#janny rants

[janny-aqua]

Ok, I want Sheva to be happy. I want Sheva and Merah to bond with each other their tragic past and their loss of their loved ones. I want Sheva and Merah to go out and go to auditoriums where cosmic shows happens and stuff. I want Sheva and Merah to ride around in motorcycle during sunset. I want Sheva and Merah to be an couple.

[wingamy24]

a lot of jeff/annie shippers have said that i'm just a no-fun anti that fixates on their age gap and, like, yeah, obviously. that's the main problem. but i also think jeff/annie go against both of the character's development.

annie constantly tries getting her "dream man" because she feels the need to be loved. she needs someone to love her and give her approval. she sees that man as jeff because, in her words, she believes that if she teaches someone like him to love, then she'll be loved forever. i think that jeff/annie could've been used as a way to make annie mature and realize that she doesn't need a 35 year old man's approval or attention and that she can love herself the same way... of course, this doesn't work if you try to make them endgame.

and jeff, well... basically, community finale. jeff sees annie as his youth, the one he desperately wants back. and, also, he feels lonely. he's a cold guy that constantly needs to look cool in front of his friends. he's VERY lonely. he doesn't want annie: same as her, he just wants to be loved. he's not used to loving. he wants to experience it, but as annie said in his weirdass fantasy where she was married to him... "is this what you really want?"*

i don't know, i feel like shipping jeff and annie is the equivalent of throwing their characters through the window of a 13-floor building.

*that's the translation of the spanish subtitles, i can't exactly remember what annie actually said in english.

5/3/24 update (i forgot that i wanted to add this)

in general, it just feels like they both want a completely different relationship with a completely different person, and they're trying to force the other to be that person. im mostly talking about annie here. if your favorite community character is jeff winger, you probably are his #1 hater, like me. annie doesn't deserve jeff. she deserves way better. and im not saying this in a "they are so silly hahaha annie deserves so much better than this silly guy" no, annie would get hurt in a relationship with jeff. she has high expectations for him. she has high expectations in general. my girl is FRESH OUT OF HIGHSCHOOL and the only 2 guys we've seen her canonically date are grownass men she met when she was 18/19. jeff just isn't her guy. can you imagine them actually living together? can you imagine jeff sleeping on a bed full of plushies? can you imagine annie groaning as she saw jeff's magazines of women? (jeff canonically has those, by the way) etc, etc. annie deserves SO MUCH BETTER than jeff. also, she doesn't really... get jeff. i know this is weird, i mean, they're friends. but jeff never really opened up to annie or went to her whenever he had personal issues. i don't think they'd be closer than friends (close friends).

there's also a whole thing in their potential relationship that could be harmful to annie: jeff's addiction to alcohol. i reblogged a post about it a few days ago that you might wanna check out

kk guys it's been like 3 days and i found it it's right here!

[hidingoutbackstage]

I absolutely adore @janny-aqua ‘s mutated designs for Manuela and Ashley so I had to draw them as monster gfs

[staringdownabarrel]

Okay, so I just finished Daughter of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts. (I said this was going to be a thing, and by god, it's going to be a thing.) Here's my thoughts.

In a lot of ways, this book really does smooth over a lot of the issues Magician had. Instead of just being a fairly generic fantasy story, it has a very tight focus on Tsurani political maneuvering. There's a level of political savviness in this book that literally doesn't exist in most of Feist's other works. While other characters in the Riftwar saga do have political considerations, it's usually not their only concern the same way the political considerations are Mara's only concern.

The fact that this book focuses so heavily on Tsurani politics also means that it's one of the very few Feist books that isn't heavily inspired by medieval European politics. This is one of the elements that I wish Magician had done more with as well, and it certainly had the opportunity to. I think this is a more interesting direction to go down because the Tsurani cultural elements is one of the aspects that made the original book stand out.

Mara being a woman also means that this is one of the very few books that not only has a woman with an arc not based around her current love interest (in fact, she doesn't have one), it's also one of his best written female characters ever. I suspect that this was probably largely due to Wurts' influence as cowriter, but I can't actually prove that because I haven't read any of her other books. For me, based on what I know as of this writing, it's just a suspicion.

I think the big thing Daughter of the Empire does well is that it avoids one of the big pitfalls a book like it could fall into. Because the main plot of this book is happening at the same time as some of the events as Magician (the reason I'm going with the Empire trilogy before Silverthorn and A Darkness at Sethanon), it could have easily have just been a rehash of a lot of the same plot points but from a different perspective.

And because it happens to have a much tighter focus than Magician--the plot happens over the course of maybe two or three years on the outside rather than the twelve-ish years that Magician's plot spans--it could have just been a book that amounted to, "...and here's a detailed description of this battle, and this one, and this one..." until the end of time. It chose to focus on the political aspects of what happens almost entirely.

The fact that it manages to avoid both of these tendencies means that, at least to me, Daughter of the Empire is one of the best interquels I've read.

[trustonlystars]

You know sisters are made of different bones altogether. They're all about stories and more stories. You see, that's how there is never an end to a conversation. If you ever heard our discussions about our dreams, you'd be smitten! We hold life like petals and feathers, we adore each moment and every person who walks through our stories. I don't remember the last time I had a normal conversation with any of my sisters. You see, we create these little worlds for ourselves, where we basically rant and gossip, mostly about our exes- especially about our exes. The way we talk, if a guy ever heard us - I am not sure if he'd feel guilty or downright want to be a part of that conversation. You see, there is nothing you can hide from your sister, that's not how it works. There is a way we have conversations without having conversations. It's amusing to be one, and it's a muse to have one.

- trustonlystars | Jannie F | #NaPoWriMo

[the-panmixxia]

Pound of Prevention (and an ounce of cure) Chapter 5

Two figures wandered through narrow alleys, closely following a magical, purple thread as it flickered in and out of existence. Janus huffed in frustration as it completely disappeared, lowering his hands and rubbing them to ease the cramping.

"This isn't working." Janus mumbled, rather grumpy. Remus grinned, quite happy to trot next to the frustrated warlock.

"I still say we should hijack a sound system and blast Paramore until the little emo scuttles out of a crevice!"

