#guess what mother you gave birth to me I inherited YOUR genes so what’s that telling me about you

[puppyypawsss]

It’s really fun and really cool when ur mom dismisses ur anxiety and makes u feel stupid and crazy and AAUUUHHVGBHHH.

[amber-tortoiseshell]

this has haunted me ever since my mother first mentioned it but a friend of hers decades ago had a red tabby who allegedly gave birth to a litter of 3, but based on what little i know about cat genetics the litter's colors seemed weird, would love to hear the thoughts of someone who knows more abt this stuff tho

so the red tabby had 3 kittens, a grey n white one, a black n white one and a tabby with dark stripes (my mother described it as brown but after asking more abt the color of the stripes i'm guessing it was a black tabby?) and we have no clue who the father(or fathers) could be

(ps love your blog, singlehandedly kept my interest in cat genetics going this long)

Thanks!

Well yes, this does sounds strange. Let's see what we can say:

If she really was a red tabby, the mother cat's genotype is A_ D_ OO ww (we only need these four genes for this).

The kittens:

grey and white: aa dd oo/o- wsw

black and white: aa D_ oo/o- wsw

black/brown tabby: A_ D_ oo/o- ww

This tells us the mother carried both nonagouti and dilute, and the father also had these alleles plus white spotting. (Or at least one parent had it - people sometimes don't add the white to the description of a cat if it's quite low grade.)

mother: Aa Dd OO ww

father: _a _d _- ws_

The problem is, as you said, the red. From a red mother in theory every kitten inherits the red allele, so they only can be reds or tortoiseshells.

The most pausible explanation is that the mother was actually a tortie - sometimes, rarely, it can happen that a tortoiseshell almost exclusively shows only one of her colors. These cats are called secret torties. The genetic background of this phenomenon is sadly unknown; i think it can be caused by a very weird x-inactivation pattern, or maybe due to chimerism: the skin cells come from a different embryo than the germlines.

A similar story from the cat genetics facebook group:

The only remaining thing i can say about the father is that if there was any females among the kittens, he likely was something black based (black, black tabby, blue, ect). If they were all males, then the genotype fraction above is all.

[jungnoir]

𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐜𝐡!𝐛𝐭𝐬;

bts but as witches in a coven. discuss

𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤𝐣𝐢𝐧: the supreme

ok not quite but he’s the most experienced in magic out of all the boys

his mother was a witch and she taught him everything he needed to know from birth to adulthood

his whole family is blessed with magic save for a few who didn’t get the gene but every family reunion they all dote on jin and talk about how powerful he’s become and how proud they are of him

the coven house where all of the boys stay is actually jin’s ancestor’s home from a long time ago

the place has brought up witches of all generations and jin was very eager to inherit it

while there’s definitely a lack of witches he’s been able to recruit, he loves his family of six so it doesn’t really bother him

he acts like he’s all serious but in reality he’s always casting spells on the youngins as tests (read: for fun)

jimin: why tf did you give me green skin

jin: if you had been paying attention during lessons you would know how to fix it :)

has definitely said this out of context more than once: ”any witch worth a broom handle knows how to get rid of poisonous snakes! you know back in my day…”

wears the flashiest outfits, but little do people know that they’re all homemade. he has a serious creative eye and seeks to make what simple human designers wish they could (taehyung is very eager to learn this talent from him)

goes all out on halloween with this talent too, creating uber realistic costumes

no he didn’t make a costume out of real human bones that year he went as a scarily realistic skeleton what are you talking about

no graves were robbed in the making of this outfit

if you couldn’t tell, his specialty is in glamours

honestly the guy should just tattoo “i’m a witch” across his forehead, he makes it so damn obvious

he openly practices magic too like it gives yoongi stress pains bc!! there’s still ppl who would very much like to burn witches still to this day!!! where is the self-preservation!!

jin doesn’t care. he’ll burn them right back. checkmate bitch

honestly charms anyone that comes in contact with him which is one of the things he never has to try at

the guys think he uses magic to do it but he’s honestly just, as jin would say, “born with it”

𝐲𝐨𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢: the right hand man

*namjoon voice* and who do we got here right now??? ˢᵘᵍᵃ!!!

when it comes to magic, yoongi is pretty neutral

an awfully interesting feeling to have given that seokjin has appointed him the heir of the coven in case anything happens to him

he’s not obsessed with magic like tae, hobi or kook

he doesn’t spend his time learning everything about it like namjoon

and he’s not playful with it like jimin and jin

yoongi just… acknowledges it. its like it exists as something he can do and he’s proud but he doesn’t really care if that makes sense

most of his friends outside of the coven are human too and he has no reservations about telling them what he is bc if they cause trouble he is more than prepared to take care of it

they’re usually like “wow so cool! i wish i was a witch” but yoongi really doesn’t care lmao

with or without magic, yoongi is the same: he loves music, he loves making music, and he loves being a musician

yoongi, however, is guilty of having used magic to make his music just right before

sometimes a note just doesn’t sit with him right and it’s driving him insane

or maybe the bass doesn’t hit hard enough

he charms his music in a way that when one listens to it, they feel exactly what yoongi wants them to feel

people are always telling him he has a real gift in music and while he most certainly does, he feels he has to give credit to his magic for helping him along sometimes

but then seokjin will be like “isn’t magic your talent too? aren’t you just exercising it when you charm your music? it’s not like you can only make music well. you should give yourself props for your magic too”

it’s just. weird to him because he’s seen how much magic can corrupt people in much higher positions than himself and it’s Terrifying

he wants to know that no matter what he makes, it’s his and his alone, not attributed to any otherworldly advantage

this just kind of contributes to his need to be as detached from magic as possible

he’s too cheap to buy one of those coffee makers that automatically start brewing at a certain time in the morning and just uses magic to do it instead

