#normally it is 100% fireworks

[two-calicos-in-a-trenchcoat]

They may be the next neighborhood over

Someone just posted on the police scanner Facebook page about it and she lives at the trailer park down the road. Pin oak is in between us. Hard to say tho. Sound carries more this time of year

[kroosluvr]

temptation

i lowkey have too many notes to write down properly KDFHKDS but ill write them down for Future Cele so i can read it later and be like omggg past cele ur so fun and interesting

in general, the more "color" the scenes have, the closer it is to "real life" as opposed to the muted/hushed winter blues of maruki's reality

i.e. the dark frames w akira smiling and the very last panel are when reality sinks in: first for akira, then for goro

by the way this is long winter au but sumire is still brainwashed. this also works for canonverse but i just had long winter au in mind:o

youve heard of laundry and taxes now get ready for coffee and pastries

in every panel, akira is smiling! :) and goro is very much not smiling.

intentionally his face is hidden in the last 2 pages so its unclear whether it's the "ideal reality" already (akira/goro's daydreams/wants/desires), or if goro is still fighting akira on making sure he picks the right choice

the smoke from the first page kinda leads into the 3rd page omfg COMPLETELY UNINTENTIONAL BUT REALLY COOL LMAOOO

that's nameless and belladonna in jazz jin!!! i love them. I LOVETHEM. i miss them so bad is it obvious

the cafe is loosely based off of caffe strada @ uc berkeley LMAO. my parents used to take me there a lot as a little kid so that's the first cafe i think of when i imagine one. its like right on the streetside, basically on the sidewalk, so its very bustling and people are always walking by... probably a little disconcerting to see everyones summery bright smiles despite the bitter cold and snow

in long winter AU, the Ideal Reality starts before 1/1 so yeah they get to see the new years fireworks together (or something)

also intentional that they wear the same winter outfits in the whole comic although it Probably does not take place at the same time. in maruki's snowglobe, time seems frozen in place... but akira and goro are both acutely aware that the sands are running thru QUICK

goro's frustrated expression on page 3 is one also of disdain: "don't speak FOR me you fucking imbecile" type of expression.

goro, who's never lived a normal life and therefore doesn't know much abt "normalcy" nor really actively seeks it. this 3rd semester is basically purgatory for him and he doesn't care to try and go through the motions the way akira does. akira what do YOU know about the type of "normalcy" i deserve? how do YOU know if i "deserve" that?

im thinking that this is a naive akira who is mostly set on taking the deal because he feels hopeless... seeing all his friends with good happy lives while goro and himself are alive and miserable and shouldering the weight of the world during the horror of long winter......

oh but if he takes the deal they could all be good and alive and happy!!!.... and goro knows this. i feel like in any other universe (i.e. akira is 100% certain on not taking the deal and goro knows this) then goro would be happy and carefree to do these little indulgences for himself and akira's sake, to just enjoy the snowglobe world while it exists.

but this goro is discontent. he sees how akira is enjoying the snowglobe and knows maruki is depending on this. goro has to be the one to remind akira that none of this is his to keep........ in this fucked up world, routine is dangerous. becoming comfortable is dangerous. they cannot keep any of this.

on that note, goro says "i hate you" in a halfhearted sort of way (it's not true and akira knows that.) but he's trying to think of a way that he can dissuade akira from picking the wrong choice.....

and i think the thing is, goro thinks all of this, but he still falls into the rhythm of routine with akira anyway. in a way, goro feels hopeless too.

all of this is maruki's doing........ paralyzed by the inability to choose... whatever you do, you lose. goro needs to hold akira at arm's length so the stupid sentimental fool doesn't get too attached and falls into the wrong universe. akira needs to make a concentrated effort to detach himself from goro even though he wants the simplest thing in the world: just one more unremarkable day with him. it's lose-lose..........,

also i liked drawing the tentacles in the last pic the freaking blue lines on them were SO satisfying to draw

edit: also the last page: the blood flooding the panel….. the idea of the ideal world being built off of the blood and sweat and tears and bodies of the people who could have been. of those lost in the actualization, of those destroyed, of those stitched together and brought back to life. all just for a little false happiness. goro sees it but akira doesn’t, and it’s a grim sight.

[soarrenbluejay]

Supervillains for a community. (Well, except those jerks over in Gotham, insular lot, but they’re they’re one problem) Of course they do- supervillains are a group defined by strong opinions and a willingness to see them through, often with a healthy dash of societal failures and trauma as a catalyst.

The fentons, while not active even on the online message boards, are well known and explosive when they do show up, full of fascinating insights and hours long rants on mad science on hair pin turns courtesy of that ADHD attention span. Bit of the cryptids you feel honored to bump into kind of deal. Besides, like a good quarter of the community as it aged, they’d settled down and had kids (not necessarily in that order) and taken it very seriously! Out in the middle of nowhere, where even the most fearsome government outpost members, the local branch of the IRS, quake before them in fear. Out of the way.

Reveal gone okay-ish, Danny moves to Gotham still to get some air bc now things are Akward and he landed that engineering scholarship which is loads better than any other college would give him with his track record. So- the mysterious Fenton children are finally crawling out of hiding! Everyone is psyched! And roll in to Gotham en masse to witness the fireworks!

Except Danny is Determined To Be Normal. He’s had enough of the throwing himself into harms way shit for a lifetime- he wants to be free to peacefully built Rube Goldberg machines and unintentional increasingly complex bombs to his hearts content. JAZZ, on the other hand- the coveted token Normal One, has finally snapped! She’s watched her baby brother she practically raised throw himself into danger over and over and could do nothing, and now that she’s exposed to this whole network of superheroes outside of small town Amnity, some of those uglier emotions are coming out. And boy is she pissed! And can’t afford to show it much while filing the paperwork to have Arkham legally razed to the ground!

See I love this idea of like, niches in superhero society. A villain the heroes know they can plop their kiddo down with for an exciting afternoon brawl while they take care of a particularly grisly case and come back to a few hours later ranting about some new life lesson and a new move they really want to try. A villain who has a functioning moral compass despite their somewhat batshit long term goal and you can contact to fuck with another villains’s plan so they can laugh at them and you can have an easy afternoon. One who pries up hostile architecture and fills in pot holes, idk man. Get creative here, there’s such potential!

So Jazz becomes a Training villain- someone the heroes know their sidekicks will walk away from in a fight 100% of the time, usually with some new lesson to ponder and only a couple of bruises. Sometimes even snacks!

She also absolutely ambushes mentors to check that they’re worth the kiddo, which they appreciate once they get over being jumped in a dark alley by a 7 foot Amazon trained force of nature. They are not used to being on that side of the jumping, it’s a little unnerving.

(Yes, she low key adopts Shazam upon checking in with him on cursory ‘is the main hero of this city and asshole’ checkin. Yes, the super clones get yoinked out from under Superman’s negligent thumb to go have a blast with Ellie. What about it?)

This however only encourages more assorted weirdos to crawl out of the woodwork. It’s not often one of their own forfeits their potential spot for the running of the coveted Most Normal I Swear prize, but when they do it’s bound to be good! But jazz is off hounding various heroes and punching the faces in of pedophiles and shit whenever there’s no cape within easy reach, and so is a mite bit harder to contact than Danny, who has innocently gotten an apprenticeship under a clockworker for access to their workshop and is gleefully going about doing nerdy shit with great abandon.

Plus this is Gotham. No one gives a shit if someone in the Mad Alchemist uniform and still smoking from their latest experiment pokes their head in a window to bother the local shrimp teen- none of the usual social rules apply, everyone’s crazy here! So everyone drops any and all attempts at masking and just acts their genuine unhinged selves, much to the alarm of the Bats and frustration of Danny.

Bc he cannot get these mfers to go. Away. Even liberal use of the creep stick has little effect when the interloper is calibrated for an opponent with super speed or laser vision or whatever, and he’s trying to maintain his guise as a Normal College Student Do No Investigate.

So he calls in the big guns. He’s not super active in the supervillain kids group chat ever since things in amnity calmed the fuck down post becoming King and then immediately using a loophole that says he will not take the throne until he is grown, as defined by finishing learning his trade a la the medieval standards Pariah set up. So he can just take his sweet ass time with his graduate degree and out of inter dimensional bull shit that much longer! Point is, he hasn’t taken the chance to rant over there in a while, so his Crazy friends are getting a lil worried.

The change to come over and shout at their batshit crazy but (mostly) well meaning parent AND see Danny? Score!

The bats, however, are getting awfully suspicious about this one kid that villains from all over the country are flocking to, especially young and upcoming ones as of recently! And he’s acting his engineering course- all the worst rogues are known to have flown through their PhD studies prior to Cracking. They seem to have a real problem on their hands with this Fenton guy.

[magz]

Palestine related news summary from LetsTalkPalestine, May 1 to May 4, 2024.

[Ways to help, sources, and more: LetsTalkPalestine Linktree]

May 1.

(Instagram reel of UCLA protest. Includes footage of treating n washing a pro-palestine protestors' bloody head)

Day 208

🇨🇴 Colombia to cut diplomatic ties w/ Israel

•⁠ ⁠33 killed, 57 injured in the last 24 hours. Real number likely higher

⚖️ US lobbying ICC not to issue arrest warrants for senior Israeli officials, after Israel's threat to respond by retaliating against Palestinian Authority for sparking ICC investigation

🇫🇷 France denies selling weapons to Israel used in Gaza, claiming what's sold will be re-exported to 3rd countries via Israel, but did supply Israeli Iron Dome defense system

🇹🇷 Turkey set to follow Columbia & Nicaragua by joining South Africa's ICJ case against Israel

🎓 Zionist mob attacked Palestine protestors at UCLA w/ fireworks & pepper spray for 3 hours, police didn’t intervene (📹👆). Columbia & CUNY asked NYPD to raid & arrest 280+ student protestors. New encampments across UK, Tunisia & Canada

🚚 First aid trucks enter through Beit Hanoon crossing to north Gaza despite Israel's promise to open 1 month ago. Nearly half of aid convoys to north Gaza denied by Israel.

