#i wonder how well these first impressions will age as the story goes on

[h-worksrambles]

Apparently my fixation on furry visual novels is only taking me further and further down the rabbit hole (don’t). Because on a recommendation by some folks on Discord, I just started Remember the Flowers (yep, we’re going out of Echo Project territory this time).

Three chapters in and I’ve gotta say…I’m hooked.

The isekai/dystopia premise is really effective. In particular I enjoy how we alternate between Cyrus’ memories of his old life, and the new reality he finds himself in. It gives the reader the same disorientation Cyrus himself is feeling. Just as he’s questioning reality, wondering if he’s found himself in some kind of dream or simulation, if anything around him is even real, so too are we. But then, in that case, which one is real then?

Cyrus himself is already a pretty refreshing and sympathetic protagonist. His reactions to waking up in this new world in such a state feel incredibly believable. The game doesn’t shy away from just how much emotional stress he undergoes as he desperately tries to piece together his fragmented memories and make sense of the new world he’s found himself in. He has a solid amount of backbone which is a great change for the genre. Assertive enough to feel like he has a backbone but vulnerable enough to feel believable. I particularly enjoy the lengthy flashback into his relationship with Damion during the third character. Not only are they a cute as hell couple (I cannot stress how precious Damion is, dear god) but it does a very good job at establishing what kind of person Cyrus once was. And helping us understand what he needs to get back by returning home. Side note, but it’s also great to see that he’s openly asexual, and that it’s incorporated naturally into the story.

And of course, we have our other major character in these early chapters, Cooper. Because I cannot seem to escape problematic wolf men in these games. I knew very little about this game going in, apart from Cooper himself, and the fact that he is apparently a…controversial character, though I had no idea about the context as to why. Naturally, after coming off of Leo in Echo (my beloved/beloathed in equal measure). I was gearing myself for the worst. So far though? I like him. He walks a good line of abrasive and flawed but still likeable and the pair’s dynamic is effective. The tension between him and Cyrus as they’re alone in this bleak dystopic setting is really well done. Cyrus knows that Cooper is his best chance at survival, but between Cooper’s terse personality, his refusal to tell him all but the barest essentials and the simple fact that Cyrus hates feeling so dependent on someone who’s kind of a jackass, his mistrust of the wolf is palpable. And I enjoyed how it comes to a head in Chapter Three where Cyrus puts together (pretty intelligently tbh) that Cooper is hiding a lot more about Cyrus’ own identity from him. But that confrontation is what leads to a moment of truce between them where the walls start to come down and it’s satisfying to see unfold. Chapter Three was where I really got hooked because it was where the character writing really started showing me what it was capable of with stuff like this.

So far, I’m really drawn in by the world here, the contrast between the fantastical technology and how lonely and desolate the actual environments are. Coupled with the little tidbits in Chapter Three about the ‘Seven Stars’ disaster, I have tons of questions about the world that I’m excited to see answered.

I also have to credit the presentation. The artwork is lovely. The character designs have a distinct style that reminds slightly of Wind Waker. And their sprites have been very expressive. Cyrus’ own design is especially striking. We’ve also got Anthemics contributing and after loving their work on Arches and Glory Hounds, their work here likewise doesn’t miss.

Seriously, just look and listen to this title screen and tell me it’s not a wonderful mood setter.

Still, as I said, I’m only 3 chapters in. And if what little I’ve heard about this game is to be believed, I haven’t seen anything yet. But so far, this game has excellent mystery, strong characters and gorgeous presentation. I’m really excited to see what comes next.

[onceuponastory]

one single word - bucky barnes x reader

Plot: In a world where the first thing your soulmate says to you is somewhere on your body, Y/N soon realises that hers is not what she expected... or what she wants. (Soulmate!AU). Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Female!Reader Warnings: Just some swearing and reader worrying she's going to end up alone. As always, if I miss any triggers, please let me know. Notes: This is my piece for @lunarbuck's Soulmate AU writing challenge! Congrats on 2k! Also can't believe it took me so long to use a pic of Seb from this day because he looked SO GOOD. Not beta’d, so any mistakes are my own.

“Has your word shown up yet? Just got mine!” Wanda’s text comes in. Groaning, Y/N types back a reply.

“Yup.” Immediately, Wanda sends another.

“It’s that bad? I’ll be straight over.” She promises, and Y/N goes back to staring at herself in the mirror, unable to tear her gaze away from the word which is now on her side. From a young age, Y/N and everyone else in this world were told that when they got older, the first words their soulmate said to them would soon appear on their body somewhere, disappearing only when they met the soulmate in question. And of course, it led to a lot of excitement and nervous apprehension as people wondered what words would be there, and imagined what scenario they’d meet their soulmate in. 

None more so than Y/N. As she grew up, she became an author, which meant that writing loving words about others became her job, and something she now has a huge amount of experience in. All day every day, she writes paragraph after paragraph of people describing how beautiful their partners are, how much their heart beats whenever they’re around, and how they want to spend the rest of eternity with them. And the entire time, Y/N’s own soulmate is in the back of her mind, as well as her hope that their first meeting is as romantic as her stories. So obviously, Y/N had grown to expect that the words - her words - that her soulmate would end up having on their skin would be something beautiful, like poetry.

Unfortunately for Y/N, though, it seems her soulmate didn’t have the same consideration for her.

Because there, on her side, emblazoned in huge letters is one single word. “Fuck.” “It’s not that bad.” Wanda soothes as she studies the word. Thankfully, she showed up soon after receiving Y/N’s text for moral support. 

“Yes, it is! Today I wrote someone saying their lover’s eyes are as bright as the stars, and with them they feel whole. And do I get that? No, I get ‘Fuck!’”

“Maybe he’s saying ‘Fuck.’ but then he says ‘you’re the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen’?”

“Or it could be ‘fuck’ because they stepped on my toes. Or maybe they dropped coffee on me? Or-” Y/N shakes her head, trying to shake herself out of her panic. Yet, it only intensifies. “And besides, it’s such a general word! What if I get confused and think someone else is my soulmate?”

“That isn’t going to happen. Personally, I think we have a strong, intense emotional bond with them, so we’ll just know it’s them when we see them.”

“You’re such a romantic, Wanda.”

“Says you.” She rolls her eyes. When Y/N freaks out a little again, Wanda shushes her with a gentle: “Calm down. You’re going to give me a headache at this rate. And besides, it could be worse! Mine is ‘Hello there’. What even is that?!” she groans, taking another sip from her drink.

“Oh please, yours is suave and sophisticated.” Y/N argues. “Maybe it’s a ‘Hello there.’” She mimes a smirk, looking Wanda up and down. “And then he says, ‘may I just say that you are the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen?’”

“Either that or they’re doing a horrendously bad Obi-Wan Kenobi impression.” Wanda counters, making her and Y/N dissolve into fits of giggles. “But seriously. You don’t know what causes him to say that. Nobody does. That’s the beauty of soulmates.” She grins reassuringly. “And besides, I’m sure it’ll be a funny story to tell your kids one day.” 

And for a while, her reassuring words worked, and Y/N's feelings about the word permanently inked onto her side improved slightly. But the longer time went on without meeting her soulmate, Y/N started to think they don’t exist at all. And what’s worse, she’d be stuck with this single word on her side for the rest of her life, an enduring reminder of her failure to find her true love.

A few months later,

Y/N walks down the street, preoccupied by her phone call. Her publisher has been ringing her almost every day this week, desperate to know when they can expect her next manuscript. The same manuscript that’s been sitting incomplete on her laptop for the last several months. Understandably, love hasn’t been high on the list of Y/N’s priorities ever since she realised what her soulmate’s first word to her was. 

When she catches sight of herself in a shop window, noticing the hem of her sweater has ridden up, exposing the k and most of the c of the word on her side, it makes her feel worse. Of course, she still hasn’t found her soulmate. Nothing like yet another reminder of how you’re failing in life. Quickly rolling down her sweater, covering the word that seems to be burned into her skin by this point, Y/N keeps walking. In a last-ditch attempt to find some productivity and get this fucking manuscript finished, she’s decided to visit her favourite coffee shop. That and she just really wants an iced coffee. 

“When…if I ever find my soulmate, I’m going to give them a piece of my mind.” She huffs, reaching out to grab the door handle to the coffee shop. Before she can open it, the door slams open, almost hitting her in the face. Luckily, Y/N manages to dodge the figure that almost crashes into her. This is the last fucking thing she needs right now. She rounds on the man, ready to give him a piece of her mind, to ask him, no, demand that he looks where he’s going next time, and be careful!

That’s what she wanted to say. What she should’ve said.

The beautiful pair of blue eyes she suddenly finds herself staring into stops her. As blue as the sky on a gorgeous summer's day, as blue as the ocean, inviting her into their depths. This man is gorgeous. His muscles bulge out through the blue shirt (the same colour as his eyes) he has opened over a vest top. His brunette hair is pulled into a man bun, a few loose tendrils sticking out. The man’s eyes widen as he takes her all in, realising how close he came to spilling his coffee all over her. 

And then he speaks.

“Fuck.” He murmurs, his voice just loud enough for her and only her to hear. Immediately, Y/N registers her heartbeat stop.

“What did you just say?” She gasps. Instead of repeating his words, the man’s eyes widen even more, almost bulging out of his head. He rolls down the sleeve of his shirt, displaying the slowly fading words printed on his shoulder. 

“What did you just say?”

“Does yours say ‘fuck’, by any chance?” The man chuckles, still clearly in shock, and wordlessly, Y/N nods, lifting her sweater to show him.

“Oh, my god.” They both speak at the same time. The man holds a hand out, which Y/N shakes. “I’m Bucky. It’s wonderful to finally meet you.” Nervously he rubs the back of his neck, and Y/N notices a burst of pink spreading across his cheeks. “Can I just say you look absolutely gorgeous?” He stammers a little. “Sorry, I’m not entirely sure what I’m supposed to say right now. It’s not everyday you meet your soulmate.”

“We have a strong, intense emotional bond with them, so we’ll just know it’s them when we see them.” Wanda’s words echo in her mind, and Y/N’s shock turns into a smile, all thoughts of giving her soulmate a piece of her mind gone as quickly as the word on her side. At first she brushed Wanda’s words aside, but she’s actually totally right. Being with Bucky, it finally feels right. Like the missing pieces she’s spent so long looking for are finally in place.

“I know.” Y/N nods. “But it’s completely understandable. To be honest, I’m still in shock too. I’m Y/N by the way.” 

"Y/N." Bucky smiles.“I am sorry for almost spilling my coffee over you.” He chuckles, and Y/N giggles. 

“Already forgotten about.”

“I, um, I need to head off, but how about we grab some dinner tonight?” Bucky grins. “We have a lifetime to catch up on.” 

“Sounds wonderful.” Y/N smiles.

It may not have been the most perfect meeting… at least, not compared to her romance novels, but Y/N doesn’t care. Because it turned out to be perfect for her.

Please follow @onceuponastory-library and turn on notifications to be notified when I next post!

[baronessvonglitter]

Cherry, Cherry 🍒 Chapter 4 🍒

"Ride Along"

pre-outbreak! AU!Joel Miller x f!Reader

Word count: 2.610

Summary: during your ride along, you and Joel become a bit closer.

WARNINGS: 18+ Only! Mature and Explicit, sexual innuendo, flirting, Joel openly gawking at you, you gawking at Joel's delicious biceps, mutual pining (though you're both too nervous to make the first move), you now have a song 🥰, age gap (reader is 18, Joel is 35), reader's race not mentioned, no use of y/n

Author's Note: this was one of the more fun chapters to write! It also brings us the song which (in part) gave me the idea for this story. Give it a listen and tell me you can't see yourself in Joel's truck on a sunny day, windows down, music blasting ☺️

Series Masterlist

The rest of the weekend you spend in daydreams, imagining scenarios that are unlikely to happen, if only to prepare yourself for what may actually happen. Joel is not likely to sneak into your room through your window, nor to approach you in a dimly lit corner at your job. But you like to think you'd have a handle on what would happen next. You like to think he'd be impressed by your maturity, that you're not like other girls your age.

But you have to admit that at the same time you realize you have no idea of the bounds you're crossing, of what lies beyond those daydreams that play out quite safely in your head. You cannot control Joel but it's very likely he can control you, and you're not sure whether that thought excites you or scares you.

Trevor is out of sight, out of mind. He hasn't even bothered to give you a call. Whatever he sensed between you and Joel at the party that night has obviously hurt him, and he's run back to Houston to lick his wounds. You are surprised that you don't think anything about him except mild annoyance.

Should it scare you that an older man is attracted to you? You could easily shut him out, cut it off before whatever this is branches into something uncontrollable. Right now you're safe.

But what if you're tired of safety?

You're living in your cousin's house, per your mother's permission, driving a car that was handed down to you, attending a school that everyone thought was best for you.

So what's wrong with taking a little something for yourself? Figuring something out on your own, even if you might get hurt in the process? Even if you might get rejected?

Curiosity killed the cat, so the saying goes.. But is there any quote about luck? Because it's purely luck that carries you as you catch up with Joel just before he leaves for work one sunny day. Dressed in a white tee with the sleeves rolled up, high-waisted shorts and your favorite Converse high tops, you catch up with him at his passenger window. "I'm coming with you today," you say with more confidence than you feel, now that you're actually face to face with Joel again. You're taking the initiative because he hasn't reached out. Too late you realize you may be an inconvenience.

Joel looks like a deer in headlights, and for a moment you find it so cute. "Oh.. really? I, uh.. sure, that works." He pops the automatic locks on his door and waits until you step in to turn the engine on.

You smile brightly, heart hammering in your chest. "Good, because I'm buying lunch for us later." You put on your seat belt. "Where are we going first?"

He eyes you as you make yourself comfortable in his truck, and it doesn't escape you that his gaze travels up your legs and to your thighs. You wonder if he's remembering how they feel around him. Then he clears his throat and begins to back out of the driveway. "Well, we got two more new jobs that need to be done, so we'll head to those first." His arm reaches across the back of your headrest as he maneuvers the truck onto the street.

"What kinds of sites are they? Residential? Commercial?"

Joel glances at you and a smirk crosses his lips. "You've done your homework on the contracting business, haven't ya?"

You blush with pride. "There's this beautiful thing called the internet," you remind him.

"Ah, that's a foreign concept to a dinosaur like myself," his deep, warm voice sounds serious but there's a twinkle in his eyes. "Actually, they're both residential jobs. New roofing on one, and the other..." he trails off and you realize he's lost in thought, looking down, obviously distracted by the point where the hem of your jean shorts meets the flesh of your thigh. "The, uh, other job.. is rebuilding a garage." You smile as he forces his eyes back to the road, your heart skips several beats.

"Maybe it's time for some music?" you suggest, as the tension is palpable, and you know he can feel it.

"Yeah, sounds good to me." He reaches over and turns on the radio. The end of an oldies song blasts from the speakers, and is followed by another, and you immediately recognize the bright guitar melody, it's the opening of "Cherry, Cherry". With a grin you start swaying along to the music.

"I love this song," Joel says, his expression one of wonderment. "What's a kid like you know about Neil Diamond?"

"Just that this is one of my favorite songs," you reply with a cheeky grin. "And now it'll remind me of this moment."

