#plus the fact how they teach each other about their cultures

[eternallovers65]

Its so funny how the moment roier and cellbit are together, they immediately begin to share the same braincell and will reverse back to fifth graders

[gffa]

Jedi culture & community fics, my beloved! They're a bit of a rare breed for what you're specifically looking for, specifically focusing on positive Jedi worldbuilding, so if anyone has genfic recs outside of the ones I know, please feel free to add them! But these should help scratch that itch for you, each of them has at least some focus on Jedi philosophy or how Jedi interact with each other or the lessons they teach! It's been awhile since I've read some of them, so there might be some that aren't quite as in-line with how I see the Jedi these days, but they're all ones I felt portrayed them pretty positively and they're all genfic (except one that I made an exception for) and all really lovely fics I remember enjoying for the Jedi worldbuilding aspects! And there are some that will make you absolutely melt with how much you love these characters and their beautiful culture, because by god if canon's not going to give us as much detail as we want, fandom will step up. And fandom made sure to not just focus on the disaster lineage--we love Obi-Wan, Anakin, and Ahsoka, we always want more of them, please don't stop writing Jedi worldbuilding with them!--but also Mace and Yoda and Quinlan and Qui-Gon and even some Jedi OCs get some love in these fics, which makes me want to explode with joy to see! So, come cry about how much we love the Jedi with me, I WILL GIVE YOU A CRAPLOAD OF FIC TO READ. STAR WARS & JEDI CULTURE & WORLDBULDING RECS YOU'LL FIND HERE:

NOVEL AND NOVELLA LENGTH

MID-LENGTH

SHORT AND YET SO GOOD-LENGTH

NOVEL AND NOVELLA LENGTH: ✦ Remedial Jedi Theology by MarbleGlove, obi-wan & anakin & jedi & cast, 51.3k     Let us consider the fact that the Jedi Order is a monastic religious organization based out of a temple, with five basic tenets of faith. ✦ Festival of Light by dendral, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka, 8.7k     During his first year at the Jedi Temple, Anakin learns that even the Jedi celebrate holidays. ✦ Out with Lanterns by SkyeBean, ahsoka & mace & jedi & clones & cast, 312.5k     In another universe, Jedi Masters Plo Koon and Depa Billaba decide a Padawan could do Mace some good. It takes a while, but he eventually agrees. When he takes Ahsoka Tano as his Padawan, Mace knows that he's broken through a Shatterpoint and changed the course of a life. How, he doesn't know. ✦ eat well; be well by gingerbeer, rainsoaked_benevolence (oceans_bluem), obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & yoda & depa & shaak & quinlan & aayla & cast, 18.6k     Or, (almost) all of the Jedi High Councilors (plus Ahsoka) gather to eat dinner together. ✦ Supreme Chancellor Obi-Wan Kenobi by stonefreak, obi-wan & anakin & padme & ahsoka & palpatine & yoda & quinlan & cody & cast, 126.3k wip     By an old Republic law, all members of the Jedi High Council are senators in the Galactic Senate, and can thus be voted in as chancellor. A Senator from a less prominent planet has had enough of Chancellor Palpatine's incompetence and calls for a Vote of No-Confidence and the installation of Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi as Supreme Chancellor of the Galactic Republic. This one action becomes the catalyst that changes the direction of the galaxy. ✦ Pragmatics of the Jedi by aroacejoot, ghostwriterofthemachine, loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & jedi, 31.3k     A series of fanfiction exploring the consequences and results of the Jedi having their own language, and speaking it still. ✦ light by loosingletters, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & mace & jedi, 56.1k     Anakin Skywalker is a Jedi and being a part of their Order means that he is protected and accepted. The war is over and the Republic has to recover from the crimes of the Sith Lord, the Jedi have to figure out what it means to be peacekeepers again and the Clones have to learn how to be more than expendable soldiers. ✦ When Darkness Seems to Hide This Place by IllyanaA, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ocs & cast, 94.9k wip     After killing three of the Jedi Order's best and brightest, Palpatine's fight with Jedi Master Mace Windu goes shorter than expected. Afraid he's lost his chance at recruiting a new apprentice, Sidious unleashes Order 66 across the galaxy, but, per their programming, the Clone Army is not to harm Anakin Skywalker. After witnessing the most painful loss he's ever experienced and injured at the hands of his captors, Anakin is ready to die like the rest of the Jedi, though not before getting his vengeance.

✦ Knightrise by Deviant_Accumulation, obi-wan & yoda & satine & ahsoka & asajj & cast, 89.4k wip     "Strong enough to fight the Sith Lord, you are not.“ And just like that the fight drained out of Obi-Wan, the barely scraped together agitation running out of him like water from a broken glass. He looked at Yoda, the other Master already hobbling towards one of the back exits, his presence burning with focus, obviously expecting Obi-Wan to follow. ✦ Make a Brand New End by Batsutousai, obi-wan & anakin & feemor & qui-gon & yoda & mace & dooku & jedi, 118.6k     Feemor, Qui-Gon Jinn's first padawan, did not survive Order 66, but the Force granted him a boon: A chance to go back to days before Qui-Gon's death. He doesn't know why the Force picked him to remember that terrible future, but he's going to do what he can to change it. And if he can heal the rift fallen between himself and Qui-Gon, and finally get the chance to know Obi-Wan, well, he's not about to turn that down. ✦ Unexpected Awakening (The Rewrite) by Rhiw, obi-wan & qui-gon & bruck & feemor & cast, time travel, 135.1k wip     The life of General Kenobi is cut short at the hands of his Padawan, but the sight that greets his eyes upon awakening is not that of blinding light of the Force, but the Jedi Temple he knew when he was still a youth. As he struggles to understand the path laid out before him, Obi-Wan unwittingly captures the attention of a singularly unusual Temple Guard, and that of a reluctant Qui-Gon Jinn. ✦ No Rest for the Weary by orphan_account, obi-wan & anakin & jedi, 61k     Needing a break from life at the Jedi Temple, Obi-Wan Kenobi and his apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, visit a Jedi AgriCorps settlement on the Midrim planet of Helia. There they encounter new friends, new enemies and have new adventures, all while attempting to navigate their sometimes turbulent relationship as Master and Padawan. ✦ The Moments That Time Remembered by CallToMuster, obi-wan & mace & vokara & bant & quinlan & garen & depa & jedi, 82.4k     Obi-Wan’s first memory was not his own. Rather, it was a vision steeped in darkness and flashes of red and choking heat and you were my brother and the harsh crash of lightsabers striking one another. He woke up sobbing in the arms of the crèchemaster, Master Kitaddik, who was hushing him and gently stroking the top of his head with her furry hands. Obi-Wan hid his face in the soft folds of her tunic and, still crying, fell back asleep. The first time Obi-Wan collapsed due to a vision was not long after that. [Or: in all the various iterations of Obi-Wan Kenobi’s life, the Force spoke to him. But in this one, it never stopped.] ✦ Starrunner by orpheus_under_starlight, obi-wan & jedi & oc, 80.2k wip     In what would have been the year 17 BBY, Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine is found slumped over his desk, dead to rights and emitting a foul odor. The coroners declare the body victim to a heart attack and the smell a result of a lack of a timely embalming—a bit of bowels humor, the head coroner says with a nervous laugh when interviewed by the Galactic Enquirer.

MID-LENGTH: ✦ 飽了嗎? | Have you eaten your fill? by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & qui-gon & quinlan & yoda & dooku & mace & bant & jedi, 13k     The Force is the first language that Obi-Wan learned to speak, the brush of one mind against another. But food is the second language that Obi-Wan learned to speak with, and he talks, he talks, he talks. A collection of fics about food and how food is an articulation of love. ✦ We Will Abide by naberiie, plo & shaak, 10.3k     Light. Dark. Balance. Beneath the Jedi Temple, far below the chaos of Coruscant's Galactic City, ancient halls and corridors sleep in silent darkness. Padawans Shaak Ti and Plo Koon are determined to explore them. ✦ What Is My Heritage? by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda, 7.7k     Qui-Gon, age 13, tries to find a place to belong. ✦ Coming Home by Marnie, qui-gon & yoda & dooku, 18.1k     A story telling how Qui-Gon comes to be Dooku's apprentice. ✦ Master by CJinn, obi-wan & anakin, 27.5k     Obi-Wan Kenobi had always wanted to become a Jedi Knight. What he didn't expect was to become a Master merely days after his own Master died. Adapting to his new role as the mentor and Master of the quite unusual Padawan Anakin Skywalker became a bumpy road.

✦ into the statue that breathes by spoonks, obi-wan & feemor & cin & cast, 8.5k     The night watch in the garden was supposed to be the calmest of them all. No mischievous Padawans “sneaking” in or out, or ne’er-do-well civilians conducting “business” around the lower-level entrances that they didn’t know existed. No the gardens was still, and it was like time was frozen in ice that slowly melted away with the rising of the sun. A slow drip, drip— Drip. Immediately Feemor turned towards the central waterfall. Someone was standing there. Whoever they were, they were small and moved through katas with their hands open like a greeting. ✦ The Cave by Ria Talla (ronia), anakin & ahsoka & cast, time travel, 10k     Ahsoka Tano, post-Star Wars Rebels/? And there was something else, more important, though Ahsoka found herself loath to do it. Her lightsabers drawn, deep in the labyrinth formed by the stone warriors and the crumbled temple. Yet the words broke certain into her mind. Your eyes can deceive you. Her heart pounded, as though warning her otherwise. But Ahsoka withdrew her sabers, and closed her eyes. Rather than her weapons, she let the Force be her light. ✦ A Candle in the Night by phoenixyfriend, anakin/luminara & obi-wan, time travel, 12k     In which Luminara finds a heavily injured Jedi, nurses him back to health, and falls in love. Then they get back to the real world, and she just can't figure him out... ✦ Found Clan by silvergryphon, boba & ocs & obi-wan & anakin & cast, 25.3k wip     After the Battle of Geonosis, a Jedi Healer discovers young Boba Fett mourning the loss of his father. Not about to leave a ten-year-old boy on his own, she promptly adopts him with the full collusion of her Padawan. ✦ the heart of kyber by outpastthemoat, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & depa & kanan & jedi, 32.7k     Tales of the Jedi: Stories about lightsabers, masters, and apprentices. ✦ Stars of Tatooine by Be_Right_Back, ahsoka & mace & kanan & obi-wan & rex & cast, 10.5k     After the end of the world, Ahsoka more or less kidnaps a child, has to air some old grievances, and tries to find whatever peace the universe can still offer. All paths in the Force lead home, eventually. ✦ The Uses of a Sandwich by Laura Kaye (laurakaye), obi-wan & qui-gon & yoda & cast, 17.6k     A few months after being taken as a Padawan, Obi-Wan Kenobi faces a challenge: meeting his Master's first apprentice. ✦ Familes Found by fyrefly, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & padme & mace & plo, 8.2k     In a universe where "The Wrong Jedi" never happened, the war ends under different circumstances and perhaps everyone will get a chance at a happy ending after all.

SHORT AND YET SO GOOD-LENGTH: ✦ The Mathematics of Repair by panharmonium, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.6k     For raw teachers and rough-edged students building in the rubble: tiny steps are enough, provided they carry you in the right direction. Immediately post TPM, in short snippets. ✦ The Living Force; Parables for Padawans by glorious_clio, obi-wan & cast, 6.1k     Since infancy, younglings are taught the Jedi Code, “Emotion, yet peace. Ignorance, yet knowledge. Passion, yet serenity. Chaos, yet harmony. Death, yet the Force.” Obi-Wan Kenobi learns these tenets backwards and forwards again. But even as a child, he is interested in nuance. And so his teachers tell him parables. ✦ A Jedi's Cloak ImperialKatwala, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & cody & rex, 6.4k Jedi cloaks are made for children. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a year and a half old when he first sees this principle in action. He is fourteen, twenty-five, twenty-nine, and thirty-six when he gets a reminder.     Or: Jedi cloaks are weird. Here's a series of events showing why they're made that way. ✦ the master, the padawan, the Force by skatzaa, kanan & depa. 1.4k     Caleb expects things to be different after Master Depa takes him as her padawan, but really, it feels like nothing really changes. ✦ For the Future of the Order by thetorontokid, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.9k     There are important lessons to be found in the Jedi Temple creche.

