#i've never even gotten a b in a class before

[solxamber]

hey!

some questions about your guideverse au, does everyone get powers when they turn eighteen, or are some people just normal and powerless? are there people who receive powers before eighteen? and for binding, if the esper dies, would the guide be able to help other espers?

(omg i just typed a paragraph i'm sorry 😭 this started out as one question then i thought of more haha)

hi!! thank you for asking about my guideverse I've been wanting to infodump for so long

Espers and Guides get their powers when they turn 18. But not everyone gets powers, it's actually quite rare to be an esper or guide. So about 10% of the population is an Esper or a Guide. They're rare enough that the governments pay them really well and bend to most of their whims, especially if they're of a higher class.

Till now, no one has ever gotten their powers before turning 18, and people don't always get their powers immediately the moment the clock strikes 12. The stronger they are, the earlier they get their powers but it might take a few months for it to manifest.

And being a higher class Esper or Guide is even rarer. So only 15% of the Espers are A class or above. everyone else is B or below. And for Guides, only 25% are A class or above, everyone else is B or below.

Even if the Esper dies, the Guide cannot guide anyone else. It's always a lose-lose for the Guides which is why temp bonding is recommended. Only some people who are couples/truly trust each other get permanently bonded. Permanent bonding makes the Guiding process much more potent and easier but it's not very favorable to the Guide.

And alternatively, if the Guide dies, the Esper will never be able to bond with anyone anymore. Which means that if they're a higher class, they'll always have to be careful about how much guiding they're receiving.

[jetblack4realz]

better - jj maybank

summary - in between season 3 & 4 when they're building their lives with the gold and jj wants to get his act together for you

word count - 1.9k

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you were an artist. you always had been - whether it was drawing random doodles on the side of your worksheet in class, or sketching out the boys' names in fancy calligraphy, or coming up with a new layout and decorating scheme for the chateau when you deemed it bland (after john b refused to let you paint all over the twinkie), or even reworking furniture to flip and sell to make a few bucks, you were always artsy. it had begun to work out really well for them.

you designed the surf shop and all of poguelandia with the help of your uncle, who was a contractor by trade. you carefully curated the indoor and outdoor decor, picking out pieces unique to your friends and your story and making it a homely, pseudo-trendy little shop. only when that was finished and you had it running did you turn your attention to your guys' home.

jj loved watching you work. at the moment, you had sarah helping you finish up the paint for the main living room as you put a final coat of white on the shiplap accent wall you'd had jj install for you. you had him put a similar one in your shared room upstairs, but had yet to paint it, claiming that you'd rather have everyone's space finished before focusing on your own.

john b walked in the kitchen and spotted the boy seated at the bar, his fingers typing away at the laptop you had gotten from your parents when you were sixteen - you know, before you'd jumped ship and left home to find treasure with your friends. he grabbed a can of lemonade from the fridge as he furrowed his brows, coming up behind his best friend. he squinted his eyes at the screen.

"job listings? what are you-?"

the lid slammed shut on the computer, jj spinning around with a shake of his head.

"it's nothing, bro, okay? don't worry about it."

john b stared at him incredulously. "j you have a job here. we literally own a business now, what are you-?"

"outside," jj said shortly, standing and walking out the back door quickly, john b following after. you looked up from your spot in the living room, glancing back at sarah with a shrug once the boys slipped outside.

once they stood face to face again, john b gestured for him to go on. "so?"

"look," jj said with a sigh. "i know we've got this shop, and it's so great. but, i just keep feeling like it's all too good to be true. like, we have this money now, but it's all gonna be gone in a second."

"it will be if you're the one in charge of it," john b said offhandedly. jj sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"and i know that too, alright? which is why i need more," he answered.

"why? what's going on that you need more money - and money that's separate from us?" john b asked, staring the boy down in pure curiosity. jj's eyes weren't on him though, instead going through the sliding glass door that separated them from their girls right to where you were painting once more, bobbing your head to the rhythm of the music sarah had turned on. "oh."

jj let out another heavy breath. "you and sarah are like, married now, right? and i can hear you guys when you're talking about starting a life together and me and y/n have started talking about it too recently... just, when the time comes i want to be able to provide for us. i want to be able to go out and buy her a ring and a dress and marry her and never have her worried about finances ever again. we've both had to deal with too much of that."

"wow, jayj," john b breathed out, a soft smile pulling at his lips as he rested a hand on his shoulder. "i'm impressed. you're really pulling it together, aren't you?"

"i'm trying," he said with a sigh. "i've worked a lot of jobs before and i'm willing to do it again. anything to make sure she's happy."

"she'll be happy with you no matter how much money you make," john b promised as he smiled at him. "and we'll all always have each other's backs. even if when y'all decide you want to be together forever you don't have all the money you want, we'll help you buy that ring and that dress and get it done."

"thanks, jb," jj breathed out, but with the lack of a smile and the tenseness in his shoulders still, john b knew he wasn't going to be accepting handouts anytime soon. even if it was still shared money between friends and not just handouts.

you'd recruited him to help finish up a few things in your bedroom, managing to finagle a thrifted and refinished dresser up the stairs and below the tv you'd stolen from your old bedroom. jj began hanging curtains as you put both sets of y'all's clothes away, giving yourself one extra drawer for your extra clothes. he finished before you did, watching you with a smile as you tucked his shirts into the top drawer all organized by color, finally shutting it to be done with the task.

"last thing to do is the bed," you hummed as you turned to him with a smile. you moved to begin pulling the white sheets on, jj tucking the corners before you grabbed out the blue comforter with a simple white stripe pattern that alternated thicknesses. "i nabbed this from my grandparents - my nana always buys them when they're on sale for christmas and never does anything with them."

"i know," he said with a light laugh, grabbing the opposite edge from you and helping you pull it over the sides. "she gave one to me for my birthday once. didn't exactly know why."

"because that's what she had and she probably felt bad," you answered, laughing softly with him. you tossed the throw blanket kie had given you for your birthday a few years back onto the corner to add dimension to the look, finally placing the two throw pillows you'd let yourself splurge $30 on at kohl's at the center. you smiled, glancing around the room before looking back at jj. "there. our room is complete."

he sauntered around the bed with a grin, taking you in his arms and leaning in close to your face as he met your eyes. "our own room, with our things, in our house with our friends, on our land, with our business down the road by our boat."

"our boat?" you asked with a teasing smile, hands wrapping around his neck as he held you close to him. "it's mine too?"

"what's mine is yours, princess," he told you, pressing a short kiss to your lips.

"even the dirtbike?" you asked, a brow raised in jest as a teasing smile tugged one corner of your mouth up.

"well, sure. it's yours too, but that doesn't mean you get to ride it, sweet thing," he answered with an amused grin, pressing more kisses to your lips and jaw.

"our next purchase should be a car. or a truck. an old truck. i like old trucks," you told him as his lips trailed to your neck. he paused, bringing his head back up to meet your eyes again, though his grip tightened on you.

"me too," he mumbled. "but, i think there's something we need to buy first."

"what?" you asked, tilting your head curiously. he glanced his focus between your eyes, a soft smile pulling at his lips.

"well, actually... i already bought it," he hummed. you sighed.

"and how much was it?" you asked, raising a brow.

"does it matter?" he asked, raising his brows as his smile grew.

"jay..." you groaned, head falling back in exasperation. "we talked about budgeting-"

"hey, hey, hey, hold on," he said, pulling you closer to him and catching your eyes again. his smile was mischievous as ever as he turned slowly, turning you with him. "you don't even know what it is yet."

you sighed, a small smile sneaking its way onto your lips. "alright. what is it?"

"well, my first paycheck just came in from working with your uncle, and i thought i might as well get it now," he said, dragging his words in the suspense as you continued to eye him. he looked you up and down, his smile still wide as he winked. "have i told you how good you look in that dress?"

"every time i've worn it," you laughed. "reckon that's why you bought it for me."

"damn right," he said, pressing a quick kiss to your lips. you giggled against him before pushing him back, raising your brows.

"what is it?" you asked, almost eager now. "what'd you buy?"

surprisingly, he released you, stepping back as he shoved a hand in his pocket. his smile was wide, but his eyes softened as he brought his hand out in front of him. he breathed out his next words nervously; "i really hope you like it."

and then he was on his knee, and in his fingers was a dainty, gold ring with a small circle diamond on top. right there, in the room you'd just finished, the room you shared, in the house you and your friends rebuilt, with the shop you owned just down the beach - he was proposing.

"i really want to marry you," he breathed out with a nervous laugh, his fingers squeezing the ring tightly. "you're the love of my life, y/n. i really don't know what i'd do without you. being with you has been the easiest and best damn thing i've ever done and i want to be with you for as long as you'll let me. so, will you please marry me? i promise to provide for you and be there for you and-"

"yes," you said, beaming as you took his face in your hands. you laughed lightly. "absolutely yes, jayj."

he kissed you quickly, standing and wrapping his arms around your waist as he leaned into you. when he pulled back, he was laughing, causing you to let out a few giggles, wiping away a small tear at the corner of his eye. he kissed you shortly before bringing the ring to you, slipping it on the proper finger with a certain look of pride in his eye.

"it's uh, it's not much, it's not even a real diamond but i-"

"i love it," you cut him off, holding his hand as you glanced between him and the ring, beaming. "i love it, jayj. thank you."

he smiled, a breath of relief slipping past his lips as he gathered you in his arms again, spinning you quickly. he pulled back and pressed a chaste kiss to your lips again before stepping back away from you. he let out an excited whoop, grinning at you. he grabbed your hand and pulled the door open, dragging you with him down the stairs.

"she said yes!"

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thanks for reading! leave a request in the comments or message me privately! i love writing, so if you've got an idea you need fleshed out on paper i'd love to be the one to do that for you

masterlist!!

[cosmic-kid-in-motion]

First Date

Wheelchair user!Santiago Garcia x gn!reader

Masterlist : Triple Frontier Masterlist

Summary: You've all but given up on dating apps when you swipe right on the hottest guy you've ever seen

Warnings: Some ablism from the concert venue just in that their accessible seating is really shitty. Reference to Santi being shot. Being in a wheelchair isn't the main plot, the first date is but the limited mobility is a part of things. Just know there no "oh, can I date someone in a wheelchair?" type of thing.