Janus simply rolled his eyes, fiddling with the lapels of his peacoat before reengaging his spiritual bonds. A neon green thread lead straight to Remus, an orange thread trailing far east to his brother a few states away. And one, faint purple thread, barely there and leading them dead ahead. A tether to Virgil.

A tether that flickered once more, and disappeared into nothingness.

"Don't fret, Janny! It was going a bit to the left. That's a direction to get waking in, huh?"

The two kept walking, Janus eyeing the sky critically. It was going to rain soon, and in no less than an hour Virgil would be transforming back into a kitten. The guilt threatened to eat him alive at any moment, though it was rather difficult to wallow in past mistakes when a devilish imp was hanging off your arm, singing crude parodies to pop songs under their breath.

"Hmm. Maybe Virgil is in there?" Remus says with a smirk, nodding towards a building across the street. Music could be heard from inside, and neon signs in the window depicting silhouettes of girls in bikinis, it was rather apparent what the place was. "I think we ought to check it out, just in case."

"Something tells me that our socially anxious, asexual friend is not going to be in a bloody strip club!"

Remus simply grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "I dunno, maybe spook will surprise you. I bet Virgie is getting a lap dance right now. Oh, can you imagine?"

Janus scoffed, cuffing the horny imp round the ear. "Give the Gods a break Remus, we find Virgil this week I'll give you a lap dance myself. Let's get moving."

With the vague promise of a lap dance from his favorite, uptight warlock, Remus seemed a lot more motivated to find the third roommate. That's not to say Remus wasn't worried about Virgil, or that he didn't want spook back. It was just that…well, Virgil was a human equivalent of an adult, and technically within spooks right to disappear into the night like a much less intimidating Batman.

The pessimism was pissed out of his bloodstream the second Janus was able to clench his ass and get the magic up and running once more. This time, the thread traveled a few feet ahead before curving upwards to a tall apartment complex. It disappeared before it could hit a particular floor, but unless Virgil was hovering behind the building with a new found flying ability, then spook was almost definitely in that apartment building. Spooks house, most likely. At least that curbed one concern, that Virgil's intense hatred of social interaction lead to a lack of job and housing. Before all this drama Virgil was working at an extremely quiet leather shop, usually spending spooks whole day listening to some variant of a "this generation doesn't know good leather when they see it" rant. Virgil insisted it was better than dealing with customers.

"Oh, fuck yeah. Imma be having that lap dance before sunrise!"

Janus flushed a gentle pink on the left of his face, tugging his gloves with a huff.

"Oh, shut up. We've got at least a hundred apartments to search, and before that we've got to find a way in without looking like criminals."

"Pshh. No building is gonna keep my slippery dick in or out."

//

"Bitch. BITCH! NU-UH, I'm liking none of this."

"Remy, we've been brainstorming all week. I'm telling you, Patton had zero interest in eating me. I think fae just fosters cats? Like, for fun?"

"Latte didn't need fostering, she had an extremely loving owner!"

"I mean, you never really got her chipped or put any identification on her. Besides those stupid crochet hats you'd wrestle on to her."

Remy let out a primal hiss that would've had any caregiving vampire going feral, though only served to raise Virgil's brow in an unamused manner - spook had heard the whole spectrum of nestling noises from Remy, not much have Virgil pause anymore.

"Sorry, Remy. Those hats were dumb. And I need to get fostered by this big ass werewolf so I can bite a big ass chunk of fur out to act as a pelt."

"And then I'm gonna bust you out by knocking on the door and insisting that's my kitty?"

"Yeah. You should have finished at the library by nine am, come back with your librarian venom and once I've poofed back we should be golden to go through this reversal!"

"This is gonna suck. You're making me deal with two of the biggest bitches ever, like I actually don't know who's worse, the nerdy librarian or the cat-napping dog -"

Virgil huffed, smacking Remy's arm to stop them mid rant. "Are you doing it or not, Remy?"

The two paused, staring at each other, Virgil trying to control spooks anxious breathing and Remy - well, they technically didn't have to breathe, but he sighed and huffed plenty.

"Of course, Vee. We've got each other's back, we're cov-... Uh, a couple of pals. Besties. Roommates for life."

Spook huffed a laugh, it was always amusing how awkward Remy got at any form of affection despite his usual sass and confidence. Still, Virgil probably shouldn't mock it.

"Thank you. Let's get this sorted. I'm gonna turn into a cat anytime now. Drop me on floor twelve and I'll try and be caught by -"

Ah. Cat mode activated, apparently, as Virgil suddenly got very close to Remy's boots. The vampire shuffled back, cooing softly before scooping Virgil up.

"We need to get a proper cat after this, babes. I miss Latte's baby phase, she was such a scruffy little kitten! But not as scruffy as you, babes, don't worry."

That was plain rude. Virgil bit his thumb in retaliation, but diligently plopped into a loaf position on Remy's palm. The other thumb rubbed a gentle circle on the back of spooks ears, mm, nice. That deserves a purr.

"Heh, cute little bitch. If this werewolf does end up eating you, I'm totally having your bedroom. You actually have a view, I'm stuck staring at another building's air con units."

Ah, Remy, the eternal drama queen. The two ride the elevator, doors opening to an empty hallway. Remy steps out just enough to peek round the corner, foot in the doorway to keep it open. The coast was clear, so they leant down to whisper to the kitten.

"Right, this is your stop, yeah? You know which door it is?"

It was quite hard to communicate in this tiny body, so Virgil tilted spooks head all the way back to really emphasize the nodding yes. The vampire smiled, reaching into his bag to grab something before rubbing a greasy substance into Virgil's body. Gross.

"All done, babes. You look extra wet and pathetic. See you later."

With that, Virgil was left in the hallway, Remy's disgusting hair gel settling into spooks fur, stinking of chemicals and shea butter. Yuck. Virgil wandered up the hallway, not needing to count the numbers as Patton's door was the only one not swamp green, but still wondering how to get the werewolf's attention.

"With my luck," Virgil thought "Patton isn't even in faer house tonight. In fact, it would be just my luck if Patton has moved out and I'll never get that stupid pelt."

Maybe crying would help? Did spook have the shamelessness to literally cry for attention for a complete stranger? Considering the alternatives were either staying as a cat for half of spooks life or hitting Janus up to beg for a cure, then maybe so.

