#mao mao being the normal one

[not-an-enstarrie]

Maybe Mao? Or Makoto?

I LOVE MAO YIPPEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

literally my dream card like i love mao and aisle be with you is my fave song and then the outfit and the spp are all so cute and like he just came home like yesterday with the free pulls on jp and i was shaking and in disbelief like oh my god my mind felt like there were mini chandeliers rattling around my skull when i saw him i shed a tear this card is so beautiful

i strongly dislike this card like. discord mod mao era!!!! but like. even if you ignore the outfit the pose is still ???????????

[whatevergreen]

Two migrant teens, Alan Magalles Bello and Yeremi Colino were confronted by 3 people in Lower Manhattan and stabbed. Colino has died.

As for CNN, they and other news outlets also had the full Luigi Mangione manifesto (more of a note) for days but wouldn't release it, and instead made intentionally false statements about the contents.

This is what he actually wrote and doesn't come across as "unhinged" (despite the cringe opening):

As for Luigi Mangione:

It's no good judging him on his background or his social media alone. His twitter wasn't updated for months, and such as Goodreads shows a somewhat different side, more relevant to recent events - though there are hints of it on twitter. And something has clearly changed radically recently. Conservatives or alt-right people (or whatever label some have been trying to fix on him) do not normally refer to corporate executives as "parasites" who "simply had it coming" and then go out and kill one of them.

It seems like he has been trying to find his way... and it's led him to target a key figure among the many responsible for the suffering, and too often deaths, of millions of people over many decades through insurance and other healthcare profiteering. He didn't take out his personal problems and his ideologicial issues on random strangers or random employees like many have in the past. He took out one of those most responsible. Indeed it's just been revealed that he considered using a bomb to kill Brian Thompson but decided against it because he did not want to harm anyone else.

As for his being born into a wealthy Republican family, so what?

Countless socialists, communists, anarchists and others more difficult to label - famous, infamous or little known - have come from a privileged background. For a start Karl Marx was the son of a wealthy lawyer and married a member of the aristocracy. He lived in poverty for most of his life however. Engels was the son of a wealthy industrialist. Mao's father was a wealthy farmer and landowner. I'm not comparing Luigi with them too deeply of course but this needs to be considered.

Don't throw him or anybody like him under the bus when they do a neccessary thing for the right reasons, and are possibly rising above some of their older ideas, just because of those said ideas or beliefs. We don't know what his current state of mind is on any issue beyond the healthcare one.

It has been suggested that there may be some connection with possibly using psilocybin (magic mushrooms). Some people have been making that point to discredit his actions when actually such may have made him more empathetic and hence more enraged by the suffering of others. And his interest in such drugs was because of his chronic pain problems.

As a side note, apparently 2/3rds of Penn students support his actions. It's not really that surprising considering that the so-called health care system can be a nightmare for anyone but the very richest.

[profundcherrylady]

SINGLE DAD!SAE ITOSHI

A/N: Idk how many of these I'm gonna make but the next one is gonna be craaaazy. You can check the last one here

Warnings: None. It's really short y'all I'm sorry for that, I'll do better next time 😔

Contents: Sae being awkward, ooc Rin at the beginning. Fluff because this is what it's all about.

Description: Sae gets home from a long trip and worries he might not be spending enough time with his daughter when he sees her getting along with Rin.

Sae struggled, as he always did, to open the front door. He didn't know why but it just stuck sometimes during the winter. The cold, he guesses; regardless it was still annoying. He got inside the apartment, luggage being pulled from behind him inside as well, and he closed the door quickly before taking off his shoes. As soon as he was in, his ears were filled with the sound of his daughter's giggling, so he finished setting aside his coat to walk around the corner into the living room.

"I'm home." for the first time ever, Mao didn't run to his arms as she usually did whenever he got home. She was too distracted playing with Rin, apparently, because she didn't even notice his presence or heard his voice. He watched as Rin wore some kind of puppet on his hand with a poor dinosaur shape, sitting at the ground yet seemingly having fun with his niece. She was containing her laugh, jumping in her place as she tried to express her thoughts on words.

"Do it again, do it again!!" she exclaimed. Rin let out a huff before responding.

"I don't think so, it's late and- hey, watch out, the dinosaur is going to eat you!" he aimed his hand to her neck as if the dinosaur was eating her. He wasn't being agressive, it was literally just him tickling her and making pretend dinosaur sounds to make it look like she was actually being eaten, yet she started rolling on the ground, laughing uncontrollably at the game.

"Again, again!!!"

"I'm home." Sae repeated, succeeding in gaining their attention. Mao stopped laughing as she spotted him, but even though she seemed happy, she wasn't as eager to jump and hug him like she always was. This was strange.

"Hi, papa!"

"Seems like that's my cue. I'm outta here." the younger Itoshi took off the dinosaur puppet and set it aside, making Mao do a little disappointed sound at the knowledge that he had to go while he stood up.

"Awwww, can you stay a little more?"

"Sorry kid, I have to go. I'll see you next time your dad decides to abandon you, though."

"Don't tell her that." Rin just shrugged, dismissing his brother's words as he walked out.

Now Sae felt a little weird. His daughter had this really sad face watching his brother go and she didn't even seem interested in the fact that he was back after being away for three weeks. Weeks. Like, what was up with her today? She was so attached to him normally; she literally begged to sleep in his room to feel near him and now she wasn't even looking at him. He saw Mao wave at her uncle as he left and then, FINALLY, look at him. But the words that came out of her mouth almost sent him into a coma.

"When are you gonna abandon me next?"

"What?" he almost choked as he answered. "I've never abandoned you, you know that. I travel for buisness; not because I don't want to be with you."

"Okay, but when are you going away?"

"Why are you asking me to go away?"

"So uncle Rin can come over again!" Sae was absolutely baffled; he could not believe what his ears were telling him. Was he away that much? Was he not spending enough time with his daughter? Was he leaving her alone so much that she started getting used to his absence? Absolutely not. He had to fix this at once.

He knelt down to her level and looked straight into her eyes, "Mao sweetie, there's no need to look so sad. I'm here, you know? I can be just as fun as your uncle. What do you say we play together?"

"Isn't it my bedtime now?" True. His flight did land pretty late, it was always like that. He would arrive late and come home to scold his daughter about staying up past her bedtime, but he couldn't care any less about it at the moment.

"Well, lucky you; you have a special permission to stay up late today. Now come on, let's play."

"What are we playing?"

"Um... let's see..." he looked around to find something that could be entertaining, and picked up the dinosaur puppet Rin was using earlier. "This. I can continue with... whatever game Rin was playing with you. What is it about?"

"It's dinosaur attack! The dinosaur has to attack me."

"Why?"

"That's how the game works!" he watched as his daughter made him put on the puppet on his hand, so he sat on the ground.

"But... what is the purpose of the dinosaur attacking you?"

"It's fun!"

"I can't see how it is..." he didn't really understand it, but if it would make her happy then he could give it a try. If Rin did it, how hard could it be? "Alright... here I go then."

"Papa! Dinosaurs don't tell when they're about to attack! It has to be a surprise!"

"Right. Right..." so confusing. This game had literally no meaning or purpose; how did his daughter enjoy it?

He gave it a try and pretended to attack with the puppet, but it was a rather soft attack. He couldn't help it; he just felt the need to be soft. Taking the risk of hurting her would kill him... but now he was killing her out of boredom.

"Papaaaaaa! You're supposed to make the dinosaur noises!"

"What dinosaur noises?"

"Like 'raaaaawwwwr!!' Uncle Rin always does it! And then he makes munch sounds like the dinosaur is eating me."

"Stop comparing me with your uncle, please." this was getting ridiculous. Not only was he failing completely at bonding with his daughter, but she just kept talking about how much fun Rin was. Since when was his brother good with kids anyway? Sae thought he hated children.

He then saw his daughter huff and puff her cheeks in a disappointed manner. "Nevermimd... you don't know how to play this game right, papa. You're so bad at it."

...Bad? Him? Bad at something?

Even worse, bad at spending time with his own daughter.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves; we'll try a different game." he then proceeded to take off the puppet from his hand. "What else do you wanna play?"

"Can I play princess?"

"I don't see why not." in fact, playing princess sounded a lot easier than whatever the hell Rin was playing with her earlier. How could playing princess go wrong?

"Papa, wear the tiara!" he froze, the words stuck in his throat as he struggled to find an answer. Sae did not expect her to want HIM to be the princess.

"You don't want to be the princess, honey? I think you'd do a much better job than me at that." he tried to gently coax her out of this decision. Now, don't come at him; it's not like he feels that his masculinity is being threatened if he wears a tiara, he couldn't care less. But it was still a little embarrassing, as he had never played the rol of a princess before and he didn't have any idea of how to do it. However, it was all for naught, as he saw his daughter shaking her head.

"No, you be the princess! I'll rescue you!"

"Is it really what you want? Wouldn't you rather be a pretty princess?"

"No, I wanna be the hero! I'm gonna rescue you, papa!" and how could he say no to those sparkling little eyes?

