#ie WHY they’re all grouped together)

[bforbetterthanyou]

Historians & writers: I’m doing a feminist retelling of the wives, I want to seperate them from Henry VIII and show them as individuals!

Me: oh so you’re gonna give each of them their own separate book/show/etc

Historians & writers: …no obviously I’m still gonna group them together as “six wives”

[kimbap-r0ll]

Can I please request dorm leader (and/or vice dorm leaders) having a very vivid drea where they’re about to kiss their crush but they’re woken up just before their lips touch?

Wait this is really cute! I only limit to five characters (with the exception of groups ie dorm leaders) and doing about 13 characters is a lot, so I'm going to stick with just the dorm leaders for now

Dorm leaders waking up from a dream of getting a kiss from you

Riddle

The dream went like this: you two were sitting in the rose garden and doing homework. You ask Riddle for some help and he scoots himself a bit closer to you. Both of you are like, inches away from each others' faces and when he glances at you, he can see a slight blush on your cheeks. Smiling to himself, he says that you look really cute, to which you reply with a flustered "sorry, we've only been this close when we kiss" and then he's about to go in for it (first time he ever decides to kiss you first) and then he wakes up from a pillow being thrown at him.

You were looking at him with such beautiful eyes in his dream, but when he woke up he just sees Trey and Cater yelling at him to wake up with two more pillows in their hands. He's about to go red but he stops himself and asks what's happening. Turns out he's been sleeping on his desk that he missed a dorm leader meeting. HIM!

Swearing to himself (for the first time ever that anyone's heard him) he rushes out, even though his hair is a bit disheveled and he looks half-asleep. He gets there and doesn't answer any questions (or any teasing from Leona)

If you happen to run into him while he's running to the hall of mirrors, he looks away because he's too shy. He would love to kiss you, or at least initiate one first at some point, but he's too emotionally constipated to do it. Maybe in another dream he'll get to do it, but for now he needs to focus on the meeting and getting back at Trey and Cater for throwing pillows

Leona

In his dream, you were likely just cuddling with him as always. He isn't even sure what the dream was really about, since all he could remember was him looking up at the ceiling, then at you, and then back. He asked you something about if you wanted to go, but you said you wanted to stay for ten more minutes. Before he can interrupt you and say he wants you to leave so he can "have his peace" (btw if he ever says this, it usually means he has no idea why he's feeling so much love) you move closer and your about to kiss him. He's about to kiss you when suddenly he gets awoken by you shaking him.

"Leona, we need to get to class. You promised this time you would go together!" you pull on his sleeve, trying to get him out of his bed. Seriously? You weren't the one wanting to leave in his dream, let him go back ;-;

"Leave me alone, you can go ahead," he'll throw a pillow on his face to muffle the sound of you telling him he can't miss another class. "Fine, I'll stay for ten more minutes, better late than not showing up altogether," you sit on his bed, crossing your arms and waiting for him to get up. Nothing.

Finally, you pull the pillow off of his face and give him a quick peck on his lips before running out and yelling at him to get to class. He just lies there, stunned, heart racing, but at least he got his kiss haha. Will he make it to class? Probably not.

Azul

His dream was wayy too good in his opinion. He wasn't fumbling up at all, being extremely suave as he showed you around the town by Coral Sea that he would visit every now and then. You two danced at the town square, got to check out small vendors, etc. By the time the sun was setting, you two were sitting by the shore and just relaxing. You told him you had a lot of fun that day, and he was talking about the tale of a mermaid princess who got to live with her human lover. Something about kissing and that's when he went for it, more or less to show rather than tell the story but right when you two were about to kiss he bolts up because Floyd's yelling

"HEEEYYYY RAMSHACKLE'S THROWING A PARTY WANNA GOOOO?!!!" Floyd has no noise control and Jade's just laughing in the back by the doorway. Floyd shakes Azul and tries to dance with him when he gets up while Jade is explaining what's going on. Turns out Grim wanted to celebrate acing a test by throwing a party.

Azul groans and says he'll go, he just needs some time to fix his hair. Jade and Floyd say that he's fine as he is and they try to pull him out of his room to no avail. Azul ends up coming to the party thirty minutes late (he was also practicing what to say to you haha)

When he gets there, you open the door and hug him, telling him you're glad to see him at the party. He tries to hide his blush by pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose, but you know he's just flustered. He then suggests that next time there's a long weekend, you two should go to the town by Coral Sea. "It's a beautiful place, I think it would be a fun date," he says.

Kalim

The dream was basically like a movie. He has no idea how it went from him running away from a bunch of knife wielding bears to something more calm, like you and Kalim on a carpet ride. Either way, he liked the latter part of his dream. As you two slowed down on top of clouds, you two stargazed. It was magical, but what made it better was when you turned to him, said thank you, and you asked if you could kiss him. You two haven't kissed yet, and so he was like "Uh, yeah, s-sure!" since he was nervous. You closed your eyes, moved closer, and before he could feel your soft lips Jamil woke him up

"Late to class? Not on my watch, you're the dorm leader now so you should know how to manage your time!" Jamil scolds but gently places some breakfast on his desk. Sure Jamil was uptight, but at least he was caring. Kalim nodded sadly and got out of bed.

Throughout the day, the dream kept playing over and over in his head. If he could have had five more minutes, maybe you two could've kissed and who knows, he might've known what it would be like to kiss someone! Ah, maybe he should ask? Yeah, he should ask you for a carpet ride. So, he marches to you during the lunch break to ask.

"Ooh, that sounds like a lot of fun, I've always wanted to stargaze from all the way up there!" you respond excitedly. He knew you would like it! He hopes you will kiss him on the date, but maybe he could muster the courage to ask you for a kiss first.

Vil

He had a crazy dream (at least in his opinion). You were pulled in as an understudy for a character that was supposed to be his lover. Everything was last minute, but because you were so good at adapting to different roles this was no issue. The scene finally came to when you two would kiss, it was the highlight of the production. He would tell you even as a prince he didn't want to live in luxury if it meant he wouldn't be with you (at least that was the character he was playing). For once he was playing the hero, he was going to get a happy ending, and he was going to kiss you! He pulled you closer, confessing his love for you, and when you two were about to kiss he woke up.

He woke up. On his own accord. He just woke up because his body knew it was 6am and he for once wanted to miscalculate his sleeping schedule. Sure his health mattered but not when it was such a good dream! Sighing to himself, he pulled himself out of bed and got ready.

You two were in the film studies club together and you were the only one that showed up that day. It was raining so it made sense that some people didn't feel like showing up, but nonetheless it meant you two basically had a date. You picked out a romance movie and started watching it. "It's a favorite of mine," you laughed.

Throughout the movie as he had his arm wrapped around you, you felt as though he was pulling you closer. This, however, was not intentional. Vil was lost in his thoughts, thinking about his dream, replaying the scene over and over. Perhaps it was because he loved you so much he felt like he wanted to hug you tighter. One day, he will find the courage the kiss you, but for now keeping you close is enough

Idia

This man probably has the wildest dreams. Usually he doesn't like going to sleep because his dreams will be about Ortho (twst spoilers) and they're usually really sad. But this time, his dream was exciting. First it was about you, Idia, and Ortho fighting some aliens in a spaceship and finding your ways back home. It was sort of like you all were in Metroid but you all succeeded in escaping the enemy ship. Idia was super happy in that dream, and before he knew it, you were about to kiss him. It was like a victory kiss? Who knows, all Idia remembers is you were so close to his face, your hair brushing his face and then you close your eyes and he was about to do the same but when he opened his eyes again...

Ceiling. Just his regular ceiling in his dimly lit room. It was 3am, he woke up by accident. Out of all days that he could have awoken it had to be this! Not to mention, he usually doesn't sleep because of nightmares but it seems like luck wasn't on his side ;-;

Idia's pretty grouchy for the entire day. A lot of students notice he's mumbling to himself more. But when you enter the classroom, yell out his name, his hair just flames red. Everyone around him asks him if he's fine and he just goes "H-hi y/n, um, yeah, hi." Gosh he was so awkward, why couldn't he be like himself from his dream?!

After class, you two talk about your favorite games and recent tv shows. He talks about a space game he's been into recently and you ask him if you could watch him play through it. Of course, he answers yes. Then, he asks "Have you ever thought about kissing someone?" "Huh?" You look at him, puzzled. Shoot, did he just say something without thinking? He waves it off, saying it wasn't anything important, but feel free to surprise him with a kiss on your game night!

Malleus

He's also not one to sleep a lot mainly because he doesn't have a lot of dreams. Perhaps it's because of how many years he's been alive and how nothing seems to excite him anymore. He hasn't had a good dream in many years, but that all changed when you arrived. Now, he's had more frequent dreams about marrying you, saving you from danger, holding hands, etc. But this time, you were with him in a party hosted by his grandmother. You looked beautiful in your outfit, honestly he dare say you were the most beautiful one in all of Twisted Wonderland. You two were out in the balcony, away from the party but the most important part to him was that you confessed your love to him. You wanted to stay with him. "Child of man, if I were reborn, or for every time I was reborn, I would always fall in love with you." With that, you two were about to kiss when-

"MY LORD! Oh, oh my apologies, everyone's been looking for you and we weren't sure if you would be at the tower, the graveyard, or-" "What's the point?" Malleus asked Sebek. Of course, the first year was very outgoing, but sometimes Malleus wished the boy would leave him alone. He was sitting on the Ramshackle roof by the way.

