#will i get too carried away and make it more ambitious than it needs to be

[gggoofiestgoober]

*cracks knuckles*

*opening verse to The Sound of Silence plays on repeat*

[caplanbuckybarnes]

Lines of Blood (Mafia! Frank Castle)

Summary: You back Frank up in a decision to burn down the enemy

WC: 972ish

Warnings: N/A, Mafia Au

Read on Ao3!

-

The underground casino was thick with tension, cigarette smoke clouding the air as laughter and whispered deals filled the room. You leaned against a corner wall, scanning the scene through the haze. Mafia life was all you had ever known, and in the past few months, you'd found yourself deeper than ever. But tonight was different—Frank Castle was here.

Frank had started as just another enforcer for the family, but he was on his way up. He wasn’t like the others—hot-headed or overly ambitious. Frank was smart, controlled, and deadly when he had to be. You’d crossed paths with him on more than a few jobs, but recently, you’d found yourself gravitating toward him more often. There was something about him that you couldn’t shake—something that made you feel like maybe, just maybe, he could get out of this life.

But now, standing at the center of the room, Frank’s jaw was clenched tight as the underbosses bickered over the latest move—an all-out war against the Romano family. You could see it in his eyes: the weight of it, the doubts they were too blind to notice.

“You’re out of your mind,” Frank said, cutting through their chatter like a knife. He stood, arms crossed, his imposing presence making the other men shift in their seats.

“It’s a power grab, Frank,” one of the underbosses, Johnny, piped up. “We take out the Romanos, we control the docks, the east side, everything.”

Frank shot him a look that could kill. “You don’t just ‘take out’ the Romanos. You go after them, they’ll come for everyone.”

You watched from your spot, silently agreeing with him. The Romanos were brutal, and they had a reputation for making examples of anyone who crossed them. This wasn’t a move to take lightly.

Before anyone could respond, you pushed off the wall and stepped forward. “Frank’s right. This isn’t just a turf war. You go after them, you better be prepared for a bloodbath.”

Johnny sneered at you. “Oh, what? Now you’re siding with him?”

You crossed your arms, not backing down. “I’m siding with common sense.”

Frank glanced at you, a flicker of something unreadable in his eyes. He wasn’t the kind of guy to ask for backup, but you knew your words carried weight with him. He turned back to the table, his voice cold and measured. “We need more than muscle if we’re going after them. This isn’t a simple hit. We’re talking about taking down an entire operation.”

“And you’re the expert now, Castle?” Johnny shot back, his tone dripping with sarcasm.

Frank didn’t flinch, his gaze locked on Johnny. “I’m the guy who’s gonna clean up your mess when it all goes to hell.”

The room went silent, the tension thick enough to choke on. You could see the shift in the other underbosses’ eyes—Frank was right, and they knew it. But pride was a dangerous thing in this business, and no one wanted to be the first to admit they were in over their heads.

“You’ve got another idea, Castle?” one of the quieter men finally asked, his voice hesitant.

Frank took a breath, his broad shoulders rising and falling. “We don’t rush into this. We need intel—real intel. Not just rumors. We get people on the inside, figure out their weak points, and we hit them where it hurts. But we don’t move until we’re ready.”

Johnny scoffed, but the others seemed to be listening. You saw your moment and stepped up beside Frank, arms crossed. “He’s right. I know people. We can get information. But if you go in blind, you’re gonna end up dead.”

Johnny stared at both of you, his face a mix of anger and frustration. “I hope you’re joking,” he muttered under his breath, shaking his head.

Frank’s jaw tightened. “Does it look like I’m joking?”

Johnny looked like he wanted to argue, but he bit his tongue, muttering curses as he turned away. The rest of the room began to murmur in agreement, and it was clear the tide had shifted. Frank’s plan was the only one that made sense.

As the men began to file out of the room, discussing the next steps, you lingered behind with Frank. He stood there, hands on his hips, eyes fixed on the door as if he were already planning the next move. You watched him for a moment, admiring the way he handled himself—calm, strong, and never backing down.

“You know, you didn’t have to back me up like that,” Frank said, his voice quieter now that the others were gone.

You shrugged, smirking slightly. “I wasn’t backing you up. I was backing common sense.”

He turned to look at you, that faint glimmer of something softer flickering behind his dark eyes. “Either way, I appreciate it.”

You met his gaze, feeling the weight of everything that was left unsaid between you. There was a bond forming here, in the middle of all this chaos—a trust that went deeper than just business.

“You know,” you said, stepping closer to him, “if we pull this off, we could change everything.”

Frank raised an eyebrow, a half-smile tugging at his lips. “You saying you’re in this for the long haul?”

You tilted your head, smirking. “Depends. You gonna be able to keep up with me, Castle?”

He chuckled softly, shaking his head. “I think I’ll manage.”

For a brief moment, in the quiet of the room, with the world outside preparing for war, it felt like maybe—just maybe—you and Frank Castle could carve out a future in a world full of violence. You knew it wouldn’t be easy, but with Frank at your side, you had a feeling you could take on anything.

And for now, that was enough.

-

tags!

EVERYTHING PERM: @nekoannie-chan @kjs-s @notyourtypicalrose @mistressofallthingsgeeky MARVEL PERM: @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @late-to-the-party-81 @capsthot @kenzieam @dis-plus-fanfic-reblog-writes

FRANK CASTLE: @hallecarey1

[stormxpadme]

There's a bit of fanfiction negativity in the tags :(. Looking for something to cheer me up, what's your personal scogan fanfic favorites?

Yeah, I saw that, both in the scogan and scogean tag, with posts even including the character name tags. Like. Not cool, people. Way to make authors feel shitty who have been guarding the ship lighthouse for the last 20 years. Claiming in the most popular tags, there's only like 1 good fic among more than 1500? Wow, okay. So I was very happy to receive your ask. Let's counter that negativity with some awesome scogan reads!

Damaged by scottxlogan

Can't do any scogan rec list without including the leading authority on the subject. @scottxlogan is the author who pulled me into this ship years ago, not to mention they're a great friend, unbelievably talented writer and artist, and they deserve all the love. Damaged is surely one of their most ambitious projects and deserves every single view, kudos and review out there. Set in the DOFP finale verse that is no doubt the author's specialty, the story comes with an alluring, intricated plot that leaves you on the edge of your seat along with all the feels.

Submission by scottxlogan

I'm also including a newer work by the same author in case you just want to get a feel for how wonderfully she writes these guys, not to mention the shameless steamy goodness that are the author's smut scenes. scottxlogan is an expert at reversing common fandom tropes believably, and this will leave you longing for more of these power exchanges easily.

he carries the reminders by Wolfsheart

@mischief-and-tea-by-the-sea is another great friend and author I would trust even with my biggest squicks (not that she writes those anyway :D). She's not only technically brillant and very well-versed in the lore which makes every pairing she writes a great read (check out her Tony/Emma, too!), but she'll also never fail to make you laugh or put those hearts in your eyes. And don't miss all those pop culture references that even put Peter Parker to shame! She also gives us scogan fans exactly what we need with stories like this one, combining our fav hurt/comfort tropes with a healthy dose of canon fix it.

I loved you since I knew you by strangenewwords

@strangenewwords is a fairly new and dearly beloved addition to our group at @scoganbingo events, but she's already made a huge impact with her delicious smut and angst stories that hit you right in the feels. Technically also brillant, the linked story is definitely one you don't want to get spoilered for beforehand because the ending will leave you in absolute awe and tears. The author doesn't shy away from including the darkest sides of Scott's past but handles every subject with the necessary care and respect, and as I said ... You don't want to miss out on all that delicious smut!

The Day Before the Soldiers Came by Cerylid

Cery is offering a much-needed fixit for the team dynamics between the X-Men and Logan before X2 with this story. It comes with a lot of humor but also far more feels than you expect. The texting is hilarious but it's the quiet tones that get to you.

*****

Speaking of fix-its, since that negativity in the tags kinda got to me, too, I might just throw in one of my own works here too since I also got lots of Scogan stuff out there.

My spirit's sleeping somewhere cold

is basically my go-to X3 fix-it. You look for something to make that movie right, you got it all right there. Along with a bit of horror (we are talking about resurrection, after all) comes a dramatic rescue mission in a mental limbo, and you get an Avenger and Emma Frost guest-starring. There's a couple of follow up chapters that explore both scogan and Tony/Emma a bit further, and we even get a Laura version in old movieverse along the line, and of course all the nasty nasty smut you guys are here for.

########

So, that's it from the top of my hat. All these accounts have even more great stories to check out, and there's lots of other scogan authors out there with great stories to enjoy. So don't let anyone tell you, there's no quality scogan stuff on AO3.

[citrinae]

avoid the crowds.

law x reader

summary; you're an aspiring biologist, hard-working on your phd. when you're coupled with your colleague law to enrich your research, you're mortified to discover that other's personal projects may be a little more ambitious than you’d anticipate. 

contents; gravedigging, only a pinch of gore, explicit at times, toxic attachments, love/hate, smoking, references to mary shelley because i’m a nerd & law is pathetic, college/academia!AU, gn!reader, wc: 2k. this is actually my very first time writing for this freak, intensely praying that i did him justice. check here for more spooktober shenanigans.

masterlist

Dirt on your shoes, on your jeans, under your nails. Pushing a lit cigarette between your lips, you realise your hands are slightly trembling. It’s slowly that you take the smoke in, a burning sensation into your lungs making you forget about the cold creeping up your cheeks, your ankles and into your bones, and you keep it there for a moment. Your eyes wander to the number of gravestones carrying the memory of someone’s friend, partner, or sibling, all cared for and regretfully gone. There’s a rustle coming from your right, boot sliding on the ground before his knee bumps into yours. With his hat he brushes the dirt off his lap. 

“This shit is bad for your health,” Law says, with a hint of superiority that has you pursing your lips around the cigarette. 

“These guys haven’t seen a pub in decades,” you manage to keep your cool. “Thought they wouldn’t mind if I brought them a piece of memory.”

He doesn’t play along. “They are dead. I doubt they care about much of anything.”

“How do you expect your students to like you if you can’t even take a joke?” you say through an exhale. 

“Honestly?” Law props his weight on the shovel he’s dug into the ground, legs spread. “The very few students I’ve had so far were actually funny.”

“Fuck you,” you huff. “Honestly.”

“Kindly reminding you that we’re in a cemetery,” he drones. “I'd restrain my libido for when we get back.”

You give him a look, still not believing he said that. His fingers—long, nimble, tattooed at the knuckles—rest atop his knees as he absently watches ahead. He’s slack in track pants and sweater, not that tonight makes him any different from the way you’ve always known him—cold, laid back. The sky is dark, only a few hours away from dawn. At your feet lingers a plastic bag he’s filled with everything needed for his fun little science project. 

Or rather, your fun little science project, now that you found out about it and agreed to let him do his magic before your eyes. The only condition was that you do it quietly—so far, you’re being terrible at it, and still he keeps you by like some sort of low-cost apprentice. Looking at the spots where dirt has been immaculately removed and battered back into place, your stomach threatens to turn. 

How have you ended up like this?

(There was someone in your research group; a guy called Trafalgar D. Water Law. A brilliant fellow, a committed academic. A little bit of an asshole, if you were to be completely honest. Law rarely ever spoke to the rest of you, let alone spend time with the group. Frequented the lab when you were about to call it a day and left early in the morning, just before you'd put on your whitecoats, fluorescent light droning overhead and steam hovering from coffee mugs. The nights were when he liked to work the most, doing whatever the fuck he was up to. Your PhD coordinator said something about reinventing surgery; but not even they were able to run into further detail. You were all too buried in your own projects to pry.