Fake tinder by @quiet-night-sky-writers-blog thanks bb!

Written for my Disability Visibility event! Gotten so many fun responses from the oscar and pedro fandoms!!! thanks so much to every! I will be extending it through MAY because frankly i have a lot I wanna write but alas im in my last few weeks of college and wanna cry!!!! so much papers to write ;-;

I tried my best with this, I am not a wheelchair user and have no close friends unlike other disabilities i've written for so I've consulted people in various internet groups over langauge, and taken what I learned from my disability class I took. Once again, I cant recomend the book disability visibility enough, so many good perspectives on various disabilities! Still, if you use a wheel chair or need mobility aids, and I said something offensive PLEASE LET ME KNOW!

2k words

***

Tinder fucking sucked.

“Looking for a submissive-” Swipe left.

*Holding up a fish* Swipe left.

*Name: Tyler* LEFT!!!!

Okay so maybe you were a little picky. SO WHAT! You're happy single, you didn’t need a relationship… but you did want one. You were just a girl. A girl who did dream of marriage and a family, but only with the right person. So, okay, maybe tinder wasn’t the right place to find a relationship. So maybe you also weren’t opposed to getting some dick or pussy before you found the one. So sue you.

That’s when a profile caught your eye. Handsome. Almost too handsome. Suspiciously handsome, in fact. You meant to swipe left, assuming he was a bot or a scammer or a catfish, but accidentally swiped to see another picture. Him and 5 friends, this one more obvious what you’d missed in the first photo. He was in a wheelchair. This picture looked real, him and friends out on a hike. Kudos to him for not putting the group photo first. You didn’t mind a nice group picture; you liked a friendly person, so having friends was a plus, but if it was their first it seemed like they were hiding something.

You look at his name. Santiago.

All his pictures looked nice, even the candid ones. You liked how wide he smile in the last one. Cute teeth too. You’ve never actually said that about anyone, but there’s always a first. 

“Looking for a nice girl to go to a Metallica show with. No expectations - see where things go. I’m in a wheelchair- but don’t worry- all the right parts still work properly ;)”

That made you laugh, you liked a little playful flirting, as long as they didn’t get out of pocket. A Metallica concert sounded fun… maybe a date and see where things go wouldn’t hurt… if it was just a hookup, then god, what a hookup.

You swiped right, and to your glee it was a match. 

Santiago: Hello!

You: Hi!

Santiago: This is going to sound like a line, but I was really hoping to get a notification I matched with you…

You: Oh yeah, out of the hundred of people you swiped right on?

Santiago: You’re right, the 700th guy holding up a fish was also on my mind

You: Mine too. I guess you’ll do okay though, tee hee

Santiago: My friend Ben set up my profile, tried to convince me to let him put up a fish picture, actually

You: Oh 🤢are you a fish guy?

Santiago: I’m not I swear!! Ben is though. I do go with him sometimes.

You: Well, I suppose we all have our vices. Me, I cry everytime I watch Star Wars III

Santiago: Anakin fan, are we?

You: Always. That's my sweet baby boy who's never done anything wrong.

Santiago: Well, theres child murder.

You: HE”S JUST A BABY!!! Besides, didn’t we say we all have our vices, fish boy?

Santiago: Fish boy cannot be a nickname, I already have a friend named fish

You: Fine, what cute nickname do I get to call you then?

Santiago: Well, my callsign in black opes was Pope, but if I play my cards right, baby is always a good one.

Santiago: *black opps

You: Black opes. Midwest task force

Santiago: shut up 🥺 I’m just a baby

10 minutes in, you were on your bed giggling and kicking your feet. Santi was funny, talked passionately about his friends, his job, and his love of music. Frankly, he was really endearing. Things between you seemed to flow so effortlessly. You agreed to be his date to Metallica, and planned to get dinner beforehand. While setting up the details, he got somewhat serious.

Santiago: Just to be clear, you do know I’m in a wheelchair right? That picture wasn’t just a one off injury. I can walk a little with my crutches, but not long distances and not super comfortable. Honestly, in most situations I just prefer my wheelchair. I’ve been in it a few years now and it’s me and my wheelchair against the world sometimes.

You’d be lying if the idea of dating someone in a wheelchair hadn’t given you a bit of pause in the beginning. Not that you actually cared, but more that you had 100 questions, questions you couldn’t just ask someone when you first start talking. You were curious, but he was hot and he was nice, so of course you wanted to see where things went.

You: Don’t worry, I figured as much when I saw the pictures. Just let me know how to help when/if you need any help getting around the venue. 

Santiago: Don’t worry, we got great tickets in the probably obstructed view of the accessible section.

Santiago: Holy shit I just saw what Ben put as my intro on tinder. I SWEAR TO GOD I’M NOT LIKE THAT IGNORE THAT I'M NOT A PERVE

The date was planned, and a week later you were panicking about getting ready for the concert. You weren’t sure if you’d dressed right. First dates, you try to dress nicer, but this was Metallica after all. A cutesy dress wasn’t exactly going to cut it. Sexy would have to distract from the fact it wasn’t going to be classy. Jean shorts over black tights, and an old Guns ‘n Roses shirt. Yeah okay you looked good, it’d do.

You two met at an area near the venue. Santi drove, he was able to get a modified SUV. You looked into it, being nosey. It was NOT cheap. He said he did security, didn’t elaborate. Did he own the whole damn company? When you saw a handsome man outside the bar, you knew it was him. 

Santi lit up when he saw you, coming over and extended a hand to shake, which you accept. “Sorry,” He says looking a little sheepish. “Handshakes are such a force of habit to me, guess it’s kind of weird on a first date.”

You can't help but laugh. It was odd seeing a man so hot be so clearly nervous; you should be and are the nervous one. “Don’t worry about it. Lots of handshake deals going on?”

He relaxes, going over to open the door for you with the button. You notice the bars accessibility; wide doors that open with the press of a button, a small metal ramp easing the transition. You also admired how easily Santi moved, the confidence, the grace, like his wheelchair was an extension of himself.

“Well, partially. Owning my own business is half of the reason I’m weirdly formal sometimes. 15 years in the army is another.” Santi went to a table after the bartender greeted him by name, sliding into a spot that didn’t have a chair in it. 

“15 years!” You bawked. “Helluva stint. You didn’t want to go for the full 20 and get all the fancy benefits?”

“Well, I was going to. Getting shot in the spine tends to fuck up some of your plans.” He said it with a little smile, but the mortification hit you dead on. You facepalm into your hands.

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” You can’t look at him, even though he’s laughing.

“No, I’m sorry! I couldn’t resist. Shit, please don’t feel bad!” But he was still laughing. Finally, you peak out through your eyes and laugh too. Santi’s smile was contagious, his full upper teeth on display as he grinned.

“You’re an asshole, you know that?” 

He did. And you were beginning to love him for it. 

You got to the concert not too long before it was supposed to start. Since you had seats, it didn’t matter how early you got there. Santi bought you drinks at the bar and even bought you a tour shirt he saw you eyeing, even though it was -jesus christ $80!??!?!- He didn’t even seem to notice. You’d be lying if you said being on a date with a financially well off man wasn’t at least a little hot. You were an independent person, you had your own money… but it still was attractive. Most men you had dated were bums, boys who never actually grew up. This was a man.

When you get to the disability accessible seating, you realize Santi was not joking about an obstructed view. The seats were way off to the side, and unless the band was going to be way to the right the whole time, you wouldn’t see them while sitting very much.

“Shit.” Santi mumbles. “I didn’t think they were THIS bad.” 

“It’s okay!” You try to reassure him. “We’re still close, so whenever they're over this way, we’ll be right there! Plus, it’s Metallica. I’m just thrilled to be here.” And you were! With the world’s hottest man on your arms as well. What more could you want?

“No, I just- Jesus.” Santi scrubs his face with his hands a few times, clearly frustrated. “I should’ve just gotten nose bleed seats and tried to walk here on my crutches. I knew, i fucking knew the accessible seating would suck because it always fucking does.” He maneuvers into his spot and you take your seat. “But that shit always hurts after too long. Or tried the general admission but even then if even one group is front of me and my chair I can’t fucking see- there’s no winning.”

Your heart felt for him. He’d told you this was his favorite band, and it made you mad that the venue’s “accessibility” just meant shoving him off to the side. Santiago was a grown man, well enough off, former military, and certainly could hold his own… but you felt protective of him. Not because he was in a wheelchair, but because he was someone you cared about.

“I have a plan. And it’s going to make me look like a dick, but I don’t really care.”

For most of the concert, you stayed where you were, enjoying the show and his company. Sometimes, if he was feeling up to it, since he brought his crutches you’d help his stand if he really loved a song. And yeah, James Hetfeild and other members meandered around the stage, coming awfully close, which was a lot of fun. But when the last song on the setlist came on, Until it Sleeps, you took Santi by hand and went down the ramp. Everyone expected people to push their way to the front in the beginning, not the end.

No one expected a nice person and a man in a wheelchair to be so… assertive. But for this man? You were. You weren’t going to be a dick and do this at the start of the concert, but for one song at the end, your man deserved to see his favorite band up close, since the venue wanted to be shitty.

A few 'scuse me, pardon me’s and people politely scooted. Many already began leaving to try and beat the concert crowd off the downtown streets. Because of this, you managed to get Santi close, and when people scattered, you and him went right to the gate. You made it in time for the encore and got to listen to Nothing Else Matters with him. The joy on his face as he looked up at the stage was worth it.

*

“That was amazing!” Santi was full of joy, almost giddy energy as you and him walked to the parking garage he was at. You were both in no hurry, knowing the streets would be chaos for a while as everyone left but also just enjoying each other’s company. 

You two went down the street side by side, laughing together as he told a story of some of his army friends. Santi drove you home, as you sat outside your house in his car, you didn’t want the night to end.

Santi looked at you, a soft smile on his face. He was still buzzing from concert energy. “Would I be being weirdly formal again if I asked to kiss you?”

You giggle, but shake your head. “Not at all.”

“Well… can I?”

“Absolutly.”

