#if this doesn't make sense I can clarify more lmao

[ilovettrpgs]

rip Magnus Carter you would have loved causing problems for the general public and also not having mad cow syndrome

[staybabblingbaby]

Best Friend Protocol #14 (Team Meeting part)

[Caution: These are not full fics, or even full parts of fics for some, these are part of my writing progress archive!]

Concept: You're Felix's childhood friend, and you and he have been planning a visit to see him for his birthday for what feels like years now. Unfortunately, SKZ is a very busy group, and the week-long vacation you'd planned for doesn't seem possible.Until Felix decides to ask his bandmates a favor...

Word Count: 2672

Notes: IT'S FINALLY HERE! ALL HAIL THE LEGENDARY FIRST WRITTEN PART OF BFP! I meant to have this out over a week ago, but it's here now! I will be attempting to get a regular chapter out here shortly to fulfil my promised 4 november chapters. Wish me luck! Huge shout out to one of my beautiful beloved betas, @brbwritingfanfic for taking the time to make sense of this damn thing lmao. I appreciate you spotting all my errors, you a real one <3 For those familiar with my archive style and curious, this is A3D2 for this chapter. It was kicking my ASS. If enough folks are interested I don't mind releasing the other attempts, but BFP is a bit divorced from the usual archive proceedings, so I'll leave that up to y'all. I actually really loved how Felix's character came through here, and i'm pretty pleased with how the dialogue turned out. My poor fiance had to sit through like 5 separate rants about how i could not roll back the details enough and kept having to scrap dialogue so it sounded less like AI attempting classical literature.

Warnings: She/Her Reader. Sort of? Polyamory negotiations. More like, the possibility is tossed out there.

Leave me comments or questions or anything! Love hearing from folks

Additional Note: I'm always taking interaction requests. Just fyi

Masterlist | Prev Part | Next Part (coming soon!)

The meeting goes something like this;

They pile into the living room of his and Seungmin’s shiny new dorm without discussion. It makes Felix both nervous and grateful. They’ve always had these meetings wherever Chris happened to be, before. It feels like an unspoken declaration of allegiance. Like they’re letting Felix take the lead, here.

The pressure is kind of getting to him already, as they all settle in. He doesn’t even know how he feels about it all himself, making a decision doesn’t seem like something he should be in charge of right now.

Still, he’s grateful. They’re being so mindful of him in this, and he kind of wants to cry about it. He feels seen, and loved. A bit too seen, maybe, but as embarrassing as it is he’s still a bit gooey inside about it.

Felix drags a beanbag over to where Hyunjin has settled on the couch, plopping down to lean against the other man’s legs. A hand automatically goes to bury itself in his hair, like an anchor against Felix’s stormy thoughts.

The grounding warmth of one of his best friends soothes Felix as Chris calls the meeting to order.  

“So!” Their leader casts an inquiring gaze around the room, “Who wants to start? Where are we at right now?”

A few glances are cast Felix’s way, but he tips his head back against Hyunjin’s knees to avoid their eyes. Everyone must get the message, because no one prompts him.

Jisung is the one who eventually bites the bullet, and Felix sends a silent ‘thank you’ to his birthday buddy.

“Well, I’d like to clarify everyone’s, like, goal in this?” Jisung puts forward tentatively, “Because I’m at the point where it’s more of a ‘I’d like to get to know her’ thing than a ‘I want to date her’ thing.” he shrugs to himself, “I haven’t talked to her much yet, I just think she’s cool.”

“I’m a little bit smitten,” Changbin admits from across the room. He gives Felix an apologetic grimace, but all Felix can do is wave him off with a worried smile. 

“We talked for quite a while the other day and, I dunno... We clicked? I guess? I feel like we did, anyway. I kind of want to see where that could go if we let it.” 

Changbin sends an almost appealing look to Felix as he speaks, and honestly? Super awkward for Felix right now.

Because, see, Felix’s first instinct is to get super defensive and shut everything down. He doesn’t really want to be talking about this, and it scratches at something delicate and boyish in him that they’re having this discussion at all.

It’s embarrassing to know that the feelings he’s kept so close to his chest for so many years are out in the open. It feels a bit like a betrayal that this meeting is about the fact that most of his friends have feelings for the girl he’s had a crush on basically his whole life, instead of planning how to get him to stop being stupid about said crush.

It’s just... Uncomfortable. On so many levels. An ugly monster wants to tear out of Felix’s throat as he locks eyes with Changbin, but a light scratch at his scalp from Hyunjin stalls the beast.

Right. Felix reminds himself that these aren’t any old friends. These aren’t just some acquaintances he could burn bridges with, or strange men he had to protect his angel from.

No, these were his brothers, the people he’d shed blood, sweat, and tears with. The men he’d lived with, grown with, the guys who’d seen more of him than any other person in the world.

Felix finds it in himself to spare Changbin a strained smile. He means it to be reassuring, but he’s so tangled up in his thoughts right now that it’s the best he can offer. The older man seems grateful for it anyway.

He turns his gaze up to Hyunjin, the catalyst of all this, and Felix’s current rock in the storm. He tries to keep in mind how much he loves these people as he moves the conversation forward.

He has to hear them out, at least.

“Thoughts, Hyun?” Felix gently inquires. 

Hyunjin briefly presses his lips together, gathering his thoughts into words. 

“I’ve been pretty open in my flirtation from the start, I think.” he finally says, “So I guess I’m more surprised that anyone else is? Surprised, I mean.”

Felix has to hand him that one. For all that his ‘no flirting’ rule had been mostly a joke, it did mean that he’d expected them to flirt with her. 

He wonders what makes things different now? He’d been okay with the flirting when he’d thought everyone was just joking around, has anything really changed now that he knows it’s real?

Felix sits with that thought while Minho throws his two cents in.

“I don’t think surprised is the right word,” their second eldest ponders aloud, “I’m personally more... worried about how this might work out.” He draws the words out slowly, like he’s tasting the flavor of them before he speaks.

It’s off-putting to hear Minho speak so cautiously- he’s usually so blunt with his words. 

“I’m more worried about how this will affect us as a group,” Minho admits, “I mean, I like her, she’s fun, but I don’t want her if it’s going to cause issues among us.”

And the older man has a point. Anything that causes discord in a group like theirs is a disaster waiting to happen. Especially something like this, where a misstep could lead to long-term resentments and jealousies.

Felix feels pressured by the group’s regard for him all over again. One word from him, and he knows it all ends. The moment he says he can’t handle this is the moment that the rest back off. The emotions won’t fade, Felix knows, but they’d do it anyways.

Because they love him.

He loves them right back.

“I really like her,” Seungmin pipes in, face blank. His eyes cast toward the floor for a moment, before rising again to meet Felix’s. “I really like her,” He repeats, “I don’t know that I would be okay with letting go without trying.”

Felix pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and nods at the younger man. His head tips toward his lap while he thinks, brow furrowing as he loses himself to his tumultuous thoughts.

It helps to hear everyone’s feelings put so bluntly, Felix thinks. Having everyone’s stances laid out clearly like a map in his mind’s eye. 

Han, who’s not invested but interested anyways.

Changbin, who’s probably in deeper than he’d really like to be.

Hyunjin, who’d been open about his intentions from the start.

Minho, who the fact that he’s even considering her means more than Felix thinks the man realizes. And yet, he’d give her up at the first seed of discord among the group.

It’s kind of heartwarming, when Felix thinks about how much love their second eldest had shown them with those words. 

Finally, there’s Seungmin. A man whose compliments are hard earned, and whose feelings are closely guarded. A man who’d just handed Felix his heart on a silver platter, trust and love etched in every word, spoken and not.

Felix’s first instinct is still to shut them down. His clouded heart tells him to scoop up his angel and hide her away like a dragon with its hoard. To claim her as his and his alone, and feel slighted if anyone tried to contest that.

But that’s not fair. Not to his members and not to her. Not even to himself.

They’d shown him respect and care every step of the way, the least he could do is give them more than a knee-jerk reaction.

“Is it really all that complicated?” Jeongin ponders aloud.

Their maknae looks almost bored from his armchair, staring at them all. His furrowed brow gives away his worry, as does the way he allows Chris to pull him into the elder’s side with an arm around his shoulders.

“I mean, it’s up to her in the end, isn’t it?” their youngest continues, “she’s the only one that can really make a final call.”

“Could we handle that?” Felix finally speaks up. It’s a little scary having everyone’s attention snap to him like that, but this is the crux of the matter, he thinks.

“If she chooses one of us, could we handle that?” he elaborates.

A contemplative silence descends over the room. Felix kind of wishes he could peek into the member’s brains at this moment. He wants to know if they’re as worried as he is, if they’re worried about the same things he is. 

Because, quite honestly, the more he thinks about it the less he really minds if they flirt with his angel.

It’s taken him this long to untangle the ugly knot of emotions in his chest, and he still can’t see all of it for what it is, but the core of it all, he thinks, is fear.

He’s afraid that, at the end of it all, he’ll be left behind. That he’ll lose two of his very best friends, his favorite people in the world, to each other.

He doesn’t think he could handle that.

It’s an unjustified fear, Felix knows. His bonds with all of these people, the seven present in the room with him and one halfway across the world, are stronger than anything. Forged in fire and elastic with time, he’s sure there’s nothing that could ever truly break them.

That doesn’t stop anxiety from creeping up his spine.

Felix lets his eyes wander around the room, landing on each of his members in turn. It’s like something in him believes that they could guide him in this, just by looking at them, the way his gaze lands heavily on each of their forms.

Hyunjin’s hand drops from his head to knead at the base of his neck, and Felix feels himself soften. A little bit of the anxiety drains from him at the comforting touch, and with it gone he can see something new under the miasma of fear and uncertainty.

It’s bright, like hope, and a bit more exciting. A giddy little thought bubbles up with it-

“What if she chose more than one of us?” Han beats him to the punch. His eyes flick between them all anxiously, looking very much like the rodent he’s nicknamed for, and when he’s met with six confused stares and Felix’s suppressed grin, he starts to babble.

“I- I mean, we’ve all shared partners before. Like, sexually, at least. I just- I mean- We’re not strangers to sharing, is all I’m tryna say!” Han explains himself.

His shoulders rise up to cherry-red ears under the weight of their stares. Minho places a calming hand on his thigh, even as he pokes holes in the other man’s claim.

“We’ve never shared romantic partners though,” He points out, annoyingly reasonable, “That’s a completely different thing.” 

“I’d be willing to give it a shot,” Hyunjin shrugs when all eyes turn to him.

He was, admittedly, the last of them Felix had expected to back the idea. Hyunjin was the most romantic of them all, and the least likely to indulge one of them in sharing a partner or two.

“I love you guys, and I really like her,” Hyunjin states plainly, “I don’t see an issue with it.”

“So.. what? We try for, like, a.. polycule kinda thing if she wants?” Changbin questions. He scrunches up his face in concern at the concept, pointing out, “That feels a little unbalanced, doesn't it? Is it fair to hinge the whole thing on her?”

“It's going to hinge on her whether it's fair or not,” Jeongin interjects, “You all have crushes on her, not on eachother.”

“I just don’t know how comfortable I can be with that,” Changbin explains, “There’s one of her, and currently six of us. I don’t think it’s humanly possible for her to split her time enough for all of us, and it’s really unfair of us to expect it of her.”

“It could be a good thing, though,” Han argues, “None of us have the time to dedicate to a relationship how we should. Having more than one of us to turn to could be a good thing.”

“Okay, but you’re all forgetting something very important in this hypothetical,” Jeongin stresses the word, making pointed eye contact with his hyungs, “situation. She has to agree to it too. We can’t make a decision without her.”

Felix can't help but be proud of their youngest for reminding them of y/n’s place in all this. It’s not like they’d forgotten, but it was a good reminder anyway. It did feel a bit icky to be talking about their relationship with her like it was a foregone conclusion.

“I’m just saying!” Han proclaims, throwing his hands in the air, “It’s a possibility that we should be open to if it happens!”

Finally, Chris loudly claps to get everyone's attention and forestall any oncoming argument.

“Oh-kay!” he enthuses, “Let’s refocus. Show of hands, are we okay with everyone flirting with her if they want to?”

All hands go up, none of them opposed to anyone else shooting their shot. Felix pretends like all eyes aren’t on him as he easily raises his arm.

“Alright, next” Chris pushes on, “Do we think we can handle it if she chooses one of us?”

Hesitant murmurs sound around the room at this, but Felix has come to an understanding with himself during this meeting, so he speaks confidently when he says, “I think we’ll be okay.”

His words seem to reassure the others, and a ripple of agreement and gentle ribbing starts circling the room.

“Alright,” Chris nods to himself, interrupting the wave before they could get started with any mischief. He really does know them too well.

“And finally,” he starts, an indecipherable expression crossing his face, “show of hands, who’s alright with the poly thing if it comes to it?”

This subject is more divisive, Han, Hyujin, and Felix’s hands going up, but Minho and Changbin stay quiet with worried faces. Seungmin holds his arm out in front of him with his thumb held out sideways. When questioned, he just says he’s not sure how he feels about it yet.