Water gathered at the tip of your nose and dripped onto your shoe. Your clothes were soaked and plastered to your skin; you hadn’t expected to rain that night. 

“Jesus fuck,” you managed under your breath. There was a dense, awful smell lingering in the air, the door to the research room locked with no spare key to use. “Law, are you in there?” 

Movement on the other side, pretending you didn’t exist. Your hair curled at your nape, wet and cold, and a feverish sensation began to climb up your temples. 

You tried again. “I left my journal in here, and, uhm,” scratching your head, “see I really needed to look up some notes tonight. May I come in and fetch it so I can leave you be?”

Still no answer; you were starting to get angry. 

You also needed a towel. 

“Listen up you freak,” through gritted teeth. “I don’t give two shits about what you’re doing or how many dicks you had to suck to be allowed to act like you own this fucking place. My day was bad enough to only care about my stupid little notes I left in that stupid little room, so please, for the love of god, open the door or else I’ll break a window or something and tab the damage on your weird ass name.”

“Who’s breaking what?” It was coming from behind; you turned, and stopped. Wiping his hands with a white washcloth, there stood Law, hoodie sleeves rolled to elbows, dark hair dishevelled, bags under his eyes. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks. 

The sounds you were hearing from inside the workroom didn’t cease. You felt heavy with the onset of a headache. 

“But if you’re here,” you said, incredulous. “Then who’s—” a second of thought. “What’s—”

Folding his arms, fabric thrown over his shoulder, “Yeah?”

The words felt weird leaving you, “What do you keep in there?”

“Nothing to be concerned about,” Law said, plainly. He seemed to know better than coming up with an excuse. There were steps that you heard, after all, nothing a branch against a window or a vending machine could replace. 

“You were saying you needed something?” he added, searching his pockets. “Let me get that for you, stay right there.”

But you didn’t stay put. You couldn’t. Shortly after watching him turn the key into the lock, careful not to reveal much of what awaited him inside, impulse had you setting your foot in the door. An elbow pressed on steel, a tattoo beat into floor tiles. And you could hardly hear the disturbed hiss leaving him now that you were facing a true miracle of modern medicine.)

They say the secrets of Heaven and Earth ought to stay in the palms of the one behind their making, for the man was made a crafty artist, but, alas, uncompleted. Understanding is a bottomless pit, only for the divine to fill and look after. But why are they to be frowned upon, half-made creatures, clinging to the knowledge that would make them whole?

(A strange friendship took shape that night. You agreed to keep the secret and Law allowed you to keep him company during the nights, borrowing notes, studying equipment. Little of this brought anything new to your own research, and yet, being in Law’s presence felt like a giant leap in your career. You wouldn’t be made to admit it, but you admired him, and at the same time he seemed almost content with the ease at which you were navigating the dense volume of research. As far as work was concerned, you were making a surprisingly good team—that you could both agree on despite your infuriating personalities. 

Some uneventful nights you would fiddle with his earrings as he measured the diameter of a human limb. Some other nights, his hand would flatten across your back as he showed you how man-made particles quivered and dispersed under the microscope. Your eyes ached from lack of sleep but your curiosity was a persistent fiend, always hungry for more, begging to be kept entertained. Slowly you found yourself disconnected from everything happening around you other than your undergraduate classes and lab work. Everything in your world revolved around science, and consequently, around Law. 

But spending so much time around each other would soon get the best—or worst—of you both, on a night just as rainy as the one you started working together. There was an hour left until the sky would start bleeding into a deep gradient of blues, two before the building would be animated with swarms of steps and voices. Tables had been diligently swept with no trace of your nightly work, equipment dismantled and notebooks locked away—just like Law instructed you to. Your steps echoed down the hallways of the facility, dark and empty, comfortable silence lingering between your forms as you were heading out. Exhaustion crept into your body to the point walking felt like floating. To your left, Law’s breathing seemed heavier than usual. You found yourself cagily tracing the contours of his hair, his ear, his neck and shoulder, stopping at his hand that he kept buried into a pocket. 

A beat later, too soon to tell how it happened, you were pressed against a wall, Law’s stare taking from confused to determined as he tried to keep up with his own actions. 

There was a pause. 

“You don’t have the guts,” you provoked, adrenaline pushing your mouth into a smirk. 

Law clicked his tongue. Then he kissed you, deeply, viciously, and you returned it without much thought. White hat collapsed on the floor as your fingers struggled to make their way through his hair, digging themselves into his scalp, touching and searing everything they found in their reach. Standing so close to him you were surprised to catch a faint trace of cologne lingering under all the metal and soap and formalin he worked with. Your head spun. His hand was cold as it touched you under your sweater; with his other he had to cover your mouth to keep a sound from coming out.

It didn’t stop you. He urged you somewhere more secluded.)

You flick the ashes off your cigarette. “Hey,” you say, trying to figure out the inscription chiselled on a gravestone. “Is it fair? To disturb these people’s peace like that?”

Law breathes out, heavily, a little shaken himself. He thinks about it for a moment. Then, massaging a temple, he says, “I think it’s a little too late to ask yourself this.” He’s right. 

“Maybe.” It’s faint, distracted. 

Some would say you’re giving them a second chance; you know that’s not the case here. None of you wants nothing out of this but the Promethean high of discovery. Performing miracles with a scalpel and needle, building an universe of your own. 

Wind blows in your direction, sharp like a slap in the face, and your body starts coiling within itself as it does. 

(Your research sessions carried on like this. Passing thread through layers of dead skin, sinking your teeth into Law’s skin moments later. Papers and pens and scissors scattered on the floor. Bodies feverish and drenched in sweat. Taking his chin between thumb and forefinger, you relished the faces he made after claiming that you inspire him. With his cock deep inside you, Law admitted he was glad to have found a use for that foul mouth of yours. When you use it to say his name, he added on, his voice grave and possessive, beard tickling your earshell, it makes him believe your voice was sewed for him.)

“Time to go,” Law says, already back on his feet.  

You insist that he carries the bag. And so he does, hoisting it around his shoulder without much care for its contents. You stub out your cigarette under your foot, and your eyes roll heavenwards when he demands that you pick the thing up. 

“I was meaning to,” you sneer, bending down. “Who do you take me for?”

“Do you really want me to answer that?” Law hands you the shovel. 

“For the record,” dusting off your jeans, “When faculty reviews are up, I’m ruining your ass.”

Law’s smirk is offensive. “Double-check your spelling before sending anything in.”

No one says a word on the way back to the facility. With weight propped on your shoulders and stars hiding one by one behind the horizon, the moment feels almost serene, and you dismiss the impulse to close your eyes because you know you will be falling asleep as soon as you do. For now, you end up settling with this space between dream and reality, hoping that maybe, somewhere, awaits the truth you’ve been working so hard to earn. 

[flower-boi16]

I think what's actually alarming about Helluva Boss and Vivziepop is that the shower suffers from heavy creator-fan enmeshment, and the writers/Vivziepop don't see themselves as the problem for it. It's like they see themselves as the victims, too, while encouraging their fandom's toxic mindset and behaviors.

The writers/Vivziepop are not only too entangled with their fans, but they're THINKING like fan artists/fanfic writers instead of actually making a show. There's a difference between writers of a show and fanfic writing. When you take up the mantel to create a show you have to carry yourself in a way and write your show with a point otherwise you end up with shows like Helluva Boss/Hazbin Hotel, Miraculous Lady Bug, SVFOE, SPOP, and other shows that fall into that category. Some of them focus more on the shipping than the point of their show to begin with.

What makes a good show is having that distinction or maintaining that professionalism. Creators of shows should NEVER let themselves sink into the cesspool of their Fandoms because they should be focused on their story/message instead of all this shipping/woobing bullshit.

TLDR: Helluva Boss never had potential with VivziePop holding the reigns to begin with. It's too disorganized and unfocused, and with the Fan Enmeshment, it was never going to grow or expand from its fanfic-y feeling. If the creator of the show never grew up, we should never expect the show to grow, too.

Though it is a shame since it could have been charming, had someone more professional taken the show.

Viv definitely was never cut out to handle a big project like this. I’ve said this many times before, but ya, Viv writes like a fanfic writer; everything with how messy the structuring of how her shows is and how poorly they are planned makes me think this.

It reminds me of when I tried to make my first fanfic and just went in without a plan with how to structure it which led to me just abandoning it early on. Viv writes like that.

She didn't listen to criticism of her Zoophobia comic and she still isn’t listing here. She shifted the focus of HB away from the premise to shipping nonsense and now we have this weird mess of a show that doesn’t even know what it wants to be anymore.

Season 2 seems to prioritize relationship drama over the actual premise which caused the show’s downfall. Hazbin feels a bit less fan-ficy but it’s still very messy.

Viv just crams too much shit into too little time which results in the pacing being awful. She paces her shows like a fan fic writer. It feels like she only came In with a small understanding of how show running works and jumped right into the industry because she was excited to show off her gizzalion OCs she had since high school.

Everything about HH/HB feels amateur. I really think that before you get into storytelling you need to actually study how to create good stories, like there are YouTube videos out there you could watch for free that give a run down of what is good or bad writing.

You don’t need to spend 20+ in school to be a good writer but you need to have a basic understanding of how to even write your ideas before you start making stories…which Viv clearly does not.

HB Season 2 in general doesn’t feel like a natural continuation of the first season. It feels like a fan-fic written by a fan after season 1 ended posted on wattpad that the show runners decided to animate and voice into a full season.

Viv should have learned how to run a show before jumping into something as ambitious as this, but she didn’t, and look at what we got.

[alchemie-tarot]

How To Walk Your Talk

Hello! It’s been a while. I felt like this slightly ambitious (for me) pick-a-card topic needed a ton of energy and discernment to execute, and so I really took my time with it. I intended it for Aries season but, oh well... Look, another fire season Leo is just around the corner!

Take a breath. Feel free to choose the pile/s that call out to you. Some details may not make the mark and that’s natural, since this is a general reading. Please don’t take it too seriously as well. Nothing is set in stone. My objective has always been to channel messages that may help its readers in any way.

Yes, these are more sunset pictures from my sunset photography cache.

Pile 1

Cards: 5 of Swords, Queen of Cups, Death, 8 of Wands, Page of Cups, 10 of Wands, 7 of Pentacles

Your Talk is about overcoming conflict with other people. You’re proud of being able to defend yourself at all costs, from those who “attack” you and don’t believe in you, in particular. When you do, there’s a winner takes all kind of feeling. Proving yourself against any kind of criticism is a win. You definitely are not one to hold back and, if worse comes to worst, you can cut deep if you feel like you need to.

You think that this is the way to prioritize yourself. The way to show yourself love. It doesn’t seem to matter to you if you end up not having a lot of intimate ties because of this. You believe that the worst betrayal is the betrayal of your own self. 

I think this Talk of yours usually comes out when it has all been said and done. Something about you making sure you have the last word. You may wait to strike when the other party has their guard down. You may also want your Talk to have a potent and instantaneous effect on its listener. You tend to make sure there’s no room for them to say more, to potentially dismiss or disprove you. You’ll cut the conversation if you have to. 

What you may not realize is that this hurts your objective either way. Yes, you’re an advocate of yourself, but this behavior makes them see you as a “child” who doesn’t really seem to know what they’re saying and thinks little of consequences.