You both lean in, and Santi tangles his hand into your hair. He kisses like a slut, mouth open, letting you take the lead and submitting to your lips and tongue. He moans too, then pulls away. “Fuck, that was embaressing.”

You grip his curls and pull him in again.

***

Thank you so so much for reading!!!

I'd really appreciate reblogs as i try to rebuild over here, plus it seems im either shadow banned or marked as explicite to some blogs, either way my visibility is decreased.

Still lots of time to enter the event! Would love to see more awesome creations, especially some art! I got one beautiful art piece and would love to see more! Could be a moodboard type thing to, not judge drawings! <3

tagging some people i thought may enjoy @my-secret-shame @winniethewife @missdictatorme @campingwiththecharmings @ivystoryweaver @miraclesabound

[anghraine]

kjfd;jkadj my last two posts collided in my mind—the one I just posted, about Kirk and Uhura not only caring intensely about each other behind their professional personas, but also handling said personas in essentially similar, synergistic ways as communications and commanding officer + the ramble last night about how I haven't yet found a fic that takes up the concept of Kirk making a fantastic psychologist (I've only seen direct role-reversals with him and Spock thus far) that's mentioned all the way back in S1 of TOS.

The psychologist!Kirk post basically split into two scenarios which I babbled more about in tags: one where Spock is captain, most likely of an all-Vulcan Starfleet vessel like the Intrepid until Kirk is transferred to that ship as part of some human-Vulcan collaborative effort going on, and another where they're still on the Enterprise, with Spock remaining chief science officer and Kirk as head of the psychologists and counselors on board. The TOS psychologists are always science division, so in that version, it's Dr. Kirk answering to Spock (likely his direct superior would be McCoy but ~mysteriously he ends up working more directly with Spock).

But I did think idly, "I wonder who the captain would be if it's neither Kirk or Spock, the next in the canonical command chain is Scotty, but I don't see that at all, certainly not McCoy, I'm not sure Sulu is all that suited to it at this point—"

BUT UHURA. CAPTAIN UHURA. Her age is never mentioned in TOS and I don't care about anything else for these purposes, but iirc Nichelle Nichols was actually close in age to Nimoy and Shatner, so it doesn't beggar belief that she could have gotten so far, so fast. And her professional accord with Kirk makes her a less plot-disruptive choice than someone really dissimilar like, idk, Pike or whomever.

SO. In this scenario, Spock is Captain Uhura's unflappable chief science officer/XO, Kirk is essentially her Troi (still virtually psi-null—just an incredibly incisive and adaptable judge of people and perfectly ready to share his observations with Uhura), Scotty is still living his best life communing with the warp drive, and McCoy is basically unchanged.

Kirk's notoriously demanding class at the Academy (implied to be a philosophy one in TOS) was an ethics course informed by his specialization. Elizabeth Dehner worked directly with him before, well, events, and he's along on the attempt to stop Mitchell and Dehner. The "Dagger of the Mind" mission is an Uhura-Kirk field trip. Uhura defies Starfleet to get Spock to Vulcan without even knowing why—Spock won't explain and Kirk won't break his confidence, but she knows whose judgment she values most and her trusted chief counselor >>>> some asshole admiral. Uhura also goes on a bunch of planetary exploration missions as captain, still in her mini-skirt and boots and winged eyeliner (though her clothes don't get torn quite as much as Kirk's), and is a natural diplomat who is not above a) lies or b) fighting if necessary. Something like "The Corbomite Maneuver" is resolved largely the same way, for instance.

Spock and Kirk still play chess games that Spock more often loses, but this regularly happens in the science labs. McCoy and Kirk are still old friends and regularly talk shop with some mildly illegal beverages involved. Uhura is split into Good Uhura and Evil Uhura that one time but is also still the one to bring the tribbles onboard.

I'm going back to outlining my f/f K/S AU but. do you see the vision

[blitzwhore]

Stolitz, and their fear of rejection and sense of worthlessness turning into a self-fulfilled prophecy.

Blitz—

Does anybody love you, Blitzo? / No.

Eventually everyone goes...

Stolas only cares about having a rugged peasant raw-dog him into his mattress. It's nothing... You know. It's nothing else.

I'm going to die alone, aren't I? Just a wrinkly, old, withered waste.

Royal demons don't give a shit about guys like us. They're all the fucking same.

Stolas, don't act like what we have is anything but you wanting me to fuck you. You make that really clear all the time.

But you don't want to do things alone, Blitzo.

I mean, Stolas is just a loud, thirsty bitch who loves feeling the thrill of being dicked by the lower class. It's a novelty to him.

And then he'll call me and try to see how my day was, and he'll pretend to care about me, and comment on my photos, and laugh at my jokes... /Oh well that's definitely your clue right there that it's all bullshit / I know, right?!

It's all my fault. I'd hate me too. I mean, I do hate—

You're going to die alone. You're gonna die alone, Blitzo.

[My worst fear has come true. He couldn't possibly want me. This has to be a joke. He's selfish and an asshole, just like the rest of them. He's trying to get rid of me; that's the only explanation. I'm just a broken toy he's finally gotten bored of, just like I knew would happen. He won't even fight for me, and why would he? I could never be good enough for him. It's happening again. I'm being abandoned by someone I care about. I really am going to die alone.]

Stolas—

Would he want me if he was free? And if he's only here as a prisoner, what kind of monster does that make me?

I mite b bsuy / I wouldn't want to bother you!

You see... I seem to have found myself with, um. Feelings for him. And I'm not sure if it's a mutual thing.

Dearest, I know better now, I must give you this choice.

I'll save us both before we grow cold.

What's between you and I? Just a comfortable lie.

I'm sorry it's a bad time yet again, Blitzy...

He deserves the choice to stay or go.

So I'll grant you this mercy, this bind on our souls needs to end...

Next time you come over, maybe we can talk about what happened at Ozzie's? / Y? / I'm sorry! Nevermind, it's not a big deal.

What's left for me and my broken heart if I cannot have you? Unless it's me, and no matter what in this world I could give, it's not enough to get through the walls you've conjured up to live...

I'll believe him, and not the voice that says I'm not enough.

I'll fucking die alone if this goes bad!

[My worst fear has come true. I truly am not worthy of being loved. He's rejecting me— no, mocking me for even thinking he could ever want to be with me if he didn't need my book. I've been taking advantage of him all this time, all the while believing we had something real and being naive enough to think he could love me back. I am a monster. And now that he can, he has chosen to leave me. So now the least I can do is quietly let him—the only person I have ever wanted and felt alive with—go. I really am going to die alone.]

[mysteryshoptls]

SSR Ace Trappola - Playful Dress Vignette

"I can take my chances as they come"

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Ace's Room]

Ace: UGHHHHHH～～～ THAT PISSED ME OFF!!

Ace: I thought Riddle-ryōchō had gotten a bit more lenient, but obviously not.

Ace: "A student's main duty is his schoolwork! To abandon that is completely inexcusable!"

Ace: …Can't believe he'd say something like that, he's more stubborn than anything!

Ace: Man, after I got all excited with planning the outing. Thanks to someone it all went sour.

Deuce: When you say someone… Are you talking about me?

Ace: Who else? What kind of complete bonehead goes and snitches to the Housewarden like that?

Deuce: But- but, we're supposed to tell either the Housewarden or a Professor if we have to be absent…

Deuce: And besides, now that you mention it, it's definitely not a good thing to skip class.

Ace: What do you mean, "now that you mention it"…? Did you think up 'til getting yelled at by the Housewarden that skipping class was okay!?

Ace: So that's, why you just ran to the Housewarden so brazenly… Ugh.

Ace: Why'd I even try to invite someone this stupid in the first place…?

Deuce: WHAT DO YOU MEAN, STUPID!?

Deuce: Ah!! …Not very honor student of me to shout like that. …I'm gonna go cool off outside.

[door clicks open… slams shut]

Ace: Wh… What's with that guy, why's he the one getting upset!? That really grinds my gears.

Ace: Ughh, I can't deal with this anymore. I gotta finish packing before he gets back.

Ace: I have my phone charger, tissues, breath mints…

Ace: And I guess… I don't need my wallet. They said it's all free, so.

Ace: Last but not least, I definitely can't forget my Playful Land ticket!

Ace: …This should be enough. If I bring too much stuff, it'll just get in the way when I'm trying to have fun.

Ace: All that's left to do is to wake up before the sun rises and get to where we're all meeting, but…

Ace: Now that the Housewarden knows that I'm planning on skipping class, he'll definitely be on the lookout.

Ace: I thought it'd be pretty easy to slip out if I had spent the night at Ramshackle…

Ace: But if I do anything stupid now, it'll be off with all our heads, even [Yuu] and Grim's.

Ace: I already told [Yuu] and Grim not to invite anyone… I can't be the one to screw this up.

Ace: I've finished packing for tomorrow, so… Guess I'll check out possible escape routes!

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Hallway]

Heartslabyul Student A: Hey man, did you hear? Sounds like the Housewarden's in a rage because of Ace.

Heartslabyul Student B: Again～? That first year never learns, huh. So, what's it about this time?

Heartslabyul Student C: I mean… I don't really know all the details. But let's make sure not to set him off any further…

[rabble, rabble]

Ace: Looks like my upperclassmen heard what happened. At least they don't know about Playful Land…

Ace: I bet there'd be a few guys that would turn me in on a dime just to save their own skin, too.

Ace: It'd be bad if they see I'm missing in the morning, so I think I'll treat my roommates to some juice to keep them quiet.

Ace: Man… It's not something I usually notice, but it looks like a bunch of the guys in the dorm use this corridor a lot.

Ace: There's a slim chance that someone might wake up early and see me, so… I guess I'll try to find another route.

[Heartslabyul Dorm – Kitchen]

Ace: Hmmm. Looks like the kitchen doesn’t get much traffic…

Ace: Nice. Looks like this is the best way out!

Ace: If I go outside from that door there… I don't think anyone will notice right?

Ace: It's just dumb just following orders because the Housewarden said no, or just letting him chew me out just for skipping one day of class.

Ace: I ain't a blockhead like some people. I'm way better.

Ace: There's no point to anything if you miss out just 'cause you're trying to follow the rules. I'm gonna make sure I can take my chances as they come.