✦ Memories of Peace by Margan, obi-wan & clones, 2k     It's not quite flash training, but the Clones are used to learning fast. It helps that this is something that they actually look forward to learning, to putting into practice. Obi-Wan teaches the Clones how to make dumplings in the middle of war. ✦ Liberosis by Be_Right_Back, anakin & mace & yoda & jedi, 2.2k     The war is over, the Sith are gone, and there is now Anakin Skywalker's secret marriage to deal with. While love is a wonderful thing, some truths are hard to face, and letting go is the destiny of all Jedi. Or: the Council and Anakin clash. It doesn't go as terribly as it could have. ✦ Accepting Emotion by LazarusII, obi-wan & ahsoka, 1.1k     Dealing with the stress and anxiety of being a prospective Padawan, Ahsoka Tano struggles to manage her emotions. Obi-Wan Kenobi finds her practicing in the dojo, confidence in tatters. His words make all the difference. ✦ A Long, Long Time Ago by ruth baulding, dooku & qui-gon + qui-gon & obi-wan + obi-wan & anakin + anakin & ahsoka, 5.8k     A wisdom tale handed passed down through the generations poses troublesome questions for a line of masters and Padawans, from Dooku to Ahsoka Tano.

✦ Duet by Silver Sky 1138, oc & cin, 2.3k     Asha Scarsi, the Jedi Padawan who feels the Force through music, isn't half as good at lightsaber combat as she is at singing and mindtricks. So she's a little nervous when Battlemaster Cin Drallig calls her to the training room after class. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by GirlwithCurls98, anakin & ahsoka, 1k     Even though they're fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi's sacred ceremonies. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k     One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently.

✦ Night Shift at the Temple by ReneeoftheStars, oc jedi & cast, 1.8k     A Jedi Temple Guard sees all, speaks to few, and has attachments to no one. One must be prepared for any threats that may arise, especially at night, while most of the Temple sleeps. ✦ The Orchards by Raven_Knight, obi-wan & qui-gon & cast, 3.6k     When young Obi-Wan Kenobi is injured on a previous mission, Qui-Gon Jinn refuses to accept further off-planet missions until his Padawan's recovery. Yoda assigns the pair an in-Temple mission of utmost importance while Obi-Wan heals. Master and Padawan welcome the change of pace. ✦ Tipping Point by Ria Talla (ronia), adi gallia & finis valorum & eeth koth, 3.3k     "I believe that if what's happening on Naboo is allowed to continue, the other member systems will wonder what they owe to a Republic that can no longer protect them." ✦ A Personal Touch by DragonHoardsBooks, obi-wan & anakin, 6.2k     New jedi padawan Anakin Skywalker realizes that there is more to being a jedi then he tought. Discovering a completely new culture will take time and effort, but maybe he'll make some friends along the way.

✦ Jedi Parables by Peppermint_Shamrock, jedi, 5.8k     Values are often passed down generation to generation through stories, parables, and fables. What stories might the Jedi teach their children? ✦ Songs for Little Jedi by soft_but_gremlin, mace & jedi, ~1k     The initiates are having nightmares, so Mace sings a lullaby to comfort them. ✦ a thin thread of hope by wrennette, shaak & clones, ~1k     Shaak Ti introduces some cadets to one of her favourite crafts, under the guise of training. ✦ rah kat by js71, obi-wan & anakin & aayla, 1.6k     "Aay’shee," Obi-Wan murmurs into her ear, rocking her gently, like when jaieh was off on a mission she couldn’t go on, so her jaieh-raheniel would take turns having her over at their apartments. ✦ Lessons on Attachment by Siri_Kenobi12, obi-wan & anakin/padme & cast, 2.7k     "Anakin once told me that a Jedi is actually encouraged to love." She said after Obi-Wan had settled. ✦ Straw Dogs by Cymbidia, obi-wan & jedi & cast, 2.9k     An old Jedi Master imparts some wisdom concerning Mercy, Balance, and the Will of the Force to young Padawan Obi-wan Kenobi and a gaggle of other younglings. It is a lesson that haunts Obi-wan for the rest of his life. ✦ Refractions of Light by Independence1776, ezra & kanan, 1.3k     Kanan celebrates a Jedi holiday with Ezra.

✦ The grand outing by Ingata, dooku & sifo-dyas & obi-wan & bant & garen & reeft & yoda & cast, 4.5k     Eight younglings and two Jedi masters on a field trip. What could possibly go wrong? ✦ A Short Break by Peppermint_Shamrock, luke & yoda, ~1k     Luke complains about his training, and asks about Jedi training of old. ✦ we are made of our longest days by bereft_of_frogs, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 4.4k     Two years after the events of The Phantom Menace, Obi-Wan and his new apprentice are called to a remote moon to fetch a baby who’s showing signs of a rare, unique power. On their journey home, Obi-Wan reflects on the last child he brought to the Temple and catches a faint glimpse of three possibly entwining futures. ✦ yellow, you're a dreamer by nightdotlight, jocasta & anakin (& obi-wan), 2.6k     Normally, it wouldn’t be unusual, but— Jocasta did not earn her post without listening, and from where she stands in the aisle, gaze fixed upon the back of the young child’s shaking shoulders, she can hear a sniffle reverberate around the space. There’s a child curled up in the corner of the Archives— and they’re crying. ✦ once upon a time (a long, long time ago) by thebitterbeast, barriss & mace & shaak & ki-adi & bacara & trilla & cere, 2.3k     The Jedi love children. Children love stories. This changes some things. ✦ not the place that I was born in (doesn't mean it's not the place where I belong) by ghostwriterofthemachine, obi-wan & anakin, 5k     “What were you consulting Master Obi-Wan about?” “Tea!” says the other Padawan brightly. “I’m performing a tea ceremony for my Master, one that originates from her home world. It��ll be the first time I sit foveo with her!” She says that word— foveo— as if it should mean something to Anakin. It does not. ✦ A Friend Indeed by ExtraPenguin, plo & ahsoka, 3.3k     After their rescue of the colonists of Kiros, Ahsoka Tano's Master asks for her to be sent on a mission away from the front. She ends up being sent to the Deep Core with Master Plo Koon to investigate one of the first known locations of the Jedi Order, since abandoned. ✦ In which we burn bodies as bridges by GraceEliz, obi-wan & ahsoka & depa & kanan & ezra, 1.4k     Lineage mantras, and the processing of grief. ✦ Five Times Mace was There for Obi-Wan, and One Time Obi-Wan Returned the Favour by wrennette, obi-wan & mace, 4k     five of the many times Mace Windu offered Obi-Wan comfort over the years, and one of the many times Obi-Wan returned the favour

✦ as the dust settled around us by thebitterbeast, finn & jedi, 5.2k     Bravery has never been the absence of fear. Prompt: There is no emotion, there is peace. ✦ Adi Gallia, Master of the Order by Perspicacia, adi & jedi, 7.2k wip     Palpatine didn't expect it. It was too soon for that in his plans: which Jedi would have left the Temple under assault? But Adi had. Ashes in her heart, she had left the younglings and the elders and the wounded for her duty to the galaxy, choosing to stop the Sith instead of protecting her people. ✦ “The Padawan Chooses The Master” by lurkingcrow, obi-wan & anakin & cast, 3.6k     prompt: AU - The Jedi say “The Padawan Chooses The Master” Qui Gon lives, Obi Wan is very preoccupied, and Anakin is put into the creche as an Initiate to learn what he can until Qui Gon wakes up from his coma and gets yelled at by the Council. In the meantime, Anakin meets other Jedi Masters and when the Council asks him who he wants to be his teacher, his answer isn’t Qui Gon. Instead it’s *insert your fav Jedi here* ✦ The Only Home We Know by ReneeoftheStars, katooni & petro & ganodi & byph & gungi & zaft & cast, character death, child death, 2.4k     The Jedi Temple is under attack. Determined to fight for their home, younglings Katooni, Petro, Zatt, Ganodi, Byph, and Gungi make their way to aid the Jedi Masters in defense of the Temple. But the situation is far graver than they expected. ✦ Obi-Wan and the Force by AwayOHumanChild, obi-wan & cast, ~1k     One of the first things Jedi Initiates learn is that everyone experiences the Force differently. ✦ The One Where Anakin Tries to Be Serious by Mini_and_Might, anakin & ahsoka, 1k     Even though they're fighting a war, Anakin finds the time to lead his apprentice through one of the Jedi's sacred ceremonies. Might become part of a series of missing scenes from the Clone Wars. ✦ Markings by wabbajack, ahsoka & plo, 1.6k     In which it is revealed that Master Plo Koon has always had a difficult time putting his foot down when faced with his Little 'Soka. ✦ The First Trial by Raven_Knigh, obi-wan & qui-gon, 2k     Accompanied by his Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, young Obi-Wan Kenobi undergoes his first trial and rite as a Padawan Learner on the frozen planet of Ilum.

✦ Arrival by CJinn, obi-wan & yoda & jedi, 2.6k     Little Obi-Wan was only a few days old when he was brought to the Jedi Temple. His arrival caused some confusion among the Jedi. ✦ The Spire by skatzaa, obi-wan & jedi, 2.4k     The galaxy was on the brink of war, and Obi-Wan Kenobi had been assigned a new room. ✦ Room Arrangements by skatzaa, obi-wan & anakin, 2.2k     Anakin has some concerns about room arrangements at the Temple. Obi-Wan does his best to reassure him. ✦ Lineage by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & yoda & jedi, 1.5k     Anakin is new to the temple, and he does not yet understand that these are his brothers and sisters, his cousins, his uncles and aunts. He does not know yet, but he will learn, Obi-Wan thinks. ✦ A Discussion of Choices by Peppermint_Shamrock, luke & mace, 2k     Mace Windu has traveled the galaxy since the fall of the Republic, keeping out of the Empire's sight and teaching where he can. Upon the request of a ghost of an old friend, Mace finds himself instructing Luke Skywalker, who is still reeling from the truth of Vader's identity. ✦ Emotion is our Shared Tongue by virdant, obi-wan & anakin & qui-gon & quinlan & jedi, 2.1k     There are thousands of different species, with different languages and voices and hands, but what all Jedi have in common is the Force, and with the Force, they have language. ✦ To Know by Armin_05, obi-wan & anakin & shmi & kitster & fives & cast, 4.8k     Nearly all Jedi love learning. Anakin Skywalker is no different. Or, how Anakin found a love of learning and shared it with others. ✦ Shatterpoints and Students by soft_but_gremlin, mace & depa, ~1k     Depa always has shatterpoints hovering around her.

✦ Home-onym by virdant, jedi, 1.1k     Jedi younglings, like any other children, enjoy playing. Playing with lightsabers and playing with words. ✦ Threaded Lineage by Pandora151, obi-wan & anakin & ahsoka & kanan & ezra & luke & rey, 2.9k     The journey of a single river stone through many generations of Jedi, allowing the Jedi of the old and the Jedi of the future to be threaded together. ✦ the river and the rock by nightdotlight, anakin & luminara, 1.8k     Lightsabers clash, and Luminara Unduli holds her ground. She doesn’t move, doesn’t lock her muscles, just makes herself an immovable object and lets her opponent strain against the lock. ✦ Five Meditations of Jedi Depa Billaba by skatzaa, depa & mace & yoda & kanan & kit, 5.3k     What is says on the tin. (Plus one more, for good measure.)

[lightofraye]

Deaf History

I mentioned in an earlier post that I am a part of the deaf community. Being labeled CODA (child of deaf adult(s)) is what a person like myself is called. I am hearing, I can hear, but both of my parents, two of my three brothers, and vast majority of my maternal relatives are deaf. I grew up in that community, I grew up feeling more at home in that community than I ever did in the hearing community.