May 2.

(Instagram post, news update. The Israeli occupation has killed Palestinian Dr. Adnan Al-Barash.)

Day 209

• 28 Palestinians killed, 51 injured in last 24 hours. Note that the toll is underreported.

🏥 Dr. Adnan al Barash killed in captivity after IOF abducted him in Dec (📷👆)— 496 medical personnel killed in Gaza + 309 in captivity

🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia arrests many for anti-Israel online posts, incl. an executive & media figure. Timing suspicious w/ reports of renewed normalization talks

• IOF attacks aid convoy, killing 1

🇹🇷 Turkey stops all trade w/ Israel after banning 54 exports to Israel

🇺🇸 US House pass “antisemitism awareness” bill using repressive IHRA definition of antisemitism despite antisemitism covered in anti-discrimination law. Why is IHRA definition problematic? See tinyurl.com/ynsfy8sx

• IOF airstrike in central Gaza killed 5, incl. a child

🪨 37m tons of rubble in Gaza, heavy contamination w/ unexploded ammunition & 800,000 tons of asbestos

🎓 Columbia & Emory University face federal investigation for anti-Muslim discrimination, reports of doxing & harassment

May 3.

Day 210

• World Press Freedom Day: Israel killed 100+ journalists since Oct 7 + holding 53 captive

• 26 killed, 51 injured in the last 24 hours. Note the toll is underreported.

• Israel attack on Rafah killed 7, incl. a mother & her children — the children’s bodies were shredded by the airstrikes

🇹🇹 Trinidad & Tobago recognizes the State of Palestine as West Bank & Gaza

🇬🇧 UK sanctions 2 Israeli groups + 4 settlers for violence in West Bank, warns of more sanctions if no Israeli action against settler attacks

• Israeli strike on Bureij camp killed 5, incl. a child

💰 UN estimates cost to rebuild Gaza at $40bn; more than post-WWII reconstruction

🎓 Goldsmiths University students in London win & obtain demands after occupying library — @ goldsmithsforpalestine on instagram for details

🎓 University encampments for Gaza go global spreading to 🇨🇦 🇮🇳 🇳🇿 🇪🇸 🇦🇷 🇯🇵 🇰🇼 🇱🇧 🇹🇳 🇯🇴. US crackdown w/ 2,200 students arrested

• Iran-backed Bahraini militia launches attack at southern Israeli port Eilat

May 4.

Day 211

✝️ Israel blocks entry of many Palestinian Christians to Jerusalem for Holy Saturday celebrations

•⁠ 32 Palestinians killed, 41 injured in Gaza in last 24 hours. Toll underreported

•⁠ ⁠IOF killed 5+ in 15-hour siege on Tulkarem (West Bank) & clashes with Hamas resistance fighters. IOF targeted fighters’ homes w/ women & kids inside, demolished homes trapping many under rubble

•⁠ ⁠Israeli strikes on Gaza kill 11 incl. 3 in bombings of tents in Rafah

•⁠ Head of UN WFP says north Gaza experiencing “full-blown famine” and it’s only a matter of time before south Gaza faces same level of starvation

🇫🇷 British-Palestinian @ dr.ghassan.as denied entry to France for Senate address as witness of Gaza Genocide as Germany put year-long ban on his entry to Europe (Schengen)

🇺🇸 88 US lawmakers warn Biden that Israeli aid blockade violates US ‘foreign assistance’ law

•⁠ IOF abducts 5 overnight in West Bank

🎓 Uni encampments spread to Switzerland, Ireland, Germany, Cuba & Costa Rica

[nammikisulora]

so Jacobi is in love with Kepler, yes, absolutely. thing is… no matter how messed up he is (and he is plenty messed up!) he's still a pretty normal guy, so he can deal with having an inconvenient crush on his boss. it happens, right? sure the occasional sex dream on a mission is a bit, uhm, awkward to say the least, but hey, it's not the end of the world.

that's why it's so much funnier to me if Kepler is exactly as gone for him as the other way around, because our precious Artist Formerly Known? he finds this absolutely terrifying. he does not get crushes on people, he is 100% in control of his emotions and lets nothing get in the way of his job! except there's this ballistics expert who somehow worms his way past all his walls and takes up residence inside, and suddenly there's someone who isn't as easily expendable as he should be.

but no matter what, Kepler is a professional above all, so of course he doesn't let this affect him. both of them are acutely aware that nothing could ever happen between them for so many reasons, but while Jacobi is content to let things run their course, Kepler goes all in for repression. fuzzy feelings, him? oh absolutely not! they just work really really well together, they're a great team, that's all!

and yet he is absolutely not the slightest bit Normal™️ about Jacobi when push comes to shove, see things like 50 punds of fireworks and "Sir, Jacobi has shown exemplary skill and dedication throughout -" less than 24 hours after a murder attempt.

bonus points if Cutter knows about it and makes sure that Kepler knows that he knows and yeah I wrote that fic.

[emmic0n]

(posting the fanfic here since I don't have an AO3 account yet) For He's a Jolly good Chess piece

Caine sat in contemplative silence, brainstorming what the next big act should be. When a time-keeping subroutine caught his attention... One of his oldest friends, Kinger, was about to spend his 30th year in the Digital Circus! Humans celebrated anniversaries like this, and Caine was no different. He quickly prepared the stage for a party. The act could wait, his friend needed to be celebrated!

Pomni, Zooble, Gangle, Jax, and Ragatha all found themselves suddenly on-stage. They all braced to endure whatever new act Caine came up with, but instead, Kinger appeared center-stage wearing a birthday hat and a glittering version of his robe. His sudden arrival was signaled with loud, dazzling fireworks, of which he reflexively screamed and cowered from.

Caine himself finally appeared, shouting “Friends! What a wonderful, wonderful day this is! Our friend Kinger,” Caine directed his attention to the regal chess piece, causing them to shrink into their robe out of fear, “is about to have his 30th anniversary here at the digital circus! This is a cause for celebration!”

Caine gave raucous applause as party poppers sounded, streamers flew in from out of nowhere, and a massive banner unfurled reading “Happy 30!! !”. Some of the humans clapped once or twice out of awkwardness, looking at Kinger with pity.

Kinger, meanwhile, stared off into infinity (which was not that much different from his usual expression). Time was but a meaningless slurry to him, but being given an exact reference point was far worse. He had spent almost a majority of his life trapped in a horrible nightmare simulation, a few more years and he'd have been here longer than he had been in the physical world. Realizing this, his already shattered psyche cracked into even smaller pieces. Tears welled in his eyes.

Caine watched his friend cry tears of what could only be joy! What a heartwarming moment it was!

“oh buddy, don't you start getting sentimental on me! If you start crying then I'll start crying!” Caine laughed, “Ha! That was a joke, I don't know how to!”

Ragatha attempted to butt in on Kinger's behalf, “Caine, I don't think Kin-” “Now Then!” Caine interrupted, “Let's party!”

The party consisted of games (that were about as dangerous/painful as Caine's normal acts), Cake (that wasn't edible, let alone tasty), and entertainment (which consisted of Bubble screaming on-stage for 30 straight minutes). As things wound down, Caine announced that gifts would be next!

“So!” Caine said, “what did you all bring for the man of honor?”

A moment of silent confusion passed.

“Caine, we didn't know there was gonna be a party, we didn't have a chance to get gifts.” Pomni said.

“no gifts?!” Caine exclaimed, he clicked his non-existent tongue disapprovingly “how inconsiderate, you should all know better!” His disapproving tone then immediately shifted back into his usual state of manic bombastic-ness, “But don't worry! My gift is so good that It can be from all of us! Kinger!”

The floating ringmaster once again snapped his attention to the chess piece, and once again, Kinger cowered in sheer terror.

“Kinger, my dear, dear friend. Ever since you arrived here, 30 years ago, there has been only one thing you wanted.”

Kinger stopped recoiling, did he dare hope?

“something I have never given you, until today.”

Was he going to get his freedom?

“That's right, I'm granting you your deepest desire-”

This was it! Kinger would be free! He could go home!

“your freeeeee-”

YES! YES! YES!

“-eeeee novelty mug!”

Kinger didn't process what Caine said until the mug materialized in his lap, it read “#100% Kigner” in comic sans.

Kinger never wanted a novelty mug

Kinger never voiced any interest in owning a novelty mug

Kinger had no idea where Caine got the idea that he wanted a novelty mug

after a palpable moment of silence. Kinger just said

“...Thanks, Caine.”

[wutheringmights]

Thank your for the chapter. This is me submitting my request for director's commentary.

Sorry this is very late.

But, you know.

*gestures wildly at the state of the world*

This is the first chapter in a long time where I was actively having fun writing more than 30% of it. Writing doesn’t always have to be “fun” for me to write it, but spending most of this year stuck on two chapters I absolutely hated did a number on me. 

I still didn’t get to everything I wanted in this chapter; I have been trying to get to the fallout for the Knights of Hyrule encounter for most of this year now (jfc!), but I’ve had to expand the plot points leading up to it. This entire Castle Town arc was planned to be one chapter. Past Frankie was insane for thinking that was possible. 

Pacing-wise, this chapter really did need to be on its own. The important plot points needed their own space to breathe; trying to shove all of this and the contents of the next chapter into one would have led to a lot of things being overshadowed. So even though everything is still moving along relatively slowly, the pacing is somewhat on purpose this time. 

