want that? I get to be your guardian angel or your hero who will save you all the time." he replied with a wink, and Phoebe swore if looks could kill, he'd be buried at least ten feet on the ground by now. "If I would have a hero or a guardian angel, I want it to be Felix or Han, not you." she replied with an evil grin and he frowned at her answer. "Do you have a crush on those two?" he asked. "Only Han. Felix is my friend, hehe. Do you think I have a chance with Han?" she asked but the lad just hummed in response and shrugged.

"We're here. I'm home. Bye." she simply said to him and the taxi parked in front of her house and they both hopped off the vehicle. She was about to go inside of her home but Ethan quickly took her hand in his. "Let me help you with what you're going through, Phoebe." he said, with concern painted all over his face. Her throat suddenly became dry and she wasn't able to speak anymore. She just blushed and looked at her feet when Ethan took a step forward and removed his scarf that was covering his neck and covered her bare neck instead, wrapping the scarf around hers. He then planted a soft kiss on her forehead, indicating that he respects her and that he is willing to keep her safe.

They both waved goodbye at each other and Ethan hopped in the taxi that was patiently waiting for him as Phoebe got inside of her house, smiling.

***

The next few days turned out pretty well for Ethan and Phoebe. A new friendship was formed between them and their bond was so strong that their arguments before turned into playful chit-chats today. The both of them were happy that they had this kind of progress and he even decided to take her out on the park, where they will feed and hang out with a bunch of sweet Golden Retrievers who are very playful and friendly.

"I'm already here, Ethan. Where are you?" Phoebe asked him on the phone and the voice on the other line says, "I'm over here near the fountain. Come quick! The dogs are here." he said and she immediately spotted him. He was waving at her and he was sitting on a bench while patting a dog's head.

"Come, sit." he patted the space next to him and Phoebe followed him. "You gotta feel honored, because I was so close to let this doggy sit there and take your spot, and you're the one who's going to sit here on the grass." he chuckled and Phoebe smacked his arm playfully as they both laughed together.

"Tell me a story, Phoebe." Ethan said while looking at the dog who was playing with the other dogs on the park. "What kind of story?" she asked and looked at him. "Hmm, anything. About your past or something? I don't know, its up to you." he said. "Hmm, you go first then." she gave him an evil grin in which he slightly panicked at.. "Uhm, what do you want to know?" he asked, nervously and fiddled with his hands. "I don't know? Can I know your story because of your singing?" she asked and she now gave her full attention to Ethan. "Uhm, okay. You can ask questions."

"Okay, so, why were you shy all of a sudden when I saw you sing? Was it because you were with a vocal teacher? Are you a beginner at singing?" she asked, very curious. "Ah, no. I'm not a beginner. I've been singing for years now but I can't seem to improve it and make it right. I always have voice cracks, I'm out of tune most of the time, and my braces are a hindrance to my singing and I hate it. I'm not confident in singing my heart out so I become shy when someone hears when I sing. I mean, my hyungs are all good in singing and rapping, and it looks like I'm only fitting in just to look cool with them but I'm not. I became friends with them because I idolize their skills in singing, dancing, and rapping and I wanna be like someone like them someday." he explained and she swore she noticed a hint of sadness and disappointment in his eyes. She just nodded, analyzing every word he says and understood them.

She told him to go on and he said that he has atelophobia, the fear of not being good enough. He told her that he feels he is not good enough when he is singing and that he over thinks about it too much, that it has become dangerous for him. He stresses about it too much to the point wherein he got depressed just by hearing his singing voice and fearing he might not be able to pass the standards of JYP University if he keeps up that kind of singing. He is the reason why Doctor Clarisse gave up on her previous job and became a psychiatrist instead.

But, Phoebe proved him otherwise. She told him he was wrong. She told him that he was really good at singing and she was very sincere and careful with her words. She wanted to make him feel happy regarding his singing and she even complimented him that his voice sounds like of an angel and it is unique and that he is going to pass JYPU.

"Thank you so much, Phoebe. Your words helped me a lot." he gave her a smile and she gave him a hug in which he returned. "Now, let's go back to you. I have a few questions."

"Go on." Phoebe replied with a soft smile. Ethan took a deep breath and looked at his hands while playing with them before asking her. "What is the root cause of your anxiety attacks and when did it begin?" he asked carefully and calmly, trying not to startle Phoebe for it might trigger her memories.

Phoebe took a sharp breath and composed herself as she sat up straight and comfortably, looking at Ethan intently. "It all started when I was six years old. It was raining and thunderclouds were visible in the night sky and I was playing with my Barbies in my room, when I heard my parents were yelling at each other downstairs about their financial problems. I carefully went down to witness the whole thing and tried to prevent them both from hurting each other, but their anger was passed on to me especially my father's. He lunged at me, and tried to hit me, but my mother rushed to come at my side and my dad's fist was landed onto her face, instead of mine." she explained and huffed.