Under this bravado of yours, I sense an expectation to be understood. It may be that a part of you hopes that someone with an x-ray vision meets you with empathy, instead of the dismissal or outright opposition you know so well. Sometimes, other people’s emotions simply do not run as deeply and strongly as yours. What matters to you may be something they don’t personally read too much meaning into. 

Pile 1, your Talk seems to be taking a toll on you more than you would like to admit. This kind of vigilance is a lonely burden to carry. Do not get me wrong, though, it has paid off somehow when you learned to protect yourself. You’re impenetrable, but at what cost? You leave out the potential good that can touch you in significant ways.

Spirit urges you to put the sword down for a bit and look around you. You can’t make the most out of your life by always being on the defense. To truly Walk your Talk, you need to uncover the root cause of all this defensiveness. Do you think that being alone is worth turning away the compassion that you can receive? Is that what you really want? Continuing down this path will only push that possibility further away. 

Try to look over everything that you have gone through so far, but with curiosity to understand rather than a restless need to justify. I hear a suggestion, to redefine your boundaries. Take a rest, too, Pile 1, I believe you really need it. It will all pay off either way, but there is room for grace that may benefit you more than you could imagine.

Pile 2

Cards: 7 of Cups, 10 of Wands, 2 of Wands, The Hanged Man, 8 of Wands, The Emperor, Death

You think that daydreams get in the way of real life. Fantasy is a way to escape responsibilities and that it ultimately ends up being a burden since it’s technically not really a “way to live.” You think having too many choices is more inconvenient than it is exciting. Most of them are simply distractions, temptations to veer off course. 

You may be a really pragmatic person for the most part. For some, though, I see that you are not necessarily repulsed by the rose-tinted perspective, but that this kind of ambition is too much work to actualize. It’s something that would force you to choose between what is necessary and what is ideal. Grounded, longer term goals are more important to you, anyway. Not letting yourself get carried away is an act of bravery to face reality.

I sense that you’re surrounded by people who don’t really agree with your way of thinking. Perhaps a lot of the people around you have quite lofty dreams and, maybe at times, have too much faith in their abilities. You may think that they could learn a thing or two about staying in one’s lane. On the other side of that, they may think that you’re self-righteous and quick to judge. They see you as a person of action and laser focus in your own right, but your Talk about achieving such goals suffers because, well…some goals are idealistic and unlikely by nature. That’s what makes them goals! 

As far as it goes, you seem to be really Walking your Talk. To a tee, in fact. A little too firmly, perhaps, to the point where you may be getting complacent. 

Something you should know about this Emperor's energy that you have is that, no matter how strictly the Emperor follows a certain system, he would still strive for something beyond him. Why would he need to stick to the current reality if it could be changed and improved? With his power and position, why not seek what would commonly be thought of as “impossible”? What is good, and for good, is always worth a try.

There can be more than logic to make the most out of the goals we form– a touch of compassion on yourself and your circumstances can truly transform those goals into more than ticks off a to-do list, you know? Instead of resisting changes in plans, welcome them as a potential channel for breakthroughs. Even if they entail a little imagination from your part to materialize. Nothing wrong with letting yourself dream a little, Pile 2.

Pile 3

Cards: The Hermit, King of Cups, 8 of Cups, The Star, Justice, The Sun, The Empress

You keep this Talk mostly to yourself. You’re in quite a period of serious introspection, Pile 3. Gathering strength and gaining inner wisdom. You want to master yourself: your inner workings, your emotions, your psyche, the subconscious– and you believe that this is the way. You’re trying to find balance by going within and spending time with yourself. 

You carry out this Talk in the times you walk away from things you determine no longer serve you. Things you don’t see developing positively or going anywhere. Leaving behind those spilled and empty cups. For now you have been withdrawing a lot on an intentional and well-meant level. To be honest, the Talk here is Not Talking, and so it manifests that way… through silence. Focusing on what you would like to move ahead towards.

You want people to see this as what it is: your way of healing. You want to be seen as someone taking their time at the moment. There’s a factor of distance, the not wanting to be disturbed by outside energy. Minimizing your availability. This is all about you right now. There is also something about  finding yourself that you may have lost connection with at an earlier point. You want to achieve that peace and somehow let that energy seep through and act as its own protective barrier.

And you know what? The people around you believe that you are undergoing what you rightfully need. They see and understand what you’re trying to do. You have their support, and many are even cheering you on from afar. This is such a positive message, Pile 3! They believe it’s a victory in itself to see you in the process of bouncing back. The way you are holding everyone, including yourself, accountable for the things that should be so. They think that events are finally turning in your favor.

Getting The Sun for asking how your Walk looks right now is really one of the best things I have seen for this pick-a-card. It is so lovely to see that this is making you happy. I am happy for you, too! If you’re not quite there yet, trust that you will be. You will find that light you’ve been seeking in the dark depths of yourself that you bravely traversed. I’m telling you, what a shining light it is that you will find. You’re genuinely finding your way back to your inner child. Keep going and they will have more blessings to give you.

If you are feeling up for it, Spirit offers that you can take it up a notch by exploring more ways to nurture your soul. I see letting your imagination expand, creating things with your hands, pampering your body. Whatever has happened, Pile 3, know that it’s not too big for you to overcome. Your Walk is such a profound journey to a revival… You’re very close to experiencing the fruits of your labor. Sending you my warmth, Pile 3!

Pile 4

Cards: Death, Ace of Swords, 8 of Pentacles, 6 of Wands Rx, 5 of Cups, The Hanged Man, The Star

Change starts in your head. Change starts from within. Your Talk is giving me coach or counselor vibes, mostly of the spiritual kind. You may have gone through a major life event at some point in your life, however it applies to you. This may have pushed you then to speak about these major, life-changing events. You think that they are opportunities to grow. Signs to cultivate a new mindset. The best way to ride with it is to be sharp and alert, and to fight with all your might.

You seem to be quite methodical and stubborn about it. I hear you could have catchphrases of some sort, along the lines of “everything happens for a reason,” or that “you can get through anything if you just tried and worked hard enough.” Like I said, you may have experienced such events in your life already and it seems like you’ve seen enough to point out certain patterns. You developed a sense of anticipating how long something may last, where it is likely to lead, what’s next, etcetera. 

You want others to see how humbled you are because of these experiences. You want to gain their support, partly because you feel that it solidifies the validation of your Talk. Here’s the thing, though: the insistence of your experiences have been rubbing some people off the wrong way. You’ve been taking your narrative to an unclear length. It’s not your bravery and openness that they have reservations about, but the fact that it’s starting to sound like a broken record. At the end of your anecdotes, what message does it all lead to? Some are getting the impression that you’re stuck in some way with that period in your life instead of presenting solutions or forward steps to move on from it.

I think you see yourself as a champion for these life-changing experiences, to the point where your way of expressing or living out the empowerment you preach seems like an effect of the hold it still has on you. Deep down, you may feel some level of uncertainty to step out from its familiarity. Where were you supposed to go next? Maybe a part of you is also wondering, is this all I'm ever gonna be talking about and be known for?

I can’t help but notice the comparison of the cards Death and The Star: Death, clad in armor, and The Star, shining in their nakedness. Spirit urges you to take off that armor. You don’t have to justify yourself anymore. It won’t always be a battle. Yes, what happened has happened, and it has affected you deeply. It helped you be stronger as a person, but you have to realize that you’re still wielding it in a way. You can’t truly move on even if you simply turned the weapon around– you’re still holding it. There comes a point where you have to take it out of your hands.

Your Talk will become more potent and natural that way. You will find a calm about yourself and this Walk will draw you the support that you need and deserve.

Pile 5

Cards: Ace of Cups, Justice, The Fool, Judgment, 7 of Wands, Knight of Pentacles, The Devil

All is fair in love and war is the first thing I heard. This is seriously your Talk. You’re a go-getter, especially the emotional, creative, watery kind. Not just a go-getter, but a kind of rule-breaker, too. You focus your sights far, far ahead. I’m seeing that you don’t really read too much or think too deeply into most things. When something catches your attention, you just take it and make a run for it, I’m hearing. What an interesting Talk.

You want people to realize how awakened you feel and how liberating it feels in general to be in that mindset. You want people to see how many paths and options it opens up for them. To you, even though it sounds contrary, it actually narrows down and leads to what you really want– and then absolutely taking it at all costs. You see this as a road to inner wisdom and taking responsibility for one's own life. You think this is a primal kind of behavior and it’s only natural to give in to it as humans.

However, people mostly just see that you’re setting yourself up to be in a constant, if not lifelong, struggle. They think you’re too high up in your worldview and that you could be taken down a notch. Even if they won’t necessarily call you out or actively try to humble you, they believe there will always be something or someone to challenge you, and that it’s not really a worthwhile thing to keep up forever. 

As far as it’s going right now, your Talk is coming to be your Walk, quite naturally. As chaotic as this mindset is perceived, there is a diligent and grounded way that you’re implementing it. You really believe in its value and it shows in your actions. Not much can shake you about it, I see.

In order to achieve your wants and goals in the best way, Spirit urges you to take some time to look at your shadow. Try to take a look if you’re acting out fully aligned with those goals, or are you simply carried away from the addictive feeling it brings? There’s a benefit to taking everything with a sense of moderation, no matter how you choose to live your life. Is there something deep-seated that you ought to acknowledge, that instead of giving you that “freedom” it could actually be a kind of blockage? Do you really believe that these are the rules of the world or did you impose them on yourself? Reevaluate what freedom is to you.

Pile 6

Cards: Queen of Pentacles, 8 of Wands, 3 of Swords, Knight of Swords, Queen of Swords, Page of Swords, Knight of Cups

You believe that financial stability and reaching certainty in physical comfort are easy come, easy go. One should always be maximizing their time to be productive. Opportunities shouldn’t be wasted and the only things worth aligning with are those that lead to this state of living. Anybody you encounter is a potential for your network. There is no time for sitting back. You should always be ready. Go past or eradicate anything and everything standing in your way.

While your Talk is one that is supposed to be motivating by nature, the way you deliver it seems imbued with an element of fear. “Do this or leave yourself vulnerable. Hardships eventually catch up, so you better keep on moving.” I think you may be one to say that no matter how secure one is, one shouldn’t be chilling out too much. It can easily be lost in a blink of an eye.

You want to be seen as someone who means well and is only doing everything they do to help. You want to be seen as an embodiment of your Talk: always on the move and, for some reason I heard, looks cool while doing it. Willing to do whatever it takes.

Others see that your Talk is clouding quite a bit of your actual vision of it. They do see that you do not give up easily. Your directness is admirable, if not a little bound to the notion of having to always be on the next thing after finishing the previous. You look so far ahead you’re practically living in the future than the present. You’re also hardly paying full attention to the things you currently have, born from all the hard work you’ve put in.

Well, you seem to be using a lot of your words at the moment, I hear. Talking and talking. To people with like-minded goals, and to yourself? I'm getting that it’s because you feel quite flighty at the moment. Are you okay? When was the last time you took a breath? There’s a bit of anxious, running-on-fumes energy. You seem to be highly inspired, though. Bursting with ideas, in fact. For now, these plans mostly stay as plans.