As previously stated on this blog, I sorely neglected updating AO3 with the new chapter total. There is 6 chapters left (5 plot chapters, then an epilogue). Rest easy. This story will take me a while longer yet to complete. 

That being said, don’t be too surprised if I keep budgeting in more chapters. But if this story needs more than 40 chapters, I will abscond from society and become a sheep herder in, like, Iceland.  

(Sorry to front-load the housekeeping information; I usually keep this stuff for the end,  all of this provides context for my first bit about the actual chapter.) 

I am so happy that pre-heart connection stuff with Proxi got its own chapter, as opposed to being included with the post-connection drama of how Link starts clawing his way out of his depression. 

I mentioned last chapter that everything with the first Proxi meeting was an utter failure to me. While this chapter doesn’t erase the problems of the former, it nonetheless is an improvement and more in-line with how I wanted this Proxi storyline to go. 

Link’s depression baths is 100% me projecting-- I had a season of my life where everything in my life kinda fell apart and I became extremely depressed and anxious. One of my coping mechanisms was to constantly take showers. Like Link, I got up to around four showers a day before I was told to knock it off for the sake of the water bill. 

Depression causing a lack of hygiene and self-care is fairly well-represented in media at this point. I relate way more to depression causing a spurt of “good” habits (that are just maladaptive coping mechanisms in their own right) more, and I want to include more of them into my writing. Link seems like the kind of guy who would overcompensate like that too. 

The events of the chapter were condensed from my original vision. The party and the fireworks were going to be two separate incidents, but I wanted to cut down on the bulk of writing each chapter requires of me (more on this later). Luckily, the original idea for the fireworks also included celebrating a holiday (New Years), so the change was easy to pull off. 

I did lose an aspect of that scene I really liked though: Link knowing he was experiencing a trigger deciding to hide in his cellar, all the while congratulating himself for reacting normally while Proxi is like hiding in a cellar isn’t coping, Link!!!!

Fireworks being a trigger is a bit of a cliche, and a part of me really wishes I found something more unique to trigger Link with. But fireworks is a really effective shorthand, partly because it’s so prevalent in real life, and partly because contrasting a celebratory activity with war trauma is so evocative. 

It’s also very silly how significant events in Link’s life keep coinciding with holidays and birthdays. I want to acknowledge both for the sake of world building, but going through the effort of developing them is only worth it if there’s a plot point attached.

But who hasn’t had moments of great revelations while at the family Thanksgiving party?

I like the idea of various holidays/feasts in Hyrule having different levels of importance depending on your tribe or what region you live in, as well as them being celebrated differently depending on your culture. 

Both the Sheikah and the Hylians would place heavy significance on the feast since Hylia is one of their main goddesses, but they would be celebrated differently. I brushed a bit on the idea of the religious ceremonies being different, but I cut back on sharing more of my ideas for the specific celebrations. 

Very specifically, I wanted the Sheikah to have a tradition of performing theatrical plays of significant cultural moments (basically a kabuki-theater version of a nativity play) (can you tell I was raised catholic?). 

I have plans to do something involving a kabuki play next chapter, so I won’t elaborate more on what the play was supposed to be. However, the play did get cut because I planted Link in the banquet hall with no care to move him from that spot. 

I like the idea of moms who are flawed moms in really normal ways. The way Ayane’s mother is very sweet to Link while having these rigid standards for Ayane is very real to life, in part because it’s based on how a lot of mothers I know act to their child’s friends versus their actual child. 

In a similar vein, I’m also fascinated by mothers who fail their children in such specific ways that it would only be a failure to their child-- like a mother giving too much independence to a child who needs more help, etc. That’s my design for these slow (and hopefully subtle) reveals of how Link struggles with his mother’s memory. On one hand, it’s obvious that he was made to feel like a failure of a child, and he probably knows that was wrong of her. On the other, she was a good parent overall and she’s dead. If you have never experienced that particular cocktail of guilt, let me just say that it messes you up. 

The kids who were doing the snowball fight are Ayane’s friends, which is why one of them remarked that Link was going to yell at them again (see: when Link yelled at Ayane the first time he picked her up from school). Katsuki is the only friend of Ayane’s I’ve consistently named-dropped, so I hope that cued you in to who these kids were.

Speaking of which: I stole that name from Bakugo from My Hero Academia. I was watching the show at the time, and I like the character. Ergo, I stole his name.

Link being very aware that he had been triggered during the fireworks show-- I have a very specific gripe about the way people write PTSD that bleeds through this sequence that I cannot explain in a sentence or two. But what’s important is that I have experienced that moment when your body is triggered but your brain isn’t-- so you can start to feel yourself freaking out while in your mind you know there is no threat, yet the body’s reaction starts to cloud your mind, causing a spiral of anxiety and panic. 

Proxi visiting the fairy fountain in Kakariko is one of my favorite scenes. I just like how simple it is, and how it gives a glimpse into what Proxi’s life is like outside of Link.

I did momentarily freak out after posting because I was worried I didn’t make it clear before this chapter that while there is magic lingering at the fountain it can’t heal. But no one has mentioned it yet, so I think I’m safe to wait until a future chapter to clarify that.

Fairies being too small to have more than one emotion is of course taken from Peter Pan. As a long-time lover of fairies (my childhood hyperfixation), it’s a whimsical idea that I just adore. I originally wanted to use that idea as justification for Proxi mirroring Link’s emotions without Link mirroring hers. 

There would be scenes where he is utterly calm while she’s freaking out or crying because he’s good at covering his feelings, but she can’t. I thought this would rid her of too much agency, so I changed it to a mutual sharing of emotions so that Proxi has more space to her own person while still being his “translator.”

I also like the idea of Link being able to gather the ability to talk, but only in relation to comforting Proxi. That’s development, baby. 

I do wish I rewrote that last scene where he feels Proxi’s joy for the first time, as I really like the idea that he would feel a sense of helplessness and horror to be controlled by another person like that. What’s there now is fine, but it could be better.

Now, onto the present-day section: 

It is very, very obvious that I meant to end the last chapter with that conversation between Warriors and Lincoln. Like I said, the original version really sucked (or at least, my original prose describing what the Chain’s arrival at the castle was like). It makes more sense for Lincoln to drop the information about Lionel in the same chapter Lionel is name-dropped.

Lionel was originally going to be Lincoln’s name, but I picked Lincoln since it has the more obvious tie to the Link-Linkle naming pattern. 

Also, this chapter includes a much needed discussion about the ethics of blaming all of the nation’s problems on a single ethnic group. On one hand, it is stupidly effective to utilize bigotry to gather power, and it’s a rhetorical technique even a more morally-upstanding Warriors would use. On the other hand, that’s an objectively terrible thing to do oh my god. 

So I kinda had to go in and cover my bases of having the characters talk and acknowledge what the implications of Warriors’s plan is. The big glaring issue of this conversation is that it also implicates Lincoln and rids him of his moral superiority. 

Personally, I kinda struggle to think of a real-world equivalent to the dynamic I established in the story, where the institution of the Sheikah does a lot of harm while the people within the institution are experiencing the social-consequences of being associated with it. The best I can come up with is Mormoms. 

Either way, I live in fear someone is going to tell me that this is actually about an underprivileged group I am not aware of currently, and I am contributing to their oppression by not critically analyzing Link and Lincoln’s plans correctly. Which would be a valid criticism to make, but one I could avoid if I had just worked out in advance what the hell is this is an accidental allegory for, educated myself, and then fixed the issue. 

If you guys can think of something, let me know so that I can get started on educating myself and such.

The Castle Town arc’s recurring theme is just bureaucracy, which does not make for exciting storytelling. But I do think it’s fitting for Warriors, who used to benefit from the system, to realize all the ways it’s not made to actually help people. I also think he’s the kind of person to realize he doesn’t have the time or ability to rehaul it entirely and has to settle on trying to work within it.

I can finally reveal my “Midna is a fantastic public servant” agenda. My girl was explicitly stated to be a good and dedicated ruler in Twilight Princess, and I will not let anyone else forget it. 

I really wish that this was more of an ensemble story so that I can write about Hyrule and Sky’s adventures in the Castle Town nightlife

If there is one thing I don’t really like about this chapter, it’s the sequence from Warriors talking to Lana about Cia to the end of Icarius’s capture. Reading it back, it really comes off as very corny and very carelessly written.

I initially planned for Icarius to be captured during the bell ringing in the lead up to Warriors trying to draw the Master Sword

I was imagining a scene where they are watching the news about the invasion be announced and, as Warriors is cursing the bad luck of it all, Spirit would just scrunch his brow and say, “Captain.” And Warriors, who is unfortunately drift compatible with him, would be like “go ahead.” And then Spirit would motion for Linkle to follow, and the two of them would reappear after the Master Sword rejected Warriors with Icarius already tied up.

The problem was that would block Spirit off from understanding the whole Master Sword rejection thing, and I really needed him to carve up Warriors’s hand. 

So I punted this whole ordeal with Icarius off to another chapter, and I have been scrambling trying to find another spot for him.

Ultimately, I do think this worked out because I have no idea what the hell the would have done with Icarius during the networking scenes.

After being disappointed with how this version of the capture scene turned out, I was very tempted to cut it and just have Spirit and Linkle haul Icarius into Warriors’s office, but I didn’t want to cut out a scene of Linkle being a bit of a badass. 

And let’s talk about Icarius, because it’s been a while since we’ve thought about him.

First off, you can tell that I was having a lot of fun this chapter trying to find ways to let them have a conversation with Icarius when he can’t speak verbally and they don’t know his sign. The dictionary combined with the gesturing seemed like a fun but logical solution.

Though, in the back of my brain, I kept remembering how stupid I thought that bit in Iron Flame about the translation was. So when I wrote about Warriors translating Faovarian with just a dictionary, I was sitting there feeling like the biggest idiot in the world. 