"In fear, I started to run towards the door and onto the busy highway, just to escape from them. I was running and running while looking at them--my mom trying to chase me while screaming out my name, and my dad who hastily pulled her hair as he yelled curse word at her. My mom was able to break free from his grasp, and that is when I realized that I was already on the main road and I heard the loud horn of a truck passing by and its headlights continuously flickering. It seemed like the world stopped for a moment and I was completely paralyzed at my spot, like a tiny creature getting ready to be devoured by a humongous beast. The approaching vehicle was getting closer and closer, and I just closed my eyes and waited for its heavy metal to make contact with my skin, along with the falling debris. But everything happened so fast that I wasn't able to comprehend what happened and I..I just felt that someone grabbed me by the shoulder and as soon as I opened my eyes, I saw her on the concrete pavement, blood pooling at the back of her head and her mouth and her eyes were widened in shock." she continued and couldn't help but tear up at her own story.

"I couldn't remember anything else that happened that night because I collapsed on the ground and I just woke up and found myself in a hospital bed. The doctors immediately went into my ward and checked on me as I interrogated them about my mom. They told me she was dead, Ethan. Dead on arrival. She didn't make it alive and "it was all your fault!", my father would say. I remember that he disowned and abused me for the following years and he blamed me for everything bad that had happened in his life. It was a good thing that I had managed to escape from him when I was thirteen, though; because he suddenly got addicted to drugs and drinking a lot. Since then, I got so afraid when it rains and it is accompanied by thunderclouds." she explained and huffed out a sigh. He gave her a sad smile and a warm embrace, reassuring her that he was there for her and he will help her overcome her fears.

Just then, a thought came up on his mind and as he pulled away from the embrace, he told her to just sit down and wait for him. Phoebe just nodded and he stood up from his seat, leaving her on the bench quietly as she fiddled with her hands together.

Ethan arrived shortly in a few minutes with two plastic bags in his hands. Inside of the first one was a fluffy ball that was colored blue and the other was in baby pink. Cotton candy. She thought and smiled as Ethan handed over the pink one to her.

"Cotton candies always makes me feel better when I'm sad. Pizza and ice creams are way too overrated." he said and they both chuckled, his baby blue braces becoming visible and somehow, Phoebe found it very cute. "Thank you." she replied and started to eat the cotton candy, feeling the pink fluffy ball melt in her mouth.

She felt quite relieved because of the sweetness of the candy and Ethan's company. They both sat on the bench and ate their cotton candies quietly, letting themselves enjoy the treat.

As soon as they finished it, they threw the plastics on a nearby trashcan and they decided to stroll around the park. It was 5:35PM and the sun was setting as Ethan cleared his throat and looked at Phoebe intently. "Hey," he called out and Phoebe looked at him. She looked lovely that day, wearing a cute top and a skirt with her hair tied up into a neat ponytail. "Hmm?" she hummed while kicking the small rocks that blocked their pathway. He looked at her lovingly, and he felt his throat become dry momentarily.

"I-I..have something to tell you." he started and he felt his hands sweat. "What is it?" she asked and faced him, clearly interested. "I-I.."

"You like me?" she cut him off and he was so surprised to hear what she had said because it was true. He ran out of words and it felt like the world was seeing him completely naked with their eyes. He became so flustered and shy and he started to panic, but she held his shaking hands and made eye contact with him.

"Oh, no, no, no. That's too cliche, love. Instead of i like you, you could have said I purple you. It is indeed much better and it has a greater meaning than a simple I like you. Purple is the last color of the rainbow, so it means I will trust you and love you for a long time." she explained to him and he somewhat felt enlightened by the meaning of it. It was beautiful, and it was exactly the term he was looking for and what he wished to let her know.

"I purple you, Phoebe Kim." he said and smiled. "I purple you too, Ethan Yang."

***

Snow continuously falling, children caroling from house to house, and the usual happy vibe that you get on the evening of the 24th of December were evident on everybody's faces. Unfortunately, Phoebe was not as giddy and happy as everyone. She still misses her family and it has been years since she celebrated Christmas Eve with them. It was fun--filled with love, joy, and peace--and she loved every bit of it. But now, she has no one to celebrate it with. Her mother is all the way up there, her father is spending it in jail and probably doesn't want to be bothered, Felix is in Australia with his family, and Ethan is celebrating it with his family and she didn't want to interrupt him anymore.

For her lonely Christmas, she just cooked food for herself. She used the packs of ramen Felix gave, and she lit up candles in remembrance for her mother and prayed silently for her father for him to have good health. She also thanked the superior force above, who constantly gave her strength despite the problems that she faced.

Phoebe started eating her ramen alone, while she played Christmas songs in the background--a usual thing that her parents would do on Christmas Eve. It was 11:57PM and in a few minutes, it would be Christmas; so she immediately finished her bowl and was about to clean it up, when she heard a knock on the door.

It was mysterious, because who would even think of spending time with her on Christmas Eve? But she still answered the door and when she swung it open, she was surprised to see who it was. "E-ethan..." she uttered under her breath, and he gave her a wide smile as he reached out for her hand and pulled her into a bear hug. "Merry Christmas, girlfriend." he greeted her as he glanced at his watch.