Like all things, balance helps with feeling stable within yourself. Spirit urges you to get in touch with your emotions at the moment. Access what’s behind that flighty energy. You have the goals, the plans, and the direction. What you lack right now is a sense of being grounded enough not to run yourself ragged. Intuition plays a big role in this– yours wants to tell you something. It also won’t hurt to learn how to handle things, especially yourself, with more grace and compassion. Appreciate your ideas as themselves and not just a means to go somewhere else. It’s okay to not think about the goods right now. Think about what genuinely fills your cup.

Thank you for interacting with this post of mine. Always take care of yourself. 💜✨

[coffeeadict61]

Humans Are Weird: Female Rage

Report: #298

Topic: Female Rage

Rage: Violent or uncontrollable anger.

I have studied the human race for months now but today is the day I have learned to fear them. Forget their unpredictable bodies, or overly complex inventions, or the horrific moments that crowd their history. It was only today I feared for my life in the presence of a human being.

I often record anger in incident reports and the like, but women make up a very tiny proportion of that. They tend to "keep their cool" ( a human turn of phrase) better than men on average. This doesn't seem to be a natural attribute but more of a learned survival mechanism against violence and abuse. It only seems to break the surface in grief or after years of trauma. But the new astrophysics intern Colette [Last Name Redacted] showed me a new human emotion. Rage.

Our ships astrophysics department was partnering with our engineering department to design a small weapons craft to protect us from the "space pirates" or looters we keep encountering. I had created a bond of "friendship" with little Colette, I suppose little doesn't fit. She is above average height and slightly underweight, (she is having trouble adjusting to our menu due to "texture issues" which I need to educate myself on). Moving forward. She came to speak to me on a very serious matter a week ago exactly while I was on my daily rounds. This was the reason I was behind schedule, she has, and I quote, "little legs" in comparison to mine. Colette spoke of the weapons project she had been assigned too. She spoke at length about her supervisors who wouldn't listen to her. She had discovered a bug in the engine system. A four that looked like a nine or something of that nature, and believed it to put the test pilots in danger. She requested that I ask management to promote her so that her voice would be listened too. I tried to calm her worries but she was insistent so I told her I'd try to bring it up in the next meeting. That meeting was yesterday. In the six days between our conversation and my turn to give my reports for the management council, I had talked myself out of my promise. I figured that her superiors knew best and she was just ambitious and maybe she didn't see what she thought she saw. Regardless, it is the biggest regret I carry.

The test flight launched today. The entire crew was given an hour additional break to watch. Colette tried to prevent the launch, arguing with the head scientists, trying to show them test she ran digitally, but they had security pull her back. She came to find me, asking if I spoke to management. I didn't answer. The announcer counted down in human numerals.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 LAUNCH

I breathed a sigh of relief as the craft glided safely away, but Colette didn't, she didn't move an inch. The projects leader gave instructions through a radio. The experimental engines roared to life. Then, a moment of silence. Before the entire space craft was engulfed in a cloud of fire and gas. The silent explosion shook the floor beneath us as gasps and screams gave it a voice. The entire crew was killed. Many of them, friends or family of the onlookers. The onboard medic, the project leader's son and Colette's young husband. She collapsed to the ground sobbing, unable to stand on her shaking legs. I couldn't get her to move. I didn't try very hard.

Security swarmed the crowd, pushing them back from the windows and herding the grieving crowd to the different living areas. Many had to be carried. I carried Colette.

Hours later, after an emergency meeting and a meal, everyone was in bed. All but the council, security, the engineering department,and the astrophysics department. We sat in heavy silence as the project leader explained the error that lead to this tragedy. I studied him closely. No tears, just a stone cold face and a tremor in his hands. Suddenly the doors crashed open as Colette burst in. She wasn't grieving now. Colette grabbed the microphone from the leader's hand and threw it at the wall. It went straight through. Then she spoke. Shaking slightly, controlled rage gave the impression of bullets falling from her mouth with each syllable. "Murderers. You are all murderers." No one moved as we took on the weight of her statements. She spoke again but this time it was wasn't controlled. This time her rage wasn't an undertone but the message. This time she screamed it in a voice that echoed around the room and shook with each new sob.

"I TOLD YOU! I FING TOLD YOU THEY WOULD DIE! WHY DIDN'T YOU LISTEN TO ME?! HOW COULD YOU KILL THEM LIKE THAT?! IT'S YOUR FING FAULT!"

She broke anything within reach. A mug, "THEY WERE YOUR TEAM!" a chair, "WHY DIDN'T YOU PROTECT THEM?" a table, "YOUR OWN SON AND YOU STAND HERE CALLING IT AN ACCIDENT!" her voice. "IF YOU HAD BELIEVED ME AND MY EVIDENCE INSTEAD OF PLAYING F***ING POLITICS…"

She stopped. She stopped screaming, stopped crying, stopped expressing her pain. She bottled it up and wiped her face with her sweaters sleeve. She just stared at him. Taking deep breaths as he shook under her gaze. "Why didn't you listen to him? To me?" He fought back his tears and straightened his jacket. "Abe knew the risks-" Colette stepped forward and punched him hard, his nose making an audible crunch. Blood stained her knuckles as she hit him again and again. Finally I got up and grabbed her around her middle, pulling her off before she went to far. The leader whimpered and leaned on a table as she fought to get to him. To tear him apart. Finally she just stood rigidity holding onto me. "Never say his name again. You aren't his father. You're a murderer and you never deserved Abraham." She spit at his feet.

"Coward."

I pulled her out of the meeting hall, locked her in her quarters, and stood guard. I relive her plea for me to approach the council on her behalf. I cannot deny my part in the crew's death and doubt I'll ever forgive myself. Colette will surely never forgive me either.

In conclusion, I advise the guilty professionals and researchers transferred and tried. Both for the safety of our crew and themselves. Their professional licenses should be revoked no matter the outcome of their individual trials. We also need to form a mental health department and start providing dietary options for all diets and sensitivities. I also advise (though I recognize my lack of authority on the matter) that crewmember Colette [Last Name Redacted] be released of all charges and assigned a personal therapist of her choosing. As for the other loved ones of our lost crew, they should also receive support options and memorials for their lost and any other requests we can fulfil. I pray we never have a similar story to tell the next generation.

Human Observer #5743

[vodika-vibes]

Can you write a cute piece with Jaster where he comes back from a long mission and finds the reader and Jango asleep together in his bed waiting for him? Maybe turns a little smutty at the end?

The Mand'alor's Aliit

Summary: Jaster's been gone for weeks, and now that he's back, some hard truths have come to light.

Pairing: Jaster Mereel x F!Reader

Word Count: 1714

Warnings: Reader was physically assaulted, Jaster's temper

Tagging: @trixie2023 @n0vqni

A/N: I know you said you wanted a little smutty, and I'm sorry that this didn't turn out that way. I had a story that needed to be written, and smut just didn't make sense with what I had. Please feel free to send another request that I'll do better on next time.

When you agreed to go on a date with Jaster, it was well before he was elected Mand’alor. Sure, you’ve always known that your ambitious man wanted more for his people, but the title Mand’alor wasn’t something that he specifically vied for.

And then he was elected, and things became a lot more complicated.

The Mandalorians didn’t like you. They didn’t like you when you were just some upstart who managed to catch the attention of Jaster, and they definitely didn’t like that Jaster went to you for advice when he became Mand’alor.

However, no one pushed anything because you’re not Jaster’s Riduur. So far as they’re aware, the relationship is pretty shallow.

So when Jaster comes home with a recently orphaned 8 year old, announcing that he adopted young Jango, and then when you quietly adopted Jango as well, people suddenly started paying attention.

And that’s when the missions started. Long term missions, taking Jaster away from you, and Jango, for weeks at a time. Maybe they thought that sending him away would drive a wedge between the pair of you, but they couldn’t be more wrong if they tried.

“I miss buir,” Jango mumbles miserably as he buries himself against your side, “And I hate the other Mandalorians.” He adds, sounding even more miserable when he sees you wince in pain when you move to embrace him.

“I know you do, kiddo. I miss him too.” You smooth your hand through his curly hair. Today had been especially bad in terms of everything. Normally the people who stood opposed to you wouldn’t dare lay a hand on you.

But they had been drinking, and they forgot themselves, and yeah, you won that fight, even though it was four on one, but you still have a cracked rib and pretty severe bruising to show for it.

Worse than that is the fact that Jango witnessed the whole thing. Which means he’s about three times as clingy as he would normally be. And you tolerate it because he’s your kid and you love him. You love him enough to allow him to crawl into your bed, and cling to you while you soothe him to sleep.

You’re not really surprised when you drift off to sleep as well.

It’s several hours later when you stir awake at the sensation of Jango getting pulled away from you. And while normally your reaction would be to shoot first and ask questions never, a warm hand on your shoulder and Jaster’s voice in your ear, encouraged you to not shoot him. 

You watch, half asleep, as Jaster carries Jango out of the room. And then you sit up, and you carefully stretch. Sleeping the way you were did nothing to help the pain in your side…you should have known better.

The door slides open again, and Jaster steps into the room, “Cyare,” His voice is low, exhausted, but he sounds thrilled to see you, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

The lights are still off, but there’s enough light for you to watch him remove his armor. And you smile as you cross your legs, “Welcome back,” You say first, “You’re lucky I didn’t shoot you when I felt you pulling Jango away.” You add easily.

His fingers pause on the seal of his thigh plates and he groans low in his throat, “That’s probably the hottest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

You laugh softly, “I think you’re overtired if you think my threatening to shoot you is hot.”

Jaster laughs, and resumes removing his armor. He sets the whole set to the side to be dealt with later, and then he peels his bodysuit off and tosses it into the laundry. And only then does he climb into bed.

He lays on his pillow for a moment, and you watch him relax into the soft mattress with a fond smile on your face. 

And then he rolls over and crashes his lips against yours. “Missed you,” He rumbles against your lips, “Hate those long missions.”

“Missed you more,” You reply as you kiss him quickly.

Jaster pins both of your wrists over your head with one hand, and he releases a quiet laugh, “I don’t think that’s possible, cyare.” He kisses you deeply, and then moves his lips to your neck, “Missed you like a missing limb.” He slides his hand under your sleep shirt, and drags his hand up your side.

His fingers trail over your ribs, and a sharp hiss escapes you without your permission.

And Jaster freezes. He carefully presses his hand over the painful spot on your side, and then he releases your wrists and reaches over to turn on the lamp.

You squint at the sudden light, and Jaster’s fingers are very gentle as he slides your shirt up and over your head. His gaze is sharp as he takes in the red bruises covering a large portion of your body. He brushes his fingers over the swollen and split knuckles on both of your hands. And then he presses his hand flat over your cracked rib.

“Is it broken?” His voice is very, very even. And you know that he’s furious.

“Cracked.” You reply as you settle back on your pillow.

“So yes.”

“We both know that a crack and a break are totally different.” You point out with a sigh, as you trail a single finger over his arm.

“What happened, cyare?” Jaster asks, his gaze falling to your forearms, “These look like self-defense bruises.”

You sigh, “You’re not wrong.”

His eyes go cold, “Someone attacked you.” It’s not a question.

“You know as well as I do that there are some factions within the Haat who don’t approve of me…or Jango.”

Somehow, his eyes go colder, “I didn’t see any marks on Jango.”

You scoff, “I know I can’t hold my own against you, Jas, but if they even considered touching Jango, we’d be having a very different conversation. Very likely from the safety of my ship, in orbit.”

It’s the truth. If you thought, for a moment, that Jango was in danger on Mandalore, you’d take him and leave. And you both know it.

“Who hurt you?”

“They’re in the hospital.” You reply.