Malleus thanked Sebek for being concerned but asked him to leave him here. Sebek agreed and went back to Diasomnia while Malleus closed his eyes. He wanted to take a nap again, go back and see you look at him with such warm eyes. Ah, his heart was beating so fast and he just wanted to tell you how much he wanted you to stay with him, to love him.

"Malleus! Did you want to come in? I'm trying to bake something and you're welcome to join!" he bolted up when he heard you from below. You were holding a mixing bowl while smiling at him. Jumping down, he smiled and agreed to help you. Ah, if only you knew how much you meant to him. Maybe he'll confess to you there?

[alieinthemorning]

Tired of Us Yet? [Leona Kingscholar]

Content: Fluff, Established Relationship, Happy Birthday Leona!, POV Second Person, Reader-Insert

Pronouns: None

Header: @/kyuu9 on Tumblr

Reblogs: Let me know that you enjoy my work and want to see more, so don’t forget to like and reblog (and comment in the tags. I love seeing people’s rambles in the tags)!

This work’s concepts, plot and original characters are my own which means I do not allow any sort of creative theft nor do I allow my work to be entered into any sort of A.I. bots. Thank you for respecting my space and boundaries.

After promising to go shopping on the weekend, time seemed to slow down exponentially, as if taunting you. Your first outing with Leona in what felt like forever (it had been a month)! You were so excited that you kinda accidentally made it to the gates about 10 minutes earlier than planned. 

“You’re damn near hoppin’ off the walls. You that excited?” Leona commented as he approached you. 

You hadn’t even noticed that you were rocking on your heels, “Well, duh. It’s been a while since we’ve been out.” 

A frown caught his lips for a moment before he leaned down, pecking your temple. “That’s gonna change, alright?”

“I know.” You were certain Leona would keep his promise.

Shopping for Leona was actually pretty easy. All he really wanted was comfortable furniture to lounge around on and anything else (ie. the decorations) could be left to you, and he didn’t fuss about it.

“At this point, we’re making a glorified fort.” You chuckled, “Not that I’m complaining.”

“So what you’re saying is we should use these big pillows,” He pointed to a comically large orange pillow, “as the floor?”

You plopped down on it. “Hmmm…maybe so? It is pretty comfy!” 

“Oh yeah, you look like you’re on the edge of dreamland there.”

You kinda were. There more you laid here, the more you actually considered using these as a floor for his fort—room.

Ping!

Pulling your phone out of your pocket, you gasped, absolutely shocked at what you saw.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

It was you. Right now, laying on the pillow. Posted to his Magicam. 

You smiled as you stood, “I think we should get at least this one.” You pocketed your phone, then hauled the pillow in the cart with his help. 

Shared to Story

hey.hey.its.cay.cay commented on your Story

AYOOOOO

ARE Y’ALL OUT ON A DATE RN

“Welcome back, my dear.” Azul greeted you, but his eyes were on Leona. “I see you’ve brought a guest with you this time.”

Leona didn’t respond to the obvious taunt, he simply pulled out his phone, fingers quickly gliding against the screen.

“Don’t, Ashengrotto.” You warned. “Just get us a table.”

“Why, of course, my dear.” His smile widened (you hated that smile) as he led you.

“And stop calling me ‘dear’. I’m clearly with my partner.” 

“Yes, yes.” He waved you off, gesturing at the table that he had chosen for you. “Here you are.”

The table was in the middle of the lounge. You were sure he wanted everyone to get a good view of Leona ignoring you or something. Well, this would be quite the boring show. At least, that’s what you thought, but then a large, boisterous crowd entered the lounge. You glanced at Leona, who was already looking at you with a grin.

Drinks and a show, how lovely.

“I’m sorry, but we’re currently at full capacity, so if you’d be so kind—” Azul attempted to dissuade the group from coming in any further, but—

“Nah, they’re with me.” Leona spoke up.

Azul didn’t even bother to hide the frown. “And as I said, we’re at full capacity—”

“I’ll rent the whole place out for double what it would normally be worth.”

Watching Azul debate with himself over selling out or withholding his morals was fun.

Of course, he sold out in the end when Leona offered to pay triple the price. 

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

LeechTwinJade commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

I’m glad to see the two of you dining together in our establishment, @The_Monstro_Lounge_Offical We hope to see the two of you again soon.

Apparently, Leona wasn’t done with the surprises because one day during lunch while you were standing in line with the other first years, he suddenly appeared, gently removing you from the group. 

“Oi! What are you doing?” Jack reflexively grabbed your arm. The lunch line was a chaotic mess, and if someone stepped out of line even accidentally, they lost their spot and had to take the walk of shame to the back of the line.

“We’re not eating in here, so let go, pup.” You could have sworn there was a bit of a growl at the end of that sentence (but maybe you were imagining it). 

“Oh?” You cut in, easing yourself from Jack. “You cooked for me or somethin’?”

“Ha!” His laugh was sharp, “Nah, you know I can’t cook—since I’m a prince and all. I ordered out.” 

Your eyes lit up. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

Of course, the little lunch date was set up in the botanical garden. It looked like he had gotten some help from the fairies that managed it with the set-up, and even to give you two some privacy. You popped a bit of your favorite dish in your mouth, almost tearing up at the burst of flavor. 

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

Epple_Apel commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

AND YOU COULDNT HAVE SHARED????

JackAttack commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

Wow. Okay.

0rth0_2.0 commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

I am very happy for the two of you! However, if something bad happens, just know that I’ll be there! :)

“Party’s here, but I’m pretty sure you ain’t here—” Ace stopped short, brain short-circuiting at what he was seeing. 

And Deuce followed suit. “Quiet as usual—huh?” 

There in the lounging in the lounge was you, Grim and Leona. But that wasn’t the weirdest part. No, the weirdest part was the fact that you were laying on top of Leona (which wasn’t all that weird) and Grim was lying on top of you (once again, not weird), but like Grim was laying on top of you who was laying on top of Leona which was weird. 

However, once Grim caught sight of them, he scrambled out of your grasp, which woke both you and Leona up. 

“Save me!” He scrambled behind Ace. “They’ve been holding me here hostage for hours now!” 

“We’ve literally been asleep for maybe an hour. What are you talking about, Grim?”

“I didn’t ask for a front row seat to all of this!” He gestured widely at the two of you before jumping onto Ace’s shoulders. “Let’s go! Before they kiss or something!”

“I’m sure they wouldn’t—OH MY GOD—EWWWW!”

You were caught off guard just as much as Deuce was. You knew Leona was cheeky, but you didn’t expect him to kiss you in front of your friends like that (not that you really minded a kiss from him). He didn’t let you go until the front door slammed shut, and when he did, you knew it was only for a moment. 

Oh well, at least you didn’t have an audience anymore.

Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

Call_an_Ace_an_Ace commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

Y’all are literally like that one couple that everyone is rooting for, but also finds annoying. 

Double_Deuce_2 commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

THIS IS THE GREAT GRIM AND I CAN CONFIRM THAT THEYRE SUPER ANNOYING

“It’s that time again, My King.”

“Time for you to say that you’re tired of me?”

You lightly slapped his arm, earning a chuckle from him. “Of course not.” You cupped his face, making it meet yours that had moved closer. “It’s time for me to remind you that I am so deeply in love with you.” 

He closed the distance, capturing your lips. “Right backatcha. I’m actually more in love with you than you are with me.” 

“So it’s a contest now?” You kissed him again. “How do we decide a winner?”

“I can think of a few ways”

“Well, the two of you are gonna have to wait until later.” Someone stopped the two of you from going any further.

Leona sighed. “Always coming in at the right moments, aren’tcha Bucchi?” 

“Shishishi…but nah, for real y’all are really gonna have to wait to do all of that later.” 

You smirked. “What? Tired of us yet, Ruggie?” 

“I wanna say, yeah, but the pay is too good, so I’ll just smile and nod.” He did neither. 

“Alright,” Leona straighten himself then pulled you into his lap. “Let’s get this over with.” 

“‘Course the two of you are gonna be difficult till the very end.” Ruggie shook his head, but begun his repot nonetheless, not like he could do anything anyway. 

The two of you wouldn’t listen to anyone, but each other, at this point. 

Now and forever. 

King_Leona_Kingscholar_Official just posted

TheRuggieBucchi commented on Leona_Kingscholar_Official post

In front of my salad? On god? I deserve a raise. 

King_Leona_Kingscholar_Official replied to TheRuggieBucchi

Get used to it.

Sunset_Savana_Sovereign_Official replied to TheRuggieBucchi

On god. And we’ll do it again. Shenan once to shenan again. 

LISTEN HERE STINK! IT MAY BE YOUR BIRTHDAY, BUT THIS

THIS WAS NOT NECESSARY

GRIM PITY?

ALL MY KEYS

GONE

AHYUK! I SEE IT!

THE DOOR TO DARKNESS

Ko-Fi | Commission | Masterlist

[srslyscary]

┊┊. NON-SKZ RELATIONSHIPS !

⟿ ATEEZ !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ captain hj, ddeonghwa , you know , yeosang(ie), mountain, fix on, lunatic, bear

➠ met during kingdom sports day, got introduced to the group after everyone else because she was sick the day the boys had gotten previously introduced to ateez and hadn’t been able to find the time to actually meet them like the boys did.

➠ got along with everyone as soon as they were introduced. everyone was very friendly and she hit it off well with all of them. ateez quickly became her favorite people to sit around and chat with.

➠ she talks to jongho, yunho, and mingi on a regular basis.