"M-merry Christmas, boyfriend." she replied and smiled as she felt a tear fell on her cheek. They both pulled away from each other and she immediately wiped her tears that she didn't notice. Ethan gave her a concerning look. "Are you okay? Are you going crazy, Phoebe? You're crying while smiling! Oh my god, should I be concerned?!" he asked and started to panic but Phoebe held his hand and tiptoed just to kiss his cheek.

"I'm fine, love." she reassured him and he swore that he felt his cheek burn and his heart beat faster by the sensation. Phoebe chuckled at the sight of her boyfriend and led him inside. She told him to sit down on the couch and he immediately followed.

"I thought you're with your family?" she questioned him. "Yeah, but I figured that I should spend it with my girlfriend too because she is also part of the family now." he smiled and reached for her hand and kissed the back of her palm in which she blushed.

The two continued to spend more time together as they binge-watched some movies, ordered food, and cuddled with each other. Until 2:35 came, Phoebe felt it again. The monstrous feeling of her memories and anxieties are coming back again, attacking her and devouring her thoughts as if she was a complete meal.

'I-I..I can't breathe, Ethan." she called out for him, and he immediately supported her, holding her close to his arms and preparing her medications and a glass of water. She could feel her chest pain and she was palpitating again. She was suddenly having hot flushes and having a sense of choking as her whole body trembled in fear and tears were continuously running down her eyes as she uttered the word, "help." It was a good thing Ethan knew what to do so he was able to help Phoebe and calmed her down, holding her hand and saying positive words to her became really effective.

Finally, Phoebe had completely calmed down but she wasn't able to regain her strength from awhile ago. She got weak because of the attack and she was still shaking a little bit. She quietly hid her face in Ethan's chest as he hugged her tight, not letting her go. His hands snaked down to her waist and he gently pulled her into a warm embrace as tears fell down from her eyes, and she clutched her chest from the slight pain. Ethan held her tight and this time, he treated her like a precious gem as he slowly patted her back.

"I'm scared." she mumbled in his chest, still sobbing.

"Don't be. I'm here by your side. We'll fight those demons together." he assured her and she just nodded. "I'm tired." she finally says and heaved a sigh.

"Then go to sleep. I'll stay and I'll look out for you, love." he said and ran his fingers through her hair as he said sweet words to her to make her feel better.

"I'm happier with you, Phoebe, and I like me better when I'm with you," he started and kissed her forehead. "My parents noticed that I have changed so much, and it's all because of you. You changed me and I'm so lucky to have you in my life." then he kissed her nose. "I love you, okay? Even though you over think too much that you might be a burden to me." and then he gave her a peck on the lips.

His words made her so happy that she fell asleep smiling when he started to lull her to sleep by singing her favorite songs.

Enemies are supposed to hate each other, right? But, why does it feel like I'm on cloud nine when I'm with you? He thought as he looked at his girl lovingly.

***

[calliecat93]

Top 5 Likes of Red vs Blue: Season 1

(Top 5 Dislikes)

Alrighty, the first Dislikes post is up. Which even calling those things Dislike is stretching it, to be honest. So let’s get to the Likes! Which there s honestly a lot to like in this season. Even though the Blood Gulch seasons are my least favorite and as a saga it’s just barely over Freelancer, these seasons are very endearing. I always enjoy going back over them, and I’m glad to be able to talk about a few of the reasons why. So let’s get to it~

#5. Early Installment Weirdness

You know everything I listed on that Dislikes list? That’s all due to Early Installment Weirdness. That essentially means things early on were quite strange when you compare it to a show’s current standard. It’s only natural that a show needs time to find it’s footing and not everything will work out or be done well. Especially for a webseries like this made by a bunch of video game nerds for what was originally planned for a miniseries, but the more ideas they got, the longer it went. So as I said, many of these things are very forgivable.

Plus, like I also said on that list, these things make the show endearing. The Blood Gulch Chronicles are very comedic driven compared tot he later seasons that are plot-driven. Things like the amateur voice acting, the weird stuff like the afterlife, and even the audio quality adds to the charm. It’s this weird show being made via a video game by some video game nerds. It feels like a newcomer’s indie project… which I guess it kinda is. And while machinima has been around before this, no one quite did it like how RvB did it. These things, as well as the other things I’ll get to soon, just help make it stand out.

Plus, if anything, it helps show how far we’ve come. Every dislike I listed has been improved. The voice acting is stellar, the audio is much better, the characterizations are stronger, and while there are still the occasional continuity issues many of them have gotten reasonable explanations. It’s fun to go back and see the lesser developed parts. You don’t feel annoyed with it, you have fun watching it not just because it’s funny, but because we’ve seen the evolution of the show. We can have fun with the older stuff, and that’s a great thing. It’s why I think these things should be celebrated, not mocked. I only put them on a Dislikes list out of necessity, but I love these things. I don’t want them to go back to it cause production standards are higher, but I’ll always enjoy revisiting it.

#4. Church Dies

Okay maybe phrasing it like that is kinda mean, but it is what happened so…

So I knew this was coming because Ten Little Roosters had this fact as a joke in Episode 2. But despite knowing about it, it was still a surprise to me. I mean they killed a main character? In Episode 7? And the character of the creator to boot?! Wow, that is ballsy. But the part I didn’t know about was that Church came back as a ghost. I guess I should have known since I had seen people talking about Church and he was still listed as a main character on Wikipedia when I was looking up stuff about the show. But tbf I didn’t know he died this soon or that it was only the first time.