“Cyare-”

“Jaster.” He stops and regards you thoughtfully, “They’re in the hospital. You can’t do anything about it now.”

He inhales deeply, “Has anyone done this before?”

“I can handle a few pointed barbs, Jaster.”

His jaw clenches, “Why do they hate you so much?” He hisses, fury writ in every line of his body.

“Because I’m an outsider, and was barely good enough when you were just a son of Clan Mereel.” You reach up and lightly caress his cheek, “They thought I was your whore, and then we adopted a child together, and proved that I’m more than that.”

“They call you that? To your face?”

“Not when you’re around.” You sigh and tug him down so you’re able to kiss him, “Breathe, love.”

“They hate you that much?” Jaster asks.

“‘Fraid so.” Your smile is wry, “They want you to marry some proper Mando, raise an army of little mando children, and I’m not an acceptable choice.”

“That’s…that’s the dumbest kriffing-” He takes a deep breath, and then he cups your face, “You’re my choice. Always have been, from the first time I saw you-”

“I threw a rock at you and called you dumb.”

“You did, and fell in love at that very moment.” Jaster replies with a fond smile, “You are mine,” He murmurs, “And I am yours.”

You smile up at him, “I’m not about to let some small minded people scare me away from you, love.”

“Good,” Jaster kisses you solidly, and then pulls back, “Say the Riduurok with me.”

“What?”

“Right here. Right now. I have everything we might need for it.” His gaze is intense, “Become my wife, I’ll spend the rest of eternity making sure you’re happy, and no one will ever hurt you again.”

You stare at him, and then you smile, “Alright.”

He grins at you, and carefully climbs off of you.

“Should I put on some clothes?” You joke as you carefully sit up.

“Don’t worry about it.”

************

The following morning, while you’re fast asleep in your bed, coated in a thin layer of bacta to help you heal, with Jango cuddling against you watching cartoons, Jaster calls a meeting with the heads of the various clans.

He’s calm, very calm, dangerously calm. And apparently the men and women in the room can feel it, as they settle in their seats utterly silent.

“It has come to my attention,” Jaster starts slowly, not raising his voice, not having to raise his voice to be heard, “That there is a number among you who feels that my cyare is not good enough for Mandalore.”

Some of the people sitting around the table shift uncomfortably, and Jaster pins each of them with a dark, threatening, stare.

“It has also come to my attention that the verbal abuse turned physical yesterday.” At that there’s a hint of barely controlled rage in his voice, and more than one person flinched back. “Needless to say, not happy is understating how I’m feeling at the moment.”

He pauses, and no one says anything, so Jaster nods once, “So here are the cold, hard, facts. My cyare is now my Riduur. Any attack on her will be seen as an attack on me and my clan, and I will react accordingly.” He pulls his helmet back on, “Make sure that this information is passed out accordingly.”

There are general murmurs of assent, though one brave woman stands, “Mand’alor, I have to say that I think that the woman you chose as your riduur is not good for the future of Mandalore-” She starts only to trail off when Jaster unholsters his blaster and starts examining it thoughtfully.

“Your objection has been noted, and ignored.” Jaster says mildly, “Does anyone else have any complaints?”

The room is totally silent, and Jaster nods. And then he turns and leaves the room. He has a riduur to spend time with, and an ad he hasn’t seen in weeks. And at the moment, his aliit is the only thing that matters.

[bonefall]

can you tell us more about bb!shadowstar? I really liked her in dotc but I think that was because I read it years ago and my brain has ignored canon and made her my blorbo since then lmao

also dotc autocorrected to ditch and I think that’s where it belongs

She gets done SO dirty in canon OH my god.

BB!Shadowstar is a pious, quiet person who cares first and foremost about what's most beneficial to her cats, and her cats alone.

The Shadow Family is descended from Broken Shadow, who famously adopted The Tyrant and ruled by her side through the destruction of the Kinships.

With the lake poisoned and the ancient forest cut bald, it laid a curse on the family. All Shadow cats are born with pure black pelts. If they come without one, they are dead before their first moon.

Tall Shadow has lived her whole life with the curse of tyranny in mind. It defines her. She is both ambitious, and wants to rule through respect.

She cares immensely about the will of the Stars, and listens when they send a sign... though, she can still be guilty of interpreting their omens in a way that benefits her people.

She speaks with a LOT of "we" statements.

When Jagged Peak broke his leg and it didn't heal, it wasn't her idea to exile him. It was Clear Sky.

She didn't know how to feel about it, necessarily... it struck her as wrong, but he phrased it as fairness. "A cat who does not contribute cannot take. We can't make exceptions. He was broken for a reason."

When only Bright Storm returned, carrying a little kitten with a leg missing in the same spot Jagged Peak broke his, her stomach twisted in horror.

She was convinced, instantly, that Gray Wing had crafted that child. Xey had sent them a sign; what they'd done was cruel and unforgivable.

The first child of the forest, an echo of the first cat who died here.

From that day on, everything she did would be for the health and safety of ALL her cats. She would spend the rest of her life atoning for what she allowed to happen to Jagged Peak.

After a fight with Clear Sky because he rejected his child, Tall Shadow broke off her supporters. They didn't go to the Marsh at first, that happened slowly.

Their first camp was at Snakerocks, in the cave the dogs hid in many generations later. There's ochre drawings from them deep inside.

Her kindness only extended to her own cats, however. While she allowed Turtle Heart to bring Bumble to the group, she was clear that it was only on her vouch.

If Bumble couldn't learn to hunt then she would not be allowed to take. Clear Sky had still left a mark on her, and the whole Clan.

This wasn't a cruelty of herself alone; this was the agreement that the Clan had come to.

So when Turtle Heart died, they sent Bumble away. Thunder Storm returned from his time with Clear Sky. The rest is history.

But, when Thunder Storm and his cats came to ask for Bumble's kittens, Tall Shadow asked how she could know if they could care for them?

Part of her was legitimately concerned, and this was the part she put foward. Another part of her realized that the budding group could benefit her somehow.

She's not completely selfless, nor is she totally heartless. She's more influenced by Clear Sky's mindset than she realizes, but can take a stand when she feels it goes too far. Tall Shadow isn't above using people as chips to bargain, but stops short of putting them in danger.

Of all the leaders, she tends to play the most safe. Even Riverstar will stick his neck out for his ally Thunderstar on occasion, but Shadowstar needs to see something that could threaten her before making a move.

[kitsquared]

A bunch of light novel scenes and details i think about. Some i wished or still hope show up in some form in the manhwa

Milaowm light novel Spoilers !!

In that one meal scene where Therdeo gives Pereshati his pudding then addresses Celphius who immediately is upset cuz he thinks Therdeo will take his pudding skkjsks

When Therdeo says he never went to a festival so Pereshati drags him around to hsve fun until the night ?????

^^ (So much fun Pereshati was sore ?? And servants thought they had a long night aljdksks but also?? What did they do that Pereshati is sore and Therdeo had fun too??? This was soo early in the series)

Kinda want to see some version of the teddy bear cake with Adeus in the manhwa

I think it's badass the Lapileons wear earrings to have 1 method in which they can defend themselves by pricking their hand, etc. (They do not wear jewelry in the manhwa which makes sense in that retelling)

I want to see Pereshati, on the ground, in a puddle of Therdeo's blood, hands and clothes stained in his blood from a severe seizure and suddenly struck with the possibility that he could die in the manhwa :) i need it

I think about Adeus running down the burning hills carrying Perry with his injured foot

"A rebel heard the call and came. " aaaaaaaaaaa what a way to reveal himself!

When countess Berdict was MIA, they sent out a knight paige to find more info and he got killed. I never feared so much for our best boy Sir Joseph in the manhwa until then 🫢😫

Therdeo kissing Pereshati's forehead to check for poison, not realizing what he did lol

In the latest chapters of the manhwa, Saoirse is among those who hasn't but should have something to say about Perry staying in these circumstances; In the light novel, Saoirse takes Perry on a trip to talk about her feelings

^^ So I think or hope she will take Pereshati aside in the manhwa to talk about how she feels being in the family; that Pereshati isnt staying solely to help the Lapileons but that she also wants to be in the family <3 i think their talk would be the final main conversation on this

Therdeo's coronation, but mainly when Therdeo knelts down before Pereshati in front of everyone signaling that she is more important than even the emperor and everyone kneels before her !! 😳🤭 jaw dropped at this

^^ (I'll be honest, not a big fan of Therdeo being emperor; he even says at some point he didn't like being in leadership positions. So I'm glad Seungu introduced the ambitious crown princess in the manhwa)

Pereshati slapping Princess Dodolea during the Hunting festival (fuck yeah)

Pereshati flipping a table on Harari, getting cake and tea everywhere and on her and walks away ( Harari was being rude and crossed the line but I thought flipping the table was wild lol they were at the academy. I was in shock haha)

Then like. 10 minutes later Countess Berdict asks that Perry accompany her to a location and Perry does so many precautions and i thought. Wow she's so reasonable oh yeah she flipped a table just earlier ksjdjsska

I need to see Pereshati with a dagger strapped to her leg 🙏

vv Okay so. This scene between Adeus and Therdeo... it's in the near end of the main story. Adeus tells Therdeo, smiling, "I do like her Grace, but to be honest, I like you, too."

And Therdeo says back, " Why thank you."

He smiled back, "But it's unfortunate. I'm not really interested in men."

Me :

Gay Rights ??? 🏳️‍🌈

This is a very hetero romance story but how easily he said that. Idk. Gays in this world??

Ive also never thought to put them together until right then alsjsksksls i know what u said Therdeo but it's happening in my head and Adeus and sir Raymon, too ^^

Pereshati beating Witch Dodolea with her own magic's logic :) it was pretty good

Celphius winking and holding a thumbs up at Pereshati after Therdeo repeatedly loses cool hearing the word lips and kiss akdhdksks

Lady Gloria patting Pereshati's head, kind of like what Therdeo did to Perry and i think about that a lot

Actually Perry willing to leave Adeus to the side of the road when they first met kahsjsks

Pereshati and Therdeo spending nights in the kitchen making meals together after the curse lifted 🥺❤️

I only read 1-2 chapters of the side stories.. but Therdeo baking the cake for Larissa's birthday 😭❤️❤️

[tomorrowxtogether]

BEOMGYU: “I don’t want to lose to myself”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION comeback interview

2023.02.10

The object of BEOMGYU’s affection, and that which he wrestles most passionately with, is himself.

You said you retested your MBTI a few months ago and this time you got I[ntroverted].

BEOMGYU: I’m still mostly like I was whenever I’m around the other members, but my personality has changed a lot since debuting. It used to be that, if I had time off, I would go out no matter what, whether to see friends or go shopping by myself, but ever since I debuted I can count on one hand how many times I’ve gone out to see friends. I used to really look forward to meeting new people; now I feel a little awkward in those situations. I have a perpetually public-facing job so now I like spending my personal time quietly on my own. I think I like that sense of absence. (laughs)

I feel like you have the opposite energy, too. You create a fun atmosphere when the situation calls for it, like when shooting variety shows.

BEOMGYU: If I’m set to film a variety show for three hours, for example, I privately make up my mind to act crazy during that time and absolutely nail it. I can feel that I’m losing my energy while filming lately. But still, I’ve enjoyed variety shows ever since I was little, and I want to be entertaining, so I try not to hold back. I really like watching 2 Days & 1 Night and if you watch the people on it, they really go all out. They make their own stuff throughout, inventing their own rules, like, “Whoever loses should jump into freezing water.” I think that’s when I understood that, when it comes to variety shows, the more all-out you go, the more fun it is.

