#why are you worked up if you clearly didn’t even try to understand the narrative lmao

[mywitchyblog]

Why i will Nver take Antis seriously

Okay, let’s talk about why I will NEVER take anti-shifters seriously. 💀 These people seriously think they’re serving some type of intellectual argument, but let’s be real—they’re just pathetic dick riders with no valid point to make. Sweetie, they think they can just hop on some anti-shifting bandwagon, pretend to be “woke,” and act like they know better than us. But we know the truth, and it's so obvious how weak and desperate they are. The only reason they’re even talking is because they can’t handle the fact that the shifting practice is real, and people are out here thriving while they’re stuck in their flop era. 🙄

I usually just scroll right past the negative content, but one day I saw this video that made me roll my eyes so hard I almost gave myself a headache. This girl is doing a makeup tutorial, all casual and cute, and then she drops the bomb: “Remember when we all used to shift in 2020? Can we admit that it was all a lie?” Like, girl, please. 💅 Immediately, the comment section is filled with people agreeing, “Yeah, it was just lucid dreaming.” “It was maladaptive daydreaming.” Sweetie, no. Just no. You’re out here acting like you have some epiphany, but it’s really just you looking for attention because, let’s face it, you’ve got nothing else going on. 💔

Here’s the thing: If you’re gonna pretend like you’re some kind of expert on shifting, at least do the work. At least try to understand what it actually means to shift, and not just repeat what everyone else says. 🧐 This girl comes out here saying she “shifted” and was “diagnosed with schizophrenia.” Girl. I had to pause and check if I was still watching the same video, because that was a whole mess. You’re throwing around terms like mental health issues just to sound edgy and relatable? Nope. Let’s be clear: schizophrenia is not something you just casually throw around to justify some half-assed clout-chasing narrative. If you really shifted, you wouldn’t be out here trying to “debunk” something you clearly never tried to understand in the first place. You pretended to shift for attention, and now that the hype died down, you decided to flip the script and start bashing shifting because it didn’t give you the clout you wanted. Pathetic. 🤭

And let’s not forget how she conveniently chose to make this video the one that blows up. 5.2 million views, girl? 😱 But the rest of your videos barely make it to 5k? Sis, we see you. We see how this is the only way you can get any traction. Your “I’m exposing shifting” video is your only shot at relevance, and it’s clear as day that you’ve jumped on this anti-shifting bandwagon just to get some views. The flop era is real, and it’s showinggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg. You had one moment where you got some attention, but the rest of your content is crickets. 🦗 I mean, honey, if you were actually serving something real, you wouldn’t have to rely on dragging people down to make a name for yourself. 🤦‍♀️

The truth is, she’s out here just riding whatever trend gets her noticed. That’s all she’s doing. When shifting was trending in 2020, she hopped on the wave pretending to be a part of it, and now that it’s not the "in" thing anymore, she’s throwing it under the bus to stay relevant. She’s the definition of a dick rider. Trying to latch onto whatever’s popular and ride the wave for as long as she can. But we see you, and it’s not cute. 🙄 You thought this was your moment to “expose” shifting and act like you’re somehow above it, but you’re just showing how desperate you are for attention. You're chasing views like a lost puppy, and it’s pathetic.

And don’t even get me started on that comment section. Why are these people agreeing with her, parroting the same old tired “shifting is just lucid dreaming” nonsense? Where are the real thinkers in this comment section? Sweetie, if you want to speak on something, at least educate yourself before you start spreading false info. 🙅‍♀️ It’s like y’all are too lazy to actually look into shifting, spiritual hygiene, and the depth of the practice. But instead, you’re just echoing a 2020 “shiftTok” narrative, regurgitating outdated and ignorant opinions like it’s fact. I’m honestly embarrassed for you. Do your research or stop talking. Simple as that. 🧠💡

The truth is, these anti-shifters don’t care about anyone’s mental health. They’re not “protecting” anyone; they’re just mad that they couldn’t get in on the trend or didn’t put in the effort to understand it. They want to act like they’re doing some grand thing by “debunking” shifting, but all they’re really doing is exposing their own ignorance. Like, sweetie, just admit you’re jealous. You couldn’t get the attention shifting gave others, and now you’re bitter about it. 😝 You couldn’t connect with the practice, so you’re going to try and tear it down. But guess what? It’s not working. 😘

Let’s talk about the bigger picture here. The real shifters—the ones who do the work, who research, who respect the practice and the boundaries it requires—we’re still out here, and we’re still shifting. We’re still growing, we’re still thriving, and we’re not letting some random, clout-chasing person get in the way of our personal journeys. The real shift doesn’t come from attention or clout; it comes from within. It comes from dedication, intention, and respect for what we’re trying to achieve. And trust me, anyone who genuinely shifts knows it’s an empowering, transformative experience—not something to be mocked. 💫👑

So to all the fellow shifters out there, don’t let these clowns get to you. Don’t let their negativity and petty arguments distract you from your journey. You are doing something real, something powerful. While they’re stuck in their flop era, we’re out here creating new realities, growing, and elevating ourselves in ways they’ll never understand. Keep going. Stay true to your path. And remember: the truth speaks for itself, and the real ones will always rise above the noise. ✨💖 Keep shifting, keep evolving, and never let anyone who doesn’t understand the practice try to dim your light. You’re not in the same lane as them—and you never will be. 👑💫

[louisjude]

the whole “you have no media literacy” as an argument is so funny to me because the same people who yap about it are completely missing the point of buck and tommy’s failed first date. instead of understanding and asking why it ended the way it did, you’re putting blame onto tommy as if he left you standing on sidewalk irl and then never spoke to you again. narratively there had to be conflict, because when people say “he’s throwing himself back into the hamster wheel” well, maybe that’s true at first.

he once again is finding himself in some sort of romantic endeavor without much thought, which on one hand kudos to buck for not having a gay meltdown after realizing he’s into guys too, it’s really nice to see that he’s mostly really cool about this new fact about himself—until reality hits.

suddenly buck is not cool about the fact that he’s into guys and on a date with a guy because no one else knows yet. he’s so caught off guard because he wasn’t ready to share it, it’s new and nerve wracking despite being an 🏳️‍🌈 ally 🏳️‍🌈.

there had to be conflict to get buck to the place he needed to be to continue his queer arc. while its hard watching tommy cut their date short, it needed to happen for the story to continue. it gave buck time to think, gave him time to really process his feelings and work out the issues he was having with his queerness aka being open about it. tommy even said he didn’t want to pressure buck and it’s the reason he cut the date short, because buck didn’t seem ready and tommy very obviously didn’t want to drag it out and end up with them both hurt more so than ending it then and there.

even after bombing his date with tommy he still seeks his sister for advice and ends up coming out to her (accidentally but it’s the first step) and then proceeds to gush about tommy even though at that point, their little romance was over.

we witness buck try to come out to eddie once before finally pulling up his big boy pants and telling eddie “it was a date, when you and marisol ran into me and tommy. we were on a date.” and then proceeded to confide in eddie that he cannot stop thinking about tommy and eddie tells buck to call tommy, buck is scared tommy will say no, eddie says if he knows buck’s an idiot he’ll love him and if he doesn’t then screw him.

tommy says yes. he agrees to meet with buck after the chaos of their first date because “of course” he wants to hear what buck has to say. he tell’s buck he doesn’t need to apologize but lets him anyway because buck needs to apologize. for himself if no one else. he realizes his behavior was bad, that it wasn’t fair to tommy. he owns up to it but tommy still assures buck he overall ended the date because he didn’t want buck to feel pressured. buck admits he wasn’t ready but that after some time and thinking, he knows he can not stop thinking about tommy and what they could be. he invites him to be his date at a wedding, his sisters wedding and tommy albeit dare i say, flabbergasted, ultimately agrees because clearly, he also cannot stop thinking about buck or else why would he have given this a second chance?

the conflict of the failed first date is there to show buck’s growth from that hamster wheel mentality to grounding himself into something he knows that he wants.

that my friends, is media literacy.

you can agree to disagree.

[bumbled-bees]

The Lily Playbook

(Or: How she runs her spaces and keeps people in line)

I’ve talked a lot on this blog about patterns—how Lily behaves, how she talks, how she spins stories to serve her narrative. But I haven’t fully laid out what it’s like being inside one of her spaces. From the perspective of an average person who stuck around long enough to notice how things worked. So here it is: the Playbook.

Lily doesn’t lead through trust. She leads through pressure. And most of that pressure is unspoken. That’s what makes it effective. She doesn’t always have to say “don’t question me,” because the tone she sets—and the way she handles anyone who steps out of line—makes sure no one else even wants to try.

Step one of the Playbook is positioning herself as the smartest, most correct person in the room. She’ll go on long, authoritative tangents, use big words whether she understands them or not, and say things in the most matter-of-fact tone possible—even when it’s something completely subjective or unproven. And the thing is, if you don’t know better, it’s easy to believe her. You assume she must have done her research. That she wouldn’t say something so confidently unless it were true. That’s the trap. Her audience, especially younger or neurodivergent people, latch onto that certainty. And she counts on that.

Step two is isolating dissent. If you disagree with her, you’re not just “wrong.” You’re talking past her. You’re deliberately misrepresenting her. You’re violating her boundaries. (Boundaries she never actually states clearly, but somehow you’re supposed to have memorized.) It doesn’t matter if your disagreement is polite or rooted in good faith—any challenge to her version of things is seen as a personal attack. And once she’s labeled you a problem, the people around her fall in line.

Because here’s the unspoken rule: Lily doesn’t need to tell anyone to dogpile you. They’ll do it on their own. Not out of malice, but because that’s the environment she builds. You want to stay in her good graces? You learn not to question her. You see what happens to the people who do. The silence of those who disagree becomes a kind of self-policing mechanism. You feel the pressure without her ever needing to say a word.

Another key part of the Playbook is redefining what “abuse” and “accountability” mean to suit her. She doesn’t believe in the cycle of abuse—because acknowledging it would mean admitting she’s capable of harming others, even unintentionally. So instead, she frames all criticism of her as harassment, all reminders of past behavior as stalking, and every attempt to hold her accountable as “um actually-ing” her. It’s why she throws around terms like “boundary violation” even in response to well-meaning messages or neutral questions. It’s why people walk on eggshells around her.

When I was still in her space, I remember feeling this creeping discomfort. Moments where I thought, wait, is that really fair? or that person didn’t even say anything rude. But you learn not to voice it. You see what happens when people do. You see who gets banned, who gets ranted about in vague posts, who gets turned into cautionary tales.

And finally: Lily knows her critiques don’t hold up to serious scrutiny. That’s why she frames anyone who questions her takes as being part of some obsessive “hate mob.” It keeps her audience distrustful of outsiders. It lets her dismiss all criticism—no matter how valid—as just noise. And the people who do stick around end up internalizing that mindset: “Lily’s the one telling the truth. Everyone else is out to get her.”

It’s a playbook built on deflection, defensiveness, and control. And the worst part is, it doesn’t look like that at first. If you’re young, vulnerable, or just looking for someone who “gets it,” she can seem like the voice of reason. But stick around long enough and the cracks start to show.

That’s why I started this blog. Not to speculate, not to gossip, but to document what’s observable. And this—this is the framework I saw in action. Not from the outside looking in, but from the inside slowly stepping back.

If you’re starting to notice these same patterns, you’re not imagining it.

It’s been wild watching it repeat over and over, knowing that I’ve seen these steps firsthand. When you’re in it, it doesn’t feel like a “playbook.” It feels like friendship. Trust. Solidarity. It feels like you’re part of something important.

But when you finally step back? You see the patterns. You see the manipulations. And you see that this whole system is built to serve her, not anyone else.

That’s what the Lily Playbook is.

And once you learn to recognize it, you’ll start seeing it everywhere she goes.

[maxdibert]

I feel like JKR really didn't think things through when she wrote Severus and Lily's backstory, because it's so messy. Especially the mudblood episode. I know she wanted to give us only a few glimpses of their relationship, and let the readers fill the gaps. But honestly, what she gave us doesn't help me understand what happened.

Because like you said, if it's true that Severus had been "calling everyone a mudblood", it makes Lily come off as selfish for not caring until it affected her personally. But I don't think that was the impression we were supposed to get. This is the moment that begins Severus' "downfall" into the death eaters, so I feel like we were supposed to agree with Lily and sympathize with hee.

So I try to find an explanation. Did she only find out after Severus called her a mudblood? Did her housemates tell her that? Is it even true? Or is it just an exaggerated rumor? I mean, everyone, including Lily and the marauders seemed shocked by Severus using that word, like it was unexpected. Could it be that he has said it before, and rumors spiraled into "he says it all the time, about everyone".

I know I'm thinking too much about it, but I can't help it. I try to make sense of it, but the pieces don't fit.

es, these are things that clearly don’t hold up. If Severus was really doing that, why didn’t she confront him earlier? Or why, in that scene, doesn’t she say something like she’s already warned him several times that his behavior is crap? It implies that she never called him out or said anything, which doesn’t make sense considering that in other scenes we see her snapping at him the moment he says something that bothers her.