He sighed. "Alright... rescue me then." he finally took the shiny tiara and put it on his head a little awkwardly, while Mao ran around looking for something to use as a pretend sword, then settling for a cardboard tube that was left in the counter from the kitchen towels.

He kept a close eye on her, just ensuring she wasn't doing anything dangerous, until she came back and scattered around some pillows and plushies from her room. A little part of him cringed at the situation and the mess his daughter was making in the living room, knowing he would have to clean it later (or tomorrow), but he wasn't about to scold her when he was trying to spend quality time with her.

"All set!" she finally announced. "Obstacles and enemies!"

And he didn't really need to do anything either, he just sat there on the ground while Mao jumped, ran and played away all her energy pretending to rescue the princess (him). He saw her pretend to struggle, almost giggled at her uncoordinated movements and play-pretend, sighed 'impatiently' as he waited to be 'rescued' and struggled to hold back from helping her everytime she almost fell. Then after what felt like an eternity, she finally got to him, smile wide and beaming excitement at achieving her goal. And he smiled at her too, because maybe this was what parenting was about. Even when busy, just spending a few more minutes awake and pushing her bedtime a little bit later could make both of their days and mantain a healthy bond between them.

"You made it."

"I'm here to rescue you, papa! I mean, princess! I've come to save you from... the evil dinosaur!" she took that same puppet dinosaur once again and beat the hell out of it with her fake sword, and Sae had to retain his laugh.

"Okay, I think he's dead now."

"Now you're free!" she continued to celebrate, but it was clear now that she was pretty tired. It was past her bedtime and she has played like there was no tomorrow, so she let out a little yawn.

"Thank you for rescuing me." he carefully picked her on his arms and stood up, noticing her almost passing out from exhaustion, dropping the toys from her hands and getting hugging him back as she yawned once again. "Now, I think this little hero needs her rest after such an adventurous mission. Let's just get you to bed." Sae shifted her a little so he could take off the tiara and place it on the coffee table (for now), then walked towards the little girl's room. She was fast asleep now, breathing steady and calm as he carried her across the hallway and opened the door to her room. Once she was settled safely into bed, he took a last glance at her before going out to sleep himslef.

He should spend more time with her, take her with him to more places. Not only because he was feeling guilty that he may not be around enough, but because sometimes he was so busy with his tight schedule that he had the bad habit of forgetting. He forgot how much he loves being a father, and every second he spent with her seeing her smile and hearing her laughter and doing the childish stuff she does, he remembers. So yes, he should spend more time with his daughter. To make sure he never forgets his reasons to keep going.

[1800naveen]

Dictatorship (Rhysand's version)

I made a post of Rhysand and Feyre being Donald and Melania Trump in another universe and have called him and the inner circle the definition of Fascism, nobody better not get butthurt over this. If you do, I don't give a fuck.

IF YOU LIKE RHYSAND AND/OR THE INNER CIRCLE, THIS POST IS NOT FOR YOU! LEAVE NOW, I WILL BE SHITTING ON THEM!

Let's start with a definition. What is dictatorship? A dictatorship is a government or a social situation where one person makes all the rules and decisions without input from anyone else. What is a dictator? A dictator is a political person who rules a country with total authority and often in a cruel or brutal way.

Notorious dictators and dictatorships in history are: Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin of the Soviet Union, Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy, Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany, Hirohito of Imperial Japan, Pol Pot of the Khmer Rouge, and Mao Zedong of People's Republic of China.

Rhysand is the High Lord of the Night Court and has earned himself a reputation of being a cruel and evil man to the other Courts of Prythian. To others, the Night Court is seen as the Court of Nightmares; a land of cruelty but it's only a cover up to hide Velaris, the city of starlight and where Rhysand truly lives. The existence of Velaris is unknown with the expectation of a few people.

What makes someone a dictator? Google did not give me a clear answer so I had to go on Chat GPT and it gave me this (apologies if you don't like ai): Concentration of power, control over military and security forces, propaganda and censorship, repression and human rights abuse, and economic control. There are three more examples but I picked the ones that relate to Rhysand the most.

Concentration of power: As High Lord, Rhysand is the most powerful person in the Night Court. What he says, goes. His word is law. You can't go against him without facing punishment for it. If you are from Velaris, it doesn't matter because to you, Rhysand is a nice guy and a good ruler. To those in Illyria and Hewn City, he pays no attention to you. He doesn't give a damn about you.

Control over military and security forces: Whenever battle or war is coming, Rhysand goes to the Illyrian warriors and their warbands to aid him. He also has the darkbringers, elite warriors from the Court of Nightmares and are under the leadership of Keir come to his aid when Hybern attacks. Velaris was attacked in ACOMAF and Rhys and the inner circle went to defend their home and people but have they done the same for the Illyrians? Hewn City citizens? To them, the safety of Velaris will always be more important than the other two regions. That's just sad.

Propaganda and censorship: When it comes to making decisions, Rhysand either makes them himself or with the help of the inner circle. They may agree but as the high lord, his authority can never be challenged by them. As it is known to many, Rhysand has a track of using manipulation for his own gain or his court. Because of this, it forged the "the night court is evil" belief and the daemati powers don't make things better. He manipulates Feyre in the first book and makes her his pawn, doing it without her consent. Rhysand keeps many secrets hidden from the other courts which is somewhat normal but there are secrets that are crucial for other courts to know of. The cauldron for example or the book stolen from the summer court. He'll justify it as a way of protection when it's really not. (The pregnancy thing in acosf, cough.) He uses fear and intimidation when he feels it necessary and/or to keep control and it works all the time. An example would be how he acts when he visits Hewn City or the Spring Court.

To the night court, Rhysand is this great hero who sacrificed so much and will do anything for them. Which is true but it only goes for Velaris. To the other courts and Hewn City, Rhysand is as I said before, cruel and evil. The way the inner circle speaks of Rhysand (straight up dick riding), you would think he's one of the best things since sliced bread.

Repression and human rights abuse: What is repression? It's the act of using force to control a group of people and limit their freedom. What group in acotar has limited freedom and/or are controled? You guessed it, Hewn City citizens and Illyrians! What is human rights abuse? Anything that harms a person's rights but in this case, let's go with abuse of rights (since Illyrians aren't human).

The women of Illyria and Hewn city suffer under the system of men. In both regions, it rules under a patriarchal system. The Illyrian women have their wings clipped so that they can be used for breeding purposes and the Hewn women are sold off into marriages, even bidding their virginities. All these women face abuse (either physical, mental, or sexual) and their high lord has done nothing to stop it.

Rhysand knows the pain of sexual abuse and yet, this still happens to the women. "But the library!" HOW THE FUCK ARE HEWN WOMEN GOING TO MAKE IT THERE? HE DOESN'T LET THEM LEAVE, THINKS THEY'RE ALL EVIL, AND THEY DON'T KNOW IT EXISTS?

A woman with Illyrian wings is never mentioned; yes, we don't know if there is one or not but you think that a lady with big bat wings, someone would point it out. You're telling me that I'm getting abused by all the men in my life and there's a haven for women like me but I can't get access to it because I was born in the court of nightmares?

Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, Les aristocrates à la lanterne! Ah! ça ira, ça ira, ça ira, Les aristocrates on les pendra!

You may say that Rhysand has to let the Illyrians do their own thing so that they cooperate with him but here's the thing, Rhysand is a daemati. Daemati is the ability to control and infiltrate a person's mind. He could easily go into the minds of the Illyrian men and tell them to stop with the wing clipping and boom, problem solved but he doesn't. The same thing with Hewn men, go into their mind and tell them to stop these arranged marriages and biddings.

But as long as Rhysand needs soldiers and as long as Velaris is at peace, Illyria and Hewn city will suffer for it. The sins of the father if you want to call it. Always an angel (Illyria and Hewn city), never a god (Velaris).

Economic control: What is economic control? It can be seen as a form of abuse as it prevents someone from gaining financial independence. Measures of which governments use to manage and/or their economy.

The Illyrians have it rough. Like rough, rough. They don't live in houses like Velaris or Hewn City citizens. They live in war camps. WAR CAMPS. Their situation is so bad that Cassian handed out blankets. I'm taking a guess and going with the idea that the Illyrians use their money on weapons and training, etc. "Who needs proper housing when we can fight!" I know they make their own money through trade or selling/making clothes but y'all can't afford to make a house?

A lot of the riches in the night court is stored in Velaris but where the hell do they get it from? Their mountains? It will eventually run dry. Trading? Why must the Illyrians live like this and not experience a similar life to Velaris? They don't have to change the entire thing but at least, build them houses or cottages.

Do you know what a war camp looks like in real life?

But this is a fantasy book so it looks like this:

This is not a post to be taken seriously, it's just for fun, I enjoy writing analysis (analyses?) on things I like or hate, no in between.

I am only a woke libtard who doesn't turn off their brain to enjoy a book but instead, will read and analyze/give my critics😔. If only I could act like you booktok girlies who don't bat (get it?) an eye at the weird choices and decisions in the series and who will eat up the very questionable actions of my favorite morally grey man because tattoos, dark hair, shadow daddy, grooming underage girls, committing acts of sexual assault, being abusive and justifying that abuse because tragic backstory, yada yada.

