#god this was hard considering her look really IS distinctive

[buoyantsaturn]

read my friends' fics from 2024 or else

The Father Dilemma by ember @gatesofember from the wild west au series

A year after deciding to stay permanently, Nico di Angelo has long since settled into Ladon Creek. He has two bothersome but loyal housemates, a caring community of friends, and a loving partner. His days have never been so peaceful and he never thought he’d feel so happy. But his calm, blissful life is thrown into disarray when he learns some truly sinister news: Will’s father is coming to visit. [T, 6,841, 2/7]

FAR GALAXIES by rosy @rosyredlipstick

She didn’t answer. Instead, she pulled out her PADD from her coat, slow enough that Nico only slightly twitched. Jason’s transmission was loaded up on the screen—at the bottom, their signature tag was spelled out. “Guardians of the Galaxy. That supposed to be a joke?” “More like an aspiration,” Jason said. - Space, the final frontier. Or whatever. [E, 365,994, 14/14]

three-in-one soap by emi @thelordofshrimp

Austin glared at his sister. “Will can’t lie, genius. He says that since he became head counselor, any shower that lasts more than three minutes gets interrupted by someone needing his help.” “That’s… crazy.” Nico considered the number of showers he’d taken even in his short time at camp and imagined if even half of them had been interrupted. “It is,” Jerry agreed. “Not like there’s much we can do about it, though.” “You can always do something about it.” Nico sat up. “There has to be something.” “Not unless you can somehow keep the whole camp safe at once.” [G, 5,798, 4/4]

I wanna make you mine, but that's hard to say by ethan @ethannku

Rather than dignifying Will’s likely insult with a response, Nico took another deep inhale, then tipped his head back to blow the smoke straight up into the air. When he tipped his head to the side, he found that Will was still watching him, his eyes cast low, maybe to Nico’s shoulders or neck or mouth-- [T, 8,615]

kiss with a fist is better than none by lori @sunflowersandscreams

Well, if he wanted to play it like that, then Will would meet him halfway. “I meant it. What I said earlier. I would have liked to make peace so we can get over this whole… whatever, but you just had to be an asshole, so never mind, I guess.” Nico looked at him, bored, a distinct lack of an expression on his face. “You think I’d really believe that? That you’d be so courteous, so kind, as to- what, ‘use your hand as an olive branch’? I’m not naïve, Solace.” “I wasn’t saying that you- it’s not like-” Will bit his tongue. “You don’t wanna be nice to each other? Fine. I don’t care. It’s not like it would change much, or that we could change much, at this point.” “Your guilt tripping isn’t going to affect me.” Nico tilted his chin up, angry now. “Maybe I’m fine with being like this? Or maybe it just doesn’t matter as much as you seem to think it does.” ~ Nico and Will have been rivals slash sworn enemies since the beginning of high school, when they both joined the orchestra. Things change, for better or worse. [T, 62,457, 6/8]

Does This Still Count as Solangelo Week if It's July by alfie @lordstormageddidnt

Will likes cuddling with Nico in his sleep. Nico likes cuddling with Will. But Nico does not like waking up in a pool of sweat because his boyfriend is half-sun-god, half-space-heater. [G, 1,232]

never a clean break (no one here to save me) by katherine @yrbeecharmer from the exes au series

It’s been a year and a half since Aphrodite’s shitshow, since they finally processed the things they never had and agreed to move on, and how many times has Will made it clear they’re fine now? Not that they really talk about it in so many words anymore, but that’s because they shouldn’t have to. They’re friends. Not close ones, but friends. And Nico has a boyfriend. So why on earth is he calling Will, right now, to do this? [M, 12,444]

a sweet tooth for you series by becca @thebhorror

Nico works in a bakery and is determined to make Will fall in love with him his baked goods [G, 23,447]

& if you stay too long it will kill you marble @marbleheavy

As he looked up and stared at the sky, his thoughts seemed to fall through the grates of the fire escape. He could pretend that the flickering light from the planes passing by were stars if he didn’t think too much about it. As if the light pollution hadn’t swallowed the whole of his visible universe. He took a drag from the cigarette and sighed, dropping his gaze back ahead. [T, 1,232]

bulls and blood by allison @rainnows

Cowboys were not Nico’s type. At least, that’s what he’d been telling himself for the better part of two hours, propped up as he was against a fence bordering the arena, where he definitely wasn’t allowed to be, photographer’s pass around his neck or not. [T, 1,213]

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

Phoenix/Miles 35

in reference to this. 35 - as a lie

Miles Edgeworth, hearing his office door swing open, moved quickly. It only took a moment to open his desk drawer and slip the letter he'd been writing inside. He closed the drawer again, feigning nonchalance as he glanced up at the man entering his office.

Of course it was him. Who else would it be?

"Wright," Edgeworth said. "What are you doing here at this ungodly hour?"

Phoenix smiled, shutting the door behind him. He was wearing his jacket, but removed it and folded it over his arm as he spoke. "I could ask the same thing of you, Edgeworth. Are you really working this late on a Friday night?"

"Unlike some people," he said, "I do not have the luxury of my own schedule. The Prosecutor's Office doesn't stop on my whims."

"What could they have you working so hard on right after we just wrapped up all that SL-9 business?"

"Oh, you mean the incident in which it came out that I'd achieved a conviction using fabricated evidence? The one where the Chief of Police was revealed as a murderer? The one where our Chief Prosecutor was incarcerated?" The very corner of his mouth tipped up in a slight, sarcastic smile. "You're quite right, Wright. I can't think of any fallout from that incident which might require further attention from the Prosecutor's Office."

Phoenix crossed the room easily - he always moved with such purpose - to stand on Edgeworth's side of the desk. He leaned easily against it, an intrusion Edgeworth catalogued and said nothing about.

"Even so, it's not fair for them to make you stay so late," he said.

"Hm. Still haven't lost your idealism, have you?"

"Maybe so," he said, "but if I haven't, I don't want to."

"Sometimes, Wright, I wish I could see the world the way you do."

"It's never too late to change your outlook, Miles."

"Hah." He shook his head. "So what brings you up here, in any case? Are you just visiting to needle me about my late hours?"

"Well, not entirely," Phoenix said. He fiddled with the folds of his jacket, still slung over his arm, before sitting it down on Edgeworth's desk and continuing. "Ema's just left for Europe."

"So I heard. To stay with one of Chief Prosecutor Skye's friends in Germany, if I recall correctly."

"You didn't come to the station to see her off."

Edgeworth turned his eyes away. "I... had the distinct feeling my presence would be somewhat less than appreciated."

"And there it is," Phoenix said. "I came here to see if you were still blaming yourself. Looks like I got my answer without needing to ask."

Edgeworth sighed. "Sometimes, Wright, you are entirely too perceptive. It has been a consistent thorn in my side since you made your way back into my life."

"You know you didn't do anything, right? You're completely innocent."

"I used forged evidence to achieve a guilty verdict. That is enough for me to consider myself beyond forgiveness."

"That's not your choice to make," Phoenix said. "I forgive you. Lana and Ema forgive you. There's nothing you can do about that."

"I appreciate the pep talk, Wright," he said, "but unless you have something of concrete value to say, I'd ask you to leave me to my work."

"I'm not leaving until you're done throwing your little pity party," Phoenix said. "Stop moping."

"I am not moping."

"You're definitely moping. Don't mope. It doesn't look good on you."

Edgeworth gave a long-suffering sigh. "The only evidence I have ever found for the existence of a God," he said, "is that without one, it is astronomically unlikely a man so perfectly tailored to disturb me and my peace would come to exist."

Phoenix laughed.

"It isn't a compliment, Wright," he snapped.

"No, but it's funny," he said. "Sometimes I feel just the same way as you. You're a real piece of work, Edgeworth."

"I have been... made aware."

Phoenix leaned forward, placing a hand on the side of Edgeworth's face. Edgeworth's first instinct was to jerk away, which he successfully resisted.

"Hey," Phoenix said. "You know I'm in love with you, right?"

"I'd realized," Edgeworth said. "And you know I can't return those feelings. Not yet."

"That's alright," Phoenix said. "You've had a lot going on these last fifteen years, Miles."

"Hah. I suppose one could say that."

"Just..." Phoenix paused. "Don't go anywhere. Take as long as you need, but stay right here. Promise me that."

The letter was burning a hole in Edgeworth's desk. "Of course, Phoenix," he said.

"I need you to promise, Miles," he said. Phoenix bit his lip and looked away. "I spent too long wondering what had happened to you. I can't do that again. I need you in my life, in whatever way you'll let me be."

Edgeworth wasn't usually one for impulsivity, but he'd been trying to take the odd lesson from his childhood friend, and that seemed to be a primary characteristic of the way he lived his life. So he did something impulsive. He placed his hand on the back of Phoenix's head, pulled him further down, and planted a kiss on Phoenix's cheek.

"I promise you, Wright," he said, "that I will remain in contact with you for as long as you would like me to."

Phoenix visibly relaxed. "Thank you, Miles."

"Of course."

[wheelsome]

BLEACH: TYBW Cour 1 Blu Ray Booklet (Behind the Scenes, translation - Part 1).

BLEACH COUR 1 BLU RAY Director’s Note X Author’s Eye

We've picked out some key points from the 13 episodes of the first cour. Check out the commentary on each point by Director Tomohisa Taguchi and the perspective of the original creator and general supervisor, Tite Kubo! Section 1 - BLEACH is Back #1 Ichigo raises his head, staring straight at the enemy. On the storyboard personally drawn by Director Taguchi, there’s a powerful note written: "He looks so cool!". (Ep #01) Director: Tomohisa Taguchi This was a message to the entire staff: "This is a cool moment! Don’t mess it up!". It’s the moment when he activates his Bankai and defeats the enemy with his finishing move, "Getsuga Tenshō" - the most heroic and satisfying scene. If this part fell flat, the entire scene would lose its impact. Thankfully, the team in charge nailed it. Author: Tite Kubo This was the first scene in the Thousand-Year Blood War anime that I saw in its completed form. No matter how much you check during production, you never really know until you see the final version. I remember feeling relieved when I saw this scene.

#2 Uryū glides smoothly and launches his attack. The storyboard describes his movement with a metaphor "like ice skating". (EP #01) D: Tomohisa Taguchi Since this was the first major showcase of each character, we wanted to emphasize their individuality through distinct fighting styles. We also aimed for movements that would be hard to capture in the manga. Uryū’s elegance and grace suited a beautiful, flowing combat style, so we incorporated ice skating-like movement. Some of the guiding motions were even mapped out using CG.

#3 Orihime’s abilities have evolved since the previous series (The Lost Substitute Shinigami Arc), and in this anime’s first episode, she unleashes her "Shiten Kōshun" (Four-God Resistance Shield). Chad’s raw power is also on full display, when a Hollow crashes into a building, the impact leaves a skull-shaped crater, a detail faithfully recreated from the original manga. (EP #01) D: Tomohisa Taguchi We chose “Shiten Kōshun” for Orihime because it works well as both a defensive and offensive technique, making the scene more dynamic. The skull-shaped crater from Chad’s punch is a direct reference to the manga. This was part of our effort to make fans feel like, "BLEACH is really back!".

Section 2 - Story Telling #4 BLEACH: Thousand-Year Blood War stands out with its fast-paced, dynamic storytelling achieved by adapting and restructuring elements from the original manga early in the storyboarding process. Additionally, the introduction of the story from the perspective of two new characters, Ryūnosuke and Shino helps make Episode 1 more accessible for new viewers, a choice that mirrors the manga’s approach. (Ep #01) D: Tomohisa Taguchi I wanted to recreate the speed, momentum, and aftertaste of reading the manga in anime form, which meant prioritizing tight pacing. But it wasn’t just about adding more cuts for spectacle; I focused on crafting each episode’s narrative flow from the beginning. I even considered creating MV-style sequences with individual character themes (though it's a bit extreme). For new viewers, I felt it was crucial to make this arc accessible to them without prior knowledge. Ryūnosuke and Shino were perfect for that, they serve the same role in the manga, easing audiences into the world. Plus, their introduction was essential to naturally build up to the "Ichigo and crew are back!" moment. A: Tite Kubo In the manga, the story technically ended after the Arrancar Arc, then returned with a reprise in the Lost Agent arc, which is basically a single extended episode, before restarting with the final arc. The anime captures that "reboot" energy beautifully. The voice actors for Ryūnosuke and Shino also added new depth to their characters. #5 While pacing was a priority, the anime also added new scenes, like Harribel’s abduction. Notably, Yhwach’s menacing pose in this scene became an instant hit among the staff. (Ep #02) D: Tomohisa Taguchi One of this anime’s core concepts was to “show the fans moments, wished they'd seen in the original manga”, as long as it didn’t disrupt the main story, this was our first such addition. For Yhwach, I really wanted to convey the aura and authority of the Quincy king, I’m glad it resonated with fans too.