“We’ll circle back on that later, then.” Chris decides, “I think that’s one of those things we need to be unanimous on.”

Agreements sound out, and the atmosphere relaxes. The evening quickly devolves into an impromptu game night, the group quickly descending upon Felix’s console games like a pack of hyenas.

Felix gets up to switch the TV over to his switch, intentions of strong-arming everyone into playing Mario Party in mind. Chris grabs him by the elbow as he walks by, nodding over to the kitchen. Felix follows him over, already unbearably fond. 

“You sure you're good?” Chris asks lowly, “You've been her friend the longest, and we quite literally thought you were dating her already for a while there. They'll back off if you ask, you know.” 

Felix nods, smiling softly at their leader’s care. “I'm good I promise.” he swears, “I meant it when I said I liked it when my favorite people get along.”

He turns to look through the doorway back at the living room. Despite the strange and personal nature of their conversation, jokes and laughter flow easily now. As if there was never any tension at all. 

Felix can feel himself practically melt as he looks at them, a sentiment he knows their leader shares.

“It would hurt,” Felix admits, “If she chose someone else. But there’s no one I’d trust to hurt me more, y’know?”

Chris doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t really need to. He squeezes Felix’s elbow gently as the younger dives back into the chaos, and Felix knows he’s been understood.

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[room-surprise]

what part of SA does kabru seem like he's from? i thought maybe nepal or India but idk

(To clarify for readers I think by SA they mean "South Asia." Also this post is an excerpt/remix of the information in my essay about the real world linguistic and cultural references that exist in Dungeon Meshi. You can read Kabru's section of that essay here. You can also read a tumblr version of Kabru's section here.) Kabru is the name of a mountain on the border between Nepal and India, so I agree with you, and I think he's from somewhere similar to both of those places! I don't believe any location in Dungeon Meshi is an exact copy of a place in the real world (Except Wa being Japan) so there's probably some other cultural elements mixed in there too.

I talk about this in detail in the Kabru section of my essay, in the chapter on Miscellaneous tall-men. I'll give an abridged version here, with some pictures, since this is tumblr, and I love nothing more than talking about Kabru lmao

Utaya (ウタヤ) is the name of the village that Kabru lived in until his mother’s death. It’s located in the southeastern part of the Western Continent, in an area that seems to be made up of arid mountains and cliffs, based on images in the manga, anime, and world guide.

(Utaya circled in red. As you can see it's around a mountain chain.)

Obviously the terrain information is anime-only, as Kui's map doesn't include this information... HOWEVER, Kui does give us POPULATION maps.

This is the combined population map my spouse made in 2023 to help us understand where the different races live. How does this help us?

In the real world, geographic barriers like rivers and mountains are usually what create the boundaries between different cultural groups. The person who made the anime map obviously knows this (or Kui told them) and they placed mountains and rivers based on where there are divisions between the races on Kui's map.

There's an ethnic enclave of gnomes and dwarves in the bottom east corner of the Western continent. There is most likely a serious mountain range between that population and the rest of the continent, since the World Guide says the Western Continent is dominated by elves, not dwarves or gnomes.

So, there probably ARE mountains around Utaya, in the manga, even though Kui hasn't explicitly told us so. So it's probably a region like the Himalayas, like Nepal, since those are some of the tallest mountains on earth.

These red cliffs Kabru is standing around in the first anime opening are likely meant to represent Utaya, since there is no place on the island or in the dungeon that looks like this. It's where Kabru comes from and what happened there is both vitally important to his character, and the Dungeon Meshi story as a whole, so it makes sense to foreshadow its existance in the OP.

Utaya (pronounced “uthaaya”) could be Hindi (उठाया) or Urdu (اٹھایا), but it’s also the name of a Yakut/Sakha village in Siberia (Утайа). So the village's name is either Hindi or Urdu (both Indian languages which are mutually intelligible) or Turkic. I think it's most likely the former.

The appearance of Utaya, especially the red cliffs that the anime has shown us, looks a lot like a remote part of Nepal called the Mustang District.

Mustang (मुस्ताङ) District straddles the Himalayas and extends northward onto the Tibetan Plateau. The district is one of the remotest areas in Nepal and is second in terms of the sparsity of population.

Geographically, Mustang is a cold, high-altitude steppe that is a part of the Tibetan highlands.

Upper Mustang (the northern part of the district) was once part of the Kingdom of Lo-Manthang, isolated from the rest of the world by some of the tallest peaks on earth. From the 15th to the 17th century, its strategic location granted the Kingdom of Lo-Manthang control over trade between the Himalayas and India.

We know that dungeons only grow large and dangerous if a lot of humans visit them, and dungeons that don’t have a lot of traffic tend to wither away. If Utaya was a trade hub that saw a lot of people and goods moving through it (lots of desire) like Lo-Manthang, it would make sense for a man-made dungeon to grow out of control there.

Being major trade hubs might even be something that Utaya and Merini have in common, since Merini was once the major port of entry to the Eastern Continent from the West. That may be part of why both of them grew such catastrophically dangerous dungeons.

Now obviously these houses are drawn REALLY roughly and without a lot of detail... But Kui generally doesn't seem to enjoy drawing houses so I'm not surprised. Nepal has both steepled and flat-roofed houses though, and villages that are built on the side of a steep incline aren't uncommon.

Additional reasoning:

In the Daydream Hour book, there is a comic about various characters presenting sweets from their home regions. Kabru attempts to share a dessert from Utaya that looks like white oblong balls on a plate.

These are probably an Indian sweet called rasgulla (literally "syrup filled ball"). Rasgulla are a dessert popular in the eastern part of South Asia (an area that includes the Himalayas), made from ball-shaped dumplings of chhena dough, cooked in light sugar syrup. Rasgulla are also popular in Nepal, where they are called rasbari.

The Nepal sky caves have a passing resemblance to parts of the Ancient cities that Kui shows us towards the end of the manga, where there are homes that look like they are built directly into cliff walls. Since Utaya had a man-made dungeon beneath it, there was probably an Ancient city located there... Just like these ancient ruins in Nepal.

The Ancient cities even more closely resemble Phuktal Monastery, a Buddhist monastery located in the Lungnak Valley in the Himalayan region of Ladakh, in Northern India. Phuktal is in a region very similar to Upper Mustang, on the border between North India and Tibet.

And finally, I think there's story significance to Kabru coming from a place like Nepal.

The way Kui describes dungeons and the villages that grow up around them are similar to real world gold-rush or boom towns. The ability for people to make a lot of money in a hurry, with very little initial investment, attracts poor and desperate people who use the dungeon as a way to lift themselves out of poverty. This transforms the local areas from whatever their normal lifestyle was into a service economy that is completely dependent on the unstable dungeon.

In the real world, a huge amount of Nepal’s economy depends on tourism in the Himalayan mountain range. Nepal is a very poor country, and working as a porter at Mt. Everest, a Nepali can make nearly double the nation's average wage.

The Himalayas are an extremely popular tourist destination, and the amount of people who want to visit and attempt to climb the mountains far outpaces the local ability to support it. This makes me think of the dungeon of Utaya, and the dungeon of Merini, and how people have overcrowded it in their desire to conquer and exploit it for economic gain and glory.

Dungeons as an unsustainable way for locals to make a living, that leads to the destruction of their homes when the dungeon inevitably collapses, is a major plot point in Dungeon Meshi, so I think the parallel is likely intentional. Characters often talk about someone “conquering” the dungeon, and “conquer” is also the terminology commonly used for climbing a mountain.

This phrasing obviously has a hostile, imperialist subtext in the real world, since it’s most commonly used by outsiders talking about proving their strength by climbing a mountain in some exotic, foreign place. I think it has the same subtext in Dungeon Meshi. People want to assert themselves by proving they are stronger than the dungeon.

[helloalycia]

𝐌𝐘 𝐁𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑'𝐒 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃 [𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄] — 𝐉𝐀𝐂𝐊𝐈𝐄 𝐓𝐀𝐘𝐋𝐎𝐑

one / two / four / masterlist / wattpad

summary: you find out the reason why Jeff cheated, you and Jackie start to spend more time together and a familiar face makes a return...

warning/s: mentions of cheating.

author's note: here’s part 3! glad you’re all enjoying this one and sorry it’s posted a bit late, i’ve been fasting so time has been a whirlwind lately lmao

After reconciling with Jackie, our relationship returned to normal, or at least as normal as it could be now that she wasn't dating my brother.

Whenever we saw each other around, she'd smile or greet me, and I her. We'd make small talk every now and then, and I accepted that this was how it would be from now on. There was no need for her to make an effort with me anymore, as sad as that was.

One day after school, I was practicing with the Music teacher and school orchestra for the school play that was happening next month. It was relatively new, but I was enjoying it. Afterwards, as I was walking to my car, I noticed the Yellowjackets leaving the field and heading in the same direction. That was where I saw Jackie, chatting with Taissa but waving at me when she saw me. By chance, we fell into step with one another.

"Hey," I said with a smile, before glancing at Taissa. "Hey, Tai, how are you?"

"Good, just tired from practice," she said, returning my smile. "You?"

"Band rehearsal," I answered, motioning to the guitar case on my back. "Tired too."

She snickered. "Nice." Then she looked to Jackie and added, "Wanna give me your bag and I'll meet you at my car?"

"Thanks, Tai," Jackie said to her, before she jogged off to the parking lot to throw their bags in. Her attention returned to me as she said, "So, band rehearsal?"

"It's for the school play," I clarified.

"You? Acting?" she teased, and I rolled my eyes playfully.

"Hilarious," I said, shooting her a look. "I'm in the orchestra."

"Ah, that makes more sense," she played along. "Though seeing you up on stage in some Shakespearean garb would've been quite the sight."

"You wish," I mumbled, making her laugh. "So, how was practice?"

She shrugged. "Not bad."

But judging by the sideways glance she gave to Shauna, who was walking to her car also, I knew things weren't great.

"Everything still weird?" I asked sympathetically.

Jackie sighed, pushing her hair behind her ear. "Yeah. How could it not be? I lost my best friend and boyfriend in one fell swoop." I frowned, unsure what to say to make her feel better, but she shook her head and tried to change the subject. "It doesn't matter anyway."

"It does," I said softly.

"It's just awkward at practice now," she admitted. "And it's not supposed to be. I'm the captain and I can't even look Shauna in the eye. I'm still upset, but what can I do? I have to get over it for the team."

If Jeff hadn't gone about this the way he did, none of this would be happening. Would he have done something different if he knew the repercussions of his actions?

"I'm sorry," I said, smiling sadly. "I wish I could help somehow."

She relaxed her shoulders and gave me a small smile. "You are."

I disagreed, but she was stubborn, so I didn't comment.

"Anyway, I'm tired from practice now, but we haven't had a proper catch up since...," she started, but paused, unsure how to mention the cheating thing. "Yeah. Do you want to come 'round to mine tomorrow?"

My eyebrows raised, not expecting her to say that. And as much as I wanted to accept, I couldn't tomorrow.

"Not to sound like a nerd, but I have homework," I said with a slight chuckle.

"Oh, I can help," she offered, before smiling cockily. "I've done it all before, remember?" I laughed at her eagerness, and her amusement was replaced with sincerity as she continued, "Just because Jeff isn't in my life now, doesn't mean you don't have to be. I'm still here for you, y'know."

Hearing her say this warmed my heart and put any doubts I had about our relationship to rest. Maybe I wasn't just Jeff's little sister after all.

"I know," I confirmed. "I'm happy to stop by tomorrow. Thanks, Jackie."

She flashed me a smile, and I tried not to get distracted by how beautiful she was. Jeff was pretty stupid, wasn't he?

—

As time went on between Jackie and I, it felt like we actually became friends and not just circumstantial acquaintances. I tried my best to be there for her, both because I wanted to be and also because it felt right after my brother was the reason for her hurt. She never visited my place because Jeff lived there and she didn't want to see him, so I'd stop by hers if we hung out outside of school.

She never spoke more on the Shauna/Jeff situation, even when I knew she hadn't properly talked to either of them since finding out. Despite it all, I knew she missed Shauna, her best friend, but it was all still fresh and I just guessed she was bottling it away for now. I wondered how long she'd last like that – maybe forever – until she finally broke.

A few weeks later, a month after they'd broken up, I was watching a Yellowjackets game with Jeff at school. As always, they'd dominated the game with a 3-0 advantage and the crowd were on the pitch celebrating in no time. My plan was to congratulate Jackie, glad she'd worked on whatever problems had been developing in practice, when I noticed Jeff had wandered off in a different direction. I didn't really pay him much attention as I scanned the pitch for Jackie.

"Jackie!" I called over the noise of the crowd when I spotted her.

She wasn't looking at me, her expression dropping as she looked right past me. I followed her gaze, realising she was staring at Jeff who was hugging Shauna. I raised my brows with surprise, not realising they'd made it official now, and then he kissed her and she let him and I didn't know what to think. It felt inappropriate considering everything, but they didn't seem to care. Maybe they'd deemed a month long enough before going public.