➠ she has arranged to hang out with wooyoung on multiple occasions, and fans have seen mingi and kabi out on social media.

➠ she calls jongho and yunho the most during livestreams just to see how they are doing,

➠ kabi has a groupchat with mingi and san, always being silly together and spamming the groupchat with the most random things.

➠ overall they are all really good friends and fans can show they have great dynamics.

⟿ P1HARMONY !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ canadian fucker, lil taeyang, caster of cough spells, taki taki, alien boy, rapper boy seobs

➠ she had known them from already being acquainted with theo.

➠ she used to train with theo when he was in sm. after finding out he debuted in a new group, she went and hit him up.

➠ they caught up and agreed to hang some time. knowing how theo was a bit of an introvert, she decided it would be best if they could possibly talk at a more “at home” place.

➠ specifically kabi showed up to their first concert without theo’s knowledge. she pretended to be a fan wanting autographs, and as soon as theo saw her he was certainly surprised.

➠ ended up going with them in the dressing area to talk to him before they got dressed out and ready to go.

➠ made great friends after she met all of his members, hitting off with the leader as soon as she found out he was canadian as well. she also has “beef” with him. tis the reason for his .. contact name. they’re always picking on each other, so it’s all jokes.

➠ she practically adopted the whole group.

➠ understands soul more than his own members understands him. often takes the two youngest ones out when they’re free just because she finds them adorable.

⟿ ENHYPEN !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ scared of chris, heehee, chef jay, aussie kid of en, nonchalant kid, gossip hb, crazy riki

➠ for some odd reason, she loved to pick on them during the time they got to see enhypen in person. enhypen’s leader seemed a bit terrified of her leader, and she could never understand why. I mean have you seen bang chan? yeah he can be scary but that grown man is nothing more than a 5 year old in an old man’s body.

➠ regularly talks to sunoo for gossip time. as much as they would like to, they don’t hang out in person a lot.

➠ heesung was invited to join her on her podcast to be interviewed. they had a chill time talking about things that came up and topics that were being asked.

➠ they don’t really hang out as much but it’s fun when they do happen to be around each other.

⟿ KARD !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ j.seph-seonbaenim, do not answer mathew, sooomin, ms girl

➠ when I tell you kabi and bm have everlasting beef.. ooh girl I mean it. She literally hates mathew (not literally).

➠ loves the rest of the members, only talks to somin and jiwoo often.

➠ everytime the girls are all together, it’s usually calm and relaxing. the same thing with j-seph, she values the time she gets because she knows he can be very busy and it’s just one of her seonbaenim’s that she respects. although bm… somehow things just manage to get fucked up.

➠ she means well with all of them, never once having any real problems. they’re great friends.

⟿ NMIXX !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ haehae, lily jin morrow, sully, ms bae, k. jiwoo, cutejin

➠ she’s been watching over these girls ever since their trainee days.

➠ treats these girls as if they were her sisters, loves them to death.

➠ ACTUALLY tells people they’re all siblings and it happened to be a coincidence that they ended up in the same company.

➠ messes with bae and lily on a regular basis.

➠ kabi has been their #1 fan since pre-debut.

➠ talks about nmixx a lot during live streams.

➠ calls the girls at random times to say something stupid and then hang up.

➠ randomly comments stupid things on their posts.

➠ takes group photos of them and posts them a LOT.

⟿ THE NEW SIX !

> CONTACT NAMES ᕯ taehun (tnx), kyungjun (tnx), hyunsoo (tnx), junhyeok (tnx), hwi (tnx), sungjun (tnx)

➠ literally just in a group chat with them.

➠ has met these guys multiple times during their audition show.

➠ groupchat is titled “tnx + kabi-seonbaenim :)”

➠ she hasn’t hung out with them in person since they debuted, but she makes sure to keep in touch with them about all their projects and new music.

➠ one of those people in the groupchat that sends random memes that say “good morning” with random idols’ faces on it.

⟿ BIBI !

> CONTACT NAME ᕯ my favorite honorable mention

➠ social media besties and real life twins.

➠ definitely calls bibi twin everywhere she goes.

➠ bibi talked about making a part two to her song “vengeance” so that, and I quote, “kabi-unnie can hop on the track and spit some bars”.

➠ often hangs out with bibi every chance she gets.

➠ both of their cats have had play dates together. tazi, bada, and chichi have their own fandom name called “The 3 Kittiteers”.

➠ they interact with each other the most on social media platforms. they comment on each other’s Instagram posts too often.

➠ they plan to make a project together (an album collaboration).

➠ bibi would come to visit kabi during her hiatus a lot, bringing her food and having sleepovers with her to keep her company.

[shslskaterboy]

I often time find myself thinking about missed opportunities in persona 5 and the many writing blunders it makes, but I think probably the most baffling one that still plagues me to this day is the complete lack of proper resolution for Ryuji and Morgana’s arc. It seems like such a classic use of the “two characters who are always bickering” trope, just an ongoing bit that they have, but the writers actually take it in kind of a different way by having it become too real. Things become actually tense as the story progresses, and the benign banter stops being so benign and becomes a lot more pointed, until we get to the point that they’re pretty much taking very personal jabs at each other’s specific insecurities, and it’s really not playful anymore. This of course results in the whole Morgana running of don his own thing, and the first time I was playing through the game I thought the obvious way the arc would go would be: Track him down, maybe a botched apology to build tension further, have some sort of breaking point where everything overflows, and then much the way it does in canon, there is some sort of event (ie Ryuji standing up for him against Haru’s fiancé) that demonstrates the actual care they have and allows for them to smooth things out juuuuust enough to get to the point where they can talk as a group and resolve things. So okay, at this point we’re almost in line with what I expected, so clearly the only thing left to do is have the heartfelt scene where Ryuji and Morgana apologize to each other, right? “I’m sorry I let the fame go to my head,” and “I’m sorry I lashed out bc of my insecurities,” at the very least, then they reconcile and agree that they are really friends and this whole fight was stupid, and they’re sorry, they make up, and the banter can resume but in a more lighthearted manner that clearly displays the growth they both made along the way.

And yet.

We get absolutely nothing of the sort, and I was absolutely fucking flabbergasted by it. It seemed so obvious for that to be the direction they took, because why else would they do all that set up? Why would they make a point of demonstrating that Ryuji was being such a fuckin asshole about it? Why would they double down on Morgana’s bitchiness? It all seemed like the perfect lead into a really good character arc for both of them, and instead they just gloss over it and go “don’t worry they’re fine now” like HELLO?? Are you sure??? Bc that shit got pretty damn personal at the peak there, and you’re telling me they just smile and nod and work together without ever addressing it? Like. Boy atlus what on fucking earth are you doing at this point, just padding for time in a 130+ hour game? What was the point? Truly I will never get over it because it could have been so good for both of them, but instead we get nothing but a half assed apology that doesn’t even land, and I think that is sucks and I’ll never get over it

[jjtheresidentbaby]

Sorry to all caps at you but HARPER HBH PLEAS /gen /nf

Little Harper McLean headcanons

a/n: you didn’t specify if you wanted little or caregiver so hope you don’t mind me choosing for you

warnings: !!season 2 spoilers!!, talk of canon things (ie drug use, partying, etc), malakai never left <3

she doesn’t figure out she regresses til season 2 when she’s living with cash in her own space

it’s involuntary at first and she doesn’t even realize she’s regressed, just brushing it off as being extra tried or that the weed she smoked is making her act different

cash is actually the one that brings up that she might be regressing, he’s nervous telling her and gives her a whole list from his notes app on why he things it’s regression

she’s so taken back but sees every point that he makes

cue them going on a mini research binge together

she doesn’t talk about her regression with anyone at first, still trying to get used to it herself and whatnot

eventually quinni notices something’s off and asks her if she’s alright- the stumbling response of “oh yeah I’m fine” harper gives isn’t believable at all so they end up talking about it

quinni helps harper tell amerie as she was worried it’d mess things up between them

amerie of course takes it well but she’s also super confused so they spend awhile explaining things

harper’s headspace is definitely more in the smaller range, she likes teethers & pacifiers & soft toys she can cuddle into

her childhood was rough and her teenage years have been- worse. so stuffed animals and fleece blankets and nice pajamas are a big deal to her

she likes to regress at night for a bit before she goes to bed but might slip after school if something stressful happens

cash watches over her the most for obvious reasons, but also he’s comfortable with her and she’s comfortable with him so it works really nice

darren helps out a lot more when they settle back into living with cash & harper

cash & darren will do just about anything harper wants when she’s small (cash especially tho, he caves at the first glimpse of puppy dog eyes)

she’s got a box of monster high dolls from when she was a kid that she loves to play with

she drags amerie and malakai into playing dolls frequently as they make up the best storylines

she almost never regresses anywhere but at home but occasionally she’ll slip at amerie’s place or quinni’s since she’s comfortable there

amerie may or may not fall back into bodyguard mode™️ when she finds out harper regresses

thankfully malakai’s there to calm that down

nobody ever really sits malakai down and tells him that harper regresses or what regression is he just came over one day and there she was. little. and nobody else was batting an eye so he wasn’t either

months later at a party malakai brings this up to harper and firstly, she laughs, but secondly she gives him a link to a google doc quinni made explaining age regression but also listing specifics about harper’s regression and anyone else in the group that might be a little

malakai babysits a lot more after that

him & missy like to take harper on hikes when she’s feeling more like a kiddo

malakai usually carries one of the girls back down the hike on his back- it always switches back and forth between missy & harper

she has her whole friend group come over for big sleepovers when she’s regressed and absolutely loves it

she keeps a small plush in her backpack at all times and sometimes takes it out to use as a pillow if she’s putting her head down on a table/desk

holds hands with someone at all times if they’re out in public

going out when she’s regressed makes her really anxious so she avoids it if she can- everyone’s very understanding and will go grab something from the store for her or whatever she needs so she can stay home

[magixfairyix]

Hey, I like you all. (Shows my main Winx Club Oc). I do have some actual art of her but none that are character sheets (yet) so y’all get fake screenshots for now.

