#the laugh was my favourite moment I have recorded so far btw

[anouchard]

So, there we have it!

Season One is complete (well ... ish). I've had an absolute riot playing Gwen, and it's been so lovely seeing your reactions every week.

To you: thank you for being the most enthusiastic, engaged, and earnest fandom I have ever encountered. Y'all are an absolute JOY.

To the entire team at RQ, to my gorgeous castmates, and to every single writer who worked on this one: thank you, and congratulations.

And to Gwendolyn Bouchard? Well ... Good Luck, Babe!

[arhvste]

dad hcs with your top 3 HQ boys? 😚

my top 3 haikyuu boys? #exciting 😌

-

KUROO, IWAIZUMI AND ATSUMU AS DADS

-

KUROO

he’s always wanted 3-4 

growing up the only child in the household with his grandparents and father got a little lonely when he wasn’t with kenma

so you, y/n his wonderful and beautiful wife, fill his world with much more joy by bearing his children 

you have 3 so far and phew good luck

two boys and a girl 

kuroo has already started teaching your kids his trademark catchphrases 

to your despair your youngest son’s first words had been “oya oya”

your face dropped while kuroos hyena laugh roared through the house

“wHY WOULD YOU TEACH HIM THAT”

“because bokuto dared me??”

for the first few weeks all you can hear is little mutters and screeches of “oya oya” and it’s driving you ✨insane✨

kuroo is however good with kids 

and he will put a stop to it by giving your kid a pacifier to keep quiet

kuroo would love if his kids took an interest in volleyball 

but he won’t force it on them 

he’ll support whatever they want to do

your kid wants to try ballet? kuroo will buy several pairs of specially made shoes

art? kuroo is more than happy to hire a whole studio for the day

swimming? he’ll have a pool installed in your house

material arts? kuroo will find a ninja to train your kid

he wants to be the best dad he possibly can for his kids 

i’m not saying he plays favourites but he does have a soft spot for his little girl

he will absolutely try and encourage her that boys are the worst and she shouldn’t date them until they get his seal of approval

he has a ridiculously high standard for the type of boy your daughter can date

you could be a high achieving graduate, astronaut in training, saved 36 old ladies on the street and a candidate for president 

and kuroo would still be like

“is that it? 🙄”

good luck to your daughter then 

he is there for every event 

his whole schedule will be made around any birthdays, graduations, shows etc

he will make sure of it

he doesn’t care if he’s scheduled a meeting with the highest world leader

if that meeting falls on the same day as his kids sports game he will not be sat in an office chair but rather in the crowd cheering his kid on alongside you

he wants to give his kids the best in life but he also doesn’t want to completely spoil them 

he was raised pretty normally so you and him agreed you should try to at least do the same

however when uncle kenma or uncle yaku babysits his kids 👀

“dad uncle kenma bought me a new pc!”

“uncle yaku bought me a pony!”

that’s it

kuroo will spoil tf out of your kids from time to time just to one up his friends

overall he is such a doting dad

yourself and the kids mean the absolute world to him 

and he appreciates you to no end for bringing them into this world 

together the two raise such humorous, perceptive and successful children 

and he couldn’t be more proud of his family 

-

IWAIZUMI

years of practically babysitting oikawa have prepared him for this 

he has the patience levels built up

he is also extremely responsible and level headed 

the two of you have 1 son who is 4 years old

the toddler has iwaizumi wrapped around his little finger 

iwa denies this though

whenever your son misbehaves or makes a mistake (which is rare btw) iwa is looking down at him sternly

“s/n, you know better than this”

but all it takes it one pout and iwaizumi is all soft again and swoops your son into his arms 

lmao i just know he’ll teach your son to insult oikawa 

“say trash-y-ka-wa! that’s my boy!”

“iwa-chan stop teaching your baby to bully me i can’t even handle it from you alone 😩”

sometimes iwaizumi takes your son to work if you’re feeling particularly tired or have somewhere else to be

he definitely will wear on of those baby carrier harnesses 

that’s kinda hot tbh 

bokuto and hinata are all over your kid while iwaizumi is trying to train team japan

while he manages to get both players back over he notices his son is missing from the portable baby chair he brought with him 

“omi omiiiiii look! baby germs!”

atsumu is running around with your son securely in his arms while sakusa  is SPRINTING away from the blonde shouting profanities at him 

needless to say, iwaizumi tries not to bring his kid along whenever serious training needs to be done

he will bring him to more laid back sessions though

iwaizumi is THE responsible dad of the year

he cooks, he cleans and he knows how to handle your son

by now your son has started to develop into his personality more

being around his calm and level headed dad has really rubbed off on him

he doesn't get too overexcited and knows how to behave well

there is something that bothers iwaizumi about your son though

his first words

“iwa-chan~”

iwaizumi’s face dropped when the familiar phrase left his sons mouth

“shittykawa i will FLY over to argentina to personally beat you up”

“it’s not MY fault s/n likes hanging out with his uncle tooru 😗”

oikawa is a doting uncle too

whenever he can he visits your family and spends time getting to know your kid 

the nickname ‘trashykawa’ did happen to stick though

iwaizumi considered it fair now that your son called his best friend after the nickname he taught him 

another dad who would like if his son took up volleyball, but won't force it

your kid does actually pick it up though 

and he’s damn good at it 

not to be clichè but he will like the position of ace the best

this is to your husband and bokuto’s delight

iwaizumi will be there for every game and will absolutely let him come to work with him more often as he gets older so he can watch pros up close

maybe one day your kid will end up on the very team his father trains

and he’ll be there alongside you cheering him on

-

ATSUMU

atsumu is blessed with the gift of twin daughters

hey, twins are in his genes it was bound to happen somewhere down the line

his girls are the most precious beings to him

other than you obv

to him, you are his heart, soul and everything inbetween

he treats his girls like princesses 

like kuroo, boys are off the table 

“oi if ya think you’re bringin boys home you can think again!”

“baby, it’s only their first day of preschool please calm down 😀”

unless these boys can beat him at setting, they’re not allowed within a 48 mile radius of your daughters

he will defo want you to bring them to his games

put them in personalised jerseys and he will be showing them off to his team and the crowd

every point he scores he’s pointing at you and your girls

“THAT ONE WAS FOR YOU MY PRINCESSES!”

when his team wins he will absolutely bring the three of you out onto the court and pull you all in for a tight hug and shower you all with affection for the world to see

your kids take a liking to sakusa believe it or not

they find his presence interesting in comparison to the other msby players

lmao sakusa will show your girls his flexible wrist trick and they’ll giggle in excitement 

“uncle omi is so cool!”

hang on a minute

‘UNCLE’ omi???

atsumu is in shock 

“how come’s ya nice to em and not to me omi omi?”

“they take after y/n more than you. they're not annoying and gross like you that’s why”

as he’s apart of the dedicated dad society, atsumu will make sure he’s there for every event he can too

if his games fall on the same day as an event with your daughters you can bet ur ass he is there as soon as his game is over

celebratory drinks with the team? not on his watch when his daughter has a dance recital 

any moments he misses when he's playing an away match or can’t get out of training he asks you to record so he can watch it back multiple times later

probably cries when he watches your daughter win her sports match or perform in a dance show

his camera roll is FULL of pictures of you and your daughters

insists on posting them all so he can show the world what a beautiful and loving family he has 

uncle osamu makes sure he tells your daughters embarrassing stories about their dad

“and then your dad turned around and told the girls to stop squealin like pigs when they were only showin their support”

“wth dad that's so rude 😠”

“thEY MESSED UP MY SERVE SAMU SHUT UP”

your family is raised super close 

atsumu always knew he wanted both of your families involved with his daughters upbringing so he makes sure everyone is included and the two girls are familiar with their whole family 

it’s important to him that they’re familiar with his volleyball family too

he loves the fact they're so comfortable and familiar with his teammates 

uncle bokuto and uncle hinata are a hit with the twin girls

but its uncle omi who takes the crown for favourite

there is never a dull moment in the miya family 

and atsumu couldn’t ask for better people to be involved with his daughters upbringing 

-

requests are open!!

[hq-lovin]

road trip shenanigans

ft. a shit ton of ppl bc Y/n has a lot of friends such as

Hajime Iwaizumi as The Mom Friend

Tooru Oikawa as That Bitch✨

Takahiro Hanamaki as Idiot #1

finally,

Issei Mattsukawa as Idiot #2

supporting characters : Tetsuro Kuroo, Kotarou Bokuto, Keiji Akaashi, Kei Tsukishima, Shoyo Hinata

━━━━━━♡♤♡━━━━━━

hello 😺 this is a toss up between crack and fluff, I write this bc the seijoh boys were growing on me but in between I went through a Kuroo phase so he’s here too, btw this is all platonic, I hope you enjoy 😀✨

➣ pairing : platonic! seijoh boys x short, fem!reader (I’m sorry for all you tall girls out there 😭)

➣ scenario [1437]

➣ warning : none, seijoh boys making fun of you, other ppl making fun of you (as a joke), short reader, i’m talking s h o r t,

━━━━━━♡♤♡━━━━━━

platonic seijoh (and others) x fem, short, reader

The sun shone brightly in the sky that were filled with large fluffy clouds. You breathed in the fresh air as you walked out of the store carrying a grocery bag that were filled with food and drinks. Squinting slightly, you spot Hajime stretching his legs as Tooru chatted his ear off. Near them, was Takahiro struggling to climb into Issei’s back, who looked very uninterested at the moment.

“I told you already, you’re too short to climb on my back,” Matsukawa rolls his eyes playfully, staying still as a rock.

“Shut up, at least I’m not as short Iwa-chan over there,” hearing Hanamaki’s statement, Iwaizumi stops his stretches.

“What was that?” He barks raising a brow at the two idiots. Takahiro scrambles to climb faster as a provoked Hajime approaches him. Deciding to save Takahiro, you sped up your pace.

“I’m back, I have snacks with me,” you smile handing them to Iwaizumi. In the corner of your eye, you spot Hanamaki breath out a breath of relief.

“You’re a life saver Y/n,” He whispers and you throw him a wink.

“What’d you get?”

“Oh, just the usual you know—“

“Did you get..”

“Yes I got your milk bread,” you say with a roll of your eyes, fishing out the milk bread you toss it over to Oikawa who gasps and stars to unpack the delicious food. You swore you saw shimmers in his eyes.

“Who’s driving next?” Mattsukawa asks, Hanamaki still on his back. Iwaizumi sighs and stretches his arms before answering.

“I’ll drive, Y/n’s next,” upon hearing this you stop in your tracks, eyebrows ruffling in confusion, along with the dreadful feeling stewing up in your stomach.

“What? Why?” You pout as Oikawa hands you a piece of his precious milk bread. Shoving the food in your mouth, you tilt your head.

“You’re the only one who hasn’t driven yet,” Issei shrugs, Takahiro jumping in surprise at the sudden movement.

“Watch it,” he grumbles, Matsukawa only smiles in response.

“I get the food though,” you try and reason but Hajime is quick to shut you down with his stern mom voice. Your shoulder slump, but your moodiness doesn’t last for a long time when Oikawa decides to blast music.

After a while of screaming your lungs out, spilling snacks, and wondering how Iwaizumi got his hair that spiky, your time to drive had finally arrived.