Since you’re so notable for your energy on your own variety shows, do you feel a sense of responsibility when you do other shows?

BEOMGYU: A little bit, maybe. The other members are pretty shy and feel some amount of pressure when it comes to variety shows. TAEHYUN used to always say, “I’m really grateful you’re there to carry us on variety shows. I’ll go along with what you’re doing. I trust you.” That eventually made me feel responsible, which made me feel like I had to be the one to carry the show no matter what. (laughs) Now I think about how I need to keep the other members’ energy up while having fun myself, too. I’m always looking at the plan whenever doing a show and thinking, Hmm, so that’s the vibe they’re going for; I should do this or that—because I know you have to put in an effort for every part.

What was it like getting ready for the year-end performances? In the behind-the-scenes footage for 2022 MMA you were so passionate that you personally asked for a reshoot of the prerecorded parts.

BEOMGYU: We really put every last ounce of ourselves for every awards ceremony. We absolutely had to put on a good show this time because we were working on it even when we were in the middle of touring. It was like a war zone. But there’s so many different variables at awards ceremonies that you never know how it’s going to turn out, even if you prepare 200%. So, I think we have to try again if we have a chance whenever we look different performing than we have in mind or there’s a part we mess up. All of us are really ambitious about our performances, so even if I feel satisfied with where we’re at, if someone else isn’t quite satisfied, I don’t make a stink. We just say, Sure, let’s do that again, and follow along. Because we know we all have to find no problems with the performance for it to be perfect.

I bet you really wish you could’ve done the part where you use a lighter to set a rose on fire and throw it back.

BEOMGYU: I thought that was the best part, actually. I was supposed to take the rose and the lighter out all in under five seconds, but the rose got all crushed in my clothes so it wouldn’t come out. I had to improvise to save the moment, so I just stared at the lighter and pretended to throw it away. I was half losing my mind (laughs) but I just thought, If you don’t have teeth, use your gums, and did that. It was too bad, but more people than usual told me it was a good performance. It made me feel better to think the performance was decent after all the passion we put into practicing for it.

People said that they can tell how carefully you study when they saw your cover of V’s performance for “DNA” by BTS at 2022 SBS Gayo Daejeon. It was also well-received for how incredibly well you adapted it to suit you specifically.

BEOMGYU: Heheh. (laughs) I’m always really determined to do a good job when I cover their songs. I really wanted it to be good this time, too, so I watched videos of their performance so, so many times when I was practicing. I can’t do it like they can, but I still wanted to do it as closely as possible, so I kept thinking about his attitude, starting with emulating his facial expressions, and what they wanted to express through the song. I was inwardly proud because the response after was really good.

You tend to put a particular amount of effort into the way you express yourself on stage. Did the way you study come about as a result of all your experience?

BEOMGYU: I try not to forget how I first felt when I heard a song. I base my studying on the things that come to mind when I first heard a song or saw the rough choreography—things like how certain parts should be expressed or the parts I really want to bring to life. And I usually get better at things while shooting music videos. When it’s captured on camera, I check how it looks and think, Oh, maybe it would look better if I did it like this? And make lots of adjustments myself.

Can you use “Sugar Rush Ride,” the lead single off your new album, as an example?

BEOMGYU: For this song, it’s really all about attitude. I felt like I had to be sort of a sexy, crazy guy. (laughs) For example, for the part that goes, “Come here more, let’s play more,” I had a really serious vibe at first. But, I mean, when we shot it, I tried acting more like a crazy guy. (laughs) I added a sweet-and-salty feel by laughing my head off then pulling a straight face right at the end while I make a beckoning motion with my hand, and people really seemed to like that a lot better, so I made some adjustments. I’m trying different things like that to come up with a decent final version. And the vocals were harder than I imagined. The part that goes “saenggak-eun” in the intro aren’t low enough to sing easily and aren’t high enough to use my chest, so it’s a really ambiguous pitch for me. The pronunciation of “saeng” and “gak” is vague, so when you sing them together, it feels like they get caught in your throat. That was a bit challenging, and “gimme gimme more” is just three words long but I had to make my voice lower and rougher than I expected so I could sound sexy, and I had to make the ending sound like it’s spreading out. I had to think carefully about how to bring out the emotions in detail.

What were you trying to express through the lyrics you wrote for “Happy Fools” (feat. Coi Leray)?

BEOMGYU: I wrote the part in the first and second pre-chorus that goes, “I’m like a butterfly / A honeybee who’s always working.” I’ve been that kind of butterfly before, too. (laughs) There was a difficult period after I debuted where every day felt the same—like running on a hamster wheel. That’s the feeling I was writing about—the feeling of going to work every day and the Sun already being down whenever I got off and the feeling of wanting to see the sunset. Ants and bees work nonstop, so I thought about how many things they might be missing in life, not knowing how beautiful the sunset is or how nice and cool the breeze was.

Your idea of happiness changes every year. What does happiness mean to you at the moment?

BEOMGYU: That’s hard for me again lately, actually. I used to try and look for happiness around me in easy ways, but lately, rather than chasing some vague idea of happiness, I’ve felt it’s important to deal with the situations immediately facing me and do so wisely. It’s possible for negative emotions to creep in when you’re busy like this and there’s less time to sleep and there’s limits on how you can deal with the stress. I always end up regretting it later on if I let those emotions take over me. But if you get a grip on those passing emotions and overcome them, time keeps passing anyway, and you don’t have to pay any mind to unnecessary things as a result. I feel more relaxed lately after practicing that.

It sounds like you’re learning to control yourself rather than being pushed and pulled by what’s around you.

BEOMGYU: Exactly. Haha. (laughs) So these days it feels like I’m spiritually enlightened. (laughs) I managed to let go of a lot of emotions, and rather than holding onto my immediate thoughts or concerns I’m living for one thing: wanting to do a good job on promoting this album with the other members—just being healthy and having a good time while doing what we want, without worrying about what other people think. That’s how I want to do things.

SOOBIN said recently that it must be fun to live the way you do.

BEOMGYU: I think I live a fun life thanks to the other members, though. I’m always having fun and feeling strong, even when I’m mentally and physically tired, thanks to them. I can rely on them so much that it makes me think I would’ve had a really hard time if I had been a solo artist rather than in a group. I feel like we’re really family now.

Given how often you share specific details of your life with your family when you were a kid in Daegu, it seems like your past memories play a big part in how you maintain your current level of happiness.

BEOMGYU: Music might be the only way to revive memories of the past, don’t you think? I can listen to some music that’s tied to a memory and, no matter how bad I’m feeling, that memory comes back to me and I feel happier for a bit. It’s weird, but when I listen to my cover of “Wonder” now, all my thoughts, worries and feelings from that time come back to me and it actually brings me comfort. It’s calm and sad songs rather than upbeat ones that make me feel like I’m being empathized with so I can slowly break out of feeling like I need to be comforted.

I guess your dad knew that and that’s why he made you a playlist called WHEN COOKEY SLEEP.

BEOMGYU: I share a streaming account with my dad and he makes playlists for me now and then. He continuously adds music to playlists that he’s categorized, like songs that are good for sleeping or that I have liked ever since I was little. He never said it directly, but it made me feel he’s always watching over me without having to say a word and he’s always been there for me.

Why do you so carefully choose to cover songs like “Wonder” and “you!” that reflect your tastes and sentiments?

BEOMGYU: The only thing that lets me fill up a whole song with my voice and express myself completely in video is a cover song, and that’s why I wanted to express myself in that way. I wanted to show people what kind of voice I have and I felt that genre would showcase my voice best. We make the songs on our albums as a group, so we have to sing in a way that harmonizes with the idea behind each song and with all the other members. My cover songs are a slight rebellion against that limitation. (laughs) With “Wonder” I wanted to show a side of me that was different from the bright me everyone knows, while “you!” was about expressing how thankful I am for certain people. I thought MOA would really like it if I could shoot “you!” in Japan, and I was lucky enough to be able to film it in Tokyo.

I feel like you’re someone who knows what he wants, what’s happening around him and understands himself really well.

BEOMGYU: I reflect a lot on myself—how I feel at a given moment, and even what I can do if I feel personally underwhelmed about something regarding an album we made. I think that’s possible because I continuously look back on those seemingly insignificant thoughts and feelings instead of overlooking them.

What made you think during the world tour that you’re “nothing without MOA”?

BEOMGYU: I couldn’t be a part of all the performances during the tour because I wasn’t feeling well. I really revealed my vulnerable side to MOA. But they cheered for me all the same when I got back on stage, they smiled with us when we sang happy songs, cried with us when we sang sad songs, and seeing that filled me with so much strength. I could feel that they were understanding of me no matter what was happening with me and that they love me. So partway through when I had to leave the stage I thought about how the people there had been waiting just for that day, and I decided I had to at least try to make it to the end of the performance even if I felt like I reached my limit and had to get off again, and went back on stage. Most importantly, I didn’t want to give up on myself and admit defeat.

You also said that only made you more certain why you do the work you do and made you love it that much more.

BEOMGYU: I was actually a little more accustomed to MOA not being there because of the pandemic stretching on and on so long. Spending that time together laughing and crying made me think I shouldn’t assign any particular meaning to the past three years when we couldn’t see MOA. I picked up a paper airplane at the last concert that said, “I was having a hard time and feeling sick but I’m better now thanks to you guys.” It was really, really comforting to me because it was the exact same thing I felt. That I’m no different from anybody else and can still be such a big source of strength to someone, and that I can get strength from this many people—I felt that’s the sense of meaning that exists between singers and fans. That’s when that idea really solidified for me: I have to put even more effort into my singing and dancing for these people.

[manyfandomocs]

You know, I feel like we definitely need to talk crossovers at some point… Glee, Descendants, Wizarding World, whatever you want, I feel like our OCs would go so good together. 🤭

Okay in a strange turn of events considering what I asked you, I ended up overwhelmed by all the options I first immediately thought of?? But here is the big List pls tell me anything else you can think of I love anything and everything

And I left most of these vague on whether it’s platonic or even romantic so?? Lmk!!