It was certainly a thing that took me by surprise. Especially since IIRC, Burnie hadn’t planned on doing it. He just came up with it since I guess at this point they knew it was going to go for longer than intended. Honestly knowing that a lot of this season was made up on the spot explains a lot of the weirder stuff like the afterlife scene… anyways! Yeah, it was something that legit shocked me. The ghost thing confused me for the longest time, but I was just glad to have Church around soon since he has easily become my favorite (sorry Grif, it wasn’t always you…) and this one on the spot decision? It lead to some of the best parts of RvB. BOth comedically and once it was time to become more plot-driven, it made some of the best drama and lead to my favorite saga in the show with Recollection. It’s a minor thing, hence hwy it’s at 4, but it lead to so much more and I love it~

#3. The Tex Twist

Adding Tex to this season was a great move. For one it allowed a lot of great things for later, like the Freelancers and the plot after Blood Gulch. Even before all the Freelancer stuff came out, having these agents who were pretty much paid mercenaries added plenty of potential for stories and even comedy down the road. It also helped that we had someone who was actually competent among the main cast, adding an actual threat level. Not to mention she has a very blunt sense of humor that helps her stand out despite being the only female character aside from Shelia.

Heck, making Tex be Church’s ex-girlfriend was a great move. It adds something a little more personal and also helps Church’s character. He was the grumpy, snarky one among the Blues and then he died not even halfway through. But this helps give him another dimension as a character since he clearly still cares about Tex and wants to free her of the AI. Sure he’s still grumpy, being dead will do that to anyone, but he showed some competence once Tex got captured and again still cared about her. Tex’s bluntness and non-caring attitude about these things as well as owning her bitch-like personality helped her not just be ‘the girl’ either. She’s the competent one, but she isn’t just there cause she was Church’s girlfriend. She’s tough, takes no shit from anyone, but she never really gets annoyed or exasperated by the others either. Her straightforward personality is not only funny, but lets her shine as her own character and the later seasons only help.

While IDR if Tex was planned, her being Church’s girlfriend I remember Burnie saying was not. This is kind of a precursor to something I always admired about the show, taking small things and weaving them into the story. Like taking the joke that the teleporter turns armor black and the Blues using that to their advantage to trick the Reds. You almost can’t tell that this wasn’t going to be nineteen episodes cause they did so well finding ways to extend the story by using what they had. Tex is a perfect example of this. Not just because of later, but even for this season it added some more humor, added to her character when she could have easily been this standard tough guy, and also helped Church’s character. It’s probably the best decision that Burnie made for this season, and I’m glad that he did.

#2. Character Interactions

On Dislikes, I talked about how the characters were not very fleshed out. This, as well as the show being machinimated, meant that the comedy and dialogue had to be really good. Fortunately, that was by far the thing that they nailed most in this season. As I said while the characters aren’t fleshed out, they /do/ still have character. Heck Burnie basing them off the people he cast was a very good mood in this regard. People like Gus and Geoff have known each other for years, for example. So this made for a lot of natural character chemistry and a lot of really good interactions. I mean people love having Grif and Simmons together for a reason. They just play off of each other so freakin’ well..

The interactions and dialogue are really good and even funny. Sure sometimes maybe they dragged a joke out a little too much. Like when Church was starting to talk about Sidewinder and Caboose kept interrupting, you just wanted Caboose to shut up so Church could get to the point. But at the same time, Caboose’s interruptions and Church’s annoyance felt so natural and funny. Or how Grif and Simmons messed with Donut and tricked him to get headlight fluid, and everything that led to. Not only were the contrivances funny, but the characters just bounced off each other so well. They didn’t need to be deep in this season because they all balanced each other out so well, which is pretty key when it comes to comedies.

I think that this is what allowed the show to thrive. People didn’t mind the machinima or how bizarre things got because we liked seeing these characters together. We enjoyed seeing them bicker and them getting themselves into something stupid. The dialogue was funny, the jokes, while some could drag, were timed well, and it just felt so natural. Despite most of the cast recording from different parts of the country (and in Gus’ case another country), you wouldn’t know it going off the interactions. It just worked very well and is very much what helped the show endure for this long, and it’s something I don’t feel has ever faltered even at it’s lowest point. That is saying a lot I think.

#1. Memorability

“Hey?”

“Yeah?”

“Do you ever wonder why we’re here?

You already heard the voices the second you saw the screencap, let’s be real. You look at Season One, and it’s clear that it’s not exactly a cinematic masterpiece. It’s made by people who had no idea what they were doign. Everything is pretty amateur. The comedy, while good, is pretty much aimed more at middle/high schoolers and some probably would not pass today. I know if I tried to watch the show when it came out when I was nine years old, my mom probably would have banned me from it. So then… why did it succeed?