There's a whole culture to being deaf. There's the language, reading body language to convey tone, there's a whole thing about being deaf that goes beyond just knowing Sign Language. This is why when learning Sign Language, being immersed in it is the best way to learn. (But then, this is true of any and all languages.)

In so many ways, ASL (American Sign Language) is my first language. I learned how to sign first before I learned how to speak with my voice. I frequently found myself wishing I could go to the deaf school instead of the public school because I was more comfortable around deaf people than I was hearing people. (And no, I would not have been allowed to attend deaf school; it's restricted for deaf students only.)

I grew up accustomed to watching television, movies, etc, with captioning or subtitles. In fact, it's weird for me to watch them without. My mother didn't believe me at first until she asked an interpreter who was also CODA. The interpreter said it was the same for her.

My parents met at Gallaudet, the country's first, and so far, only deaf university. In fact, it's the first in the world. The history of Gallaudet, of American Sign Language, was all because of one man.

Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet's life was forever changed because of a deaf little girl named Alice.

Alice wasn't playing with other children and that drew his attention. Concerned as to why, Thomas found out that Alice was deaf and could not communicate at all. Determined to teach her, Thomas taught Alice what different objects were called by writing their names and drawing pictures of them with a stick in the dirt. Alice's father was impressed and hired Gallaudet to continue teaching Alice through the summer.

Alice's father, along with several businessmen and clergy, asked Gallaudet to travel to Europe to study methods for teaching deaf students. There was a family in Scotland that they wanted to work with, but that family refused for whatever reason. Plus, Gallaudet found their preference for oral communication extremely limited and did not produce desirable results.

While in Great Britain, Gallaudet met Abbé Sicard, head of the Institution Nationale des Sourds-Muets à Paris, and two of its deaf faculty members, Laurent Clerc and Jean Massieu. Gallaudet was invited to Paris to study the school's method of teaching the deaf using manual communication. Gallaudet studied the teaching methodology under Sicard, learning sign language from Massieu and Clerc.

Gallaudet sailed back to America with Clerc. The two men toured the New England region and raised funds for a deaf school in Hartford, Connecticut. It later became known as the American School for the Deaf in 1817. Alice was one of the first seven students.

One of Gallaudet's children, his youngest, founded the first college for the deaf, in 1864.

It is due to Gallaudet that American Sign Language even exists. Despite many an indigenous tribe having their own form of sign language, none ever became the official form of sign language for the United States.

Almost each country have their own form of sign language. No, it is not the same, and language barriers exists for deaf people as well. There was even an invention of an International Sign Language that was used during the Deaf Olympics to help bridge communication issues.

I love sign language. It is the third most widely used language in the United States. First is English, second is Spanish, and third is Sign Language. No, deaf people are not dumb (I honestly hated that old saying and am happy to see it finally phasing out). They can read, write, live independently, work, drive, you name it--there are solutions to each of their problems. Accessible solutions.

Having visible celebrities such as Shoshannah Stern, Marlee Matlin, and so forth help bring attention to such existence. Switched At Birth, a television show, also spotlighted deaf characters. Recently, a movie called CODA, helped spotlight--and it won an award, too.

I continue to be proud of my heritage. I hope to continue to teach my son how to sign--and taught him the most important one.

The one that says "I love you".

[a-lesbianshadowinthenight]

there’s something about how jess and lupe gravitate towards each other immediately and understand each other with so little words exchanged. something about how they balance each other out. how they use their different worldview’s and perspective to strengthen their relationship rather than drive them apart that’s so so dear to me

jess immediately clocking lupe and not getting offended when lupe thinks it’s a dumb question

lupe not knowing where moosejaw is and jess begrudgingly amending it to canada

that could have easily become a situation where two people would have written off the other person

but they saw something in the other that they recognise in themselves that made them decide that they wanted to stick together

the way jess goes straight to lupe when beverley is explaining the house rules and lupe immediately complains to jess about the no pants rule

the way lupe’s voice goes from angry to soft in the locker room when she notices jess is upset about having to wear a dress, lupe comforting them because she knows

lupe not finding jess’ ‘sinking boat’ analogy weird and instead asking her to give specific details, the way you can tell she finds jess interesting

jess being the only one to second lupe when the rest of the team wrote her off as a bad fit to be coach

jess being happy to see lupe having confidence again (let’s not forget them biting their lip about it too, um okay loverboy)

jess taking the piss out of lupe to try and break her out of her bad mood (‘did that help?’ ‘…..yeah’) (ps also made lupe wanna kiss her. this is canon idc)

the fact that you can see they still seem to be seen near each other even after the fight incident, jess is behind lupe when carson is trying to be a stricter coach, when they’re still mad at lupe

the way they can disagree, get angry over things they don’t understand, and they hear each other out. jess starts out ripping into lupe about fighting amongst the team, only to realise they hadn’t seen it from lupe’s perspective

jess not needing an apology from lupe about the black eye (idk if lupe caused it directly or indirectly, but jess arguably blames her for it at first) because she now sees it from lupe’s side

jess understanding and then apologising in their own way, getting the whole team toasting lupe when they know she’d felt excluded in the past, showing lupe that they have her back in doing so

lupe knowing jess is sorry without them having to say it, understanding the implied meaning of jess’ toast. you can see by her reaction that she appreciates it (also loverboy over here blushing about it, i see you lupe)

arguably, the little nod lupe does after she thanks jess for the toast could be interpreted as her telling jess she understands it and they’re cool

the way they move past it and it’s water under the bridge, they’re back to being ‘brothers’

jess not being afraid to call lupe out on being hard on esti, challenging her when she pretends not to care that esti has run away. jess sees right through lupe’s facade, and witnessing that plus esti’s conversation with lupe in the car (even though she doesn’t know what esti is saying) knows that lupe needs to sort her shit out with esti, and orchestrates a situation where they can do it, without forcing lupe

lupe knowing exactly what jess did and instead of being angry is actually lowkey impressed (and a little turned on let’s not lie)

the fact that they both automatically run towards each other on the pitch when they get a home run or win and run into each others’ arms (lupe’s dorky grin is so adorable and sorry not platonic at all, that’s a smile you give someone when ur in loveeeee)

just the whole bar scene. they’re so in sync with each other, finishing each others’ sentences, teaching carson about gay culture together, the easy camaraderie of the arm wrestling (the kisses on the cheek!!!!!!!! twice!!!!! the second one where they’re both smiling!!!!!!) both of them automatically leaning towards saying no to carson when she asks if they’ve been with women here

i also think they very openly talk about their hookups together based off lupe showing jess her hickeys, and lupe telling jess veronica is a biter. i also think they would be each others wingmen (also think if/when they fuck each other they would have threesomes lmao)

(i also think they would tease each other for their very poor flirting skills)

them talking about sticking together on the off season and going to new york together (although i still can’t decide how their conversation indicates that, or the scene i’m thinking of isn’t the right one idk)

anyways tldr: they became unlikely but also inevitably each others person and challenge each other to be better, they’re a good team, they have great chemistry that draws them together. they are soulmates

[ryuichirou]

I do remember how Azul one of two housewardens to be top so he can literally be ship with all but Kalim. Same goes to Kalim. Now I want to see a headcanon of Azul and Kalim with the other housewardens relationship besides the mentioned like with Azul and Idia.

The fact that you keep that in mind, Anon! I myself keep forgetting about it omg, Azul, Kalim and a bunch of bottoms… and if we’re talking overblot boys, it’s just Azul and some bitches 😔 What a flower garden.

This is a fun ask. I’ll try to talk about every possible ship that isn’t usually mentioned in our blog or mentioned very briefly. Well, minus Azul/Malleus because we just talked about them a day ago lol And Azul/Riddle because we have some posts about them too.

Looking at the list… it’s mostly Kalim/everyone huh lol

Azul/Leona. It’s difficult to picture them this way, but if they were to miraculously end up being a couple, it will 100% be out of mutual benefit. Plus, Azul would use it to prepare his revenge because he isn’t over the whole sanding contracts thing. Leona knows that, and he fully expects Azul to try to backstab him sooner or later. It’s giving “Scott Tenorman must die”, somehow.

Azul/Vil. This relationship either would end after one hour or would survive surprisingly long. They have a lot in common whether they like it or not, but Azul is too fake for Vil’s liking, and Vil doesn’t mince his words which Azul doesn’t like because Vil isn’t as easy to bully as Idia. Still, Vil enjoys how hardworking and dedicated to self-betterment Azul is; and people in the press would probably consider them to be quite a striking couple… still, they would drive each other insane lol

Kalim/Riddle. It’s like they’re speaking different languages. It’s super difficult for them to understand each other because both of them are kind of impulsive in different ways. But when they have fun, it’s good! Riddle’s inner child really thrives around Kalim whenever he relaxes a little bit, but that always ends with Riddle being super nervous about all the rules they broke. Kalim is chaotic and irresponsible… even though Riddle really loved riding the carpet with him :( They wouldn’t break up though because Kalim would misread Riddle’s attempts at having the talk with him and understand it as something completely different. He likes Riddle a lot! If only he relaxed and had fun more often :)

Kalim/Leona. If they miraculously end up together because of how oblivious and positive Kalim is and because of how passive Leona is, they could end up dating for years… Kalim is that force that takes Leona’s sarcastic comments literally and does whatever he was being sassy about, and to Leona’s shock, somehow he ends up going along with it. How did that happen again? Maybe this is how they ended up dating.

Kalim/Vil. Even if they start out like a couple, Kalim will end up being mothered by Vil. And this isn’t the kind of overprotective and through-the-teeth mothering that Jamil does: Vil-the-mom is strict and very focused on discipline, so I think both of them would experience a cultural shock lol Vil knew things were bad, but was it that bad?... Similarly to Kalim/Riddle though, when it’s time to have fun, they enjoy each other a lot. They dance and sing and Kalim even manages to make Vil laugh… but the rest of the time it gets kind of miserable for both of them.

Kalim/Idia. I want this for Idia, to be honest. I genuinely want this for Idia. This would be such a shitshow though because Kalim has zero understanding of how Idia works; pardon me for a clichéd comparison, but it’s like putting an excited loud puppy in a room with a sheepish scaredy cat. But actually, I think Kalim is smart enough to ask Idia to teach him how to play videogames one day, and even though he would be horrible at it, he would have so much fun failing miserably that maybe… Idia’s heart would melt a little… and then instantly cringe.

Kalim/Malleus. Shameless. Well, Kalim is pretty innocent about it, but Malleus is shameless. He is very satisfied with all the attention he is getting. Everyone around them? Confused and mildly scared, wondering if Kalim even knows what’s going on between them. Kalim? Super excited to have 1000 dates with Malleus, give him all kinds of cool gifts, dance with him and feed him a lot of yummy ice cream. Malleus responds very well to this kind of treatment, so Kalim would go all-out! They would either end up being a power-couple (Kalim would still be very oblivious…) or break up after a while because while Malleus enjoys attention, Kalim just isn’t as reactive to his flirty provocations as he would’ve loved… plus he has too many friends >:(

[chairteeth]

Greek love styles as applied to Touka and Nemu

Welcome one and all to another instance of “Nahi rambles on and on about the blorbos”! This time, brought to you by my friend @abarero (her very lovely essay on this same topic except applied to Mikoto and Hanna inspired this). For those of you unfamiliar with the Greek styles of love, not to worry, I will provide definitions for each term, and I will clarify that they don’t cover only romantic love. Given my aspec TouNemu headcanons, I’d be in trouble if they did. Anyway, remember that the person writing this is both the foremost scholar in TouNemu and also probably the biggest shipper of the two, so for the best experience you will have to read this from the perspective of “yes those two are canon”. And also from the perspective of “these two are people in their universe that existed before canon and will exist beyond canon”. Oh, and spoilers for the TouNemu part of the Arc 2 finale, but I mean, I think most people are at least vaguely familiar with what happened, given PH and all that.