This scene also reminded me how tragic it is that Icarius can’t speak, because I know how hilarious this man would have been with sassing his captors. 

I also got a chance to put forth the core tenant of Icarius’s feelings for Warriors: mainly, that he thinks Warriors is both insanely handsome but ultimately stupid as all fuck. 

When I first made it clear that the House of Nephus was a reflection of Warriors, Time, and Spirit, I totally thought someone would put together that Icarius, as the Spirit-equivalent, was trying to save Philo. No one ever remarked on it, so maybe it was too obvious to mention. 

(If I were to ever do another one-shot side story in the style of Smoke the Pipe, I would probably do one about Icarius’s life before the events of the plot, if only because I have a lot of ideas of how Faovaria works and how Icarius and Nephus got to where they are now; though I doubt anyone would be as interested in my silly OC’s as I am). 

I also thought someone would figure out Philo was related to the whole Fused Shadow plotline when, in his introductory scene, he used Midna’s powers. I thought it was obvious. 

I also like the idea of the Dark Interlopers having different legacies outside of Hyrule; generally, I’ve just had a lot of fun taking different bits of canon Hyrule lore and figuring out how they could fit into a greater world. My favorite (not in this chapter) example is when Nephus referred the the Three Goddess as oracles mistaken for goddesses. We know Din and Nayru appeared as oracles outside of Hyrule, and Nephus’s line implies that they are still important folk figures in Faovaria, just not goddesses. 

Spirit’s snarky good luck being the nice version of his thoughts is exactly the kind of bullshit I would pull as a socially-inept kid; he realized what he originally wanted to say was too mean so he wanted to convey some kind of recognition that he understood Icarius’s thought process but still wanted to warn him how hard it was going to be. He really, genuinely thought good luck would be the nicest way of conveying that. He’s so bad with people. I love him. 

And, god. Time. Poor guy has walked around his entire life feeling like there has only ever been one person who ever cared for him, only for that one person to turn around and be like yeah I regret helping you. 

Then there’s Warriors who is starting to learn to not let himself get tangled up in fights against Spirit, who is so wrapped up in trying to stop this war that he doesn’t even have the energy to entertain Spirit’s bullshit right now.

Which leaves Spirit alone, with only Warriors to cling on to. 

His conversation with Warriors in the hallway is another favorite of mine, if only because it sounds really natural. I think my dialogue is too on the nose sometimes, so I’ve been trying to let the characters talk around themselves way more. 

Hot tip: if you are writing about men, make sure you mention their facial hair and shaving habits. As a long-time lover of facial hair, I love hearing about characters growing stubble or having to remember to shave in the morning. It’s a little detail that gets overlooked in fiction a lot, and I’m so bitter about it. 

Oh, the newspaper article. Let’s chat about that now. 

Public opinion plays a big role in political intrigue, which I never see enough stories taking advantage of. I knew from the beginning that I wanted Warriors to get exposed in the newspaper after he was well into cleaning up his act, but I wasn’t sure how to go about it. 

As many of you know, one of my most infamous cuts from the story is an original character who was a journalist during the war producing propaganda about Warriors. In the present day, this journalist would have felt so guilty for the role they played that they would have been on the pursuit of writing a story about what really happened back then. They would have been a neutral to antagonistic force in Warriors’s life. 

You can probably guess that this expose was supposed to be their work-- a decision to finally report truthfully despite being asked to lie once more for the greater good. I really wanted to juggle with the ethics of propaganda, and to have a moment where Warriors straddles that moral line by wanting to utilize propaganda for the greater good (but for real this time). 

I cut the character because a) there were too many bozos in this story already, and b) I didn’t think that a plotline about propaganda would be the most useful in a story about a kingdom where the people’s opinion does not matter (in retrospect, that’s a misconception on my part about what propaganda is used for). 

In some ways, I think it did hurt the story a bit to not have a specific character attached to the article. However, I ultimately like having no specific journalist attached to it since it places the blame more squarely on Impa. 

Writing the full article out was most definitely not the best use of my time or the best use of space, but I was worried that if I did not, readers would be really confused as to what the general public did and did not know. 

Stylistically, the article is meant to be more of an profile/investigation piece over a straight-informative blurb. The best example I can find is this article from the Cut on Usha Vance.

(I have spent the past month deep in the anti-Vance think pieces. Fuck both of them. I can’t believe I am going to have to keep hearing about these bastards probably for the rest of my life.)

As you can see, there is the occasional use of first person and more storytelling techniques used alongside facts. I chose this style mostly to make sure the article wasn’t too boring to read. 

I also struggled picking good numbers for the article that would sound severe, without being over the top. I think I picked some realistic stats. But if I messed up, it would be very funny and would invalidate all of my bitching about Fourth Wing’s bad numbers. 

At least I got to use this as an opportunity to drop some new info on you, such as...

Marigold was 19 when she gave birth to Warriors. Yeah, there’s a bit more to the Marigold story that is still left to be uncovered. There is a thematic reason to why Warriors does not seem to acknowledge how young she was when she became his mother.

How do I put this? There’s an irony in him knowing that he was failed by being made responsible for the kingdom at 17, and then not realizing that Marigold was also failed in a similar way. I think people generally have a problem realizing that the problems they see in the world are more widespread than they are, and that they take on multiple forms. And when one thing is wrong in the world, it usually is reflected elsewhere in an unexpected way. 

Warriors believes that Marigold had a responsibility to take care of him because she was his mother despite her age. Warriors had a responsibility to be the hero, despite his age. He understands that just because society at large saw this as his duty, it doesn’t mean it was right. He doesn’t realize this wasn’t Marigold’s duty either to take care of him.

I explored this idea earlier in the story with the use of child soldiers being contrasted with Kat’s underage prostitution. 

Also, Anders Brecht. His last name is a reference to Bertold Brecht, the playwright.

It’s nice to get his story out of Warriors’s perspective of my friend betrayed me and into this is a well-educated activist who was executed for trying to make positive change in the world. To this day, it surprises me how many people were not sympathetic to the turncoats in this story.

Another thematic point: both Anders and Marigold were the Hyrulean-equivalent of leftists. Despite having their influence on him, Warriors still turned out far more moderate than them, and far more prone to causing harm. Insert rant here about how just because you surround yourself with good people doesn’t mean you will turn out like them, etc. 

Spirit being ashamed about the article-- Spirit is definitely someone who understands that just because someone knows you went through some shit, it doesn’t mean they will really give you the validation you want. He’s what happens when the vitamin fantasy doesn’t yield the acknowledgement you thought you were going to get. 

And, finally, Warriors gets put into a corner and manages not to resort to using Spirit to his advantage. I enjoy that Warriors’s determination to not use Spirit as a pawn to sway public opinion back into his favor comes at the cost of, well, being on the verge of losing the goddamn fight. Oh Warriors, you can be a better person now but being a good person doesn’t win wars. 

While the opening conversation between Lincoln and Warriors would have 100% worked better at the end of the last chapter, I do think it’s nice that their conversations are bookends. 

I do think it’s kinda silly that celebrities have to apologize for doing something wrong to the general public, and a part of me wanted to use this story as a means to point that out. But I also have to admit that there is a social reason why we expect it, and I have come out on the side of pro-apology. 

This is the first time in-story that Lincoln hugs Warriors. 

Warriors really needed someone to tell him that they were proud of him and, I won’t lie, I also kinda needed it at the moment of writing. As much as Warriors still has a lot to learn and improve on, it feels good to see him get some of the praise he desperately needs. 

Warriors’s character arc really is just him realizing that while he has to do his heroic duties, he would much rather be living a quiet domestic life with his family. Well, he always knew he wanted that. He just went about it wrong with Spirit and Time. He’s just getting to start over with a better perspective and less coercion. 

And finally, the Knights of Hyrule are arriving. I’m not lying when I say that I have spent most of this year trying to get to this stupid plot point. I thought the trip to Castle Town to now was going to be one chapter. That was back in March. It’s November now. Ugh. 

So yeah. That’s the chapter. 

You might have noticed that my style is a bit different this chapter. Looking back on old chapters, I can see myself overwriting in a lot of places, especially in the narration the explore’s Warriors’s thought process. I’ve been trying to cut that back in order to both clean up my writing and cut down on the sheer bulk of words every chapter requires.

I think it’s working out so far, but I won’t blame anyone for thinking the chapter is a little underwritten, or it seems like I’m putting in less effort into the story. 

Ideally, I would like to get two more chapters out by the end of the year-- one for each month. I have no idea how that will work out when I am as busy as usual and the holidays are coming up. But I will try my best. 

(I also just realized that there is three weeks left to the month and I have not started the new chapter yet. Oof.)

(If I keep up the chapter a month pace, the story will end around April, aka: CTB’s next birthday.)

Thank you to everyone who has kept up with this story for so long. I love writing long stories, but there’s always a point where readership peters out (not surprising; comes with the art form). CTB has long hit this point (taking a four month break this year did not help), so I appreciate everyone who has kept up so far and everyone who has recently given this story a shot. Hopefully the next chapter will worth all the time and dedication you have shown this story so far <3

[semipreciousgemstonejade]

Roaming the Amusement Park with Sylus

So, he gave us his championship ring...

Event Story | Waking Reverie | Chapter 3 - King's Banquet | SPOILERS AHEAD

In Waking Reverie he guides MC to an intimate setting that he had pre-planned: a terrace restaurant famously known from a movie called Eclipse where the male lead proposes.

Preceded by a rare romantic dinner, he looks for an excuse to get closer to her amidst a breathtaking firework display and then adorns her head with a crown. Possible lore?