Like I said, it’s flaws and character interactions made it endearing. There’s a lot in this season that we still remember. ‘Why are we here’ is the most obvious one, but this led to so much. Church being a ghost got us Recollection. Tex got us Project Freelancer. There are so many quotable moments, like Tucker’s Voltron line or picking up chicks in a tank. Moments like the first scene, Church’s death, Tex’s arrival, Donut’s pink armor/awesome throwing arm. We always remember these things. We always end up going back to Season One in one way or another. Sure, some stuff is jarring, but we don’t care. 

Season One is just fun. No one knew that it would lead to one of the longest-running webseries made, including RT themselves. I mean this allowed RT to exist period. It’s just got so many moments that we remember and still quote to this day. Even the show will call back to several moments. I mean how many ways have they incorporated ‘why are we here’ into the show now? Not only is it still funny, but it shows how far we’ve come since. We wouldn’t have the rest or RvB or anything else we enjoy from RT without this season. As such, I think that it’s memorability and just general existence is the best part about it, and is my pick for Top Like of Season One~!

Okay, one season down. Fourteen more to go. Thank you for reading everyone~! This is done, but I’m just getting started! So stay tuned for Season Two~!

[brightly-painted-canvas]

Italian!Joe AU where maybe Rami visits Italy and meets Joe there?

A trip to Italy - mazlek, Italian!Joe AUNot beta-ed, English is not my first language

Venice was a whirlwind of colours, people and smells.

Rami had always wanted to visit La Serenissima, Queen of the Adriatic, City of Water and Canals and being able to do so during the famous Carnevale had been even more of a reason to plan a last minute trip to Italy and catch a late night flight from London.After all, he would soon be back to the States at the end of his abroad year in the UK and he was probably never gonna get another chance at seeing the Italian city in its most sumptuous beauty.

People where everywhere: the streets were filled with tourists and locals and you could easily distinguish the firsts from the others by the fact that tourists were those not wearing carnival costumes.Everyone else had done their utmost to wear their best disguises. Rami was surrounded by typical Venetian masks and gowns as well as more modern costumes, like those worn by little kids: he had met two Ironmen and three Frozen’s Elsas so far.

The street of the City Above Water were narrow and all paved in stones, exclusively pedestrian. The only means of transport inside the older section of the city were boats and gondolas and they also were busy with tourists.

To cross the canals there were numerous old bridges in marble or stone and the flow of people was so dense in both direction that you had to be careful when walking around, crossing the bridges keeping the right side, not to get trampled by the crowd.

Rami had been distracted while taking a picture of a colourful gondola surfing in a canal and he didn’t pay attention to the smooth old steps of the bridge he was crossing: he lost his balance, almost falling backward.

Almost, because the person right behind him caught Rami in time and stabilised him with a hand on the small of his back and the other on his shoulder.

“Attenzione!” exclaimed the stranger, concerned: “Peggiore situazione possibile per cadere e rompersi l’osso del collo.” he added, looking behind them at the line of people climbing the steps on the bridge: “Va evitato l’effetto domino.”

Rami couldn’t see his face: he was wearing a typical Venetian mask with gold decorations, pearls and beads: its main colour was dark green, like the rest of his rich costume of velvet, frills, laces and satin. The only hints at the man’s features Rami could grasp were locks of auburn hair escaping the brim of his hat and soft dark eyes behind the mask.

“I-I am so sorry!” stuttered Rami, regaining his steps to quickly descend the bridge on the other side and step aside to let the flow of people get through.

The masked man followed him, hand still on Rami’s back like he was afraid the tourist could trip and stumble again.

“Are you okay?” he asked kindly in English as soon as he realised Rami couldn’t understand Italian. The stranger’s accent was thick but his voice was soothing and pleasant.

Rami couldn’t stop blushing for the avoided embarrassment of falling on his butt in the middle of a crowd and the intense stare of the man behind the mask.

“I’m fine.” he smiled shyly: “Thanks for saving me, mysterious knight.” he tried to laugh it off.

“You are very welcome, gentleman.” replied the stranger, bowing gracefully like he was playing a character. He then extended his hand: “I’m Gio.”

Joe? thought Rami, confused. He shook the Italian’s hand introducing himself: “Rami.”

“Where are you from, Rami?” asked Joe.

“LA.” replied the American, still too entranced by the other’s appearance to produce more than monosyllabic answers.

“Well, messer Rami dalla Città degli Angeli,” said suddenly Joe in Italian, with a deeper theatrical tone of voice: “Siete invitato a desinar co’ i sodali miei!” he exclaimed jovially, linking his arm with Rami’s and dragging him toward a group of other young men in similar costumes, which Rami hadn’t noticed but where clearly waiting for Joe.

That was how Rami found himself stolen from the crow of Venice’s Carnival by a group of uni students in fancy historical clothes.

They invited him to lunch in a small and typical trattoria and offered him a glass of red wine like he was already part of the company.

The guys all took off their hats and masks to eat and drink and Rami looked in awe at Joe’s auburn waves of thin hair and deep hazel eyes. His skin was fair and smothered with light freckles and his lips were perpetually curled in a easy smile.

Joe looked back at Rami finding him staring and chuckled at the other’s blatant embarrassment at being caught.

