#everything has more flavor when there's yuri

[ghostlylicious]

my contribution to lesbian week happy birthday lesbians 🎉🎉

[megoomy]

got a request for my vesperia berseria au designs and i do have character sheets for them so: everyone is free to draw these if they want! credit is nice but, well, these all heavily reference official tales designs so i dont want to take too much credit for them lol. you can also write about the au and take any amount of what we've come up with, i really don't care, it's all for fun.

UNDER THE CUT: a vague summary of the concept. warning for Profound Self Indulgence and Somewhat Half-Assed Worldbuilding (world...changing? world editing? whatever)

okay basically flynn and yuri met as kids in a village that basically serves as the lower quarter of the au, but after spending a few years together daemons attack the village and nearly everyone dies. yuri survives, but in the process he’s become a daemon. flynn also survives, but is deeply traumatized and gets picked up by the exorcists (conveniently too late to save anyone in typical form). neither knows the other survived. to make matters worse, flynns trauma causes some memory loss…he still definitely remembers that time in the village but its very fuzzy now and as he gets older that only gets worse. and like he thinks all those people died so hes not really trying to remember them.

flynn becomes an exorcist (some flavor of legate) and is going around eradicating daemons when he runs into yuri. he doesnt recognize yuri but yuri is pretty sure he recognizes flynn. but yuri isnt about to say that when flynn is trying to kill him LOL. the general arc is that yuri keeps slipping away and flynn keeps seeing more about him in his efforts to hunt him down, realizing that this strikingly handsome strangely familiar daemon is actually...very kind? takes care of children? helps people for no gain? and this calls into question everything that he thought he understood about the world which is quite troubling.

you can think of them as similar to velvet and eleanor. but I think when flynn joins yuri it's by choice, not because yuri's forced him to be a vessel or because flynn's a spy or anything like that. or at least, he's been thrown out by the abbey for one reason or another and joins yuri instead. (we've tossed around quite a few versions of this. we love playing in the space.)

we've bounced around ideas about the rest of the cast but i only have a sheet for estelle, who is a malak controlled by the abbey ala phi. assigned to flynn, ends up with yuri one way or another. i think rita sees that malaks are people and while she wants to coordinate with them to use their strength she doesn't like how they're treated as tools (the way she feels about blastia more or less).

if you're curious about why flynn and yuri have different fates, like, in terms of lore compliance. i think yuri seeing the thing he holds most dear, the community that cared for him, destroyed in an instant, would probably fill him with malevolence no matter what, especially depending on the circumstances. (like, if the abbey was manipulating things to create daemons or therions) yuri's like...a deeply conflicted character full of self loathing, so, being a daemon really suits him. i think that malevolence would only grow as he sees the world and the abbey for what it really is. unlike someone like rose, yuri NEVER feels unconflicted about Doing Murders.

flynn in canon is pretty conflicted himself of course but i see him as similar to eleanor who can sometimes produce malevolence but has a certain purity of heart that keeps them as pretty good vessel material. nowhere near someone like sorey or rose, and definitely wouldn't have had enough resonance pre-artorius' plot to see anything. also i think the brain trauma and being picked up by the abbey leads to him having very clear purpose and a black and white view for some time, so that helps. (look, let me be real with you, half of the impetus for this au was "it would be funny if flynn had like, religious trauma")

design notes not on the sheets: - yuri's daemonblighted skin is cooler to the touch than his regular skin. but he's a guy with cold hands regardless - i've got purple highlights in his eyes but i think of them as glinting purple in the light. like an animal i guess? - yuri's outfit is mostly inspired by his spirit gear in rays, aside from his normal game canon outfit. - estelle is pulling from a lot of different abbey associated characters but mostly her own design...i didn't want to give her something weird like A FUCKING COLLAR especially bc she's not given to A WEIRDO EXORCIST but i wanted some kind of symbol of captivity so i went instead for a golden mask. pulling from the common malak's gold mask/helmets and seres' mask. in canon a lot of estelle's arc is about being sheltered so i feel like covering her eyes feels, appropriate? idk. - i think yuri still gives estelle her nickname but she wouldn't start out as estellise so its more like yuri gives her a name - you may notice she has the flame of purification (does that have a different proper name? blanking on it) which kind of implies that she's connected to innominat. please don't ask me to elaborate on that point because i literally don't know yet. i think if i were to make her a normal elementally aligned malak she'd be water like her spirit gear in rays, but it feels like she should be Special just like how she's a child of the full moon in canon. we just, haven't really figured out, does the berseria cast still exist, are we replacing them, what would that look like, etc. sorry that stuff should be more important to the concept but we are simply playing with the dolls. teehee

[your-local-blogger]

Ok SO-

There's this scene in Omniverse where Ben is put on trial for illegally recreating the universe (it makes more sense if you watch the show trust me) and when the Celestialsapien judge (Alien X's species) was trying to get him to confess they gave him a smoothie from the place down the street that Ben has an addiction to and they were like "Is there anything different about this smoothie" and he finally cracked and said this absolutely golden sentence:

"Alright! I admit it! It doesn't taste the same! I was too late to save the universe and everything in it from being destroyed, so I used Alien X to make an exact duplicate! But I just couldn't get the grape flavor right! I couldn't!"

And then he cried like he was in a high school production of Romeo and Juliet

Someone commented on the og vid (before it was kid-locked) and they were like "I think Ben crying was just Yuri Lowenthal losing his shit"

@shyshyaaaaaa

[rikeijo]

Today's translation #676

Go Yuri!!! Go, official fanbook, Tominaga Keisuke interview

Part 3.

-- What was especially important to you in creating music for this show?

Tominaga: When I read the project proposal and storyboards in the beginning, I felt that the story, dialogues and characters - everything is very intricate and has a lot of depth. At the same time, my impression was that is also very easy to understand, very strong-flavored, as if everything was drawn using bold lines, and I thought that it was a very important point for this show. Inspired by this, in creating music for this show, my aim was to use similar 'bold lines'. For all tracks, I can say that the 'rhythm' was what I paid special attention to. One aspect of figure skating music is that it's also dance music, so before we started the production, I analyzed the rhythm of various tracks that have been used as figure skating music. What I noticed is that music in triple meter highlights the physical performance - the turns, jumps, spins and flexibility - beautifully. On the other hand, quadruple meter music is upbeat, energetic and focuses mainly on entertaining the audience and more spontaneous emotions.

Looking back at the score, I think soundtracks that include so many tracks in different triple meter variants are rare: History maker (6/8), Stammi vicino (6/8), Yuri on Ice (12/8) , On love ~Eros/Agape~ (6/8), Guang Hong's SP (3/4) and JJ's FS (6/8). In addition, in BGM tracks other than the music used for programs, we used a lot of waltz. This is probably why I felt as if I was dancing waltz all the time, when producing this score. Throughout the whole production process of each track - the music performance, vocals, arrangement and mixing - all the time, we were working, sensing the rhythm and moving our hands and legs a lot, to make sure that the music is good to dance to - even if there is no beat, does the strings' groove alone make the music pleasant to dance to? Do the vocals make the music dancable? Is the pleasant circular melody of the piano undisturbed? Does the variation in strength of the performance create a nice groove in the music? etc. Because of this, I feel like the music production was mainly me dancing all the time (laugh). Thanks to this, I think I'm much better at conducting now, compared to one year ago.

[we-drank-too-much-bleach]

CAN WE GET SOME HEADCANONS FOR THE BAMBIS? (all of them together!)