Baby loves me, yes, yes she does Ah, the girl's outta sight, yeah Says she loves me, yes, yes she does Mmm, gonna show me tonight, yeah

When he smiles at you there's a warmth in his eyes. "It'll remind me of this moment, too."

"Then I guess this is our song," you say with certitude, leaning back against the seat, the wind ruffling your hair. "Joel, can I ask you something.. kinda personal?"

It looks like he's mentally and physically preparing himself for what your question could be. "Sure. What's up?"

You pause, second-guessing yourself. "So, why don't you have a girlfriend? I mean, I assume you're single." Your voice shakes a little as you ask, and you wonder if he can hear it.

Joel reddens slightly. "Well.. I've just been really busy with work and raisin' Sarah. Never really had time to invest in a relationship before."

You want to ask about Sarah's mom. It's been a burning question ever since you've known him, and you haven't been able to get any information from Sarah herself, whose face clouded at any mention of a lack of female presence in her life. For now it doesn't feel right to ask, and you don't want to put a dent in the fledgling friendship between you and Joel. That's a question you tuck away into your pocket for a later time. Your expression turns playful. "I guess it must be harder as you get older."

He gives a little chuckle. "Yeah, as you get older it gets harder. Women start to want kids.. want to get married."

"Are you against getting married?" you ask, genuinely curious.

There's a long silence from him and you worry whether you've crossed a boundary, brought up a sore subject. "I don't know," he answers with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I get it. Honestly the odds are against married couples. Over fifty percent of marriages end in divorce."

"Yeah. I know a lot of guy who've been burned in marriage."

You wonder if he's including himself in that number and your eyes soften. You feel it's callous to prod him and give pointless statistics. "One of my best friends back home is getting married soon. Her boyfriend proposed on graduation day. He's going into the Marines.. I can't imagine getting married at eighteen."

"Well, I can't say I'd be totally against marriage, if it was with the right person." Joel's smile is nervous, and he focuses on driving.

You could ask him what the qualifications are, and measure yourself against them, but you highly doubt 'teenaged college freshman' is one of the distinguishing characteristics he'll mention wanting in a wife. So you gracefully change the subject as you see the job site up ahead. "I'm excited to see you in action," you grin at him.

"You're excited to see me in action?" he repeats. "Well get ready. 'Cause I'll show you how I do it."

Your heart skips a beat and your blush at his innuendo. Is it innuendo?

It has to be, because he continues. "If you want, you can be my assistant. I can tell you exactly how I want things done." He gives you a side-eye and smirks. He drives up to the site and parks.

You bite your lip, taking the bait. "I'm a fast learner." You're flirting, yes, flirting back.

"I'll show you everything you need to know.."

You wet your lips with your tongue, your face still red. "I'll bet there's a lot you could teach me.."

"There is," his voice is husky, almost strained. "I'd enjoy teachin' you."

There's a tingling in your body as the flirtation seems to have taken a serious turn. Your brain locks up, taking the safest route back. "You're funny, Joel." Your smile is forced.

There's a moment of quiet, a silence that is rife with tension. "I'm not tryin' to be."

You look at him. A new tension fills the air, something exciting and new. You swallow hard. "Think we should get out?"

His countenance changes abruptly, back to factory settings. "If you want. They're almost done here, so it shouldn't take too long."

"Trying to get rid of me that quickly?"

He smirks again and hands you a bright yellow hard hat. "Come on, it's hard hat time. Can't have you gettin' hurt while you're my assistant, now can I?"

You put the hat on and it's a little bigger than you need. Seeing that smirk on his face has brought out something within you, and the words bubble up in your throat. "Can't do it without protection," you smirk back.

"Very true," he says, and you admire him with that yellow piece of plastic on his head. "But there are certain times for exceptions."

"Really? When are those times?" You watch him blush. "Come on, you're the expert. You tell me."

Now out of the truck he eyes you again, and this time you let yourself bask in how it feels. "Am I dressed okay?"

He swallows hard and gives a curt nod. "You won't see me complainin'." Just then a hopeful look crosses his face, as if he's remembered something. "You doin' anything tonight?"

Your heart leaps and you shut your mouth tight in fear it may just jump right out and land at Joel's feet. "Um, I don't think so. Why?"

He rubs the back of his neck and you watch, enrapt, as his bicep flexes. "Well me, Tommy, and some of the guys are gettin' together for a beer after work and Sarah's gonna be all by herself. I'm not sayin' she needs a babysitter, but I know she'd rather spend time with you than alone. Would you be okay comin' over, or her comin' to you?"

Your smile is wide so as to cover the hurt you feel that he didn't ask you out, and then you feel foolish for having thought it would happen at all. "Of course, Joel." Though Sarah probably would have come over even without her dad suggesting it.

"Yeah.. thanks. It's just gonna be.. y'know.. catchin' up with some friends who are in town."

You raise your brow, silently wondering if those friends include women, older women who have more confidence and experience than you. "You gonna wear something other than this?" You playfully tug at his gray t-shirt.

His grin is infectious. He obviously likes your teasing. "You don't think it looks good on me?"

"You look good all the time," you reply, walking ahead, smiling, blushing.

You watch as Joel checks out the site, giving instructions to different workers. It's a side of him you've never seen before. You watch him when you know he's not looking, taking in the way his clothes hug him in all the right places, especially his biceps: round, thick and smooth, half-hidden under his t-shirt sleeves.

When you stop for lunch at a sandwich place, you both sit in the bed of the truck, enjoying your meal. "So tonight.." you wash down your food with some water. "Should I have Sarah at my place in case you bring someone home?" It hurts to ask, as if by simply suggesting that such a thing would happen, that it already has.

Joel only shakes his head, a little amused by your question. "I don't think there's much of a chance of that happenin', sweetheart."

He calls you 'sweetheart' and it's like a caress on your skin. You have to remember to breathe. "You never know. You're hot, you have to know that." At this Joel nearly chokes on his food and you chuckle, patting his back until he's okay again. "There are some women out there who prefer a no-strings attached kind of thing."

"No-strings-attached isn't my thing," he says solidly. "I'm gettin' too old for that kinda bullshit. I want strings attached."

His gaze upon you is piercing, liable to steal your breath away. "I guess that's how it should be. Just two people for each other."

"Yeah.. two people for each other." He finishes his lunch and so do you. "We should be headin' to the next site."

He has to be teasing me. It's just meaningless chatter to someone young and inexperienced. He's having fun at my expense because I'm allowing it.

On the drive to the next, you keep quiet, thinking deeply. Oldies play on the radio but you block out the details of who and what is playing.

"Looks like you'll finally be rid of me after this," you tell him once you're parked at the second site. You get out together.

He chuckles. "Yeah, finally. Some peace and quiet."

You smile back. "Aw, you'll miss me."

"Oh, I don't think I'll miss you for one second." Joel puts his hands on his hips, a silly, defiant stance.

You poke his chest. "If you say so."

He pokes you right back. "Yeah, I say so."

"Come on, don't you have a job to do?"

"Yeah, come on, sweetheart. Let's get to work." This plays out the same as at the first site. Your eyes don't even take in the architecture of what these men are doing. You just see Joel.

"I thought I might get to see you in action," you say once you're away from the builders. "I thought I'd get to see you hammering or sawing.."

"You want to see me use my muscles or somethin', sweetheart?" He steps close to you. "I don't think you can handle it."

"You don't know what I can handle," you tell him with a little attitude, your hand on your hip.

"Sweetheart, you're about half my size. I don't think you could handle what I'm packing." He wears a smug smirk. "But I'd love to show you."

Not for the first time you feel a rush of heat to your core. "I'd love to see it.."

He's even closer to you now. Your entire body sizzles. "Maybe it's time I show you exactly what you'd be working with, sweetheart."

Joel's phone chirps and he frowns as he picks it up. The mood, while not shattered, has changed and you're both back on Planet Earth. You can't help but feel a little bummed.

"I have an emergency I need to tend to. Is it okay if I drop you off real quick?"

"Sure," you smile. On the ride home Joel is on his phone, talking to one of the men on his crew, discussing the problem in question. Your thighs stick to the leather seats. Once you're home he gives a quick smile and wave before driving off.

As you walk through the door you get a text from Hailey, a friend from the cafe. party tonight! finally 21! come thru

You said you'd keep Sarah company while Joel is out, but maybe there's a way you can do both..

<- prev chapter

next chapter ->

divider by @saradika-graphics 👑

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

the episode of savanaclaw manga spoilers

Wow, I was NOT expecting this—

The first Episode of Savanaclaw is out in Japan and—surprise, surprise—it does, in fact, feature a new protagonist?!

This Yuu is actually female and goes by Hirasaka Yuuka. She also seems to come from Japan (attending an all-girls school) and does judo. At first impression, Yuuka presents as tomboyish. Interestingly, she also has a scar on her face (similar to Leona or Scar, so I wonder if this detail will become relevant).

This means that every manga episode moving forward may feature a different Yuu??? Maybe even completely different ages or other varying demographics, as some people have theorized. I know some were saying that there would also be a new artist for every episode, which was the case for Savanaclaw. I hope works out well, as it could potentially get narratively confusing for every episode to have asides to reestablish the new Yuu’s personality, background, and/or relationships with the other characters (as it does seem that the previous episodes’ events carry over). For episodes as long as 6 (and one that involves many characters from the previous episodes), it becomes more of a concern, but I guess to offset that they might extend the run time/allotted chapters for each episode?? We’ll have to see how it’s structured going forward.

I do wonder if the decision to have a female Yuu this episode was specifically because of the “Leona respects women” lore; I wonder to what extent this will alter the main story given that there weren’t many significant changes to the Episode of Heartslabyul despite Yuuken being so clearly his own character. I guess we’ll probably get confirmation as to what extent Yuu identifying as female actually changes Leona’s behavior toward her, but I honestly don’t think it will be a whole lot 😅 (since I’ve always interpreted the “respecting women” line as Leona seeing women as equals rather than him being willing to kiss up to them).

I also wonder what the purpose is for having different Yuus every time? 🤔 It’s a detail that plays into various time loop and alternate dimension theories, the latter of which is something I believe has been provided as an explanation for timeline continuity issues in some events and vignettes when trying to line them up with the main story.

[atlaskrr]

Comics that resonate with me in an unexplainable way - a rec list

☆ amount represents how much is resonated with me (aka how obsessed i became or how deep i loved) which is a personal thing not a quality thing.

sorted by sections below ⬇️

Manga

Zeikin de katta hon☆☆☆ - delinquent wants to use library. OH NO! he needs to return a book he lost when he was child. welp. reimbursement time. he does (while embarrassed) and ends up working in the library in the process and growing as a person. messages relate to the books and library practices in the chapter.

pos: AUGHHHH. comforting, imformativs, beautiful messages, well-written characters that each carry a message, and makes you fall in love with libraries and books (you will appreciate librarians 10x more)

neg: some charas can feel exagerated and some jokes are repeated one too many times

Magmell shinkai suizokukan☆☆☆ - i wanna work in an aquarium! a well renowned first ever deep sea aquarium! and i am. just as a janitor. but its ok since i get to watch and learn about all these wonderful creatures. i hope people see how beautiful they are too. each chapter carries a message tied to the creature it covers.

pos: GOD DAMN the art is beautiful. informative on the deep sea, well written characters and their psychology, nice mystery build up along the slice of life, you will be enraptured by the "ugly" deep sea. will make you believe in yourself and your dreams and that you can always grow and improve

neg: some scenarios of the world dont make sense with how the creatures would usually behave, weird age gap side-story (did not happen and was handled responsibly but still)

Butai ni sake☆☆ - they said i sounded scary. what if everyone will misinterpret me again? im at a new school for hs. i got this. how can i learn to be more, less scary? wait what club is showcasing right now? the... threatre club? maybe thats the answer. chapters show the club preparing for plays!

pos: RELATABLE AF characters. the messages are strong throughout and all the showcase of what goes on in a theatre club is very accurate. it makes you fall in love with the art and if youre already a theatre kid like me, i think youll be impressed and find it relatable.

neg: besides the main 2 characters, side characters can feel underdeveloped. ESPECIALLY one of them. the ending is very open-ended on the romance that they kept on implying (though it mightve just been bait)

Yokai gakkou no sensei hajimemashita☆☆ - imagine the most pathetic man you can muster. now make him 100x more wimpy to the point hes hussled by kindergardners. thats the mc of yohaji abe haruaki! he became a shut-in after trying to teach at a school and getting scared away by delinquents. but wait! a family friend has let him work at a school. with its own island?! wow this is an amazing oppurtuni- ITS A SCHOOL FOR YOKAI?! starts out as comedy but plot and characters develop along the way

pos: AMAZING characters, well developed relationships, great development throughout the story overall, fun yokai trivia, and well incorparated comedy. also. GAY. like- well written abd casually. pretty art btw.

neg: humour can be repetitive and too questionable for some. lowk the mangakas kinks are slipping through into it 💀 the timeline of one year feels like its streching on for ATLEAST 2 with the amount of shit that happens. once again, lots of questionable things. like time travel age gap. or just age gap ship bait. or just the mc. he gets a pass tho.

Manwha

The makeup remover☆☆☆ - i am ugly. but im ok with that, i mean im just a photography student. but i guess i could try more... how does everybody just become beautiful? how do they learn? OMG HE FUCKED UP MY MAKEUP. wait whos this new random dude. and why is he asking me to be his model for a makeup competiton??? the story follows this duo in the makeup competition.

pos: AMAZING STORY. AMAZING MESSAGES. each character FEELS like a message. they're well written. it feels realistic. the makeup looks SO CREATIVE. the relationships between characters are developed well and the diverse cast of backgrounds allow for good subplots that make you CARE and think about the messages they carry as they resonate in your soul. it shows both the good and bad of makeup. realistic. truly.

neg: very vauge open ending on relationship front as they kept teasing multiple relationships and it just- no payoff. spme character backgrounds were not explored enough.

Sambong barbershop☆☆ - theres a virus spreading around to ugly people when they break. im scared ill be next. but then a cat steaps her watch, she follows it to a barbershop and- is that a humanoid cat?! smoking a cig?????? oh and a majestic dude who cut hair with gigantic scissors. blablabla she ends up working at a barbershop. sambong barbershop. it shows how one can grow as a person yet stay the same as the mc works at the barbershop.

pos: good message, complex charas (they can be assholely but theyre human), cool action scenes and fantasy elements, very realistic as, well youll see how the development goes if you read this comic.

neg: artstyle takes a while to grow on you and ending was- random. and ambig. also, because its very realistic it guves a more harsh vibe to the message rather than positivity (not a full downside tho). also the world-building is very unclear and vauge.

Surviving romance☆☆☆ - ive been isekaid into my favourite romance novel. ahh this is the life, ill get my happily ever after, who cares about those faceless extras. lalalala- ZOMBIE OUTBREAK??? I DIE?! wait. im. alive again. at the beginning of that day. WHATS GOING ON??? the story follows how she'll survive this nightmare by getting to know unknown extras she has never cared for along the way.

pos: AMAZING development throughout the story as always by lee yone. characters and relationships grow very well and the mystery us very well developed and hints are rlly good! as hidden yet visible as they need to be. the pacing was good and the artstyle is very charming. the visuals are also used very cleverly and creatively. you can even see hints in the first few scenes! also, friendship! and a good, hopeful message for anyone struggling.

neg: ending can feel very luck based. also very open-ended (personally part of the charm tho). also questionable age losgistics and some might not like the character attitude switch ups.