#6 Among the additional scenes, the anime places particular emphasis on Uryū’s inner turmoil, such as his anguish over being unable to fight alongside Ichigo and his friends. (Ep #02) D: Tomohisa Taguchi This is one of the advantages of adapting a completed manga. Since we know where Uryū’s story ultimately leads to, we could develop his character arc, showing why he sides with Yhwach and the conflicts raging within him. By fleshing this out, we hoped to highlight the clash of convictions between him and Ichigo. I felt that would add depth to their friendship. A: Tite Kubo All the proposed additional scenes for Uryu were excellent. It makes me happy to see how much the production team loves his character.

#7 Yhwach visits Aizen in Muken, and the two engage in a battle of words with “conversation through Reiatsu”. This quintessential BLEACH style duel of wits was only possible thanks to the author’s direct supervision. Notably, Yhwach’s perception of time is already being distorted by Aizen’s Kyōka Suigetsu during this exchange. (Ep #06) D: Tomohisa Taguchi In the manga, Yhwach simply mentions “I met Sōsuke Aizen", with no details about why or what was discussed. But we thought: "Fans would love to see these two bosses face off!" , so we proposed turning it into a full scene. Kubo-sensei then expanded and refined it, perfectly capturing our vision. When we got the revised script even we were hyped, like, "Yes! This is exactly what we wanted!". A: Tite Kubo This was the first scene in Season 1 that I fully revised. That said, since it's "something that did happen but wasn't shown in the original manga", the initial proposal didn’t need to have finalized dialogue from the start, just a clear idea of what they wanted to convey. That made writing the dialogue a lot of fun.

#8 A thousand years prior, Sasakibe, who was hiding in the Quincies pile of corpses, pierced Yhwach's body with his sword. This is yet another scene that didn't originally make it into the manga. (Ep #07) D: Tomohisa Taguchi During my various back-and-forth discussions with Kubo-sensei, I had asked him what was the decisive factor in Yhwach's defeat all those years ago, and he answered that it was Sasakibe’s strike. That's when we realized, Sasakibe's strike from a thousand years ago must be the reason why he was the first target in the present invasion. The whole staff got really excited piecing this together.

#9 The Grand Fisher's attack is revisited once more in this series, featuring character designs for Masaki under direct supervision of the original author. (Ep #12) D: Tomohisa Taguchi Since we were adapting "Everything But the Rain", we knew we had to revisit the beginning and given this episode would unravel the events surrounding Masaki, we wanted to properly portray her final moments. That’s why we approached this sequence with such careful, deliberate direction. Since Masaki’s appearances as a mother was rare even in the original manga, having Kubo-sensei supervise her portrayal was incredibly valuable and we were really grateful for that. A: Tite Kubo I closely supervised everything, Masaki’s face, her outfit and even Katagiri’s appearance. I’ve actually been thinking it’d be nice to showcase these reference sketches at some place where fans could see them. Section 3 - Design & Color Concepts #10 In this production, magenta was adopted as the key color throughout various elements including the opening sequence and eye-catches. Its vivid intensity further enhances the sharpness of the BLEACH's story. D: Tomohisa Taguchi Initially, we planned to use orange, even the eye catches were designed in orange. But while reviewing key visual concepts with Kubo-sensei, we noticed magenta was among the proposed options for the text color and its fresh, renewing quality felt just right. We loved the idea so much that we decided to fully commit to magenta, carrying this visual concept throughout the main episodes. #11 The opening sequence features the "Gloriosa" flower as Ichigo's motif. D: Tomohisa Taguchi When we decided to incorporate the Gotei 13's squad flowers into the opening, it felt unbalanced to only highlight captains while telling Ichigo's story. So we wanted to properly assign him his own flower. Drawing inspiration from Aizen's final words in the manga, that Ichigo embodies "courage", we searched for a flower symbolizing courage. That's how we found the Gloriosa, its flame-like appearance created stunning visuals, so we proposed it to Kubo-sensei, who immediately approved. A: Tite Kubo The idea of "assigning Ichigo a flower" had never crossed my mind and then this Gloriosa proposal came - it was brilliant. I didn’t tweak a single thing; I was just really impressed.

#12 The unique subtitle design varying in each episode are another element that Director Taguchi put special care into, in order to capture the unique feel of the original manga. D: Tomohisa Taguchi The manga's subtitles are incredibly detailed and memorable and I wanted to bring that same atmosphere into the anime visually. However, I thought it would be better not to set rigid rules for how they appear. If inserting a subtitle disrupts the flow of dialogue or visuals, then we'd default to the classic black-background style like the original manga, which became more frequent from the mid-season onward. #13 Reiatsu and abilities effects underwent color updates from the previous anime adaptation. For instance, in the scene where Äs Nödt activates the stolen Senbonzakura, the storyboard specifically noted "cool color tones (pink prohibited)", showing the level of attention given to effects and color schemes. (EP #01, EP #05, etc.) D: Tomohisa Taguchi BLEACH is a series where colors carry narrative significance, so we prioritized aligning with Kubo-sensei's vision. For example, Ichigo's Reiatsu is yellow by default, but shifts to red during rage or desperation (which I believe we effectively portrayed in Episode 7). The Quincy side doesn't uniformly use blue either. We decided at the storyboarding stage that all Bankai techniques used by Quincy would employ cool color schemes. A: Tite Kubo I was relieved that they understood "colors have meaning" before our meetings. Thanks to that, now I receive confirmation and questions that are sometimes too detailed. Though I'm doing my best to respond to all of them!

[the-nosy-neighbor]

Pedrolino vs. Pierrot

Pedrolino vs. Pierrot (Part 2) 

Part 1 covered the history of this theatre genre, so head over there for background information.  

Now, why does Sally choose a Pedrolino costume of all the commedia costumes?  When I think of Sally, I think loud and brash and incredibly confident.  She is performing all the time and she thinks she is AMAZING at it.  Based on what we know, which character would we expect her to take?

She is vain enough to want to have the major role, so that could be one of The Lovers, but those characters have to be somewhat subdued and they don’t have a recognizable costume.  I would pick Il Capitano for her because of the boasting and love of attention.  All things considered, though, obviously she is going to pick Arlecchino (Harlequin).  This is the guy that has stuck with us through the centuries.  Pedrolino gets some play, especially in the move to Pierrot, but he becomes another thing entirely—the precursor of mime and clowning.  

Harlequin is everywhere. 

I grew up with mass produced art of Harlequin at the end of the hall in my childhood home.  Famous artists have painted him, hobby artists have painted him, he’s on the decks of playing cards as the joker, and then the most modern iteration of Harlequin is the Joker’s main squeeze, Harley Quinn.  And once you think about it, she is pretty spot on.  Harlequin is not afraid to beat someone with that stick he carries.  The Joker is also an avatar based on the tradition.   

We have pictures of Pedrolino/Pierrot as well, but it really isn’t as common to see him, or even Pierrot, that much.  Let's take a look at the differences between the two characters.   

I cannot see this without thinking of Groucho's line: "How do you sleep with such big buttons on your pajamas?"

There are sources that somewhat conflate some of the Zanni’s, particularly Arleccino and Pedrolino.  However, there are very distinct deliniations of the characters in a lot of examples, with Pedrolino and Arleccino presented as rivals for the love of Columbina.  Generally, Pedrolino would be the servant of one of the main characters, though usually Arleccino serves the lead. (Women have a long history of being either banished from the stage or suffering through flat dialogue and action.)  The Wikipedia article details Pedrolino as the first or primary Zanni, but from my readings, that distinction is less defined.  I find it really hard to believe that when faced with a character in bright patchwork who was quick and nimble and clever and acrobatic, that the crowd would be turning to the more serious guy dressed in white instead. 

Pedrolino, often the butt of Arlecchino’s jokes, or a participant in setting up others, was a more serious, intense kind of character.  This is something you see when Columbina comes in.  Arlecchino is bright and sassy and fun, but Pedrolino is completely taken with her and that love informs his entire life.  The words used to describe Pedrolino in this article are “a Janus-faced aspect.”

Janus is a Roman god, depicted with two faces.  He sees the past and the future and is present in moments of transition.  He is also associated with the moon, as it changes; it’s always in a state of transition.  These characters, Pedrolino in particular, is associated with the moon because of his moodiness and feelings of love.  Once he sees Columbina, he is smitten and is changed, his mind moved to wooing her.  Pedrolino is all romance as a counterpoint to Arlecchino’s fuck boy.   

This is something to be explored in a bit when Sally comes in. 

The costumes of Arleccino and Pedrolino are distinct from each other, but similar in theme; Arleccino is wearing a costume primarily make of patches (like that old joke of so many patches that no original material is left) and Pedrolino wears a costume that is far too big for him, most likely cast offs from his master.  Pedrolino typically did not wear a mask, but instead wore white makeup, called infarinato.  This lead to the creation of modern clown make up, which started as Pedrolino’s flour-like make-up.  As you can see above, there is still some tradition of Pedrolino wearing a mask, which as you can see, has exaggerated cheeks and raised eyebrows, which was meant to portray humor, openness, and innocence.  Arleccino’s mask (which was much more common) was meant to reference his quick wit and love of mischief, but also to give him a satyr-like aspect (spicy).   

I didn’t get into masks heavily in the prior piece, so just a bit here.  We discussed the characters and that they wore costumes related to their archetype.  For many (with the exception of The Lovers, Pedrolino, and sometimes Columbina), their masks were built to identify the characters, but also to present the personalities of the characters in a highly symbolized manner.  These masks are created in the Greek tradition, though the Greeks tended to focus on the emotion being portrayed, sometimes leading to actors changing masks as they move through the action (It’s all part of that Aristotelian catharsis, baby).  The masks in commedia could also reinforce racial and religious stereotypes existing in society, which I don’t really want to get into.  The point of that is that sometimes these masks had exaggerated features, which would be another source of info for the audience.  In addition to the masks, the characters would also highlight various appendages or areas of the body, for example, the lustful Pantalone was often portrayed with some kind of phallic costume piece to stress that he is lustful inappropriately (as the ingenue is far too young for him, etc.).  This is a somewhat regular feature of theatre throughout time, because everyone loves dick jokes.   

Pedrolino became a popular character, making the jump to French theatre, but they renamed him Pierrot, which is basically "little Peter" in French.  As Pierrot, the costume became more stylized, and the cone shaped hat and large buttons became staples.  A famous French actor portraying Pedrolino, Jean-Gaspard Deburau (1796-1846) played the character for 20 years, moving him into mime territory.  Yes, Pedrolino becomes the proto-mime (though I did see references to mimes existing before this, but it could be either AI or a very strange clown fandom.)   This character not only moved toward mime, but also modern clowning, with the makeup (as mentioned before) and a use of the same kind of bits.  Clowns often perform acrobatics, are the target of pranks, and use the slapstick clumsiness that was a staple of the character.   

Pierrot is often described as “moonstruck” which is a phrase that means affected by the moon, but generally is also a way of saying that someone is in love.  It refers to the changeable phases of the moon and a kind of out-of-this world focus.  Generally, mental illness is referenced, stemming from a belief that the phases of the moon could affect people’s moods, sanity, and behavior.   

Pierrot is often pictured with the moon: 

As you can see, these are from around the same time period, so we definitely have a shift in focus to Pedrolino as being very romantic. Not a Harlequin in sight.

These images are referring to his romantic nature and his tendency to court Columbina.  This is a waxing crescent moon, which is a symbol of blooming love or planting seeds leading to fruitfulness, so I’m guessing a less innocent kind of love than you get from The Lovers.  

This blog points to performance of Pierrot in the 1900’s as being more spoken word over music, hence the instruments in those pictures.  They were super into orators in the 1900’s.  I’m glad we have TV.   

So, the major symbols and associations of Pierrot: 

Love/Romance 

Youth/Young adult 

Planting seeds/growth/Spring 

The moon/phases of the moon 

Music/Poetry 

Next, finally, Sally and why Pedrolino, but also, why Pedrolino who is actually Pierrot? 

Sorry about the length on this one, but there are a lot of pictures, so I hope that helps.

[majorasnightmare]

🙉 👑 🌟 Please and thanks!

HI MOG!!!! i went to go send u some emojis for coranzan but I dont know if you want any 🥺 if you want any lemme know!!!

in the meantime i will be putting dirge underneath this clear plastic cup and shaking it

I ACTUALLY HAD TO GO OUT AND GO SHOPPING IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SORRY I TOOK SO LONG AAAAUUUUUGGHHHHH

ask game from here!

🙉 HEAR-NO-EVIL - what is the worse thing your oc could hear from someone?

So the answer to this is actually more or less the same as Broken Heart's!

Dirge is incredibly sensitive to the opinions of his loved ones and tries really hard to be accomodating of them, and tries to limit the fallout of his own particular struggles so no one else is involved and hes the only one suffering. To hear that his efforts are essentially meaningless and that he's considered a monster anyways by them is a guaranteed way to make him break down.