Glee

Audrey + Beatrice (Bea would absolutely adore her, she’d love Audrey so much and think she’s so great)

Audrey + Carrie (Honestly this is mostly fc bias cause of Dumplin’ but I do think they’d be fun. Carrie is a bitch tbh but she can be a nice bitch, she’d question Audrey’s taste in Finn a little though)

Audrey + Felicity (Felicity is so kind and sweet to everyone she would welcome Audrey so fast)

Audrey + Giselle (Giselle is always welcoming she is usually the clubs mom friend she would love her)

Audrey + Saoirse (You know how Rory got attached to Sam a bit for American life, I think that’d be Saoirse and Audrey)

Audrey + Scott (I think this is one that would have a little buildup cause Scott isn’t a dick but he isn’t offering a bunch of friendliness right away either. But he does get really close to Coach Beiste and I see that being their in)

Audrey + Xavier (He’s a menace and annoying and he’ll flirt with her way too much but he means well)

Audrey + Zeke (Cousins! Zeke would love her! He’d also wanna fight anyone being mean he is a chill skater boy but also that’s his favorite person)

Leo + Ashton (As a baseline Ashton hates jocks except he doesn’t he thinks they’re hot. I think they’d have such an interesting dynamic tbh with Ashton’s attitude and them both being closeted)

Leo + CJ (CJ would think he’s so cool. He’d probably wanna talk his ear off tbh but I think he’d like Leo a lot)

Leo + Giselle (I love me some MLM/WLW solidarity these two can be that that’s the thought process. Plus he likes her brother so she’s supporting that)

Leo + Leonard (They’re both Leo’s I don’t have too much thinking here tbh. Leonard will make him pastries and probably have a crush on him tbh)

Leo + Scott (Hockey teammates hockey teammates. Scott would at least be more likely to talk to him quicker than some other crossovers because of hockey but he’s also like so singularly focused on hockey until the New Directions makes him open up so, it’d be rough but I’m so here for them)

Leo + Xavier (Also hockey teammates! Xavier would be chill with him for sure. Both from different states and having to deal with Lima weirdness, though Xavier would definitely seem more like the other assholes on the team but he’s chill really)

Parker + Ashton (Ashton would be so chill with them. He’s got his little skank bad boy rep so Parker is definitely up his alley to hang)

Parker + Carrie (Unexpected duo. Carrie is popular and ambitious and bitchy but?? I feel like she’d like Parker. Maybe cause they don’t give a fuck I feel like she’d respect that)

Parker + CJ (CJ thinks they’re the coolest person ever he will be wanting to copy their look and everything else. The ideal person to him)

Parker + Jasper (Idk i think Jasper would like Parker a lot he would be down for their whole vibe)

Parker + Steve (I don’t have too many thoughts I just think Steve could be into them and their whole thing)

Parker + Xavier (Honestly their storyline with Puck would just also work with Xavier though he’s more accepting)

Bruno + Ashton (I just like giving Ashton crossovers. I think it’d take a little bit but Ashton would definitely be into hanging out)

Bruno + Carrie (I think Carrie would end up liking Bruno a lot, she’s here to have one favorite New Directions member and it’d be him)

Bruno + Christina (I truly have no basis for this I just think they’d be so fun together)

Bruno + Isadora (I feel like they could hatch a plan together, be a little mischievous to get Mike and Tina to date them instead)

Ivy + Ashton (Honestly anyone that goes against the grain is cool with Ashton. He’d be down for her)

Ivy + Beatrice (She would think she’s so cool oh my god, number one fan she’s so impressed by her existence)

Ivy + Isadora (They are so similar I love it. Isadora would be so okay hanging out with Ivy and tbh after she stopped being friends with Santana and Brittany I see her being like “Ivy is my best friend now bye”)

Ivy + Sophia (Sophia would respect her sm. She is constantly arguing with people cause of Kurt so she would love Ivy standing up to people)

Ivy + Steve (Steve loves Broadway and would be amused by how outspoken she is so I think they’d end up being pretty chill

Bailey + Ashton (Honestly the idea of a little southern belle type befriending an asshole like Ashton is just really good to me)

Bailey + CJ (He has a crush on her. I have no doubt he has a crush on her. A very big embarrassing crush he would think she’s so great)

Bailey + Isadora (Their looks and aesthetic are so opposite and I love it I think they’d be great. Isadora would like her)

Bailey + Leonard (He’d love her, he’d love how nice he is because he’s ridiculously nice so it would be a great pair)

Bailey + Saoirse (Bailey has a southern accent, Saoirse has an Irish accent, I think they’d have conversations people wouldn’t understand and I love it)

Bailey + Scott (I just like Scott with a lot your people I’m sorry. I think she’d melt his little “Ice King” exterior pretty quickly)

Mara + Giselle (Giselle would love everything about her. The jewelry, being an out lesbian, all of it she is a big fan)

Mara + Jasper (Jasper shows up in Lima and he instantly decides he likes Mara that’s the rules)

Mara + Jupiter (Jupiter would find her weird I won’t deny that but she also is not against that at all she’d be charmed by it)

Mara + Saoirse (Saoirse would also love her. She would be so interested in everything about her)

Descendants

Greta + Cadence (I had to try to not give every VK I have but anyways. Cadence is not supposed to be in Auradon but she is here anyways which I think would already get Greta’s attention)

Greta + Emmeline (Emmeline is too friendly always so if Greta wanted one person in Auradon it would be her)

Greta + Gabriel (Besides the fact of Gabriel being my crossover boy I think he’d vibe with her a lot. He doesn’t wanna be here but she would be easy to befriend)

Greta + Hallie (Hallie would originally wanna befriend Greta to gain Auradon trust but once Greta’s friends with the VKs I think I can see them becoming friends)

Greta + Jackie (These two I see vibing a lot. Very cool together, Jackie would show up with the VKs unannounced and be very chill with Greta)

Greta + Ruby (Ruby would honestly be jealous of how open and herself she is so I think Ruby would definitely seem like one of the people that doesn’t like her but they’d grow close!!)

Sebastian + Evelyn (Evelyn wants to befriend him so badly. The Sea Three are her people she’d love him around)

Sebastian + Ginevra (Idk idk I just see a good friendship between these two. She usually hates people but Sebastian might get through)

Sebastian + Jackie (I also see these two vibing a lot, she’s been different places and would be happy to tell him about it)

Sebastian + Polly (Tbh a lot of this idea just stemmed from Sebastian’s intro saying that his parents said he belongs in Neverland so, my Neverland girl would be happy to talk)

Sebastian + Stephen (Brothers that end up dating villain kids they got a type)

Sebastian + Wrenley (They both are very dreamy and want more things I think they’d get along well)

Wizarding World

Rosaline + Cadmus (Two pureblood raised people that don’t really believe in the prejudices but aren’t going against their parents right now that date Weasley’s? They have lots in common I love it and also perfect with the fcs)

Rosaline + Catherine (Mmmm more fc bias but their both Slytherin’s and though Catherine doesn’t follow any pureblood crap I think they could be so fun)

Rosaline + Elio (More two pureblood raised people but Elio doesn’t date Ron they’re just besties. I think they’d get along I love it)

Rosaline + Zara (Rosaline takes time to get over her issues but I see them being really cute and good together)

Cat + Kieran (Cat really doesn’t need two pretty boy menaces in her left and yet, don’t they? Kieran will hit on them and be so annoying but also so charming)

Cat + Matilda (Tilly would love Cat? So much? She’s annoyed by James, Cat’s annoyed by Sirius, they can bond over it together)

Tbh I really should get some Fantastic Beasts and Riddle Era ocs too

[rxttenfish]

Ship opinions: polly x vick :3

Shipping meme.

HM HMMMM

okay, so the main issue you need to keep in mind first off is that i don't really care for the PCs very much. not anything special, just the same thing as always where, by proxy of having literally no writing or Anything about them or describing what they were like, they never felt like actual characters to me and the recent work in roadtrip and the like, trying to flesh them out, is trying to work uphill and only makes them seem criminally flat and boring to me. i could tell you far less about vicky and what she cares about and what her inner world and emotions are like than i could tell you about scott or about valerie or about basically any other characters. and this, combined with how much the fandom loves them and uses them as self inserts (not a bad thing necessarily, very much intended by design) has not greatly endeared me to them either. they're charming little designs, and IMO they should have remained that way.

which is always going to have to be the disclaimer i give with all the PC ships, you know? i don't really know how to describe the PC side of the equation, which means its very hard to describe the relationship between the characters. one of these characters is much more interesting and dynamic, designed with a synergy between their personality, appearance, history, plot, and voice, and the other looks pretty with a personality coming in two games later.

i understand a lot of people love PC ships! and they love the PCs! i understand they mean a lot to a lot of people!

its just also sad that unfortunately they do not mean very much to me and that's going to impact how i think of them in ships.

so... for polly and vicky, we have someone who believes in celebrating life and love and the moment while you have it, who is very aware of the ups and downs of life and has dealt with her own, who is smarter than what people take her for but cares less about correcting this as much as she cares about using it to pull the wool over their eyes, but who is sometimes careless and prone to getting carried away, sometimes forgetting to look back and make sure others can keep up with her or that they haven't become collateral damage. and you have vicky, who is smart and spunky and intense, surely, with a perfectionist streak.

i think, on my first impulse, that polly might have an issue, since i imagine vicky would easily pick up on how smart polly is, and while polly doesn't mind the cognitive engagement and fun that comes with knowing how to pick apart something complex, i also don't see herself as particularly wanting to paint herself as a "smart person". vicky feels like she might tend to want to push polly towards that, as perfectionism tends to also end up projected onto others, especially others who have potential but aren't using it, and again, polly doesn't really want to use it like that. she's not ambitious, she's just doing what feels good, exploring and finding new avenues for pleasure and to sate her curiosity. polly wants engagement, less so fulfilling a prerequisite list of expectations.

vicky certainly gets into a lot and she throws herself in with her full heart, and polly does something similar, but polly's less committed to the outcome. she's not trying to succeed, necessarily, and i don't think she actually cares if she fails or loses so long as she enjoyed herself doing so. polly manages to succeed and to be damn good at things mostly out of rule of funny, but also because she is actually sincerely skilled, just skilled in an entirely different way than what vicky's used to.

honestly, i think these two might get on each other's nerves a lot? vicky seems to me like too much of a tryhard, too high strung for polly, and polly just doesn't care about all of the things that vicky has used to measure herself by, seemingly making a mockery out of them even when she's not trying to, chronically unable to take anything seriously. this feels like an extremely bad combination to me, something that, while it could work in the right circumstances (because, realistically, every potential combination of personalities could as a relationship, don't take this as me giving relationship advice or saying what will or won't work), isn't something that i see happening easily or even something that could happen in these circumstances. i kinda see this as the worse version of polly x liam, where the other party is too stiff and too set in their own ways and own way of looking at things to consider polly's own perspective and feelings, and to respect her own fears of commitment in a way that isn't just judging her for feeling that way.

[akirakirxaa]

FFXIVWrite Prompt 22: Fulsome

Rating: T

Word Count: 777

Warnings: Sexually suggestive conversation, non explicit

Summary: Valeria made it through her wedding and now is enjoying her reception with her dearest friend and maid of honor. [Solus x Empress, continuation of Prompt 6. Not necessary to read the first part, but adds some context.]

Master Post

Valeria, despite having stayed at the palace for over a month, gazed upon the lavishly decorated ball room with wonder that almost had her tripping over her own feet. Soft lights at the edges of the room were almost completely drowned out by the bright lights of the brilliant chandeliers above. What are surely very expensive fabrics draped over what felt like endless tables laden with fulsome plates of food, many of which were traditional Garlean dishes, though some were foreign foods Valeria had never seen before. A large, open area in the middle of the room made up a dance floor, a small stage set out of the way for the quartet to play for the evening.

It was more than Valeria would have ever dreamed for herself, and she still wasn’t sure that this wasn’t all some dream. Perhaps she’d been in some accident and was trapped in a deep slumber, but if she was, it was certainly an improvement and so she didn’t complain. She spotted Noelle taking her place at one table, clearly uncomfortable with attending as a guest and not a servant, but settling well enough to shoot Valeria a smile and a thumbs-up from across the room.

There was dining and speech making and, honestly, Valeria was so overwhelmed it all kind of passed in a blur until everything settled down and people started wandering from their seats to speak and dance. Despite clinging to her new husband like she was afraid of getting lost in the crowd if she let go, they ended up swept away by various groups. Ambitious military types were seizing their chance to pick Solus’ brain and try to get into his favor while the rich, the noble, and the social climbers approached without cease to interrogate Valeria — who was she, where did she come from, how did they meet, and other such questions that carried the undercurrent of looking for leverage against the new Empress.