[Playful Land - Catch The Star]

―After the Playful Stage Show

Fellow: See now, it's on the horizon: the ride that Grim-kun has been so excited for!!

Grim: MYAH!? WHERE IS IT WHERE IS IT!? I WANNA RIDE IT ALREADY!!

Vil: Even after all that dancing in the show… This little potato is still rife with energy.

Ace: Huh, you tired already, Vil-senpai?

Vil: Who do you think you're talking to? Seems to me like this little potato has no manners.

Ace: It's not as bad as Expedition Whale, but looks like it's pretty popular regardless. There's a really long line.

Jack: Hm…? But that's…

Grim: Yo, Fellow. I said I wanted to ride on a trapeze swing.

1. This is a bit different… 2. Rather than a swing, it looks more like an umbrella

Fellow: Oh no, this is it, without a doubt. This is our very popular attraction, The "Parasol Swing."

Ace: The swing portion looks like an umbrella, but it's definitely flying through the sky. But why's it shaped like an umbrella?

Jack: Wasn't there that one scene in Wish Upon a Star where the wooden puppet's teacher hung onto a carriage with an umbrella?

Jack: In the book I read, that teacher was a cricket with enough guts to weather both the swaying of the carriage and the dust it kicked up.

Fellow: What vast knowledge you possess! Did you hear, Gidel, his quick and easy explanation!

Gidel: … [nods]

Vil: Ah yes, I do recall seeing some gentlemanly-looking cricket plushes in the shop.

Vil: That must have been the wooden puppet's teacher you mentioned.

Jack: Huh, so they had some plushes of the wooden puppet's teacher? My younger brother and sister both read the book too, so maybe that'd be a good souvenir for them.

Ace: Cool. They got plushes of the cricket from Wish Upon a Star here too, huh～

1. I'm curious what kind of cricket it is. 2. I want to see the plushes.

Ace: Same. Looks like we still got time before it's our turn, so let's go check it out.

Jack: What do you mean, check it out…? If we jump out of line, we'll lose our spot.

Ace: Well yeah, that's if we all go… But as long as one person stays in line, we should be fine, right?

Ace: Soooo… Please and thank you, Vil-senpai! Can you hold the line for us!?

Jack: What!?  You're seriously just asking an upperclassman to wait in line for you?

Ace: But like, Vil-senpai sounded like he was tired after that stage show.

Ace: We're still at the back of the line, and it's pretty shady here, so you won't have to worry about sunburn, and it looks like the flower beds have a lip that you can sit on, too…

Ace: Looks like it's the perfect place to take a break, don'tcha think? I'll make sure to grab you something to drink while we go check out the shops, too!

Fellow: Fahaha! What a thoughtful little student.

Vil: You really are a smooth-talker.

Vil: You're quick on your feet only in specific situations, or rather, you don't show your hand. It's good that you follow your convictions, but…

Vil: Although Trey followed after you in the end, the fact that you still went to slip out of your dorm even after Riddle was on high alert shows just how duplicitous you are.

Vil: I'm so thankful that Pomefiore didn't get anyone as rambunctious as you.

[Playful Land – Gentle Square]

Grim: That trapeze swing was so fuuun～!

Ace: Yeah, it was a little more thrilling than it looked. And we were able to figure out why it looked like umbrellas by checking out the shop beforehand, too, so that was good.

Ace: Jack and Vil-senpai went off to look at something else, so what should we do?

Grim: Hey, that's the Friendly Fox and the Gentle Cat over there!

Ace: Oh, you're right. They didn't show up to the stage show earlier, so I thought they didn't have live mascots here.

1. I want to see them up close! 2. I want to take a picture with them.

Ace: Ehhh～ Seriously? I got no interest in that whatsoever. You don't care about mascots either, right, Grim?

Grim: I read somewhere that when ya come to an amusement park, ya gotta take a picture with the mascots! I'll do it too!

Ace: Pass. I'm gonna go get in line for the roller coaster again. You guys can do it yourselves.

Guest A: I never thought I'd be able to take a picture with the Friendly Fox and Gentle Cat. This'll make a great memory.

Guest B: Hey, let's upload it to Magicam right away. It's proof that we came to Playful Land!

Ace: Hold on, wait a moment…

Ace: It might be better to upload a picture with those specific mascots to brag to everyone about how I got to come to this amusement park!

1. So that means… 2. Does that mean…?

Ace: Change of plans. It won't take too long to just take one photo, so let's get to it.

Ace: Woah, the Fox and Cat are coming our way. Eh!?

Friendly Fox: ～♪

Ace: Why's he spreading his arms out wide…? Feels like he's tryin' to be real welcoming.

Gentle Cat: !!

Ace: He's pointing at us, shaking his hips, and swinging his arms left and right… Ah.

Ace: Wait, did you see the stage show earlier? You tryin' to let us know how good we did?

Grim: The Fox and Cat are both nodding their heads. Guess they got an eye for awesomeness!

Ace: Looks like. Up close, this Fox's got real round eyes. He's got a super sincere face, like he could never tell a lie.

Ace: The Cat's real fluffy looking and is constantly smiling. He looks completely harmless and kind.

Ace: Basically, both look like real cool dudes!

Ace: …Hm? Now the Fox and Cat are dancing.

Grim: Oh hey, that's the dance we did earlier on the Playful Stage! Rave-up, up, dum-dee-dum… ♪

Ace: Those too look happy now that Grim started dancing, now… What, they want us to do it too!?

1. Rave-up! Up! ♪ 2. That's a little embarrassing…

Puppet: Dear Guests, You Look Spectacular! I'll Take A Picture Of You In A Rave-Up Pose!

Ace: Hrrrm, at this point, it'd be lame to act embarrassed, so… Guess I just gotta strike that pose, then.

Ace: Mmkay, can you take a pic with my phone?

Puppet: Understood, I Shall Take Your Phone. Alright, Everyone, Strike A Pose… Here We Go. Say Cheese!

[Playful Land – Bazaar]

Ace: WHEW, WE'RE FINALLY ALMOST AT SAGE'S ISLAND～!

Ace: Playful Land's exploding everywhere, and I've been hearing a lot of super sketch noises for a while now…

Ace: But at this rate, we should be able to make it to Crane Port somehow, right?

Ace: Even a boring island like this feels like a sight for sore eyes after a terrifying ordeal like that.

Trey: Seriously, yeah. We're all back home safe thanks to you guys, Ace.

Cater: Yup, yup. Although guess it's a bit uncool of Cay-kun to have to be saves by our juniors～

Ace: Heheh. But c'mon, the only reason we were even able to last that long is all thanks to you guys～

Ace: Oh, yeah. Get a load of this, guys. Something amazing happened a bit ago…

Ace: I even got some praise from Leona-senpai.

Trey: From Leona? Wow, that's unbelievable. Never thought I'd see the say where he'd praise someone so sincerely.

Ace: Right!? Well, I'm a little hesitant to say his praise was sincere, but…

Ace: When I told him how I magically tossed my foxtail souvenir so the puppets would go after it,

Ace: He said… "Sounds like those puppets were more like puppies, huh. How kind of you to toss 'em a bone."

Ace: That's basically his way of showing appreciation, right? …But now that I'm putting it in words, I'm starting to doubt it.

Cater: Yeah, yeah, I totes think he was praising you ☆ You got Floyd-kun saying good things about you, too.

Ace: Huh, Floyd-senpai!?

Trey: Yeah, he said something like… "I didn't have a lick of hope in 'em, but they actually took much longer to get turned into puppets than I thought."

Ace: That doesn't sound like praise to me at all? But I guess that's better than him saying he'd squeeze me…

Ace: Uh, so～ There's something I want to ask…

Ace: If we told him about how I totally had a hand in helping dismantle the evil Playful Land…

Ace: Do you think even Riddle-ryōchō would praise me and say I did a good job…?

Trey/Cater: Nope. / No way.

Ace: Tch, didn't think that'd work.

Trey: Maybe if we had been able to get back before dark, we would have been able to figure out some kid of excuse, but…

Trey: We've been gone pretty much all the night without any kind of notice. I can definitely already see Riddle's face red with rage.

Cater: Yup. I think we all gotta make sure to prepare for the worst…

Ace: Siiigh… I'm way too exhausted from putting in all that work, so it's gonna be a pain to deal with the Housewarden's anger, too...

???: How can you sound so miserable when we're finally able to make it back to campus?

Ace: Ah, Vil-senpai! Did you come here to praise me, too?

Vil: Absolutely not. It looked like the silver-tongued Ace might actually be in distress, so I came to impart some advice.

Ace: Wait, does that mean… You know some way to calm Riddle-ryōchō down!? Please, tell me!

Vil: It's nothing too difficult. The proper solution in these sorts of situations is to…

Vil: FACE HIM STRAIGHT ON AND APOLOGIZE EARNESTLY!

Vil: Your penchant for making excuses will only irritate Riddle further.

Vil: The best way to receive his forgiveness is to take his ire directly.

Ace: EEEHH!?

Trey: True, Ace has a quick wit and is pretty clever… But I'm pretty sure our best bet this time would be to be honestly apologetic.

Cater: I bet Riddle-kun was super worried about us too～ When we get back, we should all three of us apologize to him together.

Vil: See, third years are fully capable of understanding. Ace, you should also gracefully accept defeat.

Ace: NO WAAAY～!

Trey: When you deflate like that, it's like all that energy you were bouncing around with since last night was a mirage or something.

Ace: Urgh… But we went through so much. I ain't gonna let it end on a sour note.

Ace: If that's the case, then I'm gonna totally brag about how much fun I had on the attractions and on the stage!

Cater: Ace-chan is really...

Trey: Yeah, he really is stubborn.

Requested by Anonymous.

[julia-jck]

I guess we can call this a happy vent post...?

I want to thank all that wished me a happy b-day, or even acknowledged that it was my b-day... This is the best birthday I have had in a very long time.

I may not have gotten as much attention here on tumblr as I got on instagram or in real life (-today.. who knows about tomorrow????), but I want you guys to know this is the happiest I've been on my birthday. I'm litterally am crying happy tears. All I wanted for my b-day was for my class to congratulate me. No extra attention or gifts, just a "happy b-day". But I got so much more!

