#i know they're very busy and their careers are very important to the both of them.

[earthmixsclowderofcats]

Okay but imagine being in ZeeNuNew’s shoes - you’re queer, confirmed dating but haters still pair you with women you interact with or just meet (business or not), tell you that you’re not ‘queer enough’ and your relationship that you confirmed years ago must be fanservice and if you tell something like ‘NuNew likes cold showers, I prefer warm/hot ones and it’s torturous for me’ (Zee has said it recently by the way, like days ago) people still act surprised:/ but I hope it’ll be better for them

It's definitely an interesting situation. Because like, coming at it from an outside perspective as I was, I was confused for a while. Over the top fan service is a staple of the genre tbh. But I think maybe people get stuck on the black and white and forget the nuance.

Like yeah, it can be fan service and they can also actually care for each other. Which is where I ended up. Because they were definitely playing it up, especially at the beginning of the relationship, but you can also see the genuine affection and emotional honesty, and you can see how it shifts over time.

Again, so wild to me that it's like living your own fake dating au. Committing to the bit to the point where it's no longer a bit. It sounds like a bl plot. (I mean DMD is literally doing a bl with that plot right now lol) That's so meta.

I think people are naturally skeptical, and I think that's probably for a good reason, as it's always best to keep yourself self aware when it comes to celebrities. But what's weird is the intensity with which people are either "pro" or "anti."

As if it's a matter that affects them personally. Like, if they are "pro" and proven wrong true love doesn't exist and they were fools all along and if they are "anti" and they're wrong they were hateful homophobic crones. When like. We are not part of the equation. But people are dedicating themselves to their stance so fully. Which is why I think I was going back and forth for a while before just being like ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯

They are or are not whatever they are. They're cute as hell and act like a couple so that's the assumption I'm gonna live under.

You know the whole "if it walks like a duck and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck" thing?

I don't shower with my bros.

But instead of being like "hey, I change my mind once I've encountered new information" people double down in weird and frankly, queer phobic ways.

I can understand the confusion about their label because I understand it's a bit different culturally. Like, in a western sense most people would not consider it a confirmation because it was more of a "make your own assumptions" kind of thing. Which was what tripped me up for a while.

Tbh that would be the best possible response if it were secretly all fan service all along somehow. Because then that would give people the feeling of confirmation they want while still having the deniability of "I never actually said that."

But also, given the untraditional nature of their relationship, labels like that, especially at the time, may have just not been something they were worrying about. Like, I don't think there's a guidebook for this whole situation.

Sidenote: I am so charmed by the epic saga that is them vs showers.

Especially how Nunew likes to tease about Zee's snoring vs Zee teasing Nunew about his bad habit of not showering before bed. (But it's ok if Nunew does it because Nunew is always the exception it seems. Something the besties have in common. Nat is always the exception for Max.)

The shower ghost, etc. it's peak old married couple bickering.

Kind of like for whatever reason what convinced me about earthmix (on top of everything else) was that Mix pops Earth's zits. Like. That's a level of intimacy that simple costars do not have lmao.

When it's not just the cute shit, but also the gross stuff and the every day bickering that makes it feel genuine.

[azlrse]

➳ the headwardens as fathers (twst x gn!reader headcanons; separate)

cw: 'a decade later' au, fluff, accurate/canon take on the houswardens' background, angst in some parts (mostly on vil and idia's part)

a/n: decided to post this just to practice the characters as accurate as possible. also, imma be writing some of the housewardens for the first time soo i hope it's good lol

Riddle Rosehearts 🌹

due to his upbringing, riddle can be strict towards his children, whether it's from their grades and their studies alone since he believes that one's studies are very important to a child's future.

but not all the time riddle is like this. as a father, he only wants what is best to his children and refuses to treat them the way their grandmother does to him in his childhood. he even encourages them to take a certain career his kid wants. do you want to be a musician? he can buy his kid an instrument they've always wanted. not a musician but instead a baker? he can tell their uncle trey to give them private lessons to be the best baker in the queendom of roses.

there are certain times the two of you are arguing over a punishment. riddle knew rosabella punched a kid (he had flashbacks when her godfather punched him) stole her tart and decided that his kid will be grounded for a week. you, on the other hand, rebutted that she only did it out of self-defense and that's the last tart she had. this goes on back and forth, even for an hour, and her punishment reduced to 2 days minimum. rosabella didn't like that but at least it's better than to stare at books for a week straight.

riddle is the type of father to teach his children magic early on. not because it's enforced by his mother but because he just wants them to use magic in case of emergencies and for them to have an advantage to their education. he encourages them so much that he offers them sweets and strawberry tarts if they make it through their lesson.

overall, riddle's just protective over his children and knows what's best for them but at the same time is strict towards them.

Leona Kingscholar 🦁

leona didn't expect to have his own children, especially to the prefect of ramshackle dorm who's grown into a sophisticated and loving adult.

he's the type of father to teach his children the concept of fairness. he doesn't want them to have the same upbringing as he had in his childhood and growing up to have an inferiority complex. leona also embedded to them that one's hardwork can signify what kind of a person are they, especially that they're royalty.

when it comes to his children, he's deep down a girl dad but nonetheless loves his children equally. leona loves spending time with his kids, especially when taking walks around sunset savanna or taking them to ivory springs.

his parenting style can be permissive sometimes but thanks to your constant nagging, he steps in to reprimand them on what's wrong and right. sadly, he doesn't mind when his daughter & son can be demanding sometimes but is behaving very well when it comes to you (thanks to the 'stare' you enforced into them in their childhood).

like riddle, leona also helped his children in terms of their education, he might pull a string or two in order for them to attend a really good school. after all, they don't want the crown prince of sunset savanna and a father to be disappointed, right??

Azul Ashengrotto 🐙

hands down, the type of parent who wants his children to pursue the field of finance and marketing. no buts or ifs, he really wants them to pursue such career so that they can take over the business someday when he and their uncles are retiring.

there could be a possibility that his children are half-merfolk since you are human. hence, you and azul wanted to teach your kids both cultures, whether it's on land or water. he can be self-conscious and scared towards his children on the possibility that they inherited his octopus form. what if they didn't like the said form? what if they're being teased because of their body shape? what if they despised it so much that they wished their own father was a merman instead of an cephalopod? you reassured him that the both of you will teach them the importance of self-image and self-love.

speaking of their seaforms, azul is the type of father who will cry when his kid swam on their own for the first time (equivalent to a toddler taking their first steps). it doesn't matter if they're a late bloomer when it comes to their seaform, azul is still proud on the progress his children obtain.

every birthdays & anniversaries or any special occasions are held within the beach. imagine his parents swam on the surface of the ocean just to see their grandchildren. they would gush about how cute their grandchildren were, especially when they're still a little chubby baby.

heavily encourages his kids to fight back just in case they're being bullied by their peers. he's the kind of dad to call them in his office, not to scold them but praising on how they beat up that kid in a pulp (thanks to their uncle floyd ig--)

Kalim Al Asim 💛

husband material + loves children = THE BEST FAMILY MAN OUT OF ALL THE HOUSEWARDENS AND HUSBAND MATERIAL # 1.

probably the type of dad who loves spoiling his children rotten and sometimes gives into their demands but at the same time likes to teach his children the concept of hard work. after all, not all the time everything is handed to them on a silver platter (albeit to their father being raised on a silver spoon).

undoubtedly wants more than 5 children, whether they're biological or not (but will not push through if you are uncomfortable with the idea). this guy is raised having 30+ siblings so it's understandable why he wants that many children and having a huge family.

as usual by kalim, every achievement earned by his children, in academics, extracurriculars or birthdays, holds a grand & extravagant celebration. won the regional spelling bee? a celebration must take place! oh, you hold second place on a swimming completion? here's a parade to celebrate such occasion! a birthday party? that's too plain, how about a 3 day celebration for the birthday kid?

low-key his children would let out an 'aww' when they saw their father kissing you :'33

like leona, kalim would take on a bit on a permissive parenting style since he would give into the demands of his children and saying no makes it difficult for him to say in front of them. thanks to your talks and reprimanding him, he learned to say no directly into them and chose to cool down their tantrums before talking to them again.

Vil Shoenheit 💎

idk how to write vil accurately soo im really sorry if this one sucks and comes across as out of character ;_;;

out of all the housewardens, i believe that vil can be really strict when it comes to his children's appearances but also cares sm for their well-being and is fiercely protective of them. he believes that his children are the splitting of him and his lover (you ofc) plus he's a celebrity and a model so that adds to the fuel on why his children's appearances are really important.

most of his children confided on you on how suffocated they felt due to their father's demands and high standards when it comes to beauty. how they cried, begged and asked you if you still loved them even if they're covered in scars, acne or having oily skin. you reassured them that you and their father loved them so much, much to the children's happiness in hopes that they're father can be less controlling.

of course, you talk about this to your husband regarding this issue and vil can understand the children's point of view. he doesn't want them to be bullied, to be teased or being compared to him since they're the children of the biggest celebrity in the industry. he also promises that he'll talk to the children and apologizes for making them miserable.

on the fluffier side, vil loves spending time with the kids. going shopping or having photography sessions are some of the examples and heavily adores them when his children are being made to be endorsers/models on a children's brand of clothing. when his daughter asked him for tips when it comes to make up, vil didn't hesitate to teach her the basics (also buys her the make up brands she really wanted).

teaches his children the importance of fighting prejudice towards gender norms. vil is the type of father to accept that kind of future his children chose for themselves and does not give a shit when it comes to people's opinions on them; his son wants to wear make up? sure why not, he also wears one during his time as a student in nrc. his daughter wanted to crossdress? why not? it's just clothes and at least she's not waking around naked.

Idia Shroud 💠

to those who voted on the poll and answered idia, ya'll deserve a pat cause he won 😭🙌

as much as i love idia shroud, idia is the houswarden that's least likely to become a father due to his trauma and fucked up family dynamic but what if he does become a father with the only person that he loves and is comfortable to be with?

hands down a helicopter parent fr, like this guy suffered so much that he didn't want his own children to go through the same fate he had in his childhood. man even prohibits his kids to go out w/o telling him first but also values his children's privacy in terms of their gadgets and other private stuff.

when his kids were born, he knew straight up that the kids inherited his flaming blue hair due to his cursed bloodline (and prays that his kids won't hate him for it) but loves it when he saw their (e/c) eyes for the first time (at least his kids looked like the combination of the two of you). aside from that, ortho's excited to become an uncle and wants to be the cool kind of uncle to his brother's children.

as always, when his children were a bit older, he wanted to teach them the basics of coding and video game development. being the children of the director of styx and a professional gamer, he expects his kid to be as good as he is in these kinds of field. if his kids wanted to pursue a different path as he is or a different hobby, he doesn't mind at all but is disappointed to say the least.

due to the shroud curse, at least one of the children has to take over styx when they're now at age sadly. as a father, he really wants them to pursue a future without revolving around in his family's business but they couldn't avoid it.

doesn't care how much his children spent on things due to an immense wealth his family holds. don't be surprised his children's rooms were covered in merch of their favorite video game or fandom. he heavily supports his children having the same passion as he is as a geek.

Malleus Draconia 🐉

HUSBAND MATERIAL #2 FRFRRR

if future malleus told past malleus that he became a father and the husband of the ramshackle dorm's prefect, it's either he'll pass out from happiness or becomes excited so much that he wants to confess his feelings in front of you.

a big family man, aside from his heavy duty as the crowned king of briar valley, he always set aside some time to spend with you and his children on the rose garden by the greenhouse of the castle. he also doesn't care what are the other fae's think about his own half-human faelets, he still loved that the kids are the creation of both of your love to each other.

speaking of the other faes, he will hear a thing or two about children of their ages making fun about their half-human characteristics like having rounded ears instead of pointed ones like their own father. like vil shoenheit, he is fiercely protective about his children and would confront the kid's parents if the bullying had gone too far but he's a really forgiving father don't worry.

adding to the previous statement, his heart would break a bit when he knew either one of his children are either being excluded (preventing them from playing a game with the other kids or isn't invited to a birthday party).

the type of father who let's them sleep in the middle of the both of you when one of them had a nightmare. he can sense it when his children are in dire need of his assistance and wants to sleep beside the both of you for comfort.

really loves it when he sees his children playing on the throne room. he loves the noise they emitted comparing to the quiet and eerie noise the throne room before they were born. one of the playdates you and malleus joined with your children is about a roleplay involving a knight trapped in a tower while a dragon saved them and fell on love with each other. i would imagine them kissing in the final scene as the children gagged from the public display of affection.