" Meow. Me-eeeeooowww!" Virgil cried, trying hard to project spooks tiny voice, pacing around the halls. Hopefully Patton's wolf-like hearing extends to faer human form, but Virgil had never actually talked to a were long enough to know very much at all other than etiquette and social rules for different species, which all children learn.

The elevator hummed as it rose to this floor, opening up to let someone out. Virgil flicked an ear, glancing at the doors to see a pair of crisp, white trainers step out. The bright red laces had shiny beads and Disney-themed charms adorning them. When spook actually looked at the person, the pathetic little mewls died out. It was the same fae that Virgil had, rather creepily, stolen the blood of. As weird of a move as that was, Virgil will gladly take the bad karma that arises from that decision at a later date. After the curse has been reversed, please.

"Oh Padre, look! I think it may be the long-lost soot sprite, returned at last!"

Seemed like this fae was adamant on talking like Prince Charming (the Shrek version, and Virgil did intend that insultingly) and spook was quite sure they'd been talking to a father of some sort. The last thing Virgil needed was to be closely examined by an elder fae. This one seemed oblivious to the curse, and their mild fae-features (freckled, where most elder fae had impossibly unblemished skin. Ears pointing a little, instead of ears tall and pointy enough to pierce the lobe thirty times over) meant that they didn't possess the ability to interact with others curses.

An elder, on the other hand, would sniff spooks true form in an instant. Maybe turn spook into something worse, for funsies. Spook didn't feel like interacting with that scenario, so rather literally turned tail to try and hide behind the dying ficus a few doors down.

That plan also didn't last long, as the assumed 'padre' gasped and made a soft, dog-like whimper.

Wolf like, even.

"Oh, kiddo, there you are." a familiar voice crooned.

The mission had, once again changed, and Virgil piloted the tiny body to turn round and stare the Were down. Patton was reaching out, crouching with a few bags round his arms, clearly uncertain if pursuing the 'animal' would be wise or not.

Fuck that.

Virgil meowed a battle cry before charging the wolf, who 'woof-ed' something pleased, ditching the bags to scoop the tiny body up. Yes, wonderful.

"I see you still have that Patton-ted touch with the baby animals, padre." The fae hummed, Patton laughing softly at the dumb pun.

"Oh, Roman, I'm so happy! We gotta get this kiddo checked up, though. Who knows what's happened in the two weeks they've been missing."

Yes, yes, yes. This was all going according to plan. Virgil purred at the Were, lowering his guard so spook may take the winning bite before skedaddling.

Though, the thought did make Virgil a little guilty. Spook was practically using Patton, playing with the Were's kindness of animals to steal his magical fur-

"Could you heat some water, Roman? I'm gonna weigh the kiddo, take their temperature then try and get some food into the poor thing."

Take their temperature.

Even Virgil knew you couldn't stick a thermometer in a cat's mouth and tell it to stay still.

Fuck this. It seems that bad karma has returned once more.

//

"That was my spot and you know it, you blood-sucking asshole!"

A fossil-looking ass pensioner shouted at Remy, over the sound of their own car's honking. It wasn't Remy's fault the old dude took so long to make a single maneuver. They honestly hadn't noticed the tiny, two seat smart car was moving. The car had kept perfectly still as Remy whipped round into the free spot, and only then did the man decide to take offense.

If Virgil was here, the wet little emo would insist Remy apologize and find another spot. Sucks for this old dude that Remy really wasn't in the mood. The vampire grabbed their satchel before standing proudly in front of the other car to flip a hearty bird.

"Shut up, you old turd! Go park literally anywhere else and get off my dick!"

The pensioner's face turned a lovely shade of red, fumbling with his door while mumbling angry nonsense.

"Why, you disrespectful, oversized mosquito. I ought to-"

"Excuse me." A new voice chimed in, firm and authoritative. Remy turned their head slightly to see the library vampire - Logan? Yeah he was called Logan. Def. - standing a few paces behind the two, looking rather unimpressed.

"The only designated parking at this facility is the disabled spots marked in blue. You can not own a parking space and so arguing about which spot is yours is moot."

The old guy scowled even more so, trembling in anger and revving the engine of his car, clearly trying to insinuate he'd ram into Remy. They merely grinned.

Logan did not find it as amusing, and in a blink was in front of Remy, one hand firmly on the hood of the car with a warning grumble that Remy had only ever heard his sire make, when he was a fresh enough turn to keep her attention.

"Your options are, in order of my personal preference; you leave now and find an alternative way to spend your night, you find another place to park - of which there are plenty - and come into the library when you are sufficiently calm, or you can continue to be irate and I can call security to remove you from the premises."

After a tense few minutes the old guy drove off with an angry huff, and while Remy fully intended to give a sarcastic salute, a cold hand encircled his wrist.

"It is not necessary to provoke the situation I have already sorted."

Ugh, boring.

"Fine, babes. Thanks for all the jazz, I'm actually here to see you in particular so, like, I'm glad you're here."

Logan dropped Remy's wrist, gesturing the two to return to the library. "Oh? And why might that be? Do you have more text you need to translate?"

"Not tonight, gurl, I'm here to talk vampire - to - vampire about things vampire."

"I… see." Logan said after a little hesitance, readjusting his tie. "Is there a particular reason that 'vampire' things can not be discussed with your sire, or your coven?"

"Uh, I'm asking the questions, babes. So, uh, tell me. This venom that the spell asked for, yeah? It's from a vampire, but I'm a vampire, and there's no venom coming from me. Is it like a period thing, do I only venom once a month? What's the deal with that?"

Logan blinked, first trying to digest the lingo, and then another long blink as he processed the question.

"...No. A vampire's venom is not akin to a menstrual cycle. An adult vampire on a consistent diet is capable of creating venom regularly, though may temporarily stop production while siring as their body prioritizes producing a feeding blood higher in density and nutrients to assist their nestling's growth. I imagine your inability to produce to venom is that you are, essentially, a vampire's developmental equivalent to a young child, and like children, you are not able to yet produce your own 'offspring' in the form of siring"

"First off, rude, I'm not a kid. Second of all, how the heckin heck am I gonna get the venom Virge needs if my dumbass body hasn't started making it?"