Peace restaurant☆ - the dimensions have all collapsed together, right in seoul. naturally, theres war over land. but one safe haven owned by a mysteriously strong and feared lady, is peace restaurant. the newly awakened demon king is ready to fly there and when he does- be gets beat up. and not by the warrior there- BUT BY THE LADY???? the story follows the growing mystery behind the mc and the "fight" agaisnt people who oppose her restaurant.

pos: love the mystery and found fam. fun exaggerated characters yet also clearly more depth hiding beneath that. love through cooking. comedy that grows plot my fav genre fr. also, very cool dishes and world. also good character and relationship development for one chara. also, HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS!

neg: other characters could be more well developed and complex. change can feel too fast suddenly accepted by the mc. the current arc (chap 26ish i think?) is dragging FAR longer than it needs to. could benefit from more realistic characters (though its probably a writing choice for the tone of the story)

Webtoon

Cursed princess club☆☆ - gwendolyn is beautiful, just like the rest of her siblings, everyone in her life thinks so. though her life in inside the palace due to her overorotective father. but when she and her sisters are set to get engaged to the plaid princes and her fiance calls her UGLY. her world shatters as she realizes hes right. she runs into the forest as she cries and WHATS THAT. she passes out and wakes up in a mansion with princesses having a tea party outside. huh. so this isnt a haunted forest? WAIT WHATS WITH THE LONG NOSE? AND HOLLOW EYES?? AND- LOBSTER HANDS???? she has just stumbled upon the cursed princess club. the story shows a journey of self improvement and self love.

pos: WAAAA I ACTUALLY CRIED AT THE ENDING. very well written characters that develop over time, creative curses and good foreshadowing. the subversion of tropes is PEAK. it has good callbacks, parallels, analogies, etc.

neg: i feel like many characters can be explored more, worldbuilding unclear, and cam often times focys on romance more than id like. humour is very often misplaced such as in serious scenes when they should be before or after the peak of tension instead of well- at the peak. some relationships and feelings feel- random? and also bad people are way too easily forgiven. i feel like there needs to be a line to the positive messaging on that front.

Maho shonen☆ - ahh magical girls. teenage girls with superpowers. ah! 2 guide are descending and- TWO FULLY GROWN MEN?! and the gaurdians are, well.... they're certainly not cutesy, on the inside at least. and the grown men? they're just plain horrid at their job. the only thing they gain from all this, is trauma! not like they're already stocked up on it. oh, and each other of course! the story shows how the two will get through this whole ordeal as well as their daily life.

pos: the story WILL grow on you. cool art, good trope subversions esp in the price of being a magical girl. explores the psychology of it all and has well written characters that deal with realistic issues. also very nice duo dynamic.

neg: the humour may not suit everyone as it can be a bit more mature. it does take a few eps to get good and grow on you.

Our walk home☆ - two academic rivals.... wait, why aren't they acting like rivals at all? they're even getting along? and finding things in common?! they're letting the masks slip. but their rivaling schools won't be happy to hear about this from their top students. afterall, no one from the two schools are allowed to be friends. the story shows how these two mask-wearing academic achievers get through life together. and maybe, just maybe, fall in love.

pos: VERY good exploration of identity and self-worth and VERY relatable. the characters are very well written and have simple yet recognizable designs, a cute dynamic between the mcs.

neg: honestly, i don't know. it just didn't attach to my soul. probably secondary character relationships could be further expanded on.

The bathroom ghost☆☆ - ghost are scary. but this ghost, is just REALLY BAD AT HER JOB! what's a ghost to do when she can't scare? and is stuck in a mall bathroom of all places? worse yet, the managers keep badgering her about it! this follows her hijinks.

pos: the COOLEST artstyle I've seen in a comic with a very fitting and unique feel. cool character design, simple, yet entertaining, comedy, great use of body language, hidden plot developing. mc is very endearing and so are the rest of the characters. it's just so feel-good and heartwarming.

neg: takes a few episodes to move on from episodic if you dislike that. honestly, i just need more. that's my only complaint. GIVE ME MORE VOLPEE

[iwritenarrativesandstuff]

Potential Ango backstory. Because I like to make connections that don't exist.

I received a tag under my last post about Ango...

I have been enabled.

What I said in that last post was that due to the disconnect between Ango's values and the values of the Special Division - in particular, their views on necessary sacrifice and the greater good - I found it odd for this to be Ango's career choice. So, I have this theory... it's really more headcanon than anything but basically, I wonder if Ango didn't choose to work there, but rather had no choice.

First off, Ango being a government agent before he joined the Mafia means that he was already one under the age of 19... which is. Well, far from uncommon in the BSD universe but... does the government itself really not have age restrictions on potential members? Ango would've been younger than 19 when he started working for the Special Division. He was 22 ish in Dark Era, first met Oda and Dazai two years earlier, and joined the Mafia one year before that. I know we like to joke that the preferred hiring age in BSD is like... 14-15, but for the Mafia, this makes sense - there's no hiring age there; most of them are or were kids with nowhere else to go. Fukuzawa hires minors who typically also have nowhere to go. Ango was really young when he joined the Special Division. Since they would, at least, have to follow some laws (I believe anyways), the circumstances of Ango's joining were probably not the usual.

Here's another weird bit: the government sent a 19 year old spy to infiltrate the Mafia, one who was too low-ranked to have any say in decisions (he had no say in their sending in of Shibusawa, for instance). That's... weird, on it's own. He had no influence but they felt certain the man wouldn't betray them or get caught? That's a lot of faith to place in him. Now, granted, he's a very reliable person and his ability is absolutely the reason he was selected - but it's still strange.

You might be thinking, okay, but what about his replacement? Tachihara was sent in after Ango so the government could keep monitoring the mafia's activities, and he was a young, new recruit. Yes, that's true but see, here's the thing: Tachihara's nature as a Hunting Dog means the government has a guaranteed hold on him - Teruko mentions that the Hunting Dogs need to undergo monthly surgeries to maintain their bodies after their enhancements. I see no reason Tachihara wouldn't have had to do the same. So, in my mind, that goes to show that they needed some kind of hold on Ango too, right? Wouldn't you want some kind of insurance on someone so presumably new?

I'm going to cut away from this for a moment so I can point out a passage from Dark Era where Oda finds how Ango (allegedly) joined the Mafia:

The gist of it was: Ango was a hacker -> he helped a gang steal money -> the money was stolen from a Mafia front company -> Ango was on the run for several months before the Mafia caught him -> Ango's manipulation of the trackers' information was so impressive to Mori that he invited Ango to join the Mafia

Obviously, this is a cover story. But at the surface it kind of has to be true, otherwise the Mafia would know. So, it was set up for Ango to help steal that money by the government. Why this particular story though? Well, they say the best lies are often rooted in truth. Before he joined the Division, I suggest that Ango really was a hacker and seller of information. (Just fyi, his real life author inspiration was a bit of a delinquent so... make of that what you will.)

Now this next part is a mess because we still don't know how all the pieces fit together.

Remember that the Special Division, and by extension the government, are considered so incredibly powerful that they could destroy the Mafia. From Dark Era:

That legal document appears to be the only thing that keeps ability users reasonably safe. Atsushi was being tracked as the "rampaging tiger" and had nowhere else to go. What about people like Yosano or Chuuya, associated with military research? Even Kenji - he was hired after he moved a mountain out of grief. It appears that the permit is a necessary protection to those ability users who reveal they are ability users publicly.

In Gaiden, Tsujimura explains that the Division also continuously monitors the activities of ability users. Essentially, in addition to the legal protection the permits provide, they also seem to make the Division's job of keeping track of all ability users, what they're using their abilities for, and how dangerous the abilities are, much easier. We also know that if an ability user proves too great of a threat to the general public, the Special Division can and will eliminate targets unless the target proves especially useful (ex. Ayatsuji).

Ok why am I going over all this? I'm just trying to make it clear how incredibly powerful the Division is. But what I also want to denote is that they are focused primarily on the greater good and will justify sacrifice of individuals (which contradicts Ango's beliefs directly), and they also take orders still from higher ups in the government (and the government in bsd is... a bit shifty if you ask me).

And about Ango: his values lie in life and an appreciation for it. He prioritizes memory and records, especially of those who have passed. He has many regrets and is, at heart, a kind person. However, he also has the capacity to do what "needs to be done", seems particularly vengeful and angry with Sigma for Taneda's stabbing, and was ready to shoot Atsushi when he collapsed after the Sky Casino arc. He also went from making deliberate stubborn efforts to create records of the dead, to being part of the cover up for a group of disgraced soldiers and one of his closest friends. He does things because he thinks no one else can do them - so this means it is his obligation.

So, finally, here's my deranged conspiracy: I think Ango was a hacker in his teenage years, and I think he always had the intention of preserving life in some way. Perhaps he attempted to make information about the war, or something to do with ability users, public. Whatever he found, he got in serious trouble, whether with a criminal organization, or with the government itself, I'm not clear on. Ango needed to join the Division for protection, and perhaps it was Taneda's idea to invite him, seeing that his ability would be very useful - that would explain the loyalty. It's also possible that Ango's actions resulted in a loss of life, and so he no longer trusts himself, which is why he is constantly torn between opposing values. I wonder if it was explained to Ango by the people in charge why certain information had to be withheld from the public, in such a way that he felt guilty for what he'd done - maybe that's why he's so diligent. It would be tragic if guilt turned out to have always been the motivator for his character and if he stands with the Division despite his offset values because he really does think they know how to better help people than his instinctive response ever could. While I'm sure the Division was confident in Ango's loyalty (one of his dislikes is written as betrayal for goodness sake), they also had a hold on him due to the nature of his ability. He is a walking store of classified information, which we are told repeatedly in Dark Era makes him a prime target. This means that nowhere is safe for him unless he stays with the Division. There is no guarantee that the government itself wouldn't also consider him a liability if he were to suddenly quit. In summary, Ango's joining of the Division was not a free choice, and while he likely feels grateful to people like Taneda for that chance - he also cannot leave.

Regardless of whether or not you all think I am wholly deranged now, there is definitely something to Ango we're not privy to yet. Here's some extra stuff on Ango to chew on:

He had the experience once of taking in so much information he passed out while his brain tried to process it (much like Atsushi did after Sigma transfers the information to him about the Page)

He had some run-in with Chuuya which apparently led to Chuuya owing him for something?

He seems to have been more comfortable defying expectations in the Mafia than he ever was in the Division

Thus concludes my Ango theory.

Source? Just trust me bro.

[ashfae]

A03 meme

A03 meme time, except I've been writing and posting fanfic to the internet since before A03. And before fanfiction.net. And before Geocities. And before the World Wide Web. There's fic of mine with ASCII doodle illustrations somewhere out there where the wild BBSes once roamed…I was tagged by @moveslikebucky; thanks Buckie, here goes. <3

how many works do you have on Ao3? 54. (and yes if we added in all the fanfic outside of A03 it'd be a larger number but I can't be bothered to consolidate it all)

what’s your total Ao3 word count? 341,744, which is better than I was expecting, yay.

what fandoms do you write for? At the moment it's just Good Omens, but there's been a lot of Dragon Age, some Lord of the Rings, and way back in the day there was Harry Potter and a lot of anime. I am toying with dipping my toe back in LotR, there's a thing I wrote ages ago that's entirely finished and just needs editing and I've been meaning to get it out there for ages. It's long though, so that'd be a commitment.

what are your top five fics by kudos? What Custom Strictly Divided (507) Like an Echo Far Away (415) (this one wasn't in the top five last week when I first started writing this post! So I think @mielpetite gets all the credit for boosting it with amazing fanart) What Comes From Your Hand (402) Give Me Your Illusions (346) Nightswimming (307)

do you respond to comments? Yep! Sometimes just with "Thanks!" or hearts but I try to. Though they get away from me sometimes and then I do a bunch all at once.

What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? Definitely Warmaiden, which is my "What if Éowyn got the One Ring?" fic, from an idea that occurred to me one day and wouldn't leave. Clearly that doesn't end well for her, or anyone. From GO fandom it's probably Silent Night, which I still want to expand into a larger fic to be a set with Give Me Your Illusions. Someday, someday.

What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Most of them! But for the happiest I'd say Swan Lake Revised, cowritten with @mostlyjustgoose. And if we ever get part three up it'll be even more happy. And smutty. Very smutty.

Do you get hate on fics? Very rarely. I've been lucky there.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? Oh here's the irony. I used to do a lot a lot a LOT of online roleplaying and mygod I wrote smut. So much. So. Much. I don't do as much rp these days but even so the threads I have going are still frequently pure filth. But in fic, much less so, even though I want to. Why it all gets channeled into rp and not as much into my fanfic I do not know. Honestly I want to write a lot more of it. Smut forever!!

Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written? Sometimes, when I have a good idea. But the craziest one I ever wrote, ages ago, was a pure crackfic for my 21st birthday, where I imagined a bizarre party for myself in which LOADS of fictional characters (mostly from anime) showed up so I could make them interact in wacky ways. It was utterly ridiculous but amused me. Making all the characters voiced by Megumi "She's Everywhere!!" Hayashabara meet up and wonder why they all sound alike, for example. Also I wish I'd written an Artemis Fowl breaks into Gringotts to rob it fic before I became so disillusioned with both Artemis Fowl and Harry Potter. Heigh ho.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yep. It was impressive how lazy the person was about it too, they stole all the html as well. Someone brought it to my attention pretty quickly.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Twice, yes. Into Portuguese, as I remember.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Hi @mostlyjustgoose, I adore you, please co-write things with me forever. <3 Our baby is Unusual Strings, a reverse omens AU love story, and it's SO. CLOSE. to being done. So close. Aughhhh. I love our angel!Crowley and demon!Aziraphale so, so much.

What’s your all time favorite ship? Aziraphale and Crowley, Faramir and Éowyn, Hiccup and Astrid. Don't make me choose between those three, my head will explode.

What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Shut up shut up I will finish all of them ALL OF THEM I SAY…sigh. Beauty and the Battousai. Though I should probably mention A Demon in the Dreaming and The Queen Bee. (they're plotted and outlined and parts are written aaahhh come on ADHD meds help me out here)

What are your writing strengths? Dialogue, definitely. I'm good at putting humour into things. Got compared to Patricia Wrede once and honestly, life goal achieved there. I can do memorable phrases and descriptions and edit well.

What are your writing weaknesses? What is plot. Why does it hate me. Why are my original characters one-dimensional cardboard. What is worldbuilding and how do I do it without getting stalled into paralysis. Baaaah. This is why my original novel will never be finished and I keep running back to fanfic instead.

Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic? Hoo boy contentious subject! I love reading it so long as it's translated somewhere in the footnotes, I'd be happy to write it if I knew other languages, the question of whether it should be italicized or not has apparently Officially been settled by The Publishing Industry on the side of Not.

First fandom you wrote for? Oh gosh I think it was the Dragonlance books by Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman. The first that ever got shown to other people was Ranma 1/2 though.