“yoongi do you want me to buy you a new coffee maker for your birthday? they have ones that do all the work for you now-” “no”

he has to be extra, okay namjoon

jimin teases him sometimes but yoongi knows it’s all out of love

jimin understands yoongi in a way, and while the others are always like “yoongi you should have more fun with your magic!” jimin is always like “no no no, let him be”

besides yoongi could probably smoke all of them in a battle of magic if it came down to it lol

𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐨𝐤: the perfectionist

HERE HE IS!!! ITS HE

hoseok is probably one of the most talented witches in the coven

hoseok is a perfectionist to a t so if he feels insecure about how he’s doing a certain spell he will do it over and over and over until he’s got it right which makes him a pretty formidable opponent

like even the boys wouldn’t go up against him bc they know they’re just gonna get their ass handed to them

he’s a sweetie tho and very light-hearted and he never lets his power get to his head

he mainly uses it to bother the others tbh

also uses magic to give himself and the boys cool ass hair colors

currently he’s obsessed with this orange he’s got going on

calls it “pumpkin spice” bc it angers yoongi

“it really brings out the burnt sunset hues of a pumpkin ya know? or like a mix of changing fall colors, like golden crisp and warm crimson” “it’s fucking orange” yoongi can be heard chiming in from somewhere else in the house

but don’t get me wrong, hoseok loves himself some yoongi and vice versa

yoongi taught hoseok directly bc yoongi was the one that found hoseok

he was just an average college student and wasn’t really finding a will to live outside of paying off his student debts

he didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life and was pretty dead inside, working at a cafe and serving coffee to other dead inside college students when yoongi came in and sensed his strong magical aura

yoongi kinda forced hoseok’s magic out of him by tossing a cup of steaming hot coffee to the floor, causing hoseok to freeze the entire cafe in time, save for the two of them. yoongi told him what he was and the rest was history

now that it’s been so long hoseok still gets upset that yoongi was willing to break one of the cafe’s mugs to prove a point

because of course, when time unfroze, the mug fuckin shattered all over the place what a fuckin jerk guess who’s going to have to clean that up does he really have no respect for retail workers seriou

seokjin also was opposed to yoongi’s method but since it resulted in hobi joining their coven, he can’t be too mad

it was hoseok’s natural ability that yoongi was able to help hone, and when hoseok found a love for it, he took it upon himself to be the absolute best witch he could be

hoseok’s power of stopping time is uniquely his own and he’s worked hard to perfect it

sometimes he just stops time to stop it

hob: *freezes a movie theater right before something dramatic happens on screen* hold on yall I gotta piss real quick

freezing time is also super helpful during *cough* stressful exams* cough*

𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐣𝐨𝐨𝐧: the scholar

he knows…. everything

not only did he do the reading, he did an 8 page analysis on it and corrected a few mistakes too

namjoon was aware of his witchy nature even from the moment he was a little kid, and his parents were both human and a bit scared for him since they didn’t know how to handle it, but they gave him the option of pursuing magic or not. they made sure to do all their own research into where witches could go to hone their craft just in case

in the end, namjoon grew curious and started reading books about magic and magical things

tho he didn’t actually start using his power until his mid teens

by then he was a bit shaky with it, but he knew a lot and was very determined so he got the hang of it very quickly

rarely uses his magic outside of it being necessary tho bc he’s gone so long without having to use it that he doesn’t rely on it for anything

he also likes to be independent from his magic in a way

while magic is very much a part of him and his being, he doesn’t want it to be like a crutch, you know? his biggest fear is losing his magic, bc he’s heard it can happen

he’s also aware that some witches lose important life skills and miss out on opportunities to build their character bc they’re so used to being able to just magic their way out of a situation

went from student to teacher real quick

teaches the other boys how to properly say incantations

“its levios-ah not levios-ar”

actually?? a pretty scary dude when it comes to using his magic for real

don’t put him in a situation where someone is getting hurt because he will not go easy on the aggressor. the other boys can attest to this too, having been saved by him far too many times than is acceptable in namjoon’s eyes

basically dont fuck with namjoon’s boys or u gon die

does cute things for the boys on their birthdays with magic

one time taehyung was sad that it wasn’t snowing on his birthday so namjoon made it snow for hours

may have fucked up the climate a lil bit

yoongi almost lost a toe

namjoon frequents a library and whenever a lil kid is struggling to reach a book he uses his magic to drift the book down to the little kid and when the kid looks at him in awe he just presses his finger to his lips and winks at them

flirts using his extreme wicca knowledge, of which is either a major turn off or a major turn on. you decide

𝐣𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧: the reluctant

jimin loves magic, but it wasn’t always like that

jimin kinda struggled with accepting his magical abilities at a young age bc he was really confused

like why wasn’t he just like everyone else? why did he have to be a witch? why did he have to have magic when he could’ve just been normal?