If Lily had that kind of personality and didn’t hesitate to confront Severus over trivial matters, how come she never confronted him about truly important things? Did she not find out until he called her a "Mudblood"? If it’s because her Gryffindor friends told her then, would she really believe them and end a relationship based on gossip instead of clarifying things? Or did she already know but didn’t care because it didn’t affect her directly?

If the Mary McDonald thing was such a big deal, why not bring it up then? Why not confront him about his friends? And in any case, what moral standing did she have to confront Severus when she spent her life minimizing what the Marauders did to him?

That’s what I mean when I talk about Rowling’s inconsistency, it's a narrative flaw. Rowling tends to create deus ex machina moments, or basically, situations that conveniently make the plot work the way she wants it to, but that make no sense and haven’t been set up beforehand in any way. Constant plot holes.

[heliza24]

Please allow me to brain dump all of my episode 5/devils minion thoughts/questions/predictions one more time before the episode comes out this weekend here. Only partially organized into something of a list:

- After the initial aborted interview, Armand is jealous that Daniel is able to connect to Louis in a way that he cannot, and he’s furious that Louis tells him about Lestat. He’s also just angry and frustrated. He’s been trying to make things up to Louis for thirty years, and their relationship has been strained for as long. And he takes it out on Daniel. I imagine the “is that was makes you fascinating?” Could easily be in response to Louis saying something like “I know I should have killed him, like we always kill the boys we sleep with, but he was just so fascinating that I didn’t want to.” And then all the jealousy that Armand has carefully stored away when Louis was imagining Lestat or choosing to sleep with another human rather than him just bubbles up to the surface.

- The more I think about it the more questions I have about Louis and Armand’s relationship (and their relationship to the absent Lestat) at this time. What caused Louis to want to do a first interview in the 70s? What happened between the 1973 and 2022 to change how he describes Lestat to Daniel so much? How and why do Louis and Daniel connect, and what does that mean for why they are repeating the interview in 2022? I am sometimes very guilty of having Armandaniel ship goggles on, I love them so so much together, and most of the further points on this list are from that lens. But I would be remiss to forget that Louis is the protagonist of this show, and that he has always been paralleled with Daniel narratively. So their connection is going to be really important, and i am also dying to understand it.

- Armand’s “I am the quiet you have been longing for” speech to Daniel is the equivalent of Santiago rooting around in his victim’s head before luring them into a willing death on stage. It’s seduction, but a seduction towards death. Armand is trying to peel Daniel apart in his anger. But somewhere along the line he gets too used to looking, too fascinated himself, to kill Daniel.

- I’m sure some of the initial anger at Daniel, and some of the initial anger at Louis, for humoring and connecting with him, has to do with Armand’s engrained respect for the great laws. Louis violates the law about not recording the history of the vampires, by talking to Daniel. He has revealed his true nature and let Daniel live, etc. part of me wonders if that’s why there’s that photo of Armand and Louis carrying Daniel when Louis is clearly being burned by doing it during the day. He made a mess, and his punishment is to do the dirty work of cleaning it up, even if Armand could take care of Daniel quickly on his own if he wanted to. I presume that eventually Armand ends up breaking rules himself around Daniel (not killing him, chiefly) which makes the forbidden aspect of their relationship all the more interesting to me.

- The two examples we have so far of Armand peering into Daniel’s memories (selling porn magazines and sleeping with a girl only if she would cover her face) speak to a combination of sexual shame, cruelty, repression, and desperation. There is something prompting Danny to sell those magazines, whether it be poverty or some hidden trauma. And Armand is familiar with that kind of relationship to sexuality. There might also be something about Daniel’s sexual brashness, as complicated as that might actually be, that feels refreshing after decades of Louis’s simmering resentment. There’s also a similarity between these early Daniel facts and Louis pulling the knife on Paul. It demonstrates a vampire-compatible personality (a certain viciousness combined with certain type of shame) while they’re both still human. And I’m sure that is fascinating to Armand.

- I’m also hoping that we’ll learn a little bit about Daniel’s childhood or backstory. I do feel like he has to be already running from something by the time he meets the vampires. He’s self medicating for sure, and I want to know why. Whenever I write about Daniel in fic I always end up coming back to his relationship to women and mothers/daughters, maybe because his daughters that he doesn’t speak to anymore in 2022 seem to loom large in absentia to me in the Dubai version of his character (especially in the ways they echo with Claudia). His disavowal of his queerness and kind of casual acceptance of the fact that he was a shitty husband does the same thing. The casual cruelty and misogyny of the bag over the head story reinforces this to me. I would love to learn more about this side of Danny, not because I think it’s a particularly good part of him, but because it’s a thing I think we’re missing in our understanding of him. It makes him grey in the same way the vampires are grey, in the same way Louis was grey before he was turned, and I want to understand it better.

- I think Louis begs Armand to stop torturing Daniel; whether or not he and Daniel actually hook up (and I kind hope they do!) I think Louis genuinely likes him. But Armand either refuses or continues to chase/torture/fall in love with Daniel behind Louis’s back. I’m not positive this is what the show is going to do, but I think it would work so well to have Daniel basically be an affair during Louis and Armand’s marriage. that information imbalance would make the drama in the penthouse more dynamic, and I think it would make sense that Armand would be looking for some kind of release, something that was just his, while he was trying to manage Louis’s moods and continued attachment to Lestat.

- I have a kind of more structural question as well, which is- how much they are gonna show us in this episode? Just from a character arc perspective, I don’t think they can end season 2 without Daniel knowing exactly why his memories were erased. That’s his dramatic question; not just what happened to me, but why do I not remember (and what does that mean for me now)? So I suspect that if we only see the first part of Devil’s minion in this episode, the torture and the stalking maybe, but we don’t get to the point where Daniel’s memories are erased, then there will be future revelations in the later episodes about happened in the 1970s. I am also wondering if the episode will be akin to a bottle episode, at least in the San Francisco section, set all over the same night in the same location. This is very play-like, so it would not surprise me if the writers room full of playwrights wrote it this way. And we’ve also only seen images and clips from the one location and the one set of costumes. If that’s the case, and we learn why Daniel’s memories were erased in this episode, that means his interaction with the vampires was actually pretty short lived, and any deeper devil’s minion stuff is gonna happen in the Dubai era if it happens at all. Because of that I either hope that the episode is less of a bottle episode than we’ve been led to believe, or that the bottle episode is only the start of a longer interaction between Daniel and Armand.

- To me Armand is like a dragon, who has been taught through repeated trauma that the only way to get what he wants is to roll over and show his vulnerable belly. Thats his dynamic with Louis; he grants him control even though he is the more powerful one because he wants to keep Louis. But Armand comes in like the monster he is to Daniel, and the fact that Daniel ends up liking him anyway, and doesn’t ask him to dim his power or appear more human or more gentle, is what makes their connection special. That’s what makes generally terrifying Danny early on necessary, the idea that he sees the absolute worst of Armand and is still somehow interested. I hope we can get to the point in this season where Daniel can articulate how attracted he is to Armand’s monstrosity. Based on the critic’s reactions I guess we’re not getting that this episode? But I live in hope that we’ll get that sentiment somehow before the season ends.

- Part of me is scared that the critics who believe that nothing romantic is going on between Daniel and Armand are somehow correct. Like, maybe we just aren’t gonna see any of that at all this season. Maybe if they have a romance at all it will just be in the Dubai timeline somewhere down the road. But then I remember the way Assad plays Armand around Daniel, and the way that he has jumped to Daniel’s aid twice (once in season 1 and once in season 2), and the “Alice wanted to say yes when you proposed but you hadn’t given her a reason to trust you” comment, which to me so clearly reads as Armand talking about himself. Surely those things don’t mean nothing.

- I love the idea that if Daniel and Armand were having an affair, Daniel asking to be turned and made into Armand’s companion would involve Armand leaving Louis, or at least breaking his trust further. That would be a huge leap for Armand because of the ways that he’s committed to and indebted to Louis because of what happened in Paris, and it makes sense to me that he wouldn’t be able to make that leap. Especially if Daniel’s addiction issues ends up transferring to vampire blood. The question of “do you really love me or do you just want to drink from me?” Is such a great doubt for a vampire to have, and I can see it really plaguing Armand, enough for him to not want to turn Daniel. I also hope we get him just in general not wanting to make fledglings because it feels like passing on a curse, and wanting to protect Daniel from the hellish parts of vampire existence by keeping him human. (I wonder if we’ll also see some kind of evolution in Louis and Armand’s relationship that will make it easier for Armand to recommit to Louis. Some kind of demonstration by Louis that he would pick Armand over Lestat if he had a choice? Something else? I’m not sure).

- I do think Daniel asking for the memory wipe himself is the most dramatically satisfying way for it to happen. Daniel being desperate for immortality, and despondent at the fact that Armand won’t turn him, and choosing to forget him instead is just so good. Especially if Armand acquiesces because he can see that his and Daniel’s connection is hurting Daniel and affecting Daniel’s mental health. It would fit with the way that Armand puts all of his partners before himself, because Armand would erase Daniel’s memory to save him, at the expense of his own broken heart. And that broken heart would explain the vacillating coldness and bitterness and affection he treats Daniel with in Dubai. And it would be an incredibly difficult realization for Dubai Daniel to have, that the person he initially thought was a monster because he committed this violation of his mind actually did so at Daniel’s own behest. This would fit with something that Eric mentioned in an interview, that Daniel realizes that he has fucked up two marriages because of the things that went down with the vampires that he cannot remember. What if the reason he could never be happily married was that he was never fully over Armand, even if he didn’t realize it? Heartbreaking. Juicy. The stuff of good drama! This is the other reason I keep reassuring myself that something romantic did happen between Daniel and Armand in the past. It changes the Dubai dynamics in ways that are simply too rich to ignore.

- I also do suspect that season 2 is gonna end with modern day Louis and Lestat being reunited. Lestat has to be around to narrate season 3 after all, and we have that tiny clip of the Loustat hug that feels modern. I’m really excited about that! But my heart breaks for Armand in that case, and I just… really hope that Daniel could be Armand’s safe place to land if Louis ends up leaving him at the end of the season.

[yuseirra]

Final Analysis: "Oshi no Ko" is indeed a story that reinterprets mythology (the story progresses with both surface-level and deep-level narratives running in parallel).

Just why didn’t they explain this beforehand?

I REALLY hope this is my last time bringing up this subject! I'm doing this for myself mostly, because I want to understand things and form a proper closure! If you disagree, I understand! But I'd like to say I really am fully believing the idea after having given this series a proper close read and examined the work with care. I did my best.

In my opinion, the only way to explain this work and understand why its narrative unfolded the way it did is truly just that—it’s based on mythology.

But the creators didn’t fully elaborate on or explain this, so is it fair that readers are left to figure this out on their own over months, scouring articles or even research papers? And even then, because they didn’t definitively establish this, I’ve now reached the conclusion that there is no other way to explain this work than by interpreting it as mythology. The story doesn’t just reinterpret mythology; it reaches a level where the ending is essentially swallowed by the myth itself. And yet, it feels like no one around me—aside from me—is thinking this way. It’s incredibly frustrating, suffocating, isolating... My head honestly hurt so much because I wasn’t even sure if my interpretation was correct.

Still, since the work itself is so chaotic and spiraled into complete disarray near the end, I felt the need to solidify what kind of story it actually is. After all, we need to at least understand what this story is about to form any kind of judgment. If things remain unresolved like this, the story remains incomprehensible and unbearably unsettling, so I felt I had to tie up the loose ends myself.

I considered myself a relatively diligent reader who followed the story closely, but there were so many events happening in the narrative, and yet the reasons behind them—the explanations for why things unfolded that way—remained utterly unclear and confusing. (This is why I often criticize the story as incomplete or poorly written.) I don’t think I lack reading comprehension or the ability to grasp context. Usually, I can figure out what a story is trying to convey. But with this work, it’s simply impossible to explain unless you bring in mythology. On the other hand, if you do bring mythology into the equation, then it becomes explainable.

That’s why, even if one wouldn’t be able to fully understand the story, there'd be the need to examine those elements to make some sense of it. From the moment the narrative introduced gods, missions, and similar motifs, it became clear that those elements weren’t insignificant. After all, the protagonists themselves reincarnated to fulfill their missions from the gods. But even this concept of “mission” wasn’t clearly defined in the story—it was left ambiguous, merely hinted at. Readers are forced to figure out what it might be on their own, but the story doesn’t even provide proper clues. This lack of clarity and consideration for the audience is why the manga feels so unkind and perplexing.

This manga, in short, simultaneously unfolds with two narratives: a surface-level narrative (表層叙事) and a deep-level narrative (深層叙事). This will get long, so I'll put everything else under the read more.

The surface-level narrative is the storyline we see directly in the manga. It can be summarized as Aqua’s journey for revenge.

The deep-level narrative isn’t intricately crafted or detailed—it’s simply mythology. The deep-level narrative of this manga is a reinterpretation of Japanese mythology. However, it’s only faintly alluded to and isn’t treated as a significant element. But by the time we reach the conclusion, understanding this deep-level narrative becomes necessary to explain and make sense of the events in the surface-level narrative. Despite this, the creators didn’t even acknowledge the existence of such a layer, leaving readers confused and unable to understand.