I got happy birthday wishes from my classmates, some underclassmen, friends from the other side of the globe, you guys and even a stranger who don't know me at all. And that's not even all! I got a gift from an underclassmen, I got a gift from my classmate, I got a gift from my best friend's girlfriend and I got a gift from my internet friend.

I have, what I call, a "birthday curse" as no one, but my family, really cared about me or wished me a happy b-day, seeming to care even less when it was my b-day. Here's two examples: In 5th grade, I had to go around and tell people it was my b-day to get any happy b-day wishes, and even then they just said it coldly and then went back to ignoring me. Even our teacher ignored me as every morning, if it was someone's b-day, she would announce it. But it was nearly lunch and she hadn't said anything, so I went up to her saying it was my b-day and she coldly said "I know", so I thought she might say it later…. She didn't….. Then the next day was A's b-day. Everyone were supper cheery and started singing for her before school even started. Then when we got into the classroom, the teacher also said "today is A's Birthday!!!!🥳 ……. and yesterday was Julias…. 😮‍💨 ". On my 20th b-day, 2 years ago, I wanted attention in a suttle way and I wanted to do something nice, so I made my classmates and dormmates cookies!….. I didn't get a single thanks…… And only two, other than my best friend, said happy b-day to me…. Out of at least 40 people….

I now realized it was probably cause they never really liked me, and I never really fit in, but now.... I think I can finally drop the "curse". I think young me finally got the attention and love needed to move on from having anxiety over my birthday.

Thank you for reading, if you did. This is mostly just for myself as no one really need to know about this, but it makes me feel better talking about it. I hope you have a great day!

[dogsliampaynedoesntinstagram]

And considering that Harry has a more privileged background

Does he? They both went to very similar state secondary schools that were considered 'good' by Ofsted at the time with near identical A*-C grade achievement at GCSE.

Both sets of parents were employed and earning. Louis' mother had a degree and worked in the NHS as a midwife, a more middle class job than Anne, who was the landlady of a pub. Louis owned a car aged 18 and could ski. Jay said that the family went to the south of France every summer. Harry had never ski-ed but had been on vacation to Cyprus and other Mediterranean destinations.

If this anon had said Harry had a more privileged upbringing than Zayn, I'd agree. But Louis? No. The same, plus Jay knew showbiz people like James Corden and Louis was signed to a theatrical agency and had been for years.

I said in the tags that I think that I think using the terms privilege muddles thinking and I think in some way this anon proves my point.

I've never seen any evidence that Louis was signed to a theatrical agent for years, but even if it was true - then that's really not evidence of 'privilege'. A theatrical agent is a sign that someone is working as a child - and that's not a sign of class power (no matter how much the Jenner's has screwed people's perception). Likewise caring for children on set in regional TV production may put you in contact with people who go on to be stars, but it is a job a woman does because she needs money, not because she has it.

I'll get into the absurdities of the discussion of holidays later on. But calling this rather random set of facts 'privilege' ignores the structure of society - and the way that influences, although does not determine people's lives

********

If they had not gotten through on the X-factor, there would have been a meaningful difference between what was most likely to happen in Harry and Louis' lives - not based on anything about them personally, but about their families' class position.

Like a lot of women, the men Anne Twist was in a relationship with was more important than her own job in determining her opportunities and the opportunities of her children. When she was in a relationship with someone who ran a pub, she worked in the pub. From memory, for the rest of her working life she did the sort of undervalued admin work women often do (I think I've seen her linked in -but it's no longer available).

Harry's Dad worked in banking operations (he's now a consultant). He had reasonably senior positions with titles like 'head' and 'director' and he was regularly travelling to Europe for work (this is all very clear from his linked in). Living in Holmes Chapel was possible because of his Dad's job. In 2011, Holmes Chapel was the 98.77% least deprived part of the UK. That matters - that makes a difference to the opportunities you have and your life expectations.

As often happens, the divorce had an impact on Anne's life. She had to move out of Holmes Chapel for a while because she couldn't afford it (I'm not sure if that was after her first divorce or her second, but I know that someone has talked about it). They lived above a pub. Then she got together with Robin, who owned a business that seems to have been prosperous. That seems to have put her family on a similar financial and class footing as it had been during her first marriage.

For most of his life before X-factor (about 7 years before his parents split and for at least 2 or 3 years after Anne and Robin got together), Harry lived in a very specific sort of middle-class family - regional money people. They definitely weren't well connected - he'd never been to London, but the money meant that they were able to live somewhere where they were much less exposed to the societal costs of neoliberalism. If Harry had been interested in banking and business in Manchester, then Robin or Des would have been able to help. Although they had very little connections with the arts.

I'm sure Harry's experiences between Anne's divorce from Des and moving in with Robin effected him. They may be part of the 'somoene like me that this represents. But I think it's missing a lot to ignore either the longer periods of his life where he was living in a solidly middle class family - or that the whole point of living somewhere that is one of the 99% least deprived places in the country - is because it's protective against certain kinds of outcomes for your kids. (A very different thing from providing the most opportunities)

*******

Jay's trajectory, and therefore Louis' was very different. Rather than a dip between two relatively economically secure positions, her economic position was one of extreme vulnerability after childbirth, alongside a general improvement (the exterme vulnerability after childbirth is another common aspect of women's economic trajectories).

Being a young single mother in Doncaster in the 1990s was awful. The Tory government of the time actively attacked single mothers and accused them of having benefits for babies. Doncaster was in a dire economic state, because of mine closures and that sort of substantial change effects opportunities in all industries (this is why you should never believe that government cuts might make life better for people who don't work in government).

Her economic situation would have improved substantially when she got married to Mark. I don't know much about Mark's work history, but but his instagram showed that he was working in work vehicle sales in the late 2010s. That might have been the area he worked in for a long time, but it might not have - we don't really know. But it gives a sense of the sort of work he did. It has certain perks (there are presumably bonuses), but there's no power within the organisation

The other big step forward was Jay getting her degree in 2002, after that worked at the NHS as a midwife. It really increased her ability to get better pay where she lived, but it's important not to overstate the economic position. There's a huge difference between a good wage in female dominated work and a good wage in male dominated work. Jay's starting rate in 2002 would have been about £17,000 - that's £31,000 now or US$41,000. Her wages went up as she got more responsibility (and there were probably penal rates), but it's important not to overstate the economic security of health professionals.

I think the family faced economic difficulties when the twins were born (this bit is conjecture - but it's pretty informed conjecture). They moved back from Plymouth around the time that twins were born - they'd probably moved to Plymouth for Mark's job (after all midwives can work anywhere) and they probably moved back for support with the kids. Jay was working supervising children on set. What's stood out for me about that work, and the time which she did it, was that it was a job you could take two babies to. It's always really frustrated me when people have suggested when this was some kind of special or privileged job - whereas taking opportunities that are possible.

By the time the twins were in school the family would have been the best off economically that they'd ever been. Jay was back working as a midwife (and I think had some lead responsibilities from memory) and we've no reason to think that Mark wasn't working. But that was from a relatively low base. It allowed them to move to the posh part of Doncaster (something only ever said with a bit of irony).

Jay obviously had ambitions for her kids, and her money could provide some things. But there were lots of things that it didn't allow her to do - and one of them was protect herchildren from the shocks of neoliberalism. Doncaster was hit hard by the Global Financial Crisis. The South Yorkshire economy contracted more than Greece's. It was a really precarious time for kids.

And what you say about schools is really wrong - there's some factual inaccuracies about Ofsted ratings - but there's also a problem in treating Ofsted as a substitute for quality. Because the point of Ofsted is to reproduce class systems (no matter how much they tell you differently) and therefore it's not a good measure of how class is reproduced at school. Jay couldn't prevent her eldest child going to a school where he was told that he would only be able to work at McDonald's and live a sad lonely life. I've always thought that story, and the paths that both Louis and David Allen took, was an important piece of information about Louis and class.

********

Class is not about holidays or cars or other forms of consumption (at some times consumption can inform you about class - but except at the extremes the location of holidays in the UK in the 2010s is not one of them). We actually have a really good example of this within 1D. Liam's family went on holiday to Disneyland in Florida reasonably regularly. He's said that they couldn't afford it - that his Dad put it on the credit cards. I think you can see the impact that the credit card debt had on Liam's worldview and approach to life - and it didn't do him any good. Rather than seeing those holidays as 'privileges' - it's much more telling to look at how his family's financial stress affected Liam.

Class is about access to power and resources - and the ways in which groups of people with power and resources ensure that that's passed on to their children.

Now most people do not have that much access to power and resources - so they're scrambling to try and increase the chances that their children have chances at stability and choices, and don't face the worst sorts of deprivation and insecurity that happens.

If you're talking about class difference between people who are still at school - the question isn't about where they holiday - it's about what are their chances. All this became moot for 1D - because chances are not destiny and they all ended up doing something very unlikely. But their chances in life were different at the beginning of 2010. It's important not to overstate this - after all they all went on x-factor before they did their a-levels. But the differences would have mattered.

I have gone to all this length - and it is a lot of length. Not because the details of Harry and Louis matter that much. It is silly for people to pretend that Harry didn't come from a middle-class background with more protection than other 1D members. But people think lots of silly things in fandom and I don't write quite this much about it. I've gone into this much detail, because I think understanding how class and power is reproduced matters.