I think the repetition of the significance of what happened on the terrace in the movie is another hint towards her of his deepening feelings.

I like that he goes against the grain and subverts expectations. He carves his own path and likes exploring the unknown. He's actively making her part of his life, a subject she has brought up with him a few times before.

Had he proposed, would MC have said yes?

Sylus mentions a lot to MC that she is changing his perception and that he's doing things he wouldn't normally do. I think perhaps he was always sentimental, but he is becoming increasingly romantic and considerate.

100 Days with Sylus | Anniversary Message | SPOILERS AHEAD

Does MC have a surprise planned for Sylus in the next chapter of Waking Reverie? Since she specifically said "exchange gifts" at the end of King's Banquet. That's if the message and Waking Reverie have any type of connection. I realise that they happen independently and depending on whether you've reached 100 Days with Sylus by this point. The man deserves to be showered with love and affection and her making a grand gesture would be everything. Especially with how reserved she is when it comes to vocalising her feelings. She is much better at showing her feelings through her actions.

What I would give to have such an attentive partner in my life.

[doki-doki-imagines]

Could you do hybrid version for isagi? Please and thank you

author note: a bit late, but hope you'll enjoy this! click here for previous one.

-It is all your fault if your boyfriend became a husky. -But how could you expect Yoichi to walk in exactly while you were finishing the enchantment? -All fault of that dumb magic book you used to read as a kid and your sudden urge to try one of them. -At least now you know that the book is way too real, the curiosity of trying a new magic overcoming every worry you had... -Then Yoichi barked, and you returned down to Earth. -Yeah, right, your boyfriend turned as the cutest dog your eyes have ever seen. Obviously, there was no potion on the book to reverse the effect of the magic; you'll have to simply wait. -Easy to say, they don't have a giant husky in their house. -Yoichi tries to keep still at the best of his capabilities, but you can hear him walking around, paws thumping against the floor, clearly bored. -So you took him out after buying a leash, obviously. -Bad idea, Yoichi is a menace, pulling left and right, making you run the entire time and almost making you fall to the ground. -He had to decency to stop and lick your wounds when you, expectedly, fall; plural because he makes you fall multiple times. -It's during dinner time that Yoichi starts to go back to normal. Finally, he is human, just a black curled tail and matching fluffy ears on top of his head. -And as sweet as Yoichi is, the hyperactivity of his husky self doesn't leave him, so please make him do some chores. -He's not going to do them well, but at least they tire him out. -Yoichi falls asleep on top of you, and even if he is heavy, my god, what a sight; sparkly eyes and pointed ears, cute smirk gracing his face. -If you pat his head, his tail wiggles, and you can feel fireworks sparking in your heart. -The next day the magic effect is gone and Yoichi is 100% back to normal. -"Next time if you want a pet you should just ask, honey." He teasingly says. You chuckle back, while storing the leash away. -"No, don't put it too far." You stop in your feet, eyes wide looking straight into his deep blue eyes, his gaze fixed into yours. -You think this new side of Yoichi will be...amusing.

[sixty-silver-wishes]

sometimes I think about the house my grandma raised my mother and uncle in, that my grandfather lived in before he died, that my sister and my parents and I would all come over to for holidays. when my sister and I were little, we loved watching Disney and Nickelodeon on my grandma’s TV because all we could get at home was PBS for the longest time. she had an old antique piano that was out of tune, and when I started learning to play the piano in middle school, I would go plink out “Legend of Zelda” songs on it and think about how I was playing songs much, much younger than that 100-year-old piano. and we tried to plant a garden in her backyard, but it got overgrown with weeds. and one day we found tadpoles in the birdbath, and she let us take some home so we could watch them grow into frogs. my grandfather had an old green easy chair he was always sitting in, and two toes that crossed over each other and wouldn’t sit normally. I liked to watch nature documentaries with him. right before he died, we would talk about world history because he was very interested in it, and I was just beginning to be. there was a painting of my mother when she was a child on the wall of one of the bedrooms, and I would always stare at it because it looked exactly like my older sister. my grandmother had an outdoor swimming pool where we would sit by as we watched my uncle launch Fourth of July fireworks, but when I got older and wasn’t interested in fireworks anymore, or the United States had made me too disillusioned with the Fourth of July for me to watch fireworks, I sat inside with my aunt and the dogs to keep them company. there was a big tree in the yard I loved to climb, and when I was in middle or high school, I would take my instruments up there to play them while sitting in a tree, just because playing instruments in a tree sounded like a magical thing to do. my grandmother had a pantry full of snacks just for my sister and I- Scooby Doo fruit snacks with the light blue one still in there and Saltine crackers, and a fridge full of sodas and sparkling water in the garage. she had a sewing room where she would teach us to make blankets and pillowcases with the fabric we picked out, and when my sister got older, she taught her to make vintage style dresses. she had a bedroom full of antiques belonging to our great-grandmother whom I had never met, and it somehow felt like the most familiar and most distant place in the world to me.

but then her dog died, and her old cockatiel died too, and one of our cats died. and over time we buried all the animals under one of the trees in her backyard- one I used to climb, but not as much as the other tree because it was so skinny. when my grandfather died when I was in high school, he was buried in a military cemetery where all you can leave are cut flowers and US flags, and my grandma got a certificate from the government after he died with Donald Trump’s signature printed on it because he was president then, and she always says it’s the ugliest signature she’s ever seen. his funeral was the very first time I saw a coffin. the old piano was beyond repair, so they took out all the musical bits and turned it into a desk that sits in our living room. the white paint covering the wood, its musical guts removed, the silence of the out-of-tune ancient keys that are no longer there makes it sound more like taxidermy than a piano. it plays john cage’s 4’33 in fortissimo whenever I pass it.

when my grandmother went to live in an assisted living community, she sold the house. she’s doing well now. she likes the place she lives in, she invites us over for holidays, she keeps active. but the house was completely remodeled and painted over. she said the tree I loved to climb in, the one my uncle climbed in when he was a kid, was chopped down. she says the house doesn’t look like it used to anymore. it’s unrecognizable. I could drive past it and never know. I probably have.

I wonder if the people who live there now know that in the big backyard that generations of people loved, no matter how much they’ve altered the house, there are the bones of two dogs and a cat and a cockatiel deep under the ground.

I wonder if they haunt it.

[shootingscar]

The Last Summer Dairies

To my someone :

You..

What have you done to me?!

For, you're not all the perfection of the universe, nor the most beautiful of all 8 billion!

When I first saw you..

Thought you are good and kinda 'reserved'

I don't quite remember it but I must've judged you, you too!

After all I'm a just a human and definitely not the best of my kind, who got both good and the bad nestled inside them..

You're not perfect either..

Nobody is..

But it's your imperfections that shined bright, flawed but real is what you are.. to me..

The love that's gradually filling up my heart - for you - has crushed all yours flaws, my eyes can only see you if it is to adore you and love you.. i thought the love made your flaws invisible but no, it made them look even more beautiful, every flaw, every scar, every tear, they're beautiful and pure.. for, judging you has far left my dictionary..

Idk how you do it, still, the same magic tricks. Every. Freaking. Day.. I'm spellbound.. it's that little smile of yours that does all the tricks i guess.. that smile, that gets all the butterflies in my tummy to flutter wildly.. you're a witch..

Your presence feels like a whole firework display during my darkest of nights..

Whenever I look at you, I feel like those hero's in movies or soap operas, gawking at the female lead, her sight alone played a 100 drums in his hearts along with a background song and suddenly everybody in the street is a undercover dancer. The heavy breeze that surprisingly never makes her hair frizzy but let is flow beautifully making her look the prettiest. And the 'full teeth display' smile is suddenly so beautiful?? How?? Love?? All of this.. which I once considered cringe is now my reality. The irony! The audacity! Love again? Goddamn you!!

Whenever I see you, I felt like the time's tricking me. As if it halted for a moment, a brief moment to admire you.. woah now I'm officially mad?! In love..?! Cheesy! But real :( the time stopped for a moment, for my eyes to capture your every detail, every flaw, and still adore you. The time, it feels painfully slow but awfully fast wherever I'm with you..

The voices inside me always taunted me, but when I'm with you they sing classic romantics?! The worse singers became the enchantress, the sirens, the muses, the nine circes. See, look at what your presence made me. What is so special about you?? To love you so deep and mad.

But then, I realised, you're not special, you're just YOU. A normal, joyous, chaotic yet adorable you! A human, like me. Cause what are you to be so special and flawless??? A doll? That I can choose beforehand, for how you should look and behave? A doll I can pick out of several others, pick the flawless one, the best of all from the carefully displayed showcase?? But you're not a doll.. you're a human, like me, in flesh and blood, with a heart that pumps and a mind that wanders around, with scars that glimmer gold and flaws that flaunts in silver. I have not chosen you because you're best of all, I haven't even chosen you to begin with, I just love you.

You're not stood out of the crowd but among the crowd caring everyone.. You're not ace of everything but jack of all trades enough to survive.. You're not a popular celebrity nor a high profile officer.. for now.. under every thing, beneath every layer, You're just YOU.. a normal human, fighting her own battles, loving her people while living her best life as she possibly can.

As selfishly as it might sound to you but I'm glad you're not special, for, I'm just as average and normal as you are, a typical human, so if you are special then I wouldn't have met you ever! You stayed as YOU, nothing special but also just specially you.. and so it was easy for me to have met you and be with you and find the lost lights of my life within your warmth.

You were never mine to begin with..

You were never unrecognizably special..

You're just YOU and now..

You're just mine..

Tags : #the last summer dairies

[homeslices]

Hey I love your best friend writing with chishiya. Was wondering if you could do a before the borderlands how they became friends. You said they met in collage so I guess they meet there and become friends. Maybe when they very first enter the borderlands as well. Like what they were doing before the fireworks.