And yet, even if readers were to figure all of this out, it likely wouldn’t fundamentally change the evaluation of the work. Perhaps that’s why the creators chose to leave it as is.

Unless you're anyone with even a moderate understanding of Japanese mythology, it's impossible to figure out, “What is this? What kind of story was this?” But if that’s the only way to understand it, then it’s the creators who failed, isn’t it? I happened to have a faint understanding, so I thought, “Could it be this?” and started looking into it. As I became more interested, the things I discovered fit together, allowing me to interpret the story. But ultimately, the material that should have been fully shown and explained within the work itself wasn’t properly addressed. That’s the problem here.

Using the interpretation I pieced together, everything can align perfectly. The hints are subtly present in the work, and when you connect them, you can explain what kind of story this is. But the problem is, the balance shifts in a strange way.

Can this balance really be considered “well-handled,” or does it feel more like, “The narratives we thought were important turned out to be irrelevant, and this is what it actually was”? Seeing the resolution, I’m leaning toward the latter.

The parts involving Aqua and the two heroines (Kana and Akane) are the surface narrative. Most readers, while reading this manga, probably thought that this was the important part and rooted for this aspect of the story. Aqua lived as a doctor, was reincarnated as the child of his favorite idol, and entered the entertainment industry seeking revenge after that idol’s death. Along the way, he formed bonds represented by the two heroines, and through these relationships, he experienced change. Most would think, “This is the main plot of Oshi no Ko,” and the story indeed presents it that way.

But when you reach the ending, this narrative doesn’t hold as much weight as expected, and that’s bewildering, isn’t it?

The weight of the story shifts to the deeper narrative rooted in Japanese mythology, that's why.

It's characters like Ruby, Ai, Kamiki, and Tsukuyomi who are deeply intertwined with this deeper narrative.

Ruby was supposed to fulfill the role of a dual protagonist and occasionally received key episodes. But for some reason, it always felt like Aqua was the true protagonist. Looking at it now, I think it’s because Aqua and Ruby had different roles as “protagonists” within the story.

If Aqua was a character involved in the “human side” of the narrative (which made him seem incredibly significant, leading us to follow his journey as if he were the main protagonist, with his story appearing to form the core plot), Ruby was more deeply connected to the “divine side.” (She was loved by the gods, received their help, became entangled with the crow, and even at the end, it was said the gods sent her. She called herself Amaterasu and prayed to the gods. While Aqua had some involvement in this aspect, his role was more about supporting Ruby, making her far more significant in this context.)

But this “divine side” ultimately took all the narrative weight. Ruby survives, and everything Aqua achieved through the story is discarded in the end.

The storylines involving Kana and Akane? If you consider the ending, they were peripheral and not truly necessary. While their parts were enjoyable, and one might have hoped for an ending where Aqua survives and builds a future with those friends, those relationships don’t significantly affect the plot or the conclusion. Whether Aqua met them or not, the crux of Aqua’s story was about confronting the presumed murderer of Ai (his father), seeking revenge, and eventually killing Kamiki, who posed a threat to Ruby’s future. Aqua then sacrifices himself for this cause. That’s how it unfolded. Unfortunately, neither Kana nor Akane played a major role in influencing or changing this outcome. Strictly speaking, their presence wasn’t necessary for the story. Which I feel pretty sad about, but it's true. Aqua could have straightforwardly found his father and killed him, and that would have been the end of it. This is what makes it feel so hollow.

And this is why I concluded that the divine narrative overshadowed everything else. Aqua’s personal growth and relationships in the story were all consumed by this.

It does seem likely that the author decided on the ending first and then built the story to fit that framework.

The story became what it is because they decided to “follow the framework of mythology.” That’s why so much of what Aqua did all along ultimately felt pointless. The mythology’s ending was already predetermined.

This story opens by saying it’s fiction. Isn’t mythology the quintessential example of fiction? If that’s the case, the creators should have at least made it clear that this was their intent. That would have been understandable. But this work doesn’t even do that, nor does it adequately present the knowledge required to grasp the mythology. Instead, it forces readers to put in extraordinary effort outside of the work itself to do it (I’m not even Japanese, so this wasn’t easy for me).

You can still read the story without knowing these things, but fully understanding “What was this story really about?” becomes impossible. That’s a problem. Without resolving that, the story remains incomplete. It feels unfinished.

So, what conclusion have I drawn about the deeper narrative of this manga?

Ruby is Amaterasu. Her mission is to become a radiant being (as shown in the final chapter).

Aqua was born to protect Ruby. That is his mission (as stated by himself).

It was hinted from the very beginning that these two were born with missions. The concept of reincarnation itself is presented as highly unique, and Tsukuyomi, the god appearing in the story, repeatedly suggests pondering the meaning of their souls inhabiting their bodies and their purpose. From all this, it seems correct to say they are beings with predetermined missions.

However, Aqua only realizes his mission is what he's stated at the very end, moments before his death. Up until that point, he clearly lived with a different goal in mind. His stated objectives throughout the story were: avenging Ai by finding and killing the person who caused her death (his biological father) or making him suffer unbearably.

But can that goal naturally shift to protecting Ruby? Can killing Kamiki really lead to that outcome?

If we accept this, it means Aqua’s “mission” as hinted throughout the story was ultimately connected to Kamiki.

The mission to kill or capture Kamiki was always there; it’s just a matter of how it was rationalized.

Aqua’s purpose shifted from avenging Ai to protecting Ruby. The actions required to fulfill these purposes, however, remained the same.

Aqua often says things like, “I’ll go to hell” or “I don’t deserve happiness.” I strongly feel that this sentiment stems from the nature of his mission—to capture or eliminate someone.

Recall how, when Aqua believed his father was already dead, his expression softened, the black star in his eye disappeared, and he seemed at peace. It was because he felt freed from the burden of his mission. But as soon as he discovered that his father was alive, he became ensnared by it again.

Aqua’s mission was likely to take down Kamiki, or to accomplish something related to him. And perhaps, in carrying out this mission, Aqua knew he would have to die.

That’s why Tsukuyomi warned him not to form emotional attachments to others.

Now, let’s ask: why is taking down Kamiki such a monumental task, one deemed significant enough for the gods to assign as a mission? Why must it become the life’s purpose of our protagonist, requiring him to sacrifice everything he has?

The reason is that Kamiki is no ordinary human.

If he were to be just human, they could simply have him arrested. Just file a report and be done with it. So why does Aqua have to die for this?

It feels as though that’s not an option. Somehow, things just can’t work out that way, right? And the events surrounding that character are deeply unsettling. It's unnatural. I'm not even sure if it's controllable.

It’s ambiguous whether Kamiki causes destruction intentionally or whether it spirals out of his control. His seemingly small actions lead to catastrophically disproportionate consequences. Furthermore, there’s no evidence left behind. The incidents surrounding him, in my view, aren’t something that can be carried out or resolved within the realm of human capabilities.

Kamiki’s involvement is so significant that the gods decided it warranted reincarnating two individuals and assigning them a mission.

When you piece together the identities of the gods mentioned in the story, you’ll uncover what Kamiki truly is.

If we analyze it closely, there are two distinct groups of myths woven into the story.

First, there’s the mythology surrounding the death of the creator gods Izanagi and Izanami. Their children, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi, are explicitly referenced.

Second, we have myths related to the Sun Goddess and the descent of the Heavenly Grandchild, involving Amaterasu and Ame-no-Uzume. These deities are directly mentioned by name in the plot.

In the myths about the creator gods, Amaterasu, Tsukuyomi, and Susanoo are triplets. If Aqua corresponds to Susanoo, the god of storms and the sea, we can identify thematic parallels. In the myth, after Izanami’s death, Izanagi descends to the underworld to retrieve her but fails. When he returns to the surface, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi are born from his eyes, and Susanoo from his nose. While Tsukuyomi is the one that is related to the eyes in the original myth, along with Amaterasu, Aqua seems to have inherited the star-related motif instead.

This influence from mythology is evident. Susanoo is said to have cried for his mother, leading to a conflict with his father, reflecting Aqua’s own struggles with his father and his longing for his mother figure, Ai. The star motif in the twins' eyes could also stem from this myth.

Additionally, the creator god myth includes the father’s failed attempt to resurrect the mother—a narrative that echoes the dynamic between Ai and Kamiki.

The Sun Goddess and Heavenly Descent myth introduces Ame-no-Uzume, the goddess of entertainment and dance. In myth, she uses her bold and honest nature to coax Amaterasu out of the cave where she has hidden, frightened by Susanoo. This parallels Ruby’s transformation from Sarina, who was inspired by Ai’s performance, to becoming a radiant idol herself. If Ai corresponds to a deity in this myth, she would align with Ame-no-Uzume.

Ame-no-Uzume plays another crucial role: she escorts Amaterasu’s grandson to Earth and encounters Sarutahiko, a deity of light and the Earth who guarded the passage to Earth. His body is said to sparkle brightly with light. Sarutahiko initially opposed Amaterasu’s grandson’s descent because it would diminish his authority. However, he fell in love with Ame-no-Uzume, who seduced him. They became a couple, and while there’s no explicit mention of their marriage, they lived together on Earth, had children, and were revered as a couple. Their descendants were known for performing "Kagura," sacred dances.

The shrine the characters visited in Oshi no Ko, the Aratate Shrine in Miyazaki, is dedicated to commemorating their meeting. Aqua references Ame-no-Uzume by name, saying he knows her well. However, the shrine doesn’t honor her alone but enshrines her and her partner Sarutahiko together.

As for Kamiki, the parallels he has with Sarutahiko are undeniable. It's no joke, I keep finding new things that I find they share in common every time I look up the god.

= Kamiki is the deity Sarutahiko Okami, the husband of the goddess of entertainment (Ai). This has to be it. Every time I read this work, I keep coming to this same conclusion. There’s even foreshadowing to back it up.

Sarutahiko is said to have the power to fulfill the wishes of others, a power that only manifests when he is with his wife.

Most importantly, Sarutahiko is a guide, leading people toward a brighter future, into goodness. Under normal circumstances, this is a benevolent role.

However, something has clearly gone awry. This "flaw" is explicitly referenced in the lyrics of the songs featured in the story.

The source of this "flaw" is rooted in Kamiki’s past, which the story has partially revealed. And as stated by the songs, the "lack of Ai"'s what's been intensifying, amplifying, or the major cause of him unable to be helped out of that state.

While much about Kamiki remains ambiguous, if he is that deity who can "twist the future," all attempts to rationalize his character become unnecessary.

Imagine such a deity descending into madness. Aqua’s mission to stop him suddenly makes sense.

It becomes a divinely mandated duty—worth sacrificing one’s life for—because this is a calamity beyond human intervention.

Notably, this deity is said to meet his end by drowning, a detail consistent with the story’s thematic elements.

So ultimately, the narrative of Oshi no Ko can be understood as a fusion of various myths centered on Amaterasu (Ruby).

The myths include:

The story of Amaterasu’s parents and the failed resurrection of the deceased (echoing Ai and Kamiki).

Amaterasu’s emergence from the cave (paralleling Ame-no-Uzume’s connection with Ai and Ruby).

The Heavenly Descent myth, where Ame-no-Uzume meets and seduces Sarutahiko (amalgamated with the creator god myth, having Aqua, the Susanoo, the sea deity who;s in bad terms with his father, playing a role in Sarutahiko-Kamiki’s demise).

Thus, Ruby suddenly emerges as the central figure of this intricate tapestry of myths.

To elaborate a bit further, Sarutahiko was also a native sun god, meaning he likely served the role of the sun deity before Amaterasu.

Therefore, if he wasn’t in good condition, the gods might have sent Amaterasu, the new sun god, to replace him. This is a plausible interpretation.

As for Ai… Kamiki is her divine husband, isn’t he?

Kamiki is originally a guiding god who leads everything in a positive direction. Ai might have unconsciously known that the situation would improve if he were set back on the right path. That’s likely why she entrusted their children with the task of helping her with guiding him back if he's gone lost.

Sarutahiko and Ame-no-Uzume are known to be an incredibly harmonious couple, they are very loving together.

It seems to me that the author of this story really loves mythology. Considering that this is a narrative about the entertainment industry, it feels inevitable that the story of these deities—protectors of the entertainment world—would be incorporated. Their tale is actually rather charming and heartwarming. A goddess descended from the heavens and, upon seeing the radiant god of the land, fell for him. She persuaded him to guide her, and they instantly hit it off. The two eventually became a couple and jointly protected the entertainment industry. After that, Ame-no-Uzume took charge of love and romance, while Sarutahiko became the god who guides everything toward good outcomes.

As for their inherent abilities: Ame-no-Uzume was associated with entertainment (dance and song) and was also the goddess of dawn, while Sarutahiko was a great deity of light, the land, and the sun.

When they became a couple, they gained additional abilities. Ame-no-Uzume, worshipped alongside her husband at shrines, began granting blessings related to love, marriage, and romance. Sarutahiko, after guiding Ame-no-Uzume and Amaterasu, gained the ability to lead others' futures in a positive direction—a power to guide others' fates.