I hold some of my favorite characters accountable for their actions but I don't justify it, it's very easy to do. Yes, they have trauma but it's not an excuse to do what they did.

I am only a teenage girl who loves to hate and act like a hypocritical bitch because what's more fun in life than making grown adults mad because of my unpopular/controversial opinions?

Why are you mad that I'm insulting your "book husband"? It's not my fault your book husband is a POS and that your own husband that you married can't satisfy you so you have to turn to fairy porn and hardcore smut to get rid of your blue balls.

I would like to give thanks to @sonics-atelier for giving me some help and thanks to booktok for unironically making me hate men.

Edit: "You're taking this too seriously!" Number one, I don't care. Number two, I'm a history nerd who once spiraled down a path of learning about dictators. Number three, I'm an American. I know what a dictator looks and acts like, we're going to have one in office for the next four years.

(This has been sitting in my drafts for months and whenever I felt like it, I worked on it.)

[nortism]

What the Ghosts have been watching on TV

Everyone

Channel 4 Home renovation shows: They're free with ads and there's an infinite amount of them so Alison puts them on for the whole gang when she and Mike have work to do in same way people put on YouTube videos for their dogs. This has backfired slightly as all the ghosts now have very strong and conflicting opinions on how Button House should be renovated.

The Great British Bake-off: A whole family event, they all get very invested. Kitty thinks Alison Hammond is the funniest person in the world. The Captain feels normal about Noel Fielding. As well as a watching it live, I'm sure they've also watched the whole back catalogue together.

Mama Mia: This where the Captain learnt his ABBA songs from. Pat and Julian enjoy the nostalgic music and I think the others are just bewitched by the story and music

Robin

Anything David Attenborough: For obvious reasons. I think he'd get a kick out of trying to do his voice. The others sometimes join in.

Cunk on Earth/ Britain: I think they've got a similar attitude towards history and I think he'd find serious historians trying to answer silly questions incredibly funny

Horrible Histories: He watches this with Kitty, they both find poop jokes funny.

Humphrey

Antiques Roadshow: I'm not sure why. I honestly think he's just glad to watch anything.

Mary

Gardener's World: I think she misses being able to look after plants and I think she'd be endlessly fascinated by how hosepipes work.

Mio Mao: She loves them fucking plasticine cats. She will not stop singing the theme song

Honestly think she'll watch anything with anyone and would get invested, she seems like the ideal person to watch telly with.

Kitty

Ru Paul's Drag Race: I think they all watch this every so often but Kitty is invested. There's bright colours, fun outfits and drama, it's definitely Alison's go to when she needs Kitty distracted.

90s and 2000s romcoms: I believe that every couple of weeks Alison and Kitty have a "girl's night" where they watch all the romcoms that Alison used to watch with her mum, mostly because I love watching romcoms with my mum and Kitty deserves that. Kitty is particularly fond of Twilight.

Thomas:

Any Jane Austen adaptations: He watches them with Fanny as they were both big fans when they were alive (its the only thing they agree on). Kitty also joins sometimes. His favourite is the 1995 Pride and Prejudice tv show.

Fanny:

Grey's Anatomy: I haven't seen it but my mum's a big fan and there's millions of seasons, I think she'd pretend she's not that into it but she definitely is.

Call the Midwife: Same as above.

The Captain:

M*A*S*H: I've seen about half an episode of this but it seems to be about fit young men in a war so it sounds like his thing. Probably Pat's recommendation.

Our Flag Means Death: I think Alison has been trying to sneakily show Cap gay media under the pretence of saying "it's just a fun show about pirates". I think the whole gang watched it together. The Captain definitely didn't cry at the end of season 1 why would think that?

Pat

Taskmaster: I think this is one they all watch together but it's definitely one of Pat's favourites. He probably attempted to set up his own version of the show with the ghost which ended horribly.

Doctor Who: I think he watched the original run when he was alive and was absolutely ecstatic to find out they made more. Julian makes fun of him for it.

Julian

Have I Got News For You: Has been airing since 1990 so he definitely watched it while he was alive. I think he likes to keep up with current politics but not in a very serious way so this is his middle ground.

Succession: I haven't seen this show but it seems to be about horrible men in suits being horrible to each other which seems right up his alley.

The Thick of It: Speaking of horrible men in suits being horrible. I think he watches this with Robin who has absolutely no idea what's going on but just laughs when Julian does and they have the best time. Julian is constantly pausing to add his own anecdotes

What We Do In The Shadows: Alison put this on as a 'let's show the Captain it's ok to be gay' show and the Captain was immediately horrified so Julian adopted it. He identifies with Lazlo.

[quitealotofsodapop]

A completely unrelated note, since the queen mother and PIF are big cats in your verse(PIF being half), would catnip effect them?

Big cats can be effected by catnip and there are some cats that develop a tolerance to it. Catnip was discovered around the late 1600s and surprisingly is in the mint family. And on contrary to dogs it brings calmness and relaxation.

So for the queen mother, I imagine Erlang brings back this nice looking bunch of flowers that were near wild mint that relaxed Quan to the celestial realm. Jade Emperor saw it and asked Erlang if he has some more bc the flowers look nice and thought it'd make a nice bouquet to send to his wife. Unfortunately once it was presented to her she face planted on the catnip. She has developed a tolerance so it wouldn't be used against her.

PIF accidentally stumbled upon catnip by accident during DBK’s imprisonment and ended up rolling around it eventually developing a tolerance to it to ease her depression during the time.

What about Redson, Nezha, Bai He and other cat related characters in the AUs?

Ref. Yes!

Catnip and Catmint are in the mint family, and are related to Snapdragons - something more obvious when it's in bloom. Some cats are more affected than others, my own elderly house cat doesn't care for it but loves silvervine.

Other plants that cause a similar reaction in cats are Valerian (Honeysuckle family) and Silvervine/Matatabi (kiwi family). Hilariously, all are used frequently in traditional Chinese medicine, Catnip for cough medicine, Valerian as a sedative, and Silvervine to prevent hypertension. Silvervine sticks are also sold as teething aids for cats.

I love the imagery of Erlang grabbing some catnip cus Quan seems to like it (catnip calms dogs down), and the Jade Emperor asking for some as decoration in a bouquet for his dear Tiger Lily.

The Queen Mother looks at her husband's bouquet, and after an adoring smile, shoves her entire face into the flowers whilst purring loudly. The Emperor at first thought he just did really well when his wife then proceeded to pounce on him hungrily. One lesser known side effect of catnip - makes larger cats randy. XD

Xiwangmu embarrassed by her reaction, at first thought it was an attempted poisoning or seduction. Li Shou, the goddess of cats, overheard the incident and was there to defend Erlang from punishment.

Li Shou: "Mao Bo He! It's a breed of mint beloved by my subjects! It blooms very briefly and the oils help keep biting insects away." Xiwangmu: "But what of my... undignified reaction?" Li Shou, giggling: "Oh thats normal! In order to spread its pollen, the plant causes a euphoric reaction in cats, and since the oil of the plant is released when bruised - it encourages you to rub into it." Xiwangmu: "Goodness! However, if it's meant for your subjects, why am I affected?" Li Shou: "It seems Mao Bo He is indiscriminate which type of cats it affects." (*the two look over to where Erlang and some of the celestial agents are watching Azure Lion rolling in the remaining flowers.*) Li Shou, laughing: "No matter the size!"

The Queen Mother doesn't want the plant used against her in the future, so she secretly has it planted in her Jade Pond garden so that she can develop a passive resistance. The first couple of years were a little awkward though - it appears half her daughters are affected too!

Funnily enough, catnip oil has been used as an insect repellent for cattle since ancient times - so it's not out of the realm of possibly for DBK to have some on hand. Imagine slapping on some sunscreen and your gf start rubbing all over you. DBK wouldn't be 100% upset by PIF's reaction, but he'd make sure to switch to citronella or similar so he doesn't accidentally dose her in future. PIF appreciates his consideration, but keeps some around for fun. >:3

PIF canonically "hits the bottle" in Jttw when her marriage is on the rocks, so I could see her "hitting the 'nip" as well to deal with the pain of losing DBK during his imprisonment. She's managed to wean herself off of it, and bars Red Son from having any out of fear of him developing a similar reliance.

Red Son accidentally gets exposed to catnip when he joins Mei and MK on one of their snack runs. He passes by the pet section and gets entranced by a catnip toy. He buys it for himself, and while his reaction isn't as strong as his mothers, it brings him calm. He gets grounded when his mother sniffs it on him.

Nezha is more snake-like in his lineage, so catnip just smells nice like how lavender does to humans. He does however, have a stronger reaction to valerian - he took some to help with insomnia and he was out of it for the rest of the day. He chalks it up to a weird drug side effect.

Azure Lion has the most intense reaction to the 'nip - male lions especially become big kitty cats when exposed to it. He got introduced to it in the celestial realm on accident when Erlang brought it in. And you know he sneaking into the Empress's garden to roll around in it when no one's looking. The rest of the Brotherhood found out about this reaction when DBK had put on some insect repellent, and Azure got a little silly. It became a bit of a prank to leave catnip in Azure's armour for a bit to humble him. He hasn't been exposed to it in a long time, so if he happened to find a even a tiny cat toy he'd be out for the count. No plans for universe domination, leader of the rebellion too high rn.