Of course of course we love the femritters on this blog

MORE FEMRITTER HCS >:3

-they tried to start a band once and only got one live show which they were booed out of because they were soooo bad

Candice was vocals/guitar

Bambietta was backing vocals/keyboard

Meninas was bass

Giselle was drums

Liltotto didn't want to join in but sometimes she'd just be like tambourine or something

-they were mostly punk rock but sometimes did like… soft rock

which sounded better than the punk stuff

-Candice kept ruining stuff with her guitar solos…

-whenever they watch comedies Candice cackles like a maniac every like 3 seconds and Giselle just talks through the entire thing so everyone else can't understand what's happening

- Giselle talks through every movie ever cause she’s just like me

-they also could never decide a name for the band but several ideas that were thrown around:

Candice & The Electrosuperdeath Girls

The Bombers

All Quincy Rejects

Dead On Arrival

Guys I Don't Think This Will Last Longer Than A Month At The Highest Do You Not Remember When We Tried To Make A Movi-Wait Meninas Stop Copying This Down This Isn't A Fucking Name You Dumbass

- on Bambietta's birthday once everyone thought it'd be a genius idea to literally just put a bomb in her cake

- Giselle wanted to be in the cake but they wouldn’t let her (they didn’t understand her genius smh)

-For christmas everyone got each other coal, this wasn’t planned, they all individually thought of it

- Giselle also put a bow on her head and said she was the group’s gift, and only Meni thought it was cute

- Candice once considered showing up entirely wrapped in bows and literally nothing else but she realised that would not help her against the slut allegations so she chose not to

- Christmastime is always the most chaotic for the girls

- Meni is the only one who buys thoughtful gifts

- Giselle once gifted Liltotto a rotting arm

- halloween they usually do nothing for because last time they dressed up bambi and candice argued for hours over who was sexier in their costume

it ended with a group vote which resulted in zero votes for both of them

- for an experiment Giselle once faked her death to see what the others would do and after a week she came back and literally nobody noticed she left

- Meni like… noticed but she wasn’t worried

- Liltotto got a snack stash everyone is aware of but she doesn't know they're aware of it and thinks she's kept it secret

- Giselle keeps taking everything grape and blue raspberry flavored

- Lil plays gacha games, like.. it’s an addiction

- Meninas plays cookie clicker games

- Bambi speed runs anything and everything

- Candice plays yaoi visual novels

- She picks bad routes to see men suffer and plays good routes to giggle when the men kiss

- Giselle does the same but for yuri visual novels

- Giselle plays games like ddlc so often.. like the most fucked up ones you can find.. like you and me and her. And corpse party

- Candice listens to punk rock

Bambietta listens to classic rock

Giselle listens to breakcore (and idol music)

Liltotto listens to idk

Meninas listens to folk and pop music (another idol music enjoyer)

- Giselle has literal skeletons in her closet (The animal ones are sourced ethically but the human ones…)

- during blackouts Candice uses herself as a generator but ONLY for the stuff she uses regularly and nothing else

Jeez that one was long! Sorry we haven’t posted in a while, we’ve both been a little occupied. I hope you like the hcs tho! :3 - Giselle

[amemenojaku]

Shinmyoumaru for the character ask prompt

I got several asks about her... thank you everyone for allowing me to go completely batshit insane

General opinion/How much I care about them: GAHHH I love her SO MUCH it's unbearable!!!! I think nowadays I wouldn't be able to say who's my number 1 favorite touhou character between her and Seija... There is a very special place in my heart for Shinmyoumaru Sukuna T_T I love the play on a classic otogizoshi (making the descendant of Issun Boushi a princess AND the ally of a horned demon at the same time is sooo good) and I love that she has this brave and regal aspect to her personality while still being a little bastard and I love her design and the atmosphere of her fight scene in DDC and her heart and everything else!!! She is cool and cute and funny god I wish Shinmyoumaru were real I have so much affection for this silly little character

A ship I love: (puts on my clown makeup) I made myself known here as a seishin artist many years ago and I'm happy to say they're still my absolute favorite pairing in the series! toxic yuri wins!! The way I see them has changed a lot over the years and thanks to the surprisingly big amount of material we got in the spinoffs and the books but at its core it's still the same... Lonely people who created unforgettable memories together and changed each other forever... And you can go so many different ways with them... But I guess my all-time favorite seishin flavor is best summed up in this unrelated quote (more people should read Fafoo):

seishin fans also manifested grimoire of usami into existence which I think is incredible enough on its own to mention

A non-romantic relationship that I love: With Reimu!!! I think we all agree that their interactions in Forbidden Scrollery were perfect and that Shinmyoumaru is an excellent addition to the Reimu solar system. There's something so touhou-ish about them living together after DDC and Shinmyoumaru sewing that small kimono as a gift for Reimu and then later hijacking the danmaku festival so bad that Reimu has to step in. Literally textbook case of Reimu dealing with another little rascal yet befriending them in the process. Speaking of I think they genuinely are good friends, not just danmaku or drinking buddies... I love to imagine their daily life together when Shinmyoumaru stayed at the shrine......

The NOTP: For better or for worse she's almost exclusively shipped with Seija which is fine by me!! I've never liked seeing her with anyone else (save for a onesided Shinmyoumaru -> Reimu crush).

My biggest headcanon about them: THERE'S TOO MANY TO LIST..... I have pages upon pages of Shinmyoumaru & kobito-related headcanons because she is constantly rotating somewhere inside my brain but I can share a few ones: her family is not only a descendant of Issun Boushi but also a descendant of Sukunahikona; none of the kobito have last names except the ruling family who takes on the most sacred one - Sukuna; there's actually a little bit of Issun Boushi's spirit remaining in the miracle mallet, he doesn't exist there anymore or anything but it's like a warmth that Shinmyoumaru can feel when she wields it.

An idea for a fanwork I would like to make/see about them: I have a lot of wips that I probably won't ever finish sadly... But I -would- love to draw some kind of comic or writing/art mix where I could include all those headcanons someday, with her past and especially a study of her relationship with the mallet

Something that makes me think of them: Hedgehogs :) and forget-me-nots!

[formerlycookierunauprompts]

Sun & Star dynamic (Arcane + Golden):

Yay!! Let’s talk about this once tragic yuri, the girlies of all time! We’ve all heard of the sun and moon dynamics in all sorts of mediums, mayhaps even the rare moon and star dynamic as well. But never the sun and stars, never them. So… what would this dynamic be like? To answer that were look at the pair no one expected in our small little community, that of Arcane egg and Golden Butter. Let’s see how they fit into this lovely polycule- let’s go!

Important note: these notes / document sections will mostly be going over the dynamic of the main storyline and after the three get together. There will be brief mentions of before the fall- but unfortunately we don’t have much info on Goldie be for the fall. Besides that before the fall the two had a very close friendship, like very close! 

-first of all, no one saw this coming. So to say the least this is a very low-key dynamic. No one really saw this coming- not even the parties involved.

-but this relationship makes sense. Their very similar to each other so they mesh well, and where they do differ from each other they still mesh.

-their both kind and considerate people, both have very bubbly excitable sides, their crafts are very similar in quite a few aspects! Even if arcane has many, MANY crafts. (She’s very flexible) etc.

-Like the sun and stars their made of the same stuff, there's a warmth to the two of them. A vibrancy!

-they are both introverts! But they’re two different flavors of introverts. Golden is what one might call a more… traditional introvert. quiet, a bit more soft spoken, private about their feelings, social interactions tend to drain her batteries, etc etc. While arcane need’s social interactions a lot more, she tends to be loud, a bit clumsy, she has a long array of friends, etc. but she’s still very much an introvert.

-as a result when they're not recharging by themselves they tend to recharge together. They usually pop in a movie and just chill, they might do something with their hands. Arcane might chatter quietly mindlessly, but she doesn’t expect an answer; she just does that naturally. Otherwise they just bask in each other's presence. It’s soothing really, basking in each others natural light~ (I’m so cheesy :D)

-and even in their differences they compliment each other, arcane is more emotional / feels their emotions very strongly. As a result of this and their strong empathy they pick up the mood shifts in others easily, even if they can’t really identify what’s wrong. So they are able to sense when something is bothering their precious Goldie. Really helps their very emotionally intelligent, even if they don’t word it quite right sometimes.

-Another thing from Arcane is that she's a very silly cookie! Not the obvious type of silly and theater kid that shadow milk is, but she is silly. Example when you hug her she can choose to make squeaky toy noises. It entertains Golden immensely!

-Now, for Golden. She’s a very… peaceful cookie is how I would describe it. Arcane finds peace with her, her buzzing mind quiets around her. If only a little bit. Goldie’s very presence actually helps Arcane sleep, for even when she isn’t haunted by an otherworldly force. She’s a bit of an insomniac.

-Golden is also a fellow creator! They get to share that joy together, go through the process of making and then redrafting over and over- together! Her more….stoic nature helps arcane a lot as well, arcane doesn’t have to be anxious around her. She doesn’t feel shame, it puts Arcanes heart at ease.

-… the two do… envy each other, if only a little bit. Or they used to.

-Golden was envious of Arcanes' vibrancy, her morals, her creations at times even. She was like the sun, warm, enviting, and energetic. Her will though- that was the real kicker. Her defiance, her willingness to dream of a better world. Her fire to make it so… she was everything she never was….right? She was just a star, a small blip in the sky. Arcane was the sun- she was not.