I looked back to Jackie, whose jaw was clenched as she glared at them, and then before I could go to her, she stormed off angrily. I cursed inwardly, glancing at Jeff and Shauna once more – they hadn't noticed, too enamoured by one another.

Following after Jackie, I ran off the pitch and saw a streak of blonde heading back into the school. Worried, I chased after her, catching sight of her running down the hall.

"Jackie, wait up!" I called after her, breathless. Geez, was I really this unfit?

She kept running, going to the locker room and slamming the door behind her. I sighed, letting myself in, and she spun around at my entry. Tears were streaming down her face and she hastily attempted to wipe them away, making my chest hurt.

"What is it?" she asked calmly, though her hands were shaking.

I frowned. "I didn't know he was... seeing her now."

Feigning indifference, she said, "What does it matter? Obviously it was going to happen. They didn't fucking cheat for nothing, right?"

"Not so soon though."

She smiled bitterly, squeezing her hand into a fist as she tried to collect herself. But the tears were welling in her eyes again, and then she suddenly punched the locker angrily.

"Fuck him!" she yelled, startling me, before hitting the locker again. "Why does he get to be happy when I'm not?! How is that fair when he did the bad thing?!"

I let her calm down, figuring she needed to get her frustration out somehow, and then she frowned to herself, lips trembling.

"It's not," I agreed. "You're right."

She hugged herself, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. "If I'd just slept with him, if I hadn't waited, maybe he'd...," she began to mumble to herself, but stopped.

I was both grossed out and furious when I heard this. I'd never known the reason for their breakups, but this wasn't what I'd expected. And now Jeff had got what he wanted whilst Jackie was left to question everything. God, if I wasn't annoyed at him before, I definitely was now.

"No," I told her, irritated, but at my idiot brother. "That's not the right way to think. What he did was horrible. Whether or not that was the reason, he shouldn't have cheated. He's a coward, Jackie, and you shouldn't be here upset thinking about what ifs."

She shook her head, voice stuck in her throat, and then looked at me with glistening eyes. It broke my heart, seeing a usually confident and sure-of-herself girl broken at the hands of some guy.

"Oh, Jackie," I said sympathetically, stepping forward to hug her.

She fell into my arms, hiding her head in my shoulder and sniffling quietly. I didn't let go, one arm around her as the other rubbed circles on her back.

"You deserved better than him anyway," I told her quietly, lips moving against her hair. "I love him, he's my brother, but it wasn't right what he did."

She didn't reply, but she didn't make a move to leave either, so we stayed like that until I led her to the bench between the lockers, still entwined. Her sniffling lessened and the wet spot on my shoulder grew cold when she finally pulled back; her hand found mine and she didn't let go.

"Thank you," her voice came out as an unintentional whisper, making her clear her throat. "Things have just been so hard. Shauna was my person, and I'm just– I'm so hurt by her actions."

"I can imagine," I said, squeezing her hand gently. After a pause, eyes taking in her red, swollen ones with concern, I asked, "D'you think you'd ever forgive her?"

She exhaled shakily. "I don't know."

I nodded, waiting for her to take a breath. She let go of my hand finally, wiping away the remaining tears on her face before growing embarrassed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to cry on you," she apologised. "You definitely didn't sign up for this."

"It's alright," I assured her. "I'm just worried about you."

She looked down at her hands, knuckles red from punching the locker. "All that talk about me being there for you and, really, it was me who needed you."

I cracked a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. "Well, the extent of your support was tutoring me in French, and you're shit at that. Pas bon du tout (not good at all)."

She let out a laugh, and it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. Making her laugh after she'd just cried, admiring the way her eyes glistened with tears but in a way that made them sparkle because of her momentary happiness... I'd never seen anything like it.

"I'm gonna pretend I understood that," she spoke with a raspy voice, before hugging me once more.

"C'mon," I encouraged, standing up and pulling her with me. "This isn't how you should be celebrating your victory. You're the team captain for crying out loud!" She smiled, and I continued, "Don't you usually go to those after parties?"

She pushed her fringe from her eyes. "I'm not really in the mood. Shauna and Jeff will probably be there...”

"Okay, how about celebrating with the girls?" I asked, not wanting to upset her so quickly.

Judging from her expression, I knew they'd be at the party too, so that was out. I pursed my lips, trying to think of a way to cheer her up, and then decided to just do it myself.

"Right, get ready and then meet me outside," I instructed.

"What?"

I was already heading to the door as I answered, "I'm taking you out. My treat."

She tilted her head, giving me a knowing look. "You don't have to do that."

I shrugged. "I want to."

She sighed deeply, smile curving on her lips gratefully.

As promised, I took Jackie out that evening, treating her to some ice cream at the fancy parlour in town and buying her whatever she liked. We talked about everything and anything, and I hoped that, for at least a moment, she could forget all about Jeff and Shauna.

—

It took a while after Jeff and Shauna had gone public with their relationship for Jackie to finally accept it and try to move on. Personally, I don't think I could have had it in me to be the bigger person, but when Jackie came to me telling me she wanted to clear the air with them, I knew she'd made up her mind.

Ultimately, it was her choice and I was happy that she finally felt like she was in a place where she could move on. Whatever she'd said to them had done wonders for her, as she no longer avoided my house anymore when she wanted to hang out, and I sometimes saw her talking to Shauna without staring daggers into the side of her head. It was progress I never thought I'd see.

Shortly after that, Shauna brought it upon herself to try and fix things with me. We'd never talked much before, but since she was Jeff's new girlfriend, she must have felt she needed to make things right. That was one awkward conversation, and I was still upset at her for how she'd handled the situation, but I knew that if Jackie could forgive her, then so could I.

So, that was how everything had settled into a new 'normal'. My friendship with Jackie had grown stronger and I was on somewhat good terms with my brother and Shauna, and I guess that was all I could need right now. Of course, that didn't change the fact that I still had a massive crush on Jackie, and anytime she'd show any interest in me, I grew flustered.

Take this one time when she was sat in the school theatre, waiting for me to finish up practice for the school play after school. It was in two weeks and we were doing final run-throughs with the music and acting together. Jackie was only here because we had plans to grab food afterwards, since she'd finished soccer practice today too.

After what felt like forever, the Drama teacher finally dismissed us all and I joined Jackie by the exit.

"That was actually pretty good," she said when she saw me, nodding to the stage where the other students were finishing up.

"It's not a bad play," I said with a shrug, before shouldering my guitar case. "You planning to get tickets?"

At this, she looked to me with a smirk. "Well, of course. Gotta support you, right?"

She was teasing me and I began to grow warm at the way she was staring at me, and then she was grinning at my reaction and I avoided her stare. Times like these were when I really wished I could get over her.

—

I was cleaning out my bedroom, per my mum's request as she wanted to do a spring clean even though it was the middle of the summer, when I heard Jeff calling me from his room.

"Coming!" I called back, before dropping what I was doing to see what he wanted.

If my room was a tip, his was much worse. But when he saw me, he had a neatly collated box of items in hand, holding it out to me.

"What's this?" I asked, accepting the box that he practically thrust in my arms. When I looked inside, I saw some girly items that definitely weren't his.

"They're Jackie's," he answered awkwardly. "It's just some stuff she left behind that I never got around to returning. I'd go, but I think it might be better if you do."

"Right," I breathed out, before nodding. "I'll sort it."

He offered me a small smile. "Thanks, Y/N."

I gave Jackie's house number a call, ending up in a polite conversation with her mother who loved to talk my ear off and, of course, ask about Jeff who she still wasn't letting go of. After I finally got to the point of my call, she encouraged me to stop by so I thanked her and made my way over to the Taylor residence, only planning to make a quick trip.

When I rang their doorbell however, nobody answered. I rang it another time and even knocked a few times, but there was nothing. And then I fell silent as I heard a faint beat playing from somewhere. Following the sound of the music, I found myself walking around to the garden, realising there was a pool party going on. The Yellowjackets were all here from what I could see, some lying on sun beds whilst others played in the pool. Music was blaring from some speakers and they all seemed to be having the time of their life in the sun.

"Y/N, hey!" I heard Jackie, and searched the space to find her in the pool.

My mouth went dry when I saw her climbing out, only in her two-piece swimwear. As she approached me with a smile, I was certain I'd forgotten how to breathe, unsure where to look because it all seemed inappropriate. Her hair was wet, water droplets rolling down her tanned skin, and I wouldn't have been surprised if I had a heart attack from how hot she looked there and then.

"My mum said you were stopping by," she said, wiping her face with the back of her hand.

I looked at her eyes and only her eyes, hoping my face wasn't as hot as the sun felt right now. "Yeah, I rang the doorbell but nobody answered."

"My bad, sorry," she said with a laugh. "I'm having a team pool party. Team building and all that. The music must have been too loud."

"It's all good," I said quickly. "Erm, I've got some of your things. You left it at ours when you were... yeah."

At the implication of Jeff, her smile faded naturally. Glancing at the box, she nodded gratefully.

"You alright to follow me?" she asked, grabbing her towel from the chair.

"Sure."

As she led the way, some of the girls said their hellos when I walked past, and then Jackie led me through her mansion of a home before settling in the kitchen.

"You can just leave it on the table over there," she said, nodding to the dining table whilst drying herself with her towel.

All I could do was nod as I went to set it down, and then she was suddenly behind me, the scent of chlorine and suncream washing over me.

"I was wondering where that necklace was," she said with amusement, looking over my shoulder and down at the necklace at the top of the box.

I shivered at how close she was, acutely aware of her minimal clothing and trying so hard not to let my eyes wander.

"You seem nervous, are you okay?" she asked, before walking to the fridge. "You want a drink?"

I swallowed hard, shaking my head. "No, sorry, I've gotta go finish cleaning the house with my mum. It's just hot out."

She smirked, clearly aware of the effect she was having on me, but I was too flustered to comment on it.

"That's too bad," she said with a pout. "You can stay if you want."

I waved a hand dismissively. "Oh, it's a team thing. I'll be okay."

She chuckled, eyeing me curiously, probably noticing the way I couldn't even meet her gaze anymore. "C'mon. I'll walk you out."

I followed her as she led me back into the garden, where the others were still having the time of their life. Jackie stopped and flashed me another picture perfect smile.

"Have fun cleaning," she said, patting my shoulder. "Maybe next time, yeah?"

I nodded, suddenly finding the space behind her head very interesting. She hugged me, making me freeze at the contact of both her body and the water on my clothes. She had to be doing this on purpose, surely.

"See you later," she said sweetly, eyelashes fluttering.

I nodded, quickly backing up, and stupidly almost slipping into the pool as I grew distracted by her yet again.

She laughed, warning, "Be careful!"

I smiled awkwardly, before taking extra care to leave without making even more of a fool of myself. Could you blame me? The last thing I needed right now was to be in close proximity of a half dressed Jackie Taylor.

—

Jackie Taylor was on everyone's radar, even when she was taken by Jeff, so I should have expected someone to make their move once enough time had passed since their breakup. Still, knowing it would happen didn't make it any easier to witness.

There was a fair in the park and the band and I had secured a gig there, playing a few sets during the evening. We played some covers and a few originals, the first we'd ever performed that I'd written. It was surreal, but everybody seemed to like it which made the smile permanent on my face the whole time.

After our first set, we all went offstage to take a quick break, and that was when Jackie found me. It was the first I'd seen her all evening, since she'd arrived with her friends and I was busy up until now.

"Y/N, you were amazing up there!" she complimented as soon as she saw me, pulling me in for a hug.

"Thanks, Jackie," I said appreciatively, returning her hug. "How long have you been here?"

"Your whole set," she said with a smile. "And would you look at that – I finally heard some original songs."

My cheeks grew warm as she shot me a teasing smile.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me who they're about?" she asked innocently, giving me her best puppy dog eyes.

"You supposed correctly," I retorted with a knowing look, making her curse quietly with defeat. I laughed and added, "Look, I appreciate your curiosity, but maybe they're just songs, d'you ever consider that?"

She eyed me suspiciously, smile ever present. "I guess... but I've got my eye on you, Y/N."

I rolled my eyes lightheartedly, hoping she couldn't hear my heart racing in my chest. Green-brown eyes met mine, sparkling with mischief, and I forced myself to endure, not wanting to raise suspicion. Hopefully she'd never find out they were all about her.

After chatting with her on my break for a little longer, I rejoined the band onstage and performed a few more songs. It was easier to spot Jackie in the crowd now that I knew where I was looking, and she looked so cute as she stood there with her friends, dancing along to the music. It was almost a dream, and then it wasn't. Because as I was performing, I noticed some guy talking to her, the flirting very obvious even from where I was stood.

I tried to stay focused, purposely avoiding looking in her direction, but I couldn't help myself. My eyes would drift back over to her, and that damn guy was still there, trying his luck as she entertained it for a bit. I knew I never had a chance with her, but seeing the girl you liked chatting to another guy was always a kick in the teeth, especially when it meant she wasn't paying you any attention anymore.