Don’t these characteristics align with the abilities Ai and Kamiki would have if they were deities?

Their abilities also correspond to those granted by the white and black star eyes: eyes that convey love, and eyes that influence and sway others.

Ai and Kamiki correspond to Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami, respectively. By nature, they would have been a deeply loving couple.

Sarutahiko, in particular, was convinced by his wife’s words, let go of many things, and agreed to marry her. This indicates that he was likely a devoted husband. Furthermore, he is such a powerful deity that he’s referred to with the honorary title Ōkami, placing him among only seven supreme gods, including Amaterasu.

After his wife’s death, he seems to have gone mad and caused disasters. There’s no way this god would have wanted his wife to die. I think he didn’t realize at first that he had the ability to twist others’ futures. Hints of this can be found in the lyrics of the first ending and the second opening of the series—lines like "I’ve forgotten who I am" and "creative fall" are highly suggestive. Also, in the first opening, which focuses on Ai, she’s referred to as the reincarnation of a star. This suggests that Ai is literally a "star"—in other words, a kind of deity.

The white and black star eyes possess power and exert influence over those who have them. Kamiki, who was gathering white stars, was essentially searching for Ai. He was looking for his wife.

Now, let’s summarize the deeper narrative of this story:

Ai and Kamiki are not ordinary humans but are reincarnations of gods—specifically Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto and Sarutahiko-no-Ōkami.

They were somehow born as humans, met, and became a couple, but the darkness of the entertainment industry drove them apart. At this time, Kamiki was in a very poor state.

Kamiki, as the god of light, could not restore his light. The key to recovery, based on clues from the story’s ending, appears to be "love." This is also essential for Ai as a deity. Both characters lived longing for love because it is central to their function as gods.

Kamiki, a guiding god, became fixed in a state where his eyes were black stars instead of white ones, leading him to unintentionally twist others’ futures negatively. This likely wasn’t intentional at first.

The gods gave their children a mission. While the children were originally not supposed to be born, Tsukuyomi (the god of fate) intervened to place suitable souls into their bodies. In other words, the bodies are the children of reincarnated gods, while their souls were specifically chosen by the gods. This is what Tsukuyomi means by "you should realize why your souls are within those body"

Among the children, Ruby is Amaterasu (confirmed), and Aqua is likely Susanoo (suspected). Tsukuyomi watches over them (Izanagi’s triplets).

Ruby’s mission is to shine, while Aqua’s mission is to protect Ruby as she fulfills her role/get his dad.

Amaterasu, as the sun god, overlaps with Sarutahiko’s domain. In one myth, Amaterasu replaces Sarutahiko, after which he drowns. If Ruby is Amaterasu, she may have been sent to replace Kamiki, who was no longer functioning properly.

Ai dies. Aqua becomes convinced that avenging her is his mission. Kamiki is somehow involved in Ai’s death, and he blames himself for it. Whether it was his intention remains unclear as of the story’s conclusion.

Kamiki wanders in search of Ai and her love. Based on the lyrics and narratives in the story, he initially wanted to bring Ai back to life. Realizing this was impossible, he seemed to shift his goal to becoming like Ai or getting closer to her. At the same time, his self-hatred intensified, leaving him indifferent to his own survival. Yet, he couldn’t give up on Ai and continued pursuing related endeavors.

Kamiki, realizing that his children are seeking him, guides Ruby and Aqua to find him through his powers as a guiding god (lyrics of Mephisto). Ruby’s rapid career rise, seemingly aided by divine intervention, is likely due to his influence. He is also the one granting wishes, as seen when he asks Ruby what she wants to become or wishes for.

Tsukuyomi observes the situation and prompts the twins—especially Aqua—to approach Kamiki. From the gods’ perspective, Kamiki is dangerous and must be replaced and removed. Ruby, as Amaterasu, is capable of both replacing him and fulfilling Ai’s role. Aqua is pushed to protect Ruby’s fate and eliminate Kamiki through extreme measures.

Ultimately, Aqua sacrifices everything, including his own future, to achieve this goal. Kamiki, as a guiding god, cannot influence someone with no future, making Aqua’s choice effective. In the process, Aqua realizes that his mission was to help Ruby shine as Amaterasu.

Ruby, as Amaterasu, fulfills her mission and shines brilliantly. She continues to live, carrying out the role assigned to her by the gods.

This is probably how peculiar elements like gods, reincarnation, missions, wishes, stars, etc., have been underlying this story all along.

And if you look closely, these are the decisive elements that have driven the narrative. Without these, there would be no reason for the ending to unfold this way, and interpreting the progression in this light feels more natural.

But why didn’t they properly explain this??? Are there many people who understand this story as such? I think there’s no other way to unify and explain everything in the story except for this interpretation, and yet, even I have never seen the story explicitly touch on this properly, so I’m confused myself. I honestly think the storytelling failed here.

I usually write posts like this all in one sitting, this time too, so I ended up completely drained... LOL. But if I can sit down and write all this at once without any outline, it means I’m not bad at writing, right...? haha..

The writers didn’t do their job properly. I haven’t been able to find any other way to interpret this. Over the past few months, I’ve been wondering what on earth is going on because the most basic elements are presented in such a vague and peculiar way that it’s hard to grasp. It was so frustrating.

This is it. This must be it. Writing it all down like this helps me move forward a bit.

I don’t know if there’s any other way to interpret it, but interpreting it this way makes everything fit perfectly—even down to the characters’ names.

Kamiki, that guy, is the god of light. Ai is "the love of the stars", in this manga, stars = gods, and the light of love (Ai) resides within the white star in the eyes.

That’s why Kamiki, after Ai’s death, went looking for her through gathering them. Even the lyrics of the songs align perfectly when interpreted this way—it all comes together cohesively.

Seeing their father go mad, and act this way - because he’s a god gone mad- the other gods used their children: one to replace the roles of their parents (the god of light + the god of love substituted through Amaterasu) and the other to capture and possibly kill the mad god and prevent him from causing further catastrophes.

That’s the core of this story.

But then, what were Akane and Kana? Why did they include those narratives if they didn’t influence the ending? It’s so frustrating and infuriating because, on the surface, it seemed like Aqua and his friends were the central focus of the story. Looking at the ending, though, they were treated as side plots—parts that could have been left out entirely.

Should we think of them as subplots? But then again, Aqua hurt those girls so much. It’s heartbreaking when you think about it. I wish he just stayed as a pal and hadn’t gotten entangled with them or played with their feelings. Why did he leave things ambiguous with them...

Hey, but Kamiki, at least, was sincere toward Ai. About his concept of love... sigh. He’s got a lot of issues, really, but despite all those issues, he genuinely wanted to give everything and devoted himself entirely to her. To me, it seems like he loved Ai so much that he went mad, and because his powers went awry, Ai ended up dying. So he roamed around, trying to retrieve her and bring her back to life to reverse it.

I don’t think he ever had malicious intent. I know, clearly, at this point, he’s completely insane and needs to face punishment still, but... his life was just total misery and the story doesn't explain anything about him so that he can be took as what he actually is in a fair sense.

This person… It’s not that I can’t analyze characters, and it’s not that I’m unable to read into their psychology, but I think this person really is kind. They act and speak kindly even when there’s absolutely no need to do so in a given situation. It’s not pretense—it’s genuinely their nature. That’s why I’ve been so unsure about how to perceive them. Why would the writers portray someone like this? Without delving into the deeper narrative layers, it’s impossible to grasp this character.

If Kamiki hadn’t ended up in this situation, he would’ve been an incredibly good person. Not just ordinarily good—exceptionally so. There’s not much evidence for this, there isn't much we see about him in the first place, but if they’ve shown him to this extent without directly portraying anything that proves against it, it actually makes sense in terms of narrative causality. It means the events unfolding the way they did are somehow justified even without explicit proof. That he's kind, but there's still something about him that can cause immense malice and destruction at the same time. From what I can see, he would’ve been one of the rarest and most genuinely good people, in the top few percent. That’s why I found it so baffling that he could commit such actions.

He’s likely a god,—a god who couldn’t handle the grief of losing his wife. He really is a god. Rather than a person being evil, he’s a god driven mad by his wife’s death. I wish Ai could come for him somehow... He should go to hell, he's committed so many unforgivable sins yeah? but on his way there, I hope she could at least see him off one last time. That is, if she didn’t lose all affection for him after witnessing his actions. I don't think she would have, but he'd still have to pay for his wrongs though. That's why I kept drawing comics with that kind of note.

It’s unclear whether he intended such extreme outcomes or whether his powers acted on their own. That ambiguity comes from the fact that there were definitely points where it seemed like he couldn’t control himself. He speaks so softly, and he’s kindhearted—but he’s no longer in his right mind, and it seems like everything other than Ai has completely disappeared from his view.

It shouldn’t have come to this. If he remained the kind of person he should’ve been, this wouldn’t have happened. But we’re not just seeing a change in personality; this is a fundamental corruption of his very essence. It’s the kind of transformation that happens to someone who isn’t human, and there were clues all along suggesting this. That’s why interpreting it this way feels right.

When you view it through this lens, the entire story comes together. It explains why things have unfolded the way they have.

I need to go read some books. Honestly, while following this work, I seriously questioned myself: Am I the one who doesn’t get it? Is it my reading comprehension that’s lacking? I agonized over it because the plot was seemingly sailing smooth, but the ending threw me into complete confusion. I started wondering, Can I even read books properly? and felt a bit of existential dread.

But this works. This must be it.

It’s not about couples or pairings; ships, otps, I'm serious!!! It’s about how the story unfolds in a natural flow and leads to this kind of conclusion. From that perspective, this kind of organization was necessary.

Now, I really don't want to keep talking about this anymore. I don’t want to. I just want to organize my thoughts, understand, and conclude, Oh, this is what the story was about, and then move on to something else. I want to shake off this lingering discomfort. This work kept bugging me because it felt so unexplained and I could sense some sense of underlying layer just hanging but never discussed.

I was really anxious, but I’m confident this is it. Even if it isn’t, I don’t think the writers could have wrapped it up in a way that makes more sense than this. That’s how certain I am.

But seriously, how could they make me piece this all together through independent research on my own? This is just too much… it was so exhausting, truly.

[anthurak]

Hi, I'm a completelly new to RWBY (half way through volume 5 now) and I'm enamored with your rosebirds posting . First because it adds so much more drama if it were true. Second because a reactor I watch asked a very interesting question " why would Yang's mom look like Ruby ?" for the volume 2 ending commentary.And last but not least it's just so tragicomic that Raven is a deadbeat mom twice, like whyyyy ?

If I got it right it goes : she has sex with Tai , Tai gets her pregnant, she carries it to term and leave, then she has sex with Summer , Summer gets her pregnant (?) And she just decides to carry it again and leave once more for reasons known only be her ?

The only question that it leaves me wondering is if Raven got envolved with two people of her team separatelly or if Summer and Tai were already a couple and she just decided to help them out ? To give them kids (???) Help me understand please, unless it's spoilers.

Hey, glad to hear you’re enjoying them XD And yeah, I think I’ve seen the reaction you’re talking about. It’s always fun to see more people likewise get curious why exactly Raven looks so much like Ruby :D

If you’re currently only partway through Volume 5, I’ll try to be vague on details that concern future volumes, but yeah what you said is mostly how I’m thinking things went down. Though with the one difference that I think it was Summer who got pregnant with Ruby. Mostly because I think that provides much better plausible deniability that Ruby could conceivably be Summer’s and Tai’s kid. For example, I imagine that Qrow having never told Ruby about this is because he doesn’t actually know, at least not for SURE. And Raven being the one who got pregnant or just Summer showing up with a kid despite not having been pregnant herself means that Qrow would DEFINITELY know for sure.

And more importantly, this all means that Raven gets to effectively be both a deadbeat mom AND a deadbeat dad! XD

To your actual question:

I actually don’t think Taiyang was EVER in any kind of serious relationship with Raven or Summer, at least not romantically. Yes, we do hear that Tai loved both Summer and Raven, but we likewise have really only heard HIS side of things. Notably we see in Volumes 4 and 5 that Raven clearly doesn’t think highly of Tai at all or shows any sign of past affection for him. As for Summer, well that falls under spoilers for future volumes. Some of my later posts on the RBP Masterlist, particularly the ones analyzing the Warrior in the Woods animated short go into detail on this. Though again, beware spoilers :)

Basically, I think any idea that Tai may have been seriously romantically involved with Summer or Raven (at least mutually) can be chocked up to a combination of rose-colored nostalgia-goggles on Tai’s part, long-held assumptions/headcanons of the fandom and RWBY’s general use of Unreliable Narrators.

Instead, I think the MAIN couple here, both for this theory and broader narrative developments in the story, was always Summer and Raven. At the very least, Summer was always Raven’s true love, and that Summer did reciprocate those feeling to one degree or another. In particular, I definitely think those two were partnered together at Beacon.