~Name: Iorda Fey-Carey

~Age: 16 as of season 1

~Class: Fairy

~Title: Fairy of Dark Arts

•••

~Lore:

• While the Company of Light fought against the Ancestral Witches (after defeating Valtor) the reason they were so powerful and why they were so hard to defeat was that they (unlike Darkar, and other magical enemies/creatures) did not have a magical balance

• Previously they did, due to one of my own other characters, Almah (the previous Fairy of Dark Arts) existing.

• Though they killed Almah before the battle against the Company of Light, and she was doomed to exists as a spirit because her soul couldn’t rest. (Same as Daphne’s fate, and spirits with unfinished work is actually common in the Magical Demension). Almah’s spirit soon mentored Iorda in the events of season 1

• Lilith (one of the Ancestors) made sure no one remembered Almah existed

• When the Ancestors were defeated the Company of Light (in order to make sure future descendants of the Ancestors did not wreak havoc, or should they come back) merged a small remainder of one of the Ancestor’s magic (Lilith, specifically Darcy’s ancestor) with some of their own in a powerful convergence spell, and that combined energy just went around non-sentiently until it made its way to Iorda

• Iorda without the combined magic by chance making its way to her would’ve been a human, but the magic was strong enough to manifest her into a fairy (as was the intention of the spell, ie, a fairy to balance the Ancestral Witches)

• The spirit of Almah communicates through the dreams back in Earth, and soon Iorda’s magic manifests (not transforming yet.) After convincing her family, Iorda uses the special spell (girl had to run around to collect a lot of things for it) Almah told her to use to open a portal to Magix

• Iorda arrives in Magix and, with the limited information Almah told her (on purpose—Almah could see Iorda’s future, and it sure wasn’t pretty, so she wouldn’t let her run away from her fate) went to Alfea

• But since Iorda has mainly Lilith’s magic, Miss Griselda thought she was a witch. Before Almah was killed she was a student at Alfea and was killed when three witches (the Ancestors in disguise) snuck into Alfea and killed Almah. Griselda and Faragonda still existed at this time, just beginning teaching at the school

•Iorda is turned away and decides to just go to Cloud Tower. She needs to learn magic and she isn’t above going to a school for witches. She runs into Mirta and the two walk to Cloud Tower together

• Iorda during the time of season 1 meets several other witches besides Mirta and Lucy, who are really nice people, and they form a group called the Nyx

• These witches are Pyris (witch of disguise and deception, eventually Iorda’s girlfriend at the end of season 1)

• Lucina (witch of blood)

• And Nith (witch of water and ice)

• The events of season 1 on the Winx’s side goes on as usual, but during that time Iorda disrupts the Trix’s plans because she just isn’t going to let them hurt the people at Alfea—where she would have gone to

• She stops them from stealing the ring during the dance but later returns it when Iorda runs into Musa while she is racing away from the witches after slapping Icy

• Towards the end of season 1, Pyris (Headmistress Griffins granddaughter) tells Iorda about a tomb. It holds the access to the Whisperian Crystals (that were sealed by the Company of Light, only to be opened by the balance they created) because they were the primary weopans of the Ancestors

• Long story short, Iorda opened tomb, Pryis reveals information, Iorda is overcome with stress and shock. Iorda has the power of the Whisperian Crystals inside her and of cource they get stolen by the Trix (not her magic, they’re just like, we can do that later)

• This replaces the Trix stealing Blooms magic (gurl gets spotlight in season 2 & 3 though)

• The fight against the Army of Decay goes on as normal

• And so on, Iorda (being the Trix’s balance and all since they are the decendants of the Ancestral Witches) faces a lot of turmoil as the Trix want her kind of dead

• Then at the time of season 6 they just want Iorda to suffer because, as determined she is, Iorda is a little sh!t who was messed with their plans one too many times (I mean it’s her job)

• Probably more information about her, the Nyx, and other things to follow XD

[ninthprime]

i don’t ever post about snowpiercer on here despite the fact that i’ve watched it since season one started- not sure why i didn’t share my thoughts frankly. i was definitely adjacent to the circles that dismissed season one for seeming like a murder mystery show at first, and i thought it was alright, but season two was actually the one that really impressed me and made me an actual fan of the show (which seems to not be the opinion of most people in the fandom, interestingly). part of it is that i have almost never watched it live for the most part- it’s the last of the shows that my dad and i would watch together when i lived at home, so i don’t usually remember to start it until he does. and maybe i still thought it was cringe? but look, i’m firmly of the belief that everyone needs a show that’s basically a 7/10 but that you feel an attachment to nonetheless.

uh, all that said, i’m up to 4x06 now (and pretty thoroughly spoiled on the rest of the season) so here’s some season four thoughts

first of all i cant believe no one has made a "i miss my wife tails" edit of till talking to ben. literally all that was playing in my head whenever she brought up audrey

to get the big thing out of the way: i’m slightly less peeved about new eden allowing layton and co to take the train than most people, but to me the frustrating part is actually that i think the problems with that storyline are fairly easy to fix, to the point that i wonder if a scene was deleted. by the end of 4x06 we know for a fact that millius’ group is planning to ambush new eden (the bombs oz found), but i think it’s pretty obvious that new eden is under some sort of threat from the moment liana gets kidnapped and zarah dies. this is less of a 100% solution and more a papering over, but i think all you really need is someone else giving another speech after layton’s not-speech in 4x03 about how everyone’s loved ones on snowpiercer are being worked to death, and now the people responsible appear to have killed a new eden resident and kidnapped a child- meaning they’ve found the town already and likely have plans for everyone there. if you give that speech, you don’t have to frame this storyline as “new eden lets layton risk everything for his kid”; you can instead do “new eden knows they’re at potentially immediate risk, so they’re sending a scouting mission with hopes of helping their loved ones and saving themselves.” you’d still be able to do the “layton is making selfish choices for his kid” story, because i think everyone in his main circle would pick up that it’s what he’s doing, and they’d have to work around that and bounce off of it. you could still poke a lot of holes in this but i think that would reduce a lot of the frustration with the premise of this season.

more scattered thoughts:

zarah’s death is not something i like but it’s entirely not a surprise. that said, if they had to do it, i think having josie there is exactly the right move. that part worked real well for me.

ben’s death is also pretty well executed for me! seeing him literally hype himself up to die and then seeing till at the last moment was rough! i feel like if i ever rewatch (and i’m definitely thinking about it) i need to pay more attention to ben. he has a rough edge to him that i think is easy to forget about (ie. being a big part of mel’s choice to steal the train) and seeing his arc as a whole strikes me as a worthwhile exercise.

for all that’s shaky about season 4 it’s giving me a lot of my favorite snowpiercer thing, which is “the appealing cast/characters of this show bouncing around in fun new ways.” ben and till’s friendship was great, i loved the till and ruth talking in the bath scene, and i think the javi-sykes-oz trio is the most chaotic “throw a bunch of supporting characters into a storyline and see what happens” bit that we’ve ever had. oz leaving a severed hand on javi’s desk and then that turning into javi trying to show sykes he trusts her by showing her said severed hand gave me the biggest “this is the weird shit that i watch this show for!!” reaction i’ve had so far.

i think everyone is underrating the javi/sykes stuff this season actually, beyond just “this is cute.” i’m biased because i love them both (javi is tied with alex as my favorite character in this show and sykes has always been underutilized, so i’m extremely happy to see her more), but i found both their conversations about their relationship in 4x04 to be really interesting- javi interpreting her as overprotective of him, sykes having a lot of hangups about everyone trusting her, etc. it turns out that when you bond with someone over being abused by the same person you both still have trauma about that thing. and this is exactly the type of hets i like, so i’m biting into it like a juicy apple.

speaking of alex i have been lowkey disappointed that she hasn’t done much yet but it has been interesting seeing her have to hold back about her worries for new eden and now mourning ben because she’s juggling her seemingly endless list of dads. will be very interested to see her with her mom again.

gotta give a shout out to my two favorite fits in this season so far: 1. audrey’s little work headband outfit in 4x02, of course she is killing it even on the killer work train, and 2. sykes’ pink overalls agsec outfit which is soooo cute on her. also till’s new haircut this season unironically works for me lol

the purest joy of this show is whenever a minor character who has inexplicably survived for four seasons pops up and gets to do things. every time i see dr pelton, tristan, z-wreck, or lights i’m hooting and hollering.

hey “jackson cage” came up on shuffle while i wrote this post and that’s a snowpiercer song if there ever was one. does anyone here make amvs. i’m giving that to you all for free. make it any ship you want, i can think of like three that fit

anyway what if i posted about this show now that the entire thing is done. that’d be fucking funny

[notoriouslynoone]

HEAR ME OUT-

I have come from the abyss to make a proposition.

We all know the ikemen series can get admittedly a little interchangeable with some of the thems and characters. Not that there all the same by any means, but you could most definitely switch up the cast without sacrificing too much plot, or atmosphere. So, a little worm crawled in brain a while back and refuses to die so...I guess I'll pass it along....