After a few more songs, the band and I called it a night and wanted to enjoy the fair together. Jackie was still being talked to by that guy, so I attempted to ignore it and focused on having a nice night out with my friends.

After playing a few carnival games and going on some rides, Jackie found me again, standing with my friends as Y/BF/N bought some ice cream for herself.

"Hey, guys, nice performance tonight," Jackie complimented the others, who chorused their gratitude. She added, "You mind if I steal Y/N away for a bit?"

"Oh, no, go for it!" Tommy insisted with a grin, tugging the others away before I could protest.

I sighed as Jackie flashed me an enthusiastic smile. "I've been dying to go on the bumper cars. Wanna come?"

"I, er, I'm not really in the mood," I said, possibly being a little petty but I couldn't help it, I was just sad.

"Oh, c'mon, it'll be fun!" she exclaimed, shaking my arm. "You're not seriously gonna leave me hanging, are you?"

I chewed on my lip as she watched me hopefully, and it only made me realise how stupid I was being. She couldn't help it if a guy wanted to hang out with her, and I definitely had no right to be jealous. I'd watched her be my brother's girlfriend all these years, surely I could live with the fact that she'd inevitably get another boyfriend and I'd never have a chance with her.

Before I could give in and agree, the guy from earlier approached us again, checking Jackie out in a not so subtle way.

"Hey, Jackie," he said with a smile, and I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, jealousy returning in an instant. "You wanna go on the ferris wheel with me?"

I crossed my arms and looked away momentarily, anticipating the part where she'd say yes and this would all be for nothing.

"I appreciate you asking, Matt, but no thanks," she said politely.

"Oh," he said with surprise, and then grew awkward, probably not expecting her to decline. "Okay."

He left soon enough, embarrassed, and I glanced at Jackie with suspicion.

"Why not?"

She looked back to me, quirking a brow. "Huh?"

I motioned in his direction. "Why didn't you wanna go with him? He was flirting with you earlier, wasn't he?"

She suppressed a smile, eyes meeting mine with amusement. "Because I'm trying to hang out with you, idiot, if you'd only say yes."

My gaze flickered to the ground sheepishly as she let out a quiet chuckle.

"Bumper cars," I confirmed. "Sure."

Her smile widened. "Awesome. C'mon."

I let her drag me to the bumper cars, lightening up as we spent some time together. The longer the evening went on, the less this 'Matt' guy was gnawing at me, because Jackie chose me and that was something, right? We went on rides, played some stupid fair games at her insistence, despite them definitely being rigged, and she forced me to win her a prize even when I lost several times. But all in all, she was happy, and so was I, and I suppose that was all that mattered in the moment.

—

The first night of the school play was finally upon us and I was backstage getting ready when Jackie paid me a visit, surprising me with a bouquet of flowers.

"These are for me?" I asked with genuine surprise.

"What is it they say in showbiz? Break a leg?" she asked rhetorically, before laughing at her own joke.

I smiled to myself as I looked down at the flowers in my hand. "Jackie, they're beautiful. Nobody's ever got me flowers before."

She tilted her, confused. "Well, that's not right."

I chuckled, gaze falling to her. "Thank you."

Heart warming in my chest, I pulled her into a hug with my free hand, grateful for her support.

"You deserve it," she said simply, before squeezing me tight then letting go. "I should go find my seat. I'll be right at the front where you can see me."

I laughed. "I'll keep an eye out. Thanks, Jackie."

She flashed me a smile before leaving to find her seat, and I couldn't stop smiling as the Drama teacher briefed us once more before final call.

The show went on with few hiccups, probably the best run we'd ever done, and the audience seemed to love it, giving us a huge round of applause. When the orchestra got their own special shout-out, I caught sight of my family in the middle, applauding, and then Jackie, who was cheering me on so loudly at the front that I couldn't help but flush with embarrassment.

Once the curtains closed, the orchestra had to go backstage for another word with the teachers before we were finally alright to leave. I found my family waiting for me at the back of the theatre and walked by the other students receiving praise from their families.

"There she is!" Jeff exclaimed when he saw me, grabbing my shoulder and squeezing it supportively.

I smiled as my parents pulled me in for a hug and congratulated me on the show.

"Thanks, guys, thanks for coming," I said gratefully, looking between them all. "You really didn't have to. I wasn't even in the show."

"Nonsense," my mum said with a wave of her hand. "You played beautifully, sweetie."

I breathed out deeply, both embarrassed and appreciative of their support. And then Jeff's expression dropped and I realised Jackie was approaching, flashing my parents a smile.

"Jackie, how lovely to see you," my mum greeted her. "You're here for Y/N too?"

"Yes, she did great, didn't she?" Jackie asked, putting an arm around my shoulder playfully.

"She did," my dad replied with a proud smile, before raising the flowers Jackie got me in the air. "And thanks for the flowers. It was kind of you to get them for her."

"Anytime," Jackie said with a shrug, before looking to me. "Are you free now or d'you have plans?"

Before I could respond, my mum insisted I celebrate with Jackie, trusting her. Since her breakup with Jeff, Jackie was still a favourite of my parents, understandably so. After saying our goodbyes, I was left with Jackie, who seemed excited about something.

"What are you thinking?" I asked her with amusement.

"I wanna hang out, my treat," she said nonchalantly.

My smile grew. "Seriously?"

She linked arms with me and began leading me to the door. "Seriously."

And that was how we ended up at the arcade that evening, with Jackie keeping to her word and rinsing all her pocket money on the arcade machines that were definitely a waste but she didn't seem to mind. We played air hockey, skeeball, a zombie shooter game and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't think she liked, and it was awesome.

After spending over an hour messing around, she generously bought me dinner there, some burgers and fries, and I was certain I was dreaming.

"You have your own ketchup, y'know," I said with raised brows when she dipped her fries into mine.

"I ate it and there's none left in the bottle," she claimed, before going in for another dip.

"Then ask for another bottle!" I exclaimed between a laugh, pulling my tray away.

"Quit being selfish!" she retorted with a grin, before leaning over the table to land a swipe.

"Jackie!" I scolded, and she winked as she ate her fry.

I rolled my eyes at her petulance before recognising someone behind her, approaching our direction. After a double take, I realised it was Eve Perkins, captain of the Lions soccer team and the girl Jackie utterly despised. The memory of the party from last year came to mind, including the whole argument I had with Jackie afterwards, and I suddenly prayed Eve wasn't here to cause trouble.

"Okay, don't freak out, but Eve Perkins is heading this way," I said calmly.

Jackie was surprised, straightening up in her seat and dying to turn around, but she kept her cool. "I won't."

"So, let me get this straight," Eve said as soon as she stopped by our table, looking down at Jackie with irritation. "You freak out at me for hanging with a sophomore, only to hang out with her yourself? What? Was her brother not enough?"

I almost choked on my drink at the abruptness of her words, worrying when I saw Jackie beginning to clench her jaw and fix Eve with a glare.

"Firstly, that's none of your business," she said lowly. "And secondly, you bitch."

I sighed inwardly, already expecting an argument, and Eve laughed bitterly.

"Tell me, Jackie. You still worried we're gonna beat you next week?" she asked condescendingly.

"Not worried at all," Jackie said through gritted teeth, reaching for her drink to calm down.

Eve smirked with satisfaction before looking to me. "Y'know, it's a shame you're hanging out with her still. You were cute. And you definitely deserve to be more than Jackie's sloppy seconds."

Mean girl fighting was never my thing, and I was stunned into silence at how rude Eve was being, clearly because of some unresolved business with Jackie. I was also a little embarrassed at what she was implying was between Jackie and I, unsure how to respond.

"Fuck you," Jackie said instantly, not at a loss for words, and it made me realise just how quickly things had taken a turn for the worst.

"Okay, how about we just leave it?" I said, looking between them both before settling on Eve with pleading eyes. "Please?"

Eve seemed to give in, rolling her eyes before walking off to rejoin her friends by the arcade machines. I sighed with relief before returning my attention to a distracted Jackie.

"Are you okay?" I asked with concern.

She breathed out slowly. "Yes. Sorry."

"It's okay. I'm just surprised Eve reacted like that. It came out of nowhere."

"I'm not," Jackie mumbled under her breath, only confirming my suspicion of some unfinished business between her and Eve.

I chewed on my lip, still a little concerned, but then she met my eyes with apologetic ones, expression softening.

"I'm sorry she said all that," she said sincerely, though her cheeks were tinged pink. "You're not my... it's not like..." She was struggling, eyes flittering around uncharacteristically, before she finished, "You're more than my sloppy seconds."

Realising why she was awkward, I began to chuckle. "Jackie, I know. I don't believe what she said. And besides, no sloppy seconds would be treated as wonderfully as I have tonight."

She hid a smile as she nodded. "Right."

It was easy for things to return back to how they were after that little interruption, and Jackie and I finished the rest of our meals in peace. Once we were done, I grabbed our trays to throw in the bin and she waited for me by the door. As I was dusting my hands off, I felt a presence beside me and looked up, not expecting to see Eve yet again. I hoped she wasn't here to start another argument, especially because I knew I'd lose it.

"I meant it when I said you deserve better than Jackie Taylor, you know that, right?" she said with a quirked brow.

I frowned. "That wasn't very nice. Jackie's a good person."

Eve snorted in disagreement. "Sure she is."

I shifted my weight between my feet awkwardly., "Look, your feud is your feud. I'm not gonna get involved."

She shrugged. "Fair enough. Sorry for involving you."

I nodded appreciatively, and she gave me a small smile.

"See you around, cutie."

Again, I was speechless as she walked away, wondering if she was trying to mess with my head to somehow get back at Jackie. Either way, there wasn't reason for me to see her around since we went to different schools, so I didn't let it worry me too much. Instead, I returned to Jackie who was glaring at Eve from across the room.

"What did she want now?" she asked with annoyance.

Not wanting to give her more reason to be frustrated, I said, "She just wanted to apologise."

Jackie glanced at me, unconvinced, but I shrugged and held open the door for her.

"Let's get you home, Jackie."

Thankfully, she didn't question me.

[prettyboykatsuki]

territorial woes | k. leona

✮ tags ; fem!reader (referred to as leonas woman very briefly) fluff, territorial / needy leona , he is sickly in love in this sorry they're so domestic, one singular sex joke, this is a college au so everyone is over 18 for sake of my sanity, sfw but this blog is 18+ so minors don't follow please and ty

✮ wc ; 2k (? ? ?)

✮ a /n ; im so embarassed that this is leaving my fingertips actually. i do have to clarify like... i dont rlly think leona gets jealous easily but he can be kind of childish bc he's spoiled if that makes sense lmao. i was so Plauged by this i couldnt sleep its like 4am. i took my melatonin at midnight im so sick. blame @/petrichorium i am not responsible.

✮ synopsis ; leona kingscholar is often annoyed, but not usually over something like this.

He shouldn't have come to class.

The clock on the wall is agitating. Tick, tick, tick. On repeat over and over, plainly the same and piercing. Leona is sensitive to his surroundings, and particularly to noise.

He hates loud noises and sharp cries and he hates the sound of the damn clock in Trein's classroom. He's never been a fan of the classroom setting, general lack of motivation aside. It goes against his very nature to listen to boring lectures and sit through assignments he's already done hundreds of times.

All of his education from being young royalty paid off but ultimately amounts to nothing, because if he wants to graduate he still has to do this all over again.

He's a hunter, so he's not opposed to sitting and lying in wait if there's a promise of reward at the end. If all this sitting around with a twitching ear and bored sigh would amount to anything he'd be a little less annoyed with attending.

And there was one, originally. A thing, that Leona had wanted (which he can only admit to himself begrudgingly) that was worth hauling his ass out of the peaceful botanical garden and into class today. That very thing which is currently giggling their heart out to one of those idiot freshman from the Heartslyabul dorm.

Tick, tick, tick. Leona snaps his jaw close and tears his eyes from the sight, nose scrunched in frustration with a knuckle pushed against his temple.

He wants to go back to his dorm. But he can't. He won't until he gets what he even came for.

The presence of another person alerts his senses, but he relaxes upon realizing it's Ruggie, sitting on the edge of his desk with that usual smug air about him. Leon passes him a glance but doesn't say a word.

"Somethin' troublin' you, my liege? Shyehehe."

Leona all but growls.

"Shut your trap or I'll hang you up by your tail."

"Ouch. That bothered by it, huh?"

"I'm not bothered by squat."

Ruggie laughs hard at that and Leona considers throwing him through a wall. Ruggie is also looking ahead where you at, staring a little more openly than Leona is. He whistles under his breath. He can't remember the names of the two brats, but they're always together. One of them with orange hair and the other with the short blue.

"They're pretty close with those two, yanno. Heard they were having sleep-overs and all durin' their first year.''

Leona narrows his eyes. The clock ticks on. Ruggie grins and Leona knows he should just up and leave. It's stupid to be hanging around here. It's lame that he's even looking. He should just go up there and—

"They're best friends, basically. Been like that since before you two had a thing going too. Way before that, I think."