-But Arcane was envious as well, sure she was the sun! But… but everyone loved her, they loved Golden's light. She was like inspiration herself, she inspired creation. They all loved her too! They spoke of her gentleness, her kindness, her grace, her… her everything. But Arcane…? She was TOO much. Her robotics were… unnerving to cookie kind, her dealings with the spirit world? Too weird, too creepy. She was often described as too intense, a little destructive at times with how enthusiastic and clumsy she could get.

-………. Hell….. her precious moon was in the same sky as her- they…. They were perfect together….. they were perfect without her…. maybe the sun was always destined to be apart from the glittering night sky- from her moon. From her star…. How tragic…

-or, maybe not. Maybe… the stars and sun could learn from each other? Share their light? Their warmth? Yeah… they may be able to reconcile yet- they're from the same thread after all. They can get each other in a way most couldn’t, quitely.

——————————————————————————————————

so? Wha chu think? Anything you want to add, I really want to add more but my brain is not cooperating! Anyways I hope you enjoyed! Have a good one!

YURI!!! i love them, i love them so much

tbh they deserve to be happy together. love that for them

also this is the funniest gbc timeline because they both left Shadow Milk in the dust in favor of Yuri and honestly that's a girlboss moment. Shadow Milk dies because of the power of yuri/j

[chimerafflesia]

Yuri Duel Links 2024

(this is literally just a masterpost of everything that made me insane over the course of the event so I can reflect and laugh/cry/etc)

first of all the sentence "Yuri Duel Links Event 2024" would have put me in a coma if you told me that say like. a month and a half ago. when Lulu and Rin came in September I was SURE it was going to be at least early 2025 before we got him. and Yet,

I was in the middle of getting ready for a concert when I got a notification from the DL subreddit of all things that said "He's Finally In" and I saw a little picture of Yuri and I was like Lol. Yeah Ok. so then I opened duel links and checked and was hit with This:

and I was like Okay. okay. cool cool cool cool. I'm gonna be so normal about this. *narrator voice* "via the tags on this post, you could see they were indeed not normal about it"

and girl sorry I wasn't gonna be normal about it like I've wanted this cunt in duel links since he landed on my radar. I knew from the first episode he appeared in that he was going to be my favorite arc-v character because I tend to have a Type when it comes to characters. it's been the same since I was like 8. sue me.

I even started getting into theory territory I was SERIOUS

(this ended up not being the case but congrats to Dumon for being the July unlock that was a lot of fun)

HOWEVER SPEAKING OF PREDICTING UNLOCKS I DO HAVE TO SAY I made this list back in MAY predicting the rest of the characters for 2024, and while some of these are very out there and Not Happening (sorry Marik and Atticus) I DID ORIGINALLY PREDICT YURI FOR AN OCTOBER UNLOCK. (Dumon for July as well) I AM LITERALLY JOHN KONAMI I GUESS.

so time goes by and I have a month to grind gems for Yuri's box because OBVIOUSLY I need a full character deck for him. would tumblr user chimerafflesia do anything less. I achieved this btw. 9999 gems the day before the event started. I was READY.

October 23rd. I literally wake up at 6am because I was so excited I was like a kid on christmas. I am hit with these screens and actually got kinda misty eyed because it was Happening

I waited 5000 years (about 7 months) to see that "Event Exclusive" in front of him and it was real and happening like CHEERS I'LL DRINK TO THAT!

I recapped a lot of my initial reactions on day one here and here but it just doesn't do it justice like I was just so excited and happy and having the time of my life playing this little freemium mobile game. I've said it like 348735 times now but duel links is genuinely so fucking amazing to me I love this game so so so much.

AND THIS EVENT WAS SO WONDERFUL!!!! THEY DID RIGHT BY HIM I WAS (AND STILL AM) SO HAPPY. HIS CHARACTERIZATION STAYED INTACT. WE GOT SOME NEW LITTLE FLAVOR DETAILS FOR HIM. THAT MAY HAVE TO BE A SEPARATE POST BUT GOD. YURI FANS WE ARE EATING GOOD.

here are some personal favorites. little problem child 🩷💜

and course this instant classic:

but there are so many. I point to this video which has all his dialouge including taunts.

look at these screenshots man like come on. I can't believe these are real. they look like images that would've been posted on reddit like 3 years ago with the caption "This Will Be Duel Links in 2024" EXCEPT IT IS.

I set up this board with all the predap extra deck mons + starving venom and was staring at it like Man We Really Won. this shit's beautiful

Just. man I feel like there's so much more I wanna say but overall it was just a really fun event. this might sound silly to some people but I really do have a special connection to yugioh in general and I do feel like it was fate when it came into my life. I really got into yugioh in April 2021 during a particurally dark time in my life and yugioh became like a lifeline for me. it was an escape. it still is. I'm always going to be grateful for this franchise.

I watched arc-v from March-April of this year (immediately after finishing zexal btw, which is the first time ever I watched two yugioh anime back to back) and to say it fried my brain is kind of an understatement like I still think about this show every day of my life. to quote my own tweet:

like. YEAH.

Yuri in particular is a fusion parasite all on his own he wormed himself into my brain and hasn't let go. I've rewatched his episodes so many times but I think I've seen arc-v episode 135 in particular roughly 124 times. could be more. it will be more.

I can't help but feel like watching arc-v this year was meant to be. (first of all, the same year I watch it FOUR arc-v characters get into duel links? divine timing if I've ever seen it) but in particular the timing of the Yuri event feels very nice. I've been dealing with some personal woes (particulary surrounding employment, amongst other things) and again this event was such an escape for me, even if just for a few hours each day. I can't wait until he's back in a few months. we will be there :)

I'm at the point where I don't really care if it's "cringe" to get this emo about shows/characters/games etc cuz at the end of the day this shit really does mean something to me man. I know what yugioh has done for me and what it'll definitely continue to do for me and I'm grateful for it <3

(PS it is really really fun to wreck people on ranked with super poly) here is a live image of me playing online duel links

[danieyells]

Hear me out, Jiro baby trapping but he gets pregnant jajdja

I'm thinking something like Yuri experimenting on them and stealing a little bit of bone marrow and creating a Gamete and coaxing Jiro quite a bit, you already made some things in case we wanted to do this again! Might as well use them!

His reasoning here is only half selfish and he should be rewarded in his eyes! Jiro, one of the few people he believes are competent enough to be his assistant has such a cute crush on the PC it's almost painful to watch and would hate for him to sulk while investigating important things + he has seen some boys getting close to them so this is the best thing can do help.

Two months after their check up Yuri calls them to his office to tell them to start stocking baby supplies because he won't allow them to be a deadbeat and leave poor Jiro alone! Cue a surprised Jiro who thought this was again using Yuri's DNA and nit his crush. This flavor of baby trapping has three people in it but only one full consented

Re: Jiro sympathizing with baby trapped pc

Jiro's already had one child! What's one more??? It'd be irresponsible for the inspector to have one, they have to work with all the other houses, but Jiro and Yuri don't go on as many missions and attend all of their classes every day so Jiro can afford a couple-month mission hiatus and maternity leave, right? Yuri is such a good captain and boss, he'll take care of everything once Jiro okays it. The small details don't need to be considered, they've done this before after all.

Yuri is just helping his partner stay close to the person he likes! He should be thanked--lauded for his genius, even! Such a considerate captain.

Now, they previously adopted the child out but since the child is between two loving partners wouldn't it be better to simply raise it together? Darkwick has the necessary facilities. Sure neither of them were expecting or attempting to do this but being in a relationship comes with challenges. Like unexpected pregnancies, apparently. Unexpected assisted pregnancies.

Yuri, comically, has an expectedly low desire to be involved with the child beyond inspection, observation, and note-taking. He was just trying to help them achieve their relationship goals and make sure they get and stay together so Jiro isn't so pouty and absent-minded while he works because he misses his crush! Your IVF doctor is rarely part of your family, they're just there to help. But he's also a matchmaker along with a fertility doctor! Like a relationship counselor, but with more direct action.

The attachment to their child takes longer for Jiro and the PC than normal because. . .this was heavily decided for them both. And Yuri keeps scolding them for being so unenthused and anxious. They need to be good parents. Good parents love their children. Be better.