[dreamwritesimagines]

Sunshine hcs coming your way bc it's all I've been thinking about besides my own xmen OC lol

- After the whole ordeal at the diner Sunshine wants to learn how to protect herself a. In case Logan isn't there b. So she doesn't have to see Logan get hurt and c. So she can protect Theo against his dad in case he comes by :(. Either she takes up self defense classes or she asks Logan. If the latter queue Tension, flirting, blushing, and both being worried they're gonna hurt the other. I'm thinking it would happen when she would drop off Theo and she would ask Lo abt it and they plan to meet at the school? Or her apartment? Idk up to you. If the former I think it would be interesting to reveal her "secret nightly classes" in a way where she saves Logan somehow and he's has a "Oh shit that was hot I'm in love" moment followed by a "that was stupid I'm basically immortal you could've gotten hurt" lecture

- Logan hearing Sunshine singing for the first time when he does his nightly pace/ guard of the kids rooms at night (bc hes always scared the mansion is gonna get attacked again esp since Theo is there now) and hears her voice coming through the speakers of his phone as he passes Theo's room. He opens the door to find Theo asleep as his mom sings. "Bean? You there hon?" Logan comes in, turns it off speaker, and answers the phone. "You knocked him out, siren"

- I have a random thought of Lo teaching Sunshine how to ride his bike for some reason (maybe I'm just projecting bc I want to learn lol). I feel l Iike this would happen after they get together but early in their relationship? Again lots of Tension, flirting and blushing haha

- I also have a hc that Logans love language is acts of service and touch. So way down the line in their relationship he makes a point to learn how to paint Sunshines nails, braid/style her hair, anything he can help her out w while touching her <3

ANYWAY sorry for the rambles I will definitely be back at some point with more

HONEEEY OMG OMG-

I LOVE THESE HEADCANONS SO MUCH I JUST-

These are so amaziiiing! ❤️ Thank you so much! ❤️I am so inspired, let's have a HC for each of these! ❤️

Sunshine learning how to protect herself, this would be so good! ❤️ I think they'd meet at school because Sunshine's apartment is tiny, and Logan would be so trying to keep his shit together but being that close to her...😏

If Sunshine surprises him with it though! Like, she would definitely knock someone out before Logan could so much as turn around, and he'd be staring at her like,

"What the-"

"Did you see that?!"

"You shouldn't have gotten involved-"

"Oh my God, I should get a costume or something, I'm awesome!"

"Sweetheart, we've been over this. I can't get hurt, you on the other hand-"

"I don't know what you're talking about, I'm like so badass right now."

Logan walking around the mansion to make sure Theo is safe and Sunshine singing Theo to sleep MY BELOVEDS-

ALSO-

Logan comes in, turns it off speaker, and answers the phone. "You knocked him out, siren"

I

AM

That's me being feral😂

Sunshine would be melting and she'd be like,

"...Hi Logan."

"Hi sweetheart."

"I didn't know you were awake."

"Didn't know you were awake either."

"I'm about to go to bed, it's just that um, Theo can't sleep without hearing my voice, so..."

"Can't blame him."

Logan teaching Sunshine how to ride his bike asdfghjkl oh that would be hilarious😂 She'd be like,

"I'll get a cute helmet."

"Okay, but how about you learn how to drive first?"

"I have my priorities straight."

"The priority isn't learning how to drive?"

"It is but I can't decide whether to get a lilac helmet or a pink one."

Oooooh Logan's love language is definitely acts of service! ❤️ Like, even know he's trying to show it like that, so Sunshine would be smiling and going like,

"Oh wow, the big bad Wolverine..."

"You're not telling anyone about this."

"You're very sweet, you know?"

"To you only, princess."

"I'll never ever complain about that."

[snuffink]

Something something something even though I don't care for MyStreet nearly as much as I do Diaries, Nana is a thorn in my ass and I've been itching to take care of it, I just didn't know what I would do with her beyond changing her stereotypical character and her super weird, obsessive personality

And then I had a thought

A super self indulgent thought.

Now this could go one of two ways, picture me this. Nana, born to a huge family with either

A. Two unbelievably loving parents. Through all of the family's struggles and keeping together a family of 13 they still had a picture-perfect relationship. They loved each other so deeply and transparently that they practically built Nana's ideals for love and future partners. Romantic love just like what her present have is all she could ever wish for.

Or,

B. Nana's parents aren't in love. Keeping afloat a family of 14 has destroyed their relationship and any love they had for each other is long gone. No matter how much they may or may not try to hide it from their children, it was obvious that while they were together, they were not in love. Having watched her parents fight and try to workout their differences to no avail has left Nana determined to never have a relationship like theirs. She wants nothing more than to have a relationship built on love and trust and care for one another.

Then she comes to the realisation that she doesn't feel romantic love. At least not the way her friends do. All the crushes and fantasies her friends experience throughout middle school and high school never seem to happen to her. Nobody to gush over in class, no love letters to slip into lockers, no blushing and giggling or hand holding. No friends teasing you over a crush. No matter how she tries to seek out potential crush candidates in class, no one even catches her eye.

But she stays hopeful! One doesn't simply stumble upon the perfect partner, and she's still young! She has time!

In the meanwhile, she focuses on herself for a while. Makes herself stand out. Having 11 siblings makes it hard to stand out, she's gotta fix that first before she can focus on love!

Then in high school her friends start getting into their first serious relationships. She still hasn't felt anything close to what they describe to her. Her friends would talk about their partners and crushes and the fluttery feeling they would get at the slightest interaction and she couldn't relate.

Little by little, she started focusing on other people's relationships. At first it wasn't on purpose. Her friends would talk about their relationship and she would listen. Then their partners would ask for help with gifts or the like. Having always been good at reading people, she would start seeing people who she thought would make a good couple. Before she realised, she was setting people up without even meaning to. Before high school ended, she had gotten herself the title of matchmaker. A title that she carried all throughout college and even some years after graduating. The closer she was to the people she was setting up, the more important the relationship became to her.

Well into adulthood, though she had been on dates and tried talking to people, she still hadn't felt an ounce of romantic love or the feelings her friends had always told her about. Was there something wrong with her? Why couldn't she have what her friends had? Was she simply doomed to never fulfill her greatest wish since childhood?

Aaron and Aph's relationship reminded her a lot of her parents' relationship (case A). For a while it was bittersweet, seeing her best friend so happy and loved just like she had always hoped to be was confusing. She ultimately buried those feelings for the betterment of their friendship.

Over the years she's made peace with her lack of romantic feelings. She's happy, she's surrounded by her best friends, her family, she has a comfortable life and her friends are all happy and safe. Most of them are in wonderful loving relationships. She has all she needs, she shouldn't ask for more.

She's long since given up on finding love, she's happy as she is, until Zane. They had grown quite close in recent months even though they had been acquaintances since high school. Zane was sweet and kind. He's never judged her for anything she's done. Nana doesn't quite know why, but she feels as though she can trust him with anything. They talk a lot, she enjoys talking to him. Their conversations flow fluidly. They understand each other. Zane is the first person she's tells about her family and her fixation with relationships.

After so long of yearning for the feeling, she has butterflies for the first time.

[lovekylarforever]

💯, 💤, & 🍎 for the ask meme! :)

tysm <3<3<3 !

💯 - three random facts about your oc that others may not know?

1. lucian is vehemently against seeing a therapist for himself. his paranoia and anxiety surrounding being watched, prodded at or even being vulnerable and opening up to someone, is way too much for him. he'd rather raw dog his mental illnesses and try (and fail) to figure it out on his own

2. he sucks in school. most grades are trash, but his one B is in english. he enjoys writing a little but he doesn't like sharing that for others to see. he won't let kylar see what he writes either (but kylar snoops anyways) and he refuses to do any kind of presentations. he will always try to worm his way out of any group projects. he often pretends he's sick (or he genuinely makes himself sick from the anxiety) to get out of things at school. when he was in middle school, a teacher forced lucian to give a presentation and he threw up while he was in front of the class. it was one of the most mortifying things for him, even more so having been heavily bullied at the time and this incident increasing that. but ever since then he's gotten out of it even if it meant being reprimanded.

he used to skip swim class by going into the library to read but ever since he broke up with sydney, he hides in a stall in the bathroom or he sneaks out through the back.

3. i've gone into this a little bit before but i haven't really expanded on it, so here we go!

lucian is a sex worker, and kylar doesn't know about it (yet). he refuses any penetration with his vagina or his ass because for him, those parts of him are for kylar only. he usually just does hand stuff and light mouth stuff. he sucks really bad at giving head though so it's usually just hand stuff. he refuses to drink a john's cum.

he sucks at his job in general, since his personality is offputting and he physically can't pretend he likes the people he works for. he really dislikes doing any of this in the first place and he feels extremely guilty for hiding it from kylar. despite lucian's guilt, he would never come clean to kylar.

he also really dislikes when a john touches him, but sometimes he'll really need the cash so he'll let it happen. he tries his best not to cum, and if he does, he feels overwhelming self hatred, shame and guilt for doing so with someone other than kylar.

he isn't afraid to get violent or cruel with johns, he can and will harm them if they try to break his boundaries.

he usually prefers submissive and masochistic johns because it allows him to feel like he has more control over the situation. it's also a way for him to vent that pent up rage he feels over his life and his work.

💤 - light sleeper or heavy sleeper? what are their sleeping habits? (just gonna copypaste the answer here sorryy)

super light sleeper, wakes up at the slightest noise and at any movement. the first time kylar snuck into lucian's bed, he had woken up as kylar was entering his room. he tried to will himself to scream but he just froze. he didn't relax until kylar had spoken, and when he did, lucian turned around and wrapped his arms around kylar's waist and buried his face into kylar's chest as he shook.

lucian sleeptalks, tosses and turns, anf often has nightmares and night terrors, waking up screaming and crying and/or hyperventilating. he gets about an average of 4-6 hours of sleep per night, and he wakes up several times so he doesn't usually feel well rested.

when he sleeps next to kylar, it's a bit better. he can usually get a bit more sleep in, and for longer amounts of time without as many interruptions. he feels safer with kylar there.

if kylar is there when lucian has nightmares or when he wakes up screaming, crying and/or panicking, kylar holds him tightly and frantically kisses lucian's cheeks while he whispers reassurance that he's here and that everything is fine.

🍎 - where was your oc born? do they still live in or around their place of birth or do they live elsewhere? how do they feel about their birth place?

he doesn't know, he doesn't have many memories of his early childhood. there are vague, fuzzy bits and pieces but not enough to give him any real answers.

regardless of birth place, he probably associates wherever he was born or where he grew up with being the reason why he is the way he is. so i think he'd have a deep contempt for it regardless.

[idkfitememate]

It’s early so I’m bound to be a bit off but here’s one of my takes/theorys/headcannons on BSD Mori

WARNING!!! PEDOPHILIA IS A MAIN TOPIC OF THIS DISCUSSION!!! BE WARNED!!!

(Another reminder, I am a minor so if you don’t agree or dislike it? Please don’t send hate.)

Mori is very confirmed to be a Pedo/Lolicon, that is super established yes. But we've never gotten real true evidence that he's hurt a child in that way.