Favorite fic you’ve written? It's still What Custom Strictly Divided. Though Unusual Strings comes very close.

Gaaah I'm always worried I'll tag people who don't want to be tagged so, erk, um...if they're willing, @racketghost, @indieninja92, and @holycatsandrabbits! And you, if you're reading and want to do this, please say I tagged you. I meant to really, honest. ;)

[sbk-zgvlt]

1. I’m honestly impressed about how you two made a whole ass fan fiction which I heavily enjoy with just a simple question

2. I’m hoping onto that Peter Pan idea train

3. This random idea which has less Angst. Basically one day at NRC, all the main cast suddenly get transported into to a story book where they get each character is transported into a different story that best matches there personalities(or in author sense what there character was inspired by), so when the Diasomnia group get transported to the story of sleeping beauty, the can’t find Sebek anywhere. Meanwhile, Sebek is wondering where the hell everyone is and why he’s on a deserted island in the middle of nowhere, where’s there’s apparently pirate ships. (I also imagine sense Sebek is half crocodile fea he has a crocodile tail which can disappear and reappear)

1. We're just that cool

2. I think i need to make a tag for that now...

3. IM SO INSANE ABOUT THIS

They probably messed around with this cursed storybook that Crowley keeps in his office and now they suffer the consequences.

The thing is though that they have to complete each story by their order in the book to actually progress. So, we start with Alice in Wonderland where Heartslabyul is stuck in. The further down the story is in the book (First story = Alice in Wonderland, last story = Sleeping Beauty), the longer the dorm has been inside.

For example, Heartslabyul have only been stuck for a day. Savanaclaw for a week. Octavinelle for a month, etc.

The basics of how this works is that while the first story is being played out, the others haven't even started yet. They're basically on pause. It's like Heartslabyul is trying to finish the story in a day while Savanaclaw is stuck inside the story 1 week before the events actually happen.

When Heartslabyul finish their story, they get transported to the Lion King and meet with Savanaclaw. They finish the story, then meet with Octavinelle in Little Mermaid, so on and so forth.

They eventually reach the Sleeping Beauty, only to be met with a frantic Diasomnia who have been stuck in the story for 5 months (They don't age or something by the way...when they return to the real world they've only been gone for a minute).

Turns out they have NOT seen Sebek at all, and Silver is in a FRENZY. Malleus is starting to embrace his villain role a bit too well in the story, and Lilia has practically reverted back to his old war veteran days.

The cast finally snap them out of it when they're able to finish the story, and Riddle suggests that maybe Sebek wasn't affected by the storybook for some reason? Or they'll be able to find him once they reach the true end of the book.

So, the true characters of thr story finally manifest so Diasomnia can just watch things play out with the rest of the cast as well.

They watch Aurora get married, some get a bit teary-eyed while Leona and Malleus argue over the color of her dress, then all they have to do now is wait for the end of the story-

Everyone gets transported to a room. The Darlings' room. Everyone freaks out because WHAT THE FUCK I THOUGHT WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO HOME???

Diasomnia are inconsolable because they think that Sebek was left behind in the Sleeping Beauty story and will be stuck there forever and are continuously trying to find ways to go back-

"Uh, you guys aren't Wendy." Everyone turns towards the window. Peter Pan, in all his glory, was sitting by the windowsill with his arms crossed. He thinks that they broke in and is prepared to beat their asses until Jack and Trey explain their situation.

Peter hears about this Sebek guy and goes "Oh! You mean ole' croc? I know where he is!" Diasomnia pause and then immediately start screaming at him to bring them to him.

A few pixie dust later (courtesy of a disgruntled Tinkerbell), they're flying over Neverland. Peter is about to introduce them to the lost boys only for the sound of a cannon to interrupt him.

Pirates are invading the island once more, and the cast are quick to defend themselves. They can't seem to get a single hit on Captain Hook though, mostly because of fairy tale laws or whatever.

They're in a bit of a disadvantage, and even Peter is getting restless-

Tick.

Tock.

Captain Hook goes pale, as well as the rest of his crew. NRC look confused only for a familiar voice to ring throughout the fight: "ARE YOU BACK FOR ANOTHER ROUND, CAPTAIN?" It's Sebek!

Except he looks...different. Not different in the way that Rook now has black hair for whatever reason, nor different by the fact that Lilia's hair is long again.

This Sebek looks older. Not too old, but there are key differences. His usual round ears are now a bit pointed, his hair past his shoulders. He's wearing something wildly different- there's no trace of his uniform.

Instead, an old, raggy pirate's cloak hangs off his shoulders that just serves to make him look more intimidating. And uh the rest of his clothes are the ones that Will Stetson is wearing in his cover of Shinunoga E-wa with black pants LOOK MAN im writing this in my notes app offline.

His magestone is no longer placed in a pen, rather it hangs off his ear as an earring.

The biggest change however is the scales and tail...as well as the ticking face of a clock that replaces his right eye.

Hook's crew are quick to retreat, not before Sebek can suddenly jump into their ship though. The cast watch Sebek raise Hook up by the scruff of his neck, and with a flick of his wrist, his claws retract.

"P-please!" Hook pleads. "Have mercy!" Sebek smiles. "I'm true to my word, Captain." And promptly slices his hand off.

He jumps off the ship with Hook's hand, Peter quick to catch him as they ignore Hook's frantic screams. Blood trickles down his claws, and once they reach solid ground, Peter puts Sebek down.

Sebek throws the hand into the sand, and with a single kick, sends it flying into the ocean. Right on time, a crocodile jumps from the water and catches it into its mouth, before retreating back into the water.

"That was so cool!" Peter exclaims from behind him with childlike wonder. Sebek doesn't react, only sighing, "HUMAN, JUST BECAUSE IVE BEEN HERE FOR A YEAR DOESNT MEAN ILL BE HERE FOREVER. SOONER OR LATER, YOU WILL NEED TO FACE THE CAPTAIN BY YOURSE-"

He turns around to continue to berate Peter, only to pause when he sees the mildly injured forms of the NRC cast.

"...PETER WHAT THE FUCK"

[hotpeople-typingthis]

My Accumulated Best BSD Fics

hello! thank you for reading this. the order below is: link, my thoughts + my summary, authors summary (if applicable) and finally ships!

I'm starting off with this one because of how much I enjoy it, this is a fic where a mixture of ADA and port mafia (-Dazai) get trapped in a room that shows Dazai’s past. As a BSD fanatic, I've read the light novels, and when the room shows the ages 15+ (with light novels about them) I have to say it is pretty accurate and a great way to understand skk teenagers even if you do not want/are unable to read the books. Up until the canon parts of dazai’s life (up to 14-15), the author does a wonderful job in detail and creating a past that connects him to the characters

Ships - skk, sskk, kousano, fukumori (and others)

This one is really good, its immortal x keeps dying but coming back. Dazai has been alive for ages and is always pulled towards Chuuya. I really loved this one, it was so creative! The ending was quite sad though, so warning for that. I adore this author’s writing, HOWEVER, I would like to note that towards the end of the fic, many characters start to have children, grandchildren etc, and you MUST PAY ATTENTION TO THE NAMES, as characters that are mentioned once or twice before are suddenly the grandparents of some of the now main ones. 

Dazai cannot die. He lives on as the world changes around him, finding Chuuya in every lifetime and learning all the little things that make Chuuya, Chuuya through all the different people Chuuya is.

Ships - skk (main), the rest are only in the second to last chapter, they are sskk, odango, kousano

This one is a short fic that I visit frequently, because of how delightful it is to read. The authors summary perfectly sums up the story so i'm going to keep it to my thoughts, the humour in this story is wonderful and i love how Chuuya is not portrayed as more feminine in this fic (something that bothers me tbh), while there is no smut, it does talk about sexual habits so if that is uncomfortable for you then please do not read. 

Author's Summary: Basically, ADA finds out that Dazai's in a long-term, committed relationship and gets asked questions about his sex life, which leads to Ranpo having a bit of a crisis and has Yosano fishing for details Dazai is only too happy to share. After all, he likes bragging about his partner AND he has to ensure his dear protege knows how to treat/be treated right in a relationship with his partner. Chaos ensues. (Give Kunikida strength.)

Ships - skk, ranpoe (others are briefly mentioned in the end but are not that big)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/35490757/chapters/88468318 (No Longer Human)

Yet again, the author does a wonderful job in summarising their work so I will just keep it to my thoughts. This was a wonderful read, and it leans into some dark topics (TW for eating disorder), however, I would like to state that the author discussed these topics very well, and it's sort of a one sided hatred to lovers I guess? But i would like to state this fic goes into Dazai’s flaws a bit more than one would usually, and he is perceived as a villain. That did not stop me from reading, but if that does not align with your taste then I suggest you do not read. 

Down on his luck as a photographer, Nakajima Atsushi gets an offer too good to turn down when charming fashion magnate Dazai Osamu invites him to photograph an upcoming collection for his company No Longer Human. This would all be a dream come true if it wasn't for the eternally ill-tempered model Dazai has paired him with, Akutagawa Ryuunosuke. But Atsushi learns quickly that first impressions can be deceiving when he sees first-hand how dark and ruthless the fashion industry, and Dazai, can really be.

Ships - sskk, soukoku (very little)

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22835458/chapters/54575725 (playing the hero)

REQUIRES AO3 ACCOUNT

This is an original idea that I love, it's a BSD x MHA fic that is so well written, and the best part is its kyouka-centric (for all you Kyouka kinnes out there). This fic is, while interim for writing a bit below the others, it is one of the best MHA x BSD fics out there. The world-building is phenomenal here. Have fun reading!

[bodyalive]

Sarah Neville: Stepping into Rita Charon’s studio, in a Jazz Age-era building in Greenwich Village, I get a quick impression of a white-walled space bathed in the sunshine from two large windows that offer a sweeping view over the Lower Manhattan skyline. Everything in the room seems considered, from the Bach playing in the background to the paintings on the walls. One of them, “The Doctor”, is an idealised Victorian depiction of a devoted medic ministering to a child while anxious parents look on. It used to hang in Charon’s father’s office.

My meeting with Charon, founder of the “narrative medicine” movement that trains health professionals to use the power of storytelling in their work, is one I’ve been contemplating for 20 years. How, I’ve wondered, can such a humane approach fit into the time- and cash-constrained world of 21st-century healthcare? And who is this woman who, sometimes unsung, has done so much to change the way we think about the doctor-patient relationship?

Then, just as we sit down, I realise I’m setting out to tell the story of a practised assimilator of other people’s stories. At the core of her work, she says, is “what happens in the actual [moment of] two humans sitting, contacting one another with language, with the embodied self”. So we begin. Charon graduated from Harvard Medical School in 1978 and began practising general medicine. In the late 1980s, she started doctoral studies at Columbia University, focusing on Henry James and the role of literature in medicine. The work of the second half of her life has been to bring these two superficially oppositional realms together. She believes the emotional and imaginative insights contained in literature, art and music can transform the way healthcare workers treat patients and each other. Around 1990, she began teaching narrative medicine at Columbia and in 2009 launched a masters degree in the subject, the first of its kind. Since then, her approach has been deployed by healthcare practitioners across the US and abroad, from Greece to China. Formal evaluations have shown it improves participants’ capacity for reflection, in one study even reducing racial bias.

Charon tells me that for decades doctors were taught to conform to a model of ‘detached concern’ Her father, a doctor in Providence, Rhode Island, was an important influence. At one point, she goes to a filing cabinet containing all his medical records, which she acquired after he died. This part of his life had always been shut off to her; the close community in which they lived meant confidentiality was especially vital. But it turned out that his files combined the usual medical notations with far more personal references. It seemed to reflect a recognition that ailments could not be divorced from the wider context of their sufferers’ lives. Inspired, Charon began making more fulsome and impressionistic notes about her own patients.

The practised narratologist, she says, can pick up a lot in a short period, even at a time when there is pressure on doctors to keep appointments as brief as possible. “As you develop your skills of attention, you will notice things about your patients. You will be listening at a much higher pitch.” As doctors, the human body is, she says, “our material . . . I’m sitting here looking at you, noticing how you sit in the chair.” Emboldened, I ask what else she has picked up about me. She has spotted that my purple outer coat tones with the pink lining of my jacket: “You have taste because you’re not just helter-skelter putting the aqua with the olive green.” She has noticed my eyes: “Mostly the expression is filled with curiosity.” My sense of her, which deepens over the next three-and-a-half hours, is of a woman with a vast well of compassion, lit by a righteous fury about the inequities of US healthcare. “In Yiddish, we call it the Shanda, which is ‘the shame’. The shame of the system,” she says. “More and more clinicians . . . feel they’re being used by their employers. They know they’re doing shoddy work . . . They get tired of saying, ‘I’m sorry, I can only listen to one complaint per session. Bring that up the next time.’”

Truly listening to patients can be transformative, she says. “Patients on the whole really know what they need.” She recalls a young woman with poorly managed diabetes who arrived in her consulting room angry and frustrated. “I did my routine, which is get away from the computer, put my hands in my lap. Don’t write. Just say, ‘I’m going to be your doctor. Tell me what you think I should know.’” The woman looked as if she was going to cry but pulled herself together and glared. “You really want to know what I need? I need a new set of teeth.”

It was only then Charon noticed she’d had her hand covering her mouth as she talked. She had no upper teeth. Instead of fussing with the woman’s insulin levels, Charon arranged for her to be seen in the university’s dental clinic. “She shows up in a couple of months, and she is dazzling. She started a [catering] business in her house. Her [blood] sugars were better than they had been in a while. And she was much more active — she’s going to parties, she’s dancing! It was such a lesson to me. Why on earth would you start anywhere else but ‘Tell me where we should start’?”

I’m intrigued by the extent to which this approach requires an inversion of the traditional power relationship between doctor and patient. She tells me that for decades doctors were taught to conform to a model of “detached concern”. In fact, “engaged concern is going to get you farther than detached concern. Detachment looks an awful lot like coldness.” Instead, Charon believes in making space for the imagination. “The more you exert your own creativity, the better your medicine will be. It’s making leaps . . . I don’t like the word intuition because it sounds like magic. But the ability to see the known from the unknown — that’s what poetry does.”

In the early 2000s, Charon tried something new. After finishing a consultation and making notes like any doctor would, “I would turn the keyboard and the monitor around and say, ‘I know what I saw. But please finish the note.’ I would leave them alone for five minutes, and they wrote the damnedest things!” A college professor wrote “that she knew that she was a good teacher and that this really gave her pride.” The sentiment astonished Charon because it had not surfaced during their conversations, which had been dominated by the woman’s health woes and difficult relationship with her daughter. An idea occurs. As I am drawing our conversation to a close, I ask her to finish this interview. Is there anything else I should know? She confides that after she quit her practice in 2015 to concentrate on running her programme at Columbia, she felt an overwhelming sense of relief that she could hand over responsibility for her patients. (“Somebody else is going to worry about Lucy.”)

It was several weeks before she identified the gap that had opened up in her life: “I was terribly missing the chance to do random acts of kindness.” As a physician, the scope for moments of generosity is “drastic”, she says, whether ringing a patient’s sister to update her, helping put someone’s socks on after an examination or rubbing the feet of a terminally ill patient. There is something heartbreaking about the disproportionate gratitude these interventions elicit, she says. “I think their expectations for us are so low.”