For some specific instances, any variation of hearing that Bhaal would be proud of him and the person he's become would be devastating. Hearing Karlach break down and talk about how she'd prefer to die than go to Avernus, after Dirge just finished killing the last person who REALLY knew him for Karlach's sake (the person who made their relationship possible by building the foundation Dirge needed to genuinely care about another person), after just having killed his only sister and died to keep Minthara safe from Bhaal's machinations, destroyed him. To have sacrificed so much, all of the people he knew and loved, for the sake of the people he loves NOW and the life hes trying to build for them, and to hear that Karlach can't stand the idea of trying to hold out for him to make her a cure? Devastating. He didn't cry when Orin died, couldn't, because that kind of vulnerability had been beaten out of him for years. But Karlach's breakdown on top of it? Thats the straw that breaks the camels back, and he collapses into a sobbing mess.

👑 CROWN - what does your oc want to be remembered as? why?

Do Not Perceive Him. Dirge HAAATES being famous, he hates people wanting to talk to him when he doesn't need anything from them, he hates people asking him questions or favors because he saved Baldur's Shithole, he hates being recognized (difficult because hes VERY distinctive with the horns and scars and tattoo), he hates literally everything to do with fame and glory. If you don't know him and you're remembering him for something, he's fucked up somehow.

Generally tho, he'd liked to be remembered as a lifelong companion and loved one. Its really the only impression he tries hard to leave. Itd be hard though, cuz he's immortal and he'll usually be the ones remembering them.

🌟 GLOWING STAR - what do they think about when they look at the night sky? is there someone they want to star gaze with?

His patron Caiphon! Caiphon was his "wish upon a star" that ended with him being freed from Bhaal entirely, and as such he always looks for Caiphon's star in the heavens. Hes usually the only one that can find it, owing to his prior contact. But even without Caiphon, he just generally enjoys the night sky. Hes developed quite an appreciation for the celestial heavens ever since he traded his eye to an eldritch god beyond the constraints of reality.

Dirge wouldn't mind star gazing with anyone, but he does want to compare constellations with Lae'zel, and show Minthara the night sky. Its easier on his eyes than the daytime, and he can identify quite a few celestial bodies. A life in the Underdark has its own vistas and natural treasures, but the night sky in all its splendor is something only the surface can offer, and even if Minthara doesn't wish to know his patron, Dirge can at least offer her a view that can't be beat. Somethin to make her choice to stay on the surface worth it

[yuseirra]

The Myth of Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko / Common Themes in Adaptations (Personally Found This Interesting)

Before we begin:

I worked hard on this post last time, since it's relevant, I’m bringing it back again! Reading it is not necessary but it will certainly help you understand this post more!

I really enjoy reading folklores and myths so I'd been diving into those a lot, I hope this makes an enjoyable read for you all too :)

Since I was reminded of it once more, I reread Phoenix: Dawn and came to the realization that characters inspired by Ame-no-Uzume and Sarutahiko could never have a bad relationship!

It’s fascinating to see how the same mythological source material can be arranged so differently, and I think it really reflects the distinct styles and personalities of the creators.

It's clear that both Oshi no Ko and Phoenix: Dawn drew from the same myth. In particular, the way Kamiki and Ai met and started dating is undoubtedly lifted from the scene in the Tenson Kōrin myth where Ame-no-Uzume approaches her husband. It’s so evident—there’s no way this isn’t intentional when you consider all the other foreshadowing in the story. The two of them are clearly the counterparts of those deities.

Think about when Kamiki was first put in charge of guiding Ai. He was hesitant, asking, “Is it really okay for someone like me to?” But then Ai pinched his cheek, greeted him casually, invited him to her home, and even treated him to a meal. They grew close in no time.

Now, compare that to how Uzume and Sarutahiko are portrayed in Phoenix and how they were originally described in the myth—it’s really interesting.

In Phoenix, Uzume is the one who chooses her husband (this character is incredibly strong-willed—out of all the characters in that arc, I think she had the greatest mental fortitude). She confesses that she likes Sarutahiko, and he reacts with disbelief, saying, “Someone like you actually likes a lowly guy like me? You have a weird taste.” But then he ends up falling for her so hard he practically melts.

Because of war, their time together is brief, but from what I know of Tezuka’s works, the depiction of their bond in Phoenix suggests they had an exceptionally strong relationship. It was really cute.

In the original myth, Ame-no-Uzume is the only one who dares to approach Sarutahiko when all the other gods fear him. She even boldly removes her upper garment, catching him off guard and prompting him to ask, “What are you doing?” After exchanging a few words, Sarutahiko is convinced by Uzume’s reasoning. Then she asks him, “Will you lead the way, or should I go first?” and Sarutahiko replies, “I’ll guide the way. I’d like you to come with me.”

In the end, Amaterasu’s grandson acts as a matchmaker, Uzume takes Sarutahiko’s surname, and their lineage continues—implying that they had children. So, you could say Uzume was the one who took the initiative.

This is likely why adaptations that take inspiration from this myth tend to follow a similar relationship dynamic—Ame-no-Uzume is the one who leads.

The Common Thread in Oshi no Ko, Phoenix, and the Original Myth

Another key theme across all three versions (Oshi no Ko, Phoenix, and the original myth) is that Ame-no-Uzume, or her equivalent character, plays a role in helping Sarutahiko (or his counterpart).

In the original myth, she is the only deity who doesn’t see Sarutahiko as a threat, facilitating his communication with the other gods and ultimately choosing to accompany him on his journey.

In Phoenix, Uzume saves Sarutahiko’s life multiple times.

In Oshi no Ko, Ai wanted to help Kamiki escape his abuser. She actively stepped in to advocate for him and, wished to continue to support him with their children.

Given this, it’s no surprise that Sarutahiko (or his equivalent in these stories) treasures his wife immensely. In all these tales, Ame-no-Uzume is both a savior and a femme fatale who completely captivates him.

Reminds you of the lyrics of IDOL-"you're my savior, you're my saving grace"- and Fatal-"my beloved fatale"-, doesn't it?

You could even argue that in the original myth, Sarutahiko was ultimately persuaded by Uzume’s words to relinquish his authority and influence to Amaterasu’s faction. There’s a theory that Sarutahiko was originally a local sun deity worshiped before Amaterasu's rise. In Phoenix, there’s a trivia note suggesting that Sarutahiko may symbolize a chieftain of an indigenous tribe who was conquered by Amaterasu’s followers.

+ Wait...I've already made a few analyses about this, but doesn't that really align with Aqua's desire to take Hikaru down for Ruby's future?

Additionally, Sarutahiko is deeply linked to tengu mythology—he is even considered an ancestor of tengu.

In Phoenix, this is reflected in his grotesque transformation.

In Oshi no Ko, it manifests in how Kamiki is labeled a "monster."

This parallel makes the mythological inspiration even clearer.

A Relationship Rooted in Deep Affection

I keep coming back to this, but they really do seem like a harmonious pair of gods.

In the original myth, I’ve read multiple accounts stating that they fell for each other at first sight.

Sarutahiko also seems particularly weak against his wife—because he was persuaded by her. He seems like the type of god who wouldn't be able to refuse her words.

If we look at how things unfold, Sarutahiko tends to follow Uzume’s lead in Pheonix-

-Just as Kamiki listens to Ai. Kamiki listens too well, in fact. Whenever Ai says something, he just accepts it without doubt or argument. That’s actually the problem. Even in chapter 155… after hearing the truth for the first time in 15 years, his reaction was—out of all the possible reactions—one of the gentlest, which honestly surprised me.

My impression is that Ame-no-Uzume simply chose Sarutahiko. She liked him, and so she acted accordingly. They exchanged just a few words, and then, “Shall we go together?” “Okay.”—and that was it.

That’s probably why, in any creative work inspired by this myth, the character representing Ame-no-Uzume tends to genuinely like her husband/partner.

And indeed, both Phoenix and Oshi no Ko follow this pattern.

Uzume in Phoenix clearly adores her husband, to the point of having hearts practically floating around her when she sees him.

Ai also really, really liked Kamiki. From what we see, he really was the one person she wanted to love out of anyone she's met- and why is that, you may ask? That's because they really ARE the fated godly pair from the myths!! Kamiki was right!! They really were the ones for each other and they could have supported each other and lived on!!

And the character corresponding to Sarutahiko?

He is always someone willing to sacrifice everything—even his own life—for his wife.

If we look at Kojiki, Sarutahiko dies not long after meeting his wife and taking on the role of guiding Amaterasu’s grandson. (He drowns.) There’s a lot to analyze there, and I did so quite frequently already so I'll set that aside for now.

In Phoenix, he stood against Ninigi to find his wife and was ultimately killed by a volley of arrows.

Kamiki… If you listen to the song or read the manga, you know, right? I just hope there isn’t anyone left who still doesn’t think Mephisto or FATAL is that character’s theme, though I’m sure plenty still do! Probably most people, even! This manga just doesn’t spell things out like that. It's so annoying!

At this point in the story, his entire existence boils down to I want to see Ai again.

Still, Oshi no Ko does a remarkably good job following the original myth. That’s why looking into the related mythology makes things even more interesting—there are always new connections to uncover. It might be fun to read it alongside Phoenix: Dawn.

What I really appreciate about Tezuka’s perspective is that he takes a different approach and perspective compared to the norm, even challenging them when looking at traditionally revered figures like Amaterasu or Ninigi. He doesn't glorify them unquestioningly, but tries to bring a new way of seeing things. And when he portrays war or violence, he does it in a way that makes them feel truly horrifying. (Though his art style softens the brutality somewhat, making it more digestible.) That clarity in messaging—it’s something I personally find really powerful. I really love and appreciate how he advocates peace and humanity in his works.

Reading it again, I kept thinking, Ame no Uzume truly loved her husband. Ai, Uzume, and even the original goddess… they all genuinely adored their partners. Their relationships just feel deeply affectionate, and I was glad to see that. I think I was right about my interpretation in terms of how I view Hikaru and Ai as well.

If those gods are the basis, then there’s no way they could have harmed each other.

And that goddess… she really was something. Absolutely fearless and bold. No wonder every character inspired by Ame no Uzume ends up being extraordinary.

I love Tezuka’s signature type of soft yet strong-willed female characters. The way Uzume stands tall and unshaken, even when Ninigi threatens her with a sword—only to smile and walk away with dignity in the end—it left such an impression on me.

Apparently, the shrine dedicated to the Sarutahiko-Ame no Uzume couple even sells merchandise featuring their counterparts from Phoenix. That’s fitting.

Out of all couples, those two truly deserve it. Whether in the original myth, Phoenix, or Oshi no Ko, I’d say they really are soulmates.

[alitgblog]

i forgot what volume we're on but THOUGHTS

first off what do you meeeaan we're getting the finale next week 😭

heart rate challenge is fun because of the costumes and dances and flirting in front of someone's partner you get to do, but god the results sucked. I don't care for the drama of Jin having the highest heart rate with Sienna and I don't care about Sienna rubbing it in MC's face. Can we move on???

Especially because literally on the other side of it, I just picked that MC would have her heart rate raised the most by Logan for fun, and that resulted in NOTHING. Maybe like one comment that flew under the radar during Logan's date, but nothing fun. I just had to hear about Sienna sticking her tongue in Jin's ear or whatever.

Speaking of Logan, he's just another victim of not enough screen time. Like Tyler, Hari, and Logan all seem great but you barely get any chance to talk to them outside of their intro episodes and then by then you're expected to have already made a decision on who to pick. At least Hari is around for a while, but I simply have not really talked to him since Casa aside from hearing how he's fumbling Hazel. And between Tyler and Logan, who in my mind are basically the same personality going only for MC, I kind of prefer Tyler because at this stage in the game, Logan needed to have put more pressure. Or have been an angel sent like Oliver idk he has some substance. Once again, just a waste of a good looking sprite.

I also miss LIs that had their own personalities. Like I think that's why the OG boys are fun at first: each of them being distinct enough but all having reasons to go for MC. But the bombshells this season all seem to kind of just be "yeah I like MC because she's confident and knows what she wants" and that's it. It feels gameplayer-y which is maybe why I'm less intrigued for their routes. Even small things like Lucas liking a girl that puts in effort vs Henrik liking a girl that tells it like it is, so then you kind of have to "compete" with the other characters even though it doesn't make a difference later on with who you pick feels like it gives the characters more dimension.

I also think this is why Bea and Claudia have such compelling routes this season compared to the male bombshells (and vs. some of the other wlw routes in other seasons). They have potential partners that could give them what they want, although we know ultimately probably not. Also why I think if Hari's storyline was more fleshed out and you got time with him, that when he comes back with Hazel, his story could be more interesting.

Also I liked Logan better with the hat on, he needed a different haircut lol.