He's never touched a child.

Never done anything of that nature to a child.

From what I can tell, he enjoys the natural naïveté and innocents of children, and corrupting it - which to be fair is what a lot of pedo’s like. But in his specific case he enjoys preforming in other means.

It’s like an abusive relationship where one partner toys with the other for their own sexual gratification while ultimately braking the other.

The only time we've ever seen him around a child with even a hint of sexual connotation was the scene where he was dressing Elise, but that wasn't a sexual scene, if anything it was just displaying "Look it's the Pedo hate him hate him!!!"

Vita Sexualis makes Mori's perfect partner come to life and able to preform impossible tasks, but he still has control, and from what we've seen from his and Elise's appearances is that he enjoys that innocence, maybe a hint of brattiness, but nothing inherently sexual.

Is he still in the wrong? Absolutely. It's disgusting to want a romantic relationship with a child, even with no sexual attraction, but it's interesting to think about.

A pedo with no real sexual attraction to children, only 'genuine love'. He enjoys dressing them, having control over them, feeding them, so on and so forth - like a father but with romantic affection.

Nothing sexual.

Also that fact that he seems to be specifically a Pedophile, not a Hebephile or a Ephebephile. Elise isn't over ten, and Yosano was eleven. While technically eleven falls into the Hebephile range, it's safe to assume he most likely likes kids - specifically pre-pubescent kids. On top of that the fact he's straight - He showed no attraction to Dazai whatsoever, considering Dazai is both a man and was pubescent - at the very least just pubescent - when they first encountered.

People who are Hebephile's are usually explained away by letting the most primitive parts of their brain have control, as Hebephile's are those who like children who have just hit puberty - otherwise know as ready to bear/give children. Those who are Ephebephile's like children who have just passed puberty - I.e. 15-18. They are commonly placed with Pedophile's in terms of wrongdoing because there's physically no reason to like children in that stage.

Mori is by definition a Pedophile, a man who likes children that are prepubescent, ranging from about 5 to 10/11 years old. Not sexually, but is still attracted.

Pedophilia is commonly tracked as a mental disorder/illness, that has been proven to be curable at times. The reason for this being that in no way shape or form should a sane or healthy mind be able to conceive that a full adult should be attracted to a child.

Pedophilia is a trait passed down, some studies have even suggested it may be genetic on top of being traumatic.

So more likely than not, Mori was either:

A) Abused himself

B) Related to a pedophile

Or worst of all

C) Both

And judging by his twisted mindset I wouldn't be surprised if it was C.

My IRL Friend asked: “Wasn't Elise's form an older one until after Mori encountered Yosano in that war?”

To answer that question, Elise was much more compliant and had less of a personality before Yosano. After Mori had met Yosano, she took on the brashness and brattiness Yosano had. I've yet to see anything naming an age change, but it still stands to say Mori is best classed as a Pedophile over anything else because that would mean Elise aged down.

Another thing, people commonly fall in love with others that remind them of past abusers, and I've been thinking about this for a while. We get our attractions from many different sources that tend to leave impressions on us.

And that's not to say that Mori didn't get his likes from other sources - I.e. personality from Yosano/Dazai, but what about Elise's looks. It's very reasonable to assume that he got those likes from outside sources.

But it's also common to try and romanticize or humanize past abuses.

Elise - as I said - was very robotic and blank before Mori met Yosano & Dazai, even referring to Mori as 'Master', and he didn't seem to have much care for her. But she looked the same.

It's likely that Mori took the looks of a past abuser - perhaps the one who passed the Pedophilic trait to him - and humanized her by giving her the traits of Yosano/Dazai.

And although names don't mean much in Lore for BSD, Elsie is a very foreign name for a Japanese person to name someone. Perhaps that was the name of the woman who hurt him, and he simply passed it down.

She most likely would've acted like Dazai and Yosano in a way - albeit much more twisted - but enough so that Mori was able to humanize her by taking those traits.

This could be a way to get back at her for the abuse done, a long winded revenge story.

He could also simply be continuing the cycle - as we've seen he love starting and continuing those.

Does any of this justify his actions? Hell to the no, but it gives them an explanation over 'Oh look a lolicon/Pedophilie point and laugh at how disgusting he is!!!"

(I wrote this all at like 3 am so if anything is spelled wrong or grammatically incorrect please let me know!!… God I love Mori sm it’s not good or healthy-)

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

Considering that Class 77-B and Akeru had made it to the hangar, did they find out about Himiko since she and the V3 gang are also present at the hangar as well?

Well, we just got back. Looks like things have gotten rough...But I'm glad you're all ok.

Thanks for keeping an eye out for us, captain...

Hold on...Can I see the little one?

Uh...here...

...

*Tenko moves aside and gestures Monaca over to Himiko. Monaca kneels down and moves the bandage to show Himiko's exposed internal mechanisms.

Jesus...

Can you...revert it?

Hm...No, I don't think I can...I've never seen anything like this before. I've definitely never done it, and I've never seen Big Sis Junko do anything like this...Well, as far as I'm aware at least.

...

But...I can definitely fix her as she is. Once we get back to the Tower, I'll get to work and patch her up so she's not broken and battered anymore. I might even be able to wake her up and return her personality to normal...Though I might need a little help.

Really!? Th-Thank you, Monaca!

[derrick-starr]

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I rise again to bring you my own original blorbo.

I’ve been in such a slump lately, so I made my own D&December challenge to get back into drawing.

I’m going to make a new character portrait every 3 days of my original D&D characters. Messy rambles about my boy Raylin here under the cut :D

I've never actually gotten to play as this guy before, but I love coming up with new characters based on interesting dnd classes, backgrounds, or races.

This guy, Raylin Melviir, is a Drow Warlock (fiend) with the Haunted One background. While perusing different dnd backgrounds, the Haunted One really stuck out to me. I liked how vague and therefore versatile it was, and I was particularly interested in one of the offered Harrowing Events:

"A fiend possessed you as a child. You were locked away but escaped. The fiend is still inside you, but now you try to keep it locked away."

A fiend you say? Isn't that something you can make a warlock pact with?

So yeah, Raylin is a warlock who made a deal with the fiend who possessed him as a child and still haunts his mind. Having your patron, who you already don’t have a great relationship with, as a backseat driver in your head was such a compelling concept that I HAD to put it to paper. I’ve also always had a fascination with characters who share one body, I think Greed and Ling from Fullmetal Alchemist permanently changed my brain chemistry.

I'm still working out some of the backstory, but the idea is that the demon, Maldremon, was some big shot in the in hell, but was overthrown by a coup. To make sure he stayed down, they did some magic to separate his soul from his body and cast it away to the material plane. In his weakened state, he needed to possess the first person he saw or die, and that happened to be a young Raylin Melviir.

Living an idyllic little life, Raylin was a sweet boy with a kind soul who lived with his mother in a small village. When he was around eight years old (or the drow equivalent), he was possessed by this fiend and locked within his own mind.

Now, Mal couldn’t just start his revenge plot right away, so he had to bide his time until this body grew. In the meantime, he decided to have some fun. He became an absolute terror, getting into fights, sent to reform schools, and even getting in serious trouble with the law as he got older. Eventually he was arrested, but escaped, and started racking up arrest warrants and permanent banishments in every town he came across.

Raylin, this whole time, has been locked in his own mind, forced to just watch as this demon ruins his life. At first, he’s confused and scared and begs the demon to let him go and to stop hurting people, but to no avail. Slowly, over time, Raylin becomes more despondent and apathetic, slipping into a sort of sleep for weeks, months, or even years at a time.

After a long time, Ray decides to fight back. He spends months lying in wait, gathering strength, and looking for the perfect opportunity to fight for control, and somehow, he succeeds. Maldremon is none too happy about this, but Raylin stands strong, and is in control of himself again for the first time in decades. He's now the drow equivalent of about 21, but it's been about 45 years since he was first possessed.

Traveling around, out of touch in an unfamiliar body. He barely remembers what it was like to be in control, but this is a jarring change from what he does remember. Mal also didn't help with that, having acquired piercings, scars, and tattoos that he’s still finding.

Raylin is also wanted or banned from a good portion of the towns and cities around him. That, coupled with having basically no life experience or skills, does not bode well for starting a new life.

Raylin initially wants to go back home and find his mom, but he also knows that as long as the fiend is still in his head, it’s not safe to do so. So, his new mission is to exercise the fiend, but he woke up in the middle of nowhere, and finding someone skilled enough to help him hasn’t been working. Mal being a nuisance and trying to take back control also hinders his quest, as this can cause painful headaches. Some days, he has to concentrate so hard that he can’t even get out of bed, head aching and nose bleeding as Mal tries to tear his way to freedom.

One night, Raylin is cornered by bandits, and climbs a tree to escape, but it’s only a matter of time before they get him down. He’s going to die. And, though he’s scared, Raylin accepts this. At least if he dies, he takes the fiend with him.

Maldremon, unable to take back control, freaks the fuck out. He doesn’t know what will happen to him if Raylin dies. Will he die as well, or will his soul just be ejected out? Even if he was, he wouldn’t be strong enough to possess one of these men, and he’d die anyway without a host. Raylin is still holding strong against his attempts to take control, even when it would be to save their lives. Mal doesn’t want to die, so instead, he strikes a bargain.

Raylin at first is dead set on refusing, but Maldremon takes advantage of his fear and anger, though Raylin does the same. The deal is: Raylin receives power and boons from Maldremon to protect them and aid them on their journey. Raylin, in return, must help Maldremon find a new host, though they agree that it will be a completely blank vessel for him to inhabit. And finally, Maldremon can no longer attempt to take over Raylin’s body. With the deal struck, Raylin dispatches the bandits with guidance from Mal, and the two continue on with a shaky truce.

A mark like a scar appears on the back of his right hand as a symbol of their deal, the same symbol that Maldremon used to have on his forehead.

Now, for some of the visuals I added:

I dabbled with the idea that the symbol/scar on back of hand would glow when he casts spells, but I didn't want to deal with a second light source so I made a choice lol.