Leona knows well enough what Ruggie is doing. What Hyena's are good at, goading his annoyance to push him to act. He's looking for a show, and Leona is nearly tempted to give him one. Nearly.

You're not the fierce type like the women back home. You probably wouldn't think twice about it, just bat your little lashes and wave your friends goodbye like the herbivore you are if he decided to drag you away. You'd pester him, follow him around while he acted moody and cold for a while before frowning.

You'd get mad at first, before huffing and saying sorry for something you didn't even do. Mumbling and poking around until Leona eventually drags you in his bed to nap instead of being outright about any of it. If his sister-in-law knew he was acting like such a kid to his woman, he'd never hear the end of it. It's that voice in his head that keeps him stuck in his chair, seething.

"Not like you to be so docile, King." Ruggie says. Leona shoots him a mean enough glare that he backs away in fear.

It's not like he's being docile. Not really. There's more to it than that.

Thing is, Leona is used to being chased. Regardless of his inferiority in birthright, he's still royalty. Royalty means plenty of people itching to get in his good graces to get a taste of the highlife. Leona is used to cheap tactics of seduction and luxury in order to earn his favor - he can smell it from away. He's always half expecting to uncover secret intentions.

It never happens. You are all by all measures, frustratingly sincere. Leona doesn't really know how to respond to it. You don't pay mind to his royalty or his ability aside from a normal amount of awe. You're an herbivore firstly, and a stranger to this world after that. Whatever traits in Leona you've latched onto, he can't wrap his head around nor does he understand.

It's the first time in his life that he's gotten into a romantic entanglement like this. Where everything is all lovey-dovey and things are so important. He's always been respectful to his women but he's never been seriously in love in his life. It's different from just being decent. He cares what you think to an extent that's unfamiliar. It's not like he'd ever fix his mouth to say all that, but it really matters that he does things the right way.

Leona doesn't usually act in self-interest, to begin with. Cocky as he may be - he's still king and kings act in the interest of his people. Regardless of what it looks like, you are part of his people. His pride, in more simple terms.

It's not being docile as much as it's an effort to show some respect for you.

Leona isn't usually jealous about petty, trivial shit. It doesn't matter to him what you do or who you do it with in your own time. He likes that you're independent, too.

He is however, a territorial apex predator and a prince. For better or for worse whenever he looks at you, all he can see is to prey animals encroaching on his territory.

That's the part of him that's raring to go. Teeth clenched and agitated, brows all drawn together in frustration. Leona wants to go back to his dorm, but he wont without what he came for. It's putting him in a bad mood.

But ultimately, he doesn't move from his spot. Ruggie leaves eventually when his mood has soured completely. His head is on the desk and he's got his eyes closed, but his ears twitched at the sound of your chair dragging on the floor.

"Can you guys walk Grimm back to the door? I'm gonna go with Leona. Thanks! See you later,"

And just like that, the classroom clears of the last nuisances occupying it. Leaving only you and Leona and that ticking clock together.

He hears you walk up to him before he sees it. Your voice is annoyingly pleasant to listen to.

"Leona? You sleeping already?"

He's starting to understand why his older brother folded at every single word that came out of his sister-in-laws mouth. He lifts his head just barely to look at you and you're looking at him all wide-eyed. He wants to tick you off a little, but can't conjure up any ideas.

"You done with those little yippin' herbivores you call friends? Can we leave now?"

You frown.

"You're in a bad mood. And don't be mean to them, they are actually my friends, you know?"

He scoffs and your frown deepens.

"Leonaaa," You drag out the syllables of his name as you stand beside him "What's wrong with you?"

He hears you pull a chair up. When he finally sits up, you're sitting directly in front of him on a chair turned backwards. There's hardly any room between you. Your face is twisted up with worry.

Leona reaches to pinch your nose. You pull away making his lips twitch upward.

"I shouldn't've came to class." He complains. You rub your nose but don't say anything back, considering him.

"I didn't think it was that bad today though. I guess it might always be for you though since you know like, everything, but I don't—"

Before you can keep going, he leans forward to press his lips to yours. It shuts you up effectively. Your lips are soft. They're sweet and a little sticky - mouth warm and welcoming.

When he pulls away, you blink at him.

"What were you sayin'." He asks.

You look a little taken aback.

"I don't know. Oh, uhm. I liked the lesson. It's fun to learn stuff about this world, I guess." You stumble over your words like you're shy. It's ironic to him, but charming all the same.

He grins.

"What? You nervous after a little kiss?" He teases.

You flush.

"You're not usually that forward, dummy. Which brings me to my question again, what's up? You're sulking."

"What the hell? I'm not sulkin'"

"Yes you are. Your doing the little nose scrunch thing too. Did something happen?"

He pushes the comment about his nose scrunch away entirely because he's sure thinking about too long is gonna get on his nerves. He glares at you for a while, debating on what he should say. Truth is, he is a little pissed. But he isn't going to tell you that your little chat with friends is making him territorial. That would be ridiculous.

There's a brief moment of silence before you pause. You tilt your head, eyes shining with curiosity.

"...Were you lonely?" You suggest.

His face drops.

"You're not the jealous type usually, but you're like a big overgrown kitty. So, you missed me right? That's why you're moping?"

The tone of your voice makes him want to pinch you again.

"Watch your mouth, herbivore." He grits, agitation rolling back into his tone like a wave. And you laugh, the nerve of you. Giggle a little as you lean in closer.

"You didn't say no."

"Shut up." He says, weakly.

"Leona," You say his name again, a little sweeter. Purposefully full of affection and he hates everything about how mushy it's making him feel. You reach your hand up to his head, petting behind his ears in the place you know he likes "I'm sorryyy,"

"Do you go 'nd tuck your tail between your legs like this for everyone? Where's your self-respect, huh?" He means to say with a lot more characteristic sarcasm.

But it all comes out gross and sweet sounding instead.

"Mm, no? It's just that my boyfriend is pretty shit at being honest about his feelings so if I don't dote on him he'll wither away like a houseplant and—"

He covers your mouth with his hand and glares at you, faux annoyed. And you're giggling against his palms, all bely laughs. It's all a little nauseating for him. He pulls away by cupping your jaw instead, squishing your face together.

"When'd you get so damn mouthy?" He grumbles.

"Since forever ago." You say through squished lips. He huffs, leaning forward to kiss you a second time. You're all soft everywhere. Squishy and mellow. Leona kisses you three times in the process, each one a little more impatient than the last before releasing you.

He doesn't let go, hand going to cup the back your neck instead. He cradles your head close, sighing against your mouth.

"Annoying," He says. You smile at him and he has to look away to deal with the intensity of it.

"You love me." You say with a smile. If only you knew the half of it.

He doesn't say that of course. Just scoffs as he stands to his feet, dragging you with him. He curls an arm around your waist, pulling you close to him. The warmth of your body makes him purr.

"In your dreams. You owe me for cuttin' into my naptime."

"What can I do for you my liege?" You say sarcastically, grabbing his hand openly. He squeezes it "You wanna take a nap with me?"

"Can't promise I'll get you in my bed and not fuck you about it." He says with a lazy chuckle. You nudge his side.

"You're so crass."

"You love me," He mocks. You huff.

"Unfortunately, I do. Could use some rest though," You yawn, and blinking blearily "So nap time it is. 'kay?"

He kisses the side of your head.

"Sounds good t'me."

[lucysarah-c]

Since I wrote an omegaverse Levi x fem! reader, I'll add here what I believe the ABO dynamics are like, at least in my ABO AU.

First, I would like to clarify that these are not some sort of "universal rules," and everybody has a different interpretation of ABO, etc. Second, this doesn't mean I've thought it all; it's just what I usually keep in mind while writing an omegaverse.

With that being said, let's go.

In my mind, betas behave like normal human beings. Women have their periods once per month, have fertile days each month, and a cycle of 28 days. Men, the same. They lack scent characteristics; they don't have scent glands; they can't knot, etc. Betas do not present, so when the time of presenting comes, they don't suffer what I consider a "second puberty."

Now, Alphas and Omegas.

For me, presentation is like a "second puberty." It usually comes "later," around 15-18 years old, and it determines if they are going to be alphas, omegas, or betas. The lack of this "second puberty" is basically being a beta. Usually, "high breeds" or "pure breeds," either Alphas or Omegas, show clear signs of their nature even before presentation. Perhaps high breed alphas would hiss, have slightly bigger fangs, or even be bigger in size compared to little kids because their genetics are already strong, as an example.

The second puberty basically makes Alphas present, grown fangs (if I'm allowed to go full delulu and magical here) that are sort of "retractile," usually only to be on full size during "asserting dominance" or "during mating." They start to liberate and perceive the smells and pheromones, etc. Omegas go through the same. Usually, the signs are there before their first "rut" or "heat." I like to think that alphas get a sort of toothache when their fangs are growing. I do believe that until reaching adulthood, Omegas and Alphas have ruts or heats in the respective seasons no matter what because it's also their body needing them to develop.

Now, great, what are "seasons"? Basically, Alphas and Omegas only reproduce twice a year, early autumn and early spring. I believe their system is made to "maximize" and "optimize" reproduction, so they prefer "quality" over "quantity." During "season," alphas would go into rut first, before omegas, mostly to secure the territory they want to claim and "show off their capabilities," so omegas can choose before going into heat. The process of mating may last from 4 days to 14. It depends on the quality of the couple.

During the mating ritual, alphas may show their strength, capabilities, and even give gifts of food and decorations to the omega they are fancying to demonstrate their willingness to mate. They may "build" a place where the omega can nest, and both mate. They mate for life, so usually alphas put a lot of effort, and omegas are very picky, lol. I like to think of it like when penguins spend a lot of time choosing the best pebble to give to their partner, and they start to build a nest with that pebble.

What is nesting? Basically, omegas surround themselves with soft pillows, blankets, etc., usually with the smell of their alpha to keep them protected. Like if another alpha steps in and they sense the smell of the omega's alpha around the nest, they may back up because they don't want to compete, or the other alpha is more powerful.

Now, all this is "in nature"; obviously, in society, you don't go fighting people in the streets for your mating rights, lmao. In the "modern society of AOT" (yes, I'm being sarcastic), usually, there are only "glimpses" of what used to be their nature. Alphas are territorial and can easily grow possessive, but it's also encouraged that they learn "to control themselves." Going around baring teeth for whatever would only make you look like some children who can't control themselves. Save them for important occasions. Show how much "better" you are by asserting dominance without having to resort to behaving like a dog.

Fun fact: that's why Hange says in "not in season?" that they had never seen Levi's fangs.

In my mind, high-breeds or pure breed FULL GROWN UP alphas and omegas don't go into rut or heat if they spend long periods without the constant presence of the other. So, they don't waste all the "biologically expensive work" that's for them to go into rut or heat. That's why the military doesn't allow omegas, since they are all going to be living in the barracks, it's better to avoid the problems.

As I say, while in development, young alphas and omegas may experience ruts or heats regularly on their seasons. Young alphas may create a sense of paternity in older alphas, instead of creating a "territorial" sensation. Older alphas may get a sort of baby fever and feel the necessity to be the one leading the pack. This is something that Levi felt about his squad, especially since Eren presented while Levi was looking after him in the former HQ.

While alphas always take positions of power, leadership, or works that demand high physical strength. Sadly, the AOT world isn't exempt from sexism, and omegas are usually reduced to "caring" jobs only. Such as teachers, nannies, bakers, mostly housewives. I do like to believe they are extremely talented for works that require long periods of attention and high attention to details, for example, in a war: snipers. But society has a hard time accepting that.

Now, about high breeds, low breeds. Basically, high breeds mean they are either "purely alphas" or "purely omegas." To explain it with an example, a beta may bear the child of an alpha, but they wouldn't be "pure breed" any longer; they may be "regular alphas," and the more alphas or omegas mix with betas, the less "strong" their blood is. And vice versa, obviously. Conservatives believe that's "wasting your blood, etc.," they are a pain in the ass. I do want to highlight that "purest the alpha/omega," the more

all their characteristics are boosted.

Betas and alphas or betas and omegas may have kids, but it's not that effective. Alphas and alphas CAN have kids if they are "a woman and a man," the process of dominating another alpha is called "bitching," and they have ONLY one kid. I like to think that's like when pregnant women have one child of a different blood type than theirs and they need treatment for the second one because their body rejects the pregnancy otherwise? Well, the same, but since AOT medicine isn't that advanced, alphas women can only bear one child.

Omegas can bear multiple children and, mostly, they have multiple pregnancies. And, on top of that, omegas who mate with an alpha only produce "alphas" or "omegas"; the pureness of the quality isn't lost, and that's why most rich people make sure to force "only omegas x alphas relationships" with their kids because they want plenty of heirs, all pure breed.

Fun fact, in my mind, I think Ackerman are incapable of being anything else than alphas. So they all are.