“There’s no getting out of this,” Hajime crosses his arms like a strict dad and you bite your lip from smiling to wide, it would ruin your chances of convincing him.

“But what if—”

“No.”

“Okay but like if I—”

“No.”

“Hajime! Just please—”

“No. End of discussion.”

Stunned at his choice of words, you drag yourself to the front seat. Hanamaki calls dibs on the front seat, promising to play all your favourite songs to keep your sanity in check.

Grabbing onto the wheel, you realize something. Your feet rest right below the pedals, and you find yourself having to sit up straighter just to get a view of the road. Biting your lip, you sigh and move to adjust your seat

“What’re you doing?” a voice calls out from behind your seat, shifting around you see a confused look planted Matsukawa’s face. Your mind quickly thinks of an excuse, too embarrassed to tell him truth about your problem. But alas, before you could spit out a word or even a sound out of your gaping mouth, Hanamaki had beaten you to the punch.

“She’s adjusting her seat, she can’t reach the steering wheel,” gasping, you let out a whine and slap him lightly on the shoulder as he continues to cackle at your flustered state.

“Hiro! You can’t just blurt that out!” You pout and slump onto your seat.

“Awh, is wittle Y/n angry because she can’t see above the dashboard?” Issei’s coos mockingly, making your glare at him through the rear view mirror.

“Is this why you didn’t wanna drive so bad? Because you’re so small?” Hajime sticks out his bottom lip and ruffles your hair, much like an older brother teasing their younger sibling, excepts it’s a grown man making fun of their short friend. You grumble underneath your breath as a chorus of laughs were aimed towards you.

“It’s okay Y/n-chan!” a peppy Oikawa smiles, “Iwa-chan over here isn’t too tall himself!” he chuckles before earning himself a punch in the shoulder from “Iwa-chan.”

“Yeah, yeah, just drive Y/n,” Iwaizumi rolls his eyes and you continue to adjust your seat.

“Damn, you really can’t reach the far?”

“Listen—” and before you knew it, they were back to teasing and poking at your patience.

“Ahh! Oikawa-san!” a cheery voice calls out, and you turn to your side to see a bubbly boy with orange hair running rapidly towards the car. For a moment you think to start the engine and speed out of there, but you spot other familiar faces.

“Oi Oi, what do we have here?” Your eyes meet catlike ones and sigh before lifting a hand to say hello to Kuroo. You smile at Bokuto, Akaashi, and Tsukishima that were trailing behind him.

“Is little Chibi-chan driving now?” He smiles and pats your head and for the third time that evening, one of the four boys behind you quickly yells an answer before you could even open your mouth.

“She’s too short to drive! Look at how much she had to adjust her seat!” Mattsukawa yells and stretches his legs in front to show how much space he had, and indeed there was a lot.

“Y/n! You haven’t grown since highschool!” a certain grey haired owl gasps dramatically, slapping his hands onto his cheeks for effect. Akaashi places a warning hand on Bokuto and Tsukishima hides a smirk.

“You’re shorter than me!” Hinata yells for the entire world to here, copying Bokuto’s actions with wide eyes. At this point you’re tired and the only thing you manage to do was roll your eyes once more.

“Aww, that’s okay shrimp!” Kuroo giggles (yes he giggles, you can fight me on that) and leans down taking your cheek in his thumb and index finger, pinching it slightly.

“Kuroo! You’re supposed to be the one defending me!” You pout swatting his hand away.

“Since when,” he cocks a brow, grinning.

“Since...since that one time in the training camp you said I wasn’t that short!” Pointing a finger at him.

“That was because you were standing next to Yachi,” he snorts.

“And even Yachi grew a little,” Tsukishima smirks, joining in on the fun. You slump back onto your seat and lean on the palm of your hand, dejected.

“If it helps Y/n-san! I’m not that tall either!” Hinata jumps up and down whilst waving a hand in order to get your attention.

“Yeah! And Iwa-chan isn’t either! See? You’re not alone in this Y/n!” Hanamaki places a “comforting” hand on your shoulder as Hajime raises a brow.

For the rest of the day, you hung out with the boys, endured through their teasing comments about your height. It wasn’t so bad, especially when you had Hajime and Shoyo as your personal bodyguards, although they made the occasional short jokes as well, they were pretty decent.

But alas, the day had come to an end. You all decided to book the same hotel together because nothing could possibly go wrong, nope, not one thing.

“Tsukishima give me back my phone!” You reach up as far as you could on our top toes, not wanting to jump since that would cause a disturbance to the people below you.

“Don’t worry Y/n! I’ll get it for you!” Hinata says and starts running towards Kei who was dangling your phone right above your hands.

Just before Hinata could jump, Bokuto tackles him onto the bed, then proceeds to play wrestle with him.

“My hero,” you sigh and look back at Tsukishima who had a shit eating grin plastered on his face.

“It’s right here, just come get it,” He smiles. You sigh and memories from this morning went through your head. Although these boys could be a pain in the ass, tease you relentlessly about your short stature, take your belongings and proceed to dangle them above you, you loved all of them and absolutely nothing could change that.

“Help! Iwa-chan’s chasing me!” A distressed Oikawa enters into the hotel room along with a feral Hajime closing in on him. Hanamaki record the whole thing as Mattsukawa is howling in laughter. Yes, nothing could change your love for these boys.

[thequibblah]

⭐️ would love some commentary on that dancing scene (or really any commentary on the various parties thrown by the marauders) from the party happening next to the Potions Club party ⭐️

WELL WELL WELL

"This is...a lot of trouble to go to." "It's the Marauders. They love trouble."

i love writing party scenes (as i'm sure you all know lol) and one of the best/worst things w the marauders parties is striking a balance between their, uh, audacious plans, and what's realistically possible at hogwarts without getting caught. (aka literally why i made up the dodgy lodgings). i went back and forth so long on whether or not they could plausibly have managed that with slughorn's dinner next door, but then was like ah whatever the party has to happen for plot reasons so.... plot ex machina??

anyway, i love using parties to establish character — what a brilliant stage of teenage performance they provide. i love contrasting the hogwarts parties to, say, evan wronecki's — for instance, how lily and co. are more at ease in the former, as seventh years, with their classmates hosting, than they were at evan's nye bash

i also love that it gives me space to establish who is and isn't popular, so to speak, but also who acts or doesn't act the way we presume popular kids will act

doe, for instance, who is by all accounts a level-headed and non-wild person, has a more exciting time on net at marauders' parties than mary (drinking game, kissing remus), though she's not a big drinker and isn't really into parties. but she's comfortable in her own little social circle at a bigger event (like with michael at evan's) and so isn't bothered at all by the marauders' do, because...

She did, in fact, trust the Marauders. Her general belief in the inherent goodness of people notwithstanding, she didn't think they would do anything to harm their friends. Intentionally.

this bit always makes me laugh

as with many things, i feel very saddened that i didn't get to make more out of the fools' olympics (although one could argue that The Dance was a pro) — as in, i wish i'd been able to squeeze more of it into the story itself. i could probably come up with a list of tasks and who completed them LOL

WAIT OH MY GOD I TOTALLY FORGOT ABOUT THIS it just might be my favourite part of this chapter

"How did you do that?" Gillian said, glancing between the other two girls. "Just — drink it without a second thought?" "Practice," said Mary. "Scottish — constitution," David said hoarsely. "I once drank some of Mrs. Skower's All-Purpose Magical Mass Remover," said Priya.

priya is all i aspire to be

can i say, too, it's hilarious to me how many people worried niamh would be a james love interest? i feel like you will not rest easy on that count until he and lily are together... but that is not where the danger lies babes

circling back to popularity/unpopularity, another fun outlier. gillian is first established, in 33, as someone with friends (we see her around sara and in the seventh-year ravenclaws' compartment) but she's not exactly at ease at the party either — recall how she hesitates when mary invites her. only later, in 38, do we realise that our opinion of her has been skewed by the narration (from doe, who naturally assumes any friendly, nice person must have a wealth of friends and be floating through life; and mary, who naturally assumes anyone she isn't bored by must have the social skills of a medieval noblewoman at court), and she's a bit of a pariah in her own house

david, on the other hand, is just flat-out not in his element. and not because of the drinking or the, er, general revelry (see: summer with mary!), even though he doesn't partake much in either. unlike doe, the company breaks rather than makes his enjoyment — he's acutely aware, the whole time, that his cooler, more liked brother is around:

"Not your scene?" "What gave it away?" said David drily. As one they looked at Chris...

...and mary has intuited as much too, even though she has a lot more in common, superficially speaking, with chris than david

so, i think while i was writing this chapter i made a post complaining about how, as much as i love juggling the constraints of historical fiction, i hate that music from the 70s limits me in terms of tracklists. i.e., when i say a certain record is playing i can't just hit shuffle and go somewhere entirely different to set the mood shortly thereafter

this problem was because i wanted, NAY, NEEDED, to have "martha my dear" playing in the aftermath of that mary and david interaction. of course, time passes in that section break, but since "come and get it," which they talk about it, is a sirius song (though it could be a mary song), and i feel too strongly about needle drops to let that conversation go without a soundtrack. germaine even correctly guesses the white album is on because of mary:

Apparently Mary got fonder of the White Album the drunker she was.

...and of course the song itself makes me squeal with how very mary it is — not that it is something she would listen to, necessarily, or identify with (it would hold up too close of a mirror, ha), but it sounds like it could've been written about her ("hold your head up, you silly girl/look what you've done/when you find yourself in the thick of it/help yourself to a bit of what is all around you," which really sums up the entirety of her portree holiday, lol)

BUT! if "martha my dear" is to play here, then i have some Serious Chronology Concerns. i knew germeline had to kiss and jily had to dance and ideally in that order. but what would those scenes be soundtracked by!!!! i was limited to side two of the white album!!!

so i did the healthy thing and panic-listened to the white album. "don't pass me by" was, right away, an easy lock for the dance, because it's danceable, but not in a way that would've scared lily off. lyrically, it feels GREAT for jily in this moment, on the cusp of lily's realisation ("waiting for your knock, dear [...] i don't hear it, does it mean you don't love me anymore?" vs OF COURSE "don't pass me by [...] 'cause you know darling, i love only you"). i feel about "don't pass me by" the same way as NYT critic nik cohn: it's "straight ahead and clumsy and greatly enjoyable, backed by a beautiful hurdy-gurdy organ," which, if that isn't everything i wanted to evoke with the dance itself!!!!!!

ok we'll circle back to this, but onward with the musical discussion

thus i had four songs to choose from, between "martha my dear" and "don't pass me by," for the germeline scene — "piggies," "blackbird," "i'm so tired," and "rocky raccoon." the latter is on my sirius playlist, so auto-no; "piggies" is, well, like that, so also a no. "blackbird" is a certified germaine classic that was written personally by paul mccartney for germaine, but it seemed too introspective for the moment. i don't think i'd ever listened to "i'm so tired" before this panicked searching, and honestly it must be some wild luck that it is. just SO RIGHT!!!! it's so lethargic and tortured and angsty and, well, a bit of a stoner song, so.... it's THERE