You might've seen the Villains/Prince card gotcha colab they did a month or more ago with Jude and Liam. It was relatively well received, yet I'm servierly disappointed this concept hasn't been played around with much in the respective fandoms.

So, since Cybird gave us some princely villains, I've come armed and prepared with the alternative.

"But the princes are all to sweet to become villains!" you cry.

Oh, ho, ho~ How wrong you would be.

The curses of the Crown members actually correspond with the personalities of the Rhodolite princes quiet nicely and we must remember that they fundamentally change how one naturally goes about their life. It's an entirely different mental strain that I think in the cases such as Leon's (whose self righteousness is glorified in its own right) could bring out some juicey aspects of their character we wouldn't otherwise see. (Honestly Leon was too perfect, I kept wondering when he was gonna go savage, nope...never did. I really want him to go all William on some evil...if that makes any sense.) Not to mention we'd go from the "we care because we're family" group dynamic, to the "well, shit i guess we're sorta family" dynamic. (Chevalier and Clavis being begrudging childhood friends working as business partners? Yes please!)

So we got (as I see it)-

A monarch-Leon

Fox- Nokto

Mirror- Clavis

Fairy- Chevalier

Huntsman- Jin

Throns- Luke

Sariel fulfills the role of the tall, dark, and dominating leader. (Not that Victor is...wait, nope, wedding event. Epilog)

The only issue I had was with Yves and Licht. They just don't fit, right? I mean honestly-oh, wait....

These curses change their holders more than any of the others. Really-would Elbert be a normally traumatized dude without his obsession with beauty? And Liam...

Well, that something else completely- but back to Yves.

My conflict regarding him came from the initial comparison I made between him and Liam. They’re nearly opposites when you think about it, or at least not the neat squeeze the others were logically beyond them both being cat-coded, until...

The fits.

This curse is particularly sinister due to them and it was when I began to think of the fits it all came together, ish...it's not like I've really flushed it out or anything.

Yves can't kill.

It's a horrific embarrassment for him as a member of the queen's secret army, of course, one the others make do to point out early in Emma's stay as fairytale keeper.

"We know how to cover eyes, just fine. Don't we Yves-ie boy?"

He grunts, pout twisting into a snarl. "I've never closed my eyes! I can stand it all just fine, thank you! I just like to have a little control over myself, unlike some people!"

"Aw, but what's the fun in that? Don't you ever want a taste of the 'darkness'," Calvis snickered, fingers quoting the air.

"I taste enough as it is, thank you."

"So you really haven't..killed? Her guts lurched, rejecting the abnormality of the sentence.

"What-of course I've killed! I'm apart of Crown! You saw us murder a man, remember?"

"It was mostly Leon," Licht flatly chimed.

Yves shot him a glare full of daggers. "The point is that I have-"

"Not on purpose." The room stopped, turning toward Nokto and his silver smirk. "It's why you joined, isn’t it? How’s it going by the way? Any trouble with the fits?"

Not everyone is rude about it. Actually, there's an overwhelming amount of support working in the background. They give him important, granted safe, missions that allow him to explore and exploit his curiosity without fear of cracking under the weight of it. Our princey boys would be a lot more resistant to their curses than our villain babes. In Yves case, he is so repressive he lives in fear of zooting out everyday for a whole different reason than Liam.

Liam's fits are connected to anxiety, grief, depression, guilt...

Well for Yves it's fear primarily. Don't get me wrong, there's self-loathing in there, but it's almost like a defense. So, due to events of the past that would be drawn out over the course of 18 chapters, he is terrified to kill, yet has and certainly will, but avoids doing so at all costs. (Which some of the others secretly respect him for. )

He takes it upon himself to survey Emma as fairytale keeper-to ensure her competence, NOT because the situation sucks and she must be so scared and everyone’s so scary-

Then of course it becomes exclusive, because he's safe and the missions are easy...

Until it's not.

He wants a challenge, something really plump to sink his teeth into. (Emma has really done a number on his confidence at this point.) They give it to him and it goes well, that is until one of the left over thugs, (which ever one tried to have a monolog, you know) grabs Emma when he's distracted. The situation turns, some of the dudes are up. They rough him around, threaten her, that sorta thing, then one pushes him down.

"You might as well go home kitty, you can't do shit to us."

He gets up, hand grazing the touch of metal at his side. It slips from its leather bed. He approaches the bastard tormenting Emma and plunges his knife between his neck and spine. One guy tries to get him by the shoulders; he turns and stabs him in the gut. The rest back away, he steps forward, both hands clinging to the now dripping blade-

And lunges.

Emma doesn't even have time to breathe.

(Does it look like Yves? Probably not, but for a 15 minute 2am pen-sketch it's okay. It's actually what inspired me to write this whole thing.)

He twirls around to face her, so, so happy and it takes everything not to scream. She smiles instead, moving towards his open arms, her own broadly spread.

"You did it!" Her body collapses against him, trembling. "That man, he-I...thank you."

Something dark passed through his gaze, then sank into the crook of her neck. "You're welcome..."

So yeah that's what I got. Cool, ay? Come on, it'd be fun....

Still unsure abut Licht, kinda feel like you might have to make up a curse for him. Big bad wolf or something...more or less to match Nokto. They are twins after all.

Welp thanks for reading if did!

Peace~

[soupsandstews]

Jesslupe headcanons part II: Things I think definitely happened

They made up an excuse to get out of the group outing to have the house to themselves, except Esti is in on it (because that’s less questionable, right?) and says “I just don’t want to hear you” Lupe can’t face Esti after and makes Jess go downstairs first

I love the friends-with-benefits to lovers trope for them and I think if anyone didn’t know they were together (ie Carson finds out and is surprised they’ve been sleeping together this whole time) they’d 100% be like “duh” in a “of course f*ck, why wouldn’t we??” very confident like we’re both hot ??kind of way. Very reminiscent of the og bar scene.

When they first get together, they both assume the other will top.

Greta would 100% play off any of their shenanigans. Like, they’re f*cking in Jess’s room, and when they hear someone Lupe hides under the sheets. When Greta comes in she acts like nothings weird, but then says bye to both of them on her way out.

This has been said before but it was definitely them fucking with all of Carson and Greta’s hiding spots.

[princesslachimolala]

The Bangtan GC📱

2. Matching tattoos✒️

•••

Synopsis: you (yn 🦊) are in a members-only group chat with BTS💜

Pairings: platonic! ot7 x gn! reader

Warnings: mention of a tattoo needle

Authors note: gender neutral (gn) reader so read the honorific’s as they apply to you, short filler of what I imagine the conversation between bangtan was like when they decided to get matching tattoos with yn’s contribution… but I realised it was kinda pointless since they couldn’t get their 7 tattoo since this is part of the 8th member of bangtan series so… yeah. Hope you enjoy regardless 💖

•••

🐰: soooo I did a thing…

🐨: oh no, this’ll be good🙄

🐹: what did you do kook-ah??

🐻: the suspense 🥴

🐥: this better be good I was just peacefully building my Lego and now I’m anxious

🐱: I was sleeping and you all keep buzzing my phone

🐰: I got another tattoo!!

🐿: wow JK!! What did you get??

🐨: that’s hardly a surprise kook but if it makes you happy I’m happy👍🏻

🐥: where’s yn-ie, they’re usually the first to reply…

🦊: I’m with kook minie🫶🏻

🐰: yn noona/hyung came with me! But I have another surprise…

🐥: omg you got matching tattoos?? Yn-ie you said that we were gonna do that 🥹

🐹: my baby petal is tattooed???

🐻: last to know everything these days😔

🦊: everyone calm down I didn’t get a tattoo today

🦊: oppa/hyung… you know I already have a tattoo you said it was pretty 🥴 and we will one day minie 🫶🏻

🐿: what’s your other surprise jk?!

🐰: my tattoo artist likes to chat and he suggested a cool idea

🐻: which is??

🐰: don’t say no right away please

🐱: no promises kook-ah

🦊: here him out guys it’s a good idea!!

🐥: we’re listening kookie🫶🏻

🐰: so the concept of matching tattoos…

🐹: yes?🤨

🐰: how would you all feel if we got a matching tattoo together?

🐹: like a real tattoo? with a real needle?🤧

🐰: yeah…

🐥: sounds cool Kook! What would we get though?

🐻: I like it too!!

🐨: hmm could be cool i guess…

🐿: I dunno JK😅 I might be with hyung on this one

🐰: majority rules 🧑🏻‍⚖️ matching tattoos it is🙏🏻

🐹: yn agrees with you?!

🦊: I think it would be cute Jinnie oppa/hyung

🦊: what about you Yoongi oppa/hyung?

🐱: what the maknaes want the maknaes get… we all know this by now… there’s no point in arguing with them

🐰: on a real… I know tattoos aren’t for everyone and I don’t wanna force anyone into a tattoo they’ll regret so we don’t have to 😅

🐹: Ah kook-ah… you’re very hard to say no to🙄

🐿: hyung!! Don’t abandon me now!!

🐹: I’m a weak man Hobah

🐥: is that a yes hyung??

🐹: i guess so🤧

🐨: what would this tattoo be anyway??🤔

🐰: I was thinking something small… the number 8? Since there’s 8 of us?

🐱: that’s kinda cool

🐨: nice and simple jk👍🏻

🐱: Hobah?? You in?