“Guarda Gio, che si è trovato un angelo caduto dal cielo!” commented one of the guys, looking at them knowingly.

“Più che altro, scivolato sul Ponte del Remedio!” added another, making them all laugh.

“Don’t mind those idiots…” sighed Joe, shifting closer to Rami: “I wanna know about you.” he smiled, encouraging Rami in a long, secret conversation between just the two of them, lost in their own world.

After lunch, the boys escorted him around town like an excited group of inexperienced tour guides, pointing out monuments and telling stories and jokes about them that Rami couldn’t tell if they were true or completely made up.

They made it sound like Venice had history, traditions and myths in every corner and nook and Rami could easily believe that: the city was old, breath-taking and felt somehow magical, especially thanks to the masks and costumes populating the streets.

He laughed and had fun and felt grateful for having found such a peculiar company of young people to explore Venice with.

Then came the time to part.

He said goodbye to all of them and was engulfed by more than one big group hug by his new (and by then half-drunk) Italian friends.

Then Joe stepped back from the group a little and took Rami’s hand. His eyes were curved in a smile behind his mask.

“È stato un piacere conoscerti, mio angelo.” he bowed theatrically again, this time taking off his mask to kiss Rami’s hand in his. His friends cheered loudly and Rami blushed furiously.

“I can’t wait to have you back in Venice.” he then added in English, getting up to crowd closer to Rami to share one last secret smile with him: “Next time you decide to fall from the sky right into my arms.”

“Hope you’ll be there to catch me again, then.” stuttered Rami, flushing a shade darker.

“Sempre.” replied Joe, confidently.

“Just kiss him already!” exclaimed in English one of Joe’s friend from where they were watching the scene, previously holding their breath in anticipation.

They all laughed.

“Do you mind?” said Joe, gallantly asking for permission.

“Prego.” whispered Rami, hoping it was the right answer to give in Italian.

It was.

Notes:I have no idea why I decided Venice during the Carnival was the right setting, especially since I’ve never actually seen the Carnival in Venice, but it felt nice to have Joe as a masked (drunk and flirty) lifesaver ;)Attenzione! = careful!Peggiore situazione possibile per cadere e rompersi l’osso del collo = worst situation ever to fall and break your neckVa evitato l’effetto domino = we should avoid the domino effectmesser Rami dalla Città degli Angeli = sir Rami from the Angels’ City (mocked old Italian)Siete invitato a desinar co’ i sodali miei! = you’re invited to dine with my companions! (mocked old Italian)Guarda Gio, che si è trovato un angelo caduto dal cielo! = look at Gio, getting himself an angel fallen from the sky!Più che altro, scivolato sul Ponte del Remedio! = more likely, slipped on the Remedio Bridge! (a bridge in Venice)È stato un piacere conoscerti, mio angelo = it’s been a pleasure meeting you, my angelSempre = alwaysPrego = (means a lot of stuff but in this case is something like) please / go onHope you liked it!

[janiedean]

Idk if anyone already asked this but: what about ASOIAF/GOT characters and opera? Who are the experts, the casual fans, and the one who don't care but get dragged along anyway? Does anyone relate to a particular character? *cough* Is Tyrion the biggest Rigoletto fan? *cough* And/or, does any OTP relate to a particular opera pairing? :)

OKAY SORRY IT TOOK ME AGES BUT HERE I AM

(spoilers: you can find 80% of the following or will find it in my amazing opera singers au series)

lannisters & partners

tyrion is 100% an opera nerd and he identifies with rigoletto in frankly worrying ways - he’s like me with la traviata and cries at rigoletto’s first aria every single time and then at the ending PERIOD I DO NOT MAKE THE RULES but he also likes unconventional stuff ie russians/20th century germans (TYRION LOVES ALBAN BERG YOU CAN PRY THAT FROM MY DEAD HANDS)

bronn is the friends he drags with but the only character in any opera that he likes is sparafucile

cersei only listens to wagner because everything else is for the plebs and ofc her favorite is the valkyrie YES YOU KNOW THE ONE WITH THE TWINCEST she’s the biggest sieglinde stan

jaime likes it tho not as much as tyrion but he hates both dramas and wagner and tends to like comedies/stuff that ends well better and he and brienne meet bc tyrion set them up and sent them to see fidelio with his tickets and YOU KNOW THAT JAIME AND BRIENNE ARE 100% LEONORE AND FLORESTAN YOU DON’T CHANGE MY MIND ON THAT EVER IT’S THE MOST JB OPERA THAT EVER JB-ED

brienne also likes more the happy stuff than the sad stuff but yeah fidelio is Their Thing okay

tywin went because joanna liked it and then he stopped 

starks & partners

ned & cat are that couple of nerds who goes to the opera for their anniversary and likes just about most stuff except a few single things they find boring but not as much to argue about it. for themselves, cat tends to like those donizetti operas with sopranos who at some point 100% lose it, ned is more into verdi and probably would agree with tyrion on rigoletto because y’know, FATHERS RELATE

but they also wanted their kids to get into it so their family tradition is that all go to see the magic flute together bc it’s kid-friendly and it worked bc all the stark kids love it ;)