To set an example, both Erwin and Levi are high-breed alphas. Hange is a regular alpha tending toward a "lower alpha," meaning they have more or the same amount of beta blood as alpha. That's why they imply that Levi might think of "bitching them" if they don't leave, as a joke. This is because Levi, as a high-breed, would have asserted dominance.

… I think that's all. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, lmao.

[ectonurites]

Now that we’re halfway through it what are your thoughts on Kon’s solo?

I've been enjoying it! I think it's been fun so far—I do think that letting Kon have a story where he's out on his own just doing a classic little adventure like this rather than... something super tethered to the greater DCU/its continuity messes is refreshing after the last few years he's had.

Like I definitely don't want him isolated from all his friends in space forever or anything like that, but I think him getting to do this on his own right now is cool. I think the thing Porter seems to be going for with Kon 'chasing after the glory days'/trying to find some shred of his old life to cling onto (even if it's just a space imitation of it) is definitely interesting and like... makes enough sense to me for him and where he's at after The Everything.

I just gave this 'how Kon has changed across the eras' post of mine from a while back (fall 2021, so written shortly after the whole Suicide Squad Match Ordeal™) a re-read and something I was talking about at the end was how after all the experiences he's had he has looped back around to embracing aspects of his old self (that he'd been pushing away for a long time because of 2000's-era Trauma And Angst) and I think this current book is definitely like, playing with that.

What I was talking about in that post ended mostly after YJ 2019 though—his state of mind at that point being more or less 'okay I'm back now let's goooooo!!!!!' before The Horrors of realizing he came back to a world that really had moved on without him for years really set in. Like, he knew about that by the end of YJ 2019, but I think he needed to sit on it for a bit and see it firsthand... also even though I know the book was a mess and not well received, I think we should still acknowledge Dark Crisis: Young Justice—where he got a firsthand taste of the olden 90's 'I hadn't died yet, I hadn't disappeared yet, I hadn't been replaced yet' days in Mickey's dream world. After experiencing that and getting some reality checks from the rest of the team, he knows he can't seriously just go back, you can't go back to the past like that... but...

The new understanding of himself he'd achieved just before/while stuck on Gemworld—where we saw he was making active choices about who he's gonna be based on what he wants rather than Clark-based expectations or anyone else's input, and where he was rolling with the changes and circumstances that had been thrown at him—has been thrown SERIOUSLY out of whack!

So rather than it being that 'he's returning to aspects of who he used to be while incorporating the experience and maturity he's gained along the way over the years' situation from YJ 2019, it's started warping into 'he's regressing back to the safety of being the Metropolis Kid/his 90's era self just out in space this time so TECHNICALLY it's DIFFERENT'. Which I think is an interesting approach! And him acting completely and totally in denial of that being what he's doing (even though it's clear he knows damn well it is) is also totally in line with classic Kon—thinking back to the Young Justice (1998) #7 camping trip LMAO.

But like, the thing is, Superboy: The Man of Tomorrow #1 started with an editor's note clarifying it takes place before Action Comics #1051 which began the new family-focused era of the book... that Kon is very obviously present for.

So we already know he's gonna figure out that there is a place for him back on earth and that he doesn't need to completely regress and try to relive his past somewhere else, he can just be himself and carve out his own path at home and have a place within the family. We're not stuck guessing about what Kon's fate is gonna be after the fact—instead, this book gets to focus on this journey he's going through and we're along for the ride to see how he's gonna finally reach that conclusion! Which is fun!

Anyways, that was a lot of word dumping—Kon just gets me going man, you know he always does—but in conclusion: I'm enjoying the book overall, it has definitely kept me as a Kon fan engaged, and I'm looking forward to seeing where it goes!

+ as much as ideologically I am opposed to DC Round Robin, I'm definitely (at this point anyways) glad that this book got to exist.

[justafriend-ql]

rewatching my school president with the knowledge that homophobia does in fact exist within the universe of the series is such a crazy experience because it adds an extra layer of meaning and interpretation to so many lines and moments that we often either overlooked or explained away during the first watch-through.

first off: the music club's rule about not having lovers as a kind-of-sort-of metaphor for society not being accepting of LGBTQ+ couples (i.e., main obstacle in tinn and gun's relationship)

the fact that tiwson knows about tinn's massive crush on gun before the beginning of the series (meaning tinn trusted tiw enough to tell him)

gun's stunned silence when tinn admits he's hitting on him during the pool scene and the kind of scared look on gun's face when he gets flustered after looking into tinn's eyes in episode 3

tinn pointedly asking gun "are you okay with that?" after he indirectly confesses his feelings by the pool in episode 5/6

gun saying "you can't control something like this, can you?" after tinn's previously mentioned confession of feelings at the beginning of episode 6

gun's anxiety about what it means to accept that tinn likes him and he likes tinn back (e.g., "has it ever occurred to you that there are things you want to ask, but you're too afraid to?")

the look of trepidation on sound's face after filming the medal kiss scene with win in episode 6 and realizing he has Feelings

everyone in chinzhilla being on board with filming a bl version of the 'just being friendly' music video (because they're all gay or allies lmao)

tinn interpreting gun's mention of the dating rule after his implied love confession as rejection + gun clarifying that "it doesn't mean he feels bad about it" in episode 6 (music club dating ban as a metaphor for homophobia again)

tinn and gun having to hide the fact that they are seeing each other while at the aquarium with yo and nook, who can openly date (ostensibly because of the music club dating ban, which oddly enough doesn't prevent yo from pursuing nook - there's that music club dating ban metaphor again)

gun repeatedly voicing his concern that it would be easier for tinn if he decided to hit on someone else (e.g., a girl)

tinn's out-of-control gay fantasies as a possible coping mechanism for the fact that he can't be open about his feelings with his family or anyone at school (besides tiw and gun)

yak telling sound he has to accept "what he's really into" in order to write a good love song (and sound clearly glancing at win afterwards)

gun telling tinn "be patient. when i win hot wave, everything will get better. at least with our friends" when they hide from tinn's mom outside of tinn's house at the beginning of episode 10 (music club dating ban metaphor again + hints at concern that tinn's mom may not accept their relationship)

tinn feeling comfortable enough with gun's mom to tell her about his crush on gun while keeping it a secret from his own mom

tinn's mom not knowing tinn could sing as an allusion for how she doesn't know about other aspects of tinn's true self (i.e., his sexuality) either

gun telling tinn that after hot wave, "whatever shitty rules there are" can't stop them (foreshadowing the hostile reaction they get to their relationship in episode 12)

there's probably more but these are the ones i can think of off the top of my head. many of these comments/moments could make sense in the context of a universe without homophobia (i.e., due to general shyness/anxiety about relationships, the music club's dating ban, etc.), but it's neat to interpret them through the lens of heteronormativity/homophobia too.

it's interesting to me that we as a fandom didn't really pick up on the fact that there was homophobia in the universe of the series as it was airing despite all these "signs." it's almost like the show was leading us to ignore or explain them away, just like many of the characters do before they're forced to confront homophobia in episode 12.

[katyspersonal]

Felicia and Bellclaire knew each other?

WAKE UP GIRL NEW DARK SOULS YURI DROPPED ok ok ok one second let me elaborate hfhhvbhnf

So, basically, their summon locations are connected; one of them they are sharing (Lost Bastille), and their other ones (Amana for Felicia and Drangleic Castle for Bellclaire) are connected throgh their items lore!

Bellclaire is one of the Hollowed Mages from Tseldora, this robe is otherwise exclusively worn by the dudes who kept shooting you near the sand pit lmao. And it is further confirmed by the fact one of her spells is Crystal Soul Spear, a spell that can be created in NG+ from the Soul of Paledrake (Seath) and lorewise originating from Seath.. who kinda possessed the Duke of Tseldora to become cringe so it only makes more sense!

Her other set pieces are Rogue Leggins (clothes of Hollowed thiefs), Lion Warrior Helm (makes sense she put it on, Lion Warriors would be on her way upon leaving Tseldora) and Creighton's Chain Glowes (assume just Mirrah stuff, but this particular one should be ignored I think, feels same as Sceptical Old Man wearing Gehrman's pants aka just aesthetic item)! I think the robe should be THE focus here, all things considered

^^^ Another thing about her is that she has this Chime, but doesn't use a single Miracle, nor even has it just unused in her data! This coincides with how Vendrick kept clerics just for ceremonial purposes and not for actually doing the cleric stuff, and Tseldora was in service of Vendrick as part of Drangleic, so that further points Bellclaire towards just being in his service 🤔

Possibly, she went on her pilgrimage after becoming cursed, rather than staying back and waiting for the curse to take its toll like fellow mages, but wasn't able to run far enough; her summon sign in Lost Bastille is in the cell (with broken bars), seems like she was captured and imprisoned.

Another thing is.. she is not a Hollow! I know the invaders and summons in Dark Souls 2 use like the same 7 preset faces, but there IS a data for Hollow character (annoying three characters fought in Shulva as bosses use it for example)! The thing is, her weapon is Staff of Amana, a weapon that has nothing to do with Drangleic/Vendrick/Tseldora/etc!

But you know what IS interesting about Amana? Right, it has an Altar with a Milfanito at it that allows to restore humanity even without a Human Effigy! It exists for this purpose, and it is possible that THIS is how Bellclaire healed from Hollowing! This staff might have been something she picked on her way! Though this particular staff also scales when you are a human and gives penalty when you are Hollow, so maybe it gives her additional motivation to hold onto her humanity!

At the same time, Felicia's summon signs are in Amana and in Lost Bastille, not far away from Bellclaire but outside of jail cells! Okay, so about her now:

She is wearing a Knight Set (all pieces have the same description), and appears that she is not an Undead since she seeks "official" Knightship in Drangleic!

I need to also clarify about her shield, because it is actually a mistake; the descriptions of Greatshield of Glory and Tower Shield are clearly mixed upon development and it was never corrected:

You can clearly see it is a mistake as the Knights serving Vendrick, who are modeled after his knight Syan, use this shield too:

Her weapon is also Heide Greatlance! (Sorry I don't have a screenshot copied) So, she has a Heide Greatlance, but also a shield she uses is found IN Heide after Old Dragonslayer battle near Targray (the Blue Sentinels guy), and the set she uses is found in the path that connects Heide and No-Man's Wharf!

Note I don't necessarily take it as her dying around, especially with how in Dark Souls 2 every other NPC just conveniently has exact replica of their set and weapon to reward the player with XD (looking at YOU, Elden CRING killing Ansbach and Thiollier to give us their sets!!!). Just more like telling the story through items locations and environment. So, perhaps she tried to become a Blue Sentinel in her pursuit for knightship, but failed.... or maybe, rather, got sidetracked!

No-Man's Wharf got under control of Vendrick, and now they are the ones responsible for capturing Undead and sending them into Lost Bastille! So how about this idea: Felicia found, maybe by accident, path to No-Man's Wharf and by effect the Lost Bastille, and was NOT having what she found out there! If we assume she wanted to join Blue Sentinels, she must have had strong sense of justice or wish to help people.. and, well, Undeads captured and locked away is not nice. Her title is also literally Felicia the Brave, she would not sympathize with peoples fear of the Undead much if at all! Especially since even becoming Hollow doesn't automatically mean being a danger to society, across the trilogy we meet some characters who are Hollow but harmless and even still having their wits and memories, just weird at worst!

So, Felicia was the one to crash Bellclaire's cell open to free her, and accompanied her into Amana to seek restoration of her humanity since Felicia has a summon sign in Amana and Bellclaire has the Staff of Amana and isn't Hollow despite she should be!!! She was not giving up the hope for Undeads and encouraged her to seek help, seeing she yet had wits and deserved a chance instead of rotting in the jailcell! Maybe not even just Bellclaire? Maybe Felicia released every imprisoned Undead that was not yet completely beyond help and put them in the boat away from here, believing they could be helped. There is hope for the Undead (The Pursuer disapproves of THE naivety and optimism sooooOOOO hard lol).

I just think this is so nice tbh hfhruybf. Though Bellclaire is a summon in Drangleic Castle too. I wonder if Hollowing did erode some of her memories still, and she was looking for familiarity like Lucatiel ;-; Or Millicent in ER, actually. Though Felicia might have been looking for Drangleic Castle too because of the Greatshield of Glory, as true knight calling.... until she didn't. Or could have picked a fight with people there? In either case, hers and Bellclaire's paths might cross even beyond their shared adventure (that has no business being as cute as it is)

I also wonder if Targray still wonders where did she go. Maybe worries about her since she isn't an Undead; if she dies then she DIES. He doesn't know she simply has 5 seconds timespan gdhtjhgjh XD

_________________

P.S.: AKTYALY Bellclaire is one of those Fromsoft's trademark GNC characters! The thing is, she is wearing a MALE robe; female variant of this clothing is black!