Narrative medicine can, she suggests, endow clinicians with the ability to see an issue from multiple perspectives, a power she likens to “the compound eye of the fly”. It can help them to understand and value those they care for in all their uniqueness and complexity. “We ought to treat every patient as the deepest mystery,” she says.

Sarah Neville is the FT’s global health editor

[alaffy]

Bridgerton, Ep. 3x02 – How Bright the Moon (Spoilers)

Well, this episode escalated things more quickly than I thought the story would.  This is not a complaint, as a slower pace might have been more boring and a little too predictable to watch. 

Again, just to go through a couple of these stories quickly.  Anthony and Kate are gone and Benedict…exists.  Violet is trying to get Francesca noticed by the Queen and help her find her way.  But she’s also careful after what happened with Eloise.

Will and Alice are having to make quite a few adjustments in their life.  At first, they are terrified that they will do something wrong and that everything will be taken from them.  It goes so far that Alice is too afraid not to wear the same style of clothing as the former Lady Kent and that Will and Alice sleep in separated bedroom because “that’s how it’s done.”  However, as Benedict explains to Will, the thing about all of the rules is that they are made for the marriage market.  Those who are married, eh, they can get away with some things.  Basically, you don’t want to do something egregious; but as they are married, they don’t have to sweat the small stuff.  And changing things like clothes or choosing to sleep in the same room, most people aren't going to care.

Lady Featherington is still trying to get the heir.  And it’s very clear that she never intended to find Penelope a husband.  She wrote Penelope off from the beginning, figuring that Penelope would be the one to take care of her in her old age.  Honestly, if you’re going to do something like this (you should never do something like this) at least give up on the stupid one.  Penelope, at least, could probably figure out how to make a baby.

Francesca’s only concern is finding a good husband.  And it seems like there’s a few musically inclined prospects in mind.  However, Lady Danbury (like Violet) wants to help Francesca show off her talents; while Francesca does not want the spotlight on her.  That might not be so easy, now that The Queen has seen Francesca play.  I do like the reason that The Queen is impressed, beyond the fact that Francesca is quite good, is because she knows that Francesca is playing for herself; not to impress anyone. 

Eloise is starting to break out in society.  Or, rather, she’s learning how to bring herself into society.  As  one young lady pointed out, she’s a great conversationalist.  She has the ability to tell stories in a way that one wants to listen. 

As for Colin and Penelope.  Well, Colin clearly isn’t all talk (of all the Bridgerton Men, Colin is the last one I would have expected to see in bed with two women).  He also is quite serious about helping Penelope in the marriage market.  The thing about Penelope is that she’s getting in her own way.  She is quite able to carry on a conversation, but she’s so convinced she will screw it up that she does screw it up. 

But, of course, she can talk to Colin.  And Colin…seriously man, is there a reason why you can't give Penelope a lesson in the drawing room WITH THE LADY’S MAID PRESENT?!  Would have saved you a lot of trouble.  Of course, that would mean that Penelope wouldn’t have had to hide in the study.  With all of Colin’s private written thoughts about his journeys.  That he doesn’t want anyone to read.  So, he leaves them in the open.  In a room anyone has access to.  Still, she didn’t have to pick one up and read.  And he does have a right to be upset. 

Of course, this ends up with him accidentally breaking something and him picking up the pieces.  And this leads to him cutting his hand (although I cannot figure how he cut the middle of his palm considering the way he picked up the glass) and Penelope tending to his wound.  During this, Penelope does say that she think Colin is an excellent writer (eh).  I wonder if this moment will lead to Colin figuring out she’s Whistledown?

Anyway, they agree to meet at the ball later that night.  Penelope tries to sneak away, but is seen by Eloise. Later, on the way to the ball, Eloise confronts Colin on exactly what’s going on.  Colin explains that he’s trying to help Penelope find a husband.  Long story short, Eloise does not want Colin to loose his friendship with Penelope, and mostly for Penelope's sake, but does ask if he can give the lessons anywhere but their home.  He makes her promise not to tell anyone, she promises, and we all know where this is going.

I want to pause and discuss the Penelope and Eloise relationship for a moment.   One thing that somewhat got on my nerves last season was the…not the fact Edwina was hurt and upset with Kate, but that she blamed everything on Kate.  That there was no moment where Edwina realized that Kate did warn her about Anthony’s intentions, specifically he wasn’t marrying her for love, and Edwina chose to ignore that.  I don’t want to make it seem like I’m saying Edwina shouldn’t be upset with Kate, but the amount of blame she put on her went too far.  But with Penelope and Eloise’s situation, I’ve been liking what I see for the most part (up until this episode’s ball).  Eloise is angry at Penelope and she has a right to be.  It can’t be denied that, if Penelope had told Eloise the truth about Whistledown earlier on, things might have been different.  That being said, Eloise also seems to know that she is also responsible for the events last season.  She knew that what she was doing was considered “wrong,” she knew there would be trouble if she got caught; but she did it anyway, thinking she was so clever that she would be fine.  And, let’s face it, her “rebellion” as it were wasn’t all about Whistledown.  She wasn’t going to find her in that lecture hall and she went anyway. 

I think, deep down, Eloise understands that Penelope only wrote that story in order to save Eloise from The Queen’s wrath.  A story that wouldn’t have had to have been written, if Eloise hadn’t accidentally set herself up to be in the line of fire of The Queen.  This is not the betrayal.  The betrayal is the fact that Penelope should have, at the very least, told Eloise the truth about Whistledown before the story was published.  I’m not saying Penelope owed Eloise the truth throughout the series, but when things started to spiral, well again, there was a way to stop it.

Anyway, it’s clear that Eloise is conflicted about her feelings about Penelope and probably needs to have a sit down.  Also, as we see, probably needs to confront a few things about herself.  For instance, she is a great storyteller, but needs to consider who is listening.  At the ball, she sees Colin try to help Penelope and it’s clear she’s conflicted.  Cressida, of course, notices and Eloise….just lets it all spill out.  She tells Cressida about how Colin is helping Penelope, without noticing other’s are in earshot.  So, of course, this spreads like wildfire at the ball.  But I do like the fact that we are shown that it is not Cressida who tells, showing growth.  It also works well for the story because, when Eloise eventually accuses Cressida of spreading the rumor, Cressida is the best person to point out that Eloise’s actions aren’t always perfect.

But I’m getting ahead.  So, Penelope is able to talk to a few gentlemen and Colin congratulates her.  But then they hear the whispering.  Colin demands to know what this is about and basically is told her shouldn’t help one as pathetic as Penelope.  Penelope flees the ball and Colin is furious at Eloise as she’s the only one who could have said anything in the first place.

Of course, this leaves Penelope in a conundrum.  This obviously is the biggest gossip of the night, so she obviously can’t not write about it. But the complete self-loathing in those statements is heartbreaking as it is clear this is how she feels about herself.  I also wonder what will happen between her and Eloise now that Eloise Damngets a glimpse into Penelope’s inner thoughts.

But, to wrap this post up, Colin is able to bribe Penelope’s maid in order to speak to her late one night.  I don’t care if that’s the back door, people can still see you.  And Penelope, who pretty much has decided that there’s no hope for her now, ask Colin for one thing.  She doesn’t want to go through life without not knowing what it’s like to be kissed (I do like, in that dramatic moment, there’s that bit of humor that works so well with these characters).  So, he gives her a quick peck…and then they really go for it.  Penelope leaves after, thinking that there’s nothing significant (at least to Colin) about that kiss.  But looking at Colin’s face, it’s clear he starting to have some realizations. 

[aroacesigma]

For the ask game ummmmmmm obligatory sigma but also chuuya <3

ok !!!

first impression - sigma

honestly i thought he seemed like a nice enough guy going off the whole thing where he let the man win . a bit bossy when he was talking to teruko but honestly i was kind of rooting for anyone but the hunting dogs at the point so i was like yeahhh go buddy . you got this . also thought he was very gender

first impression - chuuya

i thought he was REALLY fucking cool . loved his design instantly . like about half this fandom i thought that was a ponytail for ages but noooo . terrible mullet . look dazai was my fave at that point but i still laughed when he got his ass kicked by him lmfao

impression now - sigma

ok . deep breaths kai you can say this normally . i love him very much and he is my fave . as you can all tell . finding out his whole backstory and watching him go through the sky casino arc and the mersault arc was so fucking ... god . hes so tragic . i love him so much . he tries so very hard all the time and nothing ever comes out of it does it . i just want him to be happy .... he really deserves it . hes not a bad person but hes done bad things out of necessity which honestly makes you root for him more doesnt it ? its so heartbreaking every chapter watching him do everything , throw himself into danger, hurt people, hurt himself just so they can get a home... i really hope he does . very much . fucking hell

impression now - chuuya

pretty much exactly the same . hes so fucking cool and i love him . i think he should be allowed a weekly quota of kicking the shit out of dazai . stormbringer tore my soul to shreds that hurt which made me feel terrible for him also . hes a wonderful character and i really do love him and wish this fandom treated him a little better

favourite moment - sigma

oughh this is hard . uh . probably when we get his backstory honestly . everything really makes a lot of sense about him once you get that . its really sad but it really hammers in just how desperate he is to find a home. they dont really have anything else , their sense of being human is shaky at best because no matter how much he says hes just an ordinary man he knows he isnt . so having a place to belong to make up for the fact that there is nothing like them in the world and there never will be is something hes totally desperate for and their backstory hammers that in HARD . and just the art is just so well done ...something about the image of him just sitting alone in the desert really shatters my heart every time . honourable mention also goes to when he kicked the shit out of teruko , purely because its an excellent counteraction to people saying dumb shit about him being weak and pathetic

favourite moment - chuuya

ohhh..i think i really like the scene where the flags throw him a party . its nice to see him hanging around with his friends . even if theyre all a little bit fucked up . he deserves nice things even if he didnt fucking get to keep them god asagiri why

idea for a story - sigma and chuuya

ok i NEED YALL TO HEAR ME OUT on this crack theory that definitely will not happen but imagine if it did . now i trust dazai will come back for sigma butttt if he didnt . well dont you think mori , who sent chuuya into mersault , would be extremely pleased to have someone with an ability like sigmas . and sigma wouldnt really have too many options would he . being left behind again would probably kill any trust he had in the ada and really all his ability has ever been suiteed for is criminal activity right ? and that is how we get pm!sigma . which means chuuya and sigma interactions . they can bond over shared experiences like having somewhat funky relationships with humanity, terrible haircuts theyre somehow pulling off, and wanting to kick the shit out of dazai .

unpopular opinion - sigma

this is more of a bsdtwt / bsdtok problem but yall do know if you like a characters design but not their actual character you can just say that instead of making up an overused fanon personality for them right

unpopular opinion - chuuya

idk if this is unpopular exactly but it is blatantly obvious when people only like him in relation to dazai like it is not subtle at all

favourite relationship - sigma

ooh this is hard . if we're talking about shipping exclusively then sigzai is my fave (almost got put off it by the aforementioned annoying bsdtwt though lmfao) . but i do also find it very interesting how he interacts with and views fyodor and nikolai . i do wish we had more on how they were like as an organisation

favourite relationship - chuuya

again, talking shipping id probably have to go with skk , but even in a non shipping context it really does interest me how him and dazai interact . theyre so fucking weird

favourite headcanon - sigma

living up to my duties as ceo of transmasc sigma , thats obviously my favourite headcanon . hes soooo trans guy coded its insane . bless him . also my headcanon that he always has that new book smell hanging around him no matter what . cause . yknow .

favourite headcanon - chuuya

ok i also love to headcanon chuuya as a trans guy like honestly asagiri what is it with you accidentally coding all your funky little guys as trans . also i reckon hes a tea drinker . he will fuck that shit up . hes got all the fancy ones yknow those really weird flavours that honestly are barely even tea anymore thats just a fancy drink but hey the box is pretty so

[clare141312]

MHA X READER WITH ATOM EVE´S POWERS

Words: 3,735 Warning: cursing

Chapter 4

The day goes by pretty normally: English with Present Mic, math with Ectoplasm, and literature with Cementoss. Now, it’s finally time for lunch, and I’m with Jirou, Yaoyorozu, and Mina. We all stand in line, chatting. “I still can’t believe Lunch Rush is the school chef,” Jirou says, shaking her head. “I know, right!?” Mina exclaims, practically bouncing with excitement as she gestures wildly.

“Well, having top heroes as our teachers does suit U.A. perfectly,” Yaoyorozu adds calmly as we move closer to the front of the line.

I smile, thinking back on my first impression of Yaoyorozu. At first, I thought she was just a typical, stuck-up rich girl, but she’s actually really sweet and caring. In fact, she’s kind of like the mom of our group.

We grab our food and find a table to sit at. As soon as we settle in, we pick up our conversation right where we left off.

“I can’t wait to meet All Might,” I say, smiling. “He was one of my favourite heroes growing up. “

That sets us off, and soon we’re all excitedly sharing stories and gushing about our favourite heroes from childhood. Soon lunch ends and we go to class. Now we have basic hero training.

"I am... coming through the door like a hero!" All Might announces grandly, and everyone in the room sounds super impressed. I must admit, I’m just as excited as everyone else seeing him in person feels surreal. But when I take a closer look at All Might and examine his genetic material, I notice something strange—his quirk genes are identical to Midoriya's. Could they be father and son? No, stop thinking about it. He also appears to be injured.

"So, he is a teacher here, this year is going to be totally awesome!" Kirishima holds up a fist excitedly.

"Hey, look. Is he wearing his Silver Age costume?" Tsuyu askes looking at the costume as he marches in.

"I'm getting goosebumps, it's so retro." Ojiro voices.

"Welcome to the most important class at U.A. High. Think of it as "Hero-ing 101." Here, you will learn the basics of being a pro. And what it means to fight in the name of good! Let's get into it. Today's lesson will pull no punches!" All Might announces showing a card with battle written on it.

"Fight in the name of good." I wonder if All Might truly believes in the concept of good and evil. The idea that good and evil exist feels like a delusion to me. Not everything is simply black and white. How would one even define what is truly good or evil? At what point does a good deed cross the line into something harmful? I wish I could ask him these questions, but I don't want to come off as a troublemaker or make him dislike me. I think for a long while, lost in my thoughts, but Bakugo’s voice suddenly snaps me out of it.

“Fight Training!" Bakugo enthused.

"Real combat?" Izuku askes surprised.

"But one of the keys of being a hero is... Looking good! These were designed for you based on your Quirk registration forms and the requests you sent in before school started." All Might announces as the panels in the wall pull out revealing numbered cases. "Get yourself suited up and then meet me at Training Ground Beta!"

We all head to the locker rooms to change. The girls' locker room is filled with chatter and excitement. As we step out onto the training grounds, we hear All Might's voice.

"They say that clothes make the Pros, you ladies and gentlemen, and behold, you are the proof! Take this to heart, from now on you are all... Heroes in training! This is getting me all ramped up. You look so cool! Now, shall we get started, you bunch of newbies?"

The clothing allowance. Before we enrolled in U.A. we submitted our Quirk registration forms, which included physical measurements and any desired costume designs to an exclusive clothing company designated by the school. With all that info, they created state-of-the-art costumes for us.