AND NOW for the dance! true story, i initially wanted jily to have a real conversation, after the party. i had the dance in there and then james would catch up with lily after to be like, "hey i was wrong actually, you should write to petunia." but then i realised i wanted james and sirius to have a conversation about the bike/money, and i wanted it to strike a different chord, tonally, than the jily conversation. then i realised it would be too much to have both and i'd need to condense that conversation into the dance. VERY nearly cut the dance in favour of the conversation but wow i am glad i didn't

The tinkling piano signalled the start of the next song; she extended a hand, very matter-of-factly, to James, "Come on, this is a good one."

not pictured: james having a fucking breakdown

obviously, i could have gone the route of a genuine dramatic dance, but as previously mentioned lily would have chickened out, and i wanted to have this be an experience she could look back on and pine about because of how fun it was and james totally doesn't like her back

Loath as she was to admit it, this most indelicate of waltzes suited the plodding chords of "Don't Pass Me By." And worst of all, once they had stopped stepping on each other's feet James started to sing, in the poorest possible Ringo imitation she had ever heard in her life.

by the way, attentive readers of blink three times will recall:

He finally starts to lead — thank goodness, because she’s not the one who was forced into formal dance lessons as a child...

so in 36, this is james being drunk, but it is also james being silly on purpose because not only is he JAMES and so he must take the mick, he also knows it will put lily at ease

okay, and this bit:

"Don't pass me by, don't make me cry, don't make me blue," they both shouted rather than sang, "'Cause you know darling—" Lily broke off, laughing, dimly aware that she had done so to avoid saying I love only you while staring right at him.

from the FIRST MOMENT i picked out "don't pass me by," i knew i knew I KNEW that lily would have thoughts about this line. at this point in the story if someone questioned her about it she would probably have a full-scale breakdown about her male friends vs her female friends ("but no... i suppose i wouldn't mind saying it to remus.... but that's different!" how is it different, lily? "it's different!")

anyway, the bottom line is she could NOT abide saying it. i enjoyed writing that because 1. same girl and 2. it felt like a nice bit of close foreshadowing for her realisation, which i knew was coming soon. so that's a really circular way of saying, i knew what it meant but ideally to readers it was just oh this will mean something far-off in the future!!! which is usually true for me but SURPRISE babey it was just two chapters away!!!

note btw that lily "falls for james"

Lily spun faster than she’d intended to. The room was a brief, kaleidoscope blur. Then there was James. “Jesus, Evans,” he said, steadying her as the next track began.

>:)

and after i thought tracklists would fuck me up, i turned them into my WEAPON!!

Huffing, she stepped out of his arms. (There were some songs you could sing along to with your mates, and “Why Don’t We Do It In The Road?” was not one of them.)

(so, you know, keep in mind that for the rest of this conversation, paul is in the background howling "no one will be watching us/why don't we do it in the road?")

also:

"...I’m not drinking tonight, but I’d better get the royal treatment after we win on Saturday."

and then what happened <3

wait jesus oh my god i really went hard on this huh

She only saw its result: the easy grin had given way to an expression so serious it was almost sweet.

LILY??????

and hey, remember when:

...because in chapter 26:

Dex’s measured opinions about the wizarding world seemed more the result of upbringing and inexperience than ill will, but Lily had not expected a radical change of heart.

...but then in 36:

He was right, damn it. And a part of her had known all along, had sought him out expressly so that he would say the opposite thing to her. He’d gone and proven her wrong. She broke the staring match first [...] “What brought on the change of heart?” “It’s a long story, and I expect it’ll have an unsatisfying end if I told it to you.” Lily scoffed, but James had on that maddening grin that meant he would not budge. “Oh, all right.” Softer, she added, “Thank you.” He began to back away, towards the bar. “It’s give and take, Evans.”

in conclusion, i never forget, besties

[okaywitheverything]

Can I request a Kakashi x reader where Kakashi and the reader have a unspoken thing between them, like they both know how they feel about each other even through when going through different relationships but it’s just not something they’ve acted on because of ✨ninja life✨ and ✨trauma✨then one of the readers relationships starts moving too fast so kakashi finally confesses. I love your writing btw sorry I went off on a ramble it’s like 4am and I’ve had a lot of energy drinks

A/N: Thank you so much honey! I had a kakashi kick so i decided to write this, Hope you enjoy! Please show it love and I’ll be more than willing to write a second part!

 “I had a fun time too.” You lied straight through your teeth, with a smile on your face to make your statement look more convincing.

You had just returned from your sixth date with Genma, and you were the most cruel human possible for leading him on like this. Given, he was a player back in the academy and broke many hearts but he had now redeemed himself and parted with the playboy ways. Your intuition told you he was genuinely falling for you but you couldn’t reciprocate, constantly giving yourself the excuse of just one more date.

But how to give your heart to him when it already belonged to another?

He pecked your lips lightly and gazed into your eyes, then stepped back and continued, “So I was wondering if you would come back to my place for dinner next Friday?

He looked like a golden retriever yearning for its favourite toy, you didn’t know how to say no to him.

Of course, you weren’t dumb. You knew what he was hinting at. The next level of your relationship was physical intimacy. You were sure this was the longest Genma might have dated someone without indulging in uhh, lovemaking.

You knew he was trying to be patient with you, because you had never gone that far with any of

your previous relationships, third base was foreign territory to you. You knew this was a well known fact among your colleagues but you were over the initial embarrassment now.

But the question was,

Were you ready for that?

He was one of the most sought after bachelors in Konoha, alongside Izumo, Kotetsu, Kakashi-

Kakashi of course.

Kakashi was coolness personified and you were not even kidding. Almost every one wanted to either be him or be with him. Both applied to all possible genders. Even as a kid, he was a once in a millennium prodigy, the pride of ANBU during his youth, famous in every Ninja village across the world. He was a celebrity for goodness sake! He had his own horde of fangirls and fanboys alike. Kakashi had single digit failed missions in an entire record of few hundreds at least. It was almost an insult to give that skilled shinobi a mission below A rank. You both started alongside ay the academy and you were nowhere near his match. Both as an opponent and a partner. That too in both senses, as a team as well as a couple.

You were sure you were one of the many girls pining after him. Sometimes, you gave yourself false hope that even though you weren’t in the same circle at academy, he might have noticed you, crushed on you, felt the same adoration for you.

But who were you kidding? With a exquisite range of beauties lining up at his doorstep to create his progeny, where would you even stand?

“(Y/N) babe? You alright?” Genma asked snapping you out of your thoughts and you almost forgot he was standing in front of you, actually paying you some of his wanted attention and your younger self might have almost felt giddy about it, but you felt nothing but horrible. Horrible because you couldn’t return the enthusiasm and love Genma was offering to you with a pure heart. Horrible because you couldn’t find it in yourself to be brave enough and confess to someone you wanted to be with so much. Horrible because you knew, somewhere deep inside, that your favourite fantasies of love would never come true. But Genma didn’t deserve this either, he didn’t deserve to be treated this way, and the sooner you told him that, the more heartbreak you would be saving both of you from.

“Genma I have mission on Thursday, which might extend up to weeks. I’m sorry-” That was the truth. It might buy you some time as well to figure out what to say to him.

“Hey, it’s okay, not your fault doll. We’ll reschedule after maybe? That sound good?” He gave you a cheeky smile that you loved. Before any of this, you had been friends and he was a gem of a friend. Loyal, true and charismatic. You nodded a genuine smile up at him and suddenly hugged him, he was a good friend after all and you knew nothing would come in the way of that ever.

“Thank you.” You murmured in his chest and he kissed your forehead.

“Anytime.” He replied and left with a smile.

He knew you needed a friend at the moment and that was all he was being then, a good friend.

It was two nights before your mission when Genma suddenly asked you to meet him at the bar. ‘A casual hangout’ he said. But you knew that was obviously not the case.

You had dressed in a simple attire, a top and jeans, the basic only. You had thought it over the previous nights and finally reached the conclusion, you were going to tell Genma the truth. The exact conversation hadn’t played out in your head but you knew what lines to go along.

You would even tell everyone he dumped you and it would be okay if he never wanted to speak to you again cause you didn’t deserve even his friendship for being so ruthless and downright nasty.

But how would you survive without one of your true companions?

Well that was certainly your problem now, not his. Genma was immaculately kind and genuine and you were a cold bitch.

“This is clearly not working (Y/N).”

Well that wasn’t what you were expecting. You knew what he was getting at but juts so you were on the same page you dumbly asked, “What?”

He sighed and looked in your eyes, giving you a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

“It’s getting kinda obvious. You do know I can read you quite well and I see there’s something you’re trying to hide, something that so clearly shows. I could tell you were moving on, well trying to at least. You gave your heart to him when we were just kids, while I gave mine to you. Funny how fate works?”

Neither of you laughed.

“But I guess this is some sort of karma. And it’s going to hurt me for a bit of time. But I’ll be okay. I can’t see you like anymore though. I really hope he appreciates all the love you have for him. And comes around soon. But stay in my life nevertheless.”

You didn’t realise when you started crying, but your face had heated up and you streams of tears tried to cool it down.

With a shaking sob, you replied, “I don’t deserve you Genma. But I Know you’ll find  another and be just fine. For your sake, I really hope you do. And Thank you.” You wrapped your arms around him while tears landed on both your shoulders.

It must have been so incredibly hard for him to do this yet he never failed to amaze you. You were proud to be a part of his life. You tilted back and looked in his glazed eyes, stood on your toes and pressed your lips to his, one last pasting kiss. There was so much emotion in it, from both sides that you knew you’d never forget this moment ever.

Genma really knew like the back of his hand, you never even said his name but both knew who you were talking about.

Kakashi always sat at the back of the bar, where he could drink his beer without the prying eyes of others trying to see his face. He rarely drank, lest he was with his friends but his heart was aching right now. He had messed up his mission yesterday because he couldn’t think straight after he saw (Y/N) looking as gorgeous as ever With her sleek (f/c) dress and cherry red lips. He might have drooled, he did actually, but gained his senses when he saw Genma accompanying her. He quickly hid, masking his chakra and looked at the happy couple. It was his fault, if anything for never acting on his feelings.

What good are your worldwide achievements if you don’t have a family to share them with?

Both his parents were taken away from him at a very young age and he had no relatives. Studying too hard, over exerting himself and being bratty became his coping mechanisms. Since his early childhood, Kakashi was very independent and self-confident, at times even appearing arrogant and condescending. Despite that, Kakashi was very perceptive and intuitive, quickly realising the situation for what it was. After his father's death, Kakashi became more stern, aloof and cold toward others, dating was never something he considered important, it didn’t even cross his mind. The only people he ever let into his life were a handful of classmates like Gai, Asuma, maybe even Kurenai to some extent but romance was out of his story, At least he thought it was.

Only know you've been high when you're feeling low Only hate the road when you're missing home Only know you love her when you let her go And you let her go

He first realised his love at some festival being celebrated in Konoha, when his bored eyes saw you all dressed up, beside your group of friends. You were laughing so wholeheartedly that even tears pooled there. He was thankful for whatever had you wheezing so hard. Sure, he always thought you were attractive, he knew how to appreciate beauty, but for some reason that laugh created a domestic picture in his head and he knew wouldn’t mind listening to it again.

That night he thought about you, like really thought about you. Reminiscing about every encounter you both had ever had, and he fell harder for you the same night. He remembered how you approached him after his father’s passing, the only person whose eyes held true sadness apart from his real friends’ circle.