^^^ White (male)

^^^ Black (female). @val-of-the-north Iirc Dark Souls 2 also has a male character wearing the black variant, right? Based and valid tbh. Common Dark Souls 2 W

P.P.S.: Literally no one asked about this but have this too anyways I g:

[t00nyah]

Okay so how exactly did Wenda attack all the sillies? Like, in what situation? Did she just like randomly come at Pinki with a chair? What was Tunner trying to do when she shot him? (I think you said something about trying to defend ppl?) How’d she do what she did to Sky and Oren? Also in what order did she attack them? I’m curious lol and I love your yapping so hopefully this ask makes some sense lmao I’m not sure it does sorry 😭

this ask makes so much more sense than ANY ask i ever wrote in my life you're GOOD

okay...i don't have a VERY particular order of events in my head, but here's what probably happened:

(hi, after yapping session t00nyah here, obviously gore and murder and stuff is described there!)

i think at first wenda felt a bit weird when she saw everything change, when she saw brud with 60% of his head gone, when she saw OWAKCX's skinned body, and only then clicked that hey, it's alright, everything's going down, so it's allowed to have some girlfun!

i'm trying to make a timeline still and i think it makes sense in my head that wenda went for sky purely out of this newly bloomed impulse to do something intensely fucked up without a weapon on her. dunno where she got those poles, but i would assume they just were around for some reason. i have a small idea of... tunner could've witnessed it shortly after and probably felt so bad about not being there in time to stop her. i think tunner was on a look out for others because something was clearly going on, but unfortunately stumbled across wenda and of course she was full of delight. seeing tunner so appaled at the sight made her laugh! she doesn't have to hide the deranged side of her brain now, who cares, she's not the only one!

of course it was tunner's duty to eliminate the threat, but the question was in order: was it all her doing? who's behind it all if not her? to which she of course looked at him annoyed and gave him the genuine 'no, i just came here and everything was like that already. not that i mind, as you can see' and somehow still managed to yoink the revolver he had pointed at her. got lucky i suppose. with my super-toxic-yuri-powered brain i can't not imagine her do some weird flirting because i don't care im brainrotted. something about a he/him butch lesbian pointing a gun at her because she's actively seen as a threat is just that attractive to her. but we all know it ultimately ends with her shooting him, having her girlfun!

that's the point after which she goes to get her knife, because she really got lucky with having something around and it's not really that fun when she doesn't have her own iconic murder weapon, right?

i think she could've gotten the idea of finding oren and pinki almost immediately, and of course she found them hiding at the house together, trying to figure out where to go now, nowhere is safe. and nowhere it is, as wenda approaches them in the most horror movie maniac way possible for her. i think hearing her voice immediately raised the question of is there any chance it's a good thing wenda found them, and no, turns out of course it's not! i think she didn't mean to do that, but ended up hitting pinki with a chair because she was annoying to her to shut her the fuck up. ended up fucking up her face and knocking her out for good, as she herself got to FINALLY use her knife and slowly cut open oren's ribcage. made sure to make it painful! after looking at what she's done for a while, of course, she did get bored and move on, but she was definitely satisfied.

(this is basically where the answer to the questions ends, but i still went on a bit of a bonus yapping session to clarify something)

and then in redemption arc au almost immediately after that something just cleans the atmosphere, everything is normal again and wenda is hit with this weird feeling of emptiness after so much stimuli and boiling bloodthirst. just a whuh. wuh. and stands still. looking around. everything is so normal, but the gore in sight is definitely the same. and then she's approached by the higher powers forbidding her from doing any more harm and helping repair what has been broken. obviously her first reaction is 'this is bullshit.' which is understandable. and yeah, this IS bullshit. but she legit is disallowed to harm anyone now it just won't work and harming herself counts too she just can't do SHIT. she very VERY unwillingly has to cure lethal wounds (and it works because of the said higher powers that made her do that and she's so pissed).

[rollercoasterwords]

ugh!!! different anon but i just read your thoughts about everything r is thinking and feeling and i canttttt, and it also hurts bc from s perspective, the feelings and developments he thought they had for so long were a ruse!! so on both sides we have them fighting their feelings and denying the reality of their connection :(((

one follow up question i have is, how does r (and really the whole gang) reconcile this initial distrust and subsequent shock (that s is Becoming Good) with the existence of reg? bc like on the one hand yes s represents so much evil shit to them, has done so much evil shit, but his redeemed brother is right there as well. so i’m curious about how these characters marry those feelings

yeah <3 i mean 2 clarify it's not so much that r thought s was like. actively tricking him like he believes what s was feeling was real too it's just that s knew before they kissed etc. that he was going 2 be obliviating himself so the idea that those feelings could become something was, at that point, a lie, and that's where r feels betrayed.

and that's an interesting question!! re: reg (and re: s) all 3 of them have v different perspectives. like for james reg chose on his own 2 betray voldemort, and even tho reg kinda dismisses the idea that he was rebelling 4 some noble reason etc james still like...kinda gives him that credit & sees him as someone who organically came 2 this position that was at least somewhat aligned w the values & goals of the order, whereas s did not do that; hence, james cuts him way less slack. s was also a lot more active in the d.e. & actively harming order members + allies in ways that reg was not, which also makes james like him less to begin with. but james has also grown up pretty separated from broader society, so even tho the d.e. have always been his enemies, he hasn't been like...quite as subjected 2 their reign in his daily life the same way r has, and bc james has been raised as like a soldier in a war he views voldemort as his ultimate enemy & the d.e. as like enemy soldiers, so there's overall less of like...this personal hatred 4 them as individuals. which makes it easier 4 him 2 accept that people like reg & s can grow & change if they demonstrate they're willing 2 side w the order + work towards order goals.

for lily a lot of this is similar 2 james--she views reg as having made his own decision 2 leave the d.e. + s as being forced, so trusts him less 2 begin with, etc. but lily, unlike james, has spent even less time actually like...directly interacting w d.e. like she's spent most of her time in order bases + hq working behind the scenes on potions etc, so she's even further removed from the personal aspect of all this & has an easier time accepting that both s + reg can become good people (tho at first she dislikes reg bc james is tutoring him + flirting w him lmao). lily also sees a lot more gray area than james, who tends 2 view the world in black & white terms (if you're fighting for the d.e. ur bad, if you're fighting for the order ur good, etc). for lily, everyone has the capacity 4 both good & evil, and a person's life is largely shaped by conditions outside their control, so her worldview + relative distance from the whole conflict makes it easier for her 2 accept that reg + s can change.

but remus has grown up as a werewolf under voldemort's government for most of his life, not in order bases, and so he has a very acute sense of the ways in which individuals make up + perpetuate these systems of violence, and is not particularly forgiving towards them even if he recognizes that yes, people can change and yes, that's probably a good thing--it doesn't undo the hurt they've done and it doesn't mean he's going to forgive them. this is why r + reg aren't friends, even tho lily + james are friends w both of them; r didn't really like reg from the start & basically just avoided him as much as he could, which wasn't hard bc he was out doing work 4 the order + reg was working in potions labs w lily. so even tho r could recognize that like, ok i guess it's good we got a reformed d.e. working 4 us, he never had 2 go through like a personal struggle of actually feeling friendly towards the guy & basically just kept disliking him lol. so not only does he already hold these grudges (understandably!), he also doesn't think of evil in the same way as the others--whereas james views voldemort, the figurehead of this entire system, as the Ultimate Evil, and lily can understand how people born into these violent systems would perpetuate them but thinks that's usually more from being misguided than ill intent, remus views this as a structural issue in which people like s, who (from r's pov when they first meet) think of themselves as generally 'good' people, still justify their role in these systems of violence because it benefits them, which is much more insidious and infuriating than someone like voldemort, who is just pretty straightforwardly a Bad Guy. and that's what i mean when i say r views s of representative of like, everything wrong w society--bc the vast majority of people in society are like s, who view themselves as good people and blame all (or at least most of) the bad on figureheads like voldemort without recognizing their own role in structural violence. and his whole relationship w s & feelings for him just make it way more difficult 4 him to watch s change + grow & to accept that that's possible, even though, theoretically, he should want it 2 be possible, bc there's this more personal level of pain...someone who views themself as a good person hurts u & u want 2 go "hey!! ur not a good fucking person!!" but then they actually become a good person (or at least a better one) so then what do u do w that hurt, y'know?

anyway. this got v long but yeah have actually spent quite a bit of time thinking about these 3 characters & how their different worldviews + experiences shape their attitudes towards the black brothers!

[roobylavender]

i love ur critiques. what are 1 or 2 things per bat character (whether irt their fans, character, or comics) that you dont like?

(or if not every bat then just those u want <33)

thank you for the compliment! i'll do fan criticisms since that's always more fun

bruce

idk if it's an outright dislike but i feel like bruce fans who get up in arms about him killing simply do not take the time to understand his moral code across the span of his narrative.. bruce should never intentionally attempt to murder unless driven to absolute extremes and the few issues in which this idea was explored by mike w. barr the ultimate outcome was meant to demonstrate why bruce should never intentionally attempt to murder (e.g., in son of the demon his murder of qayin effectively amounts to nothing and leaves him bereft of talia's companionship and the start of their family together; in batman: full circle if he went through with the murder of the reaper another child would be left orphaned and that is not a reality bruce wants to facilitate). they are character studies and should be treated as such! however alternatively i do not think bruce has as concrete feelings about unintentional murder. if he's in a chaotic situation and he has to choose between saving a civilian and saving a supervillain, he will choose the civilian, and that's okay! sometimes you have to prioritize! and dick and cass are there to feel guilty for not being able to save everyone lol

dick

i am constantly confused with dick fans' simultaneous frustration over his permanent removal to batman editorial (valid, correct, etc.) and their desire to frame him as the omnipresent big brother figure to everyone in the bat family. like.. are these not contradictory to each other lmao. i've discussed it before but it feels like many of them want to combat the idea that he's a bad big brother even though he was realistically under no obligation to do anything for bruce's other wards/adoptees like mans had already left the house! he did not have a relationship with those kids and he doesn't have to. it doesn't make me think lesser of him at all

every dick fan should be required to read up on wally and garth outside of teen titans comics before even daring to speak on either of them idgaf

jason

i'm gna skip him because i feel like 70% of my account is dedicated to discussing what i don't like about most jason fans

tim

admittedly i have less context to clarify this confusion because my reading stops abruptly in like 2002 but i'm very confused with tim fans' simultaneous positioning of him as this boy scout representation of why batman will always need a robin! and their complete indulgence in his emo boy era. i still haven't read said emo era because again [see above] but i feel like a lonely place of dying can very clearly be read as the start to a tragedy because it's insane for any thirteen year old to think he has to be the one to make sure gotham's vigilante apparatus remains functioning. reading robin (1993) is jarring in the most effective way possible because it's these moments of tim trying to lead a normal, trivial, everyday life juxtaposed against moments where he's in an outright terror zone or seconds away from beating a man to death or throwing a temper tantrum because bruce didn't respect his privacy even though it was in the interest of reassuring stephanie that tim was okay. tim unfortunately comes from a place of privilege and is not in any sense emotionally equipped to deal with what he gets into and i don't know how people think that starts with jack's death in identity crisis and not years prior with the beginning of his stint

to the above end, i truly don't care about the debate over tim's various secret identities and out of all of the bat kids i think he is the one most desperately in need of permanent retirement. let him indulge his stalker tendencies and photography talents per some other means (investigative journalism) before he goes insane

stephanie

i'm sure batgirl (2009) is a cute book or whatever (aside from its characterization of damian..) but i'm never going to read it and the idea that the spoiler identity wasn't sufficient to explore stephanie as a character is just.. eternally stupid to me. like obv most people acknowledge that the decision to make her into robin was one intended to set her up for failure but i also don't know why she ever needed to become batgirl later on. spoiler is not an identity adjacent to the red hood wherein stephanie is using it as a crutch to deter herself from achieving closure with her trauma and the only reason editorial made her ditch it is because they hate anyone not fitting into the robin-batgirl dichotomy

do steph fans like timst*ph? idk. i'm anti romantic timst*ph but i like the idea of them remaining besties provided tim works through his plethora of issues and biases

damian

in the tim vs. damian debate i am squarely on tim's side lol.. if i was a fifteen year old who witnessed my dad, best friend, and girlfriend violently die within the span of like a year and then saw the one thing to which i had clung for the past three years of my life like a psychological lifeline ripped away from me for the sake of a random kid with severe attitude issues i too would develop into the most caustic teenager known to man. obv editorial racism has its part to play in this but i'm annoyed that people constantly opt to dogpile on tim and not the writers because frankly tim's reaction to the circumstances is completely predicated

i'm not interested in dialoguing with damian fans who want to maintain any part of talia's (and by extension bruce's) abusive parenting in canon. i don't care how crucial it is to his character origins and development. that's not my concern and new 52 should have wiped him out of existence or rebooted his character entirely from scratch if they wanted me to care

alfred

does this man even have fans

barbara

i'm never going to understand dickb*bs like not even from a ship war or dick is an asshole perspective i just genuinely don't think barbara would ever have given him the time of day in that regard. he was a kid she knew once who maybe had a crush on her at one point before he moved away to another city and developed his own life there. why should she care about that. as if she doesn't have her own life! i know barbara has not been afforded many options in terms of romance and that dick has been the overarching love interest she's portrayed alongside but idk i don't think we have to make concessions merely because something is canon. canon can suck and we can reject it because it sucks even if it's omnipresent

the brub*bs versus dickb*bs situation is kind of funny to me because like yes the execution of these relationships in the timmverse is obv horrid and gag inducing but also as i recall in the comics barbara originally did have a crush on the batman or she was at least fascinated by him lol.. like i don't support it obv and her crush on him was as much fleeting and childish as was dick's crush on her and i faaaaar prefer bruce and barbara's bestieship. but it's funny to me that people would ship one and condemn the other like pot meet kettle lol

standard disclaimer that i can't do cass and duke bc idk enough about either of them 😔