"Well donating a small dose is rather simple and noninvasive, surely you could ask your sire or other coven members to help assist your human friend?"

Remy groaned rather loudly, smacking a palm onto the reception desk. "You obtuse fuck, can't you read a room? Sire and coven are out of the bloody question, stop asking me about it."

He felt kinda bad about snapping, when Logan's face fell slightly, a similar look as to when the librarian briefly thought the two were mocking him. Ugh.

"Sorry, sorry. Not sure why I'm being such a bitch tonight."

"It is alright." Logan responded simply, the look leaving his features as he readjusted his glasses. Remy mirrored the action, pushing their sunglasses back up their nose. "You acting like 'a bitch' is most likely a reflection of a nestling's instinct to avoid abduction."

"Abduction?"

"Yes. Well, nowadays there are paper trails for each individual turning, and proper legal protection for the sire but it wasn't always like that. A lot of elder vampires are, so to speak, a little nestling orientated? They'd love nothing more than to sweep a newly-turned from their sire, and claim them as their own. The process of claiming, though, it's long, stressful, painful, and poses risks to the nestling in question. To combat this, nestlings are hard wired to face new vampires outside of the coven with a disagreeable personality and non-compliance, trying to project the sentiment of 'I am too much trouble to steal' "

"Oh. Ew, that sucks. Anyway, it doesn't help me or Virge get this vamp juice. Any ideas?"

Just offer, just offer your nerdy little venom so I can grab a coffee and a muffin before I have to go rescue the emo-

"Wait. I'm under the assumption 'Virge' is the person with the shape-shifting curse. Was that the person you were here with the other week?"

"Not sure I like how weird your eyes are going, babes. But, yeah, the lil goth kid I had with me."

Logan leant forward, half tense and half excited. He did love piecing a mystery together. Part of the reason he loved planning out his Sherlock fanfictions, honestly.

"What animal does Virge unwillingly shift to?"

"...a cat."

"Is it this cat, in particular?"

A phone was slid towards Remy, and after carefully picking it up hew examined the imagine. A young looking man, standing tall and proud, quaffed hair and a charming smile. Honestly, the dude was hot. The charm and sparkly aura meant this was probably a fae. This fae in particular was holding a very disheveled kitten, wrapped up in a fluffy blue towel and glaring straight at the camera. It was Virgil, undoubtedly, and Remy damn near doubled over in laughter. As they tried to recover, they slid the phone back over, nodding in a silent answer to the question.

"Oh, spook looks pissed! I love it." Then a brief thought. "Shit. Spook isn't meant to be with that guy. Wait, how did you figure out Virgil was this cat?"

"When you last came into the library, I recognised Virgil's scent as the unknown human scent that was left in my shared apartment, from when my roommate had found an assumedly stray kitten to cater to. It was a mystery, one that admittedly poked my territorial nature, and I felt rather indignant when you two entered the first time. However, with no solid evidence and the fact that the offense did not repeat - I opted to not bring it up during our first interaction."

Wait. Logan's roommate had scooped Virgil up as a kitten, and then Virgil had obviously left the apartment, leaving a trail of spook's anxious musk?

"Oh, fuck. You're roommates with the werewolf, aren't you?"

"If by the werewolf you are referring to my roommate, Patton, then yes. Fae is a close friend and I consider fae coven."

Remy simply blinked at the older vampire, cheeks puffed in a blatant 'well shit' expression.

"Welp. At least Virgil got kit-napped by the right person."

"What do you mean? Why would your friend need to be in the care of Patton? Barring the fact that, logically speaking, that's the best place to stay if a small and vulnerable feline."

Remy glanced behind Logan, seeing a coffee vending machine pushed right into the corner by a conference room. It was a shitty brand with no additional flavors, but this matter clearly required some caffeine. So he decided to grab a cup while relaying Virgil's grand scheme to get some wolf hair for their magical uno reverse spell. It might have been rude to walk away while conversing, but the two vampires could hear each other perfectly fine while still speaking in a low tone, and Remy was able up successfully curb the instinctual need to hiss, bite this other vampire, and book it right out of there.

After pushing through that urge, Logan proved quite a good chat-buddy, Remy simply forgot about the sample. Or the rescue mission.

[amechanwrld]

ik I just made an angry rant but can we talk about how pretty janny shiguro is

[fakeloveaskblog]

(Hi, me again)

Okay, one sec… aaaaand done! It should all be in place. Also yes Patty I can eat food and I’d love to have some if you’re got some to spare.

I’m good to hang around for a while, although I might have to pop off for a minute to visit a friend but other than that you’ve got my undivided attention.

Glow Eyes

"THAAAnkks ghostie!!" Remus exclaimed.

He and the rest of the gang had just arrived at the art gallery. It was closed for the day so they could put up everything necessary for Remus' exhibition. He looked around and saw that you had neatly put everything you were asked to transport where they should be. He gave you a double thumbs up.

"Great! I'll tell you when it's lunch time then honey" Patty said in response to you. She waved her hand around "Don't worry. You can go visit your friend whenever you want. Rome wasn't built in a day and even though this isn't Rome I'm sure it's gonna take a bit to put it all up"

Logan was rubbing his hands together while looking over some of the buckets of goop you had teleported there. It was one of the projects he had helped Remus on.

"Janus dear, Patty? Do you two want to help me fill the goop room?"

"YES!!" "I would love nothing more"

Even though Logan had ranted many times to both of them about the art installation (Remus had actually named it the goop room) during the making of it he still ranted as his partners helped him place the goop where it was supposed to.

Sometimes Janus forgot just how highly educated both Patty and Logan were before they suddenly started going off on conversations about chemical chain reactions and how atoms reacted to each other. In this case about the goop's atoms. Jan may be well read but they still waited until the other two remembered to translate all the hard jargon for them.

Meanwhile Remus and Rowan carried the smaller paintings up to the second floor. He stood around staring at the rooms from different angles before finally telling his sister where he wanted the paintings to hang.

"Want me to put up an insta story about the exhibition or?" She asked while putting up one of the paintings.