He knew a lot of his admirers left him gifts at his house, expensive chocolates, cards, bouquets but he knew their intentions were never genuine. But he also remembered that among the lot, were homemade cookies and chocolates. They never had a name but he connected the dots when he found out your distant aunt had some sort of bakery. It was conformed when he saw you travelling through Konoha with several baskets in your hands, Your teen self trying to figure the addresses. He might or not have followed you. Some were your aunt’s deliveries while you brought some of them to your friends’ house and one last basket which you left at his doorstep.

You never approached him after to take credit, or with some other purpose. You didn’t even contact him in academy the next day.

He found himself wishing way too often that you did.

As much of a genius as Kakashi was, it took him way too much time, more than he’d like to admit, several years exactly, to realise the extent of his feelings. It happened when you started to date someone. It never crossed his mind why you never dated before but he wished it could go back to that. He caught you with your date kissing in a park and he swore he heard his heart break. Like really, really break. Then the intellectual finally figured out his Love.

And he knew he screwed up.

 You see her when you close your eyes Maybe one day you'll understand why Everything you touch surely dies.

 After that realization, you plagued his thoughts. He thought he would confess if your relationship ended but he was a coward. And he hated himself for it. He knew how shit his reason of losing you if he confessed was, but it was effective. The amount of close people he had lost just amplified his fear. He couldn’t afford to lose you, even if it pained his heart to admire you just from afar.

He was an exceptional ninja and his alert senses identifies your chakra as soon as you entered. Even in casual clothes, you were the prettiest thing he had ever laid eyes on. His gaze followed your short walk to the bar countertop where he found Genma and his mood turned sour. He was once again reminded of all he couldn’t have.

He observed the couple from a few feet behind his crush, and he saw you both hug suddenly. His heart broke all over again when he saw a tear roll down Genma’s cheek and you pulling Genma in a hot, steamy kiss. Though you both weren’t aware, you made quite a scene in the bar and everyone was gazing right at you both. Kakashi quickly paid for his tab and ran out, breathing heavily.

What if Genma proposed? That was a bizarre thought because he knew you’ve been dating for just over a month but Kakashi didn’t know how relationships progressed. That night found him lying awake in his bed and he came to a conclusion.

That he’d be damned if he let you get away without even trying.

A/N: Thanks for making it till the end. I hoped you liked it. Requests are open and if you don’t have any prompt, just comment which character you’d like to see more of and I’ll consider requests of that character. Please reblog and like. I’ll love you if you do.

Until next time.

[putschki1969]

2020/08/31 Blog post by Wakana 不意打ちの！！歌動画ですよ！！～あの方とコラボ！！～

All of a sudden!! A song video!! ～A collab with a certain someone!!～ 

Today is August 31! A day without the number 7! ! ? But still, out of the blue, I uploaded a new song video!!! This time it’s special, it’s a song video collab with Satoshi Takebe-san♪♪\(^-^)/♪♪ I got the opportunity to sing “Kimi Dake no Stage” with him. The song was written in the early days when I first started making music together with Takebe-san, later on I recorded it for my album “magic moment”. This song was debuted live so when I recorded it for "magic moment", I had all these memories of my live performances and how it felt to perform it together with Takebe-san and the musicians. This song has a really stong live-feeling for me. Every time I sing it, I remember that I was quite intimidated when I first started writing lyrics, everything felt rough and I had no idea what I was doing. Looking back now, I can honestly say that I am a little embarrassed by what I came up with. But that's just what it was back then, it was the extent of what I was able to do, the only way I could express myself at that time. That’s why I want to treasure those memories and my singing and all the songs from that time. From that point onwards, even if I had any regrets or worries, it didn’t matter, every moment was important and I realised, “I can only be and only  show you the Wakana that I am right now, nothing more, nothing less”. I want to treasure the time I have with all of you, the road I have walked so far and the time I will spend walking on my future path. Anyways, I guess many of you are not really used to seeing Takebe-san from this angle..? (He is usually filmed from a specific angle during his performances like FNS Kayo Festival) I actually got a smile from him which was caught on camera !!! That’s actually very rare! ! ! ! Thank you! ! ! ! ! m(__)m And this time, I tried to be a little more creative so I increased the number of cuts. I wanted the video to look pretty *laughs*. I even did a little location shoot at a park all by myself. The video is a little all over the place, I am sorry for that, it’s the best I could do with my limited skills. By the way, during my final check after editing, I noticed that something was off during one part of the video. In the clip that I shot at the park there was a tiny 1 second freeze, I had no idea how that happened. When I checked the original footage I realised that it also contained that little freeze. I had filmed a few other cliips but that one was by far my favourite...HOW DID I NOT NOTICE the freeze? Arrrrghhhhhh!!!! What am I supposed to do???????? In order to make this video a success I relied on the help of one of my friends who is a professional video editor *laughs* In the capable hands of my professional video editor friend (who is a woman the same age as me btw) the 1 second freeze vanished into thin air, I also asked her to spice up the editing a bit to make it a little more fashionable and cool! Thank you very much for being an amazing professional video editor friend (´；Д；`) I will never forget about this, I owe you big time (´；Д；`) (I know my pro-editor friend from way back when I still lived in Fukuoka, we were doing gospel together. Just like me she has moved from Fukuoka to Tokyo, we are very close and we keep in touch and talk almost every day. Since that friend is a member of my fan club, she will probably read this post. So once again, thank you my dear friend!!!) Please be sure to watch the entire video carefully～☆ By the way, I briefly mentioned it in my last blog post but I think I can announce some new information in September. Actually, this was supposed to be announced much earlier (together with the news of my live). Now I will finally be able to share the info with you in September.

Speaking of which, slowly but surely things are going back to normal, the time and world around me, which had come to a standstill this spring, have finally begun to move again. During the time when I didn’t have anything else to do I started posting singing videos on Instagram and all kinds of other videos on my FC site, I have really been absorbed in that. I was a newbie and I had no idea what I was doing but it was a lot of fun and I enjoyed trying out new things. Now things will slowly return to normal starting in September. I would like to once again focus on my music and deliver songs that will make everyone happy. I think I would like to create lots of new music with the help of all the knowledge I gained during this period. That's why my video with Takebe-san is actually gonna be my final instalment of my Wakana Video Series as you know it. I would like to take a break from all of my song videos and my strict upload schedule on every day containing the number 7.  I am so sorry for the sudden announcement. 。・゜・(ノД`)・゜・。 From now on, "Wakana's Video Series” will be updated irregularly! For example, if I can think of something that could be of interest to all of you (such as footage from live rehearsals and recordings) I will definitely make a video of that (I would also like make a third part of my Q&A video to reply to all the questions I received) Please look forward to my upcoming videos! Thank you to everyone who has left comments and supported me, it is the reason I was able to continue uploading so much content ゜(゜´Д｀゜)゜. Truly, THANK YOU!! Tomorrow it is already September. The days are still hot though so let’s try to do our best without overdoing it in the heat ♪ Well, until next time ～☆( *'▽'*)/ ***Wakana***

I did a collab of「君だけのステージ/Kimi Dake no Stage」with Takebe-san！！

❗Please support Wakana❗ ❗Join her Fan Club❗ ❗Read my TUTORIAL here❗

All you need is a proxy service like TENSO and a credit card. PLEASE consider joining! Wakana is providing so much awesome content. It’s totally worth the annual membership fee of 4.000 yen! Download Video HERE 👉LIKE and REBLOG my posts about Wakana’s fan club content 👉DO NOT SHARE the link or its content anywhere

[bangtansfavwriter]

🌷taehyung having a crush on you🌷

(it had to be a gif w tannie ☺️💜)

-you're oblivious to the fact he's crushing on you bc he actually hides it pretty well (he wouldn't even blush or anything around you so it was actually pretty hard to figure it out, it was like a running gag between you and him that you'd make him blush one day, he was always like "you won't catch me blushing, ever" and you were like "we'll see about that posh spice")

-tbh when u guys first met, he was really reserved and took quite a while to open up to you

-he had this noir vibe when you first got to know him and he was quite the starer

- he was intimidating for sure, but the more you got to know him you saw that he's an absolute sweetheart

-now he's definitely brighter around you, smiles a lot and is more goofy

- will touch you a lot, he'll do it subtly though... you'll start to experience what a big effect a small touch can have

- makes time for you despite his busy schedule, hanging out with you is actually balancing for him and this is actually insanely fascinating for him, bc he tries to understand how it's possible that everything hectic in his life disappears as soon as he's together with you

-he's always dressed to the nines, even his casual attire is chicer than half of your wardrobe tbh

-very responsible, will help you get shit done and always has your back

-you once had trouble with your landlord bc this grumpy old fart really had the nerve to raise your rent when he didn't even bother fixing issues you've raised a complaint about

-taehyung listened to your rant while you were talking with a friend on the phone

-he asked some questions about your landlord after, it seemed pretty random to you and you didn't think about it much

-anyway, the issues in your flat were solved within 2 weeks and your landlord informed you that there will be no raise after all + he looked pretty nervous

- you asked him what made him change his mind and he just did the v pose

(you: , landlord: isn't this what youngsters do? hah..ha... *laughs nervously and leaves*, you: ???????)

-you told taehyung about the whole thing

you: i swear this man is on crack or something, he looks paranoid as hell lately

taehyung: yeah.... it must be .... the crack........ (😌)

-honestly he's your rock, he's forgetful sometimes but you still can always rely on him, no matter the weather

-sometimes taehyung can't express his thoughts properly but he can always count on you to understand what he wants to say.. he was quite baffled about that at first, but then you explained to him how the vibes of a person can sometimes say far more than words can express and that and that you would always understand his heart and, my dear, was the first time he wanted to kiss you

-he would ask you all sorts of questions bc he'd just love to hear you talk and learn about the way you think

- and he grew more and more comfortable around you, so his walls slowly crumbled around you with each joke you made and each secret you've shared with him

-and whenever he spoke about his dreams and future plans he included you like it was something completely natural and you could feel your heart race whenever he said something about this

-will take you the his favourite spots in the city and tell you his about his favourite memories he made there

-you guys would also go on long walks together, btw you meeting yeontan was one of the best days of his life tbh and this fluffy lil fella also loved you so much that tae was like "...are you kidding?" but he secretly loved it and filmed you with tannie very very often

-also, one time he left tannie in your care bc he was busy and he wasn't able to leave him with his parents on short notice... tae had spare keys to your flat anyway, so you just told him to come to yours whenever he was done

-and so he did and... he clutched his chest and was like "have mercy with my heart" because you and yeontan were cuddled together on your bed and fast asleep

-and tae stood there at your bedroom's door frame with the biggest smile on his face and tried so hard not to squeal bc this was one of the cutest things he'd ever seen, so he did what he had to do and took a picture of you two and then layed down next to you and fell asleep

-the next morning, you woke up to yeontan trampling over your chest and then hopping off the bed

-you closed your eyes again but you could still hear light snores next to you, so you turned around you were face to face with taehyung.... who's still so damn handsome that it's almost unfair bc you were pretty sure you probably drooled at some point... but he was still taking your breath away even with his slightly puffy face and messy hair

-you traced your fingers along his jawline and looked at him, thinking how lucky you must be... he snuck into your bed and now you were laying there, on a rainy morning.. like a couple that also happened to have the cutest dog

-you were caught by surprise when his eyes fluttered open and he looked at you, grinned and said "good morning' with his deep morning voice that made you all giddy... "I let myself in, I hope you don't mind..." and, sufficient to say, you did not, obviously. "tannie and you... looked pretty comfy, I wanted to join. oh, and would you mind continuing that?" he took your hand and put it to back to his face, but not without gently kissing the tip of your fingers. You smiled at him, cupped his cheek and caressed it. He slid his hands beneath your shirt and slowly pulled you closed to him, you hugged him and nestled your head against his chest. You were laying there with your legs intertwined and the only thing you heard was taehyung's rapid heart beat and the rain dribbling on your window, a moment which was the closest thing to bliss... a moment that was interrupted by his phone going off and yeontan appearing out off nowhere, jumping on the bed and running over you. taehyung groaned and grabbed his phone, as you giggled and took yeontan in your arms and cuddled him when taehyung had get up. you knew by his apologetic look that this was work and that your moment of bliss was now officially over.