Stop it please with the texts interrupting conversations there has GOT to be a better way

also fusebox trying to squeeze out as many gems as they can out of us with more of those "i heard gossip do you want to know?" choices 🙄

the pancake challenge is lame. it just made me miss s2 cake decorating challenge 😭

also at this stage in the game, i feel like we should've gotten Mr. and Mrs. (I can't remember if we already did that). But a fun food challenge is fine too, it's just that this one wasn't fun. Also the options all being either "do it correctly" or "fail on purpose?" was very lame and probably contributed to it being boring. Once again, make it more like the s2 cake decorating challenge or paint challenge in difficulty if you're gonna do this.

Also no one else flirting with MC at this point? the other LI's don't have a CHANCE. That's why it's called tempting fate, because it's all temptation and yet while they all claim to want MC, no one is really talking to her what a shame

How does Sienna have the energy to be this much of a hater?? I kinda wanted her to have a small redemption at the end of her time but we never got it. And plus with her being so mean, it's so hard to imagine that at one point she charmed Jin into even considering her, so I feel like for logic's sake, we should've seen some of what Jin saw in her.

And once again we fall into the same problem this season has had which is way too many things at once because what do you mean they had three SEPARATE firepit meetings to dump islanders?? Give them some room to breathe!!

But yeah for some reason a couple is getting dumped right before the recoupling. We say goodbye to my frenemy couple Emel and Oakley. I hated them at times, but I miss them so dearly. They do not deserve to leave. I think that should've gone to Sienna/Max or Liam/Bea. If anything, since it's a public vote they should've had those three couples be at the bottom and then everyone else vote on who they'd like to dump and then however the math works out it ends up being Emel/Oakley, just for realism if the game really wanted to dump them. I understand that it had to be them because there are LI's in every other couple, but that's why I think they shouldn't have this dumping here in the first place.

Then the final recoupling. I touched on this briefly already, but oh my god no one got a chance. This may be the first time since season 2 that I'm sticking with the original person I chose to couple up with the first time I played through (ok technically S5 I did end the game with Suresh but that season is special and in a bad way). And maybe it's just the way I've been playing, but it does seem like in the last few volumes, you really only get to talk to the OG boy you chose or the Casa boy you chose. But I haven't really talked to Claudia since Casa and I'm so sad about that. Haven't talked Max much either, so I thought maybe he was sticking with Sienna? Haven't talked to Hari. Haven't talked to Bea. For some reason before the final recoupling, MC had a chance to talk to THEO? I was under the impression that if you're on a Claudia route then you're not on a Theo route but I guess he was an option the whole time, which was becoming clear in the last few volumes, but I'm still in awe every time he shows up trying to talk to MC. (Side note: a well written Theo friends to lovers route is brewing in my head and I think it would've rivaled a Jake S1 route so that's a shame it doesn't play out that way). Logan also had that chance, but both of those were gem choices, so they don't count in my head.

So no Claudia and Bea? I literally wanted to scream when Claudia said she was choosing a boy 😭😭

Logan is with Bea just because she needs to escape Liam, so I understand why, but they just seem so odd to me. Especially when Oakley and Emel were right there! Should've let them stay, at least they pretend to like to each other!!

Oh but I will miss Liam actually. Unfortunately he has much more personality than Logan so that's a shame but unsurprising that the more boring person stays the longest in love island lol.

Shouldn't have to pay gems to get people to not watch Jin's girlfriend announcement

also fusebox you already got your dig at us for thinking it was gonna be a zodiac themed season, are you really doing this again?? 🤣🤣

And then Max and Sienna go home in ANOTHER dumping. I'm exhausted. They couldn't have written one more volume to spread these out?

yeah yeah and hideaway again

anyway to prevent this post from being too too long I'm going to make a second post (yet again) with my ideas for how to fix these episodes because I've been okay with most of the recent volumes but idk this one in particular, although having the same problems as before, annoyed more than the others lol

still one of the top seasons of the game imo and definitely an improvement from s7 which I still haven't finished

[sailtomarina]

Hate you

“That is not what Professor Vector meant, and you know it!” Hermione snarled, slamming her hands down on top of the desk so hard their ink bottles threatened to fall off.

It was with quick reflexes that Malfoy snatched them away from the edge and slid them back to safety. For what had to be the millionth time that term, Hermione hated herself for appreciating anything about the blonde git.

Why, oh, why, did he have to be her partner in Advanced Arithmancy?

She cursed her duties as Head Girl and the rest of their classmates for leaving the seat next to Malfoy open when she came waltzing into the room late. She had no choice but to sit next to him on that first day.

She couldn’t just say no when Professor Vector announced their seat mates would be their partners for the rest of the school term. Hermione had an example to set. She not only had to put forward the first foot towards inter-house unity, she also knew how important it was to show others that forgiveness was a living, breathing thing. 

She couldn’t just preach the gospel of healing post-war; she had to live it.

So, she accepted the assignment without complaint.

She’d nodded at the announcement as if it was only natural that she partner with the boy who’d bullied her since childhood, who’d taught her all about blood purity, who’d let murderers into their school, who’d seen her scream and bleed, and who had now returned along with scant few others to re-do their final year.

She hated him. She also pitied him. More importantly, she hated him.

Today, he’d had the nerve to try and correct her part of their current project.

He took a deep breath before replying. “You can’t just assume that Scranton’s Formula applies in this instance. There are additional variable to consider—”

“I am not assuming!” she protested. “Scranton fits too perfectly to not be correct and whatever ‘other variables’ might exist don’t matter when the answer is obvious.”

She knew she was right. She couldn’t not be right, particularly with Malfoy thinking otherwise.

“Does that mean you’re already aware of Livingston’s Theorem?”

Hermione sputtered at the term, “Of course I’m aware of it! Livingston is not applicable here, or anywhere, really—”

“Why not?” Malfoy sat down and she absolutely hated that he did. It was like he expected their argument to take a long time.

“Livingston was a quack! Anyone who takes Divination into account like he does obviously knows nothing worth my time.” She refused to sit. She was right and there was nothing else to discuss.

“You are aware Arithmancy and Divination are related fields, right?” he pressed.

“They were such that Arithmancy evolved to include actual facts and data, rendering Divination completely useless.” She’d concede at least that much.

The few students still remaining behind in the classroom looked warily over at them almost like they were worried the two would break into a fight. Hermione wanted to roll her eyes at their unnecessary concern. 

“Why don’t we both submit our findings and we’ll allow Vector to decide who’s correct?” Malfoy suggested.

“Professor Vector.”

He looked amused at her correction, and it was that smug twitch of his lips that sent Hermione over the edge.

“God, I hate you,” she muttered.

All traces of a smile faded from his face, replaced with a grimace that vanished nearly as quickly as it had appeared. Hermione had the distinct feeling she was looking at a mask that only pretended to be Draco Malfoy.

“You’re welcome to write whatever you want, Granger. I’ll still include my own research and we can make it clear that our opinions and findings differ. Professor Vector should appreciate the additional viewpoints even if I’m wrong,” he said stiffly.

Before Hermione could respond, he gathered his belongings and walked away.

Hermione didn’t think she owed him an apology for snapping at him as she had, but she did feel a little hollow at the way he’d just taken it. Their arguments always seemed to end that way—she’d inevitably get so wound up that she’d say something cutting, something true, and he’d just…accept.

She wanted to feel satisfaction at turning the tables on the git, but instead all she felt was a lingering sense of incompleteness. Did she want to keep punishing him? Did she resent his presence at Hogwarts? Did she regret testifying for him?

No. Her answer to all three was ‘no’.

So then why did she keep acting the way she did towards him?

“I hate him,” she repeated quietly.

As she walked towards the doorway, she paused by the bookshelf lining the wall. In a moss green cover, title glinting silver, was Walter Livingston’s Reinterpretations on Arithmancy. She stared at it, chewing her lip, mind rapidly rehashing the details of her research.

She sighed and slid the book into her bag.

WC 821

Twitter prompt from DramionePrompts

Cross posted on Tumblr and AO3

I've missed writing Dramione shorts! I've been so wrapped up in larger projects with the fests I've signed up on, that I've neglected keeping up with the snippets I like. This one doesn't have much romance, but there is a hint of something...more...if you squint hard enough :P maybe acceptance? maybe someday friendship?

[pyro-madder]

So for the ask game, what about Gehrman and Laurence? :D

*already frothing at the mouth* sure thing ! :) gonna try to group them both at once

favorite thing about them :

- G : probably his fight. It looks like a movie ! The beautiful scenery, the mentor and student clashing their weapons in the same fighting style, and of course the MUSIC ! (if i lack sleep and focus too much on the way the voices go down on "misereTE" i WILL cry)

- L : also his fight ! Despite the difficulty it's one of my favorites. Beautiful music as well. I also adore the calm of his english dub, it's one of the few I really prefer over the french one !

least favorite thing about them :

- G : how little we get to actually speak to him. I understand it's on purpose (we're just another hunter, why would he try to bond with us if it's gonna end the same as with the dozens that came before us ?) but it still frustrates me ! X)

- L : hard to say. sometimes i fear i don't see him as terrible as he may have been, but "may" is the key word here - he's nuanced, how much good and bad there was is up to each's interpretation and I consider this question to be canon-only

favorite line :

- G : "The night, and the dream, were long..."

- L : "EEEAAAAAARRRRRRGGHHH !!!" (+ "Fear the Old Blood" because his voice combined with Willem's sounds beautiful + "Indeed, Gehrman - it won't be long" because ouch.)

brOTP : I accidentally created a Gehrman/Damian friendship by upgrading the latter as school staff rather than senior student. Think about it : Byrgenwerth's groundskeeper and archivist, each finding themselves babysitting looking after their half of the squad (Laurence + Maria // Micolash + Rom, with Caryll somewhere in the middle), and then meeting again in the Dream ! (dissolving emoji) Gehrman parrying Damian's questions about the Doll ! (emoji dissolves harder) and now they're both sad old men who forgot each other yippie

There's also Oto whom Gehrman knew prior to the Workshop's creation and offered a position in ! And then Izzy :) your friendly neighbourhood craftsmen. And Ludwig probably !

For Laurence, it's Micolash. Two sides of a coin through and through ! Whether they're working together, making out or strangling each other, there's no filter between them, from their meeting to their separation. World's worst dormmates ! <3

OTP : eachother + Maria for Gehrman and Ludwig for Laurence.

gehrence + ludrence* are a hard tie, following a similar dynamic due to the common denominator, but with their distinct flavor since they happen at two distinct points of the timeline. gehrmaria's a bit behind for now but as I've said earlier I'm hoping to bring it to the same level 😁 They're all so beautifully tragic, with a lot of tenderness but also a streak of unhealthy dependance, doomed through and through. basically i wasn't kidding when calling them the World's Worst Polycule(tm)

*i know the fandom has other shipnames but i don't want to use them for several petty reasons, sorry if anyone out there needs to add my names to their blacklist.

nOTP : for both, none that I know of.

random headcanon : let's talk families ! Wolves have been hunted to extinction in Yharnam's region by the time the story begins in Byrgenwerth, and the person who shot the last one is a relative of Gehrman (his dad probably). On Laurence's side, only his mother is "known" (air quotes because he's extremely discreet about her, like everything in his past). Even in their homeland, she stood out, nicknamed La zorra/The vixen, and that reputation extended to Laurence who looks a lot like her. Her death (unsure circumstances yet) was the final thing that drove him to leave his homeland after getting his licence.

unpopular opinion : for Gehrman it's obvious, for Laurence i have no idea. X) i'm a hermit so if discourse doesn't appear directly on my dash i'll have no clue about how is it over there...

song i associate with them :

Gehrman : Old and Wise by Alan Parsons' Project

Laurence : Found God in a Tomato by Psychedelic Prn Crumpets

favorite picture of them : too much choice ! their boss cutscene, lots of beautiful fanart (@/redzombie's portrait of laurence, @/pupspuppet's gehrmans, @/subzeroparade's gehrences, Raquel Cornejo's illustrated lore...) i'm also fond of the pattern in my own art where laurence does his thing and gehrman looks either confused or tired sdfghjklm

[nowoyas]

Koi no Yokan 22: come together (nishinoya yuu/reader)

First - Prev - Next - M.list - Ao3

A/N: take two on the right blog this time lmao. next update may be delayed, but I'll keep y'all updated. between new health issues and world events writing is really difficult for me right now. thanks for understanding <3

Summary: As the training camp nears its end, your boys continue to work hard and pull it all together.

Warnings and Tags: blanket series warnings

Words: ~3200

The next day is the first that you manage to make it to lunch without cringing, and the first where you get to be in the gym all day. You push your luck as you always do, spend the night up until dinner helping Noya with his jump set—still not quite there yet—and, after dinner, shoot a text to Noya asking if he'd like to walk around the school with you, since you're supposed to be going on walks and stuff and don't feel like going it alone. Naturally, he'd been so down for it that you'd been able to watch him basically leap out of his chair from across the cafeteria once he read the text.