Do not republish, edit, or repost to other websites.

Reblogs and likes are appreciated! 💕

[biancasaidstfu]

I saw the anon who posted about Nicola's following. Just my two cents but I have this feeling that Nicola doesn't mind if somebody is going to unfollow her just based on her rumoured romance. She repeatedly expressed how much she wants to be recognize individually because of her hard work on her career, her achievements and so forth. She wants people to mainly focused on her achievements and I think she will not mind if people unfollow her because of her friend JD.

Second is, I saw somebody asks why Nicola have allowed to let the JD narrative for so long? One, after that NY incident, she seemed to tighten up. She closed her tags and now, only approved tags are thing that you can see on her ig. Also before the incident, she is removing the tags on her that she and jd are in a romantic relationship. Nic had done that for multiple times before, erasing the narrative that she is someone who is in a relstionship with JD. And we thought that's the end of it. Like we see them interacting, obviously they have been friends for years and yet only last year JD conveniently came into picture in the midst of Nic and Luke romance rumours. The thing that should got you thinking was, why now? Why again, now? When we thought she tried to end that narrative, it seems like we got back to zero. Very important note to add: JD dating rumours never came from her. She never initiated it. She never started it. It all started by fans who felt betrayed by Luke's seemingly relationship with Antonia, and also haters started to jump ship. It all started with the innocent festival photos of them cozying up.

For months Nic are trying to remove any traces of JD's pic on her tags that are saying they're dating, and now again. Like the timing should really get you thinking. I know looking at it with Nic's POV is confusing, but, if you add Luke's situation in the picture it made perfectly sense.

Also, Nicola is a grown woman. Its perfectly reasonable for her not to say anything about her love life. Its her business alone and alone. She's aware of the possibilities of allowing the JD narrative run, and she obviously knows people are saying she and JD are a couple. She knows it. She always knows the risks that came with it. But at some point, she will learn the consequences that came with it. Hence, the decrease in following. The invasion of privacy. And whole other things we don't know of. The question is why is she not saying anything? We don't know. But what we do know is that, its never because she and JD are a thing. When deleted that tags of him and her, we should have taken that as a hint of their status. It all came down to one thing, JD's appearance is convenient. Like super convenient. 👀

As a person who studies in the field of cosmology, my professor always says that don't take things literally. Because the things unseen and unsaid are the ones filling the void that the things seen have said. They are the ones who holds the most importance of all. And I agree, because both Nic and Luke's silence of all is what makes these whole thing really sketchy and it made me look the whole lore completely different, completely opposite of what tabloids are telling us.

Read this 👆👆👆

[rainbowsky]

In the last months I was wondering and being a bit preoccupied with GG not having new endorsements and losing existing ones. Also with him staying away from show appearances and now not going on any NY show. But the last couple of days I keep thinking that he’s trying to escape that “traffic star” stigma and keeping it low key. Even though his album broke any record there was ti be broken. What do you think of GG’s “behavior” towards the c-ent this past year?

Hi Karamelina2005 😊

If you're genuinely hand-wringing over GG's career and endorsements, I think that's a pointless waste. GG is doing exceptionally well. While he doesn't have as many endorsements as DD does right now, the ones he does have are dominated by luxury brands and high end products. He's also still one of the top people in the industry in terms of number of endorsement contracts. He's doing fine.

Frankly, when an endorsement of his doesn't renew I always assume it's because they can't afford him anymore. No one - no one - has the power to move goods like GG does. No one is even on the same continent when it comes to sales. Let me guarantee you he's one of - if not THE - most sought after brand endorsement contracts in China.

I don't know how long you've been around, but over time you'll likely come to see that endorsements come and go. It's a totally normal, totally routine part of doing business. Brands are constantly shifting their strategies and adjusting their audience targets, budgets fluctuate, etc. etc. etc. - all of this leading to changes in spokespeople. This is completely normal.

I also think it's important for fans to remember that GG and DD are not social media influencers, they're actors. Endorsements will never be the central focus of their careers, and if anything they're likely to gradually do fewer endorsements as their careers become more serious and more established. Fans should resist the urge to measure GG and DD's careers by endorsement contracts.

Artists in China are also required by the government to be accountable for the brands they endorse. They must only endorse products and services they themselves or close family members are using. Someone like GG is going to be very picky about which contracts he takes on. He's a shrewd businessman who cares about how he is perceived and what he represents.

Frankly, the kind of people who worry about this type of thing tend to be insecure fans who are trying compete to one-up other fandoms for whose idol has the most clout. It's incredibly stupid and pointless.

We don't even know the details of their endorsement contracts, so it's pointless to try to bean-count over them. What would you rather have - 10 contracts valued at $100K each, or one valued at $1 million? The amount of money might be the same, but the amount of work is dramatically different.

So I urge people not to worry about such things. We don't know what's really happening behind the scenes.

As for live appearances, he hasn't done a live NYE performance for years. I honestly don't know why people still insist on expecting it of him. It's obviously not something he's making a priority.

Why? Well, only GG knows for sure, but I suspect there are multiple factors at play. The traffic star issue is a big one I've talked a lot about in the past. Both GG and DD have been transitioning away from that perception and more toward the path of serious actors/performers. But there are other factors as well.

Given that he has his own material out now, and a license to produce live performances, he may want to save himself for a future concert of his own (we can hope, anyway).

Frankly he doesn't need to do things like that. He's one of the top stars in China right now, and scarcity seems to make him even more anticipated by audiences.

He might not want to deal with the stress and hassle of preparing for and doing a performance like that. There is a LOT that goes into those performances, and a lot of stress and unpredictability. The last time he did Dragon TV there were huge audio issues that almost ruined his performance. He hasn't done NYE since. (Before anyone takes that and runs with it and assumes that's why - we have no proof of that. I'm just saying it's a lot of work and a lot of stress and if you don't need to do it, why bother?)

I suspect that control is a huge factor here. He is in a position now where he can pick and choose situations where he has a lot of choice and power. Why would he go back into unpredictable situations?

He said in an interview a while back that he hasn't been doing variety show appearances because he finds dealing with people's expectations and reactions too stressful. It's possible that applies here as well.

He wants to spend time with his parents, relaxing and watching DD on TV. He rarely gets much time off, and I have no doubt that he wants to make the most of it.

In terms of 'attitude toward the industry', I think both GG and DD have been doing their own thing, focusing on doing the kinds of projects and activities they enjoy rather than chasing after every opportunity. Gone are the days when they'd be packing their calendars full of a wide range of activities of varying value and appeal. Their choices seem far more curated and personal these days. I talked about that a fair bit in the past, including recent posts.

GG debut anniversary

DD debut anniversary

DD Exploring the Unknown

GG and project choices

I believe they're both doing their own thing, taking their own paths, and working toward having greater control over their careers, greater control over their projects, more time for their private lives, etc. and it shows.

I mean, just look at GG's album release and it becomes obvious that we don't need to worry about his career. The man has - on top of all the big projects he's been doing with top directors and top luxury brands - been developing and recording an album of his own, completely on his own time and with his own money and team, without any of it leaking, and with the few melons about it totally not believed by audiences. That's a pretty big flex.

And the album has been a massive, massive success.

So yeah. Don't worry about GG. One thing you can be certain of is that he will always focus on what's best for him and his career, and he's smart and capable and surrounded by experts whose entire job is to support that process.

[theninthdoor]

what is the katseye group dynamics like?

by the way: I'm going in completely blind here because I have never followed the group, the show or anything at all related to them. but for that reason, too, I wanted to give this reading a shot. hope you all enjoy it! it came out to be quite a long and tiring reading, so I'm not planning on making a series out of this or anything 🙃 I just never read on them, so here is it...

General Dynamic || seven of swords rx, queen of cups rx, the world rx, two of swords: This is really interesting… First of all, I feel like the members actively try to maintain a healthy line of communication between them, and make sure everyone's opinions and feelings are known and counted in, no matter the situation. However, I also see forthrightness being one of the issues they encounter most often as a group, or, I should say: what causes conflicts most often. Most of them come across as quite opinionated and communicative, and so they seek conversation and, at times, that more so comes across as + results in an argument type of situation rather than a normal discussion, I'd say. Plus, you can't always avoid hurting some people's feelings, or being a little bitchy if yours got hurt, so... there's that as well. And, another thing: because everyone seems to open and outspoken, I think, sometimes, there might be some issues with privacy or someone feeling like the others are getting in their business??

As close and united as they try to be, though, I still feel a lot of detachment and division here, and a lot of differences between who these people are on a very basic level. They have this shared goal & career, yes, but their minds and hearts just seem so different from one another... Still, they manage to come together and maintain a somewhat stable, harmonious and productive dynamic, which is great! With this World reversed and the Two of Swords, I think there are many instances in which sacrifices have to be made, and some of them have to, inevitably, be unhappy with the final decisions - which isn't anything too unexpected, I guess... As a group, they simply can't always satisfy all of them at once - or never, really. Yet, the thing is: I feel like they, for the most part, understand this and are willing to work around it, whereas, for example, for other groups this doesn't come as easy. So, in that sense, they do seem quite mature and all good team players. That's very positive, in my opinion!

Death + Ace of Wands + Eight of Pentacles at the bottom of the deck = They have managed, with time, to build a system that works almost perfectly for them. Each member knows their role, what they must provide to the group (both professionally and personally), how they should go about making important decisions, what each person needs on a daily basis (like personal space, time, attention, etc.), what personal skill or aspect of their personalities they should focus on and bring out when they're all together (performing or not - as long as they're working), etc. Yet, even with that, and besides what I already pointed out, I see some discontentment in terms of creativity and freedom - althought that's more of a company issue, I guess... I think most of the group is wanting to develop their skills, both as performers and musicians (in the technical sense), and they're either not being allowed to or it's not enough to their taste. They do have plenty of ideas, and many of which they share with one another and come up with together, but it falls on deaf ears when they bring it up to those who make THE decisions. Katseye see the vision and the potential for their group, yet they feel like they are not being taken seriously enough - and by the public as well, I would say. However, I feel part of them also understands and that this is something that must be built and earned with time.

Now, let's take a look at their "roles" in this dynamic and, I guess, a little bit of their personalities as well:

Sophia || the hanged man: I think Sophia not only has one of the most adaptable personalities (and minds! - that came out strong, for some reason) - meaning that she can fit in with any group or with any other member pretty fine -, but she may also play the role of the mediator in the group quite often, specially in terms of energy levels. I think she's specially good at calming everyone down, even without saying a word, and the group might usually rely on her to guide them or for her to be the pillar that keeps them stable. I also feel like she's someone who's always looking to listen to others' opinions, thoughts and feelings, but may as well be one of the few who shares the least themselves. At times, the members may feel like she's too private or elusive, or not personal enough and just very logical and professional, and that could annoy them a little. (edit, as I finished the whole reading: I just noticed how her part was the shortest, too!! I really think she might be one of the most private, and least talkative members in a casual environment. I wonder how much Saturn-influence she must have 👀)

Manon || eight of pentacles rx: She's the rebelious one, I believe. Manon's coming across as the least likely to fall in line and play nice, out of them all. At times, she might be a little difficult to work with, too, and may actually refuse to do certain things or act in certain ways that they are requested to. She also seems to be the one who's most likely to complain about the things that are wrong or that are bothering her, but it's rarely in a confrontational manner. I actually feel like she's pretty laid-back and easy to communicate with, despite coming off as a little unreliable and unapproachable at times, based on how expressive she is when she's unsatisfied + how she may often just shut off and refuse to move or listen to anyone. Generally, I think Manon's energy and motivation comes in waves. Sometimes she can't be stopped; other times, you can't get her to focus or do anything productive. It may even happen that, every now and then, the members have play little mind games with her, of "luring her" or giving her some extra "incentive" to get her to do things. Overall, though, I don't see them too bothered with her moods, since Manon also seems to one of the main sources of energy and strength for them.