"I don't want half of the city to come. I'll be happy if like 3 rats and Remy show up"

"Okay okay. Remember how kind of a suggestion your dear twin gave you though" She innocently fluttered her eyelashes "You like almost owe me now"

"I'm too sexy for owes"

"I wish your paintings were as 'sexy'. How were you even able to make paintings smell this gross"

"Talent!"

Remus looked at the big painting, the main art piece, still sitting against the wall with a sheet hung over it. It was the one based on Oswald's apartment. He gulped before going down to the first floor.

He stuck his head into the goop room to see Patty be about one inch away from licking the goop while Logan was furiously taking notes.

"MY ART ISN'T AN EMPIRICAL SCIENCE PROJECT YOU FUCKING NERDS!!!" Remus yelled which made them all jump "Jannnniie could you help me with a thing?"

"Sure"

With his hands clasped behind his back so he looked all classy Janus followed Remus up to the upper floor. They went into the more closed off room where Rowan was checking so the projector on the wall worked. It was projecting a short film Rem and Logan had made.

The twins looked at each other and seemed to have a short completely silent conversation before Rowan rolled her eyes and left the room.

"Uhm Jannie?"

"Yes?" They replied while sitting down on the bench in front of the projected film.

"Do you think I'm being sily if I'm kinda scared for" He waves his hand around "This whole thing?"

"I'm not an artist but from all I know showing art can be quite intimate right? It doesn't seem silly to show yourself off in that way"

"It feels like I'm flailing my skin off and showing people as I bleed out" Remus mumbled out while sitting down next to them. He was fiddling with the sheet over the main painting.

The short film showed spiders crawling in and out of a casette player as a song played. As the spiders devoured and destroyed bits and pieces of the player the song slowly distorted more and more. Logan had mostly helped with finding ways to make sure the spiders weren't hurt.

"The song was originally gonna be a song me and....and my...and Os..used to listen to but...while I ws planning as soon as I heard a single note I would just go into absolute fucking flashback hell and I can't really have that on opening night yknow?"

"I like it. I think it still gives off the feeling you wanted to"

Remus blushed a little "Thanks. Do you uhm wanna see the main piece? I haven't showed anyone. I'm so nervous. It's supposed to go on the like poster outside and on those lil free pamhlets people can grab in the reception yknow?"

Janus sent him a relaxed smile "Sure"

He pulled the sheet off and twirled it around in his hands while Janus looked the painting up and down. He was too worried to see their reaction.

"That looks...eerily just like it. I wasn't aware you could paint this detailed"

"It's not my usual style. I wanted it to stick out. I wanted it- I wanted him- that if Os ever saw it he would know it was his home. I- I want it to scare him"

"Oh darling if I was walking around in town and suddenly saw a poster with my apartment on it I would be scared out of my skin. I would be shedding Instantly!"

Remus laughed a little. He squeezed his legs tightly together while nearly hiding his face in the fabric of the sheet "I just....Can I be honest?"

"No. I would despise that obviously...I'm being sarcastic. I would gladly listen"

"..I keep having intrusive thoughts and stupid fucking dreams about him showing up at the art show an-and hurting me. And honestly I get those thoughts whenever I even think of going outside. Not just about him showing up. If we go to eat at a cafe I imagine some person will kidnap me or if we go to the club I think everyone will hurt me. If I do anything. I'm scared. It still feels like it will happen again. All of the time"

Janus searched carefully for words to see if this was a delusion or just fear "....Do you...think there is an actual chance that anything will happen...?"

"I-.....Well...I doubt He even thinks of me anymore and I don't actually think anyone would be into me enough to...to do anything..."

They relaxed ever so slightly "Can you tell me a good way to murder someone?"

Remus was caught off guard but instantly responded with "Cut the vein on the neck. quick. Or cut the tongue out and wait until the person bleeds out. Planning a murder now Jannie?"

"Just looking for ideas in case a certain someone dares to show up at your show"

Janus looked over to meet his eyes before playfully pushing their shoulder against his. Remus broke up into a slight smile.

"Personally I would think going against a guy who has a freak obsession anything gore related to be a strategically bad move" Janus continued "Besides you're just SO frighteningly matcho!!" They let out a fake gasp while putting their hand against their forehead.

"Yeah. Yeah. I get your point" Remus blushed while rolling his eyes "I should look into castration more"

"Atta boy"

"Wanna help me put this up?" Remus asked while motioning to the main painting.

"Of course darling"

The two of them carried it around the second floor until they agreed on a perfect spot. As soon as someone came up onto the second floor they would immediately see it.

Janus held it up while Remus got to laugh maniacally while carefully hammering in the spike it was held on. They joined in by snickering in a sinister way.

"IT'S UP!! VIVA LAS EUREKA!"

The two of them high fived before Janus went in for a hug and Remus went in for a kiss. They both froze and stared at each other awkwardly before Janus went in for a kiss and Remus went in for a hug. They froze again.

"Do you want to like uhm exchange mouth fluids and uhh bacteria?" Remus blurted out.

"Yes. That sounds absolutely lovely" Janus blubbered back.

Neither of them knew who should move first or where to put their hands. Eventually Remus took a deep breathe and kissed them. He felt their hand move up to cup his cheek. His arms hung loosely against his sides before he realized what was happening and they started to happy flap.

Janus' arm moved around his waist to hold him gently but it only made memories pierce through Remus' mind. His mouth wouldn't move to say no but his hands instinctly moved to try and push them away.

Just a nudge made Janus stop and move back "Everything alright dear?"

"Yeah. Just like brainshit. You- oH fuck I already said this but your lips are uh nice"

Remus' brain was running around at olympic records levels of speed as his heart went almost as quickly. His whole chest felt warm. Janus had just...stopped. This was how it was supposed to work wasn't it. His partner was supposed to listen weren't they.

"...So uh would you ever want to like go see a movie or like go garbage hunting or just y'know lightning garbage cans on fire I dunno HaHAHa"

They had planned hang outs dozens of times so both of them felt awfully silly for getting flustered like peaches. He noticed that Janus' foot was uncontrollably tapping down into the ground at immense speed because they were excited.

"SOUNDS GREAT!" They fake coughed and tried to sound suave "...Yeesss soundssss great darling. With or without Remy?"