-taehyung was equally upset about this, both didn't try to show the other but yeah, both of you loved the moment you shared and hated the fact that it was cut short bc bangtan had to do a re-recording

-taehyung left yeontan in your care again since you had the weekend off and promised to be back as soon as possible, to take continue where you left off. he was back at 1:28 am & drunk off his ass, turns out the boys insisted on going for drinks to celebrate that they were done with the songs and taehyung couldn't say no

-yeontan fell asleep after the 3rd walk you took him on and didn't even wake up when tae started making all that noise when he was back.

-tae's went straight for your bed and crashed there. His phone rang and you picked up after seeing it was namjoon, who got an earful from you bc you were pretty sure they didn't wanna deal with drunk tae and left him in your care, but namjoon sincerely explained to you that tae almost FOUGHT jin and yoongi when they wanted to take him to the dorms and that tae insisted on going to your place bc he had "important business" to do

you: tf is that supposed to mean?

nj: he said you need to talk things out or something. or tell you something? well, speaking is involved, idk and idc, im not too sober myself, so good night~

-maybe it was the sleep deprivation making you all mush-brained... but what if.... what if tae wanted to confess? after your cuddly morning it probably wouldn't be too far off to assume that, or would it?

-you laughed at yourself and went back to bed, where taehyung had hogged your duvet, so you got out another one and layed down.. taehyung tossed and turned, sighed and mumbled something

-drunk as he was, you didn't think much of it, apart from that, you were almost asleep, but he lifted himself from the bed and said your name

you: what is it, tae ?

him: I need to confess something

you: *suddenly wide awake* 👀👂

him: .... I.... I forgot to buy anchovies *falls back asleep*

you: KIM TAEHYUNG

him: ...huh?? what????

you: is that the important thing you had to tell me? the thing you told namjoon about??

-he turned around and looked at you with wide eyes, he, too was suddenly wide awake and from the look on his face you knew that this was in fact not about anchovies... "We'll talk tomorrow, when I'm sober again." ... you knew he was right, but curiosity has gotten the better of you. you agreed, but it took both of you quite a while to fall asleep again.

-you woke up the next morning, only to find the other half of your bed empty

-after throwing your pillow across the room, you got up, feeling a mixture of sadness, disappointment and anger

-he took yeontan with him too and didn't leave you a note nor a message explaining why he left

-you took a long shower, then got dressed and just as you were about to make breakfast... your front door opened and tae came in, with yeontan on a leash in one hand and a bag from your favourite bakery in the other

-you stared at him, completely bedazzled for a second but then glared at him, which took him by surprise. he smiled nervously... "what the hell, taehyung?" you said angrily, but deep down you were so damn relieved he was back. "We went for a walk and then I went to buy your favourites, since you always get up around this time" he said, while taking tannie's leash off, and smiled. "What did you think, hm?" - "well, I certainly didn't expect you to deal so well, looking at how you came in last night." - "oh you learn a thing or two when you're a performer" the two of you laughed and he knew he's off the hook. you started cutting fruits and he quickly joined you after he washed his hands. "so about that important thing from last night", he began and looked at you with a smile, as your cheeks blushed almost instantly, "I really wanted to make this right because this isn't something I want to do when I'm drunk. I think you understand that, right?". You tried very hard to hide go keep a straight face, but you couldn't hide your smile. Taehyung giggled. "Look at me..." he said with a husky tone that excited you even more. You looked at him with a raised eyebrow and smiled, as you knew what was coming and he smiled because you knew.

💕

epilogue

-you had noticed he put the pic of you and yeontan sleeping as his screensaver-

you: nice screensaver btw 👀

tae: *tries to keep his cool.. blushes v hard*

you: OH MY GOD

tae: STOP

[fymagnificentwomcn]

t’s truly something how all princes/sultans in tmck are so pressed…I get their life isn’t easy, but all that blaming & truly how it can affect everyone’s perception. Murad even accused his mother of faking an assassination attempt on her life, incredible *sarcasm of course*. And Atike was just his cheerleader most of the time, ugh. All that blaming by people who even weren’t there. Thanks for writing that piece!

Aww thank you so much! This piece is my magnum opus I guess lol (Link here:https://fymagnificentwomcn.tumblr.com/post/610970504341405696/no-she-isnt-the-whole-evil-k%C3%B6sem-thing-isnt )

Murad’s angry 24/7 & gets so ridiculous with blame-shifting – he would need a good anger management therapy LBR.

And there’s one scene that portrays his character in nutshell:

Doctor: you cannot drink anymore wine, Your Majesty.

Murad, literally 5 minutes later: Yusuf, bring me wine!

Murad in 1 minute, another example:

Kösem: Don’t marry Silahtar to Atike, you also have another sister and if you do it, it will end in tragedy!

Murad: No worriez, I’ve thought about Gevherhan, I will marry her to Kemankeş ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

I mentioned a lot of blame-shifting in my previous posts, but he even at moment began questioning his mum about Gülbahar and whether she truly committed treason (and Gülbahar herself admitted to it).

Even when Atike asked him for permission to take children with her & Kösem to vaqf, he was totally okay with the idea, but later after kidnapping snapped at his mother that it was HER fault for gaving taken his sons there & began threatening her with exile far away. Charming as always.

Honestly, he’s like a broken record. In all his arguments, while Kösem has her logical arguments, his only argument is usually “I’m the only/rightful owner of Ottoman Empire, “I’m the shadow of God on Earth. Like dude do you realise how boring you are???

Don’t forget how mad he got when Kösem wrote to Kemankeş to have a backup plan if Murad died and Bayezid wanted to take the throne, which could have meant danger for other Kösem’s sons. After all, she didn’t take it from nothing, Gülbahar told her about assassination attempt to come & it actually already had happened by the time Murad received the letter. Yes, dude you are not immortal, you could have been killed, and life goes on you know? It doesn’t mean your mother doesn’t love you or is not going to mourn you, but she also needs to take care of your brothers and state ffs. He’s truly obsessed with this idea that after his death life will  (unfortunately in his view) go on – which is also meaningful since Kösem reminded him like two episodes earlier that state was going to remain even with both of them dead. And well we all know the “masterful” idea he conceived just before his death.

And it’s clear how even some of his siblings fear him – Gevherhan was scared immediately following the announcement of Kösem no longer being a regent (especially since he did in a way to put  blame on his mother for recent events to prop himself up, and he was also engaged in state matters at that point). Kasim also immediately fears being locked up in kafes or even executed. Judging by their conversations, despite problems going on, last 10 years were a peaceful time for their family.

As I said, out of all Kösem’s opponents only Handan and Derviş weren’t worse than her, and she was the only main player that never engaged in mass slaughter – Safiye, Halime&Co., Gülbahar&Sinan, Murad, Turhan - all did.

Same with Atike – she was a baby when when her father died, didn’t even spend her early years locked up as Ibrahim…. she’s honestly so blind it’s painful. The scene where she jumps at Kemankeş for trying to talk sense to Ibrahim not to appoint Genie Master as chief judge… please your brother is now acting contrary to Imperial law and it’s asking for further disaster if Cinci increases his influence among ulema by bringing people who pay him into it & it’s good Ibo is controlled in this way… nah, it’s actually necessary. And how you jump from this to your mother I have no idea either. A true performative “activist”, who talks about protecting her brother, but all is limited to talking  & exposing her moral superiority, while it’s not supported by any real actions helping him.

Well, you got your revenge on your mother for killing the husband who despised you, acted against your youngest brothers at that point, and likely was only praying you wouldn’t follow him also into afterlife.

I also forgot to mention one more example of Mu/rat manipulating the narrative – when he tells Atike following the failed dethronement attempt & Kasim’s death that their mother had lied to her and tried to kill him – he was after all put in kafes, he should be aware nobody planned an assassination attempt, bah he KNEW the whole plan from Sinan… and yes, Kösem being so adamant that nothing can happen to Mura/t cost her Kasim in the end.

Atike herself was aware that Mu/rat would have killed her brothers even if the dethronement attempt had not happened as she told him to his face after Kasim’s death and she stated that he had made the decision long ago. Later however she got the letter from Murad informing her who killed Silahtar and she even released Traitor No. 1 Sinan to spite her mum 😂.

I suppose princes at this point led the hardest existence because they were closed in kafes, unable to get decent education&experience or have families (maybe they were allowed to have sex with cariyes, but contraception had to be used or even abortion if the concubine of a sehzade has got pregnant) but at the same time they weren’t certain whether they wouldn’t be killed because the switch to anti-fratricide was pretty new&the times were turbulent. Osman clearly broke Imperial law by getting fetva from military judge to kill Mehmed, and Murad killed the biggest number of Ahmed’s sons obviously (yeah more than in the show because not all princes appeared in MYK, though we don’t know the exact number of Ahmed’s sons, Murad definitely also executed Suleiman, most likely his full brother). I laugh when people go about “rule-breaker” Murad. Wow by getting back to law that has already began to run its course, clap clap.

Murad was king of hypocrisy and it’s also a historical fact. As Halil İnalcık states in his book Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age: “ The tyrannical Murad IV was a habitual drinker and at the same time the most ruthless supporter of the prohibition againt alcohol”. Mu/rat tried to make use of religion in his attempts to drill absolute obedience, but he wasn’t a religious person himself & definitely tried to take from religion what it most suited him, while ignoring other things, e.g. he kept decreasing zakat, aka income tax that goes to charity. A small bit of trivia: apparently he was a big fan of Machiavelli’s The Prince, there were even some rumours that he translated the book himself (we can only imagine he also took from this book what he wanted 🤪 ).

Similarly Turhan manipulated the narrative, also in a hypocritical way – remember her going like: “how many padişahs you killed?” and she was the main force behind Ibo’s death… the moment Ibo told her that she “was a coward who hid behind his mother’s skirts”… it was clear he was doomed. There was explicit anger on Turhan’s side here. Not only because she felt insulted by him, but also because she felt a need to prove both to him and the world that she was capable to be on top without Kösem’s support.  Not to mention all her actions leading to Ibo’s situation, also her ordering Mehmed to sign his dad’s death order was so chilling “I don’t want dad to die”. Well, now let’s play morally pure, especially while murdering elderly (very elderly lbr :p) Haci in again a brutal way, including twisting his neck. It’s not even that she removed a padisah – she actively worked to make him crazier and for his rule to be total failure, it wasn’t even about her, Ibo or Kösem – whole nation suffered because she was impatient to take power into her hands./BTW pity we skipped the time period when they were both Valides and we know both tried to get rid of each other, without harming Mehmed/ And frankly even with Kösem it was a terrible & undeserved backstabbing because also Ibi criticised Turhan for this saying his mother always “loved and protected her, did so much for her” and I doubt Ibo was biased here considering that he was also on bad terms with his mum at that moment.