Daniela || four of swords: The first thing that I picked up on was her rationality. I think she's a very mind-over-heart person, in general, or usually leans that way, if not only to compensate for the amount of emotion the others already pour out. She comes off as quite practical and a very present-focused person. I think she's one of those who's always making sure everything is working as it should, and that all of the members are pulling their respective weight, too. As with Manon, I think Daniela also voices her unsatisfaction quite often, but more so in the context of the group itself, and not so much with management or the company. She focuses on them, as a team, and tries to keep the ball rolling; and so quickly and effectively fixing whatever issues are standing in the way of that. Most often than not, she may come off as a little cold or too logical for some people, and that might cause some rifts between her and some other members, but I still don't think she's much of a conflict-person anyway. In fact, I think she avoids it as much as possible, hence her always keeping an eye out for already existing or potential future problems within or involving the group, as I mentioned.

Lara || the fool rx: Lara is a wild card - that I got right away! So, for starters: she has so so much fire and ambition inside of her, yet is purposely holding back in order to properly fit in with the group, in my opinion. So she is a very considerate person. Plus, she does see herself pursuing a career beyond this, and wishes to keep some of her "power" to show off later - that's another thing. I see her being quite outgoing and cheeky. She does come across as a bit unruly, too, both out of a little bit of immaturity, I will say, but also because she enjoys when the energy around is high. At first, she may have come across as one of the least approachable members, or one of the hardest to work with, yet revealed herself to be one of the most easygoing ones and a great team-player, as they got to know each other better. However, I will say: I think she is also very likely to intentionally challenge some of her fellow Katseye members, even knowing that doing it may cause some conflict; but, in the end, she is looking to help them grow as people and artists. When she pushes someone out of their comfort zone, she does it out of a genuine wish for them to become stronger, and not out of malice - which I think is something they have come to understand.

Megan || two of cups rx: Megan is one of the most heart-lead ones, I believe. She just seems so loving, sensitive and fragile, and a big overthinker. She's definitely a big empath, too, and seeks to build true, deep connections with people before going into the professional aspect of their relationship. So, at first, and specially with those members who were more logical or competition-focused, she might've not only felt a little hurt and taken their attitude/stance to heart, but also, in general, felt a bit alone and lonely, even though she was surrounded by so many others. I feel like she's, for sure, very likely to become avoidant at times, and fearful of voicing her more serious opinions, even if it is asked of her. Otherwise, I see her being quite talkative. Plus, I also think she is one of the members who is most aware of what the internet's or general public's opinions on them are, and gets very hurt and defensive when she sees something that isn't true or, obviously, hate. And that's a big thing as well: I really feel like Megan absolutely hates both lies and having secrets being kept from her! She will get very hurt by it, and, because she's a big overthinker, as I said, she may also be someone who is quite insecure, and is always wondering if people are being truthful with her and/or if they really like her and her work or are just pretending and trying to be nice, for example.

Yoonchae || knight of wands rx: This is the most high-energy I've felt so far, but also the most unstable, I would say. Honestly, Yoonchae just reads as someone who's still trying to find herself, and so she just follows others around and sticks by whatever feels the most true to her at the time. With that, obviously, would come that thing of her always, seemingly, changing her personality, style or values, and so coming off as unrealiable and immature. I see in her a big desire to impress and satisfy, yet, again, she is still discovering her power - so not only personally, but professional as well. Besides that, I see her being one of those who feel the pressure of being a kpop artist & a celebrity the most. At times it might bring her down, and so she goes out and seeks others' wisdom and strength. She might as well be someone who becomes a little clingy towards certain members, depending on how close their connections are at that point in time, and then, too, you could see her becoming/acting more and more like that (given what I mentioned before!). Yoonchae is also someone who fits in well with most or all members, but that's mostly because she is still so fluid in her own energy. Besides, she also seems like someone who is an observer. She enjoys observing and studying the people around her, and taking cues from them, both professionally and personally. So, all in all, she's just like a student of life; still very green and wide-eyed.

(Disclaimer: All is alleged and for entertainment purposes only. Based on current energies.)

[604to647]

Safest with You - Ch. 1 (The Coffeeshop)

1.4K / Modern AU Retired Mob Enforcer!Din Djarin x fem!reader

Summary: A handsome stranger helps you out with an unfortunate situation at the coffeeshop before work.

Warnings: None? I guess some jerk yells at a cute old lady 😢 so a wee bit of protective Din as well. (No smut, just a meet cute! Gonna be a slow burn, folks!)

A/N: Finally, I'm doing it! This is the start of the Modern AU I'm trying to build; Din is a retired mob enforcer for the Fett family, but they still call him in periodically when they need his strategic know how and/or extra muscle. He never says no - they're his family 🥹 For this meet cute, he's on a job downtown; I say they're in the financial district because I imagine Reader working in a corporate office with a finance related job she loves (she has a methodical mind!), but it’s not really important so you can imagine any office job 😊. There's no implied age gap, so I consider her as either well established or rising in her career. In other words, she's an independent woman and don't need no man 😂

Also I always use this super cute heart divider by @saradika (thank you!)

Series Masterlist

It’s crazy busy in this coffee shop.  Not unexpected of course; the local chain has some of the best coffee in the city, and this particular location is its only one in the downtown financial district.  Everyone, including yourself, was here to get their caffeine fix before heading into the office for the day.

Well, not everyone, you smile to yourself.  The little old lady in front of you doesn’t seem to be in any rush at all; you overhear her ordering her cappuccino in a ‘for here’ mug and a slice of coffee cake “as a treat”, and you’re glad someone, at least, will be having a nice leisurely morning.  When she’s finished at the till, you order and pay for your latte, then make your way to the waiting area where several other patrons are awaiting their orders.

“Ice Quad Espresso in a Venti cup, extra ice and six shots!”

Whoa. That’s a drink, you chuckle to yourself.  Someone must be preparing for a whole ass day.  You look up to see who might collect that caffeine bomb, and can’t help but admire the tall, broad-shouldered stranger who’s flashing the barista a devastatingly handsome smile and a nod of thanks.  Maybe it’s your own lack of caffeine, but you might be gawking a little at the way his wavy dark hair is peppered with grey (a few stray curls seem to stick out in the cutest way possible) and start to think it would be soft to run your hands through.  The fluffy hair matches nicely with his salt and pepper facial hair, neat but not perfectly trimmed, which for some reason you think suits him – he doesn’t look like he has to try very hard to look so adorable.  You’re snapped out of your daze when three more orders are called out in rapid succession, including your own and the little old lady’s.  Both of you, as well as a thin man in an ill-fitting grey suit approach the coffee bar to collect your drinks.  You were the closest, so you reach the counter first, collect your latte and step back to allow room for the others.  The thin man, however, apparently can’t wait and rushes forward to try and push past the old lady, just as she is turning around to look for a seat.  You watch in horror as they crash directly into each other and the old lady’s porcelain mug spills the entirety of its contents on the man before falling to the ground and shattering.  Shocked by the sudden impact, the thin man then flails out his arms, knocking both the old lady and her plate off balance, the latter slipping from her grasp and breaks on the ground as well.  Rushing forward, you help steady the old lady with one hand on her back and letting her grip your other arm.  Thankfully, you’re able to hold her steady and not drop your own drink.  “Are you okay?”, you ask.  Shaking a bit, the old lady nods, “Yes, dear.”

“You fucking bitch!”

Shocked, you look up and see the thin man glaring at the old lady while using his free hand to uselessly try and brush away the coffee that is dripping down the front of his suit jacket.  From the corner of your eye, you see the profile of the handsome Quad Ice man as he takes one step forward to intervene, but you beat him to the punch. “Excuse you?  You don’t fucking talk to her like that!”, you say with a bite to your tone.  How dare this effing guy?

“Look at this fucking mess!  She ruined my suit!”

“I’m sor-”, you hear the old lady start to say, so you place a reassuring hand on her arm, hopefully conveying that she doesn’t have to apologize to this neanderthal.  Stepping between the two of them, you look directly at the jerk and extend an accusing finger in his direction, “It was an accident! Which wouldn’t have happened if you had just waited your turn.”

“I’m in a hurry!  Some of us have very important meetings to get to.  And now the meeting is completely ruined because of this fucking mess!”

This guy.  You roll your eyes.  “If the people you work with don’t respect you because of a little bit of coffee on your clothes then you have much bigger problems.” And with that, you’re done with him, turning and crouching down to help the old lady who has unnecessarily started to try and clean the mess. 

Your back is turned, so you don’t know if the thin man tried to approach or if he had started to say something, but you hear a deep, rich voice from above say with quiet authority, “You owe both these women an apology.”  Looking up, you see the the imposing figure of the Quad Ice stranger standing over you and the old lady, almost protectively, shielding you both from the thin man’s view.  The hand not holding his crazy drink order is clenched in a tight fist; his hands are huge and you can see a scars of varying sizes and age littered over his knuckles. You know without a doubt that this man knows how to fight.  There’s a energy radiating from the man towering above you; you don’t know how to explain it, but it doesn’t feel dangerous?  Instead, it feels warm and you instinctively know you’re safer having him there. 

Regardless, you don’t want this cute old lady’s morning ruined any further so you decide it’s better to diffuse.  Touching his clenched fist and smiling softly when you have Quad Ice’s attention, you let him know to let it go, “It’s really okay.  Do you mind grabbing me a few napkins?”  His gaze down on you is soft, yet still protective; however, he takes his cue from your expression and lets the thin man leave, before bringing you a stack of paper napkins and squatting down to help.

“You shouldn’t have to help, dear.”

You give the old lady’s arm a gentle squeeze to wave off her concern, and you and Quad Ice start carefully picking up pieces of porcelain and putting down napkins to soak up the spilled coffee.  You reach over and put your hand gently over his, “Careful, it’s sharp.”  He gives you a smile and nods. 

Finally, a staff member comes over with a mop and lets the three of you know you don’t need to clean up any more and gives thanks.

As Quad Ice goes to throw away the porcelain pieces you’ve been collecting in a napkin, the old lady exclaims, “Oh no!  My dear, I got you too!”  You look down and see that you do indeed have a giant coffee stain near the hem of your skirt.  Oops! You don’t want her to feel bad though, “Oh, it’s okay!  I've done worse.  Don’t worry, I have a very friendly dry cleaner.”  You try your best let her know you’re not bothered, but the old lady still looks devastated.

“Come now, let’s make sure you get your morning treat.”  To distract her, you gently steer the old lady back to the till and order another cappuccino and coffee cake for her.  You absolutely insist on paying, hoping to help make up for the terrible morning she’s had so far.  She tries to argue, but the kind barista lets you both know it’s on the house and then that’s that.  After you've walked the old lady to the waiting area, you look at your phone, and realize you need to leave if you’re going to make the first meeting of your day, “Here’s where I have to leave you!  I hope your day gets much better from here.”

The old lady gives you her sincerest thanks, but you’re still somewhat reluctant to leave her.  From behind you, a familiar voice says in a comforting tone, “I’ll make sure she’s okay.”  You turn around to see that Quad Ice hasn’t left and is giving you a warm smile, as if he knows how worried you still are and wants to put your mind at ease.  The little old lady is now nodding reassuringly at you as well, and with that, you give the handsome stranger’s forearm a light squeeze as a thanks and you say good bye to them both.

---

As you take your first sip of coffee while sitting down to your meeting, you can’t help but recall the stranger’s deep chocolate brown eyes and the warmth they exuded in that last look he gave you and you wish you at least knew his name.