First of all, I call these “love styles” because that is what my teachers and mentors called them when teaching me about them (why yes Nahi is academically and culturally qualified to speak on Grecoroman stuff, unexpected I know). You may see them talked about as just different words for love, or different concepts. These styles are recognizable in people, and sometimes you can tell someone has one of them as their primary style, sometimes you can see the secondary one, there are many variables. Most people experience each of them at some point in their lives. So, let’s begin with philia:

> Philia is the kind of love that strong friends feel toward each other. However, it doesn’t stop there. The Greek philosopher Plato thought that philia was an even greater love than eros and that the strongest loving relationships were ones where philia led to eros: a “friends become lovers” situation. Our concept of platonic love—love that isn’t based on physical attraction—comes from this Platonic philosophy. Philia is a type of love that is felt among friends who’ve endured hard times together.

Fun fact, the ancient Greeks valued philia far above eros because it was considered a love between equals (in reference to the historical inequality between men and women and the historical expectation for one’s friends to be the same sex and one’s romantic partner to be the opposite, needless to say this does not apply when we’re talking about two girls). I thought philia would be a nice, comfortable, easy place to start. Because sure, Touka and Nemu used to fight when they first met, but while important, that is literally not even one fifth of their relationship.

The way Touka and Nemu developed their relationship does actually involve philia, and therefore they continue to have it later in life, like the nourishing soil for their relationship. I believe this is a vitally important and extremely strong foundation they've built. I’ve said this before elsewhere, but despite my enthusiastic shipping of the pair, I wouldn't describe them as the “typical” lovers. Because yes, there’s that, but there’s also so much more to their bond than that, and this is one of the essentials. My timeline in my head for how the relationship would’ve even happened puts the earliest possible point where they could start dating(?) at around Cherry Blossom Dreams, so that's a good half of the game canon and pre-Arc 1 where it was just mounting philia for them. Bare basics! Highly important! Plus, if you go the demi route of the aspec interpretation, they kind of need to have a strong emotional bond via philia first. Or, given that they refused to call each other friends for so long, my favorite: weird undefined thing that grows and changes but we're not gonna put a label on it exactly because it doesn’t quite fit any preexisting ones/it doesn’t feel right. Or if you want to be funny, you can call them lab partners, since that is part of what they are to each other at least during Arc 2. This entire thing is also why I most often pick “partners” as their term of preference, “partner” feels like a wider scope than “girlfriend/wife” and fits them perfectly.

Now, time for storge:

> Although storge closely resembles philia in that it is a love without physical attraction, storge is primarily to do with kinship and familiarity. It's a protective, familial love, often felt by parents toward their children and vice versa. Storge also describes the love that siblings feel towards each other, and the love felt by even more distant kin relationships, such as a grandparent for a grandchild or an uncle toward a niece. It can even be found among childhood friends that have grown up together.

Evidently, storge applies to Touka and Nemu. Between one another, yes, but I feel it especially from them towards say Iroha (and Ui, after the crush passed), towards Sakurako, or from Touka to her dad (I am not mentioning Nemu and her parents because what Nemu feels towards her parents is filial piety and desperation for love, not love). TouNemu specifically tend to feel at least a little protective of the people they love in this manner and try to look after them. Less intense than their protectiveness of each other, in part because well, other people have Others. They do not. Storge feels like it's woven into philia from their hospital days, a natural development that likely happened alongside philia in a way. Not much more to say here I think

Next up, agape:

> Agape is selfless universal love, such as the love for strangers, nature, or God. This love is unconditional, bigger than ourselves, a boundless compassion and an infinite empathy that you extended to everyone, whether they are family members or distant strangers. More interestingly, agape is often defined as unconditional, sacrificial love. The kind of love that is felt by a person willing to do anything for another, including sacrificing themselves, without expecting anything in return. According to the Greeks, this was the highest and most radical type of love. It is the purest form of love that is free from desires and expectations, and loves regardless of the flaws and shortcomings of others.

*slams hands on table* YOU SEE. The selfless love for humanity to save strangers and whatever is there with Touka and Nemu, but not really as important as other parts of agape, they have higher priorities (this part of agape I feel is way more prevalent in Ui or Iroha). Unconditional and sometimes sacrificial love for each other, though? Loving without expectations or pressure? Most definitely! Absolutely. They even do this in lesser ways with other close loved ones. I do not think I have to point out the examples from canon, they've tried to kill themselves like five times give or take, and almost always you can trace their reasoning back to love in some way (in between all the trauma and guilt), plus some decisions about the specifics of their little self-immolation schemes are so clearly made with a sense of equality, partnership with each other. The unconditional part is something that’s very important for them to receive from each other. One of the reasons they trust each other so much is precisely how much they respect the other when it comes to boundaries, as well as the lack of expectations/conditions, which I’ve talked about before in other essays I believe.

So! The funny stalker love now!

> Mania love is a type of excessive love that leads someone into madness and obsessiveness. Although not necessarily and not universal, examples of mania could be what a jilted lover feels when they are extremely jealous of a rival, the unhealthy obsession that can result from mental illness, the kind of “love” that a stalker feels toward their victim, etc. To those who experience mania, love itself is a means of rescuing themselves; a reinforcement of their own value as the sufferer of poor self-esteem. This person wants to love and be loved to find a sense of self-value. Because of this, they can become possessive and jealous lovers, feeling as though they desperately “need” their partners. If the other partner fails to reciprocate with the same kind of mania love, many issues prevail. Mania can often lead to issues such as codependency.

I mean. They absolutely have it. It’s not too major for them, or at least not in the traditional sense. I don't think it's the unhealthy sort. They do display obsessive behavior at times (usually relatively minor, but I imagine it'd be worse if they weren't constantly joined at the hip, Touka was not exactly happy when Nemu got kidnapped by former Feathers in the IroYachi event), and I've argued before with screenshot evidence that both of them are possessive with both things/concepts and people. With how their relationship map has evolved, this behavior is mostly in their heads and applies to each other the most. There's a level of entitlement to the other and defensiveness they have too, and honestly, the depths their love reaches would 100% be considered madness. I mean. Must I point at the Arc 2 finale and that very fun decision of shedding their humanity and leaving their world, lives, dreams, aspirations, legacy and memories behind to live together in space? That's not normal person behavior, especially when it involves Exploding In Public as the preamble/step 1. THAT'S NOT NORMAL PERSON BEHAVIOR… Mania is usually seen as bad because the famous examples are all one-sided and on the very extreme, but I mean, what's wrong with two-sided mania? They seem fine to me. Codependent, but surprisingly functional in spite of that—I think they feel secure in their relationship at the moment. That said, if you just did a handful of very specific things, such as, say, very bad things happening to the other every time they’re apart… well, can you really tell me it wouldn’t amp up their paranoia and possessive protectiveness? Really think about it. If you pushed the right buttons, you could easily bring the mania to the surface.

Anyway, next up, my favorite that I named a fic after (yes you should read it if you haven’t already), pragma:

> Pragma is a committed, compassionate love that often grows as two partners continue to cherish and care for each other. This type of love is associated with being together for a long time and often seen in long term best friend marriages. It's an everlasting love between a couple that chooses to put equal effort into their relationship. Commitment and dedication are required to reach this level. Instead of “falling in love,” you are “standing in love” with the partner you want by your side indefinitely. Pragma is a unique sort of closely bonded love that can only grow over time and matures over the years. A love built on commitment, mutual understanding, and long-term interests, like (the easiest example) building a family. It's very meaningful and not a bond that is likely to ever break due to its foundations being so strong.

So basically intense devotion, mutual understanding, and the single most “partner” love. The “I will stand by your side no matter what” love. The kind that pays attention to the tiniest details and quietly makes adjustments as needed, the kind that Knows. Do I have to say anything? Do I really? This is TouNemu to a T. I will die on the hill that TouNemu's primary love style with each other is pragma.

I was not looking forward to this part considering the state of media literacy and reading comprehension, but here it is, eros:

> Eros is passion, lust and pleasure. Sensual, physical love. Romance is included here. Examples of eros would be the intense love felt between, well, lovers. The ancient Greeks considered eros to be dangerous and frightening, as it involves a “loss of control” through primal impulses.

I think this one is the most difficult to explain, if only because it clashes with my interpretation of the girls as being in the aspec, but if we're talking physical, I do 100% think that physical affection (and yes, sex) is/would be important for both Touka and Nemu, with the headcanon for Nemu having high libido issues being pretty much unanimously accepted among the TouNemu cult (because it does have canon basis and the ace + high libido combo is interesting to toy with). It's a lot about grounding for them, I feel. Touch is grounding for them because they've never had it and they therefore crave it, a more solid anchor than anything else, and like a sort of lifebuoy that I feel they can throw at one another if they notice The Signs, while at the same time being very gentle. As a friend of mine also recognized when discussing this in DMs, if anyone were to recognize their specific signs of their dissociation/panic, it would be the other, because they essentially developed these defense mechanisms and coping skills together. Plus, it's a multi-sensory anchor: the touch isn't just about texture, but also warmth, and the rhythm of breathing, and the subtle shifting of your partner, and their closeness, and the slight moisture of their breath. And that's just the tactile portion! It's also major with scent and sound and There Is A Lot.

Gentleness is one thing, but if you go into the kink side a little more, there's controlled aggression, the sting of a pain you can control (since it can stop with a single word or gesture/you get to be the one dishing it out for once), the other sorts of sensory craving that things like temperature play can satisfy. It's a lot about control in this case. I have so many thoughts and feelings about TouNemu's physicality- it's comforting to them both for grounding reasons and the emotional security in feeling the signs of presence and life in the one person they know they can rely on. There is a bit too much to get into right now (I could majorly elaborate on the sex and kink thing if asked), so we shall move on.

Yet another one I’m anxious about sharing for the same reasons as eros… Ludus.

> Ludus is playful, often noncommittal love. It covers things like flirting, crushes, courtship, seduction, and casual sex. Ludus is that feeling we have when we go through the early stages of falling in love with someone, e.g. the fluttering heart, flirting, teasing, and feelings of euphoria. The word means “play” or “game” in Latin, and that pretty much explains what ludus is: love as a game. When it comes to ludus, a person is not looking for a committed relationship. People who are after ludus are just looking to have fun or view sex as a prize to be won. A friends with benefits situation would be an example of a relationship built on ludus: neither partner is interested in commitment. Of course, ludus may eventually result in eros if feelings of passion or romance emerge during the relationship. After all, playfulness in love is an essential ingredient that is often lost in long-term relationships, yet it’s one of the secrets to keeping your love alive, interesting and exciting.

Throwing the noncommittal part completely into the trash for the canon timeline analysis, Touka and Nemu’s entire relationship is based on teasing and mind games. They are the only people they act playful towards or joke with at all—they will, on rare occasions, also tease Ui, but it doesn’t feel the same with her because Ui doesn’t really play their game. Their whole thing is exactly this. And since ludus, like all the other styles, can overlap with other styles of love, you really don’t have to compromise on the girls’ philia or pragma to agree that they have a healthy degree of ludus in their relationship by nature. It’s something they treat as unique to their relationship too, which is interesting. 

They're NOT AT ALL noncommittal or “casual” about each other, however they do like to treat their relationship like a sort of “game”. Their mind games and verbal sniping are in fact courtship, I think it relates to intellectual stimulation and poking the other around. In this sense they are basically seeking enrichment, fun, while also letting their relationship be extremely intense and mostly undefined. And I would be lying if I said I haven't had many AUs where these two started out as friends with benefits or went through that phase before settling into commitment (because they're stupid and in denial and allergic to vulnerability). It's a fascinating avenue to explore with them, particularly because a relationship that you negotiate and agree on being “no strings attached” (lmao good luck you idiots) avoids things they're terrible at such as The Big Emotions, so it's also a safety net. And a way to remain “close” and develop trust without necessarily being traditionally emotionally vulnerable. Not to mention that as an established relationship, I fully believe they would have business meetings every month to discuss the state of it; feedback, any necessary grievances they want to air, working together on problem-solving, etc.

Lastly, another big one! Philautia!

> Philautia refers to how a person views themselves and how they feel about their own body and mind. So essentially, self-love/self-esteem (good) and/or hubris (bad). The Greeks understood that in order to care for others, we must first learn to care for ourselves. People with high self-esteem, pride in themselves, or a positive body image practice a healthy version of philautia. Of course, philautia has a negative version, there is such a thing as excessive self-esteem/arrogance.