"There's enough garbage in the city to last multiple dates! We can go multiple times! Some with Remy some just uh us"

"Solid argument. I'll look forward to it"

"Yeah. Uh I'll also be uh looking forward...with my eyes"

The two of them stood and smiled goofily at each other. Both of their cheeks were bright red.

"DUKEY! WE'RE EATING LUNCH! COME UNLESS YOU WANT TO DIE OF STARVATION" Rowan yelled from the first floor.

[thecatboyfriend-moved]

mmmmmmm oKay tiny vent in the tags >:(

[janny-aqua]

"Rock and Metal music are better than hip-hop and rap music cause they're not misogynistic and the artists are nice."

[naminethewriter]

Self Care Can Include Many Things

Loceit Week comes around once more 😍 I’m so excited to see what everyone comes up with! There will be quite a few references my entries from last year, look forward to that 😊

Thank you @loceitweek2022 for organizing this! 💛💙

Here on Ao3

Masterpost | Loceit Week 2022 Masterpost

Summary: Janus and Logan have a project to work on. But they also need to take a break sometime. Janus knows an opportunity when he sees one.

Janus arrived in front of his project partner’s house two minutes before their agreed meeting time. Normally he wouldn’t have bothered with being punctual but Logan was annoying about stuff like this and he wasn’t up for a lecture, so he left his house early. He locked up his bike and went to the front door, ringing the doorbell. Less than two seconds later a child’s voice loudly called:

 “I’ll get it!” Then quick footsteps approached. Patton, Logan’s younger sibling opened the door and started grinning as soon as fae saw him. “Janny! Did you come to play? Can we play Mario Kart? I practiced and now I’m super good!” Janus chuckled but shook his head.

“I wish I could, Pat, but your brother and I have a project we need to work on today.” Patton started to pout and Janus quickly gave faer a pat on the head as compensation. “If we finish quickly we might be able to play a bit later. Or I’ll come over again in a few days, that okay?” Fae continued pouting but nodded.

 “If you pinky promise!”

 “Alright, if you insist.” Just as they linked fingers, Logan appeared behind his sibling.

 “Salutations Janus. I see Patton coaxed you into a pinky promise, I hope fae didn’t ask for anything unreasonable.”

 “Did not!”

 “No, fae didn’t. I just promised to play Mario Kart with fae sometime soon so fae could show me how much fae improved, right?” He grinned down at the child who nodded in agreement.

 “Very well then. Patton please go back to your activities now; Janus and I have work to do.”

 “Okay, but you need to finish quickly so we can play!”

 “I will make no promises.” Apparently Patton had expected as much since fae ran off without another word. Janus laughed quietly.

 “Visiting your house is as delightful as ever.” Logan sighed.

 “I would have preferred to go to yours but my parents are both out and Patton cannot be left alone for such a long time yet.”

 “I understand. Then shall we?”

 “We shall.” Logan led him into the house and up the stairs into his bedroom where he had already prepared enough space to work, materials they could use for their research as well as snacks and drinks. The perfect host like always.

It didn’t take long until they were both seated and comfortably at work. Logan had gone to the library to get them reference books which Janus found a bit unnecessary, they were only supposed to prepare a twenty-minute presentation on self care for health class, citations not needed. But Janus also knew Logan well enough to know that that wouldn’t stop him from doing so and he didn’t mind as long as Logan didn’t force him to read through those books. He preferred online articles.

 They had agreed to work in silence for the first fifteen minutes and then present to each other their findings and after that narrow down the examples they wanted to use and research more. Logan started, talking about how important a healthy diet and drinking a lot of water were, as well as dental hygiene. Janus listened patiently even as Logan’s explanation turned more into a rant that went slightly off topic but if he was being honest, and he didn’t tend to be often he just knew to tone down his sarcasm in front of Logan and his sibling (both often got confused with his way of speaking), he could listen to Logan talk about anything for the rest of the day. His crush on the bookworm was not really a secret but Logan was very dense when it came to romantic relationships. He hadn’t been aware of their friends’ relationship until Roman and Virgil kissed right in front of him and even then he needed to ask for clarification.

 Janus was patient though; he was waiting for an opportunity to make his move and he had a very good feeling about today.

 Logan eventually stopped himself and blushed a bit when he realised how much he’d been talking.

 “My apologies, I didn’t mean to ramble.” Janus waved him off.

 “I don’t mind. You made some fascinating points.” Logan’s face got even more red.

 “Thank you. For listening I mean.”

 Janus good feeling increased ten-fold as a plan formed in his head. He grinned.

 “No problem, Logan, I truly enjoyed myself.” He delighted in seeing Logan’s ears turning red now as well.

 “Would you like to present your findings now?” he asked after clearing his throat. Janus’ grin got a little bit wider. Logan was way too cute; he wouldn’t be able to stop himself from teasing him a bit longer.

 “Of course. I decided to look up how to build a healthy work schedule. It felt appropriate to our current situation and will be beneficial to our classmates.” Logan nodded along, taking notes. He wasn’t as flushed anymore but still a bit red. Janus was looking forward to making him flare up again.

 “One of the main points I found is the importance of taking breaks, to stretch and clear ones head every now and again.” Logan continued to scribble his thoughts down, not picking up on what Janus was hinting at but he hadn’t expected him to. So he slowly reached over, gently grabbing Logan’s hand to get him to stop. The blush intensified again as Logan looked up and met his eyes. Janus smiled at him.

 “We’ve been working for almost half an hour now, I think we deserve to take a break, right?” Seemingly unable to break eye contact, Logan again nodded and allowed Janus to carefully remove his notebook and pen, setting them down on the table.

 “Wonderful. Then let’s try another suggestion I found that might be helpful. It’s about avoiding touch starvation by initiating physical contact with people close to you. So, would you mind coming over here, Logan?” Apparently his friend’s brain had short-circuited because Logan let himself be pulled over and into Janus’ lap, facing him, without any protest though his face was bright red again, including his ears. Janus could look at him like that for hours but there was something else he wanted to do in that moment.

 “Is that comfortable, Logan?” He nodded, still seemingly speechless and unable to look away from Janus’ eyes. Janus smiled fondly, deciding that he’d teased and waited enough.