The hunch I have is that Yang was actually an unplanned pregnancy. The result of what should have been some drunken, one-night-stand between Raven and Tai. Maybe Tai was Raven’s rebound after a bad fight with Summer, but it accidentally resulted in Raven getting pregnant. Raven carries Yang to term (possibly at Summer’s prompting) but due to a number of personal issues ends up leaving not too long after Yang is born.

Then at some later date during some clandestine meeting, Summer and Raven conceive Ruby. This could have even been at Summer’s prompting specifically, as some misguided plan to convince Raven to come back to the team, and to her. Basically the classic ‘having a kid will save our relationship’ ploy. Which of course didn’t work out. Particularly after… well, whatever happened to Summer.

Hope that answers your questions! :D And that I didn’t inadvertently spoil anything for you lol

[teaonastro]

I’m glad I’ve been unbanned! That was a very dumb move of them to do because all it did was draw more attention to the posts I made about them. When you try to silence the biggest voice on the matter, of course it’ll draw attention, because what’s there to hide?

There’s someone saying that jupiiter deactivated due to another account that hacked her, which is a lie. She clearly deactivated after I checked her, and did it seconds after. No coincidence there.

There’s also someone saying they miss honey-b? Honey b’s content was good but she got called out for allegedly throwing micro aggressions towards black women in Aphrodicci’s server. I’m saying allegedly because I think Honey said she doesn’t even know where that happened or when, but she still apologized for it?? She then asked Lexa to defend her but didn’t tell her the full situation. But once Lexa found out about the full situation, she backed away and apologized and separated herself from honey. So now Aphrodicci’s friends are running with the narrative that Lexa is racist, which is a bold faced lie. Then honey decided, for some reason, to call out Lexa to being behind the vamptarotscam account, further make her out to be a villain while playing innocent as if she didn’t start all this, and thank aphrodicci and some of her friends and others before deactivating like a coward. I wonder why Aphrodicci’s friends “forgave” honey and supported her in flipping the narrative on Lexa. I wonder if Honey even truly threw micro aggressions towards black women and if this was all another manipulation tactic. Either way, I’m mentioning it because that situation pretty much reignited the fire around her discord server and who Aphrodicci is as a person.

We are so pleased to see that you have been unbanned Selene! It was a real dumb move on their side, and as someone said it was a total Karen move, considering Tumblr had no reason to shadow ban you in the first place. It only confirms the fact that they're trying to silence you for speaking the truth and calling them out on their vile behaviour.

And about jupiitersreturn: it was clearly a lie to possibly discredit the mess she has created further (and she failed on that, for sure). I trust this is a good lesson for all those involved: keep lying and you will be called out on it. Expect consequences for your behaviour.

Your comments on honey bitch are understandable. I felt particularly confused by how she handled everything. Stating it was false, it never happened, and then going on to apologize. Then to try throwing Tarotlexa under the bus by mentioning @vamptarotscam being hers. Only to then find out she pitched the idea to Lexa and supported it actively. It was a very confusing situation altogether. The timing of mentioning @vamptarotscam was very convenient, it was while she and her friends (Aphrodicci and co) were getting all the heat. Spiritstalking also blabbed that she might be the one behind @astrotroll. We don’t disagree with the possibility, at all- however; we have also decided to move on regarding the Astrotroll situation. We would like if honey bitch came forward and cleared things up. Even if it is anonymously. She was probably trying to villanize us and Lexa, and trying to redeem the server publicly as a survival tactic because of how many lies had been spread about her by that group- as well as to distance herself from the controversy by taking accountability and then redirecting the finger pointing. Which still didn’t work.

-Venus

[fruitbasketball]

i see your stand point of cc. and i’m not trying to defend her in any way, but as a woc myself, i don’t see how this is fair to her at all. im a personal believer that your actions and words reflect you, and other people’s actions and words reflect them. i believe it’s in the way you treat people as a human being that deems you a ‘good’ person. as far as i’ve seen, cc has given praise to legends and poc before her. i do think color has a major factor in the way her fans act, but i don’t believe her fans are a reflection of her at all. she’s spoken out about how there’s no room for racism or bigotry in her fanbase/the wnba. i genuinely believe she wants to play the game of basketball and get her money. i don’t think there should be anything wrong with that. i don’t think any other wnba player has been asked to ‘talk to’ their fan base about the way they act on social media, because i don’t think any other wnba player has had the amount of fans that cc has had. i just don’t really understand why it’s expected of her to say something to a group of people that support her, while also supporting things (out of their own delusion) that she clearly does not support. we saw it in the way tom brady fans reacted to people calling mahomes the greatest of all time. brady wasn’t asked to or expected to quiet his supporters (even with the amount of racist remarks that were unnecessarily brought into the conversation). i don’t mean to come across as trying to start an argument, but i just want to understand why you believe it’s her responsibility to try to control a mass of people that don’t reflect her beliefs (that she has made public) in the slightest?

i appreciate this discourse!!

i think firstly, the nfl is a bad comparison. the nfl has a really shitty history dealing with political statement, or even statements of dissent. you can look to colin kaepernick for this; the expectation of the nfl is to remain a largely apolitical league.

the same is not true of the wnba. a league full of queer, black women cannot afford to be apolitical. conversely, a league full of straight men can largely afford that. the wnba can’t, nor has it ever attempted to.

you’re talking about a league that rallied for black lives matter, who came together to bring bg home from russia, who has and will continue to speak about injustices as frequently as possible. cc either needs to get with the program or get the fuck out.

that’s the other issue with comparing her to tom brady. we’re not going to sit around and say that they had the same impact on both their sports. are new england sports fans just generally and largely racist? absolutely. is it tom brady who brought them into the sport? certainly not. they were there before.

so when caitlin clark is bringing her fans into this black, queer space, she has to be aware of her privilege as a straight, white woman. “she just wants to play basketball and get her money” doesn’t work here. she chose to declare for THIS league. if she wanted to play in an apolitical space, she could’ve gone and played overseas. but she chose the wnba. so she’s just gonna have to suck it up.

and i know we want to say “she spoke out about this this and this”. no the fuck she didn’t?? she answered a question asked of her in a presser that most people didn’t and will not see. a statement made AFTER her teammates girlfriend tweeted out saying: “damn, this mfker needa say smth”. what was she going to say “yes, i condone racism”?? there’s no statement made of her own will, no instagram post, no tweet, no nothing. her “speaking out” was lazy, it was forced, and it was ineffective. it’s just not enough.

i don’t expect her to control her mass of racist fans. i expect her to make any attempt to do so. i expect her to make an effort to distance herself from that narrative.

and it is immensely disappointing that she hasn’t even really tried.

[oddygaul]

Tekkonkinkreet

Tekkonkinkreet is a turbulent but ultimately heartwarming story about two kids who don’t take fall damage.

This is another movie I first watched back in my post-high school anime renaissance and forgot everything about, other than distinct memories of the city. Having watched it again, I honestly get why - Tekkonkinkreet’s narrative is anything but straightforward, and leaves a lot up to the viewer to interpret… and it also gets pretty out there by the end. In the first half of the movie, we’re introduced to our major characters, as well as Treasure Town itself - by all accounts the real star of the show - and while a plot is clearly stewing, mostly we’re just getting a measure of day-to-day life in the setting. In the back half, all of the conflicts come to a head fast - and with some of those conflicts consisting of internal anguish that blurs the line between reality and fiction, it’s all one can do just to keep up.

Accordingly, both halves of the movie feel pretty distinct from one another. The beginning is bright, bubbly, and colorful, filled with lively character movement and unceasingly frenetic, documentary-style camerawork. Once the brothers have broken up, our view of the world itself changes: the color palette becomes darker, and the movie employs more slow pans & lingering shots as its characters hesitate and brood. Perhaps this is just another nod to Tekkonkinkreet’s themes of yin and yang, as embodied by Kuro and Shiro.

The theme that resonated the most with me was the difficulty of accepting change, and the difficulty of trying to keep your place in a world that’s changing around you. We watch as Treasure Town undergoes rapid development, its familiar side streets and seedy local haunts turned into a gaudy, unrecognizable tourist attraction, and much of the movie’s tension is in seeing how each of the lead characters deals with that change.

Suzuki, who probably ended up being my favorite character in the movie, is sad to see it go - he sees decades of memories in every storefront and back alley - but is old enough to understand that this is the way of things, and has resigned to pass things on to the next generation with no regrets.

Kimura seems to keep the town at arm’s length, staying at home with his wife, visibly enclosed from the world, and only going out when he needs to, with the intention of leaving as soon as he’s able - trying to abandon his town before it can abandon him.

Shiro and Kuro, though, who against all odds have found a niche for themselves here, can’t seem to imagine a world without Treasure Town. They fight back at every change with tooth and claw, refusing to grow up, willing the clock to stop ticking. While they eventually realize the bond between the two of them will outlast their surroundings, their jealous possessiveness of Treasure Town nearly leads the two of them to ruin.

As the old man says: “Watch what you say with the ‘my town’ talk. It’s a bad habit. This isn’t anybody’s town.”

The gag of all the yakuza being super into their horoscopes was very charming. “S-sorry, boss, no can do, Mercury is rising today, you get it, right?”

I wonder if the translation added the western astrology terms we’d recognize, like Scorpio, and East Asian cultures actually use something based on the Chinese Zodiac - Suzuki’s ‘Rat’ moniker would really fall into place.

“White hates winter. Makes him cry. Reminds him of that story. The ant and the grasshopper… he hates it. He says the grasshopper didn’t do anything wrong. That makes him cry.”

As should be obvious by this point, Tekkonkinkreet is drop-dead gorgeous, start to finish. Treasure Town is an remarkably well-realized setting, and that’s even with it changing drastically as the story goes on. The character designs and the subtle, emotive character acting they allow for are top tier. The thing that consistently blew me away here, though, is the absolutely insane CG and compositing work. Seriously, the type of shots and camerawork they’re pulling off here are insanely ambitious for 2D animation, and not only are they used to great effect, they’re integrated so well with the character animation and painted backgrounds as to be fully seamless. I struggle to think of another primarily 2D work that pulls the compositing off this well - I consider Trigger the current masters of this, but even with Promare you can see the cracks now and then.

As it turns out, there’s a pretty interesting story behind that. Despite being based on a Japanese manga and produced by Studio 4°C, a Japanese animation studio, Tekkonkinkreet was directed by Michael Arias, an LA-born American man. Apparently, after a fairly successful career start in Hollywood effects work, he went on to singlehandedly create Toon Shaders, a rendering software / workflow pipeline that to this day is one of the standards for integrating 2D animation with CGI - and by standard, I mean like, he worked directly with Studio Ghibli while developing the software so they could use it to make Princess Mononoke, and it was then subsequently used on movies like The Prince of Egypt and Spirited Away.

Arias next went on to produce The Animatrix, a historical confluence of top anime directing talent which is also full of groundbreaking 2D / CG animation integration, before linking back up with some of those same folks to direct Tekkonkinkreet. I have to imagine this was partially Arias looking for his chance to use his technology to the fullest and show people how well 2D and 3D could truly be integrated in service of good storytelling, and well… he did the shit out of that.

Damn, what a cool story. Not me about to go rewatch all the Animatrix featurettes to see if he shows up there…

[wetcatspellcaster]

I just finished In Other Lands on your recommendation (and loved it!). A lot of the reviews for it mention that it sounds like fanfic, and I know the author started in fanfic. So my question to you: what do you think makes a story/novel sound like “fanfic?” And this is in no way a derogatory assessment, obviously - I read a ton of fanfic, and I read a ton of original works. I’ve read stuff by known former fic authors that I liked and some that I didn’t like, I’ve read stuff that I know from the marketing is reworked fanfic (again, some that I liked and some that I didn’t like) and stuff that I suspect is reworked fanfic even if no one acknowledges it. I’ve read things that aren’t fanfic but just have the feel of it - if you were to compile a list of qualities that a part of “fanfic style” across authors and fandoms, what would be on it?

hey anon, I'm really happy to hear you enjoyed In Other Lands! and thank you for such an interesting question! (also, Sarah Rees Brennan's fic from her livejournal era is in fact quite good, it's just also unfortunately mostly Draco/Harry, which isn't my ship. but I braved it, for her <3)

to be honest, I tried to come up with bullet points to make this answer digestible, but ended up with no solid, listable answer. I think there's a lot of things that people see as characterising a 'fic' style: recognisable tropes like found family or coffee shop AU settings, a certain narrative POV, character-driven story with less focus on a situation in place and time (a la Uprooted), or (probably the most recent booktok-influenced definition) spice levels, etc.

but for me, I think the biggest 'defining' feature (on the understanding that most genre definitions are amorphous and unreliable, the wrong thing to talk to a literary scholar about lol) is that writing that feels like fic or reads like fic often boils down to, "the author clearly had fun writing it, or wrote it to primarily Be Fun To Read". I think this is the only definition that stretches across everything from Ali Hazelwood, to Tamsyn Muir and the Locked Tomb, to In Other Lands. In the same way sometimes the best (and worst) literary fiction that is trying to Be Literary Fiction is written with a, 'I am trying to make a serious point, or I am trying to write something deliberately challenging" as it's goal, I think 'fic-like' works are the opposite (and that the bad end of that is 'cosy x/y/z', lmaoooo). I guess this is why it reads like fic? Bc fanfic is written for pleasure and little other reward, and id-fic is written purely to put what you want or what pleases you out into the world, etc. so that's the definition that makes most sense for me.