he often rejected it, never bothering to learn anything even to impress the family at reunions

but as he grew older, his parents grew worried he’d hate his magic and never use it again, putting him in a vulnerable position if his magic were ever to just come out when jimin isn’t in a place to control it, so they let him meet a slightly older witch that could help mentor him

his parents would’ve done it but jimin hardly ever listened to his parents about magic and they wanted to show him there were witches his age that were amazing people and embraced it, that it didn’t take away from jimin’s life but in fact added to it

in comes yoongi

yoongi, at first, really pities jimin

he understands the struggle between wanting to be normal and dealing with a part of his identity that won’t ever go away

where yoongi is concerned, that struggle for him was that he wanted to be himself regardless of being talented in magic. jimin... just hates it

but then jimin starts bashing magic and witches and he’s about to get angry at his parents for trying to force him into being a witch when yoongi just,,, slaps him upside the head

jimin’s shocked and yoongi is just like “respect your parents kid, they’re looking out for you. just because you don’t use your magic doesn’t mean people won’t know you’re a witch. its dangerous for a witch to go around with magic and not know how to use it”

jimin is shocked. he never thought of it that way

jimin feels embarrassed all of a sudden and apologizes and then yoongi cracks a smile and he’s like “no biggie kid, i’m just here to teach you the basics of magic and then i’ll be out of your hair”

jimin finds that learning magic with yoongi is really fun and soon he’s asking to be apart of the coven and embracing being a witch

he becomes carefree with it, like it’s another part of him, and he’s still kinda inexperienced, but he’s learning a lot from yoongi and namjoon

loves playing with temperature

the boys make him freeze their drinks for him, or ask him to heat up some popcorn while they’re all sprawled out on the couch on movie night bc no one feels like waiting two minutes for it to cook in the microwave

makes the water in the shower cold whenever one of the boys is taking way too fucking long in there which is Everyday

also jimin: *hitting on someone at the bar* *makes the room slightly warmer* “is it hot in here or is it just you?”

relates everything he learns back to naruto in some way, much to everyone’s complete and utter confusion

he just really kins the guy i guess

100% owns every single witch pun shirt known to man

“witch please” “witches do it better” “this is my resting witch face”

jungkook: by all means jimin why don’t you just burn us all at the stake yourself

it’s ok tho bc it’s his own little way of owning his identity, and if you want to avoid having your fingers frozen off, you’ll be sure not to step to him any kind of way

𝐭𝐚𝐞𝐡𝐲𝐮𝐧𝐠: the transcendent 

my favorite witch!!! i wrote this whole thing for him

tae is like jin in that his whole family is magical and he grew up surrounded by magic his whole life

in fact, he’s so familiar with magic that he’s kind of sick of it (no he isn’t (most of the time))

taehyung is unique with his magic bc he’s actually able to transcend realms oooh~

the information on how many realms and parallel universes and such are limited as hell so taehyung actively helps broaden that knowledge as he travels, a very Dangerous and Scary job to anybody else

but to him he’s like!! fuck yeah astral projection!

basically, he’s able to put himself into a deep sleep where he moves through different realms, some more or less magical than the others

he’s so good at it that he can project himself into someone else’s dreams too

he’s basically capable of seeing more than most magical beings, and he can perceive spirits easily, as well as being able to actually see a magical aura around someone

so for instance, if a witch who didn’t know they were a witch walked into a bar, he’d know what they were instantly. besides the general intuitive feeling that most witches get, he can see the auras physically, like swarming tendrils of smoke unique to every person

each aura feels and looks different than others which makes it easy for him to point out shape shifters and vampires and werewolves and all the other guys pretty easily

bc of this ability, taehyung also likes to mess with the boys like everyone else lol

“tae, i just saw the most beautiful-” “they’re actually an ogre in disguise” “WHAT”

“man my english teacher is a witch” “she actually is”

in case you couldn’t tell tae’s favorite victim is jungkook

casually tells people he’s a witch just for the #reactions

if you’re wondering, no. nobody in this coven cares about keeping this shit a secret

since he’s more sensitive to dreaming, a lot of his dreams leave him incredibly emotional because sometimes he really is there

he once had a dream where all magical beings were universally accepted in the world and were loved and happy and woke up sobbing into jimin’s lap

also nightmares take a HUGE toll on him so his sleep pattern is fucked for real

usually ends up eating cake with jin in the dining room at four am and talking about life together to get the nightmares off tae’s mind

tae uses his magic on humans in a different way. like he doesn’t prank them that much, but rather manipulates their moods. he tries to charm anyone he comes in contact with to make them happy or to make them giggly

he wants to use his magic for good, because it often leaves a very painful burden on him in turn

𝐣𝐮𝐧𝐠𝐤𝐨𝐨𝐤: the prodigy

honestly i feel like if jungkook was a witch he’d probably be an underdeveloped one, you feel?