You kinda missed having time alone with him. You haven't really had much of any since the training camp started, and you realize with a pang that the reduced frequency is an indicator that things are back to normal—no more sleeping in his arms, no more everyone in the house you're in home before dark, no more I'm home! and casual welcome back. No I'm heading out, no see you later. No one to eat dinner with.

A finger pokes your cheek. "You're getting stuck in your head. What's up?"

Right. This is stupid. You're being stupid. "It's nothing."

An unimpressed look. "Sure it is."

You sigh. "Just thinking about what I'm gonna have to put up with when we get back."

"Your dad?"

A nod.

"That's a problem for future [name]-san, isn't it?" He tilts his head. "You're not there and it's not your problem."

"But…"

"But I know that girl. She hates it when you take work from her. If she knew you were trying to take the worry about this from her, she'd be pissed."

You pause. Laugh. "Right. You're right."

You walk a little longer with him. It's nighttime, but it's still hot. The darkness isn't doing anything to cool anything off, but you happen to like it. It feels nice. Comfortable, even though you're stuck to long pants while doing manager stuff. Maybe a bit sticky, but it's not like you're doing any running. (Maybe it feels better because you know you aren't the one stuck exercising in this heat.)

"Thanks for walking with me. I know you've probably had enough exercise this week to last you the year."

"Are you kidding? I can keep going."

You roll your eyes. "Probably shouldn't, though. Something something, rest and recovery, something, take care of your body. I think I've basically gotten my fill, anyway, so we can head back."

"I mean," he hums, "if you took better care of yourself, I might consider taking better care of myself…"

You roll your eyes. "Like you'd do anything to hurt your performance at volleyball. You'll take care of yourself."

The pair of you wander past one of the gyms, and you pause at the distinct sound of volleyball taking place. Check the time on your phone. Noya isn't far behind you when you poke your head in to look—Hinata and Tsukishima, of all people, are mid three-on-three with some guys from other schools. They're locked in, which is sort of cool to watch, but…

You wait for the ball to fall, and then you cross your arms. "Hey, you guys ate, right?"

They freeze, turn to you in comical sync.

Oh god. They haven't eaten. "The cafeteria is getting locked in three minutes. Tell me you guys ate."

Hinata shakes his head gravely. You sigh. If you remember correctly… "Alright. Hold on. You guys clean up."

You've been excluded from the rotation on account of the concussion, but the other managers have a rotating schedule on which two girls clean and lock up the cafeteria at night. Tonight's Shirofuku and Suzumeda, if you recall, the latter of which does not pick up the phone. You get Shirofuku when you try her, though.

"What's up?" she answers.

"Shirofuku-san, hi! How much do you love me?"

There's a pause before she responds. "…why?"

You take on your sweetest affect, smiling even though she can't see you. "Could you maybe hold on locking up the cafeteria for me?"

She sighs. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! But we've got a couple stragglers who got too focused on individual practice and haven't eaten yet. You wouldn't want anyone to fall out tomorrow because they didn't eat properly, would you? Not you, Shirofuku-san. You'd never."

There's a hesitation. You hear her cover the speaker, probably to talk to Suzumeda. You pounce.

"I'll handle locking up afterwards and cleaning properly, so you guys can go ahead to bed and not miss anything."

"How about you make them handle it, Little Miss Concussion?"

You pout. "It won't be that much. You guys were basically already done, right? And it's not like it's a problem if I miss any sleep, I mean, I've got doctor's orders to take naps as needed, anyway, so if I miss out on sleep—"

"Don't you dare—" Noya interrupts beside you. You lean over, slap a hand over his mouth, and keep talking.

"I've got this. Come on, please?"

"Fine. We'll wait. But you are going to take it easy, you hear? if you don't come upstairs in time we're physically carrying you up the stairs and forcing you to sleep."

"Great!" you chirp. "Thanks so much! I've got them cleaning up, so I'll meet you and get everything ready. You're the best!"

Just as you hang up, something warm and wet lathes over your palm. You squeal, jerking away from Noya. "Did you just lick me!?"

"Sorry," Noya says with a shit-eating grin. "There was this hand over my mouth, see—"

"I'm going to have Nee-san dye that little bleached strip pink next time you bother her for a refresh," you threaten.

He laughs. "I think I could rock it."

...infuriatingly, he totally could. You turn to the six stragglers, face flaming with embarrassment. "Anyway! I got clearance to keep the cafeteria open a little longer for you guys, but obviously it'll create problems if you stay too late and we make it to curfew without being done, so I gotta ask that you guys clean up and eat quick so I can clean up in time, okay?"

You receive six synchronous bows, six shouted thanks. Pride surges in you when the volume doesn't bring about any twinges of pain.

"You're so kind to us!" a voice booms.

Your gravity lurches out of wack—at first, you think that'd be because of Fukurodani's ace (Bokuto, maybe?) rushing towards you, but then a familiar arm settles over you and you realize that Noya has pulled you squarely out of his reach. He steadies you, chin resting on your shoulder to glare at him.

Bokuto stops and pouts, arms crossed. "I just wanted to thank her for making sure we can eat tonight. Is that not okay?"

"Bokuto-san, maybe don't randomly hug someone else's girlfriend," Fukurodani's setter says.

You freeze. "Hold up. Girlfriend?"

"Are you two not dating?" Nekoma's captain asks.

Noya's arm over your shoulder tightens protectively. "Not yet, but she's still off-limits."

"Excuse me, yet?" You turn to glare at him. He raises an eyebrow back.

"Yet."

You snort, roll your eyes. "Right. Okay. Anyways, we all need to hurry, so..." You wriggle out of his hold.

He's so convinced you'll fall in love with him. Like it's that easy. Stupid.

So you meet up with Shirofuku and Suzumeda. The guys trail not far behind—they get leftovers, and they're cold, but it's dinner and they're grateful to you. They go out of their way to avoid making a mess, and Noya lingers by to help you finish cleaning and lock up even though you repeatedly tell him he doesn't have to. He's so pushy. What pisses you off the most is the fact that you can't even be honestly annoyed with it. You lock up, you get to sleep on time, all six of the Stragglers Squad thanks you with their lives, and the next morning—last day of the camp—you settle in for morning practice like always.

When Hinata pulls off some new move—a wipe, Shimizu calls it—Yachi smiles at you and says, "I hope that new quick comes together soon, too."

"Same," you reply back.

~

Her wishes do not go unanswered. The final set of the training camp—imbued with energy from the promise of impending grilled meat and emboldened by Yachi's gentle mention to Hinata that she'd like to see that new quick they're working on—sees the first truly satisfying spike you've seen from Hinata in a while, your head notwithstanding. It takes you too long to recognize that they'd done it, that that was the new quick. It doesn't look much different to you, or to Takeda, apparently, but it's all about options, apparently, and now Hinata has those.

As Yachi cheers beside you, and the guys yell, you can't help but feel a little proud that they managed to make it work. You kinda wanna tell Kageyama I told you so, but you'll let them have this. The set moves on—a successful synchronized attack, a time out, water bottles and towels and excitement and Noya taking a moment to flash that wide grin at you.

"Wait, [name]-san," he says before you can walk away to set down the water bottle caddy, "for good luck—marry me?"

You roll your eyes, turn to pat his shoulder. "I don't think you really need the luck, but why don't you get that set to come together and ask another eight hundred and eighty-six times or so and I'll think about it in the meantime?"

His face lights up as always, and you watch him practically bounce back into position on the court.

It takes two points for the opportunity to come—a receive by Kageyama, and then Noya flowing easily into the set, which Azumane spikes and just barely manages to get in. But he gets it in.

It comes together.

Holy shit, it came together.

You grab at Yachi's arm in your excitement as she cheers—nice kill!—and try to contain yourself. Your first thought had been to cheer with her, but the second thought was swift and much louder—he'll never let you live it down if you do.

He catches your eye as you try to tamp down the smile. Gestures wildly. You roll your eyes in reply. You're sure later you'll receive a tackle for it, but you can try to avoid it, at least.

~

Fukurodani takes the last set with a truly impressive spike from Bokuto. You can't even really be mad that the gambit to crush him didn't really pull through, least of all when Noya sweeps you off your feet in celebration of his first successful in-game jump set.

"So, since I got it to come together—"

"Eight hundred and eighty-five or no deal," you interrupt, voice a little strained from the ongoing bear hug.

That earned you another nine proposals, rapid-fire, like you weren't in the middle of the gym and wriggling to get free, but it's fine, you guess. More important than proposals 106 through 115 is the barbecue, which you manage to escape for in hopes of helping out with.

And everyone is happy with the barbecue. When it kicks off, you find a corner to linger in with Tsukishima. The amount of people is just a bit... overwhelming, that's all. Tsukishima's corner is quiet. It's a good pick.

You can't help but needle him, though. You can only take so much quiet, only so much room to think. "I think that those moments today where things started working are why everyone else works so hard. That's where their passion is coming from."

He sighs. "I gathered. I don't get it, but I think I at least see it. It still feels stupid to just chase a high like that, but..."

You shrug. "Better than walking aimlessly, I guess."

He nods. "Right."

You sigh. The smell of meat is getting to you. "I'll leave you to your skulking," you say. "I'm gonna see if these guys will let me get close to any of the grills."

He nods you away, and you make it all of four steps before you spot a disaster-in-progress in the form of a trembling Yachi, surrounded by basically the four beefiest dudes at the entire camp, including Azumane.

You swoop in quick, gesture to them to step back. "Woah, hey. You're looking a little overwhelmed, Yachi-san. Do you wanna go sit?"

She nods weakly, face deathly pale. You shoot an apologetic look to the guys. "Sorry. I think the crowd's overwhelming her. C'mon, let's go sit with the girls and I'll get your food for you. How's that sound?"

"O-okay..."

"Can I touch you?"

Another weak nod. You place a hand on her shoulder, steer her over towards the other managers at a careful pace. Your firm "excuse me!"s cut through the guys well enough. You suppose there's an advantage to basically everyone knowing you have a concussion. When she's sat down, you kneel in front of her with a look of concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She nods. "Y-yeah. Sorry, I just... they're all so big and scary and... I-I know we've been around them all week, and even Azumane-san was there, b-but..."

"It's okay. Seriously. You're allowed to have anxiety, no matter what anyone says. Do you still want to eat?"

"Y-yeah. Maybe. I don't know."

"I'll get a plate with enough for both of us, then, and bring it back."

"Y-you don't have to—" she starts to protest, but you raise a hand to silence her.

"I'm choosing to. You're not making me do anything. It takes no extra effort to just take a little bit extra of what I get while I'm already getting it."

"B-but your head..."

"Will be fine. I'm supposed to be gently pushing myself, right? This is a good gentle push. If it gets too hard, we can send someone else. Alright?"

"Okay..."

You nod to Suzumeda and Shirofuku. "Can you two keep an eye on her and talk to her? Just a distraction to help her calm down. When I'm back, I can walk her through calming down the rest of the way if she needs it."

They nod, and you disappear into the crowd—get a small pile of meat for you and one for Yachi, pile up some vegetables on top to balance it. You're not all that hungry, but you suppose after nearly passing out like that, she probably isn't, either.

For good measure, one rice ball for each of you makes its way onto the pile as you wind your way back, and then you slump into the chair beside her and offer her food. You pick at your own, focus more on letting her get her fill than eating, yourself. The meat smells delicious, but...

You can't shake it. Can't shake the loom and gloom, the knowledge that, after this, you're going home. To your house. To your house.

Your eyes drift to watching everyone mingle as Yachi goes from shaking to calm, from having to be fed to being able to eat on her own.

You promised your dad you'd come home and talk then. You don't know what he could possibly say to you, if anything could make his absence better. You probably deserved it, anyway. You should be the one apologizing. It's not like he killed your mom. His wife. The woman he loved more than anything.

Your eyes trace Shimizu, sauntering obliviously through the crowd of guys to get her food. Maybe you should just find Noya and hang out with him. He's good at distracting you. You're sure he'd be thrilled to be hanging out with a girl at one of these, anyhow. He's just so easy to be around.

But right now, he's not far behind Shimizu, flanked by Tanaka and Mohawk guy. Glaring, probably audibly growling. Letting some guys from Fukurodani know, in no uncertain terms, to lay off.

A hand tugs you out of your thoughts, forces you to turn to the other girls.

Suzumeda leans in, devilish grin on her lips. At some point, Miyanoshita and Otaki also joined you, so, save for Shimizu, all the managers are present. "So, [name]-chan."

"Yeah?"

"We've been good. We've been patient. But you're about to go home—" Gee, thanks for the reminder. "—and we can't let you leave without answers."