[arkhammaid]

— ˚₊‧⁺˖THE LIGHTNING ON TRACK | BEFORE THE FAMILY

fandom. formula one & mcu

about. y/n meets the stark clan

content warnings. written in 3rd person + headcanonish, not edited & proofread!

word count. 0.8k

notes. first 'lore' chapter!! i'm excited and hope you all like it <3 i would love some feedback hehe and any reblogs are ofc greatly appreciated!

before...

TONY STARK

y/n l/n grows up surrounded by motorsports, especially motogp. with her mother being a worldchampion, it's only natural that fast cars and bikes are her every day entertainement.

she's raised as an only child and by a single mother, she doesn't even know who her father is. and if she's honest, she doesn't care about it at all. why would she need a father, when she has already such a cool mother?

while her mother loves her independet daugher, she still thinks she should know about her father and tells her the truth. tony stark, also known as iron man, is her father. they had a short relationship, akin to an affair but it ended with both of them being extremely busy with their lives.

but just because y/n is aware who her father is, doesn't mean he's aware that he has a daughter. and he hasn't been for a long time, not until y/n's career in single seaters properly started. he regrets meeting her so late (in her teenage years) but never holds it against her or her mother.

how do the two meet? well, it's quite tragic... with her mother losing her year long fight against cancer, y/n is left alone, since her mother didn't have any close family. not wanting to end up in forster care and stop her career, she seeks out tony and shows up on his doorstep one random wednesday afternoon.

he's shocked, but pretty much believes her, when she tells him who she is. tony is of course no fool and still does a dna test, but even if it came out wrong, he would've taken care of y/n- he immediately felt a connection.

within the same week, tony gains custody of y/n and she moves to new york, but still goes to a boarding school until she's a candidate for formula 4.

PEPPER POTTS-STARK

y/n meets pepper in the same week she meets tony. not as her step-mother, but as CEO of stark industries and close friend of her father.

they immediately take a liking to each other (they both like to bully tony) and pepper can't help but feel for the lonely teen. y/n doesn't have many friends, especially close ones and with her genius mind, she always felt like an outsider. she only truly fits in with other racers, but then it's more about her talent and they're also all boys and older than her. not somehting everyone likes...

when tony finally ask pepper to marry him, y/n is their biggest supporters. pepper is incredibly touched and makes her maid of honor. she goes even so far, to ask y/n, if she would be alright with pepper adopting her. that evening, many tears were shed.

y/n loves pepper just as much she loved her own mother and sees her as another mother figure in her life. she still doesn't call her like that, but sometime she slips up and calls her 'mama', which leaves pepper flustered and deeply touched.

HARLEY KEENER

it takes a bit for tony to introduce y/n to harley, who she meets first as brother. with harley studing in MIT, he only knew that tony had something very important to talk about and wanted him to come home as soon as he could.

but it still took two months, until harley and y/n met, but luckily they hit off. harley knows what it's like to have a smaller sister, so he stepped up as big brother again, while y/n was a bit unused to no longer being an only child. but with harley being a full-time student, it felt as if she was one.

despite harley acting like an older brother to y/n, it still took a long time for them to actually grow closer. harley lost his family few years ago, but the thought of actually having a younger sister again... well, let's say he had a few things to say to his therapist.

but a few years have passed now and they're close, despite rarely seeing each other, with harley working at SI and y/n having to travel the world for her racing.

PETER PARKER

y/n meets peter as tony's intern very early, so she experiences the process of him getting adopted first hand. with both of them beings so close in age, they're close by default.

but it also helps that they have a similar humor (proud genz) and interests. peter starts focusing on engineering, just because y/n is heavily involved with it and y/n does physics and biochem work with peter, to help him as spider-man.

when peter gets adopted and becomes a proper stark, y/n set the goal to become his favorite sibling (he always talks himself out of the pick with "my favorite sister is you", fully knowing he only has one).

taglist. @lilypadlover , @adorablezhui , @peqch-pie , @keyz-writes , @obsidianjewel , @themercyverse , @lem-hhn , @akiraquote , @kiiyoooo , @nichmeddar , @nothingfuninthislife , @minkyungseokie , @fionaschicken , @lyrasconstellation , @spideybv28 , @keii134 , @starssfall , @tpwkstiles, @fangirl-dot-com , @nichmeddar , @lady-laura-speaks , @nikfigueiredo , @hinamesgigantica , @brakingboundaries , @almostjollypizza , @yoremins , @raizelchrysanderoctavius , @celesteblack08 , @watermelon-sugars-things , @lighttsoutlewis , @radiantdanvers , @vellicora, @sterredem , @hiireadstuff , @jolixtreesunn , @mypage-myfandoms , @nelly187 @greeneyesandsunshine , @fulla02 , @welovediaaxx , @whyamireadingthis , @67-angelofthelordme-67 , @blueberry64857959 , @winchesterwife27 , @six-call , @skywalker1dream , @mellowarcadefun , @cherry-piee , @peterholland04 , @motorsportloverf1 , @renarots , @msbyjackal , @woozarts , @leclucklerc , @yl90

crossed off tags mean i can't tag you!

DO YOU WANT TO JOIN THE SERIES TAGLIST? please leave a comment on this post or send a non anonymous ask!

ARKHAM MAID 2024

[12-juin-3057]

Ace Attorney x Dead Plate AU!!

for AA fans who don't know, Dead Plate is a short, free-to-play indie RPG about a lively waiter called Rody. Over the course of a week, he tries to make as much money as he can by working at a fancy bistro. However, the head chef and owner of the restaurant, Vincent, seems to he hiding something...

if you haven't played the game yet, I highly suggest that you check it out! Its parallels with Ace Attorney are so cool to think about :)

this post is spoiler-free for Dead Plate, but I will discuss spoilers for AA1-AA3!

phoenix wright: rody lamorée counterpart

in this AU: phoenix majored in art/theatre before eventually dropping out, and is now struggling to make ends meet (similar to how rody studied hospitality at college). he decides to work at a high-end restaurant owned by famous chef miles edgeworth as a part-time job, and attempts unsuccessfully to win back his ex-girlfriend iris.

parallels: rody & phoenix are both people who care for their loved ones to the point of neglecting themselves. they both idolise their partners to an unhealthy degree and would do anything for them. they are both defined by their interpersonal relationships. also, messy hair

a necklace is an important motif in both relationships (rody & manon, phoenix & iris). without giving away too much, manon's necklace/locket is what allows rody to understand the truth about what happened to her, and AA already has a similar setup with the glass necklace.

miles edgeworth: vincent charbonneau counterpart

in this AU: edgeworth is a famous chef who owns an haute-cuisine, modern restaurant somewhere in the states. while his cooking is objectively delicious, a common criticism is that his food doesn't seem to be "made with love". he has a couple of quirks, such as only hiring one waiter for his restaurant at a time. comes off as a little awkward and strange.

parallels: vince & edgeworth are both "geniuses" who have little to no personal relationships. workaholics who have a love-hate relationship with their profession due to unhealthy obsessions that they pursue (vincent's desire to taste VS edgeworth's hatred of crime)

i do think vincent & edgeworth have much less in common than rody & phoenix though...

maybe one in-game conversation that phoenix would have with edgeworth could be about alternate career paths, and edgeworth admits that he was thinking of law at some point, to which phoenix says that he thinks edgeworth would've made a great prosecutor (wink wink)

iris fey: marieanne "manon" vacher counterpart

in this AU: iris and phoenix were dating for about a year, before iris breaks up with phoenix as she felt that their relationship was becoming unhealthy for the both of them. iris "disappears" just before the game starts, making her sister dahlia and her ex-boyfriend phoenix worry about her whereabouts.

parallels: we don't know much about manon in-canon, but they're in similar positions as the protagonists' ex-girlfriends. in addition, phoenix never really knew who iris was (because he thought she was dahlia), similar to how rody never saw manon for who she truly was.

the main difference between iris & manon would be that manon had the courage to break off her relationship with rody when she saw that he wasn't ready for love yet, while iris continued loving phoenix even though she knew it could never last...

here's where i'll deviate from the original game a bit!

franziska von karma (no counterpart)

franziska is edgeworth's adoptive sibling and she comes into his restaurant (la gueule de saturne) as a customer occasionally to check up on his business.

very condescending to phoenix on account of his low socio-economic status. often makes fun of him.

when she sees phoenix working there, she begins to suspect that something is amiss, and hints that her brother miles might have ulterior motives in employing him. of course, phoenix doesn't catch on until it's too late...

dahlia hawthorne (no counterpart)

iris' twin sister. the reason she has a different last name as opposed to iris is because she's already married.

her marriage is largely loveless, which is why she cares so much about her sister's relationships: she doesn't want her sister to suffer the same pain that she feels, wedded to a man she doesn't even love

i'm thinking that she randomly visits the bistro for a quick meal with her husband. when she catches sight of phoenix, she lashes out at him, thinking that he's the reason for iris' disappearance. on the other hand, phoenix mistakes her for iris at first, not knowing that she had a twin sister.

general things:

set in the states in the 60s as opposed to france

the AU follows the game very closely with the same four endings (table for one, best served cold, best served hot, abattoir), but with extra scenes added with different characters.

that being said i'm sure there are a few other AU-specific endings that people could think up, i just don't have the creativity for that

that's all I have for now! given the similarities between the two games, i was really surprised at how it seemed like no one had thought of this AU before, so i felt like i had to say something. i don't usually post things like these, mainly being a scanlation account, so i'm sorry if it seems a bit inconsistent.

please make content of this AU, whether it's fanart, fanfiction or something else. vincerody wrightworth or feenris manonrody would be so cool. or just waiter!phoenix and chef!edgeworth in general. if you have any other headcanons or ideas for this AU please let me know them!! i'm starving over here /hj

[stargazer-sims]

Heart and Home

CONTENT WARNING - mention of violence

____________________

"You ever regret becoming a parent?"

Victor Okamoto-Nelson wishes he was anywhere but here, doing anything but participating in this uncomfortable exchange.

He folds both hands around his half finished bottle of red Gatorade and tries to ignore the fact that there are a dozen other members of hospital staff and at least as many people in street clothes in here, potentially witnessing this. Maybe it's a touch of paranoia, but he feels as if every pair of eyes and ears in the large room is on him and Ellie, and he has to resist the urge to fidget under the perceived scrutiny.

The hard plastic chair he's sitting in isn't doing much to lessen his need to move around, nor is the uneasy sensation in his stomach. Riding down in the elevator from the paediatric unit, he’d thought he was hungry, but the smell of overcooked vegetable soup in the hospital cafeteria is putting his appetite off, and Ellie's terrible question is contributing too. He feels queasy and he wants to leave.

He gazes at his fellow nurse across the cafeteria table. By coincidence, they're both on day shift this week, and when she saw him in the hospital parking lot this morning, she asked him if he'd mind meeting up for a few minutes after work. Normally, he doesn't like to hang around the hospital after his shift, but Ellie said she needed to talk to him about something and her tone seemed to imply it was important, so he reluctantly acquiesced.

So far, however, he hasn't figured out what Ellie wants. For the past ten minutes, all she's done is complain, trapping him in what has felt like a never ending cycle of nods and non-word responses of "Mm-hmm," and "Uh-huh."

Technically, Ellie is Victor's step-sister — they were both in their mid-20s when her dad married his mom — but he hasn't thought of her as a sibling of any variety in a very long time. These days, he's not even sure 'friend' is the right way to describe their relationship. They've known each other since they were babies and they'd been practically inseparable growing up, but careers, marriage, children, changing attitudes and differing perspectives on navigating life have pushed them apart. Sometimes, he feels like he doesn't even recognize her any more.

One thing he does know, though, is precisely how to answer Ellie's question about parenthood. His sweet Caroline has given him joy since the moment they first met, even before she became his and Yuri's legal child. Adopting a kid with albinism came with a set of challenges they hadn't been entirely prepared for, and they've had to learn a lot along the way, but he can say with honestly that he's never had a single hint of regret. He loves Caroline as if she were his own flesh and blood, and the idea of not having her is painful. Caroline has added so much to his and Yuri's lives, he can't imagine what their existence would look like now if they hadn't adopted her.

"Never," he says emphatically. “It was like some part of me was missing, and I didn't even realize it until Caroline came along and filled up that empty space."