he finds out his power late bc either his family didn’t know (they’re all human) or they just didn’t tell him in hopes of him never becoming one

but jungkook is being bullied by some guys in his grade and they corner him after school one day and jungkook gets so frustrated that he just,,, makes them all start uncontrollably burping

as dumb as it is, those kids never bother jungkook again

when he does get a hang of it, jungkook probably uses his magic for fun more often than not

jungkook is recruited by jin for this very reason. he catches jungkook messing with old people at the park on his afternoon runs and he’s like this kid is such a brat. i want him

jungkook is SUCH a fast learner holy shit

he goes to namjoon for every little question, to the point where namjoon is positive he’s become a better witch simply because jungkook has prepared him for any fuckin scenario known to man

he also makes himself float upside down in the kitchen at night so when hoseok comes down for a glass of water he almost pisses himself

“haha did i scare you” 

cue hoseok making jungkook fall down as he mumbles “little shit” under his breath

halloween is his favorite time of year and he likes to pull harmless pranks on the kiddies while scaring the mean teenagers ruining all of the children’s fun

like he sees this guy in a deformed mask holding a plastic knife about to scare a little boy so Jungkook just gives the dude a wedgie with his magic

all the kids are laughing at him and jungkook just smirks

honestly he doesn’t like reading about magic as much as he likes just doing it from intuition/namjoon’s instruction. he’s a lot like hoseok in that he has a lot of natural talent but not a lot of proper training when he first starts honing his ability

since jin yoongi and namjoon are in charge of teaching magic they all hound on him like “did u do the reading”

jungkook maybe glosses over everything and then just over-performs as compensation

they get on him abt it but there’s no lying about it, jungkook is a strong witch on his own

he hasn’t gotten a special manifestation of his magic Just Yet but he only gets stronger as he goes. the more he applies himself, the stronger he grows

[countdown-to-destruction]

Inuyasha Sequel: a rant

Put this up this earlier on a post I re-blogged, tried to edit a part or two where I didn’t like the way I had phrased it, and ended up messing up the whole format I wrote this in. Luckily I wrote this as a draft earlier anyways! So I did a some fixing and now I’m just copy-pasting it again and making it a text post instead. This will be very long and a little nit-picky but I wanted to make a post ever since I heard about the upcoming sequel to Inuyasha, Hanyō no Yashahime. I did put a TLDR at the end for those who don’t want to read everything. Not sure how many people in the fandom still follow me and will see this, as it's been a long time since I was actually active in the fandom, but it's hands-down both my favorite manga and anime of all time and I’ve been feeling nostalgic lately so I had to post something. Before reading this be sure to read all of the translated character bios for Towa, Setsuna, and Moroha so that this makes sense.

When I first heard that Inuyasha would be getting a sequel I was excited! But after reading up on it, to be completely honest I'm not feeling this sequel anymore. I know it’s an unpopular opinion but hear me out. Firstly, it seems like Rumiko is mostly involved in the character design aspect and the writing is up to Katsuyuki Sumisawa. The music will be produced by Kaoru Wada which is great! And from what I’ve seen and read online a number of others who worked on the original series will reunite so hopefully the story will go well. However, knowing Rumiko isn't personally writing and not knowing how much input she has or will give makes me unsure about watching. The original Inuyasha anime followed and was based off of the events in the manga, and there was no manga prior to this for it to be based on. Depending on what happens this could be an alright sequel or a total miss. Unfortunately sequels in general are known to be disappointing in some way. 

Secondly, if I hear anything about Rin being the mother of Sesshomaru's twin daughters I'm out. This part will be a SUPER long and in depth explanation on why I think this way, feel free to skip if you're not interested. Please don't come for me on this, I'm here to explain my thoughts and feelings on the sequel and the theories around it so far, not start an argument. I'm more than aware that there's plenty of controversy out there on this pairing and personally I do not support it. I never saw their relationship as more than a friendship, or something akin to child and guardian as Sesshomaru and Jaken are basically Rin's caretakers up until she goes to live in the village with Kaede. He definitely cares for her deeply but I can't see it in a romantic way, being that Sesshomaru isn't even a character focused on romance to begin with. He learns compassion through Rin's second death but that doesn't mean he loves her romantically. As a reminder his main goal is to seek power and be powerful, and it's stated that he needed to learn compassion and grief in order to mature. It's what helped him learn to wield the Tenseiga at its full potential. In addition, she was really young when they first met and still was when she went to live with Kaede. The idea of Sesshomaru (an adult) having romantic feelings for a kid under ten years old (around eleven at the end of the series, and still a literal child in all ways) and waiting for her to age with the intention of marrying her sits totally wrong with me. Age wise I realize that Inuyasha is decades older than Kagome and that his father was much older than his mother, Izayoi, as well. The difference here is that Kagome was a teen when she met Inuyasha (who not just physically, but more importantly mentally was also a teen) and clearly Izayoi was old enough to conceive Inuyasha and give birth. As far as the audio dramas (more specifically "Asatte") go they're generally considered as an outtake reel and are essentially parodies, or a form of satire. Some will debate on this but realistically there’s plenty of reasons this is true, and those who take the time to properly check them out understand that. For me I've always had a headcanon that at some point in her teen years Rin would inevitably develop a one-sided crush on Sesshomaru and that he would ultimately set boundaries and reject her, seeing her as more of a close companion than a love interest and wanting her to live with someone she can grow old with. He gave her the choice to follow him and it's most likely that she would, but I think that once she began aging he would want her to have somewhere to settle, given that he enjoys roaming and seeking out other powerful beings to battle. It's strange to me that they decided to give Sesshomaru hanyō/half-demon children in general but based on the artwork we've seen it's fair to guess that they might have made Sesshomaru and Rin a pairing in this sequel.