(Jiro gets used to it first since he did know it was happening, just not that it wasn't gonna be Yuri's. He's not. . .as unhappy one might expect, knowing it's PC's. But Yuri's making it sound like he expects them to raise it this time. He doesn't know how to do that. They sent the first one off pretty quick. He doesn't know how to be a mother. Or a father. Or a hybrid of both for that matter. He doesn't think he has the emotional capacity for it. Isn't that bad for a baby??? He's going to fail at motherhood which is a normal thing for him to worry about.)

(The PC is still trying to understand how this was even possible in the first place. Like, how did this happen? When??? This shouldn't be anatomically possib--what do you mean Jiro has a successfully transplanted uterus???? What just in there???? Not in a jar or something just. Among all of his normal guts. Okay, sure, he has some non-normal guts in there too but the point is--okay but the sperm. . .when did he get their bone marrow???? The PC spends the whole pregnancy trying to process things and by the time they're mentally ready for the pregnancy the baby's already being born and they're losing their mind again. This is too much! But they can't abandon Jiro to do this alone in good conscious!!!!)

This is simply an expansion of the previous experiment, Jiro! They tried with two ghouls, but a human and a ghoul could theoretically produce different results! Think of it as work and a productive start to their new relationship!

[yurimultiship]

Fateful Encounter

For this Femslash February, I'd like to talk about ships I like through the lense of particular ship tropes.

But I'm already starting with something that's a bit up to interpretation for the ship I chose, with the notion of "fateful encounter".

When we think of that, there's an aspect of "destiny" to be taken into account. But when looking at it from more of a meta level, we could also perhaps be talking about the big encounter between the two main characters of a story that starts everything and is the basis/center of what the plot will be about.

So today the ship is Ai/Sarasa from Kageki Shoujo!!

Their meeting happens in the first chapter/episode, in front of a beautiful cherry tree. The two characters are about to see whether they'll be admitted to the Kouka academy, a school dedicated to the art of theater and the first step towards joining the Kouka all-female troupe, which references the real life Takarazuka Revue.

What they don't know is that there is a rumored curse about the Kouka cherry tree: anyone who stands in front of it before being admitted will never be a top star!

The scene starts off with Ai (ex-idol with a traumatic past, wants to join Kouka mostly to get away from the presence of men) being attracted by the sight of this lonely, beautiful tree. Someone calls out to her, talking about taking a picture and startling Ai who accidentally let go of her application paper, blown by the wind into the tree.

Ai describes the girl she sees in front of her as having long arms and legs like a graceful gazelle, sparkling eyes full of stars and more importantly being terrifyingly tall!

Enters Sarasa (otaku, wants to join the Kouka revue to play Lady Oscar from Rose of Versailles) who effortlessly picks up the paper stuck in a high tree branch with a beautiful and impressive jump, before turning back to Ai and asking her to take photos of her under the cherry tree so she can send them to her grandpa later. This leaves Ai quite baffled (since she probably feared someone was wanting to take her photo, as a former idol), especially with Sarasa being very, very energetic and taking poses for way more than one picture.

Of course, they are then admitted to the school. And of course, they end up being roomates at the Kouka dormitory! It's like fate is pushing them together or something, to Ai's horror because she is looking for peace of mind and can't really deal with Sarasa's bombastic personality at this point.

So it will take a little bit of time for Ai to warm up to Sarasa and for Sarasa to get past the barriers Ai has between her and other people. But despite being initially annoyed by Sarasa's antics, it's clear that Ai is also fascinated by her from the get-go. An attraction that will lead her to find new purposes in life.

While Sarasa does have a bit of a complicated boyfriend relationship with a secondary character, her and Ai are still very shippable. Sarasa references some yuri-flavored work that makes it feel like she could be into girls too and Ai especially is so easy to interpret as having feelings for Sarasa.

Outside of the cherry tree curse, there might not really be any in-story association of their encounter with "fate" but it still has such a great vibe of a life-changing meeting and makes for a beautiful and impactful first encounter, "romantic" in its aesthetic but also with a side of comedy that will stay present in their relationship. And the development of it that comes after that is as enjoyable, some of the content in the manga going past what the anime adapted even shaking things up between them in interesting ways!! From that very first meeting on, they are full of surprises.

[kalena-henden]

I enjoyed the brisk fun of XO Kitty. The theme of this season was Secrets & Lies. While Kitty started out as a truth teller, she quickly was sucked into the web of things that must be hidden. It definitely gave the characters road blocks to overcome and laid the foundation for the series, but I do not want this to be a continuing theme going forward. Kitty’s strength has always been assessing the situation and speaking the truth. There should be room for questioning and doubts to produce personal growth. However, you don’t need to lie in the meantime. I hope all the characters have learned that lesson so we can move on to other things. 

Overall, I really loved the new cast. They were interesting and fun bringing their own flavor to the mix. On rewatch, it hit me that we got to see not just hear about the family dynamics of all three of Kitty’s love interests giving us insight about who they are. Dae has a loving family but is insecure about his place in society. Yuri is the opposite in that she knows who she is in the world but feels isolated from her family. Minho’s parents are off doing their own thing. This has made him a bold in a good sense by not being afraid to speak the truth but also in a bad sense that he can be a jerk. 

Ultimately, it’s Minho’s truth telling that has me firmly on his team. Looking back he’s the only one of the main characters who doesn’t lie. Except when he said he doesn’t speak “Englishie”. lol He’s not ashamed about things that other people would try to hide. After seeing what his parents have been through, he’d rather be open and honest even if it may be brutal. In the beginning, he has a distain for long-term relationships as he’s seen firsthand how they often don’t work out.  This seems to be the main reason he didn’t like Dae’s relationship with Kitty because he wanted to protect Dae from the eventual painful breakup. He is a really loyal friend, intervening in ways they don’t always want or appreciate but it is with the best intentions. Though he’s annoyed with Kitty’s presence at first, he makes peace that she’s infiltrated his friend group fairly quickly and respects that Dae still has feelings for her. When he finds the sleeping webcam video of Kitty, he let’s Dae know so he can tell her. Even though Minho’s reluctant to let her stay with them, he doesn’t take long to befriend her after she’s moved in. And once those walls were down, it took like 2 seconds for him to realize he has feelings for her. It’s interesting that, despite witnessing the whole Dae-Kitty-Yuri mess first hand (and he doesn’t even know the half of it), getting to know Kitty better makes him realize it might be worth the mess to be in a “real” relationship. Minho then protects her like he does with all his friends, only a little more ardently. I love how he got on the plane with no expectations other than to spend time with her. He assumes that she worked things out with Dae but he still asks because he cares about her and wants to know what’s going on with her. But when Kitty confirms everything is truly over with Dae, Minho is surprised but doesn’t hesitate to express his feelings the first chance he gets. In many ways, they are opposites, but in the important ways they are similar by boldly expressing truth, fiercely loving people they care about and taking big chances to go after what they want in life. They deserve to be endgame. 

But Kitty is not ready to date Minho. He wasn’t even on her radar since she was trying to deal with her feelings for Dae and Yuri. She’s now given Dae the send off. Next she needs to work out whatever will happen with Yuri. I really really hate cheating storylines so I hope they don’t go there but there is plenty to explore if certain people break up. So in the meantime, I want Kitty to turn him down and for them to continue to support each other as friends. And I don’t want Minho to wait around for Kitty. I want him to date someone else for awhile and learn to be a good boyfriend. Then in the future, when they are both available, I want them to have feelings for each other at the same time and realize they were meant for each other. 

I didn’t mean for this to be so long but I have thoughts. lol This just wouldn’t leave me so I had to write it down. I have to say I really miss Kitty’s glasses. They were such a part of her aesthetic. I understand she’s grown up now and wants to wear contacts. But all the early morning rolling out of bed moments or late night moments, she should have been wearing her glasses cause you don’t sleep in your contacts. Or it’s really bad if you do. Anyway, I hope this show gets more seasons.

[katkit-42]

At last my time has come.

TLDR: Fuuko and Gina have a kind of queer platonic relationship common in Japan called a Class S relationship.

I think Fuuko and Gina's relationship is a "romantic friendship". A romantic friendship is defined specifically as a non-sexual relationship between friends of the same sex where you do everything you would with a romantic partner--holding hands, going on dates, cuddling, etc--but not do any sexual intercourse.