"Lucky you," Ellie says.

"We are lucky," he agrees. "I wake up every day thankful that I've got Yuri and Caroline."

"Must be nice. Generally, I wake up asking myself what kind of disaster I'm going to have to face that day. Nora and Elliot are pushing my last button, and Leo's no help. He thinks the solution is to take Elliot and move into his parents' basement."

Victor studies his step-sister. She's exactly four months younger than him, but her appearance is that of someone ten years older. Her wavy brown hair is streaked with grey, and he's sure the dark smudges beneath her eyes are permanent. She looks exhausted in a way that a few solid nights' sleep wouldn't be enough to fix.

"Have you talked to Mom and Julian about any of this?" he asks.

She makes a dismissive huffing sound. "Dad and Grace are no help either. Grace says it's none of her business. Typical of her, honestly. And Dad won't do anything. He says he's supportive, but then he goes and tells me that Leo and I have to work our family problems out between ourselves."

"Well, he's not wrong about that second part," Victor says. "Yuri's mom told me and Yuri a long time ago that the way to have a strong marriage is to have good communication and to not hide anything from each other. We had to figure out how to do that together. It wasn't easy, but I can tell you it was worth putting in the work."

"I was kind of hoping for better advice than 'fix your own shit'."

"Believe it or not, that is the best advice," Victor says. "Even when things were at their worst, nobody stepped in and sorted out mine and Yuri's problems for us. Mom and Julian helped us a lot with advice and stuff, and so did Rei and Kenji, but Yuri and I really did have to fix our problems on our own, and I think we're stronger now because of that."

"Having a charmed life like yours must be nice," Ellie comments.

"I'm gonna pretend that wasn't sarcasm."

"Got any other pearls of wisdom other than telling me to solve my own problems?"

"I get that you're looking for something specific, but—"

"I'm looking for a miracle," Ellie cuts across him.

"I can't do those,” he says.

"God, I wish I could wind back the universe," she says. "I never would've agreed to marry Leo. Or maybe I would have, but I would've said no fucking way when it came to having kids."

"But... why?" he asks.

"This is probably going to be hard for you to understand since your kid is so perfect, but parenthood sucks for the rest of us."

"I don't think it sucks for most people."

"For me it does," Ellie says. "When I had Nora, I realized I gave up a whole chunk of myself that I'd never get back. Then we had Elliot, and... yeah. I gave up my freedom for those kids. I gave up my happiness, my independence and my whole fucking identity as a person for them. I lost my ability to enjoy my life just to make sure they could enjoy theirs, and those ungrateful little shits don't even care."

Victor is momentarily stunned. He has never met anyone who harboured such resentment toward their own children, and he's shocked and horrified to learn that his step-sister feels this way.

As for himself, he wouldn't say that he and Yuri gave up much of anything when they adopted Caroline. They haven’t lost their happiness or their individual identities, and they certainly haven’t given up their freedom.

Sure, Yuri had a less than smooth transition into parenthood, but he’d eventually found his footing, and Caroline's presence hadn't stopped him from doing everything he wanted to do. Yuri has grown his business, written three children's books, volunteered in the community and enjoyed his hobbies while parenting, and Victor has worked, volunteered and played as much as he's wanted to while raising Caroline as well. The three of them have travelled all over the world together, and they've had countless adventures and made the best memories. Far from being stifled after becoming fathers, having Caroline around has enriched them and expanded the scope of their experience.

"I'm sorry," he says, because he has no idea how else he's supposed to respond.

"No, you're not," says Ellie.

"I don't know what you're expecting from me," he tells her. "I just had to sit here and listen to you go on a huge rant about Elliot and Nora, and now you're telling me you never wanted them in the first place? I don't know how you want me to react to that, but i really am sorry. For you and Leo and your kids."

"I'm expecting you to help me."

"By doing what? Do you want me to tell Leo not to file for divorce, or not to move into Aunt Millie and Uncle Stephen's basement? Do you want me to tell Nora to come back from wherever she is and... I don't know. Be more like Caroline?"

"I want you to support me, and maybe have a little empathy," she says.

"I do have empathy for you, and I'm willing to support you, but that's kinda not what I'm hearing," he says. "It really sounds like you want me to agree with you and take your side, but you know I can't do that."

"You're my brother. You're supposed to take my side."

Victor shakes his head. "We're not siblings, Ellie. I think you know that as well as I do. I love you and I want to help if I can, but I'm not gonna let you manipulate me by trying to use the sibling card, okay? I know how you really feel about Julian being married to my mom, so you claiming to be my sister when it's convenient for you isn't the best way to go."

It's Ellie's turn to stare at him. A few seconds pass and then she asks, "Literally who are you? The Victor I used to know would've stuck up for me, no matter what."

"Maybe I'm not the Victor you used to know," he replies quietly. "We've all changed."

"Apparently," she says.

"Look, I don't know what's going on inside your head right now, and I'm not gonna claim I understand, ‘cause I don’t. All I know is, this shouldn't even be about taking sides. It's not you against Leo or you against your kids."

"How can you say that?" she demands. "It very much is me against Leo. He doesn't give a shit about me or Nora. He just wants to take Elliot and get away from me."

Based on what Victor knows, this is a fair assessment of the situation, aside from the part about Leo not caring about Nora. From conversations with Leo, Victor knows that he cares very much about his daughter and is worried about her to the point of losing sleep. He's worried about his son too, which is part of the reason he wants to take Elliot and move in with his parents.

Of course, Victor can't say any of this aloud, even though some mean little voice in his brain wants him to say, Can you blame Leo for wanting to get away from you?

He pulls in a long breath, holds it for five seconds and then lets it out slowly. "Tell me something. If you could wave a magic wand and have the ideal family right now, what would that look like?"

"You're kidding, right?" Ellie scoffs. "Why would I answer a dumb question like that?"

"Just humour me."

"Okay, fine. My ideal family would be just me and my dog. But, if I'm stuck with the family I've got, I'd want a husband who listened to me, a son who didn't have special needs, and a daughter who wasn't a disrespectful, spiteful little whore."

It takes willpower for Victor not to comment on Ellie's description of Nora. He says, "Okay. At least part of that is achievable."

"What?"

"You want me to help, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"This is me helping," he says. "You can't do anything about Elliot's disability, obviously, but you can at least make an effort with Leo and Nora."

"Right. Neither one of them is going to change. Leo has pretty much mentally checked out of our marriage, and I could scream at Nora till I'm red in the face and it wouldn't achieve anything."

"That's one thing you can work on," Victor suggests. "You know how many times I've yelled at Caroline?"

"How should I know?"

"Zero. Exactly zero times."

"Because Caroline's so angelic, you never get angry at her?"

"No," he says. "Because Caroline is a thinking, feeling person who deserves to be treated with compassion and respect. I do get mad, and I get tired and frustrated, and I've had to raise my voice to be heard plenty of times, but I've never yelled at her in anger because my anger isn't her problem."

"How is it not her problem? If my kids piss me off, I sure as hell make it their problem."

"You blame your kids for your own reaction." It's less a question than an observation.

"They were the ones who caused it," Ellie says.

"No," Victor counters. "They do something that makes you feel angry, and then you choose to overreact and blame them for it. You know you can be angry and not take it out on your kids, right?"

"Maybe you can."

"I think most people can, if they make an effort," Victor says. "I mean, I don't look at Caroline and think 'I'm mad and it's all her fault'. It's more like I'm angry or annoyed about the result of some choice she made."

"But she made the bad choice," Ellie points out.

"Yeah, but the person who decides how I'm gonna communicate my emotions about that is me, not her. Plus, I still want her to know I love her even when she does something stupid, and I want the chance to teach her to make better choices next time. How much do you think she'd learn if I screamed and freaked out every time she did something I didn't like?"

Ellie's response is laced with scorn, "If I'd known the secret to having a perfect child was just to not yell at them, I would've stopped yelling years ago."

Victor sighs. "If you're not going to take this seriously—"

"You're not exactly offering anything helpful, are you?"

"I am, if you'd listen," he says, exasperated. "I’m gonna be brutally honest here. Before you start trying to fix your kids, maybe you can work on yourself, and you could do something about your marriage. Get some couples' counselling, and maybe take an anger management class."

"Leo's not going to go to counselling."

"Have you asked him?"

"No, but I already know he won't."

"Okay. Then I guess I'm out of ideas." Victor pushes his chair back and stands up.

"Wait," Ellie says. "You're leaving? Just like that?"

"Yes, because this conversation is going nowhere," he says. "I'm tired and I want to go home."

More than anything, he wants to cleanse his mind, not only from this awful encounter but from the entire stressful day he's had today. He wants a long hot shower and something more sustaining in his belly than Gatorade and a dried out blueberry pastry. But, most of all he wants Yuri to hold him. Yuri may be tiny and frail, but Victor has never known anyone with as much inner strength as Yuri has, and no one else can comfort him and make him feel as safe as Yuri can.

He imagines Yuri's little arms wrapped tightly around him as he starts to walk away. It's only a ten-minute drive between the hospital and their new house. Only ten minutes, and he'll be in Yuri's arms for real.

"Victor, wait," Ellie calls out from behind him. He doesn't stop. Not until he hears her blurt out, "Nora's pregnant."

That causes him to halt and look over his shoulder at his step-sister. "What?"

"Nora is pregnant," she repeats.

He tells himself he shouldn't go back, that it's a bad idea, but something compels him to disregard his own better judgment. He reverses his trajectory and returns to his seat at the table. "How do you know that? I thought she moved out and you didn't have any contact with her."

"I saw her at the supermarket," Ellie reveals. "She was with some boy, and he couldn't keep his hands off her belly."

"That doesn't necessarily mean anything," Victor says.

"Oh, it means something."

Victor thinks about standing in line with Yuri at their favourite café, hugging him from behind and giving him what Yuri likes to call 'secret belly rubs' despite there being absolutely nothing secret about it. Plenty of couples cuddle that way in public. He's seen people doing that exact thing in the checkout line at the pharmacy and supermarket loads of times, and he's never once assumed any of the recipients were pregnant.

"How do you know?" he asks again.

"She's popping out exactly the same way I did when I was pregnant," Ellie says. "Remember how big I already was at twelve weeks with Elliot? I don't think she's very far along, but it was noticeable to me."

"So... is this what you really needed my help with?"

"Yeah, it's connected to it," Ellie says. "I'm sorry, okay? I should've led with that.”

“Yeah.”

“I'm so done with everything right now,” she says. “I can't handle another crisis, and I don't want Nora bringing her problems back home. It was bad enough the last time she was under our roof, with the drinking and inappropriate videos and running off at all hours of the day and night."

"What are you saying?" Victor does not like where he suspects this might be heading. "I hope you're not about to ask if she can move in with us when she gets tired of being on her own."

"God, no," Ellie says. "I might be done with her, but I wouldn't push her over to you. She's made it pretty clear that she hates Caroline, and God alone knows what might happen if they were under the same roof. I wouldn't put your kid at risk like that."

"That's... something, I guess," Victor stammers.

"But I'm not about to put Elliot at risk either," Ellie continues. "I don't trust her to be around him, and I need to do something about it."

"Like what?" Victor asks, regardless that he doesn't really want to hear the answer.

"You know a lawyer, right?"

"Uh...yeah. Uncle Stephen," he says. "Otherwise known as your father-in-law."

"No, not Stephen," says Ellie. "Not Matthew or his son, what's-his-name, either."

"Arthur," Victor supplies. "Everybody calls him Artie."

"Whatever," Ellie says. "I mean Yuri's lawyer. The one for his business. She knows what she's doing, doesn't she?"

"Her name's Kadijah, and I don't think Yuri and James would keep hiring her to do stuff for the firm if she didn't know what she was doing. But, why do you need a lawyer?"

"Because Nora is turning eighteen at the beginning of November, and Leo and I won't have any control over her any more at that point. There'll be nothing to stop her from coming to the house if she feels like it, and I want a restraining order."

"You... you want what?"