Later the situation truly calmed down & later princes could live much more peacefully because the practice of killing truly went out of style and also later there were less and less restrictions on princes and they could for example travel abroad with the reigning padişah. For example, Sultan Abdülaziz took princes for a European trip and they even had a chance to meet Queen Victoria.

And I laugh when people blame Kösem for “failing to protect the princes” instead of you know, blame the actual killer. Ahmed truly replenished dynasty, while Murad axed a number of his brothers, at the same time of course used his own propaganda. It is true that Murad executed the favourite of princes, Bayezid, during celebrations following the successful Revan campaign. Similarly, when Kasim was executed someone spread rumours about the prince impregnating a number of concubines & it was before the Baghdad campaign when even setting out on it Murad had to display his “splendour and glory”.

Show-wise I legit one read that Kösem killed Ahmed because she spared Bulbül following Safiye’s attempted coup lmao. It’s not like Ahmed wasn’t there when she made the decision & it’s not like it wasn’t Hümaşah who after all got Yasemin in, and I doubt anyone could oppose an Imperial princess anyway – she would have found another servant. And Bülbül later saved Kösem’s kids, so… scapegoating truly is in some people’s blood lmao.

I love how MYK played with the idea of historical representation & creation of narrative, how people “see” and how different factors might influence their perception & creation of narrative. And also how S2 put into different perspective some stuff from S1. I admit there were some things that back during first watch of MYKS1 made me go WTF? that I later understood when compared/contrasted with MYK S2. It’s clear that they truly planned a lot of the whole show back in S1.

It’s sometimes interesting how narratives may be created and repeated even without evidence supporting it - there is no historical evidence that Kösem took part in Osman’s dethronement, yet it is something that often pops up even in “historical articles” for example. People deduce since Kösem later became Valide quite soon because Mustafa’s (or rather Halime’s) reign didn’t last long, know Şehzade Mustafa’s (Suleiman’s son) story, and some rumours about what Ottoman women did to secure throne for their children, so they see getting rid of one’s stepson to claim throne for one’s child as logical and usual in Ottoman system,  even when there is no proper evidence backing it up. Because it seems natural and logical, so why not make it more spicy? We know next to nothing about Mahfiruz, but there is this “Betty vs Veronica” trope, so suddenly we learn that Mahfiruz was Kösem’s opposite, not politically involved or ambitious, but gentle & sweet, and even details like light hair pop up as opposed to Kösem’s dark hair (sometimes of course it is also extended to good vs. evil). Taken from where, other than fitting a known trope? Or when she’s presented as some sort of Mahidevran vol.2 as having as close relationship with Osman like Mahi did with Mustafa, perfect prince and jealous stepmother Kösem. I know some of the stuff is also derived from Western, orientalist plays, but those are obviously not sources and should not be treated as truth. And sometimes it it even repeated by historians. For example Uluçay, who  was very against Sultanate of Women & pretty much propagated a lot of rumours (and new approach to the period truly changed a lot of how academia writes about these women now). Let us look at this quote:

Taken from: Necdet Sakaoğlu, Famous Ottoman Women.

It’s clear what narrative Uluçay chose for his research.

It’s common practice to sometimes fill in the blanks (and sometimes even change stuff) with known cliches, tropes, and narratives.

It is truly a topic for an extended discussion, so I will stop for now, but when it comes to Ottoman history I do recommend Daniel Piterberg’s Ottoman Tragedy. History and Historography at Play, which shows how the same event may be even differently presented in historical works depending on chosen narrative that is often rooted in current context.

[neverwatchedonepiece]

623-624: "Time for Tearful Goodbyes! Departure from Punk Hazard!" and "G5 Destroyed! Doflamingo's Raid!"

DOFLAMINGO, YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE, PLEASE. D:

Those veins will blow any second! 

You need to relax. Subscribe to Headspace. Take a yoga class. Kill some innocent Marines--- oh...

Oda has knocked it out of the park yet again. Now Doflamingo has entered the game, the implications of the wider criminal network of New World pirates has come to the fore. This, of course, means Law’s plan to take down Kaidou is not only super ambitious but also fraught with peril.

Considering I go on and on about peril like a broken record, this is a good thing.

And sorry about that last mini hiatus, by the way. Blame it on full rewrites and Resident Evil 2.

“Watcha thinkin’ bout, Luffy?”  “Chikkin.”

“And thus the Strawhat crew spent some time intoxicated during their celebrations.”

Eloquently summed up by the Narrator, I feel. xD  Totally love how the Strawhats can switch from party mode to sober and ready to sail within minutes. Guess that’s part of the pirate job description. Things change on a whim out there in the New World. Sobering up fast is a vital survival skill.

There was a mini recap of the terms of Law’s alliance with Luffy. Smoker wanted to know what was going on. “There’s no way you believed I’d keep a promise to a pirate like you. If you really wanted to silence me, you had plenty of chances to kill me. What are you planning to use Strawhat for?”

At first I was like, what the hell, Smoker? Stop being arsey with all the Marines vs Pirates crap. You only escaped Punk Hazard alive because you teamed up with Law. Everyone’s on the same page right now. What happens on Punk Hazard stays on Punk Hazard. None of your men will rat on you for chatting to Law. Later, of course, I changed my opinion on this.

The recap of the Law/Luffy alliance chat revealed a bit more information about Kaidou. According to Law, Kaidou the Beast is known as the most powerful creature in the world. Creature, I think, being the operative word here because he might not actually be human?

One of those hype-building silhouette stills showed up, with Big Mom, Blackbeard, Kaidou, Shanks and Whitebeard. Couldn’t make out much of Kaidou, so I’m still none the wiser on the appearance front. Maybe he’ll be hairy, with that whole beast thing he’s got going on.

Back in the present, Law was characteristically cagey about the chat with Smoker. He told Smoker there was no real reason he let him live, but turned round and spilled that he was “planning on heading to Green Bit.”

I’m still confused about the Green Bit scene. Mainly because I have no clue where/what it is. Is is a code name for Dressrosa? Is it another island completely? Is it a town somewhere in the New World? Or is Law trying to throw Smoker off the scent because he doesn’t want his favourite smokey Marine to be endangered again?

Whatever the case, Law had some final business to attend to before waving goodbye to Punk Hazard. Caesar, Baby 5 and Buffalo were chained up in a corner and drew the filthiest looks when he walked over. (Well, Baby 5 and Buffalo did. Caesar was still unconscious.) They really are acting as if Law has betrayed them somehow.

Doflamingo also keeps calling Law a brat. Vergo was also riding the brat train hard. Can’t help but think Law was affiliated with Doflamingo when he was a kid. Maybe he resented it all these years and this is overdue payback.

We hate love hate love you JUST GO BEFORE WE CRY!

At the harbour, the Strawhats continued to be absolute diamonds. Apparently, Nami and Chopper refused to sail until they knew the kids would be okay. The good news is that Vegapunk himself offered to help cure the kids of Caesar’s meth candy! Wonder what Vegapunk is thinking right now. He used to work with Caesar. Probably, “Always knew that guy was an asshole.”

As Luffy couldn’t be bothered waiting for another Marine ship to arrive, he told Smoker to just take the SAD tanker and send the kids home on it. Good decision, given a feathery menace was approaching at speed.

The scene with the G5 pretending to hate the Strawhats - erecting a protective banner so the kids wouldn’t be able to thank the dirty, cheating pirates - made me mad at first. I thought, damn, was that ungrateful or what? The Strawhats were the reason they escaped Caesar’s lab with their lives. If the Strawhats hadn’t been there, they would be locked up in cells and the last thing they’d ever hear would be a hiss of gas and a soft, “Shurorororororororo....”

But when the foghorn blasted and the ship set sail, Oda revealed some of the G5 guys’ inner thoughts. Sanji lead them out. Zoro and Tashigi teamed up. Law and Smoker fought together. Usopp guided the Minions to safety. Chopper and Nami helped the kids. Then I saw the sweat drops and the oddly tight jawlines.

Yup. They were fronting.

When Tashigi called them out on their rudeness, they even admitted it. “But Tashigi-chan, if we don’t stop insulting them, we’ll end up actually liking these outlaws.”

Ha. It is way too late for that, G5. You love the Strawhats. No one can escape the roaring event horizon of their charm.

Luffy was totally oblivious to it all. He just laughed and, “What weird Marines.” I mean, come on, G5. Don’t you realise by now that Luffy does not do subtlety?

As they walked to the ship, Zoro suddenly realised Law was tagging along. Usopp whispered in his ear, “Oh yeah, you don’t know. Luffy’s making trouble again.” Poor Zoro. Always the last one to know. xD

A brief flashback of all the major moments in the arc finished it up nicely. Luffy taking that DDM distress call, the fiery dragon, finding Kinemon, discovering Caesar had been drugging innocent kids, Smiley, Luffy declaring he would “kick Caesar’s ass and kidnap him” (best), saving Mocha, Caesar gloating about how well connected and protected he was before the final grizzly magnum smacked him out of the action.

A standard, uplifting ending with dramatic fanfare and Luffy shouting, “SET SAIL!”

But not quite.

For Doflamingo drew nigh...

Law Didn’t Spend Seven Years In Med School To Be Called Traff

The scene when Law chatted to Doflamingo over DDM was probably my favourite across 623-624. It ramped up the stakes and reset the peril level to red alert. Only one might be tied with it.

Doflamingo bounded across the “sky path” (what is that?”) He bemoaned the fact it cut short. “You brats seem to have the devil’s luck.” He spied something floating on a raft below. He found Buffalo and Baby 5′s disembodied heads chained to it. He jumped down for a chat.

It was weird seeing Baby 5 and Buffalo so contrite. They kept declaring how ashamed they were. “I wanna apologise with my death. I was needed and couldn’t help,” etc. Doflamingo didn’t want to kill them. He needed answers.

What Doflamingo didn’t spy was a video DDM. Law’s voice spoke through it.

“What a surprise. I didn’t think the boss would come out himself.”

“Is that you, Law? Long time no see. Couldn’t you have stayed so I could talk to you in person?” At the point, Doflamingo was still supremely confident.

“If you’re looking for Caesar, he’s with me.”

To hammer home the point, Caesar’s wheedling voice cried, “JOKERRRRRR, PLEASE SAVE ME!” (Lol, oh Caesar.)

“Where are Baby 5 and Buffalo’s bodies?”

“That’s not what we’re talking about,” Law said, taking back control of the conversation. “Let’s make a deal.”

“Don’t try to be so tough,” Doflamingo laughed. “A brat shouldn’t try to act like an adult.” (There’s that calling Law a brat again. Plus, Doflamingo tried to take back control of the situation by ignoring Law and pressing his own agenda.) “Where are you right now? You shouldn’t anger me?”