IMPORTANT NOTE: I want to clarify that if you ship them together I'm not writing this here because I want to hate on your ship for no reason, or in order to create an argument on if the pairing makes sense, these are my thoughts and opinions on the matter and I’m voicing them because it’s what I believe. I already know that somebody won’t like this and will take it personally. People usually say that once Rin is an adult the pairing is acceptable but I disagree. I find it quite creepy that someone would think it would be alright for an adult to wait around for a kid to grow up with the intention to marry and/or sleep with them. Watching from a distance is the same exact thing, after making an impression on the child... let’s not normalize this. In this situation it would be grooming. We all have our own opinions when it comes to our ships and fandoms and I try to respect that but I can’t get behind this one.

Next we have the apparent lack of parental figures for the heroines. Where are the original Inuyasha characters at? Moroha's character bio says she barely knows her parents (Inuyasha and Kagome, our former main protagonists) and has been alone since she was young! It makes me think either something has happened to them or some kind of bizarre event separated them. And sorry, not related, but why does she transform by PUTTING LIPSTICK ON?? That part threw me for a loop.

When it comes to Setsuna and Towa their parents are absent too. I find it difficult to believe that Sesshomaru wouldn't keep track of his children given how he treats Rin and reacts to her going missing in any capacity. Especially if he happened to be fond of whoever their mother is. One daughter works as a taijiya/demon slayer for Kohaku and the other mysteriously transports to Kagome's era and is raised by Sota (I thought we had finished with the time jumps when the well closed but apparently not. When the Bone Eater's Well closed after Kagome's return it gave a sense of finality and closure to the story, and showed that Kagome had chosen where she was most happy and felt she belonged. I think that bringing the theme of time travel back into the sequel makes it feel repetitive, like something right out of a predictable fanfic. Props to Sota for taking in and raising a child who showed up out of nowhere though).

Another thing that came to mind when I read these character bios was why Inuyasha and Kagome's daughter and Sesshomaru's daughters are the exact same age. Of course there's nothing wrong with that. It only struck me as odd because suddenly everyone is having kids at the same time. And so far there's no mention of other characters like Sango, Miroku, Shippo, Jaken, Kaede, or Miroku or Sango's three children or where they are. One might expect that a story focused on the children of some of the original Inuyasha's main characters would feature appearances from those who had important roles in the previous series and their children. Which brings me around to wondering what made twin daughters a trend? Two sets of twin girls is a unique choice (Sango and Miroku's twin daughters. For such a small group of parental characters, what are the odds of two sets of twin girls? Where is the creativity and again why the repetition?).

Lastly, Sesshomaru's daughters lack some of the common yōkai/demon characteristics we see on Inuyasha and other characters. Their ears are human, and they have no markings or otherwise (that I noticed) with the exception of Setsuna's mokomoko/fur which is similar to Sesshomaru's. So perhaps they take more after their human mother? Given that Inuyasha seemed to inherit strong genes from his father it's interesting that they did not. Their ages also interest me as they appear to age the same way as humans do. Yōkai/demons are known to have a longer lifespan than humans and appear to slow down or almost stop aging at some point. Perhaps this confirms that the slowdown in aging occurs once they reach the equivalent of a human teen? 

Overall Inuyasha was a fantastic manga and great anime on its own, and I never got the feeling that it needed a sequel. As a stand-alone it was everything it needed to be. I thoroughly enjoyed both formats of the original, though I do have a tendency to disregard certain parts of the anime. I always preferred the manga more when the anime dragged out certain scenes (Shichinintai/Band of Seven arc for example) or straight-up excluded, changed, and added others. Taking that into consideration the sequel might end up being the same for me in that way, but rather than one scene that plays out for too long or an excluded, altered, or unnecessary added scene, if it’s not any good I’ll simply disregard it altogether. When the anime comes out I certainly plan to try watching it out of loyalty to the fandom, and due to the fact that it's "technically" canon (without Rumiko being the writer I don't necessarily consider it canon, much like how some folks do or do not consider the movies canon) but I get the feeling that I'll wind up giving up on it in disappointment.

TLDR; Overall I'm left questioning if the sequel is worth watching (for me) given what I've read and heard so far, but nonetheless I will give it an optimistic try! I'm currently wondering how much we'll see of the original Inuyasha characters, if we get to find out what happened to them, if the number one pairing I'm not fond of will make an appearance (and cause me to drop the whole thing), and questioning parts of the character backstories and designs (why is there a repetitive and recurring theme of time travel and does it end up hindering or ruining the story, why do the protagonists all lack parents, and why do the hanyō/half-demon characters lack common yōkai/demon traits and does it make them more human than demon?).