"I don't want her being around her brother with booze and drugs and porn and God knows what else. He'll either end up getting hurt or he'll turn out just like her, only he won't be smart enough to keep from getting caught. I'm not having that."

"And you think getting a court order to keep your pregnant daughter away from your house is the answer?"

"I have to protect my other kid. What choice do I have?"

"I can think of a few," Victor says. "Like getting over whatever grudge you're holding and talking to her, for one. Maybe get her into a residential rehab program if you think she's actually using drugs. Set her up with either prenatal care or a termination if she's really pregnant. Anything except locking the doors and telling her she's not wanted."

"Nobody talks to Nora," Ellie says. "Leo and I gave up on that. We got tired of her screaming in our faces and putting her fists through walls whenever we said something she didn't agree with. You know she gave Elliot a black eye for telling us about the adult videos she was making."

"Before, you said he hurt himself falling in the kitchen."

"He did fall in the kitchen after his sister punched him. Leo heard him crying and ran in from the yard, and he had to pull Nora off him." Ellie elaborates. "She's out of control, and I'm done."

"You can't be done. She's your kid and she needs help."

"She needs help, but not from me. I don't want anything more to do with her, and I absolutely do not want her back in my house."

"Then, I guess you're on your own."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not helping you shut your own child out of your life," Victor informs her. "You don't have to be her best friend and you don't even have to let her live at home, but you can't give her the message that she's not loved or wanted. That'll guarantee you'll lose her for good."

"I think I could live with that," Ellie says.

Victor wonders if he's somehow slipped into a parallel dimension, because that's what it feels like. Although he's seen Ellie change over time, he struggles to reconcile the woman in front of him with the vibrant, cheerful and compassionate person he'd grown up with. When had she turned into this colder, harder version of herself? How had she transformed from the girl who had it all together and enjoyed helping others deal with their problems into somebody who seems as though she doesn't care enough to work on her own?

"You say that now, but I think you'd end up regretting it if you really did lose her." Victor says.

"No, I wouldn't," Ellie asserts. "You don't know what it's like to have a kid who hates you and does everything to spite you."

"No, and I'm glad I never will." This time, when Victor gets up from his seat, he has no intention of resuming it for any reason. "I'm sorry things are going bad, but please don't ask me for any more advice."

He barely notices anything on the short drive home. His sole focus is on getting there. When he pulls into the driveway, he's thankful to see the garage door open and Yuri's sporty little car inside.

Yuri is in the kitchen when Victor makes his way through the front door. Yuri's suit jacket is draped over the back of one of the stools at the kitchen island, and his work bag is on the island itself. He's in the process of loosening his necktie, but pauses at the sound of the door closing.

"Victor!" he exclaims. "What happened?"

Victor is flooded with relief at not having to explain that he's upset, or why. Right now, it's difficult to describe what he's feeling. It's more than one emotion. It's like anger, disgust and shock all tangled up with sadness, empathy and a crushing sense of helplessness. He's certain there isn't a single word for that, so instead of saying anything, he just holds out his arms.

Yuri comes to him immediately and slips his own arms around him. He leans into him and rests his head against his chest. Victor drops his arms around Yuri's shoulders and buries his face in his husband's hair.

"It's okay," Yuri murmurs. "You don't have to tell me now."

Yuri knows him so well, it's almost as if he's able to read his thoughts. The overwhelming gratitude he has for Yuri knowing exactly what he needs makes him want to cry, and he swallows painfully around the lump in his throat.

"I love you," he says against the top of Yuri's head. "I'll never stop loving you, and I'd never give up on you or Caroline for any reason, no matter what. I need you to know that, okay?"

"I know," Yuri says softly. "When you promised me forever, I know you meant it. I hope you know I meant it too."

"I know," he whispers.

"Whatever's going on, we're in it together just like always. You don't have to do anything on your own." Yuri tightens his hold, whether reflexively or on purpose Victor can't determine. "When you're ready, we'll talk about it, all right?"

He's fully aware there's no solution this time, nothing he and Yuri can realistically do to make it better for Ellie and Leo and their kids, but he'll tell Yuri about it anyway, if only so he doesn't have to carry the burden of his feelings alone. Perhaps Yuri can help him understand why this is affecting him so much, why it feels like a wound to his heart even though, in actuality, the situation has nothing to do with him.

He nods. "Okay."

"I love you," Yuri says.

All of a sudden, Victor can no longer fight his tears, but it’s okay if he surrenders. There's no judgment here. Yuri will shield him. Inside Yuri's embrace is the safest place he knows, and Yuri's quiet, steady presence is the perfect counterbalance to his flaw of being too sensitive and allowing his emotions to reside too close to the surface.

He tries and fails to take a deep, calming breath, only succeeding to produce a ragged gasp. Yuri strokes his back and soothes him with gentle sounds that might not even be real words in any language.

Yuri's voice is like an anchor grounding him, and his second attempt to settle himself goes better.

He wishes there were a bigger, weightier phrase to convey his gratitude for his soulmate and all he's done for him and for their amazing life together, but even if he doesn't have one, he's certain Yuri will understand.

After a few more deep breaths, he finds his voice and says, "Thank you."

[edgarallanpoesbestie]

My top head cannons for The Villain's Lair by Pattycake Productions:

(PLEASE check out the channel, The Villain's Lair is one of their best series: https: //youtube.com/@pattycakeproductions?si=7JG-KjRbMUUR_H35 )

Cruella and Gothel are besties - 'nuff said. You know they're standing at the back of the room gossiping and sharing beauty tips ALL the time. Especially Cruella. The rest of the Queen's council are trying to keep this whole revenge plan from going off the rails, but their main priority is making sure they look fiendishly fabulous

We already know that Scar guards the lair with a few loyal hyenas, but I bet good money he grumbles about it at any given opportunity. From king of the Pridelands to overgrown guard dog; he absolutely talks shit about the villains behind their backs

Frollo, being his natural creep-ish self, isn't 'friends' with any of the villains apart from Jafar. His main problem with the others is that they're either idiotic, are powerful women or possess magical abilities. The latter is the reason he's personally conflicted about being on good terms with Jafar. His lil' brain can't handle that the closest thing he has to a friend is the world's most powerful sorcerer

Jafar doesn't care tho, he's far too busy trying to suck up to the Queen so that he can relive his Royal-Visier-I'm-basically-in-charge days. This means that he and Maleficent are slightly bitter: he's constantly trying to outshine the other villains in usefulness and raw power, and Maleficent is so effortlessly on top in both categories (no matter how much she and EQ go at it) that he's salty about never being able to compete with her

NO ONE wants the quarters of the castle closest to the Queen of Hearts because it's practically eardrum s*icide. They just about tolerate her shouting during meetings, they do not want it in their off time thank you very much (Bonus headcannon: it's been decided that if Hans needs a room after the Morva voyage is over, THAT can be his. Captain Hook's suggestion lol)

Hook enjoys things that are stereotypical considered 'feminine', though he'd prefer the label "chivalrous or otherwise elegant". Playing piano, fine clothes, flowers (especially his favourites which are begonias), ect. Make no mistake, he's retained the blood thirstiness and ruthlessness of his pirate career, and this cocktail of a personality compliments and even amuses Lady Tremaine, who secretly enjoys having him around for tea

Maleficent and the Evil Queen are secretly intrigued by each other's power (huge capacity for magical strength Vs cunning leadership) but would rather drop DEAD than admit it as they're both concerned over what that could mean. You mean to tell them there's someone equally as formidable and intimidating as themselves?? Gasp. Their egos couldn't handle it if you paid them, so they consistently try to one up each other to feel important

Whilst Dr Facilier was an undercover spy in the lair, he'd sneak away after every meeting to update Ursula on his progress of throwing a spanner into the Villains' plans. It just makes me giggle to think of him eagerly giving her the details like a little kid going "look at what I just did!" but obv 10x more devious

[seaofreverie]

Today I want to share the joy that Reading A Newspaper has brought me recently (yesterday).

Because you see, it's not very often that I can read a several pages long good quality feature on a band that I'm something of a fan of, considering that until last year at best, all and any musical favourites I had were next to unheard of in the, let's call it, professional music business. And said feature also gave a few mentions to the one and only fav band of all time which I'm also still not used to being able to read about in my language (because it only happened like 5 times in total so far anyway, but still). And I can buy the newspaper in my local store in this minuscule town and find Sparks inside, like wow, it really is My Sparks, in this real life physical newspaper that I just got. This was like a belated but very epic christmas gift for me and I'm not kidding.

But well yeah getting to the point now, Franz Ferdinand are starting their tour soon promoting their upcoming new album and they're stopping in Poland too, so there was this whole 14-pages long overview of their whole career, and while I was obviously interested in the whole thing I was most hyped about the fact that there would have to be something about FFS and Sparks there and this brings me to my delighful observation that wow, all of this is so, connected in a way. Like how there are these connections in inspiration and collaborations between many of my favourites that I didn't even think about probably being a thing before, but when I think about it it just makes so much sense. Like how in this interview with Alex Kapranos, the interviewer brings up Talking Heads and specifically Fear of Music, because the new Franz Ferdinand album also has this sort of overarching theme of fear. And it's funny because that's the first Talking Heads album I've ever listened to and still my favourite from them to this day and overall one of my all-time favourite albums. And I guess it shouldn't be that shocking that it'd come up here because Talking Heads were super influential and inspired thousands, but also until now I didn't think about how both these bands share the general direction of creating dance-able type of rock with lyrics that are often on the more reflective and "intellectual" side. And also that album has been recommended to me as the most TMBG-like of theirs so. Wow I wonder why I like it.

Ok there were also all these other things that I want to mention too, so, other miscellaneous points of interest:

In the debut album review, the reviewer said that during Tell Her Tonight Alex sings a lot like Russell Mael, who likes to sing in falsetto. And well I know there's also the Sparks connection in the form of FFS to come later but still, this was such a great SPARKS MENTION!!!! moment for me anyway. But also they got one thing wrong, because it's not that Russell likes singing in falsetto, Ron forced him to sing in falsetto by writing all of his songs in this crazy uper range of notes, and that's a very important detail !!!!!!

And ok I had no idea that Piss Off already existed in some form as far back as 2004!! Or I knew about this and then I forgor. Either way, fascinating piece of information

I need to know more about how these star-based ranking systems work because why would you call FFS an "excellent album" and then rate it 4 stars. Instead of, I don't know, 4 and a half or 5 maybe?? Especially since it apparently has only 2 "weak songs". And I have some major objections when it comes to this too, because we're calling Things I Won't Get a weak track now?? It's just underrated as heck, and that's a hill that I will die on

Also I could never be a music reviewer because these people can fit their whole commentary on one song within one sentence and I feel like I would have to write at least 3 paragraphs on even the least exceptional of songs on a given album before I can feel like I did it justice. I mean, this whole post itself shows how much of a problem this is for me, lol

Also guys were we all aware that FFS turns 10 next yeah. Oh god. Well I need to remember to keep my tradition and preapre a cool piece of fanart for that occasion then. Maybe they should give us FFS 2 to celebrate, I'm pretty sure there'd be lots of interest among the fandom in something like that. Anyway

Well also this wasn't the only article in this whole thing of course and CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, there was a little bit on the Harrison & Belew Remain In Light Tour, which I will also be attending!!! Lots of great stuff is cooking for the first half of 2025 for me musically I can't lie

And also CAN YOU BELIEVE IT, that a year and a half since it was supposed to be released "worldwide" and long after I already lost hope that I'd ever see it in a cinema, they're releasing Stop Making Sense in cinemas over here too. Fucking finally!!! By gods and heavens, that rare moment when you learn about something crucial through a goddamn instagram ad of all places. And then they also reminded me about this in an actual article so well wow. Can you believe this. I can't. So stocked for next saturday when i'm seeing this movie the way it was always supposed to be seen hehehe

Ok I think that's it. Thank you for reading and maybe I should really make that personal website for my rambles in the new year. I'd definitely put that thing to use.