Bai He is part cat-demon in the TMKATI au, so she's involved in all his catnip talk. Kittens actually don't get effected by catnip like the adults do till they're teenagers, so Bai He likely doesn't have a reaction until one day her parents find her face buried in Sandy's cat toys. The adults agree to keep catnip out of the house and the restaurant, but they keep some Silvervine sticks to help Bai He with her teething adult fangs.

And ofc Mo is a kitty-kitty cat and just rolls around in the nip like a cat do.

ty for sending this in! I'm a plant nerd at heart (horticulture course ftw) and this was fun to do a deep dive into!

[maochira]

Hi mao. I don't know this is weird or not but may I ask you about blue lock boys (aiku,barou,kunigami,tokimitsu and maybe your favourite) have s/o that have a'parents energy'. Like more mature,calm,kind and take care them something like that.

That’s nothing weird! I mean, mom friends are a thing and taking care of your partner is very normal

Tags: gn!reader, established relationship

Oliver

-he may be the one looking like a dilf at the fine age of 19 but you’re the one who acts way more mature than him

-Oliver can act mature when he wants to, but most of the time… he doesn’t

-sometimes he gets stupid ideas and you’re the one who stops him because you’re afraid he might get himself into a mess

-because of you, Oliver realizes how immature he used to be when it came to dating. He never took anything serious until he fell in love with you, and that’s when he promised himself he’ll be more serious (at least when it comes to dating) and be a bit more like you

Barou

-his main love language is acts of service, so he often tries to do things for you. You immediately make him stop, though. It’s so you can be the one who does things and takes care of him

-especially in the beginning of the relationship, Barou felt very conflicted about this. But because it’s your way of expressing love he grew to enjoy being taken care of by you

-even Barou sometimes needs to let go of his strong and tough personality and be a little softer, especially if he can do it in a safe environment with you, where he knows he won’t get teased for showing a softer side of him

-but his main love language is still acts of service and that won’t change just because you want to do everything for him all the time. He will find ways to do acts of service for you

Kunigami

-your gentle personality made him fall in love with you very quickly. And even though he never said it explicitly, it’s obvious how much he loves being taken care of you. Even if it’s just a little thing like you making a cup of tea for him, it makes him feel loved like nothing else

-he’s also very glad about how mature you are because that means you very rarely have any irrational or unnecessary arguments. Actually, each time there is a misunderstanding, you two can solve it very quickly

-whenever he has a problem, you’re the first person Kunigami comes to for advice. He knows that not only are you great at giving advice, but you also help him to solve those problems in the easiest way

Tokimitsu

-he very much loves being taken care of by you. Sometimes he needs to be babied and you’re the perfect partner for that

-whenever he feels anxious, it only takes a hug from you to calm him down. There’s something very special and calming in your touch that makes him feel safe in an instant

-you always help him to get back to rational thoughts when he’s panicking. He very much needs that. A lot. And he’s very glad you never get annoyed by him and still take care of him, no matter of “unnecessary” his problems might seem

Taglist (sign-up link): @kaineedstherapy12 @zyuuuu @luvcalico @remy-roll @truegoist @vanitasbrainrot @weichspuelertrinker @acacIa @kermitslefteyeball11 @futuristicxie @bluelock4life @https-archangel @userwithlotsoftime @slowlyholypeanut @isagikisser @chaosinanutshell @0rah-s @depressed-bitchy-demon @yellowelectroslime @peachesncats @yerinsshi @blueberrryui @arxliana

[buddyfunnyspendtime]

ok i;m normal now new mao card so good.. 1 he is super duper pink here welcome back princess mao i missed u girl 2 the camera angle.. voiceline mentions being number 1 star and his talents and if u know mao's complication with both of those things from ex. autumn live it really makes u think that NO FUCKING WAY HAPPYELE IS ACTUALLY DOING SOMETHING WITH MAO'S CHARACTER

his complication with being number 1 is the fact as a kid this guy always wanted 2nd place as to not hurt anyone if he got 1st he's a guy who doesn't want conflict and is a general people pleaser so the fact it looks as though he's looking down on us means he truly is at the top

he's at the top but at the same time he's stretching a hand out.. he's accepting and actually competing for the top but at the same time he still stays true to the part of him that wants to help others also goes along with the fact that trickstar may've been at the top at some point but they were still approachable..

the star thing where mao considers himself as a mere flashlight compared to the bright stars that the other trickstar members are his whole inferiority complex that soon gets shaped into him using his low self esteem as a flashlight that although he may not shine as bright he can still be the person he wants to be by being able to be other peoples sides as their light.. however this time he WANTS to be at the top of the sky as a true genuine star just like the trickstar who showed him true wonder whom he wishes to be with

the chandelier in the bloomed shining down at him to show how bright he is now is so good i love it

mao thinks himself of as a jack of all trades master of none so he thinks he has no outstanding talent but regardless of his own interpretation of himself he's going to push through it in fact the amount of effort this guy is willing to put in no matter how much it takes or troublesome that's his talent it seems ordinary on paper to mao but really it's a part of what makes him so important to the people around him who see him so brightly that he just doesn't seem to see for himself

i was so worried that mao being one of the first 2 4piece auditioners would mean he was only setup for 4piece exposition and be pushed to the side again but now it feels as though it's an ending to mao's arc that was left started in autumn live but never received an ending

i really am excited for this story but at the same time i'm also holding myself back for probably the more obvious conclusion of nothing really happening or something big happening that really ends with nothing but if happyele can AT LEAST let this be a push for mao's character in the 2nd year of !! era i'll be a happy man this is what i've been waiting for For so so long

first mao card of 2nd year of !! era being a love letter to his character makes me really happy it feels as though i could die

[atrophiedemotion]

okay doc *lies down on the therapy couch* tell me about aspd Ivan

(you don’t have to obviously I’m just curious)(love you)

hello valued patient, i will very gladly tell you about aspd ivan. (love you too tysm for the question)

before i start this i just want to add a disclaimer that i do not have aspd. if anyone with aspd says i'm wrong on this definitely believe them before me, this is just a personal headcanon. (i have discussed this with a friend w aspd who agrees with me and im in a similar wheelhouse to aspd, so i have a good amount of knowledge due to that and a lot of research, which is where the headcanon stems from)

okay, so to fully speak about how and why i see ivan with aspd i'm going to also mention the other pd i headcanon ivan with because i want to fully express my perception of him. i personally interpret ivan as having an aspd/npd combination (aspd im more sure of). i see aspd as something ivan was born with a predisposition for (reduced gray matter in the brain, less MAO-A, etc) that got solidified in his very early childhood growing up in the slums and going through the whole 'hung off the top of a building and threatened with death if he didn't make the cut' thing. genetics and trauma, the usual causes. npd is something i imagine him developing later on in life ofc, slowly over time. his chosen survival method being creating a fake persona others admire and his nonexistent self worth & horrible self loathing lead to him developing it (kind of as a subconscious coping mechanism).

okay, with that out of the way, why do i think ivan has aspd?

well. there are a lot of reasons. for one, vivinos and qmeng themselves say that ivan doesn't experience emotions in the same way others do, that he has a 'twisted' personality, he manipulated others to 'play with their feelings', that there was 'something off' about him, etc. while the way these are worded are a little,, derogatory,, it's all very important to ivan's character.

ivan's emotions are muted and dulled compared to others', he literally physically cannot experience them in the same way neurotypicals (in terms of pds) can. from that and other examples in alnst (setting up the wagyein incident w mizi & till, his reaction to his win in r3, his lack of care when it comes to lying & manipulation, etc) it can be pretty safely assumed that ivan doesn't really experience empathy. that's why he learns from other's visible emotions and mirrors them, because he doesn't feel them and instead adopts other people's reactions so he can react/act accordingly/'normally' (specifying here that not having empathy does not mean someone cannot feel sympathy or care about anyone. empathy is being able to feel/pick up on someone else's emotions it does NOT mean someone is uncaring okay thanks moving on).

ivan's tendency to manipulate and lie isn't really explicitly shown much in alnst but the implications are there and very telling imo. before i get into this i want to also specify that 'manipulate' is not the big scary evil word most people think it is and literally everyone does it. to manipulate is to try to have control over a situation, to influence someone/something to get your ideal outcome/get your needs met. many people with cluster b pds learn to manipulate from a young age as a survival mechanism because it is the only way to get the things they need. in ivan's case, his entire fake persona for the aliens and his placations and straight up lying to his peers/teachers/fans etc about his feelings and personality is all manipulation to paint himself in a more favorable light so he has a higher chance of survival. i also wouldn't put it past him to casually manipulate other students at anakt when he was younger so he could learn/observe more things (which was shown with the wagyein incident but i imagine that wasn't the only occasion). i've talked about ivan using subterfuge and disguising his actual intentions behind his odd behaviors which, yk, is manipulation.