Let me tell you self-love is horrendous for both Touka and Nemu. Nemu is way worse at this than Touka. I don’t know what you expected me to say, but they simultaneously have huge egos and also the lowest self-esteem known to man. You can see this clearly in the ways they interact with others and the ways they objectify and dehumanize themselves respectively. I'm not sure I've talked about this at length before, but it holds true in every iteration of their characters, no matter what.

Touka is a little complicated to examine with this, with the simultaneous sense of both superiority and inferiority. She knows she sucks at socializing. She knows she’s the best in her fields. She may be young, but she’s not stupid. Assigning roles to herself and using her knowledge (hence her shoehorning sciency things in conversation) are the only ways she knows how to socialize, and as I’ve analyzed in other essays before, in Touka’s mind, all of her worth hinges on her intelligence. It’s what she’s been told her entire life: you’re so smart, that’s incredible, you’re so much more intelligent than others. The role of “genius” is what gives her a framework for how to interact with people, and Nemu threw that out of whack because she made Touka go off-script. Touka hadn’t prepared to deal with someone as smart as her. She hadn’t thought she’d have an equal. As a Magius, the way she acts is also mostly within the confines of her role, her job, what she’s expected to be like and what she’s expected to do. It’s all scripted. It’s the only way she thinks she can navigate most social interactions and communicate with People (capitalized because as I’ve said before, Touka and Nemu do not consider each other people, they consider each other a sort of part of themselves, something that cannot be handled the same way as People).

As for Nemu, boy buddy boy does this idiot self-flagellate. Not only is she introspective and the type to overthink everything and conclude she deserves nothing but the flames of Avici (her words, not mine), but she’s also painfully repressed in so many ways. I’ll go into all of this more in one of my upcoming essays that examines Nemu through a Buddhist lens (because she is Buddhist). The main point is that while Touka uses her masks and the enforcement of “roles” in order to navigate socialization, Nemu appears to be much better at it, but that’s really just an illusion. It’s because she knows how people speak. All she does is read, and she’s a writer, so there’s no way she wouldn’t. Is it genuine? Not really. She’s polite, though. In that sense she is the very example of a “proper” lady (Japan standards). Speaks nicely, can carry a conversation with perfect normalcy, etc. The only exceptions are Touka, whenever she decides someone is her enemy (such as Mikazuki when she was a Magius or Felicia in Ui’s MGS), and Sakurako who she speaks to with genuine motherly affection. It’s very. Very interesting. I am vibrating trying not to go into how this relates to her being a Buddhist because that is FOR THE OTHER ESSAY. Shh. Sh. Moving on.

Touka and Nemu are ultimately not made to be human, yet they are so very human nonetheless, and it shows in their hearts. There's an ache there. A desire to belong. But that desire feels lost and contradictory with the way they’re treated and with their other desires. And, no matter how hard they try, they can never find a home in those around them. Their sights are set too high, no other can match that, and so they feel alien and out of place with people besides one another. They both have very strong hearts, especially when they're together, and unlike say Iroha (who is all too human and thus yearns to return to a place she felt she belonged post-Arc 2), they make peace with their own departure. They never belonged anyway. Their place is not among the masses. This is why they have absolutely no qualms basically cutting ties with the mortal world for their ascension. They fully believe it's the best they can do, both for themselves and others. And while this dehumanization of the self can often either cause or be because of self-loathing, it also may not, or may grow past it. I think that's what we were seeing with the ascension, actually, it felt like chains snapping off and letting them fly, letting them finally pursue their goals unhindered, with each other as eternal support and without the constraints of human society that they’d always endured.

OKAY! That is the gist of it! Hope everyone enjoyed me going on another rant.

[wonopia]

THE PHOTOBOOTH | 002. TUTOR

[WC] . 1900 prev ! mlist ! next

around 8 am, misaki already at school, sitting at her desk finishing up some homework she wasn't able to get done at home due to work.

"misa," ryu greeted her, pulling a seat up near her friend, "what are you doing?"

"working on our english language coursework."

"oh my god, can you help me with that?" she asked as she began to slide a notebook out of her bag, placing it on the desk.

"as long as you help me with korean studies," misa shot back with a smile, pulling the notebook open beside her own.

"of course," ryujin said happily.

a fun fact about they’re friend group, they all have certain subjects their really good at and some they aren't and so they help each other out. misa is good at science and language courses (as for english), ryujin is good at korean studies + geography (history), wonyoung is good at math- including yeonjun. as for jeongin and beomgyu, they love photograhy. for kai, kai excels at korean language, and they host study group sessions thats normally hosted at misa's house.

"also what’d you get for your after school activity?" ryujin asked after a while of misa teaching her why its easier to mix words together such as you with will, are- and every different way to say you are. in the end she surprisingly understood quite a lot.

"i put haiku, what about you?"

"i put music," ryu nodded, finishing up her work, "why’d you pick haiku?"

misa paused in thought, "well even though my strong suit is not korean language, i think im better working on something more poetic. plus its part of my culture."

"well when you make your first haiku," she started, "send it to me!"

misaki smiled at her due to ryu’s wide smile, "will do, now finish your work."

ryujin chuckled at her before writing. eventually the class started and next thing you know, the lunch bell is ringing. misaki cleaned up her desk a little bit before walking out of her classroom, someone calling out to her.

"choi misaki!" it was her advisor.

"mrs. kim, how are you?" misa asked, walking up to her.

"i’m doing great," she responded, "do you have some time to spare?"

"uh yeah."

"before i tell you," she started, "how’s college viewing going?"

"we haven’t gone yet, the college viewing is in 2 weeks," she told her with a small smile.

"oh where are you guys going? or should i say... where'd you apply to visit for your four days?" mrs. kim questioned.

"um i put seoul national university, yonsei university, sungkyunkwan university, and pusan national university."

"what do you want to study?" she conversed.

"uh.." she paused, almost hesitant, "fashion design or architecture."

"hm, thats surprising because you excel is certain classes and others not as good," misaki slowly nodded, "you’re not interested in anything that has to do with science?"

"nothing really caught my eye," she told her advisor, "none of them seemed interesting or worth doing, in my opinion."

"i see.. but you definitely want to do something with measurements and lengths. your grades are not bad so i’m sure you can do it but since you excel more in science, i expected something else."

misaki stayed silent, standing beside mrs. kims desk.

"anyways," she said, starting a new topic, "i called you hear to ask if you were interested in doing a job here at school. it just involves you staying on campus longer."

"what’s the job?" misa asked since she is definitely in need of some money.

"after school tutoring, you get paid ₩20,030 a session and you get a bonus of ₩13,353 every A they get in a subject."

in misaki's eyes, it was a steal. there wasn't really a down side since it was on campus, she didn’t have to rush anywhere, but at jamba she had to rush to the mall every late afternoon.

"they particularly need help in english since it is your strong suit and for them.. not so much," mrs. kim added, "in return, he can teach you photography."

"photography?" misaki asked, not entirely understanding.

"you signed up for photography," she told her, "for your after school course."

misa gave her a confused look. mrs. kim searched through piles of papers before handing one to her, "look, your name is signed up for photography."

"oh," she mumbled.

"did you want to change it?"

"oh, no no its okay. i had totally forgotten that i signed up for an after school course," she lied. in fact she knew exactly who signed her up for that.

"so would you like to do tutoring as a job?" she asked.

before misaki could even properly think it through, she agreed.

as soon as misaki entered the cafeteria, she immediately spotted the boy and once she reached their table she sat down aggressively in front of him.

"you cow!" she cursed, "you signed me up for photography without asking me!?"

"what are you talking about?" beomgyu scoffed, "you’re the one that told me to sign you up."

"what?"

"the day we were all signing up, i said i was going to go sign up for photography and you said you wanted to do it too."

"i wasn’t talking to you! i was talking to kai," misa argued, "we were both gonna sign up for haiku."

"ohh!" he gasped, "well you could go change it."

"no because mrs. kim already made arrangements for me to get extra credits for learning photography with this one kid i’m supposably tutoring." the conversations tension lowered, now involving the whole table.

"you’re tutoring?" wonyoung lightly gasped with her mouth full of stir-fried noodles.

"also, here's your lunch," ryujin said, pushing misa's lunch box her way.

"oh my gosh, i forgot about that. thanks, ryu."

"of course!"

"since when did you want to do tutoring?" gyu asked, "plus its the start of the second semester."

"i never really wanted to do tutoring, she offered it and when she brought up me getting paid, i immediately was hooked."

"how much are you getting paid?" ryu asked, curious if she should sign up to be a tutor.

" ₩20,030 a session and i get a bonus of ₩13,353 for every A they get in a subject," misa told them, opening up her lunch box.

"not gonna lie, that’s a good deal," wonyoung nodded, "i should ask to be a math tutor."

"go for it, girl," misa encouraged, wonie laughed shaking her head.

"but what about jamba?" ryu butted in.

"oh yeah," gyu nodded, "are you quitting?"

"probably," misa sighed, "i’ve been thinking about it for a while now, especially since i should focus more on my studies. i’m not even sure of what i want to do in the future and we're already juniors."

"it’s okay, you still have a while til you gotta decide that," gyu assured her, "but on the topic of colleges, what colleges did you guys sign up for?"

"seoul national univers-"

ryujin was interrupted by gyu, "oh my gosh same!"

"let her finish, gyu," misa laughed before eating up her bulgogi.

"seoul national university for the first day, yonsei, sungkyunkwan, and chonbuk national," ryu finished.

"i picked the first two and last one but i also asked to go see pusan university."

"no way!" misa gasped, smacking beomgyu’s shoulder lightly, "we're going to be together for all four days!"

"what!" he yelled is disbelief.

"i wish i was a grade 2 so bad!" wonie sobbed hysterically, "while you guys are off on field trips for four days straight, i’ll be in class."

"sorry wonie, but you could always message me imessage games if you’re bored!" misaki teased.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚

once the last period bell rang, misaki collected all of her items and left some of her books inside of her desk before making her way to the library. ryujin walked with her until they passed the music room, her stop.

"bye ryu! tell yeonjun i said hi."

"got it! have fun tutoring," she laughed, misa rolled her eyes before peeking her head in huening kai’s classroom. as if lucky, kai's class was right down the hall from the music room.

"kai!" she called out, he looked her way as he was packing up his books, "i'll walk you to haiku on the way to the library."

"i thought you signed up for after school haiku too?" he asked while walking over to her.

they walked side by side in the hallway as it started to empty, students walking to their after school activities. the library and the haiku room are in the second building.

once they took the stairs down to the first floor, misa had already finished explaining why she was heading to the library.

"well either way, you’re going to be spending a lot of time with beomgyu."

"i wish grade 3's were allowed to go on college viewings with us!" she complained, "it would be so fun walking around college campus's with most of the group because it would have you, innie, and jun with us."

"yeah but by the end of this summer, we're already gonna be in college," hyuka told her.

he opened the door to building one before opening the door to building two.

"what colleges did you apply to?"

"i applied to seoul university, if i get accepted there then i would immediately just go," he said, "the other options are just backups."

"so it’s your dream college?" she asked.

"i guess you could say that.." he mumbled in thought, "what about you, do you know where you wanna go for college?"

"still not sure. its between seoul national university, sungkyunkwan, and pusan national and for my fourth one i said yonsei as my backup. i know i want to go to one of those," she told him, "oh and heres my stop."

"have fun tutoring," he laughed, "never once had i expected you to want to be a tutor," he started to whisper as she pushed open the door.

"see you later, hyuka."

"later, misa!"

she walked in and brought herself to the librarian. it was a girl she knew, minji.

"oh hey minji."

"hey misaki, what brings you to the library?" she asked.

"i’m starting to tutor someone and i was wondering if mrs. kim told you if there was a certain study room i was assigned to?"

"oh yes," she nodded, getting up from her seat, "she told me to write it down," she pulled a paper out from under the desk before telling me to sign the check in box, "its to check if you even showed up."