This is My Suit:

I walk over to Midoriya. “Hey, your costume is a tribute to All Might, right? You look like a super cute bunny in it,” I say, and he starts to blush, quickly denying that he looks cute.

“It is a tribute to All Might and I—” He’s cut off by Bakugo.

“Hey nerd, you better pray that they don´t make us fight against each other,” Bakugo says as he walks off.

“What is his problem?!” I ask, furious on Midoriya’s behalf and ready to confront Bakugo.

“He’s always been like that since we were kids. Please don’t start a fight because of his comments,” Midoriya says timidly.

“Wait, you guys were childhood friends? And even if he was, that doesn’t mean he gets to treat you like that!” I yell, then realize I’ve raised my voice and quickly apologize. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell at you. Sometimes I get really opinionated and speak without thinking. I’m trying to work on that, and anyway, it’s none of my business.”

“No, you have it all wrong. Thank you for being angry for me. Besides, trying to get justice for people is what a hero does,” he says with an adorable smile. “And I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s your quirk?”

“Oh, my quirk is Subatomic Manipulation. It allows me to sense and alter matter and energy at the sub-atomic level, but it drains the fat and nutrients in my body,” I explain.

He starts scribbling in his notebook, muttering about the potential of my quirk. “What have you got there?” I ask, curious.

“Oh, it’s my hero analysis notebook,” he replies, showing me the notes he’s taken about our classmates. We chat a little longer before I leave.

"Whoa, your costume is super cute!" Mina says, adjusting her own suit.

"Thanks! Yours is great too—it has a retro vibe," I reply, turning to face All Might.

"Sir," Iida raises his hand in his hero suit, which completely covers him, "this is the fake city from our entrance exam. Does that mean we’ll be conducting urban battles again?" he asks.

"Not quite." All Might holds up two fingers like he's making a peace sign. "I’m moving you two steps ahead. Most of the villain fights you see on the news happen outside, but statistically, run-ins with the most dastardly evildoers actually happen indoors. Think about it: backroom deals, home invasions, secret underground lairs. Truly cunning criminals hide in the shadows. For this exercise, you’ll be split into teams of heroes and villains."

"Isn't this a bit advanced?" Tsuyu asks.

"The best training happens on the battlefield! But remember, you can't just punch a robot this time. You’re dealing with actual people now," All Might points out.

"Sir, will you be the one deciding who wins?" Momo Yaoyorozu asks.

"How much can we hurt the other team?" Bakugo demands.

"Do we need to worry about the losers getting expelled, like earlier?" Uraraka asks nervously.

"Will you be splitting us up based on chance or comparative skill?" Iida suggests.

"Isn't this cape très chic?" Yuga Aoyama comments.

"I wasn't finished talking!" All Might interrupts, though I think they’re all fair questions. I’m starting to notice our class doesn’t have much regard for raising hands or waiting to speak.

"Listen up," All Might continues, "The situation is this: The villains have hidden a nuclear missile somewhere in their hideout. The heroes must try to foil their plans. To do that, the good guys either must catch the evildoers or recover the weapon. Likewise, the bad guys succeed if they protect their payload or capture the heroes. Time is limited, and we'll choose teams by drawing lots!" All Might holds up a box.

"Isn't there a better way?" Iida questions.

"Think about it! Pros often have to team up with heroes from other agencies on the spot, so maybe that's the reason we're seeing that here," Izuku suggests.

"Yes, I see. Life is a random series of events. Excuse my rudeness." Iida bows, and All Might turns away from us.

"No sweat. Let's draw!" All Might says. I draw “I”team and see that I’ll be teaming up with Mashiro Ojiro, whose Quirk is his impressive tail.

"I declare that the first teams to fight will be..." All Might begins as he reaches into two boxes—one marked "Villains" and the other "Heroes"—and pulls out names. "These guys!" he announces. "Team D for villains: Bakugo and Iida, versus Team A: Uraraka and Midoriya as the heroes. Everyone else can head to the monitoring room to watch," All Might instructs.

"Yes, sir!" We all respond in unison. It´s little moments like these that make feel like I´m truly a part of this class. I watch the monitors as the battle begins, squeezing my hands together as Bakugo attacks, coming out of nowhere. Midoriya dodges, his mask shattering as he tackles Uraraka out of the way of the attack.

"He almost got the jump on them," Mineta remarks.

"A sneak attack, Bakugo? What kind of man pulls cheap moves like that?" Kirishima complains, clenching his fist and punching his other hand. “There is nothing as dishonourable in a real fight.” I tell Kirishima.

"It's a smart strategy. He’s playing the part, acting like a true villain," All Might suggests.

"It didn’t work! Midoriya dodged him!" Mina cheers.

"Look, there he goes!" Denki points out as Bakugo charges at Midoriya. Bakugo yells, swinging his right arm, but Midoriya rushes in and grabs it. Uraraka cheers as Midoriya flips Bakugo over his shoulder, slamming him onto his back. I watch in awe, amazed at the display.

"Hey, who’s Bakugo talking to? I can’t hear anything. Can we get some sound on this video?" Kirishima asks.

"He’s got a radio in his ear so he can communicate with his partner. I gave it to him before the match started, along with a map of the building. Also, this." All Might explains, pulling out a roll of tape. "A roll of capture tape! And now they’re out for the rest of the game."

"So, there’s a 15-minute time limit, and the good guys have no idea which floor the nuclear weapon is hidden on, right?" Mina adds.

"Correct!" All Might agrees.

"Then the heroes are clearly at a disadvantage here. A big one!" Mina points out.

"Real pros have to outwit villains on a daily basis. That’s life. Even when the odds aren’t in our favour, we fight! All together!" All Might exclaims, raising his hand.

"Let’s hear a Plus Ultra!" we all shout.

"Monsieur, he's on the move," Aoyama points out, watching the screens as Bakugo charges at Midoriya again. Uraraka is likely off to find Iida while Midoriya uses the capture tape to catch one of Bakugo's wrists. Bakugo turns and tries to kick at Midoriya midair with an explosion, but Izuku dodges once more.

"The little guy's really good!" Sato says, clenching his fist.

"He's holding his own, and he hasn’t even used his quirk yet!" Sero adds. "Probably because he breaks his bones every time, he uses it," I reply.

“It can’t last. Even if Izuku uses his knowledge of Bakugo´s moves to predict what he’ll do, Bakugo´s already adapting to that knowledge. He may seem impulsive, but that’s because he thinks so quickly. The second he breaks from his pattern, Midoriya won’t be able to react fast enough in close quarters to avoid the explosions. He’ll seek distance,” I say, and as I do, Midoriya turns and starts to run. For once me being nosy and liking watching people has come in handy.

“That guy has some real anger issues. Kinda scary,” Kaminari voices.

"I said Midoriya would seek distance, but I never said distance would work." I warn, and as Midoriya steps out, everyone turns back to the screens. We watch as Bakugo lifts his arm, pulling back on the trigger, revealing a pin.

"Young Bakugo! Don't do it! You'll kill him!" All Might yells, but Bakugo ignores him that little shit, pulling the pin. The explosion erupts, destroying the hall and shaking the entire exterior of the building, even rattling the viewing room where we’re watching.

"Whoa, this is nuts," Kirishima says, clearly amazed.

"Come on, come on, Midoriya!" All Might calls out.

"How the hell did he do that?" Mina asks, her voice filled with confusion.

"Nitro-glycerine. Bakugo sweats it, and the gauntlets are designed to store his sweat. His quirk sparks the sweat, so the more nitro sweat he has, the bigger the explosion," I explain.

Everyone looks at me strangely, so I quickly continue my analysis. "Midoriya showed me his hero analysis notebook. There were several pages with information about Bakugo and his quirk. And his costume has gauntlets on his arms. At first, it seems like a stylistic choice, but he doesn’t seem like the type if you look closer, you can see some that it is kind of storing device. This is how I came to my conclusion."

Wow, when I say it out loud, I sound so smart. But this was just a lucky guess. I really hope they don’t think I’m some kind of genius and start asking me questions. I can’t handle these kinds of expectations. “How Smart,” Yayorozu Complements.

"Sir, isn't this getting out of hand? Bakugo is acting insane! He's going to kill him!" Kirishima voices, worried.

"Bakugo, use that stored-up power again, and I’ll stop this fight. Your team will lose," All Might warns. "To use such a powerful attack indoors is risking the destruction of the very stronghold you’re supposed to be protecting. That’s poor strategy, whether you’re a hero or a villain. The penalty would be a massive loss of points."

Bakugo screams, flying at Midoriya. Midoriya closes his eyes, bracing for the impact, but then Bakugo suddenly faints, changing trajectory midair. He flies over Midoriya, blasting him in the back with an explosion.

"What was that move?" Kirishima asks, confused.

"He doesn't seem like the type to strategize, but he's actually quite intelligent," Todoroki says calmly.

"What do you mean?" Kirishima responds, still puzzled.

"He changed his trajectory mid-air using a blast that doubled as a smokescreen. Very clever," Todoroki explains.

"A feint like that requires extreme precision. He had to calculate the physics and show control over his Quirk," Yayorozu adds. So, he really is smart after all.

"Ugh, Bakugo is so talented. I hate it," Kaminari complains as Bakugo punches Midoriya in the back, then grabs his arm, throwing him over his shoulder and slamming him into the ground, just like Izuku did to him earlier.

"This is hard to watch. All he has to do is wrap tape around him, not beat him to a pulp," Mina complains.

"Bakugo’s definitely acting more like a villain," Tokoyami suggests. "I thought Midoriya was pretty amazing at the start of the fight, but he’s completely outmatched when it comes to combat power. Not to mention, Bakugo seems like a natural at all this," Kaminari voices, and I frown as Midoriya gets up and crawls—then runs toward the wall.

"He’s running away," Mina voices, shocked.

"Not very manly, but he doesn’t have a choice. He’s outgunned. Unless he’s got some kind of plan. It’s possible..." Kirishima suggests. Bakugo keeps marching toward him, and then Midoriya suddenly runs at Bakugo, his arm glowing.

"They're gonna kill each other, sir!" Kirishima yells.

"Both of you, stop!" All Might calls into the mic. Midoriya´s hand changes direction mid-air, punching upward just as Bakugo blasts him. The force of the explosion shatters the building, sending shockwaves through the entire structure. In the chaos, Uraraka uses the blast to propel debris at Ida, quickly reaching the weapon and touching it. The timer hits zero, and we all stare in shock.

“You did it. The hero Team wins!” All Might announces. Damm that was Intense.

"Your indoor combat training is over! The Hero Team wins!" All Might cheers.

"What a weird way for this to end. The losers are practically untouched, and the winners are both on the ground," Kaminari points out.

"How does the old saying go? They may have lost the battle, but they won the war," Tokoyami quotes.

"This class is intense," Tsuyu adds.

"Well, despite the results, the MVP of this exercise is young Iida," All Might suggests.

"Uh, that's weird," Kaminari complains.

"Shouldn't it be one of the heroes instead, since they’re the winners?" Tsuyu points out.

"Mm! Valid question. Why didn’t I choose one of those two?" All Might asks, raising his hand.

"Sir! I can tell you why! Iida embraced this challenge. He was the only one who truly adapted to his assigned role one who truly a Momo informed raising her hand, "I'll explain. Bakugo's judgment was clouded by a personal grudge against Midoriya. As you pointed out earlier, launching a large-scale attack indoors was a foolish move. It could have been disastrous Similarly, Midoriya's plan was also poorly thought out, considering the amount of damage that he received, he rendered himself helpless. Not smart. As for Uraraka... She let her guard down mid-battle, and her final attack was much too reckless given the hypothetical stakes. If she'd treated the fake as though it were real, she never would've risked using such an imprecise move. Iida was fully prepared for his s opponent's arrival. arrival He had a strategy and never lost s sight of his mission to protect the dummy weapon, even if he was foiled in the end. Technically, the hero team won, yes, but they took advantage of the fact that this was training, they didn't respect the spirit of the trail." Momo explained and then looked at All Might.

"Yes, well, you missed a few things. Young Iida could have relaxed a bit more during the exercise, but other than that, you nailed it!" All Might says, giving her a thumbs up.

"One should always start with the basics and devote themselves wholeheartedly to learning. That's the only real way to become a top hero," Yaoyorozu explains.

"Now, then. Time to move on. Let's get to the next match! Think about everything we saw and discussed as you approach this training for yourselves," All Might orders.

"Yes, sir!" we all respond in unison.

After the first match ended, it was now my teams turn.

"Match two! Team B will be our heroes, and Team I will be the villains!" All Might announces as we stretch.

"Ojiro, your tail's pretty strong, right? you could use it to attack and block any heroes from reaching the weapon," I suggest.

"Yeah, sounds good," Ojiro agrees.

"So, what’s your quirk? Ojiro asks.

"it is called subatomic manipulation. I can pretty much bend Matter to my will.," I reply.

"Look alive, kids! Show us you're the embodiment of good... or evil! Let’s go!" All Might cheers.

"It kinda feels like even our teacher is rooting for the other team," I complain to Ojiro.

"Well, everyone wants good to prevail," Ojiro shrugs.

"Not today, we don’t. Let’s crush them," I encourage, a determined smile on my face.

Before we can react, the ground suddenly freezes, trapping our feet in place.

"Ojiro!" I shout.

"My feet are stuck," Ojiro informs me, struggling against the ice.

"This quirk is insane," he mutters, glancing around, trying to figure out how to break free.

"Don't worry, I’ll unfreeze you," I say, focusing as I activate my quirk, turning the ice beneath us into water. Slowly, the ice melts, freeing our feet.

"Whoa, your quirk is amazing!" Ojiro exclaims, impressed.

I smile, but just as I do, I hear footsteps approaching and I make a shield around the weapon.

"I didn't expect you two to break free so quickly," a voice say. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ll still beat you." Todoroki comes into view. God he is so good looking.

“Cocky, much?” I mutter under my breath. Ok just remember the plan.

Flashback:

“Both our quirks can be used in offense and defence”. Ojiro says

“It would be best if I made a shield around the weapon and we both attack.” I say deeply in thought.

“Why not just make a wall so no can come inside?” Ojiro questioned.

“The shields I make are not indestructible they will eventually break especially if shoji and Todoroki attack at once.”

“Oh yeah, we have to account for our enemy’s strength. Shoji would be the scout because he can make more ears on his arms.”

“And Todoroki would probably attack. I can melt his ice”

End of Flashback

"Wait, where's Shoji?" I ask, firing a ball of energy at Todoroki. He responds quickly, creating a wall of ice to block my attack.

"I don't know. Maybe they're planning a sneak attack," Ojiro says, scanning the area.

I focus, melting Todoroki's ice wall with ease, while Ojiro lashes out with his tail. Todoroki dodges, then freezes Ojiro’s tail mid-swing.

"Ah!" Ojiro yelps as he crashes to the ground, his tail stiff with ice.

"Hang on, I’ve got this!" I say, forming a quick shield around Todoroki, trapping him in place. I immediately focus and melt the ice around Ojiro’s tail, freeing him.

But Todoroki, ever resourceful, breaks through the shield with a series of powerful strikes. Just as he does, Shoji rushes in, appearing from out of nowhere.