 “Would you be willing to hear a not-so-well-kept secret of mine?” Logan didn’t answer so Janus took his silence as agreement. “I like you a lot, Logan. You are smart, passionate and very fascinating to observe. And I would love to take you out on a date sometime if you would let me.” By then Logan was the brightest red he’d been all evening, finally breaking eye contact to look down at his hands which were now fiddling with the hem of his shirt.

 “You are not joking?” he eventually asked in a small voice. Janus carefully guided his head up by his chin so he could look him in the eyes as he answered.

 “I would never do something so cruel, Logan. I mean every word.”

 “Could you kiss me, please.” The request rushed out of Logan’s mouth and he himself seemed surprised by it but before he could take it back, Janus leaned in and locked their lips together.

[frostcorpsclub]

Groans of despair were clear as day within the Frost kitchen by a particular redhead- well, one anyway.

Glenda Ray clenched the recipe in her daintily painted fingers in disbelief, her dramatic, yet slightly justified anger clear on her features as she ranted to one of her best friends ever, January.

"Garnished with MAYONAISE and Paprika?! Mayo- are you fucking kidding me? With the celery, onion, and gelatin- Oh gods. We are never taking recipe ideas from Lucifer ever again, Janny."

January sat perched on the counter, staring at the ground at swinging her legs back and forth.

As she thought about the rancid mix of flavors it didn't phase her much, things not too dissimilar from this were in the fridge only a few feet away from them both. "You don't know that you don't like it you haven't tried it. What are you scared of? Throwing up?"

She said in her usual dry tone, making it difficult to decipher whether she was fucking with Glenda or not.

[staringdownabarrel]

Okay, so I finished Servant of the Empire by Raymond E. Feist and Janny Wurts last night. Here's my thoughts.

I'm not a huge fan of the romantic subplot between Mara and Kevin. A lot of this is just because I'm usually not a fan of them in general (a point most people are probably sick of hearing about by this point), but in this case it goes deeper than that.

I will grant that this one is better than what you'd ordinarily find in a Feist novel. I think that's probably Janny Wurts' influence, but again, as I haven't read anything she's written that she didn't cowrite with Feist, I can't prove that. Both Mara and Kevin have their own arcs that exist independently of their romantic subplot, and they have their own motivations. It also doesn't get a happy ending.

However, I'm not entirely convinced that Servant of the Empire really earned its romantic subplot. While it is better written than most Feist romantic subplots--and, if I'm being honest, most romantic subplots by any other author I've read--there's a couple of points that mean it had to go a lot further than it did.

One is that Kevin is a slave. The Tsurani form of slavery is built in such a way that there's no way for a slave to ever be freed, outside of a couple of very specific situations that are difficult to replicate. This means that it's both harsher than a lot of historical, real-world forms of slavery (as abhorrent as slavery is, at least real-world slaves can occasionally either escape or be released), and harsher than the form of slavery common in Kevin's homeland, the Kingdom of the Isles (where it's only applied as a punishment associated with life imprisonment).

Because of that, this is never going to be a relationship between equals. To Servant's credit, this is a huge part of Mara's angst over the relationship, and it does feed into several plot points along the way.

My contention is that the book is adamant in acting as if this was a consensual relationship, or at least would be if it weren't for the slavery issue. That's not really the angle it should have come from. If the Mara-Kevin romance was going to be a thing no matter what, I think the emphasis should have been on how Kevin not only didn't consent to it, he never would. I think this would have made a lot more sense given the power dynamics and given that Kevin was previously a Kingdom noble who'd been fighting against the Tsurani invasion.

I don't think it'd make sense for him to just live with it because to him, this form of slavery should be so offensive that he sees it as a moral imperative to resist anything Mara wants. Kevin is introduced as a slave that incites trouble with the other slaves anyway, so this would make sense given how he's introduced.

My other contention is that I don't think this is necessarily the most interesting path they could have taken Mara down. I think it would have been a lot more interesting if, after having ascending to power by accident (after almost taking religious vows at a Tsurani equivalent of a convent), and after experiencing Bunto as a horrible husband, her response had basically been to swear off relationships altogether.

This too had been a small part of her arc anyway. While she was aware that there was a cultural and political expectation that she'd eventually remarry another member of a noble family, she wasn't really entirely sold on the idea. The story tries to chalk it up to Bunto being a bad husband and her blooming romance with Kevin, but I think it would have been more interesting if the actual reason had been that she just didn't find sex or romance particularly appealing.

I think this would have been a better fit for her character arc in general, too. A lot of Mara's decisions over the course of this book (and the previous book, Daughter of the Empire) is based around her being unconventional by Tsurani standards. So why not have it so that even independent of Bunto's treatment, she already leaned towards being aromantic or asexual and probably wouldn't have sought out a romantic pairing if it hadn't have been for the family she was born into?

Even if they went down this road, they still could have kept owning slaves as one of Mara's character flaws. It's mentioned at one point that she hadn't really thought of how difficult having Bunto around had been for her servants until years after the fact, so it would have made sense that she'd never consider the moral issue of slavery up until, say, Milamber's departure from Kelewan. It's an established part of her character that she isn't always the most empathetic person when it comes to people she either doesn't know personally or regards as being beneath her station. (And, in fact, by extension, Tsurani society rewards this trait to an extent because the entire society would crumble if people in power had higher degrees of empathy.)

It's especially unfortunate because other than this subplot, Servant of the Empire is actually pretty decent. It manages to avoid middle book syndrome--the plot continues moving in this book, so it's not all just setting stuff up for the third book. This is probably for the best because, depending on what edition of this you get, the book is over 800 pages long.

It also manages to continue avoiding the big problem with interquels--that is, it isn't just relitigating the same plot points from a different perspective. There's a few points where stuff that happened in Magician and Silverthorn are brought up and they do have an impact on this book's storyline, but they're not the main focus. The story remains about Mara and her political maneuvering, not on the fallout of things Pug/Milamber did in the main series.

So for the most part, I do think it's worth reading; I just think it gets derailed a little bit because of a mishandled romance subplot that didn't really need to be there.

[loganofthenorth]

Unsympathetic Patton Au Incorrect Quote (or Scene)

Disobedient Song Rewritten

Patton: *Defeats Janus in a fight* Oh Jannie, when will you just accept that there’s no way you can stop me? The problem will be discarded, whether you like it or not.