[divorcetual]

did marty get a new brain or what

NO AAKXKGJSJJTQ im avtually not sure if ive mentioned it before? now that I think abt it? maybe in passing?

edit: tl;dr at the end

So if ur in any settlement belonging to Koro, you have two options for jobs. The most common route are jibs related to Koro's creation. Mechanics, engineers, software specialists, obv theyre all part of that, but so are things like doctors, architects, etc etc. Its a fairly broad category. (Doctor is actually kinda a unique one tho bcs there are spacialist doctors who work directly on Koro and not regular ppl, and they're taken from the best students in each yesrly class)

BUT one of Koro's and the Grandmaster's saving graces is that they Do know certain professions unrelated to Koro are vital. BUT the basis of The Basilisk is "anyone who didnt put their all into helping to create Koro will be tortured", so its kinda hard to work that in.

Their solution is this thing called "family contracts" !!! Basically, you can apply to have your own business (artists, specialty chefs, authors, etc.) and if approved you and consenting family can run it for the low low price of donating part of your brain immediately and the rest of it upon death

You can actually choose which part you want. They have a firmer grasp on what parts of the brain do and where/how much you can take without immense harm being caused. Some ppl choose to lose certain senses like smell or taste (on rarer occasions touch, sight, or hearing might be taken but thats much less common), some might agree to losinf the ability to talk or to read if they're comfortable living without it. Its surprisingly common for ppl to choose to lose the abikity to feel most or all emotions, etc etc etc

ANYWAY. With a family contract you obv have to kose part of ur brain, as do any other adults in your family working with you. The contact also lasts as long as theres at least one person in the family running the business.

HOWEVER, children have the choice to not continue the family contract and instead go into Koro work. They have to decide by the time they're 20.

both Marty and Robbin originally went into Koro work (Marty and a doctor and Robbin as a parts designer), BUT Marty was kicked out from medical school nead the end due to assisting a patient in suicide. She did have the choice of choosing another career, but ended up agreeing to continue the family business (barbershop) instead. Because of this, she had to have part of her brain taken out. She chose parts that impacted personality, risk assessment, and emotional interest. As a result, she changed DRASTICALLY while not losing anything that would impact her medical skills (I mean... I'd say personality, risk assessment, and emotional skills ARE all important but you can only have so much). She did this so she could start an underground clinic w/ her knowledge

as a result tho she DRASTICALLY changed. Her previouslt bright and loud personality, similar to her brother Robbin, became very dull and mellow. She wasnt a particularly fearful person before, but she has less inhibition to dangerous things both for herlef and her patients esp. if it MIGHT help in healing. Her empathy was actually already p low so that didnt change v much.

TL;DR - no she just donated parts of it that were tied to personality, making her rlly mellow. So she could be a barber

[raviliuz]

Marcus Flint's tattoos

Okay so, I mentioned a few times that in my headcanons Marcus didn't end up playing professional quidditch. Instead he got a job at a tattoo studio in Knockturn Alley, and later on Cassius Warrington bought that studio. They've completely redesigned it and successfully run the business since then

And well, most tattoo artists have many tattoos themselves so here I am, with headcanon about Marcus' tattoos

(in order of getting them btw)

1) a little stick and poke tattoo of a ghost above his wrist ('93)

He had it done during the summer of '93, after he had gotten disowned. It was one of the first tattoos Cassius ever did (16yo in his bedroom, mind you) and it's not the best, Marcus already had it redone as ink got lighter in some parts. The ghost is a symbol of Marcus Flint dying, as part of him did die with his decision to leave. It's a new beginning. Ghost is smiling, much more than Marcus was back then, it's happy to just be a ghost of the past, not a suicidal teenager anymore

2) of course he has a quidditch-related tattoo ('94)

It's a quaffle with a magpie print on it as Montrose Magpies is his favourite team since he was a little kid. Marcus has it on his ribs (broken so many times because of quidditch). He had it done professionally by his boss right after his employment. He chose art career path but quidditch was still important to him, always will be, and he wanted to combine his two passions.

3) fig flowers below his collarbone ('94)

It's a Terence Higgs tribute. Marcus really wanted something relating to Terence. Terry is his closest friend and literally saved his life many times and he wouldn't be there without him. But he wanted it to be pretty and not so obvious because it's cringe. He just thought that Higgs sounds similar to "figgs" hence fig flowers. Marcus chose flowers because they're prettier but after that Adrian made up a meaning behind it. That tattoo was related to their friendship, ongoing since they were kids and they stuck together for so many difficult years, surprisingly turning out great and mature and rather healthy. They were troubled teenagers but end up as healthy adults. They BLOSSOMED, you know

4) a teardrop made of flint on his throat ('96)

Another one about his development as a person, of him redefining himself. He's still a Flint but created anew, hewn by himself and his experiences. The shape is supposed to simulate smooth spear blade as first of all, his name comes from Mars, the god of war, and second, when he was younger his default emotion was anger. He thought crying was a sign of weakness (toxic masculinity at its worst) so he turned to anger and hatred and violence. And while adult Marcus isn't the most open and it's hard for him to talk about emotions, he's doing much better.

He created the design and symbolism behind this tattoo while heavily drunk, didn't remember it when he woke up, luckily he drew it and made notes he found the next day and thought it's weird but he's weird so it's perfect

5) a red line dragon on his shoulder blade ('97)

Matching tattoo with Cassius Warrington. In their tattoo studio there's that exact dragon on the wall. Marcus made a project of it and Cass created that mural with red spray paint. They got it tattooed by each other on the first anniversary of rebranding the studio and opening it. Marcus has it on his shoulder blade and Cass on his ribs

6) a very sappy matching with Oliver after their engagement ('98)

Oncoming war made them realised how uncertain tomorrow is. They got engaged and wanted something more lasting, they were sure of each other after their complicated relationship during their teenage years but 4 happy years together. And it had to be related to quidditch as it was important not only to the both of them separately but also them as a couple and their relationship. Marcus has a goalpost with "my goal" under it and Oliver has a quaffle with the same text, both over their hearts.

Marcus' goal in quidditch as a chaser is to score at goalposts. Oliver's goal as a keeper is to catch the quaffle. It obviously symbolises each other position in quidditch, they are each other final goal (relationship goal if you will), they wouldn't make sense without each other

7) tangled snake on his forearm ('98)

It's a reinterpretation of Slytherin and the dark mark. After the war, everyone became wary of snakes and Slytherins, and while Marcus understood that, he hated it. Being a slytherin didn't mean being a bad person and he knew how stereotypes like that could affect kids sorted to Slytherin. It was making monsters. If you did nothing wrong but everyone thought you're bad, why would you even try, you slowly become sure they have a reason. So yeah, it was his way of reowning it and showing he's proud of being a slytherin (and not a deatheater)

Bonus about Cassie Warrington

Cassius Warrington is tatted all over his body, most of it is meaningless. Some are pretty, some are just reminiscent of training on himself, hell some are dares and jokes. He looks like the last page in a notebook of a bored kid and he loves it

But one more meaningful one and done professionally (other than that matching dragon with Flint):

Cassie has ouroboros tattooed on his neck, going around it and eating itself at the back (he started to cut his hair shorter so it would be visible). Ouroboros meaning is life cycle and it's kind of Cassius' way of saying yolo, in a way that yeah, he has only one life but in world scale it's meaningless, cycle will continue with or without him, so it should be meaningful to him by doing things he loves and wants. Also, it's specifically the pueblan milk snake because Cassie totally has a pet snake and pueblan milk snake was his first one (it's great for beginners and really flashy, I like it)

Life update, I love uni, it's so cool, 2nd year psychology student here, also I'm in science club and I have an awesome opportunity to do workshops with teens at locat city library and it's so cool and fulfilling

[bvrningfrost]

random shiorume hcs:

- shiori occasionally smokes when shes in a good mood or tipsy, uraume very occasionally smokes when they're going through it, both enjoy an after sex cigarette tho

- they are both generally healthy but shiori is more a protein shakes and supplements type of healthy while uraume is more of an organic natural food type of healthy

- shiori is very quick to take pain killers while uraume trusts natural house remedies more and always rolls their eyes whenever shiori declines their help

- uraume is extremely stubborn and never asks for help which pisses shiori off

- generally shiori is just more adapt to the modern way of living a japanese city life which is fast and efficient and uraume makes their whole personality about rejecting anything modern lmao

- i strongly believe the monk robes weren't shiori's and were actually kenjaku's idea so that uraume blends in better within his cult (also bc if they were shiori's clothes i would need to completely rethink her entire character lmao)

- shiori is actually the slightly better cook but she lets uraume cook more because cooking is a love language for them, i think shiori would be too busy majority of the time to cook proper meals anyway

- but whenever uraume is overworked, not feeling well etc, shiori cooks them the most banger meals that shes very proud of and uraume usually reacts with a playful "its pretty good i guess 🙄" (its the best thing they have ever eaten)

- shiori would go career hunting while uraume just prefers a regular job but definitely from home

- idk why yet but i think shiori would be a designer of some sort, i need to think about that some more, shiori gives me the vibe of a very creative person

- shiori believes in astrology and aura's and all that stuff while uraume doesn't really have an interest in that but uraume is more superstitious but they're lowkey about it, shiori always knows tho and laughs abt it sometimes but is still respectful towards it

- both of them are religious and go to temples together etc. but more like regular japanese ppl do

- uraume is mad into japanese folklore and shiori loves listening to uraume talk about it, eventho it gets a bit scary sometimes

- shiori likes crime documentaries, uraume does not and doesn't understand why shiori is watching these bc she tends to get scared of certain things afterwards

- both of them are into history and shiori loves that shes at the source of it with uraume hehe

- i think shiori wouldn't like sukuna lmao she would probably think that he doesn't treat uraume with the respect they deserve (yes im once again thinking about him fucking off to his black haired twink after reuniting with uraume, AFTER THOUSAND YEARS, i will never forgive him for that)

- its fun to think about shiori getting all protective over uraume and starting to argue with sukuna, giving zero shits abt the fact he can turn her into minced meat at any given moment

- i feel like he would be a topic of argument between shiori and uraume sometimes (not in a jealousy type of way) but shiori realizes after a while that there really is no point in trying to point reality out to uraume, uraume is more aware of that than shiori knows but uraumes and sukunas bond (doesn't matter if its platonic or romantic) is beyond a regular humans comprehension

- they both would tear the world into shreds for one another

- uraume doesn't like shiori's friends, uraume doesn't really like... anyone apart from two ppl lol

- family is important to shiori but she doesn't come from a very good family (i have a theory that shes kaori's sister, gonna make a separate post about it)

- they both have a license but don't really like driving a car unless they have to

- i do think shiori has a CT but she doesn't work as a sorcerer bc she doesn't agree with their values and morals, shiori doesn't care that uraume is a curse user, i think shiori had a bad past with jujutsu and doesn't really wanna get involved in it anymore

- shiori would love yuji bc he's the only thing that remains from her sister and would be protective over him, she doesn't like that he is a sorcerer

- uraume and shiori definitely fight sometimes :3333 shiori is extremely good at her CT, sukuna has a BLAST watching them

- they like to go to museums only to get mad and complain about the stolen artifacts there and where they actually belong to

[hear-that-music-in-the-air]

Ada and Ian Headcanons (Rhythm Doctor)

this got Long As Hell i'm sorry lmao. headcanons under the cut!!

Ada:

- We know that Ian is a radiologist, but I think Ada is probably a general practitioner/primary care physician! If she's canonically a cardiologist (bc heart stuff) then that's my bad lmao. But based on what we see in the game, she doesn't really seem to specialize in anything. She instead seems to have a wide range of medical knowledge and we see her treating a variety of different illnesses/injuries, including Mr. Stevenson's broken leg and Lucky's torn rotator cuff. We know that she's been having to do pretty much everything around the hospital bc they're so understaffed, and primary care physicians usually have fairly extensive medical knowledge covering multiple fields, which I think is what allows her to do that.