Ugh. This is about Noya, isn't it? You suppress the urge to roll your eyes.

"What is the deal with him?" Otaki asks. "I mean, you guys are really obviously super close. Like, really obviously. And you know, we're nosy... why aren't you dating him?"

"Him?" You snort.

"Yeah! He clearly likes you, you like to act tough but I'm pretty sure you like him, I mean... why not?"

You jerk your chin towards where he's patrolling around Shimizu, chewing your lip hard enough to punish. "Does it look like he likes me, or does it look like he likes girls and I just happen to be one who pays attention to him?"

"[name]-chan…"

They have more to say in response, but you refuse to entertain it. Instead, you zone out Shimizu-ways, watch her remain blissfully unapproached as the trio does their sworn duty. Noya does his job well.

"Yachi-san," you interrupt suddenly.

She jolts. "What's up?"

"Can I borrow your bus pillow when we leave today? My head's kinda starting to hurt but I can't sleep on the bus without resting my head on the window. You can probably imagine how much that will not help me at all."

"Oh, uh, sure! I don't mind! Do you want me to go ask Sensei about your painkillers?"

You shake your head. "I should be fine. It's not that bad, I just need to sleep it off."

Doubtful that you actually sleep.

~

On the bus a short hour or so later, clad in your bus hoodie—well-worn, faded, and cozy without making you overheat—you rest your head on the borrowed pillow and try to keep your eyes closed. You don't want to see the look on Noya's face when he realizes you've taken a seat on the side of the bus with single-seat rows.

You hear it, though. Footsteps stuttering to a stop, then Yachi's voice.

"Oh, she said her head was bothering her, so she was just going to nap."

You can actually hear the pout in his voice. "Am I not a good enough pillow…?"

"Oi, Nishinoya. Keep moving," Ennoshita says. "We all have to get on the bus, you know."

"Right. Yeah, sorry. Ryuu! I'm coming to sit with you!"

The footsteps continue. You pull your hood over your head and try to shove down the guilt. When your phone buzzes, you flinch.

Noya to [name] at 14:13

Noya: [image attached. Image description: Soba with her mouth open and both front paws in the air, batting at something out of focus in the foreground.]

Noya: Soba fighting off your headache. get some good rest for me, ok?

Somehow, this doesn't help your guilt. It doesn't help it one bit.

Tags: @deeplightgarden @idonthaveanameideayet @dusstory @kazunish

[lightningfilledsaber]

i have a quastion. what is dungeon meshi like i’ve considered watching the anime since it looks amusing…. i trust you as an authority on this hence why i’m in your asks :3c

Dungeon Meshi is so good!!!

So Ryoko Kui (the author of the manga) is a super super great artist and writer in general, and her knowledge of intimate and expansive worldbuilding, including the cultures of different fantasy races is VERY apparent in dunmesh without being super in your face. It strikes a perfect balance between showing and implying and telling; giving you information when you need it but not holding your hand throughout the process. Ecology and biology of creatures and the places (mostly dungeons but yk) is SUPER important and expanded upon in the story. It scratches my Creature autism SOOO well. And all of the characters are VERY distinct and fun AND THE DESIGNS FUCK SOOO HARD. Dungeon Meshi has become one of my favorite series of all time, because it's so. so fucking profound. There are a LOT of funny moments and gags but there's an equal amount of genuinely serious and emotional moments. The character dynamics. GOD. Cannot recommend it enough.

Also. Dungeon Meshi is super fucking horny. LMAO. Not in a "fanservice-y" way (in fact, there is only ONE character that ever gets upskirt/panty shots and it is Senshi, the bearded dwarf man. He's my fave btw <3). But dunmeshi uses consumption (and to a lesser/technical extent cannibalism as well) as a... metaphor for love and obsession, and frequently eroticizes it. I hesitate to say metaphor because it's honestly VERY obvious lmao. Especially with how genuinely autistic Laios is about monsters and eating them. Then there's also transformation and change that's also VERY eroticized. A lot of the focus of Dungeon Meshi is desire. How people experience it, and just how far people will go for it. Which, again, is super eroticized a LOT. All done in a tasteful(? not sure if this is the right word but yk) way and not in a surface level "LOOK, SEX!!!!!!!!!" way. Not that there's anything inherently WRONG with being horny and not being like profound about it but I'm just trying to make a point lol

Now to specifically talk about the anime since that's what you mentioned wanting to watch (though I REALLY reccommend the manga, it is fucking GORGEOUS and there are so many hilarious panels that haven't been brought over to the anime, despite how well it's been doing with that so far. It just happens with turning a manga into an anime yk?)! It's doing a really good job so far!! The only issues I have are relatively nitpicky (I've gone into detail abt it if you wanna see here) and more of an issue with modern anime overall so! They're doing a really great job of translating over from the page to the screen and the voice acting work (both the original japanese and english dub) is really fucking good. And I don't typically like modern english dubs. The layout of the episodes is really nice so far too, centering around the "dish/es of the day" without feeling too constrictively like your typical "monster of the week" type episodes. It helps that Dungeon Meshi as a media itself strikes a really good balance between that and its storytelling. Though again. Laios is genuinely SO fucking autistic about monsters and eating them lmao and the series focuses on him/his party so! There's so much good in depth discussion about monsters, both their biology (especially in relation to their taste hehe) as well as their natures, and ecology!

I'm also really a fan of netflix releasing the episodes weekly instead of dropping them all at once. It's refreshing coming from netflix specifically considering their... track record.

But anyway yeah! TYSM Marty for coming to me about this and letting me go on an autistic talk about it!! I only apologize for not being more specific, but a lot of my dunmesh posting (reblogs anyway since I'm pretty sure the posts I've MADE about it have been relatively vague??) is already pretty spoilery and I'm a firm believer in a first watch/read being as spoiler free as possible!! It makes subsequent rewatches/rereads all the more fun to me personally <3 Though that's obviously up to you lol

[carewyncromwell]

"I don't know if there's a reason Why some are blessed, some not -- Why the few you seem to favor... They fear them -- flee them -- try not to see them...!"

~"God Help the Outcasts (cover)" by Peter Hollens

x~x~x~x

The British Ministry of Magic was in a lot of flux politically in the 1990's. This was most obvious after the Ministry's elected leadership was overthrown by a Death Eater insurgency in the summer of 1997, but even prior to the Second Wizarding War, the pendulum was definitely in motion. It was a time that magical historians would claim required strong leadership, so as to fight the normalization of certain aspects of the blood supremacist ideology. Sadly, all the British Ministry of Magic had in regard to leadership was Cornelius Fudge. And Cornelius Fudge was far too conservative, people-pleasing, pacifistic, and power-hungry to truly see just how dangerous the people he'd surrounded himself with were -- the most dangerous of which being future Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Head of the Muggle-Born Registration Commission, Dolores Jane Umbridge.

Dolores Umbridge held the role of Senior Undersecretary to the Minister, when Carewyn Cromwell first started working at the Department of Magical Law Enforcement as a lawyer in the summer of 1991. They actually met in Carewyn's first week on the job, when Fudge approached her in the hall on his way back to his office. Carewyn was a bit surprised by how cordial Fudge was to her, but apparently her part in R's defeat and apprehension had left the Minister with a rather favorable opinion of her.

"After all you did for the Aurors, and for Hogwarts itself -- why, it's a pleasure, to have you on-board, Carewyn, my dear," Fudge said warmly. "Should you ever need anything, anything at all, you just let me know. After all -- " he waggled his eyebrows, " -- technically, we...are family by marriage. My niece having married your uncle, you know..."

The thought of Blaise Cromwell made Carewyn just barely fight back a cringe.

"...Really," she said with a pained smile. "I was unaware..."

"Yes," said Fudge with a sigh. "It is sad that you never got to meet her...even her poor son really would've never met her, he was but a babe when she died..."

He smiled a bit more fully. "But no matter! No sense lamenting the past, when the future lies before us!"

"Very true, Minister," said the pink-dressed woman at his side in an oddly girlish, simpering tone of voice. "We must indeed look toward the future. There is much that we must do, to improve our world -- protect past precedent and reinforce those things people seek to revoke...wouldn't you say so, Miss Cromwell?"

She peered at Carewyn through her heavy, pouched eyes, clearly studying her intently. Carewyn got the distinct impression she was looking for a very specific answer, but even just wading through Umbridge's emotions -- sensing her gross condescension and nasty intent -- made the young lawyer feel as dirty and slimy as she was walking barefoot through a swamp.

"Reinforce those things people seek to revoke" -- why was it that Carewyn saw illustrations of werewolves reflected in Umbridge's eyes, as she said this...?

Carewyn pursed her red lips slightly, breaking eye contact with Umbridge as quickly as she could and trying hard not to shudder outwardly.

"...I would say that past precedent must be considered in all legal cases," she said diplomatically, "but the intent of the original author, and the morality and validity of that intent, can be just as important. After all, wizarding society has never been static -- it's a living, growing thing...and when certain laws are no longer applicable or are in otherwise need of revision...sometimes they must be reexamined through a modern lens. Just as new laws also deserve some scrutiny. I'd hazard to say that's the role of the Wizengamot overall."

Umbridge frowned deeply, clearly displeased. Fudge, however, responded quite favorably.

"Well said!" he said with a clap of his hands. "Just what I've always said -- a balance of the old and new, that's always what's best -- "

Umbridge's eyes narrowed ever-so-slightly as she smiled.

"...It seems you have a ready wit, Miss Cromwell. You truly do take after Charles...oh! When it comes to making a legal argument, naturally," she added, with an insincere little laugh.

Fudge, on the other hand, cleared his throat very loudly, looking incredibly uncomfortable. "Yes, yes, of course, you -- you couldn't be further from that -- that criminal, when it comes to your moral convictions, Carewyn, my dear..."

He turned on his heel, still smiling weakly over his shoulder at Carewyn.

"Well, now, we'd really best be off, Dolores. Lovely to see you, Carewyn! Do send a note by my office anytime, should you need anything!"

"Thank you, sir," Carewyn said politely.

She shot a very furtive look toward Umbridge, who forced a rather sickeningly sweet smile.

"Good day, Miss Cromwell," she said in that unpleasantly simpering voice. "The Minister and I look very forward to seeing how your career progresses."

Carewyn doubted Umbridge had ever lied more through her teeth in her life. Quite honestly, though, all Carewyn really cared about was that the older woman was finally out of range of her potentially sensing her emotions.

Emotions -- yeah, right, Carewyn couldn't help but rant internally as she quickly turned and strode off back toward her office. More like her bog of ego, pretension, condescension, and flat-out spite. The way she thought about werewolves, when she mentioned reinforcing old precedent...only someone who wants werewolves subjugated would want them treated as badly as they've always been...and that hatred, in her -- it was like mud, being splashed all over me -- like when Jacob and I had to talk to Lucius Malfoy at that Slug Club party...

Whoever the hell this Dolores Umbridge was, Carewyn quickly decided she wanted nothing to do with her. They had only just met, but Carewyn already knew it, in the pit of her stomach -- she hated that woman.

x~x~x~x

For the next two and a half years, Carewyn successfully kept her distance from the likes of Dolores Jane Umbridge. Then, most unfortunately, in the spring of 1994, Umbridge wrote a draft of a new bill for Fudge, proposing the curtailing of the kinds of employment that known werewolves were allowed to pursue -- preventing them from working in any position that would put them in contact with animals, children, or even other people.

Carewyn was absolutely horrified by the contents of this bill. She was very well aware, through her friendships with Chiara Lobosca and Remus Lupin, how very difficult it was for werewolves to find and keep a job. With this new law in effect, there would be almost no position that either of them could remain in, if they were open with their condition. Chiara had some friends in St. Mungo's who might be able to find a work-around so as to keep her as a resource, but poor Lupin -- who had always struggled to find work in the educational field -- would likely be left out to dry.

Fortunately there were other witches and wizards on the court, such as Amelia Bones, who harbored similar concerns, and soon a motion had been filed to bring the bill before the Wizengamot, to discuss its possible violation of the Wizard's Code of Civil Rights. Carewyn immediately volunteered to serve as prosecutor for the case.

When she arrived in court that day, she was dressed to the nines in mint green and white, her red lips sternly pursed as she laid out her case.