I don't think this means it can't be serious! This is why I think 'cosy' is a different, and unfortunately worse genre, bc if you try to take the stakes of a plot away entirely you often end up with.... half a story. In Other Lands has some serious beats, as does the Locked Tomb. but I think it's pretty clear from the writing style and the comedy utilised in both narrative voices, that it's not taking itself too seriously, or that fun and play is a part of the process. In Other Lands began as a webnovel Brennan was posting for free, until her friend told her it was a novel. She was trying to get her love of writing back. Nona the Ninth is (to me personally) a pure id-fic book. I think that something that is fun and playful and doesn't take itself too seriously, even while not shying away from heavy emotions, is probably 'fic-like' in my eyes :)

[writingpandagoth]

These are the stories Hogwarts didn’t dare archive — the scandalous gossips, enchanted mishaps, magical crimes, emotional confessions, and glitter-fueled disasters left out of the official records from:

Sharp Tongues, Soft Hearts.

Summary:

In today Issue of "The Whispering Quill: Hogwarts Most Mysterious and Untraceable Gossip Scroll":

The walls are talking. Literally. But not just talking but telling everyones thoughts out loud while giving dry comments.

To blame?

(Y/N) (Y/L/N), Cassie Fairweather, Leona DeVine, Nyra Moonborn and their Honorary Slytherin Prince: Severus Snape.

Tea Of Truth

Year: Seventh Time: Breakfast, Thursday Morning Location: The Great Hall

 It starts like most disasters do: with Nyra, a suspiciously purple potion, and the words, “Oops.”

To be fair, she thought it was a concentration enhancer.

She had no idea it was actually a brew that temporarily removed one’s internal filter and amplified all unspoken thoughts into involuntary verbal outbursts.

You’re halfway through a croissant when it begins.

Across the table, Cassie drops her fork and blurts, “I think I’m in love with someone in this room and I hate that it might be a Ravenclaw.”

Silence follows, thick as treacle.

Leona snorts tea out of her nose. “That explains the flirting. You’ve been batting your lashes like you’re trying to summon a thunderstorm.”

Cassie slaps a hand over her mouth. “WHY DID I SAY THAT.”

You turn slowly to Nyra.

She’s gone pale.

“I think I put the wrong phial in the tea urn,” she whispers. “I was multitasking! It was clearly labeled!”

You narrow your eyes. “Was it?”

She hesitates. “It was labeled with a skull. And hearts.”

You groan.

Then from further down the table:

“I only wanted to be a prefect because I like bossing people around!” yells a Hufflepuff.

“I’ve been pretending I understand Arithmancy for two years But I actually have no idea!” shrieks a Ravenclaw.

“I enchanted the broom to throw my ex off during his Quidditch match!” howls a Gryffindor.

The Great Hall dissolves into pure, chaotic honesty.

Professor Flitwick stands up at the staff table. “I think Trelawney’s prophecies are suspiciously accurate and it frightens me!”

Professor McGonagall mutters darkly, “If Dumbledore doesn’t stop putting lemons drops everywhere, I’m going to hex him in his sleep.”

Cassie turns to you, face pink. “You are next! You drank the tea!”

You open your mouth to protest—and immediately say:

“James Potter has the personality of a cursed hatbox and I would rather kiss a Mandrake than hear him talk about Quidditch again.”

A beat.

James blinks from two tables away. “What the hell I didn't even do anything now?!”

Leona clutches her sides, wheezing.

You continue helplessly, “Also, Severus Snape’s handwriting is kind of hot, and the way he underlines his notes in green ink does things to me I don’t want to unpack.”

Severus, seated to your left, freezes.

You glance sideways.

He is looking down at his notes like they might save him. His ears are going red.

Then, without a word, he stands, sweeps up his books, and stalks out of the Great Hall at maximum cloak speed.

“HE RAN?!” Cassie shrieks.

Nyra is scribbling into a notebook. “This might be my greatest work yet.”

Leona sips her tea calmly. “This is more fun than that time we charmed the suits of armor to sing break-up songs.”

You slam your forehead onto the table.

“Well,” you mutter, “at least now he knows.”

Cassie pats your shoulder sympathetically. “He’s probably fine.”

From somewhere outside, there’s a distant bang and the sound of books falling down.

“He’s definitely fine” she amends with a grin.

You groan again.

Then reach for more tea.

Because honestly? The damage is done.

Might as well find out what other horrible truths are ready to fly out of your mouth before lunch.

You don’t remember much of History of Magic. Only that Cassie yelled at Binns for “being a ghost with no sense of narrative,” and that Nyra muttered, “I sometimes fantasize about moving into the Forbidden Forest and befriending spiders.”

Charms class was worse.

A Ravenclaw sobbed into her wand mid-lecture, confessed to copying homework off a Hufflepuff for three years, then proposed to him in front of the class.

He said yes.

Flitwick cried.

By lunch, no one is drinking anything without a full wand scan and possibly a warded bubble charm. But some people still forget. And others — the brave, the reckless, the dangerously bored — sip anyway just to watch the chaos burn.

Cassie is one of them.

“Love is a battlefield,” she says, downing her tea. “And I’m bringing glitter grenades.”

Leona refuses to speak. She writes her answers on a chalkboard she conjured in Transfiguration.

Nyra has gone full scientist. She's charting which house confesses most. (Currently: Gryffindor, by a landslide.)

You? You’re hiding.

And somehow, you make it through the day without another public declaration of deep-rooted emotional vulnerability

 

 It’s nearly midnight when you're curled up in the girls dorm room. The fire is low, and a full plate of chocolate frog wrappers lies scattered across Cassie’s bed.

You're half-lounging, reading a book when the door creaks open.

Severus steps in.

He looks tired. Ruffled. Like the day finally caught up to him.

“Did you bring the snacks?” you ask, sitting up.

He nods and holds out a bag filled with different snacks and candies — then reaches for the teapot sitting on Nyra’s trunk and pours himself a cup before anyone can stop him and takes a huge sip.

 The room stills.

 

Cassie’s eyes go wide.

Leona throws her gossip scroll to the side.

Nyra actually whispers, “Oh no this is gonna be gold”

 

meanwhile Severus stays oblivious to their watchful eyes.

 “Oh,” he says softly. “That’s… floral.”

 He blinks once and then he realizes “...Shite.”

 You sit up and just when you were to say something he speaks up.

“I like your hands,” 

 You freeze and Cassie makes a squeak sound clutching a pillow while smacking Leonas arm who moved beside her.

 “They’re soft,” he continues, staring at you in panic. “I think about them when I write about you sometimes and wonder how they would feel in mine”

 Leona squeals in delight wrapping her arms around Cassie. Nyra is now writing along on a parchment like it depends on her life.

 “I also,” he goes on, “like it when you all fuss over me.”

 Cassie gasps, Leona's mouth drops open.

 “I know I act like I hate it,” he says, taking a step back. “But it’s nice. The attention. The... softness. I didn’t know I needed it until I got it. I also love when Cassie paints my nails or when Leona plays with my hair or when Nyra still hexes the Marauders if they just breathe in my direction”

 

Nyra stops her frantic writing at that.

 

“And (Y/N)... you are a menace and it should be infuriating but it’s not. It’s... stupidly endearing. And I hate how much I look forward to you laughing and you just being yourself.”

 The three of you stare at Severus a mix of shock and amusement.

 Then he’s gone.

 Silence reigns.

 Until Cassie leaps off the bed like a banshee Nyra and leona following suit.

 

“YOU’RE SO GETTING MARRIED.”

 

You bury your face in your blanket and scream.

------------------------------------------------------------

🕯️ Special Issue 🕯️   

❝The Tea Confessions❞  

THE TEA HAS SPOKEN THE TRUTH! It started with the word "Oops" from Nyra Moonborn. We had no idea it would become  Hogwarts' most scandalous accidental experiment. A potion assumed— slipped into the tea urn during breakfast caused a full day of unfiltered verbal chaos.  Thoughts? Spoken. Secrets? Spilled. Dignity? Gone. By the time breakfast was even filled with students the Great Hall had lost all semblance of order.

──────────────────────────────

TRANSCRIPTED QUOTES OF THE CONFESSIONS  Cassie Fairweather: “I think I’m in love with someone in this room and I hate that it might be a Ravenclaw.”  Hufflepuff Prefect: “I only wanted to be a prefect because I like bossing people around!”  Ravenclaw, Year 6: “I’ve been pretending I understand Arithmancy for two years but I actually have no idea!”  Gryffindor, loudly: “I enchanted the broom to throw my ex off during his Quidditch match!”  Professor Flitwick: “I think Trelawney’s prophecies are suspiciously accurate and it frightens me!”  Professor McGonagall: “If Dumbledore doesn’t stop putting lemons drops everywhere, I’m going to hex him in his sleep.”  (Y/N) (Y/L/N): “James Potter has the personality of a cursed hatbox and I’d rather kiss a Mandrake than hear him talk about Quidditch again.” &  “Also, Severus Snape’s handwriting is kind of hot and the way he underlines in green ink does things to me I don’t want to unpack.”  Eyewitnesses confirm: Snape left at speed with cloak flare and walked into a door outside the great hall. Confessions continued across classes: - Cassie accused Binns of being "a ghost with no sense of narrative." - Nyra fantasized aloud about befriending spiders in the Forbidden Forest. - A Ravenclaw proposed to a Hufflepuff in Charms. He said yes.  Flitwick cried and did so again when telling the story to Professor Sprout. - Leona conjured a chalkboard to avoid contributing to the confession flood. BUT Just when Hogwarts thought it had survived the storm… a tip reached our scroll late that night. Anonymous source (totally not Cassie) delivered the juiciest truth of all:  Snape. Midnight. The glitter covens’ dorm room. One cursed cup of tea. Severus Snape:  “I like your hands. They’re soft. I think about them when I write. I wonder how they’d feel in mine.” - said to (Y/N)  & “I like when Cassie paints my nails. When Leona plays with my hair. When Nyra hexes the Marauders. I act like I hate it, but I don’t.” (Quill note: We totally screamed!)

──────────────────────────────

 WITNESS TESTIMONIES & MENTAL STATES Cassie Fairweather (blushing):  “I screamed. I actually screamed. And he meant every word.”  Nyra Moonborn (proud):  “I’m recording this for posterity. This is better than the time I made truth glitter.”  Leona DeVine (unbothered):  “I said one thing. ‘Typical.’ And I was right.” James Potter (offended):  “What did I even DO?!”  Anonymous Ravenclaw (in love):  “I proposed. He said yes. Flitwick cried.” Dormitory portrait (it's Salazar):  “He said it. Out loud. In front of the girls. It was like a romance novel and torture at the same time.”

─────────────────────────────────────────────── FACULTY SIGHTINGS & REACTIONS Professor McGonagall:   “I warned that the day would come that even tea is dangerous.  Nobody listens so here we are." ➤ Status: Has her wand on standby. Professor Sprout:   “A Hufflepuff accepted a public proposal. I wept openly.”   ➤ Status: Emotionally overwhelmed but totally happy. Professor Binns:   “They finally talked. Shame none of it was about goblin rebellions.”   ➤ Status: Unmoved. Still talking about goblins.

──────────────────────────────

 ANONYMOUS COMMON ROOM COMMENTS greeninked: "I almost passed out.  He said he likes her hands because they are SOFT?" cassieshoulddatearavenclaw: "I need to know who the Ravenclaw is  that Cassie is in love with!" leonaforcrownedqueen: "Leona sips tea while Hogwarts burns...She scares me but I want to be her." lionswitch3: "This is officially the most  Slytherin confession method of all time.  I want one." cursedhatbox: "I DIDN'T EVEN SAY ANYTHING  AND SHE JUST ATTACKED ME!" teamseveryn: "I Ship it."

──────────────────────────────

CLOSING REMARKS Whether curse or happy accident, the truth tea has spoken.  Loudly. Repeatedly. In front of witnesses. To Severus Snape: Don't try hiding anything (we will find out) Also we will never shut up about this. To (Y/N): You never needed the potion. You were already chaos incarnate. also hold his hand. To whoever tipped us off (thank you Cassie) about the dormitory confession: we owe you!  We'll be watching. we'll be listening. And we'll be writing. Until next time, dearest readers… We’ll see you in the next scandal.