"i’m guessing my 'to be tutored' hasnt arrived yet," misa guessed upon looking at the empty box on the paper. minji shook her head in response.

"i’ll see you later, minji," misa waved as she headed for the room number that was labelled on the paper.

she eventually found study room #5 and walked in. she'd been in here a couple times with her best friends when they couldn't go to someone’s house.

she sat down and took off her backpack, taking out her notebook and a pencil, waiting for them to arrive. after a couple minutes she could see someone in the corner of her eye at the door, it was 'photobooth guy'.

note: don't like how i wrote this but it's okay!!

© wonopia 2024

open TAGLIST. @coffeeprincejaehyun @hoonatic

[seumyo]

hi eumeum, im finally here after taking such a long time to figure out something for your event. happy 1000th, eumy. im soso proud of your journey ! i'm gonna send in an entry of me + dabi ♡

i'm a very laid-back and chill, but i can be serious in certain areas. for mbti it's istj-a. my hobby is performing (singing/acting) interests includes gothic culture and rock music. um um i like spiders and i dislike overly loud people.

uh i actually don't have any idea what to write for the description thingy, i apologise 😭 but id love to have a totally like expectant relationship w dabi like the "oh ofc they'd be tgt, they're literally made for eachother 😒" typa thing

colour uhh black, white, blue. song is always been you by chris grey :v aesthetic? rockstar core.

teehee im so excited for a scrapbook thingy from eumy herself 😳😳 take your time and don't stress, okay? giving you jars of hearts and affirming you from here. mahal kita eumyyy

ᯓ★ DABI | TOUYA + SEN!

★ The moment Dabi met you, it's like every other day, something that isn’t new to him. In an alternate universe where Touya is a burnt-out music prodigy set to inherit the family business (which he doesn’t particularly take interest in because of how strained his relationship with his father is), he’s a college student in psychology when he met you.

★ Did not even notice you because he was blinded by all the pent-up frustrations he had with the expectations placed upon him as the first son of the Todoroki family, plus he wasn’t one to be drawn to people that much considering he also had his studies to focus on. He was balancing everything all at once, so he doesn’t notice the well-known lead vocalist on campus trying to talk to him.

★ That is, until he’s encouraged by his classmates to try and join the school band to pass the time. He didn’t see the point of trying, but he decides to stay and watch one of your performances during an event to see if it’d pique his interest. Man, he was pulled into a trance when he heard your voice and took note that the band was indeed lacking a bass player to tie it all together.

★ It’s a shame to let your talent go to waste, so he thought about it thoroughly. And finally, he finally approached you after one of your performances with his application sheet.

★ Touya finds himself not being able to say no to you. Your other bandmates could ask if he could start again from his succession, but he’ll just say he’s on a little break (maybe even pretend to be busy on his phone for a few minutes), but when you do ask the same thing from him, suddenly he’s already ready to begin from that exact part as many times as you want him to.

★ He’s chill whenever he’s not stressed with anything and would take most opportunities to tease you. “Oh, you want me to teach you how to play? You sure you’re up for it, hm? I mean, you could just say that you want to spend some one-on-one time with me.”

★ Practices with him include just Touya staring at you (he can’t focus on the music sheet). Whenever you have him as your sub vocalist, he's secretly happy that he can finally see your face when you’re singing (he's used to seeing your side or back most of the time since he’s playing the bass).

★ He confesses when he’s sure of his feelings. Touya doesn’t want to rush into things haphazardly, so it takes him a lot of time to even consider confessing. In your graduating year, he finally confesses on your last performance together. He’s so scared of rejection (and the fact that he might not see you as often anymore—so he’s just imagining getting rejected and losing contact with you) that his hands were slightly shaking.

★ Everyone isn't surprised anymore. You’re right, Sen, you and Touya are that couple that just screams, “Oh, definitely. They’re each other’s halves, if you ask me.” You complement and balance each other so well that it just works. Yes, there may be ups and downs on the relationship, especially since Touya hasn’t really pursued anyone but you (he’s new to everything that one does in a relationship), but he tries his best to ease arguments as soon as he cools down, remember your likes and dislikes, and put in a bit more effort than he already was doing.

★ The relationship includes him being just soft (he tries to hide it) whenever he watches you perform, whether it’s acting or singing; he’s your number one fan. Touya introduces you to Natsuo first, then his mom second, and his other siblings last. He never introduced you to his father because he just didn’t want to. Him sending you videos he sees of couples doing subtle yet romantic things together with the message that says, “us.” Him letting you use his phone for whatever reason you have, he doesn’t have anything to hide, and trusts you so you could literally just take his phone whenever he's not using it, and he’ll be ok with it. His love language of physical touch comes out whenever you two are out; he just holds the top of your head with his hand and thinks it’s the most appropriate thing to do so he doesn’t lose you in the crowd.

[jyytheriverdragon]

Hello! It's kiera again! I'm here to ask more questions about every each of ying yue in your AUs becase i was bored and wanted to get something a little entertaining so here are some questions i wanted to ask! Lego monkie kid questions: 1) What does ying yue finds MK and Mei? (Like kind of relationships) 2) If ying yue ever met the other two alternative of herself the one from nezha reborn and meihouwang, what are her reactions and expectations? 3) What are ying yue's favorite genre and places? 4) What does she hates? Nezha reborn questions: 1) If Shubao met the other two alternative of her reincarnated self (LMK&MK09) what are her reactions and expectations (Doing the same question because it's quiet interesting for me) 2) What are Shubao's favorite desert? ( In other countries ) 3) Who is her no.1 bestest friend? Mei hou wang questions: 1) If ying yue ever met the other two alternative of herself the one from nezha reborn and lego monkie kid, what are her reactions and expectations? (Doing it again and same reason) 2) What if ying yue found out about how liu'er deal with the same demon and was possessed with the same demon from the past, what did she react and thought about it? 3) What does she hates? 4) If ying yue ever met Klee (from genshin impact, if you know.). What does she do with klee being a demonist(meaning: Obsessed with bombs and explosions.)? That's all! And sorry if it might take you long to answer these. Anways The genderfluid is out of asking this and is strolling around, once again! Adios!

LMK:

1. I'm assuming you mean her relationship with them. Ying ADORES MK as she views him as a kind and very caring boy, plus he freed her from the vase so that definitely boosts her opinion. She does however wish he took this monkey kid business more serious and wasn't so impulsive. But she'll always look out for him no matter what, if you want to get to MK, you have to go through her. Good luck.

It's pretty much the same with Mei but both bond over their similar love of fighting and exciting adventures! In fact Ying loves to join Mei with her races and in return teaches Mei stuff about dragon society and culture. However a bit like MK, she wishes Mei was more careful and calculated, she also believes Mei to be too reckless with her powers and tries to offer basic lessons so Mei can finally learn control.

2. LMK Ying would be best friends with her MHW counterpart as both are basically the same person just in different locations. Both are on the same page at all times and more importantly both understand each other's trauma. As for NR, she'd take on a maternal mentor figure with Shubao. She'd teach her how to fight and control her powers along with her temper. She'd also be incredibly protective of her.

3. I assume genre refers to music, if so, Ying doesn't really have one. Almost all music types are completely foreign to her so she's trying to catch up with all she missed, however she has found herself to be a fan of rock. As for places, Ying prefers the outdoors more, the more space to run around the better it is. She never wants to feel cramped or restrained so she loves going for hikes in nature or swimming at the beach. But what makes it even better is if her friends are there too. Ying loves spending all the time possible with them.

4. Cramped dark places like movie theaters, and any powerful immortal/person/demon that instead uses their abilities to hurt people instead of helping them. Essentially, anyone who makes things worse for people instead of better, or who just stand by and watch. She's not a fan of heaven or Wukong.

NR

1. Shubao would have pretty much the same reaction to both LMK and MHW Ying Yue, shock and honestly gratitude because she can finally be taught by a dragon in person and can truly get to know her past life.

2. Shubao doesn't have much of a sweet tooth but she likes egg tarts and steamed rice cakes

3. Shancai

MHW

1. Same reaction as LMK Ying Yue, however is very confused and mystified by the modern tech from their world.

2. Her reaction would change depending on when she finds out but I like to think it's like deep into the possession. She's furious that he withheld this info but deep down she's so sad that he had to suffer through this thing like she currently is.

3. Same as LMK Ying minus Wukong

4. I don't play Genshin Impact so I'm afraid I don't know who that is.

[lettucebee17]

Congrats on 100 followers!

For your event, I'm curious about your opinions on some rarepairs I like. I'm not expecting a response to all, but you can choose any one(s) you may find interesting :)

What are your thoughts on

Silver/Idia,

Jade/Malleus,

Azul/Trey,

and/or Che'nya/Floyd?

Thanks, and again, congratulations!

Thank you!!

I will not be stopped and will respond to all of them. :)

Silver/Idia:

I've actually seen some really cute stuff about Silver and Idia and I do think they're sweet.

I think the one thing that's missing for me in this ship is that I just haven't really seen them interact that much and I just haven't given them an incredible amount of thought.

However, I will say that one thing I've always found really fun about this ship is the added dynamic of Lilia and Idia being gaming buddies but also Lilia being Silver's father. Because like, imagine your boyfriend being like, 'sorry babe, i've gotta run a dungeon with your dad.' But also Silver would just be like 'cool, can I watch?' and then falls asleep.

Which is another thing that would be cute about them dating: just, Silver napping in Idia's room while Idia's gaming but also probably forcing Idia into a healthier sleep schedule simply by virtue of the fact that he's always sleeping and Idia feels awkward about Silver being asleep while he's awake.

Also I will say that one line in Silver's ceremonial robes vignette when Idia calls him handsome is top notch - big fan.

Jade/Malleus:

I have, in fact, never seen or considered this as a possibility.

Putting aside my weird hang-ups about Malleus and his age and shipping him with people, I think they could work together really well.

Like, both of them are people that most everyone around them find scary and prefer not to be around (sans a select few) but they're both just complete dorks. They could infodump to each other about their funny little special interests and they'd both just listen so intently to each other!

Also they could teach each other about fae and mer culture respectively and like Jade going for night swims or something while Malleus sits on the shore and stargazes (cute date ideas)

Not to mention, Azul would be thrilled if Jade started dating the heir of Briar Valley, I mean, what a business opportunity! Not that Azul should exploit his employees boyfriend like that...

Also, Jade's secretary/butler tendencies would be an incredible boon to Malleus actually getting to places on time and remembering to do things.

Azul/Trey:

Another one that I had never considered before. And I think it's important that you know my first thought upon reading it was 'fedora bfs.'

I'm intrigued by the dynamic of this one because I cannot come up with a scenario in my mind of HOW they'd start dating. Like, who asks out who? Either option is so funny to me.

Like, Azul having a crush on Trey and talking to Riddle about it to try to get him to set them up? Top notch.

Trey just out of the blue making Azul like a cake or something to ask him out? Also very funny, so confusing to everyone.

On the subject of baking too, the two of them starting a bakery or something after graduation is so cute and domestic because like, Azul running the business aspect and Trey getting to bake and try to things to sell and stuff? Very cute to think about.

Sorry I don't have a lot to say about them...

Che'nya/Floyd:

I, personally, think that Che'nya and Floyd should be besties and I cannot see them dating (too much chaos, not enough serious communication)

I do think, however, that they'd be real cute in that they'd be super physically affectionate with each other in the cutest ways. Like, Che'nya would just wrap his tail around Floyd and Floyd would just like pet him and scritch his ears. (do y'all think Che'nya purrs? he must, right?)

Also, the fact that Che'nya shows up at unbirthday parties, partly for Trey's baked goods, I'm sure he would love to show up and steal food from the Mostro Lounge and Floyd would 100% let him.

Plus, cute date idea: terrorize Riddle Rosehearts!

All in all, a very cute combo but I don't think it'd be the healthiest relationship-wise...

[epitomees]

kotone and aigis ships pls

Send ‘Ship Bias’ and I will share up to 5 ships I have a bias for my muse!