"Members of the Wizengamot -- I know that we all come from a variety of backgrounds. Some of us were raised with magic -- some not. Some of us have struggled to reach our current position -- others have not. Most of us attended Hogwarts school, but some of us received our magical education elsewhere. But one thing I am quite sure all of us were always well-assured of is that we would never have to worry about there being no place for us. That after all of our study, work, and occasionally even sacrifice, our World would turn its back on us, denying us any chance at financial livelihood and building a future for ourselves and our families. "...What would you do, I wonder, if that happened to you? Would you find employment in the Muggle World? With what qualifications? With what degree? I assure you, not even the most basic customer service job in the Muggle World will have any interest in your awards for Potioneering. "The Wizard's Code of Civil Rights makes the assertion that all magic users shall be entitled to the protection of our Ministry of Magic and the safety to pursue a life of our choosing within the magical World that Ministry has sworn to oversee and regulate. In more recent years, we even expanded those protections to partially cover non-magic users with a blood connection to our Wizarding World, such as Squibs and the Muggle spouses of witches and wizards who've given birth to a magical child. We have already decided that those people who belong to our World, whether due to magical talent or familial ties, deserve to be able to make a living in that World. And yet now, this bill seeks to curtail the Civil Rights of some of our own citizens to find stable employment in the field of their choice. "These citizens...suffer from lycanthropy. As all of you should know, this results in them transforming into a werewolf during full moons -- a form that can be controlled, while the person takes the Wolfsbane Potion, as well as safely restrained, if the person can't get access to it. There have been only two known werewolf attacks in the last ten years, even while it's estimated that there are at least 200 werewolves living and working quietly in our society. 200 werewolves who -- over the span of the last 120 months -- have been nothing but productive members of society -- normal human magic users just like you, who deserve no hatred or fear for a condition they didn't choose to have. For that's what they are -- witches and wizards, just like you! Only a tiny, tiny fraction of werewolves today are Muggles -- a mere 1.5%, of all reported cases, due to the well-documented mortality rate among Muggles bitten in werewolf attacks, compared to wizards. Just as I am still a human witch, even when I transform into my Animagus form, so too are these werewolves still people, even while transformed. And in these cases where they're not transformed, and therefore no threat to anyone, there is even less of an argument to be made for why they should be denied of their basic human rights. "Thank you."

Alas, the defense counteracted all of Carewyn's reason and pleas for compassion and decency with one vile, simplistic argument.

"The prosecution innocently accuses this bill of violating the Wizard's Code of Civil Rights, by denying witches and wizards their proper rights, as humans. But, members of the Wizengamot, werewolves are not human. Even when they look human, they're not. If they truly were just 'normal human beings like the rest of us,' then why don't we determine their fate, when they commit wrongs against the Wizarding World? Why don't the Aurors deal with them, rather than the Werewolf Capture Unit? We have better things to do than deal with the likes of Fenrir Greyback -- he belonged at the mercy of the Werewolf Capture Unit, and the Beast division by extension. Because that's what they are -- beasts. They don't need lawyers, or trials, or even legal defense -- they're creatures we have to regulate. Like dragons or winged horses. And if they have the ability to blend in among us as they have, then the very least we can do is ensure the safety of our children."

The defense's counterargument lasted only half the time that Carewyn's original statement had...and it took only half that time for the Wizengamot to ultimately side with the defense case and let the bill drafted by Dolores Umbridge stand. Carewyn was unable to face anyone in the courtroom as she shakily sat back down at the prosecution bench, holding the edge of the railing.

The defense case was flat-out prejudice: blatant, underhanded fearmongering, and little else. Of course werewolves' affairs were dealt with by the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, but that wasn't an argument in favor of their disenfranchisement, it only highlighted all the more how much the Wizarding World already treated them unfairly! It only spotlighted how much the Ministry of Magic already treated werewolves as second-class citizens, and how much better it should be, in how it tries to "protect" its people, werewolves included!

And yet, even with that...the Wizengamot had chosen it. No matter how much Carewyn had urged them to look past the fear tactics and see reason -- to feel some compassion for the werewolves' untenable position...they'd ultimately sided with their own prejudices and fears.

She'd failed.

The faces of Chiara and Lupin ran over Carewyn's mind, and she was forced to close her eyes and bow her head, trying to obscure the pain in her expression.

It's my fault, Lupin -- Chiara, she thought. I wasn't good enough. ...I'm so sorry...

"Good day, Miss Cromwell," said a sickeningly sweet voice.

Carewyn had felt miserable enough as it was -- but looking up and suddenly feeling like she was knee-deep in a bog of pretension and spite did not help matters.

Her blue eyes narrowed coldly. "...Madam Umbridge."

Dolores Umbridge was smiling from ear to ear as she regarded Carewyn. She seemed to take some vindictive glee at the younger woman's unhappiness -- Carewyn could sense a noxious kind of sadistic pleasure pooling off of her.

"There, there," Umbridge said in a very unconvincing voice, as she gave a pretentious little pat to Carewyn's hand, "we can't win 'em all, can we?"

Carewyn whipped her hand right out of Umbridge's reach, her blue eyes boring into her coldly. Umbridge's smile only seemed to grow.

"Forgive me, dear, but you just made a weaker case," she said lightly. "Standing by the weak may seem like a very noble endeavor, at first glance...but you know, sometimes all those weak things do is bring you down, rather than build you up."

Her pouchy, toad-like eyes narrowed that bit more as her smile widened.

"Perhaps next time you'll find a case where you can champion the winning side."

Carewyn was very happy when Umbridge turned and strode off -- just wallowing in her sickening, unpleasant thoughts had made her too nauseous to respond.

x~x~x~x

As fate would have it, after the Second Wizarding War came to a close, Umbridge and Carewyn met in another courtroom overseen by the Wizengamot just after New Years, 1999. This time, however, Umbridge was in the defendant's chair...and Carewyn was Lead Prosecutor.

“And so…esteemed members of the Wizengamot…based on the overwhelming evidence – the factually bankrupt, inflammatory anti-Muggle and Muggle-born leaflets sent out by the defendant’s Commission and promoted by the defendant herself; the transcripts of trials overseen by the defendant that spell out blatant corruption and unsanctioned cross-examination techniques, including having Dementors present during all trials and actively refusing to give any defendant proper legal representation; the testimony of over fifty Ministry employees, speaking to the defendant’s close working relationships with known Death Eaters and to her own willingness to overlook Wizarding Law to advance herself and her Commission’s political aims; the countless memos written in the defendant’s own hand condemning nearly a thousand people, including over a hundred children, to unjust captivity; and the defendant’s well-known reputation among her ex-students, her coworkers, and even her own family for enjoying the suffering of others and persecuting fellow wizards and witches not just for their blood, but also for suffering from medical conditions like lycanthropy and blood maledictions – all of which the defense has offered no suitable defense for, aside from incorrectly asserting that the defendant was ‘simply following orders’ from her superiors…I think there is no question as to her guilt, or to what justice would be appropriate. Although I – as a private citizen of the Wizarding World – agree with Minister Shacklebolt’s measure to remove the Dementors from Azkaban prison…I must acknowledge that if there were ever a case for a criminal from our world deserving the Dementor’s Kiss…it would be Dolores Jane Umbridge. But because we – unlike the defendant – have a code of honor before us that we will not break just to achieve a political objective…I believe it’s our solemn duty to ensure this basilisk in human skin never walks free again.”

As Umbridge was sentenced to life in Azkaban, Carewyn took the opportunity to speak to her as her Auror friend Talbott Winger conjured thick chains around her wrists, feet, and neck. The sadistic witch nicknamed "Dementor Dolores" by the Daily Prophet had no color in her paunchy, toad-like face and looked torn between mad outrage and absolute terror. Those two emotions only flared up all the more when Carewyn approached her.

"You -- you wretched little -- !"

Talbott gave a pointed tug with his wand, sharply tightening the chain around her neck the way someone might yank on their dog's lead to tell them to stop barking -- Umbridge gave a strangled yelp of pain.

"I seem to recall you once suggested I fight for the 'winning side,' Dolores," Carewyn said lowly.

The Ministry's new Chief Prosecutor regarded Umbridge with a look better suited to a cockroach before turning her back on her.

"Unbeknownst to you...I always was."

Umbridge's mouth fell open in a mixture of disbelief, terror, and anger as Talbott handed her off to two other Aurors, who proceeded to drag her from the room.

"You -- you can't do this to me!" Umbridge shrieked. "You can't do this! Unhand me, this instant! Let go of me! Let me GO!"

Talbott came up to stand on Carewyn's other side, watching Umbridge get dragged away, his reddish eyes flaring with contempt.

"Charming woman," he said with biting sarcasm.

"More or less charming than a snake pit?" Carewyn asked dryly.

"I'd kiss that entire pit full of snakes on the mouth before being in the same room as her a second time," said Talbott.

Carewyn bit her lip to hold in a soft giggle. Talbott smirked broadly.

"Still...at least justice can finally now be served," Carewyn said with a soft sigh. "This won't undo all the harm she's caused...but at least she can't hurt anyone else again. And that, in itself, guarantees that she'll be miserable for the rest of her worthless life."

Talbott nodded solemnly. "That has to be a small comfort, to those she's hurt."

He brought a hand down on Carewyn's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Carewyn smiled at her old friend, and the two walked out of the courtroom side by side.

"Are you up for a celebratory drink? I owe you and Ben, for volunteering to serve as security during my trials..."

"Quit saying you owe us for that -- you know we're doing it because we want to. ...Heh...but sure, why not? Reckon we deserve something other than coffee, after all the late nights we've been working..."

[dcwnthercbbithcle]

10 facts about the Mountaineer?

YES YES, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE ASK! I can go off for hours about my gal!

10 Facts About My Characters || ALWAYS ACCEPTING

Fíadh started as merely an Inscryption OC to fill in a niche the gameplay lacked! It's not; she's not a fix-it character, at least not in essence. I adore Leshy's part of Inscryption beyond words, but playing through, the hooved beast cards were always so LACKING.

Not terrible, but primarily chump blockers, nothing to call home about and which stood out in its own right. Likewise, Leshy's section, though excellent with eternal replayability, just didn't want to take advantage of the mountains or highlands that were RIGHT THERE and seemed like the perfect place to hide a monstrous maid and some more powerful hooved creatures and encounters.

Thus, Fíadh was born, to tie these concepts into a package that could be implemented into my own writing and to flesh out the world a touch more. But then, me being me, I gave her a life beyond this; I used her to flesh out Leshy as a character, to explain how he had grown from the first time we had seen him in Sacrifices Must Be Made and the P03 divorce arc. Then, I wanted to do the same with the other followers of Leshy's, because they have FOREVER been a massive bunch of favs for me.

Then, I gave her a story and goals of her own outside of them, I gave her full gameplay dynamics and whatnot and wrote up a campaign of her own. Then just built on her more and more; until now, she is really a fully-fledged character of her own, born from the simple desire to build on something I love and now she has a wholeass life!

Fíadh has SO MANY VERSES, not only in Inscryption, but primarily outside of them: she has the classic fandomless horror and human verse, and she has a DBD verse which I've put a ton more emphasis into due to my hyperfixation with it returning (Herman may return? Possibly), a couple of verses that plays into the fact that she is considered a Goddess of the Hunt, namely an American Gods and GOW/GOWR verses!

When I say Fíadh has the lower body and especially legs of a mountain goat, and many, many other beastly traits along those lines, such as a tail. I do not mean it in an appealing way exclusively.

No, there is beauty to it, but she is not a woman with nothing more than permanent furry leggings and hooves.

Her ENTIRE skeletal system has been altered, made from plantigrade bipedal human design, into an unguligrade sort of bipedalism. Her legs are angled and beyond muscular to accommodate her ability to climb and the weight distribution more evenly, and to give her the strength to jump and climb up seemingly unclimbable surfaces. Her pelvic bones are wider to accommodate this, as well as to make her center of gravity far wider, as is her spine.

And that's not even BEGINNING to touch on the shit going on with her upper body, shoulders, and arms built to aid in climbing her legs can't achieve. She has the same vibe and function as Mr. 'Big meaty claws' Leshy!

She is BUFFER THAN SHE HAS ANY RIGHT TO BE, built like a beast wearing her pretty green dress and I just adore it for her, my body horror queen!

On the topic, her facial features, holy fuck, she's the epitome of 'I like that, wait no, go back, stop doing that,' in that, she looks perfectly human and not just that but stunning in one or two positions, but other than that? Wrong in ever-intensifying shades of horrifying.

Fíadh has no whites in her eyes; they are solid gold with those distinctive oblong goat irises, which she cannot. move. No joke, it's cute at first to see the way she'll pivot her head around when speaking, but it is a necessity, not simply a quirk, and it's hard to unsee it.

Fíadh has veins that are particularly visible about her temples, near her ears and on her cheeks, almost camouflaged by the long, thick wool-like hair atop her head and the pre-existing freckles of her body, which would be expected in any normal person, but hers, they are BLACK, pitch black and stagnant.

Her mouth, god, her mouth. Have you ever seen those pictures of horses photoshopped to have the mouths of dogs? SHE IS JUST LIKE THAT. Usually, her mouth doesn't look amiss, a cute little cupid's bow that draws into a slight smile or a pout; it's sweet. But then she turns to grin, and the skin retracts and retracts, drawing back to reveal more and more sharp canine teeth and a large sharp tongue just behind them.