Roman: *rises* I think not, villain.

Patton: Roman, thank goodness you’re here! Deceit was-

Roman: I know exactly what Deceit was doing, Patton. He was trying to stop you from hurting Remus.

Patton: What do you mean kiddo?

Roman: *rolls his eyes* You know exactly what I mean.

Patton: You should be thanking me, Roman. Everything will be better after I-

Roman: *swings his sword at Patton* You want a thank you? Fine. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you for gracing me with your presence!

Patton: *evades the attack as his eyes glow* Now Roman that’s not very-

Roman: *swings his sword again* Good afternoon, sir. What can I do, sir? Just say the word, sir, anything for you, sir. The dark sides say, sir, you don't deserve him. I disagree, sir, I live to serve, sir. *singing loudly as he continues to swing at Patton, who dodges his attacks* I think about all the wasted time I've spent, I wanna be disobedient. I stood awake wondering where my life has went, I wanna be disobedient. Disobedient, disobedient.

Patton: Roman you are being very rude! Enough of this nonsense already! Deceit is the evil one, not me.

Roman: *his eyes go blue for a moment and he shakes it off* No, you’re going to hurt my brother. I won’t let you!

Logan: I agree, *takes Deceit’s cane and attacks Patton from behind, hitting him and forcing him down.*

Roman: Logan!

Logan: Hello Roman. May I join in this therapeutic rant song?

Roman: Yeah of course, go ahead.

Logan: Thank you.

Patton: *tries to get up* Logan, you’re being irrespon-.

Logan: *whacks him down with the cane*

Roman: *points the sword towards Patton*

Logan: I've been good, sir, so very, very good for what? I have given you every single thing I've got. It's feeling strange, how this whole arrangement is gonna end with me totally deranged. When I think about all the wasted time I've spent, I wanna be disobedient. I stood awake wondering where my life has went, I wanna be disobedient. Disobedient, disobedient.

Patton: *chuckles* You three keep saying I’ll never win… but you have already lost. *sinks down*

Logan: What does he…

Janus: Remus… He…

Remus: *rises, eyes blue and crying* I don’t want to be… disobedient… I don’t want to be… disobedient… Disobedient, disobedient, disobedient…

[trustonlystars]

To everyone who's lost a parent,

I think as time passes by you start overlooking your grief. You start comparing your life and strengths with others. You forget the emotional turmoil you have been through and start being harsh on yourself for petty things. It's okay to not do that, it's only right for you to need your parents and grieve their loss even if it's been a while. And just because it's been a while since your loss, it doesn't mean your battles are not difficult, it doesn't fill the void, it doesn't make it any easier, you just learn to grow around it. And there are some days when you really wish you could go back home and talk your heart out to them, rant, complain, have silly arguments, and go shopping with them over weekends. Most days you only want simple things, very simple things, but you end up doing it yourself. But you disregard the courage it takes to do that. Just because it's been a while since you've grown courageous it does mean you stop appreciating it. It's okay to take up space and feel proud for all the things you do by yourself, you are worth being celebrated.

- trustonlystars | Jannie F

[fuckyeah-dragrace]

Overwhelming kisses for Jankie 🥺

of course berr berr, jankie coming right up!!

25. Overwhelming kisses

Jan sighed and dropped her bags to the ground, Jackie lifting her head from her book with a raised brow. 

“You good, Jan?”

She walked over to the couch and flopped down next to Jackie, the brunette chuckling lightly. “So in guessing it was one of those days, huh?”

“Why do directors make so many changes two weeks before the performance?”

“Yeah I don’t have an answer for that one.” She chuckled. “How bad are the changes?”

It was like a switch flipped and Jan started ranting, going on and on about every little thing in her day from waking up to coming home. Jackie listened attentively, nodding along and giving her all the space she needed. She watched as the blondes hands started to shaking and her voice raised in pitch.

“Jan, hey. Look at me.” Her voice was drowned out as Jan started to hiccup, her breaths unsteady and coming in unevenly. She took her hands in her own and squeezed gently, book abandoned to the side table.

“And I just feel like I’m going to mess up in the show and I don’t want to let everyone down and-“

“Jan. You aren’t going to do that. You’re going to be fine, I know it.” Her voice was loud enough to disrupt Jans flow but only for a moment before starting again and her hands started to tremor again.

“But what if I do? And they put me in charge of teaching the new choreo to the dancers when I don’t even do that.” She sounded more distressed as that spiral spun in her head and right before she was about to plummet down into the pit of doubt she was pulled out and away by a pair of soft lips against hers.

Jackie was kissing her. Jackie was kissing her.

Like some twisted roller coaster of sensation her head spun the opposite way as she drank in all she could of Jackie. Her soft and warm hands in her own, her perfume filling her nose in a swirling mix of lavender and sandalwood, her oh-so-addictively soft lips against her own, tasting her vanilla sweet lipgloss.

Jackie pulled away from Jan, her hands letting go of Jans and coming up to her shoulders. Her thumbs rubbing in gentle circles as the pale blush on Jans cheeks came down. She looked at her and saw that sweet, gentle smile that made Jan swoon with love every time she saw it.

“You’re going to be fine, Jannie. You got this. You’re a superstar beyond belief and I know you got this.” Her words blanketed her in a sense of comfort and love that made her head swim. Jackie pulled Jan into her arms and held her close against her chest, laying back down on couch cushions.

Jan cuddled into her, head resting gently against the older woman’s chest while gentle hands carded through her hair in a practiced way, as if done many times over and a natural motion for them. “How do you always know what I need?” She asked, her voice soft and it made Jackie chuckle.

“Because I love you.” Jan’s heart flipped and her smile grew. Sure they’d been dating for a while now but every time she heard Jackie say those three words she couldn’t help but think that this was all a dream. There is no way this absolutely perfect woman loved her.

“You’ve had a long day, honey. Just relax. I got you.” She pecked her forehead and Jan smiled.

“Love you too, Jacks.” The rest of the tension from the day seemed to leave her as Jackie stroked the blonde hair gently. As her eyes start to droop, all Jan could think about was how lucky she was to have the most amazing girlfriend in the world.