[tlc-fics]

A Rose of Thorns - Chapter 1

I did it. I finally did it. ‘I invented time travel.’ You’d think with all the advancements our society has made since the war, we would’ve figured it out by now, but sadly that is not the case. ‘Until now’, I think smugly. I turn the small, smooth device over in my hands. To think, I made it out of an old portscreen. It took me three months to perfect the electrical formula necessary to transport someone in time, another two to figure out how transport where you are (in case you are in a place that doesn’t exist or is very dangerous in another time or if you are trying to find a specific person), and yet another month to get all the materials I needed to actually build it. But it’s finally done. And pretty attractive if I say so myself. Now to try it out. But, where should I go? I could see what the world was like before the war. That would be educational. Or I could see what my future children are like. And who I have them with. No, definitely not. I should stay out of my own lifetime. I still don’t know the risks of time travel. All I know for sure from my calculations is that any significant changes in the space time continuum will result in a sort of “time pocket” so that no paradoxes are created. But that doesn’t mean seeing myself in the past or future can’t have other disastrous effects. Besides, there’s one place - er, time - in particular that I want to visit. I want to see my parents when they were young. You see, my parents, Carswell and Cress Thorne, were big players in a revolution that led to the treaty between Luna and the Earthen Nations and also eventually ended Luna’s monarchy. The biggest player technically would be the Empress of the Eastern Commonwealth, Cinder. Her birth name is Selene and she was the last queen of Luna, before she dissolved the monarchy and turned it into a Republic. She also killed her evil aunt with the help of my parents and their other friends. A few years after all of that, she married Kai, the Emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth. Talk about a power couple, right? It would be amazing to see them when they were my age. Or at least close to it. I want to see them after the war, but before they had kids. And of course I want all of them to be together. Cinder, Kai, Iko, Scarlet, Wolf, Winter, Jacin, and my parents of course. I know the perfect time. Scarlet and Wolf’s wedding. More preferably, the day after. It would be a lot easier if I was already at Scarlet and Wolf’s farm, but unfortunately I haven’t been there in nearly five years. I am currently at my lab, which is in the backyard of my family’s house in the American Republic. We live in the snowy land of Toronto, Canada. It might seem an odd choice, but my parents say that a hot climate would remind them of when they got stranded in the dessert. Yeah, the revolution wasn’t fun. I put in the date I knew from the scrapbook Winter gave my mother - and Cinder and Scarlet - one year for Christmas and the longitude and latitude of the farm, which I configure with the help of my portscreen. Now to see if it actually works. I take a deep breath and press the button. =========== I am standing in a field of tomatoes. Well, I think wryly, at least I know I got the transportation part right. I carefully make my way out of the field and toward the house. Even if I didn’t travel back in time, I can at least get Scarlet to make me something to eat. I can even see her kids, Cosette who is fifteen, and Raoul who is eighteen. I may or may not have a small crush on Raoul. I haven’t seen him in three years, not since the last time we all visited New Beijing, but we still chat a lot on our portscreens. Both Raoul and Cosette inherited Scarlet’s fiery red hair and Wolf’s luminescent green eyes, making for two very attractive individuals. Neither ended up getting Wolf’s modified genes that made him, well, part wolf. He was experimented on during the evil queen Levana’s reign, turning him into a super soldier covered in fur with sharp canines and an insatiable appetite. Actually, Raoul does have the last one. But that’s probably more because he’s a teenage boy than because he has wolf genes. I reach the front door and hesitate a moment before knocking. What if it did work? What do I do? What do I say? I barely have a moment to think before Scarlet opens the door. Or at least, I think it’s Scarlet. She looks so…young. “Who are you?” She asks suspiciously. Right. She has no idea who I am. “Uh, I’m um…” So articulate. “My name is Rose. Are you Scarlet Kesley?” Yes, my name is Rose Thorne. If you know my father, you know my name is a semi-cruel joke. If you know my mother, you know my name is a symbol of beauty on Earth. She eyes me carefully before speaking. “Yes. Are you paparazzi? We’ve told you-” “No! I’m not paparazzi. I’m…” How do I explain that I’m her friend’s kid from the future? I clear my throat and take a deep breath. Might as well get it over with. “My name is Rose Thorne and I am from the future.” The look on her face tells me just how crazy I sound. “What?” “I know it sounds crazy, but I’m a scientist and I invented time travel. This is my test run.” “Okay, that much I can almost understand. But, your last name is Thorne?” Her look becomes scrutinizing as she looks me up and down, analyzing my every detail. From my short, blonde hair and blue eyes, to my five-foot-three height and light smattering of freckles across the bridge of my nose, to my unfortunate figure - or lack thereof. “Um, yes. My parents are-” “I can guess. How do I know you’re not lying? I do have to admit that your resemble to Cress is uncanny, but you could just be some random teenage girl that wants to get an inside scoop on the first Lunar-Earthen wedding.” “Oh! I can prove it.” I had anticipated doubt and had brought a family picture featuring my parents, my fourteen year old brother Flynn, and I. I show her the picture and see as her face goes from skeptical to incredulous. “You really are, aren’t you? Come on in. I imagine there are a few people who might want to meet you.” She