Perhaps Noelle could see that Valeria was drowning in conversation, or perhaps she just wanted to talk to the only person that didn’t look down on her, because the tiny hyur approached and chased away the high class Garleans harassing Valeria and took up a spot next to her, handing her a glass of wine.

“Gods, they’re persistent,” Noelle grumbled, glancing none too subtly at the more desperate to grasp for favor lingering nearby. “How are you holding up?”

“Honestly, pushy nobles aside, this is the easy part,” Valeria took a sip of her drink. “The food’s good, the drink is better, and the decorations are beautiful.” Noelle grinned widely; she’d picked most of the decor and food, Valeria having deferred to her taste when overwhelmed by choice.

“So…” Noelle’s face turned mischievous. “Feeling less nervous about tonight, then?” Valeria choked on her wine, though she knew she should have known that, now that she didn’t need to get her down the aisle in one piece, Noelle would bring back their former discussion.

“Could you…not? I was kinda hoping to just forget about those particular nerves,” Valeria blotted stray wine from her face, though there was no wiping away the way her face reddened.

“What, and then have to deal with all of them on the spot? I’m doing you a favor,” Noelle gave the most innocent expression she could muster, and Valeria rolled her eyes.

“I don’t think ‘thinking about it’ is going to make it better later,” she turned the glass in her hands, watching the wine gently slosh around inside. “It just…it is what it is. It’s my new job, after all, to make an heir happen, so—“

“Val, that is such a bad way to look at this,” Noelle sighed. “Just make yourself a list of your concerns and talk to him about it. I hear good communication is important for marriages— Your Radiance!” Noelle suddenly dropped into a low curtsy, Valeria turning her head to see Solus approaching, reaching one hand towards her.

“Shall we dance?” he asked, and she couldn’t contain her (only a little bashful) smile as she took his hand and let him lead her to the dance floor, Noelle deftly snagging her wine out of her hand before Valeria could forget about it and spill the wine.

“You looked like you needed rescuing,” he gently teased as they slowly spun across the floor. “What were you talking about?”

“Oh, n-nothing!” Valeria felt her cheeks warm, knowing she wasn’t fooling anyone, least of all her husband. “Just…um…girl things.”

“’Girl things’?” Solus raised an eyebrow at her, smirking in amusement. Valeria gulped.

“I’ll…tell you later?”

“As you wish.”

[ammaterasu]

Don’t you think it’s weird how some Sasuke fans think he should always be full of hatred, push away the person he canonically loves and who loves him back (Naruto ofc), and how they want him to destroy himself in his odd plan for justice? I of course think he got fucked in the end, just like other characters, but to think that a forever miserable and alone Sasuke is the right answer seems strange to me. I wanted him to find justice and relief, not eternal anger, martyrdom and solitude.

Yes I agree! And your final sentence summarizes it perfectly for me. I've also gathered my thoughts on this before, most notably this one, and this one oh and here (and a few more side-related rants that work into my answer below)

To summarize, I'm always critical of naruto's actions and motives. there are valid interpretations and criticisms to what some would argue are his self-fulfilling need for external validation, but i always end up circling back to the ultimately selfless drive behind him with respect to sasuke.

Unlike readers who see sasuke as a character to project their ideals of political revolution onto, naruto sees the suffocating weight this is putting on sasuke and says "I want to carry your burdens with you"

But in complete fairness, I think many "sasuke defenders" are not actively rooting for sasuke's eternal solitude and martyrdom. Rather, they see the binary the story presents, and are forced to pick one : justice/revenge (sasuke's plan) vs forgiveness (naruto's plan).

Unfortunately, the story closes out too quickly, missing key details to make a compelling case that justice was eventually served under naruto's approach (no matter how open ended 699 was..)

And so, they are forced to contend with an ending that implies forgiveness was the end-all be-all, and no substantial change was made (ex. the fate of the elders was not mentioned, and the sitting hokage mentions a "pardoning" for sasuke, implying he stood trial held BY the perpetrators of his clan's genocide.. its all quite tone deaf)

And then, you have the atrocity that is a "sequel" which confirms that nothing systemically changed under naruto's tutelage.

Faced with this ending, it becomes easy for one to extrapolate it to re-analyze the entirety of naruto's drive as not simply childish and naïve, but rather, someone that is protecting the status quo. In this context, the "hatred" for naruto is not without grounds.

And yet, I look back upon naruto's introduction as a brash, ambitious, relentless boy that does not respect authority, and who vows as early as waves arc to "change the meaning of shinobi" believing bonds were more important than a profit-mongering military state's orders. And these sentiments of change are reiterated to neji, pein, etc.

So we come to a conundrum - which one is the real naruto? His moral compass seems to point in the correct direction, until its turned against konoha, huh...

But giving naruto the benefit of the doubt as a selfless protagonist with good intentions, but naïve approaches, there is still criticism on that front.

Overall, i often wish the story got darker and addressed its central vilian (the military-industrial complex) with a more "realistic" approach. i wish we got to see the complicated and difficult conversations, and most likely violent battles that would have ensued in challenging the established system. After all, when has a peaceful conversation (ie talknojutsu) ever been enough to sway the hearts of oppressors to gain the restructuring of powers needed to achieve this vision of peace? (realistically-speaking)

And yet, the story does not get into those details.. it simply ends off with a message of hope, connecting naruto and sasuke's relentless struggle in search for love in a world that raised them for hatred. A battle of Love and Power, applied to this "greater villian"...

It really is a beautiful message, where understanding and love prevails. And isn't that beautiful too? if i remove my clouded judgement from aging cynicism and return to my simpler childhood roots that are not interested in the ramifications of collapsing and remodeling intricate webs of powers, isn't love enough? And don't you wish it were so?

[squarebracket-trickster]

Happy STS! Since you're on the second draft of ur WIP, how was the progress of the first draft? What are some things you learned during it? What is something you would do differently for your next first draft?

It's so rare to see a writeblr going through revisions and i find your commentary very inspiring. One day i too will be telling myself to leave the sentence be for another draft LOLLL

Oooh I love this question so goddamn much!!! (well, ig it's sort of two? three? questions.) I had so much fun answering this<3333 It was an excellent chance at reflection.

How was the progress of the first draft?

(lol I did not intend for my answer to be this long but it just kept going. But I like the idea of being very transparent about the journey because I hear a lot of nice, summed up "one day I sat down and wrote a novel, the next month I had a manuscript and started querying" stories and I think that can be really invalidating for people for whom the journey isn't that smooth if that is the only narrative you hear.)

I think I came up with the story idea some time in 2019. It was one of those, "princess runs away from an arranged marriage but [redacted due to spoilers]" concepts but at the time I was worldbuilding for other things so I put it aside for later.

About a year later, when I had not made much progress on my other WIPs (due to not having enough worldbuilding ideas to carry a fantasy or sci-fi story and banging my head against a wall trying to think up something I was happy with), I decided, ah what the hell, I'll try this instead.

I picked it because it was a simple concept--an idea fit for a standalone novel on the shorter end, with a fairly small setting and requiring little worldbuilding. It seemed like it would be good practice before I seriously tackled my more ambitious WIPs.

It still took a while to actually get writing. I tried three or four times to make an outline--one was more than 8000 words--and ended up scrapping each of them because when I got to actually writing the scenes I had outlined I found them dry and soulless. I was just going through events that needed to happen but there was no emotion, no humour, no themes, nothing. I tried to write the first chapter once or twice but I started the story too early in the timeline and lost the momentum to keep going. Finally, I wrote a scene somewhere in the middle (the one where Sorin figures out Adris is a girl) and it was the first I was actually happy with. I had fun writing it and then reading it again, and it finally felt like there was some "life" behind the plot I had been failing to outline. I rewrote that scene in both first and third person, decided I liked 1st better, and tried to keep adding to it. Then I had about 3600 words. I wrote another scene near the end (when Isadred and Firnen meet; though I changed this later) and it gave me some direction to work towards.

Then I did not touch the project again for several months.

One day in November of 2021 (NaNoWriMo month but I hadn't heard of it yet) I decided to just go for it and put a bunch of time aside to write like crazy. I started from chapter one and had two rules, 1. Start chapter one as late into the story as possible, and 2. keep it going--don't edit (not even spelling unless it is absolutely critical for me to make sense of later), if I get stuck just jump ahead to the next scene I can write, and if I don't know what happens next just ramble about everything that can't happen until I figure out a situation where that does not apply.

It worked. Really well. The next things I knew (about three weeks in) I had roughly 48 000 words. Some days I was hitting 13-14 000 words per day. Then I took a break because uni and came back to it in April 2022. Same rules, same deal. Suddenly I had 112 572 words.

I got stuck on the ending. I wrote a few scenes but didn't like them. So I figured I would just call it a finished manuscript, put it aside for a while, and come back to it when the time was right.

About two months ago I thought up part of a better ending while in the shower and a few weeks ago, just before I started the second draft I figured out the rest. So I knew it was time and I went back to it.

What are some things you learned during it?

I had a lot of fun. I laughed a lot at the banter and dramatic irony, I highlighted my favourite lines to look back on later, and I left funny comments for myself in the margins. The weird part was that I was not expecting it to be fun at all. I see so much writing content about how hard writing is and how much writers hate it, especially first drafts, and I have done my share of banging my head against a wall (especially in my other WIPs) but, for me at least, it is one thing to get stuck on a plot point, but if I am finding every single new sentence to be a struggle to get down it is probably because my story has not come to life yet. I am writing too much from a place of "hit each plot point in my outline" and not enough from a place of "you know what would be fun/gut-wrenching/shocking/funny/clever/insightful?".

Believe it or not, the middle section was the most fun to write.

I have also come to believe ardently in these commonly touted morsels of advice:

if your story is losing momentum after only a few chapters you either don't know where you are going with it or you have started too far before the inciting incident.

Name your first draft draft zero, garbage draft, word vomit (or in my case, "idk what the FUCK this it looks pretty cool tho"), and just expect utter garbage.

Don't look back, just keep going. You know that thing in improv where they do the "yes, and..." exercise? Do that.

If you are stuck on what happens next, skip that scene and go to the next. There is a chance you may not even need the scene you were stuck on. Long time skips in the same chapter are allowed.

If you don't know what to write just sit down and start rambling. As long as you know what you are trying to write towards, eventually you'll end up there and you can cut the bloat later.

Know your climatic moment before you start--not your ending, but the big final showdown the story is building to. You don't have to know how it resolves (I didn't figure that out until like six weeks ago) but know who is in your final battle and where it takes place.

Don't research. Don't worldbuild. If you need a piece of information you don't have, write [insert type of medieval ship here] and move on.

What is something you would do differently for your next first draft?

I am honestly not sure on this one... I do wish I was a more skilled writer prose-wise because my first drafts would need a lot less editing later on if descriptive, poetic prose came as naturally to me as dialogue and emotional one-liners. But all I can really do for that is keep practicing.

The only other thing I wished I had done from the start was keep a journal, log, or blog of my progress, and save some of the funny comments and [somehow our two romantic leads have to sword fight their way out of a masquerade ball in this scene while dressed to the nines] notes-in-brackets I left in the draft but went back and deleted later once I actually filled out the scene. Hence the existence of this blog now.

One of these days I would also like to develop a proper writing schedule to make more consistent progress throughout the year (instead of the random sprints of activity followed by months of not touching it that I do now). But between the ADHD and the Chronic Fatigue Syndrome I don't know when that will happen.