The random scar on his arm is meant to show that he's gotten in some tussles in his time, or at least Mal has. He definitely has a lot more hiding under his clothes, including two top surgery scars. Mal may be an evil demon ruining Ray's life, but he's not transphobic. I considered added a hint of a tattoo design, but it felt like it'd make everything too busy. I think he has one big tattoo on his back and maybe some on his chest? Upper arms maybe? Idk, thinking of tattoos for myself is already hard enough.

I included empty piercing spots because I love the idea that Mal got them a million different piercings so he could adorn himself in finery, but Ray hates drawing attention to himself so he never wears any.

The braided bracelet he has is actually something his mom made for him. I imagine the original material eventually got too small and old, so, several years into the possession, it broke. Raylin freaked out, nonstop crying for Mal to fix it. Usually Raylin has the backbone of a chocolate éclair, but he wouldn't stop and Mal thought it was annoying, so he found a bit of twine and added some extra length at the break. Now decades later, Raylin back in control, he noticed that the bracelet was still there with a new, longer extension to keep it secure. It must have broken when he was sunk into their subconscious, and Mal fixed it without prompting. Weird, bet that doesn't have any emotional implications or anything.

Drow have superior darkvision but also get disadvantage in direct sunlight, so that made me look into animals with really good night vision. In my search, I came across the tarsier that have these huge, buggy eyes with pupils that are like pinpricks in the daytime but become huge saucers at night.

And on the subject of eyes, Ray's eyes used to be a bright blue, but ever since he was possessed, they’ve become the same amber yellow as Mal's, even now that he has back control of his body.

I also chose that his spellcasting focus is an orb/crystal ball, hence the round satchel at his hip. I really like the idea that Mal can appear in the ball so they can talk to each other face to face. I'm toying with the idea that they can see each other as ghostly figures all the time, but either way, everyone is able to facetime with Mal through the orb.

And eventually when he can choose a boon, he'll get Pact of the Chain which let's him summon a familiar. Instead of a normal familiar though, it allows Mal to possess a small magic body and let's him go do any tasks necessary. The idea of this all powerful demon possessing something like a cat was too funny to me. It also opens up the door to him being obstinate and not wanting to help Raylin lol.

And finally, some personal character details:

One of the personality options for the Haunted One was "I like to read and memorize poetry. It keeps me calm and brings me fleeting moments of happiness," and I loved that so much that I started saving small poems that Raylin could read to make himself feel better. I also found one of my favorite poems in the process, I Heard a Bird Sing by Oliver Herford.

I've since decided that Raylin writes his own poetry as well, since there's not much else to entertain yourself with when you're (literally) stuck in your own head.

Initial characterization was very scared and docile, similar to the expression in this illustration, but as I think about and develop him more, I want to give him more of a backbone and maybe even a bitchy attitude. Maybe that'll come later on as he develops through whatever story he finds himself in.

Also, I decided he writes in a journal to sort out his thoughts about everything that's happened to him, as well as to keep a record of his own existence in case he dies or gets taken over again. I love the idea of playing as a character and having genuine entries for you or fellow players to read, so I have some written out because I'm so extra. I think I'd have to change some based on how his characterization and story line have changed, but the basics are the same. This also supports the idea that he writes his own poetry, maybe I can make some drafts and sprinkle into the journal entries.

[tokiro07]

Cipher Academy ch.52 thoughts

[Toss a Coin to Your Cipher Soldier]

(Contents: thematic analyses - fairness/friendship, predictions)

"If you let yourself become bound to strange rules, you're basically enslaving yourself." What is this, Undead Unluck?

This was a good showing for Yosaimura, who continues to be easily in my top 5 for this series. I've always been a huge fan of Nisio Isin's mental gymnastics, and this series' running theme of malicious compliance is a particularly fun display of it. Much like Iroha used Anonymity's methods against her by basically saying "well if she got to once, then so do I," Yosaimura literally turns Hakanage's logic on its head by saying "if you're going to say that cheating is fair, then I'm going to play so fair"

Anonymity points out that this is likely only something that Yosaimura even thought to do because she saw Iroha do that during the CLP election, which also reinforces the running theme of growth through interpersonal exposure. Iroha learned how to twist technicalities in his favor from Anonymity, and Yosaimura learned how to do that from Iroha. Everyone's learning something from each other, and apparently that's a quality that only Class A has been able to cultivate

We haven't really learned much about the other classes, but I definitely would believe that everyone else is a lot more...either extremely collectivist to the point of everyone losing their sense of identity (Class E who follow Kubinashi blindly and Class F who are required to hide their faces) or overly individualistic to the point that they can't form connections to each other (Class B's wild sense of expression and Class C's psychic children who have never been depicted interacting). I guess that comes with the territory for the School of Subterfuge, doesn't it?

I'm also always a sucker for character interactions that hinge on trust. Someone trusting their friend to understand a crazy plan, to not hurt them in a wild stunt, or trusting their enemy to behave in a certain way because that's what they've always hated/respected about them; being close enough to someone to rely on them, even if what you're relying on is their unreliability, is so romantic. If you didn't think that Yosaimura and Anonymity were a great ship before, Yosaimura telling her that she trusts her to do something dangerous has to at least help change your mind

For as much of a rapport as they've developed though, it really seems like there's going to be a point where everything falls apart. The fact that everyone's approaching a convergence and we've now completely eliminated Classes D and F suggests that neither of them are going to be the major enemy once we actually reach the bottom of the dungeon, so unless Kubinashi or Yonakiuguisu are bigger threats than they appear, the final conflict is almost assuredly going to be between Class A members. If I had to guess, it's going to come down to the CLP candidates again, but this time it'll be colored by how well everyone has gotten to know each other versus their actions being based on their initial, surface-level impressions of each other

Themes of friendship aside, I feel like the thing that Nisio Isin wants me to take away from this chapter is that cryptocurrency is bad. I don't really get how crypto works (or the economy for that matter), but even I can understand that if a new currency is introduced that is inherently "worth" more than the entire world economy, that's going to cause some issues. Even if we assume that it's worth the exact same amount, doubling the world's money in an instant would theoretically tank the value of all of the world's money, assuming that anyone actually recognizes the value of that currency. I guess the question for me is why anyone would, but again, I don't know how crypto works

If nothing else, it also does raise a good question of how Iroha's plan can actually work - if the value of Morgue is based on the presence of wars, how would he be able to use it to stop wars? If you give someone war-money to stop wars, then the money you paid them is inherently worth less upon receipt because there's less war, right? The best I could see is giving one nation a ton of Morgue and telling everyone else "you know how you can tank that nation's economy? End your wars, their money will become worthless." Honestly, with Nisio at the helm, I won't be too shocked if that's even remotely close

Now that everyone is getting pretty close, I do hope that things will become a bit less episodic soon. Seeing so many different characters in so many different locations is fun, but it's starting to feel kind of..disconnected, I'd say. It's like nothing anyone is doing is having any impact on anyone else, so seeing everyone reunite should help it feel like these stories have consequences outside of floor they occur on

Beyond that, what I'm really looking forward to is seeing how people outside of the dungeon are fairing. Hakanage got knocked out a little too easily; much like Zakuroguchi who I predict is secretly pulling strings from the sidelines, I'm willing to bet that Hakanage is going to do something shady now that no eyes are on her

Until next time

[mumms-the-word]

THINGS THAT I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW ABOUT MY FELLOW WRITERS

I can’t remember who tagged me with this or if I stole it 😭

Tagging: @elspethdekarios @sorceresssundries @fantasyfictionfables @lewdisescariot and anyone else??

No pressure friends as always and sorry for double tagging, this has sat in drafts for like days

Last book I read: For fun? I honestly can't remember. For my dissertation, Phantasmion by Sara Coleridge (and I haven't recovered, it was an acid trip of a fantasy novel)

Greatest literary inspirations: Bram Stoker (fave classic writer), Marissa Meyer (influenced my love of YA fairy tales), Ursula K. Le Guin (her style is SO GOOD)

Things in my current fandom I want to read but I don't want to write: I skim/read a lot of smut for someone who will never write it. I don't even read it that much, but occasionally something catches my eye (I appreciate you smutty, smutty people). What I'd want to read but not write is slice-of-life style shenanigans between characters, the kind that comic artists like @a2zillustration do really well. Send me recs if you know other BG3 comic artists!

Things in my current fandoms I want to write but I think nobody would be interested in them but me: my current masquerade fic I love writing stuff that is incredibly specific to my Tavs because I find it fascinating to explore different character perspectives and voices? But I know the fandom tends to enjoy generalized Tavs or "you" POVs more than specific OC characters, which is fair given the nature of the game, so I don't share as much of my Tav-specific stuff these days

You can recognise my writing by: the lack of smut...and probably an overuse of adverbs. and the fact that every chapter/oneshot is ridiculously long. I'm new to fanfic, okay, I wrote full books as a hobby before this lol

My most controversial take (current fandom): oh boy I have...many, probably...I've already gotten blocked for one hot take (I think it was a misunderstanding??) but it wasn't even my most controversial take. I think my most controversial take is that there is no One Correct Way to interpret a character, and anyone who tells you that "you're reading the game files wrong" or "that isn't what is canon" is ignoring the fact that a) that's not how interpretation works, and b) the branching nature of the game is going to necessarily mean that different people encounter different things in different orders and may not even get the dialogue that you hold so dear to your interpretation of the character, and that is okay. We shouldn't ask everyone to become an expert in every facet of their favorite character's identity because not everybody has the time or energy for that. We should just hope that people are having fun. Like I know this is a complex topic and I don't want to ramble about it here lol but that's the gist

Top three favourite tropes: in no particular order, 1) arranged/convenient marriage that leads to genuine love between characters, 2) super big tall buff scary guy (tortured past optional) is actually a total sweetheart who is a little afraid of his own strength (bonus points if he falls in love with a smol person he must protect and feels slightly unworthy of), and 3) FOUND FAMILY I love it every time

What’s your current writing mood (10 – super motivated and churning out words like crazy, 0 – in a complete rut): fic writing I'm like....idk a 6? dissertation writing, which I am actually supposed to be writing, is a solid 1.

Share a random frustration: my students keep insisting on using AI to write their assignments and it is BEYOND frustrating how much time it takes up for me to read their assignment, mark where they've used AI, and then forward it to the next tier in our "Guess what you done fucked up" system for this class