- One of my biggest hcs about Ada is that she has a very strained relationship with her parents, and that her parents are also both doctors, though I imagine they're close to retirement by now. However, unlike Ada, they both specialize in highly specific fields like brain surgery or something (I actually do imagine her dad to be a neurosurgeon lmao), and because they're both so successful they have incredibly high expectations of her. They look down on her for choosing to be a GP/primary care physician because they think of that work as somehow less important/less worth her time. They're the kind of people who absolutely have a superiority complex about being doctors and ~saving lives~. Also definitely not the kind of people who should have had kids. They're distant at best and extremely judgmental and condescending at worst.

- Ada has one younger sister who's six years younger. Because their parents were always so busy with their careers, Ada basically grew up taking care of her sister, which definitely contributed to her mentality of feeling responsible for everyone all the time. Her sister moved out of their parents' house as soon as possible and is currently attending college somewhere far away, but she and Ada still keep in touch. Ada being an eldest daughter just makes too much sense to me lmao

- I like to think that Ada is an extremely affectionate person by nature. But because of growing up with emotionally distant parents, she doesn't ever really expect for that affection to be returned, especially from Ian who's not very outwardly affectionate most of the time. So when he does go out of his way to express affection it means a lot to her :)

- Because of the way her parents are, I think she kind of has an unconscious mentality of "no one is ever going to love me as much as I love them." She also struggles with people-pleasing tendencies (taking on more work than she can handle, having difficulty saying no to people) and self-esteem issues. So whenever someone goes out of their way to show her love, it kind of catches her off guard lol

- Ada's primary love languages are physical touch and words of affirmation (I'll explain this more below lol). She's REALLY big on physical touch—Ian generally does not like physical touch and one of the only people he tolerates/enjoys it from is Ada. Though I definitely think acts of service is one of her love languages too, as seen in Middlesea College Life. I simply think that she has so many love languages because she's FULL of love

- I imagine Ada as someone who feels her emotions very strongly, and who is generally just a highly emotional and empathetic person. Her empathy makes her good at connecting with the patients, but it also means that she feels everything so much all the time and it can be overwhelming for her sometimes. She’s undoubtedly very intelligent, but I think she’s still very much a heart over head type of person. She also cries pretty easily, though she has to try her best to keep it under wraps at work. The list of movies that make her cry is extensive, which Ian lovingly teases her for.

- Ada is extremely nearsighted and can't see much at all without her glasses. Because of this one of her favorite jokes is saying “I’ve seen enough” and taking her glasses off lmao

- Courtesy of @nightmun: Ada earnestly loves dad jokes, puns, and anything similar. Ian gets her a joke book as a gift once and regrets it immediately.

Ada, incredibly excited: IAN WHAT DOES A LEMON SAY WHEN IT PICKS UP THE PHONE

Ian: …what?

Ada: YELLOW!! *WHEEZE*

Ian: <:)

(this is the fifth one she’s told him today)

Ian:

- Ian’s mother is a single mom and his dad left when he was ten, hence why Ian is currently the only one taking care of her. Ian was also an only child. I imagine he and his mom are very close since it’s just been the two of them for so long, so her illness has really been taking a toll on him.

- Ian is bilingual and speaks Mandarin! I don’t think he has a canon ethnicity in-game (though please correct me if I’m wrong), but I’ve been thinking of him as Chinese Canadian, in line with @pokeblog123’s headcanon that Middlesea is in Canada. I imagine he and his mom speak Mandarin at home sometimes.

- I think Ian probably did robotics and/or coding as hobbies in high school and college! We know that he’s insanely tech-savvy, and he seems to have quite a talent for programming. In that same vein, another one of Ian's hobbies is buying old/vintage video game consoles from garage sales, on eBay, etc. and taking them apart to see how they work, sometimes also restoring them if he can.

- I know this is a pretty popular hc already but I think Ian is autistic/generally neurodivergent lol. I do try to write him with this in mind

- Related to that, Ian struggles with social cues to a certain degree, and subsequently has more trouble connecting with the patients than Ada. His little character card says he’s “better with computers than people” and I think this is probably because people are just difficult for him to read. Computers are much simpler; they’re predictable and generally do what they’re programmed to do. People are a lot more complicated. I do think he’s learned to read Ada fairly well simply because he’s known her for so long

- Ian's primary love language is acts of service/gift-giving. He struggles with physical touch and with verbalizing his feelings so he shows his love by doing things for people instead (which was part of the inspiration for my fic "Helping Hand"). If he goes out of his way to do something for you, that’s how you know he really cares. He's an actions over words type of guy :)

- Ian can be very blunt and straightforward, as we see in the game, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care. We know from game dialogue that he regularly encourages Ada to take breaks and is generally concerned for her wellbeing, and we can also infer that he worries a great deal about his mother. He definitely cares, he just has different ways of showing it.

- Ian normally doesn’t cry very easily and he also doesn’t like to cry in front of other people, but my hc for why he cried at the Stevensons’ reunion is because it reminded him of his own sick mother, who’s been alone ever since his dad left. He’s usually not one to cry in public but that just got to him. I like to think that Ada checked up on him afterwards.

(ACT 5 SPOILERS)

- Although he doesn't really show it, I think Ian probably feels a certain amount of guilt for everything that's happened with Connectifia Abortus, especially now that it's been revealed that the virus originated from the system he created. He knows that the rhythm defibrillator system could put the patients in danger if the virus keeps getting worse, and he's been working day and night to try to fix it. Of course, Edega's demand for a "miracle cure" at the expense of caution and safety certainly isn't helping matters. Given that Ada also needs treatment on occasion, one of Ian's biggest fears is that Ada will get hurt because of the virus (and, he thinks, because of him).

BOFA THEM:

- I think Ada was Ian's first, and possibly only, good friend at college. I imagine they met through their shared classes and Ada was one of the only people who made a point to talk to him. After that she sort of just stuck around, much to Ian’s initial surprise. He had always struggled with making friends and he was hesitant to open up to her at first, but her persistence and genuine sincerity eventually won him over. Now they’re best friends :)

- I've seen other people say that they were probably roommates at some point in college/med school and I definitely think so too. I'm sure they pulled a lot of all-nighters together lol

- Once Ada and Ian became close friends, I like to imagine that she also got to know Ian's mother. She's always gotten along with her very well, and because her own parents were so distant, Ada came to think of her as somewhat of a parental figure. When Ian's mom first got sick and started requiring intensive care, Ada insisted on helping out with anything they needed.

- What I was referencing above about Ada and physical affection: I think Ada might be somewhat touch-starved because of my headcanon that her parents aren't very affectionate people. She craves physical touch and words of affirmation because she never got much of that from her parents. Once Ian figures this out, he tries his best to do those things for her even though it doesn't come as naturally to him (as in like, he’s normally not one to initiate hugs but he’ll give Ada a hug if he can tell that she needs it).

- Ian’s pragmatism balances out Ada’s bleeding-heart altruism, and vice versa. I think over years of friendship they’ve learned to appreciate the other’s perspective and find a middle ground, though of course that’s not always possible in high-stress medical situations.

- Ada doesn’t really understand anything about the online games that Ian plays, but she probably uses gamer lingo incorrectly on purpose just to annoy him lmao

- Unrelated to anything but I think one of their favorite pastimes is hate-watching Grey's Anatomy together and making fun of all the medical inaccuracies (I’ve never watched Grey’s Anatomy but I’ve heard there are many). Despite this they’re both low-key invested but neither of them wants to admit it lol

Anyway I love them. In my mind they are besties who get married for tax benefits. Thank you for your time if you read this far lmao

[batsplat]

casey also talks about sepang 2015 what do you think of that

oh in that podcast? uh... lemme listen again...

yeah idk it's not really anything new I'd say? he's said basically all the same stuff in more interesting and extensive ways elsewhere. I think casey inevitably has a very 'well feuding is bad and helps nobody' point of view, has expressed that before in the past, does it here again, and he's also drawn a parallel between himself and marc on several occasions. which... well, of course there's similarities in terms of public discourse or whatever, but the parallel really falls apart whenever casey argues the feuds cost valentino. like, I do think it's sometimes important to just. keep in mind. it's interesting that casey draws this comparison in his mind but that doesn't necessarily means he's right about this. I'm not sure how you'd argue that starting a feud with casey cost valentino anything competitively? you can argue it didn't help him I guess, and then we can have a debate about the ins and outs of the 2008 season. we can also have an argument that in a hypothetical world where casey isn't ill in 2009, valentino doesn't break his leg and casey isn't on a piece of junk in 2010, and valentino isn't on a piece of junk in 2011-12, then actually maybe valentino sparking open animosity with casey COULD have cost him. but we don't know that! didn't happen! I wish we could have found out, but we never got the chance! as it stands, the tally on this is pretty straightforward: casey won the title when things were reasonably civil between them in 2007, and valentino took control of the following season at the exact moment he worsened the relationship between the pair of them in 2008. obviously, it's all more complicated than that and casey would of course argue laguna didn't negatively affect his subsequent performances... but it certainly didn't help them. like, at the very worst valentino escalating tensions in 2008 is a complete net neutral. after 2009, them being bitchy to each other every other tuesday was completely competitively irrelevant beyond maybe affecting how they approached occasionally fighting for a podium position. hey, maybe casey used that feud to fire himself up through sheer spite throughout the later stages of his career, but that doesn't actually support his anti-feud stance - it's basically the exact same thing as what valentino does. they're both quite similar in that regard! always so hungry to prove a point, to show how someone else is wrong. kinda half the point with this feuding business is to get yourself going, get yourself motivated, yeah. he straight up openly admits to using yamaha's repeat rejection of him as a way of giving himself motivation, and at the end of the day that's really not all that different?

anyway, what else does casey say... oh yeah, that him and the other aliens were already kinda prepared for this and had learned vale's tricks. that valentino had only been able to get into the minds of the previous generation. welllllll *wiggles hand* sure, I mean, he did clearly have to change his approach... he couldn't just use the exact same playbook to get to them, either on-track or off-track. but that's why he did change up the playbook... again, whether you want to believe valentino won his final two titles 'in the head' rather than just through pure pace kinda depends on how you assess the evidence, but it is at the very least a debate. and, y'know, it's always worth remembering that valentino's most important mind games with casey didn't happen in a press conference... it was on the track. and the on-track stuff really is just embedded in how valentino approaches winning. speaking of aliens, this is what dani and jorge have said:

like, valentino's entire approach to his riding, even to the way he's setting his bike up, is deliberately about directly fucking with you... he's not actually always trying to be faster than you as much as he's trying to give himself the tools to make your life miserable, to pressure you into mistakes, etc etc... and again, especially with casey (if anything because he was so mentally sturdy), the off-track stuff was really just window dressing. (I know they bicker a lot after 2009 but it's just so fundamentally irrelevant to actual on-track competition.) so you can be aware of those tricks, but it also doesn't necessarily help you when someone's being nasty to you on-track in a way you just fully do not enjoy. which is what it was like for casey! for casey, a lot of this comes back to the truly unpleasant context of how he was perceived by the public, how he was treated as mentally weak or 'broken' or whatever partly because he had the misfortune of coming up against a bloke who had the reputation for breaking rivals. I think it's quite natural to end up with a bit of a hardliner 'actually I've never been mentally affected by a result in my life' stance - and of course casey is a lot tougher than a lot of people give him credit for. that being said. sometimes your rivals affect you, shit happens, it's part of the game. it's fundamentally a nice idea to think that valentino's tactics weren't just morally wrong but also ineffective, which is kind of the appeal of this narrative, right? you want to believe you're above that, you want to believe you were adequately prepared and wise to valentino's tactic. it's unsurprising and understandable that casey does tend to tell the story that way, but again it's *wiggles hand* also hard to describe it as completely factual

uh. what else. oh I'm thrilled casey does canonically know valentino and marc were friends, he has said he wasn't following motogp too much during that time period so you couldn't be sure of that. does this mean anything? does it tell you anything? well, no, but it's just a pleasing thought to me. I like that. oh also 'provoking particularly aggressive riders isn't a good idea' is kinda a funny take from casey? like, he of all people would hate the idea of being cowed by someone's reputation like that... casey's right that provoking fast riders can potentially be dangerous, but y'know I do think that's probably not news to anyone almost nine years later. um. that's all I've got I think