when it comes to violence, ivan really doesn't seem to be outwardly violent unless provoked, but when he is he's uncaring about the pain he's causing the other (till lmao) and more focused on what he gets out of the exchange (till's attention & expressions and, imo, a physical stress release). i wasn't sure i was going to bring it up bc i wasn't going to get into the whole pwaspd are violent thing (i dont think it's true for everyone. thoughts and urges are different than actions) but i wanted to talk about ivan's lack of awareness when it comes to it. he impulsively fights back, doesn't pull his punches, and revels in it.

there's also his apparent lack of remorse for his actions (stepping on the flower crown, fighting till, leading mizi and till into danger, all that) and impulsivity when he's not masking (though i consider ivan to be a more calculating individual, a lot of his interactions with till show him doing things impulsively). his difficulty in forming intimate emotional connections with others, his lack of self worth and general lack of care for his own wellbeing, his fatalistic world view.

all of these are symptoms of aspd. im not going to pull out the dsm-5 (ew) because i hate the way it words things (love stigma against mentally ill folks), but all of the things i talked about go along with aspd, which is why i personally think ivan has it. a genetic predisposition, a fuckton of trauma in early childhood (qmeng refers to his time in the slums as a 'dark past') and onward through anakt and beyond, and his lack of emotional understanding. all of it lends itself to aspd. i think this adds a whole new level of understanding to ivan and his reasons for things and just. why he is the way he is. and figuring this out for myself made me love ivan all the more. all of the alnst characters are just traumatized kids who never learned how to live and be human and ivan having an even different baseline than most others put him even more at a disadvantage.

i just want to, like. give this guy therapy or at least make sure he knows that it’s not his fault that his mind works the way it does and there’s nothing wrong with it. and with that, i shall end it here LMAO. tysm rock for the ask ik i asked if you were okay with an essay but this is longer than i anticipated skxjsn i hope you liked it!! and if anyone has any other questions about aspd or npd ivan lmk personality disorders are one of my special interests i love talking about this stuff ajxnsn

[poetryandfluffycats]

Just one time~

A/N: I'm working on requests I swear I just found this in my drafts and felt the need to post🤍

Pairing: Izumi Sena x fem!reader

Warnings: very suggestive, dub-con, izumi is a bitch, mentions of makoto, yandere themes, biting, established friendship

Content: Izumi is your friend, a close friend, he'd never do anything to hurt you. You hardly even notice when he starts getting a bit too close for comfort.

Words: 1.5k

Oneshot under cut!

It started out slow. So slow you didn't realize what was happening.

You'd see Izumi in the halls. He'd greet you and you'd greet him. He'd ask how you were, you'd ask how he was.

Nothing out of the ordinary.

Then the texts came.

"How was your day?" "Are you busy" "Do you wanna hang out?"

Still normal, still friendly. You were always happy to talk to one of Yumenosakis top models, so you'd answer him.

"it was good" "nope, not busy" "yeah, sure:)"

You'd hang out together. He'd take you out to lunch, or shopping, or he'd invite you back to his dorm to watch a movie. It was always a good time, you'd always have fun.

Sometimes his hands would linger on you, or his hugs would last longer than needed, but you just wrote it off as him being affectionate. Maybe he was this touchy-feely with all his friends? You preferred over him being rude and unpleasant towards you, like he was to most people, so you never said anything.

Besides, what was the worst that could happen?

Soon, his texts started to become more frequent.

"i'm bored, wanna come over?" "did you see the photos from my shoot?" "are you awake? i cant sleep"

Still, you didn't mind.

He was charming, kind and fun to be around. He had such a way with words that could make any girl swoon. It was hard not to blush at how much attention he was giving you. And also hard not to notice how mind-blowingly atractive he was.

He was everything a guy should be and more.

And he seemed to like you alot.

So, you kept texting him. You'd always say yes to his invitations. You were happy to oblige, happy to ignore the lingering touchs and longing looks, and you quickly found Izumi becoming one of your best friends.

It wasn't until the texts started to become more forward that you started to notice something wrong.

"mao and kuro are out, come see me;)" "wish u were here" "are u alone right now?"

They were... odd, to say the least. But once again, you tried to write it off as Izumi just being Izumi. He was always flirtatious, but there was no way these texts meant anything right? After all, he was in love with Makoto Yuuki, right?

Right?

...

"can u come over? so lonely:("

You were about to reply when another text popped up.

"need u here"

Your heart fluttered at the message, you couldn't tell whether it was from excitement or uneasiness. He needed you. You were wanted, that was a good thing, right? You had gone over to his dorm at night many times before, even slept over before, surely this time wouldn't be any different.

Not giving yourself any more time to dwell on your doubts, you typed out a response.

"on my way"

...

The walk to Izumis dorm was a long one, since he lived on the top floor, but thankfully it gave you enough time to compose yourself and beat down that growing feeling of anxiety in your stomach. There was nothing weird about wanting to spend time with a friend, that's all he wanted to do. Hang out, watch a movie, talk late into the night then go to bed. Just an ordinary sleepover. He would never try and...

No, it was wrong to think that. You shook the thought out of your head, quickening your pace. He wouldn't do that, not to you.

Not to a friend.

The anxiety didn't stop however, even as you stood in front of Izumis door. Your hand trembled as you raised it to knock on the door, and you let out a surprised yelp when it opened almost immediately. Almost as if he had been waiting right by it.

Izumi stood leaning against the door frame, his usual smirk playing on his lips. "I was starting to think you wouldn't come," His eyes scanned up and down your body and his smile grew wider, "you look nice"

"Oh, uh, thank you..." You mumbled, feeling your cheeks flush red. It wasn't like you had gotten dressed up to see him or anything, just wearing a plain crop top and sweatpants set, but if he thought you looked nice then it must have been true. Izumi did have pretty high standards of woman after all.

"Are you going to come in? Mao and Kuru are out, so we have the whole dorm to ourselves... its quite romantic, don't you think?" He winked at you, the redness in your cheeks intensifying under his gaze.

You took a step into the dorm, forcing a smile and giving the silver haired male a playful nudge on the shoulder. "If you wanted romantic you should've invited Yukki-kun over, not me" You teased, trying to lighten the atmosphere as much as humanly possible.

"Well, I didn't" The playful tone in Izumis voice was suddenly replaced by a more serious one, his smirk falling and curling down into a frown. He stepped in front of you, effectively trapping you between himself and the wall and blocking you from going further into the dorm.

You swallowed. His perfume was strong and intoxicating, clouding your senses. He smelt so good...

"I invited you, so lets not talk about Yukki-kun, alright?" He rested his forehead against yours, brushing a stray strand of hair behind your ear. His voice dropped down to a whisper, hot breath fanning over your lips, "How about we just focus on each other, huh?"

You knew where this was headed, and you hated it.

"S-Sena, please" You whimpered, pressing your hands flat against his chest in a feeble attempt to push him off. However, he refused to move, his hands snaking down your body to firmly grasp your hips and pull you flush against him.

Izumi hummed, ignoring the discomfort in your voice and nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck, inhaling deeply, "So annoying... god you smell good, its driving me crazy..."

Panic began to rise in your stomach again, the earlier feeling of unease from your walk here returning on full blast. He wasn't stopping. Why wasn't he stopping? You pushed at this chest again, harder this time, but he didn't even budge an inch. He simply chuckled, tightening his grip on your hips to the point where it was almost painful.

You needed to get out of there somehow. You couldn't let him take advantage of you. Not like this.

"Please Sena! You're scaring me-AuGH!-"

Your plead was cut short as a pair of teeth sunk deep into your neck, mere centimetres away from your pulse point. In fact, if he moved any closer he'd be ripping your throat out. The message was clear.

Shut up and stay still, or else.

"If you really care about me, you'll let me do this" He whispered, retracting his teeth from your neck and soothing the bruising mark with his tongue, "Don't you care about me? Don't you trust me?"

"Of course I-I care about you, you're my best friend! Its just-"

"Just what? Are you really that selfish? I need this! Just let me have you goddammit! I need you!"

You gasped at the outburst, the panic that had been bubbling in your chest finally exploding as tears began to run down your cheeks. Izumi had never raised his voice at you before, he never shouted at you. And it terrified you.

Noticing the tears on your cheeks, his grip on you softened, his previous look of hunger and lust turning into one of guilt and shame. He took a step away, running his hands through his hair and sighing heavily.

"Shit, (name), I'm so sorry, please don't cry" He reached out to grab your hands, bringing them to his chest, "I shouldn't have yelled, I know you're scared but... please... I need this, I need you to trust me"

You stared down at your hands on his chest, a small part of you finding the gesture oddly comforting. Maybe this was how things were meant to be? Even after his outburst, he was so calm in his tone. So sure of himself, so sure of what he was saying even if it did sound obscene. Maybe this wasn't so bad after all? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to help him out.

What type of best friend doesn't help her best friend out when he needed it?

You meet his gaze. He was so desperate, so vulnerable, so lustful. It was a look you'd only ever seen him direct at Makoto, the man he supposedly loved with all his heart, yet here he was using it towards you.

It confused you.