In Japan in the early 1900s, people started noticing that girls in schools would start to form romantic friendships with each other--called "Class S" relationships. They were actually seen as a normal part of girlhood; a way for girls to express romantic feelings without getting attached to a boy and ruining her prospects. It was considered "practicing"; basically playing house. Its called "Class S" because they often popped up during school years, and the S can stand for "sister", "shouji", "(same) sex", "schön" (German for "beautiful"), or "escape". However, as the girls got older, they were expected to put aside their "childish" relationship and have a "normal" heterosexual family or else risk being called a *lesbian*.

There's obviously a lot of history between then and now, but the most important thing to note is that the Class S relationships between girls directly led to the yuri genre. You can see a lot of yuri tropes come from Class S relationships--the blurring between friendship and romance, the focus on the school years, the relative chaste-ness of yuri (especially when compared to yaoi or BL). And in modern day society, many people are more accepting of both lesbian relationships and older Class S relationships.

Modern day Japanese media, especially female dominated ones like magical girls, have examples of both romantic friendships and wlw relationships. Magical Girl Raising Project has the romantic friendship of Snow White and Ripple compared to the explicitly romantic Weiss and Nana. Sailor Moon has Chibiusa and Hotaru as romantic friends as well as the OGs, Michiru and Haruka. Madoka Magica and it's spin offs is full of romantic friendships, as well as Homura and Madoka--who's relationship actually perfectly describes a romantic friendship becoming fully romantic. Homura and Madoka go on dates, hold hands, hug, and cuddle naked in space time before Homura confirms that she has romantic feelings for Madoka. Another example from PMMM is Yachiyo and Iroha who, while are not confirmed to be romantically in love, have a romantic friendship where they live together and serve as surrogate parents to younger magical girls. In fact, when Iroha has to interact with Yachiyo's former best friend, it's played exactly like the new girlfriend meeting the old flame.

There are more examples of female romantic relationships in manga because of the Class S phenomenon I've talked about earlier, but you could argue that the male equivalent is the classic shounen rivalry. Think Sasuke and Naruto, Killua and Gon, Bakugou and Deku. All of these relationships are, I would argue, romantic friendships just with the shounen flavoring of beating the shit out of each other every once in a while.

Going back to Fuuko and Gina, I think what they have is best categorized as a romantic friendship. They're passionate about each other and have many romantic moments together (Fuuko saving Gina from Burn, Fuuko carrying Gina's jacket, Gina's everything about Fuuko), but it's not really sexual. Even before 101, Fuuko had this intense affection for Gina, and now its finally requited.

I don't think Tozuka is trying to say that Fuuko and Gina are having a "phase" and that they will eventually get over each other and start dating men. I think Fuuko will end up with Andy and Gina will end up with Sean (I think Gina did awake something in Sean when she told him to strip and then die) but I don't think Tozuka will ever have them give up on each other. Gina said that "until we kill God, I'm Fuuko's right hand woman", but I think they'll last beyond that.

Basically, I think Fuuko and Gina's relationship is best described as a "romantic friendship, heavy on the Class S". It's platonic and romantic, non-sexual but intense. They're not in love, but they're pretty close to it.

It's actually incredible how much focus Gina is getting in this week's chapter

She's the one to overhear people talking about Rip needing to choose between Latla and Leila

She's the one to cry over Rip seemingly choosing Leila

She's the one shown to have a reaction when Latla yells at Rip for not considering how his actions look to others, seemingly being held back by Sean so she doesn't try to intervene

She's the one to congratulate Latla on getting her happy ending

She has such a strong visual presence in this chapter that otherwise has nothing to do with her, which suggests two things:

Gina is meant to be the audience surrogate, the one who wants to see everything work out for the best and wishes they could help when things are looking their worst

Gina is being telegraphed as being able to empathize with the various positions that Latla is in: the possibility of being passed over for someone else; the guilt that would come with getting in the way of someone else's happiness; the relief in knowing that there is a way for everyone to be happy

The former is definitely true, it's a really easy way to guide the audience's feelings, but the second would be extremely interesting for the prospects of the series going forward

I've been saying for a long time now that Victor and Andy are going to find a way to separate; maybe Andy will get cut straight down the middle and let Victor take over one half, maybe The Heart Artifact will allow a soul with no body of its own to manifest physically, maybe there will be some other Negator ability we don't know about yet that would allow that to happen, who knows. Either way, as things stand, Victor being trapped in Andy means that he can't get his happy ending with Juiz, and I don't think anyone in this fandom would accept that everyone gets to be happy but the two of them

My point being, the goal here is for everyone to be happy in the end. That's why Billy's family is still alive, that's why Akira never became Unknown in the first place, and it's why Rip is marrying both Leila and Latla. No one is getting left behind here, so the question remains: what does Gina's happiness look like?

The Gina of the previous loop was in love with Andy, and the Gina of this loop is infatuated with Fuuko (whether she's actually in love or not is debatable), so it seems like it would be odd for her to fall in love with anyone else just so she could avoid being alone. Since Tozuka has explicitly shown us now that polyamory is on the table, what reason do we have to believe that Andy and Fuuko are going to be exclusive?

Plus, need I remind you all that this chapter is coming from the same week that, in the anime, Fuuko let Andy marry another woman? Tozuka's been laying the groundwork for this since the beginning!

[slowlydifferentbluebird]

Ah, thanks for the compliment author! ☺️ But I could never be as good of a writer like you! Besides, I really enjoyed that Irene and Seulgi piece, especially with the multiple endings!

Anyways, here’s another prompt for another headcanon, but this time for a Royal AU with Kwon Eunbi. Hope you enjoy! And please and thank you in advance!

******

Queen Eunbi? It seemed like just a few days ago she was Princess Eunbi, some low-ranking member in the Royal Court.

Well, at least she was, before she decided to stage a coup, violently disposing of the Royal Court, the loyalists to the monarchy, and the Royal Family.

Your family.

But she didn’t manage to execute you, the last legitimate heir to the throne.

She’s managed to pull the rug out from under you. Your family, your friends, everything that you’ve known gone in an instant, your life upended overnight.

An empire at your feet and you’ve lost it all.

And now she’s searching for you. Reports from your last remaining loyal servants have suggested that she’s not looking to kill you if it meant risking making you a martyr and causing the people to rebel against her. No, she’s looking to either force you into marriage to legitimize her consolidated power. Or, if you don’t comply, she’ll turn you into her political prisoner.

Maybe living in a palace has made you soft. Harsh words? Perhaps. But be honest, do you think you deserved it? If you had been a little more vigilant, maybe you would still have a family and a throne.

So, what’re you going to do about it, your Imperial Majesty? How will you make your mark on this wretched world? Will you go along with Eunbi’s plan? Or will you take back what is yours by force?

Careful. Whatever you do will have a ripple effect for years to come. So choose wisely.

Kwon Eunbi headcanon - Royal AU! - Royal! Reader trying to take back the empire from Queen!Eunbi

Requests are open

Hello again! I'm really thinking that you're a human storage of greats prompts for headcanons. And the Au details give that spicy flavor, because in this way I could try new things. Also, thank you again for your kinds words, I hope the result satisfy you.

Royal!Eunbi X Royal!GN!Reader

The plan

The world how you knew it was now gone

One night was enough to transgorm you from claimant to the throne to a fugitive

A lump in your throat while you think to all people you lost few days ago:

Your family, your friends, whoever was on your side

You have seen death them by the hands of Eunbi

A a person whose existence you sometimes forgot

But from now you will never forget about her, nor you will forgive her

It could be the last thing you will do, but you will have your revenge

But you can't beat an entire empire alone

Luckily you are not alone, because you have still few friends you can rely on

Humble but loyal people

You knew them since your childhood and even now even now that so many years have passed, you can still count on them

You never stopped writing letters to them and sending castle resources when they need it

So, when that night you managed to escape from the castle and you knocked on their door, they didn't hesitate to let you enter

Now you are still there and they are all with you: Yena, Yuri and Chaeyeon

You could have been too soft maybe in these years, but you are always been the best in making strategies.

So after spending an entire night making a plan, the next day you were ready for action.