And when she has not fed for a time, tiny slivers of the true nature of being slip beneath the surface and the decay begins to take hold visibly. Her eyes will seem to sink in, the sockets ever darkening, her lips will seem to curl back, her colour worsening from a grey to a bruise purple, and then the skin begins to slough away, and the decay/starvation state takes hold. Not fun!

[mamamittens]

Just for fun, sometimes I like dropping old OCs into newer interests and just...

Rotating them like it's a damn microwave.

My favorite so far for Shenanigans and Angst Potential™ is Yuki, solely because the core concept of her character is "What if Elsa has social anxiety with a backstory about being cool with murder cause her mom was basically a serial killer with morals". Only child, literally more or less frozen inside, and can do Musical Bullshit with ice effects and whatnot but only if she sings, which almost never happens because she's got severe stage fright. Really good to play around with and a built in Dramatic Climax Musical Number that leaves everyone fucking baffled (if you're too close, you automatically start singing and no one knows how to handle that).

Anyway, it occured to me that dropping this poor baby in Baldur's Gate 3 would be extra funny, solely because of how fucking easy it would be to require someone to pretend to be Yuki's relative for sneaking purposes and like...

Astarion is RIGHT THERE.

With so many feelings about this.

He doesn't want responsibility! Like, he'd hate it but at least he knows how to seduce his way out of trouble not---not be a parental figure!

And Yuki is just like, "No, it's cool. You can be like, an uncle or something. No one would buy you as an attentive single father anyway. You kind of look like my mom, so it's not even that hard for me to pretend."

And he's just... So fucking offended.

"HEY! I mean it's true BUT HEY!" And then the long pause. "How by the gods do I look like your mom??? Just physically or...?"

"I mean, the white hair is pretty distinct, I get mine from her. Pale too, but so is my dad. Sharp features, pointy ears--"

"was your mom an elf??"

"No, human. Anyway, she also murders for fun but only people she thinks deserves it like stalkers, abusers, and creeps."

"...I quite literally don't know what to say to that other than that this is the WORST IDEA EVER!"

*proceeds to go along with it and commit to the bit for extra character development and angst*

Could even have a fun debate on whether or not he can drink her blood because she has copper based blood so it's more akin to a crab than a human on account of that icy chill she's got going on. And Astarion is just so stumped because... Technically he should be able to???? But what if he's wrong???? Also wtf does this child mean crab blood???

Yuki, with her whole ass quirk, just vibing and not really understanding the issues with racism because from her perspective it's just like talking to someone with a physical quirk. She once bought groceries from a man with a spray bottle for a head--draconic features is pretty damn normal all things considered.

I like to imagine he can drink her blood but it's very weird and he gets a little high. Like when you breathe in heavy amounts of oxygen suddenly. He also gets colder and more sensitive to heat, so just a little bit of her quirk is effecting him basically.

[necarion]

Different useful trick, this time for developing that sense of intuition (because even when you try to do things the same, they come out differently). One of the problems people have is that they're scared to add spices to things because they don't know how it's going to turn out. Or you can't tell if something is salted enough or whatever.

So if you have something that has a sauce or stew consistency (pasta, meat sauces, soup, beans), take a tablespoon or two aside and add some seasonings to it. Give it a tiny little pinch of salt or some ground pepper or some cinnamon or whatever, and then try it. You'll usually overdo whatever it is (because it's hard to season 2 tbsp), but it'll give you a sense of whether that's the direction you want to go.

Sometimes I'll wonder whether something is salted sufficiently, so I'll try that, using like 10 grains of salt in the spoon. And if it tastes better, I know that I need to salt more and so I add some to the liquid and try again. And if it tastes oh-my-god-salty I know I need to try something else.

This technique also allows you to pick a spice and see what happens without wrecking an entire dish! If it tastes better when you did it, write it down and try it again later. If it tastes worse, well you can try something different next time. "The food tastes slightly sub-optimal" is a very graceful failure mode.

...

Now that the basic advice is done, I have some extra thoughts that may be helpful:

One thing cooking has differently from baking is that you really can iterate on most flavor profiles. Short of accidentally dumping half a bottle of the spice into the soup, it's actually pretty hard to truly fuck up a flavor profile if you're using spices on the list.

Now, sometimes you want it to taste exactly like mom does it, and the measurement technique is awesome for that. (My grandma has a story about repeatedly failing to make her grandma's pie crust, because "1 tbsp of lard" turned out to mean "use a tablespoon to scoop up a cup of lard").

Here are a couple of big seasoning mistakes to look out for:

The most common one (everybody does it sometimes) is oversalting. This is where "add a bit of soup to the spoon and salt it a tiny bit" is useful, because it tells you if you're going in the right direction or not. There are also some tricks to helping with something that tastes oversalted (particularly: add starch, sugar, or acid), or putting it on rice/bread/pasta. But the main thing is that if you think you're close, go slowly. Also, if you salt on the order of 0.8% of the total weight of the food (be careful about adding things that are already salted), you're going to come out pretty damn close.

Adding too much spicy. Chili and especially cayenne cook in to foods. Unless you want the food to be insanely hot, don't add cayenne to taste early in the cooking process, because it will be much, much hotter by the end. I can't say much more here other than "learn what your limits are"

...

Lastly: consider adding ground coriander seed to whatever it was that you made. Basically doesn't matter what the recipe is, coriander helps a bit like salt does. It's also super hard to overdo. In a "small batch" or something, I'll add a couple vigorous shakes of coriander. In a large batch, I might add as much as a tsp or two. I have no idea what coriander tastes like, other than it makes the rest of the food taste better. This isn't really an "intuition" thing. Just put it in your toolkit alongside salt and black pepper, if the thing doesn't taste right. I'm actually really serious when I say it's really hard to overdo, so if the amount of coriander is around the same as how much of the others spices you used, it's going to be fine.

I realize this sounds like the thing you're complaining of above, but it really is kind of distinct. This isn't a "hmm, to make this taste more Hunan, I need to add some five spice and some cumin, and then a dash of chili powder." You don't actually have to know anything about the flavor profiles, or what spices pair with what foods. It's "this doesn't taste right. Let me add some coriander and see if that fixes it".

Things I have successfully used ground coriander in: Indian food, Chinese food, Italian food, savory bread, sweet bread, hot chocolate, cheesecake, crackers with goat cheese and blueberries, fish, vegetable sauce. Sometimes it doesn't help, but it almost never makes things worse.

I have a friend who, like me, does not have “heart feels” when cooking. We need measurements. We need exact replicable steps. Cooking should be more like baking where if I follow instructions precisely I’ll have the same meal each time.

So when he asked his mom for her recipes he was vexed to find that she’d say one thing but use a lot more or less than the spice she’d said. Her approximated recipes were much less vibrant that the real food she made.

His solution: he weighed her spices before and after the meal while noting all the steps she took. Finally. A recipe that was true.

[angel-on-parole-archive]

Mercury, Venus, Mars, Pluto?

OH BOY QUESTIONS (I LOVE QUESTIONS)

Mercury (☿): How did you discover yandere/obsessive love/etc. community? What has your experience of having a yandere blog been like?

Well. I identified with the yandere label a while, and then I got an itch to make a confession blog for relatable content (both for me to relate to from other people sending in and for putting out things of my own that people related to! I... have a hard time relating to people in a normal way.)

My experience with it has been... mostly good, considering I started this blog af 19 and I'm *looks at calendar* a whole 26 years old now! There was an occasion where I was starting out and I had showed off my (at the time) new tattoo and someone wanted to roast me over having some acne on my back? Like wtf did I do to you

And then there was a messy situationship I got into towards the end of being w my really shit ex (he knew, we were poly) who I met on here that I won't be naming names on and won't get into

OTHER THAN THAT (and mild guilt over very long hiatuses I've taken-) IT HAS BEEN GOOD. I have good mutuals and a good time fucking around and finding out tbh

Venus (♀︎): What is your relationship with your darling(s)? What initially drew you to them? Were your feelings sudden or gradual?

Oh boy story time!

So, if we wanna go in chronological order that'd be Bunny, Wolf then Kitty

Bunny

Bunny I met in high school, and what drew me in first?

... a mutual obsession with Undertale. And the fact our English teacher sat us next to each other. If you're ever wondering if teachers ship their students, they absolutely do. Just on the dl.

We got together after a little while with the feelings being sudden, but... homeslice, when I tell you life was shit at the time and so was my self worth? I cannot emphasize that shit enough, so...

Yeah. I broke it off. But she insisted we still talk, which I took her up on after a little while of quiet.

And then we fast forward about 7-8 years to October (and very post-shitty ex). This time is very much gradual. That shit snuck up on my ass. I went full panic mode as it hit me like a truck. Bunny's kept her feelings the same this whole time, she's always told me if I was happier with someone else somewhere else, as long as I was happy so was she. And then I'm like...

I cannot imagine the rest of my life without her. Cannot. If I have a life without her, it is somehow the next one because I will be dead here. And then I liveblogged part of my panic lmfao (I panic about change regardless of what it has to do with or if it's either good or bad)

But also at the same time, it's akin to a God and their favorite follower. She likes it that way and so do I. The sorta thing where "you fuck with my priestess I can and will smite thee on the fucking spot"

Wolf

... yall gotta bear with me on this one because this is kinda a wild one. Yall know this man's a ghost. It's wild at the foundations.

So, like... back in 2021, I get my first tarot deck right? And I very much feel it has a distinct energy to it. I think to myself how people say these things have seemingly an energy of their own and I think it's that.

And then I get two more. They also have vibes, sure, but it is most definitely a marked difference. My first deck had a whole ass personality of its own, and it always felt like hand over hand decision of when pulling cards. These two other decks did not do that. At all.

And then, when it's just me in a room where I keep the specific deck in question? It felt like someone else was there. I got more and more used to the presence; I was fond of how it felt. I liked that it felt comforting. With the fact this deck gave out incredibly blunt/downright mean readings to other people but gave me usually just a normal brand of blunt? Felt like "this guy is an asshole to everyone but you" adjacent energy.

(Tbh tho, sometimes the readings were a little mean and one made me cry once but I felt there was an instant regret in the way it was done (this was also one of those readings hindsight 20/20 on and I realize I read it wrong at the time)) (and then my shitty ex questioned why I went and read my own cards w this deck knowing how mean it was. Idk, asshole, I like my shit direct and to the point and he does that for me)

Fast forward (after a significant bit more time bonding with "the deck" and growing in my practice), I'm sitting with this deck. And then my clairaudience picks up a voice both familiar and unfamiliar. The vibes are definitely familiar, who tf be this.

And then it turned out to be Wolf. He finally figured out how to basically unmute himself.

(Well, okay, he tells it as King Asmodeus had noticed him lingering around enough and then Asmodeus taught him how to unmute himself)

My excitement? Absolute. The everything? Instant. He's got his flaws, but I certainly do to, and it's like... fitting two puzzle pieces together. Every notch a compliment to the other's. I would be kissing this man all the time if he had a corporeal form. U G H -

I've posted about the ways I can usually sort people into (followers, fellows and higher). And I mentioned really only once had I experienced someone as a true fellow. He's it.

Kitty

I met Kitty thru my ex being in a DnD group I joined, so I suppose DnD would be what technically drove me to them lmao

It was more of a... slower process. Like trying to get a very skittish stray dog to accept food from you. But she was patient, and she was gentle and kind in ways that drew me in more.

She's nicknamed herself a time vampire, because on more than one occasion after dnd she would be at the house until dawn (or even well into the morning) and much of the time that was just from her and I talking. What about? A lot of stuff

Like, ranging from really philosophical conversations to just extended character bits. The good shit, and I do mean the good good shit

Definitely a lot more gradual on that, and was more of... a gentle blanket being placed on you than being hit by a truck, but it came to be all the same.

She's like, coming home to a loving cat to curl up with on the couch. It's really nice. (And she's a spoiled ass cat)

Mars (♂︎): How do you deal with "rivals" or those that wish to covet your beloved, if at all?

I use truths to my advantage. Will it perhaps be a bit twisted or glittered or otherwise warped? Maybe. But, it's easier than building a web of lies. And I do find schadenfreude in seeing someone dig themselves into their own grave. It's a fun time, winding them up then watching them go.

Works every time.

(And they say autistic people can't be manipulative.)

Pluto (♇): Have you always had obsessive/possessive inclinations or did you develop them from your current darling? When did you to realise you were a yandere?

I've always been clingy for as long as I can remember. The more I had to cut things off (I moved a lot as a kid) the worse it became. And I mean, what is it but making a person a special interest if you're autistic right? I think the age it REALLY set in tho was like, 14-15? Ish?

And I hate having my things taken from me. I don't trust people in my bedroom without me. Can I trust my darlings on their own? Sure. But I am still paranoid and prefer to accompany them places where they go. I still keep an eye and ear on their friends and family. I'll be damned if anyone tries to take my loves away from me. It doesn't matter the relationship they have with them.