Why was he looking at you like that when he was meant to be in love with Makoto?

But that didn't matter in this moment, not to Izumi at least. All that mattered was him getting what he wanted, and what he wanted was you.

"Just one time right? That's all you need?" You mumbled, your voice barely audible.

He nodded eagerly, that oh so familiar smirk returning to his lips, "Of course, one time. I'll never ask again, I promise"

You bit your lip, thinking over the situation just one more time. It was just one time, one time then he'd go back to Makoto and then things would go back to normal, right? One time...

"O-okay, you can have me"

[fictional-idol-tournament]

The two idols with the most votes will go on to compete against the two idols with the most votes from Part 1 of the Ensemble Stars pre-liminary round. The two winners of that will compete in the bracket.

Propaganda under the cut:

Mao Isara

- He's hardworking, is voiced by kaji yuki and tbh he's best boy (along with all of trickstar obvi)

- He is so boring but he's so scrungly. He's the responsible one in his group as well as being the student council president in the second game. He just cares about everyone around him. Also he plays basketball. Also his solo song is really good!!! Everyone stream MAGICIANS PLAY right now!!!!

Aira Shiratori

- Idol stan who eventually became an idol in his own right! Truly he's living the dream and having fun with the rest of Alkaloid and his new idol friends at ES

- silly little guy

- huge fan of idols

- he wanted to become an idol so he did but he sucked so bad that his agency threatened to kick him out

-has a catchphrase

Tori Himeyama

- SHES THE PRETTIEST PRINFESS EVER PLEASE LISTEN TO ME PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

- he's a sweet tiney babey who's the cutest idol in the whole wide world!! he's maturing and learning how to be more independent and considerate to others so he's no longer just your typical spoilt rich boy :D

Mayoi Ayase

- HES SO SILLY. he hides in the walls and ceilings and is scared by everything like a bug

Tomoya Mashiro

- He is simply a normal boy. Just an average guy.

Shu Itsuki

- French loser

Kaoru Hakaze

- he has a mullet and hes gay and silly and his voice is pretty and he got bitten by a vampire once and hes the guy ever

Hiiro Amagi

- my beautiful baby boy one time he caught a live chicken and tried to give it to his unitmate/boyfriend to kill and eat. also stream vermilion

Nagisa Ran

- He is autistic.

[normalestenstars]

misc. things i found interesting from the form but didn't feel it was worthwhile to mention on the results post. long post warning

Counter for the amount of times a specific thing was said (For the record, not everyone filled out the optional questions. 67 people skipped the reasoning question, leaving 75 written responses) - Aira being a fan of idols: 6 - Midori depression: 4 - Some sort of comment about Tomoya being normal: 10 - I could meet someone like this IRL: 7 - Didn't do anything illegal: 2 - Variation of just some guy comment: 25

Favorite characters section - Almost everyone got at least one vote! The only ones who didn't receive any are: Makoto, Midori, Shinobu, Hinata, Leo, Jin and Akiomi. - Anzu (surprisingly, to me at least) got two votes! And to the person who wondered if she was placed after Mao because trick5tar, you are correct! They are her friends =) - Character who got 5+ votes: Niki (10), Shu (8), Mayoi + Ibara (7), Hiiro + Aira + Mika (6). Kind of interesting how Tatsumi is the only character missing from the alka lineup, receiving two votes in comparison. - I am surprised by the lack of Knights though. Are all the Knights fans just on different platforms 🤔? I guess tumblr is a relatively niche social media site though

Some passionate responses list

Adonis He’s just a really nice guy who wants everyone to be healthy and happy. He literally got engaged to someone on accident because he was too nice to them, and he knows sign language. He’s never done anything illegal (as far as I know), he’s not particularly eccentric in any way, he’s just chilling out and enjoying the company of his friends. Him being the most normal person in ES would be considered an insult to almost anyone else, but to Adonis it isn’t because he’s like the saving grace of the company.

Mao Don’t get me wrong, he’s a weirdo. But his weirdo behavior is balanced. He has a carefully constructed balance on the scales of weirdo and it hasn’t yet fallen over. It’s still precarious but slightly less so than the rest of these creatures. Go for it Mao!! Gain your normalcy if only by relativity!!

Aira Aira !! he's literally just a little fanboy. All he's doing is following his dreams. He has insecurities and he's working through them. The only-non normal thing about him is his insane knowledge about idols, but it's *normal* for him because of his obsession with them. ALSO!! ALSO Aira. Aira is just normal. He'd be chatting about idols and then someone would drop insane lore and he would REACT NORMALLY ("WHAT??! they did WHAT??! are you SURE??!") instead of just dismissing like half the cast would, I think.

Tomoya The buildup of his character is created around him being "normal". To me, his main quirk is that he is too good to be normal. Even at his worst moments, he is never hateful or unkind. Even with Eichi, who openly hastes him (Like in Sanctuary and in Grand Slam), who destroyed Nazuna's reputation and life in the past, he still is friendly and nice to Eichi. Wataru himself said at Sanctuary that Tomoya would never hate him, because he is too good for that. Even other kind and nice characters, like Hajime or Sora, have expressed anger and lasting resentment before, but Tomoya would never have such lasting animosity towards anyone. I chose him because his most wild quirk is something as subtle as that. Compared to other 'normal" ones like Midori and Kaoru, he can pretend to be normal, while the others eccentricities will shine through, since no one in this game is a healthy and normal person.

Passionate RYUSETAI essay (also I agree op re:shinobu 🤝) Midori is NOT normal. Put him in the near vicinity of Yuzuru or a cute mascot and he loses his mind. I think he's the only one I got upset over (even if I did raise an eyebrow at Tsukasa. No he's not, the boy likes his guns a bit too much)! I argue Shinobu is the most normal in Ryuseitai, as his quirkiness is not more intense than, say, Aira's or Tomoya's. Shinobu is the heart of Ryuseitai, taking the best parts of those around him. Much like Mao is for the student council, he is keeping all the strong personalities of his unit working together. Much like Kanata, he is perceptive of the emotions of others. Much like Chiaki, he values his passion so so much, keeping the ninja association going despite being the only member. Much like Nazuna, he doesn't let anyone step over him just because he is small and cute. More people need to know that under his childish appearance, he is quite mature as of ES!!. An argument for Tetora being the most normal can also be made, but even he has his moments. Glad to see everyone agrees neither Chiaki nor Kanata are normal.

[profundcherrylady]

SINGLE DAD!SAE ITOSHI

Exclusive interview with Sae Itoshi!

A/N: I had this in mind while writing the last scenario. This one was so short y'all, promise next one will be a little longer but I've been busy. Also I posted this waaaaay too early before I had finished it omg I wanna kms

Warnings: None this time, y'all are safe.

Contents: Sae being a loving father and lots of fluff; MAY be ooc but be fr I'm convinced Sae would be the sweetest if he had kids.

Description: Exclusive interview! After having won another very successful match, the media takes advantage of the fact that Sae Itoshi can't shut up about his daughter to actually interview him.

He didn't even flinch at the countless flashes of the cameras directed towards his eyes, the news photographers and paparazzi fighting to get a good picture of the still sweaty Sae Itoshi. As usual, his performance on the field was remarkable and the victory of his team undeniable. This was normal to him, of course, but this day wasn't just some ordinary match; his daughter was watching him today. Like, in person, on the stands! It wasn't a common occurrence, and not because she didn't want to but because Sae would almost always say no. After all, he couldn't really keep an eye on her while playing and he felt a little conflicted about just leaving Mao by herself. However, this time she just wouldn't stop insisting, so he had no choice.

It was almost comical to see the little girl sitting among the other serious people in the VIP section, but she was someone important as well. Important to him, at least.

When his team ended up winning thanks to his last goal, he could see her enthusiastic expression and hear her voice cheering for him. She was practically bouncing on her seat, waving her hand trying to get Sae to notice her.

"Papa, that was amazing! Papa, look! Papa, I'm over here!" her screams, of course, reached his ears, and he waved back casually on her direction, an almost unnoticeable smile on his face. "Hi, papa!!"

As much as he would've wanted to go to his daughter immediately, he was unable to avoid the interview, so she would have to wait a little.

"Amazing performance today, Sae." she'd say, and he'd try to ignore so he could go to his daughter, but his efforts were useless as she just kept getting on his way on purpose with the microphone pointing at him and the camaraman following closely. "Any words you want to share with us about it? How did you feel while you were out there?"

"Mhm." that wasn't even an answer; he just wanted to get out of there and get his daughter. But the interviewer was NOT about to let Sae Itoshi walk away from this, so she had to use her last resource.

"Can you tell us more about your daughter being here today?" Sae perked up inmediately, but he wasn't stupid, he knew what she was doing, so he tried to keep his answer short.

"She said she wanted to see this match in person so I brought her."

"Would you say she's a fan of the sport?"

"I'd say she's a fan of me." and just like that he's drifting off. "She does ask to play with me sometimes, but my guess is she just wants to ask for something she knows I'll say yes to; she plays it safe."

"Aww, she asks to play with her dad? Do you think she's good? Maybe we have another Itoshi soccer prodigy in the making!"