🐿: I guess I’ll need to be😅

🦊: it’s okay oppa/hyung… we’ll all be together at the tattoo shop and the needles aren’t even that big or scary🫶🏻

🐻: I guess a small tattoo won’t take too long 🤔

🦊: we can hold hands too🫶🏻

🐻: I don’t need you to hold my hand yn-ie🙄

🦊: I was talking to Hobi oppa/hyung🙄

🐻: so what your saying is you don’t even wanna hold my hand?🙄

🦊: well you don’t wanna hold mine so what’s your point🙄

🐹: yah stop bickering or I’ll make everyone all hold hands🙏🏻

🐿: thanks yn-ie that might actually be helpful😅

🦊: nice to know I’m appreciated 🙏🏻

🐻: you can hold my foot then if it makes you feel better

🦊: why would that make me feel better 🥴

🐰: so will I say to my tattoo artist??

🐱: go ahead JK… we can all look at designs and decide what suits everyone best

🐨: kind of excited now

🦊: then we can get matching sparkle tattoos jiminie✨

🐥: ooh I like that!!

🐰: I want matching sparkle tattoos🥹

🐹: yah I want to match with baby petal too!

🦊: you can join in kookie!!

🦊: Jinnie we can get our own matching tattoo! What about about a flower petal design?

🐹: I love that baby petal, look at our private chat🙏🏻

🐥: keeping secrets in your private chat?

🐹: we’re discussing the design 🙏🏻

🐻: so this sparkle tattoo… can it be for the maknaes to match?

🦊: yes Tae Tae🙏🏻

🐻: thanks baby petal🥺

•••

A/n: I think the dynamics are becoming more obvious between yn and the other members… they have them all wrapped around their finger (especially Jin) and has a bit of a sibling rivalry with Tae lol, it’s all love tho🫶🏻

[bcofl0ve]

making of the masters of the air: a wwii museum event

will do my own “and supporters like you” pbs-core spiel since that’s essentially what they did at the beginning, speaking more so to my austin fandom folks here, shows like masters of the air wouldn’t exist without the bravery of the people they’re about and the people and organizations dedicated to keeping that history alive. this was free to watch but i threw $10 to the museum anyways and encourage y’all to match me and donate too if you’re able to which you can do here. $10 is like, 3ish days of coffee money! (which i say knowing that to some people $10 is a lot of money- but y’all know my heart.)

this is reminding me that i need to watch band of brothers and pacific over my winter break

watching the trailer again…anthony boyle you come to me as someone i picked apples with in papa’s orchard

kirk mentioned that they’ve been working on this for ten years and i didn’t know that!

first q was asking miller what pushed him to write mota: he talked abt growing up in a military family, said what pulled him towards writing about war is being interested in the stress of being under combat and mentioned reading a pysch case study book from someone who treated wwii air fighters for “combat fatigue” ie what we know now as ptsd.

“if you got to the sixth mission you had about a 0% chance of surviving”

talks about meeting a jewish pow named louis lovesky (might be spelling that last name wrong, will correct if i can figure it out) and that the first thing this guy said to him was that he could do 100 pushups and just dropped and did them- good for him!

.”when you’re hit in a plane whether you’re killed or not they strip your bed and your locker and send everything home” …was a prelude to a louis story about him being worried about him sending all his stuff home to his mom because he had a ton of condoms in his locker lol

“i was a virgin but i was very hopeful” - lou

over to kirk, talking about how they were originally working with hbo.

hbo came to them and said they wanted to do another wwii series and they were between a navy or airforce show. they initially thought about combining them but realized it wasn’t possible.

after reading mota closely it “became apparent” that was the way to go to story wise. cities the human detail and miller creating a whole visual descriptive world in his book.

“you make it so clear in your book, this is a form of combat that had never happened before and will probably never happen again”

“when we read masters of the air we read the story in the first part of the first chapter about the 100th bomb group…a group of guys who didn’t know each other before the war, and would’ve died for each other by the end of the war”

miller on why he chose egan and cleven to focus on: “i knew that men at the 100th bomb group just worshiped these guys, and they were so different. cleven didn’t like athletics, he didn’t drink, he was a one woman man and egan was the opposite, he was in the bars every night raising royal hell. totally different guys yet they bonded so closely together. they both get shot down at just about the same time.”

talking about rosenthal, says that was the guy he most respected. jewish kid from flatbush who loved the dodgers and loved jazz music. went to law school and aced it out, got a great job, and enlisted right after pearl harbor.: “as long as [hitler] he is running that country i’m flying my plane” ended up going home after getting shot down, got bored at his old law office and ended up going to be an attorney at nuremberg. (mollie note: i might be doing a study abroad program at the nuremberg next summer so this is super interesting to me). wanted to go the hangings because he thought it would be closure, said seeing them in prison clothing and gaunt etc it was closure for him. 

you can tell from how miller was talking that he truly admires rosenthal which i found very sweet.

kirk says egan and cleven reminded him of damon and pythias from greek legend, and rosenthal reminded him of galahad from arthurian legend.

austin butler name drop, turn up!!

kirk says making this differed from bands of brothers and pacific in that none of the men portrayed in the show are still alive so they didn’t get to meet them (save for miller), which meant the research was a lot more of an undertaking- but they did get to talk to some of their family members.

kirk talks about rosenethal’s grandson and son meeting the person that plays him in the show and how sweet that meeting was.

four primary locations during shooting and each was about the size of a small airport.

kirk talks about covid complicating things…i could not help but giggle a bit lol sorry austin

“one of the reasons i think this series works, hopefully, is the devotion to detail.”

kirk talks about bringing some of a local wwii museum staff on the ground in the uk to set and that they were very touched by how accurate was, a complement to the art and costumes department. 

miller mentions his first meeting with tom hanks and that tom was very insistent that everything that happened in the show had to have happened in real life and passionate about the accuracy

tom flew into small town pa to work at miller’s house and that his wife was very excited

they got tom at the airport and tom had suitcases of germany history books with him and 245 notecards and miller was like…dear god

kirk: this has to be the most difficult production, the logistics of this thing, says they’re still in post production even though it comes out in a month and a half.

kirk mentions john orloff and says when they invited him to join the project he threw himself into it completely

says john's challenge with the book was figuring out how to adapt in a way that was dramatically coherent

miller says john called him and they talked about gale cleven for like 8 hours, miller mentions being the only one that met any of them

kirk asks miller about meeting harry crosby, who is played in the show by anthony boyle and recommends his book “a wing and a prayer”, says he had a good sense of humor.

gale cleven got a phd in astrophysics and went on the be a president of a college (and an alcoholic, as miller tacked on at the end there lol)

two themes in the series:

the irony that war is impossible without love: why do they do it? they do it for each other. war is impossible without the love of the men for each other in impossible circumstances

how do those men keep getting back into those planes?

miller wanted to get away from the idea of “push button warfare” and that taking viewers inside the plane is an important part of that

seeing the missions reproduced, seeing the panic and fury and chaos inside the planes. there are no foxholes in the sky, where do you go? trying to take care of injured men mid air being hit, having to hit back etc etc, “it’s unbelievable what they suffered, the germans came so close they could see the eyes of the pilots”

the camera men had a tough time moving around inside the planes, speilberg had two b17s built from scratch which took 11 months. they built a 3rd one that allowed the camera men to go in the plane and film the close ups more easily.

kirk asks what separates it from just another combat story

providing some sort of context w/o being didactic. why? how do you answer the why without lecturing? 

audience questions, i missed the first one bc my browser crashed but i think someone asked if they filmed in actual flying planes?

which of course was a “well no”

kirk mentions there was dedication from everyone, from austin and calum to the set PAs

miller mentions looking at the labels on things in the bar and the papers in the office folders and how *everything* was accurate

2nd question asking how the fire fights were produced: kirk says some visual effects are still being worked on, gives very high praises to the special effects team.

mentions 100s and 100s of video screens creating what the environment would be outside of the airplanes to help the actors visualize it

miller says they filmed a plane landing by putting one of the b17s they built on a crane

3rd question is about airpower in wwii, miller talks about how in the beginning of bomb warfare it was extremely ineffective, says we evolved from that to doing serious damage on the german economy by hitting german oil.

miller starts to talk about something he was working on with kirk earlier in the day and kirk says we’re keeping that a secret, lol i wanna know what they were talking about! 

kirk mentions the psych impact of it going from 25 missions, to oh now it’s 30, oh now it’s 35. the guys knowing they were being used as bait to bring up the german fighters- that psych is what makes this more than just another adventure story

miller talks about how getting the guys mentally right to go back up into the planes they made them that way in the first place was quite the dilemma, when the only thing that could cure as guy really was saying you don’t have to fly again.

4th question “how much did this cost” lol

“let’s just say we’re over budget”

5th question about the ages of the actors vs the guys they played: kirk says one of the considerations was there being something about the young men of that time having to grow up fast, 24 then appeared a lot older than 24 today because of life experience.

says you tend to cast older for the believably.

miller told a very funny story about tim van patten creating a model of one of the battles with toys in the middle of the night.

hi hbo war and history tumblr friends, this is an austin butler blog run by someone with a hyperfixation for being an update blog and doing event coverage, so/but do feel free to come hang out as we enter the masters of the air era. i'll be covering every event like this that i can and am super excited for the show- i was at one point on americanrev/john laurens tumblr and am almost suprised i never ended up an hbo war "stan", though that might change here soon!

tags: @superbdinosaurharmony @purejasmine

[justanothersyscourse]

First, speak of the devil, I'm blocked, apparently none of this is up for debate, despite EVERY statement being a half truth on the negative side

Second, I take it back, I remember why I'm anti endo, and I'm ready to throw hands

How are you going to be so confidently wrong about so many things, all at once?