[panoralis]

⋆⠀⠀RAISE OUR GLASSES.⠀⠀ ┉ ⠀⠀ DECEMBER 2021

“⠀⠀ AND IN THE END, even saints can admit her fault was staring through the wrong shade of lenses. ⠀⠀”

STARRING.   hwang haein .. bang chan .. mention of kalaya cherinsuk and hwang gyuri

CW(S).   arguments, possible toxic mindset (particularly when it comes to work and personal relationships), initial refusal to accept accountability, swearing, emotional injuries

MONA SAYS.   welcome to the mini trilogy i unofficially title ‘the happiest girls’ !! i’ve had this planned for a while now then ended up writing this at like.. google docs said 1:08 a.m. slides that out of the way let’s just go with early. also yes, the formats are inspired inspired by fiixion’s ocs and moirtre ♡

UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: can you meet me here? UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: haein, i don’t want us to dissolve so easily UNKNOWN, 10:03 P.M: please give me this chance

haein swears she blocked his number. but in this universe, she doesn’t have the power to enforce the same command on his manager. it’s not a surprise anymore—he’s clearly mastered the art of finding loopholes.

without the bustling students weaving between the machineries of the arcade, or kids accidentally knocking people’s legs during their endeavor to get on the little rides, it doesn’t take long for haein to find him. he’s so predictable; silently leaning against the wall beside the photo booth. 

..seven, eight, nine.

it takes the anxious man seven flashes of his lockscreen, eight deep breaths, and nine flicks across the space before his gaze finally catches her. knowing him too well, haein can see the specks of relief that shimmer upon his cocoa-tinted irises. was he truly so worried that she wouldn’t show up like he desperately expected?

funny.

“you came..” the words barely squeeze past bang chan’s lips. his impulsive thoughts kick in; strongly tempting him to hug her. “you’re here-”

“-to officially put an end to this.”

haein can’t remember the last time she let her professional persona bleed into her personal life. clearly, neither does the male idol, for the hope in his face is ruthlessly erased. he can strain his muscles as much as he wants—the corners of his lips won’t reach his dimples. 

just this once, she’ll let him grasp her arm and lead her to the vacant space between the photo booth and row of motorcycle racer stimulators. while she wants to nip the bud and return home already, the last thing anyone needs is a scandal.

“no, haein- please..” he begins to plead again. “i know you understand me when i say that i was trying to protect everyone.”

hitting back with a scoff, the noirette retorts, “you call concealing the truth from inka—someone who looked up to you, trusted you—protecting her? spare me the bullshit, chan. you had so many chances to be honest with her. and yet, even when you got caught, you still spun the narrative on her; ‘made her feel like she was too young to face it.”

and there his hand goes—fixing the edges of his beanie despite it not being a distraction in the first place. haein has experienced enough fights with him to spot the tell-tale signs: a shadow covers the warm gleam in his eyes, his attention is abruptly averted to things surrounding him, and he bites his tongue to refrain from saying something he will regret-

“why are you even on her side? i’m your boyfriend, aren’t i? you should be assuring me that i did what was best for the group.”

(oh? oh, sounds like the eve of new year is already trickling into.. certain people’s personas.)

“no chan, you’re a hypocrite.” haein states without hesitation. “look at us, we began dating even though you still have that dating ban in place. what makes us different from inka’s situation, huh?”

stunned, the once candid male doesn’t have any words to spill. but his girlfriend still has plenty.

“i may not know inka as well as gyuri does, but what i do know is that you didn’t have the right to meddle with her personal affairs. you kept acting like she’s this fragile doll that in the end, you were the one who shattered her into fine fragments.” 

her sharp words cut so deep, the strings of frustration that tried to move bang chan are cut seamlessly. no longer is his common sense eclipsed by undeserved self-assurances, yet everyone knows the importance of timing. 

so haein forces him to reap the consequences by watching her walk away—from him, his recklessness, and their previously sturdy relationship. 

sure, she’ll listen to him call her name, sprinkle some ‘don't go’ too. she’ll feel the hurt he blends with desperation while trying to get her back. and she’ll look back once to notice the tremors in his hands as he tries to reach out for her.

but the young woman had just finished dressing the cuts littered across her skin. they’re not very pretty.. then again, witnessing the man you love shatter the foundation of your story so easily isn’t either. still, if he ever gathers the audacity to ask her again, she’d let him know her preference.

she wants to draw stars around her scars, not layer them some more.

FANBASE  :  @stealanity @lost-leopard-beanie @fairiepoems & send an ask or dm if you'd like to be added !

[mr-president]

I have a question (To be perfectly clear this is not an ask trying to strum up controversy, but just my own curiosity of your views, and I love your analysis and how you say things. But if you have nothing to say on this matter feel free to delete this ask)

There’s some controversy in the funger fandom about the writing of the Bremen army, also in Pav. Some people think it’s too sympathetic or the choices that Miro made are in poor taste. Do you have any opinions on this?

CW: fascism, Nazism, antisemitism, and what have you. also, sorry if i get things wrong, again, it’s been a while.

Yes, I do think that portraying a historical, fascist, genocidal regime in Nazi Germany as the Bremen army was in poor taste. It’s one thing to just have a fantastical, fictional totalitarian government and another to use an actual historical allegory as stand in for history. The Bremen army is an allegory for Nazi Germany, there is absolutely no denying that, and Mr. Haverinen made that conscious, authorial choice to make that connection.

However, and this is my personal opinion, I don’t think he properly understood, articulated, or represented the impact that Nazi Germany had on Europe, the world, and especially for Jewish people. And this is a problem, because Nazi Germany still has lingering influences on society and culture today, and Mr. Haverinen’s choice to not only write Nazi Germany in the story but portray it in such a way is…in poor taste.

I understand why Mr. Haverinen likely used Nazi Germany as an allegorical tool—the same reason why he uses religious allegory throughout the story. Because we are all familiar with WW2 and Nazism, we have a general idea and basic understanding of this fictional totalitarian, colonialist regime. And that is perfectly fine and is a valid shorthand storytelling device.

Additionally, the Bremen Empire is still depicted as Not A Good Thing. Like, that’s very clear within the narrative—Mr. Haverinen is not a Nazi and clearly does not support that ideology. However, I do believe that he could have done better in understanding/depicting a sensitive historical subject beyond showing how they are bad. If that makes sense.

My problems with the Bremen Empire are that it:

fails to articulate a coherent ideology as to why their influence is so vast,

gives them a somewhat “good” motive that kind of validates their existence

does not empathize with or represent the minority group (Jewish people) who were most affected by this historical tragedy.

For 1), though there are references to the Bremen army’s horrific atrocities, it’s kind of hand-wavey as to why they’re really doing it, seemingly only because Le’garde’s general bloodlust and assholeness. I’ll discuss that more in the second point, but I just want to state that Nazi Germany had a legitimate, compelling, and actual ideology behind it that perpetuated the attitude of nonchalance and “justice” that came with the atrocities they committed.

It is not merely power, it was fascism. Fascism cleans up your neighborhood, gives you jobs and school and work, gives you what made you great, and gets rid of what put you down. Fascism creates a problem and posits that the solution is to exclude the…undesirables and raise yourself up to your truest potential.

And here, Bremen fails. Somewhat.

Point 2). Their motive. The ultimate goal of Le’garde’s bullshit is for him to usher in new era of humanity, where he becomes Logic, ascends to new-Old Godhood, and helps humanity overcome the rule of the Old Gods and truly live for themselves rather than their whims.

Ultimately, it’s uncertain if this will be a positive thing, but in Ending A it’s kind of a good thing, especially with Reina becoming Logic instead of Le’garde. Of course, much like Funger 1, it begs the question of “was this suffering all worth it,” but like many people have criticized with Reina’s usage at all, that question doesn’t hit as hard as Funger 1.

And Funger 1 didn’t even need a wholeass Nazi allegory to ask that question. Was the suffering of every innocent civilian worth it to get Logic? To usher in this new era of humanity?

The question seems more on the side of “Yeah” because unlike Funger 1, Logic’s existence is depicted as a good thing for humanity. Thus, Bremen is sort of a “good thing,” that at least it was towards something positive and for the betterment of people everywhere.

Which is…a really awful thing to say when, again, this was an actual fascist regime who discriminated against, subjugated, and had a system that enforced the oppression of numerous minority groups.

Point 3). Not really interacting with the minority groups subjugated. Termina’s cast is pretty much entirely made up of minorities, and many of them do have or would have tangible interactions that conflict with the Bremen army.

Levi and Pav are perhaps the best examples of characters who were genuinely traumatized by the Bremen army, and their actions and characterization are substantial for recognizing the psychological impact colonization has on people.

However…no character or even allegorical minority group is a stand in for Jewish people, who are one of the most affected groups of Nazism.

Ok, there didn’t need to be a Jewish character who actually went through the atrocities of Nazism in graphic, Funger-grade detail. That could be very triggering, and it could also spell problems of getting the story censored. And also, misrepresentation is a genuine thing to fear when depicting something like that.

But to scrub most if not all references of Antisemitism? Isn’t that kinda fucked? I think it’s fucked. Let me know if I’m wrong.

Anyways, I need you (audience) to understand something.

It is imperative to understand that this is Fear & Hunger. These are games which depict suffering, mass, unavoidable, tragic, yet wholly unnecessary suffering. You the player suffer and understand suffering. And then Mr. Haverinen has an allegory for a fascist regime which caused so much mass, tragic, colonialist, yet entirely unnecessary suffering and chose not to depict who were those sufferers.

It’s my own opinion, but if you make Nazi germany you can empathize with the people who suffered from it if your central theses revolve around suffering.

Additionally, I understand that this story is supposed to be a fantastical retelling of history, but girl, like. You could keep the historical allegory and the historical context and just have it be vaguely referenced. But you interact with the Bremen army in the game. Le’garde acts as a stand in for fucking Adolf Hitler.

Like, you could keep the historical allegory and the historical context and just have it be vaguely referenced. But to interact with that history in such a direct manner, on the side of the oppressor? Without much depiction of the oppressed?

In my opinion, Mr. Haverinen doesn’t really have an excuse for depicting what is essentially Nazi Germany in such a strange way. He didn’t need to make an allegory to Nazi Germany. He didn’t need the game to interact directly with Nazis and their leader. He didn’t need to even depict Nazism to begin with, or have it be such a dominant force in the narrative.

For that reason, it is fucking worthy to critique his authorial choices about a major historical tragedy in a game about tragedy.

Of course, you can say “it’s fictional, people shouldn’t be stupid and believe Nazi Germany was actually like this; there are penis gods, don’t be stupid,” but guess what?? People will be stupid. Fiction doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and though I doubt actual Nazis will come about from Funger, I think Mr. Haverinen isn’t absolved of criticism for portraying Nazi Germany in such a way. It still perpetuates harmful narratives about authoritarianism, minimizes the impact of fascism, and what have you.

We unfortunately exist in a society where people could take away that authoritarianism is maybe cool because you get the internet out of it and maybe sovereigns are trying to help society.

We exist in a society where the portrayal of suffering as perhaps a necessary evil for societal gain is the standard. And for a series that seems to want to say something meaningful in portraying suffering, shouldn’t it aim to critique oppression by sympathizing with the oppressed?

Plus, fuck you if you just tell people not to be stupid and to shut up. That has always been a tactic used by privileged individuals to…talk around the issue. But I’m getting off topic—a rant about alt-right or moralist tactics to end or control a conversation is for another day.

Basically, hey. I care enough about this series to write this critique. I care enough about it that I drew it every day in June, and here I am still thinking about it.

Your art can and will be criticized. This is the right of your audience, and you should listen to their critiques. You should be afraid of potential backlash but people will love your work still despite its grievances. And you should try and do better.

And you should talk about problems in representation. That’s like, how things get better. Be a bitch. Don’t let those with the privilege to ignore continued systemic oppression control the narrative and silence you.

On the subject of Pav, I think he’s…fine? He’s basically Russian, and I think the problems with his characters have more to do with the Bremen Empire being poorly written than his character conceptually. Because I think conceptually, he’s fine—illustrates the cycle of abuse, the trauma of war, whatever, whatever.

tldr; oh yeah, it was not a good representation and we should criticize it.

[hopefull-mindset]

Hello. I had another question. Would you say the way the relationships/interactions are written between the characters in BSD would be considered queerbaiting?

Technically by definition I would personally say yes, however there's usually a negative connotation that comes with queerbaiting that's related to harming the queer community so I was wondering if you had a more nuanced approach to the topic.

Queerbait… ah my worst enemy of a term has struck again. Mind if I add the Queer Coding discussion into this as well? Because when I see one person denounce the idea of Queer Coding in BSD, another person goes “oh yeah, it’s actually Queerbait”. No offense, but nobody knows what they’re talking about with either term and I understand why. I have my hangups about how they've been used and the blur between them causing this confusion.

I didn’t even realize this was something people argued about because I didn’t think there was enough to argue queer intent anywhere. I’m generally used to vague queer representation getting these types of arguments, so I blanked out with confusion.

For those who don’t know, Queerbait is a term coined to refer to marketing strategies that use the “implied” queerness to market their content to an audience who are interested in that to view their content. Of course, they don’t actually follow through on that “promise” for the sake of their viewership not being disturbed. Maybe they'll put some hints in their little show, and then kill them off when the time is ripe.

That’s where most of its negative connotations come from: Taking advantage of a marginalized group’s need for representation to improve their ratings. People use this… very incorrectly, usually when someone is clearly using Queer Coding in their work and get accused of Queerbait when they don’t follow through with an explicit romantic relationship.