“Anger? Your most important trading partner is Kaidou the Beast. You’re the one who shouldn’t anger him. What do you think would happen if he found out you couldn’t make SMILEs anymore? He’s not a man you can negotiate with. There would be a brutal battle. You would be killed.”

For the first time, the slasher smile was wiped off Doflamingo’s face. Forehead veins began to throb. That had obviously hit a nerve.

“You’re taking this joke too far, Law. What do I have to do for you to give back Caesar? What are your demands?”

And there it was. It definitely hit a nerve because Doflamingo has deigned to negotiate with the brat. Kaidou really must be something if he can intimidate Doflamingo. 

Law’s demand was kind of weird. It must mean something, but I have no idea what yet.

“Give up your Shichibukai post. Throw away everything you have gained these past ten years and return to being a normal pirate. Of course, if you do that, the Admirals will hunt you down. You have until tomorrow morning’s news. If I see you’ve retired from the Shichibukai, I’ll contact you again. If I see nothing, negotiations are over.”

I have no idea why Doflamingo *needs* the Shichibukai position so badly (other than being able to live on Dressrosa, I guess) but Law threatening to take it from him in exchange for Caesar made him M. A. D.

Multiple veins popped.

It was not pretty.

I guess Doflamingo is now on a deadline. Here’s hoping he does not catch up with the Strawhats before they reach Dressrosa. For that is their canon confirmed next destination! They are sailing to meet Doflamingo on his home turf. Foolhardy? Of course! It wouldn’t be the Strawhats otherwise, right?

Meanwhile... Back On Sunny

This was so funny. Chopper fixing up Caesar so he can beat him all over again. Even Sanji said, “What kind of doctor are you?” But Caesar, though. Imagine bitching and moaning, “Oweeee, it hurts!” when you gleefully killed tons of people without a flicker of remorse. You deserve it, Caesar. Suck it up and take the L.

Franky also told the story of how he retrieved Mini Merry Mark II eight times (Franky’s long, luscious hair in bunches was excellent, btw).

While Sunny descended a Sea Slope (dat Oda creativity again), the team gathered round to discuss The Plan.  Zoro, now aware the plan was to take down a Yonkou, was suddenly and enthusiastically on board. Luffy asked if anyone objected and Brook replied, “Does objecting do anything?” (Lol, Brook.)

Sanji reminded Law again with a whisper in his ear that Luffy’s idea of an alliance is different from his. I think this might mean something later, so I am recording every instance of this warning as it’s come up twice now.

Then Sanji called Caesar a weird sheep and smacked him when Caesar said, “You’re all fools. You think you’ll get away with this? You’ve landed yourselves on some major big shots’ wanted lists. I hope you realise your foolishness before you die.”

And Chopper was like, “Oi. No kicking until after I’m done treating him.” xD

Law updated the Strawhats on the situation. Most of the Big Name Pirates of the New World have turf on this sea. This has created a massive criminal syndicate. Everyone is linked with everyone else. The scale of operations is on a completely different scale than the Strawhats have been used to. Deals and trades are done in secret so the don’t attract Marine attention. Law also updated them on Doflamingo’s trading relationship with Kaidou.

I’m not sure but I get the feeling Law is enjoying the prospect of taking down Doflamingo even more than Kaidou. There is history between these two and I cannot wait to find out what it is.

Ahem...

And the scene that is tied with Law threatening Doflamingo over DDM?

Why it’s the scene when Aokiji Showed Up Out Of Nowhere To Kick Doflamingo’s Ass, of course!

While Smoker and his G5 guys stayed behind to rescue any petrified survivors (still a bit salty about that, but I’ll get over it), Doflamingo landed on Punk Hazard like a bomb going off. A single, loose pink feather falling to earth was all the warning they had. Then he hit them with Conqueror’s Haki.

The veins. Oh, the veins. Veins galore criss-crossed that forehead. I counted approximately twenty.

I thought, this guy is out for blood. But he had questions that needed answered first. Doflamingo is not a reckless guy.

“Are they all gone? The tanker’s not here, either. I believe a group of pirates were just here until a minute ago. Where did they go?”

Maybe if he hadn’t opened with Conqueror’s Haki, he would have got some answers. G5 resented the fact he’d attacked them. There was an attempt to fight Doflamingo. An attempt.

With a few twitches of his fingers, Doflamingo took control of their bodies.

“Law could be a problem but Strawhat is just a pirate. Where did you let them run off to?” He turned the G5 against each other, forced friendly-fire massacre style. His pointy shoe stomped a random G5′s chest. “ANSWER ME. What direction did those brats go?”

When the G5 couldn’t answer, they had outlived their usefulness. “Then die.”

Luckily, Smoker smoked into the fray and saved their asses. There was a brief stare off. Doflamingo had a Scary Shiny Glasses moment.

“Smoker, tell me where those brats are.”

This is when Smoker really came through for me. He knew Doflamingo was a corrupt betrayer of the Marines. He played dumb, but could not resist getting a jab in at Doflamingo.

“Who knows? I sure don’t, Joker. They must’ve slipped through our fingers. How can I explain this to our Base Commander, Vergo?”

Smoker made two mistakes. He revealed to Doflamingo that he knows his underworld nickname and hinted he was aware of Vergo’s true allegiance.

Doflamingo’s voice went eerily quiet (I like his VA). “He’s dead, right? It sounds like you know too much.” His hands twitched and he leapt at Smoker.

Does Doflamingo have telekinesis, or something like that? A power that lets him control the movement of others? I’m still not sure what it is. It looked great in the fight, though. Smoker kept getting cut by slashes out of nowhere.

Then, just as Doflamingo sat on Smoker, about to end his existence, a Presence drew up behind him.

“Oh, my. Sorry, little boy. Could you move, please? He’s my friend.”

Holy hype machine, Batman.

You could have knocked me down with a feather. Aokiji, fresh from quitting the Marines, is back in business!

Doflamingo is not having a good day. 

Usopp has become oddly genre-savvy.

[kennedy-writes]

Some More Info About Aidan :)

So @decantae tagged me in the Character Creation Tag (thank you!), which is perfect because I’m posting lots about my OCs this week. I made a post about Aidan here, and now here is some more info: 

1) What was the first element of your OC that you remember considering (name, appearance, backstory, etc.?)

In the earliest stages of my WIP, back in summer of 2017, maybe earlier, Aidan was named Elaine. The story was suuuuper different it’s crazy. But the concept of her role in the story was the same, and I believe this was the first thing I considered for her. She would be the first to break away from the cruel programming/conditioning imposed on her generation and successfully escape to discover an alternate way of living and feeling. She also always had a close ally in a man whose name has been Thor, Jagger, Aryeh, Lev, and now Sammie. Jagger is a different character now.

2) Did you design them with any other characters/OCs from their universe in mind?

Elaine (proto-Aidan?) was the first character I really designed, but I designed her knowing that she’d have a close platonic relationship with someone like Thor. Elaine was re-designed into Aidan, and it’s the same thing: I designed her knowing she’d have a close relationship with two other people: Stella, a girl from the city, and Aryeh, now Sammie, the librarian. I’m thinking now that Stella might actually be unnecessary to the novel so I may have to cut her out though :( but we’ll see

3) How did you choose their name?

I love names for girls that are traditionally masculine, and I wanted something that meant sunny or fire or something of that sort. This was because I was toying with the idea of having her with a fiery name and then Thor with the thunder-god name. But it also fits her personality so I didn’t change it after Thor left the picture.

4) In developing their backstory, what elements of the world they live in played the most influential parts?

I don’t have all of Aidan’s backstory perfectly figured out yet (I’m doing this as I go whoops). But the city is a proclaimed techno-utopia run by rich inventors, scientists, and engineers acting on their wildest fantasies and discarding all ethics, a utopia that serves only their society (governors, celebrities, the wealthy and their favored individuals), at the expense of a class of laborers and staff who were literally made to do certain types of work and nothing else. SO Aidan was one of these people but she was a bit different because she was designed to play in the orchestra. The environment of the city - very sterile, imposing, restrictive - is probably the most influential part in her development once she runs away.

5) Is there any significance behind their hair colour?

Sort of, not really. I think black hair is cool. I dyed mine black a bit ago and felt good about it. I wanted Aidan to evoke that vibe. 

6) Is there any significance behind their eye colour?

No.

7) Is there any significance behind their height?

No. She is shorter than most other characters though. 

8) What (if anything) do you relate to within their character/story?

Her whole arc is partly a metaphor for coming into your emotions after having them suppressed for so long, and navigating what that feels like. So that’s a thing I can relate to. 

9) Are they based off of you, in some way?

Yeah, somewhat. She’s the only one who is, though. The others may have bits of me in them, but not Based On Me. 

10) Did you know what the OC’s sexuality would be at the time of their creation?

Yeah! I mean I thought bisexual at first but I changed it to pansexual because it seemed to fit her better.

11) What have you found to be most difficult about creating art for your OC (any form of art: Writing, drawing, edits, etc.)?

I don’t do art (yet. I try, sometimes) but I have made a mood board for her. So no difficulty to report yet. Here is the moodboard btw:

12) How far past the canon events that take place in their world have you extended their story, if at all?

This is a hard one to answer because I don’t know when the canon events end. There might be more than one book? I don’t really think too far in the future for her, as I don’t imagine she does much either, because the desert is a very in-the-moment kind of space. Aidan hardly knows what she’s going to do tomorrow, and neither do I.

13) If you had to narrow it down to 2 things that you MUST keep in mind while working with your OC, what would those things be?

1. The trauma from having to suppress her emotions and being forced to play music for the rich for so long absolutely informs the way she goes about her new life. She is angry. She tries to just forget about everything about the first 20 years of her life, and truly believes it doesn’t affect her anymore, but it totally does in ways she doesn’t realize. She’s also a little jealous of people who’ve lived in the desert all their lives.

2. This anger often mixes in with the overwhelming love she feels towards all the new things - the friends, the landscape, the freedom and agency she has now, etc. At her core she’s very much in love with the world and wants to help others. The desire to help feels like an immense pressure, and she often overdoes it on her training with Vala. She’s just a very intense but compassionate bean.

14) What is something about your OC that can make you laugh?

When she gets to the desert, she might as well have been born yesterday, everything’s new to her. Her enthusiastic reactions to ordinary things that everyone takes for granted are funny in my head. (Haven’ t written this yet!)

15) What is something about your OC can make you cry?

Aidan wants to be close to people, wants to let them in. But she’s afraid that there’s nothing insider her, because she’s from the city and was “made” rather than raised in a human household. She’s scared that she will bring people close only for them to find out she is empty with nothing to give. She covers this up with a loud and energetic demeanor. She’s also very emotionally open and candid despite this fear, which is proof that her fear is unfounded, but she still freaks out when people get too close. The emotional turmoil that comes with that is super heartbreaking to me. Also how attached she gets to Sammie - this will Hurt later. 

16) Is there some element you regret adding to your OC or their story?

Not necessarily a regret (I’m not so far in that I can’t change something), but I’m like…. How am I going to come up with a plausible way for her background in the city to deprive her of a sense of humanity - sci fi isn’t my forte, but then again, fiction isn’t either. I’m a poet, mostly. I’m just figuring stuff out as I go.