Best Friends 0

Part 1 Here

Part 2 Here

A/N: I finally got this done!!! If I’m being honest I’m not 100% sure how I feel about this because it is all before the show, romance, and smut, so any feedback would be amazing. Also I’m not sure how ooc Chishiya is in this, I’m sorry 😭

Summary: This is apart of my Best Friend series. This is Pre-Borderland, and mostly just mutual pining.

Pairings: Shuntaro Chishiya x Fem!Reader

Word Count: 1.8k

Warnings: None

The first day of school has never rattled you. You have thought like this since you were a child and had to leave your home in order to attend preschool for the first time, then for kindergarten, then for elementary, and so on and so on, and it’s the same now, your first day of medical school.

If you're being honest with yourself, school was always more like a chore to you. While you enjoyed learning, that’s all you really liked about school. It’s not like you didn’t have friends, quite the opposite you had quite a few, but you knew friendships from childhood hardly ever lasted outside in the real world, and if you were being truthful, you much preferred the quiet.

Your lecture started in 5 minutes, and although most people wanted to get there early, you just wanted to slip in under the radar. The door to the lecture hall was propped open, and just as you’d hope you were able to go in and take a seat in the very back completely undetected. Well, almost completely undetected.

There weren't many people around you. In fact there was only one other person in your row who was also pretty much invisible to everyone there, everyone besides you.

You sat a few seats away from the mysterious blonde, taking notice of him, just as he was taking notice of you. You set all of your supplies in front of you, however much to your annoyance, your pencil rolls off the table right in front of him.

The blonde looks at the pencil that rolled over to his shoe, then to you. He gives you an amused look before finally speaking.

“Well that’s inconvenient.”

You raise your eyebrow, curious more than anything. Most normal people would just hand you the pencil without a word, yet he seems to be dragging it out.

You hum in agreement, “yeah it is.”

He looks down at the pencil once again then back up at you. In response you shrug and turn back to your desk only to pull out a pen inside.

His lips quirk up slightly, and a few moments later, your pencil that fell at the strange blondes feet rolled its way over to you on the desk.

From that day forward you always say in the back a few seats next to the guy, who’s name you later found out was Chishiya.

Over the next few months you became close. You partnered together for group work, studied together preparing for tests, and even just hung around for the hell of it. You found out you both had a lot in common, including your sense of humor, and over time you also realized you were beginning to develop feelings for the blonde. You would rather die than admit that to him though.Those months blended into years and now you're both working at the same hospital, much to your pleasure and annoyance.

“You know, most friends would’ve gotten their friend caffeine when they work a 13 hour shift together.”

Chishiya nods his head in agreement, before taking a sip of his coffee and replying to you.

“Yes they would.” A smug smile makes his way to his face and continues. “Good thing we’re not most friends, huh?”

You narrow your eyes in fake annoyance only to be handed Chishiya’s half drunk coffee as he stands up.

“I need to get going. One of my patients, Hayato, has a donor for his transplant lined up and I need to tell him and the family.”

An actual, genuine smile graces your face.

“That’s amazing, Shun,” you respond, calling him the nickname you gave him long ago.

He only hums in agreement, but when you make eye contact with him, you can see how happy he actually is. Hayato has been a patient of Chishiya’s for a while, so naturally he’s become close to both him and his family.

As Chishiya walks out of the break room, you take a sip of the coffee he handed you and immediately grimace.

“Who the hell drinks black coffee?” You mutter, only to look at the clock in the corner of the room and realizing you have 4 more hours left of your shift.

Sighing you take another drink of the bitter liquid and close your eyes ready for this day to be over.

Over the next few days, you can see how the good news has affected Chishiya. He seemed lighter somehow. His lips quirked up more often, he humored you during break, and he even got you caffeine. However, like most good things, it didn’t last.

It was a week before the transplant when everything fell apart. Chishiya left with one of your superiors, and once he came back, it was like all the light had left his body.

It was after your shift, on your way home, the Chishiya told you the news about Hayato no longer getting the transplant he so desperately needed. You of course were beyond angry, yet Chishiya only sighs and in a monotone repeats what both of your superior said to him.

“It’s just the way it is.”

And a few days later, you both were on the second floor watching the young boy’s mother, whose son just passed, sob. Chishiya’s jaw was tense and eyes were as black as a void, drained of everything. Yet, all you could do to show your best friend emotional support in that moment, was hold onto his hand and squeeze.

Chishiya would never admit how much this hurt him, and you would never push him to, but you were always there to try to make him feel better. This leads to another thing Chishiya would never admit, his feelings for you.

You were always there for him as he was for you, yet neither of you were ready to acknowledge that. At this point, for a stranger looking in, it almost seemed like you both were already dating. You were always with each other, supported each other, and just clicked.

This leads to where you both are now, walking down the busy streets of Tokyo trying to get to your usual café. While crossing the busy street you take notice of someboys, about both Chishiya and your age, screwing around in the middle of it. You just huff out a laugh at their childlike behavior. Your attention soon is drawn to fireworks being lit up in the sky.

“That’s weird,” You say to Chishiya. “Is it some sort of holiday I forgot?”

Chishiya only looks up to the fireworks, while not breaking pace, and shrugs.

“I don’t believe so.” He pauses only to continue with one word. “Strange.”

You snort in amusement.

“You think?”

Chishiya’s lip twitches up slightly and when you both reach your usual café, he opens the door for you.

You mumble out a thank you before entering your normally crowded café, only to find it empty. The only sound you could hear was Chishiya’s footsteps behind you coming closer.

“This is even more strange.”

You turn to look at him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the situation, only to gap in shock as you see outside.

The big windows of the café is where you and Chishiya usually sit and people watch, observing the people walking down the street. Yet the only thing these big windows show are the empty streets of Tokyo.

Chishiya follows your gaze and his eyebrows raise.

“Huh.”

“Where the hell did everyone go?” You wonder aloud.

“No idea.” Chishiya responds casually.

His carefree attitude makes you press your lips together and sigh.

“What do we do now?”

“Probably look around.” Chishiya responds after having a moment to think.

Seeing as there was no other option, you nod and make your way outside of the café with the blonde. You both wander around the town, going in and out of different buildings, not finding a single soul. You did find out though that phones and other non-battery powered electronics do not work here. Wherever here is.

Taking a few useful supplies with you both, and temporarily stumped from the lack of clues, you both head to where you began, the café. At this point it was dark and you honestly just wanted to rest. However, the sudden brightness of a build board turning on blinds you for a second.

‘Players this way’ with an arrow pointed to the left, graces the screen. You glance towards Chishiya, who is already looking at you.

“You think we should go?”

“I think that we would get more answers.”

You hum in agreement to him, and brush your arm against his as you pass, follow the way the random arrow points you to.

Finally reaching your destination, you and Chishiya find a lit up restaurant. You glance at him, to which he nods, and simultaneously you enter the building, both with blank faces. The building was not empty, in fact, there were four other people waiting inside. They all looked nervous, but not because of the unknown. They all looked like they have done this before. In fact, that’s probably why they all were so anxious, you piece together.

Finding a table with phones on top and a sign saying ‘one per person’ you and Chishiya both take one. It turns on surprisingly, scans your face, and the words ‘register closes in:’ and a countdown appear on the screen.

A generic feminine voice rings out, interrupting the silence.

“Registration is now closed. The game will now commence. Game: Blackjack. Difficulty: 6 of Diamonds.”

Following the voices direction you all file into the restaurant to the table in the center, with nooses hanging over the chairs. Not giving anything away with your face, as to not to seem vulnerable, you take in the scene before you, and as the voice instructs, sit in a chair around the table and place the noose around your neck.

You look over at Chishiya, who was seated right next to you, while the voice lists all the rules, which you were paying close attention to. Once again, you find him already looking at you. His face, similar to yours, holds no emotion, but his eyes display curiosity. Yours do too you're sure, but also slight fear as there was a noose hanging around you and the person you care most about.

The last sentence makes both your gazes harden.

“The game clears once there are two survivors.”

The quick conversation with your eyes between you and Chishiya is clear, and as you look around the table, analyzing the strangers that sat with a noose, identical to Chishiya’s and yours, around their necks, you know that only you and Chishiya are walking out of this alive.

[pseudophan]

we are so in the same boat right now re: period because i put my playlist with over 100 songs on shuffle and somehow fucking interrupted fireworks decided to play and instead of reacting appropriately i just immediately began hysterically crying.

MEEEEEEE oh my god i swear sometimes i am so normal about.. all of this.. but then other times i do exactly what you just did and shuffle a playlist and the song is like. still into you paramore. and no matter what u say to be cool i know for a fact the first thing all of you think when you hear that song is fucking dan and phil... and then i tear up because im hormonal and annoying and god........ WHY am i so emotionally affected by these men like fuck my life but also.. oh i love them so much. oh its so bad. ohhhhhh. oh.

[mintyisms]

Donut County Trashopedia Starters

"Coffee rules. It burns your tongue and makes you go to the bathroom."

"Do not try to wash cotton candy in the pool. This tip will save your life."

"It's a rock. Don't try to eat it."

"How many birds are you willing to fight for a bag of chips?"

"It's one thing to own a chicken, but two chickens...that's two things."

"If your chicken doesn't have a swing...wow "

"DO NOT get spotted."

"Press the buttons on top to select your flavor."

"You can tell a fish secrets, they won't remember anything."

"Tennis balls only grow in hard to reach places."

"Tell me how to get ate by a bird. Tell me."

"Someday everything will be made of corn."

"Rocks were given to us by aliens."

"This is probably the worst place to pour milk into."

"Try washing yourself with soup. You might feel good."

"If you make a crow mad, it will steal your credit card number."