To the castle

The first part of the plan was the easiest: enter the walls

In fact Chaeyeon everyday deliver straw for the animals of the castle, so the guards should let her enter with her cart

A cart where you and the other two were hidden

At the big front door the guards searched the cart, but they had found nothing because you were hidden under the double bottom

So Chae left you in the yard and went away, done with her part of the plan

Now that you three were in, the second part could start

Chaos

To sneak towards Eunbi position you needed a distraction

And the best one to make a fuss is for sure Yena

Like, she's not a bad girl, but she's really innocently chaotic, if it makes sense

So while you and Yeri were hidden in the first storage space you found, Yena started running, screaming, singing and other 100 noisy activities that attracted almost all the royal guards to her

Honestly it was fun watching that little bean escaping with no difficulty from a mob of men armed and twice her height

But you can't waste precious time, you needed to take advantage of the distraction

Her

You and Yuri left Yena on her mission, confident of the fact that she would have managed to escape

You two ran in castle with agility, thanks to your knowledge of the castle and of the laws

In fact you remember clearly that only someone with blue blood can love in the royal rooms

Or someone married with someone with blue blood

Thus Eunbi should have been in old, low-ranking member of the Royal Court room, even though she has the power now

That's the reason she's searching for you in all the realm

But you were far few minutes to her

At the beginning of hallway of the Royal Court member you separated with Yuri

She stood there as a lookout

Before parting you gave her your trusty sword, because she needed to defense herself

After all you didn't need it, you had with you the dagger that your grandfather gave to you the day you became an adult

You and Yeri hugged tightly, you knew that you can count on her, but can't help to worry for her

Just watching in her eyes remembered you the feelings that you had for her since you were a child

But now there was no time for that

That was the time for your vengeance

So you started walking slowly towards Eunbi room, the last on the right

Silently you turned the knob and walked in

She was there, sat with her back turned

She was brushing her hair, unaware of your presence...

...or at least that was what you thought

"Well, look what the cat dragged in. My favorite claimant to the throne" she said looking at you through a mirror in his hand

The thing surprised you, but not too much because the situation was still the same: you two were alone and you were armed and her not.

"Yah, Kwon Eunbi, how dare you speak to me when you still have the blood of my family on your hands?" You loudly shout to her

"Don't worry, Y/N, I washed my hands, I'm a clean person, you know? So, So... what brings you to my "humble" establishment? You finally decided to turn yourself in?" She said looking directly at you this time

You laughed impressed by her boldness, "You would like. No, you filthy traitor, I'm here to end you here and take back what's mine".

With saidyou closed the distance that separated you and now the blade of you dagger was on her neck. "Do you have any final words?", you asked her, ready to do what was needed.

"Oh, actually yes: don’t you ever get tired of failing?", she didn't have the time to finish her question that from behind you someone entered in the room.

It were Yuri and Yena, both with their hands tied and with a sword pointed at them. Behind them, wielding the sword, a royal guard and... Chaeyeon?

"Chae, what are you doing? Are you crazy?" you asked her baffled. "Shut up, Y/N! You know nothing", she answered with sad but angry eyes.

While you were distracted talking to your former friend, Eunbi took the opportunity to steal your weapon.

"Thank you for the gift, Y/N! However I know something instead: in fact this smart girl yesterday night contacted me through one of my spies and informed me about your silly plan". Said Eunbi, this it was her placing the blade of the dagger on you neck.

But at that point that was something secondary. "But why? I thought we were friends, Chae!", you asked, in the verge of cry.

"That's what YOU thought! You always put me in the last place, Y/N. Since we were child. Yena was your bestfriend, Yuri was your crush, and I? I was the other one, I was useful only to not be in an odd number. I always thought that it was a child thing, you were immature, but you are still the same. Yesterday when you came to our house I was the last one you said hi. That's why!, she ended her discourse, shouting at this point.

"Yes, very sad. However", Eunbi at this point has got your back against the wall, "time to finish this drama! Here's the deal: guard, take these two rascals and put them in prison for a few days, then throw them out", she said looking at the guard.

Now she was looking at you with a strange glare. "And as far for you, now that you're here you will marry me so my power will be officially recognized by the laws. Lucky me, you are stupid, but you are hot!".

She kissed you with passion, to claim her property. On the other hand you didn't resist, probably heartbroken over too many betrayals in so little time.

Your plan failed. Now a future as the partner of the usurper was waiting for you. Is that the end of your story?

[bumblebeeappletree]

Jook 죽, a Korean rice porridge, is a popular dish that can be eaten as a light meal or when one is sick because it is easy to digest. This creamy porridge is one of the best comfort foods commonly served to the sick, elderly, and babies. Jook is commonly used as baby’s first foods, known as "Iyushik" 이유식 in Korea. Now that my baby has started to transition into more thicker consistency foods, it is a perfect way to add more texture and to introduce different proteins.

There are many different variations on this Korean porridge recipe made with different grains, proteins, and vegetables. This vegetarian jook recipe is a healthier twist using lentils and brown rice. You can also use chicken or beef broth, as well as add different meats & seafood for different flavors and textures. Also, try saving some of the stock and using it to make different Asian soups for more flavor!

Brown Rice Vegetable Porridge 채소 현미죽

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups of brown rice

¼ cup of lentils (I use green)

1 tbsp of sesame oil

1 medium carrot

2 cups of spinach

1 cup of broccoli

For the stock

1 yellow onion (cut in ½)

⅓ of daikon radish (cut in ½)

8-10 dried anchovies

6-8 garlic gloves

5-6 green onion stems

6 pieces of dried kelp about 2 inch squares

10-12 cups of water

Directions:

1. Wash & Soak the rice and lentils for about 120 minutes.

2. Place all the ingredients for the stock in a large pot. Cover the ingredients with water.

3. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium high for about 90-120 minutes.

4. Strain the broth & discard the solids.

5. In a separate pan, heat the sesame oil over medium heat.

6. Saute the carrots, spinach, and broccoli for 2 minutes until it is slighty soft.

7. In a separate pot, heat the sesame oil over medium heat and add the rice and stir fry everything together for another minute.

8. Add the vegetables to the pot and stir fry everything together for another minute.

9. Add the soup stock so that it covers about ½ an inch above the ingredients. Bring it up to a boil.

10. Reduce the heat to a simmer, give it a stir, and cook at low heat for about 30 minutes.

Hope you enjoy our first cooking video! If you'd like to see more, please give us a thumbs up and subscribe!

We'd love to engage with our viewers, ask us any questions in the comments below =)

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[snowywrites]

Natsuki x comedic!reader

summary: this was a request from someone on quotev, reader is gender neutral!

word count: 3k

You set your bag down next to your usual chair in the Literature Club room before taking a seat in one of the desk chairs. Stretching your arms up high over your head, you suppress a yawn; being stuck in school for an extra hour or so wasn't all that bad, considering you got to see your friends whom you didn't really share any classes with.

"Ugh. You're never the first one here."

A familiar irritated voice catches your attention, and you turn around in your chair to grin at the one and only Natsuki. Your expression brightens even more when you notice what she's carrying.

"Aww! Are those for us?" You coo, rising quickly from your chair to hurry over to the short pink-haired girl standing by the entrance to the room, examining the tray of muffins in her hands.

Immediately Natsuki recoils away from you, reminding you so much of a stray cat who never received enough love in their life. The thought makes you snort to yourself as she even straight up hisses, "Wh- these aren't for- I mean- they're for the club! But they aren't for, like, you and me!"

You listen to her fierce but confusing denial politely, your smile softening but never completely disappearing. She could get so riled up sometimes over the tiniest things.

Natsuki's blush is apparent, and you're highly tempted to make some sort of joking comment comparing her to something, when she suddenly backs up too far and collides with the doorframe of the classroom behind her. She squeaks, the tray suddenly seeming very shaky in her hands as she struggles to regain her balance to keep herself from toppling to the floor.

Not missing a beat, you reach out to catch the tray just as it slips from her hands, only narrowly managing to avoid watching the muffins spill all over the place.

Feeling pretty proud of yourself for that nice save, you hold the tray up triumphantly with one hand, showing off just a little bit as you smirk at Natsuki. "Well, what do you think? Have I earned the right to have at least one of these most-delightfully-baked-goods?"

She's fumbling for a response, ego most definitely wounded.

You lower the tray again, adding teasingly, "Alas, if you can't spare even one little muffin, I suppose we could work out some kind of arrangement?" You pause and hum, tapping your chin thoughtfully with one finger from your free hand, pretending to think for a moment. "How's about, say, three years of your devoted friendship? That about equals the rescued lives of- onetwothreefourfiveand... six muffins, wouldn't you agree?" You say, making a small show out of counting them.