Queer Coding is when a creator writes subtextual hints into their writing that a character or relationship is meant to be read as gay to bypass censorship or stigma within the media they’re writing in. Usually with signals that a gay audience can catch onto or romantic references in plain sight. While technically not the greatest example since MDZS is a danmei, the Donghua wasn't exactly allowed to fully present their relationship for what it was. Surprisingly, they added a scene where a move of Wei Wuxian’s colored both his and Lan Wangji’s robes red to resemble Chinese wedding garments.

I only chose that example because I think it's a great representation of details in plain sight. But then there's the other way I've seen Queer Coding get used and that's in queer analysis where we read a narrative or character as gay because of their distinct traits or plotline that resonates with LGBTQ+ audiences. It gets confusing when people use it both ways, but fandom usually uses it the first way.

I'm a bit bitter when I talk about these two terms because of how often the overlap confuses audiences, and god knows how loosely Queer Coding gets used to describe some vague, homoerotic friendship while the other side starts accusing the author of Queerbait. Then you start questioning if the author was really trying to take advantage of the community, wanted to explore sexuality without commitment, or literally didn't realize what they wrote could be interpreted like that because of how it chooses to write intimacy. It gets messy FAST.

Ah, how do I say this… I get the outrage of not having explicit representation more often, but when Queerbait starts getting used to describing the writing itself rather than just the promotional marketing, it starts losing all meaning to me and becomes a scab on my back. It generalizes the intent of the writer and assumes them in this box of malicious motivations. Then there's the whole argument of whether or not real people can “queerbait”, which is also stupid to me.

The examples people bring up don't even hold up (starts using t.A.T.u in your examples for once because… wow) and a majority only apply this to fictional content because of the super-secret rule to Queerbait. Usually, it can't work because then that assumes the sexuality of the person in question and they fully well could just be non-disclosed queer who's exploring their sexuality, but then what makes the writer a problem? What's stopping you from confusing Queer Coding with Queerbait?? It's different when it's obvious that they're using the queer identity for a quick browny point, but Jesus.

The way fandom uses it is not in these really obvious moments, but in ambiguous writing. I don't understand any of this when we start straying into this territory and I'm trying not to get mad when I'm currently talking about this right now. I am already mad, I failed. Maybe it's just a personal feeling, but I really don't like this term for these reasons. It's useful, but kind sucks. I can go on forever about Queerbait and the misusage of it, and even the way I think its used currently is bullshit anyway, but I digress.

Right right, this is about Bungou Stray Dogs. As you could guess from my rant, I don't think Asagiri is queerbaiting us if you mean it in the “queerbait writing” crowd. So what about Studio Bones?

Bones, well… I mean it's really common for animation studios to draw official art like this and since Queerbait is more of a Western concept, this is understood as just fanservice I think. You can technically count this as Queerbait if you'd like, but you should always consider the fact of a different community always having a different relationship with queer concepts.

Studio Bones's official art of Soukoku is hilarious to me. There’s another one promoting some brand and they're at a fountain dating spot. At least these are not as bad as the official art for Mecha animes in the 2000s lololol.

Moving on, the argument for Queer Coding when it comes to Soukoku tends to rely on these arts. I don't recommend doing that because relying on side content that holds no purpose other than to rile up fans doesn't make a strong enough case. Subtext is the most important part to making a point, so if you can't even point in the direction of the main text, then…

Dazai and Chuuya is a bit bottom barrel of what can be considered Queer Coding. I like Soukoku as much as the next guy (maybe not in the same way) and think their relationship is incredibly fun, but one vaguely homoerotic scene in Dead Apple does not convince me anything of the idea they should be seen in a romantic context. Trust me, I've spent a long time back proofing my arguments as to why my long-term OTP should be understood as gay. Soukoku doesn't impress me in these lines of understanding.

I personally think the way some SKK fans approach their relationship from a purely romantic view and are entirely insistent on this one-note understanding of Dazai’s feelings for him ruins most conversation on the topic of Dazai, Chuuya, Age 15, and his inclusion in Stormbringer. They're very important to each other, but some need to step back to appreciate what they have in canon and then apply romance?

I have no idea why people talk as if Dazai joking around and saying “That's what makes me like you” really meant anything. Makes me doubt half the time if it's just people seeing the panel out of content and have never read the actual novel.

Fyodor and Nikolai shippers are like this too. They take the importance they have to one another (at least for Nikolai, idk what Fyodor thinks of him) and then inflate that into just romance. What they have isn't really Queer Coding, it's just fixation that is seen as romantic. They have their official art, but that doesn't mean much since it's anthology art.

Rimbaud and Verlaine hm… sometimes when an author depicts real people who were in a relationship, they avoid that detail by calling them “brotherly”. The relationship of the real authors shouldn't be pointed at as proof at all because the characters are not the people. I would not recommend romanticizing their relationship either since it was um, I don't think chaotic cuts it. The age gap was disastrous, Rimbaud moved in with him and his wife at some point (obviously making the marriage worse), one of them got slapped with a fish, Verlaine tried shooting Rimbaud, etc.

So me saying that there was no Queer Coding shouldn't mean you can't see them as queer, I just mean there's no proof of Asagiri having that intention. That is all. I think Verlaine and Rimbaud had something going on, but that's purely from my own amusement and appeal.

That's my take on that I guess? I don't see it either way. It takes a lot for me to believe there was an intention to write them a certain way. Even if you asked me, “Do you think Akechi and the protagonist from Persona 5 are meant to be gay?” I'd giggle and consider it from what the p5 royal content was like, but I'd tell you no, unfortunately.

[freakshowtwopointoh]

Road to Hell - All I've Ever Known Part 5

It was the road to hell

It was hard times

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By the time I made it back to my bedroom, my head was still spinning. It all made sense, and yet didn’t at the same time. But I had gotten my answers, right? Vought wants to control the narrative - of course they wouldn’t want it public knowledge that their superhero serum causes spontaneous heart attacks. If they control Maggie, they can use her device without her research going public. And this way, she becomes good PR for GodU as an added bonus. They didn’t even need to lift her up, just pretend like they discovered her instead of her existing on her own merits. It should have made me feel better - knowing that she wasn’t being artificially boosted in the rankings or whatever. It should have made it easy for me to stop obsessing over Maggie and focus back on my own life.

If I was honest with myself (and I’m usually not), the way she reacted when I brought up Sam changed my mind more than anything she told me in that warehouse. The crack in her facade, a glimmer of truth behind the lies. She’s clearly powerful, and intelligent... Maybe I should be more worried about her being a legitimate rival than a nepotism plant.

But shoulds didn’t matter when she met my eyes across a room - my heart would begin thumping erratically in my chest, and my mouth would go dry. 

We fell into a strange routine, now that we had something of an understanding. She was always awake before me, sitting in the kitchen and sipping coffee when I would come downstairs to go running. We rarely said anything to each other in the mornings, but it was easy. I could feel Maggie let her guard down around me slowly - like the air in the room was getting marginally lighter. We ended up spending most evenings on the porch - she would lay on the couch and read or just scroll on her phone while I smoked. Sometimes we’d talk, but we usually didn’t. 

I started looking forward to it, in spite of myself. Even knowing I had studying or work to do, I didn’t want to give up these few moments of peace that I had managed to carve out in my life. She started bringing songs to share with me. I remember the first time: she seemed kind of nervous that evening, picking at her nails.

･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ . ⋆ .･˳ . ⋆ .˳⁺⁎˚ ⋆･˳ .

“What’s up, mouse?” I asked her, flicking my eyes to her briefly before looking back out into the night. It was getting harder and harder not to stare at her - she was absolutely beautiful in the twilight. She still hesitated, chewing her lip for a moment. I almost gave up on getting an answer from her - it was useless trying to pry information out of Maggie, especially like this. But she surprised me.

“I want to play you this song. I think you’ll like it?” She said it like a question, which made me chuckle. 

“Go for it. I’m always down for new music,” I said lightly, trying to ignore the way my heart swooped and twisted at the thought of her thinking of me.

And she was right, I did like the song. And each song she showed me in the following weeks. It was hard to keep her at arms length when she kept seeing right through every wall I put up.

One Saturday morning, I came downstairs to see Maggie looking more tired than normal, staring off into the distance as she stirred her coffee. Without really knowing why, I came up next to her. “Come with me,” I said gruffly, walking towards the door without waiting.

“Where?” She asked, her voice rough with sleep as she stood up.

“Just come.” I said. We walked in silence towards the gym, as I tried to deny the real reason I was doing this. I led Maggie towards the back, into the training room I usually frequent. It isn’t outfitted for powers, but there’s some sandbags and stuff. “Punch something. It might help you sleep.” I said. “S’What I do, anyways.” Then I began my workout, shifting into my smaller form and falling into a rhythm. I put in my headphones but I didn’t listen to any music, listening to Maggie’s rhythm as she began striking the sandbag. Whatever training Park had put her through had worked - she had force behind each strike and an even rhythm. I wondered what it would be like to spar with her - face her in the ring, mind running a mile a minute to out-maneuver her, sweat leaving a soft sheen on her skin, finally pinning her down...

Focus, Li! I thought to myself, starting my workout playlist and putting all my frustration into the sandbag in front of me. I let myself fall into the familiar beat of the music, accented by fists meeting leather. It was easy for me to clear my mind when I trained - sometimes, it was the only thing that could keep me from losing my mind entirely. 

It was raining lightly when we left the gym, an oppressive layer of clouds above our heads foreshadowing a worse storm coming soon. I was hurrying through the rain, trying to keep my hair from being entirely ruined. Having two heads of hair means two sets of curls to keep from frizzing out.

“Wait!” Maggie said, sticking her arm out to stop me, almost clotheslining me. “Careful.” She pointed at the ground, a massive earthworm slithering across my path.

“Did you just stop me... from stepping on a worm?” I asked her, not sure what to make of this. As with most things Maggie does, if I’m honest. But I stepped around the worm anyways, rolling my eyes. 

“When it rains, the worms flee to the pavement. Scientists think it's because the vibrations feel like moles.” She explained, continuing to hop across the sidewalk as if that explained literally anything at all. I hurried to keep up with her, shaking my head in amusement. 

Once inside, I turned to her. “By the way, if you ever need to, uh, train with someone,.” I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly. “No pressure, of course.” I was cringing at myself as I spoke. 

“I’ll probably take you up on that.” She said, surprising me once more. She smiled at me with that crooked grin that made my heart go erratic. I headed up to my bedroom, trying to suppress a smile. I thought back to the time I saw her training earlier this semester. Watching her figure out how her powers work and utilizing them to gain the upper hand reminded me of my own experimentation with shifting mid fight. Yes, it was Brink who first suggested it, but once I was able to analyze the situation on my own and ascertain the right time to shift, it felt like a whole new world opened up. When we’re able to actually understand our powers and the role they play within the entire encounter, the better we’re able to actually use them.

One of the downsides to growing up in a... volatile home is that you become aware of all sounds and what they mean in your spaces. So I had instinctively removed my headphones when I heard the telltale signs of people gathering in the kitchen. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the usual happy sounds of dinner being made. I heard raised voices - Luke, and Maggie? I knew I shouldn’t listen but I found myself straining to hear in spite of myself. 

“God damn it, Maggie, let it go! This isn’t healthy for either of us.” Luke sounded angrier than I’d ever heard him.

“Isn’t healthy? Luke, what if... I just mean,” She didn’t sound angry - she sounded desperate. “He wouldn’t h-”

“Just stop! We just didn’t know him as well as we thought we did. You have to let this go before it eats you alive.”

“This? He’s our brother - our baby brother. If there’s even a tiny chance...” Maggie took a long deep breath, and I could almost hear her jaw tighten as she tried to keep her emotions in check.

“Stop it! You silly little girl! Maggie, grow up, and face reality: he’s gone. Forever.” I heard him storm off, and I sat back in my desk chair, in shock. Luke was always so cheerful, kind, and careful with others' feelings. But the way he was yelling at his own sister, the way he was dismissing her concerns about their brother - someone I know he loved dearly... it was a side of Luke I had never seen before, and I didn’t like it. My heart was pounding in my chest and the memories of my childhood were tainting everything around me. Laying in bed at night, hearing my parents yell about my problems (read: my powers), fighting with each other about how to deal with me. I was frozen, just like back then, unable to do anything but listen and try to understand. Because maybe if I understood what was going on, it wouldn’t scare me so much. It never worked. 

I still went out that evening to meet Maggie on the porch. Like most nights, we didn’t say much. I didn’t comment on the joint she had brought out with her, and she didn’t comment on the tremble in my hands, and neither of us wanted to go back inside. I knew I shouldn’t mention what I overheard, but I had to say something. 

“Listen to this.” I said finally, pulling up Into the Ocean by Blue October and playing it from my phone. It felt strangely vulnerable, playing this song that had been a comfort to me when I felt so alone. It makes me sound like an emo teen, but to be fair, I was one when I found this song. And it made me feel understood for the first time since getting my powers. I hadn’t ever been the one to bring in a song, but since I couldn’t find my own words, I thought someone else’s might help. 

And from the look in Maggie’s eyes, they did.

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edits by @barbieprincesshilton