robb’s totally into the comedies and hates the dramas and not counting the magic flute which ofc he loves because IT WAS HIS FIRST his fave is 100% rossini’s cenerentola FOR REASONS

addendum to say that theon is the friend he dragged with and thought would be boring but instead loves it and ends up converting and theon’s favorite - bc he’s a nerd - is most likely le comte ory ie THE ROSSINI CRACK OPERA WITH THE THREESOME WHERE THE TENOR IS CROSSDRESSING AS A NUN AND THE MEZZOSOPRANO PLAYS THE GUY AND THE BASS SINGS AN ARIA ABOUT STEALING ALCOHOL

but their ship they see themselves into are carlo and rodrigo from don carlo because lmao IT’S THEM

(robb prob. also have a soft spot for la clemenza di tito bc he and tito are the same person but nvm)

jon’s like 100% into dramas ALL THE DRAMA ALL THE TIME his fave is 100% la forza del destino ie the most terribly dramatic telenovela in history of dramatic opera

(he introduced it to ygritte who ofc is instead into all the rossini comedies with the a++++++ main lead ie italiana in algeri, barbiere di siviglia and so on which is a cause of endless amusement on her side because then they have to compromise)

(sam doesn’t need to be introduced because he’s 100% a nerd who cried over la traviata too but he likes all kind of stuff and who’ll go to both sand and fun operas and HE ALSO LIKES CENERENTOLA BEST THO)

sansa ofc is into THE ROMANCE so her fave is totally la traviata but she and robb totally agreed on cenerentola as well basically she robb and sam are the cenerentola stans cinnamon roll brigade

arya isn’t that much into it but she’ll go to most fun stuff and admittedly she has a soft spot for la fille du regiment because she totally identifies with maria (and tonio’s... well tonio is gendry let’s be real lmao)

(gendry is the friend she brought with once bc she likes that one and he immediately noticed)

bran goes with the others and he’s fine with it but he’s more into symphonic and not opera but he does like the family magic flute xD

rickon at some point got dragged to see the firebird when he was like six and everyone thought he’d sleep through it and instead he comes out of it like ‘guys I want to play the drums when I grow up’

baratheons & partners

robert thinks it’s boring af and wouldn’t set foot inside an opera ever, he just went once with ned to see don giovanni as a compromise

renly thinks it’s boring af and never went, then turns out that loras is 100% into it especially ACTUAL older stuff ie gluck and he totally dragged renly to see iphigenie en tauride BECAUSE ORESTES AND PYLADES ARE THE TWO OF THEM and renly had to relent and actually liked it

stannis is The Opera Nerd. he has a subscription to the local theater, he knows everything there is to know, he has a knowledge of minor baroque authors that would scare music professors, he also always goes alone because robert and renly wouldn’t go with him IF they cared, and his favorite is 100% rossini’s guillaume tell but only in the original french version WITH THE BALLETS or it’s a travesty

and he realizes davos is His Guy For Real when he shows up for their anniversary with tickets and then realizes that maybe someone who never went won’t want to see SIX HOURS OF FRENCH GRAND OPERA but davos just blinks like ‘k sure I’m open to everything’ and actually likes it (spoilers: davos’s fave becomes rossini’s la gazza ladra after he gets into it bECAUSE HE TOTALLY RELATES TO THE GIRL’S FATHER WHO SHOULD GO TO JAIL BUT IS ACTUALLY A GOOD GUY but he also likes le nozze di figaro bc YOU FEEL THE LOVE FOR THE LOWER CLASS)

tyrells

all of them used to go with olenna so all four are into it

loras as stated is into early-mid 18th century stuff ie gluck/handel/the likes (he’s the only one who actually likes julius caesar)

willas totally is into romcoms he cried the first time he went to see l’elisir d’amore and he’s been mercilessly mocked since

garlan is a sane person and likes more or less everything except extradramatic stuff

margaery is into bellini don’t tell me norma isn’t her fave

tullys

lysa never was into it bc cat was and so she always refused to go

brynden totally introduced cat to it but he’s a man of not much taste for EXTRA DRAMA so while he likes his verdi he just wants to relax with his mozart gdi but his fave is something totally overlooked ie PROBABLY IDOMENEO BECAUSE WHY THE HELL NOT HE’D LIKE IT

edmure totally went with cat & brynden and also was more into comedies turns out that his favorite is eventually falstaff and he’s always grumbling that verdi shouldn’t have made just ONE comedy ffs

targs:

viserys prob is a nerd but just of his favorite stuff and he’s either into countertenor stuff OR obscure shit or french grand opera AT BEST, he’s probably the only person other than loras who likes julius caesar

dany’s into it but very casually, she probably likes il trovatore because fire imagery everywhere tho

rhaegar is 100% into verdi drama like jon took ONE thing from him and that’s it, he probably is the kinda person who likes othello best for the Sheer Drama Factor

greyjoys:

balon and victarion legit hate it

euron is the only person other than cersei who actually willingly would go to see the ring and loves wagner

asha only goes with theon but she doesn’t mind it also bc alannys is 100% crazy into it that said she hates drama