"What are you doing here?" Todoroki asks, surprised.

"You were taking too long, so I thought I'd lend a hand," Shoji replies calmly.

Ojiro and I launch our attack, but Todoroki and Shoji dodge easily, and I accidentally get too close to Shoji. He seizes the chance, landing a punch that sends me stumbling back. “Shit!” I yell as I hit the ground. Meanwhile, Todoroki and Shoji double up on Ojiro—Todoroki freezes his feet again while Shoji throws another punch. I scramble to my feet and quickly blast both Shoji and Todoroki, creating just enough space to unfreeze Ojiro.

Seizing the opportunity, Ojiro and I coordinate our moves, launching an attack together. Todoroki quickly creates another ice wall to separate us, but I melt it with a wave of my hand. I trap him again with Todoroki temporarily blocked, Ojiro and I trap Shoji with the capture tape, securing him.

As the timer hits zero, I hear the announcement ring out, confirming our victory.

“We did it,” Ojiro grins, relieved.

After classes end, we all start cleaning up, and Midoriya finally comes back from the infirmary. Everyone rushes over to him, eager to talk, but he gets overwhelmed and quickly asks about Bakugo before leaving. I wait for about 20 minutes before heading out with Mina and Jirou. We decide to go home together, chatting along the way

[maditalksmusic]

All Things Go NYC (Day 2) at Forest Hills Stadium

This past Sunday, September 29, I had the pleasure of attending the second day of the All Things Go music festival at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, New York. It wasn’t a planned trip, but thanks to Chappell Roan dropping out of the festival on the Friday morning prior, ticket prices plummeted. In the span of 30 minutes, they went from $300-$400 to $75, and it was too good of a deal to pass up. Given the state of the weather the day I attended the festival, I didn’t know if it was even going to be worth having gone, but leaving that night, I couldn’t have been more grateful for the experience. 

It certainly would’ve been more comfortable if it hadn’t been raining all day long at an outdoor venue and I wasn’t soaked to the bone and my hands weren’t completely numb by the end of the night, but honestly the dreary conditions curated the perfect vibe for the lineup. Saturday had been a more energetic set of artists, far more pop-centric than Sunday with sets including sapphic pop-rock band MUNA and newfound lesbian pop icon Reneè Rapp. Sunday, on the other hand, was a lot closer to a dark folk-rock festival with artists you’d listen to speeding down backroads during a thunderstorm or sobbing your eyes out over your latest breakup, wondering what you ever could’ve done to bring what feels like the end of the world upon yourself. I had to leave before the final headliner, Janelle Monáe, took the stage, because regrettably, it was a school night. However, I was able to see the rest of the day’s lineup - Annie DiRusso, Indigo De Souza, Mannequin Pussy, Maisie Peters, Julien Baker, and Ethel Cain. 

Lineup banner on the exterior of Forest Hills Stadium, shot by me

Annie DiRusso was a name I was previously unfamiliar with, but I found myself thoroughly impressed with her set. She kicked the afternoon off perfectly, donning a bright yellow poncho on stage in solidarity with the already drenched crowd. Her highly autobiographical style of songwriting lent itself well to audience engagement as she gave us pieces of different stories that inspired each song, many aspects of which hit extremely close to home for a lot of the audience. Most of her upbeat ‘bedroom-rock’ songs focused on DiRusso’s run-ins with classic coming-of-age experiences, uniting everyone in the crowd from the sixteen-year-olds there with their moms to the fifty-year-old (mostly lesbian) couples thrilled to see such a wonderfully queer festival lineup. 

Setlist: 

Don’t Swerve

Legs

Nine Months

Wet

Next up was Indigo De Souza, who I’ve known for a while as she’s based in Asheville, North Carolina, about an hour and a half from my hometown. This was my first time seeing her live, but I have friends back home who have been to shows of hers and usually, she’s quite lively and her energy is infectious. After her set at All Things Go, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the stadium. Hurricane Helene hit western NC the day prior, and it caused absolutely devastating damage, especially in Asheville. Just before De Souza took the stage, she received the news that her entire home had been destroyed in the storm - her house, everything she owned, her piano - gone. Her performance was among the most raw I’ve ever seen, every single lyric hit like an emotional avalanche. Through most of the songs, her eyes stayed closed and she stayed still at the microphone, simply letting the music pour out of her. It was the most moving set of the day, I think. Before she left the stage, she shared a number of resources that people can utilize to help aid those who were deeply affected by Hurricane Helene in Appalachia specifically, making a point to use her platform for good. I’m still in awe of the fact that she managed to drag herself out there and play so gorgeously in the wake of such a disaster, which goes to show just how powerful of an artist she is. 

Setlist:

Be My Love 

Staying Busy 

Wasting Your Time

You Can Be Mean

Love Transcends

be like the water

shit together

Younger & Dumber

Indigo De Souza during her set at All Things Go NYC, shot by me

Following Indigo De Souza’s intense set came a very different sort of energy from a four-piece female-fronted rock band called Mannequin Pussy, with front woman and lead singer Marisa Dabice, Kaleen Reading on drums, Colins Regisford on bass guitar, and Maxine Steen on guitar. I’d heard a couple of their songs before, but I hadn’t done a deep dive on their discography. After their performance, I was completely sold. The group is heavily reminiscent of bands from the 90s Riot Grrrl scene - the resemblance in energy to the Bikini Kill concert I was at a few weeks ago was incredible. Before Dabice even began singing, I thought to myself, huh… she reminds me a lot of Kathleen Hanna. I don’t know that an outdoor stadium was the best venue for them, but they put on a good show nonetheless. It was the only heavier rock set of the festival, and it was clear that a lot of the audience wasn’t necessarily jiving with it (but, that was the same group that was still mad about Chappell Roan dropping out of the lineup last minute for mental health reasons because she was the only artist they even bought the ticket for, so it was unsurprising). It was so refreshing to see the same sort of sentiments that drove the Riot Grrrl movement still present in modern rock music - not in the sense that the world is still rife with problems that are being felt especially deeply by women and queer people at the moment, but refreshing in the sense that there’s still groups out there that are genuinely passionate about using their platform to spur change in any way possible. 

Setlist:

Sometimes

Loud Bark

I Got Heaven

Of Her

Aching

OK? OK! OK? OK!

Romantic

Following Mannequin Pussy was the only non-queer pop artist of the day, Maisie Peters. Peters is currently touring with Conan Gray on the Found Heaven Tour and has gained a lot of recognition for her recent opening act in London for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I’m not a huge Maisie Peters fan generally… I won’t go out of my way to listen to her music. You won’t find me searching it up on Spotify, but maybe I won’t skip a song if it pops up in some sort of generated playlist from time to time. I was quite frankly shocked by how much I enjoyed her performance at All Things Go. When she came on, I was probably the least enthusiastic one in my section, but a few songs in I was jamming along, leaning into her bright and whimsical songs telling the stories of her past romantic ventures, for the most part. I still maintain my stance that Maisie Peters comes across as a teenage carbon copy of Sabrina Carpenter (especially with the bangs… the resemblance is undeniable) despite only being one year younger than Carpenter at age 24. But, I’ll admit it - her music is fun. She’s got a stage presence that feels sort of like what I imagine the experience of chewing bright pink bubblegum at a neon-lit roller rink with your friends singing along to the latest radio pop hits feels like. She grabs the audience and holds onto it until she’s completely out of sight, and most importantly, she leaves you at least a little happier than you were before. 

Setlist:

You’re Just a Boy (And I’m Kinda the Man)

Body Better

Love Him I Don’t

John Hughes Movie

Not Another Rockstar

Holding Out for a Hero (Bonnie Tyler cover)

The Band and I

Villain

The Last One

There It Goes

History of Man

Lost the Breakup

Crowd during Maisie Peters' set at All Things Go NYC, shot by me

The anticipation for Julien Baker’s set was palpable. The night prior, MUNA had brought out Lucy Dacus for Phoebe Bridgers’ verse in their hit song “Silk Chiffon”. Baker, Bridgers, and Dacus formed a supergroup called Boygenius back in 2018, and have released two EPs as well as a full studio album together. Phoebe Bridgers is still by far the most well-known of the three, but with the massive success of their debut album The Record last year, which won the Grammys for Best Alternative Album, Best Rock Song, and Best Rock Performance (the latter two both for the track “Not Strong Enough”), both Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker saw an increase in the popularity of their solo work. Given Dacus’ appearance with MUNA, almost everyone was expecting an on-stage appearance from her during Baker’s set as well since they do have music together as Boygenius. While she didn’t join Julien Baker on stage, Lucy Dacus was spotted watching her set along with Phoebe Bridgers, huddled together under a cream-colored umbrella, supporting their best friend like a pair of proud parents still flabbergasted by their child’s sheer talent. Baker’s set was what could only be described as a religious experience for me. Maybe 30 seconds into her first song, I had tears rolling down my cheeks. I’m not one to form those creepy parasocial relationships with artists and pretend I know them personally, which is usually what puts people to tears that soon into a show. I found Julien Baker’s music at a really difficult point in my life, and ever since I’ve had an incredibly strong emotional attachment to her songs. Her music helped me pull through some of my toughest times, and to this day I have to be careful about when I listen to her because doing so conjures up such intense emotions for me. When she started singing, all of those feelings came cascading to the surface, and I couldn’t hold back the sobs thinking back on the last few years and how grateful I am to be in such a wonderful place now. Time felt frozen in that moment, it was just me and the music in this emotional vortex, swirling around and around until she left the stage.

Setlist:

Over

Appointments

Ringside

Red Door

Happy to Be Here

Favor

Tokyo

Sprained Ankle

Bloodshot

Even

Claws in Your Back

Hardline

Julien Baker during her set at All Things Go NYC, shot by me

After Julien Baker, some water, and the most mediocre $9 french fries I’ve ever consumed, I felt like I was in heaven. Which is an interesting place to be going into an Ethel Cain show, given the intricate religious-trauma-ridden, toxic-relationship-turns-cannibalism lore behind her first and only (very much concept) album, Preacher’s Daughter. Ethel Cain is the stage name and character identity developed by Hayden Silas Andehӧnia. Her ambient contemporary folk-rock music is like nothing else out there right now - I’ve never heard a concept album that tells such a detailed story with each song. The interpretations of each song are left up to the listener’s experience and their decision on whether or not to put the time in to do their research, but it’s impossible not to feel as if you’re witnessing a scene from a movie go down in your mind when you hear her music. When you close your eyes and let the song wash over you, basking in her richly haunting vocals and the perfectly minimal but just maximal enough instrumentation, you can feel the dry heat of Alabama, the sunburn on your neck sitting in the bleachers at a football game, the crushing weight of the church on your shoulders with every decision you make. Every note is a pull between the pounding of a heart pushing hot red blood through a body pulsing with vitality and the ice cold remnants of a mutilated corpse. It’s feeling like there must be a God, or at the very least some sort of outside force of the universe, but looking at the state of the world and thinking to yourself it would be impossible for any kind of holy being to allow anyone to have to suffer the way they do. By the end of Ethel Cain’s set, it was pitch-black outside, everything hurt, my skirt was completely ripped, and I was once again shivering under my three layers of soaked clothing, ready for any kind of respite. I can’t imagine a better way to have experienced it. 

Setlist:

Dust Bowl

A House in Nebraska

Family Tree

Thoroughfare

Crush

Punish 

August Underground

Gibson Girl

Bette Davis Eyes (Jackie DeShanon cover)

American Teenager

During Ethel Cain's set at All Things Go NYC, shot by me

[rorywritesjunk]

Ok I'm curious. What's your explanation for how Buggy has three wives and everybody is ok with that? It's just kinda funny to think of Buggy having enough self-esteem to think he could even get away with it. Not that I wouldn't love a cozy little polycule of my own, but I'm not sure how this one even happened.

This makes me mad about the crashed Tumblr post because I wrote about their stuff in that. I'm rewriting it in a word document now so it won't happen again, but here's the brief rundown (since writing it out is getting long).

It's in bullet point form. It's long. I don't know how to write it without it being so damn long, sorry! But I've been wanting to write them out properly since the idea was first brought up.

Short summary: Each married years apart, not one big wedding. Sunny was the first, Cupcake the second, and Birdie the third. They get along really well, pretty much married to each other as much as they are to Buggy. If there's any issue in the marriage Id like to think it's Buggy who causes them (no filter, is an idiot).

Sunny and Buggy married first at age 21. He fell in love first with her and was an idiot about it. She eventually fell in love with him and the second she said "I love you" he asked to marry her.

Cupcake came next after being rescued from the arranged marriage. She and Sunny become best friends and Buggy's like "why am i starting to fall in love with this other woman what is wrong with me?!"

Drunk and Crying Buggy confesses to Sunny six months after Cupcake joins the crew that he has the same feelings for her that he has for Sunny and he thinks there's something wrong with him.

And Sunny's like "that's okay" because her aunt on her dad's side is married to someone who has a wife and husband, and Buggy's like, people actually do that?

Sunny tells him to talk to Cupcake, don't just confess feelings, because she wants him to do it right if he's going to court her. And Buggy's kind of dumb. He figures flowers and fancy words would woo Cupcake but it doesn't. She thinks he's an idiot.

And what Buggy doesn't know is that Cupcake got drunk one night and told Sunny she thinks her husband is stupidly hot, and does his nose honk? But she respects that Sunny is his wife and won't do anything to get between them because she loves Sunny so much as well.

So basically Sunny is going to play matchmaker between her husband and best friend because she loves them both and wants them both to be happy.

Buggy and Cupcake exchange rings. Cupcake had been married, it had been a living nightmare, but she doesn't sense that with these two. It's going to be different.

Is it perfect? No. There's disagreements, misunderstandings, things like that. Sometimes jealousy happens, but when Sunny decides to start Girls Night for her and Cupcake, it helps, even if Buggy is upset at being left out (though he doesn't tell them).

It works for a few years and Buggy wonders how the hell he managed to get two awesome wives who love him and each other. Shanks could never.

And Buggy feels good about it, everything is great, and when Sunny's birthday comes around and they stop at some island to celebrate, he swings by a bakery to get her a cake and... damn, the baker is really cute.

And he turns and leaves the bakery because he can't deal with with how cute the baker is. When he comes back to the ship without a cake, Sunny and Cupcake goes to investigate and Cupcake also goes "Aw shit she's cute".

Birdie and Sunny hit it off immediately. They are able to talk about baking, ingredients, recipes, things like that. And Cupcake tells her about some stories she has about the circus, about growing up as a fisherman, and Birdie is impressed Cupcake still has all of her limbs and things after hearing how she helps take care of a lion that likes to put her head in his mouth when he feels anxious.

Birdie is invited back for Sunny's birthday party. Buggy doesn't want to talk to her because damn, she seems great, and she talks to him, wonders what it's like being a pirate captain, and is it normal for them to have multiple spouses? And he can't really even talk because he's a bit of a failure when it comes to flirting. It didn't work with Cupcake so it wouldn't work again, right?

Well, he got lucky twice, it wouldn't happen a third time, right? The next day after the party, he goes to the bakery, and Buggy isn't always the most observant guy, so Birdie casually asks if he has an opening on his crew and yea, he does. Sunny does a lot of work for the crew and could use a hand with it. Birdie jumps at the chance because there's two shady guys in the bakery who she is trying to ignore, but her father had owed their boss money and he never paid, so they're coming after her and if she doesn't pay, well, accidents of all kinds can happen in a kitchen.