LET'S GO

A not-so-friendly-reminder from a ANOTHER mikdly annoyed OSDD-1B traumagenic system with PTSD and CPTSD:

- As said in the DSM 5

DID/OSDD/UDD are trauma disorders, you’re just apparently incapable of reading anything more than the criteria and applying critical thinking.

First, you fail to acknowledge that there are SEVERAL pages in the DSM that explain DID’s connection to trauma. It’s not in the criteria because you’re not supposed to remember, but if you’re going to use the criteria, in criteria B, the and/or traumatic memories doesn’t make it optional, it means you might or might not remember your trauma. Like, it’s right there, people. They are dissociative disorders, and in the case of DID, it is solely caused by trauma.

SO, secondly, DID IS a trauma disorder. Trauma and stress related disorders is a new category based on short term, single traumatic events, in which the disorder can be clearly traced to the event. Dissociative disorders are placed next to those, but not a part of it, because it’s a category based on symptom grouping. Not because they’re not related– DID is a trauma disorder, categorized by its dissociative symptoms, so they moved the whole damn dissociative section to put it next to trauma and stress disorders. Dissociative disorders also don’t have a single traumatic event that symptoms can be traced to, so it doesn’t quite fit under trauma and stress disorders.

From the writers of the DSM.

In b4 hypothesized– we can see it now on MRI scans.

- The DSM 5 doesn’t prove the existence of endogenic systems, you’re just a racist and an ablist

- There were 3 guys who wrote the ToSD-- the behaviour of one doesn’t negate the work of the rest. But here’s the thing. The theory was actually developed in the 1800′s by Janet, and then discussed and tested by many other clinicians over the years, and the ToSD as we know it-- ie, The Haunted Self and Trauma Related Structural Dissociation of the Personality, is just those theories put together and discussed in one book. I suppose Onno’s actions mean we need to go back in time and punish Janet. What a shame :(

- Stop talking about Allen Frances, he’s like fucking beetlejuice and you clearly don’t know the demon you’re summoning (and why this point is utter bull)

Now to those who will block any counterarguments or proof to the contrary of the utter nonsense they spout to the masses, and who will go “I’m not reading that!”:

Unkindly fuck off

-Dude

[bizarrequazar]

GJ and ZZH Updates — November 13-19

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This is part of a weekly series collecting updates from and relating to Gong Jun and Zhang Zhehan.

This post is not wholly comprehensive and is intended as an overview, links provided lead to further details. Dates are in accordance with China Standard Time, the organization is chronological. My own biases on some things are reflected here. Anything I include that is not concretely known is indicated as such, and you’re welcome to do your own research and draw your own conclusions as you see fit. Please let me know if you have any questions, comments, concerns, or additions. :)

[Glossary of names and terms] [Masterlist of my posts about the situation with Zhang Zhehan]

11-13 → Gong Jun’s studio posted a photo of him with a border collie. (1129 kadian) Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has now arrived at the 13th station 「Train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon played hide and seek behind the dog, the dog pretended not to see him and turned back proudly smiling」, all passengers, please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.”

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a commercial for Honor. “Exactly what kind of surprise meal made @ Gong Jun Simon say bashi* directly? Boss's new mobile phone #Glory80# series is about to debut, look forward to the real bashi together!” [subbed video] *A pun playing off “excellent” in Sichuan dialect being homophonous with “80”.

11-14 → Honor posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun, announcing him as the global ambassador for their new model.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted six photos (1129 kadian) from the same day as the photos he posted himself on 11-12. Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun's very wonderful November# time train has now arrived at the 14th station 「Conductor @ Gong Jun Simon Unwanted Materials Recycling Station* (Weibo version)」, all passengers, please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.” *The name of his studio’s Douyin account.

→ Honor posted a douyin of an outtake from the commercial of him being given a tongue twister playing on the “bashi” pun. [subbed video]

→ The Instagram posted a photo of “Zhang Zhehan” with a group of people, including Susu and “Xiao Yu.” There’s a whole host of issues with the photoshopping in this photo.

Since he’s decided to bring himself into the picture again, here’s a couple updates on Susu: He posted a photo of himself with “Xiao Yu” last week, except “Xiao Yu” is half a head shorter than the real Xiao Yu. Also, his Bilibili account had fallen from 288 paid subscribers to 70, and his livestreams are only averaging at a few hundred viewers. I wonder why he would be wanting to draw more traffic towards himself, hm? At the time of this post, his subscriber count has risen to 172.

11-15 → Honor posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ #ZhangZhehan trended on Twitter.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a photo (1129 kadian, 51129 with the date) of him filming a douyin from 2021-08-28, the day of the infamous passionfruit coffee livestream. [clips] (This was also the livestream with the ring flash, 28:30 in the video.) Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun's very wonderful November# time train has now arrived at the 15th station. 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon is working hard to prove that the corner of the mouth can also be a smiling face and leave evidence」, all passengers, please sit tight and hold on. The station ahead is _______.”

11-16 → Nine different Weibo accounts posted photos and videos of “Zhang Zhehan” at an airport, with none mentioning a source for this footage. Their IDs show wildly different locations, meaning that no more than one of them could have taken it themselves. (ie. They’re fake.)

→ Honor posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Colgate posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ #TheRealZhangZhehan trended on Twitter. (The theme for the day was his boobs. 🙏)

→ A second anti whom Gong Jun sued for slander last July had his apology letter published in People’s Court Daily. [context and translation] 40,000 RMB was also paid by the anti as compensation, which Gong Jun said will be given to charity.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted a photo (1129 kadian) of him from the SuperELLE photoshoot released on 03-29. Caption: “Dear passengers, the  #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 16th station 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon uses the ground as a seat, dreaming by the sea」, all passengers, please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.” 

→ 361° posted a video featuring Gong Jun with a samoyed in behind the scenes footage from their current ad campaign. (18:31, 1129 and 511 kadian)

→ Hsu Fu Chi posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ The Instagram posted two videos of “Zhang Zhehan” singing from the same night that the previous photo was taken. These videos had been “leaked” on Weibo earlier in the week. Fan Observations:   -  The singing doesn’t sound like him.  -  [Here] is a moment where you can see the deepfake glitch.  -  The restaurant these were filmed in is the same one as the photos from 2020-03-27 of Zhang Zhehan holding a moon lamp, where CPFs got the association between him and the moon from.

→ The brand posted a notice on WeChat about a VIP event requiring people to pay a minimum of 20k RMB and submit their personal informaton (including passport information) in order to be entered into the selection process. Fan Observations:  -  That information required is exactly how people get blackmailed, doxxed, and have their identities stolen. Some whalers have thankfully clued into this.  -  The date of the event is 11-23, the anniversary of CAPA’s 9th immoral artists list that Zhang Zhehan’s name was included on.  -  It does not say anywhere in the notice that Zhang Sanjian will be present for the event.  -  “Selection process” raises the possibility that the “winners” will be hired fake fans along the same lines as the fanmeet in July.

→ Roving Inspection Team deleted all of its previous posts, replacing them with a post promoting a new anti-American drama supposedly in the works.

11-17 → Gong Jun’s studio posted two behind the scenes photos (1129 kadian) from a Cosmo photoshoot released on 2021-11-29. Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 17th station. 「The train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon will start working in one second.」 Passengers please sit tight and hold on. The station ahead is _______.” Fan Observation: The blurred out phone(?) in the first photo was possibly displaying a photo from the Word of Honor concert.

→ 361° posted a short commercial featuring Gong Jun.

11-18 → 361° posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Gong Jun’s studio posted three photos (1129 kadian) of him from an ad campaign for Honor released on 2021-11-25. Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 18th station. 「The camera of the train conductor @ Gong Jun Simon is always ready, if you are not careful, you will be in the mirror.」 Passengers please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.”

→ BEAST posted a teaser video (1129 kadian) featuring Gong Jun for a new product line releasing on 11-29. Caption: “Do you remember? Our agreement  20221129, find the way home together.” 

→ Honor posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

11-19 → Gong Jun’s studio posted four photos of him (1129 kadian) from the 11-01 L’Oreal livestream. Caption: “Dear passengers, the #Gong Jun’s very wonderful November# time train has arrived at the 19th station, 「When the conductor was forced to become an ama- (fǎn) -teur (jiáo) paint- (dá) -er (rén) @ Gong Jun Simon heard some unrealistic compliments about himself」, passengers, please sit tight and hold on, the station ahead is _______.” This was reposted by MUJOSH.

→ BEAST posted a short video (1129 kadian) of an exhibit for their upcoming line at the Xintiandi Style outdoor plaza, including a large public screen that was displaying photo ads featuring Gong Jun. They later also posted photos of this exhibit.

→ Kangshifu posted a photo ad featuring Gong Jun.

→ Honor posted a short commercial featuring Gong Jun.

→ QuelleVous posted that the slogan the Sanjian name comes from (堅持，堅信，堅強 / perservere, believe, be strong) came from a fan in Zhang Zhehan’s official fanclub last December, who was among a number who had been contacted by Xie Yihua and agreed to work with her.

→ Addition 11-20: Fans in Tainan paid for a public screen to display a video of Gong Jun for his birthday (also with some clips including including Zhang Zhehan).