((I did answer the top 5 for Kotone here, but I do have more ships with her sooooo...I can continue where I left off~

6. Joker (RED DUO MY BELOVED!! I’ve only seen how they interact via GIFs and photos of Q2 but I feel like their chemistry would be incredible. They’re both gremlins in their own right, they can be mischievous and reckless together, but also they have big hearts for their friends and the people they consider important. And they can be…fairly violent when battling together. Imagine a power couple!! That’s them for sure!!)

7. Rio (MY GIRL DESERVES SOMEONE BETTER THAN STINKY, GROSS KENJI!! GIVE HER A PARTNER THAT WILL TREAT HER RIGHT!! No but Kotone and Rio together is very special to me too. Rio is a great social link and Kotone admires the girl’s drive and ambition so, so much. They’d be a cute athletic couple!!)

8. Fuuka (I love me some blue/red dynamics. They can teach each other so much since they both have a strong drive to learn new things. And Kotone’s patience is absolutely incredible, so she would be perfect when it comes to Fuuka’s anxieties and doubts. Plus, Kotone thinks Fuuka is the absolute cutest!! 10/10 would squish her cheeks and give her playful noogies.)

9. Bebe (THAT’S HER SPECIAL BOY!! FASHION COUPLE RIGHT HERE!! She finds him so precious and adores how much he wants to learn about her culture. I think they’d go and try all kinds of food, go to different restaurants, and immerse themselves in all kinds of things so he can experience everything the island has to offer.)

10. Junpei (While I see them more as a platonic relationship, I do think they can make for a good romantic couple. Junpei grows a lot through the story and I think by endgame, he’s come to really appreciate Kotone and admire her strength. There’s some potential there for sure!!)

1. Makoto/Minato (…I don’t think I should start on this ship because I could write a whole college essay about their relationship, the fate they share, the Sun/Moon dynamics, the ‘doomed from the start’ trope, THE FACT THEY ARE THE ORPHEUS/EURYDICE METAPHOR, LITERALLY I COULD MAKE A TED TALK ABOUT THESE TWO AND IT’D LAST FOR 8 HOURS!! THESE TWO MEAN SO MUCH TO ME AND I STILL CAN’T BELIEVE HOW THEY SHOT UP TO BE MY FAVORITE SHIP OF ALL TIME!)

2. Kotone/Minako (Literally the same as the above. They ruin me, they make me weak in the knees, they kill me internally, and I don’t think I’ll ever recover.)

3. Yukari (These two are very special since both of them had a very close relationship to the protagonist. I think there’s a lot of commonalities they have, and I think Yukari can sympathize with Aigis concerning her learning how to be human and how to embrace human emotion. Not to mention, they don’t really have a good family to go back to since Aigis’ creator is dead and Yukari’s most prominent parental figure is dead too. I haven’t watched the Answer yet but I know they butt heads a bit because of the protagonist’s death, but if they can sit and talk to each other, they can get past it. I also think it’d be cool if they’d live together once they graduate. Roommates to lovers, you know?)

4. Ryoji (…okay HEAR ME OUT HERE!!! HEAR ME OUT!! I love me a good enemy/rivals relationship, but consider this. I thoroughly enjoy how Aigis is very hostile towards Ryoji because of his true nature, but also imagine she’s straight up jealous of him because he was able to obtain a human body. On top of that, he immediately bonded with the protagonist, someone she must protect and probably has fallen in love with slowly over time. It’s not fair how he swooped in and is trying to take the protagonist away from her. BUT!! I think Ryoji would tell Aigis she is more human than him, and he finds it so interesting and beautiful how a machine is able to feel human emotions. I truly think Ryoji would fall for Aigis too, because she’s such a unique case. If an android with a specially made heart is capable of living, loving, and caring for humans, maybe he can too. Also, two immortal beings in love with each other and watching over humanity for years and years to come. MmmmmmMMMMMMMM THAT’S GOOD FOOD!)

5. Fuuka (A robot and the geeky nerd who loves tinkering with technology! I think they can easily go hand in hand with each other! Fuuka learning about Aigis’ inner workings and Aigis learning about today’s tech advances from Fuuka. They also have this…special kind of bodyguard/person being protected that gets me going since Fuuka is the navigator. Aigis wouldn’t waste a moment being a shield to keep her safe from Shadows.)

[hamliet]

So… what do you think was in the dornish letter sent to Aegon?

Can I address this in a somewhat circuitous way? Haha.

Well, the thing about Martin's writing is that when you look at how rumors are treated in ASOIAF, which allows multiple primary viewpoints that allow us to weigh the accuracy of rumors other characters hear about those they've never met but we know, you realize there's a pattern. The rumors are somehow often rooted in truth, yet very rarely actually accurate in how they are told to others. We might hear three or four variations of the same rumor, and the common thread is true, but the spins on it say more about biases and culture than fact.

In Fire & Blood, because it's a history, we can see that some of the rumors are probably based in truth (otherwise why would Martin include them?) but probably not always accurate, much like in the main series. At the same time, we don't have other viewpoints from reliable witnesses as it happens, so that adds uncertainty that isn't there in ASOIAF. Thus, we have to weigh the rumors bases on other details, like character traits all sources seem to agree on, etc.

The show House of the Dragon actually did a good job of this in how they melded the rumors of Rhaenyra losing her virginity to Daemon and Criston (which clearly can't both be true), and Criston's grudge against Rhaenyra and rumored subsequent proposal together. The truth can more or less be found by piecing together aspects of each rumor.

Other rumors I think can be determined: Mushroom's relaying of Mysaria and the brothel queens of Helaena and Alicent. It is absolutely within Mysaria's character to suggest this, so I do believe she suggested this. I do not believe Rhaenyra allowed it to actually happen, hence the very firm denial that this ever happened by Gyldalyn. Plus, Mushroom never says this actually happened, just relays the suggestion, so the logical conclusion is it did not. But the fact that it's present at all surely indicates it didn't come just from Mushroom's twisted mind.

Sara Snow: enough with people suggesting she didn't exist. She's mentioned in the book alongside a Pact of Ice and Fire (a clear callback to the actual series' title), and is a clear allusion to both Lyanna and Jon Snow. She existed. Martin would not have written her in there if she did not. A bastard disappearing from history is hardly unheard of, either. What happened between her and Jace isn't clear, of course, but we do know that it is notably odd that both sources point to Jace declining to marry Baela when she was eager to, and the Jace and Aemond parallels become stronger when you compare Alys/Aemond and Sara/Jace. Thus, it seems very likely something happened, whether it was romantic feelings, her simply teaching Jace to pray to the old gods, or the marriage discussed.

So, let's look at the rumors about the letter and about Rhaenys. What we know for sure:

Meraxes was shot down from the sky in 10 AC.

Rhaenys' body was never returned to King's Landing.

Princess Deria of Dorne brought Meraxes' skull and a letter to Aegon in 13 AC.

Aegon immediately flew to Dragonstone after reading the letter, and then agreed to terms of peace.

Rumors:

Rhaenys fell to her death.

Rhaenys was crushed under Meraxes.

Rhaenys was found alive and slowly tortured to death by the Ullers.

Common sense conclusions:

The letter said something about Rhaenys' death.

The fact that Aegon, who loved her, immediately wanted to be alone after reading it and never spoke about its contents means that it had great value to him.

It would be exceedingly unlikely for Rhaenys to survive such a fall, but not impossible.

Now let's look at the rumors. Two of them indicate she died in the fall; one does not. Conclusion: Rhaenys was probably horrifically injured in the fall, perhaps fatally. Surviving such a fall is possible; surviving uninjured? Seems highly unlikely.

The existence of the letter indicates that someone had something to say about her death that was meaningful and did not provoke Aegon to want to immediately raze Dorne in revenge, so we can conclude it was not mocking her death, and probably indicates that Rhaenys lived for a bit after her fall.

My personal conclusion, thus, is that Rhaenys was horrifically injured in the fall and cared for our of human decency and compassion. The letter conveys this to Aegon, while also somehow proving to him that the contents are true (probably by including a piece of information only Rhaenys would have known).

There's one more thing. Aegon flying off to Dragonstone is interesting, as is the note that Rhaenys' body was never brought back to King's Landing. That's clever wording there. Dragonstone is, of course, where the Targaryens would cremate their dead. That Aegon immediately headed to Dragonstone after receiving Meraxes' skull strongly indicates that the Martells sent either Rhaenys' bones or her ashes to Dragonstone (not King's Landing), and Aegon went there to either cremate her and scatter, or just scatter, her ashes.

I was also recently shown a reddit theory that is similar, except it suggests the Ullers nursed her back to health and then tortured her; the Martells then rescued her but could not save her. This is also very possible, but I think the simpler explanation is the fall being the main cause of her death; plus, Martin records her death in 10 AC. But that's hair-splitting, imo; the main gist of the letter is likely we tried, she died, she said this as her last words, here's her body, remember we're people too just like we remembered she was.

[wgc-productions]

YESSSSSS ask meme! 4, 8, 9, 17!

Yay!

4. Is there a specific episode that was especially fun to work on?

For me "fun" can mean two things when it comes to making art. It can mean that everyone was at the top of their game, because watching people be good at what they do is such a pleasure to me. If we are going with this understanding then Small Victories 207 (which comes out today) is the one. It's one of the few episodes where the very first time the cast did it it was perfect. Loved that.

The other meaning is that me and the SV team just had a blast making it regardless of performance. And I think that is kind of harder to get a lock on because we record three episodes a night and they all sort of blend together. I will say, though, that, for this season, 205 was fun to record because Cody Smith was there and I just get a real kick out of what he does with Aaron. Plus 205 is my favorite episode this season and it was great seeing it turn out so well.

8. Pick a character from your show and put together an outfit you think they’d wear.

I'm going to pick Marisol because she has protagonist privilege.

I'mma be honest, I haven't really thought about this, but I think because Marisol (in my mind) is rocking serious "teenage boy or queer woman" realness she is probably dressing like Whoopi in the late 80s/early 90s. Like so:

9. If your show was a different genre what genre would it be and how would the plot change?

This could just be because I'm in my Buffy bag right now, but I think Small Victories could work as a low-fantasy slice of life series. It's already got that magical realism edge anyway with the Host and The Stranger, but I think if we leaned into it and made Marisol an wizard who had real trouble coping with a difficult past and abused her magic powers and is trying to figure out how to live in the world without using her magic because she is afraid of what she is capable of it could be very interesting.

It would be a little more monster-of-the week though to meet the demands of the genre. She would probably have to pick up some sort of detective/fixer-esque job in order to fit into the conventions and each week she would tackle some new mystery while struggling with her ability to manage her powers and atone for the messed up stuff she did when she was sick off magic.

And of course we could still have the rest of the cast. Nina would be the child of a pair of high mages but instead of following their path to rule over others she decides to move away and help teach advanced magics to people who advanced magic is kept from, which would rain down the ire from the higher ups thought her parents choose to protect her from it.

Nina is drawn to Marisol because Marisol is a skilled wizard despite the lack of training. The two find that they in fact really do like each other and they grow to love one another, but after Marisol snaps she disappears and Nina is left confused and hurt. The series could start with that distance, but Nina can be wrapped up in cases because she has useful skills and a heart tuned into justice. As time goes on their bond develops and becomes more complex.

Oliver could be a wizard too, but I think it'd be fun if there were other species so the world could be richer. Ollie could be an elf or troll or something like that and instead of going to college he instead is expected to, as all people in his culture are expected to do, become more integrated with their specific culture, which would explain the sort of distance he and Wizard Marisol would have.

Aaron would still be the boyfriend, but instead of a "Drug Dealer" he is a practitioner of more serious dark magics that he and Marisol used to indulge in. He handles the magic fine, but Marisol has trouble keeping anchored while using it, and so their bond is severely strained when she stops using magic altogether. He would still be a pianist though, cause I think that's a fun fact.

And all four of them could be a team and solve the mysteries and there would probably be overarching plot lines that betray some greater conspiracy in the world.

I will say, though, this would probably have some different things to say about addiction because Magic would be apart of her and suppressing parts of yourself due to fear is not a message I would want to put out in the world.