Natsuki glares at you with scorching magenta eyes, stuttering over her words so much ('don't compare her to Yuri even as a joke, she will kill us right here and now, Y/N.') that you start to worry if maybe you've gone too far in teasing her today- not everyone appreciates your jokes, but you usually got the impression that Natsuki actually kind of liked them... even if she acted like she didn't. Normally, you could literally see her trying her best to fight back a giggle, but this time she seemed more sensitive for whatever reason.

"Ah, Natsuki-"

Whatever half-assed attempt at an awkward apology you were about to come up with was interrupted, of course, by your ever-excitable mutual friend Sayori launching herself into the classroom with all the unrestrained joy of an elementary schooler, exclaiming, "Y/N! You're never here this early- and you brought snacks??"

Sayori leans too close into your personal space to inspect the muffins before deciding, "Wait, no- these look too good to be yours, I bet Natsuki-" She glances over her shoulder to see the baker in question and exclaims, "So you did make them! Hey, thanks!"

Natsuki, still attempting to recover from her previous flustered state, huffs, refusing to look at either of you two. "Y-Yeah, it's no big deal..."

Sayori is already reaching over to snag one of the muffins; you have no doubt in mind that she was the reason Natsuki made six treats instead of five.

You try to catch Natsuki's eye so you could feign some good ol' exaggerated exasperation with the way Sayori ate like such a child, and how tactless she could be, but the short girl was doing her absolute best to continue ignoring your entire presence.

Yikes, maybe you actually had seriously offended her... or maybe it was just something else entirely that had upset her so much...?

Before you had the chance to really think too much about what could be bothering Natsuki, the other members of the Literature Club arrived for the usual after school meeting, first Yuri and then shortly after Monika, both apologizing for being tardy even though they weren't that late at all.

"Oh, Natsuki brought snacks?" Inquires Monika as she notices the muffin tray you had set down on a desk a couple of minutes ago. "Let's all have them before we do any reading or discussions today."

Sayori beams at the club president's words, having already polished off her first muffin and now eager for yet another. You didn't blame her, Natsuki was a great baker, but sheesh, with the way Sayori had inhaled it, you wondered if she even tasted it at all.

You try yet again to send Natsuki a warm smile in the hopes of cheering her up somehow, but she was still steadfastly pretending you didn't exist, apparently, and so your efforts were futile.

Resigned to your fate, you help Monika push some of the desks together to form a makeshift table that everyone settled down at, each club member taking a muffin for themselves and starting to dig in.

"No complaints, Sayori?" You hum after the first bite when you realize what the flavor of these particular muffins is.

Your energetic friend is probably eating too quickly to really notice, as you originally suspected, and she simply blinks at you, confused.

"What do you mean 'complaints'?" Natsuki pipes up sharply, though her voice is wavering which makes you think she actually cares quite a lot about what others- maybe even you in particular- think of her baking prowess.

You shake your head defensively, chuckling a little. "Don't shoot, don't shoot! It's just, they're blueberry. Sayori can be such a kid sometimes, so I-"

"Do you not like them?" Natsuki snaps, making you wish, not for the first time, that you could finish a sentence around these girls.

"Ah- nono, I do! It's really good! I just was- uhm-" You struggle to find the right words to defend yourself under her heated glare. Why was Natsuki taking everything you said so personally today?

"Y/N was only joking," Monika, bless her soul, steps in calmly with the patience of a saint to try and smooth out the situation before it was given the chance to escalate any further. "You know how they can be."

Wow, okay, ouch.

You dramatically place a hand over your heart. "Why, Monika! You wound me." And honestly, there was a teensy bit of truth buried and hidden underneath your dumb joke. Just because you liked to cover up any feelings of discontentment in an effort to find the tiniest semblance of humor in just about any scene of life didn't mean you went around purposely hurting the feelings of those around you. Or... did you? Shoot, now you weren't sure anymore.

Sayori laughs out loud at your over the top display, and you notice even Yuri is trying to hide a smile behind her muffin, her violet eyes almost unnerving with the way they follow your every movement.

But you aren't really paying attention to any of them at the moment, so much so that you don't even process Monika's reply. Your focus is purely on Natsuki.

She's not glaring directly at you anymore, but down at her hands which are clasped together in her lap.

You clear your throat; being serious wasn't your thing, but you still wanted to give it a try- for her. Softly, in the hopes of not letting the rest of the girl's overhear your words, you begin, "Natsuki, I..."

"It is strange, though." Yet again you are interrupted! If it had been Sayori, you would have been openly frustrated with her, but this time it's Yuri's shy self who has at last decided to share something of her thoughts with the group.

A beat of silence. “What’s strange?” Monika prompts when Yuri doesn’t continue her train of thought.

The violet-haired girl jolts a little, as if she hadn’t realized she’d spoken out loud. “Ah- just that- uhm- I was just thinking… Natsuki usually bakes cupcakes for us instead of muffins,” she explains timidly.

Huh. Weird observation, but Yuri kinda had a point.

Natsuki stiffens, sending a scowl in Yuri’s direction. “You don’t have to psychoanalyze literally everything, y’know. Life isn’t always like one of your dumb novels where you have to make up deeper meanings for when one doesn’t exist.”

You exchange a swift glance with Monika- lately, you and the club president had sort of been tag teaming helping each other lately to diffuse conflict within the Literature Club. Most often, the offenders were the same as the ones now: Natsuki and Yuri. Monika’s method of smoothing over issues was calmly and kindly, whereas you tended to take a more comedic route where angry grumbles could dissolve into grudging laughter.

Since it was technically your turn to step in and try to solve some conflict before either girl burst into tears, you interject with the first set-up for a joke that pops into your head.

“Heh, careful, Natsuki. I think you might give Yuri a new idea for one of her poems.” You face the taller girl as you continue, “Here, I’ll help you with the topic- ‘muffins- are they just ugly cupcakes?’ Yeah, just throw in some fancy language and stuff and-“

You can tell by everyone’s expressions that you’ve made a misstep somewhere here in your delivery, but then Yuri reaches up with one hand as she tries to mask her smile, and you’re intensely relieved you didn’t hurt her feelings.

Somehow, though, it seemed someone else was hurt.

Natsuki stood up abruptly from her chair, the sound of it’s metal legs grating on the floor causing you to wince. “Can you be serious for once?”

She doesn’t wait for your response, just turns on her heel to grab her cute pink backpack and then stalk out of the room, slamming the door shut behind her.

“Sheesh, what did I say….?” You sigh heavily, combing a hand through your hair. You were so frustrated with both yourself and Natsuki.

Sayori gave you a sympathetic pat on the shoulder, already standing up to go check on Natsuki, but Monika’s timelessly intelligent emerald gaze was fixed on you with a thoughtfulness that seemed beyond her years, and it did not move away from you when she spoke to Sayori. “No, let’s have Y/N go and talk things out with her.”

You cringe. “Won’t that just make things worse?” You worry, shaking your head. “I mean, call me crazy, but I don’t think I’ll be getting an award for being her favorite person anytime soon, Monika…”

A faint smile crosses Monika’s face. “Mm, I think you’d be surprised. Just go and talk with her, and please hurry before you miss her. I’d hate to lose a club member, especially one as talented as Natsuki.”

You stand up, a bit alarmed by the assumption your club president was making here. What, just because of one little spat it was presumed Natsuki would quit the Literature Club altogether? That would never happen!

….Would it?

You weren’t keen on taking your chances of finding out, so you hastily made your exit from the classroom, looking around the school halls and seeing just a flash of pink disappear around the corner to your right.

You hurry after Natsuki, glancing around uncertainly- you were pretty sure you weren’t allowed to roam the halls like this after classes were over, even if you were in a club. Plus, it seemed like Natsuki wasn’t actually leaving the school building at all, she was heading for the roof.

You don’t call her name for fear of being reprimanded by some annoying teacher or other staff, so you kept quiet as you trailed after your friend up some flights of stairs; if she was aware of your presence, she said nothing- you were mostly sure that she would’ve snapped at you to go away if she had noticed you.

At last you make it to the door that went out to the roof of the school building, which had just closed behind Natsuki. Tentatively, you push it open as quietly as possible and take a small peek outside to survey the situation.

Natsuki is sitting on a small bench with her back still to you, her attention apparently fixed on the horizon.

“Wow, they have benches up here?” You ask, finally making your presence known as you step out onto the roof and allow the door to drift shut behind you.