Additional Reading: → Not directly related but good context: On Wednesday, it was reported that police in Jiangxi shut down a water army company composed of ten people, who had made a total of almost 1 billion RMB (over $140 million USD) through their operations. The company had been masquerading as a media company—quite a few of the people known to be related to Zhang Zhehan’s situation own media companies. → Sheena’s charity drive for Gong Jun’s birthday is still ongoing until the end of the month, with by now over 20 giveaways open to people who donate! At the time of this post 74,861 HKD ($9570 USD / 68,141 RMB) has been raised! → I’ve begun archiving Twitter links included in this and my previous posts as a failsafe in case Elon fully shits the bed. The breakdown posts relating to Zhang Sanjian have been fully backed up.

<<< previous week || all posts || following week >>>

This post was last edited 2022-11-20.

[rivetgoth]

Today we went to this walk-in art installation presented by the Museum of Contemporary Art made by a DJ meant to capture the experience of clubbing / partying / the nightlife through the lens of high art. It was really interesting for sure. The exhibit was in this MASSIVE warehouse space, full of these lights that slowly changed color and sometimes flashed on and off or went completely dark for periods of time that felt very accurately indicative of club lighting, though the coolest thing about it was the spatiality of the soundscape — there were four speakers, one in each corner of the room, and each one was blaring a different part of the same techno song, and then in the very center of the room beneath a set of off-white lights sort of evocative of a spotlight were four more speakers that played it all together as a single composition. So you could walk around the room and experience this ever-evolving song that changed with each part of the area that you walked to, while all ultimately combining into a single piece of music. It was a cool exploration of sonic landscapes in art and putting audio into a physical sphere but it also just really accurately captured the way different parts of the club can feel like completely different realms while still all being interconnected.

That said, I had one really big critique of the whole thing, aside from my more ornery “Why do we need to convey the club as a transcendent space to non clubgoers anyway? Do we need to prove the worth of it to those on the outside?”, which is the emptiness of the space. There was no sign of human life save for the museum security guards watching to make sure nobody went out the wrong exit and other museum attendees wandering around to see the exhibit. It made the space feel very lifeless. And it made me realize that I think the idea of trying to capture the transcendence and magic of the club without including the clubgoers is kind of destined to not hit quite as hard. It’s a losing game; the club isn’t anything without the people who make it. A club can be an amazing venue, have a great sound system, great drinks, cheap entry, but if it’s crawling with creeps nobody wants to go. Likewise, some of the clubs I adore the most aren’t necessarily anything special when it comes to the music but the people are the thing that make it worth going as often as you can, because you know you’ll meet cool people, see your friends, and just have a good time. Every club scene IME has local club celebrities—sometimes these are “real world” celebrities, like musicians or actors or artists, but a lot of the time these are people who are literally just famous within the club itself because they have cool style, they’re well connected, they’re friendly, they’re interesting, they just stand out in some way and everybody who’s anybody at least knows of them…

Some of the best or most memorable club nights of my life were at kinda shitty venues but the right people turned out and it was just amazing to be within a group of good people. I can’t really imagine an artistic representation of the experience that is the nightlife without the people… It feels a bit hollow to me. Andrew Holleran’s Dancer from the Dance is one of my absolute favorite studies on the art and magic of the club, and it spends so much time on the people, both as individual and as community (hence the very famous use of collective first person throughout the novel, ie. the narrator is often a “we”). I think this art piece captured the spatiality of the club very well but it missed for me the humanity of it, and I struggle to see the former being able to exist without the latter, so the whole exhibit felt less full or complete than it could have been.

The best club nights are the ones where all the right people show up. The DJ could be playing the most uninspired dance set in the world but if you look around and everyone on the dancefloor is a friend, loved one, member of your community, someone you look up to or someone you deeply care about or at the very least dressed to the nines and fun to look at, if you feel at home amongst the crowd, it doesn’t really matter what you’re dancing to… I just wish that a piece of art so invested in the magic of the club gave more of a spotlight to those that make the club magical to begin with.

I dunno, this sounds like a much harsher criticism than it really is, because I did like the exhibit. I think it’s very cool to see the nightlife projected into the high art walk-in installation world. It’s neat to see something I’m so intimately familiar with translated into new mediums. I think one of my favorite things about it was how well it captured the sense of entering a new club; to get into the exhibit you had to walk through a kinda long empty hallway into the back of the warehouse, where you came to these huge semi-transparent doors where you could see the darkness and lights ahead but nothing else and could just hear the booming bass of the sound system inside… there was a little bit of apprehension as you push these heavy glass doors open, like, “What’s it gonna be like in there?”, trying to put a mental image to the noises and configure your expectations. Even though it was just an art installation I think it managed to evoke a very accurate sense of intrigue, wonder, curiosity, and apprehension very much akin to when you’re finally past the security checking IDs and can enter the club after hearing the music blaring from the outside… Really cool!

But I guess I have a lot to say (including my critiques) because it’s something I feel my existence is sort of in direct conversation with. I’m at a club or a concert like twice a week on average so I feel like I am kind of an implicit part of the dialogue of this art and it’s really interesting to me to kinda see something so near and dear to me attempt to be “elevated” into the broader art world like this. So I guess a lot of my criticism is from a place of affection and passion rather than dismissal or dislike. Personally I think TR/ST’s album “Joyland” is the best artistic expression of the nightlife that I’ve seen in a long time and I think it captured the essence that this was attempting to evoke with a bit more heart, but these two things also don’t need to be in competition with each other lol, and I do respect what this artist was doing for sure.

[queenlucythevaliant]

So @keendaanmaa expressed an interest in amino acid fun facts a couple of days ago, and I’ve been thinking that it might be fun to do little informal reflections on journal articles here on my blog: basically giving a really rough summary and then connecting it to my faith. We’ll see how it goes in general. For now though, here’s a really neat article on the evolutionary origin of amino acid homochirality that I read this week!

Real quick definitions for anyone who never had to sit through an organic chem class: 

Chirality is basically whether an asymmetric molecule is right or left handed. 

Biological molecules have L (left-handed) and D (right-handed) enantiomers. An enantiomer (or you’ll sometimes hear the more general word stereoisomer) is simply a specific asymmetric molecule that can’t be turned to produce its mirror image. 

Amino acids can exist as both L and D enantiomers, but in biological systems you’ll only ever find the L enantiomers. This is called homochirality, and it can seem kinda arbitrary. 

Incidentally, the sugars that compose carbohydrates and, importantly, nucleotides, are always D enantiomers in nature. Actually, all the major biomolecules have some sort of homochirality associated with them. 

Phosphorylation is the process by which ATP, GTP, a kinase, or whatever other energy molecule/intermediary sticks another molecule with a phosphate group and energy is released. This will be important later.

Because homochirality in living organisms is ubiquitous (as far as we know) and also like I said kinda arbitrary, trying to discern why it exists is an important area of origin-of-life research. Clearly, the last universal common ancestor already exhibited this trait. So where did it come from?

This article posits that L-amino acids are favored because of the way that the relationship between amino acids and nucleotides (ie the genetic code) came about. Basically, it’s energetically favorable to use opposite enantiomers for amino acids and nucleotides because it reduces steric hinderance (atoms/groups of atoms getting in each others’ way) during the translation process from messenger RNA to amino acid sequence. Thus, there would be selective pressure in favor of homochirality. So, in essence, we were either going to end up with all L-sugars in nucleotides and all D-amino acids, or all D-nucleotides and L-amino acids as a result of stereoselection (a form of natural selection that is specific to sterioisomers.) 

This is pretty intuitive; the interesting thing is how we ended up with the latter scenario specifically. 

So the advent of phosphorylation is the evolutionary event that probably gave rise to modern nucleotides. You can also phosphorylate amino acids pretty easily, generating phosphoryl N-amino acids (aaNs). There’s a long history of experiments demonstrating that this process can occur spontaneously under reasonable prebiotic conditions. Once these nucleotides and amino acids exist, they can interact more easily to form amino acid 5′-nucleotides, autocatalytic molecules that can eventually condense to form simple proteins and RNAs. 

(Quick note to the Ken Ham crowd: I don’t think you understand the degree to which biochemical reactions occur spontaneously just because it’s energetically favorable. Our bodies have rigged the system with enzymes, but that only works because they’re creating the right energetic conditions. The exception proves the rule.)

However! It’s important to note that these reactions would be occurring on surfaces rather than in bulk solution. This changes how the molecular pieces fit together. On flat surfaces, aaNs line up under particular constraints that place polar regions in maximum contact with the surface. When nucleotides adopted the phospho-ribose backbone that characterizes them today, all these constraints would make it so that for a few amino acids, only the L-enantiomers could reasonably interact with the RNA. Thus, we get specific selection for L-amino acids and D-sugars rather than just random purifying selection in either direction. 

I picked a pretty technical article to start with, so I’m not going to go into the specific biochemistry and mathematical modeling that the researchers did to back this up, but it’s there in the article above if you want to check it out. 

And I!! Just think this is so cool!! Because like. Look. Random purifying selection is actually pretty powerful but there’s a deeper explanation here! I love molecular biology because it’s just so, so elegant. When I looked at the inner workings of a cell for the first time in seventh grade, it always seemed as though there had to be some consciousness sitting at a control panel somewhere telling all the molecules what to do and where to go. It didn’t seem possible that it could all just run off of chemistry. But it does!

God created all these crazy intricate rules for chemistry and he follows them all. He made sterics and free energy and he did it with such patience and such precision. It’s hard for humans to be both patient and precise; not so for God.

I just. Can you see why I find these processes sublime and glorious?