"No, don't get me wrong." his voice was sharp and direct, cutting off the enthusiasm off the interviewer's voice. "Weather or not she decides to follow the same career path as me is entirely her decision. I encourage her to do what she likes and find out what she wants to do with her life by following her own passions. I wouldn't put that kind of pressure on her."

"I-I see..." she was a little embarrassed by the way she was cut off, but she was getting answers! "So, what kind of things does she like to do?"

"Mao is a very calm kid, most of the time. She has lots of energy but she's still very quiet when she's at school. So she likes basic things, like drawing, playing with dolls and stuff. Oh, but she has this bunny plushie that she absolutely adores; that's the one she carries everywhere. It was a gift from one of my trips, I don't remember which one, but I gave it to her and she would die if something happened to it. Seriously, there was this one time when she lost it at the park so I had to drive all the way-"

He paused.

Goddamnit, they got him.

He was supposed to end this quick and go get Mao, not stay and ramble about her! When has anyone ever seen Sae Itoshi ramble??? He just gets to the point and leaves??? What is happening to him???

"And what happened?" the interviewer neared the microphone to him, trying to get him to continue. Well, not this time. He cleared his throat before responding, casually gaining back his usual nonchalant expression.

"End of the interview, goodbye."

"What?! Um, w-wait! I have more questions! Uh... how does your daughter see herself in the future?"

"She's six."

"Dang it." she almost bit her tongue while she went through the questions on her head. "W-Well, I mean... what does she want to be when she grows up? Has she told you?"

"I... don't think she has." weird, maybe he should ask after all. "I'll go now. My daughter isn't the most patient person."

"Wait, so, is there nothing she's good at?"

"I didn't say that." he almost got offended. HIS daughter, talentless? Hell no. "She seems to enjoy dancing, and she's pretty good at it. Well, for her age, at least I think it's impressive. I suppose it requires an amount of agility and footwork similar to soccer."

"She must've got it from you then."

"If not me, who? Her mom... is... terrible at dancing..." he drifted again, this time at the thought of his late wife. But NO. He was NOT about to have a moment and cry infront of the media; he had to lock in. "She... was... terrible at dancing." he finally corrected. "So... she must've gotten it from me. Or perhaps is a talent of her own; I don't have to take credit for everything she does."

"But is she good at soccer?" then it finally clicked in his head. WHY was he even answering this questions?

"How is any of this relevant for the interview?"

"Um.. w-we just want to know if... well... your performance on the field was so impressive today! And your daughter is here so... would you say you say you put in a little extra effort for her?"

"Are you implying I don't put in effort normally?"

"No! I just... no, no, no!" they should really give this woman a raise for putting up with this and improvising her questions. "Y-You're such an amazing player, you make it seem effortless..."

"Sure..."

"Would you say your daughter is a big inspiration for you?" he knew the answer to that question; it was yes. Everything he did was for his daughter ever since he became a father, and yeah, he loved the kid, so what? He did like to show off infront of her a little so she could brag about him at school (which he knew she did with frequency). He'd hear from teachers and other parents about his daughter's constant rambling about how cool his dad is, and whenever he did his chest would fill a bit with pride. Ironically, he had millions of people who admired him but the only one he really cared about was that little girl who also asks him to take the crust off her sandwiches and cut it into little star shapes because that's how she likes them, he guesses. And he's tried to tell her is the same thing but she insists they taste different.

"I can say I'm happy to have her. I find myself feeling a bit proud about every little thing she does."

"Any big accomplishments lately?"

"She learned how to count backwards, from ten to one. She can also help me in the kitchen sometimes; with supervision of course, but she tries her best. And she-"

"Papa!" he flinched when he heard Mao's familiar voice nearby, and he saw her running around and getting herself among the crowd trying to reach him. She was carrying that same bunny he talked about earlier and Sae was quick to get her in his arms once she was in arm-length reach. His instincts then kicked in at the first sound of a camera taking a photo as he inmediately hid her face against his chest.

"That's enough now, no photos." in some aspects the media was somewhat the same as a child. You tell them 'no' and they take it as a reason to do it anyways, because the camera flashes grew more frequent and intense.

"Wait! Just one more question!"

"Sae, over here!"

"Look over here!"

"Can we take a look at the kid?"

"Let her answer a question with you!"

"Enough with the cameras." his voice was low, yet firm enough to cease all the commotion. Poor Mao was all fussy with all of those bright flashes and sudden sounds. "Let's go home." he said, his arms now holding a more secure hold on her to walk through the crowd of reporters.

"Papa, you were amazing!"

"I know. I'm always amazing." she giggled, and the sound made him smile as he walked through the crowd of reporters who were still fighting to get his attention. "Are you hungry? I took longer than I expected."

"A little. Papa, can I play soccer too with you?"

"If you want to, sure." he would lie if he said he wasn't tired after the match, but how could he say no to his little girl asking to spend quality time with him? "Let's play when we get home."

"Can I have ice-cream, papa?"

"Why do you want ice-cream suddenly?"

"Because it's yummy!"

"I guess it is." he should really learn how to tell her no. "Sure thing, we'll buy ice-cream on our way back."

"Yay!"

[sivavakkiyar]

Sakai is coming up a lot more recently on here so I’d like to bring up a passage from his interview ‘when race burns class’:

A number of years ago, i was trying to help a group of young Chinese-American activists on an anti-racist campaign. This was an interesting case of how a pure "race" issue only fronted for class politics. Now, these folks were "paper Maoists" in every worst way you could think of – and all my friends know that i'm someone who has warm feelings for the old Chairman. Not only did they have what Mao once called "invincible ignorance", but were also arrogantly full of Han nationalism. They did have physical courage, at least. Their project was to protest the sports racism in the famous industrial town of Pekin, Illinois – which was originally named in the 19th century after Beijing, and whose high school sports teams were colorfully named "the Chinks"! (capitalism, what an ever-amazing civilization – what next? "Auschwitz! The Perfume!" ).

Every week a few carloads of young Asian protesters would arrive in Pekin to picket the high school and city hall, hold television news conferences, and keep the issue simmering in the news. You see, the small flaw in the campaign was that all the protesters had to be imported from New York and Chicago. There were only eight Chinese families in town, and all were refusing to have anything to do with the anti-"Chinks" campaign (not wanting to lose their livelihoods, homes, and be driven out of town by the controversy).

By accident, not in any political way, i had casually met two vaguely liberal young white guys there. One was a teacher in that very high school. The second was a UAW (United Auto Workers union) shop steward at the nearby giant Caterpillar tractor assembly plant, which was Pekin's main industry. So i thought maybe they could be persuaded to get some local people to take a moderate wishy-washy public stand, anything just to give the Chinese families some local community cover if they wanted to speak out (there was zero local support of any kind, including all the unions and churches of course).

When i suggested it to this Maoist group, there was a moment's startled stony silence. Then the leader barked, "We do not work with white people!" Discussion over. So, is this a good example of that error of "racial issues taking precedence over class issues"? i know some radicals might think that, but they'd just be getting faked out.

First off, to those activists running it, "race" was not what was central to their thinking. After all, if those Asian American dudes had really been into either "race" or anti-racism they might have started by organizing and working with the local Asian families. They might have tried to help find some survival strategy for these families, who couldn't just drive off into the sunset after each press conference (being an isolated Asian family in a heavy white racist scene is no joke, obviously). This is just a normal problem in anti-racist work, which folks had to deal with all the time in small towns in 1960s Mississippi, for instance.

It also wasn't true that those Chinese-American leftists "didn't work with white people". They did that all the time, when they wanted, and these Han nationalists even argued for the "revolutionary" nature of the white working class . What i came to realize was in that situation they didn't want any broad community support for the Chinese families there, or to let others into "their" issue. Because they had a really different agenda. Which was to get sole public credit for this and other anti-racist issues, so that their little Maoist "party" could vault into political dominance over the Chinese-American communities. Later, when they thought it necessary, they even used physical violence and death threats to drive other Asian groups away. They intended to be the people in ethnic power, in effect like replacing the tongs . These "paper Maoists" had a pure class agenda, all right, only it was a bourgeois agenda. Although they themselves might have honestly believed what they did was "revolutionary", they had anti -working class politics hidden by "anti racism" and left people of color talk.

And this Maoist group really did get their Andy Warhol-like "15 minutes of fame", becoming large in part because the more dishonest and destructive their "anti-racist" maneuvers became, the more support they got from white middle-class liberals and "progressives" (coincidentally?). i mean, from many white social-democrats, those white anti-repression "experts", academic leftists, etc. Those types that subject us to those endless droning lectures about "the working class" (which they aren't in and don't get, of course). As a sage comrade of mine always says, "Like is drawn to like" even if their outward appearance is very different.

This is a more difficult, easy to slip and fall on, even dangerous way of seeing things than radicals here are used to.