"Carrots grow underground and are therefore extremely untrustworthy."

"Imagine loving carrots so much you wanted to live inside one."

"Bunnies love to chew on stuff because of their evil nature."

"Bunnies want to destroy everything and they don't know why."

"There's no taste like fresh dirt."

"Kinda weird how large and perfectly shaped these boulders are..."

"It's like the aliens are mocking us."

"Everyone is weak to fire."

"Cliffs are a type of trap created by aliens."

"This corn has white stuff on it and spicy stuff. It's really good."

"You can't make me read. I'm not gonna do it."

"99% of seagulls are criminals."

"You can use fireworks to remove hair."

"Seagulls love french fries because it's the main crop of their homeland."

"The only good bird is a fake bird."

"The human ear can hear over 100 songs."

"Imagine if your feet were sticky all day."

"If I had sticky feet I'd walk on the ceiling and scream."

"I'm going to get sticky feet. I'm going to do it. And you can't stop me."

"I won't bow down to a chicken. Ever."

"Eggs saved my life. True story."

"Walking under a ladder isn't just bad luck, it's embarrassing to the ladder."

"This thing goes from zero to sixty in sixty seconds."

"Who will invent the next strawberry?"

"Bees are very hyper and they like to kiss their mom's butt."

"If you sleep in your shed, no one will steal your tools."

"Bees are always making dessert."

"Bees rent apartments from their mom."

"You can predict the weather based on the time between a frogs croak. Sometimes it's wrong."

"Pinecones make no sense. It's not a good fruit."

"It's out of gas."

"Soup has many health benefits if you sit in the pot long enough."

"So many houses aren't made of candy."

"Candles get better the more you have. At least 1000 is a good starting point."

"Use salt to make food taste like the ocean."

"Add pepper if your food tastes too good."

"You can let a bird cook...but don't let it feed you."

"Honk if you wish you were a goose in your past life."

"Some apartments don't allow pets but you can keep bats if you pretend to be upset about it."

"Dogs act like they own the sidewalk...they don't."

"If you get poked by a cactus you become a cactus."

"I would switch bodies with a cactus no questions asked."

"Do laptops dream of their keys falling out?"

"People aren't meant to sit at a desk all day. They're meant to sit on a horse."

"Keep your tablet charged so you don't get bored and go outside."

"Bones are like gears, but for animals. It makes them work."

"The drawers are stuffed with MREs and fake IDs."

"If you tell a scary story without a flashlight, it comes true."

"Masks are the safest way to communicate emotions."

"Pretend to be someone cool."

"Everybody wears a mask...except for me."

"Ever think about all the other types of flumes besides log? I don't."

"It's funny how we need water to live...but also to slide."

"Water balloons are like normal balloons filled with spite."

"Signs are a great way to tell people what to do without actually talking to them."

"Balloons are rude to earth's gravity."

"The secret to good coffee? Scare the beans. You gotta tell at those beans."

"I'm looking for investors to fund my drive-thru haunted house."

"Honestly I think cars are scared of everything, we just can't hear them scream through the mufflers."

"Rich people use their cars only once before throwing them away."

"Scientist may look like they're taking notes, but they're just drawing cool skulls."

"Frogs do a few questionable things but they're otherwise perfect."

"The hacker's code requires that when you hack into a mainframe you gotta say 'I'm in.'"

[shockersalvage]

Salvage Showcase: Ted Chikatilo

Danganronpa Killer Killer...yeah.

If you weren’t aware of it before, I am not super fond of Killer Killer’s story. For me, it’s the worst entry in Danganronpa. If I had to describe its main problem, this showcase will probably be a good way to sum it up.

Summary

Ted Chikatilo is an enigmatic case. He’s a graduate from Hope’s Peak Academy that became known as an infamous serial killer during the Tragedy. His talent is being the Ultimate Pyrotechnician (or Pyrotechnist/Fireworks Artist according to some translations) and its unknown what class batch he was in. It’s unknown if he was a serial killer during or even before he entered Hope’s Peak.

During the Tragedy his main form of killing was by slaughtering people with his fireworks. Sometimes by shoving one into a person’s mouth and causing that to explode, more frequently by using an arm cannon that he somehow crafted himself to shoot out his deadly rockets. He’s known as a Million Killer, the same as Remnants of Despair.

Ted was namedropped in chapter 2 as being the killer Misaki and Mekuru sought after for the parasite killings (but that wasn’t actually the case, it was someone else that Takumi would kill in the chapter). From there, he makes a reoccurring appearance in chapters 3-6 of Killer Killer, acting as essentially the first real ‘boss’ Takumi has to defeat and seemingly the one to kidnap both girls. Ted wants to be the one to kill the Killer Killer and properly meets him at the Killing Festival, an underground serial killer gambling ring. He interrupts a match between Takumi and Juzo, who was disguised as Ted to infiltrate the place and confirm an investigation on Takumi’s status as Killer Killer (and was the actual one to kidnap both Misaki and Mekuru). Ted escapes the Festival and has Takumi meet him up top of a skyscraper, appearing after Takumi killed another killer - Kenji Tsuruhashi.

Ted and Takumi fight, with Ted seemingly getting the upperhand thanks to use of his brainwashing fireworks – spectacles so amazing that it leaves one immobilized, lost in a cutesy, childish hallucination of talking bunnies and bears. He even gets Misaki, one of the protagonists, trapped in it as well. But before he could kill him Takumi intervenes, having only pretended to have been brainwashed to avoid revealing his status as Killer Killer to Misaki.

Ted is ranked 65 out of 100. While Takumi admires his dedication to his craft, he points out Ted only has love for his ‘lame fireworks’. This ticks off Ted enough to shoot a barrage at Takumi, who deflects it back at Ted. As he dies in the explosion, he laughs wondering if he’ll be able to shine beautifully.

In general, Ted is a showman obsessed with his own fireworks and cruel sadism. He only wants to see them go off, killing others in a mix of gore and beautfiul explosions. He holds his talent in very high regards and its to the point that calling his craft lame is enough to set him off.

Rundown/Personal Thoughts

Now Ted here is one of many of Killer Killer’s wasted cast and best represents the manga’s main theme in a rather ironic note:

All flash and no substance.

He’s an Ultimate!!! He’s also a mad bomber that loves killing people with his fireworks and can brainwash people with them!! He’s a showman! He’s...he’s...

Got nothing aside from that. It’s not even hyperbole, he just...has nothing else to him. I mean, its clear the artist had fun drawing expressions for him so good to know someone got enjoyment from doing their job?

Normally, I would divide the rundown/analysis portion and my personal thoughts, but when you have a character is this determined to be one trait only, there isn’t anything to analyze? I mean, I could say Ted is a reflection of Hope’s Peak students hyperfocusing on their talents, but literally every other entry, Hell even DR3, did it way better and had it really hit the character that suffered from it. Ted’s just a prideful douchebag with an explosive fetish. That’s the only thing Killer Killer is concerned with for him and I don’t feel the need to extract meaning for a character the writer didn’t want to give.

He’s almost insultingly shallow for a guy that’s here for, if you considered that namedrop in chapter 2, nearly half of Killer Killer’s story. The story acts like he’s important, but sure doesn’t want to spend time truly making him so.

Heck, that’s pretty much the theme with Killer Killer in a nutshell. It’s insultingly shallow and impressively ballsy with how it usually avoids wanting to flesh out its own concepts and characters. Especially with Ted, because even the other killers got at least something to explain why they’re doing what they do. Even if for some its batshit insane. And its not even an issue of the writers being unable to flesh out a character, since the very chapter Ted debuts in we get a good chunk of the story revolving around the villain of the week’s motivations. So the writer can make it work and with how long Ted was around, it could have worked...but God do they choose not to work at all.

Ted just shows up, blows stuff up, fight Takumi and dies. It’s like the writer was enamored with the ‘idea’ of a mad bomber Ultimate...but it stops there. They wanted an explosive fight and nothing else. In a series like Danganronpa, where its stories revolve around how the cast feels and develops in bleak situations, shallowness like this sticks out like a sore thumb.

Why did Ted become a mad bomber? Why’s he attacking Future Foundation or wanting to personally fight Killer Killer? Is he maybe apart of the class batch of one of the Directors of Future Foundation. Perhaps he could have connected with the Killing Festival? Be a Host of it or something? How did he make his weapons?

Interesting questions like these are stuff that Killer Killer either refuses to do in favor of pretty fights.

Eugh.

Next up, on a better note, I’ll be looking into one of the characters from the controversial Danganronpa: Togami. Hope you enjoyed the read for this!

[nobecausecheese]

Janaya

MY GIRLIES!! wild and some possibly out-there headcannons ahead :) I don't think anything fully aligns with cannon but it's my little brain and it does what it wants to

LONG POST! VERY LONG POST!

General:

Rate the Ship -   Awful | Ew | No pics pls | I’m not comfortable | Alright | I like it! | Got Pics? | Let’s do it! | Why is this not getting more attention?! | The OTP to rule all other OTPs

How long will they last? - til death do they part

How quickly did/will they fall in love? - fell for each other fairly quickly :)

How was their first kiss? - steamy but they were both debating if it was worth it or not. They didn't get officially together for a while after that. (first kiss after the final battle of season 3 while they patch each other's wounds up)

Wedding:

Who proposed? - Janai. Amaya would worry too much about violating Sunfire traditions and customs when it comes to their relationship

Who is the best man/men? - Gren for Amaya and Kazi for Janai

Who is the braid’s maid(s)? - Despite what everyone assumed, Rayla! Amaya asks her and Rayla gets super happy :) (Ezran is the flower kid, Bait is the ring bearer, Callum is in charge of post-wedding fireworks) (gren cried too much though)

Who did the most planning? - Amaya :) you know full well girlie wants her wife to be as unstressed as possible

Who stressed the most? - Janai stressed the most outwardly, but Amaya was secretly the most stressed. She didn't let it show, staying strong for her wifey :) But she's a hot mess inside, trying to make sure everything is perfect and fit for her queen :)

How fancy was the ceremony? - Back of a pickup truck | 2 | 3 | 4 | Normal Church Wedding | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Kate and William wish they were this big. (they're literally the queens)

Who was specifically not invited to the wedding? - Karim was on the guest list, but then he fucked around a little too hard and now he's to be shot on sight. Amaya will PERSONALLY deal with him.