[youremyheaven]

So true, just because you are born into wealth doesn't necessarily mean you will live up to it. Have you watched the show Succession? It’s about a family-owned conglomerate. The second son wants to become the next heir, but he’s a drug addict and unstable. Totally reckless.(The actor is a Swati or Vishakha. Personally, I think he’s so Swati. The drugs, hello???) The dad doesn’t let his children have it easy, because they all want to be the CEO but they aren’t fit for it. Also, a distant relative who’s not rich (either Swati or Vishakha, but I think he’s Vishakha because he had principles but obviously money corrupts) went from working at a bare minimum wage job and living at a hostel to making bank and being apart of the family’s inner circle. He’s a outcast, but he works his way up. Even though he doesn’t fit in, he is lucky to be in that position because, without being related to them, he wouldn’t have the job through the connections.

ive heard a lot about Succession (Sarah Snook is 🥵🥵) but alas, i haven't watched it 🥲

Yeah that makes sense

Vishaka is also an outcaste nakshatra

Just wanted to differentiate between outcast and outcaste

Outcaste = existing outside the caste system

Outcast = yk a misfit who's shunned by society or whatever

Outcaste naks do create experiences for individuals that make them feel like outcasts so it does add up

I just wanted to clarify bc some of you mix it up 🫣

I think beneficial naks are really important in having, accumulating and benefiting from wealth.

Obviously karma also matters

Mariah Carey is a singer who has a net worth of $350 million or more, of her 2 siblings, her sister is an HIV infected prostitute (or was) and her brother was/is a drug dealer and just an overall shady guy

They all grew up in the same house with the same parents and lived in poverty for the most part. Mariah went on to become a huge star while the others did whatever they did. Greatness can come from anywhere but it's important to not give too much credit to suffering. It's not suffering that makes someone great, it's their tenacity to build a life beyond it.

Sorry I'm just sharing random thoughts lmao

[monstaxdirtywonk]

Jimin's birth chart (with birth time/houses)

Hey everyone! I saw on Twitter that Jimin recently mentioned his birth time but he didn't clarify am or pm. After taking a look at both possible charts, I vote for the am one. This was unexpected because 11:58 pm actually makes him a cancer rising and I've thought he was one for the longeeeest time but I think 11:58 am makes more sense overall and I'm gonna share why later on. Keep in mind this still can't be official so yes take this as a disclaimer I guess.

Highlights: north node in the 10th house, 10th house stelium, Gemini moon, Scorpio Venus and Mars, Jupiter in the 12th, Neptune in the 1st, Libra MC, Sun conjunct MC.

Air dominance in the big 3

So Jimin has a libra sun, Gemini moon and Sagittarius rising (if his birth time is accurate indeed). Those 3 signs are known for their independence and self reliable outlook when it comes to life. Gemini moon people can be very witty, intelligent and intellectuals but they are also prone to being moody or overly realistic when it comes to matters of the heart. I do think that Jimin has a softer nature than what his big 3 would suggest which made me think of a cancer rising, but I think it's gonna all make sense later. As a Sagittarius rising, Jimin is very curious about the world, he loves learning and exploring. He is someone thoughtful when it comes to life and the lessons that we learn from our experiences. From my pov, it seems like namjoon and jimin are pretty close, and it's not surprising since namjoon has a Sagittarius moon! Moon-rising positive aspects are chef's kiss.

10th house stelium in Sun, Venus and North Node

Aka the most I'm gonna be a major celebrity thing I've ever seen in a chart 😂 10th house placements are associated with fame, because the 10th house is associated with our life path and career. If someone has planets that they fall under the 10th house, sometimes they can suggest what you might be known for! The sun feels so good in the 10th house because they have very similar energies. The sun is all about leading, making a statement, being SEEN and it's under the 10th house? You were meant to shine sweetheart. It's also in his Venus, Venus being the planet of love, beauty and ARTS. Guess we know Jimin for all those things, aren't we? But the best placement to have it imo is the north node. The north node isn't a planet or an asteroid but a point that's always across your South node. South node is about our previous life (for those that believe in that) while north node can reveal our aspirations for this life, what we're more inclined to do, experiences and lessons for our current life. His current life is all about fame and his life path. But another thing I'd like to point out is that there is an abundance of fame indicators or career related ones which means that its a very crucial part of his life. Overall all this needs some balance and he does need some privacy with his Scorpio Venus and Mars too.

Scorpio Venus and Mars

Boohaha as if one Scorpio placement wasn't enough lmao. Scorpio in Venus is a notoriously bad placement (although I'd like to disagree) because the scoprio energy can be too intense for the gentle and soft nature of Venus. Meanwhile the second ruler of scoprio is Mars so it feels right at home there. He doesn't have a venus-mars conjunction exactly (because the degrees don't allow it) but we can all agree that he definitely gets his alluring side from the venus-mars positive aspect he has. I feel like Jimin has an one of a kind beauty that I've never seen in kpop before (he isn't even my bias lmao). His beauty is ethereal (we will see later why that is), sensual, pretty and mysterious all at the same time. Aphrodite's favorite son be like. Jimin likes to keep matters of his heart private or share them only with close friends. Love feels special only when it's secretive. He likes being trusted by others and when someone reveals their hidden or even darker sides of themselves to him. Despite his libra placements making him a peace maker that enjoys being well liked by others, when he gets mad, he gets mad!

Jupiter in the 12th

Jupiter is ruled by Sagittarius so it's a very lucky placement! It is his chart ruler as well if his rising is in Sagittarius indeed! Jupiter is a benefic planet and it expands traits. His Jupiter is in the 12th house, which is a very spiritual house. Actually the 12th house has a bad reputation in astrology because it's about the subconscious and illusions, but this is probably lessen with Jupiter's help. Also his chart ruler falling under the 12th house, is one aspect that might give him this ethereal look but the most important is....

Neptune in the 1st

The it girl/boy placement ladies and gentlemen! Neptune is the planet of dreams and illusions, it's all about the otherworldly and whimsical things. It being in the 1st, gives his looks an ethereal touch. Also Pisces rising and a Neptune in the 1st are great placements for models or idols because it makes someone a chameleon. Jimin is able to transform through their different concepts. You know how each Era a member looks their best? For Jimin it seems like most of the comebacks fit him like a glove. He is able to do bright, cute, dark or sexy concepts so effortlessly!

Libra in the Midheaven

Libra in the midheaven can suggest things about someone's life path/career and it being related to beauty or law. For Jimin it seems to be the first 😂 great placement for models especially, makeup artists, fashion designers etc. Jimin according to the members loves fashion so its very fitting.

Sun conjunct Midheaven

As if he didn't have enough placements to make him a star lmao. I find this particularly accurate because this is a great aspect to have! The sun makes us 'seen' and he is seen in his field, admired by coworkers and someone others look up to because they admire him or they want his guidance. Both are accurate for Jimin. Despite his young age many younger idols admire him and his accomplishments! What a star 🌟.

For astrology ships or chart readings DM me (5-10 USD)

[cdroloisms]

I guess to clarify, like how good of a person do you think he is? Had he done things you think are bad, or has he always been in the right with the things he does to others like with Exile, trying to lock up Tommy, etc? (I’m sorry if I haven’t worded this the best, I’m bad at words, but I can elaborate further if you need me too ^^)

well he's not a good person lol

he didn't try to lock up tommy anon 😭😭😭um unless you're talking abt the prison lockdown...where honestly i dont even know if he wanted to lock tommy in there like if he did he sure didn't DO anything with it like literally at all. maybe he wanted to bargain his way out through tommy like by negotiating with sam but sam just dgaf. that being said no one was acting like any hostage deals happened and i just do not think that it makes sense to assume that a whole ass hostage deal (where dream is just like . oh okay then when sam doesn't agree ??) happened off screen after tommy got locked in there and then everyone just moved on. but when he was making the speech about locking tommy in the prison and killing tubbo, it's been confirmed canon that all of that was a lie to set up a betrayal to put himself inside the prison cell

like um obviously i think he's done bad things and isn't in the right lmao. like literally every dsmp character has done bad things and isn't in the right all of the time (every dsmp character i gaf about anyway). ill go a step further for u anon and say that yes, c!dream is a bad person who does shitty things, is literally a villain, and kinda like. evil ??? lmao ???

that being said will i jokingly say that he "didn't do anything wrong," yeah, do i think he's often extremely misinterpreted as a whole, yeah, do i think that the actions he took make sense within his own logical framework and that he had reasons behind his actions and that a lot of what he does is literally taken out of context when they are inherently consequences for like the first seven fucking months of this character's existence, absolutely. idk anon feel free to elaborate more if there's anything ur confused by but 😭?

[andthebubbles]

well, longer post for the wicked soundtrack (spoilers)

defying gravity: wow i nearly started crying lmao skjfngkfg either i'm in a Mood orrrr... nah i think it's cynthia's voice, she really gets all the emotion out somehow with her voice!! amazing. and it made me remember that i did get teary when i saw the stage show back in 2009. jemma rix, btw <3 (she was still the understudy back then i think?) (i had a crush on her for a bit haha)

anyway atm i'm just listening to all the tracks i usually listen to. first i listened to Dancing Through Life, then The Wizard and I, What Is This Feeling, Popular, I'm Not That Girl, One Short Day, Defying Gravity

oooh the high F sounds good in Defying Gravity (i just got to it (i'm listening and liveblogging/writing this lol))

i assume the new bit inserted into DG will make more sense after watching the movie

anyway, other comments:

one short day: i knew they'd be in it bc i saw spoilers, and i'm not bothered about spoilers/it doesn't dampen my excitement/i don't need to be surprised (someone was kinda rude/offended about it on reddit to someone else, as if everyone thinks the same as them skjfgnfg). anyway, One Short Day, the new bit is another of those moments where it'll make sense once i see the movie. so yeah XD nice to have the og there though

the wizard and i: glorioussss

i'm not that girl: reaaaally nice, then i felt like it got a bit overwrought towards the end BUT i'm sure it'll make more sense when i see the movie

defying gravity (again lol, i cbb trying to slot it back in up top somewhere): there's something about the long held un-vibrato(??) notes in the chorus bit which just get me every time. and because i hadn't heard cynthia's version till now/this is the first time, the whole emotional whatever of it hit me again. fun!! (as an aside i also really like jemma rix's voice, i might go watch the stage version i got off yt again after this)

okay so ariana's songs/voice: they're nice, she sounds a lot like chenoweth, but atm i'm not so into how... unpunchy her delivery is? idk. tentative opinion till i see the movie in about 3 weeks (rather than my usual 4-5 weeks for a movie that i want to see lol (look, i'm eager!!))

oooh now listening to the ozdust duet track! i didn't know what it was till i clicked on it and recognised the music. WOW IT'S SO ROMATICALLY GELPHIE PLS THEY'RE SLOW DANCING YOU CAN'T CONVINCE ME THAT THERE WEREN'T ~AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES~ SHENANIGANS like that beat is basically 80s (?) romance (??) slow dance (???) songs, IDK WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT, I WAS CLASSICALLY TRAINED, NOT POPULAR-MUSIC TRAINED (// to clarify/further explain, for some fucking reason my dad didn't let me listen to a lot/any popular music growing up, which he now fucking denies...! so now i'm a lil unsure but like I REMEMBER BEING A TEENAGER and him being like 'this is trash music, they can't sing' and so i had to listen in secret. and for someone who can't stand headphones/earphones (the feel of it), it was hard to listen to things lol. i heard more in primary school because primary school was more music-ey with the concerts and stuff)

anyway MUCH later i'll listen to all the other tracks i never listen to LMAO, i'm actually waiting for a better quality version than what yt can give me, so

aaand i'll add to this as i think of more things. gonna listen to all my fave tracks againnnn

ETA: ehehehe it's officially out at midnight my time!

more ETA

dancing through life: man jb's voice just makes me smile haha // I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE HIM BE A SHALLOW LIL SHITHEAD // i like the new transitions in this, better than the other tracks (just from without seeing the movie yet), i think because there's always a lot of room to move with this one, no pun intended lol

ETA2:

forgot to mention yesterday but i LOVE what they did with the start of One Short Day, because it starts a minor 3rd higher than on the OST and i was like, whaaa are we really transposing it that high? and it (the vocals and stuff) was very nice. and then it dropped down into the usual key, and it just sounded GOOD and it fucked with you a bit. very nice