You know I've never thought about this before, but the more I write it I think that would be fun in a fanfic AU kind of way. But also I like the idea of a wizard detective. It just feels fun. Who knows maybe I'll flesh out this idea over on the WGC Patreon. I want to practice working on longer shows anyway.

17. What’s something that inspired your show?

Okay, back when I was a teen there was this webseries called Carmilla that came out. And I loved it very very much. And then the production company (KindaTV) dropped this other show called Barbelle which is a semi-whimsical webseries about a musical duo, Barbelle, that is made up of this couple (Alice and Veronica). However, by the time the series starts they are broken up because of a lot of reasons, but a very big chip on Alice's shoulder is the fact that Veronica has very serious problems with drugs and alcohol.

It has two seasons, and the ending of the show is pretty melancholy I'll be honest, but when I was watching this show back in 2017 it struck a pretty deep chord. It was just such good writing and so compelling.

I hadn't been watching it when I started writing Small Victories in March 2019, but when I think about it now I can definitely see that some of the things I was/am doing in SV were influenced by Barbelle.

[forthesanityofstorytellers]

Author Ask Tag

Ooo I haven't done this one yet 😁😁 Was tagged by @anyablackwood (here) and @gummybugg (here), thanks you guys!

I mean technically you both tagged my main but this is my author profile so there, lol

ANYWAY

A quick light tagging of @moonluringfrost @adie-dee @astellarium @bloodlessheirbyjacques @winterandwords @afoolandathief

and on we go! Using Abracadabra for any WIP-related questions

1. What is the main lesson of your story (e.g. kindness, diversity, anti-war), and why did you choose it?

Be annoying a do crime? lol Ehhhh don't really have one. Though Rod (MC) does muse at the end:

My mother survives through me because I choose to remember her traditions. Whenever it is that I truly die, I will only live as long as my stories do. Beings, Terrans and otherwise, are easily forgotten. Stories and traditions are not. I guess that’s all any of us can truly strive for.

So...ig if there's a lesson of Abracadabra it's to make your story a good one? As in one that you like and are proud to have been a part of, one that those close to you will want to tell and close to them will want to tell, etc etc

2. What did you use as inspiration for your worldbuilding (like real-life cultures, animals, famous media, websites, etc.)?

I'd say 'not a lot' but in all honesty I took inspiration from probably a thousand different things and each bit was a thought or idea or small detail or something similar, and so I can't point to one thing and say 'yes, this inspired the world of Abracadabra'. Plus it's set on modern-day earth, so...I feel like the snippets of inspiration would be evident to those who watch/read the same things I do, lol

3. What is your MC trying to achieve, and what are you, the writer, trying to achieve with them? Do you want to inspire others, teach forgiveness, and help readers grow as a person?

We both have very simple aims; to be entertained, to tell a good story, and to maybe play a trick or two.

4. How many chapters is your story going to have?

Right now it's standing at 29. I was hoping to get it up to at least 30 initially, and hopefully with the re-write I'll manage to get it up there. If for no other reason that to make it a nice round number, lol

5. Is it fanfiction or original content? Where do you plan to post it?

Original content. I plan to self-pub once it's done, but...I dunno, I'm entertaining other options. I mean I'm still going to self-pub once it's done, but I'm waffling between doing things like putting up done chapters on Tumblr. I also entertained the idea of using Neocities to make a blog where you can read all the stuff for free, using Substack for chapter releases before publishing, posting on Royal Road...etc.

6. When and why did you start writing?

In general? I started writing when I was 12 (I think, may have been before that) and it was legitimately reading Lloyd Alexander and thinking, "can I do this? Can I write like this?" and no one told me I couldn't, so I did. And now here we are.

For Abracadabra? I think I started writing it in 2016 as a part of a trilogy where each book followed a different MC with one large overlapping plotline so you got to see what the others were doing when they ran into a different MC. And said trilogy started because I began working with my dad (one of my biggest fantasy/storytelling influences) in my first actual collab. We were about halfway through the first book when he got diagnosed with cancer. By the time I got to the third book (now Abracadabra) I was on my own and felt I needed to finish the story. Possibly why Abracadabra has the 'lesson' about our lives being stories that live in other's hands.

7. Do you have any words of engagement for fellow writers of Writeblr? What other writers on Tumblr do you follow?

My dad had a saying. "I didn't cheat, I used all my resources to the best of my ability."

While hilarious and also said to cover up the fact that he was, in fact, cheating (and I can hear him saying that to me now, because he insisted to his dying day that it's not cheating and it's a mantra I'll adopt at opportune moments) man was also a genius, observant, and hacking computer systems in high school. In the 70s. So when we accused him of cheating on computer games, what he was saying in a hilarious and quippy way was "I figured out how to reprogram the game to bring my desires of how I want this game into the parameters of how it functions because I that is a thing I know how to do."

Point being, to other writeblrs...don't be afraid to use all your resources to the best of your ability. Cheat the hell out of the system.

...

Also back up all your digital shit. Save it in at least three different places, make sure one of them is in an offline format or - even better - an offline removable format (like a portable hard drive or usb, or even written down on physical paper). My first book took two years longer than it was supposed to because the laptop I was using crashed two days after I finished the first draft and three years of work went down the drain and the only thing I had left was about three pages of a cut scene I wrote in the middle of history class. I had to rebuild it from memory.

I mean, it turned out better I think, because I had at least three years of writing experience to build off of at that point and that's also likely why it went faster, but I also had a panic attack when it happened and that wasn't fun.

Also the writeblrs I follow tend to be a) ones that followed me first and b) ones that I looked at and went 'oh yes, I can be friends with this person' (usually because I have begun reblogging a bunch of stuff because it made me laugh or think or nod along or I agree with it or thought it was interesting or). Not always in that order, tho lol more of a social follower ig.

[pandoramsbox]

In Praise of Babylon

Kenneth Anger departed this realm of existence after 96 trips around the sun. His name will remain a topic in cinema history and studies circles due to his gay experimental films, including "Fireworks" and "Scorpio Rising," and his gossipy collections of movie star scandals and death, "Hollywood Babylon" and "Hollywood Babylon II."

It's been twenty-one years and multiple degrees associated with cinema since I first encountered "Hollywood Babylon," and while, like the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it remains a foundational cinema history text for me. In fact, the other day I invoked it in a Twitter conversation about non-fiction books about the Hollywood production code:

Yes, if you want a more accurate depiction of Hollywood history, you're better off with a Kevin Brownlow or David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson text. If you want to read more accurate versions of the stories, there's "Scandals of Classic Hollywood: Sex, Deviance, and Drama from the Golden Age of American Cinema" by Anne Helen Petersen, "Tinseltown: Murder, Morphine, and Madness at the Dawn of Hollywood" by William J. Mann, and various biographies of the stars discussed. Yet, I cannot convince myself to remove my copies of "Hollywood Babylon" and (as a colleague once called it) "Holly Baby Two" from my film book shelf, where they sit beside scholarly texts that cite their sources.

The educated cinema expert in me justifies keeping around the salacious tomes because of how they fit into the histories of celebrity culture and public perception of the personalities depicted. The cinephile in me doesn't need a reason beyond sentiment for the works themselves and how they fit into my evolution as a film scholar.

I came across "Hollywood Babylon" as a teenager in the paltry film book section in our local Barnes & Noble. Having grown up on E! True Hollywood Story and witnessed the tabloid scandals that defined the '90s, it appealed to my appetites for celebrity gossip, scandal and old Hollywood. Plus there were the photos. The text is artfully juxtaposed with publicity stills, poparazzi snapshots, and crime scene photos. The fact that the book presents itself as a forbidden history made the book extremely appealing; as mythology teaches us, such information is irresistible even as it has the capacity to destroy and corrupt.

I not only ate that book up, I used it as a source for a high school presentation about the history of film censorship and rating systems. In the pre-streaming, pre-ebook world of the first decade of this century, without college library access, "Hollywood Babylon" could and did function as an authoritative source for the budding cinephile.

With college, and access to scholarly film books, "Hollywood Babylon" ceased to be a referenced text on my school projects. It did, however, remain one of my favorite books to read whilst soaking in a bathtub. Much like the fairy tales I read as a child, there was a luxurious escapist comfort in these cautionary tales of cinema idols. And even there, "Scandals of Classic Hollywood" eventually elbowed "Hollywood Babylon" out of the way. (I regularly recommend Petersen's book with the description, "It's like if Hollywood Babylon was factual!")

It took Karina Longworth's 2018 You Must Remember This mini-series on "Fact Checking Hollywood Babylon" to get me to pick up "Hollywood Babylon" again. And nerd that I am, I read along in my physical copy with the passages read in each episode.

Hearing the various scandals via Petersen and Longworth for me was akin to learning about the original versions and historical context of fairy tales. Rather than destroying what was so enchanting about Anger's versions they gave me a more mature understanding of stories that already fascinated me.

For its faults, "Hollywood Babylon" is a gateway text to film scholarship. Its appeal is not academic, but social and entertaining. More importantly, once it has your attention it will make you want to know more, and question the way the tales get depicted or retold. It engages curiosity and magnifies it. It inspires rehabilitation and rebukes of the stars and scandals discussed. I don't expect Anger intended these outcomes with he documented and embellished the stories he used to hear at parties for publication, but he none the less created a foundational text of Hollywood and celebrity mythology.

Despite having a hard time getting back into blogging about cinema like I used to, when I saw that Anger had died, I felt compelled to write. I have too much gratitude for that gossip book's influence on my life to let his passing go without comment.

Thank you, Mr. Anger.

[ladynicte]

Never read TSATS or anything related to it(it’s part of Percy Jackson right?) but I still wouldn’t mind hearing your opinion on it if you have any to share. From what I’ve seen, the new book doesn’t sit well with most folks it seems. :x

Oh Anonnie, if you know me you know I love to talk non-stop about everything and anything so here I go

Putting this whole rant under read more so nobody who doesn't wanna see it has to

That makes two of us I haven't read the full book either and I don't really want to, but yes, it is a sorta side story I suppose that belongs in the Percy Jackson saga

If you are only seeing the opinions from my blog and my adjacents then I will confess a bit of bias because I don't like Will Solace or Solangelo as a whole, so yeah, maybe it sits well with actual Solangelo shippers (?) Who knows I don't go there

But yeah I have seen from the people I interact with that it wasn't exactly stellar writing

Take it with a grain of salt that I already didn't like the premise of the book and I'm not planning on ever reading it full but my opinion is that from everything I have seen it is so bland

Like Solangelo to me have always had the issue that their relationship feels like so sanitized, the whole time they speak to each other like they are trying to get a good grade on couples therapy and it's so grating

Second I don't like Will because he almost had no character whatsoever before the book and a bit on Trails of Apollo, and then now that he does have a character he just gets on my nerves, like for a kid dating the literal prince of the underworld he sure loves to complain about it. I think I dislike how much Will doesn't seem to actually like Nico as much as he seems to only like the potential of what Nico could be

Plus calling him a liar who just didn't try to be liked enough before they got together isn't exactly the best move in my opinion but I digress

Beyond that I have such an issue with all the continuity errors, like that's always an issue with me, even with the original author making mistakes and then proudly exclaiming that he just didn't care and didn't remember, but at least with Riordan I can confidently say that he cares about the world and stories he's built over the years.

With this new author I just don't think they really care all that much about the Riordanverse as a general, and specifically I don't think they care much for Nico either.

He's super ooc basically the whole way through, coming out in front of everybody like he didn't hella struggle with his sexuality and the fact that everybody openly hated him a few months prior.

On that note I feel like all the pop culture references and weird jokes were just stretched so unnecessarily long and missing the charm of the original sagas.

Just as well I do know the author said he re read all the books before finishing the first draft but like honestly with how he just didn't care at all about any of Nico's prior relationships didn't touch on anything beyond what was happening on the book itself and didn't even mention his other most important people by more than name.

Yeah it's bad.

My issue is that besides all the corny writing that feels like it's purposely trying to teach you something all the out of time and context jokes and the characters and whatever I don't like

I really just feel like the person who wrote it doesn't care about Nico Di Angelo and his story on the Riordanverse and that really upsets me.