Sex:

Who is on top? - Most of their partners have assumed they'd be tops (yadayada big scary lesbians) but they're actually switches. Janai prefers to bottom because she feels so safe and secure with Amaya, and Amaya loves to take care of her. But she loves to be the bottom too because Janai NEVER treats her like she's a burden or a hinderance and won't do anything without asking numerous times for consent. (she has a list of things Amaya does/doesn't like. She's kept it since she captured Amaya)

Who is the one to instigate things? - Amaya is 100% a horny bastard and we love that for her.

How healthy is their sex life? - Barely touch themselves let alone each other | 2 | 3 | 4 | Once a couple weeks, nothing overboard | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They are humping each other on the couch right now (or at least they would be if running everything didn't come first)

How kinky are they? - Straight missionary with the lights off (the first few times. They're very careful with each other)| 2 | 3 | 4 | Might try some butt stuff and toys | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Don’t go into the sex dungeon without a horse’s head (depends on the day ofc but dear god Janai is secretly a freak and Amaya loves that for her)

How long do they normally last? - Babes they can go all night if they feel like it

Do they make sure each person gets an equal amount of orgasms- It's actually a competition. They're very competitive. If Amaya "wins", Janai has to eat breakfast with her in the morning (culturally, breakfast isn't super big but Janai indulges her wife with at least a peice of fruit every day now) And if Janai "wins", Amaya has to allow herself to be pampered at the hands of Janai or her handmaidens. (Amaya HATES letting herself rest or relax unless she's forced and Janai's love language is acts of service and gifts lol)

How rough are they in bed? - Softer than a butterfly on the back of a bunny | 2 | 3 | 4 | The bed’s shaking and squeaking every time | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Their dirty talk is so vulgar it’d make Dwayne Johnson blush. Also, the wall’s so weak it could collapse the next time they do it. It's simultaneous. VERY VERY gentle with each other, but the Sun herself blushes at what she hears

How much cuddling/snuggling do they do? - No touching after sex | 2 | 3 | 4 | A little spooning at night, or on the couch, but not in public | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | They snuggle and kiss more often than a teen couple on their fifth date to a pillow factory. they love physical affection. Snuggling is mandatory.

Children:

How many children will they have naturally? - if they can conceive though magic, one. Janai would carry, as she would believe it her duty as queen to carry the heir. Amaya would do most of the early childcare though, to allow Janai to reclaim her strength and her queenly duties :)

How many children will they adopt? - They formally adopt Callum and Ezran after their wedding, not forcing them to live with them or anything but to solidify the unity between their kingdoms and to ensure Callum and Ezran can always have motherly figures. (Amaya basically adopted them after Sarai's death and loves them like her own, they just make it official.) They also, while informally, adopt Soren. He isn't technically their son, but he's much younger than either of them and never really had stable parents, so they assume that role :) He accidentally called Janai "mom" once and she cried to Amaya about it for hours because she was so grateful he looked up to her.

Who gets stuck with the most diapers? - Again, Amaya does most of the early childcare, so her. But she's a firm believer in early potty-training because she dealt with Callum and Ezran when they were little and no way in hell she's doing that again

Who is the stricter parent? - Amaya seems scary, but she's such a caring mom. Janai tries to enforce rules, but doesn't believe in punishments, just corrective behavior. Both of them have the mental development of kiddo in mind, and they collaborate on everything :) the worst punishments for their daughter are NEVER more than a reprimand and some very thoughtful discussion.

Who stops the kid(s) from doing dangerous stunts after school? - Big bro Soren! Once kiddo's old enough to do school, Mum is back to being full-time Queen, and Mom is back to being the head General! So Soren babysits and teaches them how to properly do dangerous shit, and stops them from doing anything that will seriously hurt her

Who remembers to pack the lunch(es)? - Amaya would actually chuck somebody out the window if her kid doesn't eat all 3 meals, so either SHE does it, or she instructs a handmaiden to do so (if her and Janai can't make it home on very rare occasions)

Who is the more loved parent? - Both have pros and cons :) Amaya is the "fun one" and she loves to joke around, but Janai is the queen of pep-talks and really well-needed hugs. (janai is a better hugger, but only ever hugs her family so everybody assumes amaya's the more physically affectionate)

Who is more likely to attend the PTA meetings?- ... Soren. Amaya would get frustrated ith not being able to properly read lips froma a distance / not having an interpretor, and Janai can't sit through those meetings without getting pissed that her kid isn't getting the accommodations she needs. Soren's used to doing PTA stuff because he (secretly) volunteered at the school to get out of his house as a kid (viren is a shitty dad)

Who cried the most at graduation? - Amaya would UGLY CRY at anybody's graduation, especially her kid's or nephews' or Soren's. Janai would be proud, and make sure the kid knows this, while Amaya just fuckin sobs

Who is more likely to bail the child(ren) out of trouble with the law? - Janai's the queen, so she'd get them out of trouble but make them do community service and help with whatever they did. Unless it was completely justified, in which case, she'd be a proud mum. Amaya would commit a crime for her kids, so. She'd be the one in trouble. Getting her kids out of trouble. And Janai would just sigh and let her go because that's her wife right there.

Cooking: 

Who does the most cooking? - The handmaidens, Janai never really learned because she was busy and always had somebody to do it for her, and Amaya can't cook for shit. She'll eat just about anything from her army days, so she doesn't care to make it taste good. And no way Janai will allow her wife to eat terrible food. Plus the Sunfire elves use more spices and have different cultural ways to eat it than members of Katolis, so she shows her traditional Sunfire cuisine and Amaya goes NUTS because it tastes so good :) Amaya can make a mean sandwich though

Who is the most picky in their food choice? - Janai. She's used to being catered to, and has specific things she likes and doesn't. And Amaya would eat a stick of butter covered in dirt if it was what she got served

Who does the grocery shopping? - Handmaidens shop for all the dinner/formal meal food, because they do the cooking, but Amaya shops for fresh produce for snacks and informal meals, and goes to the baker's once or twice a week for fresh bread :) she actually secretly loves domestic errands

How often do they bake desserts? - Amaya loves sweets, so she usually gets a few pastries when she's at the baker's. And if her nephews are home, it's jelly tarts every day

Are they more of a meat lover or a salad eater? - Both love a good chunk of meat. Janai doesn't eat some due to cultural reasons, but isn't a huge fan of vegetables. Amaya likes the textures in salads and vegetables in general. She's a happy girl if she has any food though

Who is more likely to surprise the other(s) with an anniversary dinner? - Janai is the hopeless romantic in the relationship, so she goes all-out for anniversaries. Sunfire elves don't traditionally celebrate those, but her years with Amaya are precious and will eventually draw to a close. (elves live much longer than humans usually. janai tries not to think about that though)

Who is more likely to suggest going out? - Amaya is more likely to suggest going out for food, she wants to try as much traditional food as she can, and EVERY family's way to make it. She loves learning about her wife's culture. But for dates, Janai is more likely to invite Amaya anywhere.

Who is more likely to burn the house down accidentally while cooking? - Amaya would burn the food (or leave it totally raw), but Janai would get frustrated and could accidentally go into heat-being mode

Chores: 

Who cleans the room? - Amaya HATES cleaning, but she spent years in the military and so it stays in tip-top shape. Janai usually just gets the handmaids to do it though.

Who is really against chores? - Janai doesn't like chores if she's by herself, but loves to help her wife with them. Amaya loves doing domestic tasks (except for cleaning. That can go fuck itself) (she does it anyway)

Who cleans up after the pets? - Handmaidens clean up after Embertail and Aegis, and Amaya cleans up after the kids usually. Soren tries to do his part with a little stray cat that he brought home though

Who is more likely to sweep everything under the rug? - Amaya would do it in a pinch, but would also HATE doing it

Who stresses the most when guests are coming over? - Amaya. She's never fully sure if the Sunfire elves accept her as Queen Regent, and worries about making everything perfect for her nephews.

Who found a dollar between the couch cushions while cleaning? - Amaya. Janai doesn't clean. Amaya is also more likely to lose cash though

Misc:

Who takes the longer showers/baths? - Amaya loves feeling clean. Janai takes long baths only if she's really tired or taking one with Amaya.

Who takes the dog out for a walk? - Janai loves spending time with the pets, and Amaya loves going for walks, so they do that together

How often do they decorate the room/house for the holidays? - EVERY SINGLE HOLIDAY. Amaya goes all-out for all of them, Sunfire aand Katolis holidays alike.

What are their goals for the relationship? - No goals. They don't need them. They're the only people they can NOT have goals with. And that's the best they could ever have

Who is most likely to sleep till noon? - Amaya hates mornings with a passion, but wakes at 5am sharp every day (military habit). Janai wakes when her body wants to, but never after 7am. Unless she's sick. Amaya is the most likely to STAY in bed, though, if she doesn't have any reason to leave, she'll just lay there and enjoy the fact that she's alive.

Who plays the most pranks? - Amaya is a little shit. We all know this. Janai almost never sees it coming. She tries to pull pranks sometimes but Amaya always sees them coming.

that's all!! :) hope you enjoyed if you read this far!