Natsuki starts, glancing back over her shoulder to see you, and her eyes narrow when you offer her a hesitant smile. “If you’re here to apologize, you can just leave.” Her voice is sharp, but you can sense that she sounds almost, defeated in a way.

You shrug, wandering over to sit down next to her, looking towards the sky. “Good thing I wasn’t planning on apologizing, then.”

She huffs, purposely scooting away from you so that she was right on the edge of the bench. “Look, what makes you think I want your company?”

“I dunno. Maybe I just wanted to explain what I meant for my own sake. My reputation and all that?”

She purses her lips together. “Go ahead then,” she mutters wearily.

“I never mean to offend you or anybody else with my jokes. I just kinda, joke around a lot, it’s not something I ever even think about doing, it just happens.” You pause, sighing dramatically as if the weight of the world has been taken off of your shoulders. “Boy, it’s been so long since I’ve held onto that secret. “So… now it’s your turn.”

At last the pink-haired girl looks at you, mildly confused. “My turn to do what?”

“Share a secret,” you clarify playfully.

Natsuki immediately shakes her head, a brilliant blush painting her cheeks. “Wh- never!”

You laugh. “Okay, alright, point taken. How about this then: how was your day?”

Natsuki calms down somewhat, apparently actually considering your question. You realize she seems… sad, somehow. “It was… whatever.”

“Did you bake the muffins this morning or-?” You ask idly.

“No, last night.” She pauses, glancing away again to stare at the sky, and you got the sense she was somewhere else in her memories, not fully present with you on this school roof now. “I was… going to decorate them this morning, but then I just. Had to leave.”

“Ah, so you’re one of those tardy students, aren’t you?” You tease as gently as possible.

She exhales in a long, frustrated breath. “For your information, I got to school a few hours early actually.”

You have very few puzzle pieces of this mystery to try and fit together, and you wish she’d stop being so- mysterious about this whole thing. You hadn’t noticed before today, but you knew very little about Natsuki, aside from the facts that she liked manga (probably anime too), baking, writing, the color pink, cute things… you didn’t know anything at all about her home life. You’re tempted to ask just why she was so early, why she couldn’t decorate the muffins, but just as you’re trying to work up the courage and the right words, she saves you the trouble.

“My father…” She trails off, sounding uncharacteristically insecure for once, and her eyes seem too-bright, as if shining with unshed tears. She’s being very vulnerable with you right now, and you’re intensely worried you’re going to mess it up with her somehow, so you keep quiet and wait for her to continue. “He…”

Her voice catches in her throat, not allowing her to continue.

Instantly you lean closer to rest your hand on her hand, causing her to flinch in shock at the unexpected touch.

She gives you a look like she wants to be angry, but at the same time, she’s not pulling away from you.

You really, really don’t want to see her cry. Not Natsuki, the strong-willed, determined, fierce Natsuki. You’re unsure how to comfort people, so you go with what you know best.

In a perfectly serious tone and a straight-faced expression, you say, “Do you want me to beat him up for you?”

For a second, you’re about 80% sure she’s going to slap you right in the face.

But instead, something miraculous happens.

Natsuki giggles, and as she does so, tears streak down her cheeks.

“Oh God- I didn’t mean to-!”

“No, no!” She cuts you off, tugging her hand away from yours and swiping at her face to try and wipe the moisture from her eyes, a smile still tugging at her lips. “You’re- you’re fine- I mean! Not you, I meant that, it’s fine. Really, it’s fine…” She pauses, and you think this is the first time Natsuki has ever gazed at you with such softness.

Have you really made her feel better? You’re pretty proud of yourself for that one. You would like to tell her that she can talk to you about anything anytime, or that maybe she can hang out at your house whenever she can’t stand being at hers, but she speaks before you can.

“Y/N?”

“Yeah?”

“Your jokes are terrible.”

You tilt your head to the side in confusion. Despite the insult, you can definitely hear the smile in her voice.

[42wallaby-way-sydney]

Domestic AU Headcanons:

More headcanons for the Ranskahov bros as well as my ocs for the Veles Mafia:

[First Set Here]

A/N: I would like to preface this by saying that these are largely inspired by my boyfriend and his thoughts/experiences/feelings about moving from Russia to the United States and things that he went through growing up in Russia.

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- Anatoly can't spell very well and when he's texting in English, many words are misspelled and his grammar isn't correct.

- Vladimir is afraid of spiders.

- Valery doesn't like cats and has had to get rid of kittens as a child in Russia. This is the reason he doesn't like cats and will never have one as a pet. Bad memories for him. But he thinks that having a chameleon would be the coolest pet. Liliya deadpan tells him absolutely not.

- The Veles Russians all call squid calamari. "Squid in Russian is kal'mar! Calamari! It is not my fault that Americans do not call calamari the right name!"

- Liliya has a sweet tooth like no one's business and if it came between a snickers and Russian candies, she'd pick Russian with no hesitation.

- Matvei calls himself a functioning alcoholic and has said on more than one occasion that it's only because of having a job that he doesn't drink all day long.

- All of the Russians chase their vodka with juice. Liliya loves pineapple. Vladimir loves orange. Vera loves cranberry-mango. Anatoly, Matvei, Piotr, Sergei, and Valery don't really care too much about what flavor the juice is.

- If she could, Yulia would drop everything and do meth again. She'd sell her soul for it. "God I miss doing meth..."

- Vladimir's favorite food is sushi. This does not mean in any way, shape, or form that he eats it 'the proper way'. No, what he does is he takes his sushi apart and reassembles multiple different types of sushi to create his own unique type. Yuri is constantly offended for his wife, Yuriko.

- Anatoly sometimes wishes he could quit smoking but really, he knows that won't ever happen. Sometimes when he's stressed out, he smokes every fifteen minutes and has been known to buy multiple packs a day.

- Piotr is a speed demon when driving and is the only member of the Veles mafia to join said mafia accidently. As a kid, Piotr really wanted to move to the States and "always had this feeling deep down that it would happen." Vladimir connects to that feeling very well because he had it too as a kid.

- Look, Vladimir makes literally The Best potatoes known to man. This is no exaggeration. It is magic of some degree.

- Anatoly loves to play poker and many nights the Veles crew have been found chasing vodka with juice and playing poker.

- Vladimir loves sci-fi and wants a smart house. He would be the first to set up a google home in the Veles garage as well as his apartment.

- Anatoly loves the color gray. I've said it before and I'll just say it again.

- Sergei barely remembers things about Russian history and hates himself just a bit for it because he feels as though he should remember his history and culture and just.... doesn't.

- The Veles mafia and Tracksuit Draculas have had so many run ins with each other that it's a wonder Matt and Clint have had to fight their respective Russian mafias.

- Vladimir gets 'hustle' and 'hassle' mixed up all of the time. He also has the hardest time saying 'miso' soup. He usually pronounces it as "meezo" soup.

- To Vera, all noodles are pasta. Doesn't matter if it's ramen, udon, low mein, lasagna, or spaghetti. It is all just pasta to her.

- Valery calls spring rolls, egg rolls, dumplings, and crab rangoons wontons. He claims that they are all the same thing. Yuri is once again lowkey offended for his wife since she is not present to hear this.

- Anatoly was an awful student in school. He was very bored, sat in the back, and tended to goof off more often than not. Vladimir was the complete opposite and excelled in history.

- Yulia speaks and writes in English far more than she does in Russian and has forgotten some words. She is mildly embarrassed and annoyed with herself.

- Anatoly lowkey highkey wants a big ass aquarium in his office at the Veles garage.

- Sergei loves beer and will drink beer over vodka in a heartbeat.

- Vladimir is a human garbage disposal. If it's food, he will eat it.

- Anatoly loves trail mix and buys packs of it from stores, always adding in loads of cashews. Vera, Yulia, and Sergei call him a "squirrely fucker". He always threatens to fire them.

- Valery and Vladimir once took two hours to install a ceiling fan in the Veles garage. This involved very much yelling, cursing, and screaming. Anatoly was found by Vera, sighing out, "I hope they both get electrocuted..." While at that exact moment Vladimir could be heard yelling, "I know which one [the wires] is responsible for what!" And Valery screaming back, "Responsible?! Here's your responsibility, mother fucker! To turn the lights on, not shock me!"

- One of Vladimir's favorite movies is The Fifth Element. He also loves Eurotrip and Interstate 60.

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A/N: I don't know, may continue this with more headcanons in the future because I do have more I'm just a tad lazy right now and having an awful time with my laptop because I need a new one rip.