[drama--universe]

Sleeping

Requested by @justkpopfandom: Welcome back! Hope you been well! Can I request for fiys? Can the reader be Tong Yao's sister that comes visit after her trip to the states. And she finds Lao K to be her liking, and the others know about it and teases Tong Yao's sister and Lao K catches on and ends up falling for her. Thank you ❤️

Pairing: Lao K x reader

Word Count: 1.3k words

A/N Hello, hope you enjoy the request! I apologize thought, because I accidently deleted your ask, so there won't be an answer to that except for this. :/

The morning air was cold, winter had taken over no too long ago and as a result it had turned the whole area white with snow. Tong Yao didn't care much for the cold, not now. She was waiting for you, waiting for your car to arrive at the dorm in a few minutes time. The shawl around her neck kept her warm, but her thin clothes did not and she was sure that she'd be scolded by you the second you arrived. Her prediction came through as your car drove in through the gate, stopping in front of her before you stormed out.

"Why are you outside!" You exclaimed, rushing to her before gently pushing her inside. Normally, you would calmy greet everyone since you had never met any of them before, but after seeing your sister outside alone without decent clothes made that habit dissapear.

"Why would you let her stand out there?" You asked and on cue, all of them looked up from there computers with confused looks.

"You try forcing her inside without losing a finger." One commented and even when you wanted to refute his claim, you couldn't really. Not when you knew his statement to be true, because your sister didn't like to be forced to something she didn't want. You sighed before removing your jacket and draping it over your sister, scolding her softly while she just smiled. She was just happy that you were back, the scolding didn't matter much to her as she expected it anyway.

"I'll make you something warm." A man passed by, kissing Tong Yao's head before walking to the kitchen to, presumably, make some tea. You stared at his back before turning to Tong Yao with a raised eyebrow, making the girl go red.

"Since when are you dating again? I thought you swore boys off after Jian Yang?" You asked, but the teasing tone in your voice was clear enough as Tong Yao pushed you softly before hiding her face in her hands. You chuckled, leaning back against the back of the couch before throwing your arm over her shoulders. Then you leaned closer to her, close enough to whisper in her ear.

"You picked a looker." Then you got up from your seat as you grabbed your keys again, telling Tong Yao that you were going to park your car first before you'd return.

"So... Nobody is going to comment on that?" Lao Mao commented as he pointed at the door, but no one answered him. He turned to K, staring at him until he looked up from his monitor. He raised an eyebrow at Lao Mao, a bit confused why he was being stared at.

"What do you want me to say?" "Don't you think she's pretty?" Lao Mao asked and K sighed, turning back to his monitor with a roll of the eyes.

"Sure, she is. Why is that a big deal? Objectively, Tong Yao is pretty too and yet you never say something about her." K spoke and his friend huffed before turning away.

"It's different." Cue the shoe thrown his way from Tong Yao herself while the front door opened again. You watched as a shoe flew through the room and landed on one of the gamers' heads.

"Don't scold her, he deserved it." Another commented again and you nodded carefully before getting closer to Tong Yao again, sitting down with a soft sigh.

"What's the snarky one's name?" "Ah, that's Lao K. The one I hit with a shoe is Lao Mao, my boyfriend is Lu Si-Cheng and that one over there is Lu Yue. Xiao Pang is still upstairs, and Xiao Rui and Yu Ming are at a meeting." The introductions were quick, a bit too quick to process well enough and yet you could.

"Well, the snarky one is definitely my type." You commented, but when everyone looked your way you realized that it was louder than you wanted it to be. Lao Mao was the first to speak up, but it wasn't really a spoken word and rather a teasing 'oooh~' to Lao K. The annoyed sigh from Lao K followed as he focused on the game he was playing before he raised his hand to his webcam.

"I'm going live, so shut it." He spoke before clicking it on and greeting the people that entered his livestream.

"Don't be rude, sister-in-law should only see your nice side." Lao Mao spoke again, loud enough for you to hear and probably also for the viewers of K's livestream. Lao Mao grinned before getting up, walking to you before letting himself fall down on the couch beside you.

"So, what charm of his drew you in?" He asked and you looked at him, grinning as you pretended to think about it. Then you shrugged, which made Lao Mao grin even more.

"Show him your nice side too then." Lao Mao spoke before getting up again and leaving. You just rolled your eyes, but they quickly moved back to Lao K. He was focused on his screen, not even blinking as he chattered with his viewers. You had to admit, he definitely looked good.

"Stop saying your thoughts out loud."

The room was empty and you frowned, confused as to why no one was there. Tong Yao had invited you over, yet she was not here at all. The only person there was Lao K, sitting on the couch with his legs thrown over the arm of the couch while scrolling through his phone.

"They went out to the mall, don't ask me why." He spoke, not looking up from his phone and you sighed. Moving to the couch, you lifted his legs and sat down. K pulled his legs closer to himself, glancing at you as you sighed loudly. You looked a bit tired, he noticed the bags beneath your eyes.

"Did you sleep?" "No, why?" You turned to him and he shrugged, looking back at his phone again. You didn't know whether to thank him or to be offended that he saw that easily. Instead, you glanced at him again before turning around and laying against his shins.

"What are you doing?" K seemed shocked at your action, opening his legs to see what you were doing and causing you to topple backwards. You fell on his chest, looking up at him from below with grinning at him.

"Hello~" You greeted him, waving at him before jumping off when he pushed you. You pouted at him, leaning back against the back of the couch. Silence returned, only the soft sound from K's phone was heard as you drifted off.

"I doubt that something happened." Lu Yue commented as he entered the house while everyone else followed in. Xiao Pang was quick to move to the kitchen, but paused as he entered the living room.

"I think they get along quite well..." He said and everyone quickly gathered before freezing. There on the couch laid you and K. K was still casually scrolling on his phone while you laid on his chest, a bit too casual like you had know each other for years. Due to the sudden silence again, K looked up from his phone before raising his eyebrow at them.

"What?" "I didn't know you let others sleep on you..." Tong Yao commented and K rolled his eyes.

"She kept waking up otherwise, don't overthink it." He answered before focusing back at his phone screen, ignoring the fact that you were suddenly hugging him tighter. Soon enough, everyone moved on from their spots and moved on. Lu Yue, like always, was quick to take a picture of the scene while the others just glanced over every few seconds. They watched close enough to notice the fact that K was kind enough to pat your head everytime you twitched, making you smile softly in your sleep before laying still again.

It was something simple and yet it meant the beginning of something great.

[ecargmura]

Twilight Out Of Focus Episode 10 Review - The Evening Monologues

Remember how Shion declared that he’d fix Rei back in Episode 8? Congratulations, Shion, you fixed him! Well, he’s not completely fixed, but is in the process of being so. Anyways, it was nice seeing Rei’s perspective on his relationship with Shion and how his earlier actions were due to the inability to grasp change, but meeting Shion changed all that. I always liked that unlike the previous two couples, this one doesn’t follow the usual formula. Rei and Shion are not roommates and Rei does feel more “seme-like” compared to Hisashi and Jin who don’t feel as seme-like.

Rei is someone who dislikes change. That’s why he never puts effort into his past relationships. He is struggling to find a path in his life. However, Shion came and showed him that change isn’t scary and that anything is possible. That’s what caused him to develop feelings for him. To be honest, Rei’s inability to find a path for his future does feel relatable. I know a lot of people who still have no idea what they want to do. Rei is someone who likes being comfortable in his own space and rarely lets others in. I think describing Shion as a glitch or a bug fits him perfectly because Shion did come into his life unexpectedly and caused an issue in his system. Because of him, Rei is doing things he normally never does like chasing after Shion and even professing his feelings for him; he even feels jealous of other men around Shion too, a first from him. Heck, he even vacuumed his room just so he can have a good first time with Shion. You know an introvert who is holed up in his room all the time is making effort when he actually vacuums for the first time…wait, that’s not just a me thing? What I liked the most is that Rei’s hat flies off when he confesses to Shion, making him more honest about his feelings.

Anyways, his conversation with Jin was nice to see. During the Slow Motion era, Rei was the one who essentially gave advice to Giichi about Jin. I feel like the tables have turned since as Jin is the one giving advice to Rei. I can tell how close they are from their scene. Both Jin and Rei have changed when it comes to love, so it’s interesting to see how both react and process it. I love how Rei reacted to seeing Jin and Giichi kissing and how Jin reacted when Rei was right behind him.

I do like that Shion is looking for a relationship where he and Rei are equal in a sense. While he’s happy that Rei wants to go out with him seriously, he’s still nervous about how long it’ll last. He gives Rei his diary, which turns out to be a poetry journal. Oh ho, Mao has some competition in terms of being the poet in the film club. He lent it to Rei in hopes that the older boy can learn more about him and tell him about his worries and such. Fortunately, Rei knows the ups and downs of Shion. Man, it’s nice to see Rei be an affectionate boyfriend in his own way. 

I guess my only gripe is that they removed a lot of small details from the manga, but I’ll get to that when I review the manga. Other than that, it’s well-executed and has good pacing.

Anyways, what I like about this pair and for the other two pairs is that they’re written in a way that you do feel like they’ll last forever. Even if there are ups and downs along the way, they all have good communication with each other, so I’m sure things will work out for all of them. It seems that next week is a mix of all three couples, so I can’t wait to see how that’ll play out. What are your thoughts on this episode and the Evening Monologues pair as a whole?