opens the door wider and lets me walk past her. “Everyone’s in the living room. Do you know where that is?” “Yes.” I head in that direction and she follows behind. Even turned away, I can feel her gaze beating against my back. I come into the living room and see everyone just sitting around, talking and laughing. And they’re all just so young. After a moment, Cinder sees Scarlet and I and stops talking. Slowly, everyone’s attention comes to rest on me. Jacin is the first to speak. “What the hell? It’s unlike you to let in a stranger, Firework.” I smile at the familiar nickname. It’s the only way he ever really shows endearment. “She’s strange all right. But, maybe not as unfamiliar as we think.” Scarlet comes around me and sits beside Wolf on the arm of the couch. He looks at her worriedly. “What does that mean?” Cinder asks. She stands and to says, “Just who are you exactly?” “My name is Rose,” I say, “I invented time travel thi- well, not this morning. It would be the morning for me, but it’s about 20 years into the future for all of you.” I watch as everyone tries to process this information. “You invented time travel? But, you’re what? Eighteen?” I turn my head and see that the speaker is none other than my dad. “Sixteen actually. I’m a bit of a science prodigy.” “Tell them your last name.” Scarlet says. Her look is very intense. “Her last name? Why is that important? I would think the fact that she travelled in time is a bit more significant,” says Kai. “Well… I my last name would be of some interest I suppose…” “What is it? It’s not like, Blackburn or anything is it? You’re not gonna kill us are you?” My dad again. Of course. “What? No. Besides, killing you wouldn’t do anything anyway. By coming here and interacting with all of you, I’ve created a pocket in time. After I leave, everything will reset to its original timeline.” I was stalling. I’m not sure why, but telling my parents who I was made me nervous. What if, with no parental biases, they don’t like me? I don’t think I could handle that. I’m too much like my mother when it comes to disappointing people. “You’re stalling,” my mother says, “you’re rambling like I do when I’m stalling. It’s okay, you can tell us.” I gulp and take a deep breath. “My name is Rose Thorne. I’m the daughter of Cress and Carswell Thorne.” Silence. Everyone but Scarlet is wear masks of disbelief. “Oh,” my dad says after a moment, “I guess it makes sense. You look a lot like Cress. Maybe a little taller.” “Three inches taller. I take great pride in it. And yes, I definitely favor my mom, but I have your eyes and natural charisma.” There I go rambling again. It made my dad smile though. “This is interesting. So, not only did you invent time travel, but you’re Cress and Thorne’s daughter,” Kai says. He indeed seems intrigued. “So, what are we like in the future?” “Yeah!” Iko exclaims. “Do we have any children?” She seems to have overcome any shock. As is her way. “Iko, I doubt you have any kids, seeing as you, well, can’t have any.” Cinder says gently. “Actually,” I correct, “she has two adoptive daughters. Aiana is an android with a faulty personality chip. Iko discovered her when she was three from an owner desperately trying to sell her. She was a service-droid then. Cinder managed to have a special escort body made that allowed her to grow up at the same rate as her human sister of the same age, Lila. They’re both fifteen now. In a couple of years, Aiana will be getting her final body.” Everyone is staring at me in astonishment. Well, Iko just looks really excited. “Really? I have two daughters?” Her eyes reflect her happiness. “Yes. You didn’t want any sons. You said they wouldn’t be as much fun.” “Of course she did. What about the rest of us?” Cinder asks. “Um, let’s see. You and Kai have three kids. It’s kind of confusing though. Because Miljan is the oldest at eighteen, his full title is Crown Prince Miljan of the Eastern Commonwealth. No last name, like Kai. But the twins, Ash and Ella, do because they won’t be taking over the throne. The people of Luna demanded that the Blackburn family name be carried on so Ash is Ash Blackburn. But, you wanted to make Ella a Linh in honor of Peony so she’s Linh Ella. It’s weird.” “Wait, so our kids all have different last names?” Kai asks, he seemed a little confused. “Yep. It’s weird, like I said. And ironic because the Blackburn family name won’t be being carried on anyway.” I say. “Why not?” Winter asks. “Because he’s gay.” More shocked looks. Everyone when I’m from is okay with it, but it’s understandable that they would be shocked. “Wow, that is ironic. So, are you our only kid?” My dad asks, in order to keep the conversation going. “No,” I groan, “I have a little brother, Flynn. He’s insufferable. He thinks he has dad’s charm, but he doesn’t. He thinks he’s so smart because he’s good at math, but I don’t see him inventing time travel. He also thinks being fourteen makes him old enough to make adult decisions. I’m sixteen and I still ask for adult advice when I have a big decision. I mean, honestly, he is such a child.” “So he’s just like his dad then?” Asks Wolf amusedly. “No. My dad is charming and tolerable. Flynn is not.” They all gave me amused looks. Meanies. Just then my portscreen started ringing telling me I had an incoming comm. I guess it would make sense that I would still have service. I look to see who it is and blush. Raoul. “Um, sorry, give me a sec.” I answer and Raoul’s face pops up. I get excited at the prospect of telling him about my achievement. He’s the only person I told about my plans for my invention and I know he’ll be excited that it worked. “Hey, Short-stuff. How’s your project going?” He pauses and looks confused as he looks at what’s behind me. “Where are you? Why does it look like my house?” I can’t help the huge grin that spreads across my face. “It worked! I travelled back in time! And it looks like your house because it is your house! It’s the day after your mom and dad’s wedding!” He laughs and I feel myself blush again at the way his face lights up and how his beautiful green eyes