alannys loves it her fave is la traviata I don’t make the rules

martells:

oberyn’s the hugest don giovanni stan in existence I DON’T MAKE THE RULES HE IS HE IDENTIFIES TO A T

elia’s chiller but the martells have the best taste and so they’d all like mozart she’s prob. into le nozze di figaro best because she totally relates to the countess

arianne likes così fan tutte and would punch anyone who says it’s sexist

other ppl:

sandor was dragged by sansa and he had been like WHAT DO I EVEN DO IN A THEATER HELP but then she picked something like gounod’s faust which he would like, turns out that then he ends into the most obscure SAD stuff and likes boito’s mefistofele best lISTEN HE’D BE INTO FAUSTIAN DEALS OPERA

lf is the kind of person who says they love opera but then criticize every single thing in every single staging and keep on saying opera should have died with maria callas

pyp/grenn/edd/the nw crowd went with jon once to watch something REALLY fucking sad TBH IT’D BE ERNANI and they’re like ‘jon wtf this is the worst’, then when sam learns it he goes like GUYS NO LET’S RECTIFY THIS and he brings them to l’italiana in algeri or SOME rossini fun opera and they change their mind

... okay I think I got MOST OF THE RELEVANT ONES IF I FORGOT ANYONE/YOU WANT ANYONE ELSE PLS ASK ;)

[rainbowshipping]

Rambles About Season 2B

Ok so maybe someone has already said this, but I’ve been thinking a lot about Jonah’s anxiety and which of the main characters is going to find out first or how they’re going to find out. I’ve seen quite a few people suggest that since TJ is the only character (outside from Cyrus’s dad) who knows about what happened to Jonah that he’s going to be the one to tell one of the main characters, specifically Cyrus considering the fact that those two are on good terms and if TJ were to share something it would be with Cyrus. 

Now that does make sense and does seem to be the most likely scenario. But then I started thinking about the possibility of TJ telling Buffy instead of Cyrus. Because I think it would be really interesting if Buffy were the first to find out about what’s going on with Jonah considering the fact that she is the character who has criticized his constant obliviousness and optimism (mocking his lack of facial expressions, saying how he’s finally feeling “real human emotions”). Buffy and Jonah have so far had limited interactions with each other, which makes sense considering that unlike Andi and Cyrus, Buffy did not have any reason to try to impress Jonah. And seeing how much emotional turmoil he has caused her friends, it’s understandable how annoyed she can be with him. But it’s because she’s always viewed his laid back attitude as more of a flaw than something that contributed to his coolness, I think her being the first character to find out would lead to more interesting conflicts. 

So we really don’t know much about what’s going on in the rest of season 2, but from the promo Jonah seems more desperate to try and win Andi over. Now whether or not this is because Andi rejected him at the end of Bash Mitzvah, I think that Jonah is going to slowly start to lose his constant air of coolness that has sorta shielded him from his emotions. If Andi does end up rejecting Jonah (which based on the promo and set images that make it seem like she’s going to be spending more time with Walker and the Terri Minsky interview where she says how the storyline she’s most proud of is Andi learning that she doesn’t need Jonah seems pretty likely), than I think it would play out similarly to “Head Over Heels” where Jonah just doesn’t acknowledge the fact that he’s upset, only this time with the whole GHC. The reason I say this is because Jonah still views them as their own separate friend group, one he’s not a part of, and if things did end between him and Andi, he might just assume that they wouldn’t want to hang out with him anymore. Not completely ignore them, but not go to the Spoon with them or go out of his way to talk to them, maybe even surround himself with people from the Space Otters. In any case, I definitely think this will cause a rift in his friendships with Cyrus and Buffy, but this is where things start to get interesting for me. Cyrus probably won’t admit that he wants to still hang out with Jonah because he’s a loyal friend to Andi and Buffy will probably be annoyed with Jonah because of all the drama he’s caused and has always been woefully unaware of.

 Now if TJ is the one to mention what happened to Buffy, it could go either way in terms of whether or not Buffy realizes what happened based on what TJ describes. But this news will definitely serve as a huge adjustment for how she’s perceived Jonah thus far. She’s never seemed to be as swept up in the mystique of Jonah Beck TM, and the two sorta clash considering Buffy has always been the more cynical and practical of the characters whereas Jonah has always come off as persistently optimistic. None of this is to say that she’s heartless, just that since she has never really bought into his hype she just doesn’t have as much patience or sympathy for his nonsense like Andi and Cyrus have in the past. And especially after “Good Hair Day” she’ll probably be more sympathetic (not a lot but more) than she would’ve been even just a few episodes prior. So her realizing that all this time she thought that Jonah was just a clueless person might have actually just been a front to a much darker reality would be to me extradanairly interesting. 

Now is this going to happen? Heck if I know, there’s still a month and a half left before the second half of season two and we’ve seen one promo and from the looks of it Buffy moving is going to take center stage. But there are still thirteen episodes that have yet to air, which is a lot of time for this story to develop. And it definitely seems like the kind of thing that the writers are going to drag out for all the dramatic tension they can get.