17) What is the most recent thing you’ve discovered about your OC?

That she isn’t in love with the librarian. It’s very specific, but Aidan wants platonic intimacy more than anything. She does experiment with sex but her relationship with the librarian must be platonic. Aryeh became Sammie, an eccentric gay man in his late 30s. (That they don’t fall in love allowed me to widen the age gap; I felt that Sammie had to be a bit older.) He has a huge collection of curiosities and books and artefacts, and Aidan’s drive to learn as much as she can about the world that’s been hidden from her brings her close to him.

18) What is your favourite fact about your OC?

She has a segment on Laurie’s radio show called The Finest Hour, in which she talks about music and plays her favorite records she finds in Sammie’s archives. I really really could not resist giving her my music tastes. also she loves climbing rocks.

So that’s Aidan! Next up is Sammie!! I was going to do Vala next but I’m really excited about Sammie because he’s basically the newest character and I love him a lot. After him is Ryan - I did merge and adapt that one flash fiction piece with my bigger WIP and I have no regrets. and then Vala, then Marian, then maybe Laurie then Jagger, then anyone else I didn’t do. Cool? Cool. 

I’ll also take this time to apologize for all the WIPs I sort of started or teased a bit ago, I saw a post yesterday that made me really self conscious about that lol. I don’t mean to do it. but also those WIPs came from a different me and I’m not that me anymore, if that makes sense. If I do pick them back up, and I do intend to for some of them, they’ll be a little different.  But my main focus right now is Where Stars Go To Die. Thanks for understanding!

[cow3survivor]

Ep. 2: “I’m Trying To Lay Low” - Jake

JENNET

plan worked fabulously purrrrrrrrr

(a little later)

maybe its me being paranoid but why are jake,jones, and lindsay always the last three to leave calls............ when i have a f2 with all of em....

JESSICA

Song of the day is ELVIS by AOA. My favourite workout bop. Silver got voted out! So sad, I wanted to play with him. But also, kinda cool! This is the only game I have played where I truly didn't know anyone (except my very first ORG). What an experience. I know last confessional I said Sam and Shane were both kinda on the fence for me in terms of if I wanted to maybe work with them or not. An update: I think I want to work with both! Both of them, unprompted, told me they wanted to work with me if we lost immunity, and I have actually been getting along well with both of them I feel now that our conversations are moving past the sort of awkward beginning stages. I still like Sammy even though I probably should talk to him more oops... and Daisy/Lovelis/Ethan are also still in my good books. I kind of keep forgetting Pete and Cloud are on this tribe but when I remember, I am happy they are here. That being said, I think Cloud or Madison will be the first to go if we lose. Cloud is very inactive. Madison is too but she was at least on the call tonight. It might come down to how immunity goes. I want to participate because it will bond us as a team. That way even if we lose, I was a part of the team effort and won't stand out as someone who people don't know or want to work with. Also while I personally want Cloud or Madison out as I know them the least, I am not going to push it. I'll let somebody else throw out a name and as long as that name isn't Jessica then I will consider it. I sort of chilled today with the social game and only messaged people as they messaged me. The vibe of this team is very relaxed from what I can tell and I didn't want to overdo it with conversations and come across as too much. Tomorrow, my goal is to talk to every single person for at least 1 (one) whole real conversation. I might have to start using my good ol' tactic of sending people random youtube links and saying "what do you think of this" to get something going.... Honestly nothing starts a conversation like David Hasselhoff and his cinematic masterpieces that we call music videos. I hope the other tribe is full of problems so that when we eventually swap, I have a very easy time in this game.

LINDSAY

no recording tonight because i have a headache:( anyways i'm apparently not in as good of a position in the tribe as I was hoping. got left out of a six person group chat bc I was associated w Silver and people were nervous abt this vote w me. Jake luckily looped me in but I'm kind of bummed out people didn't trust me enough to let me in on this. I know it's probably just cuz Silver and I had been getting along alright the past two days but that means I'm in kind of a yucky position in the tribe that is starting to gear me up to a S6 type deal from survivor umich and I'm not fuckin' vibin. I'm gonna try to reach out (Nash appears to be ignoring me currently tho so lol) and try to fix that. I still want to work tight w Jones and Jake but I don't want them to be my only options. I need some more connections than that. ALSO WHEN SILVER DID THE THING MY HEART STOPPED LOL SO THAT MIGHT BE WHY IM BEING IGNORED also "you kept laughing at silver's jokes" was a comment someone leveled at me today and i couldn't find a good way to level and say i laugh at everything because that's how my brain is trained to react to everything. monkey brain cannot comprehend emotions so i laugh everything off. anyways i guess this is my clue i've got to step up. i mean, it's fine if i'm under the radar some because it's not merge yet so like it's fine, but i'm... worried. if nothing else we're even tho bc the galaghers got revealed as well as the six person alliance so we're all even here. bottom line is, i'm winning this fucking scavenger hunt this shit aint happening next week

JAKE

https://youtu.be/amXasrOidh0

y'all I'm still shaking from tonight tbh....

PENNINO

https://youtu.be/_26B1wn1pDw

JONES

https://youtu.be/7FngYQfYMB0

PETE

Nobody will want to vote me out if I have kittens and share pictures of them muahahahahahahahahahaha

JESSICA

Oh no, we lost! I hope that Shane and Daisy want to be a final 3 because that is what I am envisioning in my hopes, dreams, and mood board.

SHANE

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mNEOfPVwOp-ltGoNTdEq59su-9Vl_Adm/view?usp=drivesdk

ETHAN

AHH TRIBAL IS SCARY MORE TO COME SOON BUT EVERYONE IS SO QUIET AND I DON'T LIKE IT BECAUSE I FEEL LIKE I AM THE TARGET BUT IF I AM I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHY IT IS JUST WEIRDLY QUIET AND MY PARANOIA IS EATING ME ALIVEEE

DAISY

https://youtu.be/tBDHsLvF8W8

NICOLE

WE ARE IMMUNE!!! I’m so excited to have flipped the vote on Silver AND got us immunity but, I’m gonna have to be more careful if I’m gonna go far in this game. I know I can be strategic, I can be a comp threat but I really have to work on making myself a little dimmer in the social department. If we swap or merge obviously down the line, I feel like I’m gonna have a LOT of different potential paths to the end but, it won’t matter if they all realize that. So I really really have to be careful here. I am playing this game with a level head so far and really trying to make my rounds daily to talk to people. I am close with Jake, close with Jones and close with Nash. I am working on forming better bonds with Jabari, Lindsay and Jennet right now and honestly to me, Pennino is a non factor as well as Mikey but I am obviously going to try to maintain being on their good side. So that’s all I got for this round it’s been pretty tame except for Jennet immediately leaking our alliance by accident. At this point I really don’t think it matters.

MADISON

Okay so our tribe is not superhuman and we finally lost a challenge so we will be attending tribal tonight. Nobody is really saying much in terms of what will happen which is extremely worrisome, however, I did hear Sam on call very subtly throw Cloud out there and I'm kinda hoping that Jessica and Shane heard that too and will kind of run with it. Daisy wants both of us to be safe and I feel the same way so I'm hoping that's what will happen. In other news!!! I have officially begun the idol hunt one round too late but perhaps that works out better because if something is found, I'll know it. So because of the way things were worded during the hunt, the idol has either been found already or whoever wrote this system wanted to through a red herring in there to trick us. I'm going with the latter because I feel like Jarod would do that. That's all from this neck of the woods for now, hopefully will be writing another one of these bad bois next round :*

SAM

https://youtu.be/liGOEuFKiFo

JENNET

I WILL die for jones btw...

(a little later)

Survived the immunity challenge... at what cost

(after falling asleep on the beach)

The way we accidentally won that comp is literally a joke.... period i guess?

PETE

so we lost cus we’re the beauty tribe not the brains tribe fuck math dude anyways, it’s been hella fuckin quiet like not a lot of people are on and aren’t really talking. Up until about, 4 hours before tribal Sam comes to me and says the vote is gonna be Cloud and i’m like what who why. All he said is “that’s what he’s heard” honestly i think it’s just his own idea but whatever. I don’t know Cloud at all so it’s fine with me. Sam, myself, Jessica, and Shane apparently are all agreed to vote Cloud and with Ethan’s vote that’ll be 5.

CLOUD

i have nithing to say other than i might just be the stupidest person on the planet. absolutley nothing is happening in my head ever. if i stay its pure luck HSKSHSNSKBSKS

NASH

smiles at immunity... this is cute it feels good to not be in danger for once! i’m honestly still worried my tribe might want to cut me at next tribal but at least tonight can be chill! i hope kiki is first brookeisa boot xoxo

SAMMY

honestly there is no tea, daisy found an idol and gambles her vote but she lost her vote early so no worries w that! I love her so much and i hope she doesn’t snake me...but daisy if ur reading this, in this moment i love dont snake me mwah!! I love Jess and I love Cloud but everyone’s telling me Cloud is the vote but I’m so sad because I had such a good time with them and they are one of the few funny ones in the game!! Anyways not much is happening we lost the challenge cause we are just bad at math...blinks...I don’t think I’m in any danger and this vote should be unanimous. I was also told someone said I was one of the few active people so that’s a check in my book!

JAKE

https://youtu.be/HmtSAjyQoJI

I'm trying to lay low so if I'm not very present on Discord the next day or so that's why hehe

PETE

so ethan is down for voting Cloud, sammy too. Cool great awesome hot. i’m just sitting here vibing and suddenly Sammy tells me that my (and Madison’s) name came up for a second. He said it went away and it’s Cloud for the vote but like jskdhd why do i aaalways get targeted bitch i’m literally just sitting here whYY can’t i relax for once?! Frfr every survivor game it’s always this person or me. I’m always the other option and i just don’t get why lmao

LOVELIS

This tribes been kinda dead until like an hour ago plss, a new alliance of 5 has been organised and somehow me and Shane managed to make it seem like it was Jessica’s idea? Don’t really know how that happened in all honesty but a vibe. Then Daisy also leaked that she’s in another alliance who’s actively idol hunting so that was a lovely bit of beef that I love to see - my guess is she’s in a duo chat with Jess and they’ve tried to get this group formed with people who they think are unconnected, unbeknownst to them that me and Shane have a final two deal and I kinda have one with Sammy as well that happened on day one but it’s not really developed as of yet, he’s not really tried to talk game with me as of yet, but all in due time I suppose there’s plenty of time for more shenanigans 😂

MIKEY

HONESTLY Chile. Not much tea going around since this round we won. Im very proud of Nicole as she literally carried us and I pray she'll do it again dhbhsfg. Ive started getting really close with Jones and she's so fun to talk to, im hoping me her and nash can form a little trio and work together but who knows. Jennet STILL hasn't replied back after like a week so idk what's up w them LMAO

JABARI

So our tribe loved it when we blindsided silver, it puts me in a much better position than before. Now I have to talk more to people and take time to realize what's gonna happen. As of right now I have 2 alliances. The big majority one and the one where its just me and Jake and Jennet.

JENNET

exactly.... 

https://open.spotify.com/album/0pWu9s2gPdVgqHpMR2LDEx?si=uOqh6Ar9RiqNLUfaBZEkvw

TRIBAL COUNCIL