crinkle. I’ve got it bad. “Woah, slow down. It worked? That’s awesome! So are you with our parents now?” “Yeah!” I flip the camera so he can see them. “Stars! They all look so young!” “I know right? No wrinkles or grey hair anywhere.” “Woah, woah, woah,” my dad says his arms out in front of him. They had all been sitting somewhat stunned as I spoke with Raoul. “Grey hair? Wrinkles? I don’t think so. There’s no way I, Captain Carswell Thorne, have wrinkles.” I laugh. “Don’t worry. You all aged well. The wrinkles are smile lines and the grey hair is minimal.” After that, I spent a little more time talking with Raoul and introducing everyone to him (have you ever introduced someone to their parents? It’s weird). Eventually I hung up and was immediately teased about my obvious crush on him. That went on for awhile before they got tired of it and started asking about the future again. I told them about the Kesley children first since I had been talking to one of them. They had already gotten to know Raoul so I told them about his fifteen year old sister, Cosette. I told them about Winter and Jacin’s kids next. I started with seventeen year old Snow, and how she would eventually be the next empress of the Eastern Commonwealth after her inevitable marriage with Miljan. Then I continued with the other twins, Timber and Bianca, and their strange platinum blond hair and gold eyes that contrasted beautifully with their dark skin. I told them more about Aiana and Lila, how Iko had wanted a child after seeing everyone else with one and told them how Aiana’s aging worked with her unique bodies. I probably spent two or three hours talking to them. It was so fascinating telling them about themselves twenty years later. But, of course, I eventually had to leave. I set the coordinates and said my goodbyes before sending myself back to my lab. ============== I end up right back in my lab. Not much longer after I left. I guess Raoul’s call affected when I could come back. This could be invaluable information. I quickly lock the time travel device in my lab safe and pull of my portscreen and comm Raoul. He answers quickly, looking somewhat confused. “Hey, what’s up?” “Hey, how long ago was our last comm?” While we’re talking, I pull out my lab notes and start writing. “About two minutes ago, is that why you called?” He looks confused again. “Yeah, I’ll explain in a minute. How long after,” I check the time I left, which I had written down for this very reason, “9:05 a.m. did you comm me?” “Uh, let me check.” He seems to focus on nothing, which I imagine means he’s checking his logs. “I commed you at 9:10 a.m. and the comm ended at 9:32.” I check the time and see that it is 9:35. “Aces. So, interacting with people in my time while I’m in another affects when I can come back. This is incredible.” “Wait, really? That’s amazing.” Indeed it is. “Yeah, thank you Raoul.” “No problem. Oh! I forgot to tell you earlier because of the whole time traveling thing but, my parents were talking about how they want to invite all the kids over for the summer. Even Miljan is getting a break from his duties if he wants. They said it’s been way too long since we’ve all seen each other and I agree. I’m sure your parents will be telling you about it when you go inside but, I wanted to tell you myself because I was so excited. I mean, it’s your choice if you wanna come or not but, I just wanted to say that Cosette really wants to see you and I’m sure everyone else will be excited too and I am realizing that I’m rambling and I’m gonna stop now.” If I didn’t know any better he almost sounded…nervous. But, that’s crazy, right? “Really? I can’t wait. Obviously I want to come. I’ve missed you guys so much! I can’t wait to see everyone! But, the last day of school is Wednesday! And it’s Sunday! I have to start packing now if I want to be ready!” I was already mentally preparing everything I would bring when Raoul’s laugh brought me back to now. Spades, that laugh will be the end of me. “Okay, well you go pack and I’ll see you in a few days.” “Can’t wait!” I hang up and am practically on Cloud Nine as I walk back into my house. I walk in through the kitchen door and see my mom and brother sitting at the island and my dad doing the dishes. “Hey, Rose, guess what?” Flynn starts, clearly excited. “We’re going to Scarlet and Wolf’s farm this summer and I need to pack? Yeah, Raoul commed me.” Technically I commed him, but they don’t need to know about the time travel part of my day. “That’s not all. While you kids are at the farm, the adults are going to the Bahamas for a beach vacation.” Said my mom, stretching her arms as if she could already feel the warm sun on her skin. “No parental supervision? That’s dangerous.” I say jokingly, grabbing an apple off the counter. “We trust you, Snow, Raoul, and Miljan to be responsible enough to take care of everyone.” My dad says. He finishes with the dishes and turns around and leans on the sink. “Besides, you’re all old enough to take care of yourselves and you’ll all be taking care of the farm to keep yourselves busy.” “That’s not what I meant.” “Oh, I know.” He winked at me and I rolled my eyes. “Carswell, don’t encourage it!” My mother said indignantly. “Oh, c'mon. I’m just kidding.” He defended. “Besides, Rose already has a boyfriend. Right?” “Not anymore. He started pressuring me for stuff and spreading rumors so, I dumped him.” I say. Stars, that happened last week. My boyfriend of a month, Andy, kept asking me to send nudes so I told him to screw off. Then he started saying we had sex, but lucky everyone knows me well enough to know I wouldn’t have sex after a month of dating. Lucky me. “I heard about that! He’s a douche.” Flynn says. “Thanks, Flynn. I’m just glad it’s over and I can pretend that relationship never happened.” I walk toward the stairs. “I’m gonna go pack. I have to secure all of my chemicals now so I can be sure I don’t forget any.” I start up the stairs and hear my brother say “nerd” when he thinks I can’t hear. But it’s his loss, you never know when you’re going to need hydrochloric acid.