Buggy is conflicted again when these feelings start for Birdie next. He gets drunk and confesses it to all three of them one night that he's falling in love again. It's been only three months. Sunny and Cupcake are amused by this because they saw it coming. Birdie is a little more apprehensive because she thinks Sunny and Cupcake are wonderful, she couldn't compete.

Sunny and Cupcake bring Birdie along for Girls Night. This is how they really get to know each other and Birdie sees how Sunny and Cupcake get along, how they handle things during these get togethers, she decides to talk with Buggy.

Buggy and Birdie exchange rings within a year of her joining the crew.

He really doesn't know how he got lucky and landed three wonderful wives even if they'll collectively roast him and pick on him. He could never say something mean to them on purpose but sometimes he's stupid and says dumb things (he once compared Birdie's baking to Sunny's cooking and it was Not Nice and ended with Birdie in tears. Cupcake and Sunny turned on Buggy pretty quickly and that was the first time he was kicked out of the main bed and forced to sleep alone).

Yea. It's... it's gonna be long. I found no way to shorten it.

[hassedah]

MC meets the mansion boys after Neil's neutral ending:

Hi! How are you? I hope you are well! ^^

I had a request on the subject, but it got lost, fortunately it was noted in my word file folder. For this version of the story, the boys (Vladimir and co) didn't settle in MC's parents' manor. MC met Neil on her own and left her parents' manor after Neil left, and she settled with the boys while waiting for him to return.

Take care of yourself and have a nice day! ^^

Vladimir :

Vladimir is very suspicious at first. He doesn't understand how you can have such good control over yourself when you claim to have been transformed into a vampire barely a year ago. He remembers his first year of transformation well enough and still feels unstable enough to make it seem impossible. After all, despite being almost 150 years old, he still wants to attack humans when he feels strong emotions.

He knows that Aaron is very suspicious of you and that worries him a bit, to tell you the truth. He doesn't really know how to react when you're with him, seriously, he feels he has less self-control than you do. And yet, despite your impressive abilities, you don't seem to want to do them any harm. That's the only reason he agrees to put you up… and also because you told him you'd be alone if he didn't. He knows that solitude is too much to bear, and if he can help you avoid it, then he will.

Finally, as time goes by, they begin to trust you. You help them a lot around the manor, whether it's with day-to-day tasks such as tending the garden, or more complex tasks such as managing the visitors at the Beliath celebrations in helping them manage Ivan.

What's more, you're quite calm and friendly. He feels safe with you if he thinks it's a bit ridiculous, because you're the one who should feel safe with him. He's the older of the two of you, he's the one who should be protecting you if anything goes wrong.

Finally, he finds it pleasant to spend time with you. You seem to know a lot and you're a curious person. You listen to him when he has things to say and you ask him questions about his garden. In fact, you always seem to be looking for something new to learn and he must admit that he really likes that.

When you tell him that you have been transformed by an ancient vampire, he is both frightened and impressed.

He sometimes asks you questions about your partner. He's quite curious, even if he doesn't want to admit it, and he wonders why he left you alone. He thinks he wouldn't like to be separated from the person he loves. He often tries to cheer you up or make you smile when you seem to miss your partner.

Béliath :

He didn't really know how to react to you at first. You remind him a little of Ethan when he first met him, curious, perceptive, not easily impressed. However, Ethan was a very unstable young vampire, yet older than you are now. You shouldn't be able to control yourself so easily. Beliath is certain of that.

Maybe it's a bit scary… or impressive, he can't make up his mind at the moment and he's mainly relying on Aaron's reaction to know what to do and Aaron… well, Aaron's suspicious of you too. He's still friendly though, it's not his habit to be unpleasant with people he's just met.

He takes you to the Moondance, mostly out of curiosity at first, he's impressed by how easily you resist blood. A human cuts himself with a glass, and you simply raise your head in his direction, intrigued by the smell but without the slightest intention of attacking him.

You also have the same hypnotic abilities as Raphael and for a vampire your age, that's really impressive. He'd never seen anything like it in anyone else. He knows that it normally takes several years to reach such a level, but when he talks to you about it, you tell him that you've learned to do it instinctively.

He's also impressed by your hunting and fighting skills. You make it look as if you've been doing it all your life. And once again, you simply reply that whoever taught you was a very good teacher.

You talk very little about your past and even if he's curious, he doesn't try to broach the subject most of the time. When you tell him that you've been transformed by an Elder, he understands your abilities better. There aren't many Elders alive these days, so you've taken your first steps into vampiric life with one of the best of his kind.

He asks you questions about your partner from time to time, and he's quite perceptive, so it's fairly easy for him to understand that your partner is the ancient vampire who transformed you. However, he has a much harder time understanding why you've split up for the time being, and it's even more incomprehensible to him when you tell him that you're not separated, but that you're simply waiting for him to come back and see you.

Ivan :

Ivan feels really stupid compared to you. You were able to accompany Beliath and Ethan to the Moondance without the slightest difficulty, whereas he always feels on the verge of cracking up when he goes out on the town. In fact, you don't seem to have any difficulties that a young vampire should have and when he asks you how you did it you simply reply that you've had a very good teacher.

He knows that Aaron and Beliath are a little wary of you because of your extraordinary abilities, but that's not what concerns him most. Ivan is jealous.

He thinks it's really unfair. Aaron is also a very good teacher, he's put a lot of effort into helping him become a better vampire and he continues to do so. Yet he still hasn't reached your level even though he was transformed before you. He is a little unpleasant with you at the beginning of your relationship because of his jealousy. He sulks a bit when you're around and often looks for mistakes you might make to reassure himself of his abilities.

He would have liked to meet a young vampire with difficulties like him, not a vampiric prodigy. He's even more jealous when he sees that you have the same hypnotic abilities as Raphael. You seem to be able to do it with disconcerting ease, it's almost as if it's instinctive for you and when he asks you how you learned and you tell him that it really did come to you instinctively… he feels really sad.

He gradually calmed down after being with you every day and when he noticed that you tried to help him several times by giving him advice on hypnotising others or hunting. Your advice is very good indeed, and he feels he's making faster progress with it.

Finally, he's a bit more interested in you and what you were doing before you were transformed. He even finds it quite enjoyable to spend time with you. The others in the manor are all much older than him and because of that he couldn't understand some of the jokes or references he was making. It's fun to finally be able to joke with someone who understands what he's saying.

He really doesn't understand why you're not trying to find your partner, even when you explain that he's asked you for a bit of space. It seems inconceivable to him, you must miss him, right? Why don't you go looking for him instead of waiting for him? You really avoid broaching the subject with him, he'd almost manage to put doubt in your mind about the fact that Neil's coming back and yet you know Neil's coming back.

Aaron :

You didn't tell him who had transformed you, but Aaron quickly realised that there was something wrong with you. After all, you're a young vampire, a year old, you told him, but you seem to have as much control over yourself as Beliath or Raphael. It's not normal, you should have been like Ivan, unstable, really unstable, in the grip of your emotions and always on the verge of going on a rampage.

Aaron sees only two explanations for this, either you're lying and you're much older than you want to admit, or you've been transformed by an elder. He doesn't like the first idea, because if you're lying, you're potentially hiding something that could put others in danger, and he doesn't like the second idea either, because if there's one thing he's learnt in his life as a vampire, it's that it's much safer to stay away from anything remotely related to elders.

However, you don't seem to wish them any harm, despite the fact that you possess the same power as Raphael and that it would therefore be very easy for you to make them do what you want. He doesn't stop being suspicious though, he keeps asking you where you came from and why you've been transformed. You don't answer his questions out of caution, after all, you don't know if Neil had any enemies nearby and you don't want to take any risks.

It took several weeks for you to tell him about your transformation, but eventually you told him that you had been transformed by a former vampire who had trained you before leaving to continue his life elsewhere. You never gave his name, but your explanation seemed to be enough for Aaron.

He really enjoys sparring with you. Unlike Ivan or Ethan, you're a quick learner, very quick indeed. You're a little harder to beat with each sparring session and you don't tire easily. He's worried that in a while he won't be able to do it any more, because it's quite frightening to see how quickly you've assimilated his fighting habits and turned them against him and… he understands what your former vampire might have liked about you. After all, not everyone is capable of possessing your adaptability.

He also likes to go for walks with you in the forest at night. He remembers that the first few times he took Ivan with him into the forest, the young man would jump at the slightest noise, but you move through the forest as if it belonged to you. You're impressive and he can't deny that he really enjoys it. After all, he's not constantly worried about you getting hurt in a fight and you seem perfectly capable of defending yourself. Whoever trained you to be a vampire, Aaron thinks they must be powerful.

It's quite rare that you talk about your partner, so Aaron didn't find out about her until several months later. He's quite curious about her. What kind of person could have attracted the attention of a vampire as exceptional as you? Your partner must be out of the ordinary too.

Raphaël :

He's not suspicious of you at all. After all, maybe you're lucky. He, too, had great control over himself as a young vampire. Margarita was very impressed by his abilities and couldn't stop congratulating him on his self-control. In fact, he was very proud of it, and although he found it hard to admit, he couldn't stop boasting about it to Alessio. He thinks Aaron is exaggerating a bit with you and that he shouldn't worry so much.

Raphaël often comes to spend time with you. He finds you a pleasant person with an inquisitive and intelligent mind. You understand things easily and ask interesting questions that he's always happy to answer.

He's also delighted that you're interested in fighting. Raphaël loves teaching fencing to the people around him, so he's more than happy to teach you how to fight with his favourite weapon. What's more, you're a quick learner, which is really impressive - he's never met anyone capable of learning so easily.

He's also impressed by your ability to hypnotise people. He learned very early on how to do it, almost instinctively, so when you tell him how you instinctively knew how to hypnotise the man at the bar, he's delighted. At last he meets someone who understands what he's saying.

He's a little surprised when he hears that you've been transformed by an ancient vampire. After all, there aren't many ancient vampires left alive, so the fact that you could have been transformed by one of them is almost a sign of destiny for him, you're destined to do great things, he's no doubt about it.

He's a bit surprised when he hears about your partner for the first time after several months. He has a bit of trouble understanding how you manage not to talk about him more often and how you manage not to miss him. When he was separated from Margarita, he couldn't stop talking about her to everyone, she was his main topic of discussion and the person he thought about most. He wants to know more about your partner, how you met? What he does? Why isn't he with you? It's not that he's curious, but he really finds it hard to understand why you're not together.

Ethan :

He's only suspicious because Aaron and Beliath are suspicious. If it wasn't for the two older ones, he'd be more impressed by your abilities. He's well aware that your abilities are abnormal compared to him or Ivan. He still finds it hard to control his desire for blood when he feels strong emotions and he knows that it will be many years before he achieves the same level of control as the others.

But, even though he's wary, he can't really help hanging around you. Even when he's talking about something complex you always manage to follow the discussion and, unlike the others, he never thinks the questions you ask are stupid. It's really nice because it's the first time in a long time that he feels he can talk to someone without having to simplify things to be understood.

He was impressed by the control you had over yourself at the Moondance, at first he wasn't as confident as Beliath about letting you come with them, but eventually you impressed him. In fact, it's strange to say, but you seem to have been born to be a vampire. Everything they do and take years to learn it takes you much less time to assimilate.

Your hypnotic abilities are even more frightening after having convinced you to try it on him and seeing that you had succeeded. He didn't tell the others about it, because he feels a bit like he'd done something stupid by asking you to hypnotise him, but he was really so impressed that it took him several seconds before he managed to get a few words out.

When he learns that you have been transformed and trained by a vampire elder, he understands much better why you seem so adapted to the world of the night. Aaron and the others have told him enough about the elders for him to know that they are just as much threats as they are powerful beings. If he transformed you, it's probably because he saw a potential in you that the others didn't have.

He's also a bit curious when he realises that you're already in a relationship. Although he quickly realises that you're probably in a relationship with the vampire who turned you. He'd like to know why you're not together because he thinks it's rather strange, but you never answer his question honestly and you seem to have a lot of fun leaving him in doubt. But, it's not a problem, he loves mysteries and takes it as a challenge to discover your secret.

Léandra :

You met her by chance when you were wandering around town looking for something fun to do to pass the time. Léandra immediately realised that you were a vampire, and although she had originally planned to hypnotise you for a bit of fun, she was very disappointed when she realised that it didn't work on you at all. It's not really normal, succubi are more powerful than vampires after all, they're real demons whereas vampires are just modified humans for the most part.

Disappointed, but intrigued. She's started spending time with you, trying to understand you. You spend a lot of time together. Léandra is good company, she doesn't ask you questions about your past and just wants to have a good time. It's nice because you feel much less alone with her.

As time goes by, she's very impressed by your abilities, so much so that she didn't believe you at first when you told her you were a young vampire. In fact, she didn't even think it was possible, as the few young vampires she's met are so unstable that spending time with them is an ordeal. They always end up attacking passers-by and ruining even the most entertaining evenings.

You, however, have the self-control that makes you a pleasure to be around and you seem to understand a lot about the world of night quite instinctively. She knows that in a few years' time, you'll no doubt be one of the most powerful vampires around, and that's impressive - after all, it's not every day you meet people like you.

Over time, she becomes very intrigued by the person who has transformed you, but despite all her insistence and all the promises she makes to you to tell her his name, you never answer her question.

You seem ready to protect your secret tooth and nail. She stops insisting after a while, especially when she notices that her insistence is starting to irritate you. After all, you don't seem to have been turned by just anyone, and your stubbornness in protecting your secret is worrying enough for her to know that it's best to withdraw.

Farah :

You found yourself hanging around his pack by chance. You were roaming the forest looking for something interesting to do when you came across the clearing where his pack had set up camp. They invited you to spend some time with them, and as you had nothing better to do, you accepted.

It was a very pleasant evening, you listened to music, the members of the pack told you horror stories around the fire and Farah even took a packet of marshmallows out of her rucksack. Finally, you told them that you were a young vampire passing through town and didn't really know where to spend your time. They readily offered to let you spend some time with them, and you agreed.

You often visit the pack and Farah gets on quite well with you, although she is very intrigued by the control you seem to have over yourself. She can't remember ever having met a young vampire like you, which is impressive, but as you don't seem to have any ill intentions towards them, she's not worried.

You often accompanied her on walks in the forest or on patrols around the camp. You seem to be a very inquisitive person and you always listen carefully to any advice she gives you. This is something she appreciates, even more so when you ask her questions about things you haven't quite understood or things that intrigue you. It's always nice to meet someone who's curious and likes to learn new things, so she's always happy to answer your questions.

She also enjoys sparring with you, you're a quick learner, much quicker than the average person, and you're quick to reproduce the fighting techniques she teaches you. She never ceases to be intrigued by you, of course, you're far too different from the usual young vampires not to be intriguing and she'd like to know who turned you and why he left you alone when you seem to have so many more questions to ask.

However, she never asks you about him. You don't seem to want to talk about who turned you, and you wouldn't be the first of the pack to have secrets you don't want to talk about anyway. As long as you're not a danger